Daily News (In Short)-14-August-2015

#* Pakistan won't abandon Kashmiris, says envoy Abdul Basit

Pakistan's high commissioner to India Abdul Basit said on Friday his country will not "abandon" Kashmiris in their "legitimate struggle" for freedom.
"Aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir could neither be ignored nor put on the back-burner. No matter how much more time their legitimate struggle takes, Pakistan will never abandon Kashmiris and their cause," Basit, who had recently created a controversy by inviting Kashmiri separatist leaders to an Eid event, said in New Delhi.

The high commissioner asserted that "Pakistan has always wanted to have a normal and cooperative relationship with India...To this end, it was necessary to settle all the outstanding issues, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to improve relations," he said in his address at an event in New Delhi to mark Pakistan's Independence Day.

Read: India, Pak prepare terror dossiers ahead of NSA-level talks

On July 21, Basit had invited Kashmiri separatist leaders at an Eid Milan event held at the Pakistan High Commission on July 21. Basit had defended his move saying it was "nothing unusual".

Basit's Kashmir comments came days ahead of the meeting between the national security advisors of India and Pakistan. The NSAs will hold talks on terrorism-related issues for the first time on August 23 in New Delhi, as decided in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last month in the Russian city of Ufa to resume dialogue and discuss all issues connected to terrorism.

Pakistan prime minister's advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaz Aziz confirmed in Islamabad on Thursday that he will come to India on August 23 for the talks.

Sources have told Hindustan Times that Indian NSA Ajit Doval has asked intelligence agencies to make a file on Pakistan's role in the recent Gurdaspur and Jammu attacks, HT has learnt.

The Gurdaspur attack on July 27, which left four policemen and three civilians dead, and the attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur on August 5, in which two jawans were killed and Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Naveed alias Usman was captured alive, had cast a shadow over the dialogue process but New Delhi stuck to its offer of talks.

Pakistan, in turn, is preparing a dossier of what it perceives as India's role in fomenting trouble in Balochistan and Karachi as also the investigation into the 2007 blasts on the Samjhauta Express that killed its citizens. Aziz is also likely to raise the issue of bail to Aseemanand, an accused in the Samjhauta case.

Doval is also expected to raise India's concerns over the slow pace of the 26/11 trial and bail for Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the military commander responsible for co-ordinating the Mumbai attacks.

The main challenge, however, for Doval and Aziz will be to keep the dialogue process going in the face of all the finger-pointing expected from both sides.

Last year, the Indian government had cancelled the talks between the foreign secretaries of both countries after the Pakistani envoy had hosted Kashmiri separatist leaders before the dialogue.

#* GST Bill will ‘definitely’ be passed: Javadekar

A day after Parliament was adjourned sine die, the government on Friday came down heavily on the Congress, blaming it for the near washout of the monsoon session and asserted that the GST Bill will “definitely” be passed.

“I tell you that GST Bill will definitely be passed. You take it down. Even in the Rajya Sabha, we enjoy majority for GST,” Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters in Lucknow.

He also hinted that a special session could be called for passage of GST.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Thursday and the two Houses have not yet been prorogued.

“As you know this session has been adjourned sine die, but not prorogued,” he replied to a question whether a special session would be convened.

Mr. Javadekar blamed the Congress and the Left for the washout, especially in the Rajya Sabha, where no legislative business could be transacted.

“They (Congress) created a balloon against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, but it deflated. They tried to raise the issue of Madhya Pradesh (Vyapam) and Rajasthan (Lalitgate), but failed in their attempt,” he said.

The senior BJP leader alleged that the Congress had decided right from the beginning to stall the two Houses and said the party is still unable to overcome its defeat in Lok Sabha elections.

“Like the British rule, the Congress had a notion that they will never get out of power, but with time they lost power in states and became irrelevant,” he added.

The Congress agenda, Mr. Javadekar said further, always veered around the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Mr. Javadekar said the Congress feared it would remain in political wilderness for the next 14-15 years as it was unnerved after the Modi government stormed to power with a thumping majority.

He said while the Congress cried foul over suspension of 25 MPs from the Lok Sabha, they got 125 MPs “unnecessarily arrested” during the Emergency and never apologised.

#* Modi should fulfil OROP promise: Rahul at Jantar Mantar protest

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday jumped to the support of former servicemen, who have been protesting the delay in the implementation of one rank one pension (OROP).
"The PM should give a date as to when he can bring in OROP. All this protest will end then," Gandhi said at Jantar Mantar where ex-military men are staging a demonstration over their demand.

"People from armed forces and jawans spend their lives on the border, they are protesting now and they shouldn't be removed," he said, after many of the protesters were forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar.

"The government should have thought about the technicalities (of implementing the scheme) before (announcing the scheme)," Gandhi said.

#* Army, police foil bid to blow up rail track in Assam, one KLO militant killed

Kokrajhar: On the eve of Independence day, a joint Army and police team foiled an attempt by Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants to blow up a stretch of rail track between Kokrajhar and Guwahati railway stations in Assam.
A KLO militant was killed in the subsequent encounter between security forces and ultras.
Representational image. AFPRepresentational image. AFP
Based on specific intelligence, the Army and the police had launched an operation at Rabha Para village late last night and spotted some KLO militants trying to plant an Improvised Explosive Device on the track, sources said.
The militants opened fire and the security team retaliated, injuring a KLO militant who later died in hospital, the sources said.
A 7 kg IED with detonator, a 7.65 mm pistol, a pistol magazine, some fired cases and live rounds and two hand grenades were recovered from the spot, the sources said.
The ultras were planning to blow up the track which falls under North East Frontier Railway to disrupt Independence Day celebrations, the sources said.

#* Ashwin breaks Chandimal-Thirimanne patnership

Indian Test captain Virat Kohli brought in his first innings hero as Chandimal-Thirimanne pair was looking dangerous. The two put on 125-run partnership.

Ashwin produced the breakthrough right away, after he was brought in, and it is Rahane again with a sharp take at slip,

Sri Lanka was 220 for 6 after 51 overs, leads India by 28 runs with four wickets remaining. Dinesh Chandimal on 78 was going great guns.

Earlier, after the lunch break, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne counter-attacked Indian bowlers to put on 100 run partnership, the highest for Sri Lanka in this Test match.

They exploited some bad stuff from Ishant Sharma and also Harbhajan Singh.

India continued their fine bowling display and made giant strides towards victory, by reducing a clueless Sri Lanka to 108 for five at lunch, on the third day of the opening cricket Test here today.

After their exploits in the first innings, spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (2/43) and Amit Mishra (2/5) yet again wrecked the Lankan middle-order, while pacer Varun Aaron (1/24) also chipped in with a wicket.

The hosts still trail India by 84 runs, with only five wickets and over two days play remaining.

At the lunch break, Dinesh Chandimal (10 not out) and Lahiru Thirimanne (4 not out) were at the crease.

Retiring Kumar Sangakkara (40 runs, 70 balls, 5 fours) and skipper Angelo Mathews (39 runs, 63 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) showed some fight earlier in the day, by putting on 87 runs for the fourth wicket, in a bid to resurrect the Lankan innings.

The day began with night watchman Dhammika Prasad (3) trying to prolong his stay at the crease. But it was not to be as Aaron, who started the proceedings had other ideas.

The very first delivery of the day rose sharply on the batsman and the tail-ender couldn’t negotiate the bouncer with Ajinkya Rahane, completing a simple catch at gully.

This brought Mathews and Sangakkara together at the crease, and they resisted the Indian bowling for 20.4 overs.

It was a beautiful partnership with both batsmen looking to play positive cricket and attack the spinners. Ishant Sharma (0-16), who was the other bowler to start the day, hit Mathews in the abdomen in the eighth over of the innings, but the Lankan skipper recovered and carried on.

Sangakkara got into the groove with some dazzling boundaries off Ishant before spin was introduced by Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Ashwin got enough grip and bite from the day three pitch, more than the other two Indian spinners, but he was rendered ineffective by Mathews and Sangakkara initially.

Sri Lanka crossed the 50-run mark in the 15th over of the innings and then Mathews and Sangakkara brought up their 50-run partnership off 67 balls.

With both the batsmen looking settled, runs had started to flow easily. At the stroke of the hour mark in the morning session, Mathews dispatched Ashwin for a six.

Then, Kohli introduced Harbhajan Singh (0/19) into the attack but the experienced spinner failed trouble the batsmen, bowling flat most of the times.

#* Beef Ban, Yoga Day, Land Bill Feature in August 15 Security Advisory

NEW DELHI:  As India gets ready to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, the Al Qaeda is keen to strike naval bases in Mumbai and Kochi, the Home Ministry has warned.

A terror alert is standard every year ahead of August 15. A detailed advisory to states, which summarizes intel inputs collected over recent months to ensure security agencies are aware of all possible dangers, says that terror group Al Qaeda "could consider Indian naval facilities and other unsecured waterfronts as potential targets". It refers to naval bases in Kerala and Mumbai.
The note says that information gleaned in September last year suggests the outfit "plans to target BJP offices, commercial, tourist, religious, aviation and railway infrastructure in various states." It also references the "unhappiness" of Muslim groups to a recent ban on beef on some states, the celebration of an annual Yoga Day, the importance given by the new government to Sanskrit in schools, as well as farmers' unhappiness with the controversial land reforms of PM Narendra Modi as causes worth scrutinizing for information and intelligence inputs.

The Prime Minister will deliver his annual Independence Day speech from the Red Fort tomorrow morning, where security has been carefully detailed. Last year, the PM decided against using a bulletproof enclosure on stage.

The advisory says inputs from last year suggest possible targets by other Pakistan-based terror groups and their Indian branches include the famous Lotus Temple and metro stations in Delhi and malls in Uttar Pradesh and Noida.

Just weeks ago, a police station in Gurdaspur in Punjab was attacked by terrorists from Pakistan. Four policemen and three civilians were killed in a gunbattle that lasted nearly 12 hours. The Home Ministry's missive reiterates the growing concern that Pakistan's ISI is "encouraging the Indian Sikh terrorists/radicals based in Pakistan to assist in sending the explosives/arms and ammunition/funds to the Indian territory".

#* Assembly session begins today; law and order, Yadav Singh on Opposition’s mind 

With the brief Monsoon Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly starting Friday, Opposition parties are bracing themselves to corner the Samajwadi Party government on all burning issues, including law and order and suspended Noida chief engineer Yadav Singh’s case. Both BJP and Congress plan to corner the government on the corruption charges involving Yadav Singh and the attempt to stop CBI probe against him. BJP leader in the Legislative Assembly, Suresh Khanna, while referring the issue of law and order and pending dues of sugarcane farmers, said: “We will ask the state government what public interest was involved in its attempt to stop CBI probe against a corrupt engineer like Yadav Singh that it was forced to go all the way to the Supreme Court and spend people’s money in its attempt to do so.” 
Khanna added that BJP will also ask the state government to table the report of one-member judicial commission set up to look into Yadav Singh’s case. “If a preliminary report has been filed, it should be tabled in the House,” he said. Congress’s Pradeep Mathur, too, attacked the government on law and order issue. “The SP government is adopting double standards. It has not fulfilled its promises and has failed on the law and order front. Above all, it is trying to save corrupt officials like Yadav Singh. What business does the government have to try and stop a CBI probe against a corrupt official?” Mathur added his party will aggressively raise the problems confronting the common people both in the legislature and outside through a dharna on August 17 on “anti-people” policies of the government. Congress workers will gherao the Assembly that day. SP leader and state minister Ambika Chaudhary, meanwhile, claimed that while the Opposition will play its role, it has promised to cooperate in the smooth functioning of the House. Asked about the Opposition planning to raise the issue of Yadav Singh in the House, Chaudhary said: “The government is ready to answer all questions.” On the other hand, Minister Azam Khan claimed the amendment in the Zamindari Act will only help Dalits. Meanwhile, Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey Thursday chaired an all-party meeting. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also attended the meeting. ON AGENDA * August 14: To be adjourned after paying condolence to former President A P J Abdul Kalam. * August 15-16: Holidays * August 17: Supplementary demands for grants to be placed * August 21: Last day of session 

#* Hoist tricolour on Independence Day: Deoband to Muslim households, madrasas

India’s largest Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, Deoband has asked Muslims to hoist the national flag on their houses and other establishments on Independence Day and has appealed the members of Muslim community to celebrate the national day with spirit of patriotism, reports the Times of India.
ReutersTricolour. Reuters
“All madrasas across the country hoist the Tricolour. There is a misconception that madrasas don’t take part in Independence Day celebrations. We want to show the correct side of the story,” Darul Uloom Deoband Press Secretary Maulana Asharaf Usmani said in an interview with the Indian Express.
Seminary leader Maulana Arshad Qasmi said that an appeal has been made to all madrasas in India to host the tricolour and enlighten students about India's freedom struggle.
Talking to the TOI, Hafiz Akhlaaq Ahmad Latifi, who runs a madrassa in Ayodhya said, "Muslim community has always been on the target of communal forces, they always question our patriotism. In madrassas we always teach love for motherland and patriotism. In the past too, we have celebrated Independence and Republic Days, and will continue to do so."

#* Questions and fears after deadly Chinese blasts

Massive explosions at a chemical storage facility in one of China’s biggest cities this week killed at least 50 people and injured 700. They also raised fears about toxic chemicals poisoning the air.

Here are a series of questions and answers explaining what is known about the blasts, but also the fears over a lack of information about the chemicals that may have been dispersed.

Question: How did the explosion occur?

Firefighters were called to a blaze at a chemical storage facility on Wednesday night in an industrial zone of Tianjin, one of China’s biggest cities with a population of 15 million people.

Then, two massive explosions took place about 11:30 pm (0330 GMT), with the blasts so powerful that they damaged buildings several kilometres away.

Giant fireballs also swept across the industrial zone.

Authorities have given no reason for the fire, or how it led to the explosions.

Authorities have also said they do not know what exactly was stored at the facility, although the company’s business was in dealing with a host of extremely dangerous chemicals.

Question: How many casualties were there and who were they?

At least 17 of the 50 people confirmed killed were firefighters who came to tackle the initial blaze. Many others were migrant workers who lived in dormitories nearby.

More than 700 injured were hospitalised, 70 of whom were still in critical condition Friday, according to Xinhua.

Eighteen firefighters remained missing, it said.

Question: What was the extent of the damage?

Residents likened the shockwaves to an earthquake, and buildings three kilometres away had their windows shattered.

About 10,000 new imported cars near the blast site were destroyed, according to Chinese media reports, rows upon rows of shipping containers crushed, and buildings reduced to burnt-out shells.

Even a kilometre away, building facades were damaged and showed burn marks. A light rail station had its roof partially caved in from the blast.

Up to 6,000 people were relocated on Thursday to schools because their homes were damaged by the shockwaves, according to Xinhua.

Question: What has been the government’s response?

Authorities have struggled to completely extinguish the blaze, which was still smouldering on Friday morning, and determine exactly what was in the storage facility.

They have also moved to limit criticism of handling of the disaster, blocking some critical posts on social media.

Executives from the company that ran the storage facility, Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics were quickly detained on Thursday.

Firefighters and other rescue workers have continued to search for dozens of people still missing. One missing firefighter was pulled out alive from the debris on Friday morning.

What are the concerns now?

That extremely dangerous chemicals could be floating in the air, may still be leaking from the facility or could cause another explosion.

Chinese authorities have given mixed signals about the threat level.

Tianjin’s environment chief said on Thursday harmful chemicals detected in the air were not at “excessively high levels”, but did not provide details about the toxins.

A military team of 217 chemical and nuclear experts were deployed to test the air for toxic gases, and rescue teams wore protective clothing in the blast area.

An environmental expert told an official press conference Friday that toxic gas indicators were now within normal limits and the air “should be safe for residents to breathe”.

Chinese media said late Thursday that there were 700 tons of deadly sodium cyanide at the site, but those reports had by Friday been pulled off newspaper websites.

Tianjin’s work safety watchdog said on Friday morning that investigators did not know what was in the warehouse, partly because of problems with the company’s record keeping.

Greenpeace released a statement saying chemicals stored by the company could react violently with water and cause more explosions.

#* No 'Maggi' hearing at apex consumer court on Friday

The Department of Consumer Affairs had filed this class action suit on Tuesday on behalf of the large number of consumers of Maggi in the country against Nestle India on the grounds of unfair trade practices, and sale of defective goods and some without necessary product approvals.
Nestle had expressed disappointment over the government's action.
But the company got a significant respite on Thursday with the Bombay High Court lifting the ban on the sale of the instant noodle brand and ordering fresh tests in three separate labs to ascertain that the product complied with the country's food safety norms.

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