India:Pakistan...It's all gas......long way to go...It's more for public consumption

India asks Pak to hand over 33 wanted men
2 Serving Pak Army Officers In List
Vishwa Mohan TNN
New Delhi: India has asked Pakistan to hand over two serving officers of Pakistan army along with 26/11 plotters like Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and members of Indian Mujahideen holed up in Pakistan,leading jehadi terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri and Khalistani fugitives being sheltered by ISI.
Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali,both serving with Pakistan army,are prominent names in the three dossiers India passed on to Pakistan on Thursday.Both have been identified as part of the Karachi Project a joint venture of Pakistan army and Lashkar and involving the latters proxies in India belonging to Indian Mujahideen.
Major Iqbal was also involved in the 26/11 plot,though it is not clear whether he is the Major General who,according to Ajmal Kasab,the lone surviving 26/11 gunman,trained the Mumbai attackers.
Major Iqbal had been named also by David Coleman Headley,the American jehadi.Headley told his FBI handlers that Major Iqbal gave him $25,000 when he was sent to India to do the recee for Lashkars terror plots.
It is the first time that India has given Pakistan evidence of the involvement of its serving army officers in the ISI-scripted terror campaign against India.
The two officers are part of 33 named by India in the three dossiers submitted to Pakistans foreign secretary Salman Bashir here on Thursday.
One dossier,which is on 26/11 accused/suspects,includes Hafiz Saeed and other leading Lashkar jehadis Sajid Mir,Muzammil,Abu Kahafa,Abu Hamza and Mohammad Usman who are still absconding.The second one concerns the IM terrorits who,as part of the Karachi Project,are being sheltered in Pakistan,and their trainers who include Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali.Those who feature on it are the coordinator of Karachi Project Amir Raza Khan,the two Bhatkal brothers Riyaz and Iqbal and their co-villager from Karnataka Yaseen,Mufti Sufiyan,Rasul Parti,Abu Aimaan and Azam Cheema.
The Khalistani terrorists have been put on the dossier amid strong indications that ISI was pressuring them to revive terror activities in India.Recent arrests in Punjab of Khalistani terrorists are a pointer to the cells being activated.
Ilyas Kashmiri,the mentor of Omar Sheikh,the notorious killer of American journalist Daniel Pearl,has a dossier exclusively on him.
The separate dossier on Kashmiri one of the front-ranking jehadis who survived a drone attack and who has been a source of inspiration for Headley gave details of his past cases as well as current activities.His custody has been sought for a case dating to 1994 when he along with Omar Sheikh kidnapped a foreign tourist from New Delhi.Kashmiri managed to evade Delhi Police when it raided their hideout in Ghaziabad to rescue the tourist.Omar Sheikh was arrested,only to be freed as part of the swap deal to secure the release of passenegers of the Indian Airlines plane that had been hijacked by jehadi terrorists.

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FBI sings more on Headley

FBI shares more info on Headley

Vishwa Mohan, TNN, Feb 25, 2010, 04.22am IST
NEW DELHI: Major defence establishments in and around Pune, including National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla, were on the radar of US-based jihadi David Coleman Headley who had not only videographed these places in detail but also shared it with his Lashkar handlers in Pakistan in March last year. This was revealed by the FBI to India during its recent exchanges over the ongoing probe, making it clear that Headley -- who is currently in American jail -- had specifically been asked by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to scout for "defence installations", besides Jewish centres and places frequented by foreigners, after the 26/11 attacks. Referring to the FBI's revelations, an official here said Headley had videographed these targets, besides other defence establishments in Delhi like National Defence College (NDC) and Raksha Bhawan, during his visit to India in March last year. Raksha Bhawan is the NDC's residential colony near India Gate. India and US have been in constant touch over the ongoing probe. As part of the exercise, FBI chief Robert Mueller met a number of senior officials, besides home minister P Chidambaram, here on Tuesday. Information about Headley's Pune mission was, however, shared by the US agency in response to India's questionnaire in January. Headley had visited Pune twice for this mission -- once in 2008 before 26/11 and the second time in March 2009. While he was in Delhi from March 7 to March 10 when he took videos of NDC and Raksha Bhawan, he had visited Pune a few days later when he scouted defence establishments and filmed these targets there. Besides having the headquarters of Southern Army Command, Pune also has Armed Force Medical College and IAF Lohegaon airbase which houses India's latest and most potent Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters. "After getting information, the Centre has sent fresh alerts to Maharashtra as well as defence ministry for increasing surveillance. The recent blast in German Bakery, scouted by Headley during his last visit, made it necessary," said the official. Although Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has not got a breakthrough in the German Bakery probe, the suspected footprints of Headley in the incident forced security agencies to revisit Headley's interrogation files....http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTAvMDIvMjUjQXIwMTMwMg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Will it serve any purpose?...Let's hope for some positive outcome

‘Karachi Project’ to figure in Feb 25 Indo-Pak parleys

Vishwa Mohan TNN

New Delhi: As the Pune blast once again put the focus back on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- Indian Mujahideen (IM) combo, ‘terror’ is going to be a focal point of discussion during foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan on February 25 when India, besides asking Pakistan to provide voice samples of 26/11 handlers, will also raise ISI’s design to bleed India under ‘Karachi Project’.
Although New Delhi had asked Islamabad for voice samples of Mumbai attack perpetrators’ earlier as well through its multiple dossiers on 26/11, the issues concerning IM, whose cadres are being sheltered in Pakistan as part of ISILashkar plot, will dominate the foreign secretary-level talks.
‘Karachi Project’, reported first by TOI, involves the use of fugitive jihadis belonging to IM — a front of Lashkar — to engineer terror attacks. Prominent IM jihadis who are part of ‘Karachi Project’ are its convenor Ameer Raza Khan, Bhatkal brothers — Riyaz and Iqbal, Rasul Parti and Mufti Sufiyan.
A top government source said on Thursday, “The Indian side will raise the issue of arms training of some youth under the banner of Indian Mujahideen, which is ostensibly being done by LeT in Pakistan.”
Asked if New Delhi will share some evidence, the source said foreign secretary Nirupama Rao will raise the issue with her Pakistani counterpart during the talks on February 25 supposed to be held without notes.
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Govt rubbishes Pune blast claims...........How soon is "very soon"?

HIDDEN AGENDA
Attaches ‘No Value’ To Al-Alami And IM Kashmir Owning Up
Vishwa Mohan TNN

New Delhi: Investigators on Wednesday dismissed claims made by two obscure groups — Lashkar-e-Taiba al Alami (International) and Indian Mujahideen Kashmir — claiming responsibility for the blast at German Bakery in Pune.
Referring to the claims, a top security official said, “We have verified all the relevant details. It has no value”.
While the first claim was made through an SMS to a media house from a Pakistani phone number attributing the blast to Indian Mujahideen Kashmir, the second was made by one Abu Jindal, who introduced himself as the spokesperson of LeT al Alami. Jindal had called the Islamabad correspondent of an Indian newspaper, claiming that the Pune attack was carried out by sleeper cells of the group in India in protest against India’s refusal to put J&K on the agenda of the coming talks with Pakistan and its “alliance” with the United States.
The official said, “Such claims have no value from investigation point of view. It could be a red herring to distract attention from the actual perpetrators.”
Meanwhile, nearly 40 persons have been detained and are being questioned in different cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hampi in connection with the blast.
Although investigators remained tight-lipped about the probe, a home ministry official on Wednesday hinted that sleuths expected a major “breakthrough” “very soon” as they were on the “right track”.
“Outcome of the ongoing investigation continues to hint at the role of groups initially suspected for the terror incident — Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-Indian Mujahideen (IM) combo with American jihadi David Coleman Headley’s footprints under their ‘Karachi Project’ plot”, said the official.
All the detentions, including of four Kashmiri youth in Hampi in Karnataka, have been made on the basis of local intelligence, calls records as well as whatever “little information” sleuths could get from the CCTV footage having images of activities on
North Main Road, the German Bakery’s entrance.
Technical teams of security agencies have so far examined around 1.10 lakh calls traced from cell towers near the Bakery in Koregaon Park area.
Headley — who has been in jail since October last year — had twice visited Osho Ashram near German Bakery during 2008-09, once before the 26/11 attacks in 2008 and then in March, 2009.
His interrogation report, shared by FBI with India, mentioned an ISI-sponsored ‘Karachi Project’ aimed at involving fugitive Indian jihadis and serving and retired officers of Pakistan army for carrying out attacks against India.
Officials strongly suspect the Pune incident to be part of the same design, carried out by LeT through IM comprising local people...http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTAvMDIvMTgjQXIwMTAwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Poor cops....Continue to be sitting ducks as seniors enjoy all the protection

Silda ambush: Unprofessional jawans were sitting ducks for Naxals

Vishwa Mohan, TNN, Feb 17, 2010, 02.04am IST
NEW DELHI: While most Naxal-affected states are getting their act together, West Bengal seems to lack political will and a professional force to face a determined foe with the Eastern Frontier Rifles camp in west Midnapore having presented rampaging Left ultras with virtually no resistance.

The 24 jawans of the West Bengal paramilitary force died on Monday without a fight as they were swamped by 100-odd Maoists who struck the camp with grenades and automatic fire. The easy entry to the camp and total surprise are explained by a pervasive lack of security at its boundaries and absence of any lookouts.

There was, shockingly, just one sentry on duty and the camp had no watch towers or sand bags. It is not clear whether there were any efforts to tap locals in the area, particularly adjoining the camp, to provide a warning about any threatening presence in a district known to be highly unsafe and trouble-prone. According to the incident's preliminary report and officers familiar with the events, the weapons were not in reach of the jawans, who were pretty much cannon fodder. Inquiries have been initiated about when the camp was last visited by a senior officer and if a security audit was conducted.

Armed with sophisticated weapons, Maoists came on motorcycles and four-wheelers including a Bolero, triggered explosions near the Silda camp and barged in. There were over 50 jawans who were either "whiling away their time in the camp or busy in the kitchen". This may have been routine activity, but their weapons were not in reach and there were almost no sentries. An official wondered how use of four-wheelers by Naxals — noticed for the first time in the area — and the clear evidence of some planning could have been missed by the local intelligence.

In this context, central officials are also mystified by the free run enjoyed by top Maoist commander Kishenji in West Bengal. On at least two occasions, raiding parties have been called off at the last minute. It is being felt that the political resolve in countering Maoists is still missing and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's preoccupations may not allow sufficient time for details of law and order. The CM also holds the home portfolio.

In Kishanji's case, his frequent use of phones to speak to media makes his presence even more puzzling. While the West Bengal government has shed its earlier view that Maoists are not really the same as terrorists or militants, a pervasive lack of professionalism seems to be at the root of continued slackness even as the ultras have hardly disguised their deadly intent.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) not being followed, poor training and absence of senior officers in dangerous areas were amply on display at Silda. The incident report shows the arms were neither secured nor were they accessible. At the time of the attack, the camp leader — a sub-inspector rank officer — was not even present. The number of casualties among security personnel jumped substantially in 2009 when as many as 317 personnel — mostly jawans — were killed in various incidents in as many as seven states.

Calling it a case of pure "unprofessionalism", officials in the home ministry pointed out that though the area was quite vulnerable to such attacks, the state police did not show any care in deployment. "There was no proper guard, the camp was not adequately barricaded, and even their toilets were used by general public. All this was against basic police norms and SOPs meant for them in Naxal-infested zones," said a senior official. "We need 10,000 to 15,000 additional paramilitary personnel for deployment in the four states," the official said. Currently, nearly 75,000 personnel are deployed in seven states for anti-Naxal operations.

Violation of SOP is, however, not the states' feature only. Central paramilitary forces too had lost lives due to their mistakes. The BSF had lost its jawans in Jharkhand during parliamentary election last year when they had used heavy vehicles to cross areas prone to landmines. Similarly, the CRPF had to lose a number of lives four years ago in Chhattisgarh where the personnel overcrowded the Mine-Proof Vehicle leading to over 20 casualties in a landmine blast. Most of the jawans were killed as they did not wear helmets, disregarding the SOP....http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMC8wMi8xNyNBcjAwNDAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Blessing in disguise?....Did UP benefit from so called punishment postings?

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2010 Feb 08; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 15
‘Dumped’ UP babus show how to track crime
Vishwa Mohan TNN
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh has led other states from the front in implementing Union home minister P Chidambaram’s pet project of connecting over 14,000 police stations and 1,300 prisons across the country, thanks to ‘babus’ — IAS and IPS officers — ‘dumped’ by state chief minister Mayawati for this not so sought-after programme. UP’s record surprised home ministry officials when a presentation on the project was made before minister of state for home affairs Ajay Maken by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) last week. The attention of officials, who attended the presentation, was drawn to the fact that the state has actually benefited from the service of ‘dumped’ officers as they not only defied the notion of ‘punishment posting’ in the better implementation of such projects but also showed how schemes having implications on the country’s internal security needed good officers with greater commitment. “Incidentally, most of the officers posted for implementing the project were removed from sought after district/division postings,” said an official. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project — for which Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked in the 11th plan period — aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the police station level through adoption of principles of e-governance, and creation of a nationwide networked infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art tracking system around “investigation of crime and detection of criminals” in real time. Though initially meant for inter-linking 14,000 police stations and 6,000 other establishments including divisional, district and block-level offices relating to policing and general law and order duties, the MHA recently decided to extend it to 1,300 prisons to “keep track on prisoners as well as habitual offenders”.....http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTAvMDIvMDgjQXIwMTUwMw==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

HONOURS FAILED.....not all are in the same league

Indias top civilian awards are increasingly losing the sheen and getting smudged by allegations of lobbying scoring over merit, indiscretion over rigour. Is it only political patronage that drives the praise?
TOI-Crest takes a look
AKSHAYA MUKUL, VISHWA MOHAN & HIMANSHI DHAWAN\ TIMES NEWS NETWORK

At the time NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal was being nominated for a Padma Bhushan, his sponsors might just have had a niggling suspicion that they were stretching the line. Of course, the CBI's cases against the flashy businessman are closed, but its only after the agency decided not to go in for an appeal, forced as they were by legal opinion shorthand for political directive. Given his colourful past and brushes with the law, Chatwal was more than lucky to be in the company of music maestro A R Rahman and historian Bipan Chandra. If the political grapevine is to be believed, Chatwal did not leave it to mere luck by chance . He lobbied strenuously, ensuring at least two ministers put in a word, and leveraged his contacts in the PMO and Congress as he rode on his proximity to the Clintons.
For someone who raised money for Hillary Clintons Senate and presidential campaigns, a Padma was a much-needed endorsement. The Padma awards committee considered his name and, prodded by a PMO nominee, Chatwal made the cut. There was, as is mandatory, a thorough IB check. But sleuths could hardly have missed the fact that the hotelier was briefly jailed and had been pursued by the Internal Revenue Service for $4 million in unpaid taxes . The state of New York wanted another $5 million. A bank he ran went bust due to injudicious lending and, according to a Washington Post report, was on bond when he accompanied Bill Clinton to India in 2001.
Far from being pushed on the defensive, the Union home ministry issued a statement noting that Chatwal had been a tireless campaigner for India-US ties, carefully noting that there was nothing on record against him. The case has since not only refused to die, but put under a harsh spotlight the murky patronage culture that can drive the national awards.
For this years awards, the committee, headed by cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar, had home secretary G K Pillai, principal secretary to the PM T K Nair, secretary to President and four non-official members former CII mentor Tarun Das, art historian Kapila Vatsyayan, nuclear expert R Chidambaram and actor-director Girish Karnad in the team.
Replying to a series of RTI queries filed between 2007 and 2009 by activist S C Agrawal, the home ministry admitted to the arbitrary nature of the exercise . Not only were guidelines set by the highlevel K R Narayanan committee flouted in accepting recommendations much after the deadline expired, but names were inserted after obtaining telephonic confirmations from committee members. The cut-off date remained relaxed for the President, VP, PM and home minister , all of whom were empowered to make recommendations even after the last minute. The government in its defence said there had been last-minute consultations over telephone and that the awards committee picks some 120 names from roughly 1,200 recommendations in just three to four meetings. Allegations of irregularity had, in fact, in the 2003-2004 awards prompted the then President, A P J Abdul Kalam, to ask the PM to ensure nominees do not have adverse reports.
Conveniently for the home ministry, there are no minutes of meetings , no provision for a vote in the committee and no paper trail. The Chatwal saga has, perhaps for the first time, even left a hint of a stain on Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs sleeve and set off an angry chorus from those who felt their claims were passed over. Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote to the PM while Asian champion cueist Yasin Merchant felt sorely cheated. Beijing Olympics medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar is yet to get a Padma even as his co-contestant , boxer Vijender Singh, got one this year. There is a feeling that only high profile sportspersons like ace shooter Abhinav Bindra and tennis heartthrob Sania Mirza make it to the honours list.
The Bishnoi community, too, is up in arms against actor Saif Ali Khan being given a Padma Shri this while his court battle in a poaching case is on. The nomination of militant-turned-police informer Ghulam Mohammed Mir has also left many in Jammu & Kashmir flummoxed with the state government itself clearly washing its hands of the whole affair.
A retired official familiar with the awards dynamics said that the process has worked reasonably well though there was a skew in favour of those close to the establishment of the day. Not that there haven't been instances of surprise exclusions, like when G C Gary Saxena as DGP of J&K was not considered for a Padma apparently due to a police turf war. In 1993-94 , a writ forced the government to stop the awards. Then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao had wondered whether the government should play a role in the nominations at all. For the last couple of years, the government has observed the rule that persons working with official agencies would not be considered for the civilian awards. This meant that former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair got a Padma Bhushan last year just before he retired even as the team that actually crafted Chandrayaans successful water hunt on the moon was glossed over.............
................To go back a bit, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, and the Padmas Shri, Bhushan and Vibhushan were constituted in 1954. While the Bharat Ratna is awarded to an individual for exceptional service towards advancement of art, literature and science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order, the Padma awards are conferred for exceptional and distinguished service in fields such as art, literature, education, sport, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil services, trade and industry.
As against 41 Bharat Ratnas so far, 3,598 Padma awards have been conferred since 1954. The last Bharat Ratna awardee, in 2009, was famed Hindustani classical singer Bhimsen Joshi.
Though the recommendation for a Bharat Ratna is made by the PM to the President, it has seen its fair share of politicking......... http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VENSTS8yMDEwLzAyLzA2I0FyMDA4MDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom