Interpol Red Corner Notice ...... Pakistan hardly has any respect of this global system

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India 'hauls up' Pak for ignoring Interpol notice against Dawood Ibrahim

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Nov 7, 2012, 02.02AM IST 

India on Monday chose the ongoing Interpol General Assembly in Rome to obliquely hit out at Pakistan for giving shelter to underworld don and 1993 Mumbai blast mastermind Dawood Ibrahim.

NEW DELHI: India on Monday chose the ongoing Interpol General Assembly in Rome to obliquely hit out at Pakistan for giving shelter to underworld don and 1993 Mumbai blast mastermind Dawood Ibrahim, despite a pending Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) and "credible evidence" against the UN-designated "global terrorist".

New Delhi also pitched for taking action against "states, which sponsor, support or provide safe haven to terrorists".

Though New Delhi did not directly name Islamabad for extending refuge to Dawood, it pointed fingers at the neighbouring country for not honouring the RCN against the dreaded fugitive. The remark also put a question mark on the effectiveness of the Interpol notice system which is not uniformly implemented by the member countries.

Addressing the Assembly, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, "I am constrained to point out that in spite of regular dialogue and credible evidence, the masterminds of one of the most heinous act of terror of last century i.e. 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts in which 257 people died and 713 were injured, are still sitting in safe heavens and yet to be brought to book".

He, in the presence of his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik, said, "Their presence in a neighboring country is well known and Interpol red notices against them, who are Indian nationals, are pending since 1993".

Stating that the fight against terrorism had to be long term, comprehensive and sustained efforts, Shinde said, "Strengthening of international cooperation is vital to ensure that action is not restricted simply to the perpetrators but also encompassed States, which sponsor, support or provide safe haven to terrorists".

India has 138 pending RCNs of terrorists (including the 26\11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and several other Pakistani terrorists) who are absconding and are suspected to be holed up in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and other countries. Altogether, India has 670 Interpol notices pending of which 577 are RCNs.

Shinde, who later met Malik on sidelines of the Assembly, also emphasized that "unless the international cooperation leads to visible results, our objectives (fight against terrorism) may remain unachieved".

He noted that be it the Mumbai bomb blasts of 1993, the 26/11 attack in Mumbai or the 9/11 attacks in US, the "Inter-State nature of planning involved in all of them underscores the need for increased cooperation and coordination amongst intelligence and investigative agencies".

He added, "Most major terror attacks, successful or aborted from its stage of conceptualization to execution have their footprints in different countries". The remark reminded how India had suffered a spate of terror attacks that were planned in Pakistan like 26\11 or hijack of IC-814 or many other incidents in its hinterland........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JUFUvMjAxMi8xMS8wNyNBcjAxMzAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Earlier,

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National Flag ...... Centre asks states to avoid using plastic-made national flag

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Ban plastic tricolours, says MHA

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Nov 4, 2012, 01.24AM IST 

The government has heeded pleas of environmentalists and also kept in mind the dignity of the national flag by advising ministries and states to ensure only paper is used in making small flags used by thousands on occasions like Independence and Republic Days.

NEW DELHI: The government has heeded pleas of environmentalists and also kept in mind the dignity of the national flag by advising ministries and states to ensure only paper is used in making small flags used by thousands on occasions like Independence and Republic Days. 

If the urgency displayed by the home ministry trickles down to states, plastic-made national flags may soon be eased out with the bio-degradable paper ones replacing them. It would mark a big step towards improving green consciousness and save parks and grounds from subjected to plastic abuse. 

The ministry's detailed advisory notes that paper flags be used at important national, cultural and sports events as plastic is harmful to the environment as it takes years to degrade during which time harmful residues seep into the ground. 

The plastic waste "affects the dignity of the flag", said the home ministry citing various provisions contained in the Flag Code of India, 2002, regarding display of the national flag. 

Environmentalists have complained that plastic national flag - specifically smaller ones often waved by the public during major national events - could not be disposed of in a manner consistent with the dignity of the flag. They are often strewn around the ground of an event and trampled underfoot. 

Although plastics are removed from garbage for recycling in India, practical problems in disposing of such products is a major issue in urban areas. Grounds and open spaces polluted by plastic sticking out of soil are a common sight. 

Finding merit in the green plea to restrict plastic, the ministry has requested states to "ensure that on important national, cultural and sports events only flags made of paper are used by public in terms of the provisions of the Flag Code of India and such paper flags are not discarded or thrown on the ground after the event". 

It also said such flags, as far as possible, should be disposed of in private in keeping with the dignity of the flag. Though the ministry has not set a deadline, it has called on states and ministries to give due consideration to the measures suggested. 

The Code says, "When the flag is in a damaged or soiled condition, it shall be destroyed as a whole in private, preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the flag". 

The Code also has penal provision under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2003 in case of any violation. The law provides for imprisonment for a term up to three years for anyone who "in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag." 

Times View 

If the government wants to ban plastic flags because of environmental concerns it may have a point. As part of a larger move to minimize the use of plastics, such a move could make sense. However, to impose a ban on the grounds that the dignity of the flag is compromised by plastic flags which are often discarded on the ground after use seems a dubious logic. Little paper or cloth flags could just as well meet the same fate. Also, anything that allows the aam admi to proudly and voluntarily display the flag enhances its prestige, it does not belittle it. Mass produced flags are likely to be discarded but they also symbolize the genuine desire of citizens to wear their nationalism on their sleeve, as it were........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEyLzExLzA0I0FyMDAzMDQ=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Indo-Pak ..... CBMs are fine without compromising on national security ... strict visa norms will apply for all Pakistani spectators (Final decision as on November 29: 3000 visas including 1000 for New Delhi match)

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5,000 Pakistani cricket fans may get visas

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Nov 2, 2012, 12.56AM IST 

India may issue 4,000-5,000 visas to Pakistani cricket fans for the India-Pakistan series beginning on December 25.

NEW DELHI: India may issue 4,000-5,000 visas to Pakistani cricket fans for the India-Pakistan series beginning on December 25. Visitors may also be considered for multi-city visa under the new visa regime, getting a chance to visit all five venues through a single entry. 

Although the new visa regime between the countries, signed in September, is yet to be operationalised, efforts are on to give it a push ahead of the cricket series. 

Under the new visa regime, a person can visit five places instead of the three at present. Since the cricket matches will be played in five cities, it may give an opportunity to cricket lovers to avail the benefit of visiting all the five places if they stay back for the entire series. 

Acting swiftly on the issue, the government has set up a high-level special committee to work out modalities for granting visa and framing strict guidelines for the visitors so that everyone returns after the cricket series. 

The committee, comprising officials from home ministry and security agencies, will devise a strict 'reporting' mechanism where all visitors will have to inform the local police authorities about their travel plans, including the addresses of their stay in India. The panel will have its first meeting on Monday. The final decision whether to allow Pakistani spectators to visit one or more cities (up to five) will be taken before November 10. 

"The effort will be to have a strict monitoring system in place before granting them visas so that the visitors can be tracked once the cricket series is over," an official said. 

Security agencies do not want to take any chances, keeping in view how Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Sajid Wajid alias Sajid Mir and Major Abdur Rehman had taken advantage of a cricket match in Mohali to enter India in 2005 when they recced 'future' targets. 

The two came to India to watch the game in Mohali but went to Mumbai, Delhi and other cities to scout for targets. Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley - who did surveillance for 26/11 targets - had during his interrogation narrated how the Lashkar terrorists took advantage of the cricket match to enter India. 

"We don't want to take any chance and therefore the ministry has already sensitized all states where matches are to be played between December 25 and January 6," the official said. 

India and Pakistan will play two T20 matches (Bangalore and Ahmedabad) and three one-day internationals (Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi). The last match, in Delhi on January 6, may see some Pakistani dignitaries in attendance. 

The home ministry on Tuesday gave security clearance for the India-Pakistan series and assured the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of foolproof security in coordination with states. 

The two countries have not played a bilateral series since Pakistan's tour of India in 2007 after cricket ties were snapped following the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks...................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMi8xMS8wMiNBcjAwOTAx&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom