26/11: JuD chief Hafiz Saeed wants Pak govt to defend him in US court

Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has moved the Lahore High Court seeking direction for the Pakistan government to defend him, ISI chiefs and others before a US court, which has issued summons to them in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Saeed, his operational commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, DG ISI Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, his predecessor Lt Gen (r) Nadeem Taj, Major Ali and Major Iqbal are among those who have been summoned for appearing before the court in a case filed by an injured US citizen and the heirs of four others, who were killed in the terror strike on November 26, 2008.

Petitioner's counsel AK Dogar stated that Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka were killed in a terrorist attack at the Chhabad House in Mumbai, and their son, Moshe, who survived the attack, along with other people, had moved a US court against his client Saeed and others.

He said the complainant accused them of providing material support for the Mumbai terror attacks and demanded damages. Dogar stated that Hafiz Saeed was the head of the Jamaatud Dawa, which was a charity organisation and had no links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The Pakistan government had detained him in 2009, and a full bench of the LHC had ordered his release, Dogar added.

Noting that on December 31, the Pakistan government had announced to defend ISI head Lt Gen Pasha, he maintained that Saeed was also a Pakistani, and had the same rights as any other citizen of the country.

In response to the summons, a reply had already been sent to the US court, rejecting the jurisdiction of American courts, as international law did not allow an exercise of jurisdiction over any person and property of other states, he added.

Population Headache For India

India will miss its target of reaching population stabilization by 2045 with the Union health ministry now looking at 2060 as a plausible target.

India had set itself the goal of attaining replacement levels of fertility -- 2.1 by 2010 -- to achieve the larger goal of population stabilisation by 2045 -- a gap of 35 years. However, by the end of 2010, only 14 states achieved the target. In fact, six states have fertility as high as 3-4.

This has made the ministry feel that instead of reaching population stabilization in 2045 at 145 crore people, it will reach the target around 2060 at 165 crores. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad feels improving use of any form of contraceptives -- male and female condoms, IUCDs or pills -- will help India reach its target.

The government has, therefore, under a pilot project involving 150 districts, decided to use Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) to deliver contraceptives to the doorstep of villagers.

In an exclusive interview to TOI, Azad said instead of sending the contraceptives to states and "let them rot in their godowns", ASHAs will be given contraceptives free of charge by the Centre who will go from door to door in designated villages and sell them at 10% the cost.

"This way, the condoms will not cost the ASHAs a penny. However, by selling them to villagers at 10% the cost, they can keep the money as commission. On the other hand, villagers who now travel miles to get contraceptives will have it at the lowest price right at their doorstep," Azad said.

According to Azad, villagers give up using contraceptives because they have to travel far for a shop. Second, they feel shy to ask a chemist in a town for condoms or pills. Azad added, "We can't fool ourselves anymore. Unless the rapid growth of population is contained, it will be difficult to ensure quality education, healthcare, food, housing, clean drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and a healthy environment for all."

Azad, however, made it clear that no legislation or law would be brought to contain population. The minister is expected to discuss the issue of population stabilization at the state health ministers' meeting in Hyderabad on January 12 and 13.

"I believe we can achieve our target of population stabilization by improving contraceptive use and not by any legislation. At the Hyderabad conference, we will discuss not just TFR but how to reduce maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate," Azad added.

Population stabilisation is a stage when the size of the population remains unchanged. It is also called the stage of zero population growth. Global population is said to be stabilizing when births equal deaths.

So what are the factors that influence population growth?

According to India's Population Stabilization Fund, natural increase denotes the difference between the number of births and deaths. India has seen declining death rates but the birth rates remain high. This is due to two factors -- unwanted and unplanned fertility and the desire for larger families.

According to officials, children who are born because of lack of poor access to contraceptive services -- also known as the unmet need -- are a major cause of India's population boom. The birth of three and above three children accounts for 45% of the 26 million births that take place each year.

Preference for a male child and high infant mortality accounts for 20% of births.

BSP MLA raped Banda teenager

A preliminary inquiry by the CB-CID into the Banda rape case has found that BSP MLA Purushottam Naresh Dwiwedi had raped the teenager and framed her in a false theft case, official sources said here on Tuesday.

"The CB-CID, which was asked to probe the matter by Chief Minister Mayawati, has completed a preliminary inquiry and is ready with its report," a senior official said. (Read : Mayawati suspends rape-accused legislator )

During preliminary inquiry, it was found that the 17-year-old girl was not only raped by the MLA, but was also framed in a false theft case, the sources said. The CB-CID team from Allahabad, which is probing the incident, has recorded statements of more that a dozen persons, they said. (Read: CB-CID proposes, Banda cops dispose)

The agency has also raised fingers on the role of the Banda Police, which lodged a theft case against the girl and sent her to jail, the sources said. The girl, who appeared before civil judge junior division Ravi Kumar Gupta on Monday, alleged in her statement that Dwiwedi raped her twice while his aides teased her, prosecution sources said.

After recording the girl's statement, the court ordered the superintendent of police Banda to take immediate legal action. She alleged that no action was taken against Dwiwedi as police was conniving with the MLA and his aides. The girl had given a similar statement to the three-member team of National Commission of Women, which visited Banda on Monday.

"From whatever the girl has told the team it seems that atrocity was committed against her and the administration committed laxity in ensuring justice," team member Sarla Arya had told reporters. She said the girl told the team that superintendent of police Anil Das "pressurised" her to change her statement and despite her resistance took her thumb impression on a blank paper.

"In her statement, the girl has repeated allegations of rape and molestation against the BSP MLA and his aides," Arya said. The BSP has suspended Trivedi from the party till the findings of the inquiry report was not received.

Ethnic Clash In Meghalaya

Political situation doesn't seem to be good in Assam. Shoot-at-sight orders were issued on the Assam side and curfew remained clamped on the inter-state border with Meghalaya as the toll in the strife at Goalpara-East Garo Hills rose to 10.

Official sources said shoot-at-sight orders were issued by the Assam government after a high-level security meeting at Dispur last night.

The Centre has rushed additional 600 paramilitary personnel to Meghalaya to assist the state in the wake of ethnic clash between two tribal groups. Goalpara Deputy Commissioner P K Goswami said over phone that two bodies were recovered on the Assam side on Sunday evening, taking the toll in the ethnic clash between the Rabhas and Garos to 10.

East Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi said Garo-dominated Chigism, Kaldang and Kasikgara villages in Assam were attacked yesterday and 200 Garo women and children fled to East Garo Hills and sought refuge at Hudakona primary school compound during the night.

They were shifted to relief camps by army troops, who arrived on the scene early today. Besides, a vehicle carrying relief material was also torched injuring 11 people, two of them critically at Paikan in Goalpara.

Following the arson attacks on the Garo villages, a mob frenzy began to build up since yesterday and Gendabari Rabha village on the Meghalaya side was set ablaze during the day. Security forces with the help of army moved in swiftly and cut off all entry and exit routes between the two districts to prevent any escalation of violence, Bakshi said.

In view of the incidents, curfew remained clamped at Resbulpara subdivision of East Garo Hills and in the four police station areas of Dudhmoi, Krishnai, Dhupdhara and Rangajuli of Assam, official sources said.

Security forces have detained several arsonists from both Assam and Meghalaya and taken them under preventive detention. Official sources said a team of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs team led by joint secretary Sambhu Singh reached the border and will hold a review meeting at Resubelpara during the day. He would later hold another meeting at Guwahati, the sources said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee seem to hold different views about the PAC

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee seem to hold different views about the PM appearing before the Murli Manohar Joshi-led public accounts committee (PAC).The PM had, during the Congress plenary, offered to appear before the PAC examining the CAG's report on the 2G spectrum scam. Pranab said on Sunday he would have dissuaded the PM from making such a commitment had he known about the decision."The PM is answerable to the Lok Sabha and not to a committee,"Pranab said and added that the PAC is only part of the House to which the PM is accountable."They (the Opposition) think the PM is afraid. It is not that anyone is avoiding investigation, he himself proposed to appear before the PAC without discussing," Pranab added.Political observers, however, see the finance minister's statement as an indicator of a communication gap among the top leadership of the UPA and as a divergence of opinion on procedural issues among the leaders.Although Pranab clarified later that there was no difference of opinion between him and the Prime Minister at a personal level, many feel the PM's effort to come clean by appearing before the PAC has not gone down well with the finance minister, a stickler for systemic propriety.

"Definitely, Dr Manmohan Singh has been concerned about his image as the Opposition has trained its guns on him. But this (the PM's offer) has not gone down well with Pranab who has been the leader of the House and was trying to resolve the deadlock within the House through discussion. His statement certainly can be looked at from this perspective," a political analyst said.A senior Congress leader admitted Pranab's admission that he was unaware of the PM's decision indicated a lack of communication among the top leadership. "He (Pranab) chooses his words carefully. If someone construes that there is a communication gap between the top two leaders after this statement, it may not be too wrong," he said. The finance minister's comments, however, have evoked sharp reactions from the Opposition.

In india social injustice is killing people on a grand scale,

The social injustice is killing people on a grand scale, the World Health Organization, through its report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, has brought the issue of equity and health rights centre stage. How do its prescriptions fare when examined against the backdrop of the Indian situation?

India is one of the most iniquitous societies on earth, and certainly when its size is taken into consideration, we are responsible for a sizeable proportion of the sum total of human misery on this planet. As health professionals, we have access to data that goes beyond the Dandekars and Tendulkars and Arjun Senguptas, and which we can read off the bodies of our study subjects. We have become inured to the knowledge that, in India, 47% of our children under the age of five are malnourished by weight-for-age criteria. In the last six years, more children have died, across the world, of malnutrition-related causes than the total number of adults who died in the six years of the Second World War. But let that pass. The next datum that I will place before you is this: 26% of our newborn babies are low birth weight for gestational age. Please remember that this 26% is not randomly distributed across the population, but occurs far more commonly in specific communities, obeying the pressures of inequity and social injustice.

Rahul gandhi sees the threat from hindu groups

The congress political leader Rahul Gandhi, who is considered a likely prime ministerial candidate, warned Timothy Roemer that though there was evidence of some support for LET among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community.The 40-year-old son of the Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi, said that "the risk of a 'home-grown' extremist front, reacting to terror attacks coming from Pakistan or from Islamist groups in India, was a growing concern and one that demanded constant attention".His words were revealed in one of 4,000 leaked U.S. diplomatic cables sent from Delhi. The cables reveal a difficult but increasingly warm relationship between a prickly emerging power and a superpower keen to be friends but on its own terms.

The Americans are keen to find allies in the "raucous democracy" of India, and appear to believe Rahul Gandhi could be one. Though earlier dispatches were sceptical of his prospects, Mr. Roemer recently told Washington "the rising profile of young leaders like Rahul Gandhi provides us an opening to expand the constituency in support of the strategic partnership.
In the cables, U.S. diplomats complain of bureaucratic inertia, a lack of capacity, over-sensitivity, corrupt or populist politicians and a bureaucracy stuck in the era of the cold war. However, they appear to recognise that a respectful and conciliatory approach to the booming and increasingly self-confident India pays dividends. Despite worries about torture, corruption and deep social problems, US diplomats still see the country as a natural ally.


A deal would see, the U.S. diplomats said, a big boost for clean energy in India and a market worth $150bn for American companies. "Mrs Gandhi never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity," one cable sent in November 2007 said.