In short, while Chinese are keen to have the Mirwaiz over, the latter will now be able to travel to Beijing only if China backtracks and issues him a visa properly pasted on his passport. Foreign minister S M Krishna said the Mirwaiz, who has been invited by a Chinese ‘‘NGO’’ to talk about ‘‘Muslim issues’’, was free to travel wherever he wanted, including ‘‘Pakistan or China’’.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, in turn, added, ‘‘We have never prevented Kashmiri leaders from travelling abroad.’’ However, she added, if it was a question about the Chinese government’s practice of issuing stapled visas, then the Indian government ‘‘did not subscribe to this approach, which discriminates on the basis of domicile and ethnicity’’. This came even as the Mirwaiz, who apart from asking the Union government to allow Kashmiris to travel on the stapled visas being provided by China, further stoked controversy in Srinagar by holding that Beijing

Qin’s statement is significant in view of India’s unhappiness over one portion of the joint declaration issued by China and the United States during Barack Obama’s recent visit to China. The statement said the two countries supported “the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan”.

The foreign ministry spokesman was asked to comment about the snag developed during the launch of the Agni-II missile on Monday. “It is an internal matter for India. We hope India would contribute to regional peace and stability,” he said.

“It has come to the attention of government of India that the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Delhi and the Chinese consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata are issuing visas on a separate piece of paper `stapled’ to the passport (rather than pasted as is the usual practice), to certain categories of Indian nationals on the basis of their domicile, ethnicity and/or place of issue of the passport. Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the country,’‘ said the advisory.

Despite official protests by India, China has continued to issue stapled visas for people with origin in Arunachal Pradesh and J&K. India had officially protested against the practice after news broke out that some Kashmiri businessmen and students were being given stapled visas.

“All Indian citizens intending to travel to the People’s Republic of China are advised that before making any travel arrangements they should first ascertain from the Chinese embassy or consulate, as the case may be, whether the visa being issued to them will be affixed to the passport or will be in the nature of a stapled paper visa, so that they are not inconvenienced or put to any financial loss later on this count,’‘ the advisory further said.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said in October that India was responsible for the rising wave of terrorism in Balochistan province. Gilani said Pakistan wanted good relations with all its neighbours and desired the resumption of the composite dialogue process with India, adding that dialogue was the only way forward.

He said no military operation is currently underway in Balochistan and that the ongoing operation in Southern Waziristan will soon end.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan will not compromise on its nuclear program and that the country’s assets were safe under the Nuclear Command and Control Authority. Talking to reporters at the Multan airport he said there was no threat to the country’s nuclear program which was completely safe and secure.

‘We will not compromise on our nuclear program,’ Prime Minister Gilani categorically said. He was responding to reports in the Western media about threats of extremists taking over the country’s nuclear assets.

About US drone attacks on targets inside Pakistani territory Gilani said Pakistan was trying to convince the United States about their negative impact.

He added the fact that the decree was adopted in the presence of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram showed that the Centre was engaging in appeasement of the minorities. “If anti-national fatwas are issued in the presence of the Union home minister then there is no future for this country. It looks like the Centre has a policy of appeasement of Muslims for votes,” he said in a statement.

Stating that such decrees created tensions between Hindus and Muslims, he asked Shiv Sainiks to put up “Vande Mataram” boards all over Maharashtra.

The motion was accepted and passed by the Speaker of the House after which the four – Ram Kadam, Vasant Gite, Shishir Shinde and Ramesh Wanjale – were suspended from the House.

All four are first timers and have been suspended for four years. They have also been barred from entering Mumbai and Nagpur whenever the Assembly meets in the two cities. A ruffled Azmi, earlier the Samajwadi Party MP from Mumbai, demanded the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

“For my selfish ends, I was forced to ditch those who were trusted my trusted people. Be it Shobha or Baligar. Even God will not forgive me for this,” he told Kannada channel “Suvarna”. Under pressure from the brothers, the Chief Minister yesterday transferred his Principal Secretary P V Baligar to another department and is said to have promised to sack Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje, from the Cabinet.

Amar Singh, along with Sanjay Dutt, Jaya Bachchan and Rampur MP Jaya Prada, was in the city to address a rally in the city’s Chowk locality in support of party candidate Bhukal Nawab in the Nov 7 by-poll.

The term ‘love jihad’ is a misconceived notion “raked up” by Sangh Parivar outfits and reference of such a term by Constitutional establishments like the judiciary “is not a good sign”, a joint statement by various prominent Muslim leaders here said.

“The misinformation campaign against the non-existent organisation in the name of ‘Love Jihad’ would only lead to vitiating the prevailing communal harmony and create suspicion among various communities and the parties concerned should keep themselves away from levelling unsubstantiated charges,” the statement said.

The Chief Minister was said to have taken the decision in the wake of “increased financial burden on account of implementation of the sixth pay commission”. Among the other austerity measures ordered by her were “a ban on opening of new inspection bungalows or guest houses, construction of new offices or residences in places other than newly carved out districts as also on purchase of new vehicles other than those engaged in security services”.

Striking a cynical note in his first editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ after the assembly election results on October 22, the 84-year-old Thackeray said, “There is an evil spirit that is separating me from you (Marathi people) and not allowing a meeting of minds”. “I do not have any hope that even this writing will have any influence on your thinking. In fact, I have lost faith in everything, including Maharashtrians and also God. I am at great pains to make this statement but I have no desire to hide the truth and indulge in self-deception,” he said.

He wondered as to why the ‘Marathi manoos’, who turns to Shiv Sena to serve his interests in all walks of life, failed to vote for the organisation born for him. The Sena, which ruled the state in alliance with BJP from 1995 to 1999, finished fourth, winning just 44 of the 169 seats it contested. BJP bagged 46 seats. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, led by Thackeray’s estranged nephew Raj, severely dented the Sena’s traditional Marathi vote base.

China had raised strong objections to the Dalai Lama’s proposed visit to the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh earlier. China had also gone on to object to the Prime Minister’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh during campaigning for the recently held assembly elections in the state.

West Bengal BJP President Satyabrat Mukherjee resigned from his post to abide with the party decision to remove all unit heads in states where the party had performed badly in the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said. His resignation was accepted by Rajnath Singh.

Maps too, available in China, Myanmar and Nepal, show an India denuded of Kashmir. Also, China’s policy of extending assistance to only the government of a country indicates it considers India’s nuclear rival and neighbour Pakistan to be in control of Pakistan-administered Kashmir by offering financial assistance to build a dam on the Indus river there.

China, now locked in a row with India, is also asking for the tightening of the open border between India and Nepal that, it says, is abetting anti-China activities and demonstrations by Tibetans crossing into Nepal from India. Beijing is also indirectly asking for the closure of the seat of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of the Tibetans, in Dharamshala in India, hinting that such a step would improve India-China relations.

A two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court issued the order in response to a petition filed by Saeed last month in which he had challenged two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him by police in Faisalabad city of Punjab province under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief is the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 in which more than 170 people were killed. Saeed’s lawyer A K Dogar has all along claimed the case against his client was weak. Dogar told the court that his client was a “law-abiding” citizen. Neither Saeed nor the JuD is involved in any illegal activities, he claimed.

Jawad was following up similar charges from Afghan officials in Kabul, who were quick to identify Pakistani intelligence as the mastermind even though India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao was initially circumspect in suggesting that New Delhi would let the investigations take its course before reaching any conclusion. The previous attack referred to by Jawad and other Afghan officials was the bombing of the Indian Embassy in July 2008, which US officials disclosed was conducted by the ISI-backed Haqqani network. That network was heard being described by Pakistan’s army chief Pervez Ashfaq Kiyani as Islamabad’s “strategic asset” in intelligence intercepts, result in the suspicion in Washington and New Delhi that Pakistani’s military-intelligence apparatus masterminded the attack on the embassy. That attack killed 58 people, including a popular young Indian diplomat and a senior military attaché.

On Saturday though, India’s Nirupama Rao also stepped up to the plate, saying Thursday’s embassy attack was the handiwork of the enemies of India-Afghan friendship and their “patrons across the border,” but not directly naming Pakistan.

The threat comes amid growing divisions in Washington about whether to deal with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan by sending more troops or by reducing them and targeting the terrorists. According to the report, US vice-president Joe Biden has suggested reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan and focusing on the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan.

Quoting western intelligence officers, the report said Taliban leaders are being moved to the volatile city of Karachi, where it would be impossible to strike. It said US officials have even discussed sending commandos to Quetta to capture or kill the Taliban leaders before they are moved. It said while the government of President Asif Ali Zardari is committed to wiping out terrorism, Pakistan’s powerful military does not entirely share the view.

Obama’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, called the unanimous vote on Kerry-Luger Bill “a very important step forward” for US-Pakistan ties. “For the first time in modern era the US congress has made a multi-year commitment to Pakistan,” he said. The Senate’s unanimous approval set the stage for action in the House of Representatives, where the measure was introduced hours later for a final vote. It will then be sent to Obama to sign it into law.

Reacting to the Senate’s passage of the bill, foreign minister S M Krishna said in New York that India was concerned about it as Islamabad had in the past diverted American aid to bolster its defences against India. “Consider the statement that has been issued by the former president of Pakistan Musharraf himself where he has said that the aid provided to Pakistan by the US has been used for directing its hostile operations against India,” Krishna, who is participating in the opening session of United Nation General Assembly, said. “It is that statement of President Musharraf that really bothers us,” he said, ahead of his meeting with his counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Both chambers of the Diet selected the 62-year-old self-proclaimed reformer after his Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in Aug 30 parliamentary elections, trouncing the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had governed nearly uninterrupted for more than 50 years.

The Indian media reported on Monday that in an interview to a Pakistani television channel, Musharraf acknowledged using US military aid meant to fight the extremists to strengthen Pakistan’s defences against India. “No question was asked regarding US funds for fighting the militants in this interview or at any other time,” he said. ‘I have never said Pakistan violated any agreement,’ the website reported.

Aziz said senior officials of Pakistan’s interior ministry sent him to meet Mehsud after the Mumbai attacks in November last year. He said the officials asked him to convince the slain Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief to show “unity against India” amidst heightened tensions between the two countries. The former member of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament said he met Mehsud along with a 15-member delegation of ‘ulema’ or Islamic scholars from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Aziz said he stayed in Makeen area of South Waziristan, a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, for three days to convince Mehsud but the militant commander was not ready to accept the delegation’s views.

“I regret that one word I used against the chief minister … I crossed the limits but the context in which it was made should be understood. My purpose was to convey the plight of dalit women (who were raped) and the woman chief minister should have understood the context,” she told reporters coming out of the jail.

60-year-old Joshi, who was arrested and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody on Thursday in connection with the case against her under provisions of the IPC and SC/ST Act for her derogatory remarks against Mayawati, said her struggle on women’s issues would continue and was prepared to go to jail hundred times for it.

Moily is in charge of the Congress’ Andhra Pradesh affairs.

“Moily met Gandhi at around 11.30 a.m. Sunday. The party high command is closely watching the developments in the state party,” a senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh told IANS.

The priests were reportedly assaulted because they are Indian and are carrying on an 800-year-old tradition opposed by the Maoists. The assault by suspected Maoists left one of them with a black eye and the Indian government outraged.

India’s Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood lodged a strong protest with the Home Minister. He demanded and got more security for all the five Indian priests. The head priest has now been provided a personal security officer and a platoon of armed police deployed around the temple. Sood is expected to visit the Pashupatinath temple to assess the situation personally.

That is rich for a state that is battling drought. As many as 157 talukas in the state face a “drought-like” situation; there have been 2,000 child malnutrition deaths in tribal areas and 40 farmer suicides in the last three weeks. Newspapers report that the statue complex will have a revolving restaurant, viewing gallery, an auditorium, art galleries, food courts and green areas.

The state has sought Rs 11,000 crore form the Centre to fight drought across the state. Senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, editor of Marathi daily Loksatta, called the money being spent on the statue as wastage on “sheer civilizational glory”.

“We have conveyed this to them and let’s see what is their response,” he added. Qureshi said any credible information on terror threats available with India should be shared with Pakistan because the Prime Ministers of the two countries had decided during their meeting in Egypt last month that both sides “must cooperate with each other” to fight terrorism. “For such cooperation, we need to share information speedily and in time,” he said.

The Foreign Office yesterday conveyed to India’s acting Deputy High Commissioner that New Delhi should share any information it has about possible terror threats. “We have taken serious notice of (Singh’s comments) and we want to cooperate with India,” Qureshi said. Pakistan has condemned terrorism at all forums and wants peace and stability in the region and friendly relations with all neighbours, he added.

Indian officials and analysts said New Delhi was worried that the special representative was attempting to expand his brief as part of Washington’s policy to stabilise the region. There are also concerns that Pakistan wants a solution to its longstanding dispute with India over Kashmir as an element of any regional peace efforts. India rejects any such notion. Many Indian analysts and officials believe Washington is biased toward helping Pakistan — an old US ally and a key partner in stabilising Afghanistan — rather than India, which only in recent years moved closer to the United States.

“India is saying no mission creep will be allowed, no re-hyphenation with Pakistan would be allowed,” said Siddharth Varadarajan, strategic affairs editor of The Hindu newspaper. Holbrooke has said he is not trying to mediate between India and Pakistan and that his visits to India were only to update New Delhi on regional policy developments. “From that perspective India should be happy that it is being kept in the loop by the United States about what it is doing in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” said former Indian Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh. “The reflection of irritation in the official (Indian) circle (about Holbrooke’s visit) could be because his trips to India come tagged with engagements in Pakistan or Afghanistan.”

The deal collapsed in April when the Taliban advanced into neighboring districts, triggering a military offensive that prompted a spree of retaliatory attacks by militants in the northwest and beyond. Mian Iftikhar, information minister for the North West Frontier Province, said Muhammad was arrested for encouraging violence and terrorism.

‘Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists,’ Iftikhar said in a news conference, adding that the cleric’s stance ‘encouraged terrorism. It encouraged violence.’

“They are unable to get even clerical posts. It is easy to say things. How do we survive in the world?” the bench told the Karnataka government for its decision to impose Kannada language as a compulsory medium of instruction for Class I to IV. The apex court rejected the argument of senior counsel P P Rao appearing for the state who, quoting experts, claimed mother-tongue was essential to be imparted at an impressionable age for overall intellectual and cultural development of the child.

“Parents are ready to pay Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 for getting their children admitted in English medium schools. This is the real state of affairs. They do not want to send them to schools of their mother-tongue. It should be left to the parents,” the bench observed.

Joshi was arrested on Wednesday night in Ghaziabad for allegedly having made derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati at a public meeting in Moradabad. She was charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Just about the same time, her house in Lucknow was attacked and torched by a mob.

Created by Shakeup Media— the distance from the yellow cross to each dot represents the base bay of parlimentarians, expressed as a multiple of percapita GDP ($). The angle from the thick yellow line to each dot represents a so-called Good Governance Metric calculated by taking the average of The Democracy Index (DCI) published by the Economist, the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) and the Perception of Corruption Index (PCI) by NGO Transparency. The farther away from zero the angle, the lower the score and the worse the governance.

‘The party chief is meeting senior party leaders individually and a final decision on joining the UPA government is expected be known this (Sunday) evening,’ a DMK senior leader told IANS requesting anonymity.

‘Our demand was nine ministerial berths. The Congress may settle down for seven,’ the leader said, adding that first time parliamentarians may not be given cabinet rank but only Minister of State.