India won’t attend the proposed Saarc Summit in Pakistan and there will be no dialogue with Islamabad until it stops sponsoring terrorism, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Wednesday.

Sushma Swaraj made it clear that New Delhi will not participate in the Saarc summit and it was not responding to an invite from Pakistan for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the gathering of South Asian leaders.

“As I said, unless and until Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, there will be no dialogue and we will not participate in Saarc,” she told the media here.

Modi will be invited to Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammed Faisal said on Tuesday.

The Saarc Summit of 2016 which was to be held in Pakistan was cancelled after India boycotted the event, triggering a pullout by Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday that talks and terror cannot go together.

She said that although India welcomed the development of the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims, it would not have any dialogue with Islamabad till it stopped sponsoring terrorism.

“Bilateral dialogues and Kartarpur corridor are two different things. I am very happy that for the last 20 years, rather many years, the government of India has been asking for this Kartarpur corridor and for the first time Pakistan responded positively,” she said.

“But that doesn’t mean that bilateral dialogue will start… We always say terror and talks can’t go together. The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start. The dialogue is not connected with only Kartarpur corridor,” she added.

Sushma Swaraj said she could not attend Kartarpur ceremony because she was tied up with a visit to Telangana.

She refused to comment on Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s participation in the ceremony related to the corridor opening and referred to his statement that he was going there in his personal capacity.

The Minister said it was for the Punjab Chief Minister and Congress party to comment on Sidhu’s participation.

Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri are in Pakistan to attend the ceremony. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the ground breaking ceremony for the project near the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, where Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak Dev, spent the last 18 years of his life.

IANS

 Pitted against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion of Jhalrapatan, former Union Minister Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh is banking on Rajput “anger” and his father’s legacy to win the toughest electoral battle of his life.

A former Lok Sabha member and now an MLA from Sheo constituency in Barmer, he was nominated within a month of joining the Congress to fight Raje, a decision that surprised many — including the candidate himself.

“I wanted to contest the (2019) Lok Sabha polls but have been fielded by the party to contest the assembly polls. It is indeed a tough battle for the fact that I am new to Jhalrapatan while Raje has been winning the seat since 2003,” Singh, a colonel in the Territorial Army who saw action during the 1999 Kargil war, told IANS in an interview.

A small town in Jhalawar district, Jhalrapatan is among the most keenly-watched seats where the contest is as much personal as political.

Besides Muslims and Dalits, who form the bulk of voters in Jhalrapatan, the Congress by fielding Singh, is eyeing the sizable Rajput electorate which has traditionally voted for the BJP but has been increasingly growing disenchanted with the ruling party.

The Rajput discontent against Raje stems from the denial in 2014 of a ticket to BJP stalwart Jaswant Singh — a former foreign, finance and defence minister, party vice president and a close confidante of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee — to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Barmer, his home district. The BJP had then fielded Congress turncoat and Jat leader Sonaram Chaudhary, who won the seat.

Jaswant Singh, 80, who lost contesting as an independent in the 2014, has virtually faded into political oblivion after a stroke after a fall.

The Singh family holds Raje responsible for denying Jaswant Singh a ticket in 2014 and by defeating the Chief Minister, it is hoping to “avenge the insult and humiliation” of the Rajputs by the BJP.

Even though he insists the “battle of Jhalrapatan” is a political fight between the Congress and the BJP, Singh, he, nonetheless, says it is “Rajput pride” — which made him quit the BJP and embrace the Congress — that is at stake.

“We have been consistently targeted by Raje and the BJP. My joining the Congress was not a personal decision but of the people of not only of Jhalrapatan but entire Rajasthan who are angry over the nature and culture of governance, years of misrule and humiliation,” he said.

Singh had in September announced quitting the BJP during a “swabhiman” (self-respect) rally in Barmer, where he had said “Kamal Ka Phool, Hamaari Bhool” (choosing the BJP symbol lotus was our mistake).

While conceding it was an “unequal contest”, Singh said it was also a battle against “favouritism and vindictiveness” and his weapons were the people’s anger against BJP, and his father’s legacy.

“No doubt it is an unequal battle, but sentiments of the people are equally important. It is a battle against years of vindictiveness, of humiliation. It is the anger against years of neglect and corruption — also, my father’s legacy — which will bring Raje’s downfall,” said Singh, asserting that Congress coming to power in the state was a forgone conclusion.

Over 600 km from his family turf Barmer, Singh, accompanied by his wife Chitra, has been actively campaigning in his constituency against Raje’s “incompetent and corrupt” government. Going from door to door, he has been trying to convince the voters about his “honest politics” as against the all-pervasive corruption of the Raje government.

The Congress campaign also revolves around stoking the anger of Rajputs who are deeply anguished at the Raje government over the killing of gangster Anandpal Singh in a police gunfight in 2017.

Alleging it to be staged, Rajput bodies like the Rajput Karni Sena and Shri Rajput Sabha had staged multiple demonstrations demanding a CBI probe.

The Rajputs are also miffed over Raje preventing Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from becoming the Rajasthan BJP chief. Currently, Rajya Sabha member and OBC leader Madanlal Saini is the state party chief.

Jhalrapatan, along with 199 other constituencies, goes to polls on December 7 to elect a new assembly.

The results of the Rajasthan Assembly, along with that of Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, will be declared on December 11.

The current round of Assembly polls is being perceived a “semi-final” before the country plunges into the 2019 Lok Sabha battle.

IANS

 The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday confirmed the killing of LeT commander Naveed Jatt, who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, in Badgam district and called the Pakistani’s elimination “good news”.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said: “Yes, we have ground confirmation that one of the two terrorists killed in the Badgam encounter was Naveed Jatt.”

Naveed Jatt alias Abu Hanzullah was the most wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander in Kashmir. He was wanted for the murder of “Rising Kashmir” Editor Bukhari in Srinagar on June 14.

Bukhari was killed by militants along with two of his security guards. Police believe Naveed Jatt was among the three militants who carried out the crime.

Belonging to Multan in Pakistan, Naveed Jatt had escaped from police custody on February 6 when he was taken for a medical check-up from the Srinagar Central Jail to S.M.H.S. Hospital in the city.

Two policemen were killed during Jatt’s escape from the hospital.

Dilbag Singh told the media: “More than two dozen militants have been killed in the last one week. They would lift boys and force them to join militancy. They would also torture them.

“Their elimination is good news for the peace-loving people.

“For the last two months, no new youth has joined militancy in the Valley. That is a welcome development.”

The police chief said that security forces do their best to ensure that civilians were not harmed during anti-militancy operations.

“Stone pelting incidents have come down. Lesser the number of militants, better for the people. Youths should desist from going to encounter sites.

“The militant outfits are unable to recruit more youths. With fresh infiltration, sometimes the number of militants operating here goes up,” he said.

The killing of Naveed Jatt is seen as a major success for the security forces.

Naveed Jatt was operating in south and central Kashmir. Intelligence agencies believe he was playing a major role in trying to woo youths towards militancy.

IANS

TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao’s granddaughter N. Venkata Suhasini, who is contesting the Telangana Assembly election from Kukatpally constituency in Greater Hyderabad, is banking on her lineage.

The presence of Suhasini in the electoral fray in Telangana is significant as the top leadership of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) moved to Andhra Pradesh following the bifurcation of the undivided state.

TDP has fielded Suhasini, daughter of former Minister N. Harikrishna, who died in a road accident this year.

Suhasini, 43, is a social activist and is banking on her lineage to win the election from this prestigious constituency, which has considerable a number of voters with their roots in Andhra Pradesh.

However, the family of the late actor-turned-politician NTR stands divided in the campaigning.

Suhasini’s aunt and Union Minister N. Purandeswari hit the campaign trail in Kukatpally not for her niece but for M. Kantha Rao, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Purandeswari, daughter of NTR, was a Minister in the UPA government but she quit the Congress party and joined the BJP after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP, which is part of opposition grand alliance led by the Congress, is contesting 13 seats in the December 7 election to the 119-member Telangana Assembly.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to campaign for Suhasini. Naidu is the son-in-law of NTR.

Paritala Sunita, a Minister in Naidu’s cabinet, was in the constituency to conduct road shows in support of Suhasini.

NTR’s actor son and TDP legislator N. Balakrishna has already announced that he will campaign for his niece. Suhasini’s brothers and popular actors Junior NTR and Kalyan Ram are also likely to address meetings in her support.

Suhasini’s cousin Taraka Ratna, also an actor, is campaigning for her.

Telangana’s ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has fielded M. Krishna Rao, who won the 2014 elections from here on TDP ticket but later joined the ruling party. Interestingly, Krishna Rao’s brother Kantha Rao is the BJP candidate.

Kukatpally is like a mini-India with people belonging to various states and communities settled here. About 60 percent of the people have their roots in Andhra Pradesh.

The YSR Congress Party, which is the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, is not contesting the polls in Telangana. However, the party has declared its support to the TRS in Kukatpally.

As TDP is contesting the election in alliance with the Congress, the former hopes that the transfer of Congress votes will brighten Suhasini’s prospects.

In 2014, the TDP had bagged the seat with a margin of nearly over 43,000 votes. However, the equations have changed in the constituency with the deletion of 1.31 lakh voters after verification by the election authorities. The constituency now has 3.30 lakh voters.

IANS

Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri on Wednesday crossed over to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah joint check post between India and her neighbour for the Kartarpur Corridor ceremony, and termed it a “historic step”.

Both Ministers will represent India when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will later perform the ground breaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor project near the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, where Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak Dev, spent the last 18 years of his life.

“I am going there to offer prayers to the first Guru at a place where he spent the last days of his life.

“I have not been invited by anyone but I am going there as a Sikh,” a visibly emotional Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Badal told the media here some 30 km from Amritsar as she crossed over to Pakistan.

“This is a historic occasion. The Kartarpur Corridor has been a long-pending demand of the Sikh community. I am privileged to be going there to offer prayers.

“This is a significant measure among the several measures announced by the Government of India last week in connection with the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

“I am a proud Sikh to be going there,” Union Minister of State Puri said, adding that the corridor should have been opened much earlier.

Though Puri said that the Corridor was an important step in the relations between both countries, he added that he would not “jump the gun” in the “euphoria” over the development.

The corridor will give access to pilgrims from India, especially from the Sikh community, to visit the gurdwara which has a significant place in Sikh religious history.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Monday laid the foundation stone of a road, from Dera Baba Nanak town in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, which will connect the Kartarpur Corridor.

Amritsar Member of Parliament (MP) Gurjeet Singh Aujla crossed over to Pakistan from Attari on Tuesday for the ceremony. He carried holy water from the ‘sarovar’ (pond) at the Golden Temple complex.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Gobind Singh Langowal is also in Pakistan for the event.

Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said the Kartarpur Corridor had the potential to erase enmity between the two nations and bring peace in the subcontinent.

Sidhu heaped praises on his “friend”, the Pakistan Prime Minister, for ensuring that the corridor became a reality.

“The Kartarpur Corridor will prove to be a path of peace. It will erase enmity between both countries,” Sidhu told media in Wagah in Pakistan.

Sidhu strongly batted for people-to-people and cricketing ties between India and Pakistan despite both the nuclear-armed neighbours who have gone to war earlier having increased tensions in recent years over Pakistan’s support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India.

The cricketer-turned-politician tried to steer clear of controversy over his visiting Pakistan despite strained relations between both countries and Indian soldiers being killed in firing from Pakistan side.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh turned down an invite from the Pakistan government to be part of the ceremony.

He said that the Pakistan Army was killing Indian soldiers and supporting terrorist elements fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Amarinder said he had asked Sidhu to “reconsider” his decision.

“I had asked Sidhu to reconsider his decision to go to Pakistan for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor, but had acceded to his (Sidhu’s) request for permission to go since I did not believe in stopping anyone from undertaking a personal visit,” Amarinder told media on Tuesday.

“Sidhu told me he had already committed himself. When I informed him of the stand I had taken, he said it was his personal visit but he would get back to me. But I did not hear from him,” said the Chief Minister.

Amarinder Singh said the minister sent him a request for going and he cleared it.

“I do not stop anyone from going anywhere on a private visit. It (Sidhu’s trip) is not an official visit,” the Chief Minister said.

Sidhu, who arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday, had on Monday defended his decision to go to Pakistan saying he had the “Chief Minister’s permission.

“Standing by his own decision to decline Pakistan’s invitation for the ceremony, Amarinder Singh said he believed in saying what he felt.

“I have strong feelings on the issue. I have a strong bond with the Indian Army and cannot stand seeing my people getting killed,” he said.

It was at the Kartarpur gurdwara, which is located around two-to-three kilometre from the India-Pakistan international border and is situated right opposite the border belt in Dera Baba Nanak in Indian’s Gurdaspur district in Punjab, that Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life till he died in 1539.

The gurdwara, which fell in Pakistan territory following the Partition of India in August 1947, has big significance in Sikhism and history.

For the past over 71 years, ever since Partition, Sikhs have been offering prayers near the international border while seeing the gurdwara from a distance.

IANS

A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Naveed Jatt, who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Badgam district, police sources said.

Although an official confirmation was still awaited, the sources said that Jatt, alias Abu Hanzullah, was among the two militants killed in the gunfight that broke out earlier in the day during a cordon and search operation in Kuthpora village.

A Pakistani national belonging to Multan, Jatt, had escaped from police custody on February 6, when he was being taken for a medical check-up to a hospital from the Srinagar Central Jail.

Two policeman were also killed during Jatt’s escape from the S.M.H.S. hospital here.

Jatt was among the top LeT militants wanted by the security forces.

He is believed to be involved in the murder of Bukhari, the then Editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir, an English daily.

Bukhari was gunned down along with two of his guards in the Press Enclave area in the city on June 14.

The killing of Jatt is seen as a big success for the security forces in their anti-militancy operations.

IANS