Posts Tagged ‘india’

Rugby: Pakistan trains for clash with India

Rugby is a budding sport in Pakistan, which competes internationally at a regional level. At the end of the month the team are off to Kuala Lumpur for an Asian Division III event, kicking off their campaign against India.

Pakistan’s new rugby coach Justin Fitzpatrick said his players had the passion to rise quickly in the game as the team prepares to take on arch-rivals India in a regional competition. -Photos by AFP

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Via DAWN.com

Jamshed ruled out of Sri Lanka tour

Nasir Jamshed. -Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan’s opener Nasir Jamshed has been ruled out of the squad for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka due to an injury.

Jamshed reportedly injured his left hand’s index figure during a club match, which has ruled him out of the squad for around four weeks.

The left-handed batsman returned to the national side for the Asia Cup after an absence of three years and put up an impressive performance during the tournament, scoring a century against India.

More to follow.

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Homecoming: After 20 years, Dr Chishty finally crosses border

After twenty years of incarceration in Rajasthan’s Ajmer Jail, Dr Chishty arrived in Pakistan from India late Tuesday night. The 82-year-old virologist was brought back in a special plane sent by President Asif Ali Zardari.

While not completely free, Dr Chishty will remain in Pakistan until his November 1, 2012 hearing in the Indian Supreme Court. He was welcomed at the airport by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Port and Shipping Minister Babar Ghauri at 11:25pm, from where he was driven in a Mercedes car to the President House with official protocol. Local Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders and activists showered rose petals on him.

President Zardari had discussed Dr Chishty’s case with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to Ajmer.

Chishty was recently released from Ajmer Jail after being sentenced to a life imprisonment term in a murder case. The Indian SC granted bail on April 9 to the virologist and allowed him to visit Pakistan for a temporary stay on May 10.

“I am happy that I am going to my homeland to meet my family and friends. I would like to offer a thanksgiving prayer as soon as I reach the airport and then I will go to my home,” he told reporters at Jaipur railway station.

In Karachi, his family was seen waiting for his arrival, anxious and excited in a house decorated with lights in celebration. While talking to a private news channel, his daughter, Farah, said “It is a miracle. We have been waiting since morning for his return and now we will spend the whole night waiting for his arrival tomorrow. We have made his favourite food.” His grandchildren, several of whom he has never seen, appeared just as eager to meet their grandfather.

A special leave petition against Dr Chishty’s conviction is pending in the Indian Supreme Court while a clemency petition is pending before the Rajasthan governor.

The octogenarian was visiting his ailing mother in Ajmer in 1992 when he got embroiled into a family feud that led to the death of one of his relatives. He has been in Ajmer since, incarcerated at his ancestral home for eighteen years before being jailed following his conviction in January last year.

The teary-eyed Pakistani added that he would also go to Lahore to meet Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national facing a death sentence on charges of involvement in bomb blasts in Pakistan. Sarabjit has been languishing in prison in Lahore for the last 22 years. Diplomatic efforts are on to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Dr Chishty completed his PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1968 in Public Health Virology. “Inasmuch as we have posted the appeal for final disposal on 20th November, 2012, we permit him to visit his country, namely, Pakistan and return back to India positively by 1st November, 2012. As soon as he reaches his native country he has to surrender his passport with the Indian High Commission, Islamabad,” the Indian SC said in its verdict on the case.

Talking to media earlier on Tuesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said President Zardari played a pivotal role in the release of Dr Chishty during his recent visit to India. “President Zardari has been very kind to send his plane to New Delhi on the request of the Indian government to bring back Dr Chishty home,” he emphasised. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN KARACHI)

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2012.

SECP elected to IOSCO Board

ISLAMABAD May 15: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has been elected to the International Organisa-tion of Securities Comm-issions (IOSCO) Board.

This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that a regulatory body has been elected to a decision making board at an international forum. The elections were held at the IOSCO Annual Conference in Beijing, Tuesday, which is an international standard setter in the field of securities regulation has a membership base from 115 countries covering more than 95 percent of the world’s capital markets.

In order to effectively implement international securities regulatory principles, IOSCO has implemented the New Strategic Direction to strengthen its role in the international financial community and align its strategic direction with the evolving financial regulatory landscape.

Under this Strategic Direction IOSCO has eliminated the distinction between developed and emerging markets jurisdictions in its three key functions; policy & standard setting, market development and coordination & outreach.

The IOSCO Board apart from the SECP comprises of approximately 30 securities regulators from jurisdictions including members of the IOSCO Technical Committee; (United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, China, Canada, Italy, Australia, India, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland).

In a statement the SECP has said that its election to IOSCO Board brings more balance and diversity to the IOSCO Board, enabling it to act as a representative and voice of the developing capital markets.

The SECP’s endeavor to form part of the IOSCO Board was supported by a host of jurisdictions including Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore to name a few.

The SECP will now form an integral part of IOSCO’s Board responsible for taking all decisions and undertaking all actions necessary or convenient to achieve the objectives of the organisation.

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Via DAWN.com

Dr Chishti arrives from India

ISLAMABAD, May 15: After spending 20 years in an Indian jail in a murder case, Pakistani scientist Dr Khalil Chishti returned to the country on Tuesday.

Dr Chishti was sentenced for life on Jan 31 last year by a trial court for a murder that took place in Ajmer in 1992.

He landed at Benazir International Airport at 11:30pm amid unruly scenes brought on by mismanagement on the part of Interior Minister Rehman Malik and misbehaviour by PPP workers.Clad in a beige safari suit and wearing a Jinnah cap, Dr Chishti looked haggard and weak.

He came out of the airport in a wheelchair and spoke to newsmen in a very low voice.

The 85-year-old microbiologist will join his family in Karachi on Wednesday. Before leaving for Karachi, he will meet President Asif Ali Zardari at the presidency.

He was taken straight to Marriott Hotel from the airport by the interior minister to spend a night there.

There was a perception that he was first taken to Islamabad, instead of Karachi, so that the government and the president could claim credit for his release.

However, the interior minister told newsmen that “it was Dr Chishti’s desire to first arrive in Islamabad so that he can thank the president”.

President Zardari had sent a special plane to bring Dr Chishti from New Delhi.

Dr Chishti said he had no words to express gratitude to the nation and the government. “After 20 years of imprisonment, I had lost hopes for a return to my country, but today I have no words how to express my feelings,” he said.

He said he was also thankful to the Indian government for allowing him to meet his family even though his case was still pending before the Indian Supreme Court. “I want to celebrate these happy moments in the twilight of my life with my family,” he said.

The scientist said he was implicated in a fake case because he had nothing to do with the murder.

The Indian Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Dr Chishti during the pendency of his appeal against a Rajasthan High Court order upholding his conviction.

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Bangladesh bans novel about Mujib murder

DHAKA, May 15: Bangladesh on Tuesday banned a novel by popular fiction writer Humayun Ahmed for allegedly distorting how the nation’s first president and his family were murdered in 1975.

Humayun Ahmed’s books, written in Bengali, are hugely successful bestsellers in Bangladesh and have been translated into English, Japanese, Russian and several other languages.

Two chapters of his latest novel ‘Deyal’ were published in a newspaper last week, sparking controversy over his account of how Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with more than a dozen members of his family in August 1975.

The high court stepped in after the attorney general sought a ban on the book, arguing that it “misrepresented established fact” about the grisly massacre by not fully conveying the brutality of the killings.

Mujibur Rahman’s daughter, Sheikh Hasina, who was in India at the time of the murders, is currently the prime minister and a stout defender of his memory.

A suggestion in Ahmed’s novel that Sheikh Russel, Mujibur Rahman’s 10-year-old son, was shot dead at point-blank range when he was in a room with his two sisters-in-law is one passage that angered officials.

“It was a brutal scene, but it was not depicted properly in the novel,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters.—AFP

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Touching scenes as Dr Chishti arrives home

ISLAMABAD – Dr Khalil Chishti has reached Pakistan after spending 20 years in an Indian jail.
Chishti is an 80-year-old Pakistani virologist who spent at least 20 years at a prison in Ajmer, India. 
The Indian Supreme Court had permitted Dr Chishti to visit Pakistan during the pendency of his appeal against his conviction in a murder case and life imprisonment.
“I am happy that I …

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Comparing economic situation with India!

The macroeconomic backdrop against which this year’s financial budget will be presented tends to be – continued slowdown in real GDP growth (under 3 percent against the government’s last year’s assertion to achieve closer to 4.50 percent); widening fiscal deficit that by some estimates, if not camouflaged, can be up to 8 percent or even more; a ballooning current account deficit …

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Homecoming: Dr Khalil Chishty to arrive in Pakistan today

NEW DELHI: Dr Khalil Chishty’s journey back home has begun.

The octogenarian Pakistani virologist arrived in Delhi from Ajmer – where he spent 20 years in incarceration – via Jaipur and will, in the next few hours, be flying back to Karachi.

An Indian Supreme Court order in April this year and a consequent order from the same court last week have facilitated Dr Chishty’s journey to meet his family members in Pakistan. He will have to report back on November 1.

For Dr Chishty – who was sentenced to life imprisonment on January 31, 2011 after a protracted trial for his alleged involvement in a murder in 1992 – this is the first time in two decades that he crossed the Rajasthan border.

Local newspapers described the grief of the situation as he left the state in which he had been incarcerated for two decades.

Dr Chisty told the media: “I am thankful to you all. You all have been very kind.”

His brother Jameel Chishty was travelling with him while his son Tariq joined him Delhi.

“First, I will go to a mosque to thank the Almighty. Then I will meet my dear ones at home,” Dr Chishty said when asked what he would first do when he is home. When asked about the chances of clemency, he said, “I have faith in the goodness of the people and fairness of the judiciary here.”

Speaking to the media in Ajmer, Dr Chishty was confident that he would be forgiven. “I am innocent. I will be happier if I am pardoned,” he said.

A Special Leave Petition against his conviction is pending in the Indian Supreme Court while a clemency petition is pending before the Rajasthan Governor.

President Zardari’s plane leaves for India to bring Chishty home

Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced on Tuesday that a plane, provided by President Asif Ali Zardari, has left for India to bring Dr Chishty to Pakistan.

Speaking to the media, Malik said, “President Zardari has been very kind, he has given his plane to carry Dr Chishty back home.”

He also said that President Zardari had discussed Dr Chishty’s case with the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, during his visit to Ajmer Sharif.

India state to probe corruption in low-caste parks

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In this Jan. 10, 2012 file photo, Indian workers cover elephant statues, the party symbol of former Uttar Pradesh state chief minister Mayawati, at Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow, India. The new government in Uttar Pradesh state is investigating millions it says were misappropriated by Mayawati’s government as it built the statues and monuments. -AP Photo

LUCKNOW: The parks filled with statues were heralded as a celebration of India’s lowest caste. Authorities in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh are now investigating whether the billion-dollar project was an elaborate plot to swindle state funds.

India has been rocked in recent years by corruption scandals involving government contracts for everything from mining rights to the sale of cellphone spectrum.

However, none threatens to deliver the same symbolic blow as Uttar Pradesh’s planned investigation into parks honoring the contribution of dalits, the lowest Hindu caste, to the nation, including the father of the constitution, B.R. Ambedkar.

The new state government is investigating millions of dollars it says were misappropriated by former Chief Minister Mayawati’s administration as it built the statues and monuments.

”We said during election time that a large-scale scam has been committed,” new Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said Tuesday, adding that several people, including former ministers, are likely to be investigated.

He suggested hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted in planting trees that were later uprooted, building and tearing down structures repeatedly, and inflating contract prices. It was not immediately clear how much of the project’s estimated $1.8 billion budget may have been misspent.

Mayawati’s party has not responded to requests from journalists for comment. The park project of Mayawati, herself a dalit, has been a magnet for criticism in one of India’s poorest states, where tens of millions suffer from malnutrition and many still die from treatable diseases such as cholera and diarrhea.

Though she spent more on parks than on medical supplies, Mayawati, who uses one name, has insisted the sprawling pavilions brought a long-overdue sense of pride to the dalit community.

The five concrete-paved parks are filled with statues of famous dalits, formerly called ”untouchables,” who rose to power and prominence. They include Mayawati and the late founder of her dalit-based party.

Dozens of larger-than-life statues of elephants, her party’s symbol, also adorn the parks. Police are investigating how Mayawati’s administration paid about $15 million for 130 stone elephant statues, or more than $115,000 each, while the artisans were promised only one-tenth that price.

”The actual cost should have been much less,” said Ram Bahadur Yadav, an official in Uttar Pradesh’s new government.

One Agra-based artisan told police he carved 11 statues for $9,800 each, but more than a year after delivering them still has only been paid a quarter of that, police deputy inspector general Ashutosh Pandey said.

Akhilesh Yadav also said money was misappropriated when buildings and walls were constructed, destroyed and then rebuilt repeatedly in the parks. Palm and date trees were planted only to be uprooted and thrown away. Many contract prices were inflated, he said.

Separately, police also recently arrested 11 people after a federal audit showed $1 billion in state rural health funds had been misappropriated.

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Be patient, Gibson tells Windies

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“The one message I’ve given to them, early season in England the only skill you really need to have is the skill of patience. You put the ball in the right area often enough in England at this time of year you will get some reward.” -Photo by AP

LONDON: West Indies coach Ottis Gibson was increasingly confident Tuesday the tourists would have a full squad to select from for the first Test against England at Lord’s starting here on Thursday.

Concerns have been raised about the fitness of fast bowlers Kemar Roach, who twisted his ankle in last week’s final warm-up match, a 10-wicket defeat by the England Lions at Northampton, Ravi Rampaul (neck) and Fidel Edwards (back).

But former West Indies seamer Gibson was confident the trio would all be fit for the first of a three-Test series.

“Everybody pulled up okay today,” Gibson said at Lord’s on Tuesday.

“Kemar twisted his ankle at Northants, he’s been treated twice a day for the last couple of days. He had a little bowl today (Tuesday), bowled about six overs, pretty controlled, no complaints so at this stage he’s doing okay.

“Ravi was just a twisted neck from sleeping badly or just staying up too late watching TV or playing playstation! He’s fine and Fidel is fine also. Everything looks all set for Thursday.”

Gibson said the fact West Indies captain Darren Sammy, a medium-pace bowling all-rounder, had not sent down a competitive delivery this tour was of no great concern to him.

“The captain bowled a lot of balls in the last series (at home to Australia) as did Kemar and the decision was made to give him a break. We are pretty clear what we are going to get from him.”

Gibson, a former England bowling coach who played for several English counties, said he had a simple message for his attack.

“The one message I’ve given to them, early season in England the only skill you really need to have is the skill of patience. You put the ball in the right area often enough in England at this time of year you will get some reward.

“It’s just being patient and letting the ball do the work for you, rather than thinking you have to bowl magic balls.”

West Indies were dismissed for just 147 in their first innings against the Lions but a side with a fledgling top order — experienced opener Chris Gayle is currently playing in the Indian Premier League and only recently ended his stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board — made 390 second time around.

“They (the top order) were a little bit disappointed after the first innings and I had to step in and say ‘you shouldn’t be disappointed’ because if we’d bowled first, in those conditions on the first day I believe we would have bowled them (the England Lions) out for a similar score,” said Gibson.

“In the second innings, Kieran Powell played very well and got a hundred.

“Darren Bravo, who’d been playing well for us for the last year-and-a-half, he got two half centuries.

“The second innings was more like what we know we can do.”

West Indies have won just two out of 30 Tests since beating England in Jamaica in 2009 but Shivnarine Chanderpaul is officially rated the world’s best Test batsman.

However, the experienced left-hander generally bats no higher than number five and it has been suggested he move up to bolster a faltering West Indies top order.

“It’s something we’ve thought about,” said Gibson.

“Our batting revolves around Shiv, he’s very comfortable in the position he’s in at the moment and he’s doing a good job for us.

“We’ve decided to leave it as it is at the moment but it’s something we haven’t completely ruled out.”

And Gibson insisted Chanderpaul would have no qualms about such a move.

“If it was a team decision, then I am sure he will be very happy with it.”

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Targets, not drones, draw ire from Pakistan: Weinbaum

Dr Marvin G. Weinbaum – Photo by Malik Siraj Akbar

Pakistan’s relationship with the United States was hit hard in 2011, owing to various factors, prime amongst which were the May 2 raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad and the attack on Pakistani armed forces’ check-post in Salala in November.

Both countries have been unable to undo the damage and Pakistani parliament’s review of relations has not deterred Washington from continuing drone strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas.

To assess the state of US-Pakistan relations, Dawn.com spoke exclusively to Professor Dr ,Marvin G. Weinbaum,, Director of the Pakistan Center at the ,Middle East Institute ,in Washington DC.  He is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From 1999 to 2003, he served at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research as an analyst for Pakistan and Afghanistan.  

What has been the response in Washington to the parliamentary review of Pakistan’s relations with the United States?

It was interesting to see the Pakistani parliament debate the issue. Normally, the military in Pakistan decides the foreign policy. One wonders if the parliament was competent to examine the foreign policy vis-à-vis the United States.

Washington wants the reopening of supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan, while the bottom line for Pakistan has been to stop the drone strikes. Drones are one area where the US is most reluctant to give up.

It is believed in Washington that Pakistani officials secretly endorse drone operations but publicly denounce them. Which of these statements is true?

Everyone realises that one could not have conducted the operations over the years without some cooperation from the Pakistani military authorities. The dispute between the two armed forces has been the issue of who to target. Pakistan does not mind if the US targets Al Qaeda. The raid on the Bin Laden compound was the only exception. Likewise, Pakistan does not mind if the drones strike on Hakeemullah Mehsud’s people. Pakistan seems to have problems when the Americans go behind the Haqqani Network or the Quetta Shura. The cause for friction between the two countries on drones is over the issue of the targets.

What is going to be the impact of the bounty announced by the US government on Jammat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed?

The US has been watching the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the context of the rise of the Pakistan Defence Council (PDC).  The PDC has become much visible and the Pakistani civil and military authorities have done nothing to stop it. The objectives of the LeT are aimed at the South Asian region as well as American interests and beyond. The bounty could have been announced one or two years ago but it has come now as a mark of American frustration with Pakistan in the wake of the stoppage of the supply lines, the parliamentary debate and, most importantly, how  groups like the LeT and even the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have been given a free hand to operate.

What do you think are going to be the major transitional challenges in Afghanistan in 2014?  

There are going to be different transitions and different challenges. For example, the security transition looks into the matter of transferring authority to the Afghan security forces, finances, competence of Afghan forces and their loyalties.

Afghanistan will also go through political transition as there is going to be a change in political leadership of the country. If the Afghans can’t negotiate among themselves ahead of 2014, the Taliban are likely to take advantage of this and attain military gains which will eventually lead to a civil war. There is a need to sufficiently stabilise the security forces to avoid a civil war.

The third transition is going to be economic. Most of the economic growth in Afghanistan in the past one decade took place by the virtue of the money that came because of the military’s presence there. Recently, there has been a sharp decline in military assistance. The challenge is how the Afghan economy is going to make an adjustment with where it is today and what it would look like by 2015.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Pakistan was left alone by the United States and even isolated due to its nuclear program. Now, it seems the US won’t be there to help Pakistan grapple with the post-2014 challenges, such as the Pakistani Taliban, because Washington is still annoyed with Islamabad over Bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. So, what do you think is going to happen to Pakistan?

In 1990s, there was no insurgency in Pakistan but now it has to calculate what the events in Afghanistan will lead to inside its territory. I do not think that the Pakistani government, or even the military, wants a complete Taliban victory in Afghanistan. They don’t want to see a civil war in Afghanistan which would place Pakistan on the other side of the military influence of Iran, Russia and India. Taliban rule could lead to further isolation for Pakistan and could also lead to the rise of an uncontrollable Taliban in Pakistan.

What is the future of the Pakistani Taliban?

The Afghan Taliban, if they come into power, would like to realign themselves with the Pakistani Taliban. At this time, their top priority is to get into power in Afghanistan because of which one does not see a lot of realignment between the two. But once the Taliban in Afghanistan achieve their goals, they would want the Sharia law for Islamabad as much as they want it for Kabul.

Pakistan wants to be instrumental in bringing a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. They do not want to run Afghanistan but want to make sure that they have their elements there who will take care of Pakistan’s needs. This means, Pakistan would like to offer the Afghans so much domestic influence that they should be able to keep the Indians from getting too much of a foothold in Afghanistan.

What was the impact of Pakistan’s boycott of the Bonn Conference?

I think Pakistan’s boycott was emotional. It made no sense. Pakistan wants to be at the table whenever anything regarding Afghanistan is being discussed. The reason its absence did not matter much is because nothing significant happened in Bonn. Some speeches were made but nothing substantial took place there.

What do you think we should expect from Nato’s upcoming Summit in Chicago?

Some tough decisions, such as the pace of withdrawal, have to be made at the Chicago Summit. Presumably, some bilateral strategic agreements are going to be signed. This is, therefore, an event of important interest for Pakistan.

Would you agree that Pakistan was not consulted while opening an office for the Taliban in Qatar or initiating the reconciliation process?

Pakistan has never objected to the Taliban setting up an office in Qatar. Pakistan was on board on that notion from the very beginning. That is why it never complained about it. For instance, when Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Bradar was secretly talking to the Americans, the Pakistanis immediately locked him up. The problem with Pakistan’s strategy is that Islamabad can’t make the Taliban deliver what it wants them to do. It is naïve to expect the Afghan Taliban to accept Hamid Karzai as a part of the political set-up or form a political party of  their own to become a part of the electoral system.

Do you see a future relationship between the United States and Pakistan after 2014?

Both the countries can ill-afford a complete separation. They will struggle to find those areas of common interest that serve their purpose. There should be no illusions that it is going to be a broad-based strategic partnership. It is going to be a narrowly construed and transactional arrangement.

Why can’t the two countries have a successful strategic partnership?  

The military and the elements in the government are willing to develop a strategic partnership but the public opinion prevents it from happening. Political forces in Pakistan do not want a resolution of tensions between the two countries. Despite controlling the country’s foreign policy, the military in Pakistan involved the public and the media in key debates concerning the relations with the United States as was seen in the Raymond Davis affair. The Bin Laden raid and the killing of soldiers last November has created a set of expectations among the public which serves as the limiting factor for the policymakers.

Pakistanis complain that the United States comes up with a new set of demands every time. When should one expect an end to future pressures on Pakistan to ‘do more’?

I do not think that the US comes up with new demands all the time. We only keep repeating the old ones. The only new demand has come in the case of Hafiz Saeed.

Some sections of opinion in Pakistan believe that the United States is eying their nuclear program and would eventually take away the country’s nukes.

That is nonsense. Anything that weakens the government in Pakistan should be treated contrary to the US interests. The US needs a predictable partner. A partner that is distracted from issues cannot be an interlocutor in any kind of negotiations. If the US has to worry about Pakistan’s nuclear program, it would be for the fear of a break up within the Pakistani military. Does the US worry about it? Yes, it does. The US does not expect the imminent break up of the country but the consequences are catastrophic if junior officers (with support to Jihadi elements) turn on the senior officers causing a serious command-and-control challenge. Fortunately, we are not there at this point. It is not in the interest of the US or even India to deliberately weaken the Pakistani government or the military.

,Malik Siraj Akbar, is a ,Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, at the ,National Endowment for Democracy ,(NED), Washington DC. The contents of this interview do not reflect the policy of NED.

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Via DAWN.com

US “not impressed” with India’s efforts to cut Iran oil buys: envoy

Ambassador Carlos Pascual, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs for the US Department of State. — Photo by Reuters

NEW DELHI: The United States is not impressed with India’s efforts to cut its oil imports from Iran, a top US diplomat said on Tuesday, throwing into doubt whether New Delhi would be given a waiver from US financial sanctions before a June deadline.

As a major buyer of Iranian crude, India is crucial to US efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy until it agrees to curb its nuclear program, which the United States and other Western nations suspect is a cover to build atomic weapons.

The issue has become an irritant in ties between India and the United States.

Carlos Pascual, the US special envoy who has been negotiating with Iranian oil importers to cut their imports, met Indian foreign ministry officials on Tuesday.

“We are not too impressed today,” Pascual said when asked by Reuters how likely India was to get a waiver. Pascual was speaking before meeting the foreign ministry officials.

“We’re really going to talk about the broad developments of global energy. How we work together on these issues. It’s a great relationship,” he said.

The United States in March granted exemptions to Japan and 10 European Union nations. India and China, Iran’s biggest crude importer, remain at risk.

Washington has held up Japan as an example, saying it had cut imports despite having suffered an earthquake and tsunami that crippled its Fukushima nuclear reactor.

Japan cut volumes by almost 80 per cent in April compared with the first two months of 2012. The cuts, amounting to 250,000 barrels per day, are the steepest yet by the four Asian nations that buy most of Iran’s 2.2 million bpd of exports.

India’s crude oil imports from Iran declined by about 34 per cent in April compared with March, tanker discharge data showed last week.

Washington has not stated specifically what cuts it expects from each country, only that they must be substantial.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaned on India last week to cut its imports of Iranian oil further, and said Washington may not make a decision on whether to exempt New Delhi from financial sanctions for another two months.

Clinton, who was on a visit to India, said the United States was encouraged by the steps its ally had taken to reduce its reliance on Iranian oil, but that “even more” was needed.

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Reserve Bank of India ‘intervenes’ as rupee slides

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Reserve Bank of India’s logo.—Reuters Photo

MUMBAI: India’s central bank likely intervened in foreign exchange markets on Tuesday after the rupee breached the key 54 level against the dollar, nearly hitting its lifetime low, dealers said.

India’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is suspected to have started selling dollars after the rupee hit an intra-day low of 54.13 against the dollar in early trade, the lowest level since December 15, when it hit a record low of 54.3.

“We suspect that the RBI intervened in early trade today to aid the currency,” an analyst with a state-run bank said, declining to be named.

After the intervention, the rupee strengthened to 53.67 levels.

The currency has been hurt by escalating fears over eurozone debt crisis, flagging domestic indicators, slowing overseas funds inflows and pressure from oil importers, who must exchange rupees for dollars when they buy crude.

Energy-poor India imports four-fifths of its crude oil needs.

The unit was also weakened on Monday by data showing annual inflation unexpectedly accelerated in April to over seven per cent, reducing chances of swift interest rate cuts to boost slowing economic growth.

Traders say the central bank appears to have intervened to sell dollars more than a dozen times this year in a bid to curb the Indian currency’s fall.

The bank has a policy of not commenting on its actions in the forex market.

The rupee was Asia’s worst performing currency in 2011, losing more than 20 per cent of its value in the calendar year.

But after it hit a record low in mid-December, it rebounded to 48.67 rupees in February, led by strong foreign fund buying of Indian assets, before falling again.

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Via DAWN.com

Zardari’s special plane to bring Chishti

lahore – President Asif Ali Zardari as a special gesture is sending his special plane to bring back Dr Khalil Chishti from India on Tuesday (today). He has also instructed Pak HC to India to accompany Khalil Chishti back home. It has also been learnt that Interior Minister Rehman Malik will receive Chishti at Lahore Airport.

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Rights group urges India to end caste system

UNITED NATIONS – A leading international human rights watchdog group Monday urged U.N. member states to strive for effective implementation by India of the laws and policies to end caste-related human rights violations in the South country.
The Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, which is set to review India’s human rights record on May 24, should give top priority to eliminating …

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BCCI vows action after IPL spot-fixing claims

BCCI chief N Srinivasan. – File Photo

KARACHI: The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) vowed, on Monday, to take stringent action against any players found guilty of being involved in spot-fixing, after a private Indian television channel claimed to have unveiled fraudulent exchange of money in the league.

According to a report by India TV, it carried out sting operations to expose the involvement of several players in accepting more money than what they are supposed to receive by their franchises.

“We will ensure that the integrity of the game is protected. BCCI believes in the integrity of the game. We will take the strictest possible action,” BCCI chief N Srinivasan was quoted as saying by ,the Times of India.,

Following the airing of the report, the BCCI said it had called a meeting of the IPL governing council on Tuesday morning, to discuss the latest revelations.

According to TOI, the channel claimed that an IPL player confessed that he was getting Rs.1.45 crore from its owner whereas he was in the Rs.30-lakh slab.

It named an IPL player, claiming he had bowled a no-ball in last year’s first class match on the insistence of the channel’s reporter. He had also assured to change his team in future if he was paid Rs.60 lakh, the channel said.

Another player demanded Rs.10 lakh for bowling a no-ball in an IPL match, it said.

The channel said a pattern has emerged where a particular bowler pitches easy deliveries and there are dropped catches.

Srinivasan said the BCCI will view the videos and take action accordingly, claiming that the league was free of corruption.

“IPL, we believe is clean.”

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Via DAWN.com