Vacate PoK, ‘de-terrorise’ Pak: Vikas Swarup

NEW DELHI, Sept 30: India on Wednesday said de-militarising Kashmir is not the answer for achieving peace but “de-terrorising” Pakistan is. “To de-militarise Kashmir is not the answer, to de-terrorise Pakistan is,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raked up Kashmir issue in his address at UN General Assembly earlier in day.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday had offered peace talks to India built around ceasefire along the border in Jammu and Kashmir and demilitaristion of the state. Addressing the UN general assembly, Sharif said he was proposing a new four-point peace initiative with India “starting with measures that are the simplest to implement”.

In response to Sharif describing Pakistan as the “primary victim” of terrorism, Swarup said, “Pakistan is not primary victim of terrorism but of its own policies. It is in fact the prime sponsor of terrorism.”

Swarup further tweeted that Pakistan’s “instability arises from its breeding of terrorists. Blaming neighbours is not a solution.”

Reacting to Sharif’s remarks that “Palestinians and Kashmiris (are) oppressed by foreign occupation”, Swarup said the “Pak PM gets foreign occupation right, occupier wrong. We urge early vacation of Pak occupied Kashmir.”

Sharif had equated Kashmir with Palestine while talking about “suffering of Muslims across the world”, saying “Palestinians and Kashmiris (are) oppressed by foreign occupation.”

Indian government dismisses Sharif’s proposal for plebiscite in J-K

NEW DELHI, Sept 28: The government on Monday dismissed Pakistan’s suggestion for holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir saying the territory is an integral part of India while blaming the neighbouring country for allowing its land to be used for terror activities.

“Kashmir is an internal issue. It is an integral part of India,” Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters.

He was replying to a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in his meeting with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and asking for holding of plebiscite in the state.

Rijiju blamed Pakistan for allowing its territory to be used by terrorist organisations for their acts directed against India.

“Our issue is terrorism and how Pakistan’s land is used for terror acts directed against India,” he said.

Sharif met Ban before his speech to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations on Sunday.

According to the Pakistan mission, Sharif urged the Secretary General to play a role in defusing tension between Pakistan and India and to help end alleged violations at the Line of Control.

Sharif called for implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and holding of plebiscite to determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Ban stressed on the need for a dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve tension between them.

Pakistan’s letters on LoC to UN ‘contradictory’, says India

NEW YORK, Sept 25: India on Friday dismissed charges raised by Pakistan that it was raising a wall on the Line of Control (LoC) as well as the contention that there was no bilateral dialogue between the two countries.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that India was aware of the two letters written by Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Maheela Lodhi, earlier this month.

“The first letter was written on September 4 which states that there was no bilateral dialogue. After that the BSF and Pak Rangers have already met. So the letter has itself contradicted itself that there is no dialogue as there has been a dialogue,” said Swarup.

“As far as the second letter is concerned, I believe, it is based on some kind of submission made by Salahuddin, who India considers a terrorist,” he added.

Dunya News had reported that Lodhi had filed two correspondences in the UN protesting against India’s move and expressing severe reservations over raising a 197-km-long, 10-meter-high and 135-foot-wide wall on the LoC.

Syed Salahuddin, the chief of Pakistan-based militant outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen, had earlier claimed that India is building a “great wall” on the Line of Control.

“In order to turn Kashmir into a prison, India is busy in constructing a great wall on using Israeli made concertina wires and it is the collective responsibility of both Pakistani and Kashmiri leadership to foil the designs of India,” said Hizb spokesperson Salim Hashmi while quoting United Jihad Council Chief commander Syed Salahuddin.

Swarup said there was no fresh letter from Pakistan to the UN.

“The first thing is, has any action been taken by the United Nations? If there is an action taken by the UN, we will respond appropriately, and if no action is taken by the UN, it itself tells that nobody has taken the cognizance,” the spokesperson further said.

Swarup was reacting to a question that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be raising the issue in his address to the UN. He also said there is no scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a five-day trip to the US, and Sharif.

717 dead, 805 injured in stampede during Haj

MECCA, Sept 24: The number of people who have died in a stampede in the holy city of Mecca has risen to 717, the Directorate of Saudi Civil Defence said on Thursday.

The stampede, one of the worst incidents to hit the hajj in two decades, broke out during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual, the Saudi civil defence service said.

It said that at least 805 people were hurt and emergency operations were under way in Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from Mecca.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the stampede.

It was the second major incident this year for haj pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, killing 109 people including many foreigners.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had converged on Mina on Thursday to throw pebbles at one of three walls representing Satan, the ritual that marks the last day of the haj.

The world’s 1.5 billion Muslims were on Thursday marking Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, the most important holiday of the Islamic calendar.

The haj is among the five pillars of Islam and every Muslim is expected to make a pilgrimage to the holy city at least once in his or her lifetime.

The stampede occurred a few weeks after a crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque, killing 118 people and injuring a further 394.

In the past the pilgrimage was for years marred by stampedes and fires, but it had been largely incident-free for nearly a decade following safety improvements.

In January 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede during the stoning ritual in Mina.

Two million pilgrims Thursday’s ritual was taking place at a five-storey structure known as the Jamarat Bridge, which cost more than $1 billion to build, and which was used during earlier pilgrimages.

Almost one kilometre (less than a mile) long, it resembles a parking garage and allows 300,000 pilgrims an hour to carry out the ritual.

As the birthplace of Mohammed, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the haj is obligatory for all able Muslims. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, which is considered to be Islam’s holiest site.

Taliban storm Pakistan air force base, 33 dead

PESHAWAR, Sept 18: Thirty-three people, including 13 terrorists, were killed when a group of heavily armed Taliban fighters stormed a Pakistan Air Force base on the outskirts of Peshawar city on Friday, the latest in a series of brazen assaults on military facilities.

The terrorists, who were disguised as paramilitary personnel, sneaked into the base in Badaber, a suburb of Peshawar, from two points early in the morning.

While one group of attackers was contained in a small area near the base’s guard room, another group entered a mosque and killed 16 people who were praying, chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said on Twitter.

A captain leading the operation against the attackers and three air force personnel were also killed, officials said.

Personnel from a quick response force and army commandoes engaged the terrorists and gunned down 13 of them.

Authorities said 22 injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. Bajwa said 10 soldiers, including two officers, were among the wounded.

Pakistani media reports said most of the people killed inside the mosque were security personnel.

Bajwa posted several photos of the dead attackers, who were clad in black and armed with assault rifles. He said the attackers were in “constabulary uniform”. Reports said the attackers were also wearing explosives-laden jackets.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muhammad Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists. "Our suicide unit carried out the attack," he said in the email.

“We proudly claim responsibility for the attack on the Pakistani air base,” Khurasani said. “This base is being used by fighter jets for bombing us.”

Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif travelled to Peshawar to assess the situation.

Militant groups, including the Taliban, have repeatedly targeted military facilities in the restive city of Peshawar and its surrounding areas over the past few years, killing dozens of security personnel. Attacks have also been carried out within the high-security Peshawar cantonment.

However, the number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70% this year after the military launched an offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and the government stepped up measures to fight militancy.

Friday’s attack was a major blow for Pakistan's military, which had stepped up operations against militants following a horrific Taliban attack last December at a Peshawar school that killed 150 people, mostly children.

The base at Badaber was used by the US Air Force and the CIA for surveillance missions against the erstwhile Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. The US had a permanent presence at the base from 1959 to 1970.

CIA pilot Gary Powers had taken off for his ill-fated surveillance mission, during which he was shot down by a Soviet missile battery, from Badaber on May 1, 1960.

If Syria asks us to send troops, we'll consider it: Russia

MOSCOW, Sept 18: Russia would consider sending troops to fight in Syria if Damascus asked for them, a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Dmitry Peskov spoke in response to comments by Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem, who denied reports that Russian combat troops were fighting with Syrian troops, but said Syria would ask for Russia's help if needed.

If such a request is made, it will be "discussed and considered," Peskov said.

Amid US concerns over an ongoing Russian military buildup in Syria, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday urged Washington and its allies to engage the Syrian government as a "partner" in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The Syrian foreign minister said Russian troops were not yet needed.

"But until now, I believe that the Syrian army is capable and what we frankly need is more ammunition and qualitative weapons to face the qualitative armament of terrorist groups," al-Moallem said in an interview on Syrian television broadcast late Thursday.

He said Russia has "stepped up the pace" of supplying weapons and ammunition.

11 Indians among 115 killed in Mecca crane collapse

JEDDAH, Sept 13: Nine more Indians were on Sunday confirmed dead in the Grand Mosque crane collapse in Mecca, taking the toll to 11. The incident, which occurred ahead of the annual Haj pilgrimage, has claimed 115 lives so far.

"...our officials have unfortunately confirmed that an additional 9 Indian pilgrims have died in the tragic accident," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.

"While our officials on the ground in Mecca continue to provide assistance to the injured Indians, Saudi authorities permitted the opening of the mortuary for identification of deceased pilgrims on Sunday, the 13th evening," he said.

The mission is extending all necessary help to the families in order to complete formalities in Mecca, he added.

On Saturday, two Indian women pilgrims who died in the tragedy weere identified as Moniza Ahmed from West Bengal and Muameena Ismail from Kerala.

""According to latest information available, 19 Indians are reported to be injured. None are in critical condition. However, as informed earlier today, 2 Indians have tragically passed away - one from West Bengal and the other from Kerala," a press release from the foreign ministry said.

The nine people who died in the crane crash were on Sunday identified as Mohd Hanif, Tabassum, Hassan Kharaj, Zafar Sheikh, Zakira Begum, Mohammed Abdul Khadar, Fatima Begum, Shameem Bano and Khader Bee.

With more Indians confirmed dead in Mecca, the new toll following the crash of a huge red crane into a part of the Grand Mosque filled with worshippers on Friday has gone up to 115, less than two weeks before the annual pilgrimage.

Among the injured are three each from Maharashtra, Telangana, UP and MP, two each from Delhi and West Bengal, and one each from Punjab, Bihar and Assam.

Thousands of pilgrims, including hundreds of Indians, have already arrived in Mecca for Haj. Saudi authorities have ordered a probe into the incident.

87 dead in Mecca Grand Mosque crane crash

RIYADH, Sept 11: At least 87 people were killed and 183 injured when a crane crashed in Mecca's Grand Mosque on Friday, Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority said.

The ministry of external affairs said nine Indians were among those injured.

The accident came just weeks before Islam's annual haj pilgrimage. Al Arabiya television said the crane had fallen because of strong storms - western Saudi Arabia has been hit by strong sand storms in the last few days.

Pictures circulating on social media showed pilgrims in bloodied robes and masses of debris from a part of the crane that seemed to have crashed through a ceiling.

Saudi authorities go to great lengths to prepare for the millions of Muslim who converge on Mecca to perform the sacred pilgrimage.

Last year, it reduced the numbers permitted to perform haj for safety reasons because of construction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque.

The pilgrimage, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, has been prone to disasters in the past, mainly from stampedes as pilgrims rushed to complete rituals and return home. Hundreds of pilgrims died in such a stampede in 2006.

Saudi authorities have since lavished vast sums to expand the main haj sites and improve Mecca's transportation system, in an effort to prevent more disasters.

Security services often ring Islam's sacred city with checkpoints and other measures to prevent people arriving for the pilgrimage without authorisation.

Those procedures, aimed at reducing crowd pressure which can lead to stampedes, fires and other hazards, have been intensified in recent years as security threats grow throughout the Middle East.

One of the five pillars of Islam asks believers to visit Mecca at least once in their life, and walk around the Kaaba.