Germany to Pakistan: Banning terror groups not enough
Germany on Friday offered India assistance in combating terrorism and underlined that Pakistan needs to do much more than banning militant outfits to wipe out the scourge originating from that country.
“Banning is not enough to forbid others from committing terrorist attacks. Maybe it's not sufficient. They need to do more,” visiting German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told reporters here when asked whether banning front outfits like Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a public front for Lashkar-e-Taiba suspected of masterminiding the Mumbai massacre, by Pakistan was enough to stop terrorism flowing from that country.
Schäuble, who was on a day-long visit to India, held talks with his Indian counterpart P Chidambaram and National Security Adviser MK Narayanan on strengthening counter-terror cooperation between India and Germany in the wake of the Nov 26 Mumbai terror strikes that killed 179 people, including three Germans. He also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed Germany's full support to India in the fight against terrorism.
“We are ready to send experts and special forces to India to deal with terrorism,” he said when asked about discussions with his Indian interlocutors. The German minister underlined the need for creating a federal agency that brings together police, intelligence and coastal authorities - and for new communication technologies to intercept sensitive messages.
“In some states, the government is not in full control of parts of its intelligence services, even in mature democracies,” Schäuble replied when asked whether he suspected the involvement of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in planning the Mumabi terror attacks, which India believes were masterminded and executed by elements from Pakistan.
The German minister, however, chose to be circumspect when asked whether he thought the terrorists targeting Mumbai came from Pakistan. “It's an ongoing investigation. It's a matter for Indian authorities to decide who are the attackers,” he said.
However, Schäuble said that on the face of it “appeared an Islamic terrorist network that originated in Pakistan".
“We have to support the Pakistan government in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Arrests won't affect us, jihad will continue: Lashkar

A Lashkar-e-Toiba coordinator has said that the arrest of at least 20 Jamaat-ud-Dawa activists, including the purported mastermind of the Mumbai Terror attacks, Zaki-u-Rehman Lakhvi, on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, will not stop the militant outfit from continuing with its activities.
"We are still well-organized and active," the ‘Washington Times’ quoted the Lashkar coordinator, as saying during an interaction at a safe house near Lahore.
The Lashkar fighter in Lahore said the group has "huge strength" and is concentrated in Pakistan's tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan.
He ran his fingers through his bushy beard as he sat in a dingy room for the interview, surrounded by boys’ ages 15 to 20 that listened intently as he spoke.
The man stood uncomfortably against the wall throughout the interview, his eyes avoiding contact with the interviewer.
"The Lashkar definitely has the capability and the capacity to conduct attacks such as those which took place in Mumbai," said Rasool Baksh Raees, a political science professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Cong set to win Delhi, Rajasthan; BJP retains MP

As the counting continues in five states Congress seems all set to form the Government in Rajasthan and Delhi while BJP is having a clear lead in Madhya Pradesh even as the two parties race neck to neck in Chhattisgarh.
The early trends in the Assembly polls for the five states indicate Congress forging ahead in 66 seats of BJP- ruled Rajasthan where the saffron party was ahead only in 36 seats.
In Delhi, the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress is far ahead in the trends leading in 20 seats as against 11 of the BJP. In three seats, 'others' are ahead -- two LJP and one BSP.
However two Delhi ministers Raj Kumar Chauhan and Haroon Yousuf are trailing.
In Mizoram, the first result went in favour of Lalthanwala of Congress when he won the South Tui Pui seat by a margin of 96 votes. In the state, Congress was leading in three and MNF in two.
In Chhatisgarh, the BJP is slightly ahead of the Congress with early trends indicating that the saffron party was leading in 30 seats and Congress 28.

Assembly polls: Congress ahead in 3 states, BJP in 2

New Delhi, Dec 08: The Congress appears to be heading towards victory in Rajasthan and Mizoram and within handshaking distance of power in the national capital Delhi, while the BJP is leading the race in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as per trends available following the start of counting of votes this morning for the just-concluded Assembly Elections. The major upset appears to be in Rajasthan, where the BJP government headed by Vasundhara Raje is trailing behind the Congress which may come back to power after a gap of five years.

Rajasthan In 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, Congress is leading in 105 seats while the BJP is ahead in 72 in trends available for all the constituencies. Mayawati-led BSP was ahead in 6 seats, while CPI(M) was leading in two and JD(U) and SP in one each. Others were leading in 13 seats. AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot, who spearheaded the party's campaign in the state, and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje were leading from their Sardarpura and Jhalrapatan constituencies respectively. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Sumitra Singh was trailing behind the Congress candidate in Mandawa constituency.

Delhi In Delhi, Sheila Dikshit appeared to be on the verge of creating a hat trick as the ruling Congress has won three seats and is leading at 35 other constituencies, while BJP is ahead in 26 seats in the 70-member Assembly. Mukesh Sharma of Congress was the first to emerge victorious in the Delhi Assembly polls by defeating his nearest rival BJP's Pawan Sharma in Uttam Nagar by a margin of 7,187 votes. Sharma, who is entering the Assembly for the fourth consecutive term, has shifted to Uttam Nagar constituency following delimitation. Another two-time MLA who won this time was Mahabal Mishra. He defeated his nearest BJP rival Pradyuman Rajput by 13,981 votes. Ministers A K Walia (Laxmi Nagar), Arvinder Singh Lovely (Gandhi Nagar), Yoganand Shastri (Mehrauli), Harun Yusuf (Ballimaran) and Raj Kumar Chouhan (Mangolpuri) were ahead in the race. Delhi Assembly Speaker Chaudhury Prem Singh, who has never lost an election since 1958, is leading in Ambedkar Nagar. Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan is trailing in Krishna Nagar constituency.

Madhya Pradesh BJP appeared on its way to retain power in Madhya Pradesh having established leads in 125 of the 230 seats in the State Assembly as per the latest available trends. The Congress was trailing behind with a lead in 67 seats while others were ahead in 23 constituencies. Factors like anti-incumbency, intra-party rivalry and challenge posed by former party leader Uma Bharti seemed to have had no impact on the ruling BJP, according to party leaders. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was ahead in Budhni. Uma Bharti's Bharatiya Janshakti Party was trailing in all the 216 seats it contested, including in Tikamgarh where Bharti is in fray.

Chhattisgarh The race for power in Chhattisgarh appeared headed for a tight finish with ruling BJP and its principal challenger Congress having established lead in 44 and 42 constituencies respectively in the 90-member Assembly. With a party needing 46 seats to secure a simple majority in the 90-member Assembly, BJP was ahead in 44 seats while Congress in 42. Other parties were ahead in four seats -- BSP in two and NCP and CPI in one each. Among the political heavyweights of the two main parties who are leading are Chief Minister Raman Singh in Rajnandgaon, his predecessor Ajit Jogi in Marwahi, Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam in Ramanujganj (ST), Speaker Prem Prakash Pandey in Bhilai city, Sports Minister Brij Mohan Agarwal (Raipur City South) and Health Minister Amar Agarwal (Bilaspur). However, state BJP chief Vishnu Dev Sahai was trailing in Pathalganj constituency after having led initially against senior Congress leader Rampukar Singh.

Mizoram The Congress appeared inching towards a victory in Mizoram after being in political wilderness for a decade, winning 10 seats and leading in seven constituencies with the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) on its way out. The state has 40 seats. Former three-time Chief Minister and Congress leader of Mizoram Lalthanhawla won both the seats he contested winning the South Tipui seat against F Lalthanzuala of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) by 96 votes and the Serchhip Assembly seat by 952 votes. PC Lalthanliana of the Congress won the Lunglei North seat defeating his nearest MNF rival by 705 votes, while Congress candidate RL Pianmawia won the Tuivawl seat. He defeated his MNF rival by 473 votes. According to available trends, the main opposition Congress is leading in seven seats and the MNF is ahead by a slender margin in two constituencies. The fight for political supremacy is between the MNF and the Congress. The MNF was in power in Mizoram for the last two terms and was expecting a third straight term. In the 2003 assembly elections, the ruling MNF secured 21 seats while Congress bagged 12 and seven went to other smaller parties. Most of the states where the counting is being held are those where Congress and the BJP are major contenders for power and the outcome may help gauge the voter mood ahead of the general elections due early next year although issues involved would be different.

Courtesy Zee news

Pak agrees to act against LeT within 48 hrs: Report

Pakistan has agreed to a 48-hour timetable set by India and the United States to formulate a plan to take action against Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) and to arrest at least three Pakistanis who Indian authorities say are linked to the multiple attacks in Mumbai, a top US daily reported citing a top Pakistani official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, said India has also asked Pakistan to arrest and hand over LeT commander Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhwi and former chief of Pakistans spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Hamid Gul in connection with the probe into Mumbai carnage, which killed nearly 200 people, the Washington Post reported today.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has expressed his country's solidarity with India, is expected to review plans by his nation's top military and intelligence officials and follow through on India's demands, the official said. "The next 48 hours are critical," the official was quoted as saying by the influential US daily.

A week after the terrorist assault in the Indian financial capital, Indian officials have stepped up their efforts to make a clear case of link between the carnage and Pakistani elements. According to the Post, a high-level source in the Indian government, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said India has "clear and incontrovertible proof" that LeT an carries out the attacks and that the group's leaders were trained and supported by Pakistan's ISI.

Indian and US investigators have identified Yusuf Muzammil, a Let leader, as the mastermind behind the attacks, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked Pakistan to hand him and other suspects over, the report said.

Islamabad has assured the Indian leadership of its complete co-operation in probing the Mumbai attacks and offered to form a joint commission headed by the National Security Advisors of the two countries, Gilani told a delegation of US Senators led by Republican John McCain.

Courtesy : ZEE news

India will launch airstrikes if Pak doesn't act: McCain

Islamabad, Dec 07: US Senator John McCain has said he believes that if Pakistan does not act against individuals and groups linked to the Mumbai terror attacks, it could be a "matter of days" before India carries out surgical strikes against such elements.

There is enough evidence of the involvement of former Inter-Services Intelligence officers in the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks and terrorist training camps are still operational in Pakistan, McCain told a small group of senior Pakistani journalists at an informal lunch in Lahore yesterday.

Ejaz Haider, a senior editor with a Pakistani daily, quoted McCain as saying that he believed it could be a "matter of days" before India carried out surgical air strikes if Pakistan did not act on the evidence provided to it on elements linked to the attacks. McCain also said that the terrorist training camps were being emptied "as we speak", Haider told a News channel.

Referring to the terror training camps as "red dots on the map", McCain indicated that their number had increased since the time the US launched its campaign in Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

McCain, who unsuccessfully contested the US presidential election, arrived in Pakistan with two other senior Senators on Friday after a brief visit to India. Referring to his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, McCain said the Indian leader, who is not easily ruffled, had appeared visibly angry.

In a report in the Daily Times, Haider wrote McCain had said that if "Pakistan does not act, and act fast, to arrest the involved people, India will be left with no option but to conduct aerial operations against select targets in Pakistan".McCain said this is what he and the other Senators were told by Manmohan Singh, who, as McCain put it, was "reeling from the shock" of the attacks.

"The democratic government of India is under pressure and it will be a matter of days after they have given the evidence to Pakistan to use the option of force if Islamabad fails to act against the terrorists," McCain said.

He stressed that if Pakistan does not do anything at this point to find and arrest the "bad guys", India will have no option but to use force. The US Senate delegation later travelled to Islamabad, where they met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other top leaders.

Courtesy : ZEE news

Mumbai terror attacks: Intelligence failed, says Chidambaram

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday conceded that there was "security and intelligence failure" in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks.
"I agree that security and intelligence failed," Chidambaram told reporters after visiting the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, one of the locations hit by terrorists last week.
There is ample evidence to link terror attacks to organisations or entities who have in the past been responsible for terror, he said.
There is a proposal to set up an intelligence agency at the national level similar to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said.
There were some lapses in security, coastal or otherwise which need to be rectified, Chidambaram added.

Muslims cancel peace march in Mumbai: community leader

Mumbai's Islamic community, which suffered a disproportionately high number of victims in the militant attacks on the city last week, has cancelled a peace march planned for Friday.
Religious leaders said the march was set to take place after Friday prayers but was cancelled as a procession to mark one week after the bloody attacks had already taken place, said Ibrahim Tai, president of the Muslim Council Trust.
"We had already carried out a march on Wednesday and hence decided not to hold a fresh one," said Tai, referring to the mass rally by the Gateway of India, opposite the Taj Mahal hotel -- one of the main targets of the attacks.
The All-India Sunni Jamiat-ul-ulema called on the city's Muslims to join that rally, which used text messages to draw tens of thousands of people to convey their anger to the city's leaders.
Up to 30 percent of the 172 people who died during the 60-hour siege of the city by Islamist militant gunmen were Muslims, Muslim leaders have told AFP.
Around two million of Mumbai's estimated 19 million inhabitants are Muslim.
Many of the Muslim victims were among more than 50 people who died at Mumbai's central railway terminus when gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons and sprayed the cavernous building with bullets.
The gunmen were among 10 Islamists who launched coordinated attacks on the city on the evening of November 26, murdering people at about a dozen locations before laying siege to two luxury hotels and a Jewish prayer centre.
India has been joined by the US in blaming the Pakistan-based Islamist movement Laskhar-e-Taiba for training and equipping the militants.

Saif, Kareena vent anger against politicians

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are the latest Bollywood stars to criticise the government for failing to tackle terrorism and protect citizens. Both said they were "disgusted" with politicians "who provide no leadership" while arming themselves "with so many security guards".
The actors were busy shooting for Renzil D'Silva's untitled project in Philadelphia when the mayhem broke loose in Mumbai Nov 26.
“The government has failed us again. The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is advertising for votes while the bodies of the dead have not yet been cremated. Mr. (Narendra) Modi had offered Rs.10 million to the widow of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare. The news has shaken the foundations of our city and destroyed our already shaky belief in our government's ability to protect us,” Saif wrote in a statement circulated to the media and signed by both.
Added Kareena: “I am disgusted with the so-called political leaders who provide no leadership and ironically surround themselves with so many security guards while doing little or nothing for the security of the people who have voted them to power.
Saif also slammed the terrorists for killing “innocent people” in the name of “god” or “religion”.

The couple offered commiseration for the families who suffered at the attacks and praised the police and media for their endeavours in tackling the situation.
“Saif and I would both like to offer our deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and I want to applaud the media for being pro-active and for being the force that is trying to unite the nation,” wrote Kareena.
Saif added: “I would like to thank the NSG (National Security Guard) and the Mumbai police who handled the situation so well with so little on their side in terms of equipment and support."

Betrayed & savaged

Forget that platitudinous naiveté: terrorism has no religion. And remember that simple truth: when you are within the firing range of the killer, religion offers little protection. Of the 59 dead in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji station, 19 were Muslims. In death at least, there was no communal divide.
The killers were firing straight into the already scarred soul of India. They—10 jihadis from across the border and armed with AK-56s, bombs, RDX and 2,000 rounds of ammunition— came crossing the sea with one deadly agenda: a spectacular, prolonged assault on India, a rising power but known for its weakened resistance to forces that challenge its very existence. Mumbai, the emblematic city of India’s soaring ambition, was an obvious target. When the nation, scalded and poorer, regained consciousness after 60 hours of unsolicited hell, we expected a morethan-obvious rejoinder from those who are in charge of our national security. We were hit by a barrage of bunkum.

This one from P. Chidambaram, the newly anointed home minister and the Government’s hit man for all seasons: “This is a threat to the very idea of India, the very soul of India, we know, that we love—secular, plural, tolerant and open society. I have no doubt that ultimately the idea of India will triumph.” How perceptive. The minister has at last acknowledged that “there is a threat”. Thank you, but mouthing those seminarfriendly Indian qualities once more are of little use because blatant political expediency at the cost of national interest has already made those lofty sentiments empty banalities.
Is being tolerant, secular, plural and democratic an excuse for being a passive power where lives are cheaper? India is fast emerging as the safest country for the warriors of radical Islam, and it’s no longer an exaggeration when Mumbai or any other Indian city is considered safer than Kabul—or maybe as safe as Baghdad. Chidambaram has only tired rhetoric to offer. No answers.
Our politicians never get the message. The fury of a nation betrayed by its political class knows no bounds. Our discredited politicians are protected with the most sophisticated arms when the ordinary cops have only antiquated guns to save the citizens. Soon, the netas may have to be protected against their own people. When India erupted in rage, predictably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, instead of facing the people as a war-time ruler, took refuge in tokenism.
The exit of Shivraj Patil, whose entire term as Union home minister was a prolonged dress rehearsal, could have only satisfied the most gullible, for he, no matter how effete, was the softest target. Really, how could you reduce the enormity of the Mumbai tragedy to the size of a Shivraj Patil? And his sacking was followed by the resignation of a political lightweight, Maharashtra deputy chief minister R.R. Patil, and then, after much dithering, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
There should have been more. Why were the powerful National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and his intelligence cabal consisting of the IB chief, the R&AW boss and the home secretary spared? Maybe their duties were more ‘political’ than ‘national’. Why were the top navy brass and the state’s senior bureaucrats and police officers let go unpunished? Because this Government is only interested in finding dispensable scapegoats.
This nauseating display of hogwash doesn’t mean that the predecessor was any better. Following the attack on Parliament, the NDA government made a lot of noise about teaching Pakistan a lesson but Washington’s word of caution prevailed. India asked for the repatriation of 20 dreaded criminals including Dawood Ibrahim but it did not even get one.
Seven years on, we haven’t come a long way. The moment the badly mauled UPA Government hinted at the possibility of an attack on terrorist camps in Pakistan, President George Bush, who is more concerned about America’s war on terror in which Islamabad is still an ally, sent his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the flashpoint on a peace mission.
Lesson: we are alone in our existential war; there won’t be an international coalition and Pakistan is not going to be India’s Afghanistan. That too despite the fact that Mumbai is not just another city; it’s one of the throbbing nerve points of the so-called flat world. The “twin towers” of the Taj and the Oberoi were—and will continue to be—global landmarks. Among the victims included 14 nationalities. The world was called Mumbai during those darkest hours. For Mumbai, though, there won’t be a global war on terror.
We are not politically prepared to wage our own war—and to defend the nation, which, in certain quarters, continues to be a bad word. And that is why Mumbai will not be India’s 9/11. On that September morning seven years ago, there was no red America and there was no blue America but there was only a nation united by grief, rage and patriotism. In the India after Mumbai, there is a frightening gap between national sentiment and political attitude.
A politically divided India cannot redeem the nation—or defend its people. We are condemned to be the permanent victims of jihad as well as a political class which has no sense of the nation. The popular consensus on asserting the national will is not matched by any political urgency in defeating the enemy. A nation abandoned by its ruling political class has become the most favoured target for the enemies of civilisation.

Bhujbal to be new Maharashtra Dy CM: Sharad Pawar
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday announced that senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal will be the new Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Chhagan Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader will also handle the home ministry portfolio.
Bhujbal is return as Deputy Chief Minister after nearly five years, sources said.
It was initially mooted that Bhujbal would be made deputy chief minister and finance minister Jayant Patil would be given the home portfolio.
However, a large section of party legislators have voiced their opposition to the move, saying such an arrangement would dilute the deputy chief minister's post, the sources said.
The legislators pointed out that every incumbent in that post over the last decade has also been entrusted with the home portfolio simultaneously.
Bhujbal, who currently holds the PWD portfolio, had resigned as deputy chief minister in December 2003 after his supporters attacked a TV channel office.
NCP is a key partner in the Congress-led Democratic Front Government in the state.
On December 1, R R Patil had quit in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks. "I have submitted my resignation letter to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. I have gone by my conscience and decided to take this step," Patil said.

India has proof of ISI role in Mumbai attacks: Sources
NEW DELHI: India has proof that the Inter Services Intelligence was involved in planning the Mumbai terror attacks and training the terrorists who killed more than 180 people during a 60-hour siege of the country's financial capital, sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
The names of trainers and the places where meticulous training took place are also known to the government, the sources said. The United States is believed to have even more evidence, some of which it has shared with India, they said.
Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who was in Pakistan on Wednesday, is believed to have told his Pakistani interlocutors that Washington had enough evidence to show a Pakistani hand in the attack, the sources said.
Sources here also refuse to believe that the Pakistani army did not have knowledge of the Mumbai operation given that ISI is controlled by it. At the same time, sources do not believe that the civilian government in Pakistan is involved in the attack. In fact, one view is that the civilian government itself may be a target of the strike which may be used by the army to heighten tensions with India to return to power.
Washington has asked Pakistan to crackdown on Lashkar-e-Taiba, which now goes under the name of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and to arrest its chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed because it has evidence of their involvement in the attack, the sources said.
The attack was planned, equipped and organised in Pakistan where the terrorists were trained and provided logistical support. Contrary to the version that the terrorists used a hijacked Indian fishing boat to reach Mumbai after sailing from Karachi, the view here is that much more sophisticated means were used. The sources spoke of a clear disconnect between the Pakistani civilian government and the all-powerful military establishment, which is causing difficulties for India in dealing with the situation.
Islamabad's about-turn on sending the Director General of ISI to India is cited as an instance of this disconnect. During a telephone conversation Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Mumbai attack, President Asif Zardari had referred to an earlier Pakistani proposal for a meeting between the ISI chief and the head of India's external intelligence agency, RAW. Singh told Zardari that this was acceptable to India, after which Pakistan government had announced that the ISI head would travel to India.
After a post-midnight call on Zardari by Army chief Gen Ashfaque Kayani this decision was reversed with the President taking cover under a "mis-communication" with the Indian prime minister. Instead it was decided to depute a Director-level officer to India. When the terror attack took place Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was in India and had consciously decided not to cut short his visit. However, the Indian government was told at 2.30 am that a special aircraft was being sent less than 4 hours later to take him back to Pakistan.
In what observers see as a clear message to the civilian government, the Pakistan army chief's plane was sent to Delhi to pick up Qureshi, who boarded the flight around 7 am. The view here is that the Pakistan army is using the current developments as a way out of the difficult situation it faces in the areas bordering Afganistan where its writ does not run. Some 900 desertions are said to have taken place from the army.

Congress still mum on new Maharashtra CM
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony had a meeting with party chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday morning but there was no
immediate word on the leadership issue in Maharashtra. Mukherjee sped past waiting mediapersons without answering any query. Last night in Mumbai, Congress failed to choose a successor to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who quit in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks. Till last night when Mukherjee and Antony had held consultation on the issue in Mumbai, Maharashtra minister Ashok Chavan appeared to have an edge over his colleague Narayan Rane. Thereafter, the two leaders came to Delhi to report to Gandhi.

PAY TRIBUTES TO ALL INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO DIED

AND THE SOLDIER

WHO FOUGHT OUR BATTLES

Many are calling it India's 9/11, when Mumbai was struck hard by one of the worst terrorist attacks that the country has ever seen.
It is tragic - to say the least - as the fear keeps rising and the crisis deepens with every hour, uncertainty ushers in a feeling of hopelessness.
A common thread of death, of course, looms large. Some were victims - to the indiscriminate firing of the terrorists and others died in trying to save the lives of others - prey in the hands of unprecedented violence. Every bullet signaling the reign of hatred, that overrides courage.
We pay tribute to those who lost their lives. You shall always be in our minds, as you are in those who knew you.

3 TERRORISTS KILLED

OPERATION TAJ NEAR END

Mumbai: Following a heavy exchange of fire, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos early on Saturday gunned down three terrorists at the Taj Heritage hotel, DG NSG J K Dutt said.
One of the terrorists, who was stood near the window, was killed when a security personnel shot at him while he attempted to lob a grenade.
"We found the dead bodies of two terrorists inside the hotel lobby. They had AK 47 guns on them," Dutt said.

However, he added that he can not confirm if the Taj has been cleared of all terrorists as the sanitisation process was still on.
"I can't say that our operation is over. To make sure that there is no other threat, we are still searching each and every room of the hotel," Dutt said.

Pak's U-turn; to send representative, not ISI chief
Pakistan has done an about turn on sending the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to India in connection with the probe into the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying a representative of the spy agency would be sent instead of him.The decision was made at a late night meeting on Friday between President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of the powerful army.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also joined the meeting, which was held at the presidency and continued past 1.30 am local time."A representative of the ISI will visit India, instead of its Director General Lt Gen Shuja Pasha, to help in investigating the Mumbai terrorism incident," a spokesman for the Prime Minister's House said in Islamabad.

Pak hand in Mumbai attack: Pranab
India on Friday said preliminary information suggested that "some elements" in Pakistan were responsible for the terror strikes in Mumbai.
New Delhi is expected to take up the matter with Islamabad when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari later in the day.
"According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters.
"Proof cannot be disclosed at this time," he said, noting that Pakistan had assured India that it will not allow use of its territory for launching attacks against this country.
Pakistan had given this assurance at a meeting Singh and Zardari had on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly session on September 24.In an address to the nation, the prime minister had on Thursday blamed elements outside the country for the terror strikes in Mumbai and warned that India would not tolerate the use of territory of its neighbours for attacks in the country.
India will take up "strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them".
Singh had said the "well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of panic by choosing high profile targets and indiscriminately killing foreigners".

List of policemen dead:
In the situation that is fast slipping out of Mumbai Police's control, the official figures of fatalities among the Mumbai Police are as follows.
Jt CP Hemant Karkare
Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar
Additonal CP Ashok Kamte
Police Sub Insdpector Prakash More
Police Constable Chite
Police Constable Khandekar
Police Inspector Shashank Sinde
RailwayPolice Sub Inspector Durgude
ATSAssnt SI Nanasaheb Bhosale
Poliece Constable Jaywant Patil
Police Constable Yogesh Patil
Police Constable Ambadas Ramchandra Pawar
Police Constable MC Chaudhary
Total dead: Official count at 6:30 am - 156 (unconfirmed source)
Total injured: 387 (unconfirmed source)
13 senior officers of the Mumbai Police were offering their services to combat the riotous situation. Of these, seven IPS officers have reportedly been grievously injured.

Nariman House, Oberoi cleared off terrorists; battle on at Taj
The operations against the siege of Mumbai have entered a critical phase on Friday evening, two days after terrorists struck at various locations in the financial capital of the country.
Till 7 pm, the rescue operations at Nariman House and Oberoi Hotel were accomplished, gunbattle was still on at Taj Hotel. The armed forces are using grenades in an attempt to smoke out the terrorists, apparently on the first floor of the old wing of Taj.
The fate of the hostages at Nariman House, including the Rabbi of the Jewish centre Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, was not immediately known. The couple's two-year-old son and a staff member at the centre had managed to escape the building.
The operation to clear the building had started around 7.30 am on Friday when National Security Guard commandos slid down ropes from two military helicopters to the roof of the house. After intermittent firing and heavy shelling, the operation ended at around 6.20 pm
NSG Chief J.K. Datta said, “The operation has been successful. Six bodies have been recovered, out of which two are of foreigners and two have been identified as terrorists. Some grenades, two AK-47 rifles and a pistol were found at the hotel. The hotel is being sanitised now. There are no casualties of NSG officers.” However, at the Taj Hotel, an injured terrorist is said to be holed up.

Taj, Oberoi under control: National Security Guard
The head of India's commando unit said on Friday that his men had taken "full control" of the Oberoi Trident hotel after killing the last of two terrorists.
JK Dutt, director general of the National Security Guard (NSG), told reporters that they had found six bodies and were now searching every room for hidden terrorists and possible guests.
Dutt said two AK-47 rifles and a pistol have been seized from the dead terrorists whom they first tried to capture.
The NSG, which was deployed to take on terrorists who caused havoc in Mumbai from Wednesday night killing some 125 people, had also found live grenades. These would now be defused.
"The Oberoi is (now) empty (of terrorists). Two terrorists have been killed. The entire Trident and Oberoi hotel is under our full control," he told an army of reporters at the hotel's premises.
He said Indian soldiers and the Maharashtra Police had thrown an effective ring around the hotel while the commando operation was on to prevent terrorists from escaping.
Dutt said since the keys of some rooms were missing, the NSG was using explosives to force open locked doors.

Hotel Oberoi under control: NSG chief
MUMBAI: NSG chief on Friday said that two terrorists were killed in Hotel Oberoi Trident and the hotel was under the control.
NSG also recovered unexploded grenades and AK-47 and the team would diffuse the unexploded ammunition.

No firing at CST station: Railway police
The Railway authorities on Friday denied that there was any new incident of firing at the Chatrapathi Shivaji railway terminus in Mumbai.
"There was no firing at Chatrapathi Shivaji railway terminus. The reports of firing at CST are nothing but rumours," Commissioner (Railway Safety) A K Sharma told reporters.

Mumbai at Gunpoint
Gunbattle continues at Taj hotel in Mumbai
A gunbattle has resumed between commandos and a sole terrorist at Taj hotel. Commandos earlier recovered 30 bodies from the hotel.
As security agencies went in for the final kill, there was fresh firing on Friday morning between terrorists and commandos of India's elite National Security Guard (NSG) at the Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel Tower and at Nariman House.
At least seven-eight rounds of fire were exchanged between security agencies and the terrorists, suspected to be hiding on the ground floor of the Taj hotel. The firing begin at 11.40 pm.
Television reporters and crew, who were barely 100 metres from the hotel building, dove for cover. Security agencies fear that the terrorists might still have one or two people in their custody.
There was similar exchange of fire at the five-storey Nariman House in Colaba where security forces have begun their final assault. Terrorists continue to hold an unspecified number of people as hostages.

At least 148 hostages, many of them foreigners, rescued from Oberoi hotel

MUMBAI: At least 148 hostages, many of them foreigners, rescued from Oberoi hotel. The group, some of whom were carrying luggage with Canadian flags on, were taken away in cars without speaking to reporters. The group included one man dressed in Chef's uniform and a small baby.

The release on Friday came as NSG commandos were assaulting a nearby Jewish center and another hotel, searching for terrorists still holed up more than a day after a chain of attacks across India's financial center by the militants left at least 130 people dead.

Earlier, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor said all hostages inside the Taj hotel have been evacuated but refused to comment on whether the terrorists inside the hotel have been killed. Regarding terrorists holed up in the Oberoi hotel and Nariman House, Gafoor said NSG commandos are leading the operation and the situation will be brought under control soon. Gafoor said least 12 terrorists had come to Mumbai from Gujarat. One NSG commando seriously injured in Taj Hotel, says Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor. At Oberoi, no gun shots or explosions were heard since late last night as the security forces launched room-to-room searches. One NSG commando was seriously injured in Taj's eighth floor during the operations, Commissioner of Police Hassan Gafoor told PTI.

NSG, Army closing in on Nariman House; fresh explosions heard

Three fresh explosions rocked Nariman House in Mumbai on Friday morning as security forces battled hard through the night to end the siege of Taj and Trident luxury hotels by heavily-armed terrorists as the death toll in the audacious strikes in ten places across the city climbed to 127.
As NSG commandos closed in on Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex in Colaba in south Mumbai, for a final assault, two explosions within a span of ten to 15 minutes slowed down their operation. A third explosion was heard at 4.47 am.
"The operation to clean up the Nariman House is still going on," Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt told reporters adding "it is just a matter of time and it will end soon".
Dutt said the operations at Hotel Taj was by and large over with just one injured terrorist still holed-up in the building. "He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," he said.

Encounter rages on at Nariman house
Indian commandos were dropped by helicopter onto the roof of a Jewish centre in Mumbai, where suspected Islamist militants are holding at least 10 Israelis, live television pictures showed on Friday.
The Jewish Centre was one of three pockets in the country's financial capital where Indian forces were battling to flush out die-hard militants, more than 24 hours after a band of heavily armed fighters killed at least 127 people in coordinated attacks.
A Reuters witness said security forces fired into the Jewish centre, apparently to provide cover, as commandos rappeled down a rope from the helicopter.
Police said militants were also still holed up at the Taj Mahal hotel and the nearby Oberoi-Trident hotel along with an unknown number of hostages. A Reuters witness said commandos also stormed into the Oberoi-Trident on Friday morning.

Commandos battled the militants through Thursday, often room to room in the hotels, to rescue people. Flames billowed out of the buildings and loud explosions were heard during the fighting.

FOREIGNERS TARGETED

The militants appeared to specifically target Britons, Americans and Israelis, witnesses said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the attack would be met with a "vigorous response".
US President-elect Barack Obama condemned the incident. Obama, who favours a regional solution to the war in Afghanistan and is encouraging Pakistan and India to make peace over Kashmir, was monitoring the situation closely, an aide said.

Three Pakistani militants held in Mumbai: Reports
NEW DELHI: Three of the militants who attacked Mumbai have confessed they are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a newspaper reported on Friday.
Newspapers squarely blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the largest Islamist militant groups in South Asia, for the attacks that killed more than 100 people and wounded more than 300 which began late on Wednesday. NSG commandos were still battling to flush out militants in several pockets on Friday, including two luxury hotels.
Lashkar-e-Taiba denied on Thursday it had any role in the attacks, which also targeted a popular cafe, a Jewish centre and the city's main railway. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the assault was carried out by groups based outside India, usually an allusion to Pakistan.
One of the militants was a resident of Faridkot in Pakistan's Punjab province, the newspaper said, citing unidentified police investigators. "Based on the interrogation of the suspects, the investigators believe that one or more groups of Lashkar operatives left Karachi in a merchant ship early on Wednesday," the newspaper said. It said the group came ashore at Mumbai on a small boat and then split up into small teams to attack multiple locations.
Another newspaper said the group left the Pakistani port city of Karachi by sea and transferred to two small boats or rubber dinghies off Mumbai. They were seen by several residents coming ashore but allayed suspicion by saying they were students, it said.
The Times of India said the attackers were aged between 18 and 25. Each was given "an AK-47 assault rifle with two magazines each, one pistol and eight to 10 grenades suspected to have manufactured at a Pakistan ordnance factory" it said. "The equipment, training and sophistication of their planning would tend to indicate a Pakistani link," wrote strategic affairs analyst K Subrahmanyam in the Times of India. Lashkar-e-Taiba, along with another group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, made its name fighting the Indian rule in Kashmir, where state elections are underway. Both groups were closely linked in the past to the Pakistani military's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the ISI. They were also blamed for an attack on the Parliament House in 2001 which brought the two countries close to a fourth war since independence from Britain 60 years ago.
"The possibility of rogue elements in ISI and jihadi elements in Pakistan conspiring to create tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad cannot be ruled out," Subrahmanyam wrote. Singh did not specifically name Pakistan, which has condemned the attacks and promised full cooperation. "We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them," Singh said in a televised address

NEWS TODAY

TERROR HITS FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF INDIA

MUMBAI: At least 101 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, police said on Thursday."At least six foreigners have been killed and the death figure has gone up to 101 now," Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer told from Mumbai's control room. In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex

and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and

sending hundreds of injured to hospital, according to latest reports

The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east)

Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed

The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel.

Two terrorists were reported holed up inside the Oberoi Hotel. Fresh firing has been reported at Oberoi and Army has entered the hotel to flush out the terrorists. An unknown outfit, Deccan Mujahideen, has sent an email to news organizations claiming that it carried out the Mumbai attacks.

The Army and Navy in Mumbai were put on alert. 65 Army commandos and 200 NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said. The Navy commandos too have been asked to assist the police. Special secretary M L Kumawat is in constant touch with the state police.

Some media reports attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba. There were also unconfirmed reports that some of the terrorists came in by sea. A boat laden with explosives was recovered later at night off the Gateway of India. Well after midnight, sources said two of the terrorists were shot and wounded at Girgaum in south Mumbai. The two were driving in a commandeered silver-coloured Skoda car. Earlier, these men had sprayed bullets from a police Bolero, outside the Metro Adlabs multiplex.

The attacks occurred at the busiest places. Besides hotels and hospitals, terrorists struck at railway stations, Crawford Market, Wadi Bunder and on the Western Express Highway near the airport. Several of these places are within a one-km radius of the commissioner of police's office. "This is definitely a terrorist strike. Seven places have been attacked with automatic weapons and grenades. Terrorists are still holed up in three locations Taj and Oberoi hotels and GT Hospital. Encounters are on at all three places," said Maharashtra DGP A N Roy.

St George's Hospital and G T Hospital were said to have received 75 bodies and more than 250 injured people, additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev said. Bombay Hospital got two bodies and 30 injured people were admitted there; Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle, got three dismembered bodies. Three of the deaths occurred inside the Taj and one G T Hospital attendant died in a shootout inside the hospital. There were reports of people cowering under tables and chairs at both the Taj as well as G T Hospital.

Metro Junction resident Manoj Goel said: "My brother, Manish, died in the firing at Colaba's Hamaal Galli." Cops fired back at the men -- probably from one of the Lashkar groups, dressed in black and with backpacks and SRPF, Crime Branch, ATS and teams of military commandos were summoned to the spot. Train services at CST were suspended and all roads leading to and from south Mumbai were blockaded.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh cut short his Kerala visit and was returning to Mumbai. He described the situation in Mumbai as "very serious".

Deshmukh promised "stringent action" against the assailants but the mood across Mumbai was not so optimistic. There were reports of firing around several landmark buildings in the Colaba-Nariman Point area, including the Taj hotel, Oberoi and other tourist attractions and pubs like Leopold's. The top floor of Oberoi was said to be on fire amid reports of blasts in the area and blood-smeared bodies were being brought out of the Taj lobby.

Terrorists were said to be holed up at the Taj as well as G T Hospital and cops scampered to cordon off these places. A white flag was seen fluttering from an Oberoi Hotel window around 11.20 pm, where a blast was said to have occurred. The blast on the Western Express Highway -- near Centaur Hotel outside the airport -- occurred in a taxi, deputy commissioner of police Nissar Tamboli said.

The firing and bombing started close to the Gateway of India. The gunbattle then moved on towards CST and raged on for over an hour from 10 pm, sending commuters running out of the station. The assailants also fired into the crowd at CST and people on the trains and then ran out of the station themselves and into neighbouring buildings, including Cama Hospital, after being challenged by cops.

SRPF personnel then entered the iconic BMC building -- just opposite CST -- to take aim at the assailants, BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak said. "We fear some of the assailants are still inside the station and we want to catch them if they come out,'' a police official said. Vikhroli police station senior inspector Habib Ansari was on his way to work from his Colaba home when he saw two armed men, with sophisticated weaponry, trying to run into bylanes near the Gateway of India."I rushed back to Colaba and all policemen, including GRP and RPF personnel, were called up," he added.