Claiming 2 troops dead, Indian FM threatens ‘action

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SRINAGAR  - India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of killing two of its soldiers in an attack and mutilating one of the bodies along the tense disputed border between the nuclear-armed neighbours. In his remarks that may harm an already fragile peace process, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid bluntly said India would deliver a “proportionate response” to the killings in Kashmir. The Pakistan Army denied launching an unprovoked attack as claimed by India. A Pakistan Army spokesman, in a message, said, “Pakistan military officials deny Indian allegation of unprovoked firing.” He said the Indian account was propaganda to divert the attention of the world from Sunday’s raid on a Pakistani post. One Pakistani soldier was killed in the attack. India said its two soldiers died after a firefight broke out around noon as a patrol moving in foggy conditions discovered Pakistani troops about half a kilometre inside Indian territory, an Indian army spokesman said. “There was a firefight with Pakistani troops,” army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told a news agency from the mountainous Himalayan region, confirming the names of the men as sergeants Hemraj Singh and Sudhakar Singh. “We lost two soldiers and one of them has been badly mutilated,” he added, declining to give more details on the injuries.“The intruders were regular (Pakistani) soldiers and they were 400-500 metres inside our territory,” he said of the clash in Mendhar sector, 173 kilometres west by road from the city of Jammu. Speaking on Indian television, Indian Foreign Minister Khurshid described the killings as “inhumane” and “not the way civilised people deal with each other”. “We need to do something about this and we will, but it has to be done after careful consideration of all the details in consultation with the defence ministry,” Khurshid told the NDTV news channel.“It is absolutely unacceptable, ghastly, and really, really terrible and extremely short-sighted by their part,” he added, promising that the response would be “proportionate”.“This seems like a clear attempt to derail the dialogue,” he added. “We have to find ways in which the dialogue is not sabotaged or destroyed.” Relations between the neighbours had been slowly improving over the last few years following a rupture in their slow-moving peace process after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which were blamed by India on Pakistan-based militants.The Pakistan Army says Indian troops crossed the Line of Control on Sunday and stormed a military post in an attack that left one Pakistani soldier dead and another injured. It lodged a formal protest with India on Monday. India denied crossing the line, but a foreign ministry spokesman said Indian troops had undertaken “controlled retaliation” on Sunday after “unprovoked firing” that damaged a civilian home. The deaths deal a serious blow to efforts to ease tension in South Asia and improve diplomatic relations. Steps such as opening up trade and offering more lenient visa regimes have been a feature of recent high-level talks.India’s cable news channels widely reported the latest deaths and alleged mutilation under headlines reading “Pak’s Open Aggression”, “Pakistan’s Barbarism”, and “Kargil-type stunt”.The last major mobilisation of Indian troops to its border with Pakistan took place in 2001 after an attack on the parliament in New Delhi by five militants.Rajesh K Kalia, spokesman for the Indian army, claimed Tuesday’s ‘intrusion’ was “a significant escalation ... of ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts supported by Pakistan Army”.“Pakistan army troops, having taken advantage of thick fog and mist in the forested area, were moving towards (their) own posts when an alert area domination patrol spotted and engaged them,” he alleged.“The firefight between Pakistan and own troops continued for approximately half an hour, after which the intruders retreated back towards their side of Line of Control.”The firefight broke out at about noon on Tuesday (0630 GMT), Indian army spokesman said declining to give more details on the injuries.The Indian army spokesman in Kashmir, RK Palta, declined to comment on the incident.In yet another account, some Indian officials claimed that Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC Tuesday and slit the throats of two Indian soldiers at a post in Held Kashmir.Poonch Deputy Commissioner AK Sahu asserted that “Pakistanis raided a post in Sona Gali area. They (Pakistani soldiers) slit the throats of two army soldiers”. In his view the 29 Baloch regiment was involved in the attack.Going further, the Indian army sources alleged that the raiding Pakistani troops took away weapons of the dead Indian soldiers from 13 Rajputana Rifles.The US has voiced concern after Sunday’s clash across the Line of Control and urged the two countries to end exchange of fire. “We have supported attempts between India and Pakistan to find a positive way forward between them and to work on the issue of Kashmir,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland had said.

Women will be punished like Sita's 'haran' by Ravan if they cross 'maryada' (moral) limits: Senior BJP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya quotes Ramayana

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Indore BJP govt's Madhya Pradesh Industry Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya statement that women, who breach their moral limits deserve punishment, has caused a major embarrassment for the main Opposition party BJP.
Vijayvargiya joins the growing list of politicians who have made derogatory remarks against women.

Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, one of her party colleagues Kakoli Ghosh, and President Pranab Mukherjee’s son had joined the list of politicians who had cast aspersions on the character of victims of sexual harassment.

Senior Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Vijayvargiya said quoting Ramayana, “Ek hi shabd hai – Maryada. Maryada ka ulanghan hota hai, toh Sita-haran ho jata hai. Laxman-rekha har vyakti ki khichi gayi hai. Us Laxman-rekha ko koi bhi par karega, toh Rawan samne baitha hai, woh Sita-haran karke le jayega.”

He further said that if a woman crosses her limits she will be punished, just like Sita was abducted by Ravana.

Vijayvargiya explained that everyone is worried and society has to think why such incidents are happening, and added not only political parties but also people who lead the society have to think over it seriously.

He said just making tough laws cannot control such incidents and “we need to think seriously upon it. I think these incidents are happening where the dignity is being breached.”

What is making American youth violent and trigger happy

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Just one day after a twenty year old American male killed twenty children and seven adults in Connecticut, police in Oklahoma arrested a teenager for allegedly plotting to attack his high school and trying to recruit classmates to help him.

It is the American way of life that is making these male youth of America crazy and trigger happy. The country has indulged in helping the failed big banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions but never cared to understand the social problems within the society where divorce rate is skyrocketing, guns are easily available, and youth are bored and frustrated.

Obama Administration must understand student loans are not the solution to a major psychotic problem within the American culture. America can be in a state of denial but the fact is more than hundred people have died in school shooting this year alone.

So what are the problems?

First, the families are disjointed and parents are selfish to their children after they reach sixteen years old. That is not the case in other countries. When you give birth, you need to take care of your children.

Famous Indian philosopher who was able to defeat Alexander the Great 1700 years beck, said, “Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends.”

Youth in any society need care and love. That is what is missing in America in general.

Two attacks leave 12 dead ‘Good Taliban’ Maulvi Nazir killed by drone

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According to a security official, Maulvi Nazir, 39, perceived to be pro-government because he had signed a peace deal with the authorities in 2007, was killed along with his five guards when a missile hit his vehicle while he was going to Wana from Birmal in South Waziristan on Wednesday night.

Maulvi Nazir’s key aide Rata Khan was among the other militants killed when the vehicle was attacked near Angoor Adda on the Afghan border, the official said.

In North Waziristan, six militants, a close associate of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s chief Hakimullah Mehsud among them, were killed in a drone attack in Mirali tehsil on Thursday.

According to sources, unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at about 9am on a car carrying Shah Faisal and other militants in Mubarak Shahi, some 20km east of Miramshah. Two others killed in the attack were identified as Israr and Lateef.

Maulvi Nazir had survived a suicide bombing in November. The TTP, the umbrella organisation of Pakistani militant groups, denied its involvement, but Nazir, under pressure from the government, ordered the expulsion of Mehsud tribesmen from Wana. The TTP leadership comes from the Mehsud tribe.

He had entered into a peace agreement with the government after his group expelled militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, led then by Tahir Uldashev, in 2007 from the area.

Nazir’s fighters avoided attacking government and security forces’ installations in the tribal region and cooperated with the local administration, an official said.

He had survived two drone strikes in the past and two attempts to assassinate him through roadside bombings by local militant leaders who wanted to settle score with him for expelling them for their support to Uzbek militants. His younger brother, Hazrat Omar, had also been killed in a drone attack.

His death will certainly not please the authorities who have been relying on pro-government militant leaders to keep anti-state elements at bay and it could also spell trouble for the government if the TTP or affiliated militants try to return to the region.

But the militant leader from Ahmadzai Wazir tribe regularly sent out fighters to fight the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

SHELLING: Helicopter gunships pounded several areas in North Waziristan tribal agency on Thursday, killing three people and injuring four others.

Dozens of families fled the area after several houses were damaged by shelling on Machas camp.

The administration imposed a curfew in the region for the second day and launched a search operation after a security man and a civilian were killed and four personnel injured in a roadside bomb attack on a vehicle of the Frontier Works Organisation.

Several houses were destroyed in the shelling by helicopters in areas where militants were suspected to be hiding. The victims included a woman.

Local tribal elders tried to negotiate with the authorities but the administration rejected their move.

Agencies add: The funeral of Nazir and his associates was held in Angoor Adda and markets and shops remained closed.

Residents in Angoor Adda and Wana said mosque loudspeakers were used to announce Nazir’s death. A local man, Ajaz Khan, said over 5,000 people attended the funeral. Ahmed Yar, who attended the funeral, said Nazir’s body was badly burnt and his face unrecognisable.

Officials said an unmanned US aircraft fired two missiles at his vehicle in the Sar Kanda area and his two senior deputies were among those killed along with him.

The attack took place at about 10.35pm on Wednesday, an official said.

Another official said Nazir was attacked as he prepared to swap vehicles after his pick-up developed a mechanical fault.

Maulvi Nazir was understood to be close to the Al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban.He was injured in the suicide attack in South Waziristan on Nov 29 when he was arriving at an office where he used to meet local people and hear their complaints.

Security officials were locked in talks to assess the impact of Nazir’s death. “There will be a setback in a way. He was one of those who were keeping his area under effective control and preventing the TTP from operating there,” an official said.

Some officials said eight people had been killed along with Nazir.

The military is believed to have struck a non-aggression pact with Nazir ahead of its 2009 operation against militants in South Waziristan.

He outraged many Pakistanis in June when he announced that he would not allow any polio vaccinations in territory under his control until the US stopped drone attacks in the region.

Nazir had property in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. He earlier used to be a member of the Hizb-i-Islami, an Afghan militant group.

Nazir’s group quickly appointed his close aide Bawal Khan as a replacement, according to one of his aides. But a Reuters report named the successor as Salahuddin Ayubi.