RIYADH: Following controversy over his remarks that Saudi Arabia can be a "valuable interlocutor" between India and Pakistan, MoS for external affairs Shashi Tharoor quickly clarified he did not mean Riyadh should be a mediator.
PMO sources told Times Now that Tharoor’s remarks have “embarrassed” the government.
In comments that raised eyebrows in Indian political circles, Tharoor had said, "We feel that Saudi Arabia of course has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia even a more valuable interlocutor for us." Tharoor is currently accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day visit to the oil-rich kingdom.
"When we tell them about our experience, Saudi Arabia listens as somebody who is not in anyway an enemy of Pakistan but rather is a friend of Pakistan and therefore I am sure will listen with sympathy and concern to a matter of this nature," he said when asked by reporters what kind of cooperation did he expect from Riyadh considering its close relations with Islamabad.
Just hours after making the remarks, the minister - who earlier also hit headlines for his controversial statements on social networking site Twitter on the government's austerity measures and immigration policy -- retracted them.
"No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator. Never said that or anything like it," Tharoor said.
Tharoor also issued a 'clarification' on Twitter. "If I speak to u, u are my interlocutor! I mentioned the Saudis as OUR interlocutors, ie the people we are here to speak to. Some misinterpretn," he said.
“Good day of mtgs, marred in some Indian media by misunderstanding of word "interlocutor". An interlocutor is someone u spk to, nothing more," he added.
Tharoor's remarks were condemned by BJP as "utterly irresponsible". The BJP will seek a clarification from Prime Minister in Parliament, party spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said in New Delhi. CPI also said the remarks were irresponsible.
No third party role in India-Pakistan ties: Congress, BJP
NEW DELHI/RIYADH: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday made it clear that there was no scope for a third party in India-Pakistan relations.
Commenting on minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor's remarks on Saudi Arabia's potential as an interlocutor in India's ties with Pakistan, a source close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, "India's position on no to third party mediation in India-Pakistan issues is unchanged. There is no change in the Congress position."
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed Tharoor's remarks "unusual" and reiterated India's known stand that no third party can intervene in issues between India and Pakistan.
Tharoor, who is with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Riyadh, said, "We feel Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan and that makes Saudi Arabia a more valuable interlocutor to us."
He was asked if India would seek Saudi support to influence Pakistan to address Indian concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory.
As a mini storm erupted over Tharoor's remarks, he clarified that India's desire to seek Riyadh's support on terrorism related issues with Islamabad did not mean giving it the role of a mediator in India-Pakistan disputes.
He said he had never used the word mediation or mediator while talking about a possible Saudi role.
"No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator... Never said that or anything like it," Tharoor said a couple of hours after the media publicised his earlier remarks.
India is firmly opposed to any third party role in its relations with Pakistan.
Pak will have to fight war if India doesn't talk: JuD chief
ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding the recent Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level meeting for which India took initiative, JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has said Pakistan will have to "fight a war at all costs" if New Delhi is not prepared to hold talks.
"India wants war... If India is not prepared to hold talks, Pakistan will have to fight a war at all costs," Saeed said in an interview to a news channel.
Asked about India's accusations about his involvement in planning and carrying out the Mumbai attacks, Saeed replied: "Let India prove it in any court, I will be ready to accept everything."
To another question on whether people should go to Kashmir for 'jehad' against India, he said there was "no doubt" in his mind that this should be done.
He also said he had no doubt that the Pakistan government is "cowardly."
Saeed's comments came days after the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in New Delhi on February 25, the first official parleys between the two sides since the Mumbai attacks.
Though there was no breakthrough in the talks, the world community welcomed the development in the hope that it would lead to normalisation of ties between the two countries.
The JuD chief's face was not shown during the interview and he was filmed over his shoulder from the back. He said he did not wish to be filmed as it was not allowed by 'Shariah' or Islamic law.
Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, was placed under house arrest in Lahore in December 2008 after the JuD was declared a terrorist group by the UN Security Council in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.
He was freed after about six months on the orders of the Lahore High Court.
The Pakistan government challenged his release in the Supreme Court, but no hearing has been held in the matter for several months after the case was adjourned for various reasons.
Several members of the LeT - including its operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a former aide of Saeed - are currently being tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi for their alleged role in planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.
This case too has been affected by controversy and delays.
3 Idiots best film; Big B, Vidya best actors at Filmfare
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan bagged the Best Actor and Actress award for their performances in 'Paa' while '3 Idiots' scooped six trophies including best film at the 55th Filmfare awards.
The year 2009's biggest blockbuster '3Idiots' won best director award for Rajkumar Hirani, who also picked up the best story trophy with Abhijat Joshi at the ceremony held here on Saturday. Hirani also won best Screenplay Award with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for the Aamir Khan starrer. The duo also bagged the Best Dialogue Award for the film.
Bachchan and his family skipped awards function to protest against a news report about Aishwarya Rai's health in a tabloid owned by the same publication as Filmfare last week. The Bachchans have sent a legal notice to the paper asking for retraction and apology. In Big B's absence, Vidya collected Bachchan's best actor award.
Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor and noted music composer Khayyam were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Boman Irani and Kalki Koechlin won the Best Supporting Actor and Actress for '3 Idiots' and 'Dev D' respectively.
Among the popular category, Oscar-winning music composer, A R Rahman, won the best music award for 'Delhi-6', making it the 25th black lady on his award-shelf. 'Aaj Din Chaddya...' from 'Love Aaj Kal' fetched Irshad Kamil the Best Lyrics award.
In the Critics' Awards category, Nandita Das won the best director trophy for 'Firaaq' while Ranbir Kapoor and Mahie Gill bagged the best actor and actress award for their performances in 'Wake Up Sid' and 'Dev D' respectively.
Centre rushes 1,200 paramilitary personnel to Punjab, Haryana
New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday rushed about 1,200 paramilitary personnel to Punjab and Haryana, hit by violence following filing of a fresh murder case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
“We have sent central paramilitary forces, 12 companies to Punjab and Haryana to take care of the situation. Strict instructions have been given to the state governments to take severe action against those breaking law and order”, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told reporters here. He said the Home Minister P Chidambaram is aware of the development. “We have also kept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informed," Pillai said.
Resenting the filing of a murder case against the Dera Sacha Sauda head by the CBI, sect supporters last evening went on a rampage setting ablaze four trains and around 37 vehicles, including 27 buses, and vandalising property in several places in the two states.
Business News
ICICI emerges biggest recruiter at IIM-A
Ahmedabad: ICICI Bank emerged as the biggest recruiter during the third cluster of cohort based final placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) here, by offering over 10 jobs to the students.
The interviews for the third cluster continued throughout the day yesterday. The companies from various sectors like banking services, financial advisory services and credit rating agencies took part in the placements, a member of the IIM-A placement committee said.
"ICICI Bank was the largest recruiter on campus giving a double-digit number of offers, while, regular recruiters such as ICRA, KPMG, Essar Group and Philips offered jobs to the IIM-A students in finance, consulting, sales and marketing fields," he said.
"The new process once again ensured a smooth experience for both students and recruiters. Seamlessness prevailed despite a large number of recruiters visiting the campus this weekend," the Media Coordinator for the Placement Committee, Mansi Chitalia said.
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Final placements at IIM-A this year is based on cohort based system. As per this process companies offering similar roles, profiles, salaries and locations are grouped into individual cohorts who converge at campus on weekends and discuss roles on offer with students before recruiting them.
India, Saudi Arabia set to sign 10 pacts on cooperation
Riyadh: India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday finalised 10 pacts, including an Extradition Treaty and agreements in the economic sphere for signing during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ongoing visit to this oil-rich country.
Singh has expressed keenness to impart ‘strategic character’ to India-Saudi Arabia ties and the agreements are expected to give a major fillip to the relations. The Prime Minister's long overdue visit to the Kingdom comes four years after King Abdullah visited India.
During the three-day visit, the two sides will sign 10 pacts including Extradition Treaty, Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and Agreement on setting up Joint Investment Fund. Singh and King Abdullah will also hold talks on opening ‘new frontiers’ of cooperation in various areas including security and defence.
India's concerns over 'safe havens' of al-Qaeda and Taliban along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border will be also discussed during the talks between Singh and King Abdullah.
6.38 lakh jobs created in Oct-Dec Q
New Delhi: In a clear indication of the revival of the economy, the Government has revealed that 6.38 lakh jobs were created in the October-December quarter last year.
During this period, employment increased in almost all sectors except the transport sector which saw a marginal decline, according to the Labour Bureau under the Labour and Employment Ministry. It said 91 per cent of the jobs created were in export units, which bore the brunt of the economic crisis, thus signalling an imminent turnaround.
“Out of the total increase of 6.38 lakh jobs during the period, 5.80 lakh jobs were added in the export units. The IT/BPO units alone added 4.87 lakh jobs within the export units”, a senior official in the Ministry said. The bureau arrived at the figures after conducting an employment survey covering 2,953 units of eight selected sectors across 11 states and union territories.
The survey was the fifth in the series, the first one being conducted in the October-December quarter in 2008 immediately after the onset of the global meltdown to assess the impact of recession on the job market. The previous survey conducted between July and September, 2009 showed a 4.97 lakh increase in job creation.
Sports News
India-Pak to clash in high voltage opener
New Delhi: Emotions will run high when India, after a tumultuous build-up, will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a potential humdinger of the hockey World Cup, which gets underway amid watertight security here on Sunday.
Indian hockey has gone down considerably since then, evident from their result in the last couple of years. After finishing a lowly 11th out of 12 teams in the last World Cup at Monchengladbach, Germany fours years ago, Indian hockey plunged to a new low in 2008 by missing out on an Olympic berth for the first time in 80 years.
After all these lows, this mega event brings with it an opportunity of a lifetime for Indian hockey to regain its lost glory in front of countrymen. But achieving it is no mean task for the Rajpal Singh-led side and the first two matches Pakistan and Australia carry a lot of significance since result of these encounters would decide their fate in the tournament.
The match also gives Rajpal and his men an opportunity to avenge their 3-6 defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the semifinal of the Champions Challenge I tournament in Salta, Argentina.
The much-anticipated game carries a lot of importance for both the teams not only in the context of sporting ties between the two countries but also on the diplomatic front. And expectedly emotions will run high in both the camps as for the first time after 26/11 Mumbai carnage, the two countries will be meeting each other on Indian soil.
City stun Chelsea as Bridge gets revenge on Terry
Wayne Bridge got his revenge on John Terry as Manchester City dented nine-man Chelsea's title challenge with a stunning 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge. While Chelsea stumbled, third placed Arsenal closed the gap to three points with a dramatic 3-1 win yesterday at 10-man Stoke which was marred by a serious injury to Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
After snubbing Terry's offer of a handshake during the pre-match greeting between the teams, Bridge -- who this week quit England duty as a result of Terry's alleged affair with his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel played his part as City handed Chelsea their first home defeat in 38 games. Frank Lampard put the Premier League leaders ahead in the 42nd minute but Carlos Tevez equalised in first half stoppage-time following mistakes from Terry and goalkeeper Hilario.
Craig Bellamy struck for the visitors in the 51st minute with a shot from a tight angle that Hilario should have saved. Tevez scored his second from the penalty spot after Juliano Belletti was sent off for fouling Gareth Barry in the 76th minute, then Michael Ballack was dismissed in the closing stages.
Bellamy rubbed salt into Chelsea's wounds with the fourth in the 87th minute before Lampard's 90th-minute penalty reduced the deficit. Chelsea remain just one point ahead of Manchester United, while City go above Tottenham into fourth place.
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