The Tribune – Good relations with Pakistan vital for resolving tricky issues: Sushil Kumar Shinde

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15. Close on the heels of Nawaz Sharif — who is certain to be the new Pakistan Premier after his emphatic election win —seeking warmer ties with India, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday said good relations with Islamabad were vital for resolving tricky issues between the two countries.

“When Nawaz Sharif’s party was leading in majority of seats, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had congratulated him and in return Sharif had invited the Prime Minister to attend his swearing-in. It’s a good initiative. Such initiatives can greatly help in resolving tricky issues,” Shinde told reporters here.

On being asked if government agencies have made an assessment of the situation in Pakistan after elections, Shinde said: “It was too early to make a review”.

In December 2012, Shinde had to face an embarrassment when his then Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik during his visit to India had equated Babri mosque demolition to terror attacks. Malik at that time had even claimed that 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed had been arrested in Pakistan. Later, it was revealed that Saeed had never been arrested. Shinde had told Malik that it was of “paramount importance” to bring perpetrators of terror strikes to justice for smoother Indo-Pak ties.

The Home Ministry, meanwhile, has asked all states to set up fast-track courts to take up cases of youth jailed for suspicion of being involved in terror cases. The Centre has sent an advisory to states and was also trying to find out how many Muslim inmates (involved in terror cases) were in jail.

“We are trying to ascertain the facts. It will take time. We have asked the states to set up fast-track courts,” Shinde said. Minister of State for Home RPN Singh had informed Parliament recently that under the NIA Act, the Central Government had set up 39 special courts to take up terror-related cases. About three months ago, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan had expressed concern over “wrong arrests” of Muslim youths in different parts of the country in terror cases. He had taken up the matter with Shinde and had proposed setting up of special courts to ensure speedy trial in such cases.

No decision on Bhullar

On demand for commuting the death sentence of terrorist Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, the Home Minister said he had received a number of representations but no decision has been taken yet. “We are still looking into these demands,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130516/main1.htm

The Asian Age – Shinde: High-level probe of attack on Mamata

Asian Age Correspondent

Kolkata, 18 April 2013. n a clear bid to placate sulking Mamata Banerjee, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday announced in Kolkata that the Centre had set up a high-level inquiry into the attack on her and the state finance minister Amit Mitra by SFI activists in Delhi.

“I have instituted an inquiry into the incident. Special secretary, home, is probing the matter,” Mr Shinde added. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 20th Eastern Zonal Council meeting which was held at the Town Hall.

Chief ministers of four states, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand, were supposed to attend the meeting. However, only Ms Banerjee was present. Since Jharkhand is under President’s rule, the state was represented by governor Syed Ahmed.

However, contrary to speculation, the chief ministers of Bihar and Orissa Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik also gave it a miss. Mr Shinde, who presided over the meeting, did not forget to say a special thank you to Ms Banerjee for participating in the meeting. “I am grateful to Mamata didi that she came to the meeting though she is not keeping well,” he said.

Immediately after she returned from Delhi on last Wednesday, the chief minister was admitted to a private hospital. Although she was discharged on Saturday the doctors had advised her total rest.

Ms Banerjee has not been attending office at the Writers’ Buildings since then. On Wednesday, she attended an official function for the first time since her stormy visit to the Planning Commission last week.

http://www.asianage.com/india/shinde-high-level-probe-attack-mamata-230

Dawn – Alerts spoke of Pakistan-based group, say Indian officials

New Delhi, 22 February 2013. A specific alert warning of an attack by a ‘Pakistan-based terrorist group’ was shared by India’s central security agencies with Hyderabad police on Thursday hours before two bombs there killed 16 people and wounded over a hundred, Home Ministry officials were quoted by Press Trust of India as saying on Friday.

Two blasts ripped through a crowded market in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The ministry had sent specific alert on Thursday morning to four cities — Hyderabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hubli — warning them of probable attacks by terrorists, the officials said. Maharashtra and Gujarat police forces were also sent the alert, the officials said.

According to Home Ministry officials, the alerts were also sent to all states on February 19 and 20 that Pakistan-based terrorist groups might carry out attacks in a major city to avenge the hanging of Mumbai terror mascot Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

They said the central security agencies had sent an advisory on Tuesday asking all states to tighten security in sensitive places as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen might launch attacks.

The security agencies sent another advisory on Wednesday saying the banned shadowy group called the Indian Mujahideen might carry out terror attacks to avenge the hanging of Kasab and Guru.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had on Thursday said all states were alerted about a possible terror strike by militant groups but did not identify any group.

In the past Hindu extremists have been caught for their alleged roles in bombings across India, including Hyderabad.

However, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had said those were general alerts which often kept coming from the centre.

Meanwhile, Mr Shinde told Parliament on Friday that government would make all possible efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and masterminds behind the twin blasts in Hyderabad.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha after touring the blast sites, Mr Shinde said the situation was under control and the government was committed to combat such cowardly terror attacks.

http://dawn.com/2013/02/23/alerts-spoke-of-pak-based-group-say-indian-officials/

The Tribune – Hyderabad Blasts; Government had intelligence input, but no details, says Sushilkumar Shinde

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 21. Central intelligence agencies had an input about a possible terror attack but had drawn a blank on specific leads on terror groups and the location of the attack. The terrorist group responsible for the Hyderabad twin blasts is yet to be identified, sources told The Tribune.

Initial inputs suggest the use of timers to trigger the blasts. The Union Home Ministry has sent teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the National Security Guard (NSG) to the site.

The Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) unit in Hyderabad has been tasked to collect forensic evidence.

The Prime Minister has termed the blast as a dastardly act and approved Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to the families of those deceased.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government had some intelligence inputs about a possible terror attack for the past two days, but there were no specific details. He said that intelligence inputs had been shared with CMs of different states.

Home Secretary R K Singh said, “Our NIA team has a hub in Hyderabad and it has reached the site. An IG-level NIA official is also going from New Delhi. The post-blast investigating team of NSG is also going.” The teams will take a aircraft and will reach the spot around midnight.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130222/nation.htm#12

The Asian Age – Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde targets ‘BJP-RSS terror’

Asian Age Correspondent

21 January 2013. Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde stoked a fresh controversy on Sunday by accusing the BJP and RSS of “conducting terror training camps” and promoting “Hindu terror”, setting off an angry reaction from saffron leaders, who demanded an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

“On one hand we’re trying to bring peace in this country. We’re also taking steps against injustice to minorities, also against infiltration. But in the midst of this, we have an investigation report that be it the RSS or BJP, their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism. We are keeping a strict vigil on all this,” Mr Shinde said at the AICC meeting here.

The minister said bombs were planted in the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and also a blast was carried out in Malegaon. In all these incidents, the involvement of right-wing extremist groups was suspected, he said. Mr Shinde’s comments will set the tone in the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka, Mad-hya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, where the Congress’ main fight is with the BJP.

Mr Shinde’s remarks were defended by several Congress leaders. AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said: “It is not Hindu terrorism, but Sangh-backed terrorism… I am 100 per cent with Shinde on this.”

BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in New Delhi: “Their (Congress’) destructive mindset is reflected in the home minister’s statement… (It) is very objectionable… not only unacceptable but dangerous.”

http://www.asianage.com/india/shinde-targets-bjp-rss-terror-521

The Asian Age – Hafiz was never held in 26/11 case

Namrata Biji Ahuja, Asian Age Correspondent

Delhi, 18 December 2012. Pakistan’s lie on Lashkar-e-Tayyaba patron and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed stands exposed as documents provided by Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik to the Union home ministry clearly show Islamabad never detained or arrested Saeed in the 26/11 terror attack case.

During his just-concluded India visit, Mr Malik had turned down New Delhi’s request for action against Saeed, arguing there was lack of “credible evidence” against the 26/11 mastermind who had repeatedly been acquitted by the Pakistani courts. The fact that none of the three cases referred to by Mr Malik involved Saeed’s role in 26/11 has widened a trust deficit between the two nations on whether Islamabad is deliberately brushing aside New Delhi’s concerns under pressure from the ISI, top security officials said.

“For us, Saeed’s involvement in 26/11 can expose the Laskhar-ISI nexus. Saeed’s quitting LeT in 2001, months before Pakistan imposed a ban on it, indicates there was a move to give him safe passage,” the officials remarked.

Nailing Pakistan’s lie, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday told Parliament that Mr Malik appeared to have been “misinformed in the matter of Hafiz Saeed”. “We had been given to understand by the interior minister of Pakistan that Mr Hafiz Saeed had been arrested on charges of being a part of the conspiracy for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks,” he said, adding, “From the papers given to us, it is clear that the detentions of Saeed in these cases were for other reasons and not for his role as a conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.” he said.

http://www.asianage.com/india/hafiz-was-never-held-2611-case-833

The Tribune – Pakistan minister coming, new visa pact set to be operationalised

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 7. A new visa regime between India and Pakistan is set to be operationalised on November 22-23 even as India told its neighbour that infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir was continuing unabated despite assurances by Islamabad.

The visa regime is likely to be operationalised when Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik visits India on November 22-23. Malik had indicated the dates of his visit to India when he met his Indian counterpart, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the two met in Rome on the sidelines of the Interpol General Assembly. Rehman could also be visiting Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Even as the two countries are headed for a new visa regime, Shinde told his Pakistani counterpart that the promises made by Pakistani leaders have not been implemented on the ground while infiltration from across the border to Jammu and Kashmir continues to thrive. Shinde and Malik met on sidelines of the Interpol General Assembly in Rome, official sources said here today.

Promises to check infiltration have not been realised and Islamabad must take immediate action to rectify the situation, Shinde said.

The visa agreement was signed by former Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Malik in Islamabad on September 8. This will ease restrictions on issuing visas to traders, elderly people, tourists, pilgrims, members of civil society and children.

The new Indo-Pak visa pact replaces a 38-year-old visa agreement, paving the way for time-bound visa approval and greater people-to-people contact and trade.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121108/main4.htm

The Tribune – Badal meets PM, says memorial like any other gurdwara

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 29. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Sushsil Kumar Shinde to discuss the situation in Punjab and also pending affairs of the Sikh community and warned the Centre against interference in the Sikh affairs.

The Punjab CM today made it clear that the upcoming memorial in the Golden Temple is like any other gurdwara and there would be no pictures of any person and no names would be inscribed on its walls.

The Centre and its intelligence agencies see the memorial as a monument that will glorify the pro-Khalistan elements, who were killed in Operation Bluestar in June 1984. The Union Government has already made it clear that it could not “interfere” in the matters of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which has okayed the construction of a memorial at the Golden Temple complex.

Badal met Shinde this morning where the recent developments in Punjab were discussed. Already Shinde speaking to the media on October 10 has refused to term the recent developments a “revival of militancy” in Punjab.

Later speaking to mediapersons, Badal said the memorial issue was being whipped up needlessly. He termed the amendment to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Act as an infringement of the rights of the Sikhs. These powers and procedures have been laid down by Parliament and cannot be changed by notifications. “The amendments are more to suit one person”, he said.

In the evening, Badal accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought his personal intervention to stop the Delhi Government from going ahead with the proposed move of “Delhi Sikh Gurdwara (Amendment) Bill, 2012” regarding direct election of the president of the DSGMC.

A spokesperson of the Punjab Government quoted Badal as having said this was an “ill conceived and politically motivated move of the Delhi Government, which could pose serious ramifications with a potent apprehension of pushing the country into avoidable conflicts”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121030/main4.htm

The Tribune – Pakistan fomenting trouble in India again: Shinde; Rules out withdrawal of security forces from Valley for time being

Tribune New Service

New Delhi, October 21. For the second time in two months, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today accused Pakistan of fomenting trouble in India.

“We have credible information that Pakistan is helping terrorists enter our territory,” Shinde said on the sidelines of an event to mark Police Commemoration Day here today. “We have intelligence inputs and we are alert,” Shinde said, advising people to be “extra vigilant” during the ongoing festival season.

This is the second time in two months that Shinde has accused Pakistan of stirring trouble in India. Earlier on August 19, in the middle of the exodus of the North-Easterners from South India, Shinde had telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik. The official statement of the Home Ministry then quoted Shinde as having expressed concern to Malik “over the issue of social media-networking sites being misused by the elements based in Pakistan to circulate false pictures and stories to whip up communal sentiments in India and has sought Pakistan’s full cooperation in checking and neutralising such elements”.

Shinde, who took over as Union Home Minister on August 1 replacing P Chidambaram, today reiterated that security forces cannot be withdrawn from the Kashmir valley till normalcy was completely restored there.

“When I was in Jammu and Kashmir, people asked me to pull out the Army from the Valley, but I told them that we can’t do it till the situation is peaceful. We will remove the Army when the situation is peaceful,” he said. The minister has already indicated that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) — to which Chidambaram wanted some amendments — cannot be removed from J&K.

Earlier, at the Police Commemoration Day ceremony, Shinde paid tribute to 575 securitymen who laid down their lives on duty in the past year. While 383 personnel from the state police forces were killed between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, 192 troopers of the central armed police forces died during the period this year.

Meanwhile, India has sought to toughen its posture on allowing a Pakistani judicial commission to visit India again to cross examine the Mumbai terror attack witnesses.

There has to be a quid pro quo, India has said, sources revealed adding that Pakistan has to allow a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a reciprocal basis to examine the material evidence collected against the arrested 26/11 terror attack prime accused, including LeT commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others, against whom trial is going on in a Rawalpindi court, sources added. Islamabad had asked New Delhi to allow its panel to visit Mumbai again.

An eight-member Pakistan judicial commission had visited India in March following a bilateral agreement which said the commission would not quiz the magistrate, who had recorded the statement of Kasab, the investigating officer of the case and two doctors, who conducted the post-mortem examination of slain terrorists.

The Rawalpindi court dealing with the 26/11 case rejected the evidence collected by the commission saying it had no “evidential value” to punish those involved in the Mumbai terror attack.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121022/main1.htm

The Tribune – Shinde: Can’t take risk of withdrawing AFSPA

M Aamir Khan, Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 14. Even as Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde complimented the people of Kashmir for “fighting terrorism”, he said the Centre could not take the “risk” of withdrawing the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state right now.

“It (AFSPA) will gradually go… but we cannot take the risk now… we cannot withdraw it abruptly,” Shinde told reporters before concluding his three-day visit to the state.

He made the statement after addressing a gathering at the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) headquarters here.

Shinde appreciated the people of Kashmir for “fighting terrorism”.

“I salute and praise the courage of people in fighting terrorism….the people are responsible for restoring peace,” he added.

Shinde urged the local Congress workers and leaders to remain united for the betterment of the party.

He said he was ‘proud’ of the way UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was running the country.

“We wanted her (Sonia) to be the Prime Minister, but she wanted that the Prime Minister should be from a minority group,” Shinde added.

The Union Home Minister termed as “baseless” the corruption charges levelled by activist-turned-political Arvind Kejriwal against Congress leaders.

Expressing satisfaction over his visit to border areas of the state, he said he would soon visit the border near Myanmar and Bhutan to review the security situation.

Asserting that the Congress had emerged as a “great secular force” in Jammu and Kashmir despite facing “considerable difficulties” in the past, he promised the gathering that he would “lend a helping hand” to resolve the problems being faced by them.

Shinde said he would always make it a point to visit the Pradesh Congress Committee offices of the states he visited.

JKPCC president Prof Saifuddin Soz thanked the Union Home Minister for accepting his invitation to visit the local Congress headquarters.

Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Congress Cabinet ministers Peerzada Mohammad.Sayeed, Sham Lal Sharma, Raman Bhalla and RS Chib were also present on the occasion.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121015/main2.htm