'Had this been handled in a correct way, the only lives that would have been lost, presumably, were the lives of the terrorists and that would have been welcome.' The information we had was pure gold. You seldom get information of this kind several hours in advance, exactly where they are going to strike. But we still couldn't act on this intelligence.'
"The entire edifice of security of the PM, in a federal structure like ours, stands on the strong bond of mutual trust and confidence between state police and the SPG. State police are fully responsible for ensuring a secure route for the PM's travel," former NSG Director General Sudeep Lakhtakia said.
The Mumbai terror attack was an audacious attempt by the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiyba combine to shape policies of the three sovereign nations that include the oldest and the largest democracy," Dutt said. But Dutt's remark, which was aired on television, is reported to have not gone down well with the Union Home Ministry officials as it could be seen as sensationalising the attack by bringing in Al Qaeda's name.
Any intelligence to be used in an operation has to be explained to the field staff. Merely retransmitting it without explaining the applicability to the local conditions will only elicit the standard response, V Balachandran tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa
'We are witnessing a spectacle of breathtakingly creative diplomacy at work, riveted on the firm foundations of the country's strategic autonomy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
There's a strong sense inside the Democratic leadership that if you care about India, now is the time to stand up for it, says Graham Wisner, counsel at the top international lobbying firm Patton Boggs.
'Ajit Doval has done a splendid job in handling the Pathankot attack and certainly helped save heavy destruction of critical air force assets,' says Abhay Jere.
Experts of the NSG and investigators of the NIA are being sent to Jammu and Kashmir to join the probe into the terror attack.
As India scalps its third nuclear deal this month, the vindication and the victory cannot hide the fact that the all-powerful Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which met in Christchurch, New Zealand last week, failed to dissuade China from supplying two nuclear power reactors to Pakistan in pursuance of two that had earlier been supplied.
Hailing India for keeping "neutral stand" over the South China Sea issue despite pressure from the US and Japan, state-run Chinese media on Wednesday said there are some contradictions and frictions between the two nations but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly.
The United States has said that it will vote against an exemption for China to sell two civil nuclear reactors to Pakistan at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting, in a new move to step up pressure to get the controversial deal annulled. Making it clear that the US will oppose the recent decision of China to sell two nuclear reactors to Pakistan, a top Barack Obama administration official told lawmakers that Washington will vote against the China-Pakistan deal.
Experts have said that the deal appears to be violating international guidelines forbidding nuclear exports to countries that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or do not have international safeguards on reactors.
Rediff.com journalists Vaihayasi Pande Daniel and Rajesh Karkera attend an emotionally-charged ceremony marking the killing of Jewish Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka Holtzberg in the attack on Chabad House during the 26/11 carnage. They also attend a parallel ceremony, mourning slain NSG commando Gajendra Singh.
As the evening progressed, Ram bhajans echoed at virtually each and every street of the temple town and earthen lamps lined the streets from Naya Ghat and Ram ki Paidhi to Hanumangarhi, giving children a perfect selfie background.
"Prudence and caution" needs to be exercised, warns China.
Security has been stepped up across the state and sniffer dogs were pressed into service to detect explosives, police said.\n\n\n\n\n\n
The nonproliferation lobby in the United States, which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear deal, has objected strongly to the new draft proposal submitted by the Bush administration to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna, before it convenes on August 21 to consider the India-specific exemption from NSG rules. The group has termed the proposal 'an abomination that should be flatly rejected by the NSG'.
Security was beefed up following a terror alert that said some terrorist have entered the state through Kutch. NSG teams have been sent to Gujarat from Delhi following intelligence inputs, police sources said.
Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation Thomas Countryman said.
'Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets hammered into the wall. Then he bounded up the stairs leading to the other set of doors opening into the Palm Lounge. It was a terribly risky move because he didn't have a buddy to cover him.'
An official of the home ministry has been questioned by the police and other agencies in connection with an espionage case in Rajasthan. The official, who works with the foreigners division of the home ninistry, has been questioned for his alleged links with a suspected ISI agent arrested in Pokhran in February, sources said.
Finland is holding discussions with other European Union countries to evolve a common position on the issue of NSG guidelines.
Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG at the just--concluded Seoul plenary, is not a member of 34-nation MTCR.
Punjab Director General of Police N P S Aulakh has been appointed as the new chief of the elite National Security Guards and will assume charge on March 1. Aulakh, a 1972-batch officer of the Indian Police Service, will replace J K Dutta who is retiring on Saturday, official sources said on Friday. He was appointed the Punjab DGP in March 2007 after the formation of Shiromani Akali Dal Bharatiya Janata Party combine government in the state. Aulakh is to retire in August 2010
The two sniffer dogs of the National Security Guards (NSG) went about their task with diligence for about 15 hours during the encounter in the Nariman House along with their masters -- the commandos-- and are no strangers to life threatening situations.
Russia has indicated its willingness to back United States' amendments to Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines.
"At 0943 Hours, an IL-76 of the IAF air-lifted 124 of the troops to Mumbai. The operational commanders on ground felt that more troops would be required to complete the operation," a Defence Ministry source told PTI in New Delhi on Friday.
In the latest standard operating procedures (SOP) regarding flying drones, the Central government has given powers to the local police to book a person under 121 and 121A apart from other IPC sections, depending on the nature of offence/threat and distance from the prohibited vital installation/area.
One reason that the United States has advanced as a justification for an exemption for India from the NSG guidelines is that India will be a contributing partner in the non-proliferation regime, once it accepts safeguards. When India insists that the deal is purely for energy and not for assisting in non-proliferation even by implication, the NSG members become perplexed and suspicious
In its 28-page report, the CRS noted that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it, but Islamabad's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons and adoption of a doctrine called "full spectrum deterrence" have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal.
India has cancelled its briefing on the safeguards agreement for the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was scheduled to be held in Vienna on July 18.The IAEA safeguards agreement is an essential step India has to take to integrate with international nuclear commerce before it secures a one-time waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
The landmark civil nuclear deal sealed on Friday with Japan is strikingly similar to the agreements India has with the US and some other countries but contains some added features on safety and security, reflecting Japan's concerns on the issue.
As many as 29 explosions were recorded after the last terrorist was neutralised, giving an impression of continuing pitched battles!
The Australian government has already made it clear that it will reverse a decision by the previous John Howard administration to sell uranium to India as New Delhi is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. 'But the Bush administration is expected to seek a promise from Australia that it will not vote against the Indian agreement in the NSG, in which it is one of 45 member States.
India's entry into the Wassenaar Arrangement would enhance its credentials in the field of non-proliferation despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
A closed-door meeting of the NSG has been convened by the US on the sidelines of the 51st general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
