India agrees to trilateral talks with US, Japan

New Delhi

8 April 2011

India and Japan agreed Friday to establish a trilateral dialogue with the United

States on regional and global issues.

The announcement came ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's conversations with

President Hu Jintao of China next week on the margins of the inaugural BRICS summit.

A statement issued towards the end of foreign secretary Nirupama Rao's talks in Tokyo,

a copy of which was posted on the website of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), said

"these consultations, agreed to earlier by the US, will be conducted by the foreign

ministries of the three countries."

The trilateral dialogue will be in addition to the annual security dialogues between and

among them. Japan has a 2+2 (foreign and defence) dialogue with the US and Australia

(at the ministerial-level) and with India, at the level of secretaries, although the ministers

of defence and external affairs of India and Japan meet regularly. India and the US have

a bilateral strategic dialogue, too; Washington hosted its inaugural meeting in June

2010.

The India-US-Japan trilateral dialogue has been discussed for some time now, but it

gathered momentum in 2007 after their navies participated in an exercise off the

Japanese coast. Also later that year, India concluded the multilateral Malabar exercise

involving the navies of the US, Japan, Singapore and Australia, in the Bay of Bengal.

The India-US-Japan trilateral naval exercise was repeated in 2009.

The MEA statement said the new ministerial-level economic dialogue, announced by the

prime ministers of India and Japan at their annual summit in Tokyo in October 2010, will

be led by their ministers of external affairs. Its first meeting will take place later this

year.

In her talks, foreign secretary Rao let her Japanese interlocutors know that India had not

yet taken a decision on banning Japanese food imports following fears of radioactive

contamination from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. India will consult Japan

prior to taking a decision on the advisory issued by the Food Safety and Standards

Authority of India, the MEA statement noted.

Pakistan was back to its old ways after PM's cricket diplomacy with Gilani

New Delhi

1 April 2011

An Indian high commission official in Islamabad went missing after he was

picked up by Pakistan's intelligence agencies Thursday evening, barely hours after

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan returned home from a dinner meeting with

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the cricket world cup semi-final

match between the Indian and Pakistani teams in Mohali. The official was understood to

have since been returned to the Indian high commission, just as mysteriously as he had

disappeared, but the avoidable incident highlighted the systemic distrust that exists

between the two countries and how it threatened to put Prime Minister Singh's cricket

diplomacy in jeopardy. The Indian official went missing at about 5.30 pm Thursday while

he was returning home from work. The Indian high commission in Islamabad took the

matter up with the Pakistan ministry of foreign affairs. It expressed serious concern over

the official's mysterious disappearance and asked the Pakistani authorities to trace him

and to ensure his safety and wellbeing. In New Delhi, the ministry of external affairs got

in touch with the Pakistani mission here. Also, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao

telephoned her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir and urged his government to

release the Indian official forthwith and unharmed. The incident involving the Indian

official was being seen as a retaliation to the detention and subsequent release of a

driver from the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi for entering a prohibited area

near the Chandigarh airport on the day Mr Gilani landed there with his entourage. The

driver was detained for questioning and he was released soon thereafter, which had

been confirmed by Pakistan's foreign office spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua. The Dawn

newspaper of Pakistan cited Ms Janjua as saying in its Friday morning's edition that the

employee has been released.

India, Pakistan home secretaries discuss prisoners, visas

New Delhi

28 March 2011

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks was the elephant in the room but the home

secretaries of India and Pakistan did not allow it to impede progress on humanitarian

issues such as the plight of prisoners and liberalisation of visas, which hold out the

promise of furthering the people-to-people contacts and encouraging civil society

interactions.

Home secretary GK Pillai described the over five-hour-long talks Monday as positive and

said that they were moving in the right direction. His Pakistani counterpart, Chaudhry

Qamar Zaman, echoed similar sentiments, after emerging from the venue of the talks

inside Ashok Hotel that was described as the ''friendship lounge''.

There was another day of talks to go, at the end of which a joint statement was likely,

and many more issues remaining to be discussed. But Mr Zaman insisted to journalists

that "a very positive attitude [was] displayed on both sides and I am really confident

about tomorrow's proceedings also".

The sources maintained that the talks were "substantive" and ''free and frank''. "The

talks were held according to what was decided on the sidelines in Thimphu[.] Some

decisions have been taken. Further progress is expected on issues of mutual concern,"

an official said.

The joint statement can be expected to outline the resolve of the two countries to combat

terrorism and mention steps to enhance people-to-people contacts, including, but not

limited to, a liberal visa regime.

Both sides were understood to have come close to reviving the joint judicial committee,

which was constituted in 2007 to survey the condition of prisoners lodged in jails in

either countries and press for the repatriation of those booked for minor offences such as

crossing the border and violating visas. The eight-member committee consisting of

retired Supreme Court and High Court judges from India and Pakistan was expected to

get a fresh lease of life and it was expected to make a visit to Pakistan soon.

While dossiers containing the names of terror suspects and wanted persons hiding in

each other's territory were exchanged, India was believed to have iterated its demand

for quick progress into the ongoing trial in Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 26

November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, to justice, and for the voice samples of the

Pakistani handlers of the 26/11 terrorists. Also, India wants to send a commission to

Pakistan to question the jailed Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorists, including Zaki-ur-

Rehman Lakhvi in return for allowing a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit India

for questioning the investigating officer of the 26/11 probe and the judge of the trial court.

Fake Indian currency being pumped into India from Pakistan, cross-border infiltration,

and terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were some of the other issues

raised by the Indian side.

For its part, Pakistan was keen to learn about the progress of investigation into the

Samjhauta Express train blasts case. Mr Pillai was understood to have told his Pakistani

counterpart that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was probing it, and any details

could be shared after a chargesheet was filed in the case. A majority of the 68 persons

killed in the blasts were from Pakistan.

The tone and tenor of the discussions indicated that both sides were keen to set a

positive tone for Wednesday's meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and

his Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, when they would exchange views on

mutual interest before reaching the Mohali cricket stadium for the World Cup semi-final

clash between India and Pakistan.

Mr Gilani said he has accepted Prime Minister Singh's invitation "in national interest."

He was reported to have told a Cabinet meeting in Islamabad Monday that it was a

timely opportunity for the two governments to show to the world that they can play

together and sit and deliberate together on issues of national importance.

For his part, Prime Minister Singh has staked a lot on improvement of ties with Pakistan

in spite of criticism from within a section of his own party. The outcomes of his

conversations with Gilani next week and the series of official-level talks planned over

the next few months would determine whether he Singh can make the journey to

Pakistan.

Mr Gilani was expected to reach Chandigarh Wednesday morning. Besides the talks,

Prime Minister Singh was expected to host a dinner for Mr Gilani in the evening. A host

of VVIPs were expected to watch the match at Mohali, including members of Congress

president Sonia Gandhi's family.

After googly, now a yorker: India follows up PM's invitation by easing cross-LoC travel

New Delhi

26 March 2011

India has unilaterally decided to increase the period of stay for the persons

visiting Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to six months with

multiple entries.

It comes the day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited President Asif Ali Zardari

and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to join him at the Mohali cricket stadium

Wednesday for watching the World Cup semi - final clash between India and Pakistan.

India's overture is in keeping with its belief that people-to-people contacts across the

Line of Control should not be allowed to be hostage to Pakistan's wavering and

inconsistent attitude toward pursuing a course of rapprochement and detente with India.

Giving details of the decision, Vishnu Prakash, the spokesman of the ministry of external

affairs (MEA), said the validity of the entry permit for persons from PoK would be

increased from four months to six months.

At present, the passport offices in Srinagar and Jammu -- which are the designated

authorities for cross-LoC travel -- allow for a four-week stay, which may be extended by

another two weeks.

"Based on the recommendation of the government of J&K, ministry of external affairs

extends the stay for a further period of two weeks in certain cases such as health or

family emergencies," Mr Prakash said.

He hoped the gesture will encourage more people-to-people contacts across the LoC.

Humanitarian issues and confidence building measures are among the subjects that are

on the agenda of the India - Pakistan peace talks, which will kick off on March 28 and 29

with the meeting of their home secretaries in New Delhi. The commerce secretaries of

the two countries are expected to meet in April. The decision to resume the dialogue was

announced on February 10, four days after foreign secretary Nirupama Rao met her

Pakistan counterpart in Bhutan.

Prime Minister Singh's invitation for the cricket match has been welcomed by the

Pakistani government. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that Pakistan

welcomed the invitation. Premier Gilani is reported to be favourably disposed to India's

gesture, too.

Pakistan was still to announce who -- President Zardari or Premier Gilani -- would

eventually accept the invitation, but indications are that it will be Mr Gilani. He returned

Saturday from a visit to Uzbekistan and was expected to call on President Zardari to take

a view on the invitation. Pakistan's information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan has told the

media that other stakeholders, including the military leadership, would be consulted on

the issue.

In India, Prime Minister Singh's invitation to the Pakistani leaders has drawn a mixed

reaction from political and official circles. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy

has asked the Prime Minister not to attend the match as it might put the Indian players

under pressure and also because March 30 is the founding day of the elite National

Security Guards (NSG), whose jawans fought the Pakistani terrorists responsible for the

26 November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Mr Swamy also said that Prime Minister

Singh was scheduled to attend an NSG function in the morning and attend the match in

the afternoon.

A section of the official circles wondered why India should not wait to see whether there

was any satisfactory change in Pakistan's attitude towards the series of talks planned

between now and July, when the foreign ministers are likely to meet, before taking such

goodwill gestures.

India - Pakistan cricket diplomacy at Mohali

New Delhi

25 March 2011

After Jaipur in 1987 and Delhi in 2005, cricket diplomacy between India and

Pakistan is set to take off at Mohali next week.

Come Wednesday, either President Asif Ali Zardari or Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani

of Pakistan might follow in the footsteps of their compatriots and make the journey to

India for watching an India - Pakistan cricket match.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited them for the World Cup semi-final clash to

be played at Mohali on Wednesday.

In separate letters to President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani, Mr Singh said he

proposed to watch the encounter himself and "it gives me a great pleasure" to invite

them to watch the match.

To President Zardari he wrote: "I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-

final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March. There is huge

excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket, that

will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join

me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match."

His letter to Prime Minister Gilani was identical, except for a line that read: "It gives me

great pleasure to invite you and your gracious wife to visit Mohali and join me, my wife

and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match."

Cricket diplomacy is not new to the Indian sub-continent. Former Pakistan presidents

Pervez Musharraf in 2005 and Zia ul Haq in 1987 visited Delhi and Jaipur, respectively,

for watching the arch rivals play against each other. While Zia witnessed a drawn Test

match played at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur in February 1987, Musharraf

visited India in April 2005 for watching the one-dayer of a bilateral series at the Feroz

Shah Kotla ground in Delhi, which the visitors won.

Incidentally, Wednesday's match at Mohali will be played the day after the home

secretaries of India and Pakistan conclude two-day talks here. In April, the commerce

secretaries of the two countries will meet.

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Bhutan on February 6 and four days

later, both sides announced that they had agreed to resume peace talks on all issues

that were suspended after the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

It was also agreed that prior to the Pakistani foreign minister's visit to India later this

year, both sides would conclude official-level meetings on counter-terrorism (including

progress on Mumbai trial); humanitarian issues; peace and security, including

confidence building measures; Jammu and Kashmir; promotion of friendly exchanges;

Siachen; economic issues; Wullar barrage / Tulbul navigation project; and Sir Creek.

Meanwhile, if Indians are making last-minute enquiries about tickets for the semi - final

clash at Mohali, Pakistanis are having to contend not only with the anxiety of availability

of tickets but visas, too, for the semi-final in Mohali and the April 2 final in Mumbai.

Following the Mumbai attacks, India had introduced changes to its visa regime.

Shahid Malik, Pakistan's high commissioner to India, told a TV channel that he has been

receiving calls from his friends and others wanting to come to India and trying to find out

about visa formalities. "I have every reason to believe that [whoever] wants to come to

watch the match and has a ticket will be given the visa," the envoy said, hoping that

liberalising the visa guidelines might give peace dividends to both countries.

Germany may close Iran bank if sanctions pressure mounts, India will be forced to explore other options for oil payments

New Delhi

22 March 2011

The Fukushima disaster in Japan may have impelled Germany to rethink on

nuclear energy, but it remains favourably disposed to supporting India's quest for

membership of multilateral export control regimes such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group

(NSG).

However, Germany's indication that it may not stand in the way of further sanctions on

entities such as Europaisch-Iranische Handelsbank (or EIH), the Hamburg-based bank

through which India is routing funds as payment towards Iranian oil imports, would have

India worried.

The government of German chancellor Angela Merkel, who is expected to visit India in

May 2011, is understood to have conveyed that India would have to look for a more

lasting solution of making oil payments to Iran if the West shifts the focus from the Arab

unrest back to Iran.

Germany, which is Iran's number one trade partner in the EU, has so far held out on

demands by the US and Israel to shut down the EIH. But, if Iran persists on its nuclear

course ignoring the E3+3 (the UK, France, Germany and the US, China, and Russia) offer,

then Berlin will be in favour of further sanctions.

The EIH, which was founded in 1971, is owned by four large banks, all owned in turn by

the Iranian government. The US Treasury Department has blacklisted the EIH for

allegedly supporting Iran's nuclear programme, but it is not targeted by the United

Nations (UN) or European Union (EU) sanctions.

The uncertainty over oil payments not only has implications for India's energy security

as Iran is India's second largest source of crude oil, after Saudi Arabia. Trade,

particularly exports to Iran, are affected, too. The issue was understood to have been

discussed by national security adviser Shivshankar Menon in his visit to Iran earlier this

month.

After US president Barack Obama's visit to India in 2010, the Reserve Bank of India

stopped the practice of making oil payments through the Asian Clearing Union, a regional

banking arrangement. India turned to the EIH to tide over the crisis, but no satisfactory

solution has been found. Among the more imaginative options India could exercise, if the

EIH is closed, is to make the payments in Iranian Rial or another currency.

WikiLeaks cables on Cabinet ministers embarrasses Govt

New Delhi

15 March 2011

Just when one thought the Manmohan Singh Government, and, by extension,

the Congress party, had been spared the embarrassment of the WikiLeaks cables came

the allegations such as how certain Cabinet ministers were purportedly replaced with

others having pro-US credentials, and how the government had allowed itself to be led

into a situation where it had to choose between either the India-US nuclear deal or the

traditional relationship with the Shi'ite Iran.

In an election season, when five states including two ruled by the Left parties are going

to polls next month, politicians are loathe to let go of any issue that would put their

opponents on the mat, and that is what a combined Opposition represented by the CPI(M)

and the BJP sought to do Tuesday.

In the Rajya Sabha, the CPI(M) was joined by the CPI, BJP and Shiv Sena over the issue

of publication of a secret US diplomatic cable made available by whistle-blower website

WikiLeaks to an Indian newspaper. In it the then US ambassador to India David C

Mulford is reported to have described Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's being

divested of the petroleum portfolio as a "determination to ensure that US / India relations

continue to move ahead rapidly".

The BJP, in turn, demanded a clarification from the government on the report, which

alluded to a "US tilt" in the Union Council of Ministers extant in 2006. (Petroleum

Ministry was taken from Aiyar and given to Congress MP Murli Deora.) One of the senior

BJP leaders, Venkaiah Naidu, told reporters outside Parliament House that "it is a very

serious matter. Government should give a statement. We want the government to

clarify".

If Aiyar smirked under his breath, he did not let on. Aiyar told inquisitive journalists

outside Parliament House that he was not surprised when he was relieved "at the first

opportunity" of the "temporary charge".

For its part, the Congress party distanced itself from the controversy, with its spokesman

Abhishek Singhvi rejecting the authenticity of the "senseless" reports.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, P Rajeeve of CPI(M) said the

pro-American tilt, as suggested by the media report, was a "shameful act." He was

supported by his party colleague, Brinda Karat, who demanded a reply from the

government on the issue.

K Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said it was upto the government

to reply or not. But the CPI(M) members, supported by BJP and Shiv Sena, said there

was also a reference in the WikiLeaks cables to the inclusion of ministers "with strong

pro-US credentials" such as Saifuddin Soz, Anand Sharma, Ashwani Kumar and Kapil

Sibal, in the Cabinet.

Mr Rajeeve cited the cable as describing Aiyar as a "contentious and outspoken Iran

pipeline advocate", who was replaced by "pro-US" Murli Deora. Amid shouts of "shame,"

he added that the net effect of the cabinet reshuffle was "likely to be excellent for the US

goals in India."

Further, the references about "Kerala mafia" in the Prime Minister's Office provoked the

members to shout the slogan, "Shame on the government". They reiterated their demand

for a response from the government but it was not acceded to by Mr Khan. "Today

members are breaking all rules. This is not the way," Mr Khan said, adding that the Chair

could not ask the government to respond to a Zero Hour mention. He also repeatedly

pointed to Ms Karat, observing that she was breaking the rules.

Aiyar, the man at the centre of it all, remained poised. "I was told explicitly that it was a

temporary charge. I thought I will be there (Petroleum Ministry) for a week or two. It

turned out to be 20 months. So it is not surprising that at the first opportunity when the

reshuffle took place I was relieved of my temporary charge," he said when asked for his

reaction.

Asked whether there was any US influence on the Cabinet reshuffle, Aiyar said, "How

would I know? I was given temporary charge of Oil Ministry." The Congress leader and

Rajya Sabha MP went on to add that even after the reshuffle remained a member of the

Council of Ministers. "I was part of the government at that time. Even after the reshuffle I

was not thrown out of the government, I remained in the government".

Aiyar's colleague and party spokesman, Abhishek Singhvi, retorted to queries from

journalists by saying that if national parties were to react to such reports, "this country's

democracy, its spirit, its stability would be diminished".

"These are elements of sensation and all the more senseless. These are subjective

views of individuals at an unauthenticated and unverified stage. There is no question of

accepting their veracity, no question of accepting their authenticity," Singhvi said.

Clinton's visit to India is postponed

New Delhi

11 March 2011

The second, annual India-US strategic dialogue, which was to be held here in

the first week of April, has been postponed.

"In view of the [assembly] elections in India and ongoing developments in West Asia

and North Africa, the two sides have decided to reschedule the strategic dialogue," said

an MEA (ministry of external affairs) statement.

Assembly elections will be held in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and

Puducherry on April 13.

No fresh date was announced.

The strategic dialogue is co-chaired by external affairs minister SM Krishna and his

American counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Other planned bilateral meetings will be held as scheduled. The joint working group on

counter-terrorism will meet here on March 25; so will the high technology cooperation

group in May, and a higher education summit in June in Washington.

US ambassador hopes MMRCA deal will be the next logical step in India - US ties

New Delhi

9 March 2011

Buying American fighter aircraft would hopefully be the "logical next step" in

the relationship between India and the United States, according to US ambassador to

India Timothy Roemer.

The F-16 Super Viper from Lockheed Martin and Boeing's F/A-18 are the two American

aircraft vying for a multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal.

"Hopefully the next step will be as India evaluates in the medium-multi role combat

aircraft deal... that they will decide to pick one of the US aircraft", Roemer said while

addressing a conference here Wednesday.

"This becomes the very logical next step in the relationship. This will be a very

important indicator of where this relationship goes in the 21st century," he noted.

Russian MiG-35, French Dassault Rafale, European Eurofighter Typhoon and Swedish

Gripen are also in the fray for the 11 billion dollar deal.

Asked if the ties between the two sides would suffer if India selects any other aircraft,

Roemer said, "Across the board, US is elevating, raising India to a global partner. The

MMRCA seems to be a logical next step in building this strategic partnership on the

defence side."

"We are optimistic and want to build strategic ties with India and MMRCA is going to be a

very vigorous competition. But we are confident and hopeful," he added.

(with PTI inputs)

11 Indian sailors released, many more still held hostage; MEA takes a beating on Twitterverse

New Delhi

9 March 2011

Eleven Indian sailors taken hostage by Somali pirates were released

Wednesday but there were many other Indians still held hostage on ships owned by

foreign companies, including 79 aboard an Egyptian cargo vessel, MV Suez.

"11 Indian sailors on ship RAK Africana are released by Somali pirates. They have been

picked up by Spanish naval ship in vicinity - r safe (sic)," foreign secretary Nirupama

Rao said in a message posted on her Twitter account.

The ship, MV RAK Africana, was reported to have been seized approximately 280

nautical miles west of the Seychelles in April 2010. There were 21 crew members on

board, including 11 Indians.

The negotiations for their release were "delicate and prolonged" but in the end the owner

of the ship, who is based in the UAE, "settled the case", Ms Rao said without

elaborating.

Since the engines of the vessel were not working, the Indian consulate in Dubai and the

Indian Navy requested a Spanish vessel in the vicinity for help.

MV RAK Africana is owned by a Seychelles company and it is registered in the Saint

Vincent, an island in the Caribbean.

However, the fate other Indian hostages, including the 79 Indian sailors aboard MV Suez

was uncertain as the hostage-takers' ultimatum for ransom to be paid was reportedly to

expire Wednesday.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA), which has drawn flak for the slow pace of

evacuation of Indian nationals from strife-torn Libya, finds itself in the line of fire again,

this time over the issue of Indian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates. Criticism has

spilled onto the internet, and the fate of the Indian hostages dominates the discourse in

Twitterverse (universe of Twitter).

Questions are being asked as to why New Delhi is not doing enough and quickly at that

to secure the safe release of the hostages. Why doesn't the government agree to pay

ransom if it will help save lives? Why does the government not consider the option of

using force to rescue the hostages? The questions only got shriller as the deadline for

the execution of some sailors drew nearer. The hostage-takers' ultimatum for ransom to

be paid was reportedly to expire Wednesday.

Twitter is fast becoming a platform to engage in a discussion, aided in part by the fact

that Indian politicians, and now, increasingly, Indian diplomats, have taken to Twitter to

talk to nobody in particular but everybody in general, about whatever they might want to

talk about. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is the latest to join the bandwagon, and as if

on cue other Indian diplomats are following suit. Their joining Twitter has made it that

much more easier for people to reach them for information or to elicit replies to their

queries.

The MEA defended itself, provocatively at times, by saying that "publicity blitzkrieg"

would do more harm than good. "Negotiations for the release of the sailors have been

going on well before media raised issue," Ms Rao tweeted. According to the government,

as many as 215 Indian crew members were among those whose ships were hijacked

and 136 of them have so far been released. At present, there were over 50 Indian crew

members on seven ships that are in the custody of Somali pirates.

On one occasion Ms Rao retorted: "r u suggesting payment of ransom by govt to

pirates? Then all Indian sailors become fair game for pirates in future (sic)." On another

occasion she stoutly defended against use of force. "R hostages r part of large gp of

hostages frm diff nations held by pirates. Rescuing them by force is fraught wth

ramifications (sic)," she shot back, taking care not to sound trifle. "I can well realize the

agony the families are going through. I would never belittle that for a moment (sic)," Ms

Rao noted.

For his part, external affairs minister SM Krishna has said that he has met with Khaled el

Bakly, Egypt's ambassador to India, who has agreed to coordinate with the owner of the

cargo ship, the Panama-flagged MV Suez, who is an Egyptian. The vessel was captured

by the pirates on August 2, 2010. Besides the six Indians, the ship's crew includes four

Pakistanis, four Sri Lankans and 11 Egyptians. The Indian ambassadors in Egypt and

Dubai were also making efforts in this regard.

Menon meets Iran president, reviews ties

New Delhi

8 March 2011

The disrepair in its relationship with Iran continues to haunt India as it

struggles to reconcile to the new political situation obtaining in West Asia and the Arab

world.

There is a view that the political unrest sweeping across much of the oil-rich Sunni Arab

countries has strengthened Shiite Iran's hand, and, India, therefore, should arrest the

drift in the relationship without further delay.

Ties with Iran became a casualty of the India-US nuclear deal, and it has not looked up

since.

India is equally hardpressed to find a satisfactory solution of making oil payments to

Iran, which is the second largest source of oil imports after Saudi Arabia.

India has turned to the Germany-based European-Iranian Trade Bank to route the

payments but the US and Israel want the practice to be discontinued as the bank

allegedly facilitated Iran's proliferation activities.

Any uncertainty in the Arab world would only increase India's reliance on the Persian

Gulf for energy security.

These and other issues would have been on top of national security adviser

Shivshankar Menon's mind as he travelled to Tehran this week for meetings with

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi, and secretary of

Iran's supreme national security council Saeed Jalili.

A statement available on the website of the Iranian president's office quoted Menon as

telling Ahmadinejad when they met on Monday that many of the predictions he

(Ahmadinejad) had made about the political and economic developments in the world had

become a reality today; the world order was changing, and it has necessitated

increasing relations between Iran and India.

For his part, Mr Ahmadinejad referred to the significant roles Iran and India will be

playing in future to note that "our two nations' cultures and origins are what the world

needs today."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has shied away from visiting Iran, but he is likely to

travel there in 2012 for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit to be hosted in Tehran.

Change in Pakistan's attitude crucial to Afghan peace: India

New Delhi

2 March 2011

India says Pakistan's strategic calculus, which does not show signs of positive

change, is as much to blame for the situation obtaining in Afghanistan today as the faulty

model of development pursued by international actors.

Indian diplomatic sources say euphemistically that while India is ready and willing to

rustle up a lavish breakfast, and Afghanistan is prepared to serve dinner, lunch in

Pakistan remains an issue.

The unmistakable reference here is to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's vision of a new

South Asia, articulated first in 2007, when he talked about his dream of a breakfast in

Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul.

Pakistan's unhelpful attitude was on display again last year when it India overland

transit rights to Afghanistan and beyond.

The sources draw a comparison between India development assistance and

international development programmes in Afghanistan by iterating that the Western

provincial reconstruction teams resembled a parallel administration.

India's concerns about the way forward in Afghanistan, and Pakistan's role in it, have

found some resonance with Canada, one of the US' allies in the 'global war on terror'.

In an interview to this newspaper in New Delhi, William Crosbie, Canada's ambassador

to Afghanistan, said trust deficit between Pakistan and Afghanistan is as much a problem

as any other.

A British parliamentary committee's report, released in London Wednesday, notes how

Pakistan's reluctance "to collaborate in disrupting the activities of Afghan Taliban

operating from within their country has been enormously damaging to the counter-

insurgency effort in Afghanistan." It talks about Pakistan forging ahead with its own

agendas on reconciliation which are not necessarily in the interests of Afghanistan or the

region.

Articulation of New Delhi's concerns about Afghanistan should be viewed also in the

context of next week's first-ever talks in the US, between the Indian Army chief and the

US central command (centcom) commander, and external affairs minister SM Krishna's

talks with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton here in April for the second annual

India-US strategic dialogue.

Partition not a desirable end state in Afghanistan: India

New Delhi

1 March 2011

Former US ambassador to India Robert Blackwill's Plan B -- de facto partition of

Afghanistan -- does not appear to have many takers in India as there are reservations

about whether redrawing borders in Afghanistan will be consistent with Indian interests.

If the mood on Raisina Hill is any indicator, partition is not a desirable end state in

Afghanistan. Also, in the absence of an intra-regional traction for neutrality in

Afghanistan, India contends that international community must neither abandon

Afghanistan nor hand it over to a people who cannot be brought to account.

These sentiments are shared to an extent by Canada. William Crosbie, Canada's

ambassador in Kabul, told this newspaper in an interview here that the Afghan people

should be allowed to decide "what kind of country they want". He notes in the same

breath that there is "no real threat that Afghanistan will break apart".

Crosbie also says that Pakistan is part of the problem in Afghanistan. "Clearly,

Afghanistan and Pakistan got to enjoy a relationship of trust. It [Pakistan] has to be part

of the solution," he asserts. His remarks echoed that of US secretary of state Hillary

Clinton, who recently said that "the historic distrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan

remains a major cause of regional instability".

Afghanistan will be on the table during Indian Army chief's discussions with US Central

Command (Centcom) commander and others in the US next week, in what is described as

the first-ever high-level meeting between Centcom and the Indian military establishment.

Afghanistan, from where President Barack Obama of the US intends to begin pulling out

his troops from July, will be discussed again at some length when external affairs

minister SM Krishna meets Hillary Clinton here in April for the second annual India-US

strategic dialogue.

Maldives President says Libya needs UN peacekeeping force

New Delhi

25 February 2011

President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives says Libya needs a United Nations

peacekeeping force for stopping further bloodshed and for restoring peace.

Speaking at a press conference towards the end of his visit to India, Mr Nasheed hoped

India will play a role in the United Nations Security Council for putting the Blue Berets

(an informal name for UN troops) on the ground in the strife-torn north African country

where anti-government protests have claimed many hundreds of lives.

President Nasheed, whose country is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, also

sought Libya's suspension from the panel and institution of an investigation into

possible war crimes by the Libyan regime. Mr Nasheed said the international community

must step in to prevent "genocide". There was no time to waste on debating

"sovereignty" issues because "humanity" was a more compelling issue, he noted.

The Maldivian president, whose country is the latest and one of only three countries so

far to graduate out of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group of UN members, said

the democratic transition in his Muslim-majority country can be a role model for the Arab

world. "If democracy can survive in Maldives, it can also survive [there.] Islam and

democracy is not in conflict," he said. Nasheed succeeded Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,

Maldives' president for three decades, in the landmark 2008 elections.

Mr Nasheed was also emphatic that there is "no room for too many people" in the Indian

Ocean. He was responding to a question about reports of China stepping up its presence

in the Indian Ocean region. "It is India's ocean to start with," he said, adding that

Maldives will remain sensitive to India's concerns.

In his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nasheed discussed a host of regional

and bilateral issues, including piracy, maritime security and expanding trade and

investment.

Maldives will host the Saarc summit in November.

Libya: First batch of Indians likely to return home next week; Indian ships will Sri Lankan nationals, too

New Delhi

24 February 2011

RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN and SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMI

Indian nationals wanting to return home from Libya will initially be evacuated by

sea from Benghazi to Alexandria in neighbouring Egypt. A chartered passenger ferry with

capacity to seat 1,200 persons is in Egypt and it was readying to sail to Benghazi with

ministry of external affairs (MEA) personnel and medical team on board. The vessel,

named Scotia Prince, is expected to reach Benghazi by February 27 and bring back at

least 1,200 Indians to Alexandria by March 1, from where they would be flown home by

special Air India flights.

New Delhi was working to obtain necessary clearances for air evacuation from Tripoli,

too. "Aircraft are on stand-by for this purpose. Libyan landing clearance is awaited and

should be received soon," the MEA said in a statement. Preparations were also being

made for evacuation of Indian nationals from smaller Libyan cities where air access was

possible, subject to Libyan clearance. It said that Indian companies, many of them

working in Libya for decades, had offered to work with the Indian embassy in Tripoli in

facilitating evacuation.

As first reported by this newspaper, India would extend help to some of its South Asian

neighbours to rescue their nationals from Libya. "We have arranged for our people to

join the Indian ship which aims to evacuate the Indian [nationals]," Sri Lankan foreign

employment minister Dilan Perera told journalists in Colombo Thursday. About 1,200 Sri

Lankans are estimated to be working in Libya.

The mammoth evacuation exercise will be reminiscent of India's successful operations

of rescuing not only its own nationals but also of its South Asian neighbours such as

Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, from Lebanon in 2006 after the Israel - Hezbollah war

broke out. The Indian Navy was then in the lead of "Operation Sukoon" to evacuate

people from Lebanon.

The Indian Navy was awaiting permission to join the rescue efforts. Three naval ships,

including INS Jalashwa (formerly USS Trenton), were on stand-by. All three are currently

deployed off the Western coast. The INS Jalashwa is a landing platform dock for

transportation of equipment and troops. It was acquired from the US Navy a few years

ago. It is considered ideal for evacuation operations as it accommodate 1,500 persons at

one time. The other two ships are destroyers (long-endurance warships meant for

escorting larger vessels in a fleet or battle group). The two destroyers can ferry up to

200 persons each at a time. Once permission is granted, the ships will take about 12

days to sail to Libya.

"Let me assure the nation that all Indians are safe and all those Indians who are willing

to be evacuated will be evacuated safely and without any expenditure incurred by them,"

external affairs minister SM Krishna told reporters outside Parliament. "We have

commissioned ships to move to Benghazi port," he said, adding that the first ship was

"approaching the port". Asked if there are plans for arranging aircraft for evacuation, Mr

Krishna said that the "flight situation is very uncertain, but we are closely monitoring the

developments".

Libya: India draws up a meticulous evacuation plan, may offer to help South Asian neighbours a la Lebanon 2006

New Delhi

23 February 2011

RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN and SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMI

India scrambled Wednesday to coordinate the logistics of evacuating its

nationals from strife-torn Libya, where anti-government protests are reported to have

claimed about 300 lives.

There are about 18,000 Indian nationals in Libya and the government proposes to

evacuate them by air, sea and land, first to neighouring Egypt, and then onward back

home.

Unlike in the case of Egypt, from where Indian evacuees had to pay for their tickets

home, external affairs minister SM Krishna said the government was "not charging" for

evacuating the Indians from Libya.

India is understood to have expressed its willingness to help its South Asian neighbours

in evacuating their nationals at short notice. In 2006, India had evacuated Sri Lankan and

Nepalese nationals from Lebanon after the Israel - Hezbollah war broke out.

Sri Lanka did not have aircraft to bring its nationals back. It is understood to have

sounded out "friendly countries" for assistance even as it explored the possibility of

coordinating its activities with the International Organisation on Migration.

Nepal is particularly worried because not only does it not have a full-fledged mission in

Libya (Its embassy in Egypt is concurrently accredited to Libya) but it is understood to

be facing a resource crunch, too.

Bangladesh, another country in India's neighbourhood, intends to move its nationals to

safer places in Libya before taking a call on evacuating them. Like Colombo, Dhaka was

toying with the idea of approaching international organisations.

India, which has drawn upon its experience of evacuation from Kuwait in 1991 and

Lebanon in 2006, plans to evacuate its nationals by air and sea from Tripoli and

Benghazi in Libya to Alexandria in Egypt.

New Delhi was awaiting necessary clearances for its aircraft and ships, with one private

vessel expected to reach Egypt without delay. It was dispatching additional personnel to

reinforce its diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt.

Access to the eastern coast of Libya was relatively quick and less difficult from Egypt.

The choice of Alexandria was also dictated by the facts that it was not only a port city but

big aircraft could land and take off from the airport there.

Evacuation by road was being considered, too, from Tobruk in Libya to Salloum in Egypt

(about 600 kilometres) and onward, again by road, to Alexandria, located at a distance of

500 km.

Two Indian nationals were reported to have safely crossed the Libyan border into

Salloum.

External affairs minister SM Krishna said in the Rajya Sabha that the government was

doing its utmost to ensure a safe evacuation. He noted that the Indian nurses, numbering

about 200, were working in Benghazi and they were reported to be safe.

In the messages posted on her Twitter account, Ms Rao elaborated that the Indian

ambassador in Tripoli, Ms Manimekalai, was in touch with the Indian nurses in Benghazi

and the Indian community in other locations.

A majority of the Indian nationals, numbering about 8,000, lived in Tripoli; the rest were

scattered across several smaller cities and towns. There were an estimated 2,000

Indians in Sebha, 1,500 in Sirte, 1,200 each in Zliten and Benghazi, and 700 in Kufra.

Pace, outcome of negotiations on UNSC reform are a concern for India

New Delhi

21 February 2011

The pace of negotiations on a leaner, five-page operational text of the United

Nations Security Council reforms, which are set to begin in New York in March, will be as

much a concern for India as its outcome.

According to diplomatic sources, China is one of two P-5 (Permanent Five) countries that

is not comfortable with forcing the pace of the negotiations. The other is Russia, which

has reservations also on the issue of veto to the new aspirants for a permanent seat

around the horseshoe table.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is bullish on the reforms, having spoken about

arriving at a decision as early as this year, but India's hopes would have been tempered

by China's balking at taking a position just yet.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has said that "presetting results for the

reform or forcing premature reform plans" might be harmful.

Zahir Tanin, Afghanistan's ambassador to the United Nations and chairman of

intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, is not unduly perturbed by

the divergence of opinion as he points out that over the last two years the UN members

have shown flexibility and political will to arrive at a text for further negotiations.

Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Mr Tanin said that the widest possible consensus

should be explored in pushing for the reforms -- a sentiment shared by New Delhi. At the

same time, he hastened to add, the success or failure of the text-based negotiations is

not tied to consensus.

India's position is similar to the US' to the extent that they prefer a criteria-based modest

expansion of the UNSC, although New Delhi would have liked the operational text to

spell out upfront that the expansion of the UNSC would extend to both permanent and

non-permanent categories. Instead, the text merely says that about 100 countries are in

favour of expansion in both the categories.

The sources said that India and the other G-4 (Group of Four) countries -- Germany,

Brazil and Japan -- would not have a problem with deferred veto power, meaning that the

new members can exercise the veto after 15 years of becoming a permanent member,

but being treated like a "second-class" citizen without the veto power would not be

"acceptable".

Turkey FM says his country can be a good model for democratic transformation taking place in Arab world

New Delhi

19 February 2011

Which can be a good model for democratic transformation in the Arab world,

India or Turkey? If the question surprised foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey,

he did not show it. "Each has its own characteristics," he said with an ease that came

with years of academic and diplomatic experience, before carefully adding that "for some

Arab intellectuals and observers from the region [the Turkish model] is seen as a

success story".

The popular uprising in Egypt has generated a debate about whether the Arab countries

ruled by monarchs or autocrats could learn from Turkey's example where the ruling AKP,

a conservative party with Islamic roots, was swept to power in 2002. The military sees

itself as an arbiter in Turkish politics but the government has of late sought to extend

civilian control over it.

Mr Davutoglu, who was in New Delhi for participating in a conference, noted that "if

[Turkey's] experience is a good case for other brotherly and sisterly nations, of course

we will be happy to contribute" -- something that India as the world's largest democracy

is keen to do, too. The Indian ambassador in Cairo is understood to have been

sensitised about external affairs minister SM Krishna's discussion with his American

counterpart Hillary Clinton on how India can help Egypt in its election process and

consolidation of democratic institutions.

Mr Davutoglu said that the political unrest sweeping the Arab world had sent out the

clear message that people should be allowed to peacefully express their demands and

governments must respond by taking necessary remedial steps. In reply to a question,

he said that Turkey wanted "all political movements", including the Muslim Brotherhood,

to be active in the new Egyptian politics, and use democratic means and respect public

order to facilitate a smooth transition.

Mr Davutoglu had "extensive consultations" with vice president Hamid Ansari and Mr

Krishna on "regional and global issues", including, but not limited to, Iran's nuclear

programme. Turkey, he said, "will continue to consult all of our friends to achieve some

solution" to some of these issues, and he hoped that "India also can contribute to

regional and global processes". Turkey, a Sunni majority country, is actively engaged in

facilitating talks between the Shi'ite Iran and the West.

Grossman is new US Af-Pak envoy

New Delhi

15 February 2011

Nicholas Burns, who successfully shepherded the India-US nuclear deal, may

have lost out to Marc Isaiah Grossman for the post of the US special representative for

Afghanistan and Pakistan, but Grossman is no stranger to India either.

The 59-year-old former diplomat, who was Burns' predecessor as the under secretary of

state for political affairs, is widely tipped to replace Richard Holbrooke, who died in

December 2010.

Grossman should be familiar to former foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and Kanwal

Sibal, and others, as one of the principal architects of the Next Steps in Strategic

Partnership or NSSP, which was the precursor of the nuclear deal.

In 2003, Grossman was reportedly in the running for replacing Robert Blackwill as the

US ambassador to India.

As New Delhi awaits a formal announcement, it will be hoping that Washington's new Af-

Pak point-man would not make himself unwelcome here as Holbrooke did.

Holbrooke's visits to New Delhi had become infrequent after the Indian Government

sensed an attempt to re-hyphenate India and Pakistan. Also, he did not particularly

endear himself to the government here for his remarks that Indians were not the real

targets of the February 26, 2010 attacks in Kabul.

Grossman's appointment will come ahead of the phased reduction of American troops

from Afghanistan starting July and the ongoing attempts to facilitate reintegration and

reconciliation of Taliban elements, which has not been well received in New Delhi.

Currently, Grossman is a vice-chairman of the Cohen Group, a Washington-based

consultancy firm headed by William Cohen, a former US defence secretary. Among other

services, the firm is helping top US aerospace and defence majors to enter the Indian

market.

Grossman is a former US ambassador to Turkey. In the last 1970s he served at the US

embassy in Pakistan.

China balks as India steps up moves for UN seat

New Delhi

13 February 2011

External affairs minister SM Krishna's outreach effort at the United Nations (UN)

to introduce a sense of urgency to the text-based negotiations for the Security Council

reform appears to have set the alarm bells ringing in China, which has balked at taking a

position on India's aspirations for a permanent UN Security Council seat.

On Saturday rpt Saturday, Beijing hurriedly deployed its foreign ministry spokesman Ma

Zhaoxu to respond "to a relevant question", which was diligently reported by Xinhua,

China's State-run news agency.

"Experience has proven that presetting results for the reform or forcing premature reform

plans will not only undermine the unity of UN member nations, but also harm the reform

process, which will not be in line with any party's interests," Ma said, betraying Beijing's

discomfiture at being hustled into taking a firmer position on reform of the UN in general

and UN Security Council in particular.

Ma also said that UN member nations should seek a package of solutions for the reform,

on the basis of broad and democratic consultation among member nations to

accommodate interests and concerns of all parties.

The Chinese reaction came the day after Mr Krishna and his counterparts and

representatives from the Group of Four (G-4; comprising India, Brazil, Germany and

Japan) met in New York and issued a joint statement, reaffirming their agreement "to

press ahead, with all necessary steps to achieve at the earliest an expansion in both the

permanent and non-permanent membership categories of the Security Council."

The Chinese spokesman's remarks coincided with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao's

remarks in New York Saturday that China was not expressing itself openly in terms of

India's candidacy although she was hopeful that Beijing would not block India from

getting a permanent UN Security Council seat when the matter came to a vote.

China is the only P5 (Permanent Five) member not to explicitly support India for a

permanent UN Security Council seat.

Although the joint statement issued towards the end of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's

visit to India in December 2010 said that China understands and supports India's

aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations, including in the Security Council,

the growing support and urgency for the reforms seems to have caught Beijing by

surprise.

Currently all 192 UN members are considering a five-page document, which is the latest

proposal to come out of the text-based negotiations being chaired by Zahir Tanin,

Afghanistan's envoy to the UN.

On the margins of his participation in a UN Security Council debate on the "maintenance

of international peace and security: interdependence between security and

development", Mr Krishna also met with his counterparts and officials from the "L69"

group comprising 40 countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the

Pacific; IBSA (an acronym for India, Brazil and South Africa); and UN General Assembly

president Joseph Deiss, who is from Switzerland.

"Pressure is mounting here at the United Nations for the UN membership to finally face

the challenge of addressing Security Council reform in a realistic manner, adjusting it to

the current geopolitical realities," foreign minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil

said after his talks with Mr Krishna.