It is the scot&’s maiden wimbledon crown and his second grand slam title
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
London, 7 July
Andy Murray ended Britain’s agonising 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion on Sunday when he destroyed world number one Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the blistering heat of the All England Club.  The 26-year-old became the country’s first male winner since Fred Perry in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started, Jesse Owens defied Hitler at the Berlin Olympics and Gone With The Wind was published.
It was Murray’s second Grand Slam title to follow his breakthrough triumph at the US Open in 2012 which followed his Olympic gold medal as well as a heartbreaking, tearful loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
However, Sunday’s title showdown, between two men who have now contested three of the last four Grand Slam finals, rarely lived up to expectations.
Both struggled in the stifling 40-degree heat and the top-seeded Serb, who had beaten Murray in the Australian Open final in January, looked jaded after his record four hour 43-minute semi-final victory over Juan Martin del Potro.
And despite leads of 4-1 in the second set and 4-2 in the third, he was out-hit by Murray who finished with 36 winners to 31, with 21 unforced errors to the Serb’s 40 and having carved out 17 break points. Inside a baking Centre Court, and watched by Victoria Beckham, Wayne Rooney as well as Hollywood stars Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper, the first point of the match was a punishing 20 strokes.
Murray, who has played in the final of his last four majors, had break points in the first and third games, with the Scot finally pouncing on his seventh for a 2-1 lead. Djokovic levelled at 2-2 but Murray was the more aggressive, positive man and broke to love for a 4-3 edge firing almost four times as many winners than the top-seeded Serb. Murray saved three break points for a 5-3 lead but Djokovic was furious that umpire Mohamed Lahyani had called a ball out at 30-40 while allowing play to continue with the Scot going to deuce. The British second seed took the opener 6-4 after 59 minutes with a love service game, having hit 17 winners to six and with only six unforced errors to the world number one’s
17. Murray wasn’t getting complacent — he had won the the first set of the pair’s last three meetings and still lost the match. Djokovic was obviously aware of the history, speeding into a 4-1 lead with two more marathon rallies of 30 and 32 shots. The British second seed took the opener 6-4 after 59 minutes with a love service game, having hit 17 winners to six and with only six unforced errors to the world number one’s 17. Murray wasn’t getting complacent — he had won the the first set of the pair’s last three meetings and still lost the match.
Djokovic was obviously aware of the history, speeding into a 4-1 lead with two more marathon rallies of 30 and 32 shots. But Murray roared back to 4-4 in a final which, despite its punishing hitting, still felt flat with both players too similar in style and then appearance when they both donned white caps to combat the sun’s glare.
Djokovic, however, was becoming increasingly frustrated with Lahyani, the court, on which he kept slipping, as well as his own poor judgement which left him without challenges as the set progressed.
In his fog of anxiety, Murray mugged him for a break to lead 6-5 and went two sets to the good at 7-5.
Murray had only lost once when two sets up and that was in the Wimbledon third round in 2005 against David Nalbandian, his debut year when he was a rookie 18-year-old.  A break in the second game of the third set gave Murray a 2-0 lead before Djokovic, having discarded the hat, raced away with the next four games for a 4-2 lead.
But terrier Murray reclaimed the break in the seventh game.
In another development, Indian youngster Pinki Sonkar, beneficiary of a life-changing cleft lip surgery, flipped the coin at the final.

agencies
London, 7 July
The Bryan Slam is complete. Twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan captured their fourth straight major Saturday at Wimbledon with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo.
The Americans won their 15th Grand Slam tournament and became the first men’s team in Open-era tennis to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. They’re also the first to hold all the slams and an Olympic gold medal, constituting a golden slam.
If they win the U.S. Open, they’ll join Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman as the second men’s team to complete a calendar Grand Slam. The Aussie duo did it in 1951, 17 years before the Open era began. The Bryans fell behind 5-0 in dropping the first set but rallied for their 24th straight victory.
Meanwhile, having first played together as teenagers, Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai won their first Grand Slam title with a 7-6 (1), 6-1 victory Saturday over Australian duo Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in the women’s doubles final at Wimbledon.
Hsieh became the first player from Taiwan to win a Grand Slam title while Peng gave China its first doubles title at a major in seven years.
"It’s very special because I don’t think tennis is popular in Taiwan," Hsieh said.
"We didn’t see many media during this tournament.
We’re very proud we can win this tournament together with my good friend.
 It’s our first title, for Taiwan, so I think it’s big thing in Taiwan."
The pair, who are both 27, played a few tournaments together as amateurs but ended their partnership after turning pro.
After a seven-year hiatus, Hsieh asked Peng at the 2008 US Open if she would be up for a renewed association.
The duo reunited by the end of that year 2008 and won their first 11 matches, claiming titles in Bali and Sydney. They lost their opening-round match in the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinals against Serena and Venus Williams but now have six titles together.

indo-asian news service
London, 7 July
Andy Murray tweeted that he “cannot believe what just happened” after creating history by becoming the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men&’s singles title at Wimbledon here Sunday.
“Can’t believe what’s just happened!!!!!!!” tweeted the 26-year-old Murray, who also ended Britain’s wait 77-year wait in 2012 to become the first men’s singles Grand Slam champion when he won the US Open, beating Serbia’s World No.1 Novak Djokovic. He also said on Sunday  that he understood how much everyone had waited for the moment as he created history by becoming the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men&’s singles Wimbledon title here. "I understand how much everyone else wanted to see a British winner. I hope you enjoyed it. I tried my best," said the 26-year-old Murray to the crowd in Centre Court, who had been cheering for him throughout the match.
"It feels slightly different to last year.
Last year was one of toughest moments of my career so to manage to win the tournament today. I don’t know how I came through that last game,” said the second seed, who lost the final last year to legendary Swiss Roger Federer. 
The Scot also lauded his opponent Djokovic, against whom Murray improved his head-to-head to 8-11.
"I’ve played Novak many times and I think he’ll go down as one of the biggest fighters in history. 
He’s come back from losing positions many times before and he nearly did it again today,” added Murray.
Novak Djokovic  said the Briton played “fantastic tennis” and “deserved to win”. “Congratulations to Andy. I gave it my all; it was a pleasure to be part of this match, this final. The bottom line is that he was a better player in decisive moments. I should have played better in the decisive moments,” the Serb said.

statesman news service
Kolkata, 7 July
Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the panchayat poll in the state wouldn’t have been held had the matter not been taken to the Supreme Court and alleged that even after the apex court’s verdict, the Trinamul Congress was utilising the police forces to influence the poll results in its favour.
On the other hand, state transport minister Madan Mitra threatened at Danton in West Midnapore that after the rural poll, the State Election Commission (SEC) would have to “wear bangles and hide behind a veil” and “those who counsel the commission now will have to leave the country if they continue counseling it after 30 July (the counting of poll is scheduled on 29 July)”.
Only yesterday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had vowed at an election campaign in South 24-Parganas to take “revenge democratically” against the “whims and fancies” of the state poll panel.
The SEC today decided to collect CDs of the speeches of both the chief minister and the transport minister and see whether legal action can be initiated against them.
Senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan also threatened to move court if the chief minister speaks in such “unparliamentary language” against the SEC.
Speaking at an election campaign at Bagnan, Howrah, Mr Bhattacharjee complained  Trinamul supporters were hand in hand with police to ensure that candidates from other political parties withdraw from the contest.
He said the ruling party had used funds for 100-day work to raise a ‘bike bahini’ (motorbike-borne activists) in the rural areas.
“There are 500 supervisors for 500 people working under the project. Actually, the money for the supervisors was used to meet the expenses of the activists,” he said, adding that the CPI-M was keeping a watch on the situation and would discuss what measure should be taken in order to tackle it.
He said the Left Front government had never held a panchayat poll during the month of Ramzan.
“The Left Front government always gave priority to the election as it is the backbone of development in rural areas. We committed mistakes and we have got a result for that in the 2011 Assembly Election. I promise we will never commit similar mistakes ever again,” he said.
 Mr Mitra&’s comments about the  SEC having to wear bangles have come in for sharp criticism from rival political parties.
Mr Dipak Sarkar, a CPI-M district secretary said : “Such comments indicate that the Trinamul Congress is scared of the role played by the SEC.
“The reprehensible remarks are derogatory and they violate the model code of electoral conduct.”

press trust of india
Kolkata, 7 July
West Bengal chief minister Ms Mamata Banerjee today called up YSR Congress honorary president Mrs YS Vijayalakshmi and asked her to be prepared for the possibility of the Lok Sabha elections being held well ahead of its schedule.
Ms Banerjee told Mrs Vijaylakshmi that she expects a mid-term election to be held in November this year instead of May 2014.
Ms Banerjee told her that the time is ripe for evolving an anti-Congress and anti-BJP force at the national level.
Like minded parties such as the Trinamul Congress and the YSR Congress should come together and ensure that they are equidistant from both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ms Banerjee asked Mrs Vijayalakshmi to discuss her proposal with Mr YS Jaganmohan Reddy, to which the former gave her approval.
Ms Banerjee also enquired about the wellbeing of Mr Reddy. Mrs Vijaylakshmi detailed how the CBI has gone to the extent of denying even natural justice to her son.
Mrs Vijayalakshmi lamented that her son had been in jail for over 13 months with the last word not yet said when the CBI would finish completing its investigations and charge sheets.

statesman news service
Kolkata, 7 July
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee sees a ‘game plan to finish off the regional parties’ behind the recent series of blasts triggered by Maoists. 
The chief minister posted about the blasts on facebook and expressed her apprehension. Slamming the Centre and its agencies for failing to avert bomb blasts in the states, the chief minister wondered whether there is a ‘gameplan’ to disturb  regional parties, and also whether there were plans to murder some political leaders, so that nobody can raise the voice of the people in future. 
She also asked whether it was a ‘blame game’ to avoid responsibility and to finish off the regional political parties who are not dependent on the UPA.  
"What is our central government doing? What about central agencies who usually interfere in the businesses of the states, but do not take care of the safety and security of our people and country?" Miss Banerjee wrote on facebook. 
Nine blasts rocked the temple town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar today and left two monks injured there. Miss Banerjee wrote, "I am shocked about the sad incident of bomb blasts at Bodh Gaya today. I do not know why a series of such incidents is taking place in a regular cycle recently ~ first at Chhatisgarh where many innocent lives were lost, and then at Jharkhand where the innocent lives of the SP and other officials were lost."
She wondered which state would the extremists would target next.  "Today it has happened in Bihar. Which one is the target for tomorrow ~ West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh or Odisha?" Miss Banerjee asked.  

statesman news service
Uttarpara (Hooghly), 7 July
A cartoon lampooning Mrs Mira Pandey, commissioner, State Election Commission, and former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee created a stir today both among common people as well as political parties.
The offensive cartoon was found displayed at Kaniapur village in Uttarpara in the morning.
Nothing on the cartoon gave away whether a political party was behind it or not.
But Mr Sudharsan Roy Chowdhury, the CPI-M’s district zonal secretary, alleged that it is the handy work of Trinamul Congress party workers because a few days ago, their party supremo, Miss Mamta Banerjee, spoke at a rally reportedly attacking the election commissioner.
Mr Dilip Yadav, the Trinamul’s district working president, however, rubbished the allegations and denied the involvement of his party members.
The District Magistrate, Mr Manomit Nanda, who is aware of the cartoon, has asked the Block Development Officer to look into the matter.

Villagers carry candles for rape victim

statesman news service
Kamduni, 7 July
Expecting that the family members of the 20-year-old girl who was raped and murdered will get justice, the villagers at Kamduni held a candle light rally there today.  
The girl, who had been on her way back home from college, was dragged inside a plot located beside a bheri, where she was allegedly gangraped and murdered on 7 June. Her body was later found on a piece of land behind the boundary wall of the plot.  
Despite the assurances of the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, that a chargesheet will be filed before the court within 15 days after her visit to Kamduni, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are yet to file a complete chargesheet before the court, even though a month has passed after the incident.    
People assembled at the play ground in front of a primary school in the area, from where the rally was initiated. It ended at the spot where the incident had taken place. The victim’s family members broke into tears while recollecting her memories.
Those who attended the candle-light rally included Mrs Mousumi Koyal, who was in the limelight during the chief minister’s visit to the village, Mr Pradip Basu, the head master of the victim’s primary school, and painter Samir Aich.
Mr Aich asked the villagers not to stoop before a government that could not provide safety and security to women. “I may get arrested for my anti-government statements. But, you all should not worry,” he said.  
Locals and the victim’s family have claimed that the CID didn’t include the name of Ansar Ali, one of the main accused, in the charge sheet, and are trying to safeguard him. They now want the investigation to be handed over to the CBI.

India also bagged a silver in women’s 200m through Asha Roy
press trust of india
Pune, 7 July
India clinched a gold medal in women’s 400m relay in a sensational race to finish sixth overall as the curtains were drawn on the 20th Asian Athletics Championships, with China confirming their supreme status in the continent here today.  By virtue of this victory, the relay team secured a place in the World Championships in Moscow.
India also bagged a silver and bronze in women’s 200m through Asha Roy and Dutee Chand respectively.
The home team came up with a rich haul of eight medals, one gold, two silvers and five bronzes on the fifth and final day to give the houseful Shivchhatrapati Stadium crowd a lot to cheer about. This was a much-improved performance from the last edition in 2011 held in Kobe, Japan where they had finished seventh with one gold, three silvers and eight bronzes.
Vikas Gowda had won India’s other gold in men’s discus throw on the second day on Thursday.
Besides, the gold from relay team comprising M R Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Anu Mariam Jose and Nirmala, India won a silver and a bronze in men’s triple jump through Renjith Maheswary and Arpinder Singh. India also bagged a silver and bronze in women’s 200m through Asha Roy and Dutee Chand respectively.
Luka, Satinder Singh and Jithin C Thomas added a bronze each in women’s 800m, men’s 400m hurdles and men’s high jump respectively. The women’s 4x400m relay team, which was caught in a controversy after India wanted to include dope-tainted Ashwini Akkunji only to be rejected by competition technical delegate, also made it to next month’s World Championships in Moscow as they went past the qualifying time of 3:33.00s.
With the gold in women’s 4x400m relay, India continued its domination in the continent having won a gold each in the 2005 and 2007 editions of the Asian Championships while finishing second in 2009 and 2011. India have also won gold in the last three Asian Games since 2002 in Busan.
Bahrain were a distant third with five gold, seven silver and three bronze while Japan jumped to third with a strong performance today with four gold, six silver and 10 bronze.
Saudi Arabia (4 golds, 2 silvesr, 1 bronze) were fourth while Uzbekistan (3 golds, 4 silvers, 1 bronze) finished fifth.
The Indian supporters went wild when Poovamma, Luka, Mariam Jose and Nirmala won the 4x400m relay, the penultimate event of the day, in 3:32.26.
The Indian quartet won the race in such a convincing fashion that they went past the finishing line with China (3:35.31) behind by around 10 meters at second place. The four young girls ran a victory lap with the tri-colour draped around them to acknowledge the support from the crowd.
Nirmala took a small lead in the first lap but Luka, who had won a bronze just an hour back in 800m, extended the lead. But, by the end of the third lap, Mariam Jose had given India a huge lead before Poovamma, the fastest among the quartet, blasted home to wild cheers of the crowd.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 7 July
Heavy rains prevented Union minister of state for urban development Mrs Deepa Das Munshi from rural poll campaigning at Kamrangaguri in Jalpaiguri this morning where the Trinamul Congress official candidate is contesting as the party&’s unofficial contender for a seat in the Fulbari-I gram panchayat.
Mrs Das Munshi finally informed her party leaders over phone that she would come on 13 July to campaign from Kamrangaguri to other areas covering Fulbari and Dabgram gram panchayats in Rajganj. The Congress leaders, workers and candidates were upset having failed to campaign on schedule and blamed the Trinamul and its chief Mamata Banerjee for the delay in resolving the matter of poll schedule at Calcutta High Court.
The objective of this poll campaigning at Kamrangaguri today was to capture power of Fulbari-I GP, which was under the control of the BJP and the Trinamul Congress over the past five years.
The Congress has fielded 18 candidates in Fulbari-I GP out of a 22 member-board. The Congress leaders could not field candidates in four reserved GP seats when they failed to manage caste certificate for nominated candidates within a short time from concerned authorities despite several efforts.
The Congress leaders expect that they would be able to capture power in Fulbari-I GP at a time when the Trinamul Congress candidates are contesting against the ‘unofficial’ party candidates in Fulbari-I area.
At 84 no seat in Kamrangaguri, three candidates belonging to the Congress, Trinamul Congress and CPI-M are contesting. Besides an Independent candidate, identified as a dissident Trinamul candidate is contesting here.  Notably, an Independent candidate, dissident leader of the CPI-M, was elected from this seat last time when the party leadership had not discussed with the local leaders before nominating a party candidate here. However, Mr Muhammad Soleman started campaigning projecting him as a Trinamul candidate here when the name of party candidates was not declared officially. The rebel Trinamul leaders lodged a complaint with the district leadership. But, the party finally nominated Mr Soleman&’s wife Mrs Hassinur Begum as party candidate. As a result, rebel ~ Mr Ramzan Ali ~ had filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate against Mrs Begum.
Now the Congress candidate Mr Muhammad Israel and CPI-M candidate Mr Muhammad Ali are contesting against the Trinamul Congress here.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Gangtok, 7 July
Bhaichung Bhutia&’s love for football continues even after his retirement. Taking forward his initiative of taking modern football facilities to the rural areas of his home state Sikkim, the Sikkimese sniper has taken the lead in laying of the first astro-turfed five-side soccer field in remote North Sikkim&’s headquarter Mangan.
Bhutia, who actively campaigned for relief funds in the aftermath of the 18 September 2011 earthquakes by ways of auctioning his India team jersey and kits chipped in laying the astro-turf. "I always had a dream of giving back to my state through football and thought of having a five-side astro-turf field especially for youngsters. It is a dream come true for me," Bhutia said during the commissioning of the astro-turf at Mangan, about 52 km north of Gangtok on Sunday. The New Zealand-made Tiger brand turf is laid on the foundation work done by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) under its Corporate Social Responsibility.
Happy on having a modern football pitch in the locality, Lakpa Sherpa, an eight-year-old boy said: "We will come here and practice daily and fulfill our dreams of becoming a famous footballer like Bhaichung Bhutia. We thank him for this wonderful infrastructure.”

Statesman News Service
Raiganj, 7 July
The authorities of Dalkhola municipality at last initiated a move to construct a fresh drinking water project  with Rs 80 lakh funds given by the state municipal affairs around two-and-a-half years ago. The construction of two reservoirs started with this fund. This fund remained unused for a long time because of the apathy of the municipality authorities.
It was reported that more than 10 years have passed since the Dalkhola municipality was framed, yet the residents face a crisis of fresh drinking water. They are in fear of being affected of water-borne diseases. The residents blamed the irresponsibility and negligence of the municipality for this state. The residents alleged that in absence of PHE water, the residents of all 14 wards of the municipality are drinking water from the tube well. In addition, the drainage system of the municipality has collapsed in most of the wards.
In the past two years, the municipality board has changed three times. They informed that the councillors were busy in changing their political platform only. Hence, development work has been affected.
The Chairman of Dalkhola Municipality, Mr Subash Goswami, said: "With an objective to provide fresh drinking water to residents in all wards, the state municipality affairs provided Rs 80 lakh two-and-a-half years ago. The then Chairman of the CPI-M-led board of  the municipality failed to use the fund. The Congress-led board came to power last year. After coming to power, we started using the fund. We started the construction of two reservoirs in our municipality. Soon, we will place the utilisation of the fund to the state municipality affairs. We will then receive another Rs 50 lakh for this purpose. Pipe line work and construction of taps will start with this fund. Residents will be able to avail fresh drinking water.”

press trust of india
Srinagar, 7 July
Cautioning against people of Jammu and Kashmir being “taken for granted”, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the Centre to engage with them politically in a dialogue.
“By design or by default, we have given this impression to the people in the state that we only engage with them when there is trouble,” he said, citing the instances of engaging with the separatists at the peak of militancy or with the public in the aftermath of agitations in 2008 and 2010.
Omar believes that this “is a dangerous impression to give to people” and wants an engagement with them when “things are quiet”. The people of the state are interested in peace and normalcy than ever before, he said.
Nearly four-and-a-half years in power at the head of a coalition between his National Conference and the Congress, Omar spoke on a wide range of issues concerning the state and national politics during an interview to ***PTI.
At 43, Omar has noticeable strands of grey in his hair which he attributes partly to the tension of the job. There have been times when he had asked himself “what am I doing here” but then he had realised that a lot of positive things had been done by his government.
With elections to the state Assembly due before November 2014, the issues facing Omar include the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), incidents relating to militancy and the Centre’s failure to engage in a political dialogue with the people of the state given the largely peaceful situation.
The people of Kashmir do not want to be taken for granted, Omar said, adding, “My fear is that we are taken for granted at several levels”.
While stating that “we castigate the Government of India at some point for not engaging in the state politically”, he lashed out at some of the political leadership in the state for not engaging with the Centre, referring to the main
opposition PDP in particular.
"Please explain to me why the leadership of the PDP can quietly go and meet the Prime Minister at his home in Delhi but not take a delegation to him when he is in Srinagar,” he asked.
About the incident in Bandipore, where two youths were killed in Army firing, he said incidents like this can always be avoided if proper precautions and standard operating procedures are followed in letter and spirit.

press trust of india
Srinagar, 7 July
The ruling National Conference (NC) will never be a part of the NDA, the party working President and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah categorically made it clear today.
Omar does not see a situation in which NC, which has 3 Lok Sabha MPs and 2 Rajya Sabha MPs, would enter into “any sort of alliance” with the BJP in the future.
The chief minister said his party has only two options ~ the UPA and “in the past we have been a part of a United Front dispensation which is a sort of coming together of regional parties”. The NDA was not an option, he added.
Asked about the NC’s previous alliance with the BJP in the NDA, he said: “The NC’s relationship was not a relationship between the BJP and the NC. It was largely between the National Conference and Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee because he was seen as a unifying force who brought people together, who put aside regional issues in the national interest, who actually looked at
problems of the state and sought to resolve them.”
He said the railway line connecting Kashmir to rest of the country was a vision of Indira Gandhi which was fulfilled by Mr Vajpayee when he declared the railway project as a national project of utmost importance.
“I don’t see a situation, particularly in the current leadership, in the BJP and looking at the future leadership of the BJP, the NC will never enter into any sort of alliance with them,” he said.
Asked whether the NC would be part of the third front, he said: “We are not like the Samajwadi or the BSP which are part of the UPA yet not a part of the UPA; that come for one anniversary dinner and don’t come for the second anniversary dinner."
Mr Omar took a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and said: “Imagine, Chief Minister of Gujarat heading a coalition in Delhi, you think he will manage easily. I think he will struggle and struggle enormously because the way he is used to his law being command or his word being law in Gujarat will not happen if he happens to reach the pinnacle of power in Delhi.
Though I don’t expect him to reach there and I am only painting a hypothetical picture for you.”
Hitting out at BJP leader L K Advani’s statement on abrogation of Article 370 that grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said the period before any Lok Sabha elections is the only time they rake it up.
Omar said with elections round the corner, the BJP would be raising “three pet issues” ~ common civil code, Article 370 and lastly, the Ram Mandir issue.

The mysterious killing of Ishrat Jahan
SIR, In the manner of the Narendra Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the former Intelligence Bureau chief, Ajit Dhoval,  claims there is impeccable evidence that Ishrat Jahan was a terrorist. However, while filing its first chargesheet in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate HS Khutwad, the CBI did not comment on whether Ishrat had any terror links. The CBI Director, Ranjit Sinha, has said, “We are not probing whether or not the four persons killed were terrorists. The High Court mandate to the CBI is to only find out whether the encounter was fake or not.” The question survives as to how in a joint operation, the Gujarat Police and the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB), which works under the Centre, had killed her and others in an allegedly fake encounter? No less shocking is that Ishrat and the three others who were abducted were kept in police custody and brought together in one car and then killed in cold blood. Who authorised the police to take the law into its hands and then exterminate them? The CBI&’s FIR does not name Modi and Amit Shah. Both the BJP and Narendra Modi are under a cloud over the Ishrat case. He harbours ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister despite the pogrom of 2002.
Yours, etc., Bidyut K Chatterjee,
Faridabad, 5 July.
Deceptive document
SIR, The Food Security Bill is disoriented. It puts the cart before the horse. The Bill will lead to runaway inflation; the investments of the salaried class will lose their security-value, as had happened in Australia. The legislation is an extended application of the same foolishness, incoherence, and greed that led to the 2G spectrum and coalblock allocation scams. On the whole, the Bill is a deceptive document.
Yours, etc., Mukulesh Mitra,
 New Delhi, 4 July.
MODI IN UTTARAKHAND
SIR, This is with reference to the editorial, ‘Bragging rights’ (28 June), and Kajal Chatterjee’s letter (3 July). Both have criticised the Gujarat Chief  Minister for his ‘parochial’ attitude in the face of the calamity at Uttarakhand. It bears recall that the Gujarat government had offered to come to the rescue of the flood victims in Bihar only a few years ago. Unfortunately, political considerations came into play and the offer was turned down by the Bihar government, headed by a JD(U) chief minister. Mr Modi visited Uttarakhand as a Chief Minister of another state. His priority was to rescue the people. What prevented the other Chief Ministers from visiting a region affected by a catastrophe? Not the least the Chief Minister of West Bengal who has floated the idea of a federal front. Were ministers Madan Mitra and Rachpal Singh  given the mandate to look after the victims of other states. Charity begins at home. Amethi, once a nondescript rural belt of UP, is now a prosperous region after having elected two Prime Ministers ~ Indira Gandhi and son, Rajiv. Successive Railway ministers have favoured their home states. And the list includes Mamata Banerjee. Therefore, ‘parochialism’ is not an unknown phenomenon in India.
Yours, etc., Sandipan Khan,
Rishra, 4 July.
PEOPLE’S PARLIAMENT
SIR, ~ The Statesman has been redesigned without changing the masthead style.  The masthead makes a profound statement ~ “People&’s Parliament, Always In Session”. The paper looks  more modern, smarter,  more colourful and attractive. Notable also is a change in the presentation of news. Stories are being analysed carefully and summed-up with appropriate sub-headings. The reader has access both to news and views.  The “Thumbnails” column on almost every page gives a rundown of the more important political, cultural, financial and sports events. Another innovation is that the special article on the Editorial page carries the  photograph of the writer. Congratulations, the refashioned Statesman!
 Yours, etc., Pankaj Kumar Mandal,
Kolkata, 3 July.

Indo-US dialogue
hough the fourth Indo-US Strategic Dialogue between US Secretary of State John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid turned out to be a lacklustre affair, the Americans succeeded in extracting from India an assurance that an agreement between Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India would be reached by September and the nuclear liability law  diluted to the extent the US seeks. Kerry did not hide America&’s disappointment at not being able to reap the fruits of the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement which gave New Delhi special exemptions by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Westinghouse was to supply six nuclear reactors for the 6,000 MW, multi-billion dollar Mithivirdi power project in Gujarat, and General Electric, another US giant, the plants for the 10,000 MW Kovvada nuclear power project in Andhra Pradesh. Both sites are mired in environmental and safety concerns and stiff resistance by the local people. While the GE reactor design has not yet been cleared by the US nuclear regulator, Westinghouse has been allowed to share confidential technical information with India&’s Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Both Westinghouse and GE get their major equipment and components manufactured by Japanese companies under the US-Japan Industrial Agreements and India would have to enter into a separate agreement with Japan to give effect to the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement. Japan is in no mood to sign such agreements unless India signs the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty.
 America is at a loss to find markets for nuclear power machinery and equipment manufactured in the wake of a nuclear renaissance ushered in by President Obama during his first term in office when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission received applications for 24 reactors to add to the existing 104. After the 1979 radioactive leak from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, no new plant has come up. The moratorium was broken in 2007 and massive construction began to add 24 reactors. Fukushima put paid to America&’s nuclear renaissance and half-built nuclear power plants dot the US skyline.  Far from adding new plants, even the existing ones are closing down as the Federal appeals court froze 19 reactor licences because of on-site storage of spent fuel which posed “dangerous, long-term health and environmental risks.” With the US Department of Energy scrapping a plan to bury spent nuclear fuel in Nevada, the power plants have no option but to store the stuff on site. It is ironic that the US, unable to cope with hazards posed by the nuclear energy industry and escalating costs, should try to burden India with its unsold reactors. A document prepared by the DAE in 2008 titled “A strategy for the growth of electricity in India,” has set a target of 275,000 MW nuclear power capacity by the year 2050, which seems sheer madness. The September deadline for NPCIL to conclude a works agreement with Westinghouse for the Mithivirdi nuclear power plant is rather intriguing.
Ill-equipped CRPF
ny expression of surprise or concern in the home ministry over the CRPF decision to “ground” 50-odd mine-protected vehicles deployed in the Maoist-dominated belt would be dishonest and hypocritical. Years ago “supercop” KPS Gill had condemned those vehicles as poorly fabricated, too fragile to counter the impact of explosive devices, and warned that the personnel they were ferrying would be trapped, probably killed. Nobody took heed. And so now it has been decided that the risk of mass injury would be reduced if foot patrols were conducted ~ yet that would make for slower movement of jawans and leave them virtually unprotected. In the short term that may be a tactically sound decision, but it speaks volumes for the manner in which paramilitary personnel are condemned to be cannon fodder for an adversary known to employ sophisticated weaponry, and now well-versed (courtesy the LTTE?) in the business of planting explosives deep under the road surface. It is no comfort that some lives have been “saved” by shunning the low-grade vehicles ~ many jawans on foot patrols have also been gunned down. Not all that long ago when the IED threat was “live” in Jammu and Kashmir the Army was provided a fleet of highly specialised pre-used/refurbished specialised trucks procured from South Africa ~ a grim reminder of the difference between olive-green and khaki. At a recent interaction with industrialists, key paramilitary officers made no secret of the local “market” meeting few their requirements ~ not even quality helmets. They spoke of cumbersome flak jackets, indeed even of the packs of pre-cooked food being so heavy that the jawans often declined to carry them into the field. Is this acceptable? When the Prime Minister, and virtually all political leaders declare the Maoist threat to be “grave” ~ and it has not developed overnight ~ what has prevented the home ministry from looking to the international market, and setting up a task force to galvanise industry into adequately equipping the paramilitary and police? The volumes of the purchases would make economic sense. The real problem is that the paramilitary lacks the clout to pressure netas and babus into action. Financial constraints would be a weak alibi. When 70 per cent of defence equipment is “got abroad”, why must the paramilitary be denied critical requirements? North Block&’s indifference is a crying shame.

Balochistan’s social and ethnic fabric is being ripped to shreds by sectarian terrorists who are acting on behalf of the military-intelligence establishment. The situation demands concrete measures, writes Abbas Nasir.
In its first month in office, the Pakistan government may have got most of the optics right but it is still to come up with a road map to tackle terrorism.
At least for now the appointment of Muneer Malik as attorney general, advertising key public-sector jobs and most of all facilitating a government in Balochistan belonging to Baloch and Pakhtun nationalists are no more than optics.
Look at Balochistan. If the current state of affairs continues with Baloch youth still disappearing and their tortured bodies being found dumped later and if Hazara Shias continue to be slaughtered, how would a Malik government be different to Raisani&’s in substance?
Kudos to the prime minister for quickly rushing to Quetta after the latest bombing targeting the Hazaras as this was in contrast to his predecessor, who was moved only by a long-drawn-out protest sit-in by the battered community in sub-zero temperatures last January.
But even this will amount to nought if those suffering are offered no more than the shoulder of a high and mighty to cry on occasionally. More, much more, is expected of an elected government and, so far, nothing substantial seems to have been done.
The prime minister instructed the security set-up in the province and more significantly the all-powerful services intelligence agencies to make hunting down the perpetrators of the Hazara bombing a “test case”.
Unless the prime minister&’s instructions are followed up with accountability in case of failure his words won’t amount to anything more than mere bluster. And bluster isn’t going to steer Balochistan out of the crisis it&’s been pushed into.
Balochistan&’s carefully woven social and ethnic fabric is being ripped to shreds by sectarian terrorists as well as by death squads that, according to some Baloch nationalists, are acting on behalf of the military-intelligence establishment. The situation demands concrete measures.
Not for a moment can one deny the excesses against non-Baloch by the separatists active in the province, but surely the state must stand for rule of law. It’ll be useful to remind ourselves that the current round of violence was triggered by Nawab Akbar Bugti&’s killing by the military.
All efforts should be aimed at strengthening Chief Minister Malik Baloch&’s hands as there can be nobody better placed to start a dialogue with the militants than him. Reliance on murderous thugs can only boomerang as it’ll create a bigger and bigger constituency for the separatists.
It is equally incumbent on Malik and my good friend Hasil Bizenjo to leave the government if at any point they feel they aren’t being given the leeway to make decisions in Balochistan&’s interests. They shouldn’t offer themselves as punching bags for someone else&’s ‘strategic’ blunders.
Mian Nawaz Sharif must now realise that he must see things from Islamabad&’s perspective rather than Lahore&’s, as his party had the luxury of doing over the past five years. These five years were great and delivered his party many, many benefits.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ruled the Punjab, was able to ‘govern’ well and also recreate its significant constituency among the bureaucracy and the powerful political groups through patronage. At the same time, it gained the sympathy of the masses by effectively using opposition rhetoric. The party&’s greatest achievement was that somehow it was able to remain largely immune to terrorist attacks. Whether the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan didn’t attack the province to avoid incurring the wrath of a majority of Pakistanis or Lahore cut deals with them as is alleged will likely remain unknown.
What is important now is that the governing party has to move beyond all that. The militancy rooted in some of the tribal areas and most specifically in the federally administrated North Waziristan Agency has to be dealt with.
The government has the popular mandate. Whether it wishes first to take steps towards, what many believe will be futile, talks or move quickly to evolve a consensus to take military action is its prerogative. What it doesn’t have is an endless amount of time.
All foreign trips to attract investment particularly in infrastructure projects will remain pointless till the security situation is better. As things stand, being able to afford the risk premium sought by those wishing to invest/work in Pakistan would be beyond the country&’s reach.
So, the metros, four-lane motorways, enhanced power generation capacity, improvements in basic education and health systems will only remain a dream, unfulfilled manifesto pledges till such time as we are able to sort out the law-and-order mess.
Without doubt, the provincial authorities and the Assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa need to worry more about strengthening the security cordon around Peshawar in particular, instead of chasing red herrings such as whether the Daewoo coaches stop for prayer breaks.
Equally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh must understand that its win in the last election may be its last victory there if its criminal neglect and alleged complicity in the alarming lawlessness in Karachi continues and if it cannot deliver better governance to its support base in the interior.
It is a great shame that on the one hand the party claims credit for a ‘policy of reconciliation’ aimed at creating a political culture conducive to democracy in the country and on the other can’t ensure the life and liberty of the citizens in the provincial capital.
Karachi is recognised these days from images of rioters, armed police, Rangers and their armoured personnel carriers, the corpses of the murdered and the sobbing faces of those who have lost their loved ones.
Unless the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement  (despite being totally taken up by the travails of its leader in his London sanctuary) can join hands to sort out the mess in the city of lights at some point, I suspect, the big foot of the federal government will descend with all its consequences.
Battling terrorism indiscriminately ought to be a collective priority. The sooner we understand this the better it will be.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
Dawn/ann