19 die as rain wreaks havoc on Karachi

KARACHI: A maximum of 41 millimetres of rainfall that the city received late Monday night coupled with gusty winds wreaked havoc on the power supply system and municipal infrastructure as electrocution, falling billboard and roof collapse incidents left at least 19 people dead in different areas before another heavy spell of rain hit the metropolis late Tuesday evening.
The situation turned even worse due to flooding of low-lying areas and prolonged power outages, prompting Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar to order the rain emergency centre to function round the clock for the next two days as the Meteorological Department forecast partly cloudy to cloudy weather with chances of rain and thunderstorm on Wednesday (today).
There was no official word on exact death toll from any government department but the figures of casualties available with hospitals and rescue services of Edhi and Chhipa suggested that a total of 19 people including women and children died in rain-related incidents.
Most of the victims died from electrocution. They included Ruqayya Khatoon, 35, who died in the Rasheedabad area of Khawaja Ajmer Nagri; Fatima Wali Mohammad, 45, in North Nazimabad; Kaleemullah, 45, in Bhangoria Goth area of Azizabad; Aslam, 22, in Madinah Colony area of New Karachi; and Ghulam Mohammad, 45, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Block 18.
Electrocution, falling billboards, roof collapse major causes of deaths; chances of more rain today
Roof collapse emerged as another reason for the casualties. Manzoor, 56, died when the roof of his house, situated in Jamali Goth area, off the Superhighway, collapsed. A similar incident was reported in Kaneez Fatima Society where a man, in his late 30s, died after the roof of his house collapsed. However, his identity could not be ascertained immediately. Another house collapsed in the Metroville area of SITE leaving two of its residents dead. Rescue workers and local police busy in removing the rubble said the house had been raised on a very weak foundation. The rain eroded the weak structure, they added.
The Sindh Building Control Authority had already asked the residents/occupants of ‘dangerous’ buildings to vacate the dilapidated structures as they might collapse in case of rains. SBCA chief Agha Maqsood Abbas told Dawn that the authority had also written letters to the utility agencies to disconnect the supply to these dangerous buildings, as gas leaks or power disruptions could cause blasts as well as electrocutions if these structures collapsed.
SBCA emergency cell
Mr Abbas said the SBCA had set up an emergency centre where technically qualified staffers along with required emergency equipment were present round the clock to provide assistance in case of collapse of any building. He also urged the people to approach the centre on telephone number 99232354 in case of any emergency.
He said there were around 340 dangerous buildings in the metropolis and around 100 dilapidated structures in other parts of the province. Any of them could fall any time, he said, adding that those buildings were even more vulnerable during the rains.
Billboard claims life
The gusty winds, which sounded like a storm, uprooted many old trees, electric poles and billboards during the half-an-hour spell of rain late Monday evening. A 14-year-old boy died at the cattle market set up along the Superhighway when a huge billboard fell on a few people. Two others suffered injuries.
Although the Supreme Court had passed repeated orders to remove all the advertising billboards from roads and public spaces, many billboards reappeared on roads shortly after being removed due to a lacklustre attitude of the city administration/civic agencies.
Power outages
While K-Electric managed to surprise consumers by letting them enjoy the rains keeping outages due to the weather at the very minimum a day earlier, on Tuesday, from as early as 1am onwards, people’s happiness was cut short with several power issues in many areas.
Still the power utility maintained that the overall power supply to Karachi remained intact despite the heavy rainfall with gusty winds. A KE statement also said that strategic installations including key hospitals, the Dhabeji pumping station, and airport remained unaffected. “Heavy showers partially affected KE’s power supply in some areas such as parts of Gulshan, Malir, North Karachi, Gadap, Federal B Area, Landhi and Nazimabad. The affected feeders were re-energised within a few hours of rain,” read the statement.
According to a KE spokesperson, restoration work remained challenging amid intermittent rain spells but the KE ensured that the ground teams followed due safety protocols. “KE’s rapid response teams and contact centre staff remained fully operational round the clock while the power utility also registered customer queries via KE’s 8119 SMS platform and through their Facebook and Twitter pages.”
The downpour accompanied by strong winds also added to the challenge of restoration work. Falling of trees and signboards not only created difficulty in accessing some areas but in some cases, they also fell on KE’s power lines causing disruption in supply to certain areas.
The KE spokesperson said that in a separate incident in North Karachi’s Industrial Area Sector 12B, one of the power utility’s transformers was damaged when a wireless tower of a private company fell over it. “Restoration work on the site is under way. Water-logging and slush in affected areas has also been a hindrance. However, rehabilitation work has been undertaken with great speed to restore power in the affected areas in the shortest possible time,” the spokesperson added.

N oorjehan Safia Niaz , women have got the courage to fight injustice'

N oorjehan Safia Niaz , co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, was one of the petitioners in the instant triple talaq case before the Supreme Court.
She was ecstatic when the apex court in a 3:2 verdict banned instant talaq on Tuesday, August 22.

Y our first reaction to the bar on instant triple
talaq .
We are happy with the judgment. Out of five, three Supreme Court judges have given the verdict in our favour.
The Supreme Court has declared instant triple
talaq as unConstitutional, and it is a big success for us.
They have told Parliament to make a law on this issue, which again is a big victory for us.

Is this judgment a victory for Muslim women?
This judgment is a victory for Muslim women.
They came out and supported it in big numbers. We are now distributing sweets after the victory.
T he maulanas were saying that there should be no interference in religion by any institution, like the courts or Parliament.
After this verdict, what do you have to say to them?
We are only asking for the rights of women, what is mentioned in the Holy Quran and that is our demand.
We must get those rights.
On the contrary, these maulanas are doing un-Islamic work.
We want Quran-based laws and whatever is permitted in our Indian Constitution.
Allah has given equal rights to Muslim women and we want that right.
Now if the maulanas don't want to give us those rights, Parliament keeps quiet and the courts too if they keep quiet, where can we go?
Should Muslim women be in a permanent state of harassment?
Somebody has to do something about it.
When the Shah Bano judgment was given in her favour Muslim women did not turn up in big numbers to support her in 1986.
What has changed in the last 30 years that so many Muslim women have come out in the open and are speaking against instant triple
talaq ?
There is a huge difference. We have our Bharatiya Mahila Andolan now.
In the same way, we have many other Muslim women's organisations.
A woman like Shayra Bano, who suffered from instant triple talaq , now knows her Quranic rights.
Today there is also awareness in Muslim women, unlike in 1986.
Muslim women have got the courage now to fight injustice.
You cannot suppress a section of society permanently.
The spark of revolt will catch fire sooner or later, and it has happened now.
N ow that instant triple talaq is banned, how will divorce proceeding between Muslim couples take place?
We had demanded that arbitration has to be mandatory in divorce proceedings.
This applies to men as well as women.
They must sit together discuss the issue and only then get divorced.
A nd what does the Quran say about divorce?
The same thing is written in the Holy Quran.
You read Surah Nisah (verse 35):
And if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people.
If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will cause it between them.
Indeed, Allah is ever knowing and acquainted (with all things .
The Holy Quran says clearly that if a husband and wife have a problem with each other, then they must sit together and solve their problem.
And if they do not solve the differences, then there is a minimum three month period for separation.
If you do not follow this process, then you cannot get talaq .
Y ou say instant triple talaq is not mentioned in the Quran. So how was this practice being followed in India?
In India, the Muslim community was in the grip of mullahs and maulvis.
Whatever they said was believed to be the true word of Allah.
Now, when we ( women ) read the Holy Quran we find that the practice of instant triple talaq is not mentioned in it.
Therefore, we got the strength to fight.
S ome clerics have alleged that your organisation is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Whoever speaks up for women's rights, they get to hear such allegations.
We are an independent organisation and not associated with any political party.
We are an autonomous independent body. We have more than one lakh members.
Those who want to make allegations against us, let them do so, what can we do?
D o you feel instant triple talaq will be banned from today?
We have the support of this Supreme Court judgment.
From now on Muslim women can stand up and say that instant triple talaq is unConstitutional and cannot be followed.
The hold of maulanas and maulvis on the Muslim community is fading.
D oes it mean that in future, if a Muslim man wants to divorce his wife he will have to wait for three months, and cannot do it instantly?
Arbitration is a must. Be it a man or woman who wants talaq , arbitration is a must.
Instant triple talaq is not possible now after this judgment.
Many fear that this verdict is a step towards a Uniform Civil Code.
We are not in favour of a Uniform Civil Code.
We feel that whatever is the law for Hindus, Parsis and Christians... We Muslims must have our own law in which Muslim women get justice.

Shopian encounter leaves two dead 3 injured

Two army men were killed and three others, including a captain, injured in an encounter with terrorists in Shopian district of south Kashmir, the police said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation on Saturday following information about presence of terrorists in Avneera village of Zainapora area of the district, a police official said.
He said as the security forces were conducting searches, the terrorists opened firing on them which was retaliated by the law enforcement personnel, triggering a gunfight.
Five soldiers were injured in the gun battle, he said, adding that they were evacuated to the 92 Base Hospital of the army for treatment, where two among them succumbed to their injuries.

Medical college principal resigns: Over Gorakhpur death row

Principal of the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur Dr Rajeev Mishra, who was suspended following the death of 30 infants within a span of 48 hours since August 10, has resigned from the post.
Confirming the resignation of Mishra from the post of the BRD medical college principal, UP Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said, "Yes, he has resigned. But no good, because we have already suspended him and initiated enquiry of his misdoings."
In his letter to the Director General of Medical Education and Training, the principal said that he tendered his resignation from the post taking the moral responsibility
for the recent death of 30 children admitted in the hospital's paediatric ward.
Earlier, Singh and UP Medical Education Minister Ashutosh Tandon had said that Mishra was suspended for his "irresponsible act" of allegedly delaying payment to the supplier of oxygen cylinders.
They also said that a probe, led by the state chief secretary, had been ordered.

Indian Army team crashes out of global tank race in Russia

An Indian Army team has crashed out of international 'Tank Biathlon' held in Russia after its main battle tank T-90 developed technical snag.
India was among 19 countries, including China, which participated in the high profile event.
Official sources said the Indian team could not advance to the next level following breakdown of its two T-90 tanks.
The Tank Biathlon commenced at Alabino Ranges on July 29.
A total of 19 countries have participated in the event and the top 12 of them were to be selected for stage II relay race.
The competition is an international event conducted as part of the International Army Games held every year since 2013 at Alabino Ranges in Russia.
International Army Games involve 28 events which are organised in Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China.
The Indian Army team has been participating in the competition for the past three years.
Sources said it was for the first time that the Indian team was participating with its own T-90 tanks at the competition.
The competition simulates actual battle field conditions involving driving at high speed and entails switching from one mode of operation to another at a fast pace.
Image: Indian Army

India fully equipped to face any challenge: MoS PMO on Doklam standoff

Union minister Jitendra Singh has played down the heightened rhetoric by Beijing over the Doklam standoff, stating that India was fully equipped to face any challenge.
He said the government was confident about the steps it was taking in this regard.
"We are well equipped to face any challenge whether externally or internally," Singh told reporters in Jammu.
The MoS PMO was responding to a question about the recent 'threat' by China through its official media asking India to withdraw troops from the Sikkim sector.
"I think for us the more important thing is to see what we are doing. I am not here to respond to what somebody is tweeting from the opposition parties. We are confident about what we are doing," he said.
China had recently said that it had conveyed its firm stand to India that it must take "concrete actions" by immediately pulling back troops from Doklam in the Sikkim
section with "no strings attached" to resolve the current standoff.
The BJP leader also said that the government was giving "befitting reply" with regard to ceasefire violations on the Indo-Pakistan border, and was dealing with terrorism in Kashmir with a "stern hand".
On appearance of terrorist Zakir Musa's posters in Kashmir asking youths and students to keep away from Independence day functions, Singh said such posters have come up in the past too.
"The government will take a call on this. The more these (terrorist) leaders come up with such things, the more they expose themselves. The youths cannot be threatened by the diktats of these militants," he said.

Pak-India nuclear war — avoided

PAKISTAN and India celebrate their 70th anniversaries next week. Shall they be around for their 100th one too? It depends on how long their luck holds out, and if they can stop their mad rush to increase the chances of disaster.
What’s new? Two weeks ago, a terrifying report published in the Indian Express should have scared sensible people into asking hard questions. But no one paid much attention to it — jaded publics on both sides would rather tune in to the hottest political intrigue or celebrity gossip than waste time on something that didn’t actually happen.
Here’s what was reported: on June 24, 1999, at the height of the Kargil war, an Indian Air Force Jaguar flying close to the Line of Control locked its targeting laser onto a possible base set up by Pakistani infiltrators. The second Jaguar flying close behind was supposed to bomb this chosen target. In fact, the Indian pilot had unknowingly crossed a few miles into Pakistani territory and in his cross hairs was a forward base of the Pakistan Army at Gulteri.
The Indian pilot’s mistake could have activated Pakistan’s war plans and triggered its nuclear assets.
An Indian air commodore, who was airborne at the same time, recognised that the first pilot had erred. It being a violation of combat rules to fly over the Pakistani side, he denied permission to fire. The bomb was subsequently retargeted to a point on the Indian side of the LoC.
The reported incident does not appear fabricated. First, it was revealed 18 years after the event and so there is no immediate gain. Second, the source was knowledgeable — he is retired Air Marshal Vinod Patney, who was then the head of India’s Western Command and directly responsible for air operations in the Kargil war. Third, it does not favour either country, and, in fact, points to a mistake on the Indian side.
Imagine for a moment that permission had been granted. The course of history would have totally changed because, unknown to the Indian pilots, at that very moment prime minister Nawaz Sharif and COAS Gen Pervez Musharraf were addressing troops amassed at Gulteri base. The laser-guided bomb, if released, would have eliminated Pakistan’s top leadership.
And then what? Would GHQ have waited for an explanation or accepted an apology for this horrible mistake? Or would Pakistan’s war plans have been triggered and nukes operationalised? This would take only a matter of minutes or hours.
Seeing Pakistani nuclear weapons being prepared, what would the Indians have done? Would the IAF have targeted Pakistan’s airbases and missile sites? Action and reaction. Fear fuelling misjudgement until nuclear blasts and fireballs destroy cities in both countries. Millions killed and more injured.
South Asia got hugely lucky that day. But as India rushes to put nuclear weapons on submarines — and Pakistan tries to follow suit — a whole new set of dangers has arisen. The chance of a missile being wrongly launched is greater for submarines than for aircraft or other land-based systems.
Here’s why. Submarines try to hide and adversaries try to find them. All submarines forces face this problem of antisubmarine warfare but, in the India-Pakistan case, an undersea competition is highly destabilising because Pakistan’s fleet is fairly vulnerable. Its three Agosta-90B type diesel electric submarines (eight Chinese ones are on order) are fairly noisy and trackable. Of the three, only one is actually likely to be on patrol at a given moment because the others would be refuelling or under repair. The submarine on patrol may in time be armed with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.
While Indian capability to locate and destroy a diesel-powered submarine is unknown, this will improve with time. India already claims to have tracked the ocean trajectory of a Chinese nuclear submarine that recently docked in Karachi. Pakistan’s nervousness will drive it to build more nuclear-armed submarines, maybe even nuclear-propelled ones. Safety margins will shrink further.

To give an example: up to this point, Pakistan and India both claim that for safety reasons their nuclear warheads are kept in disassembled form with key parts kept at different physical locations. This builds in a time delay, making unauthorised use or an accident less likely. In a crisis the National Command Authority (or its Indian equivalent) would give the order to assemble a weapon. But with a submarine, all missiles must be fully ready for use before the ship leaves port.
There’s an added danger — communicating with a submarine prowling the ocean’s depth is hard since radio waves cannot travel long distances through saltwater. Typically, a deeply submerged vessel can only receive simple coded messages, not audio or video. Still worse: there can be only one-way communication — from vessel to base is impossible unless it surfaces and risks detection. Since a technical fault or enemy action can disrupt communications, the submarine commander has to be given the codes and authority to arm and launch nuclear missiles without seeking permission.
So here is a hypothetical question: suppose a Pakistani submarine is, or believes it is, under attack from some surface ship, another submarine, or aircraft. Given the impossibility of communicating with ground-based authorities, would the commander launch — or not launch — the submarine’s nuclear missiles? Of course, the attacker cannot know whether a normal sub is in its cross hairs or, instead, a nuclear-armed one.
This is not completely fictitious. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Soviet submarine found itself surrounded by American ships that began using underwater explosive depth charges to force it to surface. The Soviet submarine could not call Moscow for instructions without rising to the surface. The American ships did not know the Soviet submarine was armed with nuclear torpedoes.
Finding itself under attack, and believing that war had broken out, the submarine captain wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo to drive away the American ships by targeting a nearby American aircraft carrier. Other members of his crew did not agree. Eventually, the submarine decided to surface. Had the submarine captain had his way, a nuclear war could have started.
Will South Asia always stay lucky, as in Kargil? Don’t count on it.

Railways goes hi-tech to ensure trains sport clean loo

The Western Railway (WR) has provided its housekeeping staff with tablets to receive passenger feedback on cleanliness in trains.
The issue has been an area of concern in recent times and officials have been working on reducing complaints of unclean trains for several months.



Under the On Board Housekeeping Services, which was launched a decade ago, an official is placed in-charge of maintaining cleanliness in three coaches. The official has to ensure the coaches are free of pests, the washrooms are regularly cleaned, the liquid hand soap dispensers are refilled and room fresheners are sprayed in the coaches.
Interestingly, the amount paid to cleaning contractors are based on ratings given by passengers in feedback forms. However, senior WR officials they got a false impression of cleanliness on trains as the forms were being filled by the contractors themselves. They allegedly filled the forms using the names and mobile numbers of passengers without taking their consent.
Officials said feedback will now be verified by sending a one-time password to the mobile phones of passengers. The tablets will be preloaded with a Android-based app, which will register attendance of the housekeeping staff and receive the feedback of passengers.
The tablet will have GPS mapping and store the fingerprints of the staff. Passengers can also register complaints using the tablet.



Housekeeping staff can seek the feedback of a minimum of two passengers and a maximum of four. On completes of the journey, the feedback will be mailed to the railway official. An average rating will be arrived at and contractor will to be paid based on it.
So far, four tablets have been handed over to housekeeping staff on Rajdhani and August Kranti trains. Tablets will be made available on five more trains.

Armed forces ready for any eventuality: Jaitley

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday assured the Lok Sabha that the armed forces were prepared for any eventuality amid a tense standoff between India and China in Doklam.

He was responding to a question on the issue, and specifically a question based on a senior Army officer’s statement that Pakistan’s defence industry was better than India’s.

Mr. Jaitley said the armed forces had adequate defence equipment to tackle any exigency.

“Our defence forces are ready to take on any eventuality,” he said without making any specific reference to Doklam.

He was asked a question on a CAG report that stated that the defence forces had ammunition that could last for only 22 days in the event of a war, instead of the mandatory 40 days.

He responded that “significant progress” has been made on this issue thereafter, but did not elaborate. “Nobody should have a doubt on that,” he said.

His deputy in the Defence Ministry, Subhash Bhamre, responded to questions on indigenisation of weapons production, saying the forces had a long-term integrated (LTI) perspective for the next 15 years.

Mr. Jaitley sought to allay fears of closure of ordnance defence factories, saying all these factories were going to continue and no employee would be retrenched.

woman killed in Pakistan firing

A woman was killed and a soldier injured in two incidents of ceasefire violation and militant attack on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir.
An official said Rakia (45) was killed after she was hit by a mortar shell fired from Pakistan in Mendhar area of Poonch on Saturday morning.


Indian Army personnel guarding the border posts retaliated strongly and effectively.
Around 0520 hours, mortar shells fired from across the border exploded near the house of Mohd. Shabir at Gohlad Kalran village, killing Rakia, a police officer said. The exchange of fire stopped at 0645 hours, he said.
On August 8, the Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in the Krishnagati sector of Poonch district, killing Sepoy Pawan Singh Sugra (21).
Till August 1 this year, there have been 285 instances of ceasefire violation by the Pakistani forces. In 2016, the number was significantly less at 228.
Militants fire at Army camp in J&K, jawan injured
In a separate incident, a soldier was injured after militants attacked an Army camp in forest area of Kalaroose in frontier Kupwara on Friday late night.
A group of militants attacked the Army’s 41 RR headquarter camp, which is located in upper belt of Kalaroose forests along the Line of Control.


After 10 minutes of firing, a police official said, the militants fled from the area.
One soldier of 21 J&K Rifles was injured and he was shifted to the military hospital at Drugmulla.

Trump, Xi agree North Korea Against

United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and agreed that North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour, the White House said.

The two leaders spoke over phone to discuss the escalating tension after Kim threatened the US this week to fire missiles at Guam, a US island territory, after the US sponsored a resolution imposing new economic sanctions on Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

The two leaders affirmed that the recent adoption of a new UN Security Council resolution regarding North Korea was an important and necessary step toward achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the White House after the phone call.

“President Trump and President Xi agreed North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour,” the White House said, adding that the two leaders also reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

“Trump looks forward to seeing President Xi in China later this year, a meeting that will be a very historic event,” the White House said.

“The relationship between the two presidents is an extremely close one, and will hopefully lead to a peaceful resolution of the North Korea problem,” it said.

In another statement, the White House said Trump spoke with Guam Governor Eddie Calvo.

“Trump reassured Governor Calvo and our fellow Americans on Guam that United States forces stand ready to ensure the safety and security of the people of Guam, along with the rest of America,” it said.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke separately to Calvo earlier in the day, the read out said.

Guam has about 7,000 US troops with almost a third of the land controlled by the US military

Hamid Ansari: Interview

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'Why do we talk about tolerance? Because you feel the need to tolerate something which may not entirely be to your scheme of things.'
'But this has been my point... Tolerance is a good virtue, but it is not a sufficient virtue. You have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance.'


H amid Ansari , whose term as vice president of India ended on August 10, faced brickbats during his tenure that he would never have faced had his name not been Hamid Ansari.
In Part II of his conversation with Karan Thapar , Ansari takes on one of the most sensitive issues of our time.
T oday, as we speak, there are many who believe we are becoming an intolerant country .
You have read about these articles in papers, you have seen these debates in television.
Do you fear that yourself?
Yes, because I interact with fellow citizens, and there are great many people from different walks of life who come and talk about it.
S o, you share the concern that intolerance is growing in India?
Yes, and I spoke about it in my last speech in Bengaluru a few days back.
Y ou did, and I want to quote you on that in a moment's time. But have you ever shared your concerns, your apprehensions with the prime minister or with the government?
Yes. Yes. But what passes between the vice president and the prime minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation.
U nderstandably, but the important point is that as vice president you felt a need, a moral need to raise this issue with the prime minister, and you did do so.
With the ministers also and with the prime minister also.
I want to ask you about their response, were you satisfied?
Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason.
Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale.
Once again that's a very important answer and the wise will certainly be able to understand what you are saying.
Let me put it like this, something else has also happened.
In the last few months the Supreme Court has ruled that Jana Gana Mana must be played before every single film screening .
In more recent times the Madras high court has ruled that Vande Mataram must be sung at least once a week in Tamil Nadu schools and colleges and at least once a month in government offices and private establishments.
Once again, these two rulings have divided public opinion.
How do you view them? Do you see them as any example of judicial overreach or is it essential for us to pay this exaggerated obeisance to the national anthem and national song because our nationalism requires it?
The courts are a part of society. So, what the courts tend to say sometimes is reflective of what the prevailing atmosphere in society is. I call that a sense of insecurity.


A sense of insecurity reflected by the judges in what should be their considered opinion?
Not of the judges. No. I am talking of the public sense. This propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is unnecessary.
I am an Indian and that is it.
A nd it should be taken for granted that every Indian is loyal to the country? You don't have to prove it.
Oh Absolutely. Oh Absolutely.
In which case when the judges require this through their rulings they are reflecting something that they should, hopefully, have risen above rather than become creatures of.
Well again it is accepted practice not to comment on judges, and I shall not.
I understand.
Let me then come to a speech you made in Bangalore, because I think it is one of the most important speeches made by a vice president while still in office.
I want to quote from that speech. You said the version of nationalism that places cultural commitments at its core is usually perceived as the most conservative and illiberal form of nationalism. It promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.
To me and to many others like me there was that distinct feeling that you were actually commenting on what's happening today.
Yes...
A m I right?
Yes. Yes.
S o, you were talking with specific reference to the mood of the country in 2017?
Oh absolutely.
C an you give the audience a sense of why you felt this was an important thing to say... because vice presidents normally don't speak out in this way. Why did you deliberately choose to do so?
No, vice presidents do speak out, and I have in the last 10 years spoken out again and again on matters that I think needed to be aired in public.
So, it was not unusual, at least not for me, to speak about certain issues about which I think needed to be discussed.
There is to each individual a manner of speaking; I stuck to my manner of speaking.
A nd you deliberately chose a moment to point out, that this exaggerated concept of nationalism, this unnecessary requirement of having to keep proving you are patriotic and nationalist is unhealthy. It makes for intolerance and arrogance that is a point you felt a personal need to make?
Yes. And I am not the only one in the country; a great many people feel the same way.
Y our speech went one step further, in that speech you also quoted Swami Vivekananda who is widely believed to be the favourite of the present government, and this was the quotation: 'We must not only tolerate other religions, but positively embrace them as truth is the basis of all religions'.
Are you beginning to feel that there are some religions that are deliberately being distanced, perhaps even discriminated against?
You see, why do we talk about tolerance? Because you feel the need to tolerate something which may not entirely be to your scheme of things.
But this has been my point and this is not the only occasion in which I have spoken about.
Tolerance is a good virtue, but it is not a sufficient virtue, and therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance.
A nd that acceptance is not happening today..
It's not happening by and large.
I will tell you from my mind why that Swami Vivekananda quotation is so important.
It's because in recent years, and I mean in recent years, not just weeks and months, the string of comments made by BJP men, members, ministers as well as leading figures of the Sangh Parivar seem to target the Muslim community in particular.
I won't name people, but there was a minister who talked about Haramzade and Ramzade ...
There was a chief minister who said Muslims are welcome in India, but they must give up eating beef .
There was the head of the RSS who said that all Indians are Hindus and immediately a senior minister added and Hindutva is the identity of India.
And there was an MP who went on to become a chief minister who said that for every Hindu girl converted to Islam, he would personally convert a hundred Muslim girls to Hinduism.
You are not just vice president,

N ow, in 2015, when you were addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of the All India Majlis-e-Mashawarat , you said something very important, it was a message in a sense, to Indian Muslims from a fellow Muslim.
I want to quote bits of that, 'Significant sections of the Muslim society is trapped in a vicious circle, between tradition, which is sacrosanct, and modernity, which has become a tainted expression.'
I want to ask you in simple words, to explain what was the message you were giving.
The message was that you have to move with the times; you have to live with the requirements of the occasion. Do not create for one self or one's fellow beings an imaginary situation which is centuries back, when things were very different.
I mean the whole idea was, that what are the challenges today? The challenges today are challenges of development.
What are the requirements for development? You keep up with the times, educate yourself, and compete...
... don't cut yourself from contemporary India, immerse yourself more fully...
Absolutely. Absolutely.
And that is the message I have been giving wherever I have had an opportunity -- that you have to change with times.
In that same speech, you also said something else that struck me as important -- the official objective of Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikaas is commendable, a pre requisite for this is affirmative action, to ensure a common starting point.
Would you be in favour of some form of reservation for Muslims?
In Indian vocabulary, social and official vocabulary, reservation has come to acquire a certain connotation, which is not necessarily positive.
A ffirmative action.
Affirmative action is a much better expression; you take action wherever it is necessary for whoever it is necessary.
A nd that is required for Muslims today. And governments must address themselves to that.
Oh absolutely. Not just the Muslims, any segment of society.
If the requirement is to have comprehensive development. If the requirement is that everybody shall move, take one step forward and keep taking steps forward then all have to be at the same starting point.
And if you are at the same starting point and there are some who are not at the starting point you have to bring them up to the starting point.
N ow an issue that has dominated the news in recent months concerning the Muslim community is this debate about triple talaq , and I want to ask you where do you, as a Muslim, stand on it?
Do you believe that this is an issue for the courts to sort out because it is a matter to do with gender rights and gender justice or is it an issue best left for the Muslim community to resolve internally themselves.
Firstly, it is a social aberration; it is not a religious requirement.
The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic; there are no two views about it, but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable.
S o, should the court step in?
You don't have to, the reform has to come from within the community.
Would it be wrong for the courts to step in?
The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all.
I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the State.
And if a State functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening, which may be the product of a triple talaq , that's it.
S o, the courts will simply formally decree we don't recognise triple talaq , but the reform has to happen internally from within the community?
Exactly. It has to.
You see, the people have to understand the basics of the faith.
What has happened is that the tradition has overtaken the essentials of faith.
Therefore, the modernity has to be caught up with, without letting go of tradition, but you address modernity with tradition and tradition with modernity.
Y ou can't separate the two artificially.
You can't separate the two, and you know it is quite impossible to do that.
A gain, you answered very clearly and the intelligent will immediately discern what you are saying.
Given the fact that Muslims are feeling insecure, apprehensive, uncertain; given the sort of political rhetoric that keeps resonating, are you worried that the number of Indian Muslims get attracted to ideologies like Al Qaeda or ISIS could start increasing sharply?
There are already some who have been attracted and have joined up.
Could that number grow sizeably, or is that an exaggerated fear?
No I don't think. The official figure estimates are that if there are numbers they are miniscule.
I think the Muslim in India is sui generis. Mind you, every seventh citizen of India is a Muslim just as every fifth citizen belongs to a religious minority. These are facts on the ground.
There is no evidence that any process of extremist indoctrination is underway in India, an individual can always go off the track.
Once again that is a very clear answer: Do not exaggerate the fear that is sometimes voiced in papers and television that Indian Muslims could start embracing Al Qaeda or ISIS?
Oh absolutely. You know those are products of local situations in certain contingencies that situation does not prevail here, and I hope it never does prevail.

US destroyer challenges China’s claims

A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters.
The operation came as President Donald Trump's administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and could complicate efforts to secure a common stance.


The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS John S. McCain traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.
It was the third “freedom of navigation operation” or "fonop” conducted during Trump's presidency. Neither China's defence ministry nor its foreign ministry immediately responded to a request for comment.
The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China's cooperation to rein in North Korea.
Tensions have risen recently after North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year and two ICBM tests last month, prompting a strong round of U.N. sanctions which angered Pyongyang who threatened to teach the United States a “severe lesson".
Mr. Trump in turn responded by warning North Korea it would face “fire and fury” if it further threatened the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning to North Korea on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang that it should stop any actions that would lead to the “end of its regime and the destruction of its people.”
The United States has criticized China's construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.
The U.S. military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.
The Trump administration has vowed to conduct more robust South China Sea operations.
In July, a U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam.
Experts and officials have criticized President Barack Obama for potentially reinforcing China's claims by sticking to innocent passage, in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily without stopping.
China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Pak builds nuke warhead underground storage facility in Balochistan

Pakistan has built a 'hardened, secure, underground' complex in a remote mountainous region in the restive Balochistan province that could serve as a storage site for nuclear warheads, an American think tank said on Wednesday.
The Institute for Science and International Security, a nonprofit and non-governmental institution, said its observation is based on satellite imagery and investigation.
It said in a report that the underground complex in the southwestern province 'could serve as a ballistic missile and nuclear warhead storage site'.
The purpose of the complex is not yet available publicly.
But, the report authored by David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Allison Lach and Frank Pabian, said it could serve as a storage site for strategic reserves and hence a means of protecting a counterforce nuclear strike capability.
Given that Pakistan's preferred delivery vehicle for nuclear weapons is missiles with warheads and given the physical characteristics of the site, this site is an ideal, probable storage site for parts of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, the report noted.
"Although the site is located in the province of Balochistan, which has endured many local insurgencies, Pakistan is likely more focused on having a secure area in a remote mountainous area in the middle of the country, as far as possible from its international borders, including India," it said.
According to the report, the complex has three distinct entrances and a separate support area and the entrances are large and can accommodate even the largest possible vehicles.
As of 2012, the security was relatively modest, with some possible signature suppression (eg no obvious perimetre security).
"Nonetheless, the site did include at least one possible anti-aircraft position with a guard post at that time," the report said.
"In contrast, 2014 DigitalGlobe images show considerably more physical security in the form of added fencing and checkpoints and several new possible antiaircraft positions. This analysis resulted from a 2014 request from a journalist who provided the coordinates of the ballistic missile base and the mountain site. The person requested that they remain anonymous," it said. -- Lalit K Jha/PTI

Nawaz's 'GT Road rally' witnesses Kashmir-less Pak banners

(Web Desk) – Sherry Rehman has taken note of the flexes erected in ‘Grand Trunk (GT) Road homecoming’ that do not display Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan.
The former envoy to the United States (US) raised the matter in a social media post.

Rehman demanded an explanation off the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Nawaz Sharif is leading a cavalcade from Islamabad to Lahore after he was disqualified by the election commission on JUly 28 following order of the top court in Panama Leaks case under Article 62 and Article 63 of the constitution.
The rally is expected to enter Lahore within two days after which the ousted premier will head to his residence in Raiwind.
In another tweet Rehman apparently questioned the motive behind PML-N s power show today. She asked: "Ruling party creating chaos in the capital, distress for citizens in bizarre rally by a government in office. Power play against whom?"
She claimed that the federally ruling party is of the opinion that their leadership is above and beyond justice and the judiciary.

India's Concern To Race With China asWell as Pak

After declaring the South China Sea its “own sea,” China is racing to expand its presence in the Indian
Ocean, teaming up with Pakistan. And perhaps, to call the Indian Ocean its ‘own sea’ too.
That’s certainly bad news for India, which is still trying to forge partnerships with Japan and the US to catch up with China and Pakistan in shoring up its presence in the Indian Ocean.
“India’s baby steps toward a deeper and more meaningful partnership with Japan and the US come as the country is confronted by China’s rapid progress in the region,” say Daniel Stacey and Alastair Gale in a recent piece in Wall Street Journal.
The Indian Ocean has always been a strategic water way for trade between Africa and the Middle East on the one side, and Asian countries on the other. But it has become even more important in recent years with the rise of China -- as a major trade competitor of Japan, and a challenger
to America’s dominance in both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
In fact, China cannot secure its dominance in the South China Sea without expanding its presence in the Indian Ocean. For a simple reason. A blockade of the Strait of Malacca by the US and its alliance will cut China off from Middle East oil supplies and from its “Second Continent” Africa.
That’s why China is shoring up Sri Lanka’s major ports and working feverishly with Pakistan to build an alternative route to Middle East and Africa—the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“Besides having investments that have purely commercial goals in Pakistan as they would in any other country, the Chinese have two main goals in investing in that particular country,” explains Dimitrijevic. “First is to continue the “String of Pearls” strategy of developing commercial and military outposts along their main maritime trading route. These include the Strait of Malacca, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives, the Strait of Hormuz and Somalia.
There’s a second reason for the Chinese to invest, and that’s to make India feel the strong presence, in its arch-rival Pakistan.”
That’s should certainly put pressure on India to form its own partnerships to counter China and
Pakistan. But New Delhi doesn’t seem to be moving fast enough. Meanwhile, international investors should pay close attention to these developments, as they place their bets in the financial markets of the region.

INCOME TAX SEIZED FROM Guj Congress MLAs; Rs 10cr

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted searches at 64 locations and properties linked to Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, who was overseeing the stay of 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat at a resort near in Bengaluru, in connection with a tax evasion case.
I-T officials said about Rs 10 crore cash has been recovered during the raids at various properties linked to the minister, who was taken to his house in Bengaluru from the resort by the taxman.
A "good amount" of jewellery has also been recovered from a teacher's locker in a Bengaluru college.
The locker is in the name of a relative of Shivakumar, they said.
About half-a-dozen note-counting machines have also been brought at two locations in Safdarjung Enclave in Delhi and in Hasan and Mysuru in Karnataka to count the cash.

While about Rs 7.9 crore cash has been recovered from Delhi, about Rs 2.23 crore has been found at locations in the southern state



Officials privy to the action said the department is investigating Shivakumar in a case of alleged tax evasion and huge undisclosed investments in real estate and other sectors.
Certain investments linked to him in Singapore and few other foreign locations are also under the scanner of the department, they said.
Some shell firms and their operatives allegedly linked to this case are also being probed, they added.
They said the I-T sleuths reached the Eagleton resort near Bengaluru to question the minister, who was staying at the resort for the night after arriving on Tuesday to the Karnataka capital from Delhi.
Shivakumar, who was in charge of the 44 MLAs lodged there to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from allegedly "poaching" them, was at the resort when the search took place, the I-T officials said.
They said the department has prepared a 'panchnama' where the minister was allegedly found "tearing" pages of some loose paper sheets, when the taxman came calling at the resort.
"The torn sheet, restored partially, is now being analysed," an official said.
As the raids on the resort triggered angry reactions from the Congress, the I-T department said the resort is not being raided.
They said only the minister's room in the resort was "searched" and not of the MLAs from Gujarat.
"The search team has no concern with the MLAs and there has been no contact with MLAs and the search team," the department said in a statement.


Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who is contesting the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat, slammed the I-T raids on the Karnataka minister and accused the BJP of indulging in an "unprecedented witch-hunt" to win one Rajya Sabha seat.
IT officials said a total of 39 premises of Shivakumar and his family are being raided by a team of about 120 Income Tax Department officials with the aid of central paramilitary forces.
Twenty other locations and premises are being a surveyed under certain sections of the Income Tax Act.
The action is taking place in Delhi and Karnataka.
The IT Department further said the timing of the search was decided well in advance.
"The events involving certain MLAs of another state being brought to Karnataka were unforeseen and unpredictable events," it said.
"The search under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act is an evidence gathering exercise which is being carried in compliance with all statutory requirements. The search is the continuation of an investigation which has been in progress for a considerable period of time," the IT department said.


The Congress legislators have been camping at the resort since Saturday last after the party flew them in here to fend off alleged "poaching" attempts by the BJP ahead of the August 8 Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat.
Six of the 57 Congress MLAs in Gujarat have resigned from the party in the last few days with three joining the BJP on Friday.
The party has apprehensions over Patel's election prospects if more MLAs defect.
The MLA are attending classes on a host of topics including "the party's achievements in the last 60 years" and "the BJP's lies" among others, since Tuesday.
The move to hold the classes came at a time when a few MLAs from flood-hit constituencies of Gujarat had reportedly expressed their intention to go back, worried about the public opinion going against them.
Earlier, the itinerary during their stay in Bengaluru included visit to some tourist destinations and religious places, which drew criticism as MLAs were accused of "abandoning" voters when their constituencies were facing nature's fury.