IMAGINE BEING NUKED FOR NOT SELECTING SHAHID AFRIDI!

* If only Pakistan spoke in one voice condemning the 26/11 terror attacks like they are condemning the IPL auction.
* If only Pakistan took action against the perpetrators of 26/11 like they are in the case of IPL auctions.
* If only the Pakistan rose as one nation in support of India after 26/11 as they are against India in the IPL auction.

Then India and Pakistan would have perhaps played together happily ever after.

I am amazed by Pakistan’s response to 11 Pakistani cricketers not been selected by individual team owners of the IPL.

PAK’S IMMATURE RESPONSE

From their interior minister Rehman Malik to their sports minister Aijaz Jakhrani to the man on the street – they want to sever all ties with India. Pakistan has cancelled the visit of their election commission officials to India in retaliation. The visit would have been unnecessary anyways. Who ever wins elections in Pakistan, it is the Army that calls the shots. So ``free and fair’’ elections perhaps means little even to the Pakistanis. Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Abdul Basit termed Indian foreign minister SM Krishna’s `stern warning’ to Pakistan ``immature.’’ But from all accounts it is Pakistan’s response to IPL that is rather immature – bordering juvenile. An entire country is up in arms over 11 cricketers not being selected by private cricketing bodies. For Heaven’s sake! We live in the most dangerous neighbourhood in the world. Imagine being nuked for not selecting Shahid Afridi. Pakistan wants Lalit Modi to apologise to the entire nation. But why should Lalit Modi apologise? And why should Shilpa Shetty be forced to explain her decisions? It is for the team owners and advisers to decide who suits their requirements the best. Did we ask Ratan Tata why he bought Jaguar or Lakshmi Nivas Mittal why he pulled out of the Kazakh oil fields? Then why should the IPL team owners have to explain their investments.

WHAT NEXT - RESERVATIONS IN IPL?

Why is only Pakistan crying foul? No Sri Lankan was taken and neither was a single Bangladeshi player selected. Only a single Aussie was taken. Of the 67 up for auction only 13 were sold. So does Pakistan enjoy a special status in the IPL? Does IPL stand for India-Pakistan league? This kind of brouhaha needs to be nipped in the bud otherwise soon there will be pressure to have reservation in the IPL teams. 22.7 per cent Pakistanis. 27 per cent Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Australians and 25 per cent from rest of the world – leaving only 25 per cent for Indians. Then it will be a ``propah’’ team. Oh! So politically correct. Forget making money – the franchisees need to do their bit for being diplomatically correct in the sub continent. I still can’t come to terms with the reaction in Pakistan.

Cricket and terror don’t go hand in hand Mr Gilani!

Barely 14 months ago, Pakistan said India was over reacting when 166 innocent people were killed in the worst ever terror attack and India pushed the pause button on composite dialogue. Even today Pakistan prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani wants India to separate composite dialogue from terror. And yet the Pakistan government decides not to send a high level parliamentary delegation to India because of the ``humiliation’’ their 11 cricketers faced.

Going by that logic India should close down its High Commission in Islamabad and end all ties with Pakistan, because not just India – the world is convinced Pakistan is responsible for all the major terror attacks in India. Lets start from the beginning:- October 1947.

Barely two months after Independence, Pakistan raiders attacked Jammu and Kashmir. 1,104 Indian army soldiers and 684 soldiers of the J&K state forces were killed in the first Indo-Pak war.
3,000 Indian soldiers were killed in the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
3,843 Indian soldiers were killed in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
530 Indian soldiers were killed in the 1999 war in Kargil.
170 innocent people were killed in Mumbai, the worst terror attack on India. And yet we are going hysterical over 11 Pakistani players not selected by private team owners for the third edition of the IPL.

14 months after the worst terror attack on India, Pakistan has done nothing to bring the perpetrators to book. And Pakistan’s Interior minister Rehman Malik wants India to apologise for these 11 players. Did Pakistan apologise for Mumbai? No! Did Pakistan apologise for terror attacks in Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, J&K, Andhra Pradesh? No!

ANOTHER 26/11 IN INDIA?

Pakistan’s prime minister Gilani says there could be another 26/11 terror attack in India. Is that a veiled threat? Talk or face another attack! Take our players or face another attack? What next – get out of Afghanistan or face another terror attack? Actually to an extent Gilani is right. He is powerless to stop the attacks. For it is the Pakistan army that calls the shots in the country and as long as Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul continues to preach hate for India – the terror tap will never be closed. But Pakistan needs to watch out. It has been described as the terror epicenter of the world. And the world is watching. US defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned Pakistan not to test India’s patience. Another 26/11 would have very dangerous repercussions. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Stagg has also insisted Pakistan cannot shrug off its responsibility. And foreign minister SM Krishna has been unusually frank when he said any misadventure will have serious consequences on bilateral relations. Intelligence agencies have warned there could be another spectacular terror attack. Terror could strike from the skies. Security forces are gearing up to face perhaps – multiple terror attacks across multiple cities but the government needs to do more to tell Pakistan – back off or else…..

MYSTERY MAN IN THE SUKNA LAND DEAL

The army court of inquiry report in the shameful Sukna land case categorically points out when Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, Military Scretary visited his highness Maharaja Gaj singhji of Jodhpur with Dilip Aggarwal another ``Gentleman'' accompanied them in July 2008. Sources in army headquarters said despite repeated questioning neither businessman Dilip Aggarwal nor the military secretary Lt Gen Prakash named the ``gentleman''. The Chief of the Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor should come clean - who this gentleman was. What was his role in the entire Sukhna land scam case. Why did neither Lt Gen Prakash nor businessman Aggarwal name him ? And why is the army not trying to get to the bottom of the case. Who is Lt Gen Prakash trying to shield and is that the reason why the Chief of the Army Staff is going soft on his `trusted' aide. Former Generals want the army to come clean on the issue.

The military court of inquiry found chief of the army staff General Deepak Kapoor’s key aide Lieutenant General Avdesh Prakash, military secretary blameworthy for ``taking undue interest in furthering the vested agenda of a businessman, misusing his position of authority to pressurize the staff of headquarters 33 Corps,’’ in the Sukhna land scam. Despite the report clearly indicting top generals including Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash Military Secretary and Lt Gen PK Rath, then GOC 33 Corps, the ``soft stance’’ adopted by the army chief has come as a ``shocker.’’ A senior official in the MoD told Headlines Today that the army was trying to ``buy time,’’ so that Lt Gen Prakash can retire with just a rap on his knuckles on January 31. ``The show cause notice is just a way to postpone an uncomfortable decision and prevent other skeletons from tumbing out of the cupboard,’’ sources said.

Headlines Today is in exclusive possession of the court of inquiry report that says Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash not only suppressed information but also tried to mislead the court. The report forwarded to the Army Chief for further action says ``Lt Gen Prakash maintained that he was not aware about Mr Dilip Aggarwal’s effort to get franchise of Mayo College where as he actually accompanied him at Jodhpur to meet his Highness Maharaja Gajsinghji and also visited the Mayo College.’’ Highly placed sources in army headquarters told Headlines Today ``lying to a military court, suppressing information or misleading the court’’ is a serious offence in the army. ``Yet Gen Deepak Kapoor appears to be shielding his key aide. This will send a wrong message down the rank and file in a force where discipline is the backbone of smooth functioning,’’ a top ranking officer said. The Court of Inquiry report goes on to say: ``He (Lt Gen Prakash) flatly denied that he had any official dealings with Dilip Aggarwal while posted in this region where as Aggarwal carried had out a construction project at the Detachment IMTRAT Rear in 2006.’’ Not only that the army probe report reveals that Lt Gen Prakash denied monitoring or influencing the case where as ``call records of 20 March 2009 clearly indicate conversation with Mr Dilip Aggarwal at the time MoU was being signed.’’ The report says the land in question is literally adjacent to the Sukha Corps Headquarters and given the security scenario it was not recommended that any construction be carried out in the area.

In fact the army was keen to acquire that land due to the security considerations. But the army suddenly changed its stance. According to the inquiry report the ``influencing factors’’ included Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash’s official visit to Sukhna on October 18, 2008.

He met Dilip Aggarwal and visited the land in question along with the businessman. The military secretary referred to Aggarwal as ``his friend’’ introducing him to the Corps Commander Lt Gen PK Rath and asked Rath to ``look into the request,’’ to establish a residential school. The report goes on to say that the army did not even verify the credentials of Dilip Aggarwal or the veracity of Geetanjali Education Trust.

Worse, the report says between 18-20 March 2009 businessman Dilip Aggarwal kept asking for amendments to the clauses of MouU to suit own requirementsand kept speaking to Lt Gen Prakash and Lt Gen Rath to convey the latest to them. Paragraph 17 of the Draft MoU was the most potent paragraph giving rights to the army to terminate the MoU on security grounds but this was removed as it was not acceptable to businessman Dilip Aggarwal. The report says the MoU favoured the civilian party. The army fact finding report says large number of telephone calls were made between Dilip Aggarwal and lt Gen Avdesh Prakash during the period of signing of the moU. There were also anomalies in the MoU. Initial paperwork was for construction of a girls school but MoU was for educational institutions – schools and colleges.

`Nobody was able to explain how that happened nor the security considerations such a campus would create,’’ says the report. ``The army does not run Kangaroo courts. Due process of law is followed. But transparency needs to be ensured and promopt action should be taken in such cases,'' General Shankar Roy Choudhary, former chief of the army staff said. ``The army will have to speed up action in the case but even if the officer (Lt Gen Prakash) retires by the month end, and the army decides on action subsequently, he can be recalled from his retired life to face the punishment.

This does not in any way mean that the guilty officers will get away if they retire,'' he adds. The charges against Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash are extremely serious. The court of inquiry report has come down seriously on him for not only suppression of information but also accused him of trying to mislead the court. An extremely serious offence in the army. ``These are officers on whose single order jawans lay down their lives for the country in times of conflict. If they are not above board, how will they command respect and lead their men into war. If these officers either tell lies or get away with charges as serious as moral turpitude it will send a wrong message down the rank and file,'' a senior official said. ``Moral turpitude is a very serious offence. Such officers should not go unpunished,'' says Major General Afsir Karim, a senior defence analyst. ``The chief of the army staff needs to see that crimes as serious as the court of inquiry makes out - should not go unpunished. Simply a rap on the knuckles is no punishment,'' he adds.

Former chief of the army staff General Ved Malik feels the chief is accountable not just to his own soldiers but also to the people of the country. ``I am certain action will be taken in a timely fashion. The military secretary has been given time to respond and he has been granted this leave to formulate his respone in the matter,'' General Malik said. General Deepak Kapoor is facing severe criticism of going slow in the case. ``The court of inquiry findings are very clear. Top Generals of the Indian Army including the Military Secretary and the then 33 Corps Commander (Lt Gen Pratap Kumar Rath) not only lied to the court of inquiry but deliberately tried to mislead it. Lt Gen PK Rath concealed that Lt Gen Prakash had referred the civilian businessman to him. And the fact that the military secretary inquired about the progresss of the case thereafter. Lt Gen Prakash not only lied about not knowing about the businessman's efforts to get a franchisee of the Mayo College but also concealed the fact that he had accompanied the businessman during a trip to Jodhpur to meet Maharaja Gaj Singhji. All these are very serious charges. the army chief cannot afford the luxury of going slow on the case. It is the reputation of the entire force at stake here,'' sources in the ministry of Defence said.

``The army chief has the moral responsibility towards his force. They look up to him. And in this case with the defence minister having made statement and the media watching it very closely the army chief cannot delay the proceedings. He will have to take action against the officers found guilty. It is his prerogative based on the advise he receives from the Adjutant General and the Judge Advocate General (JAG) to decide on the quantum of punishment in the case,'' feels Major General Ashok Mehta, a former division commander. Former commanders feel that the chief of the army staff should neither be soft on the guilty generals nor should he postpone the decision. ``There is the aspect of security of the Sukhna Corps Headquarters. If the Corps commander before Lt Gen Rath felt that the land adjacent to the Corps headquarters should not be given out due to the security of the extremely sensitive area, then the officers need to explain to the nation what changed that security aspect. Was security no longer a consideration or did the threat levels come down. These are very serious lapses for which the officers have been found blameworthy.

There cannot be different yard sticks for junior officers and top commanders. If this is a serious offence and a young officer would have been court martialed for it then the same should apply even to the top officers,'' adds Maj Gen Afsir Karim. Caeser's wife should be above suspicion. But here there is talk in the corridors of South Block action is not being taken against Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash to prevent other skeletons from tumbling out of the closet. The COAS should clear the air on this and fast. Because justice delayed is justice denied.

RUCHIKA CASE: BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS

Working on the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case leaves you with a feeling of utter helplessness and sheer frustration. Unrepentant policemen, bureaucrats and politicians even today – 19 years after they let down Ruchika and her family.

They literally forced her to commit suicide. They are perhaps as guilty as Rathore. It is because of people like them, Rathore came out of the court room smirking at the system. Six months for a life!

THE UNHOLY NEXUS

Hukum Singh, former chief minister of Haryana, Sampat Singh former home minister of Haryana are perhaps as guilty as Shambhu Pratap Singh Rathore, the evil child molester. On Centre Stage was R.R. Singh, former Director General of Police Haryana and J.K. Duggal, former home secretary Haryana.

R.R. Singh, then the senior most serving police officer – DGP of the state – carried out an inquiry and recommended that a case of molestation be filed against Rathore. This is what the CBI said in its charge sheet.

``After conducting the enquiry into the incident, Sh RR Singh concluded that whatever Ms Ruchika had stated about her molestation by Sh SPS Rathore was based on true facts and that he was of the considered opinion that a cognizable offence was made out. Sh RR Singh, therefore, had recommended registration of a case under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code and had forwarded his enquiry report 3.9.90 to the Home Secretary Govt of Haryana.

Despite this no action was taken against Rathore. Why?

RR Singh told me he had forwarded his report to JK Duggal, then Home Secretary. Duggal told me he had forwarded the report to Sampat Singh, then home minister Haryana in September 1990 itself, less than a month after the molestation. And yet nothing was done against SPS Rathore. Why?

According to both RR Singh and JK Duggal, then home minister Sampat Singh was to blame. He sat on the report. Sampat Singh was also on Centre Stage. He blamed then chief minister Hukum Singh for sitting on the file.

My only point to Sampat Singh was had he taken action against Rathore in September 1990 itself or even in October, Ruchika might still have been alive. God forbid had their own daughters been at the receiving end of this evil man’s designs would they have been satisfied with just pushing files from one table to the other.

Evil needs to be nipped in the bud. These men by their sheer inaction – had encouraged Rathore. Duggal and RR Singh insisted politicians did not permit them to take action against Rathore.

While the two officers did the right thing on file, I still cannot comprehend how they could be content by just recommending action on file and forgetting about it completely. After all it was the life of a 14 year old girl. Both RR Singh and Duggal continued to live in Haryana. They were reading newspapers and knew about the torture Ruchika and her family underwent. And yet!

This is worse than the court of later Mughals where the order of the Mughal court was not even implemented from Delhi to Palam.

RATHORE’S `TERROR TACTICS’

I sat shocked as Ruchika’s father Subhash Chandra Girhotra wept and narrated how Rathore unleashed the worst form of harassment and torture over the next three years forcing Ruchika to end her life.

What was Rathore – a Mafiosi in uniform? Nobody had the power to touch him as he unleashed the worst form of terror on a regular middle class family. Rathore allegedly put pressure on Sacred Heart School (where incidentally his own daughter Priyanjali also studied and was Ruchika’s classmate) to expel Ruchika on grounds of indiscipline and non payment of fees.

A case should be registered against the school principal and management for buckling under this evil man’s pressure. They too have Ruchika’s blood on their hands. There is nothing sacred about the Sacred Heart School of Chandigarh’s sector-26.

When Ruchika’s father still did not take back the complaint against Rathore, Ashu, Ruchika’s brother was picked up by the police. He was booked under several false cases of car theft. Beaten up, paraded handcuffed and tortured in custody.

Ruchika’s father was crying when he said on our show that Rathore forced him to sell off his house in Panchkula and flee the city.

But the horror had still not ended. Ruchika consumed pesticide. Rathore is accused of tampering with the post mortem report and getting the doctors to say she died of an overdose of anti-obesity pills.

That is not all. According to SC Girhotra, he ensured Ruchika’s body was released only after Ruchika’s father signed on some blank papers. Ashu was released from police custody only after Ruchika’s funeral. Not just that Girhotra told us that Rathore did not release Ruchika’s body till the time the family signed some blank papers.

CBI’S WEAK CASE

The CBI knew all of this. All of it. The people of Chandigarh and Panchkula knew it. The judges knew it. And yet it took 9 years for an FIR – first information report to be registered against Rathore. Worse – the CBI did not mention any of this in its chargesheet.

Look at the limp CBI chargesheet when it talks of Ruchika’s suicide. On page 10, the CBI says ``The investigation has also disclosed that after the incident of molestation Ms Ruchika remained confined to her house and remained depressed. Later Ms Ruchika committed suicide by consuming poison on 28.12.93 and died on 29.12.93.’’

Rajesh Ranjan, then CBI Deputy Inspector General of Police owes not just Ruchika’s family but the nation an explanation. Why such a limp charge sheet? Is loyalty to lanyard more important than the fight for justice.

Why did the CBI not make Ashu a prosecution witness?
Why was a case of filing false cases and fabrication of evidence not registered against Rathore?
Why was he not booked for intimidation of witnesses?
Why was Ruchika’s school not booked for abetment to suicide?
Why were Haryana politicians, bureaucrats and cops not questioned and booked for ``sitting on the file.’’

RATHORE ABOVE THE LAW

Clearly Rathore knew he was above the law. Politicians – from Hukum Singh, Bhajan Lal, Bansi Lal to Om Prakash Chautala – nobody did anything to stop him. They all knew what he was up to. Today these politicians are crawling out of the wood work trying to say they are not guilty. But they are. They promoted him, gave him police medals for meritorious service, made him director general of police of Haryana and above all failed to uphold the dignity of the law.

And that is why even after 19 years Rathore walked out of the courtroom with a smirk on his face. He had beaten the system. For 19 years of pain and trauma he caused – all he got was 6 months of jail (bail within an hour) and Rs 1,000 rupee fine.

The punishment for molesting a minor girl in this country if you are SPS Rathore is only 6 months imprisonment and a fine that is perhaps equal to being challaned while driving and talking on your cell phone.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW?

Reopen the abetment to suicide case. Hear it in a time bound manner.
Take away his pension and police medal forthwith.
Identify the policemen, bureaucrats and politicians who sat on the files.
Proceed against them for their acts of omission and commission.
Take stern action against the Sacred Heart School authorities for letting down Ruchika.

Award compensation to Ruchika’s brother and father. But not from the state exchequer. Take that money from the salaries and pensions of guilty officials and politicians.

Restore our faith in the system! Enough is enough!

DO NOT LET THE `BASTION OF ISLAM ' REMAIN `BASTION OF TERROR'

1. After a series of attacks in crowded market places, hospitals, mosques and offices in Multan, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar - targetting innocent people and security forces including the all powerful army - will Pakistan even begin to understand the pain and agony of India bleeding for over two decades ?

2. After the attack on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the attempted attack on the naval headquarters, will Pakistan understand the pain and agony of the attack on the Kaluchak military station ?

3. Will Pakistan now understand the pain and agony of the attacks on Raghunath temple, Sankatmochan temple, Akshardham temple and the Amarnath Yatris. `Not even safe in God's home,' wept a headline in a Pakistani newspaper - the day after the Parade Ground mosque attack.

Trained by elements in the ISI and the Pakistan army to attack markets, hospitals, temples and the army in India, the terrorists having mastered the `art of mayhem' are now unleashing terror inside Pakistan. The Pakistan army and ISI trained them to kill innocent civilians - unsuspecting shoppers and worshippers - the terrorists are doing just that. Except now instead of India they are doing it inside Pakistan.

India - I speak for a large cross section of people I have been interacting with - feels the pain of the people of Pakistan. I have also been speaking to friends on the other side of the border - they realise how Indians suffered for over two decades - and continue to do so - live with fear - of a sudden blast - a terror attack. Who is responsible for this - perhaps General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Pakistan's chief of the army staff and his trusted director general of inter services intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Shuja Pasha need to actually do some soul searching.

On Friday, December 4, armed terrorists opened fire and hurled grenades inside the Parade Ground Mosque, next to the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

One Major General (Umar Bilal), director general of Pakistan's mechanised forces, one brigadier general, two lieutenant colonels and two majors were among 40 killed. Lieutenant General Masood Aslam, a top commander overlooking Waziristan operations lost his son. In all 17 children were killed in the terrorist attack.

And this is what General Kayani said: ``The nation, including the army, stands united in sharing their grief. Pakistan is our motherland. It is the bastion of Islam and we live for the glory of Islam and Pakistan. Our faith, resolve and pride in our religion and in our country is an asset, which is further reinforced after each terrorist incident.''

Terror attacks, anywhere in the world are painful. The pictures of wailing families, tears, pain and coffins are all too familiar. India has been hurt so often and by the same set of people who are now attacking Pakistan; and more importantly their military establishment.

But the 1.5 billion dollar a year question is will it jolt Pakistan finally to cut that umblical cord which funds, feeds, trains and arms the terrorist organisations. It is not without reason that Pakistan is called the terror epicentre of the world and former US secretary of state madeline albright felt Pakistan has all the ingredients to give the world an international migrane.

Now that migrane is cancerous. That cancer is eating Pakistan from within. Even as I write there are reports of another terrorist attack inside Pakistan. The ISI office in Multan was targetted killing 10 people including the two bombers. On November 13 too the ISI office in Peshawar was attacked. Clearly, the Frankenstien's monster is striking with alarming frequency.

MOSQUES UNDER ATTACK

Mosques are increasingly coming under attack in Pakistan. Terrorists slamming explosive laden vehicles and suicide bombers have killed more than 350 Pakistanis in 2009. More than 900 have been injured, according to figures released by Pakistan's ministry of interior. This is the favourite style of attack used by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The December 4, 2009 armed attack targeting the parade ground mosque in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, which killed 44 people including 17 children, was the latest in the series. In one of the worst incidents of terrorism in recent years, a group of six fidayeen attackers belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban stormed the crowded Parade Land Askari Mosque close to the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army during Friday prayers and sprayed gunfire at worshippers besides throwing hand grenades. A serving major general of the Pakistan Army, a brigadier, two lieutenant colonels, a major and a number of soldiers were among those killed in a multi-pronged attack which was carried out in cold blood while violating the sanctity of a mosque by those who claim to be fighting for the glory of Islam. The blood-spattered episode eventually came to an end after two suicide bombers blew themselves up.

For the terrorists - claiming to fight a jihad for Islam, nothing is sacred, not even the home of God! Even the people of Pakistan, I am sure realise, this so called jihad is just a sham - for the terrorists and their handlers it is an industry, a business, an occupation.

ISI ADDICTED TO TERROR

Despite repeated attacks on the Pakistan army and the ISI, powerful elements within the Pakistan security establishment continue to support the terrorists. Why would they continue to sleep with the enemy ? Two reasons - the strategic depth in Afghanistan and to bleed India.

Al Qaeda, Taliban and Pakistan realise they only have to lie low for the next 18 months. As soon as US president Barack Obama begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the battle will be won. For 9 long years, Pakistan and Al Qaeda took on the US and allied forces in the firm belief that US and Europe do not have a strong belly to take body bags and sooner than later they will run. Barack Obama while announcing the surge, also gave a date for Al Qaeda to slowly start re-asserting itself. 18 months from January 2010.

Pakistan will once again prop a dummy Taliban like government in Afghanistan and win back its strategic depth.

Under pressure from the US Pakistan is fighting terror, though half-heartedly. It wants to shift focus once again on the Indian border; the perceived enemy.

PAK CIVIL SOCIETY SHOULD RISE

The civil society of Pakistan we are told appreciates terror is the enemy and not India. Lawyers, students and journalists - the real people's strength of Pakistan should start a movement. A people's movement so that the message to the army is loud and clear - Fight terror the real enemy and not India an imagined enemy.

The first step can easily be to dismantle the terror infrastructure aimed at India, arrest and prosecute terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad's Masood Azhar. Take action against the likes of terrorist commander Ilyas Kashmiri.

Pakistan may be a bastion of Islam, as their chief of army staff claims, but it is for the people of Pakistan and the army to ensure it does not remain a bastion of terror.

INDIA'S SECURITY: CHINKS IN THE ARMOUR

1. Who gave Pakistan born US national Daood Gilani or David Coleman Headley multiple entry visa to India and exempt him from reporting to the police in India.

2. Why was Pakistan born Canadian national Tahawwur Hussein Rana too exempt from reporting to the police every week while in India ?

3. How could Rana and Headley set up an Immigration Service in India ? Who did a background check and give them clearance to do business in India ?

4. How could they place advertisements in newspapers to send Indian abroad. Did they seek and get clearance from Ministries of Labour and external affairs ?

5. How could Syed Amir Ali (allegedly a Pak national) get an Indian passport ?

6. How could Ali get a PAN Card and file returns for 4 years.

Shocked!

Security in India appears worse than even a banana republic. Anti-India elements in Pakistan's ISI and the army establishment must be laughing themselves silly over the ease with which they succeeded in penetrating India's so called strong defences even post 26/11.

India needs to expose the weak link. - the chinks in our armour. One weak link and the strongest fortress collapses like a pack of cards. The first weak link - India's consulate in Chicago. What is really shocking is the fact that this particular post belongs to the people who are tasked to protect the nation from external threat by gathering information and intelligence. How could they not see through Tahawuur Rana and Daood Gilani (David Coleman Headley).

How could the Indian authorities exempt people like Rana and Headley from reporting to the nearest police station every week.

Did the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) not know that they are both originally Pakistanis. Both studied at the Hasan Abdal Military College - had links with the ISI. they may be US and Canadian passport holders but were men with a past. Changing the colour of the passport does not change the mindset.

Was there no background check done - about the so called immigration company that the two claimed to run. What was its antecedents...its turnover..funding...clearances from other governments. Clearly someone was not doing his homework and risking the lives of hundreds and thousands of innocent Indians.

When Headley and Rana came to India - instead of welcoming them to Atulya Bharat - the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and the immigration authorities should have gone through the contents of the luggage. That is how alert immigration authorities in the US red flagged Headley. Denmark too was on Headley's terror radar. He visited Denmark regularly apparently on immigration business but immigration authorities in the US found he carried no paperwork.

Why were our immigration authorities not alert. The second weak link - FRRO and Immigration authorities.

Once in India Headley and Rana criss-crossed across the country - Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Munnar...more skeletons will tumble out of the closet in the days to come. But the million dollar question - Local Intelligence Units of the state police. LIU. what were they doing ? they are paid to keep an eye on suspicious activities. If suspected Indian Mujahideen activists, their overground supporters and sympathisers were coming and meeting Headley and Rana...in a post 26/11 scenario why were the police unaware of it.

Why would a particular foreigner (of Pakistani origin) keep returning to Mumbai, Pune, Kochi, Delhi, Agra....This means that the effort to strengthen the beat policing system and the local intelligence unit has not succeeded even one year after 26/11. The third weak link - local police intelligence units.

Let's shift focus now to Syed Amir Ali - an alleged Pakistani national - living in Delhi and Lucknow for more than four years. He allegedly spied on military cantonments - at Delhi, Meerut and the Hindon air base. How could Syed Amir Ali get an Indian driving licence, an Indian passport, an Indian PAN card and file returns for four years.

The Uttar Pradesh police and the regional passport officer need to explain this. The fourth and fifth weak link - UP police and RPO Lucknow. The passport is the most authentic document in the country. It is the last word in proving an individual's nationality. It is a sad state of affairs that we have come to accept that a driving licence can be faked, pan cards can be faked but a PASSPORT!

There are multiple checks - local police, administration, verifying agencies, witnesses, references.....The police need to now investigate this in the right earnest. The country has a history of losing battles because of the Jaichands and Ambhis....We as a nation cannot afford to lose this war.

We are at war - with terror. This is not corruption - this is treason!

The punishment is not suspending some police constable or lower division clerk. Strict action needs to be taken against the top brass. Let this mistake never be repeated....we are still not out of the woods. Headley and Rana may have been arrested by the FBI but the Indian police have failed to nab a single person they were in touch with during their stay in India.

There is clear and present danger!

KHUDA KE LIYE - WAKE UP PAKISTAN

* 11 killed in suicide attack near a mosque in the cantonment area in Peshawar on Friday.

* 41 killed in simultaneous attacks on Police training academy Manavan, elite commando training centre and the Federal Investigations Agency (FIA) headquarters in Pakistan. The attacks were carried out by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

* Over 100 killed last week in attacks on the Pakistan army headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, United Nations Food Programme Office in Islamabad and in the Peshawar market.

ADDICTED TO TERROR

And yet Pakistan considers India its biggest enemy. Pakistan is like a drug addict. It knows terror is bad for its existence but is unable to kick the addiction. The military establishment and the ISI are addicted to terror. Terror gave Pakistan a high initially. Pakistani army generals felt on top of the world - literally invincible. That's exactly how drug users feel initially. On a high. And before you know it you are sucked in the trap. You keep thinking you are not a slave of the drug - the day you want you can kick off the habit. But suddenly it is too late.

For the Pakistani military establishment it is too late. That's why even after the attack on the General Headquarters in Pakistan - the biggest slap in the face of the Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani - the country is dithering on cracking down on terror. For a country that takes immense pride in its army - a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel were killed by terrorists - the enemy is still not terror but India.

Only a drug addict does not know what is good for it and what is not. Not only does General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani consider Taliban a strategic ally, the army refuses to permit the government to even consider taking action against the professor of terror Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. In fact he is still invited to the Rawalpindi Corps Iftaar party. Saeed continues to be a General of the Pakistan army - minus uniform. The Pakistani security establishment is addicted to the Lashkar e Taiba. The terror outfit continues to be an arm of the Pakistan army.

Who is paying the price for this fatal addiction? the common man on the street in Pakistan and in India. The hundreds of people who are being killed on the streets of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Kohat, Swat and in Waziristan are all Pakistani citizens paying the price of their army's teror addiction. But what is disturbing is the fact that the political leadership of Pakistan continues to be timid, weak and in effective. They appear to be mere pawns in the hands of the powerful military commanders. the judiciary and the civil society that rose in a remarkable protest against General Pervez Musharraf seem to be running out of steam or scared to take on the lethal combination of military commanders and taliban militia.

PARTIAL CRACKDOWN ON TALIBAN

Why do security analysts feel Pakistan is not sincere about cracking down on teror ? Because even after Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack, the Pakistani army well positioned to move in for the mopping up operations refused to do so. Instead it let the situation deteriorate. When Taliban commanders were fighting a bitter succession war, the army remained a mute spectator and sources say elements within the ISI actually tried to find a suitable boy to take over Mehsud's mantle.

Pakistan army generals still nurture the dream of re-gaining the strategic depth in Afghanistan when the US forces withdraw ``like in Vietnam''. Therefore, they do not want to eliminate the entire Taliban leadership. Pakistan is only cracking down on the Taliban elements who no longer believe in taking instructions from the ISI. So the moment Baitullah Mehsud started thinking and operating independently of the ISI, he became the bad Taliban. Remember even Benazir Bhutto had accused elements within the ISI and Pakistan army of colluding with Mehsud to kill her.

TALIBAN STILL A STRATEGIC ALLY

Strategic depth in Afghanistan is the reason that despite repeated attacks within Pakistan, its all powerful army is not willing to order a total crack down in the Af-Pak region. How can the Pakistan army order a crack down on the Taliban when they are seeking Taliban assistence in attacking Indian and Afghan interests in Afghanistan. US convoys and interests are repeatedly under attack by the Taliban. Is that possible if the Pakistan army seriously proceeds against them.

To justify getting the US aid, Pakistan army does go after the pawns and the foot soldiers in the Taliban but never the top commanders. On 8th October 2009, ISI used the Taliban once again to attack the Indian embassy in Kabul. Afghan Ambassador to the US Said T. Jawad went on record to blame the ISI for the latest attack on the Indian embassy.

This was the second attack on the Indian embassy in 15 months. both India and the US claim they have evidence of ISI involvement in the earlier attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. In fact the US claimed the ISI masterminded the July 7, 2008 attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. India's defence attache, a senior diplomat and ITBP personnel guarding the embassy were among 58 killed in the attack.

India has pledged $1.2 billion for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, making it the sixth largest bilateral donor and this is bad news for those Pakistani generals who are seeking that strategic depth. For the sake of ensuring the US war on terror fails they are still willing to bleed their own people.

PAK ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS

Al Qaeda and Taliban are growing in strength in Pakistan. Repeated attacks in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar are indications that the terrorists are not limited to Af-Pak border. They can strike at will deep inside the most secure locations inside the heart of Pakistan. After all what can be more secure than the office of the chief of the Pakistan Army - the General Headquarters. This is not the first attack on the GHQ - but the most audacious one beyond doubt.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has sent a clear signal in attacking the FIA office, the elite commando training centre and the police training academy Manawan. They have attacked the very fortress of anti-terror operations.

Pakistan is now gearing up to attack the Taliban in South Waziristan. Air operations will be easy. Pakistan Air Force will pound terror camps from the skies. But the real war will begin when the Pakistan army puts more boots on ground.

But for victory in those operation - the Pakistan army commanders will need to decide who their real enemy is - terrorists or India. And if India is still their answer - then the addiction is complete. Then the cancer of terror affecting the Pakistan army is in terminal stage.

Most security analysts feel the cancer is in its terminal stage... but that are still those who feel the civil society can once again rise to the occasion and force Pakistan's all powerful army to stop playing the double game - realise the true enemy is not India but terror. It is for their own good.If not for themselves then KHUDA KE LIYE...WAKE UP!

NOT REVOLUTIONARIES NAXALS ARE COLD BLOODED MURDERERS

Oct 8, 2009 : Seventeen policemen killed in an ambush by Maoists at Laheri police station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

Very important lessons here for the police officers. They need to learn to train with their constables and fight shoulder to shoulder.

Indian Police Service (IPS) and state police service officers will have to undergo vigorous training with the jawans - live with them - treat them as family and then - fight shoulder to shoulder. Then the police constables will know they can beat back an ambush and inflict higher costs on the Maoists.

On the day that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) deliberated upon the use of air power (strictly in self defence), the Naxalites embarked on a bloody mission in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

They had prior information about a 40 member police patrol operating in the area. More than 200 Maoists laid an ambush and butchered the police.
The Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik earlier in the day spelt out the rules of engagement in case of use of air power.

1. The IAF would only fire in retalliation.
2. The firing would have to be authorised by the captain of the helicopter.
3. The Garud Commandoes of the IAF will protect helicopters.
4. Only small arms would be used - no area domination weapons.
5. Due care would be taken to avoid collateral damage.

There have been instances of Maoists opening unprovoked fire on the IAF during a casualty evacuation (in which the IAF lost an engineer) and on election duty. Maoists have also fired at IAF helicopters from the ground trying to bring them down. The IAF sought permission to fire back.

Rights activists are bending over backwards to oppose this. But I wonder why these activists lose their voice when Maoists kill innocent people and security personnel. The Maoists are no revolutionaries. They are cold blooded murderers.
Consider this:
Oct 05: Maoists beheaded Inspector Francis Induwar in Jharkhand after failing to secure the release of three top ideologues - Kobad Gandhy, Chandra Bhushan Yadav and Chatradhar Mahato.
Sep 30: Naxalites set ablaze Gram Panchayat offices at Korchi and Belgaon in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
Sep 26: Naxals kill BJP MP from Balaghat Baliram Kashyap's sons at Pairaguda village in Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh).
Sep 4: Naxals kill four villagers in a forest in Aaded village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.
Jul 31: Two persons, including a special police officer (SPO), killed by Naxals in Bijapur district.
July 27: Six people killed when Naxals trigger a landmine blast at Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh.
July 23: A 40-year-old tribal killed by Naxalites at Ettapalli taluka in Gadchiroli district.
July 18: Naxalites kill a villager in Bastar and in a separate incident torch a vehicle engaged in road construction work in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.
June 23, 2009: A group of motorcycle-borne armed Naxal rebels open fire on Lakhisarai district court premises in Bihar and free four of their comrades including the self-style Zonal Commander of Ranchi.
June 16, 2009: Maoists kill 11 police officers in a landmine attack followed by armed assault. In a separate attack, four policemen killed and two others seriously injured when Maoists ambush them at Beherakhand in Palamau district.
June 13: Naxals launch two landmine and bomb attacks in a small town close to Bokaro, killing 10 policemen and injuring several others.
June 10: Nine policemen including CRPF troops and officers ambushed by Maoists during a routine patrol in Saranda jungles in Jharkhand.
May 22: Maoists kill 16 policemen in the jungles of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.
April 22: Maoists hijack a train with at least 300 people on board in Jharkhand and force it to Latehar district before fleeing.
April 13: 10 paramilitary troops killed in eastern Orissa when Maoists attack a bauxite mine in Koraput district.
July 16, 2008: 21 policemen killed when a landmine blast hits a police van in Malkangiri district of Orissa.
June 29: Maoists attack a boat on the Balimela reservoir in Orissa carrying four anti-Naxalite police officials and 60 Greyhound commandos, killing 38 troops.
Feb 16, 2008: A group of 50 rebels including women cadre raid a police training school, a police station and an armoury in Orissa killing 12 policemen and leaving four wounded.
Sept 7, 2007: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy and his wife N Rajyalakshmi, escape unhurt while three Congress workers killed in a Maoist attack in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh.
July 10: Naxalites attack a police team with light machine guns and mortar bombs in a dense forest area of Chhattisgarh, killing at least 24 security personnel.
July 1: Nine persons, including five policemen, killed and as many wounded as CPI-Maoist rebels carry out simultaneous attacks on a police station and an outpost in Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas district and flee with arms and ammunition.
Apr 28: Five security personnel killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoist rebels in Michgaon village of Kanker district, about 175 km south of Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
Mar 16: Maoists attack a police post in remote jungles of Rani Bodli in Chattisgarh with guns, hand grenades and gasoline bombs, killing at least 49 people.
March 5: Naxalites shot dead Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Lok Sabha MP Sunil Kumar Mahato. Two of his bodyguards and a party colleague also killed in the attack when they were witnessing a football match at a village in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

Three quick points

1. Police training and tactics is very poor. Time and again the Maoists ambush them - kill them - and disappear with their weapons. Not just patrols but even attacking the police in their barracks, police stations and guarded compounds.

2. Naxals have a better intelligence network. The fact that they know the timing of police patrols, area of operation and then lay an ambush - means they know not only police standard operating procedures but also timings and tactics.

3. Police officers should lead from the front: Both police and army jawans come from the same stock - same villages and towns. In the army soldiers do better because of better training, a strong sense of pride in the honour of the paltan (battalion) and because army officers lead from the front - not JCOs alone.

Claiming 15 Maoists were killed and losing 17 men is not victory in operations. it is defeat. Once again India has been defeated by the Maoists. HOW MUCH LONGER ? The police top brass need to answer this.