Monthly Archives: August 2018

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New York, September 24

US President Donald Trump distanced himself from any attempts to mediate between India and Pakistan on Tuesday, saying it would be great if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan could “work out something” on Kashmir.

Trump made the remarks as he met Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session here.

“It will be great if they can work out something on Kashmir,” Trump said in response to a question, a day after he met Khan on Monday and once again offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue if both sides agree.

When asked about tackling militant groups that operate in Pakistan and what he would like to tell the country, Trump told the press gathered there that he was sure Modi would be “able to handle that situation”.

“It isn’t a message for me to give. It is a message from Prime Minister Modi to give. And I think he’s made that loud and clear the other day,” he said.

This was their fourth meeting. The two leaders earlier met on Sunday in Houston and shared the stage at ‘Howdy, Modi’ gala event where they displayed a close friendship and a common vision on fighting terrorism.

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s action evoked strong reactions from Pakistan which downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian Ambassador.

Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”. New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric.

He called Modi a rockstar and ‘father of India’, and said he was “like Elvis”. He was referring to the American rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley.

“He is a great gentleman & a great leader. I remember India before was very torn. There was a lot of dissention,fighting and he brought it all together. Like a father would bring it together. Maybe he is the Father of India. We’ll call him the Father of India,” he said.

Modi, on his part, said that the trade ties between India and US would reach 60 billion.

He also said the relationship between India and the US was based on “shared values”.

“America is a very dear friend. Our friendship is based on shared values,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sad at the meeting that he was “thankful to Trump that he came to Houston”.

“He is my friend but he is also a great friend of India’s,” he said at the meeting.

The meeting comes after Trump’s address to the UN General Debate from the iconic General Assembly hall.

Indian officials refused to give details about the agenda of the meeting, saying one should wait for the meeting. Agencies

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. — PTI

New Delhi, September 23

In more trouble for senior Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Mukhtyar Singh, a witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to record his statement.

Singh arrived at the SIT office in south Delhi’s area of Khan Market and shared the details of the incidents that took place with the SIT members. This was for the first time that Singh appeared before the three-member SIT team to record his statement.

After coming out of the SIT, Singh said he cannot reveal what he told the SIT as the matter was under investigation.

According to sources, Singh apprised the SIT members consisting of a senior IPS officer, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and a retired District and Sessions judge. The case pertains to the killing of Sikhs in Gurdwara Rakabganj on November 1, 1984 by a charged mob.

On September 9, the Union Home Ministry has given its nod for reopening the case, as a result of which Kamal Nath will face a fresh inquiry for his alleged role in the massacre of Sikhs in the aftermath of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in New Delhi on October 31, 1984.

Kamal Nath was an accused in the case initially, but the court had found no evidence against him. The 72-year-old veteran Congress leader and a Gandhi family loyalist, is facing trouble as London-based journalist Sanjay Suri has also expressed readiness to depose in the case. Suri had written to the SIT on September 15 asking it to give him the appropriate time and date to appear.

Suri’s letter was shared by Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Sirsa on Twitter. The SIT is likely to consider fresh evidence against the veteran Congress leader, which allegedly mentions that he had instigated a mob near the capital’s Gurdwara Rakabganj during the 1984 riots.

The Modi government had set up the SIT in 2015 to probe the 1984 riots.

Pressure on Kamal Nath has been building since last year after the conviction of Sajjan Kumar in the same case by the Delhi High Court. Kumar, after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, was accused of inciting and orchestrating mob violence against the Sikh community across Delhi. — IANS