Nation & States  

Armitage says terror network
still exists in Pakistan 

What is India News Service, July 15, 2004, 1300 hrs IST

US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage said terrorist infrastructure still exists in Pakistan and called for an end to infiltration into India. 

Shortly before flying to Islamabad on Wednesday, he said, "Any level of infiltration is too much from our point of view. There is infiltration. You get various opinions here about whether it is up or down. It is down probably. But the point is not to have it at all."

On Jammu and Kashmir, he said, after meeting prime minister Manmohan Singh, that people were still dying. "It is not acceptable," he remarked.

During his hectic day-long schedule, Armitage also had meetings with external affairs minister K Natwar Singh, defence minister Pranab Mukherjee, national security adviser J N Dixit, and foreign secretary Shashank. 

PM takes CM to task: A day after he was reprimanded by an angry prime minister, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh spent the whole of Wednesday in the capital, explaining his compulsions for passing the Bill terminating all water sharing accords with neighbouring states.

Gladys leaving for time being: Gladys Staines, wife of slain Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines, is leaving the country "for the time being".

The Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj said she was accompanying her daughter Esther where she wanted to study medicine. Gladys Staines is the driving force behind a referral hospital now being planned at Baripada in Orissa, 

Tribesmen suspend action: The Ahmadzai Wazir tribe dissolved a 40-member reconciliation committee on Wednesday and set up another body to broker negotiations between the government and the militants in South Waziristan. 

Two policemen gunned down: Two policemen were killed in Quetta, Pakistan, and a passer by injured on Wednesday when armed men opened fire inside a bazaar.

Neighbours criticise India:  Participants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal in a regional conference on Wednesday criticised India for its unilateral approach to the region, while the Indian participants defended their actions.

Company decides to pull out: A Saudi company said on Wednesday it would pull out of Iraq to meet the demands of kidnappers holding an Egyptian truck driver hostage. 

Doctors held for helping scam kingpin: Two doctors have been accused of issuing false medical certificates to Telgi after taking bribes. Telgi, the alleged kingpin in the multi-state stamp paper scam, used the certificates in his legal battles.
 
Quotas need-based, says Karnataka: The counsel for private colleges argued that the State might have taken care of local needs but it had ignored the needs of the minority community. The seat sharing imbroglio between private colleges and the government is caught in a court battle.

Overall:

Armitage said infilitration must stop: The US deputy secretary of state said the terror ring in Pakistan was still active. 

PM was wild with Punjab CM: Manmohan Singh wanted to know how the Punjab chief minister had passed an act that went against the federal spirit.
 
Doctors were arrested: They allegedly gave fake certificates to help the kingpin of the stamp paper scandal.

Seat sharing row continued: Karnataka is grappling with a private colleges versus government battle.