Australian govt condemns attacks on Indian students

Melbourne, May 28 (PTI) Australian government Thursday
condemned a spate of attacks on Indian students after the
latest racial assault left a 25-year-old youth battling for
life, vowing that "discrimination against or victimisation" of
any foreigner pursuing education here would not be tolerated.

In a statement in Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister and
Education Minister Julia Gillard said she wanted to "send a
message loud and clear that international students are very
welcome in this nation."

"Australia will not tolerate discrimination against or
victimisation of any of our international students," she said.

Her remarks came as Indian student Shravan Kumar, who was
stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers in a
weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured,
was battling for life in a hospital here with doctors not very
optimistic about chances of his recovery.

Earlier Thursday, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he
was "appalled" by these attacks and that action is being
taken.

"As a Foreign Minister, I am appalled by these attacks
and I condemn them absolutely," he said in a statement, adding
that Australia takes "very seriously" its reputation as a safe
destination for Indian students.

"Indian students have faced problems in one particular
location in Melbourne. Action is being taken. The police are
giving particular focus to this issue. They have launched a
police operation specifically to investigate allegations of
attacks on students," Smith said.

A hotline, staffed by volunteers who are fluent in
English and Hindi, has been established to provide support,
information and advice to Indian students, Smith said.

Deputy Prime Minister Gillard also announced a new
initiative in Parliament -- a round table of international
student representatives. "The government will invite
international student representatives to participate in a
round table to discuss issues affecting their study experience
such as accommodation, welfare and safety," she said.

"With over 430,000 international students visiting
Australia annually, it is important to me that their views and
concerns are heard and addressed by government," Gillard said.

The Education Services for Overseas Students Act of 2000,
which defines the standards expected for all education
providers engaging in international education and establishes
best practices for the management of international students,
would be further reviewed, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The act would be further reviewed to "make sure the
framework for regulation of overseas education meets world's
best standards," she said.

Gillard also highlighted the contribution of
international students to Australia's multi-cultural society.
"International students enrich our society," she said.

"The relationships formed by students support
long-lasting diplomatic, research and business links," she
said, adding that "international students build on Australia's
long multi-cultural history that has created a friendly,
tolerant and secular country." PTI KIM
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Pak says Indian AWACS would trigger arms race

Islamabad, May 28 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday voiced concern
over the acquisition of Airborne Warning And Control System
(AWACS) aircraft by India and said it would counter the threat
by inducting 500 American Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles.

Claiming that induction of AWACS by India would trigger a
new arms race in the subcontinent, Pakistan's Air chief Air
Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said Islamabad would match this
capability by acquiring its own AWACS by September this year.

The Air chief told newsmen in Risalpur that Pakistan was
also procuring more US-made F-16 fighter aircraft.

Suleman was commenting on reports that India had inducted
the first of its three Phalcon AWACS into the Indian Air
Force.

Pakistan is proposing to buy a Swedish SAAB Ericsson
AWACS, which however, have a limited range as compared to the
Phalcons.

The Air Chief said PAF was supporting the military in its
ongoing operations in Swat and Malakand in NWFP. "PAF had
destroyed several Taliban hideouts and caches of ammunition to
pave the way for rapid advance by ground forces in Swat."

Asked about whether Pakistan had capability to shoot down
drones, Suleman said "definitely" and cited the shooting down
of an Indian surveillance plane in 2002 near Lahore. PTI CORR
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Day curfew lifted in Punjab, calm returns in Haryana

Chandigarh, May 28 (PTI) Day curfew was Thursday
lifted in violence-hit regions in India's northern state of
Punjab allowing life to return to normal in the five towns
where disturbances broke out following killing of a Sikh sect
leader in Vienna.

The situation in neighbouring northern state Haryana,
parts of which were also affected by the violence, remained
calm, officials said here.

Curfew, clamped on Monday, was relaxed during the day
time in worst-hit Jalandhar, the hub of Dera Sachkhand Ballan,
Hoshiarpur, Malout, Phagwara and five police station areas in
Ludhiana and no untoward incident was reported, they said.

"Life is returning to normal," they said.
Most of the train and bus services have been restored
in the troubled regions, they said.

They, however, said, curfew will remain in force in
the five towns during the night as a precautionary measure.

People were back to their daily routine and shops and
business establishments functioned normally in Ambala,
Jagadhri and Naraingarh in Haryana.

However, educational institutions remained close in
trouble-hit areas.

The paramilitary forces have returned to their
barracks and only the state police remained deployed in
sensitive points, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner A S Pannu
said.

The body of Sant Ramanand, who was killed in the
Vienna incident, will be flown back to Amritsar in a couple of
days from where it would be airlifted to the headquarters of
Dera Sachkhand in Ballan village in Jalandhar, he said. PTI VJ
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India joins elite club of nations with AWACS capability

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) India Thursday joined an elite
club of nations when it inducted the first of the three AWACS
systems that will help the air force detect incoming missiles
and enemy aircraft that may take off from across the border.

Expected to substantially enhance India's capability to
keep an eye on enemy activities in air, land and the sea, the
Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) bought from Israel
was formally handed over to the IAF's newly-formed Agra-based
50 Squadron at a brief ceremony here.

Symbolically, Indian Defence Minister A K Antony handed
over a key to Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major at the Palam
air base here.

"This is a historic day for both the Air Force and the
country that will enhance the national security apparatus.
AWACS have been a long-standing operational requirement and
much-needed for the IAF's modernisation process," Antony told
a gathering of diplomats, bureaucrats and IAF officers at the
induction ceremony here.

AWACS is described as "an eye in the sky" because of its
capability to carry out surveillance at about 400-km range
under all-weather situation and to lock on to 60 targets
simultaneously.

AWACS has a 360-degree phased array radar mounted on to
the heavylift IL-76 transport aircraft airframe and would
provide the much-required battlespace situational awareness
for the IAF for its tactical and strategic operations.

So far, only the US, Russia, Israel, China, United
Kingdom, France and Australia have the system operational in
their air forces, and its induction has propelled IAF into
that major league.

"The AWACS induction has increased the IAF's response
system and we had foreseen that future air operations will be
conducted at a very high tempo and this requires real-time
control of our combat assets.

"A potent force multiplier, it will enable robust
decision-making cycle of the air force. It will be a vital
component of IAF's combat potential," Major said at the
ceremony.

Major said being the first of the three AWACS, India had
bought from Israel in a USD 1.1 billion deal in 2004, its
operations will help the IAF in assessing future requirements
of the system to cover the vast expanse of the country.

"We are using this asset for the first time and it will
take us a while before we know how many more we require. But
seeing the expanse of our country we will need more of these,"
he said during a media interaction.

The AWACS would also be an important part of IAF's future
communication network, providing direct data link to both
airborne and static assets on the ground, he said.

The IAF has already initiated the Air Force Network
(AFNET) project to be integrated with the Integrated Air
Command and Control System (IACCS) and Operational Data Link
(ODL).

With its induction, IAF's frontline fighter jets such as
Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars would now be backed by the
AWACS to provide a data loop and intelligence much beyond
visual range that would speed up India's response systems to
conflict situations.

India and Israel are said to be in advanced negotiations
for the purchase of three more AWACS and once the six are
inducted into the IAF, these systems would be ultimately
linked to the country's first military satellite proposed to
be launched soon.

This would take the IAF into the next step in its efforts
to become a network-centric force that could pack a power
punch to its both offensive and defensive operations. PTI NCB
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No let up in attacks against Indians in Oz; Govt vows action


Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, May 28 (PTI) Racial attacks against Indians
continued unabated here with a 25-year-old becoming the latest
victim even as a youth battled for life after being stabbed by
a group of teenagers, prompting Australia to pledge Thursday
that "victimisation" of foreign students would not be
tolerated.

In a fresh incident, Baljinder Singh was attacked on
Monday night when two men carrying weapons approached him and
demanded money.

As Singh, 25, searched through his bag to hand over his
wallet, he was stabbed in the abdomen, the 'Herald Sun'
reported, adding the Indian screamed for his life while his
attackers laughed and fled the scene.

"I bent down and one guy stabbed me," Singh was quoted as
saying. "I just wanted to save my life and yelled 'just don't
kill me.'"

"We're not safe here now," he said, adding "I thought
it was safe here, that's why I came to Australia.

The latest attack came as Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old
student from Andhra Pradesh, fought for life in a hospital
here after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens
in a weekend attack that also left 3 of his friends injured.

Indian Consul General Anita Nair visited Kumar Wednesday
and said doctors were not very optimistic about his recovery.

In the wake of pressure from India to act, Australia
vowed that "discrimination against or victimisation" of any
foreign student would not be tolerated.

In a statement in Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister and
Education Minister Julia Gillard said she wanted to "send a
message loud and clear that international students are very
welcome in this nation."

"Australia will not tolerate discrimination against or
victimisation of any of our international students," she said.

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he was
"appalled" by these attacks and that action was being taken.

"As a Foreign Minister, I am appalled by these attacks
and I condemn them absolutely," he said in a statement, adding
that Australia takes "very seriously" its reputation as a safe
destination for Indian students.

In a related development, Australian police arrested
two teenagers allegedly involved in a racist attack on Indian
student Saurabh Sharma on a Melbourne train earlier this
month.

Sharma, 21, was beaten up and robbed by a group of
teenagers on a train on May 9. Police are now questioning the
two boys, aged 16 and 18, after searching two homes.

CCTV footage of the incident helped police identify the
alleged attackers.

Police are still searching for three others in connection
with the assault, the Victorian Police said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the house of four Indian youths attacked over
the weekend by a screwdriver, including Shravan Kumar, has
been burgled, an organisation of Indian students here has
claimed.

Unknown intruders broke into their house and stole
everything available. "They have no clothes or anything left
in the house and the students are really feeling insecure and
unsafe," said Gautam Gupta, President of the Federation of
Indian Student Association (FISA).

"They believe it was done by members of the same group
which had assaulted them during the weekend," he said.

About Shravan Kumar, Gupta said the student has started
receiving utmost medical care in the intensive care unit of a
local hospital.

Representatives of FISA, along with those of Australia's
apex student body National Union of Students (NUS), will meet
Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh shortly and present a
list of their demands. PTI NC
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'If nobody was at fault, I would not have lost my husband'

Mumbai, May 28 (PTI) Reacting bitterly to Ram Pradhan
Committee report, which gave a virtual clean chit to Mumbai
police for the 26/11 terror attacks, wife of slain
Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare said Thursday
that had everything been hunky-dory, she would not have lost
her husband.

"If nobody had been at fault, I would not have lost
Hemant Karkare," Kavita Karkare told PTI.

"Chief of ATS died like a dog on the street, but nobody
wants to take the responsibility," an emotional Kavita said.

The high-level committee appointed by state government,
which submitted its report yesterday, had said "no police can
deal with (such) a war-like situation".

"I expected this," she said when asked to react to the
Pradhan committee report. "Somebody had already told me that
it was going to be a goody-goody report. Nobody wants to take
responsibility. Everybody is giving clean chit to everybody.

"This is highly condemnable. (Due to this) common man
would lose faith in the system. This time there was 40 per
cent voting, next time nobody would step out to vote,"
Karkare said.

She also referred two recent Naxal attacks in the state
-- after the 26/11 attack -- in which several police personnel
were killed, to underscore her point.

Kavita further said, "If nothing is wrong, police are
well-equipped, why equip them (further)? Do not equip. Do not
modernise the force."

"Where are the people who lit candles at Gateway Of India
now?" Kavita said, asking people to come forward and
"question" the clean chit to police for failing to prevent the
attack.

Asked whom she held responsible for lapses which led to
26/11 tragedy, Kavita said, "I cannot say who is responsible,
I am an ordinary woman. But state, Intelligence Bureau and all
others needed to have better co-ordination."

When asked whether she demanded to see the Pradhan
Committee report, she replied in the negative.

About the talk of her joining politics, she said, "Well,
as you can see, I have not joined any political party." PTI
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Police officer tenders evidence contrary to prosecution's case

Mumbai, May 28 (PTI) In what appears to be a set back to
the prosecution in the Mumbai terror attack trial, a police
officer Thursday said he had seen Pakistani gunman Mohammed
Ajmal Amir Kasab lying "unconscious" after a police encounter
in Girgaum Chowpatty on November 26 last year.

All along, the prosecution has been maintaining through
deposition of witnesses that Kasab was "conscious" and was
overpowered by policemen at Girgaum Chowpatty.

Police Inspector Vinod Sawant, who is the investigating
officer in this case, told defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi that he
had seen Kasab and another terrorist Abu Ismail lying in an
"unconscious" condition.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, asked the court
to allow him re-examine the policeman to seek a clarification
from him. Nikam said a police officer is not a medical expert
to determine whether a person was conscious or unconscious.

However, Judge M L Tahaliyani rejected Nikam's prayer
saying there was no ambiguity in what the witness has said and
hence there was no need to re-examine the witness.

Nikam said, "Kasab is a great actor. He has been given
special intelligence training by conspirators in Pakistan and
he had pretended to lie unconscious when he was confronted by
policemen at Girgaum Chowpatty. Perhaps that is why the police
inspector might have considered that he was unconscious".

Outside the court, Nikam said "the deposition of witness
will not affect the prosecution's case".

Nikam said the prosecution's case would not be affected
with the deposition of the witness because a doctor had given
evidence that Kasab was conscious when he was brought to Nair
hospital from Girgaum Chowpatty.

"In a fully conscious state, the accused had told the
doctor that his name as Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and he was
from Pakistan. This information was also recorded in station
diary of D B Marg police station," Nikam said.

Earlier, the witness identified in the court two AK-47
rifles, two pistols, a pouch and cartridges recovered by
police at Girgaum Chowpatty after an encounter with Kasab and
his accomplice Abu Ismael.

Confusion prevailed in the court for few minutes when a
packet purportedly belonging to slain terrorist Abu Ismael was
found to contain Rs 5,400. In fact, this packet was of Kasab
and wrongly opened. Ismael's packet was separately kept in the
court and it contained Rs 5,310.

The judge even asked Kasab, "how much money did you
have?" Prompt came the reply ...Panch hazaar char sau (five
thousand four hundred).

To a question by Kasab's lawyer Abbas Kazmi, the witness
said he would not be able to make out difference between two
AK-47 rifles as all look similar.

Asked whether he had identified police officer Ashok
Kamte's AK-47 rifle with its sling, the witness said it
(rifle) also carried a number given by arms unit of police.
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13-member delegation meets Austrian embassy officials

Chandigarh, May 28 (PTI) A 13-member delegation from
India's northern state of Punjab Thursday met senior officials
at Austrian Embassy in national capital New Delhi and
requested them to release details of the events involving the
attack on Sant Ramanand and his followers in Vienna on Sunday.

The delegation led by Chief Parliamentary Secretary
Avinash Chander met Charge 'D' Affairs Gerunde Paschinger and
Counselor Paul Jenewein at the Embassy and submitted a
memorandum asking the Austrian government to release details
of the circumstances leading to the death of Sant Ramanand.

They also appealed to the Embassy officials to ensure
full safety and security to all Indians, especially the
religious personages in the country, including Sant Niranjan
Dass and his followers, an official statement said here.

The members of the delegation also called upon the
Austrian Embassy to ensure early transit of the mortal remains
of Sant Ramanand to India.

The delegation demanded exemplary punishment for the
persons guilty of attacking the religious personalities in
Vienna.

Both Paschinger and Paul assured them that the Embassy
would soon take up the matter with the Austrian government for
probe into the entire incident. PTI VJ
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