Era of wars has ended, resolve issues: Gilani
ISLAMABAD: The era of wars has ended and Pakistan is prepared to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including the Kashmir dispute and terrorism, through talks, Prime Minister You
suf Raza Gilani said on Monday.’The era of wars has ended. We are ready to sit and resolve all core issues – whether it is Kashmir, Sir Creek, Siachen, water or terrorism – at the negotiating table,’Gilani said while addressing a conference on the role of NGOs.
A hand of friendship had been extended to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he added. Noting that people had been talking of the need to withdraw troops from Siachen following an avalanche that hit a Pakistan Army camp, Gilani said Islamabad is ready for talks with New Delhi on all core issues. The premier contended that the basic causes of terrorism and extremism were illiteracy and poverty.
Following a visit to the Siachen sector on April 18, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, too, had called for the need to resolve issues between India and Pakistan, to ensure ‘peaceful coexistence’that would allow the two countries to focus on development. He had further said that Pakistan hoped the Siachen issue is ‘resolved, so that both the countries donalt39t have to pay the cost’. – PTI
Anti- Maoist drive called to a halt
RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has virtually called a halt to its anti- Maoist offensive till Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon is released from captivity, official sources said on Monday. The Maoists had demanded freeze on Operation Green Hunt against them and the release of eight of their jailed colleagues in exchange for Menon, whom they took hostage on Saturday.
TRAI sets steep minimum price
NEW DELHI: Telecom regulator TRAI on Monday proposed a steep minimum price for auction of 2G telecom spectrum, setting off fears of a hike in mobile phone tariffs which are at present among the cheapest in the world. The TRAI has proposed a minimum base price of Rs 3,622.18 crore for every mega Hertz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. The price set is around 10 times more than what companies such as Unitech Wireless, Swan Telecom and Shyam Telecom paid for at least 4.4 MHz of all- India spectrum in 2008. A pan- India spectrum in 1800 MHz band will thus cost Rs 18,000 crore. The reserve price is several times the base price of Rs 3,500 crore for 3G spectrum auction.
Norway NRI kids arrive today
NEW DELHI: There is finally an end to the yearlong ordeal for the Bhattacharya family in Norway. Their two children Aishwarya and Abhigyan will finally arrive in India on Tuesday after an Oslo court granted their paternal uncle, Arunabhash, the custody of the two children. Their custody had put two nations and their governments at loggerheads. The two children were taken away by the Norwegian authorities amid accusations of emotional disconnect with their parents; the parents had cried foul and the entire nation prayed for the family to be reunited.
A senior Indian diplomat will be escorting the two children to India.
