Pak PM in India for private visit, Khurshid to host lunch

[email protected] (Agencies )
March 9, 2013

Jaipur, Mar 9: Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf arrived here today on a day-long private visit during which he will attend a lunch hosted by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid but no "substantive" discussions between the two sides are likely.

Ashraf, who is accompanied by a 40-member delegation and some family members, was received at the Sanganer Airport by Rajasthan government officials.

ashrafThe Pakistan's Prime Minister's flight to India was delayed by over 50 minutes.

He will soon join Khurshid for lunch at the Rambagh Palace Hotel here following which he will leave for Ajmer to offer prayers at the 12th Century Dargah of Ajmer Sharif.

No substantive discussions are scheduled during the meeting of Khurshid with the Pakistan Prime Minister.

An official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs had said that "The Pakistan Prime Minister is not visiting New Delhi and no substantive discussions are scheduled to be held in Jaipur".

Asked if a proposal for a meeting in New Delhi was made by India, he had said the visiting dignitary had expressed the desire to undertake a private visit and "all requirements to meet his needs are met. In addition we have not received any other request."

Ashraf's visit comes at a time when there is a chill in bilateral ties over the ceasefire violations at the LoC. An Indian soldier was beheaded by Pakistani troops while the mutilated body of another was found in January.

New Delhi had lodged a strong protest over the beheading of an Indian soldier and brutal killing of another.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah Diwan, Zainul Abedin Ali Khan has said that he will boycott Ashraf's visit in protest against the brutal killing and beheading of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani Army.

"I will not welcome the Pakistani Prime Minister during his visit here in protest against the beheading and killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistani Army on LoC. The incident hurt Indians but their(Pakistan) government is not understanding our sentiments so I took the decision," Khan had said.

Khan's boycott will be largely symbolic because he is seen as a ceremonial head. The Khadims, who control the 12th century shrine of Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, escort visiting dignitaries and assist pilgrims at the dargah.

Security in and around the shrine has been beefed up for Ashraf's visit."All the preparations are in place and policemen in adequate numbers have been deployed in the area," IGP Ajmer Anil Paliwal said.

As per the schedule, the delegation in helicopters will land at Ghughara helipad at 3.30 PM and from there reach the Dargah covering a distance of 12.5 km.

They will be greeted at the main gate of the Dargah by the representatives of Dargah committee and committee of Khadims. From there he will reach the main shrine after passing from Buland Darwaja and others.

He will be welcomed by beating of drums and a turban tying ceremony will take place as per tradition, an official said.

This is likely to be Ashraf's last foreign visit before the term of his government ends on March 16.

After the ziyarat, the delegation will return on the same evening by helicopters to Jaipur airport and from there fly back to Pakistan in a special aircraft.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had visited the shrine on April 8 last year. He had landed in Delhi and driven straight for a luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and several other leaders.

Zardari, who was accompanied by his son Bilawal Bhutto, had then flown to Jaipur and taken a chopper to Ajmer, where he spent around 20 minutes and offered flowers and chadar at the shrine. The Pakistan President had donated $1 million to the shrine.

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Agencies
June 2,2020

Lucknow, Jun 2: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday said protests in the US after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, is a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value.

She said this is also guaranteed by the India Constitution, but the governments don't follow it, resulting in the current plight of migrants workers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old restaurant worker from Houston, died in Minneapolis on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. Video footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck as he gasped for breath, sparking widespread protests across the US.

"Floyd's killing by police and the 'Black lives matter' agitation in the US have given a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value and it should not be taken for granted," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

"India's constitution guarantees independence, security, self-respect and pride and governments should give special attention to it. If it was followed, crores of migrants labourers would not have to witness such bad days," she added.

She also demanded better coordination between states to check the spread of coronavirus and said Centre should intervene.

"While coronavirus patients are rising, there is lack of coordination between states and with the Centre, and allegation and counter-allegations are going on and sealing of state borders is unjustified and it is weakening the fight against the virus.  The Centre should intervene," she said in a separate tweet.

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News Network
February 27,2020

New Delhi, Feb 27: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attacked the government over the transfer of Delhi High Court Judge S Muralidhar, saying the Centre's attempts to "muzzle" justice and "break people's faith in an upright judiciary are deplorable".

Delhi HC Judge S Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, days after the Supreme Court collegium made the recommendation.

"The midnight transfer of Justice Muralidhar isn't shocking given the current dispensation, but it is certainly sad & shameful," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted. "Millions of Indians have faith in a resilient & upright judiciary, the government’s attempts to muzzle justice & break their faith are deplorable," she said.

The judge was hearing the Delhi violence case and the late evening notification came on the day when a bench headed by him expressed "anguish" over the Delhi Police's failure to register FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders.

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April 16,2020

New Delhi, Apr 16: South Delhi District Magistrate Brij Mohan Mishra on Thursday said that the administration is investigating how the pizza delivery boy contracted the coronavirus.

"In the last 15 days, we discovered houses he had delivered food. We contacted people living in 72 houses and they have been asked to stay in-home quarantine. No symptoms have been seen in people related to him. 

Testing of his roommate has been done and his reports are awaited. The rest of the people don't have any symptoms, they have been placed under institutional quarantine. Those in-home quarantines are also asymptomatic," Mishra said.

"Unless a positive case comes, we feel that transmission has not taken place. The boy told us that he was continuously wearing a mask while delivering the food. We are also finding out how he got infected. We are getting the information about the places he visited for delivery. He was tested on the basis of the doctor's advice. Later, he tested positive," he said.

72 families have to stay in home quarantine in the Malviya Nagar area after the delivery boy tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that 17 other delivery boys linked with the infected person have also been placed under institutional quarantine.

"A pizza delivery boy has been detected with COVID-19 here. 17 other delivery boys linked with him have been placed under institutional quarantine and 72 people have been placed under home quarantine," Jain said.

Food delivery app Zomato said that the staff of the infected person's restaurant has delivered some orders which were placed on its platform.

"We've been made aware today that a restaurant's employee, who has been recently tested positive for COVID-19, had delivered food in the past to a few customers in the Malviya Nagar area in Delhi. All these customers have already been contacted by the govt authorities... We are not sure whether the rider was infected at the time of delivery," the company said in a statement.

Zomato also claimed that colleagues of the delivery boy have tested negative for COVID-19.
"This restaurant had instructed their riders to wear masks and follow strict hygiene to keep customers safe from any unintended mishap.

All co-workers of the said rider have been tested negative. And as a precaution, the restaurant where this rider worked has suspended operations," read the statement.

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