No conclusive evidence on alleged Indian spy: Sartaj Aziz

December 8, 2016

New Delhi, Dec 8: Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Advisor to Pakistani's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, today told a full Senate chamber that the dossier on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav contained just statements, and that additional evidence had to be collected, Pakistani media reports said.

Sartaj"So far, we have just statements about the involvement of the Indian spy in terror activities in Pakistan," Aziz was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Aziz added that more evidence was needed, and that a dossier about India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)'s alleged involvement in Pakistan had been given to the United Nations, Dawn's report said.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav, who was reportedly arrested in Balochistan in March this year, is a RAW agent.

"It (the dossier) did not have any conclusive evidence," Aziz was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

"What the dossier contained was not enough. Now it is up to the concerned authorities how long they take to give us more matter on the agent," he said.

Islamabad has used the arrest of Jadhav at every international forum to drum up support for its contention that RAW, was fomenting terrorism in Balochistan. It has repeatedly briefed envoys of the European Union and the United Nations Security Council's permanent member nations about Jadhav's "subversive activities" in Balochistan.

Pakistan Army had also released a "confessional video" of Jadhav, who said he was the serving Indian Navy officer.

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer, but denied the allegation+ that he was in any way connected to the government.

India has consistently sought consular access+to Jadhav, issuing as many as six note verbales to the Pakistan foreign ministry, top government sources told TOI in October.

"India has relentlessly sought access to Jadhav. And we don't believe that he is a spy because had he been one, he wouldn't have been carrying an Indian passport," a source said. Jadhav's Indian passport was in the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Washington, Jun 24: An Indian restaurant in the Sante Fe City of New Mexico, owned by a Sikh, was broken into and vandalised with hate messages scrawled on its walls, a media report said Tuesday.

The damage caused to India Palace restaurant is estimated to be worth USD 100,000, local Santa Fe Reporter said adding that the vandalisation is being investigated by local police and the FBI.

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) has condemned the incident.

"This kind of hate and violence is unacceptable and swift action must be taken to ensure the safety and security of all Americans," said Kiran Kaur Gill SALDEF executive director.

According to the local daily, tables were overturned, glassware was smashed into piles on the floor, wine racks were emptied, a statue of a goddess was beheaded and computers were stolen.

The vandals also turned over and destroyed food warmers while the front desk area was devastated, plates smashed and the kitchen rendered completely unusable, it said.

"I walked into the kitchen, I saw everything and I was like, hold on, what? What is going on here?" owner Baljit Singh told Santa Fe Reporter. "White power," "Trump 2020," "go home," and far worse were spray-painted on walls, doors, counters and any other available surface.

"Some phrases contained threats of violence and derogatory racial slurs," the daily said.

"Santa Fe is a peaceful town, and the Sikh community has lived here, beautifully integrated, since the 60s," said SALDEF board member Simran Singh, who lives minutes away from the restaurant.

"Tensions have flared recently with the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement and the removal of statues associated with Spanish colonisers of this area, who committed a number of atrocities," he said.

"Nevertheless, we are seeing an outpouring of love and support around the city and in my experience, our neighbors love and appreciate us, as we love and appreciate them," he added.

SALDEF said that it has seen an unprecedented rise in hate crimes including the April 29 incident wherein a Sikh American Lakhwant Singh was brutally attacked by a man identified as Eric Breeman in Lakewood, Colorado.

Lakhwant Singh was told to "go back to your country," while being attacked. No formal hate crime charges have been brought against the attacker.

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Agencies
February 18,2020

British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams' e-Business visa was revoked as she was involved in anti-India activities and the cancellation was conveyed to her on February 14, government sources said on Tuesday.

Asserting that the grant, rejection or revocation of a visa or electronic travel authorisation is the sovereign right of a country, the sources said Abrahams was issued an e-Business visa on October 7 last year which was valid till October 5, 2020 for attending business meetings.

"Her e-Business visa was revoked on February 14, 2020 on account of her indulging in activities which went against India's national interest. The rejection of the e-Business visa was intimated to her on February 14," a source said.

Abrahams, who chairs a British parliamentary group on Kashmir, was denied entry into India upon her arrival at the New Delhi airport on Monday.

Government officials had said on Monday also that she was informed in advance that her e-visa had been cancelled.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Moscow, Aug 7: Russia will register its first vaccine against the coronavirus on August 12, Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev said on Friday.

The vaccine has been developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry.

"The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya centre will be registered on August 12. At the moment, the last, third, stage is underway. The trials are extremely important. We have to understand that the vaccine must be safe. Medical professionals and senior citizens will be the first to get vaccinated," Gridnev told reporters at the opening of a cancer centre building in the city of Ufa.

According to the minister, the effectiveness of the vaccine will be judged when the population immunity has formed.

Clinical trials of the vaccine began on June 18 and included 38 volunteers. All of the participants developed immunity. 

The first group was discharged on July 15 and the second group on July 20.

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