US to press Pak to 'squeeze' Haqqani network: Clinton

BRAZILIA, April 19: The United States has said that it will continue to press Islamabad to "squeeze" the al-Qaeda linked Haqqani network, as Afghanistan blamed the Pakistan-based group for the latest brazen attacks in Kabul.

Declaring "there were indications of Haqqani involvement" in the weekend attacks in the Afghan capital, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she had pressed Pakistan to "squeeze" the Haqqani network when she visited Islamabad last October.

"I will continue to make that point, and press it hard," Clinton was quoted by Fox News as telling reporters in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, where she described the Pakistan-based outfit as a "determined foe".

Afghan Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi had told newsmen in Kabul that one of the militants arrested during the latest attacks on the Afghan capital and three other cities had told the authorities that al-Qaeda linked Haqqani network was behind the assaults.

The Secretary of State said she had spoken to her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar to urge her for a commitment to work closely for peace and stability in Afghanistan and also discussed the recent terrorist attacks in Kabul.

The telephonic talks between Clinton and Khar come a day ahead of a crucial meeting of Pakistan's top civilian and military leadership, who are expected to take a final decision on re-opening of logistic supply lines to Nato troops in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will preside over the meeting of the defence committee of cabinet, which will also be attended by key ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Shamim Wyeen, Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and chiefs of airforce and navy.

The meeting has been called days after the parliament unanimously approved a resolution for resetting the country's strained relations with the US.

The parliament had opposed use of supply route for arms transfer to Nato troops and called for an immediate cessation of US drone strikes on Pakistani soil.

Pakistani media reports said that the meeting will formally announce reopening of NATO supply route.

In Washington State Department spokesperson Mark Toner told reporters, "They (Clinton and Khar) did discuss next steps in the US-Pakistani dialogue in light of the conclusion of this parliamentary review. They also, of course, discussed the attacks in Afghanistan."

"Our posture right now is you know we recognise that this has been a long and difficult road for Pakistan. It speaks to the strength of Pakistan's democratic institutions that this parliamentary review's taken place, that the civilian government has taken the lead on this issue, has owned it, and has come up with a series of recommendations".

"I think it's incumbent on us now to engage with them in a discussion about some of those recommendations," he said.

Shah Rukh Khan detained for 2 hours at New York airport

NEW YORK/ NEW DELHI, April 13: The US customs and border protection authorities have expressed "profound" apologies for the Shah Rukh Khan detention incident.

However, taking the incident seriously, external affairs minister SM Krishna has asked the Indian ambassador to US, Nirupama Rao, to take up the matter with the authorities.

Reacting strongly to the detention, Krishna said it has become a policy of detention and apology by the US which cannot continue.

Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan was detained at a New York airport for over two hours by immigration officials after arriving from India in a private plane with Nita Ambani, to address students at Yale University here.

While Nita, wife of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, and the rest of their group were cleared immediately, Khan was stopped and was given immigration clearance only after about two hours.

46-year-old Khan was to address a press conference at 2pm and deliver his lecture at 4pm at the Yale University.

However, he arrived for the press meet three hours behind schedule and his hour-long lecture started at about 6pm.

"Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the star out of stardom," Khan said with some sarcasm addressing the students at the University.

He added that he always has his "small victories" even in such circumstances.

"They (immigration officials) always ask me how tall I am and I always lie and say 5 feet 10 inches. Next time I am going to get more adventurous. (If they ask me) What colour are you, I am going to say white," Khan said.

Earlier, when informed about Khan being held up at the White Plains airport in New York, Yale University officials "contacted and spoke with officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of US Immigration and Customs in Washington," the sources said.

They added that Khan was "very very upset" at the episode and it "took time for the university officials to make him comfortable again."

The actor, who is scheduled to fly back to India later on Friday night, visited Connecticut-based Yale University, which had conferred him with its prestigious Chubb fellowship.

As part of the fellowship, Khan addressed a gathering of hundreds of Yale students, parents, faculty and other members of the Indian-American community at the Yale campus.

Before beginning his address to the students, Khan, dressed in a chic black suit, said that it had been a long flight and thanked Ambani for getting him to the US.

Ambani's daughter Isha is a student at Yale and is also president of the South Asian Society at the university.

Khan went on to say that he was "detained at the airport as always."

"It was nice, as it always happens," Khan said with a slight smile even as students in the audience gave out a large sigh and booed the US authorities when they heard Khan telling them he was detained.

While Khan told the students he was stopped for about an hour and a half, sources said he was at the airport for over two hours.

They said he told them that this is not the first time he has been stopped at an airport in the country and this has happened to him "three to four times before."

The most recent one was in 2009 when Khan was detained at the Newark Airport in New Jersey.

Khan had said at the time he was detained for nearly two hours at the Newark International Airport because of his last name.

The private plane carrying Khan, Ambani and their group landed at White Plains Airport, which is about 53 kilometres from Manhattan, at around 12:45 in the afternoon.

Sources said while everyone with him cleared immigration soon, he was stopped and had to wait till 2:30pm before he was cleared by the immigration.

The sources said since the White Plains airport is a small facility, everyone who was with Khan waited together for him to get his clearance.

The detention had caused "tense" moments for Khan and his team, who sources said were "struggling" to get the situation sorted out.

Khan did not mention anything about the detention during the nearly 20 minute press conference.

Members of his team as well as the university officials too did not talk about the reasons for his detention.

When contacted, Khan said through a member of his team that he would not make any comments on the episode.

The person said Khan stressed that the American immigration officials "kick the star out of stardom," adding that the episode had left a bad taste.

US announces $10 mn reward on 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed

NEW YORK, April 3: In a major boost to New Delhi’s fight against terrorism, the US administration of President Barack Obama has announced a reward of $10 million for the capture or information leading to the arrest of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Pakistan-based Hafiz Saeed is the founder of one of the deadliest terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the chief of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

Reports, on Tuesday claimed that the announcement by the Obama administration was formally conveyed to New Delhi by visiting US Under-Secretary of Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman on Monday.

In her maiden trip to India, Sherman further informed top Indian officials that apart from Saeed, his brother-in-law and co-founder of Lashkar Abdul Rehman Makki also carries a bounty of $3 million on his head.

Both LeT and JuD have been blacklisted by the US authorities for their deep-neck involvement in terrorism.

The JuD chief is on India's most-wanted list since the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed by Pakistan-trained terrorists.

Saeed is believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks and Indian investigators have provided concrete evidence of his involvement in the 26/11 incident to Pakistan.

However, despite pressure from New Delhi and the international community on Pakistan to act against the terror operators, Saeed and his close associates continue to roam freely in the neighbouring country.

Defending itself, the establishment in Pakistan has been assuring India that action can be taken against Saeed only if New Delhi provides "actionable" and "substantive" evidence against him.

The JuD chief is often seen holding public meetings in Islamabad in the presence for several Pakistani ministers.

Shortly after the 26/11 attacks, Saeed was placed under house arrest in late 2009 in view of increased pressure from the Indian government. However, the Lahore High Court quashed all cases against Saeed and set him free.

In what was a setback for India, the court also declared that JuD was not a banned outfit and could work freely in Pakistan.

Significantly, Saeed now carries the same reward on his head as Taliban founder Mullah Omar - who the US holds responsible for 9/11 attacks.

Good news for American visa-seekers

NEW DELHI, March 22: In good news to American visa applicants, US on Wednesday announced those Indians who are renewing their visas, valid or expired, within 4 years, are likely to get waiver for a personal interview.

"This new programme will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months or four years, of expiration of their previous visa and within the same classification as the previous visa," Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Janice Jacobs said.

The new rules will apply to those within categories of B1, B2, C and D.

Asked to specify the possible beneficiaries, Jacobs, who is in the country for the 2nd US-India Consular Dialogue, said "it will apply for tourists, business travellers, crew members and for students."

"Beginning today, our consulates in India are introducing a new programme to streamline the visa renewal process".

"Over time, this programme has the potential to benefit hundreds of thousands of visa applicants here in India," she said.

However, she also said not all applicants will be accepted for streamlined processing.

"India and US share mutual interest in global security and countering terrorism around the world".

"So, maintaining strict security standards in our visa process is a fundamental importance to all of our citizens".

"For that reason, our consular officers may request an applicant to appear in person for interview at any time for any reason during the visa application process," she said.

"The US is committed to providing an efficient and transparent visa application process," she said adding the US wants to encourage more Indians to visit the US.

She pointed out that elimination of interview for those who qualify will save them time and money and will also free up "our resources for interviewing more first time applicants".

As per the US Embassy figures, in 2011, more than 670,000 non-immigrant visa applications were processed, an increase of 11 per cent from 2010.

Asked about reports that the number of rejections for visas under L category has gone up, Jacobs said the US has issued a record number of employment-based visas.

Reports suggest the rejection rate of applications for L1 visas for Indians increased to 28 per cent of total applications during 2011, compared with 2.8 per cent in 2008.

L1 visas are temporary non-immigrant visas that allow companies to relocate foreign qualified employees to its US offices and is a major draw for Indian IT companies having operations there.

Asked if the issue of L1 visa will come up during her meeting with Indian officials, she said "we are going to discuss a wide range of issues in our Consular dialogue. And I think the issue of employment-based visa may come up"