Indian fasts to his death in Pak jail

An Indian prisoner in a Pakistan jail has died while on a protest fast. Uttar Pradesh's Suraj Kumar was lodged in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.

Kumar was on a fast along with 300 other inmates to protest against a special remission awarded by President Asif Ali Zardari to select categories of prisoners. An unidentified prisoner (who could be from Nepal or Bangladesh) also died during the fast. [Full report in Mail Today]

Last month, the Supreme Court had ordered the release of 16 Pakistan prisoners who had completed their sentences in Indian jails.

An opportunistic crime or something else ?

The much-awaited autopsy has failed to determine the cause of death of three-year-old Indian boy Gurshan Singh, whose body was found near here after he went missing from his house, Australian police said on Friday.[read more]

Barbaric attacks on INDIANS, nine killed in Kabul

Nine Indians were amongst those killed in a series of bombings in the Afghan capital, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said on Friday, describing the blasts as "barbaric attacks" by those "desperate to undermine" ties between India and Afghanistan.

This is the third attack on Indian officials and interests in Afghanistan in the past 20 months. The attacks on the Indian embassy in July 2008 and October 2009 had killed Indian diplomats and officials besides several Afghan nationals.

Come on! You're most welcome to your own land...

Prologue : The government has offered 'WELCOME' to Kashmiri youths crossed over to PoK, provided they say 'NO' to militancy.

Replying to questions at a briefing after meetings of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Chidambaram said the return could be facilitated through a scheme which will entail identification, screening, travel, debriefing, rehabilitation and reintegration. 

Epilogue : Have a look on what the leaders have said on the issue:

"To encourage more militants to return to the state and manage their transition to civilian life, a new surrender and rehabilitation policy of militants is under active consideration of my government".

-Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir

"Who will take guarantee of these youth willing to return? How can you prove that these are the same youth who had gone to that side for arms training and are now willing to come back on their own choice? Some foreign terrorists can take advantage of this move,"

-Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Health Minister and former CM, J & K

"It was one of the recommendations of one of the Working Groups appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for recommending measures to address problems of Jammu and Kashmir."

-P Chidambaram, Union Home Minister.

Visa scam an alert for the students and country as well

Britain has temporarily suspended student visa applications from northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh after a sharp rise in numbers, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) said on Sunday. It has stopped accepting applications for at least a month while it investigates.[SourceLink]

The move will affect visa applications in tier 4 of the UK points-based system and will inconvenience genuine students. But agents said this was not the peak season for such travellers, who are more likely to be seeking visas between July and October.[SourceLink]

OPiNiON @ONCE

Of course, a sad news, but it should be treated as an alert. A thorough investigation should be made to know the truth. The guilty should be punished. After all, such scamsters not only making hurdles to the students aspiring to study abroad, they're destroying the reputation and image of the country.

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Ravi Patel, Brisbane, Australia in TOI : This is exactly what is happening in Australia