The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 103

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Issue No : 103 

Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 July 19, 2019 | Toronto | Pages 12 

Pak to allow 3-time increase in Sikh 

pilgrims visiting Nankana Sahib this year 

Jalandhar : To celebrate the 

550th birth anniversary of Guru 

Nanak Dev on November 12 , the 

Pakistan government would allow 

an over three-time increase 

in the number of members of 

Sikh jathas heading to Nankana 

Sahib from India to take part in 

the mammoth festivities — a first 

since partition in 1947. 

There will, however, be no cap 

on the Sikhs visiting Nankana 

Sahib on the occasion from other 

countries like the North America, 

Europe, Central Asia, Australia 

and Europe. 

A decision to this effect has 

been taken by a high-powered 

Religious Tourism and Heritage 

committee headed by Governor 

of Punjab (Pakistan) Chaudhary 

Mohammad Sarvar and comprising 

of Pakistan’s four federal ministers, 

three provincial ministers, 

representatives of the Evacuee 

Trust Property Board and representatives 

of Sikh bodies. 

As a matter of practice, Pakistan 

has been extending just 

about 3,000 visas to Indian Sikhs 

every year for their visit to Nankana 

Sahib to take part in the birth 

anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev 

and there has been no increase in 

this number since decades. 

The high-powered committee 

has urged Pakistan’s Federal government 

to make arrangements 

for the stay of pilgrims and for issuance 

of visas. 

This was revealed by Pawan 

Singh Arora, Public Relations 

Officer to the Governor of Punjab 

(Pakistan), while talking to Tribune 

from Lahore over the phone. 

“The decision has been taken 

so as to ensure maximum participation 

in the festivities by Sikhs 

from India. The preparations for 

the celebrations are going at a 

large scale and the Federal and 

the Provincial governments will 

extend a red carpet to the pilgrims 

from India and abroad,” 

said Arora.Pakistan has acquired 

more land for the development of 

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur 

during the last week and 

the total land with the premises 

has increased to 104 acres. 

The Government of Pakistan 

was also reaching out to the Sikhs 

based in the UK, Europe and other 

countries for making the 550th 

birth anniversary of Guru Nanak 

as a gala event. 

Pakistan Tourism Board 

Chairman Sayed Zulfiqar held a 

meeting with Sikhs of the UK in 

London on Monday. 

He asserted in a meeting, 

organised by the Central Gurdwara 

(Khalsa-Jatha), London, 

that despite highs and lows of the 

Indo-Pak bilateral relationships, 

the work on Kartarpur corridor 

and preservation of other historic 

buildings has been going 

on unabated.Zulfiqar, who was 

the Special Assistant to the Pakistan 

Prime Minister Imran Khan, 

said Pakistan was yearning to see 

the global Sikh community participating 

and contributing in the 

550th birth anniversary celebrations 

in a big way. 

H1B visa fee used to fund 

apprentice programme: US 

commerce secretary 

Review death sentence to 

Jadhav, int’l court tells Pak 

Washington : The 

United States is funding 

its apprentice programme 

from the H-1B visa fee, Commerce 

Secretary Wilbur 

Ross said on Wednesday. 

Ross said the Trump administration 

had launched 

a new “Industry-Recognised 

Apprenticeship System” in 

a major effort to spur employer-led 

training and was 

now planning to expand it. 

The commerce secretary 

said the additional public 

funding could help establish 

new apprenticeship 

programmes in the travel 

and tourism industry. 

According to Ross, the 

Department of Labour has 

USD 100 million in funding 

available for about 30 apprenticeship 

grants. 

These will go to public/ 

private partnerships to develop 

new apprenticeship 

models and expand existing 

apprenticeship programmes. 

In his address to the 

US Travel and Tourism 

Advisory Board, Ross said: 

“The funding source is the 

fees companies pay to hire 

foreign workers under 

the H-1B visa programme. 

These fees are then provided 

as grants for training 

American workers in 

the occupations for which 

employers are hiring H-1B 

workers, such as IT jobs.” 

The Department of Labour 

is expanding its apprenticeship 

programmes 

to include cyber-security 

and artificial intelligence 

since every sector of the 

economy required workers 

with these skill sets, he 

added. 

In a major legal and diplomatic victory for 

India, the International Court of Justice in The 

Hague on Wednesday held that Pakistan violated 

the Vienna Convention in the Kulbhushan Jadhav 

case and it should review and reconsider his 

conviction and sentencing while allowing India 

consular access to him. 

Importantly, the ruling said the stay on the 

death sentence pronounced on Jadhav must remain. 

“The court considers that a continued stay 

of execution constitutes an indispensable condition 

for the effective review and consideration of 

the conviction and sentence of Jadhav,” the court 

said. Rejecting all major contentions put forward 

by Pakistan, the ICJ said the Vienna Convention 

was applicable in the Jadhav case regardless of 

allegations that he was engaged in espionage. 

Continued on page 07 

For advertimesment in 

Contact : 905-673-0600

The International News Weekly Canada 

July 19, 2019 | Toronto 02 

Canada Dry® Invites Consumers to Chill 

This Summer with Bollywood Picnic 

Canada Dry® is introducing 

a new, insights-driven 

marketing campaign developed 

specifically for South 

Asian consumers. Coming 

this summer, the new creative 

concept invites South 

Asian community to chill 

and unwind with Canada 

Dry® and a “Bollywood Picnic” 

experience.” 

A 2017 qualitative study 

suggested that watching TV 

shows and movies from back 

home is important for many 

visible minorities in Canada 

to stay connected to their culture. 

To South Asian Canadians, 

there’s nothing better 

than enjoying a Bollywood 

movie night with their family 

and friends. 

The 2-month campaign 

leverages the famous Bollywood 

movie culture to deliver 

the brand message – “Real 

Ginger, Real Chill” through 

TV ads, digital ads and instore 

POS. 

The highlight of the 

campaign is the Bollywood 

Picnic Contest, offering a 

private Bollywood Picnic experience 

for the winner and 

his/her guests, including a 

performance by renowned 

Bollywood singer and actress, 

Miraya Varma. Some 

of Miraya’s famous tracks 

include “Lovely” and “Yalla 

Yalla”. It is all about celebration 

with decoration, cuisine, 

music, live performance and 

Canada Dry® Ginger Ale. 

To effectively deliver the 

campaign message to the 

target audience, the brand 

transcreated its existing 

English TV commercial 

to Hinglish and Punjabi, 

along with a specially designed 

end tag with a call to 

action, directing consumers 

to the campaign microsite to 

PSB Senior Club Canada Celebrates Multicultural Day 

PSB Seniors Club Canada 

celebrates Multicultural 

Day and annual Picnic at 

Heart Land Conservation 

Park located in Brampton. 

More than 120 club members 

participated in the 

event. Mr. Gurcharan Singh 

Khakh, President of the club 

greeted the members and 

introduced new members. 

Both men and women members 

participated in the cultural 

activities during the 

day. PSB Seniors Club Canada 

was formed in three years 

ago and is affiliated with the 

City of Brampton. Talking to 

the Weekly Voice Mr. Gian 

Paul, Vice President of the 

club said “ At PSB Seniors 

Club Canada we strive to 

enable our aging population 

to remain vital, healthy and 

connected to their community 

while enhancing the 

lives of all seniors who need 

assistance to live safely and 

independently in their own 

homes.’ Mr. Harcharan 

Singh Secretary informed 

the members that next Winter 

Gala diner will be held on 

Nov 10. 2019 at Shingar Banquet 

Hall, Brampton. 

enter the contest. 

The 30-second TV commercial 

and 15-second digital 

video advertisement will run 

on major ethnic channels 

including Zee TV, B4U and 

PTC Punjabi through an engaging 

media buy executed 

by the brand’s agency of record, 

Ethnicity Matters. 

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Humber East residents & Mr. Goyat 

for organizing a town hall meeting 

Jotvinder Sodhi 

Thanked Vales of Humber 

East residents and Mr. Goyat 

for organizing a town hall 

meeting on the break-in in the 

community. 

Jotvinder Sodhi said that I had a de- tailed discussion 

with the police chief Mr. McCard on public safety 

concerns and he assured that division 21 will increase 

police patrol in our area. Police chief admit at least 17 

recorded break in incidents have been in the particular 

small area. There were some arrests were made. 

In the presence of Mayor and representing Counillor 

we raised public safety break-ins and road conditions especially 

on Gore and Mayfield, Clark way and Mayfield. 

There is no left or right turning lane which is causing accidents 

for the community who contributes almost 4 million 

dollars as a property tax to the city. 

We demand our fair share in development projects. 

We feel that all the projects have been allocated to one 

particular area, neglecting rest of Brampton. 

South Asian Health Expo: Tradeshow Focusing On Health, Wellness, Beauty & Fitness 

Brampton, ON - After 

many years of producing 

health-focused trade shows 

specifically for the South Asian 

community in Surrey BC, business 

woman Rina Gill is now 

executing her broader vision 

of expanding across Canada. 

She is launching Brampton's 

first South Asian focused trade 

show with vendors from the 

health, wellness, beauty and 

fitness industry. This initiative 

is important for the South 

Asian community and encourages 

them to be proactive 

about their health vs. being reactive 

once they get diagnosed. 

The official launch of the South 

Asian Health Expo is taking 

place from 12pm to 5pm on Saturday, 

July 27th at Brampton 

Soccer Centre. Attendees can 

take advantage of FREE AD- 

MISSION and family fun for 

everyone! 

The City of Brampton is 

the ideal location for the South 

Asian Health Expo in Eastern 

Canada as Brampton's total 

visible minority population in 

the city sits at 433,230, who are 

mostly of South Asian descent. 

According to the 2016 Census, 

Brampton’s South Asian 

population is over 260,000. 

South Asians are genetically 

predisposed to many health 

issues and an extremely busy 

lifestyle can cause high stress 

levels which result in poor 

diet, lack of exercise, sleep deprivation, 

etc. These bad habits 

can eventually lead to serious 

medical conditions like obesity, 

diabetes, high blood pressure 

as well as emotional and 

mental disorders.This is an 

opportunity to bring the entire 

community together under 

one roof to further explore the 

world of health, wellness, beauty 

and fitness. There will also 

be a diverse group of vendors, 

advertisers, media sponsors 

and attendees. Good health is 

important for everyone regardless 

of age, gender and ethnicity.What 

to expect: Industry 

Experts On-Site, FREE Health 

Testing, Product Demonstrations, 

FREE Product Sampling, 

FREE Exercise/ Dance 

classes, FREE Workshops, 

Play Area for Children, Tons 

of Prize Giveaways and Flea 

Market. Also have a chance 

to win tons of prize giveaways 

and pick up a 

FREE copy of the South 

Asian Health magazine.For 

more information about the 

South Asian Health Expo or to 

become a vendor, advertiser, 

and/or sponsor, please contact 

the Event Organizer Rina Gill 

at 778 688 4973 or rina@thehypeadagency.com 

Since it is FREE ADMIS- 

SION, the attendees have the 

option of bringing a food donation 

for local organization, 

SEVA Food Bank.The Seva 

Food Bank provides safe, nutritious 

and culturally-appropriate 

food to low-income families 

living in Mississauga.An 

initiative of Sikhs Serving Canada, 

a registered not-for-profit 

charitable organization, their 

mission is to positively impact 

local communities by acting on 

the basic Sikh tenets of sarbat 

da bhalla (the well-being of all), 

chardi kala (eternal optimism) 

and seva (selfless service).

The International News Weekly Canada 

July 18, 2019 | Toronto 

03 

Square One Enhances Guest Experience 

With New Tourism Rewards Program 

Toronto: Square One, a 

premium shopping destination 

for fashion, entertainment 

and food enthusiasts is 

expanding their tourism program 

with the introduction 

of NEW Square One Host 

Rewards, which launched 

onJuly 1, 2019. The program 

is designedto encourage and 

rewardlocal residents to include 

Square One in their 

plans when hosting visiting 

friends and relatives. 

Square One Host Rewards 

encourages local residents 

to add the shopping 

centre to their list of mustsee 

attractions this summer. 

By visiting the Concierge Kiosk, 

locals receive a complimentary 

valet pass and their 

guests receive a Tourist 

Privileges Pass, a gift with 

purchase and a Roots 

luggage 

tag. The 

Tourist Privileges pass provides 

out-of-town visitors 

with exclusive access to special 

offers and promotions at 

participating retailers. Residents 

living within a 60km 

radius of Square One are eligible 

to claim these rewards 

from July 1, 2019 to August 

31, 2019 and can do so by 

visiting shopSQUAREONE. 

com/hostrewards 

“We are thrilled toannounce 

the newest 

addition to our 

tourism program, 

Host Rewards, so that 

we can continue to make it 

easier to share Square One’s 

premium experiences with 

both residents and visitors 

alike,” says Lesley Boughen, 

Tourism Manager of 

Square One. “It’s our way of 

thanking local residents for 

including Square One in the 

travel plans of their out-oftown 

friends and relatives.” 

From fashion to food, 

square one has something 

for everyone making this a 

top summer destination: 

• 

The Food Dis- trict, which 

opened in Spring 2019 is a 

best-in-class food market 

and authentic experience 

for foodie tourists featuring 

handmade and high-quality 

foods from local vendors 

• The Rec Room, a place to 

let go, be playful and experience 

arcade games and activities 

• Premium retailersinclude 

Holt Renfrew, Simons, Salvatore 

Ferragamo, kate 

spade new york, OVO, Soia 

& Kyo and Genesis – a luxury 

automotive boutique 

• Parking availability map 

(shopsquareone.com/ 

parking) and valet 

parking service to 

help you find the 

ideal place to park 

during your visit 

• Complimentary 

Wi-Fi throughout 

the shopping centre 

For more information 

on this special offer 

visit shopSQUAREONE. 

com/hostrewardsand for 

restaurant hours, parking 

details, guests services, 

store hours and more, 

please visit shopSQUARE- 

ONE.com. 

Annual Golf Tournament 2019 organized 

by India Canadian Golf Alliance 

India Canadian Golf 

Alliance organized annual 

Golf Tournament 2019 on 

15th July, 2019 at prestigious 

Lionhead Golf and 

Country Club in Brampton. 

Indo Canadian Golf 

Alliance brought together 

over 180 Golfers from GTA 

and all over North America 

& even India with the 

aim of bringing together 

golfer friends, networking 

& enjoyable game for 

for every segment of INDO 

CANADIAN community. 

Indo Canadian Golf Alliance 

executives had been 

organizing similar Golf 

Tournament over 22 years 

and to give better golf experience 

by choosing nice 

& conveniently located 

Golf course, under Indo 

Canadian Golf Alliance 

banner. The President Mr. 

Virinder Lamba and team 

of executive members of 

Indo Canadian Golf Alliance 

made all efforts to 

make the event successful. 

Event was covered 

by Indo Canadian Media. 

Executives of Indo Canadian 

Golf Alliance want 

to thank all media partners.Mr. 

Deepak Shamnani 

Executive director 

said “ICGA Golf Tournament 

2019 got very good 

response for the annual 

tournament and the event 

was fully sold out much 

before the date of the 

tournament. Indo Canadian 

Golf Alliance kept 

the Participation fee this 

year also at very reasonable 

CAD 200 only whereas 

most golf tournaments 

are over CAD 250. As per 

Deepak Shamnani the 

main aim is to keep the 

participation fee very reasonable 

to give our fellow 

golfers best playing experience 

at a very reasonable 

cost and we decided 

to chose one of the best 

Golf course Lionhead Golf 

& country club in Brampton 

so it’s very convenient 

for most fellow golfers 

who are from Greater Toronto 

Area. Purpose of the 

event is also to donate the 

proceeds for charity of social 

cause. 

This year the proceeds 

will be donated for the 

good cause to William Osler 

health Partners and 

some charities in India. 

Our Executive director 

Mr. Lailna thanked the 

community to make the 

event successful and enjoyable 

for golfer friends. 

36 Page Annual Magazine 

is also launched on 

the event by Indo Canada 

Golf Alliance. Trophies 

were presented to Winner 

&, Runner up team including 

Longest Drive & closest 

to Pin. Many prizes 

were given in Lucky draw 

also.

The International News Weekly CANADA 


North America’s largest Annual Halal Food 

Festival returns to Toronto in 2019 

TORONTO : Halal Food 

Fest Toronto (HFFTO), the 

largest halal food festival 

in North America returns 

for its seventh consecutive 

year between Saturday, 

July 20 and Sunday, 

July 21, 2019 at The International 

Centre in Mississauga. 

With over 200 of 

the Toronto's top halal restaurants, 

bakeries, manufacturers, 

specialty stores 

and artisan vendors, this 

year's guests are in for 

a diverse range of flavours 

from around 

the world all under 

one roof, all halal. 

Exhibitors are 

looking forward to 

getting their delicious 

creations into the hands 

of hungry guests. Unique 

menu items being served 

up this year includewhite 

chocolate Panipuri from 

Mia Bhai, Krispy Kreme 

Texas fried burger from 

Chef Ahem Baig, cotton 

candy coated buffalo 

chicken wings, nihari sliders, 

halal beef jerky from 

Carne Jerky and much 

more. This year's show expects 

to attract over 35,000 

visitors from around the 

GTA and across the border. 

"The Muslim population 

in Canada is the 

fastest-growing religious 

group and the needs of this 

market continue to grow," 

says Faizal Kagdi, Founder 

of Halal Food Festival 

Toronto. “Families are 

always excited to find out 

what is new in this market, 

and the opportunity to 

come out, sample delicious 

foods and see interesting 

presentations makes a 

great day out”.According 

to most recent Statistics 

Canada's data, it is estimated 

that the country's 

Muslim population currently 

sits at 1.4M and is 

projected to exceed the size 

of Canada's 1.6 million Chinese 

population by 2021*. 

As this niche community 

grows, the food sector will 

need to work strategically 

to fill in the growing gap. 

Walking through this 

year's Halal Food Festival 

will share a glimpse of the 

multicultural community 

while giving insight into 

the industry, sourcing and 

halal education. 

New this year will be 

two fabulous events: 

1. Halal Food Fest is 

proud to invite you to Innovation 

Station , a unique 

space for acclaimed chefs 

to cre- 

a t e 

Manpreet Minhas 

Barrister & Solicitor 

REAL ESTATE 

Rupinder Minhas 

Barrister & Solicitor 

Sale/Purchase of Residential & Commercial Properties 

Mortgage Enforcements & Lease 

Refinance & Private Mortgages 

BUSINESS LAW 

Incorporation & Shareholder agreements 

Sales & Purchase of Assets & Shares 

Notarization & Affidavits 

and present dishes especially 

and exclusively for 

Halal Food Fest. Be the 

first to try the next big 

thing and join us on the 

frontier of food evolution! 

2. Its time to playyyy 

Family Foooood! Played 

just like the hit TV gameshow 

Family Feud, our 

competition will feature a 

showdown between Team 

Fashionistas (celebrity 

fashion bloggers) vs. Team 

Foodies (celebrity chefs). 

Come hype up your favourite 

team! Family Food 

will be played live Saturday 

at 5pm at our Central 

Bergham Indoor Stage. 

Keep an eye out for an 

insightful session 

from HMA Canada 

(Halal Monitoring 

Authority) on the 

value and importance 

of halal certification. 

Nutritionist 

Nazima Qureshi 

will talk about 

healthy eating while 

Chef Russell Auckbaraullee 

will teach 

you how to get creative 

with common 

house hold ingredients. 

The festival also 

features a 14,000 

square foot Kids 

Zone included with 

admission, a baby 

lounge for families 

with young children, 

a dedicated shopping 

bazaar, and lots 

of free parking. The 

festival is dedicated 

to creating a funfilled, 

family-friendly 

environment for 

all attendees to enjoy. 

With so much 

of the Muslim community 

being made 

up by larger and 

younger families, 

events like this make 

it possible for all ages to 

have a good time. 

This year's title sponsor 

for the festival, Sufra, 

an HMA-certified halal 

brand, will be hosting a 

children's cooking class 

featuring Sufra products 

as well as providing complimentary 

food samples. 

Other sponsors include- 

Central Bergham, Zabiha 

Halal, Mina Halal, Carne 

Jerky and Al Safa. 

Central Bergham will 

host the main stage, complimented 

by a fully-designed 

IKEA kitchen used 

fordemonstration. 

HFFTO is funded in 

part by the Government of 

Ontario. 

*As projected by 

Stats Canada via alternative 

religious mobility 

Event details: 

Date: Saturday, 

July 20 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. 

and Sunday, July 21 10 

a.m. - 8 p.m. 

Location: The International 

Centre, 

Entrance 5, 6900 Airport 

Road, Mississauga 

Tickets: $5 each 

- ages 4 and older. Sample 

tickets available 

for purchase at event 

- $10 for 20 tickets. 

Links Website: 

www.halalfoodfestto. 

com 

Twitter: twitter. 

com/halalfoodfestto 

Facebook: facebook.com/halalfoodfestto 

Instagram: instagram.com/halalfoodfestto 

Contact:Faizal 

KagdiPresidentHalal 

Food Fest Toronto647-400-5679 

First 

Consultation 

FREE 

Indian 

Food 

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The International News Weekly July 18, 2019 | Toronto 

05 

Setting a new trend in Ethnic Radio 

An hour long 

English Language Newstalk 

Radio Show 

“Peel Matters” 

Joe Horneck Ryan Gurcharn BILL MCBAIN 

On 960 AM Sauga News Talk 

Monday - Friday: 7 PM - 8 PM 

Don’t forget to tune in !!

The International News Weekly Edit 

06 


The 

w w w . canadianparv asi. c o m 

Publisher & CEO 

Associate Editor 

Editor (India) 

Online 

Graphic Designer 

Official Photographer 

Contact 

Editorial 

Sales 

Rajinder Saini 

Meenakshi Saini 

Gursheesh 

Kshitiz Dalal 

Naveen 

Bashir Nasir 

editor@canadianparvasi.com 

sales@canadianparvasi.com 

Karnataka Faceoff 

SC has defanged Congress-JD(S) 

whip to resigned MLAs. Anti-defection 

law is in uncharted waters 

Supreme Court’s interim order on the Karnataka 

imbroglio may have come as a respite for the 

15 Congress-JD(S) rebel MLAs and BJP ahead of 

today’s trust vote. The order reiterates the Speaker’s 

power to decide on the resignations submitted 

by the rebels without specifying any time frame. 

However, SC also ruled that the rebels could not 

be compelled to participate in the ongoing assembly 

session. In effect, the scales just tipped against 

Congress-JD(S), which was pinning their hopes on 

a whip mandating that the rebels participate in the 

trust motion and ensuring at least some of them 

vote for the government. 

Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao 

has complained that the verdict “encroaches upon 

the rights of the legislature”, defangs the power to 

issue whips and undermines the anti-defection law. 

If the 15 rebels don’t vote, Congress-JD(S) will be reduced 

to a minority. Even if the Speaker chooses to 

disqualify the rebels for anti-party activity in the 

event of the government falling, it will not impede 

BJP’s claims to form a new government. At best, 

disqualification will prevent the rebels from immediately 

joining a newly sworn-in BJP ministry and 

force them to bide their time till they win re-election 

in bypolls. Congress-JD(S) has proceeded on 

the premise that the rebels prefer resignation and 

want to avert disqualification because they have 

been promised ministerial berths by BJP. 

But Congress-JD(S) attempts to mollify them 

by offering ministerial portfolios haven’t helped. 

The rebel response indicates the alliance is tottering. 

Even the daunting prospect of bypolls and the 

uncertainty of how the electorate will respond to 

turncoats haven’t deterred them. Congress-JD(S) 

appeasement efforts can be expected to continue 

right up to the conduct of the trust motion, which 

explains why not a single rebel MLA is yet to lose 

house membership, by disqualification or resignation. 

After a number of failed attempts at dislodging 

the government, BJP appears to have played its 

cards better this time. However, even if it manages 

to oust Kumaraswamy and form a government, the 

bypolls will become crucial. SC’s attempt to strike 

a “constitutional balance” will raise the hackles of 

opposition parties, who are demanding a stronger 

anti-defection law. The unending Karnataka imbroglio 

is unfortunate; voters will rue their decision 

to not give a mandate to a single party. Even 

the judiciary has limitations in resolving the Machiavellian 

machinations that hung verdicts give 

rise to. TNN 

Such A Long Journey 

Jingoism may propel politicians to power, it 

won’t help Chandrayaan-2 lift-off 

Arun.Ram@timesgroup.com 

xA leak in the cryogenic 

engine last Monday 

grounded Chandrayaan-2, 

India’s second Moon mission. 

But have no doubt: 

Indian Space Research 

Organisation (Isro) will 

take a deep breath, pick 

itself up, dust itself off 

and fly to the Moon. And 

India will be only the 

fourth country to land a 

craft on the lunar surface. 

Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi will proclaim the 

greatness of our space 

odyssey. And social media 

will host the celebration 

of pride, patriotism 

and patting oneself on the 

back. 

When the revelry is 

over, it would be prudent 

to look back at those wee 

hours of July 15 after the 

countdown clock at Sriharikota 

froze 56 minutes 

before the scheduled liftoff 

of GSLV-Mk-III. It is 

a reminder that India, 

which has had 46 successful 

flights of PSLV, 

hasn’t yet mastered the 

cryogenic engine technology 

to make the heavier 

GSLVMk-III rocket reliable 

enough for the proposed 

manned mission 

in 2022. It is also an occasion 

to ponder over Isro’s 

poignant past, precarious 

present and promising future. 

As a spacefaring nation 

we are justifiably 

proud of our achievements, 

but a new sense 

of nationalism is threatening 

to make us look 

better than what we are. 

Jingoism may propel 

politicians to power, but 

it doesn’t lift rockets. We 

have no qualms in calling 

GSLV-Mk-III a ‘Bahubali’ 

for its ability to carry 8 

tonnes to a low-earth orbit, 

when SpaceX’s Falcon-9 

can carry 23 tonnes 

to the same orbit. Isro 

should insulate itself 

from this zealotry and focus 

on rocket science. 

Senior Isro scientists 

confirmed to TOI that 

they took a calculated 

risk after a ground test on 

June 22 showed a technical 

glitch. When a leak 

was detected an hour 

before the launch – this 

time on a helium bottle 

that supplies pressure – 

they decided to abort the 

launch. Overlooking the 

ground test result to go 

ahead with the launch 

preparations, Isro appeared 

to have been in a 

hurry. 

There was euphoria 

when Modi set 2022, the 

75th anniversary of independent 

India, as the 

‘deadline’ for India’s first 

manned mission to space 

(Gaganyaan). It also 

raised some eyebrows in 

the Isro centres across 

the country. There was no 

protest as the Isro chairman 

said we could do it 

even earlier, by the end 

of 2021. Teething troubles 

with the indigenous cryogenic 

engine should make 

some murmurs heard, albeit 

within the confines of 

the space agency. 

Isro has so far flown 

the CE-20 cryogenic engine 

only twice, Chandrayaan-2 

is to be its third 

full-fledged flight. Calling 

off the Monday launch, 

scientists said they exercised 

“abundant caution” 

with the Rs 978 crore project. 

Losing such a rocket 

and spacecraft would be 

costly. Gaganyaan, which 

proposes to take three human 

beings to space, will 

be priceless. 

The failure analysis 

committee studying the 

aborted launch may suggest 

some tweaks in the 

cryogenic upper stage for 

future launches including 

the Sun mission (2020) 

and the Venus mission 

(2023), but the manned 

mission may need more 

than tinkering to ensure 

that our men and women 

who go to space return 

safely. It is indeed doable, 

only Isro will need to 

employ a nocompromise 

rigour to fly GSLV-Mk-III 

multiple times on other 

missions before Gaganyaan. 

Forget the deadline, 

keep the dream alive. 

A peep into our past 

shows that’s how we arrived 

at the present. India’s 

space mission started 

in the 1960s under the 

guidance of Homi J Bhabha 

and Vikram Sarabhai 

in a sleepy fishing village 

called Thumba in Trivandrum. 

Photographs of 

APJ Abdul Kalam cycling 

with a nose cone and a 

rocket being carried on 

a bullock cart are as nostalgic 

as they are illustrative 

of India’s baby steps 

in space science. 

And it has been a 

long, arduous journey of 

trial and error. After firing 

small American and 

French rockets to up to 

60km into the sky before 

they fell in the Arabian 

Sea, India graduated to 

SLV (Satellite Launch 

Vehicle) and ASLV (Augmented 

Satellite Launch 

Vehicle). The initial days 

were so disappointing 

that Vikram Sarabhai 

Space Centre scientists 

in selfdeprecating jokes 

called SLV the ‘sea-loving 

vehicle’ and ASLV the ‘always 

sea-loving vehicle’. 

After three attempts 

since 1987, ASLV finally 

put a satellite in orbit in 

1994. 

That year marked the 

turning point in India’s 

spacefaring history, with 

PSLV registering its first 

successful launch (after 

a failure the previous 

year). Ever since, PSLV 

has been a consistent success 

and sought after by 

many countries including 

the US for commercial 

satellite launches. At the 

core of PSLV’s success is 

the Vikas liquid engine, 

developed by a team of 

50-odd Isro scientists in 

collaboration with their 

French counterparts in 

Vernon, France, during 

1975-1980. 

We haven’t been as 

successful with the cryogenic 

technology that 

powers the upper stage 

of GSLV rockets. India’s 

early attempts to acquire 

cryogenic technology 

from the USSR in 1991 

were scuttled by US sanctions 

on Isro and Glavkosmos, 

the Russian space 

agency. The infamous 

Isro spy case of 1994 dealt 

a further blow to India’s 

cryogenic dreams, and 

delayed the project by at 

least a decade. 

As Isro tries to master 

the technology and build 

heavier rockets, collaborations 

such as the one 

with the French in the 

mid-1970s to develop the 

first liquid propulsion engine 

may be considered. 

Russia is a pale shadow 

of its parent USSR, but 

in rocket and defence science, 

it still shares an old 

umbilical cord with India. 

It’s worth going back in 

time to get ahead in space. 

Source Credit: This article 

was first published in The 

Times of India. 

Parvasi weekly & people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisement & do not endorse any product or service advertised in Canadian Parvasi. Please consult your lawyer before buying/hiring/contracting through the 

advertisement Publised in this newspaper. The Canadian Parvasi is in the business of selling space and the clains made by the advertisement are not tested/confirmed by an independent source.

The International News Weekly world 


07 

‘Pak under obligation to review conviction’ 

How India won the legal battle 

New Delhi: After a 

Pakistani military court 

awarded death sentence 

to Kulbhushan Jadhav, 

India was left with no 

other option but to approach 

the ICJ for relief 

in 2017. India maintained 

all along that Jadhav 

was a civilian who was 

kidnapped and moved to 

Pakistan by armed groups 

and that Islamabad was 

using him to blame India 

for its problems in Balochistan. 

According to India, 

Jadhav was denied the 

right to be defended by 

a legal counsel of his 

choice. His conviction 

and death sentence was 

based on “confessions” 

taken in captivity, India 

maintained. 

India’s case was all 

along built around the 

fact that Pakistan was in 

breach of Article 36(1) (b) 

of the Vienna Convention 

on Consular Relations 

(VCCR) which obliged 

Pakistan to inform India 

of the arrest of an Indian 

national “without delay”. 

Jadhav was purportedly 

“arrested” on March 

3, 2016, and it was only on 

March 25, 2016, that the 

Pakistani foreign secretary 

informed the Indian 

high commissioner in Islamabad 

of this “arrest”. 

According to Indian authorities, 

Pakistan never 

offered any explanation 

as to why it took over 

three weeks to inform the 

Indian high commissioner 

of Jadhav’s arrest. 

Pakistan violated the 

Vienna Convention also 

by not informing Jadhav 

of his rights and by denying 

Indian officials access 

to him. 

The entire trial and 

sentence by a military 

court, which was based 

on “confession taken 

under custody”, without 

adequate legal representation 

was farcical, 

according to Indian 

authorities. It was said 

to be in brazen defiance 

of the rights and protections 

provided under the 

Vienna Convention and 

the international law, including 

ICCPR (International 

Covenant on Civil 

and Political Rights). The 

jurisprudence on ‘human 

rights’, including under 

the ICCPR, recognises 

‘due process’ rubric. 

Perhaps the most important 

aspect was the 

way India countered Pakistan’s 

claim that the 2008 

bilateral agreement overrode 

the Vienna Convention. 

According to India’s 

argument, the Vienna 

Convention recognises 

that states may have bilateral 

arrangements that 

“amplify or supplement” 

the principles engrafted 

in the multilateral convention/treaty. 

However, 

it said Article 73(2) of the 

Law of Treaties did not 

recognise dilution of the 

provisions of the multilateral 

convention by bilateral 

treaties. 

India successfully 

convinced ICJ that Pakistan’s 

attempt to claim 

an exception to the rights 

under Article 36 of Vienna 

Convention suggesting 

that such rights are not to 

be made available to an 

individual against whom 

there is a prima facie case 

of “espionage” was not 

tenable. 

India also found the 

use of military courts 

for the trial of civilians 

violative of due process 

standards. “The trial of 

foreign national civilians 

by military courts is per 

se violative of the ICCPR, 

and also of the minimum 

standards recognised as 

‘principles of international 

law’,” said an official. 

The International Court 

of Justice indicated its unhappiness 

with the judicial 

process in Pakistan regarding 

Kulbhushan Jadhav, and 

said, “The court considers it 

imperative to re-emphasise 

that the review and reconsideration 

of the conviction and 

sentence of Jadhav must be 

effective.” This amounts to 

an indictment of Jadhav’s trial 

in secret military “black” 

courts where the evidence 

against him and his legal defence 

remains unknown. 

The decision means that 

Jadhav will continue to be 

protected from the death sentence 

as Pakistan may find it 

difficult to risk international 

criticism by ignoring the ruling. 

Though Pakistani commentators 

sought to play 

down the setback, arguing 

that the ICJ did not order 

Jadhav’s release, the court 

clearly said Pakistan was 

“under obligation” to review 

the conviction. 

The ICJ rejected Pakistan’s 

contention that it 

had no jurisdiction and that 

India’s complaint was not 

admissible. It also held that 

the 2008 India-Pakistan bilateral 

agreement in no way 

trumped Islamabad’s obligations 

under the Vienna Convention. 

TOI had reported 

on Wednesday that the ICJ 

was likely to find that Pakistan 

had violated Article 36 

of the Vienna Convention in 

denying consular access to 

Jadhav. 

The MEA too welcomed 

the ruling, saying justice had 

been delivered. “We note that 

Pakistan is under obligation 

to inform Jadhav without 

further delay of his rights 

and to provide India consular 

access to him in accordance 

with the Vienna Convention. 

We expect Pakistan to implement 

the directive immediately. 

We will continue to 

work vigorously for Jadhav’s 

early release and return to 

India,” MEA spokesperson 

Raveesh Kumar said. 

The ICJ ruling could 

mean that Pakistan will 

need to try Jadhav in a more 

transparent manner. Even 

if the prospects of the Indian 

national getting a fair trial 

in any form are dim, it will 

mean a scrapping of the military 

court verdict. It remains 

to be seen whether Pakistan 

adheres to the ruling or drags 

its feet over any effective review 

as ordered by the ICJ. 

The judgment was also in 

line with its earlier rulings 

in the Avena and LaGrand 

cases, both related to alleged 

violation of the Vienna Convention, 

where it had held 

the US guilty. 

While the court unanimously 

found that it had 

jurisdiction to entertain India’s 

plea, its other rulings 

were delivered 15 to 1. The 

dissenting judge was a Pakistani 

national, Tassaduq 

Hussain Jilani, an ad hoc 

judge brought in to give representation 

to Pakistan. 

The ICJ held that the appropriate 

reparation in this 

case meant “that full weight 

is given to the effect of the violation 

of the rights set forth 

in Article 36 of the Vienna 

Convention”. 

While the court left the 

choice of an “effective” review 

to Pakistan, it also held 

the obligation to provide effective 

review and reconsideration 

was “an obligation 

of result” which “must be 

performed unconditionally”. 

Consequently, the court said, 

Pakistan shall take all measures 

to provide for effective 

review and reconsideration, 

including, if necessary, by 

enacting appropriate legislation. 

Pakistan says it has 

scored a victory 

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday called ICJ verdict 

on Kulbhushan Jadhav “a victory for the country”. 

“Commander Jadhav shall remain in Pakistan. He 

shall be treated in accordance with the laws of Pakistan. 

This is a victory for Pakistan,” Pakistan foreign minister 

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in tweet.While ICJ directed 

Pakistan to allow Jadhav consular access to ensure 

“effective review and reconsideration of his conviction 

and sentence”, it has rejected other remedies sought by 

India, including annulment of the military court’s decision 

and his return to India.The Foreign Office (FO) said 

Pakistan, as a responsible member of the international 

community, “upheld its commitment from the very 

beginning of the case by appearing before the court for 

the provisional measures hearing despite a very short 

notice”. Having heard the judgment, Pakistan will now 

proceed as per law, the FO said. It said ICJ had reiterated 

that Jadhav had entered Pakistan without a visa 

on an authentic Indian passport with an alias, Hussain 

Mubarak Patel.“Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is 

responsible for acts of sabotage, espionage and multiple 

terrorist incidents in which scores of innocent Pakistani 

citizens were killed resulting in umpteen women being 

widowed and numerous children becoming orphans. 

Commander Jadhav has confessed to all these acts during 

his trial in a Pakistani court in front of a judicial 

magistrate. This is a clear case of Indian state terrorism,” 

it said. Jadhav, according to Pakistan, was arrested 

on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan’s Mashkhel area. 

New Delhi, however, said he was abducted from Iran.

The International News Weekly India 


No reconciliation with Sidhu, says Punjab Cong in-charge 

Chandigarh: Congress 

incharge of Punjab 

affairs Asha Kumari said 

there has been no attempt 

at any reconciliation 

with sulking party leader 

Navjot Singh Sidhu after 

his resignation from the 

state cabinet. She said 

that if Sidhu had any 

“perceived grievance, he 

neither took it up with 

chief minister Amarinder 

Singh nor her. 

Kumari, who accompanied 

Amarinder to 

meeting party MPs from 

Punjab in New Delhi 

on Tuesday, told TOI, 

“What is there to reconcile 

or reach out to him? 

It seems to be a perceived 

grievance. Nobody asked 

him to resign. He is a 

minister. The party gave 

him a cabinet berth and 

wants him to continue. If 

he doesn’t want to work, 

what can one do? Power 

is a bigger portfolio than 

local bodies as it is connected 

to every household 

in Punjab. Functioning 

of local bodies 

is limited to parts of the 

state.” 

She said if he had any 

grouse as a minister, he 

could have gone to the 

chief minister. 

“But he hasn’t done 

that, as per my knowledge,” 

she said. 

Without naming party 

president Rahul Gandhi, 

Kumari said Sidhu 

approached someone 

else and his demand was 

“trashed”. 

She cited the example 

of another cabinet minister 

O P Soni, who was 

also sore over losing 

school education portfolio 

in the same reshuffle. 

“He put forth his 

point to Captain saab and 

was assured that it will 

be looked into, and the 

matter was resolved. He 

also spoke to me, besides 

a couple of other ministers. 

We have to follow 

the party system. There 

is nothing that cannot be 

reviewed,” she said. 

Over a month after he 

I don’t even have a power minister, 

says Amarinder 

Chandigarh: I don’t even have a power 

minister,” chief minister Amarinder 

Singh said in New Delhi on Tuesday when 

asked about the proposal to set up atomic 

plants in Ropar and Bathinda. Amarinder, 

who met health minister Dr Harsh 

Vardhan earlier in the day, was meeting 

Union ministers and MPs for the second 

day in the national capital on Tuesday. 

While talking about the atomic enery 

plan, the chief minister said Punjab was 

yet to receive a proposal from the Centre 

for setting up the atomic energy units. 

Talks on the subject of using atomic energy 

for power production had been going 

on for long, but there was nothing concrete 

on the table yet, he told media. 

Asked what he felt about it, Amarinder 

said he would would have to wait 

for the formal proposal. “At the moment, 

I do not even have a power minister,” he 

said. Cricketer-turned politician Navjot 

Singh Sidhu, who was reassigned power 

portfolio from local government after the 

Lok Sabha elections has resigned from 

the cabinet. A spokesperson said Amarinder 

had been personally monitoring 

the power department’s functioning on 

a day-to-day basis in view of the ongoing 

paddy season, which required continuous 

power. The state has been witnessing 

unprecedented peak demand for power in 

view of an erratic monsoon, leading to a 

shortfall in rain in some areas. 

Decision on Sidhu’s resignation 

remains pending 

Chandigarh: A decision on the resignation offered by cabinet minister Navjot 

Singh Sidhu, which was formally delivered to chief minister Amarinder Singh on 

Monday, continues to be pending on Wednesday. 

As on Wednesday night, sources said chief minister has still not reached Chandigarh 

from Delhi and could not take a call on the matter. Earlier, he had said he 

would decide after meeting MPs from Punjab in Parliament House on Tuesday 

and also after reading the resignation letter on returning to Chandigarh. 

Meanwhile, speculations were rife about the high command intervening in the 

matter to make both sides scale down and Sidhu, too, may be asked to come to 

Delhi. There was, however, no official confirmation of an attempt to make both 

sides bury the hatchet. 

“There has been no word from the high command to the chief minister yet,” 

said a source. On the other hand, sources close to Sidhu said there had been persistent 

attempts by the central leadership to make Sidhu come around to an amicable 

solution. 

Amid the turn of events, the meeting of the council of ministers scheduled for 

July 18 has been postponed to next Wednesday. “It remains to be seen if the chief 

minister will wait till the cabinet meeting to take a call on Sidhu’s resignation. 

Most cabinet ministers have already criticized Sidhu for his decision not to assume 

office as the power minister,” said a Congress leader. 

If he decides to accept the resignation, Amarinder would forward it to the governor 

for acceptance and in all likelihood fill the cabinet berth by allocating the 

power portfolio. 

was stripped of his previous 

portfolios, Sidhu 

had not taken charge of 

his new assignment, as a 

stalemate with the chief 

minister had continued. 

On Sunday, Sidhu had 

tweeted his letter of resignation 

from the state 

cabinet, which he had 

sent to Rahul Gandhi last 

month. 

Kumari said she was 

not aware of Sidhu’s resignation 

till now, even 

though he submitted it 

to the party’s national 

president, Rahul Gandhi, 

on June 10. She added Rahul 

otherwise might have 

discussed the issue with 

Amarinder earlier. 

Asked about Sidhu 

pinning hopes on the 

party high command for 

intervening for him, the 

party incharge said there 

was no question of intervention 

as he did not 

discuss any issue. “Logically, 

he should have spoken 

to the chief minister 

or me,” she added. 

Sidhu had waited 

for a month to make his 

resignation public and it 

shows that he was hoping 

for reconciliation. Rahul 

had asked party veteran 

Ahmed Patel to speak to 

both sides. 

However, when Amarinder 

met Patel for a 

“courtesy call”, he reportedly 

refused to discuss 

Sidhu. 

Amarinder had indicated 

hardening of stance 

on Sidhu by convening a 

meeting to review the 

power scenario in the 

state last week amid talk 

that he could write to the 

governor to withdraw 

Sidhu’s portfolio.

The International News Weekly india 


09 

Pak to preserve 104 acres 

tilled by Guru Nanak 

Amritsar: Pakistan 

will not carry out any 

commercial activity or 

build any structure on 104 

acres of fields surrounding 

Gurdwara Darbar 

Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, 

where Guru Nanak Dev 

lived and farmed for 19 

years. 

The announcement 

was made by Pakistan 

Punjab’s governor 

Chaudhry Mohammad 

Sarwar after visiting the 

holy site on Tuesday, according 

to Pawan Singh 

Arora, Pakistan’s first 

Sikh public relations officer 

(PRO) to the Punjab 

province governor. This 

was a major demand of 

Sikhs across the world. 

The Pakistan government 

has included 

an additional 62 acres of 

surrounding land to the 

existing 42 acres of gurdwara 

land where no commercial 

activity would 

be carried out. This area 

would be preserved and 

used solely for farming 

and religious activities, 

Arora, who was quoting 

Sarwar, told TOI over 

phone from Kartarpur Sahib 

on Tuesday. 

Various Sikh bodies, 

including Shiromani 

Gurdwara Parbandhak 

Committee, Delhi Sikh 

Gurdwara Management 

Committee and foreignbased 

Sikh organisations 

had been demanding that 

the Pakistan government 

must preserve 104 acres of 

field where Guru Nanak 

Dev used to farm so as to 

protect its sanctity and 

serenity. 

The Sikh bodies have 

also been demanding that 

Pakistan must retain the 

natural and traditional 

state of the gurdwara 

instead of making it a 

standard marble structure. 

“The governor has 

assured to preserve the 

Sikh heritage and implement 

Sikh rehat maryada 

(Sikh code of religious 

conduct ) in the gurdwara 

and during pilgrimage,” 

said Arora. 

He said that Sarwar 

also inspected the ongoing 

construction work on 

the Pakistan side of the 

Kartarpur corridor and 

went up to zero line at international 

border with 

India. The governor also 

showed keen interest in 

walkways which the Indian 

devotees could use to 

walk up to the gurdwara. 

Quoting Sarwar, his 

PRO said that Pakistan 

had completed 80% work 

of its side of the Kartarpur 

corridor and was 

ready to accommodate 

any number of pilgrims 

from India. 

Uncertainty over Congress 

leadership set to linger on 

New Delhi: The uncertainty over who will lead Congress 

after Rahul Gandhi’s resignation seems set to linger 

indefinitely, with party managers unable to thrash 

out the vexed issue. 

Amid intense speculation about Rahul’s plan to leave 

for a week-long trip, senior party sources acknowledged 

that they will not be able to meet the deadline of July 20 

they had informally set for themselves to settle the leadership 

question. “There 

is no consensus on any 

name,” a senior party 

said. 

The acknowledgement 

suggested that a 

plan to get a veteran, 

preferably a Dalit, to 

stand in until a member 

of the Gandhi family 

could be brought in to take charge, has run into unexpected 

problems, including resistance from those who 

prefer a young leader to take over the reins. Punjab CM 

Amarinder Si- ngh has twice publicly spoken against the 

plan to get a veteran who, as a party source put it, is safe 

and unlikely to create complications for the group who 

are likely to play the eminence grise. 

Sources also spoke about the emergence of another 

group which derives its influence from perceived proximity 

to Rahul and which has been smarting under the 

hold that the seniors enjoy over the party apparatus. The 

group has been calling for far more radical measures, including 

a purge at the top. 

Faced with pressures and counter pressures, party 

managers are exploring whether the selection issue can 

be put off for 2-3 months to be decided by holding elections 

for the top positions. As per the plan, one of several 

under consideration, K C Venugopal, general secretary 

in charge of organisation, could be authorised to handle 

routine issues in consultation with other office-bearers 

and members of the CWC. 

But there are doubts whether the stop-gap arrangement 

will be adequate for preparations for the forthcoming 

round of assembly elections and other challenges, 

including eruption of dissidence in state units, which 

keep proliferating as the party struggles to come out of 

the trauma of its defeat in June.

The International News Weekly INDIA 


Gurdaspur man fears mother 

sold as slave in Kuwait 

Amritsar: Punjab Police 

have arrested a travel agent 

who has been accused by 

children of a woman, identified 

as Veena Bedi, he had 

sent to Kuwait last year, of 

connivance in “selling” her 

in slavery to a Pakistani 

family living there. 

Her children believe 

the Pakistani national 

in Kuwait in connivance 

with fraudulent agents had 

“bought” the woman for 

1,200 Kuwaiti Dinars (approximately 

Rs 2.7 lakh). 

Gurdaspur SSP Swarandeep 

Singh said they had arrested 

the agent, Mukhtiar 

Singh, and they were writing 

to the Indian embassy in 

Kuwait for the 44-year-old 

woman’s safe return. 

The woman, from 

Dhariwal in Gurdaspur, 

was sent to Kuwait in July 

last year against a payment 

of Rs 30,000. “We were told 

she’ll get a housekeeping 

job of Rs 22,000 a month,” 

her son Rohit, 21, told media 

. He said his mother got 

a visa on arrival. A photograph 

of the visa shows she 

had been granted entry for 

three months. “Mama left 

for Kuwait on July 9, 2018, 

and she sent Rs 16,000 from 

her first salary, which reassured 

us of her safety. We 

were happy,” he said. 

But the dream fell 

apart. Rohit said his mother 

stopped calling often. 

“When she called, she would 

talk for less than a minute 

and sounded depressed and 

frightened. Once she said, 

‘Mainu wapis bula lay kisi 

tarah’ (get me back somehow),” 

said Rohit. My father, 

who worked with the 

electricity department, approached 

the travel agent 

for help, but he didn’t listen, 

Rohit said. “Six months 

ago, my mother made a 

video call and I was shocked 

to see her lean face and 

worry lines on it. I captured 

a screenshot. That was the 

last time I saw her,” said a 

distraught Rohit. 

After this, whenever 

he called his mother, some 

woman on the other side 

would refuse to let him 

speak to her and told him 

they had “bought” Veena 

for 1,200 Kuwaiti Dinars. 

“The worry about his wife 

and inability to help her 

made my father, Surinder 

Kumar Bedi, unwell and 

he died of a heart attack on 

May 5,” he added. 

Rohit, who quit school 

after his father’s death, 

works in a mobile repair 

workshop to make both 

ends meet and raise his 

younger brother and sister. 

“I even went to the office of 

minister of external affairs 

in Delhi to give a letter seeking 

help,” he said. UK-based 

rights activist Jas Uppal 

has taken up Veena’s case 

at an international level. 

Uppal, who is founder 

of NGO Justice Upheld, 

claimed that following her 

group’s intervention a formal 

investigation had begun 

in Kuwait to locate and 

repatriate Kiran to India. 

“We are extremely concerned 

to learn that it has 

come to light that the hapless 

women was sold and is 

enslaved by a Pakistani national 

leaving in Kuwait,” 

she said. 

HC: Trace weapon looted during Jat 

quota agitation or pay owner 

Chandigarh: In a rare 

case, the Punjab and Haryana 

high court has directed 

the Rohtak police to trace 

a revolver deposited with 

local police by a licensed 

holder that was allegedly 

looted during February 

2016 Jat violence, or pay 

the value of the revolver to 

its owner. 

“The respondents (police 

authorities) are directed 

to trace and return 

the weapon in question to 

the petitioner within three 

months and to renew the 

licence. In case, the state is 

unable to trace the weapon, 

it is directed to pay back 

the current market value 

to the petitioner within one 

week thereafter,” the high 

court ordered. 

The order will also 

bring relief for several other 

persons whose weapons 

were stolen, snatched, or 

looted during the February 

2016 violence in which 

around 31people were 

killed and property worth 

crores was damaged. 

Rohtak was the epicentre 

of the agitation and 

around 104 weapons owned 

by private persons, which 

were deposited at Meham 

police station, and a local 

gun house were looted and 

are yet to be recovered. 

The matter reached the 

high court as part of a petition 

filed by Shiv Kumar of 

Rohtak district. In his plea, 

the petitioner said that during 

the Haryana panchayat 

polls, he had deposited his 

licensed revolver (No FG- 

21601-08) in Meham police 

station of Rohtak district 

on December 25, 2015. 

However, he was informed 

that the said revolver was 

misplaced or stolen from 

the custody of the police 

on February 20, 2016. The 

petitioner submitted that 

neither has he been compensated 

for the loss of his 

revolver nor was he being 

permitted to purchase another 

revolver/firearm on 

the same licence. 

Responding to the petition, 

the police authorities 

submitted that the weapon 

was looted from the police 

station during the Jat agitation 

in February 2016. 

On this, the petitioner 

sought directions for reimbursement 

of the current 

cost of the weapon. He also 

placed on record the documents 

regarding the value 

of the weapon. 

Hearing all the parties, 

Justice Jitendra Chauhan 

directed the Haryana police 

to trace the weapon 

within three months and if 

they are unable to find the 

weapon, the current market 

price of the revolver 

should be paid to the petitioner. 

Fares to US, Europe drop by 15-20% as Pak opens airspace 

New Delhi: Airlines, 

both Indian and foreign, 

have quickly begun resuming 

suspended flights and 

operating diverted ones 

on the shorter and direct 

pre-February 27 routes after 

Pakistan re-opened its 

airspace on Tuesday. Flyers 

between India and the 

west will now increasingly 

get more choices for faster 

travel at lower airfares. 

Travel portal Yatra 

COO Sharat Dhall said 

airfares to Europe and 

Americas have dropped by 

15-20% and to Gulf by up to 

30%. “Economy return airfares 

on Delhi-Abu Dhabi 

sector have dropped from 

over Rs 30,000 to Rs 17,000. 

And for London, they have 

dropped from Rs 80,000 to 

Rs 63,000 now. We expect a 

growth in passenger traffic 

on these routes,” he 

said. 

The flight relief is coming 

in thick and fast. Aviation 

minister H S Puri on 

Wednesday tweeted that 

Air India will resume its 

triweekly Delhi-Amritsar- 

Birmingham service from 

August 15, with the flight 

operating on Tuesdays, 

Thursdays and Saturdays. 

IndiGo’s Delhi-Istanbul 

flight will be nonstop 

from Thursday with 

the fuelling stopover not 

required over the direct 

route. As a result, this 

flight’s travel time for 

Delhi-Istanbul will reduce 

from 10.5 hours (factoring 

in the longer route to 

Doha and stopover there) 

to sixhours-45-minutes 

now. Return journey time 

will drop from nine to six 

hours. 

German major Lufthansa 

will resume the 

straight route over Pakistan 

from Friday. George 

Ettiyil, Lufthansa Group’s 

senior director sales for 

south Asia, said, “From 

Friday, all our flights from 

Frankfurt, Munich and 

Zürich will return to operate 

on regular routes to 

Delhi.” 

US carrier United will 

resume its daily direct 

from Newark (EWR) to 

Delhi and Mumbai each 

from September 6, advancing 

them from the earlier 

announced October 26. 

“After reviewing and 

re-evaluating plans, our 

network operations and 

planning teams have determined 

that we will resume 

daily nonstop service 

between New York 

(Newark-EWR) and Delhi 

and Mumbai on September 

6, 2019 (eastbound),” 

United spokesman Jonathan 

Guerin said.

The International News Weekly July 18, 2019 | Toronto 

11 

Delhi HC grants 4-week parole to 

1984 riots convict to file appeal 

New Delhi The Delhi 

High Court on Thursday 

granted four weeks’ parole 

to Balwan Khokhar who, 

along with former Congress 

leader Sajjan Kumar, was 

sentenced to life imprisonment 

in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots 

case. 

Justice I S Mehta allowed 

Khokhar’s plea to be 

released on parole to file a 

special leave petition in the 

Supreme Court challenging 

the Delhi High Court order 

of December 17, 2018, convicting 

him in the case. 

The high court had 

set aside the trial court’s 

verdict, which acquitted 

Kumar in a case related to 

the killings of five Sikhs in 

the Raj Nagar Part-I area 

in Palam Colony in southwest 

Delhi on November 

1-2, 1984, and burning down 

of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar 

Part-II. Kumar has already 

filed an appeal in the Supreme 

Court challenging 

the high court’s decision. 

The riots had broken 

out after the assassination 

of then prime minister Indira 

Gandhi on October 31, 

1984 by her two Sikh bodyguards. 

The high court, in its 

verdict, had also upheld the 

conviction and varying sentences 

awarded by the trial 

court to the other five— 

Khokhar, retired naval 

officer Captain Bhagmal, 

Girdhari Lal and former 

MLAs Mahender Yadav and 

Kishan Khokhar. 

It had also convicted 

them for criminal conspiracy 

to burn down residences 

of Sikh families and a gurdwara 

in the area during the 

riots. 

The trial court in 2013 

had awarded life term to 

Balwan Khokhar, Bhagmal 

and Lal, and a three-year 

jail term to Yadav and Kishan 

Khokhar. 

Following the high 

court verdict, life term of 

Balwan Khokhar, Bhagmal 

and Lal has been upheld 

and the sentence of Yadav 

and Kishan Khokar has 

been enhanced to 10 years 

in jail. 

The high court, in its 

judgement, had said that 

the riots were a “crime 

against humanity” perpetrated 

by those who enjoyed 

“political patronage” and 

aided by an “indifferent” 

law enforcement agency. 

Trust vote: K’taka Assembly adjourned till 

Friday; BJP MLAs to stay put overnight 

Bengaluru: Marked by 

high drama, the Karnataka 

assembly was adjourned till 

Friday after it took up the 

confidence motion moved by 

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy 

to decide the fate of the 

Congress-JDS government 

wrecked by rebellion by a 

section of its MLAs threatening 

its survival. 

The drama unfolded 

right from the word go as, 

facing truncated strength 

caused by the en masse resignation 

of 16 ruling coalition 

MLAs, Kumaraswamy 

moved a one-line motion, 

saying the House expressed 

confidence in the 14-month 

old ministry headed by him. 

Twenty lawmakers did 

not turn up Thursday, including 

17 from the ruling 

coalition, 12 of whom are corralled 

in a hotel in Mumbai, 

as the House debated in a surcharged 

atmosphere. 

The House that barely 

focussed on the debate on the 

motion saw three adjournments, 

acrimony and repeated 

disruptions by belligerent 

slogan shouting Congress 

members before the proceedings 

were wound up for the 

day. 

Before it was adjourned, 

BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa 

declared his party members 

would stay put in the House 

itself overnight and even till 

the time the trust vote was 

decided. 

“We will stay until the 

trust vote is decided,” Yeddyurappa 

said after the BJP, 

exasperated over the delay 

in taking up the voting, also 

rushed a delegation to Governor 

Vajubhai Vala to ask 

Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar 

to conclude the trust vote 

process by the end of the day 

itself. 

Acting swiftly, Vala 

asked the speaker to complete 

the process of vote of 

confidence moved by the end 

of the day. BJP leaders said 

they were mulling moving 

the Supreme Court in the 

light of Thursday’s developments. 

Adding to the worries 

of the ruling coalition, another 

Congress MLA Shreemant 

Patil was not seen in 

the House, in the midst of 

reports he has been admitted 

in a Mumbai hospital. 

Senior Congress leader 

Mallikarjun Kharge alleged 

that it was the BJP 

which brought the MLA, 

Shreemant Patil, here in its 

attempt to topple the Congress-JD(S) 

government in 

Karnataka. 

Police were not allowing 

anyone to meet Patil, Kharge 

claimed. 

"The MLA has come 

here, complaining of pain in 

the heart. There are many 

heart specialists in Karnataka, 

where free treatment 

is possible. Karnataka has a 

hospital which is the best after 

AIIMS (in Delhi). But he 

(Patil) has come to a Mumbai 

hospital here ignoring that 

Karnataka hospital," Kharge 

told Congress workers ollowing 

appointment of Balasaheb 

Thorat as Maharashtra 

unit chief. 

"Who has brought him 

here? These things show 

Modi sahab, Shah sahab trying 

to bring dictatorship here 

replacing democracy and 

Fadnavis sahab is helping 

them," Kharge alleged. 

At one point, Congress 

members carrying pictures 

of Patil rushed towards the 

well of the House shouting 

slogans “Down Down BJP” 

and “down down operation 

Kamala (lotus)” to bring 

down the government. 

BSP MLA Mahesh, on 

whose support the coalition 

was counting, also did 

not show up, amid reports 

he was keeping away as he 

has not received any directions 

from the party leader 

Mayawati on the stand to be 

taken on the trust vote. Seeking 

the trust vote, Kumaraswamy 

said the rebel MLAs 

had cast doubts about the 

coalition government across 

the country and “we have to 

tell the truth.” 

As the CM sought the 

trust vote, Congress Legislature 

Party leader Siddaramaiah 

pressed for deferring 

the confidence motion till the 

assembly speaker decided on 

the issue of whip in the wake 

of the Supreme Court verdict 

on the political crisis in the 

state. 

Siddaramaiah said the 15 

rebel MLAs were influenced 

by the apex court order that 

they can abstain from attending 

the assembly proceedings 

and asked speaker to 

give a ruling on the fate of 

whip issued by him as CLP 

leader. 

“If this motion is taken 

up, then it will not be constitutional. 

It violates the 

constitutional provisions. I 

request you to defer it. I want 

your ruling on this point of 

order,” Siddaramaiah told 

the Speaker. 

The speaker then said he 

would consult the advocate 

general and adjourned the 

House for lunch. BJP members 

made their displeasure 

known several times over 

alleged delay in taking up 

the voting on the confidence 

motion, leading to adjournment 

of the House for half an 

hour. 

Congress and BJP MLAs, 

who were sequestered in 

resorts in the city fearing 

poaching by the rival camps, 

were herded together and 

brought in buses just before 

the assembly began. 

The trial of strength is 

taking place a day after the 

Supreme Court ruled that the 

15 rebel Congress-JDS MLAs 

“ought not” to be compelled 

to participate in the proceedings 

of the ongoing session of 

the state Assembly. 

The ruling combine’s 

strength is 117-- Congress 78, 

JD(S) 37, BSP 1, and nominated 

1, besides the Speaker. 

With the support of the two 

independents, the opposition 

BJP has 107 MLAs in the 

225-member House, including 

the nominated MLA and 

Speaker. 

If the resignations of 15 

MLAs (12 from Congress and 

3 from JDS) are accepted, the 

ruling coalition’s tally will 

plummet to 101, (excluding 

the Speaker) reducing the 14 

month-old Kumaraswamy 

government to a minority. 

This is the third motion 

on trust vote in the assembly 

after the 2018 assembly polls 

yielded a fractured mandate 

with the BJP emerging as the 

single largest party with 104 

seats but failing to mobilise 

numbers. 

Yeddyurappa had resigned 

as CM after being in 

office for three days before 

facing the trust vote in May 

last year. Kumaraswamy 

who succeeded him had won 

the trust vote after forming 

the coalition government.

The International News Weekly July 19, 2019 | Toronto 12 

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The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 103

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