Indo- Saudi Relations

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THE JIHADI TERRORISM IN INDIA: THE SAUDI CONNECTION

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO. 624

B.RAMAN

During his just-concluded visit (February 27 to March 1, 2010) to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh is reported to have taken up with the Saudi leaders the question of Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of terrorism against India and sought their good offices for persuading Pakistan to act against anti-Indian terrorism directed from Pakistani territory.


2. Like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia has been following a dual policy on terrorism. It has taken ruthless action against Al Qaeda elements posing a threat to its internal security. At the same time, it has avoided taking action against Wahabi organizations which have been supporting terrorism in other countries. Many of the so-called charity organizations, which have been funding terrorist organizations in other countries including India and Bangladesh, are of Saudi origin. Despite international pressure on Saudi Arabia to act against such charity organizations and stop the flow of funds to global jihadi terrorism, the action taken by the Saudi authorities has been unsatisfactory.


3.It would be futile to expect that Saudi Arabia could be of assistance to India in dealing with jihadi terrorism emanating from Pakistan or Bangladesh. There has been a long history of links between jihadi terrorist elements in India and Saudi Arabia ever since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December,1992. In December 1993, coinciding with the first anniversary of the demolition of the masjid , there was a number of explosions in different railway trains in North India. The interrogation of one of the suspects arrested during the investigation revealed that the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had organised them.


4. The suspect also alleged that C.A.M.Basheer, who was the President of the SIMI in the 1980s, had, along with one or two other members of the SIMI, attended a training course in the use of arms and ammunition and explosives in a camp of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) of Pakistan in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) run by one Salauddin, a Sudanese national, in the late 1980s. During the training, the JEI arranged a meeting between the SIMI activists and Lal Singh, alias Manjit Singh of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), Canada, who was then living in Lahore. Lal Singh was arrested by the Gujarat Police in the middle of 1992 when he crossed over into India.


5. The JEI urged the SIMI and the ISYF to co-operate with each other for the "liberation" of the Sikhs of Punjab and the Kashmiris of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The co-operation project was code-named "K-2", standing for Kashmir-Khalistan. It was also stated that Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the then Amir of the JEI, had nominated Amirul Azim, the then Propaganda Secretary of the JEI, as the co-ordinator of the project.


6. The suspect also stated that the JEI had asked Basheer to send more members of the SIMI to Pakistan for training, but he could not do so due to logistic problems. In the early 1990s, Amirul Azim, accompanied by Salauddin, the Sudanese instructor, entered India via Bangladesh and met Basheer and his associates for discussing their future plans. They were told that in view of the difficulties experienced by them in sending more activists to Pakistan for training, instructions had been given to the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the Kashmiri terrorist organisation, which is a wing of the JEI, to train SIMI cadres in its camps in J&K itself. The SIMI was asked to send its future batches to J&K for training.


7. Despite intensive searches by the police of different States, Basheer and his associates, who had allegedly undergone training in Pakistan, could not be arrested. Basheer, who must now be around 48, is from Parambayam in Kerala. After studying in the Union Christian College, Aluva, near Kochi, he worked for a brief while in the Safdarjung airport of New Delhi before taking to terrorism and absconding. Subsequent reports indicated that he had taken up residence in Saudi Arabia from where he was guiding the activities of the SIMI in India and organising its branches in other countries of the Gulf. In Saudi Arabia, he was also reported to have floated a new organisation called
the Muslim Development Force .


8. In 1992, the "Time" magazine of the US had carried an interview with one Commander Abu Abdel Aziz, with a picture of his in his henna-dyed beard and Afghan style fatigue. After the "Time", "al-Sharq al-Awsat", a Saudi-owned, London-based daily, ran a front-page story on Abu Abdel Aziz and his activities in Bosnia. In August 1994, "Al-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem (The Straight Path)", an Islamic journal published in Pakistan (Issue No. 33), carried an interview with Abu Abdel Aziz. The journal, without identifying his nationality, reported that Abu Abdel Aziz spoke perfect Urdu and that he had spent extended periods in Kashmir. It was stated that Abu Abdel Aziz's followers, believed to be mostly Indian Muslims from the Gulf, were part of the seventh battalion of the Bosnian Army (SEDMI KORPUS, ARMIJA REPUBLIKE BH).


9. In the interview, he made the following points:

* "I was one of those who heard about Jihad in Afghanistan when it started. I used to hear about it, but was hesitant about (the purity and intention of) this Jihad. One of those who came to our land (presumably Saudi Arabia) was Sheikh Dr. Abdallah Azzam. I heard him rallying the youth to come forth and (join him) to go to Afghanistan. This was in 1984 -- I think. I decided to go and check the matter for myself. This was the beginning (of my journey with) Jihad. Then the conquest of Kabul came.

* "A new Jihad started in Bosnia, (we moved there), and we are with it. As to Arab Mujahideen (in Bosnia), they do not have a separate battalion. There is a battalion for non-Bosnian fighters. Arabs are a minority compared to those of the Mujahideen (gathered from around the World). This battalion is under a unified command and is called Kateebat al-Mujahideen (Mujahideen Battalion), or "El-Mudzahidin" as they call them in Bosnian. Militarily, it has a link to the Bosnian government under the general command of the Bosnian Armed Forces. It is in fact part of the seventh battalion (SEDMI KORPUS, ARMIJA REPUBLIKE BH) of the Bosnian Army. I am a field commander under the "General Unified Armed Command". We have full jurisdiction in the region we are responsible for (Editor's note: Mostly central Bosnia). The general command of the Muslim forces wants to see results, it does not dictate strategy or action.

* "I met several prominent Ulema. Among them Sheikh Nasir ad-Din al-Albani, Sheikh Abdel Aziz Bin Baz and Sheikh Muhammad Bin Otheimin and others in the Gulf area. Sheikh Nasir ad-Din al-Albani is one of the great Ulema of this time and one seeks guidance in the light of his knowledge and view. (I say) in my last meeting with him, he was supportive of Jihad in Bosnia-Herzeg (as a religious duty). However, he told us not to attack - that is we, the Arab Mujahideen.Since we were the smaller the Sheikh was afraid we might get killed in large numbers if we engaged people in the fight. However, he requested that we dig in and be at the most advanced defense-lines (Khat ad-Difa` al-Awwal) to defend those persecuted.

* "The rest of the Ulema support Jihad by any means (defensive or offensive). You must understand that - militarily speaking - the number of those killed in defense is (far) higher than those killed in attack. This is due to the fact that in attack, clashes and skirmishes take place between Mujahideen and Kuffar (non-believers).The Kafir (unbeliever) does not throw himself arbitrarily in the cross-fire for fear of killing his companions. This fact lowers the number of the dead and this is the most important fact of the matter.

* "Jihad in Kashmir is still going on. It is healthy. Our Kashmiri brothers have achieved a lot. Some of our Mujahideen brethren, whether Arab or (Ajam non-Arab), such as the Pakistanis and our brethren from South-East Asia, have also helped. Their actions have been very successful, especially in the lands under Indian government control. Mujahideen execute hit-and-run operations. However there is a lack of support by Islamic governments and a lack of media coverage by Islamic outlets, on the level of atrocity and destruction by the non-believers in those lands."


10. Subsequently, this Abu Abdel Aziz appeared at a conference of the LET (Lashkar-e-Toiba) at its headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore, in November,1994. He was introduced to the audience as an Indian Muslim living in Saudi Arabia, who was playing a heroic role in helping the Muslims of Bosnia in their fight against the Christian Serbs and in helping the Kashmiris fighting against the Government of India.


11. Other reports indicated that in May 1995, like-minded jihadi groups had formed a "Rapid Deployment Force" called "Katiba (Kateebat?) al Mujahideen" (Batallion of the Mujahideen) at a meeting held in the Philippines. The meeting was attended among others by "al-Sheikh Abu Abdul Aziz," described as the Chief Commander of the 7th Brigade of Muslim forces in Bosnia, Salamat Hashan, the Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Philippines), Abdul Karim, Chairman of the Islamic Front (Eritrea) and Prof. Hafiz Mohd Saeed, Amir MDI (Markaz Dawa Al Irshad, as the political wing of the LET was then known), Pakistan. "Al-Sheikh Abu Abdul Aziz" and Abu Abdel Aziz were probably identical, but one was not certain on the basis of available evidence.


12. The meeting reportedly agreed on the following (a) nationalities and frontiers on the basis of races was an un-Islamic perception; (b) to work in support of Muslims in all those parts of the world where action was being taken against them; (c) the Mujahideen of the newly formed Kateebat Al-Mujahideen would carry out militant operations and fight in Kashmir to eliminate un-Islamic perceptions of nationalities and frontiers.


13. Till 1997, Abu Abdel Aziz either used to attend the annual conventions of the LET at Muridke or his recorded speeches used to be telecast or he used to speak over phone. He disappeared from public view thereafter. There were rumours in Islamic circles in Pakistan that he had been arrested by the Saudi authorities, apparently because of his suspected links with Osama bin Laden, who is against the Saudi monarchy. In August, 2001, the police of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh claimed to have arrested one Abdul Aziz alias Ashrafi, who had fought in Bosnia and Chechnya. From published reports, it was not clear whether they had questioned him about the identity of Abu Abdel Aziz and other Indian Muslims from the Gulf, who had allegedly fought in Bosnia and their subsequent whereabouts.


14. The real identity of Abu Abdel Aziz still remains a mystery. If he was an Indian Muslim living in Saudi Arabia, as claimed by the LET, what was his real name, to which part of India he belonged, what was his political affiliation, did he have any links with the SIMI? All that one could conjecture was that Basheer could not be operating under the alias Abu Abdel Aziz because the Pakistani Urdu media projected him as operating from Saudi Arabia since the early 1980s, whereas Basheer was reported to have moved over to Saudi Arabia only in the early 1990s, possibly after the Babri masjid demolition.


15. From the various reports received, one could make the following surmise:

* There were at least two Indian Muslims operating from Saudi Arabia and associated with jihadi terrorism.

* One of them referred to by Pakistani jihadis as Abu Abdel Aziz was linked to the LET. He had played what the jihadis considered as a legendary role in organising jihad in Bosnia and was also closely involved in assisting the jihadis in J&K.

* Basheer co-ordinated the activities of the SIMI in India and the Gulf from Saudi Arabia.


16. After the Gujarat riots of 2002 and coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, reports started circulating in Pakistan that some of the Indian and Pakistani Muslims working in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, had started a drive for the collection of funds to be utilised for assisting the Muslim victims of the riots and for mounting acts of punishment terrorism in India to avenge the killings of Muslims in Gujarat. Compilations of Indian media reports about the anti-Muslim atrocities in Gujarat and video recordings of these atrocities were used as part of this fund collection drive.


17. In December 2002, the Tamil Nadu Police claimed to have unearthed a new organisation, apparently inspired and controlled by jihadi elements in Saudi Arabia, called the Muslim Defence Force (MDF). It was not clear whether this was identical with the Muslim Development Force of Basheer. Published reports about the Tamil Nadu Police's detection indicated as follows:

* One Abu Hamsa, alias Abdul Bari, an Indian Muslim living in Saudi Arabia and associated with the LET, and one Abu Omar, a Pakistani Muslim working there, had together formed the MDF after the Gujarat riots. They had also met a Muslim leader from Tamil Nadu who had gone to Saudi Arabia on haj pilgrimage.

* On his return to Tamil Nadu, this leader held a clandestine meeting at Tenkasi in Tiruvelveli district, which was attended by about 30 Muslims. At this meeting, plans for organising MDF activities in India were discussed.

* Subsequently, two of those, who had attended the Tenkasi meeting, went to Sri Lanka (the Eastern Province?), where they were to have another meeting with Abu Hamsa, but he did not turn up from Saudi Arabia. They, therefore, returned to Tamil Nadu without meeting him.

* Abu Hamsa alias Abdul Bari was wanted in connection with an explosion in Andhra Pradesh. He had given instructions to his contacts in Tamil Nadu to organise the activities of the MDF and also to float another organisation called New Vision to propagate Islam amongst the so-called backward classes of the Hindu community and recruit them for jihad.

* The associates of Abu Hamsa in Tamil Nadu were instructed to form an elite force to establish hide-outs and protect jihadi terrorists visiting Tamil Nadu and to recruit youth for training in jihad at an undisclosed destination in the Gulf.

* Amongst those arrested by the Tamil Nadu police during their investigation into the activities of the MDF was Noohu Thambi Hamid Bakri, an alleged sympathiser of the LET. He was stated to be the principal of the Ayesha Siddique Arabic College for Women at Kayalpattinam and also the President of the All-India Tauhid Jamath Federation. He also used to be associated with an organisation called the Kayal Islamic Defence Force, which is now believed to be dormant.

* It was Hamid Bakri, accompanied by one Zakkaria, who had met Abu Hamsa in Saudi Arabia and subsequently gone to Sri Lanka for another meeting, which did not materialise.In November, 2002, Zakkaria was allegedly in receipt of Rs.1,50,000 from Abu Hamsa in Saudi Arabia through hawala.


18. None of the reports relating to the unearthing of the activities of the MDF in Tamil Nadu had referred to any role of Basheer in this connection. However, his name again cropped up as possibly amongst the dramatis personae associated with the series of explosions in Mumbai since December, 2002.


19.For some years now there have been indicators of the clandestine creation of a jihadi web in Mumbai, south India and possibly in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, with the SIMI and the LET playing an active role in this matter, either in tandem or separately of each other. Much of the inspiration and financial support for this came from Indian and Pakistani jihadi activists in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.


20. The LET receives funds from the so-called charity organizations in Saudi Arabia. It has an office in Saudi Arabia to make recruitment of jihadis from the Indian Muslim community living in Saudi Arabia. It also recruits from Muslims of other countries visiting Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.


21. It would have been more useful if the Prime Minister had taken up with the Saudi authorities the question of their acting against the LET activities from Saudi territory and stopping the flow of funds to the LET from Saudi organizations. He should have also raised the issue of the activities of absconding SIMI elements from Saudi Arabia. ( 2-3-10)



( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: [email protected] )

 

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Capital suggestion

November 2

By Dr Farrukh Saleem
November 2 is what it's all about -- Mullah Baradar and Manmohan in Riyadh. American public opinion is what it is all about. November 2 is when Americans elect 435 members of the United States House of Representatives. November 2 is when Americans elect 36 new senators to the United States Senate. November 2 is when Americans elect 38 new governors. Between now and November 2, the game is all about America's mid-term elections.

On January 19, Obama had a great fall when Democrat Martha Coakley, the attorney-general of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lost and Republican Scott Brown, a truck-driver, won -- a seat Democrats haven't lost in 50 years. All the king's horses and all the king's men are now striving to put Humpty together again.

In this region, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and India have been recruited by a bitter American potion so that the Democrats can bear sweets on November 2. Democrats need to show American voters that they are winning Afghan trophies -- and a whole lot of Afghan trophies. The game is mostly about keeping Pakistan on a short leash and moulding American public opinion in order to make the Donkey -- Democratic Party's symbol -- win.

Yes, there indeed is an economic dimension to Saudi Arabia-India parleys. Saudi Arabia recognises that India is on its way to becoming an economic giant while India recognises that a robust economic machine needs to remain well-oiled. But, no Indian prime minister cared to visit the Kingdom in 28 years. Why now?

Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has long been about two things: to keep America's ruling elite in good humour and contain Iran (containment of Iran is where Saudi-American interests converge). India's foreign policy has also been about two things: internationally, India looks for energy sources to fuel its fast-growing economy and within the region India is Pakistan-centric, scheming to encircle, isolate and corner Pakistan.

Obama's Afghan policy has been all about confusion and indecision. It began as a massive 'surge' relying almost solely on military power. The surge was then coupled with a sharp increase in drone attacks and later on -- after the surge and drone attacks -- an element of 'negotiations with the reconcilable Taliban' was added.

Pakistan's counter-insurgency policy has been equally ambiguous and uncertain. It began by concluding 'peace agreements' with elements that were out to capture physical Pakistani terrain. Peace agreements were then followed by military operations against the Pakistani Taliban and only lately has there been a shift to tackling the Afghan Taliban operating out of Pakistani soil.

On February 4, Scott Brown was sworn in by Vice-President Biden as the 41st Republican member of the United States Senate. And, on February 4, President Obama's Democratic Party lost its supermajority in the Senate (supermajority is 60 per cent of votes required to 'bring out a vote of cloture to end a filibuster').

Democrats currently command an 18-seat majority in the Senate and a 77-seat majority in the House. A lot is at stake for Obama; losing the House would mean an end to Obama's agenda of 'change'. To be certain, Obama has a lot at his disposal, including Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. The king is hoping that all his horses and all his men will put Humpty together again.

PS. Pre- and post-election 2008: Atta was Rs13/kg, now it is Rs31/kg. Sugar was Rs21/kg now it is Rs70/kg. Petrol was Rs45/litre now it is Rs70/litre.



The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: [email protected]

 

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Singh’s SA visit worries Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia and taking part in the development activities there are nervous about the outcome of the recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom.

Their apprehension is that the Saudi policy may tilt towards India instead of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Umer Khan Alisherzai has assured fellow countrymen there that ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could not be harmed by any external factor.

According to reports from Jeddah, Pakistan’s ambassador has said that the two countries continue to enjoy excellent relations, which no other country can undermine. Alisherzai made the comments at a Pakistani community gathering in Jeddah the other day. Indians are claiming that Singh was accorded an unprecedented welcome in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia and India signing 10 key economic and political accords, including the kingdom’s first-ever extradition treaty. Saudi Arabia already had a similar arrangement with Pakistan.

The report suggests that Alisherzai was not impressed by the claims made by the Indian lobby in Saudi Arabia and said as Pakistan’s ambassador it was his responsibility to keep his community updated. According to him, Singh’s visit got so much importance because an Indian prime minister was there after a gap of 28 years.

The Saudi-Pak ties are time-tested and will grow with the passage of time, said the ambassador, adding that the Kingdom hosts a large number of Pakistanis who play an important role in the country’s economy. He advised his community not to become involved in politics and try to abide by the kingdom’s rules and regulations faithfully.

 

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India a partner in progress: Saudi Aramco
Big Fish: In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid al-Falih said India is not only a growing market for oil and gas but also for manufacturing goods exported from Saudi Arabia.

 

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India Saudi Package
India Saudi Package - GEO NEWS

 

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Saudi Arabia- Also a patron to Hafiz Sayeed?

Recently Prime Minister concluded his visit to Saudi Arabia. This is the first visit by any Indian Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia in the last 25 years. It is said to be very productive in strengthening relationship between the two countries. Apart from other agreements, both the countries also signed an extradition treaty. After this treaty, India can extradite from Saudi Arabia any wanted criminal who has committed any crime in India. But from this treaty can we conclude that Saudi Arabia has no role in the worldwide expansion of terrorism and its linkage with the worldwide movement of so-called 'Islamic Jihad'? Is Saudi Arabia as peace loving as it seems?

Before continuing, it is necessary to clarify that the Wahaabi ideology, which has become the biggest inspiration for Islamic terrorism, has its roots in Saudi Arabia itself. If Wahaabi ideology teaches to follow radical Islam, the same radical Islam defines the word 'Jihad' in its own way directly linking it to terrorism. Let's have a look at this Wahaabi ideology. An 18th century Muslim Scholar of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Ibne Abdul Wahaab started this radical mission of giving an extremist face to Islam. He stressed on promotion of so called 'Pure Islam'. The things he felt necessary, he termed them as Islamic and what he didn't like, he termed it as anti-Islam and non-Sharia. Wahaab was of the view that the Muslims, who do non-Islamic deeds (according to him), are also Kaafir (non believer). In a short time, he became very popular among the illiterate Arabs. During the expansion of this ideology, Wahaabi supporters created large scale armed disturbance in many parts of the world including the holy cities of Mecca and Madina. Consequently, so many innocent Muslim women, children and old people were killed. The same people destroyed the house where Prophet Mohammad was born. The supporters of this ideology also destroyed many mausoleums of Sufi saints. The same ideology made Saudi born Osama Bin Laden, the world's most dangerous terrorist.

When this Osama Bin Laden becomes the most wanted terrorist of the world, the same Saudi Arabian government disowns him and again becomes clean and peace loving. Moreover, Saudi Arabia never hesitates in speaking against Laden or other terrorists. Currently, Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, the chief of Pak-based Jamaat-Ud-Dawa has emerged as the biggest hurdle between India-Pakistan relations. He has become the world's most controversial and most wanted terrorist. His name tops the list of the perpetrators of 26/11 attack on Mumbai. The alone alive terrorist of 26/11 Ajmal Amir Kasab himself has admitted the involvement of Hafiz Sayeed in the attack. He has also admitted that his training took place at terrorist training camp at Muridke in Pakistan. This training centre is operated by Jamaat-Ud-Dawa. At New Delhi in the foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan on February 25, the dossiers submitted by India to the Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir include the demand of handing over of 34 terrorists including Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed to India. On this Pakistan has made clear that it will never give Hafiz Sayeed to India.

After the 25 February talks, Hafiz Sayeed gave his interview to a TV channel in Pakistan. In this interview, he told that his education in Saudi Arabia has a major influence on his thinking and working. Possibly, as a result of the same radical education, instead of face he put his back in front of the camera. On being asked by the journalist, he said that capturing a picture is not allowed in Sharia. Notably, Hafiz Sayeed was a professor of Islamic studies. And now he is running many Madrasas, hospitals, many NGOs and spreading Jihadi ideology under Jamaat-Ud-Dawa. He himself admits that his mission is to connect with Muslims through Jamaat, to 'reform' them and to 'spread Islamic education on global scale'.

After 26/11, Pakistan house arrested Hafiz Sayeed under Indian pressure. At that time, Mr. Abdul Salam from Saudi Arabia mediated between Hafiz Sayeed and the Pak government. This incident compels us to think about the reason of sympathy of Saudi Arabia towards Hafiz Sayeed. After this settlement, Hafiz Sayeed was not only freed, in fact since then he started doing rallies in major cities of Pakistan calling for jihad against India. General Zia Ul Haq, the military dictator of Pakistan, who gave Islam an extremist face in Pakistan, also had the hand of Saudi Arabia on his head. The mention of one more incident would be relevant. When General Parvez Musharraf thrown out the Nawaz Sharif government and put Nawaz Sharif behind bars, at that time also Saudi Arabia provided full help to Nawaz Sharif in saving him from Gen. Musharraf and called Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia. This instance is enough to understand that Saudi Arabia not only keeps a close watch at every political happening in Pakistan but also has a considerable say in Pak politics.

The irony is while Indian Prime Minister visits Saudi Arabia to strengthen the bilateral relations and by doing his unprecedented welcome, the royal family there is also trying to convey to the world that India and Saudi Arabia are progressing on the path of friendship. At the same time, the same Saudi Arabia is providing financial assistance to, many Pak based such organisations including Jamaat-Ud-Dawa, who are active in anti-India terrorist activities. Hafiz Sayeed has expressed his support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is the most dangerous Pak based terrorist organisation and was also involved in February 26 attack on Indian Medical Mission in Kabul. During his interview, he said that he is with not only LeT but with every such organisation which is doing 'jihad for the independence of Kashmir'. While defining Jihad in his own way, he says that the effort made to defend yourself from an attacker is jihad. According to him, the effort he is making to save the Kashmiri Muslims from the Indian Army is jihad.

This terrorist Hafiz Sayeed also terms the militant struggle in Kashmir as right and calls the terrorists involved in it as freedom fighters. Though he denied his involvement in attacks on Indian Parliament and 26/11, but when asked what he means by 'one Mumbai is not enough', he had no answer to that. He also called on the Pakistan government to declare jihad against India or else the religious leaders of Pakistan would themselves decide to declare jihad against India. He says that every child of Pakistan and every member of Jamaat-Ud-Dawa is ready to fight against India.

Above situation is certainly a matter of concern for India. Apart from the terrorist activities in Pakistan, the world should also notice the roots of those extremist activities in Saudi Arabia, as a result of which the roots of communalism and Islamic sectarianism are rapidly & deeply spreading in the world. The price which Pakistan has paid for the Saudi patronisation of Zia-Ul-Haq to Hafiz Sayeed, is entirely visible not only to the Pakistani people but to the entire world.

 

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India-Saudi Arabia relations: An appraisal
Written on March 23rd, 2010 in Editor's page Comments Off

(Written on March 4, 2010 by K.N. Pandita)

Inveterate critics did not fail to find fault with Prime Minister’s recent interaction with his Saudi counterparts in Riyadh. Unable to catch him on the wrong foot – if at all there was anything by that name – the opposition raised ruckus on junior minister Shahshi Tharoor’s minor departure from a diplomat’s usual practice of mincing words.

Cut and dried evaluation of Indo-Saudi relations is usually fraught with contradictions. Various conflicting factors are at play making quick assessment only fallible. Saudi is an autocratic monarchy, heavily conditioned by its theocratic pre-eminence in global strategy and the patriarchic profile of the kingdom among the Muslim states and masses. On the other hand, India is a secular democracy where the government is answerable to the people for its actions and policies. Consequently, it requires astute statesmanship on both sides to conduct bilateral dialogue on an even keel without jeopardizing respective national interests.

Our strategic relations with Saudi Kingdom had been adversely affected by latter’s close ties with Pakistan. Pakistani army contingent comprises the elite bodyguard of the King Saud’s ruling house. Saudis never contradicted having underwritten financial support to Pakistan’s nuclear enterprise. It supported Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir conflict during 1971 war.

On the other hand, India, as an ally of the erstwhile Soviet Union during the cold war period did not condemn Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and maintained neutrality during the gulf War of 1990-91.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was an event of far-reaching consequences for India’s relations with the Islamic world in general but with the Saudi in particular. Saudis as the custodians of the holiest centre of Islamic religion rightly thought it incumbent upon them to save Muslims – the believers in Allah – from the stranglehold of atheists (kafirs). This resulted in the most bizarre and historic trilateral cooperation among the governments and intelligence establishments of three countries, namely the US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In the history of international perfidious espionage, there is no parallel to the secrecy and efficiency with which three notorious intelligence czars carried out their mission of subterfuge in Afghanistan. The mujahideen, now turned Taliban, are the product of that conspiracy hatched by the triumvirate of Robert Gates, Prince al-Turki and General Hamid Gul.

Saudi monarchy had every reason to stick to its Wahhabi ideological lever for its own survival especially when simultaneous with Afghan crisis Iran’s Ayatollahs had mounted direct attack on their claim of being the frontline custodians of the interest of Muslim ummmah. The Saudi kingdom was to taste Islamic terror much before it spilled over to other parts of the world.

Riyadh lost no time in refurbishing its Sunni Muslim constituency world-wide, including Kashmir where the sister of the monarch, closely linked to Saudi intelligence chapter, stayed in the house of a well-known houseboat owner and businessman in Rajbagh for nearly years (1980-82) promoting her secret mission. That Saudis played a constructive role in normalizing strained relations between the National Conference and Jamat-e Islami in the aftermath of attacks on Jamatis following the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is a story now known to all. Sheikh Abdullah chartered an airplane to take his entire family on umrah to Saudi Arabia and at the same time thank the Saudi monarch for bringing about rapprochement back home.

But conditions changed rapidly after the end of cold war and the implosion of the Soviet Union. In a newly unfolded political scenario, the most dangerous enemy of the Saudi monarchy and the strength of Islamic faith, namely communism, had been buried, Wahhabi upsurge had successfully neutralized “export of ayatollah-brand “Islamic revolution”, and twin-cities of Islam had emerged triumphant as the decisive factor in Islamic politics and strategies …

Having fortified its position politically and strategically Saudi Arabia stumbled on a new role for itself in regional and international strategies. It was buttressed by oil diplomacy now crucial to the world economy in general but to developing economies in particular. Two Asian giants, China and India were in great need of energy sources to move forward along the path of industrial and technical development. Saudi is the world largest supplier of oil.

On the other hand, both China and India, responding to the pragmatism of current situation, moved away from Russian sphere of influence and chartered their new paths for economic, industrial and technological advancement. Riyadh and New Delhi both realized that cooperation in new environments was inevitable as well as desirable. The official visit of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to New Delhi in January 2006, where he was entertained as the guest of honour on India’s Republic Day, saw the signing of Delhi Declaration in which, among other things, the Saudi monarch recognized the threat of terrorism to peace and stability in the region.

9/11 indirectly brought US pressure on Riyadh when it was found that some religious extremist organizations functioning in different parts of the world received cash doles from the gulf kingdom where they had their premiers. The ar-Rabita had patronized organizations and institutions that now looked beyond the role played by the mujahideen. The dream of world Islamic caliphate began haunting these premiers. Thus as the US brought pressures on Riyadh to choke the funding sources of terrorist groups, freeze their deposits and curtail their activities and operations, the monarchy thought that time was ripe to wriggle out of Western and American monopolizing grip and seek alternative economic and commercial space. Hence came to fore the ‘Look East’ strategy.

It was in pursuance of this strategy that King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz had conducted a tour of four South East Asian countries including China and India in 2006. Finding economic and commercial depth for his country eastward was the main purpose of the visit. And the visit of Indian prime minister to Riyadh on 27 February 2010 in response has to be understood in the light of this historical background.

As a mark of goodwill gesture, when New Delhi assured Riyadh that it seriously wanted normalization of relations with Pakistan and addressing grievances of people in Kashmir, Riyadh indicated its willingness to support India’s request for observer status in the OIC. India had first tried with Iran but finding Teheran very belligerent towards the US, she changed stance.

Undoubtedly energy is the driving force behind Indo-Saudi friendly relations. India is the fourth largest recipient of Saudi crud oil. It is expected that in next twenty years crude imports from Saudi will double. Export of Saudi crude oil to India, for which the Saudis made a commitment of uninterrupted supply, is the jugular vein of Indo-Saudi trade relationship. When India voted against Iran’s nuclear programme in IAEA, Tehran reneged on its oil commitments to India. But the Saudis proved dependable friends.

Interestingly, Saudi oil flow to India was a mere trickle in 2006 when King Abdullah, had embarked on his landmark visit to New Delhi to launch his path-breaking “Look East” policy of engaging the powerful emerging economies of Asia in Saudi Arabia’s quest to reduce its dependence on oil through economic diversification. The visit of the Saudi monarch in 2006 had resulted in his country replacing the UAE as India’s number one crude oil resource, with exports jumping from $500 million to $23 billion in 2008. Today, Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner with bilateral trade being valued at over $25 billion. Indian investments in Saudi Arabia have also increased significantly. There are over 550 small and medium Indian enterprises in the Kingdom with a total value of more than $2.5 billion.

Today there are nearly 2 million Indians engaged in developmental enterprises in Saudi Arabia and they constitute the largest expatriate community. Foreign remittances amount to nearly 4 billion dollars annually. In turn, the Kingdom is the largest source of crude oil for India, meeting 20 percent of India’s oil imports.

Indian opposition raised question about the Prime Minister asking the Saudis to impress upon Pakistan that she must wind up terrorist camps on her soil working against India. Unfortunately, the deeper nuances of Prime Minister raising the issue with the Saudis have been missed. Saudi – Pak relationship is far deeper than what we know of. It is well known that proliferation of Saudi money to Indian religious schools (madrassahs) numbering anything between 8000 and 40000 has become catalyst to the growth of salafi radical movement in India. It has taken advantage of India’s liberal political environment. Deviating from its old secular and nationalist attitude, the Ahle- Hadith have pandered to salafi thought and inducted radical curricula for the inmates of the madrassahs. Liberal Saudi funding has gone to mosques, madrassahs and publishing houses promoting salafi ideology. Saudi scholarships are made available to Indian students for studying religion in Saudi institutions with outright salafi orientation. On their return these students-mullas preach the same ideology into which their indoctrination has been made. The returnees take on themselves to exploit the susceptibilities of younger generations on Indian Muslims. Transfer of Saudi money through hawala system has been found as the means of providing financial support to the radical organizations and activities without being detected by sleuths.

In this entire unhealthy and anti-national maneuvering, Pakistani ISI has been grabbing all available opportunities to destabilize relations with India and disrupt peace effort in the region. It was therefore, in fitness of things that the Prime Minister asked the Saudi monarch to draw Pakistan’s attention to the fact that continuation of anti-India terrorism in one form or the other on Pakistani soil does not help stabilize peace in the region.

 

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India sniffs opportunities in S Arabia

New Delhi: The Saudi Arabia 2010 budget includes an unprecedented $69.3 billion for new and existing infrastructure projects in the areas of power generation, construction, and transportation, throwing huge opportunities for India. India’s business will have an opportunity to discuss these projects when a high-level business delegation led by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Riyadh’s Emir, arives on a week long visit at the end of the week.

The five-day visit from April 11-15, of the governor is at the invitation of the vice-president Hamid Ansari. It is a follow-up after Prime minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the Kingdom recently. The projects cover a wide spectrum including education, health, security, social and municipal services, water, sanitary drainage, roads, electronic commerce and scientific research support. The visiting governor will address industry captains at a meeting organised jointly by Ficci and Assocham. His agenda also includes calling on president Prathibha Patil and meet with the vice president. Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Faisal Trad said, “Both countries are very serious about further developing their strategic partnership after the signing in February of the historic Riyadh Declaration.” India and Saudi Arabia decided to take their existing bilateral cooperation to a strategic partnership covering security, economic, defense and political areas.

 

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Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman to visit India April 11-15

Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, the Governor of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, will visit India from April 11-15 at the invitation of Vice-President M Hamid Ansari.


During the visit, Prince Salman will call on President Pratibha Patil and hold substantive discussions with Mr Ansari on matters of mutual interest. He will also address the Indian business community.


An official press release said India and Saudi Arabia have historic and friendly relations which have deepened and diversified over a period of time. The ties got an impetus with the recent landmark visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the kingdom from February 27 to March 1.


Saudi Arabia is an important trading and energy security partner of India. The bilateral trade between India and Saudi Arabia during 2008-2009 exceeded $ 25 billion.


Prince Salman's visit will further strengthen these ties, the release added.

 

[ejazr]

‘India a strategic partner’

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Apr 13, 2010 01:55 Updated: Apr 13, 2010 01:57

NEW DELHI: Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman held talks with Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari here on Monday and highlighted the strategic relations between the two countries. “India is a strategic partner of Saudi Arabia,” Prince Salman told reporters.

Prince Salman expressed hope that Saudi-India relations would reach new heights in coming years. “I wish continued progress and prosperity for India and its people,” the prince added.

The governor said the landmark visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to New Delhi in January 2006 was instrumental in bolstering bilateral ties. “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Riyadh recently and signed several strategic agreements,” the prince said citing growing relations between the two Asian economic giants.

During the meeting, Ansari shared with the governor the pleasant memories of his time in Saudi Arabia as Indian ambassador and commended Prince Salman for his support in strengthening Saudi-Indian relations.

Meanwhile, Prince Salman met with Indian business and industrial leaders and spoke about the age-old relations between the two countries. “Saudi Arabia is a friend of India and our relations are growing day by day,” he added.

Prince Salman expressed hope that economic relations between the two countries would gain strength. “Saudi Arabia is a free and open economy,” the governor said, urging Indian businessmen and industrialists to establish stronger ties with the Kingdom.

In his welcome address, the chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting more than 1.5 million Indian workers and nearly 140,000 Indian Haj pilgrims. He said India had achieved a nine percent growth rate during the past two years. Two-way trade with Saudi Arabia reached $25 billion in 2008. He indicated India’s plan to invest in the Kingdom’s railways, telecom and technology sectors.

Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, invited Indian businessmen to invest in the Kingdom’s vital industrial, electricity, desalination, railway, education and health sectors.

Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot voiced India’s desire to boost relations with Saudi Arabia.

Earlier in the day, Prince Salman and his accompanying delegation visited the Saudi school in Delhi.

 

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Saudis in India


Saudi-Indian relations are nothing new as they have been strong for many decades. However today this relationship has taken on another dimension and is more vital. In 2006, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz visited India as a guest on Indian Republic Day and the King and his country received a warm welcome.

A month ago, the Indian Prime Minister [Manmohan Singh] visited the Saudi capital and this visit saw the inception of what was called the ‘Riyadh Declaration’ which led to the strengthening of Saudi-Indian ties and took the relationship to another level. Today, we see Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz visiting India and the hospitable welcome he received from India on all levels; political, economic, and educational.

The importance of Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz’s visit to India lies in the fact that it comes within an ongoing framework to activate and strengthen Saudi-Indian relations. It is also important because it shows the seriousness of Saudi interaction with India. The other matter which is equally important is strengthening communication with India in all areas. This is for the sake of strengthening ties, as mentioned above, and in order to establish communication on the ground for citizens and businessmen, whereby there is activation of visa issues, economic sector activity is facilitated, and there is security cooperation between the two countries etc.

India has important international status, scientifically, economically and politically, and it is also a nuclear power. Saudi Arabia also has an important status as well, in terms of religion, politics, economics and more. Therefore, it is important that there is an effective relationship between Saudi Arabia and India that is firstly of benefit to the two countries and secondly of international benefit, politically and economically.

Some might think that the focus on the communication process is simplification but that is not true. A journalist from an Indian newspaper in New Delhi told me a story on Monday and it deserves to be retold to highlight the importance of communication. On the sidelines of a meeting arranged by the Saudi Ambassador to India, Faisal Bin al Trad, for myself and the Editor-in-Chief of Al Riyadh newspaper, Mr. Turki al Sudairi, to meet with some Indian journalists, a journalist told me that what significantly improved the image of Saudis in India recently was a story that has no relation whatsoever to the Riyadh Declaration or the projects that are due to be carried out or the excellent way in which the Indian Prime Minister was received last month in Riyadh. The story in fact was a very simple one.

The journalist told me that when the Indian Prime Minister visited Riyadh, New Delhi asked the Saudis a simple question: would the wife of the prime minister have to wear an Abaya or not? The answer from Riyadh was: that is up to you!

The Indian journalist said that this story touched the Indian media and even those who were not keen on consolidating Indian-Saudi ties. It sent a message to Indian society that the image of Saudi Arabia is not what some people make it out to be.

This story shows the importance of communication and getting to know societies closely instead of giving precedence to the prevailing stereotype. Every society has its own particularities that must be respected. There is no harm in the Indian woman being proud of the Sari that she wears and the Saudi woman being proud of the Abaya that she wears. But what’s most important is that we respect the traits of each society so that others respect our traits and our traditions.

From here, [it is evident that] communication is most important and if Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz’s visit to India is solely for the sake of communication, that would be more than enough

 

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Indo-Saudi Ties Looking Up

By Madhav Nalapat


For those who can live without alcohol and such staples of daily life as discos, Saudi Arabia would pose few difficulties. Indeed, some may prefer it to locations where the incidence of muggings and theft are greater and Riyadh and Dammam are as modern as Dubai, while even Jeddah has been spruced up over the past few years.

But of course, women are still not allowed to drive or participate in professions seen as male preserves, while throughout the system differing treatment gets meted out to Muslims and non-Muslims, including in matters of compensation. Throughout the Cold War, and despite nine centuries of close contact between parts of India and the Arabian peninsula, Riyadh and Delhi remained distant. This gap was especially apparent over Afghanistan, where Saudi Arabia joined with Pakistan and the US through the 1980s to train and fund religiously-motivated resistance fighters against the Soviet occupation forces. India was silent on the invasion by its Cold War ally, the USSR.

So the collapse of the USSR in 1991 ought to have opened the door to Indo-Saudi cooperation, and indeed, a successful visit took place in 2001 with India's External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh visiting Riyadh. But the events of 9/11 later that year, and the subsequent invasion in 2003 of Iraq, understandably took Saudi attention from India.

However, things have started to change. In 2006, King Abdullah was made the guest of honour at India's annual Republic Day Parade, and the Saudi entourage returned in a positive mood over the country that their close ally Pakistan loved to hate. Corporations in both countries began partnering with each other, and Riyadh began to pull back on its high-decibel backing for the Kashmiri separatists seeking to delink their state from India. That India was, together with China, the fastest-growing market for petroleum of course did not hurt.

After a BJP-led majority government was voted into office in 1999, military relations between the US and India deepened, and these days, there’s substantial joint activity between all three services. On April 23, the 10-day annual series of Malabar naval war games will start off the western coast of India, involving four US warships and a submarine, and with US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead in attendance. The growing strategic closeness between India and the US has encouraged Saudi Arabia to follow suit, given that the country still relies on Washington for protection from threats such as from Iran.

However, the core of the newfound Indo-Saudi warmth is not military but economic, and is based on India becoming a significant market for Saudi oil, gradually shifting Delhi's dependence on Iran. From India, the Saudis are looking at education service providers. Seventy percent of Saudi Arabia's population is under 25, and it’s proving too expensive to rely exclusively on Western institutions for their training.

Although Saudi Arabia still bans the cinema, the efforts of religious hotheads to outlaw TV have not succeeded. Most homes have access to cable, so they can tune in to Bollywood soaps or watch the latest Shahrukh Khan movie on DVDs. After six decades of distance, the Saudis are once more in the process of re-discovering the many cultural links that they have with India.

 

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'Centre will act tough on erring Saudi firms'​

First Published : 11 Jul 2010 05:00:17 AM IST
Last Updated : 11 Jul 2010 10:12:12 AM IST

KOCHI: Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad has said that the Indian authorities were planning to bring in a system for blacklisting companies and their owners, who harass Indian employees in Saudi Arabia.

He was speaking at a reception accorded to him by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. To avoid such incidents it was important to prevent people going abroad with fake passports and through other fraudulent measures, the Ambassador said.

The Ambassador asked the trading community in India to come forward to set up jointventures with Saudi Arabian trades. Saudi Arabia is going through a phase of political reforms and self examination.

In the wake of the agreement on energy security partnership between India and Saudi Arabia, new relationships are being formed between the two countries in political, cultural, and economic sectors.

"The relationship at the political level, include intelligence and security sharing, defence partnership, and political dialogues. Similarly, there is the need of cultural engagement, which will give exposure to each other, and finally an economic cooperation which will bring in a qualitative change in the relationship," he said.

Talmiz Ahmad asked the trading community here to focus on jointventures with Saudi Arabia in that country. "The challenge before us is to make the presence of Indian corporate sector in Saudi. There are big trading opportunities and challenges," he said, adding that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector could benefit from trade with Saudi.

He said initiatives in the energyrelated sector, tourism, technology and services sector are going to be more crucial as the country had signed a partnership with Saudi for cooperation in these areas. "They are focusing more on technology and infrastructure development. These are the areas where we can contribute," he said.

Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Jasbir Singh Chawla and former president Anwar Hashim were also present.

 

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INDIA: Universities eyeing foreign campuses​

Government-funded institutions are not far behind. The proposal to set up an IIT campus in Qatar has been given an initial go-ahead.

While India's Education Ministry has traditionally been opposed to IITs or IIMs venturing abroad, arguing that 'elite' educational institutions must focus their energies on India alone, the new leadership in the ministry is keen for Brand India to make a mark abroad.

Brand IIM is also set to go global. IIM Ahmedabad is already in talks with several countries to set up a campus abroad.

"We want to make an international move and are looking at China, Malaysia and South-East Asian countries. We also want to strengthen our research infrastructure and ambience," said a senior professor at IIMA in charge of administration.

IIM Bangalore has floated the idea of an international campus in Singapore in a vision document it has submitted to the education ministry.

Education Minister Kapil Sibal said in a meeting with the IIMs last October that "in principle, the government of India has no objection to setting up an IIM abroad".

 

[ejazr]

Indo-Saudi trade grows remarkably

By SAYEED AHMED BABA, CONSUL GENERAL OF INDIA, JEDDAH

Published: Aug 15, 2010 04:39 Updated: Aug 15, 2010 05:33

AS we celebrate our 63rd anniversary of Independence Day, I extend my warm wishes to Indian nationals, Persons of Indian Origin and friends of India residing in the Western province of Saudi Arabia.

India is today an economic power and the world recognizes that the Indian route to economic progress has been a more stable and sustainable one. The steady acceleration to 5.5 percent growth from 1980 to the year 2000 and to nearly 9 percent since 2004 has shown the world that India is an economic power. Despite many changes in the government with different political parties wielding power in New Delhi and in the states, there has been no reversal of the process of the economic reform and liberalization in the past 19 years. Successive governments have taken forward the process and the Indian economy is today more globally integrated than ever before.

Ever since the historical visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in January 2006, both India and Saudi Arabia have been working toward upgrading bilateral relations in the fields of politics, economy as well as people-to-people interactions.

The visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in February 2010 has heralded a new era in Saudi-India relations.

Keeping in view the development of relations between the two countries, and the potential for further growth, the two leaders signed the "Riyadh Declaration" which outlines a "new era of strategic partnership" between the two countries in security, economic, defense and political areas. The two leaders also reiterated their desire to develop as knowledge-based economies, particularly focussing on information technology, space science and frontier technologies.

During the visit, Premier Singh had the honor to address the Shoura Council, where his speech was warmly received by the members.

Indo-Saudi economic relations have also shown remarkable growth with the bilateral trade registering threefold increase in the last five years. India is the fourth largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia and the bilateral trade was $25.03 billion in 2008-09. Energy cooperation is an important aspect of bilateral economic ties and both sides are working towards the strategic energy partnership.

The Indian expatriate community in the Kingdom has played a pivotal role in enhancing the image of our country. The Indian Diaspora here has emerged as a vibrant and dynamic section of the society.

They have earned extraordinary love, warmth and dignity in the hearts of our Saudi brothers and sisters by their sense of dedication, discipline and quality of output at work places. I take this opportunity to acknowledge their contribution and to look forward to such positive initiatives from different sections of the Indian community for the general good of all.

The Consulate General of India, Jeddah remains committed to extend its best possible services to the Indian diaspora in the western province of Saudi Arabia. The well-being of the Indian community remains our top priority.

Jai Hind.

 

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India to coordinate with Saudi efforts in executing amnesty plan​

JEDDAH: India has welcomed the Kingdom's decision to give amnesty to visa overstayers, as its nationals staying illegally could benefit from the latest move of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

"India is thankful for the gesture and will assist in sending home the Indians who had failed to return home after their visas expired," Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi told a press conference at the Consulate General of India on Thursday.

Ravi, who also later addressed a public reception held in his honor at the consulate, said he would hold high-level meetings with the Kingdom's authorities during his visit to Riyadh from Friday and discuss the amnesty decision as well as certain labor issues facing Indian workers.

When his attention was drawn to the issue of "huroob" with some sponsors declaring their workers as absconding in order to get papers from authorities to get new visas and make money, the minister said: "I have heard that some Indian workers are facing this problem and will take up this matter with Saudi authorities. I know that the Saudi government will never accept this illegal business and will take action against such visa traders," he said. In fact, he added, he had received such complaints and this issue would also be raised in his official discussion in Riyadh.

The amnesty for illegal residents from all countries will be in place over the next six months. Those who fail to take advantage of the amnesty will face imprisonment and fines.

Indian Consul General Sayeed Ahmed Baba said the consulate was still awaiting an official communication about the amnesty decision. "Whatever information we have is through the media. We will be meeting concerned officials next week and then streamline our efforts for the benefit of overstaying Indians. The consulate will open a special 'May I help you' counter to help the overstayers and organize their return home under the amnesty plan," Baba said.

The minister added that his ministry, in cooperation with the diplomatic mission, was considering plans to extend legal assistance to needy workers. The problems of housemaids have been solved to a great extent with the joint efforts of New Delhi and its mission here, after fixing the entitlement of minimum salary. He assured that a large chunk of the contribution toward the ever-expanding Community Welfare Fund collected through consular services, would be spent on the community welfare here.

Ravi also gave a briefing on the next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, an annual exercise by his ministry to engage the diaspora. The overseas Indians Day events will be held Jan. 7-9 as always to coincide with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. Earlier, in October, the ministry will organize this year's mini Pravasi Divas in Durban, in association with the provincial government of South Africa to acknowledge Gandhi's South Africa link.

In the January event, the ministry will focus on youth, trying to get the younger generation of Indians abroad to know and invest in the country of their forefathers. And the ministry will showcase the opportunities in eight Northeast states.

According to him, remittances from non-resident Indians amounted to $53 billion, 36 percent of it from the Gulf alone. "Several investment avenues are available in different states under the public private partnership program, which can be considered by the NREs," he said, adding that a forthcoming meeting of state chief ministers will focus on such investments.

Asked about the hardships faced by students in pursuing higher studies here and admission problems in India's professional institutions due to high donations, Ravi said: "There are any number of government institutions in Kerala and other parts of India where expatriate students can seek admission for higher and professional courses."

In a separate interview, Ravi told Arab News that New Delhi would also negotiate with Air India and Saudi Arabian Airlines to transport the affected Indians at the lowest possible fare. "We'll make use of the Community Welfare Fund at the diplomatic mission for those overstayers who need financial assistance, especially to purchase tickets," he added. According to unofficial reports, there are nearly 200,000 Indian overstayers in Saudi Arabia, especially those who overstayed their Haj, Umrah and visit visas.

"Of course, our embassy and consulates will need more employees to help these large numbers to leave the Kingdom within six months. I will meet with officials at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi to discuss the prospects of making temporary appointments of staff and speed up procedures," he said. He hoped that the mission will make use of the services of local Indian organizations for the purpose.

Asked about the Indian government's efforts to reduce the problem of Indian overstayers in the Kingdom, the minister said, "We have been telling our people not to go to Saudi Arabia and other countries without proper work visas and necessary documents." However, he pointed out that some recruitment agencies were still sending people to the Gulf without proper visas or jobs, creating problems for workers as well as governments.

Overseas Indian Cultural Congress President Pappatta Kunhi Muhammad said his organization would open a help desk in Sharafiya, Jeddah to provide necessary assistance to overstayers such as filling of forms and completing consulate procedures.

Speaking about the purpose of his visit, Ravi said: "I came to meet with officials of various associations here in order to find possible solutions for the various problems facing Indian workers. We need more staff at Indian missions and greater representation of Keralites being the largest single Indian community in the Kingdom."

He emphasized the need for establishing an Indian school in Makkah. "There are many Indian families living in Makkah. They need a school there. It's a legitimate demand." Regarding higher educational institutions, he said it could be realized with the support of the Saudi government and NRI businessmen and other wealthy people

He commended the Saudi government's services to Indian workers. "Saudi-Indian relations have improved considerably, especially after King Abdullah's visit to New Delhi in January 2006. Bilateral relations, including trade exchange, have increased. Our Prime Minister maintains warm relations with King Abdullah," the minister said, adding that the Indian government would do everything possible to strengthen these relations further. Replying to another question, Ravi said there was no decrease in Indian manpower export to Saudi Arabia. The number of people recruited in 2009 was lower than the previous years because of economic reasons.

 

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Senior Saudi and Indian officials to meet to review progress on 'Riyadh Declaration'​

RIYADH: Senior Saudi and Indian officials will hold a meeting here on Tuesday to resolve the controversy surrounding the recent imposition of anti-dumping duties by India on the imports of polypropylene.
"The anti-dumping issue will be on the agenda besides many other topics of common interest for the two strategic partners," said Saudi Ambassador to India Faisal H. Trad speaking by phone from New Delhi. "I am confident that this anti-dumping issue will be solved once and for all in near future."

The two-day meeting, he said, will be a follow-up panel's meeting that will review the agenda of the Joint Economic Commission and also review the progress made on bilateral subjects contained in the landmark Riyadh Declaration that was endorsed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Feb. 28.

Trad spoke on various aspects of Saudi-Indo relations, including bilateral agreements signed during the visit of the Indian premier and the Haj arrangements. He pointed out that about 170,000 pilgrims from India will perform Haj this year.

"The Saudi Embassy in New Delhi has already endorsed about 25,000 Haj visas, while our Mumbai-based consulate has stamped more than 70,000 visas so far," he added. "By the end of September, all the visas will be given."

The missions, he said, had also been distributing pamphlets and literature to educate pilgrims about Haj in general and about the safety measures and Haj rituals in particular before they depart.


Referring to his talks with Indian Minister of Finance Pranab Mukherjee last week, he said the minister assured he would look into the issue of anti-dumping and pledged to resolve it as soon as possible.

"The Kingdom and India are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and they comply with the regulatory provisions of this world trade body," said the diplomat, adding that the economies of the Kingdom and India are inextricably linked through networks of trade.

He pointed out that Mukherjee had also spoken to Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza recently on various issues of bilateral interest including anti-dumping duties. To this end, he noted that a business delegation led by Alireza is scheduled to visit India in November. These exchanges, he said, would further strengthen commercial and cultural ties.

Trad said that India has emerged as the fifth largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia.

Trade between Riyadh and New Delhi has increased from $300 million in 2000 to $28 billion in 2009, with Riyadh becoming the largest supplier of energy to India, he noted.

By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN

© Arab News 2010

 

[ajtr]

India-Saudi relations will continue to blossom: Envoy​

2010-09-24 18:00:00
New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) Saudi Arabia's envoy to India Faisal Bin Hassan Trad hopes that the bilateral relations between the two nations 'will continue to blossom' with high-level exchange of visits in near future.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the Saudi National Day celebrations here Thursday evening, he said more Indian Muslims will be allowed to perform Haj pilgrimage this year than the last.

'The excellent bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia will continue to blossom. There will be an exchange of very high level delegations between the two countries in the near future,' Trad said.

The Saudi embassy in New Delhi had arranged a get-together to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Saudi Arabia's National Day. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur was a special guest at the reception at the Taj Palace hotel. Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and MoS Railways E. Ahamed also attended the event.

Trad commended the 'longstanding cordial ties' between the two countries which, he said, are 'based on the brotherhood, understanding and mutual respect among leaders and people'.

The envoy said the India-Saudi relations had a long history that goes back to early times. 'People to people contact between the Indians and Arabs is very old. For centuries they have been in contact for trade, culture and other exchanges,' he said.

He said that there had been a 'remarkable' upswing in the volume of trade between the two countries.

Bilateral trade has grown to $28 billion as Saudi Arabia is one of the major suppliers of crude oil to India.

On the November Haj pilgrimage to Makkah and Medina, the two holy cities in Saudi, Trad said that his country would give visas to as many Indian Muslims as possible.

'Whatever our Indian friends come to us and say this is our number (of Haj pilgrims), they will get it. In fact, this year there was an increase. It is 170,000. So it is indeed an increase than last year,' he said.

Saudi Arabia's National Day dates back to 1932 when the kingdom's founder, the late King Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Al-Saud united the country ending a long-time dispute among various tribes and entities.

The ceremony began with the national anthems of the two countries being played out.

Trad, clad in a thawb - an ankle length gown and a keffiyeh - a large checkered square scarf held over head by a cord coil, later met the dignitaries and offered them dates before a lavish dinner.

Heads of various foreign missions in New Delhi were also present.

 

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Saudi Embassy in India to have new building soon​

RIYADH: Saudi Ambassador to India Faisal H. Trad has said the Kingdom will have its own building to house the embassy in New Delhi in about two years.

Speaking to Arab News by phone on Sunday, Trad said the building would be located in the posh Chanakyapuri area of the Indian capital.

The embassy, Trad said, has contracted an Indian company to construct the new chancery within next 28 months from now.

"I hope it will be landmark building and add to the beauty and profile of the place," he added.

On the cultural front, he said that a goodwill mission of Indian women will visit Saudi Arabia next month. The group will be composed of seven women belonging to different professions like journalism, law, business and social work.

"I want them to have a better understanding of the role of women in Saudi society, which is increasing rapidly, locally as well as globally," he added.

He said he was also working on a major youth exchange project as part of the cultural cooperation between the two countries. This will pave the way for the exchange of visits of Saudi and Indian youth delegations, which will go a long way in promoting friendship and understanding, he observed.

Saudi Arabia is home to over two million Indian workers, who represent roughly 25 percent of the total expatriate work force in the country.

 

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Saudi Arabia to halt Indian worker abuse​

RIYADH // Labour issues were high on the agenda of a top-level Indian delegation during its recent visit to Saudi Arabia, where officials have just announced a six-month amnesty permitting illegal foreigners to leave the kingdom without penalties.

The Indian minister for overseas affairs, Vaayalar Ravi, was pleased with his discussions with Saudi officials, according to the Indian ambassador, Talmiz Ahmed, who said the Saudis promised increased enforcement of their labour laws to ease difficulties faced by an estimated 1.8 million Indians working here.

"The minister returned [home] with great happiness," Mr Ahmed said, adding that his visit was part of "an ongoing interaction we have at the ministerial level".

Mr Ravi's visit reflects the renewed attention by both countries to their bilateral ties, which got a huge boost in February when Manmohan Singh made a three-day visit here, the first by an Indian prime minister in 28 years. Indira Gandhi visited in 1982.
Mr Singh, who was reciprocating King Abdullah's 2006 visit to India, said his trip "reflects the strong mutual desire of both countries to reinvigorate our relations".

This mutual desire arises largely from geo-strategic concerns, said Theodore Karasik, director of research and development for the Dubai-based think tank Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (Inegma).

"There are different hot spots that they would like to coordinate on, including Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. And "as we move into 2011, when there might be big changes in South Asia," he added, it is in the interest of both countries to have enhanced relations.

Saudi Arabia's "move to the East", exemplified in its greater attention to both India and China, is meant "to make Saudi foreign policy more dynamic", Mr Karasik said.
A by-product of closer Saudi-Indian ties could be better working conditions for Indian expatriates in the kingdom, Mr Karasik added.

Mr Ahmed said that in bilateral talks, Mr Ravi briefed the Saudis on a new Indian government programme to computerise and make accessible through Indian embassies in the Gulf all the details about each Indian worker in every Gulf country.

Called E-Migration, the programme will be tested first in the UAE starting in about a month, and then spread to other Gulf countries, Mr Ahmed said.

Mr Ravi, who met the vice governor of Riyadh, Prince Sattam, and the deputy minister of labour, Abdulwaheed al Humaid, also raised the problem of Saudi sponsors who falsely inform the government that their foreign labourer has absconded to get a new visa to bring another worker into the country. This abuse, called haroob, is harmful to the labourer because he then winds up having illegal status.

"Our workers complain that sometimes an employer is dissatisfied and rather than send his employee back to India, he declares that he has escaped," Mr Ahmed said. "The Saudi government is familiar with the problem and they told us that if a worker is declared missing now, the employer will not be issued a new visa automatically.
[Instead, officials] will look into these matters in greater detail "¦ So we were quite satisfied with that."

As for the six-month amnesty announced on September 21, Mr Ahmed said his government is still waiting for "clarifications" on how it would work and most importantly, whether it would apply to expatriate workers, as well as to those who have overstayed visas given for pilgrimage to Mecca.

Mr Ahmed said Indians working illegally in the kingdom "would not be more than 30,000 to 40,000".

"So far, they have not set out details of any scheme, so we have to see the small print of how they intend to handle this," Mr Ahmed said of the announced amnesty. One of the main questions his government has, he said, is whether an illegal worker who comes forward can get his status adjusted and remain here working.

When the UAE offered an amnesty for illegal workers in 2007, about 100,000 Indians returned home and a further 40,000 were permitted to regularise their job status and stay working, Mr Ahmed said.

The embassies of other countries with large expatriate populations in the kingdom also said they were waiting for details of the programme. "We haven't heard a word from the Saudi authorities yet," said Paulo Saret, a vice consul at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. "We want to know the parameters of it before we disseminate any information to our nationals."

A spokesman for the interior ministry, which is responsible for passports and visas, said he would try to get details of the programme for The National, but had not called back by yesterday afternoon.

Although efforts are being made by the Saudi government to correct some abuses, critics say the fundamental problem is kafala, the sponsorship system.

This system, which is widespread in the Gulf region, makes foreign workers vulnerable to abuse because it deprives them of their autonomy: they must surrender their passports to their sponsors, who also must give permission for the worker to change jobs or leave the country.

Bahrain abandoned its sponsorship system last year and on Sunday Kuwait announced that it would follow suit beginning in February.