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NEW DELHI: Indian officials politely turned down the United States' request regarding the security arrangements for President Barack Obama's visit to India, saying that Indian security is well-equipped and trained to oversee the US president's security, said a report published by The Times of India.
US officials provided a list of security demands to their Indian counterparts, which included deploying only US snipers on rooftops all along the Rajpath Boulevard where a Republic Day Parade will take place and President Obama will attend as chief guest. Indian authorities on Monday declined this request and asked US officials "not to interfere", the report said.
President Obama's visit to India will begin on January 25 and both India and the US engaged in tackling issues related to security measures.
The US officials also requested for a no-fly-zone on the Rajpath which Indian officials also declined as it would have resulted in the cancellation of the parade's customary fly-past by the Indian Air Force.
The Indian officials argued that they will have a number of other VVIP's attending the parade such as Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and various other dignitaries. Hence, Indian officials stationing their own snipers would be imperative, sources told The Times of India.
Take a look at: Obama informs Sharif about Delhi visit
Soon after accepting Indian invitation to Republic Day celebrations this month, President Obama had phoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to inform him about his decision to visit Delhi.
The prime minister on this occasion had reiterated an invitation to President Obama to visit Pakistan.
“The President (Obama) also assured the Prime Minister (Sharif) that he would undertake a visit to Pakistan at an early date, as soon as the situation normalises in the country,” a Foriegn Office statement had said without elaborating if the US president was talking about normalisation of the security situation or the political unrest.
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Jan 20, 2015 05:28pm
I appreciate India here.
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Jan 20, 2015 05:33pm
this means US is not confident with indian security.
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Jan 20, 2015 05:46pm
@its me - No you are wrong...If US is not confident of Indian security, Obama would have never thought of coming to India and spend 3 days!!!!
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Jan 20, 2015 06:10pm
@its me Nothing man american's are little bit scared and nothing else..India neighbor's a turbulent country and a communist country,India is much long experience to handle such situation's even more than American's.If they are scaring little bit it is good for them,in later time when they introspect about this they will find out that the reason for their unsettling feeling were cross the border,where people can kill anyone by crossing border just to get little political gain or in the name of religion and these people work in behest of those people ,with whom some time we shack hand and give aid.
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Jan 20, 2015 06:12pm
When the Chinese government came and went from india, everyone blamed Imran Khan and Qadari for his cancellation of visit to Pakistan. Now Obama will do the same. Who will they blame now?
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Jan 20, 2015 06:13pm
India means his business;)
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Jan 20, 2015 06:14pm
US authorities has experience of Mumbai police who halted Obama's convoy until they remove illegally stationed US snipers.
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Jan 20, 2015 06:25pm
Well done India. Long Live Modi
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Jan 20, 2015 06:37pm
Let them handle their own security. That way they don't have to blame anyone.
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Jan 20, 2015 06:40pm
This is how the sovereign nations behave and act.
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Jan 20, 2015 06:56pm
Obama should cancel his visit in that case.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:18pm
@Bilal it was actually Pakistan which told Chinese to wait till protests and sit-ins calmed a bit. Your post is inacurrate.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:27pm
@kkc bhopali, your comment is too long
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Jan 20, 2015 07:31pm
I appreciate Indian concern decision and expect that they exercise in future as well and advice for my country concern they should also learn lesson and place upright whenever situation like Indians had faced.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:33pm
@Ahmer
Why does he NOT visit Pakistan ?
Tell us ONE reason in response !
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Jan 20, 2015 07:43pm
What is in america mind? Dont worry america india is capable of giving security to any person in this world
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Jan 20, 2015 07:46pm
Now that is what you call an independant soverign nation. How embarassing for Pakistan that being a so called strategic partner, Obama wont even bother to come for few hours.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:48pm
I hope the day will come when Pakistan could stand on their own feets and be able to protect its citizens as well as its guests and I hope I see this in my lifetime.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:54pm
@kaps well i dont think they just easily accepted and trusted india for his security, they wont its their president not indias that they will take such risk
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Jan 20, 2015 07:59pm
Actually, the truth is very different.
Obama is coming with his own entourage, which includes his own special car, security team, etc etc. This is being discussed at length in TV channels here, so this article here is misleading. You can all google and discover the truth. I learnt that even the air he is going to breath in a special bullet proof cubicle will be special!
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Jan 20, 2015 08:32pm
@its me No, actually Chinese president does not have confidence with Pakistani security. If Obama is visiting India, that means there is confidence.
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Jan 20, 2015 09:18pm
No bowing before US.
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Jan 20, 2015 09:48pm
@venu Even to father of nation Gandhi, PM INDRA GANDHI AND FORMER PM RAJIVE all very very high profile killed on public places?? Why india couldnt provide security to them
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Jan 20, 2015 10:00pm
@its me - Weather UD is confident of Indian security or not, it does not matter. What is important is that in India, it is we who call the shots. We will provide security to our guest. If he thinks our security is not the best, then he can cancel his visit.
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Jan 20, 2015 10:02pm
@Ahmer - Obama is coming for Indian money. There is a 25 billion dollar contract. So, cancelling is not an option. Obama is not coming to give. He is coming to take. People who take must be humble.
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Jan 20, 2015 10:02pm
@Liaquat so was abraham lincon..kenedy..and many more
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Jan 20, 2015 10:10pm
@Liaquat - Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy were also killed. So its not that only Indian VIP get killed. The fact is that US cannot dictate terms to us in our country. If you don't like our security, don't come.
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Jan 20, 2015 10:37pm
@Liaquat
when you understand why Lincoln, Kennedy and two other US presidents were assassinated and roosevelt and Reagan injured in assassination attempts. You will understand the answer to your question
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Jan 20, 2015 10:38pm
@Bilal ..........probably Russia as its closer to India .It has long range missiles...lol
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Jan 20, 2015 10:41pm
@Hasnain Haque .........we do not want him.He will only create mess here!
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Jan 20, 2015 10:43pm
@Hasnain Haque ......Kerry was here and he left happy and intact!
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Jan 20, 2015 10:44pm
@Liaquat .......not many thumbs up for the truth.
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Jan 20, 2015 10:58pm
India's arrogance knows no bounds. Pretty shameful.
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Jan 20, 2015 11:18pm
@Liaquat J.F.Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln assassinated. Does that mean America cannot provide security to visiting dignitaries. Benajir killed in a roadshow. Does that mean Pakistan is insecure for any foreign dignitary.
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Jan 20, 2015 11:48pm
In matters of personal security of state heads or anyone else for that matter, the national egos should be kept at bay.
US officials are experienced at doing their jobs and their support should be welcome.
Taking this refusal as a sign of national sovereignty or independent stand is silly. The decision should stand on merit of its logic.
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Jan 20, 2015 11:50pm
@anony What arrogance,a sovereign independent nation is acting the way it should have acted.
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Jan 20, 2015 11:50pm
Doesn't matter what India says, U.S always keeps a back up plan.
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Jan 21, 2015 12:18am
Pride aside, I would rather have Obama's people to provide him security. In that case if something were to happen, India cannot be blamed.
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Jan 21, 2015 12:40am
@khanman - Its prerogative of US security agency ... but you need to have guts to say NO to them...
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Jan 21, 2015 01:54am
@Liaquat A very good point. Indira was assassinated by her own body guard just like Salman Taseer was, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger for taking SriLanka's side in their conflict with the Tigers, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist for taking Pakistan's side in settling the spoils of partition, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated by a mad man, John & Robert Kennedy were assassinated by mad men, Zia Ul Haque was a victim of sabotage, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a mad Taliban & so on. Any more questions?
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Jan 21, 2015 03:24am
@Ahmer
visit pakistan
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Jan 21, 2015 04:37am
hahaha! luv to cheeky photo here where Mr.Obama has finger on his lips. Cheeky dawn.
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Jan 21, 2015 05:45am
@Nikunj sovereign state? Lol, not long ago your minister was stripped search on US airport. :-)
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Jan 21, 2015 05:47am
@KKC Bhopali didn't understand a word you said. You must have been half sleep when posted this comment.
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Jan 21, 2015 06:21am
@khanman yes and its our country India not Pakistan. In our country thing will go the way we want.
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Jan 21, 2015 06:49am
I bet with you a fire cracker goes off they will blame Pakistan
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Jan 21, 2015 07:13am
@Rashid Sultan janab then Americans are correct in asking to provide their own security. I am an American and can tell you when it matters about the big gun we don't take chances.
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Jan 21, 2015 07:46am
Being an Indian our prayers are with you... Be a self sustained and satisfied nation...
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Jan 21, 2015 07:58am
I dont know why this news even in Pakistani news papers.. Two things are involved here
1 Pride
2 Business
Pakistanis would not understand these things
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Jan 21, 2015 08:12am
@Gaurav Arya
(The fact is that US cannot dictate terms to us in our country. If you don't like our security, don't come...)
Yes, US does not dictate terms with India the way it does with Pakistan but it does not compromise on the security of its President. They are not going to trust Indian security which has seen 2 PMs killed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/12/obama-to-indias-modi-thanks-but-no-thanks-ill-meet-you-there/
(When Obama visits India later this month to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, New Delhi may just decide to be a little flexible. Officials here say they may do away with the established tradition of the visiting chief guest and India’s president traveling in the same car to the parade grounds.....
Obama’s security officers appear to have indicated to New Delhi that he will prefer to travel in his own Beast (as Obama's limousine is called) — from Indian President Pranab Mukherjee’s palatial residence to the parade grounds, a drive of about five minutes — because of security concerns.)
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Jan 21, 2015 08:41am
One Joke in this news that Obama informed to Mr. Sharif about the decision .
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Jan 21, 2015 11:09am
@Farooq LOL..Not Long ago did they strip search our diplomat and we asked their diplomat to pack bags and leave quietly.
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Jan 21, 2015 01:30pm
India claim that all the attacks in India are being done by terrorists from Pakistan. Where was their security at the time?
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Jan 21, 2015 03:07pm
If the country India determine to make a concrete and tight security, then there is no need of any worry by the visiting leaders because the Indian security personnel are well trained and they knows what is what.
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Jan 22, 2015 06:07am
I lost interest in this article after I read this was quoted from 'The Times of India'. That paper is not exactly beacon of journalistic standards.
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Jan 22, 2015 08:44am
@Liaquat
These 3 people thought no body would hurt them for the follies they committed. They let the guard down by not heeding to the advice of their Security Personnel , In the end they got blown away.
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Jan 22, 2015 09:52am
US will get their way. India is a minion infront of US. All this media sound bites is only for their gullible country folk. US will never allow an incompetent security apparatus like that of India, to protect its president.
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Jan 22, 2015 11:02am
This is how pride nation deal with current super power of the world. India on the merge of becoming world super power in next 30 years. Let's wait and watch babies.
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Jan 22, 2015 03:57pm
@jay patel in 30 years Indian economy will be 3 largest behind China and US.So clearly super power will be those two countries and not India.
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Jan 22, 2015 07:01pm
@Liaquat
Mahatma Gandhi never required any security until the day he was shot. No one in India could have thought that he could have been killed like that. Indira Gandhi was killed by her own body guards who were not happy by her action on Golden Temple. Its a similar case like that of Salman Taseer in your country. Rajiv Gandhi was not PM when he was bombed. He was opposition leader who do not have same protocol as head of the state.
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Jan 22, 2015 07:04pm
@vakku
Hmm strange logic. Who said that there can only be two super power in the world???
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Jan 22, 2015 08:26pm
@vakku
There are around 200 countries in the world,including around
30 or so "advanced European Nations" and you could count
Australia/New Zealand/Japan in addition.
All economic projections by the World Bank,the IMF and prominent
WESTERN economists state that in 30 years or so,the biggest
economy in the world will be China,followed by the U.S.A,followed
by INDIA.
You accept this but in view of the above,do you seriously think that being
3rd in the entire world would carry no punch ?
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Jan 23, 2015 11:44am
The last few paragragraphs of the article shows how desperate Pakistan is.
The artcle was about a great stand by India, which Pakistan cannot even dream of taking. But to show their soory state, they have to iterate that Obama informed them!!
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Jan 23, 2015 06:09pm
@colin Bro when did I say India will not carry economic or military punch in the world, but that does not mean she will be a superpower by then. In cold world era countries like Germany and France carried considerable strength and influence but only USSR and USA were considered to be superpowers.
and anyways these "Superpower" words are just semantics,what really matters are how empowered citizens of a country are, we should work towards that goal.
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Jan 25, 2015 06:24pm
@Liaquat They are not occupying seat of president or PM when they died. Indira was at her home, Rajive was opposition leader and Mahatma Gandhi was not accepting any kind of security. He was shot at his aashram Teenmurti Bhavan with his close disciples.
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Jan 25, 2015 10:25pm
@Zak There are different levels of compromises. US gets a lot of business from India, so it does make some compromises. But it is the strongest country in the world so all other countries (depending on their leverage) have to make compromises.
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Jan 26, 2015 12:24pm
Someone asks in this post, why he doesn't visit Pakistan? I think Pakistanis know the answer to this one! Obama says he will visit Pakistan when the security environment is better. Well, we've only seen it worsen, so the answer is - maybe never!
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Jan 27, 2015 03:39pm
@Liaquat Dear Sir, That is like asking Why Could the Secret Service not Protect Reagan, Kennedys and Lincoln !!!
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