Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said linking the Chinese incursion into Ladakh with the region's tourism prospects would not be right. "Can we please not link the Chinese incursion to tourism? The Chinese troops are too far to bother any tourists coming to Leh," Omar Abdullah said on micro-blogging site Twitter Friday.

Just the fact of the chief minister speaking of tourism and incursions in the same breath, however, is likely to send alarm bells ringing; doubts are likely to arise about the safety of tourists thronging Leh and other places in the Ladakh region. 

"When we use the words 'Chinese troops' and 'tourists' in the same sentence, we create doubts where none existed," the chief minister tweeted.

While the chief minister has been cautious in expressing his views on the presence of Chinese troops in Indian territory, his uncle and legislator Mustafa Kamal made a novel suggestion: New Delhi could seek the help of Pakistan to deal with Chinese presence on Indian territory.

Kemal was talking to media persons on the sidelines of a party function in north Kashmir's Baramulla town Thursday, when he said: "Chinese incursion in Ladakh is a grave issue and there is no harm if India approaches Pakistan to settle the issue with China as Pakistan is a close friend of China."

The Supreme Court Thursday said that it would take a very serious view of another incident of police violence against a woman, and the person involved would have to bear the wrath of the court.

Referring to the rising frequency of incidents of brutality against women, and even children, the court said the framers of the constitution did not visualize such incidents or provide for provisions to deal with them.

The court said that it would go beyond its norms in dealing with police personnel involved in such incidents.

Pointing to the police personnel involved in the beating of women in Delhi, Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the court said if Mahatma Gandhi were to be born today, he would have died many times.

Having expressed its anguish over police brutality on the women, the apex court bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi directed the chief secretaries of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa to file affidavits whether they have set up state security commissions (SSCs) in pursuance to its 2006 direction for police reforms.

The court said the affidavits would accompany the details of the number of meetings that the SSC has held since its constitution and the minutes of these meetings.

The court said it would also consider, at the next hearing, the question of chief justices of high courts monitoring the functioning of the SSCs. It said it was not possible for it to monitor the working of SSCs.

The court directed that all the states which have enacted laws providing for police reforms after its 2006 direction will provide a copy of the same to the amicus curiae Harish Salve, who had said that that he wanted to challenge the validity of these laws under Article 32 of the Constitution.

The court also directed the Delhi Police commissioner to file an affidavit explaining the incident involving a police officer beating a woman protesting the rape of a child.

Negotiations with China were going on at various levels to resolve the stand-off over the incursion of its troops in Ladakh region, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said.

A Pakistani court on Wednesday refused to extend bail for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a lawyer said. It is the second of three cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule for which he has been denied bail.

He is already under a two-week house arrest at his villa on the edge of Islamabad over his decision to sack judges when he imposed emergency rule in November 2007.

Musharraf, who attended a separate hearing relating to the Bhutto case on Tuesday, did not appear before the court Wednesday and neither did his main lawyer.

"The court dismissed general Musharraf's bail application," prosecution lawyer Chaudhry Azhar told reporters after the hearing by the Lahore high court sitting in Rawalpindi, the garrison city twinned to Islamabad.

"Now the FIA (federal investigative agency) should arrest him," he added.

Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder Bhutto, who died in a gun and suicide attack in December 2007.

His arrest and disqualification from contesting elections on May 11 have been a humiliating blow for the former ruler of nuclear-armed Pakistan, who returned home last month promising to "save" the country.

On Tuesday, police said they had recovered a car carrying detonators and explosives on the road leading to Musharraf's house

The Pakistani Taliban have threatened to kill Musharraf who escaped three assassination attempts during his rule, but denied anything to do with the car.

Nobody has been convicted or jailed for Bhutto's assassination on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, despite a long-running court case.

Musharraf's government blamed Bhutto's killing on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement and who was killed in a US drone attack in August 2009.

In 2010 a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to give her adequate protection.

Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is chairman of the outgoing Pakistan People's Party, has accused Musharraf of her murder.

Reported by the Hindustan Times