U.S. based terrorism watch group supports Jet India's cause
By agencies   |   Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 19:30 IST
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WASHINGTON: Fighting a legal battle to launch its regular commercial flight services to the U.S., the Jet Airways India has received a shot in its arm as an international terrorist watch group claiming patronage of two former U.S. Presidents besides the Israeli and Indian governments has come out in strong support of its "foreign air carrier permit" application before the United States Department of Transportation. Giving clean chit to the Jet Airways India with regard to its alleged terrorist links and any financial irregularities, the Ohio-based India Terrorism Victims Relief Foundation and Internationalwatch.org has urged the Department of Transportation to issue necessary permit to the popular private airlines from India with minimum procedural delay. "Jet Airways is a highly qualified applicant. Delaying the process of entry into U.S. skies by a reputable airline like Jet Airways India may even send a wrong signal to India, and perhaps other nations, who believe in such agreements," P Narayanan Kutty, Foundation executive director, said in an affidavit before the Department of Transportation June 21. The India Terrorism Relief Foundation, which has filed several public interest litigations against financial institutions for their alleged terrorist links claims to have the former U.S. presidents, Bill Clinton, and George Bush (senior) among its patrons, besides the former Union Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi; the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president, Harsh Vardhan, and the senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, Praveen Togadia, as its volunteer members. Stating that the Internationalwatch.org was one of the world's "foremost authorities" in following the money trail of terrorists and terrorism allegations, Kutty claimed that it did carried its own 'exhaustive investigation' against the alleged terrorist and Al-Qaeda links of the Jet Airways India and its chief Naresh Goyal. Informing that the Internationalwatch.org spoke to various authorities around the world, who were in a position to know truth of such allegations, Kutty in his affidavit claimed the former Deputy Prime Minister of India, LK Advani, and the former RAW chief, B Raman, "categorically stated that absolutely no link was found between Jet Airways India (Goyal and his associates) and any terrorist organization."

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