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Festival Thirty five Indian Pilgrims who were on one month visiting visa, have gone missing during their stopover in New Zealand capital en route to Sydney where they were to attend the week long Catholic Church World Youth day festival that started on Monday. According to the Auckland labor department officials all the missing 35 persons were a part of the group of 220 Indian pilgrims. According to Radio New Zealand the pilgrims absconded at various times even leaving their passport and other important documents behind. Pope Benedict XVI, 81, is scheduled to join the festival on Thursday and to see him was one of their motifs.

Scam The way, they have gone missing appears to be an immigrations scam. It is being also said that some of the missing people had paid Rs. 500,000 to travel agents in India to facilitate their entry in the country and the agents had also misguided them that they can stay there after the entry of the group of the Catholic pilgrims into the country. Meanwhile Catholic Church has denied it’s any kind of linkage with the scam. It is an unexpected development that has left stunned whoever is related to the pilgrimage.

Menace This is only a tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of Asians migrate to European countries every year by illegal means. In recent years we have seen many incidents in which Asians were caught without legal documents or entering the European countries by illegal means. In one of such attempt hundreds of Indian, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis had died when their boat in which they were being smuggled had capsized in Malta after the alleged crew had abandoned them. Thousands of Indians are lying in jails in various countries who have been duped by the travel agents.

Reasons People migrate to the western countries in search of better job and living conditions by using every kind of means and sometimes their obsession leads them nowhere. For whole of the problem mostly the governments of these Asian countries are responsible. Governments of these countries have failed on every front. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have almost failed states as for as economy is concerned. Instead of working for the development of their country political leaders have remained obsessed only with their political games. It is the economic development that can stop the trend. Steps should also be taken against the travel agents who misguide the people.

Relations Relations between India and Pakistan are worsening day by day because of not Kashmir but Afghanistan. Recent bomb attack on Indian Embassy in Afghanistan is the major reason that relations between both of the countries have soared. It was India that used to say that Pakistan is directly involved in the militant activities but world has never accepted the Indian views with an interest. USA kept on aiding Pakistan for its help in the war against terror instead of India’s repeated claims that Pakistan’s’ ISI is misusing the funds.

Pakistani Support Suicide attacks on the US military in Afghanistan and the stiff resistance US security forces have faced in the border areas opened the eyes of the USA. Kandhar jail break further added more to the fuel and Afghanistan’s President had warned to send the troops inside Pakistan to attack the Taliban militants. It was the first time that the President had openly accused the Pakistan for supporting the militancy in Afghanistan. He once again has accused the ISI for supporting the Taliban militants to attack the Indians who are working on some of the reconstruction projects. He said that some of the elements in Pakistan don’t want their neighborhood to be a peaceful place. They are afraid of India’s increasing influence in the country.

Inside Pakistan After the general elections and formation of the new government in Pakistan situations is deteriorating inside the country. President Musharaf and the elected government are intriguing to oust each other from the power. There is no powerful central authority that can lead the country to normalcy. And militant outfits and some of the ISI elements who are against the USA and India have got the chances to regroup and increase attacks on the foreigners working in Afghanistan. Pakistani leaders’ and their anti-India policies have brought them to a dead end. And it is not India but for whole of the world that danger is increasing day by day because Taliban elements have entered the Pakistan’s government establishment. ISI and Pakistani military have helped the Taliban in past and they are even helping them instead of their government’s support to the US lead war against terror. It must be noted that Indian secret agencies had already warned that militants with the active involvement of ISI elements have planned to attack Indian establishments inside Afghanistan.