Page 1425 - Politics
Heptulla gives credit to PM for OIC invite, IAF pilot Varthaman's release
Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic initiatives helped India get an invitation from the OIC for the first time, and secure the release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan's custody. Heptulla also lauded the way External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj presented India's viewpoint concerning Kashmir and terrorism at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conclave in Abu Dhabi. In a major diplomatic achievement, India for the first time addressed the OIC meeting on Friday here, and asserted that the war against terrorism, which was destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril, was not against any religion. India's participation at the OIC meeting came amid heightened tension with Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack and Balakot air strike. Pakistan had demanded that the invitation to Swaraj be revoked which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood ...
No new action against JeM as JuD, FIF put 'under watch' by Pak
Pakistan has issued a notification wherein Jamaat-ul-Da'awa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), the front organisations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, have been placed 'under watch' but no new action has been taken against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which carried out a ghastly attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Kashmir.Earlier, the Pakistani government had announced, on February 21, that the JuD and FIF would be banned - a statement that has been proved untrue by the latest notification issued by Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority. There has been mounting global pressure against Pakistan to cease providing support and a safe haven to terror outfits and terrorists on its soil, following the February 14 attack in Pulwama, which claimed the life of over 40 CRPF personnel.Pakistan had proscribed JeM on January 14, 2002 during the rule of General Pervez Musharraf but the outfit has been lately operating openly and its chief Masood Azhar roaming about ...
Locals perturbed by closure of schools in Poonch
Amidst heightened tensions between Indian and Pakistan, schools along the Line of Control (LoC) have been shut for the past couple of weeks, leaving locals in the region perturbed. Speaking to ANI, Mohammed Rafiq, a resident of Poonch, said education in the region is getting hampered due to the closure of schools."Schools have been shut down for many days now, few exams have also been cancelled. Firing from the Pakistani side is going on. What do we do? We are not educated enough to even teach our kids at home," he said.Due to continuous cross-border firing along the LoC, Poonch District Magistrate Rahul Yadav had on Friday informed that schools and colleges near the border areas would remain closed.The state administration had ordered the construction of 200 additional bunkers in Poonch for sheltering civilians amidst heightened tensions along the border. However, locals said this too was hampered due to constant shelling from across the border.Ceasefire violations by Pakistan have ..
Cong-JDS alliance aims to reduce BJP's strength in LS, says Danish Ali
The main objective of Congress-JDS alliance is to reduce the strength of BJP in the Lok Sabha, for which the two parties are working on strategies for the coming General Elections, said alliance leader Danish Ali here on Monday.Ali, secretary general of Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), said the Coordination Committee meeting of the alliance discussed various issues related to seat-sharing between the two parties for the coming Lok Sabha polls."Many formulae are on the table. Our main motive is how we should defeat the BJP on the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats. How we should cut down the BJP's strength from Karnataka is the common goal for Congress and JDS," he told media persons after the meeting."We are discussing each and every seat. We will take care of the aspirations of each other while finalsing the seats we will contest. However, the final decision will be taken by Congress and JDS presidents," he said.Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said that the final ...
Airstrike casualty count being discussed by those who know nothing about defence, say experts
Those who are discussing the casualty count of IAF's strike at the biggest terror training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad at Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have "little or no knowledge" of defence, said on Monday defence experts while talking to ANI.They also backed Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa's statement on the casualty count in the recently-conducted airstrike in Pakistan, where he said that they do not count the bodies, but hit the targets."Defence experts have been saying from day one that no can tell an exact count of the number of terrorists killed in air strike," said defence expert V K Chaturvedi on Monday, while talking to ANI. "What we can say with confidence is that we have hit the target we wanted to. Such talks in the media or elsewhere about the total casualties being put at 250 or 350 are done by those who know little or nothing about defence," he said.BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday, while addressing a rally in Ahmedabad, had claimed that 250 terrorists ...
Cross-LoC bus service from Poonch to Rawalkot suspended today
The cross-LoC bus service from Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district to Rawalkot of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was suspended on Monday. A bus carrying 3 passengers from PoK had to return back to Poonch after Pakistan Army refrained from opening the zero point gate at LoC.A resident of Mirpur from PoK, Syed Bukhari, expressed concern on the bus service suspension."I was going back. I, later on, went to the border to buy tickets but, was told that the Pakistani authorities did not open the gate today, then we had to come back," he told ANI.The suspension comes at a time when Pakistan and India are trying to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear powers following Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's return to India on March 1.
ECI holds consultations with political parties in J-K ahead of LS polls
A high-level delegation-led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Monday arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit to hold consultations with various political parties, state administration and other stakeholders ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.The ECI team began its visit by meeting the representatives of various political parties in Kashmir to seek their opinion regarding the elections.Leaders of various political parties like NC, PDP, CPI (M), Congress, BJP, INC, BSP and NPP met the ECI delegation. Congress delegation comprising Mohi-Ud-Din and Ali Mohammad Sagar urged the poll body to hold simultaneous polls.Arora assured that concerns of all parties will be addressed.The ECI team also held a marathon meeting with Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan, ADGP Law and Order Muneer Ahmad Khan, IGP Kashmir SP Pani, Deputy Commissioners and District Police Chiefs of Kashmir and Ladakh divisions. "The elections are soon going to be held to uphold
BJP, Congress at loggerheads over IAF air strike
Following Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa's remark on air strikes, BJP and Congress have once again locked horns on the issue, with the former accusing the latter of politicising the issue and the Congress seeking the source of statements being made by BJP leaders with regards to the number of casualties. Addressing the media here on Monday, Dhanoa had said fighter planes had hit the target given to them, adding that he cannot give the number of casualties suffered as it is for the government to do.Soon after this statement, Congress leaders started raising questions over the source of BJP president Amit Shah's claim of 250 terrorists having been killed in the Air Strikes in Balakot.Speaking to ANI, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said BJP leaders should share the information that they have."We should not politicise the air strike. As Rahul Gandhi said, for national security, we should support each and every action of our armed forces. We should stand united in these ...
India's dossiers on Pulwama contain 'no actionable evidence', claim Pakistani media quoting sources
ARY and Geo channels carried similar reports on this, which clearly reflected Pakistan government's disinterest in acting on the evidence provided by India like it has been doing in the past.India gave the dossiers to Pakistan after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to act against JeM if "actionable evidence" was provided.JeM, which is based in Pakistan, had carried out a ghastly terror attack on a CRPF convoy on February 14 in Pulwama district of Kashmir, killing 40 security personnel.The terror outfit had lated claimed responsibility for it and issued the video of the suicide bomber.Geo TV, quoting "high level government sources" , also said that security agencies of Pakistan and India "remain in contact despite the tension"and that "there was also contact on the night of February 27-28."The two TV channels, quoting "sources", also claimed that India was planning to launch missile attacks at various targets in this country with the help of Israel on February 27.ARY News ...
NOTAM extended in Pakistan till tomorrow
The NOTAM in Pakistan which was to end today, has been extended till 1The Notice to the Airmen, or NOTAM, was put in place on March 1 on the expiration of a previously issued NOTAM that was in place in the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan.Meanwhile, one departure and arrival each of a Spicejet flight to Kabul, Afghanistan stands cancelled amidst the fresh NOTAM extension.Pakistan had earlier opened its airspace for commercial flights in phases from March 1, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan after around 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the responsibility of which has been claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).Following this, the Indian Air Force carried out anti-terror strikes at a JeM terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot last week, in which a large number of terrorists were killed, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.There .
PM unable to handle Pakistan, how can he take care of Delhi Police: Kejriwal
Demanding full statehood for Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying when he is unable to handle Pakistan then how can he be expected to take care of the Delhi Police. He said if Delhi gets full statehood then police officials will listen to MLAs and the people. "I have asked the prime minister to give me the charge of the Delhi Police but he (PM) says he will take care of it," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor said. "Prime Minister Modi is not able to handle Pakistan, how can he be expected to handle the Delhi Police," Kejriwal said at an inaugural function for development works in Burari. Accusing the Centre of creating hurdles for Delhi's development, he claimed that he faced several obstructions at various stages to get clearances from the central government. The people of Delhi pay Rs 1.5 lakh crore in Income Tax and receive only Rs 325 crore from the Centre, the chief minister claimed. "Why should we pay so much ..
Britain draws ire by delaying tax shelter crackdown
The UK government drew the wrath of transparency groups on Monday by delaying proposed legislation aimed at ending secret company ownership in offshore territories such as Jersey. Britain has been gradually ramping up its fight against money laundering and various tax avoidance and evasion schemes. But it has less say in the rules governing the Isle of Man -- a region of 85,000 people in the Irish Sea -- and its fellow crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey. The European Union has threatened to include the tiny territories in its 2019 list of tax havens if they fail to improve their transparency rules. A cross-party amendment, that had been scheduled for debate in the British parliament on Monday, is aimed at obliging the islands introduce registers disclosing companies' ownership structures. The law would require the names of parties owning at least 25 percent of any firm registered in the dependencies to be made publicly available by the end of 2020. But the government on Monday .
Qureshi hints Pak may not oppose listing of JeM chief as global terrorist by UNSC
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday hinted that his country may not oppose a joint move by France, Britain and the US in the UN Security Council to list Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group's chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. "Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview. Last week, the US, the UK and France moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, a listing that will subject him to global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. The Security Council Sanctions Committee has 10 working days to consider the fresh proposal submitted by the three members. It is the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. When asked whether Pakistan will request its close ally China to veto the resolution once again in the UNSC, Qureshi said his government will try to build a consensus among all
Political slugfest breaks out over data theft charge
A political row broke out over alleged data theft of Andhra Pradesh voters by an IT firm in Hyderabad with the ruling TDP Monday alleging a cyber conspiracy and seeking transfer of the case registered by the Telangana police to the neighbouring state. As Telangana police citing preliminary probe claimed the IT company got 'illegal' access to details of voters, TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged it was part of a conspiracy to help opposition YSR Congress headed by Jaganmohan Reddy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and KCR (Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao were helping Jaganmohan Reddy in executing this 'cyber conspiracy', he alleged in his teleconference with TDP party leaders. "It is atrocious to steal our data and give it to our rivals," he said. Naidu alleged "The Bihari gang led by (political strategist and JDU leader) Prashant Kishore is giving such evil advise to the YSRC." Separately, TDP politburo member Somireddy ...
US deploys THAAD missile defence in Israel for exercise
The United States has deployed its advanced THAAD missile defence system temporarily to Israel for a joint military exercise, the first of its kind, officials said Monday. The two countries confirmed the deployment, with Israel's military stressing it was "not related to any specific current event". It is the first such exercise in Israel, although the two allies hold regular joint war games. No dates have been announced for the manoeuvres. Israel has its own missile defence system, but the exercise aims in part to examine how to incorporate THAAD so that "we are ready for any challenges in the future", military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. It will also allow the US military to practice the rapid deployment of THAAD across the globe, officials said. "We see this as an opportunity to practice the integration of advanced American air defence systems into the Israeli air force air defence array," Conricus told journalists. "The THAAD system is considered to be one of the most ...
Oppn parties hit out at Shah's claim of 250 killed in air strike, ask why govt not giving details
Seeking to put the government on the back foot, opposition parties Monday latched on to BJP chief Amit Shah's claim of 250 casualties in the Indian Air Force's air strike in Pakistan's Balakot to ask how he got such top secret information. The Congress asked the government what was the basis of Shah's claim and why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not giving details of the casualties. Congress spokesperson RPN Singh accused the prime minister and the BJP leadership of politicising the air strike and said Modi should apologise to the country for trying to portray the Indian Air Force (IAF) as being "weaker without Rafale" and undermining its abilities. He counter-accused the BJP and its leaders of spreading misinformation and "false propaganda" over the air strike ahead of elections and said the people of the country would give them a befitting reply. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal also said if Shah is claiming 250 casualties of terrorists in the air strike, why is the prime ...
Jharkhand govt helping economically weak people to visit
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Monday said the state government was helping people of economically weak background to visit pilgrimage places. The state government was providing assistance to such people to visit pilgrimage centres under the Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yojana scheme, Das said. The chief minister Monday gave way cheques of Rs 1 lakh to each of the 75 pilgrims, who returned home after paying obeisance at Kailash Mansarovar, as assistance under Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yojana. "So far, more than 5000 people availed the benefit under the ... yojana. The state government is facilitating people from economically weak background to take pilgrimage," an official release said quoting Das. He said "welfare of the people has been there in Indian tradition, and the state government is following it." The chief minister also said that the governments priority was to develop tourist places of all religions and generate employment opportunities.
Bihar LS seats to be contested by NDA allies will be named soon: JD(U)
The ruling JD(U) Monday said that the names of the Lok Sabha seats on which the three NDA allies in Bihar will contest in the coming general election will be announced "very soon". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are the three constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. As per the seat-sharing formula chalked out by the allies, the first two will contest 17 seats each, leaving six for LJP out of a total of 40 LS constituencies in the state. The LJP will also be given a Rajya Sabha berth and Paswan is likely to be its candidate. The names of Lok Sabha seats, on which the three constituents of Bihar NDA will contest, is being discussed and an announcement will be made very soon, JD national general secretary (organisation) and Rajya Sabha member Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said. Singh along with party's national secretary general K C Tyagi was briefing ...
Pawar refuses to buy Shah claim of casualty in air strike
NCP president Sharad Pawar Monday expressed surprise over BJP chief Amit Shah claim of more than 250 terrorists being killed in the Balakot air strike and said if the casualty figure had come from defence personnel, he would have taken it seriously. Pawar also said no political benefit should be sought from the February 26 air attack on a JeM training camp at Balakot in Pakistan. He was speaking to reporters after meeting the family of Indian Air Force pilot Ninad Mandavgane, who died in a helicopter accident in Srinagar recently, in Nashik, around 200km from here in North Maharashtra. Shah, addressing a rally in Gujarat, had claimed the IAF air strike on the terror camp had killed "more than 250" terrorists. The government is yet to officially come out with the number of terrorists killed in the operation. "Had the claim of casualty in the air strike come from any defence person, I would have taken it seriously. In such a situation, no political benefit or gain should ..
Modi government a 'national disaster', must be voted out: Pawar
Terming the Narendra Modi government "a national disaster", Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Monday made a fresh appeal for a united opposition challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming 2019 elections.