Page 1605 - Politics
Pakistan on MFN withdrawal: Considering 'all option available' to retaliate against India
A day after India withdrew Pakistan special trade status, Islamabad on Saturday said it will consider "all available option" to retaliate against Delhi."Pakistan might take unilateral measures against India or revoke concessions under the South Asia preferential trade agreement (Sapta) and might take up the issue in the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation," Dawn quoted Razak Dawood, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan advisor on Commerce as saying. New Delhi withdrew Most Favoured Nation status from Islamabad after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Pakistan-sponsored JeM mediate suicide terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.This is the first time that India has revoked the special status that was accorded to Pakistan in 1995. Earlier in 2016, after a terror attack on Uri army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir, India had reviewed Pakistan's MFN status but decided to not withdraw it.According to the experts, the impact of status removal on trade is unlikely to be ...
Himachal CM, Nadda attend CRPF martyr's funeral
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Saturday visited the native village of CRPF trooper Tilak Raj, who was killed in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday, and attended his last rites.
N Korean official visits Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit
A high-ranking North Korean negotiator travelled to Hanoi on Saturday, less than two weeks before the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
Pulwama attack: Rajnath Singh heads meeting with RAW chief, NSA, other officials
A meeting headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh with RAW chief AK Dhasmana, Additional Director IB Arvind Kumar, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and NSA Ajit Doval is underway at the Union Minister's residence.The meeting has been called in the wake of the ghastly Pulwama terror attack that took place on Thursday.Nearly 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Awantipora in an attack orchestrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).A day after the attack, the Centre announced the withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan.As many as 48 countries have extended support to India, condemning the dastardly act.The convoy of 78 buses, in which around 2500 CRPF personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar, came under attack at around 3.15 pm at Ladhu Modi Lethpora on February 14.
Navjot Singh Sidhu removed from 'The Kapil Sharma Show'
Navjot Singh Sidhu has been sacked from 'The Kapil Sharma Show' after his controversial comments on Pulwama terror attack, a source told ANI."The channel has started has already started with the process of removing Navjot and will replace him with Archana Puran Singh," said the source. Cricketer turned politician Sidhu, a cabinet minister in the Punjab government, was an important member of the comedy show.Reacting to the Pulwama terror attack, which left 40 CRPF personnel killed, Sidhu's comments drew flak from various quarters."For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation and can you blame an individual? It is a cowardly act and I condemn it firmly. Violence is always condemnable and those who did it must be punished," Sidhu had said during a media interaction on Friday.Finding the comments insensitive people started reacting, with many with #boycottsidhu trending on social media.This is not the first time Sidhu has landed himself in soup for his soft stand on our ...
Pulwama attack: MHA issues advisory to states, UTs to ensure safety of J-K students, residents
Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday issued an advisory to all states and Union Territories to take necessary measures and ensure safety and security of people belonging to Jammu and Kashmir.The advisory comes following reports of students and others belonging to Jammu and Kashmir experiencing threats and intimidation in the wake of the ghastly terrorist attack in Pulwama.Nearly 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Awantipora in an attack orchestrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).A day after the attack, the Centre announced the withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan.As many as 48 countries have extended support to India, condemning the dastardly act.The convoy of 78 buses, in which around 2500 CRPF personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar, came under attack at around 3.15 pm at Ladhu Modi Lethpora on February 14.
J-K Home Secy to review security of separatists having links with ISI
Security of Kashmiri separatists having suspected links with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI will be withdrawn after an assessment by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, a top official said. The security review of all such individuals with suspected links with the ISI will be carried out following a suggestion given by the central government, he said. The Home Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir government will carry out the review of the security of separatists and will take a decision on withdrawal, a security official said. The state government will do the security review of the separatists as most of them have security being provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, he said. Addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Friday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said the security given to people getting funds from Pakistan and its snooping agency ISI should be reviewed. "Some elements in Jammu and Kashmir have links with the ISI and the terrorist organisation. Their security ...
Govt school principal suspended for objectionable comments against slain CRPF jawans
A government school principal in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district was suspended Saturday for allegedly making objectionable comments against the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack, officials said. Police have registered a case against the principal for "promoting enmity and hurting religious sentiments". "A case was registered today following a complaint lodged by the school staff. People had blocked roads demanding action against the principal for his objectionable comments during the morning prayer," local Station House Officer Daulat Singh said. Taking swift action in the matter, director secondary education Nathmal Didel suspended the him with immediate effect. "Communal harmony was disturbed due to his objectionable comments. Such behaviour is against the dignity of the post," the director secondary education said in the suspension order. On Thursday, 40 CRPF jawans, including five from Rajasthan, were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a ...
Odisha raises ex gratia for 2 martyrs' kins
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday enhanced the ex gratia to families of two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers, killed in Jammu and Kashmir to Rs 25 lakh each from Rs 10 lakh.
Rajnath takes stock of country's security after Pulwama terror attack
Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, two days after the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in an audacious terror attack in Pulwama, officials said. The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others. During the meeting, top security officials briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation in the country, including along the Indo-Pak border, a Home Ministry official said. The meeting took stock of the security measures in place to foil any design of the Pak-based terrorist groups to disturb peace in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in hinterlands, the official said. The home minister directed the officials to ensure that all possible steps are taken to hunt down terrorists currently operating in Kashmir valley, another official said. Those who attended the meeting include Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain. Forty CRPF personnel were ...
Former Mao Zedong secretary and party critic dies at 101
Mao Zedong's former secretary Li Rui, a bold critic of China's ruling Communist Party who spent a lifetime near the centre of elite politics, died Saturday at the age of 101, his family said. Li was admitted to a Beijing hospital for a pulmonary infection last year and died of organ failure in Beijing, his daughter said in an email to AFP. Li earned a position alongside China's paramount leader in the mid-1950s, focusing on industrial development. But then he spoke up on the failures of Mao's Great Leap Forward policy - which intended to boost China's economic output but instead unleashed havoc and famine across the country. The Communist Party expelled Li and during the Cultural Revolution he was imprisoned for eight years in the infamous Qincheng prison near Beijing. He was rehabilitated in 1979 when moderates took power and eventually rose to take a key position in the party's powerful Organization Department before he was again forced out of office in 1984. Later he became an ...
Sidhu no longer part of "The Kapil Sharma Show"
Following uproar over his remarks letting of Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir by Jaish-e-Mohammad militant that claimed 49 lives, Punjab cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been dropped from the popular "The Kapil Sharma Show" on television.
2-minute silence for Pulwama martyrs in Odisha schools
Thousands of School and college students along with their teachers and staff Saturday observed two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the CRPF jawans who were martyred in a terrorist attack at Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had on Friday appealed to all the educational institutions across the state to hold silent prayers in the honour of the slain jawans. Two jawans from Odisha Prasanna Kumar Sahu of Shikhar village in Jagatsinghpur district and Manoj Kumar Behera of Ratanpur village in Cuttack district were among the 40 martyred CRPF personnel. The Odisha government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the two CRPF jawans from the state. Meanwhile, thousands of people assembled at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here to receive the mortal remains of the two martyrs. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) also made elaborate arrangements to facilitate the people who came to pay homage at the ...
Tarigami calls for meaningful dialogue process to address 'legitimate concerns' of people of J-K
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami Saturday called for a meaningful and credible dialogue process for addressing the "legitimate concerns" of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Tarigami, a former MLA from Kulgam constituency of south Kashmir, said the attack on a CRPF convoy at Lethpora in Pulwama on Thursday has shaken all those who are concerned about human lives and peace in the region. "The loss of so many security personnel while on duty is being mourned across the country. We share the grief and sorrow of victim families of this gruesome terror attack," he said. He said the CPI(M) has been consistently of the opinion that "for addressing the legitimate concerns and aspirations" of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a meaningful and credible dialogue process is the only option. "Such acts, like Pulwama, only amount to delegitimising genuine and democratic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Tarigami said.
CM announces jobs to kin of slain TN CRPF men, bodies arrive
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Saturday ordered government jobs to one person each from the families of two CRPF personnel from the state, who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The bodies of G Subramanian and C Sivachandran, the two CPRF personnel killed in the attack were flown to Madurai and Tiruchirappalli airports respectively from New Delhi and later taken to their villages by road. Palaniswami, in an official release here said he has ordered government jobs to one person each from the two CRPF soldiers' families. The Chief Minister had on Friday announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh to each of their two families. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes to the bodies of Sivachandran and Subramanian at Tiruchirappalli and Madurai respectively. State Ministers, leaders of political parties, top district and police officials also placed wreaths and paid their ...
Last rites of 2 CRPF troopers from Uttarakhand done with state honours
Thousands of people on Saturday bade a tearful adieu to the two CRPF troopers from Uttarakhand who were killed in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir as their remains were consigned to flames.
Karnataka announces Rs 25 lakh aid for slain CRPF trooper's kin
The mortal remains of Karnataka's slain CRPF trooper H. Guru arrived here on Saturday from New Delhi in a special IAF aircraft for the last rites with state honours at his village in Mandya district.
Pulwama terror attack unprecedented, response inevitable: Nitish Kumar
The Pulwama terror attack was unprecedented and the prevailing mood in the country calls for stern action, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday. Kumar was replying to questions from journalists at the airport here where three slain CRPF personnel -- two from the state and another from neighbouring Jharkhand -- were given the ceremonial guard of honour. "It was an unprecedented incident. Response is inevitable. Its nature and severity have to be decided. But the prevailing mood in the nation calls for stern action," the chief minister said. Mortal remains of Sanjay Kumar Sinha and Ratan Kumar Thakur, hailing from Masaurhi in rural Patna and Bhagalpur respectively, besides Vijay Soreng who belonged to Gumla in Jharkhand, were brought here in a special aircraft. Besides Kumar, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and leader of the opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav were among those present at the airport to pay tributes to
Govt gave crores of rupees to Ambani & Mallya, but promised just Rs 3.50 a day to farmers: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday hit out at the Modi government, saying that while it doled out crores of rupees to industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Vijay Mallya, it promised just Rs 3.50 per day to farmers. Gandhi was speaking at a convention of tribals here in Chhattisgarh. "Lakhs and crores of rupees have been given to the people like Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, but farmers will get just Rs 3.50 per day," he said, referring to the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme, under which farmers cultivating up to two hectares (five acres) will get direct cash support of Rs 6000 annually. "When the announcement of Rs 6,000 for farmers was made in the Union Budget, BJP MPs were thumping their desks in Lok Sabha," Gandhi said. "Is this a joke?" he asked. He promised that if the Congress was voted to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, a minimum income guarantee would be given to the poor and the money would be deposited ...
Disarmament efforts must include China as well as US, Russia: Merkel
China must be involved in international disarmament efforts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday, amid rising concern about Beijing's missile arsenal and the suspension of a key US-Russia arms treaty. "Disarmament is something that concerns us all and where we would of course be glad if such talks were held not just between the United States, Europe and Russia but also with China," said Merkel. The United States began pulling out of a landmark Cold War missile control agreement with Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, this month in response to Moscow's deployment of the 9M729 missile, prompting Russia to announce its own withdrawal. While pointing the finger at each other, both Washington and Moscow have also voiced concern that the INF -- a bilateral treaty between the US and Russia -- does nothing to constrain rapidly growing military power China. According to a new report by the Institute for Strategic Studies, up to 95 per cent of China's arsenal .