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After the arrest of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil says more ED probes coming in the next 2-3 days

OpIndia Staff
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After the arrest of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil says more ED probes coming in the next 2-3 days

A day after the Enforcement Directorate took custody of Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik over a case involving money laundering, Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrakant Patil has claimed that more enquiries from the central agency will be taking place in the coming days. Patil was speaking at a protest held by state BJP leaders demanding the resignation of Malik from the cabinet.

After the arrest of Malik, Mumbai saw protests from both sides of the political spectrum in Maharashtra on Thursday. Leaders from the Shivsena-NCP-Congress alliance which runs The Maha Vikas Aghadi government protested in front of the Mantralay building (secretariat) against the arrest of Nawab Malik alleging that the move was politically motivated. On the other hand, senior BJP leaders including State President Chandrakant (Dada) Patil, Kirit Somaiya and others took out a protest near Dadar East Railway station demanding the sacking of Malik from the ministry.

While speaking to the media during the demonstration, Patil hinted that more enquiries from the ED are yet to come in the next 2 to 3 days. While stating that Nawab Malik’s case has proven to be a threat to national security, he demanded the arrest of the Minister.

At the same time, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya released a list of probable leaders from the MVA upon whom ED enquiries could take place. The list includes 12 leaders from Shivsena, Congress and the NCP who have been recently caught in controversies relating to corruption, land grabbing and money laundering. Terming the list as ‘MVA’s dirty dozen’ Somaiyahas called out Anil Parab, Sanjay Raut, Sujeet Patkar, Bhavna Gavali, Anand Adsul, Ajit Pawar, Hasan Mushrif, Pratap Sarnaik, Ravindra Waikar and Jitendra Awhad.

The other two are Nawab Malik – who was taken in ED custody yesterday and Anil Deshmukh – the ex-home minister who was arrested in November last year for violating the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The BJP leaders during the protest reiterated their stand that Nawab Malik cannot retain his chair as a minister when serious enquiries are taking place against him.

Allegations against MVA leaders

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has always been on the front to ‘expose’ scams related to deals, properties held by leaders from the ruling alliance. Earlier this month, Somaiya alleged that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has links with Sujeet Patkar’s company which is allegedly complicit in a 100-crore Covid Centre scam. The ED had already summoned transport minister Anil Parab in the Rs 100 crore extortion case in September 2021. The revenue department had already found the leader’s resort in Dapoli to be illegal and the documents submitted were forged.

Are US-run biological labs in Ukraine one of the reasons behind Russia invasion? Read how Russian govt had raised ‘bioweapons’ alarm

OpIndia Staff
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Are US-run biological labs in Ukraine one of the reasons behind Russia invasion? Read how Russian govt had raised ‘bioweapons’ alarm

As Russia has started attacking military installations in Ukraine, there are speculations that the United State’s Biolabs that have been established in Ukraine in the name of research and defence are also among the targets. The US has several such labs in Ukraine under its “Biological Threat Reduction Program”.

Social media has been abuzz with discussions on how the Russian government, in addition to objecting to NATO’s expansion in the region, has been highlighting their concerns, accusing the USA of running bioweapon labs near their border. A Twitter handle named @WarClandenstine claimed that it may be a possibility that Russia is targeting the Biolabs. Nothing has been confirmed yet.

There is a lot of discussion on social media regarding the alleged bioweapons labs run and funded by the US government on Ukrainian soil.

As per the details made available by the US government, the US Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program has been working with partner countries to “to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.”

Screenshot from US Embassy in Ukraine’s website

In Ukraine, the program’s aim is to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concerns and provide support to the nation in detecting and reporting outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they “pose any stability or security risks.”

In 2019, BTRP established two laboratories for the Consumer Protection Service of Ukraine with Biosafety Level 2 in Kyiv and Odesa. Both regions are under Russia’s attack. The US not only provides support for laboratory establishment but has also been funding research projects in Ukraine where the Ukrainian and American scientists work together.

Russia has accused the US of developing bio-weapons at its borders, at Ukraine and Georgia

On several occasions, Russia has accused the US and Ukraine of developing bio-weapons close to its borders. In 2021, while talking about the inability of the World Health Organisation to establish the origin of the Covid-19 virus, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Kommersant reporter that Russia believed the US was developing bio-weapons near its borders.

He said, “you pay attention to the fact that in the world, more and more new biological laboratories under the control of the United States are growing by leaps and bounds. Moreover, by a strange coincidence – mainly at the Russian and Chinese borders.” He added that the US claims they work with local scientists to develop ways to fight dangerous pathogens but what happens inside those walls was unknown.

He added, “We are told that peaceful sanitation stations operate near our borders, but for some reason, they are more reminiscent of Fort Detrick in Maryland, where Americans have been working in the field of military biology for decades. By the way, we should pay attention to the fact that outbreaks of diseases that are not typical for these regions are recorded in the surrounding areas.”

When asked if he meant Americans were developing biological weapons at those Biolabs, he said, “We have good reason to believe that this is the case.” He further said, “Not a day goes by at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague that the Americans and their allies do not come forward with another chapter of the anti-Russian chemical dossier.”

Speaking about the allegations against Russia over the development of chemical weapons, he said there were no evidence and only conjectures. The Russian government has made similar allegations multiple times.

Russia has raised concerns multiple times that the USA is running bioweapons labs in Ukraine and elsewhere
Russia had alleged that US is running bioweapons lab in Georgia

US-funded gain of function reasearch to ‘enhance’ viruses at Wuhan laboratory in China

It has been now been established by now that scientists from the USA, with NIH funding, had been running gain of function research into a number of SARS-like viruses in the Wuhan laboratory in China, which is widely believed to be the origin of Covid-19 infection. In September 2021, it was revealed in a book that the US had funded research on deadly viruses in Wuhan under the supervision of Anthony Fauci.

US scientist Peter Daszak, who had received an NIH grant, through his organisation EcoHealth Alliance had been engaged in ‘gain of function’ research for years in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Daszak has himself admitted on numerous occasions that they are running breakthrough research into coronaviruses.

Earlier this year, an investigation by Project Veritas had revealed that coronavirus research deemed ‘too dangerous’ by DARPA, was approved by Anthony Fauci’s NIAID and was conducted by Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance at Wuhan.

In October 2021, it was revealed via leaked emails that Anthony Fauci’s NIAID funded institute trained researchers at Wuhan lab housed fatal aerosol-borne viruses.

Russia invades Ukraine

On 24 February, after weeks of speculations, Russia finally invaded Ukraine, triggering a massive outrage all over the world. It is notable here that NATO, USA and Russia have been at loggerheads for years over NATO’s alleged plans to expand eastward, threatening Russia’s security. As Russian troops gathered on Ukraine’s borders over the last few weeks, NATO and USA have dropped billions of dollars worth of weapons in Ukraine, proclaiming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Addressing the people, Putin had announced that it is launching a military operation directed towards the ‘demilitarization’ and ‘denazification’ of Ukraine. The alleged biological weapons program is one of the many concerns Russia had raised regarding Ukraine.

NATO countries including the USA have promised to impose severe sanctions on Russia as a retaliatory measure against the invasion.

As Russia invades Ukraine, here is how Vajpayee govt was right in conducting nuclear tests despite criticism by opposition

OpIndia Staff
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As Russia invades Ukraine, here is how Vajpayee govt was right in conducting nuclear tests despite criticism by opposition

With Russian troops attacking Ukraine on 24th February 2022, the attention of the whole world has been diverted to the crisis between giant Russia and its eastern European neighbour. Russia has threatened of using a nuclear weapon, should any other force enter the war. It, therefore, becomes necessary to revisit the importance of the Indian nuclear program and the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998 performed by the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and APJ Abdul Kalam despite futile criticism by the Congress and the left. It must be noted that Vajpayee and Kalam both are Bharat Ratna awardees.

Pokhran is the place where India has conducted its nuclear tests. In 1974, for the first time, India had performed the nuclear test. Indira Gandhi was the then Prime Minister of the country. However, the way the Congress party had reacted over the nuclear tests of 1998 is certainly not appreciable. Rather, at the time when a country like Russia is threatening to use a nuclear weapon, it becomes necessary to take an account of the reactions which had portrayed India’s commitment to strengthening its self-defence as the attempts to create unrest in the subcontinent.

The Congress party had actually opposed these nuclear tests during the Vajpayee government. Sonia Gandhi had then said, “Real strength lies in restraint, not in the display of shakti.” The impact of the tests on the Indian polity was so big that she too had to think for ten days before giving this reaction. The tests were done on 11th May 1998 while this statement by Sonia Gandhi was given on 21st May 1998 when she was talking on the occasion of the seventh death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

Though Indian opposition and even some of the allies of the BJP looked stunned and confused on these tests, one thing was assured that none of them was openly supporting the nuclear tests. Instead, there was more wordplay and rhetorics. The left had criticized Vajpayee in their own age-old style. The core of their anger towards the then PM was for ‘trying to equate the bomb with patriotism and whip up a jingoistic ardor’. The then leader of the opposition Sharad Pawar who was in the Congress party at that time was not shy of equating the tests with national pride but at the same time he had cleverly directed the discussions in a different direction saying “I fail to understand why the BJP is linking the tests with a threat from China.”

This dubious stand of Sharad Pawar was one of the reasons for the confused oppose from Sonia Gandhi who was later advised by the likes of Salman Khurshid and Mani Shankar Ayyar to condemn the tests. Party spokesperson Salman Khurshid had said that BJP had done the test for political reasons and not to enhance the security of the nation. One must not forget that the Congress party and the left were opposing the nuclear tests despite knowing the fact that Pakistan and China had nuclear weapons.

It is also notable that as the current Russian president Vladimir Putin has threatened of using nuclear weapons in case of any interference by other international powers amidst the ongoing war, so has been the case with Pakistan. Many military officials and political leaders in Pakistan have been repeatedly threatening India of the nuclear attacks in their various talks. India has been on a war against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir for the last three decades. Besides, Pakistan has been actively involved in various terror attacks by Islamist terrorists in various Indian cities.

It must also be noted that Ukraine’s Ambassador to India, Igor Polikha, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin given the special ties between the two countries. In fact, it is not just because of the bilateral ties alone. If India is asked for help, then this clearly means India has a certain capacity. When Ukraine is asking for help amidst the fear of a nuclear attack, this ‘certain capacity’ essentially refers to nuclear weapons only, which India has today thanks to Vajpayee and Kalam.

HC dismisses application challenging plea seeking FIRs against Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur for ‘hate speech’ during Delhi anti-Hindu riots

OpIndia Staff
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HC dismisses application challenging plea seeking FIRs against Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur for ‘hate speech’ during Delhi anti-Hindu riots

The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed an impleadment application challenging the maintainability of a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against various BJP leaders for allegedly making hate speeches in order to provoke the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots. The court stated that the intervention application would be declined and that it would not be kept pending in the future.

The court was hearing an intervention application on behalf of a lawyer in a pending case filed by Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq, who sought the registration of an FIR and investigation against BJP officials Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma.

According to Advocate Pavan Narang, who represents the lawyer who filed the application, petitioner Farooq lacks locus standi to file the plea since, according to a Supreme Court ruling, PILs filed by people who have not even gone to the police should be dismissed. The Delhi HC bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani, however, refused to entertain the impleadment application and posted the matter for further hearing on Monday, February 28th.

The court will continue to hear another bunch of pleas seeking independent SIT investigation into the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu Riots.

Notably, the Supreme Court had in December last year asked the Delhi High Court to decide, “preferably within a period of three months”, a pending plea seeking registration of cases against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Abhay Verma in connection with the Northeast Delhi anti-Hindu riots perpetrated by Islamists between the 23rd and the 26th of February 2020.

It may be recalled that Delhi Police, which has been investigating the North-East Delhi’s anti-Hindu riots, had in July 2020 informed the Delhi High Court that they have not found any “actionable evidence” which indicated any role being played by any prominent political leader, including BJP leader Kapil Mishra and MP Anurag Thakur in “instigating and/or participating in the riots”.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra and MP Anurag Thakur wrongfully blamed for the Delhi riots

The anti-CAA protests in Delhi which began after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) got a clear passage in December 2019, turned violent when mobs went rampaging on the streets of the national capital February 24, 2020, onward. Soon the leftist media and ‘liberals’ had tried to implicate BJP leader Kapil Mishra and MP Anurag Thakur in the Delhi riots claiming that their allegedly ‘provocative’ statements ahead of Delhi elections triggered the riots. Interestingly, the Left media completely refused to acknowledge that the charge sheets clearly mentioned how Muslim leaders and leftists had started hatching a plan for the violence as far back as the 5th of December 2019 and regular incidents of violence by Muslim mobs ensued in the run-up to the anti-Hindu Delhi riots.

Did you know: Ukraine had condemned India after the 1998 Nuclear tests

OpIndia Staff
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Did you know: Ukraine had condemned India after the 1998 Nuclear tests

As Russian troops carry out “special military operations” against Ukraine to “demilitarise” the country, the Ukrainian government is pleading with all major powers to intervene and stop the Russian advance.

With Ukraine facing a grave crisis, the Volodymyr Zelenskyy-led government has requested India to intervene and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, given the special ties between the two countries.  

On Thursday, Ukrainian Ambassador to India Igor Polikha urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to play a more significant role in de-escalating the tensions with Russia as Modi and Putin share a mutual respect. Perhaps, Ukraine understands the hegemony of India and intends to utilise PM Modi’s goodwill to de-escalate the ongoing tensions.

However, Ukraine’s relationship with India was not at all rosy in the past as it is today. The ties between Ukraine and India has seen ups and downs, especially after India decided to go nuclear. It is important to remember that Ukraine was one of those countries that vehemently opposed India’s nuclear tests in 1998 and had condemned India’s actions at the security council following the 1998 nuclear test.

In 1998, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Indian government decided to conduct five nuclear tests and had stunned the world. The nuclear tests – ‘Operation Shakti’ set India on a road that made not just a nuclear power but also assured the country’s long time security interests.  

Following the nuclear tests, the United Nations Security Council had passed a resolution 1172 that had demanded that India refrain from further nuclear tests and had called them to become parties to Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) treaties.

The resolution had asked India to immediately stop their nuclear-weapon development programmes, to cease the development of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and any further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Ukraine, which was not part of the UNSC, had issued a separate statement condemning India’s actions to acquire nuclear technology.

In addition to the UNSC resolution, more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, had stood against India’s security interests to express grave concern regarding India’s nuclear tests.

In a disarmament conference held on May 14, 1998, under the aegis of the United Nations, the 30 countries had expressed their regret over India’s decision to carry out nuclear tests, which according to them, violated the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Speaking at the conference, Mykola Maimeskul, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, had condemned the step taken by India, which endangered existing international arrangements for nuclear non-proliferation.

Today, as we speak, Ukraine faces a huge crisis with an imminent invasion by the Russians. Ukraine is desperate for powerful friends as its ally, the United States of America neither enjoys global hegemony anymore nor commands respect from the rest of the world. Twenty-two years after taking a stand that contradicts India’s security and strategic objectives, Ukraine today wants India to stand behind them and talk to Russians to end the humiliation being meted out upon them.

As they say, in international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests. 

Hijab as ‘choice’: When 15 girls were left to die in a raging fire just because they were not ‘appropriately dressed’

OpIndia Staff
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Hijab as ‘choice’: When 15 girls were left to die in a raging fire just because they were not ‘appropriately dressed’

On March 11, 2002, 15 young girls were left to die in a fire at their school in Mecca. They could have escaped the fire but were not allowed to flee the burning building as they were not wearing proper ‘Islamic’ clothes. Saudi Arabia’s Religious Police prevented the Civil Defense Officers from entering the school to save the girls and stopped the girls from coming out of the building.

The incident not only shocked the country but sparked outrage across the world. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, also known as the Religious Police, was established in 1940. It was a Saudi Arabian government body that took radical shape in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the seizure of the Grand Mosque of Mecca by extremists.

The incident was the tipping point that widened the gap between the Religious Police or Hayaa and the people of Saudi Arabia. Since the incident, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has been gradually changing to a more moderate form of Islam as a part of Vision 2030 laid down by the Saudi administration.

The school fire and role of Religious Police in death of 15 girls

On March 11, 2002, a fire broke down at Intermediate School No 31 of Macca. Reportedly, it was caused by an unattended cigarette in a room located on the top floor, but some theories suggest it was caused due to an electric short circuit. The fire spread quickly across the three-storey building. There was a narrow staircase in the building to escape. The panicked students rushed towards the staircase that collapsed.

At the time of the incident, there were around 800 students and 50 teachers in the school. The building was an over-crowded rented property. During the investigation into the fire, the agencies found there were iron bars on the windows, making them impossible for anyone to use for escape. The building lacked alarms, emergency stairs or escape routes and fire extinguishers. In case of a disaster, like the one that happened in March 2002, the lack of safety measures had put everyone at risk.

Reports suggest that it was a residential building that was turned into a school in 1990. The building had small rooms, few washrooms and narrow staircases. There were no proper arrangements for students in the school. General Presidency for Girls’ Education was managing the school. When the incident happened, the male guard, who had locked the main door, was not present around the building.

By the time firefighters reached the school, the members of Religious Police were already present at the building. During that time, the members of Religious Police often roamed around the girls’ schools to “ensure” they wore proper Islamic dress. While the innocent girls and teachers were suffocating and screaming for help, the members of the Religious Police prevented rescuers from entering the building. They also stopped the victims from escaping the building.

The reason behind such an inhumane act was that the girls were not wearing abayas and headscarves or hijab. According to the al-Eqtisadiah daily, a witness saw the members of Religious Police allegedly beating the girls who tried to escape the building. They also stopped men from approaching women as it was “sinful to approach the girls.” The Father of one of the deceased girls alleged that the guard of the school refused to open the main gate of the school.

The rescuers lost precious time to save the girls who trampled over each other while trying to escape. By the time regular police arrived and intervened to let the firefighters enter the building, 15 students were already dead, and over 50 were injured.

The action of the Religious Police sparked outrage across the country and on the international platform. In the investigation, the government agencies found the educational authorities maintaining the school was responsible for incompetent fire safety measures in the building. Though there were eyewitnesses and Civil Defense Officers who saw Religious Police preventing rescuers from entering the building, their role in the death of 15 students was dismissed by the government.

The outrage, however, forced the Saudi government to scrape the General Presidency for Girls’ Education. The autonomous government agency that was created in 1960 and managed by conservative clerics was replaced by the Ministry of Education. Notably, boys’ schools were already under the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia.

The downfall of Religious Police

Religious Police is hardly seen in public places in current times. Once feared by most of the public, Religious Police was infamous for detaining, beating up and assaulting those who did not follow Islamic Laws, especially women. They used to patrol public areas to enforce dress codes. They would not allow men and women to be at the same place.

After the 2002 incident, they slowly lost their powers, and by 2016, the government stripped them off most authority. They could not detain, pursue or question any “suspect”. As per the regulations, they were asked to act kindly and gently with the public. They could only report the incident to law enforcement officers and not take any action against anyone.

The Saudi administration has removed many restrictions on women in recent years, such as they can now drive alone, gender segregation is no longer required and more and mandatory burqa orders have been removed, as long as women wear ‘decent’ attires. The country is now moving towards becoming a more open society, but the black spots like the incident of March 2002  would keep haunting them for a long time.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy offers weapons to civilians, says anyone can take arms and defend the country

OpIndia Staff
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Ukraine President Zelenskyy offers weapons to civilians, says anyone can take arms and defend the country

As Russian airstrikes and artillery bombardment overwhelms Ukrainian military installations, Ukraine President Volodymir Zelenskyy has asked civilians to take up arms to defend the country. In a tweet, Zelenskyy has said that they will provide weapons to anyone who wants to fight and has asked people to be ready to support Ukraine in city squares.

In another tweet, Zelenskyy stated that his government will lift sanctions against any citizens who take up arms in defence of the country as part of the territorial defense.

Earlier, Ukraine has announced the severance of all ties with Russia. Almost all major cities of Ukraine are now under massive Russian attack. However, Russia has stated that they are using precision weapons to target only military installations and they will not harm citizens.

Before Russia invaded, President Putin had asked Ukrainian soldiers to lay down weapons and go home to their families.

From being concerned about India’s judicial process as Russia started a war to Ukranian Ambassador’s speech: How UN is losing its significance

OpIndia Staff
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From being concerned about India’s judicial process as Russia started a war to Ukranian Ambassador’s speech: How UN is losing its significance

Ending weeks of speculation, Russian forces started attacking Ukraine today morning. The invasion was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in an early morning speech on TV warning other nations against interfering in Russian operations in Ukraine. Putin said that Russia has no plan to occupy Ukraine, but added that the response will be instant if anyone tried to stop the Russian military.

Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian military bases were bombed using cruise and ballistic missiles. Reportedly, all air force bases in Ukraine have been destroyed by the Russian bombing. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and announced that martial law has been imposed in the country.

Amid this invasion, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations delivered a strongly worded speech, directly addressing the Russian ambassador. During an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told his Russian counterpart Vasily Nebenzya that war criminals go straight to hell.

At the meeting held in New York almost an hour after the address by Putin, the Ukrainian Ambassador blasted the Russian Ambassador for launching the attack on his country. He said that less than an hour ago he was planning confirm from the Russian envoy that Russia will not attack Ukraine today, but that has become useless now.

“So when I was coming here an hour ago, I was intending to ask the Russian ambassador to confirm on the record that the Russian troops will not start firing at Ukrainians today. It became useless 48 minutes ago. Because about 48 minutes ago your president declared a war on Ukraine,” he said.

At present Russia is the President of the UN Security Council, and Sergiy Kyslytsya asked Russia to leave the position if it is not able to protect Ukraine from the invasion by Russia. “If you are not in the position to give an affirmative answer, the Russian Federation ought to relinquish responsibilities of the President of the Security Council, pass these responsibilities onto a legitimate member of the Security Council, a member that is respectful of the charter,” he said.

He also appealed the members of the UNSC to convene an emergency meeting immediately and consider all necessary decisions to stop the war. “Because it is too late my dear colleagues to speak about de-escalation, too late. The Russian President declared war,” the ambassador said.

He also asked the Russian envoy whether he should play the video of Putin’s address. He reiterated his demand that Russia should step down from the presidency of UNSC and asked Vasily Nebenzya to call Putin to end the war. He told Nebenzya, “There is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to hell ambassador.”

In response, Vasily Nebenzya said that Russia is only aggressive towards the government in Kyiv and not against general Ukrainians. The Russian ambassador further said, “I am sure the ppl of Ukraine will be happy when they are liberated from the regime that occupied them”.

The Ukrainian Ambassador also told the media that it’s a historical embarrassment that the UN failed to prevent the war against Ukraine by Russia.

After the video of the Ukrainian Ambassador’s speech at the UNSC appeared on social media, netizens reacted by reminding how the United Nations have yet again failed to stop a war. They noted that while the United Nations Security Council is responsible for ensuring that sovereign nations are not invaded by hostile nations, Russia is actually a permanent member of the UNSC, and its president for the current month.

As the five permanent members of UNSC have veto power, it means that any resolution against Russia will not be passed. This means, the most important UN body at this moment has become lame duck. Netizens remarked that Putin will take full advantage of this situation.

“The UN was created to prevent wars exactly like this. What a mockery that Russia presided over the Security Council to justify what the Security Council was founded to prevent,” remarked American author Ben Rhodes, who was former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama.

Journalist Siobhan Kennedy noted the irony that the very moment the UNSC meeting chaired by Russia had started, Putin had launched his invasion of Ukraine.

Washington Post journalist Paul Sonne tweeted that it is “perhaps one of the most powerless moments for the United Nations Security Council”, as it can’t take any action against its permanent member Russia.

Avi Yemini from Rebel News kept it short and simple, “The UN is the most useless body in the world”.

It may be noted that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had made a personal appeal to Russia to not invade Ukraine. He had appealed to Putin to stop the Russian troops from entering Ukraine, but that appeal proved to be futile.

As the United Nations failed to stop yet another global crisis, it is found in meddling in affairs that it has no business to be interfering. At a time when Russia was mobilising its troops along the Ukraine border, the UN was busy in inferring in a legal investigation in India against so-called journalist Rana Ayyub.

Rana Ayyub had collected a large amount in donations in the name of helping victims of flood and covid, but she herself had admitted that she could not spend the amount. There were multiple irregularities in her fundraising campaign, and as a result, ED had attached her property worth Rs 1.77 crore.

This was just a regular fraud probe against a citizen, but the UN had made it a global issue by claiming that it was a “relentless misogynistic and sectarian attacks online against journalist Rana Ayyub”, and had called for an investigation. The official Twitter handle of UN Geneva had called the legal action against Rana Ayyub “judicial harassment”.

Similarly, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has also become heavily biased towards Islamists, and as a result, has become a defunct body. It was found to be taking Pakistan’s line on Kashmir and had condemned the deportation of illegal Rohingya refugees by India. In fact, the USA has already quit UNHRC calling it a “cesspool of political bias”.

The United Nations and other bodies associated with have been utterly unable to prevent any wars or conflicts, and has been shown to act only at those who threaten the status quo of the global order. Despite repeated violations of human rights and regular threats to invade Taiwan, the UN is unable to take any action against China. But when terrorists are killed or legal actions are taken against fraudsters in India, the UN and its affiliates become active to condemn India.

Ukraine requests PM Modi to intervene and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end military operation

OpIndia Staff
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Ukraine requests PM Modi to intervene and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end military operation

As Ukraine faces a grave crisis following the Russian ‘military operation’, Ukraine’s Ambassador to India Igor Polikha has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin given the special ties between the two countries.

According to the reports, Ukrainian Ambassador Igor Polikha said India has a special relationship with Russia, and New Delhi can play a more active role in managing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“India is a powerful global player. We are asking, pleading for the support of India. In case of aggression of a totalitarian regime, India should play its global role. Modiji is one of the most powerful global leaders of the world. We know that India has a special privileged strategic partnership with Russia. We don’t know how many world leaders Putin may listen to. But the status of Modiji makes me hopeful that in the case of his strong voice Putin should at least think over. We are expecting a much more favourable attitude of the Indian government at this crisis situation,” Igor Polikha stated to the media in Delhi.

“We urge PM Narendra Modi to immediately contact Russian President Vladimir Putin and our President Volodymyr Zelensky,” the Ukrainian Ambassador requested the Indian government to intervene and negotiate a truce between Russia and Ukraine.

This comes at a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a ‘military operation’ against Ukraine.

Russian troops enters Ukraine, martial law in place

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced limited military operations against Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the special operation to be conducted in East Ukraine.

Putin had added explicitly that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukraine. He said the military action he announced would seek to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine and came in response to threats from Ukraine.

According to Ukraine’s border guard agency, the Russian military entered the country from neighbouring Belarus. The Russian forces crossed Belarus to enter Ukraine from the North, said Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Northern border forces in Ukraine have come under attack by Russian troops.

The Russian troops allegedly launched attacks on border units, border patrols, and checkpoints using artillery, heavy equipment, and small arms.

Earlier in the day, large explosions were heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Several cities, airports, roads are hit by the rockets as Russian troops take control of East Ukrainian cities.

During his address declaring military action against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin had urged the Ukrainian soldiers to lay down arms. He said those who followed his demand would be allowed to leave the battle zone and return to their families.

Pakistani minister says Imran Khan will still meet Putin in Moscow but in private, earlier reports said he is returning home without the meeting

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani minister says Imran Khan will still meet Putin in Moscow but in private, earlier reports said he is returning home without the meeting

Pakistan has denied reports that Prime Minister Imran Khan is curtailing his Moscow visit and returning to Pakistan after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine. Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry has said that the visit is going ahead as scheduled, and he will meet Putin today. “Speculations about PM @mranKhanPTI visit are misplaced. The Visit is proceeding and PM will return to Pakistan tonight as per schedule,” he tweeted.

While Imran Khan is going ahead with meeting Putin, his scheduled media interaction has been cancelled. Later, minister Fawad Hussain also tweeted an update that Imran Khan has left the hotel to meet president Putin.

Earlier it was reported that hours after landing up in Moscow, the Pakistani Prime Minister has decided to call off his visit to Russia after Putin declared war on Ukraine.

While Russia’s military operation had just kicked off in Ukraine, Imran Khan after reaching Moscow said that he was “excited” to be in Moscow at this juncture. Imran Khan was to visit Moscow and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during the two-day visit which was touted to be ‘historic’. This is the first visit to Moscow by a Pakistani leader in more than 20 years.

As soon as he landed in Russia, Khan told a Russian official, “What a time I have come so much excitement,” even as tensions between Russia and Ukraine were escalating amid clouds of imminent war. Subsequently, the United States of America informed Pakistan about its position on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and within hours, Khan decided to call off the rest of the tour.

“We’ve communicated to Pakistan our position regarding Russia’s further renewed invasion of Ukraine and we have briefed them on our efforts to pursue diplomacy over war,” Price had reportedly told media about Khan’s visit to Moscow.

Before meeting with Putin, Khan had paid floral tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to Soviet soldiers killed in World War II.

It should be noted here that Pakistan has been a longstanding NATO ally while its relationship with Russia has been growing under the increasing Chinese influence.

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