Home Blog Page 6044

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says Pakistan will not use nuclear weapons first against India

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says Pakistan will not use nuclear weapons first against India

As Pakistan continues to knock at the doors of the international community against India’s decision to fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir, prime minister Imran Khan made a significate statement today. He said that Pakistan will not use nuclear weapons first, as any escalation between the two nuclear-capable countries will put the entire world in danger.


Addressing a gathering of Sikh community in Lahore, Imran Khan said, “we both are nuclear-armed countries. If these tensions increase, the world could be in danger”. “There will be no first from our side ever,” he assured.

He repeated his rants against RSS in his speech, saying its totalitarian ideology will target other minorities like Sikhs and Dalits also, not just Muslims. He urged the Sikh community raise their voice against the RSS ideology.  Imran Khan was addressing the closing session of International Sikh Convention at the Governor House as the chief guest.

His comments come just a few weeks after Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh saying that India may review its no first use doctrine of nuclear weapons if needed, indicating that India may not stick the ‘no first use’ doctrine if the government feels the need to use the deadly weapon.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s assurance of not using nuclear weapons came just a day after his cabinet colleague, railway minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, warned India that Pakistan has tactical nuclear weapons capable of causing targeted damage in India. “Pakistan has small 125-250 gram atom bombs which may hit a targeted area in India,” he had said while talking to media on Sunday.

While India has self-declared no first use doctrine on nuclear weapons, Pakistan does not have any such official position. Pakistan claims that its first use doctrine is entirely deterrent in nature.

MP forest minister claims Digvijay Singh is trying to destabilise Kamal Nath government, writes to Sonia Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
-
0
MP forest minister claims Digvijay Singh is trying to destabilise Kamal Nath government, writes to Sonia Gandhi

One of the ministers of Kamal Nath led cabinet in Madhya Pradesh has levelled serious allegations against Congress party veteran and former CM of the state Digvijaya Singh, accusing him of trying to destabilise the Madhya Pradesh government.

Umang Singhar, forest minister in the MP state government has written a letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi Sunday in this context. The letter exposes the infighting within the MP Congress, which the party has been trying to cover.


Singhar has in his letter to Gandhi had written that he was pained to inform her that senior party leader and MP, Digvijaya, was trying to destabilise the Kamal Nath government install him as a power centre.

He further added that Digvijaya was writing letters to the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues and sharing the same on social media platforms.

“He had also written letters to Nath regarding Vyapam, e-tendering and tree-plantation scams, but had not written about Simhast (Kumbh Mela) scam as his son Jaivardhan Singh is heading the urban administration and development ministry. The Congress had made it (Simhast scam) a big issue while it was in the opposition,” the letter stated.

“Such letters give credence to the opposition, including former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and leader of the opposition Gopal Bhargava, that Digvijaya is running the government from behind the curtain,” it further read.

Singhar, who is a tribal MLA from Gandhwani seat, also said in the letter, “When he is running the government from behind the curtain, which is known to everyone including the Congress workers, then what was the need to write a letter (to ministers)?”

Singhar confirmed to the PTI about writing the letter to Gandhi. In the same breath, he asked, “What is wrong with it?”

Reports of fiction in the Madhya Pradesh party unit have been surfacing for a while and recently a section of the party workers favouring Jyotiraditya Scindia threatened to mass resign if her was not made the party chief in the state.

Digvijaya, a known Gandhi family loyalist, had recently written to the state ministers for an appointment to seek the updates on the transfers and works recommended by him.

State public relations minister PC Sharma jumped in defense of Digvijaya and his act of writing to the CM and ministers citing his stature as a present Rajya Sabha MP.

“People come to him with their problems and he highlighted them by writing letters,” Sharma said and added, “He did the ‘Narmada Parikrama’ (circumambulation), and a large number of people contact him with their problems. There is nothing wrong in writing letters.”

Sharma who is believed to be a loyalist of Digvijaya rubbished the claims that he was running a parallel government in the state. “It is chief minister Kamal Nath who is running the government and all senior leaders and ministers are supporting him,” he asserted.

P Chidambaram’s CBI custody extended by one day, court to hear interim bail plea tomorrow

OpIndia Staff
-
0
P Chidambaram’s CBI custody extended by one day, court to hear interim bail plea tomorrow

A Delhi court today extended the CBI custody of former union minister P Chidambaram by one more day. Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar will hear the bail plea of the senior Congress leader tomorrow. Chidambaram was produced at the court as his CBI remand was expiring today which was extended by three days on 30 August.

The CBI opposed any relief to Chidambaram and sought one more day in custody, which was granted by the court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal moved an interim plea seeking interim bail at the court today, after the Supreme Court directed him to move the trial court for interim protection. Appearing for CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to submitted a written reply to the plea, and also said that CBI must be issued a notice in this regard as per rules.

The hearings in the special CBI court was followed by dramatic developments in the Supreme Court today. SC was hearing Chidambaram’s petition against CBI remand today, where his lawyers requested the court that he should not be sent to Tihar jail on judicial custody. His lawyers had said that put Chidambaram in house arrest if needed, instead of Tihar Jail.

In a very unusual order, the Supreme Court had asked the trial court to extend CBI remand if his bail plea was to be rejected today. This order had prevented the trial court from sending P Chidambaram to Judicial custody. Later SG Tushar Mehta was able to convince the apex court to hear the matter again tomorrow, as CBI was going to seek custody till tomorrow.

When the CBI court started hearing the case, it had not received the SC order, creating some confusion. After the order was fetched, the court extended the CBI custody of P Chidambaram by one. The court will hear the interim bail plea on Tuesday, and take further decisions on the case after Supreme Court issues its order tomorrow.

Chidambaram was arrested late night on 21st August by the CBI from his Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi in connection to the INX Media case. The arrest came after high-intensity drama where CBI officials had to climb up walls to reach the senior Congress leader. The CBI court had sent him to CBI remand for 4 days on 22nd August, which was extended by 4 and 3 days after expire of earlier remands. ED is also seeking to arrest him on money laundering case.

NDTV slammed for referring to Wing Commander Abhinandan as the pilot who was captured by Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
-
0
NDTV slammed for referring to Wing Commander Abhinandan as the pilot who was captured by Pakistan

It seems that controversial media house NDTV, which is known for its anti-India fake news propaganda, never misses a chance to propagate scandalous anti-India narrative.

On Monday, NDTV, a part of the left wing media ecosystem, was subjected to severe shaming after it tried to dishonour war hero Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by referring to him as a ‘captured pilot’.


In a historic event, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who had piloted a MiG-21 Bison retaliating Pakistan Air Force’s attempt to attack India after India’s airstrike at a terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in February, flew a sortie together in a two-seater version of the Russian-origin MiG-21 from Pathankot airbase.

Following his ejection from the downed MiG-21, which is physically very demanding, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was undergoing rehabilitation. As the entire country welcomed Abhinandan Varthaman getting back his flying category after six months, perhaps NDTV could not hide its anguish and seems to have deliberately attempted to discredit Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by referring to him as ‘captured pilot’ in the same tone and tenor as Pakistan.

The NDTV’s hatred for Indian Armed Forces was soon caught by social media users, who slammed the controversial media house for its insensitive reporting. Few users responded with tweeting the edited image of the NDTV’s tweet with a more appropriate headline.


Some social media users even accused NDTV of being a Pakistani media after it referred to Abhinandan Varthaman as a ‘captured pilot’.


On 27th April, when Pakistan Air Force had attempted to retaliate the Balakot strikes, Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison was one of the planes scrambled by the IAF to tharst the attack. During a dog fight, Abhinadnan had shot down an F-16 of Pakistan, but he had entered PoK by that time and was shot down by a Pakistani fighter plane. He has been awarded the Vir Chakra on independence day last month.

China offers to treat Timatar Reporter at one of their ‘reeducation camps’ after his latest rant

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
China offers to treat Timatar Reporter at one of their ‘reeducation camps’ after his latest rant

The ‘Tauba Tauba’ journalist is back again, this time with a rant on Kashmir. In a recent video, he has appealed the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to drop atom bombs in New Delhi. Earlier, he had boasted of Pakistani being an ‘Atami taakat’ but rued the fact that India had stopped ‘timatar’ supplies to the terror state.

He said, “This is a ‘Tauba Tauba’ situation, today it has been 27 days since the curfew has been imposed in Kashmir. People are waiting for medicines, the sick are waiting to get to the hospital, people are not getting water and electricity, people don’t have internet and mobile services. This is Tauba Tauba situation, Indian Forces have imposed a curfew for 27 days.”

“In this situation, I’d like to appeal to Imran Khan and Pakistan Force that they should immediately attack Kashmir and drop an atom bomb on Delhi. Atom bomb should be thrown on Delhi and other cities of India. This is a Tauba Tauba situation and Indian Forces must be taught a lesson that if Kashmir is in sorrow, then every Indian child must feel the pain,” the Tauba Tauba reporter added.

In unrelated news, according to reports, 50 million Pakistanis were said to be suffering from mental health issues as of 2016. The psychological effect of the abrogation of Article 370 on the mental health of Pakistanis is yet to be evaluated.

Reactions have been pouring in on the Tauba Tauba reporter’s ridiculous rant. Himesh Reshammiya roared, “Mujhe tere ghar me timatar chahiye, garibi nahi! (I want tomatoes in your home, not poverty!”. Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar thundered, “Aaj meri pagri bhi Kesari, jo bahega mera lahoo bhi Kesari, aur mera jawaab bhi Kesari! (Today, my turban is Saffron, my blood that will flow is Saffron and my answer is also Saffron!)”.

Mithun Chakraborty said, “Laat maarbo ekhaney, Laash porbey shoshaney! (I will kick you here and your body will land straight in the crematorium!).” Noted singer Kailash Kher said, “Tauba tauba tauba uff, Tauba tauba tauba uff, Tauba tauba tauba uff, Tauba tauba tauba, Tauba tauba ve teri surat, Masha-e-allah ve teri surat, Tauba tauba ve teri surat, Masha-e-allah ve teri surat, Tuenu jera mere liye, Rab ne banaya mere yaara, Dildaara dise rab da nazara.” We don’t quite understand what he meant.

The Supreme Court of India, too, was concerned with the rhetoric and raised the matter with the apex court of Pakistan. When it learned that the Pakistani apex court couldn’t comment on such matters, it was surprised. “Strange. Here in India, the government can’t even deport illegal immigrants before we have first heard at least a dozen PILs,” one judge observed ruefully.

BBC took cognizance of Timatar Reporter’s comments and, after much debate and deliberation, came to the conclusion that Hindu Nationalism was responsible for the Pakistani’s genocidal rhetoric. New York Times, in an editorial, accused the Indian government of committing genocide not only in Kashmir but also in Pakistan. “India’s actions have created a mental health crisis in Pakistan that needs immediate attention from the World Health Organization. The recent comments made by Timatar Reporter ought to be seen in that light.”

China has meanwhile offered to treat Timatar Reporter at one of their ‘reeducation camps’. Hillary Clinton has requested Pakistan to desist from the attack as the first victims of war are primarily women because they are left without husbands. The Democrat party issued a similar statement where it said it was useless to nuke New Delhi as the city was not dominated by White Males.

Beto O’Rourke, a Presidential aspirant who is known to speak in Spanish during debates to reach out to Hispanics, said, “Despacito , Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito, Deja que te diga cosas al oído, Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo.” Vladimir Putin reportedly called Narendra Modi to enquire whether India wanted some Russian interference to deal with Pakistan. The Indian PM has apparently declined the offer as he doesn’t want another Mueller Report.

Noted panelist on Memri raised his shoe and said, “This is my only comment. A worn-out shoe is my only comment.”

Image result for this shoe is my only comment memri

Another panelist told Timatar Reporter, “By Allah, Behave Yourself. I will give you a taste of my shoe.”

Image result for by allah behave yourself

Naruto only said ‘Dattebayo!’. Uzumaki Deidara said, “Art is an EXPLOSION!” It is hereby clarified that OpIndia.com does not endorse such violent rhetoric. Voldemort refused to comment on the matter but told us that his spokesperson, Peter Pettigrew, would soon issue a statement. When we inquired where we would find Wormtail, he told us Pettigrew was recently spotted in the Supreme Court, arguing for a senior Congress leader. We aren’t sure who he meant.

Image result for kapil sibal wormtail

Manchester United fans were seen outside Old Trafford urging Ed Woodward and the Glazers to take a trip to New Delhi after Timatar Reporter’s video went viral. Arsenal fans, meanwhile, enquired whether they could send their owners to New Delhi on the same flight as well since their club, apparently, doesn’t have enough funds after the transfer window.

People in India are glad that they will be able to celebrate Diwali properly this time as firecrackers were banned by the Supreme Court last year. “It’s a genuine goodwill gesture that will promote peace and harmony between the two countries,” said Javed Akhtar. Arvind Kejriwal claimed credit for it and said that it was because of the Aam Aadmi Party that people will be able to celebrate Diwali with firecrackers this year.

When reminded that Timatar Reporter was talking about nuclear bombs and not firecrackers, the IITian Delhi CM said, “Hum gadhey nahi hai ji. Atom bomb bola na, hum jaantey hain atom bomb kya hota hai, bachpan me hum bhi khoob phora kartey the (We are not donkeys. We know what an atom bomb is, we used to burst them in our childhood too).”

Meanwhile, Imran Khan has taken the words of Timatar Reporter seriously and phoned Daenerys Targaryen to request her to lend one of her dragons to drop an atom bomb on New Delhi. It appears that Imran Khan, like Jon Snow, knows nothing. The Dragon Queen was recently assassinated by Jon Snow for the greater good.

Former Pakistani Cricketer and permanently retired finally, Shahid Afridi, implored Imran Khan to see reason and said that there was no need for nuclear war and the Kashmir issue can be resolved through another Twitter battle with Gautam Gambhir. He promised to direct more mean tweets at the current BJP Lok Sabha MP and former Indian cricketer. Timatar Reporter’s incendiary remark had resulted in marital problems for Shoaib Malik, hence, he was unavailable for comments.

Record number of Income Tax Return filed in a single day, I-T dept to issue PAN if ITR filed with only Aadhaar

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Record number of Income Tax Return filed in a single day, I-T dept to issue PAN if ITR filed with only Aadhaar

In an official statement issued on Sunday, the Income Tax department has revealed that it has made history with a quantum jump in the e-filing of Income–Tax Returns (ITRs) with an all-time high record of 49 lakh 29 thousand and 121 ITRs filed in a single day on August 31, 2019.

31st August was the last date of filing income tax returns after it was extended by a month. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the peak filing rate per second on August 31, was at 196 ITRs and peak filing rate per minute was at 7447 ITRs.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) frames policies for the tax department. The CBDT data showed that more than 5.65 crore returns were filed till 31 August 2019, marking a 4 per cent increase in the filings from the 5.42 crore returns filed in 2018-2019.

On the last week of August, a rumour was spreading on social media that the last date for filing ITR has been extended again. But the Income Tax department had issued an advisory stating that no such extension has been given. The department had asked citizens to file the returns within the extended due date of August 31, 2019.

Due to the department’s efforts in providing pre-filled forms as well as guidance to taxpayers through social media, the filing of tax returns surged 41 per cent on the last date to 49 lakh filings in the assessment year 2019-20 from the previous year.

Moreover, as a part of a new arrangement to link both Aadhar and PAN, a notification was issued by the CBDT on August 30, which says that if taxpayers file ITR with only Aadhaar, they will be automatically alloted PAN (Permananet Account Number) by the I-T department. It said that if a person who does not have PANm furnishes only Aadhaar number for filing returns, “shall be deemed” to have applied for allotment of PAN and they will not be required to apply or submit any more documents.

The notification said the tax department will “obtain demographic information of an individual from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)” for allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN). This rule has come to effect from September 1, 2019.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on July 5 announced that PAN and Aadhaar are being made interchangeable as the government will allow those who do not have PAN to file I-T returns by simply quoting their Aadhaar number and use it wherever they are required to quote PAN.

On being asked whether the Income Tax Department-issued PAN will be dead, CBDT chairman P C Mody had told PTI in an interview in July that the department would “suo motu” allot a fresh PAN to a person who files I-T Returns (ITR) with only Aadhaar as part of a new arrangement to link the two databases. “In cases where Aadhaar is being quoted and PAN is not there, we could possibly think on the terms of allotting a PAN to the person (who is filing an income tax return).” “The law provides that the assessing officer can suo motu allot PAN. So, if Aadhaar is being quoted without PAN, I give him the PAN. It becomes linked,” Mody had said. This means that the PAN will continue, and individuals who have Aadhaar but not PAN will be issued PAN automatically.

Aadhaar is issued to individuals only, while PAN is issued to corporate and other non-personal entities too who pay tax and file returns, and the entire Income Tax database is based on PAN. Therefore, it seems logical that PAN will continue to be used even if interchangeability with Aadhaar had suggested that it will become obsolete.

The government has made it mandatory to link the two databases. While Aadhar is issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to an individual, PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the tax department to a person, firm or entity.

The information provided in an Aadhar, that is the individual’s name, date of birth, gender, photo and address, and also biometrics, is the same which an individual person would require to acquire a new PAN. As per data, over 120 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued in the country and about 41 crore PAN numbers have been generated. Out of these, more than 22 crore PANs are linked with Aadhaar.

Section 139 AA (2) of the I-T Act provides that any individual who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar or is having PAN as on July 1, 2017, is required to declare their Aadhaar number to tax authorities. After the Supreme Court upheld the section 139AA, the government in March this year declared that the deadline for linking PAN-Aadhaar was till September 30. If the PAN of individuals are not linked with Aadhaar within 30 September, such PANs will become invalid. Residents Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir have been exempted from this where Aadhaar penetration is low.

Last year the SC had upheld that the Government’s flagship Aadhar scheme as constitutionally valid and declared that the biometric ID would remain mandatory for filing of I-T returns and allotment of PAN.

Now, according to the latest notification, the tax department will be “responsible for evolving and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to furnishing or intimation or quoting or authentication of Aadhaar number or obtaining of demographic information of an individual from the UIDAI, for allotment of permanent account number and issue thereof”.

Attempt to trespass into Parliament foiled by security forces, the suspect who is a Dera Sacha Sauda follower detained

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Attempt to trespass into Parliament foiled by security forces, the suspect who is a Dera Sacha Sauda follower detained

The Parliament security forces on Monday foiled an attempt by a Dera Sacha Sauda follower trying to trespass into the Parliament. The suspect was carrying a knife. He has been taken to the Parliament police station.

The trespasser has been identified as Sagar and he is a resident of Delhi’s Lakshmi Nagar.


According to sources, the suspect who is reportedly a follower of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Ram Rahim reached Door No. 1 of Parliament building on a bike. The man stopped his bike at Gate No 1 and tried to enter inside the Parliament premise with a knife in his hand. He was also shouting slogans in favour of Ram Rahim when security forces detained him and handed him over to Delhi Police, confirmed an eyewitness.

Sagar was detained and taken to Parliament Street police station where a team of senior police officers are currently questioning him.

The 51-year-old Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Ram Rahim is currently lodged at the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak. He is convicted in two rape cases and in a murder case of a journalist. In July, Ram Rahim Singh had sought parole for farming at his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa. However, the application was withdrawn later.

Pakistan: Hindu girl abducted and forcibly converted to Islam with Imran Khan’s party member’s help

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pakistan: Hindu girl abducted and forcibly converted to Islam with Imran Khan’s party member’s help

The atrocities against minorities in Pakistan continues unabated. After the abduction of a Sikh girl, now a Hindu girl has been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The girl was abducted by one of her classmates, Babar Aman, along with Mirza Dilawar Baig, who is a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The girl was forcibly abducted and taken to Baig’s home where she was forcibly married off to Aman and converted to Islam. Aman’s brother has been arrested, however, the whereabouts of him and the girl remains unknown.

As per reports, the girl is being held at Baig’s Sialkot home. Baig is a member of the PTI, the party founded by current Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. The girl, a student of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), left for classes on Saturday but never returned home, her father has said.

“This is a very sad moment for all Hindus. We must work out on this issue. This is the third case in two months and we are still sitting calmly. Are we waiting for any saint or special person to come from the sky to lead us? We must think about this,” Ravi Dwani, General Secretary of All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat said.

Earlier, Jagjit Kaur, a Sikh girl was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Nankana Sahib which has caused a huge uproar. It has attracted widespread criticism and a massive protest by Sikhs in India in front of the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi. The MEA, too, issued a strong statement and demanded immediate remedial action from Pakistan.

European Parliament member backs India on Jammu and Kashmir, says abrogation of Article 370 will help curb terrorism

OpIndia Staff
-
0
European Parliament member backs India on Jammu and Kashmir, says abrogation of Article 370 will help curb terrorism

India’s bold move to abrogate Article 370 has been receiving approval from all across the globe. The latest to join the list is the European Parliament, which on Sunday backed India in its decision to repeal Article 370 which provided separate status to Jammu and Kashmir.

In an article published in the European Parliament’s monthly newspaper EP Today, a member of the European Parliament, MEP Tomas Zdechovsky, repeating India’s stand that the Kashmir issue is ‘internal’, said that the abrogation of Article 370 will help in rooting out several terrorist organisations operating in Kashmir.

According to Tomas, there are some terrorist organisations spreading terror in the Kashmir Valley and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). These terror groups are responsible for attacks on persons belonging to various political organisations in Kashmir, including in the killings of at least six political party workers and a separatist leader, he said.

In 2018 elections, these groups had threatened the people of Kashmir of ‘dire consequences’ if they participated in the elections and also those running for elections. They had asked the leaders to withdraw their nominations and publicly apologised for their actions or be prepared for severe upshots.

“While armed groups have sporadically threatened political workers in previous elections, the number of attacks in 2018 is among the highest in recent times,” said Tomas.

These armed groups who are accused of harassing and threatening nationalist and pro-independence political workers in PoK have, moreover, been operating with Pakistan’s support.

On August 2, 2018, members of an unknown armed group attacked and burned down at least 12 schools in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district. At least half of these were school girls.

On February 14, 2019, a suicide bombing killing at least 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

“India blamed Pakistan for continuing to support the group’s activities. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed to an international news organisation that JeM founder Mohammad Masood Azhar was present in Pakistan,” the article read.

On May 1, the mastermind of the Pathankot terrorist attack and head of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Masood Azhar, had been designated as a global terrorist in the United Nations Sanctions List subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.

The MEP further said in his article, “In its fight against terrorism, and against acts of violence in Kashmir and also in India by Pakistani based terrorists and armed groups, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had to act. His choice of action, whilst harsh and direct, was criticised by many who failed to understand his motive. On August 5, this year, PM Modi revoked Article 370 through a Presidential Order and the passage of a resolution in Parliament.”

“The removal, temporarily or permanently of these articles, should be seen as a global stance against terrorist activities, where today terrorists exploit the principles of democracy, freedom of speech and human rights practised by the majority, whilst at the same time imposing fear, violence and killings as justification for their causes,” said the MEP.

Tomas Zdechovsky furthered, “With his landslide victory, his focus on genuinely protecting his people by prioritising the fight against terrorism remains unshaken… providing almost immediate justification to his actions, on 6th August, the day after his announcement to revoke Article 370, the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a dramatic speech that invited and incited further terrorist activity in India.”

“Incidents like Pulwama are bound to happen again, I can already predict this will happen,” Khan said, calling to his Parliament, people and Pakistan based terrorist groups. At the same time his Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, stated that Pakistan’s military will “go to any extent” to protect Kashmir.

Mullah Masood Azhar, chief of the Jihadi group, further explained that “now is the time that Kashmiris need to come out with unity so that the enemy will beg for peace and negotiations.”

“It is hoped that by the equal inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir state under the same constitution as India’s other twenty-eight states, India can ensure that its values of free and fair elections without intimidation, its values of diversity and religious harmony, and its fight against terrorism, can provide greater stability and security not only for the people of India but for those throughout South Asia,” Zdechovsky concluded.

The scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state has badly rattled Pakistan, which is desperately trying to internationalise the matter and somehow rope in third-party mediation but without any success. After the UN, countries like the UK, France, UAE, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Russia and the US have dwindled Pakistan’s hope by extending its support to India and now after this European Parliament approval spooked Pakistan will not know which door to knock next.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flies MiG-21 sortie with Indian Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flies MiG-21 sortie with Indian Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa

In a historic event, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who had piloted a MiG-21 Bison retaliating Pakistan Air Force’s attempt to attack India after India’s airstrike at a terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in February, flew a sortie together in a two-seater version of the Russian-origin MiG-21.

According to the reports, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flew a joint sortie with Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa in MiG-21 fighter. The sortie was flown from Pathankot airbase, which is the front-line fighter base and home to the 26 Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF).


The sortie lasted for around half-an-hour and was conducted on a trainer MiG-21 aircraft. The sortie was also the last time Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa will be flying in a fighter aircraft before his retirement.

Speaking to the media after the sortie, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said, “It was a pleasure for me to fly with Abhinandan because he has got his flying category back, that is what all pilots look forward to. I also ejected in 1988, it took me 9 months to get my category back. He has been back in less than 6 months.”

“Both of us have things in common – First, both of us ejected and second both of us have fought Pakistanis. I fought in Kargil, he fought after Balakot. Third, I’ve flown with his father. It’s an honour for me to do my last sortie in IAF, in a fighter aircraft, with his son.”

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa commanded a squadron of frontline ground attack fighters and flew MiG-21 during the Kargil war in 1999. The event witnessed Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa leading from the front by flying a legacy fighter aircraft in an effort to boost the morale of the forces.

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa has flown in the MiG-21 several times in the last few months. Recently, he led a four-aircraft ‘Missing Man’ formation in honour of the servicemen killed during the Kargil conflict on the twentieth anniversary of the war.

Following the Balakot airstrikes, Pakistan had attempted to attack Indian military establishments before Indian airforce intercepted to thwart their attacks. With its strike package comprising of various aircraft, Indian airforce was successful in pushing back Pakistani jets and during the air fight, one MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was hit after it had shot down a more lethal Pakistan’s F-16.

During the aerial engagement, Wing Commander Varthaman’s MiG-21 was hit and he had to eject safely across the Line of Control (LoC). Abhinandan was held captive in Pakistan for almost 60 hours before he was released on March 1, 2019, due to the tremendous international pressure exerted on the Pakistani government.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was recently awarded for Vir Chakra by the President of India on Independence Day for his exemplary bravery and taking down Pakistani Air Force fighter jets which had attempted to intrude India following Balakot strikes.

1...6,0436,0446,045...7,574Page 6,044 of 7,574