On Saturday (July 31), the weekly newspaper ‘The Economist’ sparked a controversy after it propagated a pro-colonialist narrative regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo.
An article was published by ‘The Economist’ titled, “A grim account of the construction of the Congo-Océan Railway” on Saturday. It was a review of the newly published book ‘In the Forest of No Joy’ by WW Norton. “The book is a masterful, if relentlessly bleak, account of the construction of the Congo-Océan Railway, a route designed to connect the central African interior to the Atlantic. What makes it so compelling is the divide it exposes between the often admirable intentions of colonial bureaucrats, who did genuinely think they were lifting Africans out of poverty, and the grim reality that they enabled.”
Screengrab of the contentious tweet by The Economist
Given that the construction of the railway project in the 1920s was marred by violence, forced labour and deaths of tens of thousands of Africans, the use of ‘admirable intentions’ for colonial bureaucrats drew the wrath of netizens. To build the railway, the French colonisers unleashed brutality and forced the labourers to work at gunpoint. The workers were chained at the neck, treated like slaves and made to walk hundreds of kilometres to the track. As such, the Economist’s attempt to suggest that colonial bureaucrats even intended to benefit the Africans drew people’s ire on social media.
Netizens slam ‘The Economist’ for whitewashing historical wrongdoings
One user wrote, “I didn’t know that the mass murderer King Leopold was admirable o The Economist employees.”
I didn’t know that the mass murderer King Leopold was admirable o The Economist employees.
Another Twitter user stated, “The Economist employs its typical apology for colonial violence by framing the “admirable intentions” of the colonizers. There is nothing “admirable” about colonialism. The book is called In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism.”
The Economist employs its typical apology for colonial violence by framing the “admirable intentions” of the colonizers. There is nothing “admirable” about #colonialism. The book is called In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism. pic.twitter.com/pGhffPsZHk
— Infrastructural Brutalism (MIT Press, 2020) (@InfraBrutalism) August 2, 2021
One Twitter user (@speraomarco) lamented, “When the genocide is in Africa they still call it “admirable”.”
When the genocide is in Africa they still call it “admirable”
Another miffed netizen remarked, “There’s nothing admirable about colonization, just like there’s nothing admirable about The Economist, one of the trashiest publications out there.”
there’s nothing admirable about colonization, just like there’s nothing admirable about The Economist, one of the trashiest publications out there
The Economist removed contentious choice of words, didn’t cite apology
Screengrab of the Editor’s note by The Economist
Following the social media backlash, the Economist deleted the tweet. A new tweet was posted with the words ‘admirable intentions’ removed from the caption as well as the article. In the Editor’s note, the weekly paper stated, “We have deleted and revised a previous tweet to clarify the description of the bureaucrats’ intentions.”
A new report published by Disinfo Lab uncovers damning links between US/UK based ‘Kashmiri activists’, who are feathering their nest through keeping the Kashmir pot boiling, with Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency ISI. The report also details the links between such dubious activists and the Biden administration in the United States.
Since India tightened its FCRA regulations in 2015-2016, thereby making it difficult for the rabble-rousers to continue sowing discord in Jammu and Kashmir, a renewed attempt is being made to transfer the ‘family business’ of continuing to inflame tensions in the state to the next generation with the help from the Pakistani establishment, anti-India activists, ISI stooges and vested interests.
In their attempt to continue peddling propaganda on Kashmir, several white experts/activists have been roped in that harbor critical view of India’s ‘failings’. These include usual suspects—CJ Werleman, Audrey Truschke, Haley, McIntyre, and organizations like Polis Project, Equality Labs, KKRF, etc, as per the Disinfo Lab report.
The attempt to internationalize the Jammu and Kashmir issue can be gauged from the fact that in the United Kingdom alone, there have been more than 6 new organizations registered by just one person—Muzammil Thakur—the ‘new age’ Kashmiri activist as the report mentions.
It is worth noting that while Thakur portrays himself as a ‘Kashmiri activist’, he was born in Saudi Arabia and lived in London. His interest in pursuing Kashmiri activism was piqued by his marriage to Shaista Safi, daughter of Ghulam Safi, a Hurriyat convenor who was removed by Geelani for corruption. Shaista is a lobbyist at YFK.
The report says Muzammil has divergent views on Kashmir, based on his audience. For the Pakistanis, Muzammil passionately argues for Kashmir being a part of Pakistan. However, for the international audience, he talks about ‘independent Kashmir’.
However, Muzammil is not the only ‘new age’ Kashmiri activist who is engaged in propagating anti-India narrative on Jammu and Kashmir. Several other dubious characters have also assumed the mantle of keeping Kashmir in flux by their kins, including Hafsa Kanjwal, Sameera Fazili, and Ather Zia, all of whom live either in the United States or the United Kingdom.
The report sheds light on a particularly nefarious and interlinked nexus involving the so-called Kashmiri activists, their relatives who serve as important members of suspicious anti-India organizations, dubious individuals, and a convicted ISI operative.
The dubious nexus between ‘Kashmiri’ activists, ISI operatives and anti-India organisations
Kanjwal is co-founder of suspicious organization Stand with Kashmir, which describes itself as a “Kashmiri diaspora-driven independent global citizen grassroots group committed to standing in solidarity with the people of Kashmir in ending the occupation and supporting their right to self-determination.”
Source: Disinfo Lab
In the past, StandWithKashmir has supported terrorists such as Yasin Malik who has ties with the LeT, Riyaz Naikoo, a senior commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen who was eliminated by security forces. SWK also calls Asiya Andrabi a ‘sociopolitical activist’ despite her known links to terrorists.
One of the founders on the document of Stand with Kashmir is Sehla Ashai, a relative of Tony Ashai, who in turn is considered to be a close aide to Pakistan PM Imran Khan and who was recently awarded the Namal Project Contract by the Khan administration.
Another founder on the document of SWK is one Aejaz Dar, son of Akram Dar, who serves as the Director of Kashmiri American Council, a murky organization founded by convicted ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai that indulges in lobbying for Kashmiri separatism. Hafsa Kanjwal, the co-founder of Stand with Kashmir was often seen with Ghulam Nabi Fai since 2006, leaving no doubt about the ISI involvement in running and managing SWK. Fai was arrested by the FBI in 2011 and released in 2013, kept low profile till 2015-16, after which he was rehabilitated by Pakistan PM Imran Khan and FM Qureshi, the report says.
It is notable to mention that Thakur’s father was a close friend of convicted ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai, who played a pivotal role in settling Thakur first in Saudi Arabia and then in the United Kingdom.
SWK’s ties with the Biden administration
Intriguingly enough, a member of the SWK is a member of the Joe Biden administration. Sameera Fazili of Kashmiri origin works as the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. She is also Hafsa Kanjwal’s cousin and had worked as Ex Media Coordinator of SWK.
Fazili is also the daughter of another suspicious character, Yousuf Fazili, who also serves as one of the Directors of the ISI-linked Kashmiri American Council.
These activists reportedly set up organizations such as Stand with Kashmir, Justice For Kashmir, Friends of Kashmir, Free Kashmir, Americans of Kashmir and other such organisations. They host webinars, social media campaigns and other media activities to continue peddling venom against India and challenge its sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir. They are then amplified by an organised syndicate, the report states.
The close association between various anti-India organisations and the new-age ‘Kashmiri’ activists
The report further states that SWK was simply a ‘facelift’ version of Justice For Kashmir, whose first follower and promoter on Twitter was Muzammil Thakur, thereby demonstrating the interconnection between various so-called Kashmir activists. It is their modus operandi to use one anti-India organisation to bankroll and support other such organisations.
For instance, Friends of Kashmir is set up by Ghazala Khan, who is also associated with Kashmir Khalistan Referendum Front(KKRF), along with Gurpatwant Pannun, from Sikhs For Justice(SFJ), a Pakistani product.
Friends of Kashmir
Another activism shop set up by Ghazala H. Khan who is associated with Kashmir Khalistan Referendum Front (KKRF), alongside Gurpatwant Pannun, from Sikhs for Justice, a Pakistani product. FoK also has links wid IHF, run by Sajjad Burki, President PTI USA. 11/n pic.twitter.com/zxK2zRU8mq
Aejaz Dar, one of the founders of the document of SWK, is the founder of Americans For Kashmir, a US-based organization that, although claims to stand for independent Kashmir, surreptitiously supports Pakistan’s claim on Jammu and Kashmir.
Apparently, these next-gen ‘Kashmiri’ activists are progenies of the yesteryear-generation activists, groomed in some of the best US institutes, but are either not related to Kashmir or have no thorough understanding of the intricacies accompanying the issue.
US politicians working at the behest of Pakistan to influence policy decisions on Jammu and Kashmir
Additionally, the report also highlights the involvement of CIA operatives in doing the bidding for their Pakistani masters in promoting propaganda on Kashmir. Lobbyists hired by Pakistan to influence US policy on Kashmir include CIA station chief in Islamabad Robert Grenier. Earlier, another CIA operative Robin Raphel had grabbed a contract worth $1.5 million for lobby firm Cassidy and Ass.
US Politicians
Pak hires US lobbying firms with millions of $ to buy ‘concerns’ over Kashmir. Pramila Jayapal has expressed such concerns b/w June-Dec 2019, and introduced a resolution on Kashmir in Dec 2019.
Even US politicians are working at the behest of Pakistan in spreading the anti-India narrative on Kashmir. The money funneled to the US lobbying firms by Pakistan inevitably finds its way to the US politicians, who then express ‘concern’ over India’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir. Rep. Pramila Jayapal had expressed similar ‘concerns’ between June-December 2019 and introduced a resolution on Kashmir in December 2019.
A freelance journalist named Gaurav Singh on Tuesday took to Twitter to inform that a decapitated body has been found near the Panki Kalyanpur canal in Kanpur City in Uttar Pradesh. He informed that the locals spotted the beheaded body and informed the Panki police.
He said that it is being speculated that the accused killed the youth somewhere else and dumped the body near the canal.
— Gaurav Singh ( Journalist ) (@Gaurav_prime) August 3, 2021
The Police Comminsionerate of Kanpur has responded to Gaurav Singh’s Tweet. In a video byte, Kanpur’s Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police West confirmed that a dead body of an unidentified youth has been found near the Panki temple in Kalyanpur. The police have filed a case and sent the body for post mortem.
थानाक्षेत्र पनकी अन्तर्गत पनकी मन्दिर के पास एक अज्ञात शव मिलने तथा अन्य कार्यवाही के सम्बन्ध में अपर पुलिस उपायुक्त पश्चिम द्वारा दी गयी बाईट। @Uppolicepic.twitter.com/Wj9ewJJ35f
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) August 2, 2021
Investigations into the case in being carried out added the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police West.
An undated video has been doing the rounds on social media wherein the Chief Editor of Urdu daily Nai Duniya and former Member of Parliament, Shahid Siddiqui is seen proudly acknowledging that there is not a single madarsa in Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar where he has not given money (presumably from his MPLADS funds.)
In the video that is now making rounds on social media, Siddiqui can be heard clearly flaunting that he has contributed all his funds for development of madarsas, schools and colleges. He then emphasizes how he had helped every single madarsa in Saharanpur. He then says he has given crores of rupees for these institutions.
Though it is unclear when the video was made, however, it must be an old video considering on April 7, 2020, the Modi government had decided to suspend the MPLADS scheme for two years and divert a total of Rs 7,900 crores to the Consolidated Fund of India, in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.
“Aap Saharanpur chale jao, aapko ek bhi aisa madarsa nahi milega, yahan Muzaffarnagar mein bhi, jahan maine rupaye nahi diye ho” (There is not even a single madarsa in Saharanpur and even here in Muzaffarnagar where I have not contributed), the former MP is heard boasting.
“Maulana Nasir saheb ko toh maine ek crore diye hain” (I have given one crore to Maulana Nasir Saheb), Siddiqui added.
He further explained that like people look after their children, MPs and MLAs are obligated to take care of the people of their constituency. So, as part of his duty and commitment, because he is answerable to Allah.
The central government funded MPLADS scheme
MPLADS is a centrally-sponsored plan scheme fully funded by the government of India under which funds are released in the form of grants-in-aid directly to the district authorities. The objective of this initiative is to allow Members of Parliament (MPs) to propose and have developmental projects carried out based on locally felt needs.
Under the MPLADS scheme, a total of Rs 5 crores is provided to the Members of the Parliament to suggest development work to the district collector in their respective constituencies. The scheme was formulated in December 1993 and is monitored by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 1994.
Shahid Siddiqui and his political turnarounds
The Editor-in-chief of the Urdu daily Nai Duniya Shahid Siddiqui has had a very interesting political career. In the 24-year of being in politics, he has changed his affiliations repeatedly.
Siddiqui, who joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the second time on June 7, 2021, started his political journey with Congress. He was appointed as the head of the party’s minority cell in 1997. He then joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in 2002 as its national general secretary.
Siddiqui served in the Rajya Sabha for the Samajwadi Party from 2002 to 2008, but he left the party on July 19, 2008, to join their then arch-rival, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He resigned from the SP because he refused to vote in favour of the UPA during the nuclear deal’s trust vote.
Siddiqui was, however, dismissed from the BSP on December 14, 2009, after he spoke against Mayawati. Siddiqui was fired just hours after giving an interview to a national English newspaper in which he attempted to portray Mayawati as a dictator.
He joined the RLD in April 2010 following a brief stint with the BSP, claiming he supported then-RLD head Ajit Singh’s demand for the creation of a state of Harit Pradesh.
Siddiqui resigned from the RLD in protest over the party’s partnership with Congress before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2012. He went back to the Samajwadi Party.
After forming the government in 2012, the Samajwadi Party fired Siddiqui in July of that year for interviewing Narendra Modi, who was then the CM of Gujarat.
After his expulsion, Siddiqui cried foul over his removal from the party. He slammed the then SP head Mulayam Singh saying that the latter owed a lot of his popularity to him. He said that when no publication was ready to write in favour of Malayam Singh, it was his Nai Duniya that had written in his support.
Nevertheless, after being ousted from the SP, it is believed that Siddiqui stayed away from politics for a while, until, one fine day, he announced his support to Aam Aadmi Party. He claimed he was not joining the party but had extended support the party’s campaign. He had urged all Delhites to vote for AAP.
The next year, Siddiqui, very much in line with his past and present allies, was seen sharing fake news in a bid to malign the Modi government. In May 2020, when India was grappling with the first wave of the Wuhan coronavirus, Shahid Siddiqui shared a 2016 video from Bangladesh as that of India’s migrant crisis.
It’s surprising that a person, who until a few years earlier was taking pride in sharing pictures with Narendra Modi, had suddenly taken a U-turn to criticise his government.
Interestingly, almost during the same time, even the Congress party had tried to pass off an image from Bangladesh as that of Indian migrant workers suffering due to lockdown.
And before one could know it, the journalist was seen heaping praises for Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Twitter. It may be noted, that for all these years, Siddiqui had been a vocal critic of the Congress party.
However, on April 27, 2021, he took to Twitter to thank senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi for securing Covid-19 drug Remdesivir for him after reading his plea for help on Twitter. Shahid Siddiqui also revealed that Priyanka Gandhi did not want him to thank her publicly for it but he did anyway because he wanted to express his gratitude towards her. The revelation came at a time when people were being advised not to hoard Remdesivir.
On August 2 (Monday) several Shiv Sainiks barged into the landscaped garden at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), uprooted the Adani signboard and planted saffron flags. The irked members of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Shiv Sena party’s labor wing, raised “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai ho” slogans while indulging in the act of vandalism.
Maharashtra: Shiv Sena workers vandalise Adani signboard, which was placed near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/mzfypdwp0A
The protestors led by Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS) General Secretary Sanjay Kadam, claimed that they were protesting against Adani Group’s unilateral decision of abruptly “changing” the name of CSMIA and replacing it with the Adani Group brand name.
Calling it an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant was quoted by ANI as saying: Airport’s name is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport. They wrote ‘Adani Airport’. Have you bought it? Shivaji Maharaj is the country’s pride. They have done the vandalism. 2-3 people don’t follow laws.
In response to the allegations, the spokesperson of Adani Airports Holding Limited (AAHL), the group’s flagship company for airports business and Adani Enterprises’ wholly-owned subsidiary, assured that the company had merely replaced the previous branding(GVK) with Adani Airports branding and that no change has been made to CSMIA’s name.
“The branding at CSMIA is in compliance with the norms & guidelines of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). AAHL will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large”, the Adani Airport spokesperson said.
The branding at CSMIA is in compliance with the norms & guidelines of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). AAHL will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large: Adani Airport Spokesperson
Has the Adani Group actually bought the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport?
Since this is not the first time the Adani Group has been targeted with accusations that it has acquired the ownership of the Mumbai airport, it becomes almost imperative here to elucidate that contrary to the rumors and allegations, the airport is not ‘owned’ but the Adani group has taken over the management of Mumbai International Airport, from the GVK Group.
On July 13, 2021, Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, had informed in a tweet that the Adani Group has taken over the management of Mumbai International Airport. The Adani group has actually, taken over the management of the airport from the control of the GVK Group after acquiring 74% stakes in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
According to reports, the Adani group had bought 50.5 per cent stakes from the GVK Group and 23.5 per cent from minority partners, including Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), and Bidvest Group.
It should be mentioned that prior to the Adani Group, the GVK group, which is also a privately-owned Indian conglomerate, was handling the management of the CSMIA since 2006. However, lately, it had been under pressure from the lenders. Owing to this, the group agreed to sell a 50.5% stake in MIAL to Adanis.
Gaurav Gupta and Karan Adani had joined the MIAL board after the acquisition process was completed.
How opposition parties like Congress have been spreading lies about the Adani group in a bid to berate Modi Govt
It’s rather unfortunate that though all the information is out on the public platforms, oppositions parties like Shiv Sena and especially the Congress party, in their bid to accuse Modi government of indulging in crony capitalism, have always spread half baked information on the airport takeovers. They have often alleged that the Modi government has bestowed Gautam Adani’s company with the proprietorship of the airports because of personal affinity.
However, the fact is that in February, 2021, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) awarded six airports- Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru- for operations, management and development under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for 50 years, The Adani group won the bids for the six airports.
Then in July 2021, the Adani group acquired 74% stake in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and took over the management of this airport too from the GVK Group which had the management rights earlier. After the acquisition of the management of the Mumbai airport, the Adani Group had announced that it will begin the construction of Greenfield airport in Navi Mumbai in August 2021. The new international airport would be commissioned in 2024.
On August 2, Pakistani social media users were left miffed after they spotted photographs of a couple in “bold dressing” in front of a monument dedicated to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the man behind the formation of Pakistan whom they “fondly” call Quaid-e-Azam. The photographs were first posted by a group identified as Mystical Shayari on Instagram.
The photographs were clicked on Express Highway, Islamabad. ANI’s Smita Prakash shared it on Twitter and hoped the couple is not hounded by the moral Police in Pakistan.
The fashion element, a bit over the top (in my non-expert opinion) but shock value is on point. And bravado, 100/100. The models at Quaid-e-Azam Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hope they are not hounded by the moral police. (Pix – Pak social media) pic.twitter.com/08b5gDpEhq
The photographs were taken by one Eman Mahsud, and dresses were designed by one Raja Wasey, who identifies himself as a drag artist on Instagram. While Mystical Shayari and Eman have deactivated their accounts, Wasey made his account private on Instagram after the backlash.
According to the Instagram bio of Mystical Shayari, they are part of what they call ‘Gender Jihad’.
Now-deleted post that drew criticism in Pakistan. Source Twitter/AhsanAh37240024
The now-deleted post read, “A notice for the savages of Pakistani patriarchy. Allah (SWT) is with us, and we are ready to die but are committed to living for human rights and gender justice.”
Reaction from ‘Pakistani awaam’
While some Pakistanis called them vulgar, others termed the dresses ‘abnormal’. The photographs drew strong criticism from Pakistani social media users who urged authorities to take strict action against the two models for their “disrespectful” gesture.
Journalist Ansar Abbasi said in a tweet, “The DC Islamabad @hamzashafqaat is requested to arrest the couple, who displayed extreme obscenity in public in the federal capital.” He also promoted the hashtag #ArrestTheCouple.
یہ ایکسپریس ہائے وے اسلام آباد پر قائد اعظم کے پورٹریٹ کے آگے جو کچھ ہو رہا ہے، ملاحظہ کریں حد ہے ویسے بے حیائی اور بے شرمی کی۔ کون ہیں یہ لوگ؟ انکو فوراً گرفتار کرنا چاہیے pic.twitter.com/N90BYLBNjl
An entertaining notice, asking members to maintain ‘decorum within a sporting complex, has been doing the rounds of the internet. The notice was allegedly issued by the Lake Sports Complex management in Sector 1 of Chandigarh.
The purported notice (ESTT/2021/MISC/02) dated August 1, laid out guidelines for the members of the sports complex and users of the adjoining restaurant and bars to maintain ‘proper decorum’ within the premises. At the very onset, the notice emphasised the need for ‘gym suits’ for gym users and the use of ‘approved undergarments.’ “Special attention is to be paid to undergarments. Only approved undergarments are to be worn. The list and samples of such garments are kept in office. Members can bring their garments to the office for approval stamping,” the notice read.
The hilarious notice also called for a ‘smell test’ of socks worn by the members in the facility. “Socks must be washed every day. members found wearing dirty and foul-smelling socks will be fined if they fail the smell test. The same also applies to body odour. Please use good quality body odour.” To add to that, the Lake Sports Complex management barred gym users from making loud noises while lifting heavyweights.
Screengrab of the purported notice.
It further specified against the use of ‘foul language’ but allowed the use of expletives that are approved by the management. “Also using foul language is not allowed. List of permitted bad words in Punjabi is available with us. Please use only the permitted bad words,” the notice pointed out. It also directed the gym members to shave their legs to avoid ‘unnecessary attention.’ The Management also vowed to ‘depilate’ people who are found to not shave legs and not preserve the decorum.
Netizens react to the hilarious guidelines of the sporting complex
Social media users were left in splits after they came across the usual guidelines, which were allegedly laid down by the Lake sports complex management. While reacting to it, India Today journalist Shiv Aroor tweeted, “The Management at Chandigarh’s Lake Sports Complex deserve a massive pay hike. Read every line, please. If this isn’t a prank, I really hope all notices are written this way.”
If this isn’t a prank, I really hope all notices are written this way.
While commenting on the terrible idea of the ‘smell test’, a Twitter user wrote, “If you will be checking my socks by smelling it, I can’t be held liable for the aftermath.”
If you will be checking my socks by smelling it, I can’t be held liable for the aftermath.
Twitter user Rita Singh wrote, “Lol…Is this genuine??? Haha…Whoever came up with it deserves the Michael Scott Best Boss of the year ..or Jim Halpert prankster of the year award!!”
LOLOL..Is this genuine??? Haha.. Whoever came up with it deserves the Michael Scott Best Boss of the year ..or Jim Halpert prankster of the year award!! ?
Amidst the raging controversy over Kashmir Premier League, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has responded to the BCCI’s request to not recognise the disputed tournament that is being organised by Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Issuing a clarification on the issue, the International Cricket Council said it is not under the jurisdiction of the apex cricketing body as it has not been recognised as an international tournament.
In an interview with Pakistan’s Geo TV, an ICC official said: “The tournament is not under ICC’s jurisdiction as it is not an international cricket tournament.” The ICC has deemed that the so-called KPL is a domestic tournament.
As per ICC rules, each national federation shall have the sole and exclusive right to sanction the staging of domestic matches within its territory. The ICC can only intervene if matches are to be held in the territory of an associate member’s territory. All board members have the authority to approve and conduct domestic matches within its territory without obtaining ICC approval.
The BCCI has earlier written a letter to the ICC asking it to not recognise the Kashmir Premier League, citing the disputed status of the region. It also reportedly requested foreign boards to ban their current and former players from participating in the controversial league. Speaking on the matter, a BCCI official had said that they were following the government’s line on the matter as it concerns national interest. The official further added that the board has no issues with cricketers playing the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but it cannot support the KPL as it will be held in PoK.
The tournament is all set to start on August 6 and will see participation from Pakistani cricketers such as Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and others. The tournament was to witness participation from foreign cricketers as well but after BCCI’s firm stand on the issue, many are reportedly reconsidering their decision to join the disputed league. In fact, former England cricketer Monty Panesar had pulled out of the PoK league to avert risk to his career.
The controversy surrounding the controversial PoK league
The controversy had erupted after Herschelle Gibbs, a former South Indian cricketer, claimed that he was informed of the same following his decision to participate in the cricket league. Soon after BCCI made its stance clear on the matter, a raft of Pakistani supporters, including cricketers, had a meltdown for the Indian cricket board decided that cricketers who participate in the Kashmir Premier League in Pakistan will not be permitted to enter India for cricket related work.
Responding to BCCI’s stand, Pakistan Cricket Board said: “Such conduct from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket and sets a dangerous precedence, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored. The PCB will raise this matter at the appropriate ICC forum and also reserves the right to take any further action that is available to us within the ICC charter.”
However, not just BCCI but even PSL franchises have a problem with the organisation of the Kashmir Premier League. They had written to the PCB expressing concerns about the potential impact of the Kashmir Premier League on the country’s foremost T20 tournament. According to the reports, ahead of the launch of PSL in 2016, the Pakistan Cricket Board had allegedly promised the franchises that no other T20 league would be allowed in Pakistan.
Problems and FIRs seem to be mounting for former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In a recent turn of events, Mumbai police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the recordings of threat calls made by gangster Chhota Shakeel to one businessman Sanjay Punamia in Mumbai.
As per a report in Mid-Day, The initial complaint said that the threats were made at the behest of Punamia’s business partner Shyam Sunder Agarwal. However, SIT now suspects that the case against Agarwal is fake. It is imperative to know that Agarwal is a complainant in the FIR filed against Param Bir Singh. SIT also suspects the Mumbai Police cops who were allegedly involved in the extortion racket may be behind these calls.
Calls made by Chhota Shakeel
The police informed that the phone number from which the threat calls were made to the businessman Punamia, were found in the records of the Mumbai Crime Branch and belongs to Shakeel. They also informed that these audio recordings of Shakeel- a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, were the latest.
A report by ABP News says that the caller threatened the person with death threats and killing them with bombs. The person giving such threats is believed to be gangster Chhota Shakeel.
“Karachi se hi rocket maarunga”
In one audio clip, one can hear a man, believed to be Chhota Shakeel asking one Sanjay what is he up to. “I told you to talk to Dilip bhai and settle. I am at Bhai’s place. Why did you get Shyam bhai involved?” In another audio clip, he could be heard saying that he had called four times about documents.
In one conversation, Shakeel was allegedly asking about Agarwal’s detention. “To tune shyam ko andar kyu karaya?….mai bhai ke ghar se baat kar raha hu … tere ko idhar from Karachi se hi rocket marunga (I’m speaking from bhai’s house in Karachi. Will blow you up with a rocket).”
The excerpts of the recordings of the calls allegedly made by Chhota Shakeel to Punamia in possession of Mid-day reveal the threats given.
In another conversation Shakeel threatens, “dekho ek baat clear batao pakistan ka to tujhe pata hai na..kya hai pakistan (Clear this thing. You know about here, what is Pakistan)….idhar bomb bandhega udhar jayega … uda dega tere ko khatam ho jayegi baat (We will tie a bomb here, it will reach there. We will end you).”
The number has been traced back to Karachi. An officer of Mumbai Crime Branch in an interview to Mid-day informed, “The number belongs to Shakeel and the voice in the calls is also suspected to be his. But the voice needs to be authenticated with the real samples available with MCOCA court. But it has been delayed due to the lockdown.”
Threats to Punamia
As per the report, Punamia received threat calls from Shakeel between November 2016 to December 2016, then again between November 26 and November 30, 2020, to sign a deed of settlement with Agarwal (then Punamia’s business partner) for some properties.
However, Punamia suspecting his business partner Agarwal’s involvement registered a complaint with Juhu police only in February 2021. After this, an FIR was filed against Agarwal and later, the Crime Branch invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against him.
SIT suspects FIR against Agarwal to be fake
An officer privy to the investigation said, “We have various recordings and digital evidence to believe that the FIR (against Agarwal) was filed with malicious intentions by the officers being probed by the SIT.”
The investigation team suspects that the FIR was filed with the intention to extort money and to pressurize Agarwal into signing the deed with his disputed partner Punamia.
The SIT under Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimit Goyal, which is probing the extortion case against Param Bir Singh, is also investigating why the FIR against Agarwal was filed in February 2021 when the threat calls were made in 2016 and 2020.
Threat calls were made when Param Bir Singh was the commissioner
Reportedly, Shakeel’s threat calls were made exactly when Singh was the CP of Thane in 2016 and then of Mumbai in 2020.
Agarwal was also arrested by Thane Crime Branch in 2016 for his alleged involvement in a multi-crore Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act (ULCRA) scam which was busted in November that year.
With as many as 19 FIRs registered against him in Thane and Mumbai, Agarwal has a long criminal record. How many of these allegations and complaints against Agarwal were proved is not known.
Suspected involvement of Param Bir Singh
The Marine Drive Police had arrested Punamia and one Sunil Jain in an extortion racket case last month. An FIR in the same case was filed against Param Bir Singh as well by the Marine Drive police.
Police sources now suspect that the two accused arrested and officers named in the extortion case might have asked Shakeel to take Agarwal’s name in his threat call so that they can frame him as and when needed.
A police source revealed, “There are various reasons and prima facie evidence to investigate the same because Agarwal was the complainant against Iqbal Kaskar (Dawood Ibrahim’s brother) in a case. Kaskar was arrested in 2017 by Thane Anti Extortion Cell.”
At that time, the Thane Anti Extortion Cell was headed by former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma while Param Bir Singh was the commissioner of Police in Thane.
While Sharma was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Antilia bomb threat case and the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, Param Bir Singh is being probed for corruption and extortion.
Agarwal’s nephew filed extortion case against Param Bir Singh
The Thane Kopri police station registered another extortion FIR against Singh last month. The complaint has been filed by Agarwal’s nephew Sharad.
Sharad alleged that a DCP-rank officer demanded Rs 20 crore at Singh’s bungalow in Thane to avoid the registration of a case against his uncle in February 2021 under MCOCA. Again at that time, it was Singh who was the Commissioner of Police, Thane.
Builder files complaint against Singh
In another latest update, one builder Ketan Tanna (54) has registered a complaint against Singh alleging extortion and other crimes.
The accused mentioned in the complaint include the present and past police officers along with “middlemen and agents” of the police from Thane.
A photograph is doing the rounds of the internet where a bunch of boys can be spotted holding a ‘Khalistan Olympic Team’ banner. The photograph has sparked a torrent of mockery on social media. From information available on the internet, we learnt that it was created by a group called ‘California Sikh Youth Alliance’.
They have shared a cropped version of the banner on their Twitter account as well. According to them, they distribute the banner at their annual ‘Sikh Powerlifting Tournament’.
We will be raffling away our exclusive “Khalistan Olympic Team” flags at our annual Sikh Powerlifting Tournament.
Learn about our Shaheeds through our exhibits and win some prizes while attending this year’s event on Saturday, August 21st at Bradshaw Gurdwara! pic.twitter.com/ZoFA4vYGgb
— California Sikh Youth Alliance (@TheCsya) August 2, 2021
According to their website, “California Sikh Youth Alliance is a collection of young Sikhs who engage the community through volunteer opportunities, recreation, and community advocacy. California Sikh Youth Alliance focuses on promoting Singhs and Kaurs through creative sporting and recreation events.”
It adds, “The CSYA fundamentally believes in providing Sikhi-based recreational spaces for Sikh athletes across the world. The CSYA has engaged hundreds of young Singhs and Kaurs through sports and other community building programs.”
The website also states, “CSYA is made up of CSYA Sevaadaars who help facilitate events and discussions throughout California. CSYA Ambassadors are individuals are top of the line content creators and artists who excel in their fields of sporting and athletics.” The ‘Khalistan Olympic Team’ banner features prominently on their website.
“CSYA aims to create spaces in which young Sikhs can conquer their ambitions. Sevadaars hope to cultivate an environment where Californian Sikhs can come together and celebrate their community. Fundraising, Networking, and Facilitating connections between young Singhs and Kaurs makes our California community stronger day by day,” says the group.
The initial Twitter account of the group was blocked in India at the request of the Union Government of India. The CSYA was at the forefront of celebrating the Republic Day Riots, which witnessed prominent participation from Khalistanis. They had distributed sweets on the occasion.
The group had also shared photographs of the vandalism involving the Mahatma Gandhi statue, celebrating the same. Members of the CYSA had also protested against the installation of the Gandhi statue. The CYSA also said that they will lobby against the re-installation of the statue.
