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T-Series faces backlash after uploading Atif Aslam’s song on YouTube, apologises and promises not to promote Pakistanis in future

OpIndia Staff
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T-Series faces backlash after uploading Atif Aslam’s song on YouTube, apologises and promises not to promote Pakistanis in future

Music company T-Series had uploaded a song of Pakistani singer Atif Aslam on its YouTube channel on 23rd June. It was a cover of the song ‘Kinna Sona’ composed initially by Meet Brothers for the film Marjaavan, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria.

After the song was uploaded, angered netizens tagged T-series in multiple tweets urging them to remove the song from all of their platforms. The company has removed the YouTube video with the Atf Aslam song and has issued an apology for promoting the Pakistani.

It is notable here that the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) have banned Pakistani artists from working in India. The move had come last year after the Pakistani government banned the release of Indian movies in their country.

Backlash and a warning from MNS

A hashtag ‘#TakeDownAtifAslamSong’ trended on social media to urge the company to remove the song. Ameya Khopkar, MNS Cinema Wing president, issued a warning via tweet. He asked T-series to take down Pakistani sing Atif Aslam’s song from the youtube channel immediately or face strict action.

Apology by T-Series

T-series removed the song and apologized, saying, “It has been brought to our notice that the said song has been sung by Atif Aslam and this song was put up on the YouTube channel of T-Series by one of our employees from the promotion team. He was unaware of his action and erred while putting up the song.” The music label added, “We condemn our mistake and apologise for the same. We assure you that henceforth we will neither release, nor promote the song on any platform of T-Series. Meanwhile, we are removing the said song from our YouTube channel. We also assure you that henceforth we will not be releasing or promoting work by any Pakistani artistes.” The apology letter was issued in Marathi, addressing to Raj Thackeray.

T-series and series of controversies

Atif Aslam had condemned the abrogation of Article 370 last year that led to a backlash from netizens in India. In recent times, T-series has been involved in a controversy with singer Sonu Nigam. He accused the company of mistreating outsiders. The company also received backlash from as the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), and the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) as these associations have banned Pakistani artists from working in India.

Congress leader Jitu Patwari equates the birth of girl child to misfortune in his tweet, outrage over misogynist remarks

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Jitu Patwari equates the birth of girl child to misfortune in his tweet, outrage over misogynist remarks

Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari stoked a major controversy on Wednesday by making vile misogynistic statements against the birth of the girl child in his attempt to attack the ruling BJP government.

Taking to Twitter, former Minister Jitu Patwari said that in an attempt to give birth to a son called ‘Vikas’, the Modi government has already gave birth to five daughters namely demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment and economic slowdown.

Image Source: Sahadev Rajput

Through his tweet, Jitu Patwari attempted to draw an analogy between the births of the girl child, which he meant as ‘failures’ and depicted the birth of a boy as a ‘hope’.

Jitu Patwari’s sexist remarks against the girl child, in an attempt to attack the Modi government, soon backfired as social media users slammed the former Madhya Pradesh minister for such an insensitive tweet against the birth of the girl child.

As outrage against him grew much stronger, the Congress leader deleted his tweet.

BJP leaders hit out, complaint lodged at NCW

Following the sexist remarks, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit out at Congress MLA Jitu Patwari and said, “At a time when the entire nation is proud of the sacrifices made by the likes of Rani Durgavati, Congress is busy insulting our daughters.”

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also demanded the expulsion of Patwari from Congress and demanded an apology from party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi.

“Till how long does the Congress will keep insulting daughters? This leader is the same Madam Sonia who drove your son on a motorcycle. Who gave him the right to insult daughters? Either Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation or oust Patwari for this act,” the Chief Minister said.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also pointed out the controversial tweet by Jitu Patwari and approached the National Commission for Women against Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Jitu Patwari, saying his misogynistic remarks on Twitter project daughters as unwanted.

“Please take note of this highly misogynistic tweet of an elected representative which projects daughters as unwanted and in most regressive manner. This should not go unpunished,” he said.

Responding to Patra’s tweet, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said she will seek an explanation from Patwari.

“Sad that these people with this kind of mindset are calling themselves leaders. What are they teaching to their followers I wonder. Will ask for an explanation from him for sure,” the NCW chief said.

Congress leader Jitu Patwari does an u-turn, regrets for making misogynistic comments

Hours after making an objectionable tweet against the birth of the girl child, Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari on Wednesday took an u-turn to express regret over his remarks.

In his tweet expressing regret over his earlier remarks, Patwari said, “Modi ji broke the back of the country’s economy by demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment and recession! The public endured all this only in the hope of development. I regret if anyone’s sentiments have been hurt due to my tweet.”

“Daughters are worthy of worshiping. But BJP is trying to create controversy over one of my tweets, I would still like to insist that the entire country is still waiting for ‘Vikas’,” said Jitu Patwari in a follow-up tweet.

Rahul Gandhi’s outburst at CWC meet may have been scripted, per reports: Here is what happened and the possible reasons

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi’s outburst at CWC meet may have been scripted, per reports: Here is what happened and the possible reasons

The Congress party held a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Tuesday, the 23rd of June 2020, where it was reported that a huge drama had unfolded with Rahul Gandhi throwing a fit at his party leaders and the clamour to reinstall him as the President of Congress grew louder. Now, it is being reported that the entire drama enacted by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi could have been scripted.

On Tuesday, during the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi had reportedly flown into a rage when he was questioned about the strategy being adopted by him post the India-China standoff. According to a report by Economic Times, Rahul Gandhi had thrown an animated tantrum when RPN Singh had suggested to Rahul Gandhi that he should not attack the Prime Minister personally while talking about the Galwan standoff.

“I am not scared of PM Modi. He can’t do anything to me. I will continue to criticise him. If people here have a problem with it, let CWC ask me to keep quiet,” Rahul Gandhi reported said to RPN Singh. In fact, according to the ET report, Rahul Gandhi also went on to accuse senior party leaders of pussyfooting on criticism of PM Modi insinuated that the ‘old guard’ was scared of PM Modi while the new guard, which is basically Rahul Gandhi was a “bold leader” who could take on PM Modi’s political might.

The Economic Times report says, “He found a ready backer in AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who said “barring Rahulji and a few”, the rest of the Congress leaders avoided direct criticism of PM Modi and Amit Shah”.

The drama did not stop there. Other than the fiasco of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra patting themselves on the back for abusing Prime Minister Modi, the CWC meeting saw Ashok Gehlot, Harish Rawat and youth wing chief BS Srinivas clamouring for the return of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President, ousting Sonia Gandhi who is currently acting as the interim President.

As it turns out, it is now being reported that the entire episode during the CWC meeting could have been a scripted drama by the Rahul Gandhi – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra duo.

According to another report by the Economic Times, several senior Congress leaders feel that the outburst during the CWC meet could have been scripted by the Rahul Gandhi – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra duo. It is no secret that the Congress is fairly divided into the Rahul-team and the Sonia-team. There are several leaders who feel that only Sonia Gandhi can rightfully lead Congress while there are others who believe that the party needs aa ‘leader’ like Rahul Gandhi.

During the CWC meeting, the ET report indicates that suspicions are being raised about the drama being scripted because those being allowed to ask questions were meticulously decided by Team-Rahul. Reportedly, it was general secretary KC Venugopalan who had coordinated the meeting and decided who all should be specifically allowed to ask questions to Rahul Gandhi. Further, Rajiv Satav, Sushmita Dev and youth wing chief B Srinivas had first praised Rahul Gandhi over his relentless and abusive attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also lamented about how other leaders refuse to do the same.

ET quotes a senior Congress leader saying, “I clearly saw Soniaji prompting Sushmita. “I also noticed distinctly how Randeep Singh Surjewala laboured hard to pretend he was reading the draft CWC resolution when the drama was enacted. The act was too evident”.

By the account presented by the report, it does seem evident that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi may have scripted the entire drama. Firstly, if the people who were allowed to ask questions were handpicked, it seems inconsistent with everything one knows about the Congress party that RPN Singh would criticise Rahul after being handpicked. It is pertinent to note that RPN Singh, Congress leader, is also the husband of NDTV ‘journalist’ Sonia Singh.

Further, the fact that before the outburst, Rahul’s close confidants had already praised him before the outburst does point to the fact that setting the narrative of Rahul being a ‘courageous’ leader was of prime importance in this meeting.

Possible reasons for this scripted drama by Rahul Gandhi at the CWC meet

The reasons for this drama being scripted could be two-fold.

Firstly, Congress has come under heavy criticism for its stand during the India-China stand-off. With Rahul Gandhi blatantly lying about the facts and compromising national security while trying to pull PM Modi down, many believe that Congress has blurred the line between political opposition and working against the interest of the nation in attempts to grab power.

This entire fiasco scripted by Rahul could be an attempt to set the narrative and convince not just others, but also his own party members that his strategy is effective and is being appreciated by the ‘young Turks’ of the party.

Further, the scripted drama could also be aimed at amplifying the clamour within the party to install Rahul Gandhi as the President of Congress yet again. If one recalls, even in 2019, Rahul Gandhi has resigned saying that within the party, senior leaders shy away from criticising Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah directly. This could be a ploy to install himself as the President yet again by planting the excuse that it was his party members that wanted him back.

In February 2020, Salman Khurshid had dispelled the notion of Congress party suffering from a leadership crisis, adding that the party is in the “transitional process” and there was no issue with the leadership with Sonia Gandhi at the helm of the affairs. Interestingly, when asked if the return of Rahul Gandhi as Congress President is the overwhelming choice of the majority of the party, Khurshid replied in affirmative saying “There has always been this feeling among a large section of the party”.

It certainly seems like Congress is trying its best to find a safe excuse for Rahul Gandhi to come back as the President after the fanfare with which the had quit and proclaimed that he will not be coming back as the President. It would also appear that the scripted drama aimed at justifying Rahul Gandhi’s rhetoric and political strategy of compromising national security as one can see every time India faces an external threat.

Las Vegas hotel issues apology and decides to remove Lord Mahavira statue after complaints of disrespect and hurting religious sentiments

OpIndia Staff
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Las Vegas hotel issues apology and decides to remove Lord Mahavira statue after complaints of disrespect and hurting religious sentiments

The Foundation Room, the owners of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday announced that they will remove statues of various Hindu and Jain deities from the venue after religious leaders, social media users objected to the highly inappropriate and disrespectful display of their deities.

Recently, social media users had shared images of the Buzzy cocktail lounge at Las Vegas and expressed their disappointment over the disrespect shown towards the Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, by the owners of Foundation Room at their hotel in Las Vegas.

One social media user named Abhishek Jain posted images of people posing indecently and posting images with the idols in ways that were hurtful for all the Jains across the world.

Jain also shared another set of images, where it was seen that it was not just the idols of Lord Mahavira, but also the Hindu deity of Lord Ganesha, which was being disrespected at the premises. The deity of the Lord Ganesha was placed in an area where cocktails are being served.

Soon, several social media users joined the chorus to demand the Foundation Room to remove the idols and issue an apology for hurting the sentiments of Jains and Hindus by disrespecting their religious faiths.

Religious leaders from various faith object

Reportedly, there were objections from groups in Northern Nevada, especially by the religious leaders, who urged for the removal of a religion-themed statue from The Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay.

In a joint statement, five local religious leaders said that “placing highly revered Hindu and Jain deities to adorn a casino night-club was very disrespectful, out-of-line, and could be disturbing to the adherents of these faiths”.

These five leaders include Nevada’s Greek Orthodox Christian Priest Stephen R Karcher, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, prominent Buddhist Priest Matthew T. Fisher, well-known Jewish Rabbi Elizabeth Webb Beyer and renowned Jain leader Sulekh C Jain.

Foundation Room issues apology, to remove statues

Following the outrage, the Foundation Room on Wednesday put out a statement announcing that it would remove the statues and also apologised for hurting sentiments. The Foundation Room said that they were removing the statue of Mahavira from their premises.

However, the tweet put out by them did not speak of the disrespect shown towards the Hindu deity of Lord Ganesha, a statue which has been placed at the bar.

Statement by the Foundation Room

“The Foundation Room’s two-decade plus tradition of promoting racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence is more important than ever. We deeply apologize to those who are offended by recent images and we will work diligently to ensure such insensitive depictions don’t happen again. Specifically, we are removing the statue Mahavira from our premises. We have always strived to promote dialogue to bring us closer together and are committed to this sentiment moving forward,” the statement read.

Manmohan govt was under pressure to compromise on Siachen, wanted to call it ‘Mountain of Peace’ by letting the Pakistanis have it: Former COAS JJ Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Manmohan govt was under pressure to compromise on Siachen, wanted to call it ‘Mountain of Peace’ by letting the Pakistanis have it: Former COAS JJ Singh

Former Chief of Army Staff General (Retd) JJ Singh on Wednesday made an explosive revelation stating that there was ‘pressure’, possibly from the United States on the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government to compromise on the highly strategic Siachen Glacier in Ladakh in a bid to ‘settle disputes’ with Pakistan.

Speaking to Republic TV, General JJ Singh (Retd.), who was the Chief of Indian Army during the UPA-I, said that the Manmohan Singh-led government wanted to demilitarise the Siachen glacier and cede the control of the strategic glacier to Pakistan possibly under the pressure of Americans.

The former Army Chief also revealed that the UPA government and its security establishment wanted to make Siachen a ‘mountain of peace’.

“There was some pressure being built on the government of that time to settle the Siachen issue, it could be pressure from America who was close to Pakistan. Manmohan Singh’s team, which included Shyam Saran, the NSA and others, said we want to make Siachen ‘a mountain of peace’. It was a discussion in Delhi.”

Further, General JJ Singh (Retd.) also mentioned that it was during the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989, that the proposal to disengage the troops from Siachen glaciers was made, however, the proposal did not go through, fortunately.

“Some of us would have landed us in the fallback position of a disadvantage as Pakistani Army could have easily captured the heights once Indian troops vacate it,” former COAS JJ Singh said.

General JJ Singh also said that the UPA government had asked him to be part of the discussion. However, he had asked the then-PM Manmohan Singh to instead visit Siachen Glacier to which the former Prime Minister agreed, where they discussed the importance of the area.

Revealing the strategic importance of the glacier, Gen Singh stated that from their current positions, the Pakistanis cannot even have a glimpse of the glacier. The glacier’s height allows India to monitor activities in the area from both Pakistani and Chinese sides.

General JJ Singh statements validates Shyam Saran’s disclosures

The disclosures made by the former Army Chief General JJ Singh regarding the intention of UPA-I to cede strategic territories such as Siachen to Pakistan further adds up to the allegations and revelations that the UPA and Congress party have been willing to compromise India’s territorial integrity on several occasions.

We had earlier reported in detail on how the UPA government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to hand over the strategic region of Siachen glacier to Pakistan. 

According to former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, the Siachen glacier, which has immense strategic value to Indian security forces to keep an eye on both the Pakistan and China along the northern borders, was almost gifted to Pakistan by the Manmohan Singh government in 2006, but only to be stopped by the intervention of the then National Security Advisor (NSA) MK Narayanan.

Shyam Saran, who was the Foreign Secretary in the First Manmohan Singh government, has revealed in his book that, in 2006, he, along with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan had struck a deal on the orders of Congress government to take back Indian troops and give away the Siachen Glacier to Pakistan.

But during the CCS meet, the then NSA MK Narayanan raised serious concerns about the deal and argued about compromising the National security of the country. The intervention from the then NSA Narayanan saved the strategic glacier from another Pakistani occupation.

The two disclosures – one made by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and the recent statements made by the former Army Chief JJ Singh only strengthens the Wikileaks report, which had exposed how the UPA government under Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh had decided to give away Siachen glacier to Pakistan despite the Indian Army’s objections citing long-term national security implications.

Rajasthan: Congress govt re-launches scheme with Hindu Goddess ‘Anapurna’ replaced with Indira Gandhi in its name

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Congress govt re-launches scheme with Hindu Goddess ‘Anapurna’ replaced with Indira Gandhi in its name

The Ashok Gehlot led the Rajasthan government has decided to re-launch a scheme in the state for providing nutritious food to the needy people under Indira Gandhi’s name, which was earlier named after Hindu Goddess Annapurna. Under the relaunched scheme, food will be provided twice a day at a subsidized rate.

This scheme was earlier launched by the Vasundhara Raje led BJP government as Annapurna Rasoi Yojana that fed millions of poor people. Now the same scheme has been renamed as Indira Rasoi Yojana for a relaunch by the Congress govt.

It may be noted that Annapurna is is the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment, and is a form of goddess Parvati. The scheme launched by the BJP government was named after this goddess.

Former CM of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje targeted the Ashok Gehlot and his government over the renaming of the scheme. Vasundhara Raje took to Twitter to say, “Congress government which is specializing in renaming the schemes of our @BJPRajasthan government, has changed the name of Annapurna Rasoi to Indira Rasoi Yojana.”

She further added, “Even after changing the name of our Annapurna scheme, it had to be implemented on the demand of the public. Change yourself, not the names otherwise the public will change everything.”

The Annapurna Rasoi yojana was launched during the tenure of Vasundhara Raje as the Chief Minister in the BJP led government. The food was provided to the needy at the cheaper rates through Annapurna vans which were deployed in 200 cities.

Annapurna yojana vans were launched in 200 cities of the state. Non-government organizations were given the responsibility to look after the services. Now the scheme will be relaunched by the Congress-led government with the name of Former Prime Minister.

Read- Rajasthan: Congress govt revises class 10 book which gives “lack of patience and control” as reason why Maharana Pratap lost Battle of Haldighati

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the launch of Indira Rasoi yojana on Monday for the urban areas of the state during a virtual launch. As per reports, the state government will spend 100 crores on this scheme.

Ashok Gehlot announced the launch on Twitter, “Taking another step towards realizing the resolve of ‘no hungry, no sleep’ has announced a launch of Indira Rasoi Yojana in the urban areas of the state. Under this scheme, pure nutritious food will be provided twice a day at the subsidized rates.”

Non-Government Organizations will be allowed to participate in social service. Effective monitoring will be done with the help of Information Technology.

US Secretary of State lists Jio as a “Clean Telco” for not using Chinese tech, something Mukesh Ambani had told Trump in February

OpIndia Staff
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US Secretary of State lists Jio as a “Clean Telco” for not using Chinese tech, something Mukesh Ambani had told Trump in February

Amid the rising global demand to ban Chinese technology companies from participating in 5G networks, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have listed few “Clean Telcos” not using Chinese firms in their networks, including the Jio Network in India. In a tweet posted today, Pompeo said, “The tide is turning toward trusted 5G vendors and away from Huawei. The world’s leading telecom companies—Telefonica, Orange, Jio, Telstra, and many more—are becoming “Clean Telcos.” They are rejecting doing business with tools of the CCP surveillance state, like Huawei.”

The secretary of state noted that Reliance Jio is not using Chinese equipment in its network, making it free from surveillance by the Chinese government, along with some other companies across the world.

It is alleged that Chinese technology firms, especially the telecom infrastructure giant Huawei, include spying technology in its telecom equipment which allow the Chinese government to remotely spy on the countries where their technology is deployed. This apprehension has been greatest in the deployment of the next generation telecom networks across the globe, the 5G technology. Huawei has emerged as a major supplier for technologies and equipment to deploy 5G, and they can offer scale and price that can’t be matched by few other companies operating in the field of telecom infrastructure.

In March this year, the Donald Trump administration had moved to block from Huawei from accessing US technology and chip makers. The rule imposed by US Commerce Department bars companies around the world from using American-made machinery and software to design or produce chips for Huawei or its entities. The United Kingdom govt is also considering banning the Chinese firm from its 5G networks. UK telecom firms already using Huawei equipment has been asked to stock up on the company’s kits in light of the sanctions by US.

While several telecom companies across the globe use Huawei equipment in their networks, Reliance Jio has been one major company to not use them since its inception. The company had launched its 4G network using equipment from Korean giant Samsung, and both the companies are also working together for 5G. Apart from that, the company also uses 4G voice technology supplied by Oracle and Nokia. In March this year, Jio had also announced that it has developed in-house 5G technology.

It is interesting to note that, in February this year itself, Mukesh Ambani had informed US President Donald Trump that Jio is the only network in the world that does not use single Chinese equipment. During an interaction with business leaders with Trump in New Delhi during his maiden trip to India in February this year, the president had asked Ambani, “You’re doing 4G. Are you going to do 5G too?.” To this Ambani had replied, “We’re going to do 5G. We’re the only network in the world that doesn’t have a single Chinese component.”

While Donald Trump has been engaged with trade war with China, his anti-China sentiment was not that high at that time. It has peaked after the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world, as Trump blamed China for hiding information about the virus during its initial phase. After that, Trump has raised his pitch against China, and has taken steps against Huawei.

India-China standoff: Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu taunts China, refers to LAC as ‘Indo-Tibet border’

OpIndia Staff
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India-China standoff: Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu taunts China, refers to LAC as ‘Indo-Tibet border’

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday referred to the Line of Actual Control(LAC) as ‘Indo-Tibet border’ while speaking about the valour of jawans. The statement holds a lot of significance as it comes days after violent faceoff between India and China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Pema Khandu took to Twitter to appreciate the efforts of the Indian army. He wrote, “The valor of the Indian army is what we counted ever since our independence. I had an opportunity to interact with the brave jawans today at Bumla post on the Indo-Tibet border. Their josh is at the highest level. We are in safe hands when it comes to our borders…!!”

The statement of Arunanchal Pradesh CM assumes significance since China had annexed Tibet in 1951. Tibet’s government is currently in exile. New Delhi, too, refers to its border in Arunachal Pradesh as an Indo-Tibet border. Reportedly, around 1 lakh Tibetans are living in exile in India including Dalai lama.

Indian warns China against violence

India on Monday issued a stern warning to China that it will reply to Chinese provocation and violence in kind and with interest during the second rounds of Lt General level talks, in the aftermath of the deadly clashes in Galwan Valley that claimed lives of 20 Indian Army soldiers along with an undeclared number of Chinese casualties.

At the Lt General Level talks the focal point of the discussions was on finalizing modalities for disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh, however, a final word on the outcome of the talks is yet to come. The Indian side also asserted that it will continue its infrastructure development activities like building roads and bridges on its side of the LAC, and asked China not to interfere with this issue.

The deliberations between the two sides were aimed at reducing tensions and pruning the military escalation on either side of the LAC. “The Corps Commander-level talks between India and China were held in a cordial, positive, and constructive atmosphere. Modalities for disengagement from all friction areas in eastern Ladakh were discussed and will be taken forward by both sides,” India Today journalist Shiv Aroor said while quoting the sources privy to the details of Lt General level-talks between the two sides.

Ladakh standoff at Galwan valley

A violent face-off took place between Indian and Chinese troops on the intervening night of 15th and 16th June which led to casualties on both sides. While India has confirmed 20 casualties, the Chinese authorities have not given official figures. However, it is believed that the casualties of Chinese troops would be above 40.

It was reported that the Chinese troops had attacked on unarmed Indian soldiers with barbed wire, stones and batons studded with nails. Many of the soldiers had succumbed to the harsh environment following injuries and the fall down the river during the bloody skirmish.

Pakistan continues to remain safe harbour for terrorists; took “modest steps” to curb terror financing: US Dept’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2019

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan continues to remain safe harbour for terrorists; took “modest steps” to curb terror financing: US Dept’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2019

Pakistan continues to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally-focused terrorist groups. The US Department’s Pakistan report on Terrorism 2019 said that it allowed groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT and its affiliated front organizations, and JeM, to operate from its territory.

In a scathing critique of Pakistan’s covert support to terrorism, the United States alleged that Islamabad took modest steps in 2019 to counter terror financing and to restrain some India-focused terrorist outfits in the aftermath of the 14 February 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 security personnel were martyred after the attack on the security convoy of CRPF was attacked by a Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist. The report added that Pakistan is yet to concrete action against India and Afghanistan-focused terror groups that aimed to undermine the operational capabilities of the two countries.

The attack on the Indian paramilitary forces in Pulwama in February 2019 heightened the tensions between the two countries, observed the report by the US Department.

“While Pakistani authorities indicted LeT co-founder Hafiz Saeed and 12 of his associates on December 11, they have made no effort to use domestic authorities to prosecute other terrorist leaders such as JeM founder Masood Azhar and Sajid Mir, the mastermind of LeT’s 2008 Mumbai attacks, both of whom are widely believed to reside in Pakistan under the protection of the state, despite government denials,” the report said.

Furthermore, the report stated that the government and the Pakistani military acted inconsistently with respect to terrorist safe havens throughout the country. The Pakistani authorities failed in taking necessary steps in containing terror outfits and individuals from openly operating in the country,” said the State Department.

Talking about the radicalisation that goes unabated in Pakistan through a system of rabid madarsas, the report observed that though Pakistan’s National Action Plan directed increased supervision of madarsas, many madarsas reform proponents and security analysts claimed that several madarsas failed to comply with the government-mandated regulations and refused to divulge details related to their sources of funding or to limit their acceptance of foreign students to those with valid visas, a background check, and the consent of their governments, as required by law.

With regards to the inclusion of Pakistan on FATF’s “grey list” in June 2019, the US Department stated that Pakistan was issued an Action Plan by the FATF directing it to take specific steps by September 2019 to address strategic deficiencies in its CFT efforts. The FATF also raised concerns at its October 2019 plenary about Pakistan’s continued deficiencies, but it noted that some progress had been made by the country and therefore postponed the deadline for full Action Plan implementation to February 2020.

In 2018, Pakistan was designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. It was re-designated as a CPC in 2019.

PIA plane crash: Pakistan aviation minister blames pilots, says they were distracted as they were discussing Coronavirus pandemic

OpIndia Staff
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PIA plane crash: Pakistan aviation minister blames pilots, says they were distracted as they were discussing Coronavirus pandemic

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane which crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last month was the cause of a human error according to the recent reports released on Wednesday. The report has suggested that the pilots were discussing the coronavirus crisis during the landing.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the country’s aviation minister revealed that the pilot, as well as the (air traffic) controller, didn’t follow the standard rules. Khan added, “The pilot and co-pilot were not focused, and throughout they were having a conversation about the coronavirus. The [virus] was on their minds. Their families were affected and they were having a discussion about it.”

Minister also alleged that the pilot was overconfident. He said that the “plane was 100 percent fit for flying, there was no fault.” The report suggested that the pilot was flying the aircraft at more than twice the standard altitude when it approached the runway without the landing gear deployed.

The standard operating procedures were ignored by the pilots and the controller resulting in an aborted landing that damaged the engines heavily. In the second attempt to land, the plane crashed into the residential society near the airport.

As per reports, the french officials and the officials from the aviation industry were a part of the investigating team. The officials analyzed the cockpit data and voice recorders.

The full report about the incident is yet to be released as the investigation in this matter is still underway.

The Minister informed that the PIA plane crash damaged around 29 houses and the government would compensate the residents for their losses.

PIA plane crash incident

The PIA passenger flight which went down near the Jinnah International airport last month was carrying 107 people on board including passengers and flight crew. As per reports, there were 99 passengers and 8 crew members on board. Several houses have been damaged due to the crash.

Reports suggest that the pilot had reported that he had lost an engine. He made an attempt to land when the plane crashed near the airport in a residential society. Officials say that at least two people have survived the crash.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi was traveling from Lahore was about to land in Karachi’s Jinnah international airport when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, Karachi.

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