Tag: BBC News

  • BBC India office raided by tax official after airing documentary on Modi

    BBC India office raided by tax official after airing documentary on Modi

    Indian tax authorities raided BBC’s New Delhi offices on Tuesday, weeks after it aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the deadly riots of 2002 in the western state of Gujarat.

    A BBC employee based in the office told AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officials were “confiscating all phones”.

    Police were at the BBC’s office in the centre of the capital to prevent people from entering or leaving, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

    “A government procedure is happening inside the office,” an official said, declining to disclose which department he was from.

    Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary alleging that the then-Chief Minister Modi ordered police to turn a blind eye to the riots. The violence left at least 1,000 people dead, most of them minority Muslims.

    Government adviser Kanchan Gupta had slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage”.

    Earlier, the Indian foreign ministry dismissed the news as “propaganda”.

    According to the documentary, the inquiry team assessed that Modi had prevented the police from acting to stop the violence targeted against Muslims, stating that he had specifically ordered law-enforcing authorities not to intervene. The documentary also features a former top UK diplomat who says that the violence had been planned by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)

    Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, has termed the BBC documentary a “propaganda piece”.

    India’s government blocked videos and tweets sharing links to the documentary soon after its release, calling it “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage”.

  • Kashmiris rage at India’s proposal to redraw voting map

    A proposal to redraw the Indian-administered Kashmir’s electoral map has given rise to a controversy in the region, reports BBC.

    Many view that the recommendation is an assault on the political centrality and supremacy of the Indian people. The proposal has raised eyebrows as the Muslim population thinks that it will lessen their choice for electing their leaders.

    People in the Kashmir Valley believe that the proposal of redrawing the voting map is part of India’s ‘dream project’ of installing a Hindu minister in the Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

    It will further dissociate the Muslim majority from the rest of India.

    The people of Kashmir have another fear of constant security clampdowns and communication jamming of Kashmir, keeping it away from the world.

  • ‘If Taliban fail to form inclusive govt, Afghanistan could enter into civil war’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, while giving an interview to BBC, said that it was likely that Afghanistan could descend into a civil war if the Taliban fail to form an inclusive government.

    “If they do not include all the factions, sooner or later they will have a civil war,” said PM Khan. “That would mean an unstable, chaotic Afghanistan and an ideal place for terrorists. That is a worry.”

    Speaking on women and their education, PM Khan stated that the girls of Afghanistan would soon be able to attend schools. He said preventing women from acquiring education in Afghanistan would be un-Islamic.

    “If anyone has any idea of what our religion was, it was a liberation of women, and so whenever the idea that women should not get educated, it’s just not Islamic. It might have been some rural culture in Afghanistan but it has nothing to do with religion,” said PM Khan.

    “The statements they have made since they assumed power, I mean it’s very encouraging,” said the premier. “They have said they will give education to women and allow them to work. They have said they will give amnesty. The soil will not be used for terrorism by anyone.”

    PM Khan reiterated that the statements made by the Taliban were encouraging but where they go from here is unknown to all.

    “What they [Taliban] do from now onwards, we can only hope to persuade them and encourage them, incentivise them in that direction. But you know sitting today, what happens, where they will go, I’m afraid, I don’t know,” says PM Khan.

    “Afghan are strong people, their women are very strong, give them time and they will assert their rights,” said the premier.

  • ‘I am PM of Pakistan and we stand with Palestine’ – PM Khan on Twitter

    ‘I am PM of Pakistan and we stand with Palestine’ – PM Khan on Twitter

    Bloodshed between Israel and Hamas escalated overnight, with at least 35 Palestine Muslims killed in Gaza and five people killed in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years.

    https://twitter.com/aqadir97/status/1392337789480431619

    Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, and Gazans fired multiple rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba in response.

    One multi-story residential building in Gaza collapsed and another was heavily damaged after they were repeatedly hit by Israeli air strikes.

    Prime Minister Khan tweeted in solidarity with Palestine, saying “I am PM Khan and we stand with Palestine”.

    As tensions rise between Palestinians and Israelis, the international media, social media noticed that the coverage of the international press was incredibly one-sided.

    Financial times wrote: “Hamas rocket attacks provoke Israeli retaliation in Gaza.”

    The Economist’s headline for the brutality of Israel on the Palestinians was : “Israel exchanges fire with Hamas as tensions in Jerusalem boil over.”

    BBC reported saying, “Pleas for calm as Israel-Gaza violence erupts”.

    The New York Times read: “After raid on Aqsa Mosque, Rockets From Gaza and Israeli Airstrikes”.

    As tensions rose between Palestinians and Israelis, people voiced their concerns and sympathies on social media.

    U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: “Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation.

    “The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” he said.

    The world reminded the people of Palestine that they are not alone is such devastating times.

    Human Rights Minister in PM Khan cabinet, Shireen Mazari said, “Palestinians prevented from praying in Al Quds mosque & killing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza incl children – & all UN can do is express ‘concern’.”

    ” OIC also needs to move beyond rhetoric on Palestine & Kashmir,” she added.

    However, this has been the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control.

  • India struggles to breathe

    India struggles to breathe

    A video has been making rounds on social media, where a person can be seen begging and crying for an oxygen cylinder. Like him, millions of Indians are struggling to find oxygen for their loved ones amid a devastating second wave of coronavirus.

    According to report, the second-largest populated country in the world has had 3,498 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

    The BBC has documented the breaking points of Indian hospitals and crematorium, which has left hospitals in India overwhelmed. Donations have been pouring in to India from all over the world and in different cities, the Indian Army is setting up temporary hospitals and making its medical staff available to fight the deadly Covid 19.

    While talking to CNN, Narendra Taneja, a spokesman for the ruling Indian Party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that, “We are in power, we are the government in India so of course responsibility is first and foremost ours, good or bad, whatever it is. It is our responsibility and we’re trying our very level best.” The BJP came under fire when despite the several warnings, large mass rallies held between March and April ahead of state elections.

    Earlier this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked US President Joe Biden and President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, for their help and support.

    From Pakistan, in a letter to Indian PM Modi, Managing Trustee of Edhi Foundation Faisal Edhi offered to arrange all the necessary supplies. He stated,” As a neighboring friend, we sympathize with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extends our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing the health conditions.”

    The Indian government has advised all its citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible. According to experts, a double mutant variant is adding fuel to India’s crisis as there are 243 cases every minute.

  • Priyanka Chopra wishes for harmony between India & Pakistan

    Priyanka Chopra wishes for harmony between India & Pakistan

    Priyanka Chopra, in her memoir Unfinished, has reportedly talked about tense Indo-Pak relations and has hoped that things would improve between the two countries.

    BBC Asian Network journalist Haroon Rashid, who recently posted a teaser of his upcoming podcast with the actor, while responding to a social media user who asked if he asked Priyanka about her comments on the February 27 Balakot incident, said: “She talks in her book about her hopes for harmony between India and Pakistan giving a lovely anecdote of how a Pakistani British Airways agent gave her parents a seat on a flight when they really needed it.”

    “She said she hoped the countries could share such warm exchanges always.”

    “And you’ll have to find out if I ask her more on her increasing public silence when the full interview releases,” he added.

    Haroon further shared that Priyanka in the podcast talks about “lack of opportunities for South Asians in Hollywood” and “how important her humanitarian work is to her.”

    Earlier, in July 2019, Priyanka had sparked outrage with her response to a Pakistani woman Ayesha Malik, who had called her a hypocrite for “encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan”.

    “So it was kind of hard hearing you talk about humanity because as your neighbour, a Pakistani, I know you’re a bit of a hypocrite,” Malik can be heard saying in the video widely circulated on social media. “You tweeted on February 26, ‘Jai Hind #IndianArmedForces.’”

    Malik continued, “You are a UNICEF ambassador for peace and you’re encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan. There’s no winner in this. As a Pakistani, millions of people like me have supported you in your business of Bollywood and you wanted nuclear war.”

    However, the microphone was taken away from Malik before she could make any further comments.

    Priyanka had started off her response by saying “Whenever you’re done venting… got it, done? Okay, cool.”

    “So, I have many, many friends from Pakistan and I am from India, and war is not something that I am really fond of but I am patriotic. So, I’m sorry if I hurt sentiments to people who do love me and have loved me, but I think that all of us have a sort of middle ground that we all have to walk, just like you probably do as well,” she continued.

    “The way you came at me right now?” Chopra had remarked. “Girl, don’t yell. We’re all here for love. Don’t yell. Don’t embarrass yourself. But we all walk that middle ground, but thank you for your enthusiasm and your question and your voice.”

    Priyanka’s memoir Unfinished, which released on February 9, has become a bestseller, trending in both India and the United States.

  • PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hina Pervaiz Butt seems to think that BBC Urdu is a credible source of information compared to BBC News.

    The PML-N leader was talking about the number of people present in the Lahore jalsa during her appearance on Mansoor Ali Khan’s show on Express News when she made this faux pas.

    According to Hina Butt, independent media outlets, such as Al Jazeera and BBC Urdu, did “good reporting” on the jalsa compared to the local news channels.

    At this, Mansoor said if she has no qualms about the credibility of the BBC then its programme HardTALK, wherein Ishaq Dar was grilled for allegedly owning assets beyond means, was credible too.

    Hina quickly cut her off, saying no, she only “meant the BBC Urdu“, prompting laughter in the studio. Firstly, I didn’t call BBC’s English channel credible or compromised,” she said, adding that she only raised questions about the ban on Dar’s interview on the Pakistani media.

    DAR ON HARDTALK:

    Last month, Ishaq Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, had said that he and his wife owned only a single property that’s located in Pakistan.

    Dar had made these comments during his appearance in BBC show, HardTalk.

    During the show, the host had asked Dar: “Is it your contention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no integrity? To this, Dar had responded that NAB has lost its integrity. “It is an institution that has been used against political opponents.”

    Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.