Tag: India

  • India reacts to Pakistan’s assertion, says ’embassy officials were caught red-handed while spying’

    India reacts to Pakistan’s assertion, says ’embassy officials were caught red-handed while spying’

    India has rejected Pakistan’s contention that two high commission staffers were detained on unsubstantiated charges and tortured, people familiar with developments told Hindustan Times, adding that the officials “were caught red-handed while indulging in spying”.

    New Delhi on Sunday expelled two junior officials of the Pakistan High Commission after they were detained during an operation by the Delhi Police and Military Intelligence while allegedly trying to obtain classified documents on security installations.

    The officials were identified as Abid Hussain Abid, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, and Mohammad Tahir Khan, 44, a clerk.

    Pakistan condemned India’s decision to declare the two officials persona non grata and to expel them, saying they were detained on false and unsubstantiated charges. A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) also contended that the two men were tortured and threatened to “accept false charges” despite identifying themselves as diplomatic staff.

    The FO said the Indian action was in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct.

    “The High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi has always worked within the parameters of international law and diplomatic norms. The Indian action is clearly aimed at shrinking diplomatic space for the working of Pakistan High Commission,” it said.

    The FO said that the Indian ploy to heighten tensions would fail in diverting attention from the ongoing internal and external issues faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government or from the worsening situation and gross human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

    It again called on the world to take note of the Indian designs and play its role in ensuring peace and security in South Asia.

    “The assertions of the Pakistan FO are false. The two officials were caught red-handed while indulging in espionage activities,” said one of the people cited above, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    “They did not disclose their identity that they were high commission officials. When they were taken into custody and questioned, they confessed to indulging in espionage and also informed that they were high commission officials,” the person added.

    The Pakistani mission was immediately informed and the two men were handed over, the person said.

    “They were never subjected to any torture. They have also undergone medical examinations. Pakistan appears to be making false accusations and possibly creating ground for some tit for tat reaction and torture of Indian officials in Islamabad,” they said.

  • Gen Bajwa for sorting out long-pending disputes

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday said that the future of enduring peace and stability in South Asia hinges on the ability to resolve long-pending disputes within the region.

    “This can be complemented through meaningful international support and will to take on challenging regional issues,” he said while addressing officers and faculty during a visit to Command and Staff College in Quetta, a press statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

    The statement comes two days after Islamabad approached the United Nations (UN) over New Delhi’s blatant attempt to turn the Muslim-majority in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K) into a minority.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written letters to the UN Security Council president and the UN Secretary General, apprising them of the latest situation in the occupied valley particularly the recent changes brought by the Modi government in domicile laws that would pave the way for non-Kashmiris to acquire permanent residence there.

    Addressing the military officials, Gen Bajwa said that a well-trained and professionally competent Army is guarantor for peace. “Pakistan Army with the backing of the nation is one such formidable force,” he maintained.

    The COAS stressed the need for officers to remain focused on pursuit of professional excellence and keeping abreast with latest developments to overcome new challenges.

    Dilating upon COVID-19 pandemic, Gen Bajwa said that Pakistan Army along with other state institutions will do all to mitigate the challenges faced by people of Pakistan.

    Only a cohesive national effort shall take Pakistan to progress and prosperity COAS, he stressed.

  • Netflix censors images of meat for Indian audiences

    Netflix censors images of meat for Indian audiences

    Netflix has started censoring meat for its Indian audiences. Netflix users took to social media to highlight how meat is being censored in Vikings on Netflix India.

    People started debating on the issue on Twitter. Some people even turned this into a Hindu-Muslim debate.

    Netflix India did issue a formal explanation when the debate heated up. Netflix is just trying to be respectful towards the Hindu religious sentiments of not eating meat.

    However, it is unclear that this censorship was voluntary or demanded by the Indian government. This wouldn’t be the first time India went heavy-handed with censorships demands.

    Previously there have been demands for the streaming platform’s original series Sacred Games and Leila to be censored for hurting political sentiments.

  • 29-year-old woman commits suicide after husband refuses to buy smartphone

    29-year-old woman commits suicide after husband refuses to buy smartphone

    A 29-year-old woman allegedly set herself on fire here in Delhi, India after her husband refused to buy a smartphone for the online classes being conducted by the school of their children.

    According to reports, the woman set herself on fire on May 27 around 8 am. Soon after receiving the information, the police reached the spot and rushed the woman to the nearest hospital. The doctors informed that Jyoti sustained 90 per cent burn injuries and was declared dead.

    Read More: Indian TikToker banned for ‘glorifying’ acid attacks

    In a statement to the police, the deceased’s husband said that the couple got married 7-year ago and have two children together. He said his wife was insisting on buying a smartphone but he told her that he will buy one after the lockdown.

    A police investigation into the case is underway.

  • Indian Home Ministry accidentally posts whiskey pictures while advertising cyclone relief efforts

    Indian Home Ministry accidentally posts whiskey pictures while advertising cyclone relief efforts

    There was panic in the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after efforts to advertise its relief operations in Cyclone Amphan-hit West Bengal, went awry.

    According to the details, the MHA had taken to Facebook to highlight the work that personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which falls under the ministry, were carrying out in the Trinamool Congress-governed West Bengal.

    However, with ‘work from home’ having its perils, one of the handlers of MHA’s social media accounts inadvertently posted images of two bottles of whiskey and snacks along with those of the rescue and relief work

    While the photos were posted on MHA’s official Facebook around 9 am and were taken off around 30 minutes later, screenshots of the post started doing rounds over social media. The post sparked exasperation and elation in equal measure as some were enraged by the “irresponsible behaviour” and others saw the funny side of the “accident”.

    The MHA refused to comment on who uploaded the picture but reports quoted officials as saying that the ministry was treating it as a case of human error that should not be shown out of proportion.  

    They added that although most officers were enraged at the “callousness”, many other civil servants laughed off the “disaster”.

  • ‘Chinese president orders army to prepare for war’

    ‘Chinese president orders army to prepare for war’

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his army to strengthen the training of its troops and “prepare for war”, foreign media outlets reported.

    The Chinese president said that it was important to “comprehensively strengthen the training of troops and prepare for war”, “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty” and “safeguard the overall strategic stability of the country”.

    Xi’s speech comes amid rising tensions with the United States (US) and escalating clashes with the Indian army at the Ladakh border. Both armies are said to have deployed additional troops in sensitive areas along the boundary with experts predicting a lengthy standoff.

    As per a report by ThePrint, Beijing has also increased up security on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by locating an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 troops near the Pangong Lake.

    Xi, who chairs China’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), made the comments at a meeting of the delegation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Armed Police Force (PAPF) on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliament.

    He emphasised on preparing for a military struggle “…to flexibly carry out actual combat military training, and to comprehensively improve our military’s ability to carry out military missions”.

    “This epidemic prevention and control struggle is a practical test for national defence and military reform, fully embodies the effectiveness of the reform, and also puts forward new requirements for reform,” he added.

    Two days back, Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, criticised the efforts of some US politicians to fabricate “rumours” and “stigmatise” China to blame it for the pandemic.

  • ‘You have crossed the border, please go back,’ Indian army to Chinese soldiers

    ‘You have crossed the border, please go back,’ Indian army to Chinese soldiers

    A Himalayan border standoff between old foes India and China was triggered by India’s construction of roads and airstrips in the region as it competes with China’s spreading Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Indian observers said on Tuesday.

    Soldiers from both sides have been camped out in the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region, accusing each other of trespassing over the disputed border, the trigger of a brief but bloody war in 1962.

    About 80 to 100 tents have sprung up on the Chinese side and about 60 on the Indian side where soldiers are billeted, Indian officials briefed on the matter in New Delhi and in Ladakh’s capital, Leh, said.

    Both were digging defences and Chinese trucks have been moving equipment into the area, the officials said, raising concerns of a long faceoff.

    “China is committed to safeguarding the security of its national territorial sovereignty, as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the China-India border areas,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s office said in a statement.

    “At present, the overall situation in the border areas is stable and controllable. There are sound mechanisms and channels of communication for border-related affairs, and the two sides are capable of properly resolving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.”

    There was no immediate Indian foreign ministry comment. It said last week Chinese troops had hindered regular Indian patrols along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

    But interviews with former Indian military officials and diplomats suggest the trigger for the flare-up is India’s construction of roads and airstrips.

    “Today, with our infrastructure reach slowly extending into areas along the LAC, the Chinese threat perception is raised,” said former Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.

    “Xi Jinping’s China is the proponent of a hard line on all matters of territory, sovereignty. India is no less when it comes to these matters either,” she said.

    After years of neglect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has pushed for improving connectivity and by 2022, 66 key roads along the Chinese border will have been built.

    One of these roads is near the Galwan valley that connects to Daulat Beg Oldi airbase, which was inaugurated last October.

    “The road is very important because it runs parallel to the LAC and is linked at various points with the major supply bases inland,” said Shyam Saran, another former Indian foreign secretary.

    “It remains within our side of the LAC. It is construction along this new alignment which appears to have been challenged by the Chinese.”

    China’s BRI is a string of ports, railways, roads and bridges connecting China to Europe via central and southern Asia and involving Pakistan, China’s close ally and India’s long-time foe.

  • Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban have denied claims of joining Kashmiris’ freedom movement and attack New Delhi in retaliation against Indian atrocities under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s regime that Pakistan and the international community fear is leading to the ethnic cleansing of the troubled valley’s majority Muslim community.

    According to Hindustan Times, the militant group has underlined that the Taliban “do not interfere in internal affairs of other countries”, saying the statement published in the media about the group joining Jihad in Kashmir was wrong.

    “The policy of the Islamic Emirate is clear that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.” Suhail Shaheen, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the political wing of Taliban calls itself, tweeted in Arabic.

    The clarification came after officials monitoring social media noted a spike in posts around claims that Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said it was impossible to be friends with India unless the Kashmir dispute was resolved. The spokesperson was also claimed to have said that the Taliban, after capturing power in Kabul, would also “capture Kashmir from infidels”.

    Diplomats based in Kabul and Delhi said that the Taliban spokesperson’s clarification came after India worked the backchannels to confirm reports about the group’s approach to India, and on Jammu and Kashmir.

    New Delhi was told that the social media posts were fake and did not reflect Taliban’s position.

    But analysts have also underlined that Taliban comprises people holding different beliefs. For example, while the group has alleged deep linkages with the deep state of some countries, there are also some who favour an independent line.

  • Indian TikToker banned for ‘glorifying’ acid attacks

    Indian TikToker banned for ‘glorifying’ acid attacks

    Indian TikToker Faizal Siddiqui’s account was banned after he ‘glorified’ acid attacks in a clip posted recently. The famed TikToker’s account was revoked “due to multiple community guidelines violations”.

    Siddiqui, who has a following of 13 million people on the social media app, came under fire after he enacted a scene that shows Siddiqui is throwing a liquid on a girl’s face for betraying him.

    “Keeping people on TikTok safe is a top priority and we make it clear in our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines that clearly outlines what is not acceptable on our platform. As per the policy, we do not allow content that risks the safety of others, promotes physical harm, or glorifies violence against women,” the app spokesperson was quoted as saying.

    Many people called out the app and the star for the action. Acid attack survivor Laxmi Aggarwal on whom the film Chhapaak also raised her voice on social media, “We are working day and night to stop the acid attacks, violence against women. This cringe activity is not called influencing but promoting crime. Such persons are a curse to our society. So it is important to ban such videos and accounts from social media.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAUtS1NHtMJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • Pakistanis for ‘boycotting UAE’ after Turkish journalist highlights Emirates’ relations with India

    Pakistanis for ‘boycotting UAE’ after Turkish journalist highlights Emirates’ relations with India

    Pakistani Twitterati on Wednesday eagerly jumped on the Turkey bandwagon to trend “#BoycottUAE [United Arab Emirates]” after Turkish journalist Ali Keskin asked them to do so while seeking sanctions on the Gulf country over its strengthening relationship with India among other reasons.

    Raising objections apparently over Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi being given UAE’s highest civilian award and the country sending medical supplies to India amid the pandemic, the journalist alleged that Emirates was biased towards India and also silent on the Kashmir issue while Turkey had stood by Pakistan on the same.

    https://twitter.com/alikeskin_tr/status/1262756828284252161
    https://twitter.com/alikeskin_tr/status/1262757376538447879

    This led to a war of words over the micro-blogging website. Reactions to the trend were myriad, with many netizens highlighting Pakistan’s outstanding debts to the UAE and how it has been, along with China, among the main avenues for Pakistan to seek bailouts.

    https://twitter.com/Muhammad_Adil_1/status/1262765905198616576
    https://twitter.com/TheZaiduLeaks/status/1262773114305462277
    https://twitter.com/PTItigresss/status/1262767308193140736

    Indians also reacted to the tweet:

    https://twitter.com/MohitJamwal77/status/1262990675781382152

    It may be noted that the Turkish tweet came amid UAE’s growing support for warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces after they criticised Turkey’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, extending support for Libya’s legitimate government along with countries like Israel and Russia. Pakistani netizens, on the other hand, jumped on the bandwagon agreeing that Pakistan should impose sanctions against UAE when its relations with India were highlighted.

    Pakistan, however, has been a heavy borrower of the UAE, and owes the country $30 billion dollars.