Pakistan observes Black Day as India celebrates independence
(August 15, 2019) Pakistan observed a ‘Black Day’ on Thursday 15 Aug. 2019, to coincide with India’s Independence Day celebrations, in protest at New Delhi’s decision to revoke special status for Kashmir. India’s decision this month, along with a communications blackout and curbs on the movement of those in Kashmir, caused fury in Pakistan, which cut trade and transport links and expelled India’s envoy in retaliation.
Newspapers in Pakistan printed editions with black borders and politicians, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, replaced their social media pictures with black squares. Protests are due to be held across the country, including Azad Kashmir, the wedge of territory in the west of the region that Pakistan controls. The largely symbolic move comes amid growing frustration in Islamabad at the lack of international response over the Kashmir dispute.
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Nobel laureate Amartya Sen slams decision to revoke occupied Kashmir’s special status
(August 20, 2019) Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen has vehemently criticized the Indian government’s decision to revoke occupied Kashmir’s special status, saying it not only emphasized majority rule “as opposed to it sustaining the rights of all human beings”.
“I don’t think ultimately you will have any resolution in Kashmir without democracy,” he told NDTV in an interview. Pointing out the loopholes in the government’s decision on multiple levels, the 85-year-old said: “As an Indian, I am not proud of the fact that India, after having done so much to achieve a democratic norm in the world where India was the first non-Western country to go for democracy that we lose that reputation on the grounds of action that have been taken”.
“This is something in which Kashmiris have a legitimate point of view because it is their land,” he said.
He was also critical of the government’s decision to keep the mainstream political leaders of the occupied valley under arrest. “I don’t think you will ever have fairness and justice without hearing the voices of the leaders of the people and if you keep thousands of leaders under restraint and many of them in jail, including big leaders who have led the country and formed governments in the past […] you are stifling the channel of democracy that makes democracy a success,” he said.
The Indian government has described its decision to place held Jammu and Kashmir under a massive security blanket as “preventive measures” to prevent a civilian backlash that it is, nevertheless, facing.
“That’s the classic colonial excuse. That’s how the British ran the country for 200 years,” Dr Sen said. “The last thing that I expected when we got our independence… is that we would go back to our colonial heritage of preventive detentions,” he added.
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Rahul Gandhi Kashmir Visit:Reporters beaten up, situation clearly isn’t normal
(August 24, 2019 ) A delegation of nine opposition parties led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday 24th Aug. 2019, to meet the people and party leaders in the region where restrictions have been imposed since the abrogation of Article 370. However, the delegation was not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and was sent back an hour after landing in the city. Parties that were part of the delegation included Congress, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC and DMK. Top Congress leaders who accompanied Rahul Gandhi were Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
The state administration requested them against visiting the state, saying attempts should not be made to disturb the gradual restoration of normal life. So far, the government has not allowed any political leader to enter the state ever since the Centre withdrew special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Leaders of regional parties, including former CMs Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are still under house arrest. While Friday remained fairly peaceful in the Valley after relaxation and normalcy for the past few days, the weekend is likely to face restrictions in sensitive areas. Local residents are likely face communication restrictions with partial restoration of landlines. Administration sources said restrictions to avoid congregations where miscreants may spark trouble. Stay tuned to IndiaToday.in for the live updates.
(Source: India Today)
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Indian activists release report after visiting ‘desolate’ Kashmir
Group of Indian activists calls for withdrawal of government’s move to revoke special status of disputed region.
A group of Indian activists and members of leftist organisations has called for the withdrawal of the government’s move to revoke special status of Indian-administered Kashmir. The group of activists, economists and writers presented their observations of the situation in Kashmir in the Indian capital New Delhi on Wednesday after returning from a five-day trip to the disputed region.
Kavita Krishnan, a left-wing activist, said the situation is “absolutely not normal”, contrary to reports by several Indian news broadcasters. “There is a sense of imprisonment. There is a sense of being in prison. And people are not being allowed to speak and the situation is extremely grim over there,” she said.
“We were able to go to villages as well as small towns also. So the situation there is absolutely not normal. If some people of the media are saying all is well … the only thing we could think of saying was all is hell is a better description,” said Krishnan.
Activist Maimoona Moolah urged the Indian government to “stop this occupation” of Kashmir.
“The occupation of Kashmir will not work. Get rid of this occupation. Put an end to the way press and people have been gagged there. And return democracy to the region. Return Article 370 and 35(A),” she said. “The whole place was desolate, quiet, silenced, caged. People looked helpless. People looked humiliated. And people also looked angry.”
Jean Dreze, a Belgian-born Indian economist, slammed claims of Kashmir being backwards and needing investment from India and Indian companies.
“I have been to Kashmir four times since 2000 and every time, I am struck by the prosperity of the people. Especially the rural population. Especially in comparison with the catastrophic poverty and hunger of states like Bihar and Jharkhand and UP [Uttar Pradesh] that I am familiar with,” he said. The group compiled several videos of their trip showing deserted streets, bereft of people even on the festive day of Eid al-Adha. The Indian-administered portion of Kashmir has been under heavy security and an unprecedented communication lockdown since August 5, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government decided to revoke privileges of Jammu and Kashmir, including a right to their own constitution. Modi’s government has called it a move to integrate the disputed region into India, despite strong opposition from the people of Kashmir. (SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES)
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Trump says India, Pakistan can handle Kashmir dispute on their own
BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday 26 Aug. that India and Pakistan could handle their dispute over Kashmir on their own, but he was there should they need him. The U.S. president has previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, a mountainous region which has been the source of repeated confrontations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors ever since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Trump discussed the issue on the sidelines of a G7 summit in France with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who withdrew autonomy for the state of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug. 5.
“We spoke last night about Kashmir, the prime minister really feels he has it under control,” he told reporters. “They speak with Pakistan and I’m sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good,” he said. Trump infuriated the Indian government last month when he said Modi had asked him to mediate in the dispute, drawing an immediate denial from New Delhi.
Iran’s Grand Ayatollah demands immediate halt to Indian violence in Kashmir
TEHRAN A senior Iranian religious scholar has condemned the inhumane treatment of Kashmiris by the Indian government, urging the central government to immediately stop its atrocities against the innocent Kashmiri people and observe their rights.
In a statement, Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani said, “The disastrous incidents that is happening in India’s Kashmir breaks the heart of every freedom-seeking person.”
“What sin have the innocent and oppressed people of Kashmir committed to deserve the harshest oppression and cruelty by India’s military forces?” Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani asked.
“Why have the international community, the so-called advocates of human rights, the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation have kept silent and do not condemn these atrocities against defenseless and innocent people?”
On Friday, Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, said the issue of Kashmir is one of the tragedies of the Muslim world. “Their action is contrary to human conscience, fairness and even the domestic laws of that country,” the cleric said of the Indian government’s crackdown on protesters.
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63 killed, scores injured as blast rocks Afghan wedding hall in Kabul
Kabul (16 Aug, 2019 19) A powerful blast rocked a wedding reception in the western part of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Nearly two hundred people have been injured.
The explosion that ripped through the wedding hall bustling with guests claimed 63 lives, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahim confirmed early Sunday, adding that another 182 people have suffered injuries.
Witnesses said the building was packed with guests when the blast struck, as it’s Afghani tradition to invite hundreds of people to weddings. Videos on social media showed shocked women screaming and crying outside the Shahr-e-Dubai wedding hall.
Gruesome photos reportedly taken at the scene of the tragedy pictured bodies scattered on the floor amid overturned tables and chairs. Conflicting reports have emerged as to the number of people killed and injured in the apparent suicide bombing.
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Taliban claim bomb attack on Afghan police; 14 killed, 145 hurt
Kabul (Wed.. 7 August 2019) The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide car-bomb attack on a police station in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which the government said killed 14 people and wounded 145. There has been no let-up in violence in Afghanistan even though the Taliban and the United States appear close to a historic pact for U.S. troops to withdraw in exchange for a Taliban promise the country would not be used as a base from which to plot attacks by extremists. The blast, in the west of the city during the morning rush hour, sent a huge cloud of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The Taliban said a “recruitment centre” had been attacked by one of their suicide bombers. “A large number of soldiers and police were killed or wounded,” the Taliban said in a statement.
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Gunman kills 20, wounds 26 at Walmart store in El Paso, Texas
By Reuters | August 4, 2019 | EL PASO, TEXAS
A man armed with a rifle opened fire at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, killing 20 people and wounding 26 others as panicked shoppers and employees scurried for cover before the gunman surrendered to police at the scene.
Many shoppers in the busy store were buying back-to-school supplies when they found themselves caught up in the latest mass shooting to rock the United States, just six days after a teenage gunman killed three people at a summer food festival in Northern California.
Saturday’s suspect was officially identified as a 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb some 650 miles (1,046 km) east of El Paso, which lies along the Rio Grande, across the US-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez.
Babri Mosque case: Indian Muslims refuse to back off
(August 2, 2019) The mediation process in the sensitive Muslim-Hindu dispute concerning Babri mosque in northern India have failed, the country’s Supreme Court said on Friday, 2 Aug. 2019.
The dispute involves the 16th-century Babri mosque in the city of Ayodhya which was razed in 1992 by Hindu activists. The demolition of the mosque sparked nationwide riots that left around 2,000 people dead.
Muslims demand a new mosque at the site, while Hindus claim that this was where their god Ram was born, demanding instead a temple at the site.
A three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court was tasked to hold consultations with relevant parties in order to resolve the Babri Mosque dispute.
With the deadline to submit the final report to the Supreme Court ended on Thursday, according to local daily Indian express, the panel informed all participants that “the mediation had not been successful and the proceedings have been formally closed”.
The apex court on Friday said that it would commence day-to-day hearing of the appeals against the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the disputed site on Aug. 6, according to local broadcaster NDTV.
In September 2010, the Allahabad High Court ruled that two-thirds of the disputed site would be handed over to Hindu groups, while the remaining area would be given to Muslims.
Background of the Babri Mosque dispute
The Babri Mosque is said to have been built by Mir Baqi, an officer in the court of Mughal Emperor Babur in 1526.
In 1885, a Hindu religious body filed a case in Faizabad district court, claiming that the site was birthplace of Hindu deity Lord Rama.
In 1949, a group of Hindus entered the premises and installed an idol of the Rama. Declaring the area disputed land, the then-government locked the premises, with the idol remaining inside.
The district administration of Faizabad, which administers the city of Ayodhya, opened the premises to Hindus in 1986, allowing them to carry out rituals.
In Dec 1992, thousands of activists belonging to extremist Hindu groups along with leaders of currently ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stormed the city and allegedly demolished the historic mosque, erecting a makeshift Hindu temple at its place.
The Babri mosque dispute has been languishing in India’s legal system for past 70 years, with no final outcome in sight.
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Indian plan success and failure
The Kao Plan, which is described as a three-pronged strategy by the Indian officials, had three different operations to eliminate Pakistan. The first, known as Kao’s Bangla Plan(KBP) was chalked out to start an insurgency movement in East Pakistan and transform the Eastern part of Pakistan into a new State.
The 2nd plan, known as Kao’s Balochistan Plan (KBP-II) was architected to create a similar scenario in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, while the 3rd one was related to organizing a separation movement in the then North Western Frontier Province(NWFP) and now Khyber Pakhtun Khowah to establish an independent State there and this one is known as the Kao’s Pakhtoonistan Plan (KPP).
Indira Gandhi, the research indicates, went through Rameshwar Nath Kao’s plans comprehensively. She held a detailed meeting with Kao and discussed his plans in great detail. After the meeting, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi reached to the conclusion that Kao plans were quite comprehensive and had all the potential of earning far reaching results.
However, she was concerned with the limited capabilities of the country’s top intelligence agency (the Intelligence Bureau). After detailed deliberations with Kao and her other close associates, Mrs. Gandhi felt that the IB was not at all capable of executing the Kao plans. According to some Indian media persons, who were close to the developments at the PMO in late 60s, Indira Gandhi finally decided that since IB did not posses enough capabilities to run the foreign missions and the related the Kao plans, there was an urgent need for India to have a separate, more powerful and more resourceful intelligence Agency to execute extremely high profile projects like the Kao Plans. According to these journalists, Indira Gandhi while contemplating formation a brand new intelligence mechanism for execution of Kao plans regarding Pakistan, was also eyeing situation viz a viz China.
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(Sikh) Panjab University: Woman student leader takes part in protest for separate Punjab
by Express News Service, indian Express | August 18, 2019
ABVP members of Panjab University on Saturday alleged that former president of Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) Kanupriya boycotted Independence day celebrations and protested for a referendum in favour of a separate Punjab. They allege that she has disrespected the country’s independence by tagging Independence Day as a “black day”.
ABVP PU president Kuldeep Panghal said, “We strongly condemn the action and we want clarification from the so called student party SFS on the issue pertaining to unity and integrity of the country.” ABVP’s PU secretary Parvinder Singh urged the university authorities to take stringent action against SFS, the students’ union which Kanupriya represents.
When contacted, Kanupriya said, “On 15th August I was in Amritsar. The protest was held throughout Punjab that day. We took black flags to tell the world that this is no democracy and we are living in times when Kashmir is curbed from its rights and Kashmiris are shut down from the world. Dal Khalsa was sharing its solidarity with Kashmir. The protest was not just about Punjab being free. The protest was talking equally about Punjab, Manipur, Kashmir, Nagaland and Chhattisgarh.”
ABVP on Saturday had shared pictures in which Kanupriya could be seen being a part of the protest and holding posters demanding a referendum.
To this Kanupriya said, “Why do they fear words like referendum and plebiscite? They are democratic words. India being the largest democracy should not be afraid to implement democracy to the roots.”
Later, in a statement, SFS said, “Our member Kanupriya participated in the protest held in 14 districts of Punjab against the 72 years of injustice and subjugation by Indian state on various religious linguistic and cultural minorities of India in the name of ‘nationalism’. The protest was organised by different Sikh Organizations. SFS has common understanding with the issues raised in the protest as well as ideological differences with the other organizations involved in it. SFS stands for the Right of Self Determination for the different nationalities historically existed in the India.”
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India test-fires ‘quick reaction’ air defense system as tensions soar with Pakistan
(4 Aug, 2019) India has test-fired its state-of-the-art Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM). The new air defense system has been tested amid the recent flare-up between New Delhi and Islamabad over Kashmir.
The all-weather and all-terrain missile mounted on a truck successfully hit its targets during the tests conducted on Sunday at a range in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The Indian defense minister has shared photos and a video of the missile launch on his Twitter account.
The new air defense system boasts an operational range of 25-30 kilometers. It is also equipped with anti-jamming devices allowing it to penetrate the enemy’s defenses. The missile already underwent a series of trials in 2017 and in February 2019.
On Sunday, two missiles were used to hit the targets flying at different altitudes under different conditions, Indian media reported citing military sources, who hailed the system’s high maneuverability.
The tests come as India and Pakistan are seemingly once again engaged in a bitter row over the disputed Kashmir region.
Israel may ‘spark a war’ if it joins US-led flotilla in Persian Gulf, Iran’s Navy Chief warns
(12 Aug, 2019) Tehran has advised Israel to stay clear of the Persian Gulf, where the US has been struggling to amass an anti-Iranian armada, noting that every vessel illegally present in the region increases the risk of an all-out conflict.
“Any illegitimate presence by the Zionists in the waters of the Persian Gulf could spark a war,” commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, warned on Sunday.
Israel reportedly volunteered to provide intelligence and assistance to the US-led coalition against Iran, as the pressure in the Persian Gulf mounts, after a series of mysterious tanker attacks and reciprocal vessel seizures by Iran and the UK. Israel warned last month that it is ready to strike Iran in the case of any “mistaken calculations,” piling on the pressure after Tehran said a US attack would mean “only half an hour will remain of Israel’s lifespan.”
The Islamic Republic has vowed to protect its sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond, accusing the US of trying to enforce its unilateral oil sanctions through military pressure after failing to do it via political extortion. Washington insists its intentions are peaceful and that it is rallying foreign warships to the region with the noble goal of protecting shipping lanes and vessels from Tehran.
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Iran unveils new missile ‘Bavar-373’ defence system
Tehran (20 Aug. 2019) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inducted a locally built air-defence system into the country’s missile defence network at an unveiling ceremony in the capital, Tehran. The display of the new system, Bavar-373, on Tuesday 20th Aug. came amid heightened tensions with theUnited States, which last year unilaterally withdrew from a multinational nuclear deal signed between world powers and Iran and reimposed crippling sanctions on it. Iranian officials have previously called Bavar, which means “believe” in Farsi, the country’s first domestically produced long-range missile defence system. Iran began production after the purchase of Russia’s S-300 system was suspended in 2010 due to international sanctions that have barred it from importing many weapons. It installed the stalled S-300 system in March 2016 following several years of delays in the wake of the now-crumbling 2015 nuclear deal. Speaking at the ceremony, Rouhani said the mobile surface-to-air system was “better than S-300 and close to
[more advanced]
S-400.” With a range of more than 200km, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the long-range missile system is suited to the country’s geography.
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‘Pure pleasure’: Frenchman successfully flies across English Channel on hoverboard
France (4 Aug, 2019) A week after his failed first attempt, French inventor Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard. On Sunday August 4th, morning, Zapata, 40, flew for 20 minutes along 35.4 kilometers (22 miles) from the French town of Sangatte, to Saint Margaret’s Bay, near Dover, with one stop halfway to refuel.
Powered by kerosene and five turbines, the board propels the former jet-ski champion at speeds of up to 118 mph (190km/h) at an altitude of between 15 and 20 meters. Cheering friends and family were waiting for Zapata, who shed tears of joy following the landing. The inventor told waiting media that “the last five, six kilometres were pure pleasure, to see the [British] coast approaching like this.”
“Whether this is a historic event or not, I’m not the one to decide that, time will tell,” he said, adding that he created the machine just three years ago. “And now we’ve crossed the Channel, it’s crazy.”
Zapata’s first attempt on July 25 failed halfway through when waves caused him to miss the landing platform on a boat where he was supposed to refuel. To avoid the same mistake from happening again, the team built a bigger platform on a bigger boat.
Zapata invented the first functional hoverboard and was given a €1.3 million ($1.47 million) grant by the French military in 2018 to develop an aeronautical micro-jet engine that can be used by the military. The Frenchman became known as the “flying soldier” after he soared above crowds during a military parade for Bastille Day celebrations on July 14.
Chinese ship inches closer to Vietnam coastline amid South China Sea tensions
HANOI (Reuters) – A Chinese survey vessel on Saturday 24th Aug. 2019, extended its activities to an area closer to Vietnam’s coastline, ship tracking data showed, after the United States and Australia expressed concern about China’s actions in the disputed waterways.
The Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel first entered Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) early last month where it began a weeks-long seismic survey, triggering a tense standoff between military and coastguard vessels from Vietnam and China.
The Chinese vessel continued to survey Vietnam’s EEZ on Saturday under escort from at least four ships and was around 102 kilometres (63 miles) southeast of Vietnam’s Phu Quy island and 185 kilometres (115 miles) from the beaches of the southern city of Phan Thiet, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessel movements. The Chinese vessel group was followed by at least two Vietnamese naval vessels, according to the data.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.
A country’s EEZ typically extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres or 230 miles) from its coastline, according to an international UN treaty. That country has sovereign rights to exploit any natural resources within that area, according to the agreement. Vietnam and China have for years been embroiled in a dispute over the potentially energy-rich stretch of waters and a busy shipping lane in the South China Sea.
China’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” marks a vast, U-shaped, expanse of the South China Sea that it claims, including large swathes of Vietnam’s continental shelf where it has awarded oil concessions.
Earlier, the United States said it was deeply concerned about China’s interference in oil and gas activities in waters claimed by Vietnam, and that the deployment of the vessels was “an escalation by Beijing in its efforts to intimidate other claimants out of developing resources in the South China Sea”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, in response to the U.S. statement, said Washington was “sowing division and had ulterior motives”.
“The aim is to bring chaos to the situation in the South China Sea and damage regional peace and stability. China is resolutely opposed to this,” Geng told a daily news briefing on Friday 23rd Aug,. ( Reporting by Khanh Vu)
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Gunman in West Texas shooting rampage was fired hours before
Odessa, Texas (CNN)The Odessa Police Department on Sunday identified the man who killed seven people and wounded 22 others in a shooting spree in West Texas as Seth Ator, 36.
Ator had been fired from his trucking job just hours before his killing rampage, the New York Times reported, citing interviews with officials. Ator was arrested in 2001 for criminal trespass and evading arrest, both misdemeanors, according to public records. Adjudication was deferred, though the details of the case were not immediately available. His record also includes a 2018 traffic citation for a federal motor carrier safety violation, according to Ector County court records.
Ator was pulled over by Texas troopers in Midland on Saturday afternoon for failing to use his signal, police said. He then shot at them with what police described as an AR-type weapon and sped away. Driving on streets and the highway, he sprayed bullets randomly at residents and motorists, police said.
The man then hijacked a postal truck and ditched his gold Honda, shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. There, police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout. The shooter hijacked a US Postal Service vehicle, police said.
Among the wounded were a 17-month-old girl and three law enforcement officers, hospital and police officials said. Those fatally shot were between 15 and 57 years old, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.