Month: December 2023

The petitioners have demanded full ownership of 13.37 acres of land around the mosque, claiming that it is the birthplace of Hindu deity Krishna, the Scroll news portal said.

After the hearing, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the petitioners, said the court has rejected the arguments of the Shahi Idgah mosque against the survey.

“My demand was that in Shahi Idgah masjid there are a lot of signs and symbols of the Hindu temple, and to know the actual position, an advocate commissioner is required,” Jain told reporters.

Four persons were placed on a 7-day remand for Wednesday’s security breach after two men from the group jumped into the Lok Sabha from the visitor’s gallery and released yellow smoke from canisters while shouting anti-government slogans. The other two released yellow smoke outside the parliament building.

The house first suspended five opposition MPs from different parties and later added another nine to the list.

Reports said one of the MPs suspended was not even in Delhi when the opposition vociferously demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi moved the resolution to suspend V. K. Sreekandan (Congress), Benny Behanan (Cong), Mohammad Jawed (Cong), P. R. Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K. Subbarayan (CPI), S. R. Parthiban (DMK), S Venkatesan (CPI-M), Manickam Tagore (Cong).

He earlier moved a resolution amid the din to suspend five MPs. “I move the following that this House having taken misconduct of T. N. Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and Dean Kuria­kose in utter disregard to the House and the authority of this Chair and having been named by the chair … to be suspended from the service of the House for reminder session,” the resolution read.

 

The security breach is not being reported in the media as an act of terrorism but bears resemblance to the Dec 13, 2001 incident when armed men drove into the parliament compound using home ministry stickers as passes that allowed their vehicle to pass unchallenged.

They then crashed into a parked car which set off a round of shooting in which all intruders and six security personnel were killed. Alleged conspirators were arrested, tried and one of them was hanged as he pleaded innocence.

Both security lapses occurred during BJP rule. In the 2001 episode, the parliament was expecting a house report on alleged corruption involving arms purchase in which the defence minister was named when the shocking breach occurred and changed the subject altogether.

The new incident has coincided with the winter session of the Lok Sabha, which has been embroiled in a heated standoff between the government and the opposition over the controversial expulsion of a woman MP from West Bengal, a staunch critic of a powerful tycoon close to the prime minister.

Now, the expulsion of MPs has become the new talking point for the pro-government media, shifting the focus even from the breach.

According to the Press Trust of India, before their suspension, the MPs moved into the well of the house raising slogans with demand of a statement from the government.

Reports said that the group that allegedly breached the security had bought Indian flags from North Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar in the morning, collected visitors’ passes from an MP’s personal assistant just hours earlier, and were careful not to lob the smoke canisters to ensure their actions are not construed as an attack, their questioning by the Delhi Police has revealed.

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Wednesday he never conspired against ex-army and spy chiefs during his tenure as the country’s premier

Addressing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary board meeting in Lahore, the party supremo said: “I never conspired against Gen (retd) Bajwa and Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid […] nor did I conspired against Gen (retd) Raheel Sharif.”

The veteran politician, who came back home from four years of self-imposed exile in London in October, is eyeing to become the country’s prime minister for a record fourth time after being able to secure notable relief from courts in multiple graft cases ahead of the upcoming general elections slated for February 8, 2024.

A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the conviction of the three-time former prime minister in the Al-Azizia reference — a case in which he was handed a seven-year sentence along with a fine of £2.5 million for failing to justify the source of the funds provided to set up Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) in Saudi Arabia.

The decision came after Nawaz’s acquittal in the Avenfield Apartments reference — where he was sentenced to 10 years over owning assets beyond means — after the IHC accepted his appeal against the conviction in the said case last month.

 

 

In his address, he expressed gratitude for his acquittal in “fake” cases.

Calling for the conspirators’ names to be brought forward, the PML-N supremo reiterated that he has no interest in seeking revenge, but nevertheless, stressed the need for those responsible for his ouster to be held accountable.

“I have no right to pardon those who are the enemy of the people,” he noted.

“Whatever happened to me [and my family] is now in the past,” he said, but claimed that it wasn’t just them who were punished, it was the entire nation of 250 million who suffered as a result.

Commenting on the recent relief in Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases, the former premier said: “There was nothing substantive in these cases, their hollowness was proved in the high court […] When they did not find anything in Panama, they took up the iqama issue [to oust me]”.

“They wanted to punish me by ousting me, but they couldn’t rely on the Panama case for that,” Nawaz said, adding that when no evidence was found against him, he was sentenced based on an iqama instead.

Lamenting that remarks like “Sicilian mafia, God Father” were made by “judges” against him, the PML-N supremo wondered if it suited the judges to make such comments.

WASHINGTON: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir discussed regional security and bilateral defence cooperation with United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin,

The Pentagon shared a brief statement, saying: “Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin III hosted Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir at the Pentagon today, where the two officials discussed recent regional security developments and potential areas for bilateral defence cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the US Department of State also stated that Washington looks forward to partnering with the Pakistan government on regional security and defence cooperation.

During the press briefing yesterday, the spokesperson said that the US has taken several steps to partner with Pakistan this year on anti-terrorism activities.

“In March, the United States and Pakistan held a high-level counterterrorism dialogue to discuss the shared terrorist threats facing our two countries and to develop strategies to cooperate in critical areas such as border security and countering financing of terrorism,” the spokesperson said.

“We fund several counter-terrorism capacity-building programs in Pakistan focused on law-enforcement and justice and we look forward to carrying out that work.”

The army chief reached the US capital on Tuesday afternoon on his maiden official visit since assuming office in November last year. His visit came after the conclusion of a two-day stay of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West in Islamabad.

The American envoy conveyed Washington’s resolve to “stand with Pakistan” in its fight against terrorism and the challenges posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Concluding his crucial visit to Islamabad, West said he held meetings on regional security and protecting Afghan refugees, among other important matters.

General Asim’s visit comes at a time when Pakistan is facing immense security challenges from both internal and external terror outfits with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan suffering the most at the hands of terrorists.

KYIV: A volley of Russian missiles wounded several people and damaged a children’s hospital on Wednesday, the worst attack on Kyiv in months, Ukrainian officials said, as the country pleads for Western military aid.

Journalists in the capital heard several explosions before dawn, and air raid sirens sounded soon after that. Ukraine’s air force said it had downed all 10 missiles targeting the city and the health ministry said 53 people had been wounded, including two children.

Most injuries were caused by “glass shards, household items and the shock wave” as missile debris fell in eastern and southern parts of the city, the ministry added.

Wednesday’s strike, which caused the highest number of wounded in months, was the second in a week. In another attack overnight Sunday to Monday, eight missiles headed for the capital were shot down.

“The enemy used ballistic weapons,” the Kyiv City Military Administration said, adding that Russia was “intensifying the missile terror of Kyiv”.

There were also strikes in the southern port of Odesa, where officials said nine Iranian-made Shahed drones had been downed.

On the edge of the port city of Odesa, a journalist saw a large hangar in which trucks and cars had been destroyed. Pieces of the metal roof were lodged in the branches of nearby trees.

Inside the hangar, some cars had shrapnel holes, some were burnt out, while others had been crushed by the roof falling. Some cars parked outside were also damaged.

“It turned out that when the drones were downed, not all of them were completely destroyed,” said army spokeswoman Nataliya Gumenyuk.

She said the destroyed hangar was a civilian facility, not directly connected to Odesa ports, which has been relentlessly targeted by Moscow since summer.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday that Israeli forces have opened fire at hospital rooms, raising fears for the safety of 12 children in paediatric care.

“The occupation (Israeli) forces have tightened the siege and the targeting of Kamal Adwan hospital, firing at patient rooms and courtyards,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

“We fear the death of 12 children in paediatric care who are already deprived of milk and are without life support equipment.”

The Israeli army did not offer an immediate comment, while AFP was unable to confirm the situation at the hospital independently.

On Tuesday Qudra said that Israeli forces had stormed the Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the Palestinian territory and were rounding up men in the courtyard.

The previous day, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said two mothers were killed when the maternity department of Kamal Adwan hospital was reportedly hit.

In Wednesday’s statement, Qudra said that Israeli forces had detained hospital director Ahmed al-Kahlot and other staff members who were “tortured and deprived of food and drink”.

Several of them were later released, he said.

Qudra said the Israeli forces were also targeting Al-Awda hospital and tightening the siege of the facility, “depriving it of water, food and electricity”.

Forces were also “preventing the wounded and sick from reaching” the hospital, he added.

Israeli troops have previously raided other medical facilities in Gaza, including Al-Shifa, the territory’s largest hospital.

The military accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres to plan and launch attacks against Israeli forces, a charge denied by the militant group.

There is currently only one hospital in northern Gaza able to admit patients, according to the UN.

Just 14 of 36 hospitals across the territory are functioning, providing limited healthcare while sheltering thousands of displaced people, the World Health Organisation said Sunday.

More than 18,600 Gazans have been killed and almost 50,600 wounded since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted more than two months ago, according to the health ministry.

Around 1,200 people were killed in an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7, Israeli officials say, which sparked the blistering military response on Gaza.

The majority of war casualties in Israel and Gaza have been civilians.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Wednesday that the war in the Gaza Strip would continue “with or without international support”.

“Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support. A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organisation Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel,” Cohen told a visiting diplomat, according to a statement issued by his ministry.