Month: May 2025

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration that Operation Sindoor is “not yet over” has reignited political tensions at home and intensified regional rhetoric,

Speaking at a rally in West Bengal on Thursday, the Indian prime minister addressed Pakistan and said the country “should understand that we have entered your house and killed you three times” — referring to past military operations widely interpreted as the 2016 Uri surgical strikes, the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, and the most recent Operation Sindoor launched on May 7.

Portraying Operation Sindoor as a national mission backed by “140 crore Indians”, he claimed Indian forces destroyed terror infrastructure across the Line of Control in an operation that “Pakistan never thought of.”

“Now that I am standing on the sacred land of ‘Sindoor Khela’, it is only right that we speak about a new resolve against terrorism Operation Sindoor…. Terrorists had dared to wipe out the sindoor of our sisters, but our forces made them realise the strength of sindoor. From this land of Bengal, I declare on behalf of 140 crore Indians that Operation Sindoor is not yet over”, Modi told the crowd, linking the military campaign with Bengal’s cultural traditions.

Critics within India, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have condemned Modi for exploiting military operations for political gain.

In a sharp rebuttal, Banerjee accused the Indian PM of playing “political holi” with a military operation’s branding and using religious symbolism to stoke nationalist fervour.

“Operation Sindoor [as a] name was given with a political goal. But I won’t say anything about this. When all opposition leaders are shouting hoarse for the country abroad, at that time the prime minister has come to play political holi – this does not behove the prime minister”, Banerjee said at a press conference.

She also criticised Modi’s use of gendered religious imagery. “You are spreading garbage of lies… PM Modi is not the husband of anybody; why aren’t you giving sindoor to your Mrs first?” she said, attacking the symbolic invocation of sindoor as a tool of state propaganda. She added, “Sindoor cannot be sold like this. Sindoor is a matter of self-respect”.

Modi’s rally speech also targeted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, accusing it of “violence, corruption and lawlessness”, and citing recent communal clashes in Murshidabad and Malda, along with a multi-crore teacher recruitment scam.

Banerjee has defended her administration and accused Modi of divisive politics. “He wants to divide and rule. He does divisive politics”, she said, adding that while opposition leaders are representing India abroad and “defending the country like anything”, the prime minister is “criticising the government… and politicising things like the leader of the BJP Jumla Party.”

She further challenged Modi to an early election in the state, saying, “I challenge them. If they have guts, go into elections tomorrow, we are ready and Bengal is ready to accept your challenge.”

On the question of accountability for the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 civilians dead, Banerjee asked: “Has anyone seen the terrorists who snatched the sindoor of the women who were victims in Pahalgam? Has he caught them?”

She also accused Modi of avoiding tough international questions, particularly referring to US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan: “On hearing the word America, he becomes silent.”

Banerjee also challenged Modi to a face-to-face televised debate. “If you are so brave, then come for a press conference on television. We will have a direct fight on any subject you want. You can bring your teleprompters too if you want”, she said, taking a dig at Modi’s reluctance to engage in unscripted public exchanges.

US President Donald Trump hosts a grand Oval Office farewell for Elon Musk on Friday as the world’s richest man ends his turbulent reign as the government’s cost cutter-in-chief.

The pair will hold a joint press conference at 1.30pm local time, with Trump attempting to put a positive spin on Musk’s departure from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after just four months.

Trump, 78, praised the “terrific” Musk on Thursday and insisted that his influence would continue despite the South African-born tech tycoon returning to his Space X and Tesla companies.

“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Vice President JD Musk praised Musk’s “incredible” job in an interview with Newsmax and vowed that “the DOGE effort will continue.”

But the news conference will be a far cry from Musk’s first dramatic appearance in the Oval Office in February, when he brought his young son with him and outshone even the attention-seeking president himself.

At the time the 53-year-old was almost inseparable from Trump, glued to his side on Air Force One, Marine One, in the White House and at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Yet Musk is now leaving Trump’s administration under a cloud, after openly admitting disillusionment with his role, and criticizing the Republican president’s spending plans.

DOGE rampage

The right-wing magnate’s DOGE has led an ideologically-driven rampage through the federal government, with its young “tech bros” slashing tens of thousands of jobs.

It has also shuttered whole departments including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), leading to huge cuts in foreign aid that critics say will hit some of the world´s poorest people and boost US rivals.

But DOGE’s achievements fell far short of Musk’s boasts when he blazed into Washington brandishing a chainsaw at a conservative event and bragged that it would be easy to cut two trillion dollars.

Trump also loudly proclaimed that DOGE was cutting “waste” and would regularly reel off long lists of alleged fraud that Musk´s team was discovering, including social security claimants older than the world´s oldest person.

In reality, the independent “Doge Tracker” site has counted just $12 billion in savings so far while the Atlantic magazine put it far lower, at $2 billion.

Musk’s Silicon Valley-style “move fast and break things” mantra was also at odds with some of his Washington colleagues.

He clashed with other cabinet members and said in an interview earlier this week that he was “disappointed” in Trump’s recent mega tax and spending bill as it undermined DOGE’s cuts.

Musk’s companies, meanwhile, were suffering.

Tesla shareholders called for him to return to work as sales slumped and protests targeted the electric vehicle maker, while Space X had a series of fiery rocket failures.

At Friday’s press conference Musk may also face questions over a New York Times report alleging intensive drug use by the tycoon while on the campaign trail for Trump last year.

The Times said the 53-year-old told friends he was taking so much of the anesthetic ketamine “that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use.”

Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it to treat a “negative frame of mind” and suggesting his use of drugs benefited Tesla investors.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced that Pakistan would upgrade its Chargé d’Affaires in Afghanistan to the level of an ambassador amid improving ties with the neighbouring country.

Taking to X, Dar said that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were on positive trajectory after his “very productive” visit to Kabul on April 19.

“I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” he stated.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have embassies in each other’s capitals but they are led by charge d’affaires, not ambassadors.

China was the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-run administration in Kabul though it does not formally recognise its government. Several other states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed.

The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence.

The issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the TTP to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.

However, days earlier, a commander of the Afghan Taliban, Saeedullah Saeed, warned terrorists of Fitna al-Khwarij against fighting the Pakistan forces, conducting attacks in the name of Jihad.

Earlier this month, China hosted an informal meeting between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban administration, wherein Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says it was decided between the two nations to upgrade their diplomatic ties.

The neighbours agreed in principle to send ambassadors to each other’s country as soon as possible, Yi said after his talks with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and FM Dar.

Meanwhile, Islamabad and Beijing also agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, reaffirming their commitment to enhancing regional connectivity and economic cooperation.

The key outcomes from the Beijing meeting also included commitments to enhance cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, including joint action against militant groups and external interference and an understanding to formally resume the trilateral process by convening the sixth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Kabul.

Tensions appeared to ease after a rare meeting between Muttaqi and Dar in Kabul last month where the Taliban’s acting foreign minister expressed concern over the deportation of tens of thousands of Afghans from Pakistan.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to continuing dialogue in a constructive and positive atmosphere to address bilateral concerns, including security, trade, transit cooperation, and broader ties.