Current Final

Tag: Kashmir

  • 10 dead as bus plummets into ditch in Azad Jammu And Kashmir

    10 people have died and 13 were critically injured when the bus they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday, Express News has reported. The 35 passengers in the bus were going to Gujranwala from Nairiyan, a small village in the Sudhnoti district near Kotli, for urs festivities.

    The injured were taken to Mirpur district headquarter hospital.

    Rescue personnel reached the spot after receiving information, Mirpur Commissioner Chaudhary Shaukat has said. He further stated that at least three of the 13 injured passengers are in critical condition. He added that the accident was caused by brake failure.

    Shaukat also confirmed that a large number of Jamia students reached the hospital to voluntarily donate blood for the victims.

  • India seeks death penalty for Kashmir separatist Yasin Malik

    India seeks death penalty for Kashmir separatist Yasin Malik

    India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved Delhi High Court, seeking the death penalty for Jammu Kashmir Liberation (JKL) Front chief Chief Yasin Malik.

    The hearing is due on Monday.

    Following the news, Yasin’s wife Mushaal, said in a tweet, “Modi wants to hang my husband but I’m afraid Modi’s actually hanging his entire political career down the drain. Don’t think this Will ever silence us”.

    Yasin was arrested in 2018, months before New Delhi cancelled the held state’s special status of Kashmir on August 5, 2019.

    Last year, Malik pleaded guilty for funding the separatist movement. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently serving time in jail.

  • China will not attend G20 meeting to be held in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

    China will not attend G20 meeting to be held in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

    China has said that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, confirming that it will not attend, handing a significant diplomatic victory to Pakistan.

    “China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

    India, which holds the chair of G20 this year, has organised a series of meetings across the country in the run-up to the summit in New Delhi in September.

    Srinagar, the capital of the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, will host a meeting of the tourism working group for G20 members on May 22-24.

    Despite backlash for holding the meeting in disputed territory, the Modi-led government has not backed off from its plans to do so.

  • Fact Check: Did Bilawal visit graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war?

    Fact Check: Did Bilawal visit graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war?

    Claim: A tweet is being circulated on social media, stating that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war against Pakistan. Along with the tweet is a photo of the Foreign Minister wearing a heavy black coat as he stands before a wreath placed at a memorial.

    The tweet has been shared more than 4093 times.

    https://twitter.com/p4pakipower1/status/1654573262955839488

    Fact: The picture is from foreign minister’s visit to Lithuania earlier this year. During the visit, Bilawal laid a wreath at the monument of Lithuanian martyred freedom fighters.

    Verdict: The claim is false.

    Verdict: The claim is false

  • AJK man legally transfers thousands of kanals to Maryam Nawaz

    Zahid Hussain, a man hailing from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), handed down his land spread across thousands of kanals to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz via a legal procedure.

    He said that Maryam can use the land for whatever purpose she sees fit.

    On the legal deed, which has been shared on Twitter, the man stated, “I, Zahid Hussain, s/o Wilayat Hussain, hereby declare that I am of sound mind and have voluntarily decided to bequeath all the lands I possess, whether 50,000 kanals or 32,000 kanal, to Maryam Nawaz, d/o Nawaz Sharif, without any coercion or pressure from anyone”.

    Moreover, the affidavit stated that the PML-N leader is now the owner of 50 per cent of the property, excluding approximately 50 kanals which is the inheritance of Hussain’s children and other heirs, in the life of Mazhar (possibly an heir of Hussain). According to the man, she will be the owner of 100 per cent of the property, excluding the same as above, after Mazhar’s death.

    Reacting to the news, Maryam Nawaz said that it is “very touching”.

    “OMG! Why would he do that! It is very touching though,” Maryam wrote on Twitter.

  • ‘Of course’: Bilawal confirms he shook hands with Indian FM but no bilateral engagement held

    ‘Of course’: Bilawal confirms he shook hands with Indian FM but no bilateral engagement held

    Pakistani Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who just wrapped up his visit to Goa, said that he did shake hands with his Indian counter partner S. Jaishankar at a dinner that was held in an unofficial capacity.

    During an interview with India Today, Bilawal said, “In all our unofficial engagements we always shake hands and we had dinner conversations amongst other foreign ministers but we did not hold a bilateral engagement.”

    Earlier, when both ministers greeted each other in front of the media they didn’t shake hands and this created headlines in India.

    Clearing up the confusion, Bilawal said that his aim to visit India was to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). “Unless India reviews the action it took on August 5, 2019 (abrogation of Article 370), Pakistan is not in a position to engage bilaterally with India.”

    When pointed out by a journalist that “Pakistan can’t sponsor terror directed against India”, the minister, taking a jibe at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said “This wolf whistling around the word terrorism which is ultimately an Islamophobic wolf whistle not only to whip up Hindu sentiment in India but also to brow beat Pakistan, that might be election strategy for some but not effective terrorism strategy”

    The Pakistani foreign minister said the country wishes to quell terrorism “not because India said it or the Indian government said so, but because we want to end this menace”. He said terrorism has caused the “largest number of casualties” in Pakistan among any of the other SCO countries.

    “India will have to explain what Kulbhushan Jadhav, a state actor, a navy commander, was doing in Pakistan carrying out terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil. Does that not come under cross-border terrorism?” he asked.

    Bilawal also reminded Indian Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai that Pakistan is the only country on Earth that has completed two Financial Action Task Force (FATF) objectives.

    He said that it is not productive for India to continue accusing Pakistan of sponsoring terror activities.

    Pointing out that India violated bilateral agreements and international agreements on Aug 5, 2019, by revoking the special status of Jammu Kashmir, Bilawal Bhutto also mentioned the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing where around 70 people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed. “We are yet to see any justice,” he reminded Sardesai.

    He repeatedly said that both India and Pakistan have different perspectives on terrorism, adding that Pakistan is “willing to engage with any concerns that India might have but India will also have to address our concerns.”

  • ‘Mujhe gaali dega, mai uskay jawab mein thapar maaroonga usko’: PPP’s Kaira’s argument with journalist Kazmi

    ‘Mujhe gaali dega, mai uskay jawab mein thapar maaroonga usko’: PPP’s Kaira’s argument with journalist Kazmi

    Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) for Kashmir & Gilgit Baltistan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, in a verbal argument with journalist Athar Kazmi said that no one has the right to verbally abuse him.

    Speaking on Samaa News’ programme, ‘Meray Sawal with Mansoor Ali Khan’, Kaira said, “If someone verbally abuses me, I will slap them in return.”

    The panel of guests, which included Athar Kazmi, was discussing how families should be excluded from political criticism. Kaira argued that it was highly inappropriate to drag families into the criticism. Kazmi went on to say that it is inappropriate but not a crime.

    Kaira shrugged the point off, telling Kazmi not to become partisan while following someone. Kazmi added that one should be patient in arguments, to which Kaira responded, “I do not give anyone the right to abuse me.”

    Kazmi then posed a question, asking where it was written in the law or in the constitution that one could file a case against someone for verbally abusing them? Anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan interjected and said it was possible.

    Kaira responded, “Defamation can be both civil and criminal. An FIR followed by an arrest can happen in such a case.”

  • India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    Former United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed on Tuesday in his new memoir that arch rivals— India and Pakistan— were on the verge of nuclear war in February 2019.

    Pompeo, who served in President Donald Trump’s tenure, has written in ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for America I Love’ that he does “not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019.”

    He says at the time, he was informed by his Indian counter-partner that Pakistan had begun to prepare for a nuclear strike on India. However, he asked him to give it some time to sort out the matter. Later, he reached out to Pakistani former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    The ex-army chief told Pompeo that Indian allegations were baseless. He believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment.

    Moreover, the former US official said that it took them a few hours and remarkably good work by their teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad to convince both countries to desist.

    In February 2019, Delhi launched strikes to attack Pakistan after a militant attack on Indian troops in Kashmir. However, Pakistan shot down two Indian military jets and captured a fighter pilot who later was released.

    In 1974, India became the first country in the region to become a nuclear power while Pakistan attained nuclear power in 1998.

    It is pertinent to mention that neither India nor Pakistan has commented so far on Pompeo’s claims.

  • ‘Let us sit, have serious and sincere talks’: PM Shehbaz extends olive branch to Modi

    ‘Let us sit, have serious and sincere talks’: PM Shehbaz extends olive branch to Modi

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, extending an olive branch to his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi has said that both leaders should hold serious and sincere talks.

    “My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir,” said PM Shehbaz in an interview with Al Arabiya news channel.

    “In Kashmir, flagrant human rights violations are taking place day in and day out,” he pointed out.

    The Premier further added that the neighbouring country had usurped any semblance of autonomy given to the Kashmiris according to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The autonomy was revoked in August 2019.

    Reminding the world that both Pakistan and India were neighbouring countries who had to find a way to live together, Shehbaz Sharif said, ” “It is up to us to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other, and waste time and resources. We have three wars with India and it only brought more misery, poverty and unemployment to the people. We have learnt our lesson and we want to live in peace provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems. We want to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity, and provide education and health facilities and employment to our people and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition, that is the message I want to give to PM Modi.”

    The Premier remarked that both countries are nuclear powers and armed to teeth. “If God forbid a war breaks out who will live to tell what happened,” he said.

    He said the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could play a vital role in bringing Pakistan and India together., adding he would hold talks with the Indian leadership with sincerity of purpose.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Fawad Chaudhry rejected PM Shehbaz’s approach of holding talks with Modi and tweeted, “Shehbaz Sharif cannot be allowed to sell Kashmir”.

    Later, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) gave a statement on the issue and said, “The Prime Minister has repeatedly stated on record that talks can only take place after India has reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019. Without India’s revocation of this step, negotiations are not possible.”

  • ‘Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the PM of India’: Bilawal Bhutto tells Indian Minister

    ‘Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the PM of India’: Bilawal Bhutto tells Indian Minister

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari slammed Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in response to his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s accusations about Pakistan perpetuating terrorism and sheltering Osama bin Laden.

    “I would like to remind Mr Jaishankar that Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the prime minister (of India),” said Bilawal at a press conference in New York on Thursday.

    “He (Narendra Modi) was banned from entering this country (the United States). These are the prime minister and foreign minister of RSS, which draws inspiration from Hitler’s SS,” he added.

    “In India, who perpetuates terrorism? Is it Pakistan? Ask the people of Gujrat; they will say it is their prime minister. Ask the people of Kashmir; they will say the butcher of Gujrat is now the butcher of Kashmir. I am not talking about some imaginary past; I am talking about today. They are not even attempting to wash the blood of the people of Gujrat from their hands for their own election campaign. Prime Minister Modi and his government have used their power to pardon the men who raped Muslims in Gujrat. The prime minister of India freed those rapists and terrorists.”

    “The Indian government does not believe in Gandhi’s ideology, but rather in the doctrines of his assassin,” said Bilawal.

    https://twitter.com/IbrarAMir3/status/1603491220566728727?s=20&t=RDyV6PKM20nB5RI-D5977w

    Jaishankar remarks on Pakistan came after State Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that India is a “rogue state” that projects itself as greatest victim of terrorism but is the perpetrator of it. Jaishankr said that Khar’s remarks reminded him of the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Islamabad more than a decade ago when she reminded Pakistan that “if you have snakes in your backyard, you cannot expect them to bite only your neighbours”.

    He claimed that Pakistan was “not great at listening to good advice … and now look what’s happening there. Today, it’s the epicentre of terrorism … and has its fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond”.

    Urging Pakistan not to blame others, the Indian minister asked: “How long Pakistan intends to practice [terrorism] and hide it by taking that debate elsewhere? Please clean up your act. Please try to be a good neighbour.”

    “We have lost far more lives to terrorism than India did,” said Bhutto-Zardari while pointing out that “India has been playing in the space” that has made it “very easy” to bracket Muslims with terrorism. “India has very skilfully blurred this line, making like us all are terrorists who are actually victims.”

    The Pakistani foreign minister noted that India has continuously perpetuated this philosophy, not just for Pakistan but Muslims in India too.

    The foreign minister said that Pakistan is proud of its achievements in the war against terrorism, as the country has taken concrete steps in connection with the National Action Plan for counterterrorism.

    He said that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) endorsed Pakistan’s measures taken to stem terror financing. Bilawal also said that it is wrong to blame the Muslim world for terrorism as terrorism doesn’t belong to any religion or region.

    He pointed out that terrorism has mainly targeted Muslims since 2001. Also, there were incidents where Chinese citizens were targeted in Karachi, he said.

    Highlighting the post-flood situation in Pakistan, the foreign minister said some areas of Balochistan and Sindh are still waterlogged. The massive flooding adversely impacted health, education and basic infrastructure.

    Assistance from the international community is crucial for Pakistan in coping with the challenge of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the victims, he asserted.