Tag: Narendra Modi

  • UAE to give Modi its highest civilian award

    UAE to give Modi its highest civilian award

    At a time when Pakistan seeks Muslim nation’s support to help sort out the Kashmir issue, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly giving Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi its highest civilian award, Khaleej Times reported.

    According to reports, Modi is set to visit the country on a two-day trip starting August 23, where he will receive “Order of Zayed” for his efforts to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

    The award is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE.

    Tensions run high on either side of the border ever since the Modi administration in New Delhi revoked Article 370 of its constitution — robbing Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) of its autonomy.

    Pakistan has strongly reacted to the move that can pave way for a Muslim genocide in the troubled valley, and reached out to the world to highlight Indian atrocities.

    UAE bestowing upon Modi its highest civil award at such a critical time has left people wondering if the Emirates is declaring its pro-India stance.

  • VIDEO: Babar Awan says Fazlur Rehman, Modi ‘not that different’

    VIDEO: Babar Awan says Fazlur Rehman, Modi ‘not that different’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former adviser to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan, has said that Jamiat Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Indian PM Narendra Modi “speak the same language”.

    “Modi says that he wants to take over Muzaffarabad, while Fazl has announced his plans to do the same with Islamabad,” he said while speaking to media persons Saturday.

    He said that Fazl, who is the former chairperson of the Kashmir Committee, should’ve made headlines for being caught while attempting to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to conquer Kashmir, however, what has been reported is the religiopolitical leader’s threat to the government.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://youtu.be/kf34wHh1-3U

    “India is threatening to attack Azad Kashmir and Maulana is threatening to take over Islamabad,” Awan said, adding that there was no difference between Modi and Fazl’s language.

    Taking a jibe at the opposition for its forthcoming All Parties Conference (APC), PM’s former aide also said that considering the votes secured by the parties in the 2018 general election, it was nothing but a “few parties conference”.

  • U-turn: India admits Kashmir is disputed territory, not ‘internal matter’

    U-turn: India admits Kashmir is disputed territory, not ‘internal matter’

    Soon after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held its first-ever meeting over the Kashmir issue in almost 50 years, India has backtracked on its statement and admitted that Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) is disputed territory.

    According to The Express Tribune, facing a barrage of questions in a press briefing following the historic meeting at the UN headquarters on Friday, India’s envoy to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin said that India was committed to the Shimla Agreement inked with Pakistan in 1972, which explicitly declares Kashmir as disputed between the two countries.

    Earlier, New Delhi had regularly blocked discussion on held Kashmir at the UN, saying it considers the matter an “internal affair”.

    “So let me begin by coming across to you and shaking your hand… as we’ve already extended our hand of friendship by saying we are committed to Shimla Agreement. Let us wait on that from the Pakistani side,” said the Indian ambassador while awkwardly reaching out to Pakistani journalists and shaking their hands.

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    Responding to a question, he said: “In closed consultations at the UNSC, anyone, especially parties to the dispute, can try and throw in anything at the members of the Security Council. That’s the nature of the beast.”

    “We are ready to address these issues in a matter in which states who have normal approaches to international ties address them… and in our case, we are committed to Shimla Agreement,” he added.

  • Modi’s Man vs. Wild a monstrous propaganda stunt: The Guardian

    Modi’s Man vs. Wild a monstrous propaganda stunt: The Guardian

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Man vs. Wild moment with Bear Grylls has been termed as a “monstrous propaganda stunt” by The Guardian.

    Modi was seen in a never-seen-before avatar on August 12 when he ventured into his country’s wilderness along with Grylls, the host of Discovery Channel’s popular TV show.

    The channel had issued a statement saying the special episode featuring survivalist and adventurer Grylls and shot in the Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park with Modi, was a “frank and freewheeling journey”.

    In a clip of the show that was shared by Grylls on his Twitter account last month, PM Modi could be seen riding a small dinghy down a river along with the adventure travel show host.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In another scene, the Indian premier was seen welcoming Grylls to India and holding up a weapon carved out of bamboo and other material collected from the forest.

    However, according to a review published by The Guardian on Friday, the episode was “the most tasteless TV ever”. The critic went on to say: “Strongmen Bear Grylls and Narendra Modi sniff elephant dung in the wilderness while a terror attack plays out in Kashmir. God help us all.”

    According to reports, the episode was shot on the day when 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed in the Pulwama terror attack (February 14).

    The tragedy, which was termed as one of the worst to strike Indian occupying forces in the held Kashmir region, was followed by heightened cross-border tensions, including an aerial battle, as India blamed Pakistan.

  • Kashmir crisis: Russia steps up to support India

    Kashmir crisis: Russia steps up to support India

    Russia has come out in support of India’s move to revoke Article 370 of its constitution and integrate occupied Kashmir, which can lead to the ethnic cleansing of Muslims and transform the region into majority-Hindu.

    According to media reports, Moscow has become the first among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to formally state that abrogation of the provision is “an internal matter for India”.

    “Moscow expects that Pakistan and India will not allow aggravation of the situation in the region due to the change by New Delhi in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying.

    “We proceed from the fact that the changes associated with the change in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India,” it said.

    The ministry further said that Russia was a consistent supporter of peace between the two neighbouring countries.

    “We hope that the differences between them will be resolved by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in accordance with the provisions of the Shimla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999.”

    Tensions are soaring between Pakistan and India after New Delhi on Monday revoked Article 370, which gave special status to held Kashmir and moved a separate bill to split the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

    Pakistan believes the move, other than snatching away occupied Kashmir’s autonomy, can pave way for a Muslim genocide as it allows people from all over India to settle in the disputed territory which could result in a massive demographic shift.

  • US knew about India’s plans for occupied Kashmir: report

    US knew about India’s plans for occupied Kashmir: report

    With Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) being robbed of its special status, it has emerged that the United States (US) already knew about the development that could lead to a Muslim genocide in the troubled valley.

    In a move to tighten its grip on occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India on Monday dropped a constitutional provision that allowed the disputed territory to make its own laws.

    According to The Print, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led government’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had told his American counterpart Mike Pompeo of his government’s plan last week.

    It, however, wasn’t the first time Washington was briefed on the matter as two days after February 14’s Pulwama attack, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had also called his US counterpart John Bolton and shared New Delhi’s plans to do away with the special status, reports said.

    While the decision to bifurcate the state came much later than the Doval-Bolton phonecall, Jaishankar’s meeting with the US secretary of state came on the sidelines of the 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok on August 1.

    Jaishankar had also reiterated to Pompeo that the US does not need to mediate in the Kashmir dispute and that any discussion on this issue, “if at all warranted”, will only be with Pakistan unilaterally.

    The Modi government did not want to take any chances when it came to the US, and so, all necessary safeguards were taken, the report quoted sources as saying.

    KASHMIR ROBBED OF SPECIAL STATUS:

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Monday revoked the disputed Himalayan territory’s special status by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution.

    With IoK’s autonomy snatched, people from the rest of India would have the right to acquire property in the valley and settle there permanently.

    Kashmiris fear the move would lead to a demographic transformation of the region from majority-Muslim to majority-Hindu, paving way for Modi’s hardliner BJP and resulting in major setbacks to their freedom struggle.

  • Rowing boats, making weapons: Modi to feature on Discovery Channel’s ‘Man vs. Wild’

    Rowing boats, making weapons: Modi to feature on Discovery Channel’s ‘Man vs. Wild’

    Prime minister (PM) of neighbouring India, Narendra Modi, will be seen in a never-seen-before avatar on August 12 when he ventures into his country’s wilderness along with Bear Grylls, the host of Discovery Channel’s popular show “Man vs. Wild”.

    The Discovery Channel has issued a statement saying the special episode featuring survivalist and adventurer Grylls and shot in the Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park, will be a “frank and freewheeling journey”.

    In a clip of the show that was shared by Grylls on his Twitter account, PM Modi can be seen riding a small dinghy down a river along with the adventure travel show host.

    In another scene, the Indian premier is seen welcoming Grylls to India and holding up a weapon carved out of bamboo and other material collected from the forest and saying, “I will keep this with me for you.”

    To this, Grylls replies with laughter, “You are the most important man in India, my job is to keep you alive.”

    “For years, I have lived among nature, in the mountains and the forests. These years have a lasting impact on my life. So when I was asked about a special show focusing on life beyond politics and that too in the midst of nature I was intrigued to take part in it,” Modi said while speaking about the show.

    He added that the show was a “great opportunity to showcase to the world India’s rich environmental heritage and stress on the importance of environment conservation and living in harmony with nature”.

  • Hindu mob beats up Muslim couple over beef rumour in India

    Hindu mob beats up Muslim couple over beef rumour in India

    Days after Narendra Modi’s hardliner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected to power for a second consecutive term, a Hindu extremist mob has severely thrashed three Muslims, including a woman, over beef rumours.

    According to India Today, the incident took place in the Seoni city of Madhya Pradesh.

    A video of the incident, which shows self-claimed gau rakshaks [cow vigilantes] hitting the young Muslims with sticks, has gone viral. The video also shows the Muslim man being forced to thrash his wife with a slipper and say Jai Shree Ram.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Five suspects have been arrested from Seoni city, 350 km from state capital Bhopal, the police was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, the victims have been identified as local residents Dilip Malviya, Taufik and Anjum Shama.

    Former Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) chief minister Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter to condemn the incident.

    “Horrified to see cow vigilantes thrash an innocent Muslim with such impunity in MP. Hope the chief minister will take swift action against these goons,” she said.

  • Indian anchor says Sunny Leone instead of Sunny Deol during live election transmission

    Indian anchor says Sunny Leone instead of Sunny Deol during live election transmission

    Indian journalist Arnab Goswami found himself in an awkward position on Thursday after he accidentally referred to Bollywood actor and former porn star Sunny Leone instead of actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol on live TV.

    The blunder came during the ongoing heat of 2019 Indian general election counting on his channel. With the video of the incident going viral, it provided a moment of laughs in the heat of the counting day.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/TheGodWhispers/status/1131427436799774720

    His exact words were:

    “Sunny Leone… Sunny Deol is leading from Gurdaspur.”

    As social media went crazy over the blunder, Leone tweeted:

    Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Deol made his debut with a bang, having cornered over 54 per cent of the votes polled in his constituency so far.

    Narendra Modi’s BJP is now leading in 300 constituencies, according to result trends. The main opposition party, Indian National Congress (INC), on the other hand, is leading in 50 constituencies.

    No seats have officially been declared, but if the trends turn into concrete results, it would mean a thumping win for Modi — and defy many pre-election predictions that it would be a tight race.