Govt official among five killed in Pakistani shelling in Jammu and Kashmir
Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J&K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district & attended the online meeting I chaired. Today the residence of the officer was hit by Pak shelling as they…
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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
Punjab Cong leaders express divergent views on Omar's water statement
Jalandhar: When there is nothing hidden about factionalism in Punjab Congress, the responses of the state party leaders to Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah's statement about not allowing water from three western rivers of the Indus system to Punjab, after India put the in abeyance, have also been divergent, rather contradictory. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This reflects a lack of discussions within the party on serious issues. While Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa criticised Abdullah, MLA Pargat Singh expressed agreement with his assertion and argued that Punjab should assert the same right over its waters. "It's sad that JK CM @OmarAbdullah ji has started doing politics over the proposed canals to be constructed to prevent the flow of water to Pakistan. Want to ask Omar Sahab, doesn't it amount to treating us on par with Pakistan? We suspended the Indus Water Treaty as Pakistan proved to be a rogue and enemy nation to us. What reasons do you have to refuse water to us?" posted Warring on his X account. Randhawa also took strong exception to Abdullah's statement and said the latter undermined Punjab's sacrifice and patriotism, while also mentioning Punjab's crucial role in the food security of the country. However, Pargat took a contrasting stand, arguing for Punjab's interests using an entirely different perspective and also sought to put the Aam Aadmi Party in the dock on the issue. "Agreeing with J&K CM @OmarAbdullah's assertion that a state should first meet its own water needs before discussing its sharing with any other state - this aligns with both the Riparian Principle and the Constitution. It is a fair and forward-looking stance, and once the Indus Water Treaty is re-evaluated, water must be distributed among states based on these principles. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Punjab asserts the same right over its waters, as highlighted by the J&K CM. However, what is deeply concerning is the @AAPPunjab spokesperson's statement suggesting that the central govt should decide water sharing. As the ruling party in Punjab, AAP's position undermines federalism and jeopardises Punjab's rightful claim over its rivers. Only a BJP B-Team would so casually surrender state rights to the Centre." Punjab expert justifies Abdullah's stance Veteran journalist Sukhdev Singh, who has been following Punjab's river water issues for close to five decades and is an expert on the subject, in a FB post justified Abdullah's stance, arguing that it aligned with internationally recognised riparian principles and the spirit of the Indian Constitution. "...Kashmir's position is also consistent with the Constitution and the Indus treaty. In fact, the interests of Kashmir and Punjab regarding the rivers are identical, which also align with riparian principles. The truth is that Punjab is merely being used in the context of the utilisation of rivers flowing through 'Kashmir' ........ If the Indian state were truly considerate towards Punjab, it would not have indiscriminately exploited 70% of the available water from Punjab's three rivers. " He sought to differ with Abdullah's remark on Kashmir's share from the Ravi and said Punjab provided Kashmir with more than its rightful share in the form of free electricity from the Thein Dam and water from Shahpur Kandi, based on an agreement made 27 years ago.
New Indian Express
13 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Scar on Trump's legacy as the US enters Iran's war
If Munir massaged his elephantine ego with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took apple polishing to another level, saying the forces of civilisation thanked him for his intervention. While Modi called Trump out for taking credit for ending the Indo-Pak conflict, Netanyahu had no compunction in giving him bragging rights for defanging Iran. Be that as it may, history may well record Trump as a scar on democracy who fell into a warmonger's trap and jettisoned peace for self-aggrandisement. By bombing Iran, he violated the rulebook on respecting sovereignty, exposed American nationals and their freight to asymmetric warfare in the Strait of Hormuz and increased human hardship as oil prices are set to go further north. There is no easy exit. Much like the phoney claims of Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction led to the disastrous Iraq invasion, Netanyahu and Trump asserted that Iran was days away from building a nuclear bomb despite the American intelligence department and the IAEA determining otherwise. Though the ongoing attacks further weakened Iran as a regional hegemon as Israel took out Hezbollah, crushed Hamas, choked supply lines from Syria and degraded the Houthis in Yemen, it may have solidified Tehran's intention to pursue nuclear deterrence, irrespective of the war delaying its ability for now. Assassinations of scientists cannot smoke out institutional knowledge assimilated over decades. As for India, it must carefully navigate the new geopolitical reality and adopt a position that serves the supreme national interest.
Mint
15 hours ago
- Mint
New twist in Pahalgam attackers' identities: From Pak, but not those whose sketches released by J&K police, says report
In a withdrawal from what was previously believed about the identities of the Pahalgam attackers, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe revealed that all three attackers from Pakistan are different from those whose sketches were released initially by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Two days after terrorists opened indiscriminate firing at tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district on April 22, killing 26 civilians, the J&K Police had released three sketches of Pakistan nationals Hashim Musa and Ali Bhai alias Talha, and Kashmir local Adil Hussain Thoker. A report published by The Indian Express, citing sources, on Sunday said that the three men in the sketches are not the Pahalgam attackers. In a major breakthrough in the Pahalgam terror attack case, the NIA arrested two men for harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the horrendous attack, the agency said on Sunday. According to an ANI report, the NIA said that the two arrested accused, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Batkote in Pahalgam and Bashir Ahmad Jothar of Hill Park in Pahalgam, have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack, and have also confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). "Parvaiz and Bashir had knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack," said the NIA, citing its investigations. "The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had, on the fateful afternoon, selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity, making it one of the most gruesome terrorist attacks ever." According to the IE report, one of the attackers is believed to be Suleiman Shah, who was involved in the killing of seven employees of a firm constructing the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway on October 20 last year. The report, which cited sources, also said that his co-accused from the attack, Junaid Ramzan Bhat, was killed on December 4 in a gunfight with the J&K Police. Police had reportedly recovered a photo of Junaid, along with three other terrorists, from Junaid's phone, which went viral after the Pahalgam attack. Sources said that this photo was used by the J&K Police as the basis for the sketches. The report also said that during the investigation, the central agencies and the NIA showed different pictures recovered from Junaid's phone to the two arrested locals, who recognised the men who had visited them two days before the Pahalgam attack. 'The fresh pictures were also shown to several witnesses, and they too confirmed their presence at the crime scene. All three are Pakistani nationals, including the Z-Morh terror accused Suleman Shah,' the IE report quoted a source as saying. 'Central agencies and the NIA are revisiting past cases and trying to tally ballistic reports so a strong case can be built against these attackers,' the source added. The NIA is also looking into whether Suleiman had any connection to the killing of three Army personnel in South Kashmir's Kulgam district in August 2023, and in another attack in Jammu's Poonch district in May last year. An Air Force personnel was killed and four others were injured in the attack. According to the report, before the NIA arrested the two locals for allegedly sheltering the attackers, the agency had questioned more than 200 people, including pony operators, shopkeepers and photographers. 'Parvaiz had a common friend with a pony operator, and their wives shared details of the visitor at their house,' said a source.
