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Showing posts from July 18, 2019

Man held at India-Nepal border with heroin worth Rs 1.95 crore

Hindustan Times July 17, 2019 Press Trust of India Shailesh Yadav was arrested after 195-gram heroin was found from him by a team of the Sashastra Seema Bal on Tuesday, SSB Inspector attached to the Sonauli checkpost Ravi Kumar said. A man has been arrested with heroin worth Rs 1.95 crore at the India-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district, a senior official said Wednesday. Shailesh Yadav was arrested after 195-gram heroin was found from him by a team of the Sashastra Seema Bal on Tuesday, SSB Inspector attached to the Sonauli checkpost Ravi Kumar said. Further investigation is underway, he said. Reference:https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/man-held-at-india-nepal-border-with-heroin-worth-rs-1-95-crore/story-hfpdZAvT1r24JSqXoJrk5L.html

Great Pressure Exerted to Find Him': Donald Trump Tweets After Hafiz Saeed's Arrest in Pakistan

New18 July 17, 2019 United States president Donald Trump on Wednesday applauded the arrest of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and said the hunt to nab the accused had been on for 10 years. He also said pressure had been exerted on Islamabad to find Saeed for the last two years. “After a ten-year search, the so-called “mastermind” of the Mumbai terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan. Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him! (sic),” Trump tweeted. Saeed, the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), was arrested on Wednesday on terror financing charges by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Province in Pakistan, just days ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan's maiden visit to the United States. Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist on whom the US has placed a $10 million bounty, was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to get pre-arrest bail in terror financing cases registered against him there when he was arrested, said a CTD of

India pitches to grill Dawood aide in London, Pak rushes to his defence

hindustan times Juky 17, 2019 Shishir Gupta and Prasun Sonwalka India is hoping the UK will approve its request to interview Jabir Siddiq, aka Motiwala, considered one of Dawood Ibrahim’s closest aides, because it believes this will help get some insights into the drugs and extortion operations the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai terror attacks still runs in the country, and perhaps even provide some proof of the fugitive’s presence in Pakistan. According to Jabir’s dossier with Indian security agencies, which has been reviewed by Hindustan Times, he is the only one o f Dawood’s associates   who is a trustee in the Karachi-based Islam Baba Trust, where Ibrahim, his wife, his son and two sons-in-law are trustees. This trust is described by the Indian national security establishment as a religious front to manage properties of the D-company. India is also working with US enforcement agencies to get access to Siddiq – he is currently in Wands worth jail in south-west London,

What next for Pakistan: how ICJ raises bar for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s due process

The Indian Express July 18, 2019 By Apurva Vishwanath The ICJ by allowing legal representation for Jadhav has, essentially, forced Pakistan to follow a more rigorous process to ensure an effective review as per the court’s ruling. The verdict of the International Court of Justice Wednesday puts pressure on Pakistan by raising the bar for the next steps in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s due process. For one, ruling in India’s favour in a 15-1 vote, the ICJ said Pakistan has breached international law by denying Jadhav counsular access and legal representation. The court verdict, in paragraphs 99-119, indicts Pakistan’s military court that does not allow for legal representation. So the ICJ by allowing legal representation for Jadhav has, essentially, forced Pakistan to follow a more rigorous process to ensure an effective review as per the court’s ruling. In fact, the court went to the extent of saying that Pakistan must ensure this “(even) if necessary, by enacting appropr

Pakistan arrests accused mastermind of Mumbai attacks

REUTERS July 17, 2019 Mubasher bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on Wednesday on terrorism financing charges. U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the move and said it was the result of pressure from his administration on Pakistan to get tougher on militants, while an Indian government official said that merely arresting Saeed was not enough and that he should be put on trial and convicted. The arrest, announced by the spokesman for the chief minister of Punjab province, came days before a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has promised to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan. “After a ten year search, the so-called “mastermind” of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan. Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!,” Trump tweeted. Previous U.S. adminis

After Masood Azhar blacklisting, ICJ verdict in Kulbhushan case isolates Pakistan

The Indian Express July 18, 2019 By Subhajit Roy According to Indian officials, the pressure mounted against Pakistan on terrorism seems to have worked. On Wednesday, Pakistan arrested Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed on charges of terror financing. The ICJ’s verdict, granting consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and directing Islamabad to review and reconsider his conviction and sentencing, is being perceived as a major diplomatic and legal success for India, which has consistently tried to isolate Pakistan on the global stage over the last few years. In reality, Pakistan has to only grant consular access and can conduct “review and reconsideration” at its “choosing” — this, in effect, puts off Jadhav’s execution for the time being. But the ICJ verdict needs to be seen in the context of a string of India’s diplomatic successes in the last few years — a culmination of the painstaking diplomatic and legal groundwork to isolate Pakistan. The most recent was the listing of

Hurriyat, Kashmir-centric parties reject Governor's idea of separate townships for migrant Pandits in valley

dailyhunt July 17, 2019 Statesman Hurriyat Conference and the main Kashmir-centric political parties have rejected Governor Satya Pal Malik's idea of separate residential clusters in the valley for the Pandit migrants. These parties have said the Muslims will welcome the return of the Pandits to the valley but oppose building separate residential colonies for them. A large number of Kashmiri Hindus had fled the valley in 1990 when terrorism broke out in Jammu and Kashmir. A fresh debate has been triggered following Malik justifying the concept of building separate townships for returning Pandits who have fled the valley. He said locations for such boroughs had already been identified and work was underway to develop them. "Separate township is not a matter of choice but out of compulsion. We have to give them a nice place to stay, of their choice," Malik said in an interview. Commenting on the debate over the return of Kashmiri Pandits, All Parties

Testing the waters: Mention of Blue Economy in budget must serve as an impetus for the sector

Indian Express July 18, 2019 By: Vishwapati Trivedi Commitment to the development of the Blue Economy has been expressed by a mention in the budget speech. This has laid the foundation and will provide the initial traction to create the space for implementation of the strategy. Experts dissecting Budget 2019 have been remiss in not discussing the inclusion of an agenda to develop the Blue Economy. The development of the Blue Economy can play a critical role in nation building by enhancing the GDP, not just by exploitation of under-water resources but by developing it as a platform for infrastructure expansion into the ocean, especially when there is a shortage of space on land. Inclusion of the Blue Economy in the budget encourages me to talk of the possible re-calibration of its growth potential, first, by improving the measurement of its contribution to the economy and then through strategic policy interventions to enhance its contribution to manufacturing and ser

RBI surplus: Bimal Jalan panel for staggered transfer over 5 years

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The Financial Express July 18, 2019 By FE Bureau The ECF, which determines the central bank’s surplus transfer to the government, was one of the contentious issues in the much-hyped tussle late last year between the finance ministry and former RBI governor Urjit Patel. The resource-hungry Centre is unlikely to gain a windfall in one go but will still reap rich financial dividends over the medium term, as the Bimal Jalan panel is set to recommend the transfer of the central bank’s excess reserves to the government over a period of 3-5 years, a source privy to the matter said. The report of the panel, which held its last meeting on Wednesday, however, isn’t going to be a unanimous one, as finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg is learnt to have dissented. Although the precise size of the central bank’s surplus as estimated by the panel isn’t immediately known, indications are the first tranche of the transfer to the government could be around Rs 50,000 crore. Garg wanted the pan

Pakistan rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, says MoD report

Dailyhunt July 16, 2019 IB Times A new report by the Defence Ministry has said that Pakistan is consolidating its armed forces by expanding its nuclear and missile network even in the middle of a severe economic crisis. It has been claimed that under Prime Minister Imran Khan's regime, it is the Pakistani Army that is calling the shots and dictating the country's foreign, security as well as defence policies. The report also expresses concern that, with the strengthening of its nuclear and missile production capabilities, Pakistan may even target India with "the state-sponsored terrorism". Ever since Imran Khan took over as the Pakistan Prime Minister in August last year, the country's missile and nuclear arsenal has grown rapidly with its warheads currently at 140-150 as compared to 130 nuclear warheads of India. With the help of superior nuclear powers such as China and North Korea, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal could grow to 220-225 warheads by 2

Google removes 7 apps from Play Store for spying users: List and how to check if any of these apps are on your phone

Gadgets of India July 18, 2019 Google has deleted seven apps from its Play store for tracking users. These apps were discovered by anti-virus company Avast who reported. The company said in a blog post that these Stalkerware apps were being used to ‘track’ users and stalk them. The apps can track and send location data, as well as provide contacts, call logs and text messages. According to Avast, these apps have most likely designed by Russian developers. Although all these apps have been removed by Google, it is highly suggested that you should also uninstall in case you have any of these apps on your Android smartphone. These apps have been installed more than 130,000 times. "The apps require the snoop to have access to the phone they want to spy on. The snoop can download the apps from the Google Play Store and install them on the target device. The app then prompts the person who installed the app to enter their email address and password. The spying app is sent there.&q

Q Crime: JeM Terrorist Held in Delhi; Madrasa in UP Set on Fire

Dailyhunt July 17, 2019 1. JeM Terrorist Absconding After Conviction Held in Delhi A Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist, absconding for over four years after being sentenced by the Delhi High Court, has been arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The accused, Basir Ahmad, a resident of J&K's Sopore, was held in Srinagar and brought to Delhi to face sentencing by the High Court, officials said Tuesday, 16 July. "Ahmad was initially arrested along with Abdul Gafoor, a hardcore JeM cadre from Sialkot in Pakistan, and others in 2007 following a fierce encounter in Delhi," a senior police officer said."He went into hiding after a trial court acquitted him in 2013. This decision was later reversed by the Delhi High Court, which convicted him in 2014." Ahmad was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, police said. (Source: The Indian Express) 2. Madrasa in UP Set on Fire Over Beef Rumours A madrasa was set on fire by a mob in

'Anti-patriotic': RSS wing says India must not issue foreign currency bonds

Business Standard July 17, 2019 An influential Hindu nationalist group close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party has demanded his government review its plan to raise money by selling foreign currency  bonds . They say it is anti-patriotic as it could create long-term risks for the economy, potentially allowing rich foreign nations and their financial institutions to dictate the country's policies. "We can't allow this to happen," declared Ashwani Mahajan, the co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS was the key founder of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and has people it nurtured in top positions in the government, including Modi himself. Declaring that the SJM will campaign against the plan by convening meetings of influential economists, Mahajan said: "We are confident that government will withdraw its decision on these  bonds . &