Crackdown on Kashmiri separatists continues ahead of Article 35A hearing in SC

Kathmandu, Jul 14: After staking claim to Indian territories of Lipulekh-Kalapani in  a new controversial map,  Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday claimed that Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, is in Nepal and Lord Rama was Nepali.

“Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Rama was born there. Due to these continuous claims, even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Rama of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj,” Oli claimed at an event organised at Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu.

The Prime Minister also blamed India of cultural encroachment by “creating a fake Ayodhya.”

“Balmiki Ashram is in Nepal and the holy place where King Dashrath had executed the rites to get the son is in Ridi. Dashrath’s son Ram was not an Indian and Ayodhya is also in Nepal,” he claimed.

In an attempt to save self from criticism, Oli questioned how Lord Rama could come to Janakpur to marry Sita when there were "no means" of communication. He further said that it to be impossible for Lord Rama to come to Janakpur from present Ayodhya that lies in India.

“Janakpur lies here and Ayodhya there and there is talk of marriage. There was neither telephone nor mobile then how could he know about Janakpur,” Oli said.

Srinagar, Jun 30: On the deadly attack at Karachi Stock Exchange on Monday morning, a Kashmiri social activist and journalist warned that the incident is a stark reminder to all those in Pakistan supporting Jihad and attacked Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for ignoring development agenda in Balochistan.

Yana Mir, the editor-in-chief of The Real Kashmir News, said, "Karachi Stock Exchange attack is a reminder to all those in Pakistan supporting Jihad. Remember @imrankhan that Youth is restless and they want development agenda. These young boys of BLA are also looking for a life which is settled and peaceful. Wake up Imran Khan and you Kashmiris also. Pakistan is going to finish you. Open your eyes."
Four heavily armed terrorists attacked the busy Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Karachi with grenades today, killing four security guards and a police officer before being shot dead in an exchange of fire, authorities said.

The terrorists, who arrived in a car, stormed the Karachi Stock Exchange building by firing indiscriminately and lobbed grenades at the main gate of the multi-storey building situated in the city's high-security commercial hub.

Balochistan is a well-known region rich in natural resources but the Balochis have always been deprived of basic facilities. No hospitals are available in Balochistan. If there are some then medical facilities and equipment are not available in hospitals. The education system is pathetic and similar is the case with the infrastructure: the roads, water system, agriculture and almost all fields of life.

It is pertinent to mention that enforced disappearances and abductions by the Pakistani military establishment have also been carried out regularly and for innumerable times in Balochistan. Leaders, activists, and vocal members of various student organizations have been detained by the security forces and kept in confinement. While others have been shot dead.

This crime against humanity has been going on for so long and so systematically in Balochistan that it has come to be considered as a normal state of affairs in the province. Many social and human rights activists have flagged the issue of oppression by the Pakistani establishment before the United Nations and other international agencies.

According to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, an entity established by the Pakistani government, about 5,000 cases of enforced disappearances have been registered since 2014. Most of them are still unresolved.

Independent local and international human rights organisations put the numbers much higher. Around 20,000 have reportedly been abducted only from Balochistan, out of which more than 2,500 have turned up dead as bullet-riddled dead bodies, bearing signs of extreme torture.

Before being elected as Prime Minister, Imran Khan had admitted in multiple interviews about the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in enforced disappearances as well as extrajudicial killings and vowed to resign if he was unable to put an end to the practice, holding those involved responsible. But times have passed and only reports are available to narrate the true story.

Davos, Jan 24: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that he met with a “brick wall” when he approached Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a peace proposal, soon after assuming office.

In an interview to Foreign Policy magazine on the sidelines of WEF 2020 here, Khan also said he told Modi that Pakistan will act firmly if it was given evidence of any involvement in the Pulwama terror attack, but India instead “bombed” Pakistan.

Tensions have escalated between the two countries, following India withdrawing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Even since, Khan has been trying to seek global intervention to de-escalate the tensions between the two countries.

On Thursday, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar categorically ruled out any third party role on the Kashmir issue, asserting that any issue between the two countries should be resolved bilaterally.

In the interview, Khan said that he is a firm believer that military means are not a solution to ending conflicts. “After assuming office, I immediately reached out to Prime Minister Modi. I was amazed by the reaction I got, which was quite weird.

The subcontinent hosts the greatest number of poor people in the world, and the best way to fight poverty is to have a trading relationship between the two countries rather than spending money on arms. This is what I said to the Indian Prime Minister. But I was met by brick wall,” Khan said.

Khan took charge as Prime Minister in August 2018. Referring to the suicide attack in Pulwama, Khan said he immediately told Modi ,“if you can give us any actionable intelligence (that Pakistanis were involved), we will act on it. But rather than do so, they bombed us.”

Noting that the both countries are not close to conflict right now, Khan said that it is important that the UN and the US act.

When asked about US President Donald Trump’s close relationship with Modi, Khan said the relationship is understandable because India is a huge market. “My concern is not about the US-India relationship. My concern is the direction in which India is going,” Khan said.

Khan also sought to compare the events in India to what happened in Nazi Germany.

“Between 1930 and 1934, Germany went from a liberal democracy to a fascist, totalitarian, racist state. If you look at what is happening in India under the BJP in the last five years, look where it's heading, you'll see the danger. And you're talking about a huge country of 1.3 billion people that is nuclear-armed,” he said.