I have this hatred towards India since 1971: David Headley

March 25, 2016

Mumbai, Mar 25: Pakistani-American LeT terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Headley said here on Friday that he nursed a hatred towards India and Indians since December 1971 when his school was bombed by Indian fighter planes during India-Pakistan war which saw the creation of Bangladesh.

david"I have this hatred... towards India since 7 December, 1971... When Indian planes had bombed my school... The school was destroyed and many people who worked there had died," Headley claimed on the third day of his ongoing cross-examination before Special Judge GA Sanap on Friday.

He was replying to the questions posed by lawyer Abdul Wahab Khan, the defence cousel for Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, one of the key plotters of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Headley was referring to the bombing of his school during the India-Pakistan war which saw the dismemberment of East Pakistan that became Bangladesh.

The childhood incident when he was barely 10 years old left such an imprint on his tender mind that Headley decided to join the Lashkar-e-Taiba later to avenge the bombing of his school.

He admitted that it was one of the reasons why he joined the LeT years later.

In another disclosure, Headley, 56, said he made attempt to organise a fund-raising programme for the Shiv Sena party and even invite the party's founder-patriarch, the late Bal Thackery to the US, but he had no plans to attack him there.

Incidentally, on February 12 he had revealed a plot to kill the late Bal Thackeray and on 24 March (Thursday), he spoke of an attack made on him (Thackeray) with the attacker caught but managed to escape from police custody.

Headley said that he was in touch with the then Shiv Sena Public Relations Officer Rajaram Rege whom he had earlier befriended in connection with the planned trip for the late Thackeray.

Though Headley never met the late Thackeray, he was open to inviting some other Sena leader after Rege informed that the senior Thackeray was old and unwell, he said.

Headley is being cross-examined by Khan via video-conferencing from an unknown location in the US where he is currently undergoing a 35-year jail sentence for the 26/11 and Denmark terror strikes.

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News Network
July 26,2020

New Delhi, Jul 26: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday saluted the valour and grit of the Indian soldiers on the occasion of 21st anniversary of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas'.

Shah took to Twitter and said that 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' is a symbol of India's proud, valour and steadfast leadership.

"Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of India's proud, valor and steadfast leadership. I bow to the soldiers who, with their indomitable courage, drove the enemy from the inaccessible hills of Kargil and waved the tricolor there again. The country is proud of the heroes of India, who are dedicated to protecting the motherland," Shah tweeted (translated from Hindi)
The country is celebrating the anniversary of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas'.

The Indian armed forces had defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay.

The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War. 

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Agencies
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 13: Prime Minister Narendra on Tuesday announced Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package for the country to be 'self-reliant' and deal with COVID-19.

"I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.' The announcements made by the government over COVID, decisions of RBI and today's package totals to Rs 20 lakh crore. This is 10 per cent of India's GDP," said Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation. The Prime Minister said that humanity would not accept defeat from the coronavirus but the people have to stay safe and move forward.

"We had never seen or heard about such a crisis ever before. This is definitely unimaginable for mankind. It is unprecedented. But humanity will not accept defeat from this virus. We have to not only protect ourselves but also move forward," he said.

Talking about the gravity of the virus, Modi said: "It has been four months the world is fighting COVID-19. More than 42 lakh people from different countries have been infected by COVID-19. More than 2.75 lakh people have lost their lives due to the virus. In India too many families have lost their dear ones, I express my condolences to them."

"Today when the entire world is in crisis, we will have to further firm our resolve," he added.

The Prime Minister on Monday held a video conference meeting with Chief Ministers of all states to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against COVID-19 and noted that he was of the firm view that measures needed during the third phase of lockdown will not be needed in the fourth phase.

Prime Minister Modi had said the need was to reduce the transmission rate of the disease and to increase public activity gradually while adhering to all the guidelines and efforts to be made towards achieving both these objectives.

The phase three of the lockdown is coming to an end on May 17.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that he supported a negotiated peace deal between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Gen. Rawat was speaking along with other world leaders at Raisina dialogue organised by India's influential think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

Arguing that terrorism was going to stay in the world as long as states were going to use it against other states, he said it was important to prevent states from using terrorism as a "proxy war".

"The only way to deal with it was what the US did post 9/11," he said, adding that the war against terror was necessary.

However, now a peace deal with Taliban is required, Gen. Rawat said.

"It must be a negotiated peace deal so that the Taliban stops using terrorism," he added. Hinting that the US should maintain its presence in Afghanistan, the CDS said that though Afghan security forces are now equipped to fight back terror groups in Afghanistan but they still need support.

The newly appointed CDS officially confirmed that India has shifted its stance on Taliban. India has traditionally been opposed to the Pakistan-backed Taliban in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans were given refuge in India when they fled the country due to oppression and terrorism of the Taliban regime. India is in alignment with the democratically elected government in Kabul that the Taliban remains supported by Pakistan.

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