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Modi, Sharif to hold talks today; US wants to see tensions reduce

July 10, 2015

Ufa/Russia, Jul 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on the sidelines of a summit in the Russian city of Ufa on Friday, raising hopes of a thaw in frosty ties between the South Asian rivals.

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The external affairs ministry confirmed that the talks will take place at 9:15am.

“It is confirmed. The two prime ministers will have a bilateral meeting at 9:15am on Friday on the sidelines of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit,” said MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

The two leaders met informally at a dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

On the eve of the talks, Pakistan violated ceasefire again at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, in which one BSF jawan was killed.

Issuing a statement before the Modi-Sharif meet, a White House official said: "We want to see the tensions (between India and Pakistan) reduce. It's in nobody's interest for the tensions to rise... An awful lot of are kids living in that part of the world and everybody would want them to have a better future."

This will be the first structured meeting between the two leaders since Sharif attended Modi’s inauguration last May.

"We want good, friendly relations with neighbours, but conditions apply: the condition of peace being maintained in the region," said national security adviser Ajit Doval.

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after New Delhi called off talks between the foreign secretaries last August, incensed that Pakistan's envoy hosted Kashmiri separatists in the run-up to the talks.

The two leaders had a brief chat on the sidelines of the Saarc summit last November and have spoken on the phone several times.

But the ice-breaker was Modi’s recent telephone call to Sharif to greet him on Ramzan followed by a decision by the two countries to release fishermen in each other’s jails.

Indian sources, however, said red lines still existed, including an atmosphere free of violence and the absence of a third party (Hurriyat).

Sources said all issues of mutual concern will be raised at the meeting which was sought by the Indian side. But India’s concerns about Pakistan’s efforts to curb terrorism and bring the 2008 Mumbai attackers are key to taking the peace process forward.

Despite pressure from New Delhi, progress against the accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks has remained tardy, especially the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi that continues to be an irritant in bilateral ties.

Pakistan said the meeting will see a "comprehensive exchange on all issues of common interest".

"It has always been Pakistan's policy to seek cordial and cooperative ties with all neighbours, including India," the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson said.

"It was in the pursuit of this objective that Pakistan prime minister would be meeting the Indian prime minister for a comprehensive exchange on all issues of common interest."

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: Preparing for a long haul in the Eastern Ladakh sector in extreme winters, the Indian Army has an edge over the Chinese as it has deployed 35,000 troops there who have already done tenures in high altitude and cold conditions.

The Indian troops deployed there are mentally prepared for tackling the weather and terrain.
In contrast, the Chinese troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are not used to these conditions as they have been brought from mainland China and are not accustomed to high altitude extreme cold weather conditions.

"We are preparing to provide extreme cold weather portable cabins for around 35,000 troops that have been deployed in the Eastern Ladakh sector," government sources said.

"Our soldiers deployed there have already done a tenure or two in Siachen, Eastern Ladakh or Northeast and they are physically and mentally prepared for a longer deployment there," they said.

The Chinese soldiers deployed on the Indian front include mainly conscripts who join the PLA for a period of 2-3 years and then return to their normal lives, sources said.

Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff situation all along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh from sub-sector north with both sides having deployed around 40,000 troops against each other over there.

The two sides have disengaged at three friction points including Patrolling Point 14, PP-15 and PP-17 and PP-17A.

At PP-17 and 17A, the Chinese have now maintained a small element of close to 50 troops and the remaining elements have gone back into their permanent locations.

The sources said the Army is also not much bothered about the Chinese build-up along the LAC as it has got more than two additional divisions from outside Ladakh sector.

India Army has more troops than what the Chinese have brought there, they said.

For the winter deployment, the Army already has a sizeable stock of clothes and habitat for troops as the Indian army deploys troops at the world's highest battlefield Siachen glacier and is prepared.

For additional requirements, the force is in the process of placing orders for additional tents and shelters from indigenous as well as foreign vendors.

The time for summer stocking is on and we are going to get the additional cabins and tents by that time, the sources.

Months of June, July, and August are considered to be the best time for stocking winter rations and ammunition. The snowfall is expected to start soon in the Eastern Ladakh area where the temperature is already low.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has given financial powers of Rs 500 crore per procurement to the defence forces to address any type of shortages of weapons, ammunition, and habitat.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: Delhi's Tihar Prison authorities had made all necessary preparations for the hanging of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-and-murder case which was scheduled for Tuesday, officials said Monday.

However, on Monday evening, a city court deferred the hanging till further orders.

Postponing the execution, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said the hanging cannot be carried out pending disposal of Pawan Gupta's mercy plea before the President, observing any condemned convict must not meet his "Creator" with grievance against courts for not acting fairly on the opportunity to exhaust legal remedies.

"We had made all the necessary arrangements for the execution of the four convicts which was scheduled for Tuesday at 6 AM. Now, the execution has been postponed and we are waiting for the further order by the court," a senior jail official said.

The hanging of the four men -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan -- who are lodged in Tihar jail, was fixed for March 3 in Tihar jail on a court order.

"We had checked the ropes. Hangman was called and dummy executions were carried out," another senior jail official said.

Barring Pawan, the other three had in the previous weeks moved curative petitions and mercy pleas which were all dismissed.

The first date of execution -- January 22 -- fixed on January 7 was postponed by the court to February 1. But on January 31, the court indefinitely postponed the hanging. On February 17, the court again issued fresh date for execution of death warrants for March 3 at 6 AM.

The court in its orders observed that the four convicts cannot be hanged since a mercy plea of one or the other convict was pending.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Chandigarh, April 2: A 59-year-old woman and her 10-month-old granddaughter have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Chandigarh on Thursday.

According to the Chandigarh Health Department, they are family contacts of the NRI couple that tested positive for COVID-19 earlier.
With this, the total cases in the Union Territory rose to 18.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country climbed to 1,965 on Thursday, after as many as 328 new cases were reported, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. So far, at least 50 people have lost their lives due to the virus.

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