Pakistan invite to Hurriyat aimed to scuttle talks: India

August 19, 2015

New Delhi, Aug 19: Pakistan's invite to Kashmiri separatist leaders ahead of the NSA talks was "designed to scuttle" the August 23-24 parley, and follows a typical pattern the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment has been following since the Ufa talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to heighten tension, sources said on Wednesday.ajit doval

The government was adopting a "wait and watch" mode and is keeping "all its options open" on the slated talks in New Delhi between India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz.

The July 10 talks in Ufa, Russia, brought in a sense of bonhomie between the two neighbours, with a joint statement issued, which included the NSA talks in New Delhi to discuss the issue of terrorism.

But immediately after that, tension was ratcheted up by Pakistan over the Ufa meeting, with cross border firings, in which mortar shells were used, then the Gurdaspur and Udhampur attacks followed, and the latest was the invite to the Hurriyat on August 23 to meet Aziz.

"The game plan is very clear - to scuttle the talks from day one," said the sources, adding that they were watching to see how the situation evolves.

"We are monitoring the situation, and will respond appropriately," the sources said, but declined to elaborate on what it means by "appropriately".

Aziz also took "20 days" to confirm if he would attend the talks, adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty.

Since Kashmir is not to be discussed between the two NSAs, inviting the Kashmiri separatists does not really make sense.

While India maintains that talks and terror cannot go together, it was not shying from talks on terror, said the sources.

India had called off the foreign secretary-level talks on August 25 last year after the Pakistani envoy met the Kashmiri separatists ahead of the meeting, despite India requesting him not to do so and warning that it would adversely impact the talks.

But in this case, the meeting is yet to take place between Aziz and the separatists on August 23.

Pakistan's ratcheting up of tension comes even it is on losing ground among countries in the region.

Afghanistan has openly hit out at Pakistan for terror attacks, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a series of tweets on August 10, asking Pakistan to refrain from launching terror attacks on his country.

During Prime Minister Modi's visit, India and the United Arab Emirates, a former close friend of Pakistan, issued a joint statement on terror that in clear terms speaks against nations exporting terror in the name of religion and calls for the dismantling of terrorism infrastructure and bring perpetrators to justice.

Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday said the Pakistan envoy in Delhi invited them for talks with Sartaj Aziz before he holds talks with his Indian counterpart.

Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other separatist leaders such as Yasin Malik and Naeem Khan have been invited by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit for talks on August 23.

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News Network
January 17,2020

New Delhi, Jan 17: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia does not have any car on his name, according to information shared in the poll affidavit filed by him for Delhi elections.

In the affidavit, it is also shown that while his self-acquired immovable property remained roughly the same as in 2015. His wife's self-acquired immovable property is worth roughly about Rs 65 lakh, as per his latest affidavit.

In the papers submitted during the nomination for 2015 Delhi polls, the senior AAP leader had declared that he owned a Maruti Swift car of make 2013.

However, in his 2020 affidavit, he has mentioned "nil" in the column for motor vehicles and other means of transport.

In the affidavit submitted on Thursday, his moveable assets were declared worth Rs 4,74,888 for 2018-19, as against Rs 4,92,624 for 2013-14.

In 2015, Sisodia had informed in his affidavit that he had bought a property in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, worth Rs 5.07 lakh in April 2001. The approximate current market value of self-acquired property in 2015 was Rs 12 lakh.

In his current affidavit, the AAP leader has mentioned the same property. However, the approximate current market value of self-acquired property in 2020 has increased to Rs 21 lakh.

In his affidavit for the 2015 polls, Sisodia had also said that his wife had purchased a property in March 2008 costing Rs 8.70 lakh. At that time, the approximate value of her self-acquired property was Rs 20 lakh.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Daman, Mar 3: A BJP councillor was shot dead on Monday in the Union Territory of Daman, police said.

Salim Memon was sitting in his motorcycle showroom when three to four unidentified persons shot four to five bullets after asking a visitor there to move out, an official said quoting eye-witnesses.

While fleeing, they also shot two rounds close to this visitor who was standing outside, he said.

"Memon was rushed to a hospital in Marwad area but was declared dead on arrival. CCTV footage is being scanned to nab the culprits," said Daman Superintendent of Police Vikramjit Singh.

Memon was elected to Daman municipality as a Congress candidate but then switched over to the BJP.

Sources said Memon, who also has a land brokerage business, had come out of jail a few months back in connection with a case of rivalry.

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News Network
January 13,2020

New Delhi, Jan 13: The Supreme Court on Monday commenced hearing on issues related to discrimination against women in various religions and at religious places including Kerala's Sabarimala Temple.

A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said that it was not considering review pleas in the Sabarimala case.

“We are not hearing review pleas of Sabarimala case. We are considering issues referred to by a 5-judge bench earlier,” the bench said.

The apex court had on November 14 asked a larger bench to re-examine various religious issues, including the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple and mosques and the practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community.

While the five-judge bench unanimously agreed to refer religious issues to a larger bench, it gave a 3:2 split decision on petitions seeking a review of the apex court's September 2018 decision allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.

A majority verdict by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra decided to keep pending pleas seeking a review of its decision regarding entry of women into the shrine, and said restrictions on women in religious places was not restricted to Sabarimala alone and was prevalent in other religions as well.

The minority verdict by Justices R F Nariman and D Y Chandrachud gave a dissenting view by dismissing all review pleas and directing compliance of its September 28 decision.

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