State-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan prevents its government from behaving 'normal': S Jaishankar

Agencies
June 27, 2019

London, Jun 27: Pakistan's state-sponsored "large-scale industry of terrorism" prevents its government from behaving like a "normal neighbour", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

In a live video link from New Delhi to address the Leaders' Summit as part of UK-India Week in Buckinghamshire near London, he called on countries like Britain to be more proactive in calling out nations that obstruct the international rules-based order because "a lot of what Pakistan is doing today, affects the rest of the world, including the UK".

"This kind of large-scale industry of terrorism, which is done with the blessing of the state because the state thinks it is an instrument against the neighbour... it is increasingly unacceptable to India, and more and more countries are coming around to that view," he said, in response to a question about the political situation vis-à-vis Pakistan.

"I think a lot of the problem today is whether Pakistan is prepared to behave as a normal country and as a normal neighbour. I don't think anywhere in the world today, you will have a country which has an industry geared towards committing acts of terror," Jaishankar said.

The former diplomat-turned-minister highlighted that while India has offered Pakistan a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status in favour of non-discriminatory trade, Pakistan has failed to reciprocate. He said, "Connectivity is at the heart of South Asia but Pakistan is resisting connectivity concerning India. So, the challenge that I see is really if a country practises terrorism, denies normal trade, is obstructing connectivity, how can India work with such a country.

"It is not an easy challenge. We have struggled with it now for many, many years. It's not a challenge we can address alone, but also I think it is not a challenge we should be addressing alone". The minister stressed that he does not have a "pessimistic view" and that nothing would please him more than to see good India-Pakistan relations, but "given the current situation, it is probably one of the hardest challenges we face".

Jaishankar said that the Indian government hopes for a stronger global consensus over the issue so that Pakistan can be "pressurised and persuaded" to do the right thing. "Whenever there is a deviation from good governance or common sense or rules of international relations, it is important for the international community not to look away, not to make excuses, not to play some balancing game for its political convenience," he added.

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News Network
July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of benefitting by making profits during the coronavirus-induced lockdown when people were in trouble.

He tagged a news report that claimed the Indian Railways was making profit by running 'Shramik trains' for transporting migrants during the pandemic.

"There are clouds of disease and people are in trouble, but one seeks to benefit -- this anti-people government is converting a disaster into profits and is earning," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The news report claimed that the railways made a profit of Rs 428 crore by running Shramik special trains during the lockdown that transported migrants to their native places.

In another tweet, he lauded the efforts of the Himachal government in conducting a survey to select 'one district, one product', saying he had suggested this sometime back.

"This is a good idea. I had suggested it some time back. Its implementation will need a complete change of mindset," he said on Twitter.

He also tagged a report that stated the state Industries Department is conducting a baseline survey in all districts to select one district, one product for centrally-sponsored Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP). 

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jammu, Jan 15: Fresh landslides kept the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shut for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, leaving over 5000 vehicles stranded.

"There were four fresh landslides in Digdol and Panthiyal belts on the highway in Ramban district. The traffic on the highway remained closed for the third day today", a police officer told PTI.

On Monday, heavy rains triggered shooting of stones in Moumpassi, Digdole and Panthiyal areas, forcing a suspension of the traffic, the official said.

Snowfall in Kashmir side of the highway, including Jawahar Tunnel, since Sunday has resulted in blockade of the highway.

"No fresh traffic was allowed from Nagrota in Jammu for Kashmir", he said.

As a result of the blockade of the highway, over 5000 vehicles remained stranded at various places en route from Lakhanpur in Kathua district to Banihal belt of Ramban district and also on the Kashmir side.

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News Network
January 7,2020

New Delhi, Jan 7: When a reign of terror was unleashed by "masked goons" in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday, Delhi Police registered two cases against varsity students union president Aishe Ghosh, who was badly injured in the attack, within a span of five minutes.

The registration of cases on two separate complaints against Ghosh and other students filed by JNU security department on January 3 and January 4 were registered on Sunday night when the violence was on, triggering questions about the motive behind the timing.

While the FIRs against Ghosh and others were registered between 8.44 pm and 8.49 pm after the JNUSU president was admitted to AIIMS, an FIR on the Sunday violence was registered on Monday at 5.36 am against unknown persons. The Sunday violence case has been transferred to Crime Branch for further investigations.

Questions are being raised over the registration of FIRs on Sunday while the complaints were filed on the previous days. Students allege that it was an afterthought from the police and authorities, as a nationwide outrage erupted as soon as the violence was reported.

Delhi Police is under attack for not coming to the aid of students targeted by the mob of ABVP activists armed with iron rods and sticks who went on a rampage on the campus. While no single person in the Sunday violence was arrested, the police are also accused of being a "mute spectator" by allowing the rioters to leave the campus without being arrested.

In its complaints, the JNU Security Department has alleged that Ghosh and others entered into a verbal and physical scuffle with security guards, including women, when officials tried to open the Centre for Information System (CIS) that was blocked by students protesting against the fee hike and registration process.

While the January 3 complaint claims that the students switched off the power supply to the CIS and evicted staff forcefully, the January 4 complaint alleged that they damaged the information system.

They also claimed the students damaged the servers, made it dysfunctional, severely damaged optic fibre cables and broke the biometric system in the CIS. The complaint also cited a Supreme Court order that prevented any protest within 100 metres of Administration Block and claimed the students violated the direction.

The FIR filed on Sunday violence on the basis of the statement of Inspector Anand Yadav said that the first phase of violence was reported at 3.45 pm when "40-50 unidentified" people who had "covered their faces" attacked students in Periyar Hostel and the situation was brought under control.

However at around 7 pm, "50-60 people with rods in their hands" targeted students in Sabarmati Hostel in which students were attacked and public property destroyed.

The FIR said that students were injured but skipped the mention of the attack on teachers, who were injured. At least two faculty members Sucharita Sen and Ameet Parameswaran were taken to AIIMS while several other teachers suffered minor injuries.

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