Pak military takes foreign media, diplomats on tour of Balakot seminary

According to reports, the group was flown from Islamabad in a helicopter to Jabba in Balakot

International News: Pakistan military on Wednesday took a group of international media personnel and foreign diplomats on a tour of the seminary and its surrounding areas in Balakot, where India carried out a counter-terror operation on JeM’s biggest training camp 43 days ago. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1. According to BBC Urdu, the group was flown from Islamabad in a helicopter to Jabba in Balakot. They visitors trekked for about one-and-a-half hour to reach the madrassa on the top of a mountain surrounded by lush green trees.

The group, while going up, also saw a ditch on a hillside where India jets dropped its payload, according to Pakistan military. About 150 students, aged 12-13, were present inside the seminary building and were being taught Quran when the group reached inside the madrassa, they said. The visit by the group lasted for about 20 minutes and the participants were allowed to take pictures and even some of them spoke to the teachers present there. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor held formal and informal chat with the reporters.

“This is an old madrassah and has always been like this,” he said, indicating that Indian claim of hitting it was not true. This was the first formal visit of foreign media and diplomats to the place about which India claimed that its strike killed scores of militants..

Will JeM’s Azhar be designated as global terrorist? UNSC to decide today

The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, UK and the US on February 27

The fate of the proposal to designate Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council will be known in less than 24 hours when the deadline to raise objections to the bid expires.

The proposal to designate Masood Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, UK and the US on February 27.It was under the no-objection period and Committee members had a period of 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal.  The no-objection period deadline ends 3 pm Wednesday (12:30am IST). The Committee makes its decisions by consensus of its members. All eyes are on China, which has in the past blocked India’s bids to get Azhar listed as a UN-designated global terrorist.

According to the listing rules of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, if no objection is received by the end of the no-objection period, the decision will be deemed adopted, meaning that Azhar will become a UN-designated global terrorist. The proposal is the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist.

Read Full Story: India Pakistan Conflicts

Pulwama attack: Imran speaking Jaish-e-Mohammad’s language, says Congress

Khan assured India that he would act against the perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack if New Delhi shares “actionable intelligence”

Current Affairs: The Congress on Tuesday slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement on the Pulwama terror attack in which the cricketer-turned-politician warned against any “revenge” retaliatory action, saying he was speaking the “Jaish-e-Mohammad’s language”.

Khan on Tuesday assured India that he would act against the perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack if New Delhi shares “actionable intelligence”, but warned against any “revenge” retaliatory action. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

Also Read: Kulbhushan Jadhav was a ‘spy’, Pak responds to India’s arguments at ICJ

In a video message to the nation, Khan responded to the Indian allegations on Pakistan’s involvement in the attack in Kashmir last Thursday. “Regrettable and shameful — Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is still speaking Jaish-e-Mohammad’s language,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

“Do not forget that Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the Army in 1971 had broken Pakistan into two and liberated Bangladesh, as well as 91,000 Pakistani soldiers had surrendered to the Indian Army in Dhaka,” he tweeted.

Pulwama terror attack: 23 people with suspected links to JeM detained

India has demanded Pakistan close down the Jaish and other Islamist militant groups that operate from its soil, while Islamabad has rejected suggestions it was linked to the attack

Current Affairs: Forces have detained 23 men suspected of links to the Pakistan-based militant group that masterminded the bombing of a CRPF convoy that killed 44 paramilitary police, a top police official said on Sunday. The 23 men included members and sympathizers of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group which has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, the deadliest on Indian security forces in decades.

The attack has fuelled tensions between India and Pakistan. India has demanded Pakistan close down the Jaish and other Islamist militant groups that operate from its soil, while Islamabad has rejected suggestions it was linked to the attack.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility, is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan, but is ruled in part by both south Asian countries. Representatives of India’s National Investigating Agency (NIA) questioned the suspects about the bombing on Sunday, two security officials said.

“They are trying to reach out to the top commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammad, including its Kashmir Chief,” one of the sources said. Mohammed Umair, the commander of the Jaish in Kashmir who is believed to have plotted the attack, is suspected to be hiding in the region where the attacks took place, the officials said.

The officials say Umair had “radicalized and motivated” the Kashmiri school dropout who rammed a car laden with explosives into the convoy on Thursday. Umair is thought to have entered Indian Kashmir from Pakistan in September to head the Jaish in the region. Security forces suspect he is in hiding in southern Kashmir, according to the officials, who could not be named as a matter of policy…

Read Full Source: Pulwama Terror Attack

Highlights of BRICS 2017 summit: From naming LeT, JeM to Xi-Modi meet

PM Modi and Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday

economy news: In what is being seen as a big victory for India's campaign against Pakistan-based terrorist groups, BRICS on Monday named Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in their joint declaration while calling for a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had arrived at the Chinese city of Xiamen on Sunday and attended the BRICS Summit on Monday. According to agency reports, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday.

Here are 10 things to know about India's participation at the BRICS summit

1) Modi lists out 'Ten Noble Commitments' for BRICS: On Tuesday, ahead of his meeting with Xi, PM Modi laid down a roadmap for development as he delivered his statement during the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries at the BRICS summit.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of External affairs, speaking at the session, PM Modi said that BRICS leadership for global transformation could be achieved through "Ten Noble Commitments" creating a safer world, creating a greener world, creating an enabled world, creating an inclusive world, creating a digital world, creating a skilled world, creating a healthier world, creating an equitable world, creating a connected world, and creating harmonious world.

PM Modi said that India had recently completed its first voluntary review of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Prime Minister said that the bedrock of India's development agenda was based on the notion of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas”.

PM Modi also spoke of India's "long tradition" of partnering with "fellow developing countries" and mentioned the South Asia Satellite initiative. He added that India's development partnerships projects were providing water, electricity, roads, healthcare, tele-medicine, and basic infrastructure in dozens of countries.

"Our no strings attached model of cooperation is driven purely by the requirements and priorities of our partner countries," the Prime Minister said.

2) First Modi-Xi meet post Doklam: PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday will hold their first substantive bilateral meeting after the Doklam standoff, which had put ties between the two countries under strain, according to agency reports....read more