India Narrative

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan continues to receive widespread international condemnation, including from the Islamic world, for reneging on its promise to let Afghan girls return to school. Earlier this week, the Taliban administration had announced the reopening of all schools in the country, including those just for girls, on March 21 - the first day of the Afghan New Year.   However, as thousands of secondary-school girls around the country turned up at their school for the first time in seven months on Wednesday, they were sent back home by the hardcore fundamentalists, thus contradicting their public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community. Mawlawi Aziz Ahmad Ryan, Director of Publications and spokesman for the Ministry of Education, said that schools for girls from the sixth grade and above will remain closed until further notice. "After compiling a comprehensive plan in this field in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture and tradition

  Nearly 100 people have died in landslides and flash flooding in Brazil’s popular tourist city of Petrópolis, according to a BBC report. The city, which is located in the hills north of the capital Rio de Janeiro, was lashed by torrential rain. Houses in hillside neighbourhoods were destroyed and cars swept away as floodwaters raced through the city's streets. Search and rescue teams are combing the mud for survivors, the report said. Brazil's National Civil Defence said on Twitter 24 people had been rescued alive so far, with 94 confirmed deaths. Videos shared on social media showed extensive damage and vehicles floating in the streets. "The situation is almost like war ... Cars hanging from poles, cars overturned, lots of mud and water still," Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told journalists. With 35 people reported missing, he said that the search and rescue efforts would continue non-stop. Read More

  The leaders of terrorist organisations in South Asia region continue to spread hatred against India through internet platforms and social media and raise funds through fake charities, crowdfunding and by portraying themselves as humanitarian NGOs and non-profit organisations, India told the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the United Nations' Security Council on Monday. The CTC open briefing started with remarks from Ambassador T S Tirumurti, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations who is also the chief of the Counter-Terrorism Committee. It was attended by officials from the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), INTERPOL, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and representatives from the Member States of South and South-East Asia.   India's statement was delivered by Rajesh Parihar, Counsellor at India's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, who, at the very outset, reminded the attendees about the 40 brave men of Indian secur

The Joe Biden administration has outlined its Indo-Pacific strategy vowing to build a free and open region, by building the capacity of its regional allies like India. The aim of the much-awaited strategy is to balance China's attempts at global domination through coercion. The US now plans to take action over the next one to two years to ensure that its allies in the region who are at the receiving end of Chinese military aggression are supported by building deterrence. Regarding India, the Indo-Pacific strategy says: "We recognise that India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to Southeast Asia". It took note of the Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control with India and said it supports "India’s continued rise and regional leadership". Washington has also taken note of Beijing's moves in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait where the communist giant is targeting Taiwan as well as

  After three days of unprecedented attacks on the two camps of Pakistani security forces in restive Balochistan, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa finally reached the spot to boost the morale of their forces. “All those soldiers who sacrificed their lives have a special place in heaven. It is an honour for the Muslims when they lay down their lives for their country,” Express Tribune reported Khan as saying while addressing the troops at Naushki army base camp on Tuesday. Khan said that the martyrs have the second-highest place after the Prophets. “Our troops are waging a jihad against the terrorists,”  Khan said. Read More

  Complaints are pouring in from Athletes at the Winter Olympics in Beijing about being forced to compete in freezing temperatures due to the bad timing of events and chaotic implementation of quarantine rules. Some participants say they are living and training in dismal conditions, and want the organisers to improve arrangements, according to a BBC report. The Swedish delegation called for cross-country skiing events to be held earlier in the day to protect athletes from freezing temperatures - after Swedish athlete Frida Karlsson was seen shaking and close to collapse at the end of her women's 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon on Saturday, the BBC report said. Under the International Ski Federation rules, competitions are not allowed to take place when temperatures plunge below -20C (-4F). Read More

 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to the Philippines starting this weekend is set to cement special ties between New Delhi and Manila riding of their recent BarhMos missile deal, widely touted as a game-changer in the South China Sea. The two countries are now looking at working together in the fields of maritime security, intelligence-sharing, military training, procurement and logistics.  The Philippines' Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace Director General Atul Dinkar Rane had signed the contract worth PHP 18.9 billion in a virtual ceremony at the DND headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on January 28. Calling it a landmark move, the western Pacific Ocean country said it realises the importance of the contract considering escalating regional tensions, especially China's strategic expansion into the South China Sea. "Equipping our Navy with this vital asset is imperative as the Philippines continues to protect the integrity o

  Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chains KFC and Pizza Hut have both apologised after they faced an outrage on social media over posts from the twitter handles of their franchises in Pakistan supporting Kashmiri separatists. Several screenshots of posts by KFC Pakistan surfaced online in which the fast-food chain had claimed support for "Kashmir Solidarity Day". In a social media post, a verified account of KFC had supported the separatists in Kashmir and posted "Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris." Similarly, an Instagram post from the verified account of 'Pizzahutpak' had said, "We stand with you. Kashmir Solidarity Day." This triggered a huge backlash as #BoycottKFC and #BoycottPizzaHut started trending on Twitter after which both fast-food chains issued statements to apologise and distance themselves from their Pakistani counterparts. "We deeply apologize for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country. We hono

The Pakistani army has publically accused the Taliban government of giving shelter to terrorists who are carrying out attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil. "Terrorists from inside Afghanistan across the international border, opened fire on Pakistani troops in Kurram District. Pakistani troops responded in a "befitting" manner causing heavy causalities to terrorists, however, as a result of the exchange of fire, five Pakistani soldiers were martyred," read a statement issued by the Pakistani army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday. Though the Taliban has denied the firing had come from within Afghan territory, the Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the attack was launched by militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who are given shelter by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He told the media that till now Pakistan has been down playing the incidents but now the situation has gone out of control. “Pakistan is running out o

  Peoples’ clashes with the Police and security forces, marked by heavy stone pelting and violent demonstrators, which were a routine in Kashmir from 2015 to August 2019, have subsided after withdrawal of the erstwhile State’s special constitutional status. There has been no major news of what a section of the media and politicians used to call ‘agitational terrorism’. The Union Territory’s summer capital of Srinagar has, however, witnessed around 18 encounters between the militants and security forces since January 2020. Besides, around 20 civilians and unarmed Policemen have been killed in Srinagar in different terror strikes. They include one CID Inspector, one probationary Sub Inspector and two constables who were all attacked from behind and shot dead. They also include popular chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, two non-Muslim teachers and two golgappa vendors who killed selectively. Some of these attacks were captured live on CCTV cameras; some by the assassins’ bodycams, which were su