India News
With Taliban on ascendancy, Imran Khan needles US for engaging India, and other petty things
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yousuf recently expressed disappointment at President Biden’s reluctance to contact Prime Minister Khan despite considering Islamabad as an important country in some critical issues like Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan launched a verbal attack on the United States saying Washington views Pakistan as an useful tool to clean up the mess it has left behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting the Taliban, while it engages with India to form a strategic partnership.
In an impromptu interaction with the foreign media in Islamabad on Thursday, Khan said Pakistan is just considered useful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution when there was none. He also said since the US decided to have a strategic partnership with India, Washington was treating Pakistan differently.
Islamabad is unhappy that US President Joe Biden has not spoken to Khan even once since he assumed office in January this year. But with the Taliban making massive gains towards its imminent reclaiming of Afghanistan from the Ashraf Ghani government, a government that is anathema to the Talibs, the Big Game is heading towards Pakistan’s favour with China backing its all-weather ally even as the US, Islamabad’s older buddy, looking askance.
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yousuf recently expressed disappointment at President Biden’s reluctance to contact Prime Minister Khan despite considering Islamabad as an important country in some critical issues like Afghanistan. Yousuf also said if US officials continue to ignore Pakistani leadership, Islamabad has other options.
However, the US State Department had assured Islamabad that Washington recognises Pakistan’s vital role in restoring peace in Afghanistan and wants Islamabad to play that role. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke over the phone with Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa this week and discussed the current situation in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and the US government have been criticising Islamabad for raising instability in the region as Kabul believes that Pakistan assists the Taliban in escalating violence. Kabul and Washington also slammed Islamabad for providing safe haven and treatment to injured Taliban militants.
In the press conference, Imran Khan had also said the militants group won’t negotiate with the Afghanistan government until Ghani is president. Khan said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions as Taliban told him during a visit that the Ghani government was allegedly a puppet of the US.
The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, Taliban is not going to talk to the Afghan government, Khan added.
Read Also: Taliban captures Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, in offensive towards Kabul
Last month, Imran Khan had said that the US really messed it up in Afghanistan as he questioned the American motive for the 2001 invasion of the country in the first place and then their subsequent attempts of seeking a political solution with the Taliban from a position of weakness.
Afghanistan has witnessed an escalation in Taliban offensive after US President Joe Biden’s announcement of the withdrawal of American and NATO troops by August 31. With this, the US will end its nearly two-decade military presence from the war-ravaged country. It is preparing to withdraw all diplomatic staff for whose security another 3,000-strong troop deployment has been made.
India News
Sankalp Saptaah: PM Modi today launches week-long initiative for aspirational blocks at Bharat Mandapam
The country’s Sankalp Saptah programme, which is being implemented in 500 aspirational blocks throughout 329 districts, seeks to increase block-level government while also improving civilian quality of life.
At Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a week-long project named Sankalp Saptaah for the country’s aspirational groups.
He also conversed with attendees, including members from the panchayat and the block level.
The week-long programme, which is described in an official news release, is closely correlated with the national Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), which Modi introduced in January of this year.
The country’s Sankalp Saptah programme, which is being implemented in 500 aspirational blocks throughout 329 districts, seeks to increase block-level government while also improving civilian quality of life.
Chintan Shivirs were held nationwide at the village and block levels to help with the effective execution of the ABP and to create strong block development strategies. The result of these careful considerations, which will be seen in each of the 500 aspirational blocks, is Sankalp Saptaah.
On October 9, the final day of the seven-day event, a celebration of the week’s worth of effort will take place under the banner of Sankalp Saptaah – Samavesh Samaroh.
Speaking at the inaugural function, the prime minister claimed that more than 25 crore people’s lives in 112 districts throughout the nation had been improved by the aspirational districts plan. He asserted that the quality of living had changed. Now, the aspirational blocks programme will be built on the success of the aspirational districts programme, he said.
According to the statement, about 3,000 panchayat and block level functionaries and representatives of the people are expected to attend the inaugural event at Bharat Mandapam, in addition to about two lakh farmers, block and panchayat level functionaries, and people from other walks of life who will participate virtually.
Starting on October 3 and running through October 9, each day of Sankalp Saptaah is devoted to a distinct development subject on which all aspirational blocks will focus. Sampoorna Swasthya, Suposhit Pariwaar, Swachhta, Krishi, Shiksha, and Samridhi Diwas are some of the themes for the first six days, according to the statement.
India News
Madhya Pradesh elections: Congress to release first list of candidates after October 5
According to the source, the party has received more than 3,500 inquiries from potential candidates who wish to run for office on the Congress ticket in the Assembly elections.
As the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections draw nearer, sources stated on Friday that the Congress is expected to reveal its first list of candidates after October 5 as part of its strategy. A Congress source told IANS that the party will announce the names of the candidates at the ideal moment and that the campaigning for the Assembly elections is already underway.
The source stated that the party would issue its initial list of candidates after October 5, when it is anticipated that the Election Commission will have released its polling schedule.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party’s general secretary, will be in the state on October 5 to speak at a large public gathering, the source added, and her input will be sought before the release of the final list.
To narrow down the field of candidates for the elections, the party organised two sessions of the Screening Committee in the national capital.
According to the source, the party has received more than 3,500 inquiries from potential candidates who wish to run for office on the Congress ticket in the Assembly elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, will speak at a public meeting on Saturday in the Kala Pipla Assembly seat.
Two lists of candidates from the BJP have already been made public for the upcoming elections. Along with four other current MPs, the ruling party has included three Union Ministers in its second list. On Monday, a few hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at a public gathering in Bhopal, the second list of 39 candidates was made public.
The list also included Kailash Vijayvargiya, the national general secretary of the BJP.
The list includes the names of three Union Ministers: Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti from Narsinghpur; Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of the Party’s State Election Management Committee from Dimni-Morena; and Fagan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel from Niwas.
India News
President Droupadi Murmu gives assent to Women’s Reservation Bill
The new law provides 33% reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The Women’s Reservation Bill became law in India after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent, days after the historic vote in the Parliament. The new law provides 33% reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, the law will be imposed after the new census and delimitation.
The Women’s Reservation Bill which is officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in both the houses during the special session of the Parliament. The historic bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on September 20, with 454 MPs voting in its favour and 2 voting against it. In the Rajya Sabha, the bill was passed unanimously on September 21 with 214 MPs voting in favour of the bill.
Issuing a gazette notification, the Government of India stated that the Bill has become an Act after the approval granted by the President. The notification read that the act will come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
While supporting the historic bill in the Parliament, the Opposition condemned the government for not bringing the quota for women into immediate effect. Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Parliament during the bill’s discussion that it could only come into effect after 2029 due to the pending census and delimitation.
A day after the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that with the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament, the nation usher in an era of stronger representation and empowerment for the women of India. He added that this is not merely legislation but a tribute to the countless women who have made the nation. He exclaimed that India has been enriched by their resilience and contributions.
