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India attends Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meet, Pakistan boycotts

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India attends Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meet, Pakistan boycotts

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Islam means peace, fight against terror not against any religion: Sushma Swaraj at OIC

In a significant diplomatic gain for India, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today (Friday, March 1) became the first Indian minister to address a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states at Abu Dhabi.

The minister was invited as a guest of honour by the UAE to the the two-day 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the 57-member body.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stayed away from the meet, saying it objected to India’s presence at the event. He said that lower ranking officials would attend to represent Pakistan’s interests.

Addressing the 46th  session of Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC at Abu Dhabi, Swaraj said that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have all been affected by terrorism. She said terrorism is destroying lives, destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril.

“Terror reach is growing and the toll it is taking is increasing. This is not a clash of civilisations or cultures, but a contest of ideas and ideals. As PM Narendra Modi has often said, it is a struggle between the values of humanism and the forces of inhumanity,” she said.

Terrorism, she said, is driven by distortion of religion: “Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed.”

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“Just as Islam means peace, none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly every religion stands for peace,” she said.

She quoted the ancient Sanskrit scripture ‘Rig Veda’ to say that pluralism is crucial to India. “Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadhanti”, which means “God is One but learned men describe him in many ways,” she said.

“I come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi where every prayer ends with call for ‘shanti’ that is peace for all. I convey our best wishes, support and solidarity in your quest for stability, peace, harmony, economic growth and prosperity for your people and world,” she said.

Urging countries to come together and block terror funding, Sushma Swaraj said, “If we want to save humanity, then we need to tell nations supporting terror that they need to stop funding terror organisations.”

She further emphasised on the fact that the fight against terror cannot be won by war or intelligence.

Upholding the diversity of India, Sushma Swaraj said that India has always embraced pluralism. Muslims in India practice their respective beliefs and live in harmony with each other and with their non-Muslim brothers. It’s this appreciation of diversity and coexistence that has ensured that very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to poisonous propaganda of radicalist and extremist ideologies.”

Lauding the Islamic countries for their efforts if stifling terrorism, Sushma Swaraj said, “Choices you (OIC) make have a huge inpact on humanity. We are with you.”

“Terrorism is destroying lives, destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril. Terror reach is growing and the toll it is taking is increasing,” Swaraj said.

Bringing up the issue of terrorism at the conclave, Swaraj said that the peril of terrorism is growing in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. “We see the terrible face of terror. We are witnessing the terrible and senseless destruction of terrorism. Terror is growing and we are seeing the terrible face of terror in many of our countries.”

Sushma Swaraj said that she is honoured to join colleagues from nations that represent a great religion and ancient civilisations. “I stand here as a representative of the land that has been a mountain of knowledge, beacon of peace, the source of faith & traditions, home to many religions and one of the major economies.”

“India has excellent political ties with many as a result of our economic growth. We share warm times with our immediate Islamic neighbours like Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Presently gulf countries are our biggest markets and energy partners,” said Swaraj

Also Read: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to be released tomorrow, says Imran Khan

Thanking member nations of OIC for inviting India and hearing its voice, Sushma Swaraj said, “OIC members constitute one-fourth of the United Nations and almost a quarter of humanity. India shares much with you, many of us have shared dark days of colonialism.”

Sushma Swaraj in her opening speech acknowledged that Muslims peacefully live in India in harmony with different other cultures. “Our Muslim community is a microcosm of India. They speak different languages and have different culinary tastes. Very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to terror and terrorism,” she said.

While India attended the Islamic organisation meet, Pakistan minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that he will skip the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet in Abu Dhabi because India has been invited to the event. “I will not attend Council of Foreign Ministers as a matter of principle for having extended invitation as a Guest of Honour to Sushma Swaraj,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in parliament, adding that other officials would attend to represent Pakistan’s interests.

India, on its part, said that the invitation was taking forward the strong bilateral ties that UAE and India shared and it was also a “welcome recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of their contribution to its pluralistic ethos and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world.”

The invitation to India is seen as a key foreign policy success in efforts to strengthen relations with Arab and Muslim-majority countries. OIC states it is the collective voice of the Muslim world and works to safeguard their interests. With permanent representatives to the United Nations and the European Union, it has 57 member states.

Islamabad had conveyed its concerns over New Delhi’s participation at the OIC in the wake of the Indian air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp at Balakot on Tuesday. Acting largely due to pressure from Pakistan, OIC had condemned the air strike as an “incursion and aerial violation” and urged both countries to seek peaceful solutions to the crisis through dialogue.

In a response to the bloodiest terror attack in the history of insurgency in Kashmir in which 40 jawans were killed in a fidayeen attack using vehicle borne explosive device, India on February 26, announced that it had destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM, which had owned responsibility for the terrorist act) training camp in Balakot in Pakistan.

A day later, Pakistan Airforce struck India in a tit-for-tat move. The Indian Air Force retaliated and in the ensuing dogfight, IAF pilot Abhinandan was captured by Pakistani officials. He is all set to be released later on Friday.

During the strikes and counter strikes, Qureshi had threatened to boycott the OIC if the invite to India was not retracted. He informed his Parliament, on Friday, that the UAE said that the invite would be “hard to retract”, thus forcing him to be remain absent from the OIC, of which his country is a founding member.

Pakistan has been staunch opponent to India getting even an observer status, let alone become a member of the OIC.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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Iran says 2 soldiers killed in Israeli air strikes

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

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The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.

Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.

The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.

Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.

Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.

Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

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BRICS Summit: PM Modi, China’s Xi Jinping discuss Ukraine war with Russia’s Putin

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China’s Xi Jinping, and other BRICS leaders on Wednesday discussed the war in Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin chief chaired a major summit aimed at showing Western attempts to isolate Russia have failed.

India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, PM Modi said at the BRICS Summit, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.

Putin, whose administration has dismissed allegations of war crimes against him as politically motivated, kicked off the Summit on Wednesday by noting the strong interest from over 30 States in joining the BRICS group.

He emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance in any expansion, acknowledging the unprecedented interest from countries in the Global South and East while ensuring that it does not diminish the effectiveness of BRICS.

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

On the Ukraine crisis, Jinping said, “We need to push for the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible.” He also expressed his concern over the crisis in Gaza, saying, “We need to push for a ceasefire.”

PM Modi emphasised the need for a people-centric approach to solving global challenges and called for reformed multilateralism. The PM underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for global peace and stability.

Addressing the summit in Kazan, a Russian city along the Volga, Europe’s longest river, Putin also reiterated the group’s focus on discussing acute regional conflicts, alluding to the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Russia, heavily reliant on oil exports, sees China and India as major buyers, with the two countries responsible for about 90% of Moscow’s oil sales, making it Russia’s largest foreign currency source.

In a public exchange, Prime Minister Modi expressed his desire for peace in Ukraine to Putin, while Chinese President Xi discussed the Ukrainian conflict privately with the Russian leader.

As Russia continues its advancement, it currently controls a significant portion of Ukraine, including Crimea, unilaterally annexed in 2014, as well as a substantial portion of the Donbas region, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, along with parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin has reiterated that Moscow will not negotiate the status of these regions, claiming them as part of Russia and emphasising the need to consider Russia’s long-term security interests in Europe.

The anticipated BRICS communique is expected to include proposals from China and Brazil aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine, with the two countries seeking support for a ceasefire from other developing nations. Ukraine has accused Beijing and Brasília of aligning with Moscow’s interests.

Putin has acknowledged the potential of the Chinese-Brazilian proposals as a basis for ending the conflict, following Russia’s deployment of troops into Ukraine in 2022 after years of fighting in the eastern part of the country.

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