Pakistani leaders look for escape, may flee to London amid India-Pakistan war
India and Pakistan war tensions have escalated. A few days ago, a Pakistani politician from the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, revealed he will go to England (United Kingdom) if war starts.
This came after a journalist asked Sher Afzal Khan Marwat if he would pick up a gun and fight on the frontline if war broke out. The journalist then asked if India should step back amid the ongoing war. He said, 'Modi is not my aunt's son, he will not do things as per my wish. We will run away to London'. Watch the viral video of Pakistani politician:
Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, a Pakistan SC lawyer, MP and a senior PTI leader on any message to Modi on war:
'Modi is not my aunt's son, he will not do things as per my wish. We will run away to London' pic.twitter.com/wiUN7UDQfr
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) May 4, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
43 minutes ago
- The Print
Vijay Rupani, Modi's go-to man & the CM who stood tall among the tallest of Gujarat leaders
This reporter asked him about this multiple times and every time he would smile and say he is with the party. Multi-term MP Keshubhai Patel, among the tallest BJP leaders then, and Gujarat's former textiles minister Kashiram Rana would often meet Advani at his residence to complain about Modi and seek his removal. Rupani, however, always maintained a distance from the 'anti-Modi' camp. New Delhi: It was the era of L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh in the BJP, and Narendra Modi was a rising star. Vijay Rupani, a Rajya Sabha MP in 2006, maintained a low profile. The man and his affable smile have disappeared forever now. The former Gujarat chief minister was on board the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad Thursday afternoon. He was 68. The crash brought to a cruel end an almost three-decade political career whose high point came in 2016 when he was made the chief minister of the state. Before that he served as Rajya Sabha member between 2006 and 2012. After Rupani completed his term in Rajya Sabha in 2012, Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister, made him chairman of the Gujarat Municipal Finance Board. Also Read: Ahmedabad pilots tried to land in empty area, say aviation experts. See Google Earth images The 2014 challenge & Rupani's rise Rupani worked for the party in the challenging Saurashtra region in the 2014 polls and the party performed well. A few months later, he worked intensively to wrest back the Junagadh local body from the Congress, snatching from the party the only local body it held in the state. Rupani's standing rose within the party and Modi, now the prime minister, recognised his efforts. He fielded him from the Rajkot West bypoll in October 2014 after sitting MLA Vajubhai Vala was made the governor of Karnataka. Rupani won and was made the water supply minister in the Anandiben Patel cabinet. The Rajkot West seat's importance can be gauged from the fact that Modi contested his first assembly polls in the state from this constituency. Rupani was Modi's campaign in-charge in the February 2002 poll. In 2016, Rupani, who had by now served four terms as the general secretary of the Gujarat BJP, was made the state party chief. These were challenging times for the party. The assembly elections were just about a year away and the BJP was desperate to prove it can maintain its hold over the state despite Modi, its most popular leader in Gujarat for years, now moving to national politics. The 2017 elections were about prestige for the BJP. The Patidar quota agitation led by a young Hardik Patel was threatening to dent the party's popularity and its voter base. Then BJP chief minister Anandiben Patel, who was seen taking tough measures against the agitators, was removed from office. And who the BJP and Modi turned to? Vijaybhai Ramniklalbhai Rupani. He was not the obvious choice though. Nitin Patel, who was the deputy chief minister then, was the front-running claimant, his surname bolstering his chances. As the talks of replacing the chief minister gained momentum, Patel had already started accepting congratulatory messages. Rupani never thought he had any chance of becoming the chief minister. When this reporter asked him about this, he said, 'I am happy'. Again, with a smile. But the BJP and Modi surprised one and all when they announced Rupani, from the neutral Jain-Bania community, as Anandiben's successor. He was in Rajkot to celebrate his birthday when his name was announced as the chief minister. Rupani steered the BJP to victory in the December 2017 assembly polls, overcoming the headwind caused by the Patidar agitation and a resurgent Congress. In the 182-seat assembly, the BJP won 99 seats. It was the lowest BJP tally in the state since it came to power, but enough for a majority. Rupani was picked as the chief minister again. Also Read: What Air India's fleet looks like in 2025 'Everybody's friend' Rupani's next big political challenge in the state came in 2019. But he delivered once again, helping the BJP win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The credit was given to Modi, and Rupani made no complaints. 'Whatever duty was assigned to him by the party, he tried to fulfill them without making a noise about it,' multi-term MP Haren Pathak, an Advani loyalist who was also a minister of state during the Vajpayee government, told ThePrint Thursday. 'He was a man of organisation. He never had any issue with any leader. He was everybody's friend. When Narendrabhai sent him to Rajya Sabha in 2006, he never said he achieved anything, like others do, to attract the limelight.' During his second term, Rupani helped the BJP retain all eight municipal corporations and win civic body polls in the state. His tenure as the chief minister was without any major controversy even though he faced criticism for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. His administration faced serious questions about alleged mismanagement of oxygen supply which led to deaths in hospitals. His image was dented. What also harmed him politically was belief in some quarters that he maintained a low-profile as chief minister and the government was run effectively by civil servants. The BJP replaced him as chief minister before the 2022 assembly polls, with Bhupendra Patel taking over. Rupani accepted the party's decision, without any complaint. He was later made the party's Punjab in-charge, and it would remain his last organisational assignment. Rajendra Trivedi, who worked in the first Rupani cabinet as sports and arts minister, recalled an incident. 'Unlike other chief ministers, he was not intimidating. No worker ever felt under pressure thinking 'CM saheb naraz ho jayenge (the chief minister will get angry). They spoke to him without fear,' Trivedi told ThePrint Thursday. 'Once I met the chief minister with an idea to launch a scheme for elderly pilgrims. He immediately said start the scheme. I made the plan for the Shravan Tirth subsidy scheme, which was started during his time,' he added. 'I proposed 50 percent state govt contribution with the rest 50 percent coming from the elderly people themselves. But, the chief minister intervened saying 'they are elderly people, raise the state government's contribution to 60 percent and keep theirs at 40. It was changed to 70:30 later. It means, he kept track on small details,' Trivedi further said. Also Read: 'Was getting ready to board from Ahmedabad airport. Then my friend called me to the terrace' The RSS background The BJP fought the 2022 assembly elections under state president C.R. Paatil, and broke the record of winning the maximum number of seats, by bagging 156. But Rupani sat alone at his residence, away from the limelight. Gujarat BJP vice-president Janakbhai Patel told ThePrint Thursday, 'He never showed he was the CM. His predecessor Anandiben Patel's style of working was different. Before her, you have to understand the problem quickly. She was assertive before officials.' 'With Rupani, he would give a patient hearing and offer a solution. Maybe, because he was not too assertive,' he said. Born in Rangoon (now Yangon, Myanmar) in August 1956, Rupani joined a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Shakha as a schoolboy, before graduating to the BJP via the Sangh's students wing—the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). His father was a ball-bearing trader in Rajkot. Rupani became active in the RSS while studying in an arts college. He honed his political skills during the 1974 Gujarat Navnirman agitation, a sociopolitical movement led by students and the middle-class against economic hardships and corruption in public life. The agitation soon spread to other states, particularly in Bihar, where socialist legend Jayaprakash Narayan extended support and gave a call for his 'Total Revolution'. The movement eventually led to the fall of the Indira Gandhi government and installation of the first non-Congress dispensation at the Centre under Morarji Desai. Rupani, who was then with the ABVP, was jailed for nearly a year during the Emergency. Rupani made his electoral debut in the Rajkot municipal corporation elections in 1987. He became a councilor and served as the chairman of the RMC standing committee before becoming the mayor of Rajkot in 1996. He was later made the in-charge of the Gujarat government's committee on implementing its 20-point development programme. Later, he was made the general secretary of the BJP before being sent to Rajya Sabha in 2006. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: India's first black box lab for air crash investigations was launched in April 2025
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
'Willing to enhance dialogue': China on lifting export curbs on rare earth metals to India
China on Thursday signaled openness to talks with India over its export restrictions on rare earth materials, saying it is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries to help maintain stable industrial supply chains read more China on Thursday signaled openness to talks with India over its export restrictions on rare earth materials, saying it is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries to help maintain stable industrial supply chains. Beijing's recent curbs on the export of critical metals have disrupted manufacturing sectors globally, including in India, impacting industries such as automotive and semiconductor production. 'We are willing to enhance dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions to jointly keep the stability of global industrial and supply chains,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told PTI when asked whether China plans to lift its export restrictions on rare earth metals to India, especially as it has started approving export licences to the US and the EU. While offering no direct assurance, Lin reiterated that specific details should be addressed by the relevant Chinese authorities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is in contact with Chinese counterparts to ensure greater predictability in the supply chain, in line with international trade norms. 'We have been in touch with the Chinese side, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and general administration of customs in early April, as you would be aware, had announced the decision to implement export controls on certain rare earth-related items. 'We are in touch with the Chinese side, both here in Delhi as also in Beijing, to bring predictability in supply chain for trade, consistent with international practices,' MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in response to a query on Thursday. On June 16, Indian Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat met with Chinese Vice Minister Sun Weidong to discuss a range of bilateral issues, including shared concerns, PTI quoted a statement from China's foreign ministry. The meeting comes amid growing alarm in India over shortages of rare earth metals, crucial for the automotive, electronics, and renewable energy sectors. Reports from India have highlighted industry-wide disruptions stemming from China's recent export restrictions on these critical materials. China, which holds a dominant position in the global rare earths market, has recently begun selectively clearing export licences, particularly to the United States, following two days of high-level trade talks in London. The move came as both nations agreed to ease tensions, with US President Donald Trump declaring on Wednesday that a trade deal with China 'is done.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rare earth elements, comprising 17 metallic elements, are vital for the production of magnets, batteries, and high-tech devices. While these metals are found in multiple countries, their extraction is expensive and environmentally hazardous, often leaving China as the preferred global supplier. According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for 61% of global rare earth mining and 92% of processing output. Although China has opened dialogue with the US and EU to address concerns over supply shortages, it has yet to publicly respond to India's request for similar talks. In response, India's Ministry of External Affairs said it is engaging with the Chinese side to ensure stability and predictability in trade supply chains. Meanwhile, an Indian industry delegation, comprising representatives from the auto sector, is reportedly preparing to visit China to secure rare earth magnet imports for domestic manufacturers, sources in New Delhi said. With inputs from agencies
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
2 lakh cyberattacks on power units foiled during Operation Sindoor: Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar
File photo: Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar (ANI) SRINAGAR: India thwarted nearly 2 lakh cyberattacks targeting its power sector during Operation Sindoor last month, Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Thursday in the first official govt confirmation of the scale of such onslaughts. 'With the advancement of technology, cyberattacks and cybercrimes have increased significantly. A lot of progress has been made in countering them and our cybersecurity has virtually neutralised such threats,' Khattar said. He added that a power line in Uri hydel project had suffered damage due to Pakistani shelling but the link was promptly repaired. Khattar was speaking at a news conference in Srinagar, dwelling on a range of topics, from the Pahalgam attack and water treaties with Pakistan to a debate on ideal energy-saving AC temperatures. On Indus Waters Treaty , which the Centre has kept in abeyance, Khattar said the current situation allows India to move ahead with stalled power projects that previously required Pakistani consent. Asked about Pakistan's warning of 'dangerous consequences' if water flows in rivers under the treaty were altered, Khattar said: 'Pakistan was already given a reply during Operation Sindoor. If needed, a stronger response will follow.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Under the treaty, India had to previously seek Pakistan's approval before undertaking projects on Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. 'Now, we don't need it. We are restarting the Wullar Barrage project,' Khattar announced. The Centre had started the project in the 1980s to regulate water levels in Kashmir in winter, when river flows thin, but work was suspended in 1987 after Pakistan objected before Indus Waters Commission. On the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Khattar pointed out that while Pakistan had been supporting terrorists, the Centre was now resolute on not allowing terror. 'Terrorism will definitely end. I would like to congratulate the people of J&K as they have stood together against terrorism,' he said. Asked about calls from CPI(M) for a dialogue with Pakistan, Khattar ruled out such moves. 'Terror and talk will not go together. Terror and trade will not go together. Water and blood will not flow together,' Khattar said. The power minister then switched to the raging debate on AC temperatures. He justified his ministry's plan to ensure AC temperatures are not reduced below 20 degrees Celsius, citing energy efficiency goals worldwide and medical opinion about 24 degrees being the ideal temperature.
