"In Pak, nobody seems to be in control," All-Party Delegation member Salman Khurshid says
Jakarta [Indonesia], May 31 (ANI): Former Minister of External Affairs and Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Friday noted that violations continued on the Pakistani side, suggesting a lack of control over its military actions even after a ceasefire was reached.
Khurshid, a member of the All-Party Delegation, highlighted the apparent chaos within Pakistan, citing factions within the army vying for power and the civilian government's lack of control. Despite this, he praised India's restraint and patience in the face of such challenges.
'But the shelling across the border and the LoC continued for at least three or four hours. There were violations of the ceasefire once again, making it very clear that in Pakistan, nobody seems to be in control. The civilian government doesn't seem to be in control. There are factions within the army, each vying with each other to become powerful. Nevertheless, we showed restraint and patience,' added Khurshid.
Khurshid clarified that India did not initiate contact with Pakistan, but rather received a call from Pakistan's DGMO for cessation of hostilities during Operation Sindoor.
The all-party delegation member explained that India stopped its actions when Pakistan's DGMO requested for cessation of hostilities and India refrained from further attacks, dismissing claims as 'complete hogwash.'
'Because one of you asked, why did we stop? It's complete hogwash for anyone to say that we called them (Pakistan) first. Why would we call them first? Who was at the receiving end by the time the calls were made? It is more than clear to everybody that the call came from the DGMO of Pakistan to the DGMO of India. And we stopped when they said 'Let's stop'... And we then didn't send any further attacks on them,' he said while interacting with the indian-community,'Indian community in Jakarta, addressing questions about India's response to Pakistan's actions.
Khurshid emphasised India's aspirations to greatness and stressed that no one should distract India from its path to achieving this goal.
'India is waiting to be great. Nobody distract us or interfere with that passage of ours. That is why it is important for us to show our strength,' said the Congress leader.
Khurshid urged Pakistan to understand India's demand to give up terrorism, highlighting the importance of showing strength. He emphasized that India's message is clear and united, transcending party lines.
He praised the all-party delegation's visit, comprising members from both the ruling party and opposition.
Khurshid highlighted that their unity demonstrates India's collective commitment to the country's interests, rather than individual party affiliations.
'If there is any sense in Pakistan, they will understand our only demand: give up terrorism... Some of my colleagues are not from the ruling party. The ruling party could have come alone to bring this message, but they came with us to give India's message... However, sadly, this is not what we hear from India. Somebody is saying that he is supporting the BJP or the Congress, but I am proud that we are here together because we are not supporting each other's parties, we are supporting one simple idea called India...,' he said.
The delegation, led by JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, includes Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, Brij Lala (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M), Pradan Baruah (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), Salman Khurshid, and Mohan Kumar.In a diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, the Modi government has formed seven multi-party delegations to inform nations about Pakistan's links to terrorism and India's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Seven all-party delegations are taking part in various outreach programmes in their countries they are assigned to.
The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in France, the UK, Germany, the EU, Italy, and Denmark.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by Pak-sponsored terrorists in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The seven group of delegations will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
EC banks on tech for faster turnout updates
NEW DELHI: In a reform that promises to fix the delays in updating of voter turnout figures on poll day - a grouse often raised by Congress to question the electoral processes and EC itself - the poll panel Tuesday said it shall replace the manual reporting methods with a streamlined, technology-driven system that will provide timely updates to the public on approximate poll percentage trends. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "This new process significantly reduces time lag associated with earlier manual reporting methods. The initiative aligns with EC's commitment to ensure timely public communication, which has often been underlined by CEC Gyanesh Kumar," EC said in a statement Tuesday. The faster voter turnout update system shall kick off with upcoming Bihar assembly poll. Reiterating its commitment to keep the public informed and ensure faster updation of approximate voter turnout trends, the poll panel explained that the presiding officer of each polling station will now directly enter voter turnout on the new ECINET app - which will bring 40 election-related apps, including voter turnout (VTR) app, on a single platform - every couple of hours on polling day as well as immediately upon close of poll. These updates will be automatically aggregated at constituency level. Uploading of voter percentage at close of elections, just before the presiding officer leaves the polling station, will eliminate the time lag between voter turnout at close of poll and updated/final voter turnout figures released by the .
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Report flags tiger-human conflict risk as prey base shrinks in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha
Even as India celebrates a rise in its tiger population, a new national assessment has flagged an emerging conservation challenge: some of the prey species that sustain these big cats — chital (spotted deer), sambar (large deer), and the vulnerable gaur (Indian bison) — are declining across key tiger landscapes in east-central India, particularly in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. These findings come from a first-of-its-kind assessment of ungulates (hoofed mammals) conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), using data from India's 2022 tiger census. Ungulates form the bulk of a tiger's diet and are also critical to the forest ecosystem. Yet, across tiger habitats in these regions, they are facing increasing pressure from loss of habitat due to deforestation, development, agricultural expansion, urbanisation, human-wildlife conflict, and subsistence hunting. The report points to the broader consequences, drawing a direct link between low prey numbers and human-wildlife conflict. 'High bushmeat consumption and civil unrest in the region negatively impact wildlife presence, leading to low ungulate densities,' the report notes on Odisha. 'Palamau (in Jharkhand), an important part of the Central Indian corridor, faces challenges such as Left Wing Extremism, which affects wildlife presence,' it says. To revive prey populations, the report recommends on-site breeding of chital and sambar in secure enclosures designed to keep out predators. However, even as eastern and central Indian states are seeing prey depletion, several other landscapes show healthier trends. The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains — from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to eastern Bihar — as well as tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have a stable prey base. In the Western Ghats, chital, sambar, wild pigs, gaur and barking deer are widely distributed, while the hog deer and wild pigs dominate in the Northeast. The report Status of Ungulates in Tiger Habitats of India is based on field data from the 2022 tiger estimation, supplemented with data from the 2018 and 2014 cycles. While ungulates have been mapped in each cycle, this is the first time their data has been analysed and published separately. Unlike tigers, whose individual numbers are tracked, prey estimation focused on mapping the density of chital and sambar. For other ungulates, scientists estimated where these animals are found and how many there might be, based on direct and indirect evidence such as field surveys, dung trails, and camera trap images. India is home to over 3,600 wild tigers — about 70% of the global population — and their survival depends heavily on prey such as chital, sambar and gaur. Other species in their diet include nilgai, wild pigs, hog deer, barking deer and chinkara. Leopards, wild dogs, jackals and hyenas also rely on the same prey base. 'The quality of forests within 40 per cent of tiger reserves — and outside them — is low. These assessments (of ungulates) are crucial as we have to look beyond the numbers (of tigers). These are measurable biodiversity indicators and can guide us on how to address forest quality on a large scale,' said Qamar Qureshi, wildlife biologist and co-author of the report. According to the report, a density of 30 ungulates per square km can support four tigers in 100 square km. Tiger numbers may rise with prey density, but plateau at about 75 ungulates per sq km due to ecological constraints such as territoriality, competition and lack of habitat connectivity. Among the tiger reserves, Pench in Madhya Pradesh has one of the highest chital densities — nearly 54 per sq km. 'Maintaining quality habitat and reducing pressures on the prey base is crucial. We are working with WII to improve prey density,' said Gobind Sagar Bharadwaj, Additional Director General of Forests (Project Tiger) and NTCA Member Secretary. The report draws a link between low prey numbers and human-wildlife conflict. In areas like Tadoba (Maharashtra) and Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh), tigers are attacking livestock due to the lack of natural prey, sparking conflict with local communities. The report also identifies strongholds of prey abundance. Chital populations were found thriving across clusters like Rajaji-Corbett-Ramnagar-Pilibhit-Dudhwa (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh), Kanha-Pench-Achanakmar (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh), Bandhavgarh-Sanjay Dubri-Veerangana Durgawati (Madhya Pradesh), and the Nagarhole-Bandipur-BRT-Wayanad-Mudumalai-Sathyamangalam landscape (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu). These clusters span diverse forest types — from the Terai-Duar savannas to the moist deciduous forests of Central and Southern India. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Amid talk of differences over Congress inductions, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring says no internal differences
Chandigarh: Putting to rest speculation about unrest over the party revoking the suspension of Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday said there were no internal differences, and everyone was welcome in the party. Dismissing reports of discord within party ranks over the entry of leaders from other parties, Warring said there was no dissent. "Every party aims to expand its base and strengthen itself. The more people who join, the better it is," he said, responding to the recent inductions. On the upcoming Ludhiana West byelection, the PPCC president claimed that the Congress was ahead of rivals and expressed confidence that the party would win by a record margin. Warring reiterated his opposition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) govt's land pooling policy, warning it would lead to the destruction of Punjab's agrarian economy. Interacting with media after a meeting of constituency coordinators at the PPCC headquarters in Chandigarh, Warring said the policy was aimed merely at collecting money. He warned against acquiring 24,000 acres of agricultural land saying that it would destabilise the state's agricultural economy and, by extension, affect every section of society. "Punjab's entire economy—trade and industry—depends on agriculture. When you undermine the base, the entire economic edifice collapses," he said. He also criticised the govt for not taking stakeholders into confidence. He questioned the very need for such a policy when there was no apparent demand for additional residential or industrial plots. "When there is already an abundance of residential plots, where is the need to create more?" he asked. Responding to remarks by BJP state president Sunil Jakhar and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, Warring quipped: "The two of them are enough to sink the BJP's boat, just as they sank the Congress boat a few years ago." Commenting on a village reportedly putting itself up for sale due to the govt's failure to curb drug peddling, Warring remarked: "There can be no bigger slap on the face of the Punjab govt—and no greater proof of defeat in the so-called 'Yudh'—than an entire village putting itself up for sale while drug peddlers are having a field day."
