Breaking News Live Updates: Pakistan poses threat not only to India but to the whole world: Rajeev Rai
23 May 2025 | 06:57:33 AM IST
Breaking News Live Updates: The leaders from India's all-party delegation to Russia expressed their firm commitment to representing India's stance on fighting terrorism and hailed Russia's support. Breaking News Live Updates: The leaders from India's all-party delegation to Russia expressed their firm commitment to representing India's stance on fighting terrorism and hailed Russia's support.Samajwadi Party leader Rajeev Rai spoke to ANI and said, "Russia is our historical friend, standing by side in every situation... Pakistan poses a threat not only to India but to the whole world because there is no such terrorist incident in the world where the strings don't lead to Pakistan".Calling Russia a special friend of India, Rai said that the delegation has come with evidence. He added, "It is important for everyone to isolate Pakistan."While speaking to ANI, DMK MP Kanimozhi said, "We all know that Russia has been a strategic partner, and we've always worked together on diplomatic issues... The heads of our states have always worked together when it comes to important issues, whether it's of global importance or which is of interest to India and Russia. So it becomes very important at this point to reach out to Russia when we have been facing terror attacks time and again, and we've lost 26 lives in India."She shared that MPs from across the country and from different parties have been sent to represent India's stand against terrorism and explain our position to the world. Show more Grabbing her daughter's feeble arm, Asmaa al-Arja pulls a shirt over the 2-year-old's protruding ribs and swollen belly. The child lies on a hospital bed, heaving, then wails uncontrollably, throwing her arms around her own shoulders as if to console herself. This isn't the first time Mayar has been in a Gaza hospital battling malnutrition, yet this 17-day stint is the longest. She has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that means she can't eat gluten and requires special food. But there's little left for her to eat in the embattled enclave after 19 months of war and Israel's punishing blockade, and she can't digest what's available."She needs diapers, soy milk and she needs special food. This is not available because of border closures. If it's available, it is expensive, I can't afford it," her mother said as she sat next to Mayar at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.Mayar is among the more than 9,000 children who have been treated for malnutrition this year, according to the U.N. children's agency, and food security experts say tens of thousands of cases are expected in the coming year. The high-level all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde participated in an interaction event with the Indian community in the UAE, where the members shared the 'New India' and the 'new normal' which has emerged after the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor launched in response.During the interaction event, BJD MP Sasmit Patra shared that Operation Sindoor highlighted India's response towards terrorism. He said, "We will ensure more than 100 terrorists die for what you're doing. This is the new India."Speaking about the all-party delegations going across the world to convey India's message, Sasmit Patra said, "This is the new India where we will not allow political differences that various political parties are sitting together but we're speaking one language, one voice, one thought and one idea- India".He added that India is going around the world to take the message across. He said that India is showcasing the truth and "...we are going to speak it face to face across the table... within the last 30 days, so much has happened. I'm pretty sure in the next 300 days, more things will happen. I can assure you of that." Walt Disney's movie studio has postponed the release of the next two installments in Marvel's blockbuster "Avengers" series, the company said on Thursday."Avengers: Doomsday" now will come out on December 18, 2026, about seven months later than its previous date of May 1. "Doomsday" will bring Robert Downey Jr. back to the franchise as the villain, Doctor Doom.Disney also moved "Avengers: Secret Wars" to December 17, 2027 from May 2, 2027. The District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans celebrated the operation, in which 27 naxals were neutralised, including the general secretary of the banned Maoist organisation, Basavaraju.In the videos, the personnel were seen dancing and celebrating the operation's success among each other. Despite the rain, personnel enjoyed the splashes and danced to songs by playing with colour.The relatives of the DRG personnel welcomed them with arti and chanted "Bharat Mata ki Jai."The Inspector General (IG) of Bastar Range in Chhattisgarh, P Sundarraj, on Thursday said CPI (Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju, who was killed in an encounter on Wedenesday, had an active role in the planning of many Naxalite attacks on security forces and people's representatives, and termed his killing a great achievement in the anti-Naxal operation. The leaders from India's all-party delegation to Russia expressed their firm commitment to representing India's stance on fighting terrorism and hailed Russia's support.Samajwadi Party leader Rajeev Rai spoke to ANI and said, "Russia is our historical friend, standing by side in every situation... Pakistan poses a threat not only to India but to the whole world because there is no such terrorist incident in the world where the strings don't lead to Pakistan".Calling Russia a special friend of India, Rai said that the delegation has come with evidence. He added, "It is important for everyone to isolate Pakistan."While speaking to ANI, DMK MP Kanimozhi said, "We all know that Russia has been a strategic partner, and we've always worked together on diplomatic issues... The heads of our states have always worked together when it comes to important issues, whether it's of global importance or which is of interest to India and Russia. So it becomes very important at this point to reach out to Russia when we have been facing terror attacks time and again, and we've lost 26 lives in India."She shared that MPs from across the country and from different parties have been sent to represent India's stand against terrorism and explain our position to the world.
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Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
What Operation Sindoor tells us about the nature of escalation, and India's changing approach
The four-night military confrontation between India and Pakistan that began early on May 7 was the most expansive outbreak of hostilities since the war of 1971. The Kargil conflict of 1999 was limited to a small area in Jammu and Kashmir; during Operation Sindoor, India hit targets up to 100 km inside Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), and Pakistan launched aerial attacks against J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, even Haryana. In terms defined by the American military strategist and thinker Herman Kahn's 44-step 'escalation ladder', the situation can be seen as having begun with the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 — the 'Ostensible Crisis' — and gone up to the stage of 'Dramatic Military Confrontations' before being paused by the ceasefire of May 10. The idea of escalation began to appear in strategic literature in the years after the end of World War II, in part as a reaction to the idea of 'all-out' war. Kahn, a futurist and military strategist who co-founded the Washington DC think tank Hudson Institute with the vision of 'thinking about the future in unconventional ways', was the preeminent Western theorist of the 'structure' of escalation. Kahn's metaphor for escalation was a ladder, each rung of which denoted a rising level of conflict. In 1962, Kahn proposed a 16-step ladder of escalation from 'Subcrisis Disagreement' to 'Aftermath'. Three years later, he published On Escalation: Metaphors and Scenarios (1965), in which he developed a more detailed, 44-step ladder of escalation — with 'Ostensible Crisis' as Step 1, and 'Spasm/ Insensate War' as Step 44. The India-Pakistan escalation The Pahalgam terror attack can be described as 'Ostensible Crisis' — Step 1, in which 26 civilians including 25 tourists and one local Kashmiri were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists on April 22. This led to Step 2, 'Political, Economic and Diplomatic Gestures' — India's decisions from April 23 onward can be labeled as such. These include the decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, cancelling the visas of Pakistani nationals, stopping trade and postal services, closing India's air space for Pakistan's aircraft, not allowing Pakistan-flagged ships to dock at Indian ports, etc. Then came Kahn's Step 3 — 'Solemn and Formal Declarations'. India's top leadership declared the intent to avenge the killings of the tourists at Pahalgam — Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to 'pursue the terrorists and those who shelter them to the very end'. And Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised a 'crushing reply to any Indian misadventure'. Kahn's Step 4 is the 'Hardening of Positions — Confrontation of Wills'. India blamed Pakistan for not taking action against terrorist groups, while Islamabad asked for evidence of India's accusation. It also said that India's position on the IWT would be deemed as an 'act of war'. Step 5, Kahn's rung of 'Show of Force' was seen as the Indian Navy on April 27 carried out multiple anti-ship missile firings, underlining its preparedness for long-range offensive strikes. On May 3, Pakistan test-fired Abdali, its surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a 450-km range. Step 6 — 'Significant Mobilisation' — was quick and stealthy, and from May 7 onward, the escalation quickly reached rungs 8 ('Harassing Acts of Violence') and 9 ('Dramatic Military Confrontations'). India struck at nine terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and successfully thwarted Pakistani drone attacks along the western border. The two militaries remained at Step 9 for four nights before they agreed to stop military action — this is where Kahn's escalation ladder was aborted. 2016, 2019: change of doctrine In Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy, former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon concluded the chapter on the 26/11 terror attacks ('Restraint or Riposte? The Mumbai Attack and Cross-Border Terrorism from Pakistan') with the sentence: '…Personalities matter. With a different mix of people at the helm, it is quite possible that India would have chosen [to act] differently [in the aftermath of the attacks]. In fact, if India is forced to make a similar choice in the future, I am sure it will respond differently.' The book was published in November 2016. Weeks earlier, on September 29, Indian special forces had crossed the Line of Control to carry out surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads in PoK. That October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh: 'Earlier Israel used to be spoken of like this (in the context of carrying out targeted military strikes against its enemies). Now everyone knows our Army can do it too and is no less capable.' A little over two years later, in February 2019, the Prime Minister said in Hindi at a public meeting in Churu, Rajasthan: 'I swear by this soil that I won't let the nation be destroyed, I won't let the nation be stopped. It is my promise to Bharat Ma that I won't let her head be bowed.' In these two speeches, the Prime Minister mentioned neither the surgical strikes nor the Balakot air strikes of February 26, 2019, but the change in India's doctrine of response to terrorism was clear. In his address to the nation on May 12 this year, Modi articulated the elements of India's current doctrine against terrorism: a befitting response on India's terms; zero tolerance for Pakistan's nuclear blackmail; and no distinction between terrorist leaders and state sponsors of terrorism. He also made it clear that India had only 'suspended' its military action, and underlined that for New Delhi, this was the 'new normal' now. India's new policy is qualitatively higher in aggression. Targeting the Pak establishment that has long used cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy means the military and government of that country are not off-limits for future retributive actions. By linking Pakistan-based groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to major terrorist attacks in the US and UK, Modi framed Operation Sindoor as India's war on terrorism, similar to what NATO launched in Afghanistan after 9/11. The PM also painted Pakistan as a country that protects, rather than going after, terrorists, and laid down the red lines on resuming the bilateral dialogue that has been suspended since 2016. Takeaways, outlook going forward New Delhi has its task cut out — politically, diplomatically, and militarily. LOWER THRESHOLD FOR ACTION: India's 'new normal' has lowered the threshold of response in case of a major terrorist attack in future. In terms of Kahn's ladder of escalation, this could mean India's response will begin from Step 3 (Solemn and Formal Declarations) and could very quickly escalate to Steps 9 (Dramatic Military Confrontations) and 10 ('Provocative Breaking off of Diplomatic Relations'). Step 12 ('Large Conventional War') would be very much on the horizon. DIPLOMATIC CHALLENGE: Pakistan has been trying to project itself as the victim before the international community. New Delhi is concerned at the false equivalence between the two countries that some in the West have suggested, along with a re-hyphenation of India and Pakistan. The multi-political party outreach by the Indian government, where bipartisan political delegations are currently travelling the world, explaining to countries that India was the original victim in Pahalgam, and that it responded in self-defence. THE DONALD TRUMP FACTOR: President Trump's claim of a 'US-brokered ceasefire' has created a challenge for India, which has always rejected any third-party involvement in India-Pakistan issues. Trump's view of the May 10 ceasefire as a success for American diplomacy and the first 'military confrontation' that he has been able to stop from escalating presents Indian diplomacy with a delicate task. New Delhi has to navigate Trump's unpredictable statements and posts on social media, pushing back with tact and conviction. NEW FRONTIERS OF WAR: Besides upgrading its military prowess to dominate in the air, at sea, and on land, India will have to also build capacity in the new frontiers of war where evolving and improving technology is changing the rules very rapidly. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
The Print
18 minutes ago
- The Print
‘Zealots, trolls': Tharoor fires back at critics of his surgical strikes remark, day after Congress meltdown
Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven multi-party delegations constituted by the Centre to visit various countries to convey India's stand on cross-border terrorism, is currently in Panama City. Tharoor did not name anyone in his post on X, but left little to the imagination as to who he was targeting. After all, it was top Congress leaders close to the party high command, such as Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, who sniped at Tharoor Wednesday. New Delhi: The ongoing feud between Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and the party leadership took another acrimonious turn Thursday, with the four-time Lok Sabha MP dismissing as 'zealots' and 'trolls' the critics of his remarks on the 2016 surgical strikes. He came under attack from Ramesh and Khera, among others, over his remarks at a gathering of the Indian community in Panama City that India crossed the Line of Control to carry out surgical strikes on a terror base 'for the first time' under the Narendra Modi government in 2016. After a long and successful day in Panama, i have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in tge… — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 29, 2025 Congress leader Udit Raj even suggested that Tharoor become a spokesperson for the BJP. Raj's statement was endorsed by both Khera and Ramesh, who had earlier this month flayed Tharoor for accepting the Centre's invitation to lead the multi-party delegation without the concurrence of the party leadership. 'After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars. '2. My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB. But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight,' Tharoor posted on X. Tharoor was essentially responding to Khera's posts pointing out that the Congress has always maintained that cross-border surgical strikes were carried out even during the time of the UPA government when the late Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. Khera also cited a news report that claimed that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in his previous capacity as the foreign secretary, had in 2016 told a Parliamentary panel that 'professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public.' Minutes after Tharoor's X post, Khera posted a screenshot of an excerpt from 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' authored by the Thiruvananthapuram MP. In the book, Tharoor pointed out that the Congress, while in the government, had authorised many surgical strikes but desisted from exploiting them politically. Khera posted it with the caption 'I agree with that Dr Shashi Tharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018.' I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 – 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'. #ReadingNow — Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 29, 2025 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool —something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier—marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,' Tharoor wrote in the book. Addressing the Panama City gathering, Tharoor had said that in 2016 'for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base.' 'Even during the Kargil war we had not crossed the LoC, in Uri we did. Then came the attack in Pulwama…this time we crossed not only the LoC but the international border and we struck terrorist headquarters in Balakot. 'This time we have gone not only beyond the LoC and the International Border, we have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places in both Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. And let me say to you that this is going to be the new normal. The PM has made it very clear that Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women,' he said. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Tharoor faces Congress leadership's ire for breaking from party line on Op Sindoor, Trump's claims
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Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'We sign contracts knowing systems won't come': Air chief on project delays
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has again raised serious concerns about persistent delays in India's defence procurement projects, highlighting a systemic failure to meet deadlines. Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit, Air Chief Marshal Singh openly questioned the practice of signing unrealistic contracts. 'Many times, we know while signing contracts that those systems will never come. Timelines are a big issue. Once a timeline is given, not a single project I can think of has been completed on time. Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved?' he asked during his address. One of the key examples cited was the much-anticipated Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A programme. Despite a ₹48,000 crore contract signed in February 2021 with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 83 jets, no deliveries have been made so far. The first batch was expected to be handed over by March 2024. 'Deliveries of Tejas Mk1 are delayed. The prototype of Tejas Mk2 is yet to roll out. There is no prototype yet of the stealth AMCA fighter,' he said. Call for deeper indigenisation, industry-forces trust Reaffirming the Indian Air Force's commitment to the government's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" mission, the Indian Air Force chief emphasised the need to move beyond manufacturing to actual design and development within India. 'We cannot just talk about producing in India, we need to talk about designing. We need to have trust between the forces and industry. We need to be very open. Once we have committed to something, we should deliver. Air Force is trying to do its best to make in India,' he said. He also stressed the urgency of equipping the armed forces with the necessary tools today, not years down the line. 'We have to be now-ready to be future-ready... what we need today, we need today. We need to quickly get our act together. Wars are won by empowering our forces,' he added. Operation Sindoor highlights modern warfare needs Air Chief Marshal Singh's remarks come shortly after Operation Sindoor, India's military response launched on May 7 following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Referring to the operation, the Air Chief underscored the evolving nature of warfare. 'The character of war is changing. Every day, we are finding new technologies coming in. Operation Sindoor has given us a clear idea of where we are headed and what we need in future,' he said, citing the need for both technological advancement and a shift in strategic thinking. #WATCH | Delhi: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh says, "Operation Sindoor, as it was told by the Chief of Naval Staff, the character of war is changing. Every day, we are finding new technologies coming in. Operation Sindoor has given us a clear idea of… — ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2025 He noted the inclusion of private players in the development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project as a significant step forward. 'AMCA has been cleared for even participation by private industry, which is a very big step... I'm sure this is going to pave the way to bigger things coming in the future,' he said. This isn't the first time the Air Chief has expressed dissatisfaction with India's defence production pace. Soon after assuming office in October last year, he said that India had fallen behind China in defence manufacturing despite once having an edge. In February 2025, the Air Chief was caught in a controversy when an accidental microphone recording captured his unfiltered criticism of HAL. 'I was promised that when I come here in February, 11 Tejas Mk1As would be ready. And not a single one is ready,' he was heard saying while seated inside a HJT-36 Yashas cockpit. 'I find that HAL is just not in mission mode.'
