‘This Is For Losers': U.S. Congressman Raskin Blasts As Panel Dodges Epstein Talk; Jordan Fires Back
In his first visit to China since the 2020 Galwan clashes, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar delivered a blunt message to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing: terrorism, separatism, and extremism must be dealt with decisively. Speaking with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in the audience, Jaishankar invoked the recent Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, calling for an uncompromising stance from SCO members. 'The three evils the SCO was founded to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism are very much alive. Our fight against them must be resolute and non-negotiable,' he said. With regional cooperation faltering under the weight of mistrust, Jaishankar stressed the urgent need for honest, trust-based partnerships to preserve stability in the global order. His pointed remarks come amid ongoing tensions with both China and Pakistan and signal a tougher Indian foreign policy approach going forward.#jaishankar #china #sco #terrorism #galwan #pahalgamattack #pakistan #indianforeignpolicy #sco2025 #ishaqdar #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews
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The Hindu
20 minutes ago
- The Hindu
In India's first outreach to post-Assad regime, MEA Joint Secretary meets Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani
Marking a fresh beginning in ties with Damascus in the post-Assad era, India reached out to the Syrian provisional government under the leadership of President Ahmed Hussein Al-Sharaa this week. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary Suresh Kumar, of the West Asia and North Africa division, met with the Syrian provisional government's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani on Monday (July 28, 2025) in Damascus, according to officials here. Sources said he was accompanied by several other Indian officials, including the Indian Ambassador to Syria, Irshad Ahmed. Both teams held 'constructive dialogue on issues of mutual interest and explored new avenues to strengthen bilateral ties for the benefit of both nations', Syria's Foreign Ministry said on its official Telegram channel. This is India's first outreach to Syria since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 after a quarter century in power. India had maintained close ties with the Syrian Arab Republic under his rule and that of his father Hafiz Al Assad, who was President for three decades, from 1970 onwards. Since the end of the Assad era though, India has been championing a 'Syrian-led' government to resolve the political crisis that has gripped the country. Medical aid Apart from his meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Mr. Kumar also met Syrian Health Minister Musab Al-Ali. Syria has a large war-affected population in need of urgent medical care and the two sides discussed cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector and in the training of medical personnel to help the affected population. In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India had also handed over a 'consignment of 5 MT of essential life saving medicines, including anti-cancer, antibiotics and anti-hypertensives to Syria'. He added: 'India's humanitarian support to the people of Syria continues.' Pharma cooperation had also featured in the India-Syria Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) of November 2024 — barely a week before Mr. Assad's ouster — when Mr. Kumar had led the Indian delegation in talks with a Syrian team led by the Assad regime's Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Raad. Seeking global legitimacy Mr. Kumar's current meetings come against the backdrop of increased internal strife in Syria, with various political, religious, and sectarian groups fighting for control in Damascus since the fall of the Assad government on December 8, 2024. Syria's current provisional government is headed by Ahmed Hussein Al-Shara, a former Al Qaeda leader who also led the Al Qaeda-allied Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a terrorist group. He is also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad Al Jolani. Since the fall of the Assad regime, several governments have reached out to President Al Shara as Syria grapples with internal and external challenges. In recent months, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Al Shaibani has met a number of foreign delegates, including the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Turkiye, as the provisional government seeks global legitimacy. Recharging Syria policy Reacting to the meeting in Damascus, former Indian diplomat Zikrur Rahman said that India's outreach is in sync with its policy of wait and watch regarding Syria. 'India has not evacuated its embassy in Damascus since the crisis in Syria escalated and ended with the fall of the government of Bashar Al Assad. Therefore, it was a matter of time before India would formally reach out to the new rulers in Damascus and recharge its Syria policy in consultation with other regional partners like the Gulf countries,' said Prof Rahman. Syria is expected to adopt a new Constitution and India has supported the drafting of an inclusive Constitution. India's policy on the future of Syria has been reiterated on multiple occasions since the fall of the Assad government. A day after Mr. Assad fled to Moscow, the MEA's Mr. Jaiswal had said: 'We underline the need for all parties to work towards preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. We advocate a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process respecting the interests and aspirations of all sections of Syrian society.'
News18
41 minutes ago
- News18
No Leader Asked Us To Stop Op Sindoor, Pak Remote-Controls Congress: 5 Big Messages Of PM Modi
In a nearly two-hour-long speech in Parliament, PM Modi criticised Pakistan as well as the Congress and delved into history to expose the 'blunders' of the opposition party No leader in the world asked India to stop Operation Sindoor, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, contradicting US President Donald Trump's repeated claims of brokering an Indo-Pak ceasefire. The PM also lashed out at the Congress, saying that it had become Pakistan's spokesperson. In a nearly two-hour-long speech, PM Modi criticised Pakistan as well as the Congress and delved into history to expose the blunders of the opposition party for which, he said, India is still paying a price. Here are the five big messages from his speech: Countering Trump The Congress has been trying to corner PM Modi by citing Donald Trump's claims (made 29 times) that he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan using trade as bait. The Prime Minister set the record straight on Tuesday. 'On May 9, US Vice-President JD Vance tried to speak to me 3-4 times for over an hour, but I was in a meeting. I called him back—he said Pakistan will do a very big attack. I replied to him—if Pakistan has this intention, toh usse bahut mehnga padega (it will cost them dearly). I told Vance that we will do a bigger attack than Pakistan…that hum goli ka jawab gole se denge (we will respond to bullets with shells)," the Prime Minister told the Lok Sabha. Earlier, foreign minister S Jaishankar had told Parliament that President Trump and PM Modi never spoke during Operation Sindoor and how the Prime Minister stayed firm when JD Vance called him. 'Congress propagates Pakistan's propaganda' PM Modi said the Congress is dependent on Pakistan for issues. 'Compare Pakistan statements and those of the opposition—they are the same with full stops and commas. They speak the same language as Pakistan. The country is shocked that Congress has given a clean chit to Pakistan. They want evidence that Pahalgam attackers are Pakistanis. This is the same demand that Pakistan is making," he told Parliament. The PM said that the Congress does not trust any government minister or the government machinery despite being in power for so long. 'The Congress now works on Pakistan's remote control. A new Congress MP said Operation Sindoor was a tamasha. It was a sin to say so," PM Modi said. He appealed to the Congress to not support Pakistan under pressure from the Gandhi family and correct its mistake. Referring to Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari without naming them, he said the Congress had stopped some leaders from speaking in Parliament, though they were part of multi-party delegations on Operation Sindoor. The Prime Minister said no country stopped India from acting against terror, and at the UN, only 3 countries supported Pakistan. 'We got the world's support but it is unfortunate that Congress did not support us. They asked where is 56-inch chest, said Modi fail ho gaya—maza le rahe the, laga baazi maar li (they said Modi failed, they were having fun—thinking they won the narrative battle)," he said. The PM said Congress was doing politics even at the pain of the families of the Pahalgam victims. 'Their statements were lowering the morale of security forces. Congress is questioning Operation Sindoor. You cannot make space in the hearts of people like this," he said. PM Modi also delved into history to say that the Congress allowed terrorism to grow for vote-bank politics and weakened counter-terror laws. 'After the Parliament attack in 2001, a Congress leader had asked to give the benefit of the doubt to Pakistan. After 26/11, Congress leaders were adamant to declare it as a Hindu terror attack," he said. Operation Mahadev Success The Prime Minister also declared that India's security forces killed the terrorists of Pahalgam on Monday. 'But here it was asked by the opposition—why did it happen yesterday only? What has happened to these people (Congress)? It is disappointment at its highest level. Earlier, they asked where are Pahalgam attackers? Now we killed them and say why yesterday," he said. 'Terrorists and their masters are crying, and looking at them, some people (opposition) are also crying here. Now they say why did you stop Operation Sindoor? Wah re bayan bahaduron, aapko virodh ka koi na koi bahana chahiye (you love making statements but actually you just want to oppose for the sake of it). The whole country is laughing at you." He said the Congress earlier asked for evidence of surgical strikes done in 2016 and said surgical strikes also happened in the UPA tenure. 'In the Balakot air strikes, they asked for pictures. Pakistan also asked the same," the PM said. 'When pilot Abhinandan was caught, Pakistan was happy. But here too, some people were whispering that now Modi is in a fix. We got Abhinandan back. After Pahalgam, one BSF jawan was captured. They again thought Modi would be in a fix. The BSF jawan also came back." He said the Congress has never accepted the Kargil victory and never celebrated Kargil Vijay Diwas. 'The world knows whom Congress took briefing from when Doklam was happening," the PM said. He said some, like the Congress, want to forward Pakistan's agenda rather than believe India's army. Lesson Taught to Pakistan PM Modi said Pakistan now knows that India's every attack will be bigger than the previous one. 'India can do anything in the future if the need arises again. Operation Sindoor is still on. If Pakistan does anything, it will get a karara jawab (befitting reply). Our air defence systems neutralised 1,000 missiles and drones fired by Pakistan on May 9. Pakistan spread a lie of an attack on Adampur air base. I reached Adampur the next day to expose their lie," he said. The PM made some points very clear—India reached where its forces had never gone before, India smashed terror headquarters all over Pakistan, the neighbour's nuclear blackmail was proven a lie, and precision strikes at Pakistani airbases caused heavy damage, and they are 'still in ICU". He said Made in India drones and missiles exposed Pakistan's arsenal. 'Synergy between our forces shocked Pakistan. The new situation is that terror masterminds are not able to sleep. They know Bharat will come and maar ke jayega (kill them). This is a new normal that we have set. Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for terror," the PM said. He then spelt out the three new normals: 'We will reply to terror at the time and place of our choosing, no nuclear blackmail will work, and we won't differentiate between terrorists and states sponsoring them." The PM said India's targets were terrorist masterminds and their headquarters. 'We did our work, achieved our targets. Hence, we told Pakistan that this was our target and we have done it. We wanted to know what they are thinking. If Pakistan were intelligent, it would not have made the mistake of standing with terrorists. It shamelessly stood with terrorists. On May 10 morning, we gave them a lesson they will never forget," he said, revealing details about Operation Sindoor. 'Indian missiles rained fire across Pakistan, which they had never imagined, and we forced Pakistan to come to its knees." He pointed to the Pakistani PM's statement that he was in the swimming pool when India's attack began. 'Bahut mara, bas karo (You have hurt us a lot, it's enough), Pakistan pleaded to us in the DGMO call. We had said agar kuch karoge toh mehnga padega (if you try something, it will cost you dearly)," the PM said, explaining why the operation was paused. Exposing 'Past Blunders' of Congress The PM said the Congress now asks why India did not get back PoK, but first it has to answer whose government gave Pakistan the opportunity to occupy PoK. 'Whenever I speak of Nehru, Congress gets flustered. Lamhon ne khata ki, sadiyon ne saza payi. We are suffering to date that punishment. Aksai Chin was declared a wasteland by Nehru, and 38,000 sq feet of land was lost," he said. The PM said the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan was a big blunder by the Congress. He also said that the Congress wanted to withdraw the Army from Siachen. 'Just after the 26/11 attacks, the UPA had started to initiate talks with Pakistan. The Congress then gave Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan," he said. It was Nehru who started the Indus Waters Treaty, he underscored. 'Nehru ji and Congress decided to go to the World Bank on the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty. Nehru agreed to give 80% water to Pakistan. The Indus Waters Treaty was a big betrayal. Indus water belongs to Indians, its farmers. Nehru offered a huge amount of money to Pakistan to make canals," he said. top videos View all The PM also said that Islamabad made Nehru give in writing that India cannot clean its canals without discussing it with Pakistan. PM Modi said the Congress never corrected Nehru's blunder on the Indus Waters Treaty, but he has done so. About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister's More Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : congress Narendra Modi Operation Sindoor Pahalgam pakistan view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 29, 2025, 21:00 IST News politics No Leader Asked Us To Stop Op Sindoor, Pak Remote-Controls Congress: 5 Big Messages Of PM Modi Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
42 minutes ago
- News18
'No Mention Of Trump Or China': Rahul Gandhi On PM Modi's Op Sindoor Speech
Rahul Gandhi criticized PM Modi's Lok Sabha speech, noting he didn't mention Trump or China during the Operation Sindoor debate Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Friday reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha during the Operation Sindoor debate and said he did not mention US President Donald Trump or China. 'He never said it clearly that Trump was lying… In his entire speech, not once did he mention China. The whole nation knows that China helped Pakistan in every way, but the Prime Minister and Defence Minister never named China anywhere in their speeches," Gandhi said while speaking to reporters outside Parliament in New Delhi. In his speech, PM Modi said no world leader had asked India to stop the conflict with Pakistan. However, the PM did not name Trump, who has been repeatedly claiming to have stopped multiple conflicts, including India-Pakistan. 'No leader in the world asked India to stop its operation. On the night of the 9th (May 2025), during that time, the Vice President of the United States tried to get in touch with me. He kept trying for almost an hour, but I was in a meeting with our armed forces and couldn't take his call. Later, I called him informed me that Pakistan was planning a major attack. That's what he told me directly. My response (though some may not understand it) was clear: if Pakistan intends to carry out such an attack, it will have to pay a very heavy price. That's exactly what I told the U.S. Vice President," he said. The Prime Minister also accused Congress of spreading Pakistan's propaganda. 'On May 10, India decided to stop Operation Sindoor. Some people questioned the Indian forces and the operation itself. This propaganda was spread by Pakistan, and these individuals supported it by spreading falsehoods within India," he added. 'Ab Congress ka bharosa Pakistan ke remote control se banta hai'. Those who have some stature in Congress lack courage, and hence, they use newer leaders to speak absurd things. One leader of Congress called Operation Sindoor a 'tamasha' in the House," he added. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
