ABVP demands action against Cochin University B Tech Alumni Association for hosting Pak cricketers in Dubai
Kochi (Kerala) [India], May 31 (ANI): The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has demanded strong action against the Cochin University B Tech Alumni Association (CUBAA) members for hosting Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul at a public event in Dubai last week.
In an email memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ABVP Kerala State Secretary EU Eswaraprasad on Thursday called for immediate intervention, alleging that the event extended honour and hospitality to individuals known for anti-India rhetoric.
In a letter to PM Modi, ABVP said, 'This is to bring to your attention an event that took place in the UAE, which is of anti-national interest. On 2025 May 25, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala alumni group named Cochin University BTech Alumni Association- CUBAA, mainly operating in UAE, has given a Kerala model reception to Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi and Omar Gul in a program being organised on the stage provided by the Pakistan embassy.'
'Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, who are notorious for their frequent anti-Indian remarks, were given a warm reception. The Pahalgam attack against Innocent Indian civilians by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and the counter terrorism attack, Operation Sindoor, have made the country stay united against terrorism and the people who support it. It was not just a coincidence, but a well-planned propaganda. Pakistani media gave maximum publicity that the 'Indian community gives warm welcome to Shahid Afridi in Dubai.'
'They are trying to portray that the Government of India and the Indian community have different stands towards Pakistan. In this context, we request you to investigate the propaganda behind this act and to take stringent action on this matter. We request you to suspend the passports of all who are behind this act, who organised this event which was against our national interest,' the letter read.
In a diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, the PM 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 the countries they are assigned to.
The delegations aim 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.
The seven delegations are visiting 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.
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. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
14 minutes ago
- News18
LeT, Jaish Tap Bangladesh Radical Networks, Use Campuses To Target Indian Students
Last Updated: Top intelligence sources reveal Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed have joined hands with radical groups in Bangladesh, opening a new front to radicalise Indian youth, CNN-News18 has learnt from top intelligence sources. A recent speech by Saifullah Kasuri, aka Khalid, in Kasur, Lahore, which has gone viral and is now circulating among radical groups, referenced Bengal and the division of the region on May 28. The speech is being actively used in radical circles to fuel propaganda. Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation. These India-based groups are also collaborating with Jamaat-e-Islami, creating a cross-border ideological network. LeT's exploitation of Bangladeshi universities is built on three key pillars: ideological alignment with local radicals, institutional decay, and cross-border impunity. Backed by ISI, LeT operates through multi-layered strategies combining ideological networks, institutional vulnerabilities, and cross-border operational logistics. LeT coordinates with Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir to infiltrate campuses. Shibir grants access to student networks, hostels, and Islamic study circles, which are then used for recruitment. Following the restoration of Jamaat-e-Islami's legitimacy post-2024, this access has become more streamlined. Groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both linked to LeT, operate madrasas near universities. These madrasas indoctrinate students with Wahhabi-Salafi ideologies, framing education as jihad for Islamic revival. UK-based front organisations have also funded radical madrasas that later recruit university students. Shibir members invite Indian students into Islamic study circles, blending religious discussions with LeT propaganda videos. Events at the University of Dhaka have glorified Kashmir terrorists killed as martyrs. LeT's attack footage from India is shared through encrypted apps such as Telegram and Signal, with videos from incidents like the Pahalgam attacks being circulated to incite anti-India sentiments. Radical groups offer scholarships, flood relief, and financial aid to economically vulnerable Indian students. Following the 2024 floods, Jamaat distributed aid along with radical literature. Senior student 'mentors" isolate Indian youth, presenting radicalisation as identity preservation, while enforcing conservative dress codes such as beards and veils to build group loyalty. LeT is also using Bangladesh as a transit hub. Indian students radicalised in Dhaka or Chittagong are sent to LeT camps in Pakistan via Myanmar or Nepal, often under the guise of educational tours. They portray India as oppressing Muslims, leveraging events like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and incidents of communal violence, such as the 2023 temple vandalism to validate jihadist narratives. The post-2024 interim government in Bangladesh lifted bans on Jamaat-e-Islami and allied groups, appointing radicals to key positions, including the Hizb-ut-Tahrir founder as Home Secretary. This has enabled LeT affiliates like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) to operate openly on campuses. Government concessions to Hefazat-e-Islam, such as compulsory Islamic education, allow madrasas to teach jihadist ideologies unchallenged. Universities have also adopted gender-segregated curricula, normalising extremist norms. Bangladesh's lax NGO oversight, coupled with hundi remittances and money laundering—both significant contributors to its GDP—allow LeT to mask funding as charitable donations. LeT receives funds via NGOs from the Middle East, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, under the pretext of reviving Islamic heritage and campus charities. Radicalised students returning to India are deployed as operatives. HuJI-B, JMB, and LeT proxies maintain around 40 sleeper cells in Assam and Nagaland, using Bangladesh-trained Indians to carry out attacks. LeT has also utilised Bangladeshi routes for India-bound operations. The 2025 Pahalgam attack involved a LeT operative who had met a Bangladeshi official prior to the operation. Anti-minority violence in Bangladesh — where nearly 2,200 Hindu-targeted incidents were reported in 2024 — spills over into India, intensifying Hindu-Muslim tensions and aiding in jihadist recruitment.
Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Polish nationalist Karol Nawrocki wins presidency in setback for pro-EU government
Nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland's presidential election, results showed on Monday, delivering a major blow to the centrist government's efforts to cement Warsaw's pro-European orientation. In a victory for European conservatives inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, Nawrocki secured 50.89% of the vote, election commission data showed, an outcome that presages more political gridlock as he is likely to use his presidential veto to thwart Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal policy agenda. Tusk's government has been seeking to reverse judicial reforms made by the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, but current President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has blocked its efforts – a pattern Nawrocki is likely to continue. Nawrocki's rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal Warsaw mayor who was standing for Tusk's ruling Civic Coalition (KO), got 49.11%, the data showed. Both candidates had declared victory immediately after the publication of an exit poll late on Sunday that showed the result would be very close. Nawrocki, a conservative historian and amateur boxer who was backed by PiS, had presented the vote as a referendum on Tusk's 18-month-old government. 'The referendum on the dismissal of the Tusk government has been won,' PiS lawmaker Jacek Sasin wrote on X. Poland's blue-chip stock index shed more than 2% in early trade on Monday as investors anticipated more political paralysis. The zloty currency also fell versus the euro. Nawrocki, like his predecessor Duda, is expected to block any attempts by the Tusk government to liberalise abortion or reform the judiciary. The EU took the previous PiS government to court over its judical reforms, saying they undermined the rule of law and democratic standards. Sunday's run-off vote in Poland came just two weeks after Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, had dealt a blow to hard-right and nationalist forces in central Europe by winning that country's presidential contest. Congratulations poured in from other nationalist and eurosceptic politicians in the region. The defeated hard-right candidate in Romania's election, George Simion, wrote on X 'Poland WON', while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed a 'fantastic victory'. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was convinced the EU could continue its 'very good cooperation' with Poland. Nawrocki, 42, a newcomer to politics who previously ran a national remembrance institute, campaigned on a promise to ensure economic and social policies favour Poles over other nationalities, including refugees from neighbouring Ukraine. He vowed to protect Poland's sovereignty and railed against what he said was excessive interference in the country's affairs from Brussels. While Poland's parliament holds most power, the president can veto legislation, and the vote was being watched closely in Ukraine as well as Russia, the United States and the EU. Borys Budka, a KO Member of the European Parliament, said he believed PiS now sought to 'overthrow the legal government'. 'This may be a big challenge for the government, which will be blocked when it comes to good initiatives,' he told state news channel TVP Info. Nawrocki won despite his past dominating the last days of the presidential campaign – from questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner to an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls. Turnout was 71.31%, the electoral commission said, a record for the second round of a presidential election
Mint
21 minutes ago
- Mint
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says Pakistan airspace ban adding to flying costs
The continuing ban for Indian airlines in using Pakistani airspace is adding flying hours for non-stop flights and will weigh down Air India Ltd.'s path to profitability, its top executive said in an interview. 'The impact is significant but we have been able to sustain non-stop operations' to most destinations in North America and Europe, Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said in a Bloomberg TV interview Monday. 'It'll certainly hit our bottomline.' The airspace curbs have increased flying time for west-bound flights from India by an hour or so, according to Wilson, who declined to give details on the discussions the Tata Group-owned carrier was having with stakeholders on this front. The armed conflict between India and Pakistan that erupted May 7 was the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades, with both sides trading drone and missile strikes besides artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by a gruesome attack on civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. While a ceasefire was announced on May 10, Pakistan has extended the airspace ban for Indian airlines until June 24. Geopolitical strife has been complicating flying routes and business models for airlines globally in the past few years as they skirt conflict zones. Tariffs are also now a closely watched development for the sector. 'We want certainty. Uncertainty is difficult when you are making investment decisions,' Wilson said, adding that this was a common theme at the ongoing aviation industry event in New Delhi. So far, Air India sees no impact of tariffs on travel flows for its geography and markets. The recent showdown between the US President Donald Trump and Harvard University has added another layer of complication for international fliers especially those looking to study in American institutions. Pointing to anecdotal stories, Wilson said that there seems to be some shift in the large student population from India that usually vies to be on US campuses. 'You hear people thinking of alternatives,' he said. 'Obviously, it's a relatively new development, so people are still digesting it but it does seem that people are more willing to look at alternative locations than perhaps they were before.' Wilson, who steered the massive merger of Tata-owned carriers Air India and Vistara last year, declined to comment on media stories on the airline's discussions with plane makers to buy more narrowbody jets. Air India, the unprofitable carrier which the Tata conglomerate acquired from the Indian government in 2021, will start receiving new planes it had ordered toward the end of this year, according to Wilson. The deliveries are 'later than we hoped, slower than we hoped,' he said. 'It is constraining our ambitions a little bit in the short term but the long term opportunity for this market is massive, so we are very, very confident.' More stories like this are available on Disclaimer: This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
