Pakistan Army deploys Chinese artillery closer to LoC & IB, indicate reports
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New Delhi: A day after ' Operation Sindoor ' in which more than 100 terrorists were neutralised by security forces, multiple reports have now emerged pointing to the deployment of Chinese artillery, namely SH-15, by the Pakistan Army, security officials aware of the matter said. The systems have been deployed closer to the International Border and Line of Control (LoC), they added.According to reports, the SH-15 was inducted by the People Liberation Army between 2018 and 2020 and has since been exported to several countries, including Pakistan, which signed a contract in 2019 for the delivery of 236 SH-15 artillery systems. The SH-15 systems have a wide range of ammunition, including precision-guided munition developed by Norinco that can achieve a maximum range of 53 km with rocket-assisted projectiles. Chinese defence company, Norinco, has been banned in United States.Pakistan Army had, in the past too, procured Chinese equipment such as satellite phones and provided them to terrorists in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) which were later found to be active in Jammu and Kashmir. Several Chinese equipment such as satellite phones and Chinese apps and navigation systems were being used by foreign militants in Jammu and Kashmir , added another official. The fresh assessment carried out by various security agencies has pegged the number of foreign militants in the border state to more than 75 militants. The presence of foreign militants, despite the Army and Border Security Force (BSF) claiming "zero infiltration", has been a cause of concern among the security agencies.Among the active foreign militants, most of them are affiliated to LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen . All the three groups have been banned by the Union home ministry under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967."Lashkar has the largest presence of militants in the valley and its offshoot The Resistance Force (TRF) has been involved in several attacks on security personnel and civilians in the past. It came into existence in 2019 and has been banned under UAPA," explained another official.Investigators have so far not ruled out the involvement of the same group from The Resistance Force (TRF) which had been earlier involved in the 2023 Dangri attack and the 2024 Reasi bus attack. They however said that there is no clear breakthrough into the identity of attackers involved in the Pahalgam attack."TRF, which later backtracked their claim on the Pahalgam attack, seems to have done so due to pressure from Pakistan. They are very much active online and their identity will be revealed soon," explained an official.
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Hans India
30 minutes ago
- Hans India
Artist and his wife flee to UK after China forces censorship of their exhibition in Bangkok: Report
Burmese artist Sai was three weeks back celebrating the opening of an art exhibition he had curated with his wife at one of the top galleries in Thailand. However, their exhibition regarding authorities' repression was censored after angering the Chinese government. The couple has now fled to the UK, where they plan to request asylum. According to the couple, Thai police are looking for them. However, a police spokesperson denied having knowledge about it. Human rights advocates have criticised the situation, terming it an example of transnational repression, BBC News reported. Sai said his exhibition, which featured exiled artists from countries like China, Russia, and Iran, opened at the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre on July 26 and witnessed the frequent visits of Chinese embassy representatives along with Bangkok city officials. The show, titled 'Constellation of Complicity: Visualising the Global Machine of Authoritarian Solidarity', aims to showcase how authoritarian regimes work together in repression, according to one official description. Sai accused Chinese officials of registering complaints about works by Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong artists, and initially called for a complete shutdown of the show. However, he stated that the arts centre managed to negotiate a compromise that enabled the continuation of the exhibition after sensitive artworks and elements of art installations were removed. According to the BBC News report, several artists' names in the exhibition were covered up with black paint in the descriptions of artworks. Furthermore, the artists' homeland description was partially covered with black paint to hide references to Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang. The majority of the censored artworks included the artworks of Tibetan artist Tenzin Mingyur Paldron. Furthermore, television screens placed during the exhibition to showcase films by the artist, including one about the Dalai Lama, had been switched off. Tibetan and Uyghur flags, a novel about a Tibetan family in exile, and a postcard about China, Israel and Xinjiang were also removed from the exhibition. Speaking to BBC News, a gallery staff member said that many people came to see the exhibition in recent days after censorship news went viral online. There was an email where the centre said that they had been "warned that the exhibition may risk creating diplomatic tensions between Thailand and China". The email also mentioned that they made the adjustments "due to pressure from the Chinese embassy" transmitted through the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Bangkok city government, which is the centre's main supporter. In response to BBC queries, a statement by the Chinese embassy accused the exhibition of openly promoting Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong independence. It further stated that Thailand's "timely measures" demonstrated that such a "false notion" has "no market internationally and is unpopular." It further stated that the exhibition "disregards facts... distorts China's policies on Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong, and harms China's core interests and political dignity". The statement did not refer to allegations that its officials had pressured Thai authorities and the arts centre. The curators of the show and the artists of the exhibition have rejected accusations made by China. Paldron said his films "conveyed stories from the heart and sent a message of global solidarity." Paldron further stated that the censorship was part of a Chinese "campaign of erasure and suppression" of Tibetans around the world. Speaking to BBC News, Sai said instead of independence from China, "we promote freedom of expression, self-determination, and self-identification... basic human rights." He further stated, "Our exhibition gives space for artists who resist authoritarianism. These are voices often silenced in their own country. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party tries to shut it down proves the very point they are making." Sai and his wife fled to the UK as they were worried about being deported back to Myanmar, where Sai believes he will be persecuted for his activism against the junta. Two days after the exhibition began, the couple, while heading to their home in Bangkok, realised that Thai police were looking for them. The couple received texts from gallery staff informing them about the police's visit to the exhibition and that officers had asked for the contact numbers of the couple. At the moment, Sai said that "we realised we had to leave the country". The couple booked tickets for the earliest flight to the UK. Thailand's national police spokesman Achayon Kraithong stated that he had not received any information that police personnel were looking for Sai. The couple had fled their homeland in 2021 following the military coup in Myanmar. The couple had eventually settled in Thailand and decided to put on their art show in Bangkok, as a large Burmese community resides there and also because Sai said, "Thailand plays a critical role to promote peace and stability for Myanmar... It's a secure place." He said that he no longer feels this way. "Because of our activism, the targeting by authoritarian regimes against us has multiplied... my wife and I have no choice but to seek asylum in the UK." Lord Alton of Liverpool, chair of the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights, said that Sai's case demonstrates the outreach of China's campaign of "transnational repression" and expressed support for Sai's bid for asylum, according to the report. 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Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
S&P rating upgrade: how India earned it and what lies ahead
Last week was turning out to be a great one for the Indian economy even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a raft of reforms in his Independence Day speech. A day earlier, S&P Global Ratings had upgraded its rating on India to BBB from BBB-. The sovereign rating upgrade by S&P is significant for two key reasons. One, it came after a gap of nearly two decades; and two, it has meaningful implications for the Indian economy. India's upgrade pursuit The Indian government has over the last several years aggressively pursued the three global agencies — S&P, Moody's, and Fitch Ratings — for higher ratings that, in its opinion, better reflect the economy's fundamentals. In fact, New Delhi has repeatedly expressed its displeasure over the agencies' methodologies, saying they were biased against emerging economies. The Economic Survey for 2020-21 even had a chapter titled 'Does India's Sovereign Credit Rating reflect its fundamentals No!'. 'The rating of India did not capture India's fundamentals for almost a decade,' Soumya Kanti Ghosh, State Bank of India's Group Chief Economic Adviser, said in a note on August 14. So, what has convinced S&P that now is a good time for India to be given an upgrade? Steady economic improvement The primary reason is clarity on the government's finances. While the Centre has had a law called the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act since 2003 — it demands reducing the annual fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of GDP — it has rarely been met. In fact, only once since the Act's enactment has the Centre's fiscal deficit fallen below 3 per cent, in 2007-08, and that was primarily due to some financial jugglery. It was in January 2007 that S&P had last upgraded its rating on India. However, post the coronavirus pandemic, the fiscal deficit has been reduced aggressively from 9.2 per cent in 2020-21 to a targeted 4.4 per cent in 2025-26. 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As per latest data, India's headline inflation rate had fallen to 1.55 per cent in July — the lowest since mid-2017. Low and stable inflation is crucial to foreign investors as sharp increases in prices can erode their investments, weaken growth and the domestic currency, and create social unrest — all factors that can lead to a rating downgrade. A credit rating is nothing more than a measure of an entity's creditworthiness, or how likely it is that they may pay back borrowed money. If you pay back your loans and credit card bills on time and in full, your credit score improves. It is the same for countries. Most countries need to borrow money every year to fund some of their expenditures. The difference between the total income and the expenditure for a year is the fiscal deficit; the Indian government's is Rs 15.69 lakh crore for 2025-26. This has to be met by borrowing money from the markets, with the government paying interest on it. Now, if the government is seen as being more likely to repay the loan — which is what a higher credit rating indicates — then the rate of interest is lower. According to Madhavi Arora, Chief Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, the rating upgrade 'can open the door for new pools of global funds' capital', resulting in 'lower cost of funding across macro agents' curves, including corporates — especially those borrowing abroad'. The rating scale To be sure, India's rating level with S&P has itself not changed — the country remains in the BBB category. It's just that it has gone from the lowest edge of it, or BBB-, to a more secure position. The next step would be BBB+. So where does the move to BBB put India on the rating scale? Ratings are divided into two rough classes: investment and speculative grades. Entities, including countries, in the former class are worth investing in, while repayment of loans taken by those in the latter is difficult to predict. But even within the investment grade, there are steps, and BBB is the lowest. According to S&P, a BBB rating indicates 'adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions'. The next step is A, then AA, and finally, AAA, which signifies 'extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments'. Who stands where Alongside India, S&P has the likes of Greece, Mexico, and Indonesia at BBB. Just above it, at BBB+, are Botswana (negative outlook), Bulgaria, Italy, Thailand, Uruguay (all stable outlook), and Philippines (positive outlook) A positive outlook puts a rating closer to an upgrade, while a negative outlook makes a downgrade more likely. Above this, with an A- rating, are countries such as Cyprus, Poland, and Malaysia. And right at the top of the tree, with AAA rating, are the richest countries in the world — Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Germany, among others. The richest countries are not guaranteed the best rating. Take the US, for instance, which was downgraded to AA+ by S&P in August 2011 — the first time the world's largest economy had ever been assigned any rating lower than AAA — days after the US Congress raised the country's debt ceiling. More recently, Moody's Ratings in mid-May 2025 lowered its rating on the US to Aa1 from Aaa reflecting 'the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns'. What's next? The implications of a better credit rating are clear — the Indian government should be able to borrow at a lower rate of interest. This has already occurred, with government bond yields in the secondary market on August 14 falling as much as 10 basis points, with the rupee's exchange rate also getting a boost. What about the next upgrade? Helpfully, S&P said on August 14 that it may further raise India's rating if the fiscal deficit of the Centre and states falls below 6 per cent of GDP on a structural basis. This, however, is a 'tough ask', according to Arora of Emkay Global. S&P itself expects the combined fiscal deficit to decline only to 6.6 per cent in 2028-29 from 7.8 per cent in 2024-25.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Astaranga IIC suspended for gross misconduct
BHUBANESWAR: Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania on Friday suspended Rajesh Baliarsingh, inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Astaranga police station in Puri, for gross misconduct and dereliction of duty. During the suspension period, he will remain under the disciplinary control of Central Range IG. Sources said Baliarsingh was suspended over his alleged links with ganja smugglers active in Koraput district. Even after getting promoted to inspector rank and being transferred to Puri district, Baliarsingh reportedly continued to keep contact with the ganja smugglers, said sources. Earlier in the week, Koraput police had summoned Baliarsingh and asked him to appear before them at a police station in Bhubaneswar for questioning in this regard. He appeared before a team of Koraput police officers, but left without their knowledge and answering their questions. On being asked whether Baliarsingh was involved in any particular case registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Koraput, district, SP Rohit Verma said a detailed probe has been launched in connection with the allegations against the police officer.
