You find foreigners in Bihar poll list but not killers in Pahalgam: Owaisi to PM
"Were you sleeping? Was your administration sitting with their eyes shut while terrorists entered and killed our Hindu brothers?" Owaisi asked.Owaisi, who was a member of the government's all-party global outreach delegation on Operation Sindoor, took a dig at Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, saying, "Now in July, you're admitting your mistake."He was referring to Manoj Sinha's admission to an Indian news outlet that it was a "security failure," for which he took "full responsibility".'What happened in Pahalgam was very unfortunate; innocent people were brutally killed. I take full responsibility for the incident, which was undoubtedly a security failure. The common belief here has been that terrorists do not target tourists. The location where the attack took place is an open meadow,' Sinha told Times of India in an interview.The Hyderabad MP further asked PM Modi to focus on what is happening in the neighbourhood, claiming that India has been surrounded by China on all sides.Owaisi ended his speech, saying that Pahalgam is a "prime example of PM Modi government's security lapse."- EndsMust Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
17 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm due to Oppn protests over SIR discussion
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Monday due to noisy protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar and other issues. When the House met at 11 am, opposition MPs, including Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans and holding up placards. The opposition is demanding a discussion on the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of Assembly elections in the state. Speaker Om Birla said he has been trying every day to run the House smoothly but protesting members are systematically disrupting proceedings of the House. "You have been elected by lakhs of people to represent their hopes and aspirations and raise their issues. But you are not interested in allowing the House to function smoothly. You are lowering the dignity of the House by systematically obstructing the proceedings and by showing placards," he said. If the members have any issue they should come to him for discussions but should allow Question Hour to function smoothly as many important issues are raised during the time and government gives reply to them, Birla said "I will give each of you enough time to raise your issues like I did in the past but please allow the House to run," he said. However, the opposition ignored the speaker's pleas, forcing him to adjourn the House till 2 pm. Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in both Houses, Parliament has seen little business since the Monsoon session began on July 21 due to repeated adjournments. This was initially due to the opposition demand for discussion on Operation Sindoor and then demanding discussion over SIR in Bihar. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
17 minutes ago
- First Post
PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has imposed a ban on its players' participation in future World Championship of Legends (WCL) tournaments, citing bias and political interference after India forfeited matches. read more Lahore, Aug 3: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced a blanket ban on its players' participation in future editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), accusing the tournament organisers of being 'biased' and lacking sporting integrity. The decision follows a sequence of events in which the Indian team forfeited both their group-stage clash and semifinal against Pakistan, citing the country's stand against bilateral sporting ties with the neighbouring country after the gruesome Pahalagam terror attack. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL),' the PCB said in a statement after its board of governors meeting held virtually under the chairmanship of Mohsin Naqvi. The PCB also took strong exception to the WCL's decision to award points to India despite the forfeiture, calling it 'tainted with hypocrisy and bias.' India and Pakistan had been slated to meet in the group stage, but the Indian side – featuring Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Harbhajan Singh – refused to play, citing national sentiment following the terror attack and India's subsequent 'Operation Sindoor'. With India also pulling out of the semifinal, Pakistan advanced directly to the final. 'The PCB reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL's appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancellation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches, which were tainted with hypocrisy and bias.' Criticising the tournament's handling of the situation, the PCB said, 'The cancellation was not based on cricketing merit but on appeasing a specific nationalistic narrative. This sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community.' The board further stated that it could not allow its players to participate in events where 'the spirit of the game is overshadowed by skewed politics that undermine the very essence of sportsmanship and the gentleman's game.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The WCL, which is co-owned by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, had earlier issued an apology for 'hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions' following the cancellation of the group stage match. 'We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans,' the WCL had said. The PCB, however, termed the apology 'farcical,' accusing the organisers of caving to 'a specific nationalistic narrative.' 'The WCL's apology for 'hurting the sentiments', whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancellation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative,' the PCB said. 'This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community.' PCB said it had no choice but to implement the ban. 'In light of this unfortunate development, which underscores a clear and intolerable pattern of external influence and a disregard for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board is compelled to take a firm stance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The PCB can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures,' it added. Sources in the know of things have indicated that WCL's Indian promoters were already considering dropping the Pakistan team from future editions of the tournament.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
A year after bloody revolt, Bangladesh still far from political stability
Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after necessary reforms. A year on, Bangladesh is still reeling from that violence, and Hasina now faces trial for crimes against humanity, in absentia as she is in exile in India. But despite the bloodshed and lives lost, many say the prospect for a better Bangladesh with a liberal democracy, political tolerance and religious and communal harmony has remained a challenge. The hope of the thousands who braved lethal violence a year ago when they opposed Sheikh Hasina's abusive rule to build a rights-respecting democracy remains unfulfilled, said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights group. Stalled change Bangladesh's anti-government movement exacted a heavy price. Hundreds of people, mostly students, were killed in violent protests. Angry demonstrators torched police stations and government buildings. Political opponents often clashed with each other, sometimes leading to gruesome killings. Like many Bangladeshis, Tarif and his sister took part in the uprising, hoping for a broader political change, particularly after when one of their cousins was shot and killed by security forces. "We could not stay home and wanted Sheikh Hasina to go, 20-year-old Tarif said. Ultimately we wanted a country without any discrimination and injustice. Today, his hopes lie shattered. We wanted a change, but I am frustrated now, he said. After taking the reins, the Yunus-led administration formed 11 reform commissions, including a national consensus commission that is working with major political parties for future governments and the electoral process. Bickering political parties have failed to reach a consensus on a timetable and process for elections. Mob violence, political attacks on rival parties and groups, and hostility to women's rights and vulnerable minority groups by religious hardliners have all surged. Some of the fear and repression that marked Hasina's rule, and abuses such as widespread enforced disappearances, appear to have ended, rights groups say. However, they accuse the new government of using arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents, especially Hasina's supporters, many of whom have been forced to go into hiding. Hasina's Awami League party, which remains banned, says more than two dozen of its supporters have died in custody over the last one year. Human Rights Watch in a statement on July 30 said the interim government is falling short in implementing its challenging human rights agenda. It said violations against ethnic and other minority groups in some parts of Bangladesh have continued. The interim government appears stuck, juggling an unreformed security sector, sometimes violent religious hardliners, and political groups that seem more focused on extracting vengeance on Hasina's supporters than protecting Bangladeshis' rights, said Ganguly. Yunus' office routinely rejects these allegations. Growing political uncertainty Bangladesh also faces political uncertainty over a return to democratically held elections. Yunus has been at loggerheads with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, now the main contender for power. The party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has demanded elections either in December or February next year. Yunus has said they could be held in April. The interim government has also cleared the way for the Islamists, who were under severe pressure during Hasina's regime, to rise, while the student leaders who spearheaded the uprising have formed a new political party. The students' party demands that the constitution be rewritten, if needed entirely, and says it won't allow the election without major reforms. Meanwhile, many hardline Islamists have either fled prison or have been released, and the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party, which has a controversial past, is now aspiring to a role in government. It often bitterly criticizes the BNP, equating it with Hasina's Awami League, and recently held a massive rally in Dhaka as a show of power. Critics fear that greater influence of the Islamist forces could fragment Bangladesh's political landscape further. Any rise of Islamists demonstrates a future Bangladesh where radicalization could get a shape where so-called disciplined Islamist forces could work as a catalyst against liberal and moderate forces, political analyst Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said. Worries also remain over whether the government is ultimately capable of enacting reforms. People's expectation was (that) Yunus government will be focused and solely geared towards reforming the electoral process. But now it's a missed opportunity for them, Kalimullah said. A frustrated population For some, not much has changed in the last year. Meherunnesa's father, Mosharraf Hossain, said the uprising was not for a mere change in government, but symbolised deeper frustrations. We want a new Bangladesh It's been 54 years since independence, yet freedom was not achieved, he said. Tarif echoed his father's remarks, adding that he was not happy with the current state of the country. I want to see the new Bangladesh as a place where I feel secure, where the law enforcement agencies will perform their duties properly, and no government will resort to enforced disappearances or killings like before. I want to have the right to speak freely, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
