
Daily Briefing: India readies response to Pahalgam
With the much-anticipated England Test series set to begin in late June, India's leadership puzzle is gaining intrigue. Jasprit Bumrah, the current vice-captain, is unlikely to feature in all five Tests as part of a broader workload management strategy. Despite leading India to their solitary win during their tour in Australia, Bumrah's role could be limited this time. Sources suggest the selectors are wary of the ace seamer's injury-prone past and want a leader who will play the whole series. They also want a younger face as the vice-captain, opening the doors for rising stars like Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant.
On that note, let's get to today's edition.
Big Story
India's response to Pakistan in the wake of the April 21 Pahalgam terror attack is gathering pace. The Air Force and Navy chiefs briefed the Prime Minister on their preparedness on Sunday. This comes even as India has stepped up its diplomatic measures against Pakistan over the weekend. These measures included a complete ban on all imports from Pakistan, the suspension of all postal services to and from the country, and a ban on Pakistani ships from docking at Indian ports.
Escalation: Reports indicate that Pakistan has placed its troops along the Line of Control (LoC) on high alert and has prepared detachments of heavy weapons in response to these developments. Ever since the attack, Pakistan has been constantly violating the ceasefire along the LoC with unprovoked firing. According to the Army, these violations, which were previously confined to one or two sectors, have now spread across multiple sectors, particularly in areas where Pakistani troops hold the terrain advantage.
Only in Express
Kiren Rijiju helms the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs at a critical juncture for India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack and the Waqf Amendment Bill. Rijiju joined us for the latest edition of Idea Exchange to speak about the challenges going forward and to give an inside view on the government deliberations on these matters.
From the Front Page
What's cooking? In a significant scientific breakthrough, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said it has developed the world's first genome-edited (GE) rice varieties. These varieties offer superior yields, drought tolerance, and high nitrogen-use efficiency traits. Crucially, GE differs from 'genetic modification' (GM) of plants as it does not introduce foreign DNA to the host.
Frosty relations: India suspended the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, which divided the waters of six rivers between India and Pakistan, last week. But even before the treaty was put in abeyance, scientists had discussed redrawing it, factoring in climate change. Leading glaciologist Anil V Kulkarni sheds light on the glaring gaps in the IWT.
Must Read
Steal: In 2019, JSW Steel Ltd acquired the debt-ridden Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) for a whopping Rs 19,350 crore. Four years later, the Supreme Court rejected JSW Steel's resolution plan for BPSL, marking a shocking end to the longest-running insolvency saga in India. The court has ordered BPSL's liquidation, which, if carried through, would be the biggest-ever liquidation in the history of the corporate sector. What does this mean for JSW Steel and the future of BPSL? We break it down for you.
Cracks: The ambitious Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project (KLIP) in Telangana was to be the biggest of its kind in the world. A brainchild of then-Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, work on KLIP, the 'crown jewel' of his BRS government, began in June 2019. Four years on, the new Congress government in the state calls it the 'biggest man-made disaster since Independence', questioning its structural integrity. Read our explainer on what's ailing the Kaleshwaram project.
And Finally…
Meet the latest victim of the Trump tariff saga: films! He proclaimed that the American movie industry was 'dying' in the face of incentives offered by other countries to draw studios away from the US. To counter this 'national security threat,' the Trump administration plans to impose 100 per cent tariffs on 'any and all movies produced in foreign lands.' The announcement has left many things unclear. Does this include foreign-language films? What of films produced in the US but shot across international locales?
🎧 Don't miss the latest episode of the '3 Things' podcast. Today's lineup: The caste census debate, a water-sharing row between Punjab and Haryana, and the suspension of Air India flights to Tel Aviv.
That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
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Indian Express
4 minutes ago
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When US promised not to let Pakistan down: ‘If there is another attack, we will react violently'
Post Operation Sindoor, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir was hosted by the United States and, if news reports are correct, he is again headed to America for a second visit in three months. The US has always maintained friendly relations with Pakistan, even during conflicts with India, and this was amply demonstrated before and after the 1971 war. There were active attempts by the US at the highest level of President Richard Nixon and his advisor on national security affairs, Henry Kissinger, to channel military aid to Pakistan through Jordan and Iran. In this week's column, we look at how, post the 1971 war, the US reassured Pakistan that it would stand by it if India initiated any military action against what was then West Pakistan, and also considered a Pakistani offer of military bases on Pakistani soil for the US. The memorandum of a conversation in the US State Department Archives for March 29, 1972, records a meeting where Nixon, Kissinger, and Aziz Ahmed, secretary-general of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, and many others participated. Kissinger referred to how 'we went through tragic days together in December (1971)' and said that Pakistan enjoyed the US' goodwill. He further said it was important for Pakistan to get through the next six months, and felt that it was inconceivable that there would be an Indian attack before the forthcoming summit meeting in Moscow, or even for some time after that. 'Dr. Kissinger continued that the President makes the policy, and 'we won't let Pakistan down. If there is another attack, we will react violently'. He noted that we have told the Indian Ambassador that we cannot cut off military aid to Pakistan unless India is prepared to forego Soviet military aid. We have said that we will not restore the $87 million of aid that had been suspended,' the memorandum records Kissinger as saying. He went on to say that the US did not believe that one country should have the right to impose its will on its neighbours. 'The President has very warm feelings for Pakistan,' he added. Aziz Ahmed expressed concerns that India had moved three Army divisions to the West Pakistani border. 'General Manekshaw has gone to Moscow, presumably to seek equipment to replace India's war losses. India is going ahead—with whatever plans it has-either exerting pressure on Pakistan for the negotiations or for a more serious attack. There has been some thought that the Indians would seize Azad Kashmir. The Chinese, however, felt that an attack on Azad Kashmir would be unlikely until after President Nixon's visit to Moscow,' he said. On March 17, 1971, US Secretary of State William P Rogers wrote a memorandum to President Nixon titled 'President Bhutto's Proposals for Closer Military Collaboration'. This memo discussed specific proposals, which involved: The memo further quotes the Pakistani Defence Secretary Ghias Uddin Ahmed as suggesting that Pakistani military facilities could be made available to the US if that country wished. 'He said this would include facilities on land or at ports. With regard to the latter, he mentioned locations along the Arabian Sea coast, including (from west to east) Jiwani, Gwadar, Sonmiani Bay, Karachi, and the area south and east of Karachi. He thought the US might be interested in developing a port such as at Gwadar, which would be important for the economic development of that region of Pakistan,' the memo notes. The reason for this approach, Ghias said, was that Pakistan now faced an entirely new situation after the recent war, when it had suffered defeat by India with Soviet collaboration. The Pakistani Government was increasingly concerned about the intentions of both the Soviets and the Indians. 'Pakistan needed to bolster up its defenses in order to provide some credible deterrent. Ghias acknowledged that Pakistan was now only a small fraction compared to India in size and strength. He went on [to say] that Pakistan could not contemplate attacking India, but it needed some assurance about its defense. In this regard, he thought Pakistan would be looking to closer defense collaboration with Iran and Turkey, and seeking to improve its relations with Afghanistan,' the memo says. Ghias also referred to close Soviet collaboration with Indians both at the port of Visakhapatnam and on the Andaman Islands, which he interpreted as providing important naval facilities for the USSR. A month earlier, on February 3, 1972, President Nixon had a meeting with the US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Keating, and Henry Kissinger. Referring to India and Pakistan, President Nixon said, 'Neither country should be a country. They are too poor, too bloodthirsty'. Ambassador Keating responded, 'Yes, there should be a regional solution, like the EEC (European Economic Community)'. President Nixon was of the opinion that India shouldn't waste its resources fighting Pakistan and that China was India's bigger problem. 'Let me give you my view. I'll tell you what I'll do. I am afraid they'll leak it, so of course we can't announce it. Let me tell you where we went wrong. I was too soft on Mrs. Gandhi. When she was here. I led her on. If we were going to restrain them at all, we should have been tougher. I am not mad at Mrs. Gandhi. She has not had a better friend in this office than me. I have taken the line that India should have to compete with the PRC. I have always defended India,' he said. Nixon went on to say that India has a friend in the White House. 'They should know this. We are going to China for reasons of our own. We took action on India because our law requires it. In reality, we are India's best friend. Right, Henry?,' he said. Henry Kissinger gave a guarded reply, reflecting his pro-Pakistan stance. 'That is true. But we must move at a measured pace,' he said.


Mint
4 minutes ago
- Mint
Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers caught in wrong-number chaos as Rajat Patidar calls police on Chattisgarh boys
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Hindustan Times
4 minutes ago
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