Sudanese coalition led by paramilitary RSF announces parallel Government
RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was announced head of the presidential council, while Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, head of the SPLM-N, one of the country's largest rebel groups, was made his deputy on a 15-member council.
Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian politician, was named prime minister, and regional governors were announced in a press conference from Nyala, the largest city in the Darfur region which the RSF controls most of.
The Sudanese army has pushed the paramilitaries out of the center of the country, while deadly fighting rages over the center-west Kordofan region and Darfur's traditional capital of al-Fashir.
In February, the RSF and its allied politicians and rebel groups agreed to form a government for a secular "New Sudan," aiming to challenge the army-led administration's legitimacy and secure advanced arms imports. The government announced on Saturday includes governors for regions of the country firmly controlled by the army.
The military led by career army officer General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had condemned the idea of the RSF creating a parallel government and promised to keep fighting until it controls all of Sudan, which has for years been plagued by conflicts, coups, poverty and hunger.
Dagalo, a former militia leader and one of Sudan's wealthiest people, known as Hemedti, was hit with sanctions by the U.S., which accused him of genocide earlier this year.
Burhan was sanctioned in January by the U.S., which accused him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
The two men had previously shared power after veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir's ouster in 2019. However, a 2021 coup by the two forces ousted civilian politicians, sparking a war over troop integration during a planned transition to democracy.
The Army has in recent weeks appointed a prime minister and permanent cabinet members for the first time since 2021.
The ongoing conflict has devastated Sudan, creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the country, with half the population facing spreading hunger and famine, according to the United Nations.
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Time of India
38 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘God Will Never Forgive Those Who Framed Us'
Mumbai/Pune: It has been painful to endure accusations for 17 years, Lt Col Prasad Purohit told TOI after being acquitted in the on Thursday. Purohit, currently stationed at an Army unit in Mumbai, said, "I did not do anything against my country. There is nothing above the nation. How can a serving army officer, who sacrificed so much while serving for the nation, be involved in acts of terrorism?" He spent almost nine years in jail. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "I lost the cream period of my active service, facing difficulties on multiple fronts - personal, professional, family, friendships, and societal. What was more painful was that my wife, children (2 sons) and my family members endured these painful years." At the time of arrest, Purohit was with the Army's corps of military intelligence. "I fought for justice to prove I was never involved in this. The journey was long and unbearable. But I had faith in the judiciary, and today's verdict is testament to my belief," he said. Pragya Thakur, dressed in saffron robes, sat in the witness box and broke down after the verdict was pronounced. "I was detained illegally for 13 days and tortured. I was living my life as a sanyasi and was labelled a terrorist. My life was destroyed by the allegations," she said, addressing the court. She added, "Ye bhagwa ki vijay hui hai, Hindutva ki vijay hui hai (Saffron has won, Hindutva has won)." She said she was happy at least the judge heard their side. "My life has become meaningful now. Whoever did wrong with us, God will never forgive them," she said. Referring to police in the courtroom, she said, "The way those people did illegal work within the law, our life has been ruined. I can't live a moment in peace. I want to keep myself alive; maybe I am alive because I am a sanyasi. You have defamed the bhagwa." Sudhakar Chaturvedi, another of the acquitted accused, said, "I was framed and tortured by police. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A bomb was planted at my house. My nails were plucked. It was not a Hindu-Muslim thing. A verdict has been delivered, not justice… It wouldn't be considered justice until those who framed us are charged." He added their legal battle was still on. "NIA has mentioned ATS planted a bomb at my house, and I was targeted due to my bhagwa attire," he said, adding that when he was taken into ATS custody, he was forced to take the names of Yogi Adityanand and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Major Ramesh Upadhyay (Retd) told TOI, "My family and I went through pain and agony for 17 years but today is a day of celebration. Life will be much happier for me after today… On this day, I remember Balasaheb Thackeray, who stood by us." Another acquitted accused, Sameer Kulkarni, said when he was arrested, he felt like "a dirty blame" had been put on him. He argued his case himself; he said if other accused had not hired a lawyer, the trial would have ended 15 years ago. He accused the defence and prosecution of prolonging it. The verdict, he said, "is a rebirth for us." Talking to media outside the court, Purohit said, "I am extremely grateful to the court and all those who stood by me for understanding the case and delivering justice... Malice is over, and it should not be there. We are a great country, a developing nation. I expect and wish everyone should contribute positively towards the country. Let's be forward-looking." (Reported by Mateen Hafeez, Shourya Avankhedkar, Pushkraj Vernekar, Prasad Kulkarni & Sandip Dighe)
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
India Announced Big Move As Pakistan Kept Watching: Sawalkot Hydropower Project On Chenab To Resume After 40 Years
Srinagar: The Sawalkot hydropower project lay buried in bureaucratic delays and geopolitical tensions for decades. Now, for the first time in 40 years, India has moved to bring the stalled dream back to life. Days after suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, New Delhi has given the green signal to resume work on the long-pending project along the Chenab river. The decision marks a strategic shift. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) floated international tenders on Wednesday for design and engineering work on the project. Located near the village of Sidhra in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, Sawalkot is designed to generate 1,856 megawatts of power. It could eventually become one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the region. The deadline for tender submission is set for September 10. Old Blueprint, New Push The Sawalkot project was conceptualised in the 1980s but never got off the ground. It ran into hurdles almost immediately. Pakistan raised repeated objections under the Indus Waters Treaty, arguing that such projects on western rivers violated the spirit of the agreement. While maintaining it was within its rights, India paused the process several times. There were domestic challenges too such as compensation for families in 13 affected villages, shifting a transit camp of the Army and getting forest clearance under environmental rules. All of this stalled any real progress. Now, many of those hurdles appear to have been cleared. Earlier this month, the Forest Advisory Committee gave in-principle approval to divert around 847 hectares of forest land for the project. The government has also waived the water usage fee for the NHPC, offering it a financial cushion. More Than a Dam The Centre sees Sawalkot as a national-level infrastructure need that is important not only for Jammu & Kashmir, but also for the wider push towards energy independence. It is a run-of-the-river project, meaning it will not require large reservoirs but will harness the natural flow of the Chenab to generate electricity. The estimated cost of the project is over Rs 22,700 crore, and it will be developed in two phases. A Treaty Under Stress When the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960, India got control over three eastern rivers, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej. Pakistan received rights over the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The treaty allowed India limited use of water from the western rivers for non-consumptive purposes, including hydropower. For years, India respected those limits. But with Pakistan using the treaty to repeatedly block projects, New Delhi's patience has thinned. By moving forward with Sawalkot now, India appears to be asserting its rights more strongly. A Political Legacy Revisited J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the power portfolio in the current administration, said the revival of Sawalkot was overdue. 'This project is very important. I had tried to restart it during my last tenure, but many roadblocks came in the way,' he said. He highlighted that the original work was stopped in 1996. His father and former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah, had tried to restart it with the help of a Norwegian consortium, but even that attempt failed. Later, under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's leadership, the project was shelved entirely. Now, nearly three decades later, the wheels are turning again. The Sawalkot dam might not just light up homes. It might light up a whole new phase in India's water diplomacy.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
Malegaon blast acquittals: ‘Army has always supported me,' says Lt Col Purohit; Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retd) thanks Bal Thackeray
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the seven Malegaon blast accused who were acquitted on Thursday, thanked the judiciary as well as his lawyers, including Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, who he said appeared for him in the case without taking any fee. Speaking to The Indian Express on the phone from Mumbai, Lt Col Purohit said, 'I am choosing not to talk specifics about the past 17 years and the case. But I want to say that I am thankful to the judiciary and to all my lawyers. 'All the lawyers fought pro bono for me, including the young lawyers. I am grateful to my lawyers, including late advocate Shrikant Shivade, Sadanand Phadke, senior counsel Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, and my young lawyers Viral Babar and Yasir Khan. They have put in their blood and sweat in this,' he said. An National Investigation Agency special court on Thursday acquitted Lt Col Purohit, BJP leader and former MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi in the case related to the September 29, 2008, blast that killed six people and injured 100 in Malegaon. The court held that the prosecution failed to provide cogent and reliable evidence and to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Lt Col Purohit further said, 'When wrong people rise to the position of power, national institutions get contaminated. Then the nation suffers, people like us suffer, and the common man suffers. And healthy organisations like the Army also suffer. When we suffer, the adversary gets the benefit…' 'I am extremely grateful to my motherland for having given me the opportunity to serve her. And now I am extremely grateful to the judiciary because I will again be able to serve my nation as a free man and an Army officer. I am also a believer in service beyond my service in uniform. So whenever I retire, I will keep serving my motherland,' he added. 'The Army has always supported me. Right from sepoys to generals, everyone has extended their affection, love and care to me. I never got a feeling that I was not being looked after. The Intelligence Corps and my parent regiment, Maratha Light Infantry, have taken care of me like a child in the family.' His wife Aparna Purohit told The Indian Express, 'I can only say that I am relieved. I guess I will take some more time to gather my thoughts.' Lt Col Purohit has been posted with an Army formation in Mumbai since he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the case in 2017. When the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad arrested him after the blast, Lt Col Purohit was stationed at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, undergoing training in the Arabic language at the Army Education Corps Training College and Centre. He was then attached to a liaison unit of the Army's Military Intelligence. Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), the other acquitted Malegaon blast accused with an Army background, thanked the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, besides his lawyers. 'I am grateful to my lawyers and all those who supported me in the difficult times. Balasaheb Thackeray stood by us. All allegations against me are proved false,' said Upadhyay, 73, while speaking to The Indian Express. Now residing in Pune, Upadhyay is a native of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh. The ATS arrested him in the case in 2008, and he got bail in 2017. Upadhyay contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 in Ballia as an independent candidate. Earlier, he contested the UP Assembly elections from Bairia in Ballia district on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket in 2012 with permission from the court. In 2020, he joined the Janta Dal (United), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The JD (U) then appointed Upadhyay as the state convener for its ex-servicemen cell in UP. 'I have left politics now. I would spend my life in social work,' he said on Thursday. Sameer Kulkarni, a Hindutva activist from Pune, said he lost valuable years of his life after being arrested in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, but was happy that finally justice had been delivered after the special NIA court acquitted him in the case. He had been out on bail since 2019. Kulkarni was a resident of the Pimpri-Chinchwad area. He was known to be a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the past. Investigators alleged that he was an active member of the secretive Abhinav Bharat outfit and was involved in the bomb blast conspiracy. But, in a press conference in Pune in April 2019, Kulkarni claimed that he had heard about the Malegaon blasts only after the ATS detained him. He further claimed that then ATS chief Hemant Karkare believed he was innocent and would have removed his name from the case, but was killed in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
