Beaten, Burnt, Shot: Inside Pakistan Army's Brutal Kill-And-Dump Policy In Balochistan
The model, which mirrors Pakistan's past strategy in Kashmir, is designed to avoid direct army casualties. Punjabi-dominated military and intelligence units, including the Frontier Corps (FC) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), now provide arms and funds to tribal leaders like Shafiq Mengal of the Musallah Defah Tanzeem to target alleged BLA sympathisers.
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Indian Express
39 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Service Norms of Akal Takht jathedar: SGPC removes GNDU V-C from panel days after his interaction with RSS chief
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Friday removed Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Karamjit Singh from the committee formed to frame service norms for the Akal Takht's Jathedar, the move coming days after he made some comments during a discussion with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, which have been perceived as offensive to the sentiments of the Sikh community. 'A video circulating on social media shows Dr Karamjit Singh expressing views aligned with an anti-Sikh ideology during his conversation with the head of the RSS,' SGPC secretary Partap Singh said. 'In light of objections raised by the community, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has taken the step to remove Dr Karamjit Singh from the aforementioned committee,' he added. The Akal Takht in July 2004, had issued a directive asking all Sikhs to remain cautious about the activities of RSS and its Sikh wing — Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. The directive was issued as both bodies were at the time taking proactive steps to celebrate 400th anniversary of first installation of Guru Granth Sahib, something that had irked the Akal Takht. The GNDU, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the Vice-Chancellor had attended a programme organised by Amrita University, Kochi, which brought together V-Cs from various institutions. 'The purpose of this gathering was to strengthen academic collaboration and share information about initiatives being undertaken at their respective universities,' it said. During the event, V-C Singh shared details about the institution's efforts to digitize the Punjabi language as a response to modern needs, environmental initiatives inspired by Sri Guru Har Rai Ji, and the university's role in promoting Sikh philosophy, it said. The university further said that misleading statements based on incomplete information about the event are being circulated on social media, and such claims are far from the truth. The university urged the public not to believe or spread unverified or misleading information. Earlier, Punjab Congress MLA Pargat Singh had raised objections after a video purportedly showing GNDU V-C briefing Bhagwat at the Mysuru event on July 28 surfaced. The allaged interaction took place at the 'Gyan Sabha – Education for Viksit Bharat', an event organised by Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at BN Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences (BNBIMS). The event focused on the role of education in building a developed India. Pargat criticised the Punjab government, accusing it of ideological alignment with the RSS. Taking to X, he posted: 'When GNDU's Vice-Chancellor is seen abjectly explaining things to the RSS chief, it raises serious questions. It shows how the AAP government in Punjab has helped the RSS to take control of the entire education system, including universities, in Punjab.' The video shared by the legislator purportedly shows the V-C rising from his seat in the audience and informing the RSS chief about initiatives at the university, including the introduction of a compulsory PhD course on Bharatiya Parampara (Indian tradition) and the establishment of a Sikh Chair aimed at studying the connections between the Rigveda and the teachings of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev. Pargat Singh further alleged that the AAP government had already displayed its alignment with right-wing policies by implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) in the state. The Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas was established in 2007 as an extension of the Shiksha Bachao Andolan, and has since emerged as the RSS's principal platform for educational outreach. It promotes value-based education, textbook reforms, and the revival of Indian knowledge systems.
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First Post
4 hours ago
- First Post
Thousands rush to AfPak border after Pakistan renews Afghan deportation drive
On Friday, 'around 4,000 to 5,000 people' were waiting at the Chaman border to return to Afghanistan, according to Habib Bingalzai, a senior government official in Chaman read more In total, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan since 2023, including more than 200,000 since April. AFP File Pakistan on Friday issued a fresh call for Afghans living in the country's southwest to leave, prompting thousands to flock to the border, according to an AFP report, citing officials. Over the past several decades, millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan, escaping waves of conflict, including hundreds of thousands who fled after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The latest push follows a deportation campaign that began in 2023 and was reactivated in April, when the Pakistani government cancelled hundreds of thousands of residence permits for Afghan nationals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Authorities have warned of arrests for those who fail to leave voluntarily. 'We have received directives from the home department to launch a fresh drive to repatriate all Afghans… in a respectful and orderly manner,' AFP quoted Mehar Ullah, a senior government official in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, as saying. The province shares a border with Afghanistan and maintains deep social and cultural ties with the region. On Friday, 'around 4,000 to 5,000 people' were waiting at the Chaman border to return to Afghanistan, according to Habib Bingalzai, a senior government official in Chaman. Abdul Latif Hakimi, head of Refugee Registration in Afghanistan's Kandahar province across the border, confirmed that Afghan authorities had observed a rise in returnees on the same day. While Islamabad has labeled Afghan migrants as 'terrorists and criminals,' analysts say the mass expulsions are intended to pressure the Taliban government in Kabul to crack down on militancy in the border regions. Since 2023, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan, including over 200,000 since April this year. The current campaign, re-launched in April, has targeted over 800,000 Afghans holding temporary residence permits—many of whom were either born in Pakistan or have lived there for decades. Amid rising economic and security challenges, segments of the Pakistani public have become increasingly resentful of hosting a large Afghan population, and the deportation drive enjoys broad domestic support. Pakistan's security forces are under significant strain along the Afghan border, contending with a growing insurgency by ethnic Baloch nationalists in the southwest and intensifying violence from the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates in the northwest. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In 2024, Pakistan recorded its highest number of fatalities from militant attacks in over a decade. The government frequently accuses Afghan nationals of involvement in these incidents. Iran, too, has carried out a large-scale deportation effort, sending back over 1.5 million Afghans in recent months. Afghanistan remains in a prolonged humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law—including bans on most forms of education and employment for women. With inputs from agencies
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Churn before storm? What the rumblings in BJP, AAP, Congress in Gujarat mean
The Congress last month took a leaf out of its old handbook and anointed Amit Chavda, five-time MLA and a third generation leader from one of the most influential political families in the Gujarat, as its state dynast, tribal leader Dr Tushar Chaudhary, replaced Chavda as chief of the legislative party. Tushar is the son of former Gujarat chief minister Amarsinh appointments, announced on July 17, followed the resignation of Shaktisinh Gohil as the party's state president, his exit prompted by the Congress's dismal performance in the recent assembly leadership change has come with hopes of reviving a party battered by decades of electoral setbacks in a BJP-dominated state. The ruling party, on the other hand, has been awaiting the announcement of a new president for almost two years, as incumbent C.R. Paatil concluded his first three-year term in 2023. Expecting to be rewarded for the BJP's stellar assembly election victory in 2022—156 out of the 182 seats—Paatil had wanted to move to the Centre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He became the Union minister of Jal Shakti in the new Narendra Modi government while continuing to hold charge as the BJP's Gujarat over who will succeed Paatil continues to fire speculation in BJP gatherings even as insiders opine the state unit should be more focused on dealing with the anti-incumbency piling up from over three decades of rule in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, sprang a surprise by winning the Visavadar seat in the bypoll in June. The victory was considered a milestone for AAP not only because it appeared weakened by its Delhi assembly poll rout and two of its five MLAs in Gujarat deserted the party, but also because Visavadar was once held by BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel and is a Patidar-dominated victorious AAP candidate Gopal Italia has his roots in the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which ran a campaign for reservation for Patidar youth in government jobs. The election was a moment of inflection for all the parties about how the sentiment of the Patidar movement resonates with the electorate a decade after it was launched and ebbed within five years politically, with Hardik Patel's departure from the Congress to settle down as a BJP MLA in the last month since the bypoll, AAP in Gujarat has been livened up by two visits by its national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to rouse the cadre and kick-start the 'Gujarat Jodo' membership drive. Elections to 16 municipal corporations in Gujarat are scheduled in early 2026. The civic body polls will be a test of the public mood in the run-up to the assembly polls in of the rumblings witnessed currently are in preparation for the municipal polls, which are seen as an opportunity for the Opposition parties to make inroads into the BJP's core electorate—the urban middle and upper-middle class. Economic challenges, jobs and crumbling infrastructure have contributed to disillusionment with the government and the ruling the assembly polls in 2022, the Congress won 17 seats. In civic body polls this February, the party won only one municipality against the 15 in 2018. The BJP won 62 of the 68 municipalities, its tally up from July, the Congress appointed 40 new District Congress Committee presidents to infuse fresh energy into the local leadership. In the wake of the recent Vadodara bridge collapse and allegations of corruption in schemes such as MGNREGA and Nal Se Jal, the Congress and AAP are leading a fresh charge against the the BJP is still seen as holding a firm grip on power since it controls nearly all cooperative bodies and taluka panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations. To rattle the BJP remains a daunting task for the Congress, which lies in the cinders of its past losses, as well as AAP, which has so far been unsuccessful in presenting itself as a credible political alternative in the to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
