Fact-check at UN leaves Bilawal Bhutto red-faced over 'demonising Muslims in India' claim
Bhutto, who is currently leading a parliamentary delegation to the United States to present Islamabad's narrative on rising regional tensions, reiterated Pakistan's position on Kashmir and accused India of politicising the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam — which killed 26 civilians — to vilify Indian Muslims.
However, his sweeping generalisation was quickly challenged. A journalist attending the briefing pushed back, citing personal observations. 'You said the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir is being used as a political tool to demonise Muslims in India. But, sir, I've watched briefings on both sides. As far as I recall, there were Muslim Indian military officers conducting the briefings on the Indian side,' the journalist said.
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Economic Times
21 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Our security forces did not let LeT terrorists escape to Pak, says Amit Shah in RS; slams Cong over 'votebank' politics
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha about the successful conclusion of Operation Mahadev, a counter-terror mission linked to Operation Sindoor. Security forces neutralized three high-profile Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, including A-grade commanders Suleiman alias Faizal Jatt and Afghan, along with Jibran. Suleiman was involved in attacks like the Pahalgam and Gagangir incidents. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday addressed the Rajya Sabha amid the ongoing political debate over Operation Sindoor during the second week of its the Parliament's Monsoon revealed details of a related counter-terror mission codenamed Operation Mahadev , which recently concluded with the elimination of high-profile Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Home Minister reiterated that three LeT terrorists were neutralised during the operation: Suleiman alias Faizal Jatt, Afghan, and Jibran — all described as high-ranking operatives."Suleiman was an A-grade commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba unit. He had fired shots using his own rifle during the Pahalgam attack and the Gagangir incident. Our security forces ensured he couldn't escape Kashmir and flee to Pakistan," Shah added that Afghan was also listed as an A-grade commander, while Jibran held a senior rank within the same terrorist revealed that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) first received leads about the terrorists' presence on May 22. 'Following that, the IB and military intelligence conducted further investigations. Around July 22, their precise location was identified,' he told the the public sentiment surrounding the Pahagalm attack, Shah shared that he had received messages from citizens across the country—particularly from families of the victims—calling for justice. 'They said, 'these terrorists should be shot in the head.' Coincidentally, during the encounter, they were indeed shot in the head,' he the operation as a response to national outrage and a signal of the government's zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, Shah reiterated that the mission was a joint success for Indian intelligence and security in a sharp political rebuttal, Shah took aim at Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who had earlier demanded Shah's resignation and questioned the legitimacy of the government's claims regarding Operation Sindoor and the nationality of the terrorists involved.'Mr. P. Chidambaram demanded my resignation and questioned the Indian government's Operation Sindoor. He repeatedly challenged the evidence that those involved in the Pahalgam attack were Pakistani terrorists,' Shah said during his a direct counter-question, the Home Minister asked, 'Today, I want to ask him—who was he trying to protect? Pakistan? Lashkar-e-Taiba? Or the terrorists themselves? Aren't you ashamed of this?'Shah went on to highlight the timing of the encounter, adding, 'But by God's grace, on the very day he raised these questions, all three terrorists were killed.'
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First Post
24 minutes ago
- First Post
PM Modi's speech on Sindoor: Tectonic shift in Indian politics
Operation Sindoor is a testament to what has happened to Bharat that is India over the past 11 years. A significantly reformed, rebuilt and indigenised Indian armed forces demonstrated what the nation is capable of once the shackles of prolonged foreign subjugation of policy idiocy end read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor was an astonishing masterclass. It will go down as his finest hour and the most outstanding performance by an Indian political leader since Independence. Modi demolished all the treasonous slander and libel of India's so-called political Opposition, in the wake of Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Modi eloquently asserted the quest for India's unfinished goal of statehood in its most formative historical phase since the coronation of Chhatrapati Maharaj at Raigad Fort in 1674. No nation can be built by one solitary individual alone, but if anyone has a claim to being its driving contemporary force it's surely Narendra Damodar Modi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In just over a decade the change he has wrought to the Indian nation is unprecedented. It is more impressive than the achievements of Otto von Bismarck and Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had force at their disposal, to create modern Germany and Italy in the nineteenth century. By contrast Prime Minister Modi has had to navigate the most intolerably vexatious political order of truculent anarchy and constitutional roadblocks to pursue the imperative goal of placing the nation on a secure footing and institutionalizing its essential multidimensional attributes. Prime Minister Modi's speech followed three superb performances by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Home Minister Amit Shah that laid out in exact detail and sequence the purposes and achievements of Operation Sindoor. But it was the Prime Minister who deployed a scalpel with precision, engaged in unforgiving historical analysis of Congress party history and precise chronological detail of the momentous events after the brutal murders of Pahalgam. He proceeded to unsparingly dissect the grotesque absurdity of India's political Opposition and its entitled so-called Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. One by one, he summarised the calamitous missteps of the Congress party following Independence, especially Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose arrogant self-confidence despite utter incompetence have cost Indian dear. The most grievous losses to India occurred immediately after Independence because of his unctuous deference to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and obsession with Edwina, his wife. Mountbatten presided over the colossal bloodletting of Partition despite being warned by his own officials it was going to occur, but Nehru nevertheless proceeded to retain him as Governor-General. Most egregiously he retained British Generals as India's army chiefs of staff who duly betrayed India as it was poised to retake J&K in entirety and potentially liberate the strategically vital territory of Gilgit Baltistan. A grim account of events has been provided by India's commanding officer during the war, Lionel Pratap Sen in his memoirs, Slender was the Thread. Nehru proceeded to betray Tibet by assisting its conquest by China, extending logistical support to it during the invasion. His monumental stupidity subsequently led to military defeat in 1962 when China attacked India and the loss of the Aksai Chin. Nehru ignored warnings by his most brilliant China expert, Sumol Sinha, whom he banished to Harvard in annoyance when alerted of the impending danger posed by China. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the aftermath of the 1962 military catastrophe, he sought to ingratiate himself with Mountbatten again and supposedly secure his place in history, by ceding the Kashmir Valley to Pakistan. Thankfully, the negotiations he had sponsored in London faltered after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ceded the Shaksgam Valley to China and Nehru died before any resumption of talks was feasible. The other grievous error was committed by his daughter, Indira Gandhi. After India's historic military defeat of Pakistan in 1971 she mistakenly acquiesced to Soviet implorations and failed to retain vital Indian strategic gains made in the battlefield. The Soviets persuaded her not to impose a harsh peace on Pakistan at Simla because their vital SALT talks with the US were scheduled for the same year. A visionary stateswoman would have ignored Soviet requests, despite their important help during the conflict, and pursued urgent Indian national interests, facing down Soviet displeasure. The astonishing calumny and legal assault Narendra Modi has suffered for almost twenty-three years would have defeated and broken a lesser man, but he's evidently made of sterner stuff than most. But it is a cause of deep shame that his role as Prime Minister of India has not spared him the most despicable abuse from which the dignity of his office should have shielded him. But Modi was apparently intended for a higher purpose, as his former adviser the immensely learned and wise, late Bibek Debroy once prophetically pointed out. The dismal misconduct of Congress party apparatchiks is a reflection of the low mindset that has consumed the party today. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rahul Gandhi himself is beyond redemption and the people of India have by now figured him out. His constant refrain inviting Modi to publicly denounce President Donald Trump as a liar, over claims he ensured the cessation of hostilities in the context of Operation Sindoor, is oblivious to the consequence of such observations by Modi prompting a huge setback in India-US relations, at a time when sensitive negotiations are in train between the two counties. His undue sensitivity towards two of the world's most criminal regimes, with prodigious quantities of blood on their hands over many decades, has not made him reflect. The millions of famine victims of China's Great Leap Forward and the genocidal war against the Hindus of East Pakistan in 1971 are crying out plaintively to no avail. Such is the temperament of Rahul Gandhi. Operation Sindoor is a testament to what has happened to Bharat that is India over the past 11 years. A significantly reformed, rebuilt and indigenised Indian armed forces demonstrated what the nation is capable of once the shackles of prolonged foreign subjugation of policy idiocy end. The innovative genius of Indians was illustrated not just by the array of missiles designed and manufactured domestically, but how an outdated arsenal of guns was adapted with inventive new technology to return to the battlefield as highly efficient and cost-effective weaponry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The imperative of an efficacious military is essential for deterrence and infinitely cheaper than warfighting and that's the direction in which Modi's has been headed. In fact, Operation Sindoor continued with India's security agencies eliminating the killers of Pahalgam after a relentless search operation. Let it also be registered that both Pahalgam and Pakistani responses to India's Operation Sindoor were a joint effort, with the terrorists and Pakistani terrorist army using Chinese equipment, from missiles and aircraft to machine guns and satellite phones. The transformation of India's defence sector is a metaphor for the advances in its wider economy of a massive infrastructure building surge, the absence of which earlier constrained economic progress. This key endeavour in lowering logistical costs and the implementation of unprecedented new associated dimensions, underlined by India's digitisation and startups, will be the basis of a robust and internationally competitive economy. Combined with multiple measures to reduce poverty, highlighted by India's forward leap in the recent World Bank Gini coefficient rankings, India will surely incarnate a new dharmic socio-economic order in the making. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is the scale of Narendra Modi's achievements and it's a tragic irony that many supposedly sensible, allegedly educated Indians don't see it, missing the forest for the trees, a chronic historic propensity of Hindus. The great danger remains that the well thought out Congress party strategy of inciting bitter caste animosity and the mobilisation of India's growing jihadi constituency will upset India's progressing apple cart. There should be no doubt the entire Congress strategy, the tried and tested Karnataka model, is perfectly rational and hugely portentous. It aims to seize power electorally by organising the intransigent Muslim vote-bank alongside disaffected caste constituencies and contrived regional discontent to establish a victorious coalition. Such a political situation will threaten India's sovereignty and independence as a nation and the dreams of its historic transformation, with mutually dependent Islamic and foreign interests conjoining to successfully seizing India from within. But the Lok Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor and the spectacular performance of the Prime Minister and his team also suggest the possibility of a reprieve for India in 2029 and, hopefully, beyond too. Once the Indian economy reaches its $10 trillion GDP target it will be unstoppable and secure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The writer taught international political economy for more than two decades at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
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First Post
24 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump imposes 25% tariff plus penalty on Indian imports: How it compares to other nations
Indonesia will face a 19% duty, while Vietnam and the Philippines will be subject to a 20% tariff. India, meanwhile, faces both the base tariff and a penalty, making it one of the most heavily targeted among Asian trading partners, according to a report read more As Washington moves to impose a 25% tariff along with additional penalties on Indian goods, India's trade with the United States is set to encounter major challenges beginning August 1. Announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the measure is expected to significantly impact high-growth export sectors including chemicals, machinery, and electronics. According to a MoneyControl report, the decision threatens to stall India's recent export momentum in the US — one of its fastest-expanding markets — and adds new uncertainty to bilateral trade ties. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US tariffs on Indian goods exceed those imposed on comparable economies. Indonesia will face a 19% duty, while Vietnam and the Philippines will be subject to a 20% tariff. India, meanwhile, faces both the base tariff and a penalty, making it one of the most heavily targeted among Asian trading partners, added the report. 'Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!' Trump posted on Truth Social. India's trade with the US has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from $64.6 billion in 2013 to $118.4 billion in 2024, according to MoneyControl, citing its analysis of UN COMTRADE data. The growth has been led primarily by exports, which surged 89.3%, from $42 billion in 2013 to $79.4 billion in 2024, while imports grew at a more moderate pace. Beyond the increase in volume, the composition of trade has undergone a notable transformation. Traditional exports such as textiles, apparel, and stone products have declined in share, giving way to a sharp rise in machinery, electronics, and chemicals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD By 2024, machinery and electronics accounted for nearly 25% of India's exports to the US, up from under 8% in 2013. Chemical exports also saw significant growth as India expanded into more high-value segments, reflecting a broader shift in the country's export strategy, added the report. On the import side, India's reliance on the United States for energy has grown markedly in recent years. In 2024, fuels accounted for 31.5% of India's imports from the US, a sharp increase from just 7% in 2013. Imports of metals also saw an uptick, rising from 4.8% to 7.1% over the same period, highlighting a broader diversification in trade. Beyond merchandise, India's economic partnership with the US has deepened significantly. American foreign direct investment (FDI) in India jumped from $20.3 billion in FY17 to $70.7 billion in FY25, signaling growing investor confidence and tighter economic integration between the two nations, reported MoneyControl. Strategic cooperation has also expanded. The US now accounts for 13% of India's arms imports—up from 8% fifteen years ago—reflecting stronger defence ties between the two democracies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The tariff announcement comes just a week after India signed a major free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, further cementing its evolving role in global trade dynamics. With inputs from agencies
