1. Modi & Trudeau Issue Joint Statement Against Terror
PM Modi and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement, vowing to fight terror, on 23 February. Titled ‘Framework for Cooperation between India and Canada on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism’, the joint document did not just call for action against cross-border and state-sponsored terrorism but also name-checked Pakistan-based groups like LeT and Jaish.
Perhaps even more significant for India was the mention of Babbar Khalsa and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) which were clubbed with other international terror groups like Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Haqqani Network in the statement.
This is the first India-Canada joint statement that mentions Sikh terror groups.
The statement came a day after a Canadian dinner invite to a member of the same ISYF, Jaspal Atwal, threatened to derail Trudeau's visit.
(Source: Times of India)
2. Pakistan to Be Added to Financial Action Task Force’s ‘Grey List’ from June
Pakistan will be placed back onto an international terrorism-financing watch list from June, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, a move that may hinder the country’s access to financial markets.
The move follows a push from the US, UK, France, and Germany to get Pakistan placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey” monitoring list during a review meeting in Paris this week. China, which is financing more than $50 billion of infrastructure projects across Pakistan, removed its earlier objections to the move, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Pakistan’s benchmark stock index reversed earlier gains and fell 0.6 percent at the close in Karachi.
Saudi Arabia too removed its objections, while Turkey alone backed Pakistan, a person familiar with the matter told the Hindustan Times.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. PNB Fraud: PM Modi Breaks Silence, Promises Strict Action
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday 23 February, said his government will take stringent action against financial irregularities and not tolerate loot of public money, breaking his silence more than a week after India’s second largest bank PNB said it had been defrauded of over Rs 11,400 crore.
Days after the fraud allegedly masterminded by diamantaire Nirav Modi came to light, the Prime Minister asked the management of financial institutions as well as the supervisory bodies to do their job diligently to check such instances.
“I want to make it clear that this government has been taking strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to take strict action,” he said at Global Business Summit organised in New Delhi. “System will not tolerate loot of public money,” he added.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Govt Moves to Attach All Assets of Nirav Modi
The government on Friday 23 February moved to attach all assets of the key accused in the Rs 11,300 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, including assets of the companies owned by the accused. The accused include Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, his brother Nishaal and uncle Mehul Choksi.
On Friday, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs approached the NCLT with a petition under sections 221 and 222 of the Companies Act, which allows freezing of all assets of 64 respondents in the Nirav Modi alleged fraud case.
Besides family members, the respondents include companies and trusts belonging to them.
While government agencies have been seizing jewellery and cars and attaching immovable properties of the accused these are time-bound attachments. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ move in the NCLT is aimed at preventing the accused or their agents from alienating their property.
The next date of hearing has been fixed on 27 February.
(Source: Times of India)
5. Cops Raid Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s House, AAP Cries Foul
The AAP Government, said on 23 February that it will ensure no similar incident happens in the future that could lead to an administrative crisis in Delhi as is prevailing now. This, hours after Delhi Police searched CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to probe the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs.
A 55-strong police team on 23 February searched Kejriwal’s residence in north Delhi’s Civil Lines and seized hard disks containing footage from 21 CCTV cameras.
The Aam Aadmi Party reacted sharply, calling the search a violation of law as there was no prior intimation. Soon after the search began, Kejriwal broke his silence over the fiasco saying that an investigation should be conducted into the case.
“I’m concerned that governance in Delhi is suffering. Our only fault is that we don’t know how to play politics. That’s why the BJP and Congress governments are targeting us,” Arvind Kejriwal added.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. No Bail for ‘History-Sheeter’ MLAs, Says Court
Calling the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs “history-sheeters” and saying there was prima facie "a premeditated criminal conspiracy" in the alleged assault of Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash on Monday night, a Delhi court denied bail to Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal on Friday, 23 February.
“The circumstances, if considered overall, prima facie point towards a premeditated criminal conspiracy. Though bail is the rule and jail an exception, the bail applications cannot be considered in a routine and casual manner, they being history-sheeters,” explained metropolitan magistrate Shefali Barnala Tandon.
The two legislators have been charged under the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty (Section 332), assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty (Section 353) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) for the purported attack on Prakash.
(Source: Times of India)
7. US Makes It Tougher to Get H-1B, May Cut Stay Duration
The Donald Trump administration has just made it more difficult for companies and individuals to get H-1B work visas. And even if one gets it, it may not be for a full three years, as has been the practice.
A policy memorandum issued by the US Citizenship & Immigration Services on 22 February said its officers could seek detailed documentation and more evidence from firms to establish that they have specific assignments in a specialty occupation for the H-1B beneficiary, and that they have these assignments for the entire time requested on the petition.
If the company is able to only demonstrate that the beneficiary will have the specified work for less than three years, the visa would be granted for that lesser period.
Indians and Indian IT companies will feel the impact the most because they are the biggest users of this visa. The shorter durations may even make the transition from H-1B to a Green Card next to impossible.
(Source: Times of India)
8. Nabha Jailbreak ‘Mastermind’ Romi Held in Hong Kong
Punjab police have moved an application to the MEA to take up extradition of Ramanjit Singh, alias Romi, a wanted gangster and alleged conspirator of the 2016 Nabha jailbreak, who was on 22 February detained in a robbery case in Hong Kong.
Romi, against whom Interpol had issued a red corner notice, fled India after he got bail in a debit card fraud case in 2016. Later that year, he allegedly coordinated and financed the Nabha jailbreak in which six men including Khalistani chief Harminder Mintoo escaped. Police in Hong Kong found out about the red corner notice and channelled the information to authorities in India.
“After intimation by Interpol, we have written to the ministry to take up his extradition,” said Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, assistant inspector general, organised crime control unit, Punjab police, on Friday 23 February.
(Source: Indian Express)
9. SC Irked by Delay in Judge Appointments
The Supreme Court, on Friday 23 February, took exception to the executive’s recent tendency to slow down the process of appointment of judges to constitutional courts, as experienced after the apex court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act and re-established the collegium system of “judges selecting judges”.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said, “It is seen that once the names are forwarded, they remain pending at the executive level for an unduly long time before they are sent with the executive’s inputs to the collegium of the SC for approval. Sometimes, it takes more than one year to complete the process from the date of forwarding the names till appointment.”
The bench called for drawing up of a definite time frame, to “keep hope and aspirations of litigants for speedy justice alive”.
(Source: Times of India)
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