1. Surgical Strikes: A Day for Celebration, Contradiction and Confusion
With 10 days having elapsed since the terror attack on the army camp in Uri, the surgical strikes by the Army along the LoC on Thursday came at a time when India was least expecting it. A military action was least expected from the government which so far seemed to be looking for diplomatic options to tighten the noose around Pakistan. But the Army stood by its word and gave Pakistan a reply “at the place and time of our choice”.
Though the Indian Army didn’t elaborate much on the attack of release pictures or videos, the contradicting statements from Pakistan made it clear that they had indeed been on the receiving end of strong military action from the Indian forces.
Source: The Indian Express
2. India Hits Pakistan Along LoC, Casting Spotlight on Savage, Secret War
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Following the “surgical strikes” on terrorist launch-pads inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Thursday, Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh, India’s Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO), said the strikes, which took place “along the Line of Control” caused “significant damage” but offered no further details.
General Singh’s statement left open the possibility that India may have used artillery or anti-tank missiles to precision-target terrorist launching positions without risking troops in a mission across the Line of Control.
Kel and Lipa are both known to be significant launching stations for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other terrorist groups where small units of jihadists gather near military forward posts for the last stage of their journey across the LoC into northern Kashmir. Bhimber, similarly, is a major axis of infiltration into Rajouri and Poonch.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Resolve Cauvery Dispute Outside Court: Uma Bharti
At a meeting between the representatives of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday asked the states to sit together and resolve the Cauvery dispute outside court. Bharti suggested that both states must approach the Supreme Court with a solution instead of defying court directives.
“I really appreciate that both the states are trying to find some solution, we have noted their views which will be sent to SC,” said Bharti.
The Karnataka government requested the Water Resources Ministry to constitute an expert committee to submit a report on the availability of water in the Cauvery reservoir, Bharti said. The Water Resources Minister went to the extent of saying that she is willing to sit on an indefinite hunger strike if tension rises across the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.
Source: The Indian Express
4. Don't Unleash Shahabuddin Terror by Allowing Him Out on Bail: Bihar Government to SC
Will criminal-turned-politician and RJD leader Mohammad Shahbuddin remain a free bird out on bail or be sent behind bars by cancelling his bail granted by Patna HC? The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on Friday deciding his fate.
A bench of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy reserved its verdict on the plea of the Bihar government and his victim's family seeking cancellation of his bail. Making a last ditch effort to convince the court to send Shahabuddin behind bars, the Nitish Kumar government pleaded to the court not to "unleash" the terror of the dreaded criminal on the people of Bihar by allowing him to remain out on bail.
Source: The Times of India
5. Oldest, Largest Film Producers' Body Bans Pakistani Artistes
Soon after India's surgical strike across the LoC (Line of Control), India's oldest and largest film producers association, Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), on Thursday passed a resolution banning Pakistani actors, technicians or performers from working in India.
The resolve of IMPPA's 23-member committee to ban Pakistanis from the industry was announced at their 77th annual general meeting following a "massive uproar among the members triggered by the fact that none of the Pakistani artistes who have worked in our industry and received so much from our country have expressed any hurt or emotion on the Uri attacks", said Ashoke Pandit, vice president IMPPA.
Source: The Times of India
6. Heavy Price of India-Pak N-War: 21 Mn May Die, Half of Ozone Layer Will Vanish
If India and Pakistan fought a war detonating 100 nuclear warheads (around half of their combined arsenal), each equivalent to a 15-kiloton Hiroshima bomb, more than 21 million people will be directly killed, about half the world’s protective ozone layer would be destroyed, and a “nuclear winter” would cripple the monsoons and agriculture worldwide.
As the Indian Army reports striking terrorist camps across the border, and a member of Parliament (MP) of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urges a nuclear attack and the Pakistan defence minister threatens to “annihilate” India in return, these projections, made by researchers from three US universities in 2007, are a reminder of the costs of nuclear war.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Dhoni Biopic Not Banned, says Pakistan’s CBFC Chief
Bollywood biopic M.S. Dhoni: An Untold Story, on the life of India’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has not been banned in Pakistan, according to the spokespersons of the country’s censor boards. They claim the Neeraj Pandey directorial was never imported to Pakistan for certification.
This has come after media reports indicated that the film has been “banned” and “boycotted” by Pakistan in retaliation to the threats given by India’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to Pakistani artistes.
“How can we ban a film that’s not been submitted for certification? The local distributors have not even applied for the NoC of the film,” said Central Board of Film Censors’ Chairperson Mobashir Hasan.
Source: Hindustan Times
Also Read: Unmasking the Man: The MS Dhoni Story
8. India Reaches Out to Global Community, Says Pak Army Not the Target
India on Thursday reached out to the global community to build opinion in support of its “precise operation” across the Line of Control and also to convey the message that cross-border terrorism continues to hurt the country.
Foreign secretary S Jaishankar launched the diplomatic offensive, briefing envoys posted in New Delhi about the “counter-terrorism” strike as well as the state of play in India-Pakistan ties.
The briefing came within hours of the Indian Army’s announcement that it had crossed the LoC early on Thursday and inflicted heavy damage on seven “launchpads” militants were preparing to use to cross over into the country.
Source: Hindustan Times
9. Border Villages Evacuated, BSF Forces Deployed
Just a few hours after India announced it had carried out surgical strikes across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir to eliminate terrorists, Punjab on Thursday started the exercise of evacuating thousands of villagers residing near the Pakistan border and shut down schools as a precaution in case of any retaliation.
About 1,000 villages up to 10 km from the International Border were asked to be evacuated and Punjab Police were deployed in the border districts to assist the paramilitary forces and the Army in the second line of defence. DGP (Law and Order) Hardeep Dhillon, besides senior bureaucrats, would camp at Amritsar.
Though there was no exchange of fire or visible Army build-up, for the civilians it was akin to a warlike situation.
Source: The Tribune
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