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Pak’s poor show at UN: Imran Khan removes Lodhi, appoints Akram as new UN envoy

News Intervention Bureau
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Pak’s poor show at UN: Imran Khan removes Lodhi, appoints Akram as new UN envoy

After the recent UN fiasco, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has removed Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi. The development came a day after Prime Minister Khan returned from New York, where he faced widespread criticism for his maiden address to the UN General Assembly last week. The Pakistan Foreign Office gave no reason for Lodhi’s removal in a statement on Monday.

Replacing Maleeha Lodhi, Munir Akram, known for his hard anti-India stand, has been appointed as Pakistan’s new permanent representative to the United Nations. “Ambassador Munir Akram has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York, in place of Dr. Maleeha Lodhi,” the Foreign Office said.

“It has been an honour to serve the country & am grateful for the opportunity to do so for over four years. Representing Pakistan at the world’s most important multilateral forum was a great privilege. I had planned to move on after UNGA following a successful visit by the PM,” Lodhi said in a tweet.

However, Munir Akram’s track record has been quite dubious. Known for his hard anti-India stand, Akram, 74, earlier served as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN from 2002 to 2008. He was dismissed by the then president Asif Ali Zardari over his disagreement in presenting the case of assassination of Benazir Bhutto to the United Nations. Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, was Zardari’s wife. Akram had also courted controversy after he was accused of domestic violence by his partner Marijana Mihic in December 2002 while serving as Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN. The case was reportedly settled out of the court and he was not charged with the crime due to his diplomatic immunity. The Foreign Office statement said Akram is likely to join soon and would be stationed at the UN’s New York headquarters.

Among other transfers approved by Imran Khan include appointment of Khalil Ahmad Hashmi, presently serving as Director General (UN) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN in Geneva.

Earlier, Khan delivered his maiden speech at the 74th UN General Debate on Friday and in his almost 50-minute address, devoted half of his time to India and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over nuclear war.

India exercised its right of reply to the statement made by Khan later on Friday and fend off the allegations made by the Pakistan PM.  Strongly hitting back at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rant at the UN General Assembly, India has said its citizens do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf and “least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate.”

“Every word spoken from the podium of this august Assembly, it is believed, carries the weight of history. Unfortunately, what we heard today from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was a callous portrayal of the world in binary terms. Us vs Them; Rich vs Poor; North vs South; Developed Vs Developing; Muslims vs Others. A script that fosters divisiveness at the United Nations. Attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred, are simply put – ‘hate speech’,” First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Vidisha Maitra had said.

Indian Army signs MoU with Bank of Baroda for banking services

News Intervention Bureau
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Indian Army signs MoU with Bank of Baroda for banking services

Indian Army and Bank of Baroda, the 2nd largest Public Sector bank, have entered in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).  This MoU lays down the basis on which banking services would be provided by Bank of Baroda to serving and retired personnel of the Indian Army.  The ceremony was chaired by Lieutenant General Ashwani Kumar, Adjutant General.  The MoU was signed by Lt Gen Harsha Gupta, Director General (Manpower and Personnel Services) and Shri VS Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda in presence of Shri PS Jayakumar, Managing Director, Bank of Baroda.

Some salient features of this MoU include Free Personal Accident Insurance (Death & Permanent Total Disability) cover of Rs 30 lakhs, Free Air Accident Insurance (AAI) cover of Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs and overdraft facility upto three times of monthly net salary.  The features are also applicable for pensioners of Indian army upto the age of 70 yrs.

Bank of Baroda has extensive national and international presence having 9500+ domestic branches and presence in 24 countries.  Through this MoU, bank has assured a new and customized banking experience for serving and retired personnel of Indian Army.

Imran Khan– Pak Army’s pawn or extremist politician?

Ashutosh Garg
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Imran Khan– Pak Army’s pawn or extremist politician?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week is over, and theatrics of the “selected Prime Minister of Pakistan” Mr Imran Khan can now be analysed. So much desperation, so much bluster and open nuclear threat in the speech from Imran Khan at the UN General Assembly is unprecedented and deserves condemnation from everyone.

What was Imran Khan’s real agenda and what was he trying to talk about? Who was he addressing in his rambling speech littered with so much abuse, so much rhetoric, and so much frustration and anger? Someone summarised that in Mr Khan’s speech he used Narendra Modi 12 times, Kashmir 25 times, Terrorism 28 times and Islam 71 times! Using terms like bloodbath is unacceptable.

Leaders of Pakistan and the Congress party have realised that when nothing works, blame the RSS. Raising the matter of RSS at United Nations was ridiculous since Mr Khan and his band of merry men have absolutely no understanding of the work being done by the RSS. They are simply parroting what they hear from the leaders of the Congress party in India.

Talking about Hitler and Mussolini and comparing them to the RSS and warning the international community from the most haloed podium of the United Nations General Assembly went down very poorly with most world leaders. Everyone was surprised to see the Prime Minister of a country raving and ranting well beyond his allotted time, trying to plead for help while threatening the world.

Khan has openly encouraged the terrorists being supported by his Army in Pakistan to indulge in Jihad and has therefore justified and given permission and encouragement to the terrorist organisations and the Pakistan Army to start sending terrorists into India. At the same time, he is also making an impartial appeal about how Islam is a religion of peace and how Pakistan has been the biggest sufferer of the war against terrorism.

When did Jihad, an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim become a term synonymous with terrorism, destruction, revenge and death?

What is interesting is the way Mr Khan tried to take the position of a leader of Islam in the world when he tried to explain, in a desperate tone, how people who follow Islam get offended when the world says anything against their religion. It is another thing that everyone who is not a believer is a kafir. Not once did he say that it is necessary for people who follow the religion to make any changes to themselves. He has conveniently put the entire blame of all the problems of 9/11 and thereafter on the rest of the world. He strongly condemned the use of the words radical Islamic terrorism but did not even once suggest that the responsibility for reining in the jihadists lies with leaders like himself.

His speech the previous day at the Asiatic Society was the same as the one he made in the General Assembly and to be fair to him, he did say that the Asiatic Society speech was a practice speech. He had nothing new to talk about except Kashmir, Islam and how the world needs to so much more for the religion.

Earlier, Imran Khan, sitting with his tasbih while talking to President Trump is a picture worth thinking about. His body language gave away his nervousness. He was appealing to the most powerful man in the world while praying to Almighty God hoping that there would be a miracle. He was desperate for a positive comment that he could take back home something like “winning the World Cup” after his first meeting with President Trump that was apparently set up at the request of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Not once did he talk about the incredible poverty of Pakistan, the major shortage of power, water, fuel and food supplies. He chose not to speak about the illiteracy and the very poor health record of his country. He ignored the impassioned pleas of Balochistan and the other suppressed minorities in Pakistan. He did not speak about the bankruptcy his nation is facing because of corruption and mismanagement and conveniently laid the blame for Pakistan likely to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on India.

Imran Khan has returned to Pakistan empty handed. His supporters and that large number of journalists were expecting a miracle from his trip to the US. He had assured them that nothing short of a revocation of Article 370 would be acceptable to him! Not only did he not get anything from the world leaders who did not believe a word that he spoke with but also his borrowed plane from Saudi Arabia refused to take him back owing to a technical error and he had to fly home on a commercial plane.

While lending a plane to Mr Khan, Saudi Arabia also assured India that they will ensure that India will not face a shortfall of a single drop of oil. To add insult to injury Saudi Arabia has just announced a US$100 billion investment package in India (Mr Khan would have happily sold the entire Pakistan for 25% of this amount to Saudi Arabia).

Imran Khan needs to stop terrorism once and for all, which will be tough, now that he has unleashed these forces. He needs a buy in from Pakistan Army which still seems to be motivated by Bhutto’s threat of hurting India with a “thousand cuts.” If the Pakistan Army is on his side, he needs to shut down his factories of terrorism. Not only will the world heave a sigh of relief but also his own people, who by his own admission have been the biggest sufferers.

If Imran Khan truly wants to attain the stature as a world Leader he must work for the people of Pakistan. He must focus on building his country and bring back the credibility his country used to enjoy in the world around three decades back. He must work towards normalising relations with India rather than keep competing with and threatening India. A supportive India can do a lot for his broken and impoverished country. Trade must be resumed, and people-to-people interaction must be improved. A safe Pakistan can open the doors to millions of tourists who would love to visit Pakistan. The economy of Pakistan must be revived.

And, only an economically self-reliant Pakistan can hope to find a respectable place amongst the comity of nations.

Is Imran Khan the “selected” Prime Minister being propped up by Pakistan Army? Or the leader of the Muslim world? Or the leader of the Radical Islamist movement? Or the playboy who won the Cricket World Cup and built a cancer hospital? Or the leader of Tehreek-e-Insaaf who Pakistan had thought would deliver them from all the challenges of the previous leaders? Or is he simply “Imm the Dim” as he is popularly called by some political commentators?

Will the real Imran Khan please stand up to be counted?

New Delhi must foil Pakistan’s plan to target Kashmiri youth

Jasbir Sarai
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New Delhi must foil Pakistan’s plan to target Kashmiri youth

“When curfew is lifted there will be a blood bath,” said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the course of his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He parroted this phrase and other hate-filled rhetoric with monotonous regularity all though his stay in the United States. It is quite apparent that these phrases had been embedded in his drug induced mind. What the prime minister conveniently ignored is that curfew has been lifted totally from more than 90% areas of Jammu and Kashmir for more than two weeks now. In the few remaining pockets restrictions have been eased to a great extent. So, he was telling half-truths at a forum as distinguished as the UNGA, which is quite a shame.

There remains not an iota of doubt that this rhetoric has been prepared by the Pakistan Army for him to blurt out everywhere and anywhere. It is quite apparent that the Pakistani Generals are looking towards their stooges in Kashmir to create violent disruption to further their evil game plan.


Earlier, such responsibility lay with the terrorists that the Pakistan Army was able to infiltrate into the Kashmir Valley. Ever since the Indian Army has stopped this flow by strengthening the Line of Control and with incisive counter-terrorist operations in the hinterland, the perpetrators of terror have been left with no other option but to indoctrinate the local youth to do this dirty work for them.

Money power and psychological pressure by invoking a false sense of religious responsibility has been used to push the youth of the Kashmir Valley towards the self-destructive path of stone pelting when they are in their early teens and then graduate to terrorism as they grow older.

For India, the situation brings forward an urgent need to engage with the youth and wean them away from their desire to pick up the gun for a non-existent, self destructive cause, at the behest of Pakistan. There is a need to look deeply into the reasons behind the frustration that leads the youth towards pursuing mindless violence, and then take all necessary steps to stop the same.

Lack of economic opportunity is a major reason behind youth following this debilitating path. In Kashmir 71% of the population is under the age of 35 of which almost half is currently unemployed, this is a major cause for a deep sense of uncertainty. Add to it the continuing environment of conflict and we have in hand a young and frustrated populace. The prevalent feeling of desperation, anger and helplessness can easily be exploited as is being done by Pakistan.

The political and social leadership of the country is well aware of the malevolent designs that Pakistan harbours for the youth of the Kashmir Valley and many positive steps have been initiated to control this malaise. Infrastructure in terms of schools, colleges, community development centres, ITIs etc. is being established to impart quality education and generate self-employment opportunities. To ensure quality education at the school level, the process of making 43,000 teachers permanent under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has begun and honorarium of Anganwadi workers has been increased from Rs 3,600 to Rs 4,100. Sports are an intrinsic part of child development, and as such, a good amount of stress has been laid in this arena, a fund of Rs 250 crore has been set aside for building sports infrastructure; each Panchayat will soon have a playground to encourage the young to channelise their energies in the right direction and also pick up sports as a career.

The government has launched a number of schemes to provide employment to youth in the state. 50,000 new jobs will be generated for the youth of J&K; focus will be on enhanced recruitment in central government jobs like paramilitary forces etc. Also, Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee will be constituted in every district.

The recent reorganisation of the state into two Union Territories has given to business houses an incentive to set up business ventures in the region and many companies have already expressed interest. “As many as 31 companies from other parts of India, have submitted Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to the state government, to set up their units in the Valley,” says an author, Junaid Katju, in his article “Is Kashmir getting industrialised” carried by The Quint. “The interested companies have also demanded five to fifteen-year tax holidays. Sources said the state administration has almost finalised the proposal and was in the process of identifying land to set up the new companies,” he adds. The companies belong to diverse sectors like defence, skills and education, tourism, IT, technology, infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing and hospitality.

It cannot be denied that the way ahead is full of challenges. At every stage an attempt will be made to pull back the forward movement. Functioning at a highly industrialised and urbanised scale is something new for the people and they will take time to adapt. Politics of disruption and divisiveness being perpetrated on the strength of unlimited foreign funds is yet another area of criticality.

The government’s wish is to stay fully involved in the process of strengthening democracy and work towards economic recovery of the region and it is for this reason that it has converted the region into two Union Territories.

It is hoped that the youth of the region, especially those of the Kashmir Valley will correctly comprehend the changes that are in the pipeline and will come forward to fulfil all such aspirations that have remained dormant due to the long and debilitating shadow of the gun. It is time to shift primacy to the socio-economic dimension and relegate politics to a distant second or third position. A positive approach will definitely negate Pakistan’s plans to exploit the youth of the region to further its evil agenda.  

There’s an Agenda behind anti-ISRO Propaganda

Vikram Joshi
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There’s an Agenda behind anti-ISRO Propaganda

Is the Chandrayaan-2 mission really a failure? Well, no one in the world of space science other than a few in our own backyard have said so. A few days ago, one of the leading English newspaper of India, on its front page, gave space to a few voices who thought that Chandrayaan-2 was not a success. Let us delve a bit into the allegations levelled against the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) scientists who had spearheaded Chandrayaan-2.  

Genuine Concern or Propaganda?

According to Tapan Mishra, adviser to the ISRO chairman, the cause for failure is leadership. He comes out on social media and shares his thoughts on leadership and rocket science. Another “senior scientist” explains, “moon landing was the stated high point of the Chandrayaan-2 mission” and so according to him as the project did not succeed in moon landing and the success of Chandrayaan-2 is a laughable matter.

Another scientist, who has not been named in this mischievous news report, claims he has experience on moon missions and alleges that the “failure” of Chandrayaan-2 is because of a technical mistake. Now after all that has happened, he advises that ISRO should have used single thrust engine rather than five. All these responses came after ISRO chairman Dr. K. Sivan said Chandrayaan-2 was 98% successful.

Look at the pattern of statements coming from a bunch of scientists and the priority with which such comments are given space by a few media establishments. It seems as though their sole intention is to denigrate and undermine the name and fame of ISRO. They emerge as fringe voices who do not have the best interests of the advancement of science and technology in the country. It is evident that for them, their publicity is more important than a nation’s mission. Giving space to such voices on the front page of a national newspaper confirms that there is indeed a nexus to undermine ISRO. Why? Because ISRO has won accolades from the scientific fraternity from the world over. National and international experts have come out in support of ISRO and the efficacy of the mission. This ‘front page’ agenda to defame ISRO’s efforts and mission surely indicate attempts at nefarious propaganda against an institution that is India’s pride.

All those who measure the success of Chandrayaan-2 only on the basis of Vikram Lander’s soft landing on moon’s surface, need to answer a simple question: Which country in the world succeeded in its first attempt to land on the moon?

Chandrayaan-2 — The Success Spectrum

Success doesn’t come without learning and learning is a by-product of failure. JK Rowling, the famous British author in her Stanford speech had said, “If you have not failed in your life then by default you are a failure.”

Today we have enough details to look into the journey of Chandrayaan-2 and study the mission from various aspects. If one looks at the graph of moon Lander’s descent, it is almost perfect as per the calculations by ISRO scientists. Moreover, the scientific journey of Chandrayaan-2 is not merely about the final 300 meters, rather about the findings and learning from the journey of the mission. It is about all those 3,84,000 km —the distance of moon from earth.

Let us look into the history of moon missions. Till date, only three countries on this planet have been able to perform a soft landing on the moon’s surface — USA, Russia (erstwhile USSR) and China. And, till date, no country in the world has ever landed on the southern pole of the lunar surface.

The southern pole of the lunar surface is of special interest to the scientific community due to indications about the possible presence of water and ice in that region. ISRO dared to do it in it’s very first ever attempt and we must be proud of it. It is timely to recall that NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) had to endure eight unsuccessful attempts and two partially successful missions before it could successfully land of moon’s surface. On record, it says that there were 17 unsuccessful attempts by NASA before it was able to successfully land on the moon’s surface and take first images of the moon.

Similarly Russia (erstwhile USSR) landed on the surface of moon only after six unsuccessful attempts. In the history of lunar missions, only about 50% of the missions have been successful. With such data at our disposal, how can one say that Chandrayaan-2 mission was a failure?

Let us also look at the aspect of the cost of the mission. USA spent $288 billion (considering inflation) on Apollo-11 mission which aimed to send humans on the moon. Whereas Chandrayaan-2 cost us merely $147 million! All other countries who have attempted to reach the moon have spent exponentially more than what ISRO and India have spent on the Chandrayaan missions.

Moon landing is a different ball game

Moon landing is not easy. Israel tried and failed. Japan pushed forward and paused. Even the European Union explored it and exited. But no one has been as accurate as ISRO in the mission parameters.

In the case of a software or a hardware there is an ecosystem for one to test, validate and redesign a system. Space missions aren’t like this and there are no ready-made testing or staging environments. It is all about predictions of an unknown territory and unknown environmental conditions. The real test happens in the space itself.

When an object is in space, humans cannot control its behaviour and it has to deal with its own algorithms. When somebody who claims to be a scientist and terms Chandrayaan-2 a failure, then they must remember a simple point: In science there are no failures but there is always a learning. Learning from each mission adds not only to better equip future missions but also adds to the country’s technological repertoire.

Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in India

News Intervention Bureau
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Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in India

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is looking at investing USD 100 billion in India in areas of petrochemicals, infrastructure and mining among others, considering the country’s growth potential. Saudi Arabia is a key pillar of India’s energy security, being a source of 17 per cent or more of crude oil and 32 per cent of LPG requirements of India.

Saudi Ambassador Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati has said India is an an attractive investment destination for Saudi Arabia and it is eyeing long-term partnerships with New Delhi in key sectors such as oil, gas and mining.

“Saudi Arabia is looking at making investments in India potentially worth USD 100 billion in the areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining,” Al Sati said in an interview.

The envoy said more than 40 opportunities for joint collaboration and investments across various sectors have been identified between India and Saudi Arabia in 2019, adding the current bilateral trade of USD 34 billion will undoubtedly continue to increase.

“There is huge untapped potential available in merchandise trade, particularly in non-oil trade and we are enhancing cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, cultural and technological fields,” the envoy said.

He said Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil giant Aramco’s proposed partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd reflected the strategic nature of the growing energy ties between the two countries.

The envoy said investing in India’s value chain from oil supply, marketing, refining to petrochemicals and lubricants is a key part of Aramco’s global downstream strategy.

“In this backdrop, Saudi Aramco’s proposed investments in India’s energy sector such as the USD 44 billion West Coast refinery and petrochemical project in Maharashtra and long term partnership with Reliance represent strategic milestones in our bilateral relationship,” he said.

The envoy said the vision 2030 of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will also result in significant expansion of trade and business between India and Saudi Arabia in diverse sectors.

Exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy inaugurated in Russia

News Intervention Bureau
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Exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy inaugurated in Russia

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Prakash Javadekar inaugurated a unique exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana, the birth place of Tolstoy in Russia. The exhibition presented and highlighted their correspondence and their thought process in a very artistic manner.

Local Duma member, Natalia Pilyus, Director of Tolstoy Cultural Centre and over 100 academicians were present on this special occasion.

The Minister, who is on a visit to Russia to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting also, inaugurated a special day-long seminar organised to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi as part of 150 years of celebrating the Mahatma.

Addressing the gathering, Javadekar said Leo Tolstoy had a great influence on Mahatma Gandhi. “Leo Tolstoy’s message of love, no greed and truth found resonance in Gandhi Ji’s thought process,” the Minister said, adding “Gandhi ji wrote five letters to Tolstoy and sought his guidance. Gandhi Ji was then in his 40s and was working as a Lawyer and activist in South Africa then and Tolstoy was in his 80s.”

Recalling upon the deep rooted bond that was shared betweenboth GandhiJi and Tolstoy, the Minister said,”There was love and affection between Gandhi and Tolstoy and it is visible in their correspondence as well as their exchange of books”.

Building the women power in Union Territories Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh

Jaibans Singh
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Building the women power in Union Territories Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh

“I am confident that the recent changes made in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh would be of immense benefit to those regions. They will enable the people to access and enjoy the same rights, same privileges and same facilities as their fellow citizens in the rest of the country,” said President Ram Nath Kovind in the address on the eve of the 73rd Independence Day.

He was referring to the decision taken by the parliament of the country, on 05 August, to modify the provisions of Article 370 and Article 35-A in a manner that would facilitate complete integration of the Jammu & Kashmir state with the Indian Union. The parliament also approved bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories comprising of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh respectively.

Among the many benefits listed as an outcome of this monumental decision, women empowerment has been given the maximum significance. It is so because women, under the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and due to provisions of Article 35-A, were being denied full-fledged rights to land and property in the state.

To put it simply, such women who were state subjects but married a person who was not a state subject forfeited legal and ancestral rights to their own property in the state. This was because of the definition of a “permanent resident” of Jammu and Kashmir as given Article 35-A of the Constitution.

The legislation passed by the parliament on 05 August, sets aside this proviso and gives to the women of the state who are married and settled in other parts of the country and even abroad full right on their land, and property. They also have the right to transfer their property within and outside their family.

“Today, I am an equal with the men of J&K. Now, my children also are entitled to property. Despite 2002 legislation, there were still problems. This is a historic day that I will forever remember,” said Manu Khajuria, an activist who for long asked the government to amend the gender bias.

The foregoing definitely constitutes good tidings for the women of the state but it addresses only the tip of the iceberg so far as the problems being faced by them are concerned; problems that have accrued due to the turmoil and unmitigated violence that the region has witnessed over the past many decades. 

Women, along with their children, are the most vulnerable victims of the environment of foreign sponsored terrorism and militancy; they have witnessed the degeneration of their otherwise enlightened society leading to a perceptible increase in domestic violence, humiliation and harassment. So many women have been widowed due to the terrorist initiated violence, others who were forced to marry the foreign terrorists have been left as “half widows” to fend for themselves and their children.

Education of women and their work potential has also taken a big hit. Whenever there was prolonged turmoil it was the girl student who was removed from school. This further led to the women remaining unemployed and dependent. All of the above has resulted in serious health issues and latent depression among the women.

The Army very well understood the trauma being faced by the women of the state due to the debilitating shadow of terrorism. In response it has given, for more than three decades now, special attention to their needs though the medium of its welfare initiative –Operation Sadbhavna. Women Empowerment Centres, where women are imparted skills like stitching, knitting, making pickles and other canned stuff, computer training etc. are being run by the Army across the state. This apart, women are given special medical treatment in Army medical camps, especially during pregnancy. The Army Schools running across the state provide admission to girl students; young girls are also motivated to actively take part in sports and other cultural activities.

Now, as an outcome of the change in status of J&K, all central schemes for women initiated by the ruling NDA government will be seamlessly applicable in both Union Territories.

The government has already declared women empowerment as a priority area in its overall development plan for the two Union Territories. Benefit and empowerment for women is bound to flow from the flagship schemes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao; Sakhi, also known as the One Stop Centre Scheme initiated from the Nirbhaya fund; Swader Greh, for rehabilitation of women; Ujjawala, to stop trafficking and other women centric initiatives being run as part of digital India, Skill India etc. 

While leveraging the aforementioned schemes, the government needs to take a leaf out of the work done by the army in keeping the women of the state in equilibrium during the times of terrible violence and disruption and build up upon the same on priority.

Women safety and security has to be ensured in full measure, along with education, including adult education, skill development and vocational training. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) already implemented in the state needs to be given a big impetus so far as women are concerned. Employability of the women needs to be enhanced by giving a boost to the spirit of entrepreneurship through provision of micro credit schemes. Women need to move out to work for which provision of working women hostels is a must. An end has be put to debilitating social practices like early marriage, lack of decision making in family and society affairs that have gaining traction due to the environment of turmoil.

It is time to remove the pain and sorrow that has been heaped upon the women of Jammu and Kashmir due to no fault of theirs. The scars are deep and will take a long time to fill, however, a sincere and sensitive effort will hasten the healing process.  Adversity has given to these courageous women a unique strength which now needs to be leveraged for their early rehabilitation.

National Rural Sanitation Strategy for next decade launched

News Intervention Bureau
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National Rural Sanitation Strategy for next decade launched

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI has launched the 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029), which focus on sustaining the sanitation behavior change that has been achieved under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), ensuring that no one is left behind, and increasing access to solid and liquid waste management.

Since the launch of the SBM-G in 2014, over 10 crore toilets have been built in rural areas; over 5.9 lakh villages, 699 districts, and 35 States/UTs have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). This strategy has been prepared by DDWS, in consultation with State Governments and other stakeholders, and it lays down a framework to guide local governments, policy makers, implementers and other relevant stakeholders in their planning for ODF Plus, where everyone uses a toilet, and every village has access to solid and liquid waste management.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister, Jal Shakti Mantralay, launched the strategy and said, “This strategy book is a framework to sustain the efforts of the SBM-G. The country has demonstrated unprecedented progress and all States and Union Territories have declared their rural areas open defecation free (ODF) – a befitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. I’d like to express my gratitude towards the State Governments for their efforts to achieve this goal. It is because of the SBM-G that India is now an inspiration, in terms of sanitation, for other countries.”

Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said “India has seen a sanitation revolution, and the SBM-G transformed itself into a jan andolan (a people’s movement).The 10 year strategy focuses on the need for States/UTs to continue their efforts to sustain the gains of the mission through capacity strengthening, IEC (Information, education and communication), organic waste management, plastic waste management, grey water management and black water management. ”

The strategy also speaks about potential collaborations with development partners, civil society and inter-government partnerships. It also highlights innovative models for sanitation financing.

Imran Khan and his Kashmir theatrics is driving Pakistan to the edge

Nilesh Kunwar
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Imran Khan and his Kashmir theatrics is driving Pakistan to the edge

As the world was anxiously waiting to hear Prime Minister Imran Khan “forcefully present Kashmir issue like never before at the UNGA session” he himself seems to have thrown in the towel by saying that that he was “disappointed” by the international community for not pressurizing India on Kashmir. The way things panned-out after Islamabad got a cold shoulder at the UNSC (United Nations Security Council), it’s almost certain that at UNGA (United Nations General Assembly), Khan will not be able to live up to the expectations that he has himself raised. Therefore, one can always empathise with him as well as overlook his attempts to shift blame for his own failure on others as this is a common human phenomenon. But the moment one resorts to allegations that cast unsubstantiated aspersions on all and sundry, it sounds as the whining voice of a sore loser!    

Khan asserts that the international community’s silence on Kashmir is because “People look upon India as a market of 1 billion people” and has philosophised how human values are being compromised by the lure of material gains. While Khan may be right to some extent, but why should this upset him so much? Hasn’t his government done just the same thing by maintaining stoic silence on Beijing’s religious persecution of Muslims Uighurs of Xinjiang? Furthermore, his statement that the world would have reacted with more urgency on the issue of Kashmir had it been a case of eight million Europeans, Jewish people, or Americans being under siege is rather in a poor taste as it is both racial in character and communal in nature.

The reason why no one appears to be agreeing with what Khan has to say on Kashmir is because rather than relying on facts, he is banking solely on rhetoric and skewed interpretation of details. Even the dullest student of civics will tell you that a democratically elected government amending the country’s constitution is purely an internal matter, but Khan thinks otherwise. Unfortunately, despite Islamabad’s abysmal failure to convince the UNSC that revocation of Article 370 violated UNSC resolutions on Kashmir, he continues to believe that his logic-deficit argument on Kashmir will win him the ‘world cup’!

Imran Khan tried to bowl a ‘googly’ by alleging that New Delhi has revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution for “ensuring that Muslims of India would remain as second-class citizens” and temporary restrictions imposed in Kashmir have been imposed to facilitate “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.” But since the international community is also watching the situation in Kashmir very closely, it has very valid reasons for disagreeing with Khan’s alarmist views as it was actually a ‘no ball’.

Even the Taliban, which enjoys patronage of the Pakistan Army hit out at an attempt by Pakistan’s opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif when he drew a comparison between Kashmir and Afghanistan in Pakistan’s Parliament. Taliban hit back saying, “Linking the issue of Kashmir with that of Afghanistan by some parties will not aid in improving the crisis at hand because the issue of Afghanistan is not related (to Kashmir).” So, while Khan may feel that the international community is prejudiced and not fulfilling its moral responsibility, he should consider himself lucky that it hasn’t censured him for inciting pan-Islamism ideology by saying “People will rise against India (for abrogating Article 370), and it is not just about Indian Muslims, there are 1.25 billion Muslims around the world. They all are watching this.”

On September 27, while Khan is going to “forcefully present Kashmir issue like never before at UN General Assembly session,” back at his backyard in Pakistan, people will be observing Kashmir ‘solidarity’ day once again. While one would like to wish him well, but since the odds are heavily stacked heavily against Khan, all the sound and fury at UNGA as well as ruckus on the streets of Pakistan is not going to be of much help because the country’s army has already pushed Pakistan into an irretrievable position by a series of mindless acts.

Khan has rightly stated that it was the ISI that invited and trained terrorists from all over the “Muslim world” to wage ‘Jihad’ (holy war) against the Soviets in Afghanistan. This happened when Gen Zia ul Haq was ruling Pakistan. Again, it was during his rule that Gen Pervez Musharraf joined the US in its war on terror after 9/11 and started targeting those very terrorists who were indoctrinated by ISI into believing that “fighting foreign occupation is jihad.”

Khan’s admission that “we still have about 30,000 to 40,000-armed people who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir” reveals the Pakistan Army’s dubious role that has brought the country on the brink of being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for its inability to curb terror financing. Lastly, by saying that Islamabad “did not tell the US exactly the truth on the ground” and part of the reason for this was that successive governments in Pakistan “were not in control,” Khan has fully exposed the massive damage that Rawalpindi has inflicted upon the nation.

One feels sad about Khan for being in an unenviable position of having the onerous responsibility of the nation on his shoulders without either the power or authority to set things right. But the flip side is that there are many who say that unlike his predecessor Nawaz Sharif, since Khan willingly accepted becoming a puppet and being manipulated by the Pakistan Army he deserves no sympathy. Seeing a desperate Imran Khan indulging in public self-flagellation by confessing that Pakistan has been hand-in-glove with terrorist groups just to gain credibility but ending up being side-lined by the international community must be quite embarrassing for any self-respecting Pakistani. Similarly, at home it must be equally galling to hear Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and even a relatively junior ranking officer like DG ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor speaking more on the political aspects concerning Kashmir than PM Imran Khan or his team of ministers.

Tailpiece

An unsolicited advice to PM Imran Khan- expressing solidarity with Kashmiris is a very easy thing to do because all it requires is collecting a crowd, raising placards, chanting slogans and burning effigies. But getting down to seriously resolve the Kashmir issue is an entirely different thing altogether as it requires statesmanship not dramatics.

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