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Indian PM Hits Out Pakistan for Supporting Terrorism
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that some countries glorify terrorists, asserting that India won’t bend before terrorism.
Expressing his gratitude to the Baloch nations who sought India’s help over Pakistan’s brutalities in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Prime Minister said he was grateful to them for reaching out to him.
“This is the example of our humanitarian approach, but there are some countries who glorify terrorists. To the youth who have taken up guns, I urge them to return to their parents and shun violence,” Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the nation on the occasion of 70th Independence Day.
“This country will never bend before terrorism. Many innocents were killed in Peshawar terrorist attack, but there were tears in everyone’s eyes in Parliament here,” he added.
“Pakistan forgets that it bombs its own citizens using fighter planes. The time has come when Pakistan will have to answer to the world for the atrocities committed by it against people in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” Modi said at the all-party meet.
Modi hit out at Pakistan for supporting terrorism. This, he said, was in contrast to the way Indians reacted with sorrow when terrorists slaughtered school children in Peshawar.
“But on the other hand, look at those who glorify terrorists. What kind of people glorify terrorists? The world is watching.
People of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have thanked me a lot in the past few days. I am grateful to them,” he said.
Asserting that ‘unity in diversity’ is the whole essence of the Indian culture, the Indian Prime Minister said there is no place for violence and atrocities in the nation.
Modi asserted that there cannot be a bigger freedom than freedom from poverty.
“I invite all the SAARC countries to work together to fight this. We did not get an opportunity to die for the country but we have the opportunity to live for the country,” he added.
Pakistan’s English daily Dawn criticized Modi’s speech calling his language “aggressive”, and his comments about Pakistan, a breach of “diplomatic norms”.
It added that the Indian PM’s remarks will most likely be interpreted by Pakistan as a threat. The country’s beef with India as to why the latter (or rather, Modi) shouldn’t be raising the issue of Balochistan is because the issue is “senseless” and that Pakistan could easily come up with a retaliatory accusation: that North East India is unstable and plagued by violence.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri also had similar strong reactions to Modi’s comments.
“The government and people of Balochistan vehemently reject Modi’s statement on the situation in the province,” The Express Tribune quoted CM Zehri as saying.
He also dismissed Modi’s comparison of Balochistan to Kashmir saying that, “people of Balochistan are loyal and patriotic”, and that they wouldn’t offer support the “nefarious designs of the country’s enemies”.
The Dawn further wrote that Modi was in denial of the original India-Pakistan dispute and that he should take a good hard look at the “dismal path he has ventured down”.
Meanwhile, The Nation, in an editorial, concentrated on the violence in “Indian-administered Kashmir” writing that Pakistan will extend its “diplomatic, political and moral support to the valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir till they get their right to self-determination”.
On 22 July, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a public gathering announced that the country was waiting for the day when “Kashmir becomes (a part of) Pakistan”.
Echoing the view of The Nation, the country’s high commissioner to Delhi, Abdul Basit, dedicated Pakistan’s Independence Day to Kashmir.
“Struggle for independence will continue till Kashmir gets freedom. Sacrifice of the people of Kashmir will not go in vain,” he said during his trip to Delhi.
India-Pakistan ties have plunged further since the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Sharif declared Wani a “martyr” and even observed 19 July as black day to mourn the continuing violence in Kashmir.
Bayat Foundation has announced it has distributed Ramadan aid packages to dozens of needy families in Bamyan province.
These aid packages include flour, oil, and rice, intending to assist those in need during the holy month of Ramadan.
Officials from the foundation stated that these donations will be extended to needy families in other provinces of the country by the end of Ramadan.
“As part of the Bayat Foundation’s ongoing assistance, today we are distributing Ramadan aid packages in Bamyan province. These packages contain flour, rice, and oil,” said Sayed Hakim, a representative of the Bayat Foundation in Bamyan.
Meanwhile, recipients of the aid have called on other charitable organizations to also rush to assist those in need during this month.
One recipient expressed gratitude: “Thanks to the Bayat Foundation for considering help for people like us.”
Another recipient added: “Thank you to the Bayat Foundation for helping us, and we hope that in the future, more aid will be provided to the poor people of Bamyan.”
In addition to supporting public welfare projects, healthcare, and those affected by natural disasters, the Bayat Foundation has been providing food and non-food aid to thousands of needy families in the center and provinces of Afghanistan during each Ramadan for nearly two decades.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to take visible and verifiable action against militants who, it said, enjoy sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.
“Terrorist threat against Pakistan from terrorist entities including TTP, BLA and ISKP is our foremost concern,” Shafqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said. “We continue to impress upon interim authorities to take visible and verifiable action against them, keeping in view their commitments given to the international community to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and groups from the Afghan soil.”
Regarding Afghan refugees, he confirmed that the deadline for their deportation remains unchanged. Pakistan had set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan Citizenship Card holders and illegal foreigners to leave Pakistan voluntarily.
On border issues, Shafaqat Ali Khan informed that the Torkham border was reopened on Wednesday, with pedestrian travel allowed from Friday. The border will remain open until April 15, and a permanent solution is being sought. There won’t be any construction by Afghan side inside the Pakistani territory, he said.
On militancy, he said that Pakistan is taking robust actions, but it is impossible to completely seal off the border with Afghanistan.
IEA has previously rejected Pakistan’s claims that terrorists have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
Acting Minister of Education Habibullah Agha says content contradicting religion and Afghan traditions will be removed from the curriculum, and that in addition to religious studies, the ministry is also focusing on modern sciences.
Marking the beginning of the 1404 academic year in Kabul, Habibullah Agha stressed that both religious and modern sciences are essential nowadays in Afghanistan.
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is committed to both fields of knowledge and urged people not to be deceived by negative propaganda.
“In this era, we have a great need to learn modern sciences. We must progress with these sciences and prepare ourselves to compete with the world,” said Agha.
He clarified that only through mastering modern sciences can the nation safeguard its people, government, health, and geography.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi, who was also present at the event, reaffirmed the leadership’s commitment to fulfilling the Ministry of Education’s needs to establish a high-quality education system in Afghanistan.
Salam Hanafi stressed that the ministry must work to meet the country’s current educational demands.
He stated: “Enhancing teachers’ capabilities, addressing literacy issues, monitoring classroom activities, and improving the quality of both religious and public schools—these are the responsibilities of the Ministry of Education.”
Meanwhile, several government officials claimed that despite efforts by adversaries to tarnish the reputation of the IEA through a ‘cold war’, Afghanistan continues to make progress every day.
The 1404 academic year however began without reopening schools for girls above the sixth grade.
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