1. Manipur violence: 12 bunkers destroyed in Manipur in last 24 hrs: Police
2. PM Modi chairs meeting with cabinet ministers hours after returning from US, Egypt visits
3. Rajnath tells Pakistan: Don’t need to work much to take back PoK
4. China helps Pakistan build defence infrastructure along LoC, says officials
5. China building solar, hydro projects with new military bases built near LAC with India

What Else

6. India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Oman to hold key talks
7. 20% duty removal on apple imports to have zero impact on farmers: Official
8. Pak-based hackers target Indian Army, education sector in new cyber attack
9. Jammu and Kashmir: Kashmir witnesses huge influx of foreign tourists after decades
10. Myanmar: In rare admission, junta says efforts to crush drug trade having no impact
11. Pakistan Army sacks former Lahore Corps commander and 2 others over 9 May violence
12. Pakistan: In emergency meeting, SBP hikes policy rate by 100bps to 22pc
13. World’s largest hybrid solar-hydro plant produces electricity on Tibetan Plateau
14. China supports Russia in maintaining national stability after aborted mutiny
15. Sri Lanka to restructure domestic debt amid challenges

Manipur violence: 12 bunkers destroyed in Manipur in last 24 hrs: Police

• As many as 12 bunkers allegedly constructed by militants were destroyed by security forces in various districts in the last 24 hours, police said on Sun.
• Manipur police stated that the police and central forces conducted a search operation in 5 districts and destroyed 12 bunkers both in the Hill and the Valley.
• The Manipur police said that the situation is tense but under control in some places with some sporadic incidents but normal in most districts of the state.
• “A total of 1100 arms, 13702 ammunitions, and 250 bombs of different kinds have been recovered so far,” the statement added. (here)
• Kuki body calls for ‘NIA probe into all acts of terror’: While the Kuki Inpi Manipur on Mon lauded the prompt handing over of the case regarding the bomb blast over a bridge in Bishnupur on Jun 21 to NIA
• It claimed that “many cases of higher magnitude involving terrorists and terror organizations that have not been probed yet”. (here)
• Indian army twitted on Mon night with a video explaining, “Women activists in Manipur are deliberately blocking routes and interfering in Operations of Security Forces. Such unwarranted interference is detrimental to the timely response by Security Forces during critical situations to save lives and property. Indian Army appeals to all sections of population to support our endeavors in restoring peace.” (link)
• Changing Nature Of Manipur Violence Concern For Amit Shah: CM– CM N Biren Singh said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed concern over changing nature of violence in the northeastern state.
• The union home minister is reportedly concerned over the shifting of violence and civil unrest from peripheral areas to districts in the Imphal valley.
• Singh briefed Shah in Delhi about the “evolving situation” in Manipur and said the state and central govts have been able to control the violence to a “great extent”. (here)
• Singh on Sun said that the prevailing situation in Manipur is “very chaotic” and it cannot be said with certainty what is the nature of the current phase of violence. (here)
• Shah Briefs PM Modi on Manipur after his return from Trip: Shah on Mon briefed PM, Modi, on the steps taken by the state govt and the Centre to restore normalcy. (here)
• Anusuiya Uikey, Manipur Governor called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan

PM Modi chairs meeting with cabinet ministers hours after returning from US, Egypt visits

• PM Modi on Mon chaired a meeting with senior cabinet colleagues and officials soon after his return from State visits to the US and Egypt.
• The meeting was attended by the home minister, finance minister, and urban affairs and petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
• Senior officials including the principal secretary to the PM, were also present. (here) [No further details are in the media]

Rajnath tells Pakistan: Don’t need to work much to take back PoK

• The Pakistan govt should concentrate on getting its country in order instead of talking about Kashmir, def min Rajnath Singh said in Jammu on Mon.
• He was reacting to Pakistan’s response to the joint statement by PM Modi and Joe Biden, calling on Islamabad to ensure its territory is not used as a base for terror attacks.
• Reacting promptly, Pakistan called the statement “unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading” and added that reference to Islamabad was “contrary to diplomatic norms“.
• Pakistan had said India was using allegations of extremism against Islamabad to deflect from the situation in Kashmir and the treatment of minorities in India.
• Pakistan is currently witnessing its worst-ever inflation, running low on Forex and struggling to secure funds to stave off defaults.
• At NSC, Singh also reiterated that illegally capturing a part of Kashmir does not give Pakistan a locus standi in the area and that PoK will always remain a part of India (here)
• He termed the border situation with China as a matter of “perception differences” and asserted that there would be no compromise on India’s honor and self-respect (here)
• Demarche conveyed to the U.S. Dy Chief of Mission by Pakistan: The US Dy Chief of Mission was called to the Foreign Ministry on Mon and a demarche was made about the Joint Statement.
• Pakistan’s concerns and disappointment at the unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading references to it in the Joint Statement were conveyed to the US side. (here)
• India summons Pakistan High Commission over attacks on Sikh community: Sources Following the recent attacks on Sikh community members in Pakistan, India on Mon summoned a senior diplomat and asked the authorities to investigate the case with sincerity and share the investigation report.
• It also conveyed that Pakistan should ensure the safety and security of its minorities, who live in constant fear of religious persecution. (here)

China helps Pakistan build defence infrastructure along LoC, says officials

• China has been helping Pakistan to build defense infrastructure besides providing UAV and CAV, setting up comm towers, and laying underground cables along the LoC.
• This is to ensure the safety of the rising Chinese enclaves on PoK set up on the pretext of securing the CPEC road and hydel projects built in the occupied territory.
• The recently developed SH-15, a 155 mm truck-mounted howitzer gun, has also been spotted at some places along the LoC after it was displayed on Pakistan Day last year.
• Known as a ‘shoot and scoot’ artillery, Pakistan had signed a contract with Chinese firm Norinco for the supply of 236 SH-15s, and the 1^st batch was delivered in Jan 2022.
• Some intercepts suggested that Chinese troops and engineers were setting up structures along the LoC, including building underground bunkers.
• The Army has officially maintained silence on the issue but has been constantly updating the intelligence agencies. (here)

China building solar, hydro projects with new military bases built near LAC with India:

• PLA has constructed many solar and hydel power plants to sustain the increased energy requirements of their troops.

• The stand-off has been going on for 3+ years after the Chinese try to unilaterally change the status quo at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh through large-scale aggression.
• The Chinese Army has deployed almost 50k troops along the LAC after the 2020 aggression by it and its energy requirements have gone up considerably.
• The Chinese have also upgraded their military infrastructure in a big way as new habitats and villages have been built to support large-scale deployments.
• Sources said that the Chinese have continued to maintain large-scale deployments and are taking steps to support their long-term deployment.
• The Army has also reoriented its focus towards the northern borders and deployed new formations along with dual tasking some of them for facing the 2-front threat. (here)

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Oman to hold key talks

• India’s NSA Ajit Doval is on a day-long visit to Oman on Mon, aiming to bolster strategic cooperation and security ties between the two nations.
• Doval’s visit comes as part of an increased high-level engagement witnessed between the two in recent years, stressing the significance of their partnership in West Asia.
• Indian NSA called on His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and delivered a personal message of greetings from PM Modi.
• The discussions are expected to encompass a range of crucial areas, including defense, counter-terrorism, and maritime security cooperation.
• Both are maritime neighbors sharing the coastline of the Arabian Sea, and have collaborated closely to ensure stability and safety in the Indian Ocean region. (here)

20% duty removal on apple imports to have zero impact on farmers: Official

• The decision to remove the 20% retaliatory customs duty on imported US apples will have a “zero” impact on Indian farmers as the govt has sufficient policy space.
• India is not giving anything “extra” by removing this duty and it was not that “we have opened a floodgate” for American apples.
• It is a win-win deal as it restores market access for domestic steel and aluminum products in the US market, which was stuck due to the high duties by the US in 2018.
• The decision was part of an agreement reached between India and the US, during the recent visit of PM Modi to Washington and New York.
• India and the US have also agreed to terminate 6 trade disputes at the WTO.
• Import of apples decreased sharply from $145 million in 2018-19 to only $5.27 million in 2022-23. (here)

Pak-based hackers target Indian Army, education sector in new cyber attack

• Indian security researchers said they have detected a new wave of cyber attacks composed by a Pakistan-based group against the Indian Army and the education sector.
• Transparent Tribe, a persistent threat group that originated in 2013 in Pakistan, has been targeting the Indian govt and military entities.
• The Pakistan-based group (dubbed as APT36) is using a malicious file titled “Revision of Officers posting policy” to lure the Indian Army into compromising their systems.
• The file is disguised as a legitimate document, but it contains embedded malware designed to exploit vulnerabilities, the team noted. (here)

Jammu and Kashmir: Kashmir witnesses huge influx of foreign tourists after decades

• Kashmir Valley is back on the International tourism map, after decades, huge numbers of tourists from across the world are landing in Srinagar.
• According to the govt of J&K, over 15k foreign tourists have visited the Kashmir Valley in the first six months of 2023.
• Millions of tourists have visited the Kashmir Valley in 2023 and the numbers are going up every day.
• In 2022, the total number of foreign tourists who visited the Valley was around 4000.
• The govt is hopeful that all the previous records of foreign tourists visiting Kashmir Valley would be broken.
• Kashmir was one of the favorite destinations of foreign tourists in the 1960 -80s.
• With the start of the insurgency, the numbers fell drastically. (here)
• National Investigation Agency Conducted raids at 12 locations in 4 districts in J&K:
• The NIA on Mon conducted a series of raids across 4 districts of Kashmir as part of its investigations into the conspiracy of newly-floated, Pakistan-backed terrorist outfits.
• The locations were residential premises of hybrid terrorists and Overground Workers linked with the newly-formed offshoots and affiliates of the banned terrorist outfits. Premises of sympathizers and cadres of these organizations were also searched extensively in the raids.

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Myanmar: In rare admission, junta says efforts to crush drug trade having no impact

• Junta authorities said they torched more than half a bn dollars worth of illegal drugs on Mon, but fail to stop a surge in the production and trafficking of narcotics.
• Head-high piles of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and opium were burned in the commercial hub of Yangon.
• Televised torchings also took place elsewhere in the country, with a total of US$446 million of narcotics going up in smoke, according to junta officials.
• But in a rare admission, the head of Myanmar’s Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control said its efforts to crush the multibillion-dollar trade were having no impact.
• The “Golden Triangle” border region between Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand has long been a hotbed of illegal drug production and trafficking, mainly of meth and opium.
• This includes Shan state – SE Asia’s primary source of meth (as per UN) – home to a patchwork of ethnic rebel groups and militias aligned with the army.
• The army is “actually the ultimate protection cartel of the trade, and have been for many years”, an independent analyst told AFP. (here)

Pakistan Army sacks former Lahore Corps commander and 2 others over 9 May violence

• The Pakistan Army announced on Mon that it had sacked former Lahore Corps Comder Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghani and 2 other officers over the 9 May violence.
• May 9 saw military installations attacked by supporters of former PM Imran Khan, which it referred to as a “black chapter in history”.
• While the three officers have been sacked for “failing to keep the security and honor of garrisons”, many others are facing disciplinary charges.
• After the violence, Lt Gen Ghani was removed from the Lahore Corps and attached to the army headquarters.
• 3 officers, including a Lt-Gen, 3 Maj-Gen, and 7 brigadiers were removed. (here)

Pakistan: In emergency meeting, SBP hikes policy rate by 100bps to 22pc

• The central bank (SBP) in an emergency meeting on Mon hiked the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 22%, which came after a meeting of the bank’s MPC.
• According to the SBP, the MPC explained that the potential upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased from its last meeting on June 12.
• SBP said that “2 important domestic developments” since its Jun 12 meeting had slightly worsened the inflation and could potentially increase pressure on external accounts
• It added that the latter might result in higher-than-earlier anticipated exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices.
• The MPC said it viewed the action as “necessary to keep real interest rate firmly in the positive territory on a forward-looking basis”.
• After revising the budget in line with the IMF’s demands, the govt expects an advance statement from the IMF over the next few days to get direly needed bailout funds (here)

World’s largest hybrid solar-hydro plant produces electricity on Tibetan Plateau

• The world’s largest hybrid solar-hydro power plant started producing electricity in the eastern Tibetan Plateau on Sun, according to Chinese state media reports.
• With an installed capacity of 1 GW of solar panels and 3GW of hydropower generators in the Yalong River plateau in Sichuan, the plant can produce 2 bn KW-hrs annually.
• The plant is part of a huge renewable production base planned by the Chinese govt to eventually generate clean energy for 100 million households.
• The Kela solar-hydro power plant is on a mountain in Yajiang county, Ganzi prefecture, Sichuan – 4,600 m above sea level and 1,000 m higher than Lhasa, the highest city in the world – making it the highest-altitude project of its type in the world. (here)

China supports Russia in maintaining national stability after aborted mutiny

• China supports Russia in maintaining its national stability, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sun, a day after an aborted mutiny by the Wagner of heavily armed mercenaries
• Russia’s Dy FM Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on “international” issues on Sun after the most serious challenge to President Putin’s grip on power since its invasion.
• China initially said only that Rudenko had discussed with China’s FM Qin Gang on Sino-Russian relations as well as “international and regional issues of common concern”
• It later said China supports Russia in maintaining its national stability and that the recent escalation in tensions in Russia was Russia’s “internal affairs”.
• It was unclear when Rudenko arrived in Beijing, or whether his visit to China, a key ally of Russia, was in response to the apparent rebellion. (here)

Sri Lanka to restructure domestic debt amid challenges

• Sri Lanka will shut down its banks and financial sector for 5 days from Thu, ahead of an extraordinary weekend debate in Parliament on the govt’s plan to restructure its domestic debt.
• The move comes a year after Sri Lanka decided to suspend servicing its foreign debt, to combat a devastating economic meltdown — the country’s worst since Independence.
• The govt subsequently entered an agreement with the IMF and secured a nearly $3 billion-dollar package from it, while agreeing to restructure its foreign and domestic debt (about $41 billion and $42 billon respectively, as of Mar 2023). (here)