[ NATIONAL ]

Some terror groups re-brand themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade sanctions: India at UNSC

Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate, Tirumurti said there have been examples of terrorist groups taking full advantage of humanitarian carve-outs, “making a mockery of sanction regimes,”

Hyundai regrets offense caused to Indians after backlash on Kashmir tweet

India summons Ambassador of South Korea after Hyundai Pakistan uses propaganda posters against India on Kashmir backing Pakistan sponsored terrorism. Indian mission in Seoul also took it up with the South Korean Govt. The tough message was conveyed to the South Korean Govt. India has lodged a strong protest over lies and propaganda spread by Hyundai Pakistan on Kashmir. Strongly conveyed that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. South Korean counterpart has urgently reached out to Minister Jaishankar on a phone call to express deep regret. Huge protests erupted after the Pakistan unit of Hyundai expressed its solidarity on Kashmir on Feb 5^th.

Global brands face heat over ‘Kashmir Day’ posts

Multinational consumer brands – particularly Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia, and American food chain KFC – faced a big social-media backlash over tweets and Instagram/ Facebook posts sent out by their dealers and outlets in Pakistan, talking about “Kashmir Solidarity Day” and “right to freedom”.

China deploys PLA cooks, doctors to forge ties with Tibetans near India border

Rare details have emerged about how China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is helping residents of remote villages in building and maintaining infrastructure near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as it pushes to develop dual-use habitats along the disputed border.

7 Army personnel found dead, hit by an avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh,

The rescue team recovered their dead bodies. Seven Indian Army personnel are reported to have been struck by an avalanche in the high altitude area of Kameng sector in Arunachal Pradesh and search and rescue operations were launched on Mon. The Army personnel were part of a patrolling team.

Central Asian countries to get a stake in Chabahar port, says Kyrgyz envoy Isaev

The envoy of the Kyrgyz Republic Asein Isaev has said that India and Iran are working to prove Central Asian countries “own part” in the Chabahar port to smoothen the transport of goods. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Envoy Isaev said, “If we are going to use Chabahar port, the duration of delivery of good from India to Kyrgyzstan will be just two weeks from the current 30 or 45 days using different ports.”  India is participating in the development of the first phase of the Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port in cooperation with the Iranian government since Dec of 2018 port has handled 160 vessels, 14,420 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), and 3.2 million tons of bulk and general cargo.

Gujarat court convicts 49 accused, acquits 28 others in 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case

A special court here on Tue convicted 49 accused in the case of Ahmedabad serial blasts in 2008 in which 56 people were killed and over 200 suffered injuries within 70 mins on 26 July 2008. Judge A R Patel also acquitted 28 other accused, giving them the benefit of doubt, in the case of 21 synchronized blasts that had rocked the city in Gujarat. The court, which gave the verdict in the terror incident after 13 years, had concluded the trial against the 77 accused in Sept 2021.

Karnataka hijab row: HC appeals for peace, CM orders closure of all high schools and colleges for next three days

Amid the hijab row engulfing more and more colleges in Karnataka, CM Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday ordered the closure of all high schools and colleges for the next 3 days in the state. Karnataka high court on Tuesday said, “We will go by reason, by law, not by passion or emotions.” Students staged demonstrations outside Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College on Tue as a mark of protest against Muslim students wearing hijab. The students say they want equality and will wear this till Hijab is banned

NSG Commandos Undergo Training from Elite Anti-Naxal Force Greyhounds

News18-It is also expected that the mandate of a hub of NSG may get changed in the future from anti-terror to counter-insurgency operations and jungle warfare. India’s elite special operations force National Security Guard (NSG) has begun training with the anti-Naxal force, the Greyhounds, which best specializes in jungle warfare. (sources) a group of NSG commandos is being trained in a restricted area in Hyderabad. Officials said it is the first time that the NSG is being properly trained in anti-Naxal operations by a specialized anti-Naxal force. Sources said the government had discussed a plan in 2013 to give such training, however, it was never executed.

Under New Rules, Journalists Can Lose Accreditation on National Security Grounds; Doors Open for Web Scribes

A journalist’s accreditation can also be suspended if they are charged with a “serious cognizable offense”, use the accreditation cards for non-journalistic activities, leave the organization on whose behalf they were accredited or the organization ceases to exist. The new Central Media Accreditation Guidelines-2022 released by the Centre have included a stringent provision under which a journalist can lose govt accreditation if the person “acts in a manner which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or concerning contempt of court, defamation or incitement of an offense”. The entire process of accreditation has been streamlined, grey zones have been removed, rules have full clarity and there is no scope for interpretation or fudging. “The new rules are reformative. They are focused on professional work. Digital media has been given full recognition which was earlier lacking. For the first time in history foreign media will get accreditation for the full term of J Visa,” the official said.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Pak upgraded JF-17 no match for Indian S-400 and Rafale air strike power

After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from China, the acquisition of 50 JF-17 Block III fighters by Islamabad is being pitched to take on India’s S-400 air defense system due to its stealth characteristics. This is nothing but domestic chauvinism on part of Pakistan which is devoid of facts. The S-400 system is not only about shooting enemy planes from the skies. It is about giving trans-border visibility up to a depth of nearly 300 km into the enemy plain territory. The airframe of block III single-engine JF 17 fighter is said to be built with composite material to give its stealth features required to evade the air defense system of the adversary and target high-value assets. Even the indigenous Tejas fighter has 45% composite material but does that mean that it can take on two S-400 systems which the Chinese PLA have deployed across Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh respectively? The JF-17 is powered by the same Russian RD 33 engine, which is used by Indian MiG-29 air defense fighters and often suffers maintenance/ spare parts issues.

PM Imran Khan to visit Russia by month-end, says Qureshi

ANI – After his recent China tour, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior ministers is set to visit Russia at the end of this month, according to local media. The country’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Mon said that PM Khan will visit Moscow this month at the invitation extended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Daily Times reported. The FM announced the Russian tour while giving a briefing about the PM’s recently concluded visit to China and its outcomes. During his visit, the focus will enhancing cooperation in the spheres of economy, trade, defense, and energy. As per The HK Post, Pakistan’s dependence on China for its economic wellbeing- short, medium, and long-term- is heavy and promises to increase. According to Pakistani economist Kaiser Bengali, Pakistan is now 100% dependent on China for financial assistance.

Saudi Interior Minister calls on Pak Army chief, discusses regional security, Afghan situation

ANI – Saudi Arabia Interior Minister Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif called on Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi on Mon. The two representatives discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security, the current situation in Afghanistan, and bilateral defense relations, Pakistan’s Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The Saudi minister pledged to play his part for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels. Back in Dec, Bajwa had met with Saudi FM. They discussed regional security and bilateral defense relations. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have both diplomatic and military ties, which got strained in recent years. In May 2021, Saudi Arabia’s rice charity had triggered a political row in Pakistan. The announcement of 19,032 bags of rice from a Saudi aid agency came after Pak PM’s trip to the Saudi. Pakistani public viewed the rice donation as an outcome of what the ruling PTI govt had called a “highly successful visit.”

Afghanistan humanitarian crisis to affect Pakistan, warn Senators

Pakistan’s senators have warned that a humanitarian crisis is brewing in Afghanistan that could have serious ramifications for Pakistan’s national security, local media reported on Tue. Speaking on the rapidly developing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Former Senate chairman, and Pakistan Peoples Party, Mian Raza Rabbani said that Pak would be affected the most by a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and it would have an impact on the country’s national security. Rabbani also referred to the commitments made by the Afghan Taliban that terrorism would not be exported to Pakistan, and raised questions over the talks held with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) without taking parliament into confidence. He said the so-called ceasefire reached with the TTP had repeatedly been violated by the other side.

PM Imran, COAS reach Balochistan’s Naushki to spend a day with troops who repulsed the terrorist attack

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Balochistan’s Naushki district on Tue, where four members of the armed forces, including an officer, were martyred last week during a terrorist attack on a security camp. The Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that the army chief will spend the day with troops and also meet those who repulsed the attack on Feb 2. In less than 10 days COAS has visited Balochistan twice. On Jan 30^th he was in Turbat. Pakistan Army morale is at its lowest after more than 20 Pakistani soldiers were killed in different attacks across Balochistan.

China encroaching along Nepal border, says report

A Nepalese government report has accused China of encroaching into western Nepal along their shared border. The report was commissioned in Sept last year after reports emerged that China has been trespassing in the district of Humla.

Watchdog accuses Biden Education Dept. of ‘weakened oversight’ on Chinese money entering universities

Watchdog group Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Education demanding transparency in what the group alleges may be a Biden administration move to weaken rules surrounding foreign gifts and contracts to colleges. Education Department accused of weakening barriers to foreign influence on college campuses. The group says it was moved to investigate after noticing a spike in reported foreign gifts to the University of Pennsylvania after the establishment of the Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in 2017. DFI claims that the university received $21 million in reported foreign gifts between Feb 2017 and Sept 2020. The Education Department in 2019 and 2020 began cracking down on schools’ acceptance of foreign gifts under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act to track the scope of foreign money from countries like China and Qatar in the U.S. education system. In a Jan. 31 speech on threats posed by Chinese influence in the U.S., FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the Chinese Communist Party was exerting influence on U.S. students and Chinese students studying in America from abroad. (1)

Washington approves USD 100 million arms sales to Taiwan amid tension with China

The US has approved a possible USD 100 million sales of equipment and services to Taiwan to “sustain, maintain, and improve” the Patriot missile defense system used by the self-governing island claimed by China. In a statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress following State Department approval for the sale requested by Taiwan’s TECRO. The statement stated that the proposed sale will “help to sustain the recipient’s missile density and ensure readiness for air operations. The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and strengthen homeland defense. The recipient will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and services into its armed forces.”

China warns US against USD 100mn weapons deal with Taiwan

China on Tue warned the US against a USD 100 million deal on weapons supply to Taiwan. “China strongly protests and condemns this action,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a briefing, adding that the US should “withdraw” this proposal immediately.

China deploys PLA cooks, doctors to forge ties with Tibetans near India border

Rare details have emerged about how China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is helping residents of remote villages in building and maintaining infrastructure near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as it pushes to develop dual-use habitats along the disputed border.

• As part of it the PLA has even deployed army cooks to teach local Tibetans how to make popular “Chinese dishes” in a village close to the LAC.
• The focus of a spot report in an official military portal this week was on Yumai, China’s last big border village, only km away from the Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal.
• Yumai, in Longzi county, is located in Tibet Autonomous Region’s (TAR) Shannan area, which borders India and Bhutan – it is considered China’s first “xiaokang” or “well-off village”.

It made headlines in China in 2017 when President Xi Jinping wrote a brief letter to a family of Tibetan herders saying he hoped they “will motivate more herders to set down roots in the border area like gal sang flowers, and become guardians of Chinese territory”.

• The village, home to a single-family until a few decades ago, is said to have dozens of families now.
• The report did not mention the village population or why “more and more” people were moving to remote locations.
• An August 2021 news report in the state-run China Daily newspaper, however, said the village then had 200 residents.

“The ‘3-person township’ expanded into a place that saw 20 residents in 1999 and 30 in 2009. Currently, it is recognized as a relatively well-off and beautiful place with more than 200 residents from 67 families. Villagers now take turns patrolling the border,” the China Daily report said.

Residents have opened at least “5 homestays” with the help of personnel from the Tibet Military Region, part of the Western Theatre Command, which oversees the entire length of the Sino-India disputed border.

• The rooms have televisions, oxygen generators, and wifi.
• The PLA has deployed military cooks to teach hotel owners how to make Chinese cuisine, the report said.
• Hotel owners said until recently they did not know how to make Chinese dishes like “twice-cooked pork” and “diced spicy chicken” for tourists from the rest of the country.
• Military doctors are dispatched twice a week to the village and soldiers on patrolling duty in the area have been instructed to call on the elderly.

It should be seen in the light of new law passed by China Last Oct, to strengthen land border protection amid the ongoing military tension along the disputed boundary with India, firming up the military-civilian role in defending the country’s borders.

The Chinese foreign ministry issued a strong statement last year when Indian media reports said it had built villages on the Indian side of the LAC, close to Yumai village.

The legislation, the first such law since 1949, formalized combining the military defense of China’s land borders with improving social and economic development in border areas.

It strengthened the PLA’s policy to work closely with civilians staying in border areas – for example, Tibetan villagers living along the border with India, Bhutan, and Nepal – to work as the first line of defense.

Some terror groups re-brand themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade sanctions: India at UNSC

Some terrorist groups have made a “mockery” of the UNSC’s sanction regimes by taking full advantage of carve-outs given for humanitarian purposes, India said as it made a veiled reference to Pakistan, saying proscribed terrorist groups in the neighborhood have re-branded themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade sanctions.

“It is imperative that sanctions do not impede legitimate humanitarian requirements. However, it is important to exercise due diligence while providing humanitarian carve-outs, especially in cases where terrorism finds safe-havens,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti said on Mon while speaking at the UN Security Council Open Debate hosted by Council President Russia on ‘General issues relating to Sanctions: Preventing their humanitarian and unintended consequences’.

“There have also been several cases of terrorist groups in our neighborhood, including those listed by this Council, re-branding themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade these sanctions,” he said, referring to terror organizations Pakistan based.

• “These terrorist organizations use the umbrella of the humanitarian space to raise funds, recruit fighters and even use human shields. … Due diligence, therefore, is an absolute must,” he said.
• Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa has a charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.
• In 2019, these were banned by Pakistan amid intense global pressure to rein in the terror groups following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers.
• Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in Dec 2008.

Tirumurti said while the sanction regimes have served well in the global fight against terrorism, preventive diplomacy efforts, assisting member states in implementing peace agreements, and against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the regimes must not be an end in themselves.

• Tirumurti noted that the sanctions committees continue to face significant challenges in overseeing the sanctions measures related to technical violations of the arms embargo, objections by humanitarian partners to the reporting requirement, questions about the working of the Panel of Experts, and in some cases, non-cooperation by member states.
• With India currently serving its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Tirumurti is Chair of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Libya Sanctions Committee as well as the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Tirumurti stressed that lately, the unintended consequences of sanction measures, including humanitarian consequences, are being increasingly emphasized by the member states and other stakeholders.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated more than once that sanctions have exacerbated suffering in countries confronting armed conflict.

On this, India pointed out that sanctions should always be used as an instrument of last resort after having exhausted all other options, and following the provisions of the UN Charter and should not be violative of principles of international law.

• Tirumurti said the Security Council should remain respectful of the regional approach adopted by countries and, in collaboration with regional organizations, address challenges related to peace and security, before considering the sanctions.
• Further, there should be a clear end goal for such sanctions and they should not remain perpetually “as mills around the necks of countries”,
• A clear timeline and criteria for its phased withdrawal be ideally spelled out from the inception stage itself.
• He also stressed the need to ensure that all efforts should be made to reduce the negative impact of such measures on the populations of the receiving State.
• In the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it becomes all the more important.
• It is important for the Security Council to fully consult all the key regional countries before considering sanctions because more often than not the impact of sanctions is felt not just by the country but by its entire region.
• Tirumurti said when it comes to lifting targeted measures, such as arms embargo and assets freeze, the Council needs to prescribe realistic and achievable benchmarks to encourage member states to take steps in the right direction.

“We have seen that some of the benchmarks prescribed on conflict-ridden developing countries are even higher than what some developed countries have achieved. This is uncalled for.”

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

China encroaching along Nepal border, says report

ANI – A Nepalese government report, commissioned in Sept last year has accused China of encroaching into the western district Humla of Nepal along their shared border.

Report –The area between pillar number 5 (2) and the middle of the Kit Khola has been marked as the border between the two countries since the 1963 Boundary Protocol.

• This committee was formed under the Home Ministry Joint Secretary to study the dispute over the Nepal-China border.
• The team studied border pillars, especially in the Limi valley, and initial findings confirmed that there were some serious border issues between Nepal and China.

BBC-It is unclear why the report has not yet been published. But the Nepalese govt has over recent years improved ties with China to counterbalance its long-standing relationship with India, its giant neighbor to the south.

• The report’s findings are likely to put pressure on these growing links with Beijing.
• The Nepalese govt decided to send a task force, consisting of representatives from the police and the administration to Humla after reports about Chinese encroachment.
• Some claimed China had built a series of buildings on the Nepalese side of the border.
• In its report, the group found that surveillance activities by Chinese security forces had restricted religious activities on the Nepalese side of the border in a place called Lalungjong.
• The area has traditionally been a draw for pilgrims because of its proximity to Mount Kailash, just over the border in China, which is a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists.
• The report also concluded that China had been limiting grazing by Nepalese farmers.
• In the same area, it found China was building a fence around a border pillar and attempting to construct a canal and a road on the Nepalese side of the border.
• The region on the Chinese side of the border is Tibet, from where many people (20k) have fled to escape due to Beijing’s repression, through on their way to India and elsewhere.
• Over recent years, China has tried to cut off this escape route.
• There have been reports of Chinese encroachment into Nepal over the last two years, leading to occasional protests in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
• The latest demonstration was just last month.
• In response, the Chinese embassy in Nepal stated in Jan saying: “There is no dispute at all. It is hoped that the Nepali people [will] not be misled with false individual reports.”
• The embassy has not, however, responded to the BBC about the specific allegations laid out in the unpublished report.
• It is thought that Kathmandu has taken up the border issue with Beijing – but it is not saying what China has said in reply.

Nepal’s Hindu Civic Society, Rashtriya Ekata Abhiyan (REA) on Mon handed over a memorandum to the UN, urged the international community to pay attention to Chinese land grabbing.

• REA chairperson Binay Yadav handed over the memorandum to UN Resident Coordinator Richard Howard in Kathmandu, Khabarhub reported.
• The society organization also urged the Nepali Congress-led govt to take action as suggested by the committee formed under its initiation.
• However, the Chinese side has erected fences and wires in Nepali land, despite all evidence on the ground, the report is now pending with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Surprisingly, Kathmandu remains silent over China’s expansionist approach in the Himalayan nation despite reports indicating illegal encroachments in bordering districts including Humla, Gorkha, Darchula, Dolakha, and Sindhupalchowk.

Last month, REA burnt pictures of the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi in the capital city protesting China’s “increased interference” in Nepal’s internal matters and imposing an unannounced blockade in Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani.

The protesters also raised slogans against Yanqi.

1. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-education-chinese-money-universities-watchdog