1. Indian PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince discuss West Asia situation in bilateral talks
2. ‘India will ensure…’: Defence Minister condemns recent attacks on Merchant ships in IOR
3. Blast near Israeli embassy in New Delhi, search operation underway
4. ‘11 Bombs at different locations in Mumbai’: RBI Receives threat mail ahead of New Year Celebrations
5. Terrorists in J&K using Chinese-made weapons to attack Indian Army: Sources

What Else

• Pakistan Constructing New Airfield Near India border, Probably for Drone Operations
• Jaishankar-Lavrov talks to focus on trade in national currencies, banking
• Bangladesh: IMF flags potential exodus of funds from Bangladesh
• Pakistan: Peshawar High Court suspends ECP order stripping PTI’s ‘bat’ symbol

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Indian PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince discuss West Asia situation in bilateral talks

• PM Modi engaged in a conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
• This came 3 days after an unmanned drone assault on a merchant vessel near Veraval and another Indian merchant ship facing an attack in the Red Sea.
• During the discussion, he conveyed his apprehensions about the situation in West Asia.
• “I held a good conversation … exchanged views on West Asia situation and shared concerns regarding terrorism, violence and the loss of civilian lives. We agreed to work together for peace, security, and stability in the region,” said PM Modi. (here)

‘India will ensure…’: Defence Minister condemns recent attacks on Merchant ships in IOR

• Def Minister Rajnath Singh on Tue said India will ensure that the maritime trade in the region rises.
• Condemning the attacks, he said India’s growing economic and strategic power has filled “some forces with jealousy and hatred”.
• “India is in the role of Net Security Provider in the entire IOR.… together with friendly countries, we will keep the Sea Lanes safe and secure for maritime commerce,” he said.
• Singh speaking at the commissioning ceremony of INS Imphal, during its into the Indian Navy at Mumbai naval base, “Whosoever masterminded the attack, we will find them from the bottom of the sea“.
• Chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto was hit by a drone off in the Arabian Sea when it was on its way to New Mangalore port on Sat.
• A Pentagon said on Sun that MV Chem Pluto was hit by “a one-way attack drone fired from Iran”. (here)
• [While Iran rejected the claim, the Indian Navy said Analysis of the attack surface and the debris found on the ship pointed toward a drone]

Blast near Israeli embassy in New Delhi, search operation underway

• A blast took place on Tue evening near the Israeli embassy located in the New Delhi district but no explosive has been found yet, officials said.
• A search operation is underway and all staff are unharmed, officials said.
• A typed letter addressed to the Israeli ambassador was found in a garden area behind the embassy, where the explosion took place.
• The authenticity of the letter is being verified, they said.
• The embassy said, “We can confirm that around 5:48 pm, there was a blast near the embassy. Delhi Police and the security team are still investigating the situation.”
• Deputy Chief of Mission (Israel) Ohad Nakash Kaynar said, “All our diplomats and workers are safe.”     
• A guard deployed at Hindi Bhawan told the media that he heard a loud noise behind the embassy and informed the police. (here)
• Israel’s National Security Council is terming the incident near the Israel embassy in Delhi as “likely a terror attack”
• Israel’s National Security Council issued an advisory for India, and particularly Delhi asking its citizens to exercise increased caution and avoid crowded places.

‘11 Bombs at different locations in Mumbai’: RBI Receives threat mail ahead of New Year Celebrations

• The Reserve Bank of India on Tue at 1400 hrs received a threat mail saying 11 bombs have been planted at 11 locations in Mumbai.
• The threat comes before the New Year Celebrations in India’s financial capital.
• The mailer demanded the resignations of RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das and Union Fin Min N Sitharaman alleging that they were involved in the “biggest scam in India’s history”.
• The 11 bombs have been planted at different locations in Mumbai including RBI offices, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, and the blast would take place at 1:30 pm.
• If our demands are not met before 1:30 pm, all 11 bombs will blast one by one
• Mumbai police sprung into action and comprehensively searched all the locations.
• Nothing suspicious was found in the search. (here)

Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir using Chinese-made weapons to attack Indian Army: Sources

• The Indian Army has been carrying out a combing operation in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri sector, J&K, for the past week after witnessing a spike in terror activities.
• It started after two army vehicles were ambushed by terrorists on Dec 21, resulting in the deaths of 4 soldiers and injuring two more.
• The forces had inputs that two or three terrorists from across the border had been moving around the forest area.
• The terrorists are believed to be infiltrating from Pak, and PoK, and are armed with the latest Chinese-made weaponry and latest communication devices- security forces
• From rifles, pistols, grenades, drones, and bodysuit cameras to communication devices, the army has found these Chinese-made gadgets from the encounter sites.
• WION (sources) Pakistan has been actively working on reviving terrorism in Rajouri and Poonch areas, which border Pakistan. (here)

Pakistan Constructing New Airfield Near India border, Probably for Drone Operations

• Near Lahore, around 20 km from the Indian border, Pakistan is building a new airstrip.
• There is still much to learn about the airfield’s intended usage, with assumptions ranging from military operation to civilian use.
• Indian defense experts have raised concerns that the airfield could be utilized for drone operations, thus posing a danger to Indian security.
• Regarding the function of the airstrip, Pakistani hasn’t disclosed any information.
• While some have hinted at possible military uses, others have indicated that it would be utilized for a civilian aviation school. (here)
• Pakistan also moves discounted Chinese SH-15 SP Howitzers near Indian Borders.
• In a significant move aimed at bolstering its artillery capabilities, the Pakistan Army has recently rearmed the 28^th and 32^nd Artillery Regiments under the IV Corps in Lahore with the newly imported Chinese SH-15 Self-Propelled (SP) howitzers. (here)

Jaishankar-Lavrov talks to focus on trade in national currencies, banking

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian FM Sergey Lavrov will on Wed discuss the expansion of the use of national currencies in mutual payments and the prospective joint projects for the hydrocarbons in the Arctic and the Russian Far East.
• Jaishankar arrived in Russia on Mon for a 5-day visit to meet the Russian leadership and attend the annual bilateral summit between both nations.
• “Geopolitics and strategic convergence will always keep India-Russia ties on a positive trajectory,” he said as he interacted with strategic experts.
• Issued to be discussed include Ukraine, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine
• The trade in national currencies is particularly important for India’s crude oil imports from Russia, currently settled in UAE dirhams.
• However, Russian companies have increasingly found it difficult to receive dirhams as banking links in the UAE have been under pressure. (here)
• By the end of Jan, Indian Eurasian Economic Union negotiators to hold an in-person meet Matter came up for talks during a meeting with trade minister Denis Manturov says EAM Jaishankar.

 [NEIGHBORHOOD]

Bangladesh: IMF flags potential exodus of funds from Bangladesh

• Bangladesh might have experienced capital flight in the last financial year evidenced by the unusual outflow of funds as well as unrealized export proceeds, said IMF.

• The financial account, a part of the balance of payments (BoP), experienced an outflow of 0.5% of GDP ($2.1 bn) in 2022-23, compared to inflows historically averaging about 2.5% of GDP, signaling capital flight
• It said foreign currency shortages and letter of credit margin requirements on the payments by bank deposits to curb non-essential imports led to a sharp contraction in imports by 16% percent in FY23. (here)

Pakistan: Peshawar High Court suspends ECP order stripping PTI’s ‘bat’ symbol

• The Peshawar High Court on Tue suspended the Election Commission’s declaration of the PTI’s intra-party polls as unconstitutional and the revocation of the party’s ‘bat’ election symbol.
• The court order said that general elections were scheduled for Feb 8 and the last date for allotment of election symbols was Jan 13.
• It directed that notices be issued to all respondents for Jan 9 and suspended the ECP’s Dec 22 order.
• The submission of the party’s plea comes after the electoral watchdog last week voided, for the 2^nd time in under a month, the PTI’s internal elections in which Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was elected as the party’s new chairman. (here)