My Opinion

In the ongoing Asian Cup trophy saga, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of Asian Cricket Council, was cornered by BCCI officials at the ACC annual general meeting in Dubai on Tuesday. BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla and board member Ashish Shelar raised strong objections on Naqvi’s decision to take away the Asia Cup and winners’ medals to his hotel.
BCCI officials told Naqvi that India has won the Cup, it has the right to take the trophy, the Cup belongs to ACC and it is not the personal property of Mohsin Naqvi.
Cornered, the PCB chief said, the Indian captain could collect it from him from the ACC office in Dubai. Naqvi insisted that another presentation ceremony be held in which he would personally hand over the Cup to Team India captain.
BCCI officials told him that it was India’s stance from the very beginning that its players and officials will not have any direct interaction with any Pakistani player or official during the tournament.
Naqvi, as ACC chief, was so mean-hearted that at the AGM he first congratulated Nepal for defeating West Indies. He congratulated Mongolia for becoming the new ACC members, but he refrained from congratulating Team India for winning the Cup.
BCCI official Ashish Shelar told him he should at least show the basic courtesy of congratulating Team India. Naqvi, at the end, grudgingly congratulated Team India.
Naqvi said, he waited on the dais for more than an hour to hand over the Cup to India. He said, I became the butt of jokes, a cartoon in the eyes of the world, and I will hand over the Cup and medals only when an award ceremony is held and when Team India agrees to take the trophy from me.
On this, BCCI officials said, India’s stance has already been made clear from the beginning. Its players will not have any direct interaction with any Pakistani player or official.
BCCI will now take up this issue with International Cricket Council, while the ACC has left the decision to the five test-playing members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Officials of these five member-countries will meet soon.
Let me narrate what exactly happened on Sunday night in Dubai. It was clearly told before the award ceremony that Team India would not take the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi. It was then decided ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi, Emirates Cricket Board vice-chairman Khalif Al Zarooni and Bangladesh board chief Aminul Islam will stand on the podium, but Naqvi will not hand over any award or medal.
Indian and Pakistan players collected their awards for individual performance from the podium, but trouble arose when the Asia Cup trophy was to be given. Mohsin Naqvi grabbed the trophy and insisted that he would hand over the trophy to Team India.
Team India conveyed to Kiwi commentator Simon Doull that it would not take the trophy from Naqvi, since he is also the Home Minister of Pakistan and is also known for making anti-India remarks on social media.
The UAE hosts tried to find a middle path by speaking to Indian management and Naqvi. UAE officials first suggested that Bangladesh cricket board chief should hand over the Cup to Team India. Team India agreed, but Naqvi did not. He insisted that he would hand the Cup to Team India and no one else.
It was then proposed that the UAE board vice-president would give the Cup, but Naqvi torpedoed this offer too. He stood on the podium waiting for Team India to come. Indian players, who were present on the ground, did not go to the podium.
This drama went on for nearly one hour. Finally, Naqvi walked away in a huff, instructing his officials to take the trophy and winners’ medals to his hotel room. Team India then celebrated its victory on the ground minus the Cup.
What Mohsin Naqvi did can be described with an apt Hindi proverb (“Chori Aur Sinazori” – literal meaning, commit a theft and then brazen it out).
For the first time in cricket history, a winning team is demanding its trophy and the winning team players are waiting for their medals, but the chief of the losing team has grabbed the trophy and medals. His insistence is, “I will give the Cup and medals”.
It is the most shameful thing that the Asia Cup is lying in the hotel room of the person, whose team lost the tournament.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi is the world’s first cricket official, who ran away from the ground with the trophy.
For the first time, the chairman of Asian Cricket Counil stood on the dais like a cartoon and the players did not even look at him.
For the first time, the representatives of the winning team insisted on their right to get the Cup at the ACC meeting, but the loser team’s chief was so shameless that he did not budge an inch from his stand.
One must remind Naqvi, those playing street cricket exhibit such brazen manners. When a team starts losing, they snatch away the bat of the winning team and run.
Mohsin Naqvi has stooped to that level. The sooner he is relieved from the responsibility of ACC, the better it will be for cricket.

Internet ban : Taliban making a mistake

A complete internet blackout has been clamped in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. All internet and mobile network services are off. Fibre-optic internet services have been disrupted and Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Uruzgan are now cut off from the rest of the world.
No international calls are now possible because of the internet blackout. Online classes have come to a standstill and all online business transactions are off.
Earlier, Taliban had blacked out of fibre-optic ndetworks in some provinces like Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Nimroz, but now this ban has been extended to the whole of Afghanistan.
Taliban government says, the ban is part of its crackdown on “immoral activities”. A government spokesman said, this was being done to “prevent vice” which is against the rules of Shariat.
Nobody should be surprised over the Taliban decision. There is no right to freedom of speech and expression in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, women cannot study in schools, college and universities, and all sorts of medieval social restrictions have been imposed.
Internet today is the symbol of world freedom. It is the symbol of knowledge. Taliban government is allergic towards freedom and knowledge. This decision will ultimately hurt the Taliban regime and it will have to withdraw its ban, sooner or later.
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Pakistani cricketers behaved like ‘terrorists’ at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. When they started losing to Team India in their Super Fours clash in the T20 Asian Cup 2025, they indulged in antics. Pakistan’s top scoring batter Sahibzada Farhan, who survived a dropped catch at 0, mimicked by using his bat as an AK-47 rifle, after completing his fifty.
Pakistani bowler Haris Rauf, after getting an Indian wicket, did a play-act of shooting down a fighter jet. His gestures showed as if he has downed fighter jets. The indication was clearly towards Operation Sindoor and doing a false propaganda for Pakistani army chief Asim Munir.
When Team India began batting, the Pakistani fielders hurled abuses. India’s top scorer Abhishek Sharma later complained during a post-match chat. He said, “Paaji, today, I think I needed to do something because I didn’t like what was happening… The words that were being said… after every ball, they were making personal attacks. Shubman Gill and I were talking about it — that we’ll win our team the match and give them a befitting reply.”
It was left to Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav to rub salt into Pakistan’s wounds.
At the post-match media conference, Yadav told a Pakistani reporter, “Sir, my request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry.” When the reporter clarified that he was referring to “standards, and not the rivalry”, the Indian skipper said it hardly makes things any different. “ Rivalry and standard are all the same. Now what is a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 matches and it’s 8-7, that’s a rivalry. Here it’s 13-1 [12-3] or something. There is no contest.”
I think Suryakumar Yadav is right. The Pakistani cricket team lacks power and class. Wins and losses do take place in matches, but to turn the cricket field into a battlefield is objectionable. A batter pointing his bat towards the rival stands like an A-47, and a bowler doing the fighter jet downed pose, are nothing but acts of frustration.
Pakistani players excel in such low standards. If the Pakistani army chief Gen Munir can promote himself as Field Marshal after losing a battle, why not Farhan and Haris, who can try to pose as heroes after losing the match on the field?
In the first 10 overs, when Pakistani batters were playing well, the Pakistani commentator was describing his team as “aggressive” and “highly talented”. In the next 10 overs, they failed to amass runs. When during Team India’s first over, Abhishek Sharma started smacking the balls from star bowler Shaheen Afridi, the same commentator started describing his team as “inexperienced”. When Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill played wonderful shots off Pakistani bowlers and started making runs at a fast rate, the Pakistani commentators had no words left but to praise the Indians.
My opinion, since the beginning, has been that there was no need to play matches with Pakistan. After watching the two matches in which Team India decimated the Pakistanis, my sense of disapproval has somewhat dissipated. I now feel that our boys have sent a good message by defeating the Pakistanis on the ground.

Beware Of Cyber Robbers

A note of caution to all. A 78-year-old senior citizen in Delhi, Naresh Malhotra, was duped of Rs 23 crore by a cyber crime gang. Malhotra had worked in a bank and he knows banking regulations. Yet, he was caught in the trap of cyber thugs.
Delhi Police Special Cell has filed an FIR after Malhotra’s complaint that he was swindled of Rs 22.98 crore. From August 4 to September 4, this huge amount of money was transferred from his account to other shady accounts. It amounted to a neat daily average of nearly Rs 75 lakhs.
The gang went into action the moment Malhotra agreed to cooperate out of fear. A fake court via internet video calling was created, Malhotra was “produced” in that fake court, and the fake court issued an order of digital arrest. He was asked to cooperate with the thugs.
Malhotra gave all details of his properties and bank accounts. Since the cyber criminals had used letterheads of Enforcement Directorate, Reserve Bank of India and Supreme Court, Malhotra, out of fear, gave away all details of his properties. Taking advantage of this, the thugs sold his shares. Every time, huge amount of money was transferred to bank accounts operated by cyber thugs, he was given certificates from “RBI”.
Acting swiftly, Delhi Police froze a bank account having Rs 2.5 crore. Surprisingly, the gang knew that Malhotra used to stay in his home alone, he had two daughters staying out of Delhi. They even knew the numbers of grandsons and grand daughters.
Malhotra’s suspicions arose when, on being asked to transfer money to a private limited company in Kolkata, he refused and said he would himself go to the Supreme Court or RBI to deposit the money. The phone calls then stopped coming.
Former Delhi Police chief S. N. Shrivastav said, people should take care of three points.
Point 1, police never gives info about arrest warrant on phone and if there is a court order, police would reach home physically.
Point 2, no police officer will say, do not disclose this case to any other person.
Point 3, neither police nor any investigating agency carry out interrogation over video call or WhatsApp. The person is called to police station or the investigating agency office.
Last, but not the least, there is no provision of “digital arrest” in India. Anybody saying he has the powers of carrying out “digital arrest” is a cheat, a thug and the victim must disconnect the call immediately.
In 2024, Rs 22,845 crore was swindled by cyber gangs in India. During the first two months of this year, Rs 210 crore was swindled through cyber crimes and if we add Naresh Malhotra’s case, the amount comes to Rs 233 crore.
It shows the lack of awareness among the citizens. Literate and well-read persons, doctors, chartered accountants, bankers become victims and the gangs carry out their cyber crimes with full preparations and confidence.
More than 92,000 people were made victims in the name of “digital arrest”. My appeal to all of you is: Be careful, don’t get caught in any trap offering chances to get rich quick, or anybody telling you that a parcel that has come from abroad has drugs in it, or you have any links with some terror attack.
Do not fear or panic. Do not share your bank account details with any unknown persons. If OTP is asked for, do not share, otherwise your money can be easily diverted into fake accounts within seconds.
If anybody threatens you with digital arrest, take the assistance of any well-read person in your neighbourhood. In order to lodge cyber related crimes, Home Ministry has set up a helpline number 1930. Use this helpline number. No government can stop cyber crime completely, unless people become fully aware and alert.
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US President Donald Trump has practically admitted that his remarks against India have worked adversely. He has admitted that he could not force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accept his demands. Trump has publicly admitted that his 50 pc tariff move has alienated India from the US.
On Friday, Trump wrote on social media, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump.” The remark was sarcastic, and, one the same day, while talking to reporters, Trump did his U-turn act.
Trump said: “I don’t think we have (lost India to China). I’ve been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil, as you know, from Russia. And I let them know that.”
Trump extended an olive branch towards India. He said, “I always will, I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister, he is great….I just don’t like what he is doing at this particular moment, but India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about.”
In Delhi, Prime Minister Modi reacted on X on Saturday: “Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership.”
Donald Trump’s comment on Truth Social platform was no doubt sarcastic. It appears to be borne out of frustation. It also reflects his admission of mistake. For the first time, Trump gave the global power certificate to China and admitted that he is worried about India, Russia and China coming together.
Trump knows it is he who is responsible for pushing India towards China, but he is never going to admit that. The entire world has seen the excesses committed by Trump on India. He provoked Modi, tried to bully him, but the Indian Prime Minister was neither shaken, nor did he give in.
India’s reply was precise, calculated and targeted. American experts had been saying for last several days that it is Trump who converted an old friend like India into an enemy. Trump admitted his action through his social media comment.
The question is: Is the chasm between India and the US deep? Is it permanent? There are many in the US administration who say that Trump has a blow hot, blow cold habit. He has probably realised that breaking off friendly ties with India will prove to be a loss. None should be surprised if Trump changes his tune after some days, as he did on Saturday.
But India’s stand is quite clear. India-US relationship does not depend on the mood and fads of an individual. Today, the world is witnessing a changed India. It is not going to compromise on the issue of self-respect.
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By displaying its diplomatic, economic and military might, China has directly challenged the United States. With Chinese President Xi Jinping leading the military parade, and 26 world leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Kin Jong-un, watching, the Chinese army displayed its intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, hypersonic missiles, underwater drones and stealth fighter jets at the Military Day celebrations.
US President Donald Trump wrote on social media: “The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and “blood” that the United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader. Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory…. May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”
Addressing the parade, Xi Jinping said, China is a great nation that “is never intimidated by any bullies” in an apparent veiled reference to the US, and warned that China is “unstoppable”.
Speaking to media, Donald Trump said, “ … China needs us much more than we need them….We have the strongest military in the world, by far..They would never use their military on us — believe me, that would be the worst thing they could ever do.”
Trump said, he did not see China as a danger, “not at all… America is a big and powerful nation..We are better off economically, and we are now getting money because of tariff. I ended seven wars through dialogue.”
There is no doubt that the US is the world’s biggest military power and a strong economy, but what was the need for Trump to say all this?
Even US experts are worried over the lofty claims being made by Trump. The US President has left diplomatic niceties far behind. He has openly said that Xi Jinping, Putin and Kim Jong Un are “conspiring” against the US.
Such a remark does not behove the US President. What was the need to say that the world cannot run without America? Trump is not alone in making such claims. The North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un also considers his country as a superpower.

Security, Secrets and Concerns of Putin

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un was the talk of the town at the Chinese military parade. He arrived in his special armoured train ‘Sunshine’ to Beijing railway station. He brought his daughter Kim Ju Ae to watch the parade. The special train with 20 coaches is equipped with anti-tank guided missile, surface-to-air missile and machine guns. The train is protected with armoured plates which can withstand tank shells. It chugged into the station at a speed of 60 km per hour.
Political pundits speculate that Kim is grooming his daughter as his successor, in line with the Kim dynasty. Russian President Vladimir Putin took Kim in his special Aurus car to the bilateral talks venue. He thanked Kim for providing Korean soldiers to fight for Russia in the Ukraine war. Kim’s staff polished all glasses, tables and chairs after the meeting to remove all traces of their leader as a security measure.
It was the second time in two days that Putin invited a foreign leader to sit with him in his car, to avoid his conversation being bugged. On Monday, he had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sit in his car, and on Tuesday, it was Kim Jong-un’s turn to sit in the car. Both the leaders spoke for more than 50 minutes.
Another interesting point: Kim’s staff removed all biological traces from the washroom and toiler that the leader used in Beijing. Putin’s staff did the same when he met Donald Trump in Alaska.
In today’s technological age, presence of physical traces of any leader can be fully analysed to derive health related information. All such traces and evidences are therefore removed after the leader leaves the place.

Floods : Be ready to tackle foodgrain crisis

Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and now Delhi have been ravaged by flood, cloudbursts and landslides causing death and devastation. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited flooded areas of Punjab and met farmers who showed him samples of damaged crops in Gurdaspur. Most of the rivers are in spate and the Yamuna is still flowing above danger level in Delhi. Delhi’s Wazirabad bridge has been closed to traffic.
The Yamuna, in spate, has inundated large areas in Haryana and Mathura in UP. The Yamuna was flowing hardly 600 metres away from the famous Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan. The entire Parikrama route has been inundated. Flood water has entered most of the ashrams on the bank of Yamuna. Nearly 1,500 people have been shifted to relief camps. Areas near the Taj Mahal in Agra have also been inundated. Flood water has touched the boundary wall of Taj Mahal.
Punjab has been badly ravaged by flood. For the first time since 1988, all the 23 districts of Punjab have been affected by flood in Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers. The situation has worsened in Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Moga, Barnala, Amritsar and Patiala. Standing crops on roughly 3 lakh acres have been damaged. 324 villages in Gurdaspur and 135 villages in Amritsar are now under water. NDRF, SDRF, army, BSF and Sikh organisations are working round-the-clock in rescue and relief work.
This year’s monsoon has broken all records. Never in the past had Delhi witnessed huge rainfall in the months of August and September. Rains have broken nine-year-old records in Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have witnessed one day’s rains equivalent to rainfall recorded during the entire season in past years.
The Centre is trying to provide all possible assistance to the affected states. After the monsoon season is over, one major crisis will be staring in the face.
Foodgrains production may witness a steep decline due to huge loss of crops over several lakh hectares. The government should be ready and must make all preparations to face such an eventuality.
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India, Russia and China, along with other member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) on Monday unanimously said, without naming the US, that the world will not tolerate “unilateral coercive measures including those of an economic nature, that contravene UN Charter and other norms of international law”.
It was a clear reference to steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on most of the countries of the world.
As pictures and videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping made it to the front pages of world newspapers and prime time of world news channels, the headlines were evocative.
“Xi, Putin And Modi Try To Signal Unity At China Summit”, wrote The New York Times, “Behind the smiles with Putin, Modi and Xi at China Summit”, said CNBC, “Car-rides and hand holding: Putin, Modi and Xi send Trump a message at China Summit”, said NBC News, “Xi, Modi and Putin share a laugh at security commit” , wrote CNN.
And what was the message from Xi, Modi and Putin? Without naming the US or Donald Trump, they said, the world will run on the basis of mutual cooperation and any country trying to disturb world order or browbeat others to break business chains, will not be tolerated.
The New York Times wrote: “Their display of friendship in China was aimed at projecting an alternative to US global leadership..”.
Russian Foreign Ministry posted the pictures of the three top leaders as its “Picture of the Day”. Putin, after a warm hug and handshake, went with Modi to the dais. He requested Modi to join him in his high-security vehicle Aurus Senat. Putin waited for ten minutes for Modi to come and join him in the vehicle. The two leaders had a long tete-a-tete even after reaching their venue for bilateral talks.
Xi Jinping supported India’s stand on terrorism and said that the friendship between India, China and Russia will prove to be the balancing factor in the new world order.
Pakistan is a member of SCO and most of the SCO countries condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sat and listened when Modi said, terrorism in any form will not be tolerated.
The outcomes of SCO Summit is a historic success for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy. Those who were saying that India’s foreign policy has failed, may have been shocked watching Modi, Putin and Xi meeting in a spirit of bonhomie.
Those who were claiming that Modi fears China, must have noticed how Modi said, in the face of the Pakistani Prime Minister on Chinese soil, that terror attacks will not be tolerated.
Those who were gratuitously teaching Modi the ropes of diplomacy must have noticed, Putin waiting in his vehicle for ten minutes for Modi to come and sit with him. Both the leaders had a tete-a-tete inside the car for nearly 50 minutes. Never had anybody seen such Putin in such a manner at any international gathering.
Those who were shouting, “Narender Surrender”, may have been shocked reading the statement issued by the US embassy in Delhi soon after the SCO summit was over.
It read, “The partnership between the United States and India continues to reach new heights — a defining relationship of the 21st century. This month, we’re spotlighting the people, progress, and possibilities driving us forward. From innovation and entrepreneurship to defense and bilateral ties, it’s the enduring friendship between our two peoples that fuels this journey.”
Those who were dancing in joy when Trump imposed 50 pc tariff on India, thereby creating a crisis for Modi, will be worried watching Modi, standing with Putin and Xi Jinping, trying to bring some balance in world order.
Even Donald Trump had to write on social media giving excuses on why he imposed a steep tariff on India.
The moot point is: Those who were criticising Modi’s foreign policy, were, in effect, trying to show India in a poor light. They must understand, whenever matters relating to foreign policy arise, whether in the form of challenges from the US or China, the entire nation should stand united, whosoever may be the Prime Minister, whosever may be running the government. National interest is above all.
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A good news from Iran in the midst of escalation in fighting with Israel. Iran opened its airspace, in a special gesture, allowing evacuation of nearly 1,000 Indians in three special flights.
On Friday night, a flight carrying 290 Indian students, mostly from Kashmir, landed in Delhi as part of ‘Operation Sindhu’ launched by the government to evacuate Indians. This was the first of three flights. The second and third flights will arrive on Saturday and Sunday.
Most of the Kashmiri students were studying medicine in Urmia University and Tehran Medical University. The students were first taken by road to Mashhad in Iran and the flight brought them to India. Similarly, 110 students reached Armenia and from there, they returned to Delhi.
There are nearly 6,000 Indians in Iran and nearly half of them are students.
The opening of airspace by Iran for evacuation of Indians during the ongoing war is a clear proof of India’s strong diplomatic presence. Not only Iran opened its air space in the midst of a war, but it also allowed its Mahan Airlines to evacuate Indians.
This special gesture is a reply to all those naysayers in India who were claiming that Iran was unhappy because of Prime Minister Modi’s personal friendship with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. This gesture shows, Iran is not only a friend of India, but is also ready to take extraordinary steps to help Indians. This is a big achievement on part of Prime Minister Modi. It is the magic of our Tricolour.
You may remember, five years ago, when Indian students were trapped when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi personally rang up both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cease fighting for a ceratin period to allow Indians to evacuate.
A special corridor was set up in Ukraine, for Indians to cross over to neighbouring Poland, and from there, tthey were airlifted to India. At that time, even some Pakistani students used the Indian tricolour on their vehicles to flee Ukraine.

Iran war : Why Trump wants to tread softly?

On the eighth day of war, Israeli planes destroyed more than 35 missile launch and storage sites inside Iran. Israeli planes also bombed Iran’s nuclear program research and development installation and an industrial complex.
Iran rained more than 400 ballistic and hypersonic missiles on Israel. Many civilian localities in Tel Aviv, Haifa gas supply plant, refinery and energy infrastructure were targeted. Israel has censored reporting on damages caused by Iran’s missiles.
Israel has killed several nuclear scientists in Iran. One more scientist was killed in Tehran on Friday. Israel’s first priority is to put Iran back by several years in its development of nuclear program. Israel’s second priority is to eliminate the top line leadership of Iranian armed forces. It was twice done recently. On the other hand, while Iran’s missile attacks are broad and widespread, they lack specific targets.
In brief, the war will end only when both countries will be able to analyze their losses. Israel has the capability to defeat Iran, but it will take several years to assess the damage caused to Israel in this war.
One example will suffice. Israel is incurring expenses to the tune of nearly $725 million (Rs 6,300 crore) daily on this war. This daily expenditure is only on the ongoing war. Neither Netanyahu nor Donald Trump had any idea about war expenses that would shoot up. This could be one of the reasons why Trump is hesitating before jumping into this war.
Trump would now like to explore a solution through negotiations, because he has realized that entering this war could prove costly, if it prolongs. If Russia and China join hands, difficulties will mount. Trump does not want Iran to become stronger. As an astute businessman, he may have already counted his probable gains and losses. That is why Trump wants to tread softly.

Iran war : Munir, ISI ready to help US

Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir is waxing eloquently after his two-hour long meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House. At an interaction with people associated with Washington think tanks, Munir said, Pakistan had been on the frontline of the global war against terror.
Munir claimed that it was Pakistan which faced the biggest losses, in terms of lives and money, after it joined the global war on terror. Interestingly, the army chief invited US investors to come to Pakistan to invest in rare earth minerals.
In Pakistan, Jamiat Ulema Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman warned that Pakistan’s atomic weapons would be next on Israel’s agenda and none of the Islamic countries will come to Pakistan’s rescue, just like in Iran’s case.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir may continue to claim their country’s victory in the four-day conflict with India, but Pakistan’s Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spilled the beans in an interview with a Pakistani news channel.
Dar disclosed, after Indian air force struck Noor Khan and Shorkot Rafiqui air bases, Saudi Arabian deputy Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan rang him up and offered to speak to Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar if Pakistan wanted a ceasefire. Clearly, Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir’s claims of victory hold no water.
The surprising part is that Asim Munir, at his meeting at Pakistan embassy with US think tank intellectuals, did not reveal anything about his talks with Trump.
Munir only went on lambasting former PM Imran Khan and explained how he spoiled Pakistan’s relationship with the US. Munir then claimed how he put that relationship back on the rails in his two-hour meeting with Trump.
The army chief even described his lunch with Trump as an unprecedented one-on-one meeting, but the fact is, while his national security adviser and ISI chief Asim Malik was present, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy on Middle East Steve Witcoff were also present at the talks.
It was Witkoff who did much of the talking on Iran-Israel war. He was giving instructions to Asim Munir on how Pakistan could help in helping the US. Munir tamely listened to his instructions.
Whenever Donald Trump will decide on joining the war against Iran, he is surely going to find Asim Munir, his army and ISI ready. This was the sole purpose of the luncheon meet with Asim Munir, which Trump easily achieved.

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The question that is being asked almost everywhere is: Will the ceasefire hold or will there be another conflagration?
Pakistan’s Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the Upper House of his Parliament that the ceasefire with India would continue till May 18. He sounded optimistic that the deadline for ceasefire would extend, step by step. Dar said, “During the DGMOs’ conversation, the ceasefire was extended until May 12. When the DGMOs spoke again on May 12, the ceasefire was extended until May 14. Further talks on May 14 led to the ceasefire being extended until May 18.”
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh poured cold water on Pakistan’s hopes. At Bhuj air base in Gujarat, Singh said, “Operation Sindoor is not yet over..this was just a trailer..We will show the full movie to the world when the right time comes”.
Leaders in Pakistan are, however, praying for India-Pak talks to begin. Dar said, it is possible that India may agree for talks in the next few days, while PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto, who had threatened ‘river of blood will flow’ on Indus water issue, said, Pakistan wants to have composite talks with India and all issues can be sorted out through negotiations. Pakistani leaders are contacting heads of government in world capitals urging them to persuade India to start talks. But India has taken a strong stand.
Rajnath Singh said, “our indigenous BrahMos missiles rained horror and damaged 11 Pakistanis air bases. “If Pakistan does not learn from this, it should be ready for action”, he added.
India does not want war. India did not attack Pakistan first. Its air force only attacked and destroyed terror hideouts after innocent tourists were massacred in Pahalgam. In reply, Pakistan tried to attack our military installations. Pakistan was taught a lesson under Operation Sindoor. Its civilian leadership is now lamenting. Rajnath Singh’s response has been blunt. He has said, this is only a trailer and Pakistan should wait for the full movie.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Adampur air base, told armed forces to remain on alert and if Pakistan makes any mischief, they are free to take action. Operation Sindoor will continue.
There is only one way out: Pakistan must abandon the path of terrorism, wind up all terrorist bases on its soil, and hand over all wanted terrorists to India. It is now for the Pakistani government and its army to decide. If they do not, they should be ready to watch the whole movie.
India has carefully explained this to Paistan, and to the US too. So, the onus on whether to continue the ceasefire or not, is not on India, but on Pakistan. If Pakistan carries out any fresh mischief, our BrahMos missiles will finish off the remaining air bases in Pakistan. Rajnath put it bluntly on Friday,”the trailer lasted only 23 minutes, the time taken by people to finish breakfast. Our air force finished off their air bases within that time.”
Already, Pakistan government has issued tender notices for repair of its damaged air bases in Rawalpindi, Risalpur and Kallar Kahar. People in Pakistan are now asking if these air bases require repairs, why did PAF tell a lie that none of its air bases was damaged in Indian attack.

Pakistan’s policy : Get IMF money, Pay terrorists

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced compensation of Rs 1 crore to the legal heir of each of the terrorists killed in India’s air strike on terror hideouts on May 6-7 night. It can end up paying Rs 14 crore in compensation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, because he lost 14 of his family members in the air strike on his headquarter in Bahawalpur. Shehbaz Sharif has also promised to give Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia to kin of each terrorist killed in Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarter at Muridke. He has also promised to rebuild these terror headquarters and other terror camps.
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, Pakistan will be giving to terrorists crores of money collected from taxpayers and from a billion dollar loan received from IMF. Singh said, India will not tolerate this brazen support to terrorism by Pakistan. This is clearly “indirect terror funding”, he said.
Pakistan is groaning under a total debt of 225 billion dollars, which accounts for 70 per cent of its GDP. Pakistan now stands exposed to the world on the issue of terrorism.
On one hand, Pakistan says it does not support terrorists, then one would like to know: Will Rs 14 crore be given to Masood Azhar for farming? Pakistan says, it has no terror camps. The question is: Did Masood Azhar’s 14 associates die while playing cricket? Is Rs 14 crore a reward to Masood Azhar for spilling blood of innocent people?
The whole world has now seen the damaged headquarters of Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, where terrorists were being recruited and given training. When IAF destroyed both these headquarters, Pakistan described these places as mosques and madrasas. Now Pakistan government is going to rebuild them.
When the bodies of terrorists were blown to pieces in Indian attack, Pakistan described them as civilians and ‘family man’. Why were the coffins of these terrorists draped in Pakistan’s national flag? Why were senior army generals standing in mourning at their funerals?
Pakistan cannot lie anymore. For the last four decades, it has allowed terrorists to kill innocent people, struck at our revered Bharat Mata several times, and when our armed forces destroyed these hideouts, Pakistan started cribbing.
Pakistan knows it quite well that Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed are still living in safe houses and they get full cover from Pakistani army and air force. That is why India has made this amply clear.
So long as Pakistan does not hand over wanted terrorists to India, the war on terrorism shall continue. Pakistan is also now crying out for Indus river water. Prime Minister Modi has said clearly, “Blood and water cannot flow together.”

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India on Thursday clearly laid down conditions for non-escalation of tension and continuation of ceasefire with Pakistan. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar drew the red lines for normalization of bilateral relations. He said, if Pakistan wants to start negotiations, it must first hand over those ‘most wanted’ terrorists, whose list India had given to Pakistan, and dismantle all terrorists’ infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar said, Indus Waters Treaty shall continue to remain in abeyance until cross-border terrorism from Pakistan is “credibly and irrevocably stopped”.
In the past, India had given list of most wanted global terrorists several times to Pakistan. They include 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his associate Chhota Shakeel, 26/11 Mumbai attacks masterminds Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed, Sajid Mir and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, pro-Khalistan terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, and the mastermind of 2001 Parliament attack, 2019 Pulwama blast and 2016 Pathankot attack Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, to name only a few.
All these terror masterminds have been seen in Lahore, Sialkot, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Pak Occupied Kashmir living under protection of Pakistani army.
The list that S. Jaishankar has mentioned is enough for Pakistani leaders to lose their sleep. He has touched a raw vein and it is bound to make Pakistan squirm. The External Affairs Minister has caused pain that hundreds of guided bombs could not.
Pakistan is now caught in a Catch-22 situation. If it hands over these terror masterminds, the world will come to know that it gives shelter to terrorists. If Pakistan refuses to hand over, India is going to strike deep inside Pakistan.
India is going to find out the secret places where these terror masterminds have been kept in hiding by Pakistan. India will show to the world that Pakistan is running a huge terror industry, where suicide killers and terrorists are trained and sent to most parts of the world.

Irresponsible Pak nuke arsenal: hand over to IAEA

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Bhuj air base in Gujarat on Friday and nailed Pakistan’s lie about causing destruction.
A day before, during his first visit to Jammu & Kashmir post-conflict, Singh described Pakistan as a rogue nation whose nuclear arsenal must be brought under the scanner of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He said, “I raise this question before the whole world.: Are nuclear warheads safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation? Pakistan’s nuclear weapons must be brought under the supervision of IAEA.”
Rajnath Singh said, Indian armed forces hit nine top terrorist hideouts inside Pakistan within a span of 23 minutes. “Those terrorists from Pakistan tried to strike at our head, we struck at the heart of Pakistan. Terrorists killed innocent people in the name of ‘dharma’ (religion), we bashed Pakistan because of its ‘karma’ (act). This is the age of New India.”
Rajnath Singh selected the right target at the right time. Pakistani leaders and generals gave threats about using nukes against India during Operation Sindoor several times, but our armed forces jammed the entire Pakistani air defence system within 23 minutes and then proceeded to destroy most of its air bases. Our forces fired missiles at the entrances of Pakistan’s nuclear weapon sites.
The message to Pakistan is clear: Stop giving threats in the name of atom bombs. If Pakistan resorts to more mischief, those nuclear arsenals will turn Pakistan into a graveyard. The next targets of our armed forces are going to be Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals.
A scary Pakistani leadership went to seek assistance from the US. The entire world is now pondering whether Pakistan deserves to remain a responsible nuclear power. There is a risk of terrorists getting hold of its nuclear assets. If any untoward happens in India, our armed forces are definitely going to target such installations. This can be a big danger for the rest of the world. It was, in this context, that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal must come under the scrutiny of IAEA.

Trump, trade and terror

In another flip-flop, US President Donald Trump on Thursday, while addressing his troops in Qatar, said, “I don’t want to say I did (brokered ceasefire), but I sure as hell helped settled the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile…We got it settled. I hope I don’t walk out of here and two days later find out that it’s not settled. But I think it is settled.” In fact, Donald Trump repeated what Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and our army had said. The formal request for ceasefire came from the DGMO of Pakistan army to our Army DGMO and an understanding was agreed upon. Trump did not bring about this ceasefire, but during the last one week he had made this claim several times. Today he made his U-turn. Trump is, after all, Trump. He has said several times that he is going to solve the Kashmir problem that has been festering between India and Pakistan “for a thousand years”. India has made it clear several times that Kashmir is a bilateral issue and there is no question of the involvement of any third party as mediator. Pakistan is willing for third party mediation, but India has been consistently following a policy of ” no third party mediation”. India does not require a mediator. Trump also claimed he spoke to both India and Pakistan on trade. “Let’s do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy too, and I think they are on the way…”. I think Trump must be knowing India’s position quite clearly. Trade and terror cannot go together. Prime Minister Modi has made it quite clear several times. He had also added, water and blood cannot flow together. I hope, Trump’s advisers might have told him about this.

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US President Donald Trump has claimed that his top officials timely averted a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan. Trump had said, “I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed.” The question is, who told the US President that India and Pakistan were on the verge of a nuclear war? The Indian government has denied that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were hit.
During a media briefing, the Director General of Air Operations Air Marshal A.K. Bharti was asked about widespread speculation about the impact of India’s air strike on a suspected nuclear site called Kirana Hills near Pakistan Air Force’s Mushaf air base in Sargodha. Air Marshal A.K.Bharti clearly said, “Indian forces did not know about the site. We did not hit Kirana hills, whatever is there”.
Austrian air warfare historian Tom Cooper in an interview to India TV, pointed to videos showing hits to the entrances of Pakistan’s nuclear site in Kirana hills. Cooper said, IAF strikes hit at least two entrances to the underground complex housing nuclear warheads. He asserted that this meant Pakistan air force’s access to its own nuclear weapons has likely been cut off. “Pakistan cannot protect its own nuclear weapon storage sites and India is in a position of clear advantage”, he added. Cooper said, Pakistan was left with no other options but to seek a ceasefire.
Nuclear weapon is an issue on which no country would like to speak openly. But in recent weeks, when tensions rose post-Pahalgam killings, Pakistani leaders made the nuclear bomb threat look like a joke. Pakistan’s railway minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said his country had 130 nuclear bombs. Somebody should have asked the minister how he knew about this exact count. Are Pakistan’s nuclear weapons stored at railway stations? Almost every top minister of Pakistan had been threatening use of nukes against India. But now, after the four-day-long conflict, the scene completely changed. Pakistan’s top leadership almost cribbed before the US saying its nuclear hideouts have become targets for India’s missiles.
Three points need to be noted. One, Trump said if the conflict between the two countries had continued, it could have led to the deaths of millions of people. Any sane person can easily surmise that such a huge toll can only take place if there is a nuclear war.
Two, international experts have confirmed that Indian missiles reached the entry points to the tunnels that led to Pakistan’s nuclear warheads.
Three, threat of radiation. An American plane reportedly conducted a surveillance to check radiation, but these are all speculations on social media. The main point is that India has called Pakistan’s nuclear bluff.
Pakistan now clearly understands that any amount of threat to use nuclear warheads would not provide cover to its terrorists. India, on its part, does not care two hoots about such threats.
On May 6-7 night, India attacked all terrorist targets inside Pakistan and destroyed them within a span of 23 minutes. All our pilots returned to their bases safely. For 23 minutes, Pakistan could not realize what happened, where and how? Because our forces had choked Pakistan’s air defence system for those 23 vital minutes. Pakistan’s armed forces remained in the dark, their radar systems blacked out. India has now clearly said, any terror strike, both executors and sponsors, will not be spared, wherever they may hide. Our valiant armed forces will hunt them out and neutralize them. Nobody should have any doubts now. We have proved it and we showed it to the world.

Every Indian must boycott Turkiye and Azerbaijan

“Boycott Turkiye and Azerbaijan” have become new trends on social media after both these countries openly supported Pakistan. Swarms of Turkiye-made killer drones were sent by Pakistan during the four-day-long conflict with India. The nation, as one, is angry over the role of both these countries. Turkiye exports apples, dry fruits, marble, cement, mineral oil, chemicals, iron and steel and other products to India and lakhs of Indian tourists visit both these countries every year. In the last one week, 60 per cent decline in tourist bookings to both these countries have been noticed. There have been 250 per cent rise in cancellations of trips by tourists to both these countries. Several travel agencies have stopped booking tourist trips to Turkiye and Azebaijan. Federation of Western India Cine Employees has demanded cancellation of all film shootings in Turkiye, the favourite destinations for our film directors. Industrialist Harsh Goenka wrote on X: “Indians gave Rs 4,000+cr to Turkey & Azerbaijan last year through tourism. Created jobs. Boosted their economy, hotels, weddings, flights. Today, both stand with Pakistan after Pahalgam attack. Plenty of beautiful places in India & the world. Please skip these 2 places. Jai Hind.” It is a fact that Indian gave a boost to the economies of both these countries. Turkey supplied killer drones to Pakistan to attack India. I think, trade and terror, tourism and terror cannot go together. I had recently accepted a birthday invite of one of my friends. He wanted to celebrate his birthday in Turkiye next month. We were supposed to stay for five days in Turkiye. After the Pahalgam killings, I lost interest and after watching Turkish killer drones used by Pakistan, the question of visiting Turkiye does not arise, at all. I told my friend about this and he immediately cancelled all bookings. There are many such patriotic Indians who have decided not to visit Turkiye and Azerbaijan so long as both support Pakistan. Every Indian should do this.

BJP must take strict action against MP minister Vijay Shah

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to immediately grant a stay on Madhya Pradesh High Court order directing registration of an FIR against state minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for making objectionable comments against Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.
A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R.Gavai, said, “A person holding such a public office is expected to uphold certain standards. Every sentence uttered by a minister has to be with responsibility”. When the minister’s counsel said, Vijay Shah has apologised for his remarks, Chief Justice Gavai said, “Go and apologise to the High Court.”
The Tribal Affairs Minister, at an event had remarked that India has taught a lesson to those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack, by using “their own sister”. While he did not name any individual, the Congress alleged he was alluding to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had briefed the media during Operation Sindoor.
Justice Atul Sreedharan of Madhya Pradesh High Court while directing the Director General of Police to register a detailed FIR against the minister, remarked that Vijay Shah has used “scurrilous language” against a senior female Army officer.
The High Court division bench said, the armed forces are perhaps the “last institution existring in this country” reflecting integrity, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour and indomitable courage, with which any citizen of India who values the same, can identify himself with. India’s armed forces have been targeted by Vijay Shah who has used the language of the gutters.”
Top BJP leaders have reprimanded the minister for making such a remark. National Commission for women has also said that Vijay Shah has not only insulted daughters and sisters, but the entire nation by his remarks.
Vijay Shah is a politician, who has won assembly elections eight times. He has put the entire party to embarrassment. Congress workers staged protest outside his residence. What Vijay Shah said is a sin. Those defending our borders are our brothers and sisters. They are soldiers in uniform and moreover, they are not connected to any single community or religion. They belong to the proud heritage of our great nation.
The nation takes pride in Colonel Sofia Qureshi. It is unfortunate that a minister having a lowly mindset spoke scurrilous things about her. A case must be filed against the minister. Such persons must have no place in public life. BJP must take strict action against him.

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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only repeated his warning to Pakistan to choose either between terrorism or annihilation, but also nailed Pakistan’s lies about inflicting damage on IAF’s Adampur air base. He reached India’s second largest air force station in a cargo plane C-30J Hercules aircraft.
The message was clear to the world. Adampur air base is intact and Pakistan’s claim of having destroyed our S-400 missile system was a white lie. While the PM addressed IAF and BSF jawans, on the background was shown S-400 missile system and Indian fighter jets. It was a LIVE Fact Check by none other than Modi.
Pakistan Air Force had been claiming that it had destroyed Adampur air base, but it turned out to be a lie. Modi said, all our armed forces displayed better coordination and worked to a strategy to inflict damages on the enemy. Pakistan’s several top air bases were destroyed, its missiles were shot down and the swarm of drones that Pakistan sent were destroyed.
Modi said, the world is watching Pakistan could not harm us even an inch. Our air bases are fully prepared and operational and our air defence structure is intact. Pakistan had been making fake claims for the last five days about Adampur air base. It is located hardly 100 km from the international border and top fighter jets like Rafale, Sukhoi-30, Mirage and MiG-29 jets are stationed there. Both Lahore city and Sargodha air base come within the striking range of jets stationed at Adampur air base. Sargodha is nearly 295 km away from Adampur.
On May 10, Pakistan air force had claimed that it launched missiles at Adampur air base causing heavy damage. On May 11 night, the Pakistani army spokesperson again claimed that PAF inflicted damages on S-400 defence system stationed in Adampur and Bhuj air bases. All these claims proved to be fake.
The entire world now knows that the Pakistani government and its army do not speak the truth. They only know how to manufacture lies. It is beneath contempt to comment on an army whose spokesperson describes a global terrorist as a moulvi (cleric) and deen ka sipahi (soldier of religion), whose generals lay wreaths and salute slain terrorists at their funeral and which uses video games to claim victories.
By landing at Adampur air base tarmac in an IAF transport aircraft, Modi told the entire world that nobody should remain under the false impression that Pakistan’s words can be trusted. Modi said, all our air bases are intact, our fighter jets are ready, our air defence systems are operational, and if Pakistan resorts to any misadventure, it will face annihilation.

Act of terror will be an act of war : Modi’s clear message

And now, a look at the devastations caused to Pakistan’s defence assets by India. News agency Reuters released pictures of Pakistan’s air bases secured from American private satellite company Maxar Technologies.
The first picture of Pakistan’s Bholari air base, located near Hyderabad, Sindh province, shows how the air force hangar was destroyed in IAF attack on May 10 morning. There are no details of how many Pakistani jets were inside the hangar.
The second satellite picture is of Shahbaz air force in Jacobabad, Sindh province. Pre-attack picture shows its hangar as intact but post-attack picture shows its hangar as completely destroyed. IAF had attacked this air base on May 9 night.
The third proof: IAF had attacked Sukkur air base in Sindh on May 10. Pre-attack picture shows the air base as intact, but post-attack satellite image shows heavy damage caused to the air bases.
Fourth proof: IAF attacked Pakistan’s highly protected Noor Khan air base on May 10 early morning. It is located near Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and it provides air cover to the capital Islamabad. When IAF attacked, neither its air defence system worked nor its strategic assets sprung into action.
Fifth proof: IAF destroyed Mushaf air base near Sargodha. It is a strategic air base and there are strategic air assets located in that base. On May 10 morning, India attacked this airbase and our missile strafed the runway causing a huge crater.
Modi showed to the world the professional prowess of Indian armed forces, armed with latest technologies in modern day warfare. Questions are being raised by some as to why India agreed to an “understanding” to stop military acting.
I spoke to several defence experts. They said, IAF attack on Sargodha was the trigger point. This attack showed how far Indian missiles can cause havoc with pinpoint accuracy. Pakistan’s nuclear assets have been kept hidden near Sargodha.
The United States realized the gravity of the situation. American leaders know that Modi always walks the talk. Our PM had clearly told US Vice President J.D. Vance that India will attack more fiercely and there would be no limits to it.
US President Donald Trump realized that the conflict is going to escalate into a full-blown nuclear war and any nuclear conflict can cause death of millions of people. Trump himself wrote in his social media post that the US put pressure on Pakistan and conveyed to India that Pakistan was ready to stop firing and asked whether India was ready?
The Indian side replied that our fight is against terror, not against Pakistan. India clearly said, if Pakistan continued to support terror and attack India to protect its terror infrastructure, India would reply “bullets with shells”.
The ground reality is, Pakistan had no other option but to seek American help. Pakistan had no other option but to accept what the US advised. Pakistan may be dancing to China’s tunes even today, but it considers the US as its “mai baap” (guardian).
Narendra Modi gave a clearcut message. He showed a new path to the world on how to fight terrorists. I hope other countries suffering from terrorism will also follow this policy and consider every act of terror as an act of war.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his hard-hitting address to the nation, has clearly outlined India’s policy towards Pakistan in the coming days and weeks. He announced India’s resolve to launch the biggest war on terrorism, while signifying a clear shift in India’s policies towards its neighbour. He said, “if there is a terror attack on India, a befitting reply will be given..on our terms only…We will not differentiate between the government that is sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism…The world has again seen the ugly face of Pakistani, when top Pakistani army generals came to the funeral of terrorists killed under Operation Sindoor.” Modi also make it clear that Operation Sindoor is not yet over, it has only been halted. “The new normal”, he said, “is India will deal with every major terror act as an act of war and the army would be free to eliminate terrorists, even if they hide in their sanctuaries inside Pakistan”. The aim will be to crush the snake’s hood and defang its poisonous teeth. No territory inside Pakistan will be considered safe for terrorists. Nuclear blackmail to cover the acts of terrorists will not work anymore, Modi said. Clearly, from now on, neither the Line of Control nor the international border will be able to save the terrorists. The Indian armed forces will eliminate all terrorists by breaking all controls that had been placed till now. If any army comes in the path of our armed forces, they will rain hellfire on it, he warned. If Pakistan attacks one Udhampur air base, our air force will destroy several of their air bases. If Pakistan provides air defence cover to terrorists, our armed forces will destroy that air defence. Modi said, “If Pakistn wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure”. In a single speech, Modi conveyed a message to Pakistan at three different levels : military, political and psychological. All terror acts in future will get the same response. Modi also made it clear that there would be no talks on water or trade with Pakistan, nor any talks would take place to normalize relations. The only issues that India can discuss with Pakistan are only two: One, handing over of terrorists to India and Two, return of Pak Occupied Kashmir to India. This is the new resolve of New India. The entire nation stands solidly behind our valiant armed forces in fulfilling that resolve.

Indian and Pak armies : A Sharp Contrast

Today I heard comments of several American defence experts on the India-Pakistan conflict. Almost all of them agreed that the Indian armed forces are quite professional, while the Pakistani army deals mostly in mischievous activity. These experts said, most of the Pakistani generals are busy playing political power games, they carry on with their business, they are engaged in civil governance and do all other activity except doing the work of a professional army. I would like to say, there can be no comparisons between the Indian and Pakistani armies. Indian armed forces are run by trained officers, while the Army Chief of Pakistan incites his army by invoking religion. Our armed forces are transparent and their officers speak the truth, while Pakistani army generals are masters in speaking lies. We have seen this during the five-day-long conflict last week. The world has seen shocking evidence of how Pakistani army generals nurture and train jihadi terrorists. While Indian army works on eliminating terrorists, Pakistani army personnel are experts in killing unarmed, innocent people in cold blood in the presence of their wives, mothers and daughters. Indian army protects the nation’s unity and sovereign integrity. In the last few days, we have seen how our valiant armed forces destroyed drones, rockets and missiles given to Pakistan by China and Turkiye. Our armed forces taught Pakistani army a lesson by striking their air bases using BrahMos missiles. There can be no comparison between the two. India is proud of the valour and professional approach of its armed forces.

Pakistani army’s lies exposed, again

At a time when 11 Pakistani army bases were destroyed, more than 40 Pakistani soldiers and officers died in Operation Sindoor, hundreds of Pakistani drones and missiles were neutralized and more than 140 terrorists were killed by India, Pakistan army is shamelessly claiming its victory by morphing India TV video, using TV war game videos and making false claim about a dreaded terrorist being an Islamic cleric having kids. Hafiz Abdur Rauf, declared a global terrorist by US treasury department, was introduced by Pak army as a moulvi, who led the funeral prayers for terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor. The Pakistani spokesperson claimed that Rauf was a moulvi, a family man, has three daughters and his parents were teachers. The fact: Hafiz Abdur Rauf’s name is still there in US Treasury Department’s press release dated November 24, 2010. He has been named a member and financier of Lashkar-e-Taiba. India TV telecasted Rauf’s video in which he was giving a call for jehad to terrorists. Secondly, even Pakistan army’s DG, ISPR, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry’s father Sultan Bashiruddin was a nuclear engineer who left his job in 1999 and joined Al Qaeda. His father shared chemical, biological and nuclear info with Osama bin Laden and was declared a global terrorist by United Nations and the US in 2001. Thirdly, Pakistan army edited India TV’s live video from five minutes’ duration to only 27 seconds and posted on Pak government’s X handle to show that PAF has shot down an Indian fighter jet. PIB Fact Check said, the video was morphed through editing. The original India TV video showed how our air defence system shot down a Pakistani missile. Fourthly, Pakistan army used Arma-3, a tactical simulation shooter video game to make false claims. This shows the depths to which the desperation of Pakistani army has sunk. I am surprised how Pakistani generals do not even know that even a kid can catch such lies in this hi-tech age. What Pakistani army did was in response to the media briefings that our three directors general of army, air and navy operations addressed to show the losses inflicted on Pakistani air bases.

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With guns, drones and missiles falling silent on the western India-Pakistan border, all eyes are now on the second DGMO-level talks that will take place on Monday evening. The 32 airports across northern and northwestern India that were closed on May 8 due to Indian and Pakistani air strikes, have been reopened on Monday. Srinagar, Chandigarh, Amritsar and all other airports in northern region are now open for civilian flights. In Mumbai Stock Exchange, Sensex recorded a steep rise by 2,925 points, touching 82,430 mark. No night time intrusions by Pakistani drones were reported on Sunday night all along the western border.
On Monday, the director general of air operations Air Marshal A K Bharti told media, “All our military bases, and systems continue to remain fully operational and ready to undertake any future missions should the need arise”. He recited a couplet from Ramcharit Manas “विनय ना मानत जलध जड़ गए तीन दिन बीति। बोले राम सकोप तब भय बिनु होय ना प्रीति’..” (When the sea refused to listen to Lord Ram’s prayer to make way for the vaanar sena to march to Lanka, the Lord became furious and threatened to dry up the sea, saying there can be no love without striking fear in the enemy).
The Air Marshal clarified that India’s main fight was against terrorists, but it was Pakistan which jumped in and attacked India by sending drones, missiles and shells. “Pakistan’s continued hostilities left India with no choice but to retaliate”, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation on Monday night at 8 pm.
The question now on everybody’s mind is: why was India’s counter-offensive halted? Why was Pakistani targets not pummelled anymore? Why India agreed to an understanding with Pakistan to halt military operations? On May 9, when tit-for-tat attacks were going on, US Vice President J.D.Vance rang up Prime Minister Modi, who told the American leader that India would reply to bullets with shells (goli ka jawaab goley se diya jayega). The same night, Pakistan attacked 26 locations inside India by sending drones and missiles. India retaliated by attacking all key Pakistani air bases causing big damage. Pakistan’s air defence systems were smashed and Indian missiles reached Chaklala air base near Rawalpindi, where Pakistan’s nuclear power command centre is located. Indian armed forces were given instructions to give a befitting reply to Pakistan.
US intelligence told its President Donald Trump that there were alarming signals that Indian missiles were now targeting Pakistan’s nuclear installations and India has a plan to carry out massive attacks on Pakistan. Donald Trump was told that Pakistani army chief has convened a meeting of Nuclear Command Authority and both India and Pakistan were going to engage in vicious attacks and counter-attacks during the weekend. Trump became active and he asked Vice President J D Vance to speak to both countries to stop escalation. Trump indeed apprehended of use of nuclear weapon as he later said “It was time to stop the current aggression that could have led to the death and destruction of so many, and so much. Millions of good and innocent people could have died!”
In order to bring Pakistan to a halt, Vance spoke to Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Gen Asim Munir. He then spoke to our NSA Ajit Doval. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped in. Rubio told India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that Pakistan was ready to halt military operations and whether India was ready. Jaishankar told Rubio that the only way for firing to stop on the border was for the DGMOs of both countries to speak on the hotline. Pakistan DGMO’s first request came at 1 pm and our DGMO did not respond. At 3.35 pm, Pakistan DGMO rang up again and spoke to our DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai. It was decided that a understanding is hereby reached to stop firing and military operations. When this was conveyed to US President, Donald Trump immediately announced it on social media X. Trump gave the impression that a ceasefire has come into effect and it was brokered by the US. But India preferred to name it as an “understanding on DGMO level” only.
Meanwhile, Pakistan told US that it wanted to initiate talks with India to solve the Kashmir issue. When this was conveyed to India, it was clearly conveyed from our side that there was nothing left to talk with Pakistan, and if Pakistan wanted to return Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, then India was willing to talk. It was also conveyed by India that if Pakistan was ready to hand over all wanted terrorists to India, we are ready to talk. There was no other issue left to discuss.

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