Terrorists Attack Karachi Police Chief’s Office

One Terrorist Killed In J-K’s Nowgam, Operation Underway

An unidentified terrorist was killed in an ongoing encounter in the Nowgam area of Srinagar on Wednesday, informed the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

“01 terrorist killed. Operation in progress. Further details shall follow,” Kashmir Zone Police said in a Tweet.

The encounter started between the security forces and the terrorists in the Nowgam area of Srinagar in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier on Tuesday, one terrorist associated with proscribed outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed is killed in an encounter that took place between security forces and him in the Awantipora area of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)

India Not Violating Sanctions, But Russian Oil Deal Unfair: US

The United States on Tuesday (local time) said India would not be violating US sanctions by purchasing discounted Russian oil but added that such a move would put the world’s largest democracy on the “wrong side of history”.

Asked about the reports of India considering a Russian offer to buy crude oil and other commodities at discount prices a week after the US banned all Russian energy imports, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Joe Biden administration’s message would be for countries to abide by US sanctions.

“I don’t believe this would be violating that, but also think about where you want to stand,” Psaki said. “When the history books are written at this moment in time, support for Russia – the Russian leadership – is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact”.

India has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting at the United Nations calling out Russia’s aggression. US officials have said in recent weeks they would like India to distance itself from Russia as much as possible, while also recognizing its heavy reliance on Moscow for everything from arms and ammunition to missiles and fighter jets.

Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri in a phone call that the country is keen to increase its oil and petroleum product exports to India along with Indian investments in the Russian oil sector, according to a statement issued by Moscow.

A Russian government release last week had said that Russia’s oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached USD 1 billion, and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure.

“We expect to continue cooperating in the development of peaceful nuclear power, in particular, in building the nuclear power units at Kudankulam,” Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying in the statement following a phone conversation with Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

According to some media reports on Monday, India’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, purchased 3 million barrels of Russian crude oil, the first such transaction since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer and one of the few countries not to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, currently imports 80 per cent of its oil, but only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of those purchases come from Russia. (ANI)

Sidhu Resigns From Post Of Punjab Congress Chief

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday resigned from the post of Punjab Congress chief, a day after Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi sought the resignations of party chiefs of five states in order to facilitate the reorganization of the Pradesh Congress Committees.

“As desired by the Congress President I have sent my resignation,” Sidhu said in a tweet as he posted the one line resignation letter.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate reorganisation of the Pradesh Congress Committees.

Congress high command’s move comes after Congress Working Committee’s met on Sunday.

The meeting was held after the party’s crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states.

The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. (ANI)

Supreme Court

SC To Consider Listing Of Appeals Against Hijab Ban Order Post-Holi Break

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would list for hearing after Holi break appeals challenging Karnataka High Court’s order that dismissed petitions against the ban on Hijab in educational institutions.

A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli said it will consider listing the pleas after Holi vacation after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for petitioners, sought an urgent hearing.

“The urgency is this that there are several girls who have to attend colleges. List this on Monday,” Hegde said.

To this, the CJI said, “Others have mentioned too. We will see, we will post the matter. Let us see we will post the matter after Holi vacations.”

Some of the petitioners before the High Court have approached the apex court challenging the order upholding the Karnataka government’s order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges uniform rules.

One of the appeals in the top court has alleged “step-motherly behaviour of government authorities which has prevented students from practicing their faith and resulted in an unwanted law and order situation”.

The appeal said the High Court in its impugned order “had vehemently failed to apply its mind and was unable to understand the gravity of the situation as well as the core aspect of the Essential Religious Practices enshrined under Article 25 of the Constitution of India”.

“Wearing of Hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam,” it added.

A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi on Tuesday held that the prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions saying they are without merit.

The Hijab row had erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest outside college over being denied entry.

After this, boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka.

As a result, the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decided on the issue.

On February 5, the pre-University education board released a circular stating that the students could only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire would be allowed in colleges.

The order stated that in case a uniform is not prescribed by management committees, then students should wear dresses that go well with the idea of equality and unity, and do not disturb the social order.

A batch of petitions was filed against the government’s rule in the Karnataka High Court by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions.

On February 10, the High Court had issued an interim order stating that students should not wear any religious attire to classes till the court issued the final order. The hearings related to the Hijab case were concluded on February 25 and the court had reserved its judgement. (ANI)

Hijab Ban: K’taka HC Judgment Challenged In Apex Court

The plea moved in Supreme Court challenging Karnataka High Court’s order, which dismissed petitions against the ban on Hijab in educational institutions, has alleged “step-motherly behaviour of state government authorities which has prevented students from practising their faith and resulted in an unwanted law and order situation”.

Lawyer Anas Tanwir, representing the petitioner, said the petition has been filed against order and judgement of the High Court of Karnataka.

“This step-motherly behaviour of Government authorities has prevented students from practising their faith which has resulted in an unwanted law and order situation,” the petitioner said.

The plea said the High Court in its impugned order “had vehemently failed to apply its mind and was unable to understand the gravity of the situation as well as the core aspect of the Essential Religious Practices enshrined under Article 25 of the Constitution of India”.

“The High Court has erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience wherein the court has inferred that those who follow a religion cannot have the right to conscience. There is no provision in the Act or the rules allowing the formation of a College Development Committee. Such a committee, even if formed, has no powers to regulate the wearing of uniform or any other matter in an educational institution,” the plea stated.

“Further, it also misinterpreted the law in accordance with the given facts and erred heavily while granting relief to the petitioner by taking a stand in favour of the respondent, thus, failing to offer relief to the petitioner for its misery,” the plea added.

The petitioner also maintained that the Karnataka HC, assuming the ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ does apply, failed to note that “wearing of Hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam”.

“The High Court has failed to highlight the actions of the respondent which have shifted the burden of maintenance of public order from the state to the public on the basis that the wearing of Hijab by the etitioner is the sole reason for the situation, the petitioner pointed out. “This is akin to the claim that the etitioner is responsible for the issue because they have chosen to practice their faith publicly,” the petition said.

“The High Court has failed to note that the right to wear a Hijab is protected as a part of the right to conscience under Article 25 of the Constitution. It is submitted that since the right to conscience is essentially an individual right, the ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ ought not to have been applied by the High Court in this instant case, ” it added.

Earlier today, the Karnataka High Court held that the prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions.

The High Court, while upholding the Karnataka government’s order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges uniform rules, had dismissed petitions challenging the Hijab ban saying that they are without merit.

The Hijab row had erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest sat outside college over being denied entry.

After this, boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka.

As a result, the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decides on the issue.

On February 5, the pre-University education board released a circular stating that the students can only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire will be allowed in colleges.

The order stated that in case a uniform is not prescribed by management committees, then students should wear dresses that go well with the idea of equality and unity, and does not disturb the social order.

A batch of petitions was filed against the government’s rule in the Karnataka High Court by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions.

A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi heard the petitions challenging the government rule on dress code.

On February 10, the high court issued an interim order stating that said students should not wear any religious attire to classes till the court issues the final order. The hearings related to the Hijab case were concluded on February 25 and the court had reserved its judgement. (ANI)

Alia’s Kashmir Pic From ‘Rocky And Rani…’ Goes Viral

B Town Celebs Shower B’day Wishes On Alia

Bollywood’s chirpy queen Alia Bhatt has turned 29 today and fans and celebrities from the film fraternity have assured to make her day special by showering her with heartfelt wishes on social media.

Taking to her Instagram story, Alia’s beau actor Ranbir Kapoor’s sister Riddhima Sahni shared a picture featuring herself with her mother Neetu Kapoor, daughter Samara Sahni and Alia.

Alongside the picture, she wrote, “Happiest bday my beautiful Aaloo! Love you so much @aliabhatt.”

Malaika Arora also shared a selfie with Alia and wrote, “Happy birthday darling @aliaabhatt… keep shining brighter n ruling the box office.”

Actor Ananya Panday shared a stunning picture of Alia Bhatt on her Instagram story and wrote, “Happy birthday to the most beautiful, honest, real, rare, brilliant person and performer! My favourite energy @aliaabhatt.”

Anushka Sharma also shared a beautiful picture of Alia on her Instagram story and wrote, “Happy birthday Alia! Wishing you love and light always.”

Taking to his Instagram handle, Vicky Kaushal shared a scintillating picture of his ‘Raazi’ co-star and wrote, “Happy birthday Alia! May you keep shining eternally. @aliaabhatt.”

South star Samantha Prabhu also wishes Alia on her Instagram story by writing, “Happy birthday @aliaabhatt Is there anything you cannot do? Can’t wait to celebrate all your achievements…we all know you are just getting started,” alongside a beautiful picture of the birthday girl.

Katrina Kaif wrote, “Happy happy happiest darling @aliaabhatt may u reach new heights and break all barriers Sky is the limit,” alongside a stunning picture of the birthday girl on her Instagram story.

Several stars including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Manish Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Shahid Kapoor among others also extended heartfelt birthday wishes to Alia Bhatt on her birthday.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Alia was recently seen in the blockbuster hit film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’.

Adapted from ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’ by Hussain Zaidi, this latest release of Alia, which has already crossed the Rs 100 crore mark, sees her transform into Gangubai, a sex worker turned mafia queen. From acing the body language of the character to winning hearts with her swag, Alia has delivered one of the best performances of her career to date.

Currently, she is awaiting the release of Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Brahmastra’ and will also be seen in ‘RRR’ and ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’. (ANI)

Ukraine: Russia’s UNSC Resolution Calls For Humanitarian Ceasefire

A Russian UN Security Council resolution has called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine to enable the safe evacuation of civilians, Sputnik reported citing a draft text of the resolution released on Tuesday.

Highlighting the need for the parties concerned to agree on “humanitarian pauses”, the resolution calls for a “negotiated ceasefire for enabling the rapid, safe, voluntary and unhindered evacuation of all civilians”.

Condemning all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, including the Geneva Conventions, the resolution demanded respect and protection for all medical and humanitarian personnel engaged in medical and related duties, according to Sputnik.

Notably, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk -as independent entities. The UN Security Council has recently held a series of discussions regarding the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s international organizations department, Pyotr Ilyichev on Monday said that a UN Security Council resolution could be needed to approve any agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine, reported Sputnik. (ANI)

Modi Holds Meeting With Embassy Officials Engaged In Evacuation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted virtually with officials of a number of embassies and groups involved in the evacuation of Indian students stranded in the war-hit Ukraine. He also held discussions with officials of Indian embassies based in Hungary and Romania.

In the meet, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State for Civil Aviation General (Retd) VK Singh were also present. Notably, Scindia was sent to Romania, Rijiju to the Slovak Republic, Puri to Hungary and VK Singh to Poland as special envoys under Operation Ganga.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, on Tuesday, in a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the ongoing situation in Ukraine, highlighted that the evacuation from Sumy in Ukraine was extremely complex and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal intervention with the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia materialised the ceasefire and consequently the evacuation of Indian students from the city.

He noted that the evacuation from Sumy was complex as Indian students faced the prospect of being caught in the crossfire. The EAM said that the evacuation from Sumy needed a credible ceasefire and this was finally materialised due to the personal intervention of PM Modi with the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia.

So far, India has been able to airlift around 22,500 stranded citizens in more than 80 special evacuation flights. Through its ‘Operations Ganga’, India has also been able to rescue several citizens of the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal.

During the operation, buses and trains brought Indians to the western borders of Ukraine and then, they were flown to India via Bucharest, Budapest, Suceava and Warsaw.

The last batch of over 600 students who were evacuated from Sumy was brought back to India via Poland.

In recent months, ‘Operation Ganga’ has been India’s largest evacuation drive to bring back stranded Indians after operation ‘Devi Shakti’ was launched by the Narendra Modi government in Afghanistan last year. (ANI)

Sonia Asks Congress Chiefs Of Five States To Resign

Following the Congress’s poor performance in the Assembly elections in five states, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

According to Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, the move has been taken to facilitate the reorganization of the party’s state units.

“Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked the PCC Presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations to facilitate the reorganization of PCCs,” tweeted Surjewala.

Presently, Ajay Kumar Lallu is the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee. Navjot Singh Sidhu is the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Further, Nameirakpam Loken Singh holds the responsibility of the president of the Manipur Congress. Ganesh Godiyal is the Congress chief of Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar resigned on Tuesday taking moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the state Assembly polls.

Congress high command’s move comes after Congress Working Committee’s meeting on Sunday.

The meeting was held after the party’s crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states.

The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. (ANI)

Biden Approves 4 BN$ Arms Package Sale To India

Russia Imposes Sanctions On Joe Biden In Return

Russia has imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

“Russia is imposing individual sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top US officials,” Sputnik reported citing the Foreign Ministry as saying.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, his deputy Daleep Singh, CIA Director William Burns, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale Adeyemo, Chair of the US Export-Import Bank Reta Jo Lewis are also included in Russia’s sanctions list, according to Sputnik.

In addition, Moscow is imposing sanctions against Hunter Biden, the president’s son, and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the Russian News Agency reported. (ANI)