News18 Daybreak |Pakistan May Stop Opposing JeM Chief's Listing as Global Terrorist and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For

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Pakistan may stop opposing JeM chief's listing as global terrorist, Abhinandan's return and the political slugfest over strikes 

Amid global pressure to crack down on terror, Pakistan may stop opposing Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s listing as global terrorist in UN Security Council’s terror list.

In order to de-escalate the tensions with India, the Pakistan government has decided to launch a crackdown on terror outfit Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, news agency PTI quoted a top government source as saying

The tensions between the neighbouring countries began after the February 14 terror attack in J&K’s Pulwama, which a member of the JeM claimed responsibility for.

The return: IAF pilot Abhinanandan Varthaman has been undergoing treatment ever since his return from Pakistan. The pilot, who was captured in one of the subsequent air strikes following the Pulwama terror attack, was released on Friday.

Varthaman underwent several medical tests as part of a cooling down process. A debriefing was also carried out by security agencies and will continue for the next couple of days. According to reports, Wing Commander sustained an injury to one of his ribs after he was assaulted by a mob after landing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa met Varthaman separately on Saturday during which he apprised them about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his captivity in Pakistan.

Prime Minister remarks: Meanwhile, the PM on Saturday stirred controversy after he said that that the “entire country is feeling the absence of Rafale fighter jet aircraft”.

"The country is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, what all could have happened if we had Rafale. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said at an event.

He also hit out at his detractors saying they are free to criticise him but their anti-Modi tirade should not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed.

He said she said: Another political slugfest has ensurd between the Centre and the opposition parties over the air strikes. PM Modi on Sunday hit out on the opposition party leaders for “raising doubts” and “asking for proof of the Balakot strike”. “While we are out to counter terrorism what are some people inside the country doing?” PM Modi asked in an NDA rally in Bihar.

PM Modi’s remarks shortly came following the General Secretary of the INC Digvijay’s Singh remarks that the government should provide evidence of the airstrikes in Balakot.

Meanwhile, the opposition party while distancing itself from Singh’s statement responded to Modi saying that “PM himself questioned the air strikes”. “He said had the Rafale jets been there (with the IAF), the results would have been different. What is the meaning of this?" said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari during a press conference.

Amid this demand by the opposition for proof on the strikes, Union Minister S S Ahluwalia said that the purpose of the strike was not to cause human casualty but to send out the message that India is capable of hitting deep inside enemy lines.

Ahluwalia said neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any government spokesperson had given any figure on casualty of air strikes. Rather, it was the Indian media and social media where the unconfirmed figures of terrorist killed were being circulated.

Twelve Mirage 2000H jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir to perform an airstrike on what India says was a terrorist training camp inside Pakistan on 26 February 2019.

PM to launch several projects during his two-day visit to Gujarat from Monday

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