NEWS

Former Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Parkash Singh Badal has asked the state government and the Vidhan Sabha Speaker to divert his pension to some social work, "preferably to help some needy girl students in their education, as girls' education has always remained very close to his heart."

Badal, who has mentored thousands of "daughters" by personally ensuring their entire education, stated, "They have a claim on me as they have always enriched my life with the warmth that only daughters can provide. Even in the most difficult times of my life, their love has given me strength."

Badal said that he had never received a pension in his life as he had always been an active legislator.

A Delhi court has framed charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against 15 accused, including Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik, in a case related to terrorist and secessionist activities that disturbed J&K in 2017.

The court said it was an "orchestra conspiracy" and their plan was straight from the playbook of the likes of Adolf Hitler and the march of the Brownshirts - the Nazi Party's original paramilitary wing which played a significant role in Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s.

Special judge Parveen Singh said in the conspiracy, the baton was held by conductors sitting across the border in the form of Pakistani agencies such as ISI and each of the conspirators, knowing every other conspirator, was playing his own role as per the directions of the conductor in order to create a symphony of bloodshed, violence, mayhem and destruction with the ultimate object of secession of J&K. The court framed charges for the offences of criminal conspiracy,

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais has returned the state’s Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021 — which was passed by the legislative Assembly nearly three months ago — with two objections, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said that the nature of the objections is yet to be brought to the notice of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The issue of mob lynching came into focus in the state in 2019, when Tabrez Ansari was tied to a pole and beaten to death by a mob in Dhatkidih village in Seraikela Kharsawan district on suspicion of theft. Ansari was seen in a video purportedly being forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman”.

With international recognition on mind, and following efforts by the government to strike the right chord in the post-US withdrawal Afghanistan - not least with the ongoing supply of 50,000MT of wheat to the country, the Taliban continue to reach out to India for establishing diplomatic ties.

Taliban's UN ambassador-designate Suhail Shaheen told ToI Thursday that the government in Kabul was ready to provide a "secure environment" for the Indian embassy in Kabul and that diplomatic presence was essential for boosting bilateral relations. India had recalled all embassy officials after the return of Taliban to Kabul on August 15 but government authorities remain in touch with Taliban to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

"We want all those countries including India who had their embassies in Kabul to reopen their embassies and start functioning as normal. We are committed to providing them a secure environment for their functioning. Diplomatic presence is important for boosting bilateral relations," said Shaheen.