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Rattled after abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan snaps bilateral trade and downgrades diplomatic ties with India

OpIndia Staff
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Rattled after abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan snaps bilateral trade and downgrades diplomatic ties with India

In the wake of India’s move to repeal Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Pakistan had called in a National Security Council meeting to discuss the future course of action. The NSC meeting arrived at the decision of severing trade between the two countries, downgrading bilateral diplomatic ties with India and raising the issue of Kashmir in the United Nations Security Council among other things.


A statement issued by the Pakistan government said that the NSC meeting discussed the “situation arising out of unilateral & illegal actions by Indian govt, the situation inside Indian Occupied J&K and along LOC”.

Besides, Pakistan NSA has also decided to close the Wagah border and suspend Bus services to India. Pakistan will also be declaring August 15 (India’s Independence Day) as ‘Black Day’ to protest against the action taken by India vis-a-vis Jammu and Kashmir. A review of the bilateral arrangements with India has also been asked for. Along with these, they have also expelled Indian envoy to Pakistan.


Along with this, Pakistan PM also directed the diplomats to open all channels to expose India’s purportedly ‘racist regime, alleged design and human rights violations. Earlier today, Pakistan closed down its airspace for India-bound flights and flights operating from India.

 

The meeting which was chaired by Pakistan PM Imran Khan was attended by Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, Interior Minister, Minister for Human Rights, Advisor Finance, Law Minister, Minister of KA&GB, CJCSC, COAS, DG-ISPR, Minister for Education and other senior ministers.


Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressed the Parliament of Pakistan after the NSC meeting. He accused that India always attempts to keep the Kashmir issue under hidden. He quoted P Chidambaram criticising the decision of Modi government. He said that Pakistan is with the Kashmiris.

Ayodhya case Day 2: Nirmohi Akhara asks for more time to present evidences, bench asks to resubmit arguments after better preparation

OpIndia Staff
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Ayodhya case Day 2: Nirmohi Akhara asks for more time to present evidences, bench asks to resubmit arguments after better preparation

The Supreme court today resumed the hearing for the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid land dispute case on the second day. A Constitution Bench comprises Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer. The 5-judges bench resumed hearing the arguments presented by senior advocate Sushil Jain, appearing for Nirmohi Akhara, one of the parties in the case.

The Ram Mandir case has been taken up for a day to day hearing after the efforts to arrive at an amicable settlement through mediation failed.

The Nirmohi Akhara had on day 1 strongly pitched for claiming the ownership of the entire disputed 2.77-acre plot stating that Muslims had not been allowed to enter the place since 1934.

Senior Advocate S Jain continues the arguments on behalf of Nirmohi Akhara:

The argument commenced today with Sushil Jain advancing his argument based on the point of limitation. He based his argument on Article 47, 142 read with Section 23 of the Limitation Act 1908 saying the suit filed by Nirmohi Akhara was “well within the prescribed time limit”:

  • He began by saying the suit is covered by Article 47 of Limitation Act 1908. The property was under attachment of Magistrate under Sec.145 CrPC.
  • The limitation period starts running only after final order under Sec.145. Since the interim order of Magistrate was pending, cause of action didn’t arise.
  • The suit sought restoration of “shebait” rights for management of temple (‘Shebait’ is the custodian of the temple) ‘Shebait’ rights include management and proprietary rights. When dispossession happened in 1950, Shebait rights got affected, argued Jain.
  • To get over the bar of limitation, Jain argues that prayer for the restoration of ‘shebait rights’ will be covered under-recovery of possession. The limitation period for recovery of possession is 12 years. The dispossession happened in 1950. The suit was filed in 1959. So suit filed well within limitation said, Jain.

Jain representing the Nirmohi Akhara reiterated that at this point they were petitioning for the possession of the inner courtyard and the Ramjanma Bhoomi. “Our claims of ownership stem from our possession. We had been in possession for the longest time. Obstruction to worship and prayer is what forced Nirmohi Akhara to file the civil suits,” Jain said in the court today.

CJI asks Nirmohi Akhara to be consistent in presenting citations and submissions:

The hearing resumed after lunch. CJI asks Jain to make submissions regarding the documentary evidence supporting the claims of Nirmohi Akhara and asks him to provide the bench and the lawyers of the other petitioners with the documents being referred to during arguments.

When Jain said that he would refer to two judgments, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for one of the Muslim parties, interjected and said that he should be given copies “of the SCR” too.

Agreeing with Dhavan on this point the CJI asked Jain to be consistent in what he was referring to and should provide copies of each citation/ documents to the other parties and the bench. The CJI then directed Jain to refer only to those documents, which have been provided by him to all the parties and people present in the court and not just to the bench.

Nirmohi Akhara argues on the difference between ‘shebaitship’ and ‘trusteeship’:

The Nirmohi Akhara also argued that there was a difference between a shebait and a trustee of a temple.

The advocate said that a ‘shebait’ is an “agent of the idol of a temple”. “The shebait enjoys some sort of rights to the property, which are akin to proprietary rights. It is not just a post but proprietary rights are blended with it. That, my lords, is shebaitship,” he added.

The advocate relies on Article 142 to present his arguments, “The Nirmohi Akhara’s right of management, and not just its right of possession, has also been curtailed by the disputed structure”.

In response to this argument, Justice Chandrachud said a shebait could be entitled to conducting worship in the temple without being in its possession. He asserted that if Jain’s reference to Article 142 was to be admitted, it would also mean that Nirmohi Akhara would only have 12 years from the time of dispossession.

Justice Chandrachud said, “(Article) 142 speaks of possession of the immovable property but does not talk about its management. So possession of property and management of worship (rituals) are two different things.”

Nirmohi Akhara draws CJI’ flak for failing to produce records:

The Supreme Court demanded that Jain present either oral or documentary evidence that Nirmohi Akhara was in possession of the Ram Janmabhoomi. CJI Gogoi said, “Do you have oral or documentary proof, revenue records, of possession of Ramjanmabhoomi before its attachment?”

However, Jain replied that records had been lost in a dacoity in 1982. The bench then added, “For the next two hours, we want to see the documentary and oral evidence only. If not, we will proceed to the next case.”

Bench gives more time to Nirmohi Akhara to present evidence:

The Constitution Bench said that the counsel for the Nirmohi Akhara, who has been presenting his arguments since the hearings began on Tuesday was underprepared and failed to present satisfactory evidence to back their claims in the case.

The 5 judge bench giving some time to the Nirmohi Akhara to prepare itself and resubmit arguments after better preparations, decided to take up suit no 5, submissions of deity Ram Lalla.

Counsel for deity Ram Lalla begins argument:

Senior advocate K Parasaran for the deity Ram Lalla started advancing submissions in the Ayodhya case.

In view of his age and seniority, the CJI asked K Parasaran to sit and argue. Parasaran declining the offer said, “Tradition constrains me to defy my age” and offers to argue standing. He began his submission by saying.

  • Devotees believe that the spirit of Sri Ram is present in the place and this unshakeable faith, evidences that the ‘Asthan’ is the birthplace of Lord Ram.
  • At least in three places in Valmiki Ramayana, it is mentioned that Sri Ram was born in Ayodhya, said Parasaran.

Justice Bobde, in response, asked, “Has such a question regarding the place of birth of a prophet or god arisen before any court before? Whether issues like the birth of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem have been questioned and dealt with by any court in the world?”

Parasaran said he would check and revert to the court.

This marked an end to the second day of the day to day hearing in the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

The daily hearings were prescribed by the Constitutional bench on August 2 after taking note of the ‘failed mediation’ by a three-member panel led by former Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla. The mediators also comprised spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate and renowned mediator Sriram Panchu.

The panel had said in its report that Hindu and Muslim parties had not been able to find a solution to the vexatious dispute.

Watch: Normalcy prevails in Jammu and Kashmir as NSA Ajit Doval interacts with residents in Shopian

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Normalcy prevails in Jammu and Kashmir as NSA Ajit Doval interacts with residents in Shopian

Normalcy seems to be returning to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was seen interacting with the locals and having lunch with them in the Shopian district. The state was gripped with a haze of uncertainty after the Indian government decided to repeal Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xasrSmtbRc]

A series of videos and pictures are doing the rounds on the internet in which Doval can be seen sauntering along the streets of Shopian, eating food and having animated conversations with the locals. The video and pictures of Doval in Shopian dispel away apprehensions of anarchy gripping the state as floated by many detractors after the government’s momentous decision of doing away with the archaic partition relic.

NSA Ajit Doval was in Shopian to take stock of the security situation in the state. He also met security personnel in Shopian in presence of DGP Dilbagh Singh.


National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval is in Kashmir to ensure a smooth passage of power and responsibilities to the new administrative structure in Jammu and Kashmir. He is also expected to hold discussions with all stakeholders, including bureaucracy and security forces a day after the Rajya Sabha approved the resolution withdrawing the state’s special status under Article 370 and the bill proposing that it be bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Doval had met governor Satyapal Malik on Tuesday evening to discuss the situation in the state and preparedness required to deal with any kind of unpleasant situation, should there be any.

Republic TV threatens action after pro-Kashmiri separatist Twitter account shares misleading video of Arnab after dilution of Article 370

OpIndia Staff
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Republic TV threatens action after pro-Kashmiri separatist Twitter account shares misleading video of Arnab after dilution of Article 370

A Twitter account sympathising with the Kashmiri separatists movement and a supporter of secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the union of India uploaded a highly doctored old video of journalist Arnab Goswami. The account uploaded Goswami’s edited video from February this year to imply as if Goswami is calling for the genocide of Kashmiris opposing the recent abrogation of Article 370.

The video was lifted from a prime-time debate on Republic TV in which Arnab Goswami was asking stringent action against the terrorists and their supporters in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.

Rituparna Chatterjee, an independent ‘journalist’, quoted the malicious tweet posted by Twitter account @WithKashmir_ without verifying the veracity of the video and tagged Mumbai Police to act against Arnab Goswami for inciting genocide.


However, before long, Twitter users started calling out Chatterjee for passing off an old video from February 2019 in the current context when the valley is on tenterhooks following the abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Consequently, Chatterjee took down her tweet not with a humble apology but with a condescending homily that regardless of the video being old and used out of context, Arnab Goswami should have been booked for his aggressive comments.


Rituparna was not the only one to share the devious video. Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri also quoted the tweet with the out of context video and slammed Arnab Goswami for the choice of words he said in the highly edited video. Similar to Rituparna, when exposed about the provenance of the video, instead of apologising for the slip, Sekhri shamelessly brazened it out saying that the video is from February. Sekhri had no qualms with the uploaded video being highly doctored to treacherously project that Arnab Goswami was asking massacre of Kashmiris protesting revocation of Article 370.


The video shared by @WithKashmir_ and quoted by Rituparna Chatterjee and Newslaundry founder Abhinandan Shekri was a snippet edited out of a prime-time debate hosted by Arnab Goswami on his Republic TV channel in the wake of Pulwama attack happened in February 2019 in which Jaish-e-Muhammad trained terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy, killing 40 CRPF personnel.


In the debate that aired on February 25, 2019, an impassioned Arnab states that he is prepared for the collateral damage in the country to weed out terrorists and their sympathisers. As aggrieved Indian mourning the loss of his Bravehearts, Goswami urged the security forces through his debate to eliminate terrorists and their supporters who carry out a dastardly attack as Pulwama.

However, notorious pro-separatist Twitter users such as @WithKashmir_, who is still smarting the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and initiate complete integration of Kashmir into the Indian union, attempted to exploit the troubled situation in the Valley by inciting fear among Kashmiris with the use of highly doctored out of context video. After being called out for the old video, the tweet was deleted by @WithKashmir_. However, they maintained that Arnab was calling for violence against ‘Kashmir’s pro-independence population’, thereby whitewashing the separatists and their being hand-in-gloves with the terrorists.


Journalists Rituparna and Abhinandan gleefully partook in the activity, not realising that the promotion of old deceptive video had the potential of causing unrest in the state. The remorseless justification by Rituparna Chatterjee and Abhinandan Sekhri shows that they have no interest for the well being of Kashmiris, neither any concern for the dissemination of fake news if it is maligning someone whom they intensely hate.

Meanwhile, Republic TV has threatened action against the pro-Kashmiri separatist account.


“You acted against national security by putting out a doctored video. We will initiate legal action and Republic will take you on. Shortly, Republic Media Network will expose you nice and proper,” it said in a tweet.

‘Feminism in India’ protests against abrogation of Article 370 which was discriminatory against women

OpIndia Staff
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‘Feminism in India’ protests against abrogation of Article 370 which was discriminatory against women

It is a well-known fact that most left-liberal organisations in India are actually anti-BJP organisations. They use various agenda only to attack the BJP, and actually they don’t believe in the causes that they pretend to be supporting. This was once again proved when Feminism In India (FII), a digital feminist platform, protested against the abolition of a constitutional provision which was highly discriminatory against women.

The activists of FII joined a protest organised by left-wing organisations against ‘government’s undemocratic handling’ of Article 370, which was abolished yesterday by the president of India with approval from the parliament. The Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which gave special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, was also an anti-women provision in the constitution.


Article 35A was inserted in the constitution by the present using the provisions of Article 370, which had defined permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir. With Article 370, Article 35A has also been scrapped. According to Article 35A, if any women from Jammu and Kashmir had married a person from outside the state, such women had lost all the rights of property in J&K. They and their children could not own or buy property in the state. Even if Such women and their children resided in the state, they didn’t have property rights in the state. Therefore, this was an anti-women provision, and the Feminism In India should have been celebrating the abolition of this provision if they really believed in the rights of woman.

The Article 370 had meant that a large number of laws that apply to rest of India didn’t apply to Jammu and Kashmir. This included the Indian Penal Code. In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court had decriminalised homosexuality by striking down the section 377, but consensual homosexuality remained a crime in J&K as it was still a crime under Ranbir Penal Code applicable for the state. The FII claims to champion LGBT rights, but they are protesting against a move which promotes LGBT rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

There are many other provisions of law which will be applicable in the state now, which includes the Right to Information, Right to Education, Aadhaar etc. Real right activists should welcome the fact that these rights will be available for people in Jammu and Kashmir now. But propagandists disguised as right activists are protesting the move just because it has been implemented by the Modi government.

After abrogation of Article 370, CII President Uday Kotak proposes ten-point agenda to fuel growth in newly formed union territories

OpIndia Staff
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After abrogation of Article 370, CII President Uday Kotak proposes ten-point agenda to fuel growth in newly formed union territories

Following the scrapping of archaic Article 370 that granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and subsequent passage of the bill aimed at bifurcating the state into two union territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) President, eminent banker Uday Kotak has announced an investor summit to be held in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

While responding about the government’s move to reorganise the state, Kotak said that Jammu and Kashmir has a huge potential to grow owing to the talent as well as wide range of natural resources. He added that the region’s per capita net state domestic product (NSDP) stands at Rs 63,995 which is about 55% of the national average. He added that agriculture accounts for 80% of the output. Stating that there is room for improvement, he added that if the government gives incentive especially to the local businesses, it could open up wide range of job opportunities.

Kotak also said that the trade body has recommended a ten-point agenda to the government which could help in sustainable growth while boosting growth in sectors like tourism, infrastructure and agriculture.

Alongside with CII, the trade body Assocham has also announced the opening of a regional office in J&K after the government decided to convert the state into two union territories. “The feisty move would trigger a wave of investments into sectors like tourism, real estate, handicrafts, horticulture and food processing, among others,” said Assocham president B K Goenka.

The MD of the helmet-manufacturer Steelbird Rajeev Kapur has also expressed his organisation’s interest in investing the newly created union territories. Lauding the government for the brave move, Kapur said, “We think it will fire up investments by local companies to build the conducive ecosystem for growth. This is how most cities and states grow and we see it as a great opportunity for locals first.”

‘Baloch people have lost a great friend’: BLF Chief Dr Allah Nazar issues statement mourning the passing of Sushma Swaraj

OpIndia Staff
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‘Baloch people have lost a great friend’: BLF Chief Dr Allah Nazar issues statement mourning the passing of Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj, one of the tallest leaders of India and a veteran of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) passed away late last night due to cardiac arrest. The country mourned the loss of a great leader and stateswomen.

Now, the rebel leader of Balochistan and the chief of Balochistan Liberation Army, Dr Allah Nazar has issued a statement mourning the loss of a leader like Sushma Swaraj.

Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, in a statement to Balochistan’s Sangar Publication, said:

‘Sushma Swaraj’s death is a great loss to the region. She was one of the finest foreign ministers of India. She was a voice of peace and reconciliation in a world torn apart by conflict and hatred. Under her able leadership, the Indian foreign policy embraced a principled position of calling upon the international community to address the plight of marginalized and oppressed people across the region.

Three years ago, at the UN General Assembly, she drew the international community’s attention to “the brutality against the Baloch people,” which she rightly pointed out “represents the worst form of State oppression” faced by the Baloch people in Pakistan.

He stated that our world would be a better place, if like Sushma Swaraj people fought for justice to oppressed people irrespective of national boundaries. The Baloch people will forever remember her for this bold act of bringing the plight of a marginalized people at the centre stage and hope that her able successors will further her principled foreign policy.

India has lost a great daughter and an able leader, but the Baloch people have lost a great friend. May her soul rest in peace’. 

Political leaders across the political spectrum have expressed their sadness and offered condolences to Swaraj’s family.

Swaraj had redefined the relationship between the people and the government. Using social media to its fullest extent, she had reached out and helped countless Indians stranded in other countries. Often, a mere tweet calling for help was enough for her to reach out and provide help in the most difficult of scenarios.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries reject Pakistani postgraduate degree in medicine, sack MS and MD doctors from Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries reject Pakistani postgraduate degree in medicine, sack MS and MD doctors from Pakistan

In what seems to be another instance of global rejection of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have rejected Pakistan’s century-old obsolete postgraduate degree programme in medicine — MS (Master of Surgery) and MD (Doctor of Medicine), while removing it from the eligibility list of the highest-paid tier, reports Dawn.

Reportedly, the decision by Saudi Arabia to downgrade Pakistani doctors comes after the Saudi Ministry of Health claimed that Pakistan medical education lacked a structured training programme, which is a mandatory requirement to hire medics in important positions. After the Saudi move, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also took a similar step.

The decision has now rendered hundreds of Pakistan doctors in middle-east jobless. Most of these now unqualified doctors who stay in Saudi Arabia are now asked to be ready for deportation.

“Your application for professional qualification has been rejected. The reason is that your master degree from Pakistan is not acceptable according to the Saudi Commission for Health Specialities (SCFHS) regulations,” reads a letter given to the Pakistani doctors.

Reportedly, most of these doctors were hired by a team of the Saudi health ministry in 2016 when it conducted interviews in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad after inviting applications online.

According to the Pakistan doctors, the decision by Saudi Arabia is a huge shame for them as the same degree programme offered by India, Egypt, Sudan and Bangladesh is acceptable in Saudi Arabia and other countries.

After facing severe humiliation in Saudi Arabia, the doctors and the senior health officials of Pakistan have now blamed the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) for damaging their career.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) is a public regulatory college in Pakistan which oversees the postgraduate medical education. The CPSP offers certifications for postgraduate training in the specialities of medicine, surgery and dentistry.

Dr Asad Noor Mirza, the spokesperson for the Association of University Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, said that the decision was a setback for Pakistan’s major degree qualification and disrespect to the highly qualified cream of the nation.

He too blamed Pakistan’s regulatory bodies like CPSP for distorting facts about Pakistan’s university programme to maintain the monopoly of the CPSP-sponsored ‘Fellow of College of Physicians and Surgeons’ (FCPS) programme. This is a postgraduate diploma awarded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) upon completing specialized training.

Dr Ali Usman, another affected medic, said, “I had done five-year postgraduate qualification from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, with training from Lahore General Hospital. But all of a sudden the Saudi health ministry terminated my job contract, landing me and my family in immense shock.”

When Usman had contacted Director-General of Collaboration Department, Saudi Arabia, he was told that his qualification was rejected when the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) delegation had informed the authorities that there was no training-based post-graduate medical degree in Pakistan, except FCPS. He said the CPSP had misled the SCFHS ignoring the fact that Pakistan’s university degree qualification was a structured training programme.

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) is a Saudi Arabian scientific commission that regulates healthcare-related practices and accreditation at all levels in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi authorities had further said that the CPSP president held multiple meetings with relevant officials in Saudi Arabia and asked the authorities to consider only SCHFS qualified Pakistani medicals for jobs here.

University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Javed Akram dismissed the impression that the MS/MD programme was not a structured training qualification.

“The MS and MD degrees are enriched with dynamic, congruent and structured curriculum comprising clinical and research component at par excellence of international standards designed by the World Federation of Medical Education,” Akram said.

He said the University of Health Sciences and many senior medical experts from all over the country had recently taken up the issue of termination of jobs of Pakistani medics and also talked to the SCFHS.

However, Prof Dr Ghulam Mustafa Arain, the Dean (academics) of the CPSP, rejected the allegations levelled by the affected doctors and blamed the affected doctors instead.

He said the CPSP representatives had been promoting FCPS qualification during visits abroad to create a good image of Pakistan in the field of medical education. However, he added that the CPSP cannot think of degrading any medical education programme of Pakistan abroad.

‘Liberals’ troll Jyotiraditya Scindia for daring to go against the party stand to root for India on Article 370

OpIndia Staff
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‘Liberals’ troll Jyotiraditya Scindia for daring to go against the party stand to root for India on Article 370

Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has done the unthinkable. He has dared to go against the party stand on Article 370. Last evening, he tweeted that he supports the move of government of India which fully integrates Jammu and Kashmir into India.


No sooner did Scindia showed some courage to extend support to something that was pro India and against the party’s stand, the ‘liberals’, who champion free will in their spare time, descended upon his timeline to question him whether he is also joining the BJP.


According to this columnist, Scindia supports dilution of Article 370 because he was ‘miffed’ that Kamal Nath became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.


This was also echoed by other self-proclaimed ‘liberals’.


Media troll who equated Dalits to animals, also trolled Scindia and called his family a ‘British stooge’.


More ‘liberal’ journalists also joined in.


Since stripping down of Article 370 in Kashmir, Congress, along with other Opposition parties has maintained that it is against the move. While most members of the Congress including ex-president, Rahul Gandhi has been toeing the Pakistani line and speaking against the move there are few who have gone against their party’s stand to bat for this bold and pathbreaking decision taken by Modi led NDA government.

Senior Congress leader Deepender Hooda who extended his support to stripping down of Article 370 saying that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and such a move will be beneficial to Kashmiris. His support had also come with riders that such a move should have been made by taking other political parties into confidence.

Another senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi, a close aide of former Congress President and currently UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, too went against the party’s stand and welcomed the move. Congress’ Rae Bareli MLA Aditi Singh, too, welcomed the move.

Moreover, Congress’ chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita resigned from Rajya Sabha yesterday because he was upset over Congress’ stand to oppose Centre’s move to dilute Article 370. He stated that Congress’ stand on this issue was “against the people’s feelings” and that the party seemed “hell-bent on political suicide.”

Atif Aslam, Veena Malik may be ‘artists’ for peaceniks in India, but to them, they will always remain Pakistani first

Nirwa Mehta
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Atif Aslam, Veena Malik may be ‘artists’ for peaceniks in India, but to them, they will always remain Pakistani first

Pakistani singer, Atif Aslam, whose songs were banned by the popular music company T-series in wake of the ghastly terrorist attack in Pulwama took to Facebook to write a post denouncing India bold move to dilute Article 370 in Kashmir.

Screenshot of Atif Aslam’s Facebook post

In his post, Atif Aslam condemned the “violence and tyranny being conducted against the Kashmiris” and prayed to Allah to bless the lives of the innocents in Kashmir.

Aslam was leaving for Hajj and before condemning the imaginary violence in Kashmir, he asked for forgiveness from all.

Interestingly, artists across the border are hailed by the so-called liberals and welcomed with open arms while claiming that art has no boundaries. Except, when it comes to Pakistan, the Pakistani artists will always put their country and quite often their religion above everything else. Such can be seen from reality show contestant turned Internet troll Veena Malik.

While Malik casually engages in spreading fake news on the Internet, she also appears to be in dire need of some therapist for her outbursts which can only be termed psychotic, to put it mildly.


There were no cluster bombs used against Pakistan nor has any force been used against Kashmiris. She had sort of lost her mind even during the Balakot Air Strike the Indian Air Force carried out against the terror camps in Pakistan. She is also an unabashed fangirl of Pakistani Army.


But she will always, remain a Muslim.


Which is fine. Except, the ‘liberals’ on this side of the border always saw her as an artist. Back in 2014, Malik had tweeted “India sucks” and blamed it on her India-based manager Prashant Singh. She had accused him of hacking into her account. Back then also, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt had reportedly come to her rescue and asked her to ‘ignore’ such ‘hacking’.

Apparently, till 2014, she considered herself to be an ambassador between India and Pakistan and had “immense respect” for India.

Bhatt, a regular peacenik and father of Rahul Bhatt, who was allegedly a close associate of terrorist David Headley who was involved in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been instrumental in making careers of both Atif Aslam and Veena Malik. Bhatt was the first one to give Aslam a chance in his film ‘Zeher’ by including his song ‘Woh Lamhey’. Bhatt has also been a wellwisher of Malik.

And while Bhatt may want to cry himself hoarse that art and artists have no religion or boundaries, he could perhaps look a little closer to see how two of his proteges are proving him otherwise.

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