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Here is how JeM orchestrated the Pulwama attack with the support of the Pakistani army

OpIndia Staff
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Here is how JeM orchestrated the Pulwama attack with the support of the Pakistani army

The National Investigative agency which is close to unraveling the dastardly Pulwama carnage said that several leads point out to the direct involvement of Pakistan in executing the ghastly act.

The evidence collected by the agency points out that four to five Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants, including suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar and a local handler, were involved in the planning and execution of the Pulwama carnage. While it has been ascertained now that the vehicle used in the attack was a red Maruti Eeco, investigators have also learned that it was the Pakistan military that provided the RDX.

An officer with the National Investigation Agency, while speaking with OneIndia revealed that the RDX was moved into Kashmir from across the border weeks before the attack. The RDX was smuggled into India by touts of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. Since it was a large quantity, it was moved in batches, the NIA officer also confirmed.

According to the officer, the RDX was supplied to the militants by the Pakistan army since they freely supply such explosives to the terrorists. The agency was sure that it has been smuggled from across the border, the officer also said.

According to NIS investigators, the owner of the Maruti Eeco vehicle used in the February 14 attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy that killed over 40 soldiers has also been identified. The vehicle was registered in Kashmir some eight years ago and was being used by the group with the knowledge of the owner, who has gone missing, investigating officers added.

“We have the full details about the vehicle, which was sighted with the same group at least a couple of times,” said an NIA investigator.

The officers investigating the matter also concluded that there were rare possibilities of the bomb fitted in the car being triggered remotely. It was Adil Ahmed Dar, the suicide bomber who triggered the explosives.

A car bomb is also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).  Car bombs are more common with Talibanis and Palestinian terror groups. This mode is one of the most lethal modes of attack, as it creates a huge impact and parts of the vehicle which explode act as shrapnel causing further damage and the fuel in the vehicle also adds to the damage.

This has not been used in Kashmir so far. The NIA’s probe revealed that since the mastermind, Mohammad Umair had been trained in Afghanistan, he could have picked up the concept from there, where the car bombs are used by the Taliban extensively.

Also read: Pulwama attack: Women, children in Kashmir ferried expensive military grade RDX in small quantities for months

As per the OneIndia report, Security experts explain that countering a car bomb is very difficult. For instance in Pulwama, the car bomber used the highway to target the CRPF bus. The highway was not closed for the public as a result of which the bomber was able to access the target. Even if the car bomb were to be intercepted, the bomber would have anyway detonated it, thus causing damage, the official explained.

Although the NIA declined to reveal the identities of people involved in the attack at this stage, a senior official said that the full details of the case should be known over the next two weeks.

“We have pieces of evidence; the job of joining of dots to unravel the entire conspiracy is on. Someone brought the RDX from across the border, while another person rigged the device. The vehicle was perhaps repainted with someone doing the reconnaissance of the spot and selection of the target. We have the full picture of the attack,” the senior official added.

Though Pakistan has been in a constant denial mode, reports have mentioned officials admitting under the conditions of anonymity that there were clear Pakistani footprints in the Pulwama attack.

An accidental injury of Altaf Shah passed off as an attack on JKDF chairman Shabir Shah in Tihar Jail

OpIndia Staff
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An accidental injury of Altaf Shah passed off as an attack on JKDF chairman Shabir Shah in Tihar Jail

Speculations that something bad has happened to Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDF) chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah were doing the rounds after the Kashmiri separatist leaders were shifted to Tihar prison as the security agencies initiated crackdown against the Pak sympathisers and separatist leaders. The rumour snowballed, leading many to believe that Shah has been assaulted in the jail.

According to the sources, Hurriyat leader Altaf Shah was injured when a loose roof-tile in the washroom fell on his head causing an injury to him. As the news of Shah being injured broke out, rumours of Shabir Shah being assaulted spread like a wildfire, creating panic among the imprisoned Kashmiris in Tihar jail. The rumour subsequently reached Kashmir leaving the Valley in the state of worried.

Disconcerted by the rumours, Shabir Shah’s wife, Dr Bilquees Shah went to Tihar Jail to see her husband but wasn’t allowed to meet him. She alleged that the officials didn’t allow her to meet him since it was a Saturday, a holiday in the jail. She contacted her lawyer to determine her husband’s wellbeing who denied anything untoward to have happened to him but couldn’t provide confirmation.

However, the DIG Tihar prison has rubbished the rumours of assault on Shah. Urging people to be cautious against ‘fake news’, he has stated that Shah is absolutely ‘fit and fine’, as well as the other J&K and Pakistani prisoners.


Altaf Shah’s daughter Ruwa Shah took to Twitter to scotch the rumours about the assault on Shabir Shah.


She stated that her father Altaf Shah was injured in an accident but because of the similar surnames, the rumours of Shabir Shah picked up steam.

‘I was denied the post of CM thrice as I am Dalit’, says Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy CM G Parameshwara

OpIndia Staff
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‘I was denied the post of CM thrice as I am Dalit’, says Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy CM G Parameshwara

The issue of ‘Dalit Chief Minister’ has come to haunt the Congress party in Karnataka as Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara has once again raised the issue after he revealed that he was thrice denied CM post by the party as he was a ‘Dalit’.

Addressing a gathering of the Chalavadi community in Davangere, Deputy CM Parameshwara said that he lost the opportunity of being the Chief Minister of the state three times as he had belonged to the ‘Dalit’ community and added that he had to reluctantly accept the Deputy Cheif Minister’s post, leaving the Congress party red-faced.

Expressing his disappointment over the reluctance of the Congress party to accommodate Dalits into higher posts, Parameshwara said that Dalit leaders are not being given a chance to be the Chief Minister. Dalits are being discriminated at the government level and even though reservation is facilitated, there has been injustice in promotions, said G Parameshwara.

He further said that Dalit leaders of the Congress party PK Basavalingappa, KH Ranganath and the current Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge were also not made the Chief Minister as they had belonged to the Dalit Community. “All of them could have become CMs, but were victims of Dalit suppression,” he said.

Highlighting the untouchability prevailing the society, Deputy CM Parameshwara said that the evil practice is rampant in rural Karnataka and till now Dalits were being prevented from entering temples, hotels and barbershops despite the fact that constitution has guaranteed them their rights. He further added that seven government officials, who were demoted, had committed suicide. “Our government will come out with rules next week to implement reservation in promotions, he added.

The statements of Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara indicates the increasing friction within the party over the issue of Dalit politics. The unholy alliance of the Congress-JDS in the state and ceding the post of Chief Minister to a junior partner in the coalition has added more fuel to the fire. G Parameshwara, one of the influential Dalit leaders in the state has now exposed the anti-Dalit stand of the Congress party, which otherwise claims to be the champions of inclusive politics.

Congress leader Saifuddin Soz rabble-rouses, says will join separatist Geelani, Mufti, Abdullah in protesting if Article 35A touched

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Saifuddin Soz rabble-rouses, says will join separatist Geelani, Mufti, Abdullah in protesting if Article 35A touched

The Supreme Court ruled today that it would be hearing petitions on the validity of Article 35A that gives special rights to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and precludes non-Kashmiris from buying land and property in the valley from 26th to 28th February. Following the decision, senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz made a controversial statement asserting that he will join hands with Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and even separatist Geelani to protest if Article 35A is scrapped or altered.


Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said, “People like us, whether that is Abdullah, Membooba Mufti or even Geelani, on 35A we will unite at Lal Chowk if the article is touched. Ours and kids’ future depends on this. Our future depends on what the central government plans to do about Kashmir”.

Article 35A has been a contentious provision which precludes non-Kashmiris from buying land and property in Kashmir. Congress leader, after rumours of extra paramilitary forces being brought in the valley by the central government anticipating the striking down of article 35A, made the controversial statement where he asserted that he was even willing to join hands with Geelani, a known pro-Pakistan separatist and rabble-rouser to protest against the move.

Interestingly, Pakistan too has made such statements regarding Article 35A. The Pakistanis have claimed that any proposed changes to the Article were an attempt to impose demographic changes on the state. “Pakistan condemns any such attempts as these are clearly aimed at bringing about demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir,” it said in a statement.

Speculations have been rife in the state as well after the Central government has organized a massive crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami and arrested numerous leaders of the separatist outfit. JKLF leader Yasin Malik was arrested as well after the Pulwama terrorist attack.

Politicians of Kashmir have been stoking the separatist fire after the Pulwama terror attack. Mehbooba Mufti had recently said, after the crackdown on separatists that one can imprison the person but not his ideas.

Congress too has been at the forefront of playing politics after the Pulwama attack. Congress leader Haroon Yusuf had recently made a controversial statement. Referring to the RDX which was used by the terrorist to carry out the attack on the CRPF soldiers, Yusuf tauntingly said that the Prime Minister could trace 3 kg of beef but could not trace 350 kg of RDX which was allegedly used in the Pulwama terrorist attack.

Randeep Singh Surjewala had also attacked the Modi government by holding it responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack and called the JeM terrorist a “home-grown so-called terrorist”.

NIA is close to solving the Pulwama case, finds clear link of Pakistan in the terror attack

OpIndia Staff
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NIA is close to solving the Pulwama case, finds clear link of Pakistan in the terror attack

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is close to cracking the Pulwama terror attack case. As per reports, the agency has found a clear link of Jaish‑e‑Mohammed (JeM) terrorists with the attack. The terror attack was the result of an elaborate operation by four or five JeM terrorists, including the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar.

The sources from the police has informed that a Maruti Eeco vehicle was used in the horrific terror attack on a bus in a CRPF convoy on 14th February, and the owner of the vehicle has been identified from its records. The car was registered in Kashmir eight years ago, and the owner knew that it was being used by the JeM operatives. The owner of the vehicle has gone missing after the attacks, sources added.

An NIA officer said that they have the full detail of the vehicle, and it was seen with the same group of people several times before the attack.

The NIA investigators have said that there is clear evidence of the involvement of Pakistan in the attack. The agency believes that the 25 kg of RDX used in the attack came from Pakistan, although they are still probing how the terrorists procured the explosives.

According to NIA, the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar, who had shot a video talking about the attack before blowing himself in the attack, was actively involved with JeM since he went missing in March last year. The other members of the group involved in the attack were from Pakistan, investigators have found.

It is believed that Dar was radicalised after his house was allegedly ransacked by CRPF in May 2018, and he particularly hated the force for this reason. The JeM in a statement issued after a grenade attack in Srinagar in June had said that “government forces made a vain and shameful attempt of setting ablaze the house of one of our colleagues Adil Ahmad Dar alias Waqas of Kakapora Gundibagh, Pulwama, during the dead of night”. The JeM had warned that every army camp in the state was a target, and would be burned.

One NIA official said that they have full information about how someone RDX was brought from across the border, another person made the device, the car was repainted, and someone did the job of reconnaissance of the spot and selection of the target. They are now in the process of joining the dots to unravel the entire conspiracy, and full detail of the case should be known in next two weeks.

SC to hear pleas challenging validity of Article 35A this week from 26th to 28th February

OpIndia Staff
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SC to hear pleas challenging validity of Article 35A this week from 26th to 28th February

The Supreme Court will hear the pleas challenging the validity of Article 35A this week from February 26-28th.


The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday, however, stated that only an elected government of J&K would be able to take a stand on Article 35A. Senior bureaucrat Rohit Kansal, the chief spokesperson of the governor’s administration said, “The stand of the state government on the request of deferment of hearing on Article 35A in the Supreme Court remains the same as requested by them on February 11.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistanis have claimed that any proposed changes to the Article was an attempt to impose demographic changes on the state. “Pakistan condemns any such attempts as these are clearly aimed at bringing about demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir,” it said in a statement.

Speculations have been rife in the state as well after the Central government has organized a massive crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami and arrested numerous leaders of the separatist outfit. JKLF leader Yasin Malik was arrested as well.

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution empowers the state government of Jammu and Kashmir to define ‘permanent residents’ of the state and provide them with special rights and privileges accordingly.

Government is not responsible for delay in appointments of judges, it is due to Collegium: CJI Ranjan Gogoi

OpIndia Staff
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Government is not responsible for delay in appointments of judges, it is due to Collegium: CJI Ranjan Gogoi

The tirade by the opposition parties led by the Congress against the Union government over interference in judicial appointments has been found to be baseless as Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has now accepted that the government is not responsible for the delay in the judges’ appointment.

Hearing a petition filed by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that if at all any delay exists in the appointment of the judges it is because of the collegium and not because of Government of India, vindicating the stand of the NDA government regarding non-interference in the judicial process.

“If at all there was a delay, it was on the part of the collegium and not the Union of India,” CJI Gogoi said while hearing the petition. The petitioner had contended that the Union government was responsible for delaying the appointment of judges to High Courts.

Controversial Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan representing the petitioner alleged that the Centre has been indefinitely sitting on names recommended by the Collegium for appointment to the country’s higher judiciary. It argued that the government cannot frustrate the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary in “an oblique way”, and that this amounted to interference in the due process of law and independence and integrity of the judiciary.

However, the CJI Gogoi on a bench with justice Sanjiv Khanna rejected the argument, said, “How can you say that? The appointment is happening; some of the names are pending with the Collegium. As the Chief Justice, I am telling you that whatever is pending is mostly before the collegium. There are almost 70-80 proposals pending before the Supreme Court collegium and hardly 27 before the government.”

The observations made by the Chief Justice assume huge significance as it comes at the backdrop of the fact that the opposition parties have generally blamed the Narendra Modi government for deliberately delaying appointments in the judiciary.

The Congress party has always attacked the Narendra Modi government with the “independence of the judiciary is under threat” narrative despite the fact that it was the Congress party which had moved an impeachment motion against the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra allegedly for pronouncing judgments that did not suit them.

CNN News 18 spreads half truth about Indigo not allowing Kashmiri family to board flight on ‘flimsy pretext’

OpIndia Staff
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CNN News 18 spreads half truth about Indigo not allowing Kashmiri family to board flight on ‘flimsy pretext’

The Pulwama terrorist attack left the entire nation in a state of shock. The Pakistan sponsored terror attack that left 44 CRPF soldiers dead was carried out by terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohommad. In the aftermath of the terror attack, as the nation mourned the loss of our soldiers, the usual ‘liberal’ ecosystem started fearmongering about Kashmiris being under attack to change the focus from the terror attack. Now, CNN News 18 has also joined the bandwagon.

CNN News 18 reported this morning that a Kashmiri family was not allowed to board a flight by Indigo Airlines on ‘flimsy pretext’ of their surname not being mentioned. They tweeted, ‘They were not allowed even showing their Aadhar. Their tickets were cancelled and were asked to pay additional money for fresh tickets’.


The case pertains to one that was brought to the fore by the Kashmiri career protestor and JNU student Shehla Rashid.

Shehla Rashid, on 24th February, had tweeted that a Kashmiri family was not being allowed by Indigo to board the flight due to a mix up in the name on the ticket and their documents. She said, “the travel agent has missed the daughter’s middle name and only her first and last names show on the itinerary. The mother’s last name on her Aadhaar card says “Bano” but the travel agent put her husband’s last name!” She then urged the airline to ‘take a compassionate view’ because the father did not specify the full name to the travel agent.


An hour later, Shehla tweeted an ‘update’ on the ‘case’. She wrote that Indigo had offered a refund for the Banday family and that the family will buy new tickets. She said it was an ‘unfortunate incident where a family is punished for the travel agent’s error’.


Interestingly, while Shehla Rashid played up the Kashmiri victim card, Indigo responded to Shehla clarifying the entire issue. Indigo Airlines said that according to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the name on the ticket has to match with the name on the government ID card. Indigo tweeted that they do have a process for name rectification but this was the case of ‘name change’. Under the circumstances, Indigo said, tickets are to be cancelled and fresh tickets issued. This option was declined by the passengers but as a ‘gesture’, the airline decided to refund the money spent by the family on tickets.


Shehla Rashid, not the one to let her Kashmiri victim card slip away alleged that the Airline was indulging in profiling. She said that Indigo was asking for additional money for the new tickets and hence the family declined the option.

She followed that up with an unsubstantiated comment that the staff ‘clearly said that they take these “extra measures” for J&K and that this was a clear case of profiling.


Shehla Rashid tried her best to play the Kashmiri victim card, however, the Airline rules are the same for everyone. If the Airline finds a gross discrepancy in the name between what is mentioned in the ticket and the name mentioned in the Government ID card, it is obvious that the Airline would take extra measures to follow the Security rules.

Also, even if the staff said that they take “extra measures” for passengers flying to J&K, one has to realise that Kashmir comes under a ‘disturbed area’ and for Airlines to take extra security measures is natural. For Shehla to turn a routine security check into a “Kashmiri in danger” narrative is sinister.

What is worse is how CNN News 18 toed the exact same propaganda line without checking the relevant facts. CNN News 18 tweeted, “A Kashmiri family was not allowed to board a plane yesterday by Indigo on a flimsy’ pretext that their surname was not mentioned. They were not allowed even showing their Aadhar. Their tickets were cancelled and were asked to pay additional money for fresh tickets”.

There are several things wrong with that assertion.

  1. The pretext of names on tickets and corresponding names on the government ID not matching is not a ‘flimsy pretext’. It is the security norm. That is exactly why there is a rule for passengers to produce their government IDs so that the Airline can ensure security.
  2. There is no evidence to prove that they were not allowed to show their Aadhaar card. In fact, as the airline mentioned already, they were given the option to change tickets but they declined and thereafter, their money was refunded.
  3. Yes, they were asked to pay additional fees for fresh tickets but CNN News 18 fails to mention that the option was declined by the passengers. In fact, it fails to mention that Indigo initiated a refund as a “gesture”.

The only question that remains now is why CNN News 18 chose to lie and obfuscate to further the faulty narrative of the entire country victimising Kashmiris when the truth had already been put out there by Indigo Airlines a day before on 24th February 2019.

Road rage or hate crime? Journalist withdraws complaint after claiming he was attacked for being a Kashmiri

OpIndia Staff
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Road rage or hate crime? Journalist withdraws complaint after claiming he was attacked for being a Kashmiri

Pune-based Kashmiri journalist Jibraan Nazir had filed a complaint that he was ‘attacked’ by local youths ‘for being a Kashmiri’. However, after the police nabbed the accused, one Dattaray Lahote and one Azharuddin Shaikh, Nazir withdrew the complaint claiming that he does not believe the ‘attack’ on him was an organised one.


However, the ‘attack’ on Nazir started off as a road rage, according to reports. According to reports, Nazir was riding a bike and stopped at a red signal when two youths continuously honked at Nazir. This started an argument. As per Nazir, the duo allegedly started shouting at him because the numberplate of his bike bore a Himachal Pradesh registration number. Enraged, when he shouted back that he was not from Himachal, but from Jammu and Kashmir, the duo allegedly thrashed him and said that they will ‘send him back to Kashmir’.

As per the Indian Express report, Nazir withdrew his complaint after they apologised and promised to get his vehicle repaired. However, despite the alleged hate crime which left him with a minor fracture, Nazir chose not to pursue this further.

Read also: JNU ‘student’ who was accused of stealing funds in Kathua case found spreading rumours about Kashmiri girls trapped in Uttarakhand

As per a report in Newslaundry, the assailants also referred to him as a terrorist. “While hitting him they were repeatedly asking him to go back to Kashmir. They kept calling him a terrorist. When he made it known that he was a journalist, one of them snatched away his press card and told him to go back to his home in Kashmir and do journalism over there,” Newslaundry cites a ‘source’ close to Nazir. In fact, the Newslaundry report, describing the attack says that over and above the two, five-six bystanders had also joined in and punched him.

Why, then, has Nazir withdrawn the complaint when what happened to him is a clear case of hate crime? Was it really a hate crime as described by Nazir or it was just a road rage incident which escalated and was portrayed as a hate crime.

Ten days back a ghastly terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir, claimed lives of over 40 soldiers. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad took responsibility of the attack. Even as the nation mourned the loss, a few Kashmiris and the ‘liberal intellegensia’ were found celebrating the terror attack. As the nation was enraged, a parallel narrative was being built to shift the focus from the terror attack and its celebration to divert attention by claiming that the Kashmiris are under attack. Since most of the cases, these ‘attacks’ on Kashmiris have turned out to be rumours, one wonders why would Nazir, then, not take the case to its logical end, considering what allegedly happened to him fits the textbook case of hate crime, if he has not hyped it up.

Pune Police has taken suo motu cognisance and lodged an offence in the case. An offence under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC will be lodged against Dattaray and Azharuddin.

As Pakistan Airforce grandstands about war preparedness, its foreign minister asked by Japan to cancel scheduled visit

OpIndia Staff
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As Pakistan Airforce grandstands about war preparedness, its foreign minister asked by Japan to cancel scheduled visit

Amidst the environment of high tension between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers, Pakistan has been displaying a wide variety of emotions.

Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan first released a highly edited video making tall claims and boasting bravado against India, then there were reports of its military mobilising troops, readying hospitals and evacuating villages along the LoC. Pakistani media has also been providing generous doses of entertainment for Indians with their dramatic and innovative ways of ‘warning’ India.

Also read: India can’t stop laughing as ‘tauba Tauba’ Pakistani journalist wants to nuke India because he loves tomatoes

As per reports, the Pakistan Air Force has now also joined in with its army to display their expertise and boast of its ‘preparedness’ and expertise to thwart any ‘misadventure’.

Pakistan’s air chief marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan reportedly visited the forward airforce bases and interacted with the combat crew. He said, “We are a peace-loving nation but if war is imposed on us we will defend the aerial frontiers of our motherland at every cost.”

Khan stated that the PAF will thwart any misadventure by the enemy and is ready to respond with full force as per the aspirations of the nation.

It is notable here that recently, Pakistanis along the Sialkot base had panicked when one of their own jets was flying low during a practice session. They had assumed it as an attack from India.

In another development, it is reported that Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has ‘postponed’ his visit to Japan scheduled this month after Japan’s suggestion.

As per a report in WION, Japan had asked Qureshi to reconsider his visit in view of the current India-Pakistan tension after the Pulwama attack. Japan has reportedly asked Qureshi to stay in his country and engage in active diplomacy to reduce tension with India. Qureshi was scheduled to depart yesterday.


Adding another example to the rapid mood swings of his nation, Imran Khan, after PM Modi’s speech recently where he had announced that this time, all scores will be settled, has released a statement. Khan has stated that Pakistan is ready to act on ‘actionable intelligence’ provided by India and has asked PM Modi to ‘give peace a chance’.

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