JAMMU, Sept 13: Four people from Rajasthan were arrested on Tuesday and ₹ 9.60 lakh cash was recovered from their possession in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, officials said.
A police party intercepted a Srinagar-bound vehicle on Jammu-Srinagar national highway during checking around 5 pm, they said.
Upon inspecting the vehicle, ₹ 9.60 cash was recovered from a bag that belonged to Radhe Syam who hailed from Rajasthan’s Alwar, they said.
On questioning, Syam failed to explain the source of the cash and it was seized on the spot, police said, adding that the recovered cash is suspected to be stolen.
A complaint has been filed with the Income Tax department and they have been asked to ascertain the source of the cash and corresponding tax liability. (Agencies)
₹ 9.60 lakh cash recovered from possession of 4 in J&K’s Ramban
3 children injured in shell explosion in J&K’s Shopian
SRINAGAR, Sep 13: Three children were injured in an explosion near an encounter site in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said here.
A leftover shell exploded at an encounter site at Heff Shirmal in Shopian, injuring three children who were playing nearby, the officials said.
The children have been rushed to a hospital.
An encounter took place at Heff Shirmal on Monday in which one local militant was killed and a soldier was injured. (Agencies)
Indian Army, PLA resolve last friction point created post-2020, India not in a hurry for de-escalation
New Delhi, September 13: India and China on Tuesday resolved the last remaining friction point on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) created post-May 2020 as troops from both countries pulled back from their respective positions in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area.
“Armies of India and China today completed the disengagement process in Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 in eastern Ladakh sector. The two sides have also completed verification of each other’s positions after pulling back troops from friction point,” government sources said.
The friction point near the Patrolling Point 15 of the Indian Army near the LAC in eastern Ladakh was the final one to be resolved by both sides. The two sides had resolved the friction points in Galwan valley and on both the north and south banks of the Pangong lake.
The friction points were created in May 2020 when the Chinese army showed aggression and tried to unilaterally change the status quo on the LAC but the Indian security establishment retaliated strongly and thwarted the Chinese attempts.
Senior government sources said the Chinese side wanted de-escalation too, along with the disengagement from the PP-15 area but India is not in a hurry to de-escalate the situation in the eastern Ladakh sector where the two sides have continued to maintain over 50,000 troops facing each other.
“Complete de-escalation at the moment would not be possible as India would want to address the issues in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector and the Demchok area where Indian patrols are still being objected to by the Chinese military,” the sources said.
The Indian security establishment driven by National Security Council Secretariat are of the view that the present situation should be used for addressing the legacy issues also, including the ones created long ago.
The Indian Army matched the Chinese aggression strongly and even 24 months after face-offs and skirmishes, the formations dealing with the issue kept pressuring the Chinese military as per Army Chief Manoj Pande’s instructions.
The Northern Command had been very proactive all along and upped the ante especially in recent times as it held three major wargames in the eastern Ladakh sector including Exercise Blitzkrieg in June, Exercise Red Hunt in August and the latest one Exercise Parvat Prahar in August-September.
The Indian Army is also of the view that if the troops have been deployed in such large numbers along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, they should ease out only after securing a solution of the long pending issues. (Agencies)
AAP guarantees corruption-free govt if voted to power in Gujarat
Aam Aadmi Party founder and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday promised
corruption free government if his party is voted to power in Gujarat.
Addressing mediapersons here, the AAP chief said, “Anyone in the government indulging in corrupt practices, be it of AAP or other parties, will be sent to jail.
Kejriwal cited a move of the AAP-led Punjab government when it sacked a minister for corrupt practices.
He even assured that public funds will be cent per cent used for public development, it will neither be distributed to corporate friends, nor allowed to make way to tax havens.
Kejriwal alleged that in the BJP ruled-states, citizens have to pay bribes for getting their work done in government departments.
When asked about Congress leader Ajoy Kumar’s remark that Punjab government is wasting money on advertisements when it does not have funds to pay salaries of college professors, Kejriwal said, “Congress is finished, stop taking Congress party’s question.”
On BJP’s claims that Narmada Bachao Andolan leader and activist Medha Patkar will be projected as AAP’s Chief Minister candidate in Gujarat Assembly polls, Kejriwal said: Saying that AAP is fielding Medha Patkar as chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat is just like saying that BJP is going to project Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successor.”
Men’s T20 World Cup: India head for Mission Australia
On Monday, India announced their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, starting from next month. Compared to last year’s edition in the UAE and Oman, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will be captain and coach respectively.
Despite not making it to the final of Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE, India’s squad was largely expected to have no surprises, big or small.
From the squad which went to Asia Cup 2022, the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel come back after recovering from injuries and passing fitness tests. The duos return is a big boost for India, especially when the bowling attack lacked teeth in Asia Cup.
India’s trust over young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was seen when he was retained in the 15-man squad, with Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami slotted in as reserve players.
Arshdeep had been superb with his yorkers in the death overs, as seen in IPL and in international matches since his debut in July. With Bumrah, Harshal, Arshdeep, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Rohit has a varied pace attack for Mission Australia though they miss an out-and-out pace option in someone like an Umran Malik.
In terms of batting, the top three of Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will continue, which is the same make-up from India’s Super 12 exit at the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Since then, a lot has been said about India embracing a new, aggressive, ultra-attacking batting approach. But the issue is that the trio is yet to click in unison in T20Is this year.
Suryakumar Yadav, with his 360-degree shots, has the ability to up the batting tempo. Then there is Deepak Hooda, who has grabbed his chances in the Indian jersey in whatever ways he’s got them. Apart from his hard-hitting batting, he also provides part-time off-spin option, which is a necessity especially with Ravindra Jadeja unavailable after undergoing knee surgery.
But Hooda will be in competition with ‘keeping duo of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant over the middle-order slots, considering the top four of Rohit, Rahul, Virat and Suryakumar with Pandya as all-rounder.
Karthik made the first big step towards fulfilling his dream of winning the T20 World Cup by getting the nod for the squad on the back of his superlative finishing skills in IPL 2022 and in T20Is for India, a story which speaks volumes about power of persistence.
Pant, on the other hand, has made the cut despite not many impressive performances in the format, with him having the benefit of being the only left-handed batter in the side apart from all-rounder Axar Patel, a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja, whose impactful batting, accurate left-arm spin bowling and fantastic fielding will be missed badly.
Axar is also a part of India’s spin troika alongside leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Picking Ashwin meant that there was no space of Ravi Bishnoi in the main squad, who’s slotted in the reserves.
Injury concerns to Bumrah and Harshal meant Shami is also in the reserves despite not having played a single T20I since last year’s World Cup.
With him having played little international cricket this year, Shami along with Chahar find themselves in India’s squad for T20Is at home against Australia and South Africa with Arshdeep, Bhuvneshwar and Pandya rotated around these two series for conditioning work at NCA.
Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion as a batting stand-by also raises eyebrows, especially with his short-ball issues and Australia pitches full of pace and bounce with bowlers tending to hit the deck hard.
It’s even more surprising as Sanju Samson, who had been backed by Rohit to be advantageous in Australian conditions ahead of first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow this year, is nowhere near the reserves.
With the playing squad of 15 not having any element of surprise, India’s real challenge will be getting their eleven right in the World Cup. They will have to find out which combination gives them the batting depth as well as the six bowling options.
Since winning the inaugural Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India haven’t won the trophy.
Moreover, since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, India haven’t won an ICC trophy. Come October 2022, when India take the field against Pakistan in their first Super 12 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the dream of doing an encore of 2007 will be expected from this full-strength, no surprises squad.
India have the resources in hand; now it’s time for optimum utilisation of it.
India squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players – Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar.
India, China completes disengagement process in eastern Ladakh sector
Armies of India and China on Tuesday completed the disengagement process in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 in the eastern Ladakh sector, according to government sources.
The two sides have also completed verification of each other’s positions adapter pulling back troops from friction point. The process started on September 8 after the discussions between the two sides during the 16th round of corps commander level.
Both armies were supposed to move back from their present positions towards their respective sides of the LAC and verify each others’ positions after that.
The two sides have now resolved all the friction points that came up after the May 2020 aggression by the Chinese army in an attempt to alter the status quo on the LAC.
The disengagement process included the dismantling of infrastructure built by the two sides at the location where they had deployed troops and other assets.
The previous locations from where they had disengaged included the Galwan area and the two banks of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh.
Earlier, in response to a media query earlier, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the disengagement process in the area will be completed by September 12.
FATF Asia-Pacific Group rates Pakistan low on 10 out of 11 international goals on anti-money laundering, combating terror-finance: Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: “The Asia-Pacific Group of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog for terror-financing and money laundering, has rated Pakistan’s level of effectiveness as ‘low’ on 10 out of 11 international goals on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terror,” a media report said on September 12.
Asia-Pacific Group (APF), the Sydney-based regional affiliate of the FATF, released an update as of September 2 on the rating of its regional members suggesting that Pakistan had a ‘moderate level of effectiveness’ on only one out of 11 outcomes, reported Dawn.
Under this ‘immediate outcome’, Pakistan extends international cooperation on appropriate information, financial intelligence and evidence and facilitates action against criminals and their assets.
“A 15-member joint delegation of FATF and APG paid an onsite visit to Pakistan from August 29 to September 2 to verify the country’s compliance with a 34-point action plan committed with FATF at the highest level in June 2018,” the report said.
The task force had found Pakistan compliant or largely compliant on all the 34 points in February this year and had decided to field an onsite mission to verify it on the ground before formally announcing the country’s exit from the grey list.
Under the FATF-APG assessment mechanism, effective ratings on “Immediate Outcomes” reflect the extent to which a country’s measures are effective.
The assessment is conducted on the basis of 11 immediate outcomes, which represent key goals that an effective on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terror (AML/CFT) system should achieve.
However, this has no direct bearing on an expected exit of Pakistan from FATF’s grey list during its October 18-22 plenary in Paris.
Last month, the APG had described Pakistan as ‘compliant’ or ‘largely compliant’ on 38 out of 40 technical recommendations of the FATF on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terror. It had, however, retained Islamabad on ‘Enhanced Follow-up’ until further progress was made on the two remaining recommendations.
This means that Pakistan has made major progress on FATF’s technical recommendations to qualify to be moved out of ‘grey list’, but it is still far behind FATF’s immediate outcomes on effectiveness.
The APG noted that Pakistan had a low level of effectiveness on 10 “Immediate Outcomes (IOs)” under international standards against money laundering and terror financing.
The first IO on which the effectiveness is rated as moderate is that money-laundering and terror-financing are understood and where appropriate actions coordinated domestically to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation, the report said.
There are nine other IOs on which Pakistan has been ranked as having a ‘low level of effectiveness.
Goal 7 & 8 require that ML offences and activities are investigated and offenders are prosecuted and are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions are taken and proceeds and instrumentalities of crime are confiscated.
Likewise, target 9 & 10 demand that terror-financing offences and activities are investigated and persons who finance terrorism are prosecuted and are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and terrorists, terrorist organisations and terrorist financiers are prevented from raising, moving and using funds and from abusing the non-profit organisations sector.
The immediate outcome 11 requires that persons and entities involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are prevented from raising, moving and using funds, consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to the Dawn report.
The exit from the FATF grey list will restore Pakistan’s image and give confidence to foreign investors for doing ventures in the country. The grey-listing makes it hard for countries to do financial transactions and raises the cost of doing business.
“Pakistan’s removal from the grey list will help give impetus to its struggling economy,” according to experts. (Agencies)
Youth found dead in north Kashmir’s Kupwara
Srinagar, Sep 13: A 25-year-old youth was on Tuesday morning found hanging in Gutlipora village of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, sources said.
Jaffar Ahmad Najar, son of Wali Mohammad Najar was found hanging by a rope at his home, news agency GNS reported. In a bid to rescue him, the family members and locals shifted the youth to SDH Kupwara, where he was however declared as brought dead on arrival, an official said.
A police official said that a case has been registered.
The incident comes a day after an advocate was found hanging from a tree in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Mukul Rohatgi Set To Be Attorney General For India Once Again
NEW DELHI, Sept 13: Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi is set to become Attorney General of India for a second time from October 1.
The tenure of the incumbent Attorney General, K.K. Venugopal, is coming to a close on September 30. The 90-year-old jurist has made it clear that he would not want to continue as the top law officer.
Mr. Rohatgi (67) had served as the 14th Attorney General of India when the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014. He had served for three years, till 2017. He had returned to private practice and Mr. Venugopal was appointed the 15th Attorney General.
Mr. Venugopal had initially served a tenure of three years and was later given extensions. The last one was in June 2022 for a period of three months.
Mr. Rohatgi has recently represented the Special Investigation Team in the Zakia Jafri case in which the Supreme Court had upheld the clean chit given to the Gujarat government in connection with the 2002 riots. He had also represented Aryan Khan, the son of actor Shahrukh Khan, in a narcotics case before the Bombay High Court. Mr. Rohatgi was lawyer for Ashish Mishra, an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case and son of Union Minister, in the Supreme Court.
The senior advocate was at the helm when a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) during his first stint as Attorney General. (Agencies)
India to host G-20 summit in New Delhi in 2023
New Delhi, Sept 13: India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, and during its Presidency, it is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings across the country.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10, 2023 in New Delhi, read the Ministry of External Affairs press release.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA – and the European Union (EU).
Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India.
During its Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika. This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them with a greater voice, added the release.
The G20 currently comprises – Finance Track, with 8 workstreams (Global Macroeconomic Policies, Infrastructure Financing, International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion, Health Finance, International Taxation, Financial Sector Reforms); Sherpa Track, with 12 workstreams (Anti-corruption, Agriculture, Culture, Development, Digital Economy, Employment, Environment and Climate, Education, Energy Transition, Health, Trade and Investment, Tourism); 10 Engagement Groups of private sector/civil society/independent bodies (Business 20, Civil 20, Labour 20, Parliament 20, Science 20, Supreme Audit Institutions 20, Think 20, Urban 20, Women 20 and Youth 20).
In addition to G20 Members, there has been a tradition of the G20 Presidency inviting some Guest countries and International Organizations (IOs) to its G20 meetings and summits.
Accordingly, in addition to regular International Organizations (UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB and OECD) and Chairs of Regional Organizations (AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN), India, as G20 President, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest countries, as well as ISA (International Solar Alliance), CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) as Guest IOs, read the release.
Whilst India’s G20 priorities are in the process of being firmed up, ongoing conversations inter alia revolve around inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth; LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment); women’s empowerment; digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture and education to commerce, skill-mapping, culture and tourism; climate financing; circular economy; global food security; energy security; green hydrogen; disaster risk reduction and resilience; developmental cooperation; fight against economic crime; and multilateral reforms. (Agencies)