NATIONAL NEWS
Pegasus row: Government affidavit is ‘delightfully non-committal’: Petitioners
A two-page skimpy and delightfully non-committal affidavit filed by the government in the Supreme Court shortly before the hearing on Monday, denying all and any allegations of using Pegasus to snoop on journalists, activists, dissenters, Supreme Court officers, Ministers, parliamentarians and the Opposition, raised a clamour among the petitioners, who said the Centre, through the Union Home Secretary, should swear on oath before the apex court whether the government or any of its agencies used Pegasus spyware or not. The sum and substance is they (petitioners) are not satisfied with your limited affidavit. They want to know in clear terms whether the government has used Pegasus or not. If you want time to file a detailed affidavit, you can take time, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. But Mehta said even a detailed affidavit may not appease the petitioners. He asked whether the petitioners would swear to withdraw from court if the government said no to using the Pegasus in a further one-page affidavit. Mehta indicated that things were not so simple. Any discussion on this issue would involve national security. We are dealing with a sensitive matter. Attempts are being made to make it sensational, Mehta complained. If the government is reluctant about filing a detailed affidavit, how can we compel them to? the CJI turned to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for veteran journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar. Well, that would mean they don’t want to admit or deny (to using Pegasus). Then I can argue that they have not denied. Then the matter gets more serious. We want a straight answer. Did the government or any of its agencies use Pegasus? That question does not deal with national security. Again, if the government has used Pegasus, did they use it through the Home Secretary. That again does not concern national security. So, let them file an affidavit, Sibal replied. The Solicitor General clarified that there was no reluctance of any kind on the part of the government. The truth must come out, Mehta said. He wistfully referred to the Information Technology Act, which dealt with the regime of interceptions, monitoring, etc, of digital communications, as a beautiful legislation. Mehta said the Act came into effect during the tenure of Sibal as Minister. Mr. Mehta, beauty over the years becomes no longer beautiful. It was once beautiful, but is no longer so the way you are using it, Sibal retorted. At one point, Justice Aniruddha Bose, on the Bench, asked whether there was any material other than news reports to suggest violation had taken place. To this, Sibal said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had stated in the Lok Sabha in 2019 that social media messaging platform, WhatsApp, had informed the government about attempts to breach the mobile phones of 1400 users globally, including 121 users in India, using Pegasus. The court stood over the arguments in the case to Tuesday, while at the same time asking Mehta to mull over with officials the point of filing a detailed affidavit.
India reviews fast deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
India’s defence top brass, the foreign policy establishment and senior intelligence officials are understood to have reviewed the fast-paced developments in Afghanistan on Monday, a day after the Taliban seized control of the country 20 years after it was ousted by a US-led military coalition. People familiar with the meetings said the immediate priority of the government is to evacuate nearly 200 Indians, including Indian embassy staffers and security personnel from Kabul as the situation in the Afghan capital was fast deteriorating after the Taliban captured it on Sunday night. Capping its month-long rapid advances, the Taliban took positions in Kabul hours after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday for an unknown destination, paving way for a bloodless takeover of the capital city but triggering fear, chaos and uncertainty among its residents. The chaos and panic at the Kabul airport was delaying a decision on sending evacuation flights to the Afghan capital though a number of heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force is kept on standby for the last two days, people familiar with these deliberations said. According to unconfirmed reports, India sent a C-17 Globemaster aircraft to Afghanistan and it returned on Monday. There were also security concerns over bringing the Indians from the Indian embassy and other places to the airport in view of the deteriorating security situation in the capital city. The government is also looking at bringing back hundreds of Indian citizens and facilitate the evacuation of the members of the Hindu and Sikh minorities as well as Afghan nationals who have applied for visas from the Indian embassy, officials said. The situation is evolving very fast and we are monitoring it closely, said one of the persons involved in preparations for evacuating the stranded Indians in Kabul. India has been a key stakeholder in Afghanistan and it has invested nearly USD 3 billion in carrying out nearly 500 projects across Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is largely seen as a setback for India as the militant outfit has strongly been backed by Pakistan’s powerful military.
Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev joins Trinamool Congress
Former Assam MP Sushmita Dev has quit as the president of the All India Mahila Congress as well as the primary membership of the party. She joined Trinamool Congress in the presence of party general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee. Taking to Twitter, the TMC welcomed the former parliamentarian to its camp. We warmly welcome the former President of All India Mahila Congress @sushmitadevinc to our Trinamool family! Inspired by @MamataOfficial, she joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary @abhishekaitc & Parliamentary Party Leader, Rajya Sabha, @derekobrienmp, the TMC wrote on its official Twitter handle. In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi late on Sunday evening, Dev said she wished to begin a new chapter in my life of public service and would always cherish my three decades-long association with the Indian National Congress. Dev said: Please treat this letter as my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress. I cherish my three-decade-long association with the Indian National Congress. Madam, I thank you, personally, for your guidance and the opportunities you gave me. I value the enriching experience. I hope I have your good wishes as I begin a new chapter in my life of public service, she added. Dev did not respond to calls or messages, but her Twitter handle shows her profile as a former member of Congress and former president of its women’s wing. A Congress leader in southern Assam’s Barak Valley confirmed her resignation. With her exit once again raising uncomfortable questions for Congress’ leadership, Kapil Sibal on Monday charged his party with moving on with eyes wide shut. Sibal, one of Congress’s group of 23 dissenters (G-23), tweeted, Sushmita Dev Resigns from primary membership of our Party. While young leaders leave we ‘oldies’ are blamed for our efforts to strengthen it. The Party moves on with: Eyes Wide Shut. Asked about her resignation, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said he has been unable to reach her on phone and claimed that Gandhi has not yet received her letter. Describing Dev as friend who is versatile and talented, Sujewala said, I am certain she is mature enough to take whatever political decision that she takes with appropriate consideration of her history, legacy and capacities. There were speculations that Dev, who had represented Congress in Parliament from the Silchar constituency like her father and former Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev, may join the Trinamool Congress. During the recently concluded Assam Assembly election, Dev had spoken out against her supporters being ignored during ticket distribution as well as against the seat allocation to Congress’s ally, All India United Democratic Front, in the Barak Valley. Considered to be a close aide of former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Dev now joins the ranks of leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada, who left the Congress in search of better political prospects.
Sharad Pawar underlines need to lift 50% cap on reservations, hints at Home Ministry role in Pegasus use
The Central government’s hasty move to pass the bill giving rights to States to identify OBCs without lifting the 50% reservation limit is to deceive the OBC community, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on August 16. Addressing a press conference on a wide range of issues at the NCP headquarters, Pawar also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Pegasus spyware issue, saying that it could be the Home Ministry which has gotten involved and a probe may reveal the truth. All States in the country have already crossed the 50% reservation limit, including Maharashtra. Giving rights to the States to identify OBCs will not serve any purpose, because the reservation limit has not been lifted. All of the opposition members raised this issue in Parliament, which went unanswered from the government’s side, said Pawar. Till the reservation cap is lifted, even Marathas cannot be given benefits of reservation, Pawar pointed out, adding that his party will be uniting all OBC forces to create public opinion demanding the removal of 50% reservation limit. Clarifying the demands of the party, Pawar said a caste census must be held, empirical data should be provided to the State governments, and 50% reservation limit should be lifted. Only then OBCs will get actual benefits, otherwise they will continue to be misled, he added. Recalling the events at Rajya Sabha where marshals were called in to control opposition members, Pawar said he saw this for the first time in his parliamentary career of over five decades. Rajya Sabha MPs, including women MPs, were manhandled by the security. We did not even know these security personnel. Some said that they were brought from outside. This is a serious charge and needs to be probed, he said. The NCP chief said the Opposition had informed ruling benches that it wants a discussion on Pegasus, farm bills and fuel price rise which was sidelined by the government. When asked about the Defence Ministry’s statement of not buying Pegasus, Pawar said, The Defence Ministry said it did not purchase Pegasus. Israel says that it does not sell it to anyone except the government. We believe that such work is not only done by Defence ministry, but RAW, Home Ministry, NSA are also involved. We don’t know for sure, so the Supreme Court’s committee may look into it. The NCP chief also suggested the names of Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal and P. Chidambaram as possible members of the committee. When asked about the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, Pawar said time has come to assess how India’s foreign policy has worked in maintaining relations with our neighbours. The situation is not good, he said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Kabul airport chaos stalls evacuations amid criticism of U.S. pullout
Thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport on Monday after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the U.S. military to suspend evacuations as the United States came under mounting criticism at home over its pullout, Reuters reported. Crowds converged on the airport seeking to escape, including some clinging to a U.S. military transport plane as it taxied on the runway, according to footage posted by a media company. Five people were killed in the chaos. The Taliban’s rapid conquest of Kabul follows the U.S. withdrawal of troops after 20 years of war that cost billions of dollars. President Joe Biden defended his decision to pull out, ending the United States’ longest war, arguing that Afghan forces had to fight back against the Islamist Taliban. Taliban forces patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. But the speed at which Afghan cities fell in just days and the likely crackdowns on freedom of speech and women’s rights gained in 20 years have sparked angry criticism. If President Biden truly has no regrets about his decision to withdraw, then he is disconnected from reality when it comes to Afghanistan, a Twitter post from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham read. Republican Representative Jim Banks, a member of the House armed services committee, said on Fox News that Biden should explain his actions to the American people. What was more shocking to me than the images coming out of Afghanistan is what’s happening right here at home, he said. We have never seen an American leader abdicate his responsibilities and leadership like Joe Biden has. He’s in hiding. The lights are on at the White House, but nobody’s home. Where is Joe Biden? Jim Messina, a White House deputy chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, defended Biden’s move. There’s been bipartisan consensus that it was time to get out of Afghanistan, Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State, said earlier this month he supported Biden’s plan, and we’ve been there 20 years. It’s America’s longest-running war, it is time to get out, he said on Fox. Why should American troops be fighting a civil war that Afghan troops this week refused to fight for themselves, it was time to get out. President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday as the Islamist militants entered Kabul virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. The United States and other foreign powers have rushed to fly out diplomatic and other staff but the United States temporarily halted all evacuation flights to clear people from the airfield, a U.S. defence official told Reuters. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said in a message on Twitter that their fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone. Life, property and honour of no one shall be harmed but must be protected by the mujahideen, he said. It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the whole country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.
Taliban assert control over Afghanistan.
Victorious Taliban militants patrolled Kabul on Monday after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country on Sunday night as the insurgents encircled the capital, capping a military victory that saw them capture all cities in just 10 days. After police and other government forces gave up their posts in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban militants took over checkpoints across the city and entered the presidential palace. Militants with rifles slung over their shoulders also walked through the streets of the Green Zone, the formerly heavily fortified district that houses most Embassies and international organisations. The Taliban, however, sought to reassure the international community that Afghans should not fear them, and said they will not take revenge against those who supported the U.S .- backed alliance. In a message posted on social media, Taliban cofounder Abdul Ghani Baradar called on the militants to remain disciplined after taking control of the city. China ready for ties China was the first major nation to flag support for the Taliban, stating it was ready for friendly relations. There were desperate scenes at Kabul’s airport on Monday as people tried to board the few flights available. Senior U.S. military officials say the chaos at the airport left seven people dead, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet, according to Associated Press.
