Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to clear the “doubts” cast by the international media on the terrorists’ deaths in the airstrike carried out by India in Pakistan’s Balakot.
“We are proud of the bravery of your forces and have complete faith on them.I have seen many of my friends and close relatives in the Army leaving their families and protecting us. We respect them,” Singh tweeted.”However, the IAF carried out an airstrike after the Pulwama accident, some foreign media have cast doubts, which is putting a question mark on the credibility of our Indian government,” Singh said on .March 5, 2019Air Strike”March 5, 2019ati went all out on him for describing the deadly Pulwama terror attack as a mere “accident”.
Digvijaya Singh also asked PM Modi to clarify on BJP chief Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister SS Ahluwalia’s statements on the number of terrorists killed by the IAF on Balakot airstrike.”Prime minister ji, some of your ministers say 300 terrorists were killed, BJP chief says 250 were killed, Yogi Adityanath says 400 killed, and your minister SS Alhuwalia says not even one died.And you are silent on this topic. The country wants to know who the liar here is.
[sic],” Singh said, SS AhluwaliaMarch 5, 2019Singh said the way PM Modi and his ministers were treating the airstrike was an “insult” to the forces who carried out the operation.”The way you and your ministers are treating this airstrike as your success, it is an insult to the bravery of the security forces.Every citizen of the country respects the Indian Army and security forces,” the Congress leader said.March 5, 2019Union minister Prakash Javadekar, reacting to Digvijaya Singh’s Pulwama accident tweet, said: “What has happened to Congress? They are playing with people’s sentiments and are denying the information of Indian armed forces.This never happens in any democratic nation where the people do not trust their forces.”Union Minister P Javadekar on Digvijaya Singh terms #PulwamaAttack an accident’: Congress ko kya hogya hai?Desh ki jan bhawna se ek dum ulti baat karte hain,sena ki jankari ko jhutla rahe hain.
Aisa kisi lok tantra desh mein nahi hota jahan sena par hi avishwas darshaya jata hai.
Both the sides have accused each other for politicising the IAF airstrike.The result of the counter-terrorism operation in Balakot has been a hot topic of political debate in India — Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked if PM Modi was “politicising terror”, pointing to several news reports saying India’s airstrikes did not kill terrorists in Pakistan.Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, replying to Kapil Sibal’s comment, blasted the latter for “believing international media over the intelligence agencies”. He went on to add that Sibal should travel to Balakot himself to check if any terrorists were killed.
West Bengal Mamata Banerjee asked for details last week, citing media reports that either said there were no deaths, or that one person has been killed.Asked about the West Bengal chief minister’s remarks, former Union Minister P Chidambaram said at the India Today Conclave that he was prepared to believe the government, but “the world cannot be asked to suspend disbelief”.Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Monday (March 4) said Indian Air Force warplanes hit their intended target. “If we plan to hit the target, we hit the target,” he told reporters in Coimbatore.”If we had dropped bombs in the jungle, then no need for him [Pakistan] to respond.”
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India said Pakistan violated the 2003 ceasefire agreement thrice on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri districts, for the seventh consecutive day, as tension between the neighbouring countries escalated to the worst in years.
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said the latest firing came at 2:15pm in Rajouri’s Nowshera sector.
Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along LoC in Nowshera Sector. The Indian Army is retaliating effectively, Lt Col Anand said.Earlier in the day, Pakistan fired along the LoC in the Krishna Ghati sector at 6am, drawing strong retaliation from the Indian Army. The firing continued till 7am, Lt Col Anand had said.
The firing started again at 1pm in Krishna Ghati Sector of Poonch, he had said.The firings by Pakistan came a day after the air forces of both the neighbours claimed to have downed each other’s fighter jets.Pakistan also captured Indian Air Force’s Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.Also read: First aerial dogfight in 48 years escalates India-Pakistan tensionsPakistan has been violating the 2003 ceasefire agreement and had at least five Indian soldiers were injured on Tuesday as its troops fired across the LoC at several areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
The tension between India and Pakistan has escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed rammed his explosive-laden car and blew up a bus killing 40 CRPF troopers on February 14.India has accused Pakistan of using its air force to target Indian military installations on Wednesday morning in response to pre-dawn counter-terror strikes of Tuesday against Jaish-e-Mohammad camps in Pakistan.
India and Pakistan summoned each other’s envoys on Wednesday over the tension.Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah, who was summoned to the South Block in New Delhi, told Indian officials about capturing of an Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities.In Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign office also summoned India’s acting high commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned what it called unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control resulting in the killing of four of its civilians.Villagers along the 744-km long Line of Control and 198-km International Border in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu region and in Baramulla district in Kashmir Valley say they have been living in fear following the firings.
Authorities have ordered all government and private schools within a range five km from International Border in Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch to remain closed on Thursday.They said the situation is tense but no one has migrated so far from Jammu, Samba and Rajouri districts but some families from Chajala Pathri, a village close to the LoC in Poonch, have shifted to safer areas.However, district commissioners of Rajouri and Poonch said there has been no migration as yet.A report by news agency PTI has said that 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations 2,936 by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the India-Pakistan border.
Pakistan continues to violate the ceasefire understanding of 2003 despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the agreement during flag meetings between the border guarding forces of the two countries.World powers have urged restraint as tensions escalated this week after the February 14 suicide car bombing in Pulwama.
US president Donald Trump said on Thursday he hoped the conflict between India and Pakistan will be coming to an end.Also read: We have reasonably decent’ news from India and Pak, says TrumpPakistan’s ambassador to the United States, however, voiced regret that America has not condemned India’s air incursion, saying the stance emboldened New Delhi.Asad Majeed Khan said the US should have pinned blame on India. It is construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position and that is what emboldened them even more, Khan told reporters when asked about the US statement.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday chaired a National Command Authority meeting to discuss a response to India’s Line of Control (LoC) violation.
The NCA is the apex civilian-led command headed by the prime minister to oversee the policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the country’s nuclear arsenals.The meeting was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Chiefs of all three services and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor.Prime Minister Imran Khan had chaired a meeting of the National Security Council(NSC) a day earlier which had rejected Indian claims of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and said that Pakistan will decide the time and place of a response to the aggression.
DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor on Tuesday also warned India that it was time to wait for our surprise.I said three things: You will never be able to surprise us.We have not been surprised. We were ready, we responded, we denied.I said we will retain the escalation ladder. We have that initiative in our hand, he said.I said that we will surprise you. Wait for that surprise.I said that our response will be different. See it for yourself.
The response will come, and the response will come differently, he warned the Indian army.Indian military aircraft violated the LoC as they intruded from the Muzaffarabad sector and were forced to return owing to the timely response of the Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said early Tuesday.
Indian aircraft intrusion across LoC in Muzaffarabad Sector within AJK was 3-4 miles. Under forced hasty withdrawal aircraft released payload which had free fall in the open area.
No infrastructure got hit, no casualties. Technical details and other important information to follow, Major General Ghafoor wrote on .He also tweeted images of the payload of hastily escaping Indian aircraft which fell in [the] open.The incursion into the Pakistani air space follows a series of threats by Indian political and military leadership following the attack on an Indian Army convoy at Pulwama by local youth, in reaction to the oppression unleashed by the occupational forces.
Speaking for the first time against attempts to politicise the stand-off by the ruling BJP, some Opposition party leaders even read out statements made by PM Modi and Amit Shah in the wake of the Indian Air Force strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training.
Written by Manoj C G, Abantika Ghosh | New Delhi | Related News LiveIndia-Pakistan tension LIVE: Joint military press conference at 5 pmAmid India-Pakistan faceoff, domestic airlines waive cancellation fees on select routesJK: Pakistan continues shelling in Poonch till 7am; Indian Army retaliates The statement was issued after a three-hour meeting at the Parliament Library, where leaders of the 21 parties also expressed concern over the prevailing security situation in the country.
(File)While reiterating their support to the armed forces in the fight against terror, 21 Opposition parties Wednesday said that they were anguished over the “blatant politicisation” of the sacrifices of armed forces by the “ruling party”.AdvertisingIn a statement, Opposition parties urged the Government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.
The statement was issued after a three-hour meeting at the Parliament Library, where leaders of the 21 parties also expressed concern over the prevailing security situation in the country.Video: MiG 21 Pilot Missing, One Pak Aircraft Shot DownLeaders observed that the Prime Minister has, “regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy” and said in the statement: “National security must transcend narrow political consideration.
”Union Minister Prakash Javadekar denied there was any attempt to “politicise” the sacrifices made by soldiers. “The Opposition parties’ statement has pleased Pakistan and its media.The Opposition should think if it was proper to make such a statement at a time when the country should be united,” he said. Union Minister Arun Jaitley said: “Let the country speak in one voice.Please introspect Your ill-advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case.”AdvertisingOpposition parties also condemned the “dastardly” Pulwama terror attack by “Pakistan-sponsored” terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad on February 14, in which 40 CRPF men were killed in a suicide bombing.
The meeting began with a minute’s silence for those killed in Pulwama and the leaders resolved that while there are many important livelihood issues to discuss such as jobs and agriculture, the present situation with Pakistan would have to take precedence.
The Pulwama attacks has brought together celebrities and citizens who not only grieved together but are also quite happy with the way India avenged it with Surgical Strike 2.0 yesterday.
1 crore to the Indian Army”>Pulwama Attacks – Lata Mangeshkar to make a donation worth Rs.1 crore to the Indian ArmyPulwama Attacks – Lata Mangeshkar to make a donation worth Rs. 1 crore to the Indian Army Bollywood Hungama News Network By Bollywood Hungama News NetworkFeb 27, 2019 – 10:19 am IST When the news of this terror attack spread like wildfire earlier this month, many celebrities also came forward to make extensive donations to the Indian Army.
And now reports have it that the nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar has come forward to make a wholehearted donation of Rs. 1 crore to the Indian Army.If reports are to be believed, Lata Mangeshkar has spoken to the media about making the donation of Rs. 1 crore to the Indian Army on the occasion of her father Deenanath Mangeshkars death anniversary which falls on April 24.
Not just that, we hear that the veteran singer has also urged her fans to participate in this good deed by asking them to send donations to the Indian Army instead of spending it on her gifts for her birthday.Lata Mangeshkar, who is known for singing some of the most iconic patriotic songs like ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, also expressed grief on her official handle.
In her tweet, she not only firmly condemned the terror attack in Pulwama but she also expressed her condolences to the families of the martyred.जम्मू-कश्मीर के पुलवामा में हुए आतंकी हमले की मैं कड़ी निंदा करती हूँ.
इस हमले में जो हमारे वीर जवान शहीद हुए है उनको मैं श्रद्धांजली अर्पित करती हूँ. इन सभी वीरों के परिवारों के दुःख में मैं शामिल हूँ.
February 15, 2019In the past too, many superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan etc. expressed their condolences on social media and have also made extensive contributions to the Bharat Ke Veer Foundation which aims at distributing the money to the family of the martyrs.By now, readers would be aware that the Pulwama attacks had a suicide bomber ramming his vehicle on a security convoy carrying over 40 CRPF officials. Followed by the attack, Indian Air Force attacked a terrorist camp at Pakistan border to avenge the death of its CRPF personnel.
The Indian Armed forces took Pakistan by a surprise in the wee hours of the morning by crossing the Line of Control and breaching the Pakistani airspace.Twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets struck and destroyed terror camps by dropping 1000 kg payloads each across the Line of Control.
क्षमाशील हो रिपु-समक्षसन्धि-वचन संपूज्य उसी का जिसमें शक्ति विजय की #IndianArmy#AlwaysReadypic.twitter.com/bUV1DmeNkLFebruary 26, 2019 – Article resumes – In these few words, quoted from the famous poem Shakti Aur Kshyama (Power and Forgiveness) written by Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar explaining forgiveness, tolerance, and power, the Indian Army has tried to convey:क्षमाशील हो ॠपु-समक्ष तुम हुये विनीत जितना ही दुष्ट कौरवों ने तुमको कायर समझा उतना ही, meaning The more forgiving you were in your humane compassion, the more these rouge Kauravas will peg you as a coward.सच पूछो तो शर में ही बसती है दीप्ति विनय की, संधिवचन सम्पूज्य उसीका जिसमे शक्ति विजय की, meaning Truth be told, it’s in the arrow that holds the gleam of humility.
Only his peace-talk is reputable who is capable of victory.The message has gone out today from the Indian Armed forces to everyone, who tries to mess with India, that the Indian Army is standing undeterred, ready to pay back in the same coin.To avenge the ghastly Pulwama attack the Indian Armed forces went into the Pakistan territory, demolished the targets assigned and spread panic in Pakistan soil.Today Pakistan has been answered for its treachery.
They have been left shamed and unmasked. India has been able to exact a heavy toll on Pakistan.If India dropped payload in Balakot as claimed by Pakistan, then India did not merely cross the LOC. The Indian Armed Force went farther than Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and attacked Pakistani territory.
Reports have emerged which say that the IAF has destroyed Control rooms and launch pads of Jaish-e-Muhammad in Balakot, Muzaffarabad, and Chakothi.The Indian Government has just released a statement saying that the Indian strike was against terrorists on their camps located deep in forests, away from the civilian population.
Indian news studios have virtually turned into war rooms since the deadly Pulwama attack in India-occupied Kashmir on February 14.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to take revenge, giving a free hand to the Indian military to bring the perpetrators of Pulwama attack to justice.Analysts from different backgrounds and shades have been discussing and speculating options that the Indian army may take against Pakistan. Some suggest that the so-called surgical strikes that India claimed to have carried out after the Uri attack in September 2016 might not be an option since there was no element of surprise left in it.
Others have been talking about intelligence-based operations or using airpower to destroy the so-called ‘terror launch pads’ on the Pakistani side. Few even have the audacity to discuss the possibility of replicating the US commando-style raid to kill Osama Bin Laden.In one TV talk show, former India army, air and naval chiefs were invited along with a retired foreign secretary of the country. Given their firsthand experience, one expected that their perspective would be rational unlike those who often appear on TV channels.
But surprisingly they were all saying that talks were no more an option and that India must retaliate.Switch from one news channel to another, none of them are offering an alternative view.There appears unprecedented consensus in India on bashing Pakistan. The discourse on Indian TV is so venomous that even journalists who in the past had tried to maintain their independent views are now also toeing the same line.
Those who dare to ask questions about India’s own follies and failures are branded as traitors. Former Test cricketer and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu faced the wrath of so-called nationalists after he only argued that an act of terrorism committed by few individuals does not mean the entire country is the culprit.Despite facing scathing criticism, the Congress politician stuck to his stance but in doing so he had to lose his job in a primetime comedy show hosted by Kapil Sharma. Farooq Abdullah, who is a known Kashmiri politician for having anti-Pakistan stance, was declared a Pakistan apologist when he contested the Indian claims that Islamabad was behind the Pulwama attack.
He insisted that blaming Pakistan would be a distraction from the root cause of the problem. He advised the Indian government to talk to the young Kashmiri people and find out the reason behind their growing alienation.Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Kashmir, is now accused of being a pro-Pakistani.Her only crime was that she favoured a dialogue with Pakistan and urged India to accept Prime Minister Imran Khan’s olive branch instead of resorting to any military action.Usually, artists and sportsmen stay away from politics. But this time around even they are also speaking the language of war.Some of the big names such as Saurav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh have backed the calls for boycotting playing with Pakistan in the upcoming cricket World Cup in England. They are not only demanding severing all sporting and cultural ties but also seeking action against Pakistan.
But the history of Pakistan-India relations shows that dialogue is the only way forward. They went to the table after every time the two had gone to war whether in 1965 or 1971 or 1999.This has taught us one hard lesson that every war or conflict ultimately ends up at the negotiating table.Surely, India is angry and is bent upon taking revenge but eventually it will have to talk to Pakistan.India has a choice — talk to Pakistan now or after any ‘misadventure’. Saner nations would certainly opt for the former.
The deaths of Indian security personnel in a massive explosion on a busy highway at Lethpora in the Pulwama district was the first such successful fidayeen attack in the history of the Kashmiri militant resistance.
That it took Kashmiris another two decades to produce full-blown destruction is surprising because the raw state repression that drives Kashmiri youth, including intellectuals and scholars, to take up guns have ignored such an easy spectacle for quite a long time.
In fact, people have been talking about such possibilities for quite a while, given the amount of radicalisation caused by wanton state brutalities.Following such a high-impact attack, and the amount of negative reaction that it has generated from the Indian media, public and the government, there are apprehensions that such a method might catch the fancy of the new generation of Kashmiri fighters.If so, there is cause for much concern for more deaths those of both military personnel and resistance fighters and its possible spill over to civilian populations could be massive and devastating. Such a thought conjures up images of Baghdad or Kabul at the height of the insurgency following the US invasions.
The impact of the blast was so strong that those slain were blown to smithereens, catalysing the pain of the tragedy. The government put a ban on showing graphic footage of the destruction, and perhaps rightly so, but social media exhibited a limitless fetish to spread the gruesome images.It is beyond any doubt that none of those killed in the blast could be identified through their bodies.While I usually refrain from watching such graphic photos of violence,
I accidentally’ saw some of them for they came from a source never associated with such an activity.Frankly speaking, I felt sick to my core and for several days I remained under the spell of intense sadness. Many felt the same way, but the argument of those who justified such gruesome violence cannot be ignored either.One of them compared the incident with the growing incidents of the military blowing up houses and militants during encounters. The army could easily capture these rebels or at least fight them humanely.
Instead, they choose to blow them up in pieces, destroy houses and celebrate deaths.During the last few years, there has been a significant change in the rules of engagement military personnel are willing to increasingly jettison their professional behaviour and indulge in such profanities as taking selfies with dead militants, dancing with their cadavers while chanting Hindu religious slogans, and filming the beatings and torture of the Kashmiri youth.
Sometimes, such videos get leaked and reach the public domain only to provoke and further anger and hostility.The only consolations from the attack were that it did not target civilians or cause civilian deaths and that the military personnel did not go berserk after the incident to target civilians, an otherwise usual practice.
But the pessimistic view suggested that the paramilitary personnel were so frightened after the blast that they were unable to form any sort of reaction. Later, after an hour or so, the military personnel did target unsuspecting civilians and beat scores of them to exact revenge.The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the agency that was targeted in the suicide blast, also beat dozens of peoples in downtown Srinagar producing yet more anger and hate that will ultimately provoke many more Kashmiri youth down the path of militancy.The story of the alleged suicide bomber, Adil Ahmed Dar, is somewhat similar to the trajectory of other Kashmiris who take to the gun as a path to break the stalemate of oppression.
Adil had been continually harassed and humiliated by the Indian army and the personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police. Knowing no escape, he took the extreme step with a dreaded determination to cause as much damage to the military as possible.Soon after the blast, the government took the extreme step to ban the internet, but the damage had been done as photographs carrying gruesome details had already been circulated with sensational and often fake news. This spread panic, hatred, and calls for open revenge.Several Indian news channels made consistent calls for revenge, preparing the ground for more violence primarily directed against Kashmiris spread across India. The speech made by Prime Minister Modi in the aftermath was also provocative and bordered on hate speech.
As the pliant Hindutva media whipped up a frenzy, violent mobs of people were galvanised to exact revenge amid chants of teaching Pakistan a lesson that ultimately boiled down to mass violence against Kashmiris. In Jammu, the winter capital of the province of Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of Hindutva youth attacked Kashmiri Muslims, vandalised their properties and burned more than a hundred of their vehicles.
Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, the police watched helplessly as the mobs ran amok and pillaged around for several hours. The Hindu mobs attacked government officials of Kashmiri origin, students and even women.Where are the pellet guns, asked several Kashmiris over social media. There were wide-scale attacks on Kashmiri students across India, and strangely there were no condemnations from any political party or any serious attempts to stop this from happening.
The only credible help these Kashmiri students received, and in abundance, were from Khalsa Aid, a leading international Sikh charity. Their volunteers offered aid, rescued students from mobs, provided shelter and later procured transport facilities to take those who were stranded back home.This has earned them instant yet massive following and admiration with social media flooded with messages of goodwill.Amarpreet Singh, the Asia-Pacific director of the charity, left a message on my WhatsApp that they were willing to provide more emergency aid and assistance for stranded Kashmiris.In an ocean of hate-filled frenzy, Khalsa Aid offered a glimmer of hope that must grow into a flame!
The Pulwama terror attack resulted in the death of 42 CRPF personnelIndia and Pakistan’s cricketing ties have been strained ever since 2008 Mumbai Terror attacks.India and Pakistan will square off in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in Manchester.
The Pulwama terror attack is the bloodiest attack on India’s security forces ever since the terror attack in Uri in 2016. At least 42 CRPF personnel were killed when their vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device or IED explosion on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in the Awantipora area of the district.
The attack has angered the people of India, with many sporting personalities venting their anger out on . The likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yogeshwar Dutt, Sushil Kumar, Bajrang Punia, Saina Nehwal and others all offered their condolences.
Gambhir, who retired from all forms of cricket recently and has been vocal on a lot of issues, went one step further stating, Yes, let’s talk with the separatists. Yes, let’s talk with Pakistan.
But this time conversation can’t be on the table, it has to be in a battle ground. Enough is enough.
Gambhir’s aggressive tone is nothing surprising. After any terror attack by Pakistan on Indian soil, a pattern emerges in the aftermath.
There is widespread condemnation on social media, Bollywood and sports personalities vent their anger out on , channels show debates and there are visuals of ordinary citizens calling out for revenge against Pakistan while there is renewed call for tough military action against Pakistan. The 2016 terror attacks in Uri, which resulted in the death of 18 soldiers of the Indian Army, strained the relationship even further.
Priority is to expose Pak as country which sponsors terrorism. No question of playing cricket with such a nation, the-then BCCI president Anurag Thakur had said about cricketing ties.
Pulwama Terror Attack: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and India’s sporting stars vent angerVirat Kohli slammed for ‘insensitive’ tweet over Pulwama terror attackPulwama Terror Attack: Stand by our Indian friends during this difficult hour, says IsraelToo much at stakeThis is the year of the ICC Cricket World Cup and India will play Pakistan in Manchester on June 16. It is THE marquee match of the tournament.
There is plenty of pride at stake for cricketing fans of both nations. There is plenty riding financially for the International Cricket Council (ICC) and for world cricket.
Will Pulwama be the final full stop in India vs Pakistan cricketing relations? Will India go the extra mile and boycott the game against Pakistan in Manchester due to the attacks in Pulwama? The answer is NO.For all the bluster shown by the Indian public when it comes to taking revenge on Pakistan for a terror attack, they become awkwardly silent when it comes to an India vs Pakistan cricket match.
Keep politics away from sports. The players are not responsible for this situation.
This is the common mantra related by many individuals when it comes to a sporting contest. Sports are beyond politics.
It is often stated that sports individuals are soft targets for the policies of a state.The sad part is that the anger and bluster shown by the Indian fan will fizz out when it comes to the World Cup encounter.
The people who head the game will not want to jeopardise a massive money-making opportunity. The cricket fans’ will conveniently forget all the pain and talks about revenge to don the tri-colour and cheer for the team when they defeat Pakistan.
The government will conveniently not want to interfere. Since it is election season, the Pulwama attack could potentially be used as an election sop.
The sporting issue will just endure another year of stalemate.Will India follow England’s lead and not play a league game in the Cricket World Cup like they did in 2003? In 2003, England’s players faced plenty of domestic pressure to boycott their game in Harare, Zimbabwe over the atrocities’ committed by the Robert Mugabe regime at that time.
The boycott resulted in England’s early elimination but they held on. Although atrocities and terrorism are a different dynamic, this falls under the prism of morality.
For people who say keep politics away from sport, they conveniently forget about how sporting isolation played a small but significant part in the downfall of apartheid in South Africa.The anger and calls for revenge are at fever pitch and will endure for a couple of days on social media.
Udhampur: The Indian Army has started the induction of new sniper rifles along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a top army officer said.
