NIA began interrogation of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana after extradition from the US. India set to expose Pakistan’s ISI role in Mumbai terror attacks with new evidence.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun interrogating 26/11 terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Rana after a court in Delhi sent him to 18 days’ custody following his extradition from the US. DIG of NIA Jaya Roy is heading the team of interrogators. Rana will be questioned comprehensively to unravel the details of the full conspiracy that led to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai resulting in the death of 166 people. It is no secret that the former Pakistani army doc Tahawwur Rana was involved in the 26/11 attacks. He was port of the plot that was planned and executed by Pakistan army’s ISI. Terrorists were trained, given targets and funds, and the massascre of innocents was supervised by Pakistani army officers. Tahawwur Rana provided details about the targets in Mumbai and the execution was done under the leadership of Lashkar chief Haifz Sayeed. India has concrete evidence about Rana’s involvement and this has been proved in US courts. He will be punished for his crime and Pakistan’s hand in planning and execution of these terror attacks will be definitely exposed. Pakistan army and ISI had been shamelessly denying their involvement in Mumbai attacks. ISI handlers sent Ajmal Kasab and other terrorist attackers by tying ‘kalawa’ (sacred black thread) on their wrists so that they can pose as Hindus. I still remember the day following 26/11 attacks, when one of the terrorists spoke to India TV on phone and claimed that he and his associates belonged to “Deccan Mujahideen”. This was a crude attempt while trying to hide their Pakistan connections. Those were the days when top Congress leaders in power used to speak about “saffron terror”. Using this as a facade, Pakistan army and ISI used to hide their involvement in terror attacks. Pakistan used to deny facts that were known to the entire world. With consistent efforts and clever diplomacy initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rana has been extradited after a 16 year-long legal battle. It is now India’s turn to expose Pakistan, with facts and evidence.
US-China tariff war : Can India take advantage?
Stock markets in Asia continued to sink on Friday after US President Donald Trump hit a defiant China with more tariffs bringing the total levy now to 145 per cent. On the other hand, Trump has hit the pause button for 90 days on tariffs that were announced 13 hours earlier for 75 countries. Meanwhile, Indian government has begun preparations to protect domestic industries and exporters from the fallout from US-China trade war. There are fears that China may dump a large number of its products on India and our government has already begun to identify those products and sectors. India can slap anti-dumping duty on such products, like Chinese electronic goods, TV sets, smar phones and refrigerators. On the other hand, India wants to speed up finalizing its bilateral trade deal with the US. Now that Trump has isolated China on the trade front, China has complained to WTO. Trump is right when he says that China had minted money by dumping its products on the US during the last two decades. China used to export $500 billion worth goods to the US annually. Experts think that this may now decline by almost 80 per cent causing huge loss to China. This will affect most sectors including electronics, machinery, textiles and clothing. Presently there seems to be few chances of either the US or China bending. If Chinese exports to the US declines, India can get advantage. After lagging behind China in exports, India is now moving fast and under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, US giants like Apple have shifted their production base to India. With massive investments on infrstracture like roads, railway and ports, India is poised for a big jump. The China-US trade war can become a big opportunity for India, but our government needs to focus more on ‘ease of doing business’.
Fallout of Waqf on politics in Bengal, Bihar
With Supreme Court fixing April 16 as the date for hearing all petitions relating to the new Waqf Act, the stage is now set for a big legal battle. Hindu Mahasabha and some other Hindu outfits have also filed petitions supporting the Waqf Act, while Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra has filed petition seeking quashing of this new law. The bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice V. Vishwanathan will hear the petitions. In Kolkata, on Thursday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind organized a huge protest under the leadership of Jamiat state chief and state minister Sidiqullah Chaudhury, in which thousands of Muslims took part. BJP leaders have alleged that these protests are being stage managed by Trinamool Congress. There is no doubt that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to keep her Muslim vote bank intact by polarizing the community on Waqf issue. On the other hand, BJP is also trying to polarize Hindu votes by taking out Ramnavami processions. Both parties are setting the stage for next year’s assembly elections. It has nothing to do with national sentiment. In Bihar, too, political parties are using Muslim radical outfits to polarize community ahead of this year-end assembly polls. Already there is uneasiness in the ruling JD(U) camp over this issue and leaders openly expressing apprehension of losing support of Muslims.RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leaders are busy inciting Muslims on the Waf issue in Bihar. Neither JD(U), nor RJD or Congress have anything to do with the merits and/or demerits of Waqf law. Their main target is the Muslim vote.
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