08:27 Pulwama attack: Indian Americans to protest outside Chinese, Pak missions in US:
The Indian American community will hold peaceful protests outside the Pakistani and Chinese diplomatic missions in the United States over the Pulwama terrorist attack, alleging China provides tacit support to Pakistan which uses non-State actors against its neighbours.
A candlelight protest will be held outside the Pakistan Consulate in Chicago after which the protesters will march to the Chinese consulate on Thursday, February 21, the organisers have said.
The main objectives of the protest, according to the organisers, are to “expose the barbaric nature” of Pakistani terrorism and to wake up the world against Pakistan- and China-supported terrorism, a media release said.
The next day, the Indian Americans in New York and New Jersey area would hold another peaceful protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Manhattan, New York.
“It is time that the United States and rest of the world speak in unison against Pakistani establishment’s continued support to terrorists in recruiting, training, arming, finance and providing safe haven,” eminent Indian American Dr Bharat Barai said in a statement.
Billions of dollars of US aid to Pakistan have done little to curb the terror outfits in Pakistan, he rued.
Forty Indian paramilitary personnel were killed on February 14 when a JeM terrorist rammed his explosive-laden in car in a vehicle carrying the jawans.
“This is not an act of terrorism but act of war. Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for this. Time has come to take decisive and ruthless action against the perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity,” said New York-based Jagdish Sewhani, the president of the American India Public Affairs Committee.
“The Indian community is deeply pained by this mindless barbaric act. We are grieving for our slain soldiers and at the same time we want Pakistan to take strict actions against the terrorists,” said a local Republican leader from Illinois J D Diganvker.
“We want the world community to take note. We all know terrorism has no place in the world today and we want the world to urge Pakistan to respond with stringent actions,” he said, adding the protestors plan to submit memorandums to the Pakistani and Chinese consulates in Chicago.
It is time to declare Pakistan a terrorist State and isolate it completely — both economically and militarily — until it mend its ways, demanded community organiser Nirav Patel. — PTI
00:26 BJP’s way of treating allies has changed: Uddhav:
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday evening that he decided to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party because of the saffron party’s changed way of dealing with its allies.
Thackeray was speaking to Sena workers at his residence in Mumbai.
On Monday, Shiv Sena and BJP, the sparring ruling allies, announced that they would contest the coming Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections together.
“I experienced the change in the way they treat people, hence I decided to join hands with the BJP,” Thackeray said.
He also reiterated that the BJP’s proposal that chief minister will be from the party which will send more MLAs to the assembly was not acceptable to the Sena.
“I want to see a Sena chief minister and I will work for it,” he said.
“I have already won in the treaty, now we should win the real battle of election,” Thackeray said. — PTI
Source: Rediff