US mulls using Indian soil to launch drones on terror infrastructure in Afghan-Pak region

News Network
September 15, 2021

New Delhi, Sept 15: After its recent withdrawal from the Afghanistan, the United States has hinted that it has been in talks with the government of India for using airfields in India as “staging areas” for carrying out aerial surveillance and launching attacks on terrorists in Pak-Afghan region.

President Joe Biden’s administration is “deeply engaged” with New Delhi, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said, testifying before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives – the lower house of the American Congress.

He was responding to Republican Party’s Representative Mark E Green, who asked if the Biden Administration had reached out to New Delhi for using “over-the-horizon” capabilities from “staging areas” in north-west India for neutralising potential threats to the United States in and around Afghanistan, in view of the collusion between the Taliban and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan.

 “We are deeply engaged with India across the board,” Blinken replied to Green.

He, however, did not share the details of the discussion between the two governments on the US launching drones from India for keeping watch on terrorist infrastructures in Afghanistan.

“With regard to any specifics about over-the-horizon capabilities and the plans we put in place or continue to put in place, I would rather take that up in a different setting,” Blinken replied to Green.

The Taliban of late returned to power in Afghanistan through a swift military campaign across the country taking advantage of the withdrawal of the US troops.

Biden and other senior officials of his administration in Washington DC repeatedly stated over the past few weeks that the US had sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and to neutralise the threat posed by Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda – the objectives, which had been achieved over the past two decades.

Though terrorism continued to remain a threat and spread around the world, the US no longer required to deploy a large number of soldiers overseas to combat the menace as it had now developed the “over-the-horizon” capabilities of carrying out aerial surveillance and launch drones to eliminate such threats, they argued, justifying the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

But what may limit the US' capabilities of launching drone attacks on the terrorists and terror infrastructures in the region is the fact that some of the airbases it had earlier used for the purpose are no longer available to it after its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The nearest airbases the US can use are in Qatar, Kuwait and other countries in the Gulf and far away from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region where the targets may be located – a fact Green pointed out while asking Blinken about the Biden Administration’s discussion with New Delhi.

New Delhi did not officially make any comment on Green’s query or the reply given by Blinken.

The Commander of the US Special Operations Command, General Richard D Clarke, had visited New Delhi in July and held a meeting with the Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane.

Admiral John C Aquilino, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, also visited New Delhi and held a meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, just about 10 days after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.

India is a “major defence partner” of the US and the two nations had inked a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, creating a framework to support each other's aircraft, ships and personnel with logistics, fuel and spares.

They also signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018 and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020 to enable the exchange of geospatial information between the two countries. 

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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News Network
March 17,2024

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New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain.

These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week.

The BJP encashed electoral bonds totalling Rs 6,986.5 crore; maximum Rs 2,555 crore received in 2019-20, as per the EC data.

The Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,397 crore through electoral bonds, second largest recipient after BJP, as per the EC data.

On the other hand, the Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds.

DMK received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming.

BJD encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 944.5 crore, YSR Congress Rs 442.8 crore, TDP Rs 181.35 crore.

Political parties had filed data on electoral bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court's interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement.

"Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website," EC said.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Beltangady, Mar 17: A three-year-old boy was crushed to death under the wheels of an auto-rickshaw in front of his house at Panakaje Mundadi in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada. 

The gut-wrenching tragedy took place on Saturday, March 16 morning when the boy ran out of home to the road. 

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, the son of Chandrashekhar and Usha couple. Their home is situated adjacent to the main road at Panakaje.

It is learnt that the auto-rickshaw failed to notice the boy who suddenly darted towards the road and hit him. 

Even though the injured boy was rushed to a private hospital in Ujire and later to Mangaluru, he breathed his last. 

The Beltangady traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.

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