After deadly strikes by Taliban, Delhi, Kabul to share real time intelligence info

April 30, 2012

New Delhi, April 30: India and Afghanistan are looking to revamp their intelligence sharing system after the recent multiple strikes by Taliban in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. Ahead of foreign minister S M Krishna's meeting with his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul this week, government officials said the two countries have decided to shun the practice of sharing intelligence through "routine'' letters and will instead focus on transferring intelligence inputs immediately.

Kabul and other Afghan cities were targeted on April 15 by Taliban in what was the most ferocious coordinated strikes in the country in years. While Indian establishments were not specifically targeted, Kabul's diplomatic enclave was attacked by the terrorists.

"We are working on a new mechanism and from now on the intelligence sharing will be on a more immediate basis instead of through routine letters,'' said an official.

"Our ambassador in Kabul has already been asked by Krishna to share details promptly with Afghan authorities and ensure follow up action to avert any disaster. He will take up the matter again with the Afghanistan foreign minister when he discusses security issues,'' the official added.

The Indian embassy in Kabul had issued a security alert on March 19 about attacks by, as it said in the advisory, anti-government elements (AGEs) in public places, which suggested that it had some inkling of the terror strikes which followed. Government sources said Rassoul will brief Krishna in detail about the attacks and preventive measures being taken.

Krishna and Rassoul will also together chair the first meeting of the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council as envisaged in the strategic partnership agreement signed by the two countries. The inaugural session of the Partnership Council will be preceded by a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Political and Security Consultations headed by foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai and deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan.

During his visit, Rassoul will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon. "The visit forms part of the high-level engagement between the two countries and provides an opportunity for both countries to review and consolidate the implementation of their strategic partnership,'' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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