Stop targeting Modi; start backdoor diplomacy with India: Muslim nations tell Pak PM

News Network
September 16, 2019

Islamabad, Sept 20: Some influential Muslim nations have asked Pakistan to engage in backdoor diplomacy with India and requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to tone down his rhetoric against his Indian counterpart to de-escalate tensions between the two nations over Kashmir, according to a media report on Monday.

When Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Al-Nahyan travelled together to Islamabad on September 3, they came with a "message" on behalf of their leadership as well as some other powerful countries, The Express Tribune reported.

They asked Pakistan to engage in backchannel diplomacy with India.

They met Prime Minister Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa during their day-long trip.

"The discussions were so confidential that only top officials of the foreign ministry were allowed to sit in those meetings," an official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.

According to the official, both Saudi and UAE diplomats conveyed their willingness to play a role in defusing tensions between Pakistan and India, the report said.

One of the proposals on the table was to encourage both countries to hold backdoor talks with each other.

While the international interlocutors were willing to persuade India to ease some of the restrictions imposed in Kashmir, they requested Pakistan to stop targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Khan was requested to tone down his verbal attacks against his Indian counterpart Modi, the report said.

However, Pakistan has turned down the requests and made it clear that it would only engage with India through quiet or conventional diplomacy after New Delhi was persuaded to meet certain conditions, officials privy to the development told the paper.

"These conditions include lifting of the curfew and other restrictions imposed in Kashmir,” the paper reported.

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.

Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations with India and expelled the Indian high commissioner following the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.

Asserting that abrogation of Article 370 was its internal matter, India has strongly criticised Pakistan for making "irresponsible statements" and provocative anti-India rhetoric over issues internal to it.

Since August 5, Khan has repeatedly targeted Modi, questioning his links with Hindu extremist organisations.

Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal, at his last weekly briefing, had also said there was no backdoor diplomacy underway with India to normalise the situation.

The Kashmir issue is expected to figure prominently during Khan's two-day trip to Saudi Arabia that will start from September 19.

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has spoken with Khan at least four times since August 5.

Given the Saudi crown prince’s close ties with both Imran and Modi, he is likely to offer his "good offices" to reduce tensions between the two neighbours, the report said.

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News Network
May 10,2024

Mangaluru: A teenage boy from a remote village in Dakshina Kannada district, who was undergoing treatment for stomach pain for past few days, breathed his last after hospitalization. 

The deceased has been identified as Nithin Kumar, 19, who had completed PUC and was attending computer classes. 

According to police, on May 4, when he informed his family that he had been suffering from a stomach-ache for the past 4-5 days, his family members took him to a clinic in Kaniyoor.

The doctors who examined him advised him to undergo scanning. He was informed about a kidney stone and later, they returned home. That same night, he suffered from stomach-ache again and was rushed to a private hospital in Puttur.

On May 7, as per doctors’ advice, he was discharged around 12:45pm. However, when he came home around 2:30pm, he again suffered from stomach-ache and was taken to another private hospital in Puttur, where doctors conducted a surgery.

On Wednesday, as per doctors’ advice, he was asked to be shifted to Mangaluru for better treatment.

He visited a private hospital in Derakatte, where doctors suggested that he be shifted to government Wenlock Hospital.

The doctors who examined him at the Wenlock Hospital declared him dead. A case has been registered at the Bellare police station, and an investigation is on.

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News Network
May 19,2024

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In a heart-wrenching turn of events, the serene town of Banavasi in Sirsi taluk of Karnataka’s Uttara Kananda district, was struck by tragedy. A young boy lost his life after being struck by lightning on a fateful Saturday evening around 4p.m.

The victim, identified as 16-year-old Sajid Ashfaque Ali, was a bright tenth-grade student at Eden Way High School. Full of dreams and youthful energy, Sajid was enjoying an innocent game with his friends on the Jayanthi High School grounds when the unthinkable happened.

As ominous clouds gathered and rain began to pour, an unexpected bolt of lightning pierced the sky, striking Sajid. His friends watched in horror as he collapsed. Despite the desperate rush to get him to the hospital, Sajid's injuries proved fatal, and he passed away, leaving his family and community in shock and grief.

The rain that had started earlier that afternoon became a backdrop to this devastating incident, casting a pall over the Banavasi police station limits. Sajid’s body has been taken to the government hospital for a post-mortem examination, as the community grapples with the sudden and tragic loss of such a young life.

The tragic death of Sajid Ashfaque Ali is a poignant reminder of the unpredictability of nature and the fragile thread of life. His memory will linger in the hearts of those who knew and loved him, a young life taken too soon.

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News Network
May 7,2024

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Udupi: Udupi became the second city on the Karnataka coast after Mangaluru to launch water rationing, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Commissioner of the Udupi City Municipal Corporation Rayappa said that the rationing system will come into force from Wednesday and will continue till the water in the reservoir reaches comfortable levels.

The dam built across the Swarna river at a place called Baje, which is the only source of water for Udupi city, recorded 3.25 meters of water as against the top level of 6.30 meters.

The decision of water rationing will be reviewed periodically until the reservoir regains its fullest levels, the official said.

The Mangaluru City Corporation resorted to water rationing on Saturday following declining water levels in the reservoir built across the Nethravati river at Thumbe. 

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