‘Pakistan has no moral right to question India’s military operation’: Pak Islamist lawmaker exposes own country’s hypocrisy

As part of her European tour, Karnataka Legislative Council Member and Vice Chairperson of the Karnataka NRI Forum, Dr. Arathi Krishna, met Michela Favaro, Deputy Mayor of Turin, to discuss key aspects of strengthening relations between Karnataka and Italy.

Dr. Arathi Krishna held the meeting along with Hemegowda, President of the Italy Kannada Association, and Mohamed Irshath, General Secretary for Europe of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC).

The discussions focused on opportunities for the recruitment of Indian healthcare professionals in Italy, European–Italian language training programmes for Indian students, and broader avenues for academic and professional collaboration between the two countries.

The meeting was also attended by Simone Fissolo, President of the Moderati Council, along with Maria Bottoglieri and Francesco Tortorella, highlighting the growing institutional engagement aimed at fostering deeper bilateral cooperation.

Mangaluru: Public transport in Mangaluru is set for a state-led transformation as the government moves to deploy 100 new electric govt buses to replace unreliable private services. The initiative aims to provide a dependable alternative to private operators who have been frequently "cutting trips," leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

The announcement was made by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV during a public phone-in session. The move specifically targets routes where private bus service has become erratic, ensuring that citizens no longer have to rely on a fluctuating private sector for their daily commute.

Restoring the Govt Presence

The transport crisis was brought to the forefront by Ramayya, a resident of Bajal, who highlighted a growing trend of private buses skipping morning and night trips. With the previous KSRTC (govt) services discontinued, residents have been left without a fallback option.

To fix this, the DC confirmed that the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme will bring 100 government-owned electric buses to the city:

•    Phased Deployment: The first 50 of the new 100 government buses are scheduled to arrive by March 2026.

•    State Infrastructure: Two new government depots, including one at Mudipu, are being prepared for operations.

•    Recruitment: The state has already begun training a new batch of government bus drivers to ensure the fleet is operational the moment it arrives.

A Pakistani lawmaker has called out the hypocrisy of his country's leadership, drawing a parallel between Islamabad's military actions against Kabul and India's 'Operation Sindoor'.

Condemning the Pakistan army, led by Asim Munir, for strikes on Afghanistan - which resulted in civilian casualties - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman questioned the consistency of Islamabad's logic. He argued that if Pakistan's cross-border attacks are considered justified, then the country has little ground to object when India enters Pakistani territory to eliminate terrorists.

Rehman was addressing the 'Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Ummat' conference on Monday in Karachi's Lyari. The town recently gained international attention as the setting for the Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar, which depicted the intersection of informants and operatives within the Lyari underworld.

"If you say that we attacked our enemy in Afghanistan and justify this, then India can also say that it attacked Bahawalpur, Muridke, and the headquarters of groups responsible for the attack in Kashmir," Rehman said, referring to India's retaliatory strikes. "Then how can you raise objections? The same accusations are now being levelled against Pakistan by Afghanistan. How do you justify both positions?"

The JUI-F chief's remarks specifically referenced 'Operation Sindoor'.

On May 7, Indian armed forces carried out pre-dawn missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.

Pak-Afghanistan Tension

Fazlur Rehman has been a consistent critic of the Pakistani government's policy towards Afghanistan. In October, during a peak in bilateral tensions, he offered to mediate between the two nations. According to a Dawn report, he stated, "In the past, I have played a role in reducing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and I can still do so."

Rehman is known to wield significant influence within the region and remains the only Pakistani lawmaker to have met with the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Recently, India condemned Pakistan's fresh strikes on Afghanistan. "We have seen reports of border clashes in which several Afghan civilians have been killed," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing.

"We condemn such attacks on innocent Afghan people. India strongly supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan," he said.

A spokesperson for the Taliban regime claimed Pakistan initiated the attacks and that Kabul was "forced to respond".

The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its neighbour of harbouring terrorists - a charge that the Afghan government denies.