Pakistan will release Abhinandan on Friday
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, now in Pakistan’s custody, would be released on Friday.
“As a peace gesture, we are releasing the captured Indian pilot tomorrow,” he told a joint session of Parliament.
GDP growth slowed for the third consecutive quarter in the October-December 2018 period, according to data released on Thursday. Growth fell to 6.6% in the third quarter, the lowest in the last six quarters. The slowdown was led by agriculture, which is estimated to grow at 2.7%, against the earlier estimate of 3.8%.
Encounter underway in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara
An encounter broke out on Friday between militants and security forces in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about presence of militants there, the officials said.
Missile debris proves Pakistan used F-16s in attack, says IAF
The Indian Air Force (IAF) produced evidence to prove that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) deployed F-16 fighters to target Indian military installations, and one of which was downed. The armed forces, in a rare tri-service press conference, reiterated that they were fully prepared putting the onus of further escalation on Pakistan.
Abhinandan Varthaman release: World leaders work behind the scenes to avert India-Pakistan conflict
A series of visits, phone calls and backroom diplomacy by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the UAE may have been behind Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to announce the unilateral release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a move that appears to have averted an escalation in the situation between India and Pakistan for the moment.
India gives Pakistan a dossier on Jaish
A dossier handed over by India to Pakistan mentions nine specific instances, in the past two years, when Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) was conducting rallies and religious congregations to recruit men to the terror outfit. India said these activities were conducted “right under the nose of the Pakistani establishment,” even though it was banned by the Pakistani authorities in 2002.
Yeddyurappa faces backlash for saying air strikes will pay electoral dividend
Former Chief Minister and BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa, facing backlash from the Opposition and some within his party for his statements that India’s air strikes against Pakistan would aid the BJP to garner more seats in the Lok Sabha, sought to backtrack on his remarks.
Braving all odds, Hadiya is now a doctor
Overcoming obstacles that threatened to get her life caught in a communal rut, Hadiya has finally caught up with her career dream. In a recent Facebook post, her husband Shafin Jahan announced that his wife Hadiya Asokan had finally become a doctor and shared a photograph of the woman in doctor’s coat with a stethoscope.
Want to see him first, says pilot Abhinandan’s father
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s family, which had withdrawn into a shell after Pakistan released videos showing him in captivity, broke into celebrations after the country’s Prime Minister announced that the officer would be released on Friday. Some relatives distributed sweets.
US offers USD 1 million reward to find Osama bin Laden’s son
The United States offered a USD 1 million reward for information on a son of late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seeing him as an emerging face of extremism. The location of Hamza bin Laden, sometimes dubbed the “crown prince of jihad,” has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or under house arrest in Iran.