Student activist Afreen Fatima vows resilience in adversity
Prayagraj: Afreen Fatima, the student activist whose family home in Prayagraj was demolished following her father Javed Mohammed's arrest, expressed unwavering determination on Thursday, emphasizing that she and her community would not be silenced despite facing threats.
Javed and Fatima are affiliated with the Welfare Party of India, with Fatima serving as the national secretary of the Fraternity Movement, the student wing of the party. Javed was arrested as one of the alleged co-conspirators of the June 10 violence stemming from suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's comments about the Prophet.
Speaking at a press conference organized by the Fraternity Movement via Zoom, Fatima asserted, "I stand in absolute solidarity with all Muslim families whose houses have been demolished... Whatever has happened with my father, Janaab Javed Mohammed Sahab, and with my family and to our house, is known to everyone."
Despite acknowledging her family's relative privilege, Fatima expressed empathy for those less fortunate whose homes were also destroyed. She declared her family's refusal to be intimidated, stating, "No matter how much you try to scare and threaten us, or trouble us by putting us in jail, we will not keep quiet or be silenced, nor are we going to disappear from this country."
Fatima remained steadfast in her belief in her father's innocence, and her commitment to proving it. Javed's wife, Parveen Fatima, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the charges against her husband were baseless. The family's primary focus, she stated, was to substantiate Javed's innocence and secure his release.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
