BJP mulling options as Akbar returns tomorrow
New Delhi, Oct 13: Amid an increasing clamour for Union minister M J Akbar's resignation, the BJP is likely to take a clear stand on the allegations of sexual harassment against him once he explains his position upon his scheduled return to India on Sunday.
The junior foreign minister, who has been on an official trip abroad, has so far not responded to the charges.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party has maintained a studied silence on the matter so far, party sources have said the charges against him are serious, and his continuance as a minister is no longer guaranteed. A final call will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said.
There is also a view within the party that there is no legal case against him, and allegations pertain to a time long before he became a minister.
Multiple women in the last few days have offered their accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar as the #MeToo movement swept social media, bringing to fore sordid tales of sexual harassment by influential men in different walks of lives.
While the BJP has kept mum, some woman ministers have lent their support to the #MeToo movement without taking a stand on the charges against Akbar.
Party leaders have said it is for Akbar to respond to the charges first.
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Pakistan's stock market tumbles as India-Pakistan tensions simmer
Islamabad, Apr 24 (PTI): Pakistan’s stock market on Thursday witnessed a sharp dip, with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing at 115,019.81, down by 2206.33 points from the last close, amid brewing tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the terror attack.
In retaliation, Pakistan also suspended bilateral trade and accords, including the Simla Agreement, and airspaces with India, among other moves.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) took the hit, and the KSE-100 index plunged by 2,485 points early in the session, dropping to 114,740 points.
As the day progressed, the market showed signs of slight recovery, narrowing the loss to 1196 points. By midday, the current index was at 116,030.02 points.
However, it nosedived again and finally closed at 115,019.81, down by 2,206.33 points, or 1.92 per cent.
The sharp dip comes after the market touched an all-time high, crossing the 120,000 mark earlier this year. Observers said the bearish trend is expected to dominate the market until there is a sign of improvement in the current political and security situation with India.
