'It's for responsible nations to reflect': India on China's support to Pak in Op Sindoor
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday said reports of Chinese support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor corroborated what was already known and that responsible nations must reflect on how backing efforts to shield terrorist infrastructure would affect their global standing.
New Delhi's comments came days after China confirmed that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during its four-day military conflict with India.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to a question on the issue, said Operation Sindoor was a precise, targeted and calibrated response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
"We have seen these reports that corroborate what was known earlier. Operation Sindoor was a precise, targeted and calibrated response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, aimed at destroying state-sponsored terrorist infrastructure operating out of Pakistan and at its behest," he said at his weekly media briefing.
"It is for nations who consider themselves responsible to reflect whether supporting attempts to protect terrorist infrastructure affects their reputation and standing," Jaiswal added.
Last week, China, for the first time, confirmed that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the conflict, according to Chinese official media reports.
China's state broadcaster CCTV aired an interview with Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute.
The AVIC is a key developer of China's advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design. Zhang had provided technical support to Pakistan during the four-day war last May, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, quoting CCTV.
Pakistan's air force operates a fleet of Chinese-made J-10CE jets, produced by an AVIC subsidiary.
Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Deputy Chief of the Indian Army Staff (strategy), on May 7 spoke about "collusivity" between Pakistan and China.
"The fact is that Pakistan and China in their own words have a relationship that is deeper than the seas, higher than the mountains, that's a given. The fact that Pakistan has 80 per cent of its military equipment of Chinese origin is a given," he had said at a media briefing.
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year carrying out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, eliminating at least 100 terrorists.
The strikes triggered a rapid escalation in tensions with Pakistan launching retaliatory attacks though most of them were thwarted by the Indian military. The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.
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TN CM Vijay calls fuel price hike ‘unacceptable’, seeks rollback
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday slammed the increase of Rs 3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices, calling it "unacceptable", and demanded its immediate rollback, claiming the revision would affect various sections of society.
He said oil marketing companies do not reduce prices in line with global crude price trends and "take the profits".
"Union government oil marketing companies have increased the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre. This is not acceptable," Vijay said in a statement.
The hike has been effected after the "five-state polls" (four states and one union territory), he added.
This price rise will largely affect the income of the poor and middle class using two-wheelers and small vehicles, as well as others dependent on vehicles for their livelihood, the CM said.
It will ultimately result in an increase in the prices of daily commodities and also "affect the purchasing power of the poor," he added.
Citing the chain effect of the price revision, such as increased input costs for small units, he said it could lead to a "slowdown" in the market and exports.
"Therefore, I urge the union government to immediately roll back the price hike that will affect the poor and middle-class people and SMEs," Vijay added.
Global crude oil prices have surged more than 50 per cent since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation, which disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil shipments.
Petrol and diesel prices are now at their highest level since May 2022.
