Shashi Tharoor condoles Musharraf's demise, calls him 'foe-turned-real force for peace'
BJP slams Congress
New Delhi, Feb 5: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday condoled the passing away of Pakistan's former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, saying that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace" between 2002 and 2007.
Tharoor's social media post condoling Musharraf's demise evoked a sharp response from the BJP which accused the Congress of "Pakistan parasti (worshipping)".
Musharraf passed away on Sunday in a Dubai hospital, according to media reports.
"'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet.
"I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said.
Tagging Tharoor's tweets, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Pervez Musharraf architect of Kargil, dictator, accused of heinous crimes who considered Taliban & Osama as 'brothers' & 'heroes' who refused to even take back bodies of his own dead soldiers is being hailed by Congress! Are you surprised? Again, Congress ki pak parasti!"
"Once upon a time Musharraf had hailed Rahul Gandhi as a gentleman perhaps that endears Congress to Musharraf??" he said.
"From 370 to Surgical Strike to doubting Balakote Congress echoed Pak line & hails Musharraf but called our own chief 'Sadak Ka Gunda'..This is Congress!!" Poonawalla said.
In another tweet, the BJP leader shared an old video of Musharraf talking about his son being invited by Rahul Gandhi and Musharraf's wife, brother and son being invited for a lunch by former prime minister Manmohan Singh when they were on a Delhi visit, during his tenure as the Pakistan president.
"Parvez Musharraf who had hailed Osama Bin Laden & Taliban had sung praises of Rahul Gandhi too - called him a gentleman and pledged his support to him!! Perhaps this is the reason why Shashi Tharoor is eulogising the architect of Kargil & a backer of terrorism!! Sigh," Poonawalla said in his tweet, tagging the video.
Musharraf, 79, was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, The Express Tribune reported.
Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943 in Delhi.
He assumed the post of Chief Executive after imposing martial law in the country in 1999 and served as the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.
In her condolence, former J-K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said Musharraf was perhaps the only Pakistani general who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue.
"Deepest condolences. Perhaps the only Pakistani General who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue. He wanted a solution according to wishes of people of J&K & acceptable to India & Pak. Though GOI has reversed all CBMs initiated by him & Vajpayee ji, the ceasefire remains," Mufti tweeted.
“Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease”: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP https://t.co/1Pvqp8cvjE
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023
Pervez Musharraf- architect of Kargil, dictator, accused of heinous crimes - who considered Taliban & Osama as “brothers” & “heroes” - who refused to even take back bodies of his own dead soldiers is being hailed by Congress! Are you surprised? Again, Congress ki pak parasti! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/I7NnLRRUZM
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 5, 2023
Once upon a time Musharraf had hailed Rahul Gandhi as a gentleman perhaps that endears Congress to Musharraf??
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 5, 2023
From 370 to Surgical Strike to doubting Balakote Congress echoed Pak line & hails Musharraf but called our own chief “Sadak Ka Gunda”
This is Congress!! 2/2
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Syria says Israeli strikes leave 18 dead in the biggest toll since the war in Gaza began
Masyaf (Syria), Sep 9: The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said on Monday — the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
One of the sites targeted was a research centre used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.
Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.
However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Speaking to reporters, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.
One strike targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf, and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria”, the observatory said. It said the research centre was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.
Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had caused “truly significant” damage to water and electricity infrastructure.
“This brutal attack targeted civilian targets, and the martyrs were mostly civilians, as were the wounded,” he said.
Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous, which the observatory said were the result of air defense missiles falling.
On Monday afternoon, a charred car remained at the scene of one strike and smoke was still rising from some spots where fires had been put out.
