US-India NSAs to meet, focus on deepening military-tech ties
New Delhi:In a significant diplomatic move, the second round of the initiative of Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) dialogue between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is set to commence on June 17-18. This meeting marks a pivotal moment in bilateral relations following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's re-election.
The discussions will center around a variety of key projects initiated during the previous meeting in Washington, including the transfer of technology for GE-414 jet engines intended for India's Tejas Mark II fighters. Additionally, plans for a new bilateral Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap will be a focus, aimed at accelerating joint technological ventures such as jet engines, loitering ammunition, and semiconductor production.
A US delegation is already in India, negotiating the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed Predator drones, underscoring the depth of defense cooperation between the two nations. Concurrently, French counterparts are in talks for a deal involving 26 Rafale-Maritime fighters for India's INS Vikrant, highlighting India's broadening military alliances.
The agenda also includes discussions on enhancing cooperation in space technology, quantum computing, and next-generation telecommunications, reflecting both countries' strategic interests amid regional challenges, notably from an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.
Ahead of the meeting, western media speculations regarding alleged incidents involving proscribed individuals have not dampened the momentum, as affirmed during recent interactions between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden at the G-7 summit in Apulia. Both leaders have expressed a commitment to advancing Indo-US ties despite external distractions.
In parallel, NSA Ajit Doval is scheduled to visit Paris on June 20-21 to strengthen military relations with France, further underscoring India's proactive diplomatic engagements across multiple fronts.
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SC grants time to 6 accused in terror cases to respond to CBI plea for transfer of cases
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave banned JKLF chief Yasin Malik and five others two weeks to respond to the CBI's plea to transfer the trial in two terror cases from Jammu to New Delhi.
One case relates to the killing of four Indian Air Force personnel on January 25, 1990 in a shootout in Srinagar, the other to the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, then Union Home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter, on December 8, 1989.
On Wednesday, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan took note of the fact that six accused have not filed their replies to the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea and asked them to do the needful in two weeks. It listed the case for further hearing on January 20, 2025.
“If trial is to be transferred then all accused have to be heard,” said the bench.
The bench was apprised that one accused Mohammed Rafiq Pahloo has passed away and the trial against him would abate.
Besides Malik and Pahloo, 10 people have been made party to the CBI's plea. Of them, six accused have not filed their replies to the CBI’s plea.
On November 28, the top court sought a response from Yasin Malik and others on the CBI's plea to transfer the trial.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that Malik need not be physically taken to Jammu court for trial in the kidnapping case as Tihar jail has a court with video-conferencing facilities.
The top court was hearing a CBI plea against the September 20, 2022 order of a Jammu trial court directing Malik, serving a life term in Tihar jail, to be produced before it physically to cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the Rubaiya Sayeed case.
The CBI said Malik, the top leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was a threat to national security and cannot be allowed to be taken outside the Tihar jail premises.
Rubaiya Sayeed, who was freed five days after her abduction when the then BJP-backed V P Singh government at the Centre released five terrorists in exchange, now lives in Tamil Nadu. She is a prosecution witness for the CBI, which took over the case in early 1990s.
Malik has lodged in Tihar jail after he was sentenced by a special NIA court in May 2023 in a terror-funding case.
