Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over border firing
Islamabad, Aug 19 : Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh and condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) in its administered Kashmir, resulted in the death of a civilian.
The Foreign Ministry said that a 65-year-old man was killed while a boy was injured in Indian firing on August 18 in Dana Sector along the LoC.
"The Indian forces along the Line of Control and the Working boundary are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons," Director General at the South Asian desk of the Foreign Ministry Mohammad Faisal who summoned the Indian diplomat said. Faisal also serves as spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Giving update of the cross-LoC shelling, the Foreign Ministry said in 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 1,900 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the international border, resulting in the deaths of 31 innocent civilians while injuring 122 others.
"This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations," he said in a statement.
The spokesman said the "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas" is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws.
"The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," Faisal told the Indian deputy high commissioner.
Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003, however, both accuse each other of skirmishes.
The spokesman urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary.
He urged that the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
