16-10-2021 The Asian Independent

8 16-10-2021 to 31-10-2021 NEWS
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Russia invites US for upcoming talks on Afghanistan
Moscow. Russia has invited a
US delegation to participate in
the talks on Afghanistan slated
to take place in Moscow on
october 20, a top official said
here.
Moscow is also currently
considering a proposal by Iran
on hosting in Tehran a meeting
of foreign ministers of
Afghanistan's neighbours,
Xinhua news agency quoted
Zamir Kabulov, Russia's
Special Presidential
Representative for Afghanistan,
as saying on Friday.
A day earlier, the Russian
Foreign Ministry said that postconflict
reconstruction and
humanitarian assistance will be
high on the agenda of the multilateral
talks.
Russia has also invited
Taliban representatives to the
meeting.
The Moscow-format consultations
on Afghanistan
were launched in 2017 on the
basis of the six-party mechanism
for consultations among
representatives from Russia,
Afghanistan, China, Pakistan,
Iran and India.
The first round of the consultations
took place on April
14, 2017 and were attended
by the Deputy Foreign
Ministers and representatives
of 11 countries, namely
Russia, Afghanistan, China,
Pakistan, Iran, India,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan.
Pakistanis lash out at Imran Khan for 'petrol bomb'
New Delhi. Known for their
biting wit and unmatched
humour when it comes to
memes, Pakistanis on Twitter
lashed out at the government's
decision to hike the price of
petroleum products, Geo News
reported.
Pakistanis woke up Saturday
morning to find out that the
Ministry of Finance had
okayed a Rs 10.49 per litre hike
in the price of petrol. As
expected, many took to social
media to show their visceral
disdain of the government's
action, the report said.
#PetrolPrice was trending on
Twitter as the netizens vent
their anger on social media.
A Pak twitterati said petrol
stations are set to be the new
spot for "expensive" dates,
given the surge in prices of
petroleum products.
Reacting to the recent hike
in petrol prices, PML-N
Punjab Police bust illegal arms supply racket
Chandigarh. Punjab Police
on Saturday busted an interstate
illegal arms supply
racket in Sangrur district
with the arrest of two persons.
Two country-made
weapons and ammunition
were recovered from their
possession.
The arrested persons have
been identified as Pawan
Kumar, a resident of Aligarh
district in Uttar Pradesh, and
Kulwinder Singh from
Muktsar Sahib district in
Punjab.
Senior Superintendent of
Police Swapan Sharma told
the media that following the
rise in incidents of illegal
weapons supply in Sangrur
and its surrounding areas, a
Special Investigation Team
(SIT) headed by DSP
Yogesh Kumar and
Inspector Deepinder Singh
was formed.
After a month-long investigation,
the SIT managed to
bust the inter-state racket, he
said, adding that this was
one of many trips which
Kumar made to Punjab,
when he was nabbed.
Kumar had supplied several
weapons in Amritsar
and Tarn Taran districts.
The SSP said that Kumar
was working on the behest
of Chanchal Kumar, a resident
of Aligarh, who is posted
at an army formation in
Mau.
Apparently, Kumar was in
contact with illegal arms
manufacturers and he had
several conduits making trips
to deliver country-made
weapons to anti-social elements
in the state.
The SIT revealed that
President and Leader of the
Opposition in the National
Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif said
that following a 14 per cent
increase in power tariff, the
"petrol bomb" on the masses is
a continuation of the "minibudget".
Lashing out at the PTI government,
Shehbaz Sharif said
that Prime Minister Imran
Khan has no right to remain in
office and demanded his resignation,
the report said.
In a statement, PPP
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said
the PTI government has
brought a "tsunami of inflation"
in the country, reacting to the
hike in petrol price.
"The government is actually
charging people for its incompetence.
During the PPP era,
the burden of rising petroleum
prices and products in the
world market was never shifted
to the masses," he said.
Madhya Pradesh has become
a hub of illegal arms manufacturing.
Investigation in the
previous cases also pointed
to Madhya Pradesh as the
place of origin of countrymade
weapons. Sharma said
that recovery of large quantity
of arms and ammunition is
likely in the coming days.
In the last six months,
Sangrur police have registered
17 cases under the
Arms Act and recovered 32
country-made weapons.
In another operation
launched by Ropar police, an
inter-state gang involved in
illegal arms business was
busted with the arrest of five
persons and recovery of five
country-made pistols.
SSP Vivek Sheel Soni
said that police teams had
conducted a raid and
nabbed five persons with
arms who were engaged in
illegal arms smuggling
from other states.
Another Nihang Sikh
surrenders in Punjab
in Singhu murder case
Chandigarh. The second
accused and a Nihang Sikh,
identified as Parminder Singh,
in the Singhu border lynching
incident, on Saturday surrendered
at a gurdwara before the
police in Jandiala Guru in
Amritsar district in Punjab
amidst the presence of a huge
sympathizers.
The local police had to show
patience to allow the accused to
surrender on his own after paying
obeisance and performing
rituals in the shrine.
Earlier, he had announced to
surrender after paying obeisance
at Akal Takht in Amritsar.
Parminder Singh has been
named in the murder of Lakhbir
Singh, who had allegedly committed
sacrilege at the farmers'
protest site on Singhu border on
the periphery of the national
capital on Friday.
His wife accompanying him
at the time of surrender told the
media the family has no
remorse and no regret over the
act of her husband.
"It was an act to punish over
sacrilege. Whoever indulges in
an act of sacrilege, we will treat
them in this manner," she
added.
Police officials told IANS
the accused has been later
handed over to Haryana Police
for further investigation.
Earlier, another Nihang
Sikh, identified as Saravjeet
Singh, took the responsibility
for the brutal murder and surrendered
before Haryana
Police. He was produced before
a court on Saturday and was
remanded to police custody for
seven days.
The incident took place in
the wee hours of Friday on the
Singhu border dividing
Haryana and Delhi when
Lakhbir Singh (30), a resident
of Tarn Taran district in Punjab,
was seen carrying the Sarbloh
Granth -- a holy Sikh religious
scripture -- by a Nihang Sikh
man.
Lakhbir was then accused of
desecrating the Sarbloh Granth.
The arguments soon turned violent
and the man's hand was
allegedly chopped off amid the
chaos.