Heena Sharma Blog

High-resolution satellite images reviewed by Reuters show that a religious school run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in northeastern Pakistan appears to be still standing days after India claimed its warplanes had hit the Islamist group's training camp on the site and killed a large number of militants. The images produced by Planet Labs Inc, a San Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least six buildings on the madrasa site on March 4, six days after the airstrike. Until now, no high-resolution satellite images were publicly available. But the images from Planet Labs, which show details as small as 72 cm (28 inches), offer a clearer look at the structures the Indian government said it attacked. The image is virtually unchanged from an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility. There are no discernible holes in the roofs of buildings, no signs of scorching, blown-out walls, displaced trees around the madrasa or other signs of an aerial attack. The images ca...

In a major diplomatic achievement, India for the first time addressed the OIC meeting on Friday here, and asserted that the war against terrorism, which was destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril, was not against any religion. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the grouping of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. "Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion," Swaraj, who is the first Indian minister to address the meeting of the 57 Islamic countries, said. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, a senior mi...

The daily Retreat ceremony held at the Attari-Wagah border front along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab has been "cancelled" for Friday, the BSF said. A senior official of the force said the martial ceremony has been called off due to administrative requirements in the wake of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman 's release post noon at this frontier. The public will not be allowed in the ceremony area that is located in the Attari of Punjab along the Indo-Pak border, the BSF official said. They said the decision has been taken in view of "military requirements" where Varthaman captured by Pakistani forces will be handed over to senior Indian Air Force officials. The Border Security Force (BSF) conducts the ceremony in coordination with their cross-border counterparts Pak Rangers. It involves lowering of the flags of the two countries along with foot stomping manoeuvres of the troops. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is in Abu Dhabi to attend the foreign ministers' meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states where she is expected to raise the issue of terrorism, amidst Indo-Pak tensions following the Pulwama terror attack. Swaraj will attend the inaugural plenary of the two-day meeting on Friday. It is for the first time that India has been invited to a meeting of the OIC, an influential grouping of 57 Islamic countries, as the guest of honour. India's engagement with the OIC comes in the midst of escalating tension between India and Pakistan. The ties strained further after Indian fighter jets bombed terror group Jaish-e - Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan carried out a retaliatory aerial raid on Wednesday. Pakistan, a member of the OIC, tried to get Swaraj 'disinvited' from the Abu Dhabi meet following India's air strike on the terror camp in Pakis...