Sambhal/Chandausi: Almost seven months after violence broke out during a survey at the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, police on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against 23 persons, including Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, for their alleged involvement in the case.

Trouble mounted for the Parliamentarian as police in its 1000-page charge sheet named him and 22 others in the MP-MLA court in Chandausi, in connection with the violence that erupted during a court-monitored survey of mosque last year.

On the other hand, police sources informed that no evidence has been found against Suhail Iqbal, the son of SP MLA Iqbal Mahmood, in the incident.

Notably, both Barq and Suhail were named among the 40 accused, while over 2700 unnamed persons were also accused in the case.

As per reports, violence erupted on November 24, 2024, when a team arrived to conduct a survey of Shahi Jama Masjid, following a court order. The order was issued after a petition was filed by Mahant Rishi Raj Giri Maharaj of the Kailadevi temple, claiming that the mosque was built over a demolished Harihar Temple.

As the survey began, tension escalated as huge crowd gathered near the mosque, which subsequently led to stone-pelting and violent clashes. While four persons lost their lives, 29 policemen were injured in the incident. Among those arrested was Zafar Ali, the president of the mosque committee and a practicing advocate. The incident took place in presence of top officials, including District Magistrate Rajendra Pansia and Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, who were overseeing the court-mandated survey.

So far, police have arrested 92 accused, all of whom have been sent to jail. MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, who was quizzed for nearly six hours by the SIT at Nakhasa police station, has been accused of allegedly inciting violence.

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Allahabad HC Upholds Trial Court’s Order On Survey Of Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid

ETV Bharat / international

Hypersonic Missiles Are Stirring Fears In Israel-Iran Conflict, Here’s Why

BARCELONA: Iran is boasting that it has hypersonic missiles and says it already has begun firing the cutting-edge weapons at Israel.

While AP reported that there is no evidence on Iran unleashing the missiles, and that experts are skeptical of the claim; citing state TV report, AFP mentioned that Iran launched hypersonic missiles in a new wave of attacks against Israel on Wednesday. The Fattah hypersonic missiles “have successfully penetrated the Israeli regime’s defenses,” AFP stated quoting state TV.

The use of these fast-moving projectiles could test Israel’s vaunted missile-defense system and alter the course of the fighting between the two bitter enemies.

Here’s a closer look at these advanced weapons:

What is a hypersonic missile and what makes them so feared?

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that it had fired what it said were hypersonic “Fattah 1” missiles toward Israel. But whether these missiles are hypersonic is a matter of debate.

Simply put, hypersonic weapons are any missile that travels beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. Ballistic missiles, fired high up or outside the earth’s atmosphere, routinely reach this speed.

But in modern warfare, experts say hypersonic weapons must also have advanced navigation systems – making them nimble and capable of changing their trajectory. This can challenge traditional defense systems, said Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Traditional ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory that missile-defense systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate. Cruise missiles, which can hug terrain, or hypersonic missiles, which are fired to a lower altitude, have less predictable trajectories and are harder to stop.

“Radar can see a missile on a ballistic curve because it’s above the radar horizon. If it’s a hypersonic glide vehicle, it can fly lower and hills get in the way,” Watling said. “That further reduces the time that you will have to engage because if it comes over the horizon, you suddenly see it, and then it’s over.”

Who has hypersonic missiles or is developing them?

Experts say the U.S. and China are the only countries that have developed new-generation hypersonic missiles — but neither have used them in battle. Other nations such as Russia, North Korea and Pakistan have tested or used missiles with similar but less sophisticated technology.

“In the way that it is currently being used, the term ‘hypersonic’ often has little to no meaning and at the same time fuels competitive dynamics and a fear of missing out on the technology,” according to a 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The U.S. says it is putting hypersonic missiles on a stealth destroyer and is developing and testing other programs.

China tested its first hypersonic missile in 2017 and has since developed an array of hypersonic weapons that the U.S. Defense Department says could threaten Hawaii, Alaska and even the continental U.S.

Zagreb, Jun 18 (PTI): India and Croatia on Wednesday agreed to firm up a ‘defence cooperation plan’ and resolved to boost cooperation in several key sectors including trade, renewable energy and semiconductors following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic.

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In his media statement, Modi said he and Plenkovic agreed that terrorism is the enemy of humanity and it is against forces that believe in democracy.

The prime minister arrived in Zargreb this morning from Canada in the third and final leg of his three-nation trip.

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In their talks, the two prime ministers also agreed on the importance of improving connectivity, including through the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Croatia can serve as India’s gateway into Central and Southeastern Europe.

The two sides also decided to soon finalise a mobility agreement to facilitate the movement of people.

“We are deeply grateful to the Prime Minister and the Government of Croatia for their condolences on the terrorist attack in India on April 22. In such a difficult time, the support of our friendly countries was very valuable to us,” Modi said.

“We both agree that the partnership between India and Europe is very important in today’s global environment. Croatia’s support and cooperation is very important in strengthening our strategic partnership with the EU,” he said.

Modi said he and Plenkovic both “support the fact that whether it is Europe or Asia, the solution to problems does not come from the battlefield.” “Dialogue and diplomacy are the only way. Respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of any country is necessary,” the prime minister said without elaborating.

The prime minister said a ‘defence cooperation plan’ will be made for long-term cooperation in the defence sector, which will focus on training and military exchange as well as defence industry.

“We have decided to enhance cooperation in many areas to increase bilateral trade and create reliable supply chains,” Modi said.

“We will promote cooperation in many important areas such as pharma, agriculture, information technology, clean technology, digital technology, renewable energy, semiconductors. Cooperation will be enhanced in shipbuilding and cyber security,” he added.

In a social media post, Modi described his talks with Plenković as “productive”.

“Our talks covered many sectors, aimed at making the India-Croatia bond even stronger,” he said.

The MEA said the two prime ministers held discussions on various aspects of the bilateral partnership, including trade and investment, science and technology, defense and security, space, cultural cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders agreed that there were significant opportunities for increased cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, ports and shipping, digitalization, AI, renewable energy, pharma and tourism and hospitality, it said.

The MEA said the two leaders also discussed important regional and global issues of mutual interest.

“They exchanged views on reform of the United Nations and other international institutions, climate change action and threats posed by terrorism,” it added.

PM Modi also held talks with President Zoran Milanović.

“The leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthening India-Croatia ties across trade, technology and cultural cooperation and expressed their shared commitment to democratic values and global peace,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. PTI KND/MPB GRS GRS GRS

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)

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What are the lessons learnt from the Pahalgam attack?

How long will it take to revive tourism?

Is Pahalgam attack a setback for restoration of statehood?

How effective was Op Sindoor?

Who do you think should be held responsible for the security lapse?

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What is the sense on the ground in J&K?

Have people changed because of the abrogation of Article 370?

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The Opposition parties feel you were passive about the dual control situation in J&K till now. Your comments.

Has the GoI shared any timeline for restoration of statehood? What can you expect from me?

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Is there an expiry date to your patience with the current system?

Why have you softened your stand on Article 370 and other issues after the assembly election?

Was the Indus Water Treaty bad?

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As the IWT is in abeyance are you looking at some new projects in J&K?

How is the new Chenab Bridge?

What about Congress’ reservations on the process of elections?

Do you think the INDIA bloc is over?

You have formed a panel on reservation. What is the status of the findings?

Your view on caste census?

You seem to have a good rapport with the prime minister. Is it just optics?

You have worked with three PMs so far. How was it dealing with them?

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah speaks on issues ranging from the challenges of running a Union Territory to the Pahalgam attack, relations with the Union government, and the INDIA bloc. Excerpts from his talk at the ET Roundtable:Previously learnt lessons need to be implemented. One of the lessons we have learnt from past mistakes was to disconnect tourism from the overall narrative of normalcy in J&K and make it conflict neutral. Tourism is an economic activity and not a barometer of normalcy. The problem is when you equate tourism with normalcy. The best way to counter that normalcy argument is to damage tourism.Our peak season –– May to July –– this year is gone. We are hopeful that we get an incident-free and peaceful Amarnath Yatra (July-August). If the Yatra goes well, then we will be able to do some marketing in West Bengal around the Pooja holidays. Greater normalcy is expected around next April.In J&K, you can’t afford confusion with regard to who is in-charge. You can’t have dual centres of power. Pahalgam (attack) has shown a lack of coordination, a lack of unity of command. There was a reason why elected governments were able to bring the graph of militancy down. It was because we had channels of communication not available to Raj Bhawan today. I believe it is in the interest of the Union government to have an elected government that is responsible for security and law and order in J&K. An elected government performs the role of a buffer.The strikes were engineered to dissuade Pakistan from any future attacks …but that, only time can tell. We responded in a similar manner post the attack on the CRPF in Pulwama. That gave us a few years without an attack of this nature. But, we told ourselves that after this, Pakistan will never dare to look at India with an evil eye. But they did, after a few years.Icertainly can’t hold myself responsible, because I’m not responsible for security and law and order. I’m not sure the reaction would have been as muted if I had been responsible for security and law and order. But that’s where politics comes into play.Pahalgam certainly gave us a rude awakening that this is not just part of the dark past of J&K, it’s part of our current reality. People were angry and disappointed. They said this is not something that we support or we endorse, and that was a huge change from anything we’ve seen in the past 30-35 years.The anger was spontaneous and real. But don’t mistake people’s anger with regard to the attack in Pahalgam as some sort of endorsement of what happened on August 5, 2019.You don’t come in and straight away start firing. It takes time to figure out how things work. I haven’t started firing yet. I know the Lieutenant Governor recently said that only security and law and order is his responsibility, and he doesn’t dabble in anything else. That’s his way of tacitly admitting that Pahalgam perhaps was a failure on his part and it is his way of putting his hand down. Also, the fact is that the LG does dabble in governance-related matters. He lays foundation stones of factories and distributes job orders that fall under the purview of the elected government. So, there are areas where the boundaries sort of blur. If he believes in what he says, then the business rules approved by the cabinet should be agreed by him.What have I left undone that you would need me to do for statehood to be restored? Has my government been irresponsible? Have we failed in our responsibility to the people? Have we been lacking in our response to any crisis that has hit J&K in spite of the fact that security and law and order is not our domain. Statehood is not for me, the commitment was to the people of J&K. They came out in droves and participated in an election which they didn’t need to. They could have boycotted the way they did the previous elections.Everything has an expiry date. But I’m not given to threats. That’s not in my nature. And, if I was to give you a date, it would sound like a threat. So, let me just say that everything comes with an expiry date, and that’s it.What have we been silent on? We passed a resolution calling for the restoration of the special status of J&K and constitutional guarantees. When the J&K assembly passed a political resolution like this earlier, it was dismissed. This resolution is alive. We were able to put together a political resolution that survived scrutiny by the Government of India. It lays a foundation of the framework for dialogue with any future government around the special status and constitutional guarantees of J&K. Even before I became chief minister this time, I have always maintained that the onus for creating conditions conducive for a dialogue rests with both countries and Pakistan will have to address India’s concerns vis a vis terrorism, for a sustainable dialogue. At every function of the prime minister, in some way or the other, I’ve managed to insert it in the discourse of statehood. I’m not going to give us 100 out of 100, but I’m certainly not going to fail us either.Yes, It was a terrible treaty if you were in J&K but a great treaty if you were in Punjab…Now, with the suspension of IWT, we believe that if we lift water from the Chenab somewhere around Akhnoor, you’ll be able to take care of the water needs of Jammu for at least the next 2-3 decades. I got a lesson in opportunistic politics from my opposition, the PDP. They labelled me as a warmonger for talking about Wullar Barrage. We swiftly reminded them that during Mufti Sayed’s first term in office, they had passed a unanimous resolution in the assembly calling for the abrogation of IWT. In Mehbooba Mufti’s term in office, she actually went and met Prime Minister Modi with the single focus agenda being that India should exit from IWT because J&K has suffered.What the IWT will allow us to do going ahead is to at least regularly flush out the existing projects vis-a-vis silt collection. We are doing that in Salal and Baglihar. Also, Wullar Barrage in Kashmir will have three advantages, navigation being one, the restoration of Wullar as a lake, because the water levels will rise and downstream power generation in winter months that will almost double the generation capacity of both Uri 1 and 2 projects as well as lower Jhelum Hydroelectric project.It has become a tourist destination in itself. One of the ideas discussed when the prime minister came to inaugurate the bridge was to use the Chenab Bridge as an adventure tourism destination for Bungee jumping. Also, there is a sort of a finite time limit to us being able to claim this bridge as the tallest in the world because the Chinese hate us being able to claim anything. I understand from the Railway Minister that China is already planning a bridge 30 meters higher than this one.It’s not something that the INDIA bloc has sort of discussed. This sort of discussion is something that the Congress has as a party and it is their point of view. Unfortunately, since the conclusion of the Parliament elections in 2024, the INDIA bloc hasn’t met. I don’t share it simply because I am not given to making excuses for things that I don’t succeed at. If I have a problem with election results, I need to have it when I have won as well.The INDIA bloc performs a very important role but somewhere we are not sure whether that role is limited to just fighting general elections or is it limited to general elections plus some floor coordination in Parliament or is it something that is supposed to guide us through the five years between Parliament elections. The NDA seems to have more meetings than the INDIA bloc at the moment, which is surprising because the NDA otherwise has never held so many meetings in the past.The report is ready and will be presented at the next cabinet meeting. The findings are for the cabinet to hear first and decide on how to go about it. The room to maneuver is limited. Some reservations are mandated by the government of India like SC, ST, OBC but some reservations are exclusively within the domain of J&K. I do not know what the committee has recommended.Ididn’t have it when it was being talked about but if it’s going to benefit a caste that has been excluded, I am fine. I was surprised the way BJP did a complete U-turn on caste census after maintaining that it is the worst thing that can happen to Hindus because it was designed to divide them. But now that they have discovered a new-found love for it, this is the best thing that could happen to the country.He is not the sort of person who will do things for optics and I will never claim to have a good rapport with him. The Union government has been helpful and I am not going to be ungrateful. Without the Government of India’s additional assistance at the end of the last financial year, I would have run out of money in January. I would have had no money for salaries, pensions or anything. I had a Rs 5,000-6,000 crore hole in my budget.You deal with them as prime ministers, they are not your friends, they are not even in my own age group. I would never let that line blur. I am not the sort of person who will sit back and joke with any of them. It’s also comparing apples and oranges…None of the PMs I have worked with have looked at J&K from a point of view like ‘Sabak Sikhana Hai’ or ‘Tang Karna Hai.’