SOURCE: PTI

The Pakistan High Commission on Friday said it has issued 154 visas to Indian pilgrims to visit the Shree Katas Raj temples in the country’s Punjab province. Under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, thousands of Indian pilgrims visit Pakistan each year to attend various religious festivals.

The High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi said it has issued “154 visas to a group of pilgrims for their visit to the sacred Shree Katas Raj Temples in the Chakwal district, scheduled to take place from February 24 to March 2”.

SOURCE: PTI

India and Bangladesh have decided to set up a hotline between the deputy commanders of their respective border-guarding forces and identified 99 fresh patches for erecting a fence along their shared border. The decisions were taken at DG-level talks that ended here on Thursday.

SOURCE: PIB

Steel Cutting ceremony of third of the five Fleet Support Ships (FSS) was held at M/s L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli on 20 Feb 25, in the presence of R Adm Satish Shenai, Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area and senior officials from Indian Navy, Hindustan Ship Yard Limited (HSL) and M/s L&T.

The Indian Navy had signed a contract with HSL for acquisition of Five Fleet Support Ships (FSS) in Aug 2023, with delivery commencing mid-2027. Showcasing the strength of Public – Private partnership, HSL has contracted part construction of two FSS to M/s L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli to effectively utilise country’s shipbuilding capacity and meet stringent timelines for delivery.

SOURCE: IANS

India has expressed concern over reports regarding the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allegedly meddling in Indian elections and spending millions to influence voter turnout. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that relevant departments and agencies are investigating the matter.

“We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USAID activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling. This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India’s internal affairs,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing in New Delhi.

SOURCE: PTI

Highlighting the complexities of the current geopolitical landscape, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the G20’s ability to harmonise viewpoints is key to advancing the global agenda.

Jaishankar is in Johannesburg on a two-day visit to South Africa to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Addressing the G20 session titled ‘Discussion on the Global Geopolitical Situation’, Jaishankar said the G20 is an important expression of the world’s growing multi-polarity.

SOURCE: IANS

Kash Patel is set to make history Thursday when the Republican-led US Senate votes to confirm him to head the FBI, the country’s premier investigating agency. Patel will become the agency’s first Indian-descent Director. Indeed, he will also become its first Asian-descent leader, securing his place in history.

Patel will succeed Christopher Wray, also a nominee of President Donald Trump, for a term that is supposed to last 10 years but hasn’t in recent years. Two of immediate predecessors did not complete their tenure. Wray resigned on Trump’s election with two years still left of his 10 year term and his predecessor James Comey had completed only four of his 10 years when he was fired by Trump in 2017.

SOURCE: PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting here. Jaishankar is in Johannesburg on a two-day visit to South Africa to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

“The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg provided an opportunity to meet CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi of China this morning on its sidelines,” he posted on X, sharing some photographs of the meeting.

SOURCE: IANS

India and Pakistan are scheduled to hold a flag meeting on Friday on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district to address the rising incidents of ceasefire violation.The flag meeting will be attended by Brigadier-level officers of the two sides at the Chakan Da Bagh LoC crossing point in the district.

Indian and Pakistan armies announced a ceasefire in 2021. Due to this ceasefire agreement, tensions on the LoC came down appreciably and a modicum of normalcy returned to hundreds of families living on the two sides of the border.

SOURCE: ANI

In a series of joint intelligence-based operations in several districts of Manipur between February 19-20, Assam Rifles and Indian Army formations under Spear Corps apprehended 16 cadres and recovered 23 weapons in the hill and valley areas in the state.

According to a release, the operations were conducted in the Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Tengnoupal, Jiribam, and Kakching districts of Manipur. On receipt of information of the presence of cadres in general area Pheidinga, Imphal West district and general area Bhumpa Khulen in Thoubal district, Indian Army and Manipur Police launched an area domination patrol on February 19 and apprehended three individuals, who on initial questioning, confirmed that was a cadre of KCP (PWG). One AK series weapon, one INSAS, one Sniper, and one 12-bore weapon and war-like stores were also recovered, the release said.

SOURCE: PTI

A former Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist was arrested after a long hunt of 18 years from Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district on Thursday, the police said. Anwari Ali Chouhan alias Jamsheer, originally a resident of Gujjar-Kothian Talwara, had joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2001.  He remained active for seven years before surrendering in 2007 in the Kashmir Valley, a police spokesperson said. 

Chouhan subsequently went underground and kept changing his location so as to evade arrest in multiple militancy-related cases registered at the Reasi police station. 

SOURCE: ANI

Maggie Feldman-Piltch, Founder and Managing Director of Unicorn Strategies, has all the praise for India’s ‘Make In India’ initiative for defence production and its growing partnership with the United States.She emphasized the lessons India can draw from transatlantic security cooperation and the critical role of international collaborations in strengthening India’s defence technology sector. In an exclusive during the Munich Security Conference (MSC), she said, “The Make in India initiative makes sense and is in line with a great deal of the trends we see around the world, particularly in Europe.”

Feldman-Piltch highlighted that Europe has been actively discussing the need for balancing defence production, a topic resonating globally. She pointed out that India, despite being the largest democracy and the world’s biggest importer of defence equipment in 2023, has a relatively low level of defence manufacturing.

SOURCE: UNI

Australia will play a key role in India’s first Gaganyaan Mission, particularly in astronaut recovery operations. At a webinar PRISM (Perspectives on Regulatory Issues in Strategic Markets) 2.0 Unlocking Trade Potential in India-Australia Space Collaboration, jointly organized by SIA-India and SIA-Australia, India and Australia agreed to Deepen Space Partnership through Strategic Dialogue. The webinar served as a dedicated platform to address critical regulatory and market challenges, fostering an environment conducive to collaboration, innovation, and trade in the space and dual-use sectors.

Experts speaking at the event said beyond regulatory alignment, the collaboration extends to mission support, with Australia playing a key role in India’s Gaganyaan mission. Australia’s support for India’s Gaganyaan mission, particularly in astronaut recovery operations, further reinforces collaboration. Australia’s support for India’s 1st Gaganyaan mission includes providing critical tracking and recovery operations through its Cocos (Keeling) Islands ground station.

SOURCE: PTI

US President Donald Trump has once again questioned the Biden administration’s decision to allocate USD 21 million to India for “voter turnout”, guessing that they were trying to “get somebody else elected”. Trump made these remarks while addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami on Thursday. He had raised similar concerns earlier, questioning the necessity of such financial aid. On Wednesday, he questioned the purpose of providing USD 21 million to India for “voter turnout” as he reiterated that the US “can hardly get in there” because of high Indian tariffs.

His remarks came after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk disclosed that USAID contributed USD 21 million to the Election Commission to boost voter turnout in India.At the FII summit, Trump cited some examples to the audience about where their money was going before he became president. “These are random examples,” he said. “…And USD 21 million for voter turnout in India.

SOURCE: PIB

The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts with M/s ACE Limited and M/s JCB India Limited in presence of Defence Secretary Shri R K Singh for procurement of quantity 1868 Rough Terrain Fork Lift Truck (RTFLT) at a total cost of ?697.35 crore for Indian Army, Indian Airforce and Indian Navy.

Rough Terrain Fork Lift Truck (RTFLT) is a critical equipment which will assist in various combat and logistics support tasks by avoiding manual handling of enormous number of stores and thus enhancing the operational effectiveness of Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

SOURCE: PTI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday hit out at the Modi government over reports that China was building 90 new villages along the Arunachal Pradesh border and accused it of putting India’s national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty at risk.

In a post on X, Kharge alleged that the priorities of the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi were “PR stunts” and “false advertisements”, and “not national security”.