Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been taken into 18-day custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India. Rana was extradited from the United States after years of legal battles and will be questioned to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the attacks.
'Things may get much worse before they get better,' predicts Ajay Chhibber.
Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has invoked the case of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting bail to campaign ahead of India's general elections, as he complained before the Supreme Court about the mistreatment meted to him in jail.
In his first address to National Democratic Alliance MPs in over a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised its collective identity as a natural and organic alliance, asserting that its journey since its foundation in 1998 is dotted with successes and has many more achievements in store.
The Supreme Court of India censured the Assam government for keeping persons declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely and not deporting them. The court questioned the state's explanation for not sending nationality verification forms to the Ministry of External Affairs, stating that detainees should be deported immediately once identified as foreigners. The court directed the Assam government to initiate the deportation process of 63 declared foreign nationals whose nationality was known and file a status report in two weeks. The court also directed the Centre to provide details of those deported and how it plans to deal with detainees whose nationality is unknown.
'There was some intelligence that he'll be killed before the whole process -- after sessions court, high court, Supreme Court, mercy petition before the governor, the President -- was completed; they (Pakistani intelligence agencies) will somehow manage to kill him.'
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor welcomed the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 case, and said everyone associated with the conspiracy of the Mumbai terror attacks must face the court of justice. He described Rana's extradition as a "step forward for justice." Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of David Coleman Headley, is being brought to India after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed. Tharoor expressed hope that the interrogation of Rana would provide more details about the Mumbai attacks and said he was "very glad" that Indian authorities managed to get Rana's custody.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's power to nominate five members to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was at the centre of a political and legal debate on the eve of vote count, with the Congress and regional parties the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party on Monday opposing any such move during government formation.
Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement.
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an earlier verdict disqualifying opposition leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from electoral politics, paving the way for the restoration of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in the politically crucial Punjab province.
When asked about Prahar Janshakti Party leader Bachhu Kadu's hunger strike, Fadnavis said district guardian minister Chandrashekar Bawankule will speak to him.
Rajasthan Cricket Association official Jaideep Bihani has accused the Rajasthan Royals of match-fixing after they failed to chase down nine runs in the final over in their last two matches.
The Congress party has claimed credit for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US, saying the Modi government did not initiate the process and merely benefited from the "mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy" begun under the UPA. Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government did not secure any breakthrough to make the extradition possible, nor is it the result of any grandstanding. He added that it was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping. Chidambaram detailed the UPA government's efforts in securing Rana's extradition, citing the registration of a case against him in 2009, diplomatic pressure on Canada and the US, and continued efforts despite legal setbacks. He highlighted the role of the UPA in securing Rana's conviction for other terrorism-related offences and the cooperation between the US and Indian agencies in gathering evidence and securing his extradition. The Congress leader further stated that it was the UPA's groundwork that paved the way for Rana's extradition, even after the change in government in 2014.
There is a growing feeling within that country that these might provide a fresh start by bringing a new, and perhaps less corrupt and more responsive, government to power, says Seema Mustafa
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the OIC's action at the behest of a "serial violater of human rights and an unrepentant promoter of cross border terrorism" makes its action even more questionable.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday rapped the Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence over the replies submitted by them about the detention of 11 men on terrorism charges, calling them the "biggest violators" of the law.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned opposition leader Imran Khan and cleric Tahirul Qadri on a petition filed against them over their protests that have called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ouster.
While India today is vastly different from the India of 1975, the need for vigilance against authoritarianism remains the same, asserts Utkarsh Mishra.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities to ensure former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani's presence in court over a case related to an alleged memo sent to the US military in 2011 to help stave off a feared coup. The order was issued by a nine-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is hearing several petitions on the Memogate issue, including one filed by prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif.
The Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan, China said on Tuesday while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment on Article 370 upholding the central government's decision on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Khan, 71, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on account of multiple cases against him.
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, who was recently booked by the police for illegally detaining scores of judges during the 2007 emergency, has said that he will return to Pakistan very soon.He said he had been busy making the rounds of the international academic circuit delivering lectures and would return to Pakistan as soon as he finished his commitments. Pakistan's Supreme Court declared the emergency imposed by Musharraf in November 2007 as unconstitutional.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took action against Awan in response to a petition seeking the disqualification of lawmakers with dual nationality.
The Telangana High Court upheld a trial court's verdict handing out death penalty to five senior operatives of banned terror outfit, Indian Mujahideen, involved in a bomb blast that left 18 people killed in 2013. The court dismissed the criminal revision appeal filed by the IM operatives while upholding the NIA court's judgment. The five members, including IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, were convicted in 2016. The special court for NIA cases here awarded capital punishment to five convicts treating it as a rarest of the rare case. The high court, after conducting a detailed hearing in the appeals filed by the convicts, confirmed the death sentence of the five IM operatives.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday lifted a travel ban on the country's former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, as it gave the judicial commission two more months to complete its probe in the memo scandal that rocked ties between the civilian government and the military.
'Pakistan's judiciary has faced assaults in varying degree at one time or the other from virtually all successive governments.'
Documents on presidential immunity have been stolen from the home of an official of Pakistan's supreme court at a time when the judiciary is pressuring the government to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the media here reported on Friday.
Pakistan Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday got a temporary reprieve as the Supreme Court extended till August 8 the deadline for him to approach Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, a case that had cost his predecessor his job
The Supreme Court has directed a Maharashtra authority to respond to a man's plea for initiating contempt action against it after his properties were demolished for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during a cricket match. The petitioner, who hails from Sindhudurg district in the state, claims his house and shop were demolished on February 24 following an FIR against him, his wife, and his 14-year-old son for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match. The plea argues that the demolition violated the Supreme Court's November 13, 2024 verdict on demolition of properties, which barred demolition without a prior showcause notice and 15 days' time for the aggrieved party to respond. The petitioner seeks directions for initiating contempt proceedings against the chief officer and administrator of the Malvan Municipal Council.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice for contempt of court to former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf, saying he had tried to influence the court by asking it to form a commission to investigate graft charges against him.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned the defence and interior secretaries as it took up a suo motu case regarding the killing of hundreds of Shias in terror attacks in the southwestern city of Quetta. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is hearing the case, directed the two secretaries to appear in court at noon.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the Rental Power Plants case.
In the face of pressure from Pakistan's Supreme Court to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Saturday defended the President's immunity, saying it would only end after he leaves office.
Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday warned that it would resume contempt proceedings against Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf if the government does not finalise by October 5 a letter to be sent to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The 70-year-old social activist had moved HC challenging the September 5, 2022 order under the National Investigation Agency Act refusing him bail on merits.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has sought a report from the government on its efforts to ensure access for the minority Hindu community to a century-old temple in Sindh province.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday gave the directive after taking up the petition filed by Lakhvi, who is being tried with six others by the anti- terrorism court in Rawalpindi on charges of planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.
