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PoK bans entry of activist Pashtun leader to arrest pro-India narrative

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Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) government has clamped a ban on Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen’s entry and speech in the territorial jurisdiction of the region.

The PoK government’s move drew instant criticism from a former information minister belonging to opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dawn reported.

According to a notification issued by the home department, the ban was imposed on Pashteen with immediate effect under section 5 of the Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1985, for three months.

Pashteen was invited by a faction of National Students Federation to address its convention in Kotli on December 25 as the chief guest, the report said.

Earlier in the day, at a press conference in Kotli, some activists of an obscure organisation by the name of Tehreek-i-Jawanan-Kashmir called upon the government to ban the entry of Pashteen “to arrest propagation of India-sponsored narratives in the territory”.

However, on social media many activists criticised the government’s embargo on freedom of speech and expression.

“We condemn the PTI government in strong words for banning Manzoor Pashteen’s entry and speech. Imposing restrictions on freedom of expression and speech is a fascist practice. Manzoor Pashteen! We are ashamed,” tweeted Mushtaq Minhas, the former information minister and member of the PML-N organising committee, the report said.

“Manzoor Pashteen is the voice of millions of people. Restricting his entry is the worst step. Notwithstanding political differences (with Mr Pashteen) we condemn such cowardly steps…,” tweeted Nasira Khan Sudhozai, a PML-N activist.

Crime

Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

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Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.

Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.

The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.

The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.

The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.

Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.

The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.

In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.

A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.

An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.

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Crime

Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

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Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.

During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.

Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.

He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.

Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.

When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.

Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.

Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.

He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.

The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.

Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.

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Houses of three LeT terrorists demolished in J&K (Lead)

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Srinagar, April 26: Houses of three active terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were demolished in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts, officials said on Saturday.

Officials said that the house of the terrorist, Ehsan-ul-Haq Sheikh, was destroyed in Muran village of the Pulwama district late Friday evening.

In Kulgam district, in a similar action, the house of terrorist Zakir Ahmad Ganie was demolished in Matalhama village. He has been an active terrorist since 2003.

In the Shopian district, the house of terrorist Shahid Ahmad Kutay was also demolished in Chotipora village. He has been an active terrorist since 2002.

On Friday, the houses of two terrorists, Asif Ahmad Sheikh Tral and Adil Thoker Bijbhera, were demolished after their involvement in the Pahalgam attack surfaced.

In his first reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the terrorists, their handlers and backers would be given such punishment which they could not even have imagined.

PM Modi said that India will hunt down terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack to the ends of the earth.

J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, while reviewing security with Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi, asked the security forces to use whatever force is required to hunt down the killers of innocent civilians in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22.

A massive search operation assisted with technology using drones, helicopters, etc has been going on for the last six days to trace and hunt down the terrorists responsible for the killings of innocent civilians.

As the country prepares to take required kinetic and diplomatic steps to ensure that attacks like this do not get repeated, security across Jammu and Kashmir has been tightened following intelligence reports that terrorists could target soft targets like minority Kashmiri Pandits and non-locals working in the Valley, the officials said.

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