The Evening Wrap: Pakistan recalls ambassador to Iran over air strike

Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday, a day after Iran launched airstrikes on Pakistan that it claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s strike on Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province imperiled diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, but both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attack also threatened to further ignite violence in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran launched strikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people earlier this month. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Islamabad is recalling the country’s ambassador to Iran over the previous day’s strikes. In state media reports, which were later withdrawn without explanation, Iran said its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the “Army of Justice.” The group, which seeks an independent Baluchistan and has spread across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, acknowledged the assault in a statement shared online. Six bomb-carrying drones and rockets struck homes that the militants claim housed children and wives of their fighters. Jaish al-Adl said the attack killed two children and wounded two women and a teenage girl. Videos shared by the Baluch activist group HalVash, purportedly from the site, showed a burning building and two charred, small corpses. A Pakistani intelligence report said the two children killed were a 6-year-old girl and an 11-month old boy. Three women were injured, aged between 28 and 35. The report also said three or four drones were fired from the Iranian side, hitting a mosque and other buildings, including a house. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it issued a strong protest late Tuesday with Iran’s Foreign Ministry, and summoned an Iranian diplomat in Islamabad “to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” “The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” it said. Pakistan will also not allow to Iran’s envoy in Islamabad, who is visiting his home country, to return, the Ministry’s spokesperson added. Jan Achakzai, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan province, also condemned the attack. “Pakistan has always sought cooperation from all the countries of region — including Iran — to combat terrorism,” “This is unacceptable and Pakistan has a right to respond to any aggression committed against its sovereignty.” A senior Pakistani security official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to reporters, said Iran had shared no information prior to the strike. He said Pakistan reserved the right to respond at a time and place of the country’s choosing and such a strike would be measured and in line with public expectations. “The dangerous precedent set by Iran is destabilising and has reciprocal implications,” the official said. However, there were signs Pakistan was trying to contain any anger over the strike. The country’s typically outspoken and nationalistic media covered the attack Wednesday with unusual restraint. Iranian state media meanwhile continued not to address the strikes, instead discussing a joint navel drill held by Pakistan and the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday. Pakistani officials acknowledged the drill, but said it came earlier than Iran’s strikes. Pakistani defence analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said the government would weigh any potential retaliation carefully. The country’s air defence and missile systems are primarily deployed along the eastern border to respond to potential threats from India. But it might consider taking some measures to respond to such strikes from its western border with Afghanistan and Iran, Ali said. Jaish al-Adl was founded in 2012, and Iranian officials believe it largely operates in Pakistan. The group has claimed bombings and kidnapped members of Iran’s border police in the past. In December, suspected Jaish al-Adl members killed 11 people and wounded eight others in a night-time attack on a police station in southeastern Iran. Another recent attack killed another police officer in the area. It remains unclear why Iran launched the attack now, particularly as its foreign minister had met Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister the same day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After the Islamic State bombings this month, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry alleged the two bombers involved in the attack had traveled from Afghanistan into Iran through its southeastern border at the Jalg crossing — meaning they had traveled through Baluchistan. Supreme Court likely to hear Thackeray camp’s plea against Maharashtra Speaker’s order on January 22 Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on January 17 indicated that an appeal filed by the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction against the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker’s decision to dismiss disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and support the MLAs, while holding them as the “real” Shiv Sena, may be listed before a Bench on January 22. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the appellant, made an oral mentioning about the case to the CJI. The Speaker’s decision came on January 10, nearly two years after Thackeray’s camp moved disqualification petitions against Shinde and his supporting legislators under the Tenth Schedule (the anti-defection law) of the Constitution in June 2022. The Speaker discerned that Shinde’s faction was the “real political party” from the legislative majority it had commanded at the time the rival factions emerged. “‘Shinde faction’ was the ‘real Shiv Sena political party’ when the rival factions emerged on June 21, 2022,” Speaker Rahul Narwekar had announced. The Speaker had also held that since the ‘Shinde faction’ was the real political party, the UBT faction’s allegations that the Shinde faction violated the whip could not be sustained. The Speaker dismissed the UBT faction’s claims that the ‘Shinde faction’ had become “incommunicado” with the SSLP (Shiv Sena Legislative Party) leadership after the ‘split’ as a “mere allegation”. The UBT faction had filed disqualification petitions against the Shinde camp, alleging that they had “deliberately” remained absent from the urgent meetings called for by the party leadership in June 2022. The disqualification petitions argued that the Shinde faction had illegally passed a resolution in June 2022, re-appointing Shinde as the SSLP leader, and appointing Bharat Gogawale as the Chief Whip. The Thackeray faction had contended that the Shinde camp had voted contrary to the whip issued by Sunil Prabhu in the election for the Speaker and the trust vote. A five-judge Constitution Bench, on May 11, 2023, had directed the Maharashtra Speaker, in his capacity as tribunal under the Tenth Schedule, to hear and decide the disqualification petitions within a “reasonable time”. X account of Hindutva Watch organisation withheld in India The X account of Hindutva Watch, a group that records and researches hate crimes against India’s religious minorities and marginalised communities, was withheld in the country in response to a legal demand. Their handle, @‌HindutvaWatchIn, resulted in a blank page with a notice confirming the action. The platform compiles news reports that record persecution targeting India’s Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and tribal people. It also keeps track of lynching incidents across the country. Hindutva Watch founder Raqib Hameed Naik posted on X on Tuesday that the account was withheld based on a demand from the Indian government, and stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime had a history of suppressing “free press & critical voices.” Naik shared links to Hindutva Watch’s other social media channels. According to the Hindutva Watch website, the X handle had a little over 77,000 followers before it was withheld in India. Supreme Court asks why look ‘negatively’ at action taken by police and authorities against hate speech The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked petitioners why they look so “negatively” at action taken by police and local authorities to stop hate speech from “happening again and again and again”. Appearing before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for Shaheen Abdulla, said the top court’s directions had not arrested hate speech. Communal vitriol, he said, continued to be voiced with impunity. Police authorities, in many cases, were mute spectators. Sibal said the Supreme Court should intervene. “This is happening again, again and again…” Sibal said with exasperation. The Bench said authorities had taken action against hate speeches in the past. The court’s orders had indeed made a difference on the ground. “Why look at it negatively,” the court asked. “We are not looking at it negatively… We are just worried about the future,” Sibal replied. The Bench was hearing an application filed by Sibal’s client alleging that Hindu Janajagruti Samiti was “actively involved in organising events where speeches are delivered openly demonising Muslims and calling for their boycott”. He said the last event was in January 3 at Solapur (Maharashtra) “where hate speeches targeting Muslims were openly delivered”. The application said the “same organisation held several events on January 7, 2024 under the pretext of establishing a Hindu Rashtra”. “They even publish books to spread so-called awareness about the manner in which Muslims engage in ‘love jihad’,” the application noted. The application named T. Raja Singh, a “repeat offender who has continued to deliver hate speeches… is also going to hold a series of rallies in Chhattisgarh from January 19 to January 25”. The application said the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has planned to hold public events in Yavatmal in Maharashtra on January 18. The petitioner urged the Supreme Court to direct the authorities in the States to deny the organisation permission for the events. Justice Datta asked Sibal whether the persons named in the application were arraigned as parties before the Supreme Court. “You want us to pass orders without hearing them. There are some fundamentals to a hearing,” Justice Datta told Sibal. The senior lawyer said there were “also fundamental rights which need protection”. “The police are there when such events happen… Why do they allow these events to happen,” Sibal asked the court. The Bench ordered the district authorities at Yavatmal and Raipur to be “vigilant” against hate speech ahead of the flagged “public events”. The court directed the district authorities — District Magistrates and Superintendent of Police — concerned to look into the allegations of the petitioners and take “appropriate steps”. It asked the police, if necessary, to install CCTV and recording facilities at the events. Akhilesh Yadav ‘unlikely’ to join Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on January 17 said he is “unlikely” to join Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. When asked about this at a press conference at the party office, Yadav said, “Neither the Congress nor the BJP invites us to their programmes.” Yadav, who flagged off “Samvidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao Samajwadi PDA Yatra” from the party office in Lucknow, said that the yatra will spread the ideologies of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Mulayam Singh Yadav down to the villages. PDA stands for Pichada, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak-Muslims (backward, Dalits and minorities, especially Muslims). “We have taken a pledge to fulfil dreams of old socialists and the yatra will cover many districts of the State. It will attempt to unite backwards, Dalits, minorities and also upper castes,” he said, adding that SP was the only party which was fighting to save constitutional values and the constitution. Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ajay Rai told PTI that Rahul Gandhi’s yatra is expected to come to Uttar Pradesh on February 14. It will spend 11 days in the State and pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli, and Rahul’s former constituency Amethi, currently represented by Union Minister Smriti Irani, among others. In total, the party will cover 1,074 km in 20 districts of U.P. There is no clarity yet whether SP will have a tie-up with the Congress in U.P. for the general election or not. Yadav said that youths of the State were not getting employed as per their qualification. However, 2024 is the year of change and transformation. He also tried to corner the BJP Government and asked about the ₹40-lakh crore MOU, which it claimed to have signed in the investor summit, gone as youths were not getting employment. In briefMahua Moitra served eviction notice to vacate government bungalow The Directorate of Estates on Tuesday issued a notice to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month, from her government bungalow, sources in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Trinamool Congress leader has been asked to vacate the bungalow immediately, which had been allotted to her as an MP, they said. “Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Ms. Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest,” a source told PTI. The TMC leader, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 last year, was earlier asked to vacate the house by January 7 after her allotment was cancelled. Stock markets in free-fall: Sensex tanks 1,628 points on sharp losses in banking, oil shares Benchmark Sensex nosedived 1,628 points or 2.23% on January 17, marking its biggest single-day slide in more than one-and-a-half years following an intense sell-off in banking, metal and oil shares triggered by weak global trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,628.01 points or 2.23% to settle at 71,500.76 with 24 of its constituents ending in the red. During the day, it plummeted 1,699.47 points or 2.32% to a low of 71,429.30. The Nifty tanked 460.35 points or 2.09% to settle at 21,571.95, falling for the second day in a row. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Pakistan recalls ambassador to Iran over air strike, bars Iranian envoy from returning to post [Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday]( a day after Iran launched airstrikes on Pakistan that it claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s strike on Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province imperiled diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, but both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attack also threatened to further ignite violence in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran launched strikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people earlier this month. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Islamabad is recalling the country’s ambassador to Iran over the previous day’s strikes. In state media reports, which were later withdrawn without explanation, Iran said its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the “Army of Justice.” The group, which seeks an independent Baluchistan and has spread across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, acknowledged the assault in a statement shared online. Six bomb-carrying drones and rockets struck homes that the militants claim housed children and wives of their fighters. Jaish al-Adl said the attack killed two children and wounded two women and a teenage girl. Videos shared by the Baluch activist group HalVash, purportedly from the site, showed a burning building and two charred, small corpses. A Pakistani intelligence report said the two children killed were a 6-year-old girl and an 11-month old boy. Three women were injured, aged between 28 and 35. The report also said three or four drones were fired from the Iranian side, hitting a mosque and other buildings, including a house. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it issued a strong protest late Tuesday with Iran’s Foreign Ministry, and summoned an Iranian diplomat in Islamabad “to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” “The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” it said. Pakistan will also not allow to Iran’s envoy in Islamabad, who is visiting his home country, to return, the Ministry’s spokesperson added. Jan Achakzai, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan province, also condemned the attack. “Pakistan has always sought cooperation from all the countries of region — including Iran — to combat terrorism,” “This is unacceptable and Pakistan has a right to respond to any aggression committed against its sovereignty.” A senior Pakistani security official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to reporters, said Iran had shared no information prior to the strike. He said Pakistan reserved the right to respond at a time and place of the country’s choosing and such a strike would be measured and in line with public expectations. “The dangerous precedent set by Iran is destabilising and has reciprocal implications,” the official said. However, there were signs Pakistan was trying to contain any anger over the strike. The country’s typically outspoken and nationalistic media covered the attack Wednesday with unusual restraint. Iranian state media meanwhile continued not to address the strikes, instead discussing a joint navel drill held by Pakistan and the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday. Pakistani officials acknowledged the drill, but said it came earlier than Iran’s strikes. Pakistani defence analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said the government would weigh any potential retaliation carefully. The country’s air defence and missile systems are primarily deployed along the eastern border to respond to potential threats from India. But it might consider taking some measures to respond to such strikes from its western border with Afghanistan and Iran, Ali said. Jaish al-Adl was founded in 2012, and Iranian officials believe it largely operates in Pakistan. The group has claimed bombings and kidnapped members of Iran’s border police in the past. In December, suspected Jaish al-Adl members killed 11 people and wounded eight others in a night-time attack on a police station in southeastern Iran. Another recent attack killed another police officer in the area. It remains unclear why Iran launched the attack now, particularly as its foreign minister had met Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister the same day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After the Islamic State bombings this month, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry alleged the two bombers involved in the attack had traveled from Afghanistan into Iran through its southeastern border at the Jalg crossing — meaning they had traveled through Baluchistan. Supreme Court likely to hear Thackeray camp’s plea against Maharashtra Speaker’s order on January 22 Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on January 17 indicated that an appeal filed by the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction against the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker’s decision to dismiss disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and support the MLAs, while holding them as the “real” Shiv Sena, [may be listed before a Bench on January 22](. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the appellant, made an oral mentioning about the case to the CJI. The Speaker’s decision came on January 10, nearly two years after Thackeray’s camp moved disqualification petitions against Shinde and his supporting legislators under the Tenth Schedule (the anti-defection law) of the Constitution in June 2022. The Speaker discerned that Shinde’s faction was the “real political party” from the legislative majority it had commanded at the time the rival factions emerged. “‘Shinde faction’ was the ‘real Shiv Sena political party’ when the rival factions emerged on June 21, 2022,” Speaker Rahul Narwekar had announced. The Speaker had also held that since the ‘Shinde faction’ was the real political party, the UBT faction’s allegations that the Shinde faction violated the whip could not be sustained. The Speaker dismissed the UBT faction’s claims that the ‘Shinde faction’ had become “incommunicado” with the SSLP (Shiv Sena Legislative Party) leadership after the ‘split’ as a “mere allegation”. The UBT faction had filed disqualification petitions against the Shinde camp, alleging that they had “deliberately” remained absent from the urgent meetings called for by the party leadership in June 2022. The disqualification petitions argued that the Shinde faction had illegally passed a resolution in June 2022, re-appointing Shinde as the SSLP leader, and appointing Bharat Gogawale as the Chief Whip. The Thackeray faction had contended that the Shinde camp had voted contrary to the whip issued by Sunil Prabhu in the election for the Speaker and the trust vote. A five-judge Constitution Bench, on May 11, 2023, had directed the Maharashtra Speaker, in his capacity as tribunal under the Tenth Schedule, to hear and decide the disqualification petitions within a “reasonable time”. X account of Hindutva Watch organisation withheld in India The [X account of Hindutva Watch, a group that records and researches hate crimes against India’s religious minorities and marginalised communities, was withheld]( in the country in response to a legal demand. Their handle, @‌HindutvaWatchIn, resulted in a blank page with a notice confirming the action. The platform compiles news reports that record persecution targeting India’s Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and tribal people. It also keeps track of lynching incidents across the country. Hindutva Watch founder Raqib Hameed Naik posted on X on Tuesday that the account was withheld based on a demand from the Indian government, and stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime had a history of suppressing “free press & critical voices.” Naik shared links to Hindutva Watch’s other social media channels. According to the Hindutva Watch website, the X handle had a little over 77,000 followers before it was withheld in India. Supreme Court asks why look ‘negatively’ at action taken by police and authorities against hate speech The [Supreme Court on Wednesday asked petitioners why they look so “negatively” at action taken by police and local authorities to stop hate speech]( from “happening again and again and again”. Appearing before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for Shaheen Abdulla, said the top court’s directions had not arrested hate speech. Communal vitriol, he said, continued to be voiced with impunity. Police authorities, in many cases, were mute spectators. Sibal said the Supreme Court should intervene. “This is happening again, again and again…” Sibal said with exasperation. The Bench said authorities had taken action against hate speeches in the past. The court’s orders had indeed made a difference on the ground. “Why look at it negatively,” the court asked. “We are not looking at it negatively… We are just worried about the future,” Sibal replied. The Bench was hearing an application filed by Sibal’s client alleging that Hindu Janajagruti Samiti was “actively involved in organising events where speeches are delivered openly demonising Muslims and calling for their boycott”. He said the last event was in January 3 at Solapur (Maharashtra) “where hate speeches targeting Muslims were openly delivered”. The application said the “same organisation held several events on January 7, 2024 under the pretext of establishing a Hindu Rashtra”. “They even publish books to spread so-called awareness about the manner in which Muslims engage in ‘love jihad’,” the application noted. The application named T. Raja Singh, a “repeat offender who has continued to deliver hate speeches… is also going to hold a series of rallies in Chhattisgarh from January 19 to January 25”. The application said the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has planned to hold public events in Yavatmal in Maharashtra on January 18. The petitioner urged the Supreme Court to direct the authorities in the States to deny the organisation permission for the events. Justice Datta asked Sibal whether the persons named in the application were arraigned as parties before the Supreme Court. “You want us to pass orders without hearing them. There are some fundamentals to a hearing,” Justice Datta told Sibal. The senior lawyer said there were “also fundamental rights which need protection”. “The police are there when such events happen… Why do they allow these events to happen,” Sibal asked the court. The Bench ordered the district authorities at Yavatmal and Raipur to be “vigilant” against hate speech ahead of the flagged “public events”. The court directed the district authorities — District Magistrates and Superintendent of Police — concerned to look into the allegations of the petitioners and take “appropriate steps”. It asked the police, if necessary, to install CCTV and recording facilities at the events.  Akhilesh Yadav ‘unlikely’ to join Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh [Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on January 17 said he is “unlikely” to join Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra]( led by Rahul Gandhi. When asked about this at a press conference at the party office, Yadav said, “Neither the Congress nor the BJP invites us to their programmes.” Yadav, who flagged off “Samvidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao Samajwadi PDA Yatra” from the party office in Lucknow, said that the yatra will spread the ideologies of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Mulayam Singh Yadav down to the villages. PDA stands for Pichada, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak-Muslims (backward, Dalits and minorities, especially Muslims). “We have taken a pledge to fulfil dreams of old socialists and the yatra will cover many districts of the State. It will attempt to unite backwards, Dalits, minorities and also upper castes,” he said, adding that SP was the only party which was fighting to save constitutional values and the constitution. Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ajay Rai told PTI that Rahul Gandhi’s yatra is expected to come to Uttar Pradesh on February 14. It will spend 11 days in the State and pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli, and Rahul’s former constituency Amethi, currently represented by Union Minister Smriti Irani, among others. In total, the party will cover 1,074 km in 20 districts of U.P. There is no clarity yet whether SP will have a tie-up with the Congress in U.P. for the general election or not. Yadav said that youths of the State were not getting employed as per their qualification. However, 2024 is the year of change and transformation. He also tried to corner the BJP Government and asked about the ₹40-lakh crore MOU, which it claimed to have signed in the investor summit, gone as youths were not getting employment. In brief Mahua Moitra served eviction notice to vacate government bungalow The [Directorate of Estates on Tuesday issued a notice to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra]( who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month, from her government bungalow, sources in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Trinamool Congress leader has been asked to vacate the bungalow immediately, which had been allotted to her as an MP, they said. “Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Ms. Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest,” a source told PTI. The TMC leader, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 last year, was earlier asked to vacate the house by January 7 after her allotment was cancelled. Stock markets in free-fall: Sensex tanks 1,628 points on sharp losses in banking, oil shares [Benchmark Sensex nosedived 1,628 points or 2.23% on January 17, marking its biggest single-day slide in more than one-and-a-half years following an intense sell-off in banking, metal and oil shares triggered by weak global trends](. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,628.01 points or 2.23% to settle at 71,500.76 with 24 of its constituents ending in the red. During the day, it plummeted 1,699.47 points or 2.32% to a low of 71,429.30. The Nifty tanked 460.35 points or 2.09% to settle at 21,571.95, falling for the second day in a row. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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