The Evening Wrap: Ladakh graziers confront Chinese Army after being stopped from grazing land

Indian graziers were stopped by Chinese soldiers in Kakjung area of Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) earlier this month, according to a video shot by locals that was shared on X by Chushul councillor Konchok Stanzin on January 30. In the video, the herders can be seen confronting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers when the latter ask them to go back claiming it to be Chinese territory. The locals, who can be heard speaking in a Tibetan language, are throwing rocks at the Chinese soldiers. The incident occurred on January 2 near Patrolling Points (PPs) 35 and 36 at Kakjung under Nyoma constituency in Ladakh, Stanzin said. While Chinese soldiers with their vehicles can be seen in the video, there is no presence of Indian security forces. Ishey Spalzang, Councillor, Nyoma, told The Hindu that the area is within India’s perception of LAC. He said after the face-off with locals, the sarpanch, sub-divisional magistrate, Indian Army and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials visited the grazing site on January 12. “It is a valley and is essential for winter grazing of cattle. Earlier in 2019, the Chinese had tried to stop the graziers but we had pitched tents to assert our claim. The nearest army unit is present around 5-7 km from this place. That particular day they were not present,” Spalzang said. He added that the shepherds had started from their village around 20 days ago before they reached the location. Stanzin said on X, “See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA claiming that the area they are stopping is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is never a never-ending process due to different lines of perceptions. But I salute our nomads, who always stand to protect our land and stand as the second guardian force of the nation.” He later told The Hindu that the place where the incident happened is within 1 km of the Indian claim on the line of the border with China. A defence source said the video is of an incident that happened in the first week of January where “nomad graziers (with livestock) from our side are seen in conversation with PLA soldiers.” Such incidents are commonplace and happen on both sides whenever graziers stray across LAC on account of differing perceptions of LAC, the source said. Such incidents are dealt with appropriately as per established mechanism. As reported by The Hindu earlier, restoration of grazing grounds for graziers on both sides is among the top of the issues on agenda at the Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides as part of efforts for disengagement at two remaining friction points — Demchok and Depsang — and the overall de-escalation along LAC in eastern Ladakh. Among issues in the ongoing discussions are restoration of patrolling rights and agreeing on new parameters for patrolling in these two areas to avoid friction. As many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in eastern Ladakh on June 15, 2020. There are at least 26 PPs out of 65 in eastern Ladakh that are not being patrolled by Indian troops since April-May 2020 even as the two countries have several rounds of talks to resolve the border issue. In eastern Ladakh, several areas that were being patrolled earlier have been turned into “buffer zones,” with the Chinese also not sending troops. PPs are often used to assert territorial claims along the undefined LAC. There is no mutually agreed border in several stretches. Last session of the 17th Lok Sabha to commence on January 31 The Budget Session of Parliament, the last one for the 17th Lok Sabha, will commence on January 31. The 14 Opposition MPs, who were suspended during the last session for protesting against the lack of a response from the government after an unprecedented security breach, will return to Parliament, after the Privileges Committee of the two Houses recommended the revocation of their suspension. A total of 146 Opposition MPs — 100 in the Lok Sabha and the rest in the Rajya Sabha — were suspended for bringing placards into the chambers, and frequently disrupting parliamentary proceedings. While the suspension of 132 members was only till the remainder of the session that ended on December 21, the cases of 14 members (11 in the Rajya Sabha and three in the Lok Sabha) were referred to their respective Privileges Committees. The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of the Lower and Upper Houses. At an all party meeting, the government urged the Opposition parties to cooperate and to ensure that no placards were on display. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1, ahead of the Lok Sabha election likely to be held in April-May. The Budget for Jammu and Kashmir, which is under President’s Rule since December 2018, will also be presented during the session. With the Janata Dal-United’s return to the National Democratic Alliance’s fold, and the differences evident between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, the Opposition will be on a backfoot. Several senior Congress leaders, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, who are participating in the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, are unlikely to be present. This will be the first Lok Sabha without a Deputy Speaker, a post mandated under Article 93 of the Constitution. At the all party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Opposition members raised a host of issues, and demanded a debate on unemployment, high inflation, agrarian crisis, and violence-hit Manipur. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi addressed reporters at the conclusion of the meeting. ”They [the Opposition] have given suggestions, but since this is the last session of the present Lok Sabha, we [the Union government] have said we will give them an opportunity in the next session,” he said. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the Finance Minister should include the pending dues to West Bengal on account of various Central schemes in the Interim Budget. “It is unfortunate that a Chief Minister has to sit on a dharna to demand timely allocation of Central dues to the State,” he said. Samajwadi Party (SP) leader S.T. Hassan demanded steps to strengthen the Places of Worship Act, which freezes the status of religious places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947 and prohibits their conversion while ensuring the maintenance of their religious character. Hassan’s call came in the wake of demands to hand over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi to the Hindu community. Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, the JD(U)‘s Ram Nath Thakur, and the Telugu Desam Party’s Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting in the Parliament House complex. The Congress’ deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, who represented the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said he had raised the issue of the “violent attack” on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Assam, and the curbs placed by the State government on it.. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in Ranchi, to face ED officials on January 31 A day after Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were unsuccessful in questioning Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his Delhi residence, he was seen coming out of his residence in Ranchi on January 30. Soren, who left Ranchi for Delhi on January 27, is said to have reached the Jharkhand State capital by road, to meet his father Shibu Soren. The ED officials had visited Soren’s residence in Delhi, the Jharkhand Bhavan and a few other locations to question him, but he was not found in any of those places. He is currently chairing a meeting of the ruling alliance MLAs at the CM House to discuss the present political situation in the State. Soren reached his official residence here past midnight, the source said. In photographs and videos shared by the CMO on X, a large number of MLAs and Ministers were seen greeting Soren before taking part in the meeting. The Chief Minister’s wife Kalpana Soren was also present in the meeting. All the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand were asked not to leave the State capital, and to attend the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss strategies regarding the current political situation, and the Enforcement Directorate’s proposed questioning of the Chief Minister on January 31, a legislator said. On January 30 afternoon, Soren, along with legislators of ruling alliance parties, paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary at Bapu Vatika in Ranchi. “We’ll not let teachings of Bapu be suppressed,” Soren said as he made the public appearance amidst suspense about his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan has called the State DGP over law and order situation in the State. The Jharkhand unit of the BJP claimed that the Chief Minister has been “absconding” for the last 18 hours fearing action of the ED. State BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Babulal Marandi said, “as there is no trace of the Chief Minister for the last two days, it will become a constitutional crisis in the State.” He had mailed the ED that the officials could question him on January 31 at his residence. In an email to the federal agency on Jan. 29, Soren alleged that the issuance of summons to him was “wholly vexatious and in colourable exercise of powers given by the statute”. “Preserve video recording of seven-hour questioning [of January 20] to make available to the Court of Law,” Soren said, while agreeing to record his statement at his residence at 1 p.m. on January 31. Soren had recorded his statement with the ED after skipping eight summons by the agency. The ED had earlier summoned Soren on August 14, August 24, September 9, September 23, October 4, December 12, December 29, and January 13, all which Soren skipped. The case pertains to alleged purchase and sale of tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022. Indian Navy foils multiple hijacking incidents within 36 hours In the second successful intervention within 36 hours and neutralising a hijack situation, Indian Navy’s offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra, deployed in the Gulf of Aden, rescued Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel Al Naeemi and her Crew of 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali Pirates off the East Coast of Somalia. In another incident, a coordinated multilateral response, between the Indian Navy, Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy, to the hijacking of a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, resulted in the successful rescue of Sri Lankan fishing trawler. INS Sumitra was pressed into action, to locate and intercept another Iranian flagged fishing vessel Al Naeemi, which had been boarded by pirates and her crew of 19 Pakistani nationals taken hostage, the Navy said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “Responding swiftly to the developing situation Sumitra intercepted the later on Monday and through coercive posturing and effective deployment of her integral helicopter and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel. The ship also undertook confirmatory boarding to sanitise and also to check on the well-being of the crew who were held captive by the Somali pirates.” This incident came just after INS Sumitra prevented a hijack incident in the area after responding to a distress message from an Iranian flagged fishing vessel Iman, with a crew of 17 Iranian nationals, which had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken hostage. A hijacking incident was reported onboard the Sri Lankan flagged fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha 04 about 955 nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia and three pirates had boarded and hijacked it on January 27. Indian Navy deployed INS Sharada from Kochi on Sunday afternoon and also tasked Sea Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to locate and intercept the hijacked fishing vessel, it stated. “Additionally, efficient operational coordination and Information Sharing through the Sri Lanka and Seychelles International Liaison Officers at Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC IOR), New Delhi resulted in the interception of the hijacked fishing vessel by SCGS Topaz in Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone on Monday.” The three pirates surrendered to the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG), all six crew members are safe and the vessel is being escorted to Mahe, Seychelles, the Navy said. “INS Sumitra, over the course of less than 36 hours, through swift, persistent and relentless efforts has rescued two hijacked fishing vessels along with 36 Crew, 17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani, in Southern Arabian Sea approximately 850 nm West of Kochi, and prevented misuse of these Vessels as Mother Ships for further acts of Piracy on Merchant Vessels,” the Navy added on the two incidents to which INS Sumitra responded. The Gulf of Aden has seen a sudden spurt in piracy from Somalia in the last few months after going down completely from the peak around 2010. Indian Navy has maintained continuous presence in the area with atleast one major warship deployed on anti-piracy duties since 2008. Pakistani court sentences former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years for revealing state secrets A Pakistani court on January 30 sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies to 10 years in prison each, after finding them guilty of revealing official secrets. The verdict was another blow to Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician, who was ousted through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022 and is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a graft case. According to Zulfiqar Bukhari, spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the court announced the verdict at a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Authorities said Khan and his deputy who also received a 10-year sentence, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, have the right to appeal Tuesday’s ruling in the case, popularly known as the Cipher case. The ruling comes ahead of the February 8 parliamentary elections in Pakistan — a vote that Khan is barred from running in because of his previous criminal conviction. Although Khan will not be on the ballot for the February election, he remains a potent political force because of his grassroots following and anti-establishment rhetoric. He says the legal cases against him were a plot to sideline him ahead of the vote. Pakistan has seen violent demonstrations since after Khan’s May 2023 arrest. Authorities have cracked down on his supporters and party since then. Pakistan’s independent human rights commission has said there is little chance of a free and fair parliamentary election next month because of “pre-poll rigging.” It also expressed concern about authorities rejecting the candidacies of Khan and senior figures from his party. The Cipher case is one of more than 150 cases pending against Khan. Other charges range from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence. In the secrets case, Khan is alleged to have waved a confidential document — a classified cable — at a rally after he was toppled. The document — dubbed Cipher — has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. During the speech, Khan claimed the document was proof he was being threatened and that his ouster was a U.S. conspiracy, allegedly executed by the military and the government in Pakistan. Washington and Pakistani officials have denied the claim. Tuesday’s verdict comes weeks after Khan and Qureshi were indicted in the case. During the trial, Khan’s party and supporters had feared he could be sentenced to death for treason. Khan has maintained his innocence and says he didn’t disclose the exact contents of the cable. Qureshi was accused of manipulating the contents of a diplomatic cable to gain political advantage. In brief The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday announced its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sitting MP Dimple Yadav has been fielded from Mainpuri, while party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq will contest from Sambhal, according to the list of candidates released by the party on its official ‘X’ handle. Ravidas Mehrotra, sitting MLA from Lucknow Central, has been named as the party candidate from Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. Akshay Yadav, son of senior SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, has been named as the candidate from Firozabad, while Dharmendra Yadav fielded from Budaun parliamentary constituency. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 30 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]( Graziers confront Chinese Army in eastern Ladakh after being stopped from accessing grazing land [Indian graziers were stopped by Chinese soldiers in Kakjung area of Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) earlier this month, according to a video shot by locals that was shared on X by Chushul councillor Konchok Stanzin on January 30.]( In the video, the herders can be seen confronting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers when the latter ask them to go back claiming it to be Chinese territory. The locals, who can be heard speaking in a Tibetan language, are throwing rocks at the Chinese soldiers. The incident occurred on January 2 near Patrolling Points (PPs) 35 and 36 at Kakjung under Nyoma constituency in Ladakh, Stanzin said. While Chinese soldiers with their vehicles can be seen in the video, there is no presence of Indian security forces. Ishey Spalzang, Councillor, Nyoma, told The Hindu that the area is within India’s perception of LAC. He said after the face-off with locals, the sarpanch, sub-divisional magistrate, Indian Army and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials visited the grazing site on January 12. “It is a valley and is essential for winter grazing of cattle. Earlier in 2019, the Chinese had tried to stop the graziers but we had pitched tents to assert our claim. The nearest army unit is present around 5-7 km from this place. That particular day they were not present,” Spalzang said. He added that the shepherds had started from their village around 20 days ago before they reached the location. Stanzin said on X, “See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA claiming that the area they are stopping is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is never a never-ending process due to different lines of perceptions. But I salute our nomads, who always stand to protect our land and stand as the second guardian force of the nation.” He later told The Hindu that the place where the incident happened is within 1 km of the Indian claim on the line of the border with China. A defence source said the video is of an incident that happened in the first week of January where “nomad graziers (with livestock) from our side are seen in conversation with PLA soldiers.” Such incidents are commonplace and happen on both sides whenever graziers stray across LAC on account of differing perceptions of LAC, the source said. Such incidents are dealt with appropriately as per established mechanism. As reported by The Hindu earlier, restoration of grazing grounds for graziers on both sides is among the top of the issues on agenda at the Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides as part of efforts for disengagement at two remaining friction points — Demchok and Depsang — and the overall de-escalation along LAC in eastern Ladakh. Among issues in the ongoing discussions are restoration of patrolling rights and agreeing on new parameters for patrolling in these two areas to avoid friction. As many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in eastern Ladakh on June 15, 2020. There are at least 26 PPs out of 65 in eastern Ladakh that are not being patrolled by Indian troops since April-May 2020 even as the two countries have several rounds of talks to resolve the border issue. In eastern Ladakh, several areas that were being patrolled earlier have been turned into “buffer zones,” with the Chinese also not sending troops. PPs are often used to assert territorial claims along the undefined LAC. There is no mutually agreed border in several stretches. Last session of the 17th Lok Sabha to commence on January 31 [The Budget Session of Parliament, the last one for the 17th Lok Sabha, will commence on January 31](. The 14 Opposition MPs, who were suspended during the last session for protesting against the lack of a response from the government after an unprecedented security breach, will return to Parliament, after the Privileges Committee of the two Houses recommended the revocation of their suspension. A total of 146 Opposition MPs — 100 in the Lok Sabha and the rest in the Rajya Sabha — were suspended for bringing placards into the chambers, and frequently disrupting parliamentary proceedings. While the suspension of 132 members was only till the remainder of the session that ended on December 21, the cases of 14 members (11 in the Rajya Sabha and three in the Lok Sabha) were referred to their respective Privileges Committees. The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of the Lower and Upper Houses. At an all party meeting, the government urged the Opposition parties to cooperate and to ensure that no placards were on display. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1, ahead of the Lok Sabha election likely to be held in April-May. The Budget for Jammu and Kashmir, which is under President’s Rule since December 2018, will also be presented during the session. With the Janata Dal-United’s return to the National Democratic Alliance’s fold, and the differences evident between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, the Opposition will be on a backfoot. Several senior Congress leaders, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, who are participating in the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, are unlikely to be present. This will be the first Lok Sabha without a Deputy Speaker, a post mandated under Article 93 of the Constitution. At the all party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Opposition members raised a host of issues, and demanded a debate on unemployment, high inflation, agrarian crisis, and violence-hit Manipur. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi addressed reporters at the conclusion of the meeting. ”They [the Opposition] have given suggestions, but since this is the last session of the present Lok Sabha, we [the Union government] have said we will give them an opportunity in the next session,” he said. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the Finance Minister should include the pending dues to West Bengal on account of various Central schemes in the Interim Budget. “It is unfortunate that a Chief Minister has to sit on a dharna to demand timely allocation of Central dues to the State,” he said. Samajwadi Party (SP) leader S.T. Hassan demanded steps to strengthen the Places of Worship Act, which freezes the status of religious places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947 and prohibits their conversion while ensuring the maintenance of their religious character. Hassan’s call came in the wake of demands to hand over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi to the Hindu community. Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, the JD(U)‘s Ram Nath Thakur, and the Telugu Desam Party’s Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting in the Parliament House complex. The Congress’ deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, who represented the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said he had raised the issue of the “violent attack” on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Assam, and the curbs placed by the State government on it.. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in Ranchi, to face ED officials on January 31 [A day after Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were unsuccessful in questioning Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his Delhi residence, he was seen coming out of his residence in Ranchi on January 30](. Soren, who left Ranchi for Delhi on January 27, is said to have reached the Jharkhand State capital by road, to meet his father Shibu Soren. The ED officials had visited Soren’s residence in Delhi, the Jharkhand Bhavan and a few other locations to question him, but he was not found in any of those places. He is currently chairing a meeting of the ruling alliance MLAs at the CM House to discuss the present political situation in the State. Soren reached his official residence here past midnight, the source said. In photographs and videos shared by the CMO on X, a large number of MLAs and Ministers were seen greeting Soren before taking part in the meeting. The Chief Minister’s wife Kalpana Soren was also present in the meeting. All the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand were asked not to leave the State capital, and to attend the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss strategies regarding the current political situation, and the Enforcement Directorate’s proposed questioning of the Chief Minister on January 31, a legislator said. On January 30 afternoon, Soren, along with legislators of ruling alliance parties, paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary at Bapu Vatika in Ranchi. “We’ll not let teachings of Bapu be suppressed,” Soren said as he made the public appearance amidst suspense about his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan has called the State DGP over law and order situation in the State. The Jharkhand unit of the BJP claimed that the Chief Minister has been “absconding” for the last 18 hours fearing action of the ED. State BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Babulal Marandi said, “as there is no trace of the Chief Minister for the last two days, it will become a constitutional crisis in the State.” He had mailed the ED that the officials could question him on January 31 at his residence. In an email to the federal agency on Jan. 29, Soren alleged that the issuance of summons to him was “wholly vexatious and in colourable exercise of powers given by the statute”. “Preserve video recording of seven-hour questioning [of January 20] to make available to the Court of Law,” Soren said, while agreeing to record his statement at his residence at 1 p.m. on January 31. Soren had recorded his statement with the ED after skipping eight summons by the agency. The ED had earlier summoned Soren on August 14, August 24, September 9, September 23, October 4, December 12, December 29, and January 13, all which Soren skipped. The case pertains to alleged purchase and sale of tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022. Indian Navy foils multiple hijacking incidents within 36 hours [In the second successful intervention within 36 hours and neutralising a hijack situation, Indian Navy’s offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra, deployed in the Gulf of Aden, rescued Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel Al Naeemi and her Crew of 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali Pirates off the East Coast of Somalia.]( In another incident, a coordinated multilateral response, between the Indian Navy, Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy, to the hijacking of a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, resulted in the successful rescue of Sri Lankan fishing trawler. INS Sumitra was pressed into action, to locate and intercept another Iranian flagged fishing vessel Al Naeemi, which had been boarded by pirates and her crew of 19 Pakistani nationals taken hostage, the Navy said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “Responding swiftly to the developing situation Sumitra intercepted the later on Monday and through coercive posturing and effective deployment of her integral helicopter and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel. The ship also undertook confirmatory boarding to sanitise and also to check on the well-being of the crew who were held captive by the Somali pirates.” This incident came just after INS Sumitra prevented a hijack incident in the area after responding to a distress message from an Iranian flagged fishing vessel Iman, with a crew of 17 Iranian nationals, which had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken hostage. A hijacking incident was reported onboard the Sri Lankan flagged fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha 04 about 955 nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia and three pirates had boarded and hijacked it on January 27. Indian Navy deployed INS Sharada from Kochi on Sunday afternoon and also tasked Sea Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to locate and intercept the hijacked fishing vessel, it stated. “Additionally, efficient operational coordination and Information Sharing through the Sri Lanka and Seychelles International Liaison Officers at Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC IOR), New Delhi resulted in the interception of the hijacked fishing vessel by SCGS Topaz in Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone on Monday.” The three pirates surrendered to the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG), all six crew members are safe and the vessel is being escorted to Mahe, Seychelles, the Navy said. “INS Sumitra, over the course of less than 36 hours, through swift, persistent and relentless efforts has rescued two hijacked fishing vessels along with 36 Crew, 17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani, in Southern Arabian Sea approximately 850 nm West of Kochi, and prevented misuse of these Vessels as Mother Ships for further acts of Piracy on Merchant Vessels,” the Navy added on the two incidents to which INS Sumitra responded. The Gulf of Aden has seen a sudden spurt in piracy from Somalia in the last few months after going down completely from the peak around 2010. Indian Navy has maintained continuous presence in the area with atleast one major warship deployed on anti-piracy duties since 2008. Pakistani court sentences former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years for revealing state secrets [A Pakistani court on January 30 sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies to 10 years in prison each, after finding them guilty of revealing official secrets.]( The verdict was another blow to Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician, who was ousted through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022 and is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a graft case. According to Zulfiqar Bukhari, spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the court announced the verdict at a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Authorities said Khan and his deputy who also received a 10-year sentence, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, have the right to appeal Tuesday’s ruling in the case, popularly known as the Cipher case. The ruling comes ahead of the February 8 parliamentary elections in Pakistan — a vote that Khan is barred from running in because of his previous criminal conviction. Although Khan will not be on the ballot for the February election, he remains a potent political force because of his grassroots following and anti-establishment rhetoric. He says the legal cases against him were a plot to sideline him ahead of the vote. Pakistan has seen violent demonstrations since after Khan’s May 2023 arrest. Authorities have cracked down on his supporters and party since then. Pakistan’s independent human rights commission has said there is little chance of a free and fair parliamentary election next month because of “pre-poll rigging.” It also expressed concern about authorities rejecting the candidacies of Khan and senior figures from his party. The Cipher case is one of more than 150 cases pending against Khan. Other charges range from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence. In the secrets case, Khan is alleged to have waved a confidential document — a classified cable — at a rally after he was toppled. The document — dubbed Cipher — has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. During the speech, Khan claimed the document was proof he was being threatened and that his ouster was a U.S. conspiracy, allegedly executed by the military and the government in Pakistan. Washington and Pakistani officials have denied the claim. Tuesday’s verdict comes weeks after Khan and Qureshi were indicted in the case. During the trial, Khan’s party and supporters had feared he could be sentenced to death for treason. Khan has maintained his innocence and says he didn’t disclose the exact contents of the cable. Qureshi was accused of manipulating the contents of a diplomatic cable to gain political advantage. In brief The [Samajwadi Party on Tuesday announced its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections](. Sitting MP Dimple Yadav has been fielded from Mainpuri, while party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq will contest from Sambhal, according to the list of candidates released by the party on its official ‘X’ handle. Ravidas Mehrotra, sitting MLA from Lucknow Central, has been named as the party candidate from Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. Akshay Yadav, son of senior SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, has been named as the candidate from Firozabad, while Dharmendra Yadav fielded from Budaun parliamentary constituency. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[Australian Open 2024: A ‘Happy Slam’ for India, thanks to Nagal, Bopanna | In Focus podcast] Australian Open 2024: A ‘Happy Slam’ for India, thanks to Nagal, Bopanna | In Focus podcast]( [[Watch | Nitish Kumar switches sides again: The political significance] Watch | Nitish Kumar switches sides again: The political significance]( [[Scientists discover new kangaroo lizard species from Western Ghats] Scientists discover new kangaroo lizard species from Western Ghats]( [[Daily Quiz | On Jan. 30 events] Daily Quiz | On Jan. 30 events]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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