VIF Information Alerts - 23 July 2019

Foreign Ministry refutes Trump’s claims on Kashmir issue, says ‘no request made by PM Modi’
Published: The Indian Express

Hours after US President Donald Trump in an interaction with reporters said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested him to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, the Ministry of External Affairs refuted his statement, saying that no such request had been made. Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs took to Twitter to refute the statements made by the US President.Click here to read... [2]

State dept bid to cover up Trump’s remarks on Kashmir mediation
Published: The Tribune

23 Jul 2019

The US State Department has tried to paper over the damage caused by India refuting US President Donald Trump’s assertion that PM Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate in the Kashmir dispute.
“While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump administration welcomes Pakistan and India sitting down and the United States stands ready to assist,’’ said the US State Department. Significantly, the clarification of sorts was not hosted on the main Twitter handle but on the handle of its Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.Click here to read... [3]

Imran Khan says Pakistan intelligence led US to Osama Bin Laden: Report
Published: Deccan Chronicle

23 Jul 2019

Pakistan's main spy agency provided the US with a lead that helped them find and kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday. Pakistan has until now officially denied having any knowledge of the terror chief until he was shot dead in a night time raid by US special forces on May 2, 2011, an incident that was a major national embarrassment and caused ties between the two countries to plummet.Click here to read... [4]

China reportedly signs secret deal to station troops in Cambodia
Published: The Guardian

22 Jul 2019

China has signed a secret deal to allow its military troops to be stationed at a naval base in Cambodia, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials who had seen a pact drawn up between the two countries, reported that the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, has agreed to give China access to the Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand.Click here to read... [5]

India Moon Rocket Blasts Off in Mission to Reach South Pole
Published: Bloomberg

22 Jul 2019

India successfully launched its second mission to the moon on Monday, a week after a technical snag forced the South Asian nation to postpone the attempt. The unmanned Chandrayaan-2, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, was launched at 2:43 p.m. local time from a tiny barrier island in southeastern India. The country is attempting to become the first nation to land on the south pole of Earth’s closest neighbor.Click here to read... [6]

Centre wants states to spend on defence, moots non-lapsable fund for armed forces
Published: Financial Express

22 Jul 2019

The Centre, it is learnt, is keen that state governments pitch in for boosting capital expenditure on defence to better equip the country’s armed forces. The desire for this radical change in defence funding, officials said, was behind last week’s Cabinet decision to widen the 15th Finance Commission’s terms of reference (ToR) “to ensure an assured allocation of resources towards defence and internal security imperatives”. The commission was also asked to examine whether a separate mechanism for defence funding (a non-lapsable fund) ought to be set up and the ways to operationalise the same.Click here to read... [7]