India clips ‘spy’ pigeon’s wings over fears it will fly back to Pakistan

Indian police have clipped wings of a ‘Pakistani’ pigeon they claim to have arrested from Bamial village in Punjab province nearly two weeks ago over suspicion of ‘spying’.

“The wings of the pigeon have been clipped to ensure the suspected spy does not fly back to Pakistan,” The Telegraph India quoted a senior Indian Punjab police official as saying.

“We have sent a preliminary report to the home ministry, including an X-ray report of the bird which did not reveal anything suspicious,” the official added.

The pigeon, which was initially detained by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at Simbal post in Pathankot’s Bamial sector, had an Urdu message addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Modi, do not consider us the same people as we were during 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fight against India,” read the message.

The pigeon’s wings were clipped last week with the help of a veterinary worker, according to a police inspector at Bamial police station where the ‘espionage’ bird has been kept in detention. “We didn’t want to take a chance. We also bought a cage for its stay.”

The pigeon, which was taken to an animal husbandry hospital in Pathankot, has since been put in the cage and is being fed. “We don’t know how long the pigeon will stay in the police station. Residents are flocking to the police station to see the intruder,” the inspector said, adding the police weren’t even sure that the bird had come from across the border.

The security officials have so far managed to discover the real gender of the bird which was previously thought to be a male. “The only thing we know for sure is that it was a female pigeon and not a male one as assumed earlier,” said another official.

The bird’s arrest came just two days after an Indian intelligence agency had issued an alert to the Punjab police over a possible backlash from across the border after the Indian military claimed it carried out ‘surgical strikes’ across the Line of Control. Pakistani denies the claim.

India, Afghanistan discussing Kabul river projects to refuse water to Pakistan

 In the newspaper  the nation  October 14, 2016  explore  NEW DELHI: India and Afghanistan are actively exploring run-of-the river projects on Afghanistan's eastern rivers. Of particular interest is river Kabul, Times of India said in a report quoting senior Indian officials, speaking off record.

River Kabul has some features identical to River Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir, including similar recorded average flow of around 23 million acre feet. Indian government is trying to persuade Afghanistan to build run of the river projects over it.

In retaliation to Uri attacks, India had upped the ante by giving the go-ahead to three run of-the-river projects on river Chenab. These had earlier been put on hold due to objections raised by Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty.

Indian officials claim that Pakistan does not have any treaty with Afghanistan. The rules governing flows of Afghanistan's eastern rivers, mainly Kabul, Kunnar and Chitral, into Pakistan are just some internationally accepted principles.

"By helping Afghanistan build some of these run-of-the-river projects, India will end up sending a very strong signal to Pakistan. So we need to examine the fallout closely," an official familiar with the issue said.

When Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani visited India last month, officials said, he specifically raised the possibility of developing Afghanistan's eastern river system while conveying gratitude on India completing the Salma dam project despite serious terror threats.

The two sides are in touch on this subject, said officials, adding that quiet official-level deliberations and visits are underway to discuss specific projects. Ghani is slated to be back in India in December first week to inaugurate the Heart of Asia ministerial meet on Afghanistan in Amritsar.

Gender Discrimination

Girls face discrimination everywhere in the world. They often receive less food than boys do, have less entree to schooling and work long hours.In societies where a male child is regarded as more valuable to the family, girls often are denied the right of life, denied the right to name and nationality. And by being married off early or forced to stay at home and help in domestic chores, girls are often denied the right to education and all the advantages that go with it, the right to associate freely and the rights accompanying unjustified deprivation of liberty. These all are basic humiliation from family to girls when boys are regarded as the pillars of tomorrow.The convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989 and by now ratified by most countries of the world, provide an agenda for action in identifying enduring forms of inequality and discrimination against girls, abolishing practices and traditions detrimental to the fulfillment of their rights and defining an effective strategy to promote and protect those rights. But implementation is necessary to ensure positive changes. Other than the CRC, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the most extensive and widely ratified international agreement promoting the rights of girls and women.