AMP Report - April 19, 2019
Modi threatens Pakistan with “Mother of Nuclear Bombs”
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has threatened Pakistan to wipe out with the mother of nuclear bombs.
He told an election rally in Surendranagar, Gujrat, on Wednesday: “We have the mother of nuclear bombs. I decided to tell [Pakistan], do whatever you want to do but we will retaliate.”
Modi’s threat came as he fights a bitter seven-part election in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term but faces a stiff challenge from the opposition Congress party, which is hoping to capitalize on Modi’s lacklustre economic record.
Thousands of candidates from more than 2,000 parties are competing for 543 seats in parliament. The last vote is on May 19 and final results will be released on May 23.
Modi also hinted that Indian forces could launch a ground attack: “Shall we not kill them by entering their houses?”
The two nuclear-armed nations have been locked in a tense standoff since February this year when 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Indian administered Kashmir.
The two nuclear-armed nations have been locked in a tense standoff since February this year.
Tensions flared when 40 Indian soldiers were killed.
Since then, both sides have aggressively displayed their military might. Pakistan pointed a fleet of fighter jets at the border, while India reported, shooting down a satellite with a ballistic space missile.
Modi said: “Those days are gone when India would give in to threats. This is a new India and it will strike terrorists well inside their hideouts across the border.”
The bombastic rhetoric comes amid ongoing tensions and tit-for-tat airstrikes in recent weeks, which have been marred by sporadic cross-border firefights and violence in the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack in Pulwama in February.
India suspends cross-LoC trade
As tension continues between India and Pakistan, the Indian government on Thursday (April 18) suspended the cross-LoC (Line of Control) trade between the Pakistan administered and the Indian controlled Kashmir.
According to a notification issued by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the trade was suspended from both Chakothi-Uri and Tetrinote-Chakan da Bagh crossing points of the LoC because of the alleged "misuse of these routes by unnamed elements in Pakistan."
“The Government of India has received reports that cross-LoC trade routes in Jammu and Kashmir are being misused by Pakistan-based elements. This misuse involves inflows of illegal weapons, narcotics and currency.”
“The LoC trade mechanism is, therefore, being suspended pending the putting into place of a stricter regulatory regime. This is to ensure that only bonafide trade takes place for the benefit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, through this mechanism,” it added.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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