'Don't blame others for...': Taliban to Pakistan on Peshawar mosque blast

Peshawar Mosque Blast: On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of at least 101 people, mostly police officials.

Peshawar Mosque Blast: People stand amid the rubble, following a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar.(Reuters)

The Taliban on Wednesday slammed the Pakistan Government for blaming Afghanistan for the Peshawar mosque blast.

The Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi called on Pakistan to investigate the Peshawar attack rather than blame neighbouring Afghanistan for terror carnage. "Don't blame others for your own failures," said the Taliban.

On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of at least 101 people, mostly police officials.

Muttaqi called on Pakistan to investigate the Peshawar attack instead of blaming Kabul and said that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists.

"If Afghanistan was the centre of terrorism, it would have gone into China, Central Asia & Iran," he said.

Muttaqi told a gathering in the capital, Kabul, that Pakistani officials should find a solution to their security challenges locally and desist from "sowing the seeds of enmity" between the two countries.

Pakistani authorities were quick to blame the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also called Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for what they said was a suicide bomb attack and suggested the violence emanated from Afghanistan, reported Voice of America.

Muttaqi echoed suspicions and questions being raised by critics in Pakistan in the wake of the large-scale destruction caused by the blast and said, "Our region is used to wars and bomb blasts. But we have not seen in the past 20 years a lone suicide bomber blowing up roofs of mosques and killing hundreds of people."

The TTP, designated a global terrorist group by the United States, has long been conducting deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan and its leadership allegedly directs the violence from Afghan sanctuaries. But the Pakistani Taliban has formally denied involvement in the Peshawar mosque bombing, reported VOA.

Moazzam Jah Ansari, the provincial police chief, told reporters Tuesday that a suicide bomber had entered the mosque as a guest, using up to 12 kilograms of explosive material earlier brought to the site in bits and pieces.

A spate of recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, mostly claimed by the TTP, has strained relations between the two countries.

Pakistan is weighing its options to deal with the resurgence of terrorism with a focus on how to ensure that the Afghan interim government fulfills its promises, people familiar with the development have said.

It is evident from background discussions with the relevant quarters that Pakistan is increasingly frustrated over the lack of cooperation from the Afghan Taliban in tackling the growing threat posed by the banned TTP.

Meanwhile, the desperate police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been brought to the point where they are protesting for their rights.

"This is an example of a complete loss of trust in the State. They have been dying needlessly in the Establishment's double games, and there is no one to put an end to this," tweeted Mohsin Dawar, Member National Assembly, NA-48, North Waziristan.

In an unusual protest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in front of Peshawar Press Club chanted slogans, "We know all the unknown persons."

Videos shared on social media show groups of police officers raising slogans against rising terrorism.

This is the first time in history that the province's police have protested against terrorism.

Right to Food campaign calls Union Budget a ‘betrayal to the people of India’

The Right to Food campaign has raised concerns over the reduction of spending by the government for various social sector provisions

The Right to Food campaign has urged the Opposition parties to speak up for the poor and informal sector workers. (Representative Image/PTI)

The Right to Food campaign on Thursday expressed its dismay over the Union Budget 2023 and called it a ‘Betrayal to the people of India’. While raising concerns over the reduction of spending by the government for various social sector provisions, the body has urged the Opposition parties to raise these issues during the discussions on the Budget in Parliament and speak up for the poor and informal sector workers.

The campaign has also demanded the government to reconsider the allocations made in a bid to ‘meet the basic constitutional obligations of any democratically elected government, as well as towards a more equitable growth path.’

“India is facing serious inequality where only 5 percent of Indians own more than 60 percent of the country’s wealth while 50 percent of India’s population possesses only three percent of the wealth according to Oxfam India’s report. In this context, spending on social protection schemes such as the PDS, anganwadis, pensions and MGNREGA became especially important. But the Government of India has betrayed the hardworking people of this country by showing no sense of accountability in this year’s Union Budget. The Right to Food Campaign condemns the sheer insensitivity of the Central Government’s policy decision which will result in reducing the ration entitlement of 81 crore people by 50%,” the Right to Food campaign said in a statement

“MGNREGA which directly provides employment and also helps create rural assets has been immensely decreased in this year’s budget reflecting a direct attack on the millions of NREGA workers. Despite over 216,000 crores of pending wages, the allocation in this year’s budget under MGNREGA is only 60,000 crore rupees, therefore the pending liabilities would likely go up to 25,000 crores. The People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha in their position demanded that the budget of NREGA for the year 2023-2024 should be 2,73,000 crores rupees with more work days. NREGA continues to be underfunded which will lead to massive delays in wage payments,” the statement said.

The body explained how ration cardholders after the discontinuation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from January 1, 2023, were given only 5 kg ration per person instead of the 10 kg ration per person that they were getting earlier and how the Budget was ‘barely enough’ to meet the requirements for the regular entitlements under the National Food Security Act. “The requirement, therefore, was to continue the additional food grains under PMGKAY and expand the PDS to include non-ration card holders and distribute pulses and oils. However, the budget has reduced the food subsidy allocation by over 780,000 crores,” it added.

“The allocations for samarthya (including maternity entitlements), and PM POSHAN (mid-day meals) have reduced considerably this year as well. Social security pensions for the aged, single women, and disabled under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) have been reduced significantly creating a major impact on the lives of the most marginalised section of society. Maternity entitlements that come under Samarthya (including PMMVY and other schemes) saw a decline in this year’s budget allocation,” the campaign noted. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 on Wednesday and announced an allocation of ₹1,97,350 crore against the ₹2,06,831 crore allocated during the financial year 2022-23, a drop of over 32 percent or ₹89,000 crore compared to the previous year for the food subsidy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the subsidy for Decentralised Procurement of Foodgrains scheme under NFSA.

Sitharaman, however, announced that the food distribution scheme would continue despite the drop in fund allocation.

‘We're again being threatened’: Vladimir Putin fumes over this huge Ukraine gain

Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin said, "We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks."

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen.(Reuters)

Russian president Vladimir Putin vowed a stern response to any country threatening Russia as he lashed out against Germany for promising tanks for Ukraine. While, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was consolidating its forces for a fresh offensive, Vladimir Putin said, "It's unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks."

The comments came as Vladimir Putin was speaking at a ceremony commemorating the Red Army's victory in Stalingrad. “We have something to respond with. A modern war with Russia will be completely different,” Vladimir Putin asserted.

The West promised Ukraine with more deliveries of battle tanks to fight Russian forces this month as Zelensky said that Russia is "preparing to try to take revenge, not only against Ukraine, but against a free Europe and the free world," in a joint press conference with EU chief von der Leyen.

"We will introduce with our G7 partners an additional price cap on Russian petroleum products and by the 24th of February -- exactly one year since the invasion started -- we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions in place," EU chief said in Kyiv while Zelensky asserted that Ukraine deserved to start accession talks this year to "give energy and motivation to our people to fight."