Talks and terror cannot go together: India on Pakistan PM Sharif's call

New Delhi | India on Thursday once again made it clear that talks with Pakistan can only happen if it stops cross-border terrorism.

New Delhi's comments came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressing willingness to hold peace talks with India to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, terrorism, water and trade.

"We would like to reiterate that terrorism and talks cannot go together," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

His assertion came when asked about Sharif's comments in Tehran this week that Pakistan wants to hold peace talks with India.

Jaiswal also emphasised that India will only hold talks with Pakistan on the issues of handing over of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and on terrorism.

Pakistan needs to hand over to India the terrorists, whose list we submitted to them some years ago, he said.

"As far as the Indus Water Treaty is concerned, it will remain in abeyance till the time Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support to cross-border terrorism just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: 'terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, and water and blood cannot flow together."

India on April 23 announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

The measures were announced a day after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

India carried out precision strikes on nine terror infrastructures early on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.

The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damages to a number of key Pakistani military installations including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on May 10 announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.

'Military equipment got war-tested': DRDO chief says defence exports to go up after Op Sindoor

New Delhi | DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat on Thursday said he was hopeful that defence exports will increase after Operation Sindoor as indigenous military equipment has got "war-tested".

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the CII Summit here, he also spoke about the recent clearance given by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the "execution model" to design and produce India's ambitious fifth-generation stealth fighter jet -- the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA).

"By 2034, the development work should be completed, and after that production should start from 2035. The first prototype flight will be ready by end of 2029," he said.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief said that in this execution model of AMCA which has been approved, "HAL can bid, private sector can bid, they can also bid as a joint venture".

"So, this will open up participation of the private sector for fighter aircraft development," he added.

The execution model approach provides equal opportunities to both private and public sectors on a competitive basis, the Defence Ministry had recently said.

When asked if Indian defence exports will see an impact in the wake of Operation Sindoor, the DRDO chairman said, "After Operation Sindoor, I am very hopeful that defence exports will increase because these equipment has got war-tested. So, countries will show interest in acquiring them."

Indigenously developed Akash missile system and Akashteer air defence system were some of the key military assets deployed by India during the recent four-day military confrontation with Pakistan.

Kamat also acknowledged the role of the Indian industry and academia, and said, "we have to achieve complete 'Atmanirbharta' in future".

India has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop the medium weight deep penetration fighter jet with advanced stealth features to bolster its air power capability.

AMCA along with the Tejas light combat aircraft are planned to be the mainstays of the Indian Air Force.

The defence ministry on Tuesday said Singh has approved the execution model for AMCA that will be developed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in cooperation with industry partners.

PM Modi should tell nation how many Rafales were shot down by Pakistan: Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad | Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the PM explain to 140 crore Indians how many Rafale aircraft were shot down by the Pakistani Army during the recent conflict.

Addressing the 'Jai Hind' rally here, Reddy also sought to know why the PM, who had called for an all-party meeting before going to war with Pakistan, did not do so before calling off the armed conflict with the neighbouring country.

He also alleged that Modi failed to separate Balochistan from Pakistan and take control over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), despite the wishes of 140 crore Indians.

"The soldiers of this (Secunderabad ) Cantonment participated in the war. The war planes being manufactured in Telangana upheld respect for our country. Rafale aircraft brought by Narendra Modi were shot down by Pakistan. There is no discussion on how many Rafales were shot down. Narendra Modi should answer how many Rafael aircraft were shot down by Pakistan during the recent war. You give us the account," he asked the PM.

Firing salvos, Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.

Reddy said senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Meenakshi Natarajan said only one thing that when it comes to national security, irrespective of political lines, everyone should come together and accordingly assured the NDA government that it would stand by it during the fight with Pakistan.

"After four days of war, we do not know who threatened whom and who succumbed to whom. All of a sudden, US President Donald Trump came out and said he threatened India and stopped the war," the CM said.

Mocking the prime minister that war is not giving lectures, Reddy said by stopping the war, Modi pledged the self-respect of 140 crore Indians.

He accused China of encroaching 4000 sq km of Indian territory even as PM Modi failed to give a befitting reply to the neighbour.

Reddy said former PM Indira Gandhi defeated China in 1967 and sent out a message to the world that if anybody messed with India, they would be taught a lesson.

He further said, despite threats by the then US government, Indira Gandhi did not go back on the Indo-Pak war in 1971 and went on creating Bangladesh by separating it from Pakistan.

Maharashtra ATS busts espionage bid: Engineer leaked sensitive defence info to Pakistan

Mumbai | Maharashtra's elite Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a Thane-based junior engineer on charges of spying, alleging that he provided sensitive defence information to a Pakistani intelligence operative who honey-trapped him online, officials said on Thursday.

This comes at a time when several spy rackets have been busted in northern states post 'Operation Sindoor'.

Accused Ravindra Murlidhar Verma, a 27-year-old, was placed under arrest on Wednesday following a tip-off from security agencies, the officials said.

Verma was working as a junior engineer with a defence technology firm and by virtue of his work, he had access to the highly-sensitive Naval Dockyard in south Mumbai, where he frequently worked on naval ships.

According to the officials, Verma was lured into passing classified information after being honey-trapped by a Pakistani agent posing as a woman on Facebook.

They said that the accused communicated sensitive details about a vital installation to the 'Pakistani Intelligence Operative' (PIO) via WhatsApp between November 2024 and March 2025.

A case has been registered against Verma and two other individuals who were in contact with him, under section 3 of the Official Secrets Act (dealing with espionage) and section 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Following extensive interrogation, Verma was formally arrested for his alleged involvement in the crime and produced before a court, which remanded him to ATS custody till Monday.

The ATS is currently scrutinising Verma's mobile phones and other electronic gadgets to uncover the full extent of information shared through social media platforms with the PIO.

Post Operation Sindoor, in which the Indian Air Force made a precise bombing of nine terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, the security agencies have busted several spy rings in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.