Pegasus buyer was certainly Modi govt: Chidambaram after Israeli envoy’s statement

News Network

October 29, 2021

New Delhi, Oct 29: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government over the Pegasus snooping matter citing the Israeli envoy's remarks that his country does not allow firms like NSO to sell products to non-governmental actors, and claimed that in India's case, the "buyer was certainly the government of India".

The Supreme Court on Wednesday set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a "free pass" every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a "mute spectator" and be the bugbear it shies away from.

"After the SC's wise and bold order in the Pegasus controversy, the first skeleton has tumbled out. Yesterday, Israel's Ambassador publicly stated that Pegasus spyware was sold only to government. So, in India's case, the buyer was certainly the Government of India," Chidambaram tweeted.

Will the Minister for Telecommunications admit that the buyer of Pegasus was the government of India, he asked.

"If he remains silent, the blot on his report card will remain," Chidambaram said.

Israel's newly-appointed Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Thursday said Israel does not allow companies like NSO to sell their products to non-governmental actors.

"...Every export of NSO or such companies needs an export licence of the Israeli government. We grant this export licence only for exporting to governments," he had said.

"This is the only main requirement...Under the requirements, they cannot sell it to non-governmental actors. What's happening here in India is an internal thing for India and I would rather not go into your internal matters," Gilon said.

In a significant verdict over the issue of protecting citizens' right to privacy that was welcomed by legal experts, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana asserted that in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, indiscriminate spying on individuals cannot be allowed except with sufficient statutory safeguards by following the procedure established by law under the Constitution.

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Taliban appoints Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai as India-Afghan ties improve

News Network

November 12,2024

The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported.

It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India.

There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said.

The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said

Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said.

He is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, the report added.

Kamil's appointment comes days after the external affairs ministry's point-person for Afghanistan held talks with the Taliban's acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, also posted on X about Kamil's appointment.

The appointment of Kamil is seen as part of efforts to facilitate consular services to the Afghan population in Mumbai.

There has been almost negligible presence of diplomatic staff at the Afghan missions in India.

Most of the diplomats appointed by the Ashraf Ghani government have already left India.

In May, Zakia Wardak, the seniormost Afghan diplomat in India, resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.

Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi late last year, after working as the Afghan consul general in Mumbai for more than two years.

She took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November, after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.

Mamundzay, who was an appointee of the Ghani government, had moved to the United Kingdom.

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