Pakistan has voiced strong opposition to ‘unilateral military action’ in Venezuela, implicitly rebuking the United States for its recent strikes and the dramatic capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

Speaking at the emergency session of the UN Security Council, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, warned that such actions “contravene sacrosanct principles” of the UN Charter and threaten to erode the foundations of international law.

In his remarks, Jadoon said Pakistan viewed “the recent developments in Venezuela with profound concern”, cautioning that escalating tensions in the Caribbean “do not augur well for regional and international peace and security”.

Without naming the United States directly, the envoy said the UN Charter forbids “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state” and binds member countries to respect “sovereign equality and non-interference.”

“Unilateral military action contravenes these sacrosanct principles and the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Such actions set dangerous precedents that risk eroding the foundations of the global legal framework,” Jadoon told the Council.

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was held following the US-led operation that struck key Venezuelan military and infrastructure sites, leading to the capture of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both have since been flown to the United States, where they face drug trafficking charges — a move many nations, including Russia, China, and several Latin American states, have condemned as a violation of sovereignty.

Jadoon urged all sides to “exercise maximum restraint” and to pursue dialogue and diplomacy. “Durable solutions to political differences can only be found through peaceful means, with full respect for the will of the Venezuelan people, free from any external interference,” he said, adding that peace and stability of Venezuela and the welfare and prosperity of its people, with full ownership, must be the overriding objective of all efforts.

DRDO is also working on advanced versions of the Netra systems to further boost surveillance capabilities

Vijay Mohan

Moving ahead with the process of enhancing aerial surveillance and airspace management capabilities, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has issued a request for information (RFI) to the industry for the procurement of six Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft along with associated ground segment equipment and facilities.

“The main purpose of the AEW&C is to provide long range radar detection. AEW&C is a system of systems consisting of radar, identification of friend and foe (IFF) system, electronic surveillance measures (ESM), communication support measure (CSM), command and control (C2), battle management system and networking through data links,” the RFI issued on January 5 states.

Though the RFI does not identify the platform to be used for the project, specifications laid down require the aircraft to have a minimum endurance of 10 hours or the capability for mid-air refuelling, a service ceiling of 45,000 feet above sea level and ability to operate from airfields located at altitudes of around 10,000 feet. Advanced mission suite capable of a full 360-degree scan to detect small slow moving targets to hypersonic vehicles, satellite based navigational and communication aids and protection measures are other requirements.

Among the possibilities for the aircraft are the Airbus A-320 passenger liners which were procured from Air India with the intent of modifying them for military use and the Embraer Legacy executive jets, three of which have been retrofitted as AEW&C indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and christened as Netra.

DRDO is also working on advanced versions of the Netra systems to further boost surveillance capabilities. The new mission suite will consist of about 15 aerial sub-systems and components in addition to several ground-based elements.

Last month, DRDO selected the Canadian Bombardier Global 6500 twin-engine business jets as the platform for its ongoing ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) program.

At present, the IAF has five operational AEW&Cs, which include three Beriev A-50s, which are Russian IL-76 airframes equipped with Israeli sensors that were inducted about two decades ago, and two Netra aircraft. The third Netra is with DRDO’s Center for Airborne Systems.

Given its commitments along the northern and western frontiers, the IAF has projected a requirement for 12 AEW&Cs. “The IAF has already initiated two programmes of six AEW aircraft each and one for a special role aircraft,” a report tabled last year by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence stated.

The IAF’s present fleet of five AWACS is relatively small as compared to its two hostile neighbours. China has a fleet of 20 Shaanxi KJ-500 20, four Shaanxi KJ-200 and four KJ-2000, while Pakistan has four Chinese ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle and eight Swedish Saab 2000 Erieye platforms, one of which was possibly knocked down by the IAF during Operation Sindoor.

Service

J&K administration had last month imposed a blanket ban on the use of VPN services across the Valley

With police in the Kashmir Valley intensifying their crackdown on the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services in violation of prohibitory orders imposed by the administration, authorities have so far identified around 1,100 users across Kashmir, officials said.

Top Jammu and Kashmir Police sources told The Tribune that nearly 1,100 individuals have been identified over the past few days for using VPN services.

Last month, the Jammu and Kashmir administration imposed a blanket ban on the use of VPN services across the Valley. District administrations issued separate orders prohibiting the use of unauthorised VPNs for a period of two months with immediate effect.

Following the ban, police launched verification drives to identify violators. Sources said that so far around 1,100 people have been found using VPN services in violation of the orders.

Police sources said action against individuals depends on the nature of usage. “If they are found misusing the VPN, preventive action is initiated. If the usage is found to be innocuous, the individual is warned and advised accordingly,” a police source said.

Since the ban came into force, police in several districts have conducted verification exercises and initiated action. Videos circulated on social media showed police personnel checking mobile phones of individuals on the roads, a move that has drawn criticism from sections of the public in the Valley.

On Monday, police in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district said that as part of ongoing efforts to ensure public safety, cyber security and maintenance of law and order, preventive action was taken against individuals found using VPN services unauthorisedly.

During verification, 11 persons were found using VPN services illegally within the jurisdiction of Police Station Ganderbal and Police Station Kangan, police said.

“The individuals were bound down under Section 26 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to maintain good behaviour,” the police statement said.

Police in Ganderbal warned that any violation of lawful orders would invite strict legal action and urged the public to cooperate with law-enforcement agencies to maintain peace and security.

Senior police officials said the drive would continue in the coming days. “This is an ongoing process. We will continue to identify violators and take action against those found misusing VPN services,” a police official said.

Advertisement

The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen Manoj Kr Katiyar visited the offices of The Tribune in Chandigarh on New Year to see how the newsroom functions, how the newspaper is made every evening. He interacted with the Editor-in-Chief Jyoti Malhotra, Editor of Dainik Tribune Naresh Kaushal and Editor of Punjabi Tribune Arvinder Kaur, as well as with Reporters and Desk persons of all three newspapers.

The Tribune Special: Ten years of inaction costs city depositors dear

As many as 573 bank account holders in Chandigarh have lost access to nearly Rs 12 crore after their deposits remained unclaimed or accounts stayed inactive for the mandatory period, forcing banks to transfer the money to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under statutory rules.

The data was shared by SK Singhal, Lead District Manager (LDM), Chandigarh, who said the transfer was made in line with RBI guidelines that mandated shifting unclaimed deposits to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) once an account remained inoperative for 10 years or the deposited amount was not claimed by the due date.

According to the progress report on unclaimed bank deposits for the period from October 1 to December 31, 2025, a copy of which is with The Tribune, the Rs 11.95 crore transferred to the RBI pertains to accounts spread across several public and private sector banks operating in the city. Punjab National Bank accounted for the largest share, with 107 accounts involving Rs 8.89 crore, followed by the State Bank of India, which transferred Rs 2.22 crore from 258 accounts. Smaller amounts were transferred by other banks, reflecting widespread lack of awareness among depositors about account operations and timely withdrawals.

Singhal said deposits were also moved to the RBI by the Central Bank of India (16 accounts, Rs 41 lakh), Indian Bank (24 accounts, Rs 14 lakh), Punjab & Sind Bank (18 accounts, Rs 8 lakh), Bank of India (31 accounts, Rs 7 lakh), HDFC Bank (12 accounts, Rs 5 lakh), Union Bank of India (77 accounts, Rs 3 lakh), Canara Bank (9 accounts, Rs 2 lakh), Bank of Maharashtra (16 accounts, Rs 2 lakh) and Indian Overseas Bank (5 accounts, Rs 40,000). Several other banks reported nil transfers during the period.

He said many account holders or their families were often unaware that accounts turn inactive when transactions stopped or deposits were not claimed, eventually leading to the transfer of funds to the RBI after a decade. “The money is not lost forever and can be claimed by the rightful owner, nominee or legal heir, but the process becomes longer if KYC or nomination details are incomplete,” Singhal said.

The Chandigarh data comes close on the heels of a much larger statewide picture in Punjab, where 83.32 lakh inactive bank accounts involving Rs 3,197 crore were transferred to the RBI, as reported earlier by the State Level Bankers’ Committee, Punjab. That disclosure triggered a renewed push for depositor awareness across the region.

Both Chandigarh and Punjab are part of the Government of India’s ‘Your Money – Your Right’ campaign, a three-month public awareness drive conducted from October 1 to December 31, 2025, was aimed at helping depositors trace and reclaim unclaimed bank deposits, as well as unpaid mutual fund and insurance proceeds.

Singhal urged residents to proactively check for dormant or unclaimed deposits through the RBI’s Udgam Portal or by visiting their bank branches. He said special camps were also being held to facilitate re-KYC, nomination updates and claim filings, stressing that timely action can prevent deposits from slipping into long-term dormancy.

2 persons injured in consecutive explosions that rocked Ngaukon in Bishnupur district on Monday

The investigation into the twin blasts in Manipur’s Bishnupur district was handed over to the NIA, officials said on Tuesday.

Two persons were injured in the consecutive explosions that rocked Ngaukon in the Phougakchao police station area on Monday morning, they said.

The first blast, suspected to have been caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), occurred around 5.45 am at an abandoned house. The second one occurred nearly 200 metres away around 8.45 am, when locals gathered after getting news of the earlier blast.

“The case has been forwarded to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for further investigation,” a statement issued by the state police said.

“Combing and search operations are being carried out in the adjoining areas, and security has been strengthened to prevent any further escalation of violence. Investigation and operational efforts are underway to identify and apprehend those responsible for the blasts,” it said.

The incident further escalated tensions in the restive state, where over 260 people have been killed and thousands left homeless in the ethnic clashes that broke out in May 2023.

The house, where the first explosion happened, has remained abandoned since ethnic violence broke out, with its owner and his family currently living at a relief camp.

Several organisations, including the Indigenous People Organisation and the All Manipur Students’ Union, called for a 24-hour shutdown across the state, starting 12 am on Wednesday, to protest the blast.

Meitei civil organisation Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) demanded an immediate, transparent and time-bound investigation into the blasts.

Manipur has been under the President’s Rule since February 2025, after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned amid criticisms of his administration’s handling of the ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday an American takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of the NATO military alliance. Her comments came in response to US President Donald Trump’s renewed call for the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island to come under US control in the aftermath of the weekend military operation in Venezuela.

The dead-of-night operation by US forces in Caracas to capture leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife early Saturday left the world stunned, and heightened concerns in Denmark and Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of the Danish kingdom and thus part of NATO.

Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens Frederik Nielsen, blasted the president’s comments and warned of catastrophic consequences. Numerous European leaders expressed solidarity with them.

“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2 on Monday. “That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.”

20-day timeline deepens fears

Trump called repeatedly during his presidential transition and the early months of his second term for US jurisdiction over Greenland, and has not ruled out military force to take control of the island. His comments Sunday, including telling reporters “let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days,” further deepened fears that the US was planning an intervention in Greenland in the near future.

Frederiksen also said Trump “should be taken seriously” when he says he wants Greenland. “We will not accept a situation where we and Greenland are threatened in this way,” she added.

Nielsen, in a news conference Monday, said Greenland cannot be compared to Venezuela. He urged his constituents to stay calm and united.

“We are not in a situation where we think that there might be a takeover of the country overnight and that is why we are insisting that we want good cooperation,” he said.

Nielsen added: “The situation is not such that the United States can simply conquer Greenland.”

Ask Rostrup, a TV2 political journalist, wrote on the station’s live blog on Monday that Mette previously would have flatly rejected the idea of an American takeover of Greenland. But now, Rostrup wrote, the rhetoric has escalated so much that she has to acknowledge the possibility.

Trump slams Denmark’s security efforts in Greenland

Trump on Sunday also mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.

“It’s so strategic right now,” Trump had told reporters Sunday as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida. “Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”

He added: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

But Ulrik Pram Gad, a global security expert from the Danish Institute for International Studies, wrote in a report last year that “there are indeed Russian and Chinese ships in the Arctic, but these vessels are too far away to see from Greenland with or without binoculars.”

US space base in northwestern Greenland

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled this weekend by a social media post following the raid by a former Trump administration official-turned-podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colours of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON.”

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark’s chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump’s influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

The US Department of Defense operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. It was built following a 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and NATO.

On Denmark’s mainland, the partnership between the US and Denmark has been long-lasting. The Danes buy American F-35 fighter jets and just last year, Denmark’s parliament approved a bill to allow US military bases on Danish soil.

Critics say the vote ceded Danish sovereignty to the US. The legislation widens a previous military agreement, made in 2023 with the Biden administration, where US troops had broad access to Danish air bases in the Scandinavian country.

China’s top diplomat accused the US of acting like a “world judge” by seizing Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro to put him on trial in New York, with Beijing later confronting Washington at the United Nations over the move’s legality.

China follows a policy of non-intervention and routinely criticises military activity conducted without the UN Security Council’s approval.

The US military’s removal of the leader of one of China’s “all-weather” strategic partners from his capital in the dead of night will be a litmus test of Beijing’s assertion that it can play a role in resolving global hotspot issues without following Washington down the military route.

“We have never believed that any country can act as the world’s police, nor do we accept that any nation can claim to be the world’s judge,”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Pakistani counterpart during a meeting in Beijing on Sunday, referring to “sudden developments in Venezuela” without directly mentioning the United States.

“The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law,” Wang added, in his first remarks since images of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed on Saturday stunned the world.

Maduro pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges in a New York court on Monday. Just blocks away, the UN Security Council convened at Colombia’s request – backed by China and Russia – to debate U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to seize him, a move UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned could set “a dangerous precedent.”

Addressing the meeting, China expressed its shock and condemnation at the actions of the U.S., which, like China, is one of the council’s five permanent members.

“The lessons of history offer a stark warning,” said Sun Lei, the charge d’affaires of China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. “Military means are not the solution to problems, and the indiscriminate use of force will only lead to greater crises.”

Analysts said China, the world’s second-largest economy and a leading global trading partner, would be crucial in marshalling criticism of Washington’s actions.

“There isn’t much in the way of material support that China can offer Venezuela at this time, but rhetorically, Beijing will be very important when it leads the effort at the UN and with other developing countries to rally opinion against the U.S.,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.

“What we’ve seen in the cases of Zimbabwe and Iran, both sanctioned by the West, is that China demonstrates its commitment to these relationships through trade and investment, even under difficult circumstances,” he added.

‘A BIG BLOW FOR CHINA’

With Trump also threatening military action against Colombia and Mexico and having remarked that Cuba’s communist regime “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own, Latin American countries that signed up to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Global Security Initiative may now wonder how the pact will protect them if put to the test.

Xi on Monday urged all countries to abide by international law and the UN principles. He said major powers should set an example, while stopping short of naming the US or Venezuela.

Beijing has had considerable success in persuading Latin American states to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, with Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras all siding with the $19 trillion economy’s talk of strategic partnership over the last 20 years.

Venezuela switched recognition in 1974, a relationship that deepened under Hugo Chavez, the socialist former soldier who took power in 1998 and became Beijing’s closest ally in Latin America, distancing his country from Washington while lauding the Chinese Communist Party’s governance model and presiding over democratic backsliding at home.

The close relationship continued after Chavez died in 2013 and Maduro became leader, even enrolling his son at the top-ranking Peking University in 2016.

In return, Beijing poured money into Venezuela’s oil refineries and infrastructure, providing an economic lifeline as the US and its allies tightened sanctions from 2017. China purchased around $1.6 billion worth of goods in 2024, according to Chinese customs data, the latest full-year figures available.

Oil made up about half the total.

“It was a big blow to China, we wanted to look like a dependable friend to Venezuela,” said a Chinese government official briefed on a meeting between Maduro and China’s special representative for Latin American and Caribbean affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, hours before the Venezuelan president was captured.

Heavy gunfire erupted near Venezuela’s presidential palace in Caracas early Tuesday after security forces fired at unidentified drones over the complex, according to News18, citing BNO News.

Shots were fired near the Miraflores presidential palace in central Caracas around 8 pm local time (0000 GMT), with gunfire heard across parts of the city for roughly 45 minutes.

Residents also reported possible drone or aircraft activity during the incident, and some neighbourhoods experienced power outages.

The report stated that a source close to the Venezuelan government said unidentified drones were seen flying over the palace, prompting security forces to open fire. The situation was later brought under control, though no immediate details were available on damage or casualties.

The White House, quoted by BNO News, said the US was “not involved” in the incident near the presidential palace.

The development comes amid heightened political and security tensions in Caracas, shortly after Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim President following the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro in a US-led operation over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Maduro appeared before a federal court in New York City on Monday and pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges.