While unresolved issues from 1971 remain, they are no longer a barrier to engagement.

Divya Malhotra

Twelve senior Bangladeshi civil servants landed in Karachi last month for an executive leadership programme organised by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission and Civil Services Academy. The training began with an engagement at the National Institute of Public Administration in Karachi, alongside visits to key public institutions in Pakistan’s financial capital. The delegation then proceeded to Lahore’s Civil Services Academy, the institute that had trained bureaucrats of undivided Pakistan before 1971. This marked the first such institutional exchange between Islamabad and Dhaka in over 50 years.

The development is significant because until recently, Bangladeshi officials trained in India. The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, hosted mid-career officials under agreements formalised since 2014. Although a training cooperation agreement for 2025-2030 has been renewed, no Bangladeshi officer has visited LBSNAA since the Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in 2024.

Bangladesh emerged from the traumatic events of 1971. The Pakistan army’s war crimes are deeply embedded in its national identity. During Hasina’s 15-year tenure (2009-24), Pakistan was largely treated as a pariah partner, while the Awami League drew much of its political legitimacy from the liberation war narrative.

The student-led uprising that toppled Hasina and sent her into exile in India opened space for a reset with Pakistan. Islamabad moved quickly. Cargo shipping resumed between Karachi and Chittagong, senior Pakistani officials travelled to Dhaka and structured cooperation expanded across trade, connectivity and governance.

Thus, the Bangladeshi delegation’s orientation in Karachi was equally symbolic. Exposure to institutions in Pakistan reflected Islamabad’s effort to familiarise Bangladeshi officials with the country’s trade architecture at a time of expanding economic engagement. While unresolved issues from 1971 remain, they are no longer being treated as a barrier to engagement. By de-hyphenating past issues from present realities, both sides seem to have found a new diplomatic space.

But, the training programme’s significance goes beyond this. These programmes are designed to shape how officials think about governance, statecraft, regional politics and national interests. For years, Bangladeshi officials attended training programmes in India and were exposed to administrative practices, governance models and strategic perspectives shared by New Delhi and Dhaka. Pakistan now has an opportunity to engage a new generation of administrators. This is why the exchange of ideas may prove more consequential than the exchange of goods.

Exposure to Pakistani institutions, policy debates and administrative traditions will now shape their perspectives. Pakistani analysts have argued that such exchanges should be institutionalised through long-term agreements so that the relationship is not left vulnerable to changing political cycles.

For decades, Dhaka-Delhi ties defined the boundaries of the Dhaka-Islamabad engagement. That constraint has loosened following political change in Dhaka. Religious affinities have also become more visible in the post-Hasina period.

This does not mean Bangladesh has abandoned the Liberation War as a foundational national narrative. Rather, the post-Hasina political order appears more driven by national interest. The visit of officials reflects the willingness of both countries to test the possibility of normalisation, and that in itself is a milestone.

Bill Gates told members of Congress on Wednesday that he “did not fully understand the extent” of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes when he associated with the late convicted sex offender to raise money for his philanthropic foundation.

Gates also testified that he never witnessed any criminal conduct from Epstein. He accused Epstein of blackmailing him over his extramarital affairs.

“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said, according to a copy of his opening statement. “Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities — in addition to many lies that he layered on top — to pressure me to re-engage with him.”

Congress has been investigating the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case. The billionaire’s testimony concerned his contacts with the convicted sex offender who ensnared women and girls from poor or unstable backgrounds.

The Microsoft Corp co-founder testified privately to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating possible federal mismanagement in the cases against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and related issues.

US Representative James Comer, the Republican committee chairman, asked Gates in a March letter to appear for an in-person transcribed interview.

Gates hired Jake Greenberg, who was the oversight panel’s chief investigative official until December, to help him prepare for the appearance, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. A committee spokesperson told Reuters the panel has not worked with Greenberg since his departure.

Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge in 2008 and served 13 months in jail.

Federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking of minors in 2019. Epstein pleaded not guilty to those charges and died in what was ruled a suicide later that year before his trial.

Documents released by the Justice Department this year indicated that Gates and Epstein met repeatedly after Epstein’s 2008 prison term to discuss expanding the tech billionaire’s philanthropic efforts.

They also included pictures of Gates posing with females whose faces are redacted. Gates has previously said the relationship with Epstein was confined to philanthropy-related discussions and has said it was a mistake to meet with him.

Gates “took responsibility for his actions” in a February town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson for the philanthropic group told Reuters.

Gates’ relationship with Epstein has drawn in the Gates Foundation, which said in April it had begun an external review into its engagement with the late financier. Emails released in January by the Justice Department also showed communication between Epstein and the Gates Foundation’s staff.

The House committee’s probe includes authorities’ handling of investigations and prosecutions, plea deals, Epstein’s death, failures to combat sex trafficking, ethics concerns and delays in the release of government files.

The Justice Department’s release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein revealed his ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business, including President Donald Trump, who socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, fired by Trump in April, faced sharp criticism for her handling of the case. Some critics accused her of trying to shield Trump from scrutiny.

Trump opposed releasing the files until shortly before Congress overwhelmingly passed a law ordering their release.

The injured paraglider, identified as George Richmond from the United Kingdom, was part of a group of five pilots undertaking a long-distance cross-country flight from Bir-Billing in Kangra district to the Deo Tibba area

A British national who sustained critical injuries in a paragliding accident in the high-altitude Deo Tibba region near Manali was rescued in a challenging operation involving local authorities, emergency responders, and the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday.

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The injured paraglider, identified as George Richmond from the United Kingdom, was part of a group of five pilots undertaking a long-distance cross-country flight from Bir-Billing in Kangra district to the Deo Tibba area.

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According to officials, Richmond crashed in the rugged mountainous terrain near Deo Tibba during the flight. His fellow paragliders immediately alerted the Manali administration about the accident.

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Upon receiving the information, the district administration, fire brigade personnel and rescue teams launched a coordinated search and rescue operation.

The mission proved difficult due to the remote location, high altitude and challenging terrain of the accident site. Rescue teams trekked through the mountainous region to reach the injured pilot and provided him with preliminary medical assistance.

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After several hours of efforts, rescuers successfully evacuated Richmond from the accident site. He was first brought to a safer location on a stretcher before being airlifted by an IAF Cheetah helicopter.

The helicopter transported him to Bhuntar airport, from where he was shifted to the Regional Hospital in Kullu for treatment.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Anurag Chander Sharma said the injured British national was provided immediate medical care after being flown to Bhuntar.

Considering the seriousness of his injuries, doctors referred him to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and he was subsequently shifted there by ambulance for advanced treatment.

The latest incident has once again highlighted the risks associated with long-distance paragliding flights in the Himalayan region. Similar accidents involving foreign pilots have been reported in recent years.

In October 2025, a Russian paraglider, Nikita Vasitov, was injured after crashing near Solang Nala in Manali and had to be rescued by local authorities.

In the same month, three foreign pilots who had taken off from Bir-Billing were stranded in the higher reaches of Kullu and were rescued through a helicopter operation.

Earlier, on October 30, 2024, Czech Republic paraglider Dita Misurcova lost her life after a crash near Marhi on the Manali-Rohtang route.

Adventure sports experts and local authorities have repeatedly stressed the need for strict adherence to safety protocols, weather assessments and flight planning, particularly during cross-country paragliding expeditions across the high Himalayan terrain.

The recurring incidents have renewed calls for stronger regulation and monitoring of long-haul paragliding activities in Himachal Pradesh.

Rajnath-led panel tells jet maker to meet IAF contract terms. The IAF had ordered 83 Tejas Mark 1A jets, deliveries were to commence from March 2024. So far, none of the 83 jets has been handed over to the air force.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the manufacturing process and pending deliveries of the Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets to the Indian Air Force.

The review committee asked public sector plane-maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to meet the technical requirements of the IAF which were laid down in the contract.

The IAF had ordered 83 Tejas Mark 1A jets, deliveries were to commence from March 2024. So far, none of the 83 jets has been handed over to the air force.

The HAL has some 18 air frames of the Tejas Mark 1A ready. Six of these air frames have engines too that have been imported from US firm General Electric, sources said. HAL is expected to face a penalty for delay in supplies of the planes which have engines but are not ready for delivery due to pending technical issues.

At present, HAL has not been able to integrate the radar on to the jet and successfully fire missiles, the sources added. IAF has made it clear, it was not ready to accept these shortcomings. HAL has been asked to address the pending issues before the IAF can accept the plane.

Defence ministry sources have said the production and readiness schedule for the LCA Mark1A is expected to reach around 24 aircraft by the end of the current year. The programme has faced delays due to GE F414 engine supply issues from the US firm. The Tejas Mk1A is part of India’s indigenous fighter aircraft development initiative.

HAL received its first contract from the IAF in February 2021 for 83 LCA Mk1A aircraft, comprising 73 fighter variants and 10 trainers. A second order for 97 additional aircraft was placed in September 2025 at a cost of more than Rs 62,370 crore.

Five critically ill patients, including three personnel of the Indian Army, have been airlifted from Ladakh to Chandigarh for advanced medical care, the IAF said on Monday.

In a post on X, the Western Air Command (WAC) of the Indian Air Force also said 143 lives have been saved through casualty evacuation operations in the Ladakh sector alone during 2026.

The WAC shared details about the critical medical evacuation mission undertaken from Ladakh, despite challenging high-altitude terrain and inclement weather conditions.

“The Indian Air Force successfully undertook a critical Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) mission from Ladakh, airlifting five Dangerous Ill Listed (DIL) patients for advanced medical care at Chandigarh. The patients comprised three Indian Army personnel with one dependent and one Ladakhi civilian,” it posted.

The IAF also shared some images of the medical evacuation mission.

“Despite the challenging high-altitude terrain and inclement climatic conditions, IAF C-17 and AN-32 aircraft ensured their swift, safe and timely evacuation. The mission underscores the IAF’s unwavering commitment to preserving life and providing hope in emergencies. #IndianAirForce – Every Life Matters, Every Call Answered #143 lives have been saved through CASEVAC operations in the Ladakh Sector alone during 2026,” it added.

A Dangerously Ill List (DIL) patient — a medical classification — refers to individuals whose condition is critical, unstable, and carries a high probability of imminent deterioration or death, according to the National Institutes of Health website.

Security forces launched a search operation early Tuesday to ascertain whether the drone had carried out any airdropping during its flight

Army troops opened fire at a Pakistani drone after it intruded into Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, but it returned to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after briefly hovering over some forward Indian posts, officials said on Tuesday.

The drone was spotted over some forward Indian posts in the Balakote area of the Mendhar sector late Monday night, the officials said.

They said Indian Army troops fired around nine rounds at the drone, but failed to hit the target as it was flying at a considerable height.

Security forces launched a search operation early Tuesday to ascertain whether the drone had carried out any airdropping during its flight over the area.

The operation continued for several hours, with security personnel conducting an extensive search of the area. However, nothing suspicious was found on the ground, the officials said

Juxtaposition of J&K and Ukraine war in Pak-EU statement strikes a jarring note

UST when Indian policymakers thought that India-EU ties were on an upward trajectory, they received a rude shock. Standing beside Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on June 1, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said: “Pakistan is a major regional power and an important partner for the European Union”.

Praising Pakistan’s mediation between the US and Iran, she said: “Your diplomatic efforts have helped to prevent a return to full-blown war on several occasions, and these efforts are much recognised and appreciated across Europe”. This would have been music to Pakistani ears and jarring to some circles in Delhi, for there has been no change in Pakistan’s reliance on terrorism to keep India on the defensive.

Paragraph 11 of the EU-Pakistan joint statement, which came out after Kallas’ discussions with Dar was unprecedented and offensive. It stated: “The Pakistan side briefed on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The EU side briefed on Russia’s war on Ukraine. Both sides expressed support for the peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.”

Prima facie, these lines are innocuous, but it is the juxtaposition of J&K and the Ukraine war that gave them an entirely different complexion. The skilled and professional EU diplomats who negotiated the joint statement would have known that putting J&K and the Ukraine war in the same paragraph would be unacceptable to India. Moreover, by joining the two issues through a sentence containing homilies on “dialogue and diplomacy” and invoking the UN Charter, they only added insult to injury. If the diplomats had slipped, why did Kallas do so too?

Kallas was Estonia’s Prime Minister for three years and has held her present office since December 2024; hence, she does not lack experience. The inescapable conclusion, therefore, is that the EU deliberately agreed to a formulation which the Pakistanis may have proposed. In accepting it, the EU showed complete disregard for Indian sensitivities.

Lest some readers think that this writer is getting carried away by unimportant minutiae of diplomatese, a peep into the arcane world of diplomatic drafting is called for. Diplomats endeavour to find common formulations for joint statements. When they fail and one side insists that unless its views are recorded it will not agree even to a mention of a matter of surpassing importance to the other, unilateral statements are framed. They indicate that the other side has merely heard the view of the other. However, in recording these formulations, it is ensured that no link can be drawn between the unilateral comments. These inevitably come about if they are included in a single paragraph.

At present, it was naturally essential for the EU to mention the Ukraine war in a joint statement. In turn, the Pakistanis would have demanded the inclusion of their viewpoint on J&K. Even while accepting such a compromise, the EU should have insisted that J&K and Ukraine be mentioned in separate paragraphs. And, while diplomacy was being urged for J&K, the EU should have called for the right conditions being created by the cessation of cross-border violent extremism. The EU did not do so.

Responding to a question on the reference to J&K in the joint statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said on June 2: “We categorically reject such unwarranted references in the joint press communique on matters internal to India. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. Those who have no locus standi on such matters should desist from making any comment on them”. This was a routine and weak response to an unprecedented and unjustified paragraph in the joint statement. Why did the MEA not even mention the EU, let alone strongly condemn it?

Is it because the Modi government did not want the focus to be on its embarrassment? It had done the EU the high honour of inviting Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, as Chief Guests for this year’s Republic Day. During the visit, the India-EU Free Trade Agreement was signed; the EU itself acknowledged that the pact accorded “a significant competitive advantage in key industrial and agri-food sectors”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with EU leaders laid the groundwork for an extensive and comprehensive partnership in the security sector and other domains. The leaders’ statement noted: “Enhance cooperation to counter terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism…” The term “cross-border terrorism” in such statements indirectly refers to, at a minimum, the infrastructure of terror in Pakistan.

In March this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Brussels. His host was Kaja Kallas, though he also interacted with other senior EU leaders. According to a MEA readout, the visit was “reflective of India’s sustained high-level engagement with the European Union.” It went on to say: “India-EU relations have entered a phase of renewed strategic momentum…” Some strange momentum, indeed, if the EU shows a lack of basic sensitivity to India’s significant concerns, as shown during Kallas’ visit to Islamabad.

It is a fact that Pakistan’s stock has risen in the world because of its mediation efforts between the US and Iran. Recently, in his reply to an Indian journalist’s question on China-Pak ties, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that Pakistan was under China’s full control. He went on to say: “Pakistan is a large country and it has multifaceted ties with different countries.”

These assessments of Pakistan should not bother Indian policymakers, but it should worry them when the EU (or, in future, others) makes unwarranted, even if indirect, comparisons of India’s concerns with other global matters. That is where India has to call the EU out — not through smart one-liners but logic backed by action. And perhaps Jaishankar could sweeten his interaction with his EU counterpart with Kaja (oops, that should be Kaju) Katli!

The operation that was launched to eliminate violence, in fact, sowed the seeds of an ethno-religious struggle

Ramesh Inder Singh

It has been 42 years since the Army marched into the Golden Temple in 1984. What was the objective of the Army action?

The devout view it as a premeditated sacrilegious assault on their holiest of holy shrines while the government of the day described it as an operation to clear the sacred space of the armed radicals who had usurped the temple, laid siege and posed a challenge to the legitimacy of the constitutionally established polity.

But with time and better understanding of the events, there is a near unanimity that the operation was avoidable, ill-planned and terribly executed. It left deep psychological scars, resulted in the destruction of the seat of Miri Piri, Akal Takht, and the death of nearly 1,000 persons, including Army men. And this unanimity of opinion includes a long list of army generals, including two former Army Chiefs, Gen VK Singh and Gen VN Sharma, who have gone public against Operation Bluestar.

The operation that was launched to eliminate violence, in fact, sowed the seeds of an ethno-religious struggle and unleashed unmitigated violence that was far worse than what it had aimed to end. Foreign powers exploited our internal situation. Weapons and drugs seeped in from the highly porous border and confirmation of this has come from a Pakistani scholar. Prof Ilyas Chattha, in his book, ‘ The Punjab Borderland, Mobility, Materiality and Militancy, 1947-1987’, has exposed the role played by his country in fuelling militancy in Punjab.

The ethno-national movement fizzled out long ago, but there are lessons to be learnt. The foremost lesson pertains to how we deal with religious plurality, political divergence, regional aspirations and uprisings. Regional assertions have to mingle with national objectives just as the nation must acknowledge the divergence of identities and aspirations in a country as large as ours.

This requires not a military approach to problems but conflict resolution through dialogue. Bluestar is a classic instance of the failure to parley, even though 26 meetings were held between Dharam Yudh Morcha leaders and the Central government, the last being on May 29, 1984 with four Union ministers in Delhi. They responded positively to the demands, not knowing that the Chief of Army Staff, Gen AS Vaidya, had already been mandated a few days earlier that troops be moved to Amritsar. The result was catastrophic.

The irony is that these very demands of the Morcha were accepted a year later, in July 1985, with the signing of the Rajiv-Longowal accord. But, by then, the moderate Longowal and his ilk had ceased to be relevant. The command of the struggle had passed on to gun-wielding militants. The spirit of shaheedi swept the Panth.

To make it worse, the Central government ducked the accord — the PM who had signed the covenant discarded it. Political imperatives prevailed over the need for conflict resolution. The pending demands continue to agitate the state.

Could militancy re-emerge in the state? It is highly unlikely. However, microscopic remnants of secessionists sitting abroad continue to fund and direct criminal activities, operating through organised criminal gangs. It is a nexus of drugs and weapon smugglers, who often operate under the ideological garb of separatism.

The consequence of this is a deteriorating law and order situation, with cases of extortions, IED or grenade blasts, killings and frequent email threats of bomb scares at public places. Forces from across the border are using drones to drop weapons and drugs to destabilise the region.

However, the recent killings of three policemen in two separate incidents in the border districts are alarming, suggestive of what is called a consternation strategy, which terrorists apply to produce a chilling effect to demoralise the symbols of state authority. They randomly pick up targets with the objective to make the state appear ineffective.

The administrative system runs on vakar — honour and credibility — as distinct from mere electoral legitimacy and terrorists seek to challenge its authority to bring its image down. This strategy was resorted to in Punjab in the 1980s by militants when many policemen, officials and journalists were targeted. A similar strategy was employed by Naxalites in West Bengal in the 1970s.

The ever-lingering religion-related issues, the acrimonious tu-tu-main-main politics, agrarian unrest leading to roadblocks and demonstrations and economic slowdown that pushed up unemployment were the contributing factors that led to decades of violence. These fault lines exist in varying degrees even today.

The beadbi or sacrilege issue is a highly sensitive one and cases have lingered since 2015, keeping the sentiments on a boil. The cases need a logical conclusion. The well-intended 2026 Amendment to the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act has caused an unintended conflict between religious bodies and the state. The issue needs to be resolved keeping in view the Sikh sentiments, Article 26 (b) that confers the right to manage affairs related to religion by communities and by ascertaining the opinion of all stakeholders.

Efforts should be made to reduce societal and religious conflicts. Emotive issues are exploited by militants, criminals and vested interests. The historical and cultural milieu of a militarised Punjab makes us vulnerable to resorting to violence. Let me recall what Lord Dalhousie said on the annexation of Punjab: “There never will be peace in Punjab, as long as its people are allowed to retain the means and the opportunity of making war.”

Punjabis have never missed an opportunity to challenge state authority, whether it was the Mughal empire or the British or after Independence, our own. Punjab will remain peaceful and people will prosper only so long as the state is effective and the administration is perceived as just, delivering good governance.

The writer was Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, during Operation Bluestar

A US Army Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump saying the two crew members on board were “fine” after the incident involving the strategic waterway, which remains under a chokehold by Iran.

What caused the crash remained unclear Tuesday morning in the Middle East, which was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state media, relying on foreign reporting, acknowledged the crash without elaborating.

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

Trump, speaking to journalists at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York after watching the NBA Finals on Monday night, acknowledged the crash.

“The pilots are fine. Yeah,” Trump said. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine.”

The New York Times first reported that a US Army Apache attack helicopter went down near the strait in unclear circumstances. The US military’s Central Command and the Defence Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal. The helicopters also have been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones during the Iran war.

Trump insists an Iran deal is coming

Trump also expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said. But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism.

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the President said. “If we go and bomb – which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing – they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”

He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying to weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the US have taken hard-line positions.

The US wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed still to be entombed in the country after American airstrikes in the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

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