Republic Top 10 Headlines: Punjab crisis, US hints at sanctions on Pakistan and more

US Senators hint at sanctions on Pakistan 

In a huge development, 22 Republican Senators including former Presidential nominee Mitt Romney moved a bill in the US Senate on Monday which can adversely impact Pakistan. Titled the 'Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act of 2021', it envisages the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Taliban and persons assisting the terror outfit in Afghanistan. It mandates that the US Secretary of State must submit a report on the support extended by Pakistan to the Taliban to the congressional committees within 180 days of the enactment of this Act.

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Congress likely to appoint new PCC Chief

Fed up with Navjot Sidhu's attitude, Congress is mulling appointing either Kuljeet Singh Nagra or Ravneet Singh Bittu as the party's next Punjab president. A day earlier, Sidhu announced his resignation on Twitter citing that "the collapse of a man's character stems from the compromise corner". While maintaining that he can never compromise on Punjab's future and the agenda for the welfare of the state, the former swashbuckling cricketer affirmed that he will continue working for the Congress party.

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BJP MLA Ashok Lahiri dismisses rumors of him joining TMC

Responding to the rumours of him joining Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA  and noted economist Ashok Lahiri on Tuesday, September 28, said that he is not a 'Mukul' (mango bud) that falls. The comment was targeted at Mukul Roy who left the BJP to rejoin the TMC after the West Bengal Assembly elections. The BJP MLA from Balurghat, Ashok Lahiri, had previously served as Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India.

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Asia's longest tunnel at Zojila Pass to be ready before 2024 polls': Nitin Gadkari

Asia's longest road tunnel at Zojila Pass in Jammu & Kashmir will be ready by December 2023, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. After an in-person review of the work at Zojila and Z D Morh in J&K's Baltal, Nitin Gadkari said that the tunnel will be inaugurated before the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Calling the timely completion of the tunnel a 'challenge', the Transport Minister said that he wanted the project to be concluded before Republic Day 2024.

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BJP's Vijayvargiya reacts to Kanhaiya Kumar joining Congress

BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya reacted to former CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar's induction into the Congress party saying that he 'sympathised' with him. In a sarcastic jibe, the BJP leader said that if someone comes out of a 'gutter', and falls into a 'drain', you can only feel sorry for them. Former JNU students' union President & CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress party along with Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani on Monday.

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MHA extends COVID-19 guidelines ahead of festive season till October 31

Keeping the upcoming festival season in view, the Central Government on Tuesday extended COVID-19 guidelines till October 31. In a notice issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla pointed out two main fears- non-adherence to virus protocol considering the decline in cases and less number of cases however there are 'still localised spreads of virus'. The notice has been issued to all the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all states/UTs on COVID19 safe behaviour ahead of festival season. 

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India MEA official Anurag Srivastava reaches Nepal

The head of the Northern Division at the Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, arrived in Nepal on Tuesday, 28 September. An official from the Indian Mission in Nepal confirmed that the Srivastava arrived in Kathmandu and will now be holding series of discussions during his visit. He will also be participating in a meeting of the mechanism formed to oversee the execution and operationalisation of India funded projects. 

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Jharkhand CM flags off 60 'Vaccine Express' vehicles for COVID vaccination

The Jharkhand government introduced 60 'Vaccine Express' vehicles on Tuesday to help speed up the state's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the vehicles with the goal of vaccinating 12,000 people each day. These vehicles, which have been launched in all 24 districts of the state, will drive around rural areas and be stationed in other places as needed. He flagged off the vehicles in the state's capital, Ranchi. 

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US Joint Chiefs Chairman terms Afghanistan withdrawal a 'strategic failure'

While explaining his stand over the tumultuous withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley has termed the recent development a "strategic failure" for both the US government and Army. In his first congressional testimony, the top US military officer said the government should have kept thousands of US soldiers in Afghanistan in order to keep track of the real-time movement of the Talibani group. Milley, however, refused to answer a question on what advice he had given US President Joe Biden regarding the withdrawal of all troops from the war-torn country. 

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US, South Korea to expand bilateral cooperation

A day after North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea, the defence chiefs of the United States and South Korea met in Seoul on Tuesday and decided to expand bilateral cooperation in order to retaliate against North Korea. "The leaders (of South Korea and the US) discussed DPRK's (North Korea's) recent missiles launches and agreed to explore enhancements to the Alliance's defence posture to account for Omni-directional threats," the US Defense Department and South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said in a joint statement after their 20th Integrated Defense Dialogue.

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