Morning Brief: Jaishankar In Pakistan For SCO Summit; 'Same Ol’ Trudeau' — India Delivers Another Rebuke To Canadian PM; Ten Indian Flights Receive Bomb Threats In Two Days

Dear reader, make sense of the day’s news with Swarajya's roundup of what’s making headlines this morning. 

Jaishankar To Attend SCO Summit In Pakistan Today

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, making him the first Indian External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan in nine years. His arrival on Tuesday afternoon follows Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's visit to India last year for a similar SCO meeting, which made him the first senior Pakistani politician to visit India since 2011.

Jaishankar's last visit to Pakistan was in December 2015 when he accompanied then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference on Afghanistan. On Tuesday evening, Jaishankar attended a dinner hosted for visiting dignitaries, where he briefly exchanged words and shook hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He is set to participate in the SCO summit later today.

'Same Ol’ Trudeau' – India Delivers Another Stinging Rebuke To Canadian PM

As tensions escalate between Delhi and Ottawa over the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in his Canadian safe haven, India on Tuesday flatly dismissed Canada's claim of sharing credible evidence linking India to the case.

The latest Indian rebuttal coincided with Trudeau's efforts to shore support for his unsubstantiated claims against India with outreach to its western allies – UK, New Zealand, alongside the US and Australia. These nations form the Five Eyes intelligence alliance with Canada. Interestingly, over the past four to five decades, all members of the Five Eyes alliance have become safe havens for Khalistani terrorists.

Hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed he'd emphasised the need for a meeting between the countries' NSAs in Singapore to PM Narendra Modi, Indian government sources hit back, dismissing Trudeau’s remarks as “the same old Trudeau saying the same old things for the same old reasons.”

Ten Indian Flights Receive Bomb Threats In Two Days

In the past 48 hours, ten flights from Indian carriers, including an Air India plane carrying 211 passengers from Delhi to Chicago, received bomb threat messages via social media. On Tuesday alone, seven threats were reported on the platform X, following three bomb threats against international flights from Mumbai the day before.

Notably, flight IX684 was intercepted by two F-15 combat jets from the Singapore Air Force and escorted safely away from populated areas before landing at Changi Airport.

This comes against a backdrop of tensions with Canada, reminiscent of the 1985 Air India bombing by Khalistani terrorists, which claimed the lives of 329 people.

Other Developments

'EVMs More Robust Than Hezbollah's Pagers': EC Shoots Down Congress' Claim

In response to Congress's claims regarding the security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission emphasised the robustness of their machines, stating they are more secure than the pagers used by Hezbollah.

Congress had suggested that EVMs could be manipulated, likening them to Hezbollah pagers allegedly turned into explosives by Israel, and urged the opposition to demand a return to paper ballots in Maharashtra.

The Commission dismissed these accusations, reiterating that EVMs are entirely secure and cannot be hacked like connected devices. "EVMs cannot be hacked. Pagers are connected devices but EVMs are not," the EC said.

Samsung Workers' Month-Long Strike Likely To End Today

The month-long strike by Samsung workers in Sriperumbudur is expected to end today, following significant progress in negotiations between the workers and the company. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), representing the workers, will discuss the terms of the agreement in a general body meeting and announce the strike's withdrawal if ratified. The agreement includes workers returning to work immediately, no retaliatory actions by management, and full cooperation from workers moving forward.

While both sides have accepted the terms, the final decision will be confirmed after the CITU's meeting. The Samsung workers' strike was sparked by demands for union recognition, pay parity, and an eight-hour workday, saw progress with a Rs 5,000 wage hike, though union recognition remained unresolved.

US Sides With Five Eyes Ally Canada On Nijjar Killing Case

The US urged India on Tuesday to take Canada's allegations of an assassination plot seriously, calling the claims "extremely serious" and stressing the need for cooperation. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, "We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation," but noted that India has not cooperated and seems to " have chosen an alternate path."

This comes as tensions between India and Canada escalate, with both countries expelling each other's ambassadors. Canada has alleged that Indian involvement in targeting Sikh separatists is deeper than previously known. Prime Minister Trudeau criticised India, stating it had made a "fundamental error" regarding the issue.

The US's backing of Canada is unsurprising, given that it faces accusations of harboring and actively protecting Khalistani terrorists itself.

From The States

Quota Row Puts Mahayuti In A Tighter Spot

Protests from the Maratha, OBC, and Dhangar communities in Marathwada are anticipated to significantly influence voting patterns in the state, similar to their impact during the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP is still grappling with its poor performance from those elections, having failed to win any of the four seats it contested in Marathwada, with the Mahayuti alliance securing only one seat out of eight in the region.

Amid voter fatigue and growing anti-incumbency sentiments, the Marathas, led by quota activist Manoj Jarange, have largely turned away from the alliance. Jarange has insisted that the state should not go to polls until the government guarantees a quota for Marathas from the OBC share, claiming that they make up nearly 55 per cent of the state's population. He warned that the Mahayuti coalition would face electoral losses if they continued to alienate the Maratha community.

Also Read: Who Is Manoj Jarange? A Maratha Reservation Activist Or Sharad Pawar's Man Outside The NCP?

Omar Abdullah Set To Take Oath As First CM Of J&K UT

Omar Abdullah is set to be sworn in as Jammu and Kashmir's first chief minister since it became a Union Territory, following his National Conference's victory in the recent Assembly elections. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre today, with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administering the oath. The National Conference secured 42 out of 90 seats, while its ally Congress won six, giving them a clear majority. Their position is further bolstered by the support of five Independent MLAs-elect and one from the Aam Aadmi Party. The ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 am.

Must Reads From Swarajya

Why Sovereign Ratings By An Indian Agency Should Be Making Headlines And Are Making Headlines

On 3 October, Homegrown Care Ratings Ltd made history by launching its global sovereign ratings platform. This marks the first time an Indian agency has entered the global ratings space—a space long dominated by Western players.

Why ‘Haryana 2014’ Was A Greater Triumph For BJP Than ‘Haryana 2024’

'Haryana 2014' was an arrival election for the BJP, and a rather unique one on a number of counts, Venu Gopal Narayanan writes.

Trudeau's Reckless Gambit Means The Worst Is Yet To Come For India-Canada Relations

Trudeau is recklessly betting it all on this high-stakes gamble, ready to burn every bridge in sight to save himself. And India won’t let this pass quietly.

Stay tuned for more insights throughout the day.