India issued a stern warning to Pakistan today at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) following Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech, in which he raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue. India firmly responded by stating that Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism will “inevitably invite consequences.”

India’s First Secretary to the UN, Bhavika Mangalanandan, delivered a pointed rebuttal alleging Pakistan’s complicity in global terrorism and citing its long history of using cross-border terrorism as a state policy. Ms Mangalanandan’s statement came in response to Mr Sharif’s call for India to reverse its 2019 abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and his demands for a dialogue between the two countries.

“This Assembly regrettably witnessed a travesty this morning. A country run by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics trade and transnational crime has had the audacity to attack the world’s largest democracy,” Ms Mangalanandan said. “The world can see for itself what Pakistan really is.”

Watch: India exercises its Right of Reply at the 79th session of the @UN General Assembly debate.@DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/c6g4HAKTBg

— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) September 28, 2024

The First Secretary described Mr Sharif’s speech as audacious, given Pakistan’s international “reputation for terrorism”, narcotics trade, and transnational crime. “A country run by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism…has had the audacity to attack the world’s largest democracy,” she said, referencing attacks orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror groups, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Ms Mangalanandan said Pakistan’s “fingerprints” are on many terrorist incidents across the world.  “Perhaps it should come as no surprise that its prime minister would so speak in this hallowed hall. Yet we must make clear how unacceptable his words are to all of us. We know that Pakistan will seek to counter the truth with more lies. Repetition will change nothing. Our stand is clear and needs no reiteration,” she said.

India reiterated that any discussion of a “Strategic Restraint Regime” with Pakistan is moot unless terrorism is eradicated. Ms Mangalanandan noted, “There can be no compact with terrorism.” She also spoke of Pakistan’s past, including its hosting of Osama bin Laden and connections to various terrorist incidents worldwide.

Mr Sharif, in his speech, linked the Kashmir issue with regional peace. He also alleged that India’s military expansion was directed against Pakistan. However, Ms Mangalanandan pointed out Pakistan’s history of meddling in Jammu and Kashmir through terrorism, seeking to disrupt the democratic process in the region.

India’s response extended beyond terrorism to Pakistan’s internal issues. Ms Mangalanandan accused Pakistan of human rights abuses, referring to the genocide of 1971 in Bangladesh and its persecution of minorities. She called it “ridiculous” for Pakistan to lecture the world about intolerance, given its own record.

Pakistan responded with a Right of Reply, rejecting India’s claims as “baseless and misleading,” and reiterated its call for a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir, as per UN Security Council resolutions. 

The BookMyShow chief executive officer and co-founder Ashish Hemrajani and the company’s technical head have been summoned by Mumbai Police over the alleged black marketing of tickets for shows of British rock band Coldplay, an official said on Friday. The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has initiated a probe on the complaint of an advocate, who accused the ticketing platform of facilitating the black marketing of tickets for the Coldplay concert at the Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, scheduled to be held from January 19 to 21, 2025.

Mr Hemrajani and the BookMyShow’s technical head have been asked to record their statements on Saturday, the official said.

The advocate, Amit Vyas, filed a police complaint and alleged that Coldplay’s India tour tickets, which were originally priced at Rs 2,500, are being resold by third parties and influencers for as much as Rs 3 lakh.

He alleged that BookMyShow deceived the public and Coldplay fans, and is seeking a case to be registered against the company on fraud charges.

The EOW has already recorded Mr Vyas’ statement and has identified several brokers involved in the alleged ticket scalping.

Uddhav Camp On “Black-Marketing” Of Coldplay India Concert Tickets

The Opposition Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) said that there appears to be a “nexus engaged in the black-marketing” of tickets for the Coldplay India concert, and demanded a thorough investigation into the case.

“The tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes of being made available online, which left many genuine fans disappointed… It appears that there may be a nexus engaged in the black-marketing of tickets, exploiting the enthusiasm of young fans who are willing to spend large amounts of their parents’ hard-earned money to attend this concert,” Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“I believe that with your intervention, appropriate measures can be taken to prevent such incidents,” he told Mr Shinde.

A member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also alleged the organisers of the Coldplay India concert were “engaged” in the black marketing of the tickets.

“Whoever is involved in this matter should be in jail. We will not allow any black marketing in the state,” BJP spokesperson Ram Kadam said.

BookMyShow had crashed when the sale for Coldplay’s Mumbai concert began on September 22. The British rock band, which will return to India after an eight-year hiatus, had then added a third show to the Mumbai leg of the “Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025”.

A gang of seven robbers from Haryana carried out three ATM heists in Kerala, stealing Rs 68 lakh. They used a container truck for their escape but were intercepted by police in Tamil Nadu following a high-speed chase. One robber was killed, and six others were apprehended.