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Pakistan Army accuses India of sending war threats, warned of ‘surprise response’
Rawalpindi: Pakistan Army on Friday accused India of sending war threats and warned of a “surprise response” if New Delhi initiated any aggression amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours following the Kashmir suicide attack.
“Pakistan is not preparing for war. Threats and reports of a war are coming from your (India’s) side. We are only using our right to self defence,” said Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of the Pakistan Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told a press conference here.
His comments came a day after the UN Security Council in a show of unanimity condemned in the “strongest terms” the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers and named the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the strike.
“We do not wish to go into war, but please rest assured that should you initiate any aggression…, Pakistan armed forces will never be surprised by you. But let me assure you, we shall surprise you.
“We can respond to full-spectrum threat… I hope you (India) get this message and don’t mess with Pakistan,” Ghafoor said.
Denying Pakistan’s role in the bombing, Ghafoor said that Islamabad “had nothing to gain from Pulwama attack” and added that the person responsible for the suicide bombing was a local who grew tired of “India’s high-handedness” in the Valley.
He called the Indian government to demand an explanation from its security forces before blaming Pakistan.
“The attack took place miles away from the Line of Control and the explosives used were not from Pakistan. The car used was not from Pakistan either. The attack was carried out by a youngster from Kashmir who was mistreated by Indian security forces.
Pakistan Army warns India of ‘surprise response’ if war aggression between two countries:
“You should question your security forces, that ‘You’ve been sitting here for decades, you spend so much on defence, how was this infiltration possible?’,” he asked.
Ghafoor claimed that whenever there was supposed to be an important event in Pakistan or when the country was moving towards stability, then “there is always some sort of staged incident in either India or Kashmir” — also insinuating that these events happen around the time of Indian elections.
“People in Indian media and social media had predicted an attack like this prior to the (Indian general) elections,” he said.
Ghafoor added that India had been trying to isolate Pakistan diplomatically since 2016, but foreign dignitaries had been visiting the country despite that.
Despite his warning, he reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s offer to New Delhi to investigate the attack, hold talks and eradicate terrorism from the region.
“The Prime Minister made an offer to India which has never been made before. We hope India will wisely consider Pakistan’s offer for peace.”
Khan had earlier sought from India “actionable intelligence” regarding the attack, which was termed by India as a “lame excuse”.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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