Lankan leader Silva’s India visit carries symbolic and practical significance: Report

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Colombo, Feb 21 (IANS) The recent visit of Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, to India highlighted a subtle blend of opportunity and challenge. Silva noted that India emphasised development and innovation rather than exerting political pressure on Sri Lanka to hold the long-delayed Provincial Council elections, a report said on Saturday.

According to a report in Sri Lanka-based think tank ‘Trinco Centre for Strategic Studies’ (TCSS), at the heart of Sri Lanka’s evolving political landscape lies a crucial question: whether Silva gained insights from his first official visit to India.

“Undertaken through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations’ (ICCR) Distinguished Visitors Programme from 5–12 February 2026, the visit carried both symbolic and practical significance. During his time in India, Silva held discussions with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and toured Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — states often highlighted as showcases of India’s economic and technological progress,” the report detailed.

His comparisons between India and China, it said, prompted broader questions about which model Sri Lanka should adopt to chart its own future.

“In India, we see that though there are efforts to introduce new technology, there have been some obstacles in implementing these initiatives because there are religious and cultural practices and traditions that have to be navigated. In China, it is not like that,” the report quoted Silva as saying.

It noted that Silva’s position on Provincial Council elections in Sri Lanka remained ambiguous. When the Tamil issue came up during his stay in India, he stressed that he was there in his capacity as the JVP’s General Secretary, speaking on behalf of the party, not the government.

“At the same time, he has consistently characterised the provincial council system as a failed model. This raises an important consideration: should his remarks be understood as reflecting the party’s position, or as signalling the policy direction of the government?” the report questioned.

The TCSS report highlighted that it is not a matter of whether India is exerting pressure, but whether Sri Lanka would proceed with Provincial Council elections without any external influence.

“Silva believes that if the JVP is to act as a ‘responsible government,’ it must conduct elections and ensure balanced economic development across all provinces,” it stated.

The report further said, “India’s stance is not a ‘proxy’ for Tamil demands, but rather the responsibility of a neighbour with more than 85 million Tamil-speaking people in South India. Ensuring Tamil rights in Sri Lanka, India argues, benefits Sri Lanka itself, not India”.

It noted that India is founded on inclusive development rather than ethnic or religious identity. For a multilingual democracy like Sri Lanka, power sharing offers the best path forward, while a totalitarian model like China underscores a very different reality.

–IANS

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India shuts airspace for all Pakistan-operated flights till May 23

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) In a significant development, India on Wednesday announced to shut its airspace for Pakistan-owned and operated flights till May 23 (estimated), days after Islamabad decided to shut its airspace to all flights owned and operated by the Indian carriers.

India has issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) under which Pakistani aircraft are barred from Indian airspace till May 23.

The move comes amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the barbaric terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

According to the NOTAM, this restriction will be in effect from April 30 to May 23, 2025, during which no Pakistani aircraft will be permitted to enter Indian airspace.

This move comes days after Pakistan closed its airspace to all flights owned and operated by Indian carriers, prompting India to respond with a reciprocal airspace ban on Pakistani aircraft.

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussed the security scenario and the future course of action in the aftermath of the April 22 horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

The top decision-making body on national security was convened for the second time at the Prime Minister’s residence within days. The CCS comprises Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In the first CCS meet chaired by PM Modi, India took a slew of measures against Pakistan.

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–IANS

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Pope Francis appears at hospital window to render blessing, discharged

Rome, March 23 (IANS) After over five weeks in a Rome hospital undergoing treatment for respiratory ailments and pneumonia, Pope Francis was discharged on Sunday but will need at least two months of rest and time before his voice becomes normal.

Minutes before his discharge, the 88-year-old Pope appeared at a window at the Gemelli hospital to give a blessing to the assembled faithful – in his first public appearance since he was admitted on February 14, media reports said.

Doctors say he will need at least two months of rest at the Vatican.

During the past five weeks, he presented “two very critical episodes” where his “life was in danger”, Dr Sergio Alfieri, the head of the Gemelli Hospital medical team that has been treating the Pope for an acute respiratory tract infection and bilateral pneumonia, said, as per the Vatican News.

However, he said that the pontiff was never intubated and always remained alert and oriented.

According to the doctors, the Pope is not fully healed, but no longer has pneumonia and is now stable.

Dr Alfieri said that patients with double pneumonia lose their voice a little and “especially in the elderly, it will take time for your voice to return to normal”, the BBC reported.

Addressing journalists on Saturday evening, Doctor Alfieri, flanked by the Pope’s personal physician, Doctor Sergio Carbone, had announced the Pope’s scheduled discharge, following “steady and rapid medical improvements in his clinical condition and the lifting of the prognosis”, the Vatican News reported.

“The good news the world and everyone is waiting for is that tomorrow the Holy Father will be discharged. Tomorrow he will return to Santa Marta,” he said, adding that the past week has seen significant improvements.

Dr Alfieri said that when the Pope was admitted to the hospital on February 14, he was suffering an acute respiratory insufficiency due to a polymicrobial infection that resulted in bilateral pneumonia and this necessitated a combined pharmacological treatment.

He said that the bilateral pneumonia has been successfully treated, but time is needed for a complete recovery.

Thus, the Pope has been prescribed at least two months of convalescence, during which he will be receiving medical care and will be taking an adequate period of rest.

Alfieri noted that the Pope’s health is improving steadily, and the hope is he will soon be able to resume a work schedule. This, however, he clarified, does not mean he will immediately be able to start meeting with people and groups as he did before.

The doctor also reiterated, as medical bulletins informed during the Pope’s entire period of hospitalisation, that Pope Francis has proved to be a “good” and collaborative patient, always heeding the indications of the medical team.

Asked what the life of the Pope will be like when he gets home, Alfieri said that with the continuing rehabilitation therapy, hopefully, he will soon be able to resume his normal activities.

Pointing out that throughout his time in the hospital, the doctor said Pope Francis has always stayed in touch with current events, both church-related and political, and continued to dedicate himself to work activities.

The pontiff is happy to be discharged, Dr Alfieri reiterated, and as all doctors agree, “the best way to recover is to do so at home”.

–IANS

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Iran’s three key nuclear sites significantly damaged in 12-day operation: IDF

Tel Aviv, June 27 (IANS) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that its 12-day military operation against Iran resulted in significant damage to three of the country’s main nuclear facilities, Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, dealing a major blow to the Iranian regime’s nuclear infrastructure.

The IDF asserted that Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’ on June 13 intending to damage the Iranian nuclear and missile projects following the identification of progress in the three programmes whose ultimate goal was to “destroy the State of Israel”.

According to the Israeli military, to thwart the future of the program, 11 senior nuclear scientists who were central knowledge centres in the Iranian weapons group were eliminated, and the inactive nuclear reactor at Arak was also attacked to prevent its future use.

“The key building blocks of the missile manufacturing industry were attacked. More than 35 sites were attacked, 200 launchers and 50 per cent of all the Iranian regime’s launchers were completely destroyed. In total, more than 1,500 components, 15 enemy aircraft, more than 90 targets 80 surface-to-air missile launchers and 6 airfields were attacked. Hundreds of Iranian military forces were eliminated, dozens of commanders were attacked and more than 30 senior members of the Iranian regime’s security apparatus were thwarted,” read a statement issued by the IDF.

The IDF noted that throughout the operation it created increasing achievement and complete freedom of aerial action in the heart of Iran and fully met the objectives defined for the operation.

“Throughout the entire operation, high-quality and accurate intelligence, along with operational, technological and aerial capabilities, were evident. And alongside the entire offensive effort, the defence systems operated day and night,” the IDF stated.

Furthermore, the Israeli military mentioned that creating air superiority in Iranian skies, “the Israeli Air Force carried out 1,500 sorties and about 600 refuellings were made en route to Iran.”

“In the entire operation, 1,400 strikes were carried out by the fighter formation and 500 by the UAV formation, and the furthest of them was carried out at Mashhad airport, about 2,400 km from Israel, by a fighter jet. In addition, hundreds of interceptions of anti-aircraft missiles and drones were carried out. In total, 99per cent of the drones launched from Iran were intercepted,” said the IDF.

The Israeli military noted that during the 12-day operation, the Home Front Command, rescue and recovery forces operated in more than 170 locations across the country.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has accepted a ceasefire proposal with Iran, marking the end of 12 days of intense hostilities between the two regional rivals.

In an official statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu declared that Israel had met all strategic goals of its military campaign, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, and even exceeded expectations.

“Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation Rising Lion, and even far beyond that. Israel has removed a dual immediate existential threat – both in the nuclear domain and in the ballistic missile domain,” the statement read.

–IANS

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