Daily Briefing: Jaishankar to attend SCO meeting in Pakistan; Joker movie review; and more

A first in a decade: This marks the first time an Indian EAM will visit Pakistan in almost a decade – after Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation to the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in the Pakistani capital in 2015.

The mood in Pakistan: The SCO meeting comes at a time when protests by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan are roiling Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif’s government has put several measures in place to quell the demonstrations, and suspended cell phone services in Islamabad.

In context: Pakistan had downgraded ties with India following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, ending the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Prior to that, relations between the two countries had dived in February following the Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot air strikes.

⚡Only in Express

‘The most enduring mystery in India’s aviation history’

February 7, 1968. 1:56 PM. An IAF aircraft takes off from Chandigarh with 98 people onboard. Minutes later, it crashes into a snow-clad mountain in Spiti Valley. Over 30 years later, a search operation is still on, and little is known about the flight and its ill-fated journey. 

🐘 Express Explained

Data from a shelved environment ministry report revealed that India’s elephant population is seeing a sharp decline. in large parts of India. A more refined method of counting may be one reason for the lower numbers, but it is still not the full explanation. 

📰 Express Opinion

In our Opinion pages today, Ram Madhav writes on Benjamin Netanyahu and Vlodymyr Zelenskyy’s speeches at the United Nations: “There is a difference between Netanyahu’s war and Zelensky’s peace. While Netanyahu wages his war without seeking anybody’s involvement, Zelenskyy assumes that the onus for ending the war in Ukraine lies on all other nations in the world.”

🃏 Movie Review

If you’re still unsure about making a trip to the theatre to watch the new Joker movie, Shalini Langer may just convince you with her latest review. “Joaquin Phoenix is doing more of what he did last time, and he knows how to do this kind of crazy well. However, if Joker 2 has any of the tenuous, arresting vitality of the Batman films, it is courtesy Gaga,” writes Langer.

Until next time, 

Ayesha Jain

Business As Usual by Unny