On Tuesday, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that Islamabad had “violated” an agreement with India in 1999, referring to the Kargil War. Sharif made these remarks during a meeting of the PML-N general council, where he was elected president of the ruling party, six years after his disqualification by the country’s Supreme Court.

“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests. Following this, Vajpayee Saheb visited and made an agreement with us. However, we violated that agreement…it was our fault,” Sharif said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

The agreement Sharif referred to was the “Lahore Declaration,” signed between him and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on February 21, 1999. This agreement aimed to foster peace and stability between the two countries. However, just a few months later, Pakistani troops intruded into the Kargil district in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the Kargil War.

During the PML-N general council meeting, Sharif also recounted how he conducted nuclear tests despite pressure from the United States and criticized former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan USD 5 billion to refrain from conducting nuclear tests, but I refused. Had someone like (former prime minister) Imran Khan been in my position, he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said, on the day Pakistan marked the 26th anniversary of its first nuclear tests.

Sharif further claimed that former ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam played a role in toppling his government in 2017 to bring Imran Khan to power.

“I ask Imran not to accuse us of being supported by the army and to admit whether Gen Islam talked about bringing the PTI into power,” Sharif said, adding that Khan would sit at the feet of the military establishment.

Sharif also accused the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar of removing him from the office of Prime Minister in 2017 based on a false case.

On Tuesday, May 28, the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court summoned Delhi Education Minister Atishi in a defamation case filed by Delhi BJP Media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor. The case concerns Atishi’s allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to poach Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs. Atishi has been summoned to appear in court on June 29.

Kapoor’s defamation complaint claims that Atishi made “false, fabricated, and manipulated statements” with the intent to damage the reputation of the BJP and its members. The complaint asserts, “By such kind of malicious/scandalous statements, you and your colleagues defame BJP and its members and try to gain political mileage by using the platform of press conferences to make such false statements, knowing fully well that all social media platforms would carry such news as you are not only an MLA but a Minister in the government of NCT of Delhi.”

Atishi had previously been served a notice by the Election Commission of India (ECI) following her claims that she was approached and bribed by a BJP leader to join the party. This occurred after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the excise policy case.

Atishi stated, “I have been told that soon there will be ED raids at our residence and then we will be taken into custody. The BJP is now targeting the next line of leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party.” She also claimed that she would be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) if she refused to join the BJP.

The ECI notice addressed to Atishi read, “You are a minister in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and leader of a national party. The electors tend to believe whatever is being said from a public forum by their leaders, and in that sense, the statements made by them affect the campaign discourse… it is expected that there must be a factual foundation to the above-quoted statements made by you, and when the veracity of the statements made by you is contested, then you must be able to back your statements by a factual basis. Whereas the matter is being examined by the Commission in light of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and relevant electoral laws.”

The BJP has demanded a public apology for Atishi’s allegations. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva stated, “The AAP is facing a crisis in Delhi, which is why they are making such baseless allegations out of frustration. But we will not let her get away with this.”

BJP leader RP Singh added, “I too can make such baseless allegations. I too can say that Saurabh Bharadwaj called me up and requested me to protect them from Arvind Kejriwal, who wants to put them behind bars and make Sunita Kejriwal the CM.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally in Dumka, Jharkhand on Tuesday, May 28, asserted that “’Love Jihad’ started from Jharkhand,” as reported by PTI.

Accusing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) of engaging in “communal politics,” Modi highlighted that in one district, the traditional Sunday holiday was changed to Friday. He pointed out, “Sunday is not linked to Hindus but to the Christian community. It has been a holiday for 200-300 years. Now, they are fighting with Christians also.”

At the election rally, Modi accused the JMM and Congress of rampant corruption, claiming, “Jharkhand is now known for ‘mountains of cash’ due to JMM-Congress looting.” He promised intensified action against corruption after June 4.

Modi further stated that scams were commonplace before 2014 when Congress was in power, but his administration has since curtailed such activities.

Modi also raised concerns about the declining tribal population in the Santhal Parganas region, attributing it to “infiltration.” He accused the ruling JMM-led alliance of supporting infiltrators who are allegedly seizing land and endangering women.

“A big crisis looms over Jharkhand, and that is infiltration. The Santhal Parganas is facing the challenge of infiltration. In many areas, the population of tribals is declining fast and the number of infiltrators is on the rise. The infiltrators are grabbing tribal lands. Tribal daughters are the target of infiltrators. Their security and safety are at risk. Their lives are also at risk,” he stated.

Citing incidents from 2022, Modi remarked, “Tribal daughters are being chopped into 50 pieces… Being burnt alive… Someone’s tongue was pulled out. Who are these people who are targeting tribal daughters? Why is the JMM government patronising them?”

Modi concluded by promising that the country would witness more development in the next five years than it had in the previous decade.

On Tuesday, May 28, the Supreme Court’s vacation bench, comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan, refused an urgent hearing for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking a seven-day extension of his interim bail in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy money laundering case.

The bench questioned Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, about why the plea was not mentioned when Justice Dipankar Datta, the judge of the main bench, was hearing the case last week.

“The matter is already heard, and the judgment is reserved,” the vacation bench stated, according to Live Law. The Supreme Court then directed that the matter be listed before the Chief Justice of India for an appropriate order.

Kejriwal, who is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, sought an urgent listing of his plea in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. He requested a seven-day extension of his interim bail on health grounds, citing a need for various medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, due to “sudden and unexplained weight loss along with elevated ketone levels,” which could indicate kidney issues, severe cardiac conditions, or even cancer. Kejriwal stated that he would surrender to jail authorities on June 9 instead of June 2 in his plea filed on May 26.

The Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal a 21-day interim bail on May 10 to allow him to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, directing him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase election concluded.

Kejriwal faces corruption and money laundering charges related to the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.