When former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan started his 26-hour march from Peshawar to Islamabad on May 25, 2022, demanding a date for elections, troops armed with weapons, rubber bullets, shotguns and tear gas were ready to disperse his supporters. But the aftermath of their intervention was unprecedented. Several demonstrators fainted after inhaling tear gas. Scattered cannisters on the streets showed the use of riot control agents, the common one being Ortho-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile, known as CS gas.
The CS gas is known to cause a wide range of symptoms impacting the eyes, lungs, skin and also dizziness. In large quantities, it can be lethal. Its use in war is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by most countries in 1993. The convention came into effect in 1997, but an exception was allowed to use it for domestic riot control purposes.
Post pandemic, India has been keeping a tighter vigil on the skies, shores and land routes around it to keep toxicity at bay. On May 8, alarm bells rang at the Kattupalli Port near Chennai following the seizure of a Chinese vessel, Hyundai Shanghai. Customs authorities on routine checking found a suspicious consignment on board the ship, which came from Shanghai. Sailing under a Cyprus flag, the Hyundai Shanghai was on its way to Karachi.
The consignment was shipped on April 18 by a Chinese firm, Chengdu Shichen Trading Company Ltd, to a Rawalpindi-based defence supplier, Rohail Enterprises. It was found to be 2,560kg of CS, which is a listed substance under the Wassenaar Arrangement as well. The Wassenaar Arrangement, of which India is a signatory, is an export control regime covering conventional arms as well as dual-use goods and technologies. The consignment, stored in 103 drums, was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.