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Strong tremors jolted major parts of north India, including Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, and Chandigarh on Tuesday (March 21, 2023) as an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck Afghanistan. The powerful earthquake made people rush out of their homes and come out on the streets in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and various cities of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. It shook the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan at 10.17 pm, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said. The epicentre of the earthquake was 133 km south-southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan, the NCS informed in a tweet. Tremors were also felt in various Pakistan cities, including Islamabad, Peshawar, Charsadda, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.

The US helped the Indian Army successfully thwart the Chinese "incursions" in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh in December last year as it provided crucial intelligence about “Chinese positions and force strength” to India, a news report claimed.

The US News, in its report, claimed that the US government "for the first time provided real-time details to its Indian counterparts of the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion", which helped the Indian military tackle Chinese "incursions".

However, the White House refused to confirm the news report. "No, I can't confirm that," John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House said.

Imaan Singh Khara, a lawyer for Waris De Punjab, asserted that the Punjab Police have detained Amritpal Singh, a fugitive pro-Khalistan leader, in Shahkot. The police, on the other hand, have denied the claim and stated that they are continuing their efforts to capture Amritpal Singh.

In addition, Imaan Singh Khara asserted that the police were planning a "fake encounter" in order to kill Singh.

Khara cited the Right to Life in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution when he filed a writ petition with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He asserted that the police can't whip anybody without following the legitimate court systems.

A British Sikh Labour MP faced flak on his tweet over the arrest of Khalistani elements and the unrest in Punjab. Notably, a massive manhunt operation against Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh, who has been declared a fugitive by the police is underway in Punjab. Internet services have been suspended in the state till noon of March 21.

"Very worrying reports coming from #India, of the imposition of an internet blackout in the #Punjab state, with mass arrests and restrictions on gatherings," read a tweet by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, a Sikh MP from Slough.

"Praying that the tense situation is soon resolved and that human rights of all are respected," the tweet added.

On Saturday, state BJP head Chandrashekhar Bawankule stated that the seat-sharing formula for the 2024 assembly elections between the BJP and the CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had been decided, with the BJP fighting for roughly 240 seats and the Sena fighting for 48.

The state assembly has a total of 288 seats.

Bawankule made the declaration during a meeting of BJP office-bearers late Friday but afterwards stated on Saturday that the seat-sharing formula had not been completed. He argued that his comments had been misconstrued.

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad stated that the party would battle for at least 130-140 seats.