Firstpost Editor's Picks: Pakistan's 'crackdown' on terrorism, EC's poll regulations, Taapsee Pannu and the fearless heroine; today's must-read stories

Pakistan's 'crackdown' on terror groups is far from unprecedented, choking militant outfits' finances key As most people are now aware, the Pakistani enthusiasm to curb militancy is alas, not so much due to Indian air attacks as due to the pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body that aims to cut off all aid to terrorists, among other things. In mid-February, it declined to ease the ongoing pressure on Pakistan, instead specifying more steps for it to comply with its recommendations. Candidates have to reveal IT returns of 5 years: EC's misguided poll regulations detached from ground reality The success of this approach speaks for itself — more candidates with a history of violent crimes are getting elected. The number of “crorepati” candidates has increased manifold. By all accounts, the attempts of the Supreme Court and the EC to “crack down” on candidates with a criminal background and with ill gotten gains has failed miserably. Instead of re-evaluating its approach, the EC has only doubled down on its flawed approach to the matter. Taapsee Pannu epitomises the new age Hindi film heroine — one that's fearless and self-standing The sudden influx of non-industry talent in the past decade has been one of the reasons why a lot of this has been changing, and there’s nobody out there who epitomises this new breed of Hindi film heroine than  Taapsee Pannu . She’s fearless, speaks her mind, and has survived this industry on her own terms. Last week, in a Twitter interaction with Vir Das, she made a self-deprecating dig for not making the cut on Koffee With Karan. This immediately reignited the nepotism debate and brought about comparisons with Kangana Ranaut. The Stories in My Life: Raja Rao's timeless tale of a juggler and a serpent's quest for salvation There was once a basket-maker named Moti Khan who had a curious dream. ‘A serpent came in the form of a man, opened its mouth, and through the most queer twistings of his face, declared he was Pandit Srinath Sastri of Totepur, who having lived at the foot of the Goddess Lakshamma for a generation or more, one day in the ecstasy of his vision, he saw her, the benign Goddess straight and supple, offering him two boons.’ Hindu Kush Himalayas witness growth in hydropower projects, despite climate change risks Melting snow and retreating glaciers in a region, parts of which are warming up at three times the global average, will drastically change the seasonal flow of Asia’s major rivers. More intense floods and rainfalls and periods of prolonged drought are predicted, and will wreak havoc for hydropower stations.