Tag: terrorism

Pakistan pushing terrorists in Kashmir to disrupt peace in Kashmir
Asia

Pakistan pushing terrorists in Kashmir to disrupt peace in Kashmir

During the last week of July, Indian Amy had reported repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan, saying these violations are being done to push more terrorists in the Kashmir Valley in the wake of first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.The most recent one took place on July 23 in Nowgam and Tangdhar sectors of frontier district of Kupwara in north Kashmir. Senior Indian Army officials of the Srinagar-based 15 corps said that on the LoC, the number of ceasefire violations have gone up since last year and has remained high since.“The Pakistan Army is keen on pushing more terrorists,” a senior Army officer said. “First anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 is very near and we believe they might try to disrupt the prevailing peace.”The figures available with the Indi
Abrogation of Article 370: Dawn of a new era for Jammu and Kashmir
Opinion

Abrogation of Article 370: Dawn of a new era for Jammu and Kashmir

It is almost a year since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. It was this ‘special status’ that barred the Indian mainland as well as any foreigner from investing in the former state. Not only that, a cluster of privileged families freely ran the roost and created hereditary political lineage that was no different than the pre-Partition hereditary monarchy practiced in the state since the signing of the Amritsar Treaty between Maharaja of Jammu Gulab Singh and the East India Company at the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war in March 1846.The Amritsar Treaty signed on March 16, 1846, was the basis on which the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was established and which existed as an independent state for 101 years before Pakistan launched an unprovoked attack on the fa
Decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances: LG Murmu
Asia

Decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances: LG Murmu

Ahead of the first-year-anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation from Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has revealed that decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances.Murmu also said that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed tremendous development in the last year. "Some people are seeing electricity for the first time in 70 years," he said.Murmu, 60, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch, worked as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's additional principal secretary during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister. He became the administrative head of Kashmir and Jammu provinces after the Central government, on August 5, 2019, abrogated special status of the erstwhile state and also announced its bifurcation into two Union Territories (UT) - Ladakh,
Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention
Opinion

Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention

Pakistan’s vicious information war campaign against India has been triggered by three incidents: The Balakot attack of February 2019, the return of the BJP government in the May 2019 elections and the August 2019 revision of Article 370.Pakistan’s longstanding assumption that the nuclear equivalence guaranteed that India would not retaliate against terrorist attacks was demolished by Balakot. The return of the BJP government to Centre signaled that India would continue to follow a muscular policy for the next five years. The abrogation of Article 370 demolished the centerpiece of Pakistan’s nationalism — “Kashmir banega Pakistan” (Kashmir will be Pakistan) — and raised apprehensions about India’s plans for Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).These developments have forced Pakistan t
Pakistan no longer retains ‘same strategic firm’ for US: Think tank
World

Pakistan no longer retains ‘same strategic firm’ for US: Think tank

A European think tank has noted that Pakistan's regional machinations no longer serve a strategic purpose for the United States as it used to be in the past for former American administration. Instead, Washington now appears to be gearing up for a bigger and multifaceted battle with China.According to European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), the fact that Pakistan, China's sworn best friend, no longer holds the same charm for the US it once did was made evident in the US State Department report which highlighted the fact that Islamabad had been designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and that it had been re-designated as a CPC in 2019.The State Department report also drew attention to the fact that Pakistani "...
The slow poison of Osama: A man, an organization, and the spreading of terror
Opinion

The slow poison of Osama: A man, an organization, and the spreading of terror

Since Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan fondly remembers the founder of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, as a “martyr”, it only makes sense to remember him.Osama bin Laden’s Syrian mother was one of the many wives of his millionaire Yemeni father. While his brothers went to the West for higher education, Osama preferred going to Jeddah’s Abdel Aziz University where his fondness for Islamic studies was spurred by two charismatic teachers, Muhammad Qutb and Abdallah Azzam — the first an Egyptian, a brother of the great Ikhwan leader, Syed Qutb and the second, a Palestinian who merged the Qutb doctrine of jahiliyya (ignorance) with modern jihad against the West.In 1980, Osama came to Peshawar to conduct jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.By 1984, Osama got used to spending a lot of t
China supplying weapons to terrorist group Arakan army to weaken India, Myanmar: Report
Asia

China supplying weapons to terrorist group Arakan army to weaken India, Myanmar: Report

Media reports published recently in Myanmar have alleged that China is supplying funds and sophisticated weaponry to armed groups in Myanmar and the Naypyitaw-designated terrorist group, the Arakan Army, to have leverage over Myanmar and India.According to a military source, China is providing approximately 95 per cent of Arakan Army funding. The source further revealed that the Arakan Army has approximately 50 of the MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) surface-to-air missiles.The source said that China’s strategy of supporting the Arakan Army has enabled the Chinese to expand its area of influence towards western Myanmar that is, the India-Myanmar border.Arakan Army is the largest insurgent group in the Rakhine state of Myanmar and is the armed wing of the political party, United L
Myanmar Armed forces chief allege ‘strong forces’ behind terrorism in country
Asia

Myanmar Armed forces chief allege ‘strong forces’ behind terrorism in country

Myanmar Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has claimed that terrorist groups in Myanmar exists because of the “strong forces that support them”.While he did not name forces but observers indicated that he referred to Chinese support for some insurgent groups in Myanmar.His remarks came as he attended Russia’s 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day.During the visit Gen Min Aung Hlaing held talks with India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on how to promote ties between their countries’ armed forces, border security and counter-insurgency operations along the border.When asked by a Russian news agency about terrorism in Myanmar, the military chief said, “A country may be able to suppress terrorist organizations on its soil. But in cases when there are strong forces behi
‘Steele Dossier’ law firm peddles misinformation for JamaatIslami linked charity
Opinion

‘Steele Dossier’ law firm peddles misinformation for JamaatIslami linked charity

India has been on the hot-seat ever since it revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and the subsequent security measures taken to fight jihadi groups.Members of Congress, prominent media outlets, and even senior State Department officials are suddenly tasked with trying to understand complicated situations with little or no background in the history or politics of South Asia.This is a situation ripe for abuse by rivals who would seek to use this lack of information to manipulate policymakers through disinformation.Last year, a US Congressional hearing on Kashmir went poorly for India. This is in significant part due to the fact that US franchises of Jamaat-e-Islami (recently banned in Kashmir for working with terrorist groups), mainly the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a...
SP  Jihadist terrorism continues to pose threat to Europe amid covid-19 outbreak
World

SP Jihadist terrorism continues to pose threat to Europe amid covid-19 outbreak

A recent report has revealed that jihadist terrorism and threats posed by the extreme left and right-wing activists continue to terrorize Europe amid the Covid-19 pandemic.The European Union (EU) Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2020 report launched by European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) said, "Activists both on the extreme left and right and those involved in jihadist terrorism attempt to seize the opportunity the pandemic has created to further propagate their aims"."In the first months of 2020, lockdown measures introduced to combat the spread of COVID-19 could further escalate some of the trends identified in the TE-SAT, given the potential economic and social impact of the pandemic worldwide. These developments have the potential to further fue...