What everybody is losing sight of is the emergence of a new extremist segment in Kashmir which has taken advantage of the situation. This segment is now orchestrating events in a manner that suits their masters across the border.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will meet in New Delhi on Saturday amid indications that the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) could be partially withdrawn from Kashmir and Jammu, an issue that was deliberated upon by the top Congress leadership on Friday.
A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday cleared the deal to procure 490 MICA missiles manufactured by French firm MBDA for Euro 950 million, Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi.
India has conveyed its concerns to Beijing over the presence of Chinese troops and their activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The government is likely to file draft papers for the mega initial public offering of LIC with market regulator Sebi by next week, while a portion of the issue would be reserved for anchor investors, a top official said on Wednesday.
It is a 'cause for security concern' to India, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told media persons in New Delhi when asked about the revelations by satellite pictures that China had amassed five nuclear submarines carrying long range missiles. Defence Minister A K Antony sought to be evasive on the subject, saying the country's armed forces are capable of taking 'full care of our security interests' whether it is sea lanes or land borders.
The government is all set to launch its much-awaited coordinated massive offensive against Naxals next month, a top home ministry official said on Monday.
Home Minister P Chidambaram had briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security, where External Affairs Minister S M Krishna was present, on the interrogation report of LeT operative David Headley before visiting Pakistan for the SAARC Interior Minister's conference last month.
The panel will look at beefing security in large cities in the state.
Chief of Army General VK Singh and heads of the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing will also attend the meeting where Chidambaram would give his ministry's assessment of the situation in the valley. The CCS would also discuss the request for army assistance sought by and Kashmir Chief Ministe Omar Abdullah to help control the vloatile situation in the state
The battle against the infiltrators in Kashmir and the battle against the Maoists need strong but different responses, argues Brigadier S K Chatterji (retired).
Differences between the Home and Defence ministries on the use of special forces of the Army and setting up of a unified command centre for anti-Naxal operations today came to the fore at the Cabinet Committee on Security meet on Thursday, which ended without any decision being taken.
A decision to this effect was taken at a two-hour long meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee.
The Centre on Thursday evening took the first significant step towards creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh and decided that Hyderabad will be the joint capital of the two states for 10 years.
India has signed its biggest defence deal with the United States to procure ten C-17 heavy-lift aircraft for $4.1 billion under which American defence major Boeing will set up test facilities for hi-tech aeronautics engines for the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The project to procure the ten strategic heavy-lift aircraft was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security last week through the Foreign Military Sales route.
The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared a proposal to buy from the US ten C-17 heavy lift military aircraft worth $4.1 billion, the biggest-ever defence deal to be entered between the two countries.
A decision on Kashmir will be taken by the centre after Wednesday's all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Tuesday.
The Centre has convened an all-party meeting on Kashmir on Wednesday. This was decided after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Monday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday met Home Minister P Chidambaram, ahead of a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security which will deliberate on the issue of partial withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had a threadbare discussion with Cabinet colleagues and senior party leaders in the Congress Core Group on Friday on the issue.
Senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh, belonging to the neighbouring Tripura cadre, was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of police of Manipur.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai will visit Srinagar on Wednesday to review the law and order situation in violence-hit Kashmir. He is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and some top officials of the state government, official sources said.
With the defence ministry averse to sparing the army to fight Naxals, the Union home ministry will "fend for themselves" and take a fresh look at its strategy to fight Left-wing extremism including reorienting the available paramilitary forces. This was seen as a fall out of Thursday evening's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which failed to arrive at a consensus over deployment of Army for fighting Naxals.
'There are no quick fixes... The security forces can kill terrorists, but terrorism will be killed only by the people,' says Lieutenant General V G Patankar (retd).
The decision to annul the deal was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the basis of a recommendation from the Space Commission.
Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh has reportedly convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at 5 pm on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat of the Naxal terror in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
The Trinamool Congress on Monday hinted that the winter session of Parliament is set to be a stormy one, as opposition parties would do all that it takes 'to stop India from turning into an elected autocracy'.
In a move bound to create a major political storm in Andhra Pradesh, the law ministry has given a go ahead the home ministry note on Telangana.
L K Advani, Venkiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley, launched a blistering attack on government after PM Manmoha Singh's speech in Parliament on Friday. Jaitley asked Defence Minister A K Antony to explain how he got Rs 1,000 crores cleared up defence purchases bypassing the Cabinet Committee on Security, while stressing on indiginisation of defence production.
India will jointly develop and co-produce a new generation of medium range surface-to-air missiles with Israel to secure the country's strategic assests from growing threats posed by aerial attacks and the proliferation of missiles in the region.
Soon after the CCS meeting, Dr Singh is likely to make an appeal for peace and harmony. There are also plans to have a national broadcast by the prime minister if the situation so warranted.
The Cabinet Committee on Security is meeting in New Delhi on Friday, two days after the return of an all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir.
On the eve of the crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Kashmir, The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded the removal of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, saying his government has "completely collapsed" and warned that any dilution of AFSPA would only allow the separatists and miscreants to call the shots.
There are over 1.36 lakh employees, including employees and pensioners under the new pension scheme.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday to discuss the chill in relations with China and the stalling of defence ties with that country following Beijing's refusal to allow a visit by a senior Indian army officer.
With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
The anti-Naxal strategy, including the possibility of involving armed forces, is expected to top the agenda of the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.
India's plans to bolster its military strength along the border with China by deploying its potent Sukhoi fighter jets in Tezpur have been badly hit due to poor infrastructure at the front line airbase.
The IAF and USAF would begin a 12-day exercise at Kalaikunda base from November 7 and West Bengal's ruling CPI (M) has threatened to mobilise 30 lakh activists in statewide protests against the event.
In a move that could raise the hackles of neighbouring Pakistan and China, India will soon raise two new division-sized army formations to give more teeth to its mountain warfare machinery.The Defence Ministry's proposal for raising of the two mountain divisions was approved recently by the Cabinet Committee on Security, ministry sources said.The proposed mountain divisions will further enhance the tactical strength of the Indian army in its strategically important areas.
