Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the violence during the Popular Front of India (PFI)-sponsored hartal in his state was 'pre-meditated' and assured strict action against the culprits while his Assam counterpart Hemanta Biswas Sarma batted for banning the Islamist outfit, whom the National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused of encouraging youth to join terrorist groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The Indian Mujhadeen wants to shed the Indian tag and focus more on the global issues -- something that has caused a rift between the terror outfit and the Pakistani ISI. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The raids, taking place mainly in South India, was termed by the NIA as the 'largest ever' investigation process 'till date'.
The world's attention is on the new Taliban and the imminent announcement of an inclusive government in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
A suspected SIMI operative and an aide of Indian Mujahideen media in-charge have been arrested from Secunderabad, with police saying that they were allegedly planning to go to Afghanistan to get training from Al Qaeda for carrying out terror activities in India.
The SIMI members, wanted by the National Investigation Agency, were arrested from a house in the steel city after a three-hour long operation.
The meeting was attended by a group of Taliban leaders where JeM sought their support in 'India-Centric' operations. All states have been alerted to conduct security drills and keep anti-terror units on high alert.
The declaration also names Pak-based terror groups like LeT and JeM.
Learning perhaps from the Kargil debacle, Musharraf tried hard to evolve as a statesman in his dealings with India, recalls Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Refusing to be dragged into the controversy over Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed's statement that Gujarat riots led to creation of Indian Mujahideen, the Home Ministry on Tuesday said the NIA charge sheet and its position on the banned terror outfit are clear.
While Governor Ravi's speeches have put the local BJP supporters on the defensive in matters of religion and social justice, his add-on 'attack on the constitutional scheme' in the 'Senthil Balaji case', has been condemned squarely by many legal experts and editorial writers across the country, thus adding weight to CM Stalin's position -- at least until the courts come up with their binding views, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who returned to India from Sweden early this month, is likely to leave the country again for some destination in Europe as her movement is being restricted due to security concerns. The 45-year-old Bangladeshi writer, who has been a target of Islamic fundamentalists, returned to India recently from Sweden and was whisked away by security agencies to an undisclosed destination in Delhi.
'India would not like to see Pakistani domination and tutelage of Afghanistan against Indian security and economic interests.'
SIMI slogans in Bhopal against the next prime minister alert security agencies about a likely threat.
'This is for the first time that a strong, solid evidence-based investigation has happened.' 'It can meet international standards and put the onus on the Pakistanis.'
High alert has been sounded across India that five members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, who had fled from a Madhya Pradesh jail in 2013, are planning to carry out terror strikes on instructions of Pakistan's spy agency Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence.
'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'
Special NIA judge Manoj Kumar Sinha held all the five accused -- Imtiyaz Ansari, Haider Ali, Mujib Ullah, Omair Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureishi -- guilty in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act.
He said there was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state.
Safdar Nagori, SIMI's notorious face, told investigators how he trained his terrorists on the lines of the Taliban.
Kerala remains a safe haven for members of the IM and the SIMI alike, says Vicky Nanjappa
Wednesday's arrest of four terror suspects including that of SIMI mastermind Haider Ali signals the end of the road for organised terror modules in India, claims the Intelligence Bureau. But what's worrying is thatthe Al Qaeda and Taliban are taking keen interest in the terror operations in India. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India and China on Friday agreed to set up a dedicated communication channel to boost security cooperation as Home Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with China's security czar on issues like cross border terrorism from Pakistan and the Afghan situation.
Police escorted the rally all the way, at one point standing in a row to prevent the rallyists from entering a side road where stood a huge mosque. Across the road, an old Muslim woman asked her Hindu neighbour what the rally was all about. The latter shrugged her ignorance, looking on in bewilderment at the young men with their saffron flags, all of them wearing Bajrang Dal T-shirts.
'The Telangana police are working on the same agenda against Muslims as the Modi government at the Centre.'
'If Islamic extremists regain power in Afghanistan, Pakistan will lead them to Kashmir as a fighting arena again. India needs to fortify Kashmir and prepare against these Islamic extremists before they come again.'
There are ample indications to show that the newly launched Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent headed by Indian-born Asim Umar will seek to lay siege on India through waters rather than land.
Those who were held guilty included Safdar Nagori, Javed Ahmed and Atikur Rehman. Among those acquitted were Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Ahmad and Shakeel Ahmed.
Two armed gangsters, who were gunned down by police in an encounter in Nalgonda district of Telangana, were active members of banned Students Islamic Movement of India and had been involved in a string of terror acts that included triggering of bomb blasts across the country, police said today.
The Tablighi Jamaat avoided confrontation, stayed clear of conversion of non-Muslims, abjured politics and focused only on religious attainment. >A fascinating excerpt from Ziya Us Salam's Inside The Tablighi Jamaat.
The next big destination for IS in South Asia could be India. In India, the SIMI-IM network can provide the logistics for an IS staging area, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Continuing their investigation into the blasts ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Patna last October, the National Investigating Agency on Saturday recovered 16 live bombs from the Sithio village near Ranchi, Jharkhand.
'There are three issues related to beef consumption and cow slaughter. One is the British origin of cow slaughter. Two, if slaughter of cows is sanctioned by Islamic scriptures and three, the environmental impact of beef consumption.'
India will need to watch carefully and understand the new round of instability and uncertainty in Pakistan, while charting the course of its future diplomatic initiatives, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'Look at the aggressive way in which a campaign against Friday namaz is going on in North Indian cities.' 'Even the Union home minister is part of this vicious campaign.'
'If someone comes out to kill an innocent person and he is challenged by police, then either he or the policemen have to die'
125 Indians on watch-list, Intelligence Bureau agents tell Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
The outlawed terror group Indian Mujahideen is more lethal and resilient because of the support it receives from Pakistan, according to a new report by an American think-tank.
Ganguly convinced the Bangladesh Cricket Board to agree to a Day/Night Test just a few days before their team was to land in India.
