Khan said shadows of war were still hovering over Pakistan and India
On the eve of United States President Barack Obama's maiden visit to India, the US Treasury on Thursday targeted the financial and support networks of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and also took action against Azam Cheema, who helped train operatives for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and was the "mastermind" behind the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings carried out by LeT.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday said the Indian government will be contacting the government of Bangladesh to seek the extradition of suspected Kandahar hijack accused and top Jaish-e Mohammed militant Nannu Mia alias Belal Mandol.
Significantly, for the first time, the FATF put Myanmar in the "high risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action", often referred to as the watchdog's black list.
Referring to the Nagrota incident, the MEA said the huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosive material indicate detailed planning for a 'major attack to destabilise the peace and security' in the Union Territory of J-K, in particular, to derail the ongoing democratic exercise of conduct of local district development council polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and top intelligence establishment over the Nagrota encounter in which four terrorists were neutralised, government sources said.
The militant was operating in Pir Panjal range for past more than five years and carried an education department's identity card on the name of Parvez Ahmed, son of Mohammad Arif resident of Tope in Mendhar. The I-Card had on it the stamp and signatures of zonal education officer (ZEO), Mankot, Mendhar.
After attracting criticism on the social media for "taking credit", Khurshid on Sunday said that he had only "stated the truth".
Sources added that Commanding Officer of Pakistan's 7 Northern Light Infantry inspected the site along with other officials.
Describing Central Asia as India's "extended neighbourhood", Doval said New Delhi accords "highest priority" to this region, adding Afghanistan is an important issue "concerning all of us".
"Whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement," India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
"Two militants of Jaish-e-Mohammed hiding inside the house began indiscriminate automatic gunfire at the security forces. The cordon around the house was further tightened, resulting in a sustained firefight at the end of which both militants were killed," a senior police officer said in Srinagar. Arms and ammunition,including two AK-47 rifles and two magazines were recovered from the encounter site.
With the role of India-focused terror outfits such as the Laskhar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed likely to come under scanner in the Times Square bombing plot, Pakistan's response would be a "litmus test" for future engagement with the US as Islamabad has been reluctant to act against these groups, a top American expert has said.
'They were planning collection of arms dropped by drones and supply to active terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Kashmir valley; planting a vehicle-based IED in Jammu before 15th August and reconnaissance of important targets in other parts of the country'
Terrorist groups banned by Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, are expanding operations and recruitment in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, according to a secret government report.
They said officials responsible for the crash will face severe punishment as per provisions of the military law.
Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated, he said addressing the third 'No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing' hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He also said that terrorists are constantly finding new ways to carry out violence, radicalise youth and raise financial resources and the darknet is being used by terrorists to spread radical content and conceal their identities.
As it has done in the past, Beijing put a technical hold on the proposal just as the deadline was about to end.
India has submitted a formal request to the United Nations Committee 1267, seeking inclusion of the name of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar on the sanctions' list, said government sources.
Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim are not in Pakistan, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said today.
A Pakistani infiltrator was among five militants killed by the security forces in north Kashmir on Saturday, official sources said. The deputy inspector general of police told UNI that a search operation was launched at Warnov forest at Lolab in the frontier district of Kupwara on Saturday morning.
The Air India Office in Chennai has received a letter warning attacks by 'suicide bombers' and threats to disrupt the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) beginning in the city on Thursday, police said.
Two army personnel have been killed in an encounter with six suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists in the Poonch sector close to the Line of Control. The six terrorists, including JeM local commander Abu Dawood, have been encircled by the security forces amidst intermittent gunfire. The gunbattle, which began on Wednesday, was on till last reports came in.
Pakistani authorities have reportedly imposed restrictions on the movement of Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar and confined him to his home despite turning down India's demand for handing him over.Azhar, who was freed by Indian authorities along with two other terrorists in exchange for passengers of an Indian Airlines flight hijacked from Kathmandu to Kandahar in 1999, has been confined to his multi-storey building in Model Town area of Bahawalpur.
The Pakistan government has banned 25 religious and other organisations, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashker-e-Tayiba, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Pakistan-based outlawed groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have supported Taliban and Al Qaida in destabilising the country, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
India on Thursday asked Pakistan to demonstrate the same 'force' to deal with terror groups like Laskar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed like it has done against the Taliban in Swat Valley.
Munna Lahori, a Pakistani national, was also responsible for a series of civilian killings in Kashmir, a police official said.
Police identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed, who officials said joined the Jaish in 2018.
Garlanding of Rahul Gandhi with grenades before kidnapping him to put up their demands was the "plan" of the three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants nabbed in Uttar Pradesh last week, interrogation of them has revealed, official sources said.
Modi is scheduled to visit Palli village of Samba on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24.
United States National Security Advisor Susan Rice in her phonecall to her Indian counterpart said the White House expects Pakistan to take "effective action to combat and delegitimise" United Nations-designated terrorist groups.
Security forces killed a top commander of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in a fierce encounter in north Kashmir early on Tuesday morning.
Two other critically injured soldiers have also been airlifted to the military hospital.
Some recoveries have been made which are being analysed, official sources said.
Khan's letter was in reply to Prime Minister Modi's letter to him last week to extend greetings on the occasion of Pakistan Day. In his letter, Modi had said that India desires cordial relations with Pakistan but an atmosphere of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is "imperative" for it.
The video showed the story of airstrikes which IAF carried out on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, Pakistan on February 26, earlier this year.
The 15-nation body includes China as a permanent veto-wielding member.
It was not immediately clear as to how many days he will stay in Pakistan.
