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
The attacks on Karachi airport and the Airport Security Force camp are growing signs how Pakistan's home-made monster, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is growing stronger and is no longer under the tight grip of the Inter-Services-Intelligence, its godfather. Vicky Nanjappa reports how these attacks are just the beginning and there are many more to come.
Hizbul Mujahideen leader Mast Gul, involved in the 1995 siege of Charar-e-Sharief shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, was behind a suicide attack on Shias in Peshawar that killed nine persons, a Pakistani Taliban commander has said.
The 74-year-old real estate mogul-turned politician, who radically changed politics in the corridors of power in Washington, DC over the past four tumultuous years, was impeached for a second time on the charges of 'incitement of insurrection' for the violent storming of the United States Capitol by his supporters just days before the end of his four-year term.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday expressed concern over reported imposition of 'Jaziya' tax by the Taliban on Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan and demanded that the Indian government take all necessary steps to prevent "persecution" of the two communities living there.
Pakistan on Thursday accused India of using the Pathankot terror attack as an "excuse" to derail the bilateral dialogue process and said that talks are the best way forward to resolve outstanding issues, including "mutual concerns" related to terrorism.
'Modi's finest political legacy ought to be a border settlement with Beijing,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
''83 is a once in a lifetime story.' 'I often say that sometimes, I feel that you don't choose stories, stories choose you.' 'Why for the last 37 years was the story not made?' 'It's staring at our faces, the greatest sporting triumph for India ever.'
"We need to go much further in realising the well established objective of degrading the ability of the Taliban to fight while simultaneously denying safe-havens, finances and armament," Indian Ambassador to UN Nirupam Sen told the Security Council on Tuesday.
'The ISI has given a stunning display of its capacity to do with impunity what it likes within Kabul. Incensed over the triumphalism of the hardliners in Kabul, the ISI has hit out; it is a typical ISI reflex action that Indians are familiar with,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the last year since the Indian embassy in Kabul was bombed on July 7, allegedly by the Sirajuddin Haqqani faction of the Taliban based in Pakistan's North Waziristan province, India has well and truly joined in United States president Barack Obama's 'AfPak strategy' that is aimed at jointly looking at Afghanistan and Pakistan as the expanded theatre of war against the Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Amid growing perception that he is batting for the Pakistani Taliban, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said he is neither anti-US nor anti-India but was against "their policies".
Family members of author Sushmita Banerjee, who was shot dead by masked gunmen in Afghanistan, on Friday claimed that they had asked her not to return to the troubled country, but she did not listen insisting that the situation had changed there.
Top Indian policymakers tell Business Standard that the Obama administration's goal is clear: rather than trying to win the war in Afghanistan, simply aim at bottling terrorism inside the Pakistan-Afghanistan area, and monitor the borders electronically to prevent any "leakage" of jihadis.
Schools across the country observed a two-minute silence on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with Pakistan following an appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the dastardly terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.
Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan explains the situation in Iraq and Syria in this interview to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed were named on Monday in the Summit declaration of the BRICS countries.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday pitched for a coherent regional strategy to deal with terrorism
Addressing a press conference, Trump described Modi as a "terrific" leader and India as a "tremendous country".
Did India do enough for Kutty? Tell us
While confirming that the voice in the slideshow was that of Moosa, senior police officials did not rule out the possibility that the banned IS terror group was trying to create a base in the Valley.
Prime Minister Modi is visiting Palestine, UAE and Oman from February 9 to February 12.
A proposed nuclear deal aims to stop Pakistan from building small tactical nuclear weapons that could fall into terrorist hands.
India despatches high level team to Afghanistan on kidnapping
The apex human rights body in the country had taken cognisance of the encounter killings, saying it was a matter of concern and needed to be investigated carefully.
'Perhaps the biggest indication was its striking decision in November to delink LeT from its aid certification process.' 'The administration decided that the US, in order to send military aid to Pakistan, would not need to certify that Pakistan is cracking down on LeT.' 'Perhaps the administration was trying to offer a carrot -- in effect, we're backing off on LeT, but in return we expect you (Pakistan) to go after the Haqqanis.' 'Either way, the optics were dreadful for the US given that Hafiz Saeed was released from house arrest a few days after the US move.' 'The US reacted angrily, but eventually it moved on, and refocused on its core concern: The Afghan-focused terror groups.'
Donald Trump, known for his unpredictable leadership style, divisive rhetoric targeting both allies and opponents, and the only US president to be impeached twice, left the White House on Wednesday with a tainted legacy never seen before in American political history.
Terming Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's recent India visit as highly successful, the Pentagon on Monday refuted the Taliban statement that New Delhi resisted his call for greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh, while keynoting a Capitol Hill conference on the topic of India, Afghanistan and Regional Security, has said that as long as Pakistan offers safe havens to the Taliban and terrorist groups within its territory, the United States-led war on terrorism would be a failure.
Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal wanted to fight North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in Afghanistan as an 18-year-old when the US launched its campaign against Taliban following the 9/11 attacks, investigators have said.
India has been discomfited by signs that the United States and its allies are preparing to leave Afghanistan.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
The Pak PM said he told the UN that it was its resolution on Kashmir and not that of Pakistan therefore it was the body's duty to implement it.
Modi may take satisfaction from his display of considerable political skill in managing a mercurial, temperamental and unpredictable US president and nudging him into uncharacteristic restraint and even carefully orchestrated remarks. This personal chemistry will come in handy if Trump returns as president in the November elections, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'It is highly doubtful that the Trump administration will consider inserting itself into the volatile India-Pakistan dispute.'
The issue of the United States pullout from Afghanistan next year and the likely scenario of re-emergence of Taliban dominated the talks between India and China as part of their two-day annual counter-terrorism dialogue in Beijing on Thursday.
India should not have a large bilateral military training program in Afghanistan in the future because that would predictably exacerbate tensions, says Director of research, Brookings Institution Michael O'Hanlon.
Jammu and Kashmir is most impacted by terrorism in 2018, with 321 attacks, resulting in 123 deaths while Chhattisgarh suffered 138 attacks in 2018, resulting in 123 deaths, reports Ajai Shukla.
US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Pakistan addressed the issue of terrorism and also called on both - India and Pakistan to find a diplomatic solution to the violence at the border issue.
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