Pakistani officials handed over Varthaman to Indian officials, including from the IAF, at the Attari-Wagah Border.
'It's unclear whether she is the target of the investigation, or what agents were searching for. The officials said it is an ongoing investigation and no charges have been filed,' reports CNN.com, while the Post adds that "the exact nature of the investigation involving Raphel remains unclear. She has not been charged.'
Australia's intelligence agencies have uncovered a plot by the Islamic State militants to launch a "Mumbai-style" terror attack on the parliament with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other top officials being the prime targets.
Claude Arpi reveals how Wing Commander Jag Mohan Nath won a second Maha Vir Chakra in the 1965 War.
India should remember that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations will remain special due, not least, to bonds of all Muslims with The Holy Land. They would also be strategic enough, irrespective of whether the ambassador is a military man or a career civilian appointee., notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Nepal visit was an eye-opener for most Indians, as it appears as though the hard feelings of 17 years of neglect by Indian PMs has been overcome by this single, sincere visit, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'With the top court's judgment declaring the Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, the powers under the provision need to be looked afresh.' 'To utilise such sweeping powers in the right manner will also be a challenge.'
Did an officer in the Tamil Nadu Intelligence Bureau deliberately keep mum about the plot to target BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during his October 2011 Rath Yatra? Was a police informer behind the failed operation?
It would be realistic to see India's position on the DGMOs joint statement more as 'engagement, different from dialogue', where our subsequent options could be decided depending on the realities of the situation on the ground, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The suspect is believed to have already arrived in the valley.
He said other parties would be afraid of right-wing backlash in case of settlement on the Kashmir issue.
'Jaish e Mohammed has been allowed to resurge through supported terror actions in J&K in a deliberate tactic by Pakistan, if only to reduce the international pressure on the Lashkar e Taiba leadership after 26/11,' points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A day after killing seven policemen in an ambush in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the Naxals on Sunday allegedly set ablaze at least 17 vehicles engaged in mining work in insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said.
All Naxal-affected states demonstrate police as well as governance incapacities. Odd occasions of success and temporary dip in Naxal violence notwithstanding, the states have utterly failed to dominate and make their presence felt over areas under the extremist domination, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa talks to security experts about the possibility of militancy returning to the Kashmir Valley in the eventuality of Narendra Modi becoming the prime minister
The Ministry of Home Affairs amended its guidelines on October 12 to include the chairman, managing director or chief executive officer of each public sector bank on the list of authorities who can issue requests for opening look-out circulars against whom an FIR is yet to be filed.
A total of 946 medals have been announced by the Union home ministry for personnel and officers of Central Armed Police Forces and state police forces, out of which three have been decorated with the President's Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) while 177 have been awarded the PMG.
With the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) planning to create disturbances to mark its decade of formation this September, police is bracing up to counter any such move and make people aware about the "futility" of the rebel movements.
'A deadly combination of money and religion lures them into the murky world of terrorism.' 'You will reach heaven if you kill -- what a doctrine!' Professor Ajoy Roy, whose son blogger Avijit Roy was brutally murdered in Dhaka last year, tells Rediff.com's Indrani Roy.
A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each.
Overall, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has focused on building ground-based air defense networks and network-centric operations rather than trying to match the Indian Air Force (IAF) in terms of straight fighter numbers along the border. All air assets fall under the Western Theater Command of the PLA, the largest geographic region of China's five military theater commands.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The confiscation of properties of JuD and FIF comes after Pakistan formally placed them in the list of banned organisations on Tuesday.
'It is my opinion that not releasing the Balakote Battle Damage Assessment immediately post strike was a phenomenal blunder, perception battle wise,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd), India's former air adviser in Pakistan.
'The Pakistan army is trying to mainstream the LeT.'
'It is nobody's contention that uncomfortable questions regarding national security should not be raised. But that is a topic for another day and another time when the immediate threat has faded,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
'A series of arrests have illustrated that IS now has a footprint in India.' 'India has been, for a very long time, a key part of Al Qaeda's global jihadist ambitions.'
'Why can't a person who has supervised military intelligence head RA&W?' 'Why can't one who has overseen national security planning become our NSA or chair the National Security Advisory Board?' asks Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The policy proposes a contingency plan to handle cyber attacks on vital installations and critical infrastructure.
Director of Intelligence Bureau Syed Asif Ibrahim on Sunday said effective intelligence sharing with neighbouring countries like Nepal, Myanmar, and Malayasia, Saudi Arabia would go a long way in helping the country tackle the threat from global terror groups like the Al Qaeda and ISIS.
'The CIA would not need to engage a maid who has no access to any information. They can buy a politician in India for much lesser cost and have more access to information. Trust me, that happens,' Amar Bhushan, former head of R&AW's counter-espionage section, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Read what the ex-chief of R&AW, A S Dulat, told our readers on Rediff Chat!
According to a report by the National Bomb Data Centre, a total of 337 blasts of various kinds were reported last year, an increase from 268 in 2015.
'Since I felt there could be more, I had told the local authorities to screen every hostage carefully, since we felt that some could have been staying as guests.'
'He was carrying his Indian passport. This seems like a very different sort of spy than the ones we see in movies, who carry fake passports and are highly trained,' says Aakar Patel.
'The target for all our counter-terror operations ought to be Pakistani Punjab's population,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Shah said the BJP-led government had only brought an amendment to the law which was enacted by thr Congress and whose provisions were later made stringent.
Not many Indians know how RAW functions, or what life in India's external intelligence agency is like. This is what former Research and Analysis Wing officer Amar Bhushan told Rediff.com in 2012.
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