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 and Saudi Arabia have decided to further strengthen and deepen their counter-terrorism cooperation, nearly a year after Riyadh deported Abu Jundal, wanted in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack.
Among the other challenges, the big one is to maintain energy security in tune with the pace at which the country's economy is growing.
A soldier of the special forces of the army was killed in an encounter between security forces and terrorists following a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Thursday, officials said. The firing took place in the Dudu-Basantgarh area during a cordon and search operation that was launched based on information about the presence of terrorists. The deceased soldier has been identified as Havaldar Jhantu Ali Sheikh of 6 Para of the Special Forces. The operation was still underway when the last reports came in from the spot, they added. Four suspects were also picked up for the area for questioning. This is the third encounter between terrorists and security forces in Jammu in the past over 24 hours.
Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump in the weeks after his inauguration last month.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will arrive in New York on Sunday to participate in the high-level 77th session of the UN General Assembly, which kicks off on September 20 with the opening of the general debate.
Following the deadly Pahalgam attack, Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, issued a strong statement and said that 'it is now the duty of India to do to Pakistan and to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) what Israel did to Hamas', calling for decisive action against Pakistan's intelligence agency for its alleged role in supporting terrorism.
The government must seriously consider enlarging the scope of its counter-terrorism policy to covertly eliminate the leaders of terrorist organisations abroad who are sponsoring terrorism in India, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Pentagon has expressed willingness to enhance its co-operation with India in the fields of maritime security and counter-terrorism, especially through special operations engagements. In a report submitted to the United States Congress, Pentagon has identified maritime security and counter-terrorism co-operation as an important pillar of military to military co-operation between the two countries.
The government on Thursday gave its approval to set up the National Counter-Terrorism Centre which will act as the nodal agency for all anti-terror activities in the country.
Their shared brief: To assert India's case with clarity, rebut hostile narratives, and secure enduring partnerships for global counter-terror cooperation.
Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung deserves to be complimented in telling his life story and that of his people, as subaltern communities within this vast and diverse nation of ours clamour for recognition and a plea for their voices to be heard and their aspirations to be met, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a progressive reduction in the deputation of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) over the next two years, citing concerns over the delayed promotions of cadre officers. The court's decision aims to address the long-standing grievances of CAPF officers who feel their promotional prospects are hampered by the presence of IPS officers in higher ranks. The ruling also mandates a cadre review of the CAPFs to be completed within six months, addressing the issue of stagnation in the service hierarchy. The court's decision acknowledges the valuable contributions of CAPF officers while also recognizing the need to balance their promotional prospects with the operational requirements of the forces.
During the talks, the two sides appreciated the deepening of the defence ties as a key pillar of the strategic partnership and welcomed the creation of a Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the Strategic Partnership Council.
On Tuesday, October 29, morning, the security forces gunned down two more terrorists holed up in the forest near a village in Akhnoor, taking the number of terrorists killed in the 27-hour gunfight near the Line of Control to three.
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
"The law will define what kind of activities are terrorist activities and measures to be taken in fighting terrorist activities," deputy director of the counter-terrorism bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhao Yongchen said.
China on Tuesday called for a 'comprehensive and lasting ceasefire' between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to properly handle their differences through dialogue.
Amidst a renewed debate on how to counter terror, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday made it clear that it is opposed to National Counter Terrorism Centre in its present form that gave it policing powers and said the fight against the menace must co-exist with federalism.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
Days before the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, intelligence agencies had flagged the potential targeting of tourists especially those staying in hotels on the outskirts of Srinagar in the foothills of the Zabarwan range, officials in the know said Saturday.
Glimpses from a counter-terrorism exercise conducted by the Pakistan navy's special forces in Karachi, November 21, 2024.
The meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday was the sixth since the inception of JWG. It was preceded by the third round of dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation on Monday.
Pakistan on Tuesday offered India counter-terrorism cooperation in the backdrop of the arrest of Abu Jundal, a LeT terrorist and key handler of attackers who struck Mumbai in 2008.
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
The United States has put the case of David Coleman Headley, Mumbai terror attack suspect now languishing in a Chicago jail, as one of the key counter-terrorism cases on information sharing with its partners.
Security forces on Saturday extended the ongoing search operation to new areas after the body of the fourth policeman and two slain terrorists were recovered from the scene of a gunfight in a remote forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held bilateral talks with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and chaired a conclave of top global intelligence chiefs focusing on strengthening cooperation in confronting various security challenges including terrorism and threats posed by emerging technologies. The meeting also focused on security in the Indo-Pacific region, cooperation to counter terror funding and money laundering, and issues relating to extradition and immigration.
The United States is looking forward to 'developing effective counter-terrorism methods' with Pakistan to address the contentious issue of drone strikes in Pakistan's restive tribal belt, top American envoy to the country has said.
On India, while appreciating the measures adopted by it to address discrimination, the Committee expressed concern about alleged discrimination and violence against minority groups, including religious minorities, such as Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, "scheduled castes" and "scheduled tribes", and LGBTI people.
Glimpses of lady soldiers from the Indian and the US armies during the joint exercise Yudh Abhyas 2024 at the Mahajan field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
With the National Counter-Terrorism Centre getting a nod from the government, Home Minister P Chidambaram has fulfilled his dream of becoming India's counter-terror czar. But his efforts to pattern this body on the lines of the one in the United States, which was formed after 9/11, has failed and how! B Raman analyses
'I'm not accepting the 'any act of terrorism is an act of war' threshold.' 'I don't think this is sustainable because if you do this four or five times in a short duration, it will lose its edge.'
'Diplomatic and economic responses are first announced and then implemented. A military response is announced only after it is done.'
World leaders, including the UN Secretary-General and US President Donald Trump, have urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and seek peaceful solutions to the ongoing tensions. The calls for calm come after India conducted airstrikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to a recent terrorist attack. Leaders from the US, Russia, UK, China, UAE, Qatar, and Japan have expressed concern over the escalating situation and emphasized the need for dialogue and de-escalation.
Presenting the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on May 12, 2025, in which he dictated India's new doctrines on countering terrorism.
The prime minister should perhaps drop the police role of the NCTC, leaving it free to focus its energies on intelligence gathering, coordination and operations, says a former home ministry official.
