The military delegation will be in Delhi "shortly" and confer with top Indian Army officials as well as those in the ministry of external affairs to evolve a road map for a counter-insurgency strategy, reports Nitin Gokhale.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his election rallies in Maharashtra and is returning to Delhi due to the volatile situation in Manipur. The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, where irate mobs have set fire to the residences of several BJP and Congress legislators. The incidents follow a series of killings and abductions by militants in the state.
As many as 11 insurgent groups from Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura have called for a 'general strike and boycott' of celebration Indian Independence Day on August 15 in protest against 'India's colonial presence in the region'.
The government on Wednesday said the cadre strength of the Maoist organisations is around 8,500 and they have forged tactical understanding with some insurgent groups in the Northeast for procuring arms and ammunition.
Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appealed to insurgent groups to give up violence and come forward for talks to help accelerate the current pace of socio-economic development in Assam.
Set to retain power for the third consecutive term, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said bringing all insurgents groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom, to the negotiating table would be his main priority to ensure lasting peace in the state
Stating that the Centre was not adamant when it came to people's welfare, Reddy said that it even withdrew three Farm Laws when agriculturists demanded the repeal of the controversial regulations.
Earlier, the Taliban took control over Jawzjan province's capital Sheberghan and Nimroz province's capital Zaranj.
Social media giant Facebook has said that it has banned the Taliban and all content supporting it from its platforms as it considers the group to be a terrorist organisation, according to a media report.
The funeral of 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who were killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF, has been delayed pending the release of post-mortem reports. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), representing the Kuki-Zo community, is exploring the possibility of conducting a second autopsy in Churachandpur. The youths' bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur from Assam's Silchar town on Saturday. The incident follows a series of clashes between security forces and militants in the region. The post-mortem examination of the 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who ITLF claimed were village volunteers as against the Manipur government's assertion that they were militants, was conducted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam. The bodies have been kept in the local hospital morgue for the time being.
The chief of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh Mohan Rao Bhagawat said on Saturday that the Centre should hold no talks with insurgent groups in the Northeast on the country's sovereignty and integrity, as these are non-negotiable.
With proscribed insurgent groups in the North East, especially in Assam and Manipur, training their guns on innocent civilians more often than not in their desperate attempt to remain in headlines, a group of senior journalist-citizens based in Guwahati have taken the lead in organising a protest rally against such dastardly and mindless killing of innocent people by armed insurgent groups in the region.
Zakia Khudadadi completed a remarkable journey to become the first athlete from the refugee team to win a medal at the Paralympics when she clinched a taekwondo bronze on Thursday.
The government of India has signed a peace agreement with a tribal insurgent group from Assam, United People's Democratic Solidarity.
More than two decades after deserting their village due to Maoists, around 25 tribal families are planning to return to their native place in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel also sustained injuries during the heavy exchange of fire that happened at Jakurador Karong in the Borobekra sub-division, they said.
The members of the insurgent groups -- United Liberation Front of Assam, National Democratic Front of Boroland, Rabha National Liberation Front, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, Communist Party of India-Maoist, National Santhal Liberation Army, Adivasi Dragon Fighters and National Liberation Front of Bengali -- joined the mainstream in front of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a programme.
Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Issac-Munivah wanted to join the operations against NSCN-K militants.
About 416 Myanmarese soldiers crossed over to India in view of the situation arising out of the fighting between Myanmar's armed ethnic groups and the government forces, and Indian military is 'closely watching' the unfolding developments, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said on Thursday.
Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, Modi said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North-East.
The newly-formed common forum of Northeast insurgent groups based in Myanmar has posed a renewed threat to security and peace in the troubled region.
The NSCN-IM delegation, led by senior leader V S Atem, met interlocutor A K Mishra at an undisclosed location in the national capital.
The Centre's new interlocutor for Naga peace talks, A K Mishra, has held an 'informal' meeting with the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), the bloc said on Thursday.
Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's subsequent elevation set a new benchmark for the actions of those who occupy Raj Bhavans, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and eight police stations bordering Assam were declared "disturbed" areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.
An audio message has been released in Pushto, circulated by Taliban commanders, where Akhundzada said, "Taliban will never bow their heads and will not agree to peace talks," reports Dawn.
The ULFA spokesman termed the allegation part of conspiracy by the army to carry out subversion in the state and blame it on ULFA.
Amid claims by locals that one of the shells fell in Mizoram, the Assam Rifles had on Thursday asserted that no explosion occurred in the state.
The statement comes a day after claims by locals that one of the bombs dropped in Mizoram's Champai district during the attack.
Manipur witness more violence on Tuesday when unidentified armed men, suspected to be cadres of banned terror groups, attacked people from the tribal community in the morning killing three of them in Kangpokpi district, officials said.
Conrad Sangma, 35, Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Meghalaya assembly that goes to the polls on Saturday, explains the need for a fresh approach to solve the problem of insurgency in the state, the reasons for the lack of women in state politics and the need for cultural exchanges between the North-East and the rest of India.
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, 43, a resident of Bihar.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
There has been a steady rise in the number of youth taking up arms in the Valley since 2014 onwards as compared to 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Haokip advocated giving "political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation" in the state, upping the ante from earlier vaguely explained demands for a "separate administration" for Kuki areas made by fellow Kuki community leaders.
The dead were identified as belonging to Punjab province. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
"I judge by the first day of their control over Kabul. The impressions are good. The situation in Kabul is better now (under Taliban) than it was under Ashraf Ghani," Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov was quoted as saying by Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio station on Monday.
