Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
On August 7, 2018, a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA), Mumbai Branch, seized Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) worth INR 434,000 from the possession of three persons at Aluru in Bengaluru in Karnataka. The arrestees were in possession of 217 FICNs, all in denomination of INR 2,000, which were, according to an NIA release “similar to genuine Indian Rs 2,000/- [INR 2,000] notes and it is difficult for a common man to differentiate whether the notes are counterfeit or genuine. It is suspected that the counterfeit notes have been printed and smuggled from across the border.”
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
On August 8, 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan restored the Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018, suspending the decision of the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit Baltistan. A three-member SC bench, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar heard the appeal moved by the federation. CJP Nisar observed, “The government needs to ensure that the people of GB have the same respect and rights as all others.”
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:51 pm
On July 23, 2018, over a dozen Islamic State (IS, also Daesh) and Afghan Taliban terrorists were killed internecine clashes in Kunar Province. According to reports, the clashes started from the Chapa Dara District and later spread to different parts of the Kunar Province.
Breastfeeding provides the strongest foundation for lifelong health and optimal nutrition
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:51 pm
Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years and beyond provides the strongest foundation for lifelong health. Breast milk contains all the nutrients infants need to grow healthy and strong and, when combined with appropriate complementary foods after six months of age, is a powerful means to set up a lifetime of optimal nutrition, including the prevention of undernutrition and obesity.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:51 pm
Former Provincial Minister for Agriculture and livestock and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate for Province Khyber Paktunkhwa-99 (PK-99) Ikramullah Khan Gandapur was killed along with his driver and six persons, including two Police guards, seriously injured, in a suicide attack near his hometown Kulachi in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on July 22, 2018. The head of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) in Dera Ismail Khan, Inayat Tiger, said that eight kilogrammes of explosives had been packed in the suicide vest when it was detonated. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘spokesperson’, Muhammad Khurasani, claimed the responsibility and termed the attack “an act of vengeance for their fallen comrades.”
TPC: 'Troubleshooter' Crashes Out
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:06 pm
On May 28, 2018, three cadres of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces (SFs) near Dundur Hillock under Chhaterpur Police Station in Palamu District. Commenting on the encounter, Superintendent of Police (SP) Indrajit Mahatha disclosed, “Three ultras have been gunned down. Two dead bodies, along with two AK-47 rifles, have so far been retrieved.” The identities of the slain cadres were yet to be ascertained.
Northeast: Negotiated Successes
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:06 pm
The Union Government and seven Naga militant groups are, according to an April 25, 2018, news report, said to have finalized the substantive portions of the peace accord, which is likely to be signed before the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin in July 2018. Unnamed official sources stated that the accord does not change the boundary of States; provides autonomous Naga territorial councils for Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur; a common cultural body for Nagas across States; specific institutions for Nagaland’s development, integration and rehabilitation of Naga militants; and the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act-1958 (AFSPA). The Government of India's interlocutor on Naga talks, Joint Intelligence Committee Chairman, R.N. Ravi, was quoted as stating, “Yes, we are pretty close to finalising the (Naga Peace) Accord”.
Jharkhand: Latehar: Fragmenting Threat
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:07 pm
Five cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), including two ‘sub-zonal commanders’, were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) during a search operation in an area between the Sikid and Kedu Forests under Herhanj Police Station limits in the Latehar District of Jharkhand State on April 4, 2018. The two ‘sub-zonal commanders’, carrying rewards of INR 500,000 each on their heads, were identified as Shivlal Yadav and Shravan Yadav. The identities of the remaining three slain Maoists are yet to be ascertained. SFs recovered the bodies of the five Maoists, along with two Self Loading Rifles (SLRs), two Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) assault rifles, a .315 bore rifle, and a large number of live bullets from the encounter spot.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:07 pm
On April 13, 2018, at least 102 cadres and 12 leaders, including ‘chairman’ H. Zosangbera, of the H. Zosangbera faction of the Hmar Peoples Convention-Democrat (HPC-D-Zosangbera) surrendered in Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. The militants deposited 44 weapons, including four sniper rifles, nine AK assault rifles, one M-16 carbine, 13 double-barrel guns and 2,892 rounds of ammunition, grenade launcher shells and five radio sets. On April 14, the surrendered militants headed for Sakawrda village in Aizawl District, the proposed headquarters of the Sinlung Hills Council (SHC), after which they departed for their respective villages.
Maharashtra: Unrelenting Reverses
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:09 pm
On February 22, 2018, cadres belonging to the Kasansur Local Organizational Squad (LOS) of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in South Gadchiroli, killed Police Warden (patil) Katiya Peka Pungati (Kumoti) (55), branding him to be a ‘Police Informer’, outside Lanji village in Etapalli Taluka (revenue unit) in Gadchiroli District. Pungati was abducted on February 21 and his body was found with his throat slit, and the face and head smashed with a stone, outside Lanji village. The Kasansur Dalam (armed squad), led by ‘commander’ Mahesh Gota, claimed that they held Pungati responsible for the information of their presence in Tadapalli Forest in Etapalli on January 10, 2018.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:09 pm
At least 10 cadres of the ‘Telangana State Committee (TSC)’ of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) were killed in an encounter near the Pujari Kanker Forest under the Pamed Police Station limits in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, on March 1, 2018. According to reports, acting on tip-off about a ‘big meeting’ of CPI-Maoists in the area, personnel from the Greyhounds[the elite anti-Maoist force of the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Police] and Chhattisgarh Police started a combing operation. The combing team came across an estimated 50 to 100 CPI-Maoist cadres and asked them to surrender, but the Maoists opened fire. In the retaliatory fire, Security Forces (SFs) killed 10 Maoists, while the remaining rebel force managed to escape. B. Susheel Kumar, a Greyhounds commando, also lost his life in the encounter.
Jharkhand: Waning Maoist Influence
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:09 pm
Four cadres of the ‘Madhya Zone’ (Central Zone) of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), including ‘sub zonal commander’ Rakesh Bhuiyan, were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces (SFs) at Malanga Pahad (hill) under Chhatarpur Police Station in Palamu District, on February 26, 2018. The SFs, who had launched an operation on a tip off that Rakesh Bhuiyan was hiding in the area along with 20 others, were attacked by the Maoists. The encounter started at 8.50am and lasted for just 20 minutes, leaving four Maoists dead. The slain Maoists were identified as Bhuiyan, Lalloo Yadav, Ruby Kumari and Rinki Kumari. SFs also recovered two SLRs (Self Loading Rifles), five magazines, 219 bullets, eight cell phones, back packs, uniforms, Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)]- literature and eatables.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:10 pm
For the second consecutive year, Mizoram did not record a single insurgency-related fatality in 2017. Significantly, the last such fatality in the State was recorded on March 28, 2015, when three Policemen were killed in an ambush by cadres of the Democratic faction of Hmar People’s Convention (HPC-D) near Zokhawthiang in Aizawl District. The last civilian fatality was recorded on October 15, 2014, when the bodies of two non-tribals were found near the Tuikhurhlu area in Aizawl District. The last militant fatality was recorded on February 26, 2008, when a Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) militant was killed in a factional clash in the State capital Aizawl.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:10 pm
On February 5, 2018, Security Forces (SFs) killed a militant of the Saoraigwra faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S), ‘platoon commander’ Jordan Narzary, in an encounter at Belguri village in the Chirang District of Assam. A 7.62 mm pistol, along with one magazine and two rounds of live ammunition, was recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:10 pm
On January 16, 2018, three fidayeen (suicide attackers) carried out an attack targeting the convoy of Rao Anwar, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Malir Town, in the Malir Cantonment area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. One of the attackers blew himself up near the convoy while two other attackers were killed in retaliatory fire by Policemen. SSP Anwar remained unhurt in the attack, but at least four Policemen travelling in the convoy sustained bullet wounds. SSP Anwar had survived an attack earlier on May 1, 2015, during which assailants had hurled grenades and opened fire on his convoy while he was returning home from the residence of slain Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fateh Muhammad Sangi.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:11 pm
United National Liberation Front (UNLF) militants on January 4, 2018, shot dead a civilian, identified as Loukrakpam Sananingthem Singh, at Lamsang Khunou in Imphal West District. The victim was earlier arrested in connection with a sexual assault case in 2015.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:41 pm
In keeping with the Government's policy to release more security forces-held lands to the civilians, the Sri Lanka Army released another 133.34 acres on December 28, 2017, in the Keppapilavu area of Mullaitivu District to the civilian Tamil owners. As of December 1, 2017, the Army had released a total of 55,510.58 acres of land in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya Districts in the Northern Province, in addition to the 133.34 acres released on December 28 in Keppapilavu. As on March 1, 2016, the Army was occupying 67,427 acres of land belonging to Tamil civilians in the Northern Province. The Army commenced the gradual release of private property used by the armed forces after the conclusion of the Eelam War on May 17, 2009.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:42 pm
At least nine persons, including six students, were killed and 37 were injured when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists attacked the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), on December 1, 2017. At least four attackers wearing suicide jackets under burqas (veils) reached the compound in a rickshaw. Their first target was the security guard, after which they headed inside towards the ATI students' hostel. Two soldiers were also injured in the rescue operation. A cache of arms and ammunition, including three suicide jackets, 20 hand grenades, AK-47 rifles and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered from the incident site. According to reports, about 120 college residents, out of a total of nearly 400, were present at the time of the attack. Most of the others had gone home for a long holiday weekend.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:42 pm
Five bullet-riddled bodies of ethnic Punjabis were recovered by Levies Force personnel in the Tajaban area of Turbat tehsil (revenue unit) in the Kech District of Balochistan on November 18, 2017. The Levies Force disclosed that all the victims had received multiple bullet injuries and belonged to the Gujrat District of Punjab.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:42 pm
On November 16, 2017, Police raided a house at Nawduli village in the Naogaon District (in Northern Bangladesh) and arrested five cadres of the Neo-Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB). Police recovered two foreign-made pistols, 13 rounds, electronic devices, explosives and grenade making materials from their possession.
Progress on an Unfinished Agenda
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:42 pm
On October 30, 2017, the three-day debate on the Interim Report of the Steering Committee set up under the Constitutional Assembly (CA) began in Parliament. The debate was supposed to conclude on November 1. However, due to demands from a large number of Members of Parliament (MPs) for additional time to express their views, Chairman of the CA, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya decided on November 2, 2017, to continue the debate on November 2 and November 8.
PAKISTAN-USA: Drone Strikes Escalate
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:42 pm
On October 17, 2017, at least 11 suspected terrorists were killed when two United States (US) drones fired six missiles on their hideouts in the mountainous region of the Kurram Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Sep 15, 2024, at 04:43 pm
On October 17, 2017, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Delhi extended tillNovember 15, 2017, the judicial custody of seven Kashmiri separatists arrested on July 24, 2017, in connection with the NIA case for funding terrorist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). These arrested separatists included Altaf Ahmad Shah Funtoosh Geelani, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Peer Saifullah, Aftab Hilali Shah aka Shahid-ul-Islam, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmad Dar aka Bitta Karate. Farooq Ahmad Dar was arrested in New Delhi and the other accused persons were arrested from Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K. Altaf Ahmad Shah Funtoosh Geelani is the son-in-law of All Parties Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Aftab Hilali Shah is a close aide of APHC-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Ayaz Akbar Khandey is the spokesperson for the APHC-G.
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:20 pm
At least 20 persons were killed and more than 30 injured on October 5, 2017, when a suicide bomber struck outside the Dargah (Sufi shrine) of Pir Rakhyal Shah in the Gandawa area of Fatehpur, a small town in the Jhal Magsi District of Balochistan. The deceased included at least three children. Four of the injured people died later, two each on October 6 and October 7, raising the death toll to 24.
Chhattisgarh: Insecure in Sukma
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:20 pm
On September 21, 2017, Security Forces (SFs) killed an 'area commander' of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), identified as Podiyam Bheema, during an encounter in the forests between Pidmel and Palamdgu villages under Polampalli Police Station limits in Sukma District. SFs later recovered the dead body of the slain Maoist along with three country-made firearms, explosives and other materials. The slain Maoist was handling operations in at least 10 villages in the area.
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:20 pm
Suspected militants of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) attacked a combined team of the banned terror outfit People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF) at Makan village in Kamjong District near Border Pillar No, 8 along the Indo-Myanmar border, on September 12, 2017. NSCN-IM cadres killed five militants of the rival groups, identified as PLA 'sergeant major' Richard aka Wareppam Dinesh, PLA 'sergeant' Lalloi aka Khundrakpam Sunil, PLA 'private' Nanao aka Moirangthem Tomba, PLA 'private' Sinthouba aka Konjengbam Shyamsundar and MNPF cadre Raikham Jajo aka Nimai Jazo. The NSCN-IM militants took away the weapons of their slain rivals.
Meghalaya: GNLA: Rapid Erosion
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:20 pm
The Supreme Court on September 1, 2017, dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) moved by the Meghalaya Government for the cancellation of bail granted to Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) founder 'chairman' Pakchara R. Sangma akaChampion Sangma. The Apex Court rejected the plea arguing that, since Sangma was already in jail under other charges, the plea was infructuous.
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:21 pm
On August 16, 2017, orchestrating the first violent incident of the current year (2017) in the State, suspected Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)] of the Red Flag faction of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist-New Democracy (CPI-ML-New Democracy-Red Flag), killed a farmer, identified as Rayala Bhaskar (55), of Narsampet, a hamlet under Pandurangapuram Gram Panchayat (village level local-self government institution) and a supporter of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), at Narsampet village in Palwancha mandal (administrative sub-division) in Khammam District. According to reports, around 15 Naxalites owing allegiance to CPI-ML (New Democracy) Ravi Dalam (armed squad) allegedly barged into Bhaskar's house of and dragged him out before battering him to death in full public view. The Naxalites were said to have nursed a grudge against the deceased for reportedly seeking the help of the members of Chandranna faction of the CPI-ML (New Democracy), to resolve an internal issue in the village. CPI-ML (New Democracy) had split into two in 2013 - CPI-ML (New Democracy) led by Chandranna and (CPI-ML-New Democracy-Red Flag) led by Rayala Subhash Chandra Bose aka Ravi.
Sep 15, 2024, at 05:21 pm
On August 5, 2017, the Taliban and Islamic State (IS, formerly, Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, also Daesh) jointly massacred 50 men, women and children in the remote Mirzawalang village of Sayad District in northern Sar-e-Pul Province. The majority of those killed were Shias. Most were shot but some were beheaded.