Pakistan prime minister’s expedient silence over the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:13 pm
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent interview where he displays excruciating coyness not to say anything even remotely critical of let alone offensive to China about its torturous treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang Province has received considerable media attention.
Laffaire Wuhan: Come Clean China
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:13 pm
Wuhan is back in the headlines with a big bang. And the Emperor stands exposed without clothes.
Armed insurgency in India's Assam may end soon
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:14 pm
The COVID-19 disease, the second wave of which has ravaged India for the past two months, appears to mercifully be easing somewhat.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:17 pm
In its Plenary held on February 22, 24, 25, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to retain Pakistan in its listing of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring – the ‘grey list’ – along with 18 other countries. Pakistan has been on the ‘grey list’ since June 2018.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:22 pm
On January 18, 2021, in a massive pro-freedom rally organised in Sann Town in Jamshoro District of Sindh, on the 117th birth anniversary of Ghulam Murtaza Syed, one of the founding fathers of modern Sindh nationalism, protesters raised placards of several world leaders to seek their intervention for the liberation of Sindh. The world leaders whose placards were used include Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina, British PM Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US President-elect Joe Biden (he later assumed office on January 20) and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The posters declared, “Sindh wants freedom from Pakistan”.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Resurgence on the Cards
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:23 pm
On January 24, 2021, five Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, including two ‘commanders’, were killed in intelligence-based operations in Mir Ali and Khesur areas of North Waziristan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The slain ‘commanders’ were identified as Syed Raheem and Saifullah Raheem.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:23 pm
A fast-unto-death protest started by five undergraduates of the Jaffna University came to an end soon after Vice Chancellor of the University S. Srisatkunarajah laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the Mullivaikkal Memorial within the university premises on January 11, 2021.
Punjab: SFJ: Struggling for Relevance
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:23 pm
On December 18, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), filed a chargesheet against 10 accused, including designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned secessionist organization – Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) – before the NIA Special Court at Mohali in the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar District of Punjab. Originally registered by Punjab Police at Sultanwind Police Station, Amritsar (City) on October 19, 2018, the case was subsequently re-registered by the NIA (RC-19/2020/NIA/DLI) on April 5, 2020. The case relates to a series of acts of violence including acts of arson in Punjab in 2017-18, carrying out propaganda activities, both online and on ground campaigns in support of SFJ and the purported ‘Referendum 2020’. These acts were committed by a gang of radicalised Sikh youth under the direction and financial assistance from SFJ handlers located abroad, as part of an organized conspiracy by the accused for the launch of a concerted secessionist campaign for the creation of ‘Khalistan’.
The Shadow of International Terror
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:23 pm
Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on December 1, 2020, disclosed that the government was moving to re-activate the investigation of 83 cases of Hefazat-e-Islam's (HeI) 'terrorist activities' in 2013, adding,
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:24 pm
The Indian Security Forces (SFs) with active cooperation of their Bangladeshi counterparts have successfully secured custody of Drishti Rajkhowa aka Monoj Rabha, the ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ of the Independent faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I). Rajkhowa, along with four of his accomplices, surrendered before Indian Security Forces (SFs) on November 11, 2020, in Meghalaya, along the India-Bangladesh Border. A day later, on November 12, he ‘formally’ surrendered to the Unified Command at the Army’s Red Horns Division at Rangia in the Kamrup District of Assam. His accomplices were identified as Yashin Ali, Rup Jyoti Rabha, Babul Rabha, and Rahul Hazarika.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:25 pm
Several parts of Nawa and Nad Ali Districts of Helmand Province were cleared of the Taliban in the ongoing operation by Afghan Security Forces (SFs), the Ministry of Defense said on October 28, 2020. The operation was launched on October 26, in these two districts as well as in Lashkargah city, the capital of Helmand, to retake the areas that had fallen to the Taliban two weeks ago, a statement by Ministry of Defense read, adding, “More than 100 Taliban fighters were killed and wounded in the operation.”
Bangladesh-China: Diplomacy looks simple but demanding
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:30 pm
Some time at the end of December 71, just after independence, I decided to visit the famous American journalist Edgar Snow. He spent his last days in Eysins on Lac lemon not far from Geneva.
How to cope with China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomats?
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:30 pm
A new expression has recently appeared in the media and international diplomatic circles: ‘wolf warrior’ a term for the new and very assertive Chinese diplomats, who use Twitter and other social media platforms to prey on any person, legal or physical, which criticizes China or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Nepal: China’s new satellite state
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:30 pm
China’s policy of corrupting the political class of a country, especially those that are economically fragile, is well known. Many countries in Africa, South & South East Asia and Latin America have fallen prey to these Chinese machinations and some are now neck deep in Chinese debt.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:31 pm
On July 24, 2020, four Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) personnel were killed and four were injured in a Taliban attack on their outpost at Kharistan village in Ghor Province.
Arunachal Pradesh: NSCN-IM Depredations
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:31 pm
On July 11, 2020, a combined team of the Assam Rifles and the Police, killed six National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) cadres in in an encounter, at a place near Nginu in Longding District. The deceased cadres were identified as - Somaya Shatsang, Ashak Wangsa, Somipam Shaiza, Sawang Pansa, Lentsuba Lalii and Paogouhao Lhangum. Arunachal Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), R.P. Upadhyaya disclosed,
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:32 pm
On June 11, 2020, unidentified miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) office located in the Kharmalki area of the State capital, Shillong, in the East Khasi Hills District.
IS-KP: Another Weapon in the ISI Armory
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:32 pm
On June 12, 2020, at least four civilians, were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack that occurred at Sher Shah Suri Mosque in the Kart-e-Char area of Kabul city in Kabul Province. The blast took place when people were offering Friday prayers, killing four worshippers, including the prayer leader Imam Maulavi Azizullah Mufleh.
Northeast: Consolidating the Peace
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:54 pm
The declining trend of insurgency-linked fatalities in the Northeast, established since 2015, continued through 2019 as well. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Northeast recorded a total of 34 fatalities (18 civilians, five Security Force (SF) personnel and 11 insurgents) in 2019, as against 73 fatalities (20 civilians, 15 SF personnel, and 38 insurgents) recorded in 2018.
Punjab: No Place for Minorities
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:54 pm
On March 31, 2020, a crowd of Islamist radicals attacked the Gurudwara in Nankana Sahib city. The crowd gathered in the evening in front of the main entrance of the Gurudwara and started throwing stones. The extremists threatened to eliminate every single Sikh faithful from the city and announced that they would give the location with an Islamic name.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:55 pm
On February 29, 2020, the United States (US) and the Afghan Taliban inked a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) paving the way for withdrawal of “all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel within 14 months following announcement of this agreement”. There were 16,551 foreign troops from 38 countries , including 8,000 US troops, in Afghanistan as on February 29, 2020.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:55 pm
On February 10, 2020, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced that the Government of India (GoI), the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM), and the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) had wound up “the talks and are now working out the competencies to ink a solution to the Naga issue.” Adding a note of caution, CM Neiphiu Rio clarified that “nowhere has it been mentioned that the peace process has concluded. Only the talks have concluded on a positive note, which signifies that the negotiating parties have arrived at meeting points on the various topics of the negotiations”.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:27 pm
In the first of incident of its kind reported in Odisha, on January 25, 2020, villagers of Janturai village in Malkangiri District, lynched a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, while another Maoist sustained injuries at the hands of the outraged villagers. The slain Maoist was identified as Ganga Madhi, a resident of the same District, and was carrying a cash reward of INR 100,000 on his head. The injured Maoist was identified as Jipro Hatrika, a resident of Koraput District, who had a reward of INR 400,000 on his head.
Countering Religious Extremism
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:30 pm
On November 25, 2019, Maldives Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed posted statistics of religious extremism cases recorded between January 1, 2014, and October 31, 2019. According to the data shared, 188 cases related to extremism in the name of religion had been reported since January 2014, but only 14 of these were sent for prosecution. No further details regarding the remaining cases were made available.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:30 pm
On November 11, 2019, the Chawang-Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF-Chawang- Kamson) claimed that its defection from the ZUF was to secure better future for Zeliangrong people living in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. The group broke away from ZUF (on an unspecified date) and signed a Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) with the Government of India (GoI) on October 26, 2019. Raitu Chawang is the ‘chairman’ and S. Kamson the ‘vice chairman’ of the splinter group. They were in the same position, respectively, in the United ZUF. The ‘parent’ ZUF is led by ‘chairman’ Pou Jenchui Kamei.
Plight of Bengali Muslims in Pakistan
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:31 pm
There are around three million Bengalis in Pakistan, and a significant portion of them live in Karachi. They are the poorest segment of Pakistani society. They are hindered by their status as aliens in the country and there are very few, almost negligible portion, who hold official documentation as Pakistani citizen. Usman Town Bangalipara is the area where Bengalis have been living for more than six decades. In fact they are living in Pakistan from the days of Partition of India and Pakistan. Yet they are facing lots of problems and living in constant tension and harassment.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:38 pm
On January 29, 2019, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a Tripura based tribal political party, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), along with another 10 political parties of the Northeast, met in Guwahati, the capital of neighbouring Assam, to announce their opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). The other political parties included the Mizo National Front (MNF), the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the Naga Peoples Front (NPF), the National Peoples’ Party (NPP), the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), the Hill State Peoples Party (HSPP) and the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF).
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:39 pm
On January 15, 2019, at least 10 persons were wounded in a clash between protesters and Police at Khwairamband Keithel in Imphal West District. The clash occurred when people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, [first introduced as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, and passed on in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) on January 8, 2019, following the submission of a Joint Parliamentary Committee report on January 7, 2019] were heading towards Raj Bhavan (the official residence of the State’s Governor).
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:39 pm
On January 1, 2019, four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and another two injured during an exchange of fire with militants who were trying to enter the residential and administration compound at an FC training centre in Loralai District of Balochistan. Four militants were also killed.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:47 pm
On November 28, 2018, at least 10 people were killed and another 29 injured in a suicide attack in Kabul City (District), the national capital.