India Must Counter the Bidirectional Psychological Warfare
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:30 pm
Of late, India has been experiencing a psychologically driven Chinese war strategy at various occasions. For instance, during the 2017 Doklam standoff, and with a much-renewed vigour in the recent military standoffs in Sikkim and at multiple points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. Thus, ‘Winning without Fighting’ has become a characteristic feature of China’s warfare strategy which is commonly called ‘psychological warfare’ (psywar).
Downward diplomatic spiral and the impending implosion of Pakistani society
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:30 pm
Unable to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Suleiman of Saudi Arabia, the high-powered delegation led by Pakistan army chief General Qamar Bajwa and ISI Chief has returned empty handed to Islamabad.
The stalemate on the India-China border and the wooing of India by the United States
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:31 pm
Since the gory 15 June clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley, senior representatives of the two countries have held five rounds of talks aimed at disengagement and de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
'KKBN Division': Maoists Fizzle Out
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:31 pm
on July 23, 2020, two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including a woman, were killed in an exchange of fire with the Security Forces (SFs) in the Sirla Reserve Forest area under Tumudibandha Police limits in the Kandhamal District of Odisha. Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay disclosed, “The Police Forces fired in self-defense. After the exchange of fire ended, the SOG [Special Operations Group] and DVF [District Voluntary Force] spotted two bodies – a male and a female. Both were in Maoist uniforms. We also recovered one INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle, one carbine, and two country-made firearms.” The identities of the slain Maoists are yet to be ascertained.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:32 pm
The draft of the 14th Amendment Bill to the 1974 Interim Constitution of the Pakistan-Administered and so-called ‘Azad’ (Free) Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), which has been accessed by EFSAS and can be seen here, has served as a grim reminder of just how suppressed and occupied ‘Azad’ J&K actually is.
Maharashtra: Gadchiroli: Strategic Restraint
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:32 pm
On May 17, 2020, two Police personnel, Sub-Inspector Dhannaji Honmane and constable Kishore Atram, were killed and another three were injured in an exchange of fire with Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in the Poyerkothi-Koparshi forested area under Bhamragarh Tehsil (revenue unit) in Gadchiroli District. Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailesh Balkawade disclosed that the gun-battle took place when Maoists opened fire at a Quick Response Team (QRT) from Bhamragarh and C-60 commandos of Gadchiroli Police, who were out on a joint anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation.
Jammu and Kashmir: TRF: The New 'Front'
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:33 pm
The Resistance Front (TRF) is the product of one of the several efforts, often repeated over the past two decades by Rawalpindi, to give terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) an ‘indigenous’ face, and to provide Pakistan’s deep state, an alibi. According to intelligence sources, the outfit emerged as an online virtual identity, acting as a mouthpiece for major Pakistan-based terror outfits such as Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Thereafter, it has sought to claim a number of terrorist attacks executed by cadres of these groupings.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:54 pm
On March 11, 2020, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as P. Srimathi (27), was arrested by the personnel of Tamil Nadu ‘Q’ Branch near Attappady forests in Palakkad District. According to a Police Official, Srimathi was a member of the Kabani and Bhavani Dalam (armed squad) of the CPI-Maoist. She was wanted in over 20 cases registered both in Kerala and Karnataka, and was on the watchlist of Police of both the States for long.
Sep 15, 2024, at 01:55 pm
On February 22, 2020, in response to reports of an attempted terror attack, the Maldives Police raided three houses on the Naifaru island of Lhaviyani Atoll. According to the Police, the residences were of three individuals accused of planning to set off an explosive device on the island.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:27 pm
A Policeman, identified as Rehman Bangash, was killed by unidentified assailants outside his residence in the Pehlwan Goth area of Gulistan-e-Johar in Gulshan Town, Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on February 5, 2020.
Assam: Balancing Ethnic Antagonisms
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:27 pm
On January 30, 2020, at least 1,615 cadres of four factions of the Bodo militant formation, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), surrendered arms at a ceremony held in Guwahati in Kamrup (Metro) District. Those who surrendered included 836 from the Dhiren Bodo faction of NDFB (NDFB-DB), and the Gobinda Basumatary led Pro-Talks faction (NDFB-PTF); 579 from the Ranjan Daimary faction (NDFB-RD); and 200 from the Saoraigwra faction (NDFB-S). Significantly, the 1,615 surrendered militants deposited just 178 weapons and 4,803 rounds of live ammunition.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:28 pm
On December 29, 2019, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested five cadres of Allah’r Dal (The Army of Allah) while they were holding a clandestine meeting in the Labanchora area of Khulna District. RAB recovered some leaflets of the organisation from their possession.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:30 pm
Tribal leader Malik Khan Gull and his son were killed in an explosion in the Tank area of Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on November 25, 2019. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack thus far.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:30 pm
On October 25, 2019, an Ahmadi place of worship located in Chak 161 Murad in Hasilpur village of Bahawalpur District in Punjab was demolished by the Police. The ‘operation’ was led by the Assistant Commissioner of Hasilpur, Mohammad Tayyab.
Sep 15, 2024, at 02:31 pm
On October 11, 2019, a doctor, identified as Mohammad Ali, was assassinated by Taliban terrorists in the Payencha region of Dolina District in Afghanistan’s Ghor Province. Taliban terrorists have been repeatedly targeting health workers, including doctors and nurses, as well as medical facilities across Afghanistan. Facing constant threat, intimidation and harassment from the Taliban, several healthcare practitioners have resigned and health centres have been shut down, depriving civilians of access to healthcare.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:38 pm
In the intervening night of February 1 and 2, 2019, two villagers, identified as Nirmal Goswami and Samru Kosmi, were shot dead by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, over suspicion of being ‘Police informers’, near Markegaon village in Dhanora Tehsil (revenue unit) in Gadchiroli District. Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailesh Balkawade disclosed,
Jharkhand: Visible Improvement
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:39 pm
On January 4, 2019, the Security Forces (SFs) killed an ‘area commander’ of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), identified as Chander Singh Bhokta aka Ganju, in an encounter in the Kurkheta forest area under Zori-Hunterganj Police Station limits in the Chatra District of Jharkhand. Ganju, a native of Birlutudag village under the Rajgir Police Station of the District, was operating in the Koleshwari zone along the Jharkhand-Bihar border. SFs recovered one INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle from the encounter spot.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:46 pm
34 days after Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis by dissolving the Parliament on November 9, 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) of Sri Lanka ruled, on December 13, 2018, that President Sirisena's decision was illegal and unconstitutional. The verdict was delivered by a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera.
Balochistan: CPEC - Escalating Threat
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:47 pm
On December 10, 2018, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Cell, in its briefing to Balochistan Cabinet, revealed that Balochistan’s share in the USD 62 Billion CPEC project was a miniscule nine percent, about USD 5.6 Billion. It was also disclosed that, out of this committed sum, less than USD one Billion had been spent in over five years, since May 22, 2013, when CPEC was launched. The stunned Cabinet members reportedly described CPEC spending in Balochistan thus far, as “a joke”.
NSCN K Widening Rift and an Opportunity
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:47 pm
On December 6, 2018, the Khango Konyak-led faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K-Konyak) announced the decision to revoke the 2015 pronouncement of unilateral abrogation of the cease-fire agreement (CFA) with immediate effect. ‘President’ and ‘Chairman’ Khango Konyak and ‘general secretary’ Isak Sumi, in a joint statement, called upon Union Government to respond,
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:47 pm
On November 26, 2018, the Maldives’ Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Abdullah Shahid, after his meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, tweeted, “A new era of enhanced cooperation emerging in Maldives-India relationship under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih”. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had, earlier in the day, tweeted, “Harmonious synergy of India's 'Neighbourhood First' & Maldives’ 'India First' policy”. The two foreign ministers, meanwhile, during the meeting agreed that the State Visit of Maldives’ newly elected President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to India would take place on December 17, 2018.
Has World Water Council become hostage to Water mafia?
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:47 pm
Marseille, France, 29 November: Set up in 1996 after a proposal to this effect at the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development in Dublin in 1992, the World Water Council is in the eye of a storm. With accusations from its very own members of succumbing to the greed of water mafia, the world’s apex body on water is of late mired in controversies.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:48 pm
On October 7, 2018, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli at a book launching ceremony in Kathmandu promised, “If someone had committed crime in the name of Maoist War, then they will be punished: there will be no amnesty for serious crimes. We are going to follow the international conventions we have signed.” Earlier, addressing the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 27, 2018, Prime Minister Oli had observed
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:48 pm
On September 30, 2018, at least 21 Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) terrorists were killed in a United States (US) drone strike in the Sikanar area of Wazir Tang in the Khogyani District of Nangarhar Province.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:48 pm
On September 30, 2018, a Policeman was killed and his rifle was snatched when suspected Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) militants attacked Police Station Shopian in Shopian District The slain Policeman, identified as Saqib Mohiudin, was manning the entry gate of the Police Station when the attack took place at around 6 am [IST].
Chhattisgarh: Narayanpur: Tightening Vice
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
On September 2, 2018, at least four cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), including a Local Organization Squad (LOS) ‘commander’, were killed in an encounter with District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel in a forest near the Gumiyabeda village under Maad Police Station limits in Narayanpur District. During a subsequent search of the spot, four bodies, including one of a woman cadre, were recovered, of which two were identified; one of the these as Somlu, the Nelnar ‘area committee member (ACM)’; the other, a woman cadre, identified as Ratti, the ‘commander’ of the Jhara LOS. DRG personnel recovered four weapons, including one INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle, one .303 rifle and two 12-bore guns.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
At least six persons – among them three Chinese engineers – were injured in a suicide attack on a bus in the Dalbandin area of Chagai District in Balochistan in the morning of August 11, 2018. The bus carrying 18 Chinese engineers was being escorted by Frontier Corps (FC) troops to the Dalbandin airport from the Saindaik copper and gold mines when a suicide bomber tried to drive his explosives-laden vehicle into the bus. “The explosives-laden vehicle exploded near the bus on Quetta-Taftan Highway – and as a result three Chinese engineers, two FC soldiers and the bus driver were injured,” an unnamed Levies official stated. Saifullah Khatiran,Deputy Commissioner of Chagai District, disclosed that the engineers were working on the Saindak project, a joint venture between Pakistan and China to extract gold, copper and silver from an area close to the border.The three injured Chinese engineers were identified as Huo Xiaohu, Shi Jiangpeng and You Riwei. The suicide bomber was killed. All the Chinese engineers were later sent to Karachi.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
On August 13, 2018, International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) sentenced to death Mohamad Esahaq Shikder (83), Abdul Goni Hawlader (72), Mohamad Awal aka Awal Moulavi (69), Mohamad Abdus Sattar Pada (65) and Solaiman Mridha aka Soleman Mridha (86) for committing crimes against humanity in the Patuakhali District during the Liberation War in 1971. They were found guilty of two charges for which they were indicted on March 8, 2017. All the five men were handed death sentence for the murder of 17 villagers after torturing them in confinement and setting fire to at least 12 houses after looting them in Itbaria, a village in the Patuakhali District on May 4, 1971. They were also given death sentence for the abduction of 15 women from the same Itbaria village on the same day, taking them to the Circuit House Army camp where they were tortured and raped for 10 days until May 14, 971. All the convicts were involved with the Muslim League (ML) and are behind bars.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:50 pm
A team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel of the Chhattisgarh Police killed at least 15 Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in an encounter in a forested area between Golapalli and Konta, near Nalkatong village in Sukma District. Chhattisgarh, on August 6, 2018. Special Director General (SDG), anti-Naxal[Left Wing Extremism, LWE] Operations, Durgesh Madhav Awasthi, confirmed that a ‘militia platoon commander’, identified as Vanjam Hunga, was among those killed, while the identities of rest of the deceased Maoists were yet to be ascertained. Four Maoists, including a woman, were also arrested during the operation. Of the three male Maoist cadres arrested, one Madkami Deva is an ‘area committee member’ and carried a bounty of INR 500,000. The identities of the other three, including the woman cadre, were yet to be ascertained. The slain and arrested Maoists belonged to three separate militia formations–the Gompad militia, Balatong militia and Belponcha militia –which are active in the Konta, Golapalli, and Bhejji areas in Sukma.
Sep 15, 2024, at 03:51 pm
The efforts of the military to steer the elections against PML-N and PPP, the two most popular political formations in Pakistan, and in favour of a possible coalition led by Imran Khan's PTI and including a range of radical Islamist formations, has enormously destabilised both the political and extremist landscape across the country. Under the prevailing situation, a dramatic rise in violence is not unexpected.