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Showing posts from August 4, 2019

Mothers play important part in youth joining Lashkar: Author C Christine Fair

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The literature of Lashkar you quote is also evidence against the terrorist organisation. You went through posthumous biographies of slain LeT terrorists. What was the motivation for these terrorists? American author C Christine Fair’s just-published book, In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, provides new evidence on the terrorist activities of the Pakistan-based group. Drawn from extensive research into the publications of LeT (now called Jamaat-ud-Dawah), the book details similarities between Lashkar terrorists and the Pakistani army, its means of recruitment, motivation of slain terrorists and its links with their families. Declared persona non grata by Pakistan, Fair, a Provost’s distinguished associate professor in security studies programme with Georgetown University’s Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, spoke with Faizal Khan on the sidelines of the third edition of South Asia Conclave by Oxford University Press in Delhi. Excerpts from an interview:

UN chief: Daesh has as much as $300 million to fight

UNITED NATIONS: The Daesh extremist group has been left with as much as $300 million following the loss of its so-called “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, “with none of the financial demands of controlling territory and population,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a new report released Monday. The report to the Security Council on the threat posed by Daesh warns that the lull in attacks directed by the militant group “may be temporary.” Last week, UN experts said in another report to the council that Daesh leaders are aiming to consolidate and create conditions for an “eventual resurgence in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands.” It said the current lull in attacks “may not last long, possibly not even until the end of 2019.” Guterres said in the new report that while the loss of territory ended the Daesh group’s ability to generate revenue from oil fields and local people, Daesh is believed to be capable of directing funds to support “terrorist acts” within Iraq and Syria a

After J&K Move, Islamabad Reactivates Terror Camps in PoK: Reports

As tension between India and Pakistan escalates over the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Islamabad has reportedly reactivated nearly a dozen terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) close to the International Border along Jammu and Kashmir. During the past week, hectic movement of terrorists has been seen around these camps which were almost shut in the wake of a May 2019 deadline set up by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body based in Paris. Top intelligence sources said Indian security forces have been put on high alert as terror camps in Kotli, Rawalkot, Bagh and Muzzafrabad in PoK area, bordering Line of Control (LoC), have been reactivated with the ostensible backing of the Pakistan army.  Also Read:  Omar Abdullah, National Conference Challenge Govt’s J&K Move in SC Imran Khan: Not Responsible if Another Pulwama-Like Attack Happens in India Two days back, on 8 August, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had st

One person injured in shooting at Norway mosque

One person has been injured in a shooting inside a mosque in Norway, police said on Saturday, adding that one man had been apprehended. The suspected shooter at the al-Noor Islamic Centre near the country’s capital was described as “a young white man”, the police added. The victim was a 75-year-old member of the congregation, mosque director Irfan Mushtaq told TV2. “The man carried two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol. He broke through a glass door and fired shots,” he said. The shooter, who wore body armour, was overpowered by members of the mosque before police arrived, Mushtaq added. Source:  https://indianexpress.com/article/world/one-person-injured-in-shooting-at-norway-mosque-5894926/

Amid crackdown on leaders in Kashmir, Engineer Rashid arrested in terror funding case

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested independent MLA from North Kashmir Engineer Rashid in connection with a case of terror-funding. The arrest came amid the lockdown in Kashmir, where more than 800 political leaders and activists have been detained in the past four days. Rashid was being questioned by NIA for more than a week in relation with the case, where it is alleged that Kashmiri separatists received funds from Pakistan, including from LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, to foment trouble in the Valley. Rashid has been arrested. We have found evidence of his transactions with Zahoor Watali. He also had dealings, both financial and otherwise, with other separatists in Kashmir, a senior NIA officer said. Watali is a key accused in the case where separatists like Shabbir Shah, Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi and Masarrat Alam are already under arrest. NIA has alleged that Watali was the key conduit between elements in Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists for terror fund

China White Paper says Uygur Muslim Separatism Has No Historical Basis

 On Sunday, China issued a White Paper (WP) on the demand for separation by the Uygur Muslims of Xinjiang in northwest China. Entitled: “Historical Matters Concerning Xinjiang”, the WP argues at length that the Uygurs’ demand has no historical basis. The WP states that Islam is not an indigenous Xinjiangese religion and that the tendency of Islam’s modern-day practitioners to become separate and exclusive goes against the role played of the Uygurs in the development of the multi-ethnic Xinjinagese culture and the cultural symbiosis on which the larger Chinese culture has been built over the part 5000 years. Uygur culture has always been a syncretic one like the broader Chinese culture of which it is part, the WP says. It contends that the Uygurs have always been better off being part of China than being outside it. To prove this, it says that Uygurs have, in the past, joined Chinese dynasties in the Central Region to defend China against usurp

Between Two Wars: Yemen and Afghanistan

There are no beautiful wars in the world; all are ugly. But there are wars of necessity, and the war in Yemen is one of them, both for Yemenis and Saudis. The war there is not one of choice. Militants on the Saudi border, armed with ballistic missiles, are capable of reaching the Kingdom’s main cities and beyond the capital Riyadh. But why the comparison between Yemen and Afghanistan? Well, the two wars, though different in historical roots and political motives, are similar in geography, circumstances and ongoing challenges. Has the war in Yemen been going on for too long? Yes, but wars do not have a specific duration. The US entered Afghanistan in 2001 and has been fighting there ever since. Saudi Arabia has been in Yemen since 2015. Taliban militants in Afghanistan are like the Houthis of Yemen. The Taliban are Sunni extremists and the Houthis are Shiite extremists. Both have a political agenda with an extremist religious discourse.

Papuan Separatists Unification Unlikely to Stabilize

West Papuan separatist groups have recently united under a single banner. However, internal conflict and a determined Indonesian government will likely lead to a deterioration in the security environment in Indonesia’s Papua Province. This will increase the risk of disruption to mining operations in the resource-rich province. On 1 July 2019, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) announced the unification of the three main armed separatist groups in Indonesia’s Papua Province under the political leadership of exiled ULMWP Chairman Benny Wenda. According to the ‘Vanimo Border Declaration’ signed on 01 May 2019, the West Papua Revolutionary Army, West Papuan National Army, and the West Papua National Liberation Army will unite to form the West Papuan Army.  This represents a historic step for the West Papuan self-determination movement, with the establishment of a unilaterally declared ‘self–defence force’ under the political leadership of the ULMWP. Ho

Kenney stoking Alberta separatism notions: political analyst

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As election season begins to heat up ahead of this fall’s federal election, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he would rather see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leave office than the province leave the federation. In a video shared on social media Saturday, Kenney said it’s a challenge facing Alberta in the next three months. “Rather than focusing on Alberta separating from the Canadian federation, I’d like to focus on separating Justin Trudeau from the Prime Minister’s Office,” said Kenney in the video. But Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt said Kenney stoking the flames of separatism could be a dangerous precedent. “It’s a dangerous game to play to say, ‘well if the Liberals are elected we are separating’,” he said. “Kenney did not create this fire around separation, but I think he is stoking it by saying, ‘I’m not a separatist, but if I don’t get my way the only other alternative is separation.’” Bratt wondered if Andrew Scheer’s federa

How Nigeria's Jews Are Getting Caught in a New Separatist War

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The tapping noise from Ima Nwachukwu’s footsteps breaks the solemn silence as the 49-year-old rabbi walks among worshippers draped in white robes, prayer shawls and yarmulkes at a synagogue in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s third-largest city. “Remember you are not the only one persecuted. Jews all over the world are,” she tells them. She bows before the Star of David — ringed by a ribbon of blue light — at the end of a long sermon in which politics, persecution and purification all mingle. It’s a sermon rooted in a sharpening battle for survival that Nigeria’s small but fast-growing Jewish community faces. Africa’s most populous nation has seen its Jewish population double over the past five years to an estimated 10,000 people. Synagogues in the country have also doubled in this period, from fewer than 10 to at least 20 today. But now, the community finds itself increasingly caught in a violent battle between Nigerian authorities and a revived secessi

China's military warns against growing threat from Taiwan 'separatists'

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Beijing (CNN) China has warned against what it describes as a growing threat from "separatists" in Taiwan, and said it would not rule out using force against the self-governed island Beijing regards as part of its territory. In a national defense white paper released Wednesday, China took aim at what it considers pro-independence or separatist forces in the far western region of Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan, claiming they were a threat to national security and social stability. In particular, the paper accused Taiwan's democratically-elected government of "pursuing a path of separatism" by pushing for "gradual independence," warning that China "must and will be reunited." Taiwan has been governed separately from mainland China since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government fled to the island. Beijing has repeatedly called for "reunification" with Taiwan. According to

The Separatist Era Not Mentioned in the Syrian Revolt

The Syrian uprising was usurped by a civil war between the Bashar Assad regime and armed Islamist groups no more than a year after it erupted. It was eaten up be regional and international conflicts. The revolt was not allowed to achieve several of its demands and it would be unjust now to demand it to do so. One of these demands is writing the actual history of the modern Syria and reclaiming it from the clutches of the Assad regime lies. The reclaiming of history could have led the Syrians to freedom and provided them with moments in history on which they could base their calls for freedom. This never happened. Despite this, some glimpses of democracy were witnessed in Syria in the past century. The 1954-58 period that followed the ouster of Adib Shishakli and rise of Syrian-Egyptian unity could be considered the golden age of democracy in Syria. This was followed by a period of silence from 1961-63 when the union with Egypt ended

Tensions rise among Yemen allies after separatist attack