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Kashmir al-Qaeda Wing Says Delhi Riots, Taliban Peace Agreement Have Energised Jihad
Kashmir al-Qaeda Wing Says Delhi Riots, Taliban Peace Agreement Have Energised Jihad
The statement comes amid mounting concerns that Taliban could offer safe havens to Kashmiri jihadist groups as the US withdraws from the region.

New Delhi: Last week’s agreement between the United States and the Taliban, as well as the communal violence in Delhi, have energised jihadists in Kashmir, al-Qaeda wing has said, hailing “these glorious times when the crusaders army in Khorasan have signed the final document of their defeat and in such a hopeful season when Indian Muslims have decided not to bear the atrocity and oppression of Hindu polytheist groups”.
The statement from Ansar Ghazwa’tul Hind, the Kashmir-based wing of al-Qaeda, was its first since the Government of India ended Kashmir’s special constitutional status in August.
The statement hailed the killing of ethnic-Kashmiri jihadists Jehangir Rafiq Wani Raja Umar Maqbool, Saadat Thokar, last month on the outskirts of Tral in southern Kashmir. “We give glad tidings to the ummah [Muslim nation] of the martyrdom of its sincere and loyal sons”.
In its statement, the jihadist group vows that it will “free the land of Kashmir from the Hindu polytheists, and will implement the shari’a law”. It also said it would continue fighting until the Masjid-e-Aqsa [in Jerusalem] and Babri Masjid are not free from kuffar [the unbelievers]”.
The statement comes amid mounting concerns that the Taliban could offer safe havens to Kashmiri jihadist groups as the United States withdraws from the region. The Taliban has long worked alongside al-Qaeda’s South Asian wing, led until last year by Indian-born jihadist Sana-ul-Haq, and the terms of its recent peace agreement with the United States do not require it to severe the relationship.
Even though al-Qaeda remains marginal in Kashmir’s jihadist landscape, there have been signs that its influence is growing among a section of young people, amid a cutback in Islamabad’s support for organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad. In turn, organisations like the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen have claimed al-Qaeda is a front for India’s intelligence services, and a tool to divide the jihadist movement.
An estimated 2,500 people in Tral’s Drumbal village, local government sources said, attended three separate funeral prayers for slain jihadist Wani, led by local clerics Umar Lone and Ghulam Qadir. Wani is believed to have joined the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in the summer of 2018, serving under the recently-slain commander Hammad Khan, before joining al-Qaeda some months ago.
Local residents also turned out in crowds of over 2,000, the sources said, for the burials of Umar Maqbool Bhat and Sadat Ahmad Thoker, both of whom also had two rounds of funeral rites, led by local clerics and their families.
“These crowds aren’t huge compared to the tens of thousands who have come out on some occasions in the past”, an intelligence official observed, “but they do reflect an undercurrent of sympathy for jihadists, which is a cause for concern”.
In September, Shi’a residents of Budgam, who were allowed to march to commemorate the martyrdom of the Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, shouted slogans hailing the memory of the Ansar Ghazwa’tul Hind jihadist Zakir Ahmed Bhat, also known as Zakir Musa.
Even though Bhat was part of al-Qaeda—which, as an affiliate of the al-Qaeda, views Shi'as as heretics, and had been responsible for a series of genocidal attacks on them — he was valourised as a hero who fought Hindu hegemony.
Zakir Rashid Bhat, an engineering college dropout, had founded al-Qaeda’s Kashmir unit in the summer of 2017. In one video, Bhat appeared under the al-Qaeda banner, accusing Indian Muslims of cowardice, and calling on them to engage in jihad against the government.
Then in July, 2017, al-Qaeda had announced the formation of the Ansar Ghazwa’tul Hind, saying, “The jihad in Kashmir has reached a stage of awakening as the Muslim nation of Kashmir has committed to carry the flag of jihad to repel the aggression of tyrant Indian invaders”.
From its outset, al-Qaeda’s Kashmir wing sought to distinguish itself from other jihadist groups, saying it would focus on high-value targets across India. In December 2017, South Asia-region al-Qaeda chief Usama Mehmood argued that the key to victory in Kashmir lay in attacking Indian cities.
“India is already using 6,00,000 troops just to hold on to Kashmir,” Mehmood said in a statement. “If it is attacked in Kolkata, Bengaluru and New Delhi, it will come to its senses and release its grip on Kashmir”
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Then in February 2018, Zakir Bhat called for targeting “companies which are associated with the Government of India, or those foreign companies which have invested or wish to invest in India".
However, last month’s encounter, intelligence sources said, indicated that Ansar Ghazwat’ul Hind’s ambitions and capacities. Notably, an official pointed out, Ansar Ghazwa’tul Hind faced problems acquiring weapons, since the three men between them possessed only two Kalashnikov assault rifles, a pistol, and some 50 rounds of ammunition.
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Altough some facts in the above article are disoriented but not very far for actual situation on ground. Pulwama was just a tip of an iceberg of what could actually happen, if India still stays bureaucratic dealing with Pakistan. All these AD, JS and all will one day doom India because of their lethargic policies. I am more pointing towards Home Ministry, MEA and Indian military especially airforce.

None of them are master in Islamic studies, or geostrategy except for Doval who has actually worked on the land and know Islam and psychology of people in Pakistan and Afghanistan inside out. I get a relief when I hear CDS is Gen Rawat and NSA a Ajit Doval , Shah and Modi and Yogi. But same time there are many backstabbers in the hierarchy as well who are incompetent and do not have a pinch of idea what could may happen.

Reason: Their families sons and kids are abroad. They have no sensitivity towards Indian security which is itself a threat.

Edit: These are all ISI mouth pieces, who are actually looking for funding to create trouble in India. This also means that Pakistan's economy is not directly involved, the money is all abroad and this is a call for funding. The ISI is trying to involve as much as people to trouble Indians.

India is only giving time to and opportunity to Pakistan and others to destabilize growing India. Pakistanis will not learn due to their extremists ideology and they will always get provoked either by Chinese or others and sell themselves only to hurt India and Indian interests.

No matter how much diplomacy you, do no country will ever want one more competetor like India to come into world economics. And thus all this unrest.
 
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100 Pakistan mercenaries in Syria to fight on behalf of Turkey, says US journalist
Pakistani Shia mercenaries Pakistan have earlier fought in Syria on behalf of Iran, but this will be the first time its nationals collaborate with Turkey in the war-torn country.
Snehesh Alex Philip 2 March, 2020 6:36 pm IST


New Delhi: A batch of 100 Pakistani mercenaries has landed in war-torn Syria to fight alongside the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), with more expected to come in the near future, ThePrint has learnt.

Sources in the Indian defence establishment said they were trying to find out more about the development.
The fact that Pakistani mercenaries have landed in Syria has been revealed by Lindsey Snell, an American journalist who has covered the nine-year-long-and-counting Syrian war.

Snell, who has reportedly been abducted by an al-Qaida affiliate and even jailed by Turkey, told ThePrint that the information was given to her by a “source in the FSA”.

According to her source, she said, a total of 1,400 Pakistani mercenaries are to join the Turkish-backed group, which is one of the many non-government militias involved in the Syrian civil war.

Snell, however, added that the information had not been independently verified.

The Syrian civil war started in 2011 over concerns such as employment, corruption and democracy but has since transformed into a chaotic conflict involving multiple entities and nations. It is estimated to have killed over 3.6 lakh people until December 2018.

The FSA is one of multiple opposition forces involved in the war, each of them driven by different agendas. Different groups involved in the war are backed by different countries, with Turkish support for the FSA primarily aimed at keeping a Kurdish militia in check in light of a decades-long insurgency at home.

If Pakistan mercenaries have indeed entered Syria, it will not be the first time they play a role in the West Asian nation. In the past, several have fought under the Hezbollah flag, backed by Iran.

“There is a Zainebiyoun militia of Pakistani Shias deployed by Iran in Syria. We are looking into this new development involving Turkey and Pakistan,” a source in the security establishment said.

Sources added that the use of mercenaries in support of Turkey could not have occurred without the blessings of the Pakistani deep state — the ISI. It remains unclear whether the mercenaries in question are drawn from terror groups backed by the ISI or former servicemen.

There are several organisations that recruit former and current Pakistani soldiers as well as civilians to work in security-related jobs in West Asia, where they play a role similar to personnel of the US’ controversial Blackwater private security firm, the Washington-based think-tank Middle East Media Research Institute had said in 2011 while talking about Pakistan’s mercenary business.

Pakistan also formally sent its troops to ally Saudi Arabia, which backs some opposition fighters in Syria (rival Iran supports the Bashar al-Assad administration) on a “training and advice mission” in 2018.

Former Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif (Retd) commands the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism.
100 Pakistan mercenaries in Syria to fight on behalf of Turkey, says US journalist
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This is the penetration of ISI into islamic world, they are front players. They can divert all their resources into India via Nepal and create trouble and this is exactly they will do. Remember after Af-Soviet war, they diverted all the resources into Kashmir.

India really has to tighten their pants. This is not going to be easy the way it seems. Because through Pakistanis, the west also gets an access into Islamic world.

In No way a diplomacy can really work, no matter what you do. They have been trying hard to get access into shia muslims and manipulate, same they will do in India as well. Pakistanis have be the main interlocutors between Saudi Aran, Iran and Iraq. They are trying to create a Bagdhdad pact type of block and use it against India.

And India can't even get any news out POJK or spot jet shot by IAF. Whatever is happening is inside Indian Kashmir not theirs. And they have created Nooristan/khorsan and Zehdan as their buffers.

And babus in Indian establishment are watching Kapil sharma show.
 
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100 Pakistan mercenaries in Syria to fight on behalf of Turkey, says US journalist
Pakistani Shia mercenaries Pakistan have earlier fought in Syria on behalf of Iran, but this will be the first time its nationals collaborate with Turkey in the war-torn country.
Snehesh Alex Philip 2 March, 2020 6:36 pm IST


New Delhi: A batch of 100 Pakistani mercenaries has landed in war-torn Syria to fight alongside the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), with more expected to come in the near future, ThePrint has learnt.

Sources in the Indian defence establishment said they were trying to find out more about the development.
The fact that Pakistani mercenaries have landed in Syria has been revealed by Lindsey Snell, an American journalist who has covered the nine-year-long-and-counting Syrian war.

Snell, who has reportedly been abductedby an al-Qaida affiliate and even jailed by Turkey, told ThePrint that the information was given to her by a “source in the FSA”.

According to her source, she said, a total of 1,400 Pakistani mercenaries are to join the Turkish-backed group, which is one of the many non-government militias involved in the Syrian civil war.

Snell, however, added that the information had not been independently verified.

The Syrian civil war started in 2011 over concerns such as employment, corruption and democracy but has since transformed into a chaotic conflict involving multiple entities and nations. It is estimated to have killedover 3.6 lakh people until December 2018.

The FSA is one of multiple opposition forces involved in the war, each of them driven by different agendas. Different groups involved in the war are backed by different countries, with Turkish support for the FSA primarily aimed at keeping a Kurdish militia in check in light of a decades-long insurgency at home.

If Pakistan mercenaries have indeed entered Syria, it will not be the first time they play a role in the West Asian nation. In the past, several have fought under the Hezbollah flag, backed by Iran.

“There is a Zainebiyoun militia of Pakistani Shias deployed by Iran in Syria. We are looking into this new development involving Turkey and Pakistan,” a source in the security establishment said.

Sources added that the use of mercenaries in support of Turkey could not have occurred without the blessings of the Pakistani deep state — the ISI. It remains unclear whether the mercenaries in question are drawn from terror groups backed by the ISI or former servicemen.

There are several organisations that recruit former and current Pakistani soldiers as well as civilians to work in security-related jobs in West Asia, where they play a role similar to personnel of the US’ controversial Blackwater private security firm, the Washington-based think-tank Middle East Media Research Institute had said in 2011while talking about Pakistan’s mercenary business.

Pakistan also formally sent its troops to ally Saudi Arabia, which backs some opposition fighters in Syria (rival Iran supports the Bashar al-Assad administration) on a “training and advice mission” in 2018.

Former Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif (Retd) commands the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism.
100 Pakistan mercenaries in Syria to fight on behalf of Turkey, says US journalist
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


This is the penetration of ISI into islamic world, they are front players. They can divert all their resources into India via Nepal and create trouble and this is exactly they will do. Remember after Af-Soviet war, they diverted all the resources into Kashmir.

India really has to tighten their pants. This is not going to be easy the way it seems. Because through Pakistanis, the west also gets an access into Islamic world.

In No way a diplomacy can really work, no matter what you do. They have been trying hard to get access into shia muslims and manipulate, same they will do in India as well. Pakistanis have be the main interlocutors between Saudi Aran, Iran and Iraq. They are trying to create a Bagdhdad pact type of block and use it against India.

And India can't even get any news out POJK or spot jet shot by IAF. Whatever is happening is inside Indian Kashmir not theirs. And they have created Nooristan/khorsan and Zehdan as their buffers.

And babus in Indian establishment are watching Kapil sharma show.
Bureaucrats will destroy this country. Bureaucracy is still the British established , they still think they are Kings while citizens are slaves. Bureaucracy is a curse
 
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Man passes on videos of vital installations in Jammu to Pak, arrested: Report

Pankaj Sharma sent photos of bridges on highways along the border to Pakistan intelligence agencies, said sources.

A person has been detained in Jammu’s Samba for allegedly passing vital information to Pakistan, sources said on Thursday. Pankaj Sharma was working as an operative of Pakistani intelligence agencies, they further added and was in touch with his handlers for the past few years.

Sharma sent photos and videos of vital installations, mostly located in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir to his handlers in Pakistan in lieu of monetary gains, the sources said. He used social media to share the content, they further said, adding that Sharma has confessed to the charges during interrogation.

Sharma told investigating agencies that he shared photos of some bridges on the national highway in border areas to his handlers in Pakistan, the sources said. He received money in return in two bank accounts which reportedly belong to him.

The bank account of Sharma is being analysed for suspicious transactions and investigations are underway, they added.

An espionage racket consisting of seven Indian Navy officials and a Hawala operator was busted in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam last year, which houses the Eastern Naval Command. Intelligence agencies suspected that the accused passed information on naval operations to Pakistan.

The men accused of spying were nabbed in a joint operation by the Andhra Pradesh intelligence police and the Naval Intelligence in coordination with central intelligence agencies on Friday.

An alleged operative of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Mohammad Parvez, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2017. Parvez had honey-trapped an army jawan in Jaipur using a fake identity and collected confidential and strategic information and passed it on to the ISI.

A senior police officer from Jaipur said Parvez was a member of a sleeper cell module in Delhi and was acting on commands of the ISI operatives.
Man passes on videos of vital installations in Jammu to Pak, arrested: Report
:mad:
 
Gujarat: Four youths held by cops in Kutch for sending critical information about India’s security instalments to Pakistan
The accused have been identified as Hajam Mamadrafik, Sumra Arbaz Ismail, Padeiyar Abas and a 17-year-old minor.

Gujarat: Cops nab 4 youths for spying on behalf of Pakistan's ISI

The Kutch Police apprehended four youths, including one minor, on Saturday on suspicion of spying on behalf of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. They have been identified as Hajam Mamadrafik, Sumra Arbaz Ismail, Padeiyar Abas and a 17-year-old minor.

Saurabh Tolambiya, Superintendent of Police, Kutch (West) said, “We have found information on their phones and they haven’t been able to give valid reasons for keeping them.”

The four accused has been booked under section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), section 120B (conspiracy) and the Official Secrets Act for allegedly sending critical information about defence instalments to an unidentified person in Pakistan. They are residents of Abdasa taluka of Kutch district.

When asked if the accused received anything in exchange for sending information, police said that these things are still being probed. “Prima facie, they have been arrested on the basis of suspicion. The other aspect of this case is a matter of investigation which the Special Operation Group (SOG) is doing,” the SP said.

Among the arrested, Mamadrafik is a barber and Ismail runs a mobile shop, while the other two are students of a private school.

This is not the first time that such a case of espionage has come to light. Last month, the Andhra Pradesh police jointly with the Naval intelligence had arrested thirteen people, including eleven Navy personnel and two civilians. It had been revealed that they were honey-trapped by the Pakistani ISI operatives on social media after which these men had leaked sensitive information related to the Indian Navy through their social media profiles.

In January, it was revealed that one Army jawan named Sepoy Somveer Singh, who was arrested four months back on charges of espionage in Jaiselmer, got in touch with one ‘Anika Chopra’ over Facebook and was chatting regularly with her and exchanging details and information about the armoured unit including its movement. Following this, multiple accounts of officers and jawans are under probe with whom ‘Anika Chopra’ was in touch with.

Recently, a suspected Pakistani spy was arrested from Arunachal Pradesh border who had allegedly passed sensitive information about Army deployment and location, weapons information and number of Artillery installations in Kibithu to his Dubai based handler.

In October last year, an Indian Army soldier of Meerut Cantonment was caught and several others detained by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad on the charges of espionage activities carried out on the directions of the infamous ISI.
 
CORRECTED-U.S. spy agencies monitor coronavirus spread, concerns about India -sources
CORRECTED-U.S. spy agencies monitor coronavirus spread, concerns about India -sources

(Corrects paragraph 9 to say the committee receives daily updates, not Senators Burr and Warner)
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring the global spread of coronavirus and the ability of governments to respond, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, warning that there were concerns about how India would cope with a widespread outbreak.
While there are only a few known cases in India, one source said the country’s available countermeasures and the potential for the virus to spread given India’s dense population was a focus of serious concern.
U.S. intelligence agencies are also focusing on Iran, where the country’s deputy health minister has fallen ill during a worsening outbreak. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States was “deeply concerned” Tehran may have covered up details about the spread of coronavirus.
A U.S. government source said Iran’s response was considered ineffective because the government only has minimal capabilities to respond to the outbreak.
Another source said U.S. agencies were also concerned about the weak ability of governments in some developing countries to respond to an outbreak.

The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has received a briefing on the virus from the spy agencies.
“The Committee has received a briefing from the IC (intelligence community) on coronavirus, and continues to receive updates on the outbreak on a daily basis,” an official of the House Intelligence Committee told Reuters.
“Addressing the threat has both national security and economic dimensions, requiring a concerted government-wide effort and the IC is playing an important role in monitoring the spread of the outbreak, and the worldwide response,” the official added.
A source familiar with the activities of the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republican Senator Richard Burr and Democratic Senator Mark Warner, said the panel was receiving daily updates.

The role of U.S. intelligence agencies in responding to the coronavirus epidemic at this point principally involves monitoring the spread of the illness around the world and assessing the responses of governments.
They are working closely with health agencies, such as the U.S. Center for Disease Control, in sharing information they collect and targeting further intelligence gathering.
One source said U.S. agencies would use a wide range of intelligence tools, ranging from undercover informants to electronic eavesdropping tools, to track the virus’ impact. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Dan Grebler)
 
Sri Lankan gets five-year jail term in India for spying

March 16, 2020 - 09:17
Sri Lankan gets five-year jail term in India for spying

Sri Lankan national Arun Selvarajan has been sentenced to five-years imprisonment in Chennai in connection with the sensational Thameem Ansari spy case, the IANS news service reported.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chennai pronounced the judgement on Friday convicting Selvarajan for all the charges slapping him with five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000.

The case was originally registered on September 17, 2012 by Tamil Nadu Police a day after the arrest of Thameem Ansari, a native of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, for conducting espionage at the behest of Pakistan intelligence officers led by accused Amir Zubair Siddique posted at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo.

The NIA said that there was a conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts in India. The anti-terror agency had re-registered the case on May 1, 2013 and taken over the investigation. It later arrested Selvarajan in this case on September 10, 2014 for engaging in similar espionage activities at the behest of Pakistan intelligence officers.

Selvarajan was earlier involved in criminal cases in Sri Lanka and the enforcement agencies had issued lookout notices for him.
As per the NIA, both Selvarajan and Ansari had conducted espionage at various defence establishments and sensitive locations in Tamil Nadu besides transmitting such classified information to Siddique, threatening the sovereignty and security of India.

NIA on March 6, 2015 filed chargesheet against Ansari and Selvarajan. Later, a supplementary chargesheet was filed against Selvarajan on March 30, 2016. Charges were framed against both the accused on January 8, 2018 and trial had commenced on January 29, 2018. Selvarajn has now been convicted for all the charges against him.
“Trial against Ansari continues and investigation is continuing against the absconding accused Mohammed Anver Mohammed Siraj Ali, native of Sri Lanka besides the Pakistan intelligence officer Amir Zubair Siddique and others,” said the NIA. (Colombo Gazette)

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Now most of the ISI activities around south is directed towards penetrating into ISRO, DRDO, IN. More than Muslims it's the Hindu youth getting trapped by the ISI through wine , woman and wealth. The aspiration of youth, the limitless competition in India among the youth and glamour has given India a vulnurable side as well. The Hindu youth would get seduced to such glamour thrown at them by the ISI. Seems they know the weakness. And if India doesn't take this seriously then whether it's Hindu or a Muslim both could become an ISI asset knowingly or unknowingly.

Muslim youth in India on the otherhand are used by Pakistan for field play, they are given the doses of religion, to be more namazi and taught to avoid glamour to assist the balkanization and spread doses of extremism.

Source: articles and news in previous pages are enough to deduce all this
 
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In Kabul gurdwara attack, India was real target; Islamic State just a front: Intel
Pakistan’s intelligence had driven the terror attack at the Sikh shrine in Kabul, code-named Blackstar, and used the Haqqani network led by Taliban’s deputy commander Sirajuddin Haqqani and elements of LeT.

Updated: Mar 26, 2020 19:41 IST
Shishir Gupta
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Security at the Indian Embassy in Kabul and consulates in Jalalabad and Kandahar has been put on highest alert with Indian and western intelligence confirming that Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorists chose to hit Guru Har Rai Gurdwara at Shor Bazaar due to heavy troop deployment at the Indian mission.
As many as 28 Sikh worshippers have been killed, eight are injured and another 85 were rescued during the shoot-out at the gurdwara, three kilometres away from the Indian mission.
According to information reaching Delhi from Afghan and western security agencies, the strike was ordered by Quetta Shura of Taliban at the behest of Pakistani deep state with the larger motive of driving out India from Afghanistan.
The entire operation was code-named Blackstar by the Pakistan intelligence, which used the Haqqani network led by Taliban’s deputy commander Sirajuddin Haqqani and elements of LeT.

As many as 4 attackers armed with AK-47 rifles were part of the strike team of terrorists who struck at the Gurdwara. The Afghan security forces managed to kill one of the terrorists; the rest escaped.
A senior official in the Indian security establishment said there was recognition in New Delhi that the terrorists probably attacked the gurdwara because it was a soft target. There have been alerts about a terror attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul and the consulate at Jalalabad for quite some time. It wouldn’t have been an easy target since the security had been beefed up and more troop firewalls deployed.
Even while the grieving Afghan Sikhs were cremating the victims on Thursday afternoon, a bomb exploded nearby creating further scare in the area.
Since the US announced a deal with the Taliban on February 29, there has been a spurt in violence in Afghanistan with resurgence of the Haqqani network and relocation of terror camps of both LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed from Pakistan.
According to counter-terror analysts, the Haqqani network comprises mainly of Zardan tribe based in Nangarhar, Khost, Nuristan and Kunar provinces, which is in direct conflict with the miniscule Sikh community over land in Jalalabad and trade in Kabul.
On July 1, 2019, the Haqqani network targeted the Sikh community in Jalalabad as they came to meet President Ashraf Ghani during his visit to Nangarhar province. In both cases, the Islamic State was allowed to take credit for the attack.
However, the play is much deeper with Pakistan setting sights on forcing India out of Afghanistan post withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan. With Taliban, Haqqani network, LeT and JeM all under control of the Pakistani deep state, Afghanistan again will provide strategic space to its terrorist arm for controlling Kabul and hitting at Kashmir.
Already there are inputs from western agencies about JeM and LeT moving their training camps to eastern borders of Afghanistan with Kashmir in the crosshairs. The Taliban, with their sword arm Haqqani network, will handle Afghanistan while the Islamic State and Al Qaeda would be their digital fronts in the social media space.
After the Gurudwara attack, the Indian security agencies fear that Indian consulates in Jalalabad and Kandahar will be targeted by the Haqqani network and associates in coming days.
“While the world is grappling with the Covid-19 virus, the Pakistani deep state continues to push jihad against minorities in Afghanistan,” said a senior official.

source: In Kabul gurdwara attack, India was real target; Islamic State just a front: Intel
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Pakistan's presence will get stronger and for India it will be negligible to have relations with Afghanistan. And not just that, the narco terrorism in India will rise, due to ISI having more share in Afeem business in Afg. They will peddle adhesive substance in Punjab, Kashmir, Himachal, Rajasthan. It will become easier for them to work as they will have ample of quantity.

The money generated will be used by them against India. ISI seems to winning this game. It's not about competency, it's about permission, it was always about permissions.

Before it's too late India has to do CITX type ops!
 
New Delhi: Over a year ago, then home secretary and current Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba held a closed-door discussion with senior officers from states, the security and intelligence establishment. The discussion centred on the threat perceived to be emanating from China. COVID-19 had yet to emerge on the global horizon. However, officers present at the meeting expressed concerns about the growing Chinese presence in the Indian engineering, telecom, manufacturing and education sectors.

Minutes of the meeting, reviewed by Firstpost, revealed that some officers expressed concerns about China penetrating India's market, while adopting a host of discriminatory and restrictive practices against Indian companies looking to boost exports. Gauba told the officers to closely examine the fault lines in the political, economic and social structure of China, and then strategise to exploit Chinese vulnerabilities.

The officers agreed that there was uneasiness in several countries in Asia and the West about Chinese ascendancy and that India needed to guard itself from Chinese penetration in different sectors. Then, COVID-19 struck and the Chinese regime, as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO), seemed to operate like a shadowy society to bury the pandemic. There is a sense of anger among the bureaucracy, retired diplomats and even the political leadership towards China. Some decided to call out China and the WHO's duplicity and called COVID-19 a China-made pandemic and a "Chinese virus". Others have argued that this is a racist comment.

Meanwhile in China, two important announcements were made within 24 hours: First, the country closed its borders to foreign travellers and second, President Xi Jinping called on leaders from the G-20 nations to remove trade barriers. A day before the G-20 meeting, China's Xinhua news agency had reported that its factories were open and that production had been intensified. This would mean that after allegedly exporting COVID-19, China is ready for real business while the rest of the world is trying to survive the pandemic.

In the past decade or so, the Chinese influence in Africa and Western countries, not to mention Asian countries, has grown exponentially. Even in India, Chinese exports have grown as it becomes clear from the import licences with respect to China, provided to Indian companies between 2016 and 2019 by the Department of Commerce. India has, so far, taken a very cautious approach in dealing with China.
Gauba and the officers present in that meeting knew well that besides flooding the Indian market, the Chinese were also establishing a foothold in strategic areas of the country and making investments in certain states like the mineral-rich Chhattisgarh. But the Indian approach — made clear by the minutes of the meeting reviewed was to examine the pros and cons of increasing engagement with China through trade, because Indian officials believed that an increased economic engagement will definitely discourage the Chinese from adopting an aggressive attitude against India.
In the present scenario where India is under a 21-day lockdown and facing economic uncertainties, this policy and guarded response to Chinese activity may be in need of a rehaul. Aside from finding a strategy to reduce the Chinese footprint in critical sectors, the officers felt that a host of discriminatory and restrictive practices against Indian companies by China must be addressed.
Among the means discussed to counter the lack of market access to Indian products in China were to prohibit Chinese companies from participating in the Indian market and to focus on reducing Indian dependency on China for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) which is currently 60 percent and electronic components which is more than 64 percent. Another key area discussed at the meeting was the emergence of Chinese companies as lowest bidders in many infrastructural projects across India in the past two years, and the need for an inquiry into such firms.
At the end of the ongoing lockdown, the Indian government would do well to re-examine its China policy and the minutes of the meeting held last year can be a good starting point.

Source: Coronavirus Outbreak: Nineteen new cases of infection in MMR brings the case count to 47 - Firstpost
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PS: When you talk about dealing with China for business and trade relations, well you just don't deal with their ministry of commerce, you also deal with , Bureau 16, Bureau 17 and Bureau 3 of the MSS( Chinese intelligence)


As the articles says, more the chinese footprint in a country it becomes easier for Bureau 17 to operate. Italy had strong textile trade with the Chinese, and there were many Chinese already present in the Italy, and now Italy is facing the consequences and not just italy, half europe is under the covid19's shadow.
Surprisingly, Pakistan has low numbers being very high rate of trade exchange partners with the Chinese, they are most probably hiding the cases. Because if the Virus was desigined specifically for the whites and caucacians ( as it caused deaths in Iran) then NWPF and FATA should be badly hit as well.

Well whatever the virus is causing, but now, one thing is very clear, Bureau 17 is playing the main role in most of the economic and trade planning, including in India. And my god forbid, if chinese engineer virus specific for Indian DNA/RNA, it will be devastating for the country.

The bureau 17 will have the data of all the industrial areas built by them, the demand, and how wide spread is the reach of consumer products. And with that the S&T Dept. also known as Bureau 13 of the MSS can simulate how would a pathogen spread.

India has to be very cautious now. Athugh the Indian system any how gives India second chance to revive because there is no particular system in India which is an advntage but still a more professional and preemptive approach is required from now on wards. A basic start would be reducing the hybrid crop production in India so that in case of calamities, every one can grow something on their own through the indigenous seed.
 
Pakistan Using ISKP In Its Proxy-War To Unleash Terrorism Virus Upon India
Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) appears to be the latest addition to Pakistan’s cache of proxies
Lt Gen (retd) Subrata Saha 03 April 2020

On March 25, as many as 25 worshippers were killed in a terrorist attack on Gurudwara Har Rai Sahib by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), in Kabul. In the din of news surrounding coronavirus pandemic, this attack got relegated to the background, even though it has an ominous portent.

One of the terrorists killed by the Afghan security forces has been identified as Mohsin (with several aliases), 29, from Kerala. He was reportedly a school dropout who left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) more than two years ago and found his way into Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Some estimates indicate that since 2016, around 100 people from India, mostly from Kerala, have joined the ISIS. Some of them travelled to the Gulf, and from there into the folds of ISIS in Iraq-Syria, and Afghanistan.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) is a branch of ISIS. Khorasan is a historical region comprising the present territories of north-eastern Iran, much of Central Asia, parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The name signifies "the Land of the Sun" or "the Eastern Province." ISKP came into existence in 2015, with defectors from the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP). It is active in the border region of eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

In November 2019, after a two-month-long ‘clearance operation’ by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), supported by Popular Uprising Forces and the United States Airforce, President Ashraf Ghani had declared, “I am proud of the security forces and public uprising groups that defeated ISKP in Nangrahar.”

In these operations 50 terrorists were killed, around 60 fled to Pakistan, and more than 250 ISKP members, along with 426 children and 237 women, surrendered to ANSF. The surrendered were mostly Pakistani, and others from India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

From ISKP’s point of view, the March 25 Gurudwara attack is significant on two counts – First, to tell the world that the ISKP is not defeated, and second, they would like to project themselves as the rallying force for hard-line Taliban and al-Qaeda members opposed to the US-Taliban peace deal signed on February 29, 2020.

ISKP appears to be the latest addition to Pakistan’s cache of proxies. Pakistan’s anti-India overdrive after suspension of Article 370 and the enactment of CAA is also well known. With the US-Taliban agreement and the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Pakistan hopes to get a free-run to target India’s interests in Afghanistan and intensify its proxy war against India.

ISKP provides new opportunities to Pakistan for two reasons – first, induction of people of Indian origin into its cadres, and second, the staying power that ISKP is demonstrating. Despite its losses, ISKP has continued to carve out territory in Afghanistan, and recruit terrorists from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.

According to a January 2020 report from the Middle East Institute, Washington DC, the current emir of ISKP, Mawlawi Aslam Farooqi, is an ex-militant commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The bonhomie between Pakistan’s ISI and LeT needs no reiteration.
The increased attention towards India by the mouthpieces of terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the last three to four months reveals how the propaganda and information war is being manipulated.

In February 2020, Islamic State’s new digital magazine, Sawt-ul-Hind, (Voice of Hindustan), referred to the communal violence in northeast Delhi to incite Muslims in India, "Democracy is not going to save you…only Sharia implemented in its purity in the shade of Khilafah (the caliphate) can now save you."

In a combined reference to the US-Taliban agreement and the Delhi riots, Al-Qaeda’s wing, Ghazwat-ul-Hind (Conquest of India) said, “these glorious times when the crusaders army in Khorasan have signed the final document of their defeat and in such a hopeful season when Indian Muslims have decided not to bear the atrocity and oppression of Hindu polytheist groups”, and that the jihadists in Kashmir will be energised by these events.

Islamic State’s (IS) Amaq media claimed the Kabul gurudwara attack as a “revenge for the Muslims in Kashmir”. An attack by IS on a ‘Gurudwara’ for ‘avenging Kashmir’, points the finger directly at Pakistan.

Pakistan’s involvement in the training of the attacker from Kerala is also apparent from the video that was released soon after the attack. First, the content is like what we typically hear from terrorists in similar situations in Kashmir. Second, he spoke in Urdu, the language used by Pakistan for training and handling terrorists.

It is, therefore, important that immediate measures must be taken to limit this new virus being unleashed by Pakistan-ISI. First, India needs to institute measures to keep a vigil on its workforce in the Gulf countries, to safeguard their men being recruited by ISIS and other terrorist groups. Second, India must be even more mindful for the need for social cohesion, as its politico-economic-religious fault lines are being exploited for propaganda and potential recruitment. Third, India must work together with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Central Asian Republics, to check the ISKP.

(The author is member of National Security Advisory Board, and former Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Kashmir Corps Commander. Views expressed are personal.)
Pakistan Using ISKP In Its Proxy-War To Unleash Terrorism Virus Upon India


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So the above article says, that gear up, the cost, speed and effectiveness of ops will be affected amid corona
 
ISKP leaves its terror footprints in Afghanistan
Nalin Kumar Mohapatra
  • Updated
  • :
  • April 11, 2020,
  • 8:23 PM
The attack, which was led by a man from Kerala, focused attention on the radicalisation of a section of the population in this Indian state.
While the entire world is fighting a battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, three persons having allegiance to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), attacked a historic gurudwara in Kabul on 25 March. Twenty-five persons were killed in the attack, while several were injured, instilling fear in this trouble-torn country which was inching towards normalcy. This was not the first time that such an attack took place against the minority Sikh community. In 2018, ISKP had carried out an attack against the Sikhs in Jalalabad. However, what is baffling this time is that an Indian, Abu Khalild al-Hindi, alias Mohammad Muhsin, was part of the ISKP team which carried out the 25 March attack.
The attack raises many pertinent questions that have implications for the peace and stability of Afghanistan.
The timing of the attack is quite important as it took place just after the peace deal reached between the United States and the Taliban in February
. Second, was this attack a warning signal (from the ISKP and its chief patron, Pakistan’s ISI) to India about not playing an active role in the political process of Afghanistan? One may recall here that the international community, including the US consistently reposed faith in India to bring normalcy to this war-ravaged state. Thirdly, it has been reported that Pakistan’s ISI has roped in the ISKP to dislodge peace and stability in Afghanistan in a bid to get the upper hand there. This is because the US dumped Pakistan as its proxy in Afghanistan since the Cold War days, and went ahead to sign a peace deal with the Taliban directly in February 2020. Some of these developments need to be examined carefully to get a clear picture about the ISKP’s motive behind attacking the gurudwara.

Since 2015, ISKP, as a branch of ISIS, is playing a crucial role in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar region. During its formative years, it opposed the Taliban and got the sympathy of the local population. Even Afghan government forces thought that ISKP was a counterweight to the Taliban and so did not pay much attention to its activities in its formative years in 2014-2015. ISKP mostly comprises terrorists from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); some disgruntled members from the Taliban along with Central Asians from the adjoining states; terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), and the notorious Haqqani Network are operating with the strong support of Pakistan’s ISI and providing necessary support to ISKP.

A strong nexus between Pakistan’s ISI and ISKP is evident from the fact that the Pakistan government knowingly turned a blind eye to the activities of ISKP in its territory. It is known that some of the radical organisations that constitute the core of the ISKP, in the past, had acted as ISI’s frontal organisations and carried out many subversive attacks in Afghanistan to derail the peace process. Even Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that the link between ISKP and Pakistan-based insurgents groups “Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi cannot be ruled out”. The deep bonhomie between ISI and ISKP was succinctly exposed by Husain Haqqani, who revealed that Lt General Shahid Aziz, an ISI man, went to Kunar, the stronghold of ISPK bordering Pakistan and served the terrorist organisation. Even former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharaf stated that Aziz went to Syria and fought along with ISIS and died there. Another instance of ISKP-ISI link can be evident from the fact that Aslam Farooqi, a former LeT terrorist and known for his proximity with ISI, headed ISKP despite resentment from the Central Asian cadre of this terrorist organization.

In the initial years of its formation, ISKP started imposing Sharia law in Nangarhar, considered to be its stronghold. The general masses accepted the group as it provided security to the common people and fought against the Taliban. However, soon disgruntlement set in as ISKP started activities liking kidnapping, killing innocent villagers, demanding ransom from the local population, imposing strict Sharia laws, etc. Soon the local population started distancing themselves from this radical group. Taking advantage of the growing public resentment against ISKP, the Afghan government armed the local people against the ISKP, which contributed to the isolation of this jihadi group in Nangarahar. The growing isolation of the ISKP and assertive action on part of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) at the local level contributed to the quelling of the ISKP after a month-long operation in their stronghold at Bandar Valley in the Achin district in November 2019. Though the quelling of ISKP gave temporary success to the Afghan forces but the latest attack on the gurudwara brought the focus on this radical organization once again.
Coming back to the issue of the recent attack on the gurudwara in Kabul, as initial reports indicate, Muhasin, who carried out the terror attack, was being indoctrinated by ISI in Dubai, after which he joined the ISKP. It may be recalled here that other dogmatic and indoctrinated youths from Kerala too have joined ISKP. Prior to this, in November 2019, 10 Indians as part of an ISPK module and their family members also surrendered to the Afghan security agency. Even during Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter carnage, which resulted in heavy casualties, the probe showed a Kerala trail. Over a period of time, Kerala has been becoming the hotbed of ISIS extremism. It may be recalled that the ISIS even gave a call to establish an Islamic State-Hind (India), in May 2019—which means that after facing defeat in Syria, the ISIS is trying to expand its footprints in India. The existence of radical groups in South Asia, operating especially at the behest of Pakistan’s ISI, is providing sanctuary for recruitment to the radical ISKP fold. The growing proliferation of this deadly terror group is accentuating new sort of challenges to the security of both South and Central Asian states.

The terror attack on the gurudwara is an attempt by ISKP to make its presence felt and to grab international headlines.
In a nutshell, the attack by ISKP revealed Pakistan’s nefarious design of destabilising Afghanistan and deny India an active role there. However, ISPK will die its natural death if Pakistan can be isolated by the international community for patronising terrorist forces. Let us hope that global powers like the US and Russia, who have vital stakes in Afghanistan, will cooperate with India in stabilising the situation there.


ISKP leaves its terror footprints in Afghanistan - The Sunday Guardian Live

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Before US leaves India needs to have a hold there as well.
 
Not sure whether this was already posted, and if not then I am posting this again, in this section.

China Deployed 12 Underwater Drones In Indian Ocean


H I SuttonContributor
Aerospace & Defense
China has deployed a fleet of underwater drones in the Indian Ocean. According to Chinese government sources, the drones were launched in mid-December 2019 and recovered in February after making more than 3,400 observations. These Sea Wing gliders are a type of Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) which can operate for months on end.

The gliders are similar to ones deployed by the U.S. Navy. When China seized a U.S. Navy ocean glider in 2016 the stated reason was to ensure “safe navigation of passing ships.” Taken at face value, it may be surprising that China is now deploying these types of UUV en masse in the Indian Ocean. China has also deployed the Sea Wing from an ice breaker in the Arctic.

Reports from December 2019 suggested that 14 would be employed in the Indian Ocean mission. But newer reports suggest that only 12 were used. Possibly there were technical issues with the other two. They were launched by the specialist survey ship Xiangyanghong 06 which has since returned to Rizhou in China. The mission was the winter survey for the Joint Ocean and Ecology Research Project run by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Sea Wing (Haiyi) bear a striking resemblance to the Littoral Battlespace Sensing-Glider (LBS-G) used by the U.S. Navy. On December 15, 2016, China obtained a U.S. Navy LBS-G in international waters in the South China Sea. The glider was in the process of being recovered by USNS Bowditch when a small boat from a Chinese vessel which had been shadowing the Navy vessel plucked it from the water. After a diplomatic spat the glider was returned to a U.S. Navy warship.

The Sea Wing isn’t a case of reverse engineering however. It was reported in Chinese sources in September 2016, months before the U.S. Navy incident. But the American type is a clear influence and they are generally equivalent.

These gliders are unpowered. Instead they employ variable-buoyancy propulsion which makes them sink and then rise to the surface again. This is done by inflating and deflating a balloon-like device filled with pressurized oil. At the same time they have large wings so they can glide forward as they go. This allows them to run for extremely long periods of time, traveling vast distances. They are not fast or agile however, so a generally employed for long range missions where they can be left alone until they need to be picked up.

The Chinese gliders were reportedly gathering oceanography data. Sensors measured seawater temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll and oxygen levels. This information was transmitted back to the mother ship via the aerial in the tail. Although the aerial points directly backwards, it swings up above the surface as the glider noses down for another dive.

This is the sort of information which sounds innocuous but is commonly gathered for naval intelligence purposes. In particular it is relevant to submarine warfare. For example salinity levels can affect the distance that a submarine can be heard from. And it may be possible to detect submarines if they disturb chlorophyll.

For its part, China continues to report finding foreign UUVs off its coast. If Chinese fishing vessel catches a glider they are to hand it over to the government. Presumably the same fate did not befall any of the Chinese gliders.
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As few members posted few days back.

Yeah because that's a pure experimental value. The sea temperature, weather above, the terrain below , water current all adds to echos, filtering an additive noise distortion it is a very complex procedure, echo generating decoys to suppress the movement becomes another headache. Different places different scenarios.

Salinity, topography, motion, cavitation, thermocline gradients, surface turbulence, chemical leakage, electrolyte concentration, depth, natural life, radionuclide runoff...

"Noise" is a metric variant per given circumstance. That circumstance changes too frequently. But submarines do have a baseline noise as well, and that is generally cataloged and used ID submarines, in conjunction with the aforementioned metrics (among others).

These other metrics are why we see widespread use of oceanographic research ships like Russia's Yantar:

Norway's Marjata III and Marjata IV:

Pathfinder-class of the USN.

Even a submarine's baseline "noise" will change over time.
The temperature difference between layers of water create strange duct like propagation of sound. Unless the sub is within that duct, it can neither hear the ships nor the ships can hear the sub. It is strange but I myself experienced it in 1990 while posted to INS Gomati which had one of the best ASW package in those days.
 
China extends US$500mn to Sri Lanka in Covid-19 support
China extends US$500mn to Sri Lanka in Covid-19 support | Global Trade Review (GTR)
(march 25th)
The Sri Lankan government has signed a US$500mn deal with China Development Bank to help the country better mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19, as it continues to struggle with fiscal debt.

The facility has “concessional terms on both interest and tenure”, says a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry. The loan has a tenor of 10 years and a three-year grace period, along with interest rates linked to the US dollar-Libor rate.

The funding is set to be disbursed by the end of March, with the aim of increasing the official foreign reserves of Sri Lanka to enable it to better manage the financial effects Covid-19 is having on the country.

As part of its response, the Sri Lankan government has imposed a nationwide curfew and closed all international commercial flights into the country.

Despite criticism that Sri Lanka has depended too heavily on Chinese loans in the past, particularly for infrastructure projects relating to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and as such has seen its sovereign debt spiral, the loan was “urgently requested”, says the statement.

Countries which depend on China, the country where Covid-19 originated, could suffer the most economically at the hand of the novel coronavirus. “Countries that are most dependent on China stand to be hit the hardest; these include countries in Asia and the Pacific, due to their economic relations with China. Sri Lanka is no exception, given its close links to China in terms of trade, investment, and the movement of people over the past decade,” says Talking Economics, a Sri Lanka-focused socio-economic policy think tank.

China’s BRI project was launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. With the goods trade volume between China and countries involved in the initiative surpassing US$6tn from 2013 to 2018, it has been criticised for creating ‘debt traps’ by burdening fiscally weak countries with unsustainable debt. Another country with high sovereign debt and many BRI projects underway is Pakistan, which turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US$6bn bailout in July 2019.

According to IMF data Sri Lanka’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 82.7% (see figure 1), one of the highest ratios in South and Southeast Asia.
Concerns over the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s debt to China peaked when the government was unable to pay back loans issued by China to build its Hambantota Port, which subsequently saw Beijing take control of the port under a 99-year lease at the end of 2017.

There are worries that Covid-19 will trigger more problems for countries already battling debt problems, as public spending increases and fiscal revenues decrease. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revealed a six-month debt moratorium for tourism, apparel and SME businesses.
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One aim of India during LTTE turmoil was to prevent any third party getting access to Sri Lankan ports. But the port has gone into the hands of China only recently. The presence of Chinese in IOR and that to too close to Indian shores means much higher chinese listening capabilities when it comes to naval and air intelligence. Due to such developments, India has also moved a Sqn of Su30mki close to Sri Lanka.
 
New Delhi: Pakistan's premier intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) hatched a conspiracy through social media to thwart Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal of lightning ‘Diya’ to express solidarity against coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic by spreading false news of power grid failure and of fire accidents have been exposed.

Notably, PM Modi had urged all countrymen to switch off their lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm on Sunday as a sign of solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian security agencies have ascertained the roots of false reports of power grid failure on social media in Pakistan.

"Increased activity noticed at social media platforms. ISI tried to spread misinformation by selectively pushing misleading news like power grid collapse due to Diya and also that there would be many fire accidents following its observation," said an Official tracking social media.

ISI also shared several fake videos on social media of fire incident due to lighting of Diya in various part of the country after its failed attempt to spread false rumours of grid failure. Many of these fake videos were uploaded on Facebook and Twitter accounts from different cities of Pakistan, the official said, adding that the same modous operandai were used by the ISI during Delhi riots.

Pakistan also spread rumours among Indian students residing abroad, causing panic among them. A deliberate misinformation campaign was also seen among the Indian students of available flights to India. This led to Indian missions flooded with calls from such students wanting to be accommodated in these flights, the official said, adding that it took hours to clarify the students.

"Flooded with calls from Indian students to our mission led to chaos and it took hours to handle the situations. The students were asking for information about flights to India. Due to coronavirus, India has banned all international flights but the message was spread among the students that India flights have resumed," said another official.

When the world's attention is focused on dealing with the coronavirus, Pakistan's ISI is trying to take advantage of this situation. The ISI asked terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and in Kashmir to launch a major terror attack against India. The Pak agency is actively planning attacks in Afghanistan and Kashmir amid COVID-19 outbreak.

In the last two days, Indian security forces have killed 9 terrorists in different encounters in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir. Four terrorists who were involved in killing of innocent civilians were eliminated at Batpura area of South Kashmir.

In another anti-infiltration operation in Keran Sector of North Kashmir, the security forces eliminated five terrorists attempting to infiltrate into the Line of Control taking advantage of bad weather.

ISI conspired to thwart PM Modi's appeal to switch off light by spreading false news of grid failure: Intelligence Agencies
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It seems that social media is being used again to spread rumours regarding covid 19 in India. The same people who were responsible for spreading rumours to instigate riots in Delhi , may or may not be doing it again to create chaos in India, especially among the migrants.
 
US mulls Afghanistan-based CIA operatives’ withdrawal: NYT
by TLTP , (Last Updated 10 hours ago)
ISLAMABAD: The United States is considering the withdrawal of frontline CIA personnel from bases in Afghanistan in line with the historic peace deal with the Taliban, according to The New York Times.

Under the deal which was signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, on February 29, Washington undertook to begin phased pull out of American forces and foreign troops from Afghanistan, provided that the militant group start talks with the Afghan government and adhere to other security guarantees.
The CIA personnel operate in various places around the country, advising militia groups, the report said. The operations began as part of an effort to hunt Al Qaeda, in the earlier years of the now 18-year war, before shifting to targeting organizations including the Haqqani Taliban, it said.

One move being discussed would relocate agency personnel to the embassy in Kabul, enabling some level of American advice to militia groups operating under the oversight of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the report said, noting that deliberations were continuing.

“Including the C.I.A. presence in negotiations with the Taliban is Washington’s latest effort to use what bargaining chips it has left with the insurgent group,” Times’ correspondents Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Julian Barnes, wrote in the joint report. American forces already are drawing down to 8,600 troops from roughly 12,000 with an aspirational timeline of leaving the country altogether in just over a year.

Getting the Taliban to ratchet back attacks on Afghan troops and police, American officials said, is the best hope to accelerate the peace process between the Afghan government in Kabul and Taliban leadership. But even preliminary talks, regarding the release of prisoners on both sides, have run into complications.

What is important to the United States government is that the Taliban and the Afghan government work to prevent a terrorist group from establishing itself again in Afghanistan, creating a state within a state, and eventually conducting another international terrorist attack, Lisa Maddox, a former C.I.A. officer, was quoted as saying. TLTP

The Taliban have long demanded reductions in the CIA presence in Afghanistan alongside US troops, a request that American negotiators have so far resisted. The Times put their number at “several hundred C.I.A. officers and contractors”, calling it one of the agency’s largest presences outside of the Washington area.

The US officials say any withdrawal of CIA personnel will be done alongside the broader withdrawal of American military advisers not in isolation from the broader peace plan, the paper said.

Yet one plan, lobbied by Trump administration officials in September, actually included increasing the C.I.A. presence in the country as American forces pulled out, it was pointed out.
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And now 40 staff members of Afghan President's house have been tested postive for Covid19. There could be possibility of Pakistan's involvement as well.

It looks like ISI with help of their faction Taliban has started taking over the Kabul regime and soon it will be tough for India to even have an embassy in Afghanistan. No wonder, India has kept away from Afghanistan since long but this will cause trouble in Kashmir. And Pakistan seems to making it sure that India remains busy in Kashmir when they create their strategic depth in Afghanistan.

Clearly India can't play any major role in Afghanistan unless until India has border with it through GB or access through Iran. This all point to tough days coming for India.
 
Old news,

India temporarily closes 2 consulates in Afghanistan

Suhasini Haidar Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI, April 08, 2020 21:08 IST
Updated: April 08, 2020 23:22 IST
India brought back 56 staff and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel from Afghanistan in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft on Tuesday night, effectively winding down the operations at its consulates in Herat and Jalalabad, in view of the coronavirus spread and growing security threats, government sources confirmed to The Hindu.

“A C-130 Super Hercules aircraft brought back 56 people from Herat, which reached Delhi on Tuesday evening,” an official source said. All 56 - 10 officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and 46 ITBP personnel who were stationed at the Consulate in Herat - were sent to the ITBP’s quarantine facilities at Chhawla, where 30 personnel from the Jalalabad consulate who returned last week are also being kept.

As The Hindu had reported earlier, a high-level security group decided at the end of March to bring back all personnel in the two consulates, close to Afghanistan’s borders with Iran and Pakistan respectively, given heightened security threats in the wake of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, increased activity by Pakistan-based groups like the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), as well as the return of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan who could be carriers of the novel coronavirus.

Official sources said the government had received a series of cables with inputs from different intelligence agencies on the probability of attacks on “international targets” in Afghanistan, including Indian missions.


In Herat, the lack of medical facilities was a particular worry, but specific security threats to the Jalalabad consulate after the ISKP’s attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, which left 25 dead, hastened the decision, the officials said. Security officials also believe that the Indian mission in Kabul may have been the intended original target for the ISKP attackers, who included an Indian national from Kerala.

The arrest and interrogation of ISKP leader Abdullah Orakzai, a Pakistani national, by the National Directorate of Security on April 4 has confirmed the apprehensions that the ISKP is linked to “regional intelligence agencies”, namely Pakistan’s ISI, Afghan officials indicated. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied the charge.

Sources said the operation to bring the personnel back from Herat was conducted in complete secrecy by the IAF, given the threat from the ground, and refuelling constraints. The C-130 took off from the Hindon airbase on April 6 and flew to Herat overnight after a halt at Jamnagar. It returned on the evening of April 7 carrying the personnel, after taking “full precautions” against COVID-19, for which the IAF personnel undertaking the operation were specially prepared, the sources added.

It has been learnt that contingency plans are in place to bring back staff from Kabul too, if such a situation arises. India also has consulates in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar, which continue to function as of now.

With the evacuation operation for the Herat and Jalalabad consulates now completed and officials from both in India, officials said the security agencies would undertake a full study and overhaul of the security situation before considering their return.

(With inputs from Vijaita Singh)


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Complete secrecy? What do they write? As If it didn't show up on Pakistani radars. :p

US doesn't want to stay for sure. Except for some very limited presence. Enough money spent. It's useless. Chinese are in full support for Pakistan.
Seems Pakistan is preparing for large scale non conventional conflict with India sooner or later, once they have enough resources from Afghanistan and mobilize them towards India. And not necessarily into Kashmir. They are reviving the old 1989-91 with more sophistication. And due to polarisation in India, thanks to stupid Indian media, they will get wolfs.

God save humanity in the region not again!! But no doubt the Pakistani establishment has proved once again that they are better in these games.
 
Old news,

India temporarily closes 2 consulates in Afghanistan

Suhasini Haidar Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI, April 08, 2020 21:08 IST
Updated: April 08, 2020 23:22 IST
India brought back 56 staff and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel from Afghanistan in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft on Tuesday night, effectively winding down the operations at its consulates in Herat and Jalalabad, in view of the coronavirus spread and growing security threats, government sources confirmed to The Hindu.

“A C-130 Super Hercules aircraft brought back 56 people from Herat, which reached Delhi on Tuesday evening,” an official source said. All 56 - 10 officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and 46 ITBP personnel who were stationed at the Consulate in Herat - were sent to the ITBP’s quarantine facilities at Chhawla, where 30 personnel from the Jalalabad consulate who returned last week are also being kept.

As The Hindu had reported earlier, a high-level security group decided at the end of March to bring back all personnel in the two consulates, close to Afghanistan’s borders with Iran and Pakistan respectively, given heightened security threats in the wake of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, increased activity by Pakistan-based groups like the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), as well as the return of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan who could be carriers of the novel coronavirus.

Official sources said the government had received a series of cables with inputs from different intelligence agencies on the probability of attacks on “international targets” in Afghanistan, including Indian missions.


In Herat, the lack of medical facilities was a particular worry, but specific security threats to the Jalalabad consulate after the ISKP’s attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, which left 25 dead, hastened the decision, the officials said. Security officials also believe that the Indian mission in Kabul may have been the intended original target for the ISKP attackers, who included an Indian national from Kerala.

The arrest and interrogation of ISKP leader Abdullah Orakzai, a Pakistani national, by the National Directorate of Security on April 4 has confirmed the apprehensions that the ISKP is linked to “regional intelligence agencies”, namely Pakistan’s ISI, Afghan officials indicated. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied the charge.

Sources said the operation to bring the personnel back from Herat was conducted in complete secrecy by the IAF, given the threat from the ground, and refuelling constraints. The C-130 took off from the Hindon airbase on April 6 and flew to Herat overnight after a halt at Jamnagar. It returned on the evening of April 7 carrying the personnel, after taking “full precautions” against COVID-19, for which the IAF personnel undertaking the operation were specially prepared, the sources added.

It has been learnt that contingency plans are in place to bring back staff from Kabul too, if such a situation arises. India also has consulates in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar, which continue to function as of now.

With the evacuation operation for the Herat and Jalalabad consulates now completed and officials from both in India, officials said the security agencies would undertake a full study and overhaul of the security situation before considering their return.

(With inputs from Vijaita Singh)


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Complete secrecy? What do they write? As If it didn't show up on Pakistani radars. :p

US doesn't want to stay for sure. Except for some very limited presence. Enough money spent. It's useless. Chinese are in full support for Pakistan.
Seems Pakistan is preparing for large scale non conventional conflict with India sooner or later, once they have enough resources from Afghanistan and mobilize them towards India. And not necessarily into Kashmir. They are reviving the old 1989-91 with more sophistication. And due to polarisation in India, thanks to stupid Indian media, they will get wolfs.

God save humanity in the region not again!! But no doubt the Pakistani establishment has proved once again that they are better in these games.
We are not even in the game. The pakistanis have way more assets than us in Afghanistan. And they have successfully shifted the allegiance of the pashtuns from the Afghan state towards them. Something the Afghans wanted to do to the Pakistanis.
Also the Americans aren't leaving Afghanistan they will still have around 8k troops there. I wouldn't mind if we put atleast a battalion of para soldiers or the afsod on deployment with the Americans similar to how the polish have done might as well get to learn some new operational capabilities.
We do have the goodwill of the Afghan government and even their intelligence allied is allied with RAW. So northern alliance 2.0 is on the cards.
 
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