Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief

Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief.

DUBAI | Msn News | 06 Sep 2014 : :  Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.

In a 55-minute video posted online, Zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in an apparent snub to the Islamic State armed group challenging al Qaeda for leadership of transnational Islamist militancy.

Zawahri described the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as a glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.

Counter-terrorism experts say al Qaeda's aging leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with Islamic State, which has galvanized young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border.

Islamic State leader Abu Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls himself a "caliph" or head of state and has demanded the loyalty of all Muslims.

The group fell out with Zawahri in 2013 over its expansion into Syria, where Baghdadi's followers have carried out beheadings, crucifixions, and mass executions.

As well being an indirect repudiation of Islamic State, the announcement could pose a challenge to India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi. He has already faced criticism for remaining silent about several incidents deemed anti-Muslim, underscoring fears that his Hindu nationalist followers will upset religious relations in the majority Hindi nation.

However, while al Qaeda is very much at home in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, due to influential contacts and a long presence there, it is a minnow compared to local militant groups in terms of manpower and regional knowledge. (Courtesy : Retures, Msn News )

APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman Mirwaiz
 Umar Farooq. — File photo

ISLAMABAD | APP | 02 July 2014 : :  Following Narendra Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir on Friday, All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) has called on Kashmiris to observe a complete shutdown.

According to the Kashmir Media Service, APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that issues surrounding Kashmir were not economic but political and no economic packages would serve until the dispute was resolved.

Future of one billion people was associated with the issue and it should be resolved as per the aspirations of the people, Farooq said.

The APHC Chairman alleged that India had turned Kashmir into a military garrison where human rights violations were taking place every now and then.

“This shutdown will be a protest against Narendra Modi's visit to Kashmir as Prime Minister. India claims to be the largest democracy in the world, but its democratic credentials become questionable when it comes to the present situation of Kashmir,” Farooq said adding that in this freedom struggle, tens of thousands of people have been martyred and thousands subjected to enforced disappearance.

“By observing shutdown on Modi's visit, the Kashmiris will reiterate the pledge that the sublime cause for which people have sacrificed their lives and property cannot be compromised with economical and financial grants,” Farooq maintained.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples' Movement, a constituent of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference, has also extended their support for the strike call. ( Courtesy: Dawn )

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

SRINAGAR | The Nation | 07 May 2014 : :  A bomb blast near a polling booth in Kashmir injured a policeman today, amid further stone-throwing protests and a widespread boycott of India's general election in the mainly Muslim region.

Separatists have called on voters to shun the election in India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, holding staggered voting in its six parliamentary seats to allow 700,000 army troops and police to mount a mobile security operation.

That has failed to prevent a string of killings of village elders, blamed by police on militants seeking to intimidate voters. In the most serious incident, three insurgents and one army officer were killed in a clash on April 27.

The bomb exploded outside a polling station at a village in the Baramulla constituency, one of two voting today in northern Kashmir, injuring a police reservist, police said.

There were numerous reports of protesters throwing stones at police and election officials in the valley. A bomb was also thrown at a police station the Baramulla district, but no one was injured.

Only a quarter of voters have turned out in Jammu and Kashmir so far in the five-week election, in a show of passive resistance to rule from New Delhi and concern over a likely victory by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kashmir has been a source of strife since British India was divided into independent India and Pakistan in 1947, with many Kashmiris, and Pakistan, saying the region should have been part of Muslim Pakistan, not Hindu-majority India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir. India says Pakistan supports the separatist militants. Pakistan denies this, saying it only offers moral support to the Kashmiri people.( Courtesy : The Nation )

LoC firing in Kashmir today .

Gunbattle between Army, infiltrators enters 13th day.

The Army operation against the holed up militants in Keran Sector
 along the LoC in Kashmir today entered the 13th day with
 intermittent gunfire being exchanged.

SRINAGAR | 06 Oct 2013 :: The Army operation against the holed up militants in Keran Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir today entered the 13th day with intermittent gunfire being exchanged. 

"The operation is still in progress. No fresh casualties have been reported on either side so far," defence sources said. 

Intermittent firing between the group of holed up infiltrating militants and the Army continued as security forces maintained a tight vigil over the cordoned off area, they said. 

The Army launched a massive anti-infiltration operation in Shalbhatti village in Keran Sector on September 24 after noticing a group of 30 to 40 militants trying to sneak into the Valley. 

The operation is going on in a vast area along the LoC and so far seven militants have been killed -- three in Gujjardoor village on Friday and four in Fateh Gali area of the sector yesterday. 

Earlier, the Army had said 10-12 militants were believed to have been killed in Shalbhatti village but the bodies could not be retrieved as the operation against the remaining militants was in progress. 

Five soldiers have been injured in gunbattle. The Army has termed as "absurd" the reports about capture of some posts by the infiltrators, saying the troops are in total control of the operation. 

"We are in total control of the operation. The reports of our posts being captured by theinfiltrators are absurd," General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps Lt General Gurmit Singh has said.(Courtesy:The Economic Time)

Pakistan again violates ceasefire in Kashmir .

Pakistan again violates ceasefire in Kashmir .

Jammu | 22 Sep 2013 ::  Pakistani troops violated ceasefire for the second time Sunday, firing at Indian troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. Saturday night, Pakistani troops indulged in unprovoked firing at Indian positions on the LoC in Rajouri district, an army spokesman said Sunday. He added, "The Pakistani firing started at 11.55 p.m. and the exchange of gunfire in the area continued till 2 a.m. today (Sunday). No loss occurred on our side.

In the second violation Sunday, Pakistani troops used small arms and automatics to target Indian positions across the LoC, a defence spokesman told IANS. "Pakistani firing started at 3 p.m. Sunday. Our troops retaliated with similar calibre weapons. Intermittent exchange of firing is still going on," he said. Pakistan has violated the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir almost 20 times this month and 100 times so far this year.(Courtesy:IBN Live)

Indian army kills five near Kashmir border.

Indian army kills five near Kashmir border.

The incident comes a day after Indian police and
 troops claimed to have killed five other suspected
militants in a forested area of Kangan, near Srinagar.
—Reuters Photo

SRINAGAR | AFP | 31 Aug 2013 ::  The Indian army said Saturday it killed five suspected militants in northern Kashmir near the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan territory between India and Pakistan.

An Indian army spokesman claimed the alleged militants were infiltrating from Pakistan-administered Kashmir into Tangdhar on the Indian side, 180 kilometres northwest of the region’s main city of Srinagar, when they were killed.

Indian “soldiers fired upon a group of militants who were seen moving in the area during the night. Five bodies and six automatic rifles were recovered from there after firing from the militants stopped,” Col Rajesh Pandey told news agency AFP.

AFP said the incident could not be independently verified.

According to the Pakistani state-run news agency APP, Indian troops killed at least four men in a siege and search operation in Tangdhar area of Kupwara district.

The incident comes a day after Indian police and troops claimed to have killed five other suspected militants in a forested area of Kangan, near Srinagar.(Courtesy:Dawn)

India, Pakistan Accuse Each Other in Latest Kashmir Clash.

India, Pakistan Accuse Each Other in Latest Kashmir Clash.

Pakistani Kashmiris burn an Indian flag during an anti-Indian

rally in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir,

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. India's prime minister on Thursday

asked Pakistan to prevent Islamic militants from using its

territory as tensions rise between the longtime rivals following

the recent killing of five Indian soldiers in fighting along the

disputed Kashmir border. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)

ISLAMABAD | 16 Aug 2013 :: A Pakistani military official has accused Indian troops of firing across the disputed Kashmir border and wounding six civilians.

The official says the shooting took place on Thursday in the Kotli sector of Pakistan-held Kashmir, across the border from the Mendhar sector on the Indian side.

An Indian government official, Omar Abdullah, has said two civilians, including a porter working for the army, were wounded by Pakistani firing in Mendhar sector Thursday.

Pakistani and Indian military officials accused the other side of firing first. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity Friday in line with military policy.

Pakistan and India have traded accusations of firing across the Kashmir border over the last 10 days. Kashmir is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by both.(Courtesy:Epoch)

Pakistan accuses India of attack on border posts.

Pakistan accuses India of attack on border posts.

 

Pakistan blames Indian forces for the attack Sunday on the
 borders of Pakistan and India. (File Photo: AFP)

Islamabad | AFP | 13 Aug 2013 :: Pakistan Sunday accused Indian forces of firing on its border posts close to eastern city of Sialkot, Punjab province, sparking an “intermittent exchange of fire” between the two sides.

The fighting is the latest in a spate of recent cross-border skirmishes between the two nuclear-armed neighbors who have fought three wars since independence from the British rule in 1947, two over the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

Tensions have recently flared up in the heavily militarized Kashmir valley with both accusing each other of cross-border firings but Sunday’s incident took place near the border in neighboring Punjab province. 

“Indian Border Security Forces resorted to unprovoked firing on Pakistani Rangers posts near Pukhlian, Head Marala area, in Sialkot sector,” a senior military official, told AFP.

“Intermittent exchange of fire continues. No loss reported so far,” the official added on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media.

Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony on Thursday hinted at stronger military action along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir after Delhi accused Pakistan’s army of involvement in a deadly overnight ambush on Monday that killed five Indian soldiers.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried to ease tensions with India by urging both sides to work swiftly to shore up a 10-year ceasefire threatened by the recent attacks.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)

Curfews Imposed in Indian-Held Kashmir.

Curfews Imposed in Indian-Held Kashmir.

Soldiers on Sunday in Jammu, in the Indian-controlled

 portion of Kashmir, after rioting on Friday left two

 civilians dead. Strains between India and Pakistan

 have worsened recently.

NEW DELHI | 13 Aug 2013 ::  Indian forces and local authorities on Sunday enforced curfews in several towns in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir after rioting on Friday left two civilians dead.

Shops were closed and traffic was all but nonexistent in the city of Jammu on Sunday, according to the police in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Protests flared in parts of the state but only minor injuries to police officers and protesters were reported, the police said.

The clashes between Muslims and Hindus that erupted Friday after prayer services for the Id al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan added to the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the disputed region. Those strains have worsened over the past week after exchanges of gunfire and a still-murky attack on Tuesday, in which five Indian soldiers were killed.

India has blamed Pakistan’s army for the attack, a charge that Pakistan has denied. On Sunday there were more reports of gunfire.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., declared a three-day strike for much of the region, and Arun Jaitley, a leader of the party, flew to Jammu on Friday to assess the situation. But state officials would not allow Mr. Jaitley to leave the airport, according to Indian news media reports, and he was forced to fly back to Delhi.

The B.J.P., the main opposition to the governing United Progressive Alliance, has criticized the Indian government for initially refusing to blame Pakistan for the deaths of the soldiers. The opposition party routinely criticizes the governing coalition for not being tough enough on Pakistan.(Courtesy:The New      York Times) 

Muslim, Hindu Gangs Riot in Kashmir.

Muslim, Hindu Gangs Riot in Kashmir.

SRINAGAR | India | 09 Aug 2013 ::  Indian forces imposed an indefinite curfew Friday in a town in the Indian portion of Kashmir after firing tear gas and warning shots to disperse groups of Muslims and Hindus who clashed during Eid celebrations, police said.

The army began enforcing the curfew as rival groups attacked each other with stones and sticks, and burned several shops and vehicles in Kishtwar, a town 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Several people were hurt in the clashes, said one police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The trouble erupted after Hindus objected to Muslims shouting raising pro-independence slogans on the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the fasting month of Ramadan.

State Home Minister Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo, who is from the area, escaped unhurt when his motorcade was attacked with stones by the clashing groups.

The state director-general of police, Ashok Prasad, said “the situation is serious and our priority is not to allow the situation to escalate…. We are trying to enforce the curfew strictly.”

Anti-India feelings run deep in Kashmir, where about a dozen rebel groups have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. More than 65,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

The rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian troops in recent years, and resistance is now principally expressed through street protests.

Indian forces also used tear gas and pellet guns to quell thousands of stone-throwing protesters who took to the streets after the special Eid prayers in Srinagar.(Courtesy:Epoch Times)Read More>>>

Army kills Jaish-e-Mohammad top commander Qari Yasir in fierce Kupwara encounter.

Army kills Jaish-e-Mohammad top commander Qari Yasir in fierce Kupwara encounter.

 

Jammu and Kashmir | Kupwara | 23 Jul 2013 :: A self-styled chief commander of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was shot dead today in an encounter in Kupwara in a major breakthrough for the security forces.

"Qari Yasir, top most Jaish commander, was gunned down by police with the assistance of Army at village Garewad in Lolab area of Kupwara," a police spokesman said.

Describing the killing of Yasir as a "big jolt" to the terror network operating in the Valley, a Defence spokesman said he was instrumental in facilitating guidance of the infiltrating terrorist columns of all the tanzeems (outfits) across the Line of Control(LoC).

Yasir was also responsible for organising the drill for reception and dispatching the terrorists to various places to cause violence and spread terror, the spokesman added.

On a tip off about the presence of the militant in the village, a search operation was launched, police said.

The militant was confronted by the search parties in the wee hours and asked to surrender, the police spokesman said, adding the ultra opened fire and in the ensuing gunfight got killed.

Yasir, a resident of Nooristan in Swat valley of Pakistan, was active in the Valley since 2005 and took over as the self-styled chief commander of the outfit after the killing of Sajad Afghani, police sources said.

They said he was involved in a large number of militancy-related incidents in the Valley.

An AK assault rifle, three magazines and three grenades were recovered from the possession of the slain militant, the Defence spokesman said, adding, "It was a fine example of surgical operation based on credible information and synergy between security forces".

General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Gurmit Singh dedicated the success to the sustained joint efforts by Army and Police, spread over months and the perfect understanding of the operating procedures at the ground level.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

7 Injured in Fresh Clashes in Indian Kashmir.

7 Injured in Fresh Clashes in Indian Kashmir.

SRINAGAR | India | AP | 20 Jul 2013 ::  Protesters clashed with government troops in several parts of Indian-controlled  Kashmir for the second straight day Saturday, defying a curfew imposed to restrain public anger over the killing of four villagers in the disputed region.

Police officials, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said that the protesters threw rocks, and that police and paramilitary forces used batons and tear gas and fired warning shots of live ammunition to control the crowds. Five protesters and 2 police officers were injured in the clashes.

At least 50 people were injured in similar clashes Friday.

The unrest follows the fatal shootings by government troops Thursday of four villagers who were protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards in a remote village in the region.

The protesters accuse the Indian Border Security Force of tearing pages of several copies of the Quran and beating a school caretaker at a religious seminary during a search for militants Wednesday night.

The paramilitary force has denied the charges.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, with both countries claiming the region in its entirety.

Anti-India feelings run deep in Indian-held Kashmir, where about a dozen rebel groups have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian troops in recent years, and resistance is now principally expressed through street protests.(Courtesy: abc News)

Indian forces shoot dead six protesters in Kashmir: police.

Indian forces shoot dead six protesters in Kashmir: police.

SRINAGAR, India / Jammu and Kashmir | AFP | 18 Jul 2013 :: Indian paramilitary troops Thursday shot dead six people protesting outside a Border Security Force station in Kashmir, two police officers said.

The incident happened in Gool, 230 kilometres south of the main city of Srinagar, the officers said on condition of anonymity.

“It is mayhem. Six are dead and dozens injured. The death toll could rise further,” said one.

Protesters had gathered outside the Border Security Force (BSF) station to demonstrate against an incident involving troops at a mosque on Wednesday evening, witnesses said.

The troops had entered the mosque in Gool to complain about the loud recitation of prayers by worshippers during the holy month of Ramazan, the witnesses told AFP.

Worshippers gathered outside the security force station from early Thursday to protest at the incident.

“The BSF soldiers fired indiscriminately, downing protesters left, right and centre,” one witness who declined to be identified told AFP by phone from the nearby village of Dharam.(Courtesy : Dawn)

In Indian-administered Kashmir, a war of words exposes rifts.

GOWHAR GEELANI

Yasin Malik (L) has accused

 Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (R) of

 “siding with tyrants” and “

safeguarding Indian interests

 in Kashmir”. — File photos.

Deep cracks between the two factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq respectively are only too obvious since their split in 2002. But the noticeable rift between Kashmir’s head priest and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik has given a new twist to the ongoing movement and divergence within its leadership in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Malik — chief of the pro-independence JKLF — accused Farooq, chairman of APHC-M of “pretence” and “swindling” funds meant for victims of the ongoing conflict. Malik also suggested that the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat was “siding with tyrants” and “safeguarding Indian interests in Kashmir”.

Perchance it is for the first time Malik has overtly leveled charges of such a serious nature against Farooq. “I know what I’m saying. If I cannot prove these allegations I will detach myself from politics,” he told Dawn.com via telephone. Media adviser to APHC-M, Advocate Shahidul Islam told Dawn.com, “It (Malik’s statement) doesn’t deserve a comment. Mirwaiz Umar Sahib has decided not to react on this.”

The latest controversy began when the JKLF chief, despite being invited to a University of Kashmir seminar on June 4, 2013, organised by the Anjuman-e-Shari-e-Shia’an, was “debarred” from speaking on the “freedom movement of Kashmir”. Farooq was the chief guest.

Interestingly, the university authorities seldom allow pro-independence leadership a platform to speak on political issues, especially over the dispute of Kashmir. The state government has pressurised university authorities to curb all political activities and student union politics on the campus. The fact that the APHC-M leadership was allowed to organise a seminar inside the convocation complex of the university in itself has raised many eyebrows.(Courtesy:Dawn) Read More>>>

Grenade blast wounds six in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India maintains deployment
of an estimated 700,000
 soldiers in the Kashmir
 territory.—AP/File Photo

SRINAGAR|04|june|2013:: An Indian policeman and five others were injured in a grenade attack Tuesday by suspected militants on army vehicles in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.

“Militants hurled a grenade at two army vehicles that were parked along the highway injuring a head constable and five civilians,” superintendent of police, Ramesh Jala, told AFP over the phone.

No militant group claimed responsibility for the explosion in Anantnag town, 50 kilometres south of the main city of Srinagar.

The attack comes less than a week after suspected militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen, one of around a dozen rebel groups said to be fighting to end Indian rule over Kashmir, killed two Indian soldiers in an ambush in which one militant also died.

Last month, government forces claimed they had killed the chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Indian-administered Kashmir during an early morning gun-battle in the congested downtown area of Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a heavily militarised and UN-monitored line of control (LOC), with both countries claiming the disputed territory in full.

India maintains deployment of an estimated 700,000 soldiers in the territory.

The conflict has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.(Courtesy:Dawn)