"Shaukat Ahmed Sheikh, Imtiaz Ahmed Kandu and Basit Ahmed Reshi have been declared terrorists under the UAPA," the Ministry said in a statement.
Besides, under the UAPA, seven other individuals -- Habibullah Malik, Bashir Ahmad Peer, Irshad Ahmed, Rafiq Nai, Zafar Iqbal, Bilal Ahmad Baig and Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman have also been declared terrorists.
All of them have links with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, and Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front.
Sheikh a.k.a. Shaukat Mochi hails from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, and is said to be currently residing in Pakistan.
He is the 'Chief Launching Commander' of HM, and is tasked with spreading terrorist activities in the region by coordinating in infiltration, and recruiting terrorists through his network of allies in Kashmir.
Basit Reshi, also from Baramulla, was last reported to be residing in Pakistan.
Charged with coordinating targeted killings, he had planned and executed a terrorist attack on the police post of Baba Ali Raina Mazar in Sopore on August 18, 2015 which led to two fatalities.
Reshi has been involved in arranging arms and ammunition from across the border, and motivating the youth to join terrorist activities, officials said.
Imtiaz Kandu a.k.a. Sajad a.k.a. Fayaz Sopore, originally from Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore, is currently residing in Pakistan.
According to officials, he has been involved in providing financial aid to terrorists, supplying arms and ammunition and smuggling narcotics.
Kandu has allegedly coordinated attacks on security forces and civilians, which have resulted in several fatalities.
Habibullah Malik a.k.a. Sajid Jatt belongs to Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)/The Resistance Front (TRF).
Officials said he was one of the key handlers of the terrorists that attacked Indian troops at Bhata Dhurian in Poonch district. He had also been the mastermind in many terrorist attacks in the Kashmir Valley.
Bashir Ahmed Peer a.k.a. Imtiaz Alam belongs to Jammu and Kashmir, and is currently residing in Pakistan's Rawalpindi.
He is the launching commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.
He was tasked with providing logistics to HM terrorists, especially for infiltrating into Kupwara, and coordinating with other terrorist groups for terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Irshad Ahmed a.k.a. Idris, currently living in Islamabad, is also the launching commander of HM who has been involved in its launching activities, coordinating the terrorist organisation's training operations.
Rafiq Nai a.k.a. Sultan is also living in Pakistan and is the launching commander of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen/Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force.
According to officials, he is involved in arms smuggling and infiltration of trained Pakistani terrorists into Indian territory to revive terrorist acts in Jammu and Kashmir.
Zafar Iqbal a.k.a. Salim hails from Poonch district and is currently living in Pakistan.
Iqbal is the Operational Commander of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami/Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force.
Apart from smuggling of narcotic substances and weapons, he is also involved in funding and infiltration of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bilal Ahmed Baig a.k.a. Babar belongs to Srinagar, and is currently living in Rawalpindi.
He is the head of the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF). He is involved in the smuggling of arms in Jammu and Kashmir. Bilal Ahmed Baig.
Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman a.k.a. Sheikh Sahab belongs to the district Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
He is currently living in Pakistan and is the head of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen.
He was also involved in smuggling of explosives made in Pakistan and movement of terrorists from Pakistan to India.
He was also involved in the conspiracy to attack religious places in Poonch.
A press release of the police said, "The main accused Shariq, who is absconding and the arrested two accused -- Maaz Munir and Syed Yasin aka Yasin aka Bailu -- in Shivamogga of Karnataka believed that India had got freedom from the Britishers, but the 'real freedom' would be obtained when there is victory over the present system through war and the establishment of Caliphate and implementation of Sharia law."
"The IS is working towards it and declared war on 'kafirs' through jihad. Likewise, the arrested accused were also intending to wage war against India and for this reason they had gathered explosives," police said.
The alleged terrorists used telegram app and subscribed to IS official medium 'Al-Hayat'. Accused Shariq, who is still absconding, shared PDF files with both accused persons that contained the information and videos about the making of bombs.
The police said, "Timer, relay circuits were purchased from Amazon. They had also purchased 9 volts 2 batteries, switches, wires and match boxes and prepared explosives. The accused had conducted trial blasts successfully. They had gathered and stored explosives for use in various parts of India."
"Wherever the trail blasts were conducted, the accused burnt Indian flags," said the police.
Shivamogga Superintendent of Police Lakshmi Prasad stated that the police had conducted raids on 11 locations and seized 14 mobiles, one dongle, two laptops, one pen drive, remaining materials at the site of bomb explosions and half-burnt Indian flag.
On Monday, the body of Tabarak Hussain, 32, of Sabzkot village of Kotli in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), was handed over by the Indian Army to their Pakistani counterparts at the Chakan Da Bagh crossing point on the Lne of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.
The hand over was carried out in the presence of civil and police officers.
Hussain had died of heart failure in the Rajouri Army Hospital two days ago.
He was injured while he infiltrated into the Indian side of the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district on August 21.
He had been tasked along with his accomplices by the Pakistan's ISI to target Indian Army posts close to the LoC.
Also in 2016, Hussain had been nabbed in the same sector along with his brother Haroon Ali.
He was repatriated on humanitarian grounds in the following year via the Wagah-Attari border.
Pakistan has always refused to accept the bodies of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir since the beginning of armed violence here.
Even during the Kargil conflict of 1999, Pakistan had refused to accept the bodies of its regular troopers killed while fighting the Indian Army.
Acting on specific information generated by the Shopian Police regarding the presence of terrorists in Hushangpora village in Nagbal area on Tuesday, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police, Army and CRPF.
"During the search operation as the joint search party approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter," the police said.
"In the ensuing encounter, three local terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit LeT were killed and their bodies have also been retrieved."
The slain terrorists were as Danish Khursheed Bhat, a resident of Ladi Imamsahib; Tanveer Ahmad Wani, from Amarbugh Imamsahib; and Towseef Ahmad Bhat, belonging to Chermarg.
"As per police records, the three were categorised terrorists and involved in several terror crime cases including attacks on police/security forces and civilian atrocities. Danish Khursheed Bhat and Tanveer Ahmad Wani who were active since August 2021, were trying to revive the terror folds by recruiting and motivating the gullible youth to join them. Danish Khursheed had earlier escaped several encounters," the police added.
Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.
Police sources said the terrorists shot and critically injured the manager, identified as Vijay Kumar of Rajasthan.
Kumar was working as the manager of a regional rural bank (Ellaquai Dehati Bank) in Areah village branch of Kulgam district.
He was attacked in the morning as he was entering the bank branch, said police sources.
"He was shifted to a hospital where doctors said he was dead on arrival.
"The area has been cordoned off for searches", sources said.
On May 31, militants killed Rajni Bala, a non-local teacher in the same district. She belonged to Samba district of Jammu division.
LeT terrorist killed in Srinagar encounter
Meanwhile, a LeT terrorist has been killed in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces at Soura in Central Kashmir's Srinagar district, officials said on Friday.
"One terrorist of LeT terror outfit killed. Operation in progress," police said.
The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists.
As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.
He was placed under arrest on Wednesday. The case pertains to indiscriminate firing upon the security personnel during a joint search operation in the area of Sunjwan, Jammu, by unknown terrorists in which one ASI of CISF was killed and several others were injured.
Two terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing by the forces. The case was initially registered in PS Bahu Fort, Jammu and later on taken over by the NIA.
During the probe, the investigating agency learnt that Mir was an Over Ground Worker of JeM. He was a close associate of arrested accused Bilal Ahmed Wagay. He was also in touch with Pakistan based handlers of JeM.
He knowingly and voluntarily had extended support to the other co-accused in the commission of the instant crime.
Further investigation in the matter is on.
Police said on the basis of reliable intelligence input, it was found that terrorist organisation, The Resistance Front (TRF) is active in J&K and is being orchestrated by handlers based in Pakistan.
"Two active terrorists, Basit Ahmed Dar of Redwani, Kulgam, and Momin Gulzar of Eidgah, Srinagar, are using the network of overground workers in the Valley for subversive activities. These terrorist associates are providing logistic support and are harbouring these terrorist in Kashmir Valley," a police official said.
A case was registered by the police and investigation initiated, and during its course, four hardcore terrorist associates were arrested.
They have been identified as Basharat Ahmed Pampori, resident of Maidanpora, Srinagar, Adil Shafi Bhat, resident of Daresh Kadal, Srinagar, Muzamil Fayaz Sofi, resident of Bagh-e-Sundar Payeen Kaksarai Karan Nagar and Adil Mushtaq Mir, resident of Bagh-e-Sundar Payeen Maidanpora.
"It was also learnt that these arrested terrorist associates were involved in creating content of the threatening posters issued by TRF terror outfit time to time. Through these posters they aimed to threaten govt employees, police, armed Forces, elected PRls and non-local businessmen. Besides, aimed to cause disaffection against the state," police said.
"It was also found that they had recently provided logistic support to three terrorists, namely Momin Gulzar, Arif Ahmed Hazar and one foreign terrorist, by providing them shelter and also facilitated them in carrying out terrorist attacks in Srinagar city."
Police said further investigation is in progress to identify other terrorist associates involved in this network.
The chargesheet against Mohd Arman Ali alias 'Arman Mansuri' and Mohd Ehsanullah alias 'Guddu Ansari', both residents of Bihar, and Imran Ahmad Hajam and Irfan Ahmad Dar of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, was filed in the NIA special court, Jammu, on Saturday, a spokesperson of the agency said.
The NIA said the case against the alleged terrorists was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The spokesperson said the case relates to hatching of a conspiracy by the operatives of the Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM) at the behest of proscribed Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed to carry out terrorist activities in the Jammu area with an intention to threaten the sovereignty, integrity and security of India.
Initially a case was registered at the Gangyal police station in Jammu on February 6 last year and later, the NIA had taken over the investigation after re-registering the case on March 2 last year.
Earlier, the agency had filed a chargesheet in the case against six accused persons on August 4 last year.
Investigation revealed that the four accused persons charge sheeted yesterday (Saturday) had conspired, procured and transported weapons from Bihar to Jammu and Kashmir via Punjab and Haryana for the LeM in order to carry out terror activities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir especially in the Jammu region, the spokesperson said.
The lid over the LeM conspiracy was blown when police arrested its self-styled chief commander Hidayatullah Malik, a resident of Shopian in south Kashmir, in a dramatic anti-terrorism operation from the Kunjwani area of Jammu on February 6.
His interrogation led to the arrest of five other accused, including a resident of Bihar, Javaid Alam Ansari, who was subsequently arrested from his house at Deobahuara village of Chapra and was brought to Jammu on transit remand on February 20 last year.
On February 14 last year, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said Malik had set up a network to get weapons from Bihar and sourced seven pistols from there, and got them distributed among terrorists in the Valley.
The police chief revealed that Malik had forwarded a video of NSA Ajit Doval's Delhi office to his handler in Pakistan which means they were planning an attack there as well.
During the hearings at that time on the lessons from Mumbai attacks for the United States, Senator John McCain asked what is the danger that the terrorist organisations within Pakistan might be able to obtain the nuclear weapons that we all know Pakistan has.
To this, a counterterrorism expert replied: "I think it is a real concern. We do receive regular reassurances from the Pakistani authorities that they have the nuclear weapons under tight control, but one does worry.
"When we look at the nexus in Pakistan between organized crime figures like Dawood Ibrahim and terrorist organizations, and we look at the black markets that were created to support Pakistan's own nuclear program through A.Q. Khan, I mean, this is a set of connections between organized crime, government authorities, and terrorist organizations that does raise the spectre of the possibility of large-scale finance and real concerns if they move into weapons of mass destruction," he added.
"I don't want to exaggerate the threat because I still do believe that terrorists get a tremendous amount of mileage out of doing low-tech things without attempting to do some of the more technologically challenging things, and the Mumbai attack was, as I mentioned before, an example of basically small-unit infantry tactics that paralyzed a city of 20 million people for the better part of 3 days," he added.
On Pakistan's response to rein in terrorists, experts said, moreover, we do have the reality that the civilian elected government's authority over the Pakistan military and intelligence services is limited.
"So we can keep on pressing them, as we should, but I think we have to accept that this is going to be a long-term diplomatic slog before we really can enlist Pakistan as being fully cooperative against terrorism," he added.
"And, by the way, the problem did not begin with this government or even the previous government. It was recognized by the National Commission on Terrorism in 1999 and 2000 that Pakistan was not fully cooperating against terrorism," experts added.
On cooperation not forthcoming from the Pakistani government or military, experts said: "Pakistan has been somewhat schizophrenic. At times, it has tried to make deals in some of these turbulent areas and negotiate ceasefires. That hasn't worked. At times, it has gone in with military force, and its own forces haven't fared well. I think we can do a lot more in terms of creating with military assistance some new relationships and a long-term effort to create some new capabilities. We have put billions of dollars into this and it is slow going," experts said.
US officials have identified Pakistan as a base of operations or target for numerous armed and non-state militant groups, some of which have existed since the 1980s, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in the report.
The report, 'Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan', released by the bipartisan research wing of US Congress on the eve of the historic Quad summit hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House last week, said that these groups operating in Pakistan can be broadly categorised into five types -- globally-oriented, Afghanistan oriented, India- and Kashmir-oriented, domestically oriented, and Sectarian (anti-Shia).
The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) was formed in the late 1980s in Pakistan and designated as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) in 2001.
LET was responsible for major 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, as well as numerous other high-profile attacks, the CRS said.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) was founded in 2000 by Kashmiri militant leader Masood Azhar and was designated as an FTO in 2001. Along with LET, it was responsible for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, among other attacks, it said.
JEM also has openly declared war on the United States, it noted.
Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) was formed in 1980 in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet army and was designated as an FTO in 2010. After 1989, it redirected its efforts toward India, although it did supply fighters to the Afghan Taliban.
With an unknown strength, HUJI today operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, and seeks annexation of Kashmir into Pakistan, the report said, adding that HUM was designated as an FTO in 1997 and operates mainly from Pak-Occupied Kashmir and from some Pakistani cities.
Finally, Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM) was formed in 1989 reportedly as the militant wing of Pakistan's largest Islamist political party and designated as an FTO in 2017. It is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
Among other terrorist groups operating from Pakistan are Al Qaeda, CRS said, adding that it has operated primarily from the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas and in the megacity of Karachi, as well as in Afghanistan. It has since 2011 been led by Ayman al-Zawahiri and reportedly maintains supportive ties with many of the groups inside the country.
CRS said according to the US State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2019, Pakistan has continued to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally focused terrorist groups, and has allowed groups targeting Afghanistan ... as well as groups targeting India ...to operate from its territory .
Pakistan's neighbours, including Afghanistan and India, and the US have long accused Islamabad of providing safe haven and support to militants.
The US State Department also noted modest steps taken by Pakistan's government to counter terrorism financing and to restrain some India-focused militant groups following an early 2019 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
It assessed, however, that Islamabad has yet to take decisive actions against India- and Afghanistan-focused militants, and that progress on the most difficult aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan to counter terrorism remains unfulfilled specifically its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organisations without delay and discrimination.
On the topic of terrorist safe havens, the Department concluded that Pakistan's government and military acted inconsistently with respect to terrorist safe havens throughout the country. Authorities did not take sufficient action to stop certain terrorist groups and individuals from openly operating in the country.
Other terrorist groups inside Pakistan are Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent(AQIS), Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP or IS-K); the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jundallah (aka Jaysh al-Adl), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ).
CRS reports are not an official report of the US Congress. Independent experts prepare these reports at periodic interval for the US lawmakers to take informed decisions.
This includes the Taliban-controlled Nijrab district of Kapisa Province. However, as per latest indications, the Taliban controls 218 districts, while the Afghan government controls 108 districts and 100 districts remain contested.
In Herat Province, clashes continued in the city of Herat as well as the adjoining Injil district. Provincial Governor Abdul Qane expressed confidence in the city's defence and averred that the Taliban were suffering heavy casualties on account of ANDSF air strikes.
However, the Taliban has been resorting to the strategy of securing position within the city and among the population so as to engage the ANDSF in urban warfare which the ANDSF might not be well versed with. Meanwhile, assistance has come to the ANDSF in the form of former Mujahideen leader Ismail Khan leading militia forces in support of the ANDSF. He has called on the residents of Herat to mobilise against the Taliban and save themselves from "forces of ignorance".
The ANDSF operation in the city of Herat is based on extensive clearing operations which has been aimed at selectively targeting areas in the city which has Taliban presence and where they are able to access the interiors of the city.
The coordination between the Afghan forces on ground and the Air Force has been working fine thus far in terms of launching operations against the Taliban. The government has been doing its best in controlling the situation and in order to hit back at the Taliban and to not give them any opportunity to take over the city. Abdul Rahman Rahman, Deputy Interior Minister, has been in Herat coordinating the strategy of security forces.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has been carefully collecting and stashing arms recovered during their operations for future use, thus indicating their preparedness for a long drawn conflict. The Taliban Military Commission has instructed its field commanders to ensure that all military equipment captured from the ANDSF should be recorded and stored safely, instead of being appropriated for personal use by Taliban militants. These "directions" come in the backdrop of substantial number of vehicles, pieces of weaponry and ammunition falling into Taliban hands during their recent offensives (May-July). Inputs continue to indicate that captured equipment and vehicles were being transferred to Pakistan by the Taliban.
Significantly, with the casualties caused among their forces, the Taliban has been trying to use the services of foreign cadres for training the new entrants. Some of the best trained cadres have always been from the central Asian states who were sought by terror organisations such as the IS and the Al Qaeda in the past. Some of them have been instructors with various militant organisations and are considered among the best in the job, intelligence sources said.
Arab and Chechen trainers have been involved in training new cadres being inducted as their numbers recede with casualties being caused. Around 6,000 fresh terrorists based in Pakistan are being trained by Arab and Chechen instructors with the aim of raising a new unit. Meanwhile, infiltration of Taliban terrorists into Afghanistan from Pakistan continues.
The Taliban's activities have not spared the Hazara community which is likely to face the wrath of the Taliban in the coming days unless preventive action is taken against such moves.
In this connection, the US Embassy in Kabul has expressed its concerns on the persecution of the Hazara community and said on August 3 that the targeted killing of Hazaras has been a devastating focus of the IS as well as the Taliban. Urging for an immediate ceasefire, it further said: "We are learning about the Taliban's murder of more than 40 civilians in Malistan in Ghazni province. If true, these could constitute war crimes. The human rights abuses must be investigated."
The Iranians have been watching the situation closely and would want to protect the interest of the Hazaras to the extent possible. Given that engaging the Taliban could be complicated for the Iranians and considering Pakistan has significant control over the group, the Iranians would possibly approach the Pakistanis to sort out the issue.
The military decorations have been bestowed on constables Panda and Rajendra Kumar Nain, who were killed while fighting the militants who stormed their camp in Awantipora, while their commander Assistant Commandant Zile Singh has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest bravery decoration, on the eve of the Republic Day.
The three displayed exemplary bravery to thwart the deadly fidayeen attack that was carried out on December 30, 2017, and went on for over 36 hours, an official citation said.
Three heavily armed terrorists were killed by the CRPF personnel after the gun battle ended.
Five troops of the force were also killed in this pre-dawn attack on the multi-acre camp that also serves as training centre for jawans inducted for counter-militancy operations in the Kashmir Valley.
With 44 medals, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the largest recipient of police gallantry medals this time amongst all the central police and paramilitary forces.
(With PTI inputs)
The two ultras were reportedly hiding in a house in Kakori area.
The ATS team had received a tip-off about their presence and had been tracking them since the past one week.
A team led by IG ATS, G.K. Goswami, closed in on their location and arrested the two from a house that belongs to one Shahid.
Wasim was a tenant in the house since the past 15 years. The house has a motor garage in it.
According to ATS sources, two pressure cooker bombs, a detonator, and 6 to 7 kilograms of explosives have been recovered from the house.
A bomb disposal squad has been summoned to the site and nearby houses have been evacuated.
The IG did not disclose the names of the arrested persons and said that further details would be revealed after interrogation.
ATS sources said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the two terrorists planned to target a BJP MP and some senior BJP leaders in Lucknow.
A strong contingent of security forces along with top officials from various agencies have reached the spot.
Khalifa Barq was taken from his home by a special security force, the official of Sirte security department told Xinhua news agency on Friday.
"The operation was based on intelligence information about presence of Barq in central Sirte. He is one of the founders of IS in Sirte who is wanted by the Attorney General," the official said of the arrest made on Thursday.
Sirte, located some 450 km from here, has witnessed months of fighting between forces allied with the UN-backed government and IS militants that ended in December 2016 with the government forces taking over the city.
The IS continues to remain a threat to national security, the government has said.
He also clarified that the operations against militants had not been stopped during the holy month of Ramadan but had just been suspended. "It is not ceasefire but a temporary suspension of operations," he said, adding that the army is free to respond to any terrorist attack.
Addressing media persons here, the senior BJP leader said the number of terrorists killed in the previous UPA-II government was 471.
"There has been no compromise on the unity and integrity of the nation and we are proactively pursuing operations against the terrorist groups and subversive elements," Singh added, but did not respond to a query on how many security personnel were killed in this period.
He however said that respecting the supreme sacrifice of the security personnel in the line of duty for the nation, the Union Government had scaled uo the ex-gratia sum from Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore for their families.
Rajnath Singh also said that incursions had also decreased during the four years of the Modi government and it had come down by 85 per cent in the northeast.
Compared to a high of 2,418 Maoist incidents under the UPA regime, only 1,481 incidents have taken place in the NDA rule, he said. "In 2013, Maoists were active in 76 districts but there area of influence and operations has shrunk to 58 districts in the last four years," he added.
He also said that to secure the country's boundaries, a new border security system was being started under which LED lights would be installed along with new technique radars on the borders.
"I am happy that the issue of terrorism is at the forefront of the governments' foreign policy world over. Now, everybody is realising the pain. I hope the United Nations will take a categorical stand against terrorism and countries which are aiding, funding, training and harbouring terrorists. They (the countries) should be discouraged and identified, and the world should isolate them," the Vice President said, at the launch of a book "Securing India The Modi Way" written by Nitin A. Gokhale.
Naidu said that India was earlier struck with terrorism with lot of pain caused by meaningless and absurd policies of others. "Now, those countries are also affected, the West, the Europe and others. They are now feeling the pain with a broad consensus emerging."
Naidu sought some major steps against terrorism and securing of the border in the interest of security and development of the nation.
"If there is tension inside or on the border, there cannot be attention on development. Please understand. Tension and attention cannot go together. You must have attention towards development which is expected from a government in a democratic country.
"It is not only simply securing the border for nation but also securing the citizen for their right and bettering their livelihood opportunities, providing them enough opportunities worldwide...If you want to focus on development then you need to really divert your attention from those (terrorism). If you want to divert the attention, you must have to secure your border," the Vice President said.
On Tuesday, the Lahore High Court directed the counsel for Jamatud Dawa (JuD) chief Saeed to file a fresh application against the latest order of the Punjab Home Department extending his detention by another 30 days starting from Monday, the Dawn reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, an official of the Home Department presented the latest detention order before the court.
Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, however, turned down a Home Department request for holding in-camera proceedings of the petition.
Saeed is accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai terror attack of November 2008 which left 166 Indians and foreigners dead. New Delhi has repeatedly urged Islamabad to punish him for the massacre.
His Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) later became the Jamatud Dawa (JuD).
JuD leaders' counsel A.K. Dogar had contended that the government detained the petitioners -- Saeed and his aides -- on the basis of mere apprehension without any evidence.
The government had contended that the activities of the JuD leaders, if they were released, would pose a serious threat to public safety and public order.
It said a number of cases had been registered against Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a sister organisatison of JuD. The detainees also launched a campaign of their political party, which was still not registered with the Election Commission.
The Home Department said all the law enforcement agencies strongly recommended extending the detention of the JuD leader in the larger public interest.
Speaking at the Asia Society seminar in New York, the minister said that the US cannot succeed in Afghanistan by waging war. He said that 16 years ongoing war in Afghanistan shows peace can be restored in Afghanistan only through a negotiated settlement, the News reported.
Asif said that no one desires peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan, but that a number of Afghan leaders want to continue status quo for their vested interests.
Dismissing accusations of safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan, the minister said it is Afghanistan which harbours these safe havens.
The EC's Interior Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Thursday made the announcement during a press conference at the end of a European Interior Ministers summit in Brussels, one day after EC chief Jean-Claude Juncker outlined the plan in his state of the EU address in Strasbourg.
He said recent attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain, and in Turku, Finland, demonstrated that the EU needed to review its security strategy in the long-term, Efe news reported.
In this context, he said a European intelligence was needed in order to boost the gathering and sharing of information on potential terrorists returning to Europe from abroad.
The agency would permit the automatic transfer of such intelligence between EU member states, Avramopoulos said.
The proposal is expected to be made in October.
The soldiers of the 15 Infantry Division, backed by helicopter gunships, killed 65 IS terrorists and 15 suicide bombers wearing explosive belts at a village near the town of Ayadhiyah, some 11km north of Tal Afar, Xinhua news agency cited a the Joint Operations Command (JOC) statement as saying.
The troops also destroyed two vehicles and four IS hideouts, it said.
Several terrorists fled the area and surrendered to the nearby defensive line of the Kurdish Pehmerga forces at the edge of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, the statement added.
On August 31, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared full liberation of the city of Tal Afar and surrounding areas from the extremist IS terrorists.
Alice Wells, who is the Acting Assistant Secretary of State in-charge of South and Central Asia, will meet Pakistani officials during her visit, the State Department announced on Saturday.
She will be the first high-level official to visit Pakistan after Trump's speech last week, issuing to Islamabad the bluntest warning so far by a US President that "it has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists".
This is the second trip to Islamabad this month by Wells, who is also the Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During her first visit Wells met Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad. She also visited New Delhi during that trip, although she is skipping India this time.
Wells will visit Dhaka and Colombo during the journey starting on Monday.
On Friday, she is scheduled to speak at the Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo.
India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is the Vice-Chair of the organising committee of the conference. According to the meeting's brochure, Swaraj and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar have been invited to speak at the conference.
Their participation could facilitate meeting with Wells on the sidelines.
Trump has asked for India's help in Afghanistan and said that "critical part of the South Asia strategy for America is to further develop its strategic partnership with India".
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and several leaders and officials from the Indian Ocean region will attend the conference organised by the India Foundation.
The call for ditching the WhatsApp encryption emerged after five people were killed in an attack on March 22 when Khalid Masood ploughed his car into crowds on the bridge and tried to storm the Parliament. Masood is said to have used WhatsApp minutes before carrying out the attack.
"The goal for governments is to get as much information as possible, and so when there are message services like WhatsApp that are encrypted the message itself is encrypted but the metadata is not. Meaning that when you send me a message we don't know what that message says but we know that you contacted me," Express.co.uk quoted Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer Facebook, as saying on Saturday.
"If people move off those encrypted services and go to encrypted services in countries that won't share the metadata the government actually has less information, not more. And so as technology evolves these are complicated conversations. We are in close conversations working through the issues all around the world," she added.
With the growing terror attacks in London and Europe, social media has come under severe criticism for not doing enough to curb online terrorism. Facebook hired an online army of more than 7,000 people which is assigned to crack down on terrorists using the site.
Facebook also has 4,500 people who work to stop any attempt from extremists to hijack the site and the company plans to hire 3,000 more later this year.
"Our Facebook policies are very clear. There is absolutely no place for terrorism, hate or calls for violence of any kind. Our goal is to not just pull it off Facebook but to use artificial intelligence technology to get it before it is even uploaded," Sandberg said.
"We are working in collaboration with other tech companies now so if a video is uploaded to any of our platforms we are able to fingerprint it for all the others so they can't move from platform to platform," she added.
"The Amarnath Yatra attack has been one reversal but we will continue our operations, will continue targeting terrorists. We will continue improving the situation," the Chinar Corps Commander, Lt Gen J.S. Sandhu, said here briefing the media.
"Situation is under control," said Sandhu, adding "The army is not too worried about the situation becoming too bad or alarming. The situation will remain under control."
He also said that youth from the valley was "ready to serve the nation" as recruitment to security forces from the state was very high.
On Zahoor Ahmad Thakur, a soldier in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, who went missing with his service weapon, Sandhu said there was no confirmation of him joining militant ranks.
"We are tracking him," he added.
Thakur, who was with the Territorial Army's 173 Battalion, was reported missing from his camp in Gantmulla area along with an AK-47 rifle on July 6.
"Bol ke nahin karengey, karke dikhayengey (we will not announce it in advance, we will do it)," he told India TV in a programme on present situation in Kashmir.
The minister said that countrymen should not presume that nothing was being done by the government in this regard.
"I can say this much for now that we will not allow our countrymen to hang their heads in shame," he said, adding that the government also felt the pain of the people.
"There is pain in our hearts too, but we will not allow that pain to continue for a long time," he said.
Asked when an action against terrorists would be taken for killing army personnel Ummer Fayaz, the Home Minister said "prateeksha kijiye (just wait)".
"Whatever happened to Ummer Fayaz has caused pain in the hearts of Indians. He was a role model for youths," the minister added.
Talking about Maoist problem in the country, the minister said that there was 450 per cent spike in the number of Maoists surrendering in the last two years.
Their activities had also gone down by 40 to 45 per cent, he added.
Lahore: For the first time, Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif has publicly acknowledged that militant organisations are active in the country and questioned the policy to allow the "non-state actors" to cross the border and "kill" people in Mumbai, a media report said.
Sharif, who has been disqualified to hold public office for life by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, said Pakistan has isolated itself.
"We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan's narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it, Sharif told Dawn.
Without naming Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar's militant organisations -- Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Jaish-e-Mohammad, -- operating in the country with impunity, Sharif said, "Militant organisations are active in Pakistan.
"Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill over 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial."
The Mumbai attacks-related trials are stalled in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.
He further said: It's absolutely unacceptable (to allow non-state actors to cross the border and commit terrorism there). President (Vladimir) Putin has said it. President Xi (Jinping) has said it."
US President Donald Trump had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists.
Sharif, 68, was disqualified by the Pakistan Supreme Court for not being "honest and righteous" as he failed to declare in 2013 a salary he got from the company of his son in the UAE.
In February, the apex court also disqualified Sharif as the head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Citing the military and judiciary establishment, Sharif further said: You can't run a country if you have two or three parallel governments. This has to stop. There can only be one government - the constitutional one.
The relations between the military and the Sharif government were at its lowest ebb in October 2016 when the latter told the former to act against home grown militant groups or face international isolation.
The Mumbai attack case has entered into the 10th year but none of its suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet, showing that the case had never been in the priority list of the country that appears to be keen to put it under the carpet.
A number of Pakistani witnesses both official and private testified and provided evidence against the seven accused, but the Pakistani authorities have been insisting on sending Indian witnesses for reaching a verdict in the case.
Some 166 people were killed in the attack carried out by 10 LeT men. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and hanged after handed down death sentence.
The abducted children, mostly aged between 10-15 years, have been transferred to the IS terrorist group’s educational and military centres for brainwashing, Iraq’s Arabic news channel Al Sumaria quoted Iraqi Kurdistan's Democrat Party, spokesperson Saeed Mamuzini as saying.
He added that the IS terrorists also arrested 78 men who protested against the abduction of their children.
The Kurdish official noted that the militants have kidnapped 1,420 Iraqi children since the capture of the country's second city over a year ago and forced them to receive military training, so that IS could use them in terrorist and intelligence operations.
Mamuzini previously said that IS terrorists had executed 15 of its own militants after facing a defeat in Bashiqa town northeast of Mosul, adding they were killed by children trained by the terrorist group.
Iraqi local and security officials have said that IS terrorists abducted 500 children in the eastern province of Diyala and western province of al-Anbar.
The IS started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed militants took control of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland.
The terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence against all Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
"Eight of the bids were made in the last 15 days," the official told IANS here.
"The (terrorist) groups mostly consisted of six to eight heavily armed militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)," he added.
According to the official, the infiltration attempts were made even as Pakistani border guards shelled Arnia and R.S. Pura sectors.
The official said intelligence agencies believed that such attempts were likely to be made in the next few days as well.
"We are fully prepared to give them (militants) a hot reception," he said.
The official said there were 21 violations of the 2003 ceasefire by the Pakistan Rangers in the three districts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua during January.
Indiscriminate firing and mortar shelling by the Rangers last month killed two BSF troopers and a civilian. A dozen civilians were injured.
Public and private property was also damaged at many places along the border because of shelling, the official added.
The BSF is deployed along the international border that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The army guards the Line of Control (LoC).
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale summoned Mahmood to the MEA at 2 p.m. and issued a "very strong demarche" in connection with the terror attack on Thursday that also left 38 troopers injured.
Gokhale conveyed that Pakistan must take immediate and verifiable action against the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility immediately after the attack, and that it must immediately stop any groups or individuals associated with terrorism and operating from Pakistani territory.
He also rejected the statement made by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry denying any involvement in the suicide attack, that has been called the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy began there in 1989.
The JeM, a Pakistan-based outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack in which a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a Central Reserve Police Force bus that was part of a large convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway around 3.15 p.m., killing 45 troopers and leaving the security establishment stunned.
Later, three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were also gunned down by security forces.
The martyred soldiers have been identified as Major VS Dhoundiyal, Havaldar Sheo Ram, Sepoy Ajay Kumar and Sepoy Hari Singh who belonged to 55 Rashtriya Rifles, reported ANI. The gunfight started late Sunday night after security forces, including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), surrounded Pinglena village upon receiving a tip off that Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants were hiding in the area.
"As the cordon was tightened, the holed-up militants fired triggering the gunfight," police sources said, adding that a search operation is ongoing at the site.
The gunfight comes less than a week after 49 CRPF troopers were killed on February 14 after their convoy was targeted by a JeM suicide bomber on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama.
According to the police sources, Sunday night's gunfight site is some 10 km away from the suicide attack spot.
(With IANS inputs)
His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric issued on Wednesday a stern statement: "It is essential that there be accountability under international law and the perpetrators of terrorist acts be brought swiftly to justice."
UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday made a similar appeal to bring those responsible for the attack in Pulwama to justice.
They did not say to whom their call for prosecutions was addressed or mention Pakistan, but their broad statements appear to include action against the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which has taken responsibility for the attack and is based in and protected by Pakistan.
Dujarric said that Guterres also made an urgent appeal to "India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not further deteriorate.
"It is the belief of the Secretary-General that all difficult challenges can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily through meaningful mutual engagement," he added.
Asked at his briefing if Guterres would take on the task of mediating through good offices, Dujarric said: "As we said yesterday, both parties need to request it."
While Pakistan has asked for his - as well as others - intervention, India has rejected the involvement of third parties in the dispute with its neighbour because both countries had agreed that Kashmir was a bilateral affair.
"Following the Pulwama terror attack, instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammad, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outright dismissed claims by JeM," she said
"Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder of the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and take decisive action against it," she added.
Her meeting with China is significant as Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's bid at the UN to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a UN-designated global terrorist.
At the RIC, Sushma Swaraj will also meet her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"Manzoor Ahmad Lone was shot dead by the terrorists late on Thursday night at Gulzarpora in Awantipora area of Pulwama, " a police spokesman said.
He said initial investigation revealed that Lone was forcibly taken away by terrorists from his home in Dogripora and shot dead at nearby Gulzarpora.
This was the third attack on civilians in south Kashmir in the past two days.
A National Conference worker was shot at and injured in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district on Thursday while an army deserter was shot dead on Wednesday in Pulwama district.
Initiated by France, Resolution 2462 is intended to update existing resolutions and adapt them to new forms of financing of terrorism and new challenges in this field, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
The resolution notes with concern that terrorists may abuse legitimate businesses and non-profit organisations for their activities, and make use of emerging payment methods, such as prepaid cards and mobile payments or virtual assets.
It also expresses concern at the continuing use by terrorists and their supporters of information and communications technologies, in particular the internet, to facilitate terrorist acts, as well as inciting, recruiting, funding, or planning terrorist acts.
Therefore, the resolution calls upon all countries to enhance the traceability and transparency of financial transactions, including assessing and addressing potential risks associated with virtual assets and as appropriate, the risks of new financial instruments, including but not limited to crowd-funding platforms.
It also encourages member states to apply risk-based anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations to virtual asset service providers, and to identify effective systems to conduct risk-based monitoring or supervision of virtual asset service providers.
Furthermore, the resolution encourages competent national authorities, in particular financial intelligence units and intelligence services, to continue to establish effective partnerships with the private sector, including financial institutions, the Financial technology industry and internet and social media companies, in particular with regards to the evolution of trends, sources and methods of the financing of terrorism.
Adopted in 2001 in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, Resolution 1373 was the first comprehensive resolution imposing obligations on all states to respond to the global threat of terrorism.
Resolution 2462 also affirms the Resolution 1373 and in particular its decisions that all countries shall prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts and refrain from providing any of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts.
In the order on Wednesday, suspected LeT member Mohd Ayub Mir, his aides Bechh Raj Bengani and Harbans Singh were fined Rs 5 lakh, Rs 7 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively.
The adjudicating authority has also ordered to confiscate Rs 7 lakh in cash in a 17-year-old terror funding case.
The ED initiated a probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on the basis of a report received from Delhi Police against the three accused.
On July 2, 2002, the Delhi Police arrested Mir while he was receiving hawala payment of Rs 7 lakh from Singh for the terrorist organization LeT.
The ED said Mir was an active member of the LeT and was also wanted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
In its statement, the ED said that Mir admitted that Rs 7 lakh seized from him was the hawala money. "Mir has also admitted to having links with the LeT."
Singh was working as Bengani's driver and was engaged in delivering cash on the instruction of his employer to Mir. Bengani was involved in hawala trade.
Referring to the air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Balakot, Modi told an election rally here: "Pakistan and its supporters have been threatening us for long with its nuclear capability but the IAF called its bluff with its strikes.
"Those days are gone when India would give in to threats. This is a new India and it will strike terrorists well inside their hideouts across the border," he thundered.
In his speech, Modi took on both the Congress as well as the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Accusing the Congress and its allies of always criticizing him for highlighting India's security situation, he said: "They do so because they never fully trusted the country's defence forces.
"The Congress always restricted our Army from going all out against terrorists. It has used the defence forces only for income generation, be it Bofors or helicopter deals. The Congress and its allies keep politics above the security of the country.
"Some people are so involved in anti-Modi tirade that they have forgotten the security of the country," he said.
Modi accused the National Conference and PDP of supporting separatism. "They threaten India with a separate Prime Minister and also separation of the state from the country.
"I want to make it clear to these separatist supporters that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so. The people of J&K are not the slaves of the Abdullahs and the Muftis whose three generations have ruled this state.
"It was in Kathua that Shyama Prasad Mookerjee unfurled the tricolour and Prem Nath Dogra stood with him. One country cannot have two Prime Ministers, two flags and two Constitutions. That commitment made by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee is our firm resolve," he said.
"These corrupt families of J&K must know that Modi will stand like a wall against their attempts to continue their family rule in the state. They may keep abusing me but they will not succeed in dividing this country.
"They have already destroyed three generations of people in the state."
Modi also promised citizenship rights for West Pakistan refugees and the return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to the Kashmir Valley once he was voted back to power.
The Prime Minister said while did not doubt Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's nationalist credentials, "he was under tremendous pressure from the Congress family not to attend the official function at Jallianwala Bagh in memory of the martyrs."
The operation, carried out against a terrorist hideout, started on Monday night and lasted for about 17 hours after security forces acted on an intelligence tip-off regarding the presence of the militants in Hayatabad area of the city, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The terror suspects had taken cover in a residential building from where they attacked security forces, Dawn online reported.
The suspects sprayed bullets at the police when they tried to enter the compound, triggering an exchange of fire in which a policeman and a militant were killed, Geo News reported citing the statement.
Peshawar city police chief Qazi Jameel said that one of the terror suspects had been killed on Monday night, whereas the other four were neutralised on Tuesday when more contingents of the police and Army joined the forces battling the insurgents.
The three-storey hideout of the suspects was cleared by the police and Army after successfully concluding the operation on Tuesday afternoon, said the ISPR statement.
Assistant Inspector General Shafqat Malik said 50 kg of explosive material was found installed in a bike and parts of the building. The building was demolished with explosives soon after the operation concluded, the report said.
An officer and a soldier also got injured in the clash.
The identities or affiliations of the terror suspects were not revealed, but some Pakistani media reports said that they were associated with some proscribed organization.
They were wanted for attacks on a judge and an additional inspector-general of police, according to security officials.
Addressing an election rally at Pimpalgaon in Nashik district, Modi said: "Scores were killed in Sri Lanka when terrorists struck at the innocent Christians peacefully engaged in prayers in churches, yesterday (Sunday)."
"What was the situation in India prior to 2014? There were regular terror strikes in Maharashtra, Ayodhya, Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. The (then) Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government just mourned and kept crying about Pakistan."
"But after coming to power in 2014, your 'Chowkidar' changed that strategy and rammed the terrorists inside their dens and the result is before all to see," he said, referring to the February 26 Indian Air Force strikes in Balakot, Pakistan, after the February 14 Pulwama attack which killed 40 CRPF troopers.
"Terror is now practically erased from the country, barring some pockets in Jammu and Kashmir but even there, our security forces regularly keep killing the terrorists... The terrorists are scared that under 'Modi' they cannot escape punishment."
Later, at a rally in Nandurbar, Modi assured that nobody would change the structure of reservations till he is at the helm of affairs.
He assured the predominantly tribal farmers here that their lands are safe and sought the people to vote for "a strong government at the Centre", as due to corruption in the Congress-led government, nothing had been done for the people of north Maharashtra.
Modi promised he would strive to increase the farmers' incomes by enabling production of ethanol from sugarcane which the previous Congress-NCP governments never bothered for.
"This will give you higher remuneration prices for your sugarcane, ethanol mixed with petrol would reduce the prices of petrol, reduce the oil bills burden on the country". Earlier, only 40 crore litres ethanol was produced, not it has gone up to 140 crore litres. The previous government had knowledge of all of this but they never bothered as it would remove the 'cream' of their earnings," Modi said.
He expressed optimism that the BJP-NDA would sweep to power at the Centre after which the government would implement further welfare measures.
Gokhale is on a two-day visit to Beijing where he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and told him that Beijing needed to be "sensitive" to New Delhi's concerns.
"We have shared with China all evidences of the terrorist activities of Jaish-e-Mohammad and its leader Masood Azhar. It is now for the 1267 Sanctions Committee (of the UN Security Council) and other authorised bodies of the UN to take a decision on the listing of Masood Azhar (as international terrorist)," the MEA spokesperson said.
He was responding to queries on the discussions that Gokhale held in Beijing with regard to proscribing of Azhar. Gokhale is understood to have made attempts to convince Wang Yi not to block a resolution to declare Azhar an international terrorist at a UN panel.
China has been blocking India's move to enlist Azhar as an international terrorist, which is supported by countries like the US, the UK and France at the UN Security Council.
This has soured China's ties with India where Azhar is wanted for plotting deadly terror attacks. Azhar heads the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF personnel on February 14.
JeM has been responsible for a number of terror attacks in India over the last two decades, including the one on the Parliament on December 13, 2001. There has been an increased pitch for proscribing Azhar in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.
Last month, Beijing placed its latest "technical hold", for the fourth time, on a US-sponsored resolution against Azhar, a move that India called "disappointing".
"India will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice," the MEA spokesperson said.
Gokhale, in his opening remarks during his meeting with Wang and Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said China should be "sensitive" to India's concerns.
"We will work together with the Chinese side to deepen mutual understanding and strengthen mutual trust to implement the decisions that are taken by the leaders and do it in a manner where we are sensitive to each other's concerns," Gokhale said.
Gokhale, who was earlier India's Ambassador to China, said both sides were working to implement what was agreed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wuhan summit last year.
"It's been a year since our leaders met in Wuhan and my colleagues, Vice (Foreign) Minister Kong Xuanyou and I have been following up on efforts to see that to implement the understandings that were reached at the meeting.
"Last year, we had very brisk political exchanges including your visit to Delhi for the first high-level meeting for people to people exchange which was an important development. And my Minister (Foreign) looks forward to coming for the second meeting in China later this year," he added.
Wang, on his part, stressed the need for India and China to step up strategic communication and cooperation.
"China and India are two major countries and neighbours. They are also two emerging market countries and are each other's emerging partners.
"In this sense, it's very important for the two countries to work together to increase strategic communication, geopolitical trust and strategic cooperation on international and regional issues," Wang said.
Meanwhile, the MEA has said that both sides have reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations since the Wuhan summit between Modi and Xi Jinping in April 2018.
"They discussed the agenda for bilateral engagement in the coming months. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues," it said.
During his visit, Gokhale also met another Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Le Yucheng.
"They have been brought here in a general case that was registered in March in Delhi," NIA spokesperson Alok Mittal told IANS.
Tanveer Ahmad Ganie, 29, and Bilal Ahmad Mir, 23, both residents of the Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, were brought from the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu and produced before the special NIA court on Thursday against a production warrant.
The court remanded them to seven-day NIA custody till May 2.
Asked if the suspects had links with the Pulwama attack or any other terrorist case, the official said, "we will interrogate them on every terrorist activities carried out in J&K."
On February 14, a JeM terrorist rammed his explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in the Pulwama area, killing 40 personnel.
In a statement, the NIA said the two had been arrested in a probe into a criminal conspiracy by top leadership of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit to strengthen bases of the group in India.
Earlier, the NIA had arrested a JeM suspect Sajjad Ahmad whom it claimed was in regular contact with these two persons over WhatsApp.
The anti-terror agency registered the case on March 15 and named Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, as the mastermind of the conspiracy to "wage war" against India.
The agency filed the FIR based on inputs regarding criminal conspiracy for strengthening base of JeM in India, raising funds, organising terrorist camps and recruiting persons for carrying out terrorist acts, harbouring JeM cadres and becoming its member.
Riyas Aboobacker was arrested from Kerala after he disclosed NIA investigators that he has been following speeches and videos of Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking cleric who is believed to have masterminded the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka which left 253 people dead and over 500 injured.
The 29-year-old informed the NIA officials that he has been following Hasim for more than a year and has also followed the speeches of Zakir Naik, an absconding Indian Islamic preacher and the founder of the Islamic Research Foundation.
Aboobacker admitted that he wanted to carry out a suicide attack in Kerala. He was being questioned by the NIA since Sunday when the agency unearthed the Kasargod module of the terrorist outfit in Kerala during multiple raids at the house of three suspects.
Aboobacker alias Abu Dujana, a resident of Palakkad in Kerala, has been arrested on charges for conspiring to commit a terrorist act, an NIA statement said.
The suspect, NIA said, revealed during his interrogation that he had been in online contact with an absconding suspect Abdul Rashid Abdulla for a long time and has been following his audio clips including the clip which he had circulated on social media platform instigating others to carry out terror attacks in India.
Aboobacker revealed that he was also having online chat with Abdul Khayoom, a suspect in Valapattanam Islamic State case, who was believed to be in Syria, said the anti-terror agency.
The NIA had earlier received inputs that a group of four persons has been in contact with some accused identified as Abdul Rashid, Ashfaq Majeed, Abdul Khayoom who had already migrated to Afghanistan and Syria.
After verification, NIA carried out searches at three places (two in Kasaragod and one in Palakkad District) on Sunday.
The agency said three group members have been interrogated for their Islamic State links and their plans and that this case was registered in July 2016 following the disappearance of 15 youths from Kasargod and their subsequent migration to Islamic State (14 persons to Afghanistan and one person to Syria).
Aboobacker will be produced before a special NIA court in Kochin in Kerala on Tuesday, said the agency.
The report, "China's Algorithms of Repression: Reverse Engineering a Xinjiang Police Mass Surveillance App", says the app allows state security officials to link a person's national identity card number with biometric data, such as blood type and height, their "religious atmosphere", political affiliation and even "unusual" utility metre readings.
The New York-based rights watchdog said its report "presents new evidence about the surveillance state in Xinjiang where the government has subjected 13 million Turkic Muslims to heightened repression".
Several international organizations have highlighted and denounced China for detaining Muslims in internment camps.
The Chinese government justifies these camps as part of its counter-extremism and counter-terrorism efforts and only releases an individual who "has been transformed".
The app also records "suspicious" behaviour, which can include legal activities such as using the back door of a home, not socializing with neighbours or buying too much gasoline, CNN reported.
It is linked to the all-encompassing Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), which monitors personal relationships and detects irregularities such as people using a phone that is not registered to them.
"Our research shows, for the first time, that Xinjiang police are using illegally gathered information about people's completely lawful behaviour -- and using it against them," said Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"The Chinese government is monitoring... (and) picking out those it mistrusts and subjecting them to extra scrutiny."
The non-profit said between January 2018 and February 2019, it was able to reverse engineer the mobile app used to connect to the Integrated Joint Operations Platform, the Xinjiang policing programme that aggregates data about people and flags those deemed potentially threatening.
The examination of the app's design, which at the time was publicly available, "revealed specifically the kinds of behaviours and people this mass surveillance system targets".
"The police platform targets 36 types of people for data collection. Those include people who have stopped using smart phones, those who fail to 'socialize with neighbours', and those who 'collected money or materials for mosques with enthusiasm'," said the report.
The authorities, according to the report, have programmed the app in such a way that many legal and lawful activities are seen as an indicator of a "suspicious behaviour".
The HRW has asked the Chinese government to close down the surveillance programme and delete all the details it has collected. But, the Chinese authorities had previously called the watchdog an "organization (that) kept making "false allegations on China-related issues all along".
The rights group also stressed that the "concerned foreign governments should impose targeted sanctions".
In March, China confirmed arresting 12,995 alleged terrorists since 2014 in the region, disbanded 1,588 "violent and terrorist gangs" and seized 2,052 explosive devices".
In an interview to India TV's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma in front of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, he said that he had made friendly gestures to both Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan but these were not reciprocated.
Describing his sudden visit to Pakistan in 2015 while returning from Afghanistan, he said Sharif called him over to Lahore to meet him.
Modi said that his visit was intended to send a message that India does "not bear any ill-will towards Pakistan".
"I discussed with Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj), she said 'you decide'. I talked to NSA, SPG. Everybody was worried, since the officials had no visas nor were there any security arrangements in place, neither did anybody knew about the layout (of the place). We will have to land straight. I said 'Come on, let's go, we'll see."
He describe Sharif as a "genuine person".
"They were being fed lies about India. The message went to them that India desires the well-being of the people of Pakistan. We returned, and within a week, Pathankot (attack) happened," he said, referring to the attack at the IAF airbase in the Punjab border town.
Modi said that when Imran Khan became PM, they talked over phone. "I told him that both the countries have fought several wars, and every time Pakistan was defeated. Both of us as Prime Ministers should work towards eradication of poverty in the next five years," he said.
However, then came incidents like Pulwama.
"The biggest problem with Pakistan is that nobody knows who is running the country and whom we should talk to," he said, adding that his experience with Pakistan was not isolated but leaders from the US, China, Russia, the Gulf and Arab countries share the same views.
Modi said he was told by several world leaders that he would not come to know whom to talk in Pakistan. "Whom will you talk to... with the Army, with the ISI? Or, with an elected body? The leaders told me, 'We ourselves don't know who runs that country'."
"Let Pakistan resolve its problems first," he added.
"All those terrorists directly involved in the bombings are either dead or under arrest," Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne said on Monday night after a meeting with Defence Secretary Shantha Kottegoda and tri-force commanders at the Ministry of Defence.
Wickramaratne added that all the explosives hidden by terrorists for more attacks have also been seized by the police and the security forces, the Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday.
Over 250 people were killed and hundreds injured in the April 21 killings at three churches, three luxury hotels and two other locations.
According to Army Commander Lt Gen Mahesh Senanayake, the military had taken steps to ensure national security under the emergency regulations, Colombo Gazette reported.
He said normalcy was returning to the country and the public must not be misled by false reports circulating on social media platforms.
The Commander urged the public to return to their day to day activities while the Navy and the Air Force said that security had been strengthened to prevent any attack in the ports as well as airports in Sri Lanka.
The strike, which was conducted in Barmal district, killed 10 militants and destroyed a militants' vehicle, Xinhua news agency quoted policeman Shah Mohammad Aryan as saying.
In a separate incident in Wardak province, a Taliban militant was killed while three were arrested. The security forces seized five motorcycles during the raid.
The Taliban has not yet commented.
The Prime Minister, while referring to the killing of two terrorists in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, said: "They (the terrorists) were standing in front (of the soldiers) with bombs and guns. Would my jawans go to the Election Commission to ask for permission to shoot? Since I came to Kashmir, every second or third day, clean-up operations are taking place."
He further said that the ‘lotus' was all set to bloom in the country again. "The 'mahamilavati' group is now frustrated and desperate because the people are voting for a strong government and a strong nation," he said.
The BJP has built its campaign around the theme of nationalism and national security which no political party has opposed. However, political parties have objected to the Prime Minister referring to ‘my soldiers' on the social media.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had been pulled up by the Election Commission for referring to the Indian Army as ‘Modiji ki sena'.
Last week, the Election Commission gave a clean chit to the Prime Minister for several speeches where the armed forces, the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama and the airstrike at Pakistan's Balakot were mentioned.
Fifteen Taliban militants were killed following air raids in Sangin, Nad Ali and Musa Qala districts of Helmand province on Saturday, Presidential Information Coordination Centre was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The Centre's statement did not detail whether the sorties were launched by Afghan Air Force or NATO-led coalition forces.
Helmand province, notorious for poppy growing, is a known Taliban stronghold.
The militant group didn't comment on the report yet.
According to top security officials, the intelligence input says that terrorists are likely to enter Uttar Pradesh from Nepal.
All incoming trains and buses are being searched and hotels, lodges and guests houses have been put under scanner.
"We are taking security measures because the verdict in the 2005 terror attack in Ayodhya is scheduled to be delivered on June 18.
It may be recalled that on June 5, 2005, a terror attack had been foiled in Ayodhya and five militants had been gunned down. Four Kashmiri militants had also been arrested in the case.
It is noteworthy that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is also scheduled to visit Ayodhya with his 18 MPs on June 16.