Tag: Terrorism

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UKPNP highlights impact of Pak extremism on UK and S.Asia

The conference raised a question that ‘Why UK placed Pakistan on its list of high-risk countries for terror finances and money laundering in 2021, but reversed the decision, just a year later?’

An International Conference was organised by United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) in London earlier this week at the House of Commons, in which the British Parliamentarians, renowned human rights activists, thinkers, lawyers, journalists, authors and Kashmiri Diaspora in UK participated and expressed their views on the scourge of extremism and violence conceived and spread by Pakistan.

“The conference was rightly titled as “Growing Extremism and Violence in South Asia and how it will affect Britain and South Asia” because the impact of the violence and hatred nourished by Pakistani Establishment is affecting not only the region of South Asia but UK, EU and other regions too,” according to a press statement.

One of the speakers stressed upon that terrorist attacks in the US, London, Madrid and Paris have exhibited that the threat of terrorism is not restricted to its region of origin anymore.

According to UKPNP, research has shown that the UK is particularly vulnerable to this threat, due to its large Pakistani community. As per the British security services, “at least three in every four terror plots in the UK had their roots in Pakistan,” it added.

In 2018, Oxford University observed that the majority of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world are hosted or aided by Pakistan. It is seen that Pakistan is responsible for 3 times the terror risk to humanity that Syria poses, more than 5 times the risk that Libya poses, and 7 times the risk that Iraq poses.

Speaker further mentioned that in Pakistan, an interdependent relationship between State institutions and terrorist groups has grown over the years and the risk of the capture of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups cannot be ruled out.

The gravity and repeated threat to the UK and the rest of the world that Pakistan’s dynamic terrorist infrastructure poses have not been taken notice of adequately. This has compelled the Conference to raise a question that ‘Why UK placed Pakistan on its list of high-risk countries for terror finances and money laundering in 2021, but reversed the decision, just a year later?’

The Conference was also attended and addressed by Fabian Hamilton, Shadow Minister for Peace & Disarmament, UK; Wood Green, Shadow Minister for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, UK; MP Hillary James Wedgwood and MP Catherine West both from Labour Party.

Towards end of the Conference organized by UKPNP, a resolution was adopted that UKPNP stands for peace, harmony and prosperity in the South Asian Region.

“We condemn the propagation of inequality, violence and hatred that is premeditated, instigated and supported by the Pakistani Establishment. We state publicly that the J&K dispute is a creation of Pakistan’s unprovoked and imperial attack on the State of J&K and since then the human rights and honor of Kashmiries has been violated by Pakistan. UKPNP urges Government of Pakistan to ensure Freedom of Speech for one and all living under its iron heels, irrespective of their faith, ethnicity, language and social status. We strongly stand for religious freedom for the followers of all faiths,” the resolution stated.

In the resolution adopted unanimously, UKPNP urged to the esteemed guests to widen the space for peace, tolerance, harmony and respect for all; to strengthen and promote our aspirations for global peace & social order and leave no space for violence and hatred. UKPNP vows to continue its struggle to oppose those who promote, condone or justify these evils.

At the end, UKPNP request the authorities to take appropriate actions to curb the activities of those who promote radicalization, violence and intolerance.

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Terrorism on UNSC agenda as Mozambique chairs debate

India, which headed the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) during its tenure on the Council in the past two years, brought a renewed focus to the scourge of terrorism….reports Arul Louis

Mozambique will convene a high-level debate at the UN Security Council chaired by President Filipe Nyusi on countering terrorism,”a matter of great concern for the world”, according to Permanent Representative Pedro Comissario Afonso, who took over the Council’s presidency.

“Terrorism is a matter of great concern in the world today, so we need to pool our efforts to combat possibly defeat and eradicate terrorism,” Afonso said briefing reporters on Wednesday on the Council’s agenda for the month.

“This will be an opportunity to leverage actions by the Security Council to explore further opportunities for engagements under Chapter VIII of the United Nations (Charter) in support of the counterterrorism initiatives,” he added.

The chapter provides for regional arrangements in cooperation with the UN to deal with security threats.

The meeting is scheduled for March 28.

India, which headed the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) during its tenure on the Council in the past two years, brought a renewed focus to the scourge of terrorism.

During its presidency in December, India convened a ministerial-level meeting of the Council chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on fighting terrorism.

India brought members of the CTC to the site of the 2008 terror strikes in Mumbai that killed more than 170 people to dramatise the threat.

The terror threat “is always there, and many people and many countries have the experience of how terrorists can strike at any time there,” Afonso said.

“Terrorism is terrorism,” he added, dismissing excuses some countries make.

While acknowledging the inability of the Council to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said that it “does not affect the credibility of the United Nations in general”.

He cited the decolonisation efforts of the UN that brought freedom to countries like his as examples of its efficacy.

But he also emphasised reform of the Council, saying that “Africa is a victim of a historical injustice” when the UN was set up after World War II denying the continent permanent seats.

Most of the peacekeeping operations that are mandated by the Council take place in Africa.

Afonso said that Africa should get at least two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats “and we have been fighting for that”.

The African nations were actively negotiating for and discussing the reform of the Council, he added.

Despite the resounding calls by world leaders at the September high-level General Assembly session, “the reform of the Security Council is a complex process” and cannot be instantaneously resolved, he said.

“You can’t just say, ‘Oh, yes, I accept one (permanent) seat for Africa’ and the problem will be solved,” Afonso added.

Other continents also have claims and “we needed to take account of all these different, differentiated positions”.

“It is not a very easy problem,” he said.

ALSO READ: G20 FMs meet: Ukraine conflict set to top agenda, says India

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Thousands take to streets in K-P against rising terrorism

The rallies come as Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) took to the streets to record their protest against increasing lawlessness and terrorism in the region, demanding that the vulnerable police force be armed to the teeth, local media reported.

They were holding white flags and demanding strict action against terrorism, The Express Tribune reported.

Civil society member, lawyers, political workers and the general public attended the protests held at Peshawar, Bajaur, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Bannu, DI Khan and other key cities.

They said the police have been in the vanguard of terror fight and they should be protected and equipped properly to combat the menace effectively, The Express Tribune reported.

The rallies come as Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in K-P, as also in Balochistan and the Punjab town of Mianwali, which borders K-P. A terror attack also reached as far as the peripheries of Islamabad.

On January 30, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people – mostly police officers – had gathered for prayers. The suicide blast blew away the wall of the prayer hall and caused the inner roof to collapse in which 101 people, mostly policemen, were killed.

January was the deadliest month since 2018, in which 134 people lost their lives – a 139 per cent spike – and 254 received injuries in at least 44 terrorist attacks across the country, The Express Tribune reported.

On Friday, several rallies organised by local rights organisations were held in K-P’s Shangla district. The leadership of different political parties, including the PTI, PPP, Awami National Party (ANP) and others, had addressed the rallies.

Imran Khan

Imran pins responsibility on PM

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday accused the coalition government of the country of using the recent wave of terrorism to gain “political mileage” for its own benefit, local media reported.

In a televised address, the PTI Chairman claimed that terrorism was at its lowest-ever point during his government but resurfaced with a vengeance during the “current regime”, Dawn reported.

“Look at the graph of terrorism and how it came down during the PTI rule,” he said, adding, “Why wasn’t there any terrorism when PTI was in the federal government?”

Khan pinned the responsibility of rising terrorism on incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he recalled the sacrifices made by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) during the war on terror, Dawn reported.

“This is why they (KP public) came out yesterday and thronged the streets in fear that there might be another operation,” he said, adding that countless innocent lives are lost during anti-terror operations.

The PTI chief added that “lies” were spewed by PM Shehbaz in the cabinet meeting over the weekend regarding KP not utilising the terrorism funding properly, Dawn reported.

“KP spent Rs 600 billion in nine years. We made four police training schools, an elite training school in Nowshera, a special combat force to fight terrorism,” Khan said, adding, “This is why terrorism subsided. A DNA lab was also made in 2017 at Khyber Medical College.”

Khan also announced a “Jail Bharo Tehreek” as the next step to be taken by the PTI in light of the prevailing political situation that has seen several of its top leaders and allies spend time behind bars.

Elaborating on the movement, the PTI chief said “instead of thronging the streets, getting violent and ransacking places, we will now fill the jails of the country”.

This way, he said, the federal government’s “new hobby” of putting every senior PTI leader in jail will also be fulfilled, Dawn reported.

“Entire party and the people should prepare for the Jail Bharo Tehreek,” Khan said.

ALSO READ: Pakistan’s oil industry on brink of collapse

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-Top News India News

‘India working with global partners in combating terrorism’

The special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee was held in Mumbai and Delhi on October 28 and 29…reports Asian Lite News

India is working with international partners in combating terrorism and had organised a UN counter-terrorism committee meeting and ‘No Money for Terror’ ministerial conference in the recent past, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.

Talking to reporters at the weekly media briefing, Bagchi also referred to UN Security Council’s Resolution 2593 about expectations of the international community’s vis-a-vis terrorism is emanating from Afghanistan. “Yes, I think the issue of working with international partners against terrorism is something that you would have seen, we have been putting a lot of emphasis on. We organized a UN counter-terrorism committee meeting here in Delhi preceded by a meeting, informal briefing in Mumbai. We had discussions here under the no money for terror. We had highlighted a high-level signature event under our presidency of UN on terrorism. Clearly, we are interested in working with international partners against terrorism from wherever it emanates,” he said.

“In so far as specifically as Afghanistan is considered, I would refer you to resolution 2593 which has a pretty strong language on expectations of the international community’s vis-a-vis terrorism is emanating from Afghanistan,” he added.

The special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee was held in Mumbai and Delhi on October 28 and 29.

In response to a question regarding the misuse of funds by the Taliban, Bagchi said, “If you have been following developments in UN Security Council a few days ago, there was a resolution regarding access to funds for humanitarian purposes, and while in principle that’s something we work with and support, there were some concerns that we had. Accordingly, we abstained on that resolution. Clearly, we do believe that there are possibilities of misuse of such opportunities and hence our opposition on that.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized earlier this month that the world cannot let another “9/11 of New York” or “26/11 of Mumbai” happen again. In his address at the United Nations Security Council briefing on ‘Global Counter terrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward’, Jaishankar said that the world cannot afford attention deficit or tactical compromises in the fight against terrorism. (ANI)

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Accountability must be bedrock of counter-terrorism: Jaishankar  

The minister highlighted four specific challenges with which the counter-terrorism architecture is currently grappling…reports Asian Lite News

Noting that accountability must be bedrock of counter-terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that terrorism is an existential threat to international peace and security and knows no borders or nationality.

Addressing the high-level UNSC briefing on ‘Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward’, Jaishankar said terrorism is a challenge that the international community must combat collectively together. “This Council is well aware that terrorism is an existential threat to international peace and security. It knows no borders, nationality, or race, and is a challenge that the international community must combat collectively together,” he said.

Jaishankar said India faced the horrors of cross-border terrorism long before the world took serious note of it.

“Over the decades, we lost thousands of innocent civilian lives. But we fought terrorism resolutely, bravely and with a zero-tolerance approach. As Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi has declared: “we consider that even a single attack is one too many and even a single life lost is one too many. So, we will not rest till terrorism is uprooted,”‘ the minister said.

He said that the threat of terrorism has actually become even more serious and the world has seen the expansion of Al-Qaida, Da’esh, Boko Haram and Al Shabab and their affiliates.

“At the other end of the spectrum are ‘lone wolf’ attacks inspired by online radicalization and biases. But somewhere in all this, we cannot forget that old habits and established networks are still alive, especially in South Asia. The contemporary epicenter of terrorism remains very much alive and active, whatever gloss may be applied to minimize unpleasant realities,” he said.

The minister highlighted four specific challenges with which the counter-terrorism architecture is currently grappling.

He said by now, it is well established where and how terrorist organizations operate, and under what kind of protection.

“Activities like recruitment, financing and motivation are often done in the open. The days when it could be said that we are unaware are now behind us. Consequently, assigning responsibility is that much easier. The response of the sponsors of terrorism is not to give up but to conduct and execute their agenda at an arms-length. To do this, they create narratives of limitations and difficulties. We buy such explanations at our own peril,” he said.

“The suggestion that states who are apparently capable on everything else but are only helpless when it comes to terrorism is ludicrous. Accountability must therefore be the bedrock of counter-terrorism,” he added.

The High-Level Briefing on Counter-Terrorism seeks to promote consensus amongst Council Members on the broad principles of a global counter-terror architecture and aims to further build upon the Delhi Declaration adopted during the Special Meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee held on October 28-30 in Mumbai and New Delhi. (ANI)

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‘No Money For Terror’ Is Need Of The Hour

(Photo Nisar Malik IANS)

For decades, the focus of the Indian security establishment in hotspots around the country has been more on seizing weapons than on cracking down on the funding networks. Fortunately, there has been a policy change in New Delhi over past few years, writes Ashok Bhan

Terrorist attacks are highly responsive to funding availability, and financial counter-terrorism can therefore be effective in reducing terrorism casualties, according to research conducted by Nicola Limodio, Assistant Professor of Finance at Bocconi University Visiting Fellow at the Economics Department and the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance at Princeton University.

Everyone knows that terrorists need money and other assets, for weapons, training, travel and accommodation to plan and execute their attacks and develop an organization. Disrupting and preventing terrorist-related financial flows and transactions is one of the effective ways to fight terrorism. Not only can it prevent future attacks by disrupting their material support, but the footprint of their purchases, withdrawals and other financial transactions can also provide valuable information for ongoing investigations.

Without destroying the war economy in Kashmir, bringing peace to the troubled Indian state will remain a pipedream. Former Commandant of the BSF and researcher N S Jamwal estimates that Pakistan spends around $5 million annually (Rs 24 crore) to sustain militancy in Kashmir while India’s expenditure on counter-insurgency operations (CI-OPS) is around $1.46 billion annually (Rs. 730 crore). These figures are an indication of how every dollar spent on terrorist activities necessitates a financial commitment several orders of magnitude on counter-intelligence and physical expenditures in the target country. He is of the view that financing terrorism in J&K costs no more than $70-80 million annually, i.e., Rs 400-500 crore.

The need and importance for blocking finances to terrorist organizations were outlined and emphasized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minster recently while addressing a conference ‘No Money for Terror’ (NMFT) Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in New Delhi recently. The two-day conference which was organised on 18th-19th November was a unique platform for participating nations and organisations to deliberate on the effectiveness of the current international regime on Counter Terrorism Financing and the steps required to address emerging challenges.

It was concluded in the conference that countering terrorism financing is an essential part of the global fight against the terror threat. As terrorists and terror groups continue to raise money with the use of various means, countries must make it a priority to understand the risks they face from terrorist financing and develop a policy response to all aspects of it.

State support is one of the major sources of political, ideological and financial support for terrorism. Certain countries support terrorists as part of their foreign policy. There must be a cost imposed upon countries that support terrorism. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated. There can be no ifs and buts entertained in such matters. The world needs to unite against all kinds of overt and covert backing of terror.

The infrastructure used for cyber terrorism and online radicalisation is distributed while some entities also train the terrorists with weapons from remote locations as well as online resources. Communications, travel,logistics – there are many links in the chain in different countries. Terrorists should not be allowed to misuse differences in legal principles, procedures and processes in different countries. This can be prevented through deeper coordination and understanding between governments. Joint operations, intelligence coordination and extradition help the fight against terror.

As scholar and author Sushant Sareen have said in the context of Jammu and Kashmir that on one hand thousands of people have died, families and properties destroyed, and an entire society traumatised, the one set of people who have prospered beyond their wildest imagination is the separatist mafia. The huge fortunes built by separatists and terrorists in Kashmir are one of the worst-kept secrets in Kashmir. Over the years, Kashmir has been transformed into a war economy, which needs to be dismantled.

For decades, the focus of the Indian security establishment in hotspots around the country has been more on seizing weapons than on cracking down on the funding networks. While in the West, security agencies followed the money to bust criminal syndicates and terror networks, in India the thinking was that the problem wasn’t the money but the munitions. Unfortunately, elements in the Indian security establishment have also contributed to the separatist entrepreneurship in Kashmir by plying the separatists with huge amounts of money in the fond hope of weaning them away from Pakistan and eventually winning them over – the former Intelligence Bureau chief in Kashmir and later Research & Analysis Wing chief, A S Dulat, has admitted as much in his book on Kashmir. Essentially what this meant was that the separatists raked in the moolah from all sides – India, Pakistan, within Kashmir, foreign donors, and so forth.

Fortunately, there has been a policy change in New Delhi over past few years. The trigger for the policy change appears to have been the remarkable sting operation carried out by intrepid reporters of India Today TV who exposed the shenanigans of the merchants of death in the Valley. The outcry after the expose probably gave the government the justification it needed for strangulating the funding of the separatists and terrorists.

In fact, among the most interesting aspects of the India Today sting operation was that the separatists who were exposed didn’t seem at all surprised or suspicious that they were being offered money by middlemen from outside the state to provide protection for their operations and even create disturbances to further their interests. If anything, the terror financiers saw they are dealing with these reporters who were impersonating middlemen from mainland India as nothing out of the ordinary, almost as if it was business as usual.

Kashmir,people.(photo:unsplash)



Kashmiri militants obtain financial support from dozens of Islamic charities and radical Islamic organisations that channel funds to terrorist groups. The Pakistan-based Markaz-ul-Dawa-Ishad, the parent outfit of LeT and a religious organisation puts out regular advertisements in its in-house monthly magazine, Al Dawa. It urges Muslims to donate money to Kashmir ‘Jehad Fund’ and deposit it in bank accounts. 12 At its annual congregation in November 1998 at Muridke, near Lahore, the Markaz decided to raise Rs 5 crore including 3 crores to supply weapons to the Kashmiri ‘Jehad’, 1 crore for training and 1 crore to rehabilitate Kashmir refugees in POK. 13

Several First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by the Jammu & Kashmir Police in 1997 indicate that the senior leaders of the APHC receive donations from abroad. The nexus between narcotics and terrorism had led to a new term-Narco-Terrorism. It is recognised as one of the oldest and most dependable sources of terrorist financing, primarily because of the magnitudes of finance involved in both activities.

Extortion has emerged as a major source of terrorist funding. Police and Intelligence agencies believe that most businessmen, shopkeepers, government employees, contractors, especially those dealing in timber and persons with the sound financial background are easy targets. Hawala funding through a network of dealers which extends from the OIC countries to Delhi, Mumbai and other places in India also feeds militancy. Many of these Hawala dealers have begun wholesale/retail businesses as fronts to divert money to the J&K militant groups. Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, a former executive vice president of Citibank in New York said that US $2-5 billion moves through the Hawala system annually in Pakistan. This is higher than the amount of regular foreign transfers through the country’s banking system.

A US Treasury Department study identified Hawala as the preferred means of laundering monies from drug trafficking and other crimes in Pakistan. The report said Pakistan, India and Dubai on the Persian Gulf from the Hawala Triangle to move money secretly worldwide. One Abdul Rehman was arrested on December 6, 2001, with Rs 15.5 lakh in Delhi. This money was coming from Dubai for HM. Further, on the same day, Rs 40 lakh coming Hawala channels were recovered from a Kashmiri militant which was received by him through the Hawala channel. The Delhi Police arrested four Kashmiri militants on January 15, 2002, from the capital and seized Rs. 35 lakh from them. This money was received by militants from Pakistan through a Hawala operator in Chandni Chowk.

It can be safely concluded that terrorism in J&K is financed by a variety of sources, both national and transnational. While it costs the terrorists only a modest sum of money to destabilise the region and spread terror, the Indian government has to set aside huge outlays to tackle the problem. A more effective method of fighting terrorism would be to launch a multidimensional offensive against all the sources-narcotic trade, extortion, counterfeiting, fake charities-as well as methods of financing, namely, hawala and front companies.

(The author is senior advocate in the Supreme Court and a geo-strategic expert. The views expressed are personal)

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Rajnath calls for urgent global efforts to stem terrorism

Singh called upon all the member states to work together with a positive intent, towards a stable, safer and more secure world for our future generations…reports Asian Lite News

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called for urgent and resolute global efforts to counter transnational and cross-border terrorism, describing it as the “gravest threat” to regional and global security.

Speaking at the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia on Wednesday, Singh pointed out that the global security environment has transformed fundamentally over the last few decades.

According to Defence Minister Singh, terrorist groups were creating interlinkages across continents backed by new-age technologies to propagate ideologies, transfer money and recruit supporters.

He also exhorted the member nations for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all the nations.

“Attended the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting plus in Cambodia today. Exhorted the member nations for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all the nations,” Singh tweeted.

Singh reiterated India’s commitment to nurturing practical, forward-looking and result-oriented cooperation between India and ADMM Plus countries for enhancing the maritime security in the region and safety of the global commons.

He asserted that India advocates a “free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and calls for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations”.

He stated that the ongoing ASEAN-China negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea should be fully consistent with international law, in particular United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of nations that are not party to these discussions.

Singh called upon all the member states to work together with a positive intent, towards a stable, safer and more secure world for our future generations.

During his address, India’s Defence Minister also drew the attention of the forum to the other security concerns that have emerged in the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including challenges of Energy and Food Security.

As a responsible member of the international community, India has worked with its partners, in extending humanitarian aid, medicines, vaccines and food grains on large scale, Singh stated.

The ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partner countries – India, USA, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The year 2022 marks the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations. (India News Network)

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UNSC Counter-Terrorism meet to focus on emerging threats

However, she added that despite our greatest efforts, the threat of terrorism still exists and has even changed…reports Asian Lite News

The UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee’s special meeting in Mumbai and New Delhi on October 28 and 29 will focus on the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorism. It will concentrate on addressing terrorists’ use of the internet, new payment methods, and drones.

The panel will be meeting in India for the first time. This will also be the first time in seven years that the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee will meet outside it’s headquarters in New York.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Gabon’s Foreign Secretary who is also president of the United Nations Security Council Michael Moussa Adamo, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkar Botchwey, UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, and Albania’s Deputy Foreign Minister Megi Fino are expected to attend. The UN counter terror delegation headed by under-secretary general Vladimir Voronkov, will also be present.

Addressing a special media briefing on Wednesday, MEA Secretary Sanjay Verma said the meeting will begin with a soft opening session and tribute to the victims of terrorism in Mumbai through a solemn ceremony at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, along with member states of the UNSC including the 15 current members and the incoming five and other senior UN officials, will lay a wreath at the 26/11 memorial site. They will also observe a minute’s silence in memory of the victims.

According to Verma, the meeting’s main focus will be “countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.” It will start with a homage to terrorism victims, he said during a special media briefing on Wednesday.

Ruchira Kamboj, the chair of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee and India’s permanent representative to the UN, said member states have achieved real strides against terrorism and violent extremism that supports it over the past 20 years. However, she added that despite our greatest efforts, the threat of terrorism still exists and has even changed.

She added that the Committee has gathered in India for its special meeting on combating the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist objectives in order to address this problem and recognize the potential of technology to boost the efficacy of counterterrorism measures.

“The focus (will be) specifically on rapid development, growing used by member states and increasing threat of use for terrorist purposes of 3 significant technologies – 1) internet, including social media, 2) new payment technologies and fundraising methods, 3) unmanned aerial systems, including drones,” she added.

Discussing the wider significance of this historic meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai, MEA Secretary Verma said that it will have global significance due to the fact that the attack in 2008 targeted India’s identity in the financial and commercial sphere.

“A city which reflects the best of India in terms of its economic development in recent years. The fact that the CTC has agreed to begin its deliberations in Mumbai is a message in itself,” he added.

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Police increase alert level after 5 killed in Tel Aviv shooting

Police increase alert level after 5 killed in Tel Aviv shooting

The shooter was shot dead by police during the incident that took place late on Tuesday in Bnei Brak…reports Asian Lite News

A Palestinian gunman opened fire at passersby and vehicles outside the Israeli city Tel Aviv, killing five people in the third shooting or knife attack in a week, prompting the police to raise its alert level nationwide to “the highest possible.”

The shooter was shot dead by police during the incident that took place late on Tuesday in Bnei Brak, a crowded suburb of Tel Aviv, said the police and the Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The terrorist is confirmed dead,” Police Spokesman Eli Levi told the state-owned Kan TV news. The perpetrator was armed with an M-16 rifle, said another police statement.

The police said in a statement that the shooter was a Palestinian resident from the West Bank who stayed in Israel without permits.

Kan TV news reported that the attacker, a 27-year-old man, was previously convicted of illegal arms trade and served about six months in prison before being released in late 2015.

A paramedic with the United Hatzalah rescue service told Channel 12 that at least one of the fatalities was a policeman.

Eyewitnesses told local television that a gunman on a scooter opened fire at the balconies of apartments and then at people in the street.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the third deadly one in Israel in a week.

Later on Tuesday, the police said Commissioner of Israel Police Kobi Shabtai has decided to raise the alert level to the highest possible, which is “the highest it has been since the fighting in Gaza in 2021.”

Starting from Wednesday, thousands of police officers will be deployed to guard schools, kindergartens, bus stations, and crowded places across the country, said a police statement.

In the following days, most of the police efforts will be put into “fighting terror, increasing their presence in the streets and securing the civilian population,” it said.

Meanwhile, the army said it will send additional troops, including four battalions, to the West Bank after assessing the situation.

This was in addition to another four battalions already sent to reinforce the area on Monday, a day after a fatal shooting attack took place in the city of Hadera in northern Israel, said an army statement.

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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said “Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” after the deadly shooting on Tuesday.

“The security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with persistence, diligence and with an iron fist,” the premier was quoted by his office’s statement as saying.

The PM’s office said Bennett held a security consultation with top security officials on Tuesday night. He will host an emergency meeting of the security cabinet on Wednesday.

Palestine President condemns shooting in Tel Aviv

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the shooting in the Bnei Brak neighbourhood of Tel Aviv that killed at least five Israelis.

In a press statement on Tuesday, Abbas warned that killing Israeli or Palestinian civilians “only leads to further deterioration,” adding that “everyone is striving to achieve stability, especially as Muslim, Christian and Jewish holidays are coming.”

He also warned of exploiting the shooting attack in Tel Aviv “to carry out aggressions and reactions against the Palestinians by settlers and other Israelis,” Xinhua news agency reported.

Abbas said that the cycle of violence “confirms that permanent, comprehensive and just peace is the shortest and correct way to provide security and stability for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples and the people of the region.”

Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that the shooting attack was “a response to the Israeli actions and measures against the Palestinians, their properties, and holy places.”

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Afghanistan tops list of countries most affected by terrorism

According to the United Nations, more than 24 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance….reports Asian Lite News

Afghanistan is at the top of the list of countries affected by terrorism in 2021, local media reported citing the Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

In 2021, Afghanistan was the least peaceful country in the world as it was most affected by terrorism, Tolo News reported citing IEP.

The country witnessed as many as 1,426 deaths from terrorism in 2021, which account for 20 per cent of the world’s total, according to the IEP report, which added that at least 2,199 people were injured in terror incidents in Afghanistan while 91 cases of hostages were registered.

Over half of these victims were civilians, said the report, which included the 2021 attack that occurred in Kabul when Daesh detonated two suicide bombs near Kabul International Airport, killing 170 people and injuring over 200, reported the media outlet.

Doha hosts talks on Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation

Notably, after Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan reported the most terrorist attacks in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Taliban’s swift ascension to power in Afghanistan in mid-August has triggered economic disarray and a dire humanitarian crisis in the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 24 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance.

ISIS-K: Terror group still lingers in shadows

Post-Taliban took over of Afghanistan last August, the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant – Khorasan (ISIS-K) existence and operations are unfortunately still lingering in the region.

While ISIS no longer makes media headlines, a new low-profile – but a no less dangerous – branch of the group should be a cause for concern for security analysts, Alex Szokalski said writing in Policy Forum, Asia and the Pacific’s platform for public policy debate, analysis, views, and discussion.

As per United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the August 2020 report, a particular concern is a branch that calls itself ‘ISIS-K’, for Islamic State Khorasan Province. The term Khorasan refers to the vast territory encompassing north-eastern Iran, Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan.

The aim of ISIS has been to establish a worldwide caliphate, the usage of Khorasan suggests that there is a belief that they have a right to control or will control the territory of Khorasan and indicates an increased ambition by the group.

On 24 October 2020, a suicide bomber killed 30 people and injured 70 more in an attack on an educational centre in Kabul. Then, 8 May 2021 saw an attack on a school in western Kabul targeting children, while a week later they claimed an attack on a Kabul Mosque.

This occurred in the face of the Taliban’s ascendancy. Indeed, the Taliban claims that ISIS-K is not a threat and that once economic and administrative issues in Iraq are resolved, they will simply ‘disappear’.

In reality, the Taliban do not appear to be handling this threat so well, as ISIS-K carry out almost daily attacks against them, said Szokalski.

Moreover, the Taliban are likely a driving factor in ISIS-K recruitment – the Taliban have been inconsistent, protecting Shi’ite Muslims in some areas but cleansing them from others, and trying to win support from Salafi Muslims whilst also suppressing them.

Members of the Afghan intelligence services and special forces who were trained by the United States then forced out of work and left penniless by the Taliban are reportedly quick to join ISIS-K, providing the group specialised capabilities they once lacked, reported Policy Forum.

ISIS-K has also capitalised on China’s open and public relations with the Taliban and has created campaigns to draw Uyghur Muslims to support its cause.

If ISIS-K continues to develop support in the Khorasan region whilst degrading Taliban control of Afghanistan, it is not inconceivable that they will have the capacity to begin rebuilding or even rebranding. They could once again pose a sizeable threat to national, regional, and international security, added Szokalski. (ANI)

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