News Analysis India

Tag: Jaish-e-Mohammed

  • ‘Most uncalled for’: India on China blocking move to designate JeM leader as global terrorist

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday described as “most uncalled for” China blocking a proposal at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist.

    Reacting to China’s move, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has noted with “regret” that a “technical hold” has been placed on the proposal, adding the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice in fighting terrorism.

    He asserted that New Delhi will continue to pursue its principled position of bringing such terrorists to justice.

    “It is unfortunate that when it comes to our collective battle against terrorism, the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice,” Bagchi said.

    China on Wednesday put technical hold on the joint proposal at the UN Security Council by India and the US to designate the JeM leader, who is the younger brother of the group’s chief Masood Azhar.

    All other 14 member states of the top UN body supported the proposal.

    Bagchi said Abdul Rauf is the deputy chief of JeM which is a UN proscribed entity.

    He was actively involved in terrorist strikes such as the hijacking of Indian airlines IC 814 in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and on an Indian Army camp in Kathua in 2014.

    “He has been proscribed under Indian and US laws already, and therefore the placing of the ‘technical hold’ against such wanted terrorist is most uncalled for,” Bagchi said.

    The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.

    “India will continue pursuing its principled position of bringing these terrorists to justice, including through the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime,” Bagchi said.

    He also referred to comments by Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, during an open debate at the UN Security Council on August 9.

    Kamboj said there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorists and that the practice of placing holds and blocks without giving any justification must end.

    She said it is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.

    Kamboj said double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an all-time low, Bagchi quoted her as saying.

    The Chinese action came less than a month after Beijing blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist the Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba Abdul Rehman Makki.

    Makki too has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning and executing attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strikes.

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday described as “most uncalled for” China blocking a proposal at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist.

    Reacting to China’s move, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has noted with “regret” that a “technical hold” has been placed on the proposal, adding the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice in fighting terrorism.

    He asserted that New Delhi will continue to pursue its principled position of bringing such terrorists to justice.

    “It is unfortunate that when it comes to our collective battle against terrorism, the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice,” Bagchi said.

    China on Wednesday put technical hold on the joint proposal at the UN Security Council by India and the US to designate the JeM leader, who is the younger brother of the group’s chief Masood Azhar.

    All other 14 member states of the top UN body supported the proposal.

    Bagchi said Abdul Rauf is the deputy chief of JeM which is a UN proscribed entity.

    He was actively involved in terrorist strikes such as the hijacking of Indian airlines IC 814 in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and on an Indian Army camp in Kathua in 2014.

    “He has been proscribed under Indian and US laws already, and therefore the placing of the ‘technical hold’ against such wanted terrorist is most uncalled for,” Bagchi said.

    The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.

    “India will continue pursuing its principled position of bringing these terrorists to justice, including through the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime,” Bagchi said.

    He also referred to comments by Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, during an open debate at the UN Security Council on August 9.

    Kamboj said there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorists and that the practice of placing holds and blocks without giving any justification must end.

    She said it is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.

    Kamboj said double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an all-time low, Bagchi quoted her as saying.

    The Chinese action came less than a month after Beijing blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist the Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba Abdul Rehman Makki.

    Makki too has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning and executing attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strikes.

  • Who is Rauf Azhar? All you need to know about Jaish terrorist whose footprints present in Kandahar hijacking to Pulwama attack

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Abdul Rauf Azhar, in the news after China blocked a proposal at the UN to blacklist him, is believed to be one of the main conspirators of the IC-814 Kandahar hijacking of 1999 and also the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in 2019.

    Since 1999, Rauf Azhar, brother of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, has emerged as the master of optics in terms of orchestrating most audacious attacks on Indian establishments that grabbed eyeballs across the globe including the 2001 attack on Parliament when a session was on, the 2005 attack on makeshift Ayodhya Ram temple, and the 2016 attack on forward base of IAF in Pathankot among others.

    Designated as a ‘global terrorist’ by the US in 2010, Rauf Azhar sprung on the terror map in 1999 when the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 from Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked and taken to Taliban-controlled Kandhar on December 24.

    As the hijacking saga came to an end on December 31, 1999, security agencies identified Rauf Azhar as one of the main conspirators who had hatched the plot to secure the release of his brother Masood Azhar from Kot Balwal jail of Jammu, causing embarrassment to Indian government.

    The attacks planned by Rauf Azhar almost brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war on at least on two occasions — the Parliament attack and suicide attack on the CRPF convoy.

    ALSO READ | Row over UN proposal to blacklist Masood Azhar’s brother: War of words breaks out between US, China

    India had responded with biggest military mobilisation after 1971 called Operation Parakram after the Parliament misadventure while after the CRPF convoy attack, Induia carried out a target air strike on terrorist camps in Pakistan’s Balakot crippling the spine of JeM.

    Number of Red Corner Notices from Interpol in connection with these attacks are pending against 48-year-old Rauf Azhar who is ensconced in the safety of Pakistan establishment.

    According to an Interpol notice, Rauf Azhar is wanted for waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against government of India, assaulting the president, governor, etc, with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power besides being member of terrorist gang or organisation among other offences.

    A video of Rauf Azhar which was uploaded on a website in Pakistan, where he could be seen claiming responsibility for the Pathankot attack and complimenting his boys for it, was sent to Interpol.

    The video was later removed and the website also vanished.

    Rauf Azhar, who was tagged by the US as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ in 2010, was the chief of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed in 2007 when his elder brother Masood Azhar was kept at an undisclosed destination by the ISI in the wake of international pressure.

    China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the UN to blacklist Rauf Azhar, the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.

    NEW DELHI: Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Abdul Rauf Azhar, in the news after China blocked a proposal at the UN to blacklist him, is believed to be one of the main conspirators of the IC-814 Kandahar hijacking of 1999 and also the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in 2019.

    Since 1999, Rauf Azhar, brother of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, has emerged as the master of optics in terms of orchestrating most audacious attacks on Indian establishments that grabbed eyeballs across the globe including the 2001 attack on Parliament when a session was on, the 2005 attack on makeshift Ayodhya Ram temple, and the 2016 attack on forward base of IAF in Pathankot among others.

    Designated as a ‘global terrorist’ by the US in 2010, Rauf Azhar sprung on the terror map in 1999 when the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 from Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked and taken to Taliban-controlled Kandhar on December 24.

    As the hijacking saga came to an end on December 31, 1999, security agencies identified Rauf Azhar as one of the main conspirators who had hatched the plot to secure the release of his brother Masood Azhar from Kot Balwal jail of Jammu, causing embarrassment to Indian government.

    The attacks planned by Rauf Azhar almost brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war on at least on two occasions — the Parliament attack and suicide attack on the CRPF convoy.

    ALSO READ | Row over UN proposal to blacklist Masood Azhar’s brother: War of words breaks out between US, China

    India had responded with biggest military mobilisation after 1971 called Operation Parakram after the Parliament misadventure while after the CRPF convoy attack, Induia carried out a target air strike on terrorist camps in Pakistan’s Balakot crippling the spine of JeM.

    Number of Red Corner Notices from Interpol in connection with these attacks are pending against 48-year-old Rauf Azhar who is ensconced in the safety of Pakistan establishment.

    According to an Interpol notice, Rauf Azhar is wanted for waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against government of India, assaulting the president, governor, etc, with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power besides being member of terrorist gang or organisation among other offences.

    A video of Rauf Azhar which was uploaded on a website in Pakistan, where he could be seen claiming responsibility for the Pathankot attack and complimenting his boys for it, was sent to Interpol.

    The video was later removed and the website also vanished.

    Rauf Azhar, who was tagged by the US as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ in 2010, was the chief of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed in 2007 when his elder brother Masood Azhar was kept at an undisclosed destination by the ISI in the wake of international pressure.

    China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the UN to blacklist Rauf Azhar, the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.

  • Cross-border tunnel used by JeM suicide bombers detected in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba

    By PTI

    JAMMU: An underground tunnel, believed to have been used by two suicide bombers of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group to sneak into India, was detected along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

    The detection of the cross-border tunnel comes nearly a fortnight after security forces gunned down both the suicide bombers in a gunfight shortly after they attacked a CISF bus killing an Assistant Sub-inspector in Sunjwan area of Jammu on April 22.

    This was the first such structure unearthed by the BSF beneath the International Border in the past 16 months, taking the overall number to 11 in the past decade.

    Last year, the force had detected two tunnels in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district in January.

    “Today, alert troops of @bsf_jammu detected a #tunnel along Samba International Border area, thwarting the nefarious designs of #Pakistan,” tweeted BSF Jammu – the official handle of BSF Jammu frontier tonight.

    Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of BSF (Jammu) S P S Sandhu said a small opening, believed to be a suspected tunnel, was found in a general area near fencing in Samba.

    “Due to darkness further search could not be carried out. Detailed search will be carried out early in the morning at first light,” Sandhu, who is the public relations officer of the force, said, sharing a few pictures of the suspected tunnel.

    However, BSF sources said the tunnel was detected by the troops during the ongoing anti-tunnelling drive in the border outpost area of Chak Faquira around 5.30 pm.

    “A newly dug tunnel at a distance of 150 metres from the IB and 50 metres from the border fence was detected opposite Pakistani post Chaman Khurd (Fiaz) which is 900 metres from the Indian side,” an official said, asking not to be named.

    He said the opening of the tunnel is about 300 metres from the border outpost Chak Faquira and 700 metres from the last Indian village.

    BSF has launched a massive drive to detect any tunnel all along the International Border (IB) following the April 22 encounter in Sunjwan area of Jammu when two heavily-armed JeM terrorists, wearing suicide vests, were eliminated in an encounter after they attacked a bus carrying Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.

    The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of three conspirators including a truck driver and his helper who transported the Pashtu-speaking terrorists from Sapwal border in Samba district to Jammu in the middle of the night the previous day.

    The officials said the suicide bombers are believed to have sneaked from Pakistan, using the tunnel as the border fence was found intact during the stepped up anti-infiltration operations.

    BSF is manning about 192 km of IB and Line of Control (LoC) alongside the Army and is keeping a tight vigil to scuttle any attempt of infiltration of terrorists, smuggling of weapons and narcotics and drone activity from across the border.

  • ‘Need to step up Kashmir outreach efforts amid rise of Taliban’: Ex-Army chief

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Former Army chief Gen Shankar Roychowdhury said the government needs to step up outreach in Kashmir and reassure people there that India will continue to be a secular democracy as the Taliban victory in Afghanistan is likely to see a renewed offensive by Pakistan-based militants.

    The retired General, who had commanded 16 corps in Kashmir at the height of militancy in that state in early 1990s, and became Army chief later in the same decade when Taliban last came to rule over Kabul, believes that Pakistan, re-enforced by the recent Taliban victory, “will make a fresh bid on Kashmir” using groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed.

    He also said that India needs to reach out to both former Afghan government forces rallying around Ahmad Massoud, son of the late legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, in Panjshir Valley, as well as to factions within the Taliban which are friendlier to India.

    “We have to step up our outreach to Kashmiris, we also have to re-assure them that India will continue to be a secular democracy,” General Roychowdhury who currently heads a strategic think tank Research Centre for Eastern and Northeastern Studies, told PTI in an interview.

    The central government had scrapped Article 370 and turned Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh into two separate union territories from being a single state, while placing most Kashmiri leaders under detention.

    Since then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to reach out and hold talks with Kashmir’s political leaders earlier this year.

    “We need to understand that the victory in Afghanistan is being seen (by terror groups) as a Pakistani victory and an Indian defeat”.

    “We have to organise ourselves for a renewed offensive by elements like the JeM,” said Gen Roychowdhury, a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars besides counter-insurgency operations within the country.

    “We have to be prepared for Pakistani intentions (covert operations) supported by radical elements here,” he added.

    During the period Taliban rode to power in the mid-1990s, India steadfastly refused to do business with the regime which it saw as brutal proxy for Pakistan’s military.

    It continued to support the remnants of the Afghan government and later the Northern Alliance, aiding them with training and supplies.

    The 1999 hijacking of Indian airlines’ jetliner to Kabul by four Pakistani terrorists, was made possible with the cooperation of the Taliban regime.

    India exchanged three top terrorists, who included Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of JeM, for passengers and crew of that aircraft.

    A study by French think-tank Centre d’ analyse du terrorisme (Centre for Analysis of Terrorism) published last week warned of the renewed possibility of “more operational coordination between Pakistan-supported groups like the Lashkar e Toiba and JeM (on the one hand) and the Taliban.”

    The former Army chief said, “We should try and help the son of Ahmad Shah Masood (guerrilla leader nicknamed Lion of Panjshir). The non-Pashtun minorities such as Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras have had good relations with us”.

    Taliban too has many factions and it should not be difficult to reach out to them.

    General Roychowdhury also said India’s role in Afghanistan needs to be to give training, relief materials and above all refuge to those who needed it.

    “People of Afghanistan remain our friends and we must be willing to give them refuge,” he said.

    However, at the same time, there is need to beef up security and create “fortress India” to safeguard against any militant operations against India.

    The former Army chief said talk of sending Indian troops to beef up US and allied troops in holding Afghanistan which had cropped up in the last two decades “was unwise as we (Indian Army) had no means to reinforce or supply them except by air and that route was fraught with grave danger.”

    He also warned that while Prime Minister Modi and Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina were on good terms, opposition forces in Bangladesh which included “the entire radical set-up” would be re-invigorated by the Taliban victory and “may not let this chance slip by.”

    There has been disquiet in India’s security community about the possibility of Jamaat-Ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh drawing upon released Bangladeshi Taliban fighters and increasing their activities in that country and in bordering Indian states.

    The retired general also said, “We need to reach out to like-minded people in this sub-continent to oppose the spread of the ideology associated with the Taliban.”

  • Balakot air strikes displayed forces’ capability to strike deep in enemy territory: Experts

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Balakot air strikes displayed the armed forces’ capability to retaliate deep in the adversary’s territory and also accelerated the process of acquisition of defence assets, experts said on Friday.

    India’s warplanes hit a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot on February 26, 2019 to avenge killing of 40 CRPF personnel in the Pulwama terror attack.

    Pakistan retaliated the next day but the IAF foiled their plans.

    The attack by India and subsequent retaliation by Pakistan triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

    Air Marshal (retd) Anil Khosla, who was the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) during the Balakot strikes, said capacity building is a continuous process in the armed forces.

    “But incidents like Balakot fastened the process of capacity building,” he said.

    He added that assets like Rafale fighter jets, the Chinook heavy lift choppers and Apache multi-role combat helicopters were introduced in the IAF’s fleet post the Balakot strikes.

    “The integration of weapons systems with the aircraft was also fastened,” he said.

    The newly inducted Rafale, Chinooks and Apache are being deployed in eastern Ladakh where troops from both India and China remained heavily deployed after a border standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area.

    Subsequently, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 in the Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in over four decades.

    Eight months after the confrontation, China admitted that its four soldiers were killed in the fight.

    Lt.Gen. (retd) Satish Dua, who was the Corps Commander of the Srinagar based XV Corps when the Indian Army undertook surgical strikes post the Uri attack in 2016, said these two strikes show India’s capacity and resolve to carry out an action.

    “Before Uri happened, we were only defensive in our approach because they would send in terrorists and they would create violence. They would carry out the BAT (Border Action Team consisting of Pakistani special forces and terrorists) action and we would only be defensive. The Uri attack was the last straw. We did an action of going deep inside and Balakot was much deeper inside. So we have given them a clear signal that no longer we will only take defensive action.”

    “That is the paradigm shift the country and the leadership has taken,” Dua said.

    Lt.Gen. (retd) D S Hooda, who was the Army’s Northern Commander during the surgical strikes post the Uri attack in 2016, said the Balakot strike displayed India’s response to terrorism.

    “It was a much stronger response. The ability to strike deep also gave greater to the armed forces in its military capability,” Hooda said.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the success of the Balakot air strikes displayed India’s strong will to act against terrorism.

    “On the anniversary of Balakot Air Strikes, I salute the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force. The success of Balakot strikes has shown India’s strong will to act against terrorism. We are proud of our Armed Forces who keep India safe and secure,” Singh tweeted.

    Home Minister Amit Shah said with the Balakot strike, the IAF made clear the “New India’s” policy against terrorism by giving response to the Pulwama terror attack.

    “On this day in 2019, @IAF_MCC had made it clear the New India’s policy against terrorism by giving response to the Pulwama terror attack,” Shah tweeted.

    “I remember the brave martyrs of Pulwama and salute the valour of the Air Force. Under the leadership of @narendramodi ji, security of the country and our soldiers is paramount,” he said.