| Al-Qaeda and ISIS Plan to Target Indian Cities |
| There are no intelligence inputs to suggest that Al-Qaeda and ISIS terror groups are working together to target Indian cities. However, a video was uploaded on 3rd September, 2014 containing the speech of Sheik Eyam Al-Zawahiri of Al-Qaeda, in which he announced the establishment of a new Wing of Al-Qaeda, namely “Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS)”. It is learnt that Asim Umar and Usama Mehmood have been appointed as the ‘Amir’ and ‘Spokesperson’ respectively of AQIS. Similarly, Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi of ISIS in a video, uploaded on 29th June, 2014 on internet, highlighted the alleged plight of Muslims in various countries including India and stated that rights of Muslims are forcibly being seized in these countries. However, there are no intelligence inputs about specific threat to Bengaluru city by these two outfits. There is a very close and effective coordination amongst intelligence agencies at the Centre and the State levels on intelligence sharing. The Intelligence inputs about possible designs and threats are shared with the State Governments concerned on a regular basis. The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) has been strengthened and re-organized to enable it to function on 24x7 basis for real time collation and sharing of intelligence with other intelligence agencies and States, which ensures seamless flow of information between the State and the Central agencies. This has resulted in busting of many terror modules, thus neutralizing major terror attack plans. In addition, the Government continues to take all necessary steps to safeguard India’s territorial integrity and safety / security of its people. This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary in a written reply to Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Rajya Sabha today. |
Save Dissent to Save Democracy THE rising instances of physical violence and threats against political opponents and the inability to accept dissent must raise huge concerns amongst all of us who see democracy as perhaps the really stellar achievement since Independence. AAP’s attack on BJP headquarters and acts of arson committed under the very noses of their elite leadership; the attacks on Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in Gujarat in the last two days; the recent manhandling of the caretaker of journalist Siddharth Varadarajan’s house by some garden variety thugs; and the violence and threats meted out regularly to their political opponents by political parties is surely deplorable and condemnable. This is a fatally flawed trend which will destroy the very foundations of our democratic institutions if not pushed back with all the strength and condemnation that the civil society can mobilise. Replaying the past To begin with, it must be clarified that we should ...
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