National
How India’s ‘most wanted’ terrorists were eliminated on Pakistan soil
New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Over 20 dreaded terrorists, all on India’s most wanted list, were mysteriously killed in Pakistan and Canada over the last two years.
All those killed were linked to terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the banned Khalistan Tiger Force.
While Pakistan continued to be in a denial mode on terrorists enjoying safe haven on its soil, the killing of these individuals, many of whom were involved in terror attacks in India, nailed Islamabad’s lies.
As these terrorists continued to fall prey to assassins’ bullets, questions were raised in various circles as to who killed India’s enemies on Pakistani and Canadian soil.
Are the Indian secret agents behind the neutralisation of India’s most wanted terrorists as has been claimed recently by The Guardian, the world’s leading daily from the UK, in a report quoting unnamed Indian and Pakistani intelligence operatives?
The London-based newspaper reported that the Indian government ordered killings in Pakistan “as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists on foreign soil.”
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied the claims by the UK newspaper reiterating an earlier statement that they were “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.”
But the report has bolstered the image of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government that the present dispensation in India has a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism emanating from Pakistan or any other safe haven abroad.
The Guardian’s “disclosure” report assumes significance as it came close on the heels of PM Modi, at a rally in Bihar said, “Aaj Ka Bharat Ghar Mein Ghus Ke Marta Hai”, with many foreign affairs experts terming the international media report as a great boost for the image of PM Modi in this context.
“Enemies of India have nowhere to hide,” they remark.
As The Guardian’s report spotlights India’s no-nonsense approach towards terrorism, internal and external security experts are recounting how terrorists on India’s most wanted list were killed one by one in Pakistan and Canada over the last two years. They went down like ninepins on the territory under the control of Pakistan and Canada.
Within the first fortnight of November last year, three LeT and JeM terrorists had been shot dead in Pakistan. Security officials see the same pattern in each case of killing: “Unknown armed men riding motorcycles perpetrated the targeted killings of militants accused of terrorism in India.”
Khwaja Shahid alias Mian Mujahid was kidnapped and later discovered beheaded near the Line of Control in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir on November 5, 2023. He was the LeT terrorist and one of the masterminds of the 2018 terror attack on an Indian Army Camp in Sunjuwan that had claimed seven lives.
Lashkar terrorist Akram Khan, alias Akram Ghazi, was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district on November 9, 2023.
Similarly, JeM terrorist Raheem Ullah Tariq, a close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar, was shot dead in Karachi by unknown men on November 13, 2023.
Zahoor Mistry, the terrorist involved in the hijack of the Indian plane IC-814 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar in 1999, was killed in Pakistan on March 1, 2022. He was killed by two bike-borne assailants in Karachi’s Akhtar colony.
Security experts say that top leaders of the terror organisation JeM led by Masood Azhar had attended Mistry’s funeral. Azhar was among the three terrorists released by the Indian government when IC814 was hijacked in 1999. Mistry was said to have been living under a false identity as Zahid Akhund for several years before being shot dead.
Pakistan had pinned blame on Indian intelligence operatives for this killing, alleging that New Delhi hired assassins for the act.
Similarly, Shahid Latif, another India’s most wanted terrorists, was shot dead in October 2023 by unknown gunmen in Pakistan’s Sialkot. Latif was a key conspirator in the 2016 Pathankot terror attack in which seven security personnel were killed. Latif was killed inside a mosque.
The gunmen fled the scene on a motorcycle after killing him. Latif’s killing was then another significant addition to the list of the terrorists who were eliminated in Pakistan.
One of them was Mufti Qaiser Farooq who was gunned down by unknown men in Karachi. He was shot in a ‘targeted attack’ near a religious institution in Karachi’s Samanabad area in October 2023.
Farooq was a member of LeT and an aide of its chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
In September 2023, Ziaur Rahman, who was also a LeT operative, was killed in Karachi as two motorcycle-borne unidentified gunmen pumped multiple bullets into their target.
Rahman was on a daily evening stroll when he was gunned down.
The killing of this Lashkar operative was exactly like the murder of Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Chief of Khalistan Commando Force. Panjwar was also wanted by India for terrorism.
Panjwar was gunned down when he was out for a morning walk near his residence in Lahore in May 2023.
Hizbul commander Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam, one of India’s most wanted designated terrorists was killed by unknown gunmen outside a shop in Rawalpindi on February 20, 2023.
Two weeks after Peer’s killing, NIA had attached his property in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Peer was designated as a terrorist by the government in October last year for his role in sending terrorists and providing logistic support for infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir.
He was the launching Chief of the Hizbul in Pakistan.
Saleem Rehmani was another terrorist to have been shot dead in January 2022 by unidentified gunmen. He was also wanted by India as a terrorist.
In another significant development, unidentified gunmen shot dead a top terrorist commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Riyaz Ahmad alias Abu Qasim, inside Al-Qudus mosque in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir’s Rawalakot September 2023.
He had come from Kotli to offer prayers when he was shot in the head at point-blank range. He was one of the main conspirators behind the Dhangri terror attack on January 1, 2023.
Around seven people had died when terrorists struck Dhangri village in Rajouri district and fired indiscriminately.
This was the fourth such killing of a top terrorist commander operative from across the border in 2023.
Mullah Sardar Hussain Arain, Jamat-ud-Dawah, was shot dead in Nawab Shah district of Sindh in August 2023.
Amidst all the killings in Pakistan, the focus also shifted to Ottawa as Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on Canadian soil, which triggered a massive diplomatic face-off between India and Canada following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of India’s role in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist.
–IANS
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Bhubaneswar, July 26 (IANS) In a significant development, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced 10 per cent reservation for Agniveers of his state.
Speaking to mediapersons at Lokseva Bhawan before leaving for Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, CM Majhi said: “All the soldiers of Indian armed forces are our pride. The Agniveers, who are trained by our defence forces, are qualified to serve the nation in various security-related sectors.”
He further said that Agniveer Scheme is a historic initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This initiative has made our youth able and fearless so that they can face various challenges in life. That is why, the Odisha government has decided to recruit Agniveers in the state’s uniformed services.
“The state government will provide up to 10 per cent reservation in its Uniformed Services for those Agniveers from the state who are not absorbed in the defence forces. There will also be 5 years of age relaxation for them,” the CM announced.
The uniformed service of the state includes the police, fire services, forest department, etc.
–IANS
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Hyderabad, July 26 (IANS) The Telangana government on Friday announced that it will bring a new comprehensive legislation to overcome problems regarding land ownership and find a permanent solution to the issues created by the Dharani portal introduced by the previous BRS government.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said that the new legislation will be formulated after an all-party meeting and extensive consultations.
At a review meeting on the Dharani portal with his Cabinet colleagues and senior officials, he called for suggestions from people for a system to address land-related disputes. He asserted that a detailed study needs to be conducted to find a permanent solution to every problem which is being faced in the use of Dharani.
The Chief Minister wanted officials to formulate a comprehensive Act in view of the increasing land ownership problems every day in the state. He observed that after the introduction of the Dharani portal by the previous government, the land records which were once available at the village level were shifted to the state headquarters, and all powers to solve land issues were delegated to the district Collectors in the place of village and mandal authorities. Further, the Collectors ‘ decisions have become unilateral and the land issues are not being solved in the Dharani portal. To overcome all such challenges, the Chief Minister asked the officials to hold extensive consultations with people and seek their suggestions.
The Revenue officials have been asked to select a mandal where Bhudan, Poramboku, Bancharayi, Inam, and Kandishika land issues have been pending and prepare a comprehensive report to get clarity on each land-related issue.
The CM also said that if required a debate will be taken up on Dharani in the ongoing budget session of the Assembly and a final decision taken.
The Congress, in its election manifesto, had promised to scrap Dharani and replace it with the ‘Bhumata’ portal by amending the Record of Rights (ROR) Act.
During his Budget speech on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka accused the previous government of having brought in Dharani with a mala fide intention of robbing some of the rightful owners of their land. The illegalities, and errors committed during the feeding of land information in the portal have resulted in hardships for innumerable landowners and farmers, he said.
He mentioned that as per the assurance given to the people, the government constituted a committee to study the problems that arose due to Dharani. As per the recommendations of the committee, in the first phase, a special drive for resolution of grievances was taken up from March 1 to 15, 2024 under the supervision of District Collectors. A total of 2,26,740 applications were pending as on March 1 and 1,22,774 were received during the drive taking the total to 3,49,514.
He said since March 1, a total of 1,79,143 grievances have been resolved.
“We have brought in 10 informative modules pertaining to 35 types of transactions in the Dharani portal. These modules will solve the field-level problems to some extent. We are reviewing the status of these grievances with Collectors from time to time. After a complete study by the Dharani committee, a final decision will be taken for a permanent resolution of the problem,” he had said.
–IANS
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Aizawl, July 26 (IANS) The Chief Ministers from all the eight northeastern states will attend the 9th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting in the national capital on Saturday, officials said on Friday.
Officials in different northeastern states said that all the eight Chief Ministers would attend the NITI Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Saturday.
The Chief Ministers include Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Lalduhoma (Mizoram), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Neiphiu Rio (Nagaland), N. Biren Singh (Manipur), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), Manik Saha (Tripura), and Prem Singh Tamang (Sikkim).
An official from the Mizoram Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that Lalduhoma, President of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), left for Delhi on Friday afternoon.
He said the Chief Minister is expected to highlight the issues related to the state’s financial needs at the meeting.
The ZPM is neither an ally of the BJP-led NDA, nor a partner of the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
–IANS
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Bengaluru, July 26 (IANS) In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, party leader and former state Cabinet minister Arvind Limbavali said the BJP has “totally failed as an opposition”.
“It is regrettable that there has been no harmony and understanding between our party’s state president (B.Y. Vijayendra) who is also an MLA and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly (R. Ashoka),” he said.
Taking to X, Limbavali, considered close to RSS, said: “MUDA scam, Valmiki Development Corporation scam, misuse of grants reserved for SC-ST for guarantee scheme money… Our party has not been able to take any issue to a logical conclusion.
“The opposition leaders also failed to present effectively on these issues. Because of this, people have started to wonder whether the opposition party was involved with the ruling party!” Limbavali said.
The BJP leader said that the heat over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam matter was seen as an eye-wiping strategy.
“The Monsoon Session of the State Legislature has concluded. The BJP, which was supposed to be the voice of the people by pointing out the failures of the state government, has totally failed in doing it as an opposition party,” the former minister said.
He said although “the BJP had an opportunity to highlight the government’s row of scandals, mismanagement and failures in the House, our leaders have completely failed to seize this opportunity”.
“Dengue is rampant in many districts, including Bengaluru, which is known as the IT-BT capital and is a model for the country in the field of science. In many districts of the state, lakhs of people have lost their households due to heavy rains and floods. It is unfortunate that our party leaders did not feel that they should shed light on this and represent the sufferings of the people of the state!” Limabavali said.
“The action of our party leaders, who did not utilise the opportunity and time in the House adequately, spent the whole session in vain and joined hands with the ruling party in curtailing the proceedings of the House when there was still one day left, is questionable,” he further said.
“Overall, the BJP has completely failed as the opposition in this session. Given the behaviour of the leaders in the session, it has turned out to be a big question to all sincere and hardworking ‘karyakartas’ how the BJP headed by these leaders can engage itself in major struggles in the coming days.
“I am very worried and disappointed to see this condition of our party, which was once roaring in the sessions and responding to people’s aspirations even when we had a very low number of seats,” he added.
The party had denied a ticket to Arvind Limbavali in the 2023 Assembly elections for the Mahadevapura assembly seat in Bengaluru.
The party had issued a ticket to his wife, Manjula Arvind Limbavali, and she won with a margin of 44,501 votes.
–IANS
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New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Indian Railways has achieved a “remarkable expansion” of 31,180 km from 2014 to 2024, with an average commissioning rate of 8.54 km per day for new lines, gauge conversions, and doubling sections, according to information provided to Parliament on Friday.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that presently 651 surveys of new line, gauge conversion, and doubling having a total length of 49,983 km have been taken up on Indian Railways under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) for the development of multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various Economic Zones.
The objective is to have integrated planning, enhanced logistics efficiency, and remove gaps for seamless movement of people, goods and services including connectivity to industrial clusters, ports, mines, power plants, tourist and cultural places and agricultural zones, the minister added.
An average annual Budget allocation of Rs 68,634 crore for new line, gauge conversion, and doubling projects across Indian Railways has been made in 2024-25, Vashnaw stated.
As of April 1, 2024, across Indian Railways, 488 Railway Infrastructure projects (187 new line, 40 gauge conversion and 261 doubling) of total length 44,488 km, costing approx. Rs 7.44 lakh crore are in the planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 12,045 km length has been commissioned and expenditure of approximately Rs 2.92 lakh crore has been incurred up to March 2024, the minister said.
Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway-wise and not state/area-wise/district-wise as the railway projects may span across state boundaries. Furthermore, railway infrastructure projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands, Vaishnaw added.
–IANS
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