Page 790 - War Conflict
'Fatwa on terrorism prohibits Pakistanis from helping armed
Pakistan today said a recently issued fatwa, signed by over 1,800 Islamic scholars against the use of violence for religious purposes, forbids its citizens from violating geographical boundaries in the name of helping other armed groups and struggles outside the country. Pakistan had issued the religious decree, titled 'Paigham-e-Pakistan' (the message of Pakistan) at a grand ceremony on January 16. It was prepared under the supervision of Islamabad-based International Islamic University. Terming it a 'landmark event', Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said, 1,829 highly qualified and revered Pakistani religious scholars from all schools of thoughts issued a fatwa against suicide bombing and terrorism. "The fatwa clearly declares that terrorism and suicide attacks are 'Haraam' - absolutely prohibited as per the teachings of Islam. It declares armed struggle against the state, its government or armed forces 'illegal'," he said. He said that the decree
Unprecedented security cover in Delhi for R-Day celebrations
The national capital has been wrapped in an unprecedented security blanket with thousands of security personnel keeping a hawk-eyed vigil to prevent any terror strike or untoward incident during the 69th Republic Day celebrations. Mobile hit teams, anti-aircraft guns and sharpshooters have been deployed to keep a watch on the eight-km-long parade route from Rajpath to Red Fort besides nearby localities. The visiting ASEAN leaders, after attending an ASEAN summit here today, will be the chief guests at the Republic Day parade tomorrow. Snipers have been stationed atop high-rise buildings while scores of CCTV cameras are keeping a tight vigil on people's movements on the parade route. Elaborate air defence measures, including deployment of anti-aircraft guns, have been also put in place to secure the airspace. Nearly 60,000 security personnel drawn from the Delhi Police and central security forces have been deployed in Central Delhi. The police is also using counter-drone
Ashok Chakra to Garud commando who laid down life in J-K
Jyoti Prakash Nirala, an Indian Air Force Garud commando who laid down his life while gunning down two terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, was today posthumously conferred with the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime military decoration. President Ram Nath Kovind approved 390 gallantry and other defence decorations to armed forces personnel and others on the eve of the 69th Republic Day celebrations, the defence ministry said. Ashok Chakra is the highest peacetime military decoration for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. Besides one Ashok Chakra, the list approved by Kovind includes one Kirti Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, 28 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, two Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 49 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 10 Yudh Seva Medals, two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 86 Sena Medals. Kovind has also approved a Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry), three Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), two Bar to Sena Medals ...
Fringe group announces bounty on Bhansali's head
A fringe group today declared a reward of Rs 51 lakh for beheading 'Padmaavat' director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose period drama is mired in a major controversy. "Any person bringing the head of Sanjay Leela Bhansali would be paid Rs 51 lakh in immediately," Diwakar Singh, vice president, All India Brajmandal Kshatriya Rajput Mahasabha, while talking to reporters here today. We shall teach a lesson to politicians who are silent on the issue and are not supporting the agitation, he added. Asked about the attack on a school bus in Gurgaon, he alleged that it was the handiwork of the film industry to scuttle the agitation. A Rajput would never attack the unarmed, ladies or children, he said.
BSF seizes gun, ammunition, drugs in Tripura
Border Security Force troopers have seized a US-made small gun, ammunition and drugs, besides Indian and Bangladeshi currencies ahead of the February 18 assembly elections in Tripura, the BSF said on Thursday.
Nine injured in police firing in Assam
At least nine people were injured, two critically, after police opened fire to disperse a mob at Maibong railway station in Assam's Dima Hasao district on Thursday, leaving close to 3,000 passengers of a train stranded at the station.
Wanted criminal held after encounter
A 24-year-old man, wanted in at least 10 heinous crimes, was arrested after an exchange of fire, police said. The accused, identified as Kalia Sahu alias Musha of Sri Ram Nagara street has sustained bullet injuries on his left leg, police said. The incident took place yesterday at Khajuria over bridge under the Goshaninuagon police station limit. A country-made gun and two live ammunitions were seized from him, while one of his accomplice managed to escape, said Prabhat Routray, sub divisional police officer, Berhampur. Kalia was admitted at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here and his condition is stable, sources said. Kulamani Sethi, Inspector in charge, Goshaninuagaon police station has also sustained injury in the exchange of fire, he said. Acting on a tip-off, a special police squad raided the area to nab the accused person. The police team chased him while Kalia along with one of his accomplices was going on a motorcycle. When the police team came close of the ...
Deadly attack foiled in Jalalabad
Afghanistan security forces have foiled a deadly attack plot in Jalalabad city of Nangarhar province.The suspect, identified as Asrarullah and a member of the Taliban group, was arrested by the intelligence operatives, Khaama Press quoted the officials as saying.Asrarullah, a resident of the central Logar province, was attempting to transport the weapons when he was arrested.According to the report the officials said that he confessed that he was attempting to transport the weapons to his comrades in the city for the attack.This comes a day after Wednesday's attack on the 'Save the Children' office in Jalalabad, which claimed six lives.According to the Tolo News, provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani confirmed the death toll.Khogyani said that four of the aid agency's staff members were killed along with one security force member and a passerby in Wednesday attack.The 'Save the Children' attack came just after the Taliban gunmen raided a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing at least 22 ...
Mob attacks train passengers; police fire in air, clamp curfew
A mob here today attacked a train and pulled out passengers to stop them from continuing their journey during a 12-hour Dima Hasao district bandh following which police fired in the air to control the protesters in which 10 of them were injured, sources said. The district administration sources said two among the 10 persons were critically injured in the firing and baton charge. Indefinite curfew was imposed in the area as the situation deteriorated with the bandh sponsors pelting the police personnel with stones and attacking their vehicles near the station, they said. Police first burst tear-gas shells and baton charged to control the mob at Maibong railway station, where they blocked the tracks and stopped the Silchar-bound train from Guwahati, a police official said. But as the mob turned restive and attacked the train, damaged railway property and uprooted train tracks, the police fired in the air to disperse them. The district deputy commissioner and superintendent
Elaborate security arrangement for R Day celebration in Odisha
Elaborate security arrangements have been made across Odisha, especially in Maoist-hit areas, in view of call by Maoists to observe Republic Day tomorrow as 'black day'. Security has been tightened across the the state to ensure smooth and peaceful celebrations and prevent any untoward incident, said Director General of Police R P Sharma. A close vigil is being maintained in sensitive areas, while security personnel have been deployed and patrolling stepped up wherever necessary, he said. In Maoist-affected districts like Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal and Kalahandi, where the red rebels have reportedly asked people to observe the day as 'black day', special security measures have been taken to ensure incident-free celebrations, a senior police official said. Posters were seen in a couple of places in Rayagada district asking people to boycott Republic Day celebrations and observe it as black day, sources said. In Bhubaneswar, NSG personnel have been deployed ...
Padmaavat: Tepid response to bandh call in Guj; film not shown
A bandh call by the Rajput Karni Sena against the release of controversy-hit film "Padmaavat" today failed to make any major impact in Gujarat, but none of the theatres in the state screened the movie for security reasons. Barring a few incidents, the situation remained peaceful, the state police control said. The protesters tried to block roads in parts of Amreli, Surendranagar, Patan, Vadodara, Mehsana, Rajkot and Banaskantha districts by burning tyres, besides forcing shopkeepers to down shutters in Mehsana and Rajkot cities, the police said. As announced yesterday by the Gujarat Multiplex Owners Association, none of the theatres, be it multiplexes or single-screen, showed the movie in the state. The decision had been taken by the association after a mob, said to be associated with the Karni Sena and some other Rajput groups, set ablaze at least 30 motorcycles outside three multiplexes here on Tuesday night. Life in major cities and towns today remained largely ...
Female suicide bomber alert heightens tensions in J&K
Extraordinary security marked the Republic Day eve in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as security forces were put on high alert following an intelligence input that a teenaged female suicide bomber may carry out an attack in the state.
Fears of suicide attack raise tensions on R-Day eve in J&K
Extraordinary security measures were in place on Republic Day eve in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as the security forces feared a suicide attack in Srinagar.
Trump's Jerusalem move boosts Palestinian support for 'armed
US President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital led to a spike in Palestinian support for "armed struggle", a poll suggested today. Nearly twice as many Palestinians said they supported "armed struggle" against Israel compared with an identical survey six months previously, while there was also a fall in support for the two-state solution, the joint Israeli and Palestinian poll found. The poll of 1,270 Palestinians across east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza was conducted in the days after Trump's December 6 declaration that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognise the city as Israel's capital. Palestinians see at least the east of the city as the capital of their future state, and the announcement set off street protests and diplomatic fury. Given four options for their preference for the next step for Palestinian-Israeli relations, 38.4 percent of Palestinians favoured waging an armed struggle, the .
Northeast security intensified for Republic Day
Security measures in the northeast were beefed up at an unprecedented scale in the backdrop of boycott calls and call for strikes by armed outlawed organisations on Republic Day.
Republic Day: 5 NDRF personnel get president's medal
Five NDRF officials have been decorated with the president's police medal for meritorious and distinguished service on the eve of the Republic Day. Those awarded include Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sudhir K Singh and Second-in-Command Keshav Kumar. Singh, a BSF cadre officer of 1987-batch, has served in militancy prone areas of Punjab in 1998 apart from serving in the intelligence wing of the border guarding force in the Kashmir valley. A decorated officer, Singh is credited with raising the elite bike-borne 'Janbaaz' unit of the Border Security Force and being a founder member of the Rustamji Institute of Technology in Gwalior. The officer joined the NDRF on deputation recently. Kumar, a 1997-batch BSF cadre officer, has served in Jammu and Kashmir, including operation 'Rakshak' apart from working along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) in Punjab. Under his command, six militants of the NSCN (IM) surrendered with huge cache of arms and ammunition before the BSF .
ICC delegation to visit Nepal for progress discussions
A delegation from the International Cricket Council will arrive in Nepal this weekend for progress discussions aimed at enabling the reinstatement of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to ICC membership. The objective of the visit, led by ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, is to agree on the final steps to getting Nepal's suspension lifted and reinstated into membership of the ICC. This involves, amongst other things, the adoption of an updated Constitution which all parties agree besides the need to lay a solid foundation for the good governance of the sport in Nepal. Over the last 12 months, the ICC has worked closely with the Nepal Advisory Group (NAG) which comprises representatives of CAN, the Nepal Government and the broader cricket community, to draft a new constitution. This was one of a number of reinstatement conditions that the ICC set CAN in May 2016 that must be met before reinstatement is considered. A revised version of this constitution was adopted by CAN
2 CRPF men get Shaurya Chakra for bravery in anti-Naxal op
Two CRPF CoBRA commandos have been decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for an anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand's Latehar that led to the killing of six Maoist cadres besides the recovery of a heavy assortment of arms and ammunition in 2016. Assistant Commandant Vikash Jakhar and Sub-Inspector Riyaz Alam Ansari belonged to the 209th battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a special CRPF unit raised for conducting intelligence-based jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations. The Shaurya Chakra is the third highest peacetime military decoration after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra. Ansari was part of the raid team led by Jakhar which killed six Naxals, including sub-zonal commander of the area Deepak Khairwar and Nagendra Yadav, after a fierce gun battle between the two sides in the jungles of Karamdih village in Latehar district on November 21, 2016. A small team of these commandos had a close encounter with a strong squad of Maoists
US Embassy denies bombing refugee camp in Pakistan
The US Embassy in Pakistan on Thursday dismissed a claim by Islamabad that US forces bombed a refugee camp on its territory.
Three held for dacoities in Navi Mumbai
Three persons were arrested today in connection with the cases of dacoity in Navi Mumbai, police said today. The trio are part of a gang that used to target security personnel and workers of various companies in MIDC areas, Navi Mumbai Police said in a release. The gang of eight had robbed security personnel of a godown in Kiravali village near Panvel of Rs 85,000 in November last year. Similar incidents had occurred in MIDC areas. The trio, identified as Barkat Ali Abdul Kalam Choudhary (27), Jiauddin Acchankhan (30) and Kalam Shamsuddin Khan (36), were arrested on January 7. The gang was involved in a theft in Rohinjan village in December 4, 2017 and also wanted for looting a truck driver in Pendarpada area.