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Banned Islamic terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad wants Pakistan Govt to allow attacks in Kashmir

According to media reports, banned global Islamic terror organisation Jaish-e-Muhammad has called on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to lift restrictions on jihadist groups and be allowed to start terror attacks on Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaish-e-Muhammad has published a series of articles in its magazines and digital platforms to lift restrictions on jihadist groups, so they can start terror operations across the Line of Control (LoC).

A Jihadi poem that was published on September 4 issue of the Jaish-e-Muhammad house-magazine Al-Qalam reads, “Talk to the preachers of power in the language of power. Do not even mistakenly talk to the enemy with softness”. This was directed at the Pakistan government and the army which supports it.

In 2019, JeM was responsible for carrying out the Pulwama suicide attack that led to the death of 40 paramilitary personals. India for the first time since 1971, launched surgical airstrikes deep into Pakistan territory in Balakot that holds a deep meaning for jihadists.

Since then, JeM has managed only small-scale operations in Kashmir and have lost many of there jihadists, not to mention there top Improvised Explosive Device maker Abdul Rehman in a shootout with police.

A senior police officer in Kashmir said, “The jihadist movement in Kashmir is clearly facing a serious crisis of resources, from weapons to ammunition to training”.

According to Pakistani scholar, Ayesha Siddiqa author of the book Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy said, “Lots of reasons exist for why Prime Minister Khan’s government fierce words on Kashmir aren’t matched by a willingness to unleash the jihadists,” Saudi Arabia has made it clear it isn’t enthused by the prospect of a crisis over Kashmir; there’s the threat of sanctions from the Financial Action Task Force; there’s the risk of war”.

“There’s little doubt that Prime Minister Khan’s government has clamped down on the Kashmir jihad”, says Siddiqa.

“The thing that’s important to remember, though, is that the jihadists have been controlled—not crushed”.

After the Balakot airstrike In 2019, by the Indian Air Force attack, the Pakistan government took control of the Jaish’s madrasas in Bahawalpur, Punjab which is the centre of the group’s operations.

A recent article published in Al-Qalam, the in-house magazine of JeM reads, “General Pervez Musharraf tried to impose restrictions on the Kashmir struggle, but he failed and got mud on his face. The movement emerged even more powerful in both military and non-military terms”.

“These people also want to kill the movement,” the article went on.

“They also want to wear a medal of peace—but don’t worry; things will change. They will fail. The morning will dawn when jihad will become prominent again”, the article carried.

‘Babur and his army has come’: Shiv Sena government demolishes Kangana Ranaut’s office in Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday demolished the office of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut located in Bandra, a day after it issued a ‘stop work’ notice.

Image Courtesy: Republic

The BMC has demolished the office of the actor citing that there were several alterations on the premises made without the due permission.

Kangana Ranaut tweeted while on her way to Chandigarh airport that she is all set to witness the ‘Maha government and their goons’ breaking down her property illegally.

She likened the Shiv Sena government of Maharashtra to Babur, the Islamic invader who had razed down several temples in India including the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

In her tweet, Kangana said that her office was like Ram Mandir to her. She posted another tweet with the caption “Pakistan” with the hashtag #deathofdemocracy.

She also wrote that the demolition act justified her calling Mumbai as “Pakistan Occupied Kashmir”.

The actress has reportedly moved the Bombay High Court for a stay on the demolition drive on her office.

Kangana Ranaut has been at loggerheads with the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and her criticism of Mumbai Police’s handling of the case alleging that they were trying to cover up.

She had compared the current environment in Mumbai to ‘Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir’ and equated the Uddhav Thackeray government to Taliban.

There has been a war of words between Kangana and Minister Sanjay Raut who had asked her to not return to Mumbai. He even went on to call Kangana as ‘haramkhor’.

Prominent Syro-Malabar Catholic priest Xavier Khan Vattayil worried about Islamic terrorism in Kerala

Xavier Khan Vattayil popularly known as Vattayil Achan, a prominent Indian Catholic priest from the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat has raised an alarm of the drastic changes in the demographic imbalance in Kerala the Organiser reported.

Vattayil was referring to the mass influx of Muslims into Kerala and said that “Those who speak up against Islamic terrorism are labelled as ‘Sangh Parivar’ in Kerala.”

“If there is a further migration of Muslims to Kerala, it’ll destroy the democratic balance and will result in genocides of Christians,” he said in a prayer meeting.

Addressing his parishioners, Vattayil further added that the anti-human forces are gaining ground in Kerala and warned his Christian community against the growing presence of Jihadis among writers, journalists and politicians.

He went on to say that communal movement poses an existential threat to Christianity in the state, he added. He complained that the state government is not taking proper actions against Islamic terrorist organisations like ISIS.

Chennai’s Stella Maris College shares link to webinar addressed by Pakistani professor and defence strategist in official Whatsapp groups

A link to a webinar on Zoom video calling app was shared in the official Whatsapp groups of Stella Maris College comprising of students and professors for them to attend on September 8.

The webinar titled “The Gender Challenges in Pakistan” was addressed by Dr. Salma Malik, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

The Commune found that the host of the webinar was Dr. D Suba Chandran of National Institute of Advanced Studies, Professor and Dean of School of Conflict and Security Studies.

Upon looking at NIAS website, The Commune found no information about the webinar being organized.

A source who wished to stay anonymous told The Commune that the link in the group was sent late at 6:30 PM on Tuesday while the seminar started at 4:30 PM. She said that though it was not compulsory to attend, it was shared in the official Whatsapp group comprising of students and senior staff of the college.

More on Dr. Salma Malik

Dr. Salma Malik had earlier worked as a Research Officer at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. She is said to be a regular visitor to India and part of several bilateral and regional Track-II diplomatic talks.

Digging more, The Commune found that Dr. Salma Malik had made several statements against India echoing the Pakistani establishment. Here are few examples.

https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/1052619762235265027

https://twitter.com/IPRI_Pakistan/status/1049627338143670272

At a conference titled ‘Expansionist Hindu Nationalism and Nuclear Politics”, Salma Malik speaking about the Supreme Court mandated and monitored Assam’s National Registry of Citizens (NRC) she says “there is a huge humanitarian crisis brewing up on the eastern side of India.. If you’re looking at Kashmir which is something that is close to our heart then there is another Muslim population which would face the ‘Modi’ (inaudible).. that you know of several decades back as they did in Gujarat. And he has ways of justifying it.”

She also claims that she saw Muslims ‘living like dogs’ when she had visited Delhi.

She also says Modi’s current policies towards Indian Muslims have cleared it for Pakistani people why Jinnah was pursuing an independent state for the Muslims of Pakistan in initial stages of Pakistan Movement.

She also likens the Hindutva and Hinduism to Nazism.

Post the abrogation of Article 370, Dr. Salma Malik in a video to a Youtube Channel says that Kashmir is like a ‘son who has not returned home’, a story of ‘half-widow’ and a place of ‘human rights violation by security forces’. She goes on to say that Kashmir is a ‘disputed legacy of the partition’ and is a ‘humanitarian crisis’ and calls for secession of Kashmir from India by using the words ‘Kashmiriyon ke liye Kashmir’ (Kashmir for Kashmiris), an opinion that finds place among India’s liberals.

The source who had also run a background check on Salma expressed shock about how an institution in India could invite a ‘defence strategist’ from a country that carries out brutal terror attacks on India. She also noted that if their aim was to expose the students to the domain of military, war and defence why not invite retired personnel from Indian Armed Forces.

‘Neelum Jhelum Behne Do, Humein Zinda Rehne Do’: Massive protests erupt in PoK against China and Pakistan over dam construction

People in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have come out to protest against the construction of two mega-dams by China and Pakistan on the Neelam and Jhelum rivers.

Residents of PoK have condemned the proposed construction of dams on and raising slogans by saying ‘Darya Bachao, Muzaffarabad Bachao’ (Save Rivers Save Muzaffarabad). The other slogan raised by the protesters was ‘Neelum Jhelum Behne Do, Humein Zinda Rehne Do’ which means do not stop the rivers Neelum and Jhelum and let us live.

Pakistan and China signed agreements to construct hydel projects – Azad Pattan and Kohala Hydropower in PoK region under the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Many environmentalists have also raised concern that the construction of these dams will have a serious impact on the environment and China is not known for paying attention to such an important aspect.

The Azad Pattan Hydel Power Project would generate of 700.7 megawatts of electricity and the project has been funded by Chinese group – China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) at a whopping $1.54 billion.

People in the PoK are afraid that the dams will cause disruption in their daily lives and are not happy with the increasing Chinese presence in the area.

Kashmir still remains the number one foreign policy issue for Pakistan and since the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan has chosen every global platform to raise the Kashmir issue but it has always failed. Also, the world has now started to look at Pakistan’s atrocities against residents of PoK along with China which wants total control of this region.

China using Pakistan as a platform to bolster its military logistics facilities: US report

In a report published by the United States Department of Defence says, China is using Pakistan as a “military logistics facilities”.

The annual report that was submitted to Congress on ‘Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2020‘ must also be viewed through India’s national security concern.

Defence Department’s report published last week, inform that the PRC is seeking to establish a robust overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to allow the PLA to project and sustain military power at greater distances.

“Beyond its current base in Djibouti, the PRC is very likely already considering and planning for additional overseas military logistics facilities to support naval, air and ground forces. The PRC has likely considered locations for PLA military logistics facilities in Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola and Tajikistan,” read the report.

The report has stated that the true motive behind China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) projects in Pakistan is to build pipelines and port construction to solve the problem of the Strait of Malacca.

“In support of its national strategy, the PRC pursues a range of goals through OBOR to include strengthening its territorial integrity, increasing its energy security and expanding its international influence. Given the Party views the PRC’s security and development interests as complementary, the PRC leverages OBOR to invest in projects along China’s western and southern periphery to improve stability and diminish threats along its borders. Similarly, OBOR projects associated with pipelines and port construction in Pakistan intend to decrease China’s reliance on transporting energy resources through strategic chokepoints, such as the Strait of Malacca,” the department said.

“The PRC uses multilateral forums and international organizations to generate new opportunities to expand its influence, strengthen its political influence, promotes strategic messaging that portrays it as a responsible global actor, advance its development interests and limit outside interference in and criticism of its initiatives,” the report said.

“Towards these ends, the PRC has embraced multilateral organizations suchas Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as forums and initiatives such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the “17+1″ initiative between China and 17 Central and Eastern European countries, and the Belt and Road Forum,” the report read.

Pakistan builds concentration camps for Balochis, just like its master China does it for Uighur Muslims

Pakistan has decided to take a page out of the Communist China playbook to crush dissent by building indoctrination camps in the disputed province of Balochistan, the WION reported.

Just as China has been building indoctrination camps to ‘re-educate’ the Uighurs, Pakistan’s army is running two indoctrination camps built along the lines.

The Baloch are Muslims of Sunni denomination but are of different ethnicity and are secular by culture.

Balochistan is the biggest province in Pakistan and is rich with natural resources that are being usurped by China’s mega infrastructure project the China Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC.

WION News had reported that the layout of the camps closely aligns with those run by Chinese authorities in the province of Xinjiang. Baloch fighters are reportedly being held captive to alter their psychological, social and cultural conditioning and forcefully instil ‘values’ in them by “transforming them into law-abiding” citizens.

In China, the Uighur Muslims are told to shun Islam but in Pakistani concentration camps, the captured Baloch are forced to study, religious-patriotism and jihad as the key subjects and the objective are to remove any remnants of Balochi nationalism.

Pakistan army is running the camps and is using Islamic affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami to radicalise them.

Ironically the man who is the brainchild of this operation is Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa former Director-General of the media wing of the Pakistani army who has been accused of corruption of the highest order. Bajwa had used his offices in setting up off-shore businesses for his wife, sons and brothers.

Bajwa had offered to resign from the position of Special Assistant to Pakistani PM Imran Khan on Information and Broadcasting but the resignation was not accepted. He is also the Chairman of China Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC and has close ties with the Chinese communist party.

As per reports, the camps are being run by Major Gen Irfan Ahmad Malik of GOC 41 Division who has now been succeeded by Major Gen Abid Latif Khan on October 19, 2019.

Empowered Group led by PM Modi clears proposals to export India-Made Smartphones worth $100 billion under PLI scheme

The Government’s empowered group in a major bid to boost for electronics manufacturing in India, cleared applications submitted by Apple iPhone contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron, and Korean giant Samsung.

This decision will also help domestic majors like Lava, Karbonn and Dixon Technologies to export India made smartphones worth $100 billion. All these will come under the ambient of ₹ 41,000 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, reports Economic Times.

Since this important decision has been cleared by the empowered group, the approval from the Union Cabinet which will take place probably this week itself will be a mere formality.

Apple had set up shop in China and now, Apple Inc’s contract manufacturers and Samsung alone have proposed to manufacture smartphones worth $50 billion each. This target is to be achieved in the next five years, with exports being a constituent of these figures.

The Modi government has received applications from 22 companies under the PLI scheme which had been notified in April. The PLI scheme was created to transform India into a manufacturing hub for smartphones.

5 Indians from Arunachal Pradesh taken hostage by Chinese PLA, Indian Army has sent hotline message

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Sunday (September 6) that the Indian Army has sent a hotline message to its counterpart in PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh about the 5 missing Indians reportedly abducted by the Chinese Army.

The Arunachal Pradesh police on Monday (September 7) said that the whereabouts of the five youths from a village in Upper Subansiri district along the India-China border is yet to be known.

The men had been engaged as porters and guides by the Indian Army.

Families of these missing men filed a report with the police on Friday (September 4) as they had gone for hunting in the jungle, part of a 7-member group.

China has completely denied any hand in these abductions and has asserted that it has never recognised the northeastern state which China claims is part of its south Tibet region.

“China’s position on the east sector of the China-India boundary, or Zangnan (the southern part of China’s Xizang (Tibet) ), is consistent and clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing, adding the Chinese government has never recognized the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh”.

When asked about the abducted Indians, the spokesperson said, “I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned about the missing Indian nationals.” However, the Chinese argument does not hold water because the two members from the group who had managed to escape informed the families of the other five that they had been kidnapped by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho.

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) condemned the Chinese statement: “The people of the State outrightly reject the dubious statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry dubbing our state as part of ‘South Tibet’.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter on Sunday to say the Indian army has already sent a hotline message to the PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh and that a response is awaited.

Tezpur-based Defence spokesman Lt Col Harshvarshan Pande said, “We have alerted our teams and are in constant touch with the civil administration.”

Earlier, talking about the incident, the SP Taru Gussar had said, “We came to know from local sources that five people belonging to the Tagin community were abducted by the PLA from a jungle near Nacho when they were out hunting”.

“We are trying to verify the fact and are in touch with the Army since there have been past instances of the PLA capturing locals from the LAC and releasing them,” the SP said.

The missing men have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri.

AAPSU president Hawa Bagang and General Secretary Tabom Dai in a joint statement said, “People of Arunachal Pradesh are proud Indians and staunch nationalists. We don’t need any recognition or validation from a foreign entity.”

“The recent incident is not an isolated case as time and again the PLA has been repeatedly indulging in similar antics whereby innocent civilians living at the inhospitable border areas are taken captive at regular intervals,” the union said in its statement.

In March, a 21-year-old man was abducted by the PLA from Asapila sector near the McMahon line while his two friends managed to escape as Togley Sinkam was taken away at gunpoint by the PLA, his family had said.

“It was the PLA troops who fired in the air”: Indian Army issues statement on situation in Eastern Ladakh

After the Chinese media came out saying that Indian forces resorted to firing ‘warning shots’, the Indian Army has come out with a clarification saying that it was the Chinese who had fired in the air to intimidate.

In its statement, the Indian Army said that at no stage, the Indian forces crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) or used aggressive means including firing.

“It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress.”, said Col. Aman Anand.

“In the instant case on 07 September 2020, it was the PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops. However, despite the grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner.”, the Indian Army said in the statement adding that it is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility and is also determined to protect the integrity and sovereignty ‘at all costs’.

It also said that the statement issued by the Western Theatre Command of the Chinese PLA, was an attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience.