US asks Pakistan to act against Hafiz Saeed, supports India’s right to self-defence
In a boost for India’s drive to expose Pakistan’s role in fomenting terror, the US has launched a blistering attack on terror impresario Hafiz Saeed, the virulently anti-India suspected mastermind of the Mumbai carnage, and endorsed India’s surgical strikes against terror camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Washington’s indictment of Pakistan comes ahead of the BRICS summit in Goa where India will focus on getting the support of emerging powers for pressuring Pakistan to abandoning cross-border terrorism.
The message to Islamabad was clear: stop sheltering terrorists and punish the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks.
Modi warns Pakistan, calls for slaying ‘Ravana’ of terror
Riding high on the surgical strikes conducted by India’s Special Forces on terror pads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, India’s Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s twenty-minute Dussehra speech in Lucknow focused on terrorism, with a clear warning to Pakistan to stop the export of terror. “Terror is the new target and India will not spare those who shelter and help terrorists,” he said in an obvious reference to the Uri terror strike perpetrated by Pakistan’s terrorists.
RSS chief talks tough on Pakistan, says entire Kashmir is part of India
In a strong message to Pakistan, the RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has asserted that the whole of undivided Kashmir, including Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit-Baltistan, belongs to India and warned Islamabad against encouraging separatist forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a speech at the annual Dussehra rally in Nagpur on October 11, the headquarters of RSS, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat backed the government’s surgical strikes against Pakistan and underlined that there is a limit to tolerance. Mr Bhagwat’s remarks reinforced the ruling establishment’s growing exasperation with Islamabad which is resorting to diversionary tactics, rather than addressing India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism.
Hamid Ansari in Mali: Amid Pakistan strikes, India quietly bolsters anti-terror front with Africa
Amid headline-hogging strikes by India to hit back at Pakistan for the Uri massacre, thousands of miles away Vice-President Hamid Ansari engaged in quiet and effective diplomacy to forge a united front against terror with two key West African nations, including Nigeria and Mali. In Bamako, the capital of Mali, the vice-president outlined a template of mutual empowerment with the African continent by dovetailing India’s Africa policy with the vision of African resurgence crystallized in Agenda 2063.
In the first high-level visit from India to Mali, Mr Ansari pledged India’s unremitting support for the reconstruction and flowering of this nation of poets, scholars and musicians and underscored that New Delhi will work closely with Bamako to restore the glory of Timbuktu, which has been savagely assaulted and scarred by al-Qaeda in Maghreb militants.
Ansari backs Mali’s reconstruction: ‘India’s ties with Africa not transactional’
India’s outreach to Francophone Africa has acquired a new ballast with the first high-level visit from New Delhi to the land-locked West African nation, home to scholars, musicians and historians.
India has strongly rallied in solidarity with Mali, the gritty West African nation ravaged by terrorism, but is determined to script its resurgence. In a defining speech at the National Assembly of Mali, Vice-President Hamid Ansari underscored key pillars of the burgeoning India-Africa partnership and pledged India’s unstinting support for the reconstruction of Africa’s seventh largest state. Mr Ansari underlined that India’s relations with Africa go beyond merely transactional partnership, but is rooted in emotive people-to-people connections, political solidarity and an emerging contemporary partnership animated by mutual resurgence. Here are key highlights/excerpts of Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s speech at Mali’s parliament on September 30:
In recent years we have sought to close the distance that separates us physically. We were happy to welcome His Excellency President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta when he participated in the 3rd India – Africa Forum Summit hosted by India in October last year. We value the contribution of Mali to the success of the Summit.
Walking the talk: India’s surgical strikes on terror pads in Pakistan a fitting response to Uri attack
The audacious surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) by India has underscored India’s resolve to punish Pakistan for the Uri terror strike and its continued use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
The special operation launched by the Indian Army on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 in a nearly five-hour-long operation to destroy terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has been widely welcomed in India and is seen a fitting retaliation for the killing of 18 Indian soldiers in Uri the terror strike.
The surgical strikes have also demonstrated to Pakistan and the world that India is not going to suffer any more Pakistan’s duplicity and nuclear blackmail by deploying techniques it considers necessary for the country’s honour and self-defence.
The details of the special operation are not clear, but reliable sources disclosed that the launch pads in PoK were located in the range of 2 to 3km from the LoC and were under constant surveillance for over a week.
India snubs Pakistan, says no to SAARC summit
In a major step aimed at isolating Pakistan in the region, India has announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not participate in the SAARC summit in Islamabad due to cross-border terrorist attacks, an obvious reference to the Uri assault by Pakistani terrorists.
In a diplomatic retaliation for Pakistan’s diversionary posturing on the Kashmir issue, India has underlined that the current environment is not conducive to then holding of the SAARC summit.
India, Nigeria open new avenues to energise ties: Focus on nuclear energy, food security
Bolstering their economic and energy partnership, India and Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, have decided to open new avenues of cooperation in areas of civil nuclear energy, energy, space and food security.
The talks between India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari and his Nigerian counterpart Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on September 27 culminated in an ambitious template for scaling up the India-Nigeria relations in key areas that included, among others, hydrocarbons, renewable energy, defence, space and counter-terror cooperation.
US bill to designate Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism: Boost for India’s anti-terror drive
India’s strategy of isolating Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack has struck a powerful chord in the US. A day after US Secretary of State John Kerry chastised Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and asked him to prevent terrorists from using his country as safe havens, two American legislators introduced a legislation in the US Congress to designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The bill, H.R 6069 or the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act, calls upon the US administration to make a formal assessment on the matter within four months of its passage.
The move to brand Pakistan as a terrorist state is seen as a triumph of Indian diplomacy as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj heads to the US on a concerted drive to corner Pakistan on account of its alleged complicity in the Uri terror attack in north Kashmir, which killed 18 Indian soldiers.
The bill is seen as a huge setback for Mr Sharif as he gears up to make a speech in the UNGA, in which he is expected to highlight India’s alleged human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.
The US’ admonition of Pakistan underscores Washington’s growing wariness with Islamabad’s systematic duplicity on terrorism, and will bolster India’s drive to isolate Pakistan in the international community.
Kashmir terror attack: Building on global solidarity, India gears up to isolate Pakistan
The terror attack on an Army base in Uri in north Kashmir on September 18 has triggered worldwide sympathy and solidarity with India. The attack, which the Indian government believes to be the handiwork of Pakistani militant group Jaish e-Moahmmed and their handlers in the military establishment, has plummeted the India-Pakistan relations to a new low.
As India embarks on a multi-pronged strategy to diplomatically isolate Pakistan in the international arena, New Delhi should leverage expressions of solidarity to press these countries to sanction Pakistan for its brazen use of terrorism as a state policy. The attack has elicited strong condemnation from all P5 countries – permanent members of the UN Security Council – as well as key partners of India, including Japan, Germany and Afghanistan.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is set to highlight Pakistan’s dubious record in exporting terror and exhort the world leaders to go beyond the comfort zone to sanction and penalise this instigator of world terror. Besides speaking at the UNGA on September 26, Ms Swaraj is also expected to meet her counterparts from several countries and seek their support for countering Pakistan-origin terrorism.
World rallies behind India: Highlights
Here is a brief summary of reactions from key world capitals on the Uri terror attack: