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Delhi police confirm terrorist plans

       New Delhi: Within 24 hours of US warning that Al- Qaeda was planning attacks in India, the Delhi police on Saturday confirmed that there were some specific intelligence inputs regarding terror plots on the occasion of the country's 60th Independence Day. Both the United States and India, however, said that the warnings were "hypothetical terms" and "innocuous", Special Commissioner (Security) Ajay Chadha today told media persons that police have received a number of general inputs and "a few specific ones" about possible strikes here. "We are already aware of that...intelligence agencies have already indicated," Chadha said. "The Mumbai blasts and unearthing of a terror plot in London to blow up passenger aircraft have given credence to the intelligence reports," he said.

     Terming the US Embassy warning of possible terrorist attack in Delhi and Mumbai as 'innocuous', the Center on Friday had said that it was an internal matter of the embassy that has issued an advisory to its citizens. The US State Department also had said that the advisory was in "hypothetical terms". Chadha said that security measures have been beefed up. An unprecedented ground-to-air security apparatus has been put in place for the annual national event here to be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the entire top political and military leadership of the country, he said. The inputs include terrorist plans to target prominent political leaders and symbols of national importance, he said. Deployment of air defence guns, aerial surveillance by policemen in military helicopters and positioning of quick reaction teams (QRTS) of commandoes on roof tops in the vicinity of Red Fort are among the measures taken for ensuring trouble-free function.

Security in place across country

      New Delhi/ Varanasi (UP): Ahead of the Independence Day, security has been stepped up at all vital installations and public places across the country. Intelligence reports said that various important places and establishments in the country ran a high risk of terrorist attack. The famous Vishwanath temple in Varanasi which was a target of militant attack in May has been fortified with armed paramilitary forces. The entire area has been divided into three different zones and forces have been deployed accordingly. New Delhi has been put on a high alert to prevent any terror attacks. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the Red Fort, sensitive areas and vital places like IGI airport, Parliament House and places of large public gathering. Similarly, security has also been beefed up at Taj Mahal in Agra, which is one of the leading tourist spots in India. Men from Central Industrial Security Force, Provincial Armed Constabulary are down on the streets guarding every nook and corner.

Security Advisory Board revamped (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday reconstituted the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and has appointed former Foreign Secretary MK Rasgotra as its convener. The newly-reconstituted Board has nineteen eminent personalities hailing from various fields including former service chiefs, senior intelligence officers, defence officials and senior academicians and journalist. The former service officers are: the former Chief of Army Staff Gen. VN Sharma, former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshall S Krishnaswami and Vice Admiral PS Das, former C-in-C of the Eastern Fleet. AS Dulat, former Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing, MR Srinivasan who headed Atomic Energy Commission and former Finance Secretary and now head of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis NS Sisodia have been included in the Board. Other members are: Prof Roddham Narasimha, eminent scientist, former Special Secretary to the Home Ministry VK Jain, former Chief Secretary to the Government of Sikkim KS Rao, SP Talukdar former Special Director of Intelligence Bureau, Dr. Rakesh Datta, Head of Department of Defence Studies in Punjab Universities, Prof N Balakrishnan, Associated Director of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Prof Alka Acharya of Jawaharlal Nehru University, former Ambassador to Nepal KV Rajan, N Ravi, who headed the Hindu group of newspapers, Wasbir Hussain Political Analyst and Associate Fellow of Institute for Conflict Management, VK Grover, former Secretary in External Affairs Ministry and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Director of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). The National Security Advisory Board, which is a key element in the National Security Council (NSC) provides a long-term prognosis and analysis to the NSC, and recommends solutions and address policy issues referred to it.

Rajnath for pre-emptive attack on
Pak terror camps (Go To Top)

      Panaji (Goa): Urging the Government to take a hard- line approach against terrorist and Pakistan, BJP President Rajnath Singh on Saturday called for attacking the terror camps in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Speaking to reporters here, Singh said: "India should attack Pakistan only to dismantle the terrorist centres. Not only in Pakistan, but also in Bangladesh, wherever the terrorist centres are operating". However, Singh also added that India should take in confidence the international community before launching such attack. Singh's call for a pre-emptive action against the terrorist's infrastructure comes close on the heels of intelligence reports stating New Delhi and Mumbai could be made target of terror attack once again in the coming days.

Indian Parliament attack terror group's
hand in foiled Heathrow plot  (Go To Top)

      London: British and Pakistani authorities have said that investigations into the foiled terror attempt at Heathrow has revealed that some of the facilitators of the plot could be linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group that has been held responsible for the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. JeM is also suspected responsible for the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. JeM was founded by Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released in exchange of the passengers of the Indian Airlines Flight IC- 814 that was hijacked to Kandahar. A former clergyman from Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Maulana Masood Azhar is said to have closely worked with the Lashkar-e-Toiba in carrying out the attacks on Parliament on December 13, 2001. He figures in the list of top 20 criminals wanted by the Government of India. Pakistani officials said Rashid Rauf, the 26-year-old Briton of Pakistani origin, who was arrested from Zhob in Balochistan apparently had connections with terrorist groups in Pakistan, including the al Qaeda, reports The Telegraph. A Pakistani security official said Rashid used to frequently send text messages to Britain, and will now be questioned to establish whether there was anything sinister in the communications.

     A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said Rauf, who used the alias Matiur Rehman, had "an indication of Afghanistan-based al- Qaeda connections". According to the Sun, the Birmingham born Rauf dubbed Mr Talibrum by the English press was also a commander in the terrorist group who organised the training of seven British suicide bombers who had planned to blow up mid air, using chemical bombs, the transatlantic jets to the US. His brother Tayib, 22, was on the list of 19 suspects alleged to have been involved in the plot, who here held by British authorities in Birmingham following raids across England after the foiled bomb attack. According to The Telegraph, the arrests in Pakistan were triggered by the decision to move against suspected plotters in Britain, who had been watched since last December. The foreign ministry official further said there were "indications of Afghanistan-based al-Qa'eda connections" in the case. The official said five Pakistanis arrested were believed to have been helping as "facilitators" and were held a week ago.

No direct Pak flights to US (Go To Top)

      Islamabad: Pakistan cannot start direct flights to the United States because the US has reservations about security at Pakistani airports. Stating this in the National Assembly on Friday, Parliamentary Secretary Syed Tanveer Hussain said Pakistan has made elaborate security arrangements at all of its airports. But according to the Daily Times, the American authorities are not satisfied with them.

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