The Pakistani daily Dawn on 5 October carried an article titled ‘Most Pakistanis fear country headed in wrong direction: survey’. It quoted the findings of lpsos, a France-based organization that specializes in global market research and public opinion, while concluding that the “Majority of Pakistanis continue to fear that the country is heading in the wrong direction since last year”. It further underlined that “three in four Pakistanis expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are going in Pakistan today, while the same proportion of Pakistanis described as bad the current economic situation in the country”.
AF-PAK Border: Persistent Tension
A Pakistani soldier was killed when militants from across the Afghan border attacked Security Forces’ (SFs’) post in the Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on September 22, 2020.
'The Resistance Front': Old Wine in a New Bottle
It is a well-known fact that terrorist and insurgent groups best flourish in an environment fraught with instability, chaos and social upheaval, which provides them with favourable conditions to exploit local grievances and run recruitment and propaganda campaigns among the vulnerable population.
Developments around the Pangong lake over the past week have spawned the distinct impression that the trust deficit between India and China has only increased despite the ongoing talks between the two countries aimed at finding an acceptable solution to the several flashpoints that have been ignited by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates the two countries.
How to cope with China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomats?
A new expression has recently appeared in the media and international diplomatic circles: ‘wolf warrior’, a term for the new and very assertive Chinese diplomats, who use Twitter and other social media platforms to prey on any person, legal or physical, which criticizes China or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
India Must Counter the Bidirectional Psychological Warfare
Of late, India has been experiencing a psychologically driven Chinese war strategy at various occasions. For instance, during the 2017 Doklam standoff, and with a much-renewed vigour in the recent military standoffs in Sikkim and at multiple points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. Thus, ‘Winning without Fighting’ has become a characteristic feature of China’s warfare strategy which is commonly called ‘psychological warfare’ (psywar).
Downward diplomatic spiral and the impending implosion of Pakistani society
Unable to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Suleiman of Saudi Arabia, the high-powered delegation led by Pakistan army chief General Qamar Bajwa and ISI Chief has returned empty handed to Islamabad.
The stalemate on the India-China border and the wooing of India by the United States
Since the gory 15 June clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley, senior representatives of the two countries have held five rounds of talks aimed at disengagement and de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
'KKBN Division': Maoists Fizzle Out
on July 23, 2020, two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including a woman, were killed in an exchange of fire with the Security Forces (SFs) in the Sirla Reserve Forest area under Tumudibandha Police limits in the Kandhamal District of Odisha. Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay disclosed, “The Police Forces fired in self-defense. After the exchange of fire ended, the SOG [Special Operations Group] and DVF [District Voluntary Force] spotted two bodies – a male and a female. Both were in Maoist uniforms. We also recovered one INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle, one carbine, and two country-made firearms.” The identities of the slain Maoists are yet to be ascertained.
The draft of the 14th Amendment Bill to the 1974 Interim Constitution of the Pakistan-Administered and so-called ‘Azad’ (Free) Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), which has been accessed by EFSAS and can be seen here, has served as a grim reminder of just how suppressed and occupied ‘Azad’ J&K actually is.
Maharashtra: Gadchiroli: Strategic Restraint
On May 17, 2020, two Police personnel, Sub-Inspector Dhannaji Honmane and constable Kishore Atram, were killed and another three were injured in an exchange of fire with Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in the Poyerkothi-Koparshi forested area under Bhamragarh Tehsil (revenue unit) in Gadchiroli District. Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailesh Balkawade disclosed that the gun-battle took place when Maoists opened fire at a Quick Response Team (QRT) from Bhamragarh and C-60 commandos of Gadchiroli Police, who were out on a joint anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation.
Jammu and Kashmir: TRF: The New 'Front'
The Resistance Front (TRF) is the product of one of the several efforts, often repeated over the past two decades by Rawalpindi, to give terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) an ‘indigenous’ face, and to provide Pakistan’s deep state, an alibi. According to intelligence sources, the outfit emerged as an online virtual identity, acting as a mouthpiece for major Pakistan-based terror outfits such as Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Thereafter, it has sought to claim a number of terrorist attacks executed by cadres of these groupings.
On March 11, 2020, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as P. Srimathi (27), was arrested by the personnel of Tamil Nadu ‘Q’ Branch near Attappady forests in Palakkad District. According to a Police Official, Srimathi was a member of the Kabani and Bhavani Dalam (armed squad) of the CPI-Maoist. She was wanted in over 20 cases registered both in Kerala and Karnataka, and was on the watchlist of Police of both the States for long.
On February 22, 2020, in response to reports of an attempted terror attack, the Maldives Police raided three houses on the Naifaru island of Lhaviyani Atoll. According to the Police, the residences were of three individuals accused of planning to set off an explosive device on the island.
A Policeman, identified as Rehman Bangash, was killed by unidentified assailants outside his residence in the Pehlwan Goth area of Gulistan-e-Johar in Gulshan Town, Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on February 5, 2020.