TERRORISM - 2008 - Indian Social Institute

Assembly constituencies in Srinagar, this has already been done. This will be given to security
agencies.” Official records, accessed by The Sunday Express, show the following I-cards were
issued by the Electoral Registration office in Handwara and were recovered from Pakistani and
local militant commanders: •Card number JK 04-060152 was issued to Ghulam Mohammad
Sheikh, son of Mohamamd Abdullah of Tumpora, Handwara on April, 13, 2006. This card was
duly signed by Assistant Electoral Registration Officer who is also Tehsildar, Handwara. The
police found out the name and the address given in the card as correct, only the picture was
different. Sheikh was a 60-year-old villager who had never applied for a voter identity card. The
militant commander who had been using this card was Abu Musaib from Pakistan whose picture
had been put on the card. Musaib was killed in an operation on February, 26, 2007 at Sodal in
Handwara. …….. (Indian Express 27/4/08)
India among countries worst hit by terror: US report (12)
WASHINGTON: India was among the countries worst affected by terror with militant attacks in
Jammu and Kashmir and in the Northeast, strikes by Naxalites and attacks elsewhere in the
country taking a toll of more than 2,300 lives in 2007, the US State department said. The State
department, in its annual report on terrorism, said terrorist activities along the Line of Control in
Jammu and Kashmir are on the decline but Pakistan-based militant outfits like the Lashkar-e-
Toiba and other terrorist groups continue to plan attacks in the valley. "Pakistan-based Lashkare-Toiba
and other Kashmir-focused groups continued regional attack planning. In 2007, Kashmirfocused
groups continued to support attacks in Afghanistan, and operatives trained by the groups
continued to feature in Al-Qaeda trans-national attack planning," it said. The report said Indian
government's counterterrorism efforts remained hampered by outdated and overburdened law
enforcement and legal systems. "The Indian court system was slow, laborious, and prone to
corruption. Terrorism trials can take years to complete. Many of India's local police forces were
poorly staffed, lacked training, and were ill-equipped to combat terrorism effectively," the report
said. Noting about the attack on Samjhauta express in February last year, the report said, it was
carried out by extremists who tried to incite anger among the Hindus and Muslims. "These
attacks, which killed and injured both Muslims and Hindus, were probably conducted by
extremists hoping to incite anger between the Hindu and Muslim communities. "Indian officials
claim that the perpetrators of these attacks have links to groups based in Pakistan and
Bangladesh, particularly Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami,
among others," the report said. "These groups also have links to terrorist activity in Jammu and
Kashmir. The number of civilians killed were approximately half of that in the previous year. "In
May, the Indian government acknowledged that the level of infiltration across the Line of Control
had fallen, but noted that insurgents had in some case shifted routes to enter India through
Bangladesh and Nepal," it said. The report also took note of the formation of the anti-terrorism
mechanism between India and Pakistan to coordinate and exchange information on terrorists.
"Pakistan's leaders took steps to prevent support to the Kashmiri militancy, and the number of
violent attacks in Kashmir was down by approximately 50 per cent from 2006, according to public
statements made by the Indian Defence Minister," the report said. The report also took note of
the US-India Joint Working Group on Terrorism (CTJWG) which has so far met nine times since
its formation in 2000. India participated in CTJWGs with 15 other countries, and in multilateral
CTJWGs with the EU and with the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation, an organisation that promotes economic cooperation among Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. In October, the Indian government held
the second round of consultations with Pakistan under the bilateral counterterrorism joint
mechanism, and hosted a ministerial level meeting of the South Asia Association for Regional
Cooperation on Counterterrorism," it said. (Times of India 1/5/08)
142 detained under TADA provisions (12)
NEW DELHI: A total of 142 prisoners are still detained under provisions of TADA Act across the
country with Maharashtra topping the list with 50 such detentions. These persons are in judicial
custody as per orders of the designated TADA Courts, a senior government official said here.
Maharashtra tops the list of TADA detainees with 50 prisoners while Assam came second with 28
such detentions followed by Gujarat with 18. Seventeen people were still detained in Tamil Nadu