VIF Information Alerts - 12 Jan 2018

PDP MLA says Kashmiri militants killed in encounters ‘martyrs’
Published – The Indian Express
11 Jan 2018

Peoples Democratic Party MLA Aijaz Ahmad Mir Thursday said that Kashmiri militants killed in encounters with security forces and the police are “martyrs”.

“We should not celebrate the killings of militants, it is our collective failure, we feel sad when our security forces are martyred as well, we should sympathise with parents of security jawans and with parents of militants as well,” he said outside the Assembly on Thursday.Click here to read... [2]

Democratic oversight of security agencies needs strengthening: PILDAT
Published – Daily Times
11 Jan 2018

Pakistan’s democratic order needs to efficiently evolve to a stage where briefings by Army chiefs become a normal and regular occurrence, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) maintains in its latest report on civil-military relations.

It further holds that such briefings should normally be held at the level of parliamentary committees, and not to joint sessions or an entire House of the Parliament.Click here to read... [3]

China's new Silk Road hits political, financial hurdles
The Times of India
11 Jan 2018

From Pakistan to Tanzania to Hungary, projects under President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road Initiative" are being canceled, renegotiated or delayed due to disputes about costs or complaints host countries get too little out of projects built by Chinese companies and financed by loans from Beijing that must be repaid.Click here to read... [4]

‘Forcibly converted’ Kerala woman says husband planned to sell her as sex slave to IS
Published – Hindustan Times
11 Jan 2018

Kerala police on Wednesday arrested two people from North Paravur near Kochi over an alleged case of forced religious conversion of a 24-year-old woman and suspected plans to take her to Syria to be sold as a ‘sex slave’ to radical Islamists.

The two, identified as Fawaz Jamal and Mohamed Siyad, were charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and IPC, said AV George, the Ernakulam (rural) superintendent of police.Click here to read... [5]

PTI’s romance with extremism
Published - Daily Times
10 Jan 2018

Every now and then, this country’s leadership provides us with reason to conclude that the National Action Plan against terrorism is headed nowhere. This time, it was the Chief Minister of the province that has immensely suffered due to the menace of religious extremism. KP CM Pervez Khattak was in attendance at the latest rally of Difa-e-Pakistan Council — a group that includes among its leadership the who’s who of radical Islamism, some of whom are recognised the world over as terrorists. Click here to read... [6]

Ex-South Korean defense minister reveals secret Seoul defense pact with UAE
Published: Asia Times
10 Jan 2018

Kim Tae-young, Lee’s defense minister from September 2009 to December 2010, reportedly told JoongAng in an exclusive interview on Sunday that the military deal was signed so South Korea could win a lucrative contract to build a still-unfinished nuclear plant in the UAE.

“Kim admitted during the interview that there was a secret military pact, which includes a clause that guarantees the Korean military’s automatic intervention in an emergency in the UAE. It was the first time that a member of the Lee administration spoke about the deal made in 2009 to win the nuclear plant bid,” JoongAng said.Click here to read... [7]