VIF Information Alerts - 6th August 2018

J&K surrender policy to win over local militants

Published: The Tribune
06 Aug 2018

Worried over the growing number of local youths taking to militancy, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has drafted a policy for rehabilitating those willing to shun arms and return to the mainstream. Almost 100 youths have joined the militant ranks this year so far.

Militants placed on the list of the Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) — a nodal agency comprising officials for security and intelligence inputs — will be eligible for incentives. A militant who has surrendered will be referred to as a “renouncer”.Click here to read... [2]

The Taliban is talking peace, but Islamic State is wreaking havoc with suicide attacks in eastern Afghanistan

Published: South China Morning Post
06 Aug 2018

A midwife training centre. A refugee help office. A cricket match. A convoy of Sikh and Hindu leaders. A customs building. An junior school. A ceasefire celebration. And on Friday, a crowded prayer service in a Shiite mosque.

The fast-growing list of recent terror attacks in eastern Afghanistan, mostly suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State, represent a gruesome array of what experts call “soft targets.” The victims have been mostly civilians, the sites benign and lightly guarded, and the tolls of dead and wounded high.Click here to read... [3]

UK rejects India’s request to ban Sikh separatist event in London

Published: Hindustan Times
05 Aug 2018

Britain has rejected India’s demand seeking a ban on US-based pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)’s plan to issue a ‘London Declaration’ for a ‘referendum’ on Punjab’s independence at Trafalgar Square on August 12.

“In the UK, people have the right to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law,” a United Kingdom government spokesperson told HT as opposition to the event grew within the Indian community.Click here to read... [4]

India third Asian nation to get STA-1 status from U.S. - The Hindu

Published: The Hindu
04 Aug 2018

India has become the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) status after the U.S. issued a federal notification to this effect, paving the way for high-technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defence sectors. India is the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status by the United States.Click here to read... [5]

Made in India interceptor missile shoots down one from multiple simulated targets

Published: The New Indian Express
02 Aug 2018

In a major breakthrough for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), made in India interceptor missile capable of killing incoming enemy missiles in endo atmospheric region at low altitude shot down a target from multiple simulated targets. For the first time the missile was fired against multiple targets simulated electronically by the mission team comprising officials from the Indian Army. The missile attacked one after choosing it from a bunch of targets.Click here to read... [6]

China and Asean reach ‘milestone’ draft deal on South China Sea code of conduct

Published: South China Morning Post
02 Aug 2018

After more than a decade of talks, a bloc of Southeast Asian nations and China have agreed on a draft code of conduct that will lay the foundation for negotiations over the disputed South China Sea. Observers said the agreement showed that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could make progress through talks despite rising regional tensions, but they also warned that there was still a long way to go until a final deal.Click here to read... [7]