On Aug 30, 2012 the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of Indian Parliament passed a bill to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Act (2002). The Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment), 2012 Bill “prohibits transfer of specified toxic chemicals from and to a country which is not party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)”. Passing of this Bill was part of India's international obligation towards CWC.
As leaders from about 50 countries arrive with their caravans in Tehran, for what now seems to be settling into a triennial ritual, a question that has intrigued everyone for the past 2 decades is - what does NAM mean in a post-cold war context? Moreover, somewhat, if not equally, intriguing a question that historians have struggled to find answers to is the origins of the term itself. Claims about who ‘invented’ the term and where it was first uttered have never had a settled answer.
Ahmed Siddibaba, also known as Yasin Bhatkal, notorious for his various aliases such as ‘Saharukh Khan’, ‘Sivanand’, and ‘Dr. Imran’, is believed to be in charge of the IM terror group since the top leaders of the homegrown terror group have fled to Pakistan and to the Gulf region following countrywide crackdowns.
Nasiruddin Haqqani (a.k.a. Dr Khan), was born in Nika district of Paktika Province, Afghanistan sometime in the year 1972. Unlike his illustrious warlord father and notorious brothers and relatives, Nasiruddin Haqqani maintains a relatively low public profile. Yet, he has maintained a responsible position in the hierarchy.
To make things worse for the already stressed Islamabad administration, the hardcore Taliban factions under the banner of Tehrik-e-Talban Pakistan (TTP) reemerged from a brief period of quiescence, initiating a series of violent acts against security forces with the ultimate aim to dislodge the democratically elected government and establish a Taliban style Islamic Emirate in Pakistan. Presently, the TTP’s anger is largely directed towards the Pro-NATO/US policy of Pakistan’s government.
While India has been witnessing terrorism ever since independence, the vicious influence and reach of contemporary terrorism is unique and cleaves out potent problems for India. Many of the terrorist attacks against cities in India like German Bakery blast in Pune (Maharashtra) on February 13, 2010 had been conceptualized and planed by Indian Muslims who sought to attack their own country.
"Banning foreign defence contractors is a loss for both country and firms: Experts": Times of India, August 09, 2012
"This is a lose-lose situation for both the companies banned from bidding contracts and the country, which is heavily dependent on foreign countries for purchasing arms and defence technologies," said New Delhi-based Deba Ranjan Mohanty, who is currently the vice-president of Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict.
Non-alignment is back through a recent Report prepared and published by the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, in February 2012. Reminiscent of a movie sequel, it is refreshed, repackaged, updated and delivered in a 2.0 form, titled “Non-Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for India in the Twenty First Century”. And like most movie sequels today, it also runs on an altogether new script with only an imaginary connection to the first. Why stick to the name then?
The US biodefence programme continued to remain covert until the advent of ProjectBioShield in 2003, which was pursued overtly with government sanctions. Project BioShield became a law in July 2004. Under the Project, efforts have been made to develop and make available effective drugs and vaccines to protect civilian population against any biological and chemical weapon attacks.
At a time when questions are being raised about Saudi Arabia’s tacit support for the global Salafist movement, recent developments have displayed the Kingdom’s new-found seriousness in fighting terrorism, especially that emanating from South Asia. These developments include the deportation of a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and the detention of a wanted Indian Mujahideen (IM) suspect.
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