On July 9, al-Qaeda’s Emir Ayman al- Zawahiri incited violence against India and Pakistan by vehemently criticizing these neighboring countries for the plight of Muslims in Kashmir. Zawahiri’s video message titled “Don’t Forget Kashmir” was released by al-Qaeda’s propaganda arm, As-Sahab media foundation, on the online messaging platform Telegram. [1] Al-Qaeda, which struggled for many years to establish its foothold in the region, considers Kashmir as a core component of its Islamist campaign in South Asia.

China's latest position on Masood Azhar, the dreaded terrorist leader who heads Pakistan based Jaish-e- Muhammad (JeM) has angered Indians, to say the least.

In response to a series of bomb blasts and kidnapping of a member of legislative assembly in Bajhang district recently, the Nepal government on March 12, 2019, proscribed the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) by branding the same as a criminal group. The ban was imposed just 16 days before the second investment summit, scheduled for March 29-30 by sending a message to the domestic and external investors that Nepal is safe for investment.

In recent years, there appears to be increased interest in chemical and biological weapons (CBW) as a means for hostile state and non-state actors to improve their capabilities in carrying out proxy wars. Credible reports have indicated that the jihadi group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has acquired chemical weapons and is using them for war theatres in the Middle East. (The UNSC Press Release, November 7, 2017).  This situation is very grave and a big threat to humanity across the globe.

Precisely three hours after 25th February mid-night and roughly three hours before the dawn of 26th February 2019, within a span of 20 minutes, less than one Mirage squadron of about 12 fighters of IAF dropped more than 1000kgs sophisticated and high intensity bombs (presumably laser guided) at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (hereafter, KP) region of Pakistan.