Terror camps in Pakistan: Expert says India cannot take as a precedent the US raid

Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: India cannot take as a precedent the US raid on Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Abbotabad to attack terror camps in Pakistan unless at the risk of war, says international law expert Dr PC Rao.
According to Dr Rao, who is a judge in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg, Germany, the sovereignty of a country is supreme under international law and it can be breached only through a sanction of the Security Council. Any military action against another country should be preceded by the permission of the Security Council.
The question of self defence arises if the military of a country is involved in attacks against another country. In the case of Pakistan, terror groups operating within its territory are involved in attacks on Indian soil. Unless it is established that the terror groups are supported by the government, military action cannot be taken against 
non-State actors.
"India, however, can launch a military offensive against terror camps in Pakistan after seeking the approval of the Security Council. Otherwise, any military attack on Pakistan  will lead to a war and disturb international peace. US is a super power and no country dare question its unilateral military actions. Moreover, the relations between the US and Pakistan are on a different note. But India cannot take the US action as a precedent to raid and destroy terror camps across the border, unless at the cost of war," Dr Rao pointed out.
He said India can continue its dialogue with Pakistan and seek custody of the terror suspects on its wanted list. Simultaneously, it can seek the help of countries which are friendly to both India and Pakistan to prevail upon the later to hand over the suspects for trial back home.
Sating that there have been suggestions that India should follow the US example, Dr Rao pointed out that in matters relating to maintenance of international peace and security, the Security Council is competent to take enforcement action against a State acting in violation of the international obligations under the charter of the United Nations.
Though the US has violated the international norms, a case cannot be built against it as Pakistan as a sovereign nation has not raised the issue on international forum, though its Parliament has passed a resolution condemning it. "Pakistan has made no complaint against the United States. It may be that it gave its consent, either formally or informally, to the United States. In the light of the above, the question of examining 
the legality of American action in any international forum may not arise," he said.

AP Government moots village police concept to fight terrorism

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Oct 11: Faced with increasing incidents of terror and law and order problem, the State government has decided to set up village policing involving civilians. Each village will have a civil police officer assisted by a 15-member panel of "village guard".
The village police officers, though civilians, will be empowered to effect arrests of suspects in emergency situations. They will be responsible for the overall maintenance of security in their villages. The State government is finalising the village policing system and is likely to issue an Ordinance next month. The State government's move follows the recommendations of the Soli Sorabjee panel on police reforms. Andhra Pradesh will be the first State to implement the recommendations.
Each civilian police officer will draw a monthly honorarium of Rs 3000 and will be in "service"
for a period of three years. The only qualification for the post is political non-affiliation and
sincere background. They should be between 21 and 60 years of age. The police officers will maintain close contact with local community elders. There will also be community liaison groups, village defence parties and village guards to maintain peace and law and order in the villages.
According police sources, the village police officers and village guards will keep a watch over history-sheeted criminals and others with criminal record or bad characters.
The village officers will report the occurrence of any crime or law and order situation in the
village to the police and assist the police in bringing the offenders to book, besides maintaining a general vigil in the village.
District police superintendents concerned will issue identity badges to the village police officers and village defence force members.

Mecca masjid blast: IB warning taken as routine

2007
By Syed Akbar
The Intelligence Bureau alerted the State government on the possible bomb blasts in Hyderabad a few days before the Mecca Masjid and the Lumbini Park terror incidents. But internal squabbles among senior police officials and lack of coordination between the State police's Intelligence and Enforcement wings came in the way of preventing the terror attacks.
The IB issued alerts not once but twice. Incidentally both the alerts came just a couple of days before the blast at the historic Mecca Masjid on May 18 and the twin blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar on August 25.
The police blamed the local Intelligence department of not properly interpreting the IB's alert to enable it to act against terror suspects. On the other hand, the Intelligence wing had complained to the Chief Minister that the police or the Enforcement department had taken the IB alert as yet another routine caution.
In the blame game between the Intelligence and the police wings, more than 50 people lost their lives in bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid, Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar.
The blasts also brought to the fore the internal chinks among the top brass of the police.
According to police sources, the IB has particularly mentioned that terror elements would strike to create communal disturbances in Hyderabad hinting at possible attacks on places of worship. The State police failed to track the suspects and this led to the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid.
The police did not pull up its socks the second time it received the IB alert, just two days before the twin blasts. The IB alert said Hyderabad and Bangalore were going to be the prime targets of cross border terrorist groups.
The IB sent copies of the alert to the State Counter Intelligence wing which in turn informed the Hyderabad CP's office. The IB also alerted the police on fake currency. The police had acted immediately on the fake currency case as they had specific clues from the IB. But there was no follow up on the blast alert as the top brass in the State and the city police took it as a "routine" message, police sources point out.
Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, however, said there was no failure on the Intelligence department.
Ironically, the top police brass began the blame game soon after the incident of twin explosions. Differences among the top officials of the State police department were exposed. That Director General of Police M A Basit and City Commissioner of Police Balwinder Singh are at the loggerheads became clear. The lack of communication between both the cops highlighted the ongoing struggle between two lobbies of IPS officials.
The lethargy in the department on the terrorist front was further affected by infighting in the cops. The department is ill equipped and facing sever staff crunch and strategy. Only after twin explosions Chief Minister of the State announced a separate cell for dealing with terrorism. Counter Intelligence supposed to collect information on terror modules have become more ineffective.

Mecca masjid blast: Hyderabadis maintain restraint

May 20, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 19: The restraint maintained by people after the Friday's bomb blast at the historic Mecca Masjid has once again proved that Hyderabadis have become wiser and seen through the game of communal elements.
A few years ago any small incident around the Mecca Masjid used to trigger communal violence. But during the last five years there have been no major incidents of violence however strong the provocation was.
For the first time the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen faced the mob ire outside the Mecca Masjid. MIM legislators Akbaruddin Owaisi, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan and Syed Ahmad Pasha Quadri were roughed up by the mob which resisted his entry into the mosque after the blast. The mob also manhandled leaders of other political parties after the incident. The angry people also damaged the vehicles of the MIM.
In normal circumstances the MIM would have called the shots. The people kept the MIM aside and decided to be on their own.
Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao pointed out that he had witnessed a welcome change in the people of the old city. "They have become wiser. They are now more interested in earning a square meal than fighting one another in the name of religion. That the situation did not turn serious shows that they want peace and communal harmony," he said.
Even Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil appreciated the change in the outlook of Hyderabadis. "By maintaining restraint they have exposed the communal elements. The people's resolve showed that those who want to create violence will never succeed," he said.

Why did terrorists choose Mecca Masjid?

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 19: Terrorists have chosen the historic Mecca Masjid for the Friday's bomb blast for the simple reason that the mosque has been linked to the sentiments of Hyderabadis.
For the 25 lakh Muslims of Hyderabad, Mecca Masjid is more than a mosque. It is a sacred place of high reverence and the mosque of their aspirations. And for the people of Andhra Pradesh, irrespective of their religion, the 400-year-old Mecca Masjid is a historical monument of great eminence.
Terrorists know well that anything sacrilegious at the mosque will arouse the emotions of people and lead to communal disturbances in the city. Moreover, Mecca Masjid has always been the focal point of communal trouble in the city. The mosque has open access and there's no security mechanism.
Mecca Masjid is one of the seven wonders of Hyderabad and the biggest mosque down the Vindhyas. Only the other historic Jama Masjid in Delhi is bigger than Mecca Masjid. Incidentally, the Jama Masjid was built by Emperor Shahjahan while the Mecca Masjid was completed by his son Emperor Aurangzeb.
"The Mecca Masjid was selected as the target site as the casualties will be higher. It is the principal mosque in twin cites and devout Muslims generally prefer to offer the Friday prayers at Mecca Masjid. Even those who come from outside straightaway visit the grand mosque for the Friday congregation. The mosque harbours the holy relics of Prophet Muhammad, besides a black stone (Sang-e-Siya) specially brought from Mecca during the mosque construction," observes senior Islamic scholar Hafiz Syed Shujat Hussain.
A peep into the past shows that Mecca Masjid was the "starting point" for almost every "retaliatory" step by local Muslim youths. The mosque has emerged as the centre of protests particularly after the demolition of the historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in December 1992.
"Though the mosque is controlled by the State government's minorities welfare department, officials have always failed to maintain its sanctity when it comes to controlling violent protests by some misguided elements everytime a major incident related to Muslims or Islam takes place around the globe. The mosque has an open access. Erection of metal detectors outside the mosque and thorough frisking of people visiting it will prevent such incidents," points out All-India Shia Youth Organisation general secretary Mir Hadi Ali.

Muslim clergy denounce Taliban for its terror tactics

2006
Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 1: City Muslim scholars on Monday urged the Afghanistan government to permit the Indian Central Reserve Police Force to provide exclusive security cover to Indians working in reconstruction projects in the war torn country.
About 100 Muslim scholars held a meeting in the city to condemn the killing of telecom engineer K Suryanarayana by Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The meeting unanimously passed a resolution appealing to Afghan President Ahmad Karzai to permit CRPF personnel to be stationed in Afghanistan to provide exclusive security cover to Indians employed in the reconstruction work there.
The scholars have also appealed to the Indian government to take up the issue of security of Indian workers with Afghan government on a priority basis. And if the Afghan government failed to permit CRPF cover to Indians, the Indian government should not participate in the reconstruction work there, in protest.
"We submitted a memorandum to the Afghan President when he visited Hyderabad last month. We brought to his notice the lack of security to Indian working in Afghanistan," All-India Religious Leaders' Association president Peerzada Syed Shabbir Naqshbandi said.
Naqshbandi chaired the meeting of city scholars held at his residence. Later, copies of the resolution were faxed to the offices of Afghan President, Indian President and Prime Minister.
"Talibans have brought a bad name to Islam and Muslims because of their evil actions including killing of innocent people. Suryanarayana had nothing to do with the Afghan politics. He is just an ordinary employee engaged in reconstruction of the war torn country. The thoughtless actions of Talibans will only create communal discord in a secular country like India. In the larger intests of peace and communal harmony, Talibans should desist from terrorism," the meeting resolved.

Threat of cyber terrorism looms large on Defence computers

2005
Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 14: As the nation gets ready for disaster management preparedness programme from the New Year, threat of cyber terrorism looms large over the all-important communication network.
Communication network being a vital infrastructure in disaster management activity, any exposure to cyber attacks will send the entire relief and rehabilitation planning into haywire, say in case of cyclones, floods or earthquakes.
National Disaster Management Authority is working towards the establishment of diverse and redundant networks to fight against cyber terrorists but fears that these networks may not be "robust" with adequate firewalls to ensure their availability at the time of disasters. The NDMA, which held its sitting recently in Hyderabad, gave a serious thinking on what to and what not to do if cyber terrorists jam the communication system during natural calamities.
According to NDMA vice-chairman NC Vij, the NDMA is working towards development of a software immune to such attacks during natural calamities. Cyber terrorists are capable of jamming the communication system and government networks crippling all relief activity. They can simply hack into the networks giving a wrong direction to the relief and rehabilitation measures.
"With cyber terrorism going to stay in this age of information technology, the country needs replicate controls not only to prevent cyber attacks but also to ensure that the network in calamity-hit area does not go haywire. There should be replicate controls at a distance of 200 km or so," says security systems specialist MH Nobel.
Ethical hackers suggest that software used for communication systems exclusively meant in times of natural calamities should be processed from neutral countries like Switzerland as cyber terrorists perennial make USA systems their prime target. H Topiwala of Networks Data, UK, points out that the government should go in for multiple paths like fibre and radio optical networks so that even one fails the other will work.
"Proprietary operating system based on Linux or hardened operating system can be employed for greater chances of survival in case of cyber attacks,"
he suggested.
The NDMA has been focusing on cyber terrorism because most of the government networks are not immune to such attacks. The problem gets more complicated when a natural calamity strikes and the government wants to take up emergency relief measures. Even the USA is not immune to such attacks. A recent survey by the Defence Information Security Agency revealed that 88 per cent of the 3000 defence computer systems that were attacked were "easily penetrable". Of the systems that were illegally entered, 96 per cent of the entries were not detected. Of the 4 per cent that were detected, only 5 per cent of them were reported or investigated.
There have been instances of cyber-terrorists hacking into hospital computer system and changing the medicine prescription of patients to a lethal dosage as an act of revenge. And if this happens in times of natural calamities, the damage will be catastrophic.