VIF Information Alerts - 07 November 2019

India lodges protest over Bhindranwale pic in video
Published: the Asian Age

07 Nov 2019

Taking serious note of the official video released by Pakistan government on Kartarpur Corridor that carries photos of Khali-stani separatist leaders, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, India on Wednesday lodged a strong protest and asked Pakistan to refrain from attempts to promote separatists and ferment trouble.
India also, while seeking permission for the visit of an advance team to assess the security assessment for both former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh who have Z-plus category security, categorically told Pakistan that no separatist elements should be seen with Indian dignitaries on the day of the inauguration.Click here to read... [2]

Iran fuels centrifuges, resumes uranium enrichment at Fordow
Published: The Hindu

07 Nov 2019

Iran resumed uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear facility, the country's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) said on Thursday, further stepping away from its 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers. The agreement bans enrichment and nuclear material from Fordow. But with feedstock gas entering its centrifuges, the facility, built inside a mountain, will move from the permitted status of research plant to being an active nuclear site.Click here to read... [3]

Nepal protests inclusion of Kalapani area in official India map
Published: The Indian Express

07 Nov 2019

The Nepal government issued a statement protesting against “unilaterally” including the Kalapani area in the recently published official map of India. Nepal’s ministry of foreign affairs said the publication of the map when a joint ministerial commission had referred the matter to the foreign secretaries of the two sides for settlement was not proper and “absolutely not acceptable for Nepal”.Click here to read... [4]

ISIS group attempted suicide attack in India last year, says US official
Published: Hindustan times

06 Nov 2019

The Khorasan group of the ISIS or the ISIS-K, which operates in south Asia, last year attempted a suicide attack in India, a top American official has told lawmakers. In fact, of all the branches of the ISIS, ISIS-K is the outfit that is of the most concern to the US, Russel Travers, Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of Director of National Intelligence, said on Tuesday.Click here to read... [5]

Pak fearful of strategic encirclement by India, says US Congressional report
Published: Deccan Herald

06 Nov 2019

For decades, Pakistan has played an active but negative role in Afghanistan, a Congressional report has said, asserting that Islamabad wants a weak government in Kabul. In its latest report on Afghanistan, the independent and bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) identified Pakistan as the most important neighbour of Afghanistan.Click here to read... [6]