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Issue:January' 2018

EDITOR’S MAIL

Need for firms steps

Iam in agreement with your Editor’s view that New Delhi must take firm steps to curb the growing radicalization in Kashmir . It is really sad that the Bharatiya Janata Partyled government in New Delhi has virtually done nothing in this direction during the last four and a half years . It must not defer action . I fail to understand why the current dispensation led by a strong Prime Minster like Narendra Modi has not moved forward.
One of the most important reasons for the continuing jihadi terror on India since 1947, when some Muslim League members and senior army officers of Pakistan sent armed tribal militias to capture Kashmir, is that the successive governments in New Delhi have not cared to put in place operationally autonomous intelligence and security agencies which would nab the forces — abroad as well as at home—responsible for terror attacks on the country. The Modi government must address this malady in the functioning of our political leadership. As seen in the wake of the Pulwama terror strike, the whole Nation is behind the Government in obliterating this evil.

Abhimanyu Chaturvedi
Kanpur

Constitution suprem

In his piece, “Kashmiris , too, are India’s soul,” Hari Jaisingh has rightly argued that the Government must ensure Kashmiris living in different parts of the country are complete safety in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and there is no discrimination against them in any part of the country.

I would suggest the President of India sack the Meghalaya governor for his outburst against the Kashmiris. By pleading that they should be boycotted in the country, the governor has committed the contempt of our Constitution. In our democracy the Constitution is supreme . The Constitution is for fair treatment to all groups of citizens.

Cauvery Menon
Bengalur

Focus on India-specific terror

Masood Azhar It is unfortunate that the United States is still not as strict with India-specific terrorists as with the Westspecific ones. It has done little to rein in terrorists like Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar compared to what it has done in the case of the terrorists posing a threat to the West. In recent years Hamza bin Laden , son of the slain Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies. He has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. service members. The United States has been hunting for Hamza very seriously. In response to that the US State Department listed Hamza as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in January 2017 and froze all his assets based in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons. The UN Security Council’s 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee also listed Hamza last month. It described him as the “most probable successor” of the group’s current leader Aiman alZawahiri.

Besides, the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program announced a reward for up to $ 1 million for information leading to his identification or location in any country.

Mahinder Chopra
Amritsar

Defending Kurd

Tayyip Erodogan President Donald Trump must be cautious about his reported plans of U.S. troops withdrawal from Syria . The US troops had been deployed to assist in a multinational fight against the Islamic State jihadist group. Trump claims the outfit is almost vanquished and whatever is left of it can now be taken care of by the current Turkish presidency of Tayyip Erodogan . He must see to it that an American withdrawal does not harm the interests of Kurds in Syria . These Kurdish fighters played a major role in the war against IS. The Kurdish forces in Syria were critical to efforts in recapturing more than 95 per cent of the territory occupied by the Islamic State. Ankara treats them as terrorists. In the absence of the American troops the Turkish army may target the Kurds.

Krishna Chatterjee
Bardhaman

New arms race

Donald Trump A m e r i c a n President Donald Trump ‘s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia is unfortunate. It is sure to kickstart a new arms race. The treaty, signed in 1987 by American President Ronald Reagan and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev, barred the two countries from deploying land-launched cruise missiles in the 500- to 5,500-km range. Russia does not seem to have been serious about the treaty. In 2008 Russia conducted Novator 9M729 missile tests. In 2014 Moscow tested a ground-based cruise missile.

Trump has already hinted he would refuse to abide by any treaty not honoured by other parties. Now the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) may face the same fate. It limits arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles with both the USA and Russia. It is to lapse in 2021.

Christopher K
New Delhi