Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
India says Pakistan a terrorist state being run by war machine Mumbai on alert after kids spot ‘intruders’ near Uran
URI ATTACK FALLOUT ‘Terror worst human rights violation,’ India’s retort to Nawaz Sharif’s speech
India has called Pakistan a “terrorist state” that hosts “the Ivy League of terrorism” while responding to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the UN general assembly that raked up the Kashmir issue and sought a fact-finding mission into alleged brutalities.
The response marked the latest round in a war of words that has escalated after Sunday’s terror attack on an army camp in Uri that killed 18 soldiers. India also said the onus is now on Pakistan to act against terrorist groups engaging in cross-border attacks while threatening to withdraw or downgrade the most-favoured nation status granted in 1996.
During his 20-minute speech, Sharif described the unrest in Kashmir as an “indigenous uprising” and an “intifada” (uprising) and accused India of “brutal suppression” and “gross and systematic violations of human rights”. He referred to militant commander Burhan Wani, whose killing sparked the unrest, as a “young leader murdered by Indian forces”.
India hit back in a right-ofreply statement, delivered by Eenam Gambhir, first secretary in India’s permanent mission to the UN, who started by saying: “The worst violation of human rights is terrorism. When practiced as an instrument of state policy it is a war crime. “What my country and our other neighbours are facing today is Pakistan’s long-standing policy of sponsoring terrorism, the consequences of which have spread well beyond our region.”
Recalling the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, she said, “The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism.” She added Pakistan is a “terrorist state” that channels billions of dollars to training and backing terror groups used as “militant proxies against it neighbours”.
Minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar referred to Sharif ’s description of Wani and told reporters, “We heard the glorification of a terrorist. Wani is a declared commander of Hizbul (Mujahideen), widely acknowledged as a terror group. It is shocking that a leader of a nation can glorify a self-advertised terrorist at such a forum. This is self-incrimination by the Pak PM.” Army soldiers at the site at Aragam village, Srinagar, where a militant was killed in an encounter on Thursday.
Mumbai was put on high alert on Thursday, and search operations were launched over land and sea, after schoolchildren spotted a few suspicious-looking men near a naval base in Navi Mumbai.
The search operations, involving navy choppers and coast guard patrol boats, came four days after suspected Pakistani militants attacked an army camp at Uri in Jammu & Kashmir, killing 18 soldiers.
“I am only confirming that the navy is on a high state of alert after receiving an input regarding suspicious activity from some schoolchildren in Karanja, near Mumbai,” said captain DK Sharma, a spokesperson for the Indian Navy.
The naval base is located at Uran, about 50km from Mumbai. Police said they closed down schools in Uran before conducting searches.
The Mumbai police’s port zone also increased surveillance at potential landing points and other sensitive locations along the city’s coast, including Gateway of India, Raj Bhavan, the offshore drilling rig at Bombay High and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
The vulnerability of Mumbai’s coastline was exposed on November 26, 2008, when a group of Lashkar-e-Taiba militants arrived in the city by boat and carried out one of the worst terror attacks in India, killing 164 people and wounding 308.
“We have declared a state of alert in the city following the incident and requisite steps are being taken to secure it,” said Deven Bharti, joint commissioner (law and order) of the Mumbai police.
Sunita Thackray, deputy commissioner A naval team searches for suspected terrorists at Uran on Thursday. of police (port zone), said, “Precautionary measures are being taken and all coastal police stations have been told to step up their presence in the sea to keep an eye on any suspicious movements.”
Maharashtra’s director general NSG TEAMS DEPLOYED AT 3 LOCATIONS IN MUMBAI
GENERAL ALERT SOUNDED, SCHOOLS SHUT IN URAN
of police Satish Mathur said, “We have alerted the entire police force, including the ATS (anti-terrorism squad). A Force One team has also been dispatched. Every possible measure is being taken to keep our city safe.”