Washington: Terrorist organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent are active. Also, Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast India, and Central India are the areas affected by extremist-terrorist activities. This has been said in the latest report on terrorism released by the US State Department. The report, titled 2020 Country Reports on Terrorism, released on Thursday, said the Indian government has made significant efforts to detect and deter the presence of major terrorist organizations within its borders but the threat remains.
The report, which is published every year, states that in 2020, terrorism affected Maoist-affected areas in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast India, and Central India. Major terrorist groups in the Indian subcontinent including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, ISIS, and Al Qaeda are active in India. Examples of action taken by Indian security agencies on key members are given.
The level of terrorist violence decreased
In September 2020, the US and India held the 17th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the third ‘US-India Designation Dialogue’ meeting. The report said that in December, India had proposed to conduct another Quad counter-terrorism exercise with the US, Australia, and Japan. Militant groups are active in the Northeast but the level of terrorist violence has come down. The report also mentions the declining presence of Khalistan groups in the country.
Indian security agencies effective in preventing terrorist threats
“Many organizations involved in the Sikh separatist (Khalistan) movement have not been involved in significant recent activities within India’s borders,” it said. There remains a gap between agency intelligence and information sharing. According to the report, “Indian security forces demonstrate the limited capability to patrol and secure extensive maritime and land borders.”
