INDIA-AL QAEDA/REAX Politicians concerned at al Qaeda's announcement of Indian wing
Record ID:
1375053
INDIA-AL QAEDA/REAX Politicians concerned at al Qaeda's announcement of Indian wing
- Title: INDIA-AL QAEDA/REAX Politicians concerned at al Qaeda's announcement of Indian wing
- Date: 4th September 2014
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (SEPTEMBER 04, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC/ARD) EXTERIOR OF INDIAN PARLIAMENT INDIAN FLAG TRAFFIC DRIVING IN FRONT OF HISTORIC INDIA GATE (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LEADER OF INDIA'S RULING BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP), SAMBIT PATRA, SAYING: "This is a very serious issue and a matter of concern. We have a very strong government. The government will take strict action on the issue and will not let this happen." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEADER OF INDIA'S OPPOSITION CONGRESS PARTY, MANISH TEWARI, SAYING: "It's extremely worrying if the al Qaeda chief has now put India in the crosshairs of the radical Islamist organisations of the world. The government must take cognizance of this. And more than that, they must put pressure on Pakistan to expedite the 26/11 trial which is going on in Pakistan because only when people who are linked to these instrumentalities are convicted of offences, would a salutary message go out to them." PEOPLE WALKING IN A BUSY MARKET STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN SECURITY EXPERT, ALOK BANSAL, SAYING: "This is a serious issue. It is required that the Indian intelligence agencies should take steps to counter them because the states al Qaeda has talked about, if you take note, in the earlier video on Islamic states, they had talked about including Gujarat in it and had also spoke about Khorasan. We must understand this and take steps keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEADER OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (CPI), D. RAJA, SAYING: "I strongly condemn this and I think the government must also have taken note of it. And the extremist organisations cannot issue threat to Indian nation in such a way. And India cannot become panicky to such calls or such threats. India has the capacity, inner strength to face any threat issued to its sovereignty and security." INDIAN FLAG FLUTTERING A BUSY ROAD
- Embargoed: 20th September 2014 14:26
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA3PP47OVDZB99KD4X8B6WMQY8Y
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Indian politicians expressed serious concern on Thursday (September 4) after al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri announced the formation of a branch of his militant group in India and its neighbourhood.
In a video posted online, al Zawahri promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the Indian subcontinent. The government believes it is authentic and has warned local governments, said an official who attended a security briefing in which the video was discussed with the home (interior) minister.
Zawahri described the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as a glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.
One leader in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sambit Patra, said the government will take stringent steps to not let this happen.
"This is a very serious issue and a matter of concern. We have a very strong government. The government will take strict action on the issue and will not let this happen," said Patra.
Indian security forces are usually on a state of alert for attacks by home-grown Islamic militants and by anti-India groups based in Pakistan. It was not immediately clear what additional steps were being taken.
Until now there has been no evidence that al Qaeda has a presence in India.
India's opposition Congress party member, Manish Tewari, said the government must take action.
"It's extremely worrying if the al Qaeda chief has now put India in the crosshairs of the radical Islamist organisations of the world. The government must take cognizance of this. And more than that, they must put pressure on Pakistan to expedite the 26/11 trial which is going on in Pakistan because only when people who are linked to these instrumentalities are convicted of offences, would a salutary message go out to them," said Tewari.
Zawahri's announcement also made two references to Gujarat, the home state of India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist.
"This is a serious issue. It is required that the Indian intelligence agencies should take steps to counter them because the states al Qaeda has talked about, if you take note, in the earlier video on Islamic states, they had talked about including Gujarat in it and had also spoke about Khorasan. We must understand this and take steps keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue," Indian security expert, Alok Bansal said.
Modi has long been a hate figure for Islamist groups because of religious riots on his watch as chief minister of the state in 2002. More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the spasm of violence.
Communist Party of India (CPI) member, D. Raja, said India must remain calm in the face of any threat.
"I strongly condemn this and I think the government must also have taken note of it. And the extremist organisations cannot issue threat to Indian nation in such a way. And India cannot become panicky to such calls or such threats. India has the capacity, inner strength to face any threat issued to its sovereignty and security," said Raja.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Gujarat state, which borders India's arch-rival, Pakistan.
Assam is an state in India's far-flung northeast where religious tensions are high after massacres of Muslims by tribal populations in the past two years. A senior intelligence officer in the state said security forces there were "well prepared" to face any threats.
Muslims account for 15 percent of Indians but, numbering an estimated 175 million, theirs is the third-largest Muslim population in the world.
Tensions between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent have grown since Pakistan was carved from Muslim-majority areas of India in 1947, a violent partition in which hundreds of thousands were killed.
- Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None