New Delhi, Sep 24 : With the security alert for the Commonwealth Games heightened after the September 19 firing near Jama Masjid, the chief of the US National Counterterrorism Centre said today that the mega-event will be an “appealing target” for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington
Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Nine Years after 9/11: Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland, US National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) Director Michael Leiter said: "We also are concerned that next month's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will be an appealing target for LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) due to their political and economic significance for India, as well as the heightened media exposure that will accompany the event."
Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, FBI Director Mueller and National Counterterrorism Center Director Leiter testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in Washington
Set up in the aftermath of 9/11, NCTC is the nodal point for joint intelligence and joint operational planning of the United States security agencies. Stating that the "Pakistan-based Sunni extremist group" Lashkar posed a threat to a range of interests in South Asia, Leiter said: "Its attacks in Kashmir and India have had a destabilizing effect on the region, increasing tensions and brinkmanship between New Delhi and Islamabad. The group's attack two years ago in Mumbai resulted in US and Western casualties, and the group continues to plan attacks in India that could harm US citizens and damage US interests."
Leiter said that the Lashkar posed a threat to the US as well. "Although LeT has not previously conducted attacks in the West, LeT -- or LeT-trained individuals -- could pose a direct threat to the Homeland and Europe, especially should they collude with Al-Qaeda operatives," he said.
Leiter said that the Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) had collaborated with Al Qaeda on attacks and training for HUJI members. "In January 2009, a federal grand jury indicted HUJI commander Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri in absentia for a disrupted terrorist plot against a newspaper in Denmark. The group also has been involved in multiple, high-casualty attacks, including an operation against a mosque in Hyderabad, India in May 2007 that killed 16, and an attack against Pakistani intelligence and police facilities in Lahore in 2009 that killed 23," he said. The NCTC chief said that Al-Qaeda in Pakistan was weaker today than at any time since the late 2001 onset of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Now Jats threaten Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games starting Oct 3 now faces a new threat: Jats from Haryana. Upset that the Haryana government is not promising them quotas in jobs and educational institutions, a Jat leader Thursday threatened to block Delhi's borders Oct 3 when the Games begin.
The Jats are seeking reservation in government jobs and educational institutions and also a status as other backward class (OBC).
"So far we have not got any satisfactory reply from the Haryana government. We have decided to intensify our peaceful campaign. We will seal Delhi's borders Oct 3," Yash Pal Malik, president of the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti, said here.
Malik said they can also march towards Delhi. On Sep 13 and 14, Hisar district in Haryana saw widespread violence by Jats over the same demand.
"We will not allow any commodity of daily use to reach Delhi. Only then the central government will start paying heed to our demands. From today, we have started 'guerilla action' under which we will suddenly stop any train and block any road without prior intimation," stated Malik.
He added: "On Sep 27, when the Queen's Baton Relay enters Haryana, we will show black flags. But we will make sure that nobody indulges in any violence."
Source: The Indian Express
Images - Reuters/PTI/AP
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