Pakistan Terror Groups Lashkar, Jaish May Use Nepal Route To Target India, Warns Nepalese Official
Speakers at the seminar noted that terror attacks in India often have spillover effects on Nepal, undermining regional peace and stability
Pakistan-based terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) pose serious risks to India and could use Nepal as a transit route, warned Sunil Bahadur Thapa, Advisor to the President of Nepal.
Thapa made the remarks during a high-level seminar organised by the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) in Kathmandu on July 9. The event focused on addressing terrorism threats in South Asia and saw participation from key regional experts and policymakers.
Speakers at the seminar noted that terror attacks in India often have spillover effects on Nepal, undermining regional peace and stability. They pointed to Pakistan's support for terrorism as a major hurdle to the effectiveness of SAARC and broader regional integration.
The seminar urged stronger counter-terrorism cooperation, including stricter action against money laundering, enhanced intelligence sharing, and joint patrolling of borders with India. It also called on regional actors to avoid applying double standards while tackling terrorism.
India's recent Operation Sindoor, in which the Indian armed forces struck nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK, was cited as a forceful and effective response to cross-border threats.
At the same time, participants were reminded that Nepal remains vulnerable due to incidents like the IC-814 hijacking and the LeT-led Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
Concluding the discussion, participants stressed the urgent need for a dedicated regional mechanism to combat terrorism in a unified and effective manner.
India and Nepal share a 1,751 km-long open border, which operates with minimal security checks. This porous boundary makes it easier for terrorists to infiltrate India, often using forged Nepalese documents to conceal their identities.
Over the years, several operatives from Pakistan-based outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been arrested while attempting to enter India through Nepal.
A notable example is the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814. The aircraft, which was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked after the perpetrators boarded with weapons– exposing serious lapses in security at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport.
Lashkar, Jaish Terror Groups
Headquarters and training facilities of the LeT and JeM were targeted during India's precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on May 7 in Pakistan and PoK. These two terror groups have carried out several attacks in India, including the Parliament attack in 2001, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot Air Base Attack and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the LeT, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists shot down 26 tourists in the picturesque resort town in Jammu and Kashmir.
view comments
First Published:
July 11, 2025, 13:20 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
18 minutes ago
- The Wire
Delhi: Peaceful Pro-Palestine Protest Met With 'Jai Shree Ram' Chants, Threats in Police Presence
Atul Howale 'The police were completely deferential in allowing them (right-wing mob), even as they threatened to push us. It reveals a deep divide,' says activist Harsh Mander, who was at the demonstration. Protesters hold banners near the HP showroom in Nehru Place as onlookers gather on the first-floor gallery. Photo: Atul Howale New Delhi: A peaceful demonstration was organised on Saturday, July 19, at the famous computer market in Nehru Place, Delhi, in protest of the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza and in solidarity with Palestinians. Around 12:30 PM, while more than 50 people were peacefully protesting, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, a huge group of right-wing people arrived at Nehru Place to oppose it and started threatening the participants. There was no sloganeering or chanting, nor any other misconduct by the demonstrators, but the protesters still had to face significant opposition. Demonstrating near the HP Computers store, a mob threw mud at the participants from the first floor. Subsequently, a large number of right-wing people started shouting slogans of " Jai Shri Ram", " Har Har Mahadev" and " Vande Mataram". After some time, the right-wing mob grew bigger. Many of them started abusing the participants and threatening them with statements like, "If you want to protest, go and do it in Palestine, not here." A right-wing supporter chants slogans against the demonstrators in presence of Delhi Police. Photo: Atul Howale Indian economist and social activist Jean Drèze, who was part of the peaceful demonstration, told The Wire, 'We did not raise any slogans and started to protest peacefully, but we were stopped from protesting. We are here not only to oppose the genocide in Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire, but also to expose the complicity of the Indian government and to affirm the right to protest.' He said, 'The current situation, whether the government gives you permission or not, we have a duty to speak out.' 'The government is with Israel because it depends on Israel for technology, especially defence and surveillance technology. It has many commercial ties with Israel. The Palestinians are powerless; they have nothing to offer, so naturally, the Indian government is taking the side of Israel. But we are with the Palestinian people, and the sentiment of the Indian public, I think, is also with the Palestinian people," he added. Many students, university professors, artists, activists, citizens and representatives from other social organisations participated in the Nehru Place demonstration. There was no chanting or any slogans; it was a completely non-violent, peaceful protest. A protester holds a "Free, Free Palestine" banner. Photo: Atul Howale Starting from the centrally-located HP Computers showroom in Nehru Place market up to the Nehru Enclave metro station, a right-wing mob pursued the protesters, chanting slogans and threatening the protesters continuously – all in the presence of the Delhi Police. Around this time, Delhi Police personnel present at the site started asking the people protesting peacefully to leave the area, saying, "You do not have permission to protest here." Soon, the protesters were removed from the protest site. Delhi Police officers confront the peaceful demonstrators at Nehru Place. Photo: Atul Howale Activist Harsh Mander, who participated in the demonstration, criticised the police's double standards. He said, "In India, this protest isn't just about the state's complicit role in supporting Israel. It's also about the silence of ordinary Indians. That is why holding it in an area like Nehru Place was so important.' 'What was remarkable is how our protest was met by a spontaneous, larger crowd chanting ' Jai Shri Ram' and 'Filisteen Murdabad'. (But) the police were completely deferential in allowing them, even as they threatened to push us. It reveals a deep divide." About half-an-hour later, even as the demonstrators moved to the Nehru Place metro station gate, the police prevented them from even gathering together. The police also stopped the journalists who were reporting on this protest and were not even letting the participants speak with journalists. Police instructs the demonstrators to disperse from Nehru Enclave metro station. Photo: Atul Howale Anjali, a participant in this protest, condemned this action of the police. She said, "We didn't take permission because this wasn't a protest with slogans; it was a peaceful demonstration, which is our constitutional right. Our placards had very simple messages: 'Stop the genocide,' and 'Don't arm Israel with weapons that are going to kill children'.' 'When our flags came out at 12:30 PM, a very, very angry crowd came towards us. They started questioning us, asking, 'Where is the Indian flag?' But when the Indian flag was given to them, they seemed not to care about that at all. They just kept tearing all the Palestinian flags and our peaceful placards. This is the state of how much you can dissent in the country," she said. Like Anjali, activist and academic Nandita Narain also participated in this demonstration. Speaking to The Wire, she said, 'It's very shocking that the Indian government has completely lost its moral stature in the world. We are the country of Gandhi, and Gandhi is held up in such high esteem all over the world, not only for his stand on peaceful resistance but also to stand with the oppressed all over the world.' A protester holds a 'Free, Free Palestine' banner. Photo: Atul Howale 'You can't push the Palestinians out and occupy that land. That is ethnic cleansing. We never imagined that in this day and age, something like this will happen and it will be applauded by so many Western countries, with their eyes shut to the kind of crimes that are going on,' she added. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
New Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
J&K man abducted by terrorists in Niger; family pleads for Centre's help
SRINAGAR: A man from Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district has reportedly been abducted by terrorists in Niger, West Africa, during a deadly attack on a construction site in the Dosso region. The victim, Ranjeet Singh, was working as a Senior Safety Officer with Transrail Transmission Lighting Limited, an integrated power transmission and distribution company. His wife, Sheela Devi, said the family has had no contact with him since July 15. 'I have been trying to reach him since July 15, but there has been no response,' she said. It was only after repeated inquiries that the company informed the family that terrorists had attacked the site and Singh had reportedly fled toward a forested area. 'On July 16, my brother-in-law received a phone call saying there had been a terror attack and Ranjeet had run toward the forest. Later that night, company officials confirmed that my husband had been abducted,' she said. According to local media in Niger, unidentified gunmen attacked an Army unit guarding the construction site in the Dosso region, about 130 km from the capital Niamey. 'In a heinous terror attack on July 15 in Niger's Dosso region, two Indian nationals tragically lost their lives and one was abducted,' the Indian Embassy in Niamey said in a post on X. Sheela Devi alleged that the company has made no visible efforts to help secure her husband's release. 'We have three young children and elderly parents who are in shock after hearing about his abduction,' she said, appealing to the Indian government for intervention. She has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh to ensure her husband's safe return. She has also met Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan, who assured her that the matter would be taken up with the Indian Embassy in Niger and the Ministry of External Affairs. 'My humble request is to please bring my husband home safely,' she said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
18 minutes ago
- Business Standard
World's oldest marathoner Fauja Singh cremated with state honours in Beas
World's oldest marathoner Fauja Singh, known by the nickname 'Turbaned Tornado', was cremated on Sunday with full state honours here in Beas, his native village. Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and Minister Mohinder Bhagat attended the funeral. Fauja Singh's son Harvinder Singh lit the funeral pyre. Fauja Singh was 114 when he was hit by a SUV being driven by Canada-based Amritpal Singh Dhillon on July 14. He was crossing the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway when the incident occurred. Governor Kataria recalled how Fauja Singh walked with him during a Nasha Mukt yatra an anti-drug campaign last year. He said that after walking for 1 km, he asked him to stop but to his surprise, Fauja Singh insisted that they walk. Mourners started thronging Fauja Singh's house in Beas early in the day. His body was kept in a glass casket with his photograph beside it to allow the people to take a last look at the running legend. Later, his body was carried in a decked-up hearse to the cremation ground. A long procession trailed behind it, with Congress MLAs Pargat Singh, Rana Gurjeet Singh, and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema walking in it. Fauja Singh's career as a marathon runner began when he was 89. He would go on to become a global icon, gaining the nickname 'Turbaned Tornado' for his endurance and athleticism. Fauja Singh became the first centenarian to complete a marathon, earning multiple records while participating in international events. He ran in marathons in London, New York and Hong Kong. Among the most memorable of his runs was in 2011 when he turned 100. The invitational meet in Toronto was named in his honour, and he broke several world records for his age group. A largely nonchalant Fauja Singh had spent a better part of his running career in Britain and returned to his roots just about three years ago after retiring.
