Latest news with #terrorism
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
SCO must take ‘uncompromising position' on terrorism
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to take an 'uncompromising position' on terrorism and stay true to its founding objectives. Speaking at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday in Tianjin, China, he said the challenge for the grouping is to stabilize the global order and address longstanding challenges that threaten its collective interests. 'The three evils that SCO was founded to combat were terrorism, separatism and extremism,' Jaishankar said. 'Not surprisingly, they often occur together.' The Indian minister took the example of a terror attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in April that claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. 'It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide,' he added. 'It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge,' he said. The meeting was also attended by Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar. New Delhi has blamed the April attack in Kashmir on Islamabad and struck suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan-controlled territory in response in May. This led to a military exchange that ended in four days with a ceasefire. At the SCO meeting, Dar said Pakistan seeks a 'relationship of peace with all its neighbors,' according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. In Tianjin, Jaishankar also called on the SCO members to assist Afghanistan. 'The compulsions of regional stability are buttressed by our longstanding concern for the well-being of the Afghan people,' he said. 'The international community, particularly SCO members, must therefore step up with development assistance. India, for its part, will certainly do so.' The foreign ministers met in the Chinese city to prepare for the 25th Heads of State Council meeting, which will be held on August 31.
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
SCO needs to take ‘uncompromising position' on terrorism
India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar has called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to take an 'uncompromising position' on terrorism and stay true to its founding objectives. Speaking at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday in Tianjin, he said the challenge for the grouping is to stabilize the global order and address longstanding challenges that threaten its collective interests. 'The three evils that SCO was founded to combat were terrorism, separatism and extremism,' Jaishankar said. 'Not surprisingly, they often occur together.' The Indian minister took the example of a terror attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in April that claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. 'It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide,' he added. 'It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge,' he said. The meeting was also attended by Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar. New Delhi has blamed the April attack in Kashmir on Islamabad and struck suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan-controlled territory in response in May. This led to a military exchange that ended in four days with a ceasefire. At the SCO meeting, Dar said Pakistan seeks a 'relationship of peace with all its neighbors,' according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. In Tianjin, Jaishankar also called on the SCO members to assist Afghanistan. 'The compulsions of regional stability are buttressed by our longstanding concern for the well-being of the Afghan people,' he said. 'The international community, particularly SCO members, must therefore step up with development assistance. India, for its part, will certainly do so.' The foreign ministers met in the Chinese city to prepare for the 25th Heads of State Council meeting, which will be held on August 31.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Flagship Prevent anti-extremism scheme blasted in yet ANOTHER official review, in wake of Southport attack and murder of Sir David Amess MP
The government's flagship anti-extremist scheme must 'up its game' in the wake of failures to stop the Southport attack and the murder of Tory MP Sir David Amess, a major new report has concluded. An official review of the Prevent scheme said 'the jury is still out' on whether a series of changes will improve its operation. The report by Interim Independent Prevent Commissioner, Lord Anderson, said: 'Prevent failed in both cases; and from these failures, lessons must be learned.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper commissioned the peer, a leading barrister, to scrutinise Prevent's work in the wake of the last summer's Southport murders. Knifeman Axel Rudakubana killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, and injured 10 others. A previous review, published in February, found Rudakubana had been referred to the programme Prevent three times. But in a catalogue of blunders – including spelling his name wrong – experts failed to put the teenager on a de-radicalisation scheme before he embarked on his rampage. In the case of Sir David's 2021 murder, another earlier report revealed his killer Ali Harbi Ali was dismissed as a 'very low' terror threat just months before he bought a foot-long carving knife and started planning a terrorist atrocity. The murdered MP's daughter Katie Amess said earlier this year that Prevent was 'not fit for purpose' after Ali, 29, was discharged by Prevent 'too quickly '. Now Lord Anderson has declined to give Prevent a clean bill of health. His report said: 'An intensive series of efforts has been made by both the Home Office and CTP [counter-terrorism policing] to improve the relevant processes, training and guidance. 'The jury is still out on some of these initiatives, and none of them can substitute for human judgement or remove the possibility of human error.' But he added that several changes already made to the scheme last year 'have the potential to improve in material respects the inner workings of the machine'. The review urged Prevent to ensure its work addresses individuals who are obsessed with violence but do not fall into a clear terrorist category. The recommendation reflects how the threat posed by Rudakubana was partly ignored by police and officials because of the 'absence of a distinct ideology'. Lord Anderson also said Prevent should be far more open about its activities. 'Public transparency about the structures, systems and statistics of Prevent should be the default position,' it said, and the Home Office and counter terrorism police should 'adopt a pro-active approach to the release of such information'. A Cabinet Office task force should be set up to begin looking at whether Prevent should be formally linked to 'broader safeguarding and violence prevention system', the report went on. Lord Anderson's 156-page review suggested ministers should look at 'finding ways for young people to discuss and feed in ideas about Prevent' and 'addressing the particular circumstances of black and mixed heritage boys who are less likely to have been referred for early help'. Lord Anderson said: 'More needs to be done. 'It has to be clear that people with a fascination with extreme violence can be suitable subjects for Prevent, even when they have no discernible ideology. 'Prevent needs to up its game in the online world, where most radicalisation now takes place. 'It needs to get better at information-sharing, and be more open with the public to gain the trust on which it depends.' The latest review comes just over two years after serious failings in the anti-extremism programme were exposed by another major inquiry. An independent review of Prevent by William Shawcross, former head of the Charity Commission, warns the scheme applied a 'double standard' to Islamist and far-Right threats. It found Prevent was failing to tackle radicalisation and that Islamist ideology had been 'misinterpreted, misunderstood or even overlooked' by officials. It prioritised countering far-Right activity above the prime Islamist threat. In some cases, the £49million-a-year programme set up in 2006 had directly funded or engaged with extremists and was 'out of kilter with the rest of the counter-terrorism system', Mr Shawcross said. The number of individuals referred to Prevent had become 'politicised' because officials feared being labelled Islamophobic or racist, it went on. The Home Secretary said today she would 'act immediately' on the findings of Lord Anderson's review. Ms Cooper told MPs in a written statement:
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Prevent scheme missed chances with Amess and Southport killers, report says
The Prevent anti-terrorism scheme missed chances to protect the public from the attacker who assassinated the MP Sir David Amess, and from the youth who murdered three young girls at a Southport dance class, an official report has found. The report is by David Anderson, the interim independent reviewer of Prevent, the official scheme to spot potential terrorists and turn them away from violence. Lord Anderson finds that Prevent suffered from a long string of failings as it tried to deradicalise the man who went on to stab Amess to death, even declaring him as posing no risk after one meeting to assess his danger when he was supposed to have had seven. The new revelations of failures led Amess's family to demand a full inquiry, which the government has refused. The veteran Tory MP was stabbed to death in October 2021 as he held a constituency surgery, with the attacker, Ali Harbi Ali, being motivated by Islamist terrorism. Ali was referred to Prevent in 2014, aged 18, and his case was judged sufficiently serious to be dealt with by the Channel programme, which handles the individuals of the greatest concern. Anderson finds that Ali was given a mentor, but adds: 'The programme of mentoring that was planned for him was allowed to peter out when it had hardly begun.' The report says: 'There followed a long string of failings, some of which were consistent with practice at the time but most of which were the product of poor judgment, poor communication and lack of follow-through. It is particularly regrettable that after a contract for seven mentoring sessions was signed, only one actually took place.' Ali had pretended to be complying and Anderson finds: 'There can be no certainty that even if all the sessions had been completed, Prevent would have identified the full extent of his slide into a terrorist mindset, let alone averted a crime committed several years later.' Ali's case was closed by Prevent in 2016. A year after being cleared by Prevent and Channel, he had wanted to travel to join Islamic State in Syria. Having been thwarted in that aim, he started researching for an MP to murder. He is serving a whole-life tariff for murder. The government has promised a further review into whether chances were missed from 2016. The Amess family want a proper inquiry into the failings, with the power to call and cross-examine witnesses. A family spokesperson said the new revelations strengthened their view: 'This is a grieving family … They have every right, just like any other bereaved family, to have it properly explained to them why the man who killed him was allowed to slip through the state's safeguarding net, who is accountable for that, and what is being done to ensure no other family suffers in the same way. That is why they have called for a public inquiry.' As well as the Amess case, the report looks at how Prevent handled the case of the Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana, who killed three young girls at a dance class last summer, and finds a new potential missed opportunity. Prevent declined to take on the case of Rudakubana three times, after teachers raised concerns about him from 2019 to 2021, some three years before he committed the atrocity that shocked Britain. While there was concern about his interest in violence, there was no sign it was driven by a terrorist ideology. The report says one expert concluded Rudakubana's case should be examined by Channel, after he was first referred in December 2019. That did not happen. Anderson says: 'Had this happened, he might have been offered a mentor who could have made a difference.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion A public inquiry into the Southport killings is already under way. Anderson says Southport was 'equivalent in its seriousness to an act of terrorism', with the killer, who was 17 at the time of the attacks, serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years for the three murders, the attempted murders of eight other children and of two adults who tried to protect them. Anderson concludes: 'Several years before the attacks, both the perpetrators had been referred by their schools to Prevent … Prevent's Channel programme for early interventions had the capacity to address concerns of the kind that were raised in these referrals. But in neither case did it do so.' The report recommends a potential dramatic expansion of Prevent, to include 'individuals who have no fixed ideology but a fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks'. He also recommends greater transparency, better information-sharing and engagement. Anderson also says Prevent 'could function better if formally connected to a broader safeguarding and violence protection system'. Anderson said: 'I commend the teachers who were concerned that each of these youths was on a dangerous path, years before their crimes were committed. They did the right thing by referring them to Prevent. But in neither case did Prevent do what was needed to engage with them and protect the public. 'Diverting people from a pathway that could lead to terrorism is a difficult and delicate task. Success is never guaranteed, but the process can work with the help of skilled and committed practitioners, and often does so. 'When Prevent is offered a chance and fails to take it, it is vital that all possible lessons are learned.' Anderson said Prevent reforms undertaken and planned should make such failings harder to reoccur and added: 'But more needs to be done. It has to be clear that people with a fascination with extreme violence can be suitable subjects for Prevent, even when they have no discernible ideology. 'Prevent needs to up its game in the online world, where most radicalisation now takes place. It needs to get better at information-sharing, and be more open with the public to gain the trust on which it depends. In the longer term, I believe that Prevent could work better as part of a comprehensive violence prevention and safeguarding strategy.'
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Two constables shot dead in northwestern Pakistan amid surge in militant attacks
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen shot dead two constables in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Wednesday, police said amid a surge in militant attacks in the restive area. The attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan district's Kulachi area near the Afghan border, district police spokesperson Yaqoob Bukhari confirmed. Bukhari identified the slain cops as constables Ghulam Muhammad and Shehzad, saying they were ambushed by the unknown attackers while they left their police station to buy groceries. 'A heavy police contingent responded immediately,' Bukhari told Arab News. 'During the ensuing search operation, one terrorist was killed and two others injured in an exchange of fire.' Kalashnikov rifles and other ammunition were recovered from the slain militant, Bukhari said, adding that a search operation was underway to track down the remaining assailants. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the attack, paying tribute to the slain constables and directing authorities to arrest the suspects involved in the killing. The latest attack takes place amid surging violence in KP, where earlier this month an explosion claimed by Daesh killed at least four local government officials and policemen. A woman was killed last week while three others were injured in two quadcopter attacks in the province that police said were conducted by militants. Last week also saw the killing of two people, including a senior leader of the Awami National Party, who were shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Bajaur district. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the constables. However, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group has previously claimed responsibility for similar attacks in KP, which borders Afghanistan. Pakistan's government has also blamed the TTP for some of the deadliest attacks against law enforcers and civilians in recent years. Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants, urging Kabul to take decisive action against militants it says operate from Afghan soil. Kabul has rejected the allegations and urged Islamabad to resolve its security matters internally.
