UK’s welcome step

The British Government is doing its best to ensure the full proof security during London Olympic Games by banning the Indian Mujahideen (IM) ahead of them. It is an important step towards security. Indian Mujahideen is India-based sectarian and secessionist organization which acts for the establishment of Islamic state in India and spreading of sectarian belief and thought. The British government has banned the Indian Mujahideen (IM) by describing it as a threat to national security and citing its alleged involvement in several terror attacks, including the Mumbai bombings. The ban is followed by the arrest of five men and a woman who were arrested in London in a counter-terror swoop ahead of the Olympic Games and the London police have described the arrest as significant, though ruled out any link to imminent attack. It is for Pakistan and the world as well to take serious notice of the statement made by Home Office Minister James Brokenshire while banning IM. He says that there is evidence that the IM had been engaged in indiscriminate mass casualty attacks in India. His statement strengthens the belief worldwide about the credibility of investigations of terror acts by Indian investigating agencies. The example that the British Minister has given in support of his allegation against the IM stands on solid ground. He has rightly said to show the example about May 2008 spate of bomb detonations in the city of Jaipur that killed 63 and in September of last year an explosion outside the high court in Delhi reportedly killed 12 and injured 65. He has rightly enumerated before the MPs all violent incidents in which the IM is allegedly involved. The British government rightly believes that there is ample evidence about the IM being involved in terrorism and its banning is 100 per cent right. The ban makes it an offence to be a member of the IM under Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000. The group is already banned in several countries, including the U.S. and New Zealand. IM has frequently perpetrated attacks against civilian targets with the intention of maximising casualties. IM uses violence to achieve their stated objectives of creating an Islamic state in India and implementing Sharia law. IM has sought to incite sectarian hatred in India by deliberately targeting Hindu places of worship, such as a prayer ceremony in Varanasi which killed a child in December 2010. IM has also publicly threatened to attack British tourists, so they clearly pose a threat to British nationals in India. Banning of IM is a welcome step by the government of Britain.