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Tensions In Taliban: Anticlimactic Birth of Second Emirate Could Point To Troubles Ahead

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Tensions In Taliban: Anticlimactic Birth of Second Emirate Could Point To Troubles Ahead

The giant doors of the Kherka-ye Sharif shrine, secured by three padlocks clinging together like petals, were flung open; then, inside the chamber they guarded, were opened three boxes nestled within each other, the smallest made from the purest silver. Inside was Afghanistan’s most treasured religious relic, the rough camel-wool shawl the prophet Muhammad is reputed to have worn as he flew on the winged horse Buraq to the al-Aqsa mosque, and then ascended to the heavens.

As a great crowd assembled before Kandahar’s main mosque, the one-eyed cleric who led the jihadists sweeping across Afghanistan held up the cloak from its balcony: some present fought to touch the relic; others, it is claimed, fell unconscious in the throes of religious ecstasy.

The founder of the Islamic Emirate, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was then proclaimed Emir-ul-Mumineen, commander of the faithful; leader not just of the Taliban, but all believers.

Few second iterations of history have been as anticlimactic as the rebirth of Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate on Tuesday, 25 years after Omar’s appearance with the prophet’s cloak in Kandahar. The Taliban’s celebration of their victory consisted of a few shots fired in the air, and a less-than-gripping television address by their spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid.

In his moment of triumph, Maulvi Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s emir, was nowhere to be seen. He was, the Taliban said, meeting with other leaders in Kandahar, but the only documentation of this event has been a years-old photograph circulated on social media.

The story of the missing Emir, many experts believe, points to a fierce power struggle that has broken out since the Taliban seized Kabul on 15 August, at the end of a dramatic, weeks-long campaign.

Last month, following a meeting of the council, the Taliban announced it was forming a new interim council to the rule the country. The new leadership — much of it — is heavily dominated by figures from Afghanistan’s south, many of whom served in the Islamic Emirate regime that disintegrated under the Western assault after 9/11.

The military vanguard of the Taliban’s triumph, though, was made up of the so-called ‘Eastern Taliban’ — the networks of the jihadist warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani, which enjoys a decades-old relationship with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which operates in Pakistan’s north-west, as well as Al Qaeda, and elements of the Islamic State.

‘Eastern Taliban’ leaders — among them, Anas Haqqani, brother to Sirajuddin Haqqani, and his paternal uncle, Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani “Taliban interim defence minister Abdul Qayum Zakir”who hails from a family in Helmand, and spent time both in Guantanamo Bay and Pul-i Charkhi prison before being released in 2008 — served in the First Emirate as deputy army commander, northern front commander and minister of defence.

Interim interior minister Ibrahim Sadr — also ethnic Pashtun, and among the Taliban’s most important battlefield commanders — served as head of Kabul airport and, the Taliban’s small Air Force.

Gul Agha Ishakzai, born in Kandahar, among among Mullah Mohammad Omar’s closest financial advisors, and played a key role in mobilising resources through drug-running and organised crime for the Taliban’s revival after 9/11.

Kabul’s new governor, Muhammad Shirin Akhund, and the city’s interim mayor, Hamdullah Nomani, are also from southern Afghanistan and veterans of the First Emirate.

The tensions date back to at least 2016, scholars Yelena Bieberman and Jared Schwartz have recorded, when Haibatullah divided operational control of the Taliban’s forces between the Haqqanis and Mullah Muhammad Yukub, Mullah Umar’s son.

In a May 2017 report, the United Nations sanctions said the divisions were, “were also of a tribal nature, with the Noorzai tribe reportedly having taken numerous field commander positions in order to strengthen its position within the Taliban movement at the reported expense of the Ishakzai tribe”.

Founded in the early 1970s — with the backing of Pakistan’s Intelligence Service Intelligence Directorate — the warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani’s network helped lay the foundation of the jihadist movement in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s north-west.

The network, scholars Don Rassler and Vahid Brown have recorded in an authoritative book, entwined itself with the Arab jihadists who later blossomed into Al Qaeda.

Yet, scholar Thomas Ruttig, has noted, that the Haqqanis have no great influence in the First Emirate. Their influence centred in the provinces of Patika, Paktia and Khost, the Haqqanis were kept out by the Kandaharis around Mullah Omar. The eastern tribes, moreover, mostly belonged to neither of the two great Pashtun tribal confederations, the Durrani and the Ghilzai.

Following 9/11, though, the Haqqani network became increasingly important — staging ever-more effective attacks targeting the government and western troops, and helping build the Taliban’s financial backbone. Groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, as well as Pakistna-focussed groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban, sheltered under the Haqqani umbrella.

In 2016, scholar Antonio Guistozzi found, the Haqqanis even gave support to factions of the Islamic State led by Aslam Farooqi — a jihad commander who is believed to have trained and deployed Indian nationals from Kerala to stage suicide-attacks inside Afghanistan.

Aijaz Ahanger, a Kashmir-born jihadist who operated under Farooqi, is suspected by some in India’s intelligence community to have been directed to join the Islamic State by the ISI — having earlier served with both the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Al Qaeda. Earlier, Karnataka resident Muhammad Shafi Armar is also believed to have served with the Islamic State, under the command of its emir, Hafiz Saeed Khan.

This complex web of linkages to the wider jihadist movement — and a flow of new fighters, nurtured by by the Haqqanis’ Dar-ul-Ulum seminary at Akhora Khattak, near Peshawar — helped make it the most feared single military component of the Taliban.

Lacking tribal influence, will the Haqqanis now use violence to demand what they believe to be a just share of power in Kabul?

The Haqqanis’ long-standing links with elements of the Islamic State make it at least possible that might happen. Inside the ‘Southern Taliban’, Giustozzi has noted, suspicions are rife that the Haqqanis engineered the recent attack on Kabul, signalling their displeasure at the new power dispensation, and their ability to undermine any future arrangements between the leadership in Kabul and the wider world.

‘Eastern Taliban’, he writes, could “threaten to ‘join ISKP’ if their grievances are not addressed, while the southerners respond that ‘the real Taliban are the southern ones’. The Taliban will indeed need some statesmanship to keep the whole show from unravelling”.

To this, there are questions about how the ISI might seek to manipulate these tensions. Although the ISI backed the Taliban’s negotiations with the United States, conducted thorough the organisation’s leadership with Doha, it knows there’s little to stop its clients from securing their own interests “and abandoning those of its patrons.

From 2010 to 2018, the ISI kept Abdul Ghani Baradar — the head of the Taliban’s negotiating team in Doha –imprisoned in Pakistan, fearful he might seek to cut an independent deal with the United States. Now, the ISI could see the threat of the Islamic State as a useful tool to keep the Taliban in line.

The curtain might have fallen on the long war fought after 9/11, but this much is certain: more than a few acts remain before the lights finally dim on this macabre play.

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’


NEW DELHI: India tested its nuclear capable K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), designed to have a strike range of 3,500 km, for the second time in six days on Friday. The missile test, as the one conducted on January 19, was undertaken from an undersea platform in the shape of a submersible pontoon off the coast of Andhra Pradesh according to a report by Rajat Pandit of TOI.

The solid-fuelled K-4 missile is being developed by DRDO to arm the country’s nuclear-powered submarines in the shape of INS Arihant and its under-development sister vessels. INS Arihant, which became fully operational in November 2018 to complete India’s nuclear triad, is currently armed with the much shorter K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.

“The K-4 is now virtually ready for its serial production to kick-off. The two tests have demonstrated its capability to emerge straight from underwater and undertake its parabolic trajectory,” said a source.

India has the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile now in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons. But INS Arihant gives the country’s deterrence posture much more credibility because nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles are considered the most secure, survivable and potent platforms for retaliatory strikes.

Once the K-4 missiles are inducted, they will help India narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have over 5,000-km range SLBMs. The K-4 missiles are to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000-6,000 km range class.

The 6,000-ton INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, in turn, is to be followed by INS Arighat, which was launched in 2017. The next generation of nuclear submarines, currently called S-4 and S-4*, will be much larger in size.





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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%

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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%


India has received clearance to upgrade 84 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, which will result in 78% indigenization after the upgrade

In a significant step towards bolstering its military might with indigenously developed technology, India is poised to witness its Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets evolve into a domestic platform. Speaking at a recent lecture.

The upgrade program is being led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with the Indian Air Force and other partners. The upgrade is expected to cost US$7.5 billion.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the upgrade. The upgrade is part of India’s efforts to improve the capabilities of its primary fighter aircraft, it refers to as the “Super Sukhoi”.

This initiative is a part of a larger effort by the Indian Air Force to modernize its ageing fleet. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari asserted the critical role of an offensive air force as demonstrated in current global conflicts and emphasized India’s move towards an indigenized arsenal. To this end, the IAF has been proactive, from upgrading its Mirage 2000 to enhancing its MiG-29 fleet.

In summary, the IAF’s commitment to updating their combat forces with the latest technology, including shifting to fifth-generation fighter jets, ensures operational preparedness and a strong deterrence capability. The gradual indigenization of its air fleet marks a pivotal shift in India’s defence landscape, reducing dependency on foreign imports and fostering technological sovereignty.





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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace

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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace


According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia is a top contender for an export order for Akash SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

While there is no official confirmation because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed the report further added.
There are nine countries, in turn, which have shown interest in the indigenously-developed Akash missile systems, which can intercept hostile aircraft, helicopters, drones and subsonic cruise missiles at a range of 25-km. They are Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Algeria reported TOI.

The Akash export version will also be slightly different from the one inducted by the armed forces. The 100-km range air-to-air Astra missiles, now entering production after successful trials from Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, also have “good export potential”, said sources.

Akash is a “tried, tested and successfully inducted systems”. Indian armed forces have ordered Akash systems worth Rs 24,000 crore over the years, and MoD inked a contract in Mar 2023 of over Rs 9,100 crores for improved Akash Weapon System

BDL is a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence that was established in 1970. BDL manufactures surface-to-air missiles and delivers them to the Indian Army. BDL also offers its products for export.

Akash Weapon System

The AWS is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In order to meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology, Reduced Foot Print, 360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.

The project will give a boost to the Indian missile manufacturing industry in particular and the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem as a whole. The project has overall indigenous content of 82% which will be increased to 93% by 2026-27.

The induction of the improved AWS into the Indian Army will increase India’s self-reliance in Short Range Missile capability. This project will play a role in boosting the overall economy by avoiding outgo of precious foreign exchange to other countries, increasing employment avenues in India and encouraging Indian MSMEs through components manufacturing. Around 60% of the project cost will be awarded to the private industry, including MSMEs, in maintaining the supply chain of the weapon system, thereby creating large scale of direct and indirect employment.





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