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Arjun Srinivas  Hindustan Times, New Delhi Aug 09, 2018 As many as 4 million applicants, out of 32.9 million have not made it to the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam made public on July 30. While it’s not yet clear who will decide their fate, the issue of illegal immigrants in Assam has been historically determined by two tribunals. The first is the Foreigners Tribunal (FT), set up by the Assam government in 1964, to identify the legal status of suspected foreigners in Assam. There are 100 FTs in Assam as on date. The second is the Illegal Migrants Determination Tribunal, or IM (DT), established in 1985, with special provisions for Assam. It only considered the cases of those who had allegedly entered India after March 25, 1971; crucially, these placed the onus of proving citizenship on the accuser, rather than the accused. The IM (DT) Act was subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional in 2005. High p...

Rahul Tripathi, The Indian Express, February 12, 2018 The Centre, in its bid to ensure elections in Nagaland, is learnt to have assured Naga groups, political parties and armed organisations that all options are open, including re-elections in Nagaland, whenever an accord is finalised with NSCN (IM) and and other Naga groups to pave the way for new leadership. In recent discussions with armed groups, the Centre, it is learnt, also gave assurances that armed cadres may be absorbed after arriving at a solution. “This is still under discussion. There are a few options that we are looking at and we have sought an opinion from the rebel groups. One of them is to raise an All Naga Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) at the disposal of the state but the Centre can help fund and train them,” said an official. Polls are expected to be held on February 27 in the state and results will be declared on March 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to campaign on February 22 while BJP pre...

Dawn By  Anwar Iqba l December 18, 2017 WASHINGTON: The Trump admi­nistration has informed Congress that it will take unilateral steps in areas of divergence with Pakistan while expanding cooperation between the two countries where their interests converge. In a report to Congress, which was released to the media this weekend, the Pentagon also underlined the need for a joint US-Afghan platform for combating more than 20 militant groups active in the region. This is the Pentagon’s first report on Afghanistan since Aug 21, when President Donald  Trump announced his new South Asia strategy , which deepens American military involvement in Afghanistan while urging Pakistan to back US efforts for defeating the Taliban. The report to Congress emphasised the need for a “fundamental change” in the way Pakistan deals with the alleged terrorist safe havens on its territory. The Pentagon also informed the lawmakers that the new US strategy calls for a whole-of-governmen...

The Indian Express December 7, 2017 Breaking ranks with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference of which he is an  executive committee  member, Abdul Ghani Bhat, leader of the Muslim Conference, met Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre’s Special Representative on Jammu Kashmir, because, according to him, “dialogue is the only effective and civilised way of addressing issues bedeviling relations between nations or peoples”. Ahead of Sharma’s first visit to the Valley in early November, the Hurriyat’s Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Yasin Malik, had issued a statement against any engagement with Sharma. “…For any Kashmiri to be part of this futile exercise will only undermine our internationally acknowledged legitimate and just struggle, nourished by the blood of our martyrs and great sacrifices and hardships rendered daily by the masses,” the JRL statement had said. However, Bhat, a former chairman of the Hurriyat who ha...