Indian officials assert nation faces no threat from ISIL

Islamic Extremism

The Indian government is worried after instances of an ISIL flag being unfurled in India-controlled Kashmir, as well as news that some Indians had joined the terrorist group. Despite these concerns, the Indian government has said there is no challenge it is not prepared for. CCTV America’s Shweta Bajaj reports.

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has said India is watching the situation closely.

In the recent past, many Indians have joined ISIL. Videos and content posted on social media sites by the terrorist group now have translations in many of India’s widely-spread languages, such as Hindi and Tamil. Even so, the Indian government said there is no threat from ISIS or al-Qaida.

India is among 11 countries threatened by  the Islamic state. In addition, 39 Indian construction workers are currently  in IS custody. Despite all this, including repeated attempts by the United States, India chooses to remain unaffiliated with any coalition fight against IS.

Vikram Sood, former chief of India’s intelligence agency, said it’s a distant possibility that ISIL will leave a footprint in India.

“I don’t know whether this will lead to infiltration immediately,” Sood said.  “But the radars have been switched on, surely, by the intelligence agencies looking for evidence for whether this is homegrown or whether this is coming from across.”

ISIL has repeatedly vowed to wage war against India. Only last month, al-Qaida announced the creation of its India wing. The use of Hindi propaganda material on ISIL social media pages only adds to these worries. Only recently did India hold a high-level meeting to discuss recruitment of Indian youth by ISIL.

Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, head of the Munich Security Conference, said a long-term strategy is needed to tackle the growing ISIL threat.

“We must try to help the peaceful Muslim majorities around the world to rise up and to declare themselves enemies of perversion of Islam, which what the IS stands for,” said Ambassador Ischinger. “I think that is what we should do what together, India, Europe and others, because bombs alone won’t do the job.”