Feature
Islamic State Is an emerging danger To South Asia
United Nations : Islamic State is making itself felt in south Asian countries too.IS is widely rooting in these countries through the organizations like Tehreek-e-khilafat.US Secretary General Ban ki Moon has presented a report Stating that operation of Islamic State’s is a threat to international peace and security.
Ban said groups like the Tehreek-e-Khilafat in Pakistan “are sufficiently attracted by its underlying ideology to pledge allegiance to its so-called caliphate and self-proclaimed caliph.”
Islamic State organisations , which are known by the acronyms ISIS, ISIL and Da’esh, “an unprecedented threat to international peace and security.” He said, “This is a matter of considerable concern, since these groups appear to be emulating ISIL’s tactics and carrying out attacks on its behalf.”
“In 2016 and beyond, member states should prepare for a further increase in the number of foreign terrorist fighters travelling to other States on the instructions of ISIL,” he added.
The Islamic State now controls swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, but Ban said, “The recent expansion of the ISIL sphere of influence across West and North Africa, the Middle East and South and South-East Asia demonstrates the speed and scale at which the gravity of the threat has evolved in just 18 months.”
“In Afghanistan and Pakistan, ISIL continues to develop a network of contacts and sympathisers who carry out attacks in its name,” Ban said. “On 13 January 2016, the ISIL group ‘Khorasan Province,’ which operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan, issued a statement claiming credit for an attack on the Pakistani Consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.”
“The complexity of the recent attacks and the level of planning, coordination and sophistication involved raise concerns about its future evolution,” he warned.
An incident not included in Ban’s report was the Islamic State taking responsibility for killing more than 40 Ismailis in a bus attack in Karachi.
Pakistan appears conflicted in dealing with the Islamic State challenge. Last October, General Raheel Sharif, the Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff, was quoted in the Pakistani media as saying, “There are people in Islamabad who want to show their allegiance to Daesh. So it’s a very dangerous phenomenon.”
Speaking to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, Raheel Sharif added, “I feel the future challenge is Da’esh. It’s a bigger name. Al-Qaeda was a name but Da’esh is now a bigger name.”
However the next month, Pakistani foreign ministry issued a denial “There is no footprint of Da’esh in Pakistan. We will also not tolerate anyone affiliated with it,” Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah was quoted as saying. But he said it was aware of the Islamic State threat and the security forces were on alert.
Ban said in his report that till the middle of December 2015, 34 groups had reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIL. “In view of its territorial claims of more ‘provinces,’ it is expected that ISIL affiliates will increase in number and that its membership will grow in 2016,” Ban said.
“It is able to adapt quickly to the changing environment and to persuade or inspire like-minded terrorist groups in various regions of the world to facilitate and commit acts of terrorism,” he added.
Therefore, he said the the international community must also be “adaptive” in its responses and “take comprehensive approaches that incorporate security-led counter-terrorism initiatives and preventive measures.”
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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