CM Siddaramaiah

Bangalore: Days after Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the formation of an Indian branch of his global armed group that he said would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah play downed the issue and said that there was no threat to the state from the outfit.

However, he said the state is on high security alert, following the centre’s direction on the matter.

Al Qaeda, which many counter-insurgency experts claim have kept a low profile, since the assassination of its founder Usama bin Laden in 2011 in Pakistan, have been eclipsed mainly from its offshoot organisations, which have emerged in recent years since the uprisings in the Arab/Muslim world.

In a video posted online on social forums, the present Qaeda leader, said the new force would “crush the artificial borders” dividing Muslim populations in the region.

“This entity was not established today but is the fruit of a blessed effort of more than two years to gather the mujahedeen in the Indian sub-continent into a single entity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Home Minister K.J. George claimed that the law and order situation in Karnataka was best in the country.

Additional Director-General of Police, Law and Order, Kishore Chandra told the media that the police are always on alert and there was no need for any special security arrangements, however, according to sources close to Nasheman, the police are keeping a close watch on individuals and organisations in their radar.