INDIA
PAKISTAN
NEPAL
BHUTAN
BANGLADESH
SRI LANKA
Terrorism Update
Latest
S.A.Overview
Publication
Show/Hide Search
HomePrint
 
  Click to Enlarge
   

SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 2, July 14, 2014

Data and assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal


ASSESSMENT

INDIA
PAKISTAN
Click for PrintPrint

JuD: The Dependable Terrorist
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On June 25, 2014, a US State Department media note announced amendments to the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity designations of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) to add the following aliases: Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD), Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, and Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal. In conjunction with these actions, the Department of the Treasury also designated two LeT senior members as SDGTs - Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry and Muhammad Hussein Gill. Ahmad has been a senior leader of LeT since the early 2000s, and has served as its 'vice-president', and a member of its central leadership. Hussein Gill, one of the group’s founders, has been an accountant for the LeT for more than ten years and, more specifically, has served as the outfit’s 'chief financial officer' and headed its accounts department for several years.

The media note further stated: “LeT created JuD as a front organization, claiming that the group was an 'organization for the preaching of Islam, politics, and social work.'”

LeT had first been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the US on December 26, 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. It was, similarly, banned in the UK in 2001. Under growing international pressure, Pakistan also banned the group in 2002, though not before allowing it ample opportunity to empty out its bank accounts and encash or transfer it other assets to various fronts, including JuD. JuD was subsequently put on the FTO listing by the US in 2006. LeT was also sanctioned by the UN in 2006, and banned by the European Union (EU) in 2008. Subseqently, in 2008, the UN also declared JuD an LeT front organization. In 2010, the US exacted an executive order against the Falah-i Insaniat Foundation (FIF), essentially the renamed JuD, and named it a terrorist organization. FIF was always reported to be one of the arms of JuD and operated from a JuD office located at Chauburji Chowk in Lahore, Pakistan.

Hafiz Muhammadd Saeed, the founder of LeT and JuD chief, and Zafar Iqbal, two professors at Lahore University, formed JuD in 1985 as a missionary group dedicated to the tenets of Ahl-e-Hadith Islam. In 1987, mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan formed a group named Markaz Dawat wal Irshad (MDI) under Hafiz Saeed's leadership. MDI continued jihad (Islamic campaign against non-believers and 'apostates') in Afghanistan, where it set up its first training centre, with active support from both the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to fight alongside the Afghan mujahideen. MDI's founders sought to ensure the group's survival even after the Afghan jihad came to an end, and dovetailed the objectives of both armed and peaceful jihad, expanding a network of 'social services', even as they continued to build up their armed strength. As the Afghan jihad came to an end and the Afghan mujahideen threw themselves at each other's throats, the MDI was directed by its handlers in the ISI to another front in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). In 1990, MDI formed the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the armed wing dedicated to fight the jihad in J&K.

Overtly, JuD, headquartered in Muridke (Punjab), acts as a socio-religious, cultural, spiritual and educational driving force behind the armed wing represented by the LeT. A 2011 report suggested that JuD has about 50,000 registered members to spread its influence and raise funds. JuD owns a solid and extensive infrastructure inside Pakistan, including more than 300 offices, mosques and madrassas (Islamic seminaries). The group has set up many commercial ventures including more than 400 English-medium schools, colleges, transportation companies, residential projects and media groups, and has acquired farmland on a large scale. Its 'charity wing' has one of the biggest fleets of ambulances in the country, seven hospitals and more than 200 health centres. The group has the second largest charity network in Pakistan, after the Maymar Trust [formerly known as Al Rashid Trust (ART). ART was listed by the US State Department for involvement in financing and supporting a international Islamist terrorist groups on September 22, 2001].

JuD funding sources include state sponsorship, charities, and businesses. The Pakistan Muslim League-led Punjab State Government in its budget for fiscal year 2013-14 announced a grant-in-aid of PKR 61.35 million for the administrator of JuD's training camp at Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke. The budget also included an allocation of PKR 350 million for a 'knowledge park' at Muridke and various other JuD development initiatives across Punjab. Earlier, in 2009–10, the Federal Government provided more than PKR 80.2 million for the administration of JuD facilities. And in 2010–11, two separate grants of PKR 79.8 million were given to six organisations at Markaz-e-Taiba and a special grant-in-aid of PKR 3 million was awarded to JuD's Al-Dawa School System in seven Districts of Punjab.

Funds are transferred from various sources through banks, use of hawala (illegal money transactions) and by couriers. Funds are utilized for dawa (preaching), khidmat-e-khalq (provision of social services), and jihad, including recruitment, training, and procurement of equipment and weapons. JuD has also used social media to collect funds. In June 2012, for instance, JuD sent messages on Twitter and Facebook, asking Muslims across the world to donate zakat (Islamic tax) and fitra (gift of food or money paid during on Eid-ul-Fitr) and Ramazan (the Holy month of fasting).

JuD's 'farmers and labor wing' is, further, responsible for the collection of ushr (Islamic land tax). The group also collects hides of animals slaughtered during the holy festival of Eid al-Adha and sells them to harvest significant revenues. In November 2010, Yahya Mujahid, ‘spokesperson’ for JuD, conceded that, under FIF’s banner, JuD had set up seven camps for collecting hides of sacrificial animals in Islamabad (Punjab) and ten such camps in the adjacent city of Rawalpindi (Punjab). Funds are also collected by cells operating across the globe.  ISI's Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) network is another source of finance, and unconfirmed reports suggest involvement in heroin smuggling from Afghanistan through Pakistani seaports.

Recent inputs of India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB) indicate that JuD and its affiliates had raised more than INR 3.5 billion in funds from various countries, including India. IB suspects that the money collected in the name of humanitarian aid is diverted by JuD to finance terrorist activities.

The LeT-JuD complex has a strong propaganda network, operates several websites, publishes periodicals and books, and distributes tapes of speeches by many of its leaders, prominently including Hafiz Saeed. Most of these are in the Urdu language, though Arabic and English versions also seek to address all sections of society. After the LeT's website  was shut down in 2008, soon after 26/11 attacks,  JuD launched a website in mid-2012, releasing a video in which Hafiz Saeed observed, “Media is a two-sided sword. Instead of it having an impact on us, we want to use it in an effective way. Allah willing, [we] want to convey our message of Dawah [Invitation to Islam] and jihad to the people through it....”

The organization’s stated objectives are to destroy India, Israel and the United States, as 'enemies of Islam'. JuD also seeks to spread the rule of Islam all over the world through violent means and to 'liberate' Kashmir from India. Another stated aim of this group is to exact revenge from the enemies of Islam while defending Muslim states and forcing 'infidels' in the Muslim world to pay jizia (money paid by non-Muslims in an Islamic State). The group has marked hundreds of potential targets around the world for future attack.

LeT-JuD runs several terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. According to a latest input by India's Border Security Force (BDF), Hafiz Saeed has set up new terrorist camps in the Islamkot and Mithi areas in Sindh Province of Pakistan, opposite the Tanot and Kishangarh areas of Jaisalmer District in Rajasthan. On June 29, 2014, he was seen in Islamkot, Meerpur Khas, Mithi and Kherpur in this area. The BSF was given directions to be on alert and it believes that Saeed may try to push in terrorists via the Rajasthan border.

LeT-JuD's terror profile came to global prominence when its chief Saeed and other top leaders were found directly involved in the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks (also known as 26/11). India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), in its charge sheet dated December 24, 2011, named Saeed as one of the accused, along with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, David Headley, Tahawwur Rana, Abdul Rehman Hashmi, Sajid Malik, as well as two ISI officers, Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali. Further, LeT operative Syed Zaibuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, arrested in India in June 2012 after his deportation from Saudi Arabia, revealed that Hafiz Saeed was present in the Karachi ‘Control Room’ during the 26/11 attacks, along with Muzammil Butt (LeT ‘operations commander’). The Control Room was set up at a point between Malir Cantonment, Quaidabad, and the Jinnah International Airport, in Karachi. However, following the arrest in Pakistan of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi on December 7, 2008, under sustained US pressure, the ISI destroyed the control room.

Due to international pressure, Saeed was placed under house arrest in December 2008. In June 2009, however, the Lahore High Court released him due to 'lack of evidence', ruling that "the detention of Hafiz Saeed was a violation of the Constitution and the law of this country." Despite the Interpol's Red Corner Notice against Saeed, along with Lakhvi, issued on August 25, 2009, in response to India's requests for his extradition, on October 12, 2009, all cases against Saeed were quashed by the Lahore High Court and he was set free. The Court also notified that JuD was not a banned organization in Pakistan, and could work freely in the country. "In the name of terrorism we cannot brutalise the law," the Court ruled.

Saeed enjoys the open support of the Pakistani establishment and, unsurprisingly, roams freely across the country, addressing public rallies, pouring vitriol against India, US, Israel, and other countries. In latest of series of such rallies, on May 29, 2014, Saeed, delivered a speech as thousands of followers joined him at the Aabpara Chowk, situated just a few hundred yards from the ISI headquarters in Islamabad, and asked his followers to prepare, as the "time has come to perform the final jihad against India to free Kashmir from Indian occupation... Are you ready to help Kashmiri brothers and sisters? Would you join me for this noble cause?" Interestingly, the rally was attended by former ISI Chief, Hamid Gul, Senator Talha Mehmood of the right wing political Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

After extraordinary pressure from the US (four US citizens were killed in the Mumbai attacks), Pakistan did start the 26/11 trial at Rawalpindi Court, but the entire proceeding appear to be a fiasco, with interminable judicial delays due to trivial reasons. The case that was registered in Pakistan on February 15, 2009, has already witnessed the transfer of five Judges. Recently, on July 9, 2014, the Court adjourned hearings of the case for the fifth time in just three months, till July 16, after no prosecution lawyer and witnesses turned up. Earlier, in a May 21 application, lawyers led by Chaudhry Azhar had accused JuD activists of threatening them and the witnesses, with the petitioners claiming, "The JuD wants us not to pursue the Mumbai case." Meanwhile, the incarcerated LeT-JuD leaders, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who currently serves as ‘supreme commander’ of operations in Kashmir and as a member of LeT's ‘General Council’, continue to enjoy extraordinary privileges and access, and exercise direct control over cadres and operations. Lakhvi is reportedly treated as a VVIP within the confines of the high-security prison in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi (Punjab), where he is permitted 'outings' under a thick security cover facilitated by the jail authorities. According to sources, he makes calls freely to control the outfit's operations and to motivate his terrorist associates.

The latest US State Department designation appears to be little more than a demonstrative ritual and is unlikely to have even a remote impact on the JuD-LeT's thriving fortunes in Pakistan. 13 years of US bans have done nothing to diminish the group's state and popular support, and have, indeed, seen a steady expansion of the LeT's global footprint. Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution, notes that LeT, in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, matured “from a Punjabi-based Pakistani terror group targeting India exclusively, to a member of the global Islamic jihad targeting the enemies of al Qaeda: the Crusader West, Zionist Israel, and Hindu India”. Indeed, the LeT’s reach and presence has steadily been expanding over the past decade with its units now operational in a vast network that stretches from North America to Australia. It has units in Germany, UK, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Dubai and Bangladesh, and shares fraternal links with jihadists in Philippines, Kosovo, Chechnya, Palestine, Jordan and South East Asia. Media reports indicate that the outfit is part of a conglomeration of terrorist formations fighting the jihad in Syria.

With manifestly unqualified state support in Pakistan, the LeT-JuD appears to have little to fear. Indeed, in one prominent example of this theatre of the absurd, when the US declared a bounty of USD 10 million  in April 2012, for "information leading to the arrest and conviction" of Hafiz Saeed, Saeed openly mocked the Americans in mass public rallies and open Press Conferences, declaring, "I am here, I am visible... I will be in Lahore tomorrow. America can contact me whenever it wants to." And further, "It is regrettable that America has no information about me. Such rewards are usually for those who live in caves and mountains."

LeT is not surviving in caves and mountains in Pakistan. It is visible and flaunts its existence in Rawalpindi - the Pakistan Army's Headquarters - in Islamabad - the country's capital - in its strongholds in Punjab, and, increasingly, across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, to operate into Afghanistan, and in the Sindh Province. It has, since its inception, been an instrumentality of the Pakistani state, and, while some extremist protégés in Pakistan may have gone rogue, LeT remains loyal and obedient, retaining the patronage that has allowed it to grow into one of the largest and most dangerous terrorist formations in the world.

INDIA
Click for PrintPrint

Odisha: Maoists - Hanging on a Thread
Mrinal Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres abducted and killed a tribal, identified as Madan Hantal (35), of Karanjuguda village under Malkangiri Village-79 (MV- 79) Police limits in Malkangiri District on July 8, 2014. The Maoists had abducted Madan on July 6 and his bullet ridden body was found lying in a pool of blood a few metres away from the village. A letter left by Maoists at the spot declared that Madan had been ‘punished’, as he was passing information to Police. "We had warned Madan many times to maintain distance from Police but he didn't listen to us. Anyone who will try to act as a ‘Police informer’ will meet the same fate," the one page letter read. Police denied the Maoist allegation that the deceased was a ‘Police informer’.  

On June 22, 2014, a civilian, identified as Ashis Saunta, was killed by about 15 CPI-Maoist cadres, branding him as a ‘Police informer’, in the Semiliguda Block of Koraput District. Saunta's family claimed he was targeted as he had motivated the people of the village to vote during the recently concluded State Assembly and Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament), elections defying the Maoist poll boycott call. The Srikakulam-Koraput ‘divisional committee’ of the CPI-Maoist claimed responsibility of the murder.

Earlier, on May 12, 2014, the Maoists had killed two local tribal leaders, identified as Taudu Pateli, a former sarpanch (head of panchayat, village level local self-government institution) and Baladaboi Simalu of Talagoluru village under the Pottangi Police Station limits in Koraput District, alleging that they were Police informers. They were among four persons abducted by the Maoists on May 11, 2014. The two other abducted persons, included a sitting sarpanch Baladaboi Pati and Taudu Pateli's wife, were released later. The Srikakulam-Koraput ‘divisional committee’, again, claimed responsibility for the double murder.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, 18 civilians and eight Maoists have been killed in the State in 2014, till July 13. Significantly, Security Force (SF) personnel have not suffered any fatalities in this period in 2014.

Fatalities in Left Wing Extremism in Odisha: 2010-2014*

Years

Civilians
SF personnel
LWE
Total

2010

62
21
25
108

2011

36
16
23
75

2012

27
19
14
60

2013

22
7
25
54

2014

18
0
8
26

Total*

165
63
95
323
Source: SATP, *Data updated till July 13, 2014

Significantly, the number of civilians killed by the Maoists in first six months of 2014 (till June 30), was 17, more than double the figure for the first six months of 2013 (8).  Civilian killing in the first six months of 2012 stood at 17, and in 2011 at 13. In 2014, of the 18 civilians killed, 12 were accused by the Maoists to be ‘Police informers.’ Similarly, in 2013 and 2012, 17 and 21 civilians, out of 22 and 27 killed, respectively, were similarly accused by the Maoists as ‘Police informers’. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) data confirms this trend.

'Police informers' among civilians killed: 2011-2013

Years

Civilians Killed
'Police Informers' among civilians killed

2011

39
25

2012

31
23

2013

28
25

Total

98
73
*Source: UMHA

The first six months of 2013 and 2012 saw one and 12 SF troopers killed in the State, respectively. However, there has not been a single SF fatality so far in 2014. However, the SFs have engaged cadres of the CPI-Maoist on at least 14 occasions, and the Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) once, in 2014. Of these 15 encounters, six resulted in fatalities on the extremists’ side. The eight Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) fatalities (seven CPI-Maoist and one PLFI) in the first six months of 2014 exceed those in the corresponding period in the previous two years.

The geographical spread of CPI-Maoist violence in Odisha has substantially been contained within Koraput and Malkangiri Districts, as was the case in previous years. Of the 18 civilians killed by the Maoists in 2014, thus far, 17 were killed in Koraput and Malkangiri Districts, while one was killed in Rayagada, neighbouring Koraput.      

The State recorded one major incident (resulting in at least three fatalities) in Malkangiri District, on April 27, 2014. No such incident was registered in the first six months of 2013, while two occurred in this period in 2012.

Five incidents of arson, two abductions and two blasts were recorded in the State in this period. In the corresponding time in 2013, the figures were two, zero and zero, respectively. In the same period in 2012, the Maoists had engineered 12 incidents of arson, one abduction and six explosions.

33 arrests and 49 surrenders were recorded in the first half of 2014, as against the 2013 total of an unusually high 1,787 surrenders, as a result of the en masse capitulation by cadres and supporters of the Narayanpatna-based Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS), a CPI-Maoist front. Meanwhile, on July 2, 2014, eight CPI-Maoist cadres surrendered before the Police in Koraput. They had joined CMAS in 2009 and had later graduated to the CPI-Maoist.

Interestingly, a week after CMAS leader Nachika Linga announced and then called off his scheduled surrender the Maoists described his move as 'drama' and, on March 16, 2014, urged the tribals to disown his plan of joining electoral politics. In a signed two-page letter written in Odia, Daya and Aruna, ‘secretaries’ of the Srikakulam-Koraput ‘divisional committee' and the 'Narayanpatna ‘area committee' of the CPI-Maoist, respectively, declared,

During 2012 panchayat polls, school and mass education Minister Rabi Nanda, Koraput Member of Parliament (MP) Jayram Pangi, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jhina Hikaka and Raghuram Padal had signed on a 10-point charter of demands. But Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has not fulfilled any of the demands. In next poll, Nachika has demanded BJD ticket for Laxmipur. He has weakened the agitation by telling people that they would get facilities by going the electoral way. Without caring for people’s problems, Nachika has demanded withdrawal of cases against him.

In another development, Sabyasachi Panda, the 'chief' of the Odisha Maobadi Party (OMP), who broke away from the CPI-Maoist in August 2012, in a Press Release on May 19, 2014, announced the formation of a new Maoist united front, the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist-Maoist (CPI-MLM). Panda is the 'general secretary' of the new formation. The united front has been forged between the OMP and the erstwhile CPI-ML (Janashakti) and some Maoist splinters based in West Bengal. This move appears to be an attempt on Panda's part to regain lost ground after his split with the CPI-Maoist, though it is unlikely to meet with any dramatic success.

Meanwhile, on June 16, 2014, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik informed the State Assembly that CPI-Maoist activities in the State had increased from five Districts in 2000 to 19 Districts in 2014. The Chief Minister disclosed that parts of Malkangiri, Rayagada, Koraput, Gajapati and Mayurbhanj Districts were considered Maoist affected in 2000. Currently, however, the 19 Districts affected at various intensities included: Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Ganjam (including Berhampur Police District), Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir and Bargarh. The Chief Minister added that no violence has been reported from Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Deogarh and Nayagarh Districts since 2011.

After peaking in 2010, Maoist violence in Odisha has gradually declined due to a number of factors, a trend that has been visible in other Maoist-affected States as well. Despite the pressure by 17 battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), in addition to the State Police, however, the Maoists appear to be hanging on, and the situation remains fraught with the risk of escalation.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
July 7-13, 2014

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

 

Left-wing Extremism

0
0
2
2

INDIA

 

Assam

6
0
3
9

Jammu and Kashmir

0
0
1
1

Manipur

1
0
0
1

Meghalaya

1
0
1
2

Left-wing Extremism

 

Jharkhand

1
0
0
1

Kerala

0
0
1
1

Odisha

1
0
0
1

Total (INDIA)

10
0
6
16

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

4
7
0
11

FATA

0
3
48
51

KP

3
2
1
6

Punjab

0
0
2
2

Sindh

14
1
19
34

Total (PAKISTAN)

21
13
70
104
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

'Bangladesh-born British citizen Ruhul Amin put on sanctions list for "terrorism or terror financing": Ruhul Amin alias Abdul Rakib Amin, a Bangladesh-born British citizen has been put on a list of people facing sanctions from the United Kingdom (UK) treasury for "terrorism or terror financing". Ruhul moved to Aberdeen in Scotland from Moulvibazar District when he was young. Ruhul, who has a British passport, was recently seen in a recruitment video for the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Ruhul was identified as "Brother Abu Bara' al Hindi" in the video, which called for UK Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq." The Daily Star, July 11, 2014.


INDIA

Security establishment tracking 18 Indian jihadis in Iraq and Syria, says report: The security establishment is tracking 18 Indian citizens who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight as jihadis. Of the 18 under the scanner, Indian officials found that the jihadi ardor of six men had diminished considerably after they found they were being treated shabbily by their leaders. They later left Iraq and now live in other Gulf nations. The others remain in Iraq. As sectarian violence intensifies in these countries, India, along with other nations, is trying to track and prevent its citizens from joining this war. These aspiring jihadis didn't come from any extremist group, say intelligence sources, but were individually radicalized. Times of India, July 9, 2014.

Submit proof of funds used for tackling Naxalism, UMHA tells State Governments: State Governments will have to send photographs to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) by the end of this month (July 2014) as proof that they have executed projects aimed at countering Naxalism-Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Officials say only then the States will be able to claim further funds under the Centre's INR 5 Billion Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS). Under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) States have to upload photographs of the completed projects on a portal managed by the Planning Commission. EconomicTimes, July 9, 2014.


NEPAL

Seven parties form Federal Republican Front: On July 10, seven opposition parties, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic, Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Sadbhawana Party, Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party-Nepal and Federal Socialist Party-Nepal, formed a new front - Federal Republican Front - Nepal, pledging to struggle for identity-based federal constitution. The front's 16-point concept paper unveiled at a programme in Kathmandu states the objective of the front is to ensure self rule in pradeshes and shared rule at the centre in a federal set-up. Himalayan, July 11, 2014.

CA subcommittee to talk to armed outfits: A subcommittee of the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee of the Constituent Assembly (CA) is set to hold talks with armed outfits operational in Eastern Hills and Mid-Tarai. The Ananda Prasad Dhungana-led panel held talks with 45 parties outside the CA on July 7 and July 8. The smaller parties presented their views, some in writing, on the contentious issues of the constitution being drafted. According to Dhungana, the suggestions will be forwarded to the CA through the Dialogue Committee. The talks, leaders said, are an attempt to make the statute drafting process inclusive and participatory. eKantipur, July 9, 2014.


PAKISTAN

48 militants and three SFs among 51 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least 18 militants were killed when Army jets and artillery pounded alleged militant hideouts in the Mosaki area, east of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the morning of July 12. 2014.

Militants attacked a security checkpost along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Mamond area of Bajaur Agency in the early hours of July 12, killing three Security Force personnel, including a Captain.

Six unidentified militants were killed in a US drone missile strike in the Doga Madakhel village area of Dattakhel tehsil (revenue unit) in NWA on July 10.

At least 11 militants were killed when Air Force jets pounded militant hideouts in the Zoi Darasaidgi and Shawal tehsil areas of NWA on July 9.

At least 13 militants were killed when the Air Force fighter jets pounded seven suspected hideouts of militants in the Degan village of NWA on July 8. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune; Central Asia Online; The Nation; The Frontier Post; Pakistan Today; Pakistan Observer, July 8-14, 2014.

19 militants and 14 civilians among 34 persons killed during the week in Sindh: The Anti-Violent Crime Cell and the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) on July 9 said that six abductors were killed in shootouts in joint raids in different areas of Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh. Six abductees were also rescued during the operation.

Six persons, including a Policeman and a 'gang war' accused, were killed and several others were injured in separate incidents on July 9.

Three unidentified persons, aged between 30 and 35, were shot dead by unknown assailants in SITE Area of Karachi on July 8.

At least three suspected militants were shot dead in an encounter in Pak Colony area of Karachi on July 7. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune; Central Asia Online; The Nation; The Frontier Post; Pakistan Today; Pakistan Observer, July 8-14, 2014.

Tehreek-e-Khilafat swears allegiance to Islamic State: Tehreek-e-Khilafat, a Pakistan-based militant outfit, has become the first militant outfit in the South Asia region to break ranks from al Qaeda and declare its allegiance to the Islamic State, earlier known as Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS), which has seized power across Iraq and Syria. Foreign media reports said the outfit, which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in Karachi, has pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of Islamic State, and vowed to raise the Islamic State's flag in South Asia. "We are praying from the Almighty Allah to give us chance in our lives to see the expansion of Islamic State boundaries towards the Sub-Continent and Khorasan region in order to hoist the flag of Islamic State here," the group said. The group is believed to be the first outfit beyond the Middle East to have offered support to Islamic State. The News, July 14, 2014.

Terrorists are on the run, says DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa: On July 9, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director Major General Asim Bajwa and Operation Commander Major General Zafar Khan said that the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb has forced locals and militants to flee, leaving the town and one of the major bases for the militants, deserted. He said that as many as 400 terrorists have been killed while 130 have been injured in the operation so far. Over 2,000 IEDs were found from the 11 IED factories discovered by the military. Major General Bajwa said they had also discovered the underground tunnels that the militants had constructed in the area. Tribune, July 10, 2014.

Country to be peaceful after Operation Zarb-e-Azb, says Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif on July 9 said that on the completion of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb, there will be peace in the country. Talking to the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, who called on the PM, Nawaz Sharif said: "Insha'Allah, this operation will be instrumental in bringing peace and security to Pakistan." General Raheel Sharif briefed the PM about the operation and told him that the operation was being carried out successfully according to stated objective plans. Raheel Sharif further stated that the Pakistan armed forces will achieve objectives of the operation as per the direction of the PM. The News, July 10, 2014.

North Waziristan Agency tribesmen will block return of terrorists, says ISPR DG Major General Asim Bajwa: The Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa said on July 10 that the tribesmen of North Waziristan Agency will never allow the terrorists to return to the area. On his Twitter account, he said the state too will never allow the terrorists to return to North Waziristan. The News, July 11, 2014.

President Mamnoon Hussain signs Protection of Pakistan Bill into law: President Mamnoon Hussain on July 11 (today) signed the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 into a law. The new law, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) says violates Pakistan's international legal obligations, is tough on terror and doubles the maximum sentence for terror offences to 20 years. It also allows security forces to hold suspects for up to 60 days without disclosing their whereabouts or allegations against them. The PPB will be applicable for the next two years. The National Assembly passed the bill on July 2, two days after it was unanimously passed in the Senate. Tribune, July 11, 2014.


SRI LANKA

NGOs gave weapons to terrorists, says PM D M Jayaratna: Prime Minister (PM) D. M. Jayaratna said in Parliament on July 11 that it is a well known fact that several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have exceeded their remits even to the extent of procuring weapons for terrorists. He made these observations in Parliament in response to a special statement made by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe under Standing Orders querying if the letter dated July 1, 2014, issued by the National Secretariat to NGOs, was to control the NGOs. Daily News, July 12, 2014.


The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.

SAIR is a project of the Institute for Conflict Management and the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

Publisher
K. P. S. Gill

Editor
Dr. Ajai Sahni


A Project of the
Institute For Conflict Management



To receive FREE advance copies of SAIR by email Subscribe.

Recommend South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) to a friend.

 

 

 

 

 
Copyright © 2001 SATP. All rights reserved.