SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 15, No. 15, October 10, 2016

PAKISTAN

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Derailing the Railways
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Two coordinated blasts targeting railway tracks hit near the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express on October 7, 2016, in the Ab-e-Gum area of the Bolan District in Balochistan, killing at least six people and leaving another 18 injured. Initial reports suggest that a bomb had been planted along the railway track. The second explosion took place in the same area 20 minutes later.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified militants blew up a two-foot portion of a track in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)attack in the Kolpur area of Bakhtiarabad in Bolan District. Though, there was no loss of life reported, the damage to the tracks suspended rail services for hours.

On May 10, 2016, three wagons of a goods train overturned and another six derailed when two bombs exploded on a track near Goth Mureed Sipio Railway Crossing in Tandojam area of Hyderabad District in Sindh. No casualties were reported. Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Khadim Hussain Rind disclosed that a pamphlet written in Sindhi was found at the place, but declined to share its contents. 

On April 5, 2016, two passengers of the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express were killed and five were injured when a bomb exploded on a railway track near Mithri area of Sibi District. According to the Railway Police, "It was an IED which was detonated by a remote control. The blast blew up a major portion of the track."

In the same Mithri area of Sibi District on January 28, 2016, two bogies of the Jaffar Express had been damaged in an explosion, with no casualties.The Jaffar Express was travelling from Quetta to Lahore when the blast occurred, destroying two feet of the railway track, suspending the service between Balochistan and other parts of the country for many hours.

While the Jaffar Express has been targeted repeatedly, the wider Rail network across Pakistan has also come under recurring attack. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Railways in Pakistan have been attacked on at least 134 occasions since March 2000 (data till October 7, 2016). Of these, 126 attacks have been recorded in just two Provinces: Sindh and Balochistan, with 63 incidents each. 96 fatalities have been recorded in these134 attacks, with 60 killed in Balochistan and 26 in Sindh. 2010to 2014 was the worst time for the Pakistan Railways, with 104 attacks on trains, tracks and stations, resulting in the deaths of 65 people, mostly passengers, and injuries to more than another hundred.

The concentration of attacks on the Railways in two provinces – Balochistan and Sindh – is the result of separatists operating there, and engaging in different patterns of economic subversions. Attacking the Railways is one of several such tactics. Significantly, most of the attacks on Railways – as is also the case with attacks on gas pipelines – arenon-lethal. While Baloch nationalist groupings like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) have been engaged in attacks on Railways inside Balochistan, it is the relatively little known Sindhi groups, including the Sindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA), a banned separatist formation, which is fighting for the establishment of an independent Sindhu Desh, that have led the attacks inside Sindh.

Despite the attacks on Railways, security agencies have failed to meet the challenge because of shortages of both manpower and equipment. The Pakistan Railway Police is operating on personnel strength even less than what was sanctioned on the basis of Pakistan’s population in 1977. Pakistan Railway Police (PRP) was created in 1977 following the Railway Police Ordinance, 1976, after a bill was tabled by the then Federal Government. This led to the enactment of the PRP Act, 1977.After taking into account the population, number of trains and passengers, research carried out by federal institutions fixed PRP’s sanctioned at 7,522. This included one Inspector General, one Deputy Inspectors General, five Superintendents, 16 Deputy Superintendents, 22 Inspectors, 145 Sub Inspectors (SI), 104 Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI), 850 Head Constables and 6,374 Constables.

After 37 years of population and passenger growth with expanding railway stations and stoppages, PRP currently operates with 7,074 personnel. Currently PRP strength includes Inspector General, one Deputy Inspector General, 10 Superintendents, 15 Deputy Superintendents, 40 Inspectors, 169 SI, 287 ASI, 880 Head Constables and 5,671 constables.The previous IG Railway Police Syed Ibn-e-Hussain had pointed out the difficulty of ensuring safety with manpower far below what was required. A PRP spokesperson has indicated that requests for enhancement of manpower had been forwarded a number of times to the Pakistan Railways management and finance departments.

Available data indicates that PRP is ill equipped to counterthe threat of terror. PRP has just 1,625 walkie-talkie systems, 102 VHF mobile stations, 86 VHF base sets, 30 HF base sets and 300 head phones. Document available with the media in April 2012 indicated that the Railways had just 40 G-3A3 rifles for its eight Divisions; no such rifles were available at Lahore and Multan. Similarly, against the total of 10 Light Machine Guns (LMGs) in the PRP armoury, there were no LMGs in the Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sukkur and Quetta Divisions. PRP also has a small number of revolvers, pistols, shot guns and Henry Martin rifles. There is also a severe and persistent shortage of anti-riot equipment, from helmet to walkthrough gates. The entire availability is just 1,721 helmets, 2,727 polo sticks (canes), 103 tear gas guns, 350 tear gas masks, 746 anti-riot jackets, 10 mega phones, 530 metal detectors and three explosive detectors (with just one available at Lahore). Police also have 22 walkthrough gates and eight mine detection sets.

Meanwhile, PRP has been reeling under a severe financial burden.According to documents sent to the Ministry of Railways from the office of the Financial Advisor and Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Railways, dated August 11, 2016, Pakistan Railways’ losses surpassed a staggering PKR 28.3 billion, increasing by about 12.64% in fiscal year 2015-16.The corporation managed total earnings of PKR 35.97 billion during 2015-16, an increase from the PKR 31.92 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, its expenses increased to PKR 64.23 billion in 2015-16 against PKR 57.03 billion in 2014-15. The total deficit amounted PKR 28.3 billion does not include interest and repayments of foreign loans on capital and replacement accounts figures, indicating that the deficit could increase further.

Lately, Pakistan Railways has started introducing luggage scanners at major railway stations in the Karachi Division on June 20, 2016. In the initial phase, the divisional management established two luggage scanners – onefor upper class passengers and the other for lower class passengers at Karachi Cantonment Station. At present, railway passengers’ baggage is randomly inspected manually, and the objective of installing luggage scanners is to upgrade the entire security apparatus. Meanwhile, most Railway Stations do not have proper security measures and an adequate deployment of security personnel to frisk and check passengers or their bags.

The Lahore Division is also lagging behind in security measures.  The only X-ray machine at platform No 1 has been out-of-order for about four years. The walk-through gates, metal detectors and other security equipment was either not functioning or was in need of maintenance or repair.Two months after its installation on June 24, 2011, at the cost of PKR 2.9 million, the luggage X-ray or scanning machine developed some faults, which have not beenrectified till date.

In 2009, a plan was finalized to beef up security arrangements at important railway stations in the wake of the worsening law and order situation.As a first step, the railways administration decided to install close-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at 24 major stations in two phases at a cost of PKR 31 million.CCTV cameras were installed under the first phase at Peshawar, Attock, Rawalpindi, Lalamusa, Faisalabad, Multan, Khanewal, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta and Sibi stations.However, red-tapism marred the installation of the second phase of CCTV cameras at Nowshera, Jhelum, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanpur, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana and Mach stations, as funds were not released for the purpose.

Stung by the February 16, 2014, Khushhal Khan Khattak Express incident, which killed six and injured 35, the Pakistan Railways Police (PRP) devised a security plan which includes the patrolling of its tracks to evade terrorist attacks and tighten security of railway stations. PRP Inspector General Syed Ibne Hussain announced on February 18, 2014, that each Division had been provided 35 trailers with explosive detectors and bomb defusing equipment.“We are increasing our security measures with the help of the provincial governments and local police to avoid any untoward incident,” he said, adding that pedestrian teams of railway staffers would also patrol the railway tracks and that commandos had been deployed at the stations.

With the severe limitations of PRP’s manpower and resources, however, these measures have proven to be largely cosmetic. The Government’s continuing apathy towards the Railway has pushed the service into a state of chronic sickness, even as militant efforts to target its networks escalate.

INDIA

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Assam: Extortion Persists
Nijeesh N.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

On October 5, 2016, Police arrested an extortionist, identified as Safiqul Ali alias Sahidul Islam (28), from his rented residence in the Bagorbori area in Guwahati in the Kamrup District. He had reportedly sent an extortion text message to N. Sarma, Personal Secretary to the State’s Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on October 2, asking him to pay INR 50 million. In the SMS the extortionist had reportedly told N. Sarma to tell the Minister to pay the cash as demanded, and that the money be handed over to him at a tea estate in Biswanath District.

On September 28, 2016, Silapathar Press Club Secretary, Gunadhar Doley filed a complaint that he had received several extortion calls from two different cellphone numbers. No further detailsare available about the incident.

On September 25, 2016, Dipak Basumatari (32) was arrested while collecting extortion money in the name of the I.K. Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) in the Rupakhat area, on the outskirts of Tangla town,Udalguri District. One .32 pistol, three rounds of live ammunition and an unregistered scooter were recovered from his possession. According to reports, Basumatari threatened a businessman of the town and demanded INR 200,000, but agreed on INR 10,000 after negotiations.

On September 17, 2016, Police arrested two contractors, identified as Sujit Sen and Biren Tamuli, for their alleged involvement in extortion in the name of the Independent faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I), from Guwahati in Kamrup District. According to reports, they were in touch with senior leaders of ULFA-I, especially the outfit’s ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Drishti Rajkhowa. Further investigations revealed that the duowas allegedly involved in providing phone numbers of local businessmen in the region to Rajkhowa, following which several businessmen received calls from ULFA-I ‘chief’Paresh Baruah and Rajkhowa, with demands for money.

Earlier, in a sensational incident, on September 9, 2016, ULFA-I released Kuldeep Moran, the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, at Nampong along the Indo-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh, after over a month long abduction drama. Kuldeep, son of Ratneswar Moran, the vice-chairman of the Tinsukia zilla parishad (District Council) in Assam,was abducted by ULFA-I militants from Nampong in the Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh on August 1, 2016, and the militants had demanded an INR 10 million ransom for his safe release. However, Kuldeep was eventually released, reportedly without paying the ransom.

Interestingly, on August 22, 2016, for the first time in its history, ULFA-I released video footage of the abducted Kuldeep Moran, demanding the ransom from his parents. In the video, Kuldeep was shown making an appeal to his parents, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) from Sadiya Assembly Constituency in Tinsukia District, Bolin Chetia, to help him secure his release. Sources suggest that releasing the video was aimed at creating pressure on the persons concerned and panic among the people.

Reported incidents of abduction and extortion by militants in the State haveseen a sharp increase. According to Assam Police records, there were 3,146 cases of abductions registered in the State in the first half of 2016 (data till June 30). A total of 6,103 cases were registered in the year 2015; as against 5,378 cases in 2014; 4,831 cases in 2013 and 3,812 cases in 2012. The data further indicates that there were 595 extortion-related cases registered in the first half of 2016; as against 1,361 cases in 2015; 1,357 in 2014; 1,214 cases in 2013 and 1,074 cases in 2012. The Home Department record did not rule out the role of militant outfits of the region in these incidents, though most of the abductions, according to it,were carried out by ‘criminals’. Many incidents of abduction and extortion go unreported, and these numbers are likely a gross underestimate.

According to theSouth Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 417militants, belonging to different outfits, were arrested during 2016 from across the State (data till October 9, 2016), of which 57 were arrested in cases related to extortion and abduction.

As militancy-related violence in the region has come down drastically due to several factors, most prominently including sustained operations by the Security Forces (SFs), insurgent groups have started feeling the heat. Consequently, the major militant groups in the State, ULFA-I and the NBFB-IKS, have accelerated abductions and extortions to regroup and revive their activities.

According to a September 18, 2016, report,ULFA-I has started using social media such as WhatsApp to send extortion demands to soft targets, besides engaging linkmen or over ground agents to collect funds on their behalf. An unnamed senior Police officialdisclosed that ULFA-I was specially targeting tea estates in eastern Assam, where tea executives live in remote, vulnerable areas.

Reports indicate that ULFA-I served extortion demands to many noted Punjabi businessmen of the Jorhat District, besides regular demands to other businessmen of the Marwari and Bihari community, tea garden owners and State Government officers. Notably, the demand has come from the ‘chairman’ of the outfit, Abhijit Asom, and is made in the name of the ‘party fund’ towards the cause of the ‘ULFA movement’. Some other demands have come from Jibon Asom, a lesser known ULFA-I leader. The demands range from INR 500,000 to INR 5 million, are made directly in the name ofthe ULFA-I ‘chairman’ and have created terror and sensation in the community. Reports indicate that security agencies have traced the whereabouts of elusive ULFA-I ‘chief’ Paresh Baruah in China and confirmed that the outfit’s fresh extortion drive was started following a directive from Baruah.

ULFA-I has a strong base in neighbouring Myanmar, which can be accessed through Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and is using human carries to transfer extorted money to its Myanmarese camps. For this, the ULFA-I militants are suspected to be operating in close coordination with the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) to reach Myanmar though Nagaland, and the Changlang, Tirap and Longding Districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

In addition, ULFA-I has started a fresh move to recruit youth from Upper Assam Districts (Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar).This came to light after five militants, including four new recruits,all in their twenties,were arrested on September 15, 2016, from Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri Districts. According to the Police, they were on their way to Myanmar for arms training. Sources disclosed that one of the arrested militants, Anil Borah alias Utpal Asom (31), was entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting youth to increase the strength of the outfit and he managed to rope in around 25 to 30 youngsters.Most of the newly recruited cadres are believed to have been mobilised in to carry out abductions and extortions, and to act as carriers.

It is significant that ULFA-I suffered repeated and major jolts due to splits, arrests and killings in recent counter-insurgency operations. According to the Assam Police, the current strength of the organisation is between 240 and 300, down from an estimated peak of 5,000 for the undivided ULFA in late 1990s.

NDFB-IKS mirrors many of ULFA-I’s activities. The outfit also uses bank accounts of some persons in Nagaland to route extortion money to their Myanmar camps. Sources claimed, "Certain percentage of the money is given to the bank account holder as commission." In order to avoid detection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the funds are transferred in small amounts not exceeding INR 100,000.

Chirang Police recently foiled an attempt by NDFB-IKS militants and their sympathisers to remit money obtained through extortion to their camps in Myanmar and arrested five suspects in connection with this case in a series of incidents on September 7 – 8, 2016. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Chirang, Tabu Ram Pegu, disclosed that the accused had planned to transfer INR 40,000 to a bank account in Nagaland, and from there human couriers would have been used to ship the money to the outfit's camps in the forests of Myanmar. According to sources, NDFB-IKS has stepped up its extortion drive in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) and adjoining areas through their cadres and linkmen, mostly local youths belonging to poor families, including girls.

Not surprisingly, resentment is brewing among civilians who receive frequent extortion demand letters from militant groups. Worse, the victims are exposed to harassment from both the militants and the Police. Failure to pay ransom to the outfits, according to reports, attracts ‘severe punishment’ from the militants, including loss of life. On the other hand, caught in the act of paying ransom secretly ensures jail terms under different sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act (UAPA).

Indeed, though the level of militancy-related violence has come down considerably in the State over the last several years, the general law and order situation in the State remains troubling, as the security system is yet to develop to cope up with new threats. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, there were as many as 103,616 cases registered at the different Police Stations of the State in 2015, under the provisions of the IPC, adding to 113,086 cases in the previous year (2014), which had not been disposed of. Out of these, the Assam Police was able to file charge-sheets only in respect of 48,612 cases, leaving an overwhelming proportion of the cases in limbo.Further, due to non–filing of charge–sheets, the persons involved in a majority of the cases get bail easily and often abscond or return to their criminal activities. Significantly, the (actual) police population ratio in the State stands at 163 per 100,000 population,well above the national average of 139, but much lower than the 222 United Nations (UN) benchmark for peacetime policing, and also well below all the other militancy infected Northeastern States:thus, the ratio in Manipur is 984/100,000, Nagaland 939/100,000 and Meghalaya 457/100,000 (Bureau of Police Research & Development 2015 data).

Meanwhile, in the wake of the increasing extortion activities by the militants in the eastern Assam Districts, which have borders with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sonowal, who also retains the Home portfolio, reviewed the law and order situation in the region, in the meetings with Police chiefs of the eastern Assam Districts at Dibrugarh and Tinsukiaon September 12, 2016.At the meetings, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the sudden rise in such incidents in the Districts. He stated that all insurgent elements would be dealt with firmly, and urged the Police and other security agencies to work in tandem to prevent such incidents.

The crisis of enveloping insurgency that long afflicted Assam has been marginalized, but its fallout in terms of persistent and disruptive criminal activities continues to bedevil civilian populations. A significant tightening of the intelligence-security net, and initiatives to address the problem of surviving safe havens for militant leaderships abroad – particularly in Myanmar – will be necessary before more acceptable conditions can be imposed, and a normalisation of the political and social order can be achieved.

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

Islamist Terrorism

INDIA

Jammu and Kashmir

Left-Wing Extremism

Bihar

Chhattisgarh

Odisha

Total (INDIA)

PAKISTAN

Balochistan

FATA

Sindh

Total (PAKISTAN)