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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 12, No. 10, September 9, 2013
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
|
Faustian
Bargains
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
The brouhaha
over the impending ‘peace talks’ between Nawaz Sharif
led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Government and
the Hakimullah Mehsud led Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
seems to have subsided for some time now. On August 31,
2013, TTP ‘spokesperson’ Shahidullah Shahid denied any
level of talks with the Government, adding that no contacts
had been made between the two sides, and that no offer
of talks had been received. In an official acknowledgment,
referring to reports of talks between the two sides, Federal
Minister for Interior Nisar Ali Khan Chaudhry confirmed,
on September 1, 2013, “These reports are baseless as the
decision to talk with the TTP would be taken during the
All Parties’ Conference (APC) after taking political parties
into confidence.”
Interestingly,
these two statements are in stark contrast to what Federal
Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid had stated on August
30, 2013: “Headway has been made with respect to informal
contacts between the Government and the Taliban... The
process for evolving peace formulas has been started so
that chaos and violence could be eliminated which has
cost us thousands of lives.” And unnamed senior TTP leader
confirmed, on the same day, that initial contacts between
the two sides had been established and that the talks
encompassed a wide range of issues, including prevention
of sectarian violence and snapping of ties with al Qaeda
and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
Since the
days of his campaign for the May 2013 General Elections,
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed the desire to
hold talks with the terrorist leadership. Not surprisingly,
on August 19, 2013, in his first televised address to
the nation after taking office on June 5, 2013, Sharif
called for dialogue with the terrorist formations, primarily
the TTP, to end bloodshed. He also warned that his Government
would use force to stamp out terrorism from the country.
The Hakimullah Mehsud-led TTP rejected that offer on August
24, 2013, and expelled the ‘chief’ of TTP’s Punjab Chapter
(also known as the Punjabi Taliban) Asmatullah Muawiya
who had welcomed the offer of talks by Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif on August 20, 2013. Muawiya had, however,
rejected the move, declaring that the Punjabi Taliban
is a separate group and it has its own decision-making
body to decide leadership and other matters. Clearly,
the TTP was not willing to engage in any level of talks
with the Government unless it had secured its own perceived
‘interests’, even at the cost of internal bickering.
Even earlier,
on February 3, 2013, TTP had expressed willingness to
hold talks with the Government, but on two preconditions:
the release of seven of its leaders and guarantees by
leaders of PML-N, Jama’at-e-Ulema Islam-Fazlur Rehman
(JUI-F) and Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI) that the exercise would
be fruitful. In a video message released in Peshawar,
TTP’s then ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan declared, "The
release of Muslim Khan, Maulvi Omar and five other TTP
leaders is a prerequisite for talks, while former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Syed
Munawar Hasan should be the guarantors." He added
that the release of Muslim Khan and Maulvi Omar was essential,
because they would be TTP's main negotiators.
However,
the TTP’s position was reversed after the killing of its
‘deputy chief’ Wali-ur-Rehman, in a US drone attack in
the North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) on May 29, 2013. On May 30, 2013,
Ehsan said, “We had made a sincere offer of peace dialogue
with the Government but we strongly believe that the Government
has a role to play in the drone strikes. That is why the
Taliban central shura has decided to completely
cancel the offer. This is now a final decision. We will
teach a lesson to Pakistan and United States for depriving
us of our leader.” Khan Syed replaced Wali-ur-Rehman as
the ‘deputy chief’ soon after.
After Prime
Minister Sharif took over, his offer of talks was thought,
by certain quarters, to be a welcome move. Subsequent
later political and other developments, however, exposed
the resulting bewilderment within the ruling classes and
the internal fractures within the TTP. The prospects of
peace talks were quickly muddied by ever changing official
statements and a visible hardening of the TTP position.
In the
past as well, the Government had made attempts at striking
several peace deals, but with little success. On October
2, 2011, the then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had
made a similar offer, declaring that his administration
was ready to hold negotiations with all militant groups,
including TTP. Accepting the offer, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad,
TTP’s Bajaur chapter ‘deputy commander’ and ‘commander-in-chief’,
on October 3, 2011, declared, “TTP welcomes the Prime
Minister’s offer.” The deal was quickly stalled after
Faqir Muhammad set two impossible preconditions for talks:
the Government should redefine its relationship with the
US; and enforce Islamic Sharia’h law in the country.
Living
under perpetual threat and succumbing periodically to
terrorist pressure, the civilian Government has failed
to act consistently against terrorists. On August 18,
2013, following threats from Punjabi Taliban leader Asmatullah
Muawiya, the Government ordered a temporary stay on execution
of convicted terrorists. On August 12, 2013, Muawiya had
warned, “the Government will have to pay a price” for
the execution of TTP prisoners. Soon after, the executions
of three LeJ terrorists, Attaullah alias Qasim,
Mohammad Azam alias Sharif and Jalal alias
Abdul Jalil, who were to be executed on August 20, August
21 and August 22, respectively, were stayed, and remain
pending with the Government. On July 4, 2013, Pakistan
had ended a moratorium on executions, which had been imposed
in 2008. Indeed, while conditionally welcoming the peace
talk offer on August 20, 2013, Asmatullah Muawiya had
demanded an indefinite stay on all executions. No execution
has occurred since the purported lifting of the moratorium.
In the
meanwhile, the rampage of terrorist violence continues
across Pakistan. According to partial data compiled by
the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least
4,327 persons, including 2,393 civilians, 532 Security
Force (SF) personnel and 1,402 terrorists, have been killed
in terrorism-related incidents in the current year alone
(all data till September 8, 2013). Since the official
formation of TTP on December 14, 2007, at least 42,985
fatalities have been reported in terrorism-related incidents
across the country, including 14,664 civilians, 4,161
SF personnel and 24,162 terrorists.
The problem
of terrorism within Pakistan is unlikely to be resolved
unless the broader support the state establishment offers
to a wide range of jihadist formations is not brought
to an end. Pakistan continues to aggressively support
terrorist formations operating against Afghanistan and
India, even as it seeks to neutralize groups operating
within the country. However, the distinctions between
these various formations are progressively blurred; not
only do they share certain ideological fundamentals there
is increasing evidence of operational cooperation. The
TTP presence in Afghanistan is increasingly visible, and
it has widely been seen to operate in coordination with
the Afghan Taliban. The group has also been making strident
pronouncements on the ‘oppression of Muslims in India’
and the imperatives of jihad there, and, while
there is no evidence yet of any direct operation of TTP
cadres in India, the lines between TTP membership and
the cadre base of groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
are far from clearly drawn.
There is
little reason to believe that Prime Minister Sharif’s
approach to terrorism can be substantively distinguished
from the past policy of duplicity towards Islamist terrorism
in Pakistan, driven by a desire to continue with jihadist
mobilisation as an instrument of state policy, but to
contain the blowback of violence within the country. It
is, moreover, far from clear that the civilian Government
actually exercises a sufficient authority on these issues,
which have traditionally fallen under the sway of the
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and military leadership.
The charade of peace initiatives cannot transform the
basic realities of radicalization, extremist establishment
politics, and the relentless state sponsorship of terrorism
in Pakistan. Unless these realities are addressed, it
is unlikely that Pakistan will secure any greater relief
from the scourge of its own creation.
|
A
New Dark Age for Women
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
With the
drawdown
of allied Forces inching closer, the Afghan Taliban
and its affiliates in their pursuit of the enforcement
of a brutal extremist Islamism have escalated violence
and oppression against women across the country. Women
who defied the Taliban’s diktat and came out of their
homes to started work have been targeted with increasing
frequency. Others, who have criticized or otherwise challenged
the Taliban have also faced extreme consequences.
Sushmita
Bandyopadhyay, a woman of Indian origin, was brutally
killed by Afghan Taliban terrorists at Kharana in the
Paktika Province in the night of September 4, 2013. Dawlat
Khan Zadran, the Paktika Police Chief, disclosed, “The
militants arrived before dawn at Banerjee's residence.
They tied up her husband and other members of the family.
The militants then dragged Banerjee outside, took her
to a nearby road and shot her at least 15 times. Her body
was dumped at a madrassah with some of her hair
ripped out. It seems the killers were angry with the book
and the film.” Indeed, the Taliban militants were angry.
A close relative of the victim said, "They (Taliban
militants) were saying, why have you written all these
nasty things about us?"
Bandyopadhyay
had converted to Islam and rechristened herself Sayeda
Kamala after her marriage to Jaanbaz Khan, an Afghan citizen.
She had authored a trilogy of memoirs, including the volume
Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou (Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife),
published in 1998; followed by Mullah Omar, Taliban
O Ami (Mullah Omar, Taliban, and I), in 2000; and
finally, Ek Borno Mithya Noi (Not a Word is a Lie),
in 2001, in which she documented Taliban atrocities in
Afghanistan. These memoirs became the basis for the 2003
Bollywood film Escape from Taliban. According to
an October 8, 2001, report, her husband Jaanbaz Khan,
had then stated, "I am being pressurized to give
talaq to my Bengali wife, Sushmita Bandopadhay,
whom I married here in Kolkata in 1989, if the shooting
of the film is not stopped. The Taliban have sent word
they cannot guarantee the safety of my family members
who live in Sharana village near Ghazni, if the film is
made."
Sushmita
had returned to Afghanistan in January 2013 and had been
working as a paramedic at a Government facility there.
There has
also been a slew of attacks against women in power. On
August 7, 2013, Taliban terrorists ambushed the convoy
of Afghan woman Senator, Rouh Gul Khirzad, seriously wounding
her in the attack and killing her 8-year-old daughter
and a bodyguard in the Muqur District of Gazni Province.
Khirzad’s husband, son and another daughter were also
wounded in the attack. Khirzad was the head of the Defence
and Internal Security Commission.
On July
3, 2013, 2nd Lieutenant Isla Bibi, the commander
of women Police officers in Helmand Province (there are
32 female officers among a 7,000 strong Police Force in
Helmand), was killed in Lashkar Gah, the Provincial capital.
Earlier, this year, in a media interview, Isla Bibi had
spoken of the tremendous opposition she had faced to her
decision to join the Force: “My brother, father and sisters
were all against me. In fact my brother tried to kill
me three times.”
According
to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s
(UNAMA) Annual Report, 2012, the number of female civilian
casualties in 2012 stood at 864 (301 deaths and 563 injuries),
a 20 per cent increase over 2011. Women and girls killed
and injured in incidents of targeted killings more than
tripled in 2012, with 51 casualties, in comparison to
16 in 2011. Most of these incidents followed threats by
terrorists against the women in relation to their work
with the Government on women’s issues. For instance, on
July 13, 2012, terrorists detonated a magnetic improvised
explosive device (IED) against the vehicle of the Provincial
Director of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Laghman
Province, Hanifa Safi, killing her and wounding her husband
and daughter at Mehtarlam, the Provincial Capital. Similarly,
on December 10, 2012, two armed Taliban terrorists shot
dead the Provincial (Acting) Director of the Ministry
of Women's Affairs in Laghman Province, Najia Siddiqi,
in the Sharmaki area of Mehtarlam. UNAMA in its Mid-Year
Report 2013, has disclosed that, in the first six months
of 2013, conflict-related violence killed 106 women and
injured 241 (347 total casualties), a 61 per cent increase
over the same period in 2012. Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s
Director of Human Rights, observed, “The growing loss
of life and injuries to Afghan women and children in 2013
is particularly disturbing.”
Speaking
of the deteriorating condition of women in Afghanistan,
Noor Zia Atmar, a Member of Afghan Parliament from 2005
to 2010, who now lives in a Home for abused women after
escaping from her husband, observed, on August 11, 2013,
Women
are in a worse condition now. Every day they are
being killed, having their ears, noses cut. It is
not just women in villages – it is also people like
me… It will be a huge tragedy if the world will
forget about Afghan women altogether after the drawdown.
We must remove fundamentalism from Afghanistan.
The world should remember that the fire from here
might not reach their country, but the smoke will.
|
The same
Noor Zia Atmar, just three years earlier, had travelled
the world with her colleagues to show that things were
changing dramatically in Afghanistan. She had then been
right in her assumption. The new Afghan Constitution,
adopted in January 2004, prohibited any form of discrimination
against any Afghan national, including women. Further,
the Government of Afghanistan became a signatory to major
international conventions which guaranteed women’s rights.
Some of these treaties include the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International
Convention on Civil and Political Rights; the Declaration
of Elimination of Violence against Women; and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women. There were, moreover, visible indices of improvement
in the condition of women: the maternal mortality rate
was reduced from 1,600 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 2001 to 327 in 2012. Women, who did not have the right
to education, work and even movement without being escorted
by a male relative before 2001, now account for 22 per
cent of Government employees across the country.
However,
the growing Taliban influence and the Karzai Government’s
insistence on establishing good relations with the Taliban,
have changed the nature of Governance in the country,
with conservatives quickly restoring their influence.
This has stopped the Government from taking steps to enhance
the status of women and have dampened efforts to extend
greater protection to them in public spaces.
In May
2013, the Parliament, amidst opposition by the conservatives,
failed to ratify the Law on Elimination of Violence against
Women (EVAW), which had come into force under a Presidential
decree in 2009. Though the law is still in force, pro
reform groups fear it could be reversed unless it is ratified
by Parliament. More worryingly, according to a July 2013
report, Parliament is considering a proposal for a criminal
law revision that would effectively deny women legal protection
from domestic violence. Human Rights Watch Asia Director
Brad Adams observed, “Afghanistan’s Lower House is proposing
to protect the batterers of women and girls from criminal
punishment. Legislative approval of this criminal law
revision would effectively stop prosecutions of people
who beat, forcibly marry, and even sell their female relatives.”
On the
electoral front, on July 15, 2013, the National Assembly
passed a new electoral law according to which the women’s
quota in the new Provincial Council would be reduced to
20 per cent, down from 25 per cent under the earlier electoral
law of 2004.
The pressure,
both within Afghanistan and as a result of increasing
US desperation to secure an ordered withdrawal of Forces
through some sort of negotiated settlement with the Taliban
and its masters in Pakistan, is jeopardizing the tentative
and fragile gains of the past years. All of Afghanistan
would, of course, pay the price for a restoration of radicalism
in the country; but women would be the worst affected
in the new Dark Age that now threatens this blighted nation.
|
Assam:
Uncertain Drift
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On September
1,2013, Assam Governor, J B Patnaik expressed satisfaction
over the progress of peace talks with the Pro-Talks Faction
of United Liberation front of Asom’s (ULFA-PTF).
The Government described the faction as the “real ULFA”
and claimed there may be some significant announcement
“soon” on the outcome of the dialogue held so far. Governor
Patnaik added further, that the still active ‘Independent’
faction of ULFA (ULFA-I) leader Paresh Baruah and members
of his group would not be “harassed” by security agencies
if they come forward for peace talks with the Government
to secure a lasting solution to the insurgency in Assam.
However,
the Anti-Talks Faction of ULFA (ULFA-ATF), which had renamed
itself ULFA-I during its central executive committee meeting
on April 2-5, 2013, insists that talks on the issue of
‘sovereignty’ of Assam can only be held in a “third country”,
in the presence of representatives of the United Nations,
conditions that would be entirely unacceptable to the
Government.
Further,
on August 25, 2013, ULFA-I dismissed the peace talks by
the Arabinda Rajkhowa-led ULFA-PTF, underlining the fact
that it had adopted the “independent” tag to distance
itself from the name associated with erstwhile leaders
who “surrendered to the enemy”. In an editorial in its
mouthpiece, Swadhinata (Freedom), the outfit termed
ULFA as “the past of the united fight for Assam’s liberation”
and ULFA-I as the present and future of the movement.
The mouthpiece further stated that ULFA was not divided;
the “uncompromising members” had just begun a new journey
to attain its original objective.
ULFA-I
continues to engage in violent acts and is also forming
alliances
with other militant groups in the State and region. Most
recently, on July 28, 2013, suspected ULFA-I militants
exploded a hand grenade, causing injuries to15 persons,
at Paltan Bazar in the Guwahati city area of the Kamrup
(Metro) District. Subsequently, on August 1, one of the
wounded persons succumbed to his injuries.On July 23,
2013, suspected ULFA-I militants had hurled three grenades
at three different places in the North Lakhimpur Town
of Lakhimpur District, resulting in injuries to five civilians.
The formation was also involved in the one major incident
(resulting in three or more fatalities) of terrorist violence
recorded in the State this year. On April 19, 2013, an
Inspector of the Assam Police, identified as Lohit Sonowal,
two militants, identified as Raktajeet Hazarika and Ananta
Moran, of the ULFA-I, and one civilian, were killed in
an encounter at Kordoiguri village in Tinsukia District.
The civilian, identified as Pona Moran, died in the crossfire.
Meanwhile,
after the recent (sixth) tripartite meeting involving
representatives of the Central and Assam Governments and
ULFA-PTF, held in Delhi on June 26, 2013, both State Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union Ministry of Home Affairs
(UMHA) officials announced ‘significant progress’ in the
peace process. Government and ULFA-PTF have met six times
since 2011.
On July
5, 2013, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, disclosed that the
Central Government was “seriously considering” ULFA-PTF’s
proposal to accord tribal status to the State: "One
of ULFA's major demands is the Scheduled Tribe (ST) tag
for the six indigenous communities. I also demand the
same. After the move, the tribal population of the State
will be in majority." Chief Minister Gogoi further
observed that he was certain that the Union Ministry of
Tribal Affairs would give its nod to the proposal. The
six communities include Koch Rajbongshis, Moran, Chutia,
Muttock, Tai-Ahom and Adivasi. While the Moran, Chutia,
Muttock and Tai-Ahom communities reside principally in
the Upper Assam region, the Koch Rajbongshis are concentrated
in lower Assam. Adivasis inhabit Upper, Central and Lower
Assam.
An unnamed
senior ULFA-PTF leader, however, said the group had discussed
the tribal State issue mainly among themselves: “The issue
is not on the official agenda for the talks yet.”
Crucially,
the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs had, on August 22,
2013, rejected a separate demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST)
status for the six communities of the State, stating that
the communities could not fulfill the five criteria for
identification as STs. Under the circumstances, it is
not clear how a proposal for declaring the entire State
‘Tribal’ could receive any easy assent from the same Ministry.
After the
meeting, Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary (Northeast) in
the MHA, stated, “We have reached a point almost close
to finalising a working draft. Certain things are still
under discussion but we hope the working draft will be
ready very soon.” He said the Government has understood
the concerns and demands of ULFA and was trying to reach
an amicable solution to the three issues on which there
was no agreement yet: protection of political and cultural
identity of the indigenous people of Assam; land rights;
and illegal immigration. Singh added, “From the three
issues, the Union Home Secretary will start the process
of consultation with all stakeholders.”
The parent
ULFA, which had led the fight for ‘Sovereign Assam’, suffered
a split on February 5, 2011, when its general council
[in absence of Paresh Baruah] endorsed the resolution
of the Central Executive Council (CEC) to sit for talks
with the Central Government without any precondition.
Earlier attempts to initiate peace
talks with the then united ULFA had
failed. However, the Bangladeshi
action against the group in 2009-2010,
when most of the top leadership of the outfit was handed
over to India, induced the captured
ULFA leadership to seek a compromise.
Earlier, two companies [Alpha and Charlie] of ULFA’s Upper
Assam-based ‘28th battalion’, the most potent strike group
of the outfit, had announced a unilateral
ceasefire with the Government on June
24, 2008.
Even before
the peace talks initiative commenced in 2011, undivided
ULFA 'publicity secretary' Mithinga Daimary [now with
ULFA-PTF], on December 3, 2009, had expressed doubts about
a peace process without the participation of the outfit’s
top ‘commander’, Paresh Baruah: "It is possible to
hold talks within the framework of the Constitution [Indian],
but talks without Baruah [Paresh Baruah] would be unrealistic
and would not solve the problem... sovereignty must be
the basis for talks; though whether it will be achieved
or not, the future alone can tell."
Significantly,
ULFA-PTF’s 12 point charter
of demands does not include
the original ‘core demand’ of ‘sovereignty’.
The idea
of converting Assam into a tribal State has also met with
some opposition, particularly from the Barak Valley region
[consisting of the Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi Districts]
of Assam. The Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya o Sanskriti
Sammelon, the apex literary and cultural body of the
Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, on July 15, 2013, expressed
opposition to any such move and warned that if Assam is
declared a tribal state, it result in a 'deep crisis'.
The literary body however maintained that it does not
oppose granting tribal status to the six tribal communities
and supports ULFA peace talks.
The All
India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the principle opposition
party in Assam, has stated that the grant of tribal State
status to Assam would lead to the deprivation of political
and other rights to over 50 per cent of its population.
The Asom
Sangkhyalaghu Sangram Parishad (Assam Minority Struggle
Forum), during its meeting with Union Home Minister Sushil
Kumar Shinde, on July 11, 2013, also stated that any move
to declare Assam a tribal State would be “strongly opposed.”
The ULFA
peace talks have also drawn criticism from a section of
ULFA-PTF and surrendered militants due to their secrecy,
the absence of surrendered militants and of Paresh Baruah.
A senior ULFA-PTF member, Prabal Neog, warned “We have
seen how the Assam Accord went. We do not want another
accord, which will not be strong enough to safeguard the
people’s rights. So, it is important that ULFA cadres
are aware of the direction in which the talks are headed.
We will not settle for a soft deal with the Centre. Any
wrong move may lead to another armed movement.”
The All
Assam Surrendered ULFA Committee, on July 23, 2013, further
asserted that the ongoing peace talks with the Arabinda
Rajkhowa-led ULFA-PTF would prove futile unless and until
all the surrendered and ULFA-I militants were taken into
confidence. The Committee also demanded withdrawal of
nearly 15,000 cases pending against around 3,000 surrendered
ULFA cadres in the State.
The ULFA-PTF
militants have also been involved in crimes such as extortion
and abduction. On August 20, 2012, Police arrested the
'commander' of ULFA-PTF’s ‘709 battalion’, Hira Sarania,
from the designated camp at Helacha in Nalbari District
on charges of extortion and abduction of a businessperson,
Ranjan Lohia, of Guwahati city. According to a February
11, 2012, report, 26 ULFA-PTF militants had been arrested
between October 2011 and February 2012 for flouting ceasefire
rules. Security Forces (SFs) also recovered 18 weapons
from the arrested militants.
Further,
the fate of ULFA’s founding ‘General Secretary’ Anup Chetia,
perceived to be a crucial signatory in any successful
peace deal, remains unknown. Chetia is presently held
in a Rajshahi Central Jail in Bangladesh, pending a political
decision to determine whether his case would come under
the extradition treaty signed with India.
The Government’s
‘positive engagement’ with ULFA-PTF, moreover, comes at
a time when most past as well as recent accords with militant
formation in the State are under strain due to renewed
separate Statehood movements. Under the circumstances
the outcome of any deal with ULFA-PTF is unlikely to secure
lasting peace.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
September
2-8, 2013
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
Meghalaya
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
Odisha
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
1
|
10
|
17
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
FATA
|
5
|
0
|
7
|
12
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
6
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
Punjab
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
Sindh
|
30
|
6
|
8
|
44
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
Statehood
demands
can't
be
met
for
now,
says
Union
Home
Minister
Sushil
Kumar
Shinde:
Union
Home
Minister
(UHM),
Sushil
Kumar
Shinde
made
it
clear
that
other
statehood
demands
would
have
to
wait
for
now.
When
asked
about
the
fate
of
demands
for
states
like
Gorkhaland,
Vidarbha,
Bodoland,
etc,
which
had
gathered
pitch
after
the
Congress
Working
Committee
(CWC)
agreed
to
concede
Telangana,
UHM,
Shinde
said:
"These
cannot
be
considered
immediately...as
and
when
it
is
needed,
we
will
consider
them".
Times
of
India,
September
8,
2013.
Maoists
recruit
10,000
minors
for
non-combat
operations:
Nearly
10,000
children,
including
girls,
have
been
"recruited"
by
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
across
Chhattisgarh,
Odisha,
Bihar
and
Jharkhand
to
serve
as
intelligence
gatherers
or
perform
chores
as
cooks
and
couriers.
Though
these
minor
recruits
-
mostly
aged
between
10
to
15
-
don't
carry
arms,
they
are
given
the
basic
training
to
handle
weapons.
While
around
3,000-4,000
children
alone
stand
enrolled
into
"bal
sangham"
in
Chhattisgarh
and
Odisha,
the
young
hands
working
for
Maoists
in
Jharkhand
and
Bihar
are
organized
under
'bal
dasta'.
Times
of
India,
September
7,
2013.
Ominous
signs
of
revival
of
Sikh
militancy,
say
Indian
Security
Agencies:
At
least
10
top
Sikh
militants,
holed
up
in
Pakistan
for
many
years,
are
under
pressure
from
Pakistan's
intelligence
agencies
to
revive
Sikh
militancy
in
India,
Indian
intelligence
sources
claimed
on
September
5.
"Pakistan
is
so
desperate
to
reactivate
the
militant
leaders
that
it
has
told
them
to
either
create
turmoil
in
India
-
or
quit
Pakistani
territory
for
good,"
said
an
unnamed
senior
security
official.
Security
officials
say
the
list
of
10
names
have
been
shared
with
several
Police
forces,
including
those
in
Delhi
and
Punjab.
IBN
Live,
September
6,
2013.
Yasin
Bhatkal
reveals
responsibility
for
German
Bakery
blast:
Indian
Mujahideen's
(IM)
'operational
chief'
in
India,
Yasin
Bhatkal,
who
was
arrested
on
August
28,
2013,
during
his
interrogation
admitted
responsibility
for
the
February
13,
2010,
German
Bakery
blast
in
Pune
and
named
another
individual
as
his
accomplice.
Bhatkal
identified
Mohammed
Qateel
Siddiqui,
a
resident
Darbhanga
District
of
Bihar
as
his
fellow-conspirator,
saying
they
wanted
to
target
the
foreigner
"Jews"
frequenting
the
bakery
in
the
tony
Koregaon
Park
area
of
Pune.
Hindustan
Times,
September
4,
2013.
Karnataka
Government
invites
Naxals
for
talks:
The
Karnataka
Government
have
invited
Naxalites
[Left
Wing
Extremists
(LWEs)]
for
talks.
"The
Karnataka
government
have
invited
Naxalites
[Left
Wing
Extremists
(LWEs)]
for
talks,"
State
Revenue
Minister
V.
Srinivas
Prasad
said
on
September
4.
Srinivas
Prasad
said
that
if
Naxals
reveal
their
problems
and
the
objectives
for
which
they
are
fighting,
then
the
Government
will
try
to
solve
their
problems
by
finding
suitable
solutions.
He
said
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
activities
in
the
State
had
come
down.
The
Hindu,
September
5,
2013.
NEPAL
CPN-Maoist-Baidya
conducts
combat
training
in
Rukum
District:
The
agitating
Mohan
Baidya
led
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(CPN-Maoist-Baidya)
has
conducted
an
underground
combat
training
for
its
cadres
in
Rukum
District
with
a
view
to
preparing
them
for
disrupting
the
Constituent
Assembly
(CA)
polls
scheduled
for
November
19.
During
the
weeklong
residential
training
held
at
Garayala
village
in
western
Rukum
District,
36
cadres
were
trained
in
warfare
skills.
Myrepublica,
September
5,
2013.
PAKISTAN
30
civilians
and
eight
militants
among
44
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Sindh:
Four
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
and
target
killing
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District),
the
provincial
capital
of
Sindh,
on
September
7.
Three
persons
including
ANP
leader
shot
dead
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
Karachi
on
September
6.
Five
persons
including
three
TTP
militants
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
on
September
5.
As
many
as
14
people,
including
a
naval
officer
and
one
Rangers
personnel,
were
killed
in
Karachi
on
September
4.
Nine
persons,
including
an
Assistant
Sub-Inspector
(ASI),
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
Karachi
on
September
3.
Eight
persons,
including
three
militants,
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
Karachi
on
September
2.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
3-9,
2013.
JuD
Chief
Hafiz
Muhammad
Saeed
holds
rally
in
Islamabad:
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
founder
and
Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD)
Chief
Hafiz
Muhammad
Saeed,
who
has
USD
10
million
United
States
(US)
bounty
on
his
head,
appeared
openly
at
a
rally
in
Islamabad
on
September
6,
denouncing
India
as
a
'terrorist
state'
as
more
than
10,000
of
his
supporters
chanted
for
"holy
war"
against
India.
"The
United
States
and
India
are
very
angry
with
us.
This
means
God
is
happy
with
us,"
Saeed
told
the
crowd
as
supporters
chanted
Jihad
(Holy
war)
and
'War
will
continue
until
the
liberation
of
Kashmir'.
Daily
Times,
September
7,
2013.
Army
not
involved
in
any
military
operation
in
Balochistan,
claims
Army
Chief
Ashfaq
Pervez
Kayani:Army
chief
General
Ashfaq
Parvez
Kayani
on
September
6
denied
the
perception
that
a
military
operation
is
underway
in
Balochistan.
He
said
that
the
troops
are
in
barracks
and
not
a
single
soldier
is
engaged
in
army
operation
in
the
province.
Kayani
said
that
Pakistan's
defence
lies
in
the
strong
and
prosperous
Balochistan.
"
It
is
not
just
a
coincidence
that
I'm
celebrating
the
National
Defence
Day
in
the
Sui
town
of
Balochistan,
but
it
is
a
matter
of
importance
and
honour
which
the
army
keeps
for
Balochistan,"
he
said
during
a
passing-out
parade
of
cadets
at
the
Military
College
Sui
(MCS).
Daily
Times,
September
7,
2013.
MFN
status
will
be
given
to
India,
Finance
Minister
Ishaq
Dar
assures
to
IMF:
Pakistan
on
September
6
assured
the
International
Monetary
Fund
(IMF)
to
grant
Most
Favoured
Nation
(MFN)
status
to
India
and
move
towards
eliminating
the
negative
list
on
trade
with
the
neighbour
as
part
of
its
overall
trade
policy.
"We
are
moving
forward
with
eliminating
the
negative
list
on
trade
with
India
and
extending
India
MFN
status,
and
shifting
to
'sensitive
list'
under
SAFTA
(South
Asia
Free
Trade
Arrangement)
regime
to
facilitate
increased
regional
trade,"
Finance
Minister
Ishaq
Dar
assured
the
IMF
in
writing
during
negotiations
for
recently
approved
USD
6.64
billion
economic
bailout
package.
Dawn,
September
7,
2013.
Pakistan
understands
importance
of
nuclear-security,
says
US:
The
US
State
Department
on
September
4
said
that
Pakistan
has
a
professional
and
dedicated
Security
Force
that
fully
understands
the
importance
of
nuclear
security.
In
a
statement
issued
on
September
4
evening,
the
Department's
spokesperson
Jen
Psaki
also
welcomed
Pakistan's
reiteration
of
its
commitment
to
disarmament
and
non-proliferation.
"We
welcome
Pakistan's
statement
yesterday
that
it
is
fully
committed
to
the
objectives
of
disarmament
and
non-proliferation,"
Ms
Psaki
said.
Dawn,
September
6,
2013.
Tirah
Valley
in
FATA
cleared
of
terrorists,
declares
Army:
Army
on
September
4
cleared
Tirah
Valley
in
Khyber
Agency
of
Federally
Administrative
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
of
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
militants
and
restored
the
Government's
writ
after
a
successful
operation
that
killed
104
militants
and
injured
64
others.
At
least
eight
soldiers,
including
an
officer,
were
lost
during
the
operation.
Operational
Commander
Major
General
Humayun
Aziz
said
the
militants
have
fled
to
Afghanistan
to
avoid
arrest
or
being
killed
by
the
forces.
Daily
Times,
September
5,
2013.
Supreme
Court
refuses
to
rule
on
drone
attacks
issue:
The
Supreme
Court
on
September
4
dismissed
an
appeal
against
the
drone
attacks
in
the
tribal
areas
saying
that
judicial
involvement
in
the
matters
relating
to
the
drone
hits
might
contravene
the
Constitution.
A
two-member
bench
of
the
apex
court
comprising
Justice
Tassaduq
Hussain
Jilani
and
Justice
Amir
Hani
Muslim
dismissed
the
appeal
and
ruled
that
the
issues,
raised
in
the
petition
filed
by
Wukala
Mahaz
Barai
Tahafuz
Dastoor,
were
neither
justiciable
nor
they
fell
within
the
judicial
domain
for
interference
under
Article
199
of
the
Constitution
of
Islamic
Republic
of
Pakistan.
The
News,
September
5,
2013.
Talks
with
Government
not
initiated
yet,
says
TTP:
The
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
on
September
4
again
denied
initiating
any
kind
of
talks
with
the
Government.
The
TTP
'spokesman',
Shahidullah
Shahid,
told
a
private
news
channel
from
an
undisclosed
location
that
the
TTP
also
supported
reconciliation
and
some
Ulema
had
also
contacted
the
TTP
for
peace
talks.
He
said
internal
consultations
on
holding
or
not
holding
talks
with
the
Government
were
underway
within
the
TTP.
However,
he
said,
no
final
decision
had
been
made
in
this
regard
so
far.
The
News,
September
5,
2013.
Al
Qaeda
sets
up
anti-drone
cells,
says
The
Washington
Post:
Al
Qaeda's
leaders
have
set
up
cells
of
engineers
to
try
to
shoot
down,
disable
or
hijack
US
drones,
The
Washington
Post
reported
on
September
3
citing
top-secret
US
intelligence
documents.
The
al
Qaeda
leadership
is
"hoping
to
exploit
the
technological
vulnerabilities
of
a
weapons
system
that
has
inflicted
huge
losses
against
the
terrorist
network,"
The
Washington
Post
said
online.
"Although
there
is
no
evidence
that
al
Qaeda
has
forced
a
drone
crash
or
successfully
interfered
with
flight
operations,
US
intelligence
officials
have
closely
tracked
the
group's
persistent
efforts
to
develop
a
counter-drone
strategy
since
2010,"
the
report
said,
citing
the
secret
documents.
Washington
Post,
September
5,
2013.
Extortion
complaints
doubled
this
year,
reveals
CPLC
official:
A
The
Citizens-Police
Liaison
Committee
(CPLC)
official
on
September
3said
that
the
CPLC
received
1,024
extortion
complaints
from
traders
in
the
first
eight
months
of
2013
in
comparison
with
590
last
year
-
almost
double
in
number.
He
said,
"There
was
a
100
percent
increase
in
extortion
complaints
this
year,"
adding,
"These
figures
are
alarming
considering
that
many
traders
and
other
citizens
don't
lodge
their
complaints."
The
News,
September
4,
2013.
Operations
intensified
in
Balochistan
to
suppress
voice
of
Baloch
people,
says
BNP-M
President
Sardar
Akhtar
Mengal:
The
Balochistan
National
Party-Mengal
(BNP-M)
President
Sardar
Akhtar
Mengal
on
September
2
claimed
that
operations
have
been
intensified
in
Balochistan
to
suppress
the
voice
of
Baloch
people
clamouring
for
their
rights.
Addressing
a
news
conference
at
Quetta
(provincial
capital
of
Balochistan),
Mengal
said,
"Operations
have
been
intensified
to
stop
Baloch
people
from
seeking
their
legitimate
national
rights."
He
described
the
action
as
'genocide'
of
the
Baloch
people.
Tribune,
September
3,
2013.
SRI
LANKA
TNA
manifesto
for
upcoming
NPC
election
calls
for
power
devolution
in
a
merged
North
and
East
under
a
Federal
structure:
The
Tamil
National
Alliance
(TNA)
in
a
manifesto
released
for
the
upcoming
Northern
Provincial
Council
(NPC)
election
has
called
for
power
devolution
in
a
merged
North
and
East
under
a
federal
structure.
In
its
election
manifesto,
the
TNA
has
called
for
devolution
of
power
on
the
basis
of
shared
sovereignty
over
land,
law
and
order,
socio-economic
development
including
health
and
education,
resources
and
fiscal
powers.
Colombo
Page,
September
5,
2013.
Much
remains
to
be
done
to
ensure
national
reconciliation,
says
Defence
Secretary
Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa:
Defence
Secretary
Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa
delivering
the
Keynote
Address
as
Guest
of
Honour
at
the
third
annual
Defence
Seminar
2013
in
Colombo
on
September
3
said
"Despite
the
success
of
the
Welfare
camps,
despite
the
speed
of
resettlement,
and
despite
the
far-reaching
nature
of
the
rehabilitation
and
reintegration
programme,
it
is
not
easy
to
ensure
speedy
reconciliation".
He
further
said
that
speedy
national
reconciliation
is
not
easy
since
for
a
very
long
period
of
time,
most
of
the
people
in
the
North
and
parts
of
the
East
of
the
country
lived
under
the
total
dominance
of
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE).
Colombo
Page,
September
4,
2013.
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.
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