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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 8, August 25, 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

PAKISTAN
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Asphyxiating Minorities
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Pakistan is increasingly failing to protect its minorities for two broad reasons: principally, rising religious intolerance and the space ceded to violent ideologies.
-Sherry Rehman, former Ambassador to the US, 2011

Little noticed amidst the ongoing pitched battle led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led Federal Government, a group of protesters from minority communities held a rally in Badin District of Sindh on August 16, 2014, against the current Government's failure to protect minorities from communal atrocities, including kidnapping-for-ransom, killings on religious grounds and abduction of girls for forced conversion.

Religious violence is endemic in Pakistan and the security situation of intra and inter-religious minorities is precarious. The National Assembly (NA) while observing the National Minorities Day on August 11, 2014, acknowledged the catastrophic proportions of the problem and unanimously adopted a resolution to condemn the "brutal killings" of religious minorities and rejecting all forms of discrimination against them in the country. The resolution, tabled by Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf, urged the Government to take concrete steps to establish and maintain interfaith harmony in order to safeguard fundamental rights of minority communities as enshrined in the Constitution.

The resolution came in the wake of a recent targeted attack on a Sikh trader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province. On August 6, 2014, unidentified masked terrorists shot dead a Sikh shopkeeper, identified as Jagmohan Singh, at Khushal Bazaar in the Hashtnagri area of Peshawar, the provincial capital. Lamenting the pervasive sense of insecurity, the chief of the Karachi-based Pakistan Sikh Council (PSC), Sardar Ramesh Singh, noted, "This is not the first time our community was attacked in KP. The Sikh community in the Province is under constant threat... many Sikh families have left the area over lack of security." Recalling the acts of violence against the besieged Sikh community, Member of Provincial Assembly and PTI leader, Soran Singh, observed, “In the last one year, at least three members of the Sikh community have been killed in the settled Districts.”

Incidents of violence against the Sikhs in Pakistan have a long history. In 2010, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists exhibited their barbarism by beheading two Sikh men in the Khyber and Orakzai Agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and sent their heads to the Bhai Joga Singh Gurudwara (Sikhs place of worship) in Peshawar. The victims were identified as Jaspal Singh and Mahal Singh. Two of their companions, identified as Gurvinder Singh and Gurjit Singh, were held captive by the terrorists. This spine chilling incident came after repeated threats to the community to convert to Islam.  

The seeds of violence against the Sikh community were sown in 2009. On April 30, 2009, the TTP Orakzai Chapter banished 50 Sikh families from the Agency for non-payment of jizya - a tax levied by the early Muslim rulers on their non-Muslim subjects. According to media sources, TTP had occupied the houses and shops of Sikhs and auctioned their valuables for PKR 0.8 million in the Qasim Khel and Feroz Khel areas of the Agency. The terrorists had demanded PKR 12 million as jizya but had only received PKR 6.7 million. This demand was a follow-up of an earlier precedent. On April 15, 2009, the Sikhs had conceded to TTP demands and had paid PKR 20 million as 'protection' money as a result of which the terrorists vacated occupied Sikh and also released an abducted Sikh leader, Sardar Saiwang Singh. The Sikhs were guaranteed protection, but the terrorist reneged on their promise. The latest August 6, 2014, incident exhibits the pattern of violence that has evolved over years against the unprotected minorities in the country.

As temperatures of intolerance soar in Pakistan, its largest religious minority, the Hindus, representing 1.6 per cent of the then total of 132 million according to the 1998 Census, continue to face the fury of frenzied mobs over false or unverified allegations of blasphemy, and are also subjected to forced conversions. There are repeated incidents of burning of their religious books and places of worship. On March 15, 2014, for instance, an angry mob burnt a temple and a Dharamsala (rest house for pilgrims) in the Larkana District of Sindh over unproved allegations of a Hindu boy desecrating the holy Qur'an. A week later, on March 28, 2014, three armed assailants entered a temple and desecrated it in the Latifabad area of Hyderabad District. Later, on May 14, 2014, PML-N lawmaker Ramesh Kumar Wankwani told the NA that around 5,000 Hindus migrate from Pakistan to India and other countries every year due to religious persecution. The Hindus in Sindh have long been subjected to incessant intimidation and vandalism.

Next in the line of fire is the second largest minority group, the Christians, who represent 1.59 per cent of the country's population (1998 Census). This helpless community has faced the wrath and terror of the Islamist extremists, on the one hand, and politically motivated judicial discrimination, on the other. The abuse of the blasphemy law - which imposes a mandatory death penalty for any act under its purview - has led to the relentless persecution of the Christian community, resulting in large numbers among them seeking asylum abroad, particularly in Australia and Canada. Apart from Taliban violence, the asylum seekers are the ones who have been attacked for committing the 'crime' of blasphemy. According to the President of Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC), at least 90 per cent of Pakistani Christians favour Refugee Status from United Nations (UN) after rising violence.

In the deadliest of attacks on Christians in the country, at least 79 worshippers, including 34 women and seven children, were killed, and another 130 were injured when two suicide bombers attacked a Christian congregation at the historic All Saints Church in the Kohati Gate area of Peshawar on September 22, 2013. TTP's Jandullah faction claimed responsibility for the attack, declaring, in a statement to the media, "Until and unless drone strikes are stopped, we will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land. They are the enemies of Islam, therefore we target them."

There has also been a phenomenal increase in the number of blasphemy cases, another index of violence. Among the most notorious of these involves a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging on November 9, 2010 for committing blasphemy after an argument with fellow female workers at the farm where she worked. Asia is still languishing in jail and the case has sparked international reactions. It was this internationally recognised case that led to two high profile murders over the blasphemy issue. On January 4, 2011, the Punjab Province Governor Salman Taseer, was murdered by one of his bodyguards, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, for his public denunciation of the blasphemy law and advocacy for Asia Bibi. This was followed by the March 2, 2011, assassination of Federal Minister for Minority Affairs and leader of the Christian community, Shahbaz Bhatti, for openly speaking out against the controversial law. Blasphemy cases are overwhelmingly registered on flimsy evidence, often the testimony of a single Muslim witness with a personal animus against the victim. Worse, when acquittal results after years of incarceration, the victims have, in many cases, simply been murdered by terrorist formations on their release.

There has been an increase in the number of blasphemy cases in Pakistan since 2001. A report by Center for Research and Security Studies, 2013, enumerated a single case in 2001, rising to 80 complaints in 2011. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2013, notes that at least 16 people remained on death row for blasphemy, while another 20 were serving life sentences in 2012. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) noted that, during 2013, as many as 39 cases of blasphemy were registered against Pakistani citizens, including Muslims, Christians and Hindus.

Blasphemy accused, moreover, are not safe even after being acquitted. In one incident, on March 22, 2014, Ashraf Gola, a former chairman of a District Council, was shot dead while he was travelling along with a friend, Iftikhar Ahmed, in his car near Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum District of Punjab. Gola had recently been acquitted in a blasphemy case, but remained under threat from extremists.

Earlier, on October 19, 2012, a man, identified as Sajjad Hussain, who was acquitted in a blasphemy case by a District and Sessions Court in Lahore, was shot dead by two terrorists, identified as Sheikh Zeeshan and Awais Ahmed. The accused surrendered to the Police saying that they had killed a "blasphemer" and had no regrets over their action.

Extremist groups successfully target religious minorities and anybody who dares to speak out in their defence, including Government officials. Judges and lawyers have also come under threat for defending and acquitting blasphemy defendants. On May 7, 2014, Rashid Rehman, a Human Rights lawyer and HRCP Regional Coordinator in Punjab, was shot five times by two unidentified militants at HRCP office on Kutchery Road in Multan District. He later succumbed to his injuries.  His assassination was preceded by death threats that he received for his human rights activities, especially his denouncement of repression of religious minorities and the misuse of blasphemy laws in the country. While defending the case of one Junaid Hafeez, an accused of blasphemy, on April 9, 2014, Rehman was threatened with death by four men, including two lawyers, identified as Zulfiqar Ali Sindhu and Sajjad Ahmad Chawan, in the court room in Multan Central Prison. No action was taken against those who threatened Rehman, nor was he provided any security. No further steps have been taken thus far, and the killers have not been arrested.

Like inter-religious minorities such as Sikhs, Hindus and Christians, intra-religious minorities, particularly including, Shias and Ahmadis (but also including elements within Sunni sects, such as the Barelvis) have long been targeted and persecuted by Islamist extremists. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 3,922 people have been killed in sectarian violence since 2001. Of these, 2,271 were Shias; were 173 Ahmadis; another 51 Tablighi Jama'at members (all data till August 24, 2014). .

Taking note of the persecution of Ahmadis, the Annual report of the United States (US) Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published on April 30, 2014, urged the US to add Pakistan to a blacklist of violators of religious freedom, observing that the Ahmadi community suffers “apartheid-like” conditions in the country. The US Commission's concern was further extended to Shias and other non-Muslim communities, and the report voiced alarm over the treatment of Hindus, Christians and Shia Muslims, and urged Pakistan to improve its treatment of religious minorities.

According to the USCIRF report titled “Violence towards Religious Communities in Pakistan”, published in August 2014, moreover, over the one-year period from July 2013 to June 2014, at least 430 people were killed in a total 122 attacks against minorities. These include 222 Shias in 54 attacks; 128 Christians in 22 recorded incidents; 10 Ahmadis in 10 such attacks; and two Sikhs in three attacks. There are four attacks recorded on the Hindu community in this period, with no fatality reported. 68 victims belonged to other religious/sectarian groups, in 29 attacks.

In the corresponding period of the preceding year, a total of 567 people were killed in a total of 150 religiously motivated attacks, including 514 Shias killed in 54 attacks; 17 Ahmadis in 40 attacks; seven Christians in 32 attacks; two Hindus in 10 attacks; and one Sikh in 2 attacks. 26 'others' were killed in another 12 incidents.

Worrying over the worsening religious persecution in Pakistan, the US State Department in its Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, on July 29, 2014, pointed out that Pakistan’s Constitution and laws restrict religious freedom and practice: “Although the Constitution declares that adequate provisions shall be made for all citizens to profess and practise their religious beliefs freely, other constitutional provisions and laws impose limits on this right.”

It is high time that the Nawaz Sharif Government breaks the silence over Pakistan's pernicious and inequitable blasphemy law and ensures freedom and security to all its citizens. While Islamabad has come under international pressure to repeal the blasphemy law and take effective steps to protect religious minorities, the truth is that extremist and fanatical forces continue to persecute and murder under an umbrella of effective state protection, where cases against perpetrators of such violence are not registered, or are not pursued through serious investigation and prosecution. It is the state's bigoted approach that has exacerbated majoritarian religious violence in the country, and religious and sectarian minorities live under a pall of enveloping insecurity and fear of persecution.

INDIA
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Assam-Nagaland: Interstate Wars
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

In a series of violent incidents between Assam and Nagaland related to a long history of border disputes, erupted on August 12, 2014, resulting in the third largest death toll of 20 fatalities in this pattern of strife. 14 Adivasis (tribals from Central India settled in the Northeast region) have been killed by miscreants from Nagaland, another six persons were killed in a clash with the police, while several have been injured in the disputed 'B Sector' of the Assam-Nagaland border in the Golaghat District. The violence has provoked the flight of over 10,000 persons from their homes, and they have had to take shelter in 14 relief camps in Uriamghat, under Golaghat District in the Dhansiri Sub-division. Following the incidents, Nagaland and Manipur were cut-off by road after an economic blockade was imposed against Nagaland by various Assam-based organizations.

The violence reportedly started when the All Adivasis National Liberation Army (AANLA) in combat uniforms started beating up youth and killing cattle in the Ronsuyan and Chandalashung ‘B’ villages, in the Ralan area of the Wokha District of Nagaland, along the Assam-Nagaland border, in the afternoon of August 12. Later in the day, two individuals, identified as Fosoi Gaur and Chintamoni Barhoi, were killed in firing by miscreants from Nagaland at Chetia Gaon under the Uriamghat Police Station in the Golaghat District of Assam, along the border. They were protesting at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF - deployed along the border as a ‘neutral force’) camp, against the alleged abduction of two schoolboys, Ajoy Gor and Philson Kujur, who have been missing since July 26, 2014, when they went to the adjacent Chandla Chung village on the Nagaland side.

On August 13, armed Nagas continued their raids in Assam villages and killed a village headman, Africa Toppo, and set ablaze nearly 200 houses in the 'B Sector' of Golaghat District. The situation worsened when angry locals fought pitched battles with CRPF personnel, demanding that they move to the border areas to take on the 'Naga miscreants'. Another nine bodies were recovered from 'B Sector' on August 15. Assam Home Commissioner G.D. Tripathi stated that the recovered bodies were related to indiscriminate firing and arson by miscreants from Nagaland in eight villages in Golaghat District, along the disputed boundary, on August 12. Further, on August 17, another two bodies were found at the Sainpur village in 'B Sector', taking the toll to 14. Police disclosed that these were also victims of the first day's violence, on August 12.

On August 22, after a meeting with representatives of seven agitating organizations of Golaghat, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi decided to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the entire episode, right from the abduction of the two school children on July 26, to the subsequent clashes between Security Forces and protestors, as well as between populations across the border. Nagaland Chief Minister T.R Zeliang had also earlier stated that the Nagaland Government had constituted an Inquiry Committee to get to the bottom of the violence and identify those involved.

The Nagaland-Assam boundary problems stems from the question of transferring of forest and other areas of the Nagas Hills, which were included within the neighbouring Districts of Assam by the then British Government of India under various provisions since 1898, solely for the purpose of their administrative convenience. After a separate State of Nagaland was created in December 1963, the Assam-Nagaland inter-State border area was divided, for administrative convenience, into six sectors - A, B, C, D, E and F - spread over Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong Districts. The B Sector in Golaghat had witnessed one of the worst clashes between the two States on January 5, 1979 - known as Chungajan carnage - when several villages including Chungajan Tiniali and Chungajan Mikir were attacked. At least 69 villagers were killed, while 23,500 people of the area were displaced. The worst confrontation occurred in 1985, when over 100 people were killed at Merapani in the D-sector of Golaghat District.

The total area transferred out of the then Naga Hills to Assam Districts, and now claimed by the Nagas, amounted to 4,974.16 square miles in the A, B, C and D Sectors. Meanwhile, an August 12 report indicated that, according to a recent reply in the State Assembly, the Assam Government had alleged that Nagaland has encroached 59,159.77 hectares of Assam land, and that some 60 per cent of the B Sector was 'under encroachment', despite deployment of a neutral force at strategic points of the disputed border.

Significantly, a delegation of United Naga Tribes Association of Border Areas (UNTABA), on August 18, met Nagaland Chief Minister Zeliang at his private residence in Dimapur and submitted a representation related to the border issue between Assam and Nagaland. Some of the highlights of the representation include the core demand for restoration of all 'Naga lands' arbitrarily transferred by the then British Government, as reflected in the nine Point Agreement between the Nagas and the representative of the then British India Government, Sir Akbar Hydari, in June 1947; and reiterated in the 16-point demand by the Delegation of the Naga peoples Convention in October 1959; and further resolved to pursue the appointment of boundary commission or any other efforts for settlement without compromising the rights of the original land owners. A 16-point agreement in 1960 led to the creation of Nagaland, and included provisions for the restoration of all Naga territories that had been transferred out of the Naga Hills after the British annexed Assam in 1826. The Assam Government has insisted on maintaining the 'constitutional boundary', as decided on December 1, 1963, when the Nagaland State was created.

UNTABA also reiterated its demand that all bilateral and tripartite interim agreements made from 1972 onwards must be strictly reviewed and implemented in letter and spirit. The association also emphasised the demand for setting up border police and village guards and posts in all the border villages. The Interim Agreements of 1972 was further re-affirmed in 1979 by both the State Governments, to maintain peace and harmony in the border areas. UNTABA, on August 13, maintained that instead of strictly adhering to these agreements, the Assam Government had unilaterally established many armed Assam Police posts inside Nagaland to “terrorize our people”, while successive Governments of Nagaland had “miserably failed” to check such “illegal establishments” over the years.

Meanwhile, claims and counter-claims have echoed through the latest round of violence. While the Assam Government has not ruled out the involvement of the militant Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) in the violence, Nagaland insists that it is landless migrants backed by Maoist groups and AANLA that have been responsible for the situation. The Parliamentary Secretary for Border Affairs, Thomas Lotha, who visited the affected areas, observed, “Nagas will think ten times before fighting with the indigenous Assamese, as they consider Ahoms as their elder brother. But it is the landless migrants backed by Maoist groups and anti–social elements who are creating a situation in the area and try(ing) to sow enmity among Nagas and Assamese.” Thomas also noted that both Assamese and Nagas needed to realize that outsiders are all out to create problems in the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB) to grab land. Similarly, Nagaland Home Minister Y. Patton argued, on August 13, that “illegal immigrants” along the border were to blame for the problem, noting that, "The incident that took place yesterday (August 12) at Ralan area is a reminder for both the States of Assam and Nagaland how much damage illegal immigrants can do to both the people of Assam and Nagaland.”

Significantly, on August 21, 2014, Assam and Nagaland, decided to put in place a joint mechanism for regular coordination between their officials to prevent the recurrence of violence over the long-pending boundary dispute. The two States also agreed that the historical problems causing the recurring incidents in the disputed belt should be resolved. Assam Chief Minister Gogoi and Nagaland Chief Minister Zeliang arrived at this agreement in the presence of the Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, at a meeting held on the sidelines of the two-day Conference of Chief Ministers of North Eastern States at the Assam Administrative Staff College, in Guwahati. Gogoi and Zeliang noted that both the States expressed dissatisfaction with the CRPF posted in DAB as a neutral force. Rijiju promised the Centre’s help to contain the situation, while stating that the Centre was ready to reinforce the Central forces in disturbed areas along the boundary.

On August 22, Gogoi also pointed out that his Government would urge the Supreme Court for an early settlement of the vexed border issue. Four days earlier, Joint Secretary (North East) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), Shambhu Singh, had also pointed out that, as a case regarding the boundary dispute was pending before the Supreme Court, it was not possible for the Centre to intervene to resolve the issue. He further disclosed that the MHA was 'closely monitoring' the situation and was 'in touch' with both the State Governments.

The abrupt violence along the Assam-Nagaland border underscores the volatility of the situation in the Northeast, despite the continuous decline of insurgent violence across this historically troubled region, even as it demonstrates the danger of the policy of indefinite delay in resolving prickly issues. A multiplicity of ethnic disputes have long polarized communities across India's Northeast, and State and Central Government policies have tended to neglect, and in some cases, even to exacerbate such disputes and tensions. In the absence of a principled and strategic approach to the many active and latent conflicts of the Northeast, the potential for violence will, inevitably, be realized in bouts of blood-letting from time to time.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
August 18-24, 2014

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

 

Left-wing Extremists

0
0
1
1

INDIA

 

Assam

3
0
6
9

Jammu and Kashmir

2
2
7
11

Meghalaya

0
0
5
5

Left-wing Extremism

 

Andhra Pradesh

1
0
0
1

Chhattisgarh

0
1
1
2

Jharkhand

1
0
0
1

Total (INDIA)

7
3
19
29

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

0
3
16
19

FATA

10
0
54
64

Sindh

25
4
1
30

Total (PAKISTAN)

35
7
71
113
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

'The family of Ziaur Rahman is a killer and corrupt family', asserts Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed on August 21 said that the family of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) founder Ziaur Rahman is "a killer and corrupt family". She asserted that Rahman was behind the murder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975, and his family was involved in the August 21, 2004, grenade attack. Hasina said there would be no room for them in Bangladesh. Daily Star, August 22, 2014.

Four attempts have been made to assassinate PM Sheikh Hasina Wajed over the last 25 years, says report: Over the last 25 years, four attempts have been made to assassinate Awami League (AL) President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Dhaka Tribune, August 21, 2014.


INDIA

Ansar ul-Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind calls Indian Muslim to join global jihad, says report: Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT - Supporters of Monotheism in the Land of India) is calling Indian Muslims for global jihad and urging them to fight the democratically elected secular government. The terror group formed by Indians with an aim to 'highlight' the issue of government atrocities against Muslims in India and encourage Indian Muslims to join the ongoing Afghan or Syrian jihads and to carry out attacks inside India. Sahara Samay, August 22, 2014.

IM planned to send poisoned letters to kill targets, according to Delhi Police charge sheet: Suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives planned to send letters soaked with poison to kill its targets, Delhi Police claimed in a chargesheet filed on August 8, in a case relating to an illegal arms factory operated by the terror group in the National Capital. Police filed the charge sheet in a court in New Delhi against suspected IM operatives Tehsin Akhtar, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas and three others, Mohammad Maroof, Waqar Azhar and Mohammad Saqib Ansari for allegedly setting up the illegal arms factory. Times of India, August 21, 2014.

Government orders preparation of a new 'anti-Maoist doctrine' to wipe out Naxal menace: The Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh ordered the preparation of a new 'anti-Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) doctrine' to codify government's policy for tackling the menace. The consent of all Maoist-affected States and the Union Cabinet will be sought on the same. Economic Times, August 22, 2014.

GoI urges Bangladesh to demolish North-East militant camps in Bangladesh: On August 20, Government of India (GoI) urged Bangladesh to demolish the camps operated by militant groups of the North-East. The request was made at the five-day meeting of Border Security Force and Border Guard Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference in New Delhi. Assam Tribune, August 22, 2014.

BSNL to set up 253 mobile towers in Maoist-affected regions of Odisha: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has decided to set up 253 mobile towers in Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)-affected regions of Odisha. Sources said the Maoists blew up at least 60 towers in Odisha in the past five years. Times of India, August 22, 2014.

Ban on CPI-Maoist and seven of its bodies extended in Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh State Government under the State Public Security Act 1992 has extended ban on Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and seven CPI-Maoist backed organisations for one more year. The organisations are: CPI-Maoist, Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), Radical Youth League (RYL), Rythu Coolie Sangham (RCS), Radical Students Union (RSU), Singareni Karmika Samakhya (SIKASA), Viplava Karmika Samakhya (VIKASA) and All India Revolutionary Students Federation (AIRSF). The Hindu, August 22, 2014.


NEPAL

CPN-UML reiterates its demand for fresh endorsement of President and Vice President by CA: A day after Prime Minister Sushil Koirala flatly rejected its demand for fresh endorsement of the President and Vice President by the Constituent Assembly (CA), the Government's main coalition partner, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), on August 21 reiterated its demand with the Prime Minister himself. During a meeting with Prime Minister Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli objected to Koirala's remark on August 20 that the fresh endorsement demand was now 'irrelevant'. My Republica, August 22, 2014.

CPDCC agrees on title of new constitution: A meeting of the Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC) headed by Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) leader Baburam Bhattarai held on August 19 agreed on the title of the new constitution. The new constitution will be called Nepal's Constitution, according to committee member Laxman Lal Karna. Parties were divided on the title, with some proposing to add federal or republic and others pro-socialist in the title. Himalayan Times, August 20, 2014.


PAKISTAN

54 militants and 10 civilians among 64 persons killed during the week in FATA: Five militants were killed and three others were injured in a clash with a tribal militia in Dana Khola area of Lower Orakzai Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 23.

At least 48 suspected militants were killed, seven hideouts, nine vehicles and several motorcycles were destroyed in fresh air strikes carried out by fighter jets and Cobra gunship helicopters in the Khyber and North Waziristan Agencies of FATA on August 19.

Six persons were killed on August 19 when a remote-controlled explosive device went off in the Tangi area of Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune; Central Asia Online; The Nation; The Frontier Post; Pakistan Today; Pakistan Observer, August 18-24, 2013.

25 civilians and four SFs among 30 persons killed during the week in Sindh: Thirteen people were killed in different incidents of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh on August 23.

Seven persons, including a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) official, were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on August 22.

Three Policemen among four persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on August 19. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune; Central Asia Online; The Nation; The Frontier Post; Pakistan Today; Pakistan Observer, August 18-24, 2013.

16 militants killed in Balochistan: Frontier Corps (FC) claimed to have killed 16 militants during an operation in the Dasht area of Turbat District on August 22. Khan Wasey, the spokesman for FC said that Security Forces (SFs) launched an operation against miscreants in Dasht, adding, "At least 12 militants were killed in armed clashes." Later, four more suspected militants were killed in the exchange of fire. Dawn, August 23, 2014.

US offers USD 30 million in search for Haqqani Network leaders: The United States (US) on August 21 offered a total USD 30 million in return for information on key leaders of the Haqqani Network that is blamed for numerous attacks in Afghanistan. "The Department has authorised rewards of up to USD 5 million each for information leading to the location of Aziz Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Yahya Haqqani, and Abdul Rauf Zakir," the State Department said in a statement. Tribune, August 22, 2014.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa security improves, claims IGP Nasir Khan Durrani: Operational and administrative measures implemented by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police have improved the province's security situation, KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nasir Khan Durrani claimed on August 19. KP has been mostly 'peaceful' for the last few months. Central Asia Online, August 20, 2014.


SRI LANKA

'LTTE runs Madrassa type Indoctrination Schools in Europe', says Sri Lankan Diplomat: Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, revealed that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are running "Madrassa type" indoctrination schools in European Union (EU) countries in which there is a substantial population of Tamils from Sri Lanka. He said that the LTTE has established "Madrassa-type" schools called "Tamil Cholai" to "ferment the radicalisation of Tamil youth, and glorify terrorism and martyrdom.". Indian Express, August 23, 2014.

'Government will not allow anyone to use its soil for terrorist acts against India', says External Affairs Minister G L Peiris: External Affairs Minister G L Peiris on August 19 said that the Government will not allow anyone to use its soil for terror elements to plan anti-India activities. Peiris said, "We have constantly assured India that under no circumstances will Sri Lankan soil be used for any acts against India." Indian authorities recently uncovered an alleged plot by a Pakistan-based terror group to carry out suicide attacks on United States (US) and Israeli consulates in south India. Colombo Page, August 20, 2014.

Sri Lanka will not allow UN team entry to probe alleged war crimes, says President Mahinda Rajapaksa: President Mahinda Rajapaksa on August 19 said that Sri Lanka will not allow the United Nations (UN) team investigating alleged war crimes committed during the last seven years of the three-decade long armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He said the team of UN investigators appointed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will not be allowed into the country. Colombo Page, August 20, 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.

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