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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 15, No. 52, June 26, 2017
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
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Kurram
Agency: Sectarian Monster Revisited
Tushar
Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
67 persons were killed and more than 200 injured in back-to-back
explosions in the Turi Bazaar area of Parachinar, the
headquarter of Kurram Agency, in the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA), when the market was crowed for Iftar
and Eid shopping on June 24, 2017. Initially, an explosion
took place at the busy Turi Bazaar, moments after an Al
Quds Day (an international day of solidarity with
the Palestinian people) rally had concluded at the central
Imambargah (Shia place of worship). When people
rushed to the spot to remove the injured and bodies, the
second blast, which was more powerful, took place resulting
in even greater death and destruction. The al-Alami (International)
faction of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ)
claimed responsibility for the twin bomb blasts, issuing
a statement that it was targeting Shias and threatened
more attacks over “Pakistanis fighting against Sunni militants
in Syria’s civil war”.
Citing
the same reason, the group had also claimed the December
13, 2015, suicide attack in a makeshift market in Parachinar,
which killed 25 persons and injured 62. A statement released
to a foreign media channel and attributed to the spokesman
of the Jhangvi group, Ali bin Sufian, declared that the
attack had been carried out against Shia elements who
were supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the
Iranian government, adding, “We warn... parents that if
they don’t stop their children from ongoing (sic)
conflict in Syria they should remain prepared for more
such attacks.”
This is
the third major attack in Parachinar during the first
half of 2017. At least 24 persons were killed and 100
were injured in a suicide attack on an Imambargah in the
Noor market area of Parachinar on March 31, 2017. The
explosion took place as people gathered for Friday prayers
near the women´s entrance of the Imambargah. A witness
stated that security personnel at the Imambargah were
checking devotees when an unidentified person parked a
car next to the building, which then exploded. Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP)
faction Jama’at-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed responsibility
for the attack. The attack was part of TTP’s "Operation
Ghazi" and Shias were the targets, according to the
outfit’s statement to the media.
On January
21, 2017, 25 persons were killed and more than 87 injured
in a bomb explosion at the Sabzi Mandi (vegetable
market) area, again in Parachinar town, in the morning
when the market was crowded with retailers buying fruits
and vegetables. In a text message sent to journalists,
the LeJ-al-Alami claimed that, along with the TTP splinter,
Shehryar Mehsud group, it had carried out the attack.
In a separate statement, the spokesman for TTP, Mohammad
Khurassani, declared, “A well-trained fighter, Saifullah
alias Bilal, carried out a suicide attack in Parachinar…
Saifullah attacked headquarters of enemies of Islam who
are involved in extrajudicial killing of our suppressed
associates. He avenged murders of Malik Ishaq, Noor ul
Amin, Asif Chhoto and many other associates, who were
killed in fake police encounters.”
Nevertheless,
the Kurram Agency, long known for sectarian violence,
has seen a definite decline in such incidents in recent
years, despite the fresh attacks, but Shia dominated Parachinar
in the Upper Kurram Agency remains a principal target
for Sunni sectarian terrorist formations. Built by the
British Royal Army in the 1890s, the town is the headquarters
of the Kurram Agency, housing offices of the political
administration, units of the Army and Frontier Corps,
and a civilian population of less than 100,000. Kurram
comprises three sub-divisions: Upper, Central and Lower
Kurram. Some 58 per cent of its population is Sunni, and
42 per cent Shia (according to the 1998 Census). The majority
of Shias live in Upper Kurram, while Sunnis dominate Lower
and Central Kurram. The present cycle of escalation started
when three people were killed and 13 were injured in an
attack on a Shia Imambargah in the morning of April 6,
2007. Clashes in Kurram from November 2007 to 2010 left
over 3,000 people dead, while thousands of families were
forced to flee their homes.
Unlike
other tribal agencies of FATA, the dynamics in Kurram
are different because of the sectarian divide and the
geo-strategic location of the Agency. Kurram is surrounded
by Afghanistan from three sides and has remained in turmoil
since 1980, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
Thrust into Afghanistan on three of its sides, the Kurram
Agency has always been of critical importance for Pakistan.
It shares the major portion of its borders with the troubled
Logar, Paktia, Khost and Nangarhar Provinces of Afghanistan.
The al Qaeda and Taliban infested Tora Bora Mountain range
in the Nangarhar Province shares its boundaries with the
Kurram Agency. In the north-east, Kurram abuts the Khyber
Agency; the Orakzai Agency lies to its east; the Hangu
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is on its south-east;
and the North Waziristan Agency lies south, all in Pakistan.
The Kurram Agency connects the tribal areas of Pakistan
to Afghanistan through lower, central and upper Kurram.
Crucially, the Thal-Parachinar route is the shortest route
to Kabul from Peshawar.
Apart from
the recent suicide attacks, the broad trend of decline
in sectarian incidents has given some relief to locals.
During the sectarian violence of 2007-11, at least 1,167
people were killed while more than four thousand houses
were destroyed in the Kurram Agency. The National Assembly’s
Standing Committee on Human Rights was informed, on December
11, 2011, that during the sectarian violence 745 Shia
were killed and 965 were injured; while 422 Sunnis were
killed and 800 injured. However, the fatalities figure
in sectarian violence during the succeeding five years
(2012-16) was been reduced to a total of 208 fatalities.
This has, however, come at the cost of a simultaneous
increase in terrorist and militant activities from across
the Afghan border. While the security situation has witnessed
remarkable improvements, particularly after Army operations
in the adjacent Orakzai and North Waziristan agencies,
the presence of TTP and IS on the abutting Afghan territory
has created new threats for the Kurram Agency. Sajid Hussain
Turi, Member of National Assembly (MNA), thus observed
that the people did not feel safe from the Afghanistan
side, as border posts were being attacked from Afghan
territory.
The anxieties
of the tribal elders have been reconfirmed in a tweet
by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General
(DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor, who attributed recent
terrorist incidents to ‘sanctuaries’ in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The tweet, read: "Recent terrorist incidents linked
to sanctuaries across."
Due to
the persistent threat from Afghanistan, local authorities
have asked villagers residing along the border to set
up posts on hilltops and to keep vigil during the night
to prevent any attack from the Paktia and Khost Provinces.
On April 3, 2016, the Assistant Political Agent, Shahid
Ali Khan, and the Commandant of the Kurram Militia, Colonel
Umar Malik, met elders of the Turi, Bangash and Mangal
tribes near Parachinar, to mobilise the tribal people
against the threat. An elder from Borki disclosed, “Officials
say that IS and TTP’s fighters were involved in attacks
on the security posts. People are not only keeping vigil
during night, but elders of Borki and Kherlachi have also
provided four heavy machine guns and ammunition to the
paramilitary forces as a gesture of support.”
However,
after some months of this arrangement, the Government
launched a deweaopnisation campaign in Kurram Agency on
December 27, 2016, asking the local tribal people to hand
over weapons to the administration. Brigadier Malak Amir
Mohammad Khan, the local Brigade Commander, asked tribal
elders at a jirga (tribal council) in Parachinar
to voluntarily surrender their “heavy weapons” to the
political administration within 45 days, threatening ‘strict
action’ against violators of the order would be taken.
Brigadier Khan added, “All the tribal areas had been cleansed
of terrorists and compliance of law is the collective
responsibility of every citizen.”
Tribal
elders in Parachinar, however, remained apprehensive,
as the recent history of violence against the tribes and
the fragile security situation in Afghanistan continued
to threaten security in the Agency. MNA Sajid Hussain
Turi thus observed, “The so-called Islamic State has headquarters
in our backyard (Nangarhar). Disarming Turi and Bangash
tribes in upper and lower parts of Kurram is very inappropriate.
Any action against tribes at this moment will create problems.”
On February 7, 2017, hundreds of pamphlets containing
threats were allegedly distributed by Daesh in the Kurram
Agency on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line, threatening
attacks in specific tribal areas. The Daesh pamphlet declared,
in the local language, Pashto, "We have achieved
our goals in Afghanistan and are now ready to confront
Shia renouncers in Pakistan's tribal areas."
Haji Faqir
Hussain, secretary of the Anjuman-e-Hussainia, the central
representative body of various Shia tribes in Kurram,
noted that the indifferent policies of successive Governments
over the past decades had forced the local population
to secure themselves against hostile elements within and
outside the Valley: “The administration can’t guarantee
our safety, keeping in view the harsh realities of recent
past. Disarming people at this moment is tantamount to
tying their hands and feet.”
After the
two suicide attacks, the Government came back from deep
slumber and reverted to the same security arrangements
with the tribes in the Agency. On April 27, 2017, senior
security officials convened a jirga of Turi and
Bangash tribes in Parachinar and directed them to observe
‘extreme vigilance’ to prevent terrorist attacks in the
area, as an alert has been issued. The officials asked
the elders to keep all sensitive places, including important
buildings, hospitals and schools, under strict check.
Following the red alert issued by the political administration
and security agencies on April 6, 2017, Security Forces
(SFs) increased patrols and established six additional
checkpoints inside the town. An aura of fear and uncertainty
prevailed across the area after the red alert and reports
that suicide bombers and fighters of the Islamic State
group had sneaked into Kurram Agency from across the Afghan
border. In response, the Education Department announced
a three-day closure of all institutions in Kurram. Tribesmen
through the public address systems at mosques, made announcements
about the threat. Armed volunteers set up bunkers on the
roof of houses and near the city.
A significant
Army presence had already been in place in Parachinar
in particular, and in the Kurram Agency, in general, as
part of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (Elimination of
Discord) which was launched in February 22, 2017, after
a series of terrorist attacks across Pakistan in the month
of January. On April 10, 2017, SFs declared several localities
of Parachinar “red zones” in the wake of the March 31
suicide attack. Kurram Militia, a wing of the Frontier
Corps, informed people through pamphlets that the central
Imambargah, Punjabi Bazaar, Hazara Colony and its adjacent
commercial and residential areas had been included in
the red zone.
Despite
the high security alert and arrangements, the devastating
terrorist attack has exposed gaping holes in the security
apparatus, and in the Government’s claims of having neutralized
terrorism in the tribal areas.
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Sustained
Progress
S.
Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On June
21, 2017, the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Amendment
Bill was unanimously passed by Sri Lanka’s Parliament.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, presenting the Bill
to the House, declared, “This institution is paramount
in order to put an end to the issue pertaining to the
disappearance of persons as soon as possible.” On August
11, 2016, despite objections raised by the Joint Opposition
which alleged that the Bill will betray the military,
the OMP Bill was passed in Parliament without a vote,
after the Prime Minister convinced the Joint Opposition
that, “This office is not vested with powers to take criminal
actions or prosecute forces for war crimes, as some claimed.
It would be purely a legal process.” The OMP will identify
appropriate mechanisms for and help search for and trace
missing persons, submit recommendations to authorities
to take measures on missing persons, protect the rights
of missing persons and their relatives, identify channels
through which missing persons and their relatives can
obtain relief, collate data related to missing persons
obtained by Government institutions and other institutions,
and centralize all available data within its database.
Earlier,
pledging to launch a full scale special investigation
into allegations that disappeared persons are being held
in certain detention camps, President Maithripala Sirisena
observed, at a gathering in Sampur town of Trincomalee
District on May 20, 2017, “If anyone forwards such information
on disappeared persons who are said to be held in some
place or places, a full scale investigation would be conducted
to ascertain the truth. I will appoint a special committee
to ascertain whether there is such detention center.”
Further, President Sirisena, while meeting with the families
of disappeared persons in Jaffna District on June 12,
2017, promised that he would issue directives to the National
Security Council to release lists of persons who surrendered
to the Armed forces in the final phase of the war, detainees,
and political prisoners.
In a historic
move, the Cabinet of Ministers on May 2, 2017, had approved
Sri Lanka’s first National
Reconciliation Policy drafted by
the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR)
Chaired by Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
The policy was prepared after discussions with all the
relevant parties to affirm reconciliation and coexistence
in the country and to prevent future conflict. Further,
on June 14, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the
proposal made by President Maithripala Sirisena, as the
National Integration and Reconciliation Minister, to establish
a National Reconciliation Committee and to appoint District
Secretaries as conveners in the District level committees,
to resolve ethnic and religious issues. Later, on June
7, 2017, when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called
on the United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres
at the UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary General
assured UN support to the Sri Lankan Government's plans
for bringing about reconciliation and creating conditions
for lasting peace.
Significantly,
over eight years after the successful conclusion
of the Eelam War on May 17, 2009,
Engineer Brigade Commander Amith Seneviratne, at an event
held at the Batticaloa District Secretariat on June 21,
2017, announced the successful completion of the mine
clearing operation in Batticaloa District. Batticaloa
is the first District to be declared mine free. At the
commencement of the clearing operation in 2009, de-miners
identified 377,026,951 square meters as the Confirmed
Hazardous Area (CHA). The daunting task was undertaken
by the Army’s Humanitarian De-mining Unit (HDU), together
with International Non-Government Organisations and Non
Government Organisations (INGOs and NGOs), including Mines
Advisory Group (MAG), Halo Trust, Foundation for Sustainable
Development (FSD), Sarvatra Technical Consultants (STC),
Horizon, Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH) and
Skavita Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP).
The Army had carried out 83 per cent (312,111,499 sq m)
of the Batticaloa mine clearing operation, whereas MAG,
Halo Trust, FSD, STC, Horizon, DASH and SHARP cleared
the remaining 64,915,452 square meters. HDU comprises
450 de-miners capable of undertaking manual and mechanical
mine clearing operations, in addition to the Mine Detection
Dog (MDD) project. The Commander further disclosed that
about 27 square kilometers remained to be cleared in Northern
and Eastern Districts, with Kilinochchi being the worst
affected area.
Meanwhile,
promising that the constitution-making process would not
be delayed, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the
opening of the new District Secretariat Office in Mannar
District on May 19, 2017, noted, “We cannot drag the constitution-making
process anymore. President Sirisena was elected in 2015
to fulfill this purpose. This is a time when Sri Lankans
are commemorating those who died during the armed conflict.
Those on both sides of the divide are Sri Lankans. However,
the important factor is to ensure that there won't be
another war in the future."
Separately,
on June 20, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers approved Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to appoint a
Committee of Ministers chaired by him and a Committee
of Officials to assist, to coordinate the United Nations
Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recommendations made in the
consensus resolution
adopted in October 2015. Earlier, at its 34th session
on March 23, 2017, the UNHRC allowed two more years for
Sri Lanka to fully implement the recommendations agreed
upon in the October 2015 resolution.
Further,
in order to encourage Tamils to join the Police, the Police
Media Division announced on April 29, 2017, that Tamil-speaking
persons applying for jobs in the Police in the North and
East would be given preference. In a gazette notification
issued on March 31, 2017, Police Headquarters had called
for applications for over 1,500 vacancies, including Police
Constables (PC), Women Police Constables (WPC) and Police
Constable (Drivers) for Police Stations spread across
the island, especially in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Further, to facilitate Tamil readership across the country
and the world, the Army launched a Tamil website on May
19, 2017, concurrent to its English and Sinhala websites.
However,
Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) General Secretary
V. Anandasangaree urged President Maithripala Sirisena
on April 20, 2017, to take immediate measures to release
all the private lands in the North and East that are still
being held by the Security Forces (SFs). Further, calling
for the Government to release the lands that are still
under SF occupation, mete justice to the disappeared persons
and provide employment to the war-battered, a hartal
(General Strike) was organized by the Tamil National Council
(TNC) in the North-East on April 27, 2017. The hartal
was also backed by all major Tamil and Muslim political
parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA),
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), All Ceylon Tamil Congress
(ACTC) and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF).
Meanwhile,
criticizing the Government’s slow progress in addressing
wartime crimes on March 3, 2017, UN Human Rights Commission
chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein urged the Government to adopt
laws allowing special hybrid courts to try war criminals.
Nevertheless, President Sirisena, rejecting the fresh
appeal from the UN to allow international judges to investigate
claims of wartime atrocities, on March 5, 2017, and vowed,
"I am not going to allow nongovernmental organizations
to dictate how to run my government. I will not listen
to their calls to prosecute my troops." At least
100,000 people were killed during the war between Government
forces and rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE),
which officially ended on May 17, 2009.
The assault
of international organizations against the Sri Lanka Government,
nevertheless, continues. Huma Rights Watch (HRW), in a
statement on May 18, 2017, declared that Sri Lanka's Counter
Terrorism Bill approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on
May 3, 2017, falls far short of the Government's pledges
to the UNHRC to end abusive detention without charge.
While the Counter Terrorism Bill, which is drafted to
replace the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)
improves upon PTA, it would still permit many of the abuses
occurring under current law, and raises a number of new
concerns, HRW claimed. As part of its undertakings for
security sector reform at the UNHRC in October 2015, the
Sri Lankan Government pledged to repeal and replace PTA.
Further,
a report compiled by former UN Special Rapporteur Mónica
Pinto on the independence of judges and lawyers, following
her mission to Sri Lanka from April 29-May 7, 2016, was
tabled by the new Rapporteur Diego García-Sayán at the
35th session of the UNHRC on June 12, 2017. The report
harshly criticized Sri Lanka’s justice system. Tabling
the report, García-Sayán declared, “Although the armed
conflict was concluded in 2009, very deep wounds could
still be seen in the judicial system. Problems related
to language are very serious and have a very serious effect
on justice and on the likelihood of obtaining a fair process
if you belong to the Tamil community.”
The National
Unity Government (NUG) has made dramatic
progress in addressing the issue of
reconciliation by reaching out to Tamils, establishing
a quick rehabilitation process and initiating constitutional
and legal reforms. It has also passed enabling legislation
to establish the OMP to help find some of the missing
persons during the war. Colombo’s record on these parameters
compares favourably with almost any other post-conflict
society. But unrealistic expectations and criteria that
are not applied to a multiplicity of conflicts – both
current and past – are being imposed on Sri Lanka by elements
within the international community. These are contaminating
the discourse within the country, deepening polarization
between the communities, and obstructing the process of
reconciliation, rather than contributing in any constructive
measure to its acceleration.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
June
19-25, 2017
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Civilians
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Security
Force Personnel
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Terrorists/Insurgents
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Total
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INDIA
|
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Assam
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
3
|
8
|
11
|
Manipur
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
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Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
10
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
7
|
13
|
26
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PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
6
|
9
|
1
|
16
|
FATA
|
73
|
0
|
0
|
73
|
KP
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
Sindh
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
4
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Total (PAKISTAN)
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|
|
|
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Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
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