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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 36, March 07, 2016
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
|
Reeling
under Foreign-backed Terror
Ajit
Kumar Singh
Research
Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
15 people were killed and another 31 were wounded when
a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest in a pedestrian
area between the Ministries of Finance and Defense in
the Pul-e-Mahmood Khan area of national capital Kabul
on February 27, 2016. Most of the victims were civilians
(though the numbers are yet unspecified), in an attack
that apparently targeted Government employees.
Earlier
the same day, a suicide bomber killed at least 13 persons,
including an anti-Taliban local militia commander identified
as Malik Khan Jan, outside the Governor's compound in
Asadabad, the provincial capital of Kunar. Provincial
Governor Wahidullah Kalimzai said, "Most of the victims
were civilians and children who were either passing by
or playing in the park." At least 40 people were
injured in the attack.
On February
21, 2016, at least 14 people, including nine civilians,
were killed and another 19, including 17 civilians, were
injured in a suicide bombing in a crowded market in the
Sia Gerd District of Parwan Province.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP) at least 140 civilians have already
been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the
current year (data till March 4, 2016).
The United
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) which
began systematically documenting civilian casualties on
January 1, 2009, has recorded 58,736 civilian casualties
(21,323 dead and 37,413 injured) up to December 31, 2015.
Through 2015, UNAMA recorded 11,002 civilian casualties
(3,545 civilians dead and 7,457 injured) as against 10,534
(3,701 civilians dead and 6,833 injured) in 2014. More
disturbingly, women and children constitute a rising proportion
of the victims of this violence. While overall civilian
casualties increased by four per cent in 2015 in comparison
to the previous year, casualties among women increased
by 37 per cent (1,246 women casualties, including 333
dead and 913 injured) and by 14 per cent among children
(2,829, including 733 dead and 2,096 injured).
Moreover,
the battle between the Security Forces (SFs) and the Taliban
to establish effective control over areas across Afghanistan
further intensified through 2015. According to a December
2015 United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) report
"from January 1 through November 15, 2015, there
was a 27 percent increase in ANDSF [Afghan National Defense
Security Force] casualties compared to the same period
last year [2014]". The repot did not provide specific
numbers. However, a Washington Times report on
December 27, 2015, claimed that "as of last month
(November 2015), about 7,000 members of the Afghan Security
Forces had been killed this year [2015], with 12,000 injured,
a 26 percent increase over the total number of dead and
wounded in all of 2014".
On the
other hand, fatalities among the NATO Forces continued
to decline – 27 fatalities in 2015 as against 75 in 2014.
A total of 3,515 NATO Forces, including 2,381 US troops
have been killed so far since 2001. The increase in fatalities
among ANDSF, on the one hand, and simultaneous decline
in NATO fatalities, on the other, is primarily because
NATO Forces have ceased operating as combat Forces (barring
few specific operations) since the beginning of 2015,
and ANDSF has taken the pole position in fighting the
insurgents. ANDSF includes the Afghan Army, Afghan Air
Force, and Afghan National Police. The Afghan Local Police
(ALP) also helps. Explaining the reason behind rising
losses among the ANDSF and ALP, Afghan Interior Minister
Nur al-haq Ulumi stated in May 2015, “Our National Police
and the Afghan Local Police are the first line of defense.
They are always fighting the insurgents. That’s why we
have so many casualties."
Though
there is no specific data on number of militants killed
in Afghanistan, according to partial data compiled by
the SATP, 10,628 militants were killed through 2015 as
against 6,030 such fatalities in 2014. Most of the militants
killed belonged to Taliban.
Evidently,
Afghanistan is in the midst of an increasing bloody war.
Despite losing large numbers of their cadres, the Taliban
is surging. According to the December 2015 DoD report,
"with control of — or a significant presence in —
roughly 30 percent of districts across the nation, the
Taliban now holds more territory than in any year since
2001, when the puritanical Islamists were ousted from
power after the 9/11 attacks". The Taliban have proven
capable of taking rural areas and contesting key terrain
in areas such as Helmand, while continuing to conduct
high-profile attacks (HPA) in Kabul, the report added.
From January 1 to November 16, 2015, there were 28 HPAs
in Kabul, a 27 percent increase compared to the same time
period in 2014. On January 4, 2016, summing up the security
scenario, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President’s special
envoy for Afghanistan, stated that Afghanistan remains
tense, with “high or extraordinary” security threats present
in 27 of 34 Afghan provinces.
At this
juncture an attempt is being made to bring Taliban to
talks table. The fourth meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination
Group (QCG, comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and
China) on the Afghan Peace and Reconciliation process
was held in Kabul on February 23, 2016. QCG member states
invited all Taliban and other groups to participate, through
their authorized representatives, in direct peace talks
with the Afghan Government, which were expected to take
place in the first week of March 2016 in Islamabad. Even
before the specific dates were finalized, however, the
Taliban declared that they would not participate in international
peace talks, citing what they claimed were increased US
air strikes and the Afghan Government's military operations.
Media reports
indicate that Afghan and Pakistani Government officials
remain hopeful that the talks would continue, despite
the Taliban statement. "This is just public bargaining
on the part of the Taliban. They did it last time, too.
They put out a statement of denial, and then they showed
up to talks," an unnamed official, close to President
Ashraf Ghani, argued on March 5, 2016.
The first
round of official peace talks between the Afghan Taliban
and the Afghan Government had taken place in the intervening
night of July 7 and July 8, 2015, in Murree in Pakistan,
with an agreement to meet again on August 15 and 16, 2015,
in the Qatar capital, Doha. Before, the second round of
talks could take place, the Afghan Government disclosed,
on July 29, 2015, “The government ... based on credible
information, confirms that Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader
of the Taliban, died in April 2013 in Pakistan."
Subsequent disclosures indicated that Omar died while
he was under treatment in Karachi.
The Taliban
soon split into two factions – one led by Pakistan’s nominee,
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and another by Mullah Mohammad Rasool.
The next round of talks failed to materialize. Reports
now suggest the possibilities of rapprochement between
the two factions. Abdul Rauf, a Taliban 'commander' close
to Rasool, said senior Taliban figures who had objected
to the rapid and secretive succession are now reluctantly
returning to the fold: "We all took a stand against
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, but now one by one we are joining
with him without demanding any changes." While both
Islamabad and Mullah Mansoor lost tremendous credibility
among the Taliban for their conspiracy to suppress the
truth of Mullah Omar’s death, and to manipulate his persona
for the past years, the tremendous support the terrorists
receive from Pakistan remains critical to the survival
of their movement, and a forced reconciliation appears
inevitable.
In the
meantime, in an attempt to represent itself as the most
effective player in the peace process, Pakistan willingly
or unwillingly made an admission which confirmed its destabilizing
role in Afghanistan, for which it had long been held responsible
and about which SAIR has written consistently.
Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, admitted on March 2, 2016,
"We have some influence on them [the Taliban] because
their leadership is in Pakistan and they get some medical
facilities, their families are here. So we can use those
levers to pressurize them to say: 'Come to the table'."
Pakistan’s
enduring game plan remains committed to the installation
of a Government in Afghanistan in which Taliban elements
have an important, if not dominant, role. Islamabad believes
such a Government would help its larger strategic and
economic interests and, in the process, would obliterate
Indian interests in Afghanistan. Increasing
attacks on Indian consulates across
Afghanistan in recent times are part of this wider powerplay.
In the latest of the series of such attacks, on March
2, 2016, six terrorists carried out a suicide attack targeting
the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad, the provincial capital
of Nangarhar Province. Two Afghan civilians and an Afghan
Policeman were killed in the attack. While two terrorists
blew themselves up near the consulate building initiating
the attack, the remaining four were killed in the subsequent
gun battle. Though no group has claimed responsibly for
the attack so far, the role of the Pakistani establishment
has been established in such attacks in the past. Soon
after the Jalalabad attack, former Afghan President Hamid
Karzai, stated, “Each of those (previous) attacks has
originated from across the border, from neighbouring Pakistan.
That’s where the origin of this trouble is..."
While the
Taliban has regained significant lost ground, it has now
entered into a fratricidal
turf war with its own splinters now
cleaving to the flag of the Islamic State (IS, aka
Daesh). The December 2015 DoD report notes, "IS-KP
[Khorasan Province] has progressed from its initial exploratory
phase to a point where they are openly fighting the Taliban
for the establishment of a safe haven, and are becoming
more operationally active. IS-KP has successfully seized
pockets of terrain from the Taliban in Nangarhar Province.
The group continues to recruit disaffected Taliban and
formerly Taliban-aligned fighters, most notably the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan, which publically declared allegiance
to IS-KP in August 2015.” The coalition officials estimate
that around 1,000 to 3,000 IS fighters are trying to establish
a base of operations in the rugged mountains of Nangarhar
Province.
Reeling
under the terror exported from across its Southern borders,
Afghanistan now has 315,764 ANDSF personnel in position
(against an authorized strength of 352,000). 28,000 ALP
personnel are also in position, as against the sanctioned
strength of 30,000. Despite having performed reasonably
well, the Forces need dramatic augmentation to contain
and reverse the surge in militant activities across Afghanistan.
US Army General Lloyd J. Austin III observed, on March
2, 2016, “This fighting season was the first where [Afghan
Forces] were in the lead and responsible for the security
of the country. And they faced a determined enemy that
continues to attempt everything in its power to cause
the Afghan security forces to fail. But they haven’t failed.
They are holding their own. Afghanistan’s special operations
forces are becoming the best in the region. And the Afghan
air force is enabling those ground elements.”
Nevertheless,
Afghan Forces are reeling under circumstances created
by the withdrawal
of an overwhelming proportion of NATO Forces, though the
small remaining contingents continue to provide active
support. As of December 2015, there were 12,905 NATO Forces
from 42 contributing nations, including 6,800 US Forces
stationed in Afghanistan. The US, which had earlier said
that it would reduce its presence to a maximum of 1,000
personnel in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, to provide
security for the US Embassy in Kabul, has already changed
its plans, recognizing the increasing threat. On October
15, 2015, US President Barack Obama stated that he would
keep 5,500 US troops in Afghanistan into 2017, arguing
"Afghan Forces are still not as strong as they need
to be... Meanwhile, the Taliban has made gains, particularly
in rural areas, and can still launch deadly attacks in
cities, including Kabul.”
It is expected
that the US will make some further adjustments in its
plans for deployment of troops in Afghanistan. Gen. John
F. Campbell, who handed over command of the Resolute Support
Mission in Afghanistan to Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. on
March 2, 2016, stated on February 17, 2016, "I think
we have to look at conditions on the ground. I think when
the decision was made for 5,500, there were some assumptions
that were made and some of those may not have come true.
I think there are some adjustments we have to make on
that number, and I’ve provided those to my senior leadership,
and hopefully we’ll make some changes there. I’m also
going to make sure [successor Gen. Nicholson] has that,
and he’ll come in and make his own assessment."
Unless
the Taliban is defeated militarily, and the spread of
IS is contained, no stability can be brought into Afghanistan.
At a time when the Taliban is rampaging across the country,
the talks process can only confer legitimacy on the extremists
and cede undue leverage to the external forces that have
long been guilty of aiding and abetting terrorism. It
is now critical time to bring to account the powers –
both state and non-state – that have been responsible
for the enduring suffering of the people of Afghanistan.
|
Telangana:
Diminishing Rebel Spaces
Mrinal
Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
eight members of the Venkatapuram ‘area committee’ of
the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist),
which operates in the Bhadrachalam area of Khammam District
in Telangana, were killed in an encounter with Security
Force (SF) personnel along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh
border on March 1, 2016. The Telangana Greyhounds had
launched the operation after receiving information about
the presence of Maoist leaders in the region, resulting
in the encounter which took place in the Sakler area of
Sukma District in Chhattisgarh State. Along with the dead
bodies of the eight slain militants, SF personnel also
recovered an AK-47 rifle, three Self-Loading Rifle (SLRs),
several .303 rifles, and ammunition from the encounter
spot.
Santosh
Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Anti-Naxal
Operations, Sukma District, disclosed that “As per preliminary
information, three men and five women have been killed.
The operation was planned and executed by Telangana Greyhounds.
Since they were entering our territory, they had asked
for some personnel with knowledge of the terrain.”
Among the
dead were Gottikukkala Ramesh alias Lachalu, a
board member of ‘Awami Jung’, known as ‘Jung’, the internal
journal of the party edited by central committee members,
and a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee
(DKSZC). Five others were identified as Yusufbi alias
Bhagya, Sujana, Sarakka, Madakambandi and Raju. No information
about their respective ‘ranks’ were available. Two of
the slain Maoists were yet to be identified.
The Sakler
incident further weakens the Maoists’ revival
plan in Telangana. Since the formation
of Telangana on June 2, 2014, the Maoists have lost several
of their top cadres (including those killed on March 1,
2016), who had been entrusted with the revival of the
‘movement’ in Telangana. In addition, at least 50 Maoists
have been arrested since the formation of the Telangana
State on June 2, 2014. Prominent among these were ‘militia
commander’ Madakam Jogaiah (21), who was arrested in Khammam
District on February 14, 2015; ‘militia commander’ Ravva
Bheemaiah and Paddam Kamaiah, ‘secretary’, Revolutionary
People's Committee (RPC), arrested on April 29, 2015.
Similarly, at least 24 others have surrendered before
the SFs. Some of the notable surrenders included ‘divisional
committee member’ B. Bhikshapathi in Warrangal District
on January 20, 2015, and Gajerla Ashok (41) alias
Aithu ‘secretary' of South Bastar District Committee on
December 29, 2015.
Unsurprisingly,
Maoist-related violence in the State recorded a decline
through 2015 even in comparison to the low levels in the
preceding year. According to the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP) database, four persons, including two
civilians and two Maoists were killed in the State through
2015, as against six fatalities, including four civilians,
one SF trooper and one Maoist in 2014 (after the State’s
formation on June 2, 2014). The Telangana region of undivided
Andhra Pradesh had seen three fatalities in 2014, before
June 2. There has been no fatality so far in 2016.
Fatalities
were reported from three Districts of Telangana in 2015
– one civilian each from Adilabad and Khammam; and two
Maoists in Warangal. In 2014, Khammam accounted for all
the four fatalities. Khammam thus recorded the maximum
number of fatalities (five) since the formation of the
new State.
There were
also occasional reports of CPI-Maoist teams being sighted,
particularly in Adilabad District. On January 8-9, 2015,
four CPI-Maoist teams consisting of 12 members (it was
not specified whether it was the combined strength of
all the four teams or the individual strength of each
team), including ‘area committee’ member Atram Shobhan
alias Charles, entered Adilabad District from Chhattisgarh.
According to sources, the Maoist teams were moving in
Kairiguda, Sonapur and other tribal villages between the
Tiryani and Rebbena mandals, and were recruiting
people. Similarly, on July 29, 2015, reports indicated
that a team of 20 to 25 CPI-Maoist cadres was sighted
in the villages in the Vaipet Forest area under Indervelli
mandal (administrative unit) of Adilabad District.
A few Maoists were also spotted at Parkal and Bhupalpalli
in Warangal District and a few places in the Nizamabad
District.
Meanwhile,
the Maoists engaged in three reported exchange of fire
incidents in 2015 in comparison to two such incidents
in 2014; one arson incident in comparison to none in 2014;
one abduction incident in 2015 in comparison to two in
2014; and one assault incident each in 2015 and 2014.
Notably, CPI-Maoist cadres abducted six Telangana
Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders of the Bhadrachalam Division,
including constituency in-charge Maane Ramakrishna, from
Pusuguppa, a forest fringe village in Charla mandal of
Khammam District. News of the alleged abduction emerged
on November 19, 2015, when the ruling party leaders had
not returned to their homes from Pusuguppa, where they
had reportedly gone to attend a meeting on November 18.
The other abducted TRS leaders were P. Venkateshwarlu,
S. Suresh, Janardhan, Satyanarayana and Ramakrishna. The
Maoists later released them on November 21, 2015, and
asked them to tell their party leaders to immediately
halt combing operations in Khammam and Adilabad Districts
of Telangana. No Moist fatality has been recorded thereafter,
though only three Maoists have so far been killed in Telangana
since its formation. Two were killed in Warangal District
in 2015 while one was killed in Khammam in 2014.
33 Maoists
were arrested in 2015 in addition to seven in 2014. Till
February 28, 2016, another 10 Maoists have already been
arrested in the current year. Mounting SF pressure led
to the surrender of 13 Maoists in 2015, in addition to
11 in 2014. No Maoist has yet surrendered in Telangana
in 2016.
The Maoists
were banking on the birth of the Telangana State to revive
their movement after they had lost considerable ground
in united Andhra Pradesh. Having failed to do so, they
continue to espouse several issues to garner mass support.
The first and foremost is the issue of the Polavaram Project,
a multi-purpose irrigation project across the Godavari
River. On February 20, 2015, wall posters of CPI-Maoist
Venkatapuram 'area committee' opposing the Polavaram project
were spotted in the Charla mandal of Khammam District.
On August 19, 2015, Viplava Karmika Samkhya (VKS), a CPI-Maoist
front organization, sent a pamphlet to a newspaper office
in Nalgonda District, warning the management of Oil Country
Tubular Limited (OCTL) located at Narketpally, State Ministers
T. Harish Rao and Nayani Narasimha Reddy, and Nakrekal
Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Vemula Veeresham
on the issue of "removing about 500 employees from
the company". Signed by VKS ‘secretary’ Azad, the
two-page pamphlet alleged that the State Government led
by TRS had colluded with the management of the OCTL.
Meanwhile,
the Maoists also claimed to have conducted the first State
level meeting in Telangana in February 2015. State intelligence
officials, however, rejected the claim, asserting that,
instead, the plenary was conducted in Chhattisgarh, bordering
Khammam District. An unnamed senior intelligence official
disclosed, on March 31, 2015, "It was a State committee
plenum. The Maoists couldn't conduct it in Telangana due
to continuous vigil and combing operations. They had to
hold it in Chhattisgarh."
Though
SFs have succeeded in containing Maoist activities in
Telangana, worries remain. According to a statement of
the Telangana Police on March 31, 2015, there were around
75 to 80 Maoist cadres still operating along Telangana’s
borders. Reports of some new recruitment continue to filter
in. On December 30, 2015, Director General of Police (DGP)
Anurag Sharma admitting, "It is sporadic and there
is no mass scale recruitment (by Maoists)... due to firm
Police action, LWE activities in the State are under effective
check. Extremist crime also declined during this year."
Similarly, State Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy
claimed on December 3, 2014, "There is no Maoist
activity (in Telangana)... We have a peaceful atmosphere
here."
Nevertheless,
Khammam District is still listed among the 35-worst Maoist
affected Districts spread across seven states of India.
Commenting on the Maoist situation Telangana, the then
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General (DG)
Prakash Mishra warned, on February 19, 2016, that the
Maoists were coming back in Telangana: "There could
be many reasons (for this), non-application of Standard
Operating Procedures or lax policing. The inherent danger
is always there, even in Telangana and some places in
Andhra Pradesh."
The Police
in the Telangana region of undivided Andhra Pradesh, and
now in Telangana, have spearheaded the successful counter-insurgency
response against the Maoist, transforming this territory
from the very heartland of the rebel movement to an area
where they are now struggling for a toe hold. The Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana Police have also led extraordinarily
successful campaigns across the country – providing intelligence
and tactical support to other Forces – to help contain
the Maoists and progressively identify and neutralize
its leadership. There is, of course, no scope for complacence
here; but there is little reason to believe that the Telangana
Police are inclined to take their eye off the ball.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
February
29-March 6, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Manipur
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Nagaland
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
15
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
3
|
17
|
26
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
8
|
FATA
|
2
|
0
|
12
|
14
|
Punjab
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Sindh
|
3
|
0
|
17
|
16
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
Pathankot
attack
by
'non-state
actors'
who
operate
with
support
of
Pakistani
establishment,
says
Defense
Minister
Manohar
Parrikar:
The
terror
attack
on
Pathankot
(Punjab)
Airbase
on
January
2,
2106,
was
carried
out
by
Pakistan's
"non-state
actors"
who
operate
with
support
of
the
Pakistani
establishment,
government
suggested
in
the
Rajya
Sabha
(Upper
House
of
Parliament)
on
March
1.
"The
complete
details
will
come
out
in
the
NIA
investigation.
But
in
this,
non-state
actors
from
Pakistan
are
surely
involved.
This
is
for
sure.
Any
non-state
actors
there,
they
cannot
function
smoothly
without
full
state
support,"
Defence
Minister
Manohar
Parrikar
said.
Times
of
India,
March
2,
2016.
Action
on
terror
trumps
any
desire
for
diplomatic
dialogue
with
Pakistan,
says
Foreign
Secretary
S.
Jaishankar:
Action
on
terror
trumps
any
desire
for
diplomatic
dialogue
with
Pakistan,
foreign
secretary
S.
Jaishankar
said
on
March
2.
He
said
that
India
would
not
agree
to
foreign
secretary
talks
until
Pakistan
took
clear
action
against
the
perpetrators
of
the
Pathankot
(Punjab)
terror
attack.
"In
the
aftermath
of
a
terror
attack,
if
you
ask
me
what
is
the
priority,
dealing
with
terror
or
diplomatic
dialogue
then
the
answer
is
obvious,"
he
said.
Times
of
India,
March
3,
2016.
CRPF
destroys
Naxals'
bid
to
create
red
corridor,
says
outgoing
DG
Prakash
Mishra:
The
Central
Reserve
Police
Chief
(CRPF)
has
"destroyed"
the
Naxals’-[Left-Wing
Extremists’
(LWEs)]
efforts
to
create
a
"red
corridor"
in
the
country
and
was
able
to
restrict
them
to
a
few
states
like
Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand
and
Bihar,
said
the
outgoing
Chief
of
CRPF
Prakash
Mishra
in
Gurgaon
on
February
29.
"CRPF
has
destroyed
the
dream
of
Maoists
to
establish
a
red
corridor
from
Pashupati
(in
Nepal)
to
Tirupati
(in
south
India)
and
mainly
restricted
them
to
some
areas
of
Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand
and
Bihar,"
Mishra
was
quoted
as
saying
by
a
CRPF
spokesperson.
PTI,
March
3,
2016.
NEPAL
Onus
lies
on
NC
to
implement
the
new
Constitution,
says
Deputy
Prime
Minister
Bijay
Kumar
Gachhadar:
Deputy
Prime
Minister
Bijay
Kumar
Gachhadar
while
addressing
the
13th
General
Convention
of
the
Nepali
Congress
(NC)
on
March
3
has
said
that
the
onus
lies
on
the
NC
to
implement
the
new
Constitution.
He
said,
“A
crucial
role
from
NC
is
mandatory
to
establish
peace
and
stability
in
the
nation
by
implementing
the
constitution.”
He
further
lauded
the
NC’s
role
in
drafting
the
new
Constitution.
Republica,
March
4,
2016.
Naya
Shakti
makes
its
financial
guidelines
public:
Baburam
Bhattarai-led
Naya
Shakti
(New
Force)
has
made
its
financial
guidelines
public
on
March
1.
As
per
the
guidelines,
the
would-be
party
will
not
accept
more
than
NPR
50,000
per
year
from
an
individual
donor
and
more
than
NPR
2
million
per
year
from
an
institution,
firm
or
company.
The
Naya
Shakti
has
also
made
it
clear
that
it
will
not
accept
donations
from
foreigners,
incumbent
civil
servants
and
staffers
of
the
institutions
which
are
dependent
on
Government
grants
or
have
51
percent
of
shares
of
the
Government.
Republica,
March
4,
2016.
PAKISTAN
AQIS
and
LeJ
hiring
militants
belonging
to
HuMA
in
Karachi,
reveals
Home
Department:
Al
Qaeda
in
the
Indian
Subcontinent
(AQIS)
and
the
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ)
are
hiring
Karachi-based
militants
of
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
al-Alami
(HuMA),
and
are
planning
attacks
on
major
important
installations
in
the
city,
says
the
Home
Department
letter
issued
to
Police
and
Rangers.
According
to
the
letter,
“During
the
interrogation
of
some
recently
apprehended
high-value
terrorists,
it
was
learnt
that
on
the
directives
of
AQIS
and
the
Tehreek-s-Taliban
Pakistan,
they
had
gathered
information
about
some
important
installations
and
targets
in
Karachi,
but
the
attacks
could
not
be
carried
out
because
their
leaders
were
arrested”.
The News,
March
5,
2016.
We
have
influence
over
Afghan
Taliban
because
their
leadership
is
in
Pakistan,
admits
Adviser
to
the
Prime
Minister
on
Foreign
Affairs
Sartaj
Aziz:
Sartaj
Aziz,
Adviser
to
the
Prime
Minister
on
Foreign
Affairs,
while
making
comment
at
Council
on
Foreign
Relations
in
Washington
on
March
1
regarding
Islamabad's
considerable
influence
over
the
Taliban,
said,
"We
have
some
influence
over
them
because
their
leadership
is
in
Pakistan
and
they
get
some
medical
facilities.
Their
families
are
here".
He
further
added,
"We
can
use
those
levers
to
pressurise
them
to
say,
''Come
to
the
table''.
But
we
can't
negotiate
on
behalf
of
the
Afghan
Government
because
we
cannot
offer
them
what
the
Afghan
Government
can
offer
them."
Dawn,
March
3,
2016.
Osama
wanted
money
left
by
him
to
be
used
for
global
jihad,
reveal
declassified
documents:
Documents
seized
by
United
States
Special
Forces
personnel
during
the
May
1-2,
2011,
raid
on
Osama
bin
Laden’s
hideout
in
Abbottabad
District
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
have
revealed
that
al
Qaeda
leaders
were
increasingly
worried
about
spies
in
their
group,
drones
patrolling
the
skies
and
secret
devices
tracking
their
movements.
The
document
—
part
of
a
cache
of
113
documents
—
has
been
described
by
intelligence
officials
as
Bin
Laden’s
will.
The
documents
are
mostly
dated
between
2009
and
2011
and
comprise
the
second
cache
from
the
raid
to
have
been
declassified.
In
one
of
the
declassified
documents,
Laden
outlines
how
at
least
$29
million
stashed
in
Sudan
should
be
apportioned
after
his
death,
requesting
that
most
of
it
be
used
to
continue
global
jihad.
Dawn,
March
2,
2016.
PHC
asks
Defence
and
Interior
Ministries
to
explain
detentions:
A
Division
Bench
of
the
Peshawar
High
Court
(PHC)
on
March
2
issued
notices
to
the
Federal
Ministries
of
Defence
and
Interior,
asking
them
to
explain
why
three
brothers
from
Swat
District
were
allegedly
detained
by
Security
Forces
and
why
their
property
was
confiscated.
Justice
Nisar
Hussain
and
Justice
Roohul
Amin
heard
a
writ
petition
filed
by
Zahida,
the
mother
of
Shujaat
Shah,
Syed
Asmat
Shah
and
Masood
Shah,
through
her
counsel
Bashir
Khan.
Bashir
argued
the
Security
Forces
had
arrested
Zahida’s
husband
Daulat
Shah
and
her
sons
a
few
years
ago.
Tribune,
March
3,
2016.
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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