| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 15, No. 2, July 11, 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
|
J&K:
Political Defalcation
Ajit
Kumar Singh
Research
Fellow Institute for Conflict Management
In a major
operational success, Security Forces (SFs) eliminated
a top ‘commander’ of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM),
Burhan Wani, along with two associates, in a shootout
in the Kokernag area of Anantnag District in the evening
of July 8, 2016. Wani, according to media reports, had
joined militancy in 2010, and carried a reward of INR
one million on his head.
Following
the recent trend of orchestrated and violent street protests
during and after most encounters in parts of Kashmir Valley,
violent demonstrations followed Wani’s death. The magnitude
of the violence, was, however, much greater, with at least
22 protestors and one trooper killed, and more than 200
persons, including 102 civilians and 100 SF personnel
sustaining injuries since the protests began on July 8.
Four Police Stations, 36 civil administration offices
and dozens of vehicles were destroyed in the protests,
which were still ongoing at the time of writing. In comparison,
according to partial data compiled by the South Asia
Terrorism Portal (SATP), 16 incidents of protests
during and after encounters have been recorded since the
beginning of 2016, resulting in three fatalities (all
civilians) and 116 persons injured, including 87 civilians
and 29 SF personnel.
The primary
reason behind large scale violence following Wani’s death
was the projection by a section of the media of Wani as
a ‘cult figure’, the image of a ‘poster boy’ for ‘local
militants’. Indeed, Imtiyaz Hussain, Senior Superintendent
of Police (SSP) Baramullah, in his Facebook Post
on Burhan Wani's killing, wrote on July 9, 2016,
*The truth is, despite all his "virtual" bravado,
despite being a poster boy, he could not carry out
a single action against security forces...!!!_*.
His life #glamorized by #media power, and his death
celebrated in same way... by people who just stand
on sidelines, and cheer gleefully..."
|
Another
reason for the large-scale violence was the failure of
SFs to identify the potential areas of trouble at the
early stages of the protests. Additional Director General
(ADG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Criminal Investigation
Department (CID), S.M. Sahai thus observed, on July 9,
“If you look at what happened… difficulty has come in
isolated pockets on the fringes. All these incidents,
if you notice, are not in the main area where you normally
expect trouble…” A day later he was more forthright:
We admit that our focus was not on some areas. We
are seeing how it happened. We faced trouble from
the outlying areas. Government buildings, Police
Stations and Army camps were attacked in the areas
we least expected trouble. The areas Police expected
trouble were put under control.
|
Sahai added,
“Now that we are aware of what has happened, we will definitely
try to prepare for it,” and on July 10, noted, “The situation
as of now is better…”
Significantly,
12 protestors died on July 9 and another six, who were
injured in clashes on July 9, succumbed to their injuries
the next day. Another five protestors, and one SF trooper,
were killed in clashes on July 10.
The situation
is likely to veer towards normalcy over time. Far more
intensive and dispersed protests have been contained and
eventually neutralized by SFs in J&K during the anti-Amarnath
Yatra demonstrations of 2008, which
resulted in 51 civilian fatalities; and the orchestrated
stone
pelting campaign of 2010 when around
112 persons were killed in the streets. Street violence
backed by Pakistan’s Inters-Services Intelligence (ISI)
and its proxies are not new in Kashmir, and the current
surge has the hallmarks of past campaigns.
What is
worrying, however, is the utter failure of the political
class to learn lessons and its persistence with inept
policies in dealing with the situation on the political
front, despite extraordinary gains delivered by the operational
successes of the SFs, and a dramatic decline in the
intensity and spread of
the insurgency.
For instance,
634 persons facing stone-pelting charges were given amnesty
on the occasion of Eid, with the State Government
approving withdrawal of 104 cases against them on July
5, 2016. Significantly, the decision of the State Home
Department approving withdrawal of the cases came after
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti gave instructions for the
review of such cases pertaining to the period between
2008 and 2014, and the setting up of a three-member Committee
for this purpose. The Committee reviewed cases for the
period between 2008 and 2009 in the first phase and recommended
the withdrawal of the 104 cases registered during this
period. The Committee has sought another three weeks to
review the cases pertaining to the 2010-2014 period. In
a similar move in 2013, the previous Omar Abdullah Government
had released 1,811 persons involved in cases of stone-pelting
in the Valley during the 2010 summer unrest under its
amnesty scheme.
Though
the successive state Governments have argued that these
actions are part of confidence building measures, the
ground situation demonstrates their failure to deal with
ground realities, and the fact that the released miscreants
overwhelmingly return to their campaigns of street violence,
exacerbating tensions and eroding the gains on the security
front.
Significantly,
according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data,
there were 662 incidents of Police firing recorded in
J&K during 2010, in which 91 civilians were killed
and another 494 were injured. The number of incidents
of firing came down to 132 in 2011, resulting in just
12 injuries to civilians; and further down to 103 incidents,
though the resultant civilian deaths stood at seven,
and another 33 were injured. In 2013, after the amnesty
to 1,811 stone pelters from the 2010 campaign, the number
of incidents of SF firing witnessed a quantum jump, to
318, with five civilian deaths and 49 injured. Though
no incident of firing was recorded by NCRB through 2014,
304 incidents of lathi-charge (there was no data on lathi-charges
in earlier years) in which one civilian was killed and
another 138 were injured. Clearly, most of these police
actions were presumably taken against protestors who were
engaging in stone-pelting and other manifestations of
street violence.
Unfortunate
political decisions and a proclivity to resort to polarizing
identity politics on the part of most significant political
formations active in the State have undermined the hard
won gains by the SFs in the face of Islamabad’s continuous
efforts to reverse the trend
of declining terrorism. Terrorism-related
fatalities in the first six month and 10 days of 2016
stand at 120, but include just five civilians; 30 SF personnel
and 85 terrorists have also died. In 2015, there were
78 fatalities during the corresponding period, including
12 civilians, 22 SF personnel and 44 terrorists. The SFs
have succeeded in creating a safer environment for civilians,
even as they have paid a higher price themselves, while,
at the same time, securing a better kill-ratio against
the terrorists.
The politics
of opportunism is keeping J&K on a boil well after
terrorism has lost strength and the base it had. The cycles
of disruption will continue to recur periodically unless
the remaining distance to normalization is covered by
political initiatives. SF’s can contain or end violence;
they cannot create peace; that is the task of political
sagacity, of which there is a visible and endemic deficit,
both in the state and in the nation at large.
|
Assam:
KPLT: Changing Colours
Nijeesh
N.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On June
29, 2016, the Army claimed that, in a series of joint
operations with the Assam Police over the preceding days,
11 militants of the recently-floated militant outfit,
Helem Tiger Force (HTF), were arrested from Umrongso in
Dima Hasao District and Larkercha village in West Karbi
Anglong District along the Assam-Meghalaya border. HTF
reportedly has close links with the Karbi People's Liberation
Tiger (KPLT).
During the operation, the Security Forces (SFs) recovered
two 9mm pistols, three 7.65 pistols, three rifles, one
hand grenade and 40 rounds of live ammunition. After the
arrest, the Army sources said that the unearthing and
apprehension of a majority of cadres of this outfit which
has links with KPLT and United People's Liberation Army
(UPLA), has been a major setback to the nexus between
the outfits, which have been involved in kidnapping, extortion
and ‘tax-collection’. The kingpin of this new outfit is
still at large and efforts are on to reach out to him.
On June
11, 2016, a KPLT militant identified as Deven Tisso (22)
was killed in the Kolonga Bazar area near Baithalangso
in West Karbi Anglong District in an encounter with the
Police. According to sources, during the heavy gun fight
between the militant group and SFs, Tisso was killed on
the spot and others of the group managed to flee. SFs
recovered a 7.66mm pistol and four live cartridges from
the area.
On April
1, 2016, two top KPLT militants identified as 'finance
secretary' Sojong Tisso and 'general secretary' Mukrang
Bey were killed and one of their accomplices was arrested
in an encounter with a joint team of Police and the Army
at Borpung Terang village in the Kalyani Reserve Forest
in Karbi Anglong District, ahead of the April 4 voting
(first phase of Assam Assembly Poll 2016) in the area.
The Police recovered one HK-36 rifle, two magazines live
ammunition, a .22 pistol with live ammunition, a .303
pistol with eight bullets, and two INSAS rifles.
Earlier
in the month of April 2016 KPLT, which was opposing the
Assembly Election, had issued threats to media persons
after journalists at a meeting in Diphu Press Club unanimously
decided not to publish the extremist outfit’s Press Releases
calling for bandhs (strikes) opposing the voting
in the District on April 4, 2016.
The KPLT
was formed on January 8, 2011, by the Anti-talks faction
of Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF-AT)
with the objective of carving an Autonomous Karbi State
out of Assam. The KLNLF-ATF was a breakaway faction of
the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF), which
had laid down arms on February 11, 2010. The KLNLF, a
breakaway faction of the United People’s Democratic Solidarity
(UPDS),
was formed on May 16, 2004, after a split in the group,
when UPDS signed a cease-fire agreement with the Union
Government on May 23, 2002. KPLT remains a major agent
of violence in the Karbi Anglong region, and also has
a base in the Dima Hasao District of Assam and some parts
of Arunachal Pradesh.
While most
of the local militant groups have come under ceasefire
agreements in the recent past, the KPLT continues to pose
a threat to security in the region. Further, UPLA, formed
in February 2013 mostly by the former members of the UPDS,
the Karbi National Liberation Army (KNLA), the Naga Rengma
Hills Protection Force (NRHPF), United People’s Liberation
Front (UPLF) and the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA),
are also currently active in the area.
The Karbi
Anglong region was divided into two administrative Districts
in 2015 (East Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong), with
a combined area of 10,434 square kilometers. It is situated
in the central part of the Assam State and is administered
by a 30-member Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC)
– a unique autonomous council constituted to empower the
Karbi tribe and safeguard their political, cultural and
linguistic identity – under the Sixth Schedule of the
Indian Constitution. Karbis aka Mikir are the major
Hill tribal community in the region, constituting around
45 percent of the population. The region borders the Golaghat,
Morigaon, Nagaon and Dima Hasao Districts of Assam, as
well as the States of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Militancy
in Karbi Anglong started in the 1980s, and peaked in 2005,
when 108 fatalities were recorded. There was a sharp decline
in 2010, with 10 fatalities, following a Suspension of
Operation (SoO) with the principle Karbi outfits – KLNLF
(2010) and UPDS (2002). A gradual rise in violence has,
however, been recorded over the past years. According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), in 2011, KPLT was involved in 15 of
17 recorded fatalities; in 2012, KPLT was linked to 14
of 17 fatalities; in 2013, KPLT was involved in 17 of
23 fatalities; in 2014, KPLT was involved in 17 of 31
fatalities; in 2015, KPLT was involved in 10 of 12 fatalities;
and in 2016, KPLT has already been involved in three of
five reported fatalities in the Karbi Anglong region (till
July 8, 2016). Much of the violence since 2011 has been
attributed to the formation of KPLT.
Since the
formation of the group in January 2011, according to the
SATP database, KPLT-related violence has resulted in 76
fatalities (18 civilians, 4 SF personnel and 54 KPLT cadres)
[data till July 8, 2016]. Interestingly, the outfit has
not inflicted any civilian fatalities since December 10,
2014, though it has lost several cadre since.
Indeed,
relentless operations by SFs have succeeded in controlling
KPLT violence, especially after the I.K. Songbijit faction
of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS)
militants massacred
over 69 Adivasis (tribals) on December 23, 2014.
After the massacre, SFs launched several operations in
different parts of the State, including ‘Operation Wipe
Out’ to flush out militants, particularly KPLT cadres,
from the Karbi Anglong District in central Assam. During
the operation, SFs arrested several key militant leaders,
including the group’s ‘chairman’, ‘commander-in-chief’,
‘deputy chief’, ’finance secretary’, ‘auditor’ and ‘area
commanders’, in separate incidents. In mid-February 2015,
the Indian Army claimed that the entire top leadership
of KPLT had been arrested. An Army release stated, “The
operation has decimated the organisation and almost completely
wiped out the dreaded KPLT from West Karbi Anglong District
of Assam facilitating return of peace in the poorly developed
region." However, Superintendent of Police (SP) (Karbi
Anglong), Mugdha Jyoti Dev Mahanta, on February 1, 2015,
observed, “But the KPLT now has been split into five groups
- KPLT (Buche group), KPLT (Pratap), KPLT (Donri), KPLT
(Symbon) and KPLT (Sojong). Some of these groups have
six-seven members."
In one
recent incident, SFs arrested 'commander-in-chief' of
the KPLT, identified as Arbho Terang, from Balipathar
Sencho Bey village under Bokajan Police Station in Karbi
Anglong District on May 15, 2016. He had been involved
in many extortion cases in different areas of Karbi Anglong.
According to SATP, five militants of KPLT have been arrested
in 2016, thus far; 58 were arrested in 2015; 41 in 2014;
12 in 2013; 37 in 2012 and 17 in 2011.
KPLT has
also been involved in other violent incidents, particularly
extortion and abduction, which have contributed to a public
outcry against the outfit. Continuing SF operations have
combined with resistance from villagers, making it increasingly
difficult for militants to operate in Karbi Anglong. KPLT
and other militant formations principally rely on extortion
and abduction to sustain their activities. On April 26,
2016, locals of the remote Metargaon village in East Karbi
Anglong District caught and beat up a link man of a militant
outfit who was trying to extort money from the villagers,
and handed him over to Police. Several similar cases have
been reported earlier, in which villagers confronted the
militants and refused to succumb to extortion demands.
Confirming
these incidents, an Army source stated, on May 7, 2016,
"Locals are fed up with gun-culture here (Karbi Anglong).
Relentless operations by Security Forces have decimated
rebel outfits like Karbi People's Liberation Tigers. Because
of Army operations, money is drying up for militants and
they are now targeting remote villages for extortion".
Ordinary people, who already suffer from acute poverty
and unemployment, are fed up with militant atrocities.
SFs have
succeeded in suppressing militant formations in Karbi
Anglong, including KPLT, in the past, but splinters have
emerged to resume disruption and extortion in the region.
The surfacing of HTF and its links with KPLT are indications
of the fact that militancy is far from over, albeit it
is in the character of old wine in a new bottle. SF successes
need consolidation through governance initiatives to address
the challenge of the extreme backwardness of, and the
lack of infrastructure in, the region.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
July
4-10, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
INDIA
|
|
Arunachal
Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Manipur
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Odisha
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
1
|
15
|
22
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Sindh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Police
warns
strict
measures
will
be
taken
against
people
putting
up
any
content
online
supporting
IS
or
other
terrorists:
A
press
release
from
Police
Headquarters
on
June
6
warned
strict
measures
will
be
taken
against
people
putting
up
any
content
online
that
supports
the
Islamic
State
(IS)
or
other
terrorists.
The
press
release
said
any
video,
photo,
message,
share,
comment
or
like
supporting
IS
or
terrorists
on
social
media
such
as
Facebook,
Twitter,
YouTube
was
a
punishable
offence.
Dhaka
Tribune,
July
8,
2016.
IS
releases
video
calling
for
jihad
in
Bangladesh:
Islamic
State
(IS)
on
July
6
released
a
video
calling
for
jihad
in
Bangladesh
and
threatening
more
attacks
on
'crusaders'
and
'crusader
nations',
reports
Dhaka
Tribune.
The
video
message
believed
to
be
issued
from
Raqqa,
a
city
in
Syria
in
Bangla
was
first
found
in
an
IS-affiliate
website
and
then
released
on
YouTube.
In
the
video,
three
of
the
speakers
are
of
Bangladesh
origin.
Dhaka
Tribune,
July
6,
2016.
INDIA
Death
toll
rises
to
23,
life
paralyzed
for
3rd
consecutive
day
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir:
The
death
toll
in
the
clashes
between
protesters
and
Security
Forces
(SFs)
in
Kashmir
mounted
to
23,
as
normal
life
remained
paralyzed
for
the
third
day
on
July
10,
in
the
Valley
due
to
curfew-like
restrictions
and
separatists-sponsored
strike
in
the
wake
of
the
killing
of
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM)
'commander'
Burhan
Wani
in
an
encounter
on
July
8.
"Two
persons
have
died
in
an
incident
of
violence
in
Kulgam
district
yesterday
and
have
been
identified
as
Feroze
Ahmad
Mir
(22)
and
Khursheed
Ahmad
Mir
(38),"
a
Police
official
said.
He
said
the
information
about
the
death
of
these
youth
was
not
available
yesterday
due
"inadequate"
communication
facilities
in
south
Kashmir
District.
Mobile
telephony
has
been
suspended
in
the
four
Districts
of
south
Kashmir
since
July
8
evening
as
violent
protests
erupted
following
killing
of
Wani
in
an
encounter
with
SFs.
Daily Excelsior;
Indian Express,
July
9-11,
2016.
JMB
was
collecting
funds
on
pretext
of
helping
Gujarat
victims,
according
to
NIA:
A
module
of
the
Jama'at
ul
Mujahideen
Bangladesh
(JMB),
was
collecting
donations
in
India
on
the
pretext
of
helping
the
victims
of
the
2002
Gujarat
riots,
a
senior
official
of
the
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
said.
"The
flow
of
funds
to
this
outfit
was
in
the
form
of
voluntary
donations
collected
on
the
pretext
of
giving
free
education
to
poor
Muslim
girls
and
help
the
victims
of
the
Gujarat
and
Assam
riots,"
the
NIA
official
said.
The Hindu
July
9,
2016.
SFs
can't
use
excessive
force
in
Manipur,
says
Supreme
Court:
The
Supreme
Court
(SC)
on
July
8
said
the
Army
and
paramilitary
forces
cannot
use
"excessive
and
retaliatory
force"
in
Manipur
and
such
instances
must
be
probed.
The
bench
also
asked
the
amicus
curiae
to
furnish
details
of
alleged
fake
encounters
in
Manipur.
The
bench
said
it
was
open
to
the
Army
to
conduct
its
own
inquiries
into
the
allegations
of
fake
encounters
in
Manipur.
The Shillong
Times,
July
9,
2016.
Zakir
Naik's
IRF
listed
in
JuD's
website
as
learning
resource,
according
to
report:
Zakir
Naik''s
Islamic
Research
Foundation
(IRF)
was
listed
as
religious
learning
resource
on
Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD)
website.
Zakir
Naik''s
IRF
is
the
only
South
Asian
centre
listed
on
JuD
website.
Earlier,
on
July
7,
Maharashtra
Chief
Minister,
Devendra
Fadnavis
directed
the
Mumbai
Police
officials
to
initiate
inquiry
against
Zakir
Naik.
The
probe
will
include
inquiry
into
his
all
public
documents.
The
Maharashtra
government
has
ordered
the
Police
officials
to
probe
all
the
recordings
of
Zakir
Naik''s
speeches.
Zee News,
July
8,
2016.
NEPAL
Federalism
should
be
made
effective
to
address
needs
of
the
nation,
says
Prime
Minister
KP
Sharma
Oli:
Prime
Minister
KP
Sharma
Oli
on
July
8
said
that
federalism
should
be
made
effective
to
address
needs
of
the
nation.
In
a
two-day
seminar
jointly
organized
by
the
Ministry
of
General
Administration
and
Nepal
Administrative
Staff
College
in
Dhulikhel
of
Kavrepalanchok
District,
Prime
Minister
Oli
said
federalism
should
be
implemented
on
the
basis
of
country's
social
and
geographical
peculiarities.
Stating
that
there
was
no
point
in
adopting
federalism
if
the
people
failed
getting
effective
services
and
facilities,
he
urged
the
bureaucrats
to
give
up
old
and
narrow
mindsets.
The
Himalayan
Times,
July
9,
2016.
PAKISTAN
Pak-Afghan
border
peace
a
priority,
says
COAS
General
Raheel
Sharif:
The
Chief
of
Army
Staff
(COAS)
General
Raheel
Sharif
on
July
8
said
that
all
efforts
will
be
committed
to
ensuring
peace
and
stability
along
the
Pak-Afghan
border
that
is
the
Army's
priority.
General
Raheel
Sharif
said
this
on
a
visit
to
the
forward
lines
in
North
and
South
Waziristan
agencies.
He
spent
the
first
day
of
Eidul
Fitr
with
troops
in
the
forward
positions
of
the
tribal
agencies,
where
the
military
has
been
involved
in
an
extensive
operation
since
June
2014.
Pak-Afghan
relations
hold
key
to
regional
peace,
General
Raheel
tells
US.
Tribune,
July
9,
2016.
Pakistani
national
carried
out
bombing
near
US
consulate
in
Jeddah,
says
Saudi
Arabia
Interior
Ministry:
A
suicide
bomber
who
blew
himself
up
near
the
United
States
consulate
in
Jeddah
on
July
4
has
been
identified
as
a
Pakistani
citizen,
the
Saudi
Arabia
Interior
Ministry
said
on
July
5.
The
Ministry
identified
the
man
as
35-year-old
Abdullah
Gulzar
Khan,
who
worked
as
a
driver
in
Saudi
Arabia.
Khan
had
been
living
with
his
wife
and
her
parents
in
Jeddah
for
12
years,
the
Interior
Ministry
said
in
a
tweet.
Dawn,
July
5,
2016.
Islamic
State
threat
in
India
from
Maldives,
not
Bangladesh,
says
IB
report:
The
future
threat
of
Islamic
State
(ISIS)
in
the
Indian
sub-continent
could
be
from
Maldives
rather
than
Bangladesh,
according
to
a
classified
report
sent
by
the
Intelligence
Bureau
(IB)
to
multiple
agencies
recently.
The
report
said
that
ISIS
may
have
as
many
as
500
sympathisers
now
in
Maldives,
in
addition
to
those
who
been
suspected
to
have
joined
the
terror
outfit
in
Syria
and
Iraq.
"ISIS
has
been
successfully
using
the
Internet
and
social
media
in
influencing
youth
in
the
island
nation
and
is
determined
to
expand
its
network
further,"
the
report
states
and
adds
that
in
Bangladesh
rather
than
ISIS
it
is
the
Jama'atul
Mujahideen
Bangladesh
(JMB)
which
is
increasing
its
influence.
The Asian Age,
July
5,
2016.
SRI
LANKA
President
reiterates
not
to
allow
any
foreign
court,
judge
or
organization
interfere
into
internal
administration
and
judiciary:
President
Maithripala
Sirisena
speaking
at
a
ceremony
on
July
8
at
the
Panadura
town
in
Kalutara
District
reiterated
that
he
will
not
allow
any
foreign
court,
judge
or
organization
interfere
into
the
internal
administration
and
judiciary
in
the
country
in
future
as
well.
He
said
"Though
whatever
views
are
expressed
in
various
places
regarding
bringing
of
foreign
judges
and
establishing
of
foreign
military
courts
to
take
actions
against
the
so
called
human
rights
violations
during
the
period
of
war,
it
will
not
be
allowed."
Colombo Page,
July
9,
2016.
Joint
Opposition
appoints
shadow
cabinet
of
50
Ministers
led
by
ex-President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
as
Prime
Minister:
The
Joint
Opposition
on
July
7
appointed
a
shadow
cabinet
of
50
Ministers,
led
by
ex-President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
as
the
Prime
Minister
and
Minister
of
Defence,
Buddha
Sasana
and
Religious
Affairs.
Member
of
Parliament
(MP)
Dinesh
Gunawardane
was
appointed
National
Policies
and
Economic
Affairs
Minister,
while
Chamal
Rajapaksa
was
appointed
Transport
and
Aviation
Minister.
MP
Namal
Rajapaksa
has
been
named
Foreign
Affairs
Minister
and
MP
Udaya
Gammanpila
has
been
named
Minister
of
Law
and
Order.
Daily Mirror,
July
8,
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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