Detail Of Terrorism Update

Two persons, a girl and a suspected militant, were killed while a hospital and dozens of medicine shops were destroyed during a clash between Security Forces (SFs) and militants in Miramshah Bazaar of North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on November 9, reports Dawn. Locals said that militants targeted Stadium checkpost and Amin post with heavy and light weapons from the roofs of high buildings in Miramshah Bazaar. SFs, backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, targeted the buildings where suspected militants were taking shelter. The gun battle continued for over 16 hours. Sources said that SFs blew up the Medical Complex Plaza, destroying more than 50 medicine shops, costly machinery including ultrasound machines, X-ray plants and other valuable electronic equipment causing millions of rupees losses to the owners. Three children were also injured as various blocks including dental block, Operation Theatre and medical ward of the hospital were damaged.  

Meanwhile, militants fired three rockets from Tangi Zaira Raisy Mountain at Paywar village In Kurram Agency. However, no casualty was reported. It was the second attack on Paywar village within one week.

Security Forces (SFs) killed an unidentified militant belonging to Karbi People Liberation Tigers (KPLT) at Mohen Egti village of Shinghason hill track in Karbi Anglong District on November 9, reports Nagaland Post. SFs recovered one AK- 47 rifle, one 303 rifle and seven live ammunition of AK rifle from the spot.

Separately, the ‘military chief ‘of the Anti-Talks faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-ATF), Sonbjit Ingti, has bought at least 50 AK-47 and AK-56 rifles from Anti-Talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF) ‘Chairman’ Paresh Baruah, reports The Asian Age. It further reports that NDFB-ATF has served extortion notices to businessmen of Bhalukpong, Seppa and Semma area of Arunachal Pradesh. NDFB-ATF has also served extortion demand of INR 200000 to a manager of Arunachal Pradesh Transport Corporation (APTC) posted in Sonitpur District. NDFB-ATF is also shifting its cadres from Bangladesh to a new camp in Myanmar.

At least five passengers were injured when a bomb planted on Indus Highway exploded in Darra Adamkhel town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on November 9, reports Dawn. Militants also fired 14 rockets at different areas of Darra Adamkhel. However, no loss of life or property was reported.

The Times of India reports that an unspecified number of heavily armed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres bull-dozed two school buildings in Barachatti Police Station area of Gaya District on November 8. Reports said  that the Maoists used JCB machines of a construction company engaged in the construction work in the area to bulldoze the school buildings, thereby, depriving nearly 800 middle- school children the benefit of education at Dhangain and Haiya Sari villages. Earlier, Zee news had reported that only one school-building in Dhangain village had been demolished but the latest news suggests that an additional school located just a few kilometers away had also been razed to the ground. The Telegraph adds about 100 Maoists took part in the attack.

The Sangai Express reports that unidentified persons hurled a hand grenade at the residence of one Member of legislative Assembly (MLA), Ningthoujam Mangi, at his Kumbi Santhel residence in Bishnupur District on November 8.  The grenade however failed to explode.

Meanwhile, Security Forces (SFs) arrested five Kangleipak Communist Party-Mobile Task Force (KCP-MTF) militants from East Juamding Nallah in Chandel District on November 8, reports Kanglaonline. The arrestees are identified as Naoram Dilip Singh (27), Rajesh alias Robert (21), Ranjit (20), Sushil Meitei and Krishna alias Kothil (25). Three AK-56 rifles with magazines, one .9mm pistol with magazine, three rounds of AK and four Lathode bombs were recovered from them.

SFs also arrested a female cadre of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), identified as Poornima Devi (45), from Panghang in Thoubal District.

Further, SFs arrested a female cadre of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), identified as Maisnam Mani Devi alias Bhai (25), from Kongba crossing in Imphal East District. She joined PREPAK in the month of December 2002 and trained under the command of Linthoi and now working under the command of ‘sergeant major’ Khuman of PREPAK.

Separately, the Jiribam District Demand Committee (JDDC) has decided to suspend all forms of agitations with immediate effect following a written commitment from the Government to upgrade Jiribam revenue sub-division into a full fledged District at an early date, during a meeting held on November 9 at the Chief Minister’s Bungalow in Imphal.

Further, the All Zeliangrong Students’ Union (Assam, Manipur, Nagaland) alleged involvement of National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) cadres in arbitrary detention and assault of civilians at Leishok (Sobunglong) village in Tamenlong District on November 8, reports The Sangai Express.

Separately, Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh on November 8 said his Government was striving for effective functioning of Autonomous District Councils (ADC) in Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel and Ukhrul District headquarters, reports Nagaland Post. Stressing the need for peaceful co-existence among the different communities and tribes residing in the state, Ibobi also appealed to ADC members present in the function to work sincerely for peace and development. Even after the election to six ADCs in five hill Districts held in 2010, the ADCs in four Naga dominated hills District, Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel and Ukhrul, are yet to be properly functioned as United Naga council (UNC) objected the election which was held after a gap of over 20 years.

Army in the night of November 9 thwarted an infiltration attempt by the militants on the Line of Control (LoC) at Peer Gali in Balakote area of Mendhar sector in Poonch District, according to Daily Excelsior. A group of six to seven militants, trying to intrude into Indian Territory under the cover of firing by Pakistani troops, was pushed back by the Army. Exchange of firing continued for about two hours. No casualties or loss was reported on Indian side in the firing, they added. 

Separately, a hideout of the militants was neutralized in the Lolab valley of Kupwara District on November 8, reports Kashmir Dispatch. Two kilograms of Plastic Explosive Kirkee (PEK), one improvised explosive device (IED) weighing approximately 1 ½ kilograms, 10  Detonators,  four AK-47 magazines, 79 rounds of sniper & 1  Chinese made tripod of UMG were recovered along with a large quantity of rations, 26 blankets, utensils & other administrative stores. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on November 9 said there's "no harm" in withdrawing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir. There is a "need to remove the AFSPA from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir. This is what I and the deputy chief minister would be conveying to the Army this evening", Abdullah said. The Chief Minister said he has never asked for withdrawal of AFSPA from Sopore, Baramulla or Kupwara but only from Srinagar and Budgam, where Army has not operated for several years, adds Daily Excelsior. “I don’t remember the day Army operated in Srinagar or Budgam. If we are going to wait for the last gun to fall silent (to withdraw the AFSPA), I think that day is not going to come. We have to take tough decisions’’, Omar said and recalled that when 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bunkers were removed from Srinagar City, there were murmurs that militancy would be revived there but the facts proved otherwise.

Six militants along with 25 thousand kilogrammes explosives were arrested from a poultry farm run by one alleged militant Aslam Tarar in the suburbs of Mandi Bahauddin District, on November 9, reported Daily Times. The militants were arrested while preparing an explosive device at the time of arrest. Two of them are expert in preparing suicide cars for simultaneous attacks in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad Districts of Punjab. Four of them belong to Swat, Swabi, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, one to Bhakkar District in Punjab and another one to Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

The Times of India reports that Police arrested three suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres from Jujomora Police Station area in Sambalpur District on November 9 after conducting raids at various places. They also sized gun -powder from the possession of one of them. The arrested Maoists are Rohit Chhuria alias Mithun (19) of Khaliapali village, Kusha Bhoi (45) of Mundtal village and Sathya Narayan Bhoi of Jhankarbahali village (35). Police said they all were involved in a crusher arson case in Mundher village on October 25 and a gun battle with Police near Jhankarbahali jungle on the next day.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on November 9, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said, “There is a deployment of about 10,000 Central paramilitary forces in the State. However, the Maoists violence is still high in Orissa.” “Four years ago, we had only four battalions of Central armed Police in the State. Today, their number is 13 battalions apart from one battalion of Cobra (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action),” he added. Reacting to Chidambaram’s statement, the Chief Minister asserted that the number of casualties in such incidents had actually ped because of his Government’s proactive action.

The Shillong Times reports that the Border Security Force (BSF) on November 7 arrested one suspected Garo National Liberation Council (GNLA) over ground worker, identified as Samsual Islam, from West Garo Hills.  They recovered six demand notes signed by GNLA ‘area commander’ Karak Momin.

Meanwhile, the report on the ‘secret killings’ by the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) militants will be submitted before the State Cabinet for further discussions. The State Government had ordered for a probe after GNLA accused the ANVC of masterminding ‘secret killings’ of several Garo youths.

Hindustan Times reports on November 10 that the Mamata Banerjee Government has given the green signal for operations against the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Jungle Mahal. The chief minister's office (CMO) issued the order to for an all-out assault. Senior officers have been told to target senior leaders and the chief minister has sought immediate results, said an official. The assault would be based on the Andhra model of anti-Naxal operations and would be held in collaboration with the Jharkhand Police. "We are under pressure to show results," said a senior police officer of West Midnapore. "We have specific instructions to flush out Maoists from our borders and catch senior Maoist leaders like Akash, Bikash, Jayanto. We are also tracking Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, who recently used to frequent Bengal."

Police sources said an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer would be posted at each sensitive police station in the Maoist belt. The CMO has allocated land for permanent bases of central forces in Jungle Mahal and requested for the recall of the CoBRA commandos sent to Jharkhand after the anti-Maoist operations were stalled in West Bengal. The process of recruiting fresh IPS officers in the Maoist-hit West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia has started.

Meanwhile, pushing for development in Maoist strongholds, Union Minister Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh will be visiting Jungle Mahal along with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to assess the situation in the Maoist hotbed and prepare an action plan for the area, reports Zee News. The Jangalmahal visit is for studying the situation there before working out and implementing a developmental action plan in line with the 'Saranda Action Plan' prepared for Jharkhand's Maoist-affected Saranda Forest area.

The Pioneer reports that the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram on November 9 termed some of the major anti-Maoist operations conducted in Jharkhand between June and October, 2011 as successful but expressed his concern over the "unacceptably high rate of casualty of Security Forces (SF’s) and civilians, which needed to be reduced". "Greater steps needed to be taken in Jharkhand and the Centre will extend all logistic support. Jharkhand should act with more vigour and planning," Chidambaram told the media after meeting Chief Minister, Arjun Munda and senior State Government officials. He pulled up State officials for not starting a recruitment drive for vacant posts of Police constables and set them a deadline. Chidambaram also expressed concern over the failure of the State Police to stop Maoists from running Jan Adalats or Kangaroo courts, which he said had been on rise in Jharkhand.

The suspected terrorist who was killed while planting explosives near Hazara Town in Quetta on November 5, 2011 was identified as Pervez Ali, son of a local Shia leader Farhan Ali Haideri of the Jaffarabad District on November 9, reports Daily Times. In an attempt to conceal his identity, he had listed the name of his uncle Noor Hassan as his father on his identity card, adds Dawn.

Law enforcers are on high alert since November 8, 2011 after the Bangladesh Government received information that Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) may attack Dhaka and Chittagong on November 10, 2011 (today), reports Daily Star.

President Asif Ali Zardari promised to work with the United States to “eradicate” the Haqqani network, a pledge made during a meeting with visiting American congressmen, according to the head of the Homeland Security delegation, Michael McCaul, reports Daily Times. Michael McCaul, a Republican congressman from Texas, said that “I think he thinks it’s a given that we are going to continue the aid, but I tried to tell him that it’s in jeopardy”. “He said, ‘I appreciate your assistance, but its trade more than aid that I need.’” McCaul and the visiting lawmakers met with Zardari in Karachi on November 8, and revealed details of his conversation later the same day.

The United States believes that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are in safe hands, a State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on November 9, rebutting an earlier report that Islamabad’s atomic arsenal was vulnerable to theft, reports The Express Tribune. Two US publications, The Atlantic and the National Journal, citing unnamed sources, last week said Pakistan had transported nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to hide them from US spy agencies. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington that the United States was not persuaded that safety had been compromised. “We have confidence that the government of Pakistan is well aware of the range of potential threats to its nuclear arsenal and is accordingly giving very high priority to securing its nuclear weapons and materials effectively,” Toner told reporters. “We continue to have confidence… that they’re taking appropriate steps,” he said.

Major opposition parties- Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) - have raised strong objection to the expansion of the cabinet on November 8, reports Nepal News. Speaking at a programme in Kathmandu November 9, the opposition leaders condemned the Prime Minister’s step, saying that it runs counter to the recent agreement between the parties. NC general secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula said “PM Bhattarai has formed the jumbo cabinet even before the ink of the agreement dried. His act has shattered the excitement of the people.”

Meanwhile, the hardliners in the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) said they will not obstruct the regrouping process of ex-Maoist combatants scheduled to start next week, reports Kantipuronline. The statement from the dissenting faction comes in the wake of preparations to deploy a 210-member survey team at seven main cantonment sites for profiling the combatants. The Special Committee Secretariat plans to start the process on November 16 and complete the regrouping of over 19,000 UN-verified combatants by November 23.

Schools in Pakistan are using textbooks that preach intolerance towards non-Muslim religious minorities, reported Express Tribune quoting a report published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on November 9. The report has been co-written by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad. The report also states that most teachers view non-Muslims as “enemies of Islam”. “Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security,” Leonard Leo, the chairman of the USCIRF said, adding, “This study, the first-ever study of its kind, documents how Pakistan’s public schools and privately-run madrasas are not teaching tolerance but are exacerbating religious differences.”                                   

The commission reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1-10 from Pakistan’s four provinces. Researchers in February 2011 visited 37 public schools, interviewing 277 students and teachers, and 19 madrasas, where they interviewed 226 students and teachers. The report found systematic negative portrayals of minorities, especially Hindus and, to a lesser extent, Christians.