Detail Of Terrorism Update

Three people were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi on August 2, reported Daily Times. Two men, identified as Muhammad Rasheed (23) and Shahnawaz (28), were shot dead in Baldia Town No 2, within the precincts of SITE B Police Station.

Separately, an unidentified four-day-old decomposed body of an eunuch was found from a drain in the vicinity of Saba Cinema.

Elsewhere, Rangers carried out targeted operation in Kunwari Colony of Manghopir area, arresting more than two dozen suspects, reports The News. The sources said that the Rangers are interrogating the killings of Rangers in firing incident in Banaras area.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, Fayyaz Ahmed Laghari said that failure of Lyari operation was not due to ‘faulty’ Police vehicles but because of the criminals fight with very latest weapons, reported Daily Times. He said that the weapons used by criminals were prohibited and are used in a war like situation.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants shot dead one Nauman Afridi, brother of the head of a local peace committee, Momin Khan Afridi, in Akhorwal area near Darra Adamkhel town in Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on August 2, reports Dawn. TTP claimed responsibility for the killing and threatened to continue fighting against the pro-government peace lashkar till withdrawal of Security Forces from the area. Sources said that skirmishes continued between the Tariq Afridi group of TTP and peace lashkar of Momin Afridi to establish their control in the area. Both the rival groups belonged to Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel.

Separately, Police arrested five terrorists, three of them in injured condition, after an encounter from a house in Basiya Khel area near Bannu, reports Daily Times. After an exchange of firing with Police, three of the terrorists were injured and were arrested along with two others. Police had also recovered a suicide jacket, hand grenade and arms from them.

Meanwhile, two persons, Niaz Beg, manager of the NGO, and field worker Abdul Qayum, sustained injuries when unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade at the office of a non-governmental organisation situated on Charsadda-Mardan Road in Charsadda town.

Further, a public sector educational institution for boys was blown up by unidentified militants in Kadi area of Swabi in the night of August 1. All the three classrooms of the school were destroyed and its boundary wall developed cracks in the blast.

Elsewhere, Police arrested 20 accused involved in different cases in Peshawar on August 2. A police spokesman said that of the accused several proclaimed offenders had also been rounded up. The proclaimed offenders were identified as Mujaram Said son of Saiful Malook of Abakhel Nowshera, Aminur Rehman son of Gulab Khan, Mohammad Ali son of Muhib Ali of Urmar Payan, Sabir Kiani son of Fazal Ilahi of Nauthia. Police also recovered eight pistols (30 bore), two Kalashnikovs, hundreds of cartridges and contraband items from their possession.

A Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ‘district commander’, identified as Hanzala, is believed to be dead in an encounter in the forest area of Handwara in Kupwara District in the evening of August  2, reports Daily Excelsior. On a specific information, Army cordoned off Dudipora village in Handwara. When the cordon was laid, the militant fired from inside the house of one Ajaz Ahmad Hajam.  The sources further said that during the encounter the house caught fire. Police sources said that LeT ‘district commander’ Hanzala is believed to be dead as the Police and the Army received information about his presence in the village. The sources said that Hazala was most wanted militant in the area and was active for past 2 years.

Meanwhile, another of the women injured in the blast inside a tourist bus in Anantnag District on July 28 succumbed to injuries on August 1 raising the toll to four. Though initial reports had suggested that the explosion was caused by a grenade attack, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) S M Sahai later said, "As of now it seems like a cylinder blast, a blast of similar nature had happened in Baltal as well. But investigation is on and we are looking at other possible angles as well." Earlier on July 29 it was reported that two tourists were killed and four others were injured in a grenade attack.

Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) U K Bansal said on August 2 that acts like constructions of tunnels on the International Border (IB) by the neighbouring country to facilitate infiltration of militants was not good for Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two countries. "The incident had the potential of vitiating atmosphere between the two countries’’, Bansal told reporters after inspecting the tunnel at forward village of Chechwal in Samba sector. He said the IB was 2400 kilometers long.   However, there was no instrument to monitor activities like digging of underground tunnels. Earlier, no such tunnel had even been found on the IB, he added.

As reported earlier, authorities on July 28 found a 400-meters long tunnel, running between India and Pakistan, along the IB in Samba District of Jammu and Kashmir.

At least eight people were injured in a bomb blast at a shop in Hub industrial town of Quetta on August 2, reported Daily Times.

Separately, one person was seriously injured when a pickup van struck a landmine in Chatt Baglarr area of Dera Bugti District. The van was badly damaged in the blast while the driver was injured.

Meanwhile, the Reporters without Borders expressed concern over the fate of Ayub Tareen, a correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Urdu service in Quetta, who was forced to leave the city by the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) on July 21, 2012. “We take these threats very seriously and urge the local authorities to improve the safety of those who work in the media,” the Paris-based press freedom organisation said in a press freedom alert received via email, adding, “We support the call by the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) for dialogue and mediation to settle disputes between the media and various interest groups in the region.”

Tareen told the Reporters without Borders that he was forced to leave Quetta after the BLF accused him of “partisan reporting”. Several Quetta-based news organisations received a statement from BLF spokesman Basham Baloch. The spokesman said it was boycotting the BBC’s Urdu service because of the “partial attitude” of Tareen. “We inform high-ups of BBC to take notice of their correspondent’s partial behaviour.” The statement also read, “Otherwise, we would be forced to take strict action.”

Miscreants set ablaze at least nine abandoned houses at the Chourabari village under the Bijni Police Station in Chirang District on August 2, reports The Sentinel. However, no one was injured in the incident as the inhabitants of the village have been staying in the Madlipara Lower Primary School refugee camp under the Dhaligaon Police Station in Chirang District since July 24. Earlier, miscreants had set ablaze four houses at Dhaligaon on August 1 in the same District.

State Home Department, according to a July 30 report, said that 5,000 houses were set ablaze in 244 villages during the Bodo-Muslim clashes.

The clashes started when founder president of All Bodoland Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) , Mohibul Islam and former leader of All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), Abdul Siddique Sheikh were seriously injured in the attack on July 19. In a retaliatory attack, a mob of people at Joypur under Kokrajhar Police Station lynched to death four former militants of disbanded Bodoland Liberation Tiger (BLT) - Pradip Bodo (32), Jonson Bodo (36), Nip Goyari (25) and Jamin Goyari (24) in the night of July 20. Initially, Kokrajhar and then Chirang District were affected. Later, violence also spread to Dhubri and Baksa Districts. So, far 71 people have been reported killed in these clashes.

Meanwhile, several organizations, including the O-Boro Surakshya Samiti [Non-Bodo Protection Committee], told Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that formation of the BTC under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was a massive blunder, reports Assam Tribune. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister at his office chamber here, these organisations also placed the demand for reviewing the Bodo Accord and evolving an alternative to the Bodo autonomy issue.

An exchange of fire between personnel of Assam Rifles (AR) and unidentified militants took place at old Somtal village in Chandel District, bordering Myanmar on August 1, reports The Sentinel. Sources said that there might be casualties on both sides during the encounter. On receipt of intelligence reports that some insurgents were sighted there, the Assam Rifles personnel launched a search operation. The insurgents opened fire followed by retaliation from the Assam Rifles side.

Security Forces (SFs) arrested five persons on charges of extortion, intimidation and possession of arms and ammunition at third Mile area of Dimapur on August 2, reports Nagaland Post. The arrested persons have been identified as have been identified as one Shikato (30), Ikaho (25), Yambemo (22), Vanthungo (31) and Ato Achumi (32), who claimed to be “Raja peyu” and ‘judiciary board Northern Sumi sub-regional (NSSR) secretary’ in Government of People’s Republic of Nagaland/ Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (GPRN/NSCN). SFs recovered one .22 pistol, one magazine and seven live rounds, two demand notes, two cheques and Rs.3500 in cash from their possession.

Separately, suspected cadres of NSCN-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) had lifted seven cars, which were brought from West Bengal by seven traders to Manipur, reports The Sentinel. One of the traders, identified as ‘Open’, said that the incident took place on May 15. He said that the seven persons had bought the second hand cars from West Bengal. They were coming towards Imphal when about five armed persons stopped them, some distance away from Kohima.

Meanwhile, State Home Minister Imkong L Imchen disclosed that ‘total independence or sovereignty’ was not on the agenda being discussed since it would not happen but opined that a constitutional agreement would emerge. He said that any agreement for a solution would be signed only after a majority consensus was arrived at. Imkong said some constitutional amendments could be brought to the 16 Point Agreement, from its present status. He said amendments could include aspects of increasing the number of state legislators from the existing 60 including number of Lok Sabha seats. He further said that the positions of chief minister and governor could also be altered.

Four persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in smuggling Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), reports Hindustan Times on August 3. The arrested four- Abrar, Firoz Saifi, Farukh, and Bashir, brought the FICN from their Malda (West Bengal)-based contact, which they identified as Ajeebul. The Police claimed Ajeebul managed to give a Police team the slip.

On July 16, Police received information about the gang headed by Farukh and Abrar, and sent a decoy customer to strike a deal with them, around 5.30pm two persons came to a pre-designated spot near north Delhi's Mukarba Chowk and were arrested as soon as they stuck a deal with the decoy customer. FICN worth INR 1.90 lakh were allegedly recovered from the duo, Abrar and Firoz, who later identified their associate Farukh as the supplier. Later, Farukh, a tailor who used to work at Seelampur, was arrested and FICN worth INR 8,500 was recovered from his possession. Farukh's interrogation, Police claimed, led them to another gang member, Bashir, who was arrested from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh on July 25. FICN worth INR four lakh was found on him.

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres began a poster campaign at Chowka in Seraikela-Kharsawan District of Jharkhand on August 2, amid their ongoing martyrs’ week [July 28-August 3], reports The Telegraph. The posters, bearing anti-Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) messages in red ink, were pasted on the boundary walls of school buildings and at marketplaces as well as in Chaulibasa and Ghagri villages in the interiors of Chowka, known to be an industrial hub and also a Maoist stronghold.

The posters condemned the CRPF and bore names of those who had been killed by the Police or Paramilitary Forces. Some slogans denounced the alleged atrocities committed by the CRPF troopers against innocent villagers, especially youngsters. According to intelligence sources, the Maoists were holding small meetings at a number of places in West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan Districts.

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has asked members of the Self Help Groups (SHGs), village committees and forest management committees in Gadchiroli District to step down, as reported on August 3 in IBN Live. The Maoists have given them a deadline of August 15 to step down, warning them of severe consequences if they did not follow the diktat, sources said. The Maoists also called some of the members in the forest somewhere in Aheri taluka (administrative unit) and pronounced their diktat, sources said.

Meanwhile, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammed Suvez Haque has called upon the people to come forward and take the initiative to eliminate the Naxalite [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] problem from Gadchiroli District, reports Zee News. Haque was addressing an anti-Naxalite peace rally at Armori tehsil (revenue unit) on August 2 he said that Gadchiroli District has been plagued by Naxalism. "Several innocent people are being killed by them unnecessarily and the development of the district has also been stalled. To end this problem, citizens should come forward," he said.

National Investigating Agency (NIA) members said that entire operation of August 1 Pune (Maharashtra) serial blasts looks as though it had been planned locally, reports Rediff on August 3.  Right from the timer devices, a locally-made clock and locally purchased bicycles, all indications are that the entire operation was planned in Pune.

"Although the IM [Indian Mujahedeen] had resurfaced from Bihar, it would not be correct to say that their modules are dead in Pune, which was once their headquarters," Intelligence Bureau officials said.

Further, Home Minister R R Patil said on August 2 that Pune police had received a letter warning revenge over the death of alleged IM operative Qateel Ahmad Siddiqui in Yerawada jail, reports Indian Express. “Pune police commissioner had received an anonymous letter in Marathi days after Qateel death warning revenge. We are inquiring all angles and not ruling out terror. We are also checking if there is any connection with the letter,” said Patil.

Meanwhile, top police officers in Pune on August 2 refuted reports of having received a specific report from the State Intelligence Department (SID) or letters warning them about the bomb blasts on the busy Jangli Maharaj road a day earlier, reports Times of India. Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Sanjeev Kumar Singhal said that during the last few months some Police Stations had received anonymous letters warning about terror attacks in the city. The Police Commissioner's office too had received such letters. "We never ignore such letters and we take all the necessary preventive actions. We make the best possible efforts to identify the source sending such letters even if they are hoaxes," he said. Singhal denied receiving threatening emails, adding that the source of the email can be easily detected.

Times of India quoted an unnamed official as saying that a design flaw in the bombs caused them to explode partially and prevented the shrapnel from spreading. Without naming any group, an unnamed Home Ministry official in New Delhi said there were "credible leads" pointing to a "big plan" by a terror outfit. "Preliminary forensic result which is an outcome of the detailed examination of the two unexploded IEDs and nature of blasts shows that the bomb had all the ingredients to cause a much bigger impact and had the potential to take lives of many people." Also, in Pune, Police bomb experts who supervised dismantling of the devices also said the four bombs placed on Jangli Maharaj road exploded only partly. Had these and the two that were defused gone off fully, the damage caused would have been "major", they said.

Further, investigation in the serial low-intensity blasts in the city has hit a hurdle as some CCTV cameras at the explosion sites have been found to be non-functional, reports The Hindu. Sources in the investigative agencies said that the CCTV cameras installed at Dena Bank, McDonald’s and Bal Gandharva traffic square, near where the explosions occurred, have not yielded any clue so far and some of them were non-functional.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik on August 2 told the Senate that external aggression and world power game could not be ruled out in the Balochistan issue as the situation there was similar to that of East Pakistan in 1971, as he held the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) responsible for all the major terrorism and kidnapping activities in the province, reports The Nation. Malik said hostile elements were exploiting the indigenous issue of the Balochistan and there was a planned external aggression linked to regional security, adding that a roadmap had been prepared to disintegrate Balochistan. “We are a nuclear power and it is threat for the world,” he added.

The Minister questioned whether there were no human rights violations in Punjab and why such issues were highlighted in Balochistan and why a US Congressman took up the matter of Balochistan? But he also answered these queries in the same breath and said it was because of a broader conspiracy. “We will have to find the solution before it is too late,” he said, adding that the slogan of an independent Balochistan was not a new phenomenon as similar movements were led by Nourez Khan in 1948-1950, Sher Mohammad Bijarani in 1963-69 and Kher Bukhsh Marri in 1973-78. He, however, claimed that the people of Balochistan trusted the Federation. “Baloch Separatists and nationalists have links with banned outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other proscribed organisations,” the Minister added. “LeJ is one of the main organisation that in support with the (BLA is involved in major terrorist activities in the province,” he added.

Mentioning a number of incidents of terrorism, killings and kidnapping in the province, he said 299 IED explosions took place, 179 FC soldiers were killed and 502 incidents of abduction were reported in the area since 2010, while 89 policemen and 872 civilians were killed and 1,177 people injured. Malik said these figures were verifiable from provincial home department and intelligence agencies.

He claimed that BLA was behind all these incidents. The minister alleged that the BLA was a killing machine and being controlled from Afghanistan, adding that terrorists from Afghanistan side crossed border and committed terror activities in Pakistan, while Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and Fazlullah were also hiding in Afghanistan. He told the house that Brahmdagh Bugti was involved in kidnapping of John Solecki, chief of the UN refugees’ office, and Hyrbyair Marri, while living in UK, used to make a call and people were killed in Balochistan. He, at the same time said, the BLA used to threaten the workers in Balochistan that were associated with different development projects there.

Malik stressed that the problem of Balochistan was deprivation of the people of the area. “89 DMG posts and 50 PSP posts are lying vacant in the province,” he added. The Minister said there was a perception that the FC kidnapped and killed the people but the fact was the forces were there to protect the people of the area and borders. He said five per cent areas declared as ‘A’ in Balochistan were under the control of police and other areas marked as B under the control of levies.

Security forces (SFs) in the State have been put on alert ahead of the August 15 Independence Day celebration, reports Shillong Times. Special police teams have been deputed in vulnerable areas and important government installations, a senior police official told PTI. Further, Border Security Force (BSF) has deploying approximately 10,000 personnel an observing an ‘Ops Alert’ between August 6 and 20 along the 498 kilometer international border with Bangladesh, most of which is unfenced, with difficult terrain and riverine in nature. “We have received specific inputs from the police that certain militants like the HNLC [Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council]  are trying to sneak into Meghalaya and create problems during the celebration,” Sudesh Kumar, Inspector General (IG) BSF, Meghalaya Frontier said.

Meanwhile, the BSF maintained that the Meghalaya Police acted on their own in relation to the “arrest” of Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) “chairman” Champion R. Sangma, reports The Telegraph. State Police personnel arrested Champion on July 30 from the Umkrem-Pyrdiwah area in East Khasi Hills District along the India-Bangladesh border.

Sri Lanka Police and Army will carry out a joint operation in the Eastern Province to disarm groups and people possessing unauthorized weapons ahead of the Eastern Provincial Council election in September, reports Colombo Page on August 2.  A senior police officer from the Batticaloa Range has been quoted as saying, "We have received details from the police headquarters in Colombo to tighten security, in order to conduct the election in a free and fair manner. The Election Commissioner has written to the IGP asking him to disarm political groups or individuals carrying weapons. Likewise, we will be conducting an operation to disarm all groups to have a violence free election". He added that an order would be made for weapons to be handed over to the police stations in the East and that strict action would be taken if any person fails to hand over weapons.

Meanwhile, the United States welcomed the National Action Plan presented by the Sri Lankan government to implement the recommendations made by the post-war Lesson learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The US Embassy in Colombo in a statement released on August 2 said, "We have long encouraged the full implementation of the recommendations outlined by the LLRC. We believe that full implementation of the National Action Plan will benefit all citizens of Sri Lanka by furthering long-term reconciliation and lasting peace".

According to the recent study of Counter-Terrorism Centre (CTC), a Pentagon think tank, the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, which is a deadly source of terror attacks against Indian and United States (US) interests, is also emerging as a significant economic player in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, getting into new businesses like rare earths mining, which are of interest to both India and China, making them a more complicated foe, reported The Times of India on August 3 (today). The study also shows that the Haqqani Network is closely intertwined with the state and security machinery in Pakistan. Its resiliency can be credited as much to military prowess as the Haqqani’s capacity to network with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), other militant groups (particularly al Qaeda) and key religious figures.

The study by CTC said that the Haqqani Network receives financial and logistic support from the Pakistani military. The study also said the Afghan Taliban-linked group have a massive network of "mafia"-style financing operation that relies on extortion, kidnapping, smuggling and ties to legitimate businesses.

Pakistan and the United States on August 2 acknowledged progress in ties between the two countries, in the wake of a recent MoU signed regarding transportation of NATO supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistan, and subsequently the US releasing $1.1 billion to the latter, reports Daily Times. This was discussed during a meeting between Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani and ISAF commander General John Allen at the GHQ, Rawalpindi. Kayani said the meeting helped improve strategic and operational understanding between Pakistan’s military and NATO forces. He said the Pak-US relationship should be based on mutual trust, respect and transparency.  General Allen said, "I look forward to these visits and am pleased with the upward spiral in our relationship they represent. We are making significant progress toward building a partnership that is enduring, strategic, carefully defined, and that enhances the security and prosperity of the region.”

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on August 2 directed the defence lawyer for Jamaat-e-Islami  (JeI) leader, war crimes accused, Delwar Hossain Sayedee to complete the cross-examinations of the Investigation Officer (IO) by August 8, reports UNB Connect. On April 8, the IO dealing with the crimes against humanity during the Liberation War started making his deposition before the ICT-1 against Sayedee.  The tribunal recorded the statement made by the IO who during investigation found Sayedee as a listed Razakar, an auxiliary force under the Pakistan occupation army, at Parerhat in Pirojpur District during the 1971 Liberation War, had perpetrated the crimes against humanity in collaboration with the occupation forces. The cross-examination of the IO by the defence counsel began on April 25. 

Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) on August 2 decided to form a 251-member national convention organizing committee, flouting its own statute which calls for a maximum of 175 members in such a committee, reports Himalayan Times. The party though had formed a 175-member committee earlier it added 76 more members in the committee following pressure from state committees. When asked, party UCPN-M spokesman Dina Nath Sharma said, "Party spirit is more important than the number." There are 31 women, 13 Madhesis and nine Dalits in the expanded general convention organizing committee, adds Ekantipur.com.