Detail Of Terrorism Update

As many as 10 labourers were killed and another four sustained injuries in the Dasht area of Mastung District of Balochistan on September 13 after unidentified assailants opened fire on them, reports Daily Times. Mastung Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Shah said that 15 persons were working on the RCD Highway when unidentified men opened fire on them. Sources said that the contractor had not informed the administration about the construction in spite of volatile security situation in the District. Birat Khan, a survivor, said that they were working on the road when some two unidentified men riding a motorcycle approached, lined up the labourers and opened fire on them from a point-blank range. “They searched them and queued them up and opened fire on them, killing most of them on the spot,” he said. All victims were the residents of the Sumangli Road area of Quetta. The Baloch United Liberation Army (BULA) claimed responsibility for the killings. BULA spokesman Mureed Baloch phoned a news agency and claimed the responsibility.

Separately, unidentified armed assailants shot dead a tribal elder, Mir Saeed Ahmed Qalandarani, and his five guards at Tutak area of Khuzdar District. According to Levies officials, tribal leader Mir Saeed Ahmed Qalandarani was on his way after attending a jirga in Binap area when armed men at Tutak area. The deceased guards were identified as Hafeezur Rehman, Nasrullah, Qadir Bakhsh, Abdul Hameed and Muhammad Jan.

Meanwhile, unidentified militants attacked the Balochistan Frontier Corps (FC) camp with rockets in Buleda area of Kech District. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported. Sources said that two of the rockets did not explode and were later defused.

Elsewhere, at least two NATO containers were attacked and set on fire by unidentified miscreants in Dasht Area of Mastung District. According to sources, unidentified armed men attacked the two NATO containers, which were coming from Karachi and en route to Afghanistan, when they reached Dasht Area of Mastung District, and set them on fire, however, no casualty was reported.

Five members of a pro-Government armed group died when they drove over an improvised explosive device in Zawodin-Bhukkar village in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on September 13, reports Daily Times. Local administrator Khalid Mumtaz Khundi said the victims were members of Tawheed ul Islam (TI), a pro-Government group fighting Lashkar-e-Islam militants in the Zakhakhel Bazaar area. “The incident took place in Zawodin-Bhukkar, a remote village in the Tirah Valley, where the TI activists were taking food and other supplies for their comrades in advance positions,” he said. Their vehicle was completely destroyed. 

Separately, four civilians were killed and two others injured when a mortar fired by militants struck a house in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency. Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants have been targeting the homes of Akkakhel tribesmen since area residents formed a peace committee almost a year ago, Political Tehsildar Ghulam Farooq said. “All the four killed and two injured belonged to one family,” he said.

An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the office complex of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Special Bureau (SB) in Imphal West District on September 13, reports IBN Live. However, no casualty was reported. Meanwhile, ‘publicity secretary’ of the Revolutionary Peoples Front (RPF) ,the political front of PLA, T. Leisemba, issued a statement in the evening that claimed the attack was to demonstrate that the party was closely monitoring activities of the agency in the State, adds The Telegraph.

Twocircles.net reports that the Army on September 13 foiled an attempt by a group of militants to infiltrate into the Indian side through the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch District. An Army spokesman said that troops noticed a group of about five armed militants trying to cross over into the Indian side through Banwat sector, about 250 kilometers north of Jammu at around 1am. "The troops challenged them but when they kept advancing, fire was opened to stop them," the spokesman said. The infiltrators returned to the Pakistani side.

Pakistan Army violating ceasefire resorted to heavy firing on forward Indian positions at village Kalsa in Nato area of Poonch sector in the Poonch District in the night of September 12, reports Daily Excelsior. Pakistan firing at Kalsa started at 10.30pm and continued for about one hour. Indian side retaliated after which firing stopped from across the Line of Control (LoC). However, no casualties or damage were reported on Indian side.

Security Forces seized 40 detonators, besides other materials and defused three cane bombs from a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) hideout at Hasanbar village in Bihar''s Aurangabad District during a search operation on September 13, reports Business Standard. The articles seized were 200 m wire, five batteries, glass and iron rods from the spot. The explosives had been planted at the spot apparently to trap the security forces comprising 150 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Security Forces (SFs) arrested four militants of the United Kukigram Defence Army (UKDA) at Khatkati in Karbi Anglong District on September 13 and arms and ammunition were seized from their possession, reports The Sentinel. SFs recovered one AK 47 rifle, an AK-56 rifle, an M-15 rifle, an M-16 rifle, and about 900 rounds of live ammunition from them.

Meanwhile, SFs arrested a suspected militant, Abu Naser Zilani, who was allegedly running the Islamic United Reformation Protest of India (IURPI), in Jhagrarpar Part-I of Dhubri town, reports The Telegraph. Zilani reportedly served extortion notes of worth INR 1 million and INR 500,000. An army intelligence source said the organisation is a lesser-known militant group operating in Assam since 2004.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, on September 13, claimed that the standard of Police intelligence has improved, as evidenced by the success rate of security agencies in foiling militants’ subversive activities in the State, reports Assam Tribune. He was replying to a question on the recent blasts in the State.

Further, Anti-Talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom’s (ULFA-ATF) flow of funds to the members of the outfit has come down, the outfit reportedly managed to send a few major consignments of money to the leaders of the outfit in Myanmar in the last couple of months. Further, both the eastern and western commands of (ULFA-ATF) are trying to indulge in acts of violence in Guwahati city to attract maximum possible publicity. The lower Assam group is headed by Drishti Rajkhowa and the western sector commanded by Bijoy Das.

Separately, Principal Secretary (Home Department) in the State on September 13 reviewed security arrangements at vital installations such as oil pipelines, refineries and other vulnerable places, reports The Telegraph.

Jorhat District Committee of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) seized eleven suspected Bangladeshis in September 13, reports The Sentinel.

A court, on September 13, awarded five-year rigorous imprisonment to three militants, identified as Khalid, Sami and Shahja of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in a 2008 case for possessing arms and distributing objectionable pamphlets in Shyamnagar area of Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh, reports Zee News. However, court acquitted Balliudeen, Mukeedeen and Nafesar for want of evidence, public prosecutor Ravindra Singh Gaur said. In a major crackdown in 2008, the Indore Police had caught 13 top SIMI militants from a house in Pithampur Industrial area of Dhar District.

Three pamphlets pasted in Mattani market of Peshawar by militants are warning people not to join peace militias or they will become the target of militant attacks, reports The Express Tribune. The villagers said the pamphlets had been handwritten in Urdu on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) letterheads. They said this was not like other communication where they just pasted copies of their messages on walls. Residents reported seeing three separate pamphlets. In one of the letters, militants claimed responsibility for killing a resident named Ahmad and his son Niaz Wali for working against the Taliban and warned his family not to confront militants for the sake of their own safety. In the second pamphlet, Police had been warned to abandon a Police checkpoint in the market near the house of a man called Altaf Bacha, or they would bomb the post and police would be held responsible for the bloodshed. The third letter was directly addressed to the residents. “We greatly respect the people of Mattani,” it said, “We warn them to stay away from peace militias otherwise we will claim war between you and the Taliban.” The letter also said that if anyone had complaints, they should call the TTP directly on a number that was listed in the poster. This is the first time a pamphlet written on a TTP letterhead has appeared in this area. In the past, militants have distributed pamphlets and sent letters in the adjacent villages of Adezai and Darra.

The Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) on September 13 approved a resolution demanding complete provincial status for the Gilgit Baltistan region, reports Pakistan Today.  The resolution will also have to be approved by the GB Council, headed by the sitting Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the J&K Government to facilitate the ‘rehabilitation and integration’ of former militants in the State, detailing out the steps needed to be taken in this direction, reports Greater Kashmir. MHA has asked the state Government to handle the program with utmost care to avoid it being dubbed as exclusively for surrendered militants and instead project it as development intervention for violence affected. “To avoid from being branded as a direct intervention for surrendered militants and attracting unnecessary attention, the state Government is directed to include 60 percent to 70 percent of targeted beneficiaries from pool of surrendered militants and 40 percent will be others from the communities of surrendered militants,” MHA document reads.

The MHA communication to J&K Government outlines that the project has been targeted for rehabilitation of 1700 surrendered militants and their families during the initial phase of two years.

The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have shifted focus on Sherpur District in Bangladesh to neutralize the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) cadres who are holing up in the area reports The Shillong Times on September 14. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh is also engaged in search operations, a senior BSF official said. The BSF had handed over photos of the cadres and information on certain areas of Sherpur where the GNLA-ULFA cadres meet, “We have information that there are many cadres belonging to both the GNLA and ULFA who are camping in Sherpur and joint operations have begun to catch them,” BSF spokesperson Ravi Gandhi.

According to a recent report published by Norton, around 42 million people in India have been affected by cyber crime in the last one year, as reported on September 14, by Indian Express. With India figuring in top 10 list of countries affected by cyber crime, emerging cities like Chandigarh, Mohali (Punjab), Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Surat (Gujarat) and Jaipur (Rajasthan)are now becoming easy targets for cyber criminals due to the increased broadband penetration, say experts.

The 17th Internet Security Threat Report which was released by Symantec in June, 2012 showed that it was the smaller cities with emerging businesses that were at a higher risk of being affected by cyber crime. While over 10 per cent of the total cyber crimes reported were from Bhubaneswar and Surat, 4 per cent of the attacks were reported in Cochin (Kerala). Around 0.5 per cent of the cyber crimes were reported from Chandigarh, which is home to over 2,900 small and medium businesses that contribute over INR 6.5 billion to the economy, has around 0.5 per cent of cyber crime activity reported.

Msn.com, further added that Norton said on September 13, that consumer cybercrime has cost the India USD 8 billion in the past 12 months.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik on September 13 said that an act of terror could not be excluded as one of the possible reasons of the fire incident in Karachi that killed hundreds of people, adding that an enquiry is underway to ascertain its causes, reports Daily Times. While talking to the media outside Parliament House, he said that the Provincial Government was investigating the incident, as the Federal Government could not interfere in this provincial matter.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narendra Nath Vohra on September 13 said that neighbouring country is smuggling Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) into our territory, reports Greater Kashmir. “Our neighbouring country is smuggling fake currency into our territory to fund terrorism related activities. Of late smuggling of counterfeited currency into our domain has been giving tough time to our security agencies. It is a threat to our National Security as well,” Vohra said. “Hawala transactions, circulation of fake Indian currency notes are tactics being adopted by unscrupulous elements to fund terrorist network in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.  The Governor further said that unlawful funds which accrue from “smuggling, fake currency, black money and hawala transactions are utilized by terrorists to unleash terror, create security problems and spread illegal activities throughout the country.  

The United Jehad Council (UJC), an amalgam of militant outfits active in Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, on September 13 opposed Pakistan’s ‘growing bonhomie’ with India, reports Hindustan Times. "Any dialogue between India and Pakistan will not succeed if Kashmir dispute is sidelined," warned Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) based UJC general secretary Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehmaan in an emailed statement to the Hindustan Times. Rehmaan, also heads the militant outfit Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, said, "It seems India is dragging Pakistan into a trap. Is Pakistan's situation so tenuous that under Indian and American pressure, it's giving up its principled stand on Kashmir, and committing suicide. This approach will damage the Kashmir cause". Accusing Pakistan of "acting as lawyer for India", the militant commander said, "Militants do not oppose Indo-Pak friendship and trade relations but this should not take place at the cost of Kashmir." 

Notably Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabaani Khar in an interview to a daily had said, "On the issue of Kashmir, we have to see if our efforts and our strategy in the past have produced desired results. Now the question is, the attitude and formulation we adopted over past 60 years, if we continue sticking to them, will they give us a resolution even after next 65 years? The answer to that is a resounding no."

Media claims that arrested militant Mehrajuddin Dand, a resident of Sopore in Baramulla District, played a key role in December 24, 1999, hijacking of Indian Airlines jet, IC-814, are overblown, Police and intelligence officials said, The Hindu reported on September 14. “In the course of Mr. Dand’s questioning,” an unnamed highly-placed official said, “we came to believe he may have information related to individuals connected to the hijacking. Those claims are being verified. He is not a suspect in the actual hijacking.” Also, a Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) official said, “The CBI has no reason to believe Mr. Dand was involved in the plot, though we will be contacting the Jammu and Kashmir Police to see if there is any relevant new information now available.” “I’m a little surprised to see Mr. Dand described as a top terrorist,” a Jammu and Kashmir Police official said, adding, “He wasn’t a top anything.”

Police sources, however, said their investigations are around Dand’s possible contacts with Arshad Cheema-an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-linked Pakistani diplomat who was expelled from Nepal in 2001 after authorities in that country found 16 kilograms of plastic explosive in his home. Cheema was spotted at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport on the morning of the hijacking. However, charges filed by the CBI against the alleged hijackers in 2000 did not claim Cheema had a role in the hijacking. Nor do the prosecution’s documents suggest Dand —or any other Jammu and Kashmir resident — played any part in the operation.

The five alleged hijackers-Pakistani nationals Ibrahim Athar Alvi, Sunny Ahmad Qazi, Shahid Saeed Akhtar, ZahoorIbrahim Mistry and Farooa Abdul Aziz Siddiqui — were alleged to have planned the hijacking at a meeting in Bahawalpur in early 1999. Helped by a sixth Indian Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) operative, Abdul Latif, the militants obtained Indian passports and drivers’ licences from Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based travel agents and driving-instruction schools. The group then moved their weapons from Dhakato Kathmandu (Nepal), travelling overland through India. Indian authorities say all the five hijackers are living in Pakistan three other men, two Indians and a Nepali, are serving prison terms.

Meanwhile, family of sources Dand claimed he returned to India last week, after spending several years in Pakistan and Nepal, following negotiations with local Police officials. Hundreds of other former jihadists living in Pakistan have returned to the State in similar circumstances since 2006, mainly members of the largely ethnic-Kashmiri Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM).

Zee News quoted Inspector General of Police (Jammu region) Dilbagh Singh saying on September 13 that Mehrajuddin sent ammo to India for militancy via diplomats of a specific country. Mehrajuddin visited Pakistan many times with different passports and identity every time. He has told the Jammu and Kashmir Police that All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani helped him get a visa at one time. The terror suspect, who was operating for the last 25 years in the state, was indoctrinated by ISI, Singh said.

Daily Excelsior adds that Mehrajuddin Dand alias Javed was stated to be in Nepal capital in the office of Pakistan Embassy along with official Arshad Ayub when IC-814 flight was hijacked from Nepal. Sources said there was also a possibility that Pakistan Embassy in Nepal had been used for pumping hawala money and arms into India, which were used for fanning terrorism in the country especially Jammu and Kashmir. Daand had frequently traveled from India to Pakistan and Nepal on different identities using passports and visas arranged for him (in Pakistan) by Pakistan Army and ISI officials. He had a long list of contacts in Kashmir Valley, other parts of country, Pakistan, Nepal and Saudi Arabia.

As reported earlier, Mehrajuddin Dand, a resident of the north Kashmir town of Sopore in Baramulla District, was arrested by the Police in Kishtwar District.

A United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) administration will be set up in the Eastern Provincial Council, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said on September 13, reports Daily News. He said in accordance with the result of the recent Provincial Council election for the Eastern Province, the UPFA obtained the majority returning 14 members. Therefore, the UPFA as the party, which obtained the majority, has the right to set up the administration in the Eastern Province. When the minister was asked whether the UPFA receives the support of the other parties to set up the administration, the Minister said that discussions are being held with several parties in a friendly manner for setting up administration.

Meanwhile, Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva on September 12 said that the work of the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on finding a political solution to the ethnic issue has been delayed by the major Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), reports Colombo Page. De Silva during a meeting with visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert O. Blake said the TNA's failure to name representatives to the PSC has delayed its work. De Silva however has explained to Secretary Blake that the PSC could commence its deliberations even now if the TNA nominates its representatives to the committee.

War crimes accused and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed as one of the top Al-Badr leaders addressed several rallies of the outfit during the Liberation War, witness Shahriar Kabir told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) on September 13, reports The Daily Star. In his testimony Shahriar said Mojaheed on November 7, 1971 addressed a public rally organised by Al-Badr marking "Badr Day" and administered an oath to kill the "enemies of Islam and Pakistan as well as the Indian agents".

Meanwhile, eminent human rights activist Sultana Kamal on September 13 said before ICT-1 that the activities of JeI leader Ghulam Azam during the Liberation War and of Adolf Hitler during the World War II had similarities. Sultana said “Hitler was not the chief of the Nazis or its member but he was the key player in the torture led by the Nazis. Similarly, though Ghulam Azam was not the chief of the four organisations [Shanti Committee, the Razakar, Al-Badr and the Al-Shams], these were led by him”.