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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 10, September 10, 2012
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
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Terror's
Lengthening Shadows
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Between
August 29 and September 2, 2012, Police arrested at least
18 persons across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,
and claimed to have thwarted a terror module linked with
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI).
The module was operating from these States under direction
from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as well
as handlers in Saudi Arabia.
11 of the
18 arrested, were picked up on August 29, 2012. While
six of these 11 arrests were made from the Muni Reddy
Palya area of Bangalore (Karnataka), five were arrested
from Hubli in the Dharwad District of Karnataka. They
all confirmed plans to kill some leaders of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) as well as some ‘right wing’ journalists,
as well as to target critical strategic establishments.
On the
basis of information provided by the 11 arrested in Karnataka,
the Aurangabad (Maharashtra) Police arrested another four
suspects from the Nanded District of Maharashtra on August
31. On the same day, another suspect was arrested from
the Misrigunj area of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. On
September 1, the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bangalore
Police, arrested another suspect from Bangalore. Finally,
on September 2, Dr. Nayeem Siddique was arrested from
Devangere, 265 kilometers from Bangalore.
The arrests,
according to sources, followed an investigation over the
preceding three months. During interrogation, three terrorists
of the neutralized module admitted that they had been
asked by Saudi handlers, to carry out surveillance of
nuclear installations, including the Kaiga Nuclear Plant
in the Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka. The suspects
were also aiming to target the Seabird Naval Base at Karwar
in Uttara Kannada.
According
to investigators, the module was also involved in sending
terror recruits to Pakistan with the help of their Saudi
Arabia based handler, Abdul Majid, who acted as a link
to the LeT. Sources indicate that some 50 persons had
been sent to Pakistan through this link between 2003 and
2005.
Investigations
also revealed that the self-radicalized group had been
trying to broad base its contacts over an extended period
of time. Travel details of some of the accused revealed
that they had visited Kannur in Kerala, and travelled
to Kollam from there, where they were suspected to have
met Abdul Nasser Madani, leader of the radical Peoples’
Democratic Party (PDP), before his arrest on August 17,
2010. Further, the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO)
State president Ashfaq Ahmed confirmed that journalist
Muthi-ur-Rahman Siddiqui (one of the 18 arrestees) was
a listed member of the SIO and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).
The discovery
of a terror module working under the aegis of ISI is not
a new development. Investigators are, however, concerned
over the extensive connections in Saudi Arabia, where
some of the handlers were residing. Confirming the Saudi
connection, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, R.
Ashoka, disclosed, "We have seized laptops and accessed
the calls made by the suspects. The calls have been traced
to Saudi Arabia… More than 100 terrorism-related SMSs
and emails have been accessed.'' CCB (Bangalore Police)
on September 3, 2012, further claimed that Obeidur Rehman
(one among the 18 arrested) was in constant touch with
LeT ‘commanders’ Furqan and Abu Hanzala in Saudi Arabia.
Bangalore city Police Commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji
reiterated, “Those arrested have links with Saudi Arabia-based
LeT and HuJI and it is suspected that they have more supporters
in other States. The arrested were taking orders from
their handlers in Saudi Arabia.”
The arrestees
included a junior scientist with Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), two doctors, and a journalist
working with the Deccan Herald newspaper. Interestingly
enough, the background of the arrested reaffirmed facts
disclosed by Abul Bashar Qasmi Isalhi aka Abu Bashar,
arrested on August 16, 2008, for his involvement in Ahmedabad
(Gujarat) serial bomb blasts of July 26, 2008. Abu Bashar
had revealed, “Terror Groups are on the lookout for young
men who speak good English, are comfortable with using
the Internet and computer and most importantly they would
not look different… new terror recruits who wear clothes
such as jeans and T-shirt dress up like any other youngster
and be part of the crowd”.
Investigators
probing the activities of the neutralized terror module
have found, further, that the Saudi Arabia based handlers
included Indians. According to sources, “We had reason
to believe that a middle-aged medical doctor from Hubli,
Dr. Zakir Mohammed, who moved to Saudi Arabia five to
six years ago, is the alleged mastermind behind the entire
conspiracy, and is responsible for the recruitment and
radicalization of youth”.
Moreover,
revelations by Abu Jundal alias Zabiuddin Ansari,
prime handler of the November 26, 2008, (26/11) Mumbai
terrorist attacks, arrested on June 21, 2012, after being
deported from Saudi Arabia, and reports regarding the
presence of Chinnaswamy Stadium Blast (Bangalore, April
17, 2010) suspect Fasih Mohammed in that country, suggest
that Saudi Arabia is emerging as a major hub and operational
base for Islamist terrorists operating on Indian soil.
Earlier reports had already shown that money from Saudi
Arabia was being used for funding the terror machinery
of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
and Indian Mujahideen (IM) in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Funds are mobilized by terrorist
organisations in the name of Kifalath (helping
the needy). Significantly, two million Indians in Saudi
Arabia account for the largest single expatriate community
in the country.
India and
Saudi Arabia had signed two recent agreements, both on
February 28, 2010, relating to the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons, which came into force on March 17, 2011; and
an Extradition Treaty which came into force on March 4,
2011.
The recent
arrests have also reconfirmed the ISI’s direct role in
terrorist activities in India. Sources indicated that
the seized electronic equipment, computers and accessed
communications have shown that at least two of the suspects
arrested on August 29, 2012, identified as Abdul Hakim
Jamaadar aka Abdulla (an accountant) and Dr. Zafar
Iqbal Sholapuri had ISI links. Central agencies learnt
that these two had gone to Pakistan via Iran and met three
ISI officers – Abdul Wahab, Deputy Director of ISI; Hamid,
Senior Director of ISI; and Mustafa, a senior ISI officer
in Karachi (Sindh). Bangalore-based HuJI ‘commander’ Zakir
alias Ustaad alias Guru had directed them
to go to Pakistan to meet the ISI officers.
Meanwhile,
the existence and penetration of an Islamist terror web
in South India has once again been demonstrated with these
arrests. Intelligence Bureau Chief, Nehchal Sandhu has
underlined the fact that outfits like HuJI and IM have
developed a formidable network in Southern India, courtesy
SIMI. Other terrorist formations working in the region
include Al Badr, which is active in Mysore District, Darsgah-Jihad-o-Shahadat
(Centre for Holy War and Martyrdom, DJS) and Tahreek-e-Tahafuz
Shaair-e-Islam (Movement for Protection Lions of Islam,
TTSI) having strong presence in North Karnataka.
Further,
the arrest of five persons from Hubli has once again brought
this location under scrutiny. Terrorist activities in
Hubli can be traced back to July 2000, when a bomb blast
was reported at a church on Gadag Road. Later, the arrest
of ‘south Indian commander’ of LeT, Momahed Ghouse alias
Riazuddin Naser in January 2008, brought the city back
into the limelight. Hubli is also infamous as a SIMI hub,
and several training camps had been detected by the Police
in 2008 in the jungles on the outskirts of Hubli-Dharwad
and the Uttara Kannada District. Riyaz Bhatkal of IM is
reported to have set up training camps in this region
during his stay there. Analysts believe that Hubli has
emerged as a hideout for terrorists because of its strategic
location. It is a central point for three states, Maharashtra
and Goa in the west, and Andhra Pradesh in the east, facilitating
easy movement. Another factor that has worked well with
terrorists is the large forest cover that surrounds Hubli.
The pre-emptive
detection and neutralization of the terrorist module with
linkages across three States, as well as across international
borders, is encouraging, but equally underlines the reality
that, despite the absence of Islamist terrorism related
fatalities outside Jammu & Kashmir through 2012, subversive
groups remain active, recruiting and training new members,
and planning new attacks. The highest measure of vigilance,
as well as aggressive intelligence gathering and operations,
remain urgent necessites if the absence of violence is
not to become just another hiatus between terrorist outrages.
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J&K
Police: The Enemy Within
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On August
21, 2012, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police neutralized
a militant module involved in all the 13 attacks that
Srinagar had witnessed since January 1, 2011, with the
arrest of two persons: a Policeman, Abdul Rashid Shigan,
and a released Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM)
militant, Imtiyaz Ahmad Gojri alias Raashid. Operating
under the shadow name of Omar Mukhtar and General Usman,
Shigan was acting as spokesman for Kashmir Islamic Movement
(KIM), a shadow outfit of HM. Shigan was the co-conspirator
as well as the executor. Meanwhile, on August 27, 2012,
Police arrested Manzoor Ahmad Chiloo, a released militant
(he was ‘divisional commander’ of HM), and the mastermind
of all these attacks.
The arrest
of a Policeman in a militancy infested region is not a
surprising development. J&K has seen several such
arrests in past. According to the partial data compiled
by the Institute for Conflict Management, a total
of 21 Policemen were arrested for their links with militants
since 1990. More worryingly, while there were only three
such arrests till 2009, 2010 alone witnessed four arrests
and it increased to seven in 2011. The current year has
already witnessed seven such arrests. Apart from these
Policemen, four Army personnel and a Central Reserve Police
Force trooper have also been arrested since 1990.
What is
astonishing, however, is the magnitude of Shigan’s direct
involvement in terrorist activities, and the fact that
he was directly in touch with his handlers in Pakistan.
Prominent
among the attacks in which Shigan was involved included:
June 29,
2011: Inspector Shabir Ahmad was fired upon and injured
at Iqbalabad Bemina. He later succumbed to his injuries.
December
11, 2011: An attack targeting Minister for Rural Development
and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar was carried
out in the Nawakadal area. Though the Minister escaped
unhurt, one Policeman died in the incident.
December
24, 2011: An activist of the ruling National Conference
(NC), identified as Bashir Ahmad, was shot dead near Dhobi
Mohalla in Batamaloo.
April 20,
2012: Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Sukhpal Singh
was fired upon and critically injured while on duty near
Darishkadal Chattabal. He died later.
May 30,
2012: A troop transport of the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) was fired upon near Rainawari, resulting
in injuries to seven CRPF personnel.
June 28,
2012: Four Rifle grenades were fired at a Territorial
Army’s (TA) camp in Batamaloo. There were no casualties.
July 18,
2012: A rifle grenade was fired at the Civil Secretariat
in Srinagar, housing the office of Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah, his Cabinet colleagues and top bureaucrats of
the State. There were no casualties.
August
10, 2012: A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP, retired),
Abdul Hameed Bhat, was shot dead near Tangpoara in Batamaloo.
Inspector
General of Police (IGP), Kashmir Zone, S.M. Sahai claimed,
"With the arrest of Shigan all these cases have been
solved." Significantly, apart from the recovery of
a cache of arms and ammunition, during subsequent raids
and searches conducted on Shigan’s Batamaloo house, the
Police found that his hand writing matched with statements
claiming responsibility, which he had issued to the Press
after each attack. A cell phone used to call a local news
agency to claim responsibility for the August 10, 2012,
killing of DSP Abdul Hameed Bhat, was also recovered.
Earlier,
in June 2012, four Policemen working for HM had been arrested.
On June 15, 2012, Police summoned Muhammad Abbas Rather
for questioning. Rahter was a constable in the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID), and had been assigned
to infiltrate into militants ranks. Rather was questioned
in connection to an incident of firing on a former HM
‘commander’, Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Shabnam, at
Saderbal in the Hazratbal area of Srinagar on June 7,
2012. Shabnam, who had been arrested in 2006 and released
in 2007, survived the attack. Subsequent investigations
revealed that all the five to six persons involved in
the attack were Police and CID constables who had affiliated
with the HM and had carried out the attack on the instructions
of one of their ‘commanders’. Rather was subsequently
arrested on June 16, 2012, along with another three Policemen,
Riaz Ahmad Beigh, Mohammad Ilyas Khan and Mukhtar Ahmad
Sheikh. In a remand application filed before a Srinagar
Court, Police stated, "During his [Abbas] search,
Police recovered a document written in Urdu containing
information about how to prepare IEDs [improvised explosive
devices] and how to use them. The accused met Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
militant Shabir Ahmad alias Adil in Tral area of
Pulwama District. During the meeting, he demanded lakhs
of rupees from the militant in lieu of sharing information.
Then he met Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Beigh and
Mukhtar Ahmad Sheikh. It was decided that militants would
be provided pictures of Police officials and their residential
houses. They also decided to provide information regarding
movement of Police officials. Rather was involved in ferrying
weapons from one place to another.” IGP Sahai added, "These
people were informing the militants about Police officers
who are at the forefront of fighting militancy, our operational
details. The militants would get prior information…"
In the
second week of July 2012, Police arrested Bilal Ahmad
Rather alias Mistri, who admitted he was working
as an intermediary between militants and the four arrested
cops. According to Police sources, in October 2011, Mistri
received INR 90,000 from Shabir to be given to Abbas Rahter
for arranging weapons and explosives for the terrorists
militants. Abbas Rather subsequently went to Tral to hand
over the bag of explosives to the militants. Mistri confessed
that the arrested Policemen were receiving money from
terrorists in lieu of sharing sensitive information about
Police officers and their movements.
Meanwhile,
on August 25, 2012, the Rajouri Police arrested four persons
and neutralized a Police-Territorial Army (TA)-militant
nexus involved in illegal activities. The arrested persons
included Police Constable, Abdul Rahim, TA trooper, Mohammad
Hanief, a suspected terrorist, Mohammad Rashid aka
Kaka, and a civilian, Aurangzeb. Investigations later
revealed that the TA soldier had sold a Chinese grenade
to Kaka for INR 5,000. Kaka had been approached by Aurangzeb,
who wanted to trap his brother, Javed Ahmad, in a terrorism
case by planting a grenade at his shop at Darhali Bridge
in Rajouri. Another Policeman, Basharat Hussain, is also
under investigation in this case.
The complicity
of some policemen in militancy-related activities has
now become an issue of major concern, as modules operating
with the help of Policemen have been particularly difficult
to identify and neutralize. After the August 21, 2012,
arrests, IGP Sahai conceded, “Normally any militant attack
that took place in Srinagar was solved in a couple of
months. But for the past 18 months Police had failed to
uncover these 13 attacks, which took place in Srinagar.”
More disturbing
is the failure of the Police Department in tackling the
problem at an initial stage, despite ample evidence. Indeed,
Shigan had been discharged from the Police in 1998, while
undergoing basic training, following his involvement in
militant activities. He had also been detained under the
Public Safety Act (PSA) after Police recovered a pistol
and some ammunition from his residence. He was, however,
reinstated to the Police Department in 2002 on the orders
of the State High Court. Despite his background, there
was no check on his activities for such a long period,
raising questions about the Departmental mechanisms to
check such eventualities.
Similarly,
all the four Policemen arrested on June 16, 2012, had
recurrent allegations of extortion against them in the
past years. However, they were being shielded because
of their role in undercover operations. Moreover, when
Mukhtar Ahmad Sheikh (arrested on June 16, 2012) was detained
by the Kolkata (West Bengal) Police in December 2008 in
the aftermath of November 26, 2008 (26/11) Mumbai attacks
for supplying SIM cards to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
militants, the cases against him were dropped after the
J&K Police informed their Kolkata counterparts that
he was an undercover agent, and was trying to infiltrate
into the terror group.
J&K
appears to be poised at the end of an over two decade-old
militancy. It now needs a strong Police Force. As Director
General of Police Ashok Prasad, noted, “the challenge
for State Police has changed from counter-insurgency to
law and order”. However, the existing turncoats within
the 76,805 strong Police Force, can undermine the state’s
efforts to maintain peace and restore normalcy.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
September
3-9, 2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
Manipur
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
Nagaland
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Karnataka
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Bihar
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
2
|
5
|
6
|
13
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
9
|
2
|
1
|
12
|
FATA
|
9
|
2
|
27
|
38
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
8
|
Punjab
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
Sindh
|
25
|
1
|
0
|
26
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
49
|
5
|
35
|
89
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
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INDIA
India
vulnerable to global terrorism, says IB Chief Nehchal
Sandhu: India is vulnerable to the global nature
of terrorist strikes, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief
Nehchal Sandhu has said, on September 6, citing the
attack on an Israeli diplomat's vehicle on February
13, 2012 at New Delhi. Sandhu said the terrorist attack
on the diplomat's vehicle indicated that India is
becoming a hub for global terrorists seeking to target
foreigners in the country. Indian
Express, September 8, 2012.
DGPs
warned of nationwide IM resurgence: In the annual
conference of Directors General of Police /Inspectors
General of Police being held in New Delhi, for the
first time it was officially declared that Indian
Mujahideen (IM) 'has Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
patronage'. DGP's across India have been warned that
the IM's resurgence is taking place with new modules
set up in New Delhi and Bihar. Deccan
Chronicle, September 8, 2012.
BKI
militant Kulwant Singh alias Guddu planned
major operation in Punjab, says report: Babbar
Khalsa International (BKI) militant, Kulwant Singh
alias Guddu, who was arrested on September
1, had planned a major extremist operation in Punjab
during the forthcoming festival season. According
to Police sources, Guddu was trying to recruit members
in a bid to revitalize BKI. He was liaising with senior
BKI militants abroad to revive the outfit. Day
& Night News, September
4, 2012.
Maoists
creating corridor along Western Ghats, say Police:
An increase in the activities of the Communist Party
of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Dakshina Kannada District
indicated that the Left Wing Extremists were working
towards their plan of creating a corridor along the
Western Ghats from the northern tip to Wayanad in
Kerala, a Police officer, who had served in the region,
said. The officer, now on central deputation, said
that in 2006 the Maoists devised the plan to spread
their activities in the Western Ghats. The increase
in the number of sighting of Maoists in Dakshina Kannada
indicated the creation of that corridor, he added.
The
Hindu, September 8, 2012.
Rajasthan
home to Naxals seeking safe haven and funds, says
report: Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) are targeting
Rajasthan for fund-raising activities through dacoities
and extortion in a bid to step up their operations
in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, top
intelligence sources revealed on September 3. Sources
say they also have the plan to include Rajasthan in
the 'Red corridor'. Daily
Pioneer, September 7, 2012.
42
terror camps across LoC, says GOC 15-Corps Lieutenant
General Om Prakash: General Officer Commanding
15-Corps, Lieutenant General Om Prakash said on September
1 that 500-600 militants were ready to infiltrate
from launching pads across the Line of Control (LoC)
where more than 42 militant camps were operating.
"The recent incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan
were aimed at infiltrating militants into Kashmir,"
he said. "It isn't possible for the Army to bring
down infiltration to zero level. You can't give guarantee
of zero percent infiltration due to geographical reasons,"
he added. Daily
Excelsior, September 4, 2012.
Online
rumours on Assam riots terror handiwork, says Union
Home Minister: Union Home Minister (UHM) Sushil
Kumar Shinde on September 6 said the recent ethnic
violence in Assam is handiwork of the terrorists.
He noted that the "motivated" online rumours were
evidence of terrorists misusing cyber space. Nagland
Post, September 8, 2012.
'Illegal
infiltrators cross border through few patches where
fencing is not feasible due to difficult terrain and
riverine areas', admits Minister of State for Home
Mullappally Ramachandran: Minister of State for
Home Mullappally Ramachandran told Lok Sabha (Lower
house of Parliament) on September 5 that illegal Bangladeshi
infiltrators cross the border through few patches
where fencing is not feasible due to difficult terrain
and riverine areas. "As this activity takes place
clandestinely, no specific details are available about
the magnitude of this illegal migrants staying in
India including Northeastern states," he said. Times
of India, September 7, 2012.
Four
Kangleipak Communist Party factions reach consensus
with Government, says report: Four factions of
Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), who have signed
an agreement for peace talk with the Centre, were
likely to surrender en-masse to the Government. After
signing a peace agreement with the Centre on July
31, leadership of the four factions of KCP - KCP-
Taibangangba, KCP-Lamphel, KCP-City Meetei and KCP-Pakhanglakpa
-were engaged in talks with officials of the Manipur
Government to chalk out modality of the peace dialogue
and ground rule to be maintained by the cadres of
the factions during the peace talk. Nagaland
Post, September 8, 2012.
NEPAL
USA
removes UCPN-M from its terrorist list: Unites
States of America (USA) has removed the Unified Communist
Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) from its global terrorist
organisations list. It stated that the party has demonstrated
a credible commitment to pursuing the peace and reconciliation
process in Nepal.
Nepal
News, September 7, 2012.
Mohan
Baidya faction to present 70-point demand to Government:
Mohan Baidya-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist-Baidya)
'chairman' Mohan Baidya on September 5 said that his
party was going to present a 70-point demand before
launching a peaceful protest movement to make it to
power. He further warned that his party would take
up arms if the demands were not addressed. The 70-point
demand would also include the 40 demands the then
Maoist party had presented to the Government before
launching the armed insurrection in 1996.
Nepal
News, September 7, 2012.
UCPN-M
chairman Prachanda and Mohan Baidya agree to divide
party property: Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-Maoist) 'chairman' Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda
and Mohan Baidya led Communist party of Nepal-Maoist
(CPN-Maoist-Baidya) 'chairperson' Mohan Baidya on
September 3 agreed to share the property of the party
between the two parties. A meeting of the taskforce
formed for resolving the dispute over the ownership
of party property Monday morning took the decision
to this effect.
Nepal
News, September 4, 2012.
PAKISTAN
27
militants and nine civilians among 38 persons killed
during the week in FATA: The Security Forces (SFs)
on September 9 claimed to have recovered 19 bodies
of militants during a search operation in areas along
the border in Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur
Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Three
persons, including a minor girl, were killed when
a mortar shell fell on the house of one Kaptan Khan,
a resident of Kandawo village in Sipah area of Khyber
Agency on September 6. In addition, dead bodies of
three persons were found in Badi Sia area of Mamond
tehsil in Bajaur Agency.
Seven
militants were killed on September 4 in Batwar Khas,
Chachagi, Kambeli, Tendo Dag and Kumbat areas of Salarzai
tehsil in Bajaur Agency, near the Afghan border, as
SFs kept up their attempts to drive out the fighters
from their hideouts. Two security men and a civilian
were killed when their vehicle was attacked on Miramshah-Dattakhel
Road near Kharh Qamar area in North Waziristan Agency.
Daily
Times;
Dawn; The
News; Tribune;
Central
Asia Online; The
Nation; The
Frontier Post; Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
4-10, 2012.
25
civilians and one SF among 26 persons killed during
the week in Sindh: Six people were killed in separate
acts of target killing in Karachi, the Provincial
capital of Sindh, on September 8, 2012.
At
least six people were shot dead in separate acts of
violence in Karachi on September 7.
Five
people, including an Ahmadi and a former income tax
commissioner, were shot dead in separate incidents
of violence in different parts of Karachi on September
6.
Five
persons, including an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI),
were killed in different incidents of violence in
Karachi on September 5. Daily
Times;
Dawn; The
News; Tribune;
Central
Asia Online; The
Nation; The
Frontier Post; Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
4-10, 2012.
Upto
43 organisations, trusts and groups banned for terror
links in Pakistan, claims Interior Ministry Report:
Up to 43 organisations, trusts and groups have been
outlawed so far by the Government for alleged involvement
in terrorist activities, according to figures released
by the Interior Minister on September 9. Of the 14
organisations that were banned in 2012, most were
based in Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan. From amongst
the 43 banned outfits, two were banned before the
9/11 attacks for propagating sectarian violence namely
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Muhammad - both
declared illegal in 2001. Three organisations found
on the list were proscribed by the United Nations
(UN). One of the three groups included Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD), which was accused by Indian authorities of
complicity in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Tribune,
September 10, 2012.
US
to designate Haqqani Network as terrorists: The
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
on September 7 that it is designating the Pakistan-based
Haqqani Network, accused of high-profile attacks in
Afghanistan, as a terrorist organisation. Clinton
said in a statement that she had told the US Congress
that she would brand the Haqqani Network as a Foreign
Terrorist Organisation (FTO), subjecting the group
and its members to additional sanctions, including
an asset freeze. Daily
Times,
September 8, 2012.
Army
repulsed 17 cross-border attacks in 2012: Major
General Ghulam Qamar, the operation commander in Swat
(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) on September 6 said that Pakistan
Army repulsed 17 major attacks of militants from across
Afghan border since February 2012. He also said that
260 attackers were killed while 40 security personnel
lost lives in these attacks. Dawn,
September 7, 2012.
TTP
operating in twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi
to generate funds from traders and big shots, reveal
interrogations: Two suspects operating a network
for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the twin
cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for generating
funds via extortion and kidnapping were arrested by
a joint investigation team of Security Forces and
Capital Police on September 5. On the basis of revelations
made by them, efforts are in progress to arrest the
leader of the network operating from United Kingdom
(UK). Dawn,
September 6, 2012.
Recovery
of missing persons top priority, says Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry: Chief Justice of Pakistan
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on September 5 said the
recovery of missing persons remained the top priority
for the Supreme Court, adding that the Security Forces
had failed to restore peace and order in Balochistan.
Hearing the Balochistan unrest case at the Supreme
Court's Quetta Registry, Chief Justice Chaudhry said
the court knew what law had to do. He expressed his
anguish over the attitude of the defense and federal
secretaries who did not appear before the court. Pakistan
Today,
September 6, 2012.
HRCP
warns against groups sympathetic to militants:
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on
September 3 warned all institutions, especially political
parties, of the catastrophic consequences of their
failure to resist militancy. The commission said,
"The barbaric beheading of 12 Pakistani soldiers and
killing of others, by the Taliban adds a new grisly
chapter to the long list of outrages committed by
extremists." Pakistan
Today,
September 4, 2012.
Pakistan
ready to give Taliban 'safe passage': Pakistan
has agreed to provide safe passage to the Afghan Taliban
leaders willing to participate in reconciliation talks
with the Afghan Government. An unnamed US official
said that the US and Pakistan had formed a working
group to facilitate safe passage to Afghan Taliban
leaders willing to visit Kabul for talks with Afghan
officials. Dawn,
September 10, 2012.
SRI LANKA
UPFA
won all the three PCs election: The United People's
Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa
has won all three provincial councils - North Central,
Eastern and Sabaragamuwa election held on September
8. The UPFA was able to win all the three Provincial
Councils securing 63 seats out of 114. Significantly,
the UPFA won 14 seats in the Eastern Provincial Council
out of 35 seats, while the Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) secured 11.
Meanwhile,
TNA which secured the second highest number of seats
at the Eastern Provincial Council on September 10
said it would stake a claim to form the council with
the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC)
and the United National Party (UNP). The UNP and SLMC
both secured four seats each. Daily
Mirror,
September 10, 2012.
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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