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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 22, December 3, 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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Balochistan:
Unending Tragedy
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
While hearing
the Balochistan law and order case at its Quetta Registry,
the Supreme Court (SC) on October 12, 2012, passed an
interim
order, castigating the Government
for its failure to fulfil its duty to protect life and
property, and to establish peace in Balochistan. The Court
directed the Federal Government to ensure public security,
and underlined the constitutional responsibilities and
respective authority of both the Federal and the Provincial
Governments, observing:
Unfortunately
in the instant case Federal Government, except deploying
FC [Frontier Corps] troops, has also failed to protect
Province of Balochistan from internal disturbances.
Similarly, as far as Provincial Government of Balochistan
is concerned it had lost its constitutional authority
to govern the Province because of violation of fundamental
rights of the people of Pakistan.
|
On November
2, 2012, facing a possible ouster in the aftermath of
the judgement, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani dismissed
any kind of adverse outcome, claiming that the Provincial
Government had the full support of allied parties. To
Raisani’s relief, at least 46 members of the 65-member
Balochistan Assembly re-affirmed confidence in his leadership.
Given the Court’s observations regarding the “loss of
constitutional authority to govern”, on the one hand,
and the vote of confidence, on the other, Raisani and
his Government’s legal position now oscillates between
the constitutional and unconstitutional.
On November
8, 2012, the Federal Government, in a review petition,
asserted that it was not the function of the superior
courts to gauge the performance of a political Government.
“Such a ruling is detrimental to the country and will
serve as a licence or invitation to unseen avaricious
forces,” the Federal Government asserted in its plea,
noting, “The country is at war and poise is the demand
of the hour. The court should adhere to the well established
principle of trichotomy of powers.”
While both
the Federal and Provincial Governments look for loopholes
in the SC order and attempt to hide their incompetence
in dealing with the enduring crisis in Balochistan, the
situation continues to worsen in the Province, under the
malign influence of the political establishment working
in tandem with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and
the Army. The fifth
rebellion in the Province was initiated in
2004 by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and, despite fiercely repressive
measures adopted by Islamabad, refuses to die out. Howerver,
violence in Balochistan flows from several distinct streams.
The North is dominated by Islamist terrorist and Sunni
sectarian formations such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP)
and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ);
a multiplicity of Baloch nationalist groupings operate
in the South, though their influence is contested both
by Sectarian and Sunni extremist groupings, at least some
of which operate as state proxies; there is also a relentless
campaign by the state’s covert agencies to target Baloch
nationalists and their sympathisers in campaigns of ‘disappearance’,
and a ‘kill and dump’ policy, both directly and through
sectarian/extremist proxies.
According
to the partial data collected by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), the Province has witnessed at least
3,272 fatalities, comprising of 2,092 civilians, 708 Security
Force (SF) personnel and 472 militants, since 2004. Further
dissection of data indicates that, while the Baloch insurgency-affected
regions of South Balochistan accounted for 1,456 fatalities,
including 822 civilians, 313 SF personnel and 321 and
militants, the Northern areas of the Province, under the
influence of Islamist terrorist formations, LeJ and TTP,
recorded 1,813 fatalities, comprising 1,270 civilians,
395 SFs and 151 militants.
Further
classification of data reflects that, of 2,092 civilians
killed in the Province, 222 civilians (123 in South and
99 in North) were claimed by Baloch separatist formations,
such as the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Baloch Liberation
Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Tigers (BLT) and United
Baloch Army (UBA); while the Islamist formations, primarily
the LeJ and the TTP, claimed responsibility for the killing
of 186 civilians, all in North, mostly in sectarian attacks.
The remaining 1,684 fatalities remain unattributed.
Moreover,
the data also shows that the civilians killed by insurgents
are either the Punjabi settlers (at least 79 Punjabis
have been killed), who have been located in Balochistan
under Islamabad’s design to change the demography of the
region, or people suspected to be spies of the state agencies.
There are also some incidents in which the Government
employees working on development projects have been targeted.
In one such incident, on September 13, 2012, Baloch United
Liberation Army (BULA) militants killed at least 10 labourers
who were working in Dasht area of Mastung District. A
number of civilian lives are also lost as ‘collateral
damage’ in separatist attacks on SF targets. For instance,
five persons, including three soldiers and two civilians
were killed in bomb blast targeting a Pakistan Army vehicle
outside City Hall, close to the Fauji Foundation School
in a high security zone of Shahbaz Town in Quetta on November
21, 2012. BRA claimed responsibility for the attack, which
it said was directed against the security personnel.
A large
proportion of the ‘unattributed’ fatalities are believed
to be the result of enforced disappearances carried out
by the state agencies, or by their proxies,
prominently including the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Aman Balochistan
(TNAB, Movement for the Restoration of Peace, Balochistan).
Sectarian violence orchestrated by Islamabad-backed Islamist
formations is also responsible for a significant proportion
of civilian fatalities.
Qadeer
Baloch, Vice President of the Voice for Baloch Missing
Persons, claims that as many as 14,362 people, including
150 women, had ‘disappeared’ in Balochistan since 2001,
and at least 370 mutilated bodies had been recovered from
different parts of the Province since the latest cycle
of insurgency broke out in 2004.
TNAB, said
to be the armed wing of the Muttahida Mahaz Balochistan
(United Front Balochistan), headed by Siraj Raisani, the
brother of Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani,
according to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC),
had claimed the killing of many Baloch nationalists, and
had also announced its intention to kill another 35 on
its hit list. TNAB allegedly formed by the state’s covert
agencies, particularly the ISI, to crush the Baloch nationalist
movement, is conspicuous by its absence from the Federal
Ministry of Interior list of 31 banned outfits released
on November 5, 2011. The list included six Baloch organisations.
Despite its public claims of abductions and executions,
no action by security agencies against the TNAB is yet
on record.
Significantly,
the US State Department, in its Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices
for 2011 recorded reports of civilian casualties and extrajudicial
killings committed by Government SFs during operations
against militants. The report stated that disappearances
from Balochistan remained a problem, with Baloch political
groups demanding political and human rights. At least
355 dead bodies of missing persons were found from June
2010 to December 2011, the report observed.
In fact,
the civilian fatalities strengthen the widespread belief
that the Security Agencies are busy with their “kill and
dump” operations against local Baloch dissidents. Human
Rights Watch (HRW), in its 2011 Pakistan Annual Report,
released in January 2012, documented continued “disappearances”
and an upsurge in killings of suspected Baloch militants
and opposition activists by the Military, Intelligence
Agencies and the Paramilitary FC personnel. Indeed, Brad
Adams, Asia Director at HRW said, “Pakistan’s security
forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan
as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear,’
and in many cases are executed. This is not counterinsurgency
– it is barbarism and it needs to end now.”
Adding
to the augmenting corpus of material on military excesses
in Balochistan is HRW’s 132 page report
‘We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years’: Enforced
Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan,’
based on over 100 interviews with family members of “disappeared”
people, former detainees, local human rights activists,
lawyers, and witnesses to Government abductions, in the
Province in 2010 and 2011. The report investigated several
cases in which uniformed personnel of the FC and the Police
were involved in abducting Baloch nationalists and suspected
militants. The report stated, further, that in other cases,
witnesses typically referred to abductors as being from
“the agencies,” a term commonly used to describe the Intelligence
Agencies, including ISI Directorate, Military Intelligence
(MI), and the civilian Intelligence Bureau (IB). Those
targeted for enforced disappearance are primarily Baloch
nationalist activists or suspected Baloch insurgents.
The current
year alone has witnessed a total of 884 fatalities, including
653 civilians, 129 SF personnel and 102 militants. While
307 fatalities, comprising of 223 civilians, 37 SFs and
47 terrorists took place in the South, the fatalities
in the North stood at 577, comprising of 430 civilians,
92 SF personnel and 55 terrorists. Out of the 653 civilians
killed, the Baloch insurgents claimed involvement in the
killing of 55 (33 in the south and 22 in the north), while
the Islamist formations claimed 41 civilian killings,
all in North, and primarily in sectarian attacks. The
remaining 557 civilian deaths are, again, not claimed
by any of the outfits and may fall in the category of
either extra judicial killings or unclaimed sectarian
violence. While the HRCP reported the discovery of 57
bodies of people who had gone missing from various parts
of the province in 2012 alone, SATP data shows a total
of 134 Shias killed in sectarian attacks alone.
Significantly,
attacks carried out by the Baloch nationalists have overwhelmingly
targeted the economic infrastructure of the province,
mainly gas pipelines, power pylons and railway tracks,
and have principally been non-lethal in intent. According
to partial data compiled by SATP a total of 193
incidents of sabotaging gas pipelines have been recorded
since 2004. Notably, there have been no deaths in 23 such
incidents already recorded this year.
Baloch
anger dates back almost to the moment of the creation
of Pakistan. Immediately after Partition, the Khan of
Kalat declared Balochistan independent on August 15, 1947.
However, on April 1, 1948, the Army of the newly formed
Pakistan invaded Balochistan, forcing the Khan of Kalat’s
surrender, and the subsequent merger of Pakistan’s four
Provinces under the homogenizing “One Unit” policy in
1954. However, the policy backfired as the Baloch nationalists
initiated an anti-"One Unit" movement, and subsequently
rose in repeated rebellions, each of which was brutally
suppressed – in 1958, 1962, 1964 and 1973-77. The last
Baloch insurrection, however, rages on, nearly eight years
after its commencement, despite a military campaign that
is now attracting international censure for its vicious
excesses.
Referring
to the perpetual presence of the military in the Province,
Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) chief, Talal Bugti on October
9, 2012, threatened to boycott the next General Elections
if the “ongoing military operation” was not called off.
Endorsing the stance of Balochistan National Party (BNP)
leader Akhtar Mengal, Talal declared that the safe and
speedy return of the many ‘missing persons’ in the Province
would be the key to peace. In another statement on the
military operations, Balochistan Republican Party (BRP)
central spokesman Mir Sher Mohammad Bugti, observed, “Occupying
Forces (the Pakistan Army) have intensified military operations
in Balochistan after the concerns expressed by the American
State Department on genocide of the Baloch nation and
human rights violations by occupying Forces in Balochistan.”
He stated, further, that the Army had made certain areas
of Balochistan, including Dera Bugti and Kohlu Districts,
no-go zones for the media and human rights organizations.
Declaring
enforced ‘disappearances’ engineered by the SFs and intelligence
agencies the real cause of the current unrest, the former
Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal,
on September 27, 2012, presented a six-point charter to
initiate a meaningful reconciliation process:
-
all
covert and overt military operations against Baloch
people should be ended immediately;
-
all missing persons should be produced before a court
of law;
-
all proxy death squads operating in the Province,
on the model of the Al Shams and Al Badar in Bangladesh,
allegedly under the supervision of the ISI and MI,
should be disbanded;
-
Baloch political parties should be allowed to function
and resume their political activities without any
interference from intelligence agencies;
- persons responsible
for inhuman torture, killing and dumping of bodies of
Baloch political leaders and activists should be brought
to justice;
-
And measures should be initiated for rehabilitation
of thousands of displaced Baloch, currently living
in appalling conditions.
Astonishingly,
and despite the high death toll in the Province, Chief
of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, on
February 12, 2012, declared emphatically that no military
operation was under way in Balochistan. "Not a single
soldier of the Army is combating in Balochistan (sic),"
the Army Chief asserted. Kayani is, of course, using the
fig leaf of the FC’s identity as a “paramilitary force”
and not an Army unit, in this justification. The FC, however,
operates under direct Army command.
Further,
the evidence of the Army’s direct involvement in Balochistan
was confirmed during the September 28, 2012, SC hearing
on the law and order situation in the Province, when Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary remarked that all
overt and covert military operations must be put to an
end and the displaced Baloch should be rehabilitated.
He said that the ‘Death Squads’ of the ISI and MI should
be abolished.
Apart from
the SC’s observations, the situation on the ground further
illustrates the dominance of the military in the Province.
Incidentally on November 15, 2012, BRP spokesperson Sher
Muhammad Bugti’s son, Haq Nawaz Bugti, was killed in a
clash with FC personnel in Nushki District. Haq’s killing
is not the lone high profile killing of Baloch leaders
to crush Baloch dissidence. The year 2012, for instance,
began with the killing
of Zamur Domki (34), the wife, and Jaana Domki (13), the
daughter of the Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mir
Bakhtiar Domki. They were shot dead near Gizri flyover
in Karachi (Sindh) on January 31, 2012. Zamur and Jaana
were also the sister and niece, respectively, of BRP leader
Brahamdagh Khan Bugti, and the granddaughter and great-granddaughter
of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. The killing was only one manifestation
of the campaign of political assassinations carried out
by Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies.
In a clear
reference to military operations in Balochistan, the BRP
central spokesman Sher Mohammad Bugti, in a press release
on June 15, 2012, declared,
Pakistani
occupying forces are conducting a massive military
offensive in Kohistan Marri region of Balochistan
from last many days where heavy aerial bombardment
is still going on which so far has claimed more
than a dozen lives of innocent Baloch people and
many have been wounded. Innocent Baloch populations
of the area are forced to migrate. Many areas of
Kohistan Marri region including Bhambor, Tratani,
Tadri and adjoining are completely under heavy bombardment
of occupying Pakistani forces and the offensive
is now being extended to many parts of Dera Bugti
where more innocent people are feared to become
the victims of Pakistani bombardment.
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The Baloch
separatist sentiment is hardening in the wake of continued
state neglect and intensifying atrocities and disappearances
engineered by the state and its agencies. Islamabad’s
cynical and callous approach towards the Baloch has served
as a catalytic force in the growth of sub-nationalist
sentiments. Though rich in mineral wealth, Balochistan
remains poor because of Islamabad's relentless exploitation,
neglect and excesses. Jumma Khan Marri, President of the
Baloch Unity Organisation, thus observed,
The
problems of the Baloch are certainly not going to
end with the policy that the Governments here have
adopted since 1947. The alienation keeps on increasing
and the youth keeps joining the ranks of fighters.
The callous and heartless approach of the Federal
Government and the continued atrocities by the law
enforcement agencies is all adding up as the proverbial
straw on the camel's back; what is going to prove
to be the last straw is anybody's guess, or has
the last straw already been placed in form of this
apathy?
|
More worryingly,
the SFs’ preoccupation with their “kill and dump” operations,
appear to have created ample space for Islamist extremist
formations to thrive and continue their sectarian killings.
Sectarian terrorist outfits, such as the LeJ, have operated
with widespread impunity, as the State and its agencies
turn a blind eye to the massacre of the beleaguered Hazara
Shia community. The Governments’ inaction in mounting
a concerted and effective campaign against sectarian terrorist
groups has inevitably emboldened them in the region.
Islamabad’s
strategy of supporting armed fundamentalist formations
and other violent proxies, to compound military and covert
intelligence campaigns, indicate that the crisis in Balochistan
is set to linger on for an indefinite period, despite
international pressure and growing, publicly articulated,
judicial concerns.
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Tripura:
Niggling Concerns
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Counterinsurgency
(CI) in Tripura is a model of the most extraordinary success,
bringing some of the country’s most virulent and bloody
movements to a near complete end in an exemplary, Police-led
campaign that began to record major successes in 2004,
and had brought the State to peace by late 2006. The steady
process of normalisation continued through 2012. However,
with State Assembly elections around the corner, in February
2013, concerns are being raised over the possible revival
of terrorism due to the mischief of established political
parties – a factor that was crucial in provoking and sustaining
the insurgencies of the past. The political class – essentially
the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and
the opposition combine of the Congress Party and the Indigenous
Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) – are once again accusing
each other of attempts to revive terrorism to secure political
and electoral advantage.
On November
27, 2012, Chief Minister (CM) Manik Sarkar, thus noted,
“The leaders of Congress and INPT are in touch with the
militants based in Bangladesh for helping them to falsify
the election. Arrested NLFT-BM
[Biswamohan faction of National Liberation front of Tripura]
‘commander’ Dhanu Koloi has confessed to the Police in
the course of interrogation, how Congress leader Debabrata
Koloi had helped him to extort Rs. 25 lakh [INR 2.5 million]
for handing over to the NLFT-BM bosses in Bangladesh (sic).
No more proof is required.”
Prior to
that, on August 15, 2012, while disclosing that a few
militants had made a ‘false surrender’ and had returned
to the jungle after taking all advantage of the various
benefits allowed by Government under its generous surrender
scheme, Sarkar had remarked, “Though terrorism has been
tamed in Tripura, a section of political leaders are trying
to revive it to get political mileage. These political
forces are also using surrendered terrorists."
On the
other hand, Tripura State Congress President Sudip Roy
Barman, on June 26, 2012, claimed that the CPI-M had withdrawn
1,300 criminal cases against 736 surrendered guerrillas
and claimed, "The CPI-M and Chief Minister Manik
Sarkar are patronising banned militant outfits for political
interests.” Further, the Leader of the Opposition, Congress
leader Ratan Lal Nath, alleged, "Outlawed ATTF
(All Tripura Tiger Force) 'supremo' Ranjit Debbarma and
NLFT leader Utpal Reang belong to CPI-M leaders' families.
A senior CPI-M leader met them in Bangladesh's capital
Dhaka several times to get their support."
While the
possibility of political adventurism creates renewed risks,
the State recorded just two militancy-related fatalities,
both of militant cadres, in 2012, according to the South
Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database. 2011 had witnessed
a single death (that of a civilian), a remarkable contrast
to the 514 fatalities recorded in 2000, when terrorism
was at its peak in the State. Nevertheless, Tripura continues
to record incidents of extortion and abduction for extortion,
primarily by the NLFT-BM, raising the danger of a revival
of this group.
Media reports
in June 2012, citing sources in the State Home Department,
indicated that NLFT-BM had abducted more than 30 people
from remote tribal villages in the first five months of
2012 alone, and had extorted at least INR nine million
from different individuals and institutions by taking
the help of a section of surrendered militants. Arrested
NLFT-BM militant, Pushparam Reang, had confessed that
the militant outfit collected over INR 1.7 million from
the Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura District
in September-October 2012, and added that INR 1.5 million
was sent over to the group’s 'headquarters' [at the Sajak
camp in the Khagrachari District of Bangladesh]. In a
further and daring development, the NLFT-BM is reportedly
demanding a portion of the funds for the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) from
poor tribal residents, as ‘donation’, in remote tribal
villages located in the North Tripura and Dhalai Districts.
Meanwhile,
in its effort to establish complete dominance in the State,
the NLFT-BM has reportedly ‘tamed’ its rival ATTF, which
is now virtually defunct. An April 22, 2012, report indicated
that NLFT-BM, under the leadership of Sachin Debbarma,
had captured the ATTF ‘base camp’ at Satcherri (in Bangladesh)
after a small clash, and looted all arms, including a
few rocket launchers, from this dormant formation. Following
the incident, ATTF 'supremo' Ranjit Debbarma is said to
have met with Biswamohan Debbarma at a hotel in Chittagong,
where an agreement was arrived at, with each group promising
not to attack the other. According to the NLFT-BM ‘foreign
secretary’ Utpal Debbarma, who was arrested on July 12,
2011, a merger of the two groups had been attempted earlier,
but had failed.
The apparent
strengthening of the NLFT-BM has resulted in a significant
slowdown in the surrender of its cadres. According to
partial data compiled by the SATP, the number of
NLFT-BM militants who surrendered in 2012 (until November
29 ) had reduced to just 10, as compared to 28 in 2011,
78 in 2010 and 77 in 2009. The surrender of militant cadres
over the 2008-2010 period had, in fact, pushed the ATTF
to the verge of collapse (its current strength is estimated
at barely 10 to 12 cadres) and had reduced the NLFT-BM
strength to 150-odd cadres. On March 6, 2012, Chief Minister
Sarkar disclosed, “During the past 14 years, 1,705 extremists
of different outfits have surrendered to the Government.
Of the 1,705 surrendered militants, 1,285 have been given
economic rehabilitation and embarked on a new life with
their families”. However, intelligence report of June
18, 2012, had noted that 27 former militants in the State,
who had earlier surrendered to authorities, had gone ‘missing’.
The NLFT-BM,
a remnant of the parent NLFT after multiple splits, is
reportedly involved in the Fake Indian Currency Notes
(FICN) business, drug peddling, cannabis cultivation,
smuggling to Bangladesh and the Middle East, and the production
of pornographic films, in addition to extortion and abduction
for extortion.
NLFT-BM
has also engaged in activities beyond Tripura’s borders.
There are at least two cases of recorded abduction in
Mamit District [Mizoram] in which the group is suspected
to be involved. In one of these, on November 26, 2012,
suspected NLFT-BM militants abducted three persons, Sapan
Kumar Roy (52), his driver Govinda Nath (35) and Sankar
Nath (35), from Rajiv Nagar village in Mamit District.
No further report about the abducted persons is available
in open media. Earlier, on March 25, 2012, NLFT-BM rebels
abducted six workers of an Assam-based firm, who were
working at a fencing site on the Mizoram-Bangladesh border.
NLFT-BM had demanded a ransom of INR 10.25 million and
released the workers on April 30, 2012, after the firm
reportedly paid INR six million.
Not surprisingly,
NLFT-BM is currently on a recruitment spree. Referring
to revelations made by NLFT-BM cadres, Dhanu Koloi, Bishu
Koloi, Asitu Mog, Dolphin Koloi and Ratasree Koloi, who
were arrested on June 17, 2012, the Tripura Police disclosed
that NLFT-BM had recently recruited some 70 new cadres
into the outfit, and these were currently undergoing arms
training in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Sources in the Special
Branch (Intelligence Wing of the State Police) have stated,
“Besides extorting money from the impoverished indigenous
people, the NLFT rebels have been recruiting youths, promising
them that they would get handsome rehabilitation packages
after the polls”.
The NLFT-BM
has also started to target displaced Bru tribals of Mizoram,
living in refugee camps in Tripura, for recruitment. The
displaced Bru tribals, also known as Reangs, are the second
largest tribe in Tripura and are also found in Mizoram
and Assam. The Brus are being roped in with the assurance
of training and arms to fight for their cause. Crucially,
the Bru refugee issue remains unresolved after nearly
a decade-and-a-half. Out of 5,000, Bru families displaced
from Mizoram to Tripura during the ethnic violence of
1997-98, only about 800 families have returned to Mizoram.
Significantly, the original (undivided) NLFT had helped
in the formation of the Bru militant group, Bru National
Liberation Front (BNLF),
in 1996. The recruitment of Bru tribals may also help
the NLFT-BM develop the Mamit District of Mizoram, which
borders Assam (Hailakandi District) and Tripura (North
Tripura), as well as Bangladesh, as a base. Notably, North
Tripura has a 53 kilometre border with Assam and 109 kilometres
with Mizoram.
Moreover,
signs are emerging that another outfit, United Democratic
Liberation Army (UDLA), has started establishing a presence
in the State. In 2012, the SFs arrested six Reang/Bru
militants, belonging to this Assam-based outfit, including
UDLA’s Chairman, Dhanyaram Reang. Sub-Divisional Police
Officer, Sudip Paul disclosed that UDLA had established
links with the NLFT-BM. The principal militant formations
of the State have also joined hands with other militant
organisation of the northeast to form a North-eastern
‘United Front’.
In an apparent
sign of rising uneasiness, the State Government, in September
2012, extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)
for another six months. The Act is in force, fully, in
34 Police Stations, and partly, in six Police Station
areas, out of the total of 70 Police Station Areas in
the State. AFSPA was first introduced in Tripura in 1997.
The SFs
have recorded continuing CI successes, arresting at least
30 militants, including 16 belonging to NLFT-BM (including
NLFT-BM ‘vice president’ Subir Debbarma from the Dhalai
District on July 28, 2012). Nevertheless, the reported
existence of 23 NLFT-BM camps in Bangladesh remains a
matter of serious concern. According to official sources,
though the Bangladeshi authorities are willing to flush
out the insurgents, they face various logistical and geographical
difficulties, as most of the camps are located deep inside
densely forested areas.
Although
the fencing of Tripura’s border with Bangladesh is almost
complete, with just 125.5 kilometres of 856 kilometres
currently unfenced, the installation of floodlights, which
was to be completed within 2012, is reportedly running
behind schedule, with only seven per cent of the work
presently finished. The militants use the unfenced stretches
on the hilly eastern border of the State with the Chittagong
Hill Tracts of Bangladesh for their movements. The unguarded
boundary also helps illegal Bangladeshis to cross over.
According to an unnamed official document cited by the
media on June 23, 2012, an estimated 186,500 Bangladeshis
have been deported after their detention in Tripura, since
1974. Further, between July 2011 and March 2012, 95 Myanmarese,
including Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist tribals, were
detained after they sneaked into the State through Bangladesh.
If the recent
problem in Assam is any indicator,
the authorities in Tripura and Delhi must remain vigilant.
State Police
forces have achieved a dramatic victory after decades
of terrorism in Tripura, but there is little room for
complacence or error. The State has established significant
Police capacities (661 Policemen per 100,000 population,
and 231.3 Policemen per 100 Square kilometres in 2011,
well above national averages of 137 and 52.4, respectively).
Nevertheless, with surviving bases in Bangladesh and Myanmar,
growing linkages with other insurgent formations in the
Northeast, and elements of political mischief in the run-up
to the Assembly elections, the state’s enforcement and
intelligence apparatus will have to remain extremely vigilant
to ensure that any efforts of revival are neutralized
in their earliest stages.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
November 26-December
2, 2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left Wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
4
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
12
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
FATA
|
4
|
0
|
24
|
28
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Sindh
|
23
|
1
|
3
|
27
|
Gilgit Baltistan
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Four
suspected PBCP- Janajuddha
militants killed in Pabna
District: Four suspected
militants of Janajuddha faction
of Purbo Banglar Communist
Party (PBCP-Janajuddha) were
killed in a mob-lynch attack
at Beelkaliani village in
Faridpur sub-District of Pabna
District on November 29. One
of the killed militant was
identified as Khalilur Rahman
(32), a regional leader of
the outfit.
UNB,
November 30, 2012.
INDIA
90
Pakistani infiltrators have
entered into India in 2012
through Indo-Pak border, says
MHA: According to a Union
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
report, at least 90 Pakistani
infiltrators have managed
to enter India through the
Indo-Pak border in year 2012
(till November 20). Apart
from the Pakistani infiltrators,
seven Bangladeshi nationals
also entered India illegally
through the borders. The report
further says that 63 Pakistani
infiltrators entered into
India in 2011, 94 Pakistani
infiltrated into India in
2010 and 69 in 2009 through
the Indo-Pak border.
Daily Excelsior,
November 28, 2012.
71
spies arrested in last four
years, says Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs
R. P. N Singh: The Union
Government on November 27
declared that 71 spies were
arrested by Security Forces
from different areas in the
last four years. Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs
R. P. N Singh told Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Parliament)
that 26 espionage agents were
arrested in 2009 while 18
such agents were arrested
in 2010, 14 in 2011 and 13
were arrested till November
21, 2012.
Manoramaonline,
November 28, 2012.
Various terrorist groups,
including LeT, IM and JeM)
are engaged in terrorist activities
in the country, says Union
Minister of State for Home
Affairs R. P. N Singh: Replying
to a question in Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Parliament),
the Union Minister of State
for Home Affairs R. P. N Singh
said on November 27 that various
terrorist groups, including
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Indian
Mujahideen (IM) and Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) are engaged in terrorist
activities in the country.
Singh said other terrorist
outfits which are active in
India include Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
(HuM), Al-Umma, Al Badr, Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami
(HuJI), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM), Babbar Khalsa International
(BKI), Khalistan Zindabad
Force (KZF) and Khalistan
Tiger Force (KTF). "As per
available information, militants/terrorists
active in India are often
supported by their parent
outfits based abroad, particularly
in Pakistan," he said.
Manoramaonline,
November 28, 2012.
Pakistan
major source of FICN in India,
confirms Union Minister of
State for Finance Namo Narain
Meena: Union Minister
of State for Finance Namo
Narain Meena in a written
reply to Rajya Sabha (Upper
House of Indian Parliament)
on November 29 said that Pakistan
is the major source of Fake
Indian Currency Notes (FICN)
in India. "As per available
inputs from central intelligence
and investigation agencies,
consignments of high quality
Fake Indian Currency Notes
(FICN) have been directly
or indirectly sourced from
Pakistan.
ZeeNews,
November 30, 2012.
Chicago
Court to sentence 26/11 accused
David Coleman Headley and
Tahawwur Rana in January 2013:
The sentencing of Pakistani-American
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative
David Coleman Headley, accused
of involvement in November
26, 2008 (26/11) Mumbai (Maharashtra)
attacks, has been fixed for
January 17, 2013 while that
of his accomplice Tahawwur
Rana has been rescheduled
for January 15 from December
4. According to Chicago Court
spokesperson Randall Samborn,
US District Judge Harry Leinenweber
will announce the sentence
of the two accused, who have
been charged with conspiracy
of the attack and plan to
attack a Denmark newspaper.
IndiaToday,
November 29, 2012.
Maoists
in Andhra Pradesh urge people
to join their military wing:
The Communist Party of
India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
urged the people to join Peoples'
Liberation Guerilla Army week
(PLGA), the military wing
of the Maoists, to protect
the natural resources of the
forests. The Maoists put many
posters and leaflets at Sapparla
in the GK Veedhi mandal
(administrative unit) in the
name of Galikonda Area Committee
in Vishakhapatnam District
on December 1.
Times of India,
December 2, 2012.
PAKISTAN
Political
violence in country rises
in second quarter, says FAFEN
report: Political violence
rose by as much as 37 per
cent during the second quarter
of 2012 (April-June), as compared
with the January-March quarter,
with as many as 709 incidents
of violence reported across
the country, The Express
Tribune reported quoting
a Free and Fair Election
Network (FAFEN) report.
According to the report, Sindh
reported the most incidents
(280) followed by Balochistan
(172), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(121), Punjab (68), Federally
Administered Tribal Areas
(61), Gilgit-Baltistan (4)
and Islamabad Capital Territory
(3). A total of 2,658 people
fell victim to political violence
- a 30 per cent increase compared
with the preceding quarter.
Tribune,
November 27, 2012.
Militants
in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
targeted 37 shrines during
last five years: Militants
have targeted 37 shrines of
saints in Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the past
five years. Explosions at
shrines also killed 10 persons,
including three children,
and injured 30 others.
CentralAsia Online;
Jang Group Online,
November 29, 2012.
Federal
Minister for Interior Rehman
Malik offers amnesty to banned
groups: Federal Minister
for Interior Rehman Malik
said on November 26 that the
Government was ready to give
a general amnesty for all
proscribed organisations,
including Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP), if they renounced
terrorism. "If proscribed
organisations agree to cooperate
with the government and give
up terrorism, they will be
removed from the list of banned
organisations," the interior
minister said.
Dawn,
November 27, 2012.
SRI LANKA
TNA
calls for the release of political
prisoners in the country:
The Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) on November 29 said
in the Parliament that steps
should be taken to immediately
release the political prisoners
in the country. The TNA said
that there are 810 political
prisoners in the country.
Meanwhile,
Prisons and Prison Reforms
Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera
in a response said there are
only 318 hardcore Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
members remaining in the jails
while around 1,600 have been
sent for rehabilitation.
ColomboPage,
November 30, 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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