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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 12, No. 44, May 5, 2014
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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Assam:
Recurring Bloodbath
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
…..the
corrupt politics of vote banks and crass electoral
calculi, to the manifest detriment of the national
interest, must be defeated. India's diversity can
only be held together by the unity of law and of
justice, not by the unprincipled horse-trading that
governs politics today.
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In what
it is feared to be a recurrence of July-September 2012
riots between the Bodos and the Muslims,
32 people have so far been killed in the violence reportedly
unleashed by the I.K. Songbijit faction of the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS)
in the Bodoland Territorial Administration Districts (BTAD)
governed by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in
Assam, in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha [Lower House
of Parliament] elections held in the area on April 24,
2014. Union Minister of Home Affairs (MHA) Sushilkumar
Shinde stated, on April 4, "During the last few days,
there have been wanton acts of depredation leading to
the deaths of 32 persons, mainly women and children. Out
of these 32 persons, 31 belonged to minority community…
It is noteworthy that these acts (of violence in Kokrajhar
and Baksa regions of Assam) started only after the group
started steadily losing its cadres either by surrender
or elimination during operations when they opened fire
on the forces." Without naming the "group",
the NDFB-IKS, Shinde added that the MHA had already deployed
43 companies of Central Forces and was in the process
of sending an additional 1,000 personnel. Further, he
disclosed, 1,500 soldiers of the Army had been positioned
in the violence-hit areas. "These numbers are not
fixed and can be increased as per requirement," he
said. NDFB-IKS has, meanwhile, denied its involvement
claiming it was “a political conspiracy by the Assam Government
to trigger clashes between two communities.”
Violence
started when heavily armed NDFB-IKS militants entered
a house and shot dead three members of a family, including
two women, and injured an infant of a minority community
near Ananda Bazar area in Baksa District on May 1. The
incident was followed by indiscriminate firing by the
insurgents at Balapara-I village in neighbouring Kokrajhar
District in the early hours of May 2, which left eight
persons dead and several others injured in their own homes.
Again, in the night of May 2, 12 bullet-riddled bodies,
including those of five women and a child, were recovered
from Nankekhadrabari and Nayanguri villages in Baksa District,
where nearly 100 houses and a wooden bridge had been set
ablaze by the militants. Another nine bodies were recovered
from a village in Baksa District in the morning of May
3, taking the toll to 32. The bodies of the victims, including
four children and two women, were recovered from Khagrabari
village, under Salbari sub-division adjacent to the Manas
National Park.
The attack
at Balapara village also came at a time when most adult
males had been staying away from their homes for fear
of the Police, who were looking for the killers of a constable
at a polling booth during the election on April 24. A
Policeman was killed while another was injured when a
mob tried to capture a polling booth in Kokrajhar Parliamentary
seat, leading BSF personnel to open fire on April 24.
Besides
Chirang and parts of Dhubri Districts, indefinite curfew
has also been imposed in Kokrajhar and Baksa Districts.
The Army has been staging flag marches in the violence-hit
areas to instill confidence among people and to bring
the situation under control. "Shoot at sight order
has also been issued in violence–hit areas". Media
reports indicated that since the attacks on migrant Muslims
started on May 1, at least 50,000 people have fled their
villages in the state’s Kokrajhar and Baska districts.
Investigators
disclosed that around 20 suspects had been arrested on
May 3, reportedly for helping the militants in the violence-hit
districts of Baksa and Kokrajhar. The victims of the attacks
were Muslim migrants who have been locked, for years,
in land disputes with the Bodo tribes. Muslim villagers
were reportedly targeted as a punishment for not voting
for candidates backed by the rebels.
Meanwhile,
people fear a repeat of the large-scale conflagrations
of 2012, involving Bodos and Muslims which left at
least 109 dead according to South Asia Terrorism Portal
(SATP) database and over 400,000 displaced. 2012 was the
second such clash involving Bodos and Muslims since the
formation of the BTC in 2003. The first confrontation
had occurred in 2008, and claimed 55 lives.
The factors
which provoked the May 2014 attacks appear varied and
controversial.
The leader
of the Pro-Talks faction of the United Liberation Front
of Asom (ULFA-PTF),
former commander of undivided ULFA’s 709 battalion, and
Independent candidate for the Kokrajhar parliamentary
constituency, Naba Kumar Sarania alias Hira Sarania,
who was backed by the Sanmila Janagosthiya Aikya Mancha
(SJAM, an umbrella organisation of most of the non-Bodo
organisations of the BTAD areas), suspected the involvement
of the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) in the ongoing violence.
Addressing the press in Kokrajhar city on May 2, Sarania,
added, further, “The Government said it had information
that such clashes might occur. If it did have prior information,
why didn’t the Government take any steps to prevent the
violence. There is definitely some involvement of the
Government in this ongoing violence.” The former ULFA
leader appealed to the Government to take steps to end
the mindless violence and threatened to launch an economic
blockade in the State if it failed to do so. He declared,
“If the violence and killings do not stop by May 5, we
will launch an economic blockade in all the entry gates
of Lower Assam like Boxirhat Gate, Srirampur Gate, etc.”
The All
Bodoland Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) and the All
Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU, Hiteshwar Barman
faction), two leading students' bodies in BTAD, supported
the candidature of Sarania. These groups feel that Sarania,
a non-Bodo candidate, could raise his voice in Parliament
for the 73 per cent non-Bodo population living in BTAD.
Lafiqul Islam Ahmed, General Secretary, ABMSU, noted,
"We are supporting Hira Sarania, because he is committed
to work for the non-Bodo communities which are not feeling
secure in BTAD. ABMSU wants the Centre not to create a
separate Bodoland State including the BTAD areas where
a major chunk of population is non-Bodos. We also want
the Government to review the Bodo
Accord under which Bodos were given
priority over the non-Bodos in BTAD. Hira has come in
support of our demands and we believe he has the voice
to raise the issues of the non-Bodo communities under
Kokrajhar seat." Ahmed claimed that the minority
people were being tagged as illegal Bangladeshi migrants
and were being harassed in BTAD areas: "Our people
who were born and brought up in Assam should be protected
like any other Indian citizen. Minority people, who were
victims of violent clashes in BTAD two years back, are
yet to be adequately compensated by the Government. We
want our MP [Member of Parliament] to raise his voice
for the people of BTAD." Ahmed added that, despite
comprising 73 per cent of the population, the non-Bodo
communities had been politically deprived in the BTAD
areas, as it was mostly Bodos who were contesting the
majority of the seats, as most of these were reserved
for Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
Though
the police claimed that the incidents were not related
to the Lok Sabha elections, unofficial sources
in Kokrajhar asserted that the villagers may have been
targeted because they had apparently not voted in favour
of a particular party and its candidate. Further, certain
statements underline the relation between the attacks
and the just concluded election. A BPF leader thus declared,
"Everything was fine till April 23. We were assured
that we would get about 80 per cent Muslim votes in the
third phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Kokrajhar on
April 24. But all Muslim votes went in favour of Naba
Kumar Sarania alias Hira Sarania."
Media reports
further indicated that the tipping point came with a comment
by Kokrajhar (East) Member of Legislative Assembly Pramila
Rani Brahma, sister of the BTC Chairman Hagrama Mohilary.
Rani Brahma observed that the BPF candidate, Chandan Brahma,
would have a tough time winning because non-Bodos had
consolidated behind Sarania, heightening the tension between
Bodo and non-Bodo groups. SJAM spokesperson Jamsher Ali
alleged, “On April 30, BPF leader Pramila Rani Brahma
commented that a particular community hadn’t voted for
the BPF candidate in the Lok Sabha polls and a day after
the killings started. Therefore, we want an inquiry to
find out whether there is any connection between Brahma’s
comments and the killings.” He said the killings followed
a BPF meeting, to analyse voting in the Kokrajhar constituency
in the General Elections. He added, “The killings might
have been carried out by militants but we suspect that
some forces had instigated them.”
On April
21, 2014, the President of the All Bodo Students Union
(ABSU) had criticized the 'divisive politics' of Independent
candidate Hira Sarania, arguing that Hira was playing
narrow politics with Bodo and non–Bodo votes, and this
was not good for the integrity of the people of the region.
ABSU President Promod Boro declared that ULFA leader Hira
Sarania had created an atmosphere of hatred among the
Bodos and non–Bodos.
On April
20, while alleging that the ULFA-PTF group has asked all
its members not to vote for Hira Sarania, SJAM General
Secretary Matiur Rahman asserted, “They (Arabinda Rajkhowa
of ULFA-PTF and others) never raised their voice when
non-Bodos and other ethnic groups suffered during violence
in the BTAD region. Now their decree only hints that the
outfit's leaders are in nexus with the BPF led by Hagrama
Mohilary. Sarania was fielded by the people and we believe
he is going to win by a huge margin." On April 17,
ULFA-PTF disowned Sarania and appealed to the voters in
Kokrajhar constituency not to vote for him as he had ‘made
mockery’ of the 'extreme sacrifices' made by hundreds
of ULFA martyrs who laid down their lives for the ‘national
struggle’, by participating in the Indian Parliamentary
elections against the principles and ideology of the ULFA.
The long-unresolved
issue of illegal immigrants surfaced again, when an NDFB-IKS
leader, on May 3, was quoted as stating, "The Bodo
people will not stand for usurpation of their land by
illegal immigrants while the Government remains unconcerned."
Media reports further implied that the targets this time
were alleged illegal Bangladeshis and also Nepalese immigrants,
whose numbers, according to Bodo leaders, have been rising
exponentially.
The Security
Forces (SFs), meanwhile, insist that the violence carried
out by the outfit is in retaliation to operations against
the outfit. Noting the involvement of the NDFB-IKS group
in the killings, the Assam Police, on May 2, asserted
that the Bodo rebel group was frustrated and, as a result,
had chosen a “soft target”. Talking to reporters after
attending a series of high level security meetings at
Dispur, State Director General of Police (DGP) Khagen
Sarma observed, “Stern action will be taken against NDFB-IKS
group... In the last few months, 18 important cadres of
NDFB-IKS outfit were killed in encounters with security
forces and also 42 important cadres of the outfit surrendered
before security forces... To show its strength, the outfit
had earlier tried to attack security forces and Ranjan
Daimary faction of NDFB (NDFB-RD), but failed in its attempt
and became frustrated. To make its presence felt, they
carried out the attack on civilians yesterday.”
Some incidents
are significant in this context: on February 20, 2014,
a 'deputy commander' (southern command) of the NDFB-IKS
identified as B. Thaijou alias Kamaram Brahma
was killed in an encounter with SFs in the Makrijhora-Malatijhora
area of Parbhatjora subdivision in Kokrajhar District.
The militant had a bounty of INR 300,000 on his head.
Again, on March 31, an 'area commander' of NDFB-IKS, identified
as Medra Boro, was killed while another three cadres fled
with injuries, following an exchange of fire between the
Police and the group at Kamargaon under Sorbhog Police
Station in Barpeta District.
The May
2014 attacks came a few hours after the NDFB-IKS issued
a statement warning of “tit-for-tat retaliation” against
the State and Union Governments for killing its cadres
in a “fake encounter” with “Assam police and CRPF, using
Ranjan Daimary’s cadres” at Jingia Tinkhuti village in
Sonitpur District. This referred to the April 30, 2014,
incident, where three suspected cadres of NDFB-IKS, identified
as Rajai Mushahary, Custom Boro and Adlish Basumatary
were killed in an encounter with the Police in the Naojan
Tinkhuti area. The NDFB-IKS cadres had been involved
in the killing of Lalit Boro, a Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) worker, at Tinkhuti, on April 7, during the first
phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Inspector-General
of Police (BTAD) L.R. Bisnoi observed that the militant
group had targeted civilians to avenge the killing of
three militants of the outfit on April 30. The NDFB-IKS
had earlier warned the State and Union Government against
the 'systematic killing' of its members and also cautioned
the founding-Chairman of the NDFB, Ranjan Daimary, against
engaging in fratricidal killings.
On May
2, 2014, the Centre asserted that NDFB-IKS leaders in
Myanmar were trying to provoke communal tension in BTAD
to divert attention from operations against them, but
promised to continue operations against the NDFB-IKS.
Joint Secretary (Northeast) in the Union Home Ministry,
Shambhu Singh, thus noted, “We are told Songbijit has
been sending messages from Myanmar to whip up communal
tension in Bodoland to divert attention from operations
against them... The Government of Myanmar has been informed
about his presence but they have said they do not allow
any anti-India activity from their soil.”
Intelligence
sources disclosed that the Union Home Ministry had alerted
the Assam Police and other security agencies about the
possibility of attacks by Bodo militants a few days earlier:
"The Home Ministry gave specific inputs about the
Songbijit faction's plans to target the minorities from
Thursday evening (May 1)."
The NDFB-IKS
is the only faction of the NDFB that has refused to sit
for talks with the Government and has emerged as the most
lethal outfit in the State. In 2014 alone, prior to the
latest attacks in May, it had already killed 12 civilians
and one SF trooper. 11 militants of the outfit have also
been killed during the year. The NDFB-IKS' split
was announced on November 20, 2012, by the then NDFB-RD’s
Myanmar based, ‘army chief’ I.K. Songbijit, who, vowed
to “work and fight together with vigour and determination
to liberate Boroland” and “Western South East Asia (North-East
India)”. Meanwhile, on November 29, 2013, the Central
and Assam State Governments had signed a six months long
tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with
NDFB-RD, at the Headquarters of the Special Branch (SB)
of Assam Police at Kahilipara.
A March
17, 2014, report observed that, according to the Union
Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) the NDFB had killed at
least 70 people in Assam through 2010-14. In January 2014,
State Police Headquarters declared 15 members of the NDFB-IKS,
including its chief Songbijit Ingti Kathar on November
29, 2013, 'most wanted'. Assam Police said valuable information
leading to the arrest of these 15 NDFB-IKS militants would
be worth INR 9.5 million.
In the
most recent incident by the outfit prior to the May 2014
attacks, two persons were shot dead by suspected NDFB-IKS
cadres in pre-poll violence in Kokrajhar District on April
23, a day before the Lok Sabha polls. Heavily armed militants
attacked them at Bhogjhra village and shot them at point-blank
range. Earlier, on January 17, 2014, at least six persons
were killed when suspected NDFB-IKS militants pulled down
about a dozen persons from a bus and opened fire at them
at Serfanguri in Kokrajhar District. An Assam Police official
said the bus was on its way from Siliguri in West Bengal
to Shillong in Meghalaya, when a group of armed militants
intercepted it on National Highway-31 at Athiabari under
Serfanguri Police Station.
In a typical
response, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had condemned the
May attacks as a "cowardly act", and Union Home
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde promised to send 10 additional
companies of Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMFs) sought
by the State Government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
also condemned the attacks as "cowardly attempts
to spread fear and terror among our citizens" and
added that the Centre would take all measures to maintain
law and order and restore peace. Assam Chief Minister
Gogoi demanded an National Investigation Agency (NIA)
probe into the attacks, and this has been approved. An
NIA team will reach Assam on May 5 investigate the attacks.
None of these high officials has, however, chosen to speak
of the failure, not only to act proactively on the prior
intelligence that was available, but also the comprehensive
failure to act on commitments made over the years to resolve
the issue that were contributing to unending cycles of
violence.
During
the 2012 violence between the Bodos and Muslims, for instance,
Chief Minister Gogoi had declared that the State Government
was 'on a mission' to throw out every single illegal migrant
from the State, and appealed to people to help the Government
in detecting them. The Bodos had then termed the 2012
incident as a clash with illegal migrants and not Indian
Muslims. On February 3, 2014, the Central Government told
the Supreme Court that it has agreed to allocate INR 2.88
billion to the Assam government for updating the National
Register of Citizens (NRC) across the State, to be completed
within three years, and confirmed that INR 250 million
had already been released to the State Government for
preliminary work. The actual outcome, however, remains
to be seen, as the NRC project has been languishing in
the State since 2005, despite repeated assurances
and allocations. Moreover, even as
the non Bodos opposed the creation of BTC, this measure
has, at the same time, failed to help the Bodos. As a
result, BPF leaders who had signed a Memorandum
of Settlement in 2003, have revived
their original demand for statehood.
Unless
the tribal and illegal migrants’ issues are genuinely
addressed, tensions, especially between ethnic Bodo people
and Muslim settlers - and, indeed, indigenous populations
and illegal migrants across Assam - which have simmered
for years, will continue to escalate into bloody confrontations
again and again.
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The
Industrious Extremist
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
“As
many as 180,000 mujahideen, followers of
Baitullah Mehsud, are hiding in the mountainous
areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan and fighting against
anti-Muslim forces for the supremacy of Islam. Their
food expenditure is PKR 2,900,000 (USD 30,000) daily.
You are requested to bear two days’ expenses of
mujahideen-e-Islam or be ready to face dire
consequences.”
-
Letter from the TTP to a lawyer in Islamabad, June
2013
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In recent
years the crime of extortion has spiralled and spread
to all the Provinces of Pakistan, making the country a
leading centre of this 'industry'. Karachi, the country's
commercial capital and most prominent centre of the extortion
racket, continues to be the worst
hit, followed by the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad
in Punjab, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province. Though
the scale of violence varies widely across each Province,
the targets remain the same, including the business community,
politicians, doctors and, more recently, private school
owners.
According
to partial data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal
(SATP), there were at least 92 recorded incidents of extortion
in Pakistan through 2013, of which 15 violent incidents
claimed 29 lives. In 2014, Pakistan has already recorded
at least 54 incidents of extortion, including 10 violent
incidents that have claimed at least 10 lives (data till
May 4, 2014). These figures likely represent the tip of
the iceberg since an overwhelming majority of incidents
of extortion go unreported due to fear and a general consensus
that there is little the Police can or will do.
Karachi,
according to SATP data, recorded the maximum number of
extortion related activities. Of the 92 incidents recorded
in 2013, 87 occurred in Karachi alone. Punjab had three,
followed by KP two. No incident was recorded in Balochistan
and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). A
more disturbing picture of Karachi emerges from disclosures
by Ahmed Chinoy, the Chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison
Committee (CPLC), a body set up to help the Police by
providing crime statistics and technical support, who
noted, on July 2, 2013, “The extortion racket has blown
out of all proportion with the previous years.” According
to the figures collected by the CPLC, 630 extortion complaints
were registered in Karachi from January to mid-June 2013,
compared to 589 in the whole of 2012. The CPLC has provided
no subsequent data.
A heavily
publicised ‘operation’ against criminals in Karachi, commencing
September 5, 2013, has yielded no significant results
so far. The current year has already recorded 50 incidents
of extortion in Karachi alone, and media reports suggest
that the problem, already endemic, is growing, demonstrating
the redundancy of the much hyped ‘operation’. There has
been no respite for the targeted communities in the mega
city that has an estimated population of 13 million. Incidentally,
on April 15, 2014, Member of National Assembly (MNA) and
President of Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh Chapter
Shahi Syed walked out of Parliament, protesting the poor
law and order situation in Karachi. He informed the Senate
that, despite the continued military operation, there
had been no decrease in extortion, killing and kidnapping
in the crime infested metropolis.
Medical
practitioners and traders have been a vulnerable target
of the pervasive and organised system of bhatta
wasuli (collection of extortion). Expressing concern
for the beleaguered medical fraternity, the Pakistan Medical
Association (PMA) called on Sindh Inspector General of
Police (IGP) Shahid Kamran Baloch on April 2, 2014, and
remarked, “Every fifth doctor is receiving threatening
calls for money.” Earlier on February 13, 2014, the President
of PMA's Karachi Chapter, Dr. Idrees Adhi, claimed that
at least 40 medical practitioners of Karachi have received
threatening emails from certain extortion mafias demanding
large sums of 'protection money'. These calls, he said,
were traced to South Africa, Afghanistan and Dubai, indicating
the international dimensions of these operations. Adhi
lamented, “Our community is under immense pressure. We
are frightened because of threats against the backdrop
of the killing of some of our colleagues in the recent
past.” He disclosed that at least 130 doctors had been
killed in the city since 2010.
Meanwhile,
the business community and traders have also been the
victims of grenade and rocket attacks that damage their
property and make them live in constant fear. Back in
2012, the All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and
Cottage Industries (APOSTCI) declared on August 5 that
the recent trend of grenade attacks on shops and markets
that refused to comply with extortion demands had terrorised
local traders and businessmen, totally destroying the
prospects of further investment in Karachi.
Borrowing
their tactics from terrorist outfits, the extortionists
have also targeted schools in the District. In one such
attack on October 22, 2013, two people, including a student,
were injured when extortionists opened fire outside Prince
School, a private secondary school in the Gulshan-e-Bahar
area of Orangi Town, for allegedly failing to heed extortion
demands. This incident was soon followed by another, on
October 28, when some unidentified extortionists opened
fire at the Al Mehran School located in the Ghaziabad
area of Orangi. Reacting to these incidents, William Sadiq,
a leader of the Karachi-based Action Committee for Human
Rights observed, "Targeting innocent schoolchildren,
doctors and patients reflects the brutality of the terrorists."
While security
agencies continue to fail to control the menace, the extortionists
continue to devise new strategies. On April 14, 2014,
Atiq Mir, the President of the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad
complained that a new modus operandi had been adopted
for extortion in Karachi, where the extortionists demand
hundreds of thousands of rupees from businessmen in the
name of welfare funds and social work. In case of refusal,
the extortionists threatened their target of dire consequences,
revealing their original identity and their affiliations
with notorious criminal gangs and terrorist groups.
Extortionists
often impersonate terrorists to intimidate victims. In
one such instance in November 2013, a businessman in Islamabad
received a letter on the letter head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP)
and signed by its already-dead leader Hakimullah Mehsud,
demanding USD 50,000, and threatening 'dire consequences'
if he reported the matter to the Police or failed to pay.
The terrified man paid up, but refused to register a complaint
or divulge any further details. A senior intelligence
official remarked, "Posing as member of the Pakistani
Taliban is the easiest thing because the victims then
get the impression that they are dealing with a very mighty
thing. So they don't report the case with the Police and
are very ready to cooperate with the criminals."
In Punjab,
similarly, the racket thrives, particularly in the twin
cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, primarily due to the
intrinsic network between criminal gangs, their political
patrons, terrorist formations, and affiliated seminaries
and local mosques. Reports indicate that seminaries in
Punjab act as intermediaries and couriers to receive and
deliver extortion sums to terrorist formations. Civil
and military intelligence sources have confirmed that
Punjab’s extortion racket provides revenues to terrorist
outfits based in the tribal area via local seminaries.
Significantly, on May 1, 2014, intelligence sources disclosed
that seminaries operating inside the capital were assisting
TTP with the collection of extortion and ransom money
by arranging deals between terrorists and their victims.
The sources further disclosed that extortion calls received
in Punjab were traced back to Miranshah town of the North
Waziristan Agency in FATA. Citing one such incident, the
Intelligence sources stated that, in 2013, a retired Army
Doctor, Lieutenant General Mehmood-ul-Hasan, received
a call from a man who introduced himself as Latif, second-in-command
to Hakimullah Mehsud, and demanded PKR 50 million. Following
the demand, an administrator from an Islamabad-based seminary
acted as mediator and finalised the 'deal' at PKR 10 million,
and also sent two persons to collect the money from the
target. A month later, a man named Ashfaq called Dr. Hasan
again and demanded an amount of PKR 50 million within
10 days. This incident, according to sources, was followed
by another call from someone who identified himself as
a leader of the TTP and asked Dr. Hasan to ensure that
the money was delivered within 72 hours. In all the three
instances “the same man who brokered the first agreement
was used to negotiate the price,” officials disclosed,
confirming the role of seminaries in collecting extortion
money from the targets and delivering it to the TTP.
The business
community in Punjab also faces the brunt of factionalism
among the terrorist formations. On May 3, 2014, officials
in the Islamabad Police disclosed that the recent regrouping
within the TTP into factions led by Shehryar Mehsud and
by Khan Said alias Sajna had created trouble for
businessmen in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad,
because businessmen who had first paid extortion sums
to the TTP received renewed demands after a few days.
The second set of calls often came through middlemen.
The differences between the two factions emerged over
the assumption of leadership after the death of Hakimullah
Mehsud.
Extortion
now funds a range of criminal and terrorist outfits, prominently
including the Pakistan Amn Committee (PAC, Pakistan
Peace Committee) in Karachi; and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ),
TTP and innumerable other local gangs that have been formed
for the specific task of extortion in their given areas
to fill the coffers of terrorist groups in the tribal
areas. On June 29, 2013, Superintendent of Police (SP)
- Investigation, Mustansar Feroz disclosed that the Crime
Investigation Agency (CIA) of Islamabad Police had arrested
three TTP terrorists , identified as Malik Aalam Khan
Wazir, resident of North Waziristan Agency in FATA, the
ringleader; Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai, resident of Malakand
District of KP; and Mukammal Shah Qasimkhail, resident
of Upper Dir District (KP), on their arrival in Islamabad
for extortion. All three had been embroiled in extorting
huge sums from industrialists, business tycoons and lawyers
of the twin-cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad and KP. The
three member gang is accused of operating from the Sakha
Kot area of Swabi District in KP.
The situation
in KP is also precarious as the extortionists threaten
businessmen and school administrators. Identifying the
problem as a law and order issue, officials briefing the
KP Provincial Assembly on March 4, 2014, pointed out that
there are 39 terrorist outfits operating in the Province,
while 20 other gangs functioning under the garb of TTP
were involved in extortion, kidnapping-for-ransom and
other criminal activities. On August 4, 2013, terrorists
fired a rocket at the house of Atta Muhammad, a private
school owner, in Shabqadar tehsil (revenue unit)
of Charsadda District for the third time, as he refused
to pay an extortion amount of PKR 15 million. Muhammad
had been receiving threats and he also lodged a complaint
with the Police, but in vain. Instead, Police told him,
“We are already short on resources; we cannot give security
to every individual.” An angry Muhammad said, “Either
the Police arrest the culprits or else I will buy weapons
for self-defence.”
Lack of
Police action worsened the situation in KP, Punjab and
Karachi. Often, criminal gangs and terrorist outfits operate
in collusion with the Police and politicians. The Muttahida
Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Rabta Committee Deputy Convenor,
Doctor Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, on February 10, 2014,
alleged, “Karachi Police collects 22 crore (220 million)
extortion money daily and it is the biggest organisation
that is involved in extortion in the city today.”
Neither
can the role of political patrons be ignored. The United
States Institute of Peace (USIP) in its October 2012 report,
‘Conflict dynamics in Karachi’, remarked, “The
armed wings of major political parties, including the
MQM, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and ANP, are the main
perpetrators of urban violence. The parties clash over
city resources and funds generated through extortion.”
This holds true for all of Pakistan's Provinces.
Pakistan's
covert policy of supporting and sponsoring criminal and
terrorist formations as instruments of state policy has
led terrorists and criminals to consolidate their presence
in all areas of commercial activities. Extortion - the
menace of Karachi - has, gradually, spread to other parts
of the country. While increasingly sophisticated and techno-savvy
peripatetic groups of extortionists gain control across
expanding regions in Pakistan, the Law Enforcement Agencies
lack both capacity and will to act against them. Police
laxity, political collusion and failure of the Federal
and Provincial Governments to respond effectively to the
challenge is pushing the endemic disorders of Pakistan
to the edge of anarchy.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
April 28-May
4, 2014
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
32
|
0
|
7
|
39
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Tamil Nadu
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
35
|
0
|
10
|
45
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
FATA
|
3
|
1
|
11
|
15
|
Sindh
|
18
|
1
|
1
|
20
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
32
civilians
killed
by
NDFB-IKS
militants
in
Assam:
At
least
32
civilians
were
killed
by
militants
of
the
Songbijit
faction
of
the
National
Democratic
Front
of
Bodoland
(NDFB-IKS)
during
the
week
in
Kokrajhar
and
Baksa
regions
of
Assam.
"During
the
last
few
days,
there
have
been
wanton
acts
of
depredation
leading
to
the
deaths
of
32
persons,
mainly
women
and
children.
Out
of
these
32
persons,
31
belonged
to
minority
community.
The
objective
of
this
group
seems
to
be
aimed
at
starting
a
full
fledged
communal
conflagration,"
said
Union
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
Sushil
Kumar
Shinde
on
April
4.
Times
of
India,
May
5,
2014.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa
leader
forms
new
terror
outfit
for
India
operations:
Inputs
gathered
by
Central
Agencies
say
a
leader
of
Pak-based
terror
outfit
Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JuD),
Zameer
Khan,
has
formed
a
new
outfit-
Ansar-ul-Uma
-
for
conducting
operations
in
India.
A
secret
document
of
the
intelligence
agencies
claims
that
the
new
outfit
located
in
Bagh
District
in
Pakistan
was
formed
three
days
ago
and
80-100
terrorists
had
already
joined
it.
Times
of
India,
May
3,
2014.
30
cells
of
SIMI
active
in
India,
says
report:
More
than
30
sleeper
cells
of
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
have
become
active
across
the
country.
The
Intelligence
Bureau
(IB)
warned
all
states,
including
Maharashtra,
about
the
development.
Sources
said
top
SIMI
and
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM)
militants
jailed
in
various
parts
of
India
have
been
brought
to
Delhi
to
extract
any
information
available
with
them.
DNA
India,
April
29,
2014.
ISI
wants
to
set
up
wide
network
in
South
India:
The
interrogation
of
suspected
Colombo-based
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
agent
Mohammed
Zahir
Hussain
has
brought
out
that
he
has
been
making
attempts
to
establish
a
widespread
network
to
carry
out
activities,
including
circulation
of
fake
Indian
currency
notes
(FICNs),
in
South
India.
Earlier
on
May
1,
based
on
information
provided
by
Hussain,
Police
arrested
two
of
his
associates
-
Siva
Balan,
also
a
Sri
Lankan,
and
Mohammed
Salim
of
Chennai.
Times
of
India,
May
2,
2014.
CPI-ML-Naxalbari
merges
with
CPI-Maoist,
says
report:
The
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
and
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist-Leninist
Naxalbari
(CPI-ML-Naxalbari)
have
merged
and
the
new
party
will
retain
the
name
of
CPI-Maoist.
In
a
joint
statement
on
April
30,
CPI-Maoist
'general
secretary'
Muppalla
Laxman
Rao
alias
Ganapathy
and
'secretary'
of
CPI-ML-Naxalbari
Ajith
said
the
unified
party
would
take
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism
as
its
guiding
ideology.
The
Hindu,
May
1,
2014.
NEPAL
UCPN-M
convention
to
form
broad
alliance:
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
Chairman
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal
aka
Prachanda
floated
a
proposal
to
form
a
broad
alliance
comprising
representations
from
the
like-minded
parties
to
ensure
a
democratic
and
timely
constitution
in
the
country.
Prachanda
said
the
party
is
heading
toward
socialism
making
use
of
capitalism.
Senor
leader
Baburam
Bhattarai
said
the
past
leadership
and
the
modus
operandi
of
the
party
do
not
work
in
the
present
context,
calling
for
change.
Republica,
May
2,
2014.
PAKISTAN
TTP
provides
list
of
765
'non-combatant'
prisoners:
The
member
of
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
negotiating
committee
Yousuf
Shah
on
May
4
said
the
TTP
has
given
a
list
of
765
'non-combatant'
prisoners
they
want
to
be
released.
He
said
dialogue
was
the
only
solution
to
the
problem.
He
urged
both
TTP
and
the
Government
to
reconsider
a
ceasefire.
Daily
Times,
May
5,
2014.
Afghan
Taliban
and
Haqqani
Network
continued
to
find
'safe
haven'
in
Pakistan
in
2013,
claims
Report:
Groups
such
as
the
Haqqani
Network
and
the
Afghan
Taliban
continued
to
find
'safe
haven'
in
Pakistani
territory
in
2013,
the
US
State
Department
claimed
in
its
Annual
Global
Report
on
Terrorism
that
it
submitted
to
the
Congress
on
April
30.
It
accused
Pakistani
authorities
of
not
taking
"significant
military
or
law
enforcement
action
against
these
groups."
The
report
further
claimed
that
a
number
of
aggressive
and
coordinated
attacks
in
Afghanistan
were
planned
and
launched
from
'safe
havens'
in
Pakistan.
Tribune,
May
1,
2014.
Fearing
military
operation
TTP
militants
shifting
to
Afghan
border
areas,
claim
unnamed
TTP
sources:
According
to
unnamed
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
sources,
many
TTP
militants,
fearing
that
a
military
offensive
will
finally
be
launched,
have
vacated
the
areas
surrounding
Mir
Ali
and
Miranshah
towns
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
(NWA)
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA).
They
have
shifted
towards
the
border
with
Afghanistan
and
into
the
Afghan
Provinces
where
anti-Pakistan
elements
are
strong.
Daily
Times
April
29,
2014.
Seminaries
operating
in
Islamabad
assist
TTP
in
collecting
ransom
and
extortion
money,
reveal
intelligence
sources:
According
to
sources
in
civil
and
military
intelligence
agencies,
seminaries
operating
inside
Islamabad
are
reportedly
assisting
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
with
the
collection
of
extortion
and
ransom
money
by
arranging
deals
between
militants
and
their
victims.
The
sources
also
revealed
that
the
seminaries
are
providing
courier
services
to
the
TTP
by
arranging
for
the
money
to
be
transported
to
pre-determined
locations
easily
accessible
for
TTP
militants.
Dawn,
May
1,
2014.
Grouping
within
TTP
a
bane
for
businessmen,
say
Police
sources:
According
to
officials
in
the
Police,
the
recent
grouping
within
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
may
help
the
Government
and
Security
Forces
(SFs)
to
deal
with
the
militants
but
it
has
created
more
trouble
for
businessmen
in
the
twin
cities
of
Rawalpindi
and
Islamabad.
The
sources
said
that
the
businessmen
had
paid
extortions
to
the
TTP
but
a
few
days
later
they
again
received
calls
for
payment
of
more
money.
The
second
calls,
they
added,
came
even
though
middlemen
of
the
militants
had
given
assurances
that
the
businessmen
would
not
be
threatened.
Dawn,
May
3,
2014.
Kashmir
is
the
'jugular
vein'
of
Pakistan,
says
CoAS
General
Raheel
Sharif:
Chief
of
Army
Staff
(CoAS)
General
Raheel
Sharif
on
May
1
said
that
Kashmir
is
the
"jugular
vein"
of
Pakistan
and
the
issue
should
be
resolved
in
accordance
with
the
wishes
and
aspirations
of
Kashmiris
and
in
line
with
United
Nations
Security
Council
(UNSC)
resolutions
for
lasting
peace
in
the
region.
He
said,
"Matchless
sacrifices
offered
by
Kashmiris
will
not
go
in
vain,"
adding
that
the
resolution
of
the
Kashmir
issue
is
"indispensable"
for
lasting
peace
in
the
region.
India
Today,
May
2,
2014.
SRI
LANKA
NPC
passes
several
resolutions
demanding
withdrawal
on
16
overseas
Tamil
groups
ban:
Northern
Provincial
Council
(NPC)
on
April
28
passed
several
resolutions
demanding
that
the
ban
of
16
overseas
Tamil
groups
be
withdrawn
forthwith.
The
resolutions,
moved
by
member
M.K.
Sivajilingam,
were
adopted
unanimously.
NPC
Chairman
C.V.K.
Sivagnanam
told
that
the
resolutions
also
called
for
a
political
solution
to
the
national
question.
Daily
Mirror,
April
29,
2014.
Almost
all
of
UN
agencies
praise
Sri
Lanka's
achievements
on
all
fronts
since
the
war
victory,
says
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa:
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
on
May
1
said
that
almost
all
of
the
United
Nations
(UN)
agencies
praise
Sri
Lanka's
achievements
on
all
fronts
since
the
war
victory.
He
added
that
the
changes
brought
about
in
Sri
Lanka
since
the
launching
of
the
Mahinda
Chintana
(Mahinda
Vision)
Policy
framework
some
nine
years
ago
and
following
the
eradication
of
separatist
terrorism
from
the
soil
of
Sri
Lanka
were
clearly
visible
to
anybody
and
could
be
experienced
by
anyone.
Daily
Mirror,
May
2,
2014.
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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