| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 14, October 5, 2015
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
|
FATA:
Fatal Flaws
Ambreen
Agha
Research
Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On September
11, 2015, two volunteers of a ‘peace committee’ [Government-backed
‘people’s’ counter-insurgency forces] , identified as
Nawab Khan and Fazal Khan, were killed in an Improvised
Explosive Device (IED) attack while they were travelling
from Pandyali tehsil (revenue unit) of Mohmand
Agency to Dwezai area of the same Agency in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Earlier,
on September 8, 2015, at least six pro-Government peace
volunteers of Tauheed-ul Islam (TI), belonging to the
Zakakhel tribe, were killed by Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) terrorists
in the Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. An unnamed
'spokesman' of LI claimed that the volunteers were helping
the Security Forces (SFs) against them.
On September
7, 2015, another five peace volunteers of TI were executed
in the Qambarkhel area of Khyber Agency. LI 'spokesman'
Salahuddin Ayubi called from an undisclosed location and
claimed that his men had killed the five pro-government
fighters. These 11 ‘peace volunteers’ of TI were abducted
by LI from the Sanda Pal area while they were going to
the Maidan area in the Tirah Valley of the Khyber Agency
on September 6, 2015.
Again,
on September 7, 2015, a pro-government tribal elder, identified
as Mullah Amanullah, was shot dead by unidentified armed
assailants in a targeted attack in the Chaharmang area
of Nawagai in the Bajaur Agency.
On September
1, 2015, at least six persons, including one Khasadar
(tribal Police Force) official, were killed and 56 were
injured in a suicide attack in the Jamrud tehsil
of Bajaur Agency. The Political Agent of the Bajaur Agency,
Shahab Ali Shah, disclosed that the suicide bomber was
aiming to enter his office but failed to do so because
of strict security measures, and consequently blew himself
up at the entrance gate. Salahuddin Ayubi, ‘spokesman’
for the LI, first claimed responsibility for the attack
declaring that their targets were Government officials.
Later, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
‘spokesman’ Mohammad Khorasani claimed that the TTP’s
‘special martyrdom unit’ carried out the suicide attack,
with the aim to kill Government officials tasked with
implementing the Government’s National Action Plan (NAP).
Notably, the 20-point NAP
came as a counter-terrorism measure under the Constitution
(Twenty-First Amendment) Act, 2015, on December 24, 2014,
after the gruesome December 16, 2015, Peshawar Army Public
School massacre
which had resulted in 147 fatalities, including 134 school
children.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), FATA has already recorded 1,678 fatalities
in 2015, (all data till October 4), including 98 civilians,
90 SF personnel and 1,490 terrorists. 741 of these fatalities
have been recorded in NWA (four civilians, 27 SF personnel
and 710 terrorists); 587 from the Khyber Agency (38 civilians,
17 SF personnel and 532 terrorists); 152 from the South
Waziristan Agency (SWA, 28 civilians, 17 SF personnel
and 107 terrorists); 70 from the Kurram Agency (two civilians,
12 SF personnel and 56 terrorists); 60 from the Orakzai
Agency (four civilians, nine SF personnel and 47 terrorists);
34 from the Mohmand Agency (six civilians, one SF and
27 terrorists); 28 from the Bajaur Agency (15 civilians,
six SF personnel and seven terrorists). Frontier Region
(FR) Bannu recorded a total of five fatalities, including
one SF trooper and four terrorists; followed by FR Peshawar
with one terrorist killed. The other four FRs did not
record any fatality. [FATA comprises of seven Agencies
- Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Orakzai,
South Waziristan; and six FRs - FR Peshawar, FR Kohat,
FR Bannu, FR Lakki, FR Tank and FR Dera Ismail (DI) Khan]
.
According
to partial data compiled by the Institute for Conflict
Management (ICM) a total of 27,833 persons, including
3,769 civilians, 2,226 SF personnel and 21,838 terrorists,
have been killed in FATA since 2002 (all data till October
4, 2015). All seven Agencies have witnessed extensive
and prolonged violence. Of these, NWA remains the worst
hit, recording at least 6,626 fatalities over this period,
including 651 civilians, 661 SF personnel and 5,314 terrorists;
followed by the Orakzai Agency with at least 5,073 fatalities,
including 259 civilians, 198 SF personnel and 4,616 terrorists;
and Khyber Agency with 4,795 persons killed, including
1,017 civilians, 317 SFs and 3,461 terrorists [these are
likely to be significant underestimates, as media and
independent access to the regions of conflict is severely
restricted. Categorization of fatalities is also without
independent verification].
The Khyber
Agency ranks first on civilian deaths, recording a total
of 1,017; followed by NWA, 651; Kurram, 538; Bajaur, 463;
Mohmand, 455; SWA, 376; and Orakzai, 259.
On SF fatalities,
NWA tops the list, recording at least 661 deaths; followed
by SWA, 472; Khyber, 317; Mohmand, 244; Orakzai, 198;
Bajaur, 177; and Kurram, 105.
On terrorist
fatalities, NWA ranks first, recording at least of 5,314
deaths; Orakzai, 4,616; Khyber, 3,461; SWA, 3,127; Bajaur,
2,619; Kurram, 1,465; and Mohmand Agency 1,211.
Terrorist
fatalities at 21,838 of a total of 27,833 deaths, account
for a staggering 78.46 per cent of total fatalities, suggesting
indiscriminate operations that rely overwhelmingly on
area weapons - artillery, drones and missiles, rather
than face to face engagements between ground forces and
the terrorists. A multiplicity of military operations
have targeted FATA in the past,
prominently including Operation Sirat-e-Mustaqeem (Khyber
Agency in FATA; June 28, 2008-July 9, 2008); Operation
Sherdil (Bajaur Agency in FATA; August 7, 2008– February
28, 2009); Operation Rah-e-Nijat (South Waziristan Agency
in FATA; June 19, 2009-December 12, 2009); Operation Khwakh
Ba De Sham (Orakzai and Kurram Agencies in FATA; March
23, 2010-June 1, 2010); Operation Brekhna (Mohmand Agency
in FATA; November 3, 2009); and Operation Koh-i-Sufaid
(Kurram Agency in FATA; July 2, 2011 – August 18, 2011).
These are just some additional campaigns in a long series
targeting renegade domestic terrorist formations, that
was launched after the Lal
Masjid debacle of 2007.
Meanwhile,
an operation is still underway in NWA. The Pakistan military
had launched an ‘all out offensive’, codenamed Operation
Zarb-e-Azb [Sword of the Prophet]
in NWA on June 15, 2014, in the aftermath of the attack
on the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, on June
8-9, 2014, in which at least 33 persons, including all
10 attackers, were killed. According to SATP data, thus
far 2,039 terrorists and 227 soldiers have been killed
in this ongoing operation. A day before the completion
of one year of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Major
General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Director General (DG) of the
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), on June 14, 2015,
claimed, "The operation has moved to last few pockets
close to Pakistan-Afghanistan border and so far, 2,763
terrorists have been killed. 347 soldiers and officers
have also been killed since the start of the operation
on June 15, 2014."
Operation
Zarb-e-Azb, however, narrowly targets domestic terrorists,
principally of the Tehrik-e-Taliban and its various constituent
and splinter formations, even as it assiduously avoids
any conflict with the Pakistan-backed groups operating
in Afghanistan. Significantly, on the sidelines of the
United Nations (UN) General Assembly session in New York
on September 28, 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry
urged Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take "additional
action" against terrorist groups such as the Haqqani
Network that operate in Afghanistan and maintain safe
havens in NWA. Despite repeated appeals to this effect
from the US, Afghanistan and other countries that were
part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
Pakistan continues to provide fullest support to the terrorist
formations operating in Afghanistan.
In the
Khyber Agency, Operation Khyber-II was launched
on March 23, 2015 and ended on June 15, 2015, after inflicting
a total of 227 fatalities, including 218 terrorists, two
civilians and seven SF personnel. Operation Khyber-II
was preceded by Operation Khyber-I, launched on
October 16, 2014, and that ended on March 17, 2015, with
a total of 717 persons, including 50 civilians, 19 SF
personnel and 648 terrorists, killed. Despite these two
long operations, terrorists continue to operate freely
in Khyber, as is evident from the spate of recent incidents
(above). Once again, this raises questions about the credibility
and efficacy of such operations.
FATA has
been described as the epicenter of World Terrorism, and
has provided safe
haven to at least 40 prominent terrorist
outfits, the largest number of which are based in NWA,
followed by SWA. There are a total of 18 terrorist outfits
based in NWA, including the most lethal and deadly Haqqani
Network that has been a major threat
to United States (US), NATO and Afghan National Security
Force (ANSF) troops in Afghanistan.
Among the
groups operating from the tribal
areas are a number of foreign terrorist
formations, including the Afghan Taliban, Uzbek terrorists,
the Uighurs and East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
The witches' brew is compounded by various country chapters
of al Qaeda, including the Tunisian, Turkish and Jordanian.
However, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, during a
meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing on September 2, 2015, had
claimed that all Uighur terrorist groups and terrorists
belonging to the East Turkestan Islamic Movemeng (ETIM)
had been eliminated from the country and, further, that
the ongoing anti-terror Operation Zarb-e-Azb “has
been successful in eradicating terrorism from our country.
It has also been very helpful in eliminating the ETIM
element from our country.”
Pakistan
has made such claims after each cycle of operations, and
these have been belied by subsequent actions by terrorists.
The obvious and persistent contradiction between orchestrating
Islamist terrorist campaigns against its neighbours and
seeking to suppress domestic Islamist terrorism remains
impossible to reconcile. Indeed, most domestic terrorist
formations in Pakistan have intimate linkages with Pakistan
state-backed terrorist formation operating in Afghanistan,
even as many of the externally directed sarkari
(officially backed) jihadi groups, prominently
including outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),
maintain linkages with the TTP and al Qaeda. It is useful
to recall that al Qaeda has declared the Pakistani state
and Army murtad (apostate) and a rightful target
of jihad.
Pakistan
continues to fight desperately to establish the writ of
the state in FATA, the most disenfranchised region of
the country, but terrorist groups continue to thrive,
profiting from the state’s ambivalence towards the instrumentalization
of Islamist extremism and terrorism and their harnessing
to the state’s strategies in the neighbourhood. With no
indication that Islamabad is willing to abandon this enduring
strategy, a lasting peace in FATA remains evasive, despite
persisting military operations.
|
Maharashtra:
Maoists pushed against the Wall
Mrinal
Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
A ‘central
committee’ (CC) member of the Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist),
Sridhar Srinivasan alias Krishnan Srinivasan alias
Vijay alias Vishnu, who was active in Mumbai, Pune
and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra, died of a heart attack
on August 18, 2015, a CPI-Maoist press statement released
on September 21, 2015 disclosed. Paying tribute to the
deceased CC member, the CPI-Maoist said, “Comrade Sridhar’s
martyrdom is a major blow to the movement”. Srinivasan
was arrested by Maharashtra ATS in 2007 and after being
convicted and serving a six year jail term, was released
in August 2013. According to the press release, he continued
to work for the outfit and he died on his way to meet
his comrades.
According
to media reports, Srinivasan played a key role in indoctrinating
Arun Bhelke from the Deshbhakti Yuva Manch in Chandrapur
to join the Maoist movement. Bhelke and his wife Kanchan
Nanaware were arrested by the ATS in Pune in 2014. Srinivasan
is also said to have guided an alleged Maoist Angela Sontakke,
who was arrested in Pune with members of the Pune-based
cultural front, Kabir Kala Manch, in 2011. Kabir Kala
Manch was founded by Pune artist Amarnath Chandaliya in
2002, to ‘spread unity and communal harmony’. Chandaliya
left the Manch in 2008 because of his differences with
other young artists, and reportedly told the ATS that
he held a few meetings with “Vijay” at the Empress Garden
in Pune and Nariman Point in Mumbai in 2006. He stated
that Sudhir Dhawale, editor of Vidrohi magazine,
introduced him to “Vijay”. Dhawale was arrested in January
2011 for his alleged links with Maoists. A Gondia court
acquitted him in May 2014.
The Maoists
movement in Maharashtra had suffered heavily even before
the eventual death of Srinivasan. After a dramatic
consolidation of gains by the Maharashtra
Police in 2013 against the Maoists, the State retained
its advantage against the ultras in
2014, despite a major
setback on May 11, 2014. The trend
continued into 2015, with Maoist attempts at revival failing
comprehensively, even as Security Forces’ (SFs’) successes
continued to mount.
Two CPI-Maoist
cadres, identified as Pramod Kachlami alias Dalpat,
a ‘section commander’, and Ranju Majji alias Kummi,
were killed in an encounter with the Maharashtra Police
in Kondekal Forest near Gatta Phulbodi under the Dhanora
Sub-division of Gadchiroli District on September 3, 2015.
While Ranju’s body was found immediately after the encounter,
security personnel recovered the Dalpat’s body on September
7. Three Police parties took on the combined strength
of the Pendhri and Chatgaon dalams (squads) of
the Maoists during the encounter. Gadchiroli Superintendent
of Police (SP) Sandip Patil disclosed, “We had definite
intelligence about a group of 20-22 Naxalites camping
near Kondekal Hills. We pressed our parties into action
and managed to engage the Naxals in an encounter that
lasted for about 30 minutes. The group managed to flee,
leaving behind the body of a woman Naxal and three .303
rifles, besides some other material...”
Earlier,
around noon, on September 3, another encounter took place
at Somanpalli under Sironcha tehsil (revenue unit).
Though the encounter continued for about 30 minutes, there
were no casualties. The Police recovered some Maoist literature
from the location.
Protesting
against the gunning down of two of their cadres, the Maoists
set ablaze the Gadchiroli Forest Department’s range office
and inspection room at Perimili on the Bhamragarh-Alapalli
Road on September 10, after they had burnt down a gram
panchayat (village level local-self government institution)
office at Durgapur in Pendhri, Gadchiroli District, on
September 9. They also called for a one-day bandh
(shut down strike) in Dhanora tehsil on September
10 protesting the encounter. In a banner put up at Durgapur,
the Maoists alleged that the Police ‘murdered’ the ‘section
commander’ in a fake encounter.
According
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database,
eight civilians, two Security Force (SF) personnel and
two Maoists have been killed in Maharashtra in LWE-related
incidents in 2015, as of September 30. While both the
Maoists were killed in one incident, the two SF fatalities
also occurred in a single exchange of fire on March 22,
2015 in Hekker forest under Etapalli tehsil of
Gadchiroli District. There have been just three encounters
reported in the State in 2015, so far. It is clear that
the Maoists are trying to avoid engagement with the Police,
as they have been significantly weakened. The rebels have,
however, already killed eight civilians in 2015, as against
nine through 2014. Avoiding the Police and killing civilians
appears to be a ‘back to basics’ strategy to keep their
area of operation free of alleged ‘informers’.
16 Maoists
have been arrested in the State in 2015, of which the
arrest of a ‘cental committee’ member identified as K.
Muralidharan aka Thomas Joseph aka Ajith
from a hospital at Talegaon Dabhade near Pune on May 8,
2015, was a significant blow to the extremists. Another
prominent catch was the arrest of a senior woman Maoist
'deputy commander’ identified as Aruna alias Punai
Devsingh Naitam (24), on January 22, 2015. A ‘deputy commander’
form Chhattisgarh, who had an INR 500,000 reward on his
head, identified as Rasul alias Anil Shauri (30),
was arrested on June 12, 2015 with two accomplices from
Kasturba Hospital in Wardha District.
Further,
11 Maoists had surrendered (till September 30) in 2015,
including a ‘section commander’, two ‘commanders’ and
one ‘platoon commander’.
So far
in 2015, the Maoists have caused one blast, on July 8,
when they blew up a Range Office of the Forest Department
at Decchli village under the Aheri tehsil in Gadchiroli
District, using LPG cylinders meant for distribution among
tribals under a Government scheme. There was no casualty
in the incident. In 2014, Maoists caused three blasts.
The Maoists were also involved in four incidents of arson
in 2015, as of September 30, including the two recent
incidents mentioned above. In 2014, one incident of arson
by the Maoists is on record.
According
to a letter recovered from an encounter site at Chichoda
in Gadchiroli District, CPI-Maoist CC spokesperson Abhay
had admitted that about 100 Maoists had been killed in
the preceding year across India (SATP records a total
of 99 Maoist fatalities in 2015). Abhay’s letter, written
in Gondi for ground-level militia members, was issued
on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the outfit
in September, 2015, and observed, “This is a very big
loss to the movement.”
On August
4, 2015, while replying to a query by Jaywantrao Jadhav
of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the Maharashtra
Legislative Council, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,
admitted that the Maoists were trying to create a base
in Mumbai-Nashik-Pune belt: “It has come to light that
in the urban and industrial belts in these areas, the
Maoists are trying to clandestinely propagate their ideology
and are creating an impression that they are raising their
voice on Dalit issues and attracting Dalit youth to the
Maoist movement.”
With the
significant operational successes by state forces, however,
a sense of complacency appears to be creeping into the
security establishment. According to an August 7, 2015,
media report, critical posts in the Maharashtra Police
relating to anti-Maoist operations have remained vacant
for over a year. These included crucial positions such
as the Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operations),
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Gadchiroli Range)
and Superintendent of Police Special Action Group (SAG),
which had no full time officers assigned. In addition,
even the post of Principal of the Unconventional Operations
Training Centre (UOTC), where Maharashtra Police personnel
train before induction into insurgency-affected regions,
was filled after remaining vacant for months, just a few
days before publication of the report.
The Maoists
have been forced into a ‘tactical retreat’ and have suffered
enormous – but not irreparable – losses, with the remnants
of violence in Maharashtra now restricted to just one
District (Gadchiroli). Complacency, however, could give
the Maoists room to bounce back. It is useful to remember
that this is something they have done, again and again,
in the past.
|
Weekly Fatalities:
Major Conflicts in South Asia
September 28 - October 4, 2015
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Extremism
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Left Wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
BANGLADESH
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
11
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
FATA
|
0
|
2
|
25
|
27
|
KP
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
8
|
Sindh
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
PAKISTAN
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Terrorism
and
violent
extremism
remain
as
two
major
impediments
to
global
peace
and
development,
says
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
while
delivering
her
speech
at
the
70th
session
of
the
United
Nations
General
Assembly
(UNGA)
at
the
UN
headquarters
in
New
York
on
September
30
said
that
terrorism
and
violent
extremism
remain
as
two
major
impediments
to
global
peace
and
development.
She
said,
"Terrorists
don't
have
any
religion.
Terrorism
and
violent
extremism
are
global
challenges.
All
countries
should
be
united
to
effectively
address
these."
She
called
for
global
unity
to
effectively
address
the
threats.
Daily
Star,
October
1,
2015.
INDIA
ISI
mobilizes
LeT,
HM,
JeM
and
Khalistan
terrorists
for
attack
on
India,
says
report:
Pakistan's
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
has
mobilized
terrorists
belonging
to
groups
like
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT),
Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM)
and
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM)
as
well
as
Sikh
militants
associated
with
Babbar
Khalsa
International
(BKI)
and
Khalistan
Zindabad
Force
(KZF)
remnants
based
on
its
soil,
for
possible
joint
strikes
in
Punjab,
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
Delhi
or
other
parts
of
India.
According
to
intelligence
reports,
ISI
officials,
who
held
a
meeting
with
terrorists
from
jihadi
and
Sikh
radical
outfits
in
Pakistan
recently,
have
already
issued
funds
for
the
purported
strikes.
Times
of
India,
September
28,
2015.
Act
against
LeT,
US
Secretary
of
State
John
Kerry
asks
Pakistan:
United
States
(US)
Secretary
of
State
John
Kerry
has
asked
Pakistani
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif
to
take
action
against
terrorist
groups
like
Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT)
and
the
dreaded
Afghan-based
Haqqani
network.
Kerry
commended
Sharif's
pledge
to
not
distinguish
between
terrorist
groups
and
"urged
additional
action
against
the
Haqqani
Network
and
Lashkar-e-Toiba,"
State
Department
spokesman
John
Kirby
said
following
the
two
leaders'
meeting
in
New
York
on
sidelines
of
the
United
Nations
General
Assembly
(UNGA)
session.
Daily
Excelsior,
September
29,
2015.
Give
up
terror
and
let
us
sit
down
&
talk,
Sushma
Swaraj
to
Pakistan:
Rubbishing
Pakistan's
4-point
formula
for
peace,
India
on
October
1,
asserted
that
it
is
ready
to
discuss
all
issues
if
the
neighbouring
country
addresses
"just
one"
point
of
ending
terrorism
emanating
from
there
as
she
proposed
National
Security
Advisor
(NSA)-level
talks
to
address
the
problem.
Addressing
the
United
Nations
General
Assembly
(UNGA),
External
Affairs
Minister
Sushma
Swaraj
referred
to
the
perpetrators
of
26/11
attacks
who
continue
to
roam
freely
in
Pakistan
and
pressed
the
world
community
to
ensure
that
countries
which
provide
finances,
safe
havens
and
arms
to
terrorists
"pay
a
heavy
price".
Daily
Excelsior,
October
3,
2015.
Government
serious
about
dealing
with
FICN
issue,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Kiren
Rijiju:
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Kiren
Rijiju
on
September
29
said
the
government
is
serious
about
the
issue
of
Fake
Indian
Currency
Notes
(FICN).
"We
have
facts
and
assessments
on
the
fake
currency
issue.
There
can
be
ups
and
downs
in
the
facts,
as
they
are
sometimes
collected
on
assumptions,"
Rijiju
said.
"We
are
very
cautious
on
this
matter.
Whenever
a
case
comes,
proper
action
is
initiated.
We
are
very
serious
on
this
issue
because
it
affects
our
economy,"
he
added.
New
Kerala
September
30,
2015.
NEPAL
Government
to
amend
the
constitution:
Government
on
October
2
initiated
to
amend
the
constitution.
The
Cabinet
decided
to
direct
the
Ministry
for
Law,
Justice,
Constituent
Assembly
and
Parliamentary
Affairs
to
begin
necessary
procedure
to
amend
the
constitution.
The
amendment
bill
to
be
tabled
in
the
House
will
guarantee
proportional
inclusion
in
the
social
justice
clause
of
the
new
constitution
and
ensure
population
as
the
main
basis
for
the
delineation
of
the
election
constituencies
as
demanded
by
the
movements
of
the
indigenous
nationalities,
Madhesis,
Dalits
and
Tharus.
Himalayan
Times,
October
3,
2015.
Three
major
parties
start
negotiations
with
Madheshi
parties:
Three
major
political
parties
-
Nepali
Congress
(NC),
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Unified
Marxist
Leninist
(CPN-UML)
and
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
-
after
a
meeting
held
on
September
28
formed
a
three
member
team
comprising
UCPN-M
leader
Narayan
Kaji
Shrestha,
NC
leader
Mahesh
Acharya
and
CPN-UML
leader
Agni
Prasad
Kharel.
The
team
held
talks
separately
with
Tarai
Madhes
Democratic
Party
(TMDP)
leaders
Mahantha
Thakur,
Hridayesh
Tripathi
and
Sarvendra
Nath
Shukla
at
Thakur's
house
in
Bhaktapur;
and
Madhesi
Janaadhikar
Forum-Democratic
(MJF-D)
Chairman
Bijaya
Kumar
Gachhadar
at
the
latter's
house
in
Sanepa.
During
the
meeting
each
side
urged
the
other
to
create
conducive
environment
for
talks
before
entering
into
the
political
agendas,
according
to
Narayan
Kaji
Shrestha.
Himlayan
Times,
October
3,
2015.
PAKISTAN
Protesters
shout
anti-Pakistan
and
pro-India
slogans
in
PoK:
In
a
video
exclusively
available
with
CNN-IBN,
people
in
large
numbers
in
several
areas
of
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(PoK),
including
Muzaffarabad,
Gilgit
and
Kotli,
are
protesting
against
the
Pakistani
establishment,
demanding
freedom
and
raising
pro-India
slogans.
Some
protestors
have
also
said
on
camera
that
Pakistan
has
no
right
to
use
force
on
them
and
even
that
India
is
better
place
to
live.
In
the
video,
they
are
also
heard
demanding
jobs
and
other
rights.
The
Pakistan
military
is
using
brutal
force
to
shut
their
voices.
DNA India,
September
30,
2015.
LEAs'
strength
raised
by
27
per
cent
in
Balochistan
over
last
four
years:
According
to
some
unnamed
senior
officials,
the
government
has
sought
to
beef
the
strength
of
Law
Enforcement
Agencies
(LEAs)
in
Balochistan
by
as
much
as
27
per
cent
in
addition
to
improving
their
training
and
equipment.
Some
security
organizations
in
the
province
could
see
further
recruitment
in
the
coming
years.
"The
massive
recruitment
process
will
continue
till
2018-it's
part
of
the
action
plan
against
insurgents,"
a
senior
official
in
Balochistan
Home
Department
said.
Tribune,
October
5,
2015.
Peace
between
Indian
and
Pakistan
linked
to
Kashmir
settlement,
says
CoAS
General
Raheel
Sharif:
Terming
the
Kashmir
issue
an
unfinished
agenda
of
partition
of
the
Subcontinent,
Chief
of
Army
Staff
(CoAS)
General
Raheel
Sharif
while
speaking
at
the
Royal
United
Services
Institute
in
London
on
October
2
said
that
the
world
community
must
come
forward
to
help
resolve
the
longstanding
issue
if
it
wants
genuine
peace
in
the
region.
He
said
the
dispute
between
Pakistan
and
India
"resides
in
the
Kashmir
issue".
Dawn,
October
3,
2015.
SRI
LANKA
UNHRC
adopts
consensus
resolution
on
Sri
Lanka
to
promote
accountability,
reconciliation
and
human
rights:
The
United
Nations
Human
Rights
Council
(UNHRC)
at
its
ongoing
30th
session
in
Geneva,
on
October
1
through
consensus
adopted
a
resolution
on
Sri
Lanka
on
accountability
for
the
alleged
human
rights
violations
during
war
in
Sri
Lanka.
The
resolution
A/HRC/30/L.29
"Promoting
reconciliation,
accountability
and
human
rights
in
Sri
Lanka"
was
submitted
on
September
24
by
the
former
Yugoslav
Republic
of
Macedonia,
Montenegro,
United
Kingdom
and
the
United
States
and
backed
by
Sri
Lanka.
Colombo Page,
October
3,
2015.
"Our
new
vision
for
the
country
involves
achieving
the
twin
objectives
of
sustainable
development
and
reconciliation,"
says
President
Maithripala
Sirisena:
President
Maithripala
Sirisena
while
addressing
the
70th
United
Nations
General
Assembly
(UNGA)
in
New
York
on
September
30
said
"Our
new
vision
for
the
country
involves
achieving
the
twin
objectives
of
sustainable
development
and
reconciliation".
"A
fundamental
requirement
in
this
context
is
dealing
with
the
past
honestly
and
building
a
modern
Sri
Lankan
Nation.
In
dealing
with
the
past,
we
will
follow
a
process
of
truth
seeking,
justice,
reparation
and
non-recurrence,"
he
added.
Daily News,
October
1,
2015.
Government
is
ready
to
implement
internationally
accepted
laws
in
accordance
with
Constitution,
says
Prime
Minister
Ranil
Wickremesinghe:
Prime
Minister
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
on
September
28
said
that
his
Government
is
ready
to
implement
internationally
accepted
laws
in
accordance
with
the
Constitution
respecting
the
public
supremacy
and
safeguarding
national
sovereignty.
He
said
the
Government
took
measures
to
protect
country's
supremacy
while
averting
an
international
probe
on
war
crimes
and
the
country's
sovereignty
is
guaranteed
again
by
formulating
a
domestic
mechanism
under
the
provisions
of
the
Constitution.
Colombo Page,
September
30,
2015.
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