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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 16, October 19, 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
|
Sindh:
Malignant Brew
Ambreen
Agha
Research
Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On October
13, 2015, at least four persons, including two terrorists,
were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi,
the provincial capital of Sindh. In one incident, Karachi
Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) Additional Director,
Arshad Hussain, was shot dead near Askari Park in Gulshan-e-Iqbal
Town. Two terrorists, identified as Zohaib and Mahmood,
were killed in two separate Police encounters in the Kalari
and Chakiwara areas of Lyari Town. Zohaib, affiliated
with the Wasi Lakho Gang, was reportedly involved in killing
of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Member of Provincial
Assembly (MPA), Waja Kareem Dad, on August 17, 2011 in
the Kharadar area of Saddar Town. Mahmood was associated
with the Baba Ladla Gang. In another incident, Police
recovered an unidentified dead body from Gulshan-e-Ghazi
area of Baldia Town.
On October
8, 2015, two Police Officials, identified as Head Constable
Abdul Ghafar and Constable Pervaiz Ali, were shot dead
while they were on a routine patrol near Char Minar within
the limits of the New Town Police Station in the Bahadurabad
area of Gulshan Town. In another incident, a traffic Policeman
identified as Rehan Sarwar was killed at his residence
in the Aram Bagh area of Saddar Town.
On October
7, 2015, a ‘criminal’, identified as Amir Baloch, son
of Shah Jehan Baloch, was killed in retaliatory firing
by the Police that had come under attack by him and his
accomplices while patrolling the Garden West Road area,
adjacent to the Lyari Expressway. The Police recovered
one TT pistol and five rounds of ammunition from his possession.
Amir’s other accomplices, however, managed to escape.
Amir was associated with the Lyari Gang.
According
to partial data compiled by the Institute for Conflict
Management (ICM), Karachi has recorded a total of
627 terrorism and gang-related fatalities, including 314
civilians, 45 SF personnel and 268 terrorists/criminals
in the current year (all data till October 18, 2015).
In the corresponding period of 2014, the number of such
fatalities stood at 1,012 fatalities, including, 658 civilians,
117 SFs and 237 terrorists/criminals.
ICM data
confirms that gang and terrorism-related fatalities in
the city have decreased considerably since the launch
of 'targeted action' on September 5, 2013. Since then,
Karachi has recorded 2,233 terrorism and target killing
fatalities, including 1,296 civilians, 722 terrorists/criminals
and 215 Security Force (SF) personnel (data till October
18, 2015). During the corresponding period prior to the
start of the action, there were 3,259 fatalities, including
2,762 civilians, 240 terrorists/criminals and 257 SF personnel.
Though there was a 31.48 per cent decline in the total,
the decline in SF deaths was much smaller, at 16.34 per
cent.
According
to a detailed report released on July 8, 2015, by the
Pakistan Rangers in Sindh, since the launch of the ‘targeted
action’ on September 5, 2013, the Rangers had carried
out 5,795 operations during which they had apprehended
10,353 suspects and recovered 7,312 weapons and 348,978
rounds of ammunition. The Rangers also traded fire with
suspected ‘criminals’, engaging in a total of 224 ‘encounters’,
in which 364 suspected criminals were killed and another
213 were arrested. The Rangers also arrested 82 abductors
and in the process secured the release of 49 abducted
persons from captivity. In addition, a total of 826 terrorists,
334 ‘target killers’, and 296 extortionists were arrested
during this period.
On September
4, 2013, the Federal Cabinet had empowered the Rangers
to lead the ‘targeted action’ with the support of the
Police, against criminals involved in the “four heinous
crimes of target-killing, kidnapping, extortion and terrorism”.
Federal Minister of Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan,
laying emphasis that this was to be a ‘targeted action’
or ‘exercise’, rather than an operation, had announced
that a committee headed by the provincial Chief Minister
Syed Qim Ali Shah would “manage, administer and control”
the action.
Despite
the decline in fatalities, there is much to suggest that
the ‘targeted operation’ is yet to create an environment
of security in Karachi. On the completion of two years
of the ‘exercises’ on September 4, 2015, Karachi Police
Chief Mushtaq Mahar admitted that a significant presence
of sleeper cells of terrorist groups in the provincial
capital. Similarly, on October 12, 2015, Inspector General
of Police (IGP), Sindh, Ghulam Hyder Jamali, had warned
that "three terrorist organisations" operating
in a nexus were planning to carry out attacks in Karachi
in the month of Muharram (First month of the Islamic
Calendar. It is the period of mourning by the Shia Muslims).
Muharram started on October 15, 2015.
Though
the IGP did not reveal the identities of the "three
terrorist organisations", the Counter-Terrorism Department
(CTD) anti-sectarian intelligence chief Khurram Waris
stated on October 13, 2015,
…al-Qaeda
in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP)
and LeJ [Lashkar-Jhangvi (LeJ)]
which is now linked with the Middle Eastern terrorist
group Daesh [known as Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS/Islamic State, IS)] and working
together, are involved in many terrorist activities
in Sindh in the recent past, including murdering
Police Officials in Karachi. AQIS was now leading
the other two groups. All three groups in the Province
are headed by commanders known only by their code
names, Umer, Mistry and Bengali. They have been
accused of being involved in killings and other
terrorist activities in Hyderabad and Karachi Districts.
They were responsible for the recent killing of
traffic Policemen in Karachi...The interrogation
of the arrested militants further revealed that
the groups were also generating funds for their
organisations by committing robberies and kidnappings-for-ransom,
extorting traders, and collecting donations using
fake madrassa receipts.
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Five traffic
Policemen have been killed in Karachi in the current year.
The first such incident was recorded on August 30, 2015,
when two traffic Policemen, identified as Nizam Hussain
and Shair Muhammad, were killed by unidentified militants
near the Sunday Bazaar in the Metro Shopping area in Gulshan-e-Iqbal
Town. On September 2, 2015, a traffic Police Constable
was shot dead and two others sustained injuries when unidentified
militants opened fire at them in the Site-B area of SITE
Town. A traffic Police Official, identified as Assistant
Sub-Inspector (ASI) Zulfiqar, was shot dead near Malir
Kala Board in the Malir Town on September 30, 2015. A
traffic Policeman, identified as Rehan Sarwar, was killed
at his residence in the Aram Bagh area of Saddar Town
on October 8, 2015.
Policemen
from other divisions are also being targeted. On September
30, 2015, Lyari Superintendent of Police (SP), Aftab Nizamani,
survived an attempt on his life while two attackers were
killed by the Police in retaliatory firing in the Chakiwara
area of Lyari Town. Karachi-West Senior Superintendent
of Police (SSP) Azfar Mahesar, noted, on September 2,
2015, that “a new wave of targeted killing of Policemen”
has begun.
The active
presence of IS in the city has also been confirmed, with
IGP Jamali confirming, on October 12, 2015, that the group
was operating in Sindh and had established links with
LeJ, and that IS and LeJ were involved in the May 13,
2015, Safoora Goth carnage in Gulshan Town, where 45 Ismaili
Shias travelling in a chartered bus were killed. This
incident manifested the first and sudden emergence of
IS activity in Karachi.
On October
13, 2015, a list prepared by the Karachi East SSP’s office
reportedly mentioned 53 suspected terrorists who were
operating in a manner bearing the hallmark of Daesh.
According to the report these terrorists belonged to different
parts of the country and were based in Karachi.
Much earlier,
confirming the presence of IS, in a 'secret information
report' submitted by the Balochistan Government to the
Federal Government, dated October 31, 2014, the Provincial
Government had warned of increased IS footprints. The
report from the Home and Tribal Affairs Department of
Balochistan stated,
It
has been reliably learnt that Daesh has offered
some elements of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Ahl-e-Sunnat
Wal Jamat (ASWJ) to join hands in Pakistan. Daesh
has also formed a ten-member Strategic Planning
Wing.
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IS is,
consequently, no more a perceived threat, and has matured
into a real danger. It has augmented its strength by aligning
itself with splinter groups of mainstream terrorist organizations
operating in Pakistan, making the situation all the more
precarious.
Indeed,
accepting the danger, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General
Raheel Sharif in a meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif on September 1, 2015, reaffirmed the resolve that
the ‘targeted operation’ in Karachi would continue, irrespective
of its political fallouts. Similarly, President Mamnoon
Hussain stated on September 30, 2015, that the 'targeted
action' in Karachi would continue till the ‘complete restoration
of peace and elimination of terrorism’.
Curiously,
IGP Jamali claimed, on October 4, 2015, that "peace
and order has been restored in the metropolis by eliminating
terrorism, target killing and extortion."
Karachi
has long been known as "the most dangerous mega-city
in the world", but the 'targeted action’ has clearly
impacted on the will, capacity and activity of the terrorist-criminal
nexus in the city. There has, moreover, been no serious
terrorist attack in the metropolis since the May 13, 2015,
Safoora carnage. Dangers, nevertheless, persist, and the
presence of terrorist organizations and particularly the
emergence of Daesh (IS), are grounds for some alarm, as
is the nexus between Daesh, AQIS, TTP and LeJ. These actors,
with their wider national and global networks and agendas,
retain enormous potential for state destabilization.
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Lethal
Remnants
S.
Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On October
5, 2015, three unidentified assailants tried to slit the
throat of Luke Sarkar (52), Pastor of the Faith Bible
Church, at his house in the Ishwardi upazila (sub-District)
of Pabna District. He survived the attack with minor injuries.
Later, on October 12, 2015, five Jama’atul Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB)
terrorists, including its Pabna ‘regional chief’ Rakibul
Islam Rabbi aka Rakib were arrested over this murder
attempt.
On October
5, 2015, Muhammad Khijir Khan (66), the former chairman
of the Power Development Board (PDB), a freedom fighter
and a pir (revered religious instructor, usually
of Sufi orientation) was killed by seven unidentified
armed men by slitting his throat at
his Madhya Badda house in the national capital, Dhaka.
On October 15, Tariqul Islam Tarer alias Mithu,
an organizer of JMB arrested from Delduar upazila
in Tangail District, in his confession to killing Khijir
Khan, stated, "As Khijir Khan was a so-called pir
and his activities were contradictory to religious ideology,
it was our (JMB) responsibility as believers to kill him."
Shockingly,
since December 2013, four pirs and six of their
family members and assistants had been murdered by Islamist
extremists.
On December
22, 2013, assailants slit the throats of six people, including
pir Lutfur Rahman Faruk (60); Faruk’s son Monir
Hossain; the house's caretaker Monju; and Faruk's followers
Shaheen, Rasel, and Mojibur Rahma at Ramkrishna Mission
Road in Dhaka city.
On September
5, 2015, unknown assailants slit the throat of a pir,
Rahmat Ullah (60), along with an attendant inside his
shrine in the Bayezid area of Chittagong city.
On September
7, 2015, assailants shot dead another pir, Hazrat
Moulana Mohammad Salahuddin Khan Bishal (30), in his sleep
in the Vorotpur area of Atghoria upazila in Pabna
District.
Further,
on August 29, 2014, the chief imam (religious teacher)
of the Supreme Court mosque Shiekh Nurul Islam Faruqi
(60) was killed at his East Rajabazar house in Dhaka city
by 10 unidentified assailants.
Islamic
extremists have been blamed for all these incidents.
Compounding
the problem, foreigners in Bangladesh have become targets
of Islamic extremists in recent months. On September 28,
2015, an Italian charity worker Cesare Tavella (50), a
technical director working at Netherlands-based development
organization Interchurch Organization for Development
Cooperation (ICCO), was killed by three unidentified armed
men in Dhaka city's Gulshan area. Search for International
Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, a website
that tracks online activity of Jihadi organizations,
disclosed that a communiqué by Islamic State (IS) claimed
that ‘a security detachment’ tracked and killed Cesare
with ‘silenced weapons’ in the streets of Dhaka city.
The claim was immediately denied by Bangladesh authorities.
On October
3, 2015, Japanese national Hoshi Kunio (66), researching
on a new strain of grass in Bangladesh, was gunned down
by three unidentified armed men when he was going by rickshaw
to his two acres grass farm at Alutari in the Kaunia sub-District
of Rangpur District. Reuters and Vice News
quoted IS tweets declaring, "There will continue
to be a series of ongoing security operations against
nationals of crusader coalition countries; they will not
have safety or a livelihood in Muslim lands."
Dismissing
IS claims on October 4, 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Wajed stated, "I can say that no outfits like the
IS can carry out their activities here. Our intelligence
agencies are very much alert. We don't want to see any
activities of such outfits in Bangladesh." The Prime
Minister accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
– Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) combine of having a hand in the
killings of the foreigners: "The style of the killing
of the two foreign nationals is similar … These were well
planned. I want to remind you of a BNP leader's remarks
before and after the [Italian national's] murder. If you
compare the remarks, the matter will become clear."
Significantly,
on October 2, 2015, Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP leader,
referring to these attacks, had stated, “Such downward
trends will continue until there is some kind of political
reconciliation between the two major political parties
in Bangladesh.”
Also, rejecting
IS involvement in the murders, Home Minster Asaduzzaman
Khan Kamal on October 5, asserted, “IS is not behind these
murders. A vested group is seeking to create anarchy in
the country. They are conducting these killings but we
will track them down and bring them to justice.”
Indeed,
according to an intelligence report submitted to the Ministry
of Home Affairs on October 4, 2015, anti-liberation forces,
enraged that war criminals are being tried, convicted
and executed, are murdering foreign nationals in the country
to cast the Government in a bad light. The War
Crimes (WC) Trials, which began on
March 25, 2010, have thus far indicted 35 leaders, including
18 from JeI, six from the Muslim League (ML), five from
Nezam-e-Islami (NeI), four from BNP and two from the Jatiya
Party (JP). On August 11, 2015, International Crimes Tribunal-1
(ICT-1) awarded the death
penalty to Bagerhat District Razakar
leader Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj Master
(73) and life
imprisonment to another Razakar leader
Khan Akram Hossain, for genocide, murder, abduction and
forceful conversion of Hindus to Islam during the Liberation
War in 1971. Earlier, verdicts
had been delivered against 22 accused, including 16 death
penalties and six life sentences. Each judgment resulted
in violence unleashed by fundamentalists, led by the BNP-JeI
combine. According to partial data compiled by the South
Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the country has recorded
at least 471 Islamist extremist violence-related fatalities
since March 25, 2010, including 263 civilians, 27 Security
Force (SF) personnel and 181 extremists (data till October
18, 2015).
Islamist
extremists have been targeting secular and free-thinking
people, with four
bloggers killed in 2015 alone. On
August 7, 2015, Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy alias
Niloy Neel (28), a secular blogger and a Gonojagoron
Mancha (People's Resurgence Platform) activist was
hacked to death at his Goran residence in the Khilgaon
area of Dhaka city; on May 12, 2015, Ananta Bijoy Das
(32), a progressive writer, blogger, editor of the science
fiction magazine Jukti, and an organizer of the
Gonojagoron Mancha, was hacked to death with machetes
by four assailants in the Subidbazar Bankolapara residential
area of Sylhet city; on March 30, 2015, another blogger
and online activist, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu (27), was hacked
to death in broad daylight in Dhaka city for his allegedly
atheist views; and on February 26, 2015, Bangladesh-born
American citizen blogger Avijit Roy (42), the founder
of the Mukta-mona.com blog, was hacked to death
in Dhaka city.
Meanwhile,
on September 23, 2015, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT,
Volunteers of Allah Bangla Team) issued a hit list of
secular bloggers, writers and activists around the world,
including nine bloggers based in the UK, seven in Germany,
two in the US, one in Canada and one in Sweden. The statement
featured a logo comprising a black flag carrying the seal
of the prophet Mohammed and the phrase: “We do not forget,
we do not forgive” in English. Disturbingly, the killing
of bloggers in Bangladesh propelled the country onto the
Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ). The CPJ, in a report published on October 8, 2015,
observed,
At
least four Bangladeshi bloggers have been hacked
to death by apparent Islamic extremists this year
alone, and a total of five of Bangladesh's seven
victims of unsolved murders over the last decade
are bloggers who criticized religious extremism.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the nominally secular
ruling Awami League party have done little to speak
out for justice in these crimes, allowing political
interests to trump rule of law.
|
While sporadic
incidents by Islamist extremists have raised tensions
in the country and concerns across the world, the threat
of conventional terrorism continues to lurk in the background.
On September 6, 2015, intelligence agencies unearthed
a plot to blow up over 100 Navy and Coast Guard bases
and oil refineries in southeastern Chittagong city. The
little-known Hilf ul Fuzul al Islami (Islamic Alliance
of the Virtuous), in collaboration with several other
banned Islamist groups, were responsible for the plot,
which was believed to be in retaliation to the escalating
security clampdown against the Islamists.
On October
6, 2015, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Detective
Branch (DB) Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Muhamad
Babul Akhter disclosed that JMB was aiming to set up a
stronghold in Chittagong District’s heavily forested hilly
areas and claimed that there were 1,000 JMB militants
in the District, discreetly working as sales persons at
stationary shops, day laborers and hawkers to conceal
their identity. Some have set up small shops in densely-populated
areas of the city to enable contact within the group when
required.
Further,
on October 11, 2015, talking about JMB’s link with another
outfit, Allahr Dol (Allah’s Party), TM Mujahidul
Islam, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Lalmonirhat District,
observed, “The people who have been organizing under the
banner of Allahr Dol are all from the JMB. As JMB is banned,
they are now trying to reorganize under a different umbrella
and are applying new techniques.” Allahr Dol’s activities
have so far spread to Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rajshahi
and Dinajpur Districts in the north; Khulna District in
the south-west and Jhalakathi District in the south. The
outfit also gets support, shelter and backup from the
local chapter of JeI.
Referring
to the current situation on October 5, 2015, Supreme Court
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha noted,
We
are trying hard to combat terrorism. It is a global
issue, which India and Bangladesh are facing at
the same time. Terrorism has become a major problem
now… In Bangladesh, terrorism has become a serious
threat to our national security. It has become a
threat to life, economy and political as well as
religious pluralism in Bangladesh.
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The recent
attacks against religious figures and foreigners’ in Bangladesh
are reaction to the assertiveness demonstrated by the
Government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed,
as a result of which the threat from Islamist terrorism
in Bangladesh has been minimized. The speedy WC Trials
have worried the radicals, and their response has been
an escalation of such violence.
Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina Wajed on October 13 said that those behind
the recent killing of two foreigners would be hunted down
and tried: "There will be no place for terrorists
and militants in Bangladesh… we'll surely find out the
killers ... and bring them under the purview of law."
Earlier, on October 6, 2015, Bangladesh Inspector General
of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque had stated, “Anyone
may personally believe in their (IS) ideology. But we
will not let our country become a terrorist state. We
will thwart all conspiracies that are being hatched for
our country.”
Dhaka has
acted with determination against the long established
terrorist and radical Islamist formations in Bangladesh.
Controlling randomized violence by their dispersed fragments,
as well as incipient groups that are rising out of the
wide base of a population radicalized over the decades,
in some cases inspired by global Islamism, is, however,
proving a difficult task.
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Weekly Fatalities:
Major Conflicts in South Asia
October 12-18, 2015
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Maharashtra
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Odisha
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
8
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
KP
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Punjab
|
9
|
1
|
4
|
14
|
Sindh
|
2
|
0
|
11
|
13
|
PAKISTAN
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
JMB
organizer
confesses
killing
former
PDB
chairman
by
slitting
his
throat
with
sharp
weapon:
Tariqul
Islam
Tarer
alias
Mithu,
an
alleged
organizer
of
Jamaatul
Mujahideen
Bangladesh
(JMB)
confessed
to
killing
former
chairman
of
Power
Development
Board
(PDB)
Muhamad
Khijir
Khan
by
slitting
his
throat
with
a
sharp
weapon.
Tariqul
Islam
said,
"As
Khijir
Khan
was
a
so-called
pir
and
his
activities
were
contradictory
to
religious
ideology,
it
was
our
(JMB)
responsibility
as
believers
to
kill
him."
New
Nation,
October
16,
2015.
ISB
threatens
to
kill
Gonojagoron
Mancha
spokesperson:
Gonojagoron
Mancha
(People's
Resurgence
Platform)
spokesperson
Imran
H
Sarker
has
been
threatened
with
death
allegedly
by
a
member
of
Islamic
State
Bangladesh
(ISB).
A
facebook
user
named
'Araf
Al
Islam
ISB'
issued
the
threat
through
Imran's
facebook
message
box
saying,
'your
death
is
imminent.
You
will
be
killed
in
the
way
the
two
foreigners
were
killed,'
said
Imran
in
a
post
on
his
verified
facebook
page.
New
Age,
October
19,
2015.
ICT-1
indicts
five
war
crimes
suspects
in
Kishoreganj
District:
The
International
Crimes
Tribunal-1
(ICT-1)
indicted
five
war
crimes
suspects
from
Karimganj
sub-District
of
Kishoreganj
District
on
seven
charges.
Shamsuddin
Ahmed
(60),
the
lone
suspect
in
the
dock,
pleaded
not
guilty.
The
other
suspects
-
Gazi
Mohamad
Abdul
Mannan
(88),
Nasir
Uddin
Ahmed
(62),
Mohamad
Hafiz
Uddin
(66)
and
Mohamad
Azharul
Islam
(66),
would
be
tried
in
absentia
as
they
are
absconding.
Mannan
was
the
commander
of
the
local
Razakar
force
while
the
others
were
its
members,
according
to
the
prosecution.
New
Age,
October
13,
2015.
INDIA
Pakistani
Army
treating
PoK
inhabitants
brutally,
says
Defense
Minister
Manohar
Parrikar:
Kashmiris
should
be
made
aware
of
the
brutal
atrocities
committed
by
the
Pakistan
Army
on
civilians
in
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(PoK),
Defence
Minister
Manohar
Parrikar
said
on
October
11.
"We
need
to
bring
it
to
their
(Kashmiris)
notice.
How
brutally
the
Pakistan
army
is
treating
the
population
in
PoK?
I
don't
know
after
that
if
they
will
ever
think
of
Pakistan
because
they
are
proud
people.
They
have
to
be
told
that
their
brothers,
and
sisters,
who
are
also
a
part
of
India,
are
being
brutally
treated,"
he
said.
Times
of
India,
October
12,
2015.
Over
300
militants
waiting
on
launch
pads,
says
GOC
Lt
Gen
Dua:
General
Officer
Commanding
(GOC)
of
Srinagar
based
15
Corps,
Lt
General
Satish
Dua,
on
October
13,
said
that
over
300
militants
are
waiting
on
the
launch
pads
near
the
Line
of
Control
(LoC)
in
Pakistan
occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
to
infiltrate.
In
an
exclusive
interview
to
Excelsior,
Lt
General
Dua
said
that
for
past
few
weeks
their
attempts
to
infiltrate
have
increased
ahead
of
snowfall
that
closes
the
mountain
passes.
"Just
before
snow
sets
in,
they
keep
trying
to
push
in
militants.
There
are
over
300
militants
who
are
ahead
on
the
launch
pads
waiting
to
be
launched.
But
unfortunately
for
them,
they
are
not
finding
an
opening.
The
infiltration
that
happened
this
year
is
negligible
and
whatever
does
get
through
shallow
area
is
being
caught
there",
he
added.
Daily
Excelsior,
October
14,
2015.
Pakistan's
ISI
printing
fake
Indian
currency
in
Dubai,
according
to
NIA:
A
team
of
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
officials
tracked
down
the
origin
of
Fake
Indian
Currency
Note
(FICN)
in
Dubai,
being
pumped
into
the
country
via
Bangladesh.
Pakistan's
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
has
been
able
to
set
up
a
production
unit
of
FICN
in
Dubai.
The
fake
currency
notes
are
being
smuggled
into
India
via
Bangladesh
and
Sri
Lanka,
NIA
sources
have
revealed.
The
ISI
had
been
running
the
fake
currency
racket
from
Karachi
(Pakistan)
previously.
It
changed
its
strategy
due
to
growing
international
pressure,
and
are
now
using
citizens
of
Bangladesh
and
Sri
Lanka
for
such
activities.
India
Today,
October
13,
2015.
India
calls
for
adoption
of
convention
on
terrorism
in
UN:
India
has
called
for
the
early
adoption
of
a
global
convention
on
terrorism
with
a
legal
principle
of
"prosecute
or
extradite",
even
as
it
voiced
concern
over
the
United
Nations
(UN)
appearing
"ineffective"
in
tackling
the
global
scourge.
On
the
issue
of
terrorism,
the
United
Nations
has
"appeared
ineffective,
though
both
the
Security
Council
and
General
Assembly
have
adopted
either
resolutions
and
sanctions
regimes
or
strategies
to
counter
terrorism
over
the
past
15
years,"
India's
Ambassador
to
the
UN
Asoke
Mukerji
said
at
a
General
Assembly
session
on
'Report
of
the
Secretary-General
on
the
Work
of
the
Organisation'.
Times
of
India,
October
15,
2015.
Myanmar
signs
peace
pact
with
eight
ethnic
armed
groups:
The
Myanmar
Government
on
October
15
signed
the
Nationwide
Ceasefire
Accord
(NCA)
with
eight
out
of
the
15
ethnic
armed
groups
involved
in
the
peace
deal,
signalling
an
end
to
nearly
six
decades
of
civil
conflict.
The
signing
at
the
Myanmar
International
Convention
Centre
in
Naypyitaw
in
Myanmar
was
witnessed
by
local
and
international
observers.
Among
the
eight
groups
are
Kayin
National
Union,
Kayin
National
Liberation
Army
-
Peace
Council,
All
Burma
Students'
Democratic
Front,
and
Chin
National
Front,
report
said.
International
witnesses
from
the
United
Nations
(UN),
the
European
Union
(EU),
China,
India,
Thailand
and
Japan
were
present
at
the
event.
However,
Khaplang
faction
of
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(NSCN-K)
stayed
away
from
signing
the
agreement.
Sangai
Express,
October
16,
2015.
More
North
East
militant
outfits
may
join
common
platform,
says
report:
The
United
National
Liberation
Front
of
Western
South
East
Asia
(UNLFWESEA),
a
newly
formed
platform
of
four
militant
outfits
of
the
North-east
region,
is
trying
to
rope
in
at
least
nine
more
outfits
of
the
region
into
the
platform
to
launch
a
united
struggle
against
the
Government
of
India.
So
far,
four
outfits
of
the
region
-
Khaplang
faction
of
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(NSCN-K),
Independent
faction
of
United
Liberation
Front
of
Asom
(ULFA-I),
IK
Songbijit
faction
of
the
National
Democratic
Front
of
Bodoland
(NDFB-IKS)
and
the
Kamatapur
Liberation
Organization
(KLO)
-
are
the
constituents
of
the
platform
and
efforts
are
on
by
the
leaders
of
the
Front
to
rope
in
other
militant
groups
of
the
region
to
increase
its
strength,
report
added.
Assam
Tribune,
October
16,
2015.
NEPAL
Government
invites
UDMF
to
come
to
the
negotiating
table:
The
Government
sent
letters
to
the
constituents
of
the
United
Democratic
Madhesi
Front
(UDMF)
inviting
them
to
come
to
the
negotiating
table.
Prime
Minister
KP
Sharma
Oli's
Press
Adviser
Pramod
Dahal
said
that
the
Tarai
Madhes
Democratic
Party
(TMDP)
had
already
received
the
Government's
invitation
and
other
constituents
of
the
UDMF
would
soon
receive
the
letter.
Himalayan
Times,
October
17,
2015.
PAKISTAN
Uighur
militants
eliminated
from
Pakistan's
territory,
says
Federal
Minister
for
Defense
Khwaja
Asif:
Pakistan
has
eliminated
all
members
of
the
Uighur
militant
group
the
East
Turkestan
Islamic
Movement
(ETIM)
from
its
territory,
but
must
remain
vigilant
to
ensure
they
don't
return,
claimed
Federal
Minister
for
Defense
Khawaja
Asif
on
the
sidelines
of
a
security
forum
in
Beijing.
"We
believe
they're
all
eliminated,"
Khawaja
Asif
said.
"I
think
there
(were)
a
small
number
in
tribal
areas,
they're
all
gone
or
eliminated.
There
are
no
more
there,"
he
added.
The News,
October
19,
2015.
US
downplays
civilian
drone
deaths,
reveal
secret
files:
United
States
(US)
President
Barack
Obama's
administration
has
underrepresented
the
true
number
of
civilians
killed
in
drone
strikes.
The
Intercept
unveiled
documents
leaked
by
a
whistleblower
about
America´s
use
of
Unmanned
Aerial
Vehicles
(UAV)
to
kill
terrorist
targets
in
the
Middle
East
and
Central
Asia.
According
to
the
report,
Obama,
after
taking
office
in
2009,
has
vastly
expanded
the
drone
program,
authorising
many
more
strikes
than
his
Republican
predecessor,
George
W.
Bush.
In
classified
slides,
the
US
military
describes
fatalities
from
targeted
strikes
as
"enemy
killed
in
action,"
even
if
their
identity
is
unknown
or
they
were
not
the
intended
targets.
The News,
October
16,
2015.
India
supporting
TTP
to
destabilise
Pakistan,
accuses
FO
spokesman
Qazi
Khaliullah:
Pakistan
warned
India
to
refrain
from
using
its
soil
for
hatching
conspiracies
against
Pakistan
while
supporting
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP).
"It
is
pertinent
to
mention
here
that
majority
of
the
terrorist
incidents
staged
by
the
Indian
side
on
its
soil
to
implicate
and
malign
Pakistan
have
proved
to
be
fake.
I
wish
to
underscore
that
in
the
case
of
India,
the
international
community
is
aware
that
state
actors
have
been
involved
in
destabilising
and
fomenting
terrorism
in
neighbouring
countries,
including
Pakistan,"
said
Foreign
Office
(FO)
spokesman
Qazi
Khaliullah.
The News,
October
15,
2015.
Daesh
network
exists
in
Sindh,
reveals
Counter
Terrorism
Department:
The
Counter
Terrorism
Department
(CTD)
has
prepared
a
list
of
53
terrorists
who
they
claimed
are
affiliated
with
Daesh,
commonly
known
as
Islamic
State
(IS).
According
to
CTD
sources,
Abdullah
Yousuf
alias
Abdul
Aziz,
alias
Saqib,
is
the
amir
(chief)
of
Daesh
while
another
terrorist
has
been
identified
as
Shahid
Khokhar,
who
belongs
to
Hyderabad
District.
The
CTD
sources
further
said
that
a
third
terrorist,
Bilal
is
also
affiliated
with
Daesh
and
hails
from
Mirpurkhas
District.
The News,
October
15,
2015.
Meanwhile,
Sindh
Inspector
General
of
Police
Ghulam
Hyder
Jamali
while
briefing
the
Senate
Standing
Committee
on
Interior
said
that
the
IS
was
active
in
the
Province
and
it
had
links
with
the
sectarian
militant
outfit
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ).
The
Sindh
Police
chief
shared
details
of
the
arrested
suspectsand
said,
"They
[the
suspects]
wanted
to
set
up
a
self-styled
caliphate
in
Pakistan."
He
said
investigations
into
the
May
13,
2015,
Safoora
carnage
revealed
that
Abdul
Aziz,
the
kingpin
of
the
group,
had
escaped
to
Syria
and
was
involved
in
almost
all
the
recent
terror
attacks
along
with
his
lieutenant
Azhar
Minhas.
Tribune,
October
14,
2015.
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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