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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 40, April 4, 2016

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


ASSESSMENT

BANGLADESH
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Reassertion of Reason
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Visiting Scholar, Institute for Conflict Management

On March 19, 2016, Counter-Terrorism and Trans National Crime Unit (CTTC) Chief Monirul Islam stated that Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) had set up eight hideouts in Dhaka city to carry out killings of secular people. A group of 20 militants, dubbed “the killing squad” by investigators, are reportedly engaged in ‘managing’ these hideouts. Explaining the modus operandi, investigators disclosed that, prior to killing secular targets, ABT terrorists rent houses from where they monitor their victims before making the final move.“Last month, they planned to kill a blogger named Niloy who lives in Dhaka’s Azimpur,” Monirul Islam stated, adding that the Security Forces (SFs) had foiled the attempt.

CTTC garnered the information about the “the killing squad” from two ABT militants, identified as Shahin alias Jamal alias Kamal (26) and Salahuddin alias Hiron alias Shah Alam (30), who were arrested on February 19, 2016, from the Badda area of capital city, Dhaka. So far, three out of eight such hideouts have been neutralised by the SFs.

Of late, Bangladesh has become a dangerous place for people who are opposing extremists. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 15 such persons have been killed since the first murder of writer and publisher Ahmed Rajib Haider in the Mirpur area of Dhaka on February 15, 2013. The most recent of these has been the death of Mashiur Rahman Utsho (reporter working with Bengali newspaper Juger Alo) killed on December 24, 2015, in Rangpur District. 2015 proved very lethal with six such people killed, including Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rehman Babu, Ananta Bijoy Das, Niloy Neel, Faisal Arifin and Mashiur Rahman.

On May 12, 2013, ABT had issued a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” on the grounds that "All of them are enemy of the Islam (sic)." ABT operatives with information technology (IT) skills were managing fake Facebook pages and using accounts to hunt down "atheists" so that the group’s armed cadres could attack them. Moreover, in 2015, al Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) also joined ABT in threatening rational and secular minds. In a message posted on justpaste.it, AQIS declared in the wake of the Ananta Bijoy Das' killing: “We want to say to atheist bloggers! We don't forget and we will not forget others who insult our beloved Prophet Muhammad and Allah. Another file closed! Stay tuned for next target.”

Religious minorities are also facing the brunt of this extremist violence. According to partial data collated by Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), since 2013, six people belonging to religious minorities have been confirmed killed, but this is likely a gross underestimate. Data on the plight of minorities in Bangladesh is extremely deficient, with fitful reportage. The latest of such killings took place on March 14, 2016, when a homeopathic doctor/ preacher, identified as Abdur Razzak, belonging to the minority Shia sect was killed in Jhenidah District. “The Government needs to be more aware about our security and ensure justice, so that we can live without fear of more attacks,” Mir Julfikar, President of the Husseni Welfare Association, a leading Shia organization stated.

The threat to independent voices from Islamist extremists persists despite the fact that the present Bangladesh Government under Sheikh Hasina Wajed -led Awami League (AL) party has taken tremendous initiatives to curb the menace of religious extremism, including the creation of a legal body to tackle terrorism and religious extremism. In the year 2009, Bangladesh promulgated the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which forbids membership of and support to proscribed organisations which are engaged in terrorist activities, including the terrorist outfits listed under various United Nations Security Council Resolutions. In addition, on February 16, 2012, Bangladesh’s Parliament unanimously passed an amendment to the Act, which legalised capital punishment for domestic acts of terrorism. Further, the 2012 ATA authorised the death penalty for terrorists targeting another country. Further, Bangladesh has devised the Anti Terrorism Rules 2013 to strengthen the official position vis-a-vis terrorism and violent extremist activities. The Rules contain stringent provisions to check the flow of terror finances, including criminal liability on the basis of a “reasonable suspicion” that the money will be used to fund any terrorist act.

The Government has also sought to curb the menace of terrorist finance in Bangladesh, monitoring banks and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The Government brought two private banks, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) and Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL), both managed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), under its regulatory mechanisms after the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation in its July 17, 2012, report titled U.S. Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs and Terrorist Financing: HSBC Case History, had implicated these Banks for involvement in terror financing. Also, the Government closed the operation of the Saudi Arabia based charity al Haramain Foundation and the Kuwait based charity Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, for their alleged involvement in terror financing.

In 2015 Bangladesh also experienced a spate of bank robberiesby religious extremists to fund terrorist activities. In the month of February 2015, the country’s central bank, Bangladesh Bank, had put banks in Bangladesh on maximum alert so that they could protect against being exploited to finance terrorism, following Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s directive.

Further, the Government is working for the mitigation of extremism and intolerance by implementing a national counter-radicalisation strategy through education, women’s empowerment and propagation of secular and moderate cultural values. The Government has also adopted an innovative “Motivational Campaign” to stop misuse of religion as a pretext for carrying out subversive activities.

Bangladesh has raised a strong direct challenge to extremist forces.On May 26, 2015, the AL Government banned ABT. Earlier, a number of other such outfits had also been banned, including Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) (October, 2005); Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (February, 2005); Hizb ut-Tahrir (October, 2009); Shahdat-e-al Hikma (February, 2003).

Similarly, the Government constituted the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on March 25, 2010, and subsequently, ICT-2 on March 22, 2012, with the objective of bringing the perpetrators of War Crimes of 1971 to justice. There is a critical overlap between the leadership involved in the 1971 War Crimes and the radical Islamist leadership of the country today. So far, the two ICTs have indicted 53 leaders, including 36 from Jama'at-e-Islami (JeI), six from the Muslim League (ML), five from Nezam-e-Islami (NeI), four from BNP and two from the Jatiya Party (JP). Verdicts against 26 of these indicted leaders have already been delivered – 19 were awarded the death sentence while the remaining seven received life sentences. Four of the 19 who received the death sentence have already been executed, while 13 others cases are currently pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Unsurprisingly, these initiatives have sparked major turmoil and violence in the country. According to partial data compiled by ICM, since the formation of ICT-1 (as mentioned above), at least 511 people, including 286 civilians, 29 SF personnel and 196 extremists have been killed, principally in acts of terror targeting civilians, or in street violence (data till April 3, 2016). However, the Government has decided not to give up and has reiterated that the trials will continue. On December 14, 2015, Sheikh Hasina stated, "There is no power in the world which will be able to halt the continuous war crimes trial...The conspiracy of the cohorts of the Pakistani occupation forces is going on in the country and it would continue."

Bangladesh is not only a country for Sunni Muslims. It is also homeland to Shias, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, atheists and agnostics. The very foundation of the country was built on the edifice of cultural protest, justice and secular thinking. Bangladesh's 1971 Constitution originally declared that all religions were equal in the eyes of the state.

However, military ruler Hussain Mohammad Ershad, with the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution in 1988, pronounced Islam the state religion, against the original and secular nature of the Constitution. The Amendment not only made Islam the state religion but also allowed religion-based politics, which enabled the JeI and other religious parties to return to the position of power that had been denied to them under the 1972 Constitution.

In June 2011, following the 15th Constitutional Amendment, Sheikh Hasina’s incumbent Government reinstated the principle of secularism. However, in a volte face on her declared position, she also reaffirmed Islam as the state religion, and thus preserved the changes made to the Constitution in 2007 by the Provisional Government led by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed.

In the meantime, in a major step in order to increase Police capability to combat militancy and terrorism, a new Police Division, the CTTC unit under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, consisting of 600 personnel, was formed in December 2015. This Police unit, which also deals with terror financing, and mobile bank related and cyber crimes, started functioning from February 2016. Earlier, on December 15, 2015, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam stated that Bangladesh has decided to join a Saudi Arabian initiative to set up "Counter-Terrorism Centre" along with other Muslim countries to fight terrorism and extremist ideology.

Nevertheless, secular thinking remains under constant threat from ultra-rightist religious fanatics in Bangladesh. Though, legal action to drop Islam as Bangladesh's state religion has been revived and the Dhaka High Court agreed to hear the case on March 27, 2016, the petition was rejected. The three-member panel of judges said in its ruling that the petitioners had “no locus standi” and could not demonstrate that they had been harmed by the law they were seeking to challenge. Islamists, including JeI and Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) cadres, had called for a general strike on March 28, 2016, to protest the legal challenge, but withdrew the call after the High Court dismissed the petition following a brief hearing.

Bangladesh has been proactive in curbing terror in whole, demonstrating the commitment of Sheikh Hasina and her Government in correcting past wrongs. Despite strong opposition and disruptive activities of rightist elements, the state has maintained its goal of uprooting violence and terrorism. The threat of extremism persists, of course, and the decades of unchallenged radicalization have left behind a very large pool of extremists within the population.  Enormous and enduring efforts will be required to reverse the impact of this long and perverse process – but the reassertion of reason is certainly well begun.

INDIA
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Northeast: Widening Tranquility
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

Peace prevailed over much of India’s Northeast through 2015, with 62 civilian fatalities in the year, as against 245 such fatalities recorded in 2014. Fatalities had been rising since 2011, with 79 civilians killed in the year, as against 77 in 2010; rising to 90 in 2012 and further to 95 in 2013.

More importantly, the 62 civilian fatalities registered in 2015 are the lowest in the region since 1992, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database [SATP data for the region is available only since 1992]. The previous lowest was 77 recorded in 2010. Notably, at the peak of the multiple insurgencies in the region, 946 civilian fatalities were recorded in 2000.

The region comprises eight states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. Barring Sikkim which has had no insurgency in its history, all others have seen enduring movements of armed violence, though their intensity and dispersal have varied across these States and across time. Significantly, while civilian fatalities were recorded across all seven States through 2014, 2015 saw no such fatalities in two States – Tripura and Mizoram. Among the States from where fatalities were reported in 2015, except Nagaland which registered a marginal increase, from 11 in 2014 to 14, all the other States registered a fall in civilian fatalities. Assam recorded the largest dip, with just 10 such fatalities in 2015, as against 184 in 2014.

Overall fatalities in the region also declined from 465 [245 civilians, 23 Security Forces (SFs) personnel, 197 militants] in 2014, to 273 [62 civilians, 49 SFs personnel, 162 militants] in 2015, a drop of 41.29 per cent. At the peak of the insurgencies, the region recorded 1,696 fatalities in 2000. So far in 2016 (data till April 3), the Northeast has recorded 39 fatalities (10 civilians and 29 militants).    

The number of districts from where fatalities were reported in 2015 stood at 40, as against 47 in 2014. The seven troubled States of the Northeast (excluding Sikkim) have a total of 87 Districts. 

Other parameters of violence also witnessed improvements. As against 31 major incidents (involving three or more fatalities) resulting in 229 deaths in 2014, there were 16 such incidents resulting in 82 deaths in 2015. The number of explosions and resultant fatalities also recorded a decline, from 102 incidents and 24 killed in 2014, to 74 incidents and 11 killed in 2015. 

SF operations yielded a kill ratio of 1:2.16 against militants in 2015, significantly worse than 2014, when it stood at 1:7.65. As operations intensified, the militants have pushed back against the SFs in 2015. In 2016, thus far (data till April 3), SFs have eliminated 29 militants without suffering a single loss, suggesting that the adverse trend in 2015 has been reversed. [SFs had killed 176 militants out of 197 killed in 2014; while 21 were killed in factional clashes. Similarly, out of 162 militants killed in 2015, 56 were killed in factional clashes while SFs eliminated 106].

Nevertheless, numerous challenges remain before lasting peace can be established in this troubled region, which has witnessed cyclic surges and recessions in levels of violence over decades. Never since 1992 have overall fatalities registered decline, on year on year basis, for more than three consecutive years. This positive trend was achieved twice – between 2004 and 2006; and between 2009 and 2011. Fatalities then increased for five consecutive years between 1993 and 1997, the longest span of continuous increase in fatalities.

The region remains home to 13 of the 39 terrorist formations banned by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) as on March 30, 2015. According to the SATP database, apart from these 13 major terror outfits, 30 other groups remain active in the region. In addition, 23 terror groups/conglomerates are presently in peace talks or have signed ceasefire agreements with respective State and the Union Governments. In the meantime, on March 21, 2016, Union Home Minister (UHM) Rajnath Singh reiterated, "We are ready for talks with anyone who gives up violence. I appeal to everyone to shun violence.”

Significantly, a ‘historic accord’ was signed between the Government of India (GoI) and the largest rebel Naga group, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland–Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) on August 3, 2015. While few details of the actual contents of the agreement are available, the Centre’s principal interlocutor R.N. Ravi had then clarified that the ‘accord’ was, in fact, a “framework agreement” that spelled out the terms of a “final settlement”. Though subsequent reports suggested that such a final settlement would be worked out within three months, more than seven months have passed and no timeframe has yet been scheduled. However, NSCN-IM and GoI decided on January 20, 2016, to speed up the peace process by holding 'formal talks' twice a week.

There have, however, been instances in the past when terror outfits in the region have abrogated ceasefire agreements and rejoined militancy. Most recently, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) on March 27, 2015, unilaterally abrogated a ceasefire that had endured since April 2001. Subsequently, the Union Government also called off its agreement with NSCN-K through a statement released on April 28, 2015. NSCN-K had signed the ceasefire agreement with the Central Government on April 28, 2001, and this had since been extended annually. Since abrogating the ceasefire, the NSCN-K has been confirmed to have been involved in the killing of seven civilians and nine SF personnel in Nagaland.

It is noteworthy that after being successfully targeted by the SFs in a protracted campaign, most of the major terror outfits operating in the region have moved their leadership to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. They operate out of ‘safe havens’ in these countries, from where they have established training camps, and from where they help their cadres smuggle arms and ammunition, and mount attacks on Indian soil. Though the Indian Government has been able to get vital support from countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar from time to time, helping reduce the menace, several training camps still exist in these countries and these remain a worry. Not surprisingly, on March 21, 2016, UHM Rajnath Singh asserted, "We are trying to ensure border security through all possible means and to curb cross-border terrorism in the region. We (the Central Government) will discuss with Chief Ministers of the northeastern States to check the smuggling of arms from across the international border and to other States in the country. Whatever assistance is required from the Central Government would be provided to all the State Governments."

Significantly, Mukul Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, one of the States in the region, expressing concern on the easy availability of arms had noted, on March 11, 2016, “There are pockets in the region (Northeast) where arms are easily available. There are too many guns available at throwaway prices."

Moreover, facing the heat from SFs, the militants in the region have come together in an attempt to form a united platform. On April 17, 2015, NSCN-K joined hands with three of the most active terror outfits in the Northeast: the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I); IK Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS); and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), to form the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWESEA). The UNLFWESEA headed by S.S. Khaplang was formed with the aim to set up a ‘northeast government-in-exile’, reportedly to be based in Myanmar. The CorCom [Coordination Committee], a conglomerate of six Manipur Valley-based militant outfits – the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), its Progressive faction (PREPAK-Pro), Revolutionary People's Front (RPF, the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army– PLA), and United National Liberation Front (UNLF) – have also reportedly extended ‘moral support’ to the Front and agreed to take part in joint operations against ‘common enemies’. CorCom was formed in July 2011 with seven members but, in a Press Release issued on February 1, 2013, stated that it has expelled the United Peoples Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) from its membership.

According to a March 23, 2016, report, the Assam Police disclosed, through a Press Statement, “On March 8, a group of UNLFWSEA [UNLFWESEA] and some other extremist organisations entered Upper Dihing Reserve Forest, Tinsukia. The group was a conglomerate of ULFA (I), PLA [Peoples’ Liberation Army], KYKL [Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup], NSCN (K).” Their initial target was to attack SFs in Upper Assam on March 16, 2016, ULFA’s ‘Raising Day’.

UMHA has also expressed concern over the Communist Party of India-Maoist’s (CPI-Maoist) attempts to expand their base in the region. UHM Rajnath Singh, on March 22, 2016, thus observed, while addressing Assam Rifles troopers on their 181st Raising Day celebrations in Meghalaya, "We have got information that in some parts of the Northeast, Maoists are trying expand their roots. We have to check this, and I believe you can demoralise their courage (sic)." Interestingly, none of the 87 Districts of the seven insurgency affected States in the region feature in the list of 106 districts declared Maoist-affected by the UMHA as of March 1, 2016. In the last such detailed list which was released in 2012, thirteen Districts across three States in the Northeast (Assam-10, Tripura-2, and Arunachal Pradesh 1) were listed as Maoist-affected. 182 districts (including the 13 in the Northeast) had been declared Maoist-affected in the 2012 list.

Meanwhile, residual State specific threats persist in all the seven affected States: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. For instance, the issue of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) continued to trouble Manipur through 2015, with 10 people killed in the related stir. Manipur was the worst affected State in the region in terms of insurgency related fatalities through 2015, accounting for 94 deaths.   

SFs have helped attain relative peace in the region and are expected to tackle the residual challenges as well. However, for an enduring peace to be established in the region, it is imperative for the Central Government to work in unison with the respective State Governments to accelerate developmental projects in the region to narrow down the economic disparity which has emerged because of years of neglect on the part of successive regimes.  On March 3, 2016, Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh disclosed, “The budgetary allocation for the Ministry of DoNER has been increased from Rs 2,334.50 crore last year to Rs 2,400 crore this year. A budget of Rs 33,097.02 crore has been allocated for the Northeast across 56 ministries, which is 14 per cent higher than the budget estimate of Rs 29,087.93 crore for the previous year.”

Fund allocation, however, is only a very small part of the problem. Despite generous Central allocations, States in the region have – with the exception of Tripura – been non-performers, and their administrations deeply eroded by corruption, neglect and politicization.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
March 28-April 3, 2016

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
4
4

Left-Wing Extremism

 

Chhattisgarh

0
7
3
10

Maharashtra

2
0
0
2

Total (INDIA)

2
7
7
16

PAKISTAN

 

FATA

1
0
0
1

KP

5
0
0
5

Punjab

2
0
10
12

Sindh

0
1
3
4

Total (PAKISTAN)

8
1
13
22
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

US now accepts JeI as a terrorist organization, says State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam following a meeting with a delegation of United States (US) diplomats on March 31 said that US now accepts Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) as a terrorist organization. The Minister told, "The US now understands that Jamaat-e-Islami is a terrorist organization, even though they were slow on the uptake." Dhaka Tribune, April 2, 2016.

There is no room for terrorism and militancy in Islam, says BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia while addressing a programme of Islami Oikya Jote in Dhaka city on March 31 said that there is no room for terrorism and militancy in Islam. Mentioning that Islam is a religion of peace, she said: "There is no place for militancy and terrorism in Islam. However, a vested quarter is running militant activities in the country in the name of our religion. Please stay alert and keep the common people away from such activities." Dhaka Tribune, April 1, 2016.

20 militant outfits are trying to recruit documented as well as undocumented Rohingyas living in Districts of Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar and Bandarban, says Intelligence report: Intelligence report said that 20 militant outfits are trying to recruit documented as well as undocumented Rohingyas living in the Districts of Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar and Bandarban. The report said that the militant groups named their alliance as Hilful Fuzul Al Islam Al Bangladesh to recruit the Rohigiyas. The recruitment drives are carried out by leaders of local and foreign militant groups. The outfits exploit the helplessness of the refugees from Myanmar. New Age, March 30, 2016.

High Court rejects writ challenging legality of Constitutional provision recognizing Islam as state religion of Bangladesh: The High Court on March 28 rejected the writ challenging the legality of a Constitutional provision recognizing Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh. The bench of Justice Naima Haider, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohamad Ashraful Kamal summarily rejected the 28-year-old petition, saying the petitioners have no jurisdiction to move such a petition. Dhaka Tribune, March 19, 2016.


INDIA

FICN enters Mumbai through illegal Bangladeshi migrants, according to Mumbai Police: The trail of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) entering Mumbai has led the Police to new players, illegal Bangladeshi migrants working as construction labourers and house help. According to sources, the porous international border in West Bengal's Malda District is the main route for smuggling FICN into the country. Illegal migrants, Police claimed, visit their villages in Bangladesh frequently and carry fake currency notes on their way back into the city, which they eventually spend in the city. Hindustan Times, April 1, 2016.

Pakistan acknowledges Pathankot Attack originated from its soil, says UHM Rajnath Singh: Union Home Minister (UHM) Rajnath Singh on March 30 said Pakistan has for the first time acknowledged that the terror attack in Pathankot had its roots in that country. Singh said Pakistan had been continuously saying that it has no involvement in militant and terror activities in India. He said, however, now Pakistan has acknowledged the fact that Pathankot attack (January 2, 2016) originated from its soil and filed a First Information Report (FIR). The Indian Express, March 31, 2016.


NEPAL

UDMF directs its constituents to prepare for another movement to begin from mid-April: Democratic Madheshi Front (UDMF) on March 31 directed its constituents to prepare for another movement to begin from mid-April. According to spokesperson for National Madhes Socialist Party (NMSP) Keshav Jha, the UDMF will wait and see till mid-April. If the major parties and the Government do not address the demands of the front, then agitating forces will start their protests in the third week of April. "This time we will launch protests in all the regions and they will be decisive," Jha said. Himalayan Times, April 1, 2016.

TRC unveils plan to complete investigation into conflict-era human rights violation cases within a year: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on March 30 unveiled its plan to complete investigation into conflict-era human rights violation cases within a year. During a meeting of Social Justice and Human Rights Committee of the Parliament, TRC Chairman Surya Kiran Gurung presented a plan of action, stating that the transitional justice mechanism would submit its final report to the government by early February 2017. Himalayan Times, March 31, 2016.


PAKISTAN

252 militants killed; 640 square kilometers of area cleared in Shawal Valley so far in the last phase of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, says Army: Since the last phase of Operation Zarb-e-Azb kicked off on February 27, at least 252 militants have been killed and 160 severely injured, while Security Forces (SFs) have cleared 640 square kilometres of so far uncontrolled area in Shawal Valley of North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on April 3. Major terrorist hubs in Mana, Gurbaz, Lataka, Inzarkas and Magrotai areas have been cleared of militants, the ISPR said. Daily Times, April 4, 2016.

92 militants killed during last four months, says Provincial Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti: Security Forces (SFs) have killed 92 militants, including a key 'commander', and have conducted 417 targeted operations in the province during the last four months, said Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti on April 1. "Security forces in the province have also seized more than 10,000 kilograms of explosives and other arms and ammunition," said Bugti. He added that during the last four months, 22 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel have been killed and 65 others have been injured. Dawn, April 2, 2016.

'We have arrived in Punjab', JTTP-JuA warns Government: Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA), the breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on March 29 warned the Government that the Lahore terror attack was a "message" to the Government about their "arrival" in Punjab. "Also, this is a message to the Pakistani Prime Minister that we have arrived in Punjab," the group's spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said. The spokesman even taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war." Times of India, March 30, 2016.


SRI LANKA

PDP, PLOTE and EPRLF were answerable for missing persons, says Commissioner for Missing persons Maxwell Paranagama: Commissioner for Missing persons Maxwell Paranagama while replying to questions by the media at the conclusion of the inquiries of the Commission held at Vavuniya District said that Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) were answerable for missing persons. Daily News, April 2, 2016.


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.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

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Editor
Dr. Ajai Sahni


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