| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 8, No. 42, April 26, 2010
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
|
War of
the Sects
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
As
terrorism thrives, sectarianism emboldens its spirit
in Pakistan’s chaotic state.
On April
19, 2010, a 14-year old suicide bomber walked into a
crowd, mainly comprising Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) demonstrators
protesting ‘load shedding’, at the bustling Qissa Khwani
Bazaar of Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
(KP, formerly the North West Frontier Province, NWFP).
23 persons, were killed, including three Police personnel,
JeI city Naib (deputy) Ameer Dost Muhammad and
JeI Dir-Bajaur Qaumi Jirga (community council)
Chairman Ghausur Rehman. While most of the victims were
Sunni, the Police said the target of the child-bomber
was Peshawar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gulfat
Hussain, a Shia.
This
was not the first instance when a senior officer belonging
to a rival sect was targeted by sectarian extremists.
In the last such instance, on January 14, 2009, unidentified
assailants killed four Policemen, including a Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a shootout in Quetta,
capital of Balochistan. Three of the murdered Policemen
belonged to the Hazara community and were Shia. "It
was a target killing and Police officers belonging to
the Hazara tribe were targeted," an unnamed senior Police
officer had then confirmed. The Sunni militant group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)
had then claimed responsibility.
The
April 19 incident was just another link in an incessant
succession of sectarian killings in Pakistan. Earlier,
on April 17, 2010, two burqa (veil)-clad suicide bombers
targeted a crowd of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),
waiting to register and receive relief goods, at the
Kacha Pakka IDP camp on the outskirts of Kohat in KP.
44 persons were killed and more than 70 were injured.
The LeJ’s Al-Aalmi faction claimed responsibility for
the bombings and cited the presence of Shias at the
IDP camp as the reason for the attack. On April 16,
a suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack inside
the Civil Hospital in Quetta, killing 11 persons, including
two DSPs, and injuring 35 others. According to reports,
unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle first killed
Ashraf Zaidi, the son of the chief of the Shia Conference,
Balochistan. As a number of sympathizers and onlookers
gathered at the Hospital, where the body was brought,
a suicide bomber struck.
Sectarian
attacks ordinarily spike during the religious months
and festivals, and attacks on religious processions
and congregations have become commonplace in the daily
lives of the people. Nevertheless, data on sectarian
incidents over the past
years, demonstrates that the sectarian
rivalry is not limited to these periods alone, and can
erupt anywhere, at any point of time. 2010 has already
witnessed 12 sectarian attacks, among which the most
significant incidents include:
March
5: 12 persons, including four women, were killed and
33 were injured when a suicide bomber targeted a Parachinar-bound
civilian convoy carrying Shia passengers in the Tull
area of Hangu in KP. "The target was a Shia convoy.
This is sectarian violence," Kohat Division Commissioner
Khalid Umarzai confirmed.
March
1: Seven people were killed and 44 were injured in sectarian
violence in the Dera Ismail Khan area of KP. "All
the dead are Sunnis, there are some Shias among the
injured," District Police Chief Gul Afzal Afridi
disclosed.
Sectarian
Violence in Pakistan: 2002-2010
Year
|
Incidents
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
2010*
|
12
|
116
|
272
|
2009
|
106
|
190
|
398
|
2008
|
97
|
306
|
505
|
2007
|
341
|
441
|
630
|
2006
|
38
|
201
|
349
|
2005
|
62
|
160
|
354
|
2004
|
19
|
187
|
619
|
2003
|
22
|
102
|
103
|
2002
|
63
|
121
|
257
|
*Data
till April 23, 2010
Source:
South Asia Terrorism Portal [Since media access is heavily
restricted in the conflict areas of Pakistan, and there
is only fitful release of information by Government
agencies, the actual figures could be much higher]
Incidents
and casualties in the first four months of 2010 are
indicative of an increasing lethality of attacks. While
190 killings and 272 injuries were recorded in a total
of 106 incidents in 2009, 2010 has already seen 116
killings and 272 injuries in just 12 incidents.
Among
the primary targets of this sectarian violence are places
of worship of the rival sects. The data reflects an
year to year increase in incidents targeting places
of worship, with the exception of years 2005 and 2006.
Sectarian
attacks on Mosque in Pakistan
Year
|
Incidents
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
2010*
|
1
|
30
|
110
|
2009
|
17
|
277
|
671
|
2008
|
12
|
100
|
248
|
2007
|
6
|
85
|
156
|
2006
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2005
|
4
|
35
|
123
|
2004
|
7
|
88
|
272
|
2003
|
4
|
65
|
69
|
2002
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
*Data
till April 23, 2010
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
Another
soft target of this chronic animosity has been the religious
leadership of the respective sects, in a tit-for-tat
sequence that never ends. While earlier incidents were
restricted to mob violence or grenade attacks, these
have now overwhelmingly been replaced by suicide bombers
targeting religious processions and rallies. In just
the first four months of 2010, the following attacks
targeting rival religious leaders have been recorded:
March
11: The noted religious leader and chief of the Aalmi
Majlis-e-Tahafuza-e-Khatam-e-Naboowat (AMTKN), Mufti
Saeed Jalalpuri, was shot dead along with three associates
in Karachi.
An attempt
was also made on Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, a leader
of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP),
in which he was injured, while his son was killed.
February
22: A prominent member of the Shia community, Dr. Syed
Saqlain Haider Kazmi, was shot dead while his friend
sustained injuries when unidentified assailants opened
fire on them in the Yakatoot area of Peshawar.
January
5: An Ahmadi leader, Muhammad Yousaf (70), was shot
dead in the Ferozewala Police Station area of Karachi.
The family of Muhammad Yousaf, leader of the Ahmadi
community in Ferozewala, alleged that unidentified persons
killed him because he demanded that the Police act against
groups creating religious strife in the area.
The primary
player in the sectarian violence is the LeJ, which was
formed in 1996. The LeJ aims to transform Pakistan into
a Sunni state, primarily through violence. Muhammad
Ajmal alias Akram Lahori is the present Saalar-i-Aala
(‘Commander-in-Chief’) of the LeJ. Lahori has been in
Police custody since his arrest from Orangi Town in
Karachi on June 17, 2002. Although Lahori officially
remains the LeJ chief, Qari Mohammad Zafar is now believed
to be the tactical ‘commander’, while operational command
is understood to have moved to middle ranking leaders.
Worryingly, despite several ‘crackdowns’ by security
agencies and the arrest of some 20 high profile cadres
in 2009, the LeJ organisation appears to retain enormous
capacities for violence.
The
April 16, 2010, attack at the Civil Hospital at Quetta,
moreover, demonstrates that the LeJ is now adopting
patterns of multiple and coordinated attacks long used
by the Taliban and al Qaeda. LeJ’s links with these
groups have been of long standing, and a sharing of
operational and training resources is now evident, something
that does not augur well for the authorities in Islamabad.
The Government
has acknowledged these risks. On March 17, Interior
Minister Rehman Malik said that a ‘decisive operation’
would be launched against banned sectarian outfits if
they did not refrain from carrying out terrorist attacks
in the country. Malik claimed that the defunct SSP and
theLeJ were behind 90 per cent of the terrorist attacks
in Punjab.
Despite
the eyewash of a crackdown and some arrests, however,
no sustained effort to dismantle the sectarian groups,
particularly the Sunni formations that have powerful
links with the religious parties and the Pakistani establishment,
is visible. Indeed, the impulse of sectarianism is deeply
rooted in Pakistan’s society and structure of power,
and extremist violence manifests an entrenched social
divide. Unless Pakistan’s political wellsprings are
cleansed of extremist ideologies, their manifestation
in militancy and violence cannot be contained.
|
Beyond
Triumphalism
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
The
opportunities of the nascent peace in Sri Lanka have never
been as great as they now are, since the emergence of
the now-defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
in 1976, nor have the mandarins in Colombo ever been as
empowered to realize these.
President
Mahinda Rajapakse, after engineering the military
defeat of the LTTE in May 2009,
secured landslide victory in the January 2010 Presidential
Elections. He has now led the
United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to a sweeping
victory in the Parliamentary Elections held of April 8,
2010. Rajapakse is now clearly in a position where he
can implement his ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ (‘Mahinda thought’)
in toto to secure the ‘lasting solution’ that he
has long promised, to bring the ‘ethnic problem’ that
corroded the Sri Lankan spirit for almost 34 years to
an end.
The
UPFA has won 144 seats in the 225-member Parliament, obtaining
4,846,388 (60.33 per cent) of the total of 8,630,689 votes
polled. The UPFA won 127 ‘District-basis’ seats along
with 17 ‘National-basis’ seats, while the main Opposition
party, the United National Party (UNP), secured 60 seats,
including 51 ‘District-basis’ and nine ‘National-basis’
seats. The UNP obtained 2,357,057 (29.34 per cent) of
the votes polled. The Democratic National Alliance (DNA),
a coalition of which the main Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi
Perumana (JVP) is the major constituent, and which backed
the candidacy of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka,
polled 441,251 votes (5.49 per cent), winning seven seats
– five District-basis seats and two National-basis seats.
Fonseka, who contested while in military custody and facing
charges of corruption and politicising the military, won
from the Colombo District. The Tamil National Alliance
(TNA), the main political party representing the minority
Tamil community, won 14 seats – 13 District-basis seats
and one National-basis seat – securing 233,190 (2.90 per
cent) of votes polled.
[The 15th
Amendment to the Constitution introduced Article 99A,
which provides for 29 members to be declared elected on
the basis of the total number of votes polled by the respective
political parties or independent groups at the national
level (the National List).]
Earlier,
President Rajapakse, using an alleged "coup
attempt" as a pretext,
dissolved Parliament with effect from midnight of February
9, 2010, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Article
70 of the Constitution. The General Elections were then
called two months ahead of schedule.
The new
Parliament met on April 22, 2010. On April 23, President
Rajapakse appointed D.M. Jayaratne as the new Prime Minister
of Sri Lanka. The former Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wicremanayake,
has been inducted into the 76 member Ministry with the
portfolio of State Management and Reforms.
The elections
saw a relatively low voter turnout. Of over 14 million
eligible voters, only 61.26 per cent exercised their franchise,
a huge drop from more than the 74 per cent who voted during
the last General Elections in 2004. The Presidential election
held on January 26, 2010, had also recorded a 74.49 per
cent vote. Keerthi Thenakoon, the head of the Centre for
Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), observed, "The Presidential
Election was much more intense. There was more interest
on the part of the voters as well. Maybe the people had
lost interest." Several commentators have interpreted
declining turnouts as an index of ‘weakening democracy’.
Notably, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who led the UNP soon after
the elections, argued that the decision of nearly 45 per
cent of the electorate not to vote was a clear reflection
of the people’s disillusionment with the electoral system.
UPFA member Dullas Alahapperuma, however, argued, "There
was peace in the country and the winner was very clear.
That may be the reason why we did not see many voting."
Another
possible reason for voter apathy was election fatigue.
Since May 2008, when the first election was held to the
Eastern Provincial Council, the country has witnessed
elections in every nook and corner. Notably, since the
2008 Eastern Provincial Council election, there have been
Local Authorities Elections in Batticaloa District (except
for the Kaththankudi Urban Council where elections were
held in 2006) and Provincial Council Elections in North
Central Province and Sabaragamuwa Province. In 2009 local
authorities elections were held for the Jaffna Municipal
Council and Vavuniya Urban Council, while Provincial Council
Elections were conducted in Southern Province, Uva Province,
Western Province and Central & North Western Province.
All these were capped by the Presidential Election, billed
as the mother of all elections.
The ‘weakening
democracy’ argument, consequently, has limited relevance,
and is more a reflection of frustration at the Opposition’s
rout, rather than an objective index of the ground situation.
Election observers, moreover, concluded that polling was
conducted in a free and fair manner. "Polling on Election
Day took place in a generally uneventful manner, except
for a few significant incidents," People’s Action for
Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) noted. The Centre for
Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) added, further, "We
conclude that despite this (random incidents of intimidation
and rigging), the overall result does reflect the will
of the electorate." Both groups did note incidents
of vote-rigging and intimidation, and CMEV stated, "We
wish to record our deep concern about incidents in which
polling agents were evicted from polling stations, sometimes
forcefully. Furthermore, there were cases of voter obstruction
and alleged attempts to rig the results." The Elections
Commissioner had delayed issuing the results of the vote
in 45 seats, where the worst incidents were reported.
This is
in significant contrast to the Presidential Elections
held in January 2010. PAFFREL, one of the two accredited
election monitoring groups, had then received reports
of 224 violent incidents. Between December 17, 2009, and
January 11, 2010, the group received reports of 50 assaults,
8 shootings and 11 incidents of threat and intimidation.
CAFFE reported 259 election violations between August
15, 2009 and January 11, 2010, including 49 cases of assault
and 74 incidents of election law violation. The number
of poll-related deaths during the Presidential elections
was reported to be four.
But there
is little sign of political reconciliation in the country
and, worryingly, the Government itself is more or less
to blame for this. Significantly, political violence continued
for long after the Presidential Election, mostly directed
against Opposition parties as part of a broader Government
crackdown against supporters of the defeated opposition
candidate, General Sarath Fonseka. On January 31, the
CMEV reported that it had recorded 85 complaints of post-election
violence, of which a clear majority (50) were made against
the ruling UPFA, confirming a resort to a pattern of unwarranted
vendetta politics by the victors in the electoral contest.
The electoral
outcome also suggests that any solution to the ethnic
divide in the country will become more elusive. The TNA
secured the support of the majority in the Tamil-dominated
East and North Provinces, and now claims to be the ‘true
representative’ of the Tamils in these regions. The TNA
manifesto had prominently included the following demands:
-
There
must be meaningful de-militarization resulting in
the return to the pre-war situation as it existed
in 1983 by the removal of armed forces, military apparatuses
and High Security Zones from the Northern and Eastern
Provinces
-
Tamil
People who have been displaced in the North and East
due to the conflict must be speedily resettled in
their original places; housing provided, their livelihoods
restored and their dignity respected
-
Persons
who are detained without charges must be released
promptly and a general amnesty should be granted to
the others, as an initial step towards national reconciliation
-
Tamils
who fled the country over the last 30 years also must
be permitted to return to their homes and a conducive
atmosphere for same created for their return.
On power
sharing, the TNA manifesto stated:
-
The
Tamil People are entitled to the right of self determination
-
Power
sharing arrangements must be established in a unit
of merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on
a Federal structure, in a manner also acceptable to
the Tamil Speaking Muslim people.
-
Devolution
of powers should be over land, law and order, socioeconomic
development including health and education, resources
and fiscal powers
Most
of this is irreconcilable with President Rajapakse’s party
manifesto, which reiterated a commitment to a unitary
State and included the declaration:
As
in the Eastern Province, Provincial Council Elections
will be held in the Northern Province within a short
period of time to establish democracy. Thereby new
representatives will be included in the All Party
Conference and I believe that this would be a forum
to arrive at a true national concurrence…. After
several decades, we are new able to function as
one country under one law. At this Presidential
Election Campaign, I have decided to place my views
frankly before the country so that we can engage
in an open and intellectual discourse regarding
a new Constitution… We now have experience regarding
the Provincial Council system… However, it is an
intrinsic part of the Constitution through the 13th
Amendment and is a functional system. I am in favour
of an open discussion on the Amendment to the Provincial
Council System…. What we need is not a divided system
but a system that will establish the unitary state….
|
Rajapakse
clearly concedes the possibilities of a constitutional
change to secure an enduring solution, but within clearly
defined limits. The UPFA is a mere six short of a 2/3rd
majority required for passing Amendments to the Constitution.
The TNA has already hinted that it is more than willing
to cooperate with the Government, if the latter shows
the necessary political will and understanding to reach
out to the Tamil people. The TNA has promised to cooperate
with the President to find an ‘equitable solution’ for
the minority question within the framework of a united
Sri Lanka, and is in a position to provide the numbers
the ruling combine needs for necessary constitutional
changes. Nevertheless, the contours of such a solution
do contain polarizing elements and may obstruct a workable
relation between the UPFA and TNA, though the potential
obstacles are not insurmountable. The TNA’s insistence
on a re-merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces is,
for instance, an obvious glitch; but there is no reason
to presume that the TNA will remain adamant on this if
a wider political package contains other provisions that
are sufficiently attractive enough. If both the UPFA and
the TNA approach the issue of resolving ethnic strife
with a measure of sincerity, the outcome of the General
Elections gives them ample opportunities to cooperate.
Crucially,
the defeat of the ultra-nationalist Sinhala majoritarian
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the JVP-led DNF coalition
signals that the majority of the southern population has
come to reject Sinhala extremism, removing some of the
most obstinate barriers to a lasting solution.
There
is also some awareness within the ruling coalition that
the LTTE’s defeat and the UPFA’s electoral victories are
not a sufficient grounds to believe that the country’s
trouble’s are over. Defence Secretary Gothabhya Rajapakse
noted during the election campaigns that, although terrorism
had been eradicated, some terrorism-related elements,
including several non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
remained committed to creating a separate Tamil State.
He warned that the hard won peace should not be taken
for granted, and that it would be necessary to reach out
to every section of the nation in general, and the Tamils
in particular, to search for the most viable solution.
The
President’s immediate response to the outcome of the Parliamentary
elections has been encouraging. Soon after the triumph
he declared,
The
assured majority in Parliament given by the voters
encourages the Government to proceed with its policies
for the strengthening of peace and reconciliation,
reconstruction, greater infrastructure development,
increased investment in identified areas of growth,
and the overall development of the country to make
it the centre of economic and social progress in
South Asia.
|
The role
of the international community will be crucial in the
months to come. UPFA senior leader Dullas Alahapperuma
argues, "There has never been such a large victory, the
people have spoken. The international community should
respect the verdict and support government policies."
Sri
Lanka’s fractious past, however, continues to cast menacing
shadows across the country, and the conduct of the political
leadership of all hues has given at least some cause for
apprehension. Crucially, any failure or loss of faith
at this juncture will prove disastrous. Both Colombo and
the international communities must be conscious of the
promises of the present moment and the unacceptable costs
of undermining the opportunity to resolve, fully and finally,
one of South Asia;s longest and fiercest conflicts.
|
Weekly
Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
April 19-25,
2010
|
Civilian
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorist/Insurgent
|
Total
|
Bangladesh
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
Manipur
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Punjab
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
West Bengal
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
Total
(INDIA)
|
12
|
3
|
6
|
21
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
FATA
|
6
|
9
|
85
|
100
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa*
|
25
|
9
|
5
|
39
|
Punjab
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
Sindh
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total
(PAKISTAN)
|
31
|
27
|
91
|
149
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
* On April 15, 2010, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed
the Bill changing the name of the North West Frontier Province
to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
|
INDIA
Two
LeT militants and two Policemen killed in Punjab: Two
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a Pakistani,
were shot dead by Punjab Police in the morning of April
25 at village Rattarwaha in the Gurdaspur District, bordering
Kathua District in Jammu and Kashmir. Two Punjab Police
personnel were killed and four others injured in the operation.
In the morning of April 19, the militants had infiltrated
into the Indian side from Bamial sector on the International
Border in Gurdaspur sector, after Pakistan Rangers had
blasted fencing in a 400 meters area by firing rockets.
Unconfirmed reports said that some Punjab militants had
also intruded along with the Lashkar militants as literature
of ‘Dashmesh Regiment’ of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF)
was recovered from the site of intrusion, indicating that
a nexus between the two militant outfits still existed.
Daily
Excelsior, April1 24-26, 2010.
Death
sentence for three militants in 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb
blast case: A Delhi court,
on April 22, awarded the death penalty to three of the
six cadres of the banned militant outfit, Jammu Kashmir
Islamic Front (JKIF), who had been convicted of involvement
in the May 21, 1996, Lajpat Nagar bomb blast, in which
13 people were killed. Mohammad Naushad, Mohammad Ali
Bhatt and Mirza Nissar Hussain were the ones who were
awarded the death sentence, while an accomplice, Javed
Ahmed Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The four
were convicted on April 8, 2010, for murder, conspiracy
and attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code. The
other two, Farooq Ahmed Khan and his woman accomplice
Farida Dar, who had been held guilty of minor offences
under the Explosive Substances Act and the Arms Act, were
sentenced to imprisonment for seven years, and four years
and two months, respectively.
The
Hindu,
April1 23, 2010.
Railway
lost INR 5 billion as Naxal attacks doubled in 2009, says
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee: Railway
Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha
(Upper House of Parliament) on April 23, that incidents
of Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) attacks on railway property
nearly doubled to 58 in 2009, from 30 in 2008, and the
Indian Railways lost over INR 5 billion due to disruptions
by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). 56
incidents were reported in 2007, she added.
Times of India, April 24, 2010.
Lashkar-e-Toiba
has proven links with ISI, says former NSA M. K. Narayanan:
West Bengal Governor and
former National Security Adviser (NSA) M. K. Narayanan
on April 21 said that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has "proven
links" with the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI). "The LeT is linked to the ISI, these links are
well-proven. There is a specified section of the ISI to
oversee covert operations of the LeT, which has networks
in 21 countries, including Australia, North America, Europe
and Asia," Narayanan said.
The
Hindu,
April1 22, 2010.
LeT
a threat to US, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, says
US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs: Asserting
that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is a threat not only to India
and America but also to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Assistant
Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P. J. Crowley said,
counter-terrorism is the central pillar of US strategic
dialogues with all these countries.
PTI
News, April 23, 2010.
Jammu
and Kashmir militants recruit more women cadres, indicates
report: Militants in Jammu and Kashmir are recruiting
more and more women, a secret Police document accessed
by Daily News & Analysis has shown. Recruiting
women has its advantages, according to the report, which
says, "Getting women convicted under preventive detention
is a distant dream. For example, one woman was caught
transferring terrorist money and grenades, but was let
off on bail after Sopore witnessed law and order problems."
Society, too, doesn’t look kindly on women being held
for terrorist activities. Also, the militants have started
using upgraded technology.
DNA
India, April 21, 2010.
Salwa
Judum losing steam, says Union Minister of State for Home
Affairs Ajay Maken: Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said in
the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on April
20 that the controversial Salwa Judum movement
that started in Chhattisgarh nearly five years ago has
lost its momentum.
Hindustan Times, April 21, 2010.
No
plan to scale down activities in Afghanistan, says Minister
of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur: Minister
of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur informed the
Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on April
21 that India would not scale down its activities in Afghanistan.
Pointing out that India had "no plan to scale down" its
activities in Afghanistan, Kaur said its commitment to
assist Afghan people and Government in building a peaceful,
pluralistic, democratic and prosperous nation remained
undiluted. She also added that the Indian Government had
comprehensively reviewed and enhanced security measures
for the safety of personnel and other Indians working
in Afghanistan.
Times of India, April 22, 2010.
PAKISTAN
85 militants
and nine SFs among 100 persons killed during the week
in FATA: At least
14 Taliban militants were killed and 16 others injured
in air strikes and clashes with Security Forces (SFs)
in the Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA) on April 25.
SFs killed
10 Taliban militants in Lower Orakzai Agency on April
24. In addition, fighter jets pounded three more hideouts,
killing another 10 Taliban militants. Also, a US drone
fired three missiles at a Taliban hideout in North Waziristan,
killing seven militants.
At least
16 Taliban militants were killed and several others injured
in the ongoing Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will
see you) in Orakzai Agency on April 23. Separately, the
Taliban militants ambushed a SF convoy in North Waziristan,
killing seven soldiers and injuring 16 others. In retaliation,
helicopter gunships shelled the militants’ hideouts, killing
six militants. Meanwhile, the bodies of four persons,
including a headless one, were recovered in Mir Ali, 25
kilometers east of Miranshah in North Waziristan. A note
lying near the bodies stated that they were spying for
the US, adding that all spies would meet the same fate.
The SFs
killed 26 Taliban militants, while two soldiers also died,
during clashes in the Orakzai Agency on April 22. Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News, April 20-26, 2010.
25 civilians
and nine SFs among 39 persons killed during the week in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Unidentified
militants killed former Member of Provincial Assembly
(MPA) Alamzeb Omarzai and three others in an attack on
his vehicle in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(formerly known as North West Frontier Province, NWFP)
on April 22. In addition, a group of Taliban militants
attacked a security check post at Kabal town in Swat District.
The security forces retaliated and killed four militants.
Four persons,
including two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed
and 12 others sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED)-triggered blast targeting a Kurram Agency-bound
Security Forces (SFs) convoy in the Tutkas area of Thall
tehsil (revenue unit) in the Hangu District on
April 20.
At least
24 people, including a child and Police officials, were
killed and 49 others injured in twin bombings hours apart
at a school and a crowded market in Peshawar on April
19. Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News, April 20-26, 2010.
Taliban
attacking US forces in Afghanistan from FATA, says US
Representative Richard Holbrooke: The
United States (US) Special Representative to Afghanistan
and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke alleged that the Taliban
carry out attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan
from their sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA) of Pakistan.
Daily Times, April 22, 2010.
Army
announces PNR 20 million relief package for Tirah Valley
victims: The
Pakistan Army, on April 19, announced a relief package
of around PNR 20 million for victims in the Khyber Agency
in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where 61
civilian deaths were reported following air strikes over
a Kokikhel jirga (tribal council) at Serawala area
on April 10. Initially, the Army authorities denied the
report of civilian deaths. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
had subsequently tendered an apology to the Kokikhel tribe
over the civilian deaths.
Daily Times, April 20, 2010.
SRI LANKA
UPFA
secures 144 seats in seventh Parliament: Sri
Lanka's Elections Secretariat has announced that the ruling
United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won the 2010
General Elections securing 144 seats in the seventh Parliament.
The ruling alliance won a total of 127 seats at the General
Election and, with the 17 National List slots, secured
144 seats in the 225-member legislature, but fell six
seats short of the 150 required for a two-third majority.
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) led by
Ranil Wickremasinghe will have 60 seats, while the major
Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), will be represented
by 14 Parliamentarians. The Marxist Democratic National
Alliance (DNA) led by former Army Commander General (Retired)
Sarath Fonseka has secured seven seats. At the conclusion
of the polls on April 20, the UPFA had received 4,846,388
votes (60.33 per cent) and, as a result, was allocated
17 seats under the National List, while the UNP received
nine National List slots after polling 2,357,057 votes
(29.34 percent).The DNA received two and the TNA one National
List slot.
Meanwhile,
the Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader and Former Minister
D. M. Jayaratna was sworn in as Sri Lanka's next Prime
Minister on April 21. Colombo
Page, April 21-22, 2010.
Malaysian
Police arrested key LTTE leaders between August 2009 and
March 2010, say officials: Malaysian
Police had arrested a number of key Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leaders, among other foreign nationals,
between August 2009 and March 2010. Malaysian Home Minister
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said that the Malaysian
authorities have informed Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapakse recently of the arrest of the LTTE
leaders. Colombo
Page, April 23, 2010.
LTTE’s
foreign network intact, says Sri Lankan Ambassador to
Brazil, A.M.J. Sadiq: Sri
Lanka has said that, although the top Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership had been eliminated during
the military campaign in 2009, the international network
of the outfit was intact and very active. The Foreign
Ministry quoted the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil,
A.M.J. Sadiq, as saying that a number of vessels belonging
to the LTTE’s shipping fleet, which had hitherto been
involved in drug trafficking and gun running, were now
engaged in the lucrative business of human trafficking.
Daily
Mirror, April 23, 2010.
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.
|
|
|