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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 41, April 16, 2012


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
|
FICN:
Relentless Intent
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Pakistan’s
external intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI), continues to pump increasing volumes of Fake Indian
Currency Notes (FICN) in its campaign to raise finances
for, and to provide financial assistance to, Islamist
terrorists, in order to sustain their jihad against
India, and to destabilize the Indian Economy. As new routes
are discovered, and large amounts of fake currency are
recovered, it is abundantly clear that this strategy has
intensified over time, bringing volumes of FICN into India
that have significant destabilizing impact. According
to one recent report, the Government of India (GoI) estimates
that FICN worth INR 160 billion is already in circulation
within the country. Direct links to FICN have been documented
in at least 15 cases of terrorist funding.
Significantly,
on April 3, 2012, acting on inputs provided by Indian
agencies, the Nepal Police arrested a Vietnamese woman
in possession of FICN worth INR 9.8 million, at Tribhuwan
International Airport in Kathmandu. The consignment had
been delivered to her in Vietnam by conduits working for
Pakistani handlers. The woman reached Kathmandu, where
she was arrested, via Bangkok (Thailand). The arrest exposed
a completely new route (Pakistan-Vietnam-Nepal-India)
of FICN flows, even as established routes come under closer
scrutiny. The Pakistan-Bangladesh-India and Pakistan-Dubai-India
trajectories, for instance, have been on India’s intelligence
radar for some time now, and, as one unnamed senior intelligence
officer notes, "There is greater screening of passengers
coming via Dubai [United Arab Emirate (UAE)] or Bangladesh.
One would generally not suspect a Vietnamese coming from
her country to be carrying fake currency."
Noting
other changes in modus operandi, another official
observed, “counterfeiters keep reinventing themselves”
and “the (Vietnamese) woman paid the required duty on
the high-end liquor bottles stuffed with FICN and made
it a legitimate consignment." In another recent incident,
he disclosed, "we had busted a racket in which fake
currency was concealed in cigarettes. The accused had
removed tobacco and rolled notes into the empty space."
Reflecting
the increasing trends in the injection of FICN into the
Indian financial system, the Annual Report (2010-11) of
the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Ministry
of Finance, stated that there was a 400 per cent increase
in Counterfeit Currency Transaction Reports (CCTRs) received
by the agency. The report stated that, during financial
year 2010-11, the agency received 423,539 CCTRs with a
value of over INR 350 million. There were 127,781 CCTRs
for the financial year 2009-2010, with a face value of
INR 100 million. 35,730 CCTRs were recorded in financial
year 2008-2009 and just 8,580 in 2007-08.
Pakistan’s
involvement in the production and circulation of FICN
has long been established. More recently, the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) reconfirmed the Pakistani role
after it arrested two persons on March 28, 2012, along
with FICN amounting to INR 985,000. The Agency disclosed
that the FICN was being smuggled into India by Pakistan-based
FICN dealer Iqbal Kana, who belongs to Kairana Tehsil
of Muzaffarnagar District in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India,
and who operates from Pakistan. Noting the very high quality
of duplication exhibited in the FICN seized at Taliparamba,
Kerala, on September 18, 2011, the NIA stated before the
Kerala High Court, on February 14, 2012, that the involvement
of a state (Pakistan)-sponsored racket was a certainty.
Sources disclosed that an ISI officer, Aslam Chaudhary,
was understood to be the main person within the ISI, handling
the printing of FICN in Quetta (Balochistan), Karachi
(Sindh), Lahore (Punjab) and Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
Reports also indicate that the paper for the fake notes
is sourced from London, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and
France. A March 10, 2012, report indicates, further, that
Dubai is emerging as a new and major printing centre for
FICN. The notes are printed in denominations of INR 500
and INR 1,000. Earlier, on August 13, 2011, one news report
claimed that a ‘secret’ report prepared by Indian intelligence
agencies asserted that China was also being exploited
as a major staging post for the FICN flooding into India.
The report claimed that the movement of FICN was actively
facilitated by Pakistan’s High Commission in Dhaka and
Embassy in Kathmandu.
Pakistan
is believed to facilitate at least 28 important ‘FICN
networks’, which operate out of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
and Bangkok. Countries including the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Sri Lanka and Malaysia have also been used as transit
points. Apart from nationals from these countries, the
Indian security agencies have arrested FICN couriers from
Somalia and Hong Kong as well.
Nepal,
however, with its entirely porous borders with India and
poor internal security system, remains the route
most preferred by Pakistani handlers.
Media reports indicate that nearly 75 per cent of the
FICN flow, emanating from Pakistan, made its way to India
through Nepal. On January 31, 2012, an unnamed Border
Security Force (BSF) officer stated, in a news report,
that FICN of a face value of INR 80 million had been seized
in Nepal over the preceding three years. Not surprisingly,
the border Districts of Bihar provide a principal transit
route for couriers from Nepal. Bihar has witnessed a steep
rise in the smuggling and circulation of FICN in 2011.
According to the State Police, FICN worth INR 4.14 million
were recovered in 2011 (till December 15). In the corresponding
period of 2010, FICN worth INR 1.86 million had been recovered,
while in 2009 FICN worth INR 1.30 million was recovered.
Similarly, according to a March 30, 2012, report, FICN
was being pumped into 40 Districts of UP, which also borders
Nepal. Media reports, meanwhile, suggest that 36.8 percent
of large FICN seizures in India (above INR 1 million)
over a five-year period had been ‘directly sourced’ from
Pakistan.
The Rajasthan
and Punjab borders are the other corridors through which
Pakistani agents push fake currency into India. Sea-borne
consignments have also been known to be delivered to Tamil
Nadu (from Sri Lanka) and Gujarat (from Pakistan). The
fake currency is offered to crime networks throughout
India at a 1:2 ratio of original currency to counterfeit
currency.
Sources
indicate that three nodal centers have been set up in
Jammu in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Malda in West
Bengal, and in Nepal, for the distribution of FICN across
India. Jammu is the nodal point for the western, southern
and northern parts of India, while Malda is the principal
conduit for West Bengal, Bihar and the north eastern States.
The centre in Nepal is used for stocking and distribution
of counterfeit notes and smuggling them to Bangladesh
for distribution across Assam and the eastern frontier
states. Sources also note that at least 12 modules have
been set up in cities and towns across India, to penetrate
deep into urban and rural areas.
As stated,
reports link FICN to at least 15 cases of terrorist funding.
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
operative David Coleman Headley, in his disclosures to
US authorities, confessed to having been given INR 250,000
in FICN in Pakistan by his handler for a trip to India
to set up the plot for the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terrorist
attacks (also known as 26/11), which eventually resulted
in 166 fatalities. Sources indicate that the LeT has been
used by the ISI for distribution of FICN in India, even
as it is partially funded by FICN flows. In March 2102,
moreover, the CBI exposed an FICN racket operating in
India’s Northeast with help from militants in Nagaland.
The revelation was made after interrogating Malda-based
Barkat Ali, who was arrested on March 12, 2012, near the
Guwahati Railway Station in Assam.
India’s
security agencies have succeeded in mounting some pressure
on FICN couriers over time. In the most successful operation
in the recent past, the NIA synchronized operations with
different State agencies and the BSF in January 2012,
to expose an international network of FICN handlers. On
January 6, 2012, it arrested the leaders of the network,
Morgen Hussain, and Rakib Sheikh, while simultaneous raids
were conducted across the country, in which another 12
persons were arrested and significant seizures were made.
On the revelation of the persons arrested, the NIA arrested
another two persons – Imran and Jenab – on March 28, 2102,
along with FICN worth INR 985,000. According to the NIA,
“Morgen Hussain and Rakib Sheikh of Jamsedtola,
Mahabbatpur, PS Kalichak, Distt. Malda were coordinating
smuggling and circulation of FICN across the country…”
Earlier,
on December 22, 2009, in Jharkhand, the SFs had arrested
D. Manarul Sheikh (48), an alleged kingpin involved in
circulation of counterfeit currency. “Sheikh is one of
the most important accused and a key player in the circulation
of FICN across the country. Preliminary investigation
reveals that the fake notes came from Bangladesh and Nepal,”
Deputy Superintendent of Police N. Mohan, who led the
team, stated. Meanwhile, Abdul Rehman Haji from Hosdurg
Kolavayal in Kasargod District (Kerala), who is said to
be the chief operator of a cartel engaged in supplying
FICN printed in Pakistan to Kerala and Karnataka, was
arrested in Dubai by the Dubai Police, on March 7, 2012.
On August
6, 2010, a Committee set up to review practices and procedures
regarding procurement of sensitive items relating to currency,
had recommends the waiver of customs duty on imported
machinery for bank note paper production and printing,
and the establishment of a single agency at the National
Level to coordinate the activities of intelligence, law
enforcement and investigating agencies dealing with the
FICN menace. Minister of State in the MHA, Jitendra Singh,
in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House of Parliament) on December 11, 2011, disclosed that
the MHA had constituted a Terror Funding & Fake Currency
Cell (TFFC) in the NIA in 2010 to focus on Terror Funding
and Fake Currency cases. The NIA, as of now, is investigating
five FICN related cases.
Despite
these, as well as several other security and administrative
measures, and the very significant arrests and recoveries
of the recent past, there appears to be no respite from
uninterrupted FICN inflows into India. Relentless flows
from Pakistan, and Islamabad’s unwavering intent to support
terrorism and promote every possible form of instability
within India, have easily neutralized the limited gains
of every Indian initiative till now. It remains to be
seen whether New Delhi will be able to find the means,
and more importantly, the capacities and capabilities,
to push the Pakistani game plan to failure.
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Naga
Factionalism Escalates
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
There seems
to be no end to the fratricidal rivalry among the Nagas,
which has persisted since the formation of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K)
and NSCN-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
following the split of the original NSCN on April 30,
1988. More recently, turf wars between Naga groups have
resulted in escalating violence since the further split
of both the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K. The NSCN-Khole-Kitovi,
a ‘splinter group’ of NSCN-K, was formed on June 7, 2011;
and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) on February 25,
2011.
The NSCN-Khole-Kitovi
faction was formed after the ‘expulsion’ of the NSCN-K’s
‘chairman’ S.S Khaplang by the dissenting group, on June
7, 2011, for Khaplang’s alleged ‘dictatorial leadership’.
While Khaplang and the cadres who chose to remain loyal
to him continued to identify themselves as NSCN-K, the
other faction, which ‘expelled‘ Khaplang, came to be known
as NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, under the leadership of Khole Konyak
and Kitovi Zhimomi. The two factions were initially involved
in war of words with the NSCN-K declaring that Khole and
Kitovi Zhimomi (leaders of the new faction) had become
“prisoners of the NSCN-IM”. Earlier, the Khole-Kitovi
faction had described S.S. Khaplang as a ‘Burmese national’
and asked him not to interfere in ‘Naga affairs’. Frequent
and violent clashes, however, began in December 2011.
The formation
of new Manipur-based Naga outfit, the Zeliangrong United
front (ZUF), on February 25, 2011, added another dimension
to intensifying Naga factionalism. Factional fights have
frequently been witnessed both within and beyond Nagaland,
in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and also outside
India’s frontier in Myanmar, where Naga groups have their
base.
ZUF was
formed with the proclaimed objective of protecting the
interests of the Zeliangrong tribe. On its first raising
day on February 25, 2012, the group denied claims that
it was a breakaway faction of the NSCN-IM, though it had
earlier been reported that ZUF was created when some 10
NSCN-IM cadres, who deserted the group along with arms
and ammunition, joined up with NSCN-K cadres. On November
11, 2011, the NSCN-IM claimed that ZUF was formed to “challenge
the (Naga) nation”. The NSCN–IM declared, “It is the duty
of the Naga Army to check anti-national elements caused
by the ZUF (sic). On the other hand, ZUF warned
NSCN-IM, declaring that the latter group would be responsible
for any ‘unfortunate incident’ that occurred in future
in the ‘Zeliangrong region’ (the Zeliangrong Naga inhabited
areas of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland). The ZUF is against
NSCN-IM operations in the areas it claims as its own.
The NSCN-IM had served notice on the ZUF to ‘surrender’
by March 10, 2011, or face ‘strong resistance’.
Nineteen
incidents of fratricidal clashes among Naga factions have
already been reported in 2012, 14 of these in Nagaland
(between NSCN-K and Khole-Kitovi), two in Arunachal Pradesh
(between NSCN-K and NSCN-IM), two in Manipur (one between
NSCN-K and NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and the other between NSCN-IM
and ZUF) and one incident in Assam (NSCN-K and NSCN-IM).
These incidents have resulted in 20 fatalities (till April
15, 2012). The number of injured stands at 15. The largest
proportion of fratricidal violence has been registered
between the NSCN-K and the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi in Nagaland.
Earlier, a sharp spike in Naga factional violence had
been registered in 2011, with a total of 49 killed and
13 injured.
Casualties
among Naga outfits in internecine clashes within and beyond
Nagaland: 2003-2012
Years
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
2003
|
14
|
0
|
2004
|
27
|
12
|
2005
|
30
|
6
|
2006
|
74
|
34
|
2007
|
90
|
36
|
2008
|
119
|
14
|
2009
|
21
|
12
|
2010
|
8
|
2
|
2011
|
49
|
13
|
2012*
|
20
|
15
|
Total
|
452
|
144
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till
April 15, 2012
Factionalism
was at its peak in the years 2008, 2007 and 2006 with
119 killings (79 incidents), 90 killings (62 incidents),
74 killings (60 incidents), respectively. A sharp drop
in such killings in 2009 and 2010 resulted from the ‘Covenant
of Reconciliation’ (CoR) signed by the top leaders of
NSCN-K, NSCN-IM and the Federal Government of Nagaland
/ Naga National Council (FGN/NNC) on June 13, 2009, after
a Naga
Reconciliation meet was held in Chiang
Mai in Thailand from June 1 to June 8, 2009. The CoR,
however, quickly lost its effectiveness, as tribal and
leadership tensions grew.
In the
latest of such incidents, two militants, one from NSCN-K,
identified as Tsilise, and another from NSCN-Khole-Kitovi,
identified as Johnson, were killed when the two groups
clashed at Sanphure village in Kiphire District of Nagaland,
in the morning of March 30, 2012. An NSCN-K cadre also
sustained injuries in the clash, which lasted 3 to 4 hours.
Official sources indicate that the clash took place when
the NSCN-K attacked the Sanphure ‘designated camp’ at
Kiphire, which they claimed was ‘illegally’ occupied by
NSCN-Khole-Kitovi. NSCN-K later asserted that the camp
was among the four allotted to them.
On March
28, 2012, NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and NSCN-K cadres had
clashed at a place between Natha Old and Natha New, on
the outskirts of Zunheboto District, Nagaland, though
no casualty was reported. NSCN-K claimed that firing had
occurred due to “provocation” by NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, who
had threatened to chase the NSCN-K out from Zunheboto.
On March
26, 2012, an NSCN-K tatar (core member) was abducted
and subsequently killed by militants at Pfuchama village
in Kohima District, Nagaland. The deceased had recently
been released from prison, after he was arrested on charges
relating to illegal possession of arms. The father of
the deceased, A.K.D. Angami, the former NSCN-K ‘chairman’
for the Angami region, had been killed in his own village
on February 9, 2006.
Earlier,
on March 17, 2012, a kapur (area administrator)
of the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, identified as Kito Sumi, was
shot dead by suspected NSCN-K cadres at Naga Hospital
in Kohima. A civilian was also injured in the incident.
The worst
of recent incidents occurred on March 15, 2012, when three
dead bodies, suspected to be of NSCN-Khole-Kitovi cadres,
were found a few hundred metres away from Chui Village
Junction in Mon District, Nagaland. According to sources,
the deceased were ‘arrested’ some days earlier by NSCN-K
cadres, who killed them on March 14.
Other prominent
factional clashes among Naga groups, within and outside
Nagaland, since February 25, 2011 (formation of ZUF),
include:
February
29, 2012: Suspected NSCN-K militants killed two NSCN-Khole-Kitovi
militants, identified as Khamhi Konyak and Lemnyu Konyak,
at Phomching Town under Mon District.
February
5, 2012: Two NSCN-Khole-Kitovi cadres, identified as one
'sergeant major' Thangboi and 'corporal' Jackson Kuki,
were killed, and another was injured, after NSCN-K cadres
attacked a 'mobile camp' of NSCN-Khole-Kitovi on the outskirts
of Athibung area in Peren District, Nagaland.
January
8, 2012: NSCN-IM claimed that two militants belonging
to NSCN-K were killed and four were injured, when the
latter attacked the NSCN-IM camp in Chasha village in
Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh.
October
7, 2011: Six cadres of the NSCN-IM were killed and another
five were injured during an ambush by ZUF cadres at Leishok
village in the Nungba sub-division of the Tamenglong District
in Manipur. About 60 NSCN-IM cadres were travelling to
the village in two trucks, when they came under attack.
Referring to the October 7 shootout, the ZUF stated, on
October 13, 2011 that it was a ‘sad incident’ caused by
an intrusion by ‘outsiders’ (NSCN-IM), which had disturbed
the peaceful atmosphere: “It is natural for us to protect
our land and we are doing it with our own volition.”
In Tirap-Changlang
(Arunachal Pradesh), violence has been going on for nearly
a decade, as the NSCN-IM and NSCN-K engage in a contest
to secure dominance over the two strategically located
Districts in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh. These Districts
serve as a crucial transit route for militants from India’s
north-east, who take shelter in largely un-administered
areas of Myanmar. The Nungba sub-division of Tamenglong
District, Manipur, is afflicted by the NSCN-IM, ZUF confrontation.
Myanmar is the turf where NSCN-IM and NSCN-K fight for
supremacy. The last such incident in Myanmar took place
on February 28, 2011, when severe fighting broke out between
NSCN-K and NSCN-IM cadres somewhere inside Myanmar. At
least two NSCN-K cadres were reportedly injured in the
fighting.
Nagaland
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, on February 29, 2012, decried
the rising factionalism among Nagas, observing, “Though
the world and outsiders recognize Naga people, yet Naga
people themselves do not recognize each other and though
Nagas have ceasefire with others, they do not have ceasefire
among themselves.” Questioning the rationale of the fratricidal
war, Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L. Imchen, stated,
on April 2, 2012, “Killing of Nagas by the Nagas is not
a demonstration or reflection of Naga nationalism and
has got nothing to do with Naga political issue but it
amounts to criminal offence only (sic).”
Rising
Naga factionalism has disturbed an otherwise fast-improving
security scenario in Nagaland. From its recent peak of
145 fatalities, including 101 militants, 42 civilians
and two Security Force (SF) personnel, in 2008, fatalities
within the State had come down to just three (all militants)
in 2010. Fratricidal battles have, moreover, marginalized
all reconciliation efforts initiated by the Forum for
Naga Reconciliation (FNR). The FNR, in its “Naga Reconciliation
Meeting” on February 29, 2012, adopted a resolution which
“calls upon all armed confrontations to cease with immediate
effect, from this day February 29, 2012, and to decisively
take steps towards Naga reconciliation”. The call failed
to unite the Nagas, and to end the violence.
SFs have,
through all this, inclined to keep off the internecine
conflicts between various Naga factions, in a complete
abdication of state responsibility. The various cease
fire agreements with the principal insurgent groups have
long prevented state agencies from taking effective action,
despite endemic violations of ‘ground rules’ by the insurgents
and various patterns of lawlessness, including enveloping
extortion – projected as ‘taxation’ by various groups
in their areas of dominance – as well as acts of violence
and intimidation, including those relating to factional
turf wars. The cease fire agreements have held since the
first of these was signed between the Centre and the NSCN-IM
in 1997, and timorous state agencies have been unwilling
to challenge local dominance of various groups in order
to impose the law of the land, since. Significant motivation
for factional proliferation and violence arises out of
the vast revenues and power exercised by the various insurgent
groups, and this is accentuated by divergent tribal identities
and loyalties. Ceasefires notwithstanding, the people
of Nagaland, it seems, will have to wait much longer before
they can experience a real peace.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
April 9-15,
2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Manipur
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Maharashtra
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total
(INDIA)
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
28
|
1
|
4
|
33
|
FATA
|
7
|
4
|
19
|
30
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Sindh
|
19
|
2
|
3
|
24
|
Total
(PAKISTAN)
|
54
|
8
|
27
|
89
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|

INDIA
UPDF
floated by Dawood Ibrahim's
former aide threaten traders
for extortion in Arunachal
Pradesh: A new militant
outfit, the United Peoples'
Democratic Front (UPDF), on
April 12 threatened those
involved in the illegal trade
of coal, timber and stone
from Lohit and Changlang Districts.
Police said the threat is
meant to extort money from
traders. The outfit is headed
by Sumona Munlang, once a
trusted sharpshooter of Dawood
Ibrahim's gang, Police said.
The UPDF sought to attain
an Autonomous District Council
(ADC) by clubbing together
some areas of Lohit and Changlang
Districts through armed struggle.
Nagaland
Post,
April 13, 2012.
Interlocutors
report on Jammu and Kashmir
out rightly rejects options
of autonomy, self-rule and
Azadi: The panel
of Interlocutors on Jammu
and Kashmir (J&K) has out
rightly rejected the options
of autonomy, self-rule and
Azadi (freedom). Asserting
that a pure and simple return
to the pre-1953 situation
would create a dangerous constitutional
vacuum in the relationship
between the Centre and Jammu
and Kashmir, the report has
recommended "case-by-case
review of all Central laws
and Articles of the Constitution
of India extended to the State"
since 1952.
Daily
Excelsior,
April 13, 2012.
MHA
moves in NIA to break Maoist
arms supply chain: The
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
on April 12 decided to set
the National Investigation
Agency (NIA) after Naxals
[Left-Wing Extremists] to
probe and dismantle their
supply of weapons and communication
devices. The MHA ordered the
NIA to take over its first
anti-Naxal case when it decided
to transfer investigations
into the arrest of Sadanala
Ramakrishna alias RK,
the Warangal regional engineering
college alumnus who headed
the technical committee of
the Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist).
Hindustan
Times,
April 13, 2012.

NEPAL
Nepal
Army takes charge of Maoist
combatants: The Nepal
Army (NA) took control of
the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) cantonments, combatants
and the weapons stored in
containers inside the camps.
This is in line with a decision
taken by the Army Integration
Special Committee (AISC) on
April 10. NA will now be responsible
for the security of the 15
remaining Maoist cantonments,
including its infrastructure.
Around 9,700 combatants who
have opted for integration
remain in these cantonments,
and there are over 3,000 weapons
in the containers.
Meanwhile,
the survey teams of the AISC
resumed voluntary retirement
process from April 13 after
the Unified Communist Party
of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) directed
commanders at cantonments
to let the process move forward.
The
Hindu;
Republica,
April 11-14, 2012.
PLA
combatants handed over to
NA in haste, admits UCPN-M
chairman Prachanda: The
Unified Communist Party of
Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) Chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda
on April 11 remarked that
the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) combatants were handed
over to the Nepal Army (NA)
in haste considering the possible
disruption to the integration
process. He termed the move
to hand over Maoist combatants,
their arms and the cantonments
to NA a "bold decision".
ekantipur,
April 12, 2012.

PAKISTAN
19
militants and seven civilians
among 30 persons killed during
the week in FATA: At least
15 militants were killed when
Army gunship helicopters heavily
pounded militants' positions
near the Afghan border in
Joki Zaranna areas of Kurram
Agency in Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) on April
12.
Lashkar-e-Islam
(LI) militants shot dead five
Zakkakhel tribe persons in
Bara tehsil (revenue
unit) of Khyber Agency on
April 11.
Four
militants and two soldiers
were killed during a clash
when a group of 20 militants
attacked a military check
post in the Khapyanga area
of Kurram Agency on April
9.
Dawn;
Daily
Times;
The
News;
Tribune,
April 10-16, 2012.
28
civilians and four militants
among 33 persons killed during
the week in Balochistan:
Unidentified assailants riding
motorcycles killed eight Shias,
belonging to Hazara community,
in two incidents of sectarian
attacks in Quetta, the provincial
capital of Balochistan on
April 14.
Three
people belonging to the Hazara
community were shot dead and
another wounded in separate
incidents of target killings
in the provincial capital
Quetta on April 12.
Six
Shias belonging to the Hazara
community were killed and
three others were injured
when armed militants opened
fire at a cobblers shop on
Prince Road in Quetta on April
9.
Dawn;
Daily
Times;
The
News;
Tribune,
April 10-16, 2012.
19
civilians and three militants
among 24 persons killed during
the week in Sindh: Four
persons, including two Sunni
Tehreek (ST) cadres, were
shot dead in Karachi, the
provincial capital of Sindh
on April 15.
At
least six people were killed
and 17 others injured in separate
incidents of firing and rocket
attacks in Lyari area of Karachi
on April 13.
Four
people, including two activists
of the Jaye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz
(JSQM), were shot dead by
unidentified armed assailants
in Karachi on April 11.
Five
people, including two activists
of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement
(MQM) and a member of the
Pakhtoon Action Committee,
were shot dead in different
parts of Karachi on April
10.
Three
persons, including two Pakistan
People's Party (PPP) workers,
were shot dead in Karachi
on April 9. Dawn;
Daily
Times;
The
News;
Tribune,
April 10-16, 2012.
Over
181,000 have fled Khyber Agency
of FATA, says UNHCR: More
than 181,000 people have fled
fighting between Government
troops and Taliban or al Qaeda-linked
militants in the Khyber Agency
Areas of Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA), the United
Nation High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) said on April
13. "The number of people
displaced by an ongoing government
security operation in northwest
Pakistan has now surpassed
181, 000," said a statement
from the office of the UNHCR.
Daily Times,
April 14, 2012.
Address
religious intolerance to curb
sectarian killings in Pakistan,
says HRCP: The continuous
spilling of blood in sectarian
killings in Quetta, the provincial
capital of Balochistan, and
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is a
result of failure to address
religious intolerance in society,
the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP) said on
April 11. The commission said,
"... The killings demonstrate
a disturbing pattern and appear
to be part of a well-planned
sequence. It has been stated
that miscreants from Afghanistan
have been involved. That may
be one problem, but it certainly
is not the only one. The mindless
bloodshed that we witness
day in and day out is rooted
in religious intolerance cultivated
by the state." Daily
Times,
April 12, 2012.
Peshawar
High Court orders closure
of illegal detention centres:
The Peshawar High Court on
April 10 directed the local
Police to close down three
illegal detention centres,
which were run by a former
Station House Officer (SHO)
of Hayatabad Police Station
in his area. The bench directed
the Police to hand over the
three premises to their owners
and provide their details
to the court so that they
could be asked not to rent
out their premises in future
for such illegal purposes.
Dawn,
April 11, 2012.
Parliament
approves new norms on US ties:
Parliament on April 12 approved
new guidelines for the troubled
ties with the US, a decision
that will likely pave the
way for the reopening of supply
lines to NATO troops in neighbouring
Afghanistan that have been
blocked since November 2011.
The proposals call on the
Government to allow the international
coalition to resume transporting
its supplies through the country,
as well as demand an end to
US drone strikes on Pakistani
soil. Times
of India,
April 13, 2012.

SRI LANKA
No
room for ethnic disharmony
among the Sinhala, Tamil and
Muslim communities, says President
Mahinda Rajapaksa: President
Mahinda Rajapakse on April
11 said that there will be
no room to create ethnic disharmony
among the Sinhala, Tamil and
Muslim communities in the
country although some quarters
in the world attempt to tear
up cohesion among ethnic groups
and promote separatism. The
President noted the strong
historic ties that existed
between the Sinhala and Muslim
communities and said the communities
should not bow down to the
negative elements that try
to fracture the country. Colombo
Page,
April 12, 2012.
Government
spends 125 billion for eastern
revival, reports Economic
Development Ministry:
According to Economic Development
Ministry report, the overall
Government investment for
eastern revival, up to end
of 2011 is LKR 125.35 billion.
This amount has been allocated
for the Eastern Province development
programmes under the Negenehira
Navodaya programme from 2006
to 2011. Daily
News,
April 10, 2012.
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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