Maoists:Southern Forays | Assam: Karbi Jigsaw | South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR), Vol. No. 10.45
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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 45, May 14, 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


ASSESSMENT


INDIA
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Maoists: Southern Forays
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

On May 9, 2012, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), that the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was seeking to ‘revive’ activities deep in India’s South, in the States of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu:

The CPI-Maoist is making forays into Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu under the supervision of its South West Regional Bureau and is planning to link the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats through these states. Their (Maoists’) plan includes creating a base on the border of Kerala and Karnataka and establishing a forest route from Wayanad District in Kerala to Mysore District in Karnataka.

Singh also states that, “The CPI-Maoist are (sic) gradually expanding their activities in these States.”

There appears to be a degree of inconsistency between these claims and the Union Ministry of Home Affair’s (UMHA) own recent claims that Left Wing Extremist (LWE) activities in these States had been on a continuous decline. Interestingly, the MHA, in its reply to a query by the Institute for Conflict Management, under the Right to Information Act, disclosed, on January 20, 2012, that the number of Districts afflicted by LWE violence or activities in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, had declined from 14, 9 and 9, respectively, in 2008 to 8, 8 and 4, respectively, in 2011.

The Maoists’ ‘southern forays’ are nothing new. In their August 3, 2002, Draft Report on Social Conditions and Tactics, the Karnataka State Committee of the then Communist Party of India – Marxist Leninist – Peoples’ War (also known as the People’s War Group, PWG, which merged into the CPI-Maoist in September 2004) under the head The Perspective Area observed:
The Western Ghats, with an average width of about 100 kilometres, runs from North to South for about 2,200 kms… It passes through Kerala, TN, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat...The longest part, the widest and deepest forests of the Western Ghats are located in Karnataka… The Western Ghats that runs through Karnataka is called as the Malnad (sic). The Western Ghats has its strategic significance for peoples’ war in India owing to the forest and mountainous terrain... It would not be an exaggeration, owing to all these factors, to call the Malnad as the strategic midrib of peoples’ war in Karnataka... The Perspective Area falls in the central part of Malnad... Today we have initiated our work in one part of the Perspective Area.

Further, at the time of its formation in 2004, the CPI-Maoist had announced five ‘regional bureaus’, including the South Western Regional Bureau which was to oversee activities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Karnataka was seen as the gateway for the Naxalites (LWEs) to move deeper South, and a beginning was made in the Tumkur District as far back as in the late 1970s, gradually spreading into the Malnad region, gaining prominence when Kudremukh was declared a National Park in 2001. Reports indicated that the Naxalite presence was noticed in Kudremukh National Park in 1998, while evidence of LWE violence made its first appearance in the region on November 6, 2002, when an elderly woman, Cheeramma, suffered injuries when a bullet hit her accidently during an LWE training exercise at Menasinahadya in Koppa taluk (revenue unit) of the Chikmagalur District. On August 6, 2003, the first encounter took place between the Police and an LWE team spotted near the house of one Ramachandra Gowdlu in Singsar village of Kudremukh in the same District.

These incipient forays, however, suffered a major setback on  February 6, 2005, when the Police killed Saketh Rajan aka Prem, 'secretary' of the Karnataka State Committee of the erstwhile People's War Group (PWG), and his aide, Shivalingu, at Baligegudda in Menasinahadya in Chikmagalur District. In retaliation, seven Police personnel and a civilian were killed, and another five sustained injuries, when approximately 300 suspected CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a Karnataka State Reserve Police camp with hand grenades, bombs and small arms at Venkammanahalli in the Tumkur District on February 11, 2005.

On February 28, 2005, the CPI-Maoist formed a new 'State Committee', with C.M. Noor Zulfikar aka Sridhar as 'state secretary'. The Maoist expansion in Karnataka, as well as their efforts further south were however, thwarted for some time. Nevertheless, on September 5, 2006, then Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy disclosed that 13 Districts in the State were affected by LWE activities, and roughly 200 Maoist cadres were operating in the State, of which 60 had formed ‘two or three armed groups’ in the Malnad region.

With many ups and downs, the Naxalites had strengthened their position by 2009. Gopal B. Hosur, then Inspector-General of Police (Western Range), Karnataka, on June 30, 2010, had claimed that the Western Range, consisting of Udupi, Mangalore and Chikmagalur Districts, was ‘worst hit’ by Naxalite violence. According to Hosur, moreover, at least 25 front organizations of the Maoists were operating in the State. Significantly, the Shimoga Superintendent of Police, S. Murugan, was provided Z category security following threats from the Maoists on September 2, 2009. The rising Maoist threat in Karnataka resulted in massive combing operations by the Police towards the end of 2009, which appear to have decimated the Maoist ranks in the State.

On June 13, 2010, the Andhra Pradesh Police arrested Karnataka ‘state committee chief’, Chandrashekhar Gorebal, in the Mahabubnagar District of Andhra Pradesh. During interrogation, Gorebal acknowledged that the Maoists were facing a crisis of both recruitment and resources in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. Gorebal stated, “I’m not sure of the exact numbers. The working cadres will know better. Maybe 20- 25 are full time. The problem is, not all are permanent members… We might not have the capacity to provide weapons to all members.”

Thereafter, the State Government continued to claim that Maoist activity in Karnataka was on the decline. On February 1, 2011, then Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa stated that Karnataka had “almost eliminated” the CPI-Maoist menace, though “a handful of Maoists” remained active. Similarly, on December 30, 2011, the then State Home Minister R. Ashoka claimed, "Naxalism in Karnataka is on the decline”. More recently, on May 2, 2012, the Director General of Police (DGP) A. R. Infant, disclosed that no more than some 40 CPI-Maoist cadres were estimated to be active in the State.

Nor have the Maoist efforts in the other southern States met with any exemplary success. After their ‘social investigation’ of Kerala in 2004, the Maoists established an ‘urban area’ of activity in Kochi, and a unit each in South and North Wayanad. On October 23, 2007, the then State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan observed that some Naxalite activities had been noticed in the State: “There are reports that Naxal leaders frequent and stay in the State to hold meetings, and Police have been asked to be vigilant.” On December 17, 2007, the Central Committee member of the CPI-Maoist, Malla Raji Reddy aka Sattenna, was arrested from Angamaly town in the Ernakulam District, Kerala. Further, a November 14, 2011, report suggested that at least half a dozen Maoist cadres from Kerala had been sent to Jharkhand for military training. Nevertheless, the Maoists failed to establish a significant presence in Kerala. On May 2, 2012, Director General of Police, Jacob Punnose, claimed, "It is suspected that extremist elements are present in the forests in Kerala. There could be groups having links with Maoists from states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha in state's forests". However, he stressed that there was no evidence to show that they were directly engaged in any ‘extremist activity’ within the State.

As in the cases of Karnataka and Kerala, the Naxalites have had some presence in Tamil Nadu since the 1970s. The Naxalites established contact with the Tamil Nadu Communist Party-Marxist Leninist (TNCP-ML), which was formed in 1984-85 after a split between the Communist Party of India–Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) and its Tamil Nadu unit. On November 16, 2006, then Director General of Police, D. Mukherjee, stated in Chennai that the Tamil Nadu Police had increased surveillance in four Districts of the State bordering Andhra Pradesh, where Maoists were believed to have established a presence – Vellore, Thiruvallore, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri – to prevent the infiltration of Maoists. However, the rebels’ efforts have borne little fruit and, on November 29, 2011, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General K. Vijay Kumar asserted that Tamil Nadu was free of the Maoist menace, and there was no need to carry out any search operations against them in the State. On April 24, 2012, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa stated that there was no Maoist or Naxalite activity in Tamil Nadu.

The Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme, under which the Centre compensates the States for expenditure on certain categories of internal security activities, has been expanded to cover 103 Districts across the country, with effect from April 1, 2012, up  from the earlier 83 Districts. Significantly, not a single District under the SRE Scheme falls under any of these three States. Districts ‘worst affected’ by Maoist activity are included in the SRE scheme.

The Maoists’ ‘southern foray’, consequently, is old hat, and has been visibly unsuccessful. There is, however, little space for complacency, and the Maoists have certainly not given up on the possibility of reviving their activities in this region. Indeed, the success of the mobilization in Karnataka under Saketh Rajan in the early 2000s should be warning enough of the potential of Maoist mobilization under sustained efforts and propitious leadership.

Moreover, despite significant reverses, decline in violence, some shrinkage in operational areas, and a dramatic attrition at top leadership levels, the Maoist threat across India remains grave, and the rebels’ capacities for a strategic resurgence have been repeatedly demonstrated in the past. Evidence of a determined push to establish capabilities in India’s chronically troubled Northeast is very real and disturbing. On May 9, 2012, four Maoists, including top ‘commander’ Siddhartha Buragohain, were killed in Assam, and three AK-47s, and quantities of grenades and ammunition were recovered, dramatically underlining a strengthening Maoist presence in the State. The data made available to ICM under the RTI query to the UMHA indicates that Maoist-affected Districts in Assam have risen from just four in 2008, to 10 in 2011. Significantly, UMHA data indicates that even the national capital, Delhi, has seen an increase in the Maoist presence, with the number of affected Districts increasing from three in 2008, to seven in 2011. On May 8, 2012, UMHA also disclosed that the Maoists command a 46,600 strong ‘army’ across the country – including 8,600 ‘hard core’ armed cadres, and 38,000 jan (people’s) militia.

Tremendous caution is, consequently, necessary, and the UMHA’s effort to “sensitize” the “state Governments of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu” and to advise them “to take preventive and pre-emptive measures to foil the efforts of the CPI-Maoist aimed at revival of its movement in these States”, are not misplaced, despite the reverses the rebels have suffered in these States. Incoherence and a continuous falsification of assessments have undermined the responses of State Governments in many of the Maoist-afflicted or targeted States, and India has already paid a terrible price for such distortions. Constant vigilance is, consequently, an imperative, even where the dangers appear, on visible indices, to be receding.

INDIA
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Indian Mujahideen: Mutating Threat
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Disclosures by Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadres arrested since November 2011, and subsequent investigations have brought to light the consolidation of new leadership of the group in India, as well as the emergence of new bases of operation. The IM is a faction within the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and has been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks across the country.

Recent reports indicate that Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Sidibapa alias Imran alias Shahrukh had emerged as IM’s ‘operational chief’ on Indian soil, and was the link between the Bhatkal brothers- Riyaz Ismile Shahbandri alias Riyaz Bhatkal alias Roshan Khan alias Aziz Bhai alias Mohmad Bhai, and Iqbal Ismail Shahbandri alias Iqbal Bhatkal alias Mohammed Bhai, who escaped to Pakistan during the 2008 Security Forces (SF) onslaught on the group, and are now in Karachi, on the one hand; and the IM cadres in India, on the other. Recent disclosures also indicate the emergence of new modules based in Bihar, specifically in the Samastipur, Darbhanga and Madhubani Districts, which have become increasingly active in the recent past.

Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief Rakesh Maria, according to January 25, 2012, news report, stated that the IM had first recruited youth from the Cheetah Camp in Trombay (Maharashtra), then from Kondwa in Pune (Maharashtra), later from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh (UP), but had now established a significant presence in Darbhanga, Bihar. Another ATS officer, who preferred anonymity, explained, further,
… [Yasin] Bhatkal also made Bihar a base at which he could receive hawala money through Pakistan via Dubai. He also helped Pakistan's ISI circulate counterfeit notes in India by first landing them in Bihar… In 2008, when the Mumbai crime branch arrested 21 IM members for 11 blasts, including the Ahmedabad and Jaipur blasts, IM founding member Riyaz Bhatkal and his associates went underground. At the same time, the Delhi police carried out the Batla House operation in which IM man Atif and a Police Inspector were killed. IM's key members, like Riyaz Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Iqbal Bhatkal, Abu Rashid, Dr Shanuwaz, Bada Sajid and Salman, fled to Pakistan. Yasin Bhatkal sheltered with his friend Gayoor Jamali at Darbhanga..”

Police sources indicated, further, that Yasin Bhatkal had indoctrinated and trained an estimated three dozen youth in Darbhanga District.

It was the investigations based on revelations made by cadres arrested since the end of 2011 that underlined the surviving potential of the IM. Unsettled by two high profile attacks – the serial blasts at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Kabutarkhana in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, which claimed 26 lives; and the Delhi High Court blast on September 7, 2011, which claimed 15 lives – intelligence and enforcement agencies intensified their search for the responsible terrorist modules.

Between November 22 and November 27, 2011, the agencies arrested seven IM cadres, including six from the Bihar module, and one Pakistani national. Mohammed Qateel Siddiqui originally from Darbhanga, was arrested from Delhi on November 22; Gauhar Aziz Khomani also from Darbhanga, was arrested in Delhi on November 23; Gayur Ahmad Jamali originally from Madhubani (Bihar), was arrested from Darbhanga on November 24; Mohammad Adil alias Ajmal of Karachi, trained by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as a shooter, and sent by the Bhatkal brothers first to Nepal and then to India to recruit local Muslims for terror attacks, was arrested from Madhubani on November 25; Abdur Rehman of Darbhanga, was arrested in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) on November 27; and Mohammad Irshad Khan from Samastipur (Bihar), was arrested in Chennai on November 27.

Several other cadres of the Bihar module have since been arrested from across the country, prominently including:

May 7, 2012: IM operative Kafeel Akhtar, co-conspirator of the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore, was arrested from Keoti in Darbhanga.

March 27, 2012: Assadullah Rehman alias Dilkash, originally from Darbhanga and an aide of Yasin Bhatkal, was arrested in Delhi.

February 21, 2012: IM ideologue and main recruiter, Mohammad Kafeel Ahmed, was arrested from Darbhanga in Bihar.

February 5, 2012: IM ideologue Talha Abdali alias Bashir Hasan alias Israr alias Masterji, was arrested from Barabanki in UP.

February 3, 2012: An alleged founding member of IM, Mohammad Tariq Anjuman Ehsan, was arrested at Nalanda in Bihar.

January 12, 2012: Naqi Ahmed Wasi and Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaq, who reportedly executed the July 13, 2007, Mumbai attacks (also known as 13/7), were arrested from Mumbai (Maharashtra).

Significantly, reports indicate that the Bihar module was behind the April 17, 2010, Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore (Karnataka); the February 13, 2010, German Bakery blast in Pune (Maharashtra); and the September 19, 2010, Jama Masjid shooting in Delhi. A  December 4, 2011, report citing Intelligence Bureau (IB) and State security agency sources, claimed that IM had established at least seven sleeper cells in North Bihar.

The consolidation in Bihar has not been at the expense of other areas where the IM has had a history of activity. Its presence remains strong in UP, particularly in the Azamgarh District; as well as in Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, with significant recruitment continuing in each of these areas. Further, IM has been able to establish safe havens in other countries as well. Pakistan, of course, continues to host the top IM leadership, including the Bhatkal brothers. Recent reports also indicate that nearly 50 IM cadres are stationed in Sharjah, under the protection of Riyaz Bhatkal and Amir Reza Khan.

IM is the first India-based terrorist group to be designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the US, according to a September 19, 2011, notification, and has demonstrated its lethality as a terrorist outfit. Significantly, SIMI, the IM’s parent group, has not been banned by the US, though the Indian Government has proscribed both the IM, on June 4, 2010, and SIMI, since on September 27, 2001. Meanwhile, the Indian Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on April 30, 2012, named the Maharashtra-based Khair-e-Ummat Trust as one of SIMI’s fronts/ pseudonymous organisations. The UMHA’s “background note on the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI),” mentions another four organisations as SIMI ‘fronts' at the national level – Tahreek-e-Ahyaa-e-Ummat (TEU), Tehreek-Talaba-e-Arabia (TTA), Tahrik Tahaffuz-e-Sha’air-e-Islam (TTSI) and Wahdat-e-Islami. The MHA, however, has not banned these groups.

Announcing its ‘arrival’ on India’s terrorist terrain, the IM had claimed responsibility for the serial blasts in court compounds in Faizabad, Lucknow and Varanasi, in UP, on November 23, 2007. Reports indicate that Mujahedeen-e-Islam Hind was the precursor to the IM. Since its consolidation under this identity, the IM has been involved in over a dozen high profile attacks, including the May 13, 2008, Jaipur (Rajasthan) bombings; the July 25, 2008, Bangalore (Karnataka) serial blasts; the July 26, 2008, Ahmadabad (Gujarat) serial blasts; the September 13, 2008, Delhi serial blasts; the Pune German Bakery blasts of February 13, 2010; and the Mumbai serial blasts of July 13, 2011.

Apart from Riaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Amir Reza Khan and Abdul Subhan Qureshi, are listed among IM’s top leaders. While, Yasin heads “operations in India”, Reza Khan is now a wealthy businessman in Pakistan and coordinates the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) chapters in India, according to intelligence sources. Reports also indicate that Qureshi was the author of several IM emails, signed off as al-Arabi, and is believed to operate under the direct patronage of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), like the Bhatkal brothers.

SIMI had progressively become enmeshed in terrorist activities, initially providing support to other terrorist formation, including the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, LeT, HuJI and JeM, but gradually partnering these outfits in multi-group operations. Eventually, the most radical elements within SIMI went on to form IM, with SIMI continuing as the ‘feeder agency’ for IM recruits. IM leaders like Mohammad Sadique Issar Sheikh, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Amir Reza Khan and Tariq Ismail, have all graduated from SIMI. On February 23, 2012, IM ideologue and principal recruiter, Mohammad Kafeel Ahmed, confirmed that SIMI’s vast networks were now being used by IM.

The ties of the IM-SIMI complex with global Islamist organizations, including LeT, HuJI, the Pakistani intelligence agencies, as well as mafia elements have been well established. These linkages enhance the group’s capabilities, and also create the potential for the expansion of the wider Islamist terrorist networks across India. Indeed, LeT initially extended its activities outside Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) through criminal networks accessed through the connections of IM core members – Riyaz Bhatkal and Amir Reza Khan. The June 2010 testimony of LeT operative David Coleman Headley, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), confirmed information regarding the “Karachi Project” – the ISI-LeT brainchild, under which IM recruits were trained to engage in subversive and terrorist activities in India. Headley had confessed to involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, part of the same “Karachi Project”. The mafia and criminal nexus of Islamists have also helped in intensifying IM activities. Notably, Mohammad Sadique Issar Sheikh, a conspirator of February 23, 2005, Varanasi blast, worked with Aftab Ansari and Dubai based criminal Asif Raza Khan. Moreover, two IM suspects were arrested from their hideout in Buldhana District of Maharashtra on March 27, 2012. The arrested persons, according to Police, had carried out a spate of bank robberies in Madhya Pradesh and used the money for terror funding. "The gang had also spent the money on legal expenses of their aides who are behind the bars now," an unnamed Police officer disclosed.

Significantly, both the 13/7 Mumbai attacks and Delhi High Court Blast of September 7, 2011, reportedly carried out by IM, were funded by hawala money transferred from Pakistan through the terrorist-mafia networks backed by Pakistan. The money had been laundered through an old LeT conduit, identified as Wali Aziz alias Rehan, who operated out of Dubai. Naqi Ahmed Wasi, one of the accused, arrested on January 12, 2012, confessed that he was given INR 150,000 by Yasin Bhatkal as commission for the 13/7 blasts. At least INR 1 million, received through hawala channels, was provided for this plot.

According to Institute for Conflict Management data, a total of 132 IM/SIMI cadres have been arrested, in 59 incidents, from across the country, since the Batla House encounter of September 19, 2008. Nevertheless, the IM continues to retain significant capacities for terrorism and, more significantly, given sustained Pakistani support and the widespread SIMI networks, tremendous potential for renewal, revival, and a continuous reinvention of its destructive enterprise. The 2011 attacks in Mumbai and Delhi are a warning to India’s security agencies, not only that India remains tremendously vulnerable to terrorist violence, but also to the dynamic capacity of even small terrorist formations to transform and revitalize themselves, despite devastating losses.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
May 7-13, 2012

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
1
1

Jammu and Kashmir

1
0
6
7

Manipur

0
0
3
3

Left-wing Extremism

 

Andhra Pradesh

0
0
2
2

Assam

0
0
4
4

Chhattisgarh

1
6
0
7

Maharashtra

1
0
0
1

Odisha

1
1
0
2

Total (INDIA)

4
7
16
27

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

3
4
0
7

FATA

16
26
41
83

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

4
1
0
5

Punjab

1
2
0
3

Sindh

18
0
1
19

Total (PAKISTAN)

42
33
42
117
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

JeI founder indicted for war crimes: The war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh has indicted Ghulam Azam, founder of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in former East Pakistan, on charges of incitement, conspiracy, planning, murder, abetment and failure to prevent crimes against humanity during the country's liberation war in 1971. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 framed the charges on May 13 and fixed June 5 for starting the trial of Azam, who is considered the mentor of JeI that took up arms to defend Pakistan alongside the Pakistani Army in the Bangladesh war in 1971. The Hindu, May 13, 2012.

Bangladeshi Navy adds special war unit to fight terror: Bangladesh Navy has commissioned a Special Warfare Diving and Salvage unit to strengthen anti-terrorism and anti-piracy drive in the Bay of Bengal during peacetime and to go for sweeping measures during crisis. The unit will have around strength of around 900. Daily Star, May 10, 2012.


INDIA

Six CISF troopers among seven persons killed in a CPI-Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh: Seven persons, including six troopers of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the civilian driver, were killed in an ambush by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in Dantewada District on May 13. The troopers, including a head constable and five constables, were on patrol duty guarding the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) facility in Kirandul when armed Maoists ambushed them with heavy gunfire at around 9:30pm. Times of India, May 14, 2012.

ISI trying to revive Babbar Khalsa International, says Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh on May 9 informed Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) that Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), was trying to revive Babbar Khalsa International (BKI, a banned terror outfit) in order to resurrect terrorism in Punjab. He said, "Government is committed to combat terrorism, extremism and separatism in all its forms and manifestations as no cause, genuine or imaginary can justify terrorism or violence." Times of India, May 10, 2012.

Maoists expanding into southern States, says MHA: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh on May 9 said in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament), "The CPI (Maoist) is making forays into Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu under the supervision of its South West Regional Bureau and is planning to link the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats through these states". Government agencies have recently found that CPI Maoist cadres are engaged in efforts to establish a forest route from Wayanad District in Kerala to Mysore District of Karnataka, he added. Times of India, May 10, 2012.

"Around 150 people in State having links with the Maoists", says Assam DGP Jayanta Narayan Choudhury: Director General of Police (DGP) Jayanta Narayan Choudhury said that there around 150 people in the State having links with the Maoists and that the Police have identified 21 Police Stations in Maoist-prone areas. Stating that nobody from the State joined the Maoist movement for its ideology, the DGP said most of the new cadres previously used to be linkmen with the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Sentinelassam, May 11, 2012.

Naxals have now virtually gained control over illicit mining of not just coal but also minerals, says report: Naxals (Left-Wing Extremists) have now virtually gained control over illicit mining of not just coal but also minerals, including the cash-rich iron ore, across States of their dominance. The annual turnover from this illegal trade that runs into hundreds of crores is being pumped into financing the armed operations of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Deccan Chronicle, May 2, 2012.

IM head Yasin Bhatkal invested money in Housing Project in Maharashtra, says report: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) officers found out that Yasin Bhatkal, who heads terror group Indian Mujahideen (IM), invested INR 1.4 million in the under-construction Poonam Paradise in Nalla Sopara (east) of Thane District in Maharashtra in 2010. The investment was made through one Naquee, who is now in ATS custody for stealing the bikes used to plant the bombs at Zaveri Bazaar, Dadar Kabutarkhana and Opera House (Mumbai) on July 13, 2011. Mumbai Mirror, May 11, 2012.

There are 8,600 hard-core Maoists and 38,000 jan militia members, says Union Home Ministry: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh in a written reply to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament), said on May 8, "According to current estimates, the strength of the hard-core Naxals in the country is around 8,600. In addition, there are around 38,000 'jan militia', who carry rudimentary arms and also provide logistic support to the core group of the People Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) of the CPI (Maoist) [Communist Party of India-Maoist". India Today, May 9, 2012.

Pakistan has not taken enough action against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 7 said that Pakistan has not taken enough action against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief blamed for masterminding the November 26, 2008 (also known as 26/11) attack on Mumbai. "We're well aware that there have not yet been the steps taken by the Pakistani Government to do what both India and the US have repeatedly requested them they do," Clinton said, adding, "And we're going to keep pushing that point." Daily Times, May 8, 2012.


NEPAL

CPN-UML refuses to be a part of the National Unity Government: The third largest party in the Constituent Assembly, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), said it would support Baburam Bhattarai led Government from outside, rebuking repeated calls from Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) and the Nepali Congress (NC) to be part of the coalition. A national consensus Government was formed on May 5. Myrepublica, May 8, 2012.


PAKISTAN

41 militants and 26 SF among 83 persons killed during the week in FATA: Four persons were killed and three received injuries in clashes between rival militant groups in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on May 13.

Four children - one girl and three boys - were killed and two women got injured on May 11 when a mortar slammed into their pick-up truck in the Qamberabad area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency.

At least 10 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants were killed and several others injured when Army helicopter gunships heavily pounded suspected hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency near Afghan border on May 9.

Six militants were killed during a clash between the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansarul Islam (AI) in Toorikhel area of Tirah Valley.

39 persons were killed in two days of clashes between Security Forces and militants in Miranshah area of North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

The TTP killed 14 soldiers in Miranshah, the main town in the NWA along the Afghan border on May 7. Dawn; Daily Times; The News; Tribune, May 8-14, 2012.

Number of 'missing persons' rising in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reveals the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances: The Senate was informed that the number of 'missing persons' has surged in Punjab to 246 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to 169 in the past 16 months. Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik said that 467 people went missing across the country till May 2, 2021 as compared to 138 in 2010. He quoted the figures from the findings of the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances. Dawn, May 12, 2012.

Military operation in North Waziristan imminent, says Peshawar corps commander Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani: Repeating assurances by other top Army officers, the Peshawar corps commander Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani said the Pakistan Army would launch operations in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He however didn't say when this would happen, or whether it would target all factions there. Rabbani told The Associated Press, "Something has to be done, and it's in the offing. North Waziristan is the only region we haven't cleared. It should be done as early as possible", he added further.

Meanwhile, the militants in NWA distributed pamphlets pledging holy war to mark the first anniversary of the killing of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, albeit a week late. Masked militants armed with assault rifles handed out copies of the pamphlet from pick-up vehicles in Miranshah, the main town of the NWA that has become known as a premier al Qaeda and Taliban hub. Daily Times, April 9, 2012.

US bill seeks ban on trade and reducing aid to just 10 per cent unless Islamabad reopens NATO supply routes: The United States (US) Congress on May 10 proposed stopping preferential trade with Pakistan and reducing aid to just 10 per cent of available funds unless Islamabad reopens NATO supply routes. It also approved a proposal to stop all reimbursements to the country if Pakistan continued to ignore US demands. "The bill places appropriate conditions on aid to Pakistan," said Congressman Adam Smith." Dawn, May 11, 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.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

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Dr. Ajai Sahni


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