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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 46, May 21, 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


PAKISTAN
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Cloning Terror
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

There's no need of announcing bounties. We are not hiding in caves. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, at a Press Conference in Islamabad,
April 3, 2012.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the Chief of Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD), the front organisation of the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), finds no reason to hide. He operates with impunity, conducting numberless mass rallies across Pakistan under the banner of the newly formed Difa-e-Pakistan (Defense of Pakistan) Council (DPC). DPC came into being towards the end of 2011, and comprises 44 religious and political parties, including a number of banned terrorist formations. Its declared ideology pits it against a American-Jewish-Indian ‘conspiracy’ under which the “US withdrawal from Afghanistan after a decade of brutal occupation” is intended “to leave India in a position where it can dominate the region and serve the interests of (a) Zionist Controlled world”.

These increasingly visible activities continue, despite the US announcement, on April 2, 2012, of a bounty of USD 10 million for information leading to Saeed’s arrest or conviction. The US holds Saeed responsible for his alleged role in the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks. US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland stated, "It (the bounty) has everything to do with Mumbai and his brazen flouting of the justice system... It is because we want to see him brought to justice." The US also announced a USD 2 million bounty under its Rewards for Justice Programme for Saeed’s brother-in-law and LeT ‘deputy leader’, Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki. The bounties were posted on the US State Department Rewards for Justice Website, which stated,
Saeed is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six American citizens... Additionally, the United States Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated National under Executive Order 13224. Saeed was also individually designated by the United Nations under UNSCR 1267 in December 2008. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in December 2001. In April 2008, the United States designated Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; similarly, the United Nations declared Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist organization in December 2008... .

US Government sources indicate that one of the main reasons for the US announcing the USD two million reward for Makki was his proximity to the Afghan Taliban ‘supreme commander’ Mullah Omar and al Qaeda's chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Saeed’s response to the announcement of the bounties has been contemptuous. Moving freely across Pakistan, he held a defiant Press Conference close to the country's military headquarters in Rawalpindi on April 3, 2012, declaring, “I am here, I am visible. America should give that reward money to me. I will be in Lahore tomorrow. America can contact me whenever it wants to.” He also dared the US to carry out a military raid against him like the one that killed al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden, declaring that he was not hiding and would himself give his whereabouts to the US.

Despite his provocative stance, and in a rather bizarre announcement, on April 29, 2012, the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, blamed the Pakistani media for "misreporting" the issue, claiming that the US Government had not announced any bounty on Saeed. "Though Hafiz Saeed is a suspected accused of the Mumbai terror attacks, the US Government didn't place any bounty or head money for him." Allegations subsequently surfaced that Munter had sought to pacify the JuD chief in a one-on-one meeting in Islamabad held on an unspecified date, though both sides have categorically denied such a meeting. Significantly, on May 9, 2012, a US State Department official disclosed that Munter would step down from his position as Ambassador to Pakistan “this summer”, after serving less than two years in the post. The official added that it was “the ambassador’s decision to go...”

Amidst rising confusion, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 7, 2012, reconfirmed the bounty, stating, in Kolkata (India), "I authorised the award for Hafiz Saeed who was responsible for attacks in Mumbai. It may take longer than we like but we will stand with you (India) and try to make that happen. India and the US are greatest rebukes to religious discrimination."

On February 16, 2012, much before announcing the bounty, the US had strongly urged Pakistan to prevent Saeed from moving freely in the country, freeze the assets of the groups associated with him, and stop allowing LeT to acquire weapons.

Though it is not clear whether Saeed was present at the DPC demonstration at Lahore, on April 6, 2012, the crowd at the meeting carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans in his favour and against the US and India. Leaders from different religious groups delivered fiery speeches, condemning the US for “taking this decision (on the bounty) under Indian pressure.” ‘Commander’ of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) Asghar Rasool, who participated in the rally warned: “The US is pleasing India…It’s not the issue of Hafiz Saeed but of the entire Muslim Ummah and if we don’t rise to the occasion today it can happen to many others tomorrow.”

Frequent rallies are now being organised by DPC, with the participation of a number of proscribed outfits, including JuD, Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jama’at (ASWJ) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), as well as Islamist political groupings such as the Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI), Dawat Ahl-e-Hadees, Majlis Ahrar-e-Islam, International Khatam-e-Nabuwat and Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadees, and mainstream political parties such as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jama’at Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The presence of top terrorist leaders, including the ‘father of the Taliban’ Maulana Sami-ul Haq and the LeJ founder Malik Ishaq, raises serious questions regarding the DPC, the ‘state patronage’ that it, and others of its ilk, enjoy in Pakistan, as well as the ideological and political spectrum within which it is located. JuD Spokesperson Yahya Mujahid confirmed that Malik Ishaq was present on the stage during the DPC rally on February 17, 2012, in Multan District.

A sympathetic tone towards the Afghan Taliban dominates DPC rallies. Speaking against US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, and warning Islamabad of “serious consequences”, on March 28, 2012, Saeed declared that if NATO supplies through Pakistan are “ever resumed”, this would only further entrench the US in Afghanistan. Significantly, Pakistan closed NATO supply routes soon after US-led NATO forces attacked Pakistani troops on November 26, 2011, at the Salala Checkpost in the Mohmand Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Earlier, in a DPC rally on February 12, 2012, several speakers paid tribute to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar and warned that they would turn every square of the country into a ‘Tahrir Square’, if attempts were made to push the country into US subservience.

Kashmir is also ‘close to their heart’. Addressing the Defence of Islam Conference in Mirpur District of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on April 17, 2012, Saeed threatened that there would be no peace in South Asia without resolution of the longstanding Kashmir dispute:
We will go to the last extent to help the Kashmiris and ultimately India will have to pull out its 800,000 troops from the occupied territory. When the United States (US) along with almost 40 other nations cannot perpetuate its presence in Afghanistan, how can India continue with its occupation of Kashmir?.

All this occurs openly, despite the fact that Saeed’s direct involvement in terrorist acts has been documented repeatedly and well. Adding to a large body of evidence that has led to successive bans on virtually every organisation that Saeed heads (the DPC remains a present exception), David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani American LeT operative involved in planning 26/11, in his confessional statement in the US, had confirmed: "Hafiz Saeed had full knowledge of the Mumbai attacks and they were launched only after his approval."

India also has given significant evidence on Saeed’s involvement in 26/11. Indian Government sources disclose that such evidence included the statement of Ajmal Kasab – the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks – conceding that “Saeed was present during the selection and training of terrorists behind the 26/11 attack.” 

Bruce Riedel, a former Central Investigation Agency (CIA) officer and now a senior fellow in the Seban Centre at Brookings Institute, citing the documents recovered from slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s hideaway in Abbottabad in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, observed that Saeed, who is an al Qaeda ally, was in close touch with Osama until his death: "Osama Bin Laden communicated with Saeed and others via courier. He practised very good opsec [operations security]. The two had a long-standing relationship going back to the creation of LeT in the 1980s... Osama Bin Laden provided some of the seed money to start the group (LeT)." 

The US has also claimed that it had “hard evidence” that Saeed was communicating with Osama bin Laden through a courier and that Laden had played a key role in the 26/11 attacks. On February 7, 2012, Saeed himself confessed for the first time that he had met with Osama bin Laden and claimed that he (Saeed) had studied under the same scholar, Sheikh Bin Baz, who taught Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Yet, Islamabad continues to shield Saeed claiming that there is ‘no evidence’ against him to sustain a prosecution.

Such claims have been endorsed at the highest level. Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik claimed that, when Islamabad asked for evidence in support of the US bounty, “we came to know there was none... If America doesn’t have any evidence and India still claims to have evidence, it should be shared with us”. In a similar tone, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, on May 13, 2012, declared that there was insufficient evidence to arrest Saeed. "If you arrest him (Hafiz Saeed), that means he will be released by the courts in Pakistan. For the courts you need more evidence... You know the judiciary is completely independent in Pakistan."

Adding to this ‘tragedy of errors’, an unnamed counter-terrorism official in Islamabad made the bizarre assertion, on April 6, 2012, that Saeed was helping de-radicalize militants:  "Hafiz Saeed has agreed with the Punjab Government programme of de-radicalisation and rehabilitation of former jihadis and extended full cooperation." Expressing concerns for his safety, the Federal Government had ‘requested’ him to maintain a low profile after the announcement of the US bounty. On April 23, 2012, Saeed told the media that Federal Government Agencies had ‘advised’ him not to participate in public rallies ‘for the time being’. Significantly, reports indicate that at least nine policemen, on six hour shifts, guard the three barricades set up by JuD volunteers about 200 to 300 meters from Saeed's house.

Saeed is openly appreciative of the ‘security’ offered to him, and the support given to the enterprise of jihadi terrorism, by the Pakistani state. On January 1, 2012, he thus observed:
Pakistan is unmatched in terms of the freedom it allows for the pursuit of jihad and for the spread of Islam. No other ‘territory’ in the world matched Pakistan and it was a great blessing from Allah... Non-Muslims were conspiring against Pakistan both internally and externally.    

Saeed, undoubtedly, has enormous support from the authorities at the helm. Bruce Riedel  notes,
Saeed, a very public figure in Pakistan and admired by its military advocates a truly extreme vision: the destruction of India and the creation of a Muslim caliphate over the entire subcontinent. Both Saeed and LeT for years benefitted from state patronage, particularly, the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency..    

The open support extended by state and political agencies to the DPC and its various constituents, as well as to Saeed, Makki and other terrorist leaders, can only embolden existing Islamist extremist and terrorist formations in Pakistan, and create widening spaces for a new breed of violently intolerant clones. Islamabad continues to breed groups committed to violence in the name of jihad against the US, India and other ‘infidel’ states. This enduring state collusion and the consequent impunity with which extremists and terrorists function can only further devastate the fragile political, social and economic landscape in Pakistan, and destabilize the wider South Asian region as well.

INDIA
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Assam: Karbi Jigsaw
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

A tripartite peace agreement between the Assam State Government, the Union Government and the rebel United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), termed ‘historic’ by Union Home Minister (UHM) P. Chidambaram, was signed on November 24, 2011. A Ceasefire Agreement with the group has been in place since August 1, 2002.

According to the tripartite agreement, a Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC) is to be formed by 2016, replacing the existing Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) formed in 1995. The proposed territory of KAATC would have three revenue and administrative Districts — East Karbi Anglong, Central Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong, with headquarters at Koilamati, Singhason and Hamren, respectively – which would be formed by dividing the present Karbi Anglong District. Further, KAATC would have 55 seats [as against 30 seats in the present KAAC], of which 45 will be reserved for Scheduled Tribes, five will be open, and five seats will be filled through nominations.

Given the extended delay in arriving at the tripartite agreement, after the ceasefire of 2002, UPDS cadres are now chafing over the fact that, five months since the signing of the accord, the monitoring committee, to be led by a Joint Secretary level officer in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), which was to be to formed to oversee the implementation of the agreement, is yet to be constituted, though the UPDS claimed, on April 24, 2012, that it had sent a list of its nominees to the Central Government. Since the Committee has not been formed, a further clause of the tripartite agreement, stipulating an ‘economic package’ worth INR 3.5 billion for the Karbi Anglong region, cannot be implemented. Further, the UPDS complains, little movement has been noticed towards tabling in Parliament the constitutional amendment required for the formation of KAATC.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), which was entrusted with the task of implementing the accord, is apparently waiting for a peace accord with Black Widow aka Dima Halim Daogah – Jewel Garlosa (DHD-JG) group, based in the neighbouring Dima Hasao District, to be finalized, before moving the required constitutional amendment. A draft Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) with Black Widow is reported to be ‘almost ready’, but Government is hoping for a ‘breakthrough’ with another faction, the Dima Halim Daogah-Nunisa (DHD-N), before signing the agreement with the DHD-JG. Talks with DHD-N are, however, at a stalemate over the demand for the inclusion of 90 villages, in Karbi Anglong District apart from the neighbouring Districts of Cachar and Nagaon, in the proposed territorial council.

Peace talks with another Karbi outfit, the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), which declared a ceasefire and surrendered arms in February 2010, have also stalled. KLNLF ‘Chairman’, Pongbi Dilli, on December 1, 2011, argues, “We were supposed to sign a peace accord along with UPDS but we did not because the Centre wanted us to drop our core demand of a separate Karbi State, we cannot compromise on this”. KLNLF is demanding an autonomous State for the Karbis under Article 244(A) of the Indian Constitution, but both the Union and State Governments are opposed to the idea of an autonomous State within a State.

As the peace processes hit roadblocks, rebel cadres are showing signs of restiveness. Reports indicate that, since 2010, 17 KLNLF and eight UPDS militants have fled their designated camps located in Karbi Anglong District, along with arms and ammunition. Police have no clue about the whereabouts of these deserters. Further, Police have arrested 22 KLNLF militants for violating ceasefire rules between March 2010 and February 2012, and seized 23 weapons.

Situated in central Assam, covering an area of 10,434 square kilometers, and bounded by Golaghat District in the east, Meghalaya and Morigaon District in the West, Nagaon and Golaghat Districts in the North and Dima Hasao [formerly North Cachar (NC) Hills] District and Nagaland in the South, the Karbi Anglong District has suffered from militancy since the early 1990’s, with the formation of the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and Karbi People’s Front (KPF). KNV and KPF merged in March 1999, to form the UPDS; the KLNLF was formed on May 16, 2004, as a result of a split within UPDS. KPLT was formed on January 8, 2011 out of the Anti-Talks faction of the KLNLF.

Since March 10, 2000, the Karbi Anglong District has witnessed 512 killings, including 361 civilians, 15 SFs and 136 militants. While UPDS was involved in 88 of these killings, KLNLF was involved in 176 fatalities. Apart from the killings, the District has witnessed another 229 incidents of violence, including abduction, extortion, rival group clashes, exchange of fire, bomb blasts, etc. At least 72 incidents of arrest and 21 incidents of recovery of arms, ammunition and explosives, have also been recorded during this period.

Militancy was at its peak in 2005, with 108 fatalities recorded that year, but dropped sharply in 2010, with just 10 fatalities. A gradual rise has been in evidence through 2011 (12 fatalities) and 2012 (nine killed by May 20).

The rise in violence since 2011 is largely attributed to the formation of KPLT. Since its formation, KPLT has been involved at least 53 incidents of violence within the District, and one (civilian) killing in the bordering Golaghat District. Of the 53 incidents, 17 included fatalities, in which five civilians, 3 Security Forces (SF) personnel, and 16 KPLT cadres were killed. The most prominent of these incidents included:   

August 13, 2011: A truck driver, Nandu Mathu, was killed and 11 others, including six Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) activists, were injured, when suspected KPLT militants opened fire on vehicles on National Highway 37 at Panbari near Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat District.  

April 2, 2011: KPLT militants killed three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and injured four others in an ambush near Rongshuli village in Karbi Anglong District.

Significantly, no other group in the District has been involved in any fatalities since 2011, with the exception of a single incident of a fratricidal killing (on March 30, 2012) involving Kuki militant groups – the Assam unit of the Manipur-based Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and Karbi Anglong based United Kukigram Defense Army (UKDA). One UKDA militant was killed in the incident.

KPLT has, moreover, been involved in rampant abduction-for-ransom and extortion since its inception. In the latest of a series of abductions, on March 3, 2012, KPLT abducted two persons, including the Chief Conservator of Forests of Karbi Anglong, Abhijit Rabha, and Range Officer, Ranjan Barua, from the foothills of the Singhason Hills. The KPLT demanded INR 10 million for their release. The duo was released on March 6, and reports indicate that the Forest Department paid INR 7 million as ransom. Police subsequently arrested Ranjan Barua and another forest official, Dinesh Patgiri, on April 7, for paying the ransom. Earlier, on April 6, SFs had arrested Bhupendra Narzary, an Officer on Special Duty (OSD), posted at the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Karbi Anglong, following the arrest of two KPLT militants, and the recovery of INR 3.5 million from them.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that, in the interior areas of the District, extortion is endemic. One report quoted an unnamed schoolteacher working in one of the remote areas as stating,
Extortion is the biggest issue in these militant-dominated interior areas of Karbi Anglong. Here, each household has to pay an annual tax to the militants. Shop and vehicle owners have to pay them tax for using the hill district’s land for business. Even we have to pay a monthly ‘tax’ from our salary.    

The State Government estimates the strength of KPLT at around 60-70 militants equipped with sophisticated weapons, including AK rifles, M20 recoilless armor penetrating rifles, Light Machine Guns, mortars, etc. In addition, reports suggest that KPLT has established links with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Kanglei Yowel Kanna Lup (KYKL), operating in the neighbouring Manipur State, for training new cadres. Significantly, these two Manipuri outfits are part of the Coordination Committee (CorCom) of seven Imphal Valley-based groups. KPLT is also reported to have established links with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). There are indications that some former UPDS militants have also started helping KPLT.

Troubled by rising trends in violence and disruption, on March 19, 2012, the Government directed the Unified Command (UC) of SFs to initiate counter-insurgency operations against KPLT cadres. Since then, three encounters have been recorded in the District:

March 28, 2012: SFs arrested a KPLT militant following an encounter at Tarlangshu in Karbi Anglong District. Another KPLT militant sustained injuries during the encounter, but managed to escape.

March 30, 2012: SFs killed a militant of the KPLT and injured two others in an encounter at an unspecified area under the Bokolia Police Station in Karbi Anglong District. SFs also arrested three KPLT militants after the encounter along with two AK-56 automatic rifles, one .76 revolver and some extortion notes.

April 20, 2012: SFs killed the founding ‘general secretary’ of the KPLT, Nilip Enghi and four other cadres during an encounter on the hill tracks on Harlong Woti in Borpung, under the Chowkihola Police Station in Karbi Anglong District. One KPLT militant sustained serious bullet injuries. Nilip Enghi was considered the ‘brain’ of the outfit.

The KPLT has lost 16 of its cadre, including its ‘General Secretary, Nilip Enghi, and ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Blain Hanse, since its formation in January 2011. SFs have, so far, also arrested 43 persons linked with the rebel formation. Another 16 KPLT militants, including five ‘top leaders’, have surrendered.

Meanwhile, the SFs recovered the mutilated body of Blain Hanse, the KPLT ‘commander-in-chief’, on May 5, 2012, from the Tarapung area under the Chokihola Police Station. Investigations indicate that Hanse was the victim of a drunken brawl within the group, and was killed by a fellow KPLT militant on May 2, 2012.

Renewed operations by the SFs and infighting within the outfit have dealt major blows to the KPLT. Nevertheless, the outfit retains significant capacities for disruption. Worse, resentment against delays in hammering out and implementing various ‘accords’ appears to be growing. Wojaru Mukrang, former UPDS ‘Joint Secretary’ (in-charge of political affairs) and now an elected member of the KAAC, thus complains, “There was no condition in the MoS that our settlement is dependent on how negotiations with other groups progress… We are already in the mainstream and not going back to the jungles. But this is unfair.”  

Elections for 26 seats in the KAAC were held on January 4, 2012, with the Congress Party winning the maximum number (15). The KAAC term will last till 2016.  

Conspicuously, the Karbi jigsaw remains fragmented, and will not fall into place unless all groups are brought to the negotiating table, and a consensual formula is implemented.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
May 14-20, 2012

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
2
2

Meghalaya

1
0
0
1

Left-wing Extremism

 

Chhattisgarh

2
2
0
4

Jharkhand

1
0
0
1

Odisha

1
1
0
2

Total (INDIA)

5
3
2
10

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

7
5
0
12

FATA

2
0
29
31

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

3
0
1
4

Sindh

26
0
3
29

Total (PAKISTAN)

38
5
33
76
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

National counter terrorism strategy in months, says official: The draft national strategy on counter terrorism is expected to see its final shape in a couple of months, Home Ministry's additional secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed said on May 17. The strategy would keep readied teams of armed forces, RAB and other law enforcing agencies for emergency responses at any place in the country and beyond. NewAge, May 18, 2012.


INDIA

Mumbai and Gujarat on terror radar, confirms Union Ministry of Home Affairs: Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) has confirmed that Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Gujarat are on the terror radar of Pakistan-based groups, as reported on May 14. Regarding the "false" Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) alert, top government sources confirmed that foreign agencies have tipped off New Delhi that Mumbai and Gujarat are on the target list. "The advisory about the terror attack is correct but photos given out are false," said an unnamed senior official. Hindustan Times, May 16, 2012.

Militancy declined in Kashmir valley, but militants trying to attack Srinagar, states Kashmir Zone IGP S.M. Sahai: Inspector General of Police (IGP, Kashmir zone) S.M. Sahai on May 18 said that there was steep decline in militancy in Kashmir valley and the militants were trying to carry out attacks in Srinagar. He commented, "Srinagar is being used as transit by militants, but we would not allow them to carry out activities in Srinagar. We have to ensure a safe Srinagar…Now it takes little time for a militant to enter into Srinagar because of easy transport. They came and try to carry out attacks in Srinagar". Greater kashmir, May 19, 2012.

Google Earth used in 26/11 terror attacks, asserts US Commander George J. Flynn: Citing the example of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Marine Corps Lieutenant General George J. Flynn of US military on May 15 warned of the dangers posed by "democratisation" of technology in future warfare. He said, "All the mission planning was done via Google Earth…There was no investment in technology of [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platforms or anything like that". Flynn said the terrorists used cellular phone networks as command and control and social media to track and thwart the efforts of Indian commandos. Times of India, May 19, 2012.

'Foreigner extended support to Naxals', says Union Home Ministry: An instance of a foreigner extending support to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and its front organisations has come to notice, the Government said on May 16. Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament) that one Jan Myrdal, a pro-Maoist Swedish author, had visited India in January 2012 and attended pro-CPI-Maoist conventions in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Delhi. Zee News, May 17, 2012.

Myanmar grants autonomy to the NSCN-K in three Districts of Sagaing, says report: Myanmar has granted autonomy to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) in three Districts of Sagaing, an administrative region in the northwest of the country, bordering Nagaland and Manipur to its north. Y. Wangtin Naga, an NSCN-K leader from India who was one of the six signatories of the April 9 bilateral ceasefire with the Myanmar Government said, "Nagas have autonomy in Lahe, Layse and Nanyang in Sagaing region and we are looking for self-administration in more Naga populated districts in Kachin.". The Telegraph, May 15, 2012.


NEPAL

Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party pulls out of the National Unity Government: The Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party has decided to pull out of National Consensus Government led by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. The central working committee of the party took the decision to this effect on May 17. The Madheshi party also decided to stand against the Government and launch protest saying that the agreement signed between major three parties on the 11 province federal model was against the essence of Madhesh movement. Nepal News, May 18, 2012.

Parties agree on 11-province federal model and mixed governance system with directly elected President: The three major political parties, Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) together with the United Madheshi Democratic Front (UMDF) on May 15 reached a breakthrough on the new constitution as they agreed on 11-province federal structure along with mixed governance system. As per the agreement reached during talks, the names of the provinces would be determined by elected state assemblies themselves. The federal states would be carved out on the basis of ethnicity, geography and language, said Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha after the meeting. Nepal News, May 16, 2012.


PAKISTAN

29 militants and two civilians among 31 persons killed during the week in FATA: Nine militants were killed when Security Forces (SFs) pounded their hideouts in Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on May 15.

12 militants were killed and several others injured when SFs pounded their hideouts with artillery and helicopter gunships in two different areas of Kurram Agency on May 14.

Eight Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants were killed and two soldiers were injured in a clash with SFs at Qamberabad Chowk in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune, May 15-21, 2012.

26 civilians and three militants among 29 persons killed during the week in Sindh: At least five persons, including an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were killed in separate acts of target killing in different parts of Karachi on May 18.

Eight persons, including a MQM activist and two cadres belonging to Sunni Tehreek (ST), were killed in separate acts of target killings in Karachi on May 17.

At least eight persons were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi on May 16.

At least seven people, including three MQM workers and a MQM sympathizer, were shot dead in different parts of Karachi on May 15. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune, May 15-21, 2012.

UN 'al Qaida Sanction List' declares Ilyas Kashmiri as 'reported dead': Almost a year after key 26/11 suspect Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri was reported killed in a drone strike, the United Nations (UN) has updated his status as "reported dead" in a sanctions list of individuals and entities associated with al Qaeda. The UN Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions committee amended on May 10 the information related to Kashmiri in its comprehensive 'al-Qaida Sanctions List'. The updated information reads Kashmiri "reportedly deceased in Pakistan on June 11, 2011". Times of India, May 20, 2012.

Western Embassies in Islamabad receive letters containing suspicious powder: Several Western embassies in Islamabad on May 16 received letters containing suspicious powder and threats to poison NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan officials said. The letters said "poison" would be hidden in the NATO supplies should Pakistan decide to lift a nearly six-month blockade on supplies for American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Times of india, May 17, 2012.

South belt of Punjab is a breeding ground for militant, says Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif: The Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif for the first time on May 18 admitted that southern belt of the province was a breeding ground for militants. The Provincial Government had, up to now, been denying the presence of any militant elements in southern Punjab. Dawn, May 19, 2012.

Pakistan among 'most negatively perceived' countries, reveals BBC poll: Pakistan has been ranked second in the list of most negatively rated countries in the world by a global poll for BBC World Service, which surveyed 24,090 people around the world. Pakistan was rated "mostly negative" by 51 per cent of the respondents, getting placed just one spot above the most negatively rated country - Iran, which was rated negative by 55 percent of the total respondents. Most of the respondents blamed Pakistan's foreign policy and the poor treatment of its citizens for such a widespread negative perception of the country. Indian Express, May 19, 2012.

'There is evidence against FC in missing persons' case in Balochistan', alleges Supreme Court: The Supreme Court on May 14 said that there existed evidence that the Frontier Corps (FC) were involved in abducting people in Balochistan. The Court told the FC Inspector General (IG) that respect for the force was waning gradually as 95 percent of the people in Balochistan had alleged that FC was involved in the picking up of civilians in the province. Daily Times, May 15, 2012.

Government controls 90 percent of tribal areas, claims KP Governor Barrister Masud Kausar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Masud Kausar on May 16 said that about 90 percent of the seven tribal areas and Frontier Regions are under Government control because of successful action against the militants and activities to revive public life are gearing up as a result. "I must say, apart from North Waziristan Agency and some parts of South Waziristan Agency, the remaining FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) is clear now and the government writ is being consolidated," Governor Masud Kausar said. Central Asia Online, May 17, 2012.

Gilgit Baltistan Cabinet approves mosque 'Code of Conduct': The Gilgit Baltistan (GB) cabinet approved 'Code of Conduct' (CoC) for mosques and gave legal status to Masajid (Mosque) Boards, which were formed by the Parliamentary Committee. Government spokesperson and Minister for Education Ali Madad Sher said the code of conduct has been approved and will be given a legal cover by presenting it in the Assembly in the shape of a Masajid Boards Act and its implementation will ensure harmony, tranquility and tolerance Pakistan Observer, May 16, 2012.


SRI LANKA

No troop cuts in Tamil areas, asserts President Mahinda Rajapaksa: President Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 19 asserted that there will be no troop cut in Tamil areas. "Armed services camps are not found in the North alone. They [Armed Forces] are seen throughout the country. They are in Colombo and Giruvapattu in the South. These are found in our country. Not in any foreign country," he said, making it clear that the army-to-civilian ratio in the North will not be altered. "We must ask if we are in a position to remove the armed forces camps in the North and reduce our attention national security. That is not possible," he added. Diplomats stationed in Colombo reckon that as much as 60 per cent of the Sri Lankan Army is deployed in the North. Another similar estimate puts the army-to-civilian ratio at 1:4. The Hindu, May19, 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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