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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 11, September 17, 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
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Punjab:
The Core at Risk
Ambreen Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Were
one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction
today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan. It
has nuclear weapons and a history of unstable governments,
and parts of its territory are currently a safe
haven for al Qaeda and other terrorists.
World
at Risk: The Report of the Commission on the Prevention
of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and
Terrorism
The
greatest threat of a loose nuke scenario stems from
insiders in the nuclear establishment working with
outsiders, people seeking a bomb or material to
make a bomb. Nowhere in the world is this threat
greater than in Pakistan…With the passage of time,
the odds steadily increase that Pakistan will face
a serious test of its nuclear security…
Rolf
Mowatt-Larssen
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On September 6, 2012, three
militants on a mission to target a nuclear power plant
in Ali Khel area of Bhakkar District, which borders Dera
Ghazi Khan (DGK) District in Punjab Province, were killed
in a premature blast. Significantly, on September 5, 2012,
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency had reportedly
intercepted a telephone call from the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP),
tapping into a conversation regarding finalisation of
the strategy for attacks on nuclear installations in DGK
District. DGK District Police Chief Chaudhry Saleem noted,
“There have been threats to all installations, including
the Dera Ghazi Khan nuclear site, in the current law and
order situation of the country.” The military and Punjab
Police had informed the media that the nature of threat
at the nuclear installation was “serious”, with an “80
per cent chance of occurrence”.
An unnamed
high ranking military officer serving at the installation
was quoted as stating, “Dera Ghazi Khan houses one of
the largest nuclear facilities in the country and has
faced the first ever serious security threat from the
TTP.” Further, a Lahore Police Officer disclosed that
a circular issued by the Punjab Police Chief’s Office
directed the Police Chiefs of all 36 Districts in the
Province to beef up security around sensitive installations
due to “credible reports of terrorist attacks.”
There have
been at least three prior attacks, two in 2007 and one
in 2008, near nuclear facilities in Punjab.
November
1, 2007: Militants attacked a nuclear missile storage
facility in the Sargodha District of the province, killing
seven officers and three civilians.
December
10, 2007: A suicide bomber exploded his car targeting
a Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) bus carrying Air
Force employees’ children at a military base at Kamra
– the Air Weapons Complex at Kamra devoted to the development
of air-delivered nuclear weapons. At least eight persons
were killed in the attack.
August
21, 2008: Two TTP suicide bombers blew themselves up at
the main nuclear facility – the Wah Cantonment Ordnance
Complex, targeting the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF),
which operates under the Defense Production Division in
Pakistan’s Ministry of Defense, and is responsible for
the production and manufacturing of conventional weapons,
including arms and ammunitions. At least 70 persons were
killed in this attack.
Despite
Islamabad’s continuous assertions of its ‘secured’ nuclear
facilities, terrorist formations have issued repeated
threats, and have subsequently attacked nuclear facilities
across Pakistan. The threat of nuclear materials falling
under the control of the TTP or its other allies has put
the security of nuclear weapons in Pakistan at high risk.
Since its inception in 2007, the TTP has successfully
launched attacks against the Government and military installations
close to nuclear sites, or housing nuclear weapons. A
total of 22 major attacks have been carried out by the
terrorists on major security installations across Pakistan.
According
to Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS), among the
14 ‘Selected Pakistani Nuclear Facilities’, 11
are in Punjab, including DGK, Islamabad and Lahore; and
one each in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
The three prior attacks at the facilities suggest that
the installations in Punjab principally remain at a higher
risk. Other installations are, however, also on the terrorist
radar, as extremists have a strong presence in these areas
as well.
Punjab
alone has recorded at least seven such attacks since 2007,
with 99 fatalities. Significantly, the latest threat came
after the Minhas Air Base attack on August 16, 2012, which
killed two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) personnel, and destroyed
a surveillance aircraft. Fresh evidence gathered by investigators
revealed that TTP had contacts with security personnel
stationed at the Air Base, suggesting clear collusion
between the terrorists and elements within the security
establishment. Such collusion was also very much in evidence
in the attack on the Pakistan Naval Station (PNS) Mehran
Air Base on May 22, 2011, in which at least 18 military
personnel were killed. Pakistan had put its nuclear installations
on a high security alert in the wake of the Mehran attack.
This possibility of collusion on the part of elements
within the Pakistan Army, ISI, and other Forces, enormously
raises the risk of terrorist access to nuclear materials.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal, at least 79 persons, including 36 civilians,
28 Security Forces (SF) personnel and15 militants have
been killed in terrorist-linked violence in the Punjab
Province in the first eight months of the current year,
as against 119 persons, including 105 civilians, 11 SF
personnel and 3 militants, during the corresponding period
of 2011. Five persons have already been killed in September
2012 (data till September 16, 2012).
Meanwhile,
on September 4, 2012, the Federal Ministry of Interior
warned authorities in Punjab that at least 16 TTP militants
were planning to carry out attacks on targets in Islamabad
and Rawalpindi Districts, including the Adiala Jail, where
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
militants, including operational ‘commander’ Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the November 26, 2008,
(26/11) Mumbai (Maharashtra, India) terror attacks, which
claimed 166 lives, are being held. The ‘secret’ report
circulated by the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC)
of the Interior Ministry noted that Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi
was likely to be the “main target” of the militants who
intend to “free their accomplices in a prison break”.
The threat
is potent as, on April 15, 2012, more that 200 armed TTP
militants had raided the Central Jail in Bannu District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a pre-dawn attack, releasing
384 prisoners, including 20 inmates facing death sentences.
There is now a pervasive sense of fearlessness among the
terrorist formations, and a sense of pride and exhilaration
after every successful attack, among those claiming responsibility.
Soon after
the Bannu jailbreak, the TTP spokesperson, Asimullah Mehsud
declared, “The purpose was to free some of our men...
We attacked with some 150 fidayeen and took over
the area for more than two hours.” Out of the 384 prisoners
who escaped, the provincial Home Department confirmed
the voluntary return of 103 after three days of the incident.
The Police also arrested another more than two dozen escaped
prisoners during separate search operations. Three prisoners,
one of whom was identified as Ayub Khan (70), died in
the Frontier Region, Bannu, due to hunger and thirst.
The remaining militants, claimed a TTP pamphlet, were
taken away to Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) of
North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA). In the pamphlet the TTP ‘commander’
Hafiz Gul Bahadur urged the residents of NWA, “Do not
let them (Security Forces) operate from North Waziristan.
Resistance will be put up if Security Forces try moving
into the Agency...”
Further,
the NCMC’s ‘secret’ report also stated that the TTP militants,
who are “highly trained and reported to be currently residing
in Attock” in Punjab, were expected to simultaneously
target Government installations and abduct some high-profile
people in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The two
cities are seen as a convenient source for generating
funds for the TTP. On September 2, 2012, an explosive
laden device with the inscription “first gift from TTP”
was discovered at a farm house owned by a businessman,
Haji Sahib Khan, on the outskirts of Westridge Police
Station in Rawalpindi District. Khan had been receiving
death threats on his cell phone. A text message sent by
the TTP read, “You are under observation and on our hit
list.”
The abduction-extortion
network in Punjab was exposed after the high profile arrest
of two TTP militants who were running the operation in
Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Investigations discovered, further,
that the leader of the TTP’s Islamabad-Pindi ‘network’
was operating from the United Kingdom. An extortionist
belonging to the TTP, identified as Mohsin, disclosed
that he collected money in the two cities, and handed
it over to the operational head of TTP in Rawalpindi,
Mohammad Asif. Asif’s arrest and further disclosures revealed
that the extorted money was transferred to Mudassar Shaheen,
who resided in Blackburn, located 27 miles north-northwest
of the city of Manchester in UK, who was an active member
of TTP.
TTP’s growing
and ominous presence and threats in Punjab come in the
wake of an impending military operation in NWA, which
Islamabad had been delaying. NWA provides a safe haven
to militants belonging to the Haqqani Network, Afghan
Taliban and the TTP, who use the territory to launch attacks
against the US and coalition troops in Afghanistan. Taking
advantage of the delay in operations in NWA, the TTP decided
to attack principal military installations, nuclear power
plants and Central Jails in Punjab and other Provinces,
to divert attention and discourage any attempt to launch
effective operations in the region.
The extremist
presence in Punjab is further seen in the overwhelming
structure of religious fundamentalist formations, with
their anti-India and anti-West agendas, and the circulation
of anti-minorities and sectarian hate literature. Public
gatherings led by religious ideologues are a commonplace
in Punjab and have become the major source of militant
recruitment. Free movement and unhindered hate propaganda
by outfits like the Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ)
have expanded their militant operations and recruitment
in the region. In addition to JuD, several other sectarian
and terrorist groupings with headquarters in Punjab work
in close collaboration with the TTP and al
Qaeda.
Over decades
of active support to terrorism, and a rising anarchy on
its own soil, the core of Pakistan’s power in the Punjab
has believed itself to be unassailable. That sense of
invincibility, however, is increasingly a thing of the
past. Both Pakistan’s Army and the Province on which its
power principally rests are now looking increasingly vulnerable,
even as terrorist successes and confidence grow. At the
same time, paralysis appears to have gripped all the major
institutions of the country, and there is little evidence
of any initiative of effective resistance.
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Meghalaya:
Troubled Hills
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On September
14, 2012, a senior militant leader (‘area commander’
of the West Khasi Hills District) of the Garo National
Liberation Army (GNLA)
was shot dead in an encounter with Special Weapons And
Tactics (SWAT) commandos of Williamnagar and Combat Battalion
for Resolute Action (CoBRA) units of Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF), deep in the jungles of Durama Hills (East
Garo Hills). The militant leader, identified as Tusol
T. Sangma alias Mikjim, was inside the main camp,
which was being used as the headquarters of GNLA’s ‘commander-in-chief’
Sohan D. Shira, when the commandos attacked at around
11 am, resulting in a long gun battle over several hours.
A huge cache of arms, including one Heckle-Koch (HK) rifle
with magazine, AK magazines, grenades, pistols and 6 wireless
sets, were recovered from the camp area. Williamnagar
Police are now looking for the body of another GNLA militant,
identified as Pedil, who is believed to have been hit
during the attack on the camp. Police sources suspect
that the militant, who was keeping guard on the camp and
was injured during the encounter, was possibly dead.
Earlier,
in a gun battle on April 5, 2012, Security Forces (SFs)
killed four GNLA militants, who were involved in setting
ablaze 14 coal-laden trucks on March 31, 2012, at Mongpangro
near Keragalram village near Mendipathar in East Garo
Hills.
SFs, however,
have had only a few successes against the GNLA. According
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database,
SFs have, so far, only managed to eliminate 10 militants
in Meghalaya this year, of which seven belonged to GNLA,
out of a total of 33 fatalities, including 21 civilians
and two SFs, (data till September 16, 2012).
Otherwise
peaceful, Meghalaya is now continuously plagued by the
activities of GNLA since its formation. In late 2009,
Champion R. Sangma, the group’s ‘chairman’, floated the
GNLA, along with former A’chik National Volunteer Council
(ANVC)
leader Sohan D. Shira, the present ‘commander-in-chief’.
The GNLA is purportedly fighting for a 'sovereign Garoland'
in the Western areas of Meghalaya, and operates in the
four districts of Garo Hills Districts, in the Western
part of Meghalaya, and also the coal-rich borders of West
Khasi Hills bordering South Garo Hills. The State has
a total of eight Districts
Meghalaya
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, on August 15, 2012, stated
that GNLA’s activities continued to be a cause of serious
concern. Even after the arrest of GNLA ‘chairman’ Champion
Sangma on July 30, 2012, there has been no slowdown in
their criminal activities. The GNLA has been involved
in a number of incidents, including killings, encounters
with SFs, abduction and extortion.
In the
latest of a series of such incidents, on August 7, 2012,
a group of four heavily armed GNLA cadres shot dead a
businessman, identified as Nitesh Shah, at point blank
range in the North Garo Hills District, in retaliation
for his non-compliance to an extortion demand.
Earlier,
on July 19, 2012, GNLA militants killed a school teacher,
Momin, in Resubelpara in East Garo Hills District, on
the grounds of his close links with Government authorities.
Sources indicate that Momin was also a successful rubber
plantation owner, and was envied by many, including GNLA
militants, who wanted a portion of the revenues from the
plantation.
On July
20, 2012, GNLA militants executed two civilians, including
a school teacher, at Rongrong village in East Garo Hills
District, and dumped their bodies on the village road.
Both the victims had their hands tied and were tortured
before they were killed. They also left behind a memory
card which contained a graphic video of their torture.
They had been abducted by the militants a few days before
the murder. The militants accused the two of extorting
money in GNLA’s name.
GNLA also
killed two civilians, a surrendered cadre of the outfit,
identified as Sonaram Sangma, in South Garo Hills, on
June 15, 2012, and a secretary of the Village Defence
Party (VDP), Sengkan K. Sangma, alleging that he was a
Police informer, in East Garo Hills, on June 14, 2012.
The GNLA
also killed a CRPF Sub-inspector and injured a Constable
in East Garo Hills, even as the SFs neutralized a rebel
camp in the Durama Hills range, on July 24, 2012.
The GNLA
was also involved in at least seven of 13 recorded incidents
of abduction in the State. In the most recent case, the
son of a coal exporter to Bangladesh, identified as Konu
Mahanta, was abducted by eight armed GNLA militants on
August 28, 2012, from the Chokpot area in South Garo Hills.
The GNLA had earlier slapped extortion demands, ranging
from INR 500,000 to INR 10 million, on petrol pump owners,
coal dealers and businessmen.
The SFs,
meanwhile, have managed to arrest at least 40 GNLA cadres,
including some leaders, in 2012. The most significant
of these were:
August
9: SFs arrested five GNLA militants while they were extorting
money from a person at Resubelpara in North Garo Hills
District. One of the arrested was the main accused in
the July 19 killing of the school teacher Momin.
July 30:
SFs arrested GNLA ‘chairman’ Champion R. Sangma from the
Umkrem-Pyrdiwah area in the East Khasi Hills District,
on the Indo-Bangladesh border, after he was ‘pushed back’
by Bangladesh.
June 19:
Police arrested the chief arms procurer of the GNLA,
Jackuish A. Sangma from Tura, District headquarters of
West Garo Hills, when he was handing out an extortion
note to a businessman. A foreign-made revolver and six
rounds of live ammunition, four GNLA extortion notes,
and seals were seized from Jackuish’s possession. Jackuish
had been under a Police scanner for several months since
his release on bail from the Shillong District jail, where
he was under detention for his involvement in the procurement
of arms and ammunition for the GNLA. The Police said Jackuish
had procured arms and ammunition from suppliers based
in Dimapur in Nagaland, bordering Assam. Jackuish had
been arrested on November 23, 2011.
June 2:
SFs arrested four GNLA militants, including Pintu Marak,
brother-in-law of GNLA 'commander-in-chief' Sohan D. Shira,
and two Nagaland-based arms smugglers from the Guwahati
(Assam) city's Tetelia area. A huge consignment of arms
and ammunition, including one AK 74 assault rifle, one
Berretta .32 pistol, 25 shells, 400 rounds of AK 74 ammunition,
500 rounds of 9 mm pistol ammunition, and 20 rounds of
ammunition of the .32 Berretta pistol, was seized from
them. The militants confessed that the consignment was
procured from Myanmar and was being taken to Garo Hills
through Nagaland and Assam. The weapons were concealed
in secret chambers built inside the vehicle in which they
were travelling.
Of 10 militants
who surrendered in Meghalaya this year, six belong to
GNLA.
A June
4, 2012, report stated that GNLA had emerged as one of
the biggest procurers of arms in Meghalaya, using Guwahati
city as their main transit route. The outfit, which has
created a nexus with the Anti-Talks Faction of United
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF)
in the recent past, is now in close contact with many
Nagaland-and Manipur-based militant outfits, mainly the
National Socialist Council of Nagaland—Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
and the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA),
as well as gunrunners from Myanmar. The outfit has also
forged an alliance with the Bangladesh-based rebel A’chik
Special Dragon Party.
Police
sources state that the ULFA-ATF has been providing help
to the GNLA for its own benefits. Senior member of ULFA-ATF,
Drishti Rajkhowa, is now believed to be hiding with the
GNLA in the Garo Hills jungles. Rajkhowa also visits Bangladesh
from time to time, taking advantage of the porous international
border. Sources indicate that ULFA-ATF is helping GNLA
maintain an open corridor open for movement into hideouts
in Bangladesh. ULFA-ATF had earlier extended help to the
ANVC, but after that outfit came over ground in 2004,
ULFA-ATF started supporting GNLA.
SF sources
also indicate that ULFA leaders, hiding in shelters provided
by GNLA in Garo Hills, have been coordinating the outfit’s
extortion operations in Assam’s western Districts, targeting
officials of the Rural Development Department posted in
blocks, as well as officials from the Transport, Food
and Civil Supplies Departments. ULFA uses linkmen to collect
money from extortion targets, who are contacted over phone
by ULFA leaders based in the Garo Hills.
Assam Police
is now reportedly looking for much better coordination
with Meghalaya Police, to launch an effective assault
on the ULFA-GNLA network in the Garo Hills area, even
as a senior Assam Police official in the rank of Additional
Director General has been put in charge of coordination
of operations against the ULFA in the western Assam Districts
of Goalpara and Dhubri, bordering the Garo Hills area
in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya
Police has a total strength of 10,064 personnel, yielding
a strong Police-population ratio of 391 per 100,000. The
Assam Police has a total strength of 51,729 personnel,
with a police-population ratio of 169 per 100,000.
Significantly,
on July 23, 2012, SFs neutralized a joint GNLA-ULFA
training camp in the East Garo Hills region, at Memanang
in the foothills of Durama, after a fierce gun battle
between the rebels and a joint team of Meghalaya's SWAT
and CoBRA commandos. The Durama Hills range is a vast,
densely forested area which has been used by GNLA and
ULFA rebels as a safe haven. Sohan D. Shira, chief of
the GNLA's military wing, controls his group from Durama.
Earlier
developments in Bangladesh had significantly impacted
the activities of the militant groups. According to a
September 14, 2012 report, India’s Border Security Force
(BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have now shifted
focus to the Sherpur District in Bangladesh to neutralize
remaining GNLA and ULFA cadres who are holing up in the
area. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh is
also engaged in search operations, a senior BSF official
indicated. The BSF had handed over photos of the cadres
and information on certain areas of Sherpur where the
GNLA-ULFA cadres meet. According to the BSF officials,
the ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ of ULFA, Drishti Rajkhowa,
is married to a Garo woman residing at Sherpur, and she
facilitates the gathering of both GNLA and ULFA cadres
there. However, there are no full-fledged militant camps
in Sherpur, and cadres hide out in thatched houses belonging
to sympathizers. The border Forces of both India and Bangladesh
are looking to clear Northeast militants from Bangladeshi
soil after past operations yielded major successes, resulting
in the arrest of top militant leaders, including the GNLA
‘chairman’ Champion Sangma and ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda
Rajkhowa (2009), among others.
Despite
the arrest of the GNLA ‘chairman’, it is business as usual
for the outfit, with its ‘commander-in-chief’ taking control.
Since Sohan is from the armed wing of the militant outfit,
he has more control over matters related to the organisation,
unlike Champion, who controlled only the political wing.
At present Sohan controls nearly 200 GNLA cadres, including
some overground workers.
The Government
meanwhile has shown no interest in holding talks with
the outfit on the demand of separate Garoland in western
part of the State, despite an offer of talks by GNLA.
An August 9 report indicated that the GNLA had announced
its willingness to end its armed struggle if the Central
Government was ready to accept its demand for creation
of a separate State for the Garos, carved out of the present
State of Meghalaya. Bikdot Nikjang Marak,
‘political secretary’ of GNLA, stated, “We will end all
armed struggle if Delhi listens to our peoples’
demand for a separate Garoland State under Article 3 of
the Indian Constitution. We do not want a separate country
but wish to remain within India.” He said that Garos
continue to live under the shadow of the Khasis who rule
Meghalaya, and there was a long-standing demand by people
of this part of the State for a separate identity. The
arrested GNLA ‘chairman’ had also reportedly indicated
that he was ready to initiate ‘peace talks’ with the Government.
Reiterating
his stand of going all out against GNLA, Chief Minister
Mukul Sangma, on May 8, 2012, warned its cadres to lay
down arms, even as he assured attractive packages for
those who came forward to surrender. He made it clear
that the Government had no intention of suspending ongoing
operations against GNLA, and also
said there was no question of holding dialogue with the
GNLA, which was led by a person who is already a deserter.
The Chief Minister argued that Sohan D. Shira, who was
leading the GNLA after deserting the ANVC, had, on several
occasions, cheated the Government. Shira deserted an ANVC
designated camp on July 24, 2007. He surrendered before
the then Chief Minister D.D. Lapang, on August 25, 2007.
However, he quickly returned underground, teaming up with
Champion R. Sangma, to form the GNLA towards the end of
2009.
With its
rising activities and growing linkage with ULFA-ATF, collaborating
in and outside the State as well as abroad, the GNLA continues
to threaten peace in Meghalaya, despite operational successes
against the group.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
September
10-16, 2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Arunachal
Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Assam
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
Total (INDIA)
|
3
|
0
|
12
|
15
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
23
|
0
|
0
|
23
|
FATA
|
24
|
0
|
9
|
33
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
17
|
0
|
1
|
18
|
Sindh
|
23
|
1
|
1
|
25
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
87
|
1
|
11
|
99
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
'JeI
leader Ghulam Azam was the mastermind of 1971 genocide',
says former caretaker Government adviser Sultana
Kamal: Former caretaker government adviser Sultana
Kamal on September 11, while making her deposition
as prosecution witness before the International
Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), said Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI) leader Ghulam Azam was the mastermind of the
genocide that had taken place during the Liberation
War in 1971. Sultana recalled, "Ghulam Azam had
given the leadership of philosophical and strategic
planning to his vigilante groups Razakar, Al Badr
and Al Shams for perpetrating the crimes against
humanity like killings, arson, rape, looting, genocide
and deportation". UNB
Connect, September 13, 2012.
INDIA
Search
operation launched against GNLA and ULFA in Bangladesh,
says report: The Border Security Force (BSF)
of India and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have
shifted focus on Sherpur District in Bangladesh
to neutralize the Garo National Liberation Army
(GNLA) and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)
cadres who are holing up in the area. The Rapid
Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh is also engaged
in search operations, a senior BSF official said.
Shilong
Times, September 14, 2012.
LeT,
JeM and IM get ISI cyber training, says report:
A highly-specialised cyber division of Pakistan's
the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been assigned
the task of training operatives of militant outfits
in the use of cyber technology. The ISI's cyber
experts are visiting training camps of militant
outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) and the Indian Mujahideen (IM) most of which
are located in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to
train their cadre in use of computers. Deccan
Herald, September 13, 2012.
IM
collected INR 400 million in last two years, says
intelligence report: Indian intelligence agencies
have estimated that Indian Mujahedeen (IM) has managed
to collect funds of INR 400 million in the last
two years, as reported on September 12. The money
has been generated through extortion, subscription
and hawala (illegal money transfer). India
TV, September 13,
2012.
'Gradual
withdrawal' of CRPF from Jammu and Kashmir, says
report: On the directions of Union Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA), there would be a 'gradual
withdrawal' of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
from the Valley and Jammu regions. "We are withdrawing
one battalion from Srinagar in coming days," the
Public Relation Officer, CRPF, Sudhir Kumar said,
adding, "This is the fourth battalion that would
be moved out from Kashmir in a span of one and a
half year. The orders of withdrawal have come from
our headquarters." Earlier, around 50 bunkers of
CRPF had been removed from Srinagar. Greater
Kashmir, September 12, 2012.
NEPAL
Finance
Ministry allocates NPR 819.59 million to provide
financial package to former PLA combatants who have
chosen voluntary retirement: The Ministry of
Finance on September 15 has allocated NPR 819.59
million with a view to concluding the ongoing peace
process by providing financial package to the former
People's Liberation Army (PLA) combatants who have
chosen voluntary retirement. Officials at the Army
Integration Special Committee (AISC) Secretariat,
which is responsible for monitoring, rehabilitation
and integration of former Maoist combatants, said
that the PLA combatants opting for voluntary retirement
will get NPR 500,000 to 800,000 along with travel
expense.
Nepal
News, September 15, 2012.
PM
warns of 'stern step' over delay in promulgating
of ordinances: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai
on September 8 threatened to take "stern step" if
President Ram Baran Yadav rejected the ordinances
presented to him by the Government for certification.
Bhattarai said the Government would take tough steps
if the ordinances were not approved.
Nepal
News, September 9, 2012.
CPN-Maoist-Mohan
Baidya submits a memorandum with the list of 70
demands to the Government: Communist Party of
Nepal-Maoist-Mohan Baidya faction (CPN-Maoist-Mohan
Baidya) submitted a memorandum with the list of
70 demands to the Government on September 10. A
delegation led by CPN-Maoist-Mohan Baidya's 'vice
chairman' C.P Gajurel handed over the memorandum
to Prime Minster Baburam Bhattarai at his office.
Nepal
News, September 11, 2012.
PAKISTAN
24
civilians and nine militants among 33 persons killed
during the week in FATA: Eight militants were
killed when Security Forces (SFs) pounded their
positions in Khadezai area of Orakzai Agency in
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on September
16.
Five
members of a pro-Government armed group died when
they drove over an improvised explosive device in
Zawodin-Bhukkar village in the Tirah Valley of Khyber
Agency on September 13.
Four
civilians were killed and two others injured when
a mortar fired by militants struck a house in Akkakhel
area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber
Agency.
At
least 15 persons killed and 40 others injured in
a suicide attack in a crowded Hamid Market in Kashmir
Chowk area of Parachinar town, the headquterer of
Kurram Agency on September 10. Daily
Times;
Dawn; The
News; Tribune;
Central
Asia Online; The
Nation; The
Frontier Post; Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
11-17, 2012.
23
civilians and one SF among 25 persons killed during
the week in Sindh: Five people, including a
Pakistan People's Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB)
supporter, were killed in separate incidents in
Karachi on September 16.
Eight
persons were shot dead in separate incidents of
target killing in different areas of Karachi on
September 14.
Five
persons were killed in separate incidents of violence
and target killing in Karachi on September 12.
At
least five persons, including a Policeman and two
activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were
killed in separate incidents of target killing in
Karachi on September 10. Daily
Times;
Dawn; The
News; Tribune;
Central
Asia Online; The
Nation; The
Frontier Post; Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
11-17, 2012.
23
civilians killed during the week in Balochistan:
As many as 10 labourers were killed and another
four sustained injuries in the Dasht area of Mastung
District of Balochistan on September 13 after unidentified
assailants opened fire on them.
Unidentified
armed assailants shot dead a tribal elder, Mir Saeed
Ahmed Qalandarani, and his five guards at Tutak
area of Khuzdar District.
At
least four bullet-riddled dead bodies were found
in the Mohammad Toway area of Kalat District on
September 10. Daily
Times;
Dawn; The
News; Tribune;
Central
Asia Online; The
Nation; The
Frontier Post; Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
11-17, 2012.
14,000
persons missing in Balochistan, claims BNP:
The acting President of Balochistan National Party
(BNP), Jehanzeb Jamaldini, on September 12 accused
the chief of the commission on missing persons,
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, of misinforming a United
Nations working group about the issue. Jamaldini
claimed that about 14,000 people of Balochistan
were missing but Justice (retd) Iqbal had provided
wrong information to the UN group. The BNP leader
said members of the families of 204 missing people
had appeared in person before the Supreme Court
to seek their recovery. Dawn,
September 13, 2012.
Militancy
keeps 600,000 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa children out of
school, says report: Around 600,000 children
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have missed one or more years
of education due to militancy, said a report of
'The State of Pakistan's Children-2011'. The report
said a total of 710 schools had been destroyed or
damaged by militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Dawn,
September 12, 2012.
Several
leading politicians, including Sharif brothers,
are on TTP hit list, says secret report: Several
leading politicians, including Pakistan Muslim League
-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother
Shahbaz Sharif, are on the potential hit-list of
the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said an intelligence
report circulated among law enforcement agencies.
Also appearing on the list are Pakistan People's
Party (PPP) leader Fakhar Imam and the head of the
Shia Ulema Council Pakistan Allama Sajid Naqvi.
Tribune,
September 12, 2012.
ISI
still backing terrorists, says Doctor Shakeel Afridi:
Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who helped CIA hunt down
slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, said that
the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) still supports
militancy and regards the United States as its worst
enemy. Times
of India,
September 12, 2012.
GBLA
approves resolution demanding provincial status
for Gilgit Baltistan:The Gilgit Baltistan Legislative
Assembly (GBLA) on September 13 approved a resolution
demanding complete provincial status for the Gilgit
Baltistan region. The resolution will also have
to be approved by the GB Council, headed by the
sitting Prime Minister of Pakistan. Pakistan
Today,
September 14, 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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