| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 15, October 13, 2014
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
|
Mindless
Adventurism
Ajai Sahni
Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, ICM &
SATP
Anurag Tripathi
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Since October
3, 2014, the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) has witnessed the worst kind of Cease Fire Agreement
(CFA) violations since November 2003, when the CFA was
signed between the two sides. There is a complete pandemonium
at the India-Pakistan border in J&K– 190 kilometers
long International Border (IB) and 776 kilometers long
Line of Control (LoC). A hysterical media and many security
pundits have described the situation as a virtual state
of war between India and Pakistan, citing the apparently
massive ordnance that the two sides have thrown at each
other. Thus, Director General Pakistan Rangers Major General
Tahir Javaid Khan claimed, "India is not just violating
ceasefire but fighting a small-scale war with Pakistan.
On 6 October, alone, 51,000 small arms were fired across
the boundary, while on October 7, more than 4,000 mortar
shells were fired." Media reports also claim that
Pakistani Rangers have used 82mm mortars, automatic weapons,
rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns, and air
defense artillery. There has been tremendous international
concern and commentary at the 'dramatic escalation' of
tensions and violence in the 'sensitive' J&K region,
and fears that the current contretemps may inadvertently
slide into a full-scale war.
It is,
however, not clear what strategic purpose the apparently
massive use of firepower has served, or what material
damage it has inflicted on military or vital infrastructure.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia
Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Pakistani side has violated
the CFA on at least 19 occasions since October 3, 2014,
resulting in a total of nine civilian fatalities. The
number of injured persons stands at 81 - 75 civilians
and six Security Force (SF) personnel. In addition, another
three SF personnel and two civilians had earlier been
killed in CFA violations in 2014, bringing total fatalities
in 2014 (till October 12) to 14. Significantly, incidents
of CFA violation by Pakistan resulted in 11 SF fatalities
in 2013 and seven total fatalities in 2012, including
four SF personnel and three civilians. The CFA has, in
fact, been violated by Pakistan on at least 443 occasions
since 2009, resulting in at least 46 fatalities (16 civilian
and 30 SF). It was after a relatively long hiatus while
President General Pervez Musharraf was in power, that
the cycle of CFA violations and retaliatory fire by Indian
Forces resumed in 2009, with a total of 35 incidents recorded
that year, resulting in five SF fatalities.
While no
reliable data on casualties on the Pakistani side as a
result of retaliatory fire by Indian Forces is available,
one Pakistani claim has indicated that at least 15 persons
have been killed and another 30 injured in firing from
the Indian side during the current standoff.
The current
crisis commenced on October 3, 2014. The Pakistan Army
had resorted to unprovoked firing along the IB in Arnia
and Pargwal Sectors of Jammu District. No casualty was
reported. After a day’s break, the Pakistani Rangers violated
the CFA in the Arnia Sector, injuring two civilians.
Along the
LoC, on October 3, 2014, the Pakistan Army fired in the
Sabjian Sector of Poonch District, killing a teen-aged
girl and injuring four others. At least 40 houses suffered
minor damage in six villages in the Pakistani shelling.
For the following two days, the Pakistani Rangers violated
the CFA on at least four occasions in the Poonch District.
From October
6, the shelling from the Pakistani side started intentionally
targeting the civilian population. On October 6, 2014,
five civilians were killed and another 26 were injured
at Mashan-de-Kothe village in the Arnia Sector of Jammu
District. This was the first time since the 1971 War that
five civilians were killed in a single incident of Pakistan
shelling and firing at one location on the IB.
Again,
on October 8, 2014, three women, were killed at Challyari
village in the Samba Sector of Samba District. 14 civilians
and two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were also
injured, when Pakistani Rangers targeted 60 BSF posts
and civilian population centres at several places across
the IB.
Nearly
33,000 people on the Indian side have been forced out
of their homes in the forward areas and have taken shelter
at safer locations identified by the Administration. Authorities
are in the process of identifying other safe areas to
accommodate another wave of anticipated migration from
the border villages in case of further escalation from
the Pakistani side. Sources disclosed that there was no
forward village left across the 190 kilometers IB area,
which was unaffected by shelling and migration. The crops
in most of the border areas have been damaged due to regular
mortar shelling.
Significantly,
according to media reports, Islamabad had started evacuating
civilians from forward areas on the Pakistani side before
launching the present barrage against civilian populations
on the Indian side.
There has
been tremendous speculation regarding Islamabad's motives
for the present escalation. While it is impossible to
enter the minds of Pakistan's military and political leadership,
it is useful to notice that, through all phases of such
cross border interventions, both before and after the
signing of the CFA in 2003, the prelude to the onset of
winter has been the 'season' for such escalation, as terrorist
handlers on the Pakistani side provide fire cover for
the last batches of infiltrators before the snows shut
down the mountain passes. Such a motive would be stronger
at present, as Indian Forces have been remarkably successful
in interdicting recent attempts at infiltration. According
to the SATP database, the current year has, thus far,
recorded a total of 29 infiltration bids – 25 along the
LoC and four along the IB. At least nine terrorists have
been killed in retaliatory action by the SFs (data till
October 12, 2014). The same period in year 2013 had recorded
39 infiltration bids – 35 along the LoC and another four
at the IB, and at least 50 terrorists were killed in the
response by SFs.
Nevertheless,
an unnamed official at the Department of Internal Security
and J&K Affairs at the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
(UMHA), disclosed, on August 31, 2014, that about 60 terrorists
had succeeded in entering J&K in 2014: “The first
successful infiltration bid has taken place in May this
year in Keran Sector of Kupwara District in which 14 terrorists
entered the Valley. There have been eight more successful
infiltration bids so far in 2014... Of 60 infiltrated
terrorists, the forces have killed 14 in different encounters
so far.” According to the official data, the number of
successful infiltrations stood at 100 in 2013; 121 in
2012; and 52 in 2011.
Pakistan's
interest in destabilizing the environment in J&K before
the Assembly Elections may also partially explain the
current escalation. The Election process would already
have begun, had massive floods not ravaged the State last
month. Around 300 people died in the floods, which left
hundreds of thousands homeless. The Pakistan Army would
have a strong interest in pushing in a large number of
terrorists into the Indian side, under cover of heavy
firing, in an attempt to disrupt the electoral process.
Crucially, Islamabad and its terrorist and separatist
proxies in J&K have repeatedly failed to thwart the
electoral process for a long time. Thus, during the last
General Elections (2014), the Sate recorded a 49.52 per
cent voter turnout; and the Assembly Elections of 2008
saw polling by 61.42 per cent of the electorate.
Domestic
turmoil may also be a contributory
factor in Pakistan's present malfeasance, with the leadership
attempting, as it often has done in the past, to divert
public attention from internal crises by shifting focus
to the 'Kashmir issue'. Significantly, beginning August
16, 2014, thousands of demonstrators belonging to the
Imran Khan led-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and cleric
Tahir-ul-Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) have thronged
the Red Zone in Islamabad - the seat of Governance and
the elite zone in Islamabad. Demonstrations against the
Government have repeatedly spiraled into violence. Both
Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri appear hell bent on the
removal of the civilian Government, and there are strong
perceptions that the campaign has the tacit support of
the Army. Conspicuously, the relationship between the
civilian Government and the Military has deteriorated
sharply over the past year. Worse, on September 18, 2014,
a murder case was registered against Pakistan Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif, three Federal Ministers and top Police officials,
over the alleged killing of two persons during the August
30, 2014, clashes between the Police and anti-Government
protesters in Islamabad.
Not surprisingly,
Prime Minister Sharif, while addressing the 69th
UN General Assembly session at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York, on September 26, 2014, chose to stridently
focus on the 'Kashmir issue',
"…..Our
support and advocacy of the right to self- determination
of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is our historic
commitment and a duty, as a party to the Kashmir
dispute….more than six decades ago, the UN had passed
resolutions to hold a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir….The
people of Jammu and Kashmir are still waiting for
the fulfillment of that promise…..Many generations
of Kashmiris have lived their lives under occupation,
accompanied by violence and abuse of their fundamental
rights. Kashmiri women, in particular, have undergone
immense suffering and humiliation…..The core issue
of Jammu and Kashmir has to be resolved. This is
the responsibility of the international community.
We cannot draw a veil on the issue of Kashmir, until
it is addressed in accordance with the wishes of
the people of Jammu and Kashmir….”
|
In a breathtaking
act of brazen deceit, moreover, projecting itself as the
injured party in a lethal confrontation that it had initiated,
Pakistan lodged a formal protest at the UN, against the
'civilian killings' as a result of Indian firing during
the current cross border crisis. Pakistan's Adviser to
the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs,
Sartaj Aziz, addressing a letter dispatched on October
11 to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban
Ki-moon, sought to draw attention to
...the
deteriorating security situation along the Line
of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as along
the working boundary between Pakistan and India,
owing to deliberate and unprovoked violations of
the ceasefire agreement and cross-border firing
by the Indian forces over the past weeks… India
has now escalated the situation along the Line of
Control in Jammu and Kashmir and the Working Boundary.
Persistent shelling and firing by Indian forces
has resulted in heavy civilian casualties on the
Pakistan side… Pakistan believes that the United
Nations has an important role to play in promoting
this objective, including through your good offices,
which we have always welcomed, and the crucial role
of the UNMOGIP on ground, which needs to be strengthened
and facilitated under the current circumstances…
|
India has
dismissed the charges as 'frivolous' and unworthy of response.
Earlier, on October 7, Pakistan had lodged a protest with
the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and
Pakistan (UNMOGIP) office in Islamabad on the LoC situation.
India has long maintained that UNMOGIP has "outlived
its relevance" and has "no role to play whatsoever".
UNMOGIP, established under a UN Security Council resolution,
was meant to supervise the ceasefire line established
under the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.
The Indian
stand on the issue was articulated by the Union Defence
Minister Arun Jaitley on October 9, 2014, ruling out talks
with Pakistan until the firing stopped completely. Jaitley
warned Pakistan that it would have to bear an “unaffordable”
cost if it continued with its “adventurism”.
Unfortunately,
such threats have been the standard response to Pakistani
provocation for decades now, and there is little reason
to believe that any 'unaffordable costs' are imminently
going to be inflicted on Pakistan. Indeed, as has repeatedly
been noted in SAIR, policy is a function of capacity,
and unless India's capacities are dramatically augmented
(or Pakistan's, dramatically eroded) the pendulum of New
Delhi's 'strategic responses' will continue to swing between
'talks and no talks' - and one such cycle has already
been recorded by the incumbent Narendra Modi Government
within the first quarter of its existence. There appears
to be little real comprehension, moreover, of the instrumentalities
through, and manner in, which such 'costs' can be inflicted
within the context of a coherent strategy of protracted
conflict. The Modi Government, indeed, continues to announce
fairly minimalist preconditions for a resumption of talks
and 'cooperation' on a wide range of issues with Islamabad,
even as the 'strong line' articulated by Modi, that terrorism
and talks could not go together, lies forgotten among
the remains of pre-election oratory.
|
Assam:
A Threat Crystallizes
M. A. Athul
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On October
9, 2014, Security Forces (SFs) killed an unidentified
militant of the IK Songbijit faction of the National Democratic
Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS)
at Tarajuli in the Sonitpur District of Assam. One pistol,
a grenade and some ammunition were recovered from the
slain militant.
A day earlier,
on October 8, 2014, four militants of the NDFB-IKS, including
a ‘section commander’ were killed in Kokrajhar District
after a fierce encounter with a joint team of the Police
and the Army. The SFs recovered a cache of arms and ammunition,
including one AK-56 rifle, one AK-56 magazine, 20 live
rounds of ammunition and three pistols.
On September
28, 2014, four militants of the NDFB-IKS, including one
‘second in command’, were killed in an encounter with
a joint team of the Police and the Army at Mwinaguri under
Serfanguri Police Station in Kokrajhar District. All the
deceased militants were from the Mwinaguri section of
NDFB-IKS. An AK-56 and a magazine with 20 rounds, two
7.65 mm pistols, one 9mm pistol, three grenades and incriminating
documents were recovered from them.
These recent
setbacks notwithstanding, the NDFB-IKS appears to be consolidating
its position as the most active insurgent group
in Assam. The group was responsible for the May 1-3, 2014,
killings of 46
Bodo Muslims in Baksa and Kokrajhar
Districts of the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District
(BTAD) area. It subsequently emerged that senior leaders
of the NDFB-IKS, including 'chairman' I. K. Songbijit,
'general secretary' Swarangra and 'commander' B. Bidai
had orchestrated the attacks.
According
to partial
data compiled by the South Asia
Terrorism Portal (SATP), Assam has recorded 193 insurgency-linked
fatalities, including 95 civilians, five SF personnel
and 93 militants, in the current year, as of October 10.
Significantly, NDFB-IKS has been responsible for 65 of
the 95 civilians killed this year. Some other major incidents
of civilian killing by NDFB-IKS include:
July 11:
NDFB-IKS militants abducted four traders. The dead body
of one of the abducted traders was recovered from Kamargaon
in Barpeta District on July 12, while the bodies of the
other three were recovered from the banks of the Manas
River in Baksa District on July 13.
January
17: Six persons were killed when suspected NDFB-IKS militants
pulled out about a dozen persons from a bus and opened
fire at them at Serfanguri in Kokrajhar District.
In an extraordinarily
barbaric incident, the NDFB-IKS, on August 22, 2014, released
the video of the execution of a Class10 student identified
as Priya Basumatary, at Dwimuguri in Chirag District on
August 20, 2014, whom they suspected to be a ‘Police informer’
and whose ‘information’ allegedly led to the killing of
five of its cadres on August 20.
NDFB-IKS
was also involved in one of the most significant of five
SF fatalities in Assam in 2014 (as of October 10). The
militants killed Sonitpur Additional Superintendent of
Police Gulzar Hussain and an alleged Police informer when
they ambushed a patrol at Thalola in the Batachipur area
in Sonitpur District on January 28. Five constables were
also wounded in the ambush. NDFB-IKS was also involved
in at least another three attacks on the SFs in 2014.
Further,
out of the 93 militants who have been killed in Assam
in 2014 (as of October 10) in 53 incidents, 38 militants
belonged to NDFB-IKS, and were killed in 23 incidents.
In 2013, a total of 60 militants were killed in 43 incidents
in Assam, of which 20 militants were from NDFB-IKS, and
were killed in 14 engagements with the SFs. The other
major incidents of 2014 in which NDFB-IKS suffered at
the hands of the SFs include:
August
20: Five NDFB-IKS militants, identified as 'military secretary
section commander' C. Rwikha, alias Rajib Sumpramary
, 'section commander' M. Rojong, alias Roslin Mushahary,
B. Raidwng, alias Raju Basumatary, 'personal security
officer' of C. Rwikha Debanand Islary, were killed in
an encounter with a joint Police and Army team in the
jungles of Raimati Chirang District. SFs recovered An
AK series rifle, five pistols, six magazines, five grenades,
226 live rounds of ammunition, 10 empty cartridges and
INR 551,000. The NDFB-IKS later accused the Ranjan Daimary
faction of NDFB (NDFB-RD) of being involved in the killings,
but the RD faction denied this.
April 30:
Three suspected NDFB-IKS militants were killed in an encounter
with the Police in the Naojan Tinkhuti area under Gingia
Police Station in Sonitpur District.
The NDFB-IKS
was formed on November 20, 2012, after an announcement
by the then NDFB-RD’s Myanmar based ‘army chief’ I.K.
Songbijit, about the formation of a nine member ‘interim
national council’, following a November 13-14, 2012, meeting
where a vow to ‘liberate Bodoland and Western South East
Asia (North East India)’ was taken. Since the split, the
IKS faction has become the most violent insurgent group
in Assam, engaging in multiple incidents of killing, abduction
and extortion across the BTAD areas.
According
to partial data compiled by SATP, there have been 31 incidents
of arrest from January to October 8, 2014, in which 61
militants of NDFB-IKS were arrested. In 2013, there were
a total of 29 incidents of arrest, in which 72 NDFB-IKS
militants were arrested.
Since the
tightening of Counter Insurgency (CI) operations against
the group, NDFB-IKS has also changed its tactics, progressively
'outsourcing' criminal activities, such as extortion and
abduction to other organizations. One such 'franchise'
is a new Nepali group, the United Gorkha People’s Organization
(UGPO), as was discovered after five members of UGPO -
Bashu Chetry, Nabraj Koirala, Netra Bahadur Ghaley and
Dhiraj Majhi and Bhagat Sarki - were arrested at Matijhora
in Kokrajhar District on September 13, 2014. A Defence
Spokesman disclosed that NDFB-IKS was outsourcing activities
such as kidnapping and extortion to these individuals.
It is significant
that, in mid-August this year, the NDFB-IKS cadres had
moved north from the Parbatjhora sub–division towards
the Indo–Bhutan border, due to heightened combing operations
and the neutralisation of self-styled ‘section commander’
B. Geremsha on July 21. UGPO militants might have been
used by NDFB-IKS to fill the void, to continue their activities
without attracting the attention of SFs, as inhabitants
of Matijhora and adjoining villages are Nepalese. The
Kokrajhar Police further stated that around 26 Nepali
boys were trained at a camp in Myanmar by NSCN-IM about
two years ago and joined NDFB-IKS after returning.
The success
of the CI strategy employed by the SFs is further evidenced
by the trend in surrenders. 29 NDFB-IKS cadres (out of
a total of 50 surrendered militants in Assam) surrendered
in the year 2014 (till October 10).
Crucially,
according to the SATP database,
Assam has been the most violent State in the North East
this year, with a total of 193 fatalities [95 civilians,
5 SFs, and 93 militants] in 2014 (till October 8).
Although
the SFs have been able to exert pressure on NDFB-IKS,
severely denting its operational capabilities, the group
persists with violence at a significant scale. Operational
pressure by the SFs is unlikely to be sustained indefinitely,
particularly against the backdrop of myopic political
settlements with various insurgent factions that have
lead to a fissionary process across the Northeast, creating
a multiplicity of splinter groups. Worse, as long as poor
political management, the abiding neglect of the basic
needs of large segments of the population, unchecked illegal
migration, and the polarisation of various ethnic and
religious communities continue to mar Governance in the
region, the cycle of militancy will not end, though it
may suffer periodic reverses. Moreover, as long as the
insurgent groups have safe havens across the border in
countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh, and the flow
of weapons is not stopped, the insurgent problem cannot
be expected to wither away.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
October 6-12,
2014
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Meghalaya
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
Total (INDIA)
|
7
|
0
|
14
|
21
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
FATA
|
5
|
1
|
43
|
49
|
KP
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
Sindh
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
8
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
'I
don't
see
any
reason
to
be
afraid
of',
says
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Asserting
that
the
Government
has
the
capability
to
face
any
challenge,
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
at
her
official
residence
Gono
Bhaban
(People's
House)
on
October
7
(today)
said
"I
don't
see
any
reason
to
be
afraid
of,
had
I
been
afraid
of
such
conspiracies
I
wouldn't
have
come
to
politics".
Mentioning
the
report
on
a
conspiracy
hatched
to
topple
the
Government
through
unfair
means,
she
said
it
was
the
responsibility
of
the
Government
to
make
sure
such
conspiracy
cannot
take
place
and
affect
the
mass
people.
Daily
Star,
October
7,
2014.
INDIA
Indian
Navy
sounds
alert
on
terror
from
sea:
The
Indian
Navy
has
placed
warships
on
high
alert
for
terrorist
attacks
on
the
high
seas
following
last
month's
near
successful
hijacking
of
a
Pakistani
missile
frigate
in
Karachi.
The
preparations
come
amidst
new
revelations
that
al
Qaeda's
Indian
subcontinent
wing
(Al
Qaeda
in
Indian
Subcontinent
[AQIS])
had
attempted
to
hijack
the
Pakistani
missile
frigate
PNS
Aslat
to
attack
Indian
warships.
The
sources
said
that
naval
commanders
had
been
asked
to
watch
for
unusual
movements
by
Pakistani
warships
operating
in
the
Indian
Ocean,
and
also
to
guard
against
strikes
involving
fishing
boats
rigged
with
explosives.
Indian
Express,
October
10,
2014.
Hackers
from
India,
Pakistan
in
full-blown
online
war:
A
full-blown
hacking
and
defacement
war
has
erupted
in
the
cyberspace
as
on
October
9
over
a
dozen
Indian
and
Pakistani
websites
were
defaced
by
hackers
from
either
side.
The
website
of
the
Press
Club
of
India
(PCI)
in
the
capital
was
hacked
and
defaced,
with
the
hackers'
message
on
the
website's
home
page
claiming
Pakistani
origin.
A
hacker
group
calling
itself
"Indian
Hackers
Online
Squad"
hacked
and
defaced
the
website
of
the
Pakistan's
main
opposition
party,
Pakistan
People's
Party
(PPP),
www.ppp.org.pk
on
October
8,
with
one
"Bl@k
Dr@gon"
claiming
credit.
Times
of
India,
October
10,
2014.
2,000
militants
waiting
to
infiltrate,
says
Army:
More
than
2,000
terrorists
are
waiting
across
the
Line
of
Control
(LoC)
in
the
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
to
infiltrate
into
the
Indian
Territory,
according
to
Army
estimates.
There
are
more
than
2,000
terrorists
hiding
on
the
other
side
and
are
getting
trained
in
the
20
terrorist
camps
there,
Army
sources
said
in
New
Delhi
on
October
7.
The
Army
troops
and
other
border
guarding
forces
are
keeping
an
eye
on
the
situation
and
maintaining
extra
vigil
to
thwart
any
attempts
by
the
terrorists
to
sneak
into
the
Indian
side,
they
said.
Daily
Excelsior,
October
8,
2014.
Al
Qaeda
to
use
SIMI
to
target
India,
says
IB:
Intelligence
agencies
have
warned
the
Centre
that
there
is
credible
information
to
suggest
that
al
Qaeda
has
already
initiated
a
move
to
rope
in
the
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
to
spread
its
network
in
the
country.
According
to
a
classified
note
sent
by
the
Intelligence
Bureau
(IB)
to
key
agencies
and
some
Union
ministries,
there
is
credible
information
that
the
al
Qaeda
was
trying
to
establish
contact
with
top
leaders
of
SIMI.
Deccan
Chronicle,
October
9,
2014.
Pakistan
plans
terror
attack
on
Delhi,
warns
Central
intelligence
agencies:
The
Intelligence
Bureau
(IB)
and
other
Central
intelligence
agencies
have
warned
that
Pakistan
has
prepared
terror
plots
to
target
India's
hinterland
in
the
festive
season,
and
a
large
consignment
of
arms
and
ammunition
has
been
sent
to
the
Delhi-
National
Capital
Region
(NCR)
area.
The
IB
added
that
the
terror
module
meant
to
handle
this
cache
is
also
headed
here
from
Karachi,
Pakistan.
Deccan
Chronicle,
October
7,
2014.
Al
Qaeda
launches
terror
module
to
recruit
jihadis:
Sources
in
the
central
intelligence
agency
said
that
al
Qaeda,
which
recently
announced
an
Indian
wing
Qaedat-al-Jihad,
to
carry
out
terrorist
activities,
has
launched
a
module
to
recruit
jihadis.
The
analysis
of
chatters
between
terrorists
based
in
Pakistan
reveals
that
an
al
Qaeda
terrorist
has
been
given
the
responsibility
of
Uttar
Pradesh
and
he
is
said
to
be
operating
independently.
This
shocking
revelation
has
strengthened
the
agencies'
assessment
that
after
crackdown
on
the
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM),
Pakistan's
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
and
al
Qaeda
are
looking
beyond
the
IM
to
run
terror
operation.
Indian
Express,
October
7,
2014.
NEPAL
"Will
deliver
Constitution
on
time,"
says
Prime
Minister
Sushil
Koirala:
On
October
7,
leaders
of
the
ruling
parties
pledged
to
deliver
the
new
Constitution
by
the
agreed
deadline
by
employing
all
means,
including
entering
the
process
of
majority
voting.
"We
will
deliver
the
Constitution
in
time,"
Prime
Minister
Sushil
Koirala
said,
during
the
annual
tea-party
organised
by
the
Nepali
Congress
(NC).
"In
a
democracy
there
is
always
scope
to
reach
agreement
to
settle
issues
of
dispute,
unlike
in
a
dictatorial
regime,"
he
said,
responding
to
questions
about
failure
to
reach
consensus.
The
Hindu,
October
8,
2014.
PAKISTAN
43
militants
and
five
civilians
among
49
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
11
militants
were
killed
in
the
airstrikes
and
two
hideouts
were
also
destroyed
in
the
Bangidar
area
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
(NWA)
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
October
12.
At
least
10
militants
were
killed
in
the
Kukikhel
area
of
Khyber
Agency.
Three
suspected
militants
and
a
security
official
were
killed
on
October
10
in
an
exchange
of
fire
between
SFs
and
militants
during
a
search
operation
in
Prang
Dara
area
of
Haleemzai
tehsil
(revenue
unit)
in
Mohmand
Agency.
At
least
four
suspected
militants
were
killed
and
three
others
were
injured
in
a
US
drone
strike
in
Dattakhel
area
of
NWA
on
October
9.
At
least
three
persons,
including
a
polio
worker,
were
killed
in
a
blast
in
Alemgar
area
of
Safi
tehsil
in
Mohmand
Agency
on
October
9.
At
least
three
militants
were
killed
and
five
others
were
injured
in
a
US
drone
strike
in
Madakhel
Kunar
Sar
area
of
Dattakhel
tehsil
in
NWA
on
October
7.
At
least
eight
militants
were
killed
and
four
others
were
injured
in
a
US
drone
strike
in
Bari
Mail
area
of
Shawal
Valley
in
NWA
on
October
6.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
October
7-13,
2014.
300,000
people
have
left
Balochistan,
says
HRCP
chief
Zohra
Yusuf:
Zohra
Yusuf,
the
chairperson
of
the
Human
Rights
Commission
of
Pakistan
(HRCP),
on
October
12
said
that
Balochistan
has
been
made
a
fertile
place
for
armed
religious
extremists
under
a
plan
and
as
a
result
about
300,000
Shias,
Zikris,
and
Hindus
have
migrated
to
other
areas
of
the
country.
She
expressed
concern
over
the
migration
of
Shias,
Zikris,
settlers
and
Hindus
due
to
lack
of
security
in
Balochistan.
She
said
strengthening
of
religious
extremists
had
caused
the
migration
of
innocent
citizens
but
the
real
objective
was
to
weaken
the
Baloch
nationalist
militants.
Dawn,
October
13,
2014.
Cannot
rule
out
presence
of
Islamic
State
militants
in
Balochistan,
says
Balochistan
Chief
Minister
Malik
Baloch:
Balochistan
Chief
Minister
Dr
Malik
Baloch
on
October
8
said
that
he
cannot
rule
out
the
presence
of
Islamic
State
(IS)
militants
in
the
province.
Regarding
missing
persons'
issue,
the
Chief
Minister
said
that
his
Government
was
determined
and
its
top
priority
was
to
recover
the
missing
persons.
He,
however,
admitted
that
so
far
"no
considerable
progress
has
been
made
with
regard
to
missing
persons."
Dawn,
October
9,
2014.
14,000
youth
will
be
inducted
into
the
Army
from
tribal
region
of
Waziristan
over
the
next
five
years,
says
Pakistan
Army
Chief
General
Raheel
Sharif:
Pakistan
Army
Chief
General
Raheel
Sharif
on
October
6
announced
that
14,000
youths
will
be
inducted
into
the
Army
from
tribal
region
of
Waziristan
over
the
next
five
years.
Times
of
India,
October
7,
2014.
SRI
LANKA
Government
allocates
SLR
300
million
to
pay
compensation
to
civilians
of
the
North
who
were
impacted
by
the
war:
The
Government
has
allocated
SLR
300
million
for
2014
alone
to
pay
compensation
to
civilians
of
the
North
who
were
impacted
by
the
war.
The
compensation
is
being
granted
to
civilians
who
had
lost
their
limbs
and
hands
and
also
house
and
property
due
to
the
war.
Out
of
the
total
amount
allocated,
SLR
110
million
has
already
been
paid
and
another
SLR
130
million
will
be
paid
to
1,500
affected
families
in
the
North
on
October
12
by
the
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
at
a
function
to
be
held
at
Iranamadu
in
Kilinochchi
District.
Colombo
Page,
October
6,
2014.
Sri
Lanka
to
establish
a
special
Bureau
for
Reconciliation:
The
Sri
Lankan
Government
has
taken
measures
to
establish
a
special
Bureau
for
Reconciliation
to
facilitate
the
implementation
of
Recommendations
of
the
Lessons
Learnt
and
Reconciliation
Commission
(LLRC).
A
Committee
headed
by
the
Secretary
to
the
President
Lalith
Weeratunga
is
engaged
in
monitoring
the
implementation
of
144
recommendations
of
the
LLRC
contained
in
the
National
Plan
of
Action.
Out
of
the
144
LLRC
recommendations,
45
are
deemed
to
be
completed,
89
are
ongoing
and
10
are
in
the
early
stage
of
implementation.
Colombo
Page,
October
11,
2014.
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.
|
|
|