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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 16, October 20, 2014
 
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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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Death
from the Skies
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
eight terrorists — including a senior member of al
Qaeda’s South Asia chapter and a key
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
‘commander’ — were killed and three others were wounded
in two separate United States (US) drone strikes in the
Khyber Agency and North Waziristan Agency (NWA) of the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on October
11, 2014. In the first attack that took place around noon,
a drone fired two missiles at a compound in the Chancharano
Kandaw area of the remote Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency,
killing four suspected terrorists and injuring another
two. Sources indicated that terrorists fleeing Operation
Zarb-e-Azb [Sharp and Cutting] in NWA were sheltered
in the compound, which was located in the area dominated
by tribesmen from the Kukikhel sub-clan of the Afridi
tribe. The casualties were shifted across the border into
Afghanistan, since the area where the drone struck is
close to the Nazyan District of Afghanistan's Nangarhar
province.
The same
evening, the second drone attack targeted a vehicle carrying
suspected terrorists in the Margha area of Shawal tehsil
(revenue unit) in NWA, killing four terrorists. According
to the local political administration, the drone fired
two missiles at the vehicle, which was en route to Afghanistan.
An unnamed political administration official claimed that
four terrorists, including a key TTP commander, Muhammad
Mustafa, were killed in the attack. The other dead were
foreigners, though the country they belonged to was not
identified.
US drones
strikes resumed in June 2014, after a hiatus of nearly
five and half months. Before this, the last drone target
had been hit on December 25, 2013, and the attacks only
resumed on June 12, 2014. The silencing of the US drones
coincided with the Pakistan Government’s process of peace-talks
with TTP, and the resumption of strikes followed Pakistan’s
announcement of long-pending military operations in NWA,
where dreaded terrorists of al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network
and Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of TTP were sheltered, after
talks with TTP collapsed.
The present
series of drone attacks, which raised the death toll to
35 within a week, concentrated around areas where Pakistan
is presently conducting the military Operation Zarb-e-Azb,
launched on June 15, 2014, in the aftermath of the attack
on Karachi Airport on June 8-9, 2014. At least 33 persons,
including all ten attackers, were killed in the Karachi
attack. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has, according to
Pakistan Army sources, thus far killed more than 1,200
terrorists and 86 soldiers (no independent verification
of fatalities of identities of those killed is available,
as media access to the areas of conflict if severely limited).
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), the US has carried out at least 301
drone attacks, resulting in over 2,688 fatalities since
2005 (all data till October 19, 2014). While drone strikes
and resultant fatalities increased every year till the
peak of 2010, they started to fall thereafter. Significantly,
in comparison to 158 fatalities in 24 drone attacks in
2013, the current year has recorded 15 such attacks with
94 fatalities in just four months [after the resumption
of drone strikes], out of which seven attacks were reported
in just seven days between October 5 and October 11.
Drone
attack in Pakistan: 2005-2014*
|
Years
|
Incidents
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
|
2005
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
2006
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
2007
|
1
|
20
|
15
|
|
2008
|
19
|
156
|
17
|
|
2009
|
46
|
536
|
75
|
|
2010
|
90
|
831
|
85+
|
|
2011
|
59
|
548
|
52
|
|
2012
|
46
|
344
|
37
|
|
2013
|
24
|
158
|
29
|
|
2014
|
15
|
94
|
25
|
|
Total*
|
301
|
2688
|
335+
|
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till October 19, 2014
|
According
to the New America Foundation (NAF), a total of
3,546 persons have been killed in US drone attacks since
2005; of these, 15 were killed in 2005; 94 in 2006; 63
in 2007; 298 in 2008; 549 in 2009; 849 in 2010; 517 in
2011; 306 in 2012; 153 in 2013; and 110 in 2014 (till
October 19).
Major drone
attacks (each involving three or more killings) in 2014,
included the July 19, 2014, incident, when 11 Taliban
terrorists were killed in a strike targeting a TTP compound
in Mada Khel suburb of Dattakhel town in NWA of FATA.
Some of
the important drone attacks in 2013 included:
October
6, 2013: At least eight terrorists were killed and another
four were injured in a US drone strike in Bari Mail area
of Shawal Valley in NWA of FATA.
September
24, 2013: 10 Uzbek terrorists were killed when a US drone
hit a vehicle in the Lowra Mandai area of Dattakhel tehsil
in NWA.
June 12,
2013: A US drone fired eight missiles in the Dandy Darpakhel
area of NWA that killed at least 10 terrorists while another
four were wounded.
Pakistan
has routinely lodged protests over US drone strikes from
time to time. On October 10, 2014, Pakistan Foreign Office
spokesperson Tasnim Aslam stated, “We condemn drone strikes
for violation of our territorial integrity and collateral
damage. Our position, that we have reiterated a number
of times, remains unchanged."
Meanwhile,
experts see an 'understanding' between the two 'allies'
in the so-called 'war on terror' with Pakistan tacitly
approving the strikes, particularly where they target
TTP elements. Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based expert
on Afghan and tribal affairs, observes, "Drones strikes
are being carried out in those areas (Shawwal and Datta
Khel) where ground operations for the Pakistan Army are
very difficult if not impossible. Although the foreign
office has issued a customary statement of protest over
the drone strikes, which it always does, Pakistan seems
to be comfortable with the situation, as it also does
not want the terrorists to regroup."
Similarly,
a Dawn editorial noted, on October 13, 2014, “Relative
silence can be interpreted as, at the very least, tacit
acceptance and, possibly, active cooperation between the
countries. From the general location of the strikes...
it would appear active cooperation is taking place – for
surely neither the US nor Pakistan could want an errant
U.S.-fired missile hitting a Pakistani military target”.
However,
11 out of the 15 drone strikes launched against terrorists
this year, were in the Dattakhel and Shawal areas of NWA,
which are dominated by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a
key Haqqani Network ally. These are elements that the
US would presumably want to eliminate, and who Pakistan
seeks to protect as a strategic asset. Washington has
repeatedly conveyed to Islamabad that Bahadur and his
group have been helping al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network
against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
in Afghanistan. As the drawdown in Afghanistan inches
closer, US pressure on Pakistan has mounted manifold.
However, the general perception is that Bahadur and other
Afghan Taliban fighters have been allowed to escape the
edge of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, and there are no
reports of any clashes between the Pakistani Army and
Bahadur’s faction.
The US
will appreciate the decimation of any Islamist terrorist
formation in Pakistan, including the TTP, but is unlikely
to continue to be deceived into believing that Pakistan
is now acting against all terrorist groups without discrimination.
Pakistan's continued use of terrorist groups as strategic
assets, and their particular focus on a post-withdrawal
Afghanistan, are obvious US concerns, and drone strikes
will remain one of the principle instrumentalities to
keep these forces in check, both in Pakistan and across
the border, into Afghanistan, as long as even limited
US military commitment to the latter country remains.
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Chhattisgarh:
Quandary in Bijapur
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On October
9, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper, identified
as Sandeep Kumar, was critically injured in an encounter
between Security Forces (SFs) and Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
cadres in a forested pocket in the Kudmel Hills under
the Mirtur Police Station limits in Bijapur District,
Chhattisgarh. The joint squad of CRPF and the District
Force (DF) were carrying out a combing operation in the
region, when the Police party confronted the insurgents.
Meanwhile,
on October 8, three woman cadres of CPI-Maoist were killed
in an encounter with SFs in the District. A joint team
of the District Police and CRPF personnel came under fire
from the Maoists near Potenar Forest in Bijapur, and the
SFs retaliated. After the encounter, the Police recovered
the bodies of three women Maoists and two country made
rifles.
On October
1, the Police shot dead a Maoist ‘deputy commander’ after
an exchange of fire in a forested patch in the District.
The Police team comprising DF personnel had started on
a search operation from the District Headquarters on September
30. During the operation, the Police teams were attacked
by Naxals [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)] at different places.
The rebels had also placed IEDs (Improvised Explosive
Device) and pressure bombs in different places and a Head
Constable of the District Police, Dasrath Nag, was injured
in one of the blasts during the operation. While searching
the area after an encounter in the forests near Munga
village, the body of a Maoist cadre, identified as Korsa
Ayatu (26), resident of Munga Devgudipara village, was
recovered.
Elsewhere,
on the same day, a Panchayat (village level local
self Government institution) Secretary, identified as
Hingaram Kodiyam, was killed by the Maoists near Keshkutul
village under Bhairamgarh Police Station limits in Bijapur
District. Police recovered Kodiyam's body, lying in a
pool of blood, from a restive patch of the Bhairamgarh-Kutru
Road in the District.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asian Terrorism
Portal (SATP), Bijapur has recorded 448 fatalities
in 194 incidents of LWE-related violence, including 140
civilians, 118 SF personnel and 190 LWEs, since its inception
as a District on May 1, 2007. In 2014, the District has
already recorded 28 fatalities in 17 incidents of LWE-violence,
including 10 civilians, six SF personnel and 12 LWEs (all
data till October 19, 2014).
Fatalities
in Left Wing Extremist violence in Bijapur: 2007-2014
|
Years
|
Civilians
|
SFs
|
LWEs
|
Total
|
|
2007*
|
27
|
23
|
10
|
60
|
|
2008
|
16
|
20
|
44
|
80
|
|
2009
|
28
|
17
|
41
|
86
|
|
2010
|
18
|
20
|
31
|
69
|
|
2011
|
12
|
16
|
14
|
42
|
|
2012
|
14
|
6
|
27
|
47
|
|
2013
|
15
|
10
|
11
|
36
|
|
2014
|
10
|
6
|
12
|
28
|
|
Total**
|
140
|
118
|
190
|
448
|
|
Source:
SATP, * Data from May 1, 2007
**Data till October 19, 2014
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Bijapur
District is one of the twenty seven Districts of Chhattisgarh,
and was earlier part of Dantewada District. Located in
the extreme south-west part of the State, Bijapur shares
its boundary with the Narayanpur District to the North;
Bastar District to the North-east; Dantewada District
to the east; Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam Districts
of Telangana on the south; and Gadchiroli District of
Maharashtra on the West. With a total area of 6,562.48
square kilometres, the District comprises four blocks
– Bijapur, Bhairamgarh, Bhopalpatnam and Usoor – and is
famous for its rich wildlife and its very thick cover
of forest over an area of 3,202.64 kilometres. According
to Census 2011, Bijapur has a population of 255,230, with
a literacy rate of 40.86. The Scheduled Tribes Population
is 48,767 (Male 24,310 - Female 24,457).
Bijapur
is at the locus of Maoist activities in Chhattisgarh,
and has recorded 40 major incidents (each involving
three or more fatalities) since its formation in 2007,
resulting in 231 fatalities [60 civilian, 76 SF personnel
and 95 LWEs]. In the current year, the District has
seen three major incidents:
February
8, 2014: Three CPI-Maoist cadres of the National Park
Supply Dalam (squad) were killed in a joint combing
operation by Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh Police in
the forest between Bada Kakler and Chota Kakler villages
under the Pharasgad Police Station limits.
April
12, 2014: Seven polling officials were killed in a landmine
blast and five others were injured in subsequent firing
by around 75-100 armed Maoists between Kutru and Gudma
village in Bhairamgarh tehsil (revenue unit).
October
8, 2014: Three CPI-Maoist women cadres were killed in
an encounter with SFs near the Potenar Forest.
A high-level
meeting to review LWE in the country, held under the
Chairmanship of Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami in
May 2014, reviewed incidents of LWE violence in the
affected States in 2013 and observed that Jharkhand
and Chhattisgarh remained the worst affected, followed
by Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra. According to the data
presented in the meeting, 80 per cent of all LWE violence
remained confined to 23 Districts, with Chhattisgarh's
Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada topping the list of the
10 worst affected. Incidentally, Chhattisgarh accounted
for 31 per cent of total LWE violence in the country
in 2013.
The impact
of conflict appears to have taken a toll on population
growth in the District. According to the 2011 Census,
the decadal population growth rate of Bijapur was just
8.76 per cent in comparison to the State average of
22.6 per cent. The decadal population growth rate of
neighbouring affected Districts is similarly placed
in comparison to State average. Concerned, the then
Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt reportedly sought
details from the State Government in this regard in
April 2013. As of 2011, Bijapur was the second least
populous District in the State (out of 18 districts
existing at that point of time), after Narayanpur. It
also holds the dubious distinction of being the second
least literate District in India, with literacy at 41.58
per cent, after Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh at 37.22
per cent, as against a national average of 74.04 per
cent.
As is
generally found in Maoist-affected Districts, civil
governance is very weak and in large parts the State’s
presence is nominal. Government employees working in
the affected region find sufficient excuses not to join
duties if posted a little deeper inside the problem
areas. An official in the Dantewada Collectorate reportedly
stated, in June 2013, that till two years earlier the
District of Bijapur, with about 3,000-4,000 11th and
12th standard students studying science, had just one
Chemistry teacher, and the number may subsequently have
risen to two. Due to the conflict, at least 273 primary
schools were shut down, of which the District Administration
has managed to reopen only 80 according to the District
Information System for Education (DISE) data for the
year 2012-13. As the District Administration fails to
reopen schools in many places, temporary residential
schools catering to a cluster of villages at locations
where the Government has some presence have come up.
These schools are now popularly called PORTA cabin (prefabricated
temporary structure) schools, of which there are at
least 28 in Bijapur, each having a capacity of 500 students.
Similarly,
the public health care system is largely dysfunctional
in Bijapur, with high vacancies among medical staff.
The District Hospital at Bijapur has just five community,
10 primary and 93 sub-health centres, with a sanctioned
strength of 76 doctors and 43 nurses. However, only
six doctors and 12 nurses are currently on the rolls
in the entire District as of May 2014. Not surprisingly,
the entire District has no paediatrician or gynaecologist.
Indeed, the situation is difficult across the entire
Bastar Division. According to the Health Department's
records, only 77 doctors of class I and II category
were posted in District Hospitals in the Bastar Division,
against 202 sanctioned posts. Even at the package of
INR 125,000 salary (per month), doctors were not available
for these regions, State Health Services Director Dr.
Kamalpreet Singh stated in August 2014.
The condition
of roads in Bijapur is disastrous. National Highway
(NH) 202, connecting Bijapur via Bhopalpatnam to Hyderabad,
has a 40 kilometres stretch in Bijapur that is 'non-metalled',
virtually reducing the NH to a 'kutcha road' (dirt track).
During the visit of the then Union Rural Development
Minister Jairam Ramesh in 2013, State officials informed
the Minister that, in Bijapur, nearly 33 roads were
to be constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY, Prime Minister's Village Roads Scheme),
of which construction of just 13 was underway. Sources
indicate that, as of now, only one road has been completed.
Contractors refuse to take on the jobs for fear of the
Maoists. It was noted during the General Elections of
April 2014, that the abysmal condition of important
roads had slowed down mobilisation of troops and proved
a major handicap for the SFs.
While
the Maoists have suffered significant reverses across
Chhattisgarh, as well as in Bijapur in particular, the
state of Governance, the availability of infrastructure
and public services, and the abysmal conditions in which
the population is condemned to survive ensure that the
Maoists will continue to have a substantial recruitment
pool to renew cadres, despite the rapid losses, particularly
in terms of recent arrests and surrenders. The Maoists
have engineered several cycles of resurgences in the
vacuum created by poor governance and the poverty and
backwardness of large populations. Bijapur provides
ideal ground for another such revival.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
October 13-19,
2014
|
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
|
INDIA
|
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Mizoram
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Jharkhand
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
|
Telengana
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
2
|
0
|
8
|
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
|
Balochistan
|
8
|
1
|
0
|
9
|
|
FATA
|
8
|
1
|
67
|
76
|
|
KP
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
|
Sindh
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
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INDIA
Burdwan
module
planned
to
make
West
Bengal
a
terror
hub,
says
NIA
Report:
The
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA),
which
is
investigating
the
Burdwan
blast
case,
in
a
preliminary
report
submitted
to
the
Central
Government
said
that
there
was
a
conspiracy
by
the
Burdwan
terror
module
to
convert
West
Bengal
into
a
major
terror
hub
over
the
next
few
months
to
carryout
subversive
activities
in
different
parts
of
the
country.
The
NIA
along
with
Central
intelligence
agencies
is
investigating
the
matter
which
is
suspected
to
have
international
ramifications
also.
Asian
Age,
October
18,
2014.
Central
Government
to
use
"national
power"
against
Maoists:
The
Central
Government
will
use
any
element
of
its
"national
power"
against
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
under
a
new
policy
to
deal
with
the
extremists
and
not
hold
peace
talks
with
them
till
they
renounce
violence
and
express
faith
in
democracy.
This
strategy
has
been
envisaged
in
the
policy
formulated
by
the
National
Democratic
Alliance
(NDA)
government
to
combat
Left-Wing
Extremism
(LWE)
and
circulated
to
all
the
nine
Maoist-affected
States.
Zee
India,
October
17,
2014.
NSG
director
warns
of
'multi-city,
multiple'
attack
on
India
by
al
Qaeda
and
ISIS:
National
Security
Guard
(NSG)
director
general
J
N
Choudhury
on
October
16
warned
of
the
possibility
of
global
jihadi
outfits
al
Qaeda
and
Islamic
State
of
Iraq
and
Syria
(ISIS)
joining
hands
to
launch
"multi-city,
multiple
attacks"
in
India.
Speaking
to
the
news
reporters
on
the
occasion
of
NSG's
30th
Raising
Day
in
Manesar
near
Gurgaon
(Haryana),
Choudhury
said,
"Now
that
they
(al
Qaeda)
have
declared
an
intention
to
attack
India,
they
might
combine
with
outfits
like
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT),
ISIS
and
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM)."Times
of
India,
October
17,
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.
Indian
Railways
to
recruit
17,000
Constables
to
counter
CPI-Maoist
threat,
says
Union
Railway
Minister
D
V
Sadananda
Gowda:
The
Union
Railway
Minister
D
V
Sadananda
Gowda
on
October
16
said
fresh
recruitment
would
be
made
in
the
Railway
Protection
Force
(RPF)
to
deal
with
the
attacks
by
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist).
"The
railway
department
is
planning
to
recruit
17,000
constables,
including
4,000
women,
as
safety
and
security
is
its
topmost
priority,"
Gowda
said
in
reply
to
a
query
that
Maoists
have
been
targeting
railway
properties.
Zee
India,
October
17,
2014.
Waving
of
ISIS
flag
in
Kashmir
valley
worries,
says
Army:
The
most
senior
military
officer
in
Kashmir
valley
on
October
15
warned
that
the
waving
of
Islamic
State
of
Iraq
and
Syria
(ISIS)
flags
in
Kashmir
was
a
matter
of
grave
concern
and
the
security
establishment
needed
to
take
note
of
it
at
the
highest
level.
The
warning
came
a
day
after
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K)
Chief
Minister
(CM)
Omar
Abdullah
dismissed
the
incident
as
"an
act
of
some
idiots".
General
officer
commanding
the
Srinagar-based
15
Corps,
Lt
Gen
Subrata
Saha,
said
ISIS
had
the
ability
to
attract
a
large
number
of
volunteers
and
it
was
a
cause
of
worry.
Times
of
India,
October
17,
2014.
Chats
between
IM
members
reveal
the
emergence
of
a
new
terror
module
under
the
leadership
of
'Bengali':
A
series
of
Internet
chats
between
key
members
of
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM)
based
in
India
and
Pakistan
provided
leads
as
early
as
July
2013
to
the
emergence
of
new
terror
modules
with
links
to
West
Bengal,
Assam
and
Bangladesh,
and
a
branch
leader
identified
only
as
"Bengali".
The
transcripts
of
some
of
these
chats,
unearthed
last
year
by
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
reveal
that
the
ground
had
been
laid
in
2013
to
launch
terror
operations
under
the
leadership
of
"Bengali".
Indian
Express,
October
16,
2014.
Assam
faces
bigger
threat
from
jihadi
elements,
says
CM
Tarun
Gogoi:
Assam
Chief
Minister
(CM)
Tarun
Gogoi
on
October
15
said
that
his
state
is
more
vulnerable
to
threats
from
the
jihadi
elements
than
Jammu&
Kashmir
(J&K).
Gogoi
said
"They
(jihadi
elements)
have
for
long
been
trying
to
set
up
bases
here
and
I
had
once
told
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
that
Assam
is
more
dangerous
than
Kashmir
when
it
comes
to
the
threat
from
them."
"Fundamentalist
elements
and
extremists
are
all
dangerous.
Not
just
the
fundamentalist
elements,
we
also
have
threats
from
the
ULFA
(United
Liberation
Front
of
Assam)
and
the
NDFB
(National
Democratic
Front
of
Bodoland),"
he
added.
New
Indian
Express,
October
16,
2014.
Al
Qaeda
planning
to
attack
India
this
month
(October
2014),
say
officials:
Top
officials
with
access
to
intelligence
inputs
have
warned
that
al
Qaeda
has
apparently
joined
hands
with
Indian
terror
outfits
like
the
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
to
plan
a
series
of
bombings
in
the
country
during
the
festival
season.
The
two
groups
were
found
to
have
joined
forces
when
investigators
discovered
their
roles
in
the
recent
Burdwan
(West
Bengal)
and
Bijnor
(Uttar
Pradesh)
blasts.
Deccan
Hearald,
October
14,
2014.
Hardly
any
Indian
Muslim
indulges
in
terrorism,
says
President
Pranab
Mukherjee:
Asserting
that
the
problem
of
terrorism
in
India
was
imported,
President
Pranab
Mukherjee
on
October
13
said
that
indigenous
terrorist
activity
was
"extremely
negligible"
with
hardly
any
involvement
of
the
150
million
Muslims
of
the
country.
"Of
course
there
may
be
one
or
two
out
of
hundred
fifty
million
but
all
of
these
are
imported.
These
are
coming
from
outside.
Indigenous
terrorist
activity
in
India
is
extremely
negligible
and
whenever
such
signs
are
visible
we
take
appropriate
steps,"
he
said
in
an
interview
in
Oslo
ahead
of
his
two-day
visit
to
Norway.
Times
of
India,
October
14,
2014.
Maoist-hit
regions
report
less
violence,
says
MHA
report:
According
to
the
latest
data
available
with
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
violence
in
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)-affected
States
is
continuing
its
downward
trend
of
the
last
five
years.
"This
year,
till
September
30,
we
have
got
reports
of
834
incidents
and
241
deaths.
Last
year
for
the
same
period,
288
deaths
were
reported,"
said
an
MHA
official.
Under
the
new
anti-Maoist
strategy,
the
government
is
focusing
on
development
with
an
initiative
to
create
developmental
hubs
in
the
worst
affected
areas..
Hindustan
Times,
October
13,
2014.
NEPAL
Constituent
Assembly
fails
to
abide
by
its
calendar:
The
Constituent
Assembly
(CA)
was
supposed
to
prepare
the
first
draft
of
the
constitution
by
October
17,
and
forward
it
to
the
people
for
suggestions
on
October
18,
as
per
the
CA's
calendar
of
operation,
however,
the
CA
failed
to
keep
up
with
its
own
timetable
and
is
now
preparing
to
amend
its
calendar
without
changing
the
January
22
deadline
for
promulgating
the
constitution.
Also,
the
Constitutional-Political
Dialogue
and
Consensus
Committee
(CPDCC),
as
per
its
mandate
given
by
the
full
House
of
the
CA,
has
neither
prepared
the
questionnaire
on
unsettled
issues
for
putting
them
to
vote
at
the
CA
full
House,
nor
has
it
been
able
to
forge
consensus.
Himalayan
Times,
October
18,
2014.
PAKISTAN67
militants
and
eight
civilians
among
76
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
37
militants
were
killed
and
50
others,
including
important
commanders,
were
surrendered
to
the
Security
Forces
(SFs)
in
Operation
Khyber-1,
which
successfully
continued
for
the
third
consecutive
day
in
Bara
tehsil
(revenue
unit)
of
Khyber
Agency
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Area
(FATA)
on
October
19.
Eight
militants
and
a
soldier
were
killed
as
SFs
launched
the
Operation
Khyber-1
in
the
Akakhel
area
of
Bara
tehsil
in
Khyber
Agency
on
October
17.
Twenty-one
militants
were
killed
and
several
others
sustained
injuries
when
jet
fighters
pounded
their
hideouts
in
the
Tirah
Valley
and
Bara
tehsil
of
Khyber
Agency
on
October
16.
Seven
people
were
killed
and
17
others
sustained
injuries
when
a
suicide
bomber
blew
himself
up
at
a
Jirga
(tribal
assembly)
of
the
Zakhakhel
Amn
Lashkar
(peace
militia)
in
the
Pir
Mela
area
of
Tirah
Valley
in
Khyber
Agency
on
October
15.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
October
14-20,
2014.
Only
84
of
2,379
killed
by
drones
were
Qaeda
terrorists,
reveals
Bureau
of
Investigative
Journalism
report:
The
United
States
(US)
drones
strikes
in
Pakistan
have
killed
as
many
as
2,379
people
since
2004,
but
only
84
of
the
victims
have
been
named
al
Qaeda
terrorists,
a
Bureau
of
Investigative
Journalism
report
has
revealed.
On
October
11,
the
US
carried
out
its
400th
drone
strike
in
northwest
Pakistan
since
its
strikes
started
there
in
2004.
In
almost
a
decade,
2,379
people
have
been
killed.
"Only
704
of
the
2,379
dead
have
been
identified,
and
only
295
of
these
were
reported
to
be
members
of
some
kind
of
armed
group,"
the
Bureau
of
Investigative
Journalism
found
out.
As
a
part
of
its
Naming
the
Dead
project,
the
bureau
collected
the
names
and,
where
it
was
possible,
the
details
of
people
killed
by
the
CIA
using
a
multitude
of
sources.
Daily
Times,
October
20,
2014.
PKR
one
billion
allocated
for
improvement
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
Police
department,
says
Province
Minister
for
Information
Mushtaq
Ahmed
Ghani:
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
Minister
for
Information
Mushtaq
Ahmed
Ghani
on
October
17
said
that
Provincial
Government
has
allocated
PKR
one
billion
for
the
improvement
of
the
Police
department
performance.
The
News,
October
18,
2014.
Doctor
who
deserted
Army
asks
officers
to
join
Taliban:
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
(JuA),
a
splinter
group
of
Tehreek-e-
Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
has
released
video
of
a
renegade
Army
doctor,
asking
military
officers
and
soldiers
to
join
Taliban.
Sitting
beside
JuA
'spokesman'
Ehsanullah
Ehsan
in
the
video,
the
man
with
black
beard
and
wearing
black
turban
is
introducing
himself
as
Capt
Dr
Tariq
Ali
who
claimed
to
have
served
in
Frontier
Corps
Balochistan,
80
Brigade
Siachen,
and
various
places
in
Punjab.
He
cited
posting
in
Waziristan
the
reason
for
leaving
the
Army.
Dawn,
October
17,
2014.
Six
top
TTP
'commanders'
announce
allegiance
to
Islamic
State's
Baghdadi:
Six
top
'commanders'
of
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP),
including
'spokesman'
Shahidullah
Shahid,
have
announced
their
allegiance
to
Abu
Bakar
Al-Baghdadi
of
the
Islamic
State
and
an
allegiance
statement
was
also
issued
in
this
regard.
Shahidullah
Shahid
in
the
statement
said
he
along
with
five
TTP
District
chiefs
have
announced
their
allegiance
to
IS,
also
known
as
Daish,
and
would
be
their
lead
fighters
in
Pakistan.
Dawn,
October
16,
2014.
SRI
LANKA
European
Court
annuls
sanctions
on
LTTE
on
technical
grounds
but
maintains
asset
freeze:
The
European
Court
of
Justice
(ECJ)
on
procedural
grounds
on
October
16
annulled
the
European
Council
measures
maintaining
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
on
the
European
list
of
terrorist
organizations
but
allowed
measures
to
keep
their
assets
frozen.
The
effects
of
the
annulled
measures
will
be
maintained
temporarily
in
order
to
ensure
the
effectiveness
of
any
possible
future
freezing
of
funds,
the
Court
ruled.
Colombo
Page,
October
17,
2014.
Ready
to
scrap
Presidency
if
Eelam
project
is
dropped,
says
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa:
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
declared
in
Killinochchi,
Northern
Province
on
October
11
that
if
the
Tamil
National
Alliance
(TNA)
and
the
Tamil
Diaspora
gave
up
the
Eelam
and
separatist
ideology,
before
anyone
else
he
would
be
the
first
person
to
scrap
the
executive
presidential
system.
The
President
said
due
to
thirty
years
of
terrorism
not
only
lives
were
lost
but
also
places
of
residence
had
been
lost.
He
said
it
should
never
be
forgotten
that
the
war
the
country
fought
to
put
an
end
to
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
terror
had
not
been
against
the
Tamil
people.
The
Island,
October
14,
2014.
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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
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and the
South
Asia Terrorism Portal.
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