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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 30, January 27, 2015
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:
Nucleus of Terror
Ambreen
Agha
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On January
16, 2015, at least three Shia Muslims were shot dead in
Rawalpindi District while they were returning home from
a religious gathering. The victims were identified as
lawyer Fayyaz Hussain Shah (40), and his two nephews Mir
Ghazi Shah (20) and Mir Hamza Shah (22). The Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP)
'spokesperson' Muhammad Khorasani claimed responsibility
for the attack saying that lawyer Fayyaz Hussain Shah
was active in his Shia community and was also a local
leader of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI).
On January
9, 2015, at least eight people were killed and another
25 were wounded in a bomb blast targeting the Aun Muhammad
Rizvi Imambargah (Shia place of commemoration)
located at Chittian Hattian in Rawalpindi District. Ehsanullah
Ehsan, 'spokesperson' for TTP's Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA)
faction, claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed
“to continue such attacks".
In the
first 26-days of 2015, the Punjab Province has recorded
13 terrorism-related fatalities.
Significantly,
reversing the declining trend in such
fatalities since 2010, overall fatalities
in 2014 increased by a whopping 122.22 per cent, as compared
to the preceding year. According to partial data compiled
by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (STAP), Punjab
recorded a total of 180 fatalities, including 132 civilians,
20 Security Force (SF) personnel and 28 terrorists in
2014, as against 81 such fatalities, including 64 civilians,
seven SF personnel and 10 terrorists in 2013.
Other parameters
of violence have also registered a staggering increase.
As against 20 incidents of killing in 2013, the number
of such incidents rose to 43 in 2014, of which eight were
major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities)
resulting in 129 deaths, as compared to seven major incidents
(out of 20 incidents of killing) in 2013 which resulted
in 40 deaths. In the worst attack of the year, on November
2, 2014, at least 60 people, including children and women,
were killed and more than 150 persons were injured, when
a suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest in the
parking area some 500 meters from the Wagah Border, on
the outskirts of provincial capital Lahore, where a daily
ceremony is witnessed by large crowds on both the Pakistani
and Indian side.
The Province
recorded four suicide attacks in 2014, as against a single
incident in 2013; the resultant fatalities stood at 83
and five respectively. At least 16 explosions were recorded
in 2014, which claimed 111 lives and left more than 352
injured. In 2013, the number of bomb blasts stood at five
with 14 fatalities.
An increase
in incidents of sectarian violence was also recorded,
from 13 in 2013 to 19 in 2014, though resultant fatalities
at 23 remained lower in 2014, as against 42 in 2013.
2014, consequently,
recorded an overall escalation in violence in the Province
which has, for years, served as an ideological sanctuary
and a recruitment ground for various terrorist formations
in Pakistan. Indeed, on January 1, 2015, Awami National
Party (ANP) Central General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain
declared Punjab a “training centre for terrorists and
their masterminds” and demanded that the Government initiate
decisive action against the terrorist leadership and infrastructure
in the Punjab. He stressed, further, that “terrorism could
not be eliminated from the country until an operation
began against terrorist organisations in Punjab”. Pressing
for action against terrorists, Hussain remarked that “there
should be no distinction between good Taliban and bad
Taliban and state institutions should take an across-the-board
action against terrorists.”
This dismal
situation has been created primarily due to the tacit
support provided to these groups by the Federal and Provincial
Governments, who have been implicitly supported by the
judiciary. As in past, numerous instances of such support
came to the fore in 2014. On December 22, 2014, the dreaded
terrorist Malik Muhammad Ishaq, the leader of the anti-Shia
sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ),
was released after three years in jail on grounds of "lack
of evidence". Officials of the Punjab Home Department,
however, did not seek extension in his detention. Significantly,
the United States (US) on February 6, 2014, had designated
Ishaq in its list of the most wanted 'Specially Designated
Global Terrorists'. Indeed, despite an apparent ban on
the organisation within Pakistan since August 2001, LeJ
continues to operate with a great measure of freedom and
exerts significant influence in Punjab.
Similarly,
the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Syed Kausar Abbas
Zaidi hearing the November 26, 2008, Mumbai (India) terror
attacks (also known as 26/11) case, granted bail to top
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
‘commander’ Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the
attacks on December 18, 2014, noting "evidence against
Lakhvi was deficient". After several u-turns, under
intense pressure from India and the international community,
Lakhvi continues to remain behind bars.
Meanwhile,
the Province continued to host LeT 'founder' and Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD) 'chief' Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Through the course
of the year he was allowed to propagate his ideology of
hate and violence freely across the country, and including
the Islamabad Capital Territory, organising and conducting
rallies, in which he spit venom against India and other
‘infidel’ countries. Indeed, on December 4-5, 2014, Saeed
organised a two day “National Conference” on the theme,
“Pakistan’s liberty lies in the ideology of Pakistan”,
at the Minar-e-Pakistan monument in Lahore, calling for
the revival of the demand for the complete enforcement
of Sharia'h (Islamic Law), protecting and promoting
the Islamic ideology of Pakistan, jihad against
the 'enemies of Islam' to uphold Muslim nationhood across
the world, and liberating 'occupied Muslim territories'.
At the Conference, he declared, “…To deal with the Indian
atrocities we will have to adopt the course of Ghaznavi
and, Ghauri... Narendra Modi should be straightforward
and resolve the Kashmir dispute, and if you are not ready
to resolve it, then God willing, Kashmir will be the gateway
and we will wage jihad against India…” Crucially,
the Pakistan Government ran two special trains free of
cost to transport people to attend the congregation in
Lahore, and to return them to their homes after the conclusion
of the congregation.
Meanwhile,
the Pakistan Government declared, on January 22, 2015,
that it has ‘banned’ JuD along with several other terror
organistaions, including the Haqqani Network. Earlier
in a lamentable act of duplicity, Pakistan’s Minister
for Defence Production told Hindustan Times in
an exclusive interview on January 16, 2015, “We are looking
to ban terror organisations but the JuD is a charitable
organisation and the Government of Pakistan has no evidence
against Hafiz Saeed or the JuD.” Subsequently, however,
the Pakistan’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson
stated that there was "no new ban" on JuD, in
what Ajai Sahni, Editor, SAIR, described "as the
same cycle of plants and denials, the same smoke and mirrors
trick, reassuring gullible 'believers' without changing
realities." Sahni notes, further,
Interestingly,
JuD was consistently included in its list of terrorist
organisations by the National Assembly since 2005,
and this was used as grounds to 'take control
of' many of the organisation's madrassas and institutions,
especially by the Punjab Government. The actual
staff and management remained very much with the
same individuals who controlled these institutions
before the purported 'take over', but there was
now a pretext that permitted the Government to
directly and generously fund their activities.
This
cover was blown in 2009, when the Lahore High
Court quashed proceedings against Hafiz Muhammad
Saeed on the grounds that JuD was not a banned
organisation, since no notification to this effect
had been issued by the Ministry of Interior or
by the Punjab Government.
Nevertheless,
the National Assembly blithely continued to include
JuD in its 'updated list' of banned organisation
in 2012, even as official funding to its many
madrassas and institutions flowed on.
All
this is a part of Pakistan's strategy of deception,
its careful calibration of policy as a 'minimal
satisfier', responding reluctantly to meet the
least of requirements where international - particularly
US - pressure becomes unbearable, while insistently
protecting the infrastructure, integrity and continuity
of the many 'sarkari jehadi' groups it has long
cultivated.
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A December
20, 2014, Pakistani report indicated that JuD continued
to remain “Enlisted under UNSCR 1267” since December 10,
2008. Despite this long 'ban' JuD and its leader Saeed
- who has a USD 10 million bounty placed on his head by
Washington, find no reason to disguise their activities.
Even if
a ban is imposed, JuD is likely to continue to operate
under another identity, even as its precursor, LeT did
after its apparent ban in January 2002. JuD already has
a number of other identities in place, including Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool
(Movement for defending the honour of Prophet), Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir
(Movement for the Liberation of Kashmir), Paasbaan-e-Ahl-e-Hadith
(Defender of Prophetic Tradition) , Paasban-e-Kashmir
(Defender of Kashmir), Al-Mansoorian (The Victorious),
Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq (Establishment for the Service of
Humanity), Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (Foundation for
the success of humanity), Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal
(Movement for Safeguarding the Holy Ka'ba).
Pakistan
has, unfailingly, proved to be a country where hard core
sectarian and India-oriented Punjabi jihadists
find widespread public and official support. According
to the SATP database, there has been a considerable and
increasing
presence of at least 57 extremist
and terrorist groups in Punjab alone. At least 28 of these
outfits exist in Lahore. The situation is, in fact, even
more alarming and, on January 14, 2015, Federal Minister
of Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, during a briefing
on the status of the implementation of the National Action
Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism and extremism, disclosed
that the number of proscribed organisations actively engaged
in terrorism and extremism in the Province had reached
95.
Islamabad
continues with its most dangerous friendships with purveyors
of terror, even as it makes desperate efforts to contain
some aspects of domestic terrorism. In a 15-minute long
video released in December 2014, TTP openly exposed the
past misdeeds of the Pakistan Army. A senior leader of
the group, Adnan Rashid, a former Pakistan Air Force officer,
accused the Pakistan Army of taking a "U-turn"
and labeling jihad as terrorism and mujahedeen
as terrorists, and warned
You remember when
thousands of Pakistani youth fought your proxy
war in Afghanistan and in Indian Kashmir.... And
then you went into the dollar game and you earned
millions from the proxy war in Afghanistan and
you deceived the nation in the name of jihad.
The Muslims have not forgotten the blood game
you played in Indian Kashmir exploiting youth
in the name of so called freedom...
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The evidence
of Pakistan's long history of malfeasance is now overwhelming,
and yet, the flourishing terrorist formations in Punjab
and the obvious support they receive from the state establishment,
demonstrate that there is obviously insufficient international
pressure for change. Indeed, US and international agencies
continue to bail Pakistan's elite out with annual doses
of liberal financial aid, even as Washington continues
to bolster Islamabad's arsenal.
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Andhra
Pradesh: Maoists: Waning Support
Fakir Mohan Pradhan
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Communist
Party of India - Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
cadres, along with a large number of armed militia members
and sympathisers, attacked and destroyed an Ashram
(hermitage) of a local spiritual guru, Jaggamdora Simhachalam
aka Satyanarayana, at Gurramveedhi village in the
G. Madugula mandal (administrative unit) of Vishakhapatnam
District, Andhra Pradesh, in the night of January 17,
2015. Simhachalam was not at his Ashram at the time of
the attack. Maoists beat up six persons present in the
Ashram and set afire furniture, vehicles and a shed. Claiming
responsibility for the incident the Korukonda 'local area
committee', left pamphlets and hung a banner saying that
the Ashram was attacked in retaliation to the killing
of Sharath and militia member P. Ganapathi on October
19, 2014, and that Simhachalam would not be spared.
'Divisional
committee member' Sindri China Ranga Rao aka Sharath
and P. Ganapathi were lynched by locals while Maoists
were taking Simhachalam to a praja court ('people's
court') near Korukonda Shandy, after killing
G. Sanjeeva Rao on ‘charges’ of being a Police informer.
Another Maoist militia member, Korra Nageswara Rao, was
also believed to have been killed in this incident, but,
as facts emerged later, he survived after being dumped
in a nearby stream, and subsequently escaped. On November
27, he was seen talking to the media during a memorial
meeting held by the Maoists in the Vishakhapatnam Agency
area.
The Maoists’
revenge attack notwithstanding, the lynching incident
in what was long a Maoist stronghold indicates that even
the residual strength of the Maoists in Andhra Pradesh
is waning. Further, on January 21, 2015, 34 Maoist sympathisers
surrendered before the Police at Rajavommangi in East
Godavari District. It is significant that, after a protracted
political slug fest and acrimonious protests, Andhra Pradesh
was officially bifurcated to create the new State of Telangana
on June 2, 2014. According to the arrangement, Hyderabad
will remain the joint capital for both the States for
ten years, after which Andhra Pradesh will have its own
capital and Hyderabad will be transferred entirely to
Telangana. The residuary Andhra Pradesh has 13 Districts
and Telangana has 10. Most of the Maoist affected Districts
in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh have gone to Telangana.
According
to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), in the undivided
Andhra
Pradesh, by the end of 2013, Maoist
activity appeared to have been substantially confined
to Visakhapatnam and Khammam Districts, while Karimnagar,
Warangal, Srikakulam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, East and
West Godavari Districts remained marginally affected.
The residual State of Andhra Pradesh, inherited just one
District, Visakhapatnam, with moderate Maoist activity
and three Districts - East Godavari, West Godavari and
Srikakulam – with marginal Maoist activity. However, seven
mandals of the erstwhile Khammam District, which
had a considerable Maoist presence, have been added to
East and West Godavari District.
According
to SATP data, the present (residual) Andhra Pradesh
has recorded 10 fatalities, including five civilians and
five Maoists, in LWE related incidents of violence in
2014, as compared to eight fatalities including six civilians
and two Maoists in 2013 in the same areas. This suggests
that Andhra Pradesh has sustained the advantage it had
secured against the Maoists before the division of the
State. While civilian fatalities remain comparable, Maoist
fatalities have gone up from two to five. There were no
SF fatalities in either year.
In terms
of spatial distribution, fatalities in 2014 were reported
from three Districts – Vishakhapatnam (three civilians
and two Maoists), Prakasam (three Maoists) and East Godavari
(two civilians). In 2013, fatalities were reported from
three Districts of the comparable area of erstwhile Andhra
Pradesh - Vishakhapatnam (four civilians and one Maoist),
East Godavari (two civilians) and Nellore (one Maoist).
Two major
incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) were
recorded in 2014 - one in Prakasam (three Maoists killed
in an encounter with SFs on June 19 and another in Vishakhapatnam
(one civilian and two Maoists, on October 19). The Maoists
had engineered just one major incident in 2013, killing
three tribals in the Lakkavaram forest area in G.K. Veedhi
mandal of Visakhapatnam District on February 19.
No major incidents were reported in 2012 and 2011 in the
residual Andhra Pradesh areas.
Maoists
engineered one swarming attack (involving 50 or more cadres/militia
members) each in 2014 and 2013. On January 27, 2014, 20
CPI-Maoist cadres accompanied by an estimated 50 militia
members triggered blasts at two coffee pulping units and
a godown of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development
Corporation's coffee pulping yard at Chapagedda in GK
Veedhi mandal in Visakhapatnam District. Earlier
on July 6, 2013, some 20 CPI-Maoist cadres along with
about 70 militia members raided the house of a former
chairman of the Agriculture Marketing Committee of Chintapalli
mandal, Vantala Subba Rao in his native Bayalu
Kinchangi village under Choudapalli Panchayat of Visakhapatnam
District.
The Maoists
were involved in at least two exchanges of fire, two explosions,
four incidents of arson and gave calls for bandhs
(general shutdown strikes) on two occasions in 2014; in
2013 they were involved in at least three exchanges of
fire, one explosion, one incident of arson, four cases
of assault and gave calls for bandhs on three occasions.
The Maoists
held a meeting on November 27, 2014, in memory of the
cadres lynched in the October 19 incident. The meeting
was organised somewhere near the location of the incident,
and people from 33 villages under the Balapam Gram
Panchayat were asked to attend. The meeting was reportedly
addressed by the party's 'east division secretary' Kailasam,
and many top leaders at the State level were also present.
Reports suggest that more than a hundred party functionaries
attended. Kailasam announced that coffee plantations at
Siribala, RV Nagar and Chapagedda would be distributed
to the Girijans (tribals) soon, since the party
believed that the forest wealth belonged to the Girijans.
Six coffee plantations had been 'allocated' by the Maoists
to the Girijans in the past.
Overall,
Maoist activities appear to have been substantially confined
to Visakhapatnam District, while East and West Godavari
and Srikakulam Districts remain marginally affected. However,
with the transfer of seven mandals from the Khammam
District of the Telangana region, close to the troubled
Chhattisgarh border, to the residual Andhra Pradesh State,
the East and West Godavari Districts may see an increase
in Maoist activities in the foreseeable future.
On December
29, 2014, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP)
J.V. Ramudu disclosed that Police had arrested 75 Naxalites
(left wing extremists), while another 93 surrendered through
2014. Maoists were involved in over a dozen reported crimes
during the year, including the killing of four civilians.
Five Maoists were shot dead in exchange of fire in different
places and the Police seized 17 weapons from their possession.
However, giving an assessment of Maoist activities in
Visakhapatnam District, particularly in the Agency area,
Superintendent of Police (SP) Koya Praveen stated, on
December 29, 2014, that a total of 83 persons had been
arrested during the year, including nine extremists, 28
militia members and 46 sympathisers, as against 66 persons,
including three extremists, 32 militia members and 31
sympathisers in 2013. The arrests included an active member
of the CPI-Maoist Galikonda ‘area committee’, identified
as Pangi Bhaskara Rao, and of the Kalimela ‘area committee’,
Korra Santhi.
On August
22, 2014, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu
Naidu, during a discussion in the State Assembly, disclosed
that 83 underground Maoist cadres from Andhra Pradesh
had been identified as active, of whom 61 were known to
be operating in the State, while the remaining were operating
from Chhattisgarh and other States. Interestingly, while
giving an assessment of Maoist numbers, Visakhapatnam
Superintendent of Police Koya Praveen noted that, while
it was not possible to give the exact number, it was estimated
that the East Visakha Joint Division chief Chalapathi
and his deputy Bakuri Venkata Ramana alias Ganesh
were moving around with about 40 to 50 hardcore cadres,
each. Similarly, Galikonda area committee heads Ravi and
Sharat and Korukonda area committee leaders Naveen and
Kiran led groups of at least 30 Maoist cadres each. Praveen
added, “The figures are excluding the local militia members
and sympathisers.” Further, “The weaponry depends on the
rank. It is reported that leaders such as Ravi and Naveen,
have at least five to six AK 47 assault rifles in their
group and supported by a good number of .303 Lee Enfield
rifles. They also carry landmines and claymore mines.”
Since concerns
persist, Andhra Pradesh is gearing up to tackle the residual
Maoist presence. A special company of armed Police is
to be set up for the seven mandals of Khammam which
were merged into Andhra Pradesh, and the Centre has cleared
this proposal. The Government is also considering the
setting up of a special Police Sub-division for these
seven mandals. According to Andhra Pradesh Deputy
Chief Minister and Home Minister China Rajappa, of the
13 Districts in the State, only eight Districts have armed
battalions. West Godavari, Prakasam, Chittoor, Krishna
and Srikakulam Districts do not have any armed battalions
and proposals have been sent to the Centre seeking approval
for five such battalions. The Centre has sanctioned two
battalions with one of these to be set up at Vijayawada
and another in one of the Rayalaseema Districts. Reports
indicate that the State was awaiting sanction of another
two battalions.
Vishakhapatnam
District Police is upgrading its existing Police Stations
to make them attack-proof. Superintendent of Police Praveen
observed, in this connection, "At Chintapalli and
GK Veedhi, about 80 per cent of the work is over. At Hukumpeta,
we are midway through. They should be ready in a couple
of months." Another six Police Stations have been
identified for similar upgradation, and work is to commence
shortly.
According
to the latest available data, the Andhra Pradesh Police
as on December 31, 2013, before bifurcation of the State,
had a Police-population ratio of 123 per 100,000 (actual
strength, National Crime Records Bureau data]. This reflected
a deficit of 22,950 personnel against sanctioned strength,
with 11 vacancies in the ranks of DG/ Addl.DG / IG / DIG,
142 vacancies in SSP/SP/Addl.SP/ ASP/ Dy.SP ranks (though
there was a surplus of 13 in the Armed Police in these
ranks), 3,172 vacancies in the Inspector, Sub Inspector
and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) ranks, and 19,625 vacancies
in personnel below ASI rank.
However,
DGP Ramudu, on December 22, 2014, asserted that existing
numbers in the residual Andhra Pradesh State were sufficient
in the officer cadres. In fact, the Department was forcing
Police Stations to accommodate a higher number of Inspector
rank officers than required. But the Police was facing
a shortage of constables and sub-inspectors, and a proposal
to recruit 8,000 constables was pending approval.
Further,
the [State] Cabinet Sub-committee on the Naxalite problem,
headed by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, has
recommended the raising of a tribal battalion, recruited
from the Girijan youth of East Godavari, Visakhapatnam,
Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, exclusively to counter the
Maoist insurgency along the Andhra-Odisha-Chhattisgarh
border. The recommendation is aimed at discouraging discontented
tribal youth from joining the Maoists. Significant tribal
dislocation is expected as a result of the Polavaram project.
The Indira Sagar Project is a multipurpose major terminal
reservoir project located on river Godavari near the Ramayyapet
village of Polavaram Mandal in West Godavari District.
An estimated 44,574 residential households, involving
a total population of 177,275 persons, of which around
50 per cent are tribals, are likely to be displaced by
the project. According to Union Environment Minister of
State (Independent Charge) Prakash Javadekar, an area
of 3427.52 hectares of forest land in Andhra Pradesh alone
is projected to be inundated, and 276 villages in Andhra
Pradesh, four villages in Chhattisgarh and eight villages
in Odisha are likely to be submerged. The Odisha State
has opposed the project as it maintains that the project
is likely to submerge tribal villages in Malkangiri District.
Seven months
have passed since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, with
no obvious increase in Maoist activities. While this is
too short a period to assess the impact of the division
on the Maoist movement in the State, there is no reason
to believe that there would be any radical discontinuity
with the recent past. Nevertheless, concerns persist,
especially in view of the administrative uncertainty regarding
the location of the State's capital, which is causing
some heartburn among sections of the population in the
Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. The sooner administrative
issues are settled down, the better it will be for the
State, and the closer the focus on the Maoist problem.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
January 19-25,
2015
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (BANGLADESH)
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
Jharkhand
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
4
|
Total (INDIA)
|
4
|
2
|
3
|
9
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
FATA
|
0
|
4
|
47
|
51
|
KP
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
Punjab
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
Sindh
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
10
|
PAKISTAN
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
BTK
36,445
crore
lost
during
last
16
days'
political
unrest,
says
DCCI
President
Hossain
Khaled:
Dhaka
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
Industry
(DCCI)
President
Hossain
Khaled
on
January
22
said
that
during
the
political
unrest
of
the
last
16
days
the
economy
lost
at
least
BTK
36,445
crore.
The
daily
loss
is
BTK
300
crore
in
transport
sector,
288
crore
in
agriculture,
250
crore
in
real
estate
and
210
crore
in
tourism.
The
wholesale
and
retail
markets
suffer
losses
of
150
crore
while
the
manufacturing
sector
100
crore.
The
figure
is
equivalent
to
2.69
percent
of
the
GDP.
Daily
Star,
January
23,
2015.
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
would
have
to
stand
for
trial
as
a
"killer"
for
killing
innocent
people
in
the
name
of
movement,
says
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
on
January
20
told
the
Parliament
that
Bangladesh
Nationalist
Party
(BNP)
Chairperson
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
would
have
to
stand
for
trial
as
a
"killer"
for
killing
innocent
people
in
the
name
of
movement.
She
said,
"Begum
Zia's
trial
would
be
held
by
treating
her
as
a
killer
since
her
movement
is
not
for
any
national
issue
or
public
welfare,
rather
she
is
trying
to
save
war
criminals
and
herself
from
the
graft
cases
and
protect
her
spoilt
son
involved
in
killing,
money
laundering
and
corruption."
Independentbd,
January
21,
2015.
INDIA
Safe
havens
of
terror
in
Pakistan
"not
acceptable"
and
Pakistan
must
punish
culprits
of
26/11
attack,
says
US
President
Barack
Obama:
United
States
(US)
President
Barack
Obama
on
January
25
said
that
safe
havens
of
terrorism
within
that
country
are
"not
acceptable".
Obama
said,
"I've
made
it
clear
that
even
as
the
United
States
works
with
Pakistan
to
meet
the
threat
of
terrorism,
safe
havens
within
Pakistan
are
not
acceptable
and
that
those
behind
the
Mumbai
terrorist
attack
[November
26,
2008,
Mumbai
terrorist
attacks
(also
known
as
26/11)]
must
face
justice
must
face
justice."
Times
of
India,
January
24,
2015.
R&AW
warns
of
IS
radicals:
India's
external
intelligence
agency,
the
Research
and
Analysis
Wing
(R&AW)
has
warned
that
the
threat
from
home-grown
elements
radicalised
by
the
Islamic
State
(IS)
has
emerged
as
the
topmost
terror
threat
across
the
globe
even
as
the
Afghanistan-Pakistan
region
remains
the
epicentre
of
global
terror
activity.
In
a
detailed
report
on
the
IS-inspired
terrorist
attacks
in
France,
the
R&AW
has
said
that
the
terrorists
who
carried
out
the
deadly
attack
had
connection
with
jihadists
in
AfPak.
Asian
Age,
January
24,
2015.
12,062
civilians
have
died
in
Naxal
violence
so
far,
says
RTI
query:
In
reply
to
an
Right
to
Information
Act
(RTI)
query,
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA)
has
revealed
that
a
total
of
12,062
civilians
have
been
killed
in
Naxal-[Left-Wing
Extremism
(LWEs)]
violence
till
now
since
1980.
While
in
1980,
70
people
had
died
in
the
violence,
in
2010
the
number
was
a
far
higher
720.
The
reply
also
mentions
that
3,078
security
personnel
were
injured
in
Naxal-related
violence
in
the
last
34
years.
Times
of
India,
January
21,
2015.
40,000
people
trained
as
Maoists
in
10
years,
says
RTI
query:
In
the
past
10
years,
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
has
organised
as
many
as
489
training
camps
for
more
than
40,000
cadres
who
have
been
taught
about
the
use
of
sophisticated
weapons
and
guerrilla
warfare,
according
to
information
obtained
under
the
Right
to
Information
(RTI)
Act
from
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA).
The
information
provided
by
the
UMHA
under
RTI
shows
that
while
there
was
a
year-on-year
increase
in
the
number
of
training
camps
-
from
16
in
2004
to
93
in
2010,
thereafter
the
numbers
decreased
to
five
in
2014.
DNA,
January
20,
2015.
NEPAL
Political
parties
fail
to
draft
a
new
constitution
before
the
January
22
deadline:
Despite
repeated
attempts,
the
ruling
Nepali
Congress
and
its
alliance
partner
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Unified
Marxist
Leninist
(CPN-UML)
as
also
the
main
opposition
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-Maoist)
and
Madhesh-based
parties
failed
to
reach
a
consensus
on
issues
ranging
from
federalism,
form
of
government,
judiciary
and
electoral
system,
which
made
the
constitution
elusive.
This
is
a
second
time
that
the
parties
in
Nepal
failed
to
deliver
a
new
constitution.
The
CA
elected
in
2008
was
dissolved
in
May
2012
without
a
new
charter.
The
second
CA
was
elected
in
2013
and
at
its
first
meeting
on
January
21,
2014,
it
resolved
to
draft
the
country's
new
constitution
within
a
year,
by
January
22.
Nepal's
parties
had
agreed
to
draft
a
new
constitution
by
signing
the
Comprehensive
Peace
Agreement
in
2006,
which
ended
a
10-year-old
insurgency.
The
Week,
January
23,
2015.
PAKISTAN
47
militants
and
four
Security
Force
personnel
among
51
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
35
suspected
militants,
an
unspecified
number
of
foreigners
among
them,
were
killed
when
military
planes
shelled
their
hideouts
in
North
Waziristan
Agency
(NWA)
of
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
January
25.
At
least
seven
militants
and
three
soldiers
were
killed
during
a
clash
in
the
Banda
area
of
Salarzai
town
in
Bajaur
Agency
on
January
19.
Five
militants
were
killed
when
a
US
drone
fired
two
missiles
at
a
compound
in
Shahi
Khel
neighbourhood
of
Shawal
in
NWA
on
January
19.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
January
20-26,
2015.
JuD
not
banned,
only
accounts
frozen;
clarifies
Pakistan
High
Commissioner
to
India
Abdul
Basit:
Pakistan
High
Commissioner
to
India
Abdul
Basit
on
January
23
said
that
there
is
no
ban
on
Jama'at-ud
Dawa
(JuD)
but
its
accounts
have
been
frozen
and
movement
of
its
members
restricted
as
per
the
United
Nations
(UN)
resolution.
"We
are
proceeding
strictly
in
accordance
with
UN
resolution
and
Jama'at's
bank
accounts
have
been
frozen,
there
is
a
ban
on
travel
abroad
of
its
leadership.
We
are
moving
in
accordance
with
whatever
is
required
under
the
UN
resolution.
I
do
not
see
much
else
needs
to
be
done,''
Basit
said.
He
also
stated
that
the
facilities
of
JuD
have
been
taken
over
by
the
Government
of
Pakistan.
Daily
Times,
January
24,
2015.
No
record
of
banned
outfits
available,
says
Supreme
Court:
The
Supreme
Court
on
January
22
directed
the
Federal
Government
to
upload
the
details
pertaining
to
terrorist
outfits
banned
by
the
Government
on
websites,
adding
that
there
was
no
such
record
and
friendly
countries
should
also
be
informed
in
this
regard.
A
three-member
bench
of
the
apex
court,
headed
by
Justice
Jawwad
S
Khawaja,
heard
the
suo
moto
case
on
the
errors
in
legal
books
and
journals.
During
the
hearing,
the
court
asked
its
staff
to
check
the
websites
of
the
National
Counter
Terrorism
Authority
(NACTA),
the
Ministry
of
Law
and
Ministry
of
Interior.
However,
after
checking
these
websites,
nothing
was
found
pertaining
to
details
of
banned
terrorist
outfits.
The
News,
January
24,
2015.
SRI
LANKA
Former
Army
commander
Sarath
Fonseka
granted
complete
amnesty
by
President
Maithripala
Sirisena:
Former
Army
Commander
Sarath
Fonseka
was
granted
complete
amnesty
by
the
President
Maithripala
Sirisena
on
January
21.
President's
Media
Division
said,
"Fonseka
has
been
acquitted
of
all
charges
filed
against
him
under
the
previous
Government
and
has
been
granted
complete
amnesty
by
President
Maithripala
Sirisena."
Accordingly,
Fonseka's
rank
will
be
restored
and
will
be
entitled
to
all
military
and
social
privileges
without
any
legal
barrier.
He
will
be
awarded
back
his
medals
and
honors.
The
former
Army
general
who
led
the
decisive
war
against
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
to
end
the
terrorism
in
Sri
Lanka
was
stripped
off
of
his
ranks
and
rights
by
the
previous
Government.
Colombo
Page,
January
22,
2015.
.
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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