| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 15, No. 11, September 12, 2016
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
|
Media
under Siege
Ambreen
Agha
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
My family has been falsely implicated in drug racket.
It is distressing to see that my family is suffering
because of my profession. It is difficult to be
a journalist in Pakistan and that too in tribal
areas. You are punished for bringing out stories
that do not sit well with the military establishment,
which is ubiquitous here. We see Taliban commanders
visiting military quarters in the tribal belt. What
happens inside is not for us to know. We are caught
between the military and the terrorists. Being a
journalist has cost me my family, who disowned me
after the slapping of false charges. And now I am
without money, looking for alternative means of
sustenance.
------An unnamed journalist from an unspecified
location in tribal areas to SAIR .
|
Media in
Pakistan, particular in the tribal regions, is under siege.
Working under constant threat to life and livelihood,
media personnel have faced a backlash from both state
and anti-state elements. These include the warring political
parties, military intelligence agencies and terrorist
formations operating across the country.
As freedom
becomes increasingly elusive for media personnel in the
country, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
report, released on February 3, 2016, noted that Pakistan
runs fourth on the list of the deadliest countries in
the world for journalists, recording a total of 115 killings
since 1990. According to partial data compiled by Institute
for Conflict Management (ICM), a total of 57 journalists
have been killed in targeted attacks since 1994 (data
till September 11, 2016). Meanwhile, the World Press Freedom
Index – 2016, published by Reporters without Borders
(RWB), ranked Pakistan at 147 out of 180 countries.
The RWB Report on Pakistan, “Targeted on all Sides”, states,
Journalists are targeted by extremist groups, Islamist
organizations and Pakistan's feared intelligence
organizations, all of which are on RSF's [Reporters
Sans Frontičres] list of predators of press freedom.
Although at war with each other, they are all always
ready to denounce acts of "sacrilege" by the media.
Inevitably, self-censorship is widely practiced
within news organizations…
|
In a recent
incident on August 22, 2016, a group of Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM)
workers attacked the office of ARY News Channel,
killing one person and injuring several others, near Zainab
Market in the Saddar Town of Karachi, the provincial capital
of Sindh. A day earlier, another group of infuriated MQM
protestors had damaged the Digital Satellite News Gathering
(DSNG) van of the Samaa TV channel in the Liaquatabad
Town of Karachi. The protestors involved in both these
attacks had alleged lack of “due media coverage” of MQM
workers, who had been protesting since August 18, 2016,
against the random disappearances and arrest of party
workers by the paramilitary Rangers ever since the beginning
of the ongoing ‘Targeted Action’ against terrorists and
criminals in the commercial capital. During a meeting
of the Sindh Apex Committee headed by Chief Minister Murad
Ali Shah on August 31, 2016, Rangers Director General
Major General Bilal Akbar informed the participants that
848 ‘target killers’ involved in 7,224 cases have been
arrested since September 4, 2013, in Karachi, of which
654 suspects were affiliated with MQM. The MQM suspects
have allegedly confessed to being involved in 5,863 incidents
of target killings.
In the
past, religious-political parties have also brazenly attacked
the media. Following the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, an Elite
Force commando convicted of killing former Punjab Governor
Salman Taseer, angry protesters attacked media houses
and facilities in Sindh and Punjab on March 1, 2016, leaving
over half a dozen media people injured, and equipment
burnt or destroyed. Qadri was executed on February 29,
2016, at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi District of Punjab.
The most violent attack occurred in the Hyderabad District
of Sindh, where a demonstration was staged by several
religious parties against Qadri’s execution. The collective
call for protest outside the Hyderabad Press Club was
given by different religious organizations and parties,
including, Milli Yakjehti Council, Jama’at-e-Ulema Pakistan
(JuP) and Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST). Apart from burning
tyres and blocking roads, the enraged mobs burned a counter
at the Hyderabad Press Club, injuring four journalists
and a Press Club employee. They also beat up journalists
en route to Karachi. Two journalists, who were
travelling to cover the protest in Karachi’s Malir Town
were pulled out of the car and beaten up. The cameraman
was also dragged out of the van. The infuriated protestors
damaged the camera and the vehicle.
The media
has been targeted by the country’s proliferation of terrorist
formations. On May 7, 2016, unidentified terrorists killed
two people, including Shia religious scholar and rights
activist Syed Khurram Zaki and his journalist friend Rao
Khalid, in North Karachi Town. While Khalid was currently
working as a journalist, Zaki was a former journalist.
No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
On November
22, 2015, unidentified armed assailants shot dead TV journalist
Hafeez ur Rehman (42), on the outskirts of the Kohat District
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Though
terrorist outfits, primarily the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP),
have claimed responsibility for these attacks, the media
has been directed by the Pakistan Army not to report.
The unnamed
journalist from tribal area, in a conversation with this
writer, stated,
Since the launch of the NAP [National Action Plan
(NAP), media's coverage of the conflict in Pakistan
and more specifically in the tribal area is dictated
by the Army. There is a clear instruction to all
journalists, independent or affiliated, working
in the tribal belt to not report claims of responsibility
by terrorist outfits. The military has drawn the
line for the journalists working on the ground.
There are claims made by the Pakistani Taliban [TTP]
after every attack that we are categorically told
to ignore. Reporting a terror claim is a crime now.
In the tribal areas, reporters risk it all to deliver
the news independently and objectively. Instead,
it is the Army's media wing, the Inter-Services
Public Relations (ISPR), which has increased its
activities in the last few years.
|
The 20-point
NAP came as a counter-terrorism measure on December 24,
2014, after the gruesome December 16, 2015, Peshawar Army
Public School massacre
.
Corroborating
this claim, the last attack on the media claimed by TTP
was on January 17, 2014, when at least three Express
News workers, identified as driver Khalid, technician
Waqas and security guard Ashraf, were shot dead after
TTP terrorists ambushed a stationary DSNG van near Matric
Board Office in the North Nazimabad Town of Karachi. In
a live telephone call from Afghanistan TTP spokesman Ehsanullah
Ehsan declared,
We accept responsibility. I would like to present
some of its reasons: At present, Pakistani media
is playing the role of (enemies and spread) venomous
propaganda against Tehreek-e-Taliban. They have
assumed the (role of) opposition. We had intimated
the media earlier and warn it once again that (they
must) side with us in this venomous propaganda (sic)."
|
Five days
later, on January 23, 2014, TTP issued a 29-page fatwa
(edict) against the media, declaring it a “party to the
conflict” in the country. Since TTP’s creation in 2007,
this was the first ever fatwa issued by the terrorist
organization against the media, drawing up a hit-list
of journalists and publishers across the country. The
fatwa accuses media of siding with “disbelievers”
against Muslims in the “war on Islam”. It alleged that
the media was inciting people against mujahidin
(holy warriors) through propaganda, and was propagating
promiscuity and secularism. One of the author’s of the
fatwa, Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, 'deputy chief' of
TTP, separated journalists into three categories – murjif,
muqatil and Sa’ee bil fasad. Explaining
the terms further in the fatwa, Haqqani stated,
Murjif is someone who engages in propaganda
against Muslims during a war between Islam and disbelief.
Muqatil is someone who incites disbelievers
and their allies to act against Muslims, while the
third category (Sa'ee bil fasad) includes
those who allegedly corrupt Muslim society through
steps like replacing Islamic ideology with secular
beliefs.
|
While sending
the fatwa to Dawn, the outfit’s spokesman Ehsanullah
Ehsan warned, “Media could mend its ways and become a
neutral entity. Otherwise, the media should not feel secure.
A few barriers and security escorts will not help. If
we can get inside military installations, media offices
should not be too much of a challenge.”
Indeed,
at least 13 attacks with nine fatalities have been recorded
since the declaration of the fatwa on January 23,
2014.
The military
establishment has played a malicious role in this enduring
wave of intolerance against the media. During the 139th
Corps Commanders Conference held at the General Headquarters
(GHQ) on June 9, 2011, the then Chief of Army Staff (CoAS)
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, warned critics to stop trying
to deliberately run down the Armed Forces and the Army
as an institution, and to put an end to “any effort to
create divisions between important institutions of the
country.” The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and other
Pakistani intelligence agencies have a long history of
intimidation, abduction and secret killings of those who
challenge or expose them.
One prominent
incident in this category was the abduction, torture and
brutal murder of Asia Times Online Pakistan Bureau
Chief, Syed
Saleem Shahzad, on June 1, 2011, in
the Mandi Bahauddin District of Punjab Province. Shehzad
was abducted on May 29, 2011, by the ISI just one day
after he exposed links between al Qaeda, a group of naval
personnel and the ISI, in the deadly attack on the Pakistan
Naval Station (PNS) Mehran within the Faisal Naval Airbase
in Karachi on May 22, 2011. 10 Security Force (SF) personnel
were killed in the attack. Shahzad’s killing was a deliberate
and planned targeted killing that sent shock waves through
Pakistan’s journalist fraternity and civil society.
In another
such attack, Hamid Mir, the anchor on Geo News,
was shot at and injured by four unidentified armed pillion
riders on April 19, 2014, in Sharah-e-Faisal Town of Karachi.
Before the attack, Mir had told his colleagues and friends
that if he was attacked, Pakistan's ISI, “and its chief
Lieutenant General Zaheer-ul-Islam will be responsible”.
On the day of the attack, Geo News disclosed that
Mir had also sent a recorded video to the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) implicating the ISI in any possible
attempt on his life. Mir had claimed that the Agency had
been infuriated by his Capital Talk programmes
that criticised ISI’s tactics against the separatists
in Balochistan, where the military is accused of enforced
disappearances and killings.
Persistent
efforts by the Army and its agencies to silence the media
over decades have diminished the spaces of freedom within
Pakistan. There have been serious concerns voiced by activists
regarding the “muzzling of free speech” in Pakistan. Expressing
concern over the role of the ISPR department on June 15,
2016, Asma Jahangir, former chairperson of the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), appeared before a two-judge
Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Ejaz Afzal
Khan and Qazi Faez Isa, which was hearing petitions filed
by journalists Hamid Mir, Absar Alam and others, seeking
a court order abolishing the secret fund being maintained
by the Information Ministry. Jahangir asserted that ISPR
should also be monitored by regulatory authorities and
requested the Court to investigate the law under which
the Army's media cell was operating. "We have been
talking a lot about the civilian government, but the media
cell of the [army] should also be monitored," Jahangir
argued.
In the
ongoing “war of ideologies”, as TTP spokesman Ehsanullah
Ehsan called it after the January 17, 2014, attack on
Express News, the media has borne the brunt from
all the three quarters – political, military and terrorist.
An environment of repression has been created, enforced
by an unholy alliance of Islamist extremists, radicalized
political parties and the omnipresent Army and its agencies,
within a culture of enveloping immunity, expanding spaces
for future ideological wars.
|
Chhattisgarh:Bastar
Division: Final Maoist Bastion
Deepak
Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On September
7, 2016, two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
cadres were killed in an encounter with the Police in
the dense forests of Bijapur District. Inspector General
of Police (IGP), Bastar Range, SRP Kalluri disclosed,
"The encounter took place this afternoon near Telmendri
village under Farsegarh PS limits between a joint team
of Police personnel and the ultras."
The day
before, one Maoist cadre was killed in an exchange of
fire with Security Forces (SFs) in the forests of Sukma
District. The skirmish took place when a team of the District
Reserve Group (DRG), led by Dornapal Station House Officer
(SHO) Ajay Sonkar, was out on an anti-Maoist operation
in the Dornapal Police Station (PS) area, and a group
of Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on the team near
Koyabekur village, following which an encounter broke
out, Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP), Indira Kalyan
Elesela stated. Meda Benjami aka Kukkal Mada, head
of a Maoist Janatana Sarkar (‘people’s government’
unit) in the Kerlapal area, was killed in the encounter.
Elesela added that the deceased was looking after Naxal
[Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] activities in about 10 villages
of the region. A muzzle loading gun and some ammunition
was recovered from the spot.
Meanwhile,
on September 1, 2016, one Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) Constable, Sachin Kumar (27), who had been severely
injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast
in the Sukma District on August 26, 2016, succumbed to
his injuries at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) in New Delhi.
Four days
earlier, on August 28, 2016, a composite squad of the
DRG and Special Task Force (STF) killed one Maoist cadre
during an encounter in the Chandometa forest of Bastar
District.
Earlier,
on August 26, 2016, the Maoists killed one of their own
supporters after producing him before a jan adalat
(people’s court) in the Sukma District. Commenting on
the incident, IGP Kalluri stated, “Rathore (Sandeep Kumar
Rathore) was this evening shot dead by armed rebels in
the forests near Mukram nullah under Chintalnar Police
Station limits… As per records, he was a staunch supporter
of (the) Maoists but for the last few months he had started
distancing himself from the banned outfit. He had joined
the mainstream and was leading a normal life.”
On August
24, 2016, one Maoist cadre was killed in an exchange of
fire with SF personnel in the Sukma District. The skirmish
took place near Ponga Bhejji village when a joint team
of STF and the District Force was out on an anti-Maoist
operation in the Dornapal PS area. Giving details about
the operation, SP, Elesela noted, "During searches,
the body of a male Maoist clad in a 'uniform' was recovered
along with one automatic pistol and one muzzle loading
gun." However, the identity of the Maoist was not
known.
In a separate
incident on August 17, 2016, four Maoist cadres including
a 'commander-rank' woman cadre were killed, while a trooper
was injured in an encounter between SF personnel and the
Maoists in the Dantewada District. The skirmish took place
in the early hours in the restive Dabba-Kunna Hills when
a joint team of CRPF, DRG and STF was out on an anti-Maoist
operation.
Again,
on August 16, 2016, one hardcore Maoist, who was allegedly
involved in blowing up an ambulance killing five CRPF
personnel and two civilians during the 2014 Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Parliament) Poll in Bastar District, was
killed in an encounter in the forests of Chandometa under
the Darbha PS limits in the Bastar District. He was identified
as People's Militia 'commander' Arjun. He was also a member
of the Machhkot Local Organisation Squad (LOS).
These incidents
demonstrate that the continuing Maoist entrenchment in
the Bastar Division remains a challenge for the State.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia
Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 142 fatalities have
so far been registered in the Bastar Division alone in
Maoist-linked violence since the beginning of 2016 (data
till September 11). The total number of fatalities in
such violence across Chhattisgarh in the current year
stands at 146 (30 civilians, 26 SF personnel and 90 Maoists).
Barring four incidents of killing, (two civilians, one
SF personnel and one Maoist) which were recorded in the
Mahasamund District (one civilian) and Rajnandgaon District
(one civilian, one SF trooper and one Maoist), all other
incidents of killing in the State have taken place in
the Bastar Division. Out of a total of 30 civilians killed
across Chhattisgarh in such violence, 28 were reported
from the Division (96.55 per cent); and out of 26 SF fatalities
across Chhattisgarh 25 (96.15 per cent) were reported
from the Division, which thus accounts for an overwhelming
proportion of Maoist linked violence in the State.
Total
fatalities in LWE-related violence in Bastar Division:
2010-2016*
Year
|
Bastar
|
Bijapur
|
Dantewada
|
Kanker
|
Kondagaon
|
Narayanpur
|
Sukma
|
Chhattisgarh
Total
|
%
of fatalities in Seven Districts
|
2010
|
3
|
69
|
180
|
13
|
0
|
44
|
0
|
327
|
94.49
|
2011
|
10
|
42
|
81
|
6
|
0
|
19
|
0
|
176
|
89.77
|
2012
|
0
|
47
|
13
|
15
|
4
|
4
|
16
|
108
|
91.66
|
2013
|
14
|
36
|
5
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
56
|
128
|
96.87
|
2014
|
10
|
37
|
10
|
4
|
2
|
7
|
41
|
113
|
98.23
|
2015
|
8
|
37
|
17
|
4
|
5
|
8
|
36
|
120
|
95.83
|
2016
|
8
|
33
|
22
|
16
|
5
|
12
|
46
|
146
|
97.26
|
Total
|
53
|
301
|
328
|
63
|
18
|
100
|
195
|
1118
|
94.63
|
Source:
SATP, * Data till September 11, 2016.
|
An analysis
of fatalities over the last seven years indicates that,
since 2011 and up to 2014, there has been a gradual increase
and concentration of fatalities in the Bastar Division.
Though there was a decline in 2015, the previous trend
of increase has been re-established in the current year.
The overall violence in the Division contributed to 94.63
per cent of total fatalities in the State between 2010
and 2016 (data till September 11).
Significantly,
all major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities)
that have occurred in Chhattisgarh this year have occurred
in the Bastar Division. A total of 13 major LWE-linked
incidents have been reported in 2016, as of September
11.
276 Maoists
have already been arrested in the current year, in addition
to the 221 arrested through 2015. Another 724 Maoists
have surrendered in the current year. 279 Maoists had
surrendered in 2015.
The Bastar
Division, the core of the residual Maoist problem not
only in Chhattisgarh but in the entire so-called ‘Red
Corridor’ region, was created in 1999, when the larger
Bastar District was divided into the present-day Districts
of Bastar, Dantewada, and Kanker. On November 1, 2000,
the division became part of the newly created state of
Chhattisgarh. The Bastar Division was further subdivided
in 2007 and 2012, and currently comprises seven Districts
– Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur,
and Sukma – in the southernmost region in the State. The
Division shares its borders with other Maoist-afflicted
States, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
and Telangana.
The Division
spans over 40,000 square kilometers, and the Maoists have
effectively forced the SFs to restrain their movements.
The Maoists also claim to have formed Janatana Sarkars
in as many as 300 panchayat (village level local
self-government institution) areas in the Bastar Division,
and to have established 20 guerrilla bases. If the Maoists
are to be believed, nearly 2,000 villages are being ‘administered’
by these Janatana Sarkars.
The region
is afflicted with relatively low standards on all human
development indicators, including widespread absence and
worsening access to healthcare, education, drinking water,
sanitation and food. Availability of State functionaries
responsible for delivering these basic services in the
conflict-affected areas is very low. Independent reports
suggest, rather, an absence of all ‘governance’, and the
continuing disruptive dominance of the Maoists across
much of the region.
A joint
survey conducted by the US-India Policy Institute and
the New Delhi based Centre for Research and Debates in
Development Policy (CRDDP) found that, among 599 Districts
across India (under purview of the survey) the Districts
of the Bastar Division were ranked towards the bottom:
Bastar, 578th; Bijapur, 372nd; Dantewada,
418th; and Kanker, 469th. While
Kondagaon (separated from Bastar District on 24 January
2012), Narayanpur (created on May 11, 2007, being carved
out from the erstwhile Bastar District) and Sukma (carved
out of Dantewada as a separate District on January 16,
2012) faced a similar situation as their parent Districts.
Significantly,
on July 18, 2016, Chief Minister Raman Singh informed
the Chhattisgarh Assembly that there were 619 un-electrified
villages in Bastar Division.
Meanwhile,
contributing significantly to the fight against the Maoists,
personnel of the DRG are used exclusively for anti-Maoist
operational duties in the Bastar Division. Dubbed the
“sons of the soil” because DRG personnel are recruited
among the local Koya (tribal) youth and surrendered Maoists,
DRG attracted a lot of attention for its effective strikes
in Maoist ‘heartland’ areas, including Abujhmaad in Narayanpur
District and south Sukma, the Maoist ‘heartland’. In May
2015, the Raman Singh Government sanctioned 600 posts
for DRG. There are now 1,748 DRG personnel spread across
eight Districts of Chhattisgarh — seven in Bastar Division
and one in Rajnandgaon. Of these DRG personnel, 957 have
undergone specialised training courses at the Counter
Terrorism and Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte, Mizoram,
while another 350 are about to be sent there.
Further,
on July 1, 2016, Chief Minister Singh suggested raising
a ‘Dandakaranya Battalion’ in the Armed Forces, on the
lines of the Naga Regiment of the Indian Army, to facilitate
the entry of tribal youth from the Maoist-hit Bastar Division.
Meanwhile, to augment the State’s capacity to counter
the Maoists, the Centre has approved the setting up of
the ‘Bastariya Battalion’ of CRPF, which is likely to
be established by 2017, recruiting youth mostly from the
Bastar region.
While paying
a visit to Shri Saibaba Temple (Maharashtra) on January
2, 2016, Chief Minister Singh claimed that Surguja District
has been made Naxal-free, and that the same would
soon be the case in the Bastar Division.
Though
Maoist violence in terms of fatalities has seen a tremendous
decline in the State
in particular and India
at large, the Maoists continue to retain significant operational
capacities. Any lackadaisical approach on the part of
the ruling establishment will not only undermine the sacrifices
made by SFs, but would also open windows of opportunity
for a Maoist resurgence.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
September
5-11, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
8
|
Meghalaya
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
1
|
15
|
21
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
FATA
|
2
|
0
|
9
|
11
|
KP
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
Punjab
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
9
|
Sindh
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
BNP-JeI
is
instigating
militancy
to
create
turmoil
and
instability,
says
Agriculture
Minister
Begum
Matia
Chowdhury’:
Agriculture
Minister
Begum
Matia
Chowdhury
while
distributing
rice
among
the
distressed
people
before
the
Eid-ul-Azha
at
her
Nalitabari-Nakla
constituency
on
September
8
said
that
Bangladesh
Nationalist
Party
(BNP)-Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
is
instigating
militancy
to
create
turmoil
and
instability
when
the
country
is
progressing
ahead
as
a
dignified
nation.
She
said
"The
people
of
the
country
are
peace
loving
and
religious.
They
have
rejected
the
politics
instigated
by
the
BNP-Jammat."
Daily
Observer,
September
9,
2016.
87
accused
and
convicts
are
still
absconding,
say
ICT
Officials:
Officials
of
the
International
Crimes
Tribunal
(ICT)
expressing
dissatisfaction
with
law
enforcers'
failure
to
arrest
the
fugitives
in
the
war
crimes
cases
on
September
8
said
that
87
accused
and
convicts
are
still
absconding.
The
officials
said
that
at
least
87
accused
and
convicts
are
on
the
run
after
two
war
crimes
tribunals
issued
arrest
warrants
for
them
since
the
beginning
of
the
trial
in
March
2010.
Of
them,
22
are
convicts.
The
Daily
Star,
September
9,
2016.
Those
who
do
not
believe
in
Liberation
War
may
leave
country,
observes
RAB
DG
Benazir
Ahmed:
Director
General
(DG)
of
Rapid
Action
Battalion
(RAB)
Benazir
Ahmed
on
September
5
observed
that
those
who
do
not
believe
in
the
Liberation
War
may
leave
the
country."We'll
be
fine
without
you.
We
don't
need
shameless
people,"
he
said.
Noting
that
the
country's
16
crore
people
cannot
be
defeated
with
a
few
local
weapons
and
bombs,
the
RAB
chief
urged
the
militants,
who
chose
this
path
either
willingly
or
unwillingly,
to
return
to
their
mothers'
laps.
New
Age,
September
6,
2016.
INDIA
Zakir
Naik's
NGO
IRF
put
under
prior
permission
list:
Controversial
televangelist
Zakir
Naik's
NGO
Islamic
Research
Foundation
(IRF),
has
been
put
under
prior
permission
category
list
by
the
Union
Home
Ministry.
The
order
bars
IRF
from
receiving
foreign
funds
directly
and
henceforth
the
Reserve
Bank
of
India
(RBI)
will
inform
the
Home
Ministry
about
all
funds
coming
to
the
NGO
and
permission
would
be
taken
from
the
Ministry
before
releasing
them
to
the
IRF.
DNA,
September
10,
2016.
Call
intercept
reveals
D-Company
round-tripping
money
for
Bollywood
superstar
and
some
unidentified
white-collar
people
of
India:
Telephonic
intercepts
show
that
D-Company
is
round-tripping
money
for
a
top
Bollywood
superstar
and
some
unidentified
white-collar
people
of
India.
Bade
Hazrat
is
the
new
code
name
being
used
for
Dawood
Ibrahim
by
his
operatives
during
their
conversations.
What
is
even
more
interesting
is
that
one
of
Dawood's
operative
has
siphoned
off
a
part
of
the
black
money
of
white-collar
persons
meant
to
be
sent
to
Panama
and
Canada.
India Today,
September
10,
2016.
"This
is
your
last
warning",
JeM
tells
pro-India
Kashmiris:
Terror
outfit
Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM)
released
a
video
issuing
threat
against
mainstream
politicians
and
Kashmiri
'informers'
working
for
the
Security
Forces
(SFs)
in
the
valley.
In
a
seven-minute
video,
a
masked
man,
standing
against
a
wall
banner
inscribed
with
Quranic
verses
in
Arabic
and
an
AK-47
hanging
by
his
side,
described
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM)
'commander'
Burhan
Wani
-
whose
killing
by
the
SFs
two
months
ago
triggered
massive
violence
in
the
valley
-
as
'Shaheed-e-millat'
(martyr
of
the
community).
Times
of
India,
September
10,
2016.
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
seeks
strongest
action
against
state
sponsors
of
terror:
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
September
8
said
that
strongest
action
should
be
reserved
for
those
states
that
use
terrorism
as
an
instrument
of
state
policy
while
outlining
India's
principled
stand
on
the
South
China
Sea
issue.
"We
need
to
target
not
only
the
terrorists,
but
also
their
entire
supporting
ecosystem...And,
our
strongest
action
should
be
reserved
for
those
state
actors
who
employ
terrorism
as
an
instrument
of
state
policy,"
he
said.
Hindustan
Times,
September
9,
2016.
US
asks
Pakistan
to
speed
up
26/11
hearing,
says
report:
On
September
7,
US
had
asked
Pakistan
to
speed
up
hearing
in
26/11
(November
26,
2008)
Mumbai
terrorist
attacks
in
which
166
people,
including
six
Americans
were
killed.
More
than
six
years
have
passed
since
the
hearing
for
2008
attacks
began
in
Pakistan.
The
mastermind
of
the
attacks,
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT)
'operations
commander'
Zakiur
Rahman
Lakhvi,
lives
at
an
undisclosed
location
after
being
granted
bail
over
a
year
ago.
The
other
six
suspects
are
in
Adiala
Jail
in
Rawalpindi,
Punjab.
DD News,
September
9,
2016.
Joint
mechanism
mooted
to
check
illegal
activities
across
borders,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Kiren
Rijiju:
Expressing
concern
at
the
unabated
illegal
migration,
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Kiren
Rijiju
on
September
7
underlined
the
need
for
formal
agreements
and
creation
of
joint
mechanisms
between
India
and
its
neighbours
to
ensure
elimination
of
illegal
crossovers,
drug
trafficking
and
infiltration.
"Unless
India's
neighbours
are
made
to
realise
that
it
was
in
the
interest
of
both
countries
to
stop
infiltration
and
incursions,
the
security
of
countries
will
remain
at
stake,"
he
said
while
delivering
the
keynote
address
at
FICCI-India
Foundation
convention
on
'Homeland
Security-2016:
Smart
Borders
Management'
in
New
Delhi.
The
Assam
Tribune,
September
8,
2016.
Terrorists
getting
public
support
in
parts
of
India,
states
NSG
report:
Terrorists
and
insurgents
are
getting
"public
support"
in
some
parts
of
the
country
and
unless
this
is
stopped,
India
will
continue
to
get
hit
by
acts
of
terrorism,
a
report
prepared
by
National
Security
Guard
(NSG)
has
said.
The
analytical
report
on
recent
bombing
incidents
in
the
country,
compiled
with
data
from
all
states
for
the
period
between
April
and
June
2016,
also
raised
concern
over
the
possible
leakage
and
use
of
ordnance
factory-made
explosives
by
terror
outfits.
Zee News,
September
6,
2016.
'One
single
nation'
spreading
terror:
Modi
indicts
Pakistan
in
G20
Summit:
Indian
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
September
5,
told
leaders
of
the
world's
top
economies
that
they
must
isolate
and
sanction
the
"one
single
nation
in
South
Asia"
that
is
spreading
"agents
of
terror"
in
the
region.
Without
naming
India's
nuclear-armed
foe-
Pakistan,
Modi
told
the
concluding
session
of
a
G20
summit
that
his
government
appreciated
the
steps
to
combat
the
financing
of
terrorism,
which
was
being
used
by
some
nations
as
an
instrument
of
state
policy.
Hindustan
Times,
September
6,
2016.
India
is
'substantially
free'
of
homegrown
terrorism,
asserts
President
Pranab
Mukherjee:
President
Pranab
Mukherjee
said
on
September
5
said
India
is
"substantially
free"
from
the
globally
witnessed
menace
of
homegrown
terrorism
because
citizens
possess
"ethnicity
in
mind
and
have
faith
in
pluralism".
The
President
said
it
was
India's
policy
and
the
acumen
of
its
administration
that
have
kept
the
country
"substantially
free"
from
its
tentacles.
He
asserted,
"It
is
we
who
are
attacked
and
we
are
the
victims
of
cross-border
attacks...
But
not
so
much
of
homegrown
terror,"
he
said,
adding
this
was
because
of
the
"ethnicity
of
mind,
belief
and
faith
in
pluralism,
huge
diversity
in
language,
religion,
food...
Almost
in
everything".
Times
of
India,
September
6,
2016.
NEPAL
Current
ruling
coalition
would
remain
intact
till
all
three
polls
at
local,
provincial
and
federal
level
would
be
over,
says
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal:
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal
on
September
9
said
that
the
current
ruling
coalition
would
remain
intact
till
all
three
polls
at
local,
provincial
and
federal
level
would
be
over.
He
said,
"We
will
be
staying
in
the
government
until
all
elections
will
be
over.
Therefore,
we
also
need
to
make
the
party's
role
more
effective."
The
Himalayan
Times,
September
10,
2016.
SC
issues
show
cause
notice
demanding
Government
to
make
public
its
work
plan
relating
to
all
three
levels
of
elections:
The
Supreme
Court
(SC)
on
September
8
issued
a
show
cause
notice
on
a
writ
petition
filed
by
four
advocates,
demanding
that
the
Government
make
public
its
work
plan
relating
to
all
three
levels
of
elections
and
announcement
of
election
dates.
The
order
was
passed
by
a
single
bench
of
Justice
Ananda
Mohan
Bhattarai.
The
petition
was
filed
recently
by
advocates
Chandra
Kanta
Gyawali,
Liladhar
Upadhyay,
Bimal
Gyawali
and
Shashi
Karki.
The
Himalayan
Times,
September
10,
2016.
PAKISTAN
Religious
seminaries
being
registered
to
stop
sectarian
conflicts
in
PoK,
says
PoK
PM
Raja
Farooq
Haider
Khan:
The
Pakistan
occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Raja
Farooq
Haider
Khan
on
September
9
said
that
religious
seminaries
are
being
registered
to
stop
sectarian
conflicts
and
other
extremist
practices.
He
was
addressing
a
briefing
by
officials
of
National
Counter
Terrorism
Authority
(NCTA)
in
Muzaffarabad.
Raja
Farooq
Haider
Khan
expressed
satisfaction
over
the
security
and
law
and
order
situation
in
the
State.
Radio Pakistan
,September
10,
2016
Despite
successes
of
Operation
Zarb-e-Azb
threat
to
peace
remains,
says
CoAS
General
Raheel
Sharif:
Speaking
during
the
Defense
Day
ceremony
on
September
6,
Chief
of
Army
Staff
(CoAS)
General
Raheel
Sharif
said
that
despite
the
successes
of
Operation
Zarb-e-Azb,
threats
to
peace
persist.
He
called
for
the
implementation
of
the
National
Action
Plan
(NAP)
and
wide-ranging
legal
and
governance
reforms
to
sustain
the
military's
achievements
against
terrorists.
Dawn,
September
7,
2016.
SRI
LANKA
President
promises
to
take
swift
measures
to
develop
conflict
affected
North:
President
Maithripala
Sirisena
participating
in
a
ceremony
held
at
the
Jaffna
Central
College
in
Jaffna
District
on
September
9
promised
to
take
swift
measures
to
develop
conflict
affected
North.
President
Sirisena
also
said
that
he
will
tour
in
the
District
in
the
future
to
take
necessary
steps
to
prevent
any
delays
of
the
development
works
and
to
find
out
causes
for
those
issues.
The
present
Government
has
allocated
the
maximum
amount
of
funds
in
the
history
for
the
development
of
the
education
field
of
the
North,
he
added.
Colombo
Page,
September
10,
2016.
Government
is
hoping
to
increase
percentage
of
Tamils
in
Security
Forces,
says
Prime
Minister
Ranil
Wickremesinghe:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
responding
to
a
question
asked
by
Eelam
People's
Democratic
Party
(EPDP)
leader
Douglas
Devananda
in
Parliament
on
September
8
said
that
the
Government
is
hoping
to
increase
the
percentage
of
Tamils
in
the
Security
Forces
(SFs).
The
PM
said
"Sri
Lanka's
first
Army
Commander
Anton
Muthukumara
was
a
Tamil.
There
were
Tamil-speaking
officers
in
Police
Service,
but
the
situation
changed
after
1978.
The
LTTE
started
killing
Tamil
Police
officers
and
this
hindered
recruitment
because
it
resulted
in
Tamils
being
discouraged
from
joining
the
service.
Daily
Mirror,
September
10,
2016.
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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