| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 15, No. 15, October 10, 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
|
Derailing
the Railways
Tushar
Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Two coordinated
blasts targeting railway tracks hit near the Rawalpindi-bound
Jaffar Express on October 7, 2016, in the Ab-e-Gum area
of the Bolan District in Balochistan, killing at least
six people and leaving another 18 injured. Initial reports
suggest that a bomb had been planted along the railway
track. The second explosion took place in the same area
20 minutes later.
On June
5, 2016, unidentified militants blew up a two-foot portion
of a track in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)attack
in the Kolpur area of Bakhtiarabad in Bolan District.
Though, there was no loss of life reported, the damage
to the tracks suspended rail services for hours.
On May
10, 2016, three wagons of a goods train overturned and
another six derailed when two bombs exploded on a track
near Goth Mureed Sipio Railway Crossing in Tandojam area
of Hyderabad District in Sindh. No casualties were reported.
Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Khadim Hussain
Rind disclosed that a pamphlet written in Sindhi was found
at the place, but declined to share its contents.
On April
5, 2016, two passengers of the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express
were killed and five were injured when a bomb exploded
on a railway track near Mithri area of Sibi District.
According to the Railway Police, "It was an IED which
was detonated by a remote control. The blast blew up a
major portion of the track."
In the
same Mithri area of Sibi District on January 28, 2016,
two bogies of the Jaffar Express had been damaged in an
explosion, with no casualties.The Jaffar Express was travelling
from Quetta to Lahore when the blast occurred, destroying
two feet of the railway track, suspending the service
between Balochistan and other parts of the country for
many hours.
While the
Jaffar Express has been targeted repeatedly, the wider
Rail network across Pakistan has also come under recurring
attack. According to partial data compiled by the South
Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Railways in Pakistan
have been attacked on at least 134 occasions since March
2000 (data till October 7, 2016). Of these, 126 attacks
have been recorded in just two Provinces: Sindh and Balochistan,
with 63 incidents each. 96 fatalities have been recorded
in these134 attacks, with 60 killed in Balochistan and
26 in Sindh. 2010to 2014 was the worst time for the Pakistan
Railways, with 104 attacks on trains, tracks and stations,
resulting in the deaths of 65 people, mostly passengers,
and injuries to more than another hundred.
The concentration
of attacks on the Railways in two provinces – Balochistan
and Sindh – is the result of separatists operating there,
and engaging in different patterns of economic subversions.
Attacking the Railways is one of several such tactics.
Significantly, most of the attacks on Railways – as is
also the case with attacks on gas pipelines – arenon-lethal.
While Baloch nationalist groupings like the Balochistan
Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA)
have been engaged in attacks on Railways inside Balochistan,
it is the relatively little known Sindhi groups, including
the Sindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA), a banned separatist
formation, which is fighting for the establishment of
an independent Sindhu Desh, that have led the attacks
inside Sindh.
Despite
the attacks on Railways, security agencies have failed
to meet the challenge because of shortages of both manpower
and equipment. The Pakistan Railway Police is operating
on personnel strength even less than what was sanctioned
on the basis of Pakistan’s population in 1977. Pakistan
Railway Police (PRP) was created in 1977 following the
Railway Police Ordinance, 1976, after a bill was tabled
by the then Federal Government. This led to the enactment
of the PRP Act, 1977.After taking into account the population,
number of trains and passengers, research carried out
by federal institutions fixed PRP’s sanctioned at 7,522.
This included one Inspector General, one Deputy Inspectors
General, five Superintendents, 16 Deputy Superintendents,
22 Inspectors, 145 Sub Inspectors (SI), 104 Assistant
Sub-Inspectors (ASI), 850 Head Constables and 6,374 Constables.
After 37
years of population and passenger growth with expanding
railway stations and stoppages, PRP currently operates
with 7,074 personnel. Currently PRP strength includes
Inspector General, one Deputy Inspector General, 10 Superintendents,
15 Deputy Superintendents, 40 Inspectors, 169 SI, 287
ASI, 880 Head Constables and 5,671 constables.The previous
IG Railway Police Syed Ibn-e-Hussain had pointed out the
difficulty of ensuring safety with manpower far below
what was required. A PRP spokesperson has indicated that
requests for enhancement of manpower had been forwarded
a number of times to the Pakistan Railways management
and finance departments.
Available
data indicates that PRP is ill equipped to counterthe
threat of terror. PRP has just 1,625 walkie-talkie systems,
102 VHF mobile stations, 86 VHF base sets, 30 HF base
sets and 300 head phones. Document available with the
media in April 2012 indicated that the Railways had just
40 G-3A3 rifles for its eight Divisions; no such rifles
were available at Lahore and Multan. Similarly, against
the total of 10 Light Machine Guns (LMGs) in the PRP armoury,
there were no LMGs in the Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi,
Multan, Sukkur and Quetta Divisions. PRP also has a small
number of revolvers, pistols, shot guns and Henry Martin
rifles. There is also a severe and persistent shortage
of anti-riot equipment, from helmet to walkthrough gates.
The entire availability is just 1,721 helmets, 2,727 polo
sticks (canes), 103 tear gas guns, 350 tear gas masks,
746 anti-riot jackets, 10 mega phones, 530 metal detectors
and three explosive detectors (with just one available
at Lahore). Police also have 22 walkthrough gates and
eight mine detection sets.
Meanwhile,
PRP has been reeling under a severe financial burden.According
to documents sent to the Ministry of Railways from the
office of the Financial Advisor and Chief Executive Officer,
Pakistan Railways, dated August 11, 2016, Pakistan Railways’
losses surpassed a staggering PKR 28.3 billion, increasing
by about 12.64% in fiscal year 2015-16.The corporation
managed total earnings of PKR 35.97 billion during 2015-16,
an increase from the PKR 31.92 billion recorded in the
corresponding period of the previous year. However, its
expenses increased to PKR 64.23 billion in 2015-16 against
PKR 57.03 billion in 2014-15. The total deficit amounted
PKR 28.3 billion does not include interest and repayments
of foreign loans on capital and replacement accounts figures,
indicating that the deficit could increase further.
Lately,
Pakistan Railways has started introducing luggage scanners
at major railway stations in the Karachi Division on June
20, 2016. In the initial phase, the divisional management
established two luggage scanners – onefor upper class
passengers and the other for lower class passengers at
Karachi Cantonment Station. At present, railway passengers’
baggage is randomly inspected manually, and the objective
of installing luggage scanners is to upgrade the entire
security apparatus. Meanwhile, most Railway Stations do
not have proper security measures and an adequate deployment
of security personnel to frisk and check passengers or
their bags.
The Lahore
Division is also lagging behind in security measures.
The only X-ray machine at platform No 1 has been out-of-order
for about four years. The walk-through gates, metal detectors
and other security equipment was either not functioning
or was in need of maintenance or repair.Two months after
its installation on June 24, 2011, at the cost of PKR
2.9 million, the luggage X-ray or scanning machine developed
some faults, which have not beenrectified till date.
In 2009,
a plan was finalized to beef up security arrangements
at important railway stations in the wake of the worsening
law and order situation.As a first step, the railways
administration decided to install close-circuit TV (CCTV)
cameras at 24 major stations in two phases at a cost of
PKR 31 million.CCTV cameras were installed under the first
phase at Peshawar, Attock, Rawalpindi, Lalamusa, Faisalabad,
Multan, Khanewal, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta
and Sibi stations.However, red-tapism marred the installation
of the second phase of CCTV cameras at Nowshera, Jhelum,
Sargodha, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanpur,
Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana and Mach stations, as funds
were not released for the purpose.
Stung by
the February 16, 2014, Khushhal Khan Khattak Express incident,
which killed six and injured 35, the Pakistan Railways
Police (PRP) devised a security plan which includes the
patrolling of its tracks to evade terrorist attacks and
tighten security of railway stations. PRP Inspector General
Syed Ibne Hussain announced on February 18, 2014, that
each Division had been provided 35 trailers with explosive
detectors and bomb defusing equipment.“We are increasing
our security measures with the help of the provincial
governments and local police to avoid any untoward incident,”
he said, adding that pedestrian teams of railway staffers
would also patrol the railway tracks and that commandos
had been deployed at the stations.
With the
severe limitations of PRP’s manpower and resources, however,
these measures have proven to be largely cosmetic. The
Government’s continuing apathy towards the Railway has
pushed the service into a state of chronic sickness, even
as militant efforts to target its networks escalate.
|
Assam:
Extortion Persists
Nijeesh
N.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On October
5, 2016, Police arrested an extortionist, identified as
Safiqul Ali alias Sahidul Islam (28), from his
rented residence in the Bagorbori area in Guwahati in
the Kamrup District. He had reportedly sent an extortion
text message to N. Sarma, Personal Secretary to the State’s
Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on
October 2, asking him to pay INR 50 million. In the SMS
the extortionist had reportedly told N. Sarma to tell
the Minister to pay the cash as demanded, and that the
money be handed over to him at a tea estate in Biswanath
District.
On September
28, 2016, Silapathar Press Club Secretary, Gunadhar Doley
filed a complaint that he had received several extortion
calls from two different cellphone numbers. No further
detailsare available about the incident.
On September
25, 2016, Dipak Basumatari (32) was arrested while collecting
extortion money in the name of the I.K. Songbijit faction
of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS)
in the Rupakhat area, on the outskirts of Tangla town,Udalguri
District. One .32 pistol, three rounds of live ammunition
and an unregistered scooter were recovered from his possession.
According to reports, Basumatari threatened a businessman
of the town and demanded INR 200,000, but agreed on INR
10,000 after negotiations.
On September
17, 2016, Police arrested two contractors, identified
as Sujit Sen and Biren Tamuli, for their alleged involvement
in extortion in the name of the Independent faction of
the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I),
from Guwahati in Kamrup District. According to reports,
they were in touch with senior leaders of ULFA-I, especially
the outfit’s ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Drishti Rajkhowa.
Further investigations revealed that the duowas allegedly
involved in providing phone numbers of local businessmen
in the region to Rajkhowa, following which several businessmen
received calls from ULFA-I ‘chief’Paresh Baruah and Rajkhowa,
with demands for money.
Earlier,
in a sensational incident, on September 9, 2016, ULFA-I
released Kuldeep Moran, the son of a Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader, at Nampong along the Indo-Myanmar
border in Arunachal Pradesh, after over a month long abduction
drama. Kuldeep, son of Ratneswar Moran, the vice-chairman
of the Tinsukia zilla parishad (District Council)
in Assam,was abducted by ULFA-I militants from Nampong
in the Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh on August
1, 2016, and the militants had demanded an INR 10 million
ransom for his safe release. However, Kuldeep was eventually
released, reportedly without paying the ransom.
Interestingly,
on August 22, 2016, for the first time in its history,
ULFA-I released video footage of the abducted Kuldeep
Moran, demanding the ransom from his parents. In the video,
Kuldeep was shown making an appeal to his parents, Assam
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP MLA (Member
of Legislative Assembly) from Sadiya Assembly Constituency
in Tinsukia District, Bolin Chetia, to help him secure
his release. Sources suggest that releasing the video
was aimed at creating pressure on the persons concerned
and panic among the people.
Reported
incidents of abduction and extortion by militants in the
State haveseen a sharp increase. According to Assam
Police records, there were 3,146 cases
of abductions registered in the State in the first half
of 2016 (data till June 30). A total of 6,103 cases were
registered in the year 2015; as against 5,378 cases in
2014; 4,831 cases in 2013 and 3,812 cases in 2012. The
data further indicates that there were 595 extortion-related
cases registered in the first half of 2016; as against
1,361 cases in 2015; 1,357 in 2014; 1,214 cases in 2013
and 1,074 cases in 2012. The Home Department record did
not rule out the role of militant outfits of the region
in these incidents, though most of the abductions, according
to it,were carried out by ‘criminals’. Many incidents
of abduction and extortion go unreported, and these numbers
are likely a gross underestimate.
According
to theSouth Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total
of 417militants, belonging to different outfits, were
arrested during 2016 from across the State (data till
October 9, 2016), of which 57 were arrested in cases related
to extortion and abduction.
As militancy-related
violence in the region has come
down drastically due to several
factors, most prominently including
sustained operations by the Security Forces (SFs), insurgent
groups have started feeling the heat. Consequently, the
major militant groups in the State, ULFA-I and the NBFB-IKS,
have accelerated abductions and extortions to regroup
and revive their activities.
According
to a September 18, 2016, report,ULFA-I has started using
social media such as WhatsApp to send extortion
demands to soft targets, besides engaging linkmen or over
ground agents to collect funds on their behalf. An unnamed
senior Police officialdisclosed that ULFA-I was specially
targeting tea estates in eastern Assam, where tea executives
live in remote, vulnerable areas.
Reports
indicate that ULFA-I served extortion demands to many
noted Punjabi businessmen of the Jorhat District, besides
regular demands to other businessmen of the Marwari and
Bihari community, tea garden owners and State Government
officers. Notably, the demand has come from the ‘chairman’
of the outfit, Abhijit Asom, and is made in the name of
the ‘party fund’ towards the cause of the ‘ULFA movement’.
Some other demands have come from Jibon Asom, a lesser
known ULFA-I leader. The demands range from INR 500,000
to INR 5 million, are made directly in the name ofthe
ULFA-I ‘chairman’ and have created terror and sensation
in the community. Reports indicate that security agencies
have traced the whereabouts of elusive ULFA-I ‘chief’
Paresh Baruah in China and confirmed that the outfit’s
fresh extortion drive was started following a directive
from Baruah.
ULFA-I
has a strong base in neighbouring Myanmar, which can be
accessed through Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and is
using human carries to transfer extorted money to its
Myanmarese camps. For this, the ULFA-I militants are suspected
to be operating in close coordination with the Khaplang
faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland
(NSCN-K)
to reach Myanmar though Nagaland, and the Changlang, Tirap
and Longding Districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
In addition,
ULFA-I has started a fresh move to recruit youth from
Upper Assam Districts (Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar).This
came to light after five militants, including four new
recruits,all in their twenties,were arrested on September
15, 2016, from Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri Districts.
According to the Police, they were on their way to Myanmar
for arms training. Sources disclosed that one of the arrested
militants, Anil Borah alias Utpal Asom (31), was
entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting youth
to increase the strength of the outfit and he managed
to rope in around 25 to 30 youngsters.Most of the newly
recruited cadres are believed to have been mobilised in
to carry out abductions and extortions, and to act as
carriers.
It is significant
that ULFA-I suffered repeated and major
jolts due to splits, arrests and killings
in recent counter-insurgency operations. According to
the Assam Police, the current strength of the organisation
is between 240 and 300, down from an estimated peak of
5,000 for the undivided ULFA in late 1990s.
NDFB-IKS
mirrors many of ULFA-I’s activities. The outfit also uses
bank accounts of some persons in Nagaland to route extortion
money to their Myanmar camps. Sources claimed, "Certain
percentage of the money is given to the bank account holder
as commission." In order to avoid detection by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the funds are transferred
in small amounts not exceeding INR 100,000.
Chirang
Police recently foiled an attempt by NDFB-IKS militants
and their sympathisers to remit money obtained through
extortion to their camps in Myanmar and arrested five
suspects in connection with this case in a series of incidents
on September 7 – 8, 2016. Assistant Superintendent of
Police (ASP), Chirang, Tabu Ram Pegu, disclosed that the
accused had planned to transfer INR 40,000 to a bank account
in Nagaland, and from there human couriers would have
been used to ship the money to the outfit's camps in the
forests of Myanmar. According to sources, NDFB-IKS has
stepped up its extortion drive in the Bodoland Territorial
Area Districts (BTAD) and adjoining areas through their
cadres and linkmen, mostly local youths belonging to poor
families, including girls.
Not surprisingly,
resentment is brewing among civilians who receive frequent
extortion demand letters from militant groups. Worse,
the victims are exposed to harassment from both the militants
and the Police. Failure to pay ransom to the outfits,
according to reports, attracts ‘severe punishment’ from
the militants, including loss of life. On the other hand,
caught in the act of paying ransom secretly ensures jail
terms under different sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC)
and Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act (UAPA).
Indeed,
though the level of militancy-related violence has come
down considerably in the State over the last several
years, the general law and order situation
in the State remains troubling, as the security system
is yet to develop to cope up with new threats. According
to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, there were
as many as 103,616 cases registered at the different Police
Stations of the State in 2015, under the provisions of
the IPC, adding to 113,086 cases in the previous year
(2014), which had not been disposed of. Out of these,
the Assam Police was able to file charge-sheets only in
respect of 48,612 cases, leaving an overwhelming proportion
of the cases in limbo.Further, due to non–filing of charge–sheets,
the persons involved in a majority of the cases get bail
easily and often abscond or return to their criminal activities.
Significantly, the (actual) police population ratio in
the State stands at 163 per 100,000 population,well above
the national average of 139, but much lower than the 222
United Nations (UN) benchmark for peacetime policing,
and also well below all the other militancy infected Northeastern
States:thus, the ratio in Manipur is 984/100,000, Nagaland
939/100,000 and Meghalaya 457/100,000 (Bureau of Police
Research & Development 2015 data).
Meanwhile,
in the wake of the increasing extortion activities by
the militants in the eastern Assam Districts, which have
borders with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister
Sonowal, who also retains the Home portfolio, reviewed
the law and order situation in the region, in the meetings
with Police chiefs of the eastern Assam Districts at Dibrugarh
and Tinsukiaon September 12, 2016.At the meetings, the
Chief Minister expressed concern over the sudden rise
in such incidents in the Districts. He stated that all
insurgent elements would be dealt with firmly, and urged
the Police and other security agencies to work in tandem
to prevent such incidents.
The crisis
of enveloping insurgency that long afflicted Assam has
been marginalized, but its fallout in terms of persistent
and disruptive criminal activities continues to bedevil
civilian populations. A significant tightening of the
intelligence-security net, and initiatives to address
the problem of surviving safe havens for militant leaderships
abroad – particularly in Myanmar – will be necessary before
more acceptable conditions can be imposed, and a normalisation
of the political and social order can be achieved.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
October
3-9, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
12
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
8
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
1
|
1
|
10
|
12
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
13
|
0
|
5
|
18
|
FATA
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Sindh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
11
suspected
JMB
militants
killed
in
separate
operations
in
Bangladesh:
At
least
11
suspected
Jama'at-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh
(JMB)
militants
were
killed
in
gunfights
with
Security
Forces
(SFs)
in
three
separate
raids
in
Gazipur
and
Tangail
Districts
on
October
8.
Police’s
Counter-Terrorism
(CT)
and
Transnational
Crime
unit
conducted
one
of
the
raids
and
elite
force
Rapid
Action
Battalion
(RAB)
the
other
two.
Dhaka Tribune,
October
9,
2016.
'Bangladesh
has
“zero
tolerance”
for
militants',
says
Bangladesh
Minister
of
State
for
Water
Resources
Muhammad
Nazrul
Islam:
Bangladesh
Minister
of
State
for
Water
Resources
Muhammad
Nazrul
Islam
on
October
7
said
his
country
has
a
“zero
tolerance”
policy
for
dealing
with
militants
and
does
not
allow
its
territory
to
be
used
for
insurgent
camps.
The
Minister,
who
was
in
Aizawl
in
Mizoram
(India)
to
attend
a
two-day
international
seminar,
said
that
the
Sheikh
Hasina
Government
is
taking
serious
steps
against
insurgents
and
terrorist
groups
that
tried
to
use
Bangladeshi
territory
as
a
'safe
haven'.
The
Assam
Tribune,
October
8,
2016.
INDIA
Pakistan
violated
ceasefire
25
times
post
surgical
strikes
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
says
Army:
Pakistani
troops
have
violated
ceasefire
over
25
times
along
the
Line
of
Control
(LoC)
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K)
since
the
September
29
surgical
strikes
by
Indian
Army
in
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
to
destroy
terror
launch
pads.
"There
have
been
over
25
ceasefire
violations
by
Pakistani
troops
along
the
LoC
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
after
the
surgical
strikes,"
an
unnamed
senior
Army
officer
said
on
October
7.
Times
of
India,
October
9,
2016.
Islamic
State
module
busted
by
NIA
cites
Zakir
Naik
as
'source
of
inspiration':
The
Islamic
State
(IS)
module
busted
by
the
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
on
October
1
had
links
with
cleric
Zakir
Naik.
According
to
them
the
televangelist
was
a
source
of
inspiration,
saying
they
were
motivated
by
his
speeches
and
social
media
posts.
Manseed
alias
Omar
al-Hindi,
the
‘chief’
of
the
module
had
worked
for
12
years
as
part
of
the
intelligence
wing
of
Popular
Front
India
(PFI),
reporting
on
activities
of
RSS
and
its
functionaries
in
Kerala.
Times
of
India,
October
6,
2016.
'Sell-by
date'
of
Pakistan's
'anachronistic
approach'
on
Kashmir
over,
says
India
at
UN:
The
"sell-by
date"
of
Pakistan's
"anachronistic
approach"
is
long
over
and
the
country
should
"abandon"
its
"futile
quest"
for
Kashmir,
India
said
at
United
Nations
(UN)
on
October
5
in
a
strong
rebuttal
to
Islamabad's
allegations
that
New
Delhi
is
escalating
the
current
situation.
India's
Permanent
Representative
to
the
UN
Ambassador
Syed
Akbaruddin
strongly
rejected
remarks
by
Pakistan's
envoy
Maleeha
Lodhi,
who
said
during
a
General
Assembly
debate
on
'Report
of
the
Secretary
General
on
the
Work
of
the
Organisation'
that
India
has
created
conditions
that
pose
a
threat
to
peace
and
security
in
the
region
by
its
recent
"declarations
and
actions."
Times
of
India,
October
6,
2016.
India
has
never
desired
another
country's
land,
asserts
Indian
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi:
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
October
2
said
India
has
never
coveted
any
territory
or
attacked
a
country
but
made
sacrifices
for
the
freedom
of
others.
“India
has
never
coveted
any
territory,
never
attacked
another
country.
Yet
thousands
of
Indians
gave
their
lives
in
the
World
War
I...
In
the
last
two
years,
you
have
seen
how
the
government
rescued
people
from
conflict
situations,
not
just
Indians
but
foreigners
too”,
Modi
said.
Indian
Express,
October
4,
2016.
NEPAL
Constitution
amendment
will
give
justice
to
all
marginalized
communities,
says
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal:
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal
on
October
3
said
that
the
next
Constitution
amendment
will
give
justice
to
all
marginalized
communities.
Dahal
said
attempts
were
underway
to
bring
all
parties
to
consensus
so
as
to
address
concerns
of
Madhesis,
Tharus
and
other
ethnic
groups.
The
Himalayan
Times,
October
4,
2016.
PAKISTAN
No
more
terrorist
hideouts
in
Pakistan,
claims
ISPR:
Inter-Services
Public
Relations
(ISPR)
Director
General
Lieutenant
General
Asim
Bajwa
on
October
7
claimed
there
is
not
a
single
hideout
of
the
terrorists
in
Pakistan.
In
an
interview
with
Chinese
news
agency,
he
said
Pakistan
Army
had
cleared
all
areas
in
North
Waziristan
and
Khyber
Agency.
"The
security
forces
have
killed
nearly
3,500
militants
and
destroyed
992
hideouts,"
said
Bajwa.
"I
can
confirm
there
is
presently
no
physical
hideout
of
terrorists
in
Pakistan
and
areas
in
North
Waziristan
including
the
mountainous
Shawal
Valley
near
the
Afghan
border
and
Tirah
Valley
in
Khyber
Agency
have
been
cleared,"
he
added.
Daily Times,
October
8,
2016.
Why
we
aren’t
taking
action
against
JuD
chief
Hafiz
Saeed,
asks
PML-N
lawmaker
in
National
Assembly:
During
a
meeting
of
the
National
Assembly
Standing
Committee
on
Foreign
Affairs
held
on
October
6,
Pakistan
Muslim
League-Nawaz
(PML-N)
lawmaker
Rana
Muhammad
Afzal
asked,
“Which
eggs
is
Hafiz
Saeed
laying
for
us
that
we
are
nurturing
him?".
He
also
said,
“The
efficacy
of
our
foreign
policy
speaks
for
itself
when
we
couldn’t
curtail
Hafiz
Saeed.”
Hafiz
Saeed
is
the
founder
of
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT)
and
the
chief
of
Jama’at-ud-Dawa
(JuD).
Dawn,
October
7,
2016.
Act
against
militants
or
face
international
isolation,
civilian
Government
reportedly
tells
military:
The
civilian
Government
has
reportedly
informed
the
military
leadership
of
a
growing
international
isolation
of
Pakistan
and
sought
consensus
on
several
key
actions
by
the
state.
As
per
reports,
at
least
two
sets
of
actions
have
been
agreed.
First,
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
DG
Gen
Rizwan
Akhtar,
accompanied
by
National
Security
Adviser
Nasser
Janjua,
is
to
travel
to
each
of
the
four
provinces
with
a
message
for
provincial
apex
committees
and
ISI
sector
commanders.
Second,
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif
has
directed
that
fresh
attempts
be
made
to
conclude
the
Pathankot
(Punjab,
India)
investigation
and
restart
the
stalled
26/11
Mumbai
(India)
terrorist
attacks-related
trials
in
a
Rawalpindi
antiterrorism
court.
Dawn,
October
6,
2016.
Geo-tagging
of
religious
seminaries
completed
in
Punjab:
The
geo-tagging
of
religious
seminaries
in
Punjab
has
been
completed
by
the
Counter-Terrorism
Department
(CTD)
while
the
process
to
separate
hardcore
elements
from
the
fourth
schedulers
under
the
Anti-Terrorism
Act
(ATA)
is
continuing.
Under
the
geo-tagging,
the
accurate
location
of
a
building,
including
its
latitude,
longitude,
name
and
distance
are
documented.
A
senior
police
official
said
the
geo-tagging
of
seminaries
in
Rawalpindi,
Attock,
Jhelum
and
Chakwal
Districts
had
been
completed
with
the
assistance
of
the
Punjab
Information
Technology
Board.
Dawn,
October
7,
2016.
SRI
LANKA
Demand
by
Northern
Province
CM
for
federal
solution
to
Tamil
ethnic
issue
in
new
Constitution
is
irrelevant
since
it
is
Parliament
that
makes
Constitution,
says
PM
Ranil
Wickremesinghe:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
on
October
7
said
that
the
demand
by
the
Northern
Province
Chief
Minister
(CM)
C.
V.
Wigneswaran
for
a
federal
solution
to
Tamil
ethnic
issue
in
the
new
Constitution
is
irrelevant
since
it
is
the
Parliament
that
makes
a
Constitution.
He
said
"Anyone
is
free
to
air
their
views
but
the
Constitution
making
process
is
the
work
of
parliament.
All
of
us
in
this
House
can
express
our
views
to
the
committee.”
Colombo Page,
October
8,
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.
|
|
|
|