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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 8, No. 42, April 26, 2010

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


ASSESSMENT

 


PAKISTAN
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War of the Sects
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

As terrorism thrives, sectarianism emboldens its spirit in Pakistan’s chaotic state.

On April 19, 2010, a 14-year old suicide bomber walked into a crowd, mainly comprising Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) demonstrators protesting ‘load shedding’, at the bustling Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP, formerly the North West Frontier Province, NWFP). 23 persons, were killed, including three Police personnel, JeI city Naib (deputy) Ameer Dost Muhammad and JeI Dir-Bajaur Qaumi Jirga (community council) Chairman Ghausur Rehman. While most of the victims were Sunni, the Police said the target of the child-bomber was Peshawar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gulfat Hussain, a Shia.

This was not the first instance when a senior officer belonging to a rival sect was targeted by sectarian extremists. In the last such instance, on January 14, 2009, unidentified assailants killed four Policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a shootout in Quetta, capital of Balochistan. Three of the murdered Policemen belonged to the Hazara community and were Shia. "It was a target killing and Police officers belonging to the Hazara tribe were targeted," an unnamed senior Police officer had then confirmed. The Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) had then claimed responsibility.

The April 19 incident was just another link in an incessant succession of sectarian killings in Pakistan. Earlier, on April 17, 2010, two burqa (veil)-clad suicide bombers targeted a crowd of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), waiting to register and receive relief goods, at the Kacha Pakka IDP camp on the outskirts of Kohat in KP. 44 persons were killed and more than 70 were injured. The LeJ’s Al-Aalmi faction claimed responsibility for the bombings and cited the presence of Shias at the IDP camp as the reason for the attack. On April 16, a suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack inside the Civil Hospital in Quetta, killing 11 persons, including two DSPs, and injuring 35 others. According to reports, unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle first killed Ashraf Zaidi, the son of the chief of the Shia Conference, Balochistan. As a number of sympathizers and onlookers gathered at the Hospital, where the body was brought, a suicide bomber struck.

Sectarian attacks ordinarily spike during the religious months and festivals, and attacks on religious processions and congregations have become commonplace in the daily lives of the people. Nevertheless, data on sectarian incidents over the past years, demonstrates that the sectarian rivalry is not limited to these periods alone, and can erupt anywhere, at any point of time. 2010 has already witnessed 12 sectarian attacks, among which the most significant incidents include:

March 5: 12 persons, including four women, were killed and 33 were injured when a suicide bomber targeted a Parachinar-bound civilian convoy carrying Shia passengers in the Tull area of Hangu in KP. "The target was a Shia convoy. This is sectarian violence," Kohat Division Commissioner Khalid Umarzai confirmed.

March 1: Seven people were killed and 44 were injured in sectarian violence in the Dera Ismail Khan area of KP. "All the dead are Sunnis, there are some Shias among the injured," District Police Chief Gul Afzal Afridi disclosed.

Sectarian Violence in Pakistan: 2002-2010

Year
Incidents
Killed
Injured
2010*
12
116
272
2009
106
190
398
2008
97
306
505
2007
341
441
630
2006
38
201
349
2005
62
160
354
2004
19
187
619
2003
22
102
103
2002
63
121
257
*Data till April 23, 2010
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal [Since media access is heavily restricted in the conflict areas of Pakistan, and there is only fitful release of information by Government agencies, the actual figures could be much higher]

Incidents and casualties in the first four months of 2010 are indicative of an increasing lethality of attacks. While 190 killings and 272 injuries were recorded in a total of 106 incidents in 2009, 2010 has already seen 116 killings and 272 injuries in just 12 incidents.

Among the primary targets of this sectarian violence are places of worship of the rival sects. The data reflects an year to year increase in incidents targeting places of worship, with the exception of years 2005 and 2006.

Sectarian attacks on Mosque in Pakistan

Year
Incidents
Killed
Injured
2010*
1
30
110
2009
17
277
671
2008
12
100
248
2007
6
85
156
2006
0
0
0
2005
4
35
123
2004
7
88
272
2003
4
65
69
2002
1
1
0
*Data till April 23, 2010
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal

Another soft target of this chronic animosity has been the religious leadership of the respective sects, in a tit-for-tat sequence that never ends. While earlier incidents were restricted to mob violence or grenade attacks, these have now overwhelmingly been replaced by suicide bombers targeting religious processions and rallies. In just the first four months of 2010, the following attacks targeting rival religious leaders have been recorded:

March 11: The noted religious leader and chief of the Aalmi Majlis-e-Tahafuza-e-Khatam-e-Naboowat (AMTKN), Mufti Saeed Jalalpuri, was shot dead along with three associates in Karachi.

An attempt was also made on Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, a leader of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), in which he was injured, while his son was killed.

February 22: A prominent member of the Shia community, Dr. Syed Saqlain Haider Kazmi, was shot dead while his friend sustained injuries when unidentified assailants opened fire on them in the Yakatoot area of Peshawar.

January 5: An Ahmadi leader, Muhammad Yousaf (70), was shot dead in the Ferozewala Police Station area of Karachi. The family of Muhammad Yousaf, leader of the Ahmadi community in Ferozewala, alleged that unidentified persons killed him because he demanded that the Police act against groups creating religious strife in the area.

The primary player in the sectarian violence is the LeJ, which was formed in 1996. The LeJ aims to transform Pakistan into a Sunni state, primarily through violence. Muhammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori is the present Saalar-i-Aala (‘Commander-in-Chief’) of the LeJ. Lahori has been in Police custody since his arrest from Orangi Town in Karachi on June 17, 2002. Although Lahori officially remains the LeJ chief, Qari Mohammad Zafar is now believed to be the tactical ‘commander’, while operational command is understood to have moved to middle ranking leaders. Worryingly, despite several ‘crackdowns’ by security agencies and the arrest of some 20 high profile cadres in 2009, the LeJ organisation appears to retain enormous capacities for violence.

The April 16, 2010, attack at the Civil Hospital at Quetta, moreover, demonstrates that the LeJ is now adopting patterns of multiple and coordinated attacks long used by the Taliban and al Qaeda. LeJ’s links with these groups have been of long standing, and a sharing of operational and training resources is now evident, something that does not augur well for the authorities in Islamabad.

The Government has acknowledged these risks. On March 17, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a ‘decisive operation’ would be launched against banned sectarian outfits if they did not refrain from carrying out terrorist attacks in the country. Malik claimed that the defunct SSP and theLeJ were behind 90 per cent of the terrorist attacks in Punjab.

Despite the eyewash of a crackdown and some arrests, however, no sustained effort to dismantle the sectarian groups, particularly the Sunni formations that have powerful links with the religious parties and the Pakistani establishment, is visible. Indeed, the impulse of sectarianism is deeply rooted in Pakistan’s society and structure of power, and extremist violence manifests an entrenched social divide. Unless Pakistan’s political wellsprings are cleansed of extremist ideologies, their manifestation in militancy and violence cannot be contained.

SRI LANKA
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Beyond Triumphalism
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

The opportunities of the nascent peace in Sri Lanka have never been as great as they now are, since the emergence of the now-defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1976, nor have the mandarins in Colombo ever been as empowered to realize these.

President Mahinda Rajapakse, after engineering the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, secured landslide victory in the January 2010 Presidential Elections. He has now led the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to a sweeping victory in the Parliamentary Elections held of April 8, 2010. Rajapakse is now clearly in a position where he can implement his ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ (‘Mahinda thought’) in toto to secure the ‘lasting solution’ that he has long promised, to bring the ‘ethnic problem’ that corroded the Sri Lankan spirit for almost 34 years to an end.

The UPFA has won 144 seats in the 225-member Parliament, obtaining 4,846,388 (60.33 per cent) of the total of 8,630,689 votes polled. The UPFA won 127 ‘District-basis’ seats along with 17 ‘National-basis’ seats, while the main Opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), secured 60 seats, including 51 ‘District-basis’ and nine ‘National-basis’ seats. The UNP obtained 2,357,057 (29.34 per cent) of the votes polled. The Democratic National Alliance (DNA), a coalition of which the main Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) is the major constituent, and which backed the candidacy of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, polled 441,251 votes (5.49 per cent), winning seven seats – five District-basis seats and two National-basis seats. Fonseka, who contested while in military custody and facing charges of corruption and politicising the military, won from the Colombo District. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main political party representing the minority Tamil community, won 14 seats – 13 District-basis seats and one National-basis seat – securing 233,190 (2.90 per cent) of votes polled.

[The 15th Amendment to the Constitution introduced Article 99A, which provides for 29 members to be declared elected on the basis of the total number of votes polled by the respective political parties or independent groups at the national level (the National List).]

Earlier, President Rajapakse, using an alleged "coup attempt" as a pretext, dissolved Parliament with effect from midnight of February 9, 2010, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Article 70 of the Constitution. The General Elections were then called two months ahead of schedule.

The new Parliament met on April 22, 2010. On April 23, President Rajapakse appointed D.M. Jayaratne as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The former Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wicremanayake, has been inducted into the 76 member Ministry with the portfolio of State Management and Reforms.

The elections saw a relatively low voter turnout. Of over 14 million eligible voters, only 61.26 per cent exercised their franchise, a huge drop from more than the 74 per cent who voted during the last General Elections in 2004. The Presidential election held on January 26, 2010, had also recorded a 74.49 per cent vote. Keerthi Thenakoon, the head of the Centre for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), observed, "The Presidential Election was much more intense. There was more interest on the part of the voters as well. Maybe the people had lost interest." Several commentators have interpreted declining turnouts as an index of ‘weakening democracy’. Notably, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who led the UNP soon after the elections, argued that the decision of nearly 45 per cent of the electorate not to vote was a clear reflection of the people’s disillusionment with the electoral system. UPFA member Dullas Alahapperuma, however, argued, "There was peace in the country and the winner was very clear. That may be the reason why we did not see many voting."

Another possible reason for voter apathy was election fatigue. Since May 2008, when the first election was held to the Eastern Provincial Council, the country has witnessed elections in every nook and corner. Notably, since the 2008 Eastern Provincial Council election, there have been Local Authorities Elections in Batticaloa District (except for the Kaththankudi Urban Council where elections were held in 2006) and Provincial Council Elections in North Central Province and Sabaragamuwa Province. In 2009 local authorities elections were held for the Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council, while Provincial Council Elections were conducted in Southern Province, Uva Province, Western Province and Central & North Western Province. All these were capped by the Presidential Election, billed as the mother of all elections.

The ‘weakening democracy’ argument, consequently, has limited relevance, and is more a reflection of frustration at the Opposition’s rout, rather than an objective index of the ground situation. Election observers, moreover, concluded that polling was conducted in a free and fair manner. "Polling on Election Day took place in a generally uneventful manner, except for a few significant incidents," People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) noted. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) added, further, "We conclude that despite this (random incidents of intimidation and rigging), the overall result does reflect the will of the electorate." Both groups did note incidents of vote-rigging and intimidation, and CMEV stated, "We wish to record our deep concern about incidents in which polling agents were evicted from polling stations, sometimes forcefully. Furthermore, there were cases of voter obstruction and alleged attempts to rig the results." The Elections Commissioner had delayed issuing the results of the vote in 45 seats, where the worst incidents were reported.

This is in significant contrast to the Presidential Elections held in January 2010. PAFFREL, one of the two accredited election monitoring groups, had then received reports of 224 violent incidents. Between December 17, 2009, and January 11, 2010, the group received reports of 50 assaults, 8 shootings and 11 incidents of threat and intimidation. CAFFE reported 259 election violations between August 15, 2009 and January 11, 2010, including 49 cases of assault and 74 incidents of election law violation. The number of poll-related deaths during the Presidential elections was reported to be four.

But there is little sign of political reconciliation in the country and, worryingly, the Government itself is more or less to blame for this. Significantly, political violence continued for long after the Presidential Election, mostly directed against Opposition parties as part of a broader Government crackdown against supporters of the defeated opposition candidate, General Sarath Fonseka. On January 31, the CMEV reported that it had recorded 85 complaints of post-election violence, of which a clear majority (50) were made against the ruling UPFA, confirming a resort to a pattern of unwarranted vendetta politics by the victors in the electoral contest.

The electoral outcome also suggests that any solution to the ethnic divide in the country will become more elusive. The TNA secured the support of the majority in the Tamil-dominated East and North Provinces, and now claims to be the ‘true representative’ of the Tamils in these regions. The TNA manifesto had prominently included the following demands:

  • There must be meaningful de-militarization resulting in the return to the pre-war situation as it existed in 1983 by the removal of armed forces, military apparatuses and High Security Zones from the Northern and Eastern Provinces
  • Tamil People who have been displaced in the North and East due to the conflict must be speedily resettled in their original places; housing provided, their livelihoods restored and their dignity respected
  • Persons who are detained without charges must be released promptly and a general amnesty should be granted to the others, as an initial step towards national reconciliation
  • Tamils who fled the country over the last 30 years also must be permitted to return to their homes and a conducive atmosphere for same created for their return.

On power sharing, the TNA manifesto stated:

  • The Tamil People are entitled to the right of self determination
  • Power sharing arrangements must be established in a unit of merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a Federal structure, in a manner also acceptable to the Tamil Speaking Muslim people.
  • Devolution of powers should be over land, law and order, socioeconomic development including health and education, resources and fiscal powers

Most of this is irreconcilable with President Rajapakse’s party manifesto, which reiterated a commitment to a unitary State and included the declaration:

As in the Eastern Province, Provincial Council Elections will be held in the Northern Province within a short period of time to establish democracy. Thereby new representatives will be included in the All Party Conference and I believe that this would be a forum to arrive at a true national concurrence…. After several decades, we are new able to function as one country under one law. At this Presidential Election Campaign, I have decided to place my views frankly before the country so that we can engage in an open and intellectual discourse regarding a new Constitution… We now have experience regarding the Provincial Council system… However, it is an intrinsic part of the Constitution through the 13th Amendment and is a functional system. I am in favour of an open discussion on the Amendment to the Provincial Council System…. What we need is not a divided system but a system that will establish the unitary state….

Rajapakse clearly concedes the possibilities of a constitutional change to secure an enduring solution, but within clearly defined limits. The UPFA is a mere six short of a 2/3rd majority required for passing Amendments to the Constitution. The TNA has already hinted that it is more than willing to cooperate with the Government, if the latter shows the necessary political will and understanding to reach out to the Tamil people. The TNA has promised to cooperate with the President to find an ‘equitable solution’ for the minority question within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, and is in a position to provide the numbers the ruling combine needs for necessary constitutional changes. Nevertheless, the contours of such a solution do contain polarizing elements and may obstruct a workable relation between the UPFA and TNA, though the potential obstacles are not insurmountable. The TNA’s insistence on a re-merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces is, for instance, an obvious glitch; but there is no reason to presume that the TNA will remain adamant on this if a wider political package contains other provisions that are sufficiently attractive enough. If both the UPFA and the TNA approach the issue of resolving ethnic strife with a measure of sincerity, the outcome of the General Elections gives them ample opportunities to cooperate.

Crucially, the defeat of the ultra-nationalist Sinhala majoritarian Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the JVP-led DNF coalition signals that the majority of the southern population has come to reject Sinhala extremism, removing some of the most obstinate barriers to a lasting solution.

There is also some awareness within the ruling coalition that the LTTE’s defeat and the UPFA’s electoral victories are not a sufficient grounds to believe that the country’s trouble’s are over. Defence Secretary Gothabhya Rajapakse noted during the election campaigns that, although terrorism had been eradicated, some terrorism-related elements, including several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) remained committed to creating a separate Tamil State. He warned that the hard won peace should not be taken for granted, and that it would be necessary to reach out to every section of the nation in general, and the Tamils in particular, to search for the most viable solution.

The President’s immediate response to the outcome of the Parliamentary elections has been encouraging. Soon after the triumph he declared,

The assured majority in Parliament given by the voters encourages the Government to proceed with its policies for the strengthening of peace and reconciliation, reconstruction, greater infrastructure development, increased investment in identified areas of growth, and the overall development of the country to make it the centre of economic and social progress in South Asia.

The role of the international community will be crucial in the months to come. UPFA senior leader Dullas Alahapperuma argues, "There has never been such a large victory, the people have spoken. The international community should respect the verdict and support government policies."

Sri Lanka’s fractious past, however, continues to cast menacing shadows across the country, and the conduct of the political leadership of all hues has given at least some cause for apprehension. Crucially, any failure or loss of faith at this juncture will prove disastrous. Both Colombo and the international communities must be conscious of the promises of the present moment and the unacceptable costs of undermining the opportunity to resolve, fully and finally, one of South Asia;s longest and fiercest conflicts.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
April 19-25, 2010

 

Civilian

Security Force Personnel

Terrorist/Insurgent

Total

Bangladesh

 

Left-wing Extremism

0
0
1
1

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
1
1

Jammu and Kashmir

2
1
2
5

Manipur

2
0
0
2

Punjab

0
2
2
4

Left-wing Extremism

 

Chhattisgarh

1
0
0
1

Jharkhand

3
0
1
4

West Bengal

4
0
0
4

Total (INDIA)

12
3
6
21

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

0
5
0
5

FATA

6
9
85
100

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa*

25
9
5
39

Punjab

0
4
0
4

Sindh

0
0
1
1

Total (PAKISTAN)

31
27
91
149
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.
* On April 15, 2010, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed the Bill changing the name of the North West Frontier Province to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


INDIA

Two LeT militants and two Policemen killed in Punjab: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a Pakistani, were shot dead by Punjab Police in the morning of April 25 at village Rattarwaha in the Gurdaspur District, bordering Kathua District in Jammu and Kashmir. Two Punjab Police personnel were killed and four others injured in the operation. In the morning of April 19, the militants had infiltrated into the Indian side from Bamial sector on the International Border in Gurdaspur sector, after Pakistan Rangers had blasted fencing in a 400 meters area by firing rockets. Unconfirmed reports said that some Punjab militants had also intruded along with the Lashkar militants as literature of ‘Dashmesh Regiment’ of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) was recovered from the site of intrusion, indicating that a nexus between the two militant outfits still existed. Daily Excelsior, April1 24-26, 2010.

Death sentence for three militants in 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb blast case: A Delhi court, on April 22, awarded the death penalty to three of the six cadres of the banned militant outfit, Jammu Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF), who had been convicted of involvement in the May 21, 1996, Lajpat Nagar bomb blast, in which 13 people were killed. Mohammad Naushad, Mohammad Ali Bhatt and Mirza Nissar Hussain were the ones who were awarded the death sentence, while an accomplice, Javed Ahmed Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The four were convicted on April 8, 2010, for murder, conspiracy and attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code. The other two, Farooq Ahmed Khan and his woman accomplice Farida Dar, who had been held guilty of minor offences under the Explosive Substances Act and the Arms Act, were sentenced to imprisonment for seven years, and four years and two months, respectively. The Hindu, April1 23, 2010.

Railway lost INR 5 billion as Naxal attacks doubled in 2009, says Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) on April 23, that incidents of Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) attacks on railway property nearly doubled to 58 in 2009, from 30 in 2008, and the Indian Railways lost over INR 5 billion due to disruptions by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). 56 incidents were reported in 2007, she added. Times of India, April 24, 2010.

Lashkar-e-Toiba has proven links with ISI, says former NSA M. K. Narayanan: West Bengal Governor and former National Security Adviser (NSA) M. K. Narayanan on April 21 said that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has "proven links" with the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). "The LeT is linked to the ISI, these links are well-proven. There is a specified section of the ISI to oversee covert operations of the LeT, which has networks in 21 countries, including Australia, North America, Europe and Asia," Narayanan said. The Hindu, April1 22, 2010.

LeT a threat to US, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, says US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs: Asserting that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is a threat not only to India and America but also to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P. J. Crowley said, counter-terrorism is the central pillar of US strategic dialogues with all these countries. PTI News, April 23, 2010.

Jammu and Kashmir militants recruit more women cadres, indicates report: Militants in Jammu and Kashmir are recruiting more and more women, a secret Police document accessed by Daily News & Analysis has shown. Recruiting women has its advantages, according to the report, which says, "Getting women convicted under preventive detention is a distant dream. For example, one woman was caught transferring terrorist money and grenades, but was let off on bail after Sopore witnessed law and order problems." Society, too, doesn’t look kindly on women being held for terrorist activities. Also, the militants have started using upgraded technology. DNA India, April 21, 2010.

Salwa Judum losing steam, says Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on April 20 that the controversial Salwa Judum movement that started in Chhattisgarh nearly five years ago has lost its momentum. Hindustan Times, April 21, 2010.

No plan to scale down activities in Afghanistan, says Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur: Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur informed the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on April 21 that India would not scale down its activities in Afghanistan. Pointing out that India had "no plan to scale down" its activities in Afghanistan, Kaur said its commitment to assist Afghan people and Government in building a peaceful, pluralistic, democratic and prosperous nation remained undiluted. She also added that the Indian Government had comprehensively reviewed and enhanced security measures for the safety of personnel and other Indians working in Afghanistan. Times of India, April 22, 2010.


PAKISTAN

85 militants and nine SFs among 100 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least 14 Taliban militants were killed and 16 others injured in air strikes and clashes with Security Forces (SFs) in the Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 25.

SFs killed 10 Taliban militants in Lower Orakzai Agency on April 24. In addition, fighter jets pounded three more hideouts, killing another 10 Taliban militants. Also, a US drone fired three missiles at a Taliban hideout in North Waziristan, killing seven militants.

At least 16 Taliban militants were killed and several others injured in the ongoing Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai Agency on April 23. Separately, the Taliban militants ambushed a SF convoy in North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers and injuring 16 others. In retaliation, helicopter gunships shelled the militants’ hideouts, killing six militants. Meanwhile, the bodies of four persons, including a headless one, were recovered in Mir Ali, 25 kilometers east of Miranshah in North Waziristan. A note lying near the bodies stated that they were spying for the US, adding that all spies would meet the same fate.

The SFs killed 26 Taliban militants, while two soldiers also died, during clashes in the Orakzai Agency on April 22. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 20-26, 2010.

25 civilians and nine SFs among 39 persons killed during the week in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Unidentified militants killed former Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Alamzeb Omarzai and three others in an attack on his vehicle in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as North West Frontier Province, NWFP) on April 22. In addition, a group of Taliban militants attacked a security check post at Kabal town in Swat District. The security forces retaliated and killed four militants.

Four persons, including two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-triggered blast targeting a Kurram Agency-bound Security Forces (SFs) convoy in the Tutkas area of Thall tehsil (revenue unit) in the Hangu District on April 20.

At least 24 people, including a child and Police officials, were killed and 49 others injured in twin bombings hours apart at a school and a crowded market in Peshawar on April 19. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 20-26, 2010.

Taliban attacking US forces in Afghanistan from FATA, says US Representative Richard Holbrooke: The United States (US) Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke alleged that the Taliban carry out attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan from their sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Daily Times, April 22, 2010.

Army announces PNR 20 million relief package for Tirah Valley victims: The Pakistan Army, on April 19, announced a relief package of around PNR 20 million for victims in the Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where 61 civilian deaths were reported following air strikes over a Kokikhel jirga (tribal council) at Serawala area on April 10. Initially, the Army authorities denied the report of civilian deaths. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had subsequently tendered an apology to the Kokikhel tribe over the civilian deaths. Daily Times, April 20, 2010.


SRI LANKA

UPFA secures 144 seats in seventh Parliament: Sri Lanka's Elections Secretariat has announced that the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won the 2010 General Elections securing 144 seats in the seventh Parliament. The ruling alliance won a total of 127 seats at the General Election and, with the 17 National List slots, secured 144 seats in the 225-member legislature, but fell six seats short of the 150 required for a two-third majority. The main opposition United National Party (UNP) led by Ranil Wickremasinghe will have 60 seats, while the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), will be represented by 14 Parliamentarians. The Marxist Democratic National Alliance (DNA) led by former Army Commander General (Retired) Sarath Fonseka has secured seven seats. At the conclusion of the polls on April 20, the UPFA had received 4,846,388 votes (60.33 per cent) and, as a result, was allocated 17 seats under the National List, while the UNP received nine National List slots after polling 2,357,057 votes (29.34 percent).The DNA received two and the TNA one National List slot.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader and Former Minister D. M. Jayaratna was sworn in as Sri Lanka's next Prime Minister on April 21. Colombo Page, April 21-22, 2010.

Malaysian Police arrested key LTTE leaders between August 2009 and March 2010, say officials: Malaysian Police had arrested a number of key Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leaders, among other foreign nationals, between August 2009 and March 2010. Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said that the Malaysian authorities have informed Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse recently of the arrest of the LTTE leaders. Colombo Page, April 23, 2010.

LTTE’s foreign network intact, says Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil, A.M.J. Sadiq: Sri Lanka has said that, although the top Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership had been eliminated during the military campaign in 2009, the international network of the outfit was intact and very active. The Foreign Ministry quoted the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil, A.M.J. Sadiq, as saying that a number of vessels belonging to the LTTE’s shipping fleet, which had hitherto been involved in drug trafficking and gun running, were now engaged in the lucrative business of human trafficking. Daily Mirror, April 23, 2010.


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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