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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 8, No. 51, June 28, 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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Karachi: Nourishing Terror
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Tushar Ranjan Moahnty
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital, has long been a theatre of wide spectrum of violence, inspired, variously, by Islamist terrorism, ethnic and sectarian rivalry or partisan politics. It has, moreover, emerged as a major safe-haven for Islamist extremists linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Capital to the Sindh province, Karachi has, since the 1980s, been a focal point of tremendous sectarian strife between the majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims. The city has also seen recurring violence targeting western interests. Violent political rivalries have also created an environment that has helped terrorist groups of various hues entrench themselves in metropolitan anonymity.

With a population of some 20 million and counting, the port-city, has witnessed at least of 425 killings, including 360 civilians, 38 militants and 27 Security Force (SF) personnel, in some 213 incidents of violence since 2005. While year 2007 saw an extraordinary spike, with 151 killed followed by a decline at just 37 fatalities in 2008, violence has been escalating since. At least 77 persons have already been killed in 2010. The city has also witnessed at least seven suicide bombings since 2005.

KARACHI FATALITIES: 2005-2010

Year
Incidents
Civilians
SFs
Terrorists
Total
2010*
70
65
3
11
79
2009
45
51
3
11
65
2008
30
19
8
10
37
2007
11
150
0
1
151
2006
21
57
13
0
70
2005
34
18
0
5
23
Total
213
360
27
38
425
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal, *Data till June 27, 2010

The most significant incidents recorded since 2005 include:

February 5, 2010: At least 33 persons were killed and over 100, including women and children, were injured, in twin blasts in Karachi, targeting Shias, as the city marked Hazrat Imam Hussain's chehlum (40th Day after death) ceremony.

December 28, 2009: A suicide bomber targeted Pakistan's largest procession of Shiite Muslims in Karachi on their holiest day of Ashura, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 63. Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) for the attack.

October 18, 2007: A suicide bombing in a crowd welcoming former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto killed 143 persons and injured approximately 550 others in Karachi. However, Bhutto escaped unhurt in this attack. [She eventually died in an attack on December 27, 2007.]

April 11, 2006: At least 57 people, including prominent Sunni religious leaders, were killed and more than 50 persons sustained injuries, in a suicide bomb attack at Nishtar Park in Karachi.

May 31, 2005: Four employees of the US fast-food franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken were burnt alive and two others froze to death in the outlet’s refrigeration unit in Karachi during a riot that followed a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Karachi.

Significantly, SATP data excludes killings in political and organised criminal violence which are rampant in Karachi. Thus, on May 12, 2007, Karachi had exploded in orchestrated violence when the sacked Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, arrived in the city to attend a rally organised by High Court lawyers and opposition parties. Armed cadres, principally believed to be drawn from the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) which heads the provincial Government in Sindh, and is a partner in the ruling Federal Coalition, received tacit state support as they went on a rampage across the city, attacking opposition party workers and media organisations, leaving at least 42 dead and over 150 wounded. All Parties Minorities Alliance Chairman, Shahbaz Bhatti, had, at that time, declared that the "Government deliberately stoked the violence against political parties."

Recently, on May 19, 2010, Karachi, witnessed shootings across the city, in which at least 23 people, including a Policeman, were killed. According to the data compiled by law enforcement agencies, at least 92 people affiliated with political and banned religious outfits have been shot dead in various incidents of targeted killing in 2010.

The city has also witnesses a continuous rash of abductions for ransom, car-jackings, armed robberies and murders. Sources indicate that a substantial section of such crime is attributed to groups with links to various political parties and Islamist extremist groups. An elaborate underground economy of organised crime and terror exists in Karachi, where everything is said to be available for a price. Karachi is also flooded with illegal weapons, and local media reports indicate that some 16 cases of unlicensed arms possession are registered, on average, each day.

The city has, for long, been considered extremely difficult to police. A November 23, 2009, report cited a study carried out by the Police suggesting that the sanctioned strength of 34,155 law enforcers was well below what was needed. "In Karachi, there is a single Policeman for the protection of the lives, property and legitimate interests of 571 people" as against a 1:287 ratio in Lahore. "If we follow the police-population ratio of Lahore, the Karachi Police force should have more than 60,000 policemen for the protection of more than 16 million people."

Nevertheless, enforcement agencies have chalked up some important successes. Police, for instance, killed five suspects, believed to be linked to the then TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud, in an encounter in Karachi on June 26, 2009. According partial data compiled in the SATP database, at least 75 militants, including 59 TTP, five al Qaeda and six Afghan Taliban cadres, were arrested in 2009. Year 2010 has already seen at least 56, including 16 Taliban and two al Qaeda militants, arrested. Significantly, US and Pakistani intelligence services arrested the top military 'commander' of Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on February 16, 2010. 46 militants were arrested in the city in 2005; 88 in 2006; 31 in 2007 and 44 in 2008.

Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, on May 23, 2010, that terrorist elements from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Swat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) were behind the recent wave of target killings in Karachi. Karachi mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal separately stated that the city was the TTP's "revenue engine".

Earlier reports indicated that hundreds of TTP cadres fleeing from the country’s restive northwest frontier, had taken refuge in Karachi, where a growing nexus with banned militant organisations was evident. A huge Pashtun population, mostly in the city’s suburbs, provided shelter to these militants, according to security officials. Senior Police investigator Raja Umer Khattab thus disclosed, "Most of the Taliban coming to Karachi are 'B' and 'C' category... They hide here, work here as labourers, and some of them are probably waiting for the right time to go back to the tribal areas and fight again." While in the city, they receive support from and establish linkages with the various extremist groupings operating in the city. An unnamed official thus explained, "The TTP and most of the jihadi outfits like LeJ (Lashkar-e-Jhangvi), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Jundullah, share the same ideology, and in Karachi we have established that they are working together. They work in groups of 10-15 people, with one local amir (commander) and at times with no direct link to the main TTP leaders like Hakimullah Mehsud, so it makes it very difficult to trace their wider links. And these groups not only have Pashtun militants, but also those from Punjab and Balochistan, and even locals."

An October 18, 2009, report claimed that some 60 of the TTP’s second-rung leaders – who fled Swat during the Army’s Operation Rah-e-Rast (Path to Truth) – used Karachi as a transit route to head out to the Middle East. Sources indicate that sleeper cells of the TTP in Karachi facilitated the flight of these leaders. Some of those who travelled to the Middle East were close to Taliban leaders Muslim Khan and Maulana Fazlullah, and were part of the TTP’s decision-making structure. According to these sources, the Karachi unit of TTP hosts Islamist militants from other provinces, and provides logistics support, and also recruits new members. However, the Karachi TTP has no operational wing, and does not have permission to carry out attacks in the city.

Earlier, in an alarming disclosure, a March 1, 2009, report prepared by the Karachi Criminal Investigation Department Special Branch indicated that the Taliban network could strike the financial and shipping hub of Karachi and "could take the city hostage at any point". A December 23, 2009, report, quoting a Senior Police Official, stated that several militants of the LeJ, who were earlier hiding and fighting in the tribal areas of the NWFP, had reached Karachi to carry out terrorist activities.

Reports also indicated that Afghan Taliban were relocating from Quetta (Balochisatn) to Karachi, making it more difficult to apprehend them. According to a statement by Lt. Gen. John Paxton, director for operations at the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on February 23, 2010, "Elements of the Afghan Taliban high command are beginning to relocate from Quetta to Karachi... And obviously this makes it more difficult to locate and apprehend the senior Taliban leadership, because Karachi is a major metropolitan city with over 3 million Pashtuns."

Meanwhile, Political Commentator Rafia Zakaria in an article published in Dawn on February 10, 2010, observed:

As Pakistan’s only mega city Karachi’s demographics, history of communal conflict and dynamics of urban governance all present a lethal mix. In addition, its status as a global city, one with widespread (and largely unregulated) communication systems, present unique opportunities to terrorist groups wishing to use the city as a hub for monitoring and proliferating transnational networks. More al Qaeda planners and leaders are believed to have been apprehended in Karachi than in any other single city, pointing to the fact that Karachi is not simply a target for terrorist attacks but a place which provides a cover to groups planning them. The arrests of Shawki Awad Balzuhair, Aziz Ahmed Al Maythali, Hassan Bin Attash, Rahimullah and several others, all took place in the city… In the political and structural opportunities it presents for planning and execution, Karachi could well be Al Qaeda’s dream city. Strategically, it holds an advantage over the tribal areas in that it is unlikely to be the target of US drone attacks. Karachi represents an important target for attacks because capitalising on political fissures in the city yields enormous advantages in thwarting the NATO mission in Afghanistan. The city is the entry point for NATO supplies to Afghanistan and its destabilisation would translate into a massive blow to NATO efforts in the region.

Karachi now provides an entire ‘infrastructure’ for terrorist organisations to flourish. The TTP, Taliban and al Qaeda, facing some pressure in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, continue to pour into the port city, further damaging an already dwindling Pakistani economy. The city is already a safe haven for Islamist terrorists, and is evolving as a significant theatre of violence. Unless extremist networks are uprooted now, the ‘descent into anarchy’ that has been noted across Pakistan’s other provinces may well come to afflict the country’s commercial capital.

INDIA
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Maoists: Targeting the Economy
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

The growing influence of the Maoists over the past years has led to a tremendous increase in attacks on economic targets in the worst affected States. Public and private sector industries, particularly in sectors with sprawling infrastructure, such as railways, communications, power and mining, have borne the brunt of these attacks.

According to data released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Maoist strikes on economic targets have progressively increased from 71 in 2006 to 80 in 2007 and 109 in 2008. The South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database has recorded a partial listing of 92 such attacks in 2009, and 58 in 2010 (till June 27).

Incidents of Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) attacks on Railway property nearly doubled to 58 in 2009 from 30 in 2008, according to Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. 56 such incidents had been reported in 2007. According to partial data compiled by the SATP, there have already been 26 attacks on the Railways in 2010.

MHA sources have put the total number of attacks on mobile towers over four years between 2005 and 2008 at 69. Crucially, however, just eight such incidents were reported in 2005, five in 2006 and six in 2007. 2008, however, saw a sharp increase in these attacks, with as many as 43 recorded, of which Chhattisgarh and Bihar, each, accounted for 14 such incidents. The number stood at 40 in 2009, and there have already been at least 13 attacks on communication towers in 2010 according to the SATP database. Private mobile operators pegged the loss in an attack on a single mobile tower at about INR 1.2 million, yielding a physical loss of at least INR 146.4 million, as well as significant losses in disruption of services and loss of business opportunities. With Maoist attacks on communication installations increasing, mobile operators have indicated that it would inevitably affect rollout and, in turn, hamper mobile penetration in rural areas – an objective the Maoists eagerly seek, since mobile penetration has contributed directly to better availability of intelligence to the state’s agencies on Maoist movement and activities.

The power sector has also been badly hit by acts of Maoist sabotage. The pace of work at Abhijeet Group’s flagship project, Corporate Power Limited (CPL), which was setting up a power plant at Chandwa in the Latehar District of Jharkhand, slowed down after extremists gunned down four of its security guards in April 2009. Essar Power is another company, whose projects have been affected due to Naxal violence. The company is setting up a 2000 mega watt coal-based power plant at Chandwa. In one of their most damaging operations, an estimated loss of INR 20 billion was reported when the Maoists blew-up three 132 KVA High Tension towers in Narayanpur District in Chhattisgarh on May 31, 2007. Six Districts were plunged into complete darkness for a week, and normal power distribution could only be restored after a fortnight, causing widespread disruption in communication systems, rail traffic and iron ore mines.

It is, however, the mining industry which has suffered most as a result of Maoist violence in the mineral rich belt of the country that they have come to dominate. The Maoists claim that the Government is not compensating those who live in these areas, and is also trying to displace local populations to benefit industrialists engaged in mining. The States which have suffered most are Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, and, within these, the mineral rich Districts of Latehar (Jharkhand) and Bastar (Chhattisgarh), where some of the most unsettling attacks on the mining infrastructure have occurred.

In the Bastar Division, the Maoists threaten iron ore mining in a sprawling forested region that accounts for a fifth of all iron ore deposits in India. The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), the country's largest iron ore producer and exporter in the public sector, produces roughly 80 percent of its 27-million tonnes per annum (mtpa) iron ore output from the Bailadila reserves in Dantewada in this Divsion. The Bailadila mines and infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted by the Maoists over the years. Notably, on March 31, 2008, the transport of iron ore from the NMDC mines at Bailadila in the Dantewada District was severely affected as no trains plied on the Jagdalpur-Kirandul route during the general shut down called by the Maoists. No specific reporting or data available.

Latehar in Jharkhand accounts for huge reserves of bauxite and coal. On August 17, 2009, 10 HINDALCO staff were abducted by the Maoists. Though they were subsequently rescued, the incident came as a rude shock to the company, which has a plant in Muri in Latehar.

Earlier, on April 12, 2009, 11 Central Industrial Security Force personnel and four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in a gunfight following an attack on an armoury and bauxite mine of the public sector National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO) at Panchpatmali near Damanjodi in Koraput District of Orissa. The Maoists also looted explosives and arms. However, SFs later recovered a substantial quantity of explosives and arms looted by the Maoists.

On April 24, 2008, the Communist Party of India – Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres set ablaze 47 vehicles of Essar Steel, which has a 3.2 mtpa plant at Korandul in Dantewada. A pamphlet warned Essar Steel and another private company against continuing their operations in the Bastar region.

On June 19, 2009, the Maoists killed Vimal Meshram, in a busy weekly market near Lohandiguda village in Bastar District for his support to the Tata Steel megaproject for a 5 mtpa steel project in Bastar District.

ArcelorMittal's USD 9 billion steel projects in Jharkhand and Orissa and the South Korean company, POSCO’s USD 32 billion steel project at Jagatsinghpur District in Orissa have stalled due to Maoist violence. Another significant project that has been blocked off by Maoist threats and violence is the Jindal Steel Works’ USD 7 billion steel plant at Salboni in West Bengal.

The Maoists have, over the years, also damaged numerous Government and private establishments. The SATP database records at least 126 incidents of damage to Government and private properties, including 73 school buildings between 2005 and 2010.

Road infrastructure projects, including the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY, Prime Minister’s Village Road Construction Scheme) have also come under sustained attack. Reviewing progress, Chhattisgarh Minister for Panchayat (village-level local self-Government institution) and Rural Development, Ram Vichar Netam, on January 6, 2009, had admitted that the State Government was facing difficulties in implementing the PMGSY in the CPI-Maoist affected areas, leading to delay in taking up construction of 441 roads in the State.

Disruption due to Maoist violence is compounded by repeated calls for bandhs (general shut downs) across the worst affected States. At least 112 bandhs were enforced by the Maoists during between 2005 and 2010. Crucially, the numbers of such general strikes have increased from just one in 2005 to 6 in 2006, 11 in 2007, 13 in 2008, and, spiked abruptly, with as many as 58 bandhs in 2009. 2010 has already witnessed 25 bandhs, many of which virtually bring all economic activity to a halt across vast area. Such bandhs have also been the occasion for a range of compounding subversive activities. In Orissa, for instance, the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) utilized bandhs to seal off the potential sites of a major mineral processing facility and has also abducted corporate officers of steel firms to discourage investment.

The targeting of industrial infrastructure is not incidental, but is an integral component of Maoist strategy. At its first "Unity Congress" in 2004, the CPI-Maoist leadership had detailed its violent vision for its struggle and their stand on various issues, including industrialisation. "The Call of the Unity Congress", declares its opposition to the present economic policies of "globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation being pursued by the ruling classes." The resolution also calls on the "vast oppressed peasant masses to rise as a storm against these policies to sweep away their oppressors and establishes their own people’s political power in every village." The congress also named "huge projects like POSCO, Kalinganagar, bauxite mines in Orissa; Chargaon and Raoghat in Chhattisgarh, bauxite mines and Polavaram project in AP [Andhra Pradesh], iron ore mines and uranium projects in Jharkhand", accusing them of massive displacement of adivasis and their marginalization. Besides, the Maoists also named the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for identified opposition. These sentiments have often been reiterated since, most recently in a statement sent to select media houses on June 24, 2010, in which the CPI-Maoist declares that it would "rise up as a collective fist to drive out MNCs" from the country.

It is, however, not just MNCs and large industries that have been affected. The disorders and fear that the Maoists unleash even disrupts and prevents agricultural activities in remote areas, with families who run afoul of the Maoists hastily fleeing their homes and villages. Vast landholdings remain uncultivated in Maoist afflicted areas as a result of their notional ‘seizure’ by the Maoists, or because they have been abandoned by cultivators under Maoist threat.

Meanwhile, an August 3, 2006, report quoting Home Ministry officials said that property worth INR 116.7 million was damaged by the Maoists in the first six months of 2006, more than double the figure for 2005, at INR 57.1 million. In 2004, property worth INR 64.7 million was destroyed due to Maoist violence. Though current estimates on the total economic loss due to Maoist activities is available, the amounts would have increased alarmingly in view of the dramatic increases in the number of attacks on economic target and the increasing frequency of bandhs enforced by the Maoists. However, providing a partial index of the magnitude of escalation, on April 23, 2010, Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) that the Railways alone lost over INR five billion in 2009 due to disruptions by the Maoists. In an earlier written reply to a Question in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament), on September 6, 2007, the Railways Ministry had disclosed losses of just INR 50 million in 2006. However, in 2007, during a Maoist sponsored ‘economic blockade’ alone, the Railways incurred a loss of over INR 38.9 million.

Similarly, on June 23, 2010, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal stated, "If the law and order situation is improved, coal production can rise by at least 25 percent. Unfortunately, the States that have coal, have bad law and order situation..." India produced 531 million tonnes of coal in 2009-10, which fell short of demand by 70 million tonnes.

The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) taskforce report on national security and terrorism released on November 9, 2009, voiced apprehensions that Maoist insurgency-related violence could cripple India as a growing economic power:

Just when India needs to ramp up its industrial machine to lock in growth and when foreign companies are joining the party – Naxalites are clashing with mining and steel companies essential to India's long-term success. There was growing concern over the widening reach of Maoists as they operated in 30% of India, up from 9% in 2002. The terror groups have already begun operating on the edge of industrialised Maharashtra…

Outlining the implications for India's economic growth, the report noted further that such attacks were sending a signal that "India was not in control of its territory and the ‘investment climate' was worsening."

Governments in Naxalite-infected States have been estimating that a projected USD 112 billion in foreign investments over the next decade could reverse and eventually eradicate the Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ) or "Red Corridor". If the Maoists have their way, however, the projected billions will simply vanish.

Maoist violence is inflicting a far greater and insidious toll than the unending death-count on which the media and analysts ordinarily focus, targeting the economic sinews of the nation, and sapping international confidence in India’s capacities for growth and ordered governance.

In an effort to undermine the Maoists, the Union Government has launched a media blitz around the catchphrase, "Who is against development?", focusing on the destruction of vital social and economic infrastructure by the rebels. However, unless the state is able to re-establish its dominance of the afflicted areas, it is unlikely that it will recover legitimacy in the eyes of the people through such stratagems.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
June 21-27, 2010

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

 

Left Wing Extremism

0
0
1
1

INDIA

 

Assam

1
0
3
4

Jammu and Kashmir

1
2
5
8

Manipur

2
0
0
2

Meghalaya

0
0
2
2

Left-wing Extremism

 

Andhra Pradesh

1
0
0
1

Chhattisgarh

4
3
0
7

Maharashtra

2
0
0
2

Orissa

3
0
0
3

West Bengal

5
1
3
9

Total (INDIA)

19
6
13
38

NEPAL

1
0
0
1

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

4
0
0
4

FATA

0
4
140
144

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

1
0
12
13

Sindh

2
0
0
2

Total (PAKISTAN)

7
4
152
163
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


INDIA

LeT plans new attacks in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, reveal phone intercepts: Indian intelligence officials have intercepted phone conversations between Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ‘commanders’ that establishes that the group is planning fresh attacks at landmarks in at in different cities including Srinagar, Jammu Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The conversations also discussed a strike against top politicians. NDTV, June 25, 2010.

Maoists plan to attack political leaders: The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) is now raising specially trained small teams to eliminate leaders of various political parties across the country, says an unnamed Union Home Ministry official. The central committee of the CPI-Maoist at a recent meeting has decided to raise "action teams" in all States dominated by them to target political leaders and workers. The Maoists were planning to launch the attack in both rural and semi-urban areas in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. PTI News, June 25, 2010.

Naxalites declare war on MNCs: In a statement sent to media houses on June 23, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has declared that they would "rise up as a collective fist to drive out MNCs [Multi National Companies]" from the country. The statement also reiterates that their mission is to wipe away the "treacherous rotten regimes" at the Centre and the States. Business Standard, June 24, 2010.

Night trains suspended in Maoist-hit areas in Orissa and West Bengal: Several trains running on Kharagpur-Rourkela and Kharagpur-Adra section continued to be diverted, re-scheduled or regulated as Indian Railways decided to persist on its decision to suspend of night-time movement of passenger and goods trains in Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)-affected areas. It would continue to remain suspended up to June 30 during the night hours from 10pm to 5am, said an East Coast Railway statement on June 25. PTI News, June 25, 2010.

Pakistan still backing anti-India terror groups, indicates RAND report: The rising number of Pakistan linked terrorist plots in the United States largely stem from Islamabad's (Pakistan) continued support to some anti-India extremist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), indicates the report released on June 21 by the RAND Corp. Hindustan Times, June 22, 2010.

Lashkar and ISI united in pan-Islamic terror, Headley tells NIA: The 26/11 accused David Coleman Headley told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) earlier this month that Lashkar-e-Toiba and Pakistan’s external intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) are virtually inseparable as far as the pan-Islamic terror agenda is concerned, Times of India reported on June 27. The NIA dossier, which establishes the virtual closing of ranks between LeT and ISI, clearly indicates that both are acting independently of the Government and pose a threat to Pakistan's governance. Times of India, June 27, 2010.

Maoists tying up with militant groups, says Intelligence Bureau: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has issued an alert that the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) might be tying up with militant groups active in the country. Sources said the IB has warned that Maoists are tying up with groups in the North-East and the Kashmir Valley. The Manipur-based Revolutionary People's Front is believed to be in contact with the Maoists for military training. India Today, June 22, 2010.

Maoists ready for talks, but with stiffer riders: The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) responded to the talks offer made by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram with the pre-condition that the ban on the party be lifted and that the rewards on the heads of several top Maoists be withdrawn, besides suspension of the offensive by the Centre. The talks offer was made in a letter by the Maoist spokesperson Cherkuri Rajkumar alias Azad to Swami Agnivesh, a human rights activist, whom the Union Home Minister had asked to persuade Maoists to accept the Government's talks offer. Times of India, June 23, 2010.

Union Government rejects demand for Nagalim: Indicating the Centre's position on the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah’s (NSCN-IM) demand for Nagalim (Greater Nagaland), Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) B. K. Handique on June 24 said it would not be possible to change the boundaries of the Northeastern States. "It will be difficult to change the borders of the northeastern states. If somebody wants a bigger state, then land will have to be taken from other States. There will be stiff resistance to such a move," said Handique. Times of India, June 25, 2010.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram meets Rehman Malik in Islamabad: The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram met his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik on June 25 and is understood to have pressed for urgent action against Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-e-Toiba’s (LeT) over ground organisation Jama'at-ud-Da'awa (JuD) and 26/11 handlers, including those who are believed to be in the Pakistani Army. Chidambaram sought voice samples of the Pakistani handlers and raised issues like infiltration on the border of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistanis who have infiltrated and are indulging in militant activities. The Hindu ; Times of India, June 24, 2010.

Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan hold talks in Islamabad: The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in Islamabad in Pakistan on June 24. India's Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, later said, "We have sorted out to understand each other’s position. We had a comprehensive, sustained and meaningful dialogue which will go a long way to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries." Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told the press conference that Pakistan and India should work towards restoring confidence and building trust with a view to making it possible to have a comprehensive, sustained and meaningful dialogue. Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on July 15, 2010 which will be the third major contact between officials of India and Pakistan within four weeks. Times of India, June 24, 2010.

Naxals chose Junglemahal for strategic reasons, says West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee: Refuting charges that lack of development led to increase in Naxal (Left Wing Extremism) activities in the tribal belt of Junglemahal in West Bengal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said the Naxals have chosen the difficult terrain to have a "strategic advantage". PTI News, June 20, 2010.


NEPAL

Maoists say they will back Indian Maoists: The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) has decided to express solidarity with the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). The UCPN-M said it would "raise its voice against the suppression of the people in India and different countries". The party did not say whether it would go for a joint struggle with the Indian Maoists, but its latest official stand demonstrates a clear revolutionary tone favouring renewal of relation with "Communist revolutionaries across the globe". Indian Express, June 27, 2010.


PAKISTAN

140 militants and four Security Force personnel killed during the week in FATA: Six Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP) militants were killed and another two injured when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on June 27. Separately, the Security Forces (SFs), backed by helicopter gunships and fighter jets, killed eight militants in Orakzai Agency.

Fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in upper Orakzai Agency, killing 14 Taliban (TTP) militants and injuring eight others on June 26.

10 militants were killed and five others, including two SF personnel, injured during an exchange of fire in Orakzai Agency on June 25.

Eight militants were killed and four others injured when fighter jets bombed their hideouts in Orakzai Agency on June 24.

15 Taliban (TTP) militants were killed during a clash with SFs in the the Dabori Ali Khel area of Upper Orakzai on June 23.

43 Taliban (TTP) militants were killed in clashes with SFs in the Orakzai Agency on June 22.

10 Taliban (TTP) militants and three SF personnel were killed in Orakzai Agency on June 21. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, June 22-28, 2010.

Militants are publicly raising funds in Punjab Province, says intelligence report: A Pakistani intelligence report, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation, says that militants are publicly raising funds in the Punjab Province. The report says at least 17 banned militant outfits are operating in the Province under different names. They are raising donations through religious gatherings, certificate award ceremonies and meetings held in the name of social welfare. BBC News, June 23, 2010.

Shia outfits operating in southern Punjab: Intelligence agencies have reported that Shia outfits are operating in southern Punjab and are working against their rival factions. Intelligence agencies have collected data on the cadres of banned religious outfits and militants gathering in southern Punjab and their links to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and even al Qaeda. Daily Times, June 25, 2010.

Foreign Minister refuses to bridle LeT chief: Pakistani Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in a statement issued in Islamabad on June 27 has ruled out barring Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder and mastermind of 26/11, Hafiz Saeed, from giving inflammatory speeches targeting India. "In a democracy, there is freedom of expression...in Pakistan as in India there are all sorts of people making all kinds of speeches. There are people with extremist views in both India and Pakistan....and there is nothing you can do about it. There are views being expressed in Pakistan that I can do nothing about," Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. Economic Times, June 28, 2010.


SRI LANKA

LTTE international network is still active, says Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse: Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse warned on June 21 that an international Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) network was still active a year after the separatists were defeated militarily. Gotabhaya Rajapakse said Tamil groups in Europe and the US still carry the ideology of the LTTE. IANS, June 22, 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.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

Publisher
K. P. S. Gill

Editor
Dr. Ajai Sahni


A Project of the
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