Operation Orakzai: Conjuring ‘Victories’ | Islamist Vestiges | South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR),Vol. No. 9.3
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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 9, No. 3, July 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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Operation Orakzai: Conjuring ‘Victories’
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

The Pakistan Army has become adept at manufacturing ‘victories’ against ‘terrorism’ in theatre after theatre in the country, though each year has seen increasing terrorism-related fatalities in the country. In this bold history of triumph, on June 1, 2010, the Army had declared another victory over ‘terrorism’ in its Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I Will See You) in the Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), adding that military operations in the area had been ‘completed’ and civilians could expect to return home soon. Describing a visit to Orakzai and the neighbouring Kurram tribal regions by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a short Press Release recorded: "Kayani’s visit to Orakzai Agency marks the successful conclusion of operations in the Agency. He appreciated the professional conduct of the operation which has cleared the Agency of terrorists." The statement also noted that civilians who fled Orakzai could expect to return home soon. More than 200,000 people are believed to have poured out of the area since the end of 2009, out of a total population of about 450,000 in the Agency.

Following the brutal Operation Rah-i-Nijat (Path to Salvation, June 19-December 12, 2009) in South Waziristan, a number of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants had escaped into Orakzai. This eventually led to a ground-cum-air offensive against pockets of militancy in parts of this Agency, commencing March 24, 2010, in what was originally planned as a two-week end-stage operation. The Army evidently miscalculated the militants’ strength, and the Operation has dragged on beyond four months, with higher-than-expected casualties. Official sources disclosed, on June 2, that the total number of people killed in Orakzai, just since May 1, in operations against the TTP was estimated at 719. No reliable index of fatalities has been available for any of the successive military campaigns in the FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP, formerly, North West Frontier Province), though displacement figures suggest largely indiscriminate air and artillery operations. During the Swat campaign, an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million civilians were forced out of the Province in a campaign that eventually claimed to have killed just 1,800 ‘terrorists’.

However, rebuffing Army claims, various local and official sources claimed, on June 2, that more than half the Orakzai Agency was yet to be cleared of the TTP. According to reports citing local sources, "The military has cleared only Lower Orakzai, while the situation in upper and central Orakzai has not changed much, as the Army is yet to evict the TTP from these areas. The battle is far from over." In the adjacent Hangu district, residents and officials were reported as claiming that, "In Upper Orakzai, Security Forces (SFs) took control of Dabori, while Mamozai, Ghaljo and Shahoo areas are still in Taliban control." Local sources also alleged that Uzbek and other terrorists belonging to the "Lal Masjid group" and the TTP from Swat, Bajaur and Waziristan were putting up "stiff resistance" in Upper Orakzai.

Data on fatalities bears out these claims of a confrontation that is far from over. In the 70 days between the commencement of the Operation on March 24 and its "successful termination" on June 1, South Asia Terrorism Portal database recorded a total of 1,705 fatalities including 1,669 militants and 36 SF personnel. In 51 days, between June 2, and July 21, after the Operations had ‘ended’, 522 persons, including 505 militants and 17 SFs have been killed. There is no separate account of civilians killed. Apparently, everyone killed by the SFs is a ‘militant’. The ratio of fatalities between the ‘militants’ and the SFs also indicates that virtually the entire campaign has relied on long range artillery and air attacks, with ground engagements between troops and TTP cadre the exception.

Significantly, data on fatalities is principally based on statements released by Inter Services Public Relations, the Forces’ own mouthpiece, unambiguously confirming the fact that the Army is still struggling to keep hold of the area, as more and more militants emerge to carry the battle forward. Some of the major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) contradicting the Army’s June 1 declaration include:

July 21: SFs killed 40 militants and injured 30 others in a clash in Upper Orakzai Agency. Three SF personnel were also killed in the clash, while six SF personnel were injured.

July 19: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) planes and helicopter gunships pounded suspected militant hideouts in the Orakzai and Central Kurram Agency, killing 42 militants and injuring 27.

July 18: At least 25 militants were killed and 23 were injured when PAF fighter jets and helicopter gunships bombed various parts of Upper Orakzai Agency.

July 14: 24 TTP militants were killed and 34 were injured when PAF fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in Kasha, Srigaray, Khorhi, Mamoonzai and Shakartangi areas of Orakzai Agency.

July 13: At least 100 TTP militants were killed and one soldier was injured in a clash with SFs in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.

July 11: At least 22 TTP militants were killed and 10 were injured when PAF fighter jets and helicopter gunships bombed various areas of Upper Orakzai Agency.

June 27: At least 66 TTP militants were killed and another 30 were injured in air strikes and clashes with the SFs in Orakzai Agency.

June 22: 43 TTP militants were killed in clashes with SFs in the Orakzai Agency.

June 21: militants attacked a Frontier Corps vehicle with three rockets in the Andkhel area of the Agency, killing three Soldiers and injuring another five.

June 8: Six soldiers were killed and eight were injured when TTP militants stormed a checkpoint in Orakzai Agency. A retaliatory strike by the Army left 35 TTP militants dead and another 17 injured.

June 6: The SFs killed 44 TTP militants and injured another 11 in various areas of Upper Orakzai.

June 5: 25 TTP militants were killed and another 22 were injured when SFs, backed by helicopter gunships, pounded militants hideouts in Orakzai Agency.

June 2: At least 33 TTP militants were killed during clashes with SFs in different parts of Orakzai Agency.

Evidently, the militants still posses the wherewithal to take the SFs on.

Although the area of operation in Orakzai is smaller compared to the 2009 Operation Rah-e-Rast (Path to Truth) in Swat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan (FATA), the fighting has been bloodier and more intense. 1,200 militants and 90 SFs were killed in Operation Rah-e-Rast; and 589 militants and 79 SFs were killed in Operation Rah-e-Nijat. The military has established a cordon around many of Orakzai’s entry and exit points and the militants, finding their escape cut off, are, in many cases, choosing to fight back with significant assaults on military positions. The military has been retaliating by bombarding purported TTP locations relentlessly, reportedly inflicting heavy casualties on the militants. The Army claims that many of the dead are foreign fighters, including Arabs and Uzbeks.

When Pakistan, on May 31, announced it had defeated militants in Dabori, one of their major extremist bases, some 60 kilometres from Orakzai's main town of Kalaya, it was a far cry from the reality of the volatile Orakzai region. Even at that time, Pakistani military analysts declared that the announcement was based on "miscalculations", as officers thought militants would flee the region after many of their bases were captured. There was a widespread assessment that the announcement itself was no more than an attempt to boost the morale of a public suffering from years of attacks, nearly constant military campaigns and few demonstrable results. Retired General Talat Masood, a military and security analyst, thus noted, "The announcement looks good to the Pakistani public. The public thinks it's an endless thing, especially in Orakzai. So they probably wanted to give the people some relief." Corroborating this assessment, Rahimullah Yusufzai, senior editor and Peshawar Bureau chief of The News observed, "The military operation is not yet over in Orakzai. I think they (the Army) made the announcement of victory in haste."

Meanwhile, despite the Army’s claims, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have not been willing to return to the Agency, fearing continued danger. A large number of IDPs remain sheltered at the Mohammad Khwaja Relief Camp in Orakzai in precarious conditions, without basic human amenities, while others have dispersed wherever they have been able to secure shelter. The devastation is greater for those who dare to return to their homes, as the whole tribal area presents the spectacle of a war zone, with houses blown up, villages decimated and infrastructure destroyed. Many returning IDPs could not determine where their villages had once stood, to say nothing of their homes. Not surprisingly, most have had to make return journeys to their camps and refuges.

Despite the Army’s boastful claims, the conflict in Orakzai is far from over. The militants may have been pushed out of their urban and peri-urban strongholds into the more remote valleys, but these ‘successes’ may prove fleeting. The rebels have, in the past, repeatedly demonstrated their capacity to regroup and regain lost ground, or simply to shift their fight elsewhere.

BANGLADESH
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Islamist Vestiges
Anshuman Behera
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

The arrests of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Chief Maulana Saidur Rahman alias Zafar and three other top leaders of the outfit on May 25, 2010, from Dhaka and Narayanganj Districts certainly constitute a major breakthrough for the Sheikh Hasina Government in its drive against terrorism and Islamist violence in Bangladesh. The other three top leaders who were arrested along with Saidur Rahman were JMB’s military coordinator Amir Hossain alias Sharif, and ehsars (full time members) Nur Hossain alias Sabuj and Abdullah Hel Kafi.

The Security Forces (SFs) subsequently arrested Shahed bin Hafiz, a member of the JMB’s first ever Majlish-e-Shura (highest decision-making body of JMB), on June 5. The acting chief of the JMB, Nazmul Anwar Alam alias Bhagina Shahid, was then arrested on July 12.

The arrest of the top JMB leaders has demonstrated Dhaka’s willingness to take the Islamist terrorists head on. It is significant, however, that Islamist militant groups like the JMB and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), as well as subversive political formations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), remain active in Bangladesh and constitute an abiding threat, both to the regime and to the security of the country.

Unsurprisingly, radical Islamist forces like JMB and JeI have been relatively less visible since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League (AL) assumed power on January 6, 2009. Notably, under former Premier Begum Khaleda Zia’s regime (October 1, 2001- October 27, 2006) the Islamists had created havoc in the country and even beyond its borders, in numerous terrorist attacks in India. Within Bangladesh, this culminated in the serial bomb blasts of August 17, 2005, in which some 459 explosions hit 63 of the country’s 64 Districts.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that the JMB has been working covertly to attract new recruits by signaling its re-emergence through a planned series of explosions in capital Dhaka. During interrogation, Saidur Rahman gave details of the organisation’s plans and targets. According to Rahman’s confessional report, the JMB had around 400 full time cadres across the country and a ‘military wing’ capable of launching major attacks. He also claimed that hardliners who had taken control of the JMB would be more destructive as a result of his absence as chief. Further, he disclosed that Sohel Mahfuz had become JMB’s acting chief and Nazmul Anwar Alam alias Bhagina Shahid was its ‘military wing commander’. [Police, however, claim that Nazmul was the acting chief of the JMB]. Rahman also disclosed that, apart from the fake currency trade, JMB received funds from several sources at home and abroad. Saidur Rahman also admitted that the JMB has several hundred explosive devices, handmade bombs and grenades stashed at different locations.

Further, the acting chief of the JMB, Nazmul Anwar Alam, revealed that the JMB had a hit list of 12 top political figures, mostly ruling party leaders. He, however, claimed that the JMB had destroyed all the explosives it had in the northern region. Interestingly, Saidur Rahman contradicted this claim, suggesting that Alam could have shifted the arms and explosives to new caches.

Another senior leader of the JMB, Abu Bakkr Siddique alias Shiblu, who was arrested in Thakurgaon District on May 25, told the SFs that JMB had trained some of its female operatives in using grenades and they have been making preparations to carry out a series of grenade attacks in Dhaka on a limited scale. Shiblu confirmed Rahman’s claim that the aim of the planned attacks was to signal the JMB’s re-emergence and to attract prospective recruits.

The Inspector General of Police [Dhaka Range], Nur Mohammad, however, claimed on May 26, that, "Due to the arrest of the groups’ current chief Saidur Rahman, their reorganizing efforts will fail."

Danger, however, continues to linger, since the various Islamist extremist groupings are well connected, and have deep linkages with radical political formations like the JeI. Rahman, for instance, admitted his past affiliation with the JeI, as a former Ameer (chief) of the Habiganj District JeI unit. Rahman was made Ameer of Habiganj JeI unit in 1983. He also indicated that at least 25 JeI rokans (high-ranking field operatives) were actively involved with the JMB, and that JeI provided physical and small arms training to its members. SAIR has repeatedly emphasized the strong connections between JMB and JeI. Similarly, Alam disclosed that he had been an active cadre of the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), JeI’s students’ wing, until he joined JMB in 1998.

The links between these two radical Islamist groupings became even clearer in a face to face interrogation of JMB and JeI leaders. Investigators brought together Saidur Rahman and leaders of the JeI, including Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mojahid and Delwar Hossain Saydee, on July 13. [These three top JeI leaders were arrested from Dhaka on June 29]. During the exchange, Nizami threatened Rahman against disclosing anything regarding the links between JeI and JMB, and told him to "pray for his life". During the interrogation, Rahman claimed that the Secretary General of JeI, Ali Ahsan Mojahid, had told him about regretting his failure to kill "all" the pro-liberation intellectuals on the night of December 14, 1971. Reports suggest that Mojahid initially denied the allegation, but remained silent when Rahman stood by his claims. In reaction to the JMB chief’s claim that the Jamaat was providing training in handling small arms and grenades, the Jamaat chief Nizami told investigators that the use of bombs and weapons to kill people were the features of JMB activities, not the Jamaat’s.

Despite widely known linkages with Islamist militant groups, the JeI has managed to retain its status as a political party and is not banned. However, if the links between the JeI and JMB are officially proven, there is a likelihood that the Government may ban it as a political party. The JeI is already under tremendous pressure because of the Awami League’s electoral commitment to bring the 1971 War Crimes offenders to justice, and the Government’s current efforts to fulfil this pledge. The arrests of JeI’s Chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahshan Mojahid ad Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Saydee, in this regard, have become a matter of real concern for the Jamaat. The JeI’s role in the genocide of 1971, and in the killing of intellectuals and freedom fighters during the Liberation War has already been brought under the process of the trial of War Criminals.

While the JeI leadership will certainly work to create some ambiguity around its relations with the JMB, there can be little scope to deny the violence of its student wing, the ICS. Most recently, ICS cadres killed an activist of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and cut the tendons of four other students on February 9, 2010, in Rajshahi University. The JeI was also believed to be involved in this incident, which left at least 100 students injured. Confirming JeI’s involvement in the Rajshahi University incident, one of the ICS leaders, Akram Hossain, confessed to the Police on March 12, 2010: "I took part in the attack with the Shibir group led by the Rajshahi University ICS President Shamsul Alam Golap. Golap made contact several times with central JeI and ICS leaders during the night of violence."

Street violence has also been engineered sporadically by the JeI-ICS combine. On June 13, moreover, Jamaat and ICS cadres clashed with BCL cadres in Dhaka, resulting in injuries to some 35 persons. This was followed by JeI and ICS clashes with the Police on June 30, during demonstrations demanding the release of JeI top three leaders. In another incident, on July 4, cadres of the JeI and ICS rampaged through the streets of Chittagong, destroying 100 vehicles, during the JeI’s two-day protest against the arrest of its leaders. Following the incident, the Police arrested a number of JeI and ICS leaders and cadres. According to Police sources, "JeI now struggles to come up with an effective strategy to face the current crisis arising from the large number of arrests of its party leaders across the country".

The JeI leadership has declared its intention to ‘observe the whole situation’, and to keep in touch with their international contacts and fight the legal battles to free their leaders. ATM Azharul Islam, acting secretary general of the JeI, stated, "We are observing the situation. The legal battle to free our leaders will continue along with a peaceful movement."

The Sheikh Hasina regime has done extraordinarily well in stabilizing a country which, only a few years ago, had come to be regarded as an economic and political basket case and a centre of Islamist extremism and terrorism. However, radical Islamist groupings in the country, despite the body blows they have received in the recent past, retain a significant cadre base and residual capacities to create havoc in the country.


NEWS BRIEFS

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

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

 

Left Wing Extremism

0
3
0
3

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
2
2

Jammu and Kashmir

2
2
7
11

Manipur

0
0
18
18

Left-wing Extremism

 

Andhra Pradesh

0
0
1
1

Chhattisgarh

2
0
0
2

Orissa

0
0
0
0

West Bengal

5
1
6
12

Total (INDIA)

9
3
34
46

NEPAL

0
0
1
1

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

7
0
0
7

FATA

5
4
206
215

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

1
0
8
9

Punjab

1
0
0
1

Sindh

2
0
1
3

Total (PAKISTAN)

16
4
215
235
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


BANGLADESH

Bangladesh to send the War Crime Case to International Crimes Tribunal for trial: Reviewing cases filed against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leaders with different Police Stations in connection with crimes in 1971, the Home Ministry on July 19 found no legal bar to sending the cases to the International Crimes Tribunal for trial. However, the investigation officers of the cases would decide whether to have the trials at the tribunal. Daily Star, July 15, 2010.


INDIA

LeT may target Commonwealth Games: The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) may attempt to strike during the October Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The fears were conveyed by the Indian Army leadership to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was in New Delhi on July 23-24, The Sunday Times said in a dispatch from Islamabad.

Earlier, the Punjab Police had alerted Pakistan-based Sikh militants, supported by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), might carry out bomb blasts in New Delhi before the Commonwealth Games.  Times of india, July 24-25, 2010.

ISI sleeper cells pose new threat to Gujarat, indicates intelligence report: Intelligence reports indicates that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has renewed efforts to set up new sleeper cells in Gujarat and elsewhere in the country. For the last six months, the ISI has been trying to create new sleeper cells in the State to replace those of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) that were neutralised by the Gujarat Police. DNA India, July 21, 2010.

ISI helping militants to establish terror network in State, says Punjab DGP P.S. Gill: The Director General of Police in Punjab, P.S. Gill, on July 20, said that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is helping terrorists to penetrate into East Punjab. He claimed militants were receiving funds to the tune of lakhs from Pakistan, and, had undergone training in the use of RDX, manufacturing of bombs, hand grenades, all kinds of rifles and pistols in Pakistan.

The intelligence agencies in New Delhi on July 19 submitted reports to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stating that a number of former Khalistani militants based in Germany had been trying to revive militancy in Punjab. Sources said that the Punjab Police had been duly informed, and asked to keep a strict vigil on activities of all those who were directly or indirectly linked to all the former militants who had not only been living in Germany but also in USA, Canada and UK. ANI ; Times of India, July 20-21, 2010.

Polish intelligence had warned of attack on Indian embassy in Kabul: Polish intelligence had, a week before the 2008 Indian embassy bombing, warned of a possible Taliban attack on Indian interests in the Afghan capital with the "main goal" to show its ability to attack on every object in Kabul, according to a document leaked by WikiLeaks. The document on possible attack on the Indian embassy is part of a massive leak of 92,000 intelligence reports that suggested that the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the US and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is fuelling the insurgency in the war-torn country. Times of india, July 26, 2010.

Headley questioning reveals militant and official establishment link, says NSA Shivshankar Menon: The interrogation of Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, who helped the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, points to official patronage of terror groups, National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon said on July 20. Without naming Pakistan, Menon said the nexus had left no room for India to be optimistic as the link was growing "stronger".

Headley also reportedly confirmed what the lone surviving LeT militant Ajmal Kasab confessed that all the 10 attackers of 26/11 had got intensive training from Pakistan Navy frogmen. Kasab had confessed that the 10 terrorists, including himself, who attacked Mumbai received training in swimming and underwater diving from Pakistan Navy frogmen. A frogman is someone who is trained to dive, swim and combat. Times of india, July 20-21, 2010.

Saeed and Lakhvi part of larger conspiracy, says National Investigation Agency: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), seeking in a Delhi court Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Jama'at-ud-Da'awa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) head of operations Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and four other Pakistani citizens, said its case was based on a "larger conspiracy" against India. The NIA counsel Dayan Krishnan said the agency's investigation was "separate" and it had evidence to show that the duo was part of a larger conspiracy against the country and that the 26/11 terror attack was just one part of it. Times of india, July 21, 2010.

Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed visited India and masterminded 26/11 attacks, says Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai: Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai on June 19 said that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed not only masterminded the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks but also made a trip to India and the Government has given exact dates of his visit to Islamabad. Daily Times, July 20, 2010.

US and India sign Counter Terrorism Cooperation Initiative pact: India and the US on July 23 signed a Counter Terrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI) that includes steps to check financing of terror activities, joint probe in cases of bomb blasts besides cooperation in mega-city policing, transportation including rail security, development of investigative skills, cyber and border security. Times of india, July 24, 2010.

Government to hold talks with Kashmiri groups: The Union Government planned to soon hold talks with leaders of various political parties and separatist groups, official sources said on July 21. "While the plan for the talks have been accepted in principle, the details are yet to be finalised," an official source said, adding, "There are even suggestions that the talks be in (Kashmir's summer capital) Srinagar." Times of india, July 22, 2010.

Autonomy the only way to bring normality and permanent peace to Jammu and Kashmir, says National Conference: The ruling National Conference (NC) on July 22 reiterated that the restoration of autonomy was the only way to bring normality and permanent peace to Jammu and Kashmir. "The only way to bring normalcy and permanent peace to the State and the sub continent is to restore autonomy in its pristine form as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution. However, the National Conference reiterates its stand that if a better solution than autonomy is forthcoming, the party will welcome it," the NC said in a resolution. The Hindu, July 24, 2010.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram calls Maoists "crafty capitalists": Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, in an interview on July 21, called Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres "crafty capitalists" and candidly admitted that the State was "helpless" in preventing businesses from succumbing to their extortion. Economic Times, July 22, 2010.


NEPAL

Prime Ministerial contenders fail to secure required 300 votes in runoff election: None of the two contenders of the Prime Ministerial post— Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda and the Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party Leader Ramchandra Poudel—could secure the required 300 votes in the runoff election held on July 23.

Earlier, the political parties failed to pick a new Prime Minister on July 21 as none of the contenders succeeded in securing a clear majority in the voting held in the legislative session of the Constituent Assembly (CA) at the CA hall in New Baneswar in Kathmandu. Kantipur Online, July 22-24, 2010.


PAKISTAN

206 militants and five civilians among 215 persons killed during the week in FATA: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets bombed various parts of Upper Orakzai Agency on July 25, killing 24 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and injuring 18 others. In addition, 24 persons, majority of them local tribal militants, were killed and some others were injured in three different missile attacks by the US drones in South Waziristan and North Waziristan Agencies.

At least 16 militants were killed while scores others injured in US drone strikes in Angora Adda locality of South Waziristan Agency in the morning of July 24.

At least 29 TTP militants, including two ‘commanders’, were killed and several others injured during a military operation in Orakzai Agency on July 23.

The chief of the pro-Government peace committee, Malik Sardar Ali, along with two colleagues, Karim Khan and Gul Muhammad Khan, were killed in an explosion caused by an IED in the Sapary area of Mamond tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency on July 23.

At least 29 militants were killed and 17 others injured in two separate clashes and during shelling by gunship helicopters as troops took control of the Ghiljo tehsil in Orakzai Agency on July 22.

SFs killed 40 militants and injured 30 others in a clash in Upper Orakzai Agency on July 21. Three troopers were also killed in the clash, while six officials were injured.

Military planes and helicopter gunships pounded suspected hideouts of the militants in the Orakzai and Central Kurram Agencies on July 19, killing 42 militants and injuring several others. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, July 19-26, 2010.

U.S. sanctions target Haqqani network: Three key leaders and financiers for the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban have been "designated," or targeted through sanctions, for supporting acts of terrorism linked to the militant outfits based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States Department of the Treasury announced on July 23. The designation was made pursuant to Executive Order 13224, according to which the Treasury was authorised to target Gul Agha Ishakzai, the head of the Afghan Taliban's financial commission; Amir Abdullah, former treasurer to senior Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Baradar; and Nasiruddin Haqqani, an emissary for the Haqqani Network. The Treasury noted that the Haqqani network was a Afghan Taliban-affiliated group of militants operating out of North Waziristan Agency and "and has been spearheading insurgent activity in Afghanistan." The Hindu, July 24, 2010.

Television footage shows Fazalullah to be alive: A private television channel received the footage of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Swat leader Maulvi Fazalullah addressing his comrades, a report said on July 22. The fresh footage rubbishes statements of the Pakistani and Afghanistan Government that the TTP leader was killed in a clash with the Armed Forces. According to sources, it was the first footage, which had been released by Fazalullah himself. The footage showed the injured leg of the TTP leader, due to which he was walking slowly, which confirmed the news that he received a bullet in his leg. Fazalullah was reportedly killed on May 26, 2010 at Barg-Matal District of Nuristan Province in Afghanistan. Daily Times, July 23, 2010.

Elements in Pakistan Government knows where Osama is, says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Some elements in the Pakistan Government know the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She said Pakistan's intelligence establishment must share with the US any information about movement of bin Laden and al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri. "...I assume somebody, somebody in this Government, from top to bottom, does know where bin Laden is. And I'd like to know too so I think we've got to keep pressure on, which we are doing," Hillary said. Earlier on July 19, she had said that she believed Osama bin Laden and Taliban spiritual head Mullah Omar were in Pakistan. The News; Times of India, July 20-21, 2010.

Significant rise in US drone attacks in Pakistan since January 20, 2009, indicates report: According to a research carried out by the BBC Urdu service, nearly 2,500 people have been killed as a result of United States (US) drones and militant attacks since January 20, 2009. Compared with 25 drone strikes between January 2008 and January 2009, there were at least 87 such attacks between President Barack Obama taking office on January 20, 2009 and the end of June 2010. More than 700 people have been killed in such attacks under Obama, compared with slightly fewer than 200 from under his predecessor, George W Bush. Daily Times, July 24, 2010.

LeT becoming global threat, says US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen: The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said on July 24 that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had become "a very dangerous organisation and a significant regional and global threat". He said LeT was expanding into Afghanistan and other countries beyond the region. He claimed that the tribal belt on Pakistan’s western border had become the "global headquarters" for al Qaeda. Daily Times, July 25, 2010.

Pakistan calls for joint monitoring of Afghan border: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on July 22 emphasised the need for joint monitoring of the Pak-Afghan border and increased sharing of information between Pakistan and NATO- International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces on cross-border movement of terrorists. Daily Times, July 23, 2010.

Terrorists plan attacks on minorities’ worship places, say intelligence agencies: Terrorists are planning attacks on the worship places of minorities in Lahore, Jhang, Chiniot, Muzaffargarh and Chakwal, intelligence agencies reported on July 20. According to threat alert-233, "Terrorists are planning to carry out suicide attacks on offices of the ISI, government buildings, army check posts and other buildings". Daily Times, July 21, 2010.


SRI LANKA

Final APRC report recommends unitary State concept for Sri Lanka while sharing powers between centre and provinces: The final report of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) that was released to the media by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) on July 20 recommended that Sri Lanka shall be a unitary State while the State powers are shared between the centre and the provinces. Colombo Page, July 21, 2010.



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