SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia April 25-May 1, 2011
INDIA Naxals get training to counter aerial strikes, says Andhra Pradesh Police: The People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the military wing of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), is training its cadres to counter aerial attacks in the event of air strikes by the Indian Air Force. Sources said that the Maoists are also planning to carry out strikes on airports. Deccan Chronicle , April 28, 2011. HM 'chief commander' Syed Salahuddin admits to Syed Geelani link: Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) 'chief commander' Syed Salahuddin on April 29 dismissed reports of floating a political party but says that Syed Ali Shah Geelani's All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) represents their goals and ideologies. He added that he completely supports Geelani, thereby raising questions over Geelani's alleged terror links. Times Now , April 30, 2011. Pakistan not doing enough to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice, alleges former British foreign secretary David Miliband: Former British foreign secretary David Miliband said on April 29 that Pakistan was not doing enough to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack (November 26, 2008, also known as 26/11) to justice. "I am the politician who went to Islamabad in January 2009 and said, without fear or favour, in respect to the Mumbai bombings, those people need to be put on trial and if they are prosecuted, they need to be punished," he said. PTI News , April 30, 2011. 'Dirty bomb' bigger threat than war, says Army: During Army and IAF commanders' conferences in New Delhi, it was assessed that the more than full-blown conventional wars with Pakistan or China, India was faced more with unconventional threats emanating from jihadi outfits getting hold of "dirty" nuclear bombs, crippling cyber-attacks and "hybrid forms of warfare". Army chief General V K Singh observed that "the major concern" at the moment was the ongoing "attempts" by "non-state actors" to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Times of India, April 27, 2011. NEPAL UCPN-M approves political dossier of its chairman Prachanda by majority votes: The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) in its central committee (CC) meeting on April 29 approved the political dossier of its chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda by majority votes. Dahal has in his political dossier emphasized the need to conclude the peace process and constitution-drafting to safeguard the political achievements made so far. Nepal News, April 30, 2011 UCPN-M chairman Prachanda warns of agitation from May 29 if CA dissolved: The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda has warned of agitation from May 29 if the Constitution Assembly (CA) is dissolved. The CA term ends on May 28. Nepal News, May 2, 2011. PAKISTAN Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan, confirms US President Barak Obama: Osama bin Laden, the chief of al Qaeda, was killed at Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 100 miles north of Islamabad on May 1 by US forces. Announcing this later in the night Obama said, "I can report to the American people and to the world, that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children." Acting on an intelligence lead that surfaced in August 2010, Obama said he authorized an operation to kill bin Laden, 53, who was hiding in a compound deep inside Pakistan. Times of India; Washinton Post, May 2, 2011. 61 militants and four civilians among 69 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least 25 militants and a trooper were killed and several were injured in Baizai tehsil (revenue unit) of Mohmand Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) when Security Forces (SFs) destroyed their hideouts by gunship helicopters on May 1. At least 33 militants, two pro-Government tribesmen and one trooper were killed in separate incidents in Kurram, Orakzai and Mohmand Agencies on April 28. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, Tribune; April 25-May 2, 2011. 24 civilians and four SFs among 30 persons killed during the week in Balochistan: At least 15 passengers, including eight women, five children and two men, were burnt to death and several others injured in the night of April 25 when unidentified militants set a Quetta-bound bus on fire at Pirak area of Sibi District in Balochistan. Five bullet-riddled dead bodies of Baloch missing persons were found in Kech and Khuzdar areas of Balochistan. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, Tribune; April 25-May 2, 2011. 16 civilians and seven SFs among 23 persons killed during the week in Sindh: At least six persons were killed and seven others injured on April 28 after a bomb hit a Pakistan Navy bus in the Karsaz area of Karachi. Four persons, including two activists of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and one each of the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) were killed in Karachi on April 27. Twin bomb blasts targeting two Pakistan Navy buses, carrying officials to work, in Karachi killed four persons, including one civilian female doctor and injured 56 others on April 26. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, Tribune; April 25-May 2, 2011. Pentagon asks Pakistan to 'do more' against terrorists: Repeating US concerns about the safe havens of the Taliban beyond the reach of NATO troops in Pakistan, a Pentagon report said on April 29 that "to consolidate progress in security in recent months, Pakistan needed to make more headway in eliminating the sanctuaries". In a twice-annual report to the US Congress, the Pentagon said that "a surge of foreign troops into Afghanistan has dealt a blow to the Taliban insurgency but total violence has risen since last fall". Daily Times , April 30, 2011. Jama'at Ulema-e-Islam a terrorist organisation, reveals WikiLeaks: The files of every Pakistani detainee held at Guantanamo Bay were released by WikiLeaks on April 27 which reveal the linkages between political and religious leaders calling on Pakistanis to join the jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan. In their assessments, detainees pointed to public speeches made at rallies by Jama'at-e-Islami (JI) leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Jama'at Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Tribune, April 30, 2011. ISI acts under Government instructions, claims Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on April 27 rejected the claims that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had ventured into any project without the Government's knowledge, and that the country's intelligence agencies were subservient to the Government and were not involved in any act that was against national interests. Gilani's defence of the ISI came in response to April 26 Western media reports of Guantánamo Bay files ranking ISI as a terrorist organisation along with al Qaeda and other such terrorist outfits. Daily Times, April 28, 2011. US listed
ISI as terrorist organization in Guantánamo cables, reveals
WikiLeaks: Another blow to already
tense relations between the United Sates and Pakistan
was dealt on April 25 when leaked official documents of
Guantánamo cables showed that the US administration had
placed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on a list
of terrorist outfits. In the documents, leaked by the
whistle-blowing WikiLeaks , US officials rank the ISI
alongside groups like Hezbollah, al Qaeda and the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Dawn,
April 26, 2011. SRI LANKA UN equates mass deaths in Sri Lanka to 'war crimes': A UN panel on April 25 said that though the Sri Lankan Army had killed most of the tens of thousands of civilian victims of a final offensive against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants in 2009, both sides were guilty of war crimes. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that though he could not order an international investigation into the deaths, UN would, nevertheless, hold an inquiry about the incidents in the final months of the war following criticism by the UN panel that more could have been done to save lives. Times of India, April 26, 2011. UN human rights chief renews call for an international investigation into Sri Lanka's war: Welcoming the public release of the report by the United Nations Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on the Sri Lanka's accountability during the last phase of the armed conflict, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on April 27 called for further international investigation on the alleged war crimes. Pillay accused the Sri Lankan government of conducting a war under the guise of fighting terrorism and killing thousands of civilians. Colombo Page, April 27, 2011. LTTE involved in trafficking drugs, human beings, says Europol report: The European Police Office (Europol) accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of being involved in the trafficking of drugs and human beings to raise funds for their terrorism activities. This was disclosed in the Europol's EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT). Colombo Page, April 26, 2011.
|
To receive FREE advance copies of SAIR by email Subscribe.
Recommend South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) to a friend.
|