SRI LANKA

Advancing Unfinished Agendas 
S. Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

In keeping with the Government's policy to release more security forces-held lands to the civilians, the Sri Lanka Army released another 133.34 acres on December 28, 2017, in the Keppapilavu area of Mullaitivu District to the civilian Tamil owners. As of December 1, 2017, the Army had released a total of 55,510.58 acres of land in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya Districts in the Northern Province, in addition to the 133.34 acres released on December 28 in Keppapilavu. As on March 1, 2016, the Army was occupying 67,427 acres of land belonging to Tamil civilians in the Northern Province. The Army commenced the gradual release of private property used by the armed forces after the conclusion of the Eelam War on May 17, 2009.

Earlier, Sri Lanka had transformed the Menik Farm Displacement Camp in Mullaitivu District into Menik Farm village, an apparel village with garment factories, as part of a new US$ 1.8 million national apparel initiative at village levels. The Displacement Camp was at one time considered the world’s largest refugee camp, sheltering close to 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). It was closed at the end of 2012, as all IDPs had been resettled. The national apparel village project aims at setting up 150 Mini Apparel Factories across the country. 73 of the 150 factories are dedicated to conflict affected areas, including 38 in the Northern Province and 35 in the Eastern Province. On November 14, 2017, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen addressing the opening ceremony of the first factory in the Menik Farm village, declaring, "We want these 150 factories to form their own apparel companies or cooperatives one day and share their profits among them. Reconciliation would be a distant dream without provision of livelihood to war affected families."

Meanwhile, furthering the constitution-making process, the Constitutional Assembly (CA), which was formed on March 9, 2016, to draft a new Constitution for the island nation, replacing the current Constitution adopted in 1978, had 10 meetings, so far. At the 6th to 10th meetings of the CA held on October 30, October 31, November 1, November 2 and November 8, 2017, an Interim Report of the Steering Committee set up under the CA was debated. The Interim Report was submitted to the CA by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as Chairman of the Steering Committee on September 21, 2017, and stressed that Sri Lanka should remain one undivided and indivisible country, where maximum devolution should be granted. It argued explicitly for the inclusion of specific provisions in the Constitution to prevent secession (division of the country). The report proposed that provincial councils would be the primary unit of devolution, while local bodies had been named as the implementing agency of both the central Government and the provincial councils.

Issuing a statement following the submission of the Interim Report, R. Sampanthan, Leader of the Opposition and of the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), stated, on September 21, 2017, “The successful conclusion of this Constitution-making process on the basis of an acceptable, reasonable and substantial national consensus would bring about a firm finality to this issue. Sri Lanka would perpetually be a united undivided and indivisible country in keeping with the basic and Supreme Law of the country, and on the basis of the free will and consent of its entire people.” Further, on January 3, 2018, Sampanthan added, “I have not the slightest doubt that we made the correct decision in backing Mr. Sirisena. We were sick of the Rajapaksa government which had been particularly unjust and unfair to the Tamil civilians. I have no regrets about the decision we made, though the Tamil people, and consequently those of us who represent them, expected greater performance from the government.” In the keenly contested Presidential Election  held on January 8, 2015, TNA supported common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the New Democratic Front (NDF), which emerged victorious, securing 6,217,162 votes (51.28 per cent) against 5,768,090 votes (47.58 per cent) polled by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent President and candidate of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).  

Significantly, in another step forward in Sri Lanka's path to sustained peace, and paving the way to set up the Office for Missing Persons (OMP) to trace around 20,000 people still missing eight years after the end of the nearly three-decade-long civil war, the Constitutional Council (CC) submitted the names of seven nominees for the OMP to President Maithripala Sirisena, on December 8, 2017. There were more than 100 applicants seeking to be members of the OMP, among whom the seven were selected, and their names had been sent to the President for approval. The Bill to establish the OMP was introduced on May 22, 2016, and on June 21, 2017, was passed unanimously in Parliament. On July 20, 2017, President Sirisena signed the OMP Act.

Notably, to launch a television channel to promote reconciliation, on December 20, 2017, the Cabinet approved the establishing of a “Channel of Reconciliation”, a television studio complex in the Northern Province. It was decided to obtain a land plot of 100 perches (3,025 square yards) for this purpose from the Meesalei Weerasingham Central College premises in Jaffna. Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation has been entrusted with this project according to a Cabinet paper submitted by Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera. Further, underlining the Government’s commitment to resolve the ethnic issue, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, while addressing a ceremony to distribute title deeds under the theme 'Our house in our land,' at Hatton Dunbar Grounds in Nuwara Eliya District noted, "The war is over, and the people elected Maithripala Sirisena as the President in January 2015 with a mandate to rebuild the country. But there is no development without peace. We as Sri Lankans have to unite as one. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has come forward for peace building for the first time. They wanted a political solution for their demands.”

Similarly, President Sirisena, addressing the Religious Coexistence Convention held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on December 12, 2017, observed, “Today, we are gathered here because deep down we know that we have a problem in this country. The ethnic and religious conflicts in this country resulted in a 30-year war. The war was ended through a military solution. Our Forces were able to defeat a separatist terrorist organization but we have not managed to defeat the beliefs that led to it. We all know that ideas and beliefs cannot be defeated with arms. It can only be replaced with a better, more positive belief. I strongly believe that our local temples and religious institutions do not preach conflict. The religious leaders always try to direct the people in the right direction. All philosophies, be it Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, strive try to correct society.”

Nevertheless, the assault of international organizations against the Sri Lanka Government continues. Human Rights Watch (HRW) Geneva Director John Fisher on November 15, 2017, urged the United Nations (UN) members to insist that Sri Lanka adopt an action plan and timeline to implement Geneva proposals as promised to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution adopted in October 2015, and argued, "The Sirisena government made key pledges at the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2015 to ensure justice, accountability, and security sector reform. The failure of the government to fulfill most of these promises has brought its commitment to reform into question and dashed hopes of victims and affected communities. Sri Lanka is in danger of not just standing still on rights, but backtracking on essential reforms. UN members need to look beyond the increasingly hollow promises of reform, and insist that the government present an action plan and timeline for honoring its commitments." Similarly, the three-member United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention comprising José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Leigh Toomey and Elina Steinerte who visited Sri Lanka from December 4-15, 2017, to assess the country' situation regarding the deprivation of liberty, on December 15, 2017, urged the Government to introduce urgent reforms to the 'outdated' legal framework to end arbitrary detention in the country. The delegation identified significant challenges to the enjoyment of the right to personal liberty in Sri Lanka, resulting in arbitrary detention across the country.

Meanwhile, on June 20, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers approved Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s proposal to appoint a Committee of Ministers chaired by him and a Committee of Officials to assist and to coordinate the UNHRC recommendations made in the consensus resolution adopted in October 2015. Further, on November 1, 2017, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe launched the five-year National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights at a ceremony held at the Parliament Complex. Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister declared the time had come to reaffirm human rights in the country. The National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights 2017-2021 documents goal-oriented activities in the Human Rights arena, aimed to strengthen national processes and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights through substantial constitutional, legislative, policy and administrative frameworks.

Through 2017, the National Unity Government (NUG) has made remarkable efforts to press forward the reconciliation process by reaching out to the Tamils and initiating constitutional and legal reforms. It has furthered the much-awaited Constitution-making process by debating the Interim Report of the CA Steering Committee in Parliament. It has also passed enabling legislation to establish the OMP to help find the missing persons of the war era. Colombo’s record on these parameters compares favorably with almost any other post-conflict society in the world, and certainly improves on the conduct of Western expeditionary forces in various theatres of strife across the world. But unrealistic expectations and criteria that are not applied to a multiplicity of conflicts – both current and past – are being imposed on Sri Lanka by elements within the international community. These are contaminating the discourse within the country, deepening polarization between the communities, and obstructing the process of reconciliation, rather than contributing in any constructive measure to a peaceful resolution.

India

Bihar: Lingering Dangers 
Deepak Kumar Nayak 
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper, Ashish Patra (29), was killed during an exchange of fire between Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres and Security Force (SF) personnel in the Chakarbandha Hills near Balthar village under Barachatti Tehsil (revenue unit) in Gaya District on January 2, 2018. According to sources, on January 1, after receiving specific intelligence regarding Maoists’ movement in the area, a search operation was launched by the SFs. On the next day (January 2), at around 3.30pm, an exchange of fire took place between the two sides in which the CRPF trooper sustained injuries and died later.

It was the first fatality recorded in this category (SFs) in the State, after a gap of almost one year and three months. The last SF fatality was registered on October 3, 2016, when three motorcycle-borne suspected CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Quuam Ansari, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Kotchi Police Station, in Gaya District. The OIC was on a morning walk when the assailants attacked, killing him on the spot.

Remarkably, in 2017, SFs had achieved their best ever kill ratio against the Maoists, on year on year basis, since the formation of CPI-Maoist in 2004. They had killed nine Maoists without suffering a single loss in 2017. By contrast, in 2016, they had lost 15 of their own personnel, killing just nine Maoists.

Further, SFs arrested 98 Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) through 2017. The arrested cadres included three ‘area commanders’, one ‘zonal commander’, and one 'secretary' of the North Bihar Zonal Committee (NBZC) of the CPI-Maoist. Most recently, on December 14, 2017, Police arrested Manoj Sada, a CPI-Maoist 'area commander', active in Farakiya diara (riverine area) under Morkahi Police Station area in Khagaria District, was arrested from his hideout at Jhamakia Musahari by the Police. A pistol and some live cartridges were recovered from his possession. SFs arrested 104 Maoists in 2016.

Mounting SF pressure also led to the surrender of 17 LWEs in 2017, in addition to 24 surrenders in 2016. The cadres who surrendered in 2017 included Maheshi Yadav, a Maoist 'zonal commander' of the Morhar Nilanjan sub-zone. Yadav carried a reward of INR 50,000 on his head.

At least 25 incidents of recovery of arms and ammunition by SF personnel were reported in 2017. In a recent incident of recovery, on December 26, 2017, the Police seized an AK-47 rifle, a semi-automatic rifle, five country-made pistols, four revolvers and over 700 live cartridges during a raid at Tikarampur under the Mufassil Police Station in Monghyr District. There were 32 such instances of recovery in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the trend of declining fatalities in LWE)-linked violence established since 2011, with two exceptions in 2012 and 2016, was re-established in 2017. According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 24 persons, including 15 civilians and nine Maoists, were killed in the State in 2017, as against 32 persons, including eight civilians, 15 SF personnel and nine Maoists, killed in 2016. Significantly, 2015 had witnessed the lowest number of such fatalities, nine (four civilians, three SF personnel and two Maoists) recorded in the State since the formation of CPI-Maoist in September 2004. A lone fatality (SF, January 2) has been reported in the current year so far (data till January 7, 2018).

Unsurprisingly, on July 26, 2017, Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, the Director General (DG) of the CRPF, claimed that the area controlled by CPI-Maoist had "shrunk in three States in the last two and a half years… There is substantial decline in areas controlled by Naxals [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)] in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Disturbances in these areas are very less…"

However, other parameters of violence suggest that the Maoists still retain a significant presence and operational capabilities. Fatalities among civilians are witnessing an increase in recent years. After, touching an all time low of four fatalities in this category in 2015, the lowest recorded in the State since the formation of CPI-Maoist in September 2004, it doubled to eight in 2016, and almost doubled further in 2017, reaching 15. Most recently, on December 18, 2017, CPI-Maoist cadres abducted and hacked to death two security guards of a private Construction Company in Jamui District.

In addition, the Maoists carried out three blasts in 2017, in addition to four in 2016. They attacked railway properties on at least three occasions each, in both these years. Also, they were found involved in 11 incidents of arson in 2017, and 10 in 2016. At least eight incidents of abduction (in which 18 persons were abducted) by Maoists were reported in 2017 as against just two incidents (in which six persons were abducted) in 2016.

The Maoists also issued six bandh (shut down strike) calls on different issues in 2017, in comparison to four such calls in 2016. The December 18-20, 2017, bandh witnessed the most violence, when an armed squad of about 15 CPI-Maoist cadres, including some women, carried out an attack at the Masudan Railway Station in the Jamalpur area of Monghyr District in the night of December 19, 2017, at around 11 pm. The Maoists set ablaze station property, including the signaling panel, hampering rail services, and abducted two railway employees present at the station - Assistant Station Master [ASM] Mukesh Paswan and porter Narendra Mandal. After the State Police and CRPF launched a joint search operation, the Maoists released the two men in a hilly area at Jamalpur. According to the SATP database, Bihar has accounted for at least 62 Maoist-linked attacks on the Railways since September 21, 2004 (data till January 7, 2018). These attacks have resulted in 25 deaths (nine civilians and 16 SF personnel) and 32 persons injured.

Meanwhile, according to CRPF sources, three pockets – the Jamui/Nawada/Giridih triangular section, the Gaya Aurangabad section, and the Lakhisarai/ Monghyr/ Banka/ Jamui section – still record significant CPI-Maoist influence. For instance, a report dated December 25, 2017, noted that three groups, each comprising of 20-25 CPI-Maoist cadres, were seen in the border areas of Banka District.

Disturbingly, splinter groups of the CPI-Maoist, such as the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), mainly based in Jharkhand, also continues to made their presence felt in Bihar as well. On October 16, 2017, PLFI cadres shot dead a contractor after he refused to comply with extortion demands at Diha village under the Guraru Police Station area in Gaya District. Police said contractor Ramadhar Singh was allegedly shot dead by armed squad of the PLFI, after he refused to pay the "levy" demanded by them. On April 9, 2017, suspected cadres of the TPC, raided the construction site of Gas India Limited (GAIL), the agency engaged in laying gas pipeline passing through Gurua Police Station area of Gaya District of Bihar, and ‘ordered’ stoppage of work for the company's failure to pay the 'levy' demanded by the outfit. On March 1, 2017, the TPC 'zonal commander' Anil Kushwaha aka Rakesh Mishra and 10 cadres killed one Jitendra Kharwar (18) over delay in serving them food in Rohtas District.

Meanwhile, according to a December 13, 2017, report, the Centre and the State Government have devised a strategy to combat the Maoist menace in Bihar. Under the new strategy, named ‘Mission 100’, hundred people will be identified and brought to book for their involvement in organised crime and Maoist activities. Under the ‘mission’, the central agencies would strike at the source of income (read extortion) of the Maoists and also confiscate the ill-gotten property of their strategists. The report stated further that in November 2017, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the process of attaching the property of two senior Maoists – Pradyuman Sharma aka Kundan, head of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC)’s Magadh zone, and Sandeep Yadav aka Badka Bhaiya, in charge of the BJSAC’s Madhya zone. Yadav carries an INR 500,000 reward on his head in Bihar and INR 2.5 million in Jharkhand. Similarly, the Bihar Government has announced INR 50,000 on Sharma while he carries a reward of INR 500,000 in Jharkhand. Bihar's Special Task Force (STF) disclosed that Sandeep and his family have accumulated assets worth INR 15.2 million, and Pradyuman and his family members have property worth more than INR 12.8 million. Inspector General of Police (Operations) Kundan Krishnan disclosed, “Sandeep’s wife Rajwanti Devi, who is enrolled as a contract teacher at a Banke Bazar (Gaya) primary school, has withdrawn salary of Rs 675,424 over the years but she does not go to the school. Such is Sandeep’s terror that no one has lodged a complaint on it so far. Rajwanti’s bank balance is Rs 749,546, which is disproportionate to her known sources of income.” The report also says Rajwanti owns a .66 acres plot in Gaya, valued at approximately INR 5 million, and a flat in Ranchi worth INR 3 million. Sandeep’s brother Dhan is also a Maoist. Meanwhile, Pradyuman and wife Shanti Devi have millions deposited in his bank, while their children study in expensive private institutions. His brother Pramod, resident of Hulasganj in Jehanabad District, reportedly owns 38 small- and medium-sized plots, mostly of agricultural land, said to be worth INR 5 million in all.

Further, the State has deployed 10 battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to fight LWEs. These include seven battalions of CRPF (five regular and two Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, CoBRA, battalions) and three battalions of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Further, four helicopters have been stationed in the Ranchi District of neighboring Jharkhand for anti-Maoist operations in Bihar.

The fight still lacks critical muscle, as the Bihar Police continues to lag in terms of capacities to deal with the challenge. According to the latest Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data, as on January 1, 2017, Bihar has 74.76 Police personnel per 100,000 population, the lowest in the country and far below the national average of 150.75. Bihar, however, fares better than the national average on Police/Area Ratio (number of policemen per 100 square kilometers) at 83.05, as against the national average of 60.83. In both these categories, the sanctioned strength for Bihar is much higher, at 107.73 and 119.67 respectively. Moreover, there are 42 vacancies of IPS officers in the State against the sanctioned strength of 231. An unnamed senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the State disclosed on December 30, 2017, that among the 189 serving IPS officers in the Bihar cadre, 36 were on central deputation.

The Maoist rebels are persistent in their efforts to restore their sway in the State. The Administration, consequently needs to gear up and strengthen its responses – particularly in terms of State Police capacities - to neutralize the enduring Maoist challenge.

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia 
January 1-7, 2018 

 

	Civilians	Security Force Personnel	Terrorists/Insurgents	Total
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir	1	4	1	6
Manipur	1	0	0	1
Left-Wing Extremism
Bihar	0	1	0	1
Chhattisgarh	1	1	3	5
INDIA (Total)	3	6	4	13
PAKISTAN
Balochistan	0	2	4	6
KP	0	0	2	2
Sindh	0	0	3	3
PAKISTAN (Total)	0	2	9	11

Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.

 

 

INDIA

No presence of Taliban and IS in Jammu and Kashmir, says Minister: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir, on January 3, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) said that as per government reports, there was no presence of IS [Islamic State or Daesh] and Taliban, but that the Ansar Gazwat ul-Hind which was formed and led by Zakir Musa has been active on social media. News18, January 4, 2018.

Jaish-e-Mohammed renamed as Al Murabitoon amid growing pressure on Pakistan, says report: Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been ‘secretly’ renamed as 'Al Murabitoon'. The rechristening of JeM founded by Masood Azhar, who is wanted in India in connection with severalterror attack cases, has come at a time when India has been lobbying hard at the United Nations (UN) for more sanctions against the outfit. According to inputs received from the intelligence agencies, the JeM is now using its new identity to secure entry into the universities and colleges across Pakistan. Zee News, January 4, 2018.

UK's 'banned terrorist organisations' list includes six anti-India groups: Six ‘anti-india’ outfits remain proscribed in the United Kingdom’s (UK) list of ‘Proscribed Terrorist Organisations’ that includes 74 groups operating in and across various nations. Out of six, four groups related to the terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), namely Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Islami (HuJI), Harakat Mujahideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and its splinter group Khuddam Ul-Islam (KuI), and Jamaat Ul-Furquan (JuF).Hindustan Times, January 4, 2018.

More than 12,000 cases of cybercrime registered in 2016, says the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad: The Minister of Electronics & Information Technology (MoE&IT) Ravi Shankar Prasad, on January 5, informed the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament of India) that in 2016, total 12,317 cases of cybercrime were registered which depicts the significant growth in comparison to last three years. The data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the Indian-Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), around 79 phishing attacks had affected 22 financial institutions, 13 cases were related to affecting ATMs, Point-of-Sales (PoS) systems and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Firstpost, January 6, 2018.

5,500 kilometres of roads approved in Maoist-affected areas, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh L. Mandaviya informs Parliament: The Union Government has sanctioned around 5,500 kilometres of National Highways and State roads for improvement of road connectivity in Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)-hit areas in eight States, Parliament was informed on January 4. The Government had in 2009 approved a Road Requirement Plan (RRP) for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas of 34 Districts in eight States - Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. sify.com, January 5, 2018.

No amnesty to militants and Maoists, says Government: The Government has no plans to give general amnesty to the militants in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists who give up violence and arms struggle, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) was informed on January 2. “There is no proposal for general amnesty to the militants,” Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a reply to a written question in Lok Sabha. Daily Excelsior , January 3, 2018.

NEPAL

All-party meet fails to reach consensus: An all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on January 4 to finalize the announcement of National Assembly (NA) election date, appointment of province chiefs and declaration of temporary provincial headquarters failed to reach consensus. PM Deuba put forth a proposal to finalise these matters on the basis of political consensus in the all-party meeting held in Baluwatar, in line with his plan to decide on the aforementioned issues in a Cabinet meeting. The Himalayan Times, January 5, 2018.

Government proposes interim headquarters for all provinces: The Government has proposed temporary headquarters for all seven provinces, from which administrative works of the respective provinces will be carried out for the time being. According to Hari Prasad Panthi, Spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, a team of experts headed by Joint-secretary Rajendra Paudel serving at the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) proposed Gothgaun of Morang as temporary headquarters of Province 1, Janakpur of Province 2, Thimi of Province 3, Pokhara of Province 4, Dang of Province 5, Surkhet of Province 6 and Deepayal or Dhangadhi of Province 7. The Himalayan Times, January 3, 2018

PAKISTAN

Pakistan has given us "nothing but lies and deceit", tweets US President Donald Trump: United States President Donald Trump tweeted on January 1 that Pakistan had given Washington “nothing but lies and deceit”. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools” he tweeted.Dawn, January 2, 2018.

US to suspend all security aid to Pakistan, says State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert: State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert on January 4  said that United States (US) will suspend all security aid to Pakistan starting from January 5 until Islamabad acts against terrorist groups.  The suspension includes USD 255 million in Foreign Military Funding (FMF) for the fiscal year 2016 as mandated by the US Congress and USD 900 million of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) money to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017. Indian Express, January 7, 2018.

Over 50000 casualties and $123 billion loss sustained by Pakistan in 'war against terrorism', tweets Government of Pakistan: Government of Pakistan in a tweeted that Pakistan had sustained over 50000 casualties and $123 billion losses in the ‘war against terrorism’ on January 2. For the period 2003-2017 Pakistan suffered 62,421 casualties. In 2013, at least 5,379 Pakistanis were killed in terrorist attacks followed by 5,496 in 2014 3,682 in 2015 1,830 in 2016 and 924 in 2017. Tribune, January 7, 2018.

6,112 civilians killed in FATA in ‘war against terrorism’ since 2001, confirms FATA officials: Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Law and Order Officials confirmed on January 2 that 6,112 civilians were killed and another 6,707 others have been injured in the ‘war against terrorism’ since 2001 (period not specified during a meeting of the standing committee on the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) in Islamabad. Families of the killed have been paid 3.7 billion rupees in compensation so far. Families of 244 Levies and 178 Khasadar Personnel were among the 5,690 civilians, who had received the compensation amount. Tribune, January 3, 2018.

'Misunderstandings' between US and Pakistan will negatively impact Afghanistan, says DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor: Director General (DG) Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said on January 3 that any ‘misunderstandings’ between United States (US) and Pakistan could negatively impact security situation in Afghanistan. He added that India played a destabilising role in the region and encouraged terrorism in Pakistan through Afghanistan territory. Dawn, January 4, 2018.

 

PAKISTAN