South Asia Terrorism Portal
Pakistan: Balochistan: Targeting Outsiders Ajit Kumar Singh Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On June 20, 2022, two labourers from Sindh were shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Hoshab area of Kech District in Balochistan. Four assailants riding motorcycles opened fire on the office of a road construction company in the zero-point area of Hoshab and killed the labourers, who were working on an under-construction road that would link Turbat with Hoshab.
On June 17, 2022, three workers were killed and as many wounded in an armed attack on a labour camp in the Chapar Lift area of Harnai District. The attackers set fire to the camp, leaving it completely gutted. A number of vehicles were also set on fire by the armed men. The labourers were working on a government project. The ethnic identity of the labourers is yet to be confirmed.
On June 13, unidentified armed persons abducted four employees, including two engineers, of the Habibullah Coal Company, from the Hanna Urak area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. They were identified as mining engineer Sher Bahadur from Chakwal (Punjab), mining engineer Mehran Khan of Swabi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KP), storekeeper Sultan from Muzaffarabad (Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir) and Waqas Khan from Chakwal. At the time of writing, the whereabouts of the abducted persons were still unknown. “The motive behind the kidnapping is not known,” an unnamed police official stated. Reports indicate that thousands of coalminers belonging to KP and Punjab are working in the province.
Significantly, after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, leader of the Bugti tribe and President of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), in a military operation in the Chalgri area of the Bhamboor Hills of Dera Bugti District, on August 26, 2006, Baloch insurgents started targeting ‘outsiders’, mainly Punjabis, as they believed that that these ‘outsiders’ worked as spies for the Pakistani Security Forces (SFs), and were also part of a systematic effort to deny work and benefits to the Baloch population. Baloch insurgent groups such as the Baloch Liberation Front (BLA), Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), among others, began to voice anti-Punjabi sentiments in their campaigns in the wake of the military action against Bugti.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 243 ‘outsiders’ have been killed in Balochistan since August 26, 2006, (data till June 26, 2022). Out of these, 187 were Punjabis. Other non-native persons also fell to the ethnic collateral damage. Out of 56 non-Punjabi ‘outsiders’, 37 were Sindhis, while the ethnic identity of the remaining 19 remains unconfirmed.
Significantly, most of the Punjabi settler killings were recorded in South Balochistan, which accounts for 157 killings out of the total of 187, (principally in Bolan, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Sibi and Lasbela Districts); and 30 in North Balochistan (mostly in Nushki, Quetta and Mustang Districts). The overwhelming concentration of such killings in the South is because of the presence and dominance of Baloch insurgent groups in this region, while the North is dominated by ethnic Pashtun Islamist extremist formations such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), who engage principally in sectarian killings.
Referring to the killings of Punjabis, Muhammad Khalid of Balochistan-Punjabi Ittehad stated,
Meanwhile, another reason for the Baloch insurgents targeting these ‘outsiders’ is the Pakistani SFs’ engagement in ongoing disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch nationals. Indeed, according to partial data compiled by the SATP, of the 4,498 civilian fatalities recorded in Balochistan since 2004 (data till June 26, 2022), at least 1,419 have been attributable to one or other terrorist/insurgent outfit. Of these, 448 civilian killings (276 in the South and 172 in the North) have been claimed by Baloch separatist formations, while Islamist and sectarian extremist formations – primarily Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), TTP and Ahrar-ul-Hind (Liberators of India) – claimed responsibility for another 971 civilian killings, 888 in the North (mostly in and around Quetta) and 83 in the South. The remaining 3,074 civilian fatalities – 1,729 in the South and 1,345 in the North – remain 'unattributed'. It is widely believed that these are the result of the Security Agencies’ “kill and dump” operations, particularly in the Southern region, against local Baloch dissidents, a reality that Pakistan’s Supreme Court has clearly recognized.
Further, many of the ‘outsiders’ are engaged in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and are targeted because Baloch insurgents fear that the CPEC will convert the Baloch people into minorities in their own homeland. Indeed, CPEC projects employ workers brought in from outside the province, principally from Punjab.
On March 17, 2017, Noordin Mengal, a human rights campaigner from the province, had stated that, with an influx of outsiders as a result of the CPEC projects, the identity of the Baloch was being threatened. According to the Census 2017, the total population of Balochistan was 12.3 million, and that the Baloch population (Balochi language speaking population) had shrunk from 61 per cent of the total to 55.6 per cent over a period of 19 years (since the Census 1998), in the 21 Districts where the Balochi-speaking population form a majority.
Meanwhile, a December 28, 2016, report by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry noted that, at the current and projected rate of influx of Chinese nationals into Balochistan, the native population of the area would be outnumbered by 2048. It is, consequently, not surprising that Chinese nationals are under increasing threat as well. According to partial data compiled by SATP, since July 19, 2007, at least 13 attacks directly targeting Chinese nationals have been recorded, resulting in 77 deaths (data till June 26, 2022). The dead included 10 Chinese nationals, 13 Pakistani SF personnel, 41 Pakistani civilians and 10 attackers. Another, 53 persons, including six Chinese nationals, have been injured in these attacks. The worst attack targeting Chinese nationals was recorded on July 19, 2007, when a suicide bomber tried to ram his explosive laden vehicle into a van taking Chinese engineers to Karachi from Hub town, at the Gadani Bus Stop in the industrial town of Hub in Balochistan, but missed the target when a Police van blocked its way. At least 30 people, including seven Policemen, were killed and 28 were injured. All seven Chinese engineers, including a woman, remained unhurt. This was also the first attack directly targeting Chinese nationals.
Most recently, on May 16, 2022, the Counter-Terrorism Department arrested a female suicide bomber of BLA, identified as Noor Jehan along with her accomplice, during a raid in the Hoshab area of Kech District in Balochistan. Noor Jehan had been tasked to target a Chinese convoy on the CPEC route,
Meanwhile, the overall security situation Balochistan is deteriorating rapidly. With over six months still left in the current year, the province has already recorded 202 fatalities (35 civilians, 104 SF personnel and 63 terrorists, data till June 26). There were 134 fatalities (62 civilians, 49 SF personnel 23 terrorists) in the corresponding period of 2021, and 308 fatalities in the whole of 2021.
The state’s policies, the neglect of the rights of the Baloch people, and the insecure environment in the province are likely to result in increasing attacks on ‘outsiders’ in the province, in the people’s efforts to obstruct the Pakistani state’s agenda of engineering a demographic transformation of the province.
Madhya Pradesh: Balaghat: Red Spread Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On June 20, 2022, three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Nagesh aka Raju Tulavi (40), Manoj (25) and a woman Maoist, Rame (26), were killed by a team of 50 personnel of the Hawk Force [the special anti-Naxal Force of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Police], in an encounter in the Lodhangi Forest area under Bahela Police Station limits in Balaghat District. Acting on information about the presence of a few Maoist (Left Wing Extremism, LWE, or Naxalites) cadres on the hills of Kharadi village, about 70 kilometres from the District Headquarters, Balaghat, the Hawk Force team launched the combing operation, in which the Maoists, who collectively carried a reward of over INR 5.7 million on their heads, were killed. Police seized one AK-47 rifle, one .303 rifle, one revolver, two wireless communicators, detonators, a pressure cooker bomb and other explosives from the location.
According to reports, the slain Maoists had been tasked with expanding Maoist activities in the ‘Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone.’
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, Balaghat has recorded at least two Maoist-linked incidents of killing in the current year, resulting in four fatalities (one civilian and three Maoists) thus far, (data till June 26, 2022). The total number of Maoist-linked incidents of killing reported from the District, since the formation of the CPI-Maoist on September 21, 2004, is 23 [10 civilians, three Security Force (SF) personnel, and 10 Maoists]. The first Maoist-linked incident of killing in the District was recorded on April 20, 2000, when Naxalites laid an ambush on a Police party in Balaghat District, killing two Policemen and injuring another.
It was almost after 10 years that the next killing was reported. On September 22, 2010, a trooper of the Hawk Force was killed and another was injured in an CPI-Maoist ambush near Sitapala in Balaghat District. Incidentally, this is the last SF fatality recorded in the District.
On the other hand, the first Maoist killing was reported on May 26, 2012. The next killing in this category was on November 24, 2018. It was the lone fatality in 2018. Two Maoists were killed in 2019, three in 2020, none in 2021 and three in 2022 (till June 26).
Significantly, the overall SF:Naxalite kill ratio has remained in favour of the SFs, since March 6, 2000, at 1: 3.33.
Moreover, though no Maoist has been arrested or surrendered in the current year, since March 6, 2000, a total of 30 LWEs have been arrested and seven have surrendered.
The first civilian killing in the District was reported on April 16, 2016. One more civilian fatality was reported in 2016. There was one civilian fatality in 2017, none in 2018, two in 2019, one in 2020, three in 2021 and one in 2022 (till June 26). The last civilian killing was recorded in the District on March 23, 2022, when a villager, identified as Sukhdev Parte, employed as a forest camp assistant, was abducted and shot dead by CPI-Maoist cadres, who suspected he was a ‘Police informer.’ He was executed near the Kanha National Park in Balaghat District.
Reports indicate that, at present, six Dalams (armed squad) – Tanda, Darekasa, Malajkhand, Expansion-2 and Expansion-3, and Cot – are active in Balaghat and surrounding forests. Each team has an average of 20 cadres. Police Headquarters also believes that 100 to 110 Naxalites are active in and around Balaghat.
Indeed, on June 20, 2022, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Balaghat zone, Sanjay Kumar Singh, noted, “There has been expansion [of Maoist activities in the area].”
Balaghat is considered a strategically important District for the Maoists, as it has all that is required to facilitate the rebels’ activities – difficult terrain, dense forests, a vulnerable population and extreme backwardness. In addition, with a total area of 9,245 square kilometres, Balaghat has about 85 per cent under forest cover, occupies the south eastern portion of the Satpura Range and the upper valley of the Wainganga River, that makes it difficult to access.
CPI-Maoist has been forced to launch its ‘Vistaar Abhiyan’ (expansion effort) due to its shrinking footprint in Chhattisgarh. The ‘MMC zone’ was created in 2015-16 to spread its footprints in Districts of Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori and Singrauli, bordering the adjoining Chhattisgarh State. The ‘MMC zone’ was divided into two divisions, Gondia-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat (GRB) division, and Kanha-Bhoramdeo (KB) division. The latter is largely uninhabited, as Kanha and Bhoramdeo are interconnected through a thick swathe of forest, and are located on the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border. Further, one of the primary reasons for developing the ‘MMC zone’ is the proximity of the Amarkantak forests to forests of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha, which gives the insurgents a through-the-forest-safe-passage to these States. It is a route well-connected to Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.
On June 19, 2021, in view of the Naxal challenge in the District, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) included Balaghat in its list of ‘25 Most Affected Districts’ in eight States across India. Balaghat is also included among the 70 Naxal-affected Districts in 10 States, to be covered under the Centre’s ‘Security Related Expenditure (SRE)’ scheme, which funds focused operations against the extremists.
Meanwhile, the State is taking measures to deal with the threat. On June 20, 2022, IGP Singh disclosed, “we are reworking our strategy with positions of our Hawk Forces improved and expanded. We have also asked the state government for more troops.”
Further, on June 20, 2022, IGP, Naxal Operation, Sajid Farid Shapoo, stated,
Interestingly, however, a June 24, 2022, report revealed that, though the Police had prepared records of Naxalites in the State, it does not even have photos of many. Even where photos are available, they are 10 to 20 years old, and in such a situation, it is difficult to identify them. Further, the Naxalites are also marrying the daughters of villagers to make inroads into villages and win the trust of the tribals.
Meanwhile, according to reports, in order to bring LWEs into the ‘mainstream,’ the MP Government has formulated a surrender and rehabilitation policy for Maoists which, is pending approval by the Cabinet, and is expected to get a final nod by the end of June 2022. The upcoming rehabilitation and surrender policy includes provisions for a one-year parole for jailed Maoists who provide information on their comrades. It will offer INR 500,000 as reward and also INR 6,000 monthly for 36 months, as well as professional training to restart their lives. The policy has provisions for unmarried Maoists, who will get INR 25,000 for weddings. They will also be given health insurance under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and rations under the food security scheme.
Further, talking about the overall strategy on June 11, 2022, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan disclosed,
Facing an existential crisis in their erstwhile strongholds, the Maoist are strategically focusing on wider areas and have found Balaghat and its surrounding expanses suitable for a safe haven. However, persistence and vigilance on the part of SFs has successfully restricted Maoist areas of operation and control. Nevertheless, the risk of Maoist consolidation in the region persists and will require focused attention on the part of the SFs as well as the civil administration to push the marginal presence of the rebels out of these strategically critical crossways.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia June 20-26, 2022
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
Bangladesh
Islamist
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
Manipur
India (Left-Wing Extremism)
Chhattisgarh
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Odisha
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
KP
Sindh
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
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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.
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