South Asia Terrorism Portal
Media under the Sword Sanchita Bhattacharya Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On July 31, 2023, the Taliban detained three journalists – Najib Faryad from Ariana News, and two local journalists, Hatef Aryan and Sebghatullah Turan – in Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of Balkh Province. Till the time of writing, local Taliban officials in the province had not provided any official statement regarding this incident.
On July 12, 2023, Radio Safa reporter Irfanullah Bidar was arrested by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) from Jalalabad, Nangarhar province.
On June 18, 2023, journalist Reza Shahir was arrested by the Taliban as he crossed the border from Iran into Afghanistan in Zabul District. After his arrest, he was taken to an unknown location, where he was interrogated and tortured. It remains unclear whether Shahir was released or if he escaped in the night of June 19. Shahir, a reporter with Rah-e-Farda TV, left Afghanistan at the start of Taliban control in August 2021, taking refuge in Iran.
On May 9, 2023, the Taliban detained four journalists (names not available) in Khost Province. While one was from Gharghesht Television Network, the other three (one each) were from three different private local radio stations, Chinar, Wolus Ghazh (People’s Voice) and Nan (Today).
On April 6, 2023, the Taliban arrested three journalists – Gholam-Ali Wahdat, from the Tanwir television network; Safiullah Wafa and Noor-Agha from Radio Television Afghanistan – from their respective homes in Pul-e-Khumri, the capital city of Baghlan Province.
On January 7, 2023, Mortaza Behboudi, a French-American journalist was arrested by the Taliban in Kabul.
According to partial data collated by Institute for Conflict Management, since August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power, at least 12 journalists have been arrested in seven incidents (data till August 6, 2023).
However, a May 2, 2023, Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) report claimed that 70 journalists – of which at least two reporters (Murtaza Behbudi and Khairullah Parhar) are still in Taliban custody – had been arrested just since the previous World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2022. The report added that the findings of AFJC indicate that, during this period, at least 213 incidents of violence, threats, and detention of journalists had been recorded in the country.
Apart from frequent arrest and detention of journalists on March 12, 2023, three persons were killed and 30 were injured in an Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP) orchestrated bomb blast carried out during a ceremony to honour journalists at the Tebyan Cultural Center in Police District–2 of Mazar-e-Sharif, capital city of Balkh Province.
In the almost two years since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, journalists, reporters, and media personnel have experienced a dramatic increase in arrests, harassment, and coercion, especially stemming directly from Taliban forces or the GDI.
Commenting on the present situation on July 25, 2023, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) observed,
Apart from individual journalist, media outlets as a whole have also been targeted. As reported by BBC on March 21, 2023, Afghan media have faced multiple difficulties since the Taliban's return to power. Outlets have endured severe restrictions, an economic crisis and waning Western support. There is growing self-censorship and editorial appeasement of the Taliban. Freedom of expression has largely disappeared. More than 300 media outlets have closed and many journalists and media activists have left the country. The AFJC report of May 2, 2023, also claimed that roughly half of 600 media outlets have ceased operation due to restrictions imposed by the ruling regime as well as economic problems.
The Paris-based, Reporters Without Borders stated on May 3, 2023,
It is pertinent to recall here that, on November 21, 2021, just a few months after ‘coming to power’, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Zabihullah Mujahid had declared that all media outlets must observe ‘Islamic values’. “The media outlets have the status of a tribune and should work to enlighten the public and the new generation,” Zabihullah Mujahid asserted, at a joint meeting of the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Ministry of Ethics. Then, in July, 2022, Taliban ‘supreme leader’ Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada went further, warning reporters that they would be punished for ‘defaming’ government officials.
The insecurity and safety anxieties that have defined the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan have resulted in a growing Afghan journalist exodus, with hundreds escaping into neighbouring Iran, Pakistan or beyond, undermining the media's capacity to articulate public opinion and important coverage, particularly in newspapers, on various Taliban ‘activities’. The Taliban want to suppress the voice of reason and, in doing so, target the media, creating enormous pressure on journalists and media organisations.
The Taliban has issued various ‘directives’ for journalists at provincial levels as well. For instance, on July 15, 2023, local media officials and journalists revealed that, in the Badghis Province, the Taliban had prohibited them from reporting on suicide attacks and targeted killings in the province, though the number of such incidents continued to rise. Journalists are only allowed to cover events if accompanied by Taliban officials, and reporting on such incidents requires Taliban approval, they added. Earlier, on February 20, 2023, a decree issued by Mufti Muhammad Edris Anwari, the Taliban’s deputy-governor in Parwan, stated that all media outlets must publish content approved by the Bakhtar News Agency. Also, on December 8, 2022, following a gathering organised between the government and media in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, the officials imposed further restrictions on media outlets, instead of introducing a comprehensive roadmap.
“We have experienced limitations on media after the takeover of the current regime. Unfortunately, these restrictions will further push the media to the margin,” said Khawja Abdul Baseer Abid, head of a private media outlet in Balkh Province.
Women have suffered most in the carnage inflicted on Afghan journalism and have disappeared completely from the media landscape in 11 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces – Badghis, Daikundi, Ghazni, Nimroz, Zabul, Nuristan, Paktika, Wardak, Paktia, Samangan and Helmand. Allegations of “immorality or conduct contrary to society’s values” are widely used as excuses for harassing women journalists and sending them home. This fundamentalist worldview in the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s official discourse resulted in women TV presenters being made to cover their faces while on camera. A December 2021 report, In Their Own Words: Afghan Women Journalist Speaks, from the IFJ, found that 95 per cent of Afghan women journalists had become unemployed.
As expected, the overall crackdown on the media means that some of Afghanistan’s most important stories are going unreported and its citizens are left uninformed. For example, issues like women’s rights, brutal use of force against people not obeying strict Sharia rules, food shortages, and school curriculums being overhauled by the Taliban, are either not reported or reported in a muted manner under Taliban dictates.
Social media is also not safe from Taliban control. As the Taliban has grown more tech-savvy, social media accounts are also regularly monitored. The Taliban’s GDI has monitored influential social media accounts and has detained individuals for posting criticism online. For instance, on February 12, 2023, Taliban arrested social media influencer Imran Ahmadzai from Kabul. Earlier on June 5, 2022, Taliban arrested an Afghan model and social media influencer, Ajmal Haqiqi, for allegedly "insulting Islamic sacred value" as the model, along with three others, had reportedly used the verses of Quran in a "humorous manner" in a video.
The Taliban is not only stifling media houses, but every independent voice coming out of Afghanistan. The voices of resistance, reason, protest and independence are violently crushed and silenced by the regime, especially by GDI. The courage of the common man is being challenged daily in a long drawn battle between the Taliban’s Islamist repression and the freedom of the Afghan citizen.
Chhattisgrah: Narayanpur: Lees of Terror Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On July 22, 2023, a civilian, Sukka Singh Kachalam, was killed by cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on suspicion of being a ‘police informer’, at Rotad village under Chhotedongar Police Station limits in Narayanpur District.
On March 28, 2023, a civilian, Ramji Dodi, was abducted along with two of his nephews and taken to a jungle where he was allegedly strangled to death by the Maoists, in Jhara village of Narayanpur Tehsil (revenue unit) in Narayanpur District. The Police said the nephews of Ramji were released with his body and a letter mentioning that he was murdered for being a ‘mukhbir’ (police informer). Ramji was the deputy Sarpanch (deputy head of the Panchayat, village level local self-Government institution) of Zara village five years earlier.
On February 10, 2023, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Sagar Sahu, vice president of the BJP's Narayanpur District unit, was shot dead by cadres of the CPI-Maoist at his home in Chhotedongar village in Narayanpur District. The Maoists came on a motorcycle, barged into the leader’s house, and shot him in front of his family members with an AK-47.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least four civilians have been killed in Narayanpur District thus far in 2023 (all data till August 6). There was no civilian fatality during the corresponding period in 2022. In the remaining period of 2022, one civilian fatality was recorded. There were six fatalities in this category in 2021, the highest in a year since 2017. The previous high of five was recorded twice, in 2007 and 2010.
On May 11, 2007, Narayanpur was carved out from the erstwhile Bastar District and, since then, a total of 37 civilian fatalities have been recorded in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked violence in the district.
The rise in civilian killings in the current year is not surprising as the recent trend shows an escalation in Maoist activities. So far in 2023, one Security Force (SF) trooper has been killed, while there has been no Maoist fatality. In 2022, there were two SF fatalities, as against one fatality in the Maoist category. On October 16, 2022, Ungi Mandavi, a female CPI-Maoist cadre who was injured in an encounter in the border area of Kanker District near Devgaon and Huchadi in Narayanpur District, died during treatment. The news of her death was given by the Maoists through a pamphlet, in which the Maoists said that the State Government was opening the Rawghat mine by displacing lakhs of people to benefit multinational companies. The pamphlet also alleged that common people were being killed through fake encounters to suppress the ongoing tribal campaign against the Rawghat mine. Significantly, in 2021, the kill ratio was 3.66:1 (11 SF personnel, three Maoists). An equal number of fatalities, two each, were recorded in both categories in 2020. The SFs had a positive kill ratio in 2019, at 1:6 (one trooper, six Maoists), the last instance in which SF dominance was demonstrated.
Since 2007, a total of 81 SF personnel and 115 Maoists have been killed in the district, establishing a ratio marginally in favor of the SFs, at 1:1.41.
Search operations and combing raids have resulted in the arrest of 415 Maoists in the District since May 11, 2007, including 11 arrests recorded in the current year, according to SATP data. Besides, mounting SF pressure has also led to the surrender of 726 Maoists since 2007, including one in 2023. The SFs recovered arms on at least seven occasions in 2023, compared to one such incident in the corresponding period of 2022. A total of two such incidents were recorded through 2022.
Other parameters of violence in the district suggest that the Maoists are striving to reclaim their erstwhile area of dominance, with Maoist-related incidents recording an increasing trend. While total incidents increased from 11 in 2022 to 22 in 2023 (over the same time frame), the number of incidents of arson carried out by Maoists increased from two in 2022 to three in 2023 (comparative time frame). The number of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks engineered by the Maoists increased from two in 2022 to three in 2023 (comparative time frame).
Meanwhile, according to a June 14, 2023, report, the CPI-Maoist in Narayanpur District put up banners and distributed pamphlets threatening the local village heads of Besmeta village with dire consequences if they opted to continue supporting development work in the region. The banner was put up near Gaytapara village under Orchha Police Station limits, in which the Gaytapara area committee of the CPI-Maoist, had warned the local representatives that they would chop off their hands and feet if they continued to support construction work on a proposed mine in the area. The Maoists alleged that the Sarpanch and deputy Sarpanch of Besmeta village were supporting the proposed mine. The Maoist also claimed that the opening of the mine in the area will have a devastating effect on the environment, for which both the village heads would be held accountable. The banner read, further,
Earlier, on April 27, 2023, Sarma had stated that a peace accord with ULFA-I was likely 'soon' and a draft accord had already been sent to ULFA-I leaders. Sarma disclosed,
Earlier, on February 21, 2023, the ‘East Bastar Division’ of the CPI-Maoist gave death threats to three persons – Vaidyaraj, Komal Manjhi, and Hari Ram Manjhi – who worked as agents and brokers for Niko Mining Company in Narayanpur District. Issuing a threatening press note, the ‘East Bastar Division’ of CPI-Maoist ‘spokesperson’ Neeti also stated that BJP leader Sagar Sahu had been warned not to do brokerage for mining companies and was put to death (above) for not obeying this directive. Along with this, Vaidyaraj, Komal, and Hari Ram were warned to admit their mistake in front of the public, and if they failed to do so, they would be awarded the ‘death sentence’, like Sagar Sahu. All people were warned not to mediate or broker for the company.
Narayanpur is among the among the ‘25 Most Affected Districts’ from eight States across India. Additionally, along with six other Districts of Chhattisgarh (Bastar, Bijapur, Sukma, Kanker, Dantewada, and Rajnandgaon), Narayanpur is also included among the 70 LWE-affected Districts in 10 States across India covered under the Centre’s Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, which funds focused operations against the insurgents. Narayanpur, moreover, falls within the troubled ‘Bastar Division’ of Chhattisgarh, which remains the prime challenge for the state.
Narayanpur is one of Chhattisgarh’s 32 districts. It is surrounded by dense forests, hills, streams, waterfalls, natural caves, and has a forest cover of 2,116.915 square kilometres, 32.87 percent of the district’s total area of 6,640 square kilometres. The difficult terrain and natural protection offer Narayanpur immense ‘geo-strategic importance’ for the Maoists and have long served as a major transit route for the rebels to cross into the LWE-affected areas of the neighbouring states, giving them safe passage to orchestrate violence on both sides of the state borders. Narayanpur borders Bijapur and Dantewada Districts in the south; Bastar in the East; Kanker in the North; and the Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra in the west. Of its two administrative blocks, Orchha and Narayanpur, Orchha falls under the Abujhmaad region, the ‘un-surveyed’ zone of central India and home to the Primitive Tribal Groups, the Madia Gond and Muriya Gond.
On April 6, 2023, to contain the Maoist influence, a Joint team of the District Reserve Guards (DRG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) destroyed a Maoist ‘memorial’ in the Dhanora area under Malsakatta Police Station limits in Narayanpur District. The wooden ‘monument’ was built by the Maoists in Malsakatta village on April 6 morning.
Further, on June 29, 2023, during a combing operation, following specific inputs about Maoist presence in the Asanar and Bhatbeda regions of Narayanpur District, a joint team of DRG, Narayanpur Police and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), demolished a Maoist camp that showed recent signs of occupancy. The SFs destroyed the tents and seized 100 splinters, the size of pellets, which are used along with gun powder, to make IEDs, along with other materials utilized by the rebels.
The Maoists continue with their efforts to reclaim their influence in their erstwhile regions of dominance, including Narayanpur, though with little success. Sustained SF operations have substantially contained LWE terror in Narayanpur, though an enduring peace remains out of present reach.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia July 31 - August 6, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
INDIA
Jammu & Kashmir
Manipur
Nagaland
Punjab
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Sindh
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
ISIS announces replacement after its leader's death: On August 3, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as its new leader, after confirming the death of its previous leader, Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi. Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi took over in March, 2023 after his predecessor detonated himself during a US military operation in northwest Syria. In April, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also claimed that Turkish intelligence forces had killed Syria's militant group's leader, al-Qurashi. The Khaama Press News Agency, August 5, 2023.
Taliban denies of letting terrorists use of its territory: On August 3, Taliban's spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, refuted what he termed as allegations leveled by Pakistan, stating that the Taliban do not allow anyone to use Afghan territory against another country. He said on the messaging platform called 'X' (formerly known as Twitter), "If there is any concern, it should be shared with the officials of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) face to face, rather than making unnecessary claims in the media and confusing people's minds." Dawn, August 5, 2023.
Al-Qaeda is shaping to spread its operations into Bangladesh, says UNSC report: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on July 25 said in its reports that Al-Qaeda is shaping up to spread its operations into neighbouring Bangladesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Myanmar. Report further said that the Al-Qaeda core in Afghanistan remains stable at 30 to 60 members, while all Al-Qaeda fighters in the country are estimated to be 400, reaching 2,000 with family members and supporters included. The Daily Star, August 1, 2023.
Incidents of terrorist violence and infiltration have declined in 2023 and 2022 in Jammu and Kashmir, says MoS Nityanand Rai: Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, informed the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) that terrorist violence and infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have declined in 2023 and 2022, noting that 26 incidents of terror violence and no net infiltration have occurred this year till June 2023. Rai said there were 125 terror-related and 14 infiltration incidents in 2022, and 134 terror and 34 infiltration incidents in 2021. News on Air, August 2, 2023.
Naxal violence incidents reduced by 77 per cent in 2022, Government told Lok Sabha: The Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] violence incidents and resultant deaths have been reduced by 77 percent and 90 per cent, respectively, in 2022, the government told the Lok Sabha (Lower house of Parliament) on August 1. The improved scenario is also reflected in the number of districts reporting violence, which has come down from 96 in 2010 to 45 in 2022, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said while responding to the queries of members. MSN, August 2, 2023.
NCTC evaluates the list of terrorist facilitators sanctioned by the US: The National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) started assessing the individuals and companies listed by the United States (US) Department of the Treasury as terrorism facilitators and funders. The US Department of the Treasury on July 31, issued out a list of 20 Maldivian individuals and 29 companies that are believed to have ties to Islamic State (IS), Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP) and Al-Qaeda and have been funding their terrorism activities in the Maldives and put sanctions against them. The Edition, August 3, 2023.
US imposes sanctions on 20 Al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists in Maldives: On July 31, the United States (US) imposed sanctions on 20 individuals and 29 companies for providing financial support to operations of Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups in the Maldives. US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the aim of these designations is to deter and disrupt financial and other forms of support for terrorist activities within the Maldives. Among those named in the sanctions are 18 IS and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP) facilitators and two Al-Qaeda operatives, along with 29 associated companies.The Hindu, August 2, 2023.
July second deadliest month in 2023 with 124 fatalities, says PICSS report: According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), July marked a significant upsurge in attacks, making it the second deadliest month of 2023, with 124 fatalities and 218 injuries. The country witnessed 54 militant attacks during July. The victims whose lives were lost included 77 civilians and 37 Security Force (SF) personnel, while 181 civilians and 36 SF personnel sustained injuries. The News, August 3, 2023.
Act against terrorists or we will, says Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: The Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said August 1 that if the Afghan Interim Government failed to take action, Pakistan had an option under international law to act in "self-defence" against the militants hiding inside Kabul. While speaking to the media, he, however, made it clear that this should not be the first option for his Government. Geo News, August 2, 2023.
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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