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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 3, July 23, 2012
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
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Maharashtra:
Red Subversion in Gadchiroli
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Located
in the north-eastern part of the State, and bordering
the most troubled areas of neighbouring Chhattisgarh,
Gadchiroli
has, for long, been reeling under Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
violence. Abruptly, however, it appears to have been brought
under an intensive and complete siege by the rebels. Mass
resignations of elected representatives in recent months
have paralyzed local governance, the third tier of the
administrative setup which takes administration to the
grassroots. Out of 467 gram panchayats (GPs, village
level local self government institutions,) in the District,
nearly 200 are reportedly under the Maoists influence.
More than 400 posts in the GPs are now lying vacant. Security
officials are now describing the mass resignations as
“the biggest unarmed sabotage by the Maoists to weaken
the Government”.
According
to media reports, at least 355 local body representatives
in the District have resigned since May 1, 2012, after
the Maoists issued a diktat in April 2012 demanding their
resignations by this date, also commemorated as ‘Maharashtra
Day’. The local body representatives include members of
the Zilla Parishad (ZP, District Council), Municipal
Corporation, Panchayat Samitis (PS, Block Committees)
and GPs. Gadchiroli ZP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sumant
Bhange, on July 16, 2012, confirmed the distressing trend,
disclosing that his office had received 218 resignations
from the Korchi taluka (administrative division)
alone, and the number of resignations received from other
parts of Gadchiroli stood at 137. Nandkishor Vairagade,
Secretary to the Sarpanch (head of panchayat)
Union of Korchi, stated on the same day, “The list includes
27 Sarpanchs, 27 deputy Sarpanchs, 31 Police
patils [volunteers working as Police representatives
in villages] and 133 gram panchayat members (from
Korchi).”
In a face-saving
exercise, the administration has sought to argue that
these resignations have not been made under Maoist pressure,
but are the result of some unfulfilled demands of these
members. In evidence, the argument goes, is the fact that
at least 162 elected representatives, including 24 Sarpanchs,
24 deputy Sarpanchs and 114 members of the various
GPs who had resigned on July 11, 2012, withdrew their
resignations on July 18, 2012, on Government assurances
relating to their supposed ‘demands’. Earlier,
on June 16, 2012, Vairagade had stated that the Government
had not paid attention to the 23-demand charter, prominently
including the cancellation of mining leases, submitted
to it on November 28, 2011, by the people and local representatives
of Korchi: “...not even a signal demand was fulfilled,
on the contrary Police atrocities have increased in the
region which has forced us to take this extreme step...
The administration’s decision to grant mining leases to
few people in the area is also one of the reasons for
our resignations.”
The Government’s
current assertions, however, contradict what Government
officials had earlier admitted. On July 12, 2012, disputing
Vairagade’s claims, Abhishek Krishna, Gadchiroli District
Collector, had stated “This is not entirely true. There
is scope to believe that these resignations have come
due to threat of Naxals [Left Wing Extremists] as some
of the demands we have received are demands about non-existent
issues like (not to give) licence for coal mining. No
licence even for prospecting activity for coal or any
other mineral has been given in the area.” Similarly,
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Naxal Range, Ravindra
Kadam, stated on July 10, 2012, that the resignations
were most likely prompted by the Naxals because "It
is the Naxal agenda to oppose open leases and mining."
More significantly,
soon after the January 3, 2012, declaration of local body
elections in the State, the Maoists created havoc among
local body representatives. As many as seven representatives
have since been killed in the District. In the first such
incident, the Bhamragarh PS Chairman and Bhamragarh tehsil
(revenue unit) Congress chief, Bahadurshah Alam, was killed
on January 28, 2012, after he chose to ignore Maoist warnings
not to contest. Subsequently, two candidates, who had
filed nominations for the ZP elections, and three candidates,
who had filed nominations for PS elections, withdrew on
January 30, 2012. The withdrawal of candidates
from the elections left two ZP and four PS seats in Korchi
without any contestant. Elections to these seats were
subsequently held on March 11, 2012.
Local body
elections across Maharashtra were held on February 7,
2012, though the Gadchiroli District saw a two-phase process
on February 7 (North Gadchiroli) and February 12 (South
Gadchiroli). On February 12, 2012, two incidents of exchange
of fire between the Police and Maoists were reported from
Repanpalli village in Aheri tehsil and Ghotsur
village in Etapalli tehsil, both in Gadchiroli,
though there were no reports of any casualties.
Having
failed in their attempt to thwart polls, the Maoists upped
the ante against local body representatives in the District
and started targeting them in the rural areas of Gadchiroli.
On April 13, 2012, the Maoists killed ex-ZP member, Kewal
Atkamwar, in Etapalli. On April 20, 2012, they killed
Pawan Bhalavi, a former Maoist and husband of ex-PS chairperson
in Arewada village under Bhamragad tehsil. Again,
on April 22, 2012, the rebels abducted and subsequently
killed Gardewada’s third term Sarpanch and ruling
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Chamru Kulle
Joi, at Gardewada village under Etapalli tehsil.
On April 24, 2012, the Maoists killed Rainu Juru Kowse,
deputy Sarpanch of Wangeturi GP in Todgatta village
under Gatta Police outpost of the District.
More worryingly,
in early April 2012, the Maoists asked the leaders of
all political parties to resign by April 26, 2012, and
members of local bodies to resign by April 30, 2012. The
deadline for the local body representatives was subsequently
extended to May 1, 2012. Following the diktat, District
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Vice President, Sunil Biswas,
District BJP General Secretary, Bhikaji Atram, Bhamragarh
tehsil BJP President, Joga Usendi, Bhamragarh Congress
chief, Raju Wadde and Bhamragarh NCP President, Ramji
Pungati, resigned from their posts.
On May
1, 2012, local body representatives followed suit, with
one ZP member and four PS members submitted their resignations
in Bhamragarh tehsil, openly citing threats from
the Maoists. On May 4, 2012, another two ZP members from
Etapalli tehsil – Karu Rapanji and Geeta Hichami
– submitted their resignations in the wake of the Maoist
ultimatum. As time passed, this snowballed into 355 local
body representatives resigning, though 162 among these
withdrew their resignations on July 18, 2012.
Meanwhile,
the Government’s attempt to conduct by polls on June 24,
2012, for 435 posts in 139 GPs, vacated by members under
Maoist pressure, was thwarted by the Maoists. Candidates
dared to contest the elections in only five wards in four
GPs in the entire District. Three other GPs elected members
unopposed. Elections for the remaining 132 GPs
are now scheduled to be held in October 2012. Reports
suggest that there are already around 40 GPs in Gadchiroli
where local governance has crashed completely, and that
are running without any local office-bearers, in many
cases, for several years. Now with another 132 GPs going
without election, the democratic set up at the grassroots
level is bound to crumble further. For the moment, the
District administration has directly appointed administrators
"to carry on the work in the absence of elected members."
Troubled
by these developments, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram,
according to a June 27, 2012, report, had urged Maharashtra
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to beef up security for
local body members in Gadchiroli. Earlier, on June 11,
2012, State Home Minister and Guardian Minister of Gadchiroli,
R.R. Patil, had claimed, "So far only one NCP zilla
parishad member has resigned but that too not in a
proper way. There cannot be any substantial reason as
to why the representatives, who have been elected just
a few months ago, should resign. We are not accepting
any such resignations furnished under fear [of the Maoists]."
With an
estimated 2,000 armed Naxals currently camping in Gadchiroli,
the Maoists have also initiated an assault against the
tanta-mukhti committees, committees set up in every
village with the aim of resolving petty issues amicably,
without legal recourse at the Police Station or the courts.
On May 31, 2012, the rebels shot dead Gajanan Madavi,
President of the tanta-mukhti committee of Jarawandi
village in Etapalli, for ignoring their instructions to
vacate his post. Again, on June 12, 2012, the rebels killed
another tanta-mukhti committee member Rama Korke
Madavi at Pattigaon in the Aheri taluka of the
District.
In addition,
the Maoists continued their practice of conducting kangaroo
courts, delivering ‘justice’ to the locals. In one such
incident, some 250 to 300 rebels, led by Aheri-Jimalgatta
‘area committee commander’ Shankar Anna, South Gadchiroli
‘division committee’ member Bhaskar Hichami alias
Prabhakar, and ‘platoon commander’ and ‘divisional committee
member’ Laxman, organised a massive kangaroo court between
May 14-20, 2012, in the dense forest area near Jimalgatta
in Aheri tehsil in Gadchiroli, some 10 kilometres
from the Jimalgatta Sub Police Station. In the latest
incident, on July 19, the Maoists held a ‘meeting’ at
Kamalpur village in South Gadchiroli before abducting
a youth, identified as Kishor Atram. The body of the youth,
who was axed to death, was recovered on July 21. The Naxalites
branded the deceased a ‘Police informer’.
Conspicuously,
Gadchiroli is the only highly Naxalite-affected District
in Maharashtra, while the State stands fourth in terms
of Maoist-related fatalities in 2012 (till July 22, 2012),
with 33 killed – 17 civilians, 14 SF personnel and two
extremists – in a total of 28 incidents so far, after
Chhattisgarh (70), Jharkhand (46) and Odisha (39), according
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database.
Barring two civilian killings in the neighbouring District
of Gondia, the remaining 30 killings have taken place
in Gadchiroli alone.
Despite
the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) showing rising
concerns about the deteriorating situation and asking
for action, the State Government has failed to respond
adequately. According to a June 17, 2012, report a letter
sent to the State from the UMHA has stated, “No effective
action was taken by the State on advisories sent from
the Government at least on four occasions in the recent
past. If increasing influence of the Maoist writ goes
unchallenged any longer, Gadchiroli would become as good
as a Maoist-liberated zone.”
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Uncertain
Calm
Fakir Mohan Pradhan
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Deadlines
mean little to Nepali leaders. Having failed to draft
a Constitution after four extensions for the Constituent
Assembly (CA) before its dissolution, other things can
certainly wait. The July 22, 2012, deadline set by the
Election Commission (EC) to clear the legal hurdles to
facilitate the Constituent Assembly polls on November
22 was, in any event, far to knotty a problem to be resolved
by the Baburam Bhattarai-led caretaker Government. The
EC had no option but to extend the deadline by another
few days (five to nine days) after Pushpa Kamal Dahal
aka Prachanda [Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)],
Ramchandra Poudel [Nepali Congress (NC)] and Jhalanath
Khanal Dahal [Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist
Leninist (CPN-UML)] told the EC during a meeting on July
22 that they would try to forge a consensus “at the earliest”.
Bhattarai
had announced the dissolution of the CA on May 27, 2012,
after a failure to secure consensus on the issue of “ethnic
federalism”, and after the Supreme Court (SC) refused
to allow further extensions to the CA. The date for fresh
elections to the CA was announced simultaneously. At that
point, it was difficult to imagine that this process would
itself become embroiled in inflexible legal hurdles. A
High Level Committee, led by a Member of the EC, which
reviewed the relevant election-related provisions in the
Interim-Constitution and other Acts, concluded on June
15 that fresh CA polls could not be conducted, without
first amending the Interim Constitution and some election
laws. It had not occurred to anyone during the framing
of the interim-Constitution that the CA could fail in
its task, and that another CA may be required. The Interim
Constitution, consequently, has no provision for a second
CA election. However, since the CA has now ceased to exist,
there is no available mechanism for the amendment of the
Interim Constitution and the relevant Acts. Bhattarai
is now receiving flack for having failed to secure the
amendments before announcing the dissolution of the CA,
but that moment has already passed. The High Level Committee
now feels that there is no alternative to amending the
Interim Constitution through an ordinance by the President,
exercising his discretionary powers, though it remains
uncertain whether there is any example in the world of
a constitutional amendment by an ordinance. A member of
the Committee is reported to have conceded that such a
step would surely be undemocratic, but that the President
could use his powers on the basis of a broad national
consensus.
As a result,
the EC put the ball in Government’s court on June 20,
arguing that, since it needed 120 clear days to organize
the polls, the Government must clear all legal roadblocks
by July 22.
A range
of contentious legal positions has, thereafter, emerged.
One opinion is that CA election can be held on the scheduled
date without amending the Interim Constitution, in compliance
to the SC judgment, as it was a Supreme Court verdict
that had put a final cap on the CA’s term. Other poll
related Acts could be amended through a Presidential ordinance
on the recommendation of the Cabinet. This position is
contested on the grounds that the Cabinet cannot make
such a recommendation, as it draws its legitimacy and
power from the CA, which now stands dissolved. A third
position argues that CA polls could be held by forging
a consensus among the political parties, and this agreement
could be endorsed later by the new Parliament or CA.
The legal
conundrum is compounded further by the fact that, while
the acting Chairman of the EC, Neel Kantha Uprety's term
expires in November 2012, two other commissioners, Ayodho
Prasad Yadav and Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, retire on January
11, 2013. If the CA election is not completed before the
end of these terms, the legality of the position of the
EC members would come under question. Further, new appointments
would not be possible, as the EC members are appointed
by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Constitutional
Council.
Given the
mounting complexities, there is an insistent clamour for
‘political consensus’, but, given Nepal’s fractured and
fractious polity, an agreement is nowhere in sight.
The Nepali
Congress and the CPN-UML remain adamant that they cannot
participate in CA elections if these are held in November,
under the Bhattarai-led Government of UCPN-M and the United
Madheshi Democratic Front (UDMF), which they deem ‘unconstitutional’.
They insist that Bhattarai must first resign to make way
for a ‘national unity government’. Bhattarai, however,
continues to insist that he would hand over the reins
of Government only to an elected government. Indeed, a
‘political paper’ presented by UCPN-M Chairman Prachanda
in the 7th plenum of the Party, which commenced
on July 17, argues that leaving the Government without
securing an agreement on contentious issues of the new
constitution will be ‘suicidal’ for the party.
As the
deadlock persists, all sorts of ‘solutions’, including
the revival of the old CA, a ‘national convention’, and
elections for a new Parliament that could then approve
a constitution, are being proposed, creating greater confusion,
rather than any clarity. If the old CA can be revived,
what was the need to dissolve it? How can a parliament
write a constitution? And if elections can be held, why
not for a CA instead of a Parliament? Moreover, on July
18, 2012, CPN-UML formally adopted the stand that the
demand for revival of the dissolved CA was “inappropriate”.
Instead, the party opted for a fresh mandate to complete
the remaining tasks of maintaining peace and writing the
constitution. The party, however, reiterated its position,
stating that it would not be part of any fresh CA elections
under Prime Minister Bhattarai.
Within
this constitutional and legal mess, however, it is heartening
to recognize that, despite all sorts of questions regarding
the Bhattarai-led Government’s legitimacy and intentions,
there has been no collapse of governance. Indeed, Nepal,
today, remains relatively calmer than most people expected.
The much-expected power tussle between the President and
the Prime Minister has not taken place. The President
has not questioned the legitimacy of the Government. The
Government, avoiding any showdown, recently opted to present
a ‘one-third budget’, though it had earlier insisted on
a full budget. Opposition parties – UML and NC – have
not resorted to disruption and violence in voicing their
opposition to the Government. The pro-ethnicity-based
federalism demonstrations during the last days of the
CA almost ended with the demise of the CA.
These signs
are being misread by some commentators as evidence of
growing maturity in Nepali Politics, though they are,
more likely, a process of realignment with new realities.
Neither the UML nor the NC can match the Maoists in street
violence, and both these parties remain unsure about their
electoral prospects, given their opposition to ethnicity-based
federalism and the growing enthusiasm among janajatis,
dalits and Madhesis for such a structure.
But the
problem with this model of federalism is not simply the
difficulty of creating 10, 11 or 14 ethnicity-based federal
states; the greater problem is that, beyond the number
or names of the proposed states, no further details regarding
the distribution of powers and functions have even been
debated. In the absence of any clarity, enthusiasts are
articulating their own divergent and imaginary provisions,
raising expectations that are unlikely to be fulfilled,
and setting the stage for disappointment and escalating
friction. On June 12, 2012, the Nepal Army disposed of
an improvised explosive device (IED) placed in Dhangadhi
(Kailali District) where a pamphlet issued by little known
“Seti-Mahakali Khaptad Tahalka Jamamukti Killer Party
(Seti-Mahakali Khaptad Tahalka People’s Liberation Killer
Party)” was discovered. In the pamphlet, the group claimed
to have launched a campaign against those attempting to
re-instate the monarchy and so-called ‘anti-federalism
groups’ that contributed to the dissolution of CA by supporting
an Undivided Far West or Undivided Mid West.
The clamour
for political consensus is, indeed, progressively exposing
the hollowness of Nepali politics. The demand for political
consensus appears to be limited to the formation of a
‘Unity Government’ till the next election. Difficult issues,
including the contours of the proposed federal structure
are not getting the due attention. The most likely beneficiary
of this political incoherence, the UCPN-M, is itself busy
taming factionalism within the party, which came out in
the open at the Seventh Plenum. The two other parties
NC and UML, are finding it difficult to even ask janajati
workers of their parties to toe the party line. On July
18, 2012, the CPN-UML relieved around a dozen janajati
leaders of their responsibilities on grounds of their
“non-compliance with the party’s official position on
federalism” and for remaining absent from party meetings
for an extended period. The leaders facing action include
Vice-chairperson Ashok Rai, Politburo members Prithivi
Subba Gurung, Bijay Subba Gurung, Kiran Gurung, Rakam
Chemjong and Central Committee member Jeevan Ram Shrestha.
While the
Maoists are sitting pretty in the Government, approaching
the next election – whenever it is conducted – from a
position of clear advantage, the NC and UML, are increasingly
looking like the defenders of numerically weak but otherwise
powerful Bahuns and Chhetris [Brahmins and Kshatriyas],
a perception that will lose them further ground, as the
Maoists are seen as champions of the ethnicity cause.
While partisan equations shift, identity politics is taking
deep roots in Nepal, raising the spectre of future conflicts
along ethnic lines.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
July 17-23,
2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Meghalaya
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
Maharastra
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
14
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
9
|
9
|
0
|
18
|
FATA
|
25
|
1
|
16
|
42
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
9
|
0
|
15
|
24
|
Sindh
|
47
|
3
|
1
|
51
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
90
|
13
|
32
|
135
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
Pakistan
generals
plotted
26/11
along
with
JuD
chief
Hafiz
Mohammad
Saeed,
reveals
Abu
Jundal:
The
handler
of
the
November
26,
2008
(26/11)
Mumbai
terrorist
attacks
and
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
operative
Syed
Zabiuddin
Ansari
alias
Abu
Jundal
has
disclosed
that
LeT
founder
and
Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JuD)
chief
Hafiz
Mohammad
Saeed
used
to
often
meet
top
Pakistan
Army
corps
commanders
in
Pakistan
to
plan
major
terror
strikes
in
India,
including
26/11.
In
fact
Jundal
claims
that
at
one
such
meeting,
top
Army
officers
categorically
instructed
Saeed
that
the
Mumbai
case
(26/11)
should
be
a
fidayeen
(suicide)
attack,
and
that
no
one
should
be
caught
alive.
He
also
told
his
interrogators
that
the
planning
for
26/11
started
long
back
but
a
final
team
to
monitor
the
attack,
with
different
tasks,
was
formed
one
year
before
the
strike.
Jundal,
source
said,
was
kept
out
of
some
meetings
in
which
Saeed
and
Zakiur
Rehman
Lakhvi
were
present
and
he
was
given
the
task
of
teaching
Hindi
to
the
10
terrorists
and
explaining
the
locations
in
Mumbai
to
them.
Asian
Age,
July
19,
2012;
Times
of
India,
July
20,
2012.
''Enough
evidence
for
Pak
to
prosecute
26/11
masterminds'',
asserts
Minister
of
State
for
External
Affairs
Preneet
Kaur:
Insisting
that
there
is
enough
evidence
to
prosecute
November
26,
2008
(26/11)
Mumbai
attacks
perpetrators,
India
on
July
18,
said
that
Pakistan
must
take
action
on
the
proof
provided
to
it.
Minister
of
State
for
External
Affairs
Preneet
Kaur
commented,
"We
certainly
press
on
all
the
time
to
Pakistan
that
they
must
bring
the
perpetrators
to
book.
We
feel
that
there
was
enough
evidence
and
that
they
should
take
that
into
account
to
bring
them
to
book".
PTI,
July
19,
2012.
'Won't
allow
al
Qaeda
foothold
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir',
says
GOC
15
Corps:
Lieutenant
General
Om
Prakash,
General
Officer
Commanding
(GOC)
of
Army's
Srinagar
based
15
Corps,
maintaining
that
situation
in
Kashmir
is
stable
and
peaceful,
said
on
July
19
that
Army
will
not
allow
international
terror
group
al
Qaeda
to
establish
its
foothold
in
the
Valley.
"No
al
Qaeda
will
come
here,
we
assure
you
that.
Until
our
security
forces
are
here,
we
will
not
allow
them
to
be
here,"
the
GOC
asserted.
Daily
Excelsior,
July
20,
2012.
Nagaland
Chief
Minister
proposes
NSCN
interim
Government
in
Nagaland,
says
report:
The
Nagaland
Chief
Minister
Neiphiu
Rio
is
believed
to
have
proposed
to
the
Prime
Minister
Manmohan
Singh
to
form
an
interim
Government
in
Nagaland
taking
representatives
from
all
factions
of
the
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(NSCN)
outfits
and
hold
the
State
Assembly
elections
after
a
gap
of
at
least
a
year
or
two
to
restore
permanent
peace
and
stability
in
the
State.
During
his
close
door
meeting
with
the
Prime
Minister
on
June
27,
Rio
is
reported
to
have
readily
offered
to
resign
at
any
point
of
time
for
the
interest
of
peace
and
stability
in
Nagaland.
Kangla
Online,
July
19,
2012.
Naxals
have
set
up
weapons
testing
laboratories
in
the
Abujmaad
forests
of
Chhattisgarh,
says
report:
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
and
Central
intelligence
agencies
have
information
that
Naxals
[Left-Wing
Extremists]
have
set
up
weapons
testing
laboratories
in
the
Abujmaad
forests
of
Chhattisgarh.
"We
did
get
some
leads
during
Techie
Anna's
[RK]
interrogation
but
then
more
intelligence
was
developed
following
which
we
got
concrete
information
that
Naxals
were
developing
dangerous
weapons
through
R&D
at
these
laboratories.
Now
we
trying
to
trace
their
exact
location,"
a
senior
investigating
official
said..
Deccan
Chronicle,
July
17,
2012.
NEPAL
CPN-UML
Janajati
leaders
relieved
of
responsibilities:
The
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Unified
Marxist
Leninist
(CPN-UML)
relieved
around
a
dozen
Janajati
(indigenous
people)
leaders
of
their
responsibilities
for
what
it
termed
their
"non-compliance
with
the
party's
official
position
on
federalism"
and
for
remaining
absent
in
party
meetings
for
a
long
time.
However,
the
leaders
will
continue
to
hold
their
party
posts
until
another
decision
is
taken,
according
to
party
leaders.
ekantipur,
July
20,
2012.
PAKISTAN
47
civilians
and
three
SFs
among
51
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Karachi:
At
least
seven
people
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
Karachi,
the
provincial
capital
of
Sindh,
on
July
21.
At
least
six
people,
including
a
World
Health
Organisation
(WHO)
doctor,
were
killed
in
Karachi
on
July
20.
At
least
11
persons,
including
two
Policemen,
Jama'at
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
(JUI-F)
leader
and
a
State
Bank
of
Pakistan
(SBP)
employee,
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
Karachi
on
July
19.
11
persons,
including
a
Policeman
and
a
former
Sunni
Tehreek
(ST)
cadre,
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
target
killing
in
Karachi
on
July
18.
At
least
seven
persons,
including
a
criminal,
an
activist
of
Muttahida
Qaumi
Movement
(MQM),
Awami
National
Party
(ANP)
and
Jama'at-e-Islami
(JeI),
were
killed
in
separate
acts
of
target
killing
in
Karachi
on
July
17.
Six
people
were
killed
in
separate
violent
incidents
that
took
place
in
Karachi
on
July
16.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
July
17-23,
2012.
25
civilians
and
16
militants
among
42
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
Fighter
jets
bombed
suspected
militant
hideouts
in
Dabori
area
of
Orakzai
Agency
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
July
22,
killing
15
militants
and
injuring
eight
others.
A
suicide
bomber
detonated
an
explosive
laden
vehicle
near
the
house
of
a
pro-Government
militant
'commander'
Maulvi
Nabi,
killing
at
least
nine
persons,
including
four
children,
three
of
them
being
girls,
and
injuring
13
others,
in
a
war
of
attrition
between
two
militant
outfits
in
Speen
Tall
area
of
Orakzai
Agency
on
July
21.
Three
bullet-riddled
dead
bodies
were
found
in
different
areas
of
Bajaur
Agency
on
July
19.
At
least
12
Shiite
Muslims
were
killed
when
a
roadside
bomb
hit
their
minibus
at
Spai
village
in
the
Orakzai
Agency
on
July
18.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer
,
July
17-23,
2012.
15
militants
and
nine
civilians
among
24
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa:
Four
people,
including
three
members
of
the
same
family,
died
and
eight
others
suffered
injuries
when
an
Improvised
Explosive
Device
(IED)
was
detonated
using
a
remote-controlled
device
near
a
pick-up
truck
in
Doog
Darra
area
of
Upper
Dir
District
on
July
21.
At
least
three
unidentified
dead
bodies,
including
that
of
a
young
girl,
were
found
in
different
parts
of
Peshawar
on
July
19.
At
least
six
militants
were
killed
when
Security
Forces
(SFs)
retaliated
to
a
militants'
attack
on
the
Gambhir
and
Arandu
security
checkposts
in
Chitral
District
on
July
18.
At
least
five
militants
were
killed
in
a
clash
with
SFs
when
they
attacked
a
Frontier
Constabulary
(FC)
checkpost
in
Dhand
area
of
Thall
tehsil
(revenue
unit)
of
Hangu
District
on
July
17.
Four
militants
were
killed
in
July
16
militants'
attack
on
a
Police
Station
in
Bannu
city.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
July
17-23,
2012
Balochistan,
though
foreign
abetted,
is
an
internal
issue
for
the
State
and
people
of
Pakistan
to
resolve,
says
PM
Raja
Parvez
Ashraf:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Raja
Parvez
Ashraf
on
July
17
said
that
the
turbulence
in
Balochistan,
though
foreign
abetted,
is
an
internal
issue
for
the
State
and
people
of
Pakistan
to
resolve.
The
Prime
Minister
said
all
our
friends
interested
to
bring
about
peace
in
this
region
are
expected
to
respect
the
sovereignty
of
Pakistan
and
the
aspirations
of
more
than
95%
people
of
Balochistan,
who
are
as
patriotic
Pakistanis
as
in
any
other
part
of
the
country.
Pakistan
Observer
July
18,
2012.
ISI's
political
cell
is
illegal,
rules
Supreme
Court:
The
Government
may
not
have
been
willing
to
produce
evidence
of
the
existence
of
the
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)'s
notorious
political
cell,
but
the
Supreme
Court
still
declared
on
July
16
that
the
cell,
if
it
did,
or
does,
exist,
was
illegal.
The
Supreme
Court
adjudged
the
political
cell
'void
ab
initio'
-
that
is,
null
and
void
from
the
start.
The
decision
was
taken
in
a
petition
dealing
with
the
ISI's
direct
manipulation
of
the
1990
general
elections
-
a
petition
commonly
referred
to
as
the
Asghar
Khan
petition.
Tribune,
July
17,
2012.
JuD
chief
Hafiz
Muhammad
Saeed
makes
informal
entry
into
Pakistan
politics:
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
founder
and
Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD)
chief
Hafiz
Muhammad
Saeed,
who
has
a
USD
10
million
bounty
on
his
head
and
is
an
accused
in
November
26,
2008
(26/11)
Mumbai
terror
attacks,
has
made
his
informal
entry
in
the
political
arena
by
moving
the
Lahore
High
Court
(LHC)
against
the
Pakistan's
corruption-riddled
and
profligate
ruling
elite
through
his
first
ever
''political-focused''
petition.
Sources
claimed
that
JuD
leadership
has
made
up
its
mind
to
get
involved
in
political-oriented
issues
step-by-step
and
the
Difa-e-Pakistan
Council
(DPC)
forum
was
one
part
of
the
well-devised
strategic
chain
of
political
agenda.
Indian
Express,
July
17,
2012.
US
House
of
Representatives
wants
Haqqani
Network
branded
as
terrorists:
The
US
House
of
Representatives
on
July
17
urged
the
US
State
Department
to
designate
the
Pakistan-based
Haqqani
network
as
a
foreign
terrorist
group.
On
a
voice
vote,
US
lawmakers
approved
a
bill
that
referred
to
the
Haqqani
network
as
"the
most
dangerous
of
Afghan
insurgent
groups
battling
US-led
forces
in
eastern
Afghanistan".
Daily
Times,
July
19,
2012.
US
House
of
Representatives
cut
USD
650
million
from
its
military
aid
to
Pakistan:
The
US
House
of
Representatives
on
July
19
cut
USD
650
million
from
its
military
aid
to
Pakistan
amid
warnings
that
the
move
will
send
a
wrong
message
to
the
Pakistani
people.
Senior
Republican
lawmakers
claimed
that
they
were
trying
to
tamp
down
demands
for
still
deeper
reductions
because
of
conservative
anger
at
Pakistan's
policies.
Dawn,
July
20,
2012.
SRI
LANKA
Recent
unrest
in
Vavuniya
Prison
was
a
conspiracy
with
links
to
the
LTTE,
says
Police:
Police
have
gathered
information
that
the
recent
unrest
in
the
Vavuniya
Prison
was
a
conspiracy
with
links
to
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam's
(LTTE)
international
network
and
it
was
the
same
evil
forces
that
tried
to
mask
the
particular
incident
by
Vavuniya
prison
inmates,
as
a
humanitarian
act,
Police
Media
spokesman
SP
Ajith
Rohana
in
a
special
press
release
announced
on
July
17.
As
reported
earlier,
the
incident
occurred
when
three
prison
officials
were
held
hostage
for
19
hours
by
inmates
during
a
protest
by
prisoners
at
the
Vavuniya
remand
prison
against
the
transfer
of
a
suspected
LTTE
prisoner
to
another
location.
Daily
News,
July
18,
2012.
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.
SAIR
is a project
of the
Institute
for Conflict
Management
and the
South
Asia Terrorism
Portal.
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