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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 12, No. 42, April 21, 2014
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
|
Terror
Interrupted
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Apprehensions
of an attempted revival by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam’s (LTTE)
were proven true when, in the early hours of April 11,
2014, a Security Forces (SFs) team launched a cordon and
search operation in the forest area off Padaviya in Anuradhapura
District, and was fired upon by militants hiding in the
forest. The SFs killed three armed local LTTE leaders,
reportedly in retaliatory fire. The dead were identified
as Selvanayagam Kajeepan alias Gobi, Sundaralingam
Kajeepan alias Thevihan and Navaratnam Navaneethan
alias Appan.
Earlier,
on April 10, 2014, troops had recovered four back-packs
containing rations, medicine, clothes, etc., believed
to be have been used by the slain cadres, near the encounter
site. The SFs had intensified their operations in the
Northern Region following a shootout in the Dharmapuram
area of Kilinochchi District on March 13, 2014, when Gobi,
who had returned to the country after fleeing overseas
at the end
of the war, had escaped after injuring
a Police officer. On March 22, 2014, Police announced
a reward of LKR One million for any information leading
to Gobi's whereabouts.
Crucially,
reports suggest that the neutralized local group was functioning
under the instructions of LTTE leaders, Norway-based Perimbanayagam
Sivaparan alias Nediyawan and France-based Vinayagamoorthi
Sekarapillai alias Kadiragamaseram Vinayagamoorthi
alias Kamanan Vinayagam Sekarapillai alias
Vinayagamoorthy Arivazhaghan alias Arivalahan alias
Kathirgamathamby Iyyana alias Vinayagam. According
to a Press Release issued by the Media Centre of the Ministry
of Defence and Urban Development,
They
were preparing the ground for another armed struggle.
Immediate objectives of the local group included
the recovery of war like material dumped by the
LTTE during retreat, re-establishment of LTTE intelligence
network, regrouping of the potential cadre including
those rehabilitated, collecting information on potential
targets, including in other provinces… Investigations
revealed that the funds for these activities that
came from Europe were being transferred using Hawala
system. It was also revealed that many safe houses,
vehicles and other resources required for resurgence
of the LTTE had been procured by them using this
money.
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The SF
Commander in Kilinochchi, Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe,
in his meeting with rehabilitated former combatants of
the LTTE in Kilinochchi District on March 26, 2014, alerted
them to external threats that would be directed at them
by parties interested securing their return to violence.
Significantly, out of 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres who surrendered
to the SFs after the end of war in May 2009, only 232
have been left in camps, while the rest have been rehabilitated.
Indeed,
investigators trailing Gobi's team had already reportedly
arrested at least 67 suspects, including some top LTTE
leaders, in separate incidents since March 5, 2014, of
whom 23 were subsequently released. A huge cache of arms,
ammunition, explosives and other material that were in
their possession was also recovered. On March 6, 2014,
for instance, Subramaniam Kapilan alias Nanda Gopan,
the head of LTTE’s international media network, was arrested
after his arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport
in Colombo, following his deportation from Malaysia. According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal, at least 376 former LTTE cadres/sympathizers
have been arrested (from within and outside the Country)
after the end of war in 2009.
Significantly,
on September 17, 2013, Adjutant General, Major General
Mahinda Hathurusinghe, asserted that there was a possibility
of about 4,000 former LTTE combatants, who were still
at large, regrouping.
The October
2, 2009, incident in which an unidentified gunman killed
two Army soldiers and injured another at Paranthakadathan
in Mannar District was the last terrorism-related fatality
till the April 11, 2014, incident. However, several violent
incidents related to former LTTE cadres and sympathizers
have been recorded in the intervening period, including
one prominent incident in India: on March 18, 2013, Tamil
activists in Tamil Nadu, India, assaulted a Sri Lankan
Buddhist monk, identified as Bandara, at the Central Railway
Station in Chennai, in support of the LTTE. On May 23,
2012, Police arrested five persons for the murder of Andrew
Mahendrarajah Anthonipillai, a Canadian Tamil of Sri Lankan
origin, who was killed at Kaagncheepuram lane near the
Paranthan Junction in Kilinochchi District on May 3, 2012.
One of alleged killers, identified as A. Akilan, was a
former LTTE militant. Investigations are still on in the
case.
Former
cadres/sympathizers of the LTTE have also clashed with
SFs on several occasions, while attempting to commemorate
the death of their comrades during the Eelam Wars. In
the worst such incident since the end of war in 2009,
some students at Jaffna University, sympathetic to the
LTTE, commemorated Maaveerar Day (Martyrs’ Day,
which commemorates dead LTTE fighters) on November 27,
2012. The following day, a tense situation developed at
the campus, resulting in a violent clash between students
and SFs. Later, on December 5, 2012, 10 students were
arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Police claimed all of them had been involved in "terrorist
activities" with the LTTE before 2009 and none of
them had completed a Government rehabilitation course
for LTTE suspects.
In addition,
the LTTE is believed to have assisted several of its cadres
to escape from prisons. In the latest of such incidents,
four LTTE cadres were helped to escape from the Trincomalee
Jail in the early hours of November 12, 2013. Earlier,
on April 17, 2013, an LTTE cadre, identified as Mahendra
Rajah Shashidharan alias Cristy, who was arrested
in November 2011 and imprisoned after being found guilty
of killing 10 persons, escaped from the Pottuvil Court
premises at Pottuvil town of Ampara District. In a more
violent incident inside prison, on June 28, 2012, a group
of LTTE cadres at the Vavuniya Prison, reportedly led
by former Sea Tiger (Sea Wing of the LTTE) leader Shashi
Kumar, took three jailers hostage, demanding that authorities
recall LTTE suspects who had been transferred to the Boossa
Detention Camp in Galle. On June 29, 2012, SFs launched
an operation and rescued the jailors. Several prisoners
sustained injuries, and two LTTE cadres died later. On
July 3, 2012, Prisons and Rehabilitation Minister, Chandrasiri
Gajadeera, observed that the unrest in the Vavuniya Prison
was a well-planned conspiracy of the LTTE international
network, as the LTTE suspects at the prison were found
to have satellite mobile phones and other communication
equipment in their possession. Crucially, there are 810
former LTTE cadres in remand custody, dispersed across
several prisons and, Gajadeera noted further, “they are
not political prisoners but hardcore LTTE cadres who ordered
killings and other heinous terrorist activities.”
There is,
however, little evidence of the Sri Lankan Government
lowering its guard. Indeed, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne
told Parliament that provisions of the PTA were required
to take action against LTTE suspects who had not surrendered
after the war ended. Recently, the Sri Lankan Government
in a gazette dated March 21, 2014, proscribed the main
LTTE and another 15 alleged front
organizations of the outfit, prominently
including the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO),
Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC). According to sources
these organizations fall under four broad categories under
the overall control of four key individuals: Nediyawan,
Fr. Sleemanpillai Joseph Emmanuel alias S.J. Emmanuel,
Rudrakumaran Vishvanathan alias Kumaran Visuvanathan
alias Rudra, and Vinayagam. Some 422 individuals,
including 32 people presently residing in India, were
named in the gazette. Further, the Sri Lankan Police has
obtained Interpol "red notices" flagging foreign
operatives of the LTTE. "In addition to the 40 Red
Notices by Interpol another 56 non-LTTE operatives have
also been flagged," Police spokesman Ajith Rohana
disclosed on April 17, 2014. These Red Notices include
Vinayagam and Nediyawan, who are suspected of financing
and re-organizing the LTTE.
Regrettably,
the international community, which appears to have failed
to come to terms with the defeat of the LTTE in 2009,
continues to create hurdles for Colombo’s attempts to
wipe out lingering irritants. On, March 27, 2014, a resolution
was passed at the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) allowing for a UN probe into allegations of war
crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Government during the
terminal seven years of the conflict. UN investigations
are expected to begin in their work in May 2014. The Sri
Lankan Government, meanwhile, has vehemently rejected
the resolution and pledged to prevent UN investigators
from entering the country.
Expressing
deep concern over the international moves, Defence Secretary
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on April 16, 2014, observed: “Though
there was no more terrorism in Sri Lanka, the LTTE’s global
network continued to function largely unhindered. The
network continues to sustain an international propaganda
campaign against Sri Lanka through front organizations
that have now put on a democratic face. Some nations seem
to have chosen to turn a blind eye to these front organizations
and their activities because they claim to support political
activism or humanitarian relief.”
On the
domestic front, the democratically elected Tamil National
Alliance (TNA)-led Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Government
has also sought to obstruct efforts to contain terrorism,
insisting on the removal of the Army from the North and
East, despite visible residual threats. Significantly,
military personnel had been reduced from 26,400 in December
2009, to approximately 13,152 presently. Any further cuts
will certainly jeopardize the authority of the state and
peace in the region.
It is difficult
for the LTTE to regain its influence at the present juncture,
as Colombo has succeeded in detecting and neutralizing
each conspiracy in its early stages. Nevertheless, the
sustained efforts of the radicalized Tamil Diaspora, and
a substantial force of LTTE cadres who have refused to
surrender offer evidence of continuing efforts to revive
the terror, leaving no room for complacency. Given the
unrelenting hostility of a dominant segment of the international
community to the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, Colombo will
continue to have to fight on three fronts, against the
orchestrated international campaign against Sri Lanka;
against incipient efforts to resuscitate LTTE terrorism;
and to secure an enduring resolution to the unsettling
ethnic polarization in the country.
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Strategic
Skirmish
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
S. Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Amidst
continuing street mobilization, violence and a strident
debate over the ‘legitimacy’ of the January 5, 2014, Parliamentary
elections in Bangladesh, another battle
of the ballots is currently playing out, commencing on
February 19, 2014, and going beyond May 19, 2014, at the
local sub-District level. Unlike the Parliamentary elections,
which were boycotted by the entire Opposition, and even
by some of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed's erstwhile
allies, candidates backed by almost all political parties
participated in the fourth Upazila Parishad (Sub-District
Council) polls.
So far,
elections for a total of 459 out of 487 Councils have
been held. The ruling Awami League (AL)-backed candidates
won 231 Chairman posts while their challengers, favored
by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured 162.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-backed candidates cornered 36 Chairman
posts; Jatiya Party (JP), the main opposition in Parliament,
won four; and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) one.
Apart from these, eight candidates from the Parbatya Chittagong
Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS), four from the United People's
Democratic Front (UPDF), and 11 independents and others,
won Chairman posts. Results of two Councils were
withheld because of the suspension of polling in several
stations there.
The Election
Commission (EC) would need to hold polls to another 28
Councils. On April 16, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi
Rakibuddin Ahmad announced the schedule of the 6th-phase
polls to be held on May 19 in 14 Upazila Parishads.
No information is currently available about elections
for the remaining 14 Councils.
As compared
to the General Elections which were marred by large scale
pre- and post-election violence, the Council polls were
relatively peaceful. While a total of 151 people killed
during the Parliamentary polls, 10 persons have been killed
during the Council polls. While, no fatality was reported
in the first phase, one Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS, student
wing of the JeI) cadre was killed on the poling day (February
27) of the second phase. Three people died and 68 persons
were injured in violence on March 15, the polling day
of the third phase. Violence was widespread and deadlier
in the fourth phase leaving at least four people dead
in Munshiganj, Brahmanbaria, Jhalakathi and Comilla Districts
on the polling day (March 23), and more than 200 people,
including about a dozen Policemen, were injured across
the country. Although the fifth phase was comparatively
peaceful, a leader of the Jubo League, the youth wing
of AL, was shot dead in Laxmipur District five hours before
the polling began on March 31. In a separate incident,
a voter died from injuries suffered in a clash between
activists of the AL and the JeI in Moulvibazar District.
More than 100 people were wounded in clashes between AL
and BNP supporters in at least a dozen Councils during
polling hours. Indeed, street
violence which had become the order
of the day in Bangladesh since the establishment of the
International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), has subsided
considerably since the January 5, 2014, General Elections.
Crucially,
according to the EC, the total voter turnout was 61 percent.
Significantly, the voter turnout in the January 5 General
Election was a modest 40 per cent.
Though
Bangladesh has a unitary form of government in which all
governing powers resides in a centralised government,
for administrative convenience, the country is divided
into six divisions; and each division is subdivided into
Zilas or Districts and Upazilas or sub-districts.
There are 64 administrative Districts; and 487 Upazilas.
The Upazila election system was started by military
ruler Hussain Mohammad Ershad, under whose regime the
first Upazila elections took place in 1985. The
elections again took place in 1990. The BNP scrapped the
system after coming to power in 1991. However, AL had
taken a decision to revive the local government system
after taking office in 1996, but could not hold elections.
The AL finally conducted the elections in 2009 after returning
to power at the Centre.
Demonstrating
a clear shift in political strategy, BNP participated
in the present Upazila elections, seeing them as
an opportunity of re-bonding with the political arena
at the local level, after boycotting the January 5 National
Elections over the demand for non-partisan
arrangements. Clarifying BNP's "motive",
the Party's acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir,
observed on April 13, 2014, that BNP took part in the
Upazila polls as part of its movement to unseat
the present Government. By participating in Council elections,
the BNP has also attempted to prove that it is a dynamic,
pro-election party, with a strong base at the local level.
The party also seeks to renew and revitalize its grass-root
leadership and revamp its tarnished image as a party that
supported a wave of political
violence in 2013.
Interestingly,
BNP Chairperson, Khaleda Zia's speech at a rally on March
1, 2014, at Rajbari clearly spelt out BNP's political
agenda. Zia had declared that a fresh movement would be
built up soon after the conclusion of the Council polls
to ‘dislodge’ the ‘illegal’ Government and hold fresh
General Elections under a non-party administration. Significantly,
BNP has enhanced its performance. As against just 79 Chairman
posts in 2009, BNP-backed candidates have, thus far, won
162 Chairman posts. The BNP-JeI combine has also demonstrated
its "hold" by winning a total of 198 seats.
This is likely to encourage a renewed round of confrontation
and agitation in the near future, sponsored by this combine.
On the
other hand, AL has failed to repeat its 2009 performance,
when it won 331 Chairman posts. Thus far, its tally is
just 231 posts. Nevertheless, AL’s victory, though with
a reduced margin, in the local body elections in which
all parties participated augurs well for Bangladesh politics,
and Hasina's Government has certainly gained in legitimacy.
Sharp contestations
are, however, inevitable. Even as a new political game
unfolded in the Upazila elections, the Hasina Government,
on March 13, 2014, declared that it would take steps to
ban JeI by June 2014 for its involvement in crimes against
humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. Liberation
War Affairs Minister A. K. M. Mozammel Huq clarified,
“The Government is planning banning the anti-liberation
force Jamaat, but it has no plan to ban other religion-based
political parties.”
Further,
on March 27, 2014, the War Crimes Investigation Agency,
which suggested banning JeI and six organisations (Islami
Chhatra Sangha, Shanti Committee, Al-Badr, Al-Shams, Razakar
Bahini, and the JeI newspaper Dainik Sangram) that
were associated with the party in 1971, handed over its
report on the JeI to the prosecution on March 27, 2014.
Tureen Afroz, who is leading the prosecution in the case
stated that this was the first time they were going to
press "war crimes" charges against an organisation.
Earlier, the prosecution had pressed charges of crimes
against humanity and genocide against accused individuals.
The probe report against JeI comes at a time when five
of its top leaders have already been convicted of war
crimes while four others, including its chief, are facing
trial. One of the convicts, Abdul Quader Mollah, was executed
on December 12, 2013.
In an indication
that its campaign of agitation and violence would shortly
resume, JeI, on April 16, 2014, demanded the unconditional
release of party leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, who was
sentenced
to death on February 28, 2013, by
Internationl Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), for crimes against
humanity during the Liberation War. In a statement, acting
ameer (chief) of the party, Mokbul Ahmad, and acting
secretary general, Shafiqur Rahman, urged the country’s
people to raise their voice against all the Government’s
‘plots’ against Sayedee. The statement declared, further,
“We strongly condemn and protest the Government’s heinous
plot against Moulana Sayedee".
Underlining
the complete political polarization in the country, a
court in Dhaka indicted Begum Khaleda Zia on March 19,
2014, in two cases involving charges of corruption for
allegedly using an illegal fund to buy land for Zia Orphanage
Trust and Zia Charitable Trust. Judge Basudeb Roy accepted
the charges against Khaleda Zia, who was present in the
court. Pressing the charges against Zia could further
complicate the country's tense political situation. As
expected, Zia has vowed to restart protests against Hasina
to oust her from power.
The critical
relevance of the local level elections lies in the fact
that both AL and BNP needs to muster political support
for their respective strategies. After the January 5 General
Elections, international media widely branded the AL Government
"illegal", because of the non-participation
of the combined Opposition, led by the BNP-JEI combine.
With the successful conduct of the Upazila elections,
the Hasina Government seeks to strengthen its democratic
credentials. On April 12, 2014, responding to Opposition
allegations of rigging, Prime Minister Hasina thus stated,
"People of the country exercised their franchise
freely and fairly in electing their favourite candidates
from Awami League, BNP and even Jamaat-e-Islami... Had
the poll been rigged or manipulated by the Government
of Awami League, not a single candidate of Jamaat could
have won". On the other hand, the dynamics of the
current Upazila elections and the participation
of the BNP-JeI combine gave this political formation an
opportunity to re-establish its own political outreach
at the grassroots level, and, particularly for the JeI,
to galvanise party workers and cadres to face off an imminent
political purge.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
April 14-20,
2014
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Jharkhand
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
Odisha
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
0
|
8
|
13
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Sindh
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
9
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
'Those
who
swoop
on
the
culture
are
all
militants',
says
Information
Minister
Hasanul
Haque
Inu:
Information
Minister
Hasanul
Haque
Inu
on
April
14
said
those
who
swoop
on
the
culture
are
all
militants.
The
Minister
said
'Those
who
send
history
and
culture
to
exile
are
the
enemies
of
the
nation
and
people.
Those
who
are
opposing
the
celebration
of
Bangla
Noboborsho
(Bengali
New
Year)
are
the
militants.
In
the
democratic
society
militancy
destroys
democracy
and
civilization.'
He
urged
all
to
be
united
against
the
militancy
to
protect
our
language
and
culture
and
said
'It
is
our
moral
responsibility
to
save
our
own
culture.'
New
Age,
April
15,
2014.
INDIA
MHA
plans
to
wean
away
NE
youths
from
militancy,
says
report:
In
a
fresh
attempt
to
woo
away
youths
of
the
North
East
from
militancy,
the
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
is
now
exploring
the
possibility
of
organising
sports
tournaments
in
the
region
to
tap
sports
talents.
The
plan
mooted
by
the
MHA
is
to
help
the
youth
nurture
their
talent
and
get
exposure
in
the
national
and
international
events
through
proper
training.
The
sports
competitions
will
be
organised
by
the
paramilitary
forces
under
their
community
outreach
programmes.
Home
Ministry
officials
said
there
is
a
large
pool
of
untapped
talent
in
remote
and
tribal
areas,
particularly
in
the
North
East,
and
sports
competitions
would
help
authorities
to
identify
such
talents
and
bring
them
to
national
training
facilities.
Assam
Tribune,
April
19,
2014.
IM
used
Facebook
to
instigate
riot,
according
to
Delhi
Police:
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM)
arrested
terrorist
Mohammed
Mahruf
had
put
the
pictures
of
2009
Gopalganj
(Bihar)
riots
on
social
networking
site
Facebook
to
instigate
violence
in
India
on
the
instruction
of
Afif
Bhatkal
alias
Atta.
Delhi
Police
came
to
know
of
this
after
examining
Mahruf's
laptop
seized
from
his
Jaipur
hideout
in
which
Police
found
the
online
chatting
between
Mahruf
and
Atta.
DNA,
April
18,
2014.
IM
operatives
planned
to
cross
border
from
Barmer
in
Rajasthan,
says
report:
Indian
Mujahideen
(IM)
operatives
decided
to
take
a
new
route
to
escape
to
Pakistan
due
to
constant
watch
of
Indian
security
and
intelligence
agencies
at
Nepal
and
Bangladesh
borders
for
the
past
one
year.
According
to
the
interrogation
details
of
Zia-Ur-Rehman
alias
'Waqas',
had
visited
the
Rajasthan
border
at
Barmer
looking
for
a
new
route
to
cross
over.
Sources
say
Riyaz
Bhatkal,
had
asked
them
to
go
to
Barmer
and
look
out
for
the
fresh
escape
route.
Times
of
India,
April
17,
2014.
Pakistan
based
outfits
active
in
Kashmir
valley,
says
Director
General
of
Police
(DGP)
Ashok
Prasad:
Director
General
of
Police
(DGP)
Ashok
Prasad
said
that
only
Pakistan
based
outfits
are
active
in
the
region.
The
Police
Chief
stated
that
most
of
the
militants
operating
in
valley
hail
from
Punjab
area
of
Pakistan
and
there
are
no
reports
with
the
security
establishment
that
the
ultras
are
from
any
third
country
like
Chechnya,
Bosnia
or
Afghanistan.
The
militants
operating
in
valley
are
either
from
Pakistan
occupied
Kashmir
(PoK)
or
Pakistan,
he
added.
Kashmir
Watch,
April
16,
2014.
More
BOPs
to
set
up
on
Indo-Bangladesh
border
in
Tripura
by
2017,
says
BSF:
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
will
set
up
81
new
composite
Border
Outposts
(BOPs)
along
the
856
km
long
Indo-Bangla
border
in
Tripura
by
the
year
2017
in
addition
to
the
existing
245
BOPs,
Border
Security
Forces
(BSF)
sources
said
on
April
14.
BSF
said
80
per
cent
of
the
border
fencing
was
complete
and
the
remaining
20
per
cent
could
not
be
completed
due
to
tough
terrain
and
large
populations
near
the
border.
Border
fencing
was
constructed
150
yards
away
from
the
demarcation
line
in
adherence
to
Border
management
agreement
signed
between
Bangladesh
and
India
in
1974.
Shillong
Times,
April
15,
2014.
NEPAL
TRC
and
CED
Bills
tabled
in
Legislature
Parliament:
After
much
ruckus
and
disruption,
the
bills
on
Truth
and
Reconciliation
Commission
(TRC)
and
Commission
on
Enforced
Disappearance
(CED)
were
finally
tabled
in
the
Legislature
Parliament
on
April
18.
Minister
for
Law
Narhari
Acharya
tabled
the
two
bills
for
deliberation
in
the
House
that
resumed
on
April
18
after
two
consecutive
days
of
disruption
by
the
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
protesting
against
revival
of
conflict
era
cases.
If
the
bills
are
endorsed
by
the
Parliament
then
the
two
commissions
will
have
the
sole
authority
to
all
the
conflict
era
human
rights
abuse
cases.
Nepal
News,
April
19,
2014.
PAKISTAN
USD
1.6
billion
will
be
spent
on
development
projects
in
Balochistan,
promises
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif:
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif
while
addressing
the
Cabinet
Meeting
in
Islamabad
on
April
18
said
that
USD
1.6
billion
will
be
spent
on
different
development
projects
in
Balochistan,
with
Gwadar
being
developed
as
a
model
city.
The
Prime
Minister
said
that
the
development
in
Balochistan
was
a
priority
for
the
Government
and
development
plans
to
put
the
most
neglected
Province
on
road
to
progress,
"were
being
implemented
expeditiously."
Dawn,
April
19,
2014.
Government
to
hold
fresh
talks
with
TTP
negotiators:
The
Government
is
planning
a
fresh
round
of
talks
with
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
negotiators
at
the
weekend,
Federal
Interior
Ministry
official
said
on
April
18,
despite
the
militants'
refusal
to
extend
a
ceasefire
called
to
help
peace
efforts.
Federal
Minister
of
Interior
Chaudhry
Nisar
Ali
Khan
said
in
a
statement
that
he
has
called
a
meeting
with
the
TTP's
talks
committee
on
April
19
to
decide
how
to
proceed.
He
said
only
dialogue
could
overcome
reservations
and
objections,
but
warned
there
was
little
chance
of
progress
without
a
ceasefire.
"If
Taliban
have
certain
objections,
we
also
have
reservations,"
he
said,
adding
the
government
pushed
forward
the
peace
process
against
serious
logjams.
Dawn,
April
19,
2014.
30,000
Hazaras
fled
Balochistan
in
last
five
years,
reveals
HRCP
Vice
Chairperson
Tahir
Hussain
Khan:
According
to
Human
Rights
Commission
of
Pakistan
(HRCP)
Vice
Chairperson
Tahir
Hussain
Khan,
nearly
30,000
members
of
the
Hazara
community
have
migrated
in
the
last
five
years
from
Balochistan
to
other
parts
of
the
country.
Khan
said
that
the
flow
of
migration
increased
as
nearly
1,000
members
of
the
Hazara
community
have
been
killed
in
targeted
attacks
since
2009.
Members
of
the
Hazara
community
leaving
Quetta
and
other
parts
of
the
province
comprise
businessmen,
highly
educated
workers
and
senior
government
officials,
amongst
others,
he
added.
Tribune,
April
12,
2014.
Federal
Government
decides
to
'go
slow'
on
peace
process:
In
response
to
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan's
(TTP)
decision
to
not
extend
the
ceasefire,
the
Government
after
a
meeting
of
the
Cabinet
Committee
on
National
Security
on
April
17
decided
to
'slow
down'
the
dialogue
process
and
adopt
the
'wait
and
see'
policy.
The
meeting
was
chaired
by
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif.
The
committee
decided
that
dialogue
with
militants
would
only
be
held
if
held
peacefully
without
terror
attacks
launched
by
the
TTP,
otherwise
force
would
be
used.
This
was
confirmed
by
an
unnamed
high
ranking
official.
Daily
Times,
April
18,
2014.
160
primary
and
middle
schools
remain
closed
in
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa,
Department
of
Education
informs
Provincial
Assembly:
The
Department
of
Elementary
and
Secondary
Education
informed
the
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
Assembly
on
April
17
that
at
least
160
primary
and
middle
schools
had
been
closed
down
across
the
province
due
to
lawlessness,
natural
disaster,
unavailability
of
teachers
and
land
disputes.
The
Provincial
Government
admitted
that
13
primary
and
middle
schools
for
boys
and
girls
had
been
shut
down
on
the
outskirts
of
Peshawar
due
to
militancy.
Dawn,
April
18,
2014.
Main
Army
officer
accused
in
35
missing
persons'
case
will
be
court
martialed,
Federal
Government
tells
Supreme
Court:
In
the
case
of
35
persons,
who
went
missing
from
Army's
internment
centre
in
Malakand
Fort
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa,
the
Federal
Government
on
April
16
submitted
a
statement
in
the
Supreme
Court
suggesting
that
the
main
accused,
a
junior
Army
officer,
identified
as
Naib
Subedar
Amanullah
Baig,
would
be
court
martialed
under
the
Pakistan
Army
Act
(PAA)
1952.
Deputy
Attorney
General
(DAG)
Waqas
Dar
submitted
a
one-page
statement
on
behalf
of
the
Defence
Ministry,
informing
the
court
that
the
main
accused
was
a
serving
member
of
the
Armed
forces
and
subject
to
punishment
under
the
PAA.
Dawn,
April
17,
2014.
Widespread
impunity
for
killers
of
journalists
in
Pakistan,
says
CPJ's
2014
Global
Impunity
Index:
According
to
Committee
to
Protect
Journalists
(CPJ's)
2014
Global
Impunity
Index,
Pakistan
showed
a
modest
improvement
with
the
conviction
of
six
men
for
the
assassination
of
Geo
News
Journalist
Wali
Khan
Babar
on
January
13,
2011.
CPJ
while
referring
to
Wali
Khan
Babar's
case,
noted
that
Pakistan
has
shown
improvement
with
regard
to
punishing
the
culprits
responsible
for
slaying
journalist
and
moved
to
9th
place
on
Impunity
Index
Rating,
where
it
had
ranked
8th
last
year.
Tribune,
April
17,
2014.
US
Air
Force
pilots
and
not
CIA
carry
out
drone
strikes
in
Pakistan,
reveals
documentary
on
drones:
According
to
a
new
documentary,
titled
Drone,
the
US
Air
Force
pilots,
and
not
Central
Intelligence
Agency
(CIA)
operatives,
carry
out
drone
strikes
in
Pakistan.
The
documentary
reveals
that
US
Air
Force
pilots
at
Creech
Air
Force
Base,
around
75
kilometres
from
Las
Vegas,
are
carrying
out
drone
attacks
for
the
CIA.
"The
CIA
might
be
the
customer
but
the
air
force
has
always
flown
it,"
Brandon
Bryant,
one
of
the
pilots
who
appear
in
the
documentary
said.
Dawn,
April
16,
2014.
SRI
LANKA
Reconciliation
in
Sri
Lanka
after
a
three-decade
long
war
cannot
be
achieved
overnight,
says
Military
spokesman
Brigadier
Ruwan
Wanigasuriya:
Military
spokesman
Brigadier
Ruwan
Wanigasuriya
said
reconciliation
in
Sri
Lanka
after
a
three-decade
long
war
cannot
be
achieved
overnight.
Brigadier
Wanigasuriya
made
this
remark
in
response
to
media
queries
on
a
statement
made
by
the
United
States
(US)
Assistant
Secretary,
Bureau
of
South
and
Central
Asian
Affairs
Nisha
Desai
Biswal
that
US
will
resume
"more
comprehensive"
military
relationship
with
Sri
Lanka
once
the
Government
makes
progress
towards
reconciliation
and
accountability.
Colombo
Page,
April
18,
2014.
Interpol
has
issued
40
'Red
Notices'
against
LTTE
operatives
living
abroad,
says
Police
Media
Spokesman
SSP
Ajith
Rohana:
Media
Spokesman
Senior
Superintendent
of
Police
(SSP)
Ajith
Rohana
on
April
17
said
that
the
Interpol
is
reported
to
have
issued
40
'Red
Notices'
against
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
operatives
living
abroad.
He
said
"We
obtain
a
warrant
against
anyone
who
has
not
served
his
or
her
jail
sentence
for
more
than
two
years.
We
also
inform
Interpol
with
the
relevant
detail.
Red
Notices
have
also
been
issued
to
56
non-LTTE
operatives
as
well.".
Daily
Mirror,
April
18,
2014.
TRAC
names
extremist
Sinhala
Buddhist
organization,
BBS
as
terrorist
organization:
Terrorism
Research
and
Analysis
Consortium
(TRAC)
has
named
the
Bodhu
Bala
Sena
(BBS),
an
extremist
Sinhala
Buddhist
organization
in
Sri
Lanka,
as
a
terrorist
organization.
TRAC
has
listed
about
3,800
groups
known
to
aid
and
abet
political
violence
or
terrorist
organizations
including
al
Qaeda
and
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE).
The
BBS
is
understood
by
the
TRAC
to
be
an
organization
which
uses
terrorism
as
a
means
to
an
end.
Colombo
Page,
April
16,
2014.
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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