| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 41, April 13, 2015
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
|
Persistent
Mischief
Tushar
Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Zakiur
Rehman Lakhvi, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
‘commander’ and alleged mastermind of the November 26,
2008, Mumbai (Maharashtra, India) terror attacks (also
known as 26/11), was released from Adiyala Jail in Rawalpindi,
in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, in the night of April
9, 2015. He furnished a PKR two million in surety bonds.
According to Jail authorities, following his release,
he was picked up by members of Jama'at-ud-Dawa (JuD),
the LeT front organization amid ‘tight security’. His
current location is not known. Earlier in the day, the
Lahore High Court had dismissed the order of detention
issued against him by the Okara District Coordination
Officer (DCO) on March 14, 2014.
Lakhvi
was arrested on December 7, 2008, along with six others
allegedly involved in the Mumbai attack, and challenged
his indictment in the Lahore High Court on December 5,
2009. A bail plea filed by him was dismissed in August
2010, and he continued in Jail – albeit, according to
reports, in extraordinary comfort and with a range of
perks and privileges that provided him unprecedented access
to cadres of his ostensibly banned terrorist group, the
LeT. He was granted bail by the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism
Court, citing ‘lack of evidence’ on December 18, 2014.
Ironically, this was just two days after the December
16, 2014, Army Public School (APS) attack, in which 148
persons, including 135 children were killed, and in the
wake of numerous declarations by the country’s political
and military leadership that all forms of terrorism would
be suppressed in Pakistan. A succession of maneuvers,
thereafter, under intense pressure from India and the
international community, has kept Lakhvi behind bars since
then.
Meanwhile,
the LeT founder and JuD 'chief' Hafiz Muhammad Saeed,
also a close relative of Lakhvi, has roamed free across
the country all these years under direct
state patronage. Saeed, who has a
USD 10 million US Government bounty on his head, is, according
to Pakistani authorities, a “philanthropist”. Pakistan’s
Minister for Defence Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain,
on January 16, 2015, declared that Pakistan could not
ban the JuD led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed because it is
a charitable and not a terrorist organisation.
Unsurprisingly,
despite several reports and claims of a ban
on the ‘charitable’ JuD and the Haqqani Network (which
operates under Pakistani state support against the Kabul
regime in Afghanistan) in the aftermath of the Peshawar
APS attack, it was subsequently confirmed that these outfits
remained ‘legal’. Federal Minister of Interior Chaudhry
Nisar Ali Khan, while clarifying that the Government had
not outlawed any group after the APS attack, declared,
on February 11, 2015, "Yes we are a signatory to
the United Nations (UN) Charter and we will devise a policy
on this topic [but] so far, we have only added 10 organisations
- proscribed by the UN - to our watch list." Interestingly,
the Supreme Court on January 22, 2015, had directed the
Federal Government to upload on its websites, details
pertaining to terrorist outfits banned by the Government.
The Court observed that no such record was available and
friendly countries should also be informed in this regard.
The Government had earlier claimed
that it had banned 63 terrorist outfits, but no record
or notification of such a list is in the public domain.
It is, however, a fact that similar lists consisting of
varying numbers of ‘banned’ terror groups had been released
by the National Assembly in the past. It now emerges that
all but 10 of these organizations are not banned but merely
on a ‘watch list’ which places them under no legal restraint.
Amidst
these developments, Islamabad continues with its deceptive
posturing. Between December 17, 2014, a day after the
APS attack, when the moratorium on execution of death
penalties in terrorism-related cases was lifted, and March
10, 2015, when the Government decided to implement the
death penalty in all cases, a total of 24 persons were
executed. Of these, however, only eight have been involved
in terror cases. Between March 10 and till April 10, 2015,
another 46 prisoners were executed, of which none were
terrorists. The eight terrorists who have been hanged
include:
-
Niaz
Mohammad, who was executed on December 31, 2014, in
Peshawar Central Prison for his involvement in the
assassination attempt on the life of then President
General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf, on December 25, 2003.
Niaz was a close aide of Adnan Rasheed, the chief
‘operational commander’ of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP)-linked
Ansarul Aseer (Helpers of the Prisoners) - a unit
which was founded to secure freedom for the imprisoned
jihadis by conducting jail-break operations.
-
Ahmed
Ali, who belonged to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
(SSP),
was hanged at the New Central Jail of Multan in Punjab
in the early morning of January 7, 2015. A resident
of Shorkot, Jhang District, he was handed capital
punishment for killing three men in an act of sectarian
killing on January 7, 1998.
-
Ghulam
Shabbir, also of SSP, was hanged at the New Central
Jail of Multan in Punjab in the early morning of January
7, 2015. A resident of the Talamba area of Khanewal
District, he had killed Deputy Superintendent of Police
(DSP) Anwar Khan and his driver Ghulam Murtaza on
the Bohar Gate Road in Multan on August 4, 2000. Charges
of sectarian violence were also proved against him.
-
Zulfikar
Ali, who was convicted of killing two Policemen near
the US Consulate General in Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh, was hanged at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi
on January 13, 2015. Ali, a resident of Naval Colony,
Hub Road, in Karachi, was associated with al Qaeda.
-
Mohammad
Saeed alias Maulvi was hanged at Karachi Central
Jail in the morning of January 14, 2015. Saeed who
was associated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)
was awarded the death sentence by Karachi ATC in April
2001 for the killing of DSP (Retd) Syed Sabir Hussain
Shah and his son Syed Abid Hussain Shah on sectarian
ground in an ambush near the Malir City Railway crossing
in 2000.
-
Ikramul
Haq of SSP was hanged at Kot Lakhpat Central Jail,
Lahore, in the morning of January 17, 2015. In 2004
an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad had given him
the death sentence in connection with the killing
of a man, Nayyar Abbas, at Shorkot area of Jhang District
on July 9, 2001. Abbas was a guard of Altaf Shah of
the banned Sipah-i-Muhammad at an Imambargah
(Shia place of worship) in Shorkot.
-
Mohammad
Azam alias Sharif and Attaullah alias
Qasim, who belonged to the LeJ, were hanged at the
Karachi central prison in the early hours of February
3, 2015. Both Attaullah and Azam were sentenced to
death by an ATC in July 2004 for their involvement
in the killing of Dr. Ali Raza Peerani on sectarian
grounds on June 26, 2001 in the Soldier Bazaar area
of Karachi.
None of
the terrorists hanged were from leadership ranks.
According
to officials of the Ministries of Interior and Law and
Justice and Human Rights there were around 8,261 prisoners
on death row in more than five dozen jails of the country
as of on December 17, 2014. Around 30 per cent of them
were believed to be convicted under the Anti-terrorism
Act by Special Courts after 2003-04.
Meanwhile,
in response to hangings and executions of terrorists in
Pakistan, domestically
oriented terrorist groups, primarily
the TTP and its splinters, such as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, have
intensified their operations. According to partial data
compile by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP),
since the hanging of Aqeel alias Dr. Usman, the
first terrorist to be hanged (on December 19, 2014) after
the APS attack, at least 1,485 persons, including 354
civilians, 115 SF personnel and 1016 terrorists, have
been killed in just 114 days (data till April 12, 2015).
Overall fatalities in Pakistan in terrorism-related violence
in the current year (2015) have already crossed at least
1,263 - 339 civilians, 103 SF personnel and 821 terrorists.
Pakistan
continues with a two faced strategy of arbitrary and sporadic
ruthlessness against domestic terrorists, on the one hand,
and sustained support to externally directed terrorism,
particularly in Afghanistan and India, on the other. In
this, it has occasionally succeeded in deceiving elements
within the international community into believing that
it is acting against ‘terrorism’, and in turn securing
the release of fairly regular doses of economic and military
aid. In the process, it has created a domestic environment
of extremism and endemic violence, within which all forms
of terrorism continue to flourish. Pakistan has done grievous
harm to its neighbourhood, and to the world, by long and
continued support to Islamist extremism and terrorism,
but it appears to have inflicted the greatest injury on
itself.
|
Nagaland:
Twist in the Tale
Giriraj
Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
In an early
morning ambush, suspected National Socialist Council of
Nagaland (NSCN) militants killed three troopers of the
4th Battalion of the Rajput Regiment and injured
another four at Tukpi village of Tirap District in Arunachal
Pradesh on April 2, 2015. The identity of the faction
responsible is yet to be ascertained.
A similar
ambush was reported from the neighboring Changlang District
(Arunachal Pradesh) on February 6, 2015, when two civilian
porters were killed and nine Assam Rifles (AR) personnel
were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast
at Monmao village. One of the wounded AR troopers succumbed
to his injuries a day later. An unnamed source from NSCN’s
Khaplang faction (NSCN-K)
claimed that the attack was a joint operation by the NSCN-K
and the Independent faction of the United Liberation Front
of Asom (ULFA-I)
against the Indian Army.
The February
6, 2015, attack was the first in Arunachal since October
25, 2007, in which a Security Force (SF) trooper was killed.
Three AR personnel and a civilian were killed and eight
persons were injured in a powerful IED explosion engineered
by NSCN’s Isak-Muivah faction (NSCN-IM)
in a remote jungle in the Tirap District on October 25,
2007.
Perturbed
by the developments, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister
Nabam Tuki, on April 4, 2015, made a fervent appeal to
the Centre to resolve the insurgency in the region once
and for all: "Unless the core issue of insurgency
is resolved permanently, such incidents may recur. At
the receiving end will always be the common people, security
personnel, the administration and the State Government.
The central Government needs to act fast." The ‘core
issue of insurgency’ in Arunachal Pradesh is linked to
Naga militant outfits, a fact that the Union Ministry
of Home Affairs [UMHA] had underscored while extending
the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) through a formal
notification on September 20, 2014. Out of 21 Districts
in the State12, are currently under the purview of AFSPA.
Arunachal’s
Tirap, Changlang and Longding Districts, of which Longding
shares borders with Nagaland, have long been strongholds
of Naga outfits. These Districts share borders with Myanmar,
where Naga militant formations have a strong presence.
They are part of the imagined ‘Greater Nagaland’ for which
Naga militants claim to be fighting.
Within
Nagaland, one violent incident targeting SFs has already
been reported since January 1, 2015. On March 26, 2015,
four AR troopers were injured when gunmen opened fire
at the personnel, who were waiting for a convoy near Indira
Gandhi stadium in Kohima. Though the last SF fatality
in Nagaland took place on May 11, 2008, when Police recovered
the dead body of an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) trooper
between the Keyive and Heningkunglwa areas under Peren
District; the last attack targeting SFs took place on
September 19, 2011, when militants opened fire targeting
SF personnel on National Highway 2, near old Modern College
in Upper AG colony in Kohima District on September 19,
2011. One civilian was killed and three others, including
two AR personnel, were injured during the firing.
The incidents
suggest that Naga militants, principally the NSCN-IM,
NSCN-K and NSCN-Khole-Kitovi [NSCN-KK],
amidst their continuing internecine battle, both within
and outside
the territory of Nagaland, are resuming their fight against
the Indian State, believing that their respective ceasefire
agreements have failed to ‘deliver’.
Indeed,
on March 31, 2015, NSCN-K asserted that it was no use
extending the ceasefire without discussing the issue of
Naga "sovereignty”. In a press note issued by the
organization’s ‘military supervisor ', ‘lieutenant-general’
Niki Sumi, the group claimed that the Government of India
had failed to discuss the "Naga sovereignty issue",
which was the only basis of the Nagas struggle, and it
was therefore futile to continue the extension of ceasefire:
“Clamouring for peace without even an inclination to discuss
sovereignty issue or resolution of sovereignty is only
farce and any settlement or solution short of sovereignty
would only be a betrayal of Nagas historical and political
legacy.”
Earlier,
on March 27, 2015, NSCN-K ‘chairman’, S.S. Khaplang, had
expelled two senior kilonsers (ministers), Wangtin
Konyak, also known as Y. Wangtin Naga, and T. Tikhak,
for their alleged "anti-Naga nationalism". The
‘expelled’ duo had reportedly, on the same day, attended
the ceasefire supervisory board (CFSB) meeting at Chumukedima
(Dimapur) and had expressed their desire to extend the
ceasefire with the Centre. NSCN-K had signed the ceasefire
agreement with the Central Government on April 28, 2001,
and this has since been extended annually. The last extension
agreed upon between the two sides was in April 2014, which
will expire on April 28, 2015. Except for the ritual of
meeting to decide the yearly extension of ceasefire, not
a single round of talks was held between the Government
and NSCN-K during this entire period.
Further,
prior to the signing of the ceasefire with the NSCN-IM
in July 31, 1997, the Centre had assured the outfit that
it would not engage in dialogue with any other Naga group,
and had stated that the NSCN-IM was the only ‘legitimate’
Naga group. The assurance has proven costly in the long
run.
Meanwhile,
the ‘expelled’ duo of Y. Wangtin Naga and T. Tikhak formed
an new faction, NSCN-Reformation (NSCN-R) on April 6,
2015. The Press Release announcing its formation stated
that its primary agenda would be to “develop a sense of
brotherhood among the Naga family and also to rebuild
the trust and faith among the Naga society. We would also
like to give opportunity to all the Naga people, NGO’s,
social organization, intellectuals and leaders of various
tribal councils to share their ideas in building a renewed
Naga society. It will also be our humble effort to run
the party without becoming a liability to the people.”
This is
the second split within NSCN-K since 2011. Earlier, on
June 7, 2011, Khole Konyak and N. Kitovi Zhimomi left
NSCN-K to form the NSCN-KK. The split was followed by
a sharp increase in fratricidal
killings. The incidents of fratricidal
killing, however, declined through 2014, primarily due
to the signing of the 'Lenten Agreement' on March 28,
2014, during a two-day reconciliation meeting of three
Naga militant groups - NSCN-IM, NSCN-KK and Naga National
Council/ Federal Government of Nagaland (NNC/FGN) - at
Dimapur, under the banner of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation
(FNR). NSCN-KK is presently observing a ceasefire with
the Government.
The Centre,
however, is continuing the unilateral ceasefire with NSCN-K,
according to a statement by an unnamed senior intelligence
officer on April 3, 2015, when asked why the Centre was
not retaliating to the April 2 attack.
In the
meantime, there has been no positive development with
regard to talks with the NSCN-IM. The Union Government’s
Interlocutor for Naga Peace Talks and Chairman of the
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), R. N. Ravi, ruling
out any time bound strategy to deal with the NSCN-IM,
on April 6, 2015 observed, “The Government has not given
any timeline to end the talks. I have no knowledge of
it but we are trying to come to a logical conclusion as
early as possible.” Interestingly, National Security Adviser
(NSA) Ajit Doval, on October 18, 2014, had asserted, “There
should never be any feeling that it (talks) is protracted…
The (peace) process is the means to an end and if there
is an end, which is a desired end, it must be found in
real time. There should be rule of law in the Naga insurgency-affected
areas for which peace process must be completed as early
as possible.”
The Government
is clearly pinned on the horns of a dilemma. More than
70 rounds of talks have taken place between NSCN-IM and
the Central Government since 1997, without any tangible
gains on issues such as ‘Naga sovereignty’ and ‘integration’.
On the other hand, NSCN-IM ‘general secretary’ Thuingaleng
Muivah, on April 4, 2015, clarified that in the course
of political negotiations with the Union Government, the
Nagas have not given up on any issues, including the “sovereign
rights and integration of all the Naga areas that were
divided by the colonial powers without the free and informed
consent of the Nagas.”
The Government’s
directionless approach could also impact on the neighbouring
Manipur State. The Coordination Committee (CorCom), an
umbrella of Imphal valley based militant groups in Manipur,
stated on March 29, 2014, "The decision taken by
the NSCN-K under the leadership of S.S. Khaplang to abrogate
the 14-year ceasefire with the Centre is a right step."
According to reports some cadres of NSCN-K are stationed
in Manipur’s Tamenglong District. On March 21, 2015, four
Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer
(JCO) of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th
Gorkha Rifles on December 17, 2014, were injured in an
ambush by NSCN-K militants at Luklang Khunou in Tamenglong
District.
As the
violent incidents of last few months suggests, NSCN-K
decision to unilaterally call off the ceasefire, the split
within its ranks, and the Union Government’s failure to
make any progress with regard to talks with NSCN-IM, could
lead to greater violence in Nagaland and neighboring northeastern
states. SFs, who had enjoyed clear
respite from terror, will, in particular,
face the brunt of escalating violence, if these developments
continue. Intelligence inputs predict a spike in hit-and-run
attacks on SFs over the coming days, particularly by NSCN-K
militants operating from across the Indo-Myanmar border.
While better
management of the Indo-Myanmar border will be critical
to contain the current trend, the unending ramble of the
‘Naga talks’ will have to be brought to a rational conclusion
if a permanent solution to the repeated cycles of violence
is to be found.
|
Weekly Fatalities:
Major Conflicts in South Asia
April 6-12, 2015
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
8
|
0
|
8
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
0
|
12
|
5
|
17
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
20
|
0
|
3
|
23
|
FATA
|
0
|
1
|
50
|
51
|
Sindh
|
4
|
0
|
9
|
13
|
PAKISTAN
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
JeI
Senior
Assistant
Secretary
General
Mohammed
Kamaruzzaman
hanged
at
Dhaka
Central
Jail:
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
Senior
Assistant
Secretary
General
Mohammed
Kamaruzzaman
(63),
the
third
most
senior
figure
in
the
JeI
was
hanged
was
hanged
on
April
11
at
10:30pm
at
Dhaka
Central
Jail
for
crimes
against
humanity
during
the
Liberation
War
of
1971.
Kamaruzzaman
is
the
second
JeI
leader
to
be
hanged
for
atrocities
during
the
1971
war.
Kamaruzzaman
was
arrested
on
July
13,
2010,
and
indicted
on
June
4,
2012.
On
May
9,
2013,
International
Crimes
Tribunal-2
(ICT-2)
handed
over
death
penalty
to
Kamaruzzaman
after
finding
him
guilty
of
five
out
of
seven
charges
leveled
against
him.
Earlier,
on
December
12,
2013,
JeI
Assistant
Secretary
Abdul
Quader
Mollah
(65),
who
earned
the
nickname
'Mirpurer
Koshai
(Butcher
of
Mirpur)'
was
hanged
at
Dhaka
Central
Jail.
Daily Star,
April
12,
2015.
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
has
gone
back
to
her
residence
with
agony
of
failure
and
defeat
after
staying
in
her
office
for
92
days
aiming
to
topple
Government,
says
PM
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
on
April
7
said
that
Bangladesh
Nationalist
Party
(BNP)
Chairperson
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
has
gone
back
to
her
residence
with
the
agony
of
failure
and
defeat
after
staying
in
her
office
for
92
days
aiming
to
topple
the
Government.
She
said
"Khaleda
has
suffered
a
heavy
defeat,
she
got
back
home
embracing
failure
and
defeat.
She
had
vowed
to
return
home
with
a
floral
necklace
around
her
neck,
but
she
couldn't.
Instead,
she
had
to
appear
before
the
court
and
returned
home
after
having
been
defeated
from
all
aspects
and
with
all
the
agonies."
The Independent,
April
8,
2015.
INDIA
SIMI
regrouping
in
Ahmedabad,
according
to
Gujarat
ATS:
Gujarat
Anti-Terrorism
Squad
(ATS)
has
found
signs
of
banned
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
regrouping
in
Ahmedabad.
Alerted
by
some
suspicious
movements,
its
sleuths
raided
a
house
in
Juhapura
in
Ahmedabad
District
in
search
of
Yasin
Patel
alias
Falahi,
a
key
SIMI
operative.
Falahi
could
not
be
arrested,
but
Police
have
confirmed
information
that
he
was
present
in
the
city
on
March
28,
2015
and
met
former
SIMI
cadres.
Ahmedabad
Mirror,
April
11,
2015.
Terror
funds
of
INR
150
million
recovered
since
2006,
says
report:
In
the
data
on
terror
financing
tabulated
from
2006
till
date,
terror
finances
to
the
tune
of
INR
148.5
million
have
been
recovered
by
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
and
Police
of
15
states.
The
NIA
has
surpassed
the
states
in
recovery
of
terror
finances
despite
starting
operations
as
late
as
2009.
According
to
the
report,
the
agency
seized
INR
36.6
million
in
terror
funds
in
11
cases
investigated
by
it
since
its
inception.
As
many
as
101
persons
are
accused
in
these
cases.
Jammu
and
Kashmir
ranks
second
only
to
NIA
in
seizures.
Times
of
India,
April
10,
2015.
NSCN-K
'reaffirms'
naga
'sovereignty':
Khaplang
faction
of
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(NSCN-K)
has
reiterated
that
it
would
not
compromise
on
'naga
sovereignty'
and
'Pan-naga'
identity
and
reaffirmed
its
abrogation
of
the
cease
fire
with
the
Government
of
India
and
also
expulsion
of
Y.
Wangtin
Naga.
The
'ministry
of
information
and
publicity'
(MIP)
of
NSCN-K
stated
that
abrogation
of
the
cease
fire
and
expulsion
of
Wangtin
were
invoked
in
order
to
salvage
Naga
struggle
from
being
decimated
by
"collusion
of
forces
from
within
and
outside".
Nagaland Post,
April
9,
2015.
HuM's
frontal
organisation
Ansar
ul-Ummah
banned
by
UMHA
on
alleged
involvement
in
anti-India
activities:
Alarmed
over
their
activities
in
India,
particularly
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K),
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA)
slapped
a
ban
on
Ansar
ul-Ummah
(AUU),
a
frontal
organisation
of
banned
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
(HuM).
As
per
UMHA,
the
alleged
involvement
of
AUU
has
been
found
in
anti-India
activities.
Economic
Times,
April
13,
2015.
AFSPA
extended
to
more
areas
of
Arunachal
Pradesh:
Government
has
extended
Armed
Forces
Special
Powers
Act
(AFSPA)
to
almost
the
entire
State
of
Arunachal
Pradesh,
citing
a
serious
law
and
order
situation
in
all
Districts
of
the
State
which
border
Assam.
As
per
a
new
notification
issued
by
Union
Home
Ministry
(UMHA)
on
March
27,
all
Districts
of
Arunachal
Pradesh
bordering
the
State
of
Assam
have
been
declared
as
"disturbed
area"
under
Section
3
of
AFSPA
for
next
one
year.
Sangai
Express,
April
8,
2015.
Pakistan
Army
and
ISI
have
directed
militants
operating
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
not
to
carry
out
attacks
on
civilians
but
to
target
SFs,
say
Union
Home
Ministry
officials:
Union
Home
Ministry
officials
said
that
Pakistan
Army
and
its
intelligence
agency,
Inter
Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
have
directed
the
militants
operating
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
not
to
carry
out
attacks
on
civilians
but
to
target
Security
Forces
(SFs)
leading
to
spurt
in
casualties
among
men
in
uniform.
Officials
said
the
killing
of
three
Policemen
by
militants
on
April
6
in
Kashmir
valley
was
a
clear
indication
about
the
plans
of
the
Pakistan-sponsored
groups.
Times
of
India,
April
6,
2015.
NEPAL
'Constitution
through
process
if
no
consensus
by
April
13,'
says
CA
Chairman
Subas
Chandra
Nembang:
On
April
10,
Chairman
of
the
Constituent
Assembly
(CA)
Subas
Chandra
Nembang
said
the
process
for
the
promulgation
of
the
new
constitution
would
be
forwarded
if
political
parties
failed
to
forge
consensus
within
April
13.
Chairman
Nembang
said
that
there
was
no
alternative
to
forward
the
process
as
per
the
rule
of
the
CA
if
political
parties
failed
to
forge
consensus
on
the
disputed
issues
of
the
constitution
or
the
due
process
within
the
next
three
days.
Kantipur Online,
April
11,
2015.
PAKISTAN
50
militants
and
one
SF
among
51
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
20
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
(JuA)
militants
were
killed
as
Security
Forces
(SFs)
foiled
their
move
to
enter
Pakistan
from
Afghanistan
side
in
the
Shunkrai
area
of
Mohmand
Agency
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
in
the
night
of
April
11.
A
US
drone
strike
killed
at
least
four
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
militants
in
Shawal
valley
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
on
April
12.
At
least
16
suspected
militants
were
killed
and
at
least
10
others
were
injured
when
helicopter
gunships
pounded
militant
hideouts
in
Kandaw
and
Kandu
Ghaibi
areas
of
Kukikhel
in
Tirah
Valley
of
Khyber
Agency
on
April
9.
Seven
TTP
militants
were
killed
and
two
others
were
injured
in
other
air
strikes
in
Mehraban
Kalley,
Thor
Darra
and
Wochay
Wany
areas
of
Tirah
Valley
on
April
9.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
April
7-13,
2015.
US
drones
killed
50
AQIS
militants
over
past
few
months,
claims
AQIS:
The
al
Qaeda
in
Indian
Subcontinent
(AQIS)
on
April
12
claimed
that
a
series
of
American
drone
strikes
have
killed
nearly
50
of
its
members,
including
two
senior
leaders,
over
the
past
few
months.
Deputy
head
AQIS
Ustad
Ahmad
Farooq
and
Qari
Imran,
the
group's
central
council
member
and
in
charge
of
al
Qaeda
in
Afghanistan,
were
killed
in
separate
US
drone
attacks
in
North
Waziristan
Agency
of
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
January
5
and
15
respectively,
AQIS
'spokesperson'
Usama
Mehmood
said
in
an
audio
message.
The
audio
was
emailed
to
the
media
on
April
12.
Tribune,
April
13,
2015.
LeT
'commander'
and
26/11
accused
Zakiur
Rehman
Lakhvi
released:
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
'commander'
and
mastermind
of
26/11
attacks,
Zakiur
Rehman
Lakhvi,
was
released
from
Adiala
Jail
in
Rawalpindi
District
on
April
10.
The
Lahore
High
Court
(LHC)
on
April
9,
2015,
suspended
his
detention
and
ordered
his
immediate
release.
Jama'at-ud-Dawa
(JuD)
supporters
were
present
outside
the
prison
to
receive
Lakhvi.
Lakhvi's
counsel
Raja
Rizwan
Abbasi
had
said
that
the
government
was
left
with
no
other
'legal
option'
but
to
release
his
client
after
the
LHC
suspended
his
detention.
"Neither
the
government
nor
the
Adiala
Jail
authorities
can
violate
the
court's
order
this
time,"
he
said.
Sources
said
that
Lakhvi
was
released
overnight
without
any
announcements
from
jail
authorities
or
the
JuD.
Lakhvi
was
shifted
to
an
unspecified
location
after
his
release,
the
sources
added.
The News,
April
11,
2015.
263
hardcore
terrorists
killed
in
Tirah
valley
of
Khyber
Agency,
says
ISPR:
In
a
series
of
tweets
posted
on
his
official
Twitter
account
on
April
8,
Director
General
of
Inter-Services
Public
Relations
(ISPR)
Major
General
Asim
Bajwa
outlined
Pakistan
Army's
successes
in
Operation
Zarb-i-Azb,
revealing
that
263
terrorists
have
been
killed
so
far
in
Tirah
Valley
of
Khyber
Agency.
The
ISPR
spokesman
tweeted
that
the
information
was
given
in
a
briefing
to
Chief
of
Army
Staff
General
Raheel
Sharif
during
his
visit
to
frontline
troops
amidst
the
ongoing
operation
in
Khyber
Agency.
The News,
April
9,
2015.
UNSC
slaps
sanctions
on
TTP
'chief'
Mullah
Fazlullah:
The
United
Nations
Security
Council
(UNSC)
on
April
7
slapped
sanctions
on
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
'chief'
Mullah
Fazlullah
(40)
for
perpetrating
and
financing
terror
acts.
Fazlullah
was
added
to
the
UNSC
al
Qaeda
Sanctions
list
and
will
now
be
subject
to
assets
freeze,
travel
ban
and
arms
embargo.
The
Security
Council
Committee
approved
Fazlullah's
entry
to
its
al
Qaeda
Sanctions
List
of
individuals
and
entities
for
"participating
in
the
financing,
planning,
facilitating,
preparing,
or
perpetrating
of
acts
or
activities
of
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan."
Business
Standard,
April
8,
2015.
US
approves
billion-dollar
arms
sale
to
Pakistan:
The
United
States
(US)
State
Department
on
April
7
approved
Pakistan's
request
for
a
billion
dollars
worth
of
military
hardware
and
equipment,
identifying
Pakistan
as
a
country
of
vital
importance
for
US
foreign
policy
and
national
interests.
The
US
Defense
Security
Cooperation
Agency
(DSCA)
delivered
the
required
certification
notifying
Congress
of
this
possible
sale.
"This
proposed
sale
will
contribute
to
the
foreign
policy
and
national
security
of
the
United
States
by
helping
to
improve
the
security
of
a
country
vital
to
US
foreign
policy
and
national
security
goals
in
South
Asia,"
the
certification
said,
adding,
"This
proposed
sale
of
helicopters
and
weapon
systems
will
provide
Pakistan
with
military
capabilities
in
support
of
its
counter-terrorism
and
counter-insurgency
operations
in
South
Asia."
Dawn,
April
8,
2015.
SRI
LANKA
Army
releases
570
acres
of
land
from
High
Security
Zones
in
Jaffna
District:
The
Army
on
April
10
released
570
acres
of
land
from
High
Security
Zones
in
Jaffna
District
to
the
District
Secretary
for
Jaffna
for
distribution
among
rightful
owners.
The
Army
in
a
statement
said,
"Under
today's
phase,
397
acres
from
Kankasanthurai
South
and
173
acres
from
Valali
in
the
Valikamam
sector
of
Jaffna
District
have
now
been
released
to
the
District
Secretariat,
thus
completing
the
extent
of
1000
acres
assured
by
the
Government."
Colombo
Page,
April
11,
2015.
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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