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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 28, January 11, 2016
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
|
Punjab:
Increasing Vulnerabilities
Ajai
Sahni
Editor,
SAIR; Executive Director, ICM & SATP
Two major
terrorist attacks – the assault on the Indian Air Force
(IAF) Base at Pathankot through January 2, 2016, and January
3, 2016; and the strike
at the Dinanagar Police Station in
adjacent Gurdaspur on July 27, 2015 – have not only exposed
tremendous vulnerabilities in Punjab, but gaping holes
in national Counter Terrorism (CT) response protocols,
capacities and capabilities. The Pathankot incident is
particularly worrisome, providing an index of the extraordinary
weakness in the protection of the country’s critical strategic
assets. The IAF Base constitutes the frontline air defence
for any confrontation with Pakistan, and yet the terrorists
succeeded in penetrating into the campus and inflicting
significant casualties. This was despite nearly 20 hours
of clear warning, a definitive identification of the intended
target, and a systemic response that had been initiated
fairly early on January 1, 2016, after central intelligence
agencies picked up conversations by the terrorists with
their handlers and their families, and the Punjab Police
received specific information about their movements and
intention from the ‘abducted’ Superintendent of Police
whose car was used by the terrorists. If the terrorists
had the additional advantage of surprise, the damage they
could have inflicted can now only be imagined. Evidently,
the Pathankot IAF Base would not be unique in its vulnerabilities
among various defence and security establishments across
the country.
The responses
to the Dinanagar Police Station attack were encouraging
on many parameters. The challenge was quickly accepted
by the first responders – the Punjab Police itself – and
they were determined in their refusal to relinquish responsibility
even after National Security Guard and Army reinforcements,
with their vastly superior weaponry and training, arrived
on the scene in strength; and the Punjab Police leadership
led from the front. Nevertheless, there were obvious and
visible deficiencies in protective gear, weaponry, training
and fitness of the Police personnel responding, including
those of the Punjab Police SWAT [Special Weapons and Tactics]
team deployed, and an examination of various aspects of
Police functioning in the wake of the attack exposed growing
politicization, indiscipline, resource constraints and
capacity deficits in the wider Policing apparatus of the
State.
Compounding
these factors is the manifest porosity of the elaborately
fenced and patrolled border, and widespread allegations
of political and Security Forces (SF) collusion in a rampant
drug and smuggling trade that is also exploited by extremist
and terrorist elements.
It is significant
however, that despite these many deficits and defects,
the Sikh extremism and terrorism that had ravaged Punjab
in the late 1980s and early 1990s finds no resonance on
the ground today. Indeed, the two major attacks that have
been executed in the State in 2015-16 are the work of
Pakistan-backed Islamist terrorists. This is despite the
fact that Pakistan has done all it could have to keep
the Khalistani movement alive, providing safe haven and
funding to the surviving leadership and cadres in Pakistan,
and also vigorously supporting and directing the activities
of subversive elements across the world. Despite pressure
from Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), however,
these groups have failed to mount any significant operation
on Indian soil in recent years. The last recorded major
terrorist attack attributed to the Khalistanis in Punjab
dates back to October 14, 2007, when seven persons were
killed and another 40 were injured in a bomb blast inside
a cinema hall in Ludhiana. While there has been no definitive
identification of the group responsible, Police sources
and contextual information suggest that this was the handiwork
of a Sikh terrorist formation based in Pakistan.
There were
no fatalities in terrorist violence in 2008-09, and a
single incident, executed by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
on April 25, in 2010, in which two Pakistani terrorists
were shot dead, and two Punjab Policemen were also killed,
at Rattarwaha village in Gurdaspur District, bordering
the Kathua District of Jammu & Kashmir.
Again,
there were no incidents recorded between 2012 and 2014,
and the peace was only shattered by the Pakistani terrorist
attack at Dinanagar.
Nevertheless,
efforts to keep Khalistani terror alive continue. Thus,
between 2010 and 2015, at least 46 Khalistani terrorist
modules, principally associated with the Babbar Khalsa
International (BKI),
Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Bhindranwale Tigers
Force of Khalistan (BTFK), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF),
Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), and some minor factions,
were identified and neutralized, resulting in the arrest
of at least 158 terrorists.
Intelligence
sources indicate that the Khalistani leaders holed up
in Pakistan are finding no volunteers for terrorist strikes
in Punjab, and that some of these are now collaborating
with the ISI to train Pakistani locals in the language
and culture of Indian Punjab, and in the Sikh tradition,
to facilitate their infiltration into, and operation in,
the State. There have also been continuous efforts to
engineer some kind of collaboration between Islamist terrorist
formations and Khalistani formations in Pakistan for operations
in India, but apart from occasional facilitation in the
movement of weapons, explosives and cadres, this has not
resulted in any significant operational cooperation.
These,
in combination, are the likely reasons for a diversion
of cadres of Pakistani terrorist formations such as LeT
and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)
to Punjab in the Dinanagar and Pathankot attacks. These
attacks also appear to indicate Islamabad’s continued
determination to destabilize, and to engineer a revival
of militancy, in the State. The Dinanagar and Pathankot
strikes may, consequently, be intended as demonstrations
of the vulnerabilities in Punjab, and encouragement to
Khalistani elements to take up the gun and the bomb again.
Pakistan’s
efforts continue
to be backed by radical elements in the Sikh Diaspora,
principally located across Europe and North America, with
fragments in some countries of South East Asia as well.
The Khalistani presence is significant in USA, Canada,
UK, Germany, Norway, and Italy, where various
groups continue to engage in propaganda,
fundraising and recruitment for the Khalistani cause,
and to orchestrate occasional protests and demonstrations.
While all
these efforts have failed to secure traction on the ground
within Punjab, Sikh radical activity has seen an escalation
on the Internet and Social Media, as well as on a number
of extremist owned Television Channels abroad. Funding
from activists and sympathizers in the West has also resulted
in the production of a number of inflammatory films in
Punjabi, and these have been widely circulated in an effort
to radicalize impressionable youth in Punjab.
These efforts
are overlaid on increasing political frustration and disorders
within Punjab, and a growing resentment against Chief
Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s regime, widely perceived
as endemically corrupt. In October 2015, this frustration
boiled over into obviously orchestrated protests and demonstrations
over the desecration of copies of the Guru Granth Sahib,
the Sikh holy book.
Earlier,
hardline Sikhs had sought to mobilize for the commemoration
of the anniversary of Operation Blue Star in June 2015,
with their efforts within Punjab finding echoes across
UK, France, Canada, Germany, Pakistan and Malaysia, among
others.
The Police
in Punjab have demonstrated that they retain the capacities
to penetrate the surviving networks of Khalistani sympathizers
and to scotch any efforts of revival. There is, nevertheless,
the clear and present danger of direct engagement of Pakistan
backed Islamist terrorists, who are evidently better motivated
and organized. Moreover, given the political disarray,
economic stagnation and administrative paralysis in the
State, the possibilities of public anger boiling over
into mass disorders and opening up opportunities for coordinated
terrorist strikes cannot be ignored, particularly given
the poor management of border security in the State. Crucially,
Police capacities in the State have been systematically
eroded by progressive resource constraints and enveloping
politicization of the Force. The Punjab Police that fought
and defeated the Khalistani terror in the early 1990s
is no longer in place; some of the officers and personnel
who served in those campaigns continue to lead the response
to current challenges. But these are all in the last phase
of their tenures, and will soon retire. Without any exposure
to the searing challenge of confronting widespread terrorism,
it is unlikely that the next generation will have the
skills or the will to tackle potential terrorist challenges
of the future.
|
Nepal:
Troubled Peace
S.
Binodkumar Singh.
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Nepal,
which had seen 4,896 fatalities, including 3,992 Maoists,
666 Security Force (SF) personnel and 238 civilians, in
a single year at the peak of insurgency in 2002, sustained
the environment of peace that had been established in
2013, through 2014 and 2015, with not a single insurgency-related
fatality on record. However, though the insurgency has
subsided, Nepal continued to witness significant political
violence through 2015.
The current
cycle
of political violence began on July
1, 2015, when agitating cadres of the United Democratic
Madhesi Front (UDMF) comprising of the Upendra Yadav-led
Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N), the Mahantha Thakur-led
Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), the Rajendra Mahato-led
Sadbhawana Party (SP) and the Mahendra Raya Yadav-led
Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party (TMSP), burnt copies of
the preliminary draft of the Constitution in the capital,
Kathmandu, as it failed to incorporate their demands.
During the first round of violence, between July 1 to
September 19, 2015, according to partial data compiled
by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP),
at least 44 persons, including 25 civilians and 19 SF
personnel, were killed and another 229, including 166
civilians and 63 SF personnel, were injured in violent
protests across the Tarai
region. In Surhket District, adjoining
the Tarai region, another two civilians were killed and
50 were injured.
Violence
continued subsequent to the adoption of the New Constitution
on September 20, 2015, with nine civilians killed and
another 414 persons, including 321 civilians and 93 SF
personnel, injured in violent protests across the Tarai
region, according to SATP data. In adjoining Districts,
one civilian was killed in Udayapur and another was injured
in Dhading District (all data till December 31, 2015).
Warning
that the current Tarai turmoil would create a ‘parallel’
economy in the country, Federation of Nepalese Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Pashupati Murarka
during a Press meet on December 18, 2015, observed,
Tarai
protest led by some political parties for the last
few months has pushed the economic, social and education,
among other sectors, to a serious mode. Nearly 2,000
industries are closed while materials worth billions
of rupees have been stranded on the other side of
the border. The demurrage charge on these materials
is beyond our affordability.
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Speaking
at the same Press meet, FNCCI Vice President Shekhar Golchha
emphasised, “So far, some industries have managed to pay
salary and wages, while others have paid half. Now, they
are feeling difficulty to withstand such pressure.”
FNCCI estimates
that the Tarai turmoil and subsequent unofficial economic
blockade have resulted to economic losses to the tune
of NR 200 billion. Significantly, in fiscal year 2013-14,
Nepal’s economic growth stood at a six-year high of 5.2
per cent. In April 2015, the devastating earthquake reduced
the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 3.04
per cent. Now, because of protests in the Tarai and blockade
along Nepal-India border points, the economy is expected
to book a negative growth for the first time since 1983.
Worryingly,
signs of continued violence are very much in evidence.
On January 2, 2016, SP Chairman Rajendra Mahato emphasized,
“Fifty-five people were martyred during Madhes agitation
and hundreds of people were injured. Hundreds of people
are still in hospitals. As the Government stepped up its
repression, we have also stepped up our resolve to fight
for our rights.” Earlier, the Tharuhat Struggle Committee
(TSC), in a Press Release on December 24, 2015, had threatened
that if its demands were not met by January 14, 2016,
it would promulgate its own Constitution on January 15,
2016, guaranteeing an autonomous Tharuhat province.
Separately,
on December 11, 2015, the Federal Inclusive Madhesi Alliance
(FIMA), which brings together the Sharat Singh Bhandari-led
National Madhes Socialist Party (NMSP), the Rajkishor
Yadav-led Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Republican (MJF-R),
the Anil Kumar Jha-led Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) and
the Jay Prakash Prasad Gupta-led Tarai Madhes National
Campaign (TMNC), submitted a nine-point demand to the
Government. Warning that they would intensify their agitation,
FIMA leaders argued, on December 20, 2015, that the ruling
parties were not serious about seeking a negotiated settlement
of issues raised by Madhes-based parties.
Disturbingly,
the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists
(CPN-Maoists), at a proclamation assembly organized in
Butwal city of Rupandehi District on January 3, 2016,
declared the Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Kapilvastu Districts
as the Abadh autonomous State. Warning that if they were
suppressed they would retaliate against the Government,
Politburo Member Santosh Budhamagar asserted, “Our party
was forced to revive the old structures as the Government
was unable to solve the people’s basic problems after
India’s blockade of Nepal’s border points.”
Significantly,
on June 30, 2015, Nepal’s second Constituent Assembly
(CA) constituted on January 21, 2014, accepted the preliminary
draft of the Constitution. Though it faced strong opposition,
the CA went ahead, and in a historical
step forward, endorsed “Nepal’s Constitution”
with an overwhelming two-thirds majority on September
16, 2015. The new Constitution with 308 articles, 35 parts
and nine schedules, came into effect after President Ram
Baran Yadav announced its commencement at 17:00 hrs on
September 20, 2015, during the last meeting of the CA.
The first CA, constituted on May 28, 2008, with a mandate
to deliver the Constitution by May 28, 2010, was dissolved
on May 27, 2012, after four extensions. While the adoption
of the new Constitution was welcomed by most national
and international groups and leaders, a large segment
of the population, particularly the Madhesis and Tharus
residing in the Tarai region, contested the new Constitution.
To end
the political logjam, the three major political parties
held a meeting with the UDMF at the Prime Minister's official
residence at Baluwatar in Kathmandu on January 3, 2016,
and put forward a proposal to form a Joint Taskforce to
finalize a roadmap to an agreement with UDMF. On January
5, 2016, UDMF formed a three-member task force including
Hridayesh Tripathi, Vice-Chairman of TMDP, Rajendra Shrestha,
Co-Chairman of FSF-N and Ram Naresh Yadav, senior leader
of TMSP, to hold talks with the Government on its 11-Point
demand. The prominent demands included
delineation of autonomous provinces based on historical
background and identity in accordance with the Interim
Constitution; ensuring a separate
article with the clear provision of proportionate inclusion
for marginalized communities; proportionate inclusion
in all state organs; and determination of population-based
constituencies for the election of House of Representatives
and mixed electoral system as provisioned in the Interim
Constitution. Crucially, on January 7, 2016, a meeting
of two taskforces formed by the three major parties and
the agitating UDMF concluded on a positive note in Kathmandu.
After the meeting, Rajendra Shrestha, Co-Chairman of FSF-N
and a task force member of UDMF, observed that it is for
the first time the representatives of the major parties
dwelled on UDMF’s 11-point demands and termed it a positive
development.
Earlier,
in order to discuss the issues of the agitating Madhesis,
coalition partners Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist
Leninist (CPN-UML) and Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
held the first three-party meeting with the main opposition
Nepali Congress (NC) on November 4, 2015, at Prime Minister
K.P. Sharma Oli’s residence in Katmandu. Prime Minister
Oli met the Madhesi leaders for the first time on November
30, 2015. During the meeting, the Madhesi leaders submitted
their 11-Point charter of demands.
Subsequently,
the First Constitution Amendment Bill registered by previous
NC-led Government on October 7, 2015, was tabled in Parliament
on December 15, 2015, and discussions on the Bill commenced
on December 28, 2015. Though the deliberations were expected
to conclude on December 31, 2015, parties decided to extend
the process till January 3, 2016, in the hope of reaching
an agreement with the agitating Madhesi parties. Thereafter,
with no consensus emerging, the Parliament was adjourned
till January 13, 2016, as Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar
was going to see her ailing husband, UCPN-Maoist leader
Barshaman Pun, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Meanwhile,
the Government launched a campaign, ‘People's Constitution
among People' on December 7, 2015, in a bid to make people
aware about the new Constitution. The campaign was extended
on January 5, 2016, until February 4, 2016, as its continuation
was demanded at local levels and the programme was yet
to cover some Tarai and Hill Districts. As part of the
campaign, various interactions were held in around 80
per cent of all District headquarters, municipalities
and Village Development Committees (VDCs).
In order
to prevent further delays on the Constitution Amendment
on the basis of proportionate inclusion ensured by the
Interim Constitution, the Nepal Bar Association (NBA),
after the meeting of the 43rd NBA Executive
Council held in Lalitpur District on December 11, 2015,
urged Parliament and the political parties to hold a dialogue
with agitating Madhes-based parties and to settle issues
related to citizenship as well. Similarly, Dr. Mahendra
Bista, Chairman of the Federation of Nepali Journalists
(FNJ), speaking at an interaction programme on hardships
of Tarai-based journalists organized in the Simara town
of Bara District on January 4, 2016, noted, "The
issues should be resolved through the medium of talks
and dialogue, and media should play positive roles for
this to happen."
Indeed,
the promulgation of new Constitution on September 20,
2015, was a historic step forward, but the crisis in the
Tarai has created a logjam that is enormously damaging
the country, not only materially, but also socially and
politically, exacerbating ethnic polarization and anger.
113 days have passed since the promulgation of the Constitution,
and the ruling establishment has not been able to convince
the people of the southern plains that it addresses their
concerns and is not discriminatory. The country has gone
through a long and arduous struggle to arrive at the present
Constitution, but if ethnic polarization persists, and
present trends towards radicalization deepen, the hard
won peace could be compromised. Leaders across the political
spectrum need to tone down their current polarizing rhetoric
and address the legitimate grievances of various population
segments.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
January
4-10, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Left Wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
Total (Bangladesh)
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
INDIA
|
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Bihar
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Odisha
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
Total (INDIA)
|
3
|
2
|
12
|
17
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
FATA
|
4
|
0
|
43
|
47
|
Sindh
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
6
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Supreme
Court
upholds
Motiur
Rahman
Nizami's
death
penalty
in
crimes
committed
during
Liberation
War:
The
Supreme
Court
(SC)
on
January
6
upheld
the
death
penalty
awarded
to
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
Chief
Motiur
Rahman
Nizami
for
crimes
against
humanity
committed
during
the
1971
War
of
Liberation.
Acquitting
Nizami
of
three
charges,
the
court
found
him
guilty
of
five
charges.
The
International
Crimes
Tribunal-1
(ICT-1)
had
earlier
declared
him
guilty
of
eight
charges,
awarding
him
death
for
four
charges.
The Daily Star,
January
6,
2016.
JeI
will
be
banned
by
2016
following
legal
procedure,
says
Food
Minister
Quamrul
Islam:
Food
Minister
Quamrul
Islam
on
January
7
said
that
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
will
be
banned
by
2016
following
legal
procedure.
He
said,
“Jamaat
will
be
banned
by
2016
through
legal
process…there
is
no
confusion
over
it.
Jamaat’s
politics
can’t
continue
on
the
soil
of
Bangladesh.
We
believe
the
financial
sources
of
the
party
will
also
be
stopped.”
New
Age,
January
9,
2016.
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
also
would
not
be
spared
by
people
of
Bangladesh
for
having
committed
similar
crimes
like
war
criminals,
says
PM
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
on
January
8
said
that
like
the
war
criminals,
Bangladesh
Nationalist
Party
(BNP)
Chairperson
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
also
would
not
be
spared
by
the
people
of
Bangladesh
for
having
committed
similar
crimes.
Referring
to
the
BNP's
destructive
movement
to
topple
the
Government
she
said,
"Khaleda
Zia
committed
the
same
offence
against
the
people
of
Bangladesh
in
2015.
But
the
people
of
the
country
did
not
cast
their
votes
in
favour
of
the
party
as
they
were
enraged
by
arson
and
destructive
politics
of
it."
The Daily Star,
January
9,
2016.
INDIA
There
have
been
136
terror
attacks
in
India
in
27
years,
according
to
UMHA:
There
have
been
136
terror
attacks
in
India
in
last
27
years,
according
to
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA).
The
state
of
Punjab
has
witnessed
34
terror
attacks,
the
highest.
The
majority
of
the
attacks
occurred
during
the
1990s,
with
the
latest
attacks
reinforcing
a
view
that
India’s
security
forces
cannot
cope
with
small
bands
of
terrorists.
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K)
and
Delhi
have
witnessed
27
and
18
attacks,
respectively,
during
the
same
period.
Firstpost,
January
5,
2016.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
'chief'
Syed
Salahuddin
warns
India
of
more
attacks:
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM)
‘chief’
Syed
Salahuddin
warned
India
of
more
attacks
if
it
did
not
give
up
“genocide”
in
Kashmir.
He
also
claimed
that
a
special
unit
of
the
United
Jihad
Council
(UJC)
carried
out
the
Pathankot
airbase
attack
(Punjab).
“Whether
or
not
Pakistan
and
India
go
ahead
with
their
planned
talks,
Kashmiri
Mujahideen
will
continue
to
strike
until
New
Delhi
stops
killing
innocent
Kashmiris
who
are
struggling
for
their
basic
human
right
of
self-determination,
as
promised
by
the
UNSC
resolutions,”
Salahuddin
said
in
an
interview
with
a
Pakistani
newspaper.
Asian Age,
January
8,
2016.
NEPAL
Two
task
forces
of
major
parties
and
agitating
UDMF
start
point-wise
discussion
on
11-point
demands:
Two
task
forces
of
major
parties
and
the
agitating
United
Democratic
Madheshi
Front
(UDMF)
on
January
8
started
point-wise
discussion
on
the
front’s
11-point
demands.
According
to
a
member
of
the
UDMF
task
force
Hridayesh
Tripathi,
both
the
task
forces
have
started
debating
on
the
11-point
demands
in
a
free
and
frank
manner.
He
claimed
that
they
had
agreed
not
to
disclose
their
stances
to
the
media,
as
that
might
create
problem
during
negotiations.
The Himalayan
Times,
January
9,
2016.
PAKISTAN
43
militants
and
four
civilians
among
47
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
five
suspected
militants
were
killed
in
a
United
States
(US)
drone
strike
carried
out
in
the
Mangroti
area
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
(NWA)
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
January
9.
At
least
38
terrorists
were
killed
and
five
others
were
injured
in
fresh
air
strikes
on
militant
hideouts
in
Meezar
and
Sherani
areas
along
the
Afghanistan
border
in
NWA
on
January
8.
Four
tribesmen,
including
a
tribal
elder
Malik
Wali
Khan
Mehsud,
were
shot
dead
by
unidentified
militants
in
Shaktoi
area
of
Ladha
tehsil
(revenue
unit)
in
South
Waziristan
Agency
on
January
7.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
January
5-11,
2016.
1,079
people
killed
in
terrorist
attacks
in
2015,
says
PIPS
Annual
Report:
The
number
of
deaths
in
terrorist
attacks
declined
by
48
percent
in
2015
compared
to
2014,
said
an
annual
report
issued
by
Pakistan
Institute
of
Peace
Studies
(PIPS).
According
to
the
report,
625
terrorist
attacks
were
witnessed
in
the
country
in
which
at
least
1,069
people
lost
their
lives,
while
1,443
people
sustained
injuries.
A
total
of
630
civilians,
318
personnel
of
security
and
law
enforcement
agencies
and
121
militants
were
killed
in
year
2015,
the
report
added.
The
report
said
deaths
in
sectarian
violence
in
2015
surged
by
7
percent
with
272
people
killed
as
compared
to
225
such
killings
in
year
2014.
The
News,
January
6,
2016.
TTP
releases
its
first
annual
report
with
'inflated'
figures:
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
on
December
29,
2014,
released
its
first
annual
report,
claiming
that
in
2015
the
TTP
carried
out
73
target
killings,
12
ambush
attacks,
10
raids,
19
IED
(Improvised
Explosive
Device)
blasts,
five
suicide
attacks,
17
missile
attacks
and
shot
down
two
helicopters,
and
claims
it
killed
some
686
people
in
2015.
In
the
report,
it
claims
that
it
killed
247
people
in
an
attack
on
Peshawar’s
Badaber
air
force
base
in
September
2014.
The
official
death
toll
was
29.
The
analysts
suggested
that
its
“inflated”
figures
illustrate
the
extremists’
struggle
to
demonstrate
their
capability
as
security
improves.Tribune,
January
6,
2016.
State
Bank
of
Pakistan
freezes
bank
accounts
of
PKR
one
billion
over
terror-funding
charges:
The
State
Bank
of
Pakistan
(SBP)
has
frozen
bank
accounts
of
over
PKR
one
billion
as
they
were
allegedly
being
used
for
financing
terrorism.
This
was
disclosed
by
Governor
SBP,
Ashraf
Wathra,
and
his
team
at
a
press
conference
on
January
6.
Wathra
said
121
bank
accounts
of
more
than
PKR
one
billion
were
frozen
over
evidence
of
being
used
for
funding
terrorist
activities
in
the
light
of
a
resolution
of
United
Nations
Security
Council
(UNSC).
The
News,
January
7,
2016.
War
against
terror
entered
in
final
phase,
says
PM
Nawaz
Sharif:
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif
on
January
6
said
that
Pakistan
has
dismantled
terrorists’
network
and
its
war
against
terror
has
entered
in
the
final
phase.
Nawaz
Sharif
once
again
expressed
resolve
to
end
energy
crisis
in
the
country
by
2017.
The
News,
January
7,
2016.
SRI
LANKA
36
Sri
Lankans
have
gone
to
Syria
with
some
of
them
having
joined
IS,
says
Defence
Secretary
Karunasena
Hettiarachchi:
Defence
Secretary
Karunasena
Hettiarachchi
on
January
4
said
that
36
Sri
Lankans
have
gone
to
Syria
with
some
of
them
having
joined
the
Islamic
State
(IS).
He
said,
“Several
Sri
Lankans
with
their
families
including
several
women
and
children
have
been
among
those
who
had
gone
to
Syria.
They
had
said
they
were
going
on
pilgrimage
but
I
believe
that
some
of
them
had
joined
the
ISIS.”
Daily Mirror,
January
5,
2016.
Security
forces
and
intelligence
agencies
on
full
alert
on
possibility
of
any
groups
having
links
with
IS
or
emergence
of
IS
in
the
country,
says
Ministry
of
Defense:
Ministry
of
Defense
in
the
statement
on
January
6
said
that
the
security
forces
and
intelligence
agencies
were
on
full
alert
on
the
possibility
of
any
groups
having
links
with
the
Islamic
State
(IS)
or
emergence
of
IS
in
the
country.
The
Statement
said,
"Security
forces
and
all
intelligence
wings
wish
to
give
a
categorical
assurance
that
they
are
on
full
alert
to
the
possibilities
of
such
links
or
emergence
of
IS
groups
round
the
clock
as
it
is
the
prime
responsibility
of
the
security
forces
and
national
intelligence."
Colombo Page,
January
7,
2016.
President
pardons
former
LTTE
cadre
who
tried
to
assassinate
him:
President
Maithripala
Sirisena
on
January
8
pardoned
former
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
cadre
Sivaraja
Jenivan
alias
Mohommadu
Sulthan
Cader
Mohideen
who
tried
to
assassinate
him
in
2006.
Jenivan,
a
resident
of
the
Koviladi
area
in
Jaffna
District
was
arrested
on
April
23,
2006.
He
was
sentenced
to
10
years
Rigorous
Imprisonment
(RI)
by
Polonnaruwa
High
Court
on
July
3,
2015.
Colombo Page,
January
9,
2016.
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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