| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 34, February 22, 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
|
J&K:
Dwindling Terror
Ajit
Kumar Singh
Research
Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
In the
worst terror attack recorded in the state since December
2014, six persons were killed in a suicide attack that
commenced on February 21, 2016, and which was continuing
at the time of writing. An unspecified number of terrorists
attacked a vehicle of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
in the Sempora area of Pampore in Pulwama District killing
two personnel of the CRPF and injuring another nine. Subsequently,
the militants rushed into the Entrepreneurship Development
Institute (EDI) building nearby and took refuge there
amid a heavy exchange of gunfire with CRPF personnel.
When a CRPF team headed by an Assistant Commandant tried
to enter the building, the Assistant Commandant and two
CRPF personnel were injured and a gardener was killed
in militant firing. Later, a large contingent of the Army
joined the operation and over 100 employees and trainees
who were trapped inside the EDI complex in three buildings
were evacuated. Three Army commandos, including two Captains,
and a militant were killed in the gunfight on February
22.
On December
5, 2014, a group of heavily armed militants had stormed
into the Army's 31 Field Regiment Ordinance Camp located
at Mohra in the Uri Sector of Baramulla District near
the Line of Control (LoC). A gun battle followed, in which
one Lieutenant Colonel and seven soldiers of the Army,
as well as one Assistant Sub Inspector and two constables
of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police were killed.
Six militants were also killed in the operation. Six AK
rifles with 55 Magazines, two shotguns, two Night Vision
Binoculars, four Radio Sets, 32 Grenades, one Medical
Kit and other materials were recovered from the dead terrorists.
Through
2015, the Security Forces (SFs) lost 41 personnel, while
eliminating 113 terrorists, yielding a ratio of roughly
1:2.75. This was an improvement over the success achieved
in 2014, when SFs had eliminated 110 militants while losing
51 of their men, a ratio of approximately 1:2.15. In 2016
prior to the Pulwama incident (for which final fatalities
are still to be ascertained), two SF personnel have lost
their lives while 16 militants have been killed in SF
operation, yielding a ratio of 1:8, though this is likely
to be significantly reduced by the end of the Sempora
operation.
Despite
proclivities to exaggerated threat perceptions and media
over-reaction to the most recent of terrorist outrages,
operational successes of the Forces on the ground have
culminated in a quantifiable improvement in the security
environment in J&K, particularly for the civilian
population. Through 2015, the number of civilians killed
stood at 20, substantially lower than the 32 civilian
fatalities recorded in 2014. The last major attack (involving
three of more fatalities) targeting civilians was recorded
on December 5, 2014, when militants had exploded a grenade
in the Tral town of Pulwama District, near the Bus Stand,
killing one person and injuring another 12. One of the
injured persons died later the same day, while another
succumbed to his injuries on December 12, 2014.
Further,
according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP)
database, total militancy-related fatalities in the State
declined from 193 in 2014 to 174 in 2015. Thus, the declining
trend in fatalities on a year on year basis witnessed
since 2001 was once again established after a gap of two
years. After a low of 117 in 2012, such fatalities had
increased to 181 in 2013 and 193 in 2014, raising concerns
over the consolidation
of peace in the State.
A number
of other parameters of violence have also registered declines.
Though the number of major incidents increased from 20
in 2014 to 24 in 2015, the resultant fatalities declined
from 102 to 92. Similarly, while there was an increase
in incidents of suicide attacks, from two in 2014 to six
in 2015, the resultant fatalities declined from 29 in
2014 to 20 in 2015. More importantly, while militants
had killed 19 people (five civilians and 14 SF personnel)
in such attacks in 2014, they lost 20 of their cadres
while causing seven deaths (four civilians and three SF
personnel) in 2015. The number of explosions and resultant
fatalities, however, registered increase, from 15 and
six respectively in 2014 to 37 and 11 respectively in
2015; it is significant, however, that the escalation
in number of explosions was not matched by a proportionate
increase in fatalities. Nevertheless, the number of Districts
from where fatalities were recorded increased from 13
in 2014 to 14 in 2015. Further, in 2015, only 16 of the
State’s 22 Districts recorded any kind of subversive activities
(incidents like arrests, recovery of arms and ammunition,
explosions, etc., apart from killings) as against 18 Districts
in 2014.
The improvement
in the situation also coincided with a relative decline
in volatility along the Line of Control and International
Border with Pakistan. A significant dip was registered
in incidents of Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) violations
from across the border. According to India’s Ministry
of Defence (MoD), the number of CFA violations had increased
from 347 in 2013 to 583 in 2014. In 2015, till November
30, there had been 400 ceasefire violations. According
to SATP data, at least one CFA violation was recorded
in December 2015.
Significantly,
in a major development in September 2015, India’s Border
Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers had agreed
to honour the November 2003 CFA for peace along the borders.
At the end of four days of talks in New Delhi on September
12, 2015, the BSF and Rangers signed a 20-point ‘Joint
Record of Discussion’ charting the future roadmap of cooperation
between the two border Forces. Both sides also agreed
to hold the next round of talks in first half of 2016
in Pakistan. Though SATP has recorded no CFA violation
in 2016, thus far, between September 13 and December 31,
2015, at least 60 CFA violations were recorded, of which
24 were reported on October 26 alone in the Samba sector,
though without any fatality. However, following another
round of talks between the Border Forces of both sides
on October 27, just another three CFA violations were
recorded.
In another
indicator of declining volatility at the border, the number
of terrorists who attempted infiltration registered a
sharp decline. According to the MoD, such numbers stood
at 221 through 2014, and came down to 92 in 2015 (till
September 30, 2015). More importantly, out of 221 militants
who attempted to infiltrate in 2014, at least 65 managed
to infiltrate, while 52 were killed and 104 were beaten
back. In 2015, only 17 out of 92 infiltrators were successful,
while 37 were killed and 38 were pushed back (data till
September 30, 2015). According to partial data compiled
by SATP, between October 1 and December 31, 2015, another
five incidents of infiltration were recorded in which
at least four militants were killed.
Threats
from across the border, however, persist. Lt. Gen. R.R.
Nimbhorkar, General-Officer-Commanding (GoC), White Knight
Corps, disclosed, on November 19, 2015, that over 600
militants were being trained in camps functional in Pakistan
administered Kashmir (PaK). He also stated that 35 to
36 militant training camps were intact in PaK.
Within
J&K, over 200 militants were estimated to still be
active. GoC of the Army’s 15 Corps Lt. Gen. Satish Kumar
Dua, stated, on January 28, 2016, “There are around 220
militants, over 200 militants in Kashmir.” More worryingly,
local recruitment appears to be following an upward trend.
Lt. Gen. Dua had observed, on October 25, 2015: “Due to
the robust anti-infiltration grid in place at the LoC
in Kashmir, militants are being trained locally. Since
militants are finding it difficult to infiltrate, there
is a ploy from the other side to ensure local recruitment,
and training of militants internally.” However, no specific
numbers were revealed.
Meanwhile,
separatist groups despite facing wider rejection from
Kashmiris, continue to incite small sections of the population
to violent protests, as in the past, to vitiate the increasingly
peaceful environment. According to partial data compiled
by SATP, at least three protestors were killed in alleged
Police firing on violent demonstrations in 2015, as against
two in 2014. In 2016, two persons, including a girl, have
already been killed in one such incident.
On a positive
note, however, the Islamic State (IS, formerly, Islamic
State of Iraq and al Sham, also Daesh) has failed to make
significant inroads into J&K, as in the rest of the
country. Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D. S. Hooda
confirmed on February 6, 2016, that IS did not have a
“very large footprint” in the State, adding, however,
“We need to study the situation properly. We need to make
sure that they do not make inroads.”
In a worrying
pattern, terrorists continued to find moles within the
State Police Forces. In one such incident, Naseer Ahmad
Pandit of the 11th Battalion of J&K Armed
Police, guarding the house of then Roads and Building
Minister Altaf Bukhari, decamped with two AK rifles and
two magazines in the night of March 27, 2015. After escaping,
Pandit and three of his associates joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM).
Though no other incident of this kind was reported in
2015, two such cases have already been recorded in 2016.
On January 14, 2016, Constable Shakoor Ahmad Perry escaped
with four AK-47 rifles from the Sub Divisional Police
Officer’s (SDPO) office at Bijbehara in Anantnag District,
where he was posted as a personal security officer to
the SDPO Bijbehara, Irshad Ahmad Bhat. Three of these
rifles were subsequently recovered by the Police. Police
arrested two people in two separate incidents along with
a rifle each while another person surrendered with a third
rifle. Shakoor, who had armed these people, and is still
at large "has obviously joined militancy", Deputy
Inspector General (DIG) of Police South Kashmir Nitish
Kumar disclosed.
There were
also several incidents of snatching of weapons from SF
personnel. In one such incident, on September 12, 2015,
unidentified assailants decamped with a service rifle
of a Policeman posted outside the District Court complex
in Kulgam District. The pistol bearing attackers sprayed
chilli powder into the Policemen’s eyes before snatching
his rifle. Without specifying the numbers, DIG Nitish
Kumar stated that there were two reasons behind the number
of weapon-snatching incidents going up. “One is they (militants)
don’t have weapons and they can’t buy them in Kashmir
because the Government here doesn’t make weapons. Second
is the strict guard at the LoC.”
Political
instability following the death of incumbent Chief Minister
Mufti Mohammad Saeed and the imposition of Governor’s
rule following a failure to settle the terms of continuation
of the ruling coalition of the ideologically irreconcilable
People’s Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janata Party,
have added to the potential for conflict in J&K. While
Governor’s rule has proven to be stabilizing in the immediate
wake of Saeed’s death, its indefinite continuance is likely
to provide motives to various political players to undermine
prevailing equations of power through brinkmanship. SFs
in J&K have done, and continue to do an exemplary
job, but the State has repeatedly been failed by its own
political leadership, as well as by the political executive
in Delhi. If the incipient and relative peace established
over the past years, through tremendous sacrifices by
SFs, is to be consolidated, a measure of political sagacity
and stability is necessary, though it remains persistently
elusive.
|
Tripura:
Exemplary Success
Nijeesh
N
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
As the
State Government consolidated the stabilization process
through 2015, Tripura emerged as the most peaceful State
in the entire Northeastern region of India in terms of
insurgency-related fatalities. While 273 such fatalities
were recorded across the region, including 62 civilians,
49 Security Force (SF) personnel and 162 militants, Tripura
did not account for single insurgency-linked death. Even
Mizoram,
one of the least insurgent-affected States in the region,
and which has been at peace since the collapse of the
insurgency in 1986, witnessed three fatalities (all SF
personnel) in 2015.
Previously,
Tripura had shared the distinction of being the most peaceful
States in the region along with Mizoram in terms of fatalities
in 2013 and 2011. In 2011, both the States had recorded
a fatality each, while there were no such fatalities in
2013. However, Tripura had faced a minor hiccup as it
recorded four insurgency-related killings, including two
civilians and two SF personnel, in 2014. Mizoram recorded
two civilian fatalities in 2014.
Crucially,
at the peak of militancy in 2000, Tripura had recorded
514 fatalities, including 453 civilians, 45 militants
and 16 SF personnel, an extraordinary number for a population,
at that time, of under 3.2 million.
Other parameters
of violence also continued to register declines. According
to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data, five
persons were abducted in three incidents in 2015, as against
six incidents in which 10 persons were abducted in the
previous year. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar disclosed
on August 22, 2015, that over the preceding two years,
18 people had been abducted, of whom 16 were subsequently
released by the rebels. No incidents of explosion were
recorded through 2015, as in the previous year.
Meanwhile,
SFs continued to maintain pressure on the degraded militancy
in the State. Nine militants were arrested in 2015, including
six cadres of the Biswamohan Debbarma faction of the National
Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT-BM);
and one cadre each of the Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram
(BDFM), Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
and purportedly of the Islamic State (IS). During 2014,
SFs had arrested four militants, all NLFT-BM cadres, in
three separate incidents.
Feeling
the pressure, a total of seven militants (all belonging
to NLFT-BM) surrendered during 2015. 'Deputy chief of
the army staff' of NLFT-BM, Athurbabu Halam aka
Semifa aka Babu (41), his wife Rengchonkip Halam
and daughters, along with two other cadres, ‘sergeant
major’ Uttam Kumar Jamatia aka Wathui and ‘corporal’
Krishna Mohan Debbarma aka Kiting surrendered on
May 9, 2015, before the Director General of Police (DGP)
K. Nagraj at the State Police Headquarters located in
Agartala. According to the Police, they were intending
to surrender for a long time. 31 militants, including
18 NLFT-BM cadres, had surrendered in 2014.
The All
Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF),
the only other major militant outfit which operated in
the State is now largely inactive. The last violent incident
attributed to the group dates way back to April 2, 2009,
when a blast took place targeting a Border Security Force
(BSF) patrol party in the Amar area in North Tripura District,
along the Tripura-Bangladesh border, with no reported
fatality. Replying to a question on militant formations
operating in the State, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar informed
the State Assembly on February 19, 2015, that only three
or four militants remained with ATTF. There is no further
information about the current strength of the outfit,
though it remains on the list of 39 groups banned by the
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA).
Not surprisingly,
on May 27, 2015, the State Government announced its recommendation
to the UMHA to issue a notification for the withdrawal
of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958,
and the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA), 1967, from the State.
Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar,
who also holds the Home portfolio, observed,
There
is a qualitative change in the law and order situation
and the development of the State is in take-off
stage. Peace loving people don't want violence,
rather insisted the Government for development at
par with rest of the country (sic). So we
also reviewed it and found AFSPA need not to be
extended anymore. The decisions were taken in view
of the decrease of militancy-related incidents in
Tripura over the last few years. However, the security
forces would be watchful over the situation.
|
The decision
to withdraw the law was taken by at a Cabinet meeting
held at the Civil Secretariat followed a go ahead from
security agencies in the State.
AFSPA was
last extended in Tripura for six months on November 29,
2014. At that time, out of the 74 Police Station areas
in the State, AFSPA was in force in 30 – fully operational
in 26 Police Station areas and partially in the remaining
four. AFSPA was enforced in two-thirds of the all Police
Station areas (then 42) of the State 18 years ago (on
February 16, 1997) to curb a raging ethnic insurgency.
Residual
threats do, however, continue to exist. According to a
report dated February 17, 2015, the NLFT-BM's estimated
cadre strength remained between 120 and 130. The outfit
was responsible for all four fatalities recorded in 2014.
Chief Minister
Sarkar admitted that NLFT-BM remained a problem. On August
26, 2015, the Chief Minister claimed that, as part of
the peace process, his Government had held two rounds
of ceasefire talks over the preceding six months with
NLFT-BM in Delhi and Shillong, but argued, "NLFT-BM
wanted ceasefire before the peace talks proceeded. But
the state government did not accept it. In the last six
months, the outfit has issued subscription (extortion)
notice and made kidnap bids even though the talks were
on." Subsequently, on August 30, 2015, Sarkar categorically
rejected NLFT-BM's ceasefire offer on the grounds that
the state would not compromise the people's security in
any agreement with an anti-national outfit. Significantly,
NLFT-BM had abducted two tribal youth on August 29, 2015,
from the Maldakumarpara Tribal Hamlet under the Ganganagar
Police Station in Dhalai District abutting the Chittagong
Hills Tract (CHT) of Bangladesh. No further details about
the abducted persons are available.
Moreover,
though the number of terror camps in Bangladesh of militant
groups operating in India’s Northeast declined drastically,
some camps remain. On January 4, 2016, Tripura DGP K.
Nagraj stated: “…till recently there were 16 terrorist
camps and a safe house in Dhaka run by anti-Indian militants
on Bangladesh soil, but the Bangladesh Army and Border
Guards Bangladesh (BGB) had launched a fresh crackdown.
As a result, there are now three major camps in Chittagong
Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, besides the safe house in Dhaka.”
The continued presence of NLFT-BM in Bangladeshi territory
was evident from the fact that NLFT-BM’s ‘sergeant’ Mangal
Debbarma killed his comrade Shanti Lal Tripura at Khagrapur
village in Khagrachari District in South Eastern Bangladesh,
on May 16, 2015.
Although,
more than 90 per cent of fencing along the 856 kilometers
long Tripura border with Bangladesh has been completed,
the mountainous terrain, dense forests and other hindrances
make the borders porous and vulnerable, enabling illegal
immigrants and intruders to cross over.
Another
major concern for Tripura is the renewed demand for the
formation of a separate State for the indigenous tribes
of Tripura, 'Twipraland'. On December 16, 2015, at least
15 people were injured in clashes and around 2,000 picketers
were arrested during a dawn-to-dusk strike called by the
Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) in support
of a separate tribal state. Further, a newly formed tribal
party, the Tipra State Party (TSP) conducted an agitation
march in Agartala on January 18, 2016, for a separate
‘Twipraland'.
Tripura
has secured extraordinary success in eradicating insurgency
from its soil through sustained Police-led operations,
backed by a multidimensional approach that aggressively
promoted developmental work to counter the psychological
hold of militants. These initiatives have included infrastructure
development, the provision of basic services for people
in affected areas, and opportunities for surrendered militants
to return to the mainstream. One dramatic index of Tripura’s
success is that the State retained the top position in
India for the seventh consecutive year in providing work
to job card holders under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act). The State Government
provided 68 days of work per household in 2015-16 against
a National average of 36 days.
Tripura’s
counter-insurgency campaign was driven by a trained and
reorganized State Police, led by the Tripura State Rifles
(TSR), rather than by the Army or Central Paramilitary
Forces (CPMFs), as is the case with most of the other
Northeastern counter-insurgencies. The State established
a remarkable Police presence, with 736 Policemen per 100,000
population and 261 Policemen per 100 square kilometers
(according to Bureau of Police Research & Development
data). The number alone is not extraordinary; Manipur
has 1,271, and Nagaland 1,048 Policemen per 100,000 population,
and the State Forces have performed very poorly in counter-insurgency
(CI) campaigns as well as law and order management. Tripura’s
success, in fact, evolved out of dramatic
improvements in Police training, equipment
and leadership, as well as a clear political mandate and
enormous political sagacity. Tripura
Police records show that the State
has reported a reduction in the rate of all crimes and
DGP K. Nagraj disclosed that the rate of conviction had
also risen to 30 per cent in 2015 from 20 per cent in
2014.
Counter-insurgency,
development and governance in Tripura offer an exemplary
model of the ‘holistic’ response other States ordinarily
pay lip service to, but fail to implement. Given the continuity
of political leadership – Manik Sarkar is serving his
fourth continuous term as Chief Minister – and the processes
of capacity building within the Police and civil administration,
the residual irritants along the internal security spectrum
are unlikely to see any further escalation.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
February
15-21, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
Bangladesh
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
Maharashtra
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
5
|
14
|
24
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
9
|
3
|
4
|
16
|
FATA
|
4
|
10
|
14
|
28
|
Punjab
|
0
|
5
|
7
|
12
|
Sindh
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
There
is
no
IS
in
Bangladesh
but
several
home
grown
terrorist
groups
in
name
of
Islam
are
engaged
in
creating
violence
across
country,
says
PM
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed:
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
while
replying
to
a
question
in
Parliament
on
February
17
said
that
there
is
no
Islamic
State
(IS)
in
Bangladesh
but
several
home
grown
terrorist
groups
in
the
name
of
Islam
are
engaged
in
creating
violence
across
the
country.
She
said,
“No
IS
exists
in
Bangladesh,
but
a
few
homegrown
outfits
in
the
name
of
Islam
are
conducting
terrorist
activities
and
involved
in
various
crimes.”
New
Age,
February
18,
2016.
INDIA
AQIS
has
wide
reach,
says
report:
The
al
Qaida
in
Indian
Subcontinent
(AQIS)
was
not
simply
limited
to
the
Deepa
Sarai
neighbourhood
of
Sambhal
District
in
Uttar
Pradesh
from
where
six
men
came
together
to
form
the
outfit.
Its
reach
was
far
and
wide,
according
to
revelations
by
Mohammad
Abdul
Rehman
Ali
Khan.
He
is
now
in
judicial
custody.
Khan
came
under
surveillance
after
a
phone
call
to
him
by
Deepa
Sarai
resident
and
alleged
AQIS-India
'chief'
Mohammad
Asif
was
intercepted
by
Indian
agencies
in
August-September
2015.
The
Hindu,
February
16,
2016.
LWE
violence
has
decreased,
claims
UMHA:
According
to
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA),
Naxal
violence
across
India
has
dipped.
In
2015,
226
people
lost
their
lives
in
1,088
incidents
of
violence
perpetrated
by
Maoists.
According
to
UMHA
statistics,
in
2014,
there
were
1,091
incidents
of
LWE
violence
in
which
310
people
lost
their
lives.
In
2010,
there
were
2,213
incidents
of
violence
in
which
1,005
people
lost
their
lives.
LWE-affected
region
was
restricted
to
141
districts
in
2015
from
162
districts
in
2014.
Deccan
Chronicle,
February
20,
2016.
Centre
is
ready
to
hold
talks
with
Maoists
if
they
shun
violence
unconditionally,
says
UHM
Rajnath
Singh:
Union
Home
Minister
(UHM)
Rajnath
Singh
on
February
19
stated
that
the
Centre
is
ready
to
hold
talks
with
Maoists
if
they
shun
violence
unconditionally.
"I
want
to
appeal
to
them
(Maoists)
to
shun
the
path
of
violence
and
join
the
mainstream...Government
is
ready
to
hold
talks
with
them
if
they
give
up
violence
without
any
condition,"
he
said.
Firstpost,
February
19,
2016.
NEPAL
UDMF
rejects
political
mechanism
formed
to
revise
provincial
boundaries:
The
United
Democratic
Madheshi
Front
(UDMF)
on
February
18
rejected
the
political
mechanism
formed
under
Deputy
Prime
Minister
and
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs
Kamal
Thapa
to
revise
provincial
boundaries.
The
UDMF
issued
a
press
release
saying
the
newly
formed
mechanism
would
not
be
able
to
address
the
demands
of
the
agitating
parties,
so
it
would
not
accept
the
mechanism.
The
UDMF
termed
the
unilateral
action
of
the
Government
forming
the
mechanism
as
a
dictatorial
step
which
could
adversely
affect
the
ongoing
negotiations
between
the
two
sides.
The Himalayan
Times,
February
20,
2016.
PAKISTAN
Pathankot
airbase
attack
case
registered
in
Punjab:
The
Counter-Terrorism
Department
(CTD)
centre
in
Gujranwala,
Punjab
Province
on
February
18
lodged
under
sections
302,
324
and
109
of
the
Pakistan
Penal
Code,
and
sections
7
and
21-i
of
the
Anti-Terrorism
Act,
registered
an
FIR
against
unknown
persons
who
attacked
the
Indian
Air
Force
station
in
Pathankot
(Indian
Punjab).
Indian
government
sources
described
the
move
as
“a
small
step
in
the
right
direction”,
but
expressed
“disappointment
that
Jaish-e-Mohammed
or
its
chief
Maulana
Masood
Azhar
have
not
been
named
in
the
FIR”.
Indian Express,
February
20,
2016.
Pakistan
ranks
third
with
324
executions
in
2015:
Pakistan
hanged
324
people
in
2015
to
rank
third
worldwide
in
terms
of
executions,
but
the
vast
majority
of
those
put
to
death
had
no
links
to
militant
groups
or
attacks,
The
Reprieve
report
said.
According
to
the
report
prepared
by
The
Reprieve,
an
international
human
rights
group,
and
Justice
Project
Pakistan,
of
the
351
executions
that
followed,
only
39,
or
about
1
in
10,
involved
people
linked
to
a
known
militant
group
or
guilty
of
crimes
linked
to
militancy.
Daily
Times,
February
19,
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.
|
|
|