| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 12, No. 8, August 26, 2013
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
|
Diminishing
Drones
Anurag Tripathi
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
As the
drawdown deadline inches closer, the United States (US)
appears to have begun to appease its ‘ally’ in the war
against terror, to ensure support for a safer passage
to its troop as they return home. Crucially, US drone
operations in Pakistan have been considerably scaled down.
This is a significant change from what was witnessed during
the earlier years of Barack Obama's presidency.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), the US has carried out at least 277
drone attacks, resulting in over 2,548 fatalities since
2005 (all data till August 25, 2013). While drone strikes
and resultant fatalities increased every year till the
peak of 2010, they started to fall thereafter. Significantly,
in comparison to 273 fatalities in 34 drone attacks in
2012, till August 25, the current year has witnessed only
15 such attacks and 112 fatalities over the same period.
Drone
attacks in Pakistan: 2005-2013
Year
|
Incidents
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
2005
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2006
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2007
|
1
|
20
|
15
|
2008
|
19
|
156
|
17
|
2009
|
46
|
536
|
75
|
2010
|
90
|
831
|
85+
|
2011
|
59
|
548
|
52
|
2012
|
46
|
344
|
37
|
2013
|
15
|
112
|
20
|
Total*
|
277
|
2548
|
301+
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till August 25, 2013.
|
According
to the New America Foundation (NAF), a total of
2788 people have been killed in US drone attacks since
2005. According to the NAF data, five people were killed
in 2005, 94 in 2006, 63 in 2007, 298 in 2008, 549 in 2009,
849 in 2010, 517 in 2011, 306 in 2012 and 107 in 2013
(till August 25).
The last major drone attack (involving
three or more killings) took place on July 28, 2013, when eight Taliban terrorists
were killed in a US drone attack at a house in the Shawal valley of North
Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Some other important drone attacks
in 2013 include:
July 2: At least 17 suspected
terrorists of al
Qaeda and Haqqani Network were killed and two others were injured
in a drone attack at a house in the Sirai Darpakhel area of Miranshah
in NWA.
June 7: A US drone strike killed
seven unidentified terrorists in the Shokhel village of NWA.
May 29: A US drone
strike killed the deputy 'chief' of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP)
Waliur Rehman, the ‘number two’ in TTP, along with at least five
other terrorists in the Chashma village of NWA.
April 17: At least nine Taliban
terrorists, including five foreigners, were killed in a US drone attack in
the Bobar Samal area of South Waziristan Agency (SWA) in FATA.
February 8: Seven al Qaeda and
Taliban terrorists were killed and another six were injured when US drones
fired six missiles and pounded two separate mud-built houses in the Babar
area of Ladha subdivision in SWA.
January 10: At least six unidentified
terrorists were killed in a US drone attack at Heso Khel village in NWA.
January 8, 2013: At least eight
unidentified terrorists were killed and another four were injured when US
drones attacked militant hideouts in the villages of Haider Khel and Hisokhel
in NWA.
January 6, 2013: At least 17
suspected Taliban terrorists were killed and another eight sustained injuries
in US drone attacks in the Babar area of Ladha subdivision in SWA.
January 3, 2013: TTP leader Maulvi
Nazir was among 10 terrorists killed in a US-operated drone strike in the
Sarkundi area of Birmal tehsil in SWA.
The US drone attacks had been
initiated with the principal objective of flushing out al Qaeda and Afghan
Taliban leaders and operatives who had taken shelter in the tribal areas of
Pakistan. Later when the TTP, formed in 2007, stated providing critical support
to al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, the drones started targeting their leaders
and operatives as well. The effectiveness of the drones has been beyond question,
particularly in view of the fact that Pakistani Security Forces (SFs) had
consistently failed to eliminate any significant top leader of terrorist groups
who have taken shelter in Pakistan, and who was fighting the US-led International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
According to a July 29, 2013,
report in The Long War Journal, 79 top terrorists, including Baitullah
Mehsud (former TTP ‘commander’), Osama al Kini alias Fahid Mohammed
Ally Msalam (al Qaeda's operations chief for Pakistan), Mustafa Abu Yazid
alias Sheikh Saeed al Masri (an al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan and
top financial controller), Mohammed Haqqani (a mid-level Haqqani Network ‘military
commander’ and brother of the outfit’s leader Sirajuddin Haqqani), Abdul Basit
Usman (the US had a USD one million bounty on his head), and Abu Jihad al
Masri (the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group and the chief of al Qaeda's
intelligence branch), Abu Usman Adil (the leader of the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan), and Waliur Rehman (the deputy ‘chief’ of the Movement of the
Taliban in Pakistan and the group's leader in South Waziristan), had been
killed in drones strikes in FATA since 2004.
Despite these dramatic successes,
there is nothing to suggest that the situation has been brought under control
on ground, and that the campaign needs to be scaled down. According to the
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report published
on July 31, 2013, Afghanistan has recorded 1,319 civilian casualties in first
six months of 2013, a 23 per cent rise than the number in 2012 over the same
period (1,072 civilian casualties were recorded in 2012). Among these, 443
civilians were killed and 917 were injured by Improvised Explosive Devices
(IEDs), a 34 per cent increase over the same period in 2012. Also noted was
the increase in targeted killings, attacks against civilian Government workers
and high levels of threats and intimidation, which the report attributed to
‘Anti-Government Elements’.
Despite these adverse trends,
the US has slowed down drone operations under Pakistani pressure, as the Obama
administration fears that Pakistani covert support to the Afghan Taliban and
other Pak-backed terrorist formations operating in Afghanistan could significantly
jeopardize the safety of its troops in the final phases of their ‘withdrawal’.
The drone strikes have come under
severe criticism in Pakistan, with alleged ‘collateral damage’ becoming a
critical issue. The May 11, 2013, General Elections further raised the temperature
on US drone attacks, with two major political parties – the Nawaz Sharif-led
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) – citing these as a ‘major complication’ in US-Pakistan relations. An
official statement, issued after the first meeting of the Nawaz Sharif Cabinet
on June 10, 2013, quoted him as saying, "The policy of protesting against
drone strikes for public consumption, while working behind the scenes to make
them happen, is not on.” The Sharif Government has, since, vigorously opposed
the US drone campaign in Pakistan.
Earlier, on May 9, 2013, the
Peshawar High Court had ordered that drones entering Pakistani airspace be
shot down. Observing that drone attacks constitute a violation of international
law and basic human rights, and also violate the territorial sovereignty of
Pakistan, the Court observed that drone attacks should be declared a war crime,
and issued wide-ranging directives to the Federal Government and Security
Forces to ensure the halt of such attacks. These directives included the raising
of the issue at the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) and the General
Assembly. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice
Musarrat Hilali gave the ruling on the four identical writ petitions against
the US drone attacks. The four petitions were filed by several leaders of
the Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC), Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR),
tribal elder Malik Noor Khan and lawyer FM Sabir.
Mounting pressure and the uncertainty
of its enterprise and objectives in Afghanistan have forced the US to change
its stance time and again in recent past. Significantly, White House Press
Secretary Jay Carney in a statement released on February 6, 2013, claimed,
"These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise." However,
US Secretary of State John Kerry on August 2, 2013, declared that the US was
‘making progress’ in the war on terror, and hoped to end the use of drone
strikes "very soon", adding, "I believe that we're on a good
track. I think the program will end as we have eliminated most of the threat
and continue to eliminate it." Kerry, however, did not provide any specifics
on the timeline.
The
US worry over safe and secure withdrawal from Afghanistan has forced it to
bend before Pakistani pressure and the steep decline in drone attacks is the
natural fallout. Nevertheless, the terrorist leadership that has taken shelter
in Pakistan’s tribal areas, with overwhelming evidence suggesting state complicity,
continues to threaten US objectives in Afghanistan, and in the wider Asian
region. Unable to sustain its war against the enduring threat of Islamist
extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan, the US is making desperate overtures
to ‘buy peace’ from an intractable enemy, potentially jeopardizing the security
of the entire region, and, likely, wider theatres across the world.
|
Election
Dilemmas
S. Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
With less than three
months left for the second Constituent Assembly (CA) Elections scheduled
to be held on November 19, 2013, dilemmas about the elections still
persist, with opposing parties further hardening their respective
stands. The three major parties – the Unified Communist Party of
Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M),
the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified
Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) – are, moreover, themselves far from
clear about their approach.
The alliance of
33-political parties led by the Mohan Baidya faction of the Communist
Party Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Baidya), which has been agitating
against the polls from the moment of the 11
point agreement between the UCPN-M, NC, CPN-UML
and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), as well as the consequent
formation of the Interim
Election Government in March 2013, has rejected
the elections under the current dispensation. On June 13, 2013,
the Interim Election Government had announced November 19, 2013,
as the revised date for holding the second CA elections. On the
same day, in a press conference in Kathmandu, leaders from CPN-Maoist-Baidya,
the Ashok Rai-led Sanghiya Samajwadi Party (SSP), and the Upendra
Yadav-led Federal Democratic Alliance (FDA) stated, "Holding
an election on the basis of such a decree is akin to pushing the
country towards further crisis."
In the first formal
meeting between the 33-party alliance and the High Level Political
Committee (HLPC) on August 6, 2013, the 33-party alliance presented
its 18-point demands, which included, inter alia, resignation
of the Government under Khil Raj Regmi; withdrawal of the 25-point
decree issued by the President on March 13, 2013; withdrawal of
all election-related decisions; and formation of a unity government.
The HLPC was constituted on March 16, 2013, by the four principal
political formations, to ‘assist the government’ in resolving possible
problems in the
political sector.
HLPC members, after a meeting on August 7, 2013, which delved into
the demands floated by the 33-party alliance, and without elaboration,
stated that most of the demands of the parties opposing the polls
would be ‘difficult to address’, while a few of these could be fulfilled
without affecting the election schedule.
On August 8, 2013,
Tilak Pun, state committee coordinator of the National Youth People's
Volunteers (NYPV), the youth wing of CPN-Maoist-Baidya, warned,
“We have trained youths in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur
to disrupt the poll process.” Further, on August 16, 2013, the CPN-Maoist-Baidya
started a door-to-door campaign in all the 240 electoral constituencies
across the country to mobilize public support against the polls.
In another endorsement of the party’s stand against the polls, on
August 20, 2013, General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa asserted, “Elections
held by this Government cannot be free and fair. The 11-point and
25-point agreements should be scrapped to open the way for fresh
national consensus and legitimate elections.” Again, on August 23,
2013, Baidya reiterated that dissolution of the current Interim
Election Government under Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was a prerequisite
for any progress, and re-stated his confidence that all problems
facing the country could be resolved through a round-table conference
involving all parties, including the agitating alliance led by his
faction of the CPN-Maoist.
It is pertinent that the proposal
for the round-table conference was first made on July 14, 2013, and there
have seen several overtures from the major parties and the Government, thereafter,
to bring the opposing parties on board. Talks have, however, failed to begin
because of the refusal of the opposing alliance to cooperate.
Significantly, despite the coordinator
of the HLPC Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda’s declared willingness
to sit for ‘unconditional dialogue’ and the panel’s invitation to the 33-parties
alliance on July 17, 2013, Baidya asserted, on July 22, 2013, that his party
would obstruct the CA polls at any cost arguing, “We shall disrupt the CA
polls as the Government and the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) have
invited us for talks with conditions.” Baidya reiterated that his party would
not sit for talks with the Government and the four major parties until they
scrapped the 11-point agreement and articles amended in the Interim Constitution.
On an understanding that the
opposing alliance was, in fact, not interested in elections and was employing
tactics merely to delay and obstruct the CA polls, the HLPC, on August 23,
2013, reached a decision to move towards the elections without CPN-Maoist-Baidya,
if differences were not ironed out in the immediate future. NC President Sushil
Koirala observed, on August 21, 2013, that any further postponement of CA
elections would invite another crisis in the country. However, articulating
the continuing ambivalence of the principal political parties, he added, the
next day, “It is our responsibility to bring Baidya-led CPN-M and the alliance
of poll-opposing parties into election fray. We can't even imagine Constituent
Assembly polls in which CPN-M is not participating.”
The politics of some of major
parties, however, is also pushing the boundaries of civilized political discourse.
UCPN-M Chairperson Prachanda, addressing leaders and cadres of his party in
Pokhara city, Kaski District, on August 7, 2013, declared that the Young Communist
League (YCL), the youth wing of his party, would ‘chase off’ those engaged
in the conspiracy to thwart the CA elections. Further, at a Press Conference
in Kathmandu on August 11, 2013, Ganeshman Pun, Chairman of YCL, stated, “The
200 youths to be deployed in each (polling) booth will also work as a production
team of the party as directed by the party chairman.” Likewise, the Youth
Association Nepal (YAN), the sister organization of the Communist Party of
Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) decided on August 16, 2013, to deploy
its cadres in every polling booth during the CA elections. Endorsing the concept
of ‘every booth effective youth’ at the second central meeting of YAN, which
concluded on August 16, 2013, YAN Chairman Mahesh Basnet also announced the
formation of male and female wings of a ‘Youth Force’ in the near future.
Apprehending a threat, Election Commissioner Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, on August
18, 2013, warned, “Polling booths are not a place for making a show of strength.
It is the Government’s duty to provide security for polls, not cadres of any
political party.”
Meanwhile, the Election Commission
(EC) continued its processes of preparing for elections. On August 22, 2013,
the EC disclosed that it would distribute voter Identity Cards to the around
12.3 million voters, from among the estimated 15.4 million eligible citizens,
by mid-October. Earlier, on August 1, 2013, the EC had unveiled its two-month
long election schedule, according to which political parties could nominate
their candidates for the November 19 polls. Till date, the EC has registered
125 political parties and has allocated election symbols to them. Altogether
139 political parties have filed applications for registration with the EC.
In a bid to ensure free and
fair CA elections, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on July 29, 2013, organized
an integrated security meet of five regional administrators, chiefs of three
security agencies and senior Ministry officials, at the Nepal Police Headquarters
in Kathmandu and discussed challenges posed by armed outfits in the Terai
region and by CPN-Maoist-Baidya.
In another positive development,
the Upendra Yadav-led Sanghiya Loktantrik Madheshi Morcha (SLMM) on August
15, 2013, finally agreed to take part in the ongoing election process, following
a 6-point agreement between the HLPC and SLMM. As per the 6-point agreement,
the key constituents of HLPC will be increased by including SLMM and other
major parties that have agreed to participate in the upcoming elections. According
to the agreement, the CA will have 585 seats with 240 seats under direct electoral
system and 335 seats under proportional electoral system, while 10 seats will
be filled through recommendations.
Moreover,
on August 21, 2013, various Madhesh-based parties who were initially against
the poll process, asked their District committees to recommend at least three
candidates from each constituency for the CA polls. These parties included
the Rajendra Mahato-led Sadbhavana Party; Mahanth Thakur-led Tarai Madhesh
Democratic Party; and Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar-led Madhesi People´s Right Forum-Democratic.
The
elections for a new CA are long overdue, after the first CA was dissolved
on May 27, 2012, without completing its allocated task of drafting a new constitution.
While processes to ensure a successful CA election in November 2013 are now
gathering pace, they continue to be threatened by the disruptive posture of
some political formations, as well as by continuing and hectic negotiations
between those who support and those who continue to oppose the elections.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
August 19-25,
2013
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Meghalaya
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Odisha
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
FATA
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
Punjab
|
11
|
0
|
1
|
12
|
Sindh
|
51
|
2
|
3
|
56
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
Pakistan-trained
terrorists
planning
to
attack
south
India,
says
report:
The
Maharashtra
Police
have
received
a
terror
alert
from
central
intelligence
agencies
warning
that
eight
militants
are
undergoing
training
in
Pakistan-based
camps
to
attack
targets
in
south
India.
The
alert
says
that
the
militants
will
come
via
Sri
Lanka.
Times
of
India,
August
21,
2013.
Steep
increase
in
recovery
of
poppy
husk
and
FICNs
in
2013:
Over
200
per
cent
increase
has
been
witnessed
in
the
recovery
of
poppy
husk,
while
over
12
per
cent
increase
has
been
noticed
in
the
recovery
of
Fake
Indian
Currency
Notes
(FICN).
In
the
last
seven
and
half
months
from
January
to
August,
2013,
the
Border
Security
Force
(BSF)
seized
FICNs
with
the
face
value
of
over
INR
52,
00,000,
while
the
total
recovery
of
FICNs
in
2012
was
around
INR
46,
00,000.
Similarly,
the
BSF
has
recovered
around
246
kilograms
of
poppy
husk
till
August
16,
2013,
as
compared
to
5.5
kilograms
recovered
in
2012.
Indian
Express,
August
18,
2013.
Number
of
women
cadres
of
CPI-Maoist
involved
in
attacks
and
encounters
with
SFs
has
increased
perceptibly,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
R.P.N.
Singh:
The
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
R.P.N.
Singh
while
replying
to
a
question
in
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
India
Parliament)
on
August
13
said
the
number
of
women
cadres
of
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
involved
in
attacks
and
encounters
with
Security
Forces
(SFs)
has
increased
perceptibly.
The
Minister
added,
"In
recent
incidents
of
Naxalite
attacks,
participation
of
a
substantial
number
of
female
cadres
has
been
observed.
A
large
number
of
female
cadres
have
also
died
in
exchanges
of
fire
with
the
Security
Forces."
Of
the
65
Maoists
killed
by
SFs
in
2013,
23
are
women.
Women
constitute
about
30
percent
of
Maoist
members.
Times
of
India,
August
21,
2013.
PAKISTAN
51
civilians
and
three
militants
among
56
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Sindh:
At
least
eight
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District),
the
provincial
capital
of
Sindh,
on
August
25.
At
least
11
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District)
on
August
24.
At
least
eight
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District)
on
August
23.
At
least
13
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District)
on
August
21.
At
least
nine
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District)
on
August
20.
At
least
five
persons
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District)
on
August
19.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
August
20-26,
2013.
11
persons
killed
in
sectarian
clash
in
Punjab:
A
clash
between
Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jama'at
(ASWJ)
and
members
of
Shia
community
killed
11
people
in
the
Kotla
Jam
area
of
Bhakkar
District
on
August
23.
Police
official
Abdullah
Khan
said
people
were
killed
on
both
sides.
Daily
Times,
August
24,
2013.
US
Treasury
imposes
economic
sanctions
on
madrassa
in
Peshawar
for
acting
as
training
and
recruiting
base
for
al
Qaeda,
Taliban
and
LeT:
The
United
States
(US)
Treasury
on
August
20
set
economic
sanctions
on
a
madrassa
(seminary)
in
Peshawar,
the
provincial
capital
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa,
for
acting
as
training
and
recruiting
base
for
al
Qaeda,
Taliban
and
the
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)).
The
Treasury
said
that
the
Taleem-ul
Quran
Ganj
Madrassa
in
Peshawar
was
being
used
as
training
and
recruiting
base
by
these
militant
groups.
Tribune,
August
21,
2013.
Former
President
General
(retired)
Pervez
Musharraf
indicted
in
former
Prime
Minister
Benazir
Bhutto
murder
case:
Rawalpindi
Special
Anti-Terrorism
Court
(ATC)
Judge
Chaudhry
Habibur
Rahman
while
hearing
the
December
2007
murder
case
of
former
Prime
Minister
Benazir
Bhutto
on
August
20
indicted
the
former
President
General
(retired)
Pervez
Musharraf.
"He
was
charged
with
murder,
criminal
conspiracy
for
murder
and
facilitation
for
murder,"
said
public
prosecutor
Chaudhry
Azhar.
However,
Pervez
Musharraf
denied
the
charges.
The
News;
Times
of
India,
August
20,
2013.
Criminal
gangs
work
in
tandem
with
terrorists,
Police
officers
tell
Senate
Standing
Committee
on
Interior:
Police
officers
of
the
four
provinces
and
Gilgit
Baltistan
told
the
Senate
Standing
Committee
on
Interior
on
August
21
that
the
crime
was
becoming
organised
as
various
criminal
groups
had
associated
themselves
with
terrorist
organisations
like
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
and
Baloch
Liberation
Army
(BLA).
"We
are
heading
for
a
situation
like
Mexico
where
drug
lords
and
street
criminals
are
operating
like
a
corporate
firm,"
said
a
senior
official
of
the
National
Police
Bureau.
"The
more
serious
problem
in
Pakistan
is
that
terrorists
and
anti-state
elements
are
getting
aligned
with
all
kinds
of
criminals."
Dawn,
August
22,
2013.
We
welcome
the
offer
of
talks
by
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif,
says
TTP
Punjab
Chapter
'chief'
Ismatullah
Muawiya:
Punjab
Chapter
of
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
on
August
22
welcomed
a
call
for
dialogue
by
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Nawaz
Sharif
with
extremists.
"We
welcome
the
offer
of
talks
by
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif.
The
Prime
Minister
has
shown
maturity
with
his
talks
offer
and
he
has
also
strengthened
the
desire
for
peace
by
staying
executions,"
TTP
Punjab
'chief'
Ismatullah
Muawiya
said.
PM
Nawaz
Sharif
made
the
offer
to
extremists
on
August
19,
2013.
The
News,
August
23,
2013.
Kashmir
is
a
"national
issue
and
the
jugular
vein
of
Pakistan",
says
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif:
Prime
Minister
Nawaz
Sharif
on
August
19
said
that
Kashmir
is
a
"national
issue
and
the
jugular
vein
of
Pakistan".
He
said
its
resolution
is
as
dear
to
him
as
other
Pakistanis.
Referring
to
his
desire
to
forge
good
relations
with
India,
Sharif
said
both
countries
should
realise
that
"instead
of
wasting
their
energies
and
resources
on
wars,
they
should
wage
war
against
poverty,
ignorance
and
disease".
Times
of
India,
August
20,
2013.
SRI
LANKA
Do
not
internationalize
Sri
Lanka's
problems,
says
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa:
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
on
August
19
told
his
political
rivals
not
to
internationalize
Sri
Lanka's
problems
and
instead
look
to
settle
them
internally.
Rajapaksa
said,
"Some
go
to
India
and
utter
different
things
while
others
go
to
US
and
do
same.
People
must
engage
with
the
government
in
order
to
look
for
solutions
and
not
clash
with
it."
He
was
referring
to
the
visit
to
India
by
the
main
opposition
leader
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
and
a
delegation
of
the
Tamil
National
Alliance
(TNA)
on
a
tour
of
the
US.
Times
of
India,
August
20,
2013.
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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