South Asia Terrorism Portal
TLP - March of the Zealots Sanchita Bhattacharya Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
As reported on September 24, 2023, under pressure from Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the Police desecrated 74 graves of Ahmadis, destroying their tombstones, at Daska city in the Sialkot District of Punjab. Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan official Amir Mahmood stated,
On September 20, 2023, a Christian family at Kasur in Punjab alleged that they were attacked by members of TLP after they objected to their writing Quranic verses on the boundary walls of their house. The family said the incident happened in the presence of the Police.
On August 16, 2023, a violent mob incited by TLP attacked churches and homes of Christian residents in the Jaranwala tehsil (revenue unit) of Faisalabad District in Punjab, after two Christian brothers were accused of blasphemy. Multiple churches were set on fire and homes and businesses of Christians were ransacked for hours, while the Police stood by as silent spectators.
On August 7, 2023, minarets of the Ahmadi mosque in Chak 168 Murad of Bahawalnagar District in Punjab, were demolished. TLP activists were suspected to be involved in the incident, the Police stated.
In the intervening night of July 14 and 15, 2023, at Kala Gujaran in the Jhelum District of Punjab, Police razed the minarets of an Ahmadi mosque. Local TLP leader Asim Ashfaq Rizvi had threatened the District Police Officer (DPO) of Jhelum that if the administration did not demolish the minarets by the 10th of Muharram, then they would gather people and do it themselves.
Headquartered at Rehmatul Lil Alameen Mosque, in Lahore, Punjab, TLPs political agenda includes, stopping interference of “the enemy” within and outside Pakistan; meeting all basic needs of people through various ‘taxes’: zakat, usher kharaj, jizyah; abolishing the ‘mixed education system’ (separating religious and secular education); founding a ministry to promote Islam; among others.
TLP has been involved in a succession of violent and politically charged mass mobilizations across the country.
On May 22, 2023, it started the Pakistan Bachao March (Save Pakistan March), starting from Karachi in the Sindh Province, with the capital, Islamabad, as its final destination. TLP gained political capital as the federal government agreed, on June 17, to issue a letter declaring that the TLP was not a terrorist organisation. As a result, as reported on June 18, TLP called off its protest after reaching an agreement with the government on issues, including speedy trials of blasphemy accused, along with swift decisions on appeals filed by those awarded punishments by the courts. The 12-point agreement was signed by federal ministers Rana Sanaullah and Ayaz Sadiq from the government’s side and Dr. Mohammad Shafiq Amini and Allama Ghulam Abbas Faizi from TLP. The two sides also agreed to implement filters to block blasphemous content on social media. The capacity of institutions responsible for dealing with blasphemy cases would also be strengthened, and a Counter Blasphemy Wing was to be established under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). More dangerously, the government also agreed to lift the ban on the coverage of TLP on electronic and social media, while all political cases filed against TLP workers and leaders would be withdrawn.
Earlier, on April 12, 2021, Police arrested Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, son and successor of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the TLP founder, ahead of planned protests by TLP. The next day, Police registered a first information report (FIR) against Saad Rizvi under the Anti-Terrorism Act,1997 (ATA). On April 16, his name was placed on the Fourth Schedule (a list of proscribed individuals who are suspected of terrorism or sectarianism), and TLP was banned under the ATA. Within few months, however, Saad Rizvi was released from the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore and his name was removed from the Fourth Schedule after the Punjab Home Department issued a notification on November 10, 2021. Expectedly, TLP had also been removed from the list of proscribed organisations on November 7.
Massive protests orchestrated by TLP followers were behind these political decisions. Thousands of TLP supporters had launched their “long march” from Lahore towards Islamabad, on October 22, demanding release of Saad. Government deployed Police and paramilitary personnel to prevent the demonstrators. Till the government reached an ‘agreement’ with the TLP on October 31, the protest march saw supporters clash with the Police at several points along the way. At least seven Police officers and four demonstrators were killed and many injured on both sides.
The assassination of Salman Taseer (Governor of Punjab) in 2011 and subsequent arrest of his assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, an ardent follower of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, founder of TLP, propelled the political participation of this organisation in Pakistan’s mainstream. Taseer’s alleged ‘crime’ was defending Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of committing blasphemy, as well his public demands to dilute Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and remove the mandatory death penalty for blasphemy.
The group, whose rallying cry is Man Sabba Nabiyan Faqtuluhu ("kill the blasphemers of the Prophet”), belongs to the Barelvi Sunni sect of Islam, which is followed by a majority of Pakistan's 241 million people. Rizvi was in favour of implementation of Sharia Law through the political and legal process. Following Taseer’s death, Rizvi was instrumental in starting the Tehreek Rihai Mumtaz Qadri, a movement to free the assassin, Qadri. This movement was later re-named Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasoolullah, which subsequently morphed into the current formation, TLP.
TLP, was born in the year 2015 out of a protest campaign to seek the release of Qadri who killed Taseer over his calls to reform the blasphemy legislation. Khadim Rizvi systematically launched a huge campaign demanding Qadri’s release and provided legal assistance to him. Eventually, the capital punishment of Qadri provided sufficient excuse to both Khadim and TLP to plunge into the political arena of Pakistan, with the aim of establishing the supreme political authority of Sunni Islam in the country. Qadri was sentenced to death and executed in 2016. The TLP announced its entry into electoral politics at his funeral, attended by tens of thousands of people.
Thereafter, in 2017, TLP shot to fame when it held a massive protest for three weeks in the busy Faizabad interchange near Islamabad. The party lifted the lockdown of the city after the then Federal Law Minister, Zahid Hamid resigned from the office. Rizvi had demanded his resignation over charges over the Khatm-i-Nabuwat oath in the Election Act of 2017. Zahid Hamid had been accused by clerics of committing blasphemy due to a change in the wording of an oath taken by parliamentarians in Pakistan, by replaced the words “I solemnly swear” (that the Prophet has that status) with “I believe” (that he does). The protesters, led by Rizvi and other scholars, perceived the change in wording as representing a softening of the state’s position against members of the Ahmadi sect, who are not permitted to identify themselves as Muslims in Pakistan. In May, 2018, the assassination attempt on the life of the then Interior Minister, Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, in Narowal, Punjab, was also linked to the TLP, as the attacker was affiliated to the organisation. “Our initial investigation shows that [Hussain] is associated with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan,” Police official Aitzaz Bashir then stated.
TLP subsequently secured more than two million votes in the 2018 election, bagging two seats in the Sindh province. Later, in a televised interview dated August 23, 2018, Khadim Rizvi stated that as people of Karachi were more religiously inclined, therefore, they could understand the ideological differences of TLP and Muttahida Quami Party (MQM), which helped TLP to secure two seats.
Interestingly, TLP members belong to the Barelvi sect of Sunni Islam, which is considered more syncretic in nature, as compared to the Deobandis or various Salafi sects. The Barelvis are known to revere local Peers and Fakirs (learned and holy men) of the rural areas, and they constitute about 50 per cent of Pakistan’s population. The Barelvis have a strong hold in the rural areas of Punjab province. In an unfortunate turn of events, the entire politics surrounding Salman Taseer’s assassination by a Barelvi gave a personal sense of victimhood to the sect, and resulted in the formation of TLP as a radical movement resisting religious and legislative reform. Interestingly, according to proponents of Deobandi and Salafi Islam, Barelvis are guilty of sacrilege owing to their devoutness to the Sufi saints, which hardliners interpret as shirk (idolatry). Today, however, the followers of the Barelvi sub-sect accused of blasphemy by radical members of other Sunni sub-sects, are witnessing the radicalization of their own beliefs, and have themselves now weaponized blasphemy.
TLP has repeatedly taken to the streets, destroyed public property, and engaged in violence during clashes with security forces. During the infamous Faizabad sit-in of 2017 (protesting the change in the oath by parliamentarians), TLP supporters resorted to violence and destroyed property worth PKR 163.95 million. In October, 2018, TLP held violent protests after the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the death penalty for Asia Bibi in a blasphemy case. Demonstrators blocked major roads of the country in protest, burning cars and buses, as they called for her execution to be carried out. TLP called for a mutiny against the military chief, the murder of the judges who acquitted Asia, and branded then-Prime Minister Imran Khan as a "son of Jews." Further, as reported on April 13, 2021, TLP members clashed with the Police, to force the government to expel the French Ambassador over a ‘blasphemous’ caricature published in Charlie Hebdo. More than 60 law enforcement personnel were injured. Videos showed wounded Policemen, some surrounded by protesters, and official and public vehicles damaged or set on fire. Later, on April, 18, 2021, TLP supporters abducted 11 Police officers who were taken hostage during violent clashes in Lahore. The Rangers and Police launched an operation in Lahore to remove thousands of TLP activists camped there, blocking the main Multan Road. The officers were released after two days, when negotiations started with the government.
TLP has been extremely vocal not on domestic political and religious issues, but over incidents occurring outside Pakistan as well, especially in Europe. On July 7, 2023, millions rallied in the streets across Pakistan, condemning the incident of desecration of the Quran in Sweden, as the nation observed ‘Youm-e-Taqaddus-e-Quran’ (Quran Sanctity Day). About 3,000 supporters of TLP marched across kilometres, with some beating effigies draped in Swedish flags. Another more than 5,000 TLP members rallied in one of a dozen protests held in Lahore. TLP chief Saad Rizvi also threatened, "It'll take only one minute to stop blasphemy. Pakistan should tell the ambassador of Sweden that if they don't stop burning Quran, we'll declare war against them." Earlier, in 2021, the group led violent protests in Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Multan, over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and demanded the expulsion of the French Ambassador, a boycott of French products and cutting trade ties with Europe.
The rise of TLP and its frequent flexing of political muscle in the form of street agitation and various violent activities, are evidence of further cracks in Pakistan’s social fabric. The religious fanatism and quest to be the truest believer, has not even spared the eclectic Barelvis. The hate towards the religious ‘other’ is driving this political organisation towards gaining notoriety by the day.
Madhya Pradesh: Balaghat: Unsafe Haven Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On September 29, 2023, a top Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, Kamalu (25), was killed in an encounter in Roopjhar Police Station limits in Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh. Kamalu, who was a member of the Tada Dadekasa Dalam (armed squad) was carrying a cumulative reward of INR 1.4 million on his head, including INR 600,000 announced by the Maharashtra, INR 500,000 by the Chhattisgarh, and INR 300,000 by the Madhya Pradesh governments. Police said a rifle was recovered from the dead ultra, who was a resident of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh and had been part of the Maoist movement since 2015.
Earlier, on April 22, 2023, two women Maoists, Sunita, an ‘area committee’ member and ‘commander’ of the Bhoramdev Committee (a Maoist wing), and Sarita Khatia Mocha, an ‘area committee’ member and active in the Vistar Dalam, were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) in the Kadla Forest area of Balaghat District. Sunita and Mocha collectively carried a reward of INR 2.8 million on their heads. A cache of arms and ammunition, including guns, cartridges and other weapons, were recovered from their possession.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least three Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists] have been killed in Balaghat District in the current year, thus far (all data till October 8, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, three Naxalites were killed. Another three Naxalites were killed in the remaining part of the year, taking the total number of killed Naxalites to six through 2022. This was the highest number of Naxalites killed in a single year, since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling data on LWE-related incidents in India. At least 16 Naxalites have been killed, in Balaghat, accounting for 88.88 per cent of the overall Naxalites neutralised (18 killed) in the state.
Moreover, search operations and combing raids have resulted in the arrest of 30 Naxalites in the District since March 6, 2000. However, the last incident of arrest was recorded on August 10, 2021, when a CPI-Maoist cadre, Sandeep Kunjam aka Lakkhu (25), an ‘area committee’ member of the Khatiya Mocha Area Dalam, was arrested after an encounter with the Police in Jairasi village under Birsa Police Station limits in Balaghat District. Lakkhu was carrying a total reward of INR 800,000, including INR 300,000 in Madhya Pradesh and INR 500,000 in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Mounting SF pressure has also led to the surrender of seven Maoists since 2000. The last surrender incident, however, was recorded as far back as January 24, 2004, when seven Naxalites belonging to the Malajkhand Dalam, including one woman, surrendered before the Police at the Balaghat District Headquarters.
Not surprisingly, Maoist-related incidents are on a decline. While total incidents decreased from nine in 2022 (till October 8) to five in 2023, incidents of killing decreased from three in 2022 (till October 8) to two in 2023 (in the comparative time frame). Total fatalities declined from five (two civilians and three Naxalites) in 2022 (till October 8) to three (all Naxalites), in 2023. Another three fatalities (all Naxalites) were reported in the remaining period of 2022. Overall fatalities in 2022 were the highest in a year since 2000, with the previous high of four recorded twice earlier: in 2019 and 2020.
A total of 11 civilian deaths, including a high of three civilian fatalities in 2021, have been recorded since March 6, 2000. The last civilian fatality in Balaghat District was recorded on August 6, 2022, when a villager was shot dead by Maoists on suspicion of being a ‘police informer’. Of the three SF fatalities since March 6, 2000, two were reported in 2000. The last fatality was recorded on September 22, 2010, when Harish Rahgdale (27), a trooper of the Madhya Pradesh Police Hawk Team [a specialised unit for countering terrorist and Left Wing Extremist operations], was killed, and Kamlesh, another trooper, was injured in a Maoist ambush near Sitapala in Balaghat District.
Balaghat, one of Madhya Pradesh’s 52 districts, with a total area of 9,245 square kilometres, has about 85 per cent under forest cover, and occupies the south eastern portion of the Satpura Range and the upper valley of the Wainganga River. The Wainganga River separates the district from Seoni, while the rivers Bawanthadi and Bagh define the inter-state boundary, makes the region difficult to access. The district is bounded by the LWE affected Rajnandgaon district (Chhattisgarh) in the East, Seoni (Madhya Pradesh) in the West, Mandla (Madhya Pradesh) in the North and the Bhandara District of Maharashtra State in the south. Due to its difficult terrain, dense forests, a vulnerable population and extreme backwardness, the rebels find Balaghat to be of strategic importance.
As is the case elsewhere, the Maoists are presently trying to revive their movement.
Indeed, on September 17, 2023, the Hawk Team, came under Maoist attack in an area under the Debarveli Police Post in Balaghat District. According to the Police, around 10 to 12 Maoists opened fire on the Hawk Team patrolling the Naxalite-affected area at around 2 pm [IST]. The troopers took shelter and fired back on the Maoists, who ran away, taking advantage of the dense forest. No casualty was reported on either side. Superintendent of Police (SP) Sameer Saurabh later disclosed that the Maoists were trying to create spaces in the Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori districts. Security agencies of the state and the government of India are maintaining tight vigil on their activities in the Madhya Pradesh.
On September 5, 2023, in a search operation in the Choriya Chilora Forest area under the Lanji Police Station in Balaghat District, SFs recovered a haul of explosives at a dump, which included 15 kilograms of urea, 17 kilograms of charcoal, 1.7 kilograms of sulfur, 1.7 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 10 feet of Cordex (industrial), one pressure cooker and 11 iron pipes. SFs also recovered three pressure cooker bombs, often deployed by the Maoists to attack Police teams. SFs have recovered arms and ammunition on at least five occasions in 2023, as compared to one such incident in the corresponding period of 2022, and another two in the remaining period of 2022. A total of 26 such incidents have been recorded since 2000.
Meanwhile, according to an August 26, 2023, report, during interrogation, a Maoist couple arrested from Jabalpur District on August 22, 2023, revealed their strategy of deliberately reducing violent incidents to expand their extortion machinery to newer areas. Intelligence reports also suggested that Maoists were using the funds available to them to recruit new members and procure arms and ammunition. The rebels use Balaghat to continue the activity of extortion in the form of levies from tendu patta (leaves of the Diospyros Melonoxylon plant used to manufacture beedis, a kind of mini cigar) and bamboo contractors, as sources of funds for the outfit. Although there is no official estimate of the extent of the tendu patta extortion economy in Balaghat, guesstimates put the Maoist collection in the crores of rupees from tendu patta contractors in the district in any given season. An internal report says that Balaghat produces around 85,000 bags of tendu patta per season, and the rebels often demanded a ‘levy’ ranging from INR 500 to 900 per bag from the contractors.
Looking at Maoist efforts and persisting activities, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) has classified Balaghat in the list of ‘25 most LWE affected districts’ from eight States across the country, and also included it among the 70 LWE-affected Districts in 10 States across India, that are covered under the Centre’s Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, which funds focused operations against the rebels.
Moreover, on June 22, 2023, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra reviewed anti-Naxalite operations, and included Balaghat, along with Dindori and Mandla districts, in a single Police Zone, for effective anti-Maoist operations.
Facing extreme risks across their traditional strongholds, the Maoists find Balaghat and its surrounding stretches useful as a safe haven. However, continued SF operations have substantially limited LWE activities in Balaghat as well. More aggressive operational measures by the SFs will help end the remaining Maoist threat in the district, as well as in the state at large.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia October 2-8, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
CHT
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PoJK
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
Taliban acting Foreign Minister denies weapons supply to TTP: During an interview with the BBC, the acting Foreign Minister of Taliban, Amir Khan Muttaqi, rejected claims that the Taliban is supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and providing weapons to them. He said, "If we were going to agree with the military bases, then why would we fight in the past 20 years? This was fighting with countries that had a lot of facilities. The people of Afghanistan would not even accept one military base and not one armed (foreign) man." Tolo News, October 2, 2023.
UMHA bans Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party for five years: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on October 5 banned separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah-led Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for its alleged anti-India and pro-Pakistan activities. The UMHA notification said JKDFP members were at the forefront of secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and want to create a separate Islamic State (IS). The Hindu, October 8, 2023.
Tripura-based insurgent outfits NLFT and ATTF banned by UMHA: On October 3, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) imposed an immediate ban on two Tripura-based insurgent groups -- the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) - for five years. The UMHA in a notification stated that these organisations and their allied outfits have been proscribed for their involvement in various subversive activities and threatening the country's sovereignty and integrity. The declaration, effective from October 3, 2023, for a period of five years, encompasses all factions, wings, and front organizations associated with these outfits. Tripura Times, October 4, 2023.
UHM Amit Shah roots for 'ruthless approach' to destroy terrorism: Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah on October 5, inaugurated the two-day '3rd Anti-Terror Conference' organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and said that all anti-terror agencies will have to adopt a ruthless approach so that no new terrorist organisation can be formed in the country. Shah said, "All anti-terror agencies will have to adopt such a ruthless approach that no new terrorist organisation can be formed in the country". The Times of india, October 6, 2023.
Violence in Jammu and Kashmir down by 70 per cent in nine years, says UHM: On October 5, Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah said that the incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) had reduced by 70 percent and the civilian deaths by 81 percent during the last nine years of the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. He said that the number of civilian deaths from June 2004 to May 2014 was 1769, which had come down to 336 from June 2014 to August 2023. Greater Kashmir, October 6, 2023.
24 suicide bombings targeted various security installations and civilians in Pakistan since January 2023, says Federal Interim Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti: The Federal Interim Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on October 3 that at least 24 suicide bombings that have targeted various security installations and civilians in Pakistan since January 2023. 14 suicide bombers were Afghan Nationals, adds Sarfaraz Bugti. The Khorasan Diary, October 4, 2023.
Afghans involved in 75 per cent of suicide attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says Provincial Police Chief IGP Akhtar Hayat Khan: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police Chief Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan said on October 5 that Afghan nationals were found involved in 75 per cent of suicide attacks that took place in KP in the recent wave of terrorism. "Fingerprints of the suicide bombers revealed that they were Afghan citizens," IGP Akhtar Hayat Khan said. The News, October 7, 2023.
Rift surfaced between TTP central and its key faction JuA over media activity by TTP affiliates: A major rift surfaced between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) central and its key faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) over media activity by TTP affiliates. TTP has released a statement terming Ghazi Media, the mouthpiece of key TTP affiliate JuA as publishing statements against organisation's policy and stance. The Khorasan Diary, October 2, 2023.
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.
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