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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 24, December 19, 2011
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
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Stumbling
On
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Amidst
continuing intra- and inter-party friction, Nepal moved
ahead with the process of peace building through 2011.
Despite continuing hiccups, several of the most contentious
issues were resolved, or have moved closer to resolution.
Yet, these gains have riders too.
In a landmark
achievement, the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC)
initiated the process of integration following a November
1, 2011, seven-point
deal signed by three major parties
– Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M),
Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),
Nepali Congress (NC) - and United Democratic Madheshi
Front (UDMF). The UMDF is a grouping of five Madhesh based
parties. The deal provided three options to fojrmer People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) combatants – integration, voluntary
retirement and rehabilitation. A total of 16,982 former
PLA combatants were subsequently ‘regrouped’. While 9,690
combatants opted for integration, 7,286 chose voluntary
discharge, and six combatants registered their names for
rehabilitation packages. According to the deal, the combatants
will be inducted into a separate Directorate of the Nepal
Army (NA), which will look after development projects,
industrial and forest security, and rescue works during
disasters. The Directorate will have 65 per cent of the
workforce from different security agencies, while the
integrated PLA combatants will make up for 35 per cent
of the force.
However,
even before the process began to move forward, numerous
complications came to the fore. First, questions were
raised about the number of regrouped combatants (16,982).
Indeed, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) had
registered 19,602 combatants in the second verification
conducted on May 26, 2007. Second, the number of combatants
who opted for integration (9,690) far exceeded the maximum
number stipulated for integration (6,500) in the deal.
Third, NA and PLA combatants continue to remain at odds
over the very basics of Army integration. While, the Army
is saying that the combatants should meet its physical
criteria, pass its selection process and attend training
specified for each rank, before serving in the New Directorate,
the PLA disagrees. Suk Bahadur Rokka, the ‘commander’
of the Second Division of the PLA, thus stressed, “None
of our friends will opt for integration if they have to
go through each and every test and training like that
of the regular recruits.” Given these objections, the
path ahead is likely to remain tricky.
Another
significant achievement was the submission of the keys
of arms containers to the AISC by all the seven divisions
of the PLA, on September 1-2, 2011. Earlier, on August
31, UCPN-M had agreed to hand over the keys. Till then,
PLA ‘commanders’ controlled the keys of the containers
that stored 3,475 Maoist weapons, registered by UNMIN
in 2007.
The peace
process also survived the withdrawal of the international
monitoring agencies that had imposed a degree of restraint
on the fractious processes and parties through the troubled
early phases of negotiations at Kathmandu. UNMIN formally
left Nepal on January 15, 2011. UNMIN, a special
political mission in support of the peace process in Nepal,
had been established on January 23, 2007, by UNSC Resolution
1740. The term and mandate of another international
agency, the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner
of Human Rights – Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) also expired on
December 8, 2011. The mandate of the OHCHR-Nepal was set
out in April 2005.
In another
positive development, the practice of dual security provided
to the UCPN-M leaders, both by the State and the PLA,
was ended on August 27, 2011. Earlier, on June 1, 2011,
UCPN-M had agreed to end the dual security system. 112
PLA combatants had been deployed for the security of UCPN-M
leaders.
Significant
developments were also recorded in the drafting of the
Constitution, though the process has already gone beyond
successive deadline extensions. The Dispute Resolution
Subcommittee under the Constitutional Committee (CC) formed
in February 2011 and headed by Maoist chairman Pushpa
Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, has now narrowed down
the disputed issues in Constitution drafting to 20, from
the earlier 83. In total, a significant 250 issues had
originally been placed in the ‘disputed’ category.
The meeting of the Subcommittee on December 13, 2011,
decided to include the provision for a mixed electoral
system in the new Constitution. However, leaders are yet
to arrive at a consensus on whether 40 or 50 per cent
of seats are to be under the proportional representation
quota in the mixed electoral system. Earlier, on May 19,
2011, the Subcommittee had decided to name the statute
the 'Constitution of Nepal'. There were six prior disputes
regarding nomenclature.
In the
meantime, a meeting of the CC decided, on December 4,
2011, to promulgate the first integrated draft of the
Constitution between February 13 and 27, 2012, and to
complete the statute between May 21 and 27, 2012. However,
issues such as the system of governance and the restructuring
of States, continue to rankle. On November 23, 2011, the
Government formed an eight-member State Restructuring
Commission (SRC) to work out the federal model for the
country. Worryingly, however, the dispute over the method
of promulgation of the new Constitution continues unabated.
While the Left parties want the Constitution to be endorsed
by a two-third majority in the Constituent Assembly (CA),
the NC and Madheshi parties vehemently oppose this, demanding
a consensus.
Meanwhile,
the CA received three extensions during the year. While
the first extension (for three months) was declared on
May 29, 2011, the second (for another three months) was
approved on August 29, 2011. The CA tenure got its third
extension (by six months) on November 29, 2011. The first
extension to the CA, by one year, had been given on May
28, 2010. Initially elected for a period of two years
in 2008, the CA's term has, thus, been extended four times
so far. While, the political parties, on each of these
occasions, have come together to thwart the danger
of a collapse of the process, the CAs failure to abide
by the time frame has provoked widespread resentment.
Not surprisingly, the Supreme Court, on November 25, 2011,
issued a directive giving the Government and the CA “a
last chance’ to extend the term by a maximum of six months.
It suggested that a referendum or a fresh mandate or any
other constitutional method were alternatives to the CA,
if it failed to deliver the Constitution within the final
deadline.
If the
gains that have been made are to be consolidated, political
stability and credibility is very much needed. Regrettably,
these qualities have been conspicuous in their absence
on the political front.
The country
has seen two Prime Ministers (PM) during the course of
the year. At the beginning of the year, on February 3,
2011, CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal was elected Prime
Minister by the Constituent Assembly (CA) with the support
of the UCPN-M. Khanal’s election ended a seven-month long
deadlock, during which the country was run by a caretaker
Government, after erstwhile PM Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned
in June 2010. Inter- and intra-party feuding forced PM
Khanal to step down on August 14, 2011, and the search
for an elusive National Consensus Government (NCG) begun.
Failing to elect an NCG, the Parliament, eventually elected
Baburam Bhattarai, the vice chairman of UCPN-M, as the
country’s 35th PM, on August 28, 2011, by simple
majority with the support of UMDF. Shortly after taking
charge, Bhattarai committed himself to the effort of establishing
an NCG. However, since its formation, the present Government
has been under the same constant threat of being pulled
down, which has undermined every Government since the
successful
revolution against King Gynandra Shah.
The lack
of political stability has more to do with intra-party
rivalries than any other factor. While NC and CPN-UML
leaders continue to differ among themselves on the peace
process, it is the intra-party rivalry among the Maoists
which has been the cause for the greatest alarm. The party
witnessed several violent clashes among its own cadres.
In one such recent incident, two Young Communist League
(YCL) cadres were injured in a clash at the Prithvi Chowk-based
YCL camp in Pokhara, the Headquarters of the Kaski District,
in the night of October 29, 2011. The clash erupted between
two YCL factions, one close to Dahal, and the other to
vice chairman Mohan Baidya. Summing up the state of affairs,
Maoist general secretary C. P. Gajurel, on December 13,
2011, stated that the party had already split internally,
and that only a formal announcement was yet to be made.
He also claimed that Baidya would head the 'new party'.
However, in what has now become the trend to show of dissent
and subsequently execute u-turn, Baidya dismissing the
remark on December 14, 2011, declared, "I don't know
where he (Gajurel) made that remark, but the party is
not on the verge of split as the rift and dispute seen
inside is gradually getting settled." It is, however,
evident that divisions within the UCPN-M go deeper than
what is visible on the surface.
The inter-party
rivalry adds to the general instability. Significantly,
then Defence Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari of the Madhesi
Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L), an ally of the ruling
party, on September 26, 2011, warned that the 22 Terai
Districts could ‘disintegrate’ if Madheshi demands were
not taken into consideration, adding further, that no
one could save the nation if the Terai Districts decide
to secede. He was later sacked on October 19, 2011.
Relations
between political parties also remain far from ideal.
At least 10 inter-party clashes were recorded through
the year. In the latest among such incidents, Chandra
Bahadur Lama, a local leader of Tarun Dal, the youth wing
of the NC, was arrested from Nawalparasi on September
20, 2011, on charges of the murder of CPN-UML cadre Sanjaya
Lama on August 27, 2011. Chandra Bahadur had opened fire
at Sanjaya in the middle of an argument over money they
were trying to extract from timber dealers in the Kabilas
area in Chitwan District.
The failure
to implement a series of agreements
signed by the political parties during the course of the
year, as well as those signed earlier, has also diluted
the credibility of political parties. Indeed, most major
developments have been preceded by the signing of agreements
between the parties. The year saw at least six major agreements
between different political parties, including the six
point deal between the UCPN-M, NC and CPN-UML and UDMF
on November 29, 2011; the seven-point agreement signed
on November 1, 2011; the four-point agreement signed between
UDMF and UCPN on August 28, 2011; the five-point agreement
signed between the UCPN-M, NC and CPN-UML on May 29, 2011;
the four point-deal between the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal,
CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist on March 27, 2011; and the seven-point
agreement between CPN-UML and UCPN-M on February 3, 2011.
The continuing confusion and instability in Nepal has,
in fact, much to do with these often contradictory, opportunistic
and unrealistic agreements.
Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MoHA) claimed, on June
16, 2011, that the number of armed outfits operating across
the country has significantly declined, from 108 groups
earlier to only 26 currently operational, and that fatalities
in extremist violence had almost halved, from 37 in 2010
to 19 in 2011 (all data till December 18), the threat
of extremist violence persists. The country witnessed
at least 21 explosions in 2011, as against 13 in 2010,
and another 22 such attempts were thwarted by the Security
Forces (SFs). The Terai region continued to simmer,
and in the latest incident of violence in the region,
five persons, including the Sunsari District Superintendent
of Police, Raju Manandhar, were injured when a bomb went
off in Itahari on December 3, 2011. The capital, Kathmandu
has also been experiencing a persistent threat. For instance,
on April 10, 2011, Police arrested Ashakaji Subal, a central
committee member of the Communist Party of Nepal – Revolutionary
Maoist (CPN-RM), an underground armed outfit, while he
was planning to plant explosives at 15 different places
across Kathmandu. The country also witnessed at least
eight reported bandhs (shut downs) called by different
groups.
However,
in a significant demilitarization initiative, the
NA cleared its land minefields located at Phulchowki in
Lalitpur District on June 14, 2011, marking the conclusion
of its de-mining works. The NA had started clearing landmines
as part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in
2006. With the clearance of the last minefield, Nepal
has become the second country in Asia, after China, to
become landmine-free.
In an unrelated
development, the United States (US) said that the Maoists
needed to do more to be removed from its terrorism blacklist.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland stated, on
August 30, 2011, “The [UCPN-M] is not included on the
Foreign Terrorist Organization list, but remains a designated
Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive
Order 13224 and is included on the Terrorism Exclusion
List, pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act.
While the Party has taken some positive steps, we continue
to have areas of concern which must be addressed before
the Party could be de-listed.” Meanwhile, the United Nations
(UN) in its latest report on April 23, 2011, included
UCPN-M "as a party to conflict using child soldiers".
This is the sixth annual report that has put the Maoists
on a watch list for using minors. That the Maoists still
have not given up violence in toto is reflected
in the fact that they have been involved in at least 17
incidents of violence in 2011.
Significantly,
on December 3, 2011, Dahal declared that his party had
not given up the strategy of ‘people's revolt’, and that
the party was prepared to ‘capture power’, either through
elections or through a armed revolt. Indeed, concerns
are being articulated about the current Maoist-led Government’s
approach towards Maoist cadres behind bars. The Government
has, for instance, decided to recommend to President Ram
Baran Yadav the grant of amnesty to Maoist lawmaker Bal
Krishna Dhungel, who was convicted of murder and sentenced
to life by the Supreme Court. Dhungel was awarded a life
sentence by the Supreme Court in 2010 for his involvement
in the murder of Ujjan Shrestha of Okhaldhunga, but has,
so far, avoided arrest. Shrestha was shot dead by the
Maoists at Tarkerabari-7 in Okhaldhunga District on June
24, 1998, allegedly for spying on the Maoists.
Irreversible
gains have, no doubt, been registered over 2011, and a
process of further consolidation appears to be underway.
If peace is to overwhelm the surviving undercurrents of
conflict and violence in Nepal, however, the time frames
of the resolution of surviving disputes, as well as of
the completion of major institutional processes initiated
– crucially including the Constitution drafting process
– will be critical. The peace process in Nepal has survived
by deferring many of the more fractious decisions, at
least some of which have become more amenable to resolution
through the simple passage of time. There are, however,
deeper political rifts that may not be resolved through
simple temporal attrition, and will require settlement
through a substantially consensual political process.
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Assam:
Residual Irritants
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Led by
its ‘chairman’ Longsoder Senar, 568 United People’s Democratic
Solidarity (UPDS)
militants, including 22 women cadres, laid down arms at
a function organized at Diphu stadium in Karbi Anglong
District on December 14, 2011. The militants deposited
a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including 85 AK
rifles, 177 other sophisticated weapons, 18,000 rounds
of ammunition, 322 magazines, 18 pistols and 32 rifles
at the mass surrender ceremony. The UPDS has also declared
that it is disbanding as an underground outfit to join
the mainstream of society. Earlier, on November 25, the
Union Government had signed a memorandum of settlement
(MoS) with UPDS. According to the MoS,
the UPDS was to dissolve itself as an organization within
a reasonable time (six months) to pave the way for implementation
of other clauses in the peace agreement.
Five Karbi
People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) militants also laid down
arms at the function.
Separately,
32 insurgents of the anti-talks factions of the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-ATF)
and a United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF)
militant surrendered before the Army and deposited their
arms, ammunition and explosives on December 10, 2011.
The surrendered weapons included three AK series assault
rifles, 24 pistols, nine hand-grenades and a large quantity
of ammunition and explosives.
Earlier
on August 3, 2011, 19 Dimasa National Democratic Front
(DNDF) militants had surrendered at a ceremony jointly
organised by Dima Hasao District Police and the Indian
Army at Haflong in Dima Hasao District. The militant group
laid down 17 different types of arms and ammunition, including
AK-series rifles, 1,400 rounds of live ammunition and
11 grenades.
In total,
644 militants have surrendered in 2011 (all data till
December 18) in Assam. The surrendered militants primarily
belonged to UPDS (568), NDFB (47), and DNDF (19). The
number of militants who surrendered through 2010 was 452.
In addition,
403 militants were arrested in 2011, as against 425 in
2010. Of the militants arrested in 2011, NDFB accounted
for 79; ULFA, 70; Adivasi People’s Army (APA), 26; KPLT,
16; and Hill Tiger Force (HTF), 11.
Prominent
among those arrested were:
November
14: Security Forces (SFs) arrested three KPLT militants,
including 'foreign secretary' Maniram Rongpi from Morigaon
District.
November
13: SFs arrested nine HTF militants, including 'commander-in-chief'
Benjamin Jaolin Zaute and 'finance secretary' Alex Thiek,
from the deep jungles around the Arda village of Dima
Hasao District.
July 16:
SFs arrested APA 'vice-president' Silvister Tirki alias
Rajiv alias Silva Orang, at village Uttarpar near
Baganpara in Baksa District, while another two APA militants,
Stephen Murmu and Sagar Lakra, were arrested at Angarkata
near Kumari Kata in Baksa District.
April 28:
The 'commander-in-chief' of Rabha Viper Army, Sunil Rabha
alias Chinese, was arrested for the third time
by SFs in Goalpara District.
April 20:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took into custody
the ‘vice-chairman’ of NDFB, G. Rifikhang, from the India-Bangladesh
border in Assam.
May 24:
The 'commander-in-chief' of the banned Adivasi Cobra Military
of Assam (ACMA) was arrested from Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar
District.
The number
of surrenders and arrests are an index of the increasing
control exercised by the SFs over various militant groups
operating within and around Assam’s frontiers. Apart from
ULFA-ATF, NDFB-ATF, and UPDS, which have been under the
SFs’ radar for long, new groups have also borne the brunt
of intensified SF pressure. For instance, counter-insurgency
(CI) operations kept the KPLT, which emerged as a new
threat in 2011, on the run through
the year. Similarly, United Democratic Liberation Army
(UDLA) and its splinter groups, such as the United Democratic
Liberation Front-Barak (UDLF-B), were brought under sustained
fire. Another new outfit, the HTF
saw its operational
capacities neutralized.
Further,
APA, an Adivasi (tribal) militant group advocating the
formation of Adivasi Autonomous Council and Scheduled
Tribes (ST) status for Adivasis, declared a ceasefire
in July and sent feelers to the Assam Government. Another
Adivasi militant group, the All Adivasi National Liberation
Army (AANLA),
declared a unilateral cease-fire with effect from September
1, 2011.
Unsurprisingly,
the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database
records a 43.03 per cent decline in militancy-related
fatalities in 2011, as compared to the previous year.
More importantly, a 35 per cent drop was evident in civilian
killings in 2011 as compared to 2010, indicating considerable
improvement in the security scenario in the State. Notably,
while a total of 92 persons, including 45 militants, 31
civilians and 15 SF personnel, were killed in 65 incidents
in 2011, total fatalities in 2010 stood at 158, including
98 militants, 48 civilians and 12 SF personnel, in 100
incidents.
Fatalities
in Terrorist Violence in Assam: 2005-2011
Years
|
Civilians
|
SFs
|
Militants
|
Total
|
2005
|
173
|
7
|
74
|
254
|
2006
|
164
|
32
|
46
|
242
|
2007
|
286
|
24
|
129
|
439
|
2008
|
244
|
18
|
125
|
387
|
2009
|
175
|
21
|
196
|
392
|
2010
|
48
|
12
|
98
|
158
|
2011*
|
32
|
15
|
45
|
92
|
Source:
SATP, *Till December 18, 2011
While there
was a steep decline of 36 per cent in incidents of killing
in 2011 as compared to 2010 [2011 witnessed 64 incidents
of killings as against 100 in 2010], the total number
of violent incidents, including killing, explosions, abduction
and extortion, witnessed a decline of a mere 6.47 percent,
from 433 recorded incidents in 2010, to 405 in 2011.
Figures
available with the Assam Police indicated that, till May
2011, over 3,000 abduction cases had already been reported
with various Police Stations in the State, compared to
3,250 cases reported in the entire year of 2010. The number
of abduction cases reported in the first five months of
2011 had already surpassed the total for 2009. Most of
these cases had direct or indirect involvement of surrendered
militants. An unnamed Assam Police official was reported
as stating: “It is not just in abduction, their (surrendered
militants’) involvement has been found in other serious
crimes too. We are doing our best to keep a track of them
and their activities.”
Extortion
remained rampant through the year. 28 incidents of extortion
were recorded in 2010 (only a fraction of such incidents
are reported, with silent compliance to a majority being
the rule), rising to 35 in 2011. Media reports suggest
suspected militants from NDFB-ATF and AANLA recently issued
extortion demands to at least five senior doctors of Biswanath
Chariali Civil Hospital in Sonitpur District.
2011 began
with the Rabha-Garo ethnic clashes (between January 1
and 10), which claimed 27 lives. 1,550 houses were torched,
rendering about 50,000 people of 32 villages homeless,
with the Rabhas bearing the brunt of losses. The Government
later said the clashes appeared "well-planned"
and did not rule out the hand of "underground groups."
The year
also saw the revival of the demand for a Bodoland State
by the All Bodo Student Union (ABSU). Significantly, on
the concluding day (February 4, 2011) of ABSU's 43rd
Annual Conference, ABSU president Pramod Boro stated that
the group would revive its movement for a separate Bodoland
State "as the State Government does not meet our
demands despite repeated pleas". He further said,
"Most of the major clauses of the BTC [Bodoland Territorial
Council] Accord are yet to be implemented. We are compelled
to revive the movement for a State on the basis of the
opinions of the delegates and the people of the region.
We will join hands with other organizations and parties
supporting the cause of Bodoland."
There were
apprehensions of electoral
politics playing the spoiler again,
even as CI gains consolidated in the State. Both the ruling
Congress Party as well as other political parties in the
State made allegations and counter allegations of covert
deals with militant groups, in the hope of securing some
electoral gain during the two-phase Assembly Elections
for 126 seats in Assam on April 4 and 11. The Congress
Party once again emerged the winner, and Chief Minister
(CM) Tarun Gogoi was reelected as Chief Minister.
More worryingly,
reports indicate that the Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
has made strong
inroads into the State. The stretch
from Sadiya in Tinsukia District in Assam to the Dibang
Valley and Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh has emerged as the
preferred area of operation for the Left Wing extremists
(LWEs). The Maoists are suspected to be behind at least
two incidents of arms snatching in the State. Significantly,
suspected Maoists on October 4, 2011, shot at four Assam
Police personnel, injuring two, and snatched their guns
at Sadiya in Tinsukia District.
Meanwhile,
the split in ULFA was formalized with the reconstitution
of both the groups. ULFA–ATF, on November 23, 2011, announced
a new 16-member ‘central committee’, with Abhijeet Barman
as ‘in-charge chairman’; Paresh Baruah as ‘commander-in-chief’
& ‘vice president’; and ‘colonel’ Jiban Moran as ‘assistant
general secretary’ and ‘in-charge finance secretary’.
The outfit is also reported to have recruited more than
120 new cadres and was extorting money from leading business
houses in Assam. The Pro-Talks Faction of ULFA (ULFA-PTF)
formed a new 35-member committee called the "Central
and Naba Niraman Kendra Steering Committee," in October
2011, which would oversee every aspect of the peace process.
Conspicuously,
the split in militant groups, both new and old, have caused
some problems in the peace talks, which have been going
on for long in the State. Taking note of this, Union Home
Minister (UHM) P. Chidambaram on September 15, 2011, noted
that some splinter groups continued to hold out and refused
to accept the offer of talks. UHM also indicated that
a large presence of SFs in the North Eastern States remained
a necessity, in view of the residual militancy, despite
the gains of the recent past. Clearly, at the present
juncture, with a number of factions continuing underground
and declaring their irreconcilable opposition to the Indian
state and Constitution, the relative stability and tranquility
which has been restored in Assam can only be sustained
by a continued ground offensive against the residue of
extremist violence in the State, even as peace processes
are pushed forward with groups that have sought accommodation.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in
South Asia
December 13-19, 2011
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Left-wing Extremism
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Manipur
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
17
|
2
|
6
|
25
|
FATA
|
14
|
6
|
49
|
69
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
2
|
7
|
7
|
16
|
Sindh
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
41
|
15
|
63
|
119
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
JeI
chief Ghulam Azam faces 52 War Crimes charges:
On December 12, the prosecution pressed 52 War Crimes
(WCs) charges against former Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)
'chief' Ghulam Azam. The charges include leading
the mass murder of intellectuals on December 14,
1971 and the killing of 38 prisoners of Brahmanbaria
jail in Brahmanbaria District. Daily
Star, December 13, 2011.
INDIA
Intelligence
report claims revival of JeM in India: Busting
of a terror module in north Bihar has confirmed
the revival of the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) anti-India
activities. Intelligence agencies have informed
the Government that for the first time after many
years JeM militants were sighted along with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HuM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants at the
launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in
Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Hindustan
Times, December 14, 2011.
Maoists
eyeing commercial hubs in Western India to spread
terror: The Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist) has formed a 'Golden Corridor Committee'
to build its base in hitherto untouched industrial
areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The corridor stretches
from Pune to Ahmedabad, including commercial hubs
like Mumbai, Nashik, Surat and Vadodara.
Times of India,
December 15, 2011.
Naxals
making bid to spread activities in Andhra Pradesh,
says report: A report on the law and order situation
in the State that was tabled at the collectors'
conference on December 15 said the Communist Party
of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) is making desperate
attempts to regain a foothold in the State. The
Maoists are making inroads in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram,
Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Khammam, Warangal,
Karimnagar and Adilabad Districts.
Times of India,
December 16, 2011.
Ten
cases of terror money reaching stock market detected
in last 3 years, states Minister of State for Finance
Namo Narain Meena: The Financial Intelligence
Unit (FIU) had alerted investigating agencies about
at least 10 cases of suspected terror financing
that had found its way to the stock market in the
last three years. Minister of State for Finance
Namo Narain Meena said on December 16 that 10 cases
of "suspicious transactions linked to terrorist
financing were received from intermediaries of stock
market such as brokers, asset management companies
etc since 2009-10 and disseminated to intelligence
agencies by FIU".
Times of India,
December 17, 2011.
Militants
responsible for more enforced disappearances than
the SFs, admits Jammu and Kashmir based APDP:
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP),
a valley-based human rights group, has admitted
that militants were responsible for more enforced
disappearances than the Security Forces (SFs). It
said of the 132 cases it has documented, militant
groups were responsible for 24 cases of enforced
disappearances compared to 22 by the SFs, including
Police. IBN
Live, December 13, 2011.
Essar
channelised money to Maoists, says Chhattisgarh
Government: The Chhattisgarh Government said
on December 16 that Essar Group had handed over
INR 1.5 million to a local contractor in the State
to pass on to Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
cadres. INR 1.5 million was provided from Essar
company side to a contractor B.K. Lala on September
9 to hand over to Lingaram Kodopi at a weekly market
at village Palnar in Dantewada district.
Economic Times,
December 17, 2011.
Assam-based
KPLT expected to come over ground: Karbi People's
Liberation Tiger (KPLT) has said that it was likely
to come 'over ground' after clauses of the United
People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS). KPLT 'General
Secretary' Nilip Enghi said, "We will decide to
come out over ground after all the clauses of the
peace accord are implemented".
Nagland Post,
December 13, 2011.
Six
new Schools for CRPF personnel to hone skills:
Six new institutions in various parts of the country
have been created to hone the operational and intelligence
gathering skills of the Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) troops. About 300,000 personnel will be attending
the Indian Institute of Improvised Explosive Device
(IED) Management in Pune, dogs breeding and training
centre in Taralu in Karnataka, intelligence school
in Kadarpur in Gurgaon, Rapid Action Force (RAF)
training school and training of trainers school
in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and College of Insurgency
and Jungle Craft in Belgaum.
Outlook,
December 16, 2011.
NEPAL
Nepal
Army and PLA still at variance over integration
basics: Over two weeks after the Army Integration
Special Committee (AISC) completed the regrouping
process, the Nepal Army (NA) and the former Maoist
combatants continue to remain at odds over the very
basics of army integration, raising doubts over
any immediate progress in the peace process. NA
spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri is on record saying
that the combatants should meet the physical criteria,
pass the selection process and attend trainings
specified for each rank before serving in the new
directorate. ekantipur,
December 13, 2011.
PAKISTAN
49
militants and 14 civilians among 69 persons killed
during the week in FATA: At least 17 militants
were killed in an air assault on their secret hideouts
in Jawaki and Samaa areas of Orakzai Agency in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on December 18.
Three
soldiers, including an official, were killed in
an IED blast at Katasarai village in Kurram Agency
on December 17.
25
militants and one soldier were killed in clashes
between the militants and Frontier Corps in Khanki
village in the Upper Orakzai Agency on December
16. In addition, three people, including a woman,
were killed after mortar shells hit their house
in Muslim Dhand area of Bara tehsil (revenue
unit) in Khyber Agency.
Six
persons, among them four children, were killed when
militants attacked houses in Shalobar area of Bara
tehsil in Khyber Agency on December 13 after Security
Forces (SFs) launched a search operation against
militants.
At
least four militants were killed when rival militant
outfits clashed in Bara tehsil of Khyber
Agency on December 12. Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News; Tribune,
December 12-18, 2011.
1,100
persons killed in Parachinar over five years, informs
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Government and the Intelligence Agencies on December
12 informed the members of the National Assembly's
Standing Committee on Human Rights that about 1,100
people have been killed and hundreds of houses burnt
in Parachinar area of Kurram Agency in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the past five
years. They also informed that the operation against
"non-local militants" is under way. Dawn,
December 13, 2011.
Arms
from 3,400 containers unloaded in Pakistan, says
Federal Tax Ombudsman Shoaib Suddle: Federal
Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Shoaib Suddle on December 12
said that arms from 3,400 non-commercial containers
had been unloaded in Pakistan. Shoaib said that
more than 3,400 non-commercial containers, meant
for Afghanistan, disappeared in Pakistan. He revealed
that arms from these containers had been unloaded
in Pakistan. Pakistan
Observer, December 13, 2011.
29,000
NATO containers went missing on way to Afghanistan,
reveals FBR inquiry: An internal inquiry by
the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on December 15
revealed that around 29,000 containers destined
for Afghanistan have gone missing inside the country.
Speaking on behalf of the Finance Minister, Minister
of State for Production Khwaja Sheeraz informed
the Senate that a committee formed by the FBR chairman
had found that as many as 28,822 containers carrying
NATO and Afghan Transit Trade goods had left Port
Qasim in Karachi but never crossed Chaman town in
Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan Province
and Torkham border posts in Khyber Agency of FATA.
Dawn,
December 16, 2011.
US
lawmakers freeze aid of USD 700 million to Pakistan:
The leaders of a US House-Senate negotiating panel
on December 12 said that they had agreed to freeze
USD 700 million in US aid to Pakistan until it provides
some assurances of assistance in the fight against
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the region.
The explosive devices are among militants' most
effective weapons against US and coalition troops
in Afghanistan. Dawn,
December 13, 2011.
Time
to side with India to cut off the ISI, urges US
Senator Mark Kirk: Contending that United States'
(US) relationship with Pakistan had reached a dead
end, an American lawmaker on December 14 said there
was a sense among Congressmen that time had come
to "side" with India to "cut off the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI)". Senator Mark Kirk said that
a US-India tie-up was ISI's "horror story" but time
had come for it to evolve. Hindustan
Times, December 15, 2011.
TTP
rules out talks: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) on December 14 ruled out any negotiations
with the Government and claimed to have control
over most areas of South Waziristan Agency (SWA)
of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). In
an interview with a three-member delegation of senior
tribal journalists at a command and control centre
of militants in SWA, the key 'operational commander'
and 'chief' of Laddah sub-division chapter of TTP,
Shamim Mehsud, rejected any contacts with the Government
under the present circumstances. Dawn,
December 15, 2011.
SRI LANKA
Government
to release all detained ex-LTTE cadres by mid-2012:
Authorities expect to release all remaining former
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the middle
of 2012 following the completion of their training
program. The last remaining group of 700 former
LTTE cadres will be released by mid-2012 after providing
them the mandatory 12 months training, Secretary
for the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms,
A. Dissanayaka said on December 9. Colombo
Page, December 13, 2011.
Security
Forces had not deliberately targeted civilians in
the NFZs, concludes LLRC: The Lessons Learnt
and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), while admitting
that there were civilian casualties due to crossfire,
has concluded that Sri Lankan Security Forces had
not deliberately targeted civilians in the 'No-Fire
Zones (NFZs)' established by the Government. "On
consideration of all facts and circumstances before
it, the Commission concludes that the Security Forces
had not deliberately targeted the civilians in the
NFZs, although civilian casualties had in fact occurred
in the cause of crossfire," the report said. Colombo
Page, December 16, 2011.
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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