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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 26, January 2, 2012
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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Balochistan:
Achilles Heel
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
16 persons, including women and children, were killed
and another 35 were injured in a suicide attack near the
residence of tribal elder Shafiq Mengal, son of former
acting Chief Minister and Federal Minister Naseer Mengal,
on Arbab Karam Khan Road in Quetta, the Provincial capital
of Balochistan, on December 30, 2011. The Baloch Liberation
Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Prior to
that, on December 29, 2011, unidentified assailants shot
dead a Police surgeon, Baqir Shah, who had played a key
role in exposing the extra-judicial killing of five foreigners,
including three women, in Quetta. Shah, who reportedly
had not been provided any security despite being attacked
in the past, had conducted the autopsy of five foreigners,
including Russians and Tajiks, who were shot dead by Pakistani
Security Forces (SFs) in Quetta on May 17, 2011. The autopsy
report had contradicted the Quetta Police Chief Daud Junejo’s
claim that the foreigners had not died due to shooting
by law enforcement personnel, but because of a blast which
they triggered with the help of explosives and suicide
vests. Shah’s report revealed that they died from “multiple
bullet wounds”. Significantly, while media reports had
then claimed that the victims were unarmed and carried
no explosives, footage on several TV news channels had
shown SF personnel firing a volley of bullets at the foreigners
as they lay on the ground near a security check post.
Earlier,
three bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch Nationalist Party
– Mengal (BNP-M) activists were found in the Zero Point
area of Khuzdar District on December 12, 2011. The victims,
identified as Bashir Ahmed, Sanaullah Mardoi and Allah
Bakhsh Mardoi, had been abducted earlier, on an unspecified
date.
Balochistan
has for long earned notoriety as the land of extra judicial
killings, disappearances, SF high handedness, and repression,
as well as a playground for terrorists operating beyond
the frontiers of the Country. The Province witnessed 711
fatalities, including 542 civilians, 122 SF personnel
and 47 militants in 2011, as against 347 fatalities, comprising
of 274 civilians, 59 SF personnel and 14 militants in
2010, according to partial data compiled by the Institute
for Conflict Management (ICM, all data till December
31, 2011. These numbers are likely to be underestimates,
as access to media and independent observers is severely
restricted in Balochistan). Overall fatalities in 2011
thus increased by 104.89 per cent over the preceding year.
Incidents of killing rose by 116 per cent, from 150 in
2010 to 321 in 2011. Further, the number of major
incidents (each involving three or
more fatalities) increased by 152.17 percent, with 58
such incidents recorded in 2011, as against 23 in 2010.
More worryingly,
fatalities among civilians increased by almost 97.81 per
cent, and at least 123 of 542 civilian killings appeared
to be “extra judicial” in nature – that is, executed by
state agencies. The victims of these extrajudicial executions
were either political activists or people opposing the
oppressive nature of governance in the Province.
Annual
Fatalities in Balochistan, 2006-2011
Years
|
Civilians
|
SF
Personnel
|
Militants
|
Total
|
2006
|
226
|
82
|
142
|
450
|
2007
|
124
|
27
|
94
|
245
|
2008
|
130
|
111
|
107
|
348
|
2009
|
152
|
88
|
37
|
277
|
2010
|
274
|
59
|
14
|
347
|
2011*
|
542
|
122
|
47
|
711
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till December 31, 2011
Unsurprisingly,
the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a non-governmental
organisation, in a statement issued on December 9, 2011,
observed,
Bodies
of at least 225 ‘missing persons’ have been recovered
from various parts of the Province since July 2010.
The situation is particularly grave for non-Muslims
and minority Muslim sects. As many as 80 members
of the Shia community have been killed in the Province
this year [2011] alone, for no reason other than
their religious belief. HRCP also has serious concern
at targeted killing of teachers, intellectuals and
non-Baloch ‘settlers’ in Balochistan. The murder
of two HRCP activists and three journalists in the
Province in 2011 signifies the dangers that those
highlighting human rights violations face on a daily
basis. It is a matter of grave alarm that 107 new
cases of enforced disappearance have been reported
in Balochistan in 2011, and the ‘missing persons’
are increasingly turning up dead. It is scandalous
that not a single person has been held accountable
for these disappearances and killings.
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Earlier,
on September 18, 2011, the Commission had expressed ‘serious
concern’ over the increasing number of decomposed bodies
of missing persons being recovered from different parts
of Balochistan, noting,
Around
188 decomposed dead bodies have so far been dumped
in desolate places in different parts of Balochistan
since June 4, 2010... Most of the victims were political
opponents, students and cream of the society.
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A report
of the fact-finding mission of the HRCP which visited
the Province between May 4 and 7, 2011 had observed,
Perturbed
by the worsening situation, Pakistan’s Chief Justice,
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on March 2, 2011, remarked
that the Government should take practical steps instead
of issuing policy statements regarding abduction and targeted
killings in Balochistan. Significantly, during the course
of the proceedings, Balochistan’s Advocate General Salahuddin
Mengal observed,
We
are recovering dead bodies day in and day out as
the FC [Frontier Constabulary] and Police are lifting
people in broad daylight at will, but we are helpless.
Who can check the FC? End the burning issue of missing
persons first and then blame the Balochistan Government
for not controlling law and order.
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Regrettably,
however, FC Inspector General Major General Ubaidullah
Khattak on December 13, 2011, simply dismissed these allegations
and claimed that 90 per cent of the missing Baloch persons
were involved in criminal activities and had been killed
by their own organisations.
Not surprisingly,
Sardar Ataullah Mengal, senior leader of the BNP-M, on
December 19, 2011, warned that Balochistan would not "remain
with" Pakistan if extra-judicial killings of Baloch
nationalists and excesses by SFs were not stopped immediately.
"Balochistan will not remain with you", Mengal
declared, adding that the violence and killings by SFs
had taken "Balochistan to the point of no return"
and steps had to be taken to engage the youth "who
have been driven into the mountains by the Army".
Similarly, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarian,
Lieutenant General (Retd.) Abdul Qadir Baloch, on February
25, 2011, had alleged that the security agencies were
behind the abduction and killing of political workers
and national activists in Balochistan.
Baloch
insurgents and Pashtun Islamist and sectarian terrorists,
meanwhile, retained capabilities to carry out acts of
sabotage on a daily basis across the Province. Acts of
violence were, crucially, not restricted to a few areas,
but occurred in practically every one of the 26 Districts
of the Province, including capital Quetta.
According to FC data, a total of 1,328 violent incidents
took place across the Province in 2011.
Terrorist
violence in Balochistan has had a significant sectarian
overlay. Balochistan witnessed 89 fatalities in 12 incidents
of sectarian violence in 2011. 11 of these occurred in
Quetta alone, with 63 persons killed. The remaining incident
occurred in Mastung District. In the worst such attack
in 2011, 26 Shia pilgrims were shot dead by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ)
militants in Taftan, a town that shares border with Iran,
in the Ganjidori area of Mastung District, on September
20, 2011.
Separately,
Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik, on July 13,
2011, disclosed that, over preceding three years, 134
Punjabi-speaking people had been killed in Balochistan.
As in previous
years, Islamist terrorists left no stone unturned to attack
and disrupt the principal NATO supply lines to Afghanistan,
which pass through Balochistan. Partial data compiled
by SATP recorded 59 attacks in Balochistan in 2011, on
oil tankers and trucks ferrying NATO supplies, marginally
down from 66 in 2010. However, the loss of lives in these
attacks rose from 12 in 2010 to at least 19 in 2011.
Rising
extremism and violence, attacks on NATO convoys, and the
arrest of high profile al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists
has repeatedly demonstrated the presence of the Quetta
Shura and al Qaeda networks in North Balochistan. Since
2009, at least 22 al
Qaeda and six Afghan Taliban
militants have been arrested in the region. The Pakistan
establishment, however, continues to brazenly deny this
reality. Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam
Raisani on August 4, 2011, dismissed media reports about
the existence of Quetta Shura or the presence of Mullah
Omar or al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri in Balochistan.
Similarly, Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik stated,
on June 5, 2011, "The propaganda of the Taliban Quetta
Shura is baseless, if anyone has concrete evidence about
their claims, it must be shared with Government."
And further, "Over 30 raids have been conducted on
the presence of Taliban across Balochistan, but they were
not found."
However,
the arrest in Quetta of senior al Qaeda leader, Younis
al-Mauritani, believed to have been responsible for planning
attacks in the US, Europe and Australia, along with two
other “senior al Qaeda operatives”, Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami
aka Bachar Chama and Messara Al Shami aka
Mujahid Amino in a joint raid by the Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI) and
the FC, disclosed on September 5, 2011, proves the hypocrisy
of the Pakistani claims.
The lackadaisical
approach of the Pakistani establishment has evidently
emboldened the extremists. While the number of SF personnel
killed in 2010 stood at 59, it has increased considerably
to 120 in 2011. At least 28 people were killed and over
60 injured in two suicide attacks targeting the residence
of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the FC, Brigadier
Farrukh Shehzad, in Quetta on September 7, 2011. The attacks
targeted and wounded the DIG, whose Force was involved
in the arrest of Younis al-Mauritani and two other al
Qaeda operatives in Quetta, in an operation announced
on September 5, 2011.
The quantum
jump in violence can be attributed to the rising desperation
among the Baloch nationals. Despite Balochistan’s natural
resource wealth (including the country’s largest deposits
of coal and copper, as well as copious quantities of other
minerals), Balochistan is Pakistan's poorest province,
with 45 per cent of the population living below the poverty
line. There is rising resentment in the Province over
the fact that, despite the annual revenue of USD 1.4 billion
that the Province’s gas output generates, the Federal
Government remits only USD 116 million in royalties back
to the Province.
Baloch
nationalist Insurgent groups, on the other hand, continued
to sabotage economic infrastructure, mostly gas pipelines.
According to the SATP database, 2011 recorded at least
52 incidents of attack on gas infrastructure, as against
just three in 2010. At least 170 such incidents have been
recorded since January 1, 2005. Significantly, the insurgents
involved in these attacks focus on targeting the economic
interests of the Provincial and Federal Governments, rather
than causing loss of life. Of the 711 fatalities recorded
in the Province in 2011, Baloch insurgents are confirmed
to have been involved in the killing of 69 civilians and
43 SF personnel. The material losses inflicted by the
Baloch insurgents, however, are very substantial. The
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Balochistan General Manager
Mohammad Haroon had noted, on February 14, 2011, “Last
year [2010], the SSGC suffered a loss of over PKR 100
million due to targeted attacks on gas pipelines. The
company has suffered an equivalent loss this year [2011]
too, as attacks have picked up.”
Meanwhile,
the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan
(initiation of the rights of Balochistan) package which
was approved by the Parliament on November 23, 2009, acknowledging
the widespread deprivation and neglect that prevailed
in Balochistan, failed to deliver. The package, included
six constitutional, five political, 16 administrative
and 34 economic proposals, and set a three-years implementation
period. It has, however, so far succeeded in ‘delivering’
just 34 of the 61 proposals – though even for these the
actual benefits accruing to the people are questionable.
The Federal and Provincial Governments are, moreover,
yet to initiate several mega-projects that are part of
the reforms package.
Another
ground for resentment is the Government’s policy of compensation
to victims of violence. On June 28, 2011, the Supreme
Court was informed that PKR 400,000 was being paid by
the Balochistan Government as compensation to heirs of
common citizens who fell victim to bomb blasts, target
killings or sectarian violence, compared to PKR two million
paid to the heirs of deceased SF personnel. The Court,
expectedly, asked the Federal and Provincial Governments
to consider removing the discrepancy by enhancing, to
a reasonable level, the amount of compensation for common
citizens arguing, “Is a common citizen a lesser species?”
Islamabad
has sought to pacify the Baloch by offering peace talks
with the nationalist rebels. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani, on June 5, 2011, stated that the Government was
ready for ‘political dialogue’ with estranged Baloch leaders,
in the larger national interest. Again, on October 11,
2011, he declared that the Government wanted reconciliation
and remained prepared to hold talks with “dissident Baloch
brethren” to find an amicable solution to the issues of
Balochistan. The Baloch, however, appear to have lost
faith in the establishment. Balochistan BNP-M chief Sardar
Akhtar Mengal, on July 15, 2011, had noted that the Government
was neither strong enough nor serious enough to resolve
the Balochistan issue. He added, further, that announcements
of packages, and the formation of jirgas and committees,
were aimed at deceiving the Baloch people.
Islamabad’s
policy of encouraging Islamist extremists, while using
brute force against those demanding genuine rights and
redressal of long standing grievances, can only lead to
a continuing blood bath in the resource rich Province,
creating more trouble for the increasingly crippled national
economy. Peace can only remain elusive in Balochistan
as long as Islamabad’s duplicity persists.
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Maharashtra:
Losing Momentum
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Protesting
against the killing
of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
politburo member Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias
Kishanji (on November 24, 2011, in West Bengal), around
150 Maoists in the Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra
State, set ablaze the Vairagadh gram panchayat (village
level local self-government institution) office on November
29. During the attack, the Maoists took control of the
stage at the local drama festival, the famous Jharipatti
Theatre and raised slogans hailing Kishanji, and appealed
to the people to observe the 'Bharat Bandh' (all
India shut down strike) scheduled for December 4 and 5,
2011. On November 27, 2011, the Maoists had set ablaze
another two gram panchayat office – at Malewada
and Khobramenda – in the District. The Maoists also triggered
a blast and partly destroyed the gram panchayat
building at Mispri in Gondia District in the night of
December 2, and set ablaze another gram panchayat
at Piparkhari in Deori tehsil (revenue unit) in
the District on December 3.
Maharashtra
has recorded a rise in Maoist violence in 2011, with 92
incidents recorded by the South Asia Terrorism Portal
(SATP) database, as against 51 incidents recorded in 2010.
This gives Maharashtra the dubious distinction of being
one of just two States – the other being Jharkhand – which
have bucked the overall trend of declining Maoist violence
across India in 2011, as compared to 2010. According to
partial data compiled by the SATP, 34 civilians, 10 Security
Force (SF) personnel and 25 Maoists were killed in 2011,
as compared to 22 civilians, 15 SF personnel and three
Maoists being killed in 2010.
Fatalities
in LWE/ CPI-Maoist Violence in Maharashtra: 2005 - 2011
Years
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
LWE/
CPI-Maoists
|
Total
|
2005
|
2
|
17
|
8
|
27
|
2006
|
13
|
3
|
33
|
49
|
2007
|
9
|
2
|
8
|
19
|
2008
|
2
|
5
|
7
|
14
|
2009
|
12
|
52
|
23
|
87
|
2010
|
22
|
15
|
3
|
40
|
2011*
|
34
|
10
|
25
|
69
|
Total
|
94
|
104
|
107
|
305
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till December 31, 2011
Incidents
of killing were reported from three Districts – Gadchiroli
(67), Gondia (one) and Nagpur (one) – in the State in
2011, while fatalities had been reported from two Districts
– Gadchiroli (39) and Bhandara (one) – in 2010. The distinctive
feature of killings in Maharashtra in 2011 was the dramatic
rise in both civilian and insurgent fatalities.
There had been an abrupt spike in SF fatalities in Maharashtra
in 2009, but these losses have diminished sharply since,
largely as a result of avoidance of confrontation with
the Maoists. The high casualty figure among Maoists in
2011, as compared to an insignificant three in 2010, would,
on first sight, suggest a dramatic augmentation of operations.
Unfortunately, the figure fails to inspire confidence;
of the 25 Maoist fatalities claimed by the Police, only
two bodies were recovered. This is in line with the experience
in 2009, when a similarly high 23 Maoist fatalities had
been claimed, but just three bodies were recovered.
In addition
to the incidents of killing, the Maoists opened fire at
Police Stations on two occasions – Phulbodi Gatta Police
Station in Dhanora tehsil on December 24, 2011,
and Laheri Police Station, under Bhamragarh Division in
the District on February 5, 2011, both in the Gadchiroli
District. No such incident of attack on a Police Station
had been recorded in 2010.
Maharashtra
also witnessed at least six incidents of explosion in
2011, as against four in 2010. 10 incidents of arson were
reported in 2011 as against five in 2010. Further, five
incidents of abduction were reported in 2011 as against
one in 2010. The number of Maoist attacks involving more
than 50 cadres and militia stood at four in 2011, as against
to two in 2010. Similarly, nine incidents of Maoists targeting
economic assets were reported in 2010, increasing to 16
in 2011, according to SATP data. Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) data, however, records only three incidents
of Maoists targeting economic assets in 2011 [as on November
14], as against 10 in 2010, 12 in 2009 and 10 in 2008.
A total
of 92 Maoist-related incidents, including incidents of
killing, were reported from 11 Districts [Chandrapur,
Gadchiroli, Gondia, Mumbai Suburban, Nagpur, Nandurbar,
Nashik, Pune, Thane, Wardha, and Yavatmal] in Maharashtra,
through 2011, as compared to a total of 51 such incidents
reported from seven Districts [Amravati, Bhandara, Chandrapur,
Gadchiroli, Gondia, Mumbai City and Nagpur] in 2010. According
to MHA data, as on November 14, the State had witnessed
92 incidents in the current year. Replying to a question
regarding Maoist activity in the State, the MHA informed
the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament), on December
13, 2011, that the Maoists were active in Gadchiroli,
Gondia and Chandrapur Districts and had plans to expand
their movement to Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Mumbai, Nasik,
Pune and Yavatmal Districts. On another occasion replying
to a question in Lok Sabha on November 22, 2011, the MHA
had stated that, while Maoist activities were reported
from seven Districts in the State in 2011, the figure
was four for both 2010 and 2009, and six in 2008. On October
15, 2011, Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil had claimed,
"It [Naxalism or Left Wing Extremism] is [alive]
only in Gadchiroli and Gondia [Districts]." He added
that Naxalism had been curbed in Nanded, Chandrapur and
Yavatmal Districts.
The year
2011 also witnessed five major incidents (each resulting
in three or more fatalities) during the period. These
included:
August
20: One Havaldar (Head Constable) of the State
Police and two troopers of the Commando Battalion for
Resolute Action (CoBRA) were killed when Maoist cadres
fired at a patrol party in Makadchuha village in Gadchiroli
District. One woman Maoist dalam (squad) commander
of the Chatgaon dalam identified as Raneeta alias
Ramko Hichami (35) was also killed in retaliatory firing.
July 17:
A group of CPI-Maoist cadres reportedly killed three persons,
including a Sarpanch (village head) in Korchi Taluka
(revenue sub-division) in Gadchiroli District. The victims
were identified as Motiram Katenge (50), Sarpanch
of Dabri village, Sudhakar Koreti (40) and Paharsinh Kumre
(55), were killed in Bijepar village, and their bodies
were dumped in the neighbouring Mohgaon Tola village.
May 19:
Two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and one constable were
killed in an exchange of fire between C-60 [the Maharashtra
Police counter-insurgency commando unit] teams and the
Maoists in Gadchiroli District. Two C-60 teams on a search
operation from Tadgao post in Gadchiroli were attacked
by Maoists. Rahul Sheth, Gadchiroli Additional Superintendent
of Police (ASP) Operations, stated, "Around eight
to 10 Naxals were killed. But their colleagues took away
their bodies with them... the Naxals ran away with all
their weapons."
May 5:
A landmine blast triggered by CPI-Maoist cadres killed
six persons of a family, including a five-year-old boy,
on the Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon Road near Tavitola village
in the Dhanora Police Station limits in Gadchiroli District.
The Naxalites (Left Wing Extremists) are learnt to have
followed up the blast with constant firing on the victims.
April 19:
Superintendent of Police (SP) Viresh Prabhu confirmed
the death of a top CPI-Maoist leader Nagesh alias
Shankar Tukka Pungati (38), 'commander-in-chief' of the
North Gadchiroli-Gondia Division, along with two other
Maoist cadres, on the basis of Maoist pamphlets recovered
from Malewada Village in Kurkheda Taluk in Gadchiroli
District in Maharashtra. Nagesh was killed along with
two other Maoist cadres in a fierce encounter in the forests
of Khobramendha near Malewada village under the Wadsa
Division of Gadchiroli District.
In the
wake of increased CPI-Maoist activities in the State and
surrounding areas, the Maharashtra Government has upgraded
the rank of the Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO) chief to better
counter the rebel threat. The upgradation - from the existing
Deputy Inspector General of Police to Additional Director
General of Police - was announced on May 23, 2011.
Earlier,
on February 1, 2011, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj
Chavan, made an urgent plea for central assistance for
its ongoing modernization of the Police Force, in view
of the State's rapid urbanization and the insurgent and
terrorist threats the State was facing. Speaking at the
Conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security in
New Delhi, Chavan noted, while detailing his State's security
plans, that Maharashtra had added 14,395 Policemen and
1,109 officers to its Police Force in 2010, besides an
additional 2,355 personnel in the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli
District and its surroundings. He said that the proposed
'Alpha Hawks Academy' coming up at Nagpur, to be operational
some time in 2012, would impart specialized training to
the Police in anti-Naxal operations and jungle warfare.
Chavan sought central funding to the tune of INR 220 million
to complete and commission the Academy.
According
to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Maharashtra
had a Police Population ratio of 164 per 100,000, as on
December 31, 2010, as against an all India average of
133. As on October 14, 2011, four CRPF, one Commando Battalion
for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and one C-60 commando battalion
had been posted, along with 3,000 District Police Force,
in the Naxal-affected areas of the State.
The SFs
managed to arrest 56 LWE cadres in 2011, as against 57
in 2010. The significant arrests in 2011 included Anjali
Sontakke alias Angela alias Kavita alias
Sunita Patil alias Iskara alias Rama, the
alleged Golden Corridor Committee (GCC) ‘secretary’ of
the CPI-Maoist, from Thane District on April 25. Anjali
is the wife of Deepak Teltumbde, ‘secretary’ of the CPI-Maoist
State Committee for North Gadchiroli, Gondia and Balaghat
Division. On April 26, Sushma Ramteke alias Shraddah
Gurav alias Arti (27), another top woman cadre
of the GCC was arrested from a rented apartment in Talaopali
area in Thane District. Mayuri Bhagat alias Jenny
(23), Jyothi Chorghe (19) and Anuradha Sonule (23) were
arrested from Pune on April 27, 2011; Siddharth Bhosale
alias Jeeva (24), an aide to Sonule, was arrested
from Chandawa area in Nashik District in the night of
April 28. The arrest of these six cadres exposed the ‘Golden
Corridor Committee’ which had been formed by the Maoists
to target students and labourers in the industrial areas
– such as Pune, Mumbai, Thane and Nashik – Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
A shift
in the Maoist strategy, increasingly targeting urban areas,
had also been noticed. Revelations by 15 Maoists arrested
by Maharashtra’s Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) in Thane and
Pune between April 25 and May 12, 2011, indicated a strong
effort to push forward the objectives of the Maoist ‘Urban
Perspective’ document.
During
an operation in April 2011, security agencies recovered
crucial Maoist documents, along with a ‘pan-Vidarbha plan’
for the vistar or expansion of the Maoist influence
across Maharashtra’s vast and most backward region. The
Maoists are said to have formed a V-dalam to extend
the movement across Vidarbha in the State’s east, bordering
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Vidarbha
region comprises 11 Districts – Amravati, Akola, Bhandara,
Buldhana, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondiya, Nagpur, Wardha,
Washim and Yavatmal. Media reports indicated that the
resurgence of the LWE movement in Gondia was the result
of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) taking
over the reins of both Gadchiroli and Gondia.
The Maoists
have also stepped up targeting of their former cadres,
who have deserted or surrendered. 22 rebels surrendered
in 2011, as against 10 in 2010, eight in 2009 and one
in 2008. The rebels eliminated Mangal Singh Korchami alias
Diwakar, former ‘commander’ of the Tippagarh dalam
and ‘secretary’ of the North Gadchiroli Division of the
DKSZC in Nagpur on April 19. Police sources indicate that
Diwakar wanted to start a separate outfit. Again, in the
night of September 20, 2011, the Maoists abducted and
later shot dead Ranu alias Kiran Pusali (30) and
his wife Jaswanda alias Devli (25), former cadres
of the outfit, who laid down their arms on May 17, 2010,
in the Dhanora tehsil.
In an effort
to boost the strength of the SFs, the Gadchiroli Police
received five new mine-proof vehicles (MPVs) with improved
features for effective anti-Naxalite operations, on September
4, 2011. Further, to beef up Security arrangements in
the Vidarbha region, the Centre agreed to bear the expenses
of a helicopter to be deployed for surveillance and rescue
operations. The helicopter was to be stationed in Nagpur
and its expenses would be borne by the Union Government.
At a review
meeting with officials from the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli
and Gondia Districts in Mumbai on November 15, 2011, Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram expressed concern over the
increasing civilian casualties in Naxalite violence in
Gadchiroli, and observed that these demonstrated Maoist
dominance in the area. He asked the Gadchiroli Police
to step up area domination to curb Maoist violence against
civilians. Chidambaram also expressed unhappiness over
the slow progress in the construction of infrastructure
facilities for the Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF).
He also announced at the meeting that fund allocation
for the Integrated Action Plan for Naxal-affected Districts
from the next financial year would be done for Administrative
Blocks as units, not Districts.
Maharashtra
had registered a decline in Maoist violence in 2010, as
compared to 2009, largely as a result of the avoidance
of confrontation
by the SFs. A further loss of momentum in SF operations
has now resulted in an increase in Maoist activities and
influence in the State – though this remains below the
2009 level. This can give no measure of satisfaction to
the Administration, or to State Forces, and an operational
escalation will become inevitable in the proximate future.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
December 26,
2011-January 1, 2012
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Arunachal
Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
Chhattisgarh
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
Jharkhand
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Karnataka
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
15
|
0
|
8
|
23
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
21
|
6
|
6
|
33
|
FATA
|
10
|
3
|
73
|
86
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
7
|
Sindh
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
40
|
10
|
81
|
131
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
War Crimes
trial to go on, says Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina: Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 30 said that the trial
of War Criminals would go on and they must be brought under
the trial process. She stated, "The trail will take place
whenever and wherever the war criminals will be found and
this process will continue". Daily
Star, December 31, 2011.
Cabinet
endorses final draft of amended Anti-terrorism Act: The
Bangladesh Cabinet on December 26 approved the final draft
of the Anti-terrorism (amendment) Act, 2011 with a provision
of death penalty for getting involved in, supporting or financing
militancy and terrorist activities in the country. According
to the proposed act, a convict will have to serve a minimum
rigorous jail term of three years to a maximum of 20 years,
including fine or both depending on the nature of the crime.
Daily
Star, December 27, 2011.
INDIA
Rise in
abduction in the State, says Assam Police: According to
Police records, there has been more than 50 per cent increase
in abduction cases over the past 10 years in the State. The
number of abduction cases registered in 2000 was 1,392. Such
cases registered at different Police Stations of the State
went up to 2,719 in 2009 and 3,250 in 2010. The figure for
the current year until the month of September is 2,887. Telegraph,
December 31, 2011.
China increasing
presence in PoK, says Army official: China has increased
the presence of its military engineers in Pakistan occupied
Kashmir (PoK)," Major General K.H. Singh said on December
26. Although the exact number of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA)
men and engineers engaged in building infrastructure across
the Line of Control (LoC) is not known, their number has increased
in recent months, he added.
Economictimes;
New
York Times, December 28, 2011.
JuD Chief
Hafiz Saeed motivated the 26/11 attack squad, says NIA charge
sheet: According to the charge sheet filed by the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with November 26,
2008 (also known as 26/11) case Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed motivated the 26/11 attack squad. "Gunshot
will feel like a pin prick, blood stains will be like rose
petals, and angels will come down to take your souls," said
Saeed while motivating the 10 member suicide squad for the
attacks, states the charge sheet.
Hindustan Times,
December 27, 2011.
Year 2011
witnessed historic low level violence in disturbed areas,
says Union Home Minister P Chidambaram: Year 2011 witnessed
a historic low in the level of violence in disturbed areas
like Jammu and Kashmir, the North Eastern States and areas
affected by the Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] violence,
said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on December 31. In
areas affected by Naxalism, 447 civilians and 142 security
personnel were killed this year against 718 and 285, respectively,
in 2010. In Jammu and Kashmir, 31 civilians and 33 security
personnel lost their lives this year against 47 and 69, respectively,
in 2010.
Meanwhile,
the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its year-end review
for 2011 termed it as one of the most successful years in
terms of bringing rebel groups to the negotiation table in
Assam as well as in other northeastern states. MHA in a statement
said, "There has been significant decline in incidents of
violent killing of civilians and personnel of the security
forces in the northeastern states due to the consistent efforts
of the ministry of home affairs. Dialogues and negotiations
with underground outfits have been held and suspensions of
operation (SoO) have also been signed".
Times
of India; Telegraph;
Business
Line,
December 31, 2011-January 1, 2012.
NEPAL
All the
disputed issues except the state structuring have been resolved
in principle, says UCPN-M chairman Prachanda: Emerging
from a meeting of the dispute resolution Sub-Committee under
the Constitutional Committee (CC) on December 30, Sub-Committee
coordinator and Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M)
chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda said that
all the disputed issues except the state structuring had been
resolved in principle. "We have resolved most of the contentious
issues. Remaining issues will be settled as soon as possible,"
Prachanda said. Nepal
News, December 31, 2011.
Peace process
will conclude within couple of days, says Prime Minister Baburam
Bhattarai: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on December
28 claimed that the peace process will be taken to its logical
conclusion and constitution will be promulgated within May
27, 2012. He claimed the peace and constitution writing processes
disrupted for the last three years was forwarded by the Government
led by him. He said the process, which seemed to have been
disrupted for few days, has taken pace again. ekantipur,
December 29, 2011.
PAKISTAN
73 militants
and 10 civilians among 86 persons killed during the week in
FATA: 15 militants were killed and five hideouts destroyed
when fighter jets blitzed their hideouts in Orakzai Agency
in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 1.
I addition, 12 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants,
including one 'commander' Qari Kamran, was killed in the Karmina
area in Landikotal town of Khyber Agency.
12 militants
were killed and nine others injured when jet fighters pounded
their hideouts in Mamozai in Upper Orakzai on December 31.
Six militants
were killed and four others were injured when jets bombarded
militant hideouts in Garium area of North Waziristan Agency
on December 30.
Seven terrorists
were killed when Security Forces (SFs) pounded terrorists'
positions in Mamozai, Khadizai and Chapar Kali areas of Orakzai
Agency on December 28. Also, five suspected terrorists were
killed in clashes with SFs in Kurram Agency.
Seven militants
of an unidentified outfit were killed when SFs shelled the
terrorists' hideouts in the Mamozai and Khadizai areas of
Orakzai Agency on December 26. Further, eight suspected militants
were killed in shelling by SFs in the ongoing operation in
the Musazai and Jogi areas of Kurram Agency.
Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News; Tribune,
December 26- January 1, 2012.
21 civilians
and six civilians among 33 persons killed during the week
in Balochistan: At least 16 persons, including women and
children, were killed and 35 others got injured in a suicide
attack near the residence of tribal elder Shafiq Mengal, son
of former acting Chief Minister and Federal Minister Naseer
Mengal, on Arbab Karam Khan Road in in Quetta on December
30.
Five abductors
were killed and two Levies personnel got injured during an
armed clash in an attempt to rescue four abducted health workers
from Malazi and Hailkalzai Basic Health Unit in Pishin District.
Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News; Tribune,
December 26- January 1, 2012.
Peace will
not prevail without military withdrawal, says JeI leader Asadullah
Bhutto: On December 30, Jama'at-e-Islami (JeI) leader
Asadullah Bhutto, fearing that Balochistan is on the brink
of no return, called for "an end to the unannounced military
operation and the role of the [Intelligence] Agencies in the
province". The party asked for military leaders, including
former President General Pervez Musharraf, to be held accountable
in a court of law for the human rights violations in Balochistan.
Tribune,
December 31, 2011.
Federal
Minister for Interior Rehman Malik behind sabotaging peace
process in Balochistan, alleges JUI leader Maulana Abdul Wasay:
Jama'at Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader and Senior Minister Maulana
Abdul Wasay on December 28 severely criticized Interior Minister
Rehman Malik over his statement about the demolition of unregistered
seminaries and has dubbed him a 'dubious character'. The Interior
Minister was a non-entity and had been imposed on us, said
Wasay in the Balochistan Assembly. Daily
Times, December 29, 2011.
Al Qaeda
warns of revenge attacks for the killing of its leaders in
Pakistan: Al Qaeda on December 26 warned America, Pakistan
and Afghanistan of attacks to avenge killing of its influential
leader Tehsin bin Ali Abdul Aziz and his two aides in a drone
strike in the Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan Agency
in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 1.
A three-page pamphlet in Arabic with Urdu translation on a
separate page, issued by Abdul Aalaam Maatafi Haleema (Abu
Baseer Al-Tartusi), Amir of Al-Harkatah Alamia Kurdistan Iraq,
said the attacks would be carried out in the three countries
as they were allies. Dawn,
December 27, 2011.
SRI LANKA
SLMC opposes
government's decision not to allocate land and Police powers
to the Provinces: An ally of Sri Lanka's governing United
People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the Sri Lanka Muslin Congress
(SLMC) has opposed the Government's decision not to allocate
land and Police powers to the Provinces. SLMC Deputy Secretary
Nizam Kariyappar observed that the Tamil speaking people in
the North and East Provinces were hopeful of power being devolved
to the Provinces as promised by President Mahinda Rajapakse
at the All Party Representative meeting in 2006.
Colombo Page,
December 28, 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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