KP: Demoralized Force:Meghalaya: Disturbing the Peace::South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR), Vol. No. 10.3
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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 3, July 25, 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


ASSESSMENT


PAKISTAN
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KP: Demoralized Force
Research Desk, Institute for Conflict Management

On July 19, 2011, the Taliban released a video showing the execution of 16 Pakistani Policemen, captured during a raid on June 1, 2011, from the Upper Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The video shows the Policemen lined up on a hillside, their hands tied behind their backs, standing in front of armed Taliban fighters wearing scarves to hide their faces. One of the fighters accuses the men of killing six children. The fighters then open fire, and after this systematically shoot each of the Policemen in the head.

Upper Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Mir Qasim Khan put the number of victims in the video at 18, disclosing further that they were Policemen and paramilitary Police personnel captured on June 1: “It was a pre-dawn attack and that’s why most of them are not wearing uniforms.” Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas added that the Policemen were captured when the Taliban staged an attack from Afghanistan in Pakistan’s Upper Dir District.

Within a span of one month, the Police in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced three suicide attacks. 10 Policemen were killed and another five sustained injuries when two Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suicide bombers, one of them a burqa (veil)-clad woman, blew themselves up inside a Police Station in Kolachi Town of Dera Ismail Khan District on June 25, 2011. On May 26, 2011, a double-cabin pickup van packed with 400 to 450 kilograms of explosive material struck the barrier outside the Hangu Police Station, killing 32 persons and injuring 60. A day earlier, a TTP suicide bomber had driven a car packed with explosives into a CID Police Station at University Road in Peshawar, killing nine Policemen and injuring 29.

Claiming responsibility for the June 25 attack, a TTP spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said it was partly in revenge for the US raid that killed al Qaeda ‘chief’ Osama bin Laden and added that “this shows how much we hate Pakistani security institutions’’. Ahsan had claimed responsibility for the May 25 attack as well, declaring, "We accept responsibility for this attack. Soon you will see bigger attacks. Revenge for Osama can't be satisfied just with small attacks."

A January 6, 2011, report quoting Naushad Khan, Superintendent of Police (SP), stated that more than 615 Police personnel had been killed during the last seven years in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Around 90 Policemen were killed and 227 sustained injuries in different attacks across the province in 2010,” the report added. Further, almost one among every five Policemen who laid down their lives fighting terrorists during this period was an officer.

According to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, at least 417 Police personnel were killed and another 1,042 sustained injuries, since January 1, 2005.

Attacks on Police in KP: 2005-2011

Years
Incidents
Policemen Killed
Policemen Injured
Suicide attacks on Police
2005
0
0
0
0
2006
3
1
3
1
2007
45
49
184
7
2008
90
126
247
9
2009
72
105
305
19
2010
25
51
96
8
2011*
25
85
207
5
Total
260
417
1042
49
Source: SATP, *Data till July 24, 2011

There has, clearly, been a steady escalation since 2007, the year of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) operation in Islamabad. While the number of incidents and fatalities increased dramatically in 2008, there was significant decline in 2009 and 2010. 2011 has, once again, witnessed a spike in attacks on the Police, with at least 85 personnel having lost their lives in 25 attacks. The fatalities have included several senior officers, prominent among whom are:

August 4, 2010: Additional Inspector General of Police Safwat Ghayur was killed in a suicide attack outside his office in Peshawar.

April 19, 2010: Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gulfat Hussain was killed in a suicide attack in Qissa Khawani area of Peshawar.

February 11, 2010: District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Iqbal Marwat was killed in twin bomb blasts outside a Police training centre in Bannu District.

June 5, 2009: Farid Hussain Bangash, DSP, Mardan (Rural), was killed in a gun-battle when militants attacked a Buner-bound joint Police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) convoy at Natian in Mardan District. 

April 27, 2009: DSP Asmatullah Khattak and his bodyguards were killed on their way to Lakki Marwat from Bannu, when his van struck a remote controlled bomb on the Lakki-Tajazai Road in Lakki Marwat.

February 28, 2008: DSP Lakki Marwat, Javed Iqbal, was killed in a bomb blast in southern Lakki Marwat. Later, Iqbal’s funeral procession was attacked on March 1, 2008, in his native Swat, in Mingora, by a suicide bomber, killing over 60 people, including his son and another Police officer.

January 27, 2007: DIG Malik Mohammad Saad and DSP Khan Raziq were killed in a suicide attack on a Muharram procession in Peshawar.

December 18, 2006: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Bannu, Abid Ali, was killed along with his driver, while coming from Bannu to Peshawar, near Matani town on Kohat Road.

It is significant that the decline in incidents as well as Police fatalities in the years 2009 and 2010 was the result of heavy military presence and operations in the Province during this period. The Swat chapter of the TTP had established control in the Swat Valley through 2008 and early 2009, compelling the Pakistan establishment to launch a major military operation to flush out militants. Operation Black Thunderstorm was launched by the military on April 26, 2009, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla Districts. While Lower Dir was targeted in the first phase, the second phase of the operation started on April 28 in Buner. The military confirmed that some 87 militants and four soldiers were killed in fighting in the District between April 28 and May 4. On May 5, the third phase of the operation, named Rah-e-Rast (Path to Truth) started, with airborne troops storming the militant-held Swat Valley. Operation Rah-e-Rast ended on June 14, 2009, with Pakistani troops consolidating their position in the four Districts and going after the remaining pockets of resistance. In more than a month of fighting, by June 15, 2009, 106 soldiers and 1,040 militants were killed. Sporadic fighting continued, raising the death toll among the militants to 1,935 by July 15, 2009. However, many militants fled into Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and across the border into Afghanistan. Crucially, however, no top terrorist leader was killed in the entire operation, raising the questions about the “success and credibility of the operation”.

Reports indicate that as many as 45,000 regular Army personnel participated in operation Black Thunderstorm. With a semblance of ‘peace restored’, the 37th division of the Pakistan Army started moving  out of Swat on February 1, 2011, leaving the 19th division behind to control the entire District.

The Army claimed that areas occupied by the terrorists had been ‘liberated fully’ by 2010, even as incidents of ‘urban terrorism’ escalated. The responsibility of fighting terrorism was shifted to the Police Force. The Police in KP has a sanctioned strength of 78,320. With a provincial population of about 22 million, this yields a fairly healthy ratio of 356 policemen per 100,000 population, and a policeman to area ratio of 1.05 policemen per square kilometer. In addition, there are 82 platoons of FC stationed in the Province. Commandant FC, Akbar Khan Hoti, has requested an additional 124 platoons in KP to combat crime and terrorism, and to secure volatile areas, once the military pulls out. “The FC cannot combat militancy with its present strength. After the Army completes its withdrawal, more FC soldiers are required to take their place,” Hoti informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on the Interior on May 25, 2011.

According to the White Paper 2010-11 of the Finance Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Budgetary allocations to the Police Department in KP have risen dramatically over the years, from PKR 3,693 million in 2005-06, to 21,042 million in 2010-11. Indeed, the 2010-11 allocation was 117 per cent higher than the allocation for the preceding year. The strength of the Force has also increased substantially, recording a growth of over 41 per cent over just two years, FY 2008-2009 and 2009-10. The White Paper notes, further, “Sizeable amount has been spent on improvement of mobility, communication, arms and ammunition...” In addition, according to KP Minister for Finance Muhammad Humayun Khan the Province also expected to receive PKR 15.2 billion as a special grant for the Police from the Federal Government for the war against terrorism.

KP’s Police network is spread over 250 Police Stations, 343 Police Posts, 365 patrolling posts, 23 Police Lines and 3 Training Schools. A liberal package of incentives is now on offer, and the White Paper notes, “The salaries of Police have... been doubled and it is expected that it would bolster the morale of the existing police personnel and encourage others to join the force. Compensation for Police Shuhada (martyrs) has been increased from Rs. (PKR) 500,000 to Rs. 3,000,000.”

Most Police Stations in the Province are protected with safety walls and fortifications, though they remain vulnerable to suicide bombings and rocket fire. Alarmed by the recent attacks, the Police in the provincial capital, Peshawar, have initiated further fortifications, even as Police Stations increasingly become ‘no go’ areas for the common people.

Despite this, Police morale remains at rock bottom. Suicide bombings and brutal demonstrative executions have sapped the will to fight and even the top Police leadership has tended to express increasing hopelessness. On April 22, 2011, Malik Naveed Khan, the KP Police Chief, stated, “a foreign journalist once rightly termed this situation the ‘Hug of Death’” and argued that facing a suicide bomber when you know he can detonate his explosives at any time is not an easy job. Police Spokesman Jalal Khan observed, on June 27, 2011, “To stop entry of suicide bombers was a difficult task and one would have to put one’s life at stake for the purpose.”

Despite substantial investments in the Police, the will and orientation to fight the terrorists are conspicuous in their absence. Worse, the Army’s ‘successful operations’ in the Province do not appear to have done extraordinary damage to the extremists’ capabilities, forcing no more than a temporary relocation outside its borders. As the militants return in strength to KP, the spiral of violence can only escalate, with a disheartened Police Force offering ineffective resistance to a rising terrorist rampage.

INDIA
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Meghalaya: Disturbing the Peace
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On June 4, 2011, three Policemen were killed and two others sustained injuries as Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants ambushed the Policemen at Thapadarenchi village in East Garo Hills District. The outfit claimed that the ambush was part of its "reverse operation" against the Police. Significantly, it was on December 7, 2008, when a Policeman was last killed by militants in the State.

Further, on June 3, 2011, a ‘friendly fire’ incident resulting from an error of identification resulted in two Police fatalities, when two teams of Police commandos, engaged in operations against the GNLA in East Garo Hills, at Dorengchigre area in Durama Hills, came face to face. The area lies close to the Simsang River, where GNLA has significant strength. 

Earlier, on April 5, 2011, GNLA militants had killed five migrant coal miners, and injured another at the Goka coal dumping area in the South Garo Hills District.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, 11 persons, including five civilians, five Security Force (SF) personnel and one militant, have been killed in terrorism related incidents in the State in 2011 (till July 24), all in incidents related to GNLA. There were 20 fatalities, including 17 militants and three civilians, in 2010, of which four (two civilians and two militants), were related to GNLA.

The GNLA is emerging as the number one threat in the State, which was fast returning to peace prior to the outfit’s creation in 2009. GNLA was formed by its present ‘chairman’, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Pakchara R. Sangma alias Champion R. Sangma. Former Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) leader, Sohan D. Shira, is the ‘commander-in chief’ of the outfit. The GNLA reportedly has 70 cadres, of whom an estimated 45 have received arms training, and has a strong presence in the East and South Garo Hills Districts. The Durama Hill Range near Dorengchigre area in East Garo Hills is believed to house the GNLA headquarters, where Shira resides. The other major camp of the militant group is at Nengmandalgri of the same District.

Fighting for a ‘sovereign Garoland' in the Western areas of Meghalaya, GNLA has reported links with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Anti-talks Faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-ATF). The Police has not ruled out the possibility of NDFB-ATF helping GNLA in carrying out the June 4 ambush. The outfit has also forged an alliance with the Bangladesh-based rebel  A’chik Special Dragon Party.

To sustain its activities, GNLA is engaged in extortion from coal-traders, petrol tank owners and local businessmen. On June 29, 2011, suspected GNLA militants opened indiscriminate fire on a Police outpost in the Dobu area of East Garo Hills District, an area which has been a prime target for extortion from coal barons. According to an April 24, 2011 report, most non-Garo Government employees working in Garo Hills have been abstaining from their duties due to the fear of GNLA militants, who have served demand notes to them asking for up to INR three million as "donation for the interest and upliftment of the Garo people of Garo Land and for making use of the resources of Garo Hills." An Army source noted, on June 15, 2011, “Earlier ULFA was mainly carrying out extortion on the Assam-Meghalaya border. But after most of the ULFA cadres came over ground to participate in the peace process, the ‘extortion business’ was virtually taken over by other outfits such as the GNLA and Rabha Viper Army.”

Reports indicate GNLA’s nexus with politicians in the State. On April 29, 2011, dissident Garo Hills District Congress legislators claimed to have received "threatening" text messages from GNLA militants’, reportedly from Bangladesh, asking them why they did not support Chief Minister (CM) Mukul Sangma. "We have specific inputs which indicate GNLA has some political patronage allowing the outfit to carry out its activities openly," an unnamed senior Police official said on December 10, 2010. A probe by the Meghalaya Government is currently on to ascertain whether politicians are “patronizing” the GNLA, and the CM has stated, “It would be disastrous if any sympathiser is found hand-in-glove with the group.”

Meanwhile, on February 6, 2011, it was reported that the GNLA was offering a ‘better package’ to attract Police constables in the State to its fold. Unconfirmed sources suggest that the GNLA was offering a monthly package of INR 400,000 to INR 500,000 to Police personnel to join the outfit, and there are increasing worries that this may tempt at least some Policemen to break ranks.

The GNLA rise has worried other, now peaceful groups, in Meghalaya. The Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), currently under a truce with the Government of India (GoI), has asked for its arms, which were deposited at the time of the ceasefire in 2004, to be returned, to protect themselves from the GNLA. In what could be an indication of intensified rivalry between the outfits, the ANVC accused the GNLA of trying to poach its cadres by offering up to INR 3 million. The ANVC also claimed that the GNLA was working with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). An ANVC release stated, on July 7, 2011, “ANVC’s intelligence bureau has confirmed the GNLA’s connection with the ISI and that Champion R. Sangma is in Bangladesh channelising all other organisations of the North-East which are getting the support of the ISI for exploiting the Indian soil.” These questions had been raised earlier, and Champion Sangma had, in May 2010, denied any link with the ISI, declaring, "The ISI and several jihadi groups extended help to the GNLA but I refused."

The SFs, meanwhile, have had a few successes against the outfit. Only three GNLA militants have been neutralized since the group was formed.  On June 27, 2010, two GNLA militants were shot dead by a combined force of the Army and the East Garo Hills District Police during an encounter in Kharkutta area. In the latest incident, the Police shot dead one GNLA militant at Rongrekgre village in East Garo Hills on January 26, 2011. In a significant operation, on July 8, 2011, the SFs neutralised a GNLA camp, regularly visited by Shira, at Nengmandalgre, eight kilometres from Williamnagar town in East Garo Hills District. The camp was also giving shelter to GNLA’s West Khasi Hills’ ‘area commander’ Savio Marak, who arrived in the area with his cadres ostensibly for a briefing by Sohan D Shira. Earlier on June 15, 2011, the SFs neutralized a GNLA camp located in the foothills of Durama Forest in the same District. Meanwhile, on May 15, 2010, GNLA ‘general secretary’, Novembirth Ch. Marak was arrested from New Jalpaiguri railway station in West Bengal, followed by the arrests of ‘finance secretaries’, Solte Marak and Martin Sangma, from Williamnagar of East Garo Hills District. SATP data records the arrest of 20 GNLA cadres since its inception. Facing mounting SF pressure, 20 GNLA militants, led by the 'chief training instructor' of the outfit, Mingran T. Sangma alias Lodrin T. Sangma, surrendered on April 27, 2011. A total of 26 GNLA militants have surrendered so far.

Worried by the GNLA’s rise, two Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) units of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and five companies of the Border Security Force were deployed in the State on July 12, 2011. This force has been trifurcated, and a group each is to be based in each of the three District Headquarters in the Garo Hills – Tura, Williamnagar and Baghmara, with their area of operations extending up to the West Khasi Hills District. Earlier, 500 CRPF troopers were assisting the Meghalaya Police and its Special Weapons and Tactics commandos, to tackle the GNLA. The Meghalaya Police has a total strength of 10,064 personnel, yielding a strong Police-population ratio of 391 per 100,000. 

However, on July 20, 2011, Champion Sangma warned “Such deployment will only strengthen our commitment to the cause of Garoland and unite all sections of Garo society... The jungles of Garo Hills shall be the graveyard for the so called CoBRA and BSF Special Forces. We will send them back in body bags.” On July 17, 2011, GNLA militants had threatened to carry out serial blasts across the State if the combing operations against the outfit were not immediately stopped. However, on July 21, 2011, the GNLA clarified that it had no intention of harming civilians and that their statement was intended to indicate their capability to execute simultaneous attacks on Government establishments in the State.

Meanwhile, heavy movement of GNLA militants from the deep jungles of the Durama Hill range and the Balpakram National Park range, where the group is also believed to have bases, has been reported. The Durama hill range is a tri-junction connecting the three Districts of Garo Hills — West, East and South Garo Hills. “As the operations have been intensified, we have learnt that GNLA militants have been forced to move to other safer places,” an unnamed Police official said on July 18, 2011, adding that before fleeing Durama, the GNLA militants destroyed six of their camps. There are apprehensions that the GNLA militants could escape into neighboring West Khasi Hills and Assam, while some of them could cross over into Bangladesh. In a significant development, however, BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), on July 8, 2011, agreed to share real-time information to capture trans-border criminals and militants.

The deployment of additional Force and aggressive operations against the GNLA, if sustained, will have inevitable impact on this group, and may well force it to the negotiating table, even if a quick end to its capacities cannot be secured.



NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
July 18-24, 2011

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

INDIA

  

Assam

1
0
0
1

Jammu & Kashmir

3
0
4
7

Maharastra

1
0
0
1

Mizoram

1
0
0
1

Left-wing Extremism

  

Chhattisgarh

10
0
0
10

Jharkhand

3
0
0
3

Maharashtra

3
0
0
3

Odisha

2
0
0
2

West Bengal

1
0
0
1

Total (INDIA)

25
0
4
29

NEPAL

0
0
1
1

PAKISTAN

  

Balochistan

16
2
2
20

FATA

15
3
76
94

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2
2
3
7

Sindh

53
0
1
54

Total (PAKISTAN)

86
7
82
175
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.



BANGLADESH


US demands Bangladesh to extradite Taliban-trained militants: The United States (US) has demanded extradition of Bangladesh-born militants who were recruited and trained by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It has submitted a list of Bangladeshi militants and demanded the extradition of those suspected militants now living in Bangladesh. All Headline News, July 22, 2011.

Former parliamentarian launches new Islamist political party: A former Member of Parliament, Mufti Shahidul Islam, on July 21 launched a new Islamist political party, Bangladesh Ganaseba Andolan. Islam along with eight others earlier defected from Khelafat Andolan in the month of March. Tofajjul Haque Aziz, Bangladesh Ganaseba Andolan's Secretary-General, said the party's goal was to enlighten the people on the positive aspects and the self-sacrifice of Islamic ideology, and establish a leadership of honest people. BD News24, July 22, 2011.


INDIA


Centre warns VIPs of 'gift wrapped' bombs: The Centre has sent an advisory to all States, asking them to alert VIPs in their areas not to accept any gifts from unknown persons or from posts/couriers as there may be explosives inside gift packs or parcels. "The advisory was sent to the States following an intelligence input suggesting that terror modules were exploring the possibility of sending explosive material 'gift wrapped' to prominent persons, including some politicians," said an official. Times of India, July 21, 2011.

Assam Ministers on militants' hit list, says Tarun Gogoi: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on July 22 said that Assam ministers are on militant hit list. He also confirmed the reported merger of Anti-Talks Faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF), People Liberation Army (PLA), and other North-Eastern militant groups in Myanmar.

Earlier, a report said that 40 Anti-Talks Faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF) militants, trained by Kachin Independence Army (KIA), are trying to enter the State before Independence Day (August 15) by crossing the Patkai hills from Lohit and Changlang Districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Sentinel; Times of India, July 19-23, 2011.

Security agencies apprehensive about China's help to several Manipur-based militant groups: Security agencies are apprehensive about China providing help to several Manipur-based militant groups, including People's Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People's Revolutionary party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and Kanglei Yowal Kanna Lup (KYKL). These groups might have come into some sort of understanding joining hands with Anti-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-ATF), headed by Paresh Baruah, Khaplang Faction of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN -K), Anti-Talks Faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB-ATF) and Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).Assam Tribune, July 22, 2011.

Investigators point the needle of suspicion towards Indian Mujahideen behind 13/7: Investigations into the July 13, 2011 blasts in Mumbai (13/7) were focusing heavily on suspects in Gujarat, with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) reportedly getting major leads pointing to the involvement of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). Sources said the Maharashtra ATS, with the help of the Gujarat ATS, detained three suspects from Ahmadabad who were believed to be new IM recruits.

Meanwhile, investigators also suspect that the blasts could have been the handiwork of a little-known militant outfit, Jam-i-yyathul Ansarul Muslimeen, with a strong base in South India. Another investigator said the outfit functioned as a shadow organisation of IM. DNA; Times of India, July 19, 2011.

13/7 mastermind believed to be hiding in Bangladesh: Indian security agencies believe that the mastermind of the July 13, 2011 Mumbai blasts (13/7), Abdullah Khan of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), is hiding in Bangladesh. Khan is now operating the IM module, which is assigned to maintain liaison with the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and in a joint venture, has recruited a few new jihadists for their outfit. Investigators said about six months ago, Khan was stationed in Nepal and shuttled between Bangladesh and Pakistan. All Headline News, July 23, 2011.

Militant outfits are communicating through VoIP, suspect intelligence agencies: Intelligence agencies suspect that militant outfits targeting India have moved their communications significantly to Internet and other possible innovative means. They have for some time now been suspecting that the terrorists had moved their communications to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a communication technology that helps delivery of voice and multimedia data over internet. Times of India, July 19, 2011.

65,000 troops needed to fight Naxals, says Army assessment report: In a detailed assessment, the Army Chief and the seven Army Commanders has decided to deploy at least 60-65,000 troops to provide an effective counter to the Naxal [Left Wing Extremism] threat. The Army agreed that at least six Army divisions will be needed to cover Naxal-affected areas in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal. Indian Express, July 20, 2011.


NEPAL

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal will hand over Government leadership to UCPN-M after August 31, says UCPN-M secretary C.P Gajurel: Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) secretary C.P Gajurel on July 19 claimed that Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal have agreed to hand over the Government leadership to his party after August 31 while signing the seven-point agreement with the Maoist party. Gajurel said that his party did not pressurise Jhala Nath Khanal to step down as he had already agreed to make way for the Maoists after August 31. Nepal News, July 20, 2011.


PAKISTAN

76 militants and 15 civilians among 94 persons killed during the week in FATA: 11 militants were killed and six others injured during an encounter between militants and Security Forces (SFs) in the Ali Sherzai area of Kurram Agency on July 24. In addition, at least nine militants were killed and eight others sustained injuries in clashes between the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansarul Islam (AI) in Sandapal area in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency.

An anti-militant lashkar (tribal militia) killed 13 militants during clashes in Parachinar of Kurram Agency on July 23.

Seven militants were killed and as many volunteers of tribal lashkar injured in a clash between militants and tribal lashkar in Neka Ziarat area of Kurram Agency on July 22. Also, six militants were killed while two militants and a soldier sustained injuries during an encounter in Sheraki area of Orakzai Agency.

Four militants were killed in a United States (US) drone strike that fired two missiles in a house in Khushali Toori Khel area of Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) of North Waziristan Agency on July 21.

The pro-Government tribesmen killed six militants during clashes in Neka Ziarat area of central Kurram Agency on July 20.

11 militants and a soldier were killed during an encounter between SFs and militants in Ormegai area of Kurram Agency on July 19.

Five persons were killed and two others injured in an explosion in Pir Khel village of Shakai area near Wana, the main town of South Waziristan Agency (SWA).

Four were killed and two others were injured when the mortar bombs fired across the Afghanistan border slammed in to a paramilitary Frontier Corps checkpost in the Angoor Adda area of SWA.

Eight militants and a trooper were killed in an encounter in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency on July 18. Dawn; Daily Times; The News; Tribune, July 19-25, 2011.

54 persons killed in Sindh during the week: A total of 56 persons were killed in Sindh. Three persons were killed in Karachi on July 18; another eight on July 19; one on July 20; one on July 21; 13 on July 22: eight on July 23 and 20 on July 24. Dawn; Daily Times; The News; Tribune, July 19-25, 2011.

Taliban execute 16 Pakistani Policemen on video: The Taliban released a video showing the execution of 16 Pakistani Policemen, captured during a raid in June from Pakistan's Upper Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The video shows the Policemen lined up on a hillside, their hands tied behind their backs, standing in front of armed Taliban fighters wearing scarves to hide their faces. One of the fighters accused the men of executing six children. Daily Times, July 19, 2011.

Al Qaeda plans animated cartoon film for recruiting children, says an al Qaeda affiliate: An al Qaeda affiliate said on July 20 that it plans to roll out a Disney-like animated cartoon aimed at recruiting children to the terror network. Scenes from the proposed short film show young boys dressed in battle fatigues and participating in raids, killings and terror plots. It is the latest attempt by the terror organisation to use multimedia to draw in potential recruits. Times of India, July 21, 2011.

Mullah Omar death report false, claims Afghan Taliban: The Afghan Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on July 20 that their mobile phones, email accounts and a website had been hacked to send out false messages to the media claiming the movement's supreme leader, Mullah Omar, had died on May 23. "This is the work of American intelligence, and we will take revenge on the telephone network providers," said Zabiullah. Daily Times, July 21, 2011.

US court charges 'Pakistani agents' for illegal lobbying over Kashmir: Two US citizens have been charged with illegally lobbying the United States for the Pakistan Government and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) over the Kashmir, US authorities said on July 19. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrested Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai (62), in Virginia on charges that he failed to register as an agent of a foreign Government. Zaheer Ahmad (63) was also charged but is believed to be in Pakistan. Both are naturalized US citizens. Dawn, July 20, 2011.

Pakistan nurtured terror groups to fight proxy war against India, says US Official Admiral James A Winnefeld: Pakistan nurtured extremist groups to fight "proxy irregular" war against India, while its military benefited from presenting New Delhi as a threat, Admiral James A Winnefeld, the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ,said on July 21. "Pakistan has viewed India itself and Indian (or any other nation's) domination of Afghanistan as an existential threat, and has taken steps it believes are necessary to counter this threat, including developing nuclear weapons and nurturing extremist groups to fight proxy irregular warfare," Admiral James added. Times of India, July 22, 2011.

Killer of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's aide received calls from Pakistan: The killer of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's close ally Jan Mohammad Khan had received telephone calls before and after the deadly shooting from Pakistan, the Afghanistan Interior Minister Besmullah Mohammadi told parliament on July 19. Jan, the former southern Uruzgan province's Governor and a key ally of Karzai, was killed in a gun attack at his Kabul house on July 17, just days after the President's younger brother was killed. Daily Times, July 20, 2011.

Islamabad must press Afghan Taliban for reconciliation, says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on July 20 that Washington expected Islamabad to press Afghan Taliban insurgents to join the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. Clinton said, "Pakistan must prevent its territory being used for attacks that destabilise Afghanistan or India, and deny al Qaeda the space to regroup and plan new violence". Daily Times, July 21, 2011.

Abandoning Pakistan not an option, says US: The US-Pakistan relationship is complicated and important but walking away from the ties with the key regional country is not an option, President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said on July 22. He said that maintaining ties with Pakistan and working with it serves American national security interests. Daily Times, July 23, 2011.


SRI LANKA

TNA sweeps local body election in Northern Province: The pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political group Tamil National Alliance (TNA) emerged as a major force in Northern Province with an overwhelming vote in its favour handing it two-thirds of the local council seats. The TNA won 18 of the 26 councils, TULF won two seats and the ruling UPFA could muster only two even as it won 45 of the 65 total seats that went to polls all over the country. Times of India, July 24, 2011.

TNA seeks political solution within the framework of united and undivided country: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said on July 20 that the party was working at building a political solution within the framework of a united and undivided country. According to the TNA, such a political solution would enable Tamil people to live in security and dignity, fulfilling their legitimate political, economic, social and cultural aspirations. Colombo Page, July 21, 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.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

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K. P. S. Gill

Editor
Dr. Ajai Sahni


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