| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 45, May 13, 2013
Data and
assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form
with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal
|
Misplaced
Optimism
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
There is
an air of triumph and hope in Pakistan. A massive turnout
in the elections to the 14th Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) and four Provincial Assemblies, held under
the shadow of the gun, a near-decisive victory for a single
party and the astonishing spectacle of an ordered transition
of power from one civilian Government to another – unprecedented
in Pakistan’s twisted history, have produced euphoria
and an expectation that all that is to come can only be
better than the benighted past.
Partial
provisional results and trends for the May 11, 2013, elections
for 264 of 272 National Assembly seats available at the
time of writing indicate that former Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif – who had been deposed in a coup by then Army Chief
General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 – was poised for a record
third term. His party, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz
(PML-N) establishing an unassailable lead over its rivals
– Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), led by cricketer turned
politician, Imran Khan; and the Bilawal Zardari Bhutto-led
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). PML-N had established a
lead in 125 seats, PTI in 34, and the incumbent PPP had
virtually been wiped out, with just 32 seats to show.
Other smaller parties and independent candidates had won
or established leads in the remaining seats. The required
majority in the NA is 137. Once it establishes a majority,
Sharif's party would also be allotted a majority of 70
parliamentary seats that are reserved for women and non-Muslim
minorities. The total number of seats in NA is 342.
In the
13th Parliament, PPP had secured 125 seats,
followed by PML-N (92); Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q),
50; Muttahida Qumi Movement Pakistan (MQM), 25; Awami
National Party (ANP) 13; and others, 34 (as on October
23, 2012). Three seats were vacant then.
In simultaneous
elections for the four Provincial Assemblies – Balochistan
(51 seats), Punjab (297 seats), Sindh (130 seats) and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP, 99 seats) – PML-N was set to continue
to rule in Punjab, where it was leading in 196 of 270
seats for which trends/results were available. In Sindh,
PPP and its ally MQM were leading in 55 and 23 seats,
respectively, out of a total of 95 seats for which trends/results
were available, and were comfortably placed to continue
their rule. PTI was leading in 30 seats out of 93 seats
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for which trends/results were
available. The ruling ANP was leading in just four seats.
Out of 34 seats in Balochistan for which trends/results
were available, both Maulana Fazlur Rehman led Jamiat
Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and independents were leading
in seven seats each. The PPP which was in power has failed
to open its account.
Many analysts
have conceived of these elections as a game changer for
Pakistan as a nation, since the 13th Parliament
completed its tenure uninterrupted and the elections for
the new Parliament were conducted under the aegis of civilian
caretaker Government. They claim that it is first civilian
transition of Government – though some would claim that
this is technically inaccurate. The 12th Parliament
also completed its full tenure, though under the shadow
of the military dictator, Pervez Musharaf, though military
rule had, legally, ended.
It is,
however, much too early to endorse the “myth of democracy
achieved”, of to assume that Pakistan’s disastrous trajectory
is now due for imminent reversal. Indeed, it is sobering
to recognize that the PPP-led Government under Asif Ali
Zardari’s leadership, which completed its term on March
16, 2013, had been heralded with similar expectations,
but failed abysmally to stop the continuous slide in Governance,
or to stem the rising tide of terrorist and sectarian
violence. Indeed, the reality of Pakistan has been that
each incumbent Government has made its predecessor regime
– however miserable it may have been – look good.
The portents
do not auger well. The present elections and the preceding
electoral campaign have been the most violent in Pakistan’s
history. At least 51 persons were killed and several others
injured on Election Day itself. Worse, according to the
South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, at
least 118 persons were killed and 417 were injured in
election-related violence in 52 days, between March 20,
2013, the day on which the elections were declared, and
May 10, 2013, a day before the elections. By comparison,
110 persons were killed and 244 others injured in election-related
violence in 102 days, between November 8, 2007, the day
on which the elections were declared, and February 17,
2008, a day before the elections to the last Parliament.
19 persons were killed and 157 were injured on Election
Day, February 18, 2008.
Worse,
electoral violence merely compounded the near
anarchy that has come to afflict the
country. Partial data compiled by SATP indicates that
Pakistan recorded 38,914 fatalities, including 12,553
civilians, 3,573 SF personnel and 22,788 militants during
the tenure of the 13th Parliament. The preceding
five years, significantly, under a nominally ‘democratic’
dispensation dominated by the waning Musharraf dictatorship,
had recorded 5,886 fatalities, including 2,645 civilians,
1,086 SF personnel and 2,135 militants.
The last
decade, moreover, has seen a continuous, personalized
and vicious fight for supremacy between different ‘pillars
of Government’, which has weakened the institutions and
framework of democracy further.
The tussle
between the judiciary and the executive, which approached
alarming proportions even during the Musharraf era, intensified
even further during PPP’s tenure, which saw two Prime
Ministers arraigned before the judiciary, one of whom
was forced to resign as a result of orders of the Supreme
Court. On June 19, 2012, the Supreme Court disqualified
then-Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani “from being
a member of the Parliament… with all consequences”, that
is, he also ceased to be Prime Minister of Pakistan. Through
its April 26 judgement and the subsequent detailed reasons
released on May 8, 2012, the Apex Court had found Gilani
guilty of contempt of court, as he had declined to follow
the Supreme Court’s directive to pursue corruption charges
against President Asif Ali Zardari. Since no appeal was
filed against the judgement, the conviction attained finality.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, who succeeded Gilani, took oath on
June 22, 2012. Again, on January 15, 2013, the SC ordered
the arrest of the incumbent Prime Minister Ashraf and
15 others over allegations of corruption. Ashraf, however,
managed to complete his tenure. The adversarial relations
between the judiciary and executive, however, are likely
to persist under the new Government as well.
The stage
has already been set for a confrontation between the judiciary
and the Army. On April 30, 2013, the Peshawar High Court
debarred former Pervez Musharraf from participating in
the elections in perpetuity. Musharraf had returned to
Pakistan from self-imposed exile, on March 24, 2013, to
contest the elections. In its ruling the Court observed
that Musharraf had imposed an illegal emergency and targeted
the judiciary during his tenure as President, and, consequently,
it imposed a life-time ban on him, barring him from contesting
any election for the National or Provincial Assemblies,
as well as the Senate. Musharraf, was arrested for detaining
more than 60 judges during the 2007 emergency; for his
suspected role in the assassination of former premier
Benazir Bhutto in December 2007; and for the killing of
Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation.
He is currently lodged at his farmhouse in Islamabad,
which has been pronounced a ‘sub-jail’.
The ‘ill-treatment’
being meted out to Musharraf has evidently irked the military
brass. Indeed, a delegation of 75 officers from Command
and Staff College, Quetta, led by Colonel Saqib Ali Cheema,
on April 26, 2013, met the Chairman of the Senate Standing
Committee on Defence and Defence Production Mushahid Hussain
Sayed at Parliament House and expressed their concern
over the arrest and treatment of the former President.
Senator Hussain later disclosed that the officers had
asked him if there was anything in the constitution which
allowed anyone to humiliate any institution and that he
had told them that “the Constitution had no provision
to let any institution or any person humiliate any other
institution”. These words, however, have failed to mollify
the military leadership. On April 30, 2013, in his address
on the eve of Martyrs Day, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani
expressed his unhappiness with the situation, albeit obliquely:
“In my opinion, it is not merely retribution, but awareness
and participation of the masses that can truly end this
game of hide and seek between democracy and dictatorship.”
The confrontation
between the political establishment and the military has
also deepened. The MemoGate scandal created an upheaval,
when Wikileaks disclosed that the then Pakistani
Ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, had asked Pakistani
businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, to deliver an anonymous "memo"
to the American military leadership in May 2011, offering
to rein in the Pakistani armed forces in return for US
support for the civilian Government. This resulted in
a major spat between the Army command and civilian Government,
with the judiciary stepping in to ‘investigate treason
charges’ against Haqqani. There is growing evidence of
impatience within the military leadership with both the
political and judicial class though, for the moment, the
Army is pulling its punches.
Amidst
a continuous slide in governance, the emergence of Sharif
as the main player is more worrisome, given the history
of his turbulent tenures in the past. Sharif failed to
complete his last two terms. His first term was cut short
when then President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, dissolved the
NA on April 18, 1993. Though the National Assembly was
restored by the Supreme Court on May 26, 1993, it could
not complete its term as the Assembly was dissolved on
July 18, 1993, on the advice of the Prime Minister Sharif
as the political standoff continued. The President eventually
proceeded on leave as part of the political arrangement.
Sharif took the oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan again,
on February 17, 1997. Pervez Musharraf, seized power and
declared himself Chief Executive through a Proclamation
of Emergency, on October 12, 1999.
Crucially,
the orientation of the principal political players, including
Sharif, to the Islamist extremists, and particularly towards
the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),
is alarming. According to TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud,
“democracy is the system of infidels”. Yet, Sharif has
repeatedly advocated a policy of appeasement of the Taliban.
Most recently, in May 2013, he declared, “A few weeks
ago, the Taliban (TTP) offered dialogue to the Government
of Pakistan and said, ‘we are prepared to talk’. I think
the government of Pakistan should have taken that seriously.
[It] did not take it seriously.” Similarly, the PTI which
has emerged as the single largest party (at the time of
writing) in one of the most volatile regions in Pakistan,
KP, has inclined to go soft on the extremists. PTI leader
Imran Khan, has continuously advocated a negotiated settlement
with the TTP and its affiliates and, on April 22, 2013,
observed, “the Pakistan Tehrik-e-insaf will pull the Army
out of the Pashtun-dominated tribal areas and restore
peace through talks if it comes to power in the May 11
general election”. Imran’s party if forms Government in
KP and if he goes on to fulfill is his electoral promise
the tribal region is likely to see more instability in
future, given the repeated and demonstrated failure of
a strategy of appeasement towards the TTP and other Islamist
extremist and sectarian armed groups. Indeed, in October
2012, Imran Khan claimed that the Taliban were fighting
a 'holy war' justified by Islam in neighbouring Afghanistan:
"It is very clear that whoever is fighting for their
freedom is fighting a jihad… The people who are
fighting in Afghanistan against the foreign occupation
are fighting a jihad." The PPP’s approach
towards TTP and its affiliates is comparably ‘soft’. On
February 4, 2013, Federal Minister for Interior Rehman
Malik declared, “We are ready to start talks with you
(TTP). You tell us what team you would like to talk to,
and let’s set an agenda.”
On the
other hand, the
military mullah combine
continues to thrive. In a glaring recent instance,
Mullah Omar, the Afghan Taliban, leader who suffered a
heart attack on January 7, 2011, was reportedly treated
for several days in a Karachi hospital with ISI help,
according to a report prepared by the Eclipse Group,
which operates an intelligence network run by former CIA,
State Department and military officers.
The situation
in Pakistan remains fraught, and the ambivalence of the
past towards various terrorist proxies of the state –
some of whom may have gone renegade – persists, as does
the destructive dynamic that has eroded the authority
and integrity of institutions of the state over decades.
The ‘restoration’ of democracy has done little to impede
the country’s hurtling flight into chaos in the past,
and it would be delusional to believe that the present
election has produced any magical solution to its enduring
afflictions.
|
Islamist
Siege
S. Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 5, 2013, Hefazat-e-Islam
(HeI, 'Protectorate of Islam') enforced their 'Dhaka Siege' programme
to mount pressure on the Awami League (AL)-led Government to implement
their 13-point
demands , including the demand to “pass a law
providing for capital punishment for maligning Allah, Islam and
Prophet Muhammad… and smear campaigns against Muslims”. Four civilians
were killed and several others injured as cadres of HeI fought running
battles with Police across Dhaka, turning the capital into a city
of panic. 70,000 Islamists marched down at least six highways and
took position at the entry points of the city, stopping road transport
and cutting off Dhaka's road links with rest of the country, while
they raised slogans of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) and "One
point, One demand: Atheists must be hanged."
More than 10,000
personnel drawn from the Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) jointly launched
a drive late on May 5, 2013, to clear demonstrators from Dhaka.
As violence moved beyond the capital on May 6, 2013, at least 27
persons, including three Security Force (SF) personnel and a HeI
cadre, were killed and several other injured in Narayanganj, Chittagong
and Bagerhat Districts. Two of the injured died on May 7 and another
one on May 9.
Earlier, on March
9, 2013, HeI Ameer (Chief) Shah Ahmad Shafi had put forward
a 13-point demand at the Olama-Mashayekh (Islamic Scholars)
Convention organized at the Darul Uloom Hathazari Madrassah Convention
Hall in Chittagong District. On the same day, HeI’s ‘central joint
secretary general’ Maulana Moinuddin Ruhi, gave the call for the
April 6 rally at the end of a ‘Long March’ (from Chittagong to Dhaka).
During the April 6 rally, the HeI gave the Government an April 30
deadline to meet its demands or face a ‘Dhaka Siege’ programme,
commencing May 5, 2013.
Indeed, in an attempt
to clamp down on the HeI cadres on the eve of ‘Long March’, the
SFs arrested 30 HeI cadres from a bus in Palashbari area of Gaibandha
District on April 5, 2013, while they were travelling to Dhaka.
Subsequently, a clash between HeI and AL cadres at Dhaka city left
one person dead and at least another 30 injured. As tension grew,
four people were killed between April 6 and May 4, 2013.
Meanwhile, on May
3, 2013, two days prior to the ‘Dhaka Siege’ deadline, Prime Minister
(PM) Sheikh Hasina Wajed addressing a Press Conference in Dhaka,
offered a conciliatory response on the 13 demands, observing, “We
have already gone through HeI demands. Many of these have already
been implemented while some are in the process.” Speaking explicitly
about the second and ‘most important’ demand, to “pass a law providing
for capital punishment for maligning Allah, Islam and Prophet Muhammad…
and smear campaigns against Muslims”, the PM stated that the Information
and Communication Technology Act, 2009, and the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC) already contained provisions for punishment for
the offence.
The Government’s
reply
to each of the 13 demands asserts that these demands
are nothing more than an attempt by the Islamist forces, backed
by the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), to hold the country to ransom,
as these formations feel the heat of the War Crimes (WC) Trial.
Significantly, on May 9, 2013, JeI Assistant Secretary General Muhammad
Kamaruzzaman was awarded the death penalty by the International
Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2). He was found guilty on five out of seven
counts of torture and mass murder committed during the 1971 War
of Independence. He is the third JeI leader to face the death penalty,
while another one has received a life sentence. ICT-2, constituted
on March 22, 2012, delivered the first WC verdict against former
JeI leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar,
on January 21, 2013, awarding a death sentence for killing 14 Hindus,
raping two women, torturing two other persons and setting homes
ablaze in Faridpur District, his birthplace. A total of nine persons,
seven from JeI and two from BNP, have been indicted
so far, for War Crimes.
Indeed, Bangladesh
has seen a surge in violence since the January 21, 2013, verdict.
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database,
the country has recorded 186 fatalities, including 109 civilians,
64 Islamist cadres and 13 SF personnel, in street violence since
then (data till May 12, 2013).
Describing the activities
of HeI as 'mysterious', Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, had
noted, on May 2, 2013, “The movement of HeI is not to protect the
faith of Muslims. They are working as the shadow of JeI and its
student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS),
to foil the trials of war criminals.” Similarly, Environment and
Forest Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud, on May 7, 2013, asserted that
BNP central leaders M.K. Anwar and Sadeque Hossain were behind the
May 5 violence in Dhaka. He also blamed central leaders of the BNP-backed
students’ organizations, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and
ICS, for leading the trouble in Paltan, Baitul Mukarram and Motijheel
areas of Dhaka during the HeI demonstrations and rally. On May 8,
2013, State Minister for Law, Advocate Quamrul Islam claimed, further,
“The BNP-JeI men carried out vandalism, arson and looting during
Sunday’s violence”. He went on to claim that the mayhem in Dhaka
city was funded by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan.
Two left-leaning parties, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB)
and the Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), at a joint rally in
front of the National Press Club in Dhaka city, demanded an immediate
ban on HeI, JeI and ICS, for ‘creating anarchy’ across the country.
The leaders of these two parties also blamed the main opposition
BNP for extending support to HeI.
The abrupt emergence
of HeI as a formidable disruptive force has largely been seen by
the BNP-JeI-ICS front as an opportunity to exploit the current situation
to harvest some political gains. With the survival of some of their
leaders at stake, they appear willing to drive the country to the
brink of chaos in their effort to derail the ongoing WC Trials.
At the same time, however, a clear groundswell of opinion – albeit
without the attendant violence that characterizes the Islamist protests
– in favour of the WC Trials has also been dramatic. A direct and
escalating confrontation appears inevitable at this juncture, and
it remains to be seen whether the Government has the will and sagacity
to manage this evolving crisis, even as it pushes the WC Trials
process to a logical culmination. And all this will be necessary
before the General Elections, which fall due in December 2013 –
January 2014.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
May 6-12,
2013
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Extremism
|
23
|
4
|
4
|
31
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
Nagaland
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
West Bengal
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
Jharkhand
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
6
|
6
|
2
|
14
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
20
|
5
|
1
|
26
|
FATA
|
45
|
4
|
18
|
67
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
28
|
8
|
2
|
38
|
Punjab
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
7
|
Sindh
|
29
|
3
|
4
|
36
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
31
persons
killed
in
Bangladesh
during
the
week:
At
least
27
persons,
including
three
Security
Forces
(SFs),
were
killed
in
clashes
between
SFs
and
Hefajat-e-Islam
(HeI)
cadres
on
May
6
in
Narayanganj,
Chittagong
and
Bagerhat
Districts.
In
Narayanganj
District,
20
persons,
including
two
Policemen
and
a
Border
Guard
Bangladesh
(BGB)
soldier,
were
killed.
In
Chittagong
District,
six
people
were
killed
and
50
others,
including
five
Policemen,
injured.
In
Bagerhat
District,
one
HeI
cadre
was
killed
and
at
least
20
other
persons,
including
SFs
and
journalists,
were
injured
during
the
running
battles.
BGB
trooper,
Lavlu
Miah
(38),
and
Muhamad
Sumon
(22),
a
student
of
Dhaka
City
College,
injured
in
the
fierce
clash
between
cadres
of
HeI
and
Police
during
May
6's
clash
in
Narayanganj
District
succumbed
to
their
injuries
on
May
7.
A
HeI
cadre,
who
received
a
bullet
wound
in
clashes
between
law
enforcers
and
HeI
cadres
in
Paltan
area
during
Dhaka
Siege
programme
of
HeI
on
May
5,
died
on
May
9.
The
deceased
is
identified
as
Farhan
Raza
(30).
An
IslamiChhatra
Shibir
(ICS)
cadre,
identified
as
Shahadat
Hossain,
was
killed
in
a
gunfight
between
ISC
cadres
and
Rapid
Action
Battalion
(RAB)
at
Binodpur
Amjad
intersection
in
Rajshahi
city
of
Rajshahi
District
on
May
11.
Daily
Star,
May
6-13,
2013.
JeI
leader
AKM
Yusuf
arrested:
The
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
Nayeb-e-Ameer
(Deputy
Chief)
AKM
Yusuf,
founder
of
the
infamous
Razakar
force
that
collaborated
with
the
occupation
Pakistani
army
in
killing
three
million
Bengalis
in
1971,
was
arrested
from
Dhaka
on
May
12.
He
was
later
sent
to
jail.
Daily
Star,
May
13,
2013.
INDIA
Government
has
found
proof
of
terror
camps
being
run
on
Indian
soil,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
R.P.N.
Singh:
The
Government
has
found
evidence
that
terrorist
camps
were
being
run
on
Indian
soil
by
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
and
right
wing
majoritarian
groups.
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs,
R.P.N.
Singh
on
May
8
informed
Rajya
Sabha
(Upper
House
of
Parliament)
that
in
two
cases
investigated
by
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA),
evidence
has
come
that
training
camps
were
organised
by
SIMI
and
right
wing
majoritarian
groups
or
their
cadres.
Singh
said
NIA
has
arrested
33
accused
belonging
to
SIMI
and
26
accused
belonging
to
majoritarian
groups
and
charge
sheet
in
these
cases
have
been
laid
in
the
concerned
courts.
Zee
News,
May
8,
2013.
Maoists
manufacturing
grenades
and
rocket
propelled
grenades
in
their
units,
says
Government:
The
Central
Government
on
May
7
informed
the
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
Parliament)
that
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
cadres
were
manufacturing
improvised
hand
grenades
and
rocket
propelled
grenades
in
their
arms
manufacturing
units
in
Chhattisgarh,
Bihar
and
Jharkhand.
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
RPN
Singh
said
steps
taken
to
bust
these
manufacturing
units
included
deployment
of
Security
Forces
(SFs)
at
strategic
locations,
firm
Police
action
against
such
unlawful
activities
and
intensified
intelligence-based
anti-Naxal
[Left
Wing
Extremism
(LWE)]
operations.
Times
of
India,
May
8,
2013.
Government
websites
hacked
over
1,000
times
in
past
three
years,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
R.P.N.
Singh:
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs,
R.P.N.
Singh
on
May
7
informed
the
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
Indian
Parliament)
that
Government
websites
were
hacked
1,030
times
since
2010.
303,
308,
371
and
48
Government
websites
belonging
to
various
ministries
and
departments
were
hacked
during
2010,
2011,
2012
and
up
to
March
2013,
respectively.
Times
of
India,
May
8,
2013.
Maoists
plan
to
hold
10th
Congress
this
monsoon,
says
report:
The
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
is
quietly
gearing
up
to
hold
its
10th
Congress
during
the
monsoon
in
2013.
The
meeting,
to
be
chaired
by
the
Maoist
'general
secretary'
Muppalla
Lakshman
Rao
alias
Ganapathy,
is
expected
to
draw
the
entire
top
leaders,
including
Maoist
party's
all
India
'military
chief'
Namballa
Kesava
Rao
alias
Basava
Raju,
'guerrilla
warfare
strategist'
Malla
Rajireddy
alias
Sattenna
among
others.
The
9th
Congress
was
held
in
2007
somewhere
on
the
Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh
border.
Times
of
India,
May
7,
2013.
PAKISTAN
45
civilians
and
18
militants
among
67
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
16
persons
were
killed
in
a
blast
that
ripped
through
a
passenger
bus
in
Miranshah
town
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
(NWA)
of
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
May
12.
Nine
militants
and
three
soldiers
were
killed
in
a
gunfight
in
Parachamkani
area
of
Kurram
Agency
on
May
10.
In
addition,
four
persons
were
killed
and
21
others
injured
in
a
bomb
blast
occurred
at
the
Khwaja
Jan
Chowk
in
Miranshah
bazaar
of
NWA
near
the
election
offices
of
candidates
for
the
NA-40
seat.
At
least
nine
militants
were
killed
and
their
three
hideouts
destroyed
in
an
operation
by
SFs
in
Mamozai
and
surrounding
areas
of
Orakzai
Agency
FATA
on
May
8.
Twenty-three
persons
were
killed
and
more
than
70
others
injured
in
a
blast
at
the
election
rally
of
Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
(JUI-F)
candidates
at
a
Madrassa
in
Sewak
village
in
Kurram
Agency
on
May
6.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
May
6-13,
2013.
28
civilians
and
eight
SFs
among
38
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa::
At
least
six
persons
including
three
Policemen
were
killed
and
more
than
10
others
injured
in
a
remote
controlled
blast
near
a
Police
van
in
Sarmal
Nusratkhail
area
in
Torghar
town
of
same
District
on
May
9.
Two
Policemen,
a
woman
and
a
suicide
bomber
were
killed
and
another
militant
arrested
with
a
suicide
vest
during
an
encounter
in
Rasheed
Garhi
area
of
Peshawar
in
the
evening
of
May
8.
Also,
a
Policeman
and
two
women
were
killed
and
27
others
injured
as
a
suicide
bomber
rammed
his
explosives-laden
car
into
Domail
Police
Station
in
Bannu
city
of
same
District.
At
least
12
persons
were
killed
and
35
others
were
injured
in
a
remote-controlled
blast
when
a
candidate
of
the
Fazlur
Rehman
led
Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam
(JUI-F)
was
conducting
his
election
campaign
in
Doaba
Town
of
Hangu
District
on
May
7.
Five
persons,
including
Pakistan
People's
Party
(PPP)
leader
Muhammad
Zahir
Shah
Khan,
were
killed
in
a
remote-controlled
bomb
blast
near
the
Babagam
village
in
Maidan
area
of
Lower
Dir
District.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
May
7-13,
2013.
29
civilians
and
four
militants
among
36
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Sindh:
Seven
persons,
including
political
activists
and
an
ASWJ
cadre,
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
across
Karachi,
the
provincial
capital
of
Sindh,
on
May
12.
At
least
14
persons
were
killed
and
61
others
injured
in
three
separate
bomb
blasts
in
Karachi
on
May
11.
Three
activists
of
Muttahida
Qaumi
Movement
(MQM),
identified
as
Qasim
Saeed,
Anis
Ilyas
and
Bilal
Ahmed,
were
shot
dead
and
one
other,
identified
as
Muhammad
Hussain
was
injured
by
unidentified
assailants
in
Jumma
Goth
area
within
the
premises
of
Ibrahim
Hydri
Police
Station
of
Karachi
on
May
8.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
May
6-13,
2013.
20
civilians
and
five
SFs
among
26
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Balochistan:
Balochistan
Inspector
General
of
Police
Mushtaq
Sukhera
narrowly
escaped
a
suicide
attack
in
the
high
security
zone
on
Zarghoon
Road
in
Quetta,
the
provincial
capital
of
Balochistan,
on
May
12
that
killed
at
least
six
persons
and
injured
46
others.
At
least
15
persons
were
killed
and
20
others
were
injured
when
unidentified
assailants
attacked
the
convoy
of
the
candidate
of
PB-28
Syed
Khadim
Hussain's
nephew
in
Naseerabad
District,
on
May
11.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
May
7-13,
2013.
Peshawar
High
Court
orders
shooting
down
of
drones:
The
Peshawar
High
Court
on
May
9
ordered
that
drones
entering
Pakistani
airspace
be
shot
down.
In
its
detailed
verdict
about
drone
attacks,
the
court
has
said
they
constitute
a
violation
of
international
law
and
the
basic
human
rights
and
also
violate
the
territorial
sovereignty
of
Pakistan.
The
court
directed
the
Government
to
stop
drone
strikes
and
contact
the
International
War
Crimes
Tribunal
(IWCT)
over
the
issue.
Daily
Times,
May
10,
2013.
Religious
parties
in
Gilgit
Baltistan
call
for
a
new
and
'acceptable'
governing
system
for
the
region:
Religious
parties
in
Gilgit
and
Diamer
Districts,
including
the
Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jama'at
(ASWJ)
and
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JI),
on
May
7
called
for
a
new
and
'acceptable'
governing
system
for
the
region,
terming
the
existing
Gilgit
Baltistan
(GB)
Empowerment
and
Self-Governance
Order
2009
'biased'.
"The
existing
governance
system
is
unacceptable
to
us
as
it
has
deprived
us
of
our
rights,"
ASWJ
GB
chief
Qazi
Nisar
Ahmed
told
journalists
in
Gilgit.
He
accused
Chief
Minister
Mehdi
Shah
for
being
biased
in
favour
of
a
particular
sec.
Tribune,
May
9,
2013.
SRI
LANKA
Cabinet
approves
to
enact
a
new
law
for
enabling
people
displaced
from
North
to
vote:
:
In
the
wake
of
the
Northern
Provincial
Council
(NPC)
elections
likely
to
be
held
in
September,
the
Cabinet
approval
was
granted
on
May
11
to
enact
legislation
enabling
those
who
were
displaced
from
the
North
between
May
1,
1983,
and
May
18,
2009,
to
vote
at
the
election.
The
bill,
if
enacted,
will
enable
15,000
people
who
are
known
to
have
been
displaced
between
May
1,
1983
and
May
18,
2009
to
be
registered
as
voters
in
the
North.
Daily
Mirror,
May
11,
2013.
The South
Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that
brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on
terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on
counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on
related economic, political, and social issues, in the South
Asian region.
SAIR is a project
of the Institute
for Conflict Management
and the
South
Asia Terrorism Portal.
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