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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 49, June 10, 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
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J&K:
Terrorist Surge
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow; Institute for Conflict Management
At a time
when the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT),
the most active group in the State of Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) has suffered major setbacks with the elimination,
arrest and surrender of its top cadres, the ‘indigenous’
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM)
– headquartered in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) – has
escalated operations in an effort to re-establish its
operational supremacy in the State, after a long eclipse.
The LeT’s latest and major loss came with the arrest of
its ‘operational commander’ for North Kashmir, Qari Naved
alias Fahad Ullah, in the evening of April 17,
2013. However, an abrupt spike in HM attacks at this
time has disturbed the deepening equilibrium in the State,
and caused renewed concern among Security Forces (SFs).
Three Rashtriya
Rifles (RR) personnel were killed and another sustained
injuries when HM militants opened fire on SFs engaged
in search operation at Buchoo Bala village in the Tral
area of Pulwama District early in the morning of May 24,
2013. The injured trooper died later in the day. In retaliatory
fire, the SFs killed an HM militant, identified as Rafiq
Ahmad Ahangar alias Saifullah Ahangar. Claiming
responsibility for the attack, HM’s ‘spokesman’ Baleguddin
claimed, “It was a five member squad who killed five Army
men and wounded seven others. Four members have reached
to their hide outs safely while one was killed.” Subsequently,
on May 25, 2013, the ‘Hizb Command Council’ (HCC) reiterated
its firm resolve to “take the ongoing struggle [in Kashmir]
to its logical conclusion.”
On April
26, HM militants had laid an ambush and killed four Police
personnel near the Haigam locality along the Sopore-Kupwara
road in Baramulla District.
On March
13, 2013, HM terrorists executed a suicide attack on a
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Bemina in
Srinagar, killing five troopers and injuring another seven.
The two terrorists who carried out the attack were also
killed. Claiming responsibility, an unnamed Hizb ‘spokesman’
warned, “The guerrilla attack was carried out by our men
and similar attacks will be carried out in future as well.”
The last
suicide attack in J&K was on January 6, 2010, when
terrorists had hit a CRPF camp at Lal Chowk in Srinagar,
killing a Policeman and injuring nine persons, including
one CRPF trooper.
According
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database,
a total of 39 persons, including 19 SFs, 10 civilians
and an equal number of militants have been killed in the
State in the first five months of the current year, as
compared to 37 fatalities, including 28 militants, seven
civilians and two SFs personnel during the corresponding
period of the preceding year. Indeed, the total number
of fatalities among the SFs through 2012 stood at 17.
Another seven persons, including six militants and a trooper,
have been killed in the current month, June 2013.
Referring
to the escalating attacks on SFs in 2013, Director General
of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad, told the media
on May 28, 2013:
These
attacks are worrying… Except Pulwama where an
ASI [Assistant Sub-Inspector] was killed, all
attacks were reportedly carried out by HM [ASI
Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, was shot dead in Rajpora
Chowk in Pulwama on May 10, 2013]… There seems
a changing trend in attacks and that is being
studied. The matter was discussed in Core Group
meeting and every security agency has been asked
to study the trend. It needs to be seen whether
only HM has changed attack trends or other militant
groups also. The study will take some time…
|
Earlier,
an April 29, 2013, a report quoted an unnamed senior Police
official as stating, “Special Task Force (STF) has been
given the task to track down commanders, militants and
supporters of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen to stop revival of the
militant outfit in north Kashmir. Although Pakistan based
Lashkar-e-Toiba has been almost wiped out from Sopore
town, the resurgence of Hizb would be major challenge
for forces in future. It has been decided to invest concrete
efforts to target Hizb’s leadership and local cadres.”
According
to the SATP database, out of the 46 fatalities in 2013,
the HM is connected with at least 24 – 18 SF personnel,
five of its cadres (killed by SFs) and one civilian. The
database has recorded HM’s connection in at least 361
incidents of killing in J&K, resulting in 752 fatalities
– including 86 civilians, 61 SF personnel and 605 of its
own cadres – between March 2000 and June 9, 2013). Out
of the 361 incidents of killing, 90 were major (each involving
three or more fatalities).
Adopting
various tactics, including military-style ambushes, bomb
blasts and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks,
the HM mainly targets SFs as well as moderate elements
who try to initiate a dialogue with the Government. In
one prominent incident of this kind, on December 4, 2009,
HM cadres shot at and critically injured moderate Hurriyat
leader Fazl-ul-Haq Qureshi, who played a key role in ‘secret’
talks between the Mirwaiz Umer Farooq-led All Party Hurriyat
Conference and the then Union Minister for Home Affairs,
P. Chidambaram.
The HM
has also issued a radical Islamist ‘moral code’, imposing
bans on cinema, music, beauty parlors and any form of
entertainment. According to a May 1, 2013, report, the
J&K Police recovered HM posters from Sopore town in
Baramulla District warning women to keep away "from
latest fashion, tight clothes and observe dress code''
and threatened ‘dire consequences’ if they do not follow
the diktat. The posters also declared, "We warn those
young boys and girls who propagate immorality and work
for the Army as informers.''
The HM
has also spread its network outside Kashmir. For instance,
a Hizb role is being investigated by the National Investigation
Agency (NIA), in the Delhi High Court bombing of September
7, 2011, which killed 15 civilians and injured another
87.
The HM
has also declared war against the US and other ‘anti-Islamist’
forces. Yusuf Shah aka Syed Salahuddin, chief of
HM and of the United Jihad Council (UJC), a conglomerate
of 16 terrorist outfits fighting in J&K, stated, on
July 8, 2012, "Pakistan is the target of the US-Israeli
nexus. Our fighters are defending Pakistan at a time when
its geographical boundaries, its security and Islamic
identity are at risk. We are fighting in Kashmir. It doesn't
matter to us if we are labeled terrorists. We are proud
to be called terrorists for fighting the US and its allies
in Afghanistan.”
Formed
as the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and
Kashmir (JeI-JK) at the behest of the Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, to counter
the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
which had advocated complete independence of the State,
the HM is presently led by Yusuf Shah, who is based in
Muzaffarabad in PoK. The HM’s ideological base arises
from the JeI-JK, which adheres to the Deobandi school
of thought. Unsurprisingly, the JeI-JK generates a significant
proportion of HM’s funding, in addition to direct aid
from the ISI, including a proportion received in Fake
Indian Currency Notes (FICNs). According to an April 10,
2013, NIA press release, for instance, the Agency filed
a charge sheet against two Indian nationals, Badal Sheikh
and Fayaz Ahmed Rather, and one Bangladeshi national,
Shafiq, before the Special Court, NIA, Jammu, in a case
pertaining to the recovery and circulation of FICNs to
raise funds for HM. Earlier in this case, five persons,
including three from the Malda District of West Bengal
and two from Kashmir, had been charge sheeted by NIA.
Soon after
its formation, HM emerged as the most lethal outfit operating
in J&K. However, after subsequent rifts within the
rank and file, as well as the decimation
of its top leadership by the SFs in the State, HM was
forced to slow down its operations, even as the ISI escalated
support to LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). At this stage,
LeT and JeM became more central to Pakistan’s strategic
objectives in India. More recently, however, with the
LeT and JeM bases and networks in Pakistan coming under
increasing international scrutiny, there has been some
effort to restore HM’s operational ascendancy in J&K.
HM has
a number of training camps in Pakistan and PoK. On May
26, 2011, Salahuddin openly admitted that the Pakistani
military permits his fighters to move freely and run training
camps in the region. Talking to a local news Agency he
observed, “Our mujahideen can come and go at their
own will. There is no question that the Army can stop
us… And we have hundreds of training camps in the State,
where we recruit and train the mujahideen."
HM’s top leadership is based in Pakistan, with some of
them frequently visiting Gulf countries, including Saudi
Arabia, as well as Bangladesh.
With HM
re-emerging as the ISI’s ‘first choice’, its activities
have gained momentum. On March 21, 2012, the Indian Union
Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) noted, “Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM) accounts for nearly 35%-40% of all terrorists in
Jammu and Kashmir and is the most active outfit in the
Valley next to Lashkar-e-Toiba in terms of strength and
capability to carry out terror strikes.” Earlier, on January
31, 2012, the HM ‘supreme commander’ Salahuddin reaffirmed
his organisation's ‘healthiness’, declaring that HM's
“infrastructure is intact” and that “J&K will be freed
soon.”
The HM,
which draws its cadre base from both indigenous and foreign
(principally Pakistani) sources, joined hands with Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
(HuJI) according to a March 2012 report. It has widely
used slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s videos to
motivate Kashmiri youth for jihad. Significantly,
the outfit has made inroads into the J&K security
system and administration as well. On August 21, 2012,
the J&K Police neutralized a militant
module involved in all the 13 attacks
that Srinagar had witnessed since January 1, 2011, with
the arrest of two persons: a Policeman, Abdul Rashid Shigan,
and a released HM militant, Imtiyaz Ahmad Gojri alias
Raashid. Operating under the aliases Omar Mukhtar and
General Usman, Shigan was acting as 'spokesman' for the
Kashmir Islamic Movement (KIM), a shadow HM outfit. Shigan
was both co-conspirator and executor.
More recently,
on April 14, 2013, Police claimed that it had neutralized
another HM module by arresting two persons, a released
Hizb militant and a local Panch (member of a Panchayat,
a village level local self Government institution), from
Bandarpora village in Kakapora Tehsil (revenue
unit) in Pulwama District. The duo was trying to revive
militancy in the region, Police claimed. Explaining the
HM’s ‘healthy’ relations with elements within the administration,
an unnamed senior Police officer noted, “Jamaat-e-Islami
has a strong support base within the Police, bureaucracy
and judiciary due to which tracking HM militants is tougher
than those of LeT.”
The operational
resurgence of HM is clearly a set back to the deepening
peace in Kashmir. On a wider front,
it augur ill for improved Indo-Pak relations, despite
the new Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s reported
eagerness for peace with India. HM chief Salahuddin, in
a media interview on May 14, 2013, declared, “no government
in Pakistan, whether it is Nawaz Sharif or anybody else,
will remain in the chair if it abandons the Kashmir cause.”
He advised the incoming Government "not to repeat
the mistake of putting Kashmir on the back burner and
try to foster friendship with New Delhi through trade,
cultural exchanges and tourism."
Despite
the abrupt escalation of violence by the HM, there is
little to suggest that this is a trend that can be sustained
within the current environment. Indeed, SF successes against
the group are mounting, even as the group secures greater
prominence in the profile of violence in the State. In
one such successful operation, the SFs eliminated the
‘divisional commander’ and ‘financial chief’ of HM for
South Kashmir, Sajad Ahmed Mir, and the ‘district commander’
of the outfit, Mohammed Ashraf Molvi, at Wandena village
in Pulwama District, in an operation that continued overnight,
from May 31 to June 1. Again on June 5-6, the SFs killed
two JeM leaders, ‘battalion commander’, Mohammad Abbas
Nengroo, and ‘divisional commander’, Altaf Baba alias
Gazi Baba, in village Ichgosa in the Rajpora area of Pulwama
District. The Hizb has been able to consolidate its position
in the State, essentially, by lying low for an extended
period of time, while the LeT and JeM took the lead in
the State. With a clearer SF and intelligence focus on
its surviving networks, it is unlikely that the group
– despite its safe havens in PoK and Pakistan – will be
able to sustain any significant resurrection of terrorism
over an extended period of time.
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Manipur:
Naga Turf Battles
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On May
18, 2013, in a first incident of a clash between the Zeliangrong
United Front (ZUF) and the Nationalist Socialist Council
of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
outside the Tamenglong District of Manipur, an NSCN-IM
cadre identified as Pousingdai Gonmei was shot dead by
ZUF militants at Lushai Chiru near the Thongjaorok River
under the State’s Senapati District. A press communiqué
issued by information Secretary of the ZUF, A. Dangmei
claimed that Pousingdai Gonmei, Kapur (area administrator)
of Zeilad Region of Duithanjang Khoupum in Tamenglong
District, was ‘arrested’ in 2011 for leading the NSCN-IM
cadres in the first gun battle at Khoupum. After stern
warning, he was released as he was a Zeliangrong. The
ZUF went on to say that he was also among the cadres involved
in the incident which led to the ambush at Soubunglong
(Leishok) village in 2011. It also alleged that the deceased
was found collecting ‘tax’ in the Zeliangrong region.
On March
5, 2011, in a first clash since the creation
of ZUF on February 25, 2011, a ZUF
cadre was killed by NSCN-IM cadres near Khoupum Khunou
village in Tamenglong District. Again, on October 7, 2011,
six cadres of the NSCN-IM were killed and five injured
during an ambush by ZUF cadres at Leishok village in the
Nungba Sub-division of Tamenglong District. About 60 NSCN-IM
cadres were travelling to the village in two trucks, when
they came under attack. The ZUF had termed the October
7 clash a 'sad incident' caused by the intrusion of 'outsiders'
(NSCN-IM): "It is natural for us to protect our land
and we are doing it with our own volition." ZUF has
argued that NSCN-IM only imposes its 'military rule' in
the Zeliangrong region, while there are many Naga areas
that are untouched by the latter outfit. A combined force
of ZUF and the Khaplang faction of the NSCN (NSCN-K)
has been involved in several of these confrontations with
the NSCN-IM. Within this context, on April 1, 2013, David
Loveson Panmei, 'Public Relations Officer’ of the NSCN-K,
was shot dead by suspected cadres of the NSCN-IM on the
Aziuram Road in Tamenglong District.
In 2012,
according to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP),
a total of nine incidents of factional clashes had been
reported between the three Naga outfits in Tamenglong
District. Four incidents of such clashes had been recorded
in 2011. Prominent among the 2012 incidents were:
October
30, 2012: Five militants (three NSCN-IM and two ZUF cadres)
were killed in a six hours factional fight between ZUF
and NSCN-IM near the Gadai Hills in Tamenglong District
headquarters.
October
2, 2012: A civilian, identified as Jaikalung was killed
in crossfire between a combined force of suspected ZUF
and NSCN-K on one side, and NSCN-IM cadres on the other,
at Tamenglong District headquarters.
September
25, 2012: A fierce gun battle between ZUF and NSCN-IM
cadres erupted in the evening of September 25, and continued
through the night into September 26, leaving six dead
and injuring one civilian. The identities of the deceased
and the injured could not be confirmed. The incident was
sparked off inside a forest near Wairangba village in
the interior areas of Tamenglong District.
August
17, 2012: NSCN-K cadres shot dead two persons, identified
as the Zeliangrong Students' Union, Tamenglong District
'general secretary' Chunthuigai Kamei and a suspected
NSCN-IM cadre, Jenao Golmei, at Nungkao, under the Tousem
Police Station, Tamenglong District.
June 21,
2012: Six persons were killed in a gun battle between
Naga militant groups that took place in the remote Haochong
village, located about 68 kilometres North of Nungba Police
Station, in Tamenglong District at about 2.30 am. The
dead included two civilians, three cadres of NSCN-K and
one of the ZUF. The incident occurred when NSCN-K and
ZUF cadres were camping together at Haochong, and were
suddenly attacked by an NSCN-IM contingent. Hours after
the gunfight at Haochong, a 'sergeant major' of the NSCN-IM,
identified as Athikho, was killed at Tamenglong Bazar,
reportedly by the NSCN-K, in a revenge attack for the
Haochong killings.
The ZUF
was created
when around 10 NSCN-IM cadres deserted the group along
with arms and ammunition, and joined up with some NSCN-K
cadres. The ZUF and its armed wing, the Zeliangrong Tiger
Force (ZTF), were formed with the proclaimed objective
of protecting the interests of the Zeliangrong tribe,
and celebrated their second raising day on February 25,
2013. Addressing the gathering, ‘commander in chief' Jenchui
Kamei read out the message endorsed by its ‘chairman’,
Kamson, expressing ‘appreciation’ for the support and
co-operation given by the ‘public’ of the region to the
ZUF. Kamei reiterated, further, that ZUF had not arrived
at any agreement with the Government of India (GoI) or
Government of Manipur. The ZUF has grown significantly
in almost every aspect, including numerical strength and
area expansion, since its inception.
The ‘chairman’s’
message also asserted that a big chunk of the ‘ancestral
land’ of the Zeliangrong people had been bartered away
to the Dimasas in North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao) of Assam,
while other communities and State agencies continue to
eye the land and resources of the Zeliangrong people.
Earlier, on November 7, 2011, the ZUF had argued that
Zeliangrong lands (in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland) were
shrinking day by day because of encroachments by the Dimasas
in the Dima Hasao area of Assam; by the Semas in the Itangki
forest in Nagaland; and as a result of the tense situation
in Manipur over the creation of the Sadar
Hills District. The chairman further
asserted that the ZUF would work to ensure the unity and
integrity of the Zeliangrong People, and to continue and
complete the unfinished task left behind by Haipou Jadonang
and Rani Gaidinliu, who rebelled against British Imperialism
in the early 20th Century. In 1964, Rani Gaidinliu
demanded “a separate Zeliangrong Administrative Unit or
Political Unit” within the Union of India. Naga National
Council (NNC) leaders, then in revolt against the Indian
Union, considered Gaidinliu’s actions an obstacle to the
Naga independent struggle.
In another
development, ZUF had convened its general assembly on
February 20, 2013 at the 'council headquarters' and designated
Benjamin Pamei as the ZUF's 'home secretary'; Himsin Kamei
as the 'external affair secretary'; and Dinhiam Kamei
as the 'finance secretary'.
The NSCN-IM
was furious at the formation of ZUF and, on June 11, 2012,
alleged that the Assam Rifles (AR) was creating conflict
among the Nagas in Tamenglong District. In a statement,
the outfit alleged that the birth of ZUF was the result
of direct manipulation by Government agencies, including
Tamenglong-based politicians and the AR. On June 12, 2012,
reacting to this charge, the ZUF described the NSCN-IM
as “anti-people and dreaded elements of the Nagas”. A.
Remroi, the ‘joint secretary’ of the ZUF declared that
the NSCN-IM was ‘bereft of any agenda’ and was resorting
to violence against ZUF cadres. The AR, meanwhile, strongly
refuted the NSCN-IM claims.
Strong
opposition to the NSCN-IM has also arisen from other militant
formations in the region. On July 5, 2012, a day after
the ZUF’s accusation that NSCN-IM was practicing ‘anti-Naga’
policies, the Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF),
another Naga outfit in Manipur, formed in 2008, alleged
that there was a problem wherever the NSCN-IM was present.
Further, on August 23, 2012, the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi,
an NSCN-K splinter group formed on June 7, 2011, had alleged
that the activities of groups such as NSCN-IM, ZUF and
NSCN-K continued to work to the detriment of peace in
the Zeliangrong areas.
Before
the emergence of ZUF, factional clashes amongst Naga formations
in Tamenglong District had involved NSCN-IM and NSCN-K.
At least one incident was recorded in 2005; five in 2006;
and three each in 2007 and 2008. No such incidents were
on record in 2009 and 2010.
The Security
Forces (SFs), meanwhile, have also had violent encounters
with the ZUF. Six such incidents have already been recorded
in 2013 – resulting in two ZUF fatalities. A total of
10 ZUF cadres have also been arrested since its formation.
One major arrest was on May 7, 2011, when SFs arrested
five newly recruited ZUF cadres at Tengnoupal in Chandel
District, while they were being taken from Imphal for
training in Myanmar.
The ZUF
also has strong differences with the United Naga Council
(UNC). UNC is one of the frontal Naga organizations which
strongly supports the ongoing negotiations between NSCN-IM
and GoI and campaigns for an alternative
administrative arrangement for the
Nagas in Manipur. On December 25, 2012, ZUF had appealed
to the UNC to review its decision of going ahead with
its planned 72-hour bandh (shut down strike). The
UNC had called the bandh to protest against "attacks
on Nagas" following the incident at Chandel District
on December 18, 2012, when NSCN-IM ‘lieutenant colonel’,
Livingstone allegedly molested Manipuri film Actress Momoko
and threatened two other artistes and also fired from
his gun during a musical concert. The ZUF argued the civil
society organisations in the Valley (Imphal) should uphold
the slogan 'Chingtam-Amatani' (Hill-Valley are one people).
The ZUF also said the UNC did not carry the voice
of the whole Naga people.
Fratricidal
confrontations have long been witnessed between Naga factions
in Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and, beyond India’s
frontiers in Myanmar. The Tamenglong District in Manipur
has now emerged as a hotbed of clashes between NSCN-K,
ZUF and NSCN-IM, creating new challenges for the convoluted
peace processes in the region.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
June 3-9,
2013
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Assam
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
13
|
3
|
2
|
18
|
FATA
|
0
|
6
|
42
|
48
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
6
|
Punjab
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Sindh
|
27
|
4
|
0
|
31
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
INDIA
ISI
trying
to
revive
Punjab
militancy,
says
Union
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
Sushil
Kumar
Shinde:
Union
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
Sushil
Kumar
Shinde
on
June
5
said
that
Pakistan's
external
intelligence
Agency,
Inter
Services
Intelligence,
is
trying
to
revive
militancy
in
Punjab.
Shinde
said:
"Punjab
militancy
threat
growing
again.
Sikh
youths
being
trained
by
ISI
(Inter
Services
Intelligence)
facilities
in
Pakistan.
Sikh
youths
in
US,
Europe
are
also
being
motivated
in
this
regard."
Business
Standard,
June
6,
2013.
Vast
tracts
of
land
in
Garo
Hills
area
practically
outside
the
Police
network,
says
Meghalaya
Chief
Minister
Mukul
Sangma:
Chief
Minister
Mukul
Sangma
said
on
June
5
that
the
remote
and
inaccessible
Garo
Hills
area
has
a
low
Police-people
ratio
and
the
five
districts
in
the
region
have
only
16
Police
stations,
which
leaves
vast
tracts
of
land
practically
outside
the
Police
network.
Sangma
said,
"…
There
is,
therefore,
a
need
for
increasing
the
police
presence
in
the
interior
areas
of
the
Garo
Hills
region
to
improve
the
response
time
of
police."
Times
of
India,
June
6,
2013.
Forest
Advisory
Committee
gives
nod
to
mine
in
the
Maoist-affected
Saranda
forests
of
Jharkhand:
Forest
Advisory
Committee
has
recommended
that
mining
be
allowed
in
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)-affected
Saranda
forests
located
in
West
Singbhum
District.
For
the
fourth
time
this
year,
the
Advisory
Committee
has
green
signaled
a
mining
project
in
the
area
-
this
time
it
is
an
iron
ore
for
Rungta
Mines.
Economic
Times,
June
4,
2013.
Cabinet
clears
proposal
to
install
mobile
towers
for
LWE-hit
States:
The
Union
Cabinet
on
June
4
cleared
a
proposal
to
install
2,199
mobile
towers
in
nine
Left-Wing-Extremism
(LWE)-affected
States
at
a
cost
of
over
INR
30
billion.
The
towers
will
come
up
in
locations
identified
by
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
in
the
next
15
months.
The
Hindu,
June
5,
2013.
State
cabinet
decides
to
reduce
number
of
Police
stations
under
the
Disturbed
Areas
Act
in
Tripura:
State
cabinet
on
June
4
decided
to
free
as
many
as
nine
Police
Stations
of
the
scope
of
Disturbed
Areas
Act
fully
and
one
Police
Station
partially.
The
number
of
Police
Stations
under
Disturbed
Area
Act
has
been
reduced
from
34
to
25.
Alongside,
the
number
of
Police
Stations
under
partially
Disturbed
Area
Act
has
been
increased
from
six
to
seven.
Disturbed
area
act
was
in
force
altogether
34
Police
Stations
fully
and
to
six
Police
Stations
partially.
Tripura
Info,
June
5,
2013.
Maoists
to
field
sympathizers
as
independent
candidates
in
forthcoming
panchayat
polls
in
West
Bengal:
The
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
has
decided
to
field
sympathizers
as
independent
candidates
in
the
forthcoming
panchayat
(village
level
local
self-Government
institution)
polls,
in
a
significant
shift
from
their
earlier
stance
of
not
taking
part
in
electoral
politics.
Sources
said
that
the
Maoists'
strategy
shift
was
necessitated
by
their
effort
to
penetrate
the
local-level
administrative
bodies
so
that
they
could
become
a
part
of
policy-making.
Times
of
India,
June
8,
2013.
PAKISTAN
42
militants
and
six
Security
Force
personnel
among
48
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
35
militants
were
killed
and
15
others
were
injured
by
Security
Forces
(SFs)
during
operations
in
Tirah
Valley
of
Khyber
Agency
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA),
on
June
9.
A
United
States
(US)
drone
strike
killed
seven
militants
at
Shokhel
village
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
on
June
7.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
June
3-10,
2013.
27
civilians
and
four
SF
among
31
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
Sindh:
At
least
11
persons,
including
three
Policemen
and
a
child,
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
in
Karachi
(Karachi
District),
the
provincial
capital
of
Sindh,
on
June
9.
Four
people
were
shot
dead
in
targeted
attacks
across
Karachi
on
June
8.
Four
people
were
shot
dead
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
while
two
dead
bodies
were
also
recovered
from
Karachi
city
(Karachi
District)
on
June
6.
At
least
eight
people
were
killed
in
separate
incidents
of
violence
in
different
parts
of
Karachi
city
(Karachi
District)
on
June
4.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
Central
Asia
Online;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
June
3-10,
2013.
'Unfortunate
that
Sindh
Government
is
making
no
marked
efforts
to
counter
terrorism
in
Karachi,
says
MQM
Deputy
Convener
Khalid
Maqbool
Siddiqui:
Deputy
Convener
of
Muttahida
Qaumi
Movement
(MQM),
Khalid
Maqbool
Siddiqui,
on
June
6
officially
said
it
was
unfortunate
that
Sindh
Government
is
making
no
marked
efforts
to
counter
terrorism.
Siddiqui
said
that
party
workers
were
bearing
the
brunt
of
increasing
terrorism
in
Karachi
city.
He
claimed
that
Lyari
town
of
Karachi
is
no
longer
in
control
of
Pakistan
People's
Party
(PPP),
but
has
become
the
hub
of
criminals.
He
asked
the
Sindh
Government
to
stop
supporting
Peoples'
Aman
Committee
(PAC)
which
he
claimed
was
responsible
for
the
killing
of
MQM
party
workers.
Daily
Times,
June
7,
2013.
SRI
LANKA
Preparations
for
NPC
elections
underway,
says
Elections
Commissioner
Mahinda
Deshapriya:
Elections
Commissioner
Mahinda
Deshapriya
on
June
7
said
that
the
Elections
Department
had
begun
preparations
to
hold
the
Northern
Provincial
Council
(NPC)
elections
in
September
although
it
was
yet
to
receive
an
official
confirmation
regarding
the
holding
of
the
election.
Mahinda
said,
"It
will
be
held
in
September.
That
is
confirmed
and
now
we
are
awaiting
an
official
confirmation.
We
have
now
called
for
data
on
Government
officers
to
take
up
official
duties
for
the
election."
He
further
said
as
of
now
the
status
quo
regarding
the
registered
voters
would
remain
unless
there
is
legislation
to
effect
change
to
include
a
new
voter
list.
Daily
Mirror,
June
8,
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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