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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 4, July 28, 2014

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

INDIA
Click for PrintPrint

Bankrolling Terror
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Islamist terror outfits operating on the Indian soil, aided and abetted by Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), have adopted various ways to fill their coffers. Prominent avenues of terrorist finance include the Banking sector, extortion, hawala (illegal money transfers), funding from various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), money generated through Narcotics, rampant circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) printed in Government Security Presses in Pakistan, as well as direct funding from the ISI.

In one of the more disturbing trends, a July 21, 2014, news report indicated that Pakistan based terror groups were increasingly targeting the Indian Banking sector. An alert from the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW, India's external intelligence agency) noted that, “349 bank accounts are being used/operated by Indian associates for facilitating Pakistan-based groups running fake lottery rackets.” The country-wide network operated by Indian associates of Pakistani terrorist formations included at least 133 bank accounts in the State Bank of India (SBI), 33 in ICICI bank, 18 in Punjab National Bank (PNB); and another 26 accounts in Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and the United Commercial Bank of India (bank wise numbers not available). Details of another 139 such accounts are being scrutinized, but are not publicly available. 99 users of Indian telephone numbers who are the local collaborators of the Pakistani groups “are under watch”, the note added.

Further, apprehensive of terrorists using the capital market to fund themselves, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on March 12, 2014, tightened norms aimed at countering money laundering and terror financing through the capital markets and asked market entities to conduct detailed risk assessment of their clients, including those linked to countries facing international sanctions. There have been several reports in the past indicating that Pakistan-backed Islamist terrorists have been playing the stock market to augment their revenues.

Bank robberies have also become a significant source of funding. Investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the October 27, 2013, Patna bomb blasts, in which eight persons were killed, have exposed the manner in which Indian Mujahideen (IM) has been utilizing bank robberies to fund its activities. An unnamed investigator disclosed, "Robberies and bank dacoities were being carried out to generate funds." Further, Abu Faisal aka Doctor, a prominent IM cadre and suspected mastermind of the December 23, 2013, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh (MP), jailbreak incident, reportedly revealed that five bank robberies across MP in 2009-2010, as well as the INR 25 million in gold  looted in Bhopal on August 23, 2010, were executed to raise funds for terrorist attacks. An unnamed Police officer disclosed, "In 2009, Faisal's group entered the Narmada Rural Bank [in Dewas] with firearms and robbed it. Later, they targeted other banks in Dewas and Itarsi. This group had also robbed 10 kilograms of gold from a gold finance company."

Investigations by Indian security agencies have also revealed that IM operative Mirza Shadab Baig had planned to set up an extortion cell, Maal-e-Ghanimat (Spoils of War), in Dubai for jihad (religious or holy war). Baig, who had been made in charge of the ‘project’ and was the point-person to collect the money, and his associates had procured several Dubai SIM cards which were to be used for making extortion calls. In his statement to the NIA, arrested IM operative Asadullah Akhtar aka Haddi disclosed that he was in talks with Baig to identify a hawala operator in Dubai and the Middle East, so that the money generated from extortion could be routed to India. The extortion cell was to target people in the Gulf. In addition, they were also engaged in efforts to extort money in Indian cities, including Pune (Maharashtra) and Kolkata (West Bengal).

Hawala, of course, continues to haunt the agencies involved in checking the flow of funds to terrorist groups. Ibrahim "Tiger" Memon, one of the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai (Maharashtra) serial blasts case, has long been tasked with transferring money through hawala channels, to India through Delhi, and not the usual Mumbai route, to target the Capital. Significantly, arrested IM 'India operations chief' Yasin Bhatkal aka Mohammed Ahmed Sidibapa aka Imran aka Shahrukh told investigators that he collected hawala money sent from Dubai or Sharjah by another IM member Hafeef Bhatkali during the November 26, 2008 (26/11) terror attacks in Mumbai. "At the time of 26/11, I was in Mumbai to collect INR 400,000 in cash sent by Hafeef. The hawala delivery boy handed over the money to me near a mosque in Pydhonie,” Bhtakal claimed. He added, further, "Hafeef Bhatkali, a computer engineer who was earlier based in Dubai, is now in Pakistan. Riyaz is in touch with him. Hafeef finances the IM." Hafeef has close links with Dawood Ibrahim's D-company and runs hawala rackets in Mumbai and other places in India.

Evidence of a growing nexus between terror funding and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is also accumulating. The Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), N.N. Pandey, had asserted in November 2013 that the NGOs are the biggest source of funding of terrorist activities in India. Indeed, in March 2014, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) expressed concern that several NGOs in the country were potentially involved in terror financing and money laundering, and argued that it was time that self-regulatory steps were initiated by the NGO sector. Between 1993 and 2012, the number of registered associations (NGOs) rose from 15,039 to over 41,844, but through all these years only 54 to 64 per cent of these organisations filed details of foreign remittances received, UMHA disclosed. Current estimates suggest that there are nearly 85,000 NGOs in the country, of which 68,000 are registered with the Union Government to collect foreign funds. On paper, these NGOs claim to be working for a cause or as religious charities, but some of these are fronts to receive money either for terror or laundering. It has also been reported that there are at least 40 'charitable organizations' in Saudi Arabia whose primary function is to raise money for funding extremism and terrorism in India.

The ‘narcotics trade’ is another major concern. The latest group to join the India-centric terrorist web is the infamous Boko Haram of Nigeria. Reports indicate that the organisation has started to infiltrate the country with the help of drug-peddlers. According to sources, “They came on our radar after intelligence inputs indicated that Dawood Ibrahim’s younger brother Anees Ibrahim made several trips to Lagos last year [2013] and subsequently met an al-Qaeda 'commander' close to Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau. D-gang’s proximity with the two outfits indicates that militants are now riding on Dawood’s well-oiled network in India, Africa and South America to raise terror funds though drug trafficking.” Earlier, in September 2013, the NIA revealed that IM was also in touch with some drug syndicates in Chapora in Goa to raise funds. IM operatives helped in ferrying drugs to earn a share of the profits. Yasin Bhatkal disclosed that forging such alliances was essential for the IM, as there was a perpetual shortage of money to fund their terror plans.

Meanwhile, the ISI continues to pump increasing volumes of FICN into India and its neighbourhood in its campaign to provide finances for Islamist terrorists, and to destabilize the Indian Economy. According to a July 2014 report quoting the Intelligence Bureau, Sri Lanka and Maldives have been named two new transit destinations for FICN, with Chennai in Tamil Nadu as the point of arrival. An unnamed IB official stated, "Until now, FICN was known to come from Bangladesh and Nepal. The addition of two more neighbours to this list is rather worrying". Moreover, the ISI-run mafia engaged in production of FICN has altered patterns of circulation, increasingly emphasizing lower denomination notes, INR 500 and below, as compared to an overwhelming flow of INR 1,000 notes in the past. According to a report by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), "Pakistani operators based in Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand act as recipients of FICN from Pakistan as well as conduits to the distribution channels in India through air and land border."

There is substantial evidence of ISI directly funding terrorist outfits as well. While the funding trail of the 26/11 attacks has established ISI’s direct link, an intercepts from Pakistan by Indian intelligence agencies in March 2014 revealed that ISI gave about INR 26 million to IM operative Riyaz Bhatkal over the past three years for anti-India operations. Riyaz Bhatkal, based in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, had sent funds to Yasin Bhatkal, Assadullah Akhtar, Tehsin Akhtar aka Monu, Zia-ur-Rehman aka Waqas, Shaquib (all arrested now) and others through Western Union money transfer and hawala dealers, sources disclosed, adding, "He used to send Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh depending on the demand but he had received a huge chunk of money from ISI for operations." Further, sources indicated, expenses for arming, training and maintaining cadres of various anti-India terrorist formations in camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and other parts of Pakistan, were provided separately from funding for operations.

The Government has taken several measures, including constituting a Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell (TFFC) in NIA in 2010 to focus on investigation into such cases. According to a June 2014 report, the new Government at the Centre is set to crack down on terror financing from across the border, recognizing this as one of the key steps towards beefing up India's internal security mechanisms. India has had its first detailed discussion in multi-lateral fora over terror-financing, and has sought cooperation of member countries to crack the financial network and fund-raising activities of Pakistan-based terrorist outfits and individual terrorists associated with these organisations. A delegation of the UMHA visited Russia from June 17-20, 2014, to attend the Eurasian Group (EAG) on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism  20th Plenary Meeting. Meetings of the Working Groups also took place in Moscow to discuss the issue of terror-funding, with other member countries, including Belarus, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and India. Currently, EAG is headed by K. P. Krishnan, India’s Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance.

Islamabad’s unwavering support to terrorism and efforts to promote every possible form of instability within India have easily neutralized the limited gains of every past Indian initiative in this regard. Even as New Delhi struggles to contain the problem, the terrorists and their sponsors continue to expand and exploit new avenues of finance as well as routes and devices for their transfer to terrorists operating on Indian soil. International institutions and instruments have had little or no impact on this expanding network, and it remains to be seen how India is able to thwart the Pakistani design in future.

INDIA
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Assam: BTAD Mayhem
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On July 23, 2014, a youth leader identified as Manoj Das, former General Secretary of the Baksa unit of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and executive member of the Asom Sena, was killed by unidentified gunmen at Mushalpur in Baksa District in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD), governed by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). Das was also associated with the Oboro  Suraksa Samiti [OSS, Non-Boro Security Committee] and Sonmilito Jonogosthiyo Oikyo Mancho (SJOM, United Peoples Unity Platform). Police recovered four empty rounds and one live 9mm bullet from the place where the incident occurred. Das, a Central Committee member of AASU’s Asom Sena wing, was actively involved in the election campaign of SJOM-backed candidate Naba Kumar Sarania alias Hira Sarania, a former United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leader,  who won the recent Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) elections from the Kokrajhar constituency. 

SJOM, a conglomeration of 21 non-Bodo organisations formed to protect the rights of non-Bodo people living in BTAD, condemned Das’s killing and held the Government responsible for the incident. SJOM President Hiteswar Barman observed, “The State Government has failed to control violence in the BTAD despite repeated pleas by the people and organisations. Unless the Government seizes illegal arms from the BTAD, violence will continue and spin beyond control.” All BTAD Minority Students Union Vice-president Mazid Ali Ahmed suspected the involvement of former Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) cadres, as Das had received threats to his life over the phone before the Lok Sabha elections. Ahmed criticised the State Government for its indifference to the violence in BTAD. Condemning the killing, All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) president Promod Boro demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and seizure of all illegal arms. The Bodo Sahitya Sabha (a Socio-Literary Organisation of the Bodo Nation) also condemned the killing. Kamalakanta Muchahary, General Secretary of the Sabha, noted, “This killing is an exercise to spread unrest and create an atmosphere of mistrust among different sections of people. The culprits must be dealt with strongly according to the law.”

Das’ murder came less than a fortnight after four Muslims from Bogiribari in Barpeta District were abducted and killed by militants of the I.K Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) at Labdanguri in Baksa District on July 11, 2014. Sources disclosed that all the four were abducted and killed shortly thereafter, and there was no report of any ransom demand. The body of a 14 year old boy, identified as Bakar Ali, was recovered on July 12 from Kamargaon in Barpeta District, while the bodies of other three, who were traders identified as Rabul Amin, Saddam Hussain and Atwar Ali, were recovered on July 13, from Hakuanala on the banks of the Manas River in Baksa District. An official release issued by the Home and Political Department stated that intelligence inputs confirmed that the killing was done by NDFB-IKS militants, purportedly “to divert attention of the Security Forces (SF), which have been successfully conducting relentless counter-insurgency operations against this group, inflicting significant reverses on it in last six months.”

The conflict raging between Bodos and non-Bodos in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls, in which the  non-Bodo candidate, Hira Sarania, emerged the winner, defeating all the three Bodo candidates in the fray in the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency, has heightened tension in Baksa District. 46 Muslims were killed in violent incidents allegedly executed by the NDFB-IKS in Baksa and Kokrajhar Districts on May 1 and 2, 2014. The May incidents and the recent abduction and killing of the four Muslims have made Baksa one of the most sensitive Districts in BTAD. In 2012, a large scale conflagration involving Bodos and Muslims had left at least 109 dead in BTAD.

Meanwhile, three people identified as Promod Narzary, Mithinga Muchahary and Boronda Basumatary were arrested on July 14 from Samthaibari village in Barpeta District in connection with the abduction and killing of the four Muslims, on the basis of articles recovered from their homes, for allegedly helping NDFB-IKS militants abduct the boy and the three traders. A woman identified as Sone Narzary was also arrested by the Assam Police in connection with the incident the following day. Inspector General of Police (IGP) L.R. Bishnoi asserted, "Sone was providing every information about the movement of people from the minority community in the area to the Bodo rebels. She is one of the key persons involved in the violence". He added, further, that another individual was arrested on July 15 for sheltering militants. Moreover, Assam Police have identified four militants, Lengra aka Sahash, Biliphang, Gobla Basumatary and Soniram Daimari aka Saiklung, belonging to NDFB-IKS, as the ones responsible for the abduction and killing in this case.

Meanwhile, on July 13, 2014, the NDFB-IKS accused the Assam Government of playing dirty politics by creating communal conflict between the Bodos and Muslims. The NDFB-IKS ‘secretary of information and publicity wing’, N.E. Esara, argued that the July 11 abduction and killing in Baksa District were a consequence of the conspiracy of the ruling party in Assam and the dissidents. He added that the Assam Government was “trying to use both Muslims and Bodos to fulfill its political aspirations” by applying policy of killing two birds with one stone, so that both the Muslim and Bodo community could be annihilated through communal conflict.

While such conspiracy theories have not found traction among the other communities and political formations in the State, the failure of the Government has been widely criticized. The President of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), Abdur Rahim Ahmed, thus stated, “Since the State Government has utterly failed to tackle violence in BTAD, the Centre should take up the task of maintaining law and order in the State and dissolve the Government.” Compounding matters, on July 12, while expressing its commitment to help out the Assam Government, the Centre, warned that if the Tarun Gogoi Government repeatedly fails to control the killings, the Centre would have no option but to intervene. The warning came from the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, reacting to the July 11 incident.

Reports indicate that nearly a thousand people have been killed and over 1,300 cases of abduction have been registered in BTAD over the past five years. In this period, the Assam Police has recovered about 700 firearms, according to a senior State Home Department official, but this number hardly amounts to five per cent of the actual weapons possessed by the militants.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Assam has recorded 141 fatalities [76 civilians, 60 militants and five SF personnel] in 2014 [all data till July 27]. Of the 76 civilian fatalities, NDFB-IKS alone was responsible for 63, as well as of one SF trooper. Of the 60 militants killed in the state, 21 belonged to NDFB-IKS.

Significant recent incidents include:

July 27, 2014: An NDFB-IKS ‘commander’ identified as S. Ulapat alias Uttam Sargiary, who was accused of being behind the serial bomb blasts in Assam on October 2008 which killed over 80 people, was killed in an encounter with Kokrajhar Police at Oxiguri village in Haijraiguri in Kokrajhar District. Ulapat was loyal to NDFB ‘chief’ Ranjan Daimary, but was later associated with NDFB-IKS.

July 22, 2014: SFs gunned down a NDFB-IKS militant in an encounter in Kokrajhar District. According to the intelligence reports, the outfit had plans to target SFs and minority communities in the area in the run-up to Independence Day (August 15).

July 10, 2014: A NDFB-IKS militant identified as Uresh Narzary aka N. Udang was killed in an encounter with the SFs at Mwinaguri village under Kachugaon Police Station of Kokrajhar District.

April 30, 2014: Three cadres of NDFB-IKS, identified as Rajai Mushahary, Custom Boro and Adlish Basumatary, were killed in an encounter with Police in the Naojan Tinkhuti area under Gingia Police Station in Sonitpur District.

May 4: Three NDFB-IKS militants were killed in two separate encounters with a joint team of the Police, CRPF and the Army, in Sonitpur and Udalguri Districts.

On July 16, 2014, the Assam Government constituted a one-man Commission of Inquiry to examine the causes and circumstances leading to incidents of violence in Baksa and Kokrajhar Districts on May 1 and 2.

Further, on July 22, 2014, OSS called a 12-hour strike in Assam in support of its demand for exclusion of non-Bodo villages from BTAD to ensure the security of lives and properties of non-Bodos. Alleging inaction and failure of Police to arrest the perpetrators of violence in BTAD, OSS argued that militants were targeting non-Bodos in BTAD in a bid to drive them out and establish a Bodo majority in the area. No ethnic group has a current majority in Bodoland. Publicly available data pegs the Bodo population at 28 per cent; Muslims, 20 per cent; Adivasis, 15 per cent; while the remaining 37 per cent include Assamese, Bengali Hindus and non-Bodo tribes. However, the actual numbers may be somewhat more disturbing. A secret report of the Assam police in 2012 indicated that the Kokrajhar District, [the capital of BTAD and political seat of power in BTAD] had a Bodo population of 310,000, or 30 per cent of the total, and Muslims, at 236,000, or 25.15 per cent of the total, something the tribals have repeatedly been pointing out as a cause for worry and evidence that illegal migration from Bangladesh into Bodo areas continues.

Unsurprisingly, the root of the conflict in Assam, the unresolved issue of illegal migrants, continues to be raised by locals. On July 21, 2014, members of AASU and 26 organisations representing the State’s indigenous population staged a dharna (non-violent sit in protest) in front of Raj Bhawan [the Governor's residence) in Guwahati, against continuing illegal cross-border migration from Bangladesh. AASU alleged that, through its various acts of omission and commission, including the latest move to grant relaxed visa to sections of Bangladeshi citizens, the Centre had made it clear that the interests of the indigenous people were not in its mind. AASU later submitted a memorandum to the Governor, highlighting their grievances and seeking redress.

On July 22, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju clarified in the Lok Sabha that that the issue of citizenship in Assam would be determined on the basis of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951. He also added that the Assam Government had set up three detention camps in Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Silchar Districts for keeping illegal migrants, and that 13 persons detained at the detention centre in Goalpara, and another 17 detained in Dhubri Jail, had been deported to Bangladesh. July 16 reports also disclosed that Rijiju had stated that the Government of India (GoI) had released INR 1,405.8 million for updating the NRC, and that a gazette notification had already been issued for updating NRC 1951 in Assam with effect from December 2013. The updating of NRC is targeted to be completed in three years.

The long history of violence in the Bodo heartland of Assam continues with intermittent escalation time and again. The creation of BTC in 2003, instead of providing some respite, has created more troubles among the different ethnic groups, with their divergent goals and polarized politics, in the area. Indeed, the non-Bodos had opposed the creation of BTC on precisely these grounds. At the same time, the BTC administrative structure has failed to improve conditions for the Bodo population, with the result that Bodos, including Bodoland People's Front (BPF) leaders (former BLT leaders) who had signed the Memorandum of Settlement in 2003, have revived their original demand for statehood.

Meanwhile, Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament), on July 23, that the G.K. Pillai Committee, which was set up by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) to study the viability of creating a separate state for Bodoland, had resumed functions after the Lok Sabha elections. On July 19, 2014, moreover, Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh assured a Bodo delegation that GoI would take all needed initiatives to resolve the Bodoland problem as soon as the ongoing Parliament session was over.

There have been many such assurances in the past. It remains to be seen whether the new dispensation in Delhi is better able to deliver on its promises.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
July 21-27, 2014

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

INDIA

 

Assam

2
0
3
5

Jammu and Kashmir

0
2
1
3

Manipur

0
0
3
3

Meghalaya

1
3
0
4

Left-wing Extremism

 

Jharkhand

7
0
1
8

Odisha

1
0
0
1

Total (INDIA)

11
5
8
24

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

4
4
0
8

FATA

1
3
46
50

KP

2
1
0
3

Punjab

1
0
0
1

Sindh

18
7
7
32

Total (PAKISTAN)

26
15
53
94
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


INDIA

Two Indians killed in Afghanistan: Two Indians were among five foreign guards killed by a Taliban suicide bomber riding a motorbike on July 23 in an attack on Kabul Airport, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on July 24. MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the two Indians, identified as Ponnappan V Kuttappan and Parambhat Ravindran from Kerala, were employed as security guards with an American security firm named Dyna Corporation in Kabul. Live Mint, July 24, 2014.

Two Kalyan youths call up families and confirm of fighting for ISIS in Syria, according to investigators: Two of the four youths of Kalyan (Thane District, Maharashtra) suspected to have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) called up their families earlier this week and confirmed they were working as members of the outfit in the Raqqa Province of Syria, investigating officials said. Aarif Majid and Saleem Tanki, the two youths who spoke to their families, told them they were safe and that their entire family would go to jannat (heaven) because of the 'work' they were doing as part of ISIS, the officials said. Times of India, July 26, 2014.

1,922 people killed in Naxal violence in last three years, informs Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) on July 23 that a total of 1,922 people, including 1,179 civilians, were killed due to Naxal-[Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)] violence in the last three years. The Minister further said 142 Security Force personnel, 469 civilians and 99 LWEs were killed in 2011 while 114 SFs, 301 civilians and 74 LWEs were killed in 2012 and another 115 SFs, 282 civilians and 100 LWEs were killed in 2013. 61 SF personnel, 127 civilians and 38 LWEs were killed till July 11, 2014. NDTV, July 24, 2014.

14 years of Maoist violence have claimed 435 lives, says Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told the State Legislative Assembly, on July 21, that Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres have killed 435 persons, including 210 Security Force (SFs) and 235 civilians in the last 14 years while the security personnel have eliminated 139 Maoists during the same time. The Chief Minister further said 119 civilians and 218 security personnel were also injured in Maoist violence. The Maoists have also looted 1907 guns and about 172,656 bullets during the period. 1916 Naxalites-[Left-Wing Extremists (LWEs)] have been arrested, while 355 LWEs have surrendered. He said Maoist activities of different magnitude were witnessed in 19 Districts of the State. Indian Express, July 22, 2014.

Ceasefire agreement with NSCN-IM not applicable in Manipur, says State Deputy Chief Minister: Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Gaikhangam on July 21 told the Assembly that the ceasefire agreement between the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and Government of India (GoI) was not applicable to the State of Manipur. He disclosed that as many as 420 cases related with crimes committed by NSCN-IM has been registered by state Police in the last 15 years since the outfit entered into ceasefire agreement with GoI and that during the same period 455 militants of NSCN-IM have been arrested in Manipur. He added that the State is taking up necessary measures to tackle the anti-social activities of NSCN-IM. Sangai Express, Nagaland Post, July 22, 2014.

NSCN-K calls for common front of Northeast militant groups: Khaplang faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) on July 18 reiterated the idea of forming a common front of northeast militant groups but denied having any links with other militant groups of the region or having provided them with shelter in camps based in Myanmar. A senior NSCN-K leader, Wangtin Naga, stated in Dimapur after Cease Fire Monitoring Group (CFMG) meeting with the Government of India (GoI) representatives that the process for formation of such front was under way. E PAO, July 19, 2014.

2415 militants arrested in Manipur since April 2012, states deputy Chief Minister: Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, on July 23, informed the State Assembly that a total of 2415 militants have been arrested in the State since April 2012. Another 17 militants were arrested from outside the State. INR 61,86,723 was seized from their possession. He also added that 1154 militants are under judicial custody and eight are under Police custody while 1270 cadres have been released on bail. He also stated that out of the total money recovered from the militants, INR 11, 05,100 has been accrued to the State exchequer, while the remaining INR 50, 81,623 is in Police Custody. Sangai Express, July 24, 2014.


PAKISTAN

Operation Zarb-e-Azb to be concluded within two weeks, says Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lieutenant General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch: The Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lieutenant General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch on July 25 revealed that the military operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Operation Zarb-e-Azb, will be concluded within two weeks. He added that the action in tribal areas will be completed within a month since the troops are engaged in yet another small operation in adjoining area of FATA. The News, July 26, 2014.


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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Dr. Ajai Sahni


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