| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 12, September 21, 2015
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
|
TTP:
Enduring Shadows
Tushar
Ranjan Mohanty
Research
Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
At least
43 persons, including 14 terrorists, were killed as the
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base at Inqalab Road in Badaber
area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
came under attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
in the early morning of September 18, 2015. The Badaber
camp used to be an operational Air Force base, but is
now a PAF training centre.
Fourteen
terrorists in the uniforms of the Constabulary stormed
the mosque at the Airbase at 05:00 and dispersed into
two groups, one of which went towards the administrative
area, while the other headed for the technical section
of the airbase. The Director-General (DG) Inter Services
Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa disclosed,
“Terrorists busted the main gate with grenades and split
into two groups. One group then targeted worshipers during
morning prayers. The commandos and other security personnel
surrounded the terrorists, contained them within 50 meters
of the infiltration and killed 14 militants.”
As they
entered the Base, the militants killed three PAF technicians
in the Guard Room, and then went on to kill 16 PAF soldiers
who were praying at a mosque. Another seven PAF soldiers
were killed in a barrack near the mosque. Army Captain
Asfand Yar and two soldiers were killed in the counter-attack
against the raiders. 10 soldiers were injured during exchange
of fire with the terrorists, of whom two were officers.
Some 15 persons were arrested during subsequent search
operations.
DG Bajwa
alleged, "The attackers came from Afghanistan and
the whole foul play was planned in the neighbouring country.
This attack was being executed through direct coordination
from Afghanistan as well.”
Meanwhile,
TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani claimed responsibility
for the attack in an email sent to journalists.
The Badaber
PAF base attack has several major precedents. Just a year
earlier, on August 14, 2015, at least 12 terrorists wearing
suicide vests and armed with RPGs and automatic weapons
were killed, and 11 Security Force (SF) personnel were
injured in an 11-hour gun battle near Khalid Aviation
Airbase and Samungli Airbase in Quetta, The provincial
capital of Balochistan. The TTP Ghalib Mehsud faction
claimed responsibility for the attack on the Airbases
in Quetta. Ghalib Mehsud is the leader of Fidayeen-e-Islam,
TTP’s suicide wing. TTP spokesperson Azam Tariq had announced
that the attack was in retaliation for Operation
Zarb-e-Azb in the North Waziristan
Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
On September
6, 2014, terrorists planned to hijack Navy frigate PNS
Zulfiqar at the West Wharf of the Karachi Dockyard. Naval
Commandos of PNS Iqbal rushed to the scene and a gun battle
ensued. One Naval officer was killed and seven were injured.
Two attackers, including Owais Jakherani, a former Navy
sailor, were killed, and four were captured alive.
August
16, 2012: Nine terrorists and two security personnel were
killed when SFs foiled an attack on the Minhas PAF base
at Kamra in the Attock District of Punjab. The Minhas
Air Force base is believed to be one of the centres where
Pakistan has stockpiled its nuclear arsenal. TTP ‘spokesperson’
Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed that four suicide bombers had
carried out the attack to take revenge for the killings
of the then TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud, and al Qaeda founder
Osama bin Laden.
May 22,
2011: At least 10 SF personnel and five TTP militants
were killed while nine SF personnel were injured in a
TTP attack on the Pakistan Naval Station (PNS) Mehran
within the Faisal Naval Airbase in Karachi. Two US made
surveillance aircraft were damaged in the attack. Claiming
responsibility for the attack, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah
Ehsan declared, "We had already warned after Osama's
martyrdom that we will carry out even bigger attacks".
October
10, 2009: Twelve Army personnel, including a Brigadier
and a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed and five others
were seriously injured when militants clad in Army uniforms
attacked the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Army in
Rawalpindi. A splinter faction of the TTP claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Despite
the Government’s claims of success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb
in North Waziristan, the campaign is far from finished.
Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched on June 15, 2014, in
the aftermath of the attack at the Jinnah International
Airport, Karachi, on June 8-9, 2014. At least 33 persons,
including all 10 attackers, were killed in the attack.
According
to partial data (Data till September 20, 2015) compiled
by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Operation
Zarb-e-Azb
has, thus far, killed more than 2,130 ‘terrorists’ and
226 soldiers (no independent verification of fatalities
or identities of those killed is available, as media access
to the areas of conflict is severely limited).
Significantly,
on June 12, 2015, Major General Bajwa claimed that 347
officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army had lost their
lives, and 2,763 terrorists had been killed in the Operation.
Up to 90 per cent of the North Waziristan was declared
‘free from terrorists’, while their central command and
control apparatus, along with their communication systems,
had been ‘destroyed’. 9,000 intelligence operations had
been conducted, as a result of which 218 wanted terrorists
were killed, while thousands of extremists were taken
for interrogation. 837 terrorist hideouts had been destroyed,
while 253 tons of explosives were recovered during the
ongoing operation. The Badaber base attack, however, demonstrates
the audacity of the terrorist formations, despite numerous
reverses.
Further,
the National Action Plan (NAP) is making very slow progress.
NAP was initiated on December 24, 2014, in the aftermath
of the Peshawar Army Public School attack in which 148
persons, including 135 children, were killed. The ‘20-point
Plan’ on counter-terrorism was announced by Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif in a televised address to the nation in the
night of December 24, 2014, and incorporated in the Constitution
by the 21st Constitutional Amendment on January 7, 2015.
A handout issued by the Federal Ministry of Interior on
July 4, 2015, claimed that some 54,376 ‘combing operations’
had been carried out under NAP, which came into effect
on January 7, 2015, resulting in 60,420 arrests. 3,019
intelligence-based operations were also carried out, while
1,388 pieces of intelligence were shared. Some 97.9 million
mobile SIM cards have been verified using bio-metric technology,
while 5.1 million SIM cards have been blocked, under NAP.
Astonishingly,
documents obtained by The News and reported on
July 30, 2015, claimed that more than 20,000 terrorists
had been killed by July 13, 2015, under NAP, an incredible
number that does not reconcile with any estimates by official
or non-Governmental monitoring agencies. Further, if such
a large number has been killed, and terrorism still flourishes,
what is the total strength of the terrorists in Pakistan?
The documents also claimed that 3,148 terrorists had been
apprehended across Pakistan while 1,799 persons had also
been held under charges for ‘hate speech’. 3,446 persons
were identified as having links with banned outfits, and
more than 100 madrassahs had been shut down, the documents
claimed.
However,
on September 10, 2015, Prime Minister Sharif lamented
that provincial administrations were yet to implement
a major portion of NAP to counter terrorism and extremism
in the country. While some elements had been implemented,
Sharif argued, it was necessary that each and every aspect
of the anti-terrorism plan be implemented.
There is
a visible element of deception here, as Pakistan projects
its counter-terrorism ‘successes’ to secure as much as
possible from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) of United
States in the name of Operations in its tribal areas.
On September 13, 2015, Jonathan Carpenter, Special Representative
of the US for Afghanistan and Pakistan, while appreciating
Pakistan's war against terrorism, had thus observed that,
as a result of Zarb-e-Azb,
Waziristan and the Khyber Agency had become safer. Carpenter
also confirmed that provision of CSF to Pakistan would
continue for the current fiscal. Carpenter justified this
decision on the basis of his talks with Prime Minister
Sharif and the Government of Pakistan, who had assured
him that an indiscriminate operation against all terrorist
groups was under way.
The continued
and free operation of a large number of ‘friendly’ terrorist
formations in and from Pakistan – most prominently including
the (Afghan) Taliban and a multiplicity of India-directed
groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba – gives the lie to
Pakistan’s claims of such an ‘indiscriminate’ operation.
Indeed, it remains the case that anti-state formations
such as TTP continue to flourish in Pakistan precisely
because the state continues to provide spaces to a number
of its own terrorist ‘assets’, as well as to the entire
spectrum of Islamist extremist and sectarian political
formations.
Pakistan
continues on its trajectory to ruin, even as the ‘international
community’, led by the US, continues to subsidize its
many derelictions and to reward its enduring malfeasance.
The terrorist attack at Badaber is just another reminder,
the latest in an unending succession of disasters, that
Pakistan’s duplicity will eventually inflict a cost on
the country itself, far beyond any calculus of gain its
current masters may imagine.
|
Making
History
Fakir
Mohan Pradhan
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
In a historical
step forward, Nepal’s second Constituent Assembly (CA)
endorsed “Nepal’s Constitution” with overwhelming two-thirds
majority on September 16, 2015. The Constitution came
into effect after President Ram Baran Yadav announced
its commencement at 17:00 hrs on September 20, 2015, during
the last meeting of the CA.
Of 598
existing CA members in the 601-member Assembly, 532 took
part in the voting; of those present, 507 voted in support
of the Constitution, while 25 members from the Rastriya
Prajatantra Party-Nepal voted against it. The Chairman
of the CA, Subash Chandra Nembang announcing the result
of the voting, stated, “I declare that Nepal’s Constitution
has been endorsed by two-thirds majority.”
The Madhesi
parties from Nepal’s Tarai region, which boycotted the
Constitution writing process a few weeks ago, did not
participate in the voting. As the copies of the Constitution
were kept in the CA for signing by the members, 537 members
had already signed, including all the 532 members who
participated in the process and the CA Chair Nembang,
and later, four other members who were absent during the
voting process. 61 members, including 58 from Tarai-based
parties, two from the Nepali Congress, and one independent
member, have not
signed the historic document in protest.
The final
voting was preceded by clause-by-clause approvals, each
by a two-thirds majority. As parties could not agree on
many issues, the desired consensus process was given a
go-by in favour of a majority voting process, as enshrined
in the Interim Constitution.
The devastating
earth-quake that visited Nepal in April 2015 seems to
have played its part in bringing a sense of urgency among
political parties to finish up the task, as delays in
the process were hampering the reconstruction process.
Significantly, this time around, three out of four major
political forces in Nepal came on board, leaving the Tarai-based
Madhesi parties in the cold, and passed the Constitution
in the CA with overwhelming majority. In protest, the
Tarai-based parties have declared September 20 a “Black
Day”.
As new
Constitution with 308 articles, 35 parts and nine schedules
comes into force, the Constitution making function of
the second CA will cease, and it will continue as the
Legislature-Parliament for the remaining period of its
original term of five years since its swearing-in on January
21, 2014. As the Legislature-Parliament has been prorogued,
the new Prime Minister would be elected within seven days
of the commencement of the session. Moreover, the Legislature-Parliament
will have to elect the President and the Vice-President
within 30 days and the Speaker and the Deputy-Speaker
within 20 days of the start of the new House session.
It has
been more than seven years since the Constitution drafting
process started with the election of the first CA in May
2008, following a 10 year insurgency by the Maoists that
ended with the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement of 2006. While the
first CA failed to accomplish its task, the second has
successfully delivered a Constitution.
As the
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal gears up for a new
dawn, it is suffering some painful birth pangs, with protests
against the Constitution turning violent,
and at least 40 persons, including 11 security personnel,
killed in the weeks running up to the final endorsement.
At heart of the conflict is the question of federalism
that had, in fact, tripped up the first CA. This time
around the deadlock was broken with the Maoists agreeing
to a seven province model, with the names and boundaries
to be decided later. The names will be decoded by the
eventual provinces while the boundaries will be decided
by a commission. The Madhesis and Tharus are highly dissatisfied
with the seven province model, arguing that it would perpetuate
existing fault-lines that marginalise the Madhesis and
other minority communities.
Ethnic
communities are also aggrieved that, under the new Constitution,
a smaller percentage of lawmakers will now be elected
by proportional representation – 45 per cent, as compared
to 58 per cent under the Interim Constitution.
Some ethnic
communities are also unhappy at the proposed boundaries
of the new provinces, although these are subject to future
amendment. In western Terai, the indigenous Tharus are
chafing at the prospect of being split in two and forced
to share their provinces with the Hill Districts that
have historically dominated the country’s politics.
Another
controversy relates to the provision in the new Constitution
that if a Nepali woman marries a foreign man, their children
cannot assume Nepali citizenship unless the man first
does so; whereas if the father is Nepali, his children
can also be Nepali regardless of the wife's nationality.
The Madhesi communities, ethnically and socially close
to Indians just across the border, say the new citizenship
measures will disproportionately affect them because there
are many cross-border marriages.
The Madhesis
feel the Constitution has betrayed their aspirations,
which had been taken note of by all parties during the
Madhesi agitation of 2006-07, and argue that it was their
agitation that ensured that Nepal would be a federal State.
The Maoists had, at that juncture, strongly supported
their position, endorsing the desires of the long-marginalised
plains communities under the hegemony of the Hill elites.
The shock of the breaking of ranks by the Maoists is yet
to be absorbed by the plains’ communities.
Meanwhile,
on September 19, 2015, the three principal parties jointly
appealed to Madhes-centric political forces to stop their
protests and join the Constitution commencement ceremony.
Organising a press conference at the PM’s residence in
Baluwatar in the afternoon, Prime Minister and Nepali
Congress President Sushil Koirala, Communist Party of
Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman K.P.
Sharma Oli and Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal reasoned that protests were
now unnecessary as the new Constitution has enough space
for amendment to address their concerns. Speaking at the
meet, Dahal contended that the Madhesi parties did not
have any reason to continue their protests as the top
leaders of three major parties had already pledged to
delineate constituencies on the basis of population, and
demarcate federal provinces on the basis of recommendation
by a yet-to-be-formed Federal Commission. Dahal argued,
“The issue of demarcation is never finalised at once everywhere...
it is not good to object to the entire Constitution just
because of demarcation.”
Nepal is
an extraordinary example of transition, from an enveloping
Maoist insurgency to a democratic Constitution, in the
process demobilizing or absorbing the rebel fighters into
the Nepal Army, and its leaders into democratic politics.
The protests in the Tarai, however, have the potential
to aggravate instability, though the Tarai-based parties
have lost some of their popular base, as was evident in
their poor performance in the second CA elections. Nevertheless,
unless the perception of betrayal and a raw deal are dispelled,
the temptation to radical politics and disruption will
persist.
|
Weekly Fatalities:
Major Conflicts in South Asia
September 14-20, 2015
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
2
|
0
|
9
|
11
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
Telangana
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
0
|
14
|
19
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
FATA
|
9
|
2
|
38
|
49
|
KP
|
2
|
30
|
14
|
46
|
Punjab
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
Sindh
|
5
|
0
|
7
|
12
|
PAKISTAN
(Total)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
PM
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
urge
UK
to
do
more
to
combat
militancy,
says
report:
On
September
16,
Bangladesh
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
urged
the
UK
to
do
more
to
combat
militancy.
"The
British
government
should
take
more
steps
on
the
ground,"
she
stated.
"Certainly
we
want
cooperation
from
all
other
countries
so
that
they
should
be
very
careful
that
no
illegal
money
or
arms
or
terrorists
should
take
any
chance
to
create
any
problem
to
any
other
country,"
Hasina
said.
Daily
Star,
September
17,
2015.
INDIA
'Khaplang
never
wanted
ceasefire',
says
NSCN-KK
'general
secretary'
Kitovi
Zhimomi:
The
Khaplang
faction
of
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(NSCN-K)
leader,
SS
Khaplang
never
wanted
ceasefire
with
the
Indian
Government
and
had
agreed
to
it
only
because
of
pressure
from
the
Naga
civil
society,
according
to
the
Khole-Khitovi
faction
of
NSCN
(NSCN-KK)
'general
secretary'
Kitovi
Zhimomi.
Kitovi
Zhimomi,
in
an
interview
published
in
the
latest
issue
of
the
North
East
Sun
magazine,
said
"Actually,
Khaplang
was
not
in
favour
of
ceasefire
right
from
the
beginning
but
could
not
resist
the
pressure
of
the
civil
society
which
was
spearheaded
by
the
NBCC
(Nagaland
Baptist
Churches
Council)."
Assam
Tribune,
September
19,
2015.
Steady
decline
in
violence
in
North
East,
says
UMHA
report:
According
to
an
estimate
of
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA),
the
Northeastern
states
have
seen
a
steady
decline
in
insurgency-related
violence
in
the
first
eight
months
of
this
year
(2015)
in
comparison
to
the
corresponding
period
of
last
year
(2014)
but
saw
a
three-fold
increase
in
casualties
of
Security
Forces
(SFs)
personnel.
According
to
the
report,
Assam,
Nagaland,
Manipur,
Meghalaya,
Tripura,
Arunachal
Pradesh
and
Mizoram
saw
a
total
of
418
incidents
of
insurgency
violence
from
January
1
to
September
15,
2015
during
which
115
extremists
were
killed
and
1,453
were
arrested.
During
the
same
period
in
2014,
a
total
of
575
incidents
were
reported
in
the
seven
Northeastern
states
in
which
128
militants
were
killed
and
1,401
others
were
arrested.
Shillong
Times,
September
19,
2015.
Indians
can't
be
allowed
to
travel
abroad
to
fight
IS,
according
to
UMHA:
Allowing
Indians
to
take
part
in
the
conflict
in
Iraq
or
Syria
would
"directly
result
in
sectarian
conflict"
in
the
country
and
amount
to
promoting
terrorism,
the
Indian
Government
stated.
In
an
affidavit
filed
before
the
Delhi
High
Court,
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA)
stated,
"allowing
any
sect
to
take
part
in
the
conflict
in
Iraq
or
Syria
would
have
repercussions
on
other
sects
in
India.
This
could
directly
result
in
sectarian
conflict
within
India,
which
is
not
in
the
interest
of
the
nation."
Times
of
India,
September
18,
2015.
FICN
printed
in
Pakistan
being
pushed
into
country
via
Sri
Lanka,
according
to
CID:
According
to
Tamil
Nadu
Crime
Branch-Criminal
Investigation
Department
(CB-CID)
sources,
Fake
Indian
Currency
Note
(FICN)
printed
in
Pakistan
are
now
pushed
into
India
via
Sri
Lanka
and
the
route
for
the
fake
currency
printed
in
Bangladesh
is
through
Malda
District
in
West
Bengal.
Police
have
arrested
about
50
suspects
till
now
in
2015
for
circulating
FICN
in
Tamil
Nadu
and
Chennai.
The
Hindu,
September
18,
2015.
795
mobile-phone
towers
set
up
in
Maoist-affected
areas:
In
the
past
three
months,
795
mobile-phone
towers
have
been
set
up
in
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)-affected
districts
of
the
country.
The
plan
to
provide
a
channel
of
communication
in
these
remote
areas
has
taken
off
after
remaining
on
paper
for
the
past
five
years.
Chhattisgarh
has
installed
465
of
the
497
towers
proposed.
The
Central
Reserve
Police
Force
(CRPF)
has
been
asked
to
install
170
mobile
towers
in
its
camps.
The
Hindu,
September
18,
2015.
NEPAL
New
Constitution
promulgated:
President
Ram
Baran
Yadav
on
September
20,
announced
the
commencement
of
the
new
Constitution
during
the
Constituent
Assembly
(CA)
meeting-cum-special
function
organised
at
the
CA's
regular
meeting
venue.
President
Yadav
proclaimed,
"I
announce,
before
Nepali
people,
that
the
Nepal's
Constitution,
endorsed
by
CA,
authenticated
by
CA
chairman
and
presented
here,
has
commenced
today
-
20
September
2015."
With
the
promulgation
of
the
new
constitution,
the
CA
has
transformed
into
legislature
parliament.
However,
Madhes-based
parties
are
protesting
against
the
new
constitution
as
observed
September
20
as
Black
Day.
Himlayan
Times,
September
20,
2015.
PAKISTAN
38
militants
and
nine
civilians
among
49
persons
killed
during
the
week
in
FATA:
At
least
15
suspected
militants
were
killed
and
several
others
were
injured
as
military
planes
pounded
terrorist
hideouts
in
Tirah
valley
of
Khyber
Agency
in
Federally
Administered
Tribal
Areas
(FATA)
on
September
19.
At
least
13
militants
were
killed
and
eight
others
injured
when
military
helicopters
and
planes
pounded
hideouts
in
Kundi
Ghar
in
Sarwakai
tehsil
(revenue
unit)
areas
of
South
Waziristan
Agency
(SWA)
on
September
18.
The
house
of
a
suspected
militant
Abdul
Manan
Mehsud
was
attacked
during
the
area
raid
in
Ziarat
Zhay
of
Sarwakai
tehsil
in
which
three
women,
four
girls
and
two
boys
were
killed.
At
least
seven
suspected
militants
were
killed
and
two
others
injured
in
a
US
drone
strike
conducted
in
the
Shunkrai
Narai
village
of
Ladha
tehsil
of
SWA
on
September
18.
Army
Major
Ismail
and
five
militants
were
killed
in
a
terrorist
attack
on
the
Dandi
Kuch
security
checkpost
and
the
ensuing
clash
in
the
Kaka
Ziarat
area
of
Spin
Warm
area
of
North
Waziristan
Agency
on
September
14.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune;
The
Nation;
The
Frontier
Post;
Pakistan
Today;
Pakistan
Observer,
September
15-21,
2015.
Army
captain
among
43
persons
killed
in
TTP
attack
on
PAF
camp
in
Peshawar:
At
least
43
persons,
including
14
terrorists,
were
killed
as
the
Pakistan
Air
Force
(PAF)
camp
at
Inqalab
road
in
Badaber
area
of
Peshawar,
the
provincial
capital
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa,
came
under
attack
of
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
in
the
early
morning
of
September
18.
The
Badaber
camp
used
to
be
an
operational
air
force
base.
It
is
no
longer
an
operational
airbase
but
is
still
used
as
a
PAF
training
centre.
Director-General
(DG)
Inter
Services
Public
Relations
(ISPR)
Major
General
Asim
Bajwa
said
that
14
militants
were
killed
during
the
operation.
He
said
that
out
of
the
29
dead,
16
PAF
soldiers
were
killed
in
a
mosque
as
they
offered
morning
prayers.
Seven
other
PAF
soldiers
were
killed
in
a
barrack
near
the
mosque.
Army
Captain
Asfand
Yar
died
leading
the
counter-attack
against
raiders
and
two
soldiers
were
also
killed.
Militants
killed
three
PAF
technicians
in
the
guard
room
while
they
entered
the
Base.
Dawn,
September
19,
2015.
Operation
Zarb-e-Azb
targeting
terrorists
without
discrimination,
says
President
Mamnoon
Hussain:
President
Mamnoon
Hussain
on
September
16
said
that
Pakistan's
policy
on
dealing
with
terrorist
sanctuaries
and
militant
organisations
was
very
clear
and
the
ongoing
military
Operation
Zarb-e-Azb
was
targeting
all
terrorist
outfits
without
discrimination.
He
said
fighting
terrorism
was
amongst
Pakistan's
top
priorities
and
there
was
a
national
consensus
and
commitment
to
combating
terrorism
in
all
its
forms
and
manifestations.
The News,
September
17,
2015.
More
than
8,000
suspected
militants
arrested
during
NAP,
claims
Home
Secretary
of
Balochistan,
Akbar
Hussain
Durrani:
The
Home
Secretary
of
Balochistan,
Akbar
Hussain
Durrani,
on
September
16
stated
that
provincial
law
enforcement
agencies
have
arrested
more
than
8,000
suspected
militants
after
the
implementation
of
the
National
Action
Plan
(NAP).
"A
total
of
204
terrorists
were
killed
by
security
forces
during
different
operations
and
raids
in
the
Province,"
said
Durrani.
He
further
added
that
out
of
the
204
terrorists
killed,
around
100
were
high-profile
terrorists.
Dawn,
September
17,
2015.
Federal
Minister
of
Interior
Affairs
Chaudhry
Nisar
Ali
Khan
asks
security
agencies
to
apprehend
terrorists'
financiers:
Federal
Minister
of
Interior
Affairs
Chaudhry
Nisar
Ali
Khan
on
September
14
directed
the
Federal
Investigation
Agency
(FIA)
and
the
National
Counter
Terrorism
Authority
(NACTA)
to
take
immediate
action
against
the
financial
sponsors
of
terrorists.
Presiding
over
a
meeting
in
Islamabad,
he
also
directed
both
the
institutions
to
take
stringent
measures
in
order
to
overcome
financial
assistance
of
the
terrorists.
He
stressed
the
need
for
enhancing
cooperation
between
the
Federal
Investigation
Agency
and
the
State
Bank
of
Pakistan
in
this
regard.
Daily Times,
September
15,
2015.
SRI
LANKA
Sri
Lankan
government
assures
the
UN
report
and
its
recommendations
will
receive
due
attention:
The
Sri
Lankan
government,
acknowledging
the
receipt
of
an
advanced
copy
of
the
United
Nations
(UN)
report
of
the
Office
of
the
High
Commissioner
for
Human
Rights
(OHCHR)
investigation
on
Sri
Lanka,
assured
that
the
report
and
its
recommendations
will
receive
due
attention
of
the
relevant
authorities
including
the
new
mechanisms
that
are
envisaged
to
be
set
up.
In
response
to
the
261-page
report,
the
Foreign
Affairs
Ministry
in
a
letter
to
the
office
of
the
Rights
Chief
Zeid
Ra''ad
Al
Hussein
said
the
government
takes
note
of
the
"Report
of
the
OHCHR
investigation
on
Sri
Lanka
and
recognizes
fully
that
this
Report
represents
a
human
rights
investigation
and
not
a
criminal
investigation."
Colombo Page,
September
17,
2015.
Sri
Lanka's
Tamils
reject
government's
wartime
truth
commission:
Sri
Lanka's
minority
Tamils
on
September
15,
rejected
government
plans
for
a
truth
commission
to
promote
reconciliation
after
decades
of
ethnic
war,
insisting
on
an
international
inquiry.
Foreign
Minister
Mangala
Samaraweera
unveiled
a
range
of
reconciliation
measures
on
September
14,
at
the
United
Nations
Human
Rights
Council
(UNHRC)
in
Geneva,
two
days
before
the
release
of
a
long-awaited
report
on
Sri
Lanka's
alleged
war
crimes.
First Post,
September
16,
2015.
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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