| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 14, No. 48, May 31, 2016
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
|
Drift
into Reality
Ajai
Sahni
Editor,
SAIR; Executive Director, ICM & SATP
While the
turmoil and bloodshed in Afghanistan continues, with some
indices escalating sharply in 2015-16, Pakistan’s gameplan
to restore its proxies to power in Kabul appears to be
unraveling. In a development that has shaken Islamabad,
a United States (US) drone targeted and killed the Pakistan-installed
head of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, near
Ahmed Wal in Balochistan, squarely on Pakistani soil,
on May 21, 2016. While the US has long targeted al
Qaeda and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP)
linked terrorists in Pakistan, the top Taliban leadership
operated under cover of impunity till now as a result
of a misconceived US policy that farmed out the ‘management’
of the Taliban to the Pakistan Army and its Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI). The strike suggests that Washington
is now losing patience with Pakistan’s protracted mischief
in Afghanistan.
Indeed,
US President Barack Obama, announcing the hit, observed
that the US had “removed the leader of an organization
that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks
on American and coalition forces... He is an individual
who as head of the Taliban was specifically targeting
U.S. personnel and troops inside of Afghanistan who are
there as part of the mission I have set to maintain a
counterterrorism platform and provide assistance.”
Pakistan
has continuously leveraged its ‘influence’ over the Taliban
to create a rolling crisis of terrorism in Afghanistan,
and has then offered its own ‘good offices’ to help find
a ‘solution’ – most recently through the still-born Quadrilateral
Coordination Group (QCG) mediated peace talks. For reasons
unknown, Washington played along in this charade even
during the period of heightened deployment, when the Taliban
inflicted daily casualties on US and International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, as well as on the Afghan
National Security Forces.
In another
indication of the loss of past and unwarranted patience,
the US Congress blocked subsidies on the sale of eight
F-16 Fighter jets on the grounds that Pakistan had failed
to shut down sanctuaries of the Haqqani
Network on its soil, as well as concerns
regarding Islamabad’s rampaging nuclear programme. Pakistan
allowed the deal to lapse once US finance was made unavailable.
There has
been a rising anger in Washington over the past decade
and a half against Pakistan’s two-faced approach, but
till the US-ISAF ‘drawdown’ of 2014, US planners had failed
to develop alternative supply routes for their troops
in Afghanistan, and gave Islamabad an extraordinarily
long leash as a result of their logistical
dependence. Astonishingly, a delusional
cluster of American and international supporters persisted
with the policy of giving Pakistan, the principal purveyor
of strife in the region, centrality in the purported ‘peace
process’ even after the drawdown, and despite the crescendo
of violence in Afghanistan orchestrated by groups manifestly
operating under state protection from Pakistani soil.
The Mansour
strike clearly puts Pakistan on notice, indicating that
the Taliban leadership – including Mansour’s successor
Haibatullah Akhundzada, as well as ‘deputy supreme leaders’
Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob (Mullah Omar’s son)
– no longer enjoys impunity. A likely outcome is that
this entire leadership will be pushed deeper underground.
Indeed, in 2010, when the Obama Administration had shown
signs of extending its campaign of drone attacks against
elements of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura, the ISI had responded
by shifting top leaders, including Mullah Omar, the then
chief of the Afghan Taliban, to the port city of Karachi,
far South. It is significant that Mullah Omar is said
to have died in Karachi, in 2013 according to the official
Pakistani position, but possibly earlier. While this may
help temporarily secure these leaders, it is likely to
create increasing challenges of command and control, and,
crucially, of trust, given the ISI’s protracted fraud
of keeping Mullah Omar’s death a secret, even as it continued
to exercise control over the movement in his name.
Moreover,
despite widening theatres of violence in Afghanistan and
rising fatalities, things are not going too well for the
Taliban. Since the launch of the latest summer offensive,
the Taliban’s Operation Omari, on April 12, 2016, according
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), 2,884 fatalities in terrorist violence
have been recorded across Afghanistan till May 30, 2016;
of these, 2,599 (90.11 per cent) have been Taliban and
other terrorist cadres. The Security Forces (SFs) have
lost 126 personnel (4.36 per cent of total fatalities),
and 159 civilians (5.82 per cent) have been killed. These
numbers are broadly consistent with the trajectory of
escalating violence in Afghanistan since the drawdown.
Thus, 10,576 persons were killed in 2014, including 6,030
Taliban (57 per cent), 845 SF personnel (7.98 per cent),
and 3,701 civilians (34.99 per cent). 2015 saw at least
15,422 fatalities, including 10,628 terrorists (68.27
per cent), 1,249 SF personnel (8.1 per cent), and 3,545
civilians (22.99 per cent). A total of 7,977 fatalities
have been recorded in 2016 (till May 30), and terrorists
account for 6,835 (85.68 per cent); SF personnel, 357
(4.47 per cent); and civilians, 785 (9.84 per cent). While
these are likely underestimates of the actual death toll,
the broad trends would be consistent with the situation
on the ground. Thus, the United Nations Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded at least 600 civilians
killed in the first quarter of 2016, but noted that this
was a 13 per cent decrease over the same period in 2015.
Other indices
also confirm declining effectiveness of insurgent violence.
Thus, in 2014, 572 persons were killed in 83 suicide attacks;
in 2015, 368 persons were killed in 74 suicide attacks;
and in 2016, 16 suicide attacks have resulted in 203 fatalities,
including at least 64 killed in the devastating car bombing
followed by small arms assault of April 19, 2016, in Kabul.
Further,
while Pakistan was able to cobble together some surface
unity after Mullah
Mansour’s disputed succession , the
Taliban is far from united. Perhaps the most visible sign
of internal contestation is the defection of a number
of splinters to Daesh (Islamic State). While grave apprehensions
have been expressed regarding the dangers of consolidation
of this extraordinarily brutal group, the immediate impact
of this fragmentation favours Kabul. While the Daesh linked
splinters, under the flag of the Islamic State – Khorasan
Province (IS-KP) have vested dominance in significant
parts of the Nangarhar Province from the parent Taliban
formations, this has unleashed a fratricidal turf war
between these insurgent groups. The declaration of affiliation
to Daesh has, moreover, attracted a disproportionate response
from US Forces, who have targeted them in an intensive
and effective drone and aerial campaign, forcing to flee
in fragments into across remote mountainous regions in
the province.
Nevertheless,
the Taliban continues to hold sway across an estimated
30 per cent of all Afghan Districts, and a violent presence
in 27 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. This dominance is,
however, overwhelmingly the consequence of the unqualified
support and safe havens it receives from the Pakistani
state and its agencies, and the cover of impunity from
US attack its leadership in Pakistan has hitherto operated
under. As has been remarked in the past, the problem of
Afghanistan is not the Taliban; it is Pakistan.
As long
as the US and the international community does not explicitly
acknowledge this reality and shape strategies to deal
with this enduring challenge, the carnage in Afghanistan
will continue. The elimination of Mullah Mansour in a
US drone attack on Pakistani soil gives at least momentary
hope that future policies will not be framed in an environment
of the denial of ground realities and the delusional pursuit
of ‘solutions’ proposed by the principal source of Islamist
terrorism in South Asia.
|
Maharashtra:
Enduring Vulnerabilities
Mrinal
Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
A villager
identified as Venkatesh Atram (31) was hacked to death
by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
cadres at Rajaram village in the Aheri sub-division (administrative
unit) area of Gadchiroli District on May 22, 2016. The
Maoists went to the residence of Venkatesh Atram at the
village and killed him on the suspicion of being a ‘police
informer’. A note left behind by the Maoists read, “Venkatesh
Atram was working as an SPO [Special Police Officer] for
over six years as a result of which our PLGA [People’s
Liberation Guerrilla Army] has given him death penalty.”
A Police statement, meanwhile, insisted, “He was not a
police informer, he was just a common villager.”
On May
10, 2016, Security Force (SF) personnel killed a woman
CPI-Maoist ‘commander’, identified as Rajita Ramko Risi
Usendi, in an encounter under Dhanora tehsil (revenue
unit) of the Gadchiroli District.
CPI-Maoist
cadres killed two of their ‘party organisers’, identified
as Sheshrao Darro (52) and Devaji Atla (55), outside Masanadi
village in the Pendri taluka (administrative unit)
of the Gadchiroli District on April 30, 2016. The duo
was whisked away from the village in the night of April
29. Police disclosed that Darro was the 'vice-president'
of the Jantana Sarkar (Maoist ‘people’s government’)
at the village level and Atla was an old member of the
party. The Maoists alleged that Darro and Atla were not
focusing on the organization, but were helping the Police,
and were consequently targeted. Significantly, Darro's
brother works with the special operations squad, Crack-60,
of the District Police.
On April
25, 2016, Maoist cadres killed two civilians in the District.
A Gadchiroli Police statement disclosed, "Matpurshaha
Sanaku Holi (42), a resident of Khamtala village and Gogasu
Budhu (41), a resident of Huralayadand village under Kurkheda
Block of Gadchiroli District were killed by the Maoists
today [April 25]... The Maoists went to the homes of both
the victims and shot them dead branding them as 'Police
informers'...”
On April
14, 2016, a Policeman was killed when CPI-Maoist cadres
opened indiscriminate fire at him at a function in Mauje
Chhallewada village in the District to mark the 125th
birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. According to reports,
when former Maharashtra legislator Deepak Atram was addressing
the function, his Police bodyguard, Nanaji B. Nagose,
who was posted on duty near the stage, was suddenly accosted
by six heavily armed Maoists who fired several rounds
at the guard before fleeing into the nearby forest with
his AK-47 Assault rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition.
Nagose who was injured in the firing, later succumbed
to his injuries. The former legislator was unhurt as the
guard and his weapon were the target of the Maoists.
According
to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP) database, Gadchiroli District has witnessed
16 killings, including seven civilians, two SF personnel
and seven Maoists, thus far in 2016 (data till May 28,
2016). This compares to seven killings, including five
civilians and two SF personnel, during the corresponding
period of the previous year. A total of 17 fatalities
were recorded through 2015, including 11 civilians, four
SF personnel and two rebels. The District accounted for
at least 429 Maoist-linked fatalities, including 152 civilians,
142 SF personnel and 158 Maoists, since the September
21, 2004 formation of the CPI-Maoist. During the same
period, the State recorded at least 452 Maoist-linked
fatalities, including 152 civilians, 142 SFs and 158 Maoists.
Gadchiroli thus accounted for 94.91 per cent of total
Maoist-linked fatalities recorded in the State since 2004.
Gadchiroli
had seen some respite from Maoist violence between 2012
and 2014. Significantly, the number of civilian fatalities,
an important indicator of security, registered a continuous
decline during this period. The number of civilian fatalities
stood at 34 in 2011; came down to 18 in 2012; declined
further to nine in 2013; and remained at nine in 2014.
The number of civilian fatalities increased to 11 in 2015.
Civilian fatalities in year 2011 were the highest recorded
in the District since the formation of the CPI-Maoist
in September 2004.
Problems,
however, persist and the Maoists are escalating their
efforts to revive influence and operations, enormously
aided by the geographical vulnerabilities of the District.
Gadchiroli shares borders with four Districts of Chhattisgarh
[Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur and Rajnandgaon] and two
Districts of Telangana [Adilabad and Karimnagar]. Moreover,
three other Districts of Maharashtra, Bhandra, Chandrapur
and Gondiya, share borders with Gadchiroli. With the exception
of Bhandra, all the Districts with which Gadchiroli shares
borders are among the 106, across 10 States, listed by
the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) as Naxal-[Left-Wing
Extremism (LWE)]-affected Districts of India. Gadchiroli
thus falls in a zone which is highly Maoist-afflicted.
The reasons
for the strong Maoist presence in the Gadchiroli are many.
Both Telangana and Chhattisgarh are strategically crucial
for the Maoists, and Gadchiroli serves as a transit between
these two States. Moreover, the District has a 75.96 per
cent forest cover, making the task of locating and neutralising
the Maoists’ hideouts quite difficult.
Acute backwardness
is another factor that facilitates the Maoist presence
in the District. According to the 2012 Maharashtra Human
Development Report, Gadchiroli falls in the ‘low’ development
category, securing the 33rd rank among 34 Districts
assessed [Maharashtra now has 36 Districts.] In terms
of literacy, Gadchiroli is the second lowest literate
District in the State after Nandurbar (63 per cent) with
70.6 per cent literacy, in comparison to 90.3 per cent
for Mumbai and a State average of 82.9 per cent. The infant
mortality rate – at 63 per 1000 live births – is also
very high in Gadchiroli, in comparison to 13 for Kolhapur
and 18 for Mumbai. The number of Institutional births
ranges between 93.5 per cent in Mumbai suburban, to as
low as 24 per cent in Gadchiroli. Moreover, the District
recorded just 34.6 per cent of safe deliveries as against
the State average of 69.2 per cent. [Gadchiroli was only
better than Nandurbar where the percentage of safe deliveries
was found to be the lowest (34 per cent)]. In terms safe
and tap drinking water facilities, wide inter-District
variations exist, with households in Mumbai and Mumbai
(Suburban) at the higher end (97.8 per cent and 96.5 per
cent, respectively) and those in Gondia, Gadchiroli and
Sindhudurg at the other extreme (less than a third of
households accessing tap water). 43 per cent of the population
does not have any type of bathrooms in Gadchiroli. Significantly,
Gadchiroli and Nandurbar maintained the lowest HDI values
in both 2001 and 2011.
A joint
survey conducted by the US-India Policy Institute and
the New Delhi based Centre for Research and Debates in
Development Policy released on January 29, 2015, found
that, among 599 Districts across India (under purview
of the survey) Gadchiroli was ranked 429. The report of
the survey took composite development — measured in terms
of economic development and the indices of health, education
and material well-being – into consideration.
The Maoists
also continue to get support from the local population
because of some unfortunate actions by SFs. According
to media reports, for instance, the people of Reknar village
in Etapalli taluka were at the receiving end of
Police wrath when a Crack-60 team of the Hedri Police
Post in Gadchiroli thrashed them on May 13, 2016, in retaliation
for the killing by Maoist cadres of Constable Deepak Sedmake,
on March 11. Earlier, sources from Hedri indicated that
the Police had rounded up several traders from the weekly
market where the Constable was killed. The traders were
also thrashed at the camp. Inspector General of Police,
Nagpur and Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam acknowledged and
condemned the incident, stating that such actions only
pushed security initiatives several years back. Kadam
added, "We have already called for explanation from
the post in-charge and commander of the Force at Hedri
holding them responsible for the high-handedness. Actions
would follow after the explanations are received."
Unfortunately,
the same mistake was repeated on May 16, 2016, when the
District Police allegedly assaulted five youth at Milgulwancha
village in Gadchiroli District, suspecting them of aiding
Maoists in the area.
Meanwhile,
the CPI-Maoist in Maharashtra has issued a 'hit list'
of 37 persons, including senior Police officers and Police
informants, vowing to eliminate them in 2016. The Maoists
have roped in units of 'Company-10', trained to kill with
precision, from Chhattisgarh to execute the plan. An intelligence
note claimed, "This [the latest hit list] is a matter
of serious concern for the State, even as inputs show
new strategies are being adopted to attract youth with
fresh vigour."
Regrettably,
operational pressures on the Maoists in the District in
particular and State at large have diminished over the
recent past. Significantly, SFs had eliminated 28 Maoists
in the District in 2013 while losing seven of their own
personnel yielding a ratio of 1:4. The kill ratio came
down to just 1: 0.90 [11 troopers, 10 Maoists killed]
in 2014. It further worsened to 1:0.5 [four troopers,
two Maoists killed] in 2015. In the current year, the
ratio stands at 1: 2; two SF personnel, four Maoists (another
three Maoists were killed in internal rivalry)]. Further,
at least three out of the top nine Police positions in
Gadchiroli Range were vacant as on May 29, 1016, including
the top most official in the Region, the Deputy Inspector
General of Police, Gadchiroi; Superintendent of Police
(SP), Aheri; and Additional SP, Aheri. Recurrent vacancies
in this deeply vulnerable area reflect an extraordinary
measure of complacency and neglect on the part of the
State administration.
The Maoists
are looking for opportunities to recover lost ground in
Gadchiroli, in particular, and across wider areas in Maharashtra.
As Gadchiroli falls in a zone that constitutes a ‘lifeline’
for the Maoists, any enduring respite from violence can
only be secured by dismantling the rebel networks and
decimating their leadership through intensified intelligence-based
operations, both within the District as well as in the
adjoining areas, simultaneously. Any loss of focus on
the part of the State administration and Police can only
create vulnerabilities which will result in great loss
of life and treasure.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
May
23 - 29, 2016
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
|
Islamist Terrorism
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
INDIA
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
12
|
Left-Wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Chhattisgarh
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
Jharkhand
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Maharashtra
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total (INDIA)
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
20
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
9
|
4
|
3
|
16
|
FATA
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
KP
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
Sindh
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
11
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh
has
been
recognized
as
33rd
safest
state
in
the
world
now,
says
Home
Minister
Asaduzzaman
Khan
Kamal:
Home
Minister
Asaduzzaman
Khan
Kamal
on
May
26
said
that
Bangladesh
has
been
recognized
as
the
33rd
safest
state
in
the
world
now
while
incumbent
Prime
Minister
of
the
country
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
stands
13th
out
of
100
heads
of
the
Governments
in
the
globe.
“There
is
no
alternative
to
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
as
a
world
statesman
for
advancement
of
Bangladesh.
But,
local
and
international
conspirators
are
involved
in
intrigues
to
jeopardize
progress
of
Bangladesh.
Leaders
and
workers
of
the
ruling
Awami
League
should
have
to
extend
all
possible
cooperation
to
the
administration
to
unitedly
thwart
the
conspiracies,”
he
said.
New
Age,
May
27,
2016.
Bangladesh
will
face
threat
of
terrorism
and
violent
extremism
jointly
with
United
States,
says
Home
Minister
Asaduzzaman
Khan
Kamal:
Home
Minister
Asaduzzaman
Khan
Kamal
said
that
Bangladesh
will
face
the
threat
of
terrorism
and
violent
extremism
jointly
with
the
United
States
(US).
He
said,
“We
always
say
that
terrorism
is
a
global
threat.
This
is
not
only
Bangladesh
specific.
The
threat
is
more
or
less
under
the
control
of
our
security
and
intelligence
forces.
We
want
to
face
it
unitedly
with
the
US.”
Dhaka
Tribune,
May
24,
2016
INDIA
Pro-Khalistan
terrorists
are
running
a
terror
camp
in
Canada
plotting
attacks
in
Punjab,
says
report:
India
Intelligence
agencies
have
sent
an
alert
to
Canada
Government,
saying
that
pro-Khalistan
terrorists
are
running
a
camp
near
Mission
city
in
British
Columbia
to
carry
out
strikes
in
Punjab.
According
to
a
report
prepared
by
Punjab
intelligence
sleuths,
Canadian
Sikh
Hardeep
Nijjar
has
taken
over
as
the
operational
head
of
Khalistan
Terror
Force
(KTF)
and
formed
a
module
comprising
Sikh
youths
to
carry
out
the
attacks.
Times
of
India,
May
30,
2016.
17
militant
groups
under
troops'
radar
across
LoC
in
J&K:
At
least
17
groups
of
militants
have
become
active
across
the
Line
of
Control
(LoC)
opposite
twin
border
Districts
of
Rajouri
and
Poonch
in
Jammu
region
and
Kupwara
District
of
Kashmir
valley
with
a
view
to
infiltrate
into
the
State
to
create
disturbances
even
as
the
Multi
Agency
Centre
(MAC),
set
up
by
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA)
has
maintained
that
18
militants
have
infiltrated
this
year
so
far.
Official
sources
said
that
the
credible
inputs
available
with
security
and
Intelligence
agencies
revealed
that
at
least
17
groups
of
militants
have
been
observed
across
the
LoC
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K),
who
were
fully
geared
to
infiltrate
into
the
State
but
high
alertness
being
displayed
by
the
troops
hasn’t
allowed
them
to
succeed
in
their
task.
Daily
Excelsior,
May
26,
2016.
Pakistan
should
completely
stop
support
to
terror
to
boost
ties,
says
Indian
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi:
Indo-Pak
ties
can
“truly
scale
great
heights”
if
Pakistan
removes
the
“self-imposed”
obstacle
of
terrorism,
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
said
as
he
asked
Islamabad
to
play
its
part
by
putting
a
complete
stop
to
any
kind
of
support
to
terrorism,
“whether
state
or
non-state”.
He
stated,
“In
my
view,
our
ties
can
truly
scale
great
heights
once
Pakistan
removes
the
self-imposed
obstacle
of
terrorism
in
the
path
of
our
relationship...We
are
ready
to
take
the
first
step,
but
the
path
to
peace
is
a
two-way
street".
The
Hindu,
May
27,
2016.
China
will
expand
counter-terror
cooperation
with
India,
says
report:
China
on
May
28
said
it
will
expand
cooperation
with
India
to
combat
terrorism
at
the
United
Nations
(UN)
and
other
international
fora.
Chinese
Foreign
Ministry
spokesperson
Hua
Chunying
said,
the
two
sides
have
"agreed
to
carry
forward
our
fine
traditions,
deepen
practical
cooperation
and
elevate
bilateral
relations."
Hua
added,
"The
two
sides
will
expand
bilateral
cooperation
in
counter-terrorism.
Terrorism
is
our
common
enemy.
We
will
continue
to
enhance
our
counter-terrorism
efforts
under
the
UN,
the
BRICS
and
other
frameworks
to
jointly
maintain
regional
peace
and
stability."
NDTV,
May
28,
2016.
NEPAL
‘I
will
be
leading
new
Government
after
endorsement
of
new
budget’,
says
UCPN-M
Chairman
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal:
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
Chairman
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal
on
May
26
said
that
he
will
be
leading
the
new
Government
after
endorsement
of
the
new
budget
as
per
the
nine-point
understanding
reached
between
his
party
and
the
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Unified
Marxist
Leninist
(CPN-UML).
Dahal
claimed
that
it
was
not
a
written
agreement
but
was
agreed
by
the
two
parties
for
the
same.
My
Republica,
May
27,
2016.
Would
sit
for
talks
if
Government
sent
formal
letter
in
name
of
Alliance,
says
Federal
Alliance:
Federal
Alliance
during
a
meeting
held
in
Kathmandu
on
May
27
said
that
it
would
sit
for
talks
if
the
Government
sent
a
formal
letter
in
the
name
of
Alliance.
The
Alliance
has
also
decided
to
launch
Province
and
District-centric
protests
in
the
next
phase
of
protest
programmes.
The
Himalayan
Times,
May
28,
2016.
Nine-point
agreement
cannot
override
order
issued
by
SC
on
issue
of
human
rights
violations
during
decade-long
armed
insurgency,
says
NHRC
Chairperson
Anup
Raj
Sharma:
Chairperson
of
the
National
Human
Rights
Commission
(NHRC)
Anup
Raj
Sharma
on
May
26
said
that
the
nine-point
agreement
reached
between
coalition
partners
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Unified
Marxist
Leninist
(CPN-UML)
and
Unified
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M)
cannot
override
the
order
issued
by
the
Supreme
Court
(SC)
on
the
issue
of
human
rights
violations
during
the
decade-long
armed
insurgency.
My
Republica,
May
26,
2016.
PAKISTAN
JuD
offers
funeral
prayer
for
Afghan
Taliban
Chief
Mullah
Akhtar
Mansour
in
Peshawar:
The
Jama’at-ud-Dawa
(JuD),
the
frontal
organisation
of
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT),
on
May
27
held
funeral
prayers
in
absentia
for
the
deceased
Afghan
Taliban
chief
Mullah
Akhtar
Mansour
in
Peshawar,
the
provincial
capital
of
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
JuD
provincial
‘spokesperson’
Ghazi
Inamullah
said
that
the
funeral
prayers
in
absentia
were
offered
at
Jamia
Masjid
Khyber
Markaz
in
Peshawar
and
attended
by
hundreds
of
JuD
activists
and
general
public.
Dawn,
May
28,
2016.
Banned
outfits
still
recruiting
Jihadis,
reveals
NAP
official
report:
The
National
Action
Plan
(NAP)
informed
the
security
intuitions
that
banned
outfits
are
still
recruiting
jihadis
who
have
become
a
serious
internal
security
threat
to
Pakistan.
“Major
banned
outfits
are
still
recruiting
the
students
of
madrassas
to
wage
Jihad
in
the
Indian-Held
Kashmir
and
Afghanistan.
Such
non-state
actors
have
become
very
dangerous
for
Pakistan,”
senior
security
officials
dealing
with
counter-terrorism
warned
the
Government
in
a
confidential
document
titled
“Proscribed/Jihadi
Organizations”.
The News,
May
28,
2016.
‘There
would
be
no
return
to
peace
talks
with
the
Afghanistan
Government’,
vows
new
Afghan
Taliban
leader
Haibatullah
Akhundzada:
Afghan
Taliban’s
newly
appointed
leader,
Haibatullah
Akhundzada,
in
an
audio
recording
on
May
25
vowed
that
there
would
be
no
return
to
peace
talks
with
the
Government.
“No,
no
we
will
not
come
to
any
type
of
peace
talks,”
Akhundzada
said
in
the
recording.
However,
the
Afghan
Taliban
spokesperson
Zabiullah
Mujahid
denied
issuing
the
audio
message.
Two
Taliban
‘commanders’
had
provided
the
audio
to
reporters,
saying
it
was
an
official
statement.
Tribune,
May
26,
2016.
US
designates
two
Pakistan-based
terror
groups
as
"Specially
Designated
Global
Terrorists":
The
United
States
(US)
on
May
25
designated
two
Pakistan-based
and
Taliban
linked
groups,
Tariq
Gidar
Group
(TGG)
and
the
Jama’at-ul-Dawa
al-Quran
(JDQ),
as
“Specially
Designated
Global
Terrorists”.
US
citizens
are
forbidden
from
associating
with
the
TGG
and
the
JDQ.
Any
assets
owned
by
the
groups
in
places
under
US
jurisdiction
will
be
frozen,
and
US
law
enforcement
will
be
authorised
to
investigate
their
activity.
Tribune,
May
26,
2016.
Pakistan
needs
to
do
more
to
root
out
terrorists,
says
US:
The
United
States
(US)
on
May
24
said
that
it
had
conveyed
to
Pakistan
that
they
need
to
pursue
actively
terrorist
organizations
that
are
using
their
soil,
their
territory
to
find
refuge.
In
a
media
briefing,
Mark
Toner,
Deputy
Spokesman
for
the
US
State
Department,
said,
“We
have
conveyed
to
the
Pakistani
government
and
authorities
before
that
they
need
to
pursue
actively
terrorist
organizations
that
are
using
their
soil,
their
territory
to
find
refuge.”
The News,
May
25,
2016.
US
forces
will
go
after
threats
in
Pakistan,
says
US
President
Barrack
Obama:
US
President
Barack
Obama
on
May
23
confirmed
the
death
of
Afghan
Taliban
leader
Mulla
Akhtar
Mansour
in
a
US
air
strike
and
said
American
forces
would
continue
to
go
after
threats
in
Pakistan.
“We
have
removed
the
leader
of
an
organisation
that
has
continued
to
plot
against
and
unleash
attacks
on
American
and
coalition
forces,
to
wage
war
against
the
Afghan
people,
and
align
itself
with
extremist
groups
like
Al-Qaeda,”
the
US
president
said
in
a
statement
issued
by
the
White
House.
The News,
May
24,
2016.
US
urges
Pakistan
to
cooperate
with
India
to
fully
investigate
26/11
terror
attacks:
The
United
States
(US)
State
Department
deputy
spokesperson
Mark
Toner
on
May
26
urged
Pakistan
to
cooperate
with
the
Indian
authorities
to
fully
investigate
Mumbai
2008
(also
known
as
26/11)
terror
attacks.
He
said,
“Mumbai
attacks
were
terrible
tragedy.
We
continue
to
urge
the
Pakistani
government
to
cooperate
with
the
Indian
authorities
to
fully
investigate
these
attacks.
US
wants
to
see
justice
done
and
we
continue
to
urge
Pakistani
cooperation.”
The News,
May
27,
2016.
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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