South Asia Terrorism Portal

AFGHANISTAN	PAKISTAN

Fidayeen Rampage
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On September 6, 2023, at least 12 terrorists and four soldiers were killed along the Afghanistan- Pakistan border in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Seven soldiers and over 40 terrorists were injured in the skirmish. An Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said that a "large group of terrorists equipped with latest weapons" attacked two military posts located close to the Afghanistan border, in the Kalash area of Chitral District. The ISPR release added,

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

In another incident on the same day, two people, including a Frontier Corps (FC) official, sustained injuries, as Security Forces (SFs) of both Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged gunfire at the Torkham border crossing in Khyber District, the main point of transit for travellers and goods between the two countries. Officials in Pakistan blamed the other side for starting the mid-day firefight, which lasted for around two hours, and followed attempts by the Afghan authorities to build a checkpoint on their side, in a prohibited area close to the main border crossing. The border crossing has reportedly been closed since then.  

On August 27, 2023, two SF personnel were injured when terrorists from across the border attacked Orakzai Scouts personnel near Ghakhee Pass, along the Pakistan-Afghan border, in Bajaur District.

Thus, areas in Pakistan close to the Afghanistan border have seen three types of violent incidents: attacks by exfiltrating/infiltrating militants on SF check posts/camps; attacks by militants inside Afghanistan; and exchanges of fire between the SFs of both sides.     

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), four such violent incidents (including the three mentioned above), resulting in 16 deaths (12 terrorists and four SF personnel) and 52 persons injured (40 terrorists, 11 SF personnel and one civilian), have been reported inside Pakistan, along the Pakistan-Afghanistan-border, in the current year (data till September 10). During the corresponding period of 2022, five such incidents, resulting in 16 deaths (15 SF personnel and one militant) and four persons injured (all SF personnel), were reported. In the remaining part of 2022 12 such incidents were reported, resulting in 24 fatalities (16 SF personnel, seven civilians and one militant) and 37 persons injured (32 civilian and five SF personnel). Twelve such incidents, resulting in 19 deaths (16 SF personnel and three militants) were reported in 2021. There were seven such incidents in 2020, resulting in 11 fatalities (10 SF personnel and one militant); and another seven in 2019, with 22 fatalities (20 SF personnel and two militants). 

Since April 2007, when the first such incident was reported, there have been at least 153 violent incidents along the border, in which more than 300 Pakistani SF personnel and 98 civilians have been killed, while another 408 sustained injuries (data till September 10, 2023). 90 terrorists were also killed in retaliatory action by Pakistani SFs.

The first exchange of fire between the forces of two sides took place on April 19, 2017. However, no casualties were reported on either side. The first incident of attack by militants from within Pakistan was reported on September 15, 2013, when Major General, Sanaullah Khan and Lieutenant Colonel Tauseef, along with another soldier, Irfan Sattar, were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Upper Dir District of KP. The then TTP ‘spokesman’ Shahidullah Shahid had claimed responsibility for the attack. The first cross-border firing by militants from the Afghanistan side of the border took place on May 4, 2014, in which one Pakistani soldier was killed along the border, under the Bajaur Agency in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Much of the violence is in opposition to fencing work by Pakistani SFs along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The border fence and border check posts along the Durand Line, the disputed Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has been a major bone of contention between the two neighbouring states, as well as for the militants on both sides of the border. Though the conflict over the legitimacy of the Durand Line – the border imposed by Imperial Britain – between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is more than a century old, the recent clashes linked to border-fencing started in September 2005, when Pakistan first announced plans to build a 2,611-kilometre fence (1,230 kilometres in KP and 1,381 kilometres in Balochistan) along its border with Afghanistan, purportedly to check armed militants and drug smugglers moving between the two countries. But Afghanistan raised objections on the grounds that this was an attempt to make the disputed border permanent. After Kabul’s objections, Pakistani authorities temporarily put the plan on hold.

Over a year later, on December 26, 2006, Pakistan again declared its plans for mining and fencing the border, but was again opposed by the Afghanistan Government. The then Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated, on December 28, 2006, that the move would only hurt the people living in the region and would not stem cross-border terrorism.

The attempt to build the fence provoked the first skirmish in April 2007, in the then South Waziristan Agency. Pakistani SFs operating in the region made a three-tier security deployment on April 11, 2007, to stop cross-border infiltration by terrorists into Afghanistan, and fenced 12-kilometers of the border stretch with Afghanistan. However, Afghan troops tore down the fence on April 19, leading to a gun-battle, though there were no casualties. Another attempt was made in May 2007, when Pakistan erected the first section of a fence in the Lowara Mandi area of the then North Waziristan Agency on May 10, 2007, which led to cross-border firing between Pakistani and Afghan forces, in which at least seven Afghan soldiers were killed. The border fencing programme, meanwhile, was halted between 2007 and 2013, due to intense pressure of terrorists active along the border areas.

Later, Pakistan started excavation work on a several-hundred-kilometres-long trench along the Balochistan border in April 2013. The work has progressed rapidly since.

On April 25, 2023, at a press conference, ISPR Director General Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry disclosed that 98 per cent of the fencing work on the 2,611-kilometre Pakistan-Afghan border had been completed. He added, further, that 85 per cent of the proposed forts had also been established on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, to curtail the movement of terrorists.

Despite this, much to the disappointment of the Pakistani establishment to secure the western border from terrorists, especially TTP, they continue to operate from across the border with impunity. The United Nations Security Council Monitoring Committee, which submitted its report to the United Nations Security Council on July 25, 2023, thus noted, “Since the reunification with several splinter groups, the TTP has aspired to re-establish control of territory in Pakistan after being emboldened by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.”

Pakistan has continuously blaming Afghanistan for the volatility at the border and the violence inside Pakistan. Most recently, on September 8, 2023, the Foreign Office raising an alarm over the "advanced weapons" being used by the terrorists based in Afghanistan, to attack Pakistan, observing, "These modern weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan who are using these [weapons] to attack Pakistan and its security agencies.” The Afghan Taliban, however, as in the past, continues to deny the TTP's presence inside its territory.

With the Afghan Taliban at the helm in Afghanistan and TTP at the border, violence along the border is likely to increase, even as an escalation of terrorist activities projected deeper into Pakistan becomes likely.

INDIA

Jharkhand: Flagging Factions
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On September 5, 2023, the Jharkhand Police arrested Sushil Oraon, a ‘commander’ of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), from a forest in the Latehar District of Jharkhand. Several modern weapons were seized from him. Oraon, carrying a reward of INR 500, 000, was ‘second in command’ in the outfit, after Pappu Lohra, its ‘supremo’. Oraon had executed many crimes, including murder, ‘levy’ recovery (extortion), and arson, and has more than one and a half dozen cases registered against him in Latehar, Palamu, and Garhwa Districts.

On September 4, 2023, the Police arrested Dayal Purti aka Abhiman, a top cadre of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a CPI-Maoist splinter group, from the weekly Binda Bazar in the Khunti District of Jharkhand. A total of six cases have been registered against Purti at the Murhu and Maranghada Police Stations of the district.

On September 2, 2023, an ‘area commander’ of the PLFI, Shravan Das alias Fagua Das (22), was arrested from Birta village in the Khunti District of Jharkhand. Das was wanted in five different cases and had been active for some time in the area, trying to revive the organization. A country-made pistol, bullets, a mobile phone, and PLFI leaflets were seized during the operation.

On September 2, 2023, two cadres of the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC/TPC), another CPI-Maoist splinter group, identified as Rajkeshwar Yadav alias Vinod Yadav and Harihar Yadav, were arrested by the Police near Mahudand Mor in Gotha village under Chhatarpur Police Station limits in the Palamu District of Jharkhand. Rajkeshwar and Harihar, both residents of Chhatarpur, were arrested near Mahudand Mor when they were going to deliver INR 500,000 in collected ‘levy’ to their ‘commander’, Nitish Yadav. Chhatarpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ajay Kumar disclosed that there was a reward of INR one million for Nitish Yadav.

Out of 11 Maoist splinter groups that operated in Jharkhand at one point or the other, the prominent three have been PLFI, JJMP, TSPC/TPC and Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC).

According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 55 cadres of the three prominent CPI-Maoist splinter groups - 32 cadres of PLFI, three JJMP, and 20 TSPC/TPC – have been arrested during search operations and combing raids in Jharkhand since the beginning of the current year (all data till September 10, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, 39 cadres of PLFI, 24 JJMP, three TSPC/TPC and one JPC, had been arrested. Another 15 PLFI, six JJMP, and 14 TSPC/TPC cadres were arrested during the remaining days of 2022. Since July 5, 2008, when the first arrest of the breakaway factions’ cadres was recorded with the arrest of two PLFI members, following an encounter in the Khunti District of Jharkhand, to September 10, 2023, at least 829 PLFI, 85 JJMP, 235 TSPC/TPC and 67 JPC members have been arrested in the state.

Moreover, three such cadres (two JJMP and one PLFI) have been killed in state in the current year. During the corresponding period of 2022, four cadres (three TPC and one PLFI) had been killed, and another three (all JJMP) were killed in the remaining period of 2022. Since 2008, a total of 191 (103 PLFI, 16 JJMP, 70 TSPC/TPC and two JPC) splinter cadres were killed in the state.

During this period, the Security Forces (SFs) have lost eight of their personnel in the state in their fight against these groups.

The growing effectiveness of SFs has put pressure on these groups over the years. Three cadres from such factions (all TPC) have surrendered in the current year (data till September 10, 2023). Two cadres (both JJMP) surrendered in the corresponding period of 2022, and no further surrenders from splinters were registered in the remaining days of 2022. Three cadres (two TPC and one PLFI) surrendered in 2021. Since 2008, at least 44 such cadres (32 PLFI, two JJMP, and 10 TSPC/TPC) have surrendered in the state.

Despite SFs dominance, however, these outfits have been found involved in at least 146 civilian fatalities (112 PLFI, 22 TPC, eight JJMP and four JPC) since 2008. The last civilian killing was reported on May 9, 2023, when Sharat Kumar (58), the general manager of a private firm, Ritwick Private Company Ltd, owned by Ramesh Babu, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) Member of Parliament (MP) from Andhra Pradesh, was killed by PLFI cadres, near the Barkagaon Forest Department guest house at Barkagaon, Hazaribagh District, Jharkhand. Kumar died, while his guard Rajendra Mahato sustained serious bullet injuries in the attack. The last civilian killing by JJMP was recorded on March 12, 2021, by TPC on March 1, 2017 and by JPC on October 31, 2016.

PLFI was formed by Dinesh Gope aka Kuldeep Yadav aka Badku, with the help of Masi Charan Purty, a senior ‘commander’ of the CPI-Maoist who defected from the CPI-Maoist with several of his followers in July 2007. The outfit subsequently rose to prominence and became a menace but, over the years, lost its prominence due to sustained SF pressure. It was a dealt a body blow on May 21, 2023, when Dinesh Gope, the ‘supremo’ of the PLFI, was arrested, in New Delhi. Though the NIA, in its press release on May 21, 2023, confirmed that the agency arrested Gope from New Delhi, media reports claimed that Gope was arrested from Nepal in a joint operation by the NIA and the Jharkhand Police. At peak, terrorism-related incidents involving PLFI stood at 26, in both 2016 and 2017.

TPC, founded by Brajesh Ganjhu alias Sardar ji, a former CPI-Maoist cadre, in the Lawalong area of Chatra in 2001 and formally constituted in 2002, found space among the 18 Left Wing Extremist outfits operating in Jharkhand. It is widely believed that TSPC/TPC was originally formed as a state proxy to help neutralize the activities and influence of the dominant CPI-Maoist. This is why the group avoided confrontations with SFs and engaged with them only if no other option was available. In a report on February 3, 2023, a Police officer, on condition of anonymity, asserted that the Police trusted TPC, as its members religiously pass on information about the whereabouts of Maoists. A teacher at a government school located in the interior of Chainpur block in Palamu, corroborating this claim, added that TPC cadres roamed freely in Chainpur, but Police did not bother to act against them. At peak, a maximum of 12 terrorism-related incidents involving the TPC were recorded in 2018. SAIR had earlier noted that the TPC’s activities and threat were dwindling.

The JJMP was formed in 2007-08, by Sanjay Yadav alias Manjit ji, a CPI-Maoist renegade ‘area commander’, with a bounty of INR 1.5 million on his head. Yadav had joined the Maoists in year 2004-05, due to financial difficulties at home. After its formation, JJMP continued to carry out operations in Gumla, Lohardaga and Latehar. However, on March 27, 2018, influenced by the ‘Nayi Disha’ (new direction) surrender policy as well as pressure from family members, Sanjay Yadav surrendered before the then Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Amol Vinukant Homkar, in Lohardaga District. Following his surrender, 'zonal commander' Pappu Lohra became JJMP's 'supremo' and remains elusive to this day. 

JPC was formed by Guddu Ganjhu, a CPI-Maoist renegade, in 2006. Guddu Ganjhu engaged in levy collection and was the key man behind JPC’s spread into Hazaribagh, Latehar, Palamu, and different parts of Chatra. The TPC and JPC are both rival extremist groups and have engaged in several turf wars in past. On January 10, 2015, TPC cadres shot dead Guddu Ganjhu dead at Birhu village under Simaria police station in Chatra District. Though there is no clarity regarding Guddu Ganjhu’s successor, August 2015 reports claimed that the then chief of the outfit, Babloo Paswan alias Nageshwar, had been arrested by the Police. Nageshwar was later released on bail and, according to reports, was injured in an encounter with the Police in Odisha in 2017. Though he managed to escape, no further reports regarding his location or activities are available.

With the progressive weakening of these factions, according to a February 6, 2023, report, Palamu Police is planning to seek the co-operation of villagers to resist the remaining four active outfits: PLFI, TPC, JJMP, and JPC. Without disclosing details of the new strategy, Superintendent of Police (SP) Palamu, A.T. Mathew, noted that PLFI was trying hard dominate the area, while TPC holds some residual sway in Chhaterpur, Chainpur, and Vishrampur. JJMP is restricted to Chainpur and has failed to extend its influence further.  Moreover, JPC had been weakened by intense Police action in Chainpur two years ago, though some vestiges survive in parts of Panki and Lesliganj.

Though SFs have substantially weakened these splinter groups, a residual challenge remains, as at least 22 top cadres of the PLFI, JJMP, and TPC remain on the wanted list of the Jharkhand Police. The top fugitives include: Martin Kerketa, 'regional commander', carrying a reward of INR 1.5 million; two ‘area commanders’ Balram Lohra, and Krishna Yadav, with a reward of INR 200,000 each; and Samuel Budh, with a reward of INR 100,000, from PLFI; two ‘zonal commanders’ Pappu Lohra and Manohar Parhiya, carrying a reward of INR 1 million each, ‘sub zonal commander’ Ganesh Lohra, carrying a reward of INR 500,000, two ‘sub zonal members’ Birbal Oran, Ravinder Yadav and Lovelesh Ganjhu, carrying a reward of INR 500,000 each, two ‘Local Guerilla Squad (LGS) members’ Firoz Ansari and Ravindra Ganjhu, carrying a reward of INR 100,000 each, from JJMP; ‘chief’ Brajesh Singh Ganjhu, carrying a reward of INR 2.5 million, 'regional commander', Akraman Ganjhu, carrying a reward of INR 1.5 million, ‘zonal commander’ Arif Ji, carrying a reward of INR 1million, ‘sub zonal commander’ Prabhat Ganjhu, carrying a reward of INR 500,000, two ‘area commanders’ Baijnath Ganjhu and Karim Ji, carrying a reward of INR 200,000 each, two ‘LGS members’ Santosh Ganjhu and Sahendra Yadav, carrying a reward of INR 100,000 each, and two wanted cadres, Ramchandra Yadav and Raju Yadav, carrying a reward of INR 100,000 each, from TSPC/TPC. 

The lack of ideology of the splinter groups, known principally for their criminal activities, have further undermined their influence and capacities. Nevertheless, their existence remains a lingering risk. Targeted and sustained SF operations on the remaining stragglers of these splinter outfits are slowly eroding their remaining capacities, and can be expected to nullify the residual threat over time.