South Asia Terrorism Portal
Balochistan: Retaliatory Violence Tushar Ranjan Mohanty Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On October 14, 2023, at least six non-local labourers, working on a private site, were killed, and another two were injured, by Baloch militants in the Satellite Town area of Turbat city in the Kech District of Balochistan. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed that the operation was based on ‘intelligence reports’ from BLA’s ‘intelligence wing’ suggesting presence of informers and agents of the Pakistani military, operating from a residential compound in Turbat city. These individuals, the BLA statement claimed, were seen frequenting Pakistani military camps and purportedly using vehicles associated with the military. Beyond their alleged ties to the Pakistani military, the BLA statement claimed that these individuals acted as informers and facilitated safe houses for what they describe as “Pakistani death squads.”
The BLA statement also urged local contractors, hoteliers, and landlords in the region to refrain from aiding or providing facilities to individuals linked with the Pakistani military, cautioning that those found doing so would be ‘held accountable’. Following the raid, the statement claimed further, the injured and the bodies of the deceased were transported to Multan, Punjab, via a military helicopter.
This attack came against the backdrop of the Army’s undeclared ongoing operations in several parts of Balochsitan. On October 12, 2023, the Army, reportedly backed by helicopter gunships, launched a large-scale military operation in the Margat area of Bolan District and the Zarghoon area of Quetta in Balochistan. Helicopters were spotted shelling various area, while ground forces blocked different places. There are no clear reports regarding casualties.
Earlier, on October 9, 2023, Security Forces (SFs) launched a military operation, firing multiple rockets and opening indiscriminate fire on civilian areas, including Raees Tokh and Shakh in the Sui town of Dera Bugti District. Once again, there have been no clear reports regarding casualties.
These recent operations are part of an ongoing campaign by the Pakistan Army, which has been conducting such operations in Balochistan since long, from time to time. These operations have resulted in innumerable human rights violations. On July 7, 2023, The Balochistan Post revealed that in the first half of 2023, the Army conducted 149 raids, 113 blockades, and 99 military 42 different areas within Balochistan, including Kech (40), Bolan (36,) Panjgur (33), Kharan (30), Kalat (20), Quetta (17), Tump (14), Nushki and Mastung (11 each).
In retaliation to the recent as well as earlier operations, Baloch insurgent groups have targeted Army personnel, as well and non-locals, whom they thought to be Army collaborators. Some of the significant attacks on non-locals in the current year included:
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 254 ‘non-locals’ have been killed in Balochistan since August 26, 2006, (data till October 15, 2023). Of these, 198 were Punjabis. Other non-native also fell to the ethnic collateral damage, including 37 were Sindhis. The ethnic identity of the remaining 19 was unspecified.
Significantly, most of the Punjabi settler killings were recorded in South Balochistan, which accounts for 167 of the total of 198 killings (principally in Bolan, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Sibi and Lasbela Districts); and 31 in North Balochistan (mostly in Kalat, Nushki, Quetta and Mustang Districts). The overwhelming concentration of such killings in the South is because of the presence and dominance of Baloch insurgent groups in this region, while the North is dominated by ethnic Pashtun Islamist extremist formations, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), who principally engage in sectarian killings.
The targeted killing of ‘non-locals’ by Baloch insurgents increased in the province after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, leader of the Bugti tribe and President of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), in a military operation in the Chalgri area of the Bhamboor Hills of Dera Bugti District, on August 26, 2006. The Baloch insurgents believed that that these ‘non-locals’ worked as spies for the SFs, and were also part of a systematic effort to deny work and benefits to the Baloch population. Baloch insurgent groups such as the BLA, Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), among others, began to voice anti-outsider, particularly anti-Punjabi, sentiments in their campaigns in the wake of the military action against Bugti.
Another reason for the Baloch insurgents targeting these ‘outsiders’ are the ongoing disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch nationals, engineered by Pakistan’s SFs and their proxies. According to the SATP database, of the 4,677 civilian fatalities recorded in Balochistan since 2004 (data till October 15, 2023), at least 1,461 have been attributable to one or other terrorist/insurgent outfit. Of these, 486 civilian killings (296 in the South and 190 in the North) have been claimed by Baloch separatist formations, while Islamist and sectarian extremist formations – primarily Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Ahrar-ul-Hind (Liberators of India) – claimed responsibility for another 975 civilian killings, 892 in the North (mostly in and around Quetta) and 83 in the South. The remaining 3,216 civilian fatalities – 1,842 in the South and 1,374 in the North – remain 'unattributed', and are largely believed to have been the handiwork of the SFs and their death squad proxies.
Further, many of the ‘outsiders’ are engaged on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and are targeted because Baloch insurgents fear that CPEC will convert the Baloch people into minorities in their own homeland. Indeed, CPEC projects principally employ workers brought in from outside the province, overwhelmingly from Punjab.
On March 17, 2017, Noordin Mengal, a human rights campaigner from the province, had stated that, with an influx of outsiders as a result of the CPEC projects, the identity of the Baloch was being threatened. According to the Census 2017, the total population of Balochistan was 12.3 million, and that the Baloch population (Balochi language speaking population) had shrunk from 61 per cent of the total to 55.6 per cent over a period of 19 years (since the Census of 1998), in the 21 Districts where the Balochi-speaking population form a majority.
Most recently, on August 13, 2023, terrorists attacked a convoy of vehicles belonging to Chinese engineers and SFs near Faqir Colony Bridge in Gwadar city (Gwadar District). The BLA, which took responsibility for the attack, claimed that 11 SF personnel and four Chinese nationals were killed in the attack. Jeeyand Baloch declared that BLA's Majeed Brigade, BLA's 'suicide bomber squad', was behind the attack and identified the attackers as Naveed Baloch alias Aslam of Nigewar Dasht in Kech District and Maqbool Baloch alias Qaim of Awaran District. He stated, further,
The statement added that BLA had issued a 90-day ultimatum for China to withdraw from Balochistan, or prepare for intensified attacks on its 'key interests' in the region.
However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed that there were no casualties in the Gwadar attack, other than the two attackers who were killed.
Islamabad’s record of treatment of its Baloch minority has been abysmal, both in terms of their development aspirations as well as their human rights. Crucially, as processes of their ethnic marginalisation accelerate, particularly in the shadow of CPEC, and the unending saga of disappearances and illegal detentions continues, attacks on SF personnel and non-locals are likely to continue.
Bihar: 'Axis' Region: Fading Footprint Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On October 4, 2023, two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, Sakki Yadav alias Sako alias Shankar Yadav and Kishan Yadav alias Krishna Yadav, were arrested by the Security Forces (SFs) from Barmoria, under Charka Patthar Police Station limits in the Jamui District of Bihar.
On October 3, 2023, a top Maoist cadre, Ravindra Hansda alias Nokha Hansda, was arrested in Jamui District. Hansda, was accused of brutally killing three people, including Harkhad Panchayat (village level local self-Government institution) head Gopal Saav and Saav’s brother, Shambhu Sao, on August 8, 2003. Hansda was also involved in the August 9, 2023, attack on the convoy of the then District Magistrate Gopal Prasad and Superintendent of Police Basmuddin Sah, who were going to the incident site of the Saav killing.
On September 15, 2023, the Jamui Police and the Charkapathar Unit of the Sashastra Seema Bal raided and arrested a Maoist ‘commander’, Kishore Soren alias Kishore Manjhi, in Jamui District. Kishore, a resident of Kachhua village under the Chakai Police Station area in Jamui District, had been active since 2010.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 24 Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists], including nine in Gaya, eight in Jamui, four in Aurangabad, and three in Lakhisarai, have been arrested in the ‘Axis’ region of Bihar covering Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Lakhisarai and Munger Districts, since the beginning of the current year (all data till October 15, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, 32 Naxalites (19 in Aurangabad, five each in Gaya and Jamui, two in Lakhisarai, and one in Munger) had been arrested. Another five arrests, (three in Lakhisarai and two in Gaya) were made during the remaining days of 2022. Since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling data on Left Ewing Extremism (LWE)-related incidents across the country, at least 1,121 Naxalites (370 in Gaya, 274 in Jamui, 223 in Aurangabad, 140 in Munger, 83 in Nawada, and 31 in Lakhisarai) have been arrested in the ‘Axis’ region.
At least 128 Naxalites (59 in Gaya, 17 in Aurangabad, 15 each in Munger, Jamui and Nawada, seven in Lakhisarai) have also been killed in the ‘Axis’ region since March 6, 2000. The last Naxal fatality was reported on June 8, 2022, when a suspected ‘zonal committee member’ of the CPI-Maoist, Matalu Turi alias Prakash Turi, was killed during an encounter with the SFs in the Giddheswar Forest range near Birgodia village under Khaira Police Station limits in Jamui District. One Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) assault rifle and several rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the possession of the slain Maoist.
Mounting SF pressure has also led to the surrender of 57 Naxalites (25 in Munger, 24 in Gaya, five in Aurangabad, and three in Jamui) since 2000, including the surrender of five Naxalites (three each in Aurangabad and Gaya).
Moreover, SFs have recovered arms and ammunition on at least 16 occasions (seven in Aurangabad, six in Gaya, one each in Lakhisarai, Munger and Jamui) in 2023, as compared to 11 such incidents (four in Gaya, three in Aurangabad, two in Munger, one each in Lakhisarai and Jamui) in the corresponding period of 2022, and another three (one each in Aurangabad, Gaya and Lakhisarai) in the remaining period of 2022. A total of 310 such incidents (135 in Gaya, 59 in Aurangabad, 47 in Jamui, 39 in Munger, 18 in Nawada and 12 in Lakhisarai) have been recorded since 2000.
Maoist orchestrated incidents of violence are also on a decline. Total incidents of violence decreased from 34 (10 each in Aurangabad and Gaya, six each in Lakhisarai and Jamui, and two in Munger) in 2022 (till October 15) to 32 (12 in Gaya, nine in Aurangabad, seven in Jamui, three in Lakhisarai, and one Munger) in 2023. Incidents of killing decreased from three (one each in Aurangabad, Lakhisarai and Jamui) in 2022 (till October 15) to nil in 2023.
Moreover, total fatalities declined from four [two Maoists (Lakhisarai) and one Maoist each (Aurangabad and Jamui) in 2022 (till October 15) to nil in 2023. No further fatalities were reported in the remaining period of 2022. Overall fatalities in 2022 were the lowest in a year since 2000, with a previous low of eight (five Gaya, two Munger and one Lakhisarai) in 2020. A high of 71 fatalities (19 in Munger, 16 in Jamui, 14 each in Aurangabad and Gaya, and eight in Lakhisarai) was recorded in 2010.
The last civilian fatality was recorded on December 23, 2021, when Maoists killed newly-elected Mukhiya (village head) Parmanand Tuddu by slitting his throat with a sharp-edged weapon for allegedly defying their diktats in the Panchayat (village level local-self Government institution) polls in Azimganj under Dharhara Police Station limits in Munger District. A total of 267 civilian fatalities, including a high of 30 civilian fatalities (22 in Aurangabad, six in Gaya and two in Nawada) in 2000, have been recorded since March 6, 2000.
The last SF fatality was reported in 2019. On February 14, 2019, a sub-inspector of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed in a landmine blast triggered by CPI-Maoist cadres during a combing operation in the Langurahi Forest in Gaya District. 170 SF fatalities (57 in Gaya, 34 Aurangabad, 30 in Jamui, 21 in Nawada, 17 in Munger and 11 in Lakhisarai) have been reported since March 6, 2000.
The ‘Axis’ region accounted for all four fatalities in Bihar in 2022. The state has recorded no fatality in 2023. Since March 6, 2000, the ‘Axis’ region has recorded 49.87 per cent of the overall fatalities in the state (591 out of 1,185) and has long been the epicentre of Maoist violence in Bihar.
Despite the significant improvement, all the six Districts within the ‘Axis region’ are among the 70 Naxal-affected districts in 10 states across the country, covered under the Centre's Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, which funds focused operations against the Naxalites. Moreover, based on the severity of activities, Gaya, Jamui, and Lakhisarai has been classified among the 25 districts 'Most Affected LWE Districts’ in eight States across the country, while Aurangabad is classified as a 'District of Concern' among eight districts in six states in the country, by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA).
The Maoists continue to struggle to revive their activities in the ‘Axis region’ as well as the state, following the heavy crackdown in the extremely inaccessible forested areas of Chakrabandha, scattered across Gaya and Aurangabad Districts; and Bhimabandh, located in the south west of Munger District of Bihar. Maoist efforts can be gauged from the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunitions on August 30, 2023, when SFs seized 13,800 detonators, three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one .303 rifle and 100 bullets, along with other incriminating materials, during raids on alleged CPI-Maoist hideouts in the Pandara Hills area under Lutua Police Station in Gaya District.
Meanwhile, according to reports, to choke the flow of funds to Naxalites in the 'Axis region' as well as the state, the Bihar Police intensified the crackdown on the cultivation of illegal poppy in Gaya, Aurangabad and Jamui districts. Divulging further details on the development, Sushil Mansingh Khopde, Additional Director General, Special Task Force, stated, on July 16, 2023,
He added, further,
A report on October 10, 2023, revealed that the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, in association with other agencies, was carrying out a special drive against illegal opium cultivation in Gaya District, especially in the Barachatti and Dhangai blocks, which are located in the remote areas near the Jharkhand border and are Maoist-affected regions, known for opium farming. Elaborating on the special drive, Nayyer Hasnain Khan, Additional Director General of Police, EOU, noted,
The Maoists reverses are quite visible in the 'Axis region'. At the same time their continued efforts to revive their movement are also evident. Coordinated operations by SFs are, consequently, essential to consolidate the relative peace that has been established in this long-troubled region.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia October 9-15, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
CHT
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Punjab
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
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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.
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