South Asia Terrorism Portal

PAKISTAN

Dera Ismail Khan: Terrorists torment
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On November 13, 2023, a convoy carrying water for an Oil and Gas Company was attacked by unidentified terrorists, killing three persons and injuring 10, in the Darazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

On November 7, 2023, unidentified militants attacked the Al-Haj oil and Gas Company in the Drazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan District, killing two Policemen and critically injuring another three policemen. Militants opened fire on a Police checkpoint established to protect the oil and gas company.

On November 3, 2023, a bomb blast targeting a Police patrol killed five persons and injured over 20 in the Tank Adda area of Dera Ismail Khan District. Dera Ismail Khan City Police official Mohammad Adnan stated that the target of the attack was the vehicle carrying officers of the KP Elite Force. At least seven Policemen were also injured in the explosion.

On October 28, 2023, a Policeman was killed during an exchange of fire with militants while they attacked a Police camp at the Yarak toll plaza on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route in the Dera Ismail Khan District. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in a statement sent to the media, claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Dera Ismail Khan District has recorded at least 52 terrorism-related fatalities (26 terrorists, 19 SF personnel and seven civilians) in 2023, thus far (data till November 19, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, the District had registered 40 terrorism-related fatalities (19 SF personnel, 17 terrorists and four civilians). In the remaining period of 2022, only three terrorist fatalities were recorded.  

  Militancy-related Fatalities in Dera Ismail Khan District: 2000*-2023**

Dera Ismail Khan has accounted for a total of 616 fatalities [266 civilians, 161 terrorists, 153 SF personnel and 36 not-specified (NS)] since March 6, 2000, when SATP commenced compiling data on Pakistan. These fatalities have been recorded in a total of 193 incidents of killing, of which 58 were 'major’ (each involving three or more fatalities). Major incidents resulted in the death of 426 persons (196 civilians, 112 terrorists, 94 SF personnel and 24 NS). The current year has, so far, recorded five major incidents (till November 18). In addition to the two major incidents already mentioned, the remaining three are as follows.

July 2, 2023: Three terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan District. The terrorists were wanted for organizing a raid on a Police check post in Kulachi on April 11, 2022, which resulted in the death of five Police constables.

May 1, 2023: SF personnel killed three terrorists, including a top TTP ‘commander’, Jabar Shah, while two of his associates were injured during an IBO in the Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan. Jabar Shah was one of the main TTP ‘commanders’ and was involved in multiple attacks on law enforcement agencies and polio teams.

March 21, 2023: Three Army personnel and three terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire when terrorists attacked a Police checkpost in the Khutti area of Dera Ismail Khan District.

The district has recorded a total of 336 violent incidents since March 6, 2000, including 113 incidents of explosion and 17 suicide attacks. There was a suicide attack in the District on May 27, 2023, after a gap of almost four years (the last attack was on July 21, 2019).  On May 27, 2023, at least 22 SF personnel were injured when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a convoy in the Chehkan area under Sadar Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan District. The convoy was enroute to the Minza area in South Waziristan District, when it came under attack.

Dera Ismail Khan shares borders with the South Waziristan, Tank and Lakki Marwat Districts of KP; the Mianwali, Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi Khan Districts of Punjab, and the Zhob District of Balochistan. Two of these adjoining Districts, South Waziristan and Zhob, share borders with Afghanistan, and Dera Ismail Khan has served as a major transit point for militants operating in each of these areas.

As a result of multiple operations by the Pakistan Army in the tribal areas, the District had become relatively peaceful and overall fatalities had come down to a low of six in 2020. However, with the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the District has again recorded a surge in violence.

Since the end of the official peace talks between the TTP and the Government on November 28, 2022, TTP has escalated attacks in the tribal areas of KP. According to the list of ‘Motive Wise Terrorism Incidents’ compiled by the KP Provincial Police, there were 665 terrorist attacks, including 15 suicide bombings, reported in the province between June 18, 2022, and June 18, 2023, out of which 81 militant attacks took place in Dera Ismail Khan District, which included 70 firing incidents, seven IED and two grenade explosions, and one suicide and rocket attack each.

On October 21, 2022, Dera Ismail Khan District Police Officer (DPO) Najamul Husnain Liaqat had noted that the number of terrorists coming from Afghanistan had increased, creating a big challenge for the Police. He added that a total of 120 terrorists were on the Dera Ismail Khan Police’s ‘wanted’ list.

More recently, after the November 7, 2023, attack on the Al-Haj Oil and Gas Company in Drazinda (above), Brigadier (Retd.) Mohammad Saad observed that the militants wanted to build up their presence in this particular region so that they could move easily from KP to the southern and central parts of Punjab. He stated,

In such a scenario, the district is likely to see more violence, as has been the case in other areas of KP in particular, and the country at large.

INDIA

Chhattisgarh: Price of the Ballot
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On November 17, 2023, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) trooper was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres near Bade Gobra village under the Mainpur Police Station area in the Gariyaband District of Chhattisgarh. The incident took place when a polling team escorted by Security Force (SF) personnel was returning after the voting was over in the Bindranawagarh Assembly constituency in Gariyaband District.

On November 14, 2023, a villager (farmer), identified as Doge Ram Timmav, who was injured in an encounter between the Maoists and SFs during combing operations in the forest of Uliya in Kanker District on November 7, succumbed to his injuries. The operation took place when voting for the first phase of the Assembly elections was going on.

On November 7, 2023, a Border Security Force (BSF) constable, Prakash Chandra Sewal (36), who was injured in an IED blast near Rengagondi village under Chhotebethiya Police Station limits in Kanker District on November 6, died. The blast took place when SFs were on their way to set up a polling booth. Two polling officials were also injured in the blast.

On November 4, 2023, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Ratan Dubey, who was on a campaign trail, was hacked to death with sharp-edged weapons by the Maoists in the market area of Kaushalnar village under Jhargati Police Station limits in Narayanpur District. Dubey was the vice president of the BJP’s Narayanpur unit. He was campaigning for Kedar Kashyap, who was contesting from the Narayanpur Assembly seat against Indian National Congress (INC) leader Chandan Kashyap.

On November 1, 2023, Maoists abducted and killed three villagers at Chhotebethiya village under Pakhanjur Police Station limits in Kanker District, accusing them of working for the Police of the neighbouring Maharashtra State. The victims – Kulle Katlam (35), Manoj Kovachi (22), and Dugge Kovachi (27) – were abducted from Chhotebethiya village in Pakhanjur, around 250 kilometres from Raipur. This region is close to the Gadchiroli District in Maharashtra. Maoist leaflets found on the scene accused the trio of being informers for C-60, the Maharashtra Police anti-Maoist force.

According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), in seven Maoist-linked incidents of killing, at least seven civilians, two SF personnel and three Maoists, were killed between October 13, 2023, the date of notification of the Assembly elections in the state, and November 17, the polling date for the second phase. During this period, apart from these incidents of killing, another four violent incidents (all explosions), were also reported. There was a total of 14 Maoist-linked incidents during this period.

The two-phase elections were held in the state on November 7 and November 17, 2023, The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on December 3, 2023.

During the last state Legislative Assembly elections held between October 16, 2018, the date of notification, and November 20, 2018, the polling date for the second phase, 17 Maoist-linked incidents of killing were recorded, in which at least 33 fatalities were recorded (nine civilians, 10 SF personnel and 14 Maoists). During this period, apart from these killing incidents, five more violent incidents (all incidents of explosion), were also reported.

This time as well, the Maoists issued regular threats and called for a boycott of the elections. Among others, on November 1, 2023, a Maoist press note apparently issued by the 'West Bastar Division Committee' of the CPI-Maoist, which included a warning for polling officials, surfaced in Bijapur District: declaring, inter alia,

On October 31, 2023, calling for a boycott of elections in the villages of Sukma, Narayanpur, Kanker and other insurgency-hit regions, the Maoists painted village walls with similar messages of ‘life-threatening step for them’ in red colour. The Maoists also painted messages for poll boycott on the walls of a school in the Arampalli village of Sukma District.

In between, on October 25, 2023, the CPI-Maoist ‘spokesperson’ of the ‘south sub-zonal bureau’, Samta, asked people to “chase away” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates and oppose those from INC, the two major political parties. He accused both INC and BJP of “giving in to corporate houses”, “fomenting communal and religious hatred”, and exploiting tribals in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Interestingly, both theses political parties – BJP and INC – have blamed each other of conniving with the Maoists to target the members/supporters, each of the other. Indeed, since January 2023, at least seven political leaders/members of the BJP have been killed in the state in Maoist violence. Moreover, the convoy of INC’s Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Vikram Mandavi was attacked by the Maoists on the outskirts of Bijapur town in Bijapur District on April 18, 2023. However, no casualty was reported. It is pertinent to recall here, that the worst ever attack by the Maoists targeting the political leadership, across all Maoist affected regions in India, was the May 25, 2013, ambush in which 29 persons were killed, and another 30 injured, in the Darbha Ghati region of the Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. Five INC leaders, eight INC workers, and eight SF personnel were among the 29 the persons killed. The BJP's Raman Singh was then Chief Minister in the state.

Between March 6, 2000, and June 25, 2023, at least 360 political leaders or functionaries have been killed and another 49 have sustained injuries in 362 targeted Maoist attacks across India.

Despite the violence orchestrated by the Maoists, as well as threats and calls for boycott of elections, at least 68.15 per cent of registered voters cast their vote during the second phase of Elections held on November 17, 2023, in 70 Assembly constituencies spread over 22 districts in the State. These 22 Districts included Balrampur-Ramanujganj, Bilaspur, Dhamtari, Durg, Bemetara, Gariyaband, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Jashpur, Janjgir-Champa, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Korba, Koriya, Mahasamund, Balod, Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara, Mungeli, Raipur, Raigarh, Sakti, Sarangarh-Bhilaigarh, Surajpur and Surguja. During the 2018 Assembly Polls, at least 76.34 per cent voters had cast their vote during the second phase Elections held on November 20, 2018, in 72 Assembly seats spread across 19 Districts comprises of Balrampur, Bilaspur, Dhamtari, Durg, Bemetara, Gariyaband, Jashpur, Janjgir-Champa, Kabirdham, Korba, Koriya, Mahasamund, Balod, Baloda Bazar, Mungeli, Raipur, Raigarh, Surajpur and Surguja.

The first phase of polling was held on November 7, 2023, in 20 Assembly constituency seats spread across 11 districts – Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Sukma, Kondagaon, Kanker, Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham, and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai. The first phase recorded a comparable 70.87 per cent polling. During the 2018 Assembly Polls, 18 Assembly constituencies recorded a 76.39 per cent voter turnout in the first phase. These 18 constituencies mostly fell within the perilous 'Bastar Division’ of Chhattisgarh, where the Maoists retain much of their residual capacities and operational capabilities.

Significantly, the average voter turnout stood at 69.51 per cent after the completion of both phases of the 2023 Assembly elections. In 2018, Chhattisgarh had recorded an overall 76.35 per cent polling. The voting per centage in state assembly elections was at 77 per cent in 2013, 70.66 per cent in 2008 and 71.3 per cent in 2003. The voter turnouts in elections – both during the period when the Maoist violence was at its peak (367 fatalities in 2007) in the state and now when it is dwindling (74 fatalities in 2023, till November 19) – clearly suggest strong voter participation and a lack of support to the Maoists over the decades.

The Maoist movement has been substantially contained, though it retains its remaining strength principally in Chhattisgarh, and within the state, in the Bastar Division. SF operations are gradually consolidating dominance, but the problem persists, albeit at a level far below the peak of the insurgency.  SFs have more than done their job, and political initiatives are now necessary to bring the insurgency to a final conclusion. Regrettably, there is little evidence that this course will be adopted in the proximate future, especially by the ideology driven right-wing Government at the Centre, whose intercession would be necessary for any headway in such a process.