Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings
At Twenty-eight Shia persons were killed and 46 others injured when a suicide bomber struck outside a mosque just after the Friday prayers in Pat Bazaar in Hangu Town (Hangu District) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 1, reports The News. The officials of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) confirmed that it was a suicide attack. “We have recovered the head and legs of the suicide bomber from the spot. Also, a mechanical trigger was recovered from there,” Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the BDU Shafqat Malik said. He added that around six kilograms of explosives along with pellets were used in the blast to cause more casualties. Hangu has a mixed population of Sunnis and Shias and there has been occasional sectarian strife in the city and also Hangu District. The situation in the adjoining Orakzai and Kurram tribal agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) also has an impact on Hangu.
Thirty six persons were killed when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan suicide bombers attacked an Army camp in Sarai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 2, reports Dawn. 13 soldiers and 12 militants were killed. Eleven civilians were also killed after a suicide bomber entered a house in a nearby residential colony and blew himself up. Eleven security personnel were wounded in the assault, officials said. The Sarai Naurang town is a business hub of Lakki Marwat district, about 160kms south of Peshawar. Claiming responsibility for the attack, TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan said it was carried out to avenge the killing of two Taliban commanders — Toofani and Faisal — in a US drone attack in January. “We had sent only four fighters on the mission,” he told journalists by phone from an unknown location, intending to contradict the Government’s claim that 12 militants lost their lives during the gunfight.
Bomb Blasts
A Government centre housing the offices of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and Benazir Income Support Programme was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the border town of Chaman in Qilla Abdullah District on Jan 27, reports Dawn. According to Levies sources, the IED in a fertiliser bag was planted along the wall of the centre near the Frontier Corps (FC) Headquarters. However, no loss of life was reported in the blast.
A bomb blast killed three suspected militants in Karachi as they were carrying out preparations for an attack at Indus Plaza on Al-Asif Square. The suspected militants were attempting to put the bomb in the trunk of a taxi when it went off, Senior Police Officer Aleem Jafri said. The militants had prepared three other bombs, but they did not explode and were defused by Police. The bombs, which were wired with electronic detonators, contained about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of explosives, Jafri said.
Police Station in Peshawar on January 31, reports Daily Times. According to Police, the vehicle was on routine patrol on the GT Road near Jinnah Park. The Police vehicle narrowly escaped the explosion, while six other vehicles were partially damaged.
A Police patrol narrowly escaped an explosion in the morning in Shinwari Town in Paharipur area of Peshawar on February 1, reports Dawn. An official of Paharipur Police Station said an explosive device fitted to a timer and planted by a road went off at around 6am shortly after a Police patrol van passed by. The explosive device weighed around 500 grammes and was packed in a canister.
Two low-intensity explosions took place on February 3, causing partial damage to a house and damage to a shop in Hangu town of same District, reports Daily Times. But no loss of life was reported. According to Police sources, one explosion took place near a house on Warasta Road, partially damaging a house. The second explosion took place in a vegetable market where an explosive device was planted near a shop, which was damaged. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, half a kilogramme explosive material was used in each of the blast.
A bomb blast killed 16 persons and injured 27 others in Kalaya, the capital of the Orakzai Agency on February 8, reports Daily Times. “Most of the dead and injured were returning from Friday prayers at a mosque,” said Mehmood Aslam, a government official in the area. A journalist and one paramilitary personnel were among the dead, said Assistant Political Agent Fazal-i-Qadir. The bomb targeted people from the pro-government Feroz Khel tribe, who have shops in the market, he said. The bomb was planted near the DVD and mobile shop surrounded by small kiosks selling tea and other edibles, he added further.
Following the attack, nine militants were killed after jets bombed militants’ hideout in Upper tehsil (revenue unit).
A man was killed when an improvised explosive device went off in a house in Behzadi Chakarkot area of Kohat in the night of February 12, reports Dawn. Police said that the device was planted in the house of Katoo Khan. A guest identified as Sajid was killed in the explosion. The bomb disposal squad officials said that at device weighed at least one kilogram.
Separately, unidentified militants blew up a primary school for girls in Taja Koroona Shero village under Katlang Police Station in Mardan District, reports The News. The explosives planted in the building of the Govt Girls Primary School went off at around 11:30 pm. The explosion destroyed a room and veranda and partially damaged the boundary wall and other rooms.
An explosion in the village of Hassanzo in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) killed seven people and wounded 13, on February 14, according to Daily Times. Top Orakzai administration official Mehmood Hasan said, “According to initial information, the van was hired by a local peace committee from Khyber and 20 members of the peace committee were on board together with the driver”. Further in a second attack in the same place, a van carrying civilians was hit by a blast which killed two people and wounded 10, Hasan said. Security officials confirmed the attacks and the death toll.
Targeted Killings
As many as 12 persons, including two Policemen and two political workers, were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on January 26, reports Daily Times.
At least 16 persons were killed across Karachi on January 28, reports The News and Daily Times in various incidents of violence and targetted killings.
Two personnel of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were among three persons killed in Pasni in Gwadar District on January 28, reports Daily Times. Station House Officer Imam Baloch said that the PAF personnel were shopping at the Zareen Markeet when armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire on them. Resultantly, three people, including two PAF personnel and a shopkeeper, were killed, while a PAF official sustained bullet injuries.
Separately, unidentified assailants shot dead a man, identified as Muhammad Jamal, at Al-Faisal Chowk in Khuzdar District.
At least five persons, including a Policeman, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on January 29, reports The News. The General Secretary of Bengali Action Committee, identified as Ghayasuddin (52), was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants in Sector-33 in Korangi town within the limits of Korangi Police Station.
Two Police constables, identified as Ali Dad Hazara and Shamir Baloch, were shot dead on Sabzal road of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan, on January 29, reports Dawn. A little-known militant outfit, Jaish-ul-Islam (JuI), claimed responsibility for the attack. Police said that it appeared to be a sectarian attack.
At least nine persons were killed in separate incidents on January 30 across Balochistan, reports Daily Times. Four persons were shot dead in Dera Bugti District. Dera Bugti Tehsildar (revenue official) Bahram Khan Bugti said that unidentified assailants fired on four people in Nok Tarani area near Pir Koh, killing them on the spot.
Separately, a man, identified as Abdul Kareem Khilji, was shot dead on Sariab Road near Tariq Hospital of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan.
Another person, identified as Ghulam Qadir Zehri, was shot dead in main Khuzdar bazaar of Khuzdar District.
Meanwhile, three bullet-riddled bodies were found in between the mountains at Eastern Bypass in the proximity of Bussa Mandi in Quetta. “They were shot in the head and look like Afghans,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Bashir Ahmed Brahvi said, and added that their hands and feet were tied. He said the bodies appeared to be three days old. The deceased could not be identified.
At least 14 persons, including three clerics, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh on January 31, reports Daily Times. Three clerics of the Deoband school of thought, identified as Mufti Abdul Majeed Dinpuri, Mufti Muhammad Saleh and Ehsan Ali Shah were shot dead within the precincts of Tipu Sultan Police Station.
At least six persons, including two Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh on February1, reports Daily Times. A joint in-charge of MQM, Nayyar (23), was shot dead in sector 11/1-2, Orangi Town near Rehmat Chowk within the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station.
Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were injured when a convoy of a Qatari royal dignitary came under attack in Mirani dam area of Kech District on February1, reports Dawn. Gwaram Baloch, a spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), claimed responsibility for the attack and said that FC personnel were its target and not the royal family’s convoy.
A person, identified as Manzoor, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Essa Nagri on Brewery Road of Quetta on February 3, reports Daily Times.
Meanwhile, a person, identified as Haji Allah Bakhsh, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Turbat town (Turbat District).
At least three persons, including an Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jama’at (ASWJ) cadre, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on February 4, reports The News. A cadre of the ASWJ, identified as Umair Yasir (25), was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Sector 5 C-4 of North Karachi.
In another incident, armed assailants shot dead a private university student, identified as, Malik Zaman near the KMC Ground in Eidgah area.
Separately, a shopkeeper, identified as Yasir Ahmed was shot dead in Bara Market within the jurisdiction of the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri Police Station, reports Dawn. The victim belonged to the Deoband school of thought.
Elsewhere, an office of the Awami National Party (ANP) was attacked with a hand grenade by unidentified assailants at PS-128 in Future Colony of Landhi town, reports Daily Times. However, no causality was reported in the incident.
Meanwhile, 2.5 kilogram’s Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast hit Hawkes Bay road near Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) petrol pump within the precincts of Maripur Police Station. No causality was reported.
A Police constable, Sajjad, was killed when two motorcycle bourne unidentified assailants opened fire on him on the Kohat Road near Ring Road Chowk in Peshawar. On February 4, reports The News. A Police official said Sajjad, who hailed from Charsadda District, was performing duty on the Kohat Road when two armed motorcyclists sprayed he was sprayed with bullets near a Police checkpost. The attackers managed to escape after committing the crime.
At least 14 persons, including two Policemen, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on February 7, reports Daily Times. Two brothers, identified as Rashid and his younger brother Kashif were killed inside their shop in Madni Colony of Maripur. The victims belonged to Punjab and had received extortion slips.
Unidentified assailants on February 8 shot dead a senior Shia lawyer, Malik Jarrar Hussain, in the Gulbahar area of Peshawar, reports The Express Tribune. Unidentified motorcyclists intercepted Malik’s car and shot him after he dropped off his children at school. Malik died en route to the hospital.
Four persons including a Shia man were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi on February 9, reports Daily Times. Unidentified armed pillion riders killed Syed Qamar Raza Naqvi (32) belonging to Shia sect near his house in Golimar area within the precincts of Rizvia Police Station.
Meanwhile, one Syed Abid Hussain (37) was killed by armed riders in Ramswami area within the limits of Nabi Bux Police Station. The motive behind the killing was yet to be ascertained.
Further, a strangulated body of Ghausia seminary student was found from T ground in FB area within the limits of Jauharabad Police Station. The victim was identified as Ahmed Raza Qadri (21). Police said that unidentified culprits first kidnapped Raza and strangled to death and later they threw the body in the ground.
Separately, a stray bullet killed a girl inside her house in Islamia Colony, Orangi Town within the limits of Pirabad Police Station. Zahida Khatoon (14), daughter of Syed Nazir, was sitting inside her house with other family members when suddenly a stray bullet hit in her forehead, resultantly, she died on the spot.
At least five persons were killed and six persons injured in separate incidents in Karachi on February 10, reports Daily Times. A father and his son belonging to Shia community, identified as Syed Anjum Abbas (51) and Syed Asif Abbas (27), were killed near Mehtab Chowk in Rais Amrohi Colony within the precincts of Iqbal Market Police Station. The Station House Officer (SHO) said that Anjum was a sympathiser, while Asif an activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Unit 131. The officer added that the deceased’s funeral prayers were offered at Babul Ilm Imambargah in North Nazimabad, however, some of the irked men from the funeral procession, on the way North Karachi graveyard, resorted to open indiscriminate fire at a mosque in the area, as a result, the inhabitants of the area and followers of Deoband school of thought gathered at the main road and a minor scuffle was reported between the rivals. As a result, four persons Danish, Sameer, Umair and waqar were injured.
At least 12 persons, including two Policemen, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on February 11, reports Daily Times. Three persons were killed and three others were injured in an armed attack at Haji Allah Bakhsh Welfare office within the limits of Ahsanabad Police Station.
At least five persons, including an activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh on February 12, reports Daily Times. An MQM activist affiliated with Karachi Mutthaida Organising Committee (KMOC), identified as Azmatullah Bengali (34), was killed near his house in Nasir Jump of Korangi within the precincts of Zaman Town Police Station.
Separately, a commuter Essa Khan (37) was killed near Russian Embassy located in Block 4, Clifton within the limits of Boat Basin Police Station.
Moreover, two men, identified as Idrees Ali and Haji NizamUddin, were shot dead in Golimar area within the limits of Rizvia Police Station.
A man, identified as Juma Din (32), was killed in Mujahid Colony ground within the limits of Mominabad Police Station.
Furthermore, the dead body was found from Sect L-1 of Surjani town within the vicinity of Surjani Town Police Station.
Meanwhile, Police said that they suspected involvement of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in February 11-night’s blast in an area of the Defence Housing Authority. The explosion along Korangi Road, near the KPT flyover, that left a Policeman injured.
At least 10 persons were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on February 15, reports Daily Times. A dead body, identified as Muhammad Asghar (33) and an injured person, identified as Nadeem (30) were found from near Darul Uloom of Korangi within the precincts of Awami Colony Police Station.
Separately, another dead body of MQM-H worker, identified as Junaid Khan (28) was found from Ismail Goth Graveyard Road within the vicinity of Sharafi Goth Police Station.
As many as 11 persons were killed in separate incidents of violence and target killing in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on February 17, reports Daily Times. In the first incident, three persons were killed near their houses in Kharadar area within the precincts of Kharadar Police Station. An official said that at least four armed riders opened indiscriminate fire on a gathering near their houses in Faria Street, Kharadar, as a result, four persons Jhanziab Khan (43), Abdul Rehman (28), Jabbar (27) and Zia (24), were killed.
Separately, a man was killed in Surjani Town within the limits of Sarjani Police Station. According to Police, the identity of the victim could not be ascertained yet.
Faiz Muhammad Khan, a community Police constable and brother of Adezai Aman Lashkar’s leader Waqif Khan, was shot dead in the crowded Matani market of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), in the afternoon of February 17, reports The Express Tribune. Deployed in Adezai village, Faiz had come to shop at the market when he was targeted by an assailant armed with a pistol. The attacker took advantage of the ensuing panic and escaped. “The attacker was a teenage boy who used a TT pistol. This might be the third incident involving the same hit-man,” said Farman Khan, another leader of the Adezai Peace Militia. According to Farman, at least 15 people from Adezai village have been killed in a similar manner by militants over the past five years.
In a sectarian attack, the Lahore General Hospital Ophthalmology Department head Professor Dr. Ali Haider and his son were shot dead by two unidentified assailants in the Gulberg area of Lahore city (Lahore District), the provincial capital of Punjab, on February 18, reports Daily Times.
Drone Attacks
The political agent of North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on February 13 submitted complete report of casualties caused by the drone attacks from 2008 to 2012 to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) through Deputy Attorney General M Iqbal Mohmand that claimed that around 894 persons, including 48 foreigners, 35 women and 24 children, were killed in the US drone attacks in during the last five years, reports The News. At the previous hearing, the court had sought detailed report from the Government about the losses caused due to drone strikes in FATA. According to the report, the US drones conducted 147 attacks on various locations in North Waziristan from 2008 to 2012.
Miscellaneous
At least 31 persons were killed when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants attacked Ansarul Islam (AI), a pro-Government militants group, in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on January 26, reports Daily Times. About 300 TTP militants, armed with mortars and Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs), launched the overnight assault in the Maiden area of Tirah Valley, a maze of valleys on a route from Afghanistan to Peshawar. The AI cadres retaliated, killing 15 TTP militants and capturing eight others, while three villagers, including an elderly woman, were killed in crossfire. TTP militants also killed 13 AI cadres.
On January 27, the death toll in the fighting between Tariq Afridi faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and pro-Government militant group Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) climbed to 71, reports Frontier Post. The violence began in Tirah valley three days ago after cadres of the Tariq Afridi faction, who operate in Khyber Agency, captured a building belonging to AI. “The Ansar-ul-Islam group re-took their centre after intense fighting. A senior security official confirmed the approximate death toll and said fighting was ongoing. The area is cut off to journalists and aid workers so it was not possible to confirm the death toll independently.
At least 10 militants were killed and several others were injured when jet fighters pounded their hideouts in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan stronghold of Mamozai town in Orakzai Agency on February 6, reports Dawn. Sources said that the jets targeted militant positions in Arghanjo and Lando Qamar areas and destroyed four hideouts.
Separately, five persons were killed after six missiles hit a house in Tehsil Spain Wam of North Waziristan Agency, reports Daily Times.
Security Forces killed 12 militants in an air raid on militant hideouts in the Mamozai are of Orakzai Agency on February 7, reports The Express Tribune. According to sources, five hideouts were destroyed in the attack. Earlier on February 6, 10 suspected militants were killed in a similar raid. It was the fifth such attack on militants this year. According to SFs, the previous four air raids killed around 38 militants, while 11 hideouts were destroyed. However, the exact figures are difficult to verify.
At least two Frontier Corps personnel, identified as Mohammad Ishaq and Azad Khan, were killed and four were injured in a rocket attack in Shand area of Mand in Turbat District on February 8, reports Dawn. “The Baloch militants fired at a paramilitary convoy when it was passing through the mountains in Mand area of Turbat district,” Balochistan’s Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said. “There was an exchange of fire after the attack. However, there is no confirmation of the loss on the militants’ side because they were in the mountains,” he added.
Separately, a dead body was found in Loop Sherani area of Dera Bugti District, reports The News.
At least five Ansar ul Islam (AI) militants were killed and four others were injured in clashes with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on February 11, reports Dawn.
Meanwhile, four persons were killed and another was injured when unidentified persons opened fire on them in Palai area in Malakand Agency, reports The News. The sources said that Jehanzeb, Amir Bahadur, Sardar Hussain, Hukamdad and Bahadur Said were returning from mountains after collecting fuel wood when unidentified persons opened fire on them.
Suspected militants on February 11 shot dead a doctor, identified as Dr. Tehseen ullah, inside his clinic in Sardar Ahmed Jan Colony on Charsadda Road of Peshawar, reports Dawn. Two medical practitioners killed in the city over the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, a heavy amount of explosive material and illegal weapons recovered from the house of a banned outfit’s member in Madina Colony of Dera Ismail Khan District, reports Daily Times. According to details, acting on a tip-off Cantt Police raided the house of Ahsan alias Sana Baloch and recovered two magnet bombs with remotes, two electric detonators with batteries, 65 shrapnels, ball bearings, two Kalashnikovs, one 30-bore pistol and 50 cartridges.
Separately, at least 18 senior members of two religious-political groups were arrested up as the Police launched a crackdown to arrest suspects involved in targeted killing incidents, reports The News. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Imran Shahid confirmed the raids but said eight persons were arrested. “Raids have been conducted to arrest suspects behind the targeted killings,” the SSP told.
A source said that those arrested included leaders of the Ahl-e Sunnat- wal-Jama’at (ASWJ) as well as elders of the Shia community. Some of those arrested during the raids were identified as Usman Farooqi, Irshad Haideri, Siddiqullah, Shah Faisal, Jan Farooqi, Aurangzeb Farooqi, Mohammad Gul, Nasrullah, Sajid, Sajjad and Jamal who were held during raids in different parts of the city. The raids started in the morning. Heavy contingents of Peshawar Police as well as commandoes of the Elite Police Force participated in the raids.
The Frontier Corps on February 11 seized 30 rocket launchers, 12 hand grenades and 2,000 SMG rounds from a vehicle coming from Afghanistan in Gulistan area of Qila Abdullah District, reports Dawn.
Separately, 50 Afghan nationals were arrested in Quetta and Nushki during a crackdown launched by Police and other Law-Enforcement Agencies (LEA) against unregistered refugees. “We have arrested 28 refugees living in the suburbs of Quetta,” a senior administration official told, adding that 22 refugees were taken into custody in Nushki district. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Foreigners ACT.
Eight militants were killed and 15 others received injuries as the militants of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Ansarul Islam (AI) clashed in Bhuttan area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) on February 12, reports Dawn. The renewed clashes, which started on February 11, continued on February 12 without any letup. Sources said that TTP launched a fresh offensive against AI in Bhuttan area and inflicted losses on it. AI claimed that it had strengthened its hold over two important bunkers in Dwa Stanai area and recaptured Rocket Sangar. Both sides used heavy weapons against each other.
The on-going infighting between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) killed 19 more militants from both sides in Drey Stani area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on February 13. Of those 19, 13 were TTP militants and six were affiliated with AI. The death toll has reached 27 since the latest fight for control of the strategic heights of the Drey Stani area in the Tirah Valley erupted February 12.
Separately, a volunteer of a peace committee was killed and more than a dozen houses were set ablaze by militants in Sheen Qamar area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit), reports Dawn. Official sources said that Abdul Khaliq, a peace volunteer belonging to Zaodin tribe, was killed during a clash between Security Forces (SFs) and militants in Sheen Qamar area. He was killed on the spot when a bullet hit him.
In Barkai area of Storikhel, militants torched the residential compound of a local elder, Malik Almas Khan Storikhel. Sources said that militants set on fire at least 13 houses, built inside the fort-like compound at midnight after overpowering the watchmen.
At least 11 persons, including three Frontier Corpse (FC) personnel, two Policemen and one Levies man, were killed and over 23 persons were injured as a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a security post in Spin Thall area of Hangu District on February 14, reports Dawn.
Meanwhile, Police and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) repulsed a terrorist attack on Miryan Police Station of Bannu District, killing five suicide bombers while another blew himself up, reports Daily Times. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack on Miryan Police Station. The TTP ‘spokesman’ told from an undisclosed location that the attack was in reaction to the killing of seven fighters in North Waziristan (FATA).
At least 10 militants were killed when the jetfighters pounded their hideouts in Jandary Killay, Mir Qalamkhel and others adjoining localities in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan-controlled Mamozai tehsil (revenue unit) area in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on February 17, reports The News. “Ten militants were killed and four of their hideouts were destroyed in the shelling,” an official claimed. However, the claim could not be verified through independent sources.
Separately, four soldiers were injured in a bomb explosion in Razmak Town of North Waziristan Agency. The remote-controlled bomb was planted on a road leading to Razmak Town and it went off when an army convoy was passing through the area.
A joint team of Police and intelligence agencies, on February 17 arrested five cadres of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) including Saad Jagrani, Head of HuT’s Central Contact Committee during the raid on a banquet hall at Kurri Road near Shakrial in Rawalpindi town (Rawalpindi District) of Punjab, reports The News. The team conducted raid when a seminar was going on. Five arrested cadres were identified as Major (retd) Khalid Qadeer Butt, Saad Jagrani, son of Habib-ur-Rehman, resident of 5/N, Gulberg, Lahore, Qadir Ali, son of Tasaduq Abrar, resident of B/1024, Asghar Mall, Rawalpindi, Muhammad Junaid, son of Muhammad Aslam, resident of 344, G-10/1 Islamabad and Muhammad Asif, son of M Afzal, 13, Range Road Rawalpindi. Earlier, on February 15 two persons and a Police official had been killed at Deputy Feroz Lane, behind Holy Family Hospital during such an operation.
PAKISTAN
Militants kill three members of pro-government tribal militia in Balochistan
At least three members of a members of pro-government tribal militia, including one of its ‘commanders’, were killed and four others were abducted when Baloch insurgents attacked their camp in Tilli Mat area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan on January 27. According to Balochistan Levies sources, dozens of armed insurgents assaulted the post of the tribal militia post in the Tilli Mat area, killing at least three of its members. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Banned outfits active in Karachi, Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik tells Senate
Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik on January 30 said three banned organisation are responsible of target killings and law and order situation in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, reports Dawn. Speaking in the Senate in response to a point of order by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, the Interior Minister said Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan are terrorizing people in Karachi. “It is not Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a whole involved in Karachi killings. But, these are the splinter groups,” he said. The Minister also claimed that Ehsanullah Ehsan is not a TTP ‘spokesman’. “He is nobody but these are the hawks in these organisations who are inflicting terror on innocent people,” he remarked.
Rehman Malik explained that those busy in Karachi are different extremist factions and mentioned that when the Interior Ministry warned of an attack on long march of Dr. Tahir ul Qadri, the same Ehsanullah Ehsan withdrew his statement. But, after killing of MQM leader Manzar Imam, he claimed the responsibility as a spokesperson of the TTP. But, it is evident that he is not working for TTP but for somebody else, said the Minister.
He said internal and external groups are involved in Karachi situation and killers are paid PKR 80,000 to PKR 90,000 for each killing. “I have asked the intelligence agencies to enhance monitoring as well as security. I have asked the agencies that when they get any information, they should apprehend the suspects and take preventive action.”
US won’t abandon Pakistan, says US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson
The United States reassured Islamabad on January 30 that it would not abandon Pakistan after the drawdown of coalition forces from Afghanistan completes in 2014, reports Dawn. “My core message today is that the US is committed to a cooperative and long-term partnership with Pakistan — far broader than any one issue, and centred on areas of mutual interest,” US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson said at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. He made it clear that Washington’s ties with Islamabad were not linked to “commitments and responsibilities in Afghanistan” and that it was too simplistic to look at the Pakistan-US relationship just from the Afghan prism. But still there was a lot of emphasis in Mr Olson’s speech on the need for Islamabad to extend unreserved support for reconciliation in Afghanistan, while reiterating that Pakistan can be an equal partner in the process in a manner that safeguards its interests. The envoy made a reference to continuing distrust in the relations in spite of some improvements.
Kargil was a big success militarily for Pakistan, claims former President Pervez Musharraf
Claiming that his 1999 Kargil operation (Kargil District in Jammu and Kashmir) was a big success militarily, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview with Pakistan based Express News channel that if the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not visited the United States, the Pakistani Army would have conquered 300 square miles of India, reports Greater Kashmir on January 31. Referring to Lieutenant General (retired) Shahid Aziz’s recent allegations that Pervez Musharraf had kept other military commanders in the dark about the operation, Musharraf said, “Telling everyone about it was not necessary at all”. He said, “Nawaz lost a political front which we had won militarily.” “It was a tactical action that had a strategic importance in which no more than a few hundred persons were involved, but which engaged thousands on the Indian side and was of tremendous importance,” he further claimed.
Meanwhile, the Union Defence Minister A K Antony emphasised that relations with Pakistan should not be normalised in a haste, reports Kashmir Times on January 31. The Minister said, “Even though after the second round of DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level talks the tension around LoC (Line of Control) has reduced, we cannot lower our guard and we have to be vigilant 24×7.”
11 peace committee members and seven militants killed in FATA
Eleven members of the Kamarkhel Peace Committee were killed as clashes with Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants intensified in the Lakai Sar, Madai and Tor Lagad areas of Takhtakai in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on February 1, reports Dawn. The day-long clashes left 11 peace committee members dead and several others injured. However, the peace committee members were able to keep the LI men at bay. The LI men torched a number of houses they had captured in parts of the Takhtakai areas and made bunkers in others.
Separately, six militants were killed when a mortar shell fired by NATO and Afghan troops from across the border hit a bunker in Zeba Ghar area near Angoor Adda, some 60km from Wana, in South Waziristan Agency. Sources said 30 shells had been fired from Macha Dad camp across the border in Afghanistan. One shell hit the bunker, killing six militants and injuring three others. They belonged to Maulvi Nazir fraction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Meanwhile, the bullet-riddled body of a militant was found in Jandola area of Frontier Region (FR) Tank. He was identified as Hikmat Bittani, a member of the group headed by ‘Commander’ Turkistan.
Elsewhere, the Security Forces (SFs) arrested a would-be bomber along with his handler and recovered explosive material during a check-up at Yakaghund Checkpost in Mohmand Agency, reports The News. The sources said acting on a tip-off, the personnel of the Mohmand Rifles stopped a passenger coach on Yaka ghund Checkpost. On thorough search, the law-enforcement agencies arrested a would-be suicide and his handler.
US needs to keep up drone war against al Qaeda, says US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta
The United States (US) will have to keep up an open-ended drone war against al Qaeda militants in Pakistan and elsewhere to prevent another terror attack on America, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on February 1, reports Dawn. The assassination of al Qaeda figures in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia with unmanned, robotic aircraft has provoked widespread criticism from human rights groups and some US allies, but Panetta said the US campaign has been effective. Asked if the CIA “targeted killings” should be curtailed in coming years, Panetta told AFP in an interview that there was still a need to continue the drone strikes more than a decade since the attacks of September 11, 2001. “I think it depends on the nature of the threat that we’re confronting. We are in a war. We’re in a war on terrorism and we’ve been in that war since 9/11. “The whole purpose of our operations were aimed at those who attacked this country and killed 3,000 innocent people in New York as well as 200 people here at the Pentagon,” added Panetta.
Security Forces allowing extremists to attack minorities, says HRW
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on February 1 accused the Government of having failed to act against abuses committed by security and intelligence agencies which are letting extremist groups to attack religious minorities, reports Dawn. “The authorities did little to address attacks against journalists and human rights defenders, and committed serious abuses in counter-terrorism operations,” the HRW said in a report. Pakistan had a turbulent year in 2012, with the judicial ouster of Yousuf Raza Gilani from the premiership, attacks on civilians by militant groups, growing electricity shortages, rising food and fuel prices, and “continuing political dominance by the military, which operates with almost complete impunity”. The religious minorities continued to face insecurity and persecution and the Government failed to provide protection to them or to hold extremists accountable. “Pakistan’s human rights crisis worsened markedly in 2012 with religious minorities bearing the brunt of killings and repression,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan Director of Human Rights Watch.
TTP outlines conditions for dialogue with Government
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on February 3 expressed its willingness to hold talks with the Government, but on two conditions — release of its seven leaders and guarantees by leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazal (JUI-F) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) to make the exercise fruitful, reports Dawn. “The release of Muslim Khan, Maulvi Omar and five other TTP leaders is a prerequisite for talks, while former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Syed Munawar Hasan should be the guarantors,” TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan said in a video message released in Peshawar. He said the release of Muslim Khan and Maulvi Omar was essential because they would be TTP’s main negotiators. He did not disclose the names of five other leaders the TTP wanted to be released. Ehsanullah Ehsan said the TTP responded positively to an offer for talks, but the Government was not serious. The TTP, he added, was serious but wanted its two demands met before any talks.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain welcomed the TTP’s offer and said the Government was ready to discuss all issues if peace talks began. “We have offered talks. Let us initiate dialogue and then all conditions can be discussed, including release of the Taliban prisoners,” he said, adding that the TTP should not rely only on Muslim Khan and Maulvi Omar because they had other people who could represent them in dialogue with the Government.
Cache of arms and ammunition recovered in FATA
Security officials arrested a terrorism suspect and recovered a cache amount of arms and ammunition during a raid in Shani Khel area under Halemzai tehsil (revenue unit) in Mohmand Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on February 4, reports Daily Times. During a press conference, Commandant Mohmand Rifles, Colonel Mushtaq Ahmad said a joint operation was conducted by Levies, Khasadars and Mohmand Rifles in Shani Khel. The raid was conducted at the house of Ijaz the alleged mastermind of suicide attack in Yaka ghund on January 31. Security officials then arrested Dr. Ibrahim, on the information provided by Ijaz on February 3. During the raid, officials also arrested Sameer, another relative of Ijaz. Colonel Ahmed revealed that the house was being used as a terrorist hideout, where a cache of arms, ammunitions and explosives were recovered from the basement and the courtyard. The raiding team recovered weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide jackets, RPG-7 shells, mortar shell, missiles, anti-tank mines and various weapons. The raiding team also recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunitions from nearby farms owned by Ijaz.
The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan want peace deal in six month
The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 4 said that they would work to reach a peace deal within six months, while throwing their weight behind moves for the Afghan Taliban to open an office in Doha (Qatar), reports Daily Times. Following talks hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari urged the Islamists to join the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. “All sides agreed on the urgency of this work and committed themselves to take all necessary measures to achieve the goal of a peace settlement over the next six months,” they said in a joint statement issued by Cameron’s office. “They supported the opening of an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the Afghan Taliban and the High Peace Council of Afghanistan as part of an Afghan-led peace process,” the statement said. The joint statement also said that the Afghan and Pakistani leaders had agreed arrangements to “strengthen co-ordination” of the release of Taliban detainees from Pakistani custody. Afghan peace negotiators welcomed Pakistan’s release of dozens of Taliban prisoners in recent months, a move they believe could help bring militants to the negotiating table.
US urged not to cross ‘red line’ in FATA
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman, referring to continued drone strikes in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), on February 5 urged the Barack Obama administration not to cross “red line”, reports Dawn. Rehman said that drones strikes were “a clear violation of our sovereignty and a violation of international law” that threatened stable relations between the two Governments. She rejected persistent media reports that Pakistan tacitly approved the strikes while denouncing them publicly as untrue. “Let me assure you that since we have been in Government, there has been no quiet complicity, no question of wink and nod,” she said.
Meanwhile, the White House on February 6 said that US drone strikes on potential terrorist targets were ‘legal,’ ‘ethical’ and ‘wise’ and would continue. “These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told a briefing in Washington. “The US government takes great care in deciding to pursue an Al Qaeda terrorist, to ensure precision and to avoid loss of innocent life.” Mr. Carney rejected the media criticism of the US drone policy, the day after a Department of Justice memo leaked the conditions in which it viewed drone strikes targeted at American citizens abroad as legal.
TTP and IMU form a special unit for operations to free prisoners
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) joined hands to form a special unit of deadly fidayeen attackers called “Ansar- Al- Aseer” (supporters of prisoners) whose prime mission would be to secure freedom for the imprisoned militants by carrying out jail break fidayeen operations all over Pakistan on February 6, reports The News.
Adnan Rasheed, a dangerous militant and the mastermind of an assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf, appointed the chief operational commander of the lethal fidayeen unit. Adnan himself was freed in an unprecedented jailbreak operation which was conducted on April 15, 2012 when around 200 TTP militants armed with guns, grenades and rockets attacked the high-security Central Jail in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and released 384 prisoners. Five days after the jail break, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said (on April 20, 2012) that the operation was chiefly meant to free Adnan Rasheed. Ehsan said that the Taliban had been working on the jailbreak plan for the past several months and were in touch with Adnan Rasheed and other prisoners in the Bannu Central Jail.
Pakistan military helping democracy, says BHC to Pakistan Adam Thomson
British High Commissioner (HC) to Pakistan, Adam Thomson on February 14, said that Pakistan Army is “already making a contribution to Pakistan’s democratic transition” and has worked “quite very hard over the last five years to ensure that Pakistan’s political institutions are the decision-makers”, reports The News. Answering a question, the HC said that Pakistan Army will support “these on-time elections and will continue to support democratic process”. He added “Unfortunately, Pakistan army often gets bad press and there is a history of it but we know that Pakistan military is facing enormous challenges, has quite enough on its plate without trying to take over the Government or manipulate. There is a reasonable prospect that as all Pakistani institutions settle down and find respective spheres of operation and perspective, the army will be part of that process. Again, the upcoming elections will make an important contribution to that.”
KP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti escapes suicide attack in Mardan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti narrowly escaped a suicide attack on his motorcade at Mardan College Chowk in Mardan Town of same District on February 15, reports Dawn. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Khalid Khan said that a suicide bomber aged about 23 years attacked the motorcade on the busy Mardan College Chowk when it was on its way to Mardan-i-Khas locality where Mr. Hoti was to address a public meeting. The legs and hands of the bomber had been found at the site of the blast and a head outside a nearby building, DSP Khalid Khan added. The Chief Minister appeared to be the target of the bomber but because of strict security measures he could not reach the venue of the public meeting. He said only the bomber, and no-one else, was hurt, he added further.
Separately, Security Forces recovered arms and ammunitions dumped in a field at Mastorai and Kas villages of Maidan tehsil (revenue unit) in Lower Dir District. Briefing reporters Colonel Zulfiqar Bhatti, operational commander in Maidan, said SFs searched fields at Mastorai and Kas villages the other day after they got information from locals about dumping of arms and ammunitions in the fields. The recovery includes one 12.7MM anti-aircraft gun, a machine gun along with 183 rounds and two hand grenades.
78 persons killed and more than 200 injured in attack on Shias in Balochistan
Daily Times reports that a remote-controlled bomb targeting Shias killed 78 people including women and children and wounded more than 200 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan on February 16, Police and officials said. The bomb exploded in Hazara town, an area dominated by Shias on the outskirts of Quetta. “At least 78 people have been killed and at least 200 more wounded. The death toll may rise. It was a remote-controlled bomb,” Wazir Khan Nasir, senior Police officer in Quetta said. “It was a sectarian attack, the Shia community was the target,” he added. Azhar Ali Shah, a second Police officer, confirmed the death toll, which had initially been put at 10.
Provincial home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani also said, “We fear more casualties. We have announced an emergency in hospitals.” Durrani said the bomb was planted near the pillar of a building in a bazaar. “The building collapsed due to the intensity of the bomb, some people have been trapped inside,” he said.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
PBCP-Janayuddha militant killed in shootout in Kushtia District
A cadre of the Janayuddha faction of the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-Janayuddha), was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and Police at Mirpur sub-District of Kushtia District on January 27, reports The Daily Star. Police said the deceased Enamul Haq alias Ena Mondol was a member of the outfit’s killing squad and was accused in nine cases. Two teams of Police raided the area while the militants were holding a secret meeting there. Sensing Police presence, the militants opened fire and the gunfight lasted for one hour with the Police. Police found the body of Enamul on the spot after the militants fled the incident site. The Police teams also recovered a rifle, a light gun, four bombs and eight bullets from the spot.
JeI-ICS cadres carry out 20 explosions in Dhaka City
Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres carried out 20 explosions and set ablaze 15 vehicles in Dhaka on January 30, as they brought out a procession in the city, demanding immediate release of their leaders on war crime trial, reports The Daily Star. Police arrested 38 JeI-ICS cadres in this connection.
Meanwhile, at least 13 people were injured in a clash between the local cadres of Awami League (AL) and JeI in Burimari land port area of Patgram sub-District in Lalmonirhat District on January 30. Police arrested Mominur Rahman (40), son of late Mokbul Hossain of Burimari village and JeI cadre after the clash. Police said the clash took place when AL cadres resisted the JeI cadres who were protesting over there for the release of their leaders on war crime trial.
Further, the Dhaka City unit of the ruling AL on January 30 vowed to resist the anti-liberation forces of JeI-ICS whenever and wherever they are found engaging in destructive activities in the name of their programmes, reports The Independent. The AL city unit also declared that it would make the soil of the country free again after eliminating JeI-ICS. Most of their top leaders have been detained and are facing trial for their heinous crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971, it pointed out.
Three persons killed as JeI-ICS cadres enforces hartal across the country
At least three people were killed and many injured across the country on February 5 as Jamaat-e-Islam (JeI) and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres enforced a dawn-to-dusk hartal (shut down) protesting the war crimes trial of its leader Abdul Quader Mollah, reports The Daily Star. In Chittagong District, two ICS cadres (Imran Khan and Afzal Hossain) and Shafique, a worker of Youngone factory were killed during a clash with Police. Police arrested 15 ICS cadres from the District.
In capital Dhaka, the JeI-ICS cadres exploded 8-10 crude bombs when police obstructed them. A Police constable, Nur Nabi, was injured and 52 cadres were arrested from the city. In Comilla District, one JeI-ICS cadre was injured in Police firing. In Rajshahi District, about 10 cadres were injured in a clash with Police as they were intercepted by the law-enforcers. In Khulna District, Police arrested seven cadres from the Khulna city. In Sylhet District, 30 people, including a constable, were injured. In Satkhira District, three Policemen were injured. In Bogra District, Police arrested five cadres. In Natore District, Police arrested one cadre. In Laxmipur District, Police arrested four cadres. In Gazipur District, Police arrested 15 cadres.
Three PBCP cadres arrested from Rajbari and Meherpur Districts
The Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three members of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) Lal Pataka faction and recovered firearms from them in Rajbari District and Meherpur District on Feb 6, reports The Daily Star. In Rajbari District, the Police raided Rail Gate area and arrested Chandan Kumar Biswas with a pistol and two bullets. In Meherpur District, RAB in Gangni sub-District raided Muhammad pur village. The team arrested Ruhul Amin and Ratan Ali and recovered a shutter gun from their possession.
Two cadres of HT arrested in Bogra District
Two suspected members of banned Islamist outfit Hizb-ut Tawhid (HT) were arrested at Nijbalail Bazar in Sarishakandi sub-District of Bogra District on Feb 6, reports The Independent. The arrestees are identified as Md Ataullah (35) and Rakibul Islam (25). The Police said they were held while distributing leaflets of their organization in the area.
HuT leader’s house attacked, 11 injured in Pirojpur District
Villagers of South Sohagdal under Nesarabad sub-District in Pirojpur District ransacked the house of a suspected leader of the banned Islamist outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) on Feb 12, reports, The Independent. The victim was identified as Saidul Islam and a total of 11 persons including women and children were injured in the attack. Villagers told that Saidul Islam and his brother tried to involve the locals in the HuT activists for a long time. On June 11, some villagers asked them not to do that work and a quarrel and a hand to hand fight occurred among Saidul and villagers on the issue. Later excited villagers attacked the house and broke it.
Seven HuT cadres arrested in Dhaka
Seven alleged cadres of the banned outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) were arrested in separate drives by Rapid Action Battalion-2 (RAB-2) in Dhaka”s Mohammadpur, Hazaribagh and Dhanmondi areas in the last two days, reports The Daily Star. A team of RAB-2 conducted a drive at Mohammadia Housing Ltd in Mohammadpur on June 23 and arrested three HuT cadres. The team conducted two more drives at Jigatala in Hazaribagh and Dhanmondi on June 24 and arrested four more cadres of the banned outfit. The RAB-2 personnel also recovered a number of books on Jihad, leaflets, a laptop, four personal computers and eight mobile sets from the possession of the arrestees.
GMF cadre killed in shootout in Kushtia District
A Gono Mukti Fouz cadre was killed in a shootout with Police in Saddar sub-district of Kushtia District on Feb 12, reports Daily Star. The deceased was identified as Shahidul Islam of Bhadalia village of Kushtia Saddar. Police raided Samastipur village on information that Shahidul and his aides were holding a meeting.
PCJSS leader shot dead
A leader of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) was shot dead at his Kalyanpur residence in Rangamati early on Feb 13. The deceased was identified as secretary of Naniarchar upazila, Abilash Chakma, son of Daial Chakma of Ghilaichari union in the upazila of the district. Media reports said that unidentified assailants entered his house around 3 am and fled after shooting him in his forehead.
Militant hideouts in Bangladesh dwindle: Tripura DGP Pranay Sahay
The change of guard in Bangladesh has resulted in sharp downfall in militancy related incidents in Tripura, India said outgoing Director of Police (DGP) Pranay Sahay on Feb 17, reports Tripura times. Pranay Sahay, who handed over the charge to K. Saleem Ali on October 11 to pave the way for taking over the charge of Special Director General of Border Security Forces (BSF), told media that the insurgent hideouts in Bangladesh has got dwindled from 45 in 2005 to 18 in August, 2010. Of the total hideouts, 15 camps being operated by National Liberation Front of Tripura while rest 5 hideouts belong to All Tripura Tiger Force, according to intelligence inputs.
Serial blasts rock Brahmanbaria
Cocktails were exploded simultaneously in different places of Brahmanbaria town on Monday (Feb 25) afternoon, creating panic among people. There was no report of injury or damage in the serial explosions that rocked the area. Witnesses said a group of youths riding motorbikes set off cocktails in the town at about 5:15pm, creating big bang. They threw cocktails in important places between Kautali point and Kumarhil intersection.
In the wake of subversive acts, local shopkeepers shut their business establishments in fear. Soon after the incident, local police super M Moniruddin visited the Gonojagoron Moncho. Apart from the serial blasts, a gang of masked miscreants hurled several crude bombs targeting Awami League office in the town at night.
Kamal Pasha, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said miscreants might have set off cocktails to stop the ongoing movement at ‘Gonojagoron Moncho’ here.
25 people injured as JeI-ICS cadres go berserk across the country
25 persons were injured in sporadic clashes between the Police and Jamaat-e-Islam (JeI)-Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres in Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal and Rangpur Districts on February 13, reports The Daily Star. Law enforcers detained 415 people in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rangpur in connection with the vandalism and attacks on Police. In Dhaka city, at least 20 people, including an additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, were injured in the clashes. About 150 JeI-ICS cadres were arrested from the city. In Chittagong District, JeI-ICS cadres vandalised at least eight buses and two covered vans. The Police arrested eight JeI-ICS cadres after combing through the Chittagong city. In Barisal District, at least five persons were injured and three of the cadres were arrested from the Barisal city. In Rangpur District, Police arrested 13 cadres from Mithapukur sub-District after a clash.
Meanwhile, countrywide demonstrations demanding death penalty for war criminals, including JeI leader Abdul Quader Molla, continued on February 13. In Chittagong District, it was the eighth day of demonstrations as people irrespective of age, sex and religion, converged before Chittagong Press Club to express solidarity with the demand. In Rajshahi District, over 2,000 students, teachers and staff of Rajshahi University took part in the demonstrations at “Gonomancha” in Tukitaki Chattar for the seventh day.
Three PBCP-Red Flag faction cadres arrested along with arms in Pabna District
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three cadres of Red Flag faction of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-Red Flag) in Ataikula sub-District of the Pabna District on February 12, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are identified as Muhamad Anwarul Islam (40), Jahangir Alam (38) and Muhamed Yakub Ali (32). RAB recovered two one barrel guns, one light gun (LG), four bullets and two knives from their possession.
India – Internal Dynamics
Bomb blast on Republic Day in Manipur
A bomb explosion was reported on the Republic Day celebrations (January 26) in Manipur, with Governor Gurbachan Jagat appealing for peace in the troubled state, reports The Times of India. Separatist militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast at Wangbal in Thoubal District. No one was injured
Explosives recovered in Assam
Plastic explosives were recovered from three youths who were targeting a power station in Assam’s Dhemaji District on Republic Day on January 26, reports The Hindu. The three youths, sped away on their motorcycles, when signalled to stop during a routine check near the Panbari border outpost under Gerukamukh Police Station. They were caught and arrested following a chase. Three packets of plastic explosives, five packets of fuse wire, six fuses and daggers were found in their possession. The youths identified as Pranendra Wari, Nakesh Narzari and Hemkanta Narzari were targeting the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at the Gerukamukh Dam Site. It was not known to which insurgent outfit they belonged to.
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh hoists national flag in former Maoist stronghold after a gap of two decades in Jharkhand
After a gap of about two decades, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on January 26 unfurled the national tri-colour on Republic Day at Saranda in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand, which was liberated from Maoists last year. Hoisting the national flag Ramesh regretted the tardy pace of the Saranda Development Plan. Referring to the prevailing political situation in Jharkhand, he said President’s Rule was not an alternative to a popular elected Government, which was needed to achieve rapid growth. The union minister also inaugurated a Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) road constructed under the Integrated Development Plan and handed over a cheque of INR 10 lakh for completion of the Panchayat Bhawan.
Two Maoist ‘carriers’ killed in blast
Two suspected cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist died in a blast while carrying explosives on a two-wheeler near Bhusuwa village at Ichak in Hazaribagh District on January 26, reports The Times of India. Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Ichak Police Station Rama Shankar Singh said, “The two were carrying about 300 pieces of explosives in a bag and sped away in a bid to escape the Police dragnet. Suddenly one of their cellphones started ringing and the explosives which they were carrying got ignited and exploded with loud noise…..” The explosion was so severe that victim Vijay Yadav’s leg was blown off while the body of other victim Sanjay Ram, who was sitting on the pillion, was badly mutilated, added the OIC.
Eight low-intensity explosions reported in Assam
At least eight low-intensity explosions were reported from two different Districts on January 26, reports The Telegraph. While four explosions were reported Porabhata, Medattari, Airkata and Chirakuti in Dhubri District, another four were reported from Simlakandi, Jaleswar, Gornagar and Merakuchi in Goalpara District. One of the blast occurred near the house of Mainuddin Ahmed, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) legislator, from Jaleswar.
The Hindustan Times adds that immediately after the explosions at Jaleswar, the villagers caught a motorcycle-borne man. Suspecting he was the one carrying bombs, the villagers lynched him. The man was later identified as Nazrul Islam Khan, a known criminal, from the neighbouring Dhubri District.
Maoists kill ex-Panchayat member
Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres shot dead a former member of Bodopada Panchayat Samiti (block-level local self-Government institution) suspecting him to be a Police informer in Malkangiri District on January 29, reports The Times of India. The deceased was identified as Kamal Lochan Anukam (28). A group of armed Maoists swooped on Bodopada village, situated on one side of Balimela reservoir and shot dead Kamal.
Cache of explosives seized in Jharkhand
Security Forces on January 31, seized 314 kilogram of explosives in Tamar Block of Ranchi District, reports The Telegraph. Based on a tip-off, troopers of 209 COBRA and Jharkhand Jaguar raided Kumarburu hillock near village Paramdih to recover the haul stashed underground. Commandant Puran Singh said the explosives were kept in 3,511 small cylinders, storing 100 gram or 150 gram in each.
Maoist leaders are very wealthy claims splinter group
Top Maoist leaders operating in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha siphoned off a huge amount of party funds and spent it on their personal luxury, reports The Deccan Herald. In a leaflet, it says, it has been alleged that the Maoists who are considered to be messiahs of the poor are not so, rather, they are sitting on a stack of wealth. Maoist Raghunath Dangi owns a 10-wheel truck, a matador van, a brick kiln and two plots of land, one in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) and one in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand). Another Maoist Krishna Yadav, who was killed in an encounter in 2012, built a house at Chatra (Jharkhand) and purchased a 10-wheel truck and Ramashankar Yadav, apart from buying 10 dumpers, has palatial buildings in Aurangabad (Bihar) and New Delhi. Jagdish Yadav alias Master alias Prabhat – one of the most respected names among the Maoists in Bengal-Jharkhand-Odisha Committee has started a cloth business in Gaya (Bihar) and has also built a house in Bokaro (Jharkhand). Another top ranking Maoist, Vijay Kumar Arya, who was arrested last year by Police along with six other top leaders of the organisation, has his son studying in a foreign country while Madanpal has his daughter admitted to a medical college in Singapore. The leaflet also mentions that at least six top-ranking Maoist leaders are characterless and have relations with more than one woman. In most of the cases the women are forced to compromise at gunpoint. Commenting on the matter, a senior Police officer in West Bengal Police said: “This is true but it is very hard to prove. The properties are not purchased in their name. Naturally, you cannot attach the property. So knowing everything we have to keep quiet”.
Maoists regrouping in Jungle Mahal area of West Bengal
According to the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of West Bengal, the Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres are again regrouping in Jungle Mahal region (West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura Districts), reports Zee News, on February 1. The latest intelligence reports said the Maoist cadres in small groups were trying to regroup in the area and rebuilding their movement from a scratch. Commenting on the matter, SIB Additional Director General (ADG), Banibrata Basu, said, “We have specific inputs that Maoists are trying to regroup in the region. The squads of Maoist leaders Bikash in the Lalgarh area (West Midnapore), Ranjit in Ayodhya hills (Purulia), Madan Mahato in Jambani, Akash and Jayanto are trying to regroup and recruit new people.” According to sources, Maoist commanders Bikash’s wife Tara, Madan’s wife Jaba and Jayanto are engaged in reviving the movement and rebuilding the support base among the tribals.
GNLA militants kill Jailor in Meghalaya
Garo National Liberation Army militants on February 2 stormed Williamnagar District jail where they shot dead the assistant jailor and injured a warder in East Garo Hills District, reports The Telegraph. “GNLA cadres entered Williamnagar district jail and shot dead assistant jailor Neil Warjri. The warder Sharai Sing Thabah was seriously injured in the jail compound near the gate,” East Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Vijay Kumar Mantri said from New Delhi.
Dead body of KNO militant recovered in Manipur
The dead body of a Kuki National Organisation (KNO) militant was recovered from Kotsuohoi village, about four kilometres west from Lamka in Churachandpur District on January 29, reports The Sangai Express.
Referring to the incident, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), on February 2, said it deeply regretted the unfortunate circumstances that led to the demise of Haokhosei Lhouvum alias Josh Seiboi, a member of Suspension of Operation (SoO) Joint Monitoring Group. The KNO statement issued by ‘Under Secretary’ T Stephen said the ‘demise’ was caused by cadres of the organization on January 29, and that the KNO ‘offers sincere condolences to the family members and dear ones’.
Bomb blast in Assam
Suspected militants belonging to the I K Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland on February 3 exploded a powerful bomb in the railway tracks at Goabari in Kokrajhar District, reports The Times of India. No casualty was reported. The bomb suspected to have been planted by the NDFB-IKS exploded at 1.10am two minutes after the Howrah-Guwahati down Garib rath Express passed the area between Gossaigaon and Fakiragram, Police said.
Maoists vow to continue putting bombs in dead bodies
According to The Times of India, the Communist Party of India-Maoist has declared that it will continue with the tactic of planting bombs in the bodies of killed Security Force (SF) personnel like they did in Latehar in Jharkhand recently. In a written statement dated January 16 on behalf of the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Military Commission of the PLGA, CPI-Maoist spokesperson Toofan said that since the attacks by SFs on Maoists did not follow any “rules of war”, they would also go beyond the rules.
SPO killed in Jharkhand
Suspected cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist killed a special Police officer (SPO), identified as Vinod Munda, at Shirdi village in Rahe block of Ranchi District in Jharkhand on February 4, reports The Times of India. The body was recovered from behind a primary school in the village where another SPO, Rajendra Singh Munda, was shot at during a social gathering in the same evening. Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Saket Kumar Singh on February 5 said, “The modus operandi is a little different from the Maoists’. Both the victims are SPOs and thus it is likely that the Maoists have carried out the incident,” said the SSP. Police suspect that ‘area commander’ of the Gautam Dhara Area Committee of the CPI-Maoist Ram Mohan has carried out the killing. “Ram Mohan was seen sitting with his aides at the Tusu festival on Monday [February 4] and he opened fire on these persons,” said the Police officer. Ram Mohan is an aide of South Chhotanagpur ‘zonal commander’ Kundan Pahan.
Mizo civil society groups support demand for a separate Kuki State
A meeting of civil society organisations convened by Zo Re-unification Organisation (ZRO) at Aizawl in Aizawl District in Mizoram on February 6 resolved to support the demand for creation of a Kuki State, reports The Telegraph. Leaders of Mizoram Students Union (MSU), Mizoram Chiefs’ Council, former Mizo National Front (MNF) leaders, Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) and other civil groups attended the meeting. KSDC is agitating for a separate Kuki State incorporating Kuki inhabited areas of Manipur.
Apart from resolving to support the Kuki state demand, participants resolved to appraise the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) about the alleged atrocities by Nationalist Socialist council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah and Meitei militants on Kuki people. The participants also resolved to put pressure on the Centre and the Manipur government for a political solution to the Kuki problem before any political settlement with the NSCN-IM.
Death toll in Maoist violence during Panchayat polls in Assam rises to 20
Death toll in violence during third phase of Panchayat (local self Government institution) polls in Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) areas of Goalpara District has risen to 20. The Hindu on February 14 reported that 12 people had died as a result of Police firing when violent mobs of comprising the Rabha people attacked polling centres and polling teams to obstruct the holding of Panchayat polls on February 12. One more person later died in the Police firing on a mob that was indulging in arson and looting. Besides this, bodies of seven persons killed in clashes between Rabha and non-Rabha groups were recovered between February 12-13. The violence has triggered an exodus of people from affected villages, forcing over 12,000 people to take shelter in 12 relief camps till February 13 afternoon, even as the Army has been continuing flag marches. There was no relaxation in the curfew clamped in Krishnai and Mornoi Police Station areas.
Chief Minister (CM) Tarun Gogoi on February 13, however, revealed that 19 people lost their lives in the RHAC violence, of which six died in ethnic clashes, reports The Telegraph. “Twelve persons died in Police firing during poll violence, one during loot and arson, and six in ethnic clashes. About 70, including 30 policemen, were injured, while over a hundred houses were burnt,” Gogoi said. Gogoi, while admitting that there were lapses on the part of the Government and the administration, said that the violence was an ‘organized one’ with vested interest circles lending their weight behind it. UNI quoted Tarun Gogoi saying, “I take full responsibility for failing to provide adequate security. There were some lapses and we had no prior information.”
Law and order under control but GNLA still a concern, says Meghalaya Governor
The Shillong Times reports on February 14 that Meghalaya Governor, RS Mooshahary while praising the State Government for the “commendable” job it has done in containing the activities of militant groups said law and order situation in the State is under control. Speaking at the two-day conference of Governors, Mooshahary said the State was fully geared up for the February 23 elections. “The activities of Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council are on decline in Khasi-Jainita Hills,” the Governor said adding the peace agreement with the Garo militant outfit A’Chik National Volunteer Council would be signed shortly. “However, the increased activities of the Garo national Liberation Army and its growing influence in Garo Hills and parts of West Khasi Hills is a matter of concern,” he added.
Meanwhile, the State will avail the services of 71 companies of central para-military forces for the Assembly elections, though the Election department had sought 76 companies. Only 10 companies of para military forces have been deployed, mostly in Garo Hills, for the law and order duty. The Chief Electoral Officer, P Naik told reporters on February 13 that 61 companies of central paramilitary forces would arrive in the State after the Tripura elections on February 15. Naik hoped that the election would be free and fair since no militant group has boycotted the elections. The chief electoral officer, however, admitted that there were certain pockets in Garo Hills which are vulnerable that need attention.
Two persons injured in KPLT firing
The Telegraph reports that two persons were injured and two vehicles damaged as suspected Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger militants opened fire on National Highway 37 near Kaziranga National Park in the night of February 15. The area falls under Kohora Police outpost in Golaghat District neighbouring Karbi Anglong. The incident took place during an indefinite strike called by KPLT from February 13. The injured have been identified as Jyoti Kr Deka, an employee of Doomdooma Municipality Board and Suresh Chetri, who worked as a helper on a truck. Deka received injuries on his leg while a bullet grazed Chetri’s forehead. The Toyota Etios in which Deka was travelling and the truck with Chetri were also damaged in the firing. The office in-charge of the outpost, J. Deka, said militants descended from the neighbouring Karbi Anglong hills around 8.30 pm and opened fire from automatic weapons and lobbed grenades on vehicles plying on the highway. The group fired around 22 rounds.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Jan 26, 2013 to Feb 25, 2013:
| Civilian | Indian Security personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 00 | 02 | 09 | 11 |
| Manipur | 02 | 00 | 09 | 11 |
| Meghalaya | 02 | 02 | 03 | 07 |
| Nagaland | 04 | 00 | 00 | 04 |
| Left wing | 11 | 09 | 06 | 26 |
| Total | 19 | 13 | 27 | 59 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Protesters pelt stones at PM Baburam Bhattarai’s vehicle in Kailali District
Anti-Government protesters hurled stones at a vehicle in which Prime Minister Baburam (PM) Bhattarai was travelling at Dhangadhi in Kailali District on January 27, reports Kantipuronline.com. Bhattarai was on his way to inaugurate the party’s District convention. Bhattarai was unhurt in the incident. Protesters staged demonstrations from early morning in major thoroughfares in Dhangadhi to disrupt the PM’s visit. They burnt tyres and shouted anti-Government slogans, demanding Bhattarai’s immediate resignation.
Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties on January 27 claimed that the incumbent Government has turned into the most corrupt one in the history of Nepal, reports The Himalayan Times. At a programme organised by the Reporters Club in Kathmandu, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Ram Sharan Mahat blaming the incumbent Government of embezzling money from state coffers, claimed that Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist has transformed corruption into a respectable act. Similarly, leader of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Raghubir Mahaseth blamed the UCPN-M leaders of benefitting by collapsing the nation’s economy. “Maoist has continued donation threat in the name of its General Convention. Business entrepreneurs are hit hard by the donation threats,” said Mahaseth.
12 persons injured as YCL cadres clash with anti-government protesters in Kavre District
At least 12 persons were injured in Banepa of Kavre District on January 29 after clashes between anti-Government protesters and cadres of Young Communist League (YCL), the youth wing of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, went out of hand, reports Kantipuronline.com. The clashes ensued after YCL cadres allegedly threw stones at cadres of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) who had gathered for a protest rally. YCL cadres wielding iron rods, batons and stones attacked the NC and CPN-UML cadres holding black flags for the rally.
Meanwhile, nine opposition parties including NC and CPN-UML on January 29 demonstrated in the heart of Kathmandu demanding that the Baburam Bhattarai-led Government step down, reports The Himalayan Times. Holding their flags, hundreds of cadres of NC, CPN-UML and other fringe parties and supporters chanted slogans against the Government and urged it to step down to clear the way for fresh Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. Second rung leaders of opposition parties addressed the protest rally as they are planning for bigger protest meeting on February 8 in Kathmandu to be addressed by top opposition leaders.
UCPN-M factions clash in Rautahat District
Supporters of the rival leaders of Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist clashed during a convention of the party’s local committee at Basantapur in Rautahat District on January 31, reports Nepalnews.com. Dispute over the selection of the representatives for the upcoming General Convention got physical, prompting Police intervention to prevent further tension. The cadres participating in the convention were apparently divided into two camps – one supporting central leader and former minister Prabhu Sah and the other backed by Ashok Jaiswal, a leader of from party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda faction.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Jhala Nath Khanal on February 1 (today), said that the opposition parties have waged a nation-wide movement to fight the “totalitarian ambitions” of the ruling UCPN-M. Khanal said that the protest movement being organised by the opposition parties was solely meant to fight the growing Maoist totalitarianism and establish peace and harmony in the country. He also blamed the ruling alliance of shutting the doors to a meaningful dialogue to end the political crisis facing the country.
Opposition parties protest against Maoist totalitarianism
Various opposition parties organized a protest rally in Biratnagar of Morang District on February 2 against Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s Government, reports myrepublica.com. Addressing the protest rally, the leaders of opposition parties argued that their protest is aimed at thwarting the attempt of Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist to impose totalitarianism in the country and safeguard the achievements made through the historic people´s movement in April 2006.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal on February 3 said, “The Baburam Bhattarai-led Government is hell-bent on imposing totalitarianism by dissolving the Constituent Assembly (CA). Our protest won’t be stopped until the Government is toppled down,” reports Kantipuronline.com. Nepali Congress (NC) senior leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said the Maoists were concentrating their efforts to prolong the Government and neglecting consensus politics.
President holds separate meetings with the top leaders of the major parties
Amid fresh rift between the parties over the formation of the election Government, President Ram Baran Yadav held separate meetings with the top leaders of the major parties on February 13, reports Nepalnews.com. President Yadav had a discussion with Nepali Congress (NC) president Sushil Koirala in the morning and later with Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal. He is also set to hold discussion with the leaders of the Madhesi Front.
Meanwhile, immediately after Nepal Bar Association (NBA) ruled out deputation of sitting Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi in any non judicial position, Attorney General Mukti Narayan Pradhan on February 13 advised Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai that a sitting Chief Justice can be appointed as Prime Minister to hold elections with a clear terms of reference, reports The Himalayan Times. He said Article 106 had to be amended with clear provision of handing executive power to the Chief Justice-led Government to hold elections. “This task is not only related with Article 106 but with formation of a Government with entire executive authority so there is no question of Article 106,” Pradhan said, adding, “Since the parties are divided on Government formation, this seems the best option.”
Normal life across the country paralysed as CPN-Maoist-Baidya calls for bandh against ‘technocrat Government’
Normal life in Kathmandu Valley and across many parts of the country has been paralysed on February 19 (today) due to the day-long bandh (general strike) called by Mohan Baidya led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist-Baidya (CPN-Maoist-Baidya) against the decision of four major political parties to form an 11-member election Government of ‘technocrats’ headed by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, reports Nepalnews.com. The streets and main market centers of capital Kathmandu wears an almost deserted look with most of the shops and businesses closed and vehicles (both public and private) staying off the road fearing attacks by bandh organisers. Similarly, educational institutions like schools and colleges are largely closed.
Meanwhile, major political parties on February 18 finally endorsed a deal to form an election Government under the leadership of sitting Chief Justice and to hold Constituent Assembly (CA) polls by mid-June, reports Myrepublica.com. Top leaders of Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) along with key leaders from their respective parties reached the agreement to this effect in Kathmandu. The parties also agreed to hold the elections of local bodies by mid-April.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
TNA seeks help from visiting US officials for an early solution to ethnic issue
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on January 27 requested the three US Assistant Secretaries of State who are currently on a visit to Sri Lanka to help find early solutions to problems faced by minority communities, reports Colombo Page. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Vikram Singh, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jane Zimmerman arrived in Sri Lanka on January 26 on a mission to mainly assess the progress on implementing measures recommended by the country’s own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The TNA delegation led by R. Sampanthan and including parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran and S. Sridharan met the US officials at the residence of US Ambassador, Michele Sisson. Sampanthan told the US officials that the Government is reluctant to fulfill the political aspirations of the Tamils, and implement the recommendations of the LLRC. The TNA has pointed out that there has been hardly any move in implementing the LLRC or addressing the grievances of the people in the North and East.
US senators call for independent investigation into alleged war crimes during war
Two US Senators on January 29 have called for an independent investigation into the potential war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the civil war in Sri Lanka, reports Colombo Page. In a letter addressed to the outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania Bob Casey and Democratic Senator from Vermont Patrick Leahy said an independent investigation is needed because the Sri Lankan Government has not answered the legitimate concerns of the people. “During the years following the end of the war, the Sri Lankan people have waited for the Government to address these concerns, yet no tangible or substantial progress has been made,” the Senators wrote.
Meanwhile, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department James R. Moore on January 28 said, “As a measure to force Sri Lanka to expedite the implementation of the pledges given on reconciliation, the United States will sponsor a new resolution against Sri Lanka at the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Sessions in Geneva in March. It is a straightforward resolution that will build on the resolution brought in March 2012.” He added that the resolution will be to expedite reconciliation and implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report. There was speculation that the US was not happy with the Government’s pace of the implementation of LLRC recommendations, and it was planning to bring another resolution.
Sri Lanka fails to take meaningful steps towards accountability for war crimes, says HRW Report
The Sri Lankan Government continued its assault on civil society and failed to take meaningful steps towards accountability for war crimes during the country’s armed conflict that ended in 2009, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2013 released on February 1, reports Daily Mirror. In its 665-page report, HRW assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including an analysis of the aftermath of the Arab Spring. There was no fundamental progress on key human rights issues in Sri Lanka over the past year, HRW said. Overly broad detention powers remained in place under various laws and regulations, leaving several thousand people detained without charge. State Security Forces (SFs) committed arbitrary arrests and torture, including sexual assault, against ethnic minority Tamils. Repatriated Tamils allegedly linked to the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were at particular risk, HRW research found. While the Tamil population in the north benefitted from greater access by humanitarian groups, the military presence kept living conditions from being normalized.
TNA urges UNHRC for action against Sri Lanka Government
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on February 3 called for further action by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against the Sri Lanka Government, reports Daily Mirror. The party in a statement said that appropriate action at the UNHRC is absolutely necessary to persuade the Sri Lankan Government to adhere to the UN resolution adapted by the UNHRC and to discontinue with what it called ‘harmful agenda’ against the Tamil People of Sri Lanka. TNA accused the Government of refusing to consider the proposals offered by the TNA while the Government has repeatedly asked the TNA to join the Parliamentary Select Committee (PCS) appointed to work out a solution for the ethnic issue.
Meanwhile, TNA parliamentarian, S. Sritharan on February 3 said that thousands of civilians in Sri Lanka’s North will launch a hunger strike to protest against the lack of access to their lands, reports Colombo Page. Over 20,000 civilians in the North are to participate in the hunger strike scheduled to be held at the Tellippalai Durga Devi temple premises on February 15. The protestors will demand the withdrawal of the Security Forces (SFs) from lands owned by the civilians prior to the end of the war and will continue until the authorities address the civilians’ demands.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa rules out Tamil autonomy
Ruling out granting minority Tamils of the North any political autonomy as a solution to the three-decades-long ethnic conflict, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on February 4 said “It is not practical for this country to have different administrations based on ethnicity. The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities,” reports The Hindu. The President said this in his address to the nation on the occasion of the Sri Lankan Independence Day from the eastern port town of Trincomalee the administrative capital of Eastern Province. Mr. Rajapaksa claimed that though nearly four years had passed since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were routed, Sri Lanka “had to face continued challenges to protect the freedom and independence of our motherland. For this very reason we have now come to a very strong situation. Similarly, facing up to these challenges have increased our desire to be committed to our freedom”.
Parliament debates amending legislation to criminalize terrorist financing
Sri Lanka Parliament, on February 6, moved a draft revision bill to revise legislation on terrorist financing as the country needs a complete legal framework in order to suppress the financing of terrorism, reports Colombo Page. The draft bill to amend the Convention on Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act No 25 of 2005 was presented to Parliament by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The Sri Lankan Government, as a response to the threat from the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is still active overseas, has launched legislative efforts focused on limiting financial support for the remnants of LTTE. Sri Lanka says in order to suppress the financing of terrorism, the country needs a complete legal framework and therefore further revisions of the Act are needed. Speaking on the Draft Bill, Deputy External Affairs Minister Neomal Perera said the objective of the Bill is to prevent collection of funds for terrorist organizations. He said that this act is in operation in Sri Lanka since 2005. Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris brought the proposal in August 2012 to make changes in the law and the cabinet of ministers approved the proposal.
Parliament approves amendments to Terrorist Financing Act
Parliament on February 8 approved the draft bill to amend the Convention on Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act No 25 of 2005 without a vote after its Third Reading in Parliament, reports Colombo Page. The draft bill when presented to Parliament on February 6 got hung up in the definition of the word ‘terrorist’ when the opposition pointed out that the word ‘terrorist’ had not been defined clearly. The Leader of the House and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva clarified to the House who a terrorist is today and according to the Minister’s definition, a terrorist is a person who is directly or indirectly involved in any terrorist activity or a person who aids and abets him. The Act is amended to prevent collection of funds for terrorist organizations.
Sri Lanka has provided a high-level written commitment to work with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an organization that combats international money laundering and terrorist financing, to implement corrective measures to adequately criminalize money laundering and terrorist financing.
Government failed to keep war probe promises: UN
The report by human rights experts, which was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on February 11, said that Sri Lanka has failed to honour promises to investigate serious rights abuses and allegations that thousands of civilians were killed in the final stages of its ethnic war, reports Daily Mirror. The document, compiled by experts who visited Sri Lanka in September 2012, asked the Government to establish a “truth seeking mechanism” to address “transitional justice” in a country emerging from nearly four decades of ethnic strife. It said grave human rights violations, including the killing of 17 aid workers of a French charity in August 2006, had not been probed despite Government promises swiftly to bring perpetrators to justice.
Meanwhile, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda on February 13 said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders are following in the footsteps of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in spreading falsehoods about the country, reports Daily News. They travel from India to Geneva to concoct stories against the country. The minister said LTTE leaders were also in the habit of traveling in many countries and cities including Oslo and propagating falsehoods. “They preferred to tarnish the country’s image through fabricated accounts than solving their problems within the country. They are traveling from South Africa to North America and from India to Geneva rather than supporting the government’s development endeavour,” he said.
West misled by LTTE sympathizers
Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on February 11 said that the West is misled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam sympathizers, reports Daily News. “The international pressure brought to bear on Sri Lanka especially by the Western nations misled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sympathizers can cause international investors and even tourists to stay away from the country,” he said. Rajapaksa added, “Instead of narrowing the scope of their engagement with Sri Lanka because of the many misrepresentations and lobbying affected by special interest groups in their own countries, the nations that are pressuring Sri Lanka internationally should engage constructively with the Government. It is only then that they will see for themselves the good work being carried out here despite significant constraints.” He said, “Sri Lanka’s journey since the dawn of peace has seen the country transform from a nation in the throes of many post conflict challenges to a country that is amongst the most peaceful, stable and secure in the world.”
Shelling deaths due to unlawful acts by the LTTE, says Court of Inquiry Report
The Court of Inquiry appointed by Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya investigating into the controversial instances of shelling referred to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report on February 15 said that instances of shelling mentioned in the LLRC report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and the civilian casualties might have occurred due to unlawful acts by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reports Daily News. The report said “These acts include targeting civilians fleeing to the safety of Army held areas and likely routes of escape, dropping of artillery rounds fired by ill trained LTTE gunners on to civilian concentrations, employment of sub standard artillery guns and incompatible and substandard artillery rounds obtained from illegal sources by the LTTE, forced conscription of civilians including children and old people for LTTE combat purposes thus exposing them to danger.”
UNHRC should launch an independent investigation into war crimes, says HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) members on February 20 said that at its March 2013 session, the UNHRC should authorize an independent, international investigation into war crimes committed during the final months of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, reports Daily Mirror. Since the council adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka at its March 2012 session calling for action, the Sri Lankan Government has taken no significant steps to provide justice for victims of abuse and accountability for those responsible.
Meanwhile, fresh questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s armed forces conduct during the final stages of the operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels after new photographs emerged claiming that the 12-year-old Balachandran Prabhakaran son of the LTTE’s leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was summarily executed, reports Times of India on February 19. One of the photos shows the boy sitting in a bunker, alive and unharmed, apparently in the custody of Sri Lankan troops. Another picture which was taken a few hours later shows the boy’s body lying on the ground, his chest pierced by bullets. The images were taken in May 2009 at the end of the Sri Lankan Government’s operation to crush the LTTE. A forensic pathologist who examined the images said the boy was shot five times in the chest. Furthermore, propellant burns around the wound suggest he was shot at very close range.
Further, Sri Lanka on February 19 flatly rejected the latest documentary by a British channel that is featuring a new set of images of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son in the final battle, reports Colombo Page. The military rejected Britain’s Channel 4 documentary titled ‘No War Zone – the killing fields of Sri Lanka’ to be aired in Geneva at the next session of the UNHRC scheduled to begin later this month as “concocted lies, half-truths and speculations” to embarrass the country at the summit.
INTERNATIONAL
Iran snubs EU over oil, gas ban
Iran’s oil ministry spokesman says all crude oil and gas exports have been banned to the 27-nation European Union, which has already imposed its own boycott on Iranian energy imports as part of sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
It is unclear what practical effect the Iranian decision would have. But the announcement on Sunday, Jan 27 by spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad Rahbar could be a symbolic act designed to reflect anger at Western unity over economic pressures on Iran.
The semi official Mehr news agency quotes Rahbar as saying the Iranian ban will remain as long as “hostile decisions” are made by the EU.
Before the EU bans last year, the bloc represented about 18 percent of Iran’s oil sales. The U.S. and allies fear Iran could seek a nuclear weapon, a charge Tehran denies.—AP
Gunmen kill 9 cops, 2 injured
Philippine officials say gunmen have ambushed a truck carrying policemen and village guards, killing nine in a mountainous central province. Police officer Gary Genelaso says a policeman and eight others, mostly village guards, were killed by the unidentified men, who raked the victims’ truck with rifle fire before dawn Sunday (Jan 27) in La Castellana town in Negros Occidental province. Two other policemen were wounded.
Genelaso says the policemen and villagers were returning to a police station after helping secure a village festival when they came under attack in the foothills of Mount Kanlaon.
Army and police officials suspect the attackers are either communist New People’s Army guerrillas or members of an illegal logging syndicate.—AP
Yemeni troops with tanks attack Al Qaeda stronghold
Yemeni troops backed by tanks attacked an al Qaeda stronghold on Monday, January 28 after talks to free three Western hostages collapsed, an official and residents said, leading to a retaliatory militant raid that killed three soldiers.
A Finnish couple and an Austrian man, who were studying Arabic in Yemen, were snatched last month by tribesmen in the capital Sanaa. They were later sold to members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and transferred to the southern al-Bayda province, a Yemeni official told Reuters earlier this month.
A separate government official said the army began its Monday offensive after AQAP rejected demands to release the hostages. Residents said they saw dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles moving at dawn towards al Qaeda’s al-Manasseh stronghold in al-Bayda. Militants retaliated by attacking a military checkpoint in Radda, a town near al-Manasseh. At least three soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in the attack, medical sources said.
Iran denies uranium facility blast
Iran has denied media reports of a major explosion at one of its most sensitive uranium enrichment sites, describing them as Western propaganda designed to influence upcoming nuclear negotiations. Reuters has been unable to verify reports since Friday (Jan 25) of an explosion early last week at the underground Fordow bunker, near the religious city of Qom, that some Israeli and Western media have said caused significant damage.
“The false news of an explosion at Fordow is Western propaganda ahead of nuclear negotiations to influence their process and outcome,” state news agency IRNA quoted the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Saeed Shamseddin Bar Broudi, as saying late on Sunday, Jan 27.
Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted military commander Massoud Jazayeri as saying: “I deny an explosion at the Fordow site.” In late 2011 the plant at Fordow began producing uranium enriched to 20 percent fissile purity, compared with the 3.5 percent level needed for nuclear energy plants. Several U.N. Security Council resolutions have ordered Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment. Speculation of an explosion at Fordow followed an Iranian news agency report that global powers and Tehran could resume talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear program on Monday and Tuesday. The European Union, the lead negotiator on the nuclear talks, said there was no such agreement.
Diplomats in Vienna, where the United Nations’ nuclear agency is based, said on Monday they had no knowledge of any incident at Fordow but were looking into the reports. One Western diplomat said he did not believe them to be correct. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which regularly inspects Iranian nuclear sites including Fordow, had no immediate comment. Iran has accused Israel and the United States of trying to sabotage its nuclear program, which the West suspects hides an attempt to develop atom bomb capability.
France fears Islamists rise in Syria
France’s foreign minister said on Monday, Jan 28 Syria risks falling into the hands of Islamist militant groups if supporters of the Syrian opposition do not do more to help it in a 22-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Addressing the opening of a conference in Paris with senior members of the Syrian National Coalition, Laurent Fabius said the meeting must focus on making the opposition politically and militarily cohesive to encourage international assistance. “Facing the collapse of a state and society, it is Islamist groups that risk gaining ground if we do not act as we should,” he said. “We cannot let a revolution that started as a peaceful and democratic protest degenerate into a conflict of militias.” Western concern over the growing strength of jihadist militants fighting autonomously in the disorganised ranks of anti-Assad rebel forces is rising. This has hindered international aid to the moderate Syrian National Coalition opposition and may push it more into the arms of conservative Muslim backers, diplomatic sources say. The meeting, which brought together Western and Arab nations and the three vice-presidents of the coalition, aims to tackle the lack of cohesion that has led to broken promises of aid. Coalition vice-president Riad Seif said “time is not on our side” and that the opposition no longer wanted pledges of support that would not be followed through on. We need an interim or transitional government to provide assistance to millions of Syrians in liberated zones and to help bring the collapse of the (Assad) regime,” he said. —Reuters
Al Qaeda asks Iraqis to pick arms
Al Qaeda’s Iraqi wing on Thursday, January 31 urged Sunni protesters to take up arms against Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, adding fuel to growing sectarian unrest in the world’s fastest-growing oil exporter. Al Qaeda’s local affiliate Islamic State of Iraq said “peace and patience” were useless for dealing with the Shi’ite-led government they see as oppressors of Iraq’s Sunni minority. Thousands of Sunni Muslims have rallied mostly in the western province of Anbar since December over frustrations they have been sidelined since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Maliki says he will address legitimate demands, but warned against militants hijacking protests, heightening concern the OPEC nation risks worsening Shi’ite against Sunni confrontation. Weakened by war with U.S. and Iraqi troops, Islamic State of Iraq last year vowed to retake ground lost to the government. With Sunni Islamist militants flowing into neighbouring Syria to battle President Bashar al-Assad, security experts say al Qaeda is gaining funds, recruits and morale on both sides of the border, after years of losses. —Reuters
N. Korea threatens US over rocket launches
North Korea is threatening to retaliate for what it calls U.S. double standards over recent rocket launches by Pyongyang and U.S. ally Seoul.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman did not elaborate on what that might entail in his comments Saturday, February 2 to the official Korean Central News Agency. But Pyongyang has recently threatened to conduct its third nuclear test in response to what it calls U.S. hostility. Washington says Seoul’s rocket launch Wednesday had no military intent while Pyongyang’s in December was a test of banned ballistic missile technology.—AP
33 killed in Kirkuk suicide bombing
At least 33 people were killed in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday, February 3 when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside a police headquarters and gunmen disguised as officers tried to storm the compound. The blast was the third major attack in weeks in or near the multiethnic city of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, at the heart of a dispute between Iraq’s central government and the autonomous Kurdistan region.
Police said the bomber triggered the huge blast near a side entrance to the police building, demolishing part of a government office nearby. Guards and emergency workers dragged bloodied survivors onto stretchers amid the wreckage of the blast, which left a large crater in the street. Police said 33 were killed, including 12 employees at the government office. But a health official said only 16 bodies were at a hospital morgue and more than 90 were wounded.
The attack comes as insurgents linked to al Qaeda try to inflame sectarian conflict in Iraq, where a power-sharing government split among Shi’ite majority, Sunni and ethnic Kurds has been in crisis since the last U.S. troops left a year ago.
Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of the capital, is at the heart of the dispute. Last year Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government sent rival forces to towns close to the disputed territories. Several armed groups are active in Kirkuk, and Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda often attack security forces in an attempt to undermine Maliki’s government and stoke sectarian tensions.
Kirkuk has also been home to the Naqshbandi army or JRTN, one of several insurgent groups made up of former soldiers and members of Saddam’s outlawed Baath party. Iraqi Arabs, Kurdistan’s government and Kirkuk’s minority Turkmen all lay claim to the city, known to some as the “Jerusalem of the Kurds” – a reference to its historically disputed status. Last month a suicide bomber disguised as a mourner killed at least 26 at a funeral at a Shi’ite mosque in the nearby city of Tuz Khurmatu, and days earlier a suicide bomber driving a truck killed 25 in an attack on a political party office in Kirkuk.
22 killed in Filipino extremists, rebels clash
A Muslim rebel group said Monday, February 4 it attacked Abu Sayyaf gunmen after the al-Qaida-linked militants refused to free hostages, sparking fierce jungle clashes that left up to 22 combatants dead in the southern Philippines. There was no word on whether the hostages were hurt in the fighting, but they remained in the grip of the Abu Sayyaf militants, police said.
Rebel commander Khabir Malik of the Moro National Liberation Front, which has an autonomy deal with the government, said his group decided to attack the Abu Sayyaf in the rugged mountains of Patikul town in southern Sulu province after negotiations collapsed on the release of several of its foreign hostages, including a Jordanian TV journalist and two European men who have been held since last year. Abu Sayyaf militants did release two Filipino hostages over the weekend after an unspecified ransom was paid, security officials said, adding the captives were let loose on their own and not turned over to the Moro rebels.
“We had no choice,” Malik told The Associated Press by telephone from Patikul. “They told us they won’t hand over their hostages to us even if they die.” The Moro rebels battled the Abu Sayyaf with guns and knives at close range Sunday, Malik said, adding his group lost eight men, including one who was beheaded and a few others who were hacked to death.
It was the first major bloody confrontation between the two insurgent groups, which have coexisted for years and at times were suspected of collaborating on kidnappings and backing each other in clashes against government troops in predominantly Muslim Sulu.
Turkey urged to speed up reforms of anti-terrorism law
Turkey must speed up its reforms of legislation such as the sweeping anti-terrorism laws under which dozens of journalists have been jailed, the head of the Council of Europe said on Tuesday, February 5. Since coming to power in 2002, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has earned praise for reforms aimed at bringing the EU candidate nation closer to European Union norms and for liberalising an economy that has seen unprecedented prosperity.
But his government is also accused of trying to tame the media and smother opposition. “The lawmaking process has to be sped up,” Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland told Reuters in an interview. They have laws, the terrorist act for instance, special courts, and they have a very wide interpretation of what incitement to violence is, which brings so many journalists to jail.” Anti-terrorism laws allow suspects to be detained for lengthy periods before being formally charged.
Erdogan’s government says most of the detained media workers are being held for serious crimes, such as membership of an armed terrorist group, that have nothing to do with journalism. “The problem is when a journalist in Turkey reports about a terrorist group then you are immediately being associated with this group … then you are detained and accused of enhancing terrorism,” Jagland said.—Reuters
$3.9 b bribed in Afghanistan in 2012
The cost of corruption in Afghanistan rose sharply last year to $3.9 billion, and half of all Afghans bribed public officials for services, the U.N. said Thursday, February 8. The findings came despite repeated promises by President Hamid Karzai to clean up his government. The international community has long expressed concern about the problem of corruption in Afghanistan because it reduces confidence in the Western-backed government.
Donor nations also fear aid money could be diverted by corrupt officials or mismanaged. Karzai ordered his ministries, prosecutors and judiciary to fight bribery, nepotism and cronyism with a series of measures in July. But a survey by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime and Afghanistan’s anti-corruption unit showed slight improvement in curbing the common practice of paying bribes for public services in the country.
Fifty percent of the adult population had to pay at least one bribe to a public official in 2012, a 9 percent drop from 2009, according to the findings, which were based on interviews last year with 6,700 Afghan adults from across the country. Meanwhile, the total cost of bribes paid to public officials increased 40 percent to $3.9 billion.
That amount was double the revenue collected by the government to provide services, said Lemahieu, head of the UNODC. He also noted that many poor people are unable to pay bribes, leaving them without access to public services or the ability to get government jobs. The Afghan High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption pledged to continue its efforts in fighting the problem, saying the report was an important step toward locating priority areas.
One particularly troubling trend singled out by the U.N. was the emergency of education as one of the most vulnerable sectors. The number of Afghans bribing a teacher jumped from 16 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2012, according to the survey. Offers were often received for improving exam results and providing information about the contents of the tests in exchange for bribes, raising concerns about the role of the practice in shaping the behavior and expectations of Afghanistan’s youths, the agency said. The survey also found that more of the public finds bribery acceptable. Of the adults interviewed last year, 68 percent said it was OK for a civil servant to supplement a low salary by accepting small bribes, compared with 42 percent in 2009.
Gunmen kill nine polio health workers
Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead nine health workers who were administering polio vaccinations in two separate attacks in Nigeria’s main northern city of Kano on Friday (February 8), police said. No one claimed responsibility but Islamist militant group Boko Haram – a sect which has condemned the use of Western medicine – has been blamed for carrying out a spate of assaults on security forces in the city in recent weeks.
The shootings will hit efforts by global health organisations to clear Nigeria of polio – a virus that can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection. Boko Haram killed hundreds last year in its effort to impose Islamic law, or sharia, on a country of 160 million split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
The group is seen as the most serious threat to the stability of Africa’s top energy producer, and Western governments fear the country could become a base for operations of al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups in the Sahara. President Goodluck Jonathan has highlighted links between Boko Haram and Saharan Islamists and said that relationship justified his decision to join efforts by French and West African forces to fight militants in Mali last month.
In 2003, northern Nigeria’s Muslim leaders opposed polio vaccinations, saying they could cause infertility and AIDS. Their campaign against the treatments was blamed for a resurgence of the disease in parts of Nigeria and other African countries previously declared polio-free.
Polio, a virus that attacks the nervous system, crippled thousands of people every year in rich nations until the 1950s.—AP
Yemen asks Iran not to aid rebels
Yemen’s president has asked his Iranian counterpart to stop backing armed groups on its soil after coastguards seized a consignment of missiles and rockets believed sent by the Islamic Republic, a government official said on February 8. Iran has denied any connection to the weapons, found aboard a vessel off the coast on January 23 in an operation coordinated with the U.S. Navy. But government official Abdel-Rashid Abdel Hafez said President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had contacted Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to demand Tehran stop smuggling in weapons. Hafez gave no further details of the message. “This is the most dangerous arms shipment being smuggled to Yemen,” Yemeni Deputy Interior Minister Abdel-Rahman Hanash told Reuters. “It contained anti-aircraft missiles, C4 high explosives materials which only a few countries in the Middle East possess.” Yemen, a majority Sunni Muslim country, said last week the vessel had been loaded in Iran. Yemen has complained to the U.N. Security Council asked for the weapons shipment to be investigated by the council’s group of experts that monitors compliance with the Iran sanctions regime. It includes a ban on arms exports, U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, said on Thursday. The council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which the United States, European Union and their allies suspect is at the heart of a weapons program. Iran rejects the allegation and refuses to halt what it says is a peaceful energy program. “The shipment contains weapons and some of the weapons are sophisticated weapons, surface to air missiles, for example. The government made a request to the sanctions committee for a full investigation,” Benomar told reporters. “They (the sanctions committee) will establish the facts on what happened, where the shipment came from, who were the recipients, et cetera,” he said. The 15-member council is also discussing whether to issue a U.S.-drafted statement on the weapons shipment.
France pays $17m to al Qaeda to free hostages
A former U.S. ambassador to Mali has alleged that France paid a $17 million ransom to free hostages seized from a French mining site cash she said ultimately funded the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants its troops are now fighting. French officials, whose soldiers are pushing north into the territory where the missing captives are believed to be held, denied paying any ransoms. Huddleston’s allegations, which she said dated back two years, strengthened the view that the Mali rebellion was funded largely by ransoms paid in recent years. In February 2011, three of the hostages seized at a French uranium mine in Niger including one Frenchwoman were freed; four remain in the hands al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.
The Islamist rebels retreating northward are apparently taking their Western hostages with them among them the mine workers and three other French citizens seized elsewhere. Huddleston, who served as ambassador to Mali and held positions in the State Department and Defense Department in the U.S. before retiring, told France’s iTele network that the French money allowed al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch to flourish in Mali.
“Although governments deny that they’re paying ransoms, everyone is pretty much aware that money has passed hands indirectly through different accounts and it ends up in the treasury, let us say, of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and allows them to buy weapons and recruit,” she said in the comments that aired Saturday.—AP
Current Threat Levels:
| City/ Region | Threat | Level |
| Islamabad | Level 2 | ** |
| Karachi | Level 2 | ** |
| Lahore | Level 2 | ** |
| Punjab | Level 2 | ** |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Level 3 | *** |
| Peshawar | Level 2 | ** |
| Quetta | Level 2 | ** |
| Upper Balochistan | Level 3 | *** |
| Lower Balochistan | Level 2 | ** |
| Upper / Rural Sindh | Level 2 | ** |
| Gilgit and Northern areas | Level 3 | *** |
| Tribal areas, close to Afghan border | Level 3 | *** |
Index to Threat Level Perceptions
Threat Level 1 *
Indicates there is no threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required
Threat Level 2 **
Indicates there is no specific threat to foreigners; however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised if traveling.
Threat Level 3 ***
Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Level dictates that foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.
Threat Level 4 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law & order leading to anarchy. All foreigners advised to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.
Threat Level 5 *****
Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion /occupation by enemy.
