Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings
At least 12 persons, including four security personnel, were killed and 35 others were injured in a suicide attack on the vehicle of Commandant of Frontier Constabulary (FCB) Abdul Majeed Marwat in the cantonment area of Peshawar on March 29, reports Daily Times. According to an official, the bomber blew him up when the FC commandant was going from his residence on Khyber Road to FC Headquarters on Shershah Suri Road. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan accepted responsibility for the attack.
Nine soldiers were killed and eight others injured in a suicide attack on a military vehicle and nearby roadside checkpoint in the Saidgai area of North Waziristan Agency on April 12. Government officials said a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden double-cabin pickup truck into a military vehicle carrying soldiers to the Pak-Afghan border area of Ghulam Khan.
16 persons were killed and more than 35 were injured when a suicide bomber targeted the senior Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and his nephew Haroon Bilour in Mundubbera area of Yakatoot in Peshawar in the evening of April 16, reports The News. Ghulam Ahmad Bilour (75) is contesting from the NA-1, Peshawar. He received minor injuries in the blast. Haroon Bilour, the son of late Bashir Bilour who was killed in a suicide bombing on December 22, 2012, was unhurt in the explosion. He is a candidate from PK-3. Senior police officers confirmed that the blast was carried out by a suicide bomber whose target was Ghulam Ahmad Bilour. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, but apologised for injuring Bilour, saying it had been targeting his nephew, Haroon.
Daily Times reports that a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a hospital in a lawless tribal area of northwest Pakistan on April 20 and killed at least four people and wounded four others, officials said. The attack took place in Khar, the main town of Bajaur in FATA bordering Afghanistan. Local administration official Abdul Haseeb confirmed that it was a female suicide bomber and the casualties. “It was a female suicide bomber, about 18-20 years old, we have found her legs and head,” he said. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack till filing of this report, however, authorities suspect the Taliban behind the attack. The dead included a security person, a hospital worker and two civilians, he added.
Bomb Blasts
Unidentified militants blew up a filling station in Sadda Bazaar of Kurram Agency on March 27, reports The News. The sources said unidentified militants placed a bag near the manager’s room at the filling station owned by Gul Manan in Sadda Bazaar. The manager was out of the room when explosion took place, the sources said, adding the manager’s room was completely destroyed in the blast, but there was no casualty.
Two persons were killed and seven others were injured, among them an election candidate, in a bomb attack on a motorcade in the Janikhel area of Bannu District on March 31, reports Dawn. Adnan Wazir, a former member of the KP Assembly who is running as an independent candidate in the May 11 elections from the PK-72 constituency, was proceeding to the Wali Noor area along with supporters to address a rally when a remote-controlled explosive device ripped through his convoy comprising dozens of vehicles in Momiton Khel locality. Malik Mumtaz and Maqbool, the two elders, were killed on the spot. Adnan Wazir and six others, including a police constable, were injured in the attack. Mr Wazir won the 2008 general elections as an independent candidate but later he joined the Awami National Party (ANP). The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. Calling from an undisclosed location, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told journalists that Mr Wazir was attacked because he was part of the ANP Government for five years. The TTP threatened more attacks against the ANP. “We are against ANP. We have directed our associates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to target ANP election rallies and all its leaders,” Ehsan said.
Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were injured on March 31 when a remote-controlled bomb planted in Qambrani road of Sariab area of Quetta went off, reports Dawn. The bomb on Qambrani road was detonated when an FC vehicle was passing through the area. After the blast, Police and FC personnel carried out a search operation in the area and arrested nine suspects.
A powerful blast has been reported outside the residence of former senator Nasir Khan Afridi in Hayatabad Phase-II area of Peshawar on April 8, reports Daily Times. But no loss of life was reported. Police and bomb disposal squad personnel said 500 grams of explosives were used in the blast which surprised Senator Nasir Khan. “I have not received any threat,” he told newsmen as the forensic team was gathering pieces of evidence to advance its investigation. “I don’t know what could be reasons behind the explosion.” No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion grew against militants in neighbouring Khyber Agency (FATA). Nasir Khan hails from Bara town of Khyber Agency and his brother Momin Khan could not get his nomination papers cleared by the returning officer for NA-46 (Bara). However, the senator’s son, Adnan Khan, is contesting elections on NA-46 as independent candidate.
Separately, rockets fired by unidentified militants hit the house of Raz Gul in Saeedabad area. Sources said that a rocket landed in a graveyard while another hit an open plot. Police said that all the rockets were fired from an undisclosed place in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency.
A leader of Awami National Party (ANP) and former provincial minister Arbab Ayub Jan escaped a bomb attack on April 11, however, three persons sustained injuries in the blast in Peshawar. Haji Qasam Khan, personal assistant of the former minister, told that the blast took place when they were on their way home from a public meeting at Tarnab Farm area.
Meanwhile, a blast in Matani hospital on the suburbs of Peshawar caused panic among the people of the area. A Police source said that the blast damaged window panes and walls of the hospital however, it didn’t cause any loss of life.
Nine persons were killed in a bomb blast in a bus passing through the Matani area of Peshawar on April 13, reports Daily Times.
A village defence committee member and local Awami National Party leader, Mukarram Shah, was killed in a remote-controlled roadside blast in the Manglawar area of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on April 14, reports Daily Times. Mukarram Shah was on his way when his vehicle was hit by the roadside bomb in the Manglawar area, said Malakand Division Police Chief Abdullah Khan. He said the vehicle of Shah was completely destroyed in the explosion, resulting in his death on the spot. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed the responsibility for the attack. In telephone calls to media offices, TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan said his men had carried out the attack. He gave no reason for this killing.
Meanwhile, Syed Masoom Shah, ANP candidate for PK-21 in Charsadda Town of the same District, received minor injuries while three others received injuries in a bomb attack in Katozai area of Shabqadar. According to details, a convoy of Masoom Shah was passing through Katozai area of Shabqadar when the attack was carried out. The driver of the vehicle was also injured in the incident. Police said that Masoom Shah was going home after attending a public meeting in Katozai village.
Separately, Security Forces foiled terror attempts by recovering two bombs, planted inside two separate motorbikes, in Bannu town of same District.
A student leader was injured when unidentified assailants hurled two grenades into an election camp of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Maneri town in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the evening of April 22, reports Dawn. Sources said that about 13 ANP workers were sitting in Hujra (guest house) of Nadeem Khan, which is being used as the election office of the party, when the grenade attack took place. Osama, president of Pakhtun Students Federation, the student wing of ANP, was injured.
Targeted Killings
Two persons were killed in separate incidents of firing in Khuzdar and Jaffarabad Districts of Balochistan, on March 26, reports Daily Times. Unidentified armed assailants fired at a shop located on Sardar Munir Mengal Road of Khuzdar and killed Abdul Ghaffar. The assailants managed to escape from the scene after the shooting.
In another incident, a person was shot dead in Usta Muhammad town of Jaffarabad district. Police sources said armed assailants opened fire on Bashir Road of Usta Muhammad, killing Dad Muhammad on the spot before fleeing from the scene.
A senior Federal Government official was shot dead on March 27, in what Police said was an incident of sectarian killing in the Gulbahar area of Peshawar, reports Daily Times. “Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) vehicle carrying Town-2 Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) Khawaja Imran in the Gulbahar area,” a Police official said. Gulbahar Police said the WAPDA official was targeted because he belonged to Shia sect. The slain official’s son was also injured in the attack.
Separately, a tribesman was shot dead and a taxi driver injured in an attack at Dabgari area, reports Dawn. The deceased was identified as Hassan Khan, a resident of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency. Samin Gul, the injured taxi driver, told Police that he did not know the tribesman but he hired his taxi for Hayatabad. As he sat in the vehicle, two men armed with pistols opened firing on him, he added.
A leader of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand (STP), Qambar Shahdadkot District President Abdul Aziz Mastoi, was killed in a firing attack in the limits of City Police Station of Qambar Shahdadkot on March 27, reports The News.
At least four persons, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh on March 28, reports The News. An MQM activist, Muhammad Hanif alias Gaddafi alias Puppy, was killed by unidentified assailants in Mirchi Gali of Jodia Bazar area.
Unidentified assailants shot dead a senior lawyer, identified as Chaudhry Aslam of the Supreme Court, near Fauji Foundation Hospital of Rawalpindi on March 28, reports Daily Times.
At least four persons, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on March 28, reports The News. An MQM activist, Muhammad Hanif alias Gaddafi alias Puppy, was killed by unidentified assailants in Mirchi Gali of Jodia Bazar area.
At least 12 militants were killed during operation by the Security Forces in Mamoonzai area of Orakzai Agency on March 29, reports Daily Times. Three militants’ hideouts have also been destroyed in the shelling.
Meanwhile, four soldiers were injured in a roadside blast in Sheedano Dhand area of Kurram Agency, reports The News.
At least 11 persons were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on March 29, reports The News. Two Karachi Metropolitan Corporation city wardens were killed and another was injured in an attack near the Matric Board office in North Nazimabad.
Five Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) employees, including a sub-divisional officer (SDO), and three community Police personnel were found dead in fields near Sheikh Muhammadi area in Badhaber, a suburb of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after a militant attack on a grid station on April 2, reports Dawn. During the attack, the militants fired seven rockets at a 500 kilowatt grid station in Sheikh Muhammadi, causing it to catch fire. The grid station was completely destroyed in the incident. Station House Officer of Badaber Police Station, Granullah, said that six vehicles of WAPDA, control room and official records were also damaged in the attack. An official of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), Abdul Haq, said 14 bombs of five kilograms each had been planted to blow up the offices and the grid station. “Thirteen bombs exploded while one was defused by the bomb disposal unit,” he said.
Elsewhere in the District, unidentified assailants killed a man, Syed Zulqarnain Haider (24), on Daora Road under Pando Police Station, reports Dawn. An official of Pando Police Station said that one Syed Zulqarnain Haider was riding a motorcycle on Daora Road when he was ambushed.
At least six persons, including one Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) election candidate, were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on April 2, reports The News. The first casualty of the upcoming elections, a covering candidate of the PPP on the PS-95 of Orangi town seat, identified as Adnan Qualeti (28) was shot dead in a targeted attack near Qatar Masjid in Orangi town.
Separately, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist, Asif Ansari (32) was shot dead while his colleague was injured at a barber shop on Jinnah Road of Pak Colony.
Also, an MQM activist, identified as Abdul Hafeez, was shot dead in Sector 7C of Orangi town.
At least five persons, including four paramilitary soldiers and a local leader of Awami National Party (ANP), were killed in separate incidents in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on April 3, reports Daily Times. Four paramilitary soldiers were killed and three others were injured in a bomb blast near paramilitary complex of Korangi area. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack.
An excise inspector, identified as Barkat Ali, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Killi Qambrani area of Quetta on April 4, reports Dawn.
At least five persons, including an activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on April 5, reports Daily Times. An activist of MQM, identified as Mohammad Dilawar Khan (35) alias Khan Sahab, was shot dead in Gabol colony of Orangi town.
In another incident, a person, identified as Shahid (22), was shot dead in Bismillah Colony of Mawach Goth area within the precincts of Mochko Police Station.
A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), identified as Amir Mohammad Dashti, was shot dead along with his official guard in targeted killing near Golimar chowk on main Sabzal road of Quetta on April 8, reports Daily Times. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
The military authorities on April 9 said that they had launched a major military operation against the militants in the remote Tirah Valley of the Khyber Agency in which 110 militants and 23 soldiers had been killed, reports The News. “After their expulsion from the rest of the tribal areas as a result of military operations, the militants had gathered in Tirah Valley of the Khyber tribal region to continue terrorist acts in the country. “A major military operation was launched against the militants four days ago to dismantle their sanctuaries. In the four days of fighting, 110 militants and 23 Pakistan Army soldiers have been killed and dozens of militants injured,” a senior military official told The News. Pleading anonymity, he said fierce fighting was still going on in the valley between the Security Forces and militants to wrest control of the area. The official said the valley had not been cleared of the militants yet, though jet fighters and gunship helicopters had pounded the positions of militants.
Separately, a ten-year-old boy was critically injured when he picked up a toy bomb in Alamgudar area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit). Sources said Asmat Khan picked up a toy bomb in Alamgudar area from a roadside and started playing with it when the device exploded. The explosion injured him critically.
Further, the house of a local resident in Shalobar area was badly damaged when a stray mortar fell on the house. Sources said the mortar fired by unidentified men landed at the house of Haji Mohammad Salim, general secretary of Khyber Union, a local political organisation. The mortar caused damage to most parts of the house but luckily no one was hurt.
The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Preedy Police Station, identified as Agha Asadullah (37), was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Murshid Bazaar of Karachi on April 9, reports The News.
Separately, a head constable of the Anti-Extremism Cell (AEC) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) was injured in the Gulbahar area.
At least 12 persons, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement candidate for the National Assembly and the Sindh Assembly, killed in separate incidents in Sindh, on April 11, reports Daily Times. Two unidentified assailants shot dead Fakhrul Islam (46), an MQM candidate for NA-221 and PS-47 in Hyderabad city (Hyderabad District). The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for Fakhrul Islam’s murder. Its spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said his organisation had carried out the shooting. It was in continuation of the TTP’s earlier threat that all secular parties were on its hit list, he added.
In another incident, three city wardens, were killed in targeted attacked in Soldier Bazar of Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh. The wardens were performing their duty when four unidentified armed assailants came and sprayed them with bullets. The victims were identified as Rao Shahid, Farooq and Sadiq.
Unidentified militants shot dead a Policeman and injured his colleague in Mardan District on April 11, reports Dawn. District Police Officer Tahir Ayub told that two constables of Hoti Police Station were performing duty at Chato Chock when unidentified militants opened firing on them. Constable Gul Rasool was killed on the spot while his colleague Waheed Zaman received injuries in the attack, he said.
At least three persons, including a retired employee of the District Government, his son and a servant were killed by unidentified assailants in Goth Shadi Khan locality of Bala Narri area of Bolan District on April 4, reports Daily Times.
Meanwhile, a bomb fitted on a motorbike was recovered near checkpost in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area of Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District. The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) personnel defused them.
At least two persons, including a Policeman, were killed and two others were injured in separate incidents in Karachi on April 15, reports Daily Times. An Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), identified as Syed Murtaza Hussain (40), was shot dead in a targeted attack at Shamsi area within the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station. Police said the victim belonged to Shia community.
In a separate incident, a dead body was found near the airport area.
Separately, a man affiliated with special branch of Police was injured in an attack by unidentified assailants near Block-J of North Nazimabad area within the remits of North Nazimabad Police Station.
Meanwhile, a traffic sergeant, identified as Ghulam Mustafa, was injured by unidentified assailants at traffic Police post within the limits of Surjani town Police Station.
Daily Times reports that seven people including two workers of a political party were gunned down in the metropolis in Karachi on April 21. Two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were shot dead in separate attacks of targeted killings. The first activist was shot dead near Kaghzi Bazar within the jurisdiction of Kharadar Police station. Police said that the victim identified as Omair was shot dead by unidentified assailants who attacked him near his house and managed to flee the crime scene. Another worker of MQM was killed near Gujjar Nala within the remits of Gulbahar Police station. Also, unidentified assailants critically wounded 30-year-old Iqbal, while he was standing at his Dabbu Club. The victim was shifted to a nearby private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The Station House Officer (SHO) said the victim was a worker of MQM-unit 189.
Miscellaneous
Security Forces on March 26 killed four Afghan-based militants as the troops repulsed a cross border attack on a security check-point in Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit), reports Dawn. The four dead militants included a key ‘commander’, Bajaur Scouts Commander Colonel Muhammad Janjua said. The militants had fired on the check-point from the mountains, resulting in the SFs’ retaliation, security officials said. No other details were available.
Separately, a remote-controlled bomb exploded killing two SF personnel patrolling Damadola village of Bajaur Agency, near the border with Afghanistan on March 28, reports Central Asia Online.
Meanwhile, the political administration along with the jirga (tribal council) members destroyed the houses of four militants in the Halemzai tehsil of the Mohmand Agency, reports The News. A grand jirga to this effect was held with Malik Muhammad Ali in the chair and attended by Malik Amir Nawaz Khan, Malik Moambar, Malik Taj Muhammad, Colonel Muhammad Ashraf, Assistant Political Agent (APA) Jamshed Khan and Senator Hilal Rehman. The political authorities along with the SFs and tribal elders demolished the houses of Mian Muhammad Ishaq, Bagh Khan, Pirzada and Sartaj in Shamikhel and Mian Mandi Bazar.
Security Forces on March 28 killed four Afghan-based militants as the troops repulsed a cross border attack on a security check-point in Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit), reports Dawn. The four dead militants included a key ‘commander’, Bajaur Scouts Commander Colonel Muhammad Janjua said. The militants had fired on the check-point from the mountains, resulting in the SFs’ retaliation, security officials said. No other details were available.
Separately, a remote-controlled bomb exploded killing two SF personnel patrolling Damadola village of Bajaur Agency, near the border with Afghanistan on March 28, reports Central Asia Online.
One civilian killed and eight others including students injured when an unidentified motorcyclist hurled a hand grenade and resorted to firing at a school in Ittehad Town of Karachi on March 30, reports Daily Times. The Police spokesman said that the Principal of the National School identified as Abdul Rasheed, who had sustained wounds, succumbed to injuries.
The dead bodies of three persons, who were abducted last week, were found in the limits of Doaba Police Station in Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on March 31, reports The News. The sources said that Moeen Khan, Naeem Khan and Hidayatullah, who were kidnapped four days back, were found dead in the forest in Darsamand village. Sources added that the locals had demolished a base camp of the militants in Darsamand village on March 30 and the militants killed the captives in reaction.
Eight militants were killed when Army fighter jets bombed suspected militant positions in the Kotkhel area of Orakzai Agency on April 4, reports Dawn.
Further, three militants were killed and some of their hideouts destroyed when fighter jets bombed their positions in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency. Sources said air sorties were conducted at the Ghaibi Neeka area of Sipah and the Nakai area of Malik din khel which targeted hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam. Two LI cadres and one TTP cadre were killed in the bombing.
Separately, four militants were killed and five others sustained injuries when militants across the border attacked Bhittai checkpost in Shabak area of Alizai sector in Kurram Agency, reports Daily Times. Two soldiers were also injured in the attack. Security sources said that the attack began at 5:30 am (0030 GMT) and lasted until 7 am in the Alizai sector on the border with eastern Afghanistan.
At least 14 militants, four soldiers and three pro-government volunteers were killed in clashes ensued after the Security Forces launched search operation against the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Akakhel area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency on April 5, reports The News. The sources said the SFs shelled the hideouts of LI in Mastak, Sorghar, Bango and Motra areas of Akakhel with artillery. Gunship helicopters also shelled the LI militants’ hideouts in this area. Subsequently, the SFs marched from Orakzai Agency and captured some positions of LI in Shadalo area after facing some resistance from the militants.
Similarly, backed by the Tauheedul Islam (TI), a group of pro-government local militia, the SFs moved from Sheenkamer and Sorghum area, populated by Zakha Khel Afridi tribe, into Akakhel area where they exchanged heavy fire with the fighters of LI. As result of clashes, 14 militants, four soldiers and three members of TI were killed while seven militants, five soldiers and four members of the peace body were injured. The sources said a hilltop known as Shersali Sar and Inzergul Markaz were captured by the SFs and TI in the operation.
One person was killed and four others including three minors were injured when three mortar rounds fired from unknown direction, landed in phase-VI Hayatabad area of Peshawar on April 5, reports Daily Times. Police said three mortar rounds fired from unknown direction landed in phase VI Hayatabad killing one person, Muhammad Tahir Shah, while four others including three children, Sajid, Sana and Tofail sustained injuries.
Separately, unidentified militants targeted a Police van with a remote-controlled device in the Ghaziabad area of Kohat town in same District but failed to inflict any causality, reports The News. The van was on routine patrol in the Ghaziabad area when militants detonated the bomb, police said, adding that officers exchanged fire with the militants but that they managed to escape.
Ten militants were killed and five soldiers injured during the clashes between Security Forces and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militant in remote areas of Akakhel in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on April 7, reports Dawn. Official sources said that SFs continued their offensive against LI hideouts in remote areas of Akakhel in Tirah valley. The SFs made advances into areas controlled by the LI after pounding its positions with heavy artillery. SFs have the support of Tawheed ul Islam, a pro-government Zakha khel lashkar (militia).
Separately, seven militants were killed when SFs targeted their hideouts with gunship helicopters in Gowak and Mithari areas of Orakzai Agency, reports The News. Three compounds of the militants were also destroyed, the sources said.
Meanwhile, two tribesmen were killed when their motorcycle struck against a landmine planted along a road in Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan Agency. The residents of the area said that the two men were going on a motorcycle from Harmaz village to Mir Ali Bazaar when their motorbike was blown up by the landmine. They were killed on the spot.
Thirteen soldiers and an unspecified number of militants were killed during heavy fighting between troops and militants at a flashpoint near the Afghan border in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on April 8, reports The Express Tribune. The clashes signalled a fresh military push in the Tirah valley, where the military has been targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam.
Meanwhile, the security sources said that at least 30 soldiers and nearly 100 militants have been killed in fierce fighting over the past four days following a ground offensive launched by the Army, reports The News. Military officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that the air force has also conducted heavy bombing during the offensive. The officials claimed that the Army has successfully seized control of a large portion of the valley from the TTP and their ally, LI. The claims could not be independently verified.
Suspected militants on April 9 fired seven mortar shells from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) area on Hayatabad area of Peshawar injuring 22 people and damaging several houses and vehicles, reports Dawn. According to officials of Tatara Police Station, mortar shells landed in streets F6, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 17 at Phase 7 of Hayatabad and injured the persons inside their houses. The residents of other houses stepped out fearing more attacks.
The Security Forces killed seven militants in the ongoing military operation in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 13, reports Daily Times. According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release issued at Rawalpindi on April 13, two important hideouts of militants have been busted and areas of Kata Kanrai and Sniper Morcha in Sipah area have also been captured.
At least two persons, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s militant were killed in separate incidents in Karachi on April 14, reports Daily Times. A person, identified as Karam Ilahi (35), was shot dead in New Karachi area within the limits of New Karachi Industrial area Police Station. Police said that the victim was a rickshaw driver and a Police informer.
Separately, an alleged mastermind behind the March 3, 2013, Abbas town bomb blast, who was already in Crime Investigation Department’s (CID) custody, was killed in a Police shootout with militants in Surjani area. According to CID officials, Aslam Mehsud was killed in a shootout while the officials were carrying out a targeted operation in the location identified by the detainee.
Nine militants and a soldier were killed in a clash between the Security Forces (SFs) and militants in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency on April 15, reports The News. The sources said the SFs and militants had a clash during ongoing operation in Dabori area in which a soldier identified as Razzaq was killed on the spot while another soldier Khalid sustained injuries. The SFs retaliated and killed nine militants, the sources claimed.
Meanwhile, a member of the Tauheedul Islam (TI), also known as Zakha khel tribal lashkar (militia), was killed in a bomb explosion inside a bunker in Dari area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. The sources said the volunteers of TI were on duty in Katakanri bunker on a hilltop in Tirah when a bomb planted nearby exploded.
PAKISTAN
Pakistan remains a threat to UK’s national security, says head of Britain’s counter terrorism strategy
Terror threat emanating from Pakistan remains a danger to Britain’s national security, the head of Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy Charles Farr said in an interview to The News on March 27. In an exclusive interview, Charles Farr, Director General of the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism, said that the threat from Pakistan mainly comes from the tribal areas along the Afghan border. He said that although al Qaida is weakened and depleted in numbers and capability, it continues to operate from this region and still has the capability to conduct terrorist attacks in the UK and other countries. Farr said that Britain was getting cooperation from all Pakistani agencies “in the investigation for terrorism going back to 07/07 and even before that”.
He revealed that threat to Britain from Pakistan-based militant groups comes not only from Al-Qaeda but lots of groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba and banned militant organisations inducing from “some settled areas of Karachi”. “We have to worry about these groups particularly in this country. So many people in this country have contacts in Pakistan. Al Qaeda is not finished Al-Zawahiri is out there too. We also have significant domestic threat to deal with also. We are clearly concerned about the level of threat.” Charles Farr said that Britons continue to travel to Af-Pak border areas to join al Qaida and other militant groups to receive training. Some of these Britons, he said, stay in Pakistan and fight and some return to the UK, radicalised and prepared to strike.
Terrorism is the only worry, says Punjab’s caretaker CM Najam Sethi
“Terrorism is my only worry which can disturb smooth run-up to the general elections,” Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi said on March 29, adding that otherwise things were very much under control, reports Dawn. “In the complete absence of counter-terrorism force, my only worry at the moment is how to protect politicians and their election rallies from terrorists who have already threatened to strike with full force. The very thought gives me sleepless nights,” said Mr Sethi while talking to media personnel at the Punjab House. “In Punjab, I have one police officer of the rank of DIG who heads the provincial counter-terrorism department, and his job is only to pass on terrorism threats with absolutely no clue how to confront them. This is a serious issue,” said the caretaker chief minister. He said terrorists needed only five to six individuals willing to die to create panic, but to stop them the country required a fully trained manpower force.
Political workers being killed to stop electioneering, Sardar Mengal
Balochistan National Party (BNP) President Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal on March 31 expressed his deep concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan, pointing out that political workers were being killed ruthlessly to keep them out of campaigning, reports Daily Times. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is insisting on the Baloch parliamentarians to take part in the next parliamentary election, which the ECP secretary, Ishtiaq Ahmed, said will be held on time. Mengal claimed that since his appearance before the court in September last year nothing has changed. He said that Balochistan’s people had received 60 mutilated bodies 70 had died in targeted killings and another 100 had disappeared. He said neither the ECP nor the caretaker Governments could resolve the reservations of the Baloch politicians, as the military operations and human rights violations continue unabated all over Balochistan. Mengal opined that 85% of the problems are due to the involvement of establishment, and the weak caretakers have no capacity to assert their authority.
CID arrests 4 TTP militants from Karachi
The Anti Extremism Cell of Crime Investigation Department (CID) Police arrested four Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and recovered a huge cache of ammunition and a list of political leaders, who were their potential targets, from Hijrat Colony area of Karachi on April1, reports Daily Times. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP, CID) Choudhry Aslam Khan said the Police, on a tip-off, conducted a raid in Hijrat Colony area and arrested Abdul Majeed, Haji Mairaj Uddin, Bakhtiar Mehdud and Imran associated with TTP, Khan Zaman group. The Police recovered 50 kilograms of ammunition, a Kalashnikov, five hand grenades, six tennis ball bombs, two rifles, four-kg nut bolts and ball barring, 10 feet detonator wires, remote control and several bullets. The Police also found a list of political leaders from them, the SSP said, adding they were involved in several bank robberies, extortion and other heinous crimes aimed to provide fund to their aides in North Waziristan Agency (FATA).
43000 people displaced from Tirah valley, says UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance
Around 43,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Maidan area of Tirah valley of Khyber Agency over the past two weeks because of escalation of hostilities between militant groups in the tribal region, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) said on April 1, reports Dawn. According to figures released by the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), around 10 percent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) have taken refuge in Kurram Agency and the rest in Districts of Hangu, Kohat, Nowshera and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Around 46 percent of these people are children and 33 percent women, says the FDMA, emphasising the importance of humanitarian assistance for the IDPs expected to stay in camps for six months. Authorities estimate around 60,000 people from 10,000 families in different villages of Maidan may have been affected.
Army should be deployed in Balochistan, says Caretaker interior minister
Caretaker Interior Minister Malik Habib said on April 3 that Balochistan was top priority and that army should be deployed in areas inhabited by the Hazara community, The Express Tribune reported. “Good officers should be deployed. I have heard that some upright officers were sidelined and I am looking into this”, he added. The caretaker minister said he would sidetrack those security officers who were political or integrity wise controversial or were irregular appointments. “Free and fair elections can only happen if we provide a good security environment.”
TTP terms democracy system of ‘infidels’
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on April 7 described democracy as a “system of the infidels” and said it was striving for the establishment of Shariah in the country, reports The News. “Democracy is the system of the infidels. We want the enforcement of Shariah in Pakistan and the Islamic countries,” TTP ‘chief’ Hakimullah Mehsud said in his latest videotape. He said the TTP didn’t believe in democracy and wanted the establishment of Shariah. “If we believed in democracy, we would enter the political arena,” he remarked. The TTP chief believed the “infidels” wanted to divide the Muslims in the name of democracy. “We want the implementation of Shariah, which can only be enforced through waging Jihad. A time will come that the Muslims will establish Caliphate on the surface of earth,” he said.
In the video massage, he advised the displaced Mehsud tribe’s people to avoid returning to their homes as they could be killed in the ongoing war between the Government and the TTP. He alleged that the Government and the US wanted to pit the Muslims against each other through the peace lashkar (militia). He said the Mehsud would continue fighting until their conditions were met. Top TTP leader Waliur Rehman said in the videotape that US and Jews were the enemies of the Muslims and Pakistan. “We are fighting against the Americans in Afghanistan and would do so if the US attacked Pakistan,” he vowed. “We are fighting against the Pakistani government because it is toeing the US line. We will adopt softer approach if Pakistan abandons US slavery and pursues an independent and sovereign foreign policy,” he said.
Mangal Bagh becomes ‘supreme leader’ for Khyber Agency
Mangal Bagh, the ‘chief’ of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) has become supreme leader of both the LI and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for the Khyber Agency, reports Dawn. “The decision to elevate Mangal Bagh to the status of supreme commander for Khyber Agency was taken at a joint Shura (council) of TTP and LI ‘commanders’,” highly placed Government officials said. They said the high-ranking ‘commanders’ of both the Taliban and LI had agreed to coordinate with each other and consult on all matters of mutual importance, particularly those pertaining to Tirah valley and the Khyber Agency. The decision to strike a deal with the LI chief came at a time when the TTP tightened its grip in the areas it had snatched from Ansarul Islam (AI), a pro-Government armed group. LI is also well entrenched in Sipah, Akakhel and Malik din khel areas of Tirah Valley.
The elevation of Mangal Bagh to the position of supreme commander coincided with a two-pronged army offensive against the TTP and LI, with the military suffering high losses in just four days of intense fighting. The Army launched a ground offensive against the LI from the Zakha khel Bazaar side while descending into the Bara valley and attacking the LI positions and from the Sheen Qamar side and thus reaching out to the LI hideouts in the area.
Four persons killed as militants attack election convoy of PML-N’s Balochistan leader Sardar Sanaullah Zehri in Balochistan
At least four persons were killed when an election convoy of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N)’s Balochistan leader Sardar Sanaullah Zehri came under a bomb attack in Anjira area of Khuzdar District on April 16, reports Dawn. Sardar Zehri survived the attack but his son, brother and nephew and a guard were killed. At least 25 persons were injured. The PML-N leader is contesting for one national and one provincial assembly seats from Khuzdar and Kalat Districts. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.
Meanwhile, Police and Levies Force recovered explosives from the Gandawa area of Jhal Magsi District on April 15, reports Daily Times. Acting on a tip-off, Police and Levies Force, along with a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) team, reached the site and defused an explosive device weighing around three kilogrammes.
Former President Pervez Musharraf out of electoral race
An election tribunal on April 16 rejected the nomination papers of Former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf from the only constituency where his eligibility to contest May 11 polls was accepted earlier. Musharraf has already been disqualified from three other constituencies from where he had filed nomination papers. After his candidature was rejected from Islamabad (Federal capital), Karachi (provincial capital of Sindh) and Kasur in Punjab province, Chitral in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa held the only hope. But Musharraf’s plans came to a naught as the poll tribunal of Peshawar High Court barred him. Musharraf’s nomination papers were rejected following objections that he had subverted the Constitution by imposing emergency as Army Chief and had illegally placed judges under house arrest. Ahmed Raza Kasuri, Musharraf’s counsel, said they would contest the decision in the High Court.
Three persons killed in bomb attack on MQM election office in Karachi
At least three persons were killed and 30 others injured in a huge explosion near an election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Chowrangi area of the Taimuria Police Remits in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, on April 23, reports The Express Tribune. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umer Khattab of Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) said that it was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). He said it seems that the attack was conducted by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan however, involvement of other groups shall also be investigated.
Meanwhile, law enforcing agencies (LEAs) arrested about two-dozen suspected militants during separate targeted raids and operations in the Karachi, reports Daily Times. Rangers detained 15 suspects and recovered 13 weapons of different calibers in targeted operations in Sohrab Goth, Kati Pahari and Banaras.
Separately, Police arrested half a dozen suspects in targeted raids in different parts of Korangi. Police said that five TT pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunitions were recovered from their possession.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
Blasts reported in Dhaka during 36 hour shutdown
Several bombs were blasted at different parts in the capital Dhaka on March 28 as the country passed through the second day of a 36-hour hartal (shutdown) called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led 18-party alliance, reports Daily Star. The incidents took place in Mirpur, Nayapaltan, Segunbagicha and Shantinagar areas. The shutdown began at 6:00 am on March 26 amidst tight security as huge contingents of Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were deployed at all the key points of the capital to maintain law and order during hartal hours. In addition, violence was also reported from Satkhira, Sirajganj, Narayanganj, Rajshahi and Sylhet.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the armed forces to resist with all strengths any act against the country’s constitution and democracy. “A vested quarter had used the armed forces in the past to hinder democracy. You (Armed Forces) have to ensure that no undemocratic force can come to power using the armed forces,” Hasina said while delivering speech to the officers of armed forces at Senakunja in the Dhaka Cantonment. The speech came four days after BNP’s Chairperson Khaleda Zia while addressing a rally in Bogra, said that the Army would not play the role of “a silent spectator while people are getting killed” and that it would “play its role in due time”.
3 killed and 47 injured
At least three people were killed and four others injured as a truck overturned after being chased by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) cadres in Jessore District during the last day of the 36-hour countrywide general strike on March 28, reports New Age. The deceased were identified as Mohammad Ujjwal, Abdul Jalil and Moslem Mia. In Lalmonirhat District, 20 schoolchildren were injured as BNP-JeI cadres beat them up and their teachers. In Satkhira District, JeI cadres fired into the Police and pelted them with stones in which three Policemen were injured. In Chittagong District, a schoolgirl identified as Antu Barua (14), a student of Class IX of the Aparna charan City Corporation School was injured as pickets exploded a homemade bomb. In Dhaka city, several homemade bombs were exploded. The Police arrested six cadres.
76 persons injured as clashes between Police and BNP-JeI cadres continue across the country
76 persons were injured across the country on April 1, as clashes between the Police and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)i- Islami Chhatra Shibir cadres continued, reports The Independent. In Rangpur District, at least 50 people were injured when the cadres of ICS, protesting the arrest of their central president, damaged 12 buses and set ablaze two buses in Dharmadas area on the Rangpur-Dhaka highway. In Barisal District, at least 10 persons were injured in a half-hour clash between Police and BNP-JeI cadres in Barisal city. Eight BNP-JeI cadres were arrested from the city. In Rajshahi District, at least eight people, including a Police official, were injured in a clash between JeI-ICS cadres and Police. The clashes erupted when the JeI-ICS cadres brought out a procession in Shalbagan area. In Jhenaidah District, at least five ICS cadres were injured when the Police and ICS cadres locked in a clash in the Jhenidah town. Police arrested one ICS cadre in this connection. In Dhaka city, the BNP-JeI cadres exploded four homemade bombs and set ablaze seven vehicles, including one ATN News vehicle, in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan office in the city just after a BNP rally. The driver of the ATN News car, Solaiman, suffered injuries during the attack. In Chittagong District, Police arrested seven JeI-ICS cadres, in connection with a case filed for torching and vandalising vehicles on March 31 in Bahaddarhat area. In Khulna District, in a pre-hartal (shut down) raid, a team of Police arrested JeI leader Prof. Abdul Matin and 30 ICS cadres from separate places in the Khulna city.
Meanwhile, cadres of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of ruling Awami League (AL), at Rajshahi University (RU) of Rajshahi District on April 1 stabbed two ICS cadres and handed over them to Police, reports New Age. BCL cadres, led by its RU unit vice-president Arifur Rahman and organising secretary Touhid-Al-Tuhin and Madar Buxl unit president Jubayer Ahmed Tanim, attacked the ICS cadres Borhan Uddin and Ali Hossain, both third year students of Islamic Studies Department.
Two children injured in bomb blast in Feni
Two children were seriously injured as a homemade bomb exploded in Feni town of Feni District during the 18-party alliance-sponsored nationwide strike on April 2, reports New Age. The children were identified as Mohammad Jisan (9) and Nusrat Jaha.
One person killed and 30 others injured in clash between Hifazat-e-Islam and AL cadres in Dhaka City
A clash between cadres of the Hifazat-e-Islam (a radical Islamist group) and ruling Awami League (AL) at Dhaka city has left one person dead and at least 30 people injured on April 5, reports Bangladeshnews24.com. The deceased was identified as Shahidul Islam, a fruit vendor by profession and an AL member.
Awami League leader killed by Hefajat-e-Islam activists in Faridpur District
An Awami League leader, Nausher Khan was beaten and killed in a Madrasa (Islamic Seminary) in Madani Nagar of Bhanga sub-district of Faridpur District by Hefajat-e-Islam (Sylhet based Islamist group) activists on April 6, reports Daily Star.
Further, two homemade bombs went off near a procession of around 300 Hefajat men in Gabtoli in Bogra District. The bombs exploded after supporters of local AL lawmaker Aslamul Haque obstructed the procession as it headed for Motijheel in Dhaka city. Following the blast, Police fired two blank shots to control the situation.
Five people were injured in a clash between activists of the Hefajat and Jubo League and Sramik League at Bhulta of Rupganj in Narayanganj District.
Separately, in Dhaka city, and a makeshift podium of hartal (general shutdown) supporters was vandalised in Mohakhali area by some activists of Hefajat-e Islam during the countrywide hartal and blockade. At least 60 people, including a Policeman, were injured in clashes between the Hefajat men and pro-hartal activists across Bangladesh.
Juba League leader killed by BNP-JeI cadres in Joypurhat District
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) cadres allegedly killed a leader of Juba League, the ruling Awami League (AL)’s youth organisation beating him and cutting the tendons of his legs after abducting him from his house at Kalai sub-District in Joypurhat District on April 7, reports New Age. The deceased is identified as Juba League organising secretary Touhidul Islam Sabu.
Meanwhile, at least 40 people were injured during a clash between AL and BNP-Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres at Malanchi Bazar of Natore District on April 7, reports The Daily Star. The clash happened when AL men brought out an anti-hartal (general shut down) procession at Malanchi Bazar and BNP-ICS cadres swooped on the AL men, prompting them to retaliate. At least 25 AL men and 15 BNP-ICS cadres were injured in the clash.
Four persons killed and more than 150 injured in countrywide hartal
Three persons were killed and another 100 got injured as Hefajat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) cadres clashed with Awami League (AL) men in Fatikchhari sub-District of Chittagong District during the countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal (general shut down strike) on April 11, reports The Daily Star. The clash broke out when an anti-hartal procession by AL activists in Kazirhat area in Fatikchhari sub-District was attacked by the cadres of JeI and Hefajat-e-Islam with sharp weapons and sticks. The fighting continued for nearly four hours, leaving at least 100 people including 15 policemen and five firefighters wounded.
8 injured in ICS-triggered explosion in Sylhet
At least eight people were injured as cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), allegedly exploded homemade bombs near the main gate of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet District on April 15, reports The Daily Star. The ICS cadres also vandalised a restaurant near the gate where some SUST unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Awami League (AL), men were taking foods only few minutes before the incident.
India – Internal Dynamics
10 Maoists killed by rivals in Jharkhand
Ten cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist were killed in an encounter with Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, near a Lakramanda village of Chatra District in the night of March 27, reports The Hindu. “Bodies of 10 Maoists were recovered near Lakramanda village. They were killed during an encounter with the TPC last night,” Chatra Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar told PTI over phone. Lakramanda village under Kunda Police Station of Chatra District is about 100 kilometres from Ranchi, the State Capital.
Meanwhile, Police on March 25 intensified operations against People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, in their forest hideouts in Gumla District, reports The Times of India. Police sources said the presence of PLFI cadres, who were led by a ‘sub-zonal commander’, had kept Policemen on high alert and Raidih, Gumla and Palkot Police had been carrying operations against them.
Maoists kill police ‘informer’
A tribal youth, identified as Bandu Durga Pungati (27), was allegedly axed to death outside his house in Laheri village in Gadchiroli District on March 27 by Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres on suspicion that he was a Police informer, reports Zee News.
CCTV video shows three youths pasting Maoist posters in Maharashtra
Video footage, captured on a CCTV camera of the Patrakar Bhavan in Pune on March 23, shows three youths arriving on a motorbike and pasting posters, which the Police believe were released by the Communist Party of India-Maoist, reports The Indian Express on March 31. Incidentally, the Maoists commemorated this day as Shahid Din (martyr day) to mark the martyrdom of freedom-fighter Bhagat Singh. These posters, suspected to have been put up by the ‘Maharashtra State Committee’ of the CPI-Maoist, were placed at prominent and strategic locations across the city, including the entrance of Patrakar Bhavan in Navi Peth, Garware College, S P College, Shramik Bhavan, Swargate junction, Shaniwar Wada, Balgandharva as well as the Shivajinagar court.
Meanwhile, Gadchiroli District Police have started “Campaign Nav Jeevan (New Life)” to appeal to the Maoists from tribal Districts to surrender by reaching out to their families, reports The Hindu. A brainchild of Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohd. Suvez Haque, under this campaign, the Police will meet the families of Maoist cadres with gifts and assurance of safe surrender for their kin, informed the Gadchiroli Police.
NSCN-K’s ‘PRO’ killed by NSCN-IM in Manipur
Kanglaonline reports that David Lawson, ‘public relation officer (PRO)’ of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Khaplang (NSCN-K) was shot dead by suspected cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) at Aziuram road, which is 3 kilometers away from the old Tamenglong under Tamenglong District on April 1 at around 10.30am. According to sources, the ‘PRO’ was shot while he was going in a gypsy toward Aziuram road. David was under ‘suspension’ after he was found involved in a case, adds Nagaland Post.
Meanwhile, a one hour encounter reportedly took place between suspected Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) cadres and combined troops of the 6/8 Gurkha Riffle’s and 10 Assam Riffle’s on April 1 at around 10.30 am at a place between Khoupum and Kenjang under Tamenglong District, reports Kanglaonline. According to sources, one suspected militant was gunned down during the gun fight. The dead body of the cadre has been and recovered but no arms and ammunition were found.
ANVC-B militants kill one person in Meghalaya
The Shillong Times reports that suspected Breakaway faction of Achik National Volunteer Council militants numbering around 12 shot dead one Benjamin Marak of Rongbingre in Williamnagar on April 1, while the deceased was on a picnic along with his brother and friend at Mrik Wari along the Simsang River in East Garo Hills District.
Two persons abducted in Tripura
National Liberation Front of Tripura militants abducted a woman chairperson of an elected village committee, Bhagyarani Tripura along with an elected member from Malda Kumar Roajapara village under Ganganagar Police Station in Dhalai District on March 2, reports The Telegraph. The other victim was identified as Debendra Tripura. “The militants abducted the two because part of the border in Malda Kumar Roajapara is still unfenced. A search operation is on under the supervision of Dhalai District Superintendent of Police (SP) L. Darlong but the hostages could not be rescued because they had been taken across the border,” Das said. He added that the NLFT had served hefty “tax” notices on Bhagyarani and Debendra and ordered them to hand over the money from the development fund allotted for the village committee.
In another incident, three deserted trucks were found by Police near Khantlang border outpost under Bhangmun Police Station in of North Tripura District. The Police said the drivers had been abducted and taken across the border to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. The drivers are still unidentified but an inquiry is on.
Fast-track courts to be set up for Muslims arrested in terror charges, says Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushilkumar Shinde
Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushilkumar Shinde and Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh on April 2 assured a delegation of Members of Parliament and other political leaders that the Government was considering setting up fast track courts for “early disposal” of terror cases against Muslim youth, according to Deccan Chronicle. R.P.N. Singh said that the Government will act in the toughest possible manner against terrorism and terrorists. “But it will make extra steps to make sure no innocent youth are put behind bars,” he added.
Women tourists desert India after sex attacks
The number of foreign women tourists visiting India has dropped by 35 percent in the past three months following a spate of sex attacks that have made global headlines, a new survey has found. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) says overall tourist arrivals are down 25 percent year-on-year, with holidaymakers opting instead to visit other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. The fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old Indian student by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December sparked outrage at the country’s treatment of women, and since then there have also been other widely reported attacks.
A Swiss cyclist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh last month, while a South Korean tourist was allegedly drugged and raped in the same state in January by the son of the owner of a hotel where she was staying. Such incidents have “raised concerns about the safety of female travellers to the country,” said D.S. Rawat, secretary general at ASSOCHAM, which surveyed 1,200 tour operators from different cities.
The figures contradict monthly estimates compiled by the Indian tourism ministry, which found an increase in foreign tourists arriving in early 2013, although figures for March were not yet available.
February saw arrivals increase by 1.6 percent compared with last year, according to the ministry, still far lower than the 7.9-percent growth logged in February 2012. Gour Kanjilal, executive director of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, also questioned the scale of the drop in visitors reported by ASSOCHAM, but said some potential visitors had been in contact to discuss concerns.
The concern over sex crimes and the lurid reporting of the crimes is a blow to government attempts to boost the tourism industry, especially during a period of lagging economic growth. Rawat said deteriorating standards of safety and security were the main reasons for the apparent drop in tourists this year, although the global economic slowdown was also a factor.
Travel advisories from various countries stressing the need for their citizens to take care in India has “further aggravated” the situation, said the release from the industry body on Sunday. If found nearly 72 percent of tour operators had a number of cancellations in the last three months — usually a busy tourist season — especially by female visitors from countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia.
Maoists kill 5 policemen in Jharkhand
Five personnel of the Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) were killed on April 4 when cadre of the Communist Party of India-Maoist opened fire at a village market in Chainpur in Gumla District along Jharkhand’s western border with Chhattisgarh, reports The Hindu. Two villagers were also reported to have been shot dead but the Government officials did not confirm this. “This attack took the police by surprise. The group of Maoists led by Arvind ji has split into smaller groups and we believe this attack was carried out by one such group,” said Jharkhand Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar who has left Ranchi for Gumla. “Three personnel of the Sixth Battalion of JAP died on the spot, and two succumbed to injuries after they were airlifted to Apollo Hospital in Ranchi. The Maoists opened fire at the police and snatched three INSAS rifles,” said Jharkhand police spokesperson DIG Richard Lakda. Havaldar Bhola Singh, constables Ram Narayan Ram, Chhote Lal Murmu, and Dilip Bediya, besides ASI Gopal Singh died in the incident, he added.
Maoists set up own ‘military school’ in Dandakaranya
The Communist Party of India-Maoist has formed its own elite training ‘institute’ in the Dandakaranya forests, [dense forests in Central India comprised mainly of Bastar division of Chhattisgarh and includes parts of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra] to transform tribal cadres into Communist professionals equipped to handle tasks related to the Central Committee, the outfit’s apex decision-making body, reports The Times of India. The Buniyadi Communist Training School (BCTS), a brainchild of CPI-Maoist ‘general secretary’ Muppalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, has been churning out professionally-trained Communists since 2009 with basic military skills and knowledge of Hindi, social studies, mathematics and science. Each tribal cadre undergoing the six-month course at BCTS, which operates in Dandakaranya only, with the actual venue changing with every batch, is taught military intelligence and action team subjects, a surrendered courier for the CPI-Maoist central committee recently told the Chhattisgarh Police. Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member K Ramachandra Reddy alias Raju is in charge of the school and key Maoist leaders like Takkallapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Ashanna are training Maoist cadres between 14 to 21 years in military intelligence and action team missions such as assassination of legislators and senior Police officers.
The BCTS which trains 30 to 35 students in each batch, has trained four batches so far. The fifth batch is reportedly undergoing training in Dharba area. The cadres trained in the school are assigned important duties, mostly in works related to the CPI-Maoist central committee. The motive behind the decision to form BCTS – taken at a 2009 DKSZC meeting attended by CC members Ganapathy, Katakam Sudarshan alias Anand and Tippiri Tirupati alias Devuji – was to overcome the acute leadership problem being faced by the CPI-Maoist. The surrendered central committee courier, who is barely 19 and hails from a poor Gond family in the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh, has revealed that the Takkallapalli Vasudev Rao alias Ashanna heads both the Dandakaranya action team as well as military intelligence (MI).
Huge quantity of explosives seized in Bihar
Security Forces on April 5 foiled a Communist Party of India-Maoist bid to trigger a landmine blast, recovering 100 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and six pressure cooker bombs from Chanderia-Pichhulia road under Dumaria Police Station area in Gaya District, reports The Hindu. During a search operation, SFs comprising Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and Police, detected the explosives near the road through which the Additional Superintendent of Police Anupam Kumar-led team of SFs were to pass through for anti-Maoist operations.
Bangalore Blast
A top Indian official said a blast in the city of Bangalore that wounded 16 people Wednesday, April 17 including 11 policemen, was “an act of terror” designed to disrupt upcoming state elections.
The explosion, which triggered panic among locals, appeared to have been planted on a motorbike near the office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main national opposition party which holds power in the southern state of Karnataka, police said.
ZORO opposes move to deploy Army in Mizoram
The Times of India reports on April 11 that objecting to the deployment of armed forces and other issues in Mizoram, the Zo Re-unification Organization (ZORO) – an organization fighting for the unification of all Mizos – submitted a memorandum to the President stating that several decisions taken by the Centre and State Government, without consulting the Mizo people, be revoked. ZORO’s vice-president Lalmuanpuia Punte said the organization took up a number of issues with President Pranab Mukherjee and also sent copies to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union home minister P Chidambaram, defence minister A K Antony and chief minister Lal Thanhawla. The organization urged the Centre to stop the deployment and dismantle military installation already established in the State. The ZORO also protested the ongoing border fencing along the 318-kilometre-long Indo-Bangladesh border in the Mizoram sector saying that a large chunk of Mizoram territory was outside the fencing.
The ZORO also alleged that the agreements signed between the oil exploration companies and the State Government on hydrocarbon exploration in the State were against the interests of the ‘sons of the soil’. The ZORO also opposed construction of dams for power generation through hydro-electric projects in the State which would displace the indigenous people.
8 Maoists killed in encounter
Eight Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) in the forest area of Puarti village in Sukma District on April 16 (today), reports The New Indian Express. On a tip off about the presence of Maoists in the forest, a search was launched by Greyhounds force of Andhra Pradesh and District force early in the morning, Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Shandilya said. On spotting the SFs, Maoists opened fire and in the retaliatory action, eight Maoists were killed, he said, adding some arms were also recovered from the encounter spot. Six bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far.
Separately, in the evening of April 14, four Maoists abducted the Station Master of Kamlur Railway Station, located on the KK Line in between Kirandul and Bhansi Railway Stations, some 110 kilometres from Bastar Divisional Headquarters Jagdalpur, reports The Pioneer. The Maoists also took away a gang man present at the Railway Station and proceeded towards the forests of Bhansi. They took the two Railway staff to the nearby jungle of Bhansi area and reportedly enquired about operation timings of trains, income and about some officials. However, both of them were freed after April 15 midnight.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Mar 26, 2013 to April 25, 2013:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 04 | 00 | 09 | 13 |
| Manipur | 00 | 01 | 03 | 04 |
| Meghalaya | 01 | 00 | 04 | 05 |
| Nagaland | 02 | 00 | 02 | 04 |
| Left wing | 11 | 03 | 05 | 19 |
| Total | 18 | 04 | 23 | 45 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
CPN-Maoist cadres obstruct collection of voters list
Cadres of the Mohan Baidya-led Communist Party Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Baidya) have disrupted the collection of the voters’ list with photographs and looted related documents at Dulegauda Village Development Committee (VDC) in Tanahun District, reports myrepublica.com. The cadres also looted record file of voters’ list of Ward No. 7 of the VDC. Voters’ list with photographs collection was started at the VDC Office from March 26. Before this, they submitted a memorandum to the VDC Secretary to stop the updating of the voters’ list with photographs. Chief of the District Election Office, Kirtaraj Poudel, said that name of voters was collected in the presence of Police after the cadres looted the record file.
UCPN-M cadres set ablaze forest office in Rautahat District
Cadres of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist set ablaze the District Forest Office of Rautahat District on April 4, reports Nepalnews.com. UCPN-M cadres demonstrating in front of the forest office demanding action against District Forest Officer (DFO) Nanda Lal Yadav for corruption went on to vandalize the forest office and then set it ablaze. The Maoists accused DFO Yadav of massive corruption while awarding contracts to purchase timber from the forest office.
Meanwhile, the Government issued mid-May deadline to submit the arms given earlier for personal security of the top Maoist leaders after they joined the mainstream politics, reports Myrepublica.com. A cabinet meeting held in Kathmandu on April 4 decided to ask the top UCPN-M and Mohan Baidya led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist-Baidya (CPN-Maoist-Baidya) leadership to submit the remaining 32 arms they were allowed to carry for their personal security. The Government has warned of taking action as per the existing legal provision if the arms are not submitted to the Government within the stipulated deadline.
Nationwide general strike cripples life across country
The nationwide general strike called by the 33 political parties, including the Mohan Baidya-led Communist Party Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Baidya), crippled normal life across the country on April 7, reports Kantipuronline.com. The parties called for the strike demanding the formation of a partisan Government instead of the current Chief Justice-led Government. Public vehicles remained off the road and education institutes, market places remained shutting due to the strike.
Two CRPF personnel injured
Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were grievously injured in a Communist Party of India-Maoist attack in Bijapur District, on April 13, reports Zee News. The Maoists opened indiscriminate fire at a joint team of CRPF and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) battalion when it was patrolling the Chikmaglur jungles under Basaguda Police Station limits of the same District.
President Ram Baran Yadav on April 22 asserted that Constituent Assembly (CA) elections will certainly take place in November, reports Nepalnews.com. President Yadav said that there is no other alternative to elections to write the new constitution and that the polls will certainly take place in November. Referring to the demand of agitating 33 parties for direct talks with him, he said that the parties should sit for talks with the Government itself.
CA elections will certainly take place in November, asserts President Ram Baran Yadav
President Ram Baran Yadav on April 22 asserted that Constituent Assembly (CA) elections will certainly take place in November, reports Nepalnews.com. President Yadav said that there is no other alternative to elections to write the new constitution and that the polls will certainly take place in November. Referring to the demand of agitating 33 parties for direct talks with him, he said that the parties should sit for talks with the Government itself.
Further, asked about the dissident parties insistence on talking to him alone as head of state, the President said, “It is the Government’s duty to talk to the dissident parties and bring them into the mainstream. It is the Government’s duty to talk to them and convince them,” reports Myrepublica.com. The President told, “The only solution to the current political stalemate is to hold the CA elections. Therefore, all the political parties must join hands to make the coming elections a success.”
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Probe into LTTE crimes should start with Colonel Karuna, says HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on March 28 said that Sri Lanka should act on the call by the Deputy Minister V Muralitharan, known as Colonel Karuna, to investigate war crimes by examining his own role in serious abuses, reports Daily Mirror. Karuna was effectively the second-in-command of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the head of its eastern province forces until he split from its leader V Prabhakaran in March 2004. Brad Adams, the Asia director at HRW said “Karuna’s call for war crimes investigations should not allow him to airbrush out his own role in atrocities. His LTTE forces were implicated in some of Sri Lanka’s most horrific abuses, so the Government’s long-stalled war crimes investigations might as well begin with him. LTTE forces under Karuna”s command were directly involved in some of the worst crimes of Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long armed conflict, which ended in May 2009.”
BBC suspends Sri Lanka broadcasts
The BBC said on Tuesday, March 26 it was suspending its World Service FM radio broadcasts in Sri Lanka due to “continued interruption and interference” in its Tamil programming. Both English language and Tamil services broadcast via the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) will be stopped with immediate effect, the British broadcaster said.
“We regret the disruption in service to our loyal audiences in Sri Lanka, but such targeted interference in our programmes is a serious breach of trust with those audiences, which the BBC cannot allow,” World Service director Peter Horrocks said.
The Tamil service was jammed on March 16, 17 and 18, prompting the BBC to warn the SLBC it was in breach of its broadcasting agreement.
“Further disruption on Monday 25th March has left the BBC with no alternative but to suspend the service with immediate effect,” Horrocks said. “If the SLBC have specific complaints about any BBC output they should take them with us, as we have invited them to do, and not interfere directly with broadcasts in ways that are unacceptable to the BBC and misleading to our audiences.”
Govt to crack down on extremist groups
Minister of National Language and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara on March 31 said that the Government is seeking a ban on nationalist and religious extremist groups disrupting the ethnic harmony in the country, reports Colombo Page. The Minister said his ministry is preparing to submit a Cabinet paper seeking a ban on extremist groups that are creating rifts between the ethnic and religious communities in the island. According to the Minister, the Cabinet paper will seek to bring new laws to crack down on such groups.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s main Tamil political party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on March 31 renewed its call for a United Nations (UN) probe to investigate the alleged human rights abuses in the country during and after the war. TNA Spokesperson and parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran told that the party would continue to push for a UN mechanism to investigate alleged human rights abuses in the island nation. Premachandran said “We need an independent international probe to find out what happened. The Government has proved that it cannot handle the matter properly as there is no faith in their own investigations. We cannot expect justice from the Government.”
Mob attacks SL Tamil party as tensions rise
Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party on Sunday, March 31 accused a pro-government mob of attacking them in the island’s north as racial tensions rose after Buddhist extremists smashed a Muslim-owned business. The opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said their meeting in the town of Kilinochchi on Saturday was disrupted by a stone-throwing mob which had also attacked their vehicles and damaged a building while police looked on.
“Although there were police officers at that place… they took no effort to quell this attack,” the TNA said in a statement. TNA legislators have been provided with policemen as their bodyguards.
The latest violence came two days after a mob targeted a Muslim-owned clothing store and warehouse just outside Colombo, raising religious tensions in a country emerging from nearly four decades of ethnic war. Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya denied security forces were involved in Saturday’s attack against the TNA and said police “successfully dispersed the crowd within about an hour, thus preventing the situation from escalating”.
The attack at Kilinochchi, 330-km north of Colombo, came despite increased security after Thursday’s violence. The main Muslim party in the ruling coalition said the unprovoked attack was a “sequel” to an ongoing hate campaign against minority Muslims and other religious minorities. Muslims, who constitute about 10 per cent of the country’s 20 million population, are the second largest minority after the mainly Hindu ethnic Tamils. Seventy percent of the population are Sinhalese, most of whom are Buddhists.
The United Nations estimates that Sri Lanka’s ethnic civil war claimed at least 100,000 lives between 1972 and 2009, when Tamil separatist rebels were crushed in a major military offensive by government forces.
The Muslim owners of the clothing store, which was stoned and torched on Thursday night, said the attack had “shocked and disturbed us a great deal and instilled fear in the minds of our staff members in carrying out their day to day work”.
Police said four Sinhalese Buddhist men had been arrested in connection with the attack and they were looking for more suspects.
LTTE had grabbed 2,000 acres of residential properties belonging to Muslims in North, says head of Presidential Task Force S.B. Divaratne
S.B. Divaratne, who heads the Presidential Task Force overseeing resettlement, said on April 2 that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is known to have taken over more than 2,000 acres of residential properties belonging to Muslims in the North and given them to its supporters during the war, reports Daily Mirror. He said the lands grabbed by the LTTE had been occupied by some people for more than ten years and therefore there were practical difficulties when it came to moving the occupants out of these lands. This has resulted in the Government having to find alternative land to resettle the displaced Muslims. He further said “Though some 23,000 Muslims families, displaced from their original places of residence had consented to be resettled in the North after the war ended, nearly 15,000 had been resettled, particularly in the Mannar District. We want to resettle the remaining 8,000 families as well. Yet, their lands are occupied by others. We cannot take back these lands. Instead, we have to find them alternative lands elsewhere in the North.
Sri Lanka’s fate would be changed within two months, says secretary of BBS Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero
Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo on April 5, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the secretary of Sri Lanka’s ill famous Buddhist extremist organization Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said that the country’s fate would be changed within two months, reports Colombo Page. He further said that the Buddhist monks would not allow the country to be converted to a state like Thailand. BBS said that it will not allow the casinos and other betting businesses to surge in the guise of developing tourism. The BBS secretary criticized the several websites, including the websites linked to Minister Wimal Weerawansa, leftist Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Minister Mervyn Silva for criticizing BBS and acting against it. The BBS’s hardline attitude towards other religions has drawn concern from moderate Sri Lankans who fear that a Taliban like group is in the formation if the Government and the society fail to take action against the group.
Deminer killed in Jaffna
A man engaged in de-mining in Muhamalai of Jaffna District was injured accidentally by a land mine on April 8 and succumbed to the injuries on admission to the hospital, reports Daily Mirror. The deceased, identified as K. Murugesu, was an employee of the Halo Trust, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) involved in de-mining operations in Muhamalai.
Government won’t comply with UNHRC resolution, says External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris
External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris on April 8 reaffirmed in Parliament that it did not concur with the US-sponsored resolution adopted at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions on March 22, reports Daily Mirror. Responding to a statement by Opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Peiris said the Government would not hold talks with anyone on the matters contained in the resolution. He said the resolution seeks to incorporate both the report of the panel of experts, dubbed by Sri Lanka as the Darusman report and the report by United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay.
Meanwhile, demanding an interim administration, Tamil representatives who met the Indian MPs in Jaffna District on April 10 (today) told the Indian delegation that the Provincial Council system under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution are inadequate to solve their problems, reports Colombo Page. A five-member joint parliamentary delegation comprising delegates from all Indian political parties arrived in Sri Lanka for a five-day tour from April 8-12. The visit, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is aimed at enhancing the relationship between the two countries.
SL to probe ‘mass grave’
Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday, April 7 ordered an investigation into a mass grave dating back to a period when thousands of people disappeared during a crackdown on Marxist rebels, his spokesman said. Mohan Samaranayake said President Mahinda Rajapakse will in the next two days announce an expert panel to probe the grave where over 150 skeletal remains were found at the central town of Matale last November.
“This inquiry will be in addition to ongoing police investigations,” Samaranayake told AFP.
Forensic experts last week confirmed that the grave discovered during building work could not be older than 1986 and not newer than 1990, and placed it within a period when the then-government led a crackdown on leftist rebels.
The Marxist JVP, or People’s Liberation Front, had said their members who were tortured and extra-judicially executed had been buried at the site and have pressed for a thorough investigation.
TBA rejects army report on civilian deaths
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on April 11 dismissed the report by an Army Court of Inquiry that absolved the Army troops of any civilian deaths during the final phase of the three-decade long war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, reports Colombo Page. The Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya presented the report on the first part of the military investigation into the alleged deaths to the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on April 11. The Court of Inquiry, after examining the accounts of senior field commanders and others who had participated in the offensive, has concluded that the military operation was conducted strictly in accordance with the “Zero Civilian Casualty” policy directive made by the President. TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran rejecting the report said that it is a “joke” for the Army Court to conclude that Army had not killed a single civilian during the war. The TNA parliamentarian rejected the facts contained in the report as completely untrue.
INTERNATIONAL
CIA aids huge arms smuggling to Syria
CIA reportedly has a hand in clandestine supply of arms to Syrian rebels by Gulf States. At least 3,500 tons of have been delivered – some ending up on the black market, with the Turkish government an active player, a media report says. The flow of arms continues with the help of US agents as Washington criticizes Iran and Russia for delivering weapons to the Syrian regime, the New York Times says. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq on Sunday to close its airspace to Iranian flights just as the latest arms delivery from Qatar for Syrian rebels was landing in Turkey, according to the daily’s report.
The newspaper cites air traffic data, US and foreign officials and rebel commanders in its investigation. The airlift reportedly began in early 2012 with a Qatari Emir Air Force C-130 transport aircraft flight. Saudi Arabia and Jordan have joined in November, when it became a major operation. More than 160 military flights have landed in Turkey over the time. Esenboga Airport near Ankara was the prime destination, but others were also involved, the newspaper claims.
“A conservative estimate of the payload of these flights would be 3,500 tons of military equipment,” Hugh Griffiths, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told the newspaper. He added that it appears as a “well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation.”
Indeed, CIA agents have a direct input on the deliveries, albeit mostly consultative, NYT says. The spy agency reportedly helps with procurement of weapons in Croatia and vets Syrian rebel groups, which would receive the weapons. The involvement was supposedly motivated by the fact that the Arab states would supply arms to the Syrian militants anyway. The hopes CIA its can steer away the arms from Islamists’ hands and prevent weapons which can potentially be used by terrorist against civilian targets from being delivered, a former US official told the newspaper.
19 killed in Iraq bombing
Car bombs hit five mosques in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk just after prayers on Friday, March 29 killing 19 worshippers and injuring another 130. Ten years after the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still grappling with political turmoil and Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al-Qaeda, who are stepping up attacks on targets and security forces.
Friday’s blasts hit mosques in southeast and north Baghdad while another tore the front off a mosque in Kirkuk, an ethnically mixed city of Arabs, Kurds and Turkman 170-km north of the capital. “We were listening to the cleric’s speech when we heard a very strong explosion. Glass scattered everywhere and the roof partially collapsed,” said Mohammed, a victim wounded in the Kirkuk blast, his shirt still covered in blood.
Police and health officials said the attacks in Baghdad killed 16. Three more died in Kirkuk, where the blast left a jumble of concrete wreckage in the mosque and on the street outside. Attacks in Iraq are still less common than during the Sunni-Shia slaughter that erupted at the height of the last war, when insurgents bombed the al-Askari shrine in Samarra in 2006, provoking a wave of retaliation by militias.
Al-Qaeda’s local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has vowed to keep up attacks and security officials say insurgents are regrouping in the deserts of western Iraq, invigorated by the war Sunni rebels are waging in Syria over the border.
N Korea declares ‘state of war’ with South
North Korea on Saturday, March 30 declared it was in a “state of war” with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. The United States said it took the announcement “seriously”, but noted it followed a familiar pattern, while South Korea largely dismissed it as an old threat dressed in new clothing. It was the latest in a string of dire-sounding pronouncements from Pyongyang that have been matched by tough warnings from Seoul and Washington, fuelling international concern that the situation might spiral out of control.
“As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol,” the North said in a government statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. “The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over,” the statement said, adding that any US or South Korean provocation would trigger a “a nuclear war”.
The two Koreas have technically remained at war for the past six decades because the 1950-53 Korean War concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The North had announced earlier this month that it was ripping up the armistice and other bilateral peace pacts signed with Seoul in protest against South Korea-US joint military exercises.
The White House labelled the latest statement from Pyongyang as “unconstructive” and, while taking it “seriously”, sought to place the immediate threat level in context. “North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today’s announcement follows that familiar pattern,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
In Seoul, the Unification Ministry insisted the war threat was “not really new”. The Defence Ministry vowed to “retaliate thoroughly” to any provocation, but added that no notable troop movement had been observed along the border.
Jordan’s king swears in new reformist govt
Jordan’s King Abdullah swore in a reformist government on Saturday, March 30 an administration that will be required to speed up economic and political reforms, officials said. The cabinet lineup was confirmed after nearly three weeks of unprecedented consultations with civil society leaders and parliament by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, an economist educated in the United States and France. Earlier this month the king re-appointed Nsur as premier following unprecedented consultations between the royal palace and the 150-member parliament, tasking him to form his second government since October.
In the new cabinet, police chief Hussein Majali, who enjoys a good reputation for not using excessive force against pro-reform protesters, was given the ministry of the interior and municipal affairs. Judeh retains his post for the sixth time in a row in new line-up, one of the smallest cabinets in years to emerge in Jordan where the previous cabinet had two more ministers than the current one and the one before that was 30-strong.
Syrians flee bombs
UN officials believe some four million people are now trapped inside Syria after fleeing the fighting, as the United States echoes calls for donors to step up and help in a burgeoning aid crisis. The figure, due to be officially released in the coming days, is a dramatic rise on earlier estimates by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees of some 2.5 million displaced living in precarious conditions inside the country. It also adds to the 1.2 million refugees who have streamed across borders into neighbouring countries, placing a huge strain on governments in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon who have kept frontiers open.
With almost a quarter of Syria’s population of around 22.5 million now in flight, the two-year conflict is wreaking a huge toll on civilians caught in cross-fire as opposition forces seek to topple President Bashar al-Assad. “What we’re seeing… is that now it is not just violence that is driving flight,” US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration Kelly Clements told AFP. It is also just a decline in livelihoods, a decline in the economic means for families to be able to support themselves. It’s disruption to services, it’s kids not being able to go to school, it’s water systems that have been either cut off or somehow affected.”
Health services, bakeries, schools, vital components of normal life are teetering or have shut down, leaving a population in distress. Those who could flee have already gone, leaving the most vulnerable to fend for themselves, many of whom have now been forced to relocate two or three times as the fighting has shifted and swelled. Aid agencies themselves have lost team members killed in the fighting, while UN-led operations to try to get assistance across battle lines have proved dangerous and complex involving delicate negotiations.
Top UN officials have warned that with no end in sight to the fighting, each of Syria’s neighbours could be hosting a million refugees by the end of the year—an enormous burden on already-stretched economies.
Suicide bomber kills 25 in Iraq
A suicide bomber killed 25 people and wounded 60 in a crowded election campaign tent in the Iraqi city of Baquba on Saturday, April 6 police and medics said.
A decade after the US-led invasion, Iraq is still struggling with political instability and violence that in recent weeks has killed at least 10 candidates who had planned to run in forthcoming local elections. The vote is due to be held across the country later in April, but has already been delayed in two Sunni Muslim-majority governorates due to security concerns.
The suicide bomber attacked a gathering for Sunni candidate Muthanna al-Jorani in Baquba, 65-km northeast of the capital Baghdad. Jorani himself escaped unscathed. Candidates in Iraq often put up tents during campaigning as a venue to meet potential voters and explain their policies.
“First a hand grenade targeted the tent next to the one I was in,” a 23-year-old wounded in the attack told Reuters by telephone from hospital. “People were running in every direction and bits of chair were scattered all over the place.
“A few seconds later, an explosion took place in the same tent.” Most of the 10 candidates killed earlier belonged to the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, a secular politician.
Diplomats have also raised concerns over a government decision to postpone elections in two provinces which, combined with the fact that four were never slated to vote, means that just 12 of Iraq’s 18 provinces will cast ballots.
Assad says rebel victory to destabilise ME
President Bashar al-Assad has warned that if rebel forces battling to overthrow him take power in Syria they could destabilise the Middle East for decades. The Syrian leader, locked in a two-year conflict which he says has been fuelled by his regional foes, also criticized Turkey’s “foolish and immature” leaders and Arab neighbours he said were arming and sheltering rebel fighters.
“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control … the situation will inevitably spill over into neighbouring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he said in an interview with Turkish television on April 6.
Turmoil would spread “east, west, north and south. This will lead to a state of instability for years and maybe decades to come,” Assad said in the interview, posted by the Syrian presidency on the Internet.
His remarks were an acid reiteration of his long-standing argument that Syria and the region will face a bleak future if he falls. His foes argue that his determination to keep power at all costs has already plunged his country into disaster.
The UN says at least 70,000 people have been killed in Syrian’s conflict. Daily death tolls of around 200 are not uncommon, monitoring groups say. More than a million refugees have fled the country and the Syrian Red Crescent says nearly four million have been internally displaced.
Neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan are both struggling to cope with the flood of refugees, while the sectarian element of the conflict – with mainly Sunni Muslim and Islamist fighters battling a president from Syria’s Alawite minority – has also raised tensions in neighbours such as Lebanon and Iraq.
Al-Nusra pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda
The head of Syria’s jihadist Al-Nusra Front pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on Wednesday, April 10 but distanced his group from claims it has merged with al-Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Nusra’s announcement is likely to bolster assertions by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime that it is fighting “terrorists” who want to impose an Islamic state.
“The sons of Al-Nusra Front pledge allegiance to Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri,” Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said in a recording. But, he added, “we were not consulted” on a claim by Al-Qaeda in Iraq chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Tuesday of a merger with Al-Nusra.
“We inform you that neither the Al-Nusra command nor its consultative council, nor its general manager were aware of this announcement. It reached them via the media and if the speech is authentic, we were not consulted.” Jawlani stressed his group would not change. “Al-Nusra Front will not change its flag, though we will continue to be proud of the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq, of those who carry it and those who sacrifice themselves and shed their blood for it,” said Jawlani, acknowledging he had fought in Iraq alongside the ISI, al-Qaeda’s Iraqi offshoot.
Jawlani’s comments came a day after the ISI announced Al-Nusra was part of its network, confirming long-held suspicions that led the United States to put the group on its terror blacklist.
The announcement followed a message from Zawahiri, urging rebels to fight to establish an Islamic state in Syria, and was received with caution by the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army. “We don’t support the ideology of Al-Nusra,” FSA spokesman Louay Muqdad told AFP.
Al-Nusra is among the most prominent organisations involved in Syria’s conflict, which erupted in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad’s regime but has evolved into a war that has killed tens of thousands. It has gained notoriety for suicide bombings but also won admiration from some insurgents for its reputation as a formidable fighting force leading attacks on battle fronts across Syria. Baghdadi’s statement raised suspicion among anti-Assad activists in Syria, said Abu Nadim, who lives in rebel-held Douma near Damascus. “When Al-Nusra Front first appeared on the scene, we didn’t know much about it. Now people know what it’s about, and many have condemned attacks that targeted civilians,” Abu Nadim told AFP via the Internet. We will not accept any group imposing its ideology. Who says we want to build an Islamic caliphate, or that we’re even thinking about that, while Syria is burning?”
Bahrain tensions on the rise again
Protesters in Bahrain plan to step up demands for reform ahead of this weekend’s Formula One Grand Prix, setting the scene for a showdown with authorities determined to stage an incident-free race. The main opposition Al-Wefaq political bloc has called for a massive rally to coincide with free practice on Friday, April 19 the same day the radical February 14 Movement has urged youths to protest under the slogan “Volcano of Anger”. The Shia Al-Wefaq is to protest under the banner “Democracy is Our Right”.
“We are not against the Formula One Grand Prix, but we want the world to hear our demands — democracy, respect of human rights, and an elected government,” said leading Al-Wefaq figure Khalil al-Marzooq. Marzooq, speaking to AFP on the telephone, distanced his movement from the violence that the February 14 Movement frequently resorts to. But he accused the security forces in the tiny Gulf archipelago of “suppressing the people like they were enemies,” adding that “violence leads to violence”.
Late on Tuesday, youths took to the streets across Shia-populated villages, sounding drums and chanting: “No to the Formula of blood,” in reference to the three-day event.
Video footage posted on YouTube showed masked protesters setting alight tyres and gas cylinders to block a road in Bilad Al-Qadim near the capital Manama. The protesters carried pictures of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, his face marked with a X. Ecclestone has said he sees “no reason” why the Bahrain race should not be successful.
Government spokeswoman Samira Rajab said that “Bahrain is ready to host the F1 and there are no security issues,” dismissing the protests as “childish movements implementing Iranian agendas… that will not affect the race.”
Saudi opens luxury rehab centre for Qaeda militants
Saudi Arabia is hoping to wean jailed al-Qaeda militants off religious extremism with counselling, spa treatments and plenty of exercise at a luxury rehabilitation centre in Riyadh. In between sessions with counsellors and talks on religion, prisoners will be able to relax in the centre’s facilities which include an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a gym and a television hall.
The new complex is the work of the Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Counselling and Care, a body set up seven years ago to rehabilitate extremists jailed during a Saudi crackdown on the local branch of al-Qaeda.
“Just under 3,000 (Islamist prisoners) will have to go through one of these centres before they can be released,” interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP during a tour of the new centre.
Another centre has already opened in the western port city of Jeddah, and three more are planned for the north, east and south of the desert kingdom.
The new facility in Riyadh, however, is the first to offer inmates a taste of luxury as an incentive to moderate their beliefs.
Intelligence officer killed in Yemen
Suspected al-Qaeda militants shot dead a Yemeni intelligence officer overnight in Mukalla, capital of the southeastern Hadramawt province, a security official told AFP on Saturday, April 20.
“Al-Qaeda gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on the officer Ibrahim Bameshel as we was on his way back home, killing him immediately,” the official said, adding that the assailants had fled. Al-Qaeda militants were driven out of most of their strongholds in Yemen’s south last June in an all-out offensive by government forces aided by local “resistance committees”.
But local sources say jihadists from the al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Sharia group have started distributing posters and leaflets in several towns across the province threatening members of the security forces and urging jihad (holy war). Some of their posters showed pictures of masked gunmen on motorbikes.
Khamenei condemns Boston bombings, chides US
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned on Wednesday, April 17 the deadly twin bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon but also chided what he described as a “contradictory” US approach to terrorism.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a follower of the Islamic rationale, is against any blast and killing of innocent people whether in Boston, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Syria,” Khamenei said in remarks on his website, leader.ir. “The approach of the US and others who advocate human rights is contradictory in regards to the killing of innocent people,” Khamenei said in a speech to army personnel and families. They “remain silent on killing the innocent people of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and then fill the world with a hue and cry following a couple of blasts in the US,” he added.
The two bombs, which struck one of America’s top sporting events on Monday, killed three people and wounded more than 170.
On Tuesday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman “strongly condemned” the blasts, calling them a “source of sorrow.”
The two adversaries, which have had no diplomatic relations for more than three decades, do not see eye to eye on a broad range of issues, including Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme and its support for the Syrian regime.
Two rockets fired from Sinai hit Israeli town of Eilat
At least two rockets were fired at Israel’s southern resort city of Eilat from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Wednesday, April 17 the Israeli military said. Nobody was hurt in the attack, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, adding that the remains of two rockets had been found and police were looking for more. According to them, one rocket exploded near the courtyard of a house. Residents reported hearing three explosions.
Danny Lahav of Eilat’s Chamber of Commerce told channel 2 TV that he heard the sound of a “faint explosion” in the morning, followed by two louder explosions. Residents in the popular tourist destination remained calm, he said, adding that he hopes the attack won’t dissuade visitors.
Military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has said securing southern Israel from Sinai threats is a high priority, and Israel already deployed a battery of its new Iron Dome rocket-defense system to Eilat earlier this month.
Israeli media reported that authorities activated an alarm system to alert people of the incoming rockets, but that the Iron Dome system was not activated.
Israel has increased surveillance on the porous Egyptian border over the past two years, and is building a barrier along the 230 kilometer (150 mile) frontier to keep out militants and illegal migrants.
A Salafi jihadist group claimed responsibility for firing what it said were Grad rockets at the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat, causing no damage or casualties.
US resorted to torture after 9/11, says commission
A non-partisan commission’s review of America’s anti-terrorism response after the 9/11 attacks reported on April 17 that it is “indisputable” the United States engaged in the practice of torture and the Bush White House bears responsibility.
The report by the Constitution Project is an ambitious review of the Bush administration’s approach to the problems of holding detainees, interrogation and counter-intelligence after the Sept 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The report says brutality has occurred in war before, “But there is no evidence there had ever before been the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after Sept 11, directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody.”
The Constitution Project surveyed the ways in which prisoners were held and interrogated at Guantanamo Bay, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and at secret CIA “black prisons”. The report is the product of a two-year study based on evidence in the public record. It was conducted by a bipartisan task force who came from a broad range of ideological perspectives and professions. It includes both former Republican and Democratic policymakers and members of Congress, retired generals, judges, lawyers, and academics.
Among them was co-chairman Asa Hutchinson, who was President George W. Bush’s Under-Secretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. The other co-chairman was former Rep. James R. Jones, a Democrat. Much of the legal justification for what was called “enhanced interrogation” by some, but torture by the Constitution Project, was drafted by John Yoo, at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
The Constitution Project report cites Alberto Mora, the general counsel of the Navy, as being one of the senior officials troubled by the expanded interrogation techniques, and quotes him as asking You whether the president could lawfully order a detainee to be tortured.
”Yes, the president could authorize torture, he said was Yoo’s response,” according to the report. “Yoo said that whether the techniques should be used wasn’t a legal question, but rather it was a policy question,” the report says.
A call for response to Yoo, who now teaches at the University of California-Berkeley, was not immediate answered. The Constitution Project said that he did not communicate with them in the preparation of their report.
As a result of the Bush administration’s green-lighting of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the report says, “US forces, in many instances, used interrogation techniques on detainees that constitute torture. American personnel conducted an even larger number of interrogations that involved ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading’ treatment.”
“Both categories of actions violate US laws and international treaties. Such conduct was directly counter to values of the Constitution and our nation,” The Constitution Project report said.
The executive director of Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights, Donna McKay, said that her group “has long contended that interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and stress positions did in fact constitute torture. We are gratified that a highly respected bipartisan panel led by two former members of Congress uniformly concurs.
Their report should put to rest any lingering doubt about the severity of the abuse that took place at Guantanamo Bay and other US detention facilities.”
The review found “There is no firm or persuasive evidence that the widespread use of harsh interrogation techniques by US forces produced significant information of value.
There is substantial evidence that much of the information adduced from the use of such techniques was not useful or reliable.” ”There are, nonetheless, strong assertions by some former senior government officials that the use of those techniques did, in fact, yield valuable intelligence that resulted in operational and strategic successes. But those officials say that the evidence of such success may not be disclosed for reasons of national security,” the report noted.”
History shows that the American people have a right to be sceptical of such claims, and to decline to accept any resolution of this issue based largely on the exhortations of former officials who say, in essence, ‘Trust us’ or ‘If you knew what we know but cannot tell you,'” the Constitution Project said.—AP
Drone strikes kill Qaida militants in Yemen
An apparent US drone strike and ensuing ground clashes in Yemen killed three suspected Al Qaeda militants and two soldiers on Sunday, April 21 a security official and witnesses said. The strike targeted a house in Wadi Abida, in the eastern province of Marib, and killed two suspected militants, the official said, requesting anonymity. He said an arms cache in the house exploded but did not identify the suspects killed.
Witnesses said the strike was carried out by an unmanned aircraft of the sort that Washington has increasingly deployed against Al Qaeda targets in Yemen which shelters what it regards as the jihadist network’s most dangerous branch.
A tribal source said the strike was followed by ground clashes in which two Yemeni soldiers and a militant were killed.
US drones strikes in Yemen nearly tripled in 2012 compared with 2011, from 18 to 53, according to the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank.
Al Qaeda loyalists seized large swathes of the south and east in 2011, taking advantage of a decline in central government control during an 11-month uprising that forced veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh from power. Governments troops have since recaptured much of the territory with support from US drone strikes but the militants retain bases in the desert east.
Sunni mosque attack kill 13 in Iraq
Bomb attacks on Sunni mosques in Iraq killed 13 people and wounded dozens of other people on Tuesday, April 23 security and medical officials said.
Two rounds of mortar fire hit a mosque in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 25, police and a doctor said, revising an earlier casualty toll.
Earlier, two roadside bombs exploded as Sunni worshippers were leaving dawn prayers in south Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 14, an interior ministry official and medic said.
Violence in Iraq has fallen significantly from its peak during the height of the sectarian conflict in 2006 and 2007, but attacks are still carried out almost every day, killing 271 people in March, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.
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 | ** |
| Tribal areas, close to Afghan border | 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.
