Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Attacks
At least 70 persons were killed and over 100 others wounded in a suicide bombing on August 8 at the emergency ward of Quetta’s Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) President Bilal Anwar Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day, reports Dawn. Law enforcement officials said that the two attacks were connected and the blast was carried out by a suicide bomber. They said that the body of Kasi, who was shot dead by two armed assailants, was brought to the Civil Hospital and a number of his friends, colleagues and relatives as well as a posse of press photographers and television cameramen also reached there as soon as they got the news. Fifty-five of the 70 dead were lawyers, including BBA’s former President Baz Muhammad Kakar, former Supreme Court Bar Association Vice-President Syed Qahir Shah, Advocate Sangat Jamaldani, son of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Secretary General Jahanzeb Jamaldani, and Advocate Dawood Lasi, son of Former Federal Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Kasi. Two cameramen— Shahzad Khan and Mehmood Khan— working for Aaj TV and Dawn, respectively, were also killed.
Meanwhile, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the targeted killing of Advocate Kasi and the subsequent blast. JuA ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan vowed more attacks “until the imposition of an Islamic system in Pakistan”.
Following the blast, the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level security meeting and ordered the intelligence agencies to initiate special combing operations to target those involved in terror attacks, said a tweet by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson, reports Daily Times. The Army Chief chaired the meeting, with the Balochistan Chief Minister, Provincial Chief Secretary and Commander Southern Command in attendance. ISPR quoted the Army Chief as saying that after their defeat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, terrorists are shifting their focus to Balochistan. The attack is an attempt to undermine the improved security situation of Balochistan, and the effort is specially targeting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said. All resources will be employed to control the situation.
Bomb/IED Blasts
At least one person was killed while five others were injured in a bomb blast at Sariab road in Quetta on July 27, reports The News. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), the bomb was detonated through a remote-controlled device. Over two kilogramme of explosive material was used in the explosive, the BDS added. Sources said that a rickshaw driver who sustained injuries during the blast succumbed to his wounds during treatment at a hospital.
A soldier was killed and 15 others, including five Rangers personnel, were wounded in two back-to-back bomb explosions targeting a vehicle of the paramilitary force on Mirokhan Road in Larkana city of Larkana District on July 30, reports Dawn. A remote-controlled bomb weighing half a kilogram and fitted to a bicycle went off when the vehicle drove past it, followed by the explosion of another device hidden in a pile of garbage nearby, said Larkana Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdullah Shaikh. Meanwhile, the blasts were claimed by the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) in pamphlets found by Police at the scene, reports Dawn. The pamphlet said the SRA has taken responsibility for the attack. DIG Abdullah Shaikh said Police are investigating the pamphlet but no arrests were made.
Five people sustained injuries in two bomb blasts at a police check post near the local courts in Charsadda town of Kech District on August 3, reports The News. The sources said the first blast occurred early in the day and caused no casualty. They added that the employees of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) were cleaning the nullah near the Police check post after the first explosion when the second blast happened and injured five workers. The injured were identified as Fawad, Haidar Ali, Jan Muhammad, Jan Wali and Javed Islam.
Five persons, including three Security Force (SF) personnel, were injured in a remote controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast that hit their vehicle on Spiny Road in Quetta on August 3, reports The News.
Two soldiers were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in the border area of Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 9, reports Dawn. According to officials, Havildars Khurshid and Mushtaq were taking water to their post on mules from a nearby place when an IED planted along the way went off. The bomb was detonated by a remote control.
Fourteen people were injured in a roadside blast targeting a vehicle belonging to the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) accompanying Justice Zahoor Shahwani’s vehicle on Zarghon Road of Quetta on August 11, reports Dawn. Justice Zahoor Shahwani is judge of the Federal Shariat Court. The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the ATF’s vehicle passed by. According to rescue officials, 10 civilians and four security officials were injured in the blast.
A security official was killed and a civilian was injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Salarzai area of Bajaur Agency on August 19, reports Daily Times.
Targetted Killings
At least two Army personnel were killed on July 26 when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants opened fire on their vehicle near Parking Plaza in Saddar town of Karachi, reports The Express Tribune. “They were the soldiers of the security agency who were critically injured,” Karachi Police Chief Mushtaq Mehar said. “One was later martyred,” he said. Later, the injured security personnel succumbed to his wounds in hospital. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the deceased personnel were identified as Sepoy Abdul Razzaq and Lance Naik Khadim Hussain.
Meanwhile, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesperson for the TTP faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility of the killing. The officers were killed as they were on the Pakistani Taliban faction’s “target list”, Ehsanullah Ehsan said.
A tribal elder, Mir Bashir Ahmed Bizenjo, was shot dead in Hub town of Lasbela District on July 27-evening, reports Dawn. Unidentified assailants barged into the house of Mr. Bizenjo near Asad Chowk and opened fire on him. He suffered multiple bullet injuries and died while being taken to hospital. He was cousin of former Balochistan Assembly deputy speaker Mir Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo and brother of Awaran District Council Chairman Naseer Ahmed Bizenjo.
Two bullet-riddled dead bodies, identified as that of Mohammad Naveed (28) and Mohammad Latif (42), were found in the Sharak area of Kech District on July 29, reports Dawn.
A Lyari gangster, identified as Akhtar Baloch (35), was killed in a targeted attack while he was sitting outside his relative’s house on Darya Khan Road within the Chakiwara Police limits in Lyari Town of Karachi on July 29, reports The News.
Separately, an unidentified bullet-riddled dead body of a man was found near the Lyari River within the Mauripur Police limits in Keamari Town on July 29, reports The News.
Two Hazara Shias, identified as Ghulam Nabi and Mohammad Nabi, were killed in a targeted attack near the Government Boys Degree College while they on their way home on Sariab Road in Quetta on August 1, reports The Express Tribune. Both the victims were labourers in a coalmine. Jama’at-ul-Ahrar (JuA), the breakaway faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killing.
An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, identified as Usman Gul, and a passer-by, identified as Iftikhar, were killed when unidentified militants opened fire at the officer on Wazir Bagh Road in Tauheedabad locality within the limits of Yakatoot Police Station Police Station of Peshawar on August 1, reports The News.
The chairman of a village council and three other people were killed as unidentified motorcycle borne assailants opened fire on a car in Shakardarra area of Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on August 21, reports Dawn. The deceased also included a man and his two young sons, while four people, including two girls, were injured.
Meanwhile, in a sectarian attack, two members of a family of Afghan origin were killed while the female member of the family got injured in a firing incident at a car in Phandu area Peshawar on August 19, reports Dunyanews. Maulana Ghulam Hazrat, who was settled in Akora Khattak area of Nowshehra District, was travelling along with his father Sheikh Khwaja Muhammad Hazrat and mother, when unidentified gunmen opened fire at them while they were passing from the Phandu area. The deceased Sheikh Ghulam was well known for his debates condemning the “Wahhabis, Salafis and Ahl e Hadis” sects of Islam, who have the most extreme interpretation of Islam, and distance themselves from their fellow Shiite, Sunni, Barelvi, Hanafis and Sufism Muslim schools of thought.
Separately, an Afghan cleric Naseem Khan, a resident of Lond Khwar, was killed inside Abu Hanifia Mosque in Ibrahimabad within the jurisdiction of Khazana Police Station in Mardan District, reports The Express Tribune. The attackers managed to escape.
Two cadres of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jama’at (ASWJ), identified as Mufti Kamran (46), and Mufti Ghulam Akbar (50), were killed when unidentified militants opened fire at them inside the Medina Masjid in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town of Karachi on August 22, reports The News.
Separately, a Shia, identified as identified as Qasim Abbas Raza (34), was shot dead in targeted killing incident near the Sughra Imambargah (a place of commemoration) in Korangi Town on August 22, reports The Express Tribune.
Five unidentified dead bodies were recovered from Chattar area of Naseerabad District on August 24 and were handed over to the family on August 26, reports Daily Times. The bodies were identified as that of Noroz, Mir Hasan, Tariq, Haleem and Kareem Bakhsh.
Separately, one Frontier Corps (FC) officer and one militant were killed while three FC personnel were during an exchange of fire in Sariab Road in Quetta on August 26, reports Dawn. Frontier Corps (FC) Spokesman Khan Wasey stated that security personnel were on routine patrolling close to a railway track when they were attacked by “miscreants”. “One security personnel was killed in the attack,” the spokesperson informed, adding that one “miscreant” was killed as a result of timely retaliation.
A dead body of a Baloch man, bearing torture marks, was found in Gharib Nawaz Colony of New Karachi Town in Karachi on August 26, reports The News.
Another dead body was found near Miskin Para within Manghopir Police limits of Gadap Town on August 26, reports The News.
A 56-year old doctor belonging to the Hindu community, Dr. Pireetam Das, was shot dead in the Pak Colony area of Karachi on August 5 while he was sitting in his clinic at midnight. The doctor’s attendant had gone to buy a mobile card when the doctor was attacked.
Miscellaneous
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 26 arrested two Islamic State (IS) cadres and recovered explosive material from them a house in Khan Colony of Lahore, reports Dawn. A CTD spokesman said they received intelligence report about the presence of suspected terrorists who were planning attack on Government installations. The arrested militants were identified as Yaqoob Shah and Abdullah Moavia.
Meanwhile, the CTD personnel arrested a suspected terrorist and recovered two hand grenades from him in Multan, reports Dawn. According to the CTD sources, Jaan Muhammad, allegedly affiliated with IS, who was earlier affiliated with banned Hizb ul Tahrir and Sautul Ummah outfits, was arrested with two hand grenades and IS literature. Further, CTD arrested another suspect, Naeem Jaan, a member of banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) with explosive material in a raid near Nasarullah Chowk on Head Muhammadwala Road in Multan. They said the suspect was about to target a worship place.
Two unidentified armed assailants hurled a grenade outside the residence of businessman Aga Hashim in Khayaban-e-Badbaan area of Defence Phase VIII within the Darakhshan Police limits of Karachi on July 28, reports The News. However, no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, joint teams of the Sindh Police and Rangers arrested three suspects belonging to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) during two raids in MQM unit offices in Surjani Town area of Gadap Town and Shah Faisal Colony in Shah Faisal Town on July 28, reports The News. The suspects were identified as Samad, MQM sector in-charge, Imran and Irfan. There were reports that the raids were conducted on information gathered from suspects already under detention, and that all three apprehended men were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
At least five Afghan militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation by Security Forces (SFs) in the border area of Bumburate village of Kalash valley in Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on August 3, reports Dawn. “Security forces spotted movement of militants from Afghanistan in the border area of Bumburate village,” said security officials. Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a targeted operation in the area to hunt the militants, added the security officials. “Five militants were killed in an exchange of fire, we also recovered heavy weapons from the militants after a search operation in the area,” confirmed the officials.
Three suspected militants were killed in an exchange of fire with Frontier Corps (FC) personnel during a search operation in Hoshab area of Kech District on August 2, reports Dawn. The FC personnel destroyed four hideouts of the militants after seizing a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, said FC spokesman Khan Wasey. The weapons seized from the hideouts included four rifles, two sub-machineguns, three shotguns and thousands of rounds. Anti-state literatures were also found in the hideouts.
Provincial Home Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti during a press conference in Quetta on August 4 said that the Security Forces arrested six militants believed to be involved in two bomb blasts, reports Dawn. He said that the arrests were made during raids jointly conducted by police and personnel of intelligence agencies at two places in the Eastern Bypass and Killi Shabo areas of Quetta. Mr. Bugti said the arrested militants belonged to the United Baloch Army (UBA) and added,
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police arrested three Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-Swat Chapter terrorists during an encounter in Manghopir area of Gadap Town in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh on August 4, reports The News. The Police said that the accused were involved in a Police encounter and an attack on army soldiers in Waziristan. The Police recovered a suicide jacket, three TT pistols, four hand grenades and two kilograms of ball bearings from their hideout. The accused were identified as Saif-ur-Rehman alias Buddah, Taj Muhammad alias Salman and Adil. During the initial interrogation, they admitted that they were experts in laying landmines and firing rockets and also recruited youngsters in Karachi and took them to Afghanistan for training. They added that after training, the youths were handed over to various TTP wings, which used them to carry out their fight against with the Pakistan Army and the NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The Frontier Corps (FC) on August 10 arrested an alleged militant and his facilitators from Kalat and Killa Abdullah Districts of Balochistan in search operations, reports Daily Times. According to reports, the FC personnel, acting on a tip, carried out a search operation in Juhan area of Kalat District and apprehended two facilitators of a militant. Meanwhile, the militant was also arrested from Gulistan area of Killa Abdulla District in another operation.
Four suspected militants were killed in a shootout with Security Forces (SFs) in the Kahan area of Kohlu District in Balochistan, reports Dawn. The Frontier Corps (FC) action in Kohlu was part of a combing operation in Quetta and other areas of the province launched on the directives of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
As result of combing operation in parts of Rawalpindi District in Punjab on August 11, six terrorists inclusive of two most wanted commanders were arrested, reports The News. According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), during the operations carried out in Gujar Khan and Kallar Syedan areas, the raiders also recovered arms and ammunition including prepared Improvised Electronic Devices (IEDs).
The Security Forces (SFs) arrested four suspected suicide bombers from Shaks area of Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and also recovered five suicide bomb vests from them on August 12, reports The News.
The Security Forces on August 16 killed at least 15 militants and injured more than a dozen during air strikes carried out in Sattar Killay, Kharaiba and Rajgal – the remote areas of Kuki Khel in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Daily Times. Official sources said that during the operation, five militant strongholds were destroyed.
Sindh Rangers on August 17 arrested two target killers, identified as Kashif Qadir alias Kashif Tinda and Junaid Iqbal alias Bota from Bahadurabad area of Karachi, reports The News. The accused have confessed to target killing of lawyers, murder and extortion. They targeted Advocate Sohail Anjum along with his companions on March 17, 2010 at Tipu Sultan Road, Advocate Waheed Qureshi on October 01, 2011 at Tariq Road and also confessed to taking part in May 12, 2007 bloodshed in Karachi, said the spokesman. The Rangers spokesman added that besides killing six activists of Sunni Tehreek, the accused were also involved in forced extortion at Tariq Road and Bahadurabad.
At least 11 militants were killed in a joint aerial and ground operation Babar Kachkol, Toor Sapar and adjoining areas of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 18, reports Dawn. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, eight militant hideouts were also destroyed during the operation.
Two employees of a private TV channel were injured after unidentified armed assailants opened fire on them in Quaidabad area of Bin Qasim Town in Karachi on August 18, reports Daily Times.
A militant was killed after an exchange of fire with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in Rakh Pabbi village of Gujrat District on August 23, reports Dawn. According to details, his other accomplices fled, while the one found dead was killed by the firing of his own accomplices. A spokesperson for the CTD said the CTD received information that some militants in a house in Rakh Pabbi village of Gujrat were planning to attack law enforcement agency officials. A CTD team ordered them to turn themselves in but they started indiscriminate firing on them. The team took cover and when firing stopped, one of the militants was found killed by the firing of his own accomplices. Other militants escaped while two hand grenades and other weapons were found at the scene.
A terror bid was foiled when an eight kilogram of bomb was defused at Bakhtiarabad area of Lehri District on August 26, reports Dawn. However, the railway track was damaged.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda escaped an attack on him in Delhi Colony of Baldia Town on August 26, reports Dawn. “Unknown assailants opened fire on my car upon which my guards retaliated,” Vawda said. “Total six bullets were fired at the car,” said senior PTI leader Imran Ismail.
PAKISTAN
Ignoring Pakistan will be dangerous, says Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, John McCain
The Chairman of the United States (US) Senate Committee on Armed Services, John McCain, on July 26 urged the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan to overcome their differences and get down to the business of fighting terrorists, reports Dawn. In an opinion piece published in The Financial Times, Senator McCain argued that without Pakistan’s cooperation, the US mission in Afghanistan would become “immeasurably more difficult”. “The sooner the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan get down to the business of fighting their common terrorist enemies together, no matter where they hide, the better off the nations, the region and the world will be,” he wrote.
Killings drop but kidnappings, gang rape & riots on the rise, says Sindh CTD data
After a significant drop in crime rate in the wake of Rangers-led operation in the city, the incidents of kidnapping, gang rape and riots have registered an alarming rise not only in Karachi but also in the rest of Sindh, Dawn reported on July 28 quoting data compiled by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). The data showed that 557 murders took place between January and July last year while 371 killings were reported during the same period this year, marking a difference of 186 lives. A total of 737 kidnappings took place in the city during last seven months this year as compared to 722 kidnappings during the same period last year, registering an increase of 15 cases. Since these kidnappings did not lead to payment of ransom as per Police’s terminology, the data was silent about the motive of the crime.
The CTD head, Additional Inspector General of Police Dr. Sanaullah Abbasi, told Dawn that most of the victims were women who were kidnapped for a host of reasons. Police had arrested 301 suspects involved in such kidnappings, he said. Police believed the incidents of kidnapping for ransom had dropped significantly as the data revealed that 32 incidents of kidnapping for ransom took place during seven months last year but this year so far, 15 such incidents had been reported. The other disturbing trend the data showed pertained to gang rape, with a total of 21 incidents reported during last seven months this year as compared to eight such incidents during the same period last year, a rise of 13 cases.
Karachi target killers being funded from South Africa, Thailand, UK, claim Rangers
The Rangers authorities have revealed on July 27 that target killers in Karachi are receiving financial assistance from South Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom, reports Daily Times. While briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, the Rangers authorities informed that 7950 operations were conducted across the metropolis since September 2013. Around 6361 suspects were handed over to police and 221 were handed over to FIA and other law enforcement agencies. 1158 suspects were released without registration of the First Information Report (F.I.R), 1,313 were released on bail while 188 were convicted in various cases. A total of 1,236 alleged terrorists, 848 target killers, 403 extortionists and 143 kidnappers were among those arrested during these raids.
Alleged target killers confessed to targeting 7224 persons in the city, the paramilitary Rangers stated. 1,313 operations were conducted against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), 1,035 against Peoples Aman Committee and 28 operations were carried out against Awami National Party (ANP). The Rangers authorities further reported that there was an 80% decline in terror related incidents, 75% in target killings, 85% in extortion cases and 83% reduction in incidents of kidnapping. The report comes a day after two army men, Lance Naik Abdul Razzaq and Sepoy Khadmin Hussain were shot dead when motorcycle gunmen opened fire on their pick-up truck near parking plaza in Saddaq area of Karachi.
Punjab Home Department directs Punjab Police told to keep an eye on JuD fundraising activities
The Punjab Home Department on July 28 directed Punjab Police to take strict action against activists of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed-led Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD), reports Dawn. In its directions issued to the Additional Inspector General of Police-Operations Punjab and to Divisional Police Chiefs across the Province, the Home Department asked for details of fundraising by JuD and other proscribed organisations as the activity is against the law. According to the directive, JuD is making efforts to collect funds through Islamic charity, including fitrana, zakat and sadkaats.
Seven suspected TTP, LeJ militants killed in Punjab
Seven suspected Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants were killed on July 31 during an exchange of fire with Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel near the Parrianwala railway crossing in Sheikhupura District of Punjab, reports Dawn. A CTD Punjab spokesman said Sheikhupura Police “received information from a credible source that nine to ten suspects belonging to the TTP and LeJ were present near the Parrianwala railway crossing at around 1am. He claimed they were planning to attack sensitive installations and personnel belonging to law enforcement agencies in the city. Weapons and ammunition were allegedly recovered from the suspects, including 5 kilograms of explosive material, two detonators, three motorcycles, three Kalashnikov rifles, four pistols and 150 bullets.
US places TTP-JuA on Specially Designated Global Terrorists list
The United States (US) on August 3 placed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan- Jama’at-ul-Ahrar (TTP-JuA), a breakaway faction of the TTP, and its leaders on a list of specially designated global terrorists, reports Dawn. “The imposition of sanctions by the United States against terrorists is a powerful tool,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the designation. “Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organisations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other US agencies and other governments,” it added.
The US State Department announced that the designation automatically imposed on the group and its leaders all sanctions that applied to foreign persons and groups determined to have committed, or posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. Designated entities are also considered a threat to the security of the US and its nationals and to its foreign policy and economy. As a result of these designations, all property subject to US jurisdiction in which JuA has any interest is blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group.
80% rehabilitation work of terror-hit 183 schools completed in Khyber Agency of FATA
The reconstruction and rehabilitation process of 80 per cent of the 183 schools destroyed by militants in Khyber Agency of Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has been completed, an Education department official said on August 1, reports Daily Times. Khyber Agency Education Officer Abdur Rashid informed that the terrorists had destroyed 183 schools in the agency, including 153 schools in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) alone. These schools included 94 schools that were completely raised to the ground. He said that Government had completed construction work on 80 percent schools but education department of the agency was yet to take charge of the school and let them open for learning. “However, alternate places have been managed to keep the education activities alive in the area and let students undertake their learning activities,” Abdur Rashid added.
Daesh leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan killed in US strike
The Islamic State (Daesh) leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed, was killed in July 26 in a strike in the border region between the Afghanistan and Pakistan, a United States (US) defence official said on August 12, reports The News. “They got him,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of any official announcement. Details of the strike were not immediately available, but a US official told the BBC that Saeed was killed in a July 26 drone strike in the Kot District of Nangarhar province. The death of Saeed represents a major setback for the IS group as it tries to establish itself as a serious force in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
COAS Gen Raheel Shareef expresses dismay over slow NAP execution
As the military launched its first combing operations in Punjab targeting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group Jama’at-ul-Ahrar (JuA), Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif publicly vented frustration on August 12 over the Government’s poor progress on the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism, reports Dawn. He said the military’s gains during Operation Zarb-i-Azb were being lost. “The National Action Plan is central to achievements of our objectives and its lack of progress is affecting the consolidation phase of Operation Zarb-i-Azb,” he said at a special security meeting at the General Headquarters. The meeting was attended by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, 10th Corps Commander Lieutenant General Malik Zafar Iqbal and principal staff officers.
Fazl says law on Sindh Madaris sans Ulema consultation to be thrown out
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Sunday, Aug 21 that they would throw out the law on the Madaris registration and funding in Sindh if it was legislated without the consultation of Ulema.
Addressing his supporters and party loyalists at a workers convention in Karachi, Maulana Fazl said that a one-sided law would not be acceptable. He said that the Jamiat-Ulema-Islam was established in 1919 and he was happy that it was almost a century old.
He also said that during the by-elections in Taunsa, the JUI-F workers and loyalists were subjected to assault and torture. Maulana Fazlur Rehman asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to investigate the recently-held Taunsa by-elections for rigging.
He demanded that the government expunge all the fake cases registered against the JUI-F workers at once and claimed that the provincial government wanted to impose dictatorship on Madaris through legislation.
Altaf portraits removed, MQM offices demolished
The administration of Karachi continued its crackdown on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) against the August 22 speech by Altaf Hussain against Pakistan and demolished various sector offices of the party and removed pictures of the party chief on Aug 23 and 24. Also pictures from the official residence of Altaf Hussain and Hyderabad were removed.
It was decided that the Mukkah Chowk’s name will be changed and its official name will now be Shaheed-e-Millat Liaquat Chowk. The DC Central has issued a notification in this regard. The Mukkah Chowk was inaugurated in 1991 and it was renovated during the period of Mustafa Kamal when he was the City Nazim.
In another development, the government has decided to demolish all the unit and sector offices of the MQM which have been set up on the government land. Sources disclosed that it was decided to remove all the offices of the party from the government land. It must be borne in mind that most offices of the MQM were established in public parks or public sports grounds.
The flags and pictures of Altaf Hussain and MQM were also removed from the Khursheed Memorial Hall, Azizabad, and the famous Lal Qila Ground, Azizabad. This scribe during a random visit of Nine Zero asked the area people who had removed the MQM flags and pictures. Residents said policemen in armoured personnel carriers (APC) had done so.
Three APCs were deployed at the Nine Zero and around Azizabad. The media department of the MQM was also closed down. Before the attack on media houses, there were barriers around Nine Zero and no one was allowed to enter without permission but on Thursday there was no barrier. People were not asked as to where they were going. The area people seemed to be scared and had restricted their movement.
The media people were checked at all the gates in the past but such restrictions are gone now. It seems many workers of the MQM have left the city or gone into hiding due to fear. There are also reports that a ban is likely to be imposed on the MQM. Many people are asking questions like who has the actual command in Pakistan i.e. Dr. Farooq Sattar or Altaf Hussain in London.
It may be noted here that Rangers are keeping a close eye on several unions who are doing political activities in government offices. As per the apex committee orders, no political activity can take place in the government offices.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
Two dozen hideouts in Dhaka and surrounding areas are trying to carry out more attacks by setting up small dens, say Sources
Law enforcement sources on July 27 said that at least two dozen hideouts in Dhaka and surrounding areas are trying to carry out more attacks by setting up small dens, reports Dhaka Tribune. Interrogating militants who were arrested in various operations or during the recent attacks, law enforcement agencies have gleaned information on at least two dozen hideouts in Dhaka and surrounding areas where drives will be carried out soon. A senior law enforcement official requesting anonymity confirmed that as a part of a new technique, militants were now renting flats in areas where low income populations and garment workers live. Small groups of militants, usually numbering seven to nine, are living in these flats, the official said. In some cases they are using family members to rent flats.
5 ABT militants arrested in Chittagong
Police arrested five militants of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in Patenga area of Chittagong District on August 1 while they were planning to carry out subversive activities in the area, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are: Akkas Ali Nayan, Atiqul Hasan Emon, Zamshedul Alam Hridoy, Mohamad Rubel and Mohammad Mohiuddin.
IS claims five on nine Gulshan café attackers were ‘suicide fighters’
Islamic State (IS) in the latest issue of its online magazine Dabiq claimed that the five of the nine Gulshan café attackers were ‘suicide fighters,’ reports The Daily Star on August 2. To describe the café attack, Dabiq said: “On the 27th of Ramadan, five inghimasi (suicide) soldiers of the Caliphate carried out an attack on the Artisan Restaurant, which is frequented by Crusader foreigners of varying nationalities, in the city of Dhaka. The mujahidin held a number of hostages as they engaged in a gun battle with apostate Bengali police, and succeeded in killing and injuring dozens of disbelievers before attaining shahadah.”
JMP militant arrested from Dinajpur district
Police arrested a militant of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Nawabganj sub-District of Dinajpur District on August 2, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee is Alamgir Kabir (24). Police recovered six crude bombs and two sharp weapons from him. He was a close friend and aide of Abdullah, who was killed in the Kalyanpur raid in Dhaka city on July 26.
Police announced BTK 2 million cash rewards for information leading to arrest of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and Syed Zia ul Haq
Police on August 2 announced BTK 2 million cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and Syed Zia ul Ha, reports The Daily Star. Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a Canadian citizen of Bangladeshi origin, is a top Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader and police investigation found his involvement in the Gulshan and Sholakia terror attacks, while sacked Army Major Syed Zia ul Haq, a key operational commander of the pro-al-Qaeda outfit called Ansar al Islam which was previously known as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), had a hand in the targeted killings, said Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque.
Five Al Ansar militants arrested in Dhaka city
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on August 3 arrested five militants of Al Ansar, an offshoot of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) from Dhaka city’s Hazaribagh area, reports The Daily Star. The five are Rashidul Alam alias Rashed alias Babu (25), Abdullah Al Mamun Mia (30), Raisul Islam Hawlader alias Russel (25), Abu Bakar Monir (23) and Abdul Malek (35). Of them, Rashidul is a coordinator of Al Ansar. RAB officials said they came to know about the offshoot a few months back and had been keeping a close watch on some of its members since then. According to them, Al Ansar, formed about two years ago, follows the ideology of global terror outfit al-Qaeda. The arrestees were in contact with several top HuJI-B leaders now in prison, the officials claimed.
IS sent foot soldiers to Bangladesh, says former IS militant Harry Sarfo
Harry Sarfo, a former Islamic State (IS) militant from Germany, in a jailhouse interview conducted by the reporter of Times Rukmini Callimachi on August 3 said that IS sent foot soldiers to Bangladesh, reports The Daily Star. “People especially from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia – they have people who used to work for Al Qaeda, and once they joined the Islamic State, they are asking them questions about their experiences and if they have contacts,” he said. Sarfo described what he had been told by the IS’s external operations branch about the group’s design to build an infrastructure in Bangladesh.
Two militants killed in gunfight with RAB in Mymensingh
Shafiul Islam (22), who was caught at the attack scene near Sholakia Eidgah, and his associate were killed in a ‘gunfight’ with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Nandail of Mymensingh District on August 5, reports The Daily Star. The identity of the other could not be known immediately. Three RAB members were also injured in the gunfight. RAB claimed the gun battle took place while militants were trying to snatch away Shafiul on way to Kishoregang to hand him over to Police. Two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.
Prison walls are failing to contain thriving terror web as militants behind bars take advantage of lax surveillance to discuss ideas and make plans through visitors, says intelligence report
According to an intelligence report submitted to the Home Ministry, prison walls are failing to contain thriving terror web as militants behind bars take advantage of lax surveillance to discuss ideas and make plans through visitors, reports The Daily Star on August 9. The report said that banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) chief Jasimuddin Rahmani, Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Saidur Rahman and those accused in the August 21 grenade attack case often hold meetings in Kashimpur Central Jail. The accused militants, who subscribe to similar ideologies, manage to communicate with one another through various means since they have been staying in the same jail for quite a long time. The identities of the persons, who meet the militants claiming to be family members, are not properly verified, according to the report.
Six suicide attacked arrested in Dhaka city
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on August 10 arrested six suicide attackers who were planning to carry out subversive activities in Dhaka city, reports The Daily Star. Among the six, five are from Jama’at-ul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) and one from Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). The five JMB militants are Jahid Anwar alias Porag (22), Tajul Islam alias Tajul (29), Jahid Hasan alias Main (21), Jiyabul Hoque (24) and Nayan Hossain (21). The ABT militant was Mostafizur Rahman alias Sifat (27). RAB recovered nine improvised explosive devices, five hand grenades, 13 detonators, two pistols, some machetes and knives and bomb-making materials from the arrestees.
Born again Neo JMB is far more radicalized and fearsome, say Investigators
Investigators said that the born-again Neo Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is far more radicalized and fearsome, reports The Daily Star on August 17. Banned in 2005 and subsequently broken down, the JMB took only nine years to reorganize. The Neo JMB, as called by law enforcers, is now inspired by the ideology of Islamic State (IS), skilled in modern technology and equipped with sophisticated firearms. It is capable of causing damage more than the old JMB which a decade ago carried out suicide bombing and synchronized blasts across the country.
Two Islamist extremists killed in gunfight with Police in Tangail District
Two Islamist extremists were killed in a gunfight with Police on Mymensingh-Tangail highway at Telki area in Tangail District on August 21, reports New Age. The identity of the two dead, aged between 20 and 25, could not be known immediately. Police recovered a pistol one machete and a bottle of petrol from them.
BD police abduct top Islamist leader’s son
Police have abducted the son of a top Bangladeshi war crimes convict, his family said on Tuesday, Aug 23 the latest in a series of forced disappearances of opposition leaders’ children. More than 30 plainclothes officers seized Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, formerly a decorated brigadier general in Bangladesh’s powerful army, from his home in the capital Dhaka on Monday evening, his family said in a statement. The police had no warrant and gave no reason for arresting Azmi, the family said. “No official acknowledgement of his arrest has yet been made, without which there are credible fears for a possible extrajudicial abduction,” the statement said.
Azmi’s father Ghulam Azam, the former head of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), was sentenced to 90 years in prison in 2013 for war crimes during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. He died in prison in 2014.
The alleged abduction came weeks after similar incidents — involving two other sons of opposition leaders convicted of war crimes which were blamed on plainclothes policemen in Dhaka.
“We don’t know anything about these incidents,” a national police spokesman told AFP.
Bangladesh’s highest court is also set to decide the fate of another top Islamist leader who was sentenced to death in 2014 for war crimes.
If Mir Quasem Ali, who was a top financier of the JeI, loses his final appeal, with hearings expected to start Wednesday, he will be executed within weeks. His son Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, who was part of his legal defence team, was allegedly abducted earlier in August.
Critics say the abductions are an attempt by police to sow fear and prevent Islamists from staging protests against Ali’s imminent execution. The United Nations on Tuesday urged the government to annul Ali’s death sentence and to give him a retrial in compliance with international standards.
India – Internal Dynamics
Illicit poppy cultivation
Illicit poppy cultivation in the border districts of West Bengal and smuggling of the contraband across the border to Bangladesh and elsewhere are worrying intelligence authorities because it has turned out to be among the principal sources of funds for terror outfits like the Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Indian Express reports on July 28. CID sources stated that the strategic position of these districts facilitated rise in illegal cultivation of poppy, which “has become a major fund generating business drawing several hundreds of youths into it”. Apart from Malda District’s Ratua, Kaliachak and Baishnabnagar, poppy is also allegedly secretly grown at Nowada and Beldanga in Murshidabad District besides Dubrajpur, Ilambazar and Kankartala in Birbhum District.
Such cultivation was also found in Patrasayar, Indas, Onda and Barjora in Bankura District and Ketugram, Mangolkote, Kaksa, Purbasthali, Katwa, Galsi and Laodaha in Bardhaman District, the sources said. “Much evidence is there that the money earned from this cultivation goes to the terror groups through different channels including hawala (illegal money transaction). The money might have also gone to suspected ISIS [IS] agents through JMB,” the source said.
“A large number of locals, mainly youth, are involved in cultivating it mostly in areas which are not frequented by locals,” the source added. The District administration with the assistance of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), local Police and the BSF had destroyed 4,000 acres of poppy crop last year, whereas around 1,000 acres have been destroyed this year so far, police sources said. According to a NCB report compiled in 2011-2012, the agency had destroyed poppy crops cultivated in around 714 acres of land in the state, out of which 711 acres lay in the Malda District while the other three were in Hooghly and Bardhaman districts. “It must be mentioned that the illicit cultivation of poppy is spread over Malda’s Kaliachak and Baishnabnagar and these are the areas where the fake Indian currency notes (FICN) cartels are also tracked,” he said, adding that in the last couple of years several raids and arrests had been made in Kaliachak.
“On smuggling drugs across the border to Bangladesh one receives fake currency in return… It’s actually over the years that Malda has become a major transit of FICN,” he said citing a National Investigation Agency (NIA) 2012 report.
Cobra trooper killed in encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh
A Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) trooper was killed and another injured in an encounter with Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in a dense forest pocket of Sukma District on July 30, reports The Hindu. Security Forces (SFs) had undertaken the operation based on specific inputs about the movement of dreaded Maoist ‘commander’ Hidma with his group in the region. When the CoBRA troopers were patrolling the forest between Ettrajpad and Gachonpally villages, a group of Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on them leading to a heavy gun-battle, Police said. A constable-rank trooper was killed and another injured, a Police official said, adding reinforcement was immediately rushed to the spot.
Meanwhile, SFs on July 31 recovered a powerful 40-kilograms Improvised Explosive Device (IED), planted by Maoists eight years back in Bastar District on National Highway 63, reports Zee News.
Maoists kill pastor in Andhra Pradesh
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres kidnapped and killed a pastor branding him as a ‘Police informer’ in Chinturu mandal (administrative unit) of East Godavari District on July 30, reports The Hindu. The Police said 25 Maoists visited Lakshmipuram village of Nellipaka mandal near Chinturu on July 29 night and enquired about Vooraka Maraiah (45), a pastor. They woke up his family and took Maraiah along with them. After three hours, Maraiah’s body, with hands tied to the back, was found at the junction of the village. It bore stab and bullet wounds.
Explosives recovered in Meghalaya
Acting on information provided by an arrested United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) cadre, a Police team from Assam’s Goalpara District along with the Meghalaya Police conducted a search operation in the Rangmkhlang Hills in Meghalaya and found a huge quantity of explosives buried in a pit on August 1, reports The Assam Tribune. The explosives recovered include 152 gelatine sticks and 282 detonators along with several metres of fuse wire. The arrested ULFA cadre was identified as Lambu Asom alias Harinath Rabha who was arrested by Security Forces (SFs) recently along the Assam-Meghalaya border, Police said. Search operations were continuing in the area.
NDFB- P seeks support of tribal MPs for separate Bodoland
Progressive faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-P) appealed to tribal Members of Parliament (MPs) to support and raise the issue of a separate Bodoland in Parliament, reports The Telegraph. In a statement, S. Sanjarang, the outfit’s information and publicity secretary, on July 31, said the outfit has had 14 rounds of dialogue with the Centre on sovereignty. “Owing to lack of political will on the part of the Centre, the dialogue has not been productive,” he said, adding that the All Bodo Student’s Union (ABSU) has resumed its movement together with the NDFB-P. “Till now, five rounds of talks have been held with ABSU and its allied organisations but with no progress. The last one was held on the June 9, 2015,” Sanjarang said.
He said the Bodo people have a distinct history because they were an independent nation and have a distinct identity with unique language and culture. “Not only that, their population is the biggest among the indigenous people of the region,” he said. “Despite all these, the Bodo people have been repeatedly denied and deprived of their legitimate right to a state. This is a gross historical injustice.” “Instead of granting statehood, the Centre attempted to console the Bodos by granting Bodoland Autonomous Council and later Bodoland Territorial Areas District (in 1993 and 2003), which practically are paralysed and impotent administrative set-ups, incapable of addressing the very fundamental questions of the Bodos and other indigenous people,” Sanjarang said. The NDFB-P appealed to the MPs belonging to the indigenous community to raise the issue in Parliament so that the long-standing problem can be resolved to usher in permanent peace in the region.
Maoists posters demanding suspension of three Odisha Ministers found
Communist Party of India-Maoist posters demanding suspension of three Ministers of Odisha Government having links with the chit fund scam were found at Manamunda Veterinary centre in Boudh District and under Saintala Police Station limits in Balangir District on August 6, odishasuntimes.com. The Maoists have demanded suspension of Law Minister Arun Sahoo, Housing and Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singh Deo and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Das Burma within 10 days. The posters were addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Former Bihar CM defends Maoists
Following posters pasted on August 3 in his constituency by the Communist Party of India-Maoist which threatened him for undermining them, former Bihar Chief Minister (CM) and leader of Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), Jitan Ram Manjhi, on August 5 called Maoists “protectors of poor,” reports The Hindu. He also supported Maoists in taking levies from contractors. “I supported Maoists as they have been protecting poor people from being exploited by the rich and affluent… in 1984, when I was a minister, there were allegations levelled against me that I was a supporter of Naxals…I’ve often been saying that to save the honour of women and daughters belonging to poor [sections of] society, and to protect them from various kinds of atrocities, if someone supports them and is called a Naxalite, then yes, I am the first Naxalite,” said Manjhi. He also added that Maoists, whether in Bihar or any other part of the country, were fighting for the cause of the poor and, “if they use force to protect the poor, there is nothing wrong in this”.
He also defended the Maoist act of extorting levies from contractors engaged in the construction of roads and buildings in Maoist-affected areas. “The contractors make lot of money by over-estimating the project cost and there is no harm if the Maoists take levy from them, former Chief Minister Manjhi said while speaking to journalists in Patna. “We all know that an estimate scam is going on in the State and a work that can be done for Rs. 1 crore is being done at Rs. 5 crore. Contractors are not doing their work honestly and say that they have to pay money to public representatives and officers. If Naxals extort levy from such contractors, what wrong do they do?” asked the former Bihar CM. He also said that the July 19, 2016 encounter in which 10 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) commandos was killed was not the handiwork of the Maoists but criminals.
Two BSF personnel injured in IED blasts in Manipur
Two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel sustained injuries when three low intensity bombs believed to be Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) exploded on the Imphal-Mao sector of National Highway 39 in Senapati District on August 8, reports The Assam Tribune. The incident happened when a convoy of 54 BSF on its way to Imphal, was passing through an area located between Changoubung and Kangpokpi, in the District, at around 10.45 am, Police said. The two injured BSF personnel who were travelling in a mini bus have been identified as constables Anil Kumar and Lalji Yadav. Anil sustained injury on his hand and Lalji on his leg, sources said.
Two shot dead, eight injured by ULFA militants in Assam
Suspected Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) militants killed two persons, identified as Kishori Shah and Rajen Shah and injured eight others at Bahbon village in Philobari area of the Tinsukia District on August 12, The Shillong Times. A Police source informed that a group of five militants coming on foot opened fire at the two households at Bamungaon at around 7. 30 pm killing two persons on the spot and injured eight others.
Separately, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered from near Rupalim cinema hall in Sivasagar District on August 12, reports The Telegraph.
Two CAF personnel injured
Two Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) personnel were injured on August 13 when Naxals attacked them in Narayanpur District, reports Business Standard. “The Naxals carried out an attack near the 9th battalion of the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) at Kurrajohar village in Narayanpur District in which two assistant platoon commanders, Vinod Mishra and Narayan Kushawaha, sustained injuries,” Chhattisgarh’’s Special Director General for Naxal Operations D M Awasthi told.
Police constable killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Lal Sai (24), a Police Constable, was killed by Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres at Konde-Markeli village under Manpur Police Station limits in Rajnandgaon District on August 14, reports The Times of India. Sai had joined the Police force after quitting Naxalism [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] and was posted at Manpur Police Station, a senior Police official said. Sai, who was an active cadre of the CPI-Maoist, had surrendered before Police two years back and since then was working as an Assistant Constable with Rajnandgaon Police. He was elevated as Constable in March this year because of his dedication and good work, the official said.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during period July 26, 2016 to Aug 25, 2016:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 18 | 00 | 08 | 26 |
| Arunachal P | 02 | 00 | 00 | 02 |
| Manipur | 02 | 00 | 00 | 02 |
| Meghalaya | 03 | 00 | 02 | 05 |
| Left wing | 19 | 13 | 10 | 42 |
| Total | 44 | 13 | 20 | 77 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
KP Sharma Oli demands polls before the local and provincial elections
Caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli demanded that the Parliamentary elections be held before the local and provincial elections, reports The Himalayan Times on July 29. Casting doubt on the intention of Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Center), Oli said the understanding between the two parties to hold elections of local bodies in April could be but a move not to hold any election at all. “Parliament was dissolved [in 2002], first Constituent Assembly was dissolved [in 2012], efforts were made to bar the new Constitution. Now, the government was pulled down and the scheduled polls in November are being deferred,” the outgoing Prime Minister said in a seminar on July 29. “This is a part of a design to push the country towards perpetual crisis,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, Sadbhawana Party (SP) Chairperson Rajendra Mahato while speaking at an interaction organised by Reporters Club in Kathmandu on July 29 said that the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) would not join the government until the constitution was amended to meet UDMF’s 11-point demands, reports The Himalayan Times. Mahato said the UDMF wanted amendment to the constitution to address their concerns about the revision of the provincial boundaries and issues of citizenship, language and representation, among others. Mahato said if the NC and the CPN-Maoist Centre agreed to grant martyrdom status to those killed during Madhesi movement, bear treatment cost of the injured and withdraw cases against the UDMF cadres, the UDMF could provide support to the NC and the CPN-Maoist Center to form a new government.
CPN Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal elected as new Prime Minister of Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on August 3, reports The Himalayan Times. Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar announced that Dahal was elected the Prime Minister as he garnered more votes than 50 percent of current strength of the Parliament. While total 573 lawmakers had cast their votes in the poll, 363 were for Dahal, according to Speaker Gharti. Dahal was backed by the largest party in the House, Nepali Congress (NC), constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) and the Federal Alliance and some other fringe parties. Total 210 lawmakers including those of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) had cast votes against the Maoist leader.
Govt decides to declare 52 individuals killed during 2015’s Madhes protests as martyrs
The Government on August 18 decided to declare 52 individuals who were killed during 2015’s Madhes protests as martyrs, reports Republica. A Cabinet meeting decided to declare as martyrs 41 protestors and 11 Security Force (SF) personnel who lost their lives during the Madhes movement. The Cabinet took the decision on the basis of a political understanding reached between Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi and leaders of the agitating parties during a meeting on August 14. The Madhesi leaders had presented the meeting with a new list of 68 individuals who were killed during the protests and asked Deputy Prime Minster Nidhi to declare them “martyrs of the Madhes movement.” The Home Ministry reviewed the list and proposed the name of 52 individuals.
Nepal’s new PM seeks reconciliation
Nepal’s new Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda named a minority leader to the key position of home minister in his first appointments on Aug 6, seeking reconciliation after months of protests by southern plainsfolk over a new constitution.
The 61-year-old former rebel commander has vowed to tackle the grievances of the Madhesi minority that demands a greater say in central government by amending the constitution adopted last September.
The Madhesis, who have close cultural and family ties with neighbouring India, have staged protests against the charter, saying it marginalised them by dividing their southern homeland into several states.
Violence, blamed by many Madhesis on the use of excessive police force, claimed more than 50 lives in the protests that petered out in February. Prachanda appointed Bimalendra Nidhi of the centrist Nepali Congress, the biggest coalition party, as deputy prime minister in charge of the home ministry, officials said.
Conflict victims threaten to move court against TRC if it doesn’t revise shelving probe into war-era cases
Conflict victims on August 21 threatened to move court against the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) if it doesn’t revise a recently endorsed guideline regarding shelving probe into war-era cases, reports The Himalayan Times. Chairman of Conflict Victims’ Common Platform Suman Adhikari said “We have serious reservations against the TRC’s procedure on shelving probe into conflict-era rights violation cases.” The TRC on August 11 finalized a procedure to select the insurgency-era human rights violation cases that can be put on hold on several grounds, including lack of evidence and inadequate details. According to the provisions mentioned in the procedure, hundreds of conflict-era cases are likely to be shelved without the transitional justice mechanism conducting any inquiry.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
ICRC asks Sri Lanka to clarify fate and whereabouts of 16,000 missing persons
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a 34-page report released on July 26 asked Sri Lanka to clarify the fate and whereabouts of 16,000 missing persons including over 5,100 Security Force (SF) personnel missing in Action, reports Colombo Page. The report said “The years that have passed since the armed conflict in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, did not bring solace to the families of over 16,000 persons who, according to the ICRC’s records, remain missing.” The ICRC released the “Living with Uncertainty, Needs of the Families of Missing Persons in Sri Lanka” after conducting a 14-month island-wide assessment between October 2014 and November 2015. During the survey ICRC met 395 families of missing persons, including those of missing SF and Police personnel, along with the authorities and organizations providing assistance to these victims. Of the 395 families surveyed, 36 percent believed their loved ones were dead while 31 percent believed they were alive. A third was not sure.
SL urged to act over killings
A French charity urged Sri Lanka’s government on Aug 5 to hold a credible investigation into the killing a decade ago of 17 of its staff.
The head of Action Against Hunger (ACF) said it was time for Sri Lanka to act on its promises as she visited the island to mark the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
No one has ever been prosecuted over the execution style killings of ACF staff, among them four women, the worst attack against humanitarian workers during the island’s 37-year-long ethnic war.
Govt will launch investigation as rehabilitated LTTE cadres are mysteriously dying, says Co-Cabinet spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne
Co-Cabinet spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne at the weekly Cabinet press briefing on August 10 said that the Government will launch an investigation into the allegation that the rehabilitated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres are mysteriously dying due to being poisoned while they were under Government custody undergoing rehabilitation, reports Colombo Page. Tamil media reports have alleged that 105 former LTTE members have so far died mysteriously, allegedly after being injected with a drug when they were undergoing post-war rehabilitation in Sri Lankan army run camps. While it has been alleged that the deaths are due to poisoning some of the deaths are due to cancer, according to the Tamil leaders in the North who say that the deaths are creating unease in the Tamil-dominated Northern Province.
Govt is planning to strengthen SCRM tasked with design and implementation of reconciliation mechanisms, says Report
Government is planning to strengthen the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms (SCRM) which is tasked with the design and implementation of reconciliation mechanisms, reports Colombo Page on August 24. The Secretariat, which comes under the Prime Minister’s Office, was formed by the Cabinet of Ministers on December 18, 2015, according to a decision taken by the Cabinet to productively implement decisions, programs and processes related to reconciliation process. It is vested with the task of planning and implementing the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. It also coordinates and facilitates policy making and implementing agencies. The recently approved Office of Missing Persons, Truth, Justice, Reconciliation and Non-Recurrence Commission, Judicial Mechanism for accountability, and Office of Reparations come under the purview of the SCRM, headed by Mano Tittawella who serves as the Secretary General of the secretariat.
INTERNATIONAL
Massive IS bomb attack kills 44 in Syrian Kurdish city
A massive bomb blast claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 44 people and wounded dozens on Wednesday, July 27 in the Kurdish-majority Syrian city of Qamishli. It was the largest and deadliest attack to hit the city since the beginning of Syria’s conflict in March 2011. Syrian state media gave a toll of 44 dead and 140 injured in the bombing, which hit a western district of the city where several local Kurdish ministries are located.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor gave a toll of 48 dead, adding that children and women were among those killed. Kurdish officials said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck, adding that the blast detonated a nearby fuel container.
The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement circulated on social media, calling it “a response to the crimes committed by the crusader coalition aircraft” in the town of Manbij, a bastion of the jihadist group in Syria’s Aleppo province.
Kurdish fighters have been a key force battling the jihadists in north and northeastern Syria and are the main component in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance currently seeking to oust IS from Manbij. They are backed by air strikes launched by the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.
A source in the Kurdish Asayesh security forces told AFP that “this is the largest explosion the city has ever seen”. The area that was targeted houses several Kurdish administration buildings including the defence ministry and was considered a secure zone, with multiple checkpoints and security measures in place.
Local officials said hospitals in the city had been swamped with casualties from the attack. And Syrian state television carried an appeal from the governor of Hasakeh province, where Qamishli is located, urging residents to “go to public and private hospitals to donate blood for the victims of the terrorist bombings”.
More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began with anti-government protests that were met with a regime crackdown.
French media pull attackers’ photos over ‘glorification’ fears
Several major media outlets in France said on Wednesday, July 27 they would no longer use photographs of killers responsible for terror attacks to avoid giving them “posthumous glorification”.
The country’s two global news broadcasters RFI and France 24, as well as its biggest rolling television news channel BFMTV, said they would stop showing images of the attackers. The public Arab-language radio station Monte Carlo Doualiya followed suit. Daily newspapers Le Monde and La Croix had earlier announced similar moves, while Europe 1 radio station went further still saying it would not be “naming terrorists”.
BFMTV, which came in for criticism for interviewing gunman Amedy Coulibaly during the January 2015 kosher supermarket hostage siege in Paris in which four people died, said it had also stopped using images of attackers. “We made the decision last night to no longer show pictures of the terrorists until further notice,” said editorial director Herve Beroud.
“Photographs are very symbolic… and are shown repeatedly. They tend to put the terrorists and the victims on the same level,” he told AFP. He said the station would continue to name attackers. “The difficulty of this debate is that we have to guard against not informing people,” he added. But the left-leaning daily Liberation said it would continue to name and publish photos of attackers.
“Publishing photos of terrorists and glorifying them is not the same thing,” deputy managing editor Johan Hufnagel said. The surprise decisions came as Europe reeled from a wave of violence as a German expert told AFP that there was strong preliminary evidence that blanket media coverage led to further terror attacks.
Professor Michael Jetter warned it could also be a factor in inspiring other unbalanced people to kill. “If you devote a lot of coverage to an attack we will see more attacks in the following week and more also in the coming months,” said the researcher at the University of Western Australia, who has studying data on terrorist violence dating back to 1970.
The brutal killing of an elderly priest on Tuesday has further traumatised a country already reeling from the truck massacre in Nice in which 84 died — the third major terror attack in 18 months.
Turkish PM warns post-coup crackdown not over
Turkey’s prime minister warned on Wednesday, July 27 that the crackdown following a failed coup was not over, as authorities issued arrest warrants for dozens of former newspaper staff.
A senior minister also revealed that a major army shake-up had been planned just before the putsch — suggesting elements in the military made the dramatic move because they knew they were about to be purged.
Since the attempted power grab on the night of July 15, more than 15,000 people have been detained and more than 8,000 of them remain in custody, according to the latest interior ministry figures.
“The investigation is continuing, there are people who are being searched for. There could be new apprehensions, arrests and detentions,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told Sky News, according to the network’s translation of his remarks.
“The process is not completed yet,” he said. In the attempted coup, renegade soldiers sought to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but were stopped by crowds of civilians and loyalist security forces. At least 270 people were killed on both sides.
Turkey blames the botched putsch on US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who strongly denies the accusations and demands that the United States resist calls for his extradition. But Yildirim said Turkey was “determined” to secure his removal. “We shared all the details with them and, from this point on, the task falls on the shoulders of the US government,” the prime minister said.
Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law, said Turkish authorities had been planning a major purge of the military and other institutions to remove Gulen-linked elements ahead of the coup attempt. He suggested parts of the armed forces had wanted to act against the government as they knew they were about to be expelled.
Turkey on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for 47 former staff of the once pro-Gulen Zaman newspaper suspected of links to the reclusive cleric. An official who declined to be named said the swoop covered “executives and some staff including columnists”, describing Zaman as the “flagship media organisation” of the Gulen-led movement.
In March, Zaman and its English-language sister newspaper Today’s Zaman were taken over by state-appointed administrators and it has since taken a strongly pro-government line. Several former staff are believed to have since left Turkey. The official insisted the warrants were not related to what individual columnists had previously said or written.
With 143 generals and more than 3,000 soldiers arrested on suspicion of coup links, there are gaping holes in the command structure which will have to be filled.
Tens of thousands of Turkish civilians have also lost their jobs since July 15. Erdogan is set to visit Russia on August 9 to repair ties harmed by the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets last year, in an apparent shift in diplomatic strategy.
Turkey kills 35 militants after they try to storm base
Turkey’s army killed 35 Kurdish militants after they attempted to storm a base in the southeastern Hakkari province early on Saturday, July 30 military officials said. The overnight attack came hours after clashes in Hakkari’s Cukurca district between soldiers and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that left eight soldiers dead, the officials said. The militants attempted to take the base in three different groups, but were spotted by aerial reconnaissance. An air operation was launched, killing 23 of them, the officials said.
Four more were then killed in a ground operation, they said. The remaining eight were killed in clashes in Hakkari’s Cukurca district.
Turkey’s military – Nato’s second-largest – is grappling with the insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast as its senior ranks undergo a major shake-up in following a July 15-16 coup attempt.
On Thursday, Turkey announced an overhaul of the armed forces, with 99 colonels promoted to the rank of general or admiral and nearly 1,700 military personnel given dishonourable discharges over their alleged roles in the coup. About 40 percent of all generals and admirals in the military have been dismissed since the coup.
Car bomb attackers kill 6 in assault on Somali police building
Six people were killed on Sunday, July 31 in a gun and car-bomb assault on a police building in the centre of the Somali capital that also left seven assailants dead, Security Minister Abdirasak Omar Mohamed said. Some of the attackers rammed two cars into the building in central Mogadishu and others tried to storm it, he told reporters.
Earlier, security official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP that “terrorist elements” had smashed two cars packed full of explosives into the headquarters of the police’s criminal investigations department.
An AFP correspondent heard an exchange of gunfire after the explosions, which took place near a busy junction in the city. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The blasts came just days after at least 13 people were killed in twin bombings near Mogadishu airport and UN and African Union buildings. That attack was claimed by al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed government.
The Shabaab were forced out of the capital five years ago but continue to carry out regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets. In recent months they have claimed deadly assaults on military bases as well as civilian targets including hotels. Last month, a junior minister was among 11 people killed in an attack on the Naasa Hablood hotel. That began when a suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives outside the building.
Gunmen then stormed the hotel in an assault lasting for several hours. Special security forces ended the siege after killing three attackers inside the hotel.
Earlier in June, the same group claimed an attack on the city’s Ambassador hotel, which left 10 dead including two lawmakers when a huge car bomb ripped the front off the six-storey building.
Many Houthis, seven Saudi troops killed
Seven Saudi troops and dozens of Houthi fighters were killed in heavy fighting on the border with Yemen, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Sunday, July 31 as the main combatants in Yemen’s war prepared for a further week of peace talks in Kuwait.
The UN-sponsored negotiations had been on the verge of collapse after a new row erupted last week between the Saudi-backed government and its Iranian-allied Houthi foes and renewed fighting broke out.
But UN Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the talks between the Houthis and their General People’s Congress party allies and the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had been extended by a week.
France shuts 20 mosques
French authorities have shut down around 20 mosques and prayer halls considered to be preaching Islamic fundamentalism since December, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday, Aug 1.
“There is no place … in France for those who call for and incite hatred in prayer halls or in mosques, and who don’t respect certain republican principles, notably equality between men and women,” the minister said. “That is why I took the decision a few months ago to close mosques through the state of emergency, legal measures or administrative measures. About 20 mosques have been closed, and there will be others.”
Cazeneuve was speaking after a meeting with leaders of the French Council of the Muslim Religion.
There are some 2,500 mosques and prayer halls in France, about 120 of which are considered to be preaching radical Salafism.
The meeting comes as France struggles with an unprecedented jihadist threat that has seen a raft of terror attacks, most recently a truck massacre in Nice which killed 84, and the murder of a Catholic priest in the Normandy village of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
Iran executes 20 Kurdish Islamists for armed attacks
Iran executed up to 20 Kurdish Islamists suspected of attacks on security forces, drawing condemnation from rights groups which said the convictions may have been based on forced confessions.
State news agency IRNA said members of the Tawhid and Jihad group were executed on Tuesday, Aug 2 but did not give a figure.
Rights groups said between 10 and 20 people were killed. They were convicted of killing two Muslim clerics, several police and wildlife guards, abducting a number of people and carrying out armed robbery and bombings in Western Iran, IRNA said.
Iranian state television broadcast what it said were the confessions of some members of the Muslim group, in which they said they targeted both clerics.
Iran’s seven million Kurds make up around 10 percent of the population. Most live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region. The area has seen increased clashes between Kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an independent organisation based in New York, said 20 prisoners had been hanged. It said Iran’s Supreme Court had rejected the appeal of one of the convicts, Shahram Ahmadi, against his death sentence despite assertions his confession was made under torture.
Human Rights Watch condemned Iran for what it said was the “mass execution of at least 10 prisoners”.
500 fighters killed in a week in Aleppo battle
More than 500 rebels and government forces have been killed in one week of fierce fighting to control the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitor said on Saturday, Aug 6.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not give a specific toll, but said the majority of those killed since July 31 were rebels and Jihadists “because of the aerial superiority of the regime and intense Russian air strikes”.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said at least 130 civilians had also been killed since Sunday, most in rebel shelling of government-controlled districts.
He said at least seven civilians were killed on Saturday in rebel shelling of the regime-held neighbourhood of Hamdaniyeh.
Four dead as string of blasts hit Thai tourist resorts
A string of bomb attacks hit popular tourist towns across Thailand, leaving four dead and many wounded, with authorities on Friday, Aug 12 ruling out terrorism despite suspicions insurgents in the kingdom’s deep south are responsible.
In the normally peaceful resort town of Hua Hin, blood-spattered tourists were treated by rescue workers as forensic teams picked through the rubble, with police scrambling to reassure visitors the situation was under control.
“This is not a terrorist attack. It is just local sabotage that is restricted to limited areas and provinces,” national police deputy spokesman Piyapan Pingmuang said in Bangkok.
36 civilians killed in troubled east DR Congo
At least 36 civilians have been killed in an area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has been shaken by violence since 2014, the army said on Sunday, Aug 14.
Suspected rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a partly Islamist armed group of Ugandan origin, killed “about 30 people” in the town of Beni on Saturday night, army spokesman Mak Hazukay told AFP.
The victims were found in the Rwangoma neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beni, Hazukay said, adding: “The search for the bodies continues.” He said ADF rebels had “bypassed” army positions “to come and massacre the population in revenge” for military operations in the area.
Gilbert Kambale, a local civil society leader, said the attack took place between 7.00 pm and 11.00 pm on Saturday evening and that there were “already 35 bodies” in the morgue at Beni hospital.
The latest bloodshed provoked an angry protest, bringing around a hundred people onto the streets shouting anti-government slogans and demanding security. The slaughter took place three days after DR Congo’s President Joseph Kabila visited the region, promising to do everything in his power to bring peace and security.
Over 30 Syrian rebels killed in IS suicide blast
The Islamic State jihadist group on Monday, Aug 15 claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed more than 30 Syrian rebel fighters in a blast near the Turkish border. IS, in a statement published on Twitter and the messaging service Telegram, said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt among rebels “getting ready to fight the Islamic State”.
The blast on Sunday night struck the Atme border crossing between Turkey and the northern Syrian province of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The monitoring group said the anti-regime fighters were travelling by bus to Turkey then back into Syria towards the rebel bastion of Azaz, in Aleppo province.
The attack killed 32 rebels as they were entering Turkey, the Britain-based Observatory said, updating an earlier toll on Sunday evening of 15.
Its head Rami Abdel Rahman said the toll could rise further as other fighters remained critically wounded.
Russia using Iranian base to strike Syria
Russia used an Iranian air base to launch air strikes in Syria for a second day running on Wednesday, Aug 17 rejecting US suggestions its co-operation with Tehran might violate a UN resolution. Russia’s Defence Ministry said that SU-34 fighter bombers flying from Iran’s Hamadan air base had struck Islamic State targets in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, destroying two command posts and killing more than 150 militants.
Moscow first used Iran as a base from which to launch air strikes in Syria on Tuesday, deepening its involvement in the five-year-old Syrian civil war and angering the United States. Washington called the move “unfortunate” and said on Tuesday it was looking into whether Russia’s move had violated UN Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday there were no grounds to suggest Russia had violated the resolution, saying it was not supplying Iran with aircraft.
Russia’s use of the Iranian air base comes amid intense fighting for the Syrian city of Aleppo, where rebels are battling Syrian government forces backed by the Russian military, and as Moscow and Washington are working towards a deal on Syria that could see them cooperate more closely.
More than 20 dead in twin blasts in Somalia town
More than 20 people were killed Sunday, Aug 21 in two explosions in a town in central Somalia, police said.
The Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for the blasts in the town of Galkayo, some 700 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu. “There were two car bomb blasts which targeted the local government headquarters. More than 10 people have been killed,” said police officer Mohamed Abdiqani.
Shabaab said it carried out the attack, in a message distributed via the Telegram messaging service, claiming “at least 30 people, including military personnel and apostates were killed.” The Shabaab carries out regular attacks against government, military and civilian targets using suicide car bombers and gunmen.
Anti-IS forces seize more ground in Sirte
Fighters of Libya’s unity government, backed by US air strikes, have recaptured more ground from jihadists holed up in the centre of the coastal city of Sirte, loyalist forces said on Monday, Aug 22. A statement said “the new victory” was achieved in clashes which raged throughout Sunday in the face of “desperate resistance by the Jihadists”.
IS sniper positions were “neutralised” in two US air strikes and “our forces destroyed two booby-trapped cars… without loss in our ranks,” it said.
However, 12 fighters were killed and 85 wounded in Sunday’s clashes, the hospital in Misrata, 200 kilometres east of Tripoli where the pro-GNA military command is based, said on its Facebook page.
Pro-GNA forces, backed since the start of August by US air strikes, began an assault in mid-May to expel IS from what had been its Sirte stronghold.
The jihadists seized control of the city, which had been the hometown of Libya’s slain dictator Moamer Qadhafi, in June 2015. They fought their way into Sirte on June 9 and have since faced a barrage of sniper fire, suicide bombings and booby traps, pinning down the jihadists in a downtown area near the sea. More than 350 pro-GNA fighters have been killed and nearly 2,000 wounded in the battle, according to medical sources. IS casualties figures are unavailable.
Sirte itself has been emptied of its residents, apart from families of IS militants, according to the pro-GNA forces.
Barrel bomb kills 11 children in Aleppo
Eleven children were killed on Thursday, Aug 25 in a barrel bomb attack carried out by government forces on a rebel-held neighbourhood of Syria’s Aleppo city, a monitor said. “Fifteen civilians, among them 11 children, were killed in a barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nayrab neighbourhood” in the south of Aleppo city, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
The group also reported eight civilians, including two children, were killed on Thursday in rebel fire on the government-held west of the city.
Syria’s regime has been accused of regularly using barrel bombs — crude, explosive devices — on rebel-held areas that are home to civilians, and other parties to the conflict are not known to have used the weapons. President Bashar al-Assad and his government deny using barrel bombs.
Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo city has been ravaged by the conflict that began with anti-government protests in March 2011. The city has been roughly divided between rebel control in the east and government control in the west since mid-2012, with each side bombarding the other and causing civilian casualties. More than 290,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began, according to the Observatory.
Current Threat Levels
City/Region Threat Level
Islamabad Level 2 **
Karachi Level 2 **
Lahore Level 2 **
Punjab Level 2 **
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Level 3 **
Peshawar Level 2 **
Quetta Level 2 ***
Upper Balochistan Level 3 ***
Lower Balochistan Level 2 **
Upper / Rural Sindh Level 2 **
Gilgit and Northern areas Level 3 **
Tribal areas, close
to Afghan border Level 3 ***
Index to Threat Level References
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, especially 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 and order leading to possible anarchy. All foreigners 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.
