Oct 04, 2016, at 04:17 am
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda in his first foreign trip since resuming office on August 3, 2016 (he was Prime Minister between August 18, 2008, and May 23, 2009), visited India from September 15-18, 2016, leading a 125-member delegation. He held wide-ranging talks and sealed three significant deals with India. Significantly, Dahal stated, on September 17, 2016, "We will not allow any activity that is against our neighbouring countries from our soil." Dahal now seems to be a changed man and has recognized the need for cordial relations with India as a priority. During his previous innings as Prime Minister, Dahal chose to put relations with China on fast track. Within a week of oath as Prime Minister then, Dahal had gone to China in August 2008, to become the first elected premier to visit China in the history of Nepal.
Oct 04, 2016, at 04:15 am
Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, ICM & SATP War, in our epoch, is not an isolated, capricious phenomenon which flouts the "normal" peaceful process of history... the countenance of peace has been as blurred as that of war."
Brus: Still Delayed Homecoming
Sep 26, 2016, at 10:32 pm
On September 20, 2016, Lalbiakzama, Additional Secretary, Mizoram Home Department, disclosed that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), had approved 'Road Map-V' for Bru repatriation, proposed to commence from the first week of November 2016, and would soon release funds for expenses for the process. Though the expenditure for this phase was not projected, Lalbiakzama stated that the total proposed expenses for the repatriation was earlier estimated at INR 680 million in the 'Roadmap-IV' of which over INR 97 million was released by the Centre in 2015. "We have spent around Rs. One lakh [100,000] during the proposed repatriation in 2015," he said, adding, the State Government would ask more fund in case of further requirement. The effort to repatriate Bru families during June to September in 2015 had failed as not a single Bru came forward in their respective relief camps before the Mizoram officials, to be identified as bona fide residents of Mizoram.
Sep 19, 2016, at 09:50 pm
On September 3, 2016, Bangladesh executed the 'chief financer' of Jammat-e-Islami (JeI), Mir Quasem Ali, found guilty of War Crimes during the 1971 Liberation War by the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2). His execution took place at Gazipur District's Kashimpur jail. Ali had been accused of involvement in a "reign of terror" in the city of Chittagong and was found guilty in eight of the 14 charges, including the abduction and killing of teenage freedom fighter Jashim Uddin Ahmed at the Dalim Hotel, one of Al-Badr's torture cells in Chittagong city. Apart from the hotel, Quasem and his aides ran torture camps in Dowsta Mohammad Panjabee Building and Salma Manzil in Chittagong city.
Keeping the spark alive: Mohammed Alauddin – A teacher, and so much more
Sep 06, 2016, at 03:32 am
When you think you can’t, a teacher will pull you up and make you believe that you can, however difficult it is and whatever it takes. And the moment you start believing that you can, the cycle of change sets rolling. So, in the truest sense of the term, a teacher is a change-maker, investing time, energy and faith in building a rock solid future. And when a teacher takes a stand, the world listens, and listens very carefully. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Mohammad Alauddin.
Reconciliation and Waywardness
Sep 06, 2016, at 03:27 am
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management On August 28, 2016, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera, while addressing a gathering in Point Pedro in the Northern Province, observed,
Sep 06, 2016, at 03:17 am
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management At least 13 persons were killed and another 41 were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of District and sessions court of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on September 2, 2016. Four lawyers and three Policemen were among the dead. District Police Officer (DPO), Mardan, Faisal Shahzad said the attacker detonated a hand grenade before exploding his suicide vest. The bomb contained eight kilograms of explosive material, the DPO said, adding that security arrangements at the site of the attack helped mitigate the damage. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter, Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Naga Peace Accord: Persistent Ambiguity
Aug 29, 2016, at 10:00 pm
Though over a year has passed since the signing of the 'historic Naga peace accord' or the 'framework agreement' (as it was later termed) between the Government of India (GoI) and the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), the 'framework' has not been finalised yet, by either party. The 'framework agreement' was signed on August 3, 2015, by the GoI interlocutor for Naga talks R.N. Ravi and 'general secretary' of the NSCN-IM Thuingaleng Muivah in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others in New Delhi, after nearly 18 years and over 80 rounds of negotiations under ceasefire. Though most of the actual contents of the 'agreement' was not made public, GoI had affirmed that the 'framework agreement' was not a final settlement, and details would be disclosed in the succeeding six months. Regrettably, this remains a distant dream.
Andhra Pradesh: Maoist: Creeping Revival
Aug 16, 2016, at 09:33 pm
On July 30, 2016, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres abducted and killed Vooraka Maraiah (45), a pastor, branding him as a 'Police informer', at Lakshmipuram village under the Nellipaka mandal (administrative unit) of the East Godavari District. Maraiah's body was found with hands tied at the back, bearing stab and bullet wounds, along with a letter in which the Maoists charged him with not heeding to their warning to mend his ways. He "accumulated wealth disproportionately. As Maraiah started exploiting the poor tribal people and the needy, we punished him in the people's court," the letter alleged. The Maoists also warned a host of other village leaders allegedly involved in "unlawful" activities and asked them to cut off their ties with the Police.
Maoists: Fighting amidst Losses
Aug 08, 2016, at 10:36 pm
At least three cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), including a woman, were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces (SFs) in the forests of Kacheghat under Faraspal Police Station limits, Dantewada District, Chhattisgarh, on August 5, 2016. The slain Maoists were identified as Faggoo aka Nishant, Soma akaAjeet and Manki aka Geeta. Two .315-bore country-made revolvers, eight live rounds, one muzzle loading gun, two grenades, one Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) magazine with two live rounds, three detonators, four bundles of wire, 35 gelatine sticks, one kilogram of explosive, Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] literature and magazines, and other materials were recovered from the encounter site.
Aug 02, 2016, at 12:55 am
On July 26, 2016, nine militants were killed in 'Operation Storm 26' carried out by the Joint Forces including Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Detective Branch (DB) of the Police and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), in capital Dhaka's Kalyanpur area. One militant identified as Rakibul Hassan aka Reagan, purportedly a member of Daesh [Islamic State], was arrested from the area with bullet injuries. However, Inspector General of Police A.K.M. Shahidul Haque, who visited the encounter site, stated, "The detained person claims to be an IS member, but we think they are of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)." On July 27, 2016, Police identified seven of the nine militants killed as Abdul Hakim Naym (33), Taj-ul-Haque Rashiq (25), Akifuzzaman Khan (24), Shazad Rouf (24), Motier Rahman (24), Abdullah (23) and Jobayer Hossain (20) after matching their fingerprints with those on their National Identification Cards. Most of them were from well to do families and were missing since January 2016. On July 28, 2016, the identity of the eight slain militant was established as Raihan Kabir aka Tarek, the Dhaka 'region coordinator' of JMB. He had reportedly trained the men who attacked the Holey Artisan café in Gulshan on July 2.
Jul 19, 2016, at 02:37 am
Pakistan's famed and much celebrated devotional Sufi singer Amjad Sabri (45) was killed in a targeted attack in broad daylight while he was traveling in his car in the Liaquatabad Town of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on June 22, 2016. Sabri's relative and co-traveler, Saleem Sabri, was also killed in the attack. Qari Saifullah Mehsud, spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-Hakimullah Mehsud faction claimed responsibility for the killing, which he justified on account of "his (Sabri's) blasphemous Qawwalis" (Sufi devotional music).
Jul 12, 2016, at 09:04 pm
On June 29, 2016, the Army claimed that, in a series of joint operations with the Assam Police over the preceding days, 11 militants of the recently-floated militant outfit, Helem Tiger Force (HTF), were arrested from Umrongso in Dima Hasao District and Larkercha village in West Karbi Anglong District along the Assam-Meghalaya border. HTF reportedly has close links with the Karbi People's Liberation Tiger (KPLT). During the operation, the Security Forces (SFs) recovered two 9mm pistols, three 7.65 pistols, three rifles, one hand grenade and 40 rounds of live ammunition. After the arrest, the Army sources said that the unearthing and apprehension of a majority of cadres of this outfit which has links with KPLT and United People's Liberation Army (UPLA), has been a major setback to the nexus between the outfits, which have been involved in kidnapping, extortion and 'tax-collection'. The kingpin of this new outfit is still at large and efforts are on to reach out to him.
Manipur: ILP: Impending Crisis
Jul 05, 2016, at 02:43 am
On June 23, 2016, normal life in Imphal and other areas was crippled on the first day of the 48 hours State-wide bandh (general shut down strike) imposed by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) demanding implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Manipur.
Jun 14, 2016, at 04:39 pm
On June 9, 2016, an armed squad of suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres killed a man for allegedly resisting when two 'commanders' of the outfit tried to rape his wife in Aurangabad District. Awadhesh Singh Bhokta was shot seven times by an AK-47 assault rifle at Gewal Bigha village in the Madanpur Police Station area of the District. Giving details Bhokta's wife stated, "Maoist 'commanders' Prasadji and Nawalji had been raping her for the last one month. This was opposed by her husband. A dozen armed Maoists raided their house on Thursday [June 9], picked up Bhokta, took him to a secluded place and shot him dead." The Maoists, meanwhile, in some leaflets left behind, claimed that Bhokta was killed for being a 'police informer'. The leaflets also threatened to teach a lesson to Aurangabad Member of Parliament Sushil Kumar Singh and Member of Legislative Council Rajan Kumar Singh. Aurangabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Babu Ram, denying the Maoists charge, stated, "Maoists have killed an innocent person. Their claim that Bhokta was a police informer is baseless."
Maharashtra: Enduring Vulnerabilities
May 31, 2016, at 11:06 pm
A villager identified as Venkatesh Atram (31) was hacked to death by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres at Rajaram village in the Aheri sub-division (administrative unit) area of Gadchiroli District on May 22, 2016. The Maoists went to the residence of Venkatesh Atram at the village and killed him on the suspicion of being a 'police informer'. A note left behind by the Maoists read, "Venkatesh Atram was working as an SPO [Special Police Officer] for over six years as a result of which our PLGA [People's Liberation Guerrilla Army] has given him death penalty." A Police statement, meanwhile, insisted, "He was not a police informer, he was just a common villager."
May 24, 2016, at 01:31 am
On May 17, 2016, 13 persons, including 11 cadres of the Federal Alliance, an alliance of 30 ethnic and Madhesi parties formed on July 31, 2015, and two Policemen, were injured when Police clashed with the demonstrators outside Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's residence at Baluwatar in the national capital, Kathmandu. On May 15 and May 16, the Alliance had picketed Singha Durbar (Lion's Palace, which houses the Prime Minister's and other Government offices) as part of its protest program to pressure the Government to meet their demands, which include provisions for proportional representation and rewriting of the newly promulgated Constitution of September 20, 2015.
May 10, 2016, at 04:51 am
On April 20, 2016, seven Policemen guarding polio workers were shot dead in two separate target killing incidents in Orangi Town of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Ehsanullah Ehsan, the 'spokesman' of the Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA, Group of the Free), a breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while claiming responsibility for the attack in an email statement sent to Agence France-Presse(AFP) asserted, "We have carried out both attacks on the polio teams in Karachi, this was a part of ongoing attacks on Police and law enforcement agencies."
May 03, 2016, at 03:50 am
On April 30, 2016, a Hindu tailor, identified as Nikhil Joardar (50), was hacked to death at his tailoring shop in the Dubail area under Gopalpur upazila (sub-District) of Tangail District. Hours after the incident, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the killing saying he 'blasphemed' against Prophet Muhammad.
Apr 26, 2016, at 05:54 pm
Despite shrill assessments across the board and an enveloping sense of apprehension promoted by polarizing politics, the past year has been astonishingly peaceful in India in terms of terrorist and insurgent violence. Total terrorism/insurgency related fatalities across India at 772, are at a dramatic low - certainly the lowest since 1994, when the South Asia Terrorism Portal began maintaining data for this category. Indeed, since 2012, total fatalities across the country have remained below the 'high intensity conflict' threshold of a thousand fatalities per year. It is useful to recall that fatalities remained above 2,000 for 18 of these 22 years; out of which they were above 3,000 for 11 years; above 4,000 for five years; and over 5,000 in 2001.
She stood her ground. Many cannot
Apr 18, 2016, at 09:16 pm
“I won’t marry before I complete my studies. So will my little brother. We will work with dignity and ensure that we reach a stage where we can support our family,†says Sarika Kumari, who stood defiant against her parents’ will to get her married off, and instead went on to continue her studies. But the number of child brides across the districts in Bihar still is a grave reality."
Apr 11, 2016, at 10:41 pm
On April 5, 2016, three villagers were killed by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in two separate incidents in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. As per preliminary information, three villagers from the Kudur area in Kondagaon District were abducted by the Maoists on April 4, and two others were abducted on April 5, from the same area. Subsequently, the Maoists held a Jan Adalat (kangaroo court) around 15 kilometers from Kudur in the Tilam-Becha area, which falls in Narayanpur District. There two of the abducted civilians were "brutally beaten to death", while the rest three were released by the ultras. In a separate incident, a villager was killed by the Maoists in Kanker District allegedly for refusing to support them. The victim was "brutally beaten with sticks to death by rebels at his native place Kadgaon" subsequent to his abduction.
Northeast: Widening Tranquility
Apr 04, 2016, at 09:59 pm
Peace prevailed over much of India's Northeast through 2015, with 62 civilian fatalities in the year, as against 245 such fatalities recorded in 2014. Fatalities had been rising since 2011, with 79 civilians killed in the year, as against 77 in 2010; rising to 90 in 2012 and further to 95 in 2013.
Mar 28, 2016, at 10:30 pm
On early reports, at least 72 people have been killed and more than 300 injured in a suicide blast inside the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in the Iqbal Town area of Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab Province, on March 27, 2016. Lahore's District Coordination Officer Muhammad Usman stated, "The bomber managed to enter the park and blew himself up near the kids' playing area where kids were on the swings". Significantly, a large number of people, mostly Christians were present in the park, celebrating Easter [Christendom's holiest day].
Telangana: Diminishing Rebel Spaces
Mar 07, 2016, at 09:00 pm
At least eight members of the Venkatapuram 'area committee' of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), which operates in the Bhadrachalam area of Khammam District in Telangana, were killed in an encounter with Security Force (SF) personnel along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border on March 1, 2016. The Telangana Greyhounds had launched the operation after receiving information about the presence of Maoist leaders in the region, resulting in the encounter which took place in the Sakler area of Sukma District in Chhattisgarh State. Along with the dead bodies of the eight slain militants, SF personnel also recovered an AK-47 rifle, three Self-Loading Rifle (SLRs), several .303 rifles, and ammunition from the encounter spot.
Feb 22, 2016, at 10:34 pm
As the State Government consolidated the stabilization process through 2015, Tripura emerged as the most peaceful State in the entire Northeastern region of India in terms of insurgency-related fatalities. While 273 such fatalities were recorded across the region, including 62 civilians, 49 Security Force (SF) personnel and 162 militants, Tripura did not account for single insurgency-linked death. Even Mizoram, one of the least insurgent-affected States in the region, and which has been at peace since the collapse of the insurgency in 1986, witnessed three fatalities (all SF personnel) in 2015.
Feb 15, 2016, at 10:38 pm
On February 11, 2016, Karachi Special Investigation Unit (SIU) personnel shot dead two bank robbers, identified as Arsalan Iqbal and Dilawer aka Murad aka Tiger, in an encounter in Korangi Town in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. The Sindh Government had announced a reward of PKR 1 million for their arrest. Giving details of the robberies, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohammed Farooq Awan of SIU Karachi disclosed that during the current year the duo had committed three bank robberies. They had looted PKR 1.2 million from the Allied Bank Branch in Korangi Town on January 8, 2016, the first robbery incident of the year. In the second incident on January 20, 2016, the two, along with over half a dozen other robbers, looted PKR 375,000 from JS Bank in Block-7, in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Gulshan Town. The third case of robbery was reported on January 28, 2016, when nine armed robbers, including Iqbal and Dilawar, barged into JS Bank branch near Sohrab Goth in Gadap Town and looted PKR 4 million.
Feb 09, 2016, at 01:05 am
At least 12 persons, including four Frontier Corps (FC) officials, were killed and another 38 persons injured on February 6, 2016, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near an FC vehicle in the Multan Chowk area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)'s 'central spokesperson' Mohammad Khorasani claimed the incident, declaring, in an email statement, "The TTP's Special Task Force (STF)'s unit carried out the attack that targeted the convoy of Security Forces."
Political Wranglings and a Spike in Extremism
Feb 01, 2016, at 09:44 pm
On January 25, 2016, a Dhaka Court ordered Bangladesh's former Prime Minister (PM) and head of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Begum Khaleda Zia to appear in court on March 3, 2016, to answer the charge of sedition. Momtaz Uddin Ahmad Mehdi, a lawyer with the Bangladesh Supreme Court (SC) and a supporter of the ruling Awami League (AL) had filed a case alleging that Zia's remarks about the Liberation War of 1971 were seditious.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Terror Untamed
Jan 26, 2016, at 01:19 am
Shocking memories of the gruesome attack on December 16, 2014, at the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar were revived when terrorists stormed the Bacha Khan University in the Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on January 20, 2016, killing at least 21 persons and causing injuries to another 35. The victims included 17 students, two gardeners, a caretaker and a professor. The attack ended with all the four attackers shot dead after a three hour operation. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Mardan Range, Mohammad Saeed Wazir, who led the operation, declared, "Our cops fought bravely to shoot dead all the four attackers one by one. They were wearing suicide jackets but none of them could succeed in blowing himself up." The mastermind of the APS Peshawar attack, Khalifa Umar Mansoor akaAurangzeb, of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)'s Geedar faction claimed the attack through a post on his Facebook page. However, the 'central spokesperson' of the TTP, Muhammad Khorasani, denied any involvement stating, "The TTP and itsamir Maulana Fazalullah have nothing to do with the attack." The TTP has three prominent factions - Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), the Geedar faction and the Mehsud faction (also known as Sajna faction). The parent TTP is led by Mullah Fazlullah.