The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation Editor Anand Kumar INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES & ANALYSES NEW DELHI The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation Editor: Dr Anand Kumar ISBN 978-81-8274-599-5 First Published in 2012 Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, or the Government of India. Published by PENTAGON SECURITY INTERNATIONAL An Imprint of PENTAGON PRESS 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in Typeset in Garamond 11pt by The Laser Printers Printed at Syndicate Binders, Noida. Contents List of Abbreviations vii About the Contributors ix Introduction 1 Anand Kumar SECTION I Problems of Terrorism in South Asia 1. Developing a Viable Counter-terrorism Strategy for South Asia 13 V.P. Malik 2. Beyond Terrorism: Dimensions of Political Violence in South Asia 19 S.D. Muni 3. Lessons Learnt and Future Prospects in Post-war Sri Lanka 32 Jehan Perera 4. India’s Experience in Dealing with Terrorism 44 Arvind Gupta, Ashok Behuria, P.V. Ramana and Pushpita Das 5. Countering Terrorism—The Maldivian Perspective 61 Mohamed Ziad 6. The Impact of Terrorism on Sri Lanka: A Multifaceted Analysis 71 Shivaji Felix 7. Bhutan’s Approach to Combating Terrorism 82 Karma Tsering Namgyal vi The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation 8. Cycles of Violence: Conflict in ‘Post-Conflict’ Nepal 85 Deepak Thapa 9. The Role of Academics in Combating Terrorism: A Closer Look at Bangladesh 94 Imtiaz Ahmed SECTION II Regional Cooperation in Counter-terrorism 10. Opportunities for Regional Stability: The View from Pakistan 107 Shehryar Fazli 11. Assessing Counter-terror Cooperation in South Asia 118 Anand Kumar 12. Counter-terrorism and Regional Cooperation in South Asia 129 Chiran Jung Thapa Index 144 List of Abbreviations AMMAA Agreement on Monitoring the Management of Arms and Armies BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation CBMs Confidence Building Measures CBRN Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear Weapons CCBLE Civilian Capacity Building for Law Enforcement in Pakistan CCIT Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism CCOMPOSA Coordination Committee of the Maoist Parties of South Asia CFA Ceasefire Agreement CPA Comprehensive Peace Accord CPN (M) Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) CRC International Committee of the Red Cross CrPC Criminal Procedure Code CTC Counter-Terrorism Centre CUFL Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited EPRLF Eelam Peoples’ Revolutionary Liberation Front EU European Union FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas HeI Hizb-e-Islami HPI Human Poverty Index HUJI Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami HUJI-B Harkat-ul-Jehad-al Islami Bangladesh IED Improvised Explosive Device IIGs Indian Insurgent Groups IoM Islam-o-Muslim ISCN-IM National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah JATM Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism viii The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation JI Jamaah Islamiah JMB Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangaladesh JMJB Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh JTMM Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha KIA Kachin Independent Army KLO Kamatapur Liberation Organisation KPK Khyber Pakhtunkwa LeJ Lashkar-e-Jhangvi LeT Lashkar-e-Tayyeba LLRC Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission LOAC Law of Armed Conflict LOC Line of Control LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam MCCI Maoist Communist Party of India MILF Moro Islamic Liberation Front MNDF Maldives National Defence Force MNLF Madhesi National Liberation Front NDFB National Democratic Front of Bodoland NSCN National Socialist Council of Nagaland NSI National Security Intelligence PLA People’s Liberation Army PPP Pakistan People’s Party PPW Protracted People’s War PSI Proliferation Security Initiative PWG People’s War Group RAB Rapid Action Battalion RGST Reformed General Sales Tax RIM Revolutionary International Movement SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SIMI Student Islamic Movement of India SLFP Sri Lanka Freedom Party SPA Seven-Party Alliance SSP Sipah-e-Sahaba STOMD SAARC Terrorism Monitoring Desk ULFA United Liberation Front of Asom UNLF-M United National Liberation Front-Manipur UNP United National Party UNSC United Nations Security Council VDCs Village Development Committees YCL Young Communist League About the Contributors Gen V P Malik, who was commissioned in the Indian Army on 7 June 1959, had taken over as the Chief of Army Staff from Gen Shankar Roychowdhury on 1 October 1997. He oversaw intensified anti terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and north east India, management of disputed borders with China and Pakistan and security relations with other nations. He planned, coordinated and oversaw execution of Operation Vijay to successfully defeat Pakistan’s attempted intrusion in Kargil sector in 1999. Prof. Sukh Deo Muni is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies of National University of Singapore. Prof. Muni, also a Senior Visiting Scholar, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, and Editor of Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, superannuated from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India in 2006 after 33 years of teaching and research service. He also served as Professor of Political Science at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India (1985-86). In 1997, he was appointed India’s Ambassador to Laos and his services were again availed by the Government of India in 2005 when he was sent as a Special Envoy to Laos PDR and Cambodia to plead India’s case for UN Security Council Reforms. Muni has held several visiting academic assignments abroad. Mr. Jehan Perera is the Executive Director of the Sri Lankan NGO National Peace Council since 2005. Before that he has worked as the Media Director for National Peace Council (1996-2005) and Director at Sarvodaya Legal Aid Services (1988-95). He is also the secretary of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections, a member of the Presidential Task Force on Ethnic Affairs and National Integration, and a regular political columnist on the Sri Lankan peace process for several Sri Lankan newspapers and magazines. He is the author of “From War to Peace”—a collection of articles, “Peace Process in Nagaland and Chittagong Hill Tracts: An Audit report”, Co-author of “A x The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation people’s Movement under Siege” and “A Manual of Civil and Political Rights” and editor of “A Gateway to Justice through Public Interest law: Proceedings of a seminar”. Dr. Arvind Gupta is an officer of the Indian Foreign Service (1979 batch). He presently holds the Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair in Strategic and Defence Studies at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Prior to joining IDSA, Dr. Gupta was Joint Secretary at the National Security Council Secretariat from 1999 to 2008. During his tenure at the NSCS, he dealt with a wide spectrum of national security issues. Dr. Arvind Gupta has wide-ranging diplomatic experience gained while working in Indian missions abroad. He has handled a number of assignments in the Ministry of External Affairs in different capacities. He has several books, articles and papers to his credit. Dr. Ashok Behuria obtained his PhD from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1995. For his Ph.D. he worked on Ethno- communal violence as a factor in India-Pakistan relations during the Eighties using the linkage theory framework. He joined International Centre for Peace Studies (ICPS) in 1996 and worked as Assistant Director, Associate Editor of Weekly Kashmir Trends, Assistant Editor of Journal of Peace Studies. He joined IDSA in 2003 and has been working as Research Fellow on issues relating to South Asia in general and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal in particular. He has written a number of research articles, monographs and commentaries on various regional and international issues. Dr. P V Ramana is a Research Fellow at the Terrorism and Internal Security Cluster of the IDSA. He is an expert on South Asian Studies, Regional Security of South Asia, Military Research and Development, Internal Security, Maoist Movements in South Asia. Dr Ramana was student of South Asian security studies. His MPhil dissertation “Role of the Navy in India’s Security” (1996) and his Doctoral dissertation was entitled Military R&D in India: Programmes and Processes (2000). Dr. Pushpita Das is a Associate Fellow in the Terrorism and Internal Security Cluster of the IDSA. As Research Executive in Security and Political Risk Analysis (SAPRA) between April and December 2004, she prepared a database based on various international and national newspapers, organised seminars and workshops, wrote daily reports, briefs and articles for the monthly bulletin. She has also written articles for various journals and edited books. Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Ziad assumed the duties of Principal Director of Operations at the