Minister’s wife in ‘fishy’ fishing - Ravaya

A company belonging to the wife of Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mahinda Wijesekara is involved in unloading fish locally in violation of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, ‘Ravaya’ reports.

Named ‘Bonbridge’, the company has obtained permission from the Director General of Aquatic Resources, but had not supplied 25 per cent of the catch as per agreement, said the newspaper.

Gazette extraordinary 1555/13, published on July 26th, 2008 makes it compulsory for written official permission for unloading fish in a Sri Lankan commercial and fisheries harbor or other unloading centre.

According to ‘Ravaya’, a trawler belonging to Mrs. Wijesekara’s company had unloaded around 100,000 kilogrammes of fish at the Galle Harbour on July 23rd.

LTTE announces unilateral ceasefire during SAARC summit

The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Tuesday announced that the movement would observe unilateral ceasefire during the period of SAARC conference from 26th July to 04 August, giving cooperation for the success of the conference. Conveying goodwill and trust of the Tamil people, the LTTE Political Wing, in a press statement issued from Vanni said it wished for the success of the SAARC conference, extending the movement's support to the "countries of our region, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives."

Full text of the announcement by the LTTE follows:

LTTE Political Wing
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam
22 July 2008


Ceasefire announcement

On behalf of the people of Tamil Eelam, we extend our sincere good wishes to the fifteenth conference of SAARC that aims, to improve the economic development of the vast South Asian region and to create a new world order based on justice, equality and peace.

For sixty years, the Sinhala leadership is continuing to refuse to put forward a just solution to the national question of the Tamil people. The Sinhala nation is not prepared to deal justice to the Tamils. The politics of the Sinhala nation has today taken the form of a monstrous war. Because the chauvinistic Sinhala regime is putting its trust in a military solution, the war is spreading and is turning more and more intense. Sinhala nation is intent on occupying and enslaving the Tamil homeland. Our military is only involved in a war of self defence against this war of the Sinhala nation.

Behind the smokescreen of war, the Sinhala regime is heaping misery on the Tamil people and is killing them in large numbers. The brutal truth of the gradual destruction and oppression of the Tamil people is being blacked out. The just struggle of the Tamil people is being hidden behind an iron curtain in the name of news censorship. A false propaganda is being spread to tarnish, the freedom movement of the Tamil people and the path it was adopted for its self. This has resulted in misleading views and incorrect opinions about our freedom struggle. We are deeply saddened by this.

We are always keen to develop friendship with the countries of the world and our neighbouring countries in our region. We are sincere in our efforts to create the external conditions in order to build these friendships. We wish to express the good will and trust of the Tamil people. As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the SAARC conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference. At the same time if the occupying Sinhala forces, disrespecting our goodwill gesture of our people and our nation, carry out any offensives, our movement will be forced to take defensive actions.

We wish for the success of the SAARC conference and we also extend our goodwill and support to the countries of our region, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

Rs. 210 m textbook swindle - Ravaya

Five top officers in the Ministry of Education and a leading printing house have swindled Rs. 210 million rupees from school textbooks in 2003, a probe has found, 'Ravaya' reports.

Following a revelation by the auditor general, the Education Ministry appointed a five-member investigation unit and its report was submitted in January this year.

The probe is accusing former Commissioner of Publications Sumanatissa Liyanagunawardena, former Additional Commissioner R. Senanayake, Accountant Ranasinghe Arachchige Chandraratne, Chief Clerk Don Swarnalatha Wickramarachchi and Subject Clerk Bandara Godage Sarathkumara.

Mahinda Offset Printers at no: 331/341, Elpitiya Road, Wathugedara, Ambalangoda has also been involved in the swindle, the newspaper reports.

The Commissioner of Publications had awarded this printer a tender worth more than Rs. 147 million for the printing of 3,105,500 copies of 23 textbooks.

However, the ordered number of copies of 'Let's Learn English PB3', 'Let's Learn English PB4, Mechanical Technology 10 (Sinhala and Tamil), Mathematics 10 (Sinhala and Tamil) had not been handed over to the Ministry.

Of five other textbooks, the supplied copies fell short by 548,650 copies valued at over Rs. 27 million, 'Ravaya' says.

Despite all these shortfalls, the printing house had been paid the amount in full with the involvement of the five accused.

The newspaper also says that the probe has also cast doubts over the manner of selection of Mahinda Offset Printers.

When contacted, Education Secretary Nimal Bandara has said that the five officers have been issued with charge sheets, and the police handed over the investigation on the advice of the Public Accounts Committee.

Mr. Gunawardena and Mrs. Senanayake have been sent on retirement, while the three others have been transferred out of the Education Ministry.

Both the ex-commissioner and the accountant have said that they were yet to receive the charge sheets, with the former saying that he was prepared to answer the accusations.

Secured to the teeth

Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe

The authorities in charge of the security in the island have taken a series of steps by to beef up security arrangements for the 15th SAARC conference to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, from July 27 to August 03 this year.

The security plan will go down in history as the strongest/meanest ever organised in Sri Lanka.
The security network consists of nearly 25000 Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and the Civil Defence Force personnel in addition to 40 official sniffer dogs specially trained to detect explosives. In addition, the Government has imported the latest technology and equipment including personal and travelling bag search scanners, explosive identification machines, ante remote control devices and inter communication mobile phones on an emergency order, as revealed by a very reliable source.

Security measures

Coordination of security measures in connection with the SAARC conference has been entrusted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ministry sources say the estimated total expenditure in respect of the conference is Rs.2880 million. 75 percent of the total expenditure is allocated for security measures.

As disclosed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the conference of the Senior Foreign Affairs Ministry Officials of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldiv islands and Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on 27th and 28th of July, while the Secretaries of the said eight countries will parley on the 29th and 30th July. July 31 and August 01 is allocated to the conference of Foreign Ministers. Heads of States summit, which is the final Conference, is scheduled to be held on August 2nd and 3rd.

In the entire duration of these parleys, Sri Lanka will host the Heads of States of the seven guest countries and their retinue, who form a large group of VVIPs who have to be wined and dined and provided with tight security at an estimated cost of Rs.2160 million. Of the 25000 secrurity personnel about 3000 will be deployed for the security of the visiting VIPPs. This security team is drawn from the elite of the Presidential Security Division, Prime Minister’s Security Division, VIP security Division, STF, and the CID who were given a month’s special training at STF Training School, Katunayaka and Presidential Security Training Camp, Kumbuka, Gonapola, Horana.

Security authorities have taken steps to organise the security network under four zones. First of these is in the landing and exit points at the Bandaranaike International Airport.
The Second Zone is the BMICH and the surrounding roads, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Sarana Road, and Malalasekera Mawatha.

The third and fourth zones include the environs of Hotel Intercontinental, Hilton, Trans Asia, Cinnamon Grand, Galle Face Hotel, the hotels reserved for summit guests. In addition, the Marine Drive running parallel to the coast, Colombo Harbour, Colombo Continental Hotel, Galadhari Hotel, Ceylinco building, Navy Headquarters, and Police Headquarters come under one of these two Security Zones.

The other zone includes Galle Face Road from Colpetty Junction upto the Old Parliament building, Slave Island Railway station level crossing, and the Canal Bank where, the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence are situated. This security zone will be operative from July 25. From 25 to 29th this area will be subjected to traffic barriers and thorough checks.
Out of the four security zones, other than in the first zone which includes the International Airport, passenger transport will be disallowed from July 30 to August 03.

Suspended

Railway service from Maradana to Bambalapitiya will be suspended during the conference period and the Railway stations Colombo Fort, Slave Island and Colpetty will be closed for the first time in Railway history.

Steps have been taken to remove the unauthorised constructions within the security zones and evacuate vagrants to the Veerawila beggar camp.
Heads of States attending the conference will use helicopters for their transport between Colombo and Bandaranaike International Airport.

In view of the international terrorist threats posed to the heads of the three countries, India, Pakistan and Afganistan, they are using their own helicopters as per security measures of the respective countries. Each of the three countries will use a minimum of three helicopters belonging to their own Air Force. The crews will arrive in the island 24 hours before the arrival of their heads of state. These heli-transport operations are to be conducted under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Arrangements have been made to use alternate land routes in the event of any change in the weather condition. In that event roads in the alternate route will be closed when the Heads of states are using them.

I want to enter parliament

By Ramesh Waralegama

Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) leader, the controversial Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan alias Karuna, who returned from England after being in custody for immigration violations, in an interview with LAKBIMAnEWS said that he is the sole leader of the TMVP and that party problems have been settled. Excerpts of the interview

Ln: Have the policies of the TMVP changed after you were deported to Sri Lanka?
VM: There was no such change. The main aim of the TMVP is to help the Eastern people and secure their liberty from the clutches of the LTTE. We want to bring prosperity to the lives of the eastern people. Policies of my party will not change just because I came from the UK. We must support the people who wish for our success.

Ln: That means you expect a bright future for the TMVP?
VM: Yes, yes. We are doing the groundwork to contest the next general election. Actually we are preparing for that now. We are planning to get at least 10 MPs from our party elected.

Ln: Can you indeed achieve this goal because the TMVP did not receive any overwhelming people’s support at the recently held Eastern elections.
VM: Eastern people have confidence in our party. That is proven with the local government and provincial council elections. Nobody can undermine the votes we received. People who have never voted in their lives voted for us. The rejection rate of the votes was high as people had made mistakes when voting.. Basically Eastern people are with us. There was a lot of misunderstanding about our party in the part of Trincomalee people. Now police have uncovered the truth behind certain acts. If our party men are involved in such acts, we will apologise to the people and seek future endeavours in democratic politics

Ln: There were so many changes in the Eastern province when you were in England. How did you feel when you returned to Batticaloa?
VM: I spent about one week in Colombo after returning from England. I went to Batticaloa last 14th. Thereafter, I visited the Thoppigala and the Meenagam bases. I met police officers, government servants and many others in the last few days. The Eastern people say that they enjoy freedom. Earlier they could not get on the roads after 6.00 pm. Now people plough their paddy fields. Some engage in fishing. I saw it with my own eyes. Actually that is what people want. Their main problems are abductions and difficulties faced at checkpoints. I will take up these issues with the government. I am sure the government will look into all this. I will also visit the Ampara and Trincomalee people. I must thank them for the victory they gave us at the past elections. Now my duty is to address their grievances.

Ln: Are you satisfied with the development work of the government in the East?
VM: The TMVP has joined the UPFA alliance already. We are really happy about the work of the government on behalf of our people. When I met government officials they educated me about the future plans for the Eastern province. The education, agriculture, fisheries, health and basic infrastructure aspects in the eastern province should be improved. We have to improve the quality of lives of the people. The government helps us a lot to assist poor families. The TMVP is cordially working with the government. I must specially tell you that President Mahinda Rajapaksa likes my leadership. That could help him to serve the Eastern people.

Ln: Did you have a leadership crisis when you left the country with Chief Minister Pillayan? Has it been ironed out now?
VM: You must understand that the TMVP is a political party like other parties. As usual we also have differences of opinion. That is the truth. It is not a crisis. I am the sole leader of the TMVP. Nobody in our party is against it. Before my departure to England I advised my party seniors how to run party affairs. I had no objection to Pillayan getting elected as the Chief Minister as I did not want get into the Provincial Council. What I want is to get into parliament and serve my people.

Ln: Do you have the support of the majority of the Politburo of your party?
VM: The TVMP created two administrative sections to take decisions, allowing a secondary leadership to emerge. The main politburo has 15 members and the Working Committee has 21. With the support of these members we are planning to strengthen the party and embark on a new path.

Ln: Though the Eastern province was rescued from the clutches of the LTTE, still there are attacks by LTTE cadres. How will that affect the future of the TMVP?
VM: Few LTTE cadres are still in certain places in the Eastern province. I don’t say it is untrue. They carry out some attacks on the Army and Police officers. But one thing I assure you is that the LTTE will never be able to gain control of the Eastern Province again. They can’t organise and attack the Eastern province on a large scale. Some people still support them for money.

Ln: Some newspapers reported that you got caught in an Immigration trap of the Sri Lankan Government. What do you say about it?
VM: I went to London to visit my family. The British Police arrested me for a precaution I took in the interests of my security. The Government has no link to this incident. I did it for my security purposes. I don’t believe there was such a conspiracy. I told British Police that after my sentence, I want to return to my country and that I don’t like to live in another country. That is why I returned to this country and went to the East as soon as I got here.

Ln: The Army is now engaged in the Vanni operation. How do you assess the LTTE strength?

VM: The Government troops captured Vedithalthivu in Mannar. That is the nerve centre of that area. Now the troops can move forward on the A-32 road. I believe the LTTE is in a real mess after losing the Vedithalthivu. The present crisis in the LTTE is the dearth of
cadres though they have enough arms. The Army has blocked armed supplies from one side and manpower from the other side. The LTTE is also not getting enough foreign assistance. So, I believe that the Army will recover the Vanni soon. The TVMP cadres are not involved in the Vanni operation. The Army does not need our support. The Army has improved in strength and strategies.

Ln: Do you provide proposals to the APRC. How is TMVP’s participation there?
VM: Our Batticaloa Mayor Shivagitha Prabhakaran participates in the APRC meetings. In addition to her, we will try to send two more participants. We will take that decision on Tuesday.

Ln: There was a rumour that you will rejoin the LTTE. What is the truth?
VM: When the LTTE gets weaker and weaker they spread this kind of rumour as a psychological ploy. There is no truth to it. We are not going to arrest LTTE cadres in the East. The security forces are doing it. We are a political party now.

Fall of Vedithalthivu

• Troops push further northwards as Tigers prepare for showdown in Thunukkai

By Ranga Jayasuriya

Few in military circles believed that the Tiger cadres would give up Vedithalthivu, the main sea Tiger base in the north western coast without a fight. Not long ago that a senior -most commander in the military acknowledged that a swift assault on the sea Tiger base would cost 200 troops and an equal number of Tiger combatants. Therefore, the military strategy was to encircle the Sea Tiger camp, cut off the supply routes and forces the defending cadres to vacate the camp.
By Thursday, that strategy appeared to have worked out. The reports from the Mannar front revealed that the Tiger cadres were deserting the Sea Tiger Base. But, the pull out appeared to have been pre-organized. According to senior military sources citing intelligence reports, the sea Tigers had moved boats to Pooneryn. A boat was found abandoned in the deserted sea Tiger base, which functioned as the main launching pad of the sea Tigers in the north western coast.
True to its strategic importance, the Vedithalthivu Sea Tiger Base was heavily fortified. A trench was built from 2 km south of Vedithalthivu on the coast to Paramarayankulam, which is located 10km east of Vedithalthivu. That trench line functioned as the primary defence of the sea Tiger base. This defence line had been fortified with eight feet high sand dunes and the vicinity of the camp and its access routes had been heavily mined with anti personnel mines and booby traps.

Bunkers

Inside the trench line aka primary defence line, the secondary defence line was located. Bunkers had been built in close proximity to each other and battle hardened Tiger cadres of the Charles Anthony Brigade had been assigned to front line duties.
Vedithalthivu had been under the control of the LTTE since the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in 1990. In 1999, the security forces engaged in operation Ranagosa and attempted to seize control of the sea Tiger base, but in vain.
The military operation to capture the Vedithalthivu base gathered momentum after the clearing of the Rice Bowl area of the size of 152 km2. With the capture of the Rice Bowl area, the security forces succeeded cutting off the supply routes to the Vedithalthivu sea Tiger base. On June 30, the two military divisions - 57 and 58 Divisions- who are inching into the Tiger hinterland of the Wanni linked up in Pallaimadu, west of Vedithalthivu.
Early this month, 10 Gajaba Regiment and 12 Gajaba Regiment attached to the 581 Brigade began to advance further northwards from 12th mile post on the A 32 Pooneryn Sangupiddy- Mannar road. The two battalions were supported by the fifth armoured corps.
On the southern flank, troops of 6 and 8 Gemunu Watch pushed further northwards. From the eastern direction, two other battalions - 9 GW and 12 GW- advanced towards the sea Tiger base. Second commando regiment was deployed in small teams to engage in reconnaissance duties, ambushes and sabotage attacks on the enemy logistics. Some military officials told this writer that the Tigers appeared to have believed that the defences in
the Vedithalthivu base were impregnable for the moment. Yet, on July 3, three small groups of four -man commando teams shattered the perceived impregnability of the camp. This swift assault during which four commandos lost lives had been a turn around in the battle for Vedithalthivu. The capture of about 200 meters of the southern perimeter defence of the camp killing at least 28 cadres- according to figures provided by the Army- had been the prelude to a series of daring small group operations which were to dominate the Mannar front during the last two weeks.
For the first two weeks of this month, commandos operating in small teams had been carrying out surprise attacks on selected strategic locations in the LTTE defence line. Small groups of commandos approached the camp in every direction, mainly conducting reconnaissance missions on the LTTE build- up in the area.
One such group, code named the Alpha team attacked a group of Tiger cadres killing seven. Five bodies of the slain Tiger cadres were retrieved by the commandos. Two other teams, each consisting of eight commandos approached the Tiger base from the direction of Paramarayankulam tank and Uvilanundiya Aru.
Both teams reached their assault positions by Tuesday. Based on information provided by the commandos, the army bombarded the identified LTTE positions using multi barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns. By Tuesday noon, the LTTE began to pull out from the camp.
Based on information provided by the Delta team which was engaged in reconnaissance operations, the army bombarded a team of about 150 Tiger cadres who were on a hasty withdrawal from the camp.The Tiger contingent came under ground and air attack as they were moving through a Teak jungle located in Thaddampiddi.
By Wednesday, troops monitored the Tigers pulling out. Water tanks which supplied water to the main sea Tiger base were blown up in the morning. Commandos ambushed two Lorries which were heading to the Tiger camp, apparently to transport military hardware from the besieged camp.
By Wednesday noon, the troops were in control of the Vedithalthivu town and the sea Tiger base.
As troops closed in on the sea Tiger base, Tigers moved their boats to Pooneryn.

Capture

The MI 24 attack helicopters were called in to target the sea Tiger boats. Fighter jets of the Sri Lanka Air Force also conducted several sorties against another sea Tiger camp located in Vallaipadu, north of Vedithalthivu
The only casualty in the military mission was Lance Cpl Kumara of the Delta team of the 2 commando regiment. He was caught in a booby trap as he stormed an LTTE bunker. On Thursday, Army Headquarters announced the capture of the Vedithalthivu sea Tiger base.
Vedithalthivu, located 20 km from Mannar is the main sea Tiger base in the North Western coast, which also functioned as a smuggling hub for arms and ammunition from Tamil Nadu and earlier from the ships anchored in the Arabian Sea.
Last month, sea Tigers staged a surprise attack on a naval outpost in Mannar. Sea Tiger boats were launched from Vedithalthivu.
By the end of last week, troops were advancing towards Illupakadawai. The air force carried out several raids in LTTE positions in the area.
Further northwards, the 57the Division of the army is pushing towards Thunukkai. Thunukkai, which is also the entrance to the Tiger- stronghold of Mallavi, would like to be the next flash point in the Wanni front.

Massacre grave unearthed in Batticaloa

A mass grave, containing skeletons bearing gunshot wounds, has been discovered Wednesday morning at Paalameenmeadu, 6 km north of Batticaloa city, near a Tsunami resettlement.

The grave was found after the IDPs, who were engaged in digging wells near their camp, unearthed body parts in one of the wells last week. At least 32 pieces of skeletons have been recovered with cloths since 9:30 a.m., when Judge B. Ramakannan from Batticaloa visited the massacre site with Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) M.M.A. Rahman and the Police.

The site, located 1.5 km from a Sri Lankan military post, manned by police and later by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).

Emptied rounds were also located from the mass grave, according to initial reports, which alluded that the killings could have taken place 4 years ago and that there could be more than 16 slain inside a single grave.

There were also speculations that the victims could be civilians who disappeared or combatants.

However, police said it was too early to give any indication on the number of bodies or the period when the massacre has taken place.

Both male and female clothes have been recovered in the massacre grave.

Tsunami affected refugees from Moothoor were settled at the site two years ago.

School boy involved in abduction of teacher Abductors arrested, victim released

Acting swiftly on a complaint, the Kandy police rescued a 24-year-old teacher abducted by a group of men using a white van on Friday afternoon.

The police located the house where the gang had held her on Saturday, an investigator said. According to him, the gang had captured her as she was on her way to the Kandy bus stand and bundled her into their vehicle. Police identified two persons arrested in connection with the abduction as a technician employed in the private sector and a 17-year-old student from Paranagama in the Pathadumbara area.

Police said they were looking for two more suspects.

The technician had abducted the girl from Naula after she refused to have an affair with him.

NTUC, other unions to stage 3 day strike soon

The JVP's National Trade Union Centre (NTUC) will stage a three day strike in the near future as a follow up to its July 10 token strike, parliamentarian Lalkantha, the Union's president said at a media conference today. He said that the decision to hold the three day strike was taken at a NTUC meeting yesterday. Three TUs - United Workers’ Party, Government United Labour Federation and Cooperative and Mercantile Union - have already expressed solidarity with the decision of the NTUC, he said.

Their demands of Rs.5000/- salary increase and payment of Rs.2/- for each COL index remained unchanged while the demand for subsidy on public transport was amended to add fuel subsidy for three-wheelers and vehicles transporting school children, Lalkantha said.

They will shortly hold discussions with all TUs that joined their July 10 token strike and others who expressed solidarity with their token strike to decide on the date for the three-day strike, he said.

The NTUC and other unions will hold a series of pocket meetings in all sectors as a prelude to the proposed three day strike and the first meeting of the series will be held at the national hospital on July 21, he also said. The meeting will be followed by meetings in all other sectors, including in the estate sector and a signature campaign insisting on the demands will be held, he said. The list of signatures with a petition insisting on the demands will be forwarded to President Mahinda Rjapakse, Lankakantha said.

Massacre grave unearthed in Batticaloa

A mass grave, containing skeletons bearing gunshot wounds, has been discovered Wednesday morning at Paalameenmeadu, 6 km north of Batticaloa city, near a Tsunami resettlement. The grave was found after the IDPs, who were engaged in digging wells near their camp, unearthed body parts in one of the wells last week. At least 32 skeleton-parts have been recovered with cloths since 9:30 a.m., when Judge B. Ramakannan from Batticaloa visited the massacre site with medical staff and the Police. The site, located 1.5 km from a Sri Lankan military post, has been under Sri Lanka Army (SLA) control for years.

Emptied rounds were also located from the mass grave, according to initial reports, which alluded that the killings could have taken place 3 years ago. However, police said it was too early to give any indication on the number of bodies or the period when the massacre has taken place.

Both male and female clothes have been recovered in the massacre grave.

Tsunami affected refugees from Moothoor were settled at the site two years ago.

AL QAEDA AND NUCLEAR WASTE IN NWFP: INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR

By B. Raman

Coinciding with the first anniversary of the Pakistan Army's commando raid into the Lal Masjid of Islamabad, there has been a fresh wave of jihadi terrorism in Pakistan, which has reversed the declining trend seen after the new Government headed by Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani came to office in the last week of March, 2008.

2. This new wave started even before the first anniversary with the an Al Qaeda-admitted act of suicide terrorism outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad on June 2, 2008. It has picked up momentum since then-----particularly since July 3, 2008, which marked the first anniversary of the siege of the Lal Masjid by the Pakistani security forces and ultimately led to the raid into the Lal Masjid.

3. This new wave has affected tribal as well as non-tribal areas, but the tribal areas more than non-tribal areas till now. In the tribal areas, it has affected the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which are directly controlled from Islamabad with the help of the Army, as well as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), which is ruled by a coalition headed by the reputedly secular Awami National Party (ANP). The ANP has been trying to deal with the situation with the help of the Frontier Corps (FC), a para-military organisation of Pashtun tribals trained and supervised by the Army.

4. The NWFP was badly affected even last year. Of the 56 attacks of suicide terrorism during 2007, 23 were in the FATA, 21 in the NWFP, including four in the Swat Valley, nine in Punjab, two in Balochistan and one in Sindh. Of the 23 in the FATA, only two were in North Waziristan and one in the Bajaur Agency, where, according to the US, the terrorist infrastructure of Al Qaeda is located. The remaining 20 were in South Waziristan, where there are no confirmed reports of any Al Qaeda infrastructure. All the attacks in South Waziristan came from areas which are controlled by the Mehsuds. In the areas controlled by other tribes, there were no incidents of suicide terrorism. Two cantonments saw repeated suicide strikes--- Rawalpindi (5), where the General Headquarters of the Army are located, and Kohat (3) in the NWFP where an Army cadet school is located.

5. The Ministry of the Interior of the Government of Pakistan has not so far come out with official statistics relating to suicide and non-suicide terrorism this year, but according to Hamid Mir, the highly-respected Pakistani journalist, who works for the GeoTV, a private TV channel,there have been 25 acts of suicide terrorism in Pakistan during the first six months of 2008, resulting in 332 fatalities. However, in his analysis carried by "News" of July 10,2008, he does not indicate how many of these incidents took place before the new Government came to office and how many thereafter. According to official figures released by the Interior Ministry at the end of last year, there were only four acts of suicide terrorism during the first six months of 2007. This shot up to 56 after the Lal Masjid raid. According to my collation, there were 17 acts of suicide terrorism this year before the Gilani Government came to office, and there have been only eight since then, but the number is showing an upward trend.

6. According to Hamid Mir, Afghanistan had 160 suicide bombings in 2007 with 836 people dead and it has had 76 suicide bombings in the first six months of 2008 with 466 dead. There were seven suicide attacks in Afghanistan in March 2008 compared to 17 in March 2007.There was a sudden increase in the attacks in June 2008 with 17 suicide bombings compared to just seven suicide bombings in June 2007. Suicide bombings slightly increased in areas close to the Iranian border. Kandahar and Helmand are close to Pakistan while Nimroz and Farah are close to Iran. There were 15 suicide attacks in Kandahar in 2008 compared to 26 in 2007. There were 15 suicide attacks in Helmand in 2008 compared to 22 in 2007. There were only three attacks in Nimroz in 2007 but eight attacks in the first six months of 2008. Farah is close to the Iranian border and had just five suicide attacks in 2007 but this province saw six suicide attacks in 2008. The increasing number of attacks in areas closer to the Iranian border than to the Pakistani border is intriguing and has thus far remained without a satisfactory explanation.

7 .In 2007, one saw acts of suicide terrorism as well as conventional attacks not involving suicide terrorism in the tribal areas. The conventional style attacks were more in the FATA than in the NWFP, except in the Swat Valley, which is the stronghold of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) headed by Mulla Fazlullah. Even though official statistics of conventional style attacks are not available, one can see that there has been an increase in conventional style attacks in other areas of the NWFP too. What one has been seeing is that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other jihadi groups in the tribal belt not associated with the TTP, have been emulating the tactics of the Taliban of Afghanistan, which consist of a mix of suicide terrorism and conventional guerilla-style attacks. An insurgency-like situation is developing in the tribal belt in the FATA and the NWFP, similar to the situation which has been prevalent in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

8. There has been a deterioration in the control exercised by the ANP-led Government, the army and the para-military forces in the NWFP. This weakening of control is evident in Peshawar too, where the Taliban and pro-Taliban groups are slowly nibbling at the outlying areas bordering the FATA. The worsening situation in the NWFP should be a matter of concern to the international community since many of the areas where Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission stores its nuclear waste are located there. If these sites come under the control of the jihadi terrorists, Al Qaeda's search for a dirty bomb capability could be facilitated.