India: High Court Bombing Arrests Made; Govt and Rebels Sign Peace Accord

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Background

Three men have been arrested in Kashmir over the bombing of the High Court in New Delhi on 7 September 2011. The men are reported to have links with the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and were detained after an e-mail, claiming responsibility for the attacks, was traced to their village.

Comment

HUJI is an al-Qaida affiliated, militant group, which operates in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The group was established in the mid-1980s in Pakistan, during the Soviet-Afghan war. Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, HUJI re-directed its efforts to Kashmir, where it has been involved in training militants and carrying out guerrilla activities. 

The motive behind the attack is thought to be linked to the rejection of a clemency plea by Afzal Guru, the group’s current leader. He has been sentenced to death for his role in the 2001 bombing of the Indian Parliament. Interestingly, Guru has distanced himself from the attack, condemning it as a ‘barbaric crime’. The National Investigation Agency has yet to confirm the veracity of the e-mail and an indigenous organisation, the Indian Mujahedeen, has also claimed responsibility for the attack. HUJI has been significantly weakened over the past six months, following the killing of its field commander, MohammadIlyas Kashmiri by a US drone in June. Kashmiri is thought to have been the mastermind behind the 22 May attack on the Mehran navy base in Pakistan.

In other developments from the subcontinent, the Indian Government has signed a peace accord with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The ULFA is one of India’s oldest rebel groups, established in 1979 with the aim of creating a separate Assamese state. The agreement builds on a unilateral ceasefire declared in July 2011. It will see ULFA fighters accommodated in government-run camps while a political solution is pursued. Fighting between the ULFA and the Indian Army is thought to have claimed over 10,000 lives.

Andrew Campbell

Future Directions International Research Intern

Indian Ocean Research Programme