Pakistan's 'secret' war in Baluchistan

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Insurgent clashes in Pakistan kill 36​

1 day ago

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — Fierce clashes between Pakistani forces and separatist insurgents in troubled southwestern Baluchistan province have left six paramilitary troops and 30 rebels dead, officials said Monday.

In a major flare-up of an insurgency that has simmered for years in the gas- and mineral-rich region, security forces launched a major operation against rebel camps after a paramilitary convoy came under attack on Saturday.

Troops destroyed two insurgent bases used for plotting attacks in the operation near Uch, a town in the restive Dera Bugti district of Baluchistan, arresting 30 militants and seizing a cache of weapons, they said.

"The operation against miscreants has been wound up" on Monday, Lieutenant Colonel Shahid Mehmood Khan, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, told AFP.

A Frontier Corps statement said six paramilitary soldiers died in the fighting and and nine others were wounded, while "according to confirmed reports a large number of miscreants have been killed."

It did not give a figure but intelligence officials in Quetta said at least 30 insurgents, including three rebel commanders, were killed. Twenty-two rebels were killed on Sunday alone in the heaviest of the clashes, they said.

Another four soldiers were injured on Monday when a remote control bomb planted on a roadside exploded at Sohbatpur village bordering Dera Bugti district, Khan said.

Separately, police in Quetta arrested six suspected militants in a raid at a house and seized an explosive-filled car and detonators, senior police official Muhammad Akbar told reporters.

There were three Afghan nationals among the suspects, Akbar said, adding they would be investigated for links with Baluch rebels hiding in neighbouring Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.

Impoverished Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been hit by years of unrest blamed on ethnic Baluch tribes seeking more political rights and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.

Dera Bugti is near Pakistan's biggest natural gas field and was formerly the base of late Baluch rebel leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation in August 2006.

Hundreds of people have died in violence in the province since the insurgency flared in late 2004, but until recently it had quietened down after Bugti's death.

The province has also been hit by attacks blamed on Islamist Taliban militants, but officials say that the separatist insurgents do not have links to the hardliners.

Last Wednesday a bomb blast in the town of Mastung, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta, wounded 14 people, including eight security personnel.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistani officials have previously accused rival India of sponsoring the separatist rebels from its consulates in southern and eastern Afghanistan, a charge that New Delhi denies.

A widespread insurgency in Baluchistan was brutally suppressed by the government during the 1970s with the loss of hundreds of lives.

AFP: Insurgent clashes in Pakistan kill 36

Well, this comes after a lull in any major military activity in the province, after the new government took charge.

Since then we have seen a spike in the number of attacks by militants, despite the presence of nationalists in the government and their request for the militants to lay down their arms and discuss grievances.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Made the thread sticky, so any Baluchistan related discussions or major events can go in here.

Lets not make this a thread with articles on every little attack or incident that takes place though.

 

[muse]

"discuss grievances"


The man cannot read or write nor has any thought in his head other than money and is a hired gun - and he is invited to discuss grievances? yara, I must really be on another planet - Is there any pakistani criminal who has not been invited to discuss his or her grievances??

I gotta go drown it somewhere - just the thought - on the other hand it can't hurt any worse than it already does.

many voices but ONE NATION, Inshallah.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

"discuss grievances"


The man cannot read or write nor has any thought in his head other than money and is a hired gun - and he is invited to discuss grievances? yara, I must really be on another planet - Is there any pakistani criminal who has not been invited to discuss his or her grievances??

I gotta go drown it somewhere - just the thought - on the other hand it can't hurt any worse than it already does.

many voices but ONE NATION, Inshallah.

lol - do not lose hope yet.

I've been banging my head over this stuff for a long time now.

Just because I try and use neutral and ambivalent language doesn't mean that that is how I feel about the situation, or that I support it.

Honestly, since the offer to 'discuss grievances', what exactly have we heard from the militant groups?

All kinds of vile, xenophobic demands and comments directed at other communities, warnings of slaughtering even other Baloch if found working for the government, and an increase in terrorist attacks, mostly affecting civilians.

All through this, while the militants have been screaming their guilt from the roof tops, the politicians have been trying to say that it isn't them, implying once again, that dreaded Hydra of Pakistan, the 'agencies', is the cause.

Its sickening, just like the defense put up for the religious extremists is - keep bending over backwards in hopes of appeasing them and the only thing that happens is that they continue with their acts and keep demanding more.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

And interesting dynamic to this insurgency is the reported sponsoring of terrorism in Iran by the US, through training and resources for the militant group Jundullah.

Jundullah however is not fighting an Iran specific campaign, but a Baluch independence campaign, so inevitably the repercussions of any such policy of support for Baluch separatists are felt by Pakistan as well.

Add in Pakistan's concern for how Baluch rebels are operating unfettered from Afghanistan, interdiction of weapons and explosives from Afghanistan, and a pretty nasty picture of the effects of this US policy fro Pakistan start emerging.

Former COAS, Gen. Mirza Aslam Baig, has alleged that the US is actively involved in training violent groups in Iran:
tehran times : U.S. backs Jundullah to destabilize Iran: Pakistan’s former Army Chief

The same sentiment was echoed by Seymour Hersch in his column for the New Yorker:
Annals of National Security: Preparing the Battlefield: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

The Iranian Government is in fact pretty upset with Pakistan for allowing this, and who would blame them?

Really, its time for the neocon Neanderthals to just give it up, go home and bash their wives into oblivion, and shoot their friends in the face...

Let the rest of the world live in peace...

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

An an interesting article indicating Afghan links with the Baluchistan unrest.

IMO, this is an area where the government needs to be putting a lot more pressure on both the GoA and NATO.

Could our lack of protest be because of the current partnership with the US on the WoT, and the associated US involvement in terrorism in Iran?

Pakistani police arrest 6 Afghans; thwart car bomb​

Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:58am EDT

QUETTA, Pakistan, July 21 (Reuters) - Pakistani police arrested six Afghans and recovered 450 kg (about 1,000 pounds) of explosives and more than a dozen detonators during a raid in the southwest city of Quetta, security officials told Reuters on Monday.

"They had a car ready, filled with explosives to strike in the city," Mohammad Akbar Arain, the senior-most police official in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

"I can't give you exact details but I can tell you that their handler is not here but settled across the border," he said, referring to Afghanistan.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both U.S. allies in a global war on terrorism, are at a low after Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused Pakistani intelligence of being involved in a suicide car bomb attack that killed 58 people outside the Indian embassy in Kabul earlier this month.

The Afghan government has said in the past that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and other commanders have been directing the insurgency in Afghanistan from Quetta.

Both Pakistan and the Taliban have denied this, and say Omar is with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Separately, security forces detained a man suspected of being a senior Taliban commander from a house on the outskirts of Quetta a few days ago.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity said the man was under interrogation and his identity had still to be confirmed.

"We conducted a raid three days ago based on very credible information that some important Taliban figures were hiding with an Afghan family there," a senior intelligence official in Quetta, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

"We suspect he could be a Taliban commander, he said.

Pakistan has made few arrests of major Taliban figures, and Western officials have long suspected that the Pakistani security apparatus turns a blind eye to their presence, though they say there were recent signs of change and arrests have been made, though not publicised.

If a major arrest were confirmed it would be timely.

Western allies, suffering mounting casualties among troops in Afghanistan, have put Pakistan under intense pressure to act against Taliban taking sanctuary on its territory.

Pakistan's chief military spokesman said he had no knowledge of any arrest, though officials seldom go on the record to confirm the arrest of Taliban. (Reporting by Gul Yousafzai and Saeed Ali Achakzai; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore;

Pakistani police arrest 6 Afghans; thwart car bomb | Reuters

 

[pkpatriotic]

Pakistan, Iran to form joint religious body
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By Mobarik A Virk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have officially decided to form a joint Shia-Sunni committee comprising Ulema and scholars from both the sects to curb extremism, which both the sides believe is being fanned by a ‘third power’.

The decision was formally announced following a meeting between the Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik and the visiting Acting Minister for Interior of Iran, Seyed Mehdi Hashemi, at the Interior Ministry on Tuesday morning.

Talking to media after the meeting, the adviser on interior said that the two sides discussed the issue of extremism in view of the Shia-Sunni clashes and agreed that there was a third power responsible for extremism.

A move in this direction was initiated in the beginning of this year when a delegation of the Islamic Ideology Council (IIC) paid a visit to Tehran when the situation in Kurram Agency got out of control and that also started reflecting in some other parts of the country. The IIC delegation held extensive talks on the issue.

The Iranian side paid a return visit to Islamabad. The delegation from Iran also included some top religious scholars and leaders, who interacted with their Pakistani counterparts in Islamabad and both the sides conveyed their findings to their respective governments.

Tuesday’s announcement by the two sides to officially form this ‘Joint Shia-Sunni Committee’ has come in the wake of those discussions. “The committee would deliberate on the issue of extremism and pave the way for bringing harmony and consensus between both the sects,” said Rehman Malik. “Both the sects follow Islam and Islam is the religion of peace and harmony.”

He said the two sides also discussed human, petrol and diesel smuggling across the border. “We have agreed to set up focal points at the border to prevent this practice, which is hurting both the countries. Similarly, we also discussed the issue of exchange of criminals,” the adviser said.

According to the Interior Ministry sources, the Iranian delegation also raised the issue of 16 Iranian nationals who were kidnapped from inside Pakistan and demanded their release. However, the Pakistani reaction to this Iranian demand was not elaborated.

Rehman Malik said that during the meeting, the two sides also took up upgrading of bilateral ties between the two neighboring countries. “It was agreed that efforts would be made to promote tourism and trade between the two countries. Iran also promised to provide electricity to Pakistan,” Rehman Malik said.

But it was not announced as to how much would be the supply of power, when it would start and to which areas it would be provided. Iranian Acting Minister for Interior Affairs Seyed Mehdi Hashemi termed the meeting very positive and said that it would bear positive results. He was accompanied by the Iranian envoy to Pakistan, Mashallah Shakeri. The Federal Interior Secretary, Syed Kamal Shah, was also present in the meeting.

 

[vish]

Third power?

Why is a scapegoat always essential?

 

[muse]

Belongs in the Balouchistan thread - already pinned

 

[Cheetah786]

Third power?

Why is a scapegoat always essential?

I believe they are pointing towards some one else.

 

[GHATAK]

What can be done to solve this problem. Our IPI oil pipeline is coming from this region. What is pakistan govt going to do for the security.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

What can be done to solve this problem. Our IPI oil pipeline is coming from this region. What is pakistan govt going to do for the security.

The IPI has to start first.

Security will obviously be a consideration that the parties involved will have catered to.

Perhaps once the IPI gets going, Pakistan will have fewer reasons to suspect India's involvement in terrorism in Baluchistan.

 

[GHATAK]

The IPI has to start first.

Security will obviously be a consideration that the parties involved will have catered to.

Perhaps once the IPI gets going, Pakistan will have fewer reasons to suspect India's involvement in terrorism in Baluchistan.

Yes, it will give other Pakistani's a clear view about the Baloch freedom struggle. And GoP will find no reason to blame India for its internal matters.

 

[IceCold]

Yes, it will give other Pakistani's a clear view about the Baloch freedom struggle. And GoP will find no reason to blame India for its internal matters.

Freedom struggle! quit wet dreaming. Its beginning to suck.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

More Afghan involvement in the unrest in Balochistan. Despite the strong stance taken recently about NATO acting to prevent these elements from committing terrorism in Pakistan and setting up sanctuaries in Afghanistan, just as the US expects Pakistan to do in the case of the Taliban, the Baluch militants continue to increase their attacks.

Four ‘Afghan spies’ arrested in Balochistan​

LAHORE: Security forces on Friday claimed arresting four agents of Afghan intelligence agency Khadamat-e Etela’at-e Dawlati (State Information Agency) from Qilla Saifullah in Balochistan, ARY TV reported.

According to the channel, weapons and “sensitive documents” have been found from the possession of the spies identified as Muhammad Ibrahim, Qaribullah, Aminullah and Abdul Wajid. The agents arrested from the Bajori area have links with the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan, the channel said, adding that they had been moved to an undisclosed location. The agents plan to carry out “large scale” terror activities in the province, according to the channel. daily times monitor

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Afghan support for the Baluch militants is nothing new either - they did this goign as far back as the first Baluch rebellion - a continued irredentist desire for 'Greater Afghanistan'.