Acts of Terrorism in Pakistan

[S-2]

Any group you can imagine with a beef against either the Indian or Pakistani gov't and stands to benefit by carnage-reaped mayhem would appreciate this event as a potential target.

And there are plenty of viable possibilities. You just KNEW with Benazir Bhutto. You just KNOW now again. It feels likely...

I can't say I'd be happy with any event of this size in Pakistan now-for any conceivable purpose. Not even a Boy Scout Jamboree.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

However, the ANP could not be criticised too much for reaching out to the terrorists of Swat through the sharia of Sufi Muhammad after realising that the army was either ineffective or was uninterested in dealing with terrorism in the province seriously.

What nonsense - as the DG ISPR himself clarified, it was the ANP's initial 'peace deal' from when they came into power that effectively stopped the Army from initiating any operations except those in self defense.

The politicians need to accept that their policy was flawed and allowed the militants to regroup and the media needs to place the blame where it should be placed. Lets not forget that before the ANP led government came in, the military had fought hard and recaptured almost all strategic and major settled areas in Swat. The commander in charge of the operation had stated that 'the militants had been pushed into the mountains'.

Is a little more honesty and less blame deflection onto the Army for every ill to much to ask? Perhaps the editor spent too much time reading Roggio's blog.

 

[Hasnain2009]

US Spy found Dead

 

[RescueRanger]

Attack on Pirwadhi Mor (Rawalpindi) 5 Killed - Source: Rescue 1122

 

[happy.muslimah]

what the hell wid terrorist i think we muslims should wake up and we should teach them islam that islam is against terrorism and plz stop doing terrorism in name of peacefull and trrue religion....
its just bcoz of usa and bush n mush...

 

[PeacefulIndian]

what the hell wid terrorist i think we muslims should wake up and we should teach them islam that islam is against terrorism and plz stop doing terrorism in name of peacefull and trrue religion....
its just bcoz of usa and bush n mush...

It would be helpful if somebody tries to teach them real Islam. Question is - who will bell the cat?

 

[happy.muslimah]

It would be helpful if somebody tries to teach them real Islam. Question is - who will bell the cat?

its not possible for 1 person we all muslims should join hand together..and we can do this with help of education...kash mjhy 1 chance mil jayen unko islam teach karny ka...pray for me..

 

[Patriot]

what the hell wid terrorist i think we muslims should wake up and we should teach them islam that islam is against terrorism and plz stop doing terrorism in name of peacefull and trrue religion....
its just bcoz of usa and bush n mush...

and yet you are still supporting Lal Masjid Thugs?

 

[Metallic]

20 March 2009

Link: Militants' rocket in Pakistan tribal area kills 10 - Examiner.com

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Security forces launched a hunt Friday for suspected Taliban militants who fired rockets toward their base in northwest Pakistan, killing 10 people near a key supply route for international forces in Afghanistan, an official said.

The militants fired three rockets late Thursday near the town of Landi Kotal, about six miles (10 kilometers) west of the Afghan border, said Rashid Khan, an area government administrator.

The rockets missed the security forces' base, but one hit the town's commercial area, killing 10 civilians, injuring 38 and setting fire to a timber yard and 20 nearby shops, Khan told The Associated Press.

The other two rockets fell in an open area and caused no casualties, he said.

Khan said troops opened fire toward the site of the launch and were searching the area Friday to track and capture the attackers.

The town lies in Pakistan's tribal region on a key road where militants have carried out a wave of attacks on trucks carrying supplies to U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan security forces have undertaken several operations to push militants back from the road and the nearby gateway city of Peshawar.

Rising Taliban attacks have raised doubts about the reliability of the critical supply routes through Pakistan, prompting the U.S. and NATO to seek alternatives. Afghan-based U.S. and NATO forces get up to 75 percent of their supplies via routes through Pakistan.

Suspected Taliban militants have repeatedly struck transport depots near Peshawar in recent months, destroying scores of military vehicles. Attacks on the road through the Khyber Pass to the Afghan border have repeatedly forced temporary closures.

U.S. and NATO officials insist the attacks have little impact on their operations but are looking at ways to bring more supplies into Afghanistan through Central Asia.

Recent political turmoil in Pakistan has raised concerns that the government will shift its focus away from its battle against al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

On Thursday, the government appealed court rulings against opposition leaders that triggered weeks of political crisis.

Last month, the Supreme Court disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his politician brother Shahbaz from holding elected office because of controversial convictions dating back to the rule of former President Pervez Musharraf.

The court ruling prompted President Asif Ali Zardari to suspend the administration in the critical province of Punjab, handing its control to the federally appointed governor. That infuriated the Sharifs, who accused Zardari of a power grab.

The Sharifs and activist lawyers called off plans to stage an indefinite protest outside the federal Parliament on Monday after the government agreed to file the court appeals and reinstate several judges ousted by Musharraf.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The militants’ strategy

By Syed Irfan Ashraf
Saturday, 21 Mar, 2009

IT may be premature to comment on the power shift in the tribal belt, but the impact of it has been strongly felt by political and social elements in the seven tribal agencies and other areas in northwest Pakistan. New power centres have replaced the old, making it difficult for the government and liberal circles to reconcile themselves to a readjusted order that is drawing strength from the insurgency made worse by the failure of governing institutions.

Starting from North and South Waziristan, tribal warlords have full authority, running a parallel administration in areas under their control. They recruit trained armies, execute orders through the shura and rule over the tribesmen. Criminals with a sectarian outlook from southern Punjab are in demand, while an estimated 5,000 foreigners, mostly Uzbek jihadists, are available to undertake subversive assignments.

Funds are generated through means such as plundering and kidnapping. While the erstwhile power elite is confined to their garrisoned houses in the troubled heartland, and the pro-government tribal maliks — more than 600 of whom have been killed in North and South Waziristan alone — and other social elite are moving to the settled areas, militant commanders are ruling the roost. The new infrastructure is the nucleus of a militancy which is exporting a subversive agenda to other parts of the country.

This infrastructure had been developed to wage jihad against America and its allies, including Pakistan. However, inherently it is a vengeful tribalism that is in place. The militant commanders draw strength from the perception in conservative circles that global forces led by America have invaded their homeland and the inevitable defence lies in being on the offensive. Nationalist zeal and jihadi sentiments are fuelling the insurgency. Deprived and reactionary circles are joining hands with militant forces which thrive on a one-point agenda — to create anarchy and rule Fata.

One wonders how effectively the militant leaders will fill the power vacuum in their respective tribal areas. However, it is clear that the power shift in Fata has not proved so devastating for over eight million tribesmen who were already languishing under an exploitative system. Understandably, this power shift has greater implications for the settled areas of the NWFP, which are being pushed towards re-tribalism — and not necessarily Talibanisation.

The jihadi germs have already contaminated settled districts and frontier regions where thousands of security forces are fighting infiltration from the tribal belt. Militant leaders from Waziristan extend help to groups ready to exact ‘revenge’ on state and society by becoming part of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Not to forget mainland Swat and Dera Adam Khel, where militants from Waziristan train thousands among the local youth in the terrains of Gut Peuchar and the Koh-i-Sufaid to carry out activities ranging from sniper attacks to suicide bombings.

Knowing that their strength lies in guerilla warfare, the militants, in line with time-tested strategies in the area, select hilly terrains easily accessible to the tribal region for setting up camps to train the local workforce and move around freely in the bordering mountains. Creating a power vacuum is the first aim of the strategy. For this a start is made by blowing up music and video centres in pre-dawn explosions, punishing drug barons and criminals and dispensing quick ‘justice’. This is followed by attacks on the local police or the Khasdar force, thus crippling the state’s writ.

Military operations follow, sending a clear message to ordinary civilians to quit or prepare to be caught in the conflict. These operations cause collateral damage, leading to a rise in militancy. All this has had an overwhelming effect on the local populations. Children often ask their parents for explanations. One example is that of 11-year-old Gul Makai who pointed out to her father, “The Talibs are where the army is but the army doesn’t go where the Talibs are.” Was this Gul Makai’s way of asking why the Taliban are after the army and the army not after the Taliban?

The power shift does not end here. Negotiations and deals are central to the last leg of the strategy where the emerging power centres — militant leaders — win credibility and legitimacy. This encourages reactionary youth to adopt militancy as a profession. The principle is simple: untrimmed beards, long hair, Cheetah sneakers and listening to jihadi anthems while heavy ammunition is provided for free. This enables them to support their families financially

It is intriguing, though distressing, that a few thousand militants prevail over millions of their opponents. The fate of democracy was sealed in the seven districts of the Malakand Division when the government agreed to implement the Sharia in the militancy-infested areas. It is still not known as to who will undertake the huge task of reconstruction in Swat. Obviously, the militants will have a say.

They have already carried out self-styled land reforms in Matta Tehsil, set up a body to monitor army rations and movement and devised a social system based on rigid Sharia codes. Due to massive Saudi investment in the vast madressah network in the NWFP, one can expect wide-ranging repercussions. After all, the Taliban are an extension of the religio-political parties that ruled the province for five long years.

Muslim Khan, the spokesman for the Swat Taliban, has already said that the militants’ struggle for the Sharia is not limited to the seven districts of Malakand Division but will extend to the entire country. However, when asked by journalists in Swat, ANP senior minister Bashir Bilour’s response seemed to gloss over the gravity of the situation. He said that the Taliban’s demand for the Sharia in Swat was simply a demand for speedy courts, and the ANP, in fact, wished there were such courts not only in the rest of the NWFP but also the entire country. Mr Bilour’s remarks smacked of naivety — or perhaps he is aware that if the storm continues, it will change the entire dynamics of society including his position in it.

 

[RabzonKhan]

I couldn't have said it better.


The other column: Outsourcing balls

Ejaz Haider
March 22, 2009

Two developments have restored my faith in Pakistan’s future. No, I am not referring to the great battle won by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his lawyer cohorts. My optimism springs from the positive trend on display in Swat where the state, in keeping with the modern business strategy of outsourcing, has asked the reigning Islamic scholar, one Sufi Muhammad, to run the area as he pleases, thank you.

This is just the beginning. I am informed by the NWFP chief minister, Ameer Haider Hoti, that the nongovernment in Peshawar is giving a deep-think to the idea of subsequently extending this outsourcing to the rest of the province.

Mr Hoti is a smart man and he has the support in this venture of other smart men across Pakistan, most of them leaders of various political parties and the media. All of them believe in democracy and negotiations. Hoti can ultimately be the chief minister without having to lift a finger to do state work because all his functions, a la Swat, will have been outsourced. Reminds me of Bahadur Shah Zafar, except that Hoti, to my knowledge, can’t even write bad poetry.

You want to look into the merits of this. Here goes.

Democracy is about the voice of the people; remember the old adage, vox populi, vox dei. If the people don’t like the state to do its work, what should a benign, democratic state do but to bow to their wish and let them be ruled by those they want to be ruled by and through laws they prefer.

Of course, by the very logic of deregulation, or shall I say decentralisation, the outsourcing exercise cannot be consistent in its application of the laws or even the groups to which state work must be outsourced. Monopolies we don’t want. The Aurakzai Agency, for instance, will have its own ruling group and exegesis of shariat while we could contract in the Khyber Agency the group most powerful there.

This exercise could be replicated in other parts of NWFP and in the remaining tribal agencies.

Imagine the money we will save. Pakistan will have no need for a single, monolithic army that has been such a heavy burden on the exchequer. Within their respective areas, the ruling groups will run everything. It’s almost like companies getting contracts for maintaining and streamlining parking space in front of shopping plazas or levying toll for the use of bridges and turnpikes etc.

What is so sanctimonious about central state control anyway? In fact, I am very seriously thinking of raising a militia and having my own local fiefdom by “requesting” the state to outsource its functions to me in the area that I could, so far theoretically, control.

My suggestion is that if this exercise succeeds in the NWFP, as it surely would, it may be extended to other parts of Pakistan. In some ways Pakistan has always been like this. Local control in interior Sindh; local control of a city like Karachi by the “middle class”; local control of areas in Balochistan by the democratic sardars; local control of Lahore by the democratic brothers and so on.

The future, dear reader, lies in the twin concepts of deregulation and outsourcing. If the model works in the realm of economy and business (the current trend towards governmental control is just a passing phase), why can’t it be made to work in the political realm?

Ok, I know there is a bit of a problem when it comes to theories of state. Philosopher after philosopher has talked about the state as being the one entity that cannot be allowed to be outsourced. They think that one of the foremost attributes of state is its monopoly of violence. To put this philosophical concept in plain Punjabi, the state must be able to “teri maa’n di...” anyone who challenges it.

Constitutional and juridical constraints may have changed the manner in which a state can do this but this attribute remains, whether it is to be exercised through “exception”, “emergency”, “bio-power”, “bio-political” or whatever else. The state ultimately embraces the living being in its most extreme form: it can and does kill.

For some scholars, this is what distinguishes the “political” from every other sphere of life, not just in terms of a mere distinction but by subjugating all other human activities — individual and collective — to the political.

But despair not. Truly democratic that we are, these concepts we do not believe in. The model we are putting in place is the one that liberates — maybe not the people, but at least the present bunch of rulers. It liberates them from running the state.

As for what the groups contracted to do the state’s work will do, this is what will happen:

Because effective control requires that they make the “political” decision, they will kill when necessary. Each group will also consider the other the out-group. That means, yes, the friend-enemy distinction. They will fight until one group dominates and brings other areas under its control. That too is the attribute of a state.

Replicate this across Pakistan where chunks of territory have been outsourced to whoever could challenge the withering and withered state. The scenario that I can see is the emergence of a new state, ready to kill internally as well as externally. Talking of bio-power or bio-political, you can’t get more “bio-whatever” than slitting people’s throats jugular backwards and then smiling on camera while holding aloft the severed head.

The damn philosophers are right after all. But don’t worry. We shall do what liberal humanism suggests (who cares if our humanism springs from sh*tload of idiocy and the inability to run a state). What the groups do after we have entrusted them with the running of the state is their doing. I just bought a nice apartment in Park Avenue anyway.

They may kill but we abhor killing our own brothers. Plus, this business of running a state is kinda masculine. It involves having what the Italians euphemistically call “attributi” and plain English “balls”.

Since we don’t have them, our model of outsourcing the state to those who have them is the only way out. The Lord be praised!

Ejaz Haider is Consulting Editor of The Friday Times and Op-Ed Editor of Daily Times.

 

[S-2]

Muse has this posted already, I believe here.

Thank you for your cooperation-

The def.pk Dept. of Redundancy

 

[RabzonKhan]

‘Baitullah’s squad out to hit cities’

By Mohammad Asghar
Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009

RAWALPINDI: Security was tightened across the country on Monday after intelligence agencies warned that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has dispatched 20 foreign militants, mostly Uzbeks, to carry out terror strikes in major cities.

A senior police official said agencies had warned police that the terrorists had left for Bannu on their way to Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and other major cities.

He said that adequate protective measures had been taken, security around police installations had been tightened and patrolling had been increased.

He said vehicles, visitors from other cities and vagrants were being randomly checked in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Police teams, led by SSP Operations Yasin Farooq, were checking hotels and vehicles. He said 36 ‘suspicious’ people had been rounded up and at least 79 motorbikes, 19 cars and two rickshaws had been impounded.

Police, he said, had also arrested 20 people on charges of various crimes and seized illegal weapons. Three proclaimed offenders had also been arrested, he said.

 

[rubyjackass]

Militants warn government to stop mobile phone expansion

Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009 | 06:32 PM PST |
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A Pakistani soldier uses a phone standing next to an improvised bell at a home abandoned by militants driven out by the advancing Pakistani army in Sabagai village in the Bajur tribal region in Pakistan.—AP/File

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Militants Tuesday warned the Pakistan government to stop expanding the mobile telephone network in a restive tribal area, worried it could be used to spy on their activities, AFP reports.

They circulated a pamphlet in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan on the Afghan border, telling authorities to stop the network expansion and ordering vendors to stop selling SIM cards, residents and officials said.

‘A Jewish, Zionist-backed company is setting up the mobile phone network in Waziristan, which would be used to spy on Taliban activities and drone attacks,’ said the pamphlet.

‘This network is equipped with GPS (global positioning system) and can give the location of a person even if his mobile phone is switched off,’ it said.

‘In Iraq and Afghanistan such a system has been used to launch attacks against mujahedeen,’ the leaflet said, referring to holy warriors.

‘The government and those selling SIMs will be treated as criminals by us,’ it warned.

A local administration official confirmed that a leaflet had been circulated in Wana.

 

[S-2]

Well, turn in your cell-phones or lose your hand...or head.

Not sure which. Maybe both.