Acts of Terrorism in Pakistan

[pkpatriotic]

Student dies, 22 hurt in Quetta suicide attack
Thursday, September 25, 2008
QUETTA: A female student was killed and more than 22 people, including 13 personnel of security forces and six students, were injured when a suicide bomber hit a vehicle of the Frontier Corps (FC) near the Military Police (MP) check-post on the Airport Road here on Wednesday.

Provincial Police Officer (PPO) Asif Nawaz Warraich told newsmen that a suicide bomber, aged between 16-17, struck a vehicle of the FC that was passing through the Merck Chowk. The bomber was carrying around 10 kilograms of explosive material. The vehicle of the FC was badly damaged while splinters hit the security personnel and passers-by, mostly male and female students who were in their private vehicles.

A splinter hit a student of the Government Girls College, Quetta, who succumbed to her injuries at hospital. She was identified as Shahida. An injured student Durdana said their school van was on its way when she heard a big bang and then some hard object hit their vehicle. “There was panic in the van and then I came to know that splinters had struck my sister, Ambreen, and other students on board, including Shahida.”

The security personnel, who were injured in the blast, were identified as Naik Sharif, Faizullah, Lance Naik Abdul Qayyum, sepoys Ali Jan, Ibrahim, Ehsan, Gul Rehman, Mir Muad, Zafar, Akhtar, Adil, Rafiq, Kalimullah, besides three employees of the Ordnance Depot namely Ibrahim, Faqir Muhammad and Amir Hamza.

The wounded female students were identified as Durdana, Najiba, Shahina and two sisters Afia and Qafia and a boy Ikram. A passer-by Muhammad Wali also sustained injuries. The injured were moved to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and the Sandeman Provincial Headquarter Hospital.

The police, after reaching the spot, cordoned off the area and closed the road for traffic.Meanwhile, Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani have expressed their deep sorrow over the death of a female student and condemned the suicide attack.

APP adds: President Asif Ali Zardari and acting President Muhammadmian Soomro also strongly condemned the suicide blast. In a message, the president expressed his grief over the incident and said the perpetrators of such heinous crime would be brought to justice. President Zardari also condoled with the families of the victims and prayed for early recovery of those injured in the attack.

 

[niaz]

Avoice of reason published in the Daily News


No room for doubt and division



Thursday, September 25, 2008
by Kamila Hyat

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor

The suicide bombing at the Marriott has left behind a cloud of fear and outrage that still lingers everywhere. But it would be naïve to believe these sentiments are universal.

Eyewitnesses in Lahore have spoken of chilling scenes, as turbaned madressah pupils cheered the success of the 'mission' outside a mosque. There is no evidence that these teenagers were linked to an extremist outfit. Indeed, they appeared to be enrolled at an ordinary madressah institution, one of the hundreds that operate in the city. But quite clearly their mindset is well-established. It is one shared with many others in the country, to one extent or the other, and has been skilfully tied in to the sense of injustice created by the grotesque dichotomy in wealth that we today see in society. In the minds of these youngsters, the wealthy are legitimate targets, as are foreigners and representatives of the state.

There are of course many subtleties and many complexities that go beyond this simplistic framework. Everywhere in society, we find ambiguity over the Taliban who now control all seven of our tribal agencies. People in the highest places within the establishment still describe them as 'honourable' people, working for the 'noble' cause. Tales of their bravery, their strength as warriors abound. Some certainly are myths. As a consequence of policies originally imposed by the state through the 1980s, our ability to think clearly has been distorted. This is particularly relevant as far as it applies to the armed forces, now locked in a battle with militants. In the past, there have been questions about both their capability and their commitment.

But there can now no longer be any doubt that the will required to fight the war on terror has to be found. The military and the civilian setup must work together. The government indeed must provide direction, ending the chaotic cycle in which deals with militants have been followed by sporadic offensives to be followed only by new talks. Some of this dialogue has taken place at sites above which the sinister, black flag of Al Qaeda fluttered. The organization, still entrenched in Pakistan's north, has been attempting to carve out a new state, run under 'Shariah' laws, across this stretch of territory. On its websites, the Islamic Republic of Waziristan exists as an entity lying beyond Pakistan. A final balkanization of Pakistan is among its aims. The Pakistan government must develop a coherent partnership with its military to thwart them.

To do this, President Asif Ali Zardari, whose address to parliament was overshadowed by the explosion and the inferno that brought the Marriott crumbling down, will have to move rapidly beyond rhetoric. His strategy must be multi-pronged. The faltering economy needs rescue. The unemployment and deprivation it has brought is directly linked to the growth of terrorism. The tiresome battles with the PML-N that have so far dominated politics over the last six months must give way to some demonstration of the government's ability to perform. So far, few are convinced it will be able to do so. If it is to prove them wrong, the strategy it employs must be home grown.

The tactics used by the US over the past years since 2001 have quite obviously failed. The outgoing Bush administration has nothing more to offer. The flurry of visits to Islamabad and Kabul in recent weeks and the stepped-up assaults across the Pak-Afghan frontier are a sign of its panic. The direction must now come from Islamabad, support can of course be sought from beyond its borders.

The government must also work to undo much of what has been done since 1979. In 1947, only 189 madressahs operated in Pakistan. Today, some estimates place the number at over 40,000. At least 80 function in Islamabad. Even the bloody events at the Lal Masjid last year have not been enough to convince authorities of the need to prevent these institutions from mushrooming. New ones have cropped up since then. Along single streets in Lahore, several madressahs are known to be operating, some based in homes, some in mosques, some in seedy basement.

The situation is the same – or even worse – in smaller towns across the Punjab. Teenagers able to wrest themselves away from the grasp of clerics have reported the constant promotion of 'pro-jihad' views within these seminaries. The few surveys conducted indicate they have succeeded in creating a school of thought that opposes rights for women, believes non-Muslims are unequal citizens and supports war against infidels. These institutions, as breeding grounds for extremism, and as theatres for the deliberate distortion of thought within society, need to be tackled. Musharraf had promised to do so in 2002. We are today paying the price of that failure. That year, there had been two suicide attacks, killing 20 people – nine of them French soldiers. This year there have been at least 29 major suicide bombings, killing more than 500. Almost all the victims were poor Pakistanis.

There must also be an effort to pin-point key recruiting areas and identify those most vulnerable to the men who promise them a gun, military training and a place in Heaven. Such promises are attractive to young men with no hope of employment, no opportunities in life. A 'pie in the sky' is better than no 'roti' at home. A programme to rehabilitate militants inducted in past years must also be initiated. People who know only how to use weapons and inflict death must be offered an education that enables them to develop other skills of greater use to the society they live in.

Today, there is a new tool at the government's disposal. The terrible images from the Marriott came into our living rooms through the many television channels that are now a part of life. As part of a national effort, the government needs to persuade them to join in the battle on terror. Their potential to play a useful part in this is immense. The ambiguity of views within the channels and the hosts means the message sent out is often a mixed one. Like so many others in our society, they are victims of the warped process of thinking imposed on them to protect the interests of rulers.

After the scenes beamed out from Islamabad, there is obviously no further room left for doubt, for a division in thinking. If Pakistan, as a state, is to survive, it will have to overcome the militants. This is possible only if a sense of unity and an urgency of purpose are built. Too much time has already been lost. Indecision and the lack of a coherent strategy have allowed the militants to reach right into the heart of our cities. They must know be prevented from delivering the country, already weakened by its many maladies, a final death blow.



Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com

No room for doubt and division

 

[Neo]

‘Pakistan bigger victim of terrorism than Afghanistan’​

* Afghan president surprised at joint border force proposal but says will support it
* Sees new hope in Pakistan leadership change​

NEW YORK: People of Pakistan’s Tribal Areas are suffering more from terrorism than Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said at a New York-based Asia Society forum on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to an Express News report.

He said the leadership change in Pakistan has offered for the ‘first time’ a hope of winning the war on terror and called for a joint assault on extremist ‘sanctuaries’ along their common border.

He also asked the United States to support President Asif Ali Zardari.

He said Zardari would move away from what he charged was Islamabad’s longstanding use of “radicalism and extremism as an instrument of policy”.

The Afghan leader said Zardari had a ‘very good’ understanding of the tribal region and ‘the need to change’ the situation there.

“My hope is he would have the instruments to (wage the fight against terrorism) ... the instruments means backing from the United States, first of all,” he said.

Joint border force: Karzai expressed surprise on Tuesday at comments by his defence minister that Pakistan and Afghanistan were discussing a possible joint border force, but said he would support it.

Asked about the proposed force during a visit to New York, Karzai said it was the first he had heard of it.

“A force to act together on two sides of the border is a new idea, but a welcome idea.”

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Karzai said a spate of attacks inside Pakistan illustrated the need to work together.

“Afghanistan stands ready to take several steps for each single step that Pakistan will take to address the challenge of radicalism and terrorism,” he told the UN gathering.

Appeal: Karzai appealed for more international help to train and equip his army and police. Having Afghan soldiers shoulder more military duties would also reduce civilian casualties resulting from the US and NATO military actions that have angered the population, he said. reuters/daily times monitor

 

[kingofdarkness77]

The federal cabinet on Wednesday expressed concern over deteriorating law and order situation in the country and said the Marriott tragedy was the result of intelligence failure.

Dawn News



the intelligence failure is so obvious that you can see that the security agencies are not doing its best to control. either they are not doeing there job or not allowed to do so............................... the image of the country is at risk and we dont know till when this will continue

 

[dr.umer]

Railway blast kills 6 in Bahawalpur ​

A passenger train has been derailed following a bomb blast in central Pakistan, leaving at least six people killed and 15 others injured.

The train 318 Down - running from Samma Satta to Bahawalnagar - was derailed after a blast at the rail track near Hasilpur Degree College. The explosion destroyed two coaches of the train, General Manager Pakistan Railways Nasir Zaidi said.

Zaidi confirmed that three members of a family including a man and his two children were among those killed in the incident.

The injured are in critical condition and have been transferred to Victor Hospital in Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-N Leader Mian Nawaz Sharif condemned the bomb blast at Bahawalpur track. He stated that the enemies of national security want to destabilize the country, calling on the public to fight against such elements with unity.

-------------------------------------------------

Now this is a typical example of how anti-Pakistan agencies take "full advantage" of the "situation" to destabilize Pakistan.

 

[muse]

Well done Pak police - get every last one of them.


Lashkar-i-Jhangvi network busted

Saturday, September 27, 2008
Three suicide bombers killed in Karachi

By Salis bin Perwaiz

KARACHI: The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Crime Investigation Department (CID), the SSP Lyari Town and personnel of Sindh Police busted the network of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sindh, after a fierce gun-battle in Baldia Town on Friday, killing three suicide bombers and recovering huge quantity of arms, explosive material, splinters, hand grenades and thousands of bullets. The incident took place after the police arrested LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah alias Ali Hasan after a shootout.

Provincial Police Officer, Sindh, Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak, said that Friday’s encounter was a joint operation by the local police and intelligence personnel, who had recovered huge quantity of C-4 explosives and acid used for igniting fires.

PPO Sindh Khattak maintained that after the arrest of Rahimullah, also known as Naeem, the Ameer of LJ, the network of terrorist organisation in Sindh had been busted.

The probe team is interrogating Ameer Naeem regarding the terrorists operations in the city in the past. About the involvement of the LJ in the October 18 blast in Karachi at the caravan of assassinated PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he said that it was premature to say anything at this stage.

Intelligence sources said that on late Thursday night, the Intelligence Bureau received information about the presence of LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah in Kalapul area, who was talking on his cell phone in Waziristan with his co-leaders.

The IB Sindh personnel started tracing Rahimullah and got his location at Kala Pul bridge. The IB personnel conducted a raid and after resistance, arrested Rahimullah and took him to their headquarters for interrogation. Moreover, the IB informed the CID departmental head regarding the arrest of the LJ Sindh Ameer by their personnel.

Later, a CID team, including SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan and SSP Raja Omer Khataab, reached the IB headquarters and started interrogating Rahimullah.

During the course of investigation, Rahimullah disclosed that his other aides, including three suicide bombers, were present in Baldia No-9, Sector-F, and were loaded with huge quantity of weapons and explosive material.

A Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) of the IB and the CID personnel conducted a raid with police contingents and initially cordoned off the area. After taking positions, they went to a nearby mosque and made an announcement to warn the residents not to come out of their houses. Soon after the announcement, the terrorists opened fire, which the police retaliated. A brief encounter took place. During the encounter, the terrorists also threw nine to 10 hand grenades due to which a Police Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) was damaged and two Constables, Wajid Ali and Mehmood, received minor injuries.

The police killed two terrorists and were trying to come near the house when an explosion took place and the house was reduced to rubble. All three were killed.

The police started removing the debris and recovered four bodies. It also recovered large quantity of hand grenades, explosive material used for making suicide jackets, splinters, pelts, two Kalashnikovs, four TT pistols and thousands of bullets and literature of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. The killed were shifted to a hospital where they were identified as Noor Muhammad alias Sultan Omer, Siddiq Mehsud, Zubair Bengali and Shaukat Afridi.

A neighbour of the killed militants Saleem said that he was a resident of Baldia Town and was a labourer by profession but he did not know that the persons residing next to his house were terrorists. He added that some time back, he became suspicious about the persons due to their late night movements.

He further stated that on Friday morning, the police had cordoned off the area and also taken positions on the roof of his house and killed the terrorists in a fierce encounter.

SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan and Raja Omer Khataab said that all the three -- Sultan Omer, Siddiq Mehsud and Zubair Bengali -- were suicide bombers of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Sultan Omer was the brother of Sultan Saifullah (suicide bomber of Nishter Park), Siddiq Mehsud was a relative of Baitullah Mehsud while the third person Zubair Bengali was the relative of Abdul Karim Bengali, the suicide bomber who had killed Allama Hassan Turabi. Regarding deceased Shaukat Afridi, whose body was recovered from the rubble, they said that Shaukat Afridi was a trader of oil and a resident of Defence Society. On May 8, 2008, Shaukat Afridi, son of Haji Mohammed Sakhi, resident of Defense Phase-VII, was kidnapped by the militants from Clifton Block 2. They later called his family and demanded a ransom of Rs 500 million for his release but the family told the kidnappers that they could not arrange that much amount.

After negotiations, the matter was settled at Rs 50 million but the criminals refused to release him and again asked for the same amount.

Deceased Shaukat was a trader of oil and supplied oil to Nato forces through his tankers. The officers disclosed that two militants were killed in the firing of the police. The third militant Waseem Bengali received a bullet wound, who after killing Shaukat Afridi blasted the house with remote control bomb made with RDX.

The officers disclosed that LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah, during investigations, disclosed that a few months ago he, along with the killed accomplices who were all trained in Waziristan for suicide bombings, came to Karachi to achieve their targets, assigned to them by their leader Qari Zafar. He further disclosed that they were funded by Abid Mehsud, a commander of Baitullah Mehsud group, for the purchase of arms, explosives and vehicles.

Rahimullah also disclosed that in Allama Hasan Turbai case, he had dropped suicide bomber Abdul Karim at NIPA Chowrangi in a red color car and in the Nishter Park case, in which the top leadership of the Sunni Tehrik was killed, he had trained and dropped Sultan Saifullah near the Nishter Park.

Regarding the attack on SSP Raja Omer Khataab, LJ Ameer Ali Hasan disclosed that he had personally manufactured the bomb and fixed it in a bicycle and later went to the Saddar area and parked it near a petrol pump. It was further disclosed that Waseem Bengali was assigned to kill SSP Khurram Waris and before Eid they were ready to make a suicide attempt on SSP Waris. They had also on their hit list two Shia Ulema and the task was assigned to deceased Saddiq Mehsud and Sultan Omer.

They were planning target killings of SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan, SSP Farooq Awan and other officers who had conducted operations against their group. These directives were issued to them by their leader Qari Zafar.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Suicide attacks kill 1,188 in Pakistan since '07

By STEPHEN GRAHAM – 2 hours ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Suicide attacks have killed nearly 1,200 people in Pakistan since July 2007, most of them civilians, according to military statistics Monday that underscored the ferocity of the threat facing the U.S. ally in the war on extremist groups.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting between Pakistani troops and insurgents in the lawless tribal regions of the country's northwest has caused some 20,000 Pakistanis to flee across the border into Afghanistan, the United Nations said.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has seen a surge in attacks by Islamic extremists since the July 2007 army attack on militants holed up in Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, during which about 100 people were killed.

The most recent major suicide attack was the Sept. 20 truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel in the capital, which killed at least 54 people, including three Americans.

Figures released at a military briefing Monday said 88 suicide attacks had taken place across Pakistan since the Red Mosque siege, killing 1,188 people. Of those, 847 were civilians and 341 were troops or police. More than 3,000 people were wounded.

The statistics also said 1,368 security force personnel had been killed since late 2001, when Pakistan's former military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, allied with Washington in the war against terrorist movements after the Sept. 11 attack on the United States.

Pakistan cites such figures in part to deflect American skepticism of its commitment to the fight against Islamic militants amid lingering suspicion that elements within the country's intelligence agencies maintain links with extremists.

Under U.S. pressure, Pakistan launched a military offensive in the Bajur tribal region in early August against Taliban and al-Qaida militants blamed for rising violence both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. Fierce fighting has raged in the area ever since.

"In the last two weeks alone, over 600 Pakistani families (around 20,000 people) have fled into Afghanistan," the U.N. refugee agency said Monday. "While the vast majority of them are living with their relatives and friends, there are already some 200 families who live in the open air."

The refugees have gone to Afghanistan's Kunar province, which is itself plagued by fighting between Islamic militants and Afghan troops backed by U.S.-led coalition forces.

Pakistani officials estimate the fighting in Bajur has displaced as many as 500,000 people who have sought refuge elsewhere within Pakistan. Most have been taken in by relatives across northwestern Pakistan, though about 100,000 are living in camps.

In the latest fighting in the frontier region, troops repelled an overnight attack on an army camp just north of Khar, Bajur's main town, killing up to 15 militants, two officials said. They provided no word of casualties on the government side.

Poor access and a lack of security in Bajur prevents reporters from verifying casualty reports.

Also near Khar, eight tribesmen and three militants died in a gunbattle, government official Fazal Rabbi said. He provided no more details on the clash, but the army has been reported trying to enlist local support against insurgents.

Bajur is the most northerly of Pakistan's tribal regions, several of which have largely fallen under the control of militants opposed to the Afghan and Pakistani governments.

U.S. and NATO commanders say militant groups use the tribal areas as safe havens for preparing attacks in Afghanistan, which is increasingly violent seven years after a U.S.-led offensive toppled its Taliban regime. The area is believed to be a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, the top U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, told The Associated Press last week that he was encouraged by Pakistan's offensive in Bajur, but hadn't yet seen a drop in the number of militants crossing the border.

"We need a persistent series of operations by Pakistan over a lengthier period of time before we see a change there," Schloesser said.

Pakistan's army claims to have killed more than 1,000 militants in the Bajur offensive while losing 69 troops since August. It has declined to estimate casualties among civilians.

Associated Press writers Zarar Khan in Islamabad, Habib Khan in Khar and Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Pakistanis wary of US presence: poll

WASHINGTON, Oct 4: Pakistanis were leery of their government’s anti-terror cooperation with the United States even before President George W. Bush authorised US military action inside Pakistan without their government’s approval, according to a poll on Friday.

The poll by the Gallup organisation, taken in June, found that almost half the Pakistanis, or 45 per cent, thought the US military presence across the border in Afghanistan posed a threat to Pakistan. Only 17 per cent said it was not a threat and more than one-third, 38 per cent of respondents, had no opinion or would not answer.

President Bush’s July approval of US incursions across the Pakistan-Afghan border came to light after reports appeared about the US operations, mainly comprising drone missile strikes at suspected Taliban or Al Qaeda sites on Pakistani territory.

American and Pakistani forces exchanged gunfire last Saturday for the first time. After the first known ground assault which occurred on Sept 3 became public, Pakistanis reacted with outrage. President Asif Ali Zardari warned that Pakistan’s territory cannot “be violated by our friends.”

According to the poll, one in three of the respondents says the US relationship with Pakistan in Washington’s campaign against terrorism mostly benefits the United States. Only 7 per cent — fewer than one in 10 — said Pakistan benefited more.

More than that, 10 per cent said both sides get nothing from the partnership.

The findings were based on face-to-face interviews with approximately 802 people 15 years old and older.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were not included in the poll. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.—AP

 

[Neo]

116 suicide bombings in Pakistan since 2002 ​

Thursday, October 09, 2008

PESHAWAR: Suicide bombers have struck 116 times in Pakistan since the first incident of its kind in March 2002 at an Islamabad church, disclosed data collected by a law-enforcement agency.

It was March 16, 2002, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a church in Islamabad, killing five people and injuring 40 others, including Sri Lankan high commissioner to Pakistan. Fifty days after the March 16 attack, French nationals were attacked by a suicide bomber in Karachi, killing at least 14 persons, including nine French nationals. Since then suicide bombings have continued unabated.

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up the very next year while the number of this kind of attacks went to 7 in 2004. Four suicide attacks were recorded in 2005 while another seven suicide bombers hit their targets in 2006.

A total of 37 suicide blasts have occurred in the first nine months of the current year, perishing over 570 people. Twelve of these blasts occurred in Frontier alone. The year 2007 witnessed the most number of suicide bombings as terrorists attacked 57 targets during the year all over the country, killing over 760 persons.

During the period, the country lost a former prime minister and late chairperson of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, in one such attack in Rawalpindi on December 27. At least 30 people were killed and over hundred injured in the incident.

Benazir Bhutto had survived a suicide attack on October 18, soon after she landed in Karachi after years of self-imposed exile. Around 150 people were killed in that suicide attack and over 550 sustained injuries. The former premier, however, remained unhurt.

Similarly, the then interior minister, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, was also attacked by suicide bombers on two occasions. In the first attack, 31 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck at public meeting at the Station Koroona locality in Charsadda on April 27.

In the second attempt on his life on the occasion of Eidul Azha prayers at a mosque, Sherpao survived once more but over 60 villagers were killed and around 100 sustained injuries. The first suicide attack on police was occurred on January 27, 2007, wherein the then capital city police officer (CCPO) Peshawar, Malik Mohammad Saad, was killed along with 16 other people.

The first suicide attack on Marriott Hotel also occurred on January 25, 2007. The second suicide attack on the hotel on September 20, 2008 was reported in the media as 9/11 of Pakistan. The attack was said to be the worst one in Pakistan as 600 kilogram of explosives were used in the blast that killed over 60 people but destroyed infrastructure in two square kilometres area.

A few days earlier, on September 6, a powerful suicide blast ripped through the Zangali police post in Peshawar that killed 39 people and injured innumerable others. The latest high-profile target of the suicide bombers was Asfandyar Wali Khan, the chief of Awami National Party. Four persons were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up after breaking the alert security cordon outside Wali Bagh. Asfandyar remained safe.

A couple of days later, another suicide bomber struck in Bhakkar, a district of Punjab province bordering Dera Ismail Khan, where sectarian strife has taken heavy toll of life and property. The target was Rasheed Akbar Niwani, an MNA of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Punjab has suffered a total of 12 suicide blasts during the years 2007 and 2008. The number of suicide attacks in Frontier, however, remained 40 in the last three years, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Twenty-three of these blasts ripped through different towns of NWFP in the previous year while 12 blasts occurred in the current year. The volatile Waziristan region, comprising North and South, witnessed 18 suicide blasts so far. The twin cities, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, have recorded 17 suicide blasts.

 

[Spring Onion]

Page last updated at 11:43 GMT, Thursday, 9 October 2008 12:43 UK


Bomb hits school bus in Pakistan

Upper Dir is close to the Swat Valley, where troops are battling militants
At least nine people were killed when a roadside bomb exploded close to a prison vehicle and a school bus in north-western Pakistan, officials say.

The remote-controlled device exploded in the Upper Dir district of North-West Frontier Province near the Swat Valley.

Officials said those killed by the blast included four schoolgirls, three policemen and two of the prisoners.

Earlier, a suicide bomb attack on the main police complex in central Islamabad wounded at least 13 people.

The bombings came just over two weeks after more than 50 people were killed and more than 260 wounded in a suicide bombing at the capital's Marriott hotel.

It was a huge blast, just like an earthquake

Amanat Khan, local resident


Islamabad police complex attacked

They also happened as parliament met in a special session for a second day for a classified security briefing on Pakistan's internal security situation.

The joint session was called to try to help form a national consensus on how to tackle Islamic militancy and the surge in suicide bombings.

Condemnation

Local officials said the improvised explosive device was detonated by remote control as a vehicle carrying a group of prisoners from court to jail passed by.



A school bus which was also driving past at the time was also hit by the blast, they added.

Unconfirmed reports said at least 10 people were wounded.

Upper Dir district lies close to the Swat Valley and the border with Afghanistan, where security forces have been battling pro-Taleban militants since October last year.

Pakistani security forces said they had detained 18 suspected militants in the valley during an operation on Wednesday, local media reported. Large quantities of arms and ammunition were also seized.

Security evaded

Earlier, a suicide bomber partially destroyed an anti-terrorist squad building inside a police complex in Islamabad, injuring 13 people.

The inspector-general of Islamabad Police, Asghar Raza Gardezi, told the BBC the bomber had driven a green vehicle into the Police Lines complex shortly before midday and parked outside a three-storey office block.


The attacks in Islamabad and Dir drew condemnation from the prime minister

He then got out of the car and entered the building, where he put a bag of sweets he claimed to be selling on the desk of a policeman, Mr Gardezi added.

Moments later, there was a large explosion which destroyed a corner of the building. Shoes were strewn among the rubble.

Mr Gardezi said the authorities would be looking into why a civilian vehicle was allowed into the police compound in the first place, and how the bomber evaded security checks at the entrance.

Another police officer told the BBC that it had been fortunate that many of the officers stationed in the building had been guarding parliament and other areas of Islamabad at the time of the blast.

The attacks in Islamabad and Dir drew condemnation from the Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gillani, who said the perpetrators of such heinous crimes would not be spared and would be brought to justice.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Bomb hits school bus in Pakistan

 

[RabzonKhan]

Burqa-clad’ man sent on physical remand

RAWALPINDI: Area Magistrate Ahsan Saeed on Friday sent an accused, Zahid Hussain, on a three-day physical remand in Airport police custody. Hussain was caught wearing a burqa at Benazir Bhutto Airport, Islamabad, on October 9 (Thursday). Airport Security Force (ASF) women officials during body search came to know that he was trying to dodge the security officials. ASF arrested Burqa-clad man and handed him over to police. More.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Police seek citizens’ help to curb terrorism

Staff Report

October 11, 2008. KARACHI: Sindh Inspector General of Police Sultan Sallahuddin Babar Khattak has asked the public to cooperate with law enforcing agencies by informing them about any terrorist and extremist actions they discover.

A handout issued on Friday stated that the citizens who help the police department and share information about any terrorist or anti-state elements will be given protection. People can inform at the Police Madadgaar Help line 15 and toll free number 0800-91515. More.

 

[RabzonKhan]

EDITORIAL: Terrorism’s psy-war is bad news

October 12, 2008

The terrorists have killed at least 40 people and wounded 90 in the Orakzai Tribal Agency from among a jirga gathered on Friday to form a lashkar against the Taliban. The jirga had already burnt the houses of some local Taliban and imposed heavy fines on two others. The gathering was hit by a suicide-bomber driving a double-cabin vehicle. This is not the first time a jirga has been decimated; an earlier gathering was attacked in Darra Adam Khel too. The elders of the Tribal Areas who commanded respect and took collective decisions have been largely eliminated.

This is terror and it is driven by a policy of intimidation in order to affect the decision-making processes of the state. Other coordinated acts meant to mould the thinking of the people in general and certain enclaves of influence in the country in particular also took place on Friday. In Lahore, the heart of Punjab which influences policy-making in Islamabad through the province’s dominant representation in the National Assembly, small bombs aimed at alleged “immorality” are meant to soften the people’s resolve to fight back. Similarly, four bomb hoaxes hit Lahore in one day, with psychological consequences anticipated by the terrorists.

In Bajaur, more elders were beheaded the same day to psychologically dent the courage of the tribes who have taken up arms against the Taliban and their “foreigners” in parallel with the Pakistan Army’s operations. In Swat, even as the Tehreek-e Nifaz-e Shariat-e Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi Muhammad apostasised the terrorists, the Taliban blasted the house of an ANP leader. All the elected members of the ruling party in the NWFP have had to leave Swat for security reasons, their leader Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan having narrowly escapade a suicide-bomber’s attack in Charsadda.

The “selection” of targets is also meant to affect the mind of the attacked and the “not-attacked”. The parliament that heard the in-camera briefing from the Army this week is also not free of the effect of this psychological war. The opposition, composed mostly of the “not-attacked”, questions the war on terrorism and demands investigation into how the last government got Pakistan involved in the war that confronts Pakistan with Al Qaeda and “our own people”. Spiritual leaders say Muslims cannot be involved in killing Muslims, leaving the question of whether that qualifies Al Qaeda and Taliban as non-Muslims unanswered. Those who join the Taliban drive against “obscenity” — read music CD shops — thus indirectly support the terrorists.

The media reflects all this. Unfortunately the tilt is against the government and indirectly against the military operations against the Taliban. The burden of the message is anti-American, reinforced by reports of how the Americans have maltreated their Muslim prisoners, including summaries of the memoir of Mulla Zaeef, ex-Afghan ambassador to Pakistan who spent three years in Guantanamo Bay. One columnist wrote that he told the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, that “terrorists of the Tribal Areas were making their new hideouts in Multan, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh” and “if you attack them there they will go to Karachi; therefore the best thing would be to negotiate with the Taliban!”

Even the Senate standing committee asked ex-ISI chief General (Retd) Hamid Gul for “advice” on the war against terrorism while knowing fully well that he is opposed to the Army’s effort to resist the Taliban. Anti-Americanism and anti-Indianism, recklessly lumped together, are being purveyed from the free media. The latest nugget is politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmad’s boast that he would be proud to have his martyred body brought back from a battlefield inside India. Al Qaeda is winning the media war, first by getting its intimidatory killings publicised in the free media and then by getting politicians and analysts to come on TV and castigate the policy of fighting terrorism.

One recent not-so-popular seminar in Lahore arrived at the conclusion that “the way Pakistani media has glorified the radicals and militants has not only emboldened the radical groups and organisations but has also caused an increase in the trend and level of radicalisation in Pakistani society. The media must not lose sight of the fact that if the radical forces win in the country, their first target can be the media itself”. *

 

[muse]

The “selection” of targets is also meant to affect the mind of the attacked and the “not-attacked”. The parliament that heard the in-camera briefing from the Army this week is also not free of the effect of this psychological war. The opposition, composed mostly of the “not-attacked”, questions the war on terrorism and demands investigation into how the last government got Pakistan involved in the war that confronts Pakistan with Al Qaeda and “our own people”.

The editorial is spot on -- the above quote from the editorial makes it clear just what kinds of charalantans Pakistanis entrusted to. Can or Do you really expect this element to ver be a part of a Islamist terror free Pakistan?? What then must be done??

 

[RabzonKhan]

The editorial is spot on -- the above quote from the editorial makes it clear just what kinds of charalantans Pakistanis entrusted to. Can or Do you really expect this element to ver be a part of a Islamist terror free Pakistan?? What then must be done??

No need to worry, sooner or later they’ll be in the “attacked” club too.