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[Terminal X Analysis]
June 23rd, 2013 saw a major terrorist attack which will further affect Pakistan's already deteriorating relations with the International community.
In the night between Saturday and Sunday, around 15-20 masked militants dressed in uniform of the Gilgit Scouts abducted two local guides in Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, a world-renowned tourist spot which is known to attract thousands of foreign visitors in the summers owing to the presence of Nanga Parbat, counted among the highest peaks in the world.
The abducted guides were forced by the terrorists to lead them to a remote location in Bunar Nala, an area which lies to the west of Nanga Parbat. The majestic peak has three faces: Diamer (West), Rakhiot (North) and Rupal (South/Southeast) The Diamer face consists of many small peaks and this is where the Bunar Nala is situated.
The Attack
According to reports, militants reached Bunar Nala after 5 hours of trekking, from where they trekked for another 2 hours to reach a base camp which was set for the mountaineers who wished to climb the Nanga Parbat. At around midnight, sounds of heavy gunfire rattled the area, but no one within miles was there to hear it and rush for help.
The terrorists were carrying AK-47s and 9 millimeter caliber handguns.
The gunshots fired were for foreign tourists who were resting in tents at the base camp. The indiscriminate firing instantly killed 10 foreigners. They were all shot in the upper area of the body, mainly the head, neck and upper chest, from a pointblank range, the autopsy report confirmed.
One of the Pakistani guides who led the terrorists to this location was also killed after his ID card was examined by the terrorists. Sources suggest he was most probably killed for being a Shiite.
Initial investigation reports say that, terrorists tied up all the Pakistani guides who were 5 in number, with ropes and asked them to recite 'Kalima', one of the pillar of Islam, which every Muslim knows by heart. After listening to the Kalima, terrorists left.
The victims included 3 Ukrainians, 2 Slovakian, 2 Chinese, 1 Lithuanian, 1 Nepalese and 1 American of Chinese origin.
After completing their heinous act of terrorism, the militants took with them money, passports and communication devices which belonged to the foreigners. Luckily, a Thuraya satellite phone remained intact which was used to call the police. The call was made around 1 a.m.
Aftermath
Apart from one Pakistani guide, another Chinese tourist somehow managed to escape the attack, who was later rescued by the military. The area is so remote that civil law enforcement agencies do not usually operate there. Only the Pakistani military has some presence there but that too, very limited, as the area is considered very peaceful and safe not just for the foreigners but also its local inhabitants.
The Pakistan Army was first to respond as always; army aviation helicopters were used to reach the area and a search operation was initiated after evacuating the dead and wounded.
In the early hours of the day, national media broke the news, leaving the general public in a state of shock. Government machinery came into action and several heads started rolling. Many senior officers were suspended immediately. Calls were made to the ambassadors of the concerned countries, especially China, Pakistan's historic ally, whose citizens have not been targeted by militants for the first time.
Response
Civilian and military forces have blocked the entry and exit points of the Diamer district, with almost 25 suspects already arrested, including the guide who led the terrorists to the attack site.
Analysis
The terrorist organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan was initially hesitant in accepting the responsibility for the attacks when media outlets approached him for comment, but later he himself called national and international media centers including the AFP and BBC to confirm his organization's dirty hand in the attacks.
According to Ehsan, the attack was in response to the US drone strike which killed Waliur Rehman Mehsud last month, who was thought to be the a lieutenant to Hakeemullah Mehsud, the current TTP chief.
He further said that the attack was carried out by TTP's newly-revealed wing, 'Junood-e-Hafsa', which has been set only to target foreign citizens in Pakistan and convey a message to the world about drone attacks.
Another earlier report also claimed Jundullah accepting the responsibility of the attacks, but after the claim of TTP, Jundullah's spokesman didn't contact any media outlet.
Possible background of terrorists
Whatever Ehsan said, remains, but the fact of the matter is, this organization 'Junood-e-Hafsa' has never been heard of before. What is possible, is that it is a gang of local militants who have just started to operate under the TTP umbrella.
The supporting evidence for this claim are the incidents which have occurred in the last 3, 4 years.
This is not the first terrorist attack in the area; sectarian killings have been on rise in Gilgit and adjusting Kohistan; there was also a deadly attack on the Pakistani military a few years back in the Kohistan region. Another possibility is that this latest attack was carried out by local terrorists, since the attackers trekked to the base camp where the foreigners were staying and where only the professional trekkers or the locals can do traverse such long and difficult distances and climbs with ease.
And if the report of killing of the guide for being a Shiite Muslim is indeed true, then it can be said quite surely that the same sectarian groups that have been operating in Gilgit were involved.
However, apart from what is obvious and we have just discussed, there is also a possibility of terrorists coming from outside of Gilgit-Baltistan to perform this task. In that case, we have to consider some serious security lapses on the part of civilianIntelligence agencies as well as the paramilitary forces which have quite a few check-posts in the district.
There are two external routes to the attack site which might have been used by the terrorists, not just for entrance but for departure as well; the first is Kashmir and the second is Naraan-Kaghaan of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Foreign hand
While there is no doubt that the attacks were carried out by militants who were Pakistani nationals belonging to the country's home-grown insurgency, this particular incident raises many eyebrows in the intelligence circle. The area in which this incident took place also has one of Pakistan's largest hydro-power project under-construction. The dam, named Diamer-Bhasha Dam, has met with a lot of opposition from India. The killing of Chinese nationals in these attacks gives more fuel to this theory, as China is the primary financial source for this project.
Moreover, the TTP's ties with foreign Intelligence agencies are not a secret, especially with Indias Research & Analysis Wing (RAW).
Conclusion
Pointing out this possibility of a foreign hand does not mean that domestic threats from terrorism should be ignored; in fact, the key to tackling foreign interference is curbing the domestic terrorism of the TTP.
The need of the hour is a stiff action against the radical terrorists of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, no matter where they are operating from. This has to be timely, if Pakistan wants to stay in the league of civilized states.
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