Growing presence of Taliban worries Karachis DHA residents

[pak-marine]

Growing presence of Taliban worries DHA, its residents
By Ali Ousat
Published: December 1, 2013
Share this articlePrint this pageEmail

A DHA press release stated that the registration process aims to maintain a database to help improve the overall security in the area. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

KARACHI:
With anti-vehicle barricades placed around the narrow streets, 10 private security guards along with police personnel keep a vigil on all moving vehicles and passers-by.

This is the residential locality of Defence Housing Authority’s Phase II, where Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh President Shahi Syed feels unsafe due to the growing presence of Taliban militants.

Syed recently shifted to the DHA due to security concerns but he feels that the Taliban are penetrating in different areas with the help of like-minded people.

“The area is not safe anymore as most of the Taliban leadership is residing in the same vicinity and hiding in big houses to dodge the eyes of law-enforcement agencies,” he said, adding that only last month, the law-enforcement agencies seized a motorcycle laden with 16 kilogrammes of explosive from the area. “Can anyone say the DHA is a peaceful area anymore?”

According to DHA officials, there are 42 mosques in the area out of which five are governed by the authority and 11 by local committees. The remaining 28 mosques, however, are not being monitored by any authority. The official also disclosed that most of the mosques were being used for residential purposes, saying that a notification was sent to the mosques asking them not to allow people to live on the premises. In September 2002, top five Al-Qaeda fugitives were arrested from the same locality, backing the theory that militants have managed to develop deep roots in various parts of the city, including the DHA.

DHA steps up

In order to counter potential threats of law and order and growing militancy, the DHA has stepped up and conducted a survey to record the details of residential and commercial units.

A DHA press release stated that the registration process aims to maintain a database to help improve the overall security in the area.

The housing and commercial units in the DHA will be registered along with the essential details of their owners, occupants and servants or employees working/residing in these units.

Foreign embassies in the area will also be required to furnish details of their employees, said the press release.

An inside source of the DHA, however, said that the drive had come to a stop as certain residents and community representatives were not cooperating with the security team.

AEC chief SSP Chaudhry Aslam did not rule out the possibility of the presence of Taliban militants in DHA. “The security forces have also increased vigilance with the help of the DHA officials and arrested some criminals, including militants and members of Lyari gang war,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune. “The targeted operations in Karachi have also forced criminals to shift their hideouts to the DHA.” The SSP, however, gave assurance that the law enforcers would not let anyone sabotage the peaceful environment of the DHA.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2013.

 

[pak-marine]

Not suprised since DHA residents chose PTI the political wing of TTP whats the worry now .. @W.11 , @batmannow @Patriot

 

[Leader]

Its quite apparent that since terrorist altaf threatened PTI Karachi supporters, now they are trying to threaten our areas with their badmash posing as taliban..

Karachi can be peaceful only if terrorist MQM is removed, killed or thrown out of the country !

 

[pak-marine]

Its quite apparent that since terrorist altaf threatened PTI Karachi supporters, now they are trying to threaten our areas with their badmash posing as taliban..

Karachi can be peaceful only if terrorist MQM is removed, killed or thrown out of the country !

bilkul sahi jawab

 

[haviZsultan]

It is worrying news that the evil Taliban continue to grow more and more powerful, day after day after day. We need to stop the tide of terrorism right in its tracks. For this we will have to be pro active not reactive. We need to eliminate threats before they occur.

Sadly not one top #TTP or Pakistani Taliban commander has been killed by us. We have to understand our interests and fight for them not just locally within Pakistan but also globally. It is unfortunate that in a time when we should be assertive we are backing away into our own cocoon. We must eliminate militancy at home so that we can look abroad.

RAW comes to Pakistan and frames our people but no one seems capable to stop them. I blame a lot of this on the 1980's Afghan Soviet war. We should never have been involved. We should have left Russia and Afghanistan to deal with their own problems. But then there was daddy America's pressure to act in Afghanistan while we were also led by a fanatical leader Zia Ul Haq who introduced needless Islamicization.

The result is we are now so suspicious of our own people that we cannot get out of our cocoon, cannot exit the mess we have created with our own hands.

 

[SBD-3]

Most the influence is coming from nearby pukhtoon suburbs. For example, with Clifton, we have Sultanabad where the mahsoods have taken refuge and are mostly involved in Street and major crime. Likewise, Sheeren Jinnah Colony is located to the southern side of Clifton. Similarly DHA is adjacent to Quyumabad. These areas are a major risk to nearby settlements. However, not all the problem is solely because of Talibans. Even the houses in Gulshan,Johar are often broken into by the burglars not belonging to taliban but general crime mafia. Not to mention the street crime in the night in commercial areas of DHA. The problem can be attributed to huge influx from northern Karachi to Southern side amid deteriorating law and order and political violence in the northern side.

 

[Leader]

bilkul sahi jawab

and when we talk sense, terrorist mqmers call us names as taliban apologists, now face the brunt of 1 million IDPs. the longer the war, the more the civil war...and once these people learned to live this way, Im afraid they wont turn back, it would be nothing less than like the mqm mafia.

 

[American Pakistani]

If some people will keep shining their politics on every serious thread then much more worst is waiting ahead...brace yourselves.

It is time the govt of Pakistan spend money on Karachi. The city that runs & earns for the country is given peanuts in return. Karachi needs a strict & brutal Police. Why is there no check on who is flooding Karachi? Massive operations are needed in areas like Sohrab Goth, Pehalwan Goth, Al-Asif Square, Gulshan e Maymaar, Safoora, Bhittaiabad, Liyari, Banaras, Katti Pahari, etc. Nawaz shareef's operation was not sincere & was only for having his political control in the city hence it failed...the dumb noora only ordered operation in settled areas like Waterpump, Azizabad, Liaquatabad etc so that he can make his TTP & BLA terrorists happy & willing for peace talks.

 

[W.11]

If some people will keep shining their politics on every serious thread then much more worst is waiting ahead...brace yourselves.

It is time the govt of Pakistan spend money on Karachi. The city that runs & earns for the country is given peanuts in return. Karachi needs a strict & brutal Police. Why is there no check on who is flooding Karachi? Massive operations are needed in areas like Sohrab Goth, Pehalwan Goth, Al-Asif Square, Gulshan e Maymaar, Safoora, Bhittaiabad, Liyari, Banaras, Katti Pahari, etc. Nawaz shareef's operation was not sincere & was only for having his political control in the city hence it failed...the dumb noora only ordered operation in settled areas like Waterpump, Azizabad, Liaquatabad etc so that he can make his TTP & BLA terrorists happy & willing for peace talks.

lyari gang war is the important ally of nooras and don't forget noora policy towards talibans

 

[American Pakistani]

Even the houses in Gulshan,Johar are often broken into by the burglars not belonging to taliban but general crime mafia.

There need to be a massive operation in Pehalwan goth, Bhittaiabad & Safoora in order to save Gulistan e Jauhar & even Jinnah International Airport. MQM during Musharraf rule tried to demolish Bhittaiabad as it was illegally build on the land of 5 star hotel but because of nasty politics it had to postpone the move.

 

[pak-marine]

and when we talk sense, terrorist mqmers call us names as taliban apologists, now face the brunt of 1 million IDPs. the longer the war, the more the civil war...and once these people learned to live this way, Im afraid they wont turn back, it would be nothing less than like the mqm mafia.

read your post again only you and PTI kids will find any sense in it .. PTI isnt the first one repeating non stop silly accusations ANP use to do the same thing on MQM ! read the thread now there is news about their leader now hiding in DHA some where after he and his party lost it .. you guys will meet the similar fate only than it would be too late and more loss of karachietes blood and property.

 

[W.11]

all the areas you are mentioning, safoora goth, pehelwan goth, they all are PPP hard core areas, so no chance of cleaning up there