In Peshawar, state of denial over market attack culprits

[Absar]

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN -- When terrorists last week blew up the Mina Bazaar, a market for women and children, they detonated a car bomb so powerful it left more than 100 people dead and 15 missing in a nightmarish scene of scattered limbs, charred corpses and victims trapped alive under mounds of debris.

The bombing crossed a new line of callousness, uniting Peshawar in grief and fear and unleashing a tide of anger. But most of the outrage expressed by survivors, witnesses, religious leaders and other residents this week was not directed at Islamist extremist groups, whom the government has blamed for the attack, but at the countries many Pakistanis see as their true enemies: India, Israel and the United States.

In part, this reaction stems from a deep popular conviction that no Muslim could perpetrate such atrocities against other Muslims. The more egregious the attack, the stronger seems the tendency to deny a domestic cause and blame other, more remote culprits. Some religious and political groups are encouraging such responses, eager to whip up xenophobic sentiment for their own ends.

This week, the influential Jamaat-e-Islami religious party organized a "peace march" in central Peshawar from the Khyber Bazaar. The marchers held up banners and shouted slogans denouncing the CIA, the Pentagon, the security company formerly known as Blackwater, U.S. drone attacks and American aid. There was no mention of the Taliban or al-Qaeda.

Spokesmen for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda denied responsibility for the Mina Bazaar blast, saying they condemned the killing of innocents. But Pakistani and U.S. officials say the recent wave of bombings has been in direct retaliation for an ongoing army operation against Taliban tribal sanctuaries in the northwest border region of South Waziristan that began about one month ago.

More can be read from: washingtonpost.com

 

[Absar]

Spokesmen for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda denied responsibility for the Mina Bazaar blast, saying they condemned the killing of innocents.

What do you think who actually is the culprit if TTP, al-Qaeda or Afghan Talibans have denied to accept the responsibility of that horrendous blast in Peshawar of late?

To my understanding and knowings, TTP etc. always claim the responsibility of such attacks. This time they didn't. There's something .. or nothing -- it's just a TTP's dupery?

 

[Spring Onion]

Their denial or accepting the responsibility has no credibility.

They are trying to avoid public anger after they have been exposed and people hate them

 

[Absar]

Their denial or accepting the responsibility has no credibility.

Exactly. I never believe them too. They're into this 'claiming of responsibility' business of any rampage without any delay. But this time they actually denied to accept the responsibility. I think it has rarely happened or maybe this is the first time they denied, if I'm not wrong. Do you've any idea?

They are trying to avoid public anger after they have been exposed and people hate them

Yeah, but they were exposed so earlier.

I still don't get it. In Swat when operation happened, there were a number of miscreants deaths were reported, but now in SWA operation, it's comparatively less. Or maybe majority of them have fled to Afghanistan. That I know many are fleeing to Arab states too, as I read earlier somewhere in news.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I read this article earlier in the Washington Post. Americans, like me, simply cannot comprehend the xenophobia of the Pakistanis who go into the streets denouncing everyone except the actual perpetrators, other Pakistanis. It is so irrational it seems to indicate a mob psychosis. Similarly, the KLB brouhaha. Totally incomprehensible to us. OR, perhaps, calculating internal Pakistan politics carried out at our expense. Maybe the reason that many Pakistanis believe so easily in conspiracy theories is that they, themselves, are constantly engaged in actions with hidden agendas. Most Americans are just not that complicated and devious. Our system of 1st Amendment Press protections does not allow us to keep any secrets for very long.

 

[Enigma SIG]

Most Americans are just not that complicated and devious. Our system of 1st Amendment Press protections does not allow us to keep any secrets for very long.

To believe that people do not conspire is the biggest conspiracy of them all

 

[Spring Onion]

I read this article earlier in the Washington Post. Americans, like me, simply cannot comprehend the xenophobia of the Pakistanis who go into the streets denouncing everyone except the actual perpetrators, other Pakistanis. It is so irrational it seems to indicate a mob psychosis. Similarly, the KLB brouhaha. Totally incomprehensible to us. OR, perhaps, calculating internal Pakistan politics carried out at our expense. Maybe the reason that many Pakistanis believe so easily in conspiracy theories is that they, themselves, are constantly engaged in actions with hidden agendas.

Seeker in the same breath Pakistanis like me and may be people rom other countries Americans, like me, simply cannot comprehend the xenophobia of the Americans thinking that they are smarter and all others are fools enough not to understand what US is up too.

May be Americans are still in this delusion that they can have a hidden agenda which could not be exposed.

The level of Americans believe in conspiracy theories can be judged from your wrong wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Most Americans are just not that complicated and devious. Our system of 1st Amendment Press protections does not allow us to keep any secrets for very long.

any secrete and press protection hmmmm

 

[kidwaibhai]

I read this article earlier in the Washington Post. Americans, like me, simply cannot comprehend the xenophobia of the Pakistanis who go into the streets denouncing everyone except the actual perpetrators, other Pakistanis. It is so irrational it seems to indicate a mob psychosis. Similarly, the KLB brouhaha. Totally incomprehensible to us. OR, perhaps, calculating internal Pakistan politics carried out at our expense. Maybe the reason that many Pakistanis believe so easily in conspiracy theories is that they, themselves, are constantly engaged in actions with hidden agendas. Most Americans are just not that complicated and devious. Our system of 1st Amendment Press protections does not allow us to keep any secrets for very long.

i disagree if we look at most of the papers they clearly state that they are muslim. i think people are also coming around to the realization that we have to do something about the madrassah in pakisan

 

[Absar]

I read this article earlier in the Washington Post. Americans, like me, simply cannot comprehend the xenophobia of the Pakistanis who go into the streets denouncing everyone except the actual perpetrators, other Pakistanis. It is so irrational it seems to indicate a mob psychosis. Similarly, the KLB brouhaha. Totally incomprehensible to us. OR, perhaps, calculating internal Pakistan politics carried out at our expense. Maybe the reason that many Pakistanis believe so easily in conspiracy theories is that they, themselves, are constantly engaged in actions with hidden agendas. Most Americans are just not that complicated and devious. Our system of 1st Amendment Press protections does not allow us to keep any secrets for very long.

Well, this xenophobia has many reasons. For instance, the maximum leeway by Pakistani government to the US Marines strolling in the streets of Islamabad with arms.

The xenophobia or anti-Amercanism, in another instance, can be understood by the number of innocents death due to the lofty drone attacks by US, and yes, mostly those tribal/rural suffers one way or another. Either they loose their siblings in those attacks, parents or even acquaints or friends. They've all the right to get furious and deranged. Not just them, in fact we all Pakistanis. If you see the number of deaths recorded in drone attacks, it's precisely:

Dead = 904, Injured = 305, Total = 1209 ... And counting

The success ratio of Drone attacks is 3% .. just 3% .. Imagine how much worthwhile those drone attacks are. And I believe the anger of those people are very much warranted. There are many things to tell.

You need to understand many things from a Pakistani victim's outlook too. Using force to get some advantage isn't a very good solution each time. What good US has achieved in Afghanistan in all those 8 years except that it has destabilized Pakistan too to a considerable extent.

 

[Ahmad]

The taliban in afghanistan have always denied responsibilty if there were huge civilian casualties, although everybody knew it was them. TTP have done the same thing to re direct people's anger on the others.

 

[waz]

My relative in Pakistan met a TTP supporter and he said they did detonate the bomb, as punishment for the people of Peshawar for supporting the army…..But once public anger took over they outright denied it.

Anyone making excuses for these f*cks needs to revaluate his patriotism. What ever happened to their moral logic when not targeting civilians when they hit the GIRL’S section of the Islamic university in Islamabad?


The blasts at the International Islamic University hit the women's cafeteria and the Islamic law department.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Blasts rock Pakistan university

What about this attack on a queue outside bank?


RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A suicide bomber killed 35 people outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, as the U.N. said spreading violence has forced it to start pulling out some expatriate staff and suspend long-term development work in areas along the Afghan border.


Bomber Outside Pakistan Bank Kills at Least 35 - Asia | Travel | Map - FOXNews.com


Some people just want to reside in some fantasy world, where a Muslim can do no wrong and they can just blame blackwater, the CIA, Mossad etc. Muslims rob, they rape, they become serial killers and they can be ruthless terrorists, who don’t value anyone’s life.

 

[iPhone]

to some extent the gov't is to be blamed for this confusion in public, too. Top leadership has hardly ever come out to name the TTP culprits. So many terrorists were apprehended and some big guns, too but they just get sent to an "unknown" location never to be heard from again. If only their charge sheet had been made public for crimes they committed let alone a trial, it would've helped a lot. You can't expect people to believe Rehman Malik after every bombing he shows up. That makes it easy for JI terrorist sympathizers and TTP to manipulate people and create confusion.

 

[TruthSeeker]

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/37849-drone-strike-civilian-death-analysis.html

This is far closer to the truth than what Mr. Absar has presented, without any proof or attribution. More evidence of Pakistani xenophobia may be found in some of the posts here on this thread...

 

[Absar]

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/37849-drone-strike-civilian-death-analysis.html

This is far closer to the truth than what Mr. Absar has presented, without any proof or attribution. More evidence of Pakistani xenophobia may be found in some of the posts here on this thread...

How could I believe your source is authenticated??

The last time, in April, when I read a media news on Drone attacks, it reported: 60 drone hits kill 14 al-Qaeda men, 687 civilians

You can read from here: 60 drone hits kill 14 al-Qaeda men, 687 civilians

I wonder why you as an American, and perhaps warmonger too, are trying to hide your shame. Even a single loss of innocent life is countable. It was a presentation as an eyeopener, but the significance of it is: Life is precious everywhere in the world, not just in West.

 

[Absar]

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/37849-drone-strike-civilian-death-analysis.html

This is far closer to the truth than what Mr. Absar has presented, without any proof or attribution. More evidence of Pakistani xenophobia may be found in some of the posts here on this thread...

Also, quoting from another Newspaper -- Pakistan's top newspaper:

According to a report published by the Brookings Institution in July, the ratio of civilians to militants killed by drone attacks is 10:1. If the tragedy of 10 civilians dying for every Al Qaeda or Taliban operative killed is not in itself enough to force a reconsideration of the utility of drones then the fact that the capacity of the Taliban or Al Qaeda to carry out suicide attacks is unaffected by the elimination of these leaders must surely be.

According to the New York Times, from August 2008 to August 2009 there have been approximately 60 drone strikes inside Pakistani territory. The number of drone strikes roughly equalled the nearly 65 suicide bombings in Pakistan in this period. These 60 drone strikes show a 12-fold increase in the number since 2007 which saw only five drone attacks.

-- The writer is an attorney and director at Amnesty International, USA.

More from here: DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Drones & suicide attacks

PS: Stop spreading false newses in bad attempts to blot out the ultra-atrocities of U.S. Period