Pakistani Forces against Militants.

[fatman17]

Wednesday, October 02, 2013


Police foil attack on Military Academy Kakul



ABBOTTABAD: Abbottabad police has arrested two suspected terrorists planning an attack on the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul and recovered a huge cache of ammunition, including three suicide jackets, from Dhamtor in a midnight operation. DIG Hazara Akhter Hayat Khan Gandapur, in a hurriedly called press conference at the DPO office on Tuesday, said that both the accused had close links with al Qaeda and were working for a banned religious organisation. In the initial interrogation, they admitted to being part of a gang involved in the rocket attack on the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, in January 2012, and later in a bank robbery on August 2 in Mansehra, in which five robbers were killed in a police encounter. While giving more details, the DIG said that two days back, a local police squad was conducting routine checking on the main Mansehra road when it flagged down two suspicious persons going towards Abbottabad on a motorbike, but instead of stopping they ditched the motorbike and escaped into the nearby forest. The police party chased them and found caps, helmet, mobile phone, a rocket launcher and a telescope. A FIR was registered against them at the Mirpur Police Station on September 29. Special teams under the supervision of DPO Abbottabad Muhammad Ali Gandapur were constituted to conduct the raid with the help of different civil and other law enforcing agencies. They succeeded in arresting one Farooq, and on his identification, police recovered a huge quantity of ammunition from the house of Muhammad Ashraf. It is noteworthy that Muhammad Ashraf is the father of Yasir who was killed in the police encounter in the bank dacoity on August 2. DIG Akhter Hayat Khan said that according to papers and material recovered from the suspects, they were planning to hit some sensitive targets in Abbottabad and other parts of the country. “They are fully trained and have been members of banned militant organisations,” Hayat Khan said. He added that extraordinary preventive measures have been taken in the entire Hazara Division and police patrolling has been increased. DPO Muhammad Ali Gandapur told journalists that a joint investigation is being carried out by the civil and military investigation agencies and they have found clues to other terrorist hideouts. Police recovered mortar artillery shells, rockets, suicide jackets, a detonators, and ammunition from the hideouts. staff report

 

[Bratva]

 

[sohailbarki]

Pakistan army troops getting training before being deployed in tribal region

 

[RescueRanger]

Wednesday, October 02, 2013


Police foil attack on Military Academy Kakul



ABBOTTABAD: Abbottabad police has arrested two suspected terrorists planning an attack on the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul and recovered a huge cache of ammunition, including three suicide jackets, from Dhamtor in a midnight operation. DIG Hazara Akhter Hayat Khan Gandapur, in a hurriedly called press conference at the DPO office on Tuesday, said that both the accused had close links with al Qaeda and were working for a banned religious organisation. In the initial interrogation, they admitted to being part of a gang involved in the rocket attack on the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, in January 2012, and later in a bank robbery on August 2 in Mansehra, in which five robbers were killed in a police encounter. While giving more details, the DIG said that two days back, a local police squad was conducting routine checking on the main Mansehra road when it flagged down two suspicious persons going towards Abbottabad on a motorbike, but instead of stopping they ditched the motorbike and escaped into the nearby forest. The police party chased them and found caps, helmet, mobile phone, a rocket launcher and a telescope. A FIR was registered against them at the Mirpur Police Station on September 29. Special teams under the supervision of DPO Abbottabad Muhammad Ali Gandapur were constituted to conduct the raid with the help of different civil and other law enforcing agencies. They succeeded in arresting one Farooq, and on his identification, police recovered a huge quantity of ammunition from the house of Muhammad Ashraf. It is noteworthy that Muhammad Ashraf is the father of Yasir who was killed in the police encounter in the bank dacoity on August 2. DIG Akhter Hayat Khan said that according to papers and material recovered from the suspects, they were planning to hit some sensitive targets in Abbottabad and other parts of the country. “They are fully trained and have been members of banned militant organisations,” Hayat Khan said. He added that extraordinary preventive measures have been taken in the entire Hazara Division and police patrolling has been increased. DPO Muhammad Ali Gandapur told journalists that a joint investigation is being carried out by the civil and military investigation agencies and they have found clues to other terrorist hideouts. Police recovered mortar artillery shells, rockets, suicide jackets, a detonators, and ammunition from the hideouts. staff report

This reminds me, sale of new pattern uniform should be banned from public army stores across the country and the cloth should only be sold to registered tailors within CSD or something? Also sale and manufacture of cap-badges, rank slides, unit badges etc should be restricted to a CSD or an approved contractor like AWT?

 

[FalconsForPeace]

FC kills five militants in Buleda

Frontier Corps (FC) has claimed to have killed five militants and recovered arms and ammunition after a gun battle in Buleda area of Turbat, one of the townships hit worst by insurgent activity in Balochistan.

A Frontier Corps (FC) spokesperson confirmed the death and injury tolls.

“Five militants and a FC man were killed in ensuing heavy exchange of fire with militants. Militants have taken away three dead bodies and their two injured companions,” spokesperson FC stated in his statement.

The statement further stated that a group of armed men disguised as officers attacked the makeshift camp of a construction company, damaging two bulldozers and snatching the weapons of Balochistan Levies personnel. The administration informed FC about the incident, which reached the site and cordoned the area off.

“There was a heavy change of fire between militants and security forces lasted for hours,” the spokesperson said.

The killed FC man was identified as Sobedar Samar Gul. FC recovered a sniper rifle, three Kalashnikovs and two G3s.

The spokesperson also said that militants wanted to stop construction of the road in Buleda.

“FC seized two dead bodies who were wearing uniforms of security forces. They kidnapped the people in security forces’ uniform and blamed FC,” FC spokesperson claimed.

Baloch nationalists blame security forces for kidnapping Baloch political activists and subjecting them to torture at illegal detention cells in Balochistan. The relatives of missing people allege that in many cases, kidnappers raided their houses in FC uniform and use official vehicles to whisk away their loved ones.

Paramilitary group FC is primarily responsible for maintain security at the bordering areas of Balochistan but they were given the additional charge of maintaining public order in the majority of districts in Balochistan.

FC kills five militants in Buleda – The Express Tribune

 

[fatman17]

After Taliban Bombings, How Far Will Pakistan Respond

Jan. 21, 2014 By USMAN ANSARI

Internally displaced Pakistani civilians fleemilitary operations against Taliban militants in North Waziristan Jan. 21. (Agence France-Presse)
ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Air Force yesterday pounded suspected Pakistan Taliban (TTP) targets in the Tribal Areas adjoining the Afghan-Pakistan border in retaliation for two recent suicide bombings that killed dozens of military personnel. The bombings have led to speculation this could herald the start of a long-anticipated Taliban campaign, and call into question how far the government will allow the military to respond.
Former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, Brian Cloughley, said this may signal the start of a campaign of attacks by the TTP, partly in revenge for the death of their former leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. He was killed by a US drone strike in November.
“It certainly seems that these bombings are the beginning of a campaign, instigated by the recently returned Maulana Fazlullah, who is trying to cement his position as undisputed leader of the TTP,” he said.
After a long lull in serious attacks in Rawalpindi, Monday saw a deadly suicide attack on a combined Police/Army check-post not far from the Army’s General Headquarters. It killed 13 people, six of them soldiers with the rest passing schoolchildren and other civilians. Many more were injured.
Sunday saw an attack on a military convoy in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan that killed 20 and injured more than 30.
Both attacks were claimed by the TTP, and today raids were carried out across Rawalpindi in which 48 people were arrested in suspicion of being connected to Monday’s attack.
The Pakistan Air Force meanwhile bombed suspected TTP hideouts around the town of Mir Ali in the militant hotbed of North Waziristan in the Tribal Areas, killing over 24 people.
Whether the attacks will trigger a full offensive against the TTP remains unclear, however, as the government still appears wedded to negotiations although the TTP shows no indication of accepting talks.
Cloughley described Fazlullah as “a psychotic savage whose mayhem and murder in Swat in 2007-2009 seem to have been forgotten by many people in Islamabad.”
A collective short memory about Fazlullah may be a problem, but analysts are convinced of the needed response.
“The only thing that can be done about the TTP is to eradicate Fazlullah and as many of his hard core supporters as possible,” says Cloughley.
Adding, “He does not want to talk peace, because he is incapable of living in peace — and he thinks he can win. It is up to [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif to prove him wrong, and the only way to do this, alas, is by sheer force.”
And the military is aware of this, says Cloughley.
“The Army remembers only too well that in Swat, when it went in to defeat Fazlullah and his fanatics, it took a long time and involved over a million people being forced from their homes.”
Though the military is convinced, Salma Malik, assistant professor at Quaid-e-Azam University’s Department of Defence and Strategic Studies in Islamabad, is unsure the government will order a full-scale operation.
“The security forces have long been asking for a full nod from the political decision-makers to undertake a big crushing action against the TTP, yet despite the mounting number of civil-military fatalities, I doubt the federal as well as provincial [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] governments plan going for a zero tolerance, iron-fisted reply, which is the only means of tackling the menace,” she said.
The reason for this, beyond a false belief in negotiations, is clear, said Malik.
“It’s not only a divided house, but still there exists a strong empathy factor combined with those who strongly feel that this is still not our war,” she said.
As long as this remains the case, she does not think there will be a proper response.
“Unless there is a combined, coordinated and well synced inter-agency response that has both civil and military actors working in tandem, nothing will be possible.”
Even the Air Force has only delivered a token response.
Analyst Usman Shabbir of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank says the raids are “basically a small-scale punishment.”
He highlights that a truly effective response is not purely military.
“To be effective against the TTP, the first thing that needs to be done is the complete overhaul of our investigation [law enforcement/prosecution] and judicial systems so that whoever is caught, does get punished,” he said.
At present, suspects can be released for what judges decide is a lack of evidence or because of a faulty investigation in a criminal judicial system that largely relies on confessions. Coupled with an obvious fear some judges have displayed in sentencing captured Taliban militants, the criminal justice system provides little value in tackling the TTP.
These problems aside, Shabbir does not ignore the need for a military option.
“A full-scale military operation like the one carried out in Swat is also needed to deny the TTP the foothold it has in North Waziristan,” he said. ■
Email: uansari@defensenews.com.

 

[Xeric]

 

[fatman17]

Past present: Acts of valour?
Mubarak Ali

Published 2014-01-19 07:58:08

The story may or may not be true, but it does have a moral significance and a lesson. It is said that Abudalama, a jester at the court of Haroon Al Rasheed, the Abbasid caliph was one of his favourites. Jealous of his closeness with the caliph, the other courtiers were constantly on the lookout for an opportunity to humiliate him in the eyes of the caliph.

According to the custom of the time, when two armies were facing each other, a warrior would step forward and challenge the opposing army to send someone out at the front to fight against him.

So when Haroon Al Rasheed (d.809) arrived at the battlefield once, his courtiers requested him to send Abudalama to fight against the challenger. When the caliph ordered him to go and fight, he had no alternative but to obey the command of his master. He strode on horseback towards the challenger and stopped to ask him if he knew who Abudalama and his family were? Completely bewildered, the soldier denied any knowledge.

Abudalama asked the challenger if he had a quarrel or a conflict with him or his family? Again the soldier shook his head in denial. Abudalama then asked him why they wanted to kill each other. He then proceeded to tell his opponent that he had brought some food with him, cooked by his wife and invited the challenger to get off his horse and break some bread with him. While both sat eating, the soldiers of both sides looked at them in amazement. After eating Abudalama shook hands with his rival, returned to the soldiers on his side and told the caliph that he had done his job. Now the two armies could proceed to fight against each other.

In history, warfare is always narrated with pride and those who fought are elevated to the status of heroes. The soldiers fight with bravery and courage, and kill each other without knowing their opponents and without any personal grudges. They are goaded by their leaders either in the name of religion, patriotism or personal loyalty.

Victory is celebrated amidst the dead, wounded and dying soldiers of both sides without any feelings involved. There is only one instance in history when the victor was moved after seeing the horrors in the battlefield.

When Ashoka (d.232BC), the Mauryan emperor saw dead bodies of soldiers after the battle of Kalinga, he realised how many women became widows and how many children became orphans. When he heard the crying of wounded he felt their suffering and pain, resolving never again to wage war but instead to devote his whole life to peace and non-violence.
Other rulers continued to fight in wars using soldiers to kill each other without any emotions for those who died, got wounded or maimed or became disabled for the rest of their lives. There is no record or documentation of the millions of soldiers who have lost their lives in the battlefield fulfilling other people’s ambitions. Did n’t a philosopher say that it is the basic human right of a person to die a natural death? Wars and battles have deprived so many people of the pleasure and happiness of a peaceful life. There is suffering, pain and death. It is a fantasy for them to be remembered as martyrs and heroes. Sadly, history forgets the common soldiers who die on the battlefield and are collectively attributed in a monument as unknown soldiers. On the other hand, generals are eulogised as great heroes. Their statues erected in public places and their tombs built magnificently. Even in death, there is difference between the common and the elite.

During the First and Second World Wars, the British government in the subcontinent recruited young people with the help of feudal lords to fight those with whom they had no hatred or enmity. It was not their war but they had to engage in the conflict under compulsion. We have not yet learnt a lesson from the past and are committing the same mistake by becoming involved in the war in Afghanistan on behalf of the US. Is it our own war or are we fighting other people’s wars?

 

[Alpha1]

ISLAMABAD:
Security officials have confirmed that the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Supreme Shura and ‘master trainer’ of suicide bombers as well as dozens of foreign fighters were amongst those killed in air strikes in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Monday night.

A senior security official told The Express Tribune on Wednesday that most of those killed in the offensive were foreign fighters including 33 Uzbeks and 3 Germans. The strikes, a response to attacks in Bannu and Rawalpindi, also led to the deaths of senior TTP commanders including the head of the Supreme Shura Asmat Shaheen Bittani and Wali Mohammad, successor to the group’s leader Qari Hussain, known as a key trainer of suicide bombers.

Bittani also briefly led the TTP as its interim chief following the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in November last year. Security officials also claimed to have eliminated Maulvi Farhad Uzbek, who was believed to be the head of al Qaeda-linked foreign fighters in the tribal region. Farhad was successor to Qari Tahir Yeldashive, leader of al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who was killed in a drone strike in 2009. If official reports are to be believed, the strikes were a major setback to the TTP.

The air offensive targeted hideouts in Mir Ali and Miranshah and were the first in recent years, coming ahead of calls for the government to act decisively against the TTP and its affiliates.

Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer said the strikes were not a prelude to a military offensive. He said fighter jets bombed the militant hideouts in retaliation to the recent attacks in Bannu and Rawalpindi.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2014.

 

[Chronos]

@Alpha1

How long do you think the offensive can be kept up?

Before they have to cease hostilities?

Will there be a concerted effort to push the militants out? Or weaken them significantly.

 

[Alpha1]

How long do you think the offensive can be kept up?

Will there be a concerted effort to push the militants out? Or weaken them significantly.

I believe these Ops are being executed to soften up the talibs and push them back untill the Government can decide on and for all , negotiation or war.
I believe later is inevitable

 

[Devil Soul]

Pakistan may launch military operation against terror groups
By APP / Web Desk
Published: January 23, 2014

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chairing the meeting with COAS General Raheel Sharif and other officials to decide matters related to the operation. PHOTO: INP

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided in principle to launch a military operation against groups attacking the nation and killing thousands of citizens for many, long years, Express News reported on Thursday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to make a Parliamentary announcement of the operation in the coming days.

Nawaz chaired a high-level meeting in Islamabad to assess the country’s security situation. The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, DG ISI, DG Military Operations, DG Military Intelligence, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar along with all other higher officials.

As General Raheel briefed the Prime Minister about the current security situation, Nawaz directed the army to come up with a complete operational plan, for which the army requested a few weeks of time.

Sources told Express News that the operation will target militant hideouts in North Waziristan, and all groups working against the state.

Officials at the meeting also discussed if the army should deal with possible reactionary attacks in the cities. Responsibilities of the Interior, Finance and Information Ministries toward the operation were also laid down.

As army officials described the location and status of various safe havens, the prime minister told the army to come up with a complete plan for the operation and then approach the government.

He assured the army that they will be extended every possible assistance.

Existing legislation pertaining to terrorism was also reviewed.

 

[fatman17]

NSA leaks: what's behind the US Govt's 'Boundless Informant' technology

Boundless Informant in action, as captured in a screenshot leaked to The Guardian, showing data intensity emanating from Iran and Pakistan. Image courtesy of the US Government.

 

[FalconsForPeace]

2 killed as choppers target militant bases in NW Pakistan

Pakistani Army gunship helicopters pounded suspected militant hideouts in the restive North Waziristan tribal region on Monday, killing at least two persons and injuring others, according to a media report.

The air strike targeted bases in several parts of Mirali area of North Waziristan Agency. Two persons were killed and several others wounded, the Dawn daily reported on its website.

There was no immediate confirmation of the operation from the military. The identity of the victims and the casualties could not be independently verified as media is barred from the tribal belt.

North Waziristan is one of seven regions in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that are governed by tribal laws. An insurgency by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan plagues the region, which is considered a safe haven for al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Another media report said the federal government is planning a targeted operation against banned groups in the settled areas including Punjab province ? as part of a wider strategy to combat militancy.

The operation is aimed at preempting attacks by these groups in cities and towns once a ground offensive is launched against militant hideouts in the tribal areas, an unnamed high-ranking official was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

Another official said the planned operation in North Waziristan Agency was part of a comprehensive strategy to tackle these groups.

Last week, the former interim chief of the Pakistani Taliban and 36 foreign fighters were reportedly among 50 militants killed in air strikes in North Waziristan. Air force jets and gunship helicopters bombed suspected militant hideouts on Monday night.


This was the first time the air force resorted to air strikes in North Waziristan since a ceasefire was finalised with local Taliban chiefs in 2007.

2 killed as choppers target militant bases in NW Pakistan

 

[Zeeshan S.]

Three killed in security forces action in Panjgur

Three people were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Balochistan province's Panjgur area, DawnNews quoted sources as saying.
Sources said the action was ongoing since Friday, adding that during the search conducted in the area, security forces surrounded a compound from where armed men started shooting.

The exchange of fire lasted for several hours during which the armed men also attempted to escape.

Three of the men were killed in retaliatory fire from security forces personnel who recovered two Klashnikovs, a pistol and other ammunition from the compound.

It was not clear whether there were any other men present at the compound or if security forces took any men into custody.

Balochistan has been under the grip of sectarian violence and attacks by Baloch separatists and unknown elements for over a decade, with scores of people having lost their lives in sectarian bombings and target killings.

Three killed in security forces action in Panjgur - DAWN.COM