Reclaiming Pakistan's Frontier!

[seekers]

When we talk about funding.
This is not just funding to militants but this funding is also in process in every key Departments.
Yes! Funding to politicians,ulema,journalists for their propoganda,Govt. dept, Forces(hundreds of Air forces has found guilty in taliban ties).

This is very vast network of the funding which need to cut off.

 

[RabzonKhan]

When we talk about the roots of these terrorist.
we use to intentionally or un intentionally avoid to disclose the facts.

Everybody knows who had sown the seed of this,which have now being turned into a big tree.

certainly this is not time of nipping the evil in the bud.

But two special task could lay down the terrorist tree.

1. Curb the funding pipline.
2. Curb the man powering institutions.

I know authorities are fully aware about this but this is not easy task ,we could lose some international ties.

But this is only a clean up solution of taliban cancer,which need surgery.

Very well said! I completely agree and you put it so well.

 

[TalibanSwatter]

When we talk about the roots of these terrorist.
we use to intentionally or un intentionally avoid to disclose the facts.

Everybody knows who had sown the seed of this,which have now being turned into a big tree.

certainly this is not time of nipping the evil in the bud.

But two special task could lay down the terrorist tree.

1. Curb the funding pipline.
2. Curb the man powering institutions.

I know authorities are fully aware about this but this is not easy task ,we could lose some international ties.

But this is only a clean up solution of taliban cancer,which need surgery.

seekers - excellent post. Would you please clarify as to who has sown the seeds and who is primarily funding the taliban? What international ties are you referring to?

 

[RabzonKhan]

See, I told you so. (post). There are no good Taliban or bad Taliban, they’re all evil, they’re all the same.



Pakistan Broadens Taliban Fight

JUNE 29, 2009
By ZAHID HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's battle against the Taliban extended to the North Waziristan tribal region after fighters loyal to a local militant commander killed 23 soldiers in an ambush on an army convoy, ending a peace deal with the government.

The latest clash opened a new front for an already-stretched Pakistani military in the region, which U.S. officials say is the center of Taliban activities in Pakistan and of al Qaeda.

With thousands of Pakistani troops battling Taliban militants in the Swat valley near Islamabad, the capital, and in the South Waziristan tribal area, the escalation of violence in North Waziristan could bring the Pakistani military under strain.

On Sunday evening, militants armed with rocket launchers and automatic weapons struck an army convoy just a few miles from the Afghan border. At least four officers were among the dead, according to security officials. Local civilian and military officials said up to 35 soldiers were wounded, many of them critically, in one of the most devastating militant attacks on Pakistan's military in recent years.

Major General Athar Abbas, chief military spokesman, said at least 12 militants were killed in the subsequent clashes.

The ambush came after Hafiz Gul Bhadur, a top militant commander in North Waziristan, announced that he had pulled out of a peace deal which he signed with the government last year and joined forces with his old rival, Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of Pakistan's Taliban. The rivalry between the two tribal commanders and the peace deal with Mr. Bhadur had in the past helped Pakistan's military to focus on Mr. Mehsud. "The attack was clearly a violation of the truce," said Gen. Abbas.

The peace accord was criticized by U.S. officials and some Pakistani analysts who said the truce allowed al Qaeda and the Taliban to regroup in the area. But Pakistani military officials justified the accord saying it helped divide the militant forces.

Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for Mr. Bhadur, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call with reporters and warned of similar attacks until U.S. drone attacks in the area stop. In recent months, the ambush area has been a target of U.S. drone missile strikes. A senior Pakistani intelligence official said most of the 12 senior al Qaeda leaders killed in missile strikes over past year were based in North Waziristan.

The development came as Pakistani air force jets continued to pound Mr. Mehsud's strongholds in neighboring South Waziristan. On Monday, air strikes hit a guest house being used by militants in the village of Kani Guram, a military spokesman said.

The strikes were aimed at eliminating Mr. Mehsud and his militant network in South Waziristan, he said. Mr. Mehsud's group has been blamed for a string of suicide bombings across the country that has killed more than 100 people in the past month. On Sunday, the government announced a $615,000 reward for information leading to Mr. Mehsud's capture or death. Smaller amounts were offered for information on his top lieutenants.

Also on Monday, army troops launched an early-morning raid on a suspected militant hideout in Tank, a small city near South Waziristan, killing two suspected militants and arresting nine others, according to local officials.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The media-savvy Taliban

By Faizullah Jan
Tuesday, 30 Jun, 2009

RECENTLY, an international media outlet ran a story which was considered significant in many ways. The story was quickly picked up by television channels and newspapers thus amplifying its impact.

As Operation Rah-i-Raast enters its final stage, giving the people of Swat and Buner the hope of returning to their homes soon, this single story must have shattered the trust of many in the military operation.

Quoting the Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, the news item said that the high command of the jihadists had met at a secret location and decided to continue their jihad until the enforcement of “practical Sharia” in Malakand division. The timing of the news is of essence: at a time when the people, especially those forced to leave their homes, were developing trust in the military operation, this news must have caused many to think that their hopes had been misplaced.

Since according to the Taliban comments, which were not verified by the correspondent, the meeting was chaired by the dreaded Mullah Fazlullah and attended by all commanders at a secret location, we can assume that the statement was meant to remind the displaced that the Taliban could be back to their old ways soon. It also reinforced the public perception that the law-enforcement agencies were eliminating the foot soldiers of the Taliban but sparing their hardcore leadership. Based on a statement which Muslim Khan made by calling from an “undisclosed location” in Swat, the timing and wording show how media savvy the extremists are and how gullible our journalist community is. He particularly mentioned that “all commanders” attended the meeting, intending to give the message that no significant Taliban figure had been killed so far. Since it was a verbal statement, some tough questions could have been put to him. But Muslim Khan’s words were used and reported as a scoop, which is unfortunate.

Most Taliban-infested areas in Swat and Buner have been cleared with local lashkars taking on the Taliban in Upper Dir. This shows that things are tough for the Taliban this time round because they have offered almost no resistance anywhere except in a pocket of Upper Dir.

People are returning to Buner in droves from camps and other places in Swabi and Mardan. Their return shows that the Taliban are on the run in the face of an effective military operation which this time has public approval. Once the displaced persons return home and restart their lives, the “moral support” — if there is any — for the marauders who use the name of Sharia to terrorise the whole population will be taken away. It will also instill confidence in the public vis-à-vis the power of the state against the ruthlessness of the Taliban who thrived on the socio-political and economic contradictions in the remote areas of northwest Pakistan. People were overwhelmed by the power of the Taliban and the total absence or supine nature of the state machinery in these areas.

It took a long time for the state to swing into action to disrupt the Taliban network first and then take them out individually. So far the signs are that the Taliban ranks are helter-skelter with no imminent signs of regrouping for a formidable resistance. Their interaction with the media is sporadic in contrast with the time when they ruled the airwaves through their hate radios or made headlines in both the print and electronic media on a regular basis.

Until recently, journalists would make it a point to call the Taliban for a big story in case the militants ignored them for some time. Every statement or briefing by the military’s Inter Services Public Relations would be “balanced” by the Taliban version. Meanwhile, the foreign media, that influences Pakistanis, would be contacted by the Taliban through different chains of ‘acquaintances’ to also include their opinion in their reports.

In any war or insurgency there are always two parties to the conflict. Being at loggerheads, the warring parties try to inject their own version in every story that journalists write or report. Journalists in their attempt to balance the story try to quote both sides. But they fail to understand that one set of lies cannot be balanced by another; rather it muddles the story and the real news is buried under a load of claims and counter-claims.

Many media men, unfortunately, fail to step out of their offices to look for the real story that those who suffer either because of Taliban excesses or at the hands of the military have to tell. Thus the public voice and their grievances go unheard in the din of the propaganda of the rival sides. Of course, this does not mean that journalists should not talk to the warring parties, but it would be well if they did not take their statements as the whole story. What the antagonists say can be a tip for a long story. The media should be on guard not to be used as a platform by the warring sides. Even the state-run PTV had a live telephonic interview with Muslim Khan soon after the Swat deal was signed in which he said that the Taliban’s struggle was not for the enforcement of the Sharia in Malakand only, but the whole world.

This must have galvanised the like-minded while giving sleepless nights to those who take a more moderate view of religion. One way to see the Taliban defeated is to deny them access to the media through which they threaten the terrified people. As a tool of power, the media has the capacity to lionise or demonise characters, making non-entities into larger-than-life figures.

If shunned by the mass media many negative characters would lose their constituency. The media should concentrate on the agonies of the people. When people hear their voices and see their faces on the media they own it, which gives journalists and their organisations acceptability in society. It is this acceptability that the mass media draws its strength from. The role of the media is to give hope to the people, not to make them despair.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Support for Pakistan's anti-Taliban war seen solid​

Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:40am EDT


By Faisal Aziz

KARACHI, June 29 (Reuters) - Two months into a Pakistani military offensive against Taliban militants, public opinion is firmly behind the civilian government and the military and it shows no sign of wavering.

The offensive was launched after defiant Taliban fighters thrust towards the capital, raising alarm both at home and among Western allies who need nuclear-armed Pakistan's help to fight al Qaeda and to tackle a raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Investors in Pakistani stocks have been unnerved by the violence, which has included a string of suicide bombs in cities and attacks on the military across the north.[ID:nISL509608]

But investors and the Pakistani people in general wanted to see the offensive prosecuted to the end, and only then would their confidence be restored, said a stock broker.

"It is absolutely necessary for the government to control and counter these terrorist elements and regain its writ to end the state of despondency among the people who had started to feel there was no one to protect them," said Asif Qureshi, director of Invisor Securities.

"Let alone foreign investors, the success of this operation is essential for the restoration of confidence among local investors as well," he said.

The KSE-100 index has gained 23 percent this year after losing 58.3 percent in 2008. But the index is trading about 10 percent lower than its peak of this year, partly because of security worries. [ID:nSIN88254]

About 10,000 supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party rallied in Karachi on Sunday to protest against U.S. involvement in the region.

"ON THE BACK FOOT"

But their opposition to the offensive and sympathy for the Taliban was well known and their protest did not signal a strengthening of the argument that Pakistan should not be fighting "America's war", an analyst said.

"They're finding it difficult to dominate the discourse as they have been doing for some time. They're on the back foot," said Rashid Rehman, a former newspaper editor and analyst.

"The other voices, the dissident voices, the voices who have been arguing for the last 30, 40 years that we're heading down a suicide path, I think they're getting stronger," he said.

Pakistani leaders have for decades flirted with the religious right when they needed support.

In the 1980s, Pakistan began used Islamist guerrillas for foreign policy aims, first in Afghanistan to fight Soviet invaders and later in the disputed Kashmir region where Pakistan- backed Muslim fighters battled Indian rule.

That engendered considerable sympathy for the "jihadis".

But Pakistanis were shocked when the Taliban defied a peace deal that had given them virtual control of the Swat valley northwest of Islamabad and went on the offensive, seizing a district just 100 km (60 miles) from the capital in April.

Video footage of Taliban flogging a teenaged girl in Swat and a pro-Taliban cleric's proclamation that the constitution was un-Islamic contributed to a sea-change in opinion.

"It's an existential threat now to the state. The army, which after all was the creator of this monster, itself has come round to this view," Rehman said.

"It may be partly American pressure but it is certainly also an internal assessment that 'yes, we've lost control of these guys and they've gone haywire, something has to be done'."

The fighting has displaced about 2 million people and their suffering could incite public anger but despite that, many ordinary Pakistanis agree something has to be done.

"Everybody wants this ***** wiped out," said retired school principal Nighat Anis. "The operation must be carried on so that no one like Osama (bin Laden) could dare come here."

"They aren't representative of the whole nation ... I don't believe opinion will shift in the militants' favour." (Additional reporting by Kamran Haider and Robert Birsel; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Support for Pakistan's anti-Taliban war seen solid | International | Reuters

 

[seekers]

seekers - excellent post. Would you please clarify as to who has sown the seeds and who is primarily funding the taliban? What international ties are you referring to?

Forum Policy not allow to disclose the names.
This seed was sown by Pakistan ruler after the end of Afghanistan -Russian war.
taliban belongs to one extremist sects who are supporting by arab countries that belong to this sects.

Mr. Shahid Tanveer Qaiser(journalist) of Express paper has exploring the stories of taliban extremism.

Their are 17000 madressas in Punjab in which more than 12000 madersas are of taliban allies sect.Even though they are less than 20% of total population.(Report of Express papers)

 

[TalibanSwatter]

Forum Policy not allow to disclose the names.
This seed was sown by Pakistan ruler after the end of Afghanistan -Russian war.
taliban belongs to one extremist sects who are supporting by arab countries that belong to this sects.

Mr. Shahid Tanveer Qaiser(journalist) of Express paper has exploring the stories of taliban extremism.

Their are 17000 madressas in Punjab in which more than 12000 madersas are of taliban allies sect.Even though they are less than 20% of total population.(Report of Express papers)

I think you are referring to the wahhabi/salafi-funded madrassa network.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Parents’ plea fails to move Baitullah

By Iftikhar A. Khan
Wednesday, 01 Jul, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The army accused the militants on Tuesday of slaughtering 18 of their own wounded men they could not take along with them while retreating from an area in Swat.

‘We have received information that during the clearance of Biha valley, 18 wounded terrorists who could not be taken to safety were slaughtered by their own men on the orders of their commanders,’ the ISPR said.

It said that parents of boys, who had been forcibly taken away by the Baitullah Mehsud group for suicide training in South Waziristan, had demanded release of their sons. Baitullah is reported to have refused to free them.

TWO-PRONGED ATTACK

Security forces launched an operation from two sides to secure Shah Dheri in Swat.

Troops secured Samai Killile, Bhoka, Dande and Yakh Tangai Sar areas. Three soldiers laid down their lives and eight, including an officer, suffered injuries during the operation.

Security forces began clearance and search operation around Rahatkot and Jukhtai, southeast of Fatehpur, and recovered an explosives-laden vehicle from the house of one Dua Khan and destroyed a double-cabin vehicle.

Eight militants were killed during an exchange of fire with troops. Another eight terrorists were killed in Matta and Wanai areas. Two suspected militants were captured in Balasur and one in Sambat.

In Dir, armed villagers of a tribal lashkar blew up 15 hideouts of militants. They also killed two terrorists and apprehended 20 others.

Two policemen and two civilians were injured in Buner when an explosive device exploded near a traffic police post in Swari Bazaar.

The ISPR said that eight to 10 people impersonating army officials had on June 18 searched belongings of displaced persons at the Fazal Kallay camp, in Mardan, and took away gold ornaments and other valuables.

In another incident at the Garhi Gohati camp in Swabi, unidentified people had checked cards of the IDPs on June 23. Sixteen trucks carrying food and relief items have been despatched to Bannu for IDPs.

Electricity, gas and communication services have been restored in Besham, Darmal, Shung and Darmang in Shangla district. Most of the IDPs from Buner have returned to their villages.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Peace deal ends

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 01 Jul, 2009

THE interconnections between different militant groups operating in the Waziristan agencies is becoming increasingly apparent as the state edges closer to an armed confrontation with Baitullah Mehsud’s network in South Waziristan Agency. The latest sign that the state is confronted with a hydra-headed militancy threat has come with the scrapping of a peace deal signed in mid-February 2008 with tribal elders in North Waziristan Agency. The deal had been approved by a grand jirga of 286 elders of the Dawar and Wazir sub-tribes of the Utmanzai and, among other things, barred the Taliban from setting up a ‘parallel government’ and required that they not attack government and security forces personnel in the agency. The February 2008 peace deal was itself meant to revive and build on an earlier peace deal struck with a ‘sympathetic’ Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur in September 2006. The difference the second time round was that the deal was supposed to apply to the entire North Waziristan Agency (as opposed to the earlier one which was limited to Miramshah where Gul Bahadur held sway) and was supposed to be guaranteed by the 280-odd tribal elders rather than the 45-member ‘monitoring committee’ that had failed to oversee the implementation of the first deal.

Yet, problems were always apparent. While the February 2008 deal was signed by tribal elders, it was the Taliban who held all the power and called the shots in the agency. Then events last month suggested that the deal was all but dead in name. The kidnapping of students of the Razmak Cadet College, an ambush that killed four soldiers in a military convoy moving along the Miramshah-Mirali road, another deadly ambush of a convoy on Sunday that killed 27 — all these incidents and more have been blamed on Hafiz Gul Bahadur. When the deal was officially scrapped on Monday by Gul Bahadur’s Taliban, the reasons given were the drone strikes and the presence of troops in North Waziristan. But there is a suspicion that the operation in Frontier Region Bannu and the one impending in South Waziristan are the real reasons for scrapping the deal. Therein lies the rub: Gul Bahadur had long been considered a ‘friendly’ Taliban leader by the state because he hadn’t been a thorn in its side, but the ‘friendliness’ only lasted while the state took a hands-off approach to militant groups in surrounding areas. Now that South Waziristan and FR Bannu are in the state’s crosshairs, Gul Bahadur has apparently chosen to side with his Taliban brethren. The problems for the state in the Waziristan agencies keep growing.

 

[RabzonKhan]

I think you are referring to the wahhabi/salafi-funded madrassa network.

And dictator Zia-ul-Haq.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Waziristan setback

TheNews Editorial
Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The military and the government have suffered a setback in North Waziristan. How severe this is, only time will tell. The tribals with whom a peace deal was reached early in 2008 have decided at a 'jirga' to abandon it. The 'tame Taliban' have in other words proved they are not fully on the leash after all, and are capable of pulling away at any minute. They have now demanded an end to drone attacks and an army pull-out from North Waziristan if the terms of the accord are to be honoured. Meanwhile 30 have died in an attack on a military convoy.

The army's task in Waziristan has become more complicated. Rather than the forces of Baitullah Mehsud alone, they must now also tackle those they had regarded as 'friends'. This is hardly a promising prospect in a territory where the military has in the past struggled against militants. The peace accords with the Taliban factions have in part at least been forced by the lack of success against a committed guerilla force. But the latest situation goes to show such accords, in the longer run, serve little purpose. They have been broken many times before. For all the talk we hear of tribal integrity and a code of honour, the fact is that the Taliban are treacherous allies. It is quite apparent they cannot be relied on.

The facts to be faced up to are tough ones: to win against the militants an all-out battle has to be fought in Waziristan. This of course is not an easy prospect. The army and indeed the government which currently relies on it are well aware of this. An all-out victory against the militants is a demanding task with many possible pitfalls. But the fact also is that it has to be attempted. Had this indeed happened some time ago we may not have faced the perils that confront us now. But, as the saying goes, late is better than never. There is still time to save our country. But more errors and more deals will make this more and more difficult. Victory in Waziristan, over all faction of militants entrenched there must be the goal. Otherwise the battle will simply be prolonged and will result in the loss of still more lives.

 

[ajpirzada]

Bajaur militant commander surrenders



Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Our correspondent

KHAR: A militant commander along with his several companions renounced militancy and surrendered to the political authorities of Bajaur Agency, sources said on Tuesday.

Sources said a senior militant commander Fida Muhammad and his fighters, who were wanted to the political administration for their alleged involvement in insurgency and violence in the agency, offered unconditional surrender to the Assistant Political Agent (APA) Iqbal Khan Khattak in Khar.

On the occasion, the militant commander promised they would not indulge in anti-state and anti-government activities in future. He was among the close aides of banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Maulvi Faqir Muhammad.
Bajaur militant commander surrenders

 

[ajpirzada]

Lashkar razes 18 houses of militants



Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Our correspondent

GHALLANAI: Armed volunteers of the tribal lashkar demolished 18 houses of militants and their supporters and arrested six insurgents in a crackdown in Anbar tehsil of Mohmand Agency Tuesday.

Sources told The News that the lashkar, which was recently raised to flush militants out of the agency, during advance towards Kohi More area destroyed 18 houses of the insurgents and their collaborators in the leadership of local elders in the mountainous Kohi Mor and Had Kore areas of Anbar tehsil.

“Six suspected militants were also picked up by the lashkar during search operation in the area,” sources said. The lashkar flushed out militants from the area after armed tribesmen launched patrolling the area.

Meanwhile, two children were injured when an artillery shell allegedly fired by security forces struck a house in Spinki Tangi area. Sources said that two children of Mutabar Khan were injured when an artillery shell hit his house.

The injured children were rushed to Agency Headquarters Hospital in Ghallanai, however, one of the children identified as Aasia was shifted to a hospital in Peshawar because of her critical condition.
Lashkar razes 18 houses of militants

 

[RabzonKhan]

Militancy will be wiped out completely: Zardari

July 02, 2009

* President, PM, COAS discuss security situation, rehabilitation of IDPs

* Kayani briefs Zardari, Gilani on military offensive in Malakand, planned operation in Waziristan

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: The military operation against the Taliban will only end once militancy has been completely wiped out from the country, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday.

“The fight against militancy and terrorism will end with the complete elimination of militants,” the president said in a meeting with Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani.

The meeting, held at the Presidency, discussed the overall security situation in the country and matters relating to the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“The government will now focus on the safe return of IDPs to their homes,” Zardari said.

Future planning: Sources said the COAS briefed the president and prime minister on the on-going military operation in Swat and the operations planned in Waziristan.

They said the meeting agreed that terrorists would not be allowed to kill innocent people, adding that the president extended his complete support for the military and appreciated their sacrifices in the war against terror.

Earlier, the COAS had called on the PM and updated him on the on-going military operation in Malakand Division.

The PM said the nation was proud of its armed forces, particularly the troops who laid down their lives for their country.

The army chief also briefed the PM on his recent visits to France, Germany and Russia. The US had claimed Al Qaeda and Taliban militants were hiding in South Waziristan and other tribal areas, crossing the border into war-torn Afghanistan and plotting attacks on Western targets there.

The government has said it is preparing for a major offensive aimed at eliminating Baitullah Mehsud and his Taliban network in South Waziristan, which lies in the mountainous tribal belt along Pakistan’s long border with Afghanistan.

Baitullah Mehsud’s group has been blamed for a string of deadly suicide bombings across the country that have killed more than 100 people in June.