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Operation Rah-e-Rast (Swat)

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Key Taliban commander arrested in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces on Monday arrested a key Taliban commander in southern Pakistan and killed four other commanders in the northwest, security officials said.

Hakim Waliullah Swati, an important leader of Pakistani Taliban, was arrested in the southern port city of Karachi.

Sources said that Criminal Investigation Department Police arrested Swati from a house in Orangi town, a locality of Karachi.

The arrested Taliban commander has been shifted to undisclosed location for investigation.

Police sources said that the Swati was involved in plotting and executing multiple attacks on security forces in Swat, northwest of Pakistan.

Since February, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the second-in- command of the Afghan Taliban and other important top Taliban leaders have also been nabbed in Karachi. The constant arrest of Taliban operatives in Karachi points towards their presence in large numbers in the port city.

Meanwhile, the security forces killed four Taliban commanders in Kanju area of Swat.

Local sources said that the operation against militants went on for 22 hours and curfew has been imposed in different areas of Swat.

Swat, one of the hotbeds of Taliban militants, was cleared by mid-2009 in a military operation by Pakistan army but sporadic violence has still continued.
 
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i dont know if using the militants to re-build the schools is such a good idea - from the video it seems that:

1-they dont know what they r doing (they are not trained mason's)
2- they r doing it reluctantly!

They could learn a useful skill and hopefully doing something other then running around like hired killers could help reintegrate some of them.
 
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Where is Maulana Fazlullah?

PESHAWAR: Is Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah in Afghanistan or Pakistan? His spokesman Omar Hasan Ahrabi said Sunday that he is somewhere in Pakistan, but is easily able to cross the border to Afghanistan whenever the need arises.
When Fazlullah escaped from Swat late last year, he phoned reporters in Peshawar and elsewhere to claim that he was safe and sound and had crossed over to Afghanistan. He had used an Afghan mobile phone number to show that he was actually in Afghanistan. However, it is no secret that Afghanistan’s mobile phone service is available in certain tribal areas of Pakistan.

Fazlullah’s dramatic escape embarrassed the government and the security forces as they had been claiming that he was cornered in Swat and would be captured soon. It was also claimed that he was wounded and was unlikely to survive. As it turned out, he wasn’t under siege and was thus able to make good his escape. It is still not clear if he was injured. Even if he had suffered injuries it is possible that he may have recovered now after medical treatment.

According to Swat Taliban’s new spokesman Omar Hasan Ahrabi, who called The News from an unknown place apparently in the tribal areas, Maulana Fazlullah was alright and was never injured. “I am in touch with him through handwritten letters. He is in our ‘watan’ (our homeland) and is able to cross over to Afghanistan whenever he wishes,” the Taliban spokesman claimed.
The spokesman said a new video of Fazlullah would be released in the near future to put to rest all speculations about his health. However, he didn’t say when the video would be issued.

There would be renewed interest in Fazlullah now that his men are reappearing in Swat and target-killing pro-government political and social activists. Five anti-Taliban activists were assassinated in Mingora, Dherai and Koza Bandai within the span of 10 days recently. The target-killings caused fear among people who formed anti-Taliban lashkars or openly criticized the militants. On Sunday and Monday, though, the security forces claimed Taliban militants involved in these target-killings had been eliminated in encounters in Kanju town near Mingora and in Ghalegai in Barikot tehsil.

The Swat Taliban had claimed responsibility for the target-killings and threatened to eliminate those forming lashkar against them and supporting the government. Their spokesman, Ahrabi, had also claimed responsibility for the recent suicide bombings in Timergara in Lower Dir district.

Fazlullah, in his early 30s, is the most wanted Taliban leader in Swat with a headmoney of Rs50 million. He is the son-in-law of Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) founder Maulana Sufi Mohammad, who is being held in Central Prison Peshawar since the past several months. Fazlullah’s whereabouts have been a matter of speculation. It is believed he could be in one of the tribal areas, most likely in Mohmand or Orakzai. Many Swati Taliban had first taken refuge in Bajaur Agency but military action against the militants in the Mamond and Charmang areas forces them to shift to Mohmand Agency or other tribal areas.

The provincial government had announced monetary reward for his capture and that of 20 top Taliban commanders in Swat. The headmoney for these 20 wanted militants was Rs10 million each. Some of them including Sher Mohammad Qasab, Bakht Farzand and Maulana Mohammad Alam Binori alias Maulana Khalil have been killed by the security forces. Claims were also made about the death of Swat Taliban deputy leader Maulana Shah Dauran and Commander Omar Rahman alias Fateh, but there has been no hard evidence to prove this. Still it is widely believed that Shah Dauran is dead.

The Swat Taliban leaders who were captured and are in government custody include Muslim Khan, Mahmood Khan, Bashir Ahmad and Liaqat. Besides Fazlullah, other important Swat Taliban commanders still at large are Sirajuddin, Ibne Amin, Qari Mushtaq, Shahinshah and Akbar Hussain.
 
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Finding Fazlullah

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The question surrounding the whereabouts of the former leader of the Taliban in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, lingers on. In the aftermath of the successful Swat operation, it had been claimed that he had fled to Afghanistan. Subsequent reports stated he had been injured or was in hiding somewhere within the country. It has been impossible to know what is true. But the fact of the matter is that, in more ways than one, the Taliban in Swat remain a force to be reckoned with. At a recent seminar in Islamabad, researchers who had been to the area reported that women in particular remained fearful of a Taliban return. There is evidence that their apprehensions are not fanciful.

Recent reports from the Swat area have spoken of targeted killings aimed at eliminating anti-Taliban elements, including those who raised a 'lashkar' against them. It is significant too that despite the announcement of a significant sum in head-money for key Taliban figures that include Fazlullah, they have not been given away. If indeed the militant leader is present in the area, as his spokesman has indicated, there must be people who are aware of his whereabouts. Their unwillingness to give him – or other wanted men – away indicates that the terror of the Taliban remains in place. This is an ominous sign. The authorities need the support of people to vanquish militants. This can come only if dread disappears. The cycle of violence and revenge meanwhile continues. There is no knowing when it will end and this sense of uncertainty makes it harder to bring about the kind of change we urgently need to see in Swat and other such areas if a fresh start is to be made there and an end put to the dark reign of obscurantist militants.
 
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MINGORA: A key militant commander was killed along with his five comrade-in-arms in two different incidents in Swat on Monday, a security official said. One security man was also wounded in the action.

In a major raid, since the end of Operation Rah-i-Rast in July last, security forces surrounded a house in Kanju in Kabal tehsil and after intense 12-hour siege killed a key militant commander, Ihsanullah alias Pir, along with his three fighters. Curfew was imposed in Kanju, Dheri, Koza Banda and surrounding areas

The official said the raid was conducted on a tip-off. He described Ihsanullah as a senior militant commander of the rank and stature of Fateh and Ibn-i-Amin, two important leaders of Taliban in Swat.

“Ihsan was sent to organise a new round of insurgency in Swat. We have had intelligence but couldn’t trace him and finally came the tip-off,” the official said.

According to unconfirmed reports, Fateh was believed to have been killed in a helicopter gunship attack in Mohmand two months ago while Ibn-i-Amin is also believed to have moved to the tribal region after fleeing his last sanctuary in Bajaur.

The official said that militants fired at security forces and kept them at bay for quite some time, before soldiers managed to go near the house and cause a breach in the wall for action.

One of the militants, he said, blew himself up, while two others were killed as they came out of the house firing at the security forces, while one was captured in wounded position. The official also attributed the recent incidents of target killings to the group hiding in Kanju.

Meanwhile, military sources said a militant commander Anwar and his deputy Sadiq were killed in exchange of fire with security forces in Ghaligi Darra of tehsil Barikot. They belonged to Odigram area. Arms were also recovered from their possession.

KOHAT:



Two militants were killed and a security person was injured during a clash in Zarghun Khel area of Darra Adamkhel on Monday.

Sources said that militants launched a major attack at the security checkpost in Noor Ali Kalay in Zarghun Khel and injured Frontier Corps naib subedar Zaheer.

The FC repulsed the attack and killed two fleeing militants identified as Ayub and Samiullah of Tariq Afridi group of Taliban. Security forces also arrested 11 suspected militants in the area. Helicopter gunships also targeted militants’ hideouts in the mountains of Darra Adamkhel.

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The political administration of Khyber Agency imposed curfew in parts of Tirah in anticipation of a military operation in the valley.

Officials said that curfew was imposed from Chamkani to Lakar Bara areas. They said that at least 25 suspects were also arrested during a search operation in those areas. Officials, however, did not provide any timeframe of the operation in Tirah. They said that a large number of Taliban had entered Tirah after fleeing Orakzai Agency.
 
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At least three killed in Mingora blast
Saturday, 01 May, 2010

MINGORA: An explosion in a commercial area of Pakistan's Swat Valley in the northwest killed at least three people and wounded five on Saturday, security officials said.

Renewed violence in Swat has raised concerns that Pakistani Taliban militants are regrouping after being driven out of the valley in a major army offensive just over a year ago.

Scenic Swat Valley, once a tourist hub, has witnessed a spate of killings of tribal elders in the past few weeks.

Security officials said they appeared to be aimed at terrorising the local leadership, which is supporting the army's offensive.

Militants have also carried out sporadic suicide bombings in Swat since the Taliban, fighting to topple the Pakistani government, were pushed out of the region.

The army says a series of offensives over the past year have weakened the Taliban, destroying their bases, killings hundreds of fighters and driving many others out of strongholds.

But the Taliban often melt away during security crackdowns and retain the ability to stage suicide bombings which have raised concerns over stability in the country.

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | At least three killed in Mingora blast
 
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