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Pakistan army blockades anti-Taliban tribe in Kurram

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Pakistan army blockades anti-Taliban tribe in Kurram


Pakistan's military has blockaded a strategically important district in the country's north, sealing in a fiercely anti-Taliban tribe.

The Turi people have been keeping Taliban militants out of Kurram tribal district, near the Afghan border.

Many in Kurram suspect the government is pressurising the Turis to meet Taliban demands to cross their land.

Any deal between the Turis and the Taliban could have major implications for Nato's operations in Afghanistan.

The Turis, who follow the Shia branch of Islam, have traditionally abhorred the Taliban, who adhere to a hardline Sunni form of the faith. Many Taliban consider Shias to be non-Muslims.

The blockade comes amid reports that the Turis have once again refused to allow the militants to enter Afghanistan via Kurram.

The Taliban have been trying to launch operations around Kabul through the district, whose western tip lies just 90km (56 miles) from the Afghan capital.

The blockade means that the Turis are hemmed in by the military on one side and by the Taliban on the other.

Col Tausif Akhtar, of the Pakistani security forces, announced the move on Monday evening at a news conference in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram.

Five border crossing points - Terimangal, Spina Shaga, Khairlachi, Burki and Shahidano Dand - have been shut, with security beefed up.

"We have done this due to internal security concerns, because there have been sectarian clashes in Kurram and we do not want miscreants from outside to exploit the situation," Col Akhtar told the BBC News website.

'Baffling'
But the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad, one of the few journalists to have travelled to Kurram in recent months, says the move is baffling.

The Turis have kept members of the Haqqani network - a branch of the Afghan Taliban based in Pakistan - away from Kurram.

The tribe beat the militants out of the area during a major battle in September 2008.

In retaliation, the Taliban have blockaded the east of Kurram, effectively cutting off the area from the rest of Pakistan. The militants have been ambushing Turi commuters along a 10km stretch of road.

The tribe has been forced to rely on trade with Afghan towns and villages over the border.

But the government decision to block this route, too, places the Turis under an economic stranglehold, says our correspondent.

Haqqani network members last week held talks with Turi leaders in Islamabad about striking a deal for access to Kurram.

In return, the Taliban is thought to be offering safe passage for Turis travelling overland from Kurram to Peshawar.

But the Turis reportedly rejected the Taliban approach - for at least the fourth time since 2008.
 
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Siraj Haqqani sheltering in Kurram, near area of US helicopter strikes


Two of the US helicopter cross-border helicopter strikes that took place last month in Pakistan's tribal agency of Kurram occurred in an area where Siraj Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network, was sheltering. The Pakistani military and government's severe reaction to the US incursions in Kurram are attributed in part to concern that Siraj, a key asset, was close to being killed in the attack, US intelligence officials and a Pakistani official told The Long War Journal.

The helicopter strikes, which took place on Sept. 27, occurred near the village of Mata Sanger, after US forces pursued Haqqani Network fighters who attacked Combat Outpost Narizah on Khost province in Afghanistan.

The helicopter attacks sparked a major protest from the Pakistani military after two Frontier Corps soldiers were killed. In response, Pakistan closed NATO's supply lines through the Khyber Pass for more than a week as Taliban force saved convoys in Baluchistan and in the northwest, destroying more than 150 fuel and supply trucks.

It is now believed that Siraj Haqqani was in a safe house close to the scene of the helicopter strike. Siraj, the son of Mujahideen commander Jalaluddin, is said to have relocated to Kurram from Miramshah in North Waziristan after a family member was killed in a US Predator strike. Siraj's brother Mohammed was killed in a US strike in February, and a military commander named Saifullah Haqqani was killed in a strike in September.

Siraj and other "key guest mujahideen" recently left North Waziristan for Kurram, with the knowledge of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, a US official said. The move occurred sometime in September, officials believe.

Members of the Turi tribe, a Shia tribe in Kurram, as well as members of the Bangash tribe attempted to resist the influx of Haqqani Network fighters into areas run by rival tribes, and clashed with the Haqqanis. Also, the Turis were moving against a stronghold operated by Gulbudin Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami faction in Spina Shaga.

The Pakistani media characterized these clashes as local sectarian fights over a water dispute, but US and Pakistani officials said this story cover to allow the Pakistani military to intervene on behalf of the Haqqanis and Hekmatyar, who are viewed as "good Taliban" as they do not fight the Pakistani state. In September and October, multiple reports of Pakistani helicopter gunships intervening in the "water dispute" were reported in the Pakistani media. The Pakistani military claimed more than 70 "militants" were killed in the strikes.

The Haqqani Network is now said to be "mediating" between the rival tribes. Khalil and Ibrahim, two sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, have appeared in Peshawar and Islamabad, to "bring peace to the area," Dawn reported.

The Turis have battled the Taliban for years, and have fought them to a standstill [see BBC report, The Pakistani tribe that is taking on the Taliban, for more information on the Turis' struggles in Kurram]. Despite driving the Taliban out of their areas, the Turis remain cut off as the Taliban continue attacks along the single road that connects the remote area to the rest of Pakistan. The Turis has not received support from the Pakistani military.

Both the Taliban and the Haqqani Network have maintained a presence in Kurram for years. The tribal agency borders the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar, and is an ideal launchpad for attacks into Afghanistan. Allied Pakistani terror groups such as the Sipah-i-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Lashkar-e-Taiba also have used Kurram as a transit point to support their activities in Afghanistan. In 2006, the Sipah-i-Sahaba took control of a mosque in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram, and used it as a forward base for its fighter in Pakistan, but were driven out by the Turis.

Fazl-e-Saeed Haqqani is the local commander for Haqqani Network fighters in Kurram. Hakeemullah Mehsud, the current leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Paksitan led Taliban forces in Kurram prior to his promotion in 2009. Mullah Toofan, who is considered to be a successor to Hakeemullah, currently leaders Taliban forces in Kurram.

Kurram is also thought to be a possible safe haven for al Qaeda's top leaders. Last week, a NATO official told CNN that Osama bin Laden was hiding in an area between Kurram and the northern district of Chitral in Pakistan's northwest. Bin Laden is said to be living comfortably and is being aided by members of the ISI.

Background on the Haqqani Network

The Haqqani Network has extensive links with al Qaeda and the Taliban, and its relationship with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency has allowed the network to survive and thrive in its fortress stronghold of North Waziristan. The Haqqanis control large swaths of the tribal area and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices, and security forces. They have established multiple training camps and safe houses used by al Qaeda leaders and operatives, as well as by Taliban foot soldiers preparing to fight in Afghanistan.

The Haqqani Network has been implicated in some of the biggest terror attacks in the Afghan capital city of Kabul, including the January 2008 suicide assault on the Serena hotel, the February 2009 assault on Afghan ministries, and the July 2008 and October 2009 suicide attacks against the Indian embassy. American intelligence agencies confronted the Pakistani government with evidence, including communications intercepts, which proved the ISI’s direct involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing. [See LWJ report Pakistan's Jihad and Threat Matrix report Pakistan backs Afghan Taliban for additional information on the ISI's complicity in attacks in Afghanistan and the region.]

The Haqqani Network is led by Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son, Sirajuddin. Jalaluddin is thought to be ill and is considered the patriarch of the network. Siraj runs the daily operations and is the group's military commander.

Siraj is one of the most wanted Taliban and al Qaeda leaders in the Afghan-Pakistan region. The US military has described Siraj as the primary threat to security in eastern Afghanistan. He is the mastermind of the most deadly attacks inside Afghanistan, including suicide assaults in Kabul, and he is the senior military commander in eastern Afghanistan. He is the leader of the Taliban's Miramshah Regional Military Shura, one of the Afghan Taliban's four regional commands [see LWJ report, The Afghan Taliban's top leaders].

Siraj is considered dangerous not only for his ties with the Afghan Taliban, but also because of his connections with al Qaeda's central leadership, which extend all the way to Osama bin Laden. Siraj is a member of al Qaeda’s Shura Majlis, or top council, US intelligence sources told The Long War Journal. In a tape released in April 2010, Siraj admitted that cooperation between the Taliban and al Qaeda "is at the highest limits." On March 25, 2009, the US Department of State put out a $5 million bounty for information leading to the capture of Siraj.

The US Treasury recently added Nasiruddin Haqqani, Siraj's brother, to the list of specially designated global terrorists. Nasiruddin is a key financier and emissary for the Haqqani Network. According to the Treasury, Nasiruddin has traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 2004-2009 to carry out fundraising for the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and the Taliban.

Despite Siraj's ties with al Qaeda, and the Haqqani Network's use of suicide attacks, some top US military commanders have stated that Jalaluddin Haqqani, his father, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, another supporter of al Qaeda, are "absolutely salvageable" and ripe for negotiations.

“The HIG already have members in Karzai’s government, and it could evolve into a political party, even though Hekmatyar may be providing al Qaeda leaders refuge in Kunar," Major General Michael Flynn, the top military intelligence official in Afghanistan, told The Atlantic in April 2010. "Hekmatyar has reconcilable ambitions. As for the Haqqani network, I can tell you they are tired of fighting, but are not about to give up. They have lucrative business interests to protect: the road traffic from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to Central Asia.”

Sir Graeme Lamb, a senior adviser to General McChrystal, echoed Flynn's view on Hekmatyar and Haqqani, and discounted the groups' close ties to al Qaeda.

"Haqqani and Hekmatyar are pragmatists tied to the probability of outcomes," Lamb also told The Atlantic. "With all the talk of Islamic ideology, this is the land of the deal."

A Haqqani Network leader known as Zakim Shah serves as the shadow governor of Khost province. Khost, Paktika, and Paktia provinces are the main strongholds of the Haqqani Network in eastern Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network also has a presence in the provinces of Logar, Wardak, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Zabul, and Kabul.

The Haqqani forces in Paktika province are commanded by Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a senior lieutenant to Sirajuddin Haqqani. A US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal that Sangeen also commands forces outside of Paktika and that he has become one of the most dangerous operational commanders in eastern Afghanistan.

Last summer, Sangeen took credit for the kidnapping of a US soldier who apparently stepped away from his post at a combat outpost in Paktika on June 30, 2009. US forces in eastern Afghanistan launched a massive manhunt for the soldier, but failed to find him. The soldier is believed to be held across the border in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

US and Afghan forces hit the Haqqani Network hard in the summer of 2009 during a series of raids in Khost, Paktika, Paktia, Logar, and Zabul. Major battles were fought in mountainous regions as the joint forces assaulted strongly-defended Haqqani Network "fortresses." The raids failed to dislodge the Haqqani Network from the provinces.

The Haqqani Network has also been heavily targeted by the CIA in the covert air campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. Siraj has been the target of multiple Predator strikes. His brother, Mohammed, who served as a military commander, was killed in a February 2010 strike in North Waziristan. Seven of the 17 Predator strikes in the month of September have taken place in territory administered by the Haqqani Network.



Read more: Siraj Haqqani sheltering in Kurram, near area of US helicopter strikes - The Long War Journal
 
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These are Pakistan's internal issues and not any of your business.
 
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Again Pakistan army has shown that its completely with Taliban and they have been killing innocent Tribesman who are opposed to Taliban. Displaying to the world how they have cleared the region from Taliban, in contrast they have actually been removing all the resistance against the Taliban and creating permanent badlands for Taliban in Pakistan. US knows this fact, but would not deal with this issue presently, but soon it will be forced to Bomb 150 odd terrorist camps run by Pakistan army which are used spread terrorism in the region, once US withdraws from Afghanistan and stops its Aid to Pakistan.
 
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Again Pakistan army has shown that its completely with Taliban and they have been killing innocent Tribesman who are opposed to Taliban. Displaying to the world how they have cleared the region from Taliban, in contrast they have actually been removing all the resistance against the Taliban and creating permanent badlands for Taliban in Pakistan. US knows this fact, but would not deal with this issue presently, but soon it will be forced to Bomb 150 odd terrorist camps run by Pakistan army which are used spread terrorism in the region, once US withdraws from Afghanistan and stops its Aid to Pakistan.

Are you done ranting your BS?
 
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Are you done ranting your BS?

Reality are not rants, these things are now way to common and evident than you think, so you may be an ostrich but not others. Turi tribe has been bombed by Pakistani army few months back when Pakistan claimed that they were fighting over water issues, but in reality it was more of Pakistan army shelling them in connivance with Taliban. Dead shown could be Shia, innocents or any other resistance force. Parchinar is one such example.
 
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Reality are not rants, these things are now way to common and evident than you think, so you may be an ostrich but not others. Turi tribe has been bombed by Pakistani army few months back when Pakistan claimed that they were fighting over water issues, but in reality it was more of Pakistan army shelling them in connivance with Taliban. Dead shown could be Shia, innocents or any other resistance force. Parchinar is one such example.

Right seems like you're the one who's not living in reality when you claimed the Pakistan army went on a killing rampage in "Balochistan, then Bangalis, Kashmiris , Mujahirs, Shia, Gigilts etc"

Please show me where it says that the Pakistani army killed people in Balochistan ( non BLA/indian sources), Muhajirs, Gilgitis, Kashmiris ( you've confused the Pakistani army with the indian one on that),etc :rofl:
 
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Although he is talking BS there is talk of a pakistan invasion even in australia (though the person talking about it is a nut head named bob katter)
 
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Although he is talking BS there is talk of a pakistan invasion even in australia (though the person talking about it is a nut head named bob katter)

Yeah I saw that article and again its just "talk"
 
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Right seems like you're the one who's not living in reality when you claimed the Pakistan army went on a killing rampage in "Balochistan, then Bangalis, Kashmiris , Mujahirs, Shia, Gigilts etc"

Please show me where it says that the Pakistani army killed people in Balochistan ( non BLA/indian sources), Muhajirs, Gilgitis, Kashmiris ( you've confused the Pakistani army with the indian one on that),etc :rofl:

Pakistan: Investigate murder and torture of Baloch activists | Amnesty International

Baltimore Independent Media Center: BALOCHISTAN : Pakistani Army attrocities against Baloch community

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Atrocities will end soon, PM assures Balochistan

Baloch leader Seeks Support in USA

Watch:Pakistan's Atrocities in Balochistan | Ekawaaz - One Voice - Many Issues : News Views and Reviews

Foreign Policy Centre: Articles / Baluchistan at the Crossroads

LONDON: Protest against kiiling of Baloch people in Karachi and Khuzdar Baluch Sarmachar

UNPO: Balochistan: Human Rights Violations Discussed at HRC


You want more? the list goes on and one!:azn:
 
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^^ ha ha ya I understand it very well! :cheers:
 
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