Pakistani Forces against Militants.

[fatman17]

Opinion
Four mindsets
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, February 02, 2014

Capital suggestion

A mindset is a “fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations.” In essence, a mindset is a “set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people.”

Here are three facts. Fact 1: Over 2003-2014 fatalities in terrorist violence in Pakistan stand at 50,943. Fact 2: Over 2002-2014, there have been a total of 390 suicide attacks. Fact 3: Over 2001-2014, there have been a total of 4,754 bomb blasts.

What does a Pakistani mind make out of the above facts? Within the Pakistani society, both civil and military, there exist four mindsets – conspiratorial, strategic, appeasement and clear.

The conspiratorial mindset is convinced that whatever is happening in Pakistan is all American/Indian/Zionist doing. The strategic mindset is bent upon containing the TTP (considered anti-Pakistan) and protecting the Afghan Taliban (considered ‘strategic assets’).

The appeasement mindset desires to contain violence against the state of Pakistan by offering concessions to the perpetrators of violence. And, the clear mindset is convinced that the state of Pakistan must have monopoly over the use of physical force over every square kilometre of Pakistan’s 796,095 square kilometres.

The dominant mindset within our civil society is the conspiratorial mindset while the dominant mindset within the military top brass is the strategic mindset (contain TTP, protect Afghan Taliban). Our political leaders continue to sell whatever is the easiest to sell which happens to be the conspiratorial mindset. Our military high command, in the meanwhile, remains glued to the strategic mindset with or without doing a cost-benefit analysis of alternatives.

Within the Pakistani society, both civil and military, there also exists an appeasement mindset. Political adherents of the appeasement mindset remain convinced that appeasement can somehow contain violence. Uniformed adherents of the appeasement mindset, however, seem to have learnt their lesson from a string of failed peace agreements.

For the record, we are in a state of war. And we need to win this war; whether this is our war or not is really irrelevant at this stage. To be certain, the war is being fought at three levels – the physical battlefield, mental combat and moral combat. Mental combat is about two things – the ‘will to fight’ and the ‘belief in victory’. Moral combat is about ‘whose side is God on’. Unless we win at all three levels it cannot be a complete victory.

A conspiratorial mindset weakens the ‘will to fight’. An appeasement mindset weakens the ‘belief in victory’. A strategic mindset can surely beat the TTP on the physical battlefield but ends up strengthening the forces whose goal is to replace Pakistan’s democracy with a medieval form of Khilafat (a “TTP-Afghan Taliban handshake” according to Sartaj Aziz). Remember, unless Pakistan wins at all three levels – physical, mental and moral-it cannot be a complete victory.

Of the major political players, the PPP, while in power, was focused on the ‘monetary mindset’ and now out of power is inching closer to the clear mindset. The PTI and the JI are the flag-bearers of the conspiratorial mindset. The PML-N represents the appeasement mindset while the GHQ is full of strategic mindsets.

Someone intelligent once said, “In war there is no substitute for victory.”

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

Twitter: @saleemfarrukh

 

[Devil Soul]

Security forces arrest two alleged terrorists in Mardan
February 02, 2014 - Updated 145 PKT
From Web Edition
MARDAN: Security forces have arrested two alleged terrorists from Mardan and recovered suicide jackets along with a huge cache of explosives from their possession.

According to security sources, the accused are identified as Zakirullah and Faiz, who were planning to carry out terrorist activities in Mardan.

The sources said that the alleged terrorists have also confessed to constitute two groups tasked to attack Punjab Regiment Centre and the Saddar town police station.

The accused were arrested on intelligence information.
Security forces arrest two alleged terrorists in Mardan - thenews.com.pk

 

[fatman17]

Hasan Abdullah
Interactive special: The consortium of terror
Despite hundreds of attacks and the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis, there is still a great deal of confusion about the number, nature and end goals of the militant organisations operating in Pakistan. For some, they remain figments of a fevered imagination. To others they are proxies of foreign powers.
This belief has not come out of the blue. It is part of an obscurantist narrative the state itself created and propagated. The problem with this narrative is that while it may have delegitimised some jihadi groups within public ranks, it is counter productive in the long run for a number of reasons. First of all, it fails to address the very ideology that promotes militancy and hence the state’s failure to present an effective counter-ideology. Secondly, the jihadi groups simply have to prove that the state-promoted narrative is a “baseless lie” to win recruits, as indicated by scores of interviews of jihadis. The fact is that these groups are very much in existence and the ones who carry out attacks against Pakistan’s civilians and armed forces have a clear and stated objective: to dominate and overthrow the Pakistani state.
Unfortunately, the state has also promoted a concept of “good” and “bad” militants. This narrative itself has been problematic. There are often strong links between the “good” and “bad” jihadis that also take the form of material, logistical, manpower and other support.
As Pakistan debates engaging the Islamist militants in the tribal areas and beyond, it is imperative that the policy-makers as well as the public understand the militant groups and their interrelations.
The following is an interactive of the militant landscape of Pakistan. Click on each group for more information:

The remaining six
Splinters, subdivisions, and shadow groups:
Ansar al-Mujahideen
A small organisation affiliated with the TTP. Its primary focus is targeting armed forces personnel and politicians. Among others, the group is responsible for the killing of the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Israr Gandapur. As with AQ and TTP, Ansar al-Mujahideen aims to turn Pakistan into an “Islamic State” and use the state to launch “jihad” against other belligerent states.
The other militants:
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Formed in the early 90s in Afghanistan, the group has been primarily operating in Indian-held Kashmir. It seeks to “liberate” the people of Kashmir from “Indian oppression” and establish an Islamic state” in the region.
It sees India, the United States and Israel as eternal enemies of Islam and boasts about defeating them through armed struggle. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of Jamat-ud-Dawa denies that his charity is simply a cover for the banned militant outfit. However the lower cadre not only acknowledges their connection with LeT but proudly boast about their operations in India.
In line with their particular brand of Salafism, the organisation is strongly opposed to rebellion against the Pakistani state. They say that while the ruling elite are living in a state of sin, rebelling against them is not permissible. Largely avoiding questions about other Muslim sects, the LeT says there should be unity within the Ummah and the priority should be to target the “real enemy” — the US, India and Israel, as they say.
Members of the group say they are bracing themselves for the Ghazwa-i-Hind — a grand war in which Muslims will regain control of India, they claim.
Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM)
Jaish-e-Muhammad was formed in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar. Shortly after its inception, it effectively swallowed a previously existing but now largely defunct Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Its primary goal is to “liberate” Kashmir from Indian rule and it has carried out various attacks on Indian interests including the 2001 attack on Indian parliament. The group was banned by then President Pervez Musharraf and rebranded itself as Khuddam-ul-Islam. It continues to engage in open fundraising outside many Pakistani mosques on Fridays.
Tehreek Ghalba-i-Islam
The group emerged as an offshoot of Jaish-e-Muhammad after serious differences emerged between various commanders. TGI is led by Commander Abdul Jabbar and operates primarily in Afghanistan.
Publicly, the organisation opposes rebellion against the Pakistani state. It stresses on its cadre to focus on Afghanistan.
Jaish al-Adal
The group has recently emerged in parts of Balochistan bordering Iran. It has targeted Shia Muslims and claims to be countering Iranian interference in Pakistan. The group also seeks to extend the theatre of war into Iran.
Shia militancy:
Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan
The group was formed in the 90s in response to the anti-Shia violence perpetuated by Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). It maintains a very low profile and seeks to primarily target leaders of anti-Shia militant organisations such as SSP and LJ. Its leader Syed Ghulam Raza Naqvi has been in prison since the mid-90s. Pakistani intelligence agencies claim the group is backed by Iran in a bid to extend its influence in the region.
Al Qaeda (AQ)
Arguably the most dangerous out of all the jihadi groups, AQ is not just a conventional group but the fountainhead of a violent ideology.
The organisation was founded at the end of the ’80s by Osama bin Laden while he was in Afghanistan/Pakistan waging war against the Soviets. According to Al Qaeda literature, the organisation’s ultimate goal is to establish a hardline global caliphate. It seeks to fight America and her "apostate" allies in the Muslim world.
While the organisation maintains a relatively low profile in Pakistan, it is behind much of the coordination between different jihadi groups in a bid to "channelise" and "streamline" the effort.
In contrast with many other jihadi groups, the overwhelming majority of their cadres in Pakistan are university graduates hailing from well-off urban families.
Al Qaeda regards Pakistan as a "Daar-ul-Kufr wal harb" (abode of disbelief and war). It classifies the rulers as "apostates" against whom it is obligatory to rebel and fight.
Al-Qaeda considers Shias as disbelievers "in the garb of Islam". As such, the militant organisation considers it permissible to shed the blood of Shia Muslims and confiscate their wealth. However on strategic grounds, the Al Qaeda chief has advised the operatives not to engage minority groups anywhere in a confrontation unless "absolutely required" such as in Syria and Iraq.
The organisation rejects the concept of nation-states. It seeks to expand the theatre of war, topple governments in Muslim countries and form a global caliphate.
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan
Formally launched in 2007, the TTP is effectively Al Qaeda’s local franchise in Pakistan. Among anti-state jihadi groups here, TTP maintains the strongest footprint with operatives all over the country.
Its stated objective is to turn Pakistan into an "Islamic state" as envisaged by Al-Qaeda. The group regards the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Umar, as its supreme leader. Though not always openly declared, the TTP maintains strong relations with the Afghan Taliban, with both groups providing each other strategic backyards in their respective countries.
As with Al-Qaeda, the TTP regards Pakistan as a "Daar-ul-Kufr wal harb" (abode of disbelief and war) and considers its rulers apostates.
While the TTP also considers Shia Muslims to be apostates, there is currently a debate within the organisation on whether a front should be opened against them — there is a difference of opinion over the strategic merits and demerits of indiscriminately targeting Shia Muslims. Some TTP commanders are arguing that other sects should not be targeted indiscriminately and only "certain elements" should be targeted. However, this debate does not affect their open cooperation with the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
The TTP is also increasingly looking at global operations. It has provided training to a number of radicals based in the West including Faisal Shehzad, who attempted to bomb Times Square in New York. Around 200 of its fighters have reportedly shifted to Syria.
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
The IMU was founded by Tahir Yuldashev and Jumma Kasimov (both Uzbeks) in 1991. The two had earlier fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion of the country. The initial objective of the organisation was to topple Islam Karimov’s regime in Uzbekistan and to establish an "Islamic state" in the country. They also fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance. Kasimov died in the fighting while Yuldashev, along with his fighters, managed to escape into Pakistan’s tribal areas during the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. IMU maintains strong contacts with Al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban as well as the TTP. Within jihadi circles, its cadres enjoy the reputation of being ultra radical and diehard fighters. Its views on the Pakistani state are the same as that of AQ and TTP. IMU commanders say their focus should be on fighting Pakistan’s armed forces.
IMU members claim that Mullah Umar had promised its founding leader, Jummah Kasimov, that the Afghan Taliban would support the IMU in consolidating their position in Central Asian states once the Taliban are strong enough. For now, its focus remains on strengthening the group as it prepares for the war in Central Asia.
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi
An offshoot of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the virulently sectarian LJ was formed in 1996. Its founders Riaz Basra, Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq had differences with the SSP and believed that the parent organisation had drifted from its original ideals. LJ’s primary targets are Shia Muslims and it has indiscriminately targeted them through both assassination and mass casualty attacks. The LJ has killed thousands of people, including many women and children. Its largest attacks to date have been against the Shia Hazaras of Quetta. LJ leaders say their aim is to turn Pakistan into a Sunni Islamic state and consider it a "priority" to target Shia Muslims. They have at times had differences with Al-Qaeda over this issue.
They have also attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team, a church, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The LJ seeks to polarise the majority Sunni community through a showdown with the minority Shia Muslims. The group also seeks to establish stronger ties with anti-Iran groups operating in the region.
Ansar al-Aseer
A North Waziristan based group primarily concerned with the "welfare" of locked-up jihadis. Its tasks include intelligence gathering about Pakistani jails and planning jailbreaks to release militants. It is closely allied to TTP and draws many of its fighters from TTP and IMU.
Its basic agenda is to free all militants locked up in jails across the country.
Lashkar-i-Khorasan
Al Qaeda allied group with a single point agenda to track down and eliminate "spies" in North Waziristan.
Jund Allah
Al Qaeda affiliated group that started off from South Waziristan. It gained most notoriety for its assassination attempt on the then Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat. The outfit has also targeted Shia Muslims and foreign tourists. Not to be confused with Iran-based Jundullah.
Ghazi Force
A group formed after the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad. It is named after Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, the former Lal Masjid cleric who was also killed in the operation. Most of its members are relatives and friends of the people killed in the 2007 operation. This group has practically merged with the TTP. Some of its members and sympathisers in and around Islamabad are known to provide intelligence and a footprint in the capital. Members of the group consider it a priority to target former president Pervez Musharraf.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group
He is one of the most influential figures in North Waziristan but at the same time, maintains a very low profile. Bahadur is politically affiliated with Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam. He is considered a pragmatic figure who knows how to consolidate his position. He has successfully managed his relations with both the military and the TTP.
He has never made his position on the Pakistani state public. However one of his most prominent commanders, who has since been killed in a US drone strike, gave an hour-long interview to Al Qaeda’s media wing As Sahab in 2009. In the interview he made it clear that he did not have any differences with Al Qaeda or the TTP and that they were his "brothers". He had also said that his men would fight against the Pakistan army if it sided with the Americans.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur and even his spokesman have been very secretive about their plans. In public, they have always maintained focus on "liberating" Afghanistan and re-establishing Taliban rule.
Haqqani Network
This setup operates primarily in the Eastern Afghan provinces of Khost and Paktika even though it has carried out "daring" attacks in Kabul. The network has also attempted to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The group is currently headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the sons of veteran Afghan jihadi commander Jalaluddin Haqqani. He is one of the most powerful commanders in the region and maintains good relations with Al Qaeda and the TTP. Insiders say that one of his mothers is a Yemeni and has had a radicalising effect on him, in addition to his already close association with many Al Qaeda leaders.The group has been silent on their view of the Pakistani state, however when questioned about the TTP, Sirajuddin Haqqani is on record as saying that he does not have differences with his "brothers".
Their future plans focus on the reinstatement of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

 

[fatman17]

Civilians flee North Waziristan as threat of conflict looms

Author:James Hardy, London

Last posted:2014-02-06

Hundreds of families have fled Pakistan's North Waziristan border region, while many more are preparing to leave in a sign of growing public nervousness over the prospect of major battles between the Pakistan Army and the Taliban, UN officials in Islamabad have stated .

The reports come as the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formed a committee to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban that will end more than a decade of conflict between the two sides, and possibly bring some calm before the planned US military drawdown from Afghanistan. "We want to use every opportunity to give peace a chance," Irfaq Siddiqui, a member of the committee and an advisor to Sharif, told journalists on 31 January.

On 5 February the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had scaled back CIA-run unmanned aerial vehicle strikes against targets inside Pakistan at Islamabad's request to allow talks to start.

Despite the political will behind the talks, a senior Pakistani government official stated that they could fail if the Taliban refused to take the process forward. "Advancing this process seems difficult," he said. "There are signs that the Taliban will seek the full implementation of Islamic sharia [law], which will be unacceptable. The Taliban have for years championed harsh punishments, some of which are followed in Saudi Arabia, like public executions of those found guilty of murder," the official added.

A senior UN official who said the flight of families from North Waziristan since mid-January "is typically the first sign of a coming battle. These people probably believe there will be an all-out bloody conflict".

His analysis was echoed by two senior Western diplomats, who both told IHS Jane's that a conflict in the border region was imminent.

COMMENT
Western diplomats say that Sharif's search for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban is in contrast to the Pakistan Army's increasing frustration with the militants. "A time will come when the army, which has lost thousands of officers and troops, will want to carry the fight forward," said one Western diplomat in Islamabad.

"While Sharif is seeking to have peace with the Taliban, most Pakistanis do not appear to have appetite for the kind of Islam these people want to introduce," he said. "The army's position may be more in sync with broad feelings in society".
JDW

 

[fatman17]

Opinion
Thoughts of a soldier
S Iftikhar Murshed
Sunday, February 09, 2014

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif behaves as though he has been granted some sort of a mysterious beatific vision. He believes that he is destined to transform the country into a land of perpetual peace where meandering rivers of milk and honey will always flow. But this is far removed from reality. Pakistan bleeds and it bleeds profusely. Thousands of its citizens – men, women and children – have been killed in ruthless acts of terrorism. For too many years have their waking thoughts and their dreams at night been haunted by the fear of sudden extermination.

From their fetid hovels of misery they search the skies for deliverance. In desperation they look towards their leaders, but these are men who quiver like maple leaves on a cold and windswept expanse in the face of the terrorist onslaught. From June 5, 2013, when Nawaz Sharif commenced his third prime ministerial term, till February 7, 2014 there have been 863 incidents of terrorism perpetrated by the Al-Qaeda backed TTP and its affiliates in which 1,403 people have lost their lives. The government has done nothing to take on these violent groups that kill, maim and destroy in the name of their false religion.

It has, instead, decided to pursue negotiations with the TTP in the hope that the outlawed group can be persuaded to abandon its goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate, lay down its weapons and pledge fealty to the constitution. Since this hare-brained scheme was announced by the prime minister on January 29, when he finally condescended to show up at the National Assembly after an absence of six months, the tempo of violence has not abated.

Last Sunday’s grenade attack at a Peshawar cinema hall, which resulted in five deaths and 13 injuries, was followed by Tuesday’s suicide bombing of a hotel near the city’s historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar leaving nine dead and 42 severely wounded -- mostly Shias from Parachinar. Though the TTP distanced itself from both incidents, responsibility for the attack on the movie theatre was promptly owned by its Jundullah faction.

On Wednesday Mufti Hassan Swati, who claims to be the TTP head in the Peshawar district told reporters that his group had suicide-bombed the hotel “to fulfil the wish of our central deputy emir Shaikh Khalid Haqqani to avenge the deaths of innocent students in Rawalpindi in November.” He added that it was for the same reason that the local head of the Tehreek-e-Nifaz Fiqah-e-Jafria, Ali Asghar, and a Shia bank manager had also been killed a few days earlier.

This is the context in which the disassociation of the TTP spokesman from the recent terrorist attacks has to be evaluated. What emerges is that there is no centralised command and control mechanism within the outfit and it operates through its various franchises which act independently. It is not clear which of the estimated 40 or so TTP factions the government’s four-member committee will be talking to.

The problem is further compounded because the newly-appointed TTP chief, Mullah Fazlullah is a Yousafzai from Swat whereas the group is exclusively dominated by the Mehsuds of the tribal areas. It is uncertain to what extent Fazlullah is acceptable to the major commanders. This applies particularly to those in charge of the seven tribal agencies who are all fiercely independent men.

An English weekly recently identified these commanders as Shehryar Mehsud of North Waziristan; Khan Said, the head the South Waziristan chapter; Hafiz Dolat, the TTP chief in Kurram; Abdul Wali, in Mohmand; Abu Bakr, the leader of the Bajaur chapter; Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir in Orakzai and the notorious Mangal Bagh, leader of the Lashkar-e-Islam in the Khyber Agency.

In addition there are several other TTP commanders outside the tribal regions who are as opinionated and resent excessive interference by the TTP’s inner circle. Prominent among these is Muhammad Arif who is responsible for Darra Adamkhel, Hangu and Kohat; Shah Jehan of Swabi and the list goes on and on. What brings the TTP factions together is the single-minded determination to impose their interpretation of Islam on the country.

It is anyone’s guess whether the prime minister realises what he is up against. Three of the four members of his panel of peace negotiators are TTP sympathisers. This is apparent from the alarming background of Major Amir. According to a columnist, some years back his father, Maulana Tahir, founded a madressah at Panjpir where the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad, Mullah Fazlullah, Mangal Bagh, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad and other diehard militants were indoctrinated.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Rustam Shah, who was a member of my shuttle mission to Afghanistan from 1996 to 1999, is compromised because his party chief, Imran Khan, was selected by the TTP as one of its five representatives for the talks. Though Imran Khan politely refused to become a member of the TTP team -- as did the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman -- it will no longer be possible for him to credibly deny his pro-Taliban leanings.

The two ‘like-minded’ committees finally met on Thursday. The outcome of the farce was a joint statement incorporating the points put across by each side. The TTP nominees wanted to know whether the government negotiators had full powers and could ensure that “the demands of the Talban are met.” They also sought meetings with the prime minister, the COAS and the DG ISI.

The government team insisted that: (i) the discussions should be held within the parameters of the constitution; (ii) “activities” which could hamper the talks should end; (iii) the respective mandates of the TTP’s negotiations committee and its nine-member monitoring mechanism needed clarification; (iv) the dialogue process should be short and; (v) “the scope of the talks will be limited to insurgency affected areas.”

The last of these points is significant as it implies that the government could eventually allow the TTP to impose its hideous ideology in some of the tribal areas, notably North Waziristan, as did the previous government in Swat in 2009. On that occasion Mullah Fazlullah quickly overran the adjacent Buner district and boasted: “The day is not far when Islamabad will be in our hands.”

The importance of defeating the TTP ideology was the theme of my last article, ‘A swallow in midwinter’ (February 2). An officer of the Pakistan Army, whose name will not be disclosed, responded through an email which says it all: “I am currently serving in the so-called tribal ‘bad lands’ of this country...The theme of your article is the most critical but surprisingly the most neglected piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the sad state of our national security...without a solid and far-reaching narrative, built around the correct and contextualised interpretation of the Quran, the war against extremist ideology cannot be taken to its logical and desired end. Our enemy has outsmarted us by pushing its own narrative based on the seemingly righteous agenda of imposing Shariah...

“...Let me assure you that within the army there is not one iota of doubt regarding the righteousness of our cause, but the perception in the public is the real cause of concern...What I fear the most is that the gains we have made by sacrificing so much will be lost if we lose the war of narratives... It is only after being armed with a simple and far-reaching narrative, we, as a state, can out-manoeuvre and destroy the enemy’s centre of gravity -- its narrative. Up till now the so-called representatives (of the people) have failed miserably in properly executing the most critical manoeuvre of this war.

“Let me end by quoting some very appropriate lines from the timeless works of JR Tolkien: ‘We shall have peace...We shall have peace, when you answer for the burning of Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace, when the lives of soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they died against the gates of Hornberg, are avenged! When you hang from the gibbet for the sport of your own crows...We shall have peace!’”

These are powerful words. They reflect the thoughts of a soldier whose overarching fear is that all the gains that “have been made by sacrificing so much” could be squandered by the government at the negotiating table.

The writer is the publisher of Criterion Quarterly.

Email: iftimurshed@gmail.com

 

[niaz]

Problem is ‘CONFUSION’ with capital letters. In my opinion there are three main culprits who are responsible for creating this state of confusion.

Firstly the media to win the ‘Ratings’ war; allow radical mullahs to express their opinions without any cross questioning. To quote an example I heard the bigot Lal Masjid Mullah on the TV waiving what looked like the holy Quran and claiming Pakistanis did not care about the Sharia. No one dared to ask him two things:

1. How can people who train suicide bombers; something explicitly forbidden by the word of Allah; be trusted with the implementation of the Sharia?

2. Based on which ‘Hadith’ or Quranic verse, Abdul Aziz himself used lathi wielding burqa clad Jamia Hafsa girls to act as moral police of Islamabad? Is this the rule of law the bigot Abdul Aziz wants implemented in whole of Pakistan?

Next is the Judiciary. Under the notorious Ch. Iftikhar, judicial activism reached unprecedented levels. Self-admitted criminals such as Malik Ishaq of LEJ were bailed out and thousand others freed to engage in their anti-state activities. Instead vindictive Ch. Iftikhar pursued Asif Zardari and Musharraf like a blood hound and disqualified an elected Prime Minister? When the judiciary indulges in such selective justice; only the injustice can prevail.

Greatest responsibility rests with the political parties. Here in addition to openly rightest parties JI & JUI. Many of the main stream political parties are sympathetic to the Taliban cause. Taliban had earlier indicated their preference by announcing that they would not bomb election rallies of PTI, JI & PMLN. With the nomination of Imran Khan by TTP to negotiate on their behalf, situation has now become crystal clear that PTI is a pro extremist party and that Imran Khan could be trusted to safeguard TTP interests!

As late as yesterday a gathering of women hold a ‘Khatam e Quran’ was attacked in Peshawar killing 4 women. TTP claim they did not do it but like the previous time, it must be one of the 75 odd groups under the TTP umbrella who are responsible because no one except Taliban or LEJ indulge in the anti-Islamic act of suicide. Some commentators claim that some of Taliban demands are reasonable. Which demands? Even the demand of compensation is unreasonable. Has anyone asked as to who will compensate for the lives of the 50,000 Pakistanis killed by TTP? Or the compensation for the loss of PAF & PN assets at Mehran base & at Kamra? I would like retribution; but in the words of Taliban Khan to Kamran Shafi; I am a blood thirsty liberal for supporting action against his beloved Taliban.

Net result is that ordinary man on the street does not know right from wrong. People have lost touch with realty with villians made into heroes and real heroes altogether forgotten. For example Ch. Nisar made so much noise on the death of Hakimullah Mahsud that one would think that Hakimullah was a hero of peace. It never occurred to this joker of the Interior Minister to ask his own government as to why Rs 5-million prize money of Hakimullah Mehdsud’s head?

In my humble opinion any concession to TTP means de-facto accepting TTP rule over North Waziristan. Is this the hidden agenda of PTI & other pro-Taliban parties? Reason for my singling out PTI is that this party is currently in power in KPK; most affected are of Pakistan and their policies, if proven wrong, could break my beloved Pakistan.

I admit my inability to aptly express my views in a foreign language (English). Here is another article which describes the fallacy of Taliban Khans arguments.

Khalid MunirTuesday, February 11, 2014
From Print Edition

Talks with the TTP are a decision based on political expediency rather than a rational analysis of the situation. Taking everyone on board on this issue basically is to shun responsibility; the PM did not take every one into confidence while deciding privatisation and other government policies.

Though he can be given the allowance that in the absence of a national consensus the army could not have used force, but it was really the backlash by rightwing voters that forced him to go for talks. His biggest rival in Punjab, Imran Khan, played a leading role on forcing this decision on him.

Imran’s solution to terrorism is based on three actions. Pakistan’s disassociation from the ‘war on terror’; an end to drone attacks by the US; and holding talks with the TTP. Imran Khan had been a strong advocate of resolving the terrorism issue through talks. He believes that this war is an American war which has been imposed on us and the moment we disassociate ourselves from it the problem of terrorism will be over. He asserts that terrorism in Pakistan is a reaction to us being part of the war on terror and that suicide bombings are in retaliation to drone attacks. The narrative of the relatives of the victims of drone strikes becoming suicide bombers has been coined and promoted by him.

Simplifying the solution, he advocates that all that the TTP wants is withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and that if that is done the presence of the Pakistan Army in Fata will become unnecessary and the moment the army withdraws from Fata the situation will normalize. He created a narrative where he and his followers somehow provided justification for suicide bombings – ignoring the fact that suicide attacks were routine before the first drone strike.

As a political leader he has the right to have his own opinion on getting Pakistan out of this seemingly endless war. A peaceful resolution is what he wants and he is justified in his resolve. However, his solution is not based on facts, which is what worries many Pakistanis. Technically speaking, Pakistan is not a part of the war on terror.

No Pakistani soldier is part of the forces under Isaf. Not a single Pakistani soldier is in Afghanistan. Pakistan has exercised its legitimate right to send its forces to Fata, which is in its own territory. That is the extent of our involvement in in the war on terror. It is a fact that there are elements of Al-Qaeda in North Waziristan; on this the world has genuine concerns. The presence of these elements in Fata results in drone attacks violating our sovereignty.

Khan’s PTI emerged as the second largest party in 2013 elections. There are millions of devoted workers who believe whatever he says to be a fact. However, he does not have a plan to achieve all he advocates. How will drones be stopped? What kind of system will fill the void in Fata? Many of us were made to believe that the PTI has think tanks sorting out every problem Pakistan is facing. On the contrary, leaving aside other aspects, even a blueprint on terrorism has not been worked out. The details about the parameter of talks, the end result to be achieved and the action required after the talks, need to be elaborated.

But Imran Khan has not come up with any concrete proposal for his impatiently waiting countrymen. In the absence of an alternate course, his emphasis on talks gives a chance to his opponents to call him pro-terrorism and that’s only because he has failed to present a structured plan.

His anti-American rhetoric has earned him votes and will keep him afloat in politics, yet this stance is damaging to the security of Pakistan in a way that it pressurises the Nawaz Sharif government at the federal level. While ruling Punjab the Sharifs had views similar to that of Imran Khan but since forming government in the centre they have understood the problem and the possible solution too.

Because of Khan, though, they cannot proclaim their views as that might mean losing the vote bank. Time is running out and terror spreading to our cities. Imran Khan should realise that this delay is dangerous for Pakistan.

Email: khalidmunir2@gmail.com

Twitter: @khalid_munir
A dangerous stance - Khalid Munir

 

[fatman17]

Opinion
PML-N, TTP and GHQ

Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, February 16, 2014

Capital suggestion

There are three primary stakeholders in the current high stake conflict: the PML-N, the TTP and the GHQ. It is extremely important to understand and identify both the ‘nature and the intensity’ of interests of the three primary stakeholders.

Stakeholders’ interests can be ‘many and varied’. Stakeholders’ interests can be both short as well as long term. Among the most common are territorial interests followed by economic interests (both of which flow out of political control of physical terrain).

The PML-N, TTP and GHQ all have a stake in the outcome of the current negotiations. The PML-N’s geographic terrain of primary interest is the 205,344 sq km through which flow the five tributaries of the Indus River. This also happens to be the province that produces some 70 percent of Pakistan’s GDP. The PML-N’s tactical, primary economic interests are privatisation and trade with India.

The TTP’s first and foremost interest is territory. The TTP’s short-term interests are both tactical and economic. The TTP’s geographic terrain of primary interest is the 4,707 sq km through which flows the Tochi River. The TTP already has de facto control over North Waziristan Agency (NWA) and it now seeks de jure control as well.

Other short-term tactical interests include release of their prisoners, withdrawal of the army from Fata and a hefty compensation package (for the propagation of the war economy). The TTP’s long-term strategic interests include expanding its area of political control by capturing additional Pakistani territory.

The GHQ’s short-term interests include containing the TTP and protecting the Afghan Taliban. Over the long term, the GHQ would want to preserve its hold over Pak-US, Pak-India and Pak-Afghanistan relations (the tussle between the PML-N and GHQ is on).

The PML-N’s mindset is appeasement – a mindset that desires to contain violence against the geographic terrain of the PML-N’s primary interest (read: Punjab) by offering concessions to the perpetrators of violence. The TTP’s mindset is revisionist – to rewrite the rules of the game in order to capture political power. GHQ’s mindset is strategic-a mindset bent upon “gaining of overall or long-term military advantage”.

The probability is high that the PML-N’s mindset of appeasement will be prone to trade off less than one percent of Pakistan’s territory (read: NWA) in return for two things: keeping geographic terrain of the PML-N’s primary interest away from harm’s way and letting the PML-N pursue its economic agenda (read: privatisation and trade with India).

The GHQ faces a dilemma – an action is bound to have undesirable outcomes but so does inaction. The GHQ has been fighting the militants since March 16, 2004 (when the Pakistan Army came under a bloody attack by foreign fighters in the white mountains of South Waziristan).

Over the past nine years, 10 months and three weeks, the GHQ has lost 5,590 precious officers and soldiers but recaptured 17 out of 18 administrative areas from the hold of the TTP and its allies. The billion-dollar question now is if the GHQ will endorse the mindset of appeasement in which case the army’s institutional memory built around the Swat episode will come back and haunt the top brass. Clearly, the civilian and the military leaderships are not on the same page.

A blood-soaked blowback in urban centres (of an operation in NWA) must be consuming both civil as well as military minds. The need of the day is a formal cost-benefit analysis of both an action and inaction.

“There are risks and costs to a programme of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” John F Kennedy



The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

Twitter: @saleemfarrukh

 

[fatman17]

Soldiers' killings push Sharif closer to anti-Taliban offensive

Author:Farhan Bokhari, Islamabad

Last posted:2014-02-19

The Pakistani government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif broke off peace talks with Taliban representatives on 17 February in a setback that brings the country closer to an all-out conflict with the militant movement.

The decision by Sharif to cancel a planned round of talks was prompted by a Taliban claim that 23 Pakistan Army soldiers kidnapped in 2010 had been killed.

Umar Kharasani, head of the Taliban in Mohmand agency - one of the lawless regions along the Afghan border - said in a video message sent to Pakistan's TV channels: "The killing of FC [Frontier Corps] personnel is the revenge for the blood of our associates. We want to make it clear to the government that we know very well how to avenge the killings of our members." The FC, which is deployed in the northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border, is staffed by the Pakistan Army.

"Pakistan cannot afford such bloodshed. The situation is very sad and the whole nation is shocked," said Sharif in a statement. A senior Pakistani intelligence official stated that Pakistani officials had seen a video of some of the soldiers having their throats slit by the militants. "People who have seen the video will have sleepless nights for a long time to come," he said.

Western diplomats in Islamabad warned that this latest setback brings Sharif closer to overseeing an all-out military campaign targeting Taliban sanctuaries in the North Waziristan region along the Afghan border. "The Pakistan Army is increasingly running out of appetite for discussing peace while its people are butchered by the Taliban," one Western official said . The army's influence in Pakistani politics is significant, given that it has ruled the country for half its life as an independent state.

Sharif came to power in May 2013 on promises of overseeing a new push for peace with Taliban militants to end more than a decade-long conflict, which was triggered when Pakistan joined ranks with the United States in Washington's war on terror. Sharif has said the conflict cannot end militarily in Pakistan's favour, although his critics warn that the Taliban have no interest in pursuing a peaceful solution.

JDW

 

[fatman17]

On Wednesday, Pakistan Army officials acknowledged that 114 military personnel, as well as 38 police officers, have been killed by the TTP in the last five months.[13]

and the govt. wants to hold peace talks with these a$$holes...

 

[Devil Soul]

Targeted strikes: ‘Operation in Hangu to continue’
By Our Correspondent
Published: February 24, 2014

File photo of Army soldiers. PHOTO: REUTERS

HANGU:
Security forces will continue their targeted operations in Hangu district and nearby tribal areas to rid the region of militants, shared a security forces official.

The official, wishing anonymity, revealed the operation will continue in Darsamand and Torwari areas of Thal, and areas of the tribal belt bordering the district. He said the offensive will also be conducted in Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency, Khyber, North and South Waziristan agencies.

Meanwhile, the Sunni Supreme Council (SSC) vowed to foil all attempts to create rifts between Shia and Sunnis and support government efforts for maintaining peace in Hangu. The statement was made at a Grand Jirga on Sunday, which was attended by council leaders, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and politicians from various parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2014.

 

[fatman17]

Military Operations in the Tribal Areas

• According to a Friday report in The News, Pakistan Army infantry forces, particularly those of the army’s Special Services Group, have entered the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to seek out militant hideouts in preparation for potential military operations in North Waziristan and Khyber agencies.[1]

 

[fatman17]

Attack on Pasni radar station kills one

• Daily Times Monitor
• March 30, 2014

QUETTA: Armed men disguised in security forces’ uniforms attacked the Pasni radar-post in Mekran Belt near Gwadar on Saturday, killing a Balochistan Constabulary official and injuring another, according to a senior official. An official in the province’s home and tribal affairs department, who requested anonymity owing to sensitivity of the matter, told a private television channel that eight armed militants stormed inside the Pasni radar post and killed personnel deployed there. “The militants took eight security personnel hostage,” he said, adding that the insurgents killed one of them for offering resistance. The Pasni radar post, located 131 kilometers east of Gwadar, controls air traffic from Western and Gulf countries towards South Asia and Central Asian States. “The assailants planted a bomb after the attack,” the official said, and informed that the bomb disposal squad was called in to defuse the bomb. He said the militants damaged some technical equipments installed at the radar-post during the attack. “Militants sped away in their vehicles after the attack,” he said. “There were several Baloch Constabulary personnel guarding the radar set up on the mountain top. Armed men locked the personnel inside the room after shooting,” another senior official of the Home Department said. The armed men then attached explosive materials to the radar and sped away. According to a local official, they also fired few rocket-propelled grenades on the radar, partially damaging the installation.

 

[fatman17]

 

[Saifullah Sani]

Aerial bombing in Khyber Agency kills 23 militants, injures 15

Jet planes bombed hideouts of militants in various areas of Khyber Agency early on Thursday, Express News reported.
According to an Express News correspondent, security sources said that 23 militants were killed and 15 others were injured in the aerial bombing which took place in the Sipah area of Bara tehsil and the Koka Khel area.
The operation was carried out on a tip-off that militants who were involved in the Sabzi Mandi blast in Islamabad and the attack on the police in Charsadda were present in the area, military sources said.
This is the first operation against insurgents in two months.
“Militant hideouts were engaged by fighter jets in Khyber agency early (in the) morning today,” the army’s press wing said in a text message sent to media.
A senior military official in Peshawar said the operation was still under way.
“After the jets, Pakistan army ground forces also launched operations in the area,” he said.
Another military official said at least 15 militants were killed, but there was no official confirmation.
The attacks
An explosion on Nowshera Road in Charsadda early on April 22 left three people dead and 33 others injured including 12 policemen.
On April 9, a high-intensity remote-controlled blast in Sabzi Mandi in Islamabad had left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured.
Previous bombings
On February 27, gunship helicopters had carried out shelling in tehsil Kulachi, FR Dera Ismail Khan in which three suspected militants were killed. This was the first time that the Pakistan military had conducted shelling in the settled area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
At least 30 militants perished as warplanes pound their hideouts on February 25 in the South and North Waziristan, according to military officials. The airstrikes mainly took place in Datta Khel and Shawal areas of North Waziristan where militant training facilities and compounds are said to be located.
On February 23, airstrikes were carried out in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in which security forces killing at least 38 militants, including key commanders. Six hideouts were also destroyed, they had added.
Just a day earlier, on February 22, security forces had carried out shelling on militant hideouts in Thall sub-district of Hangu, killing at least nine insurgents.
On February 19, at least 30 suspected insurgents were killed and several others got injured as military jets and gunships had bombed their hideouts in the North Waziristan and Khyber agencies.

Aerial bombing in Khyber Agency kills 23 militants, injures 15 – The Express Tribune

 

[AmnaR]

According to Local sources, INI etc, Many innocents including 8 of a family (women,children) were also killed in the AirStrikes!!

Name here can be checked Sayed Hakeem's house killing 5 of his daughters, 2 sons & daughter in law in area

Its funny, ultra precision drones kills civilians but crude bombs of PAF only kill militants. What a joke!