Reclaiming Pakistan's Frontier!

[muse]

Next problem -- how to disarm these lashkars and prevent some other players from using these against the Pakistani nation?


Either way, we must admit a continuing failure of the Pakistani state to take responsibility for the protection of each and every Pakistan in each and every part of Pakistan - this is the only way whereby the state can make a claim to bein sovereign in the entirety of Pakistan

 

[RabzonKhan]

Security forces kill three Taliban in North Waziristan

August 11, 2009

* Taliban attack 17-vehicle convoy near Razmak
* Taliban spokesman claims ’32 troops killed, 14 vehicles destroyed’

Staff Report

MIRANSHAH/RAWALPINDI/ KHAR: Security forces killed at least three Taliban in North Waziristan on Monday, but also lost a soldier in Swat, said the ISPR.

Troops also arrested eight Taliban, including “a few commanders” from Swat and Dir.

“Three terrorists were killed in a retaliatory fire ... after Taliban attacked a military convoy moving from Dosali to Damdil near Razmak in North Waziristan,” said the ISPR.

The Taliban initially targeted the convoy using a remote-controlled device, and then fired rockets at the 17-vehicle group. The ISPR said at least three soldiers were injured in the attack and as many vehicles destroyed.

A spokesman for the North Waziristan Taliban, Ahmedullah Ahmedi, accepted responsibility for the attack, and claimed that “32 security personnel were killed and 14 vehicles destroyed”. He said such attacks would continue if drone attacks in the Tribal Areas were not stopped and until the withdrawal of the army from the region. Separately, Taliban attacked security personnel near Banda Post in Miranshah, wounding two soldiers.

Meanwhile, security forces conducted a search operation in Swat’s Kabal area, and engaged Taliban in a gunbattle. The ISPR said one soldier was killed in the attack.

Troops also arrested a schoolteacher – Muhammad Sadiq, who had been trying to gather support for Taliban – in Darmai near Fatehpur. They also arrested two Taliban from Drushkhela.

Also, security forces arrested six suspects in Shalko Sar and a Taliban commander, identified only as Yasin, from Dir.

Separately, a Taliban was killed and two injured in a clash with security forces in Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency.

A Taliban commander was also arrested from Nawagai.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Baitullah killing shows closer Pak-US cooperation

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

* Analysts say TTP chief’s killing has widened room for drones to operate
* Developments also likely to improve Pakistanis’ of US

ISLAMABAD: The reported death of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack points to closer cooperation between Pakistan and the US in the covert war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, according to analysts.

Mehsud’s purported death last Wednesday would mark the biggest success of the covert CIA war against the Taliban in Pakistan. US National Security Adviser Jim Jones welcomed the reported killing as “a big deal” – which, he told NBC News, meant US efforts to forge closer security ties with the Pakistani military were “moving in the right direction”. Last May, CIA Director Leon Panetta said unmanned aircraft had been “very effective” in targeting the leadership of Al Qaeda.

Despite more than 50 such attacks over the last year, Pakistan recently noted a US shift of attention towards Baitullah, having complained that US spies targeted those considered a threat to US troops fighting in Afghanistan.

“The US and Pakistan say they have a common enemy and a common fight,” said Ishtiaq Ahmed, international relations professor at Quaid-e-Azam University.

“If the intelligence for striking Baitullah was provided by Pakistan, then we are seeing a different level of cooperation between the two countries. The Pakistani public should now say ‘thank you America’,” added Ahmed.

Pakistan has in the past vociferously opposed drone attacks. But if a US missile killed Baitullah, Islamabad would have less room to object and US attacks would increase, said analysts.

“The elimination of Baitullah has widened the space for drones to operate,” said Ahmed.

Analysts say the US decision to target Baitullah has given a shot in the arm to Islamabad’s battle against Taliban in western Pakistan.

“The US will be able to strike more now saying it is effective, and Pakistan will have no justification to oppose these attacks,” Pakistani tribal affairs expert Rahimullah Yusufzai told AFP.

“The killing of a key Pakistani enemy by the US will improve public opinion and create a soft corner for the US in Pakistan,” said Yusufzai. But pressure would also mount on Pakistan to take advantage of the US drone attacks to step up its fight against the Taliban and assert more control over the wild, semi-autonomous terrain. afp

 

[RabzonKhan]

Mehsud killed while getting ‘leg massage’: US missile strike kills 10 Taliban

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: A US drone fired two missiles at a Taliban commander’s house in Laddah tehsil of South Waziristan on Tuesday, killing 10 Taliban, said officials and a Taliban spokesman.

“The drone targeted Taliban commander Abdur Rahim Burki’s house … local sources have confirmed 10 casualties,” said the officials.

Another account put the death toll at 14 and the number of injured at seven.

Last Wednesday, Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and his wife were
A Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq confirmed the strike, but said only six Taliban had been killed.

reportedly killed in a drone strike in the same area.

The Taliban spokesman, Tariq, also called AP, and repeated assertions that “Baitullah is still alive”.

Meanwhile, CNN reported on Monday that TTP chief Baitullah was killed last week during a CIA drone attack while getting a leg massage on the roof of his father-in-law’s house, according to the AFP news agency.

Citing an unnamed US official, CNN said, “US surveillance in Pakistan spied a short, stocky man resembling the physical description of Baitullhah on the roof of his father-in-law’s home in South Waziristan.”

 

[RabzonKhan]

Settling Swat

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The prime minister, on his first visit to Swat since displaced persons began to return there, told a gathering of elders that a special package would soon be announced for the area. He also said terrorists had been eliminated and were on the run. The fact that Mr Gilani was able to attend a meeting along with the NWFP governor, the chief ministers of the NWFP and Punjab and other officials indicates there is at least some measure of truth in his words. A few weeks ago, such a trip by top level officials would have been unthinkable. The government and especially the army chief who greeted Mr Gilani in Mingora deserve thanks.

But the task is not yet finished. The fact is that militants remain active in Swat. According to some accounts, clandestine radio stations spring back occasionally to life; militant commanders mete out threats to people through messages and fear still hangs over the mountains. The business begun here needs to be finished off. Only then will people regain confidence and be more able to obey the PM's advice to watch out for 'black sheep'. By laying down plans for a programme to offer vocational training to young people in Swat and announcing new infrastructure projects, the government has shown it is aware of what needs to be done. Prime Minister Gilani indeed also spoke of the potential to develop tourism in Swat. But these promises now need to take the form of deeds. People returning to devastated homes are already growing impatient. Their apprehension that they will be abandoned needs to be put to rest.

Rather than simply announcing plans for them, these people need to be drawn into the decision-making process. They must have some say in deciding what the most urgent needs of the area are and how they can be best met. This should serve too as a means of strengthening the hands of MPAs who defeated pro-Taliban rivals. The ANP must take the lead in this and prove wrong the accusations of those who say civilian governments can achieve nothing and that handing funds coming in for Swat to them will lead only to corruption. A start has been made in Swat. But a great deal remains to be done. Only when this happens can there be certainty that the war we are fighting has been won and the people of conflict-hit areas rescued.

 

[tallman]

These militants know they cannot win, yet they take on the PA and die.
Is it courage? Bravery? Or sheer stupidity.

Its premitives that cant adjust to a changeing world,,,culture evolutionary failures,, nothing new, has happen since time begin. Society changes the ones it can,,,isolates the rest, such as on reservations and exterminates the rest... Its inevitable.
No 1 law of nature Survival of the fittest. Change or die...

 

[RabzonKhan]

The future after Baitullah

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Kamila Hyat

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor

There have been many who have celebrated the death of Baitullah Mehsud – the man who had come to symbolise militancy and destruction in Pakistan. He will forever be associated with the suicide bombings that shook our cities, killed thousands and changed our urban landscape.

Evidence has also come in that the 'highly-disciplined' band of fighters he was said to have led may not have been quite so disciplined after all. Indeed they seem to be little more than an unruly rabble. One, and indeed possibly two, of those contesting for leadership after Mehsud's death has apparently been killed in a shoot-out at the meeting called to nominate his successor. For these tribesmen too, power, it seems, means everything and the so-called service to Islam little. The failure to find a new leader for the Tehrik-e-Taliban seems to be one reason why associates of Baitullah continue to raise doubts over his death. The fact that nobody believes what the government says means there has been an unwillingness to accept the versions coming in from Islamabad – though this time around they do seem to be accurate.

Several questions now arise. Is the death of Baitullah Mehsud – the man code-named 'Nasrat' -- truly an immense blow to militancy? Will it now simply shrivel away and die – or is this an entirely unrealistic scenario? The events that have immediately followed the death of Baitullah indicate that his TTP is now a fractured body. It has been badly crippled by the loss of the leader who glued it together. But the key still is whether this can be capitalised on by authorities.

Across Waziristan, from where tens of thousands of people have fled over the last decade – the largest number since 2005 -- there is cautious optimism that there could now be a gradual return to stability. Shop owners who have suffered economic losses as a result of the fighting hope things will slowly improve; Waziristan's intellectuals, writers and other critics of the Taliban believe now they may one day be able to venture back into an area where their lives had not been safe for years. This will happen though only if advantage can be taken of the situation that now prevails in Waziristan. The people of the area need to be offered a new focus and a new vision for the future. They need to be co-opted into the state and not relegated to a life on its fringes in a place where feudal elements still hold sway and guns represent power. While tribal 'tradition' has been much romanticised, indeed since colonial times, the fact is that it is in practice often brutal and grossly unjust, favouring the influential over the most vulnerable. People need to be offered hope of employment, development, education and opportunity if they are to escape such lives. The failure to grant them what should be basic rights is one reason for the growth of militancy.

According to the NWFP government's Bureau of Statistics, only 29 per cent of men and three per cent of women in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are literate. This is the lowest literacy rate for females anywhere in the world, and means that in fact almost no woman in the area has received any schooling. Only 540 doctors and 116 nurses serve a population of over three million people. There are only 33 hospitals and 1,654 beds for the sick. In these figures lies an explanation of exactly what has gone amiss in these territories and how the state of Pakistan has wronged the people who live here.

Rather ironically, Islamabad, which has for months vocally 'condemned' the US drone strikes in its territory, as part of a ploy that fooled no one at all, now says it had a role in the attack that killed Baitullah. This seems to be an attempt to quickly grab a slice of the cake – before all the credit for taking out the country's top militant leader, on the basis of incredibly accurate intelligence, goes to Washington. Over the last few weeks Washington had indeed altered its previously lukewarm stance on Baitullah Mehsud, and ruled he was a man who had to be targeted. Pakistan must now persuade its ally that there is yet more to be done in Waziristan. Aid needs to pour into FATA and other northern areas. At the end of July the US Senate Foreign Relations sub-committee on the IDP crisis in Pakistan heard an unusually well-informed account from a Pakistani journalist currently pursuing an academic degree in the US on what needed to be done in the conflict-hit areas of NWFP to overcome the militant threat. The focus on employment, education and economic development was apt. The same priorities apply to FATA. We must hope the Pakistan government will review this testimony and persuade its US allies of what needs to happen now. Time is crucial. Desperate people are also impatient ones, and any delay at this point will mean full advantage has not been taken of the post-Baitullah scenario.

There are other realties too that now need to be faced up to. Attempts to veil them have continued for far too long. Baitullah Mehsud, the long-haired militant whose images have only now begun to appear in the mainstream media, was a creation of our own establishment. He had been brought in less than five years ago as a rival to Abdullah Mehsud. While it is possible he grew into a Frankenstein, beyond the control of his own minders, rumour has it that even now there were attempts on to reach a peace settlement in Waziristan and avoid the need for a military operation. To be fair to the Pakistan army however, it may simply have been waiting till Swat was secured and more units could be pulled out from there. Anything less than a full-fledged operation was after all hardly likely to work in Waziristan, a place where forces have in the past suffered heavy losses. At the same time, losing Swat again would be a disaster. But all this does not change the fact that the militias now being battled were a creation of our own agencies. Some are still reluctant to abandon them. But it is essential that this policy be set aside and a new one aimed at saving our country from militancy put in place.

The death of Baitullah makes it easier to move towards this. To do so effectively we must avoid creating new militant factions to battle those that have moved out of agency orbit or attempt to strike deals with commanders. Instead we require a people-centric strategy, placing the needs of people as the broad base standing at the bottom of the pyramid atop which we construct our plans for the future.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Editorial: FATA reform at last

August 15, 2009

No sane person would disagree with President Asif Zardari’s reforms in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He has allowed (1) political parties to function legally in the region; (2) set up an appellate tribunal; (3) curtailed the arbitrary powers of the political agent; (4) given people the right to appeal and right to bail; (5) excluded women and children from the territorial responsibility clause in cases of recompense; (6) and has proposed an audit of the funds used in the region under the auditor general.

The “tribal museum” on the north-western border of Pakistan is no longer viable. In strategic terms, it is no security glacis either. If we took non-state actors from here we no longer need them as we have more of them in Punjab. It is no longer the wild no man’s land serving as a buffer between us and other states. It is in fact a “strategic depth” available to states that wish us ill and want to send in money and warriors to destabilise Pakistan.

Above all, it is the right to live normally of the common man that we must protect through extending to him the law that obtains in the rest of the country. We must give up the policy of “leaving the tribesmen alone” and move forward with an aggressive resolve to provide education, communication and health facilities to the 3.2 million people living in FATA. Given the small population, it will take very little expenditure to turn the region around. The infrastructure we build there — a big financial and physical challenge — will be our investment in national defence.

 

[muse]

This is a small start, what is required is that the institutions of FATA and PATA ares done away with - all citizens of Pakistan must be served by the government without invention of reservations.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Pakistan to hunt down terrorists wherever they are: Qureshi

August 17, 2009

US focusing on Pak economy, energy sector
* Holbrooke says task force set up to overcome power crisis, will announce projects in Karachi
* Success against Taliban impressive

By Muhammad Bilal

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi vowed on Sunday to eliminate terrorists from every part of the country, with the US assuring Pakistan of its support in tackling challenges facing the country, including the energy crisis.

Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting with US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Qureshi said both sides were in agreement that the Swat operation was a success, and “the tide has turned against the Taliban”.

The minister said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan was in disarray following the reported death of Baitullah Mehsud, and the process of choosing a successor was lingering on because of “intense infighting”.

“The Pakistani government has a very clear strategy .. we will go to every area to clear our territory of terrorists,” said Qureshi.

He made it clear the government was determined to re-establish the writ of the state in every troubled area. He said the government had never said it would not go into Waziristan, but it would launch an operation in a new area only after proper planning.

He said he had conveyed to the US concern over “the perpetual flow of weapons and money from Afghanistan into Pakistan to breed militancy”.

Qureshi also called on the US to step forward to help Pakistan overcome economic challenges.

Holbrooke said his country had shifted its focus “very substantially” towards the South Asian ally’s economy and energy sector.

“Today, energy is our primary focus. Of course, we [also] talked about several other things,” he said. “We shifted the focus deliberately and consciously to .. the economy, and above all, the energy crisis.”

Holbrooke is expected announce energy projects when he visits Karachi in the coming days.

According to the APP news agency, Holbrooke said a task force, led by Marry Bethman, had been set up to overcome Pakistan’s energy crisis.

The envoy said Pakistan’s progress against the Taliban had allowed the two sides to discuss other issues.

He said the US was very impressed with troops’ success against the Taliban. The US diplomat said Taliban were now on the defensive.

About India’s alleged involvement in fanning an insurgency in Balochistan through Afghanistan, Holbrooke only said the Balochistan issue was of considerable importance, and he had talked to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also said that if the US distanced itself from Nawaz Sharif, it would hurt US interests, as “he is the popular leader in Pakistan”.





Maulvi Nazir’ among 17 killed in Taliban infighting

* Nazir spokesman says group will not blame anyone until it has confirmed attackers’ identity

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: At least 17 members of the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including Maulvi Nazir himself, have been killed in fighting with the Baitullah Mehsud group, rival leader Turkistan Bhittani told a private TV channel on Sunday.

“They were hiding behind rocks and, as soon as our people reached there, they opened fire. It was so sudden and quick that none of our men could fire back,” Shaheen Wazir, Maulvi Nazir’s spokesman, told the Reuters news agency via telephone. However, another spokesman, Abdul Haq, told AFP the group was not blaming anyone. “We cannot say whether it was Mehsud’s men or the government that was behind this attack,” he added.

Meanwhile, an intelligence official of the region said Taliban belonging to the Baitullah Mehsud group had also fired rocket-propelled grenades at pick-up trucks carrying Wazir fighters towards Wana. A resident saw the Taliban carrying some of the dead bodies into Wana after the attack, Reuters reported.

 

[muse]

Ali Hyderi, aide dead in Khairpur firing
Updated at: 0645 PST, Monday, August 17, 2009


KHAIRPUR: Allama Sher Ali, chief of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba was shot down along with his associate in Khairpur area of Dost Muhammed Abro area near Pir Jo Goth, Geo News reported Monday.

DPO Khairpur Pir Muhammed Shah told Geo News that religious scholar Ali Sher Hyderi was on his way back home from Dost Muhammed Abro to Pir Jo Goth, when some unidentified miscreants opened fire at him, killing him and his associate Imtiaz on the spot.

The attacker also was killed in the retaliatory fire by the guards; however, he could not be identified.

According to DPO, at least six people were injured in the incident. The bodies and injured have been shifted to the Civil Hospital Khairpur.

Tension prevails over the entire area following the killings. Contingents of police have been deployed across the district to avert any potential untoward situation. Police are continuously on patrol in various areas.

Hyderi was the head of a religious outfit, Millat-e-Islamia and patron-in-chief of Jamia Hydri.

Later on, talking to Geo News, DPO Shah said Hyderi’s killing is the result of personal enmity, adding the attacker has been identified as Aushaq Ali Jagirani.

 

[muse]

You know this one is personal: "Say hello to my little friend"

One by one, now, it does not matter what some here will say, whether it is good or bad to celebrate the capture and/or killing of Talib savages - for me, It's "Dolce et Decoum Est" And it should be for you as well.

Recruiter of suicide bombers for Taliban apprehended
Updated at: 2030 PST, Monday, August 17, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Saifullah, an important and right hand commander of Baitullah Mehsud and his accomplice has been apprehended in Islamabad.

According to sources Saifullah came under predator strike in South Waziristan, sustaining serious injuries on shoulder and back. His wounds could not be cured due to lack of medical facilities in South Waziristan, so he was brought to Islamabad in a highly secret move.

Commander Saifullah was arrested from a house in Baharakaho area while raids are being conducted to arrest his associates.

Sources said, Saifullah who hailed from Burewala was assigned the task of recruiting suicide bombers besides running a terror network in Southern Punjab.

The accused had been involved in executing major terror activities in the country including the bomb blasts in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Police has also arrested Saifullah’s accomplice Zahid from the jurisdiction of Secretariat Police Station.

Both the accused are associated with Qari Hamza Group a wing of the banned Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, police said.

They have been shifted to unknown location for investigation.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Forces destroy three militant bases in Khyber​

Tuesday, 01 Sep, 2009 | 12:27 PM PST |

PESHAWAR: Government forces destroyed three militant bases and killed five insurgents Tuesday in Pakistan's northwestern border region, the military said.

Two militant commanders were among those killed in the dawn raids in the Khyber region, a statement from the Frontier Corps said. It said 25 suspected militants were captured in the operation, which was continuing.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Forces destroy three militant bases in Khyber

The political agent in Khyber has a slightly higher toll - FC might update later:

40 extremists killed, 43 nabbed: PA Tariq​

Updated at: 1750 PST, Tuesday, September 01, 2009
BARA: At least 40 extremists have been killed and 43 others arrested, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Talking to Geo News, Tariq Hayat Political Agency Khyber Agency said the action is underway against those who challenge the writ of the government.

The political agency said the operation is being carried out against miscreants not against any specific person or a group, adding the dead terrorists include two important commanders Murad and Habibur Rehman.

Tariq Hayat said three security personnel were injured in the operation, adding the operation will continue until Bara is cleared.
40 extremists killed, 43 nabbed: PA Tariq

 

[Metallic]

Militants attack FC camp in Khyber
PAKISTAN - 19 DECEMBER 2009

PESHAWAR: Militants fired four rockets while attacking a Frontier Corps camp in Khyber agency’s Bara tehsil on Saturday, DawnNews reported.

Security forces retaliated and pounded militant hideouts in different parts of the agency, official sources told DawnNews.

Security was then beefed up around the FC camp and a search operation was underway.

A military operation is currently underway in the Khyber agency while a curfew is still imposed in Bara tehsil.


Source: DAWN Media Group

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

this is kind of off topic but interesting.......check out this car graveyard not far from the khyber pass...

these are vehicles previously in use by the terrorists now part of an auto graveyard captured by the forces there......notice the Mercedes (w126 series), it was riddled with bullets parked there for the last 3 years under sun & sand but amazingly regardless of the bit of rust and other minor damage it didn't even lose any air from its tyres.....


i'm a big fan of those models....