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India-Pakistan

PTI govt cannot be trusted with cracking down against banned organisations: Bilawal

2019-03-15

[DAWN] PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday said he does not trust PTI with cracking down on banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organizations while reiterating his demand that the government remove from the federal cabinet a trio of ministers who he accuses of having "long-held ties" with proscribed organizations. "We doubt your intentions [of the promised crackdown against proscribed organizations] because you were allied with proscribed organizations [when you] fought elections," Bilawal said, referring to the ruling party. "Everyone knows that three ministers in the cabinet have a long history with banned outfits. Until you remove them, we will keep doubting you," he said. "One minister's video went viral on social media. He can be seen assuring them [leaders of a proscribed party] that 'we will not take action against you until our government is in place'. "The other minister made inductions into the PTI from UN-banned organizations like HUM (Harkatul Mujahideen al-Islami) during the elections. He then said on the floor of the house that 'If you are speaking against banned outfits and the National Action Plan then that is against the country's interest. "The third one not only has a long history of being associated with banned outfits, but he has also helped run bully boy outfits and training camps," the PPP leader alleged. "Folks with this mentality should not be in the 'Naya Pakistain' cabinet," he said. The 'viral video' Bilawal is referring to could possibly be one which features Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi giving assurances to a group of men. In the video, which has been circulating on social media for quite some time, Afridi can be seen in the company of a group of men, one of whom briefs him about the authorities' plan to put the Milli Moslem League ‐ which had been the political front for the Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... ‐ on a list of proscribed organizations. To this, Afridi replies: "God willing, till we are in the assembly and till the PTI stands, no one can ... Forget Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... sahab, we will support whoever supports Pakistain and its [sovereign] right. This is our belief. It will be our request to you to come and sit in the assembly and see for yourself whether we [are the ones who] stand for the kalma-e-haq, or others do." It bears mentioning that the government has stated as a matter of policy that it wishes to 'mainstream' bully boy groups by creating economic, social and political incentives to encourage them to give up violence as a way of life. This policy was unequivocally opposed by Bilawal in the National Assembly last week.

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India-Pakistan

Interpol issues red corner notice against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar

2016-05-19

[DAWN] Interpol on Tuesday issued a red corner notice (RCN) against bad boy group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and his brother for their alleged involvement in the Pathankot air base attack earlier this year, Times of India reported. At least 7 Indian troops were killed during an attack on the sprawling 2,000 acre installation in Pathankot. Gunmen besieged the air base for nearly a week before security forces were able to secure the installation. The Indian National Investigation Agency sought the notice against Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf, Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif, the suspected handlers of the Pathankot attackers. Masood Azhar was placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... in India in February 1994 but India was forced to release him and two others -- Mushtaq Zargar and Umar Sheikh -- in Dec 1999 in exchange for passengers and crews of an Indian flight that was hijacked by murderous Moslems linked to Harkatul Mujahideen from Kathmandu and forced to land in Kandahar. Abdul Rauf is believed to have criminal masterminded the hijacking. After his return to Pakistain, Azhar split with Harkatul Mujahideen in 2000 and formed JeM. Interpol issues an RCN against any accused after it receives all information and evidence against him from the country in which the crime has been committed. An RCN, however, is not an international arrest warrant and Interpol cannot force Pakistain to arrest Azhar. India had also managed to get an RCN issued against Azhar earlier, but it could not force Pakistain to take any tangible action against him. Earlier this year, Pakistain Sherlocks probing the Pathankot airbase attack across the border told Indian interlocutors that it had yet to find evidence linking Masood Azhar to the terror attack but India maintains JeM is responsible for the attack. In April, China blocked India's call to ban Masood Azhar at the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... (UN). The UN banned Jaish in 2001 but India’s efforts to get restrictions imposed on Azhar after the Mumbai attacks did not bear fruit because China did not allow them to be imposed.

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India-Pakistan

Suspected member of banned outfit held

2016-05-14

[DAWN] RAWALINDI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) locked away Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! a suspected member of a banned outfit in Attock on Wednesday, police sources said. The sources said Mohammad Hanif alias Qari Asim Moavia, an active member of the outlawed Harkatul Mujahideen, was collecting wheat bags from villagers for the proscribed organization when he was arrested. During the interrogation, the suspect confessed to raising funds from the villagers for the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organization. The villagers told the CTD that the suspect had been threatening them to give him wheat bags. During the interrogation, the CTD also recovered a large quantity of wheat the suspect had collected from the villagers and stored there. The accused was produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court which remanded him in the police custody for nine days. It may be noted that scores of people have been placed in the fourth schedule of the Anti-terrorism Act in different areas of Attock, Hassanabdal and Fatehjang. In April, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NATCA) and the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... home department had expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the illegal settlements of Afghan nationals in these areas and directed the police to remove them. But the police made no progress on the directives so far.

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India-Pakistan

Suspects held in Islamabad belong to militant group

2014-03-04

[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Seven suspects nabbed Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in a locality of the capital late on Friday night after an encounter are members of a splinter group of Harkatul Mujahideen and involved in assassinations, extortion and acts of terrorism, police said here on Saturday. Police were carrying out a search operation in Kural and Tarlai areas on the basis of an intelligence report that suspects were present there when they came under attack, triggering an exchange of fire. Police said the operation continued for five hours. An unspecified number of accomplices of the arrested people escaped and took away explosives and weapons after the shootout with the police. The actual number of suspects who escaped is yet to be established, but police believe that they were more than two and that they had taken away with a huge cache of arms and ammunitions and explosives. "The escapees were the planners, criminal masterminds and seniors in the group who take decisions and use other members," they added. According to the police, the group called itself Intaqmi (Dire Revenge™) and it replaced its predecessor, the Tanveer Gondal group, in Islamabad which was busted by police last year. The group comprised members of Harkatul Mujahideen and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain. Police said members of the group were involved in assassinations of Shias in Rawalpindi and Nowshera. Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... the arrested people were produced in the anti-terrorism court which remanded them to the police custody.

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India-Pakistan

Worshipping dead heroes

2014-01-18

[Pak Daily Times] At the age of 15, Aitzaz Hussain Bangash did what the leadership of this country, both civilians and men in uniform, has failed to do. He died a hero's death so that his schoolmates could live on and realise their worldly dreams. He cut his life short so others could blossom. Aitzaz could have listened to the pleas of his friends and run away like them, he could have reasoned with himself, he could have thought of his family and his unfulfilled dreams, he could have been smart like our leaders by saving his skin and letting the jacket wallah blow dozens of children up in flames but he chose otherwise. He confronted the bomber with the intention of preventing an attack. Aitzaz Hussain died in the incident that took place last week in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated region of Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... . Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... should know that Aitzaz's school was neither training drone operators nor was it a launching pad for drones. What Imran Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... would never say publicly is that the children were targeted because of their faith -- a Shia faith. Imran Khan acclaimed the hero but timidly avoided condemning the villain. His friend Nayed Ali was right on the money when he told the media that it was time people came out and fought these turbans on their own. His despair was visible with the security forces, which have failed to protect the lives and property of innocent Paks. In another incident, we lost an intrepid police officer, Chaudhry Aslam Khan, to a suicide kaboom in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... . According to media reports, he had survived several earlier attempts on his life, including a devastating attack on his residence in 2011. This time around, Chaudhry Aslam's luck had, unfortunately, run out, as a powerful bomb targeted his van. The bravery of his wife, Noreen Aslam, was heartening. She said her husband knew that he was "living to die". He was top on the list of the Taliban and other criminal gangs but he never shied away from his duty to take on these brutes. He indeed had conquered the fear of death. And what did we give these two brave souls in return? We lamented their death with shallow condemnations from our leaders, with strings attached that talks with the turbans are the road to peace. The typical condemnatory statements that their blood would not go wasted and that their sacrifices would be remembered forever appeared on television channels as they do somehow after every such incident. To make sure that their deaths, and those of the many more before them, do not go in vain, the government has to take firm action to uproot all violent bully boy outfits. The Frankenstein monster that our security forces created to hurt the interests of our neighbouring countries is biting back. Afghanistan President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... was right when he said that the earlier Pakistain realises the perils of nurturing terrorists, the better it will be for Pakistain and Afghanistan: "Terrorism is a snake and when you train a snake, you cannot expect it will only go into the neighbour's house." Pakistain has nurtured snakes like the Razakars, al Badr, al Shams, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , Jaish-e-Muhammad, and the list goes on. The first target were the unarmed Bengalis in former East Pakistain, which ultimately gained freedom to become Bangladesh. Almost 20 years later, these private militias were sent to Kashmire to stoke the fires of separatism. The recent phenomenon is the launching of the lashkars (collective tribal forces) in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), frontier regions and districts bordering the tribal belt to fight against the Taliban, thus exposing the rustics to turbans and creating chaos in a society that is already passing through difficult times. One wonders what the purpose is of holding a large military apparatus if the battles are going to be waged by civilian militias. It is no secret anymore that Pakistain supported the war in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union, funding and arming several jihadi groups. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the military establishment pitched one group against another, which resulted in infighting costing thousands of Afghan lives. Following 9/11, the rules of the game changed and more multi-ethnic turbans arrived in the tribal belt when the government of General Musharraf looked the other way. The tribal belt turned into a large guesthouse where these turbans stayed, relaxed and left on their missions, furthering their expansionist ideology. After the death of every brave soul, our leaders do not waste a moment in declaring them to be a shaheed (martyr), implying that the dead have received their reward already. It is time we expunge this word shaheed from our national psyche for two reasons. One, with its religious overtones, it becomes the property of religious parties, which they use as they will. Second, it glorifies death and is a tool in the hands of rulers who employ it to rule. One wonders that, if being a martyr is such a coveted position, why do the preachers of martyrdom, the generals, politicians and the contractors of paradise, the mullahs, not aspire to embrace martyrdom? "They say my son is a martyr. He died during a sacred month but who will feel my pain, the pain of losing a son?" the late Chaudhry Aslam's father said with tearful eyes. Being a country without heroes, Pakistain needs heroes but those who are alive, not dead. This business of making deaders has to stop. The business of worshipping dead heroes has to end. Can we humbly ask the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) and Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) to enlighten us about who they think is a shaheed: Aitzaz or the suicide bomber, Chaudhry Aslam Khan or his attacker, Naeemullah? The former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, has been provided with a bulletproof vehicle on the court's order. It is another matter that the vehicle could have been used by soldiers fighting turbans but being at the end of his life's journey, who is Justice Chaudhry really afraid of? Liberals do not appreciate violence and fanatics have the highest regard for him. The Taliban have said that if they respect anyone in Pakistain, it is Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. I rest my case.

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Bangladesh

Farid planned Huji revival

2013-04-01

[Bangla Daily Star] Former Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader Farid Uddin Ahammad had decided to revive Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. ) in coordination with some Afghan war veterans, former Shibir cadres and leaders and activists of different Death Eater outfits, detectives say. Apart from establishing Khilafat in Bangladesh, he was backing the anti-government movement and obstructing the war crimes trial, they add. "Farid in his publications elaborated the ways of reviving HuJI, its reorganization and future activities," said a Detective Branch official close to the interrogation team. Quoting Farid the DB official, who spoke anonymously, said: "Farid opted for reviving HuJI as there are similarities in the ideologies of the HuJI in Bangladesh, Pakistain and Afghanistan." Since September last year, Farid built up communications with a dozen Afghan war veterans, a number of former and present Shibir cadres and many members of various Death Eater outfits like HuJI, Harkatul Mujahideen and Allahar Dal. Detectives on Friday tossed in the calaboose Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! Farid, who is also known as the ideological guru of different Death Eater outfits like HuJI and Allahar Dal. On the same day, law enforcers also held Afghan war veteran Farid Uddin Masud, who was a leader of HuJI in Pakistain, Shibir cadre Mizanur Rahman, Death Eater leader Mahfuzur Rahman and 12 others, including four Pak nationals from the capital. "The tossed in the clink Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! Death Eater leaders directly and indirectly support the anti-government movement and they were working against the war crimes trial," Nazrul Islam Mollah, deputy commissioner of DB, told The Daily Star yesterday. "Among them, Mizanur and Mahfuzur had been playing a vital role in supplying bombs, as they have expertise in making bombs," he added. DB officials said the detained Pak nationals had close links with the Death Eater outfits in Pakistain and an intelligence agency of a neighbouring country. "They were playing roles of carrying and passing information to them," said a DB official. Former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Farid Uddin Ahammad had decided to revive Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) in coordination with some Afghan war veterans, former Shibir cadres and leaders and activists of different Death Eater outfits, detectives say. Apart from establishing Khilafat in Bangladesh, he was backing the anti-government movement and obstructing the war crimes trial, they add. "Farid in his publications elaborated the ways of reviving HuJI, its reorganization and future activities," said a Detective Branch official close to the interrogation team. Quoting Farid the DB official, who spoke anonymously, said: "Farid opted for reviving HuJI as there are similarities in the ideologies of the HuJI in Bangladesh, Pakistain and Afghanistan." Since September last year, Farid built up communications with a dozen Afghan war veterans, a number of former and present Shibir cadres and many members of various Death Eater outfits like HuJI, Harkatul Mujahideen and Allahar Dal. Detectives on Friday arrested Farid, who is also known as the ideological guru of different Death Eater outfits like HuJI and Allahar Dal. On the same day, law enforcers also held Afghan war veteran Farid Uddin Masud, who was a leader of HuJI in Pakistain, Shibir cadre Mizanur Rahman, Death Eater leader Mahfuzur Rahman and 12 others, including four Pak nationals from the capital. "The detained Death Eater leaders directly and indirectly support the anti-government movement and they were working against the war crimes trial," Nazrul Islam Mollah, deputy commissioner of DB, told The Daily Star yesterday. "Among them, Mizanur and Mahfuzur had been playing a vital role in supplying bombs, as they have expertise in making bombs," he added. DB officials said the detained Pak nationals had close links with the Death Eater outfits in Pakistain and an intelligence agency of a neighbouring country. "They were playing roles of carrying and passing information to them," said a DB official.

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Bangladesh

4 Pakistanis held with fake Indian rupees

2013-03-31

[Bangla Daily Star] Sixteen people, including a former Jamaat leader, an Afghan war veteran and four Pak nationals, who were tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! on Friday with bombs and fake currencies, are paraded before the media yesterday. Police in the capital have arrested 12 alleged beturbanned goons, including a former Jamaat leader and an Afghan war veteran, with bombs, bomb-making materials and Tk 1.29 crore in fake Indian currency. One crore=10 million, or 100 lakh. One Bangla taka=one cent. Of the 12, all arrested on Friday night, one is a former Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... leader and the rest are members of different terrorist outfits like Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. and Harkatul Mujahideen and Allah'r Dal. In a separate drive the same night, the Detective Branch of police arrested four Pak nationals with fake 6.3 million Indian rupees. One Indian rupee=2 cents Briefing newsmen, DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said the arrested Bangladeshis were preparing for subversive activities, including attacks on public gatherings and eminent personalities. To remain financially secure, they were counterfeiting money in coordination with the Pak nationals. The seizure also includes eight hand-made bombs, $400 in cash, 4,000 Pak rupees and seven passports -- four Pak and three Bangladeshi. DB officials said they first arrested former Madaripur district Jamaat unit Ameer Dr Farid Uddin Ahammad, 55, Afghan war veteran Farid Uddin Masud, 35, former Shibir cadre Mizanur Rahman, 31, and beturbanned goon activist Mahfuzur Rahman, 23, at a house on Free School Street, Kathal Bagan, with bombs and bomb-making materials. According to DB officials, Dr Farid and Masud had been reorganising the leaders and members of various beturbanned goon outfits to establish Khilafat in Bangladesh through subversive activities. Dr Farid was a Shibir leader while studying at Sylhet Medical College. On completion of MBBS, he got involved in the committee of the Sylhet city unit Jamaat. As he hails from Madaripur, he acted as the ameer of the district unit Jamaat for a decade. Dr Farid, who took part in parliamentary elections as a Jamaat candidate, got involved with beturbanned goon outfit Allah'r Dal, HuJI and Harkatul Mujahideen. He was the ideologue of different beturbanned goon outfits, Joint Commissioner Monirul said. In 1991, Dr Farid allied himself wth Farid Uddin Masud, who stayed in Pakistain till 2004 and got involved with Harkatul Jihad there. Another detainee, Mizanur Rahman, who is a former Shibir cadre, was also a leader of Allah'r Dal. Mizan, a former student of Dhaka University, also had been recruiting members for carrying out subversive activities under the directives of Dr Farid and Masud. DB officials said following the arrest of the four, they around 8:00pm arrested two others -- Abdul Khalid and Mohammad Sajal -- in Paltan area. On information given by the duo, detectives arrested six members of a gang, involved in making fake currencies, at a house in Nikunja-2 under Khilkhet area with counterfeit 66 lakh Indian rupees. The six are Md Mostofa, Mamunur Rashid, his wife Dolly Akhter, Md Abul Bashar, Rezaul Karim, and Roksana Begum. DB said following the arrest of the six, the force conducted a raid at a residential hotel in Bangshal from where they arrested four Pak nationals with fake 63 lakh Indian rupees. The jugged I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! Paks -- Sayeed Uddin, Mohammad Farhan, Rubina Begum and Nargis Akhter -- have visited Bangladesh between six and 12 times. Nazrul Islam Mollah, deputy commissioner of DB (North), said Dr Farid, Masud, Mizan and Mahfuzur had been taken on remand for three days each, the Pak nationals for seven days each and the rest for four days each.

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India-Pakistan

Despite ban on collection of hides Banned outfits earned over Rs780 million

2012-12-11

[Dawn] Though the government had banned collection of sacrificial animal hides by outlawed organizations, they earned over 780 million by selling hides collected during Eidul Azha this year. Sources told Dawn that the Punjab government has expressed displeasure over the failure of the police and the civil administration in enforcing the ban. The proscribed organizations also intimidated those officials who tried to stop them from collecting hides. The provincial government had issued directives on October 11 and 15, strictly banning the collection of hides by proscribed organizations during Eidul Azha. The police and civil administration had also been directed not to allow such outfits to display banners or set up camps to collect hides. Citing reports by the Intelligence Bureau Punjab about the details of sacrificial hides collected by the banned outfits and the estimated amount they earned from its sale, the home department has asked the police and the civil administration to submit their replies why they failed to check the activities of the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organizations. The intelligence reports said the outlawed outfits had earned Rs78,210,500 from the sale of the hides. According to the intelligence reports, on October 27 when a station house officer (SHO) in Jhelum tried to stop the workers of Jamia Hanfia Taleemul Islam from setting up a hide collection point, he was threatened. As a result, the police let them continue their illegal activity. In another incident on October 28, the Bhalwal police in Sargodha had to eat a humble pie for a lawful action. The City police had jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! three workers of a banned organization -- Qari Mohamamd Nazir, Mohammad Akram and Burhan Haider -- for collecting hides. But the police had to release them on October 30 reportedly on the orders of their senior officer. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... the FIR has not been quashed. The counter-terrorism department of Punjab had drawn the attention of the Punjab police chief towards the ineffective enforcement of law against the proscribed organizations that set up camps to collect sacrificial hides for fund raising during Eidul Azha every year. Those found involved in such an activity were to be booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act. But no effective action was taken against them by the district administration and the police. The Intelligence Bureau reported the names of the banned organizations and the number of hides they collected from different cities. According to the reports, Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... (Al-Rehmat Trust) collected 222 hides in Chakwal, 356 in Attock, 49 in Multan, 120 in Khanewal, 150 in Vehari, 125 in Rajanpur, 4,000 in Lahore, 500 in Bahawalpur, 220 in Rahimyar Khan, 488 in Hafizabad, 65 in Mandi Bahauddin, 145 in Gujrat, 425 in Sialkot, 250 in Gujranwala and 105 in Kasur. Likewise, Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... Pakistain (under observation) Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation collected a total of 92,800 hides in the province. Of these 695 were collected in Chakwal, 256 in Jhelum, 542 in Multan, 960 in Khanewal, and 4,000 in Vehari. Other cities and the number of hides are: Sahiwal, 6,000 hides; Pakpattan, 1077; Okara, 1,300, D.G. Khan, 125; Muzaffargarh, 250; Rajanpur, 180; Layyah, 550; Lahore, 60,000; Bahawalpur, 600; Rahimyar Khan, 370; Bahawalnagar, 130; Hafizabad, 512; Mandi Bahauddin, 540; Gujrat, 810; Sialkot, 1,100; Norawal, 2,000; Gujranwala, 5015; Sheikhupura, 385; Nankana Sahib 1,013; and Kasur 4013. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (defunct SSP) collected 170 hides from Chakwal, 328 from Attock, 362 from Multan, 550 from Vehari, 98 from Sahiwal, 1,000 from Okara, 60 from D.G. Khan, 530 from Muzaffargarh, 725 from Layyah, 2,100 from Lahore, 255 from Bahawalpur, 200 from Bahawalnagar, 512 from Hafizabad, 592 from Mandi Bahauddin, 440 from Gujrat, 550 from Sialkot, 1,000 from Narowal, 500 from Gujranwala, 301 from Sheikhupura and 212 from Nankana Sahib. Tehrik-e-Jaffaria Pakistain/Shia Ulema Council collected 184 hides from Chakwal, 85 from D.G. Khan, 110 from Muzaffargarh, 220 from Layyah, 90 from Mandi Bahauddin, 112 from Gujrat, 800 from Norowal and 300 from Gujranwala. Likewise, Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and liquidations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... managed to collect 175 sacrificial hides from Attock, 96 from Multan, 8,000 from Lahore and 120 from Mandi Bahauddin. Ansarul Ummah (Harkatul Mujahideen) collected 250 hides from Attock and Jamaat Al-Furqan collected 10 hides from Multan, 22 from Pakpattan and 419 from Hafizabad, Al-Maymaar Trust (Al-Rasheed Trust) got 100 hides from Rahimyar Khan while Al-Badar Mujahideen collected 407 hides from Hafizabad. The intelligence reports also pointed out that neither the police nor the civil administration had made serious efforts to enforce the government's policy as unauthorised banners were prominently displayed and collection points set up by the banned organizations all over the Punjab.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistani Taliban changing tactics

2011-09-28

ISLAMABAD - The attack on Monday by a jacket wallah who rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the residence of a senior police official spearheading a campaign against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) in the commercial capital Bloody Karachi makes it abundantly clear that the shock waves from the 9/11 terror attacks a decade ago show few signs of abating. The Bloody Karachi suicide kaboom was in keeping with the change in TTP tactics as the group has apparently decided to target top coppers and military officials involved in counterterrorism efforts. The change in tactic shows increasingly desperation because the TTP is now attacking soft targets, such as homes of law-enforcement officials in large cities, which are bound to be relatively unsecured, as opposed to government or military installations. Pakistain has suffered 305 suicide kabooms, the death of 4,847 people and injury of 10,227 others at the hands of al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked gunnies in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington. Bloody Karachi, Pakistain's largest city, main seaport and key financial center, which is also the capital of Sindh province, is one of the biggest sources of the Pak Taliban's funds through criminal activities like kidnappings and bank robberies. Bloody Karachi has not seen as many TTP-sponsored suicide kabooms as other major cities, but it is home to thousands of the group's faceless myrmidons who have decamped army operations in the tribal areas. The first vehicle-borne suicide kaboom in Pakistain was carried out in Bloody Karachi on May 8, 2002, when a human bomb drove his car into the side of a bus outside the Sheraton Hotel, killing 14 people including 11 French naval technicians. Aslam Khan, the police senior superintendent who heads the anti-extremist cell of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Bloody Karachi, survived the September 19 attack after a double-cabin vehicle packed with C4 explosives was rammed into the main gate at his residence in the heavily guarded Defence Housing Area at 7.30 am. Eight people including six coppers, a woman and a child, were killed. The proscribed TTP quickly grabbed credit for the attack, saying Aslam had been responsible for the arrest of many of its key operatives. "We will continue targeting all such coppers who are involved in the killing of our jihadi comrades," TTP front man Ehsanullah Ehsan said when claiming responsibility for the attack. The Bloody Karachi suicide kaboom was in keeping with the change in TTP tactics as the group has apparently decided to target top coppers and military officials involved in counterterrorism efforts. The change in tactic shows increasingly desperation because the TTP is now attacking soft targets, such as homes of law-enforcement officials in large cities, which are bound to be relatively unsecured, as opposed to government or military installations. The deaths of family members and neighbors would seem of little consequence to the attackers. The attack came less than two weeks after another human bomb on September 7 rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the Quetta residence of the deputy inspector general of the Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Frontier Corps, killing his wife and 24 others in a high-security zone in the city. The Frontier Corps deputy inspector was targeted bomb because he was involved in the capture of Younis al-Mauritani, a senior member of al-Qaeda's external operations council, and his two aides, Abdul Ghaffar Al-Shami and Messara al-Shami. The three al-Qaeda operatives were tossed in the calaboose in a suburb of Quetta during a joint operation between the Balochistan Frontier Corps and the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. The bombing was the TTP's second attempt in 10 months to assassinate Aslam Khan, who has repeatedly vowed to break the back of the TTP and crush its strong network in the port city, where it works in tandem with sectarian and bad boy groups. Monday's attack, which destroyed or damaged neighboring houses and killed many innocents in the posh area of Bloody Karachi, has once again highlighted that the war against al-Qaeda-linked Taliban gunnies is no longer confined to the tribal belt of Pakistain but has reached the urban centers - be it Quetta, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore or Bloody Karachi. The previous attempt to assassinate Aslam Khan was also made by a human bomber, who rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the Bloody Karachi headquarters of the CID on November 11, 2010. Aslam and other officers of the CID - Fayyaz Khan, Omar Shahid and Mazhar Mashwani - who oversee the anti-extremism cell and run counter-terrorism operations in the port city, beat feet unhurt. The attack began as an armed assault and ended with a truck bomb that killed at least 20 people and injured over 100 others. The CID building was being used to interrogate suspects belonging to TTP and other banned bad boy groups. The attack was carried out a day after Aslam had tossed in the calaboose six activists of the TTP-linked sectarian-cum jihadi group - Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... (LeJ). Aslam and his team members largely succeeded in breaking the TTP network in Bloody Karachi by arresting three successive ameers of the Bloody Karachi chapter of the group in recent months - Akhtar Zaman Mehsud and his successors Bahadur Khan Momand and Maulvi Saeed Anwer. This invited the wrath of the Bloody Karachi chapter of the TTP, which has links with faceless myrmidons in the country's tribal areas and with al-Qaeda and several banned bad boy and sectarian outfits. Therefore, the TTP's claim of responsibility soon after the September 19 attack came as little surprise. Aslam told news hounds he had been receiving threats from the al-Qaeda-linked Pak Taliban. "I was sleeping when they carried out this cowardly act and rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into my house," Aslam told the media outside his ruined residence. "But let me tell you, I will not be cowed. I will teach a lesson to generations of these bad boys. I did not know that these bully boyz were such cowards that they would attack sleeping children." Due to the nature of his work, the enemies of Aslam in the jihadi circles of Bloody Karachi are as countless and varied as the techniques he himself has used to arrest them. They range from the TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) to drug-runners and hit mans belonging to several major political parties, especially the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM). Well-informed circles in the security agencies said the Bloody Karachi suicide attack was an attempt to demoralize law enforcement agencies, especially the Sindh Police CID, which in recent days has identified more than two dozen myrmidon bad boy and sectarian outfits in Bloody Karachi for a possible crackdown once the hunt for politically-backed hit mans is over. Prominent alongside the TTP and LeJ among these sectarian and jihadi groups are also: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistain, Sunni Tehrik, Daawat-e-Islami, Harkatul Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Jamaatul Furqaan, Harkatul Jehadul Islami, Jundallah, Tehrik-e-Islami , Lashkar-e-Muhammadi, Lashkar-e-Islami, Mehdi Militia, Hezbullies, and Tawheed Brigade. Security sources said some TTP-linked elements had distributed a leaflet in various outskirts of Bloody Karachi in the first week of July, carrying a "hit list" of anti-jihadi personalities, threatening that they would be killed along with family members. The pamphlet justified jihad and urged "pure Mohammedans" to rise up against elements creating problems for jihadis who were described as the defenders of Islam and Pakistain. According to the leaflet, the definition of a criminal had been changed in recent times. "Previously, it was used for robbers and dacoits, but after 9/11 the term is being used for those who are sincere with the religion of Islam and want to wage jihad against the forces of the infidel." Those declared "liable to be killed" in the TTP pamphlet, along with the CID's Aslam Khan, included: Capital City Police Officer Bloody Karachi Saud Mirza; CID superintendent Fayyaz Khan; Anti-Violent Crime Unit Chief Farooq Awam; Special Investigation Unit chief Raja Omar Khattab; former Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wasim Ahmed; Sunni Deobandi scholar Mufti Mohammad Naeem, Shia scholar Mirza Yousuf Baig; and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Haider Abbas Rizvi. Television artists and anchors and some Bloody Karachi-based journalists were also on the list. The TTP front man, Ehsanullah Ehsan, while claiming responsibility for the Bloody Karachi suicide kaboom, stated, "Aslam Khan was on our hit list and his name will only be removed after he is killed. But let me tell you frankly, he is not the only one on our hit list. There are many other officers of the Bloody Karachi Police on our hit list who will be targeted and killed soon for having sided with the forces of the infidel".

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India-Pakistan

Judgment reserved in Allama Turabi murder case

2010-09-26

[Pak Daily Times] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday after recording the arguments of defence and prosecution reserved the judgment of the suicide kaboom case on Allama Hasan Turabi until September 30. ATC No III judge Anand Ram Hotwani proceeded the case inside the Central Prison, Karachi in the presence the alleged accused Sultan Mahmood alias Saifullah, Mohammad Amin alias Khalid Shaheen, Mohammad Akbar, Mohammad Rehman, Ashfaq Qureshi and Raheemullah alias Ali Hasan. Abdul Waheed Katper, defence counsel of the three accused Muhammad Amin, Sultan Mahmood and Muhammad Rehman, stated that the suspects' confessions have not been recorded on oath and should be excluded. The prosecution also tried to prove that the suspects were muscle of banned religious outfit Harkatul Mujahideen which was not true, he added. He pleaded that the court should release the suspects under the benefit of doubt. Counsel of another accused Raheemullah, Advocate Nasir Mughal stated that the prosecution could not prove the offence. Defence counsel of suspect Ashfaq Qureshi and Akbar Khan, Maqbool-ur-Rahman during the last hearing, said that the prosecution had examined more than 30 witnesses but none of them had deposed against his clients. He alleged that the motorcycle used in the crime was not the one recovered from the accused since it had a different registration number. Special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa withheld the pleas of the defence counsels and stated that the suspects had voluntarily recorded their confessional statements in which they disclosed the roles of co-accused Akbar, Ashfiq and Raheemullah before the court of a judicial magistrate. Pleading for award of capital punishment to the accused, he said that the prosecution witnesses had implicated them and the prosecution had successfully proven the case.

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India-Pakistan

Punjab bans 23 militant outfits operating under new names

2010-07-07

ISLAMABAD -- The Punjab government has banned 23 militant organisations operating under new names after having been outlawed and directed police to keep a strict vigil on 1,690 office-bearers and workers of the outfits after including them in Schedule 4. According to the provincial home department, Jamaatud Dawa of Hafiz Saeed has not been restricted like others, but Saeed and his two associates have been barred from travelling abroad. Their accounts have been frozen and they will not be able to get arms licences. Sipah-e-Sahaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Laskar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-e-Jafria, Harkatul Jihad Islami, Harkatul Mujahideen, Hizbul Tehrir, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Muhammad had been banned by the Musharraf government in 2002, but most of them started their activities under new names. It's like Pakistan has the world's largest 'Book of Synonyms' ... Sipah-e-Sahaba was renamed as Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Jaish-e-Muhammad as Alfurqan and Khuddamul Islam and Tehrik-e-Jafria as Islami Tehrik Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba as Jamaatud Dawa. Hizbul Tehrir did not change its name. Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad have been active in the Indian-administered Kashmir and have also been blamed in terrorist acts inside mainland India -- Jaish-e-Mohammad in attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001and LeT in the Mumbai carnage of November 2008. While Jaish's chief Maulana Azhar Masood has been keeping a low profile since his organisation was suspected of making an attempt on the life of former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, the LeT's Hafiz Saeed continues to be very active in the guise of various outfits even after the new organisation Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) was also was banned when the United Nations Security Council declared it a terrorist organisation in 2002.

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India-Pakistan

Top terrorist arrested in Karachi

2010-04-29

KARACHI: The Anti-Extremist Cell (AEC) of Sindh police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) claimed to have arrested a top terrorist of the Harkatul Mujahideen from Karachi on Wednesday. According to details, Ahsanullah alias Ahsan Bhai, 42, son of Najeebullah, was arrested from a slum in New Karachi during a raid.He is accused of involvement in several terrorist activities, and was also included in the CID's Red Book of wanted terrorists and had a head money of Rs 500,000. As per the Red Book, the terrorist was a resident of Ziaul Haq Colony in Orangi Town and was last seen at a religious gathering in Orangi seven years ago. The book said he was responsible for smuggling weapons for his organisation.

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