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India-Pakistan

TNSM chief's trial delayed for non-availability of evidence

2010-09-14

[Pak Daily Times] The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has delayed the trial of banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Mohammad after the prosecution department failed to produce solid evidence and witnesses against him, Daily Times has learnt. Looks like the fix is in again... "non-availability of evidence". Is that like "all the witnesses are dead"? Official sources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department revealed that first the TNSM chief's trial was delayed due to security reasons and Taliban's threat to anti-terrorism judge and it was decided to run his trial in Central Prison Peshawar. But, the sources added, the provincial government was now delaying his trial due to non-availability of witnesses and solid evidence against him. "The government is taking no interest in the trial of TNSM chief and there is a possibility that he once again be released through an agreement," an official told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. Two months ago, the provincial government had delayed the trial of Sufi Mohammad due to security reasons and Taliban's threats to Swat anti-terrorism judge Asim Imam. The provincial home department reviewed its decision to produce Sufi Mohammad and other key terrorists in Swat anti-terrorism court and approved trial of TNSM chief and other key terrorists by a judge of anti-terrorism court in the prison. The anti-terrorism court judge was scheduled to start Sufi's trial in various cases on July 20 in the prison, but the trial could not resume on the scheduled date. Sufi Muhammad is facing charges of sedition, conspiring against the state and encouraging terrorism. There are also a host of other charges against him including Section 302 and 324 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Last year, the ANP-led provincial government had pinned all hopes for peace on Sufi Muhammad and withdrew all cases lodged against him, but he rejected the superior courts of the country declaring them as un-Islamic and denounced democracy and the Constitution. His April 19, 2009 address to a massive gathering at Grassy Ground in Mingora ended all hopes for peaceful resolution of the problems in Swat and rest of Malakand and emboldened the Swat militants. His address brought serious consequences for him. The military launched an operation in his native Maidan area in Lower Dir on April 26, 2009. On June 4, his Amandarra headquarters in Batkhela was raided and his deputy Maulana Muhammad Alam and spokesman Amir Izzat were nabbed. Sufi Muhammad then went into hiding, but in late July 2009, he showed up in Sethi Town of Peshawar and was arrested in the same month.

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India-Pakistan

Sedition case lodged against Sufi, nine others

2009-08-04

[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A sedition case was registered against the banned Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his nine colleagues at the Saidu Sharif police station in Swat Valley on Sunday. Sufi Muhammad, who was arrested by the NWFP government on July 27 from Peshawar along with his two young sons Rizwanullah and Ziaullah and another relative, was charged with sedition for issuing statements against the state of Pakistan and its institutions, including parliament and judiciary, during a public gathering at the Grassy Ground in Mingora on April 19. Others named in the First Information Report (FIR) were two deceased leaders of the TNSM, Maulana Muhammad Alam and Amir Izzat Khan. They had been arrested by security forces from their organisationís office in Amandarra in the Malakand Agency and were killed in mysterious circumstances near Dargai while being shifted by soldiers to Peshawar. Other TNSM activists named in the FIR include Maulana Abdul Haq, Shah Zeb, Maulana Safiullah, Maulana Bakht, Fayyaz Shah, Salar and Samiullah. It is not known if any of them is in the government custody. District Police Officer (DPO), Swat, Sajid Khan Mohmand, confirmed the registration of the FIR and said that Sufi Muhammad was charged with sedition for instigating the general public against the state and its institutions during public gatherings after signing a peace agreement with the government.

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India-Pakistan

ISPR ascertains arrest of banned TNSM leaders

2009-06-05

[Geo News] The spokesman of Pakistan Army has confirmed the arrest of six leaders of banned Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi (TNSM) including their spokesman Ameer Izzat, Geo news reported late on Thursday. According to statement of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued here, following the information regarding the presence of terrorists, the security forces raided on a Madarsa located in Aman Darra area, arresting from a room, the Molana Alam, Wahab and Ameer Izzat besides three apparent Afghan militants. Forces also claimed seizing as many as eight hand grenade and other explosive materials from their possessions. Sufi Muhammad jugged, too Banned Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi has confirmed arrest of its Amir Maulana Sufi Muhammad and other leaders. According to sources, Maulana Sufi Muhammad was arrested in Amandarra who along with other leaders were shifted to unknown place. Maulana Sufi's sons have also been apprehended, sources added. The latest reports say the arrested also include Maulana Sufi's spokesman Maulana Ameer Izzat, Syed Wahab, Salman and Maulana Muhammad Alam.

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India-Pakistan

Govt-TNSM talks end on positive note, agree to continue talks

2009-05-02

[Associated Press of Pakistan] The talks between the provincial authorities and TNSM Chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad Friday held at Timergara in Dir Lower ended on positive note as both sides expressed unanimity of views on various issues including setting up of Darul Qaza, NAR 2009 and agreed to forward the peace process in the days to come. Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain in his capacity as Spokesman of the NWFP Government and Senator Zahir Khan of ANP represented the government in the talks while the TNSM was represented by its head Maulana Sufi Muhammad and assisted by Naib Ameer TNSM Maulana Muhammad Alam and its Spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan. Government officials and Sufi Mohammad met for the first time Friday after talks were suspended on Monday last after operations in Buner and Dir lower districts. The Information Minister and the TNSM spokesman described the 30-minute meeting as "positive" but no date for a second meeting was announced. The Information Minister when asked about the next round of talks said, "God willing, the second round of talks will be held tomorrow or day after tomorrow but at an undisclosed location." He said the talks were held in an extremely cordial atmosphere wherein issues relating to setting up of Darul Qazza, appointments of Qazis for the Islamic courts, rehabilitation of IDPs and prevailing situation in the districts of Buner and Dir lower came under discussion. "Yes progress has been made in the talks on scores of issues", TNSM Spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan said, adding, Maulana Sufi Muhammad has summoned meeting of the TNSM Shura on Saturday (May 02) at its headquarters Amandarra in Malakand Agency to take Shura members into confidence over the talks with the government team. The people would soon hear good news about peace, he added.

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India-Pakistan

Militants claim killing three soldiers in Swat clashes

2009-02-12

Three soldiers were killed and several others were injured in fierce clashes between security forces and militants in Charbagh area of the troubled Swat Valley on Wednesday. Also, thousands of protesters set a three-day deadline to the government to implement the Shariah or they would march towards Islamabad. Sources said the militants besieged and attacked security forces' camp established in Darul Uloom Charbagh with heavy weaponry. The attack triggered a fierce gunbattle between the Army and militants, which continued till the filing of this report. Militants claimed that three security forces personnel were killed and several others sustained injuries in the fight while the camp building was also damaged. It was learnt that surrounding houses and shops were also damaged in the attack. The militants' sources claimed that they had inflicted heavy losses on security forces in Charbagh, but the Swat-based spokesman for the military rebutted the claim. When contacted by this correspondent to get official version about the losses, the spokesperson lost temper and said they knew about the sources dishing out the information, adding they would be eliminated soon. Meanwhile, Swat-based Taliban leader and FM radio presenter Maulana Muhammad Alam alias Khalil claimed during the address that Taliban had the addresses and names of children of the security forces personnel engaged in fighting with Taliban in Swat. He read out some of the names of officials, their addresses and names of their children and the educational institutes in which they were studying. Separately, militants kidnapped the provincial chief of the International Committee of the Red Cross along with others but freed them after investigation. The sources said the militants picked up the ICRC provincial chief, Daniel Romali, along with his teammates, during checking in Qambar area. However, they were later freed after questioning. Daniel Romali belongs to Switzerland while his other associates were Pakistanis. Also, the militants kidnapped the driver of Swat district and sessions judge, Sher Zaman, and shifted him to an undisclosed location. His vehicle was also seized by the militants. Meanwhile, thousands of residents staged a rally in favour of the Shariah implementation in Barikot. The protesters, who had come from surrounding villages and gathered in the Barikot Square, warned that if the Shariah law was not enforced within three days, they would march towards Islamabad on foot. The rally, led by Sharif Khan, Azizullah, Syed Ali Bacha and others, demanded immediate implementation of the Shariah, end to the military operation and lifting of curfew in the district. On the occasion, Barikot Union Council member Irfan Wadood resigned in protest against the military operation.

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India-Pakistan

Taliban reap a peace dividend

2008-04-24

By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI - As the temperature rises in the southern mountain vastness of Afghanistan and the melting snow floods the rivers, a blizzard of militancy awaits North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops. At the same time, Pakistan is firmly in the spotlight as Western dignitaries flood to the country to back the new government's resolve for peace talks with local militants to lay down their arms to pave the way for the isolation of al-Qaeda. Most recently, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana were in Pakistan to support the government's initiative. Senior government and military officials from the United States are expected soon. In what has been hailed as a significant move, the sub-nationalist Pashtun Awami National Party government of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) released controversial senior pro-Taliban mullah Sufi Muhammad, after he agreed not to engage in violence. This followed a visit to NWFP by Miliband, during which he met top leaders. The governments in Islamabad and Britain have greeted the deal with Sufi as a "landmark success", but the military distanced itself from the move, concerned it has more to do with political gamesmanship than realities on the ground, in which uncompromising new players have taken over from people such as Sufi, a moderate by comparison. And in one way the government's peace program plays right into the hands of the Taliban: the more the security forces halt their operations in the tribal areas, the better the Taliban can launch their spring offensive in Afghanistan, which is only weeks away. Already, the Taliban have had one of their most "peaceful" runups to a spring offensive since being ousted in 2001, given Pakistan's political turmoil following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last December and elections in February, and various ceasefires in the tribal areas with the Pakistan military. Contacts in the tribal areas tell Asia Times Online that by early May the Taliban will have sent all their thousands of men, arms and supplies into Afghanistan. The mood, according to the contacts, is upbeat, and commanders expect May and June to be especially "hot" for foreign troops. The Taliban also made it clear on Monday that they will keep the noose tight on NATO's supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan. They seized two workers of the World Food Organization in Khyber Agency. The workers were rescued by Pakistani security forces after an exchange of fire - and this on the same day that Sufi Muhammad was released. Overtaken by time Sufi Muhammad is a founder of the Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM), a movement started for the enforcement of Islamic law in the Swat Valley and Malakand regions in NWFP. On his release after six years in jail on Monday, he was taken to the chief minister's residence to sign a peace deal with the government. He was quoted as saying that he condemned violence and believed in peaceful co-existence. Sufi rose to prominence in the mid-1990s during Benazir Bhutto's second administration (1993-1996), when his armed followers blocked key roads to back their demands for the implementation of Islamic law in their area. Bhutto subsequently repeatedly claimed that the armed rebellion was set up by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to destabilize her government. In the late 1990s, Nawaz Sharif's government granted Sufi's demand and framed Islamic laws for the Swat Valley. After September 11, 2001, Sufi gathered approximately 10,000 untrained armed men to fight against the US invasion of Afghanistan, despite Taliban leader Mullah Omar's opposition. Most of them were either killed or arrested by the Americans or kidnapped by local warlords for ransom. Sufi managed to escape unhurt from Afghanistan, only to be arrested at the border and jailed in Pakistan. In his absence, the TNSM regrouped under Maulana Muhammad Alam and was allowed to operate with the tacit consent of the ISI. But Sufi's son-in-law Mullah Fazlullah, who had become radicalized after meeting al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, wanted to take the group in a different direction. He established his own radio station to deliver firebrand anti-establishment speeches, and his popularity sky-rocketed in the Swat Valley. He brushed off warnings from Sufi and the ISI to cool down and listen to the dictates of the local authorities. In was clear Fazlullah was taking instructions from al-Qaeda, and Sufi and Alam distanced themselves from him before expelling him from the TNSM. Fazlullah now runs his own "TNSM", overwhelmingly comprising youth from the Swat Valley, Dir and Malakand. He also has close ties with Pakistani Taliban hardliner Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan tribal area. When the Pakistani military mounted an operation in the Swat Valley last year against Fazlullah, the locals surrendered at the first push and Fazlullah was forced to retreat. But he was then joined by Uzbek fighters and a guerrilla war continues. The deep radical influence of al-Qaeda's ideology has changed the dynamics of the insurgency in the region. The upshot of this is that making deals with Sufi is of little significance - Fazlullah was quick to announce to the media that he had nothing to do with the peace agreement. That is, the insurgency in the Swat Valley will continue, and in the bigger picture, the Taliban will prime their guns without hindrance.

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India-Pakistan

TNSM take over Shangla town

2007-11-14

Around 500 local Taliban took over control of Shangla district headquarter Alpuri moments after sunset on Tuesday, occupying the DPO, DCO and police lines offices without facing any resistance from the government, eyewitness and a local nazim told Daily Times. The eyewitnesses said the armed militants urged locals to stay calm and extend all possible support to them. Alpuri union council Nazim Sabir told Daily Times that the armed militants, led by Maulana Muhammad Alam, a close associate of rebel Swat cleric Maulana Fazlullah, captured the district. “All government functionaries, including the DPO and DCO, left the area the moment they heard of the fall of Shangla Top police station, located at the border between Swat and Shangla,” Sabir said. Taliban commander Maulana Muhammad Alam was quoted as saying that no one would be harmed nor would any private or state property be damaged. “We only struggle for the enforcement of Shariah,” he told Alpuri residents. Curfew imposed: Meanwhile, the government imposed a curfew in Swat, the army said. “The curfew has been imposed to check the movement of the militants,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP, adding that it would be in force from midnight Tuesday to 5am on Wednesday. Witnesses said the curfew announcement was made over mosque loudspeakers. Four militants killed: Separately, four militants were killed and over 50 wounded as army helicopters continued pounding their positions in various areas of Swat late on Monday night and early on Tuesday, the military said on Tuesday. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad confirmed that four militants were killed and four or five of their bunkers and an ammunition dump were destroyed as gunship helicopters targeted their hideouts in the Sambat area. Another militant checkpost in Kabal tehsil was also destroyed, the army spokesman added. An estimated 35 militants were injured in the airstrike, he said. Five suspects detained: Another 15 to 20 rebels were injured when they tried to attack and capture the Saidu Sharif airport late on Monday night, said Gen Waheed, adding that five suspects, including four locals and one Afghan, were detained by paramilitary personnel in Chakdara on Tuesday. He said telephone directories had been confiscated from the suspects. “Some weapons were also recovered from their possession,” he said. He said ground troops would be used against the militants when required. Answering a question on when the military operation would end, Gen Waheed said, “It will take time to eliminate the militants.” One civilian killed: The spokesman said the government was not aware of any civilian deaths during the operation, however locals said one civilian was killed and seven were injured in the airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday. There were no reports of any retaliatory fire by the rebels.

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India-Pakistan

Elders negotiating N Waziristan truce

2007-10-12

A small jirga of tribal elders is negotiating a ceasefire with government officials in North Waziristan after fierce clashes between security forces and militants in which 250 people have been killed. NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai told reporters in Peshawar that a jirga was negotiating a ceasefire. “Once the ceasefire is agreed upon then a larger jirga will discuss permanent peace,” he said. “Once the ceasefire is agreed upon then a larger jirga will discuss permanent peace,” he said. Tribal sources in Miranshah said that MNA Maulana Nek Zaman, Maulana Deen Dar and Maulana Muhammad Alam were holding meetings with the military authorities and the militants to reach a ceasefire. The jirga is also trying to negotiate the opening of the Miranshah-Bannu highway for public traffic. However, the army reserved the right to retaliate if military installations were attacked. “We will retaliate if we come under fire,” Maj-Gen. Waheed Arshad told Daily Times by phone from Rawalpindi. An informal ceasefire began on Wednesday to allow tribesmen to bury some 50 people who were killed in an airstrike the previous day that hit the main market in the village of Ippi. The army said the victims of the bombing were pro-Taliban militants, but residents said the dead were civilians including women and children. 55 civilians killed: “We know that the army killed 55 innocent people, and they included women and children,” Zaman told AP. “We know it because we buried them.” Gen Arshad said he did not know how many civilians had died, but blamed militants for opening fire on security forces from villagers’ dwellings, making them legitimate targets. A military statement said elders from two villages near Mir Ali had sought army protection “because militants use their compounds, which are ultimately targeted by retaliating security forces drawing in and inflicting collateral damage on civilians”. Many civilians have fled Mir Ali and nearby villages because of the fighting and a shortage of supplies. “Residents are still leaving for safer places despite the lull in fighting but the last two days have been far better,” Salam Dawar, a resident of Harmuz village, told Daily Times by phone. 50 foreign militants killed: Gen Arshad said the jirga which met military authorities told them that the 200 militants killed in ‘Operation al-Mizan’ included 50 foreigners, 25 of them Uzbeks and the rest from Tajikistan, Afghanistan and of Arab descent. Two soldiers were injured when an improvised explosive device struck a military convoy coming from North Waziristan near Bannu airport on Thursday. Another IED was detected and safely exploded on the Miranshah-Bannu road at Pattasi Adda near Mir Ali, the military said. Late in the evening, militants fired rockets at the army’s Amin picket No 1 in Miranshah, prompting return fire from the security forces. There were no reports of casualties. Yeah, sure. What's a few rockets fired off in the course of a ceasefire?

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India-Pakistan

'34 killed in Tuesday's missile strike in Miranshah'

2007-06-21

The caretaker of a madrassa near a site which was the target of an apparent airstrike on Tuesday has said that a total of 34 people were killed, and all of them were locals. "A-yup! Thet thar earlobe over thar, that usedta be part o' old Mahmoud. Thet thar elbow, that belonged to li'l Fatimah, bless her no-longer-existant heart!" Security officials said the airstrike was carried out by a US drone that fired two missiles at a suspected hideout for militants. Maulana Muhammad Amir, caretaker of Ziul Aloom madrassa in the Dattakhel area, said all those killed were local tribesmen, and the target was not a madrassa, as reported in the press, but “a tent on a hilltop”. He said 11 of the 34 bodies recovered were charred beyond recognition. "Yup. We'uns sometimes sets up a tent for our quaint local tribal activities." "You mean...?" "A-yup. It wuz the local titty bar." However, the political administration of North Waziristan said that 30 “terrorists” were killed and 18 of them were foreigners, including Chechens, Uzbeks and Arabs, APP reported. An army spokesman has also denied that it was an airstrike, saying that the explosions were caused when militants preparing bombs accidentally set off some explosives. "Hey, there, Maulana Ahmed! Y'got a light fer this here stogey?" Maulana Muhammad Alam, member of a peace committee monitoring implementation of the September 5 peace deal in North Wazrisitan, said the political administration “knows little about the airstrike and the military says nothing. We don’t know what happened.” "Yeah. We looked around and suddenly it was 'kaboom' all over the place! It wuz just such a surprise!" Meanwhile, Taliban militants stopped journalists from visiting the site of the attack, warning that “harm may come to you if you go there”. "Aaaaar! I can say no more!"

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India-Pakistan

Tribal body to decide arrested Taliban’s fate

2006-09-23

MIRANSHAH: The fate of 10 tribesmen arrested on charges of attacking coalition forces inside Afghanistan will be decided by a 10-member committee monitoring an accord between pro-Taliban militants and the government in North Waziristan, a jirga member said on Friday. “The committee will determine whether the arrested tribesmen were involved in the attack or not,” Maulana Muhammad Alam told Daily Times after discussing the issue with North Waziristan chief administrator Dr Fakhr-e-Alam. He said the 10 men were handed over to the jirga after security forces cordoned off a village in Lwara Mandi near the Pak-Afghan border a few days ago when the tribal jirga negotiated peaceful handover of the 10 suspects. Security forces cordoned off the area after the US passed on information that some tribal militants crossed into Pakistan after attacking the international forces near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The arrest comes after pro-Taliban militants struck a peace accord with the government on September 5 in Miranshah after more than two months long negotiations through a 45-member grand tribal Jirga. “These people have denied having attacked the coalition forces,” Maulana Alam, who is also a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader, added. Maulana Alam said the committee monitoring progress and implementation of the accord would take up the issue of target killing, but he stopped short to say bodies of suspected spies did amount to target killing. A source said that the 10 men were in political administration’s custody, and it had not been decided if the committee would decide their fate.

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