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India-Pakistan

Jirga to broker peace between Wana tribe, foreign fighters

2007-03-08

A delegation from North Waziristan left for Wana on Wednesday to try and broker peace between a local tribe and foreign militants, a day after clashes between the two left at least 18 dead. A tribal source in Miranshah, regional headquarters of North Waziristan, said that Maulana Noor Alam was leading the jirga to broker a peace deal. The source did not say how many people the jirga included. The bloody clash on Tuesday in Azam Warsak near Wana, regional headquarters of South Waziristan, between the foreign militants and Zalikhel sub-tribe members resulted in 18 casualties - 15 foreigners and three locals, according to unofficial sources. Arbab Arif, security chief in the tribal areas, confirmed the death toll in the fighting, the first reported clash between foreign militants and local tribesmen since Al Qaeda and Taliban militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan following the US-led invasion of 2001. The clash appeared to underline a change in behaviour of the local tribal populace against militants, he told Daily Times. Malik Saeedullah, chieftain of the Zalikhel sub-tribe, heads a local peace committee and has survived two assassination attempts from Uzbek and Tajik militants, whose stay in the area he opposes. Maulana Noor Alam was a member of the jirga that successfully brokered a peace deal between pro-Taliban militants and the government in September last year and he is believed "to hold sway" over militants in the area. Agencies add: A security official told AFP the death toll had risen to 19. "The dead include 12 Uzbek militants and three local supporters, three members of local peace committee and one Afghan shopkeeper," he said. Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said the incident was a "vital development" because it suggested that elders in the semi-autonomous border zone were growing more hostile to foreign fighters who have found refuge in their midst. The Uzbeks "obviously" belong to Al Qaeda, Durrani said in a telephone interview with AP. "They were welcome before, but their behaviour has become more aggressive and this is the reaction of the local tribes," he said. An intelligence official said efforts were also being made for the release of three tribesmen captured by Uzbek militants during the fighting.

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India-Pakistan

Bombing kills 11, wounds 35 in Pakistan

2007-01-27

A suspected suicide attacker exploded a bomb near a Shiite Muslim mosque in this northwestern Pakistani city late Saturday, killing at least 11 people, including the city police chief, and wounding 35, police said. Most of the victims were police and municipal officials who were clearing the route for a procession of Shiites in a crowded old quarter of Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan. The procession had yet to begin. This weekend marks the start of the festival of Ashoura, Is it already time for the bloody rag festival? when Shiites mourn the 7th century death of the prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein. In the past the festival has been a target for sectarian attacks. The blast went off in a bazaar area about 200 yards from the mosque that was the starting point for the Shiite procession. It caused a power outage that left the city center in darkness, complicating rescue efforts. At the bomb site, investigators found what appeared to be two legs from a suicide attacker, police officer Raza Khan said. Eleven bodies and 35 wounded people were brought to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, Aziz Khan said. The city's police chief, Malik Saab, was among the dead, said provincial police chief Sharif Virk. Hundreds of people crowded around the hospital seeking news on loved ones. By loudspeaker, hospital officials appealed for calm and blood donations. Aziz Khan had been on duty near the mosque when the bomb went off. "I thought my eardrums had burst. Then there were flames and the people were in panic. I remembered that there was a police contingent, so I went to see what had happened to my colleagues. Many were wounded in a bad way," he said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on Sunni extremists. Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani condemned the attack, saying it had been orchestrated by the "enemies of Pakistan, Islam and humanity." Members of the first two, enemy of the third. Most Pakistani Shiites and Sunnis co-exist peacefully, And I have a great investment for you, an Irish Bar in Quetta. but militant groups on both sides are blamed for sectarian attacks that claim scores of lives every year. Security is already high across Pakistan for Ashoura, amid fears that the sectarian violence in Iraq could stir up animosity between minority Shiites and majority Sunnis in Pakistan.

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Home Front: WoT

Perv at Small, Rural Texas Hospital for Tests

2006-09-24

PARIS, Texas (AP) - Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf underwent routine testing with his doctor Saturday during an unannounced visit to this rural East Texas town. Because that's where foreign heads of state go when they have a heart exam -- not the Cleveland Clinic, not the Mayo, but to a rural Texas town. Happens all the time. Musharraf, whose surprise appearance came a day after visiting President Bush in Washington, was ``found to be in excellent health,'' according to a statement from Paris Regional Medical Center. Pakistan Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani told The Associated Press on Saturday that Musharraf, 63, visited a friend in Texas who is a cardiologist and suggested he be examined. ``He went through that,'' Durrani said. ``All systems are go. Everything is fine. He is as fit as a horse.''

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India-Pakistan

Bugti’s Killing Sparks Mass Arrests, Violence

2006-08-28

Violent nationwide protests flared for a second day yesterday against the Pakistan military’s killing of rebel tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti as police arrested hundreds of rioters. Local political groups said Bugti’s death had sparked a “never-ending war.” Enraged mobs burned dozens of shops, buses, banks and police vehicles in Quetta, capital of southwestern Balochistan province, in defiance of a round-the-clock curfew imposed yesterday by government authorities to try to quell the outpouring of anger over 79-year-old Bugti’s killing on Saturday in a raid on his mountain hide-out. Nine policemen suffered minor wounds in a clash with about 70 protesters, some firing pistols, who tried to loot a bank and several nearby shops in northern Quetta, said police Inspector Zahir Shah. Police fired tear gas to disperse the mob. A bomb blast damaged a government building and arsonists set fire to a telephone exchange in Kalat, a town about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Quetta, said local police official Ghulam Farid Jamali. There were no casualties. Quetta police chief Suleman Sayed said 450 people were arrested yesterday in Quetta as security forces tried to crack down on violence, which has spread to other parts of impoverished Balochistan and into neighboring Sindh province’s capital of Karachi. “All forces have been put on alert,” Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani told privately run Geo TV. An alliance of four Baloch nationalist groups announced a 15-day mourning period over Bugti’s death and vowed to continue protests throughout the region. Businesses and public transport will observe a strike today. “The government has pushed Balochistan into a never-ending war,” said Hasil Bizinjo, a senior figure of Baloch Yakjehti, or the Baloch Solidarity alliance. Government forces killed the silver-bearded Bugti, one of Pakistan’s most prominent fugitives, and at least 24 of his supporters during a raid on his cave hide-out in the Kohlu area, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) east of Quetta. Bugti went into hiding in late 2005 after an attempt was made on the Pakistani president’s life. Bugti’s son-in-law, Shahid Bugti, a senator in Pakistan’s Parliament, denounced the killing and demanded the government return the tribal chief’s body to his family for burial. “This is a very tragic affair for the whole family, the tribe and the people of the whole region,” Shahid Bugti said from his father-in-law’s family house in Quetta. “We consider him a martyr. He led a very graceful life and he had a graceful death, going out while fighting for his people’s rights.” Balochistan has been wracked by decades of low-level conflict, which has often flared into large-scale clashes, as ethnic-Baloch tribespeople led by Bugti pressed the government for an increased share of wealth from natural resources extracted from the province, including gas, oil and coal. In recent months, the government has said scores of fighters loyal to Bugti have laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities as it stepped up attacks against the tribal chief. The government also accused Bugti of ordering attacks on government installations, including gas refineries, the electricity grid and train lines. Hostilities escalated in December when militants fired rockets that landed about 300 feet from President Gen. Pervez Musharraf while he was visiting Kohlu. Bugti went into hiding shortly after. The operation that killed Bugti was launched after a land mine blew up a vehicle carrying security forces in Kohlu, said a top security official, who declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the topic. Four security personnel were wounded. Security forces attacked Bugti and up to 80 of his supporters in a cave hide-out following an intercept of a satellite phone call in Kohlu district, the official said. Five soldiers were also killed in the attack on Bugti’s hide-out. Bugti and his supporters were killed when the cave’s roof collapsed after it came under heavy fire from Pakistani military forces, said the minister of state for information, Tariq Azeem Khan. No bodies have been retrieved so far. Bugti, a former Pakistani senator and interior minister and Balochistan governor, was an articulate spokesman for the Baloch cause. He described Pakistani Army forces as “invaders and occupiers” for expanding military garrisons into the region. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Bugti tribesmen fought under his leadership. The government launched an offensive against the Bugti and Marri tribes, whose leaders control swaths of Balochistan and the army put down a tribal rebellion in 1974, reportedly leaving about 3,000 dead. Many leaders from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) have condemned the killing of Bugti, including Secretary-General Sayed Mushahid Hussain, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, chief of PML(Q), former speaker of the National Assembly Elahi Bux Soomro and Vice Chairman of PML (Q) Kabir Ali Wasti saying, “this issue should have been resolved through political dialogue and not force.” Hafiz Hussain Ahmad of JUI asked the government to return the body of Bugti.

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India-Pakistan

Bombings, Riots, Arson in Pakistan

2006-08-28

QUETTA -- A bomb blast damaged a government building and arsonists set fire to a telephone exchange in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday amid violent protests sparked by a prominent tribal chief's killing, a police official said. The anticipated attack of the Foster Brooks Revenge Brigades... No casualties were sustained in the blast or fire in Kalat, a town about 250 kilometers south of Quetta, police official Ghulam Farid Jamali said. The bomb destroyed several rooms in the National Database and Registration Authority's offices, while masked men opened fire on the town's telephone exchange before setting it alight. Jamali said the attacks were carried out by protesting supporters of Nawab Akbar Bugti, 79, Baluchistan province's top tribal chief, who was killed Saturday by Pakistan forces in a raid on his mountain hide-out. We can picture with crystal clarity a berturbanned clone of Bruce Lee shouting: "You killed my sardar! I mut have Dire Revenge™!" Local political groups said Bugti's death had sparked a "never-ending war." Kinda like his life did... Enraged mobs burned dozens of shops, buses, banks and police vehicles in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, in defiance of a round-the-clock curfew imposed Sunday by government authorities to try quell the outpouring of anger over Bugti's killing. Nine policemen suffered minor wounds in a clash with about 70 protesters, some firing pistols, who tried to loot a bank and several nearby shops in northern Quetta, police inspector Zahir Shah said. Police fired tear gas to disperse the mob. Quetta police chief Suleman Sayed said 450 people were arrested Sunday in Quetta as security forces tried to crack down on violence, which has spread to other parts of impoverished Baluchistan and into the neighboring Sindh province's capital of Karachi. "All forces have been put on alert," Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said on privately run Geo TV.

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India-Pakistan

Two 7/7 bombers trained in Qaeda camp: Zawahri

2006-07-08

Al Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahri said two London bombers received training in Qaeda camps, according to a video posted on the Internet on Friday. Exactly one year ago, four suicide bombers attacked the London transport system, killing 52 people. Zawahri identified Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan as receiving training in Qaeda camps, saying Tanweer was motivated by “repression the British are perpetrating in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine”. Video: 2 London Bombers al-Qaida Trained Two of the four suicide bombers who attacked London a year ago had spent time at an al-Qaida camp to prepare themselves for a suicide attack, the deputy leader of al-Qaida claimed in new video excerpts released Friday. Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri said that Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan had come to a base of al-Qaida. That'd be when they went... ummm... somewhere. It was known that the two Muslims from north England had visited Pakistan, but al-Zawahri's comment was the first claim that they had actually visited al-Qaida camps. Oh, yes. That is where they went, isn't it? "Both of them were seeking martyrdom and wished that they could carry out a martyrdom operation," al-Zawahri said, using the Islamic euphemism for a suicide attack. It was not possible to independently verify the claim, part of a video that was posted on the Internet on the first anniversary of the July 7, 2005, bombings that killed 52 people and the four bombers. Other portions of the video, broadcast Thursday by Al-Jazeera TV, showed Tanweer warning that the attacks were only the beginning of a campaign of terror. "This tape is very interesting from the standpoint that the Metropolitan police said they had no evidence linking the bombers to al-Qaida," said Bob Ayers, a security and intelligence expert at the Chatham House think tank in London. On the other hand, had they read Rantburg they'd have known. We've known it from the first. "The coordinated timing of the tape shows these guys did not act independently and were at a minimum supported by al-Qaida if not recruited, trained and supported by them." I'd call going to a Qaeda camp being trained and supported, even if they recruited themselves. "It makes the police look pretty bad," Ayers said. "It means the investigation was either wrong, or they had identified links, but were reluctant to reveal them." London bombers were not trained in Pakistan: Durrani ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday denied any of the London transit system bombers received training or support during visits to the country, including the suicide bomber who appeared in a recently aired video warning of further attacks. "No, no! Certainly not!" Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said there has been no connection proven between Pakistan and the July 7, 2005, bombings that killed 52 people and four bombers, including three British Muslims of Pakistani origin. “Let me tell you with full confidence that there is no evidence that any suicide bomber had received training or any other support from militants in Pakistan,” Durrani told The Associated Press. At that point he could say no more, since his lips fell off. Durrani’s comments came a day after Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera aired a video showing one of the suicide bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, warning of further attacks. The tape also included a still image of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was paraphrased praising the London bombers. Really, they don't feel shame like we do.

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