Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

TTP Commander Killed

2021-12-21

[NATION.PK] On Saturday, news reports emerged that security forces killed a terrorist commander, identified as Ghafoor alias Jaleel, in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district. The ISPR has revealed that the terrorist was a close acquaintance of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad — a top leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) — and was involved in many terrorist activities.

We gave peace a chance and since that offer was thwarted, now there can be no compromise on our internal security and no more innocent lives of civilians and security forces can be lost to this menace. This operation was conducted two days after Maulvi Faqir escaped unhurt from a suspected dronezap—and a week after the ceasefire with the Pakistain government collapsed—on a safe house in eastern Afghanistan. While there has been no confirmation regarding who carried out the attack, the Taliban government has stated that the strike was an explosive fired from the ground.

In addition to the operation in Bajaur, two more holy warriors were also killed in a clearance operation in the Boya area of North Wazoo district. It appears that a crackdown against the TTP has commenced and the government must be commended for acting swiftly. It is also important to note that terrorist targeted in the rumoured dronezap, Maulvi Faqir, was part of the recent talks between the TTP and the government before the ceasefire was violated by the turban group.

It remains to be seen how comprehensive this operation is going to be what strategy the security forces will adopt. Is the focus going to be on decapacitation of leadership figures or will it extend to the foot soldiers as well? Regardless, the authorities will have to be extremely vigilant in the coming days as the group will try to muster a response. Going forward, Islamabad must also take the Afghan government into confidence regarding next steps and ensure that the bully boyz find no space across the border to operate and conduct cross-border attacks.

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Afghanistan

Paki Talib Big Turban Sez ‘Nyah Nyah Ya Missed Me!’: TTP Sources

2021-12-18

[ToloNews] A dronezap hit a house just inside Afghanistan’s border with Pakistain, apparently targeting a senior member of the Pak Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, but the missile failed to explode, Pak Taliban sources said on Thursday.

Unexploded? Not one of ours, then. Have they looked for Chinese or Turkish markings on the case?

One of the Taliban officials said the drone fired a missile at a hujra, or guesthouse on the compound of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a big shot of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistain movement (TTP).

"It was around 3:30 when a drone suddenly appeared in the sky. We got worried and advised Maulvi Faqir to go to a safe place but he refused and argued it was not possible to hide in the day time," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Around half an hour later, when Faqir Mohammad left his own house to visit the guesthouse, the missile struck.

"He was about 3 meters away from the hujra room when the drone fired a missile and hit the same room. Luckily the missile didn’t explode and he and other people around him remained safe," he said.

Faqir Mohammad is a former deputy leader of the TTP who spent eight years in Afghanistan’s Bagram prison before being released by the Afghan Taliban following their shock overthrow of the Western-backed government in Kabul on Aug. 15.

Released and in a fancy compound with guesthouse. Groovy. Though the only ones shocked are in the Biden administration.

The apparent attempt to kill him in a dronezap came after talks to agree over a permanent ceasefire between the TTP and the Pak government broke down last week after the krazed killer movement refused to extend a 30-day truce.

“Hudna’s over. Let the killing begin!”
Khaama Press’s take on the story:

Pakistan fires rocket on eastern Kunar province

A spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Bilal Karimi said that Pak forces on Thursday, December 16 fires rockets on the Shaltan district of Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
Bilal Karimi said that the rockets were fired on mountains and did not give further information about the casualties.

On the other hand, rumors had it that Pak forces have targeted members of Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and have killed a key commander of the Taliban but the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan did not confirm the rumor.

Earlier, it was said that ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
s has been carried out in Kunar province but the front man has denied any aerial strike in the province.

In the meantime, local residents have claimed that Pak forces want to take more land of Afghanistan and get even closer to the Kunar River.

It is worth mentioning that rocket shells by Pakistain on Kunar province are not new but the country has often been firing rockets on the province that often lead to financial loss and casualties.

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India-Pakistan

Interpol help to be sought for militant's repatriation

2013-02-25

[Dawn] The government will soon approach Interpol to seek repatriation of senior commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, now under detention in Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
told news hounds here on Saturday that Maulvi Faqir was involved in a series of terror attacks in the country. The government wanted his deportation from Afghanistan so that legal action could be initiated against him, he added.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan to contact Interpol over Maulvi Faqir: Rehman Malik

2013-02-24

[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
on Saturday said Pakistain would soon be contacting the Interpol for the handing over of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a senior commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) recently captured in Afghanistan, DawnNews reported.

The Taliban capo was captured on Monday by Afghan intelligence personnel in a border area and the Foreign Office had on Thursday asked the Afghan government to hand him over to Pakistain.

On the issue of dialogue with the TTP, Malik said the Pak Taliban had been speaking of holding talks with the government but did not appear serious on the matter.

The minister advised the TTP to adopt the path of peace and to constitute a team which could be delegated the task of holding a dialogue with the government.

Malik moreover said that the armed forces and intelligence agencies were doing an outstanding job and requested politicians to refrain from suggesting intelligence failures in the wake of terrorist attacks.

He said the principal target of the forces of Evil was Islamabad and added that the government would act with full force against those involved in terrorist activities in 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...

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India-Pakistan

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has safe havens in Punjab

2013-02-24

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) had safe havens in Punjab.

The Punjab government should take action against the criminals of the banned outfit, he told reporters at a ceremony at Police Lines.

Hunt down terrorists? What a great idea! Mr. Minister, sir, how do you do it?

The interior minister said Pakistan will soon request the Interpol for repatriation of Tehrik-e-Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir from Afghanistan. Maulvi Faqir was arrested by the Afghan forces from border area a few days ago.

I'm sure Karzi will just hand him right back to you. You can then stash Maulvi in the Abbottabad Hilton until it's safe for him to go back to the Frontier...

Malik said that Maulvi Faqir was involved in a series of terror attacks in the country. We want his deportation to Pakistan so that action can be initiated against him in accordance with the law, he added.

Replying to a question about Talibans dialogue offer, Malik said first they (Taliban) should demonstrate seriousness for talks by surrendering their arms.

His staff continued to laugh at the minister's joke long after the press conference was over...

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Afghanistan

Former Pakistani Taliban No 2 arrested in Afghanistan: reports

2013-02-19

[Dawn] Afghan intelligence officials on Monday claimed to have enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
the former second-in-command of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), Maulvi Faqir, along with "four accomplices" while he was trying to enter Pakistain's Tirah Valley from Afghanistan's Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province.

"Maulvi Faqir and his four accomplices who had entered Nangarhar from Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central

...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
were apprehended near Basawal on Torkham Road near the border of Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley," an Afghan intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

"Yes I can confirm their names as they had told us. Maulvi Faqir, Shahid Umar, Maulana Hakeemullah Bajauri, Mualana Turabi and Fateh are the people who have been arrested," he replied when asked about the identity of the arrested people.

"They were traveling in a vehicle when (we) intercepted near Basawal village of Nangarhar," he added.

The Afghan intelligence official, who identified himself with the name Abdullah, said: "Arms and ammunition have also been seized from their vehicle. The five are in the custody of Afghan intelligence officials who are interrogating them."

Maulvi Faqir was the deputy amir (second-in-command) of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and the Taliban chief in Bajaur Agency, but was later removed from his position in March 2012 on suspicions of entering into a peace deal with the Pak government.

Faqir Muhammad, who hails from Chopatra Village of Bajaur Agency, was first part of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, and later the deputy chief of TTP until March 2012 when he announced himself as the TTP chief after the death of Baitullah Mehsud. Faqir had also publicly accepted his ties with al-Qaeda network and had been accused of a number of cross-border attacks in Bajaur Agency and the settled Lower and Upper Dir district.

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India-Pakistan

NATO Says Pakistani Militant Commander Killed in Afghanistan

2012-08-25

[NY Times] NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
forces said on Saturday that they had killed a senior Pak Taliban capo in an ~~Arclight~~ airstrike in Afghanistan, highlighting the increasingly complicated nature of the fight against Islamist cut-throats along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistain.

Mullah Dadullah, who led the Pak Taliban in the Bajaur tribal agency, was killed late Friday in a strike on a compound across the border in the Afghan province of Kunar, NATO and Pak intelligence officials said.

The Kunar police chief, Gen. Elwaz Mohammad Naziri, said 12 other myrmidons, including Dadullah's deputy, were also killed.

The death of Mullah Dadullah, a former prayer leader who rose through the Taliban ranks to become a commander, will have an impact on the fighting in Bajaur, where the Pak Army has been battling the Pak Taliban since 2008.

But it may also offer an opportunity for a fresh turn in the relations among NATO, Pak and Afghan forces along the mostly non-existent border, which have been marred by acrid recriminations in recent months.

Pak officials have publicly accused NATO of failing to stop Taliban fighters sheltering in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, from which American forces have largely withdrawn, from carrying out attacks inside Pakistain.

The officials' protests reached a crescendo in June after a Taliban ambush on a Pak border patrol killed 13 troops, 7 of whom had their heads chopped off. Some Pak officials have gone as far as to accuse NATO and Afghan forces of secretly supporting the bad turbans.

The Afghan government has replied by saying that Pakistain's military regularly fires artillery salvos across the border into remote Afghan villages, killing scores of civilians. Tensions between border police on both sides have flared into gunfire exchanges several times in the last month.

NATO officials, meanwhile, note that Pakistain has failed to crack down on much larger Afghan Taliban sanctuaries inside its own territory -- particularly in North

Wazoo, further west along the border, where the notorious Haqqani network holds sway.

There, the campaign against the Taliban is being led by Central Intelligence Agency drone strikes, which have attacked targets in North Waziristan on four of the last eight days. Senior American officials in Washington say one of the strikes may have killed Badruddin Haqqani, the operational leader of the Haqqani network.

Now, Mullah Dadullah has become the most senior Pak Taliban capo to be killed by NATO in Afghanistan. In Kabul, the Afghan capital, a NATO official said the killing signaled a desire for greater cross-border cooperation with Pakistain. "This is an example of that," he said.

NATO said Mullah Dadullah was important on the Afghan battlefield, too. In a statement, the military alliance said he "was responsible for the movement of fighters and weapons, as well as attacks on Afghan and coalition forces."

A front man for Pakistain's military was not immediately available for comment.
"I can say no more!"
But Asad Munir, a retired Pakistain military brigadier and former intelligence chief in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, said Mullah Dadullah's killing was a "very calculated move that is likely to be appreciated by our army."

"Their complaint has been that American and Afghan forces are not targeting the Pak Taliban. This is a good sign," he said.

Mullah Dadullah, also the name of an Afghan commander of the Taliban who was killed in 2007, was the nom de guerre of Jamal Said, a prayer leader from the village of Damadola, in Bajaur. He rose through the ranks of the Pakistain Taliban and in 2008, he headed its vice and virtue department, which enforces strict moral edicts based on a narrow interpretation of Islamic texts, and later ran its charity.

He became a Taliban capo in Bajaur after the group's leadership fired his predecessor, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, for engaging in unauthorized peace talks with the Islamabad government.

Mr. Muhammad now leads a rival Taliban faction, which is also based in Afghanistan and has been attacking Pak border posts. His troops have clashed with those of Mullah Dadullah in the past month, a local news hound from Bajaur said by telephone.

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India-Pakistan

Taliban regrouping in Peshawar, Fata, says Iftikhar

2012-03-15

Wonderful things are happening in Pakistan, or so we are here told.

[Dawn] Pak Taliban were regrouping in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar and tribal areas to counter the impact of the security forces' crackdown on them, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said here on Tuesday.

During the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club oath-taking ceremony at the Chief Minister's House here, the minister said the talks between US and Afghan Taliban had led to a deep split within the Pak Taliban.

"The growing desire among Pak Taliban for holding talks with the government has created serious differences among the terror outfit. Due to these differences, the Taliban leadership recently sacked their front man, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, for openly supporting the idea of dialogue with the government," he said.

Mr Iftikhar urged Pakistain, Afghanistan and the US to form a joint team for meaningful dialogue with Taliban leaders to achieve desired goals of peace in the region.

"The experience of holding talks with Taliban separately by Pakistain, Afghanistan and the US miserably failed in the past. Even the recent US efforts to gain positive outcome from the Qatar moot is not going to deliver the goods," he said.

The minister said the only way out to restore peace in the region lied in holding joint dialogue by Pakistain, Afghanistan and the US with the Taliban and that if it failed, then effective action had to be taken to eliminate them completely.

"We have faced them and rooted them out and will continue doing so," he said.

Mr Iftikhar said the recent Peshawar kaboom was a reaction of operations in Orakzai Agency
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
and Darra Adamkhel and Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency

, where security forces cleared many strategic areas.

He said sectarianism was another reason of terrorist acts in the thriving provincial capital.

He said Orcs and similar vermin wouldn't be unable to continue with acts of terrorism due to the government's effective plan to crack down on them.

The minister said there should be no good and bad Taliban and they all should be eliminated without discrimination to save the country.

He said no segment of the society had beat feet from the Taliban's actions and therefore, the society should take them head on.

He said the government had planned to take action against Death Eaters in tribal and settled areas simultaneously by giving powers of supervision to the relevant commissioners.

Mr Iftikhar said in the past whenever political administrations of tribal areas initiated action, Orcs and similar vermin fled to settled areas of the province but they won't be able to escape anymore.

He said the government had hit anti-state elements hard and the war against them would continue until their complete elimination. He said the issue needed to be resolved on permanent basis.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase...
the information minister told news hounds here that Awami National Party was a coalition partner of Pakistain People's Party and would continue supporting its leader President

Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
He said ANP would always remember the way in which President Zardari supported ANP over the last four years, especially during difficult times.

The minister said his party had supported PPP and Zardari 'honestly and unconditionally' and would continue doing so.

He said the ANP-PPP coalition government would complete its five years term in office. He, however, said the next general elections would be held at an appropriate time.

Mr Iftikhar said the provincial government always wanted to hold local government elections but security situation didn't let it do it.

He said since the law and order situation had improved, local government elections would be held ahead of general elections.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistani Taliban in talks to heal rift: sources

2012-03-09

[Dawn] Pak Taliban capos are locked in talks, trying to heal a damaging rift that has inflamed tensions over whether to pursue peace efforts with the government, insiders say.

After months of relative calm, bomb and suicide kabooms are again hitting the country's northwest, raising fears that gun-hung tough guys are again on the offensive despite reports late last year that commanders were exploring peace contacts.

"The one-point agenda is how to adopt a uniform policy," a Taliban capo told AFP from ~~Qazi's guesthouse~~ an undisclosed location on condition of anonymity.

The umbrella Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) is a loose confederation of rival commanders. Divisions first came to the fore after founder Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in August 2009.

The young and radical Hakimullah Mehsud --a clan relation to Baitullah --ultimately won a leadership battle, pushing the TTP closer to al Qaeda and overseeing some of Pakistain's bloodiest gun and suicide attacks yet.

Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
, the Afghan Taliban supreme leader, reportedly asked TTP commanders to stop attacks as his movement explores confidence-building talks with the Americans at the start of a nascent grinding of the peace processor in Afghanistan.

The only TTP commander who refused to comply was Hakimullah Mehsud, putting him at odds with his arch-rival, the older and more measured Wali-ur Rehman, sources say.

Differences appeared to bubble over Sunday with the sacking of Mehsud's deputy, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who is considered close to Rehman, at a TTP meeting.

"Dialogue with Pakistain is a secondary issue. First, we're trying to end our disputes and after that we will decide on holding talks with Pakistain," the Taliban capo told AFP.

"There are serious differences between Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur Rehman which everybody wants to end," he added.

The TTP leadership has held several meetings with representatives from the Afghan Taliban and Afghanistan's krazed killer Haqqani network to try to unite, but commanders are constantly on the move, worried about US drone missiles.

"Several rounds of talks have taken place but commanders can't sit together in one place for long as they fear drone strikes," another source told AFP.

Experts are divided over the significance of Mohammad's sacking with the government and former officials convinced that the TTP is now weaker than ever, hit hard by the US drone strikes and by Pak military offensives.

"Hakimullah Mehsud has his group with its own weight but TTP commanders are scattered. Some are in Afghanistan, some in the tribal areas. There is a lack of communication," said Mehmud Shah, a former tribal belt security chief.

"There are commanders who aren't listening to Mehsud... The shura (meeting) of some of its leaders is just to show their importance. The TTP structure is broken and they are making efforts to rebuild it and remove difference," he added.

Mohammad has insisted that he initiated peace contacts in Bajaur, his home district and one of seven in Pakistain's northwestern tribal belt, with the full knowledge of Mehsud's TTP leadership as a "test case".

"They told me that first the grinding of the peace processor should take place in Bajaur and then be expanded," he told AFP by telephone.

Malik Sultan Zeb, an elder in the Mamund tribe in Bajaur, said rustics were keen to cut a deal with the TTP provided that the gun-hung tough guys were willing to stop attacks.

"America is holding peace talks with (Afghanistan's) Taliban and we also want to have peace talks with the krazed killers," he said.

A Pak security official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
and saying his information was based on informants, said the message to unite came from Mullah Omar in December.

"He sent a message saying, peace in Pakistain is imperative for us," the official said.

"Hakimullah Mehsud is still reluctant about various issues, but intermediaries from Afghanistan are trying to solve the rifts," he told AFP.

Link

India-Pakistan

'Sacked' Pakistan Taliban commander backs peace talks

2012-03-07

A senior commander sacked as deputy to Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud came out publicly to back peace talks with the government and said he was not directly informed of his dismissal.

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is the Taliban commander in Bajaur, one of Pakistan's seven districts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border and one that has seen a recent lull in fighting between the Taliban and Pakistani soldiers.

He was sacked on Sunday at a meeting presided over by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud at a secret location in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP.

Ehsan gave no reason for the removal. Neither was a successor announced.

Speaking to AFP from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, Mohammad said the Taliban did not inform him directly of his sacking or give an explanation.

"I came to know through the media. I was not given any notice. I don't know the background of this decision," he said, speaking by telephone.

Giving one possible reason, he said: The leadership might be angry with my talks with Pakistani government. If it was so, I talked to them with the permission of my leadership."

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India-Pakistan

Fata militancy

2012-03-07

[Dawn] THE removal of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad from his deputy-commander position in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain may indicate a weakened organization, but by no means a defeated one. Faqir Mohammad was reportedly involved in talks with the state, including on cross-border attacks from Afghanistan when these became a recurring problem last year. The fact that those attacks have now waned and the theory that the TTP has demoted such a senior commander for participating in talks reflect gains for the Pak state. But it's unclear whether he will now create problems for the organization or acquiesce to their demands, and the centre of TTP power does not lie in his stronghold of Bajaur. According to experts the development is unlikely to become a major setback for the organization.

The assessment reflects a broader scepticism about claims that the back of Fata-based militancy has been broken. While the operational capability and structure of the TTP and other thug groups have weakened, they remain a threat to the lives of both troops and civilians. Militants are battling security forces in parts of Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram agencies. In the latter two, local pie fights and sectarian rivalries continue to create security problems in which the state has gotten embroiled; a major attack on Shia civilians in Parachinar last month and a fierce clash with troops in

Khyber's Tirah Valley last week indicate that they remain capable of carrying out significant attacks. Even in agencies not currently seeing operations, smaller-scale incidents such as roadside kabooms are still taking place and cut-throats retain bases off the main roads in less accessible areas. And while the TTP has weakened due to internal rivalries, splintering remains less of a threat than commonly assumed.

Faqir Mohammad's demotion and the defection last year of Fazal Saeed represent differences with important commanders. So far, though, the organization has shown an ability to retain enough cohesion to avoid falling apart completely despite rivalries over the years. Above all, the military is still avoiding going into North Wazoo, where cut-throats of all stripes are living in refuge.

It's true that actions against the TTP and other Fata-based cut-throats have caused considerable damage. Military operations in most tribal agencies have driven cut-throats away from their strongholds and drone attacks have helped kill and scatter operatives. Reports show that in Pakistain as a whole suicide kabooms and other instances of terrorism have gone down over the last two years. New attempts at dialogue are reportedly being made, hopefully informed by the failures of earlier attempts. But the process is a slow one, and it is too soon to call victory just yet.

Link

India-Pakistan

Ousted deputy leader of Pakistan Taliban favors talks with govt

2012-03-07

[Dawn] A deputy leader of the Pakistain Taliban, reportedly ousted at the weekend by a krazed killer council, still favors peace talks with the Pak government, he told Rooters on Tuesday.

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who commands Islamic fascisti of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), or Pakistain Taliban, in the tribal agency of Bajaur near the Afghan border, has reportedly been in talks with the government in Islamabad over a peace deal.

The TTP, allied with the Afghan Taliban movement fighting US-led NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
forces in Afghanistan, is entrenched in the unruly areas along the porous frontier. It has pledged to overthrow the Pak government after the military started operations against the TTP.

Past peace pacts with the TTP have failed to bring stability, and merely gave the umbrella group time and space to consolidate, launch fresh attacks and impose their austere version of Islam on segments of the population.

The TTP leadership is split over new talks with the Pak government, with some hardliners rejecting them. Mohammad said, however, that he has never disobeyed the council.

"Whenever I've held talks with the government of Pakistain, I've held them with the permission and advice of the central leadership of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain," Mohammad said from ~~Qazi's guesthouse~~ an undisclosed location.

"When the Taliban in Afghanistan can talk to America, then why can't we talk to the government of Pakistain?"

Pakistain last month urged leaders of the Afghan Taliban movement to enter direct peace negotiations with Kabul, a possible sign that Islamabad is stepping up support for reconciliation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

A council which reportedly included TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, ousted Mohammad, but he said he had "no information on this council, its members, or where its meeting was held."

"Except for Ehsanullah Ehsan, who contacted the media, no important Taliban leader has contacted me." Ehsanullah is the front man for the TTP and announced the demotion.

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