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Afghanistan
Daily Evacuation Brief September 8, 2023
2023-09-09
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
  • 1 TALIBAN BORDER GUARD KILLED IN WEDNESDAY’S TORKHAM CLASHES – Taliban authorities said that 1 border security member had been killed and 2 others were wounded in the gun battle that erupted on Wednesday at the border crossing. Pakistani authorities added that at least 4 Afghan children who had been acting as porters at the crossing had also been killed and 4 Pakistani nationals had been wounded. The Taliban claim that Pakistani border forces initiated the melee and several eyewitness accounts in the press seem to support this contention. The crossing remained closed for the second day after the events and both sides were negotiating to reopen the commercial transit point.

  • SITUATION IN CHITRAL REMAINS CONFUSED – Rumors continue to swirl on social media and in the press about the developments in North Waziristan’s Chitral after a large-scale attack by TTP militants on Pakistani security forces manning two outposts reputedly repulsed an attack. Many pro-TTP accounts contend that nearly 100 Pakistani soldiers/police have been taken prisoner and several towns have been ‘liberated’. Several photos of men in Pakistani Army uniforms who appear to be in restraints have surfaced on many websites. Pakistani reports claim that a major search operation is underway to try and capture those members of the TTP who were attempting to recross back into Afghanistan. A few videos were shared on social media that purportedly were taken in Chitral yesterday and depicted a TTP commander (Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud) calling on his followers to fight the Pakistani military.

  • AHMAD MASSOUD ADDRESSES THE UK PARLIAMENT, WARNS WORLD OF THREAT OF TERRORISM – The leader of the National Resistance Front and son of noted leader Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed members of the UK parliament on the anniversary of his father’s murder. He warned those in attendance that Afghanistan has become a sanctuary for both international and regional terrorist groups.

  • TALIBAN CLAIM TO HAVE ARRESTED A JAMIAT-E ISLAMI COMMANDER IN BADAKHSHAN – Local sources reported the news that Taliban security personnel raided the house of Sayed Abdul Hamd yesterday evening and placed him under arrest. Hamd is reputedly a senior commander of the ethnically Tajik group.

  • INTERNATIONAL EVACUATION EFFORTS RAMPING UP – Pakistan announced it had accepted an offer from Canada to evacuate as many as 6,000 Afghans who were living in the country. It appears Canada intends to resettle these people by the end of the year. France recently received several Afghan women and is being pressed to accept more under a program that would offer asylum to females from Afghanistan based on the policies the Taliban have implemented which curtail their human rights.

CONFLICT TRACKER
Parwan: An action attributed to the Front of the Unknown Soldiers was reported in Ghorband district yesterday morning. A force from this resistance group reportedly ambushed a potrol of Taliban militia and claimed to have killed 3 while a fourth man escaped.
Jalalabad: A night operation was reportedly undertaken by and ALM strike force against a Taliban position near Adel Khel. The post was manned by 6 Taliban personnel. Ir is presumed they were killed in the action.

NEXT 24 HOURS: No Threats Reported

Highlights of the Daily Evacuation Brief September 7, 2023
  • TORKHAM BORDER CLASHES, CROSSING CLOSED – Early reports suggest an exchange of fire took place between Taliban and Pakistani border security personnel on Wednesday. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Pakistan may have initiated the firing when Taliban border guards attempted to erect a checkpoint in the demarcation zone. As of publication, the gate remains closed and shops on both sides of the border were shuttered. There were no officially reported casualties. Local eyewitnesses say that both sides were negotiating to reopen the border. Pakistan is said to have sent reinforcements to the border crossing as an additional security measure.

  • TTP LAUNCHES LARGE ATTACK IN CHITRAL – A spokesman for the Pakistani military said that two of its security outposts in the Kalash Valley had been attacked by a large force of TTP militants. The spokesman confirmed that 4 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and that 12 TTP fighters also lost their lives in the action. Of note, the spokesman claimed that Pakistan had conducted surveillance of the forces as they moved from Afghanistan to aggress the Pakistani bases. For its part, the TTP claimed to have inflicted ‘heavy casualties’ on the Pakistani military and also claimed to have captured the outposts during the attack. Several rumors have circulated online that the TTP had occupied several villages and towns in the area and that they had taken approximately 100 prisoners during the melee. However, no evidence has yet been provided to confirm this information. Additional clarity will likely be forthcoming over the next twenty-four hours.

  • TAJIKISTAN BORDER GUARDS KILL 3 INFILTRATORS AT BORDER – A spokesman for the Tajik government said that its border security forces had engaged and killed 3 members of a terrorist group who had infiltrated the country from Afghanistan. The men were killed yesterday but Tajik authorities said they had crossed into Tajikistan on 30 August and were planning a terror attack that would coincide with the September 9th national holiday. It is important to note that the 3 men were identified as Tajik nationals. It was not clear which terrorist organization the 3 may have been a part of.

NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN COULD LAUNCH AIR OR ARTILLERY STRIKES – As many leaders in Pakistan have stated that yesterday’s TTP attack in Chitral likely originated in Afghanistan, it is entirely possible that Pakistan may launch punitive strikes on suspected TTP bases across the border. In the past, such incidences have forced a closure of the entire border and Spin Boldak Gate could be closed (Torkham remains closed due to a separate incident). Pakistani military forces were already repositioning along the border to reinforce outposts and military convoy traffic had reportedly doubled over the last twelve hours. While no definitive information has been received that an impending strike was being planned, we assess there is a reasonable chance it could occur.

Highlights from Daily Evacuation Brief September 6, 2023
  • POSSIBLE ARRESTS OF 2 AID WORKERS IN GHOR PROVINCE – Several rumors have been circulating that Taliban security personnel may have arrested 2 aid workers from the International Assistance Mission in Ghor yesterday. 1 of the workers was said to be an Afghan and the other was thought to be a foreign national. This information has yet to be confirmed.

  • FRANCE SPIRITS 5 AFGHAN WOMEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY – The 5 Afghan women arrived in France on Monday and were evacuated as part of a new program that was established by a presidential order that mandates special consideration be given to women who held important positions and/or who may have had close contact with Westerners. Women in these categories are considered to be especially at risk, not from arrest at the hands of the Taliban, but for having no future in the tyrannical system due to past work/associations. At least one of the women arrived with accompanying children. Organizers of the program say that France will likely evacuate more women in similar circumstances. The program was said to have been developed after an Afghan refugee NGO in France, Accueillir les Afghanes, called on the government to establish a protocol for women in dire straits.

  • SEVERAL ACTIVISTS IN THE UK CALL ON THE GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE UK-BASED ISLAMIC SCHOLARS WHO RECENTLY VISITED AFGHANISTAN – About 50 activists representing academia, journalism, human rights, and civil society penned a letter to the British government decrying the visit as a Taliban-backed propaganda stunt that was intended to soften criticism of the regime. The signatories went on to call for an investigation into future trips made by such groups. It is not clear if there is a means of preventing such trips under current British law.

  • MORE JOURNALISTS SET FREE – After a widespread crackdown on the media in August 2023, the Taliban have slowly begun releasing those who found themselves under arrest. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) announced yesterday that 3 of the journalists had been released over the weekend and that 9 had been released since the August roundup began. The IFJ welcomed the news and called on the Taliban to release all others still in custody.

Highlights from Daily Evacuation Brief | September 5, 2023
  • CONCERNS RAISED IN IRAN ABOUT A RUMORED DEAL BETWEEN TALIBAN AND 2 TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS TO CONDUCT SECURITY IN WESTERN PROVINCES – Security in Herat, Farah, and Nimruz Provinces could soon fall under the responsibility of Jaish al-Adl and the Rigi Network (two terror organizations) if reports from the Iranian newspaper, Jumohri-e-Islami are correct. Journalists for the paper said sources had indicated that a recent deal had been struck between the Taliban and both organizations to provide security in the three Provinces. It is not clear if their roles would be to augment Taliban security forces or to manage all security on behalf of the Taliban. Regardless of their roles, the news will likely make Tehran nervous as both organizations have been accused of planning and carrying out terror operations in Iran.

  • MORE CHINESE WORKERS TARGETED IN IED ATTACK IN PAKISTAN – The Balochistan Liberation Front has claimed credit for an IED blast that reportedly targeted a vehicle carrying several Chinese workers along the Karachi-Quetta highway Sunday evening. It is not immediately known whether any casualties occurred as a result of the incident.

  • PAKISTAN’S ANTI-CRIME OPERATION ACHIEVING RESULTS – The large-scale police/military operation across Sindh Province has turned in some impressive results since launching a few days ago. Street crime has reportedly dropped significantly and police have seized significant amounts of narcotics from several raids over the last forty-eight hours alone. Weapons, foreign currency, fake medications, and stolen cell phones have also been recovered. Citizens interviewed in Karachi appear to be grateful and are largely supportive of the operation.

  • GENERAL AMNESTY MUST BE HONORED - HANAFI SAYS – Abdul Salam Hanafi warned the Taliban rank and file that anyone found guilty of violating the amnesty for former government officials would be prosecuted on Sunday. The Taliban have been under scrutiny for reported violations of amnesty since virtually taking power in 2021. Several procedures to prosecute Taliban members who have sought retribution against former officials are being discussed at the International Criminal Court and in other judicial bodies around the world. A definitive report issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) last month claimed credible proof of serious human rights abuses against hundreds of former government/military members as well as 218 extrajudicial killings. While the Taliban has repeatedly claimed its members observe all the rights and privileges extended under the amnesty program, very few of its personnel have ever been prosecuted for these crimes.

  • A man shot and wounded a Christian priest in Eastern Pakistan after a Muslim man stopped him after a sermon and demanded he recite a Muslim religious text. The priest chose to recite a Christian prayer in response and was shot in the arm.

Highlights from Daily Evacuation Brief | September 4, 2023
  • TALIBAN CRACKS DOWN ON PRIVATE VEHICLE USE AS TAXIS – Thousands of Afghan citizens have used their personal vehicles to supplement their income by providing taxi-like services throughout the country. The Taliban’s Ministry of the Interior plans to put a stop to the practice and warned citizens yesterday that a vehicle owner must obtain a license to conduct such business or face legal consequences. The edict presents a conundrum for the Taliban as many of their own security forces members have ‘confiscated’ vehicles owned by those from the previous government and often engage in the scheme to make additional money for themselves.

  • IRAN SAYS THAT APPROXIMATELY 6,000 AFGHAN NATIONALS REMAIN IMPRISONED IN THE COUNTRY – Iran’s Foreign Ministry made the announcement yesterday after several international NGOs called on the country to provide statistical information about those being held. The official report was unavailable but a spokesman for the Ministry said that over half of those in prisons had been convicted of petty crimes while the other half consisted of serious offenders and those awaiting trial.

CONFLICT TRACKER
Laghman: Members of the Afghan Liberation Front resistance group claim to have launched a night attack on a Taliban facility (possibly a courthouse) in the Daulat Shah district. The fighting reportedly continued for several hours. An ALF spokesman claimed that 5 Taliban were killed and 2 others were wounded during the fray.

Highlights from Daily Evacuation Brief | September 3, 2023
  • 4,000 PROSPECTIVE MEDICAL STUDENTS TAKE THE FINAL EXAM, ZERO WOMEN – As Afghanistan struggles with a ‘brain-drain’ of health care professionals, Universities are pushing to add more doctors into the ranks of the nation’s health care system. However, only men are allowed to compete for the positions. The head of the Afghanistan Medical Council said that it did not have a procedure that would allow women to take the exam and that a recommendation had been submitted to the supreme leader but was still not approved. Few believe the hard-liner Akundhzada intends to reverse the self-defeating policies regarding women’s roles in Afghan society.

  • AFTER RECENT TERROR INCIDENTS ALONG THE BORDER, PAKISTAN AGAIN CALLS ON THE TALIBAN TO TAKE ACTION – Pakistan said it had communicated to the Taliban that they must police the TTP on its side of the border. Officials at the Foreign Ministry invoked the tripartite agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China to drive the point home to Taliban officials. Reports from Pakistan indicated that the Taliban had recently detained as many as 6 TTP suspects. The Taliban subsequently rejected these claims and the Foreign Ministry felt the regime needed to be reminded of their obligations under the trilateral agreement.

  • 6 PEOPLE ARRESTED IN MAZAR-I-SHARIF FOR PLAYING MUSIC – The Ministry of Vice and Virtue announced it had arrested 6 people for reportedly playing music during a circumcision ceremony on Friday night. The 6 unidentified men were apparently still in Taliban detention facilities as of publication.

  • Security forces disarmed an IED that had been placed on a railroad track in the Sehrish Nagar area of Qasimabad on Saturday. Locals reported two masked men who were seen planting the device to police. Arrests have not yet been made.

  • Counter-terrorism officers arrested 5 female members suspected of colluding with ISIS-K in Lahore on Saturday.

Highlights from the Daily Evacuation Brief | September 2, 2023
  • STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT SAYS THAT OVER 840,000 AFGHANS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR RESETTLEMENT ARE STILL WAITING – The US Department of State released a report on Thursday that broke down the challenges the Department has faced in dealing with the massive backlog as well as describing new procedures it was forced to adopt. The institution showed the sizable increase in applications it was forced to deal with and said that roughly 30,000 cases were pending prior to the withdrawal which has now skyrocketed to over 840,000 cases. The Department said that approximately 50% of the cases are rejected because they do not meet the requirements of the special immigrant visa program. The report concludes with several recommendations to improve the program.

  • MANY AFGHAN REFUGEES IN THE US NERVOUS ABOUT THE EXTENSION OF THEIR TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION STATUS – Many Afghans who were brought to the United States under the Humanitarian Parole program are being told their status will affect their employability if authorities do not act in the coming weeks. In addition to facing termination from their jobs, many will be forced to reapply for driver’s licenses which could disrupt their ability to support themselves and their families. Apparently, there was a significant amount of confusion after conflicting forms were sent to the parolees that were difficult to understand. State agencies are rushing to assist those requiring assistance but many states do not have systems in place to rapidly issue new state licenses and identification cards.

CONFLICT TRACKER
Kapisa: An NRF strike team struck the Taliban base in Pozeh Khamzargar last night, claiming to have wounded 2 Taliban security forces members.
Kabul: AFF fighters claim to have killed 2 Taliban intelligence agents yesterday evening in the Shakradara area of Kabul.

Daily Evacuation Brief | September 1, 2023
  • THE ISIS-K RECRUITMENT STRATEGY IN AFGHANISTAN – Several sources in Afghanistan have assisted with providing clarity on how ISIS-K intends to destabilize the Taliban regime over the coming year.

    • 1. A Revamped Strategy - ISIS-K has rejected the notion that it will be able to compete with the Taliban militarily. Apparently, this was an early hope in late 2021 and early 2022 but the efforts to mass-recruit followers resulted in significant losses at the hands of the Taliban. Thus, it has now pivoted to a more traditional role of targeting the Taliban hierarchy and critical infrastructure in a prolonged terror campaign. There was a schism between senior leaders within ISIS-K at the outset of the Taliban’s rise to power and those voices that felt that public opinion/sympathy would swell the ranks of the organization and, more importantly, would drive many Taliban and Resistance fighters to bring weapons, vehicles, and material into the crusade won out over those who preferred the more traditional footing. Also discussed at the meeting was the inclusion of Chinese targets in future operations as a perception persists that China is assisting the Taliban with counter-terrorism training and intelligence activities. However, specific targets were not discussed. The reversal in strategy signals a return to its historic role.

    2. Recruitment Within the Taliban - The organization has prioritized recruiting mid-level Taliban members to gain access/information about the Taliban hierarchy. In a meeting that took place in Jalalabad in late March 2023, several proponents of this technique pointed out that senior Taliban leaders were becoming more openly corrupt and that mid-level leaders were fast becoming disillusioned with the direction of the regime. ISIS-K apparently had access to financial records from contacts within the Da Afghanistan Bank that detailed several questionable accounts and transfers on behalf of certain Ministers and those with ties to the Taliban which suggested some were involved in corruption. Consensus to adopt this strategy was reportedly achieved at the Jalalabad meeting.

    3. Recruitment of Resistance Forces - Also discussed at the meeting in Jalalabad were overtures that had been made to the various Resistance forces over the course of 2022. Apparently, this was the key component of the organization’s initial strategy, as most felt the technical competence of former Afghan military personnel would be critical to engage with the Taliban in direct operations. Many of those in attendance at the meeting complained that the offers they had made to members of the Resistance had been rebuffed. It was decided to keep a few channels of communication open with two (unidentified) Resistance groups but that active recruiting efforts would be dropped.

    INTEL SUMMARY: While much has recently been reported about the strength and capabilities of ISIS-K in Afghanistan, it is not clear what is fact and what is fiction. It appears the group has learned several painful lessons from the early adoption of mass recruitment and they have suffered significant losses from a far more effective than anticipated General Directorate of Intelligence over the course of 2022-23. If the information gleaned from the March Jalalabad meeting is accurate, it seems logical to presume that the group will focus on targeted assassinations of senior Taliban personnel throughout the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. To accomplish this, they will attempt to recruit disillusioned mid-level Taliban functionaries to aid them in their goal.

  • SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 9 PAKISTANI SOLDIERS IN KP – A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle rigged with explosives targeted a military convoy in Bannu. At least 9 soldiers were killed and 20 more were wounded in the blast. Reinforcements were ordered into the District and a search for possible accomplices was underway but authorities have remained tight-lipped about the tragedy so far.

  • Pakistani officials say that a senior TTP leader (Sharka Din aka Umar Khalid) and 3 additional TTP militants were killed in a clash with counter-terrorism forces in an Afghan refugee camp in Pishin. 21 other suspects were arrested in the operation.

Highlights from the Daily Evacuation Brief | August 31, 2023
CONFLICT TRACKER
Logar: ALM fighters claim to have attacked a Taliban convoy and a Taliban security checkpoint yesterday afternoon in undisclosed locations in the province. They claim to have inflicted an unknown number of casualties and to have burned three Taliban vehicles.
Link


India-Pakistan
Delhi riots 2020: Court grants interim bail to Umar Khalid
2022-12-14
[OneIndia] Umar Khalid was booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being a criminal mastermind of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.

So called activist muppet and an accused in orchestrating the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi, Umar Khalid has been granted interim bail for 7 days by a sessions court in Delhi on Monday.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat granted relief to Khalid from December 23 to 30. He has to surrender on December 30 and no extension can be granted.

According to Indian Express, the judge instructed Khalid to surrender before the court upon the completion of his interim bail term and told him specifically not to seek any further extension of bail.

Khalid had moved an application seeking two weeks' interim bail - from December 20 to January 3 - for his sister's wedding.
“Curses — foiled again!”
However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
 the Delhi Police opposed his bail plea. "Despite the verification of the fact of solemnisation of marriage, the interim bail of the applicant is strongly opposed as he is facing very serious charges under UAPA and his regular bail application has been dismissed by this court and appeal thereof was dismissed by a division bench of the Delhi High Court," the Delhi Police said in response to his bail plea.

Khalid was booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being a criminal mastermind of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Khalid has been in jug since September 2020. Sections under both the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) UAPA and Indian Penal Code had been slapped by the police following the meaningless riots that were carried out in Delhi at a time when the then president of the United States Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
 had visited India.
Related:
Anti-Hindu riot: 2021-10-23 Bangladesh Communal Violence: Suspect Admits Planting Quran at Hindu Site, Police Say
Link


India-Pakistan
4 militants, soldier, cop killed in Tral gunfight
2018-04-25
[GREATERKASHMIR] Four turbans, a soldier and a policeman were killed in the 12-hour-long anti-militancy operation in Tral area of Pulwama district on Tuesday.

All four holy warriors belonged to Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit. Two of them‐Abid of Khangund and Ishfaq of Handoora‐are locals. The other two were named by the police as Umar Khalid and Yasir, both Pak nationals.

Khalid was the Pakistain-based outfit’s operational commander for southern Kashmire, which is currently the epicenter of a resurgent militancy in Kashmire.

A source said that 42 RR battalion of army launched the operation early Tuesday morning in Gaitangoo forests of Laam-Aripal area.

"At the beginning of the fight a soldier named Ajay Kumar sustained a bullet injury," he said.

Kumar was shifted to army’s base hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed.

Militants are then believed to have fled up into the hilly areas of the forest. More soldiers, coppers and CRPF troopers were sent to the area. Latif Gojri, a policeman, was injured. He too succumbed at the army hospital. Two more soldiers injured in the shootout are being treated at the hospital.

When the shootout intensified, army used choppers to locate the turbans.

"The firing stopped in the evening after," a police official said.

Awantipora superintendent of police Zahid Malik called the operation a success. He said Khalid had been active in southern Kashmire since 2016 and had replaced Mufti Viqas as the operational commander.

His associate Yasir had also been active since 2016. While Ishfaq had joined in 2016, Abid had been in the Jaish ranks for the past two months only.

A source said that Ishfaq was a cousin of the slain Hizb commander Abid Khan who had rubbed out an army colonel, MN Roy, before being bumped off in an encounter in January 2015.

Abid is the son of a policeman.

This was the third major jolt to Jaish this year after the killing of Mufti Vikas of Pakistain and Noor Muhamad Tantray alias Noor Trali at Pulwama.

Trali, barely four feet tall, had been convicted in a militancy related case in 2003 and was in jail till 2015 when he was released on parole.

He joined the Jaish and is considered to be the man behind reviving the outfit in southern Kashmire.
Link


India-Pakistan
Death of JuA chief Khorasani 'not confirmed', defence secretary says
2017-10-27
[DAWN] Pakistain has no information that Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) chief Umar Khalid Khorasani was killed in a recent US dronezap, Defence Secretary Zamirul Hassan Shah told the Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Thursday.

Earlier this month, JuA front man Asad Mansoor had 'confirmed' to foreign news organizations that Khorasani had been killed in a US dronezap along with at least nine of his associates.

However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
 Shah, a retired Lt Gen, told the Senate committee that the news of Khorasani's death has not been verified, adding that a photograph of the JUA chief which had been issued along with news of his death "was a fake".

The secretary also said that there had been no US dronezap in Pak territory in the recent past.

A number of dronezaps had been reported in the Pak-Afghan border region between Oct 16 and Oct 20. On Oct 17, after five forces of Evil were killed in a US dronezap near Kurram Agency
...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora...
, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif had clarified that the attack had targeted forces of Evil along the Pak-Afghan border area and did not happen inside Pakistain's territory.
Link


Afghanistan
12 killed in drone strike near Pak-Afghan border
2017-10-21
[DAWN] At least 12 suspected turbans were allegedly killed in a dronezap in Afghanistan's Paktia province on Friday.

Security sources told DawnNews that a suspected United States (US) drone fired six missiles, killing 12 'militants' and wounding several others.

Earlier this week, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar chief Umar Khalid Khorasani was killed in a strike in Paktia along with nine of his associates.

The recent unprecedented increase dronezaps in the Pak-Afghan border region appears to be reflective of a change in policy in Washington, with at least 70 strikes ─ both drone and ground ─ conducted in Afghanistan in the past three weeks, and over 30 people killed in strikes near the border in the last few days.

The Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and ISPR, the army's media wing, had both claimed that the strikes had been carried out in Afghan territory and Pakistain's airspace had not been violated, amid speculation that the strikes had targeted turbans inside Pak territory
Link


Afghanistan
4 'militants' killed in drone strike near Pak-Afghan border
2017-10-20
[DAWN] At least four suspected holy warriors were killed in a dronezap in Afghanistan's Paktia province near the Pak-Afghan border on Thursday.

Security sources told DawnNews that a suspected United States (US) drone fired two missiles targeting alleged murderous Moslem hideouts in the area, killing four 'militants'.

This is the second dronezap in Paktia this week. At least six suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 Pakistain holy warriors were killed in an earlier strike, with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar chief Umar Khalid Khorasani reportedly injured in the assault. Khorasani was evacuated following the strike and unconfirmed reports claim he is dead.

The recent unprecedented increase dronezaps in the Pak-Afghan border region appears to be reflective of a change in policy in Washington, with at least 70 strikes ─ both drone and ground ─ conducted in Afghanistan in the past three weeks, and over 30 people killed in strikes near the border in the last few days.

The Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and ISPR, the army's media wing, had both claimed that the strikes had been carried out in Afghan territory and Pakistain's airspace had not been violated, amid speculation that the strikes had targeted holy warriors inside Pak territory.

Link


India-Pakistan
Umar Khalid Khorasani, 9 associates confirmed killed by US drone strike
2017-10-20
[DAWN] The chief of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), an offshoot of the Pak Taliban
...Arabic for students...
, has been killed in a US dronezap, a front man for the group confirmed to AFP on Thursday.

"Chief of our Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Umar Khalid Khorasani, who sustained serious injuries in a recent US dronezap in Afghanistan's Paktia province, departed this vale of tears Wednesday evening," JuA front man Asad Mansoor told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Link


India-Pakistan
Lashkar-e-Taiba Terrorist Arrested in Baramulla, Kashmir
2016-11-05
[NEWS18] A 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...
 (LeT) Lion of Islam was jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
 from north Kashmire's Baramulla district, the state police said on Friday.

Umar Khalid Mir was arrested on Thursday in a joint operation from Tojjar village of Sopore area.

"He had joined the Lion of Islam ranks in May 2014. An AK-47 rifle and three magazines was recovered from him," a police official said.

"His interrogation is likely to reveal vital information about LeT cadre operating in north Kashmire," the police added.
Link


India-Pakistan
Who is Taliban commander Umar Mansoor?
2016-01-21
[DAWN] The Tehrik-e-Taliban Geedar group commander who claimed the deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
's Charsadda Wednesday is Umar Mansoor, the de facto operational head of TTP in KP.

Journalist Hasan Abdullah tells Dawn.com Mansoor is the faction's commander specifically in Charsadda, Darra Adam Khel, Noshera and surrounding areas. "He had been very close to Hakimullah Mehsud's inner circle and was also close to Umar Khalid Khorasani at one time," says Abdullah.
Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan's top militant commanders
2015-07-10
Useful information about a bunch of baddies, eighteen in all, with pictures of some of them.
[DAWN] Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
A Yousufzai from Swat, he took charge as the head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain after the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike in November 2013.

He is currently heading the TTP faction often referred to as "TTP central" in intelligence circles.


He controlled large parts of the Malakand division for nearly three years before escaping to Afghanistan in 2009 following a military operation.

Fazlullah has been the criminal mastermind behind various high profile attacks including the brutal Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
 school attack as well as the killing of GoC Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
Major General Sanaullah Khan Niazi.

He maintains good relations with the Afghan Taliban.

Affiliated with: Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP)


Maulana Asim Umar
...chief of al-Qaeda's Sharia Committee for Pakistain, named head of al-Qaeda in India. His video appearances are frequently accompanied by clips of al Qaeda's senior propagandist in Pakistan, Ahmad Farooq. Umar the author of The Army of Anti-Christ: Blackwater, Documentation of the Dreadful Terrorist Activities of America's Blackwater in Islamic Countries...
The head of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the first Deobandi to lead an Al-Qaeda franchise.

He has studied 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...
 and also taught at seminaries there.

He has authored several books on subjects such as doomsday, the Anti-Christ, and Freemasons, etc.

He is well-connected with various Deobandi and Salafi scholars and enjoys a good reputation in various religious circles.

Affiliated with: Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)


Sirajuddin Haqqani
Commonly known as "Khalifa Sahib", he heads what the US refers to as the Haqqani Network, which is in fact a group fighting under the direct command of 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 in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
His fighters are some of the best-trained holy warriors in this region, and have carried out a number of high profile attacks in Afghanistan.

Sirajuddin Haqqani's step mother is a Yemeni, and he maintains close ties with Al Qaeda.

When questioned about the TTP, he has referred to them as "our brothers".

He was a close friend of former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Affiliated with: Haqqani Network, TTP, Al-Qaeda


Hafiz Saeed Khan Orakzai
He had previously served as a TTP commander 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...
He parted ways with the TTP and joined His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
's "Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
" (IS).

In January this year, he was appointed as a representative of IS in Pakistain through an audio announcement Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the official front man of IS.

A report says he was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) kaboom earlier this year.

Affiliated with: TTP, IS


Umar Khalid Khurasani
...intel chief of the Jamaatul Ahrar TTP splinter group, or whatever it's calling itself these days...
One of the founding members of the TTP, Umar Khalid Khurasani (also known as 'Abdul Wali') is a poet and former journalist from Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
. Within organizational circles, he is known to be a formidable military commander and was one of the first in the TTP to execute opponents by slitting their throats.

He was the TTP Mohmand Chief and also held the additional charge of the Khyber Agency chapter for a brief period during which he orchestrated a bloody campaign against government-backed lashkars.

He parted ways with "TTP central" and is now the de-facto chief of the splinter group Jamatul Ahrar.

The group has now decided to reunite with TTP central.

Affiliated with: TTP, Jamatul Ahrar


Sheikh Khalid Haqqani
Hailing from the Swabi district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
 (KP), he is the deputy head of "TTP central" and has also served as its Head of Shura (consultative committee).

A graduate of the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak, he is held in high esteem within the banned group as a "thoughtful religious scholar and a seasoned military commander".

He also authored a fatwa against Pak media, dividing them into different categories and legitimising the killing of some journalists.

Affiliated with: TTP


Muhammad Khurasani
Also known as Mufti Khalid Balti, he is the current head of media at "TTP central" as well as their official front man.

He spent many years in Karachi where he also taught at Jamia-tur-Rasheed. Muhammad Khurasani is fluent in Urdu, Arabic and Balti.

He is well-connected with many of the seminaries across the country and his personality is one of the reasons many students wish to join him in North Wazoo.

Affiliated with: TTP


Ehsanullah Ehsan
...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency...
Formerly the chief TTP front man, he was removed from the post after being accused of trying to sabotage relations with the Afghan Taliban, a charge he has termed baseless.

He is now the front man of Jamatul Ahrar.

After the reunification with TTP central, his new role is expected to be announced within the next few days.

Affiliated with: TTP, Jamatul Ahrar


Sheikh Maqbool Orakzai
He was previously known as Shahidullah Shahid and served as the chief front man of the TTP under Hakimullah Mehsud and then Mullah Fazlullah.

He parted ways with the TTP and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of IS.

He is a Salafi in orientation and maintains good contacts with Arab fighters.

Affiliated with: TTP, IS


Commander Abdul Jabbar
A close confidante of Mullah Umar, he currently heads Tehrik Ghalba-e-Islam and spends much of his time in Karachi.

His fighters have been actively engaged in Kandahar and Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
 provinces of Afghanistan.

Publicly, he opposes rebellion against the Pak state and urges his men to focus on Afghanistan.

Affiliated with: Tehrik Ghalba-e-Islam


Ustad Ahmad Farooq
Also known as Abdullah Farooqi, he is effectively the second-in-command of Al-Qaeda in Pakistain and has been the propaganda chief of the group.

The group is now operating as Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Most of the inner circle of Ustad Ahmad Farooq includes university graduates who had previously been associated with Islami Jamaat-e-Talaba
...The Islamic Students' Organization: the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, where young Moslems are trained into the arts of street fighting...
 (IJT), the student wing 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).

A powerful orator, he is fluent in Urdu, Arabic, English and Punjabi.

Affiliated with: Al-Qaeda in Pakistain, IJT, JI


Asmatullah Muavia
He has previously headed the "Punjabi Taliban", an alliance consisting primarily of 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....
based sectarian Death Eaters.

Taliban sources claim that a few weeks before the launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
, Muavia surrendered himself at Razmak Fort in North Waziristan and announced that he would restrict his Death Eater activities to Afghanistan.

He released a statement arguing that because of the infighting within the TTP and the changing regional situation, his group will only engage in propagation activities in Pakistain.

Affiliated with: TTP


Khan Saeed
Also known as "Sajna", he leads one of the more influential Mehsud factions of the Taliban.

Based in South Waziristan, he maintains a strong footprint in Karachi.

A number of Mehsud transporters and other businessmen take their disputes to him.

Affiliated with: TTP


Adnan Rasheed
Formerly a technician with the Pakistain Air Force (PAF), he was convicted as one of the planners behind an liquidation attempt on the then army chief and president Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
He was freed by the TTP in an audacious raid on Bannu jail, along with nearly 300 others.

He currently leads the Ansaar-al-Aseer (helpers of prisoners), a unit that focuses on freeing Talibs in prison.

Affiliated with: PAF, Ansaar-al-Aseer, TTP


Qazi Hammad
He was the 'chief justice' of the TTP.

He is known for addressing internal disputes taken to his court.

Qazi Hammad now part of Jamatul Ahrar.

Affiliated with: Jamatul Ahrar, TTP


Maulana Saleh Qassam
Editor of 'Ihyae Khilafat', Jamatul Ahrar's monthly magazine.

Affiliated with: Jamatul Ahrar


Mufti Hassan Swati
Former TTP commander who maintains a strong footprint in Peshawar and adjoining areas.

He left the TTP a few months ago and joined Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's IS.

A number of cases had been filed against him at the TTP's court in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, accusing him of extortion and intimidating those who had refused to pay.

Affiliated with: TTP, IS


Mangal Bagh
...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency...
He hails from the Bara area of Khyber agency and is a member of the Afridi tribe.

He took charge of Khyber agency based Lashkar-e-Islam
...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It's headed by a former bus driver....
 around 2006 from Mufti Munir Shakir and has fought several battles with pro-government rustics.

Mangal Bagh has also been involved in the drug trade, running a network in Karachi.

Traditionally his focus has been on territorial control and furthering his business interests.

However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
 some TTP members claim that his stance is getting increasingly ideological.

His group has now forged a formal alliance with the TTP.

Affiliated with: Lashkar-e-Islam, TTP

Jamatul Ahrar, a former splinter group of the TTP has announced its reunification with the TTP.

Khyber Agency-based Lashkar-e-Islam headed by Mangal Bagh has also decided to merge with the TTP. The three have announced that they will now operate under the name of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain.

Prior to the split, Jamatul Ahrar had largely operated as the Mohmand chapter of the TTP.

According to TTP chief front man, Muhammad Khurasani, the group will announce its new structure within the next few days.
Link


India-Pakistan
TTP Chief Mullah Fazlullah ousts Commander Umar Khorasani
2014-09-08
[DAWN] Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
 ousted its Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
 chief Umar Khalid Khorasani from the organization on charges of "conspiring against the Emirates of Afghanistan Emir Mullah Muhammad Omar, and having links to shadow turban organizations".

In what appears to be a further disintegration of the Pak Taliban structure, well-placed sources within the TTP told Dawn.com that a meeting of the Taliban Shura led by Mullah Fazlullah decided to oust Wali Muhammad alias Khalid Khorasani as Mohmand Agency chief, and also cancelled his TTP membership.

The meeting observed that Khorasani had been conspiring against the Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Muhammad Omar and had formed "dubious" organizations such as Junad-e-Hafza, Ihrarul Hind and now the splinter group Jamatul Ihrar. The Shura determined that this was damaging the TTP cause.

In the last few days, Umar Khalid Khorasani and his associates in Mohmand Agency had accused the TTP leadership of deviating from the TTP ideology, leading to the formation of splinter group TTP Jamatul Ihrar.

The group had announced they would no longer recognise or obey Mullah Fazlullah as their Emir. They also claimed the support of other like minded commanders from FATA and Malakand division.
Link


India-Pakistan
TTP's Mohmand chapter vows to abide by ceasefire
2014-03-12
[DAWN] Chief of Pak Taliban's Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
 chapter Umar Khalid Khurasani Tuesday vowed to abide by the ceasefire negotiated between the government and Taliban despite the outfit's claim of killing 23 FC soldiers last month.

Peace talks between the two sides to end years of insurgency by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) had reached a deadlock after the killing of the soldiers.

In a written statement to the media, Khurasani said the outfit did not have any plan to attack former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
 or anyone else for that instance.

Mohmand Taliban's chief, who in a chilling admission in February claimed the killing of the kidnapped Pak paramilitary soldiers, said the Death Eater outfit was obeying ceasefire as negotiated by the central leadership of the TTP.

He said security and intelligence agencies were misguiding people. "We abide by ceasefire and have no plan to attack Musharraf or anyone else," said Khurasani.
Link



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