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India-Pakistan

Banned outfits involved in terrorism, Malik tells Senators

2013-02-21

[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. Wednesday said proscribed organizations are involved in the massacre of Paks and there is no dispute between any religious sects in the country. Concluding the debate on Quetta killings in the Senate, he said as many as 31 placed in durance vile ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... culprits of banned religious outfits have admitted 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... '>Bloody Karachi that they were on mission to destabilize the country. Spokesman of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan is working for someone else, he said, adding that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... (LeJ), Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... and Sipah-e-Sahaba are involved in large scale killings in various areas of the country. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is involved in 80 per cent terror incidents in the country, said Malik. Afghans are involved in 30 per cent crimes in the country. With the closure of illegal mobile SIMS, 80 per cent crimes could be checked. The interior minister said he had suspended mobile service on five occasions and not a single terrorism incident occurred across the country during the mobile closure period. He said chief ministers of all four provinces should be summoned in Senate to inquire about the measures taken for the security of their people as interior ministry had warned them about looming terror threats. "Only Punjab government played good role in countering the conveyed threats," he added. The minister said he had warned the relevant authorities that carnage will occur in Quetta and Bloody Karachi, but the provincial governments did not enhance the security. Under the 18th constitutional amendment federation can only warn the province about the looming threats and it is the duty of the provinces to take preventive measures to avoid the threats, he said. Prior to Saturday's Quetta killings, the federal government had informed the provincial government about the looping threat to Hazara tribe people. Federal government has so far issued five terror alerts to government of 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... , said Malik. He said the KP government was also informed about threats to members of the Bilour family. If the provinces do not act promptly, it should not be considered as fault of the federal government and the agencies, he said. "The federation must not be blamed for the faults of provinces. The law enforcement agencies were working excellently," he said and urged the parliamentarians to help overcome terrorism and pass anti-terror bill pending with the parliament for last three years. The minister said he had never stated that Taliban do not exit. Taliban are very much there but recent activities were executed by paid killers of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jesh-e-Muhammad and Sipah-e-Sihaba. Head office of LeJ is in Punjab while sub head office is working in Bloody Karachi, he said. Taliban has so far killed 40,000 Paks but they are not involved in Bloody Karachi killings, he said. A complete strategy has been handed over to Inspector General of FC to control terrorism in Balochistan while it has been decided to declare Saryab road Quetta as red zone.

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India-Pakistan

Banned outfits active in Karachi, Malik tells Senate

2013-01-31

[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 Wednesday said three banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organization are responsible of murders and law and order situation 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... Speaking in the Senate in response to a point of order by Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, the interior minister said Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... (LeJ), Jaish-e-Muhammad and Sipah-e-Sihaba are terrorizing people in Bloody Karachi. "It is not Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) as a whole involved in Bloody Karachi killings. But, these are the splinter groups," he said. The minister also claimed that Ehsanullah Ehsan is not a TTP front man. "He is nobody but these are the hawks in these organizations who are inflicting terror on innocent people," he remarked. Mashhadi had mentioned the recent statement by the minister that Orcs and similar vermin were conspiring to launch massive attacks in Bloody Karachi in early Feb and sought explanation from the minister and background of his statement. Rehman Malik explained that those busy in Bloody Karachi are different turban factions and mentioned that when the interior ministry warned of an attack on long march of Dr Tahirul Qadri, the same Ehsanullah Ehsan withdrew his statement. But, after killing of MQM leader Manzar Imam, he claimed the responsibility as a spokesperson of the TTP. But, it is evident that he is not working for TTP but for somebody else, said the minister. He said internal and external groups are involved in Bloody Karachi situation and killers are paid Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000 for each killing. "I have asked the intelligence agencies to enhance monitoring as well as security. I have asked the agencies that when they get any information, they should apprehend the suspects and take preventive action." The minister said he had reasons to suspend the service of the mobile phones and record is evident that when this decision is imposed, no incident of killing or other sabotage activity occurs that day. He once again appealed to the parliament to enact anti-terrorism law and claimed that passage of this law will help control 50 per cent of terrorist activities as he also requested the house to provide him an opportunity to brief in-camera. Malik further stated that killings in Bloody Karachi and Quetta and statement of Indian Services Chiefs are not a probability "but there is a theory of certainty."

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India-Pakistan

Government orders crackdown on militants

2010-07-13

[Dawn] Pakistan's political heartland has ordered a crackdown on militants after a series of devastating attacks and accusations of links to banned groups, officials said Monday. Nothing to get excited about. These "crackdowns" usually last about two weeks. The Lahore High Court then lets everybody go for lack of evidence. New Delhi and Washington have long demanded that Pakistan root out extremist militant groups that use its soil to launch attacks across the country, as well as in neighbouring Afghanistan and India. New Delhi and Washington will still be demanding the same thing when the Last Trumpet parps. But the details and scope of the apparent crackdown - which comes just days before Pakistan is due to host India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna for talks in Islamabad - were unclear. Pakistain is usually pretty hazy when it comes to details. They not too distinct when it comes to the Big Picture, either. "The government has ordered a policy of zero tolerance against all these groups. There are at least 2,000 to 2,200 activists of banned outfits being closely monitored in Punjab," police official Akram Naeem Bharoka told AFP. "Oh, they're being monitored, are they?" "Oh, yasss! Closely monitored!" "We have very clear instructions from the government that no outlawed organisation should be allowed to continue their activities in any part of the province," Bharoka said. "Certainly not! They're outlawed, after all." Asked how many people had been arrested and offices targeted, the senior official in Punjab police said only that figures were being compiled. "It's a lot, though." Police confirmed raids and arrests of militants from extremist Sunni Muslim group Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan (SSP) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity seen as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba group India blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. "We have arrested at least eight people belonging to different banned organisations," Lahore city police chief Aslam Tareen told AFP. "These organisations have been involved in distributing hate material and promoting sectarianism," he said. The government ordered police to curb the activities of these groups, he added.

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India-Pakistan

'Sipah-e-Sihaba, TTP involved in spreading terrorism'

2010-03-02

[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Monday that both, the banned sectarian outfit Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan along with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, were involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan and the government had taken notice of the fact. Malik appeared before Accountability Court Number 1 in Rawalpindi today where he stated that he be exempted from appearing before the court. However, Accountability Judge Tariq Abbasi turned down his request and said that he can only be exempted for one day. Talking to the media, Malik said that he had told the court that he had been warned by intelligence agencies that he was under serious threat for his prime role in fighting the war against terror and thus he should be exempted.

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India-Pakistan

Banned SSP seeks patch-up with JUI-F

2007-03-12

The leadership of the banned Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan (SSP) urged the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl on Sunday to forget differences between the two parties. Assuming there are any significant differences... The differences emerged when the MMA fielded a candidate against the late Maulana Azam Tariq in the 2002 elections. When Azam Tariq won the NA seat, the MMA government in NWFP banned his entry into the province. “Dr Khadim Hussain Dhilon, the secretary general of the banned SSP, met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and discussed the matter with him,” sources told Daily Times. The sources said both sides expressed willingness to reconcile their differences at the meeting that was arranged by Maulana Nazir Farouqi, the senior vice president of the JJ&K chapter of the JUI-F. When contacted, Farouqi said that Dr Dhilon had only enquired about Fazl’s health at the “routine meeting”, but the sources said that Dhilon urged Fazl that both parties should resolve their differences.

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India-Pakistan

Blast in Multan kills 3 cops, injures 9 including ATC judge

2007-03-03

MULTAN: An anti-terrorist judge was wounded and three policemen were killed when a remote-controlled bomb attached to a bicycle exploded in Multan on Friday, said police. Judge Bashir Ahmed Bhatti, who often hears cases against Islamic militants suspected terrorists, was among nine people injured by the blast around 100 metres away from the court building at around 8:50am, said district police chief Munir Ahmed Chishti. APP reported that 11 people were injured in the attack. AP quoted the city police chief as saying that Bhatti was travelling to his court when the bomb went off. The blast wrecked the front end of the car believed to be the judge’s and left blood stains on the seats and the ground, said an AFP reporter from the scene of the attack. A police van was almost destroyed. “A bomb of high intensity was planted on a bicycle in front of a basketball stadium near the court, and it exploded as the car of the special anti-terrorism court judge passed." “A bomb of high intensity was planted on a bicycle in front of a basketball stadium near the court, and it exploded as the car of the special anti-terrorism court judge passed. It was a targeted attack,” said Chishti, ruling out the possibility of a suicide attack. “Two police gunmen died on the spot, and another nine people were injured: the judge, six policemen and two bystanders,” said Chishti. He declined to say who might have been behind the attack. An injured policeman later died at a local hospital, said doctor Fahim Javed at Nishtar Hospital, bringing the death toll to three. He said that the three wounded policemen were in critical condition. He identified two of the three people who died as Mohammed Iqbal and Ijaz Ahmed. AP quoted Javed as saying that Bhatti was in critical condition, but APP quoted the Nishtar Hospital medical superintendent as saying that the judge’s condition was stable. Police cordoned off the area following the attack, and bomb disposal squad officers collected evidence and fragments of the bomb. “It was a locally made high-intensity device,” said a bomb disposal officer. The bomb was thought to have been detonated by remote control, said regional police chief Mohammad Ali. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Mirza Mohammed Ali, another police officer, said Bhatti was hearing the case of Malik Ishaq, a leader of the outlawed Sunni Muslim militant group, Sipah-e-Sihaba, which is implicated in sectarian attacks against Shias. Ishaq was arrested two years ago, and was accused of killing several Shias, said Mohammed Ali, although he had no details of the charges against the suspect. Chishti said that Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had announced that Rs 500,000 would be given as financial assistance to the families of the dead policemen.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Government starts making lists of militants and organisations

2005-02-10

Isn't it about time? I started mine years ago. And there haven't been four assassination attempts against me... The government has started compiling lists of militants and extremists, which will contain information about the individual and his/her organisation, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday. Of course, it being Pakland, they're gonna have to have the census bureau do it... "The government has asked all security agencies of the country to start preparing the lists," sources added. "The government made the decision to keep a complete profile of militants working for different militant organisations including those that are part and parcel of the United Jihad Council," they said. To include Lashkar e-Taiba? Want to bet they're not on the list, even though they're part of the UJC? The lists' purpose was for the government to keep track of militants across the country and to pre-empt terrorist activities in Pakistan, they added. "Another reason for the collection of the data was that the government wanted to maintain lists of militants who had left their parent militant organisations and had formed small militant groups," sources said. Militants who had formed their own small militant groups were more active in terrorist activities, sources said, claiming that such militants were behind terrorist activities within the country including the suicide attacks on President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. And they're just now getting around to it? Well, I guess they can get a head start on the list by using the payroll list... Sources said this was the second time that the government had started such an exercise after the 9/11 incident. I guess the magnitude of the task was pretty daunting, wasn't it? "The government will be able to keep an eye on militants and militant activities after the lists' preparation," sources added. Security agencies would focus on militants who had parted ways from banned militant organisations including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sihaba, Harkat Jihad-e-Islami al-Alami, Jamiatul Ansar, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Sipah-e-Muhammad and Khudamul Furqan, they added.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Govt could release sectarian activists

2004-11-25

The Punjab government is considering a proposal for releasing sectarian activists that it detained under MPO 3, if the leaders of the related organisations provide affidavits pledging that the detained men would not indulge in sectarian activities, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday. Yeah. That's gonna work. Sources said that a majority of detained activists belonged to Anjuman Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Mohammed Pakistan. The Punjab government released 36 out of 76 sectarian activists on Eidul Fitr those were arrested under MPO 3. The government however arrested another 16 sectarian activists, sources said. They said that there were at least 56 activists detained by the government. Sources said that the Home and Police departments had prepared a list of 209 sectarian activists after the bomb blasts in Sialkot and Multan, out of which only 76 were arrested. A Home Department official said: "The Punjab home secretary released the detainees after hearing their petitions, but also rejected some petitions." He said that nearly 20 petitions were pending with the Home secretary. He said that more detainees were expected to be released if their leaders provided affidavits to the government.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Three of a Shia family murdered in DI Khan

2004-09-22

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unidentified attackers have gunned down three members of a Shia family including father and sons in village Ratta Kalachi, seven kilometers from Dera City. The attackers fired at Manzoor Hussain and his two sons Muhammad Nadeem, 23, and Muhammad Waseem, 12, late on Monday night killing them instantly. Manzoor's daughter was injured in the attack. The family members of the victims cited Aziz, an activist of banned Sipah-e-Sihaba group in the first information report (FIR) for the murders. The FIR was lodged with the Sadar Police Station.

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India-Pakistan

Arrest team in Lahore, but suspect in UK

2003-11-05

A special team of Islamabad Police has been sent to Lahore with arrest warrants for Tehrik Islami Pakistan (TIP) Secretary General Syed Sibtain Kazmi, a suspect in Maulana Azam Tariq’s murder. However, sources say Mr Kazmi is in the UK and his family is in Islamabad. "Nope. Sorry. Ain't seen him. Have you looked in Manchester?" A police team raided Mr Kazmi’s Johar Town house last week and took his driver Javed into custody, releasing him after questioning. The Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan (SSP) leadership named the Iranian Consul General in Pakistan, chief of TIP Allama Sajid Naqvi, secretary general Sibtain Kazmi, secretary general of the outlawed Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan Allama Munawar Ali and ex-MNA Nawab Amanullah Khan Sial as suspects in Azam Tariq’s assassination.

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Terror Networks

Five Sipah-e-Sihaba gunnies iced in Jhang

2002-03-17

Five persons belonging to defunct Sipah-e-Sihaba were gunned down by unknown horsemen in the suburb of Jhang on Saturday night. The thugs were snuffed by four men galloping on horses. One of the deceased, Anwar Sajjad, was involved in the murder of Sajjada Nasheen of Merrik Sial shrine, Pir Sabir Sultan. Local cops reached the spot and cordoned off the whole area. It is for the first time that the attackers have used horses in any terrorist attack. A little internecine thug warfare? Sounds like they had a good time at it, though. Riding horses is good, healthy exercise.

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