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India-Pakistan

Treason trial may involve Musharraf's 'abettors'

2014-03-17

[DAWN] The recent application, filed by former military ruler retired General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... in the special court, points fingers at the alleged co-conspirators behind the November 3 actions. If accepted, this application would implicate a number of high profile civilians and armed personnel in the treason trial. The application Gen Musharraf recently filed in the special court, which has been established to try the former dictator for high treason, demands that the civilian leadership and the military authorities that allegedly abetted in the imposition of the November 3, 2007 emergency should also be tried along with him. According to the proclamation issued for the November 3 emergency, Musharraf imposed the emergency after consulting the then prime minister, the governors of all four provinces and the chairman of joint chiefs of staff committee, the chiefs of the armed forces, the vice-chief of army staff and the corps commanders of the Pakistain Army. "It is therefore imperative for this Hon'ble Court to seek the names of the above officials and supply the same to the accused.... to try all the accused together. In the face of such omission the trial shall stand vitiated," says the application pending before the special court. Regardless of whether or not this application is accepted or rejected, here is a short account of who those corps commanders and other military officers mentioned in that notification were: Among the civilians and retired army officers, the proclamation claims that the emergency was imposed with the consent of the then former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, the governors retired Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool of Punjab, retired Lt-Gen Ali Jan Orakzai of KP, Jan Mohammad Yousaf 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... and Ishratul Ibad of Sindh. Moving beyond the civilians to the army officers consulted, the most important name is that of General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... . He was vice chief of army staff on November 3, 2007 when Musharraf imposed the emergency. Having succeeded General Musharraf as the chief of army staff on November 29, 2007, Kayani served at the post for the next six years. He was the first chief of the army to receive an extension from a democratic government. He also held the acting charge of the chairman of joint chiefs of staff committee for a brief period from October to November of 2013. The then chairman joint chiefs of staff committee Gen Tariq Majeed was also mentioned in the proclamation of November 3 emergency. On October 8, 2007, Majeed was sworn in as chairman joint chiefs of staff. As the proclamation also claimed that the services chiefs of that time were also consulted, the then chief of naval staff Mohammad Afzal Tahir may also be implicated in the said trial. Tahir took over the command of Pakistain Navy from Admiral Shahid Karimullah on October 7, 2005, after the latter's three-year tenure ended. The Air Force was represented by Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed at the time of imposition of emergency. He was the air chief from 2006 to 2009. Lower down on the rung, there is retired Lt-Gen Mohsin Kamal, who was then serving as Commander 10 Corps, Rawalpindi.

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India-Pakistan

Army action to gear up after Orakzai

2008-01-06

A harder military approach towards militancy in the Tribal Areas seems a new agenda following the departure of Ali Jan Orakzai as the NWFP governor, who pleaded for a ‘peaceful solution’ to the issue engulfing the country’s western borders, analysts said on Saturday. That worked well. With Orakzai’s departure, political solution to the militancy in the Tribal Areas will be a distant cry and strong military response will follow, the analysts told Daily Times. “I think that emphasis on the political solution will be lesser and hard things have to come by,” said Khalid Aziz, head of the Regional Institute of Policy Research and Training. Meaning the new guy's not going to be on the turbans' side? Since early days of his appointment as NWFP governor in May 2006, Orakzai, himself a tribesman and former corps commander of Peshawar, was giving every young tribesman a pen to change mindset of the tribal people from militancy. “Orakzai was trying to balance government’s acts in the Tribal Areas with an emphasis on a political solution. With his departure, this emphasis will vanish,” Khalid, a former NWFP chief secretary, said. The political solution approach works if both sides want one. If one side wants a political solution and the other side wants to cut some heads off, it doesn't work at all. And if the guy who's pushing the political solution is actually on the side of the head choppers, it works even less. Within months of his appointment, Orakzai signed a peace deal with militants in North Waziristan in September 2006 and hoped that this would lead to a permanent solution. The Waziristan attempt was copied in the Helmand province of Afghanistan where the British forces left Musa Qala district after they reached a similar deal with the Taliban. Another move of singular brilliance. Although Orakzai kept himself at bay from the media, the Helmand deal prompted him to say that his deal with pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan was a good starter, pleading that Afghanistan should “follow me”. Months later, anti-deal forces began voicing concern at the North Waziristan situation where they believed the deal was “benefiting the militants”.

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India-Pakistan

Govt may change NWFP, Balochistan governors

2008-01-05

The government has decided to appoint the current Balochistan governor as NWFP governor ahead of the rescheduled general elections, according to well-placed sources. Highly-placed sources claimed that the government has decided to appoint Owais Ghani, incumbent Balochistan governor, as NWFP governor in place of Lt Gen (r) Ali Jan Muhammad Orakzai. “In Balochistan, Chief Justice of Balochistan Amaullah Khan Yousafzai will be appointed acting governor in place of Owais Ghani until a suitable person is selected for this job,” they claimed. They said the decision to change the governors of the two provinces has been taken in principle, adding that it could take a few days before it is implemented. Possible resignation: Separately, Daily Times Bureau Chief Iqbal Khattak quoted official sources from Peshawar as saying that NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai may have resigned. “He has resigned and what we hear is that his successor is likely to be from Mardan district,” the sources told Daily Times on Friday. There are rumours that General Ehsanul Haq, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, could replace Orakzai as the next NWFP governor. The officials said the contents of the resignation letter could not be ascertained.

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India-Pakistan

Orakzai denies terrorists swap with arrested troops

2007-11-13

NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai contradicted reports circulating on Monday that “dangerous terrorists” had been released to militants in exchange for over 200 soldiers who were taken hostage in South Waziristan nearly two months ago. “There is no truth [to the reports] that [security] personnel were freed conditionally,” he told reporters here at Governor’s House after administering an oath to justice (r) Ajmal Mian as caretaker provincial minister. Asked to comment on media reports that the government had freed “dangerous terrorists” in return for the release of 213 soldiers from the custody of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, the governor said the “whole matter was disposed of through a traditional tribal jirga”. There is no truth to such reports, Orkazai reiterated. "Nope. Nope. Never happened." The governor said all options, including dialogue and action, were being considered to tackle militancy in Swat. He said work on all these options was underway, and added that he was sure that peace and tranquillity would be restored in the area very soon.

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India-Pakistan

Swat truce collapses

2007-11-01

* 15 insurgents including Fazlullah’s aide killed in clashes * Blast near Saidu Sharif Police Lines, no casualties * Jirga making efforts for peace deal between govt, cleric MINGORA: Gunship helicopters pounded suspected militant positions in Swat district hours after a temporary ceasefire between security forces and insurgents loyal to Maulana Fazlullah collapsed on Wednesday. At least 15 to 18 insurgents were killed in the clashes. “Fresh clashes resumed after the militants attacked security forces late on Tuesday night. The security personnel retaliated and gunship helicopters were used to hit the militants’ positions,” a senior administration official told Daily Times. Administration sources said that a paramilitary camp in Kanju and an army base in Kabal were attacked, but there were no casualties. According to AFP, the militants fired at an army chopper hovering over Matta, prompting the gunship to attack three rebel positions, officials said. NWFP Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir told Daily Times that at least 15 to 18 militants including Tariq, a close aide of Fazlullah, were killed in the clashes. The security forces suffered no casualties, he added. Wazir said that the militants had also set up barricades at various roads and were harassing commuters. Civilians wounded: Hospital sources in Matta told Daily Times that several wounded civilians were brought in for treatment. There were reports that some injured militants were also brought to the hospital. Saidu Sharif blast: Early on Wednesday, a powerful bomb exploded near the Saidu Sharif Police Lines, but no casualty was reported. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to broker a peace deal between the government and the militants. Peace efforts: An all-parties jirga has formed a group to talk to Maulana Fazlullah and the government to find a peaceful solution to the issue. “We are waiting for a green signal from NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai and Maulana Fazlullah for a meeting to discuss ways for peace in the district,” Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl NWFP chief Senator Gul Naseeb told Daily Times. Naseeb said the governor sought time to discuss the idea with the federal government before agreeing to meet the jirga while Maulana Fazlullah had yet to be contacted to seek his approval for a possible peace deal. Appeals for peace also echoed in the streets of Mingora in a rally organised by the Kanju Islahi Committee. The rally participants urged Maulana Fazlullah and the government to resolve the issue peacefully. Separately, a supporter of Fazlullah known as Mullah Nidar warned in a speech over the radio that the militants may use suicide attackers if the government launched any major operation in Swat, AFP reported

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India-Pakistan

Tribal fighting to meet logical end: Kayani

2007-10-13

Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on Friday that there would be “no letup in the war against terror until it has taken its logical conclusion”. Good idea. Live long and fester!... Ummm... What's its logical conclusion? Gen Kayani was visiting the 11 Corps Headquarters here for the first time since taking charge of his new office. During the visit, he was briefed on the situation in North and South Waziristan, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said. Gen Kayani gave “specific directions to all commanders with regard to the ongoing operation in Waziristan and exhorted them to spare no effort in eradicating the menace of extremism”. He also called on NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai.

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India-Pakistan

Elders negotiating N Waziristan truce

2007-10-12

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

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India-Pakistan

Govt mulls troops cut in tribal areas

2007-09-23

The government is analysing whether troop deployment in the tribal areas has achieved its goals sufficiently to facilitate a possible troop reduction, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai said on Saturday. “We are analysing what goals were achieved and whether we can reduce the troops level or not,” he told journalists at an iftar-dinner at Frontier House. The governor claimed the deteriorating law and order situation in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and NWFP had “links” with Indian consulates near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. “We have to analyse what level of force is needed to maintain peace and develop the region,” he added. Referring to the 300 soldiers taken hostage in South Waziristan since August 30, Orakzai said it was “carelessness” and “complacency” on the army’s part that so many soldiers were abducted. He said the government preferred to use negotiation when dealing with the growing Taliban influence in the region, rather than force. “There is a need to build trust. We want peace to return to the tribal areas.” He said the criticism of peace deals with militants in Waziristan did not bother him, as it was “in the national interest and if someone does not like it I do not care”. The governor claimed the deteriorating law and order situation in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and NWFP had “links” with Indian consulates near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. “I have evidence and that is why I am sure of this,” he said.

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India-Pakistan

15 killed in Waziristan

2007-08-17

Ten militants and three soldiers were killed in an attack on a military convoy in South Waziristan, while two soldiers were killed and four others injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in North Waziristan on Thursday. "Militants ambushed a military convoy near Chaghmalay, and air support was sought against them. Ten militants were killed and 12 injured while the security forces suffered two casualties," military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Daily Times. Arshad said that two soldiers were killed and four others injured in a roadside explosion near Kaka Ziarat in Teti Madakhel, 70 kilometres north of North Waziristan's Mir Ali town, and the security forces had arrested six persons for carrying out the attack. The attacked convoy was heading to Dhandikach from the Speenwam area near the Pak-Afghan border, he added. The killing of the militants came hours after South Waziristan Political Agent Hussainzada Khan held a meeting with a 21-member Mehsud peace committee for the safe recovery of 15 Frontier Corps personnel taken hostage by the militants last week. Maulana Mirajuddin, member of the National Assembly from the MMA, said the clash at Chaghmalay could hinder the safe release of the 15 FC personnel. "We discussed the release of the FC personnel and peace with the political agent. However, hours later the militants and security forces clashed and let's hope this incident does not affect the release of the kidnapped personnel," he told Daily Times by phone from Tank city. Residents of Jandola, entry point of South Waziristan, said the Wana-Tank highway was blocked after Mehsud militants stopped traffic to and from Wana. This, they said, may lead to a conflict between the Mehsud and Wazir tribes. Truckloads of tomatoes and apples of the Wazir tribesmen in Wana waited for a long time for security clearance for upcountry transportation as the Mehsud militants blocked the Wana-Tank highway. The highway was later opened for traffic in the afternoon. Earlier, Wazir elders said they feared a "full-scale war between the Mehsuds and Wazirs if the highway remained blocked and attacks on security forces in Wazir areas by Mehsud militants continued. Maj Gen Arshad said the government would not let the two tribes go to war. Separately, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai held a meeting with elders and pro-Taliban clerics in North Waziristan on Thursday, officials and security sources said. It was the governor's first visit to Miranshah after his return from Kabul where he attended the joint peace jirga of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Orakzai said that the 2006 peace deal with the pro-Taliban militants had "no guarantee mechanism" for implementation.

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India-Pakistan

Tribal elders threaten to boycott Pak-Afghan jirga

2007-08-05

Tribal elder Malik Mamoor Khan told Daily Times after meeting NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai on Saturday that no elders would participate in the Pak-Afghan jirga starting from August 9 in Kabul if security forces were not withdrawn from all checkposts in North Waziristan. The Ahmedzai Wazir tribes in South Waziristan have already boycotted the jirga, stating that it was useless to talk to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the presence of “US occupational forces” in Afghanistan. “We cannot stop fighting in our own area, how can we do it for Afghanistan?” Malik argued. The government was told about the boycott, he said, but denied that the boycott was a result of “Taliban threats”. Around 50 delegates from North and South Waziristan were nominated for the 700-strong jirga. It will be inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf and President Hamid Karzai and will take up a seven-point agenda, with decisions to be implemented by a permanent commission at the end. Akhtar Amin adds: Participants at a national jirga organised by the Pakistan NGOs Forum said that the Pak-Afghan Jirga would fail without the participation of Taliban representatives, and unless Pakistan stopped “interfering in Afghanistan’s internal matters”. “The Pak-Afghan jirga is not independent, nor does it have sufficient representatives,” they said.

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India-Pakistan

Re-elect Musharraf to avoid martial law: Fazl

2007-08-01

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said on Tuesday that General Pervez Musharraf should be given “safe passage” through his re-election as president in uniform, to save the country from another bout of martial law. “I think once again we should all deliberate on this option to avoid a repeat of the East Pakistan tragedy,” Maulana Fazl told Daily Times in an exclusive interview. He was referring to the secession of East Pakistan in 1971 to form Bangladesh. Maulana Fazl, who is also head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-Fazl) party and secretary general of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), said that Gen Musharraf could impose another martial law if he failed to win political support for his re-election as president in uniform. He said the support of the international community, particularly the United States, to Gen Musharraf could embolden him to go ahead with this plan. “I think history should not repeat itself and there should be no 1969-like marital law in the country,” he said. He voiced tacit support for a power-sharing deal between Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairwoman, and Gen Musharraf, provided “it was done in all sincerity”. He claimed the deal was backed by the US and the UK. The president and former prime minister reportedly met in Abu Dhabi last week to work out the details of a deal. Though the government has only confirmed “indirect contacts” between the two, federal ministers Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Sher Afgan Niazi have confirmed their meeting. As far as the presidential elections are concerned, Maulana Fazl said nobody from the presidency had so far contacted the MMA in this regard. He warned that the opposition would not let any general seize power at the behest of Gen Musharraf. “Gone are the days when the masses™ pinned their hopes on the generals for solution of the country’s problems. Democracy is the ultimate option for the solution of political issues,” he said. Maulana Fazl did not rule out the possibility of a future coalition government of the PPP and PML at the centre. He predicted that the MMA would win a greater number of seats in NWFP and Balochistan and “sweep the polls” in Punjab and Sindh in the upcoming elections. He ruled out any rift in the six-party religious alliance, and asserted that his JUI-F would continue to be a major part of the alliance in the upcoming election. He again offered the MMA’s unconditional support to NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai and the Centre for settlement of the Waziristan imbroglio by striking another peace deal with tribal militants.

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India-Pakistan

Jirga seeks Fazl's help to rescue North Waziristan peace deal

2007-07-26

Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman may again have to step in to save the 2006 peace pact with Taliban militants in North Waziristan, after an all-tribes jirga requested the local Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam MNA to approach his party chief. A member of the jirga told Daily Times on Wednesday that JUI MNA from North Waziristan Maulana Nek Zaman had been asked to approach Maulana Fazl to break the deadlock over the question of removal of security check-posts, with both the government and the militants sticking to their positions on the issue. “We told the MNA that as the Maulana sahib had played a role in the deal last year he can play the same role now as well,” the member said on condition of anonymity. “The JUI-F MNA was told the Maulana sahib should talk to (President Gen Pervez) Musharraf to elicit some sort of flexibility from the government on removing the check-posts. What we want is that both sides move away from their present stands to keep the negotiations going,” the jirga member said. The Taliban pulled out of the accord on July 15, saying the government had violated the September 5, 2006, deal by re-establishing check-posts. On Tuesday, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai rejected the Taliban demand for removal of the check-posts, saying the Taliban “have to guarantee peace” first. He told the jirga members that deteriorating law and order prompted the security forces to take control of the check-posts. Jirga members from North Waziristan dashed to Miranshah on Tuesday to try and secure a Taliban guarantee for peace as a pre-requisite for withdrawing the check-posts, after they declined to offer this guarantee on behalf of the Taliban. Maulana Fazl was instrumental in convincing Taliban leaders to reach the deal with the government last year. Tribal sources in Miranshah told Daily Times that the Taliban could change their stance on the withdrawal of security check-posts if Maulana Fazl intervenes. “His request will be difficult for the militants to ignore,” they said.

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