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India-Pakistan

Killing of peace volunteers shows failure of govt: Swat jirga

2014-10-31

[DAWN] MINGORA: The 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... Qaumi Jirga on Thursday showed deep concern over the assassinations of peace volunteers and asked the government to take concrete steps for protecting elders and members of village defence committees in the district. The jirga also expressed reservations over establishment of cantonment in the district and demanded of federal government and Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif to review the decision in the better interest of the people of Swat. The jirga members demanded of the government to establish a university for women in the district and name it after Nobel laureate Malala. The demands were made during a meeting of the jirga held here at Swat Press Club on Thursday. The meeting was addressed by Swat Qaumi Jirga members Mukhtiar Khan Yousafzai, Mohammad Ali Khan, Haji Zahid Khan, Malik Riaz, Shamsher Ali Khan, Ahmad Shah, Abdul Khaliq, Fazale Maula, Khurshid Kakajee, ANP leader Wajid Ali Khan, QWP leader Sher Bahadar Khan and PPP leader Iqbal Hussain.

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India-Pakistan

Terror revisits Swat; 7 killed in Mingora

2010-02-23

[Dawn] Five civilians and two security personnel were killed and 37 others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a military convoy in Swat valley's main town of Mingora on Monday. The convoy was attacked when it was passing through the busy Nishat Chowk. After the blast, which destroyed eight vehicles and damaged a number of shops, people were seen running for safety and soon the streets were deserted. According to agency reports, the bomber used a car packed with explosives to attack the convoy. This was the third suicide attack in Swat since a military operation was launched in May last year. The valley which had suffered bloody clashes and subversive activities earlier has been relatively peaceful for some time. ANP lawmaker Shamsher Ali Khan was killed in a suicide attack in December last year. A witness of the Monday attack said there was a fireball and an explosion which rocked the entire city. The scene was littered with human limbs and injured people were lying all around. The injured were taken to the Saidu Sharif hospital. Firemen struggled for hours to put out the fire. AFP adds: Television footage showed a car enveloped in flames and black smoke billowing down a street, as casualties lay on the ground in blood-soaked clothing. Soldiers rushed to the scene and ambulances ferried away the wounded. Frightened women and children could be seen scurrying from the scene. "I was going for some work in the bazaar but was stopped by security forces because the army convoy was moving," said Saeedur Rehman, a 45-year-old teacher. Moments later, a car hit the tail end of the military convoy. "Suddenly there was a huge blast and smoke filled the area. Then heavy firing started and I lay on the ground," Rehman told AFP. Officials said they had seized parts of the car used by the bomber. "Four women, two children and three men were killed," city police chief Qazi Ghulam Farooq said, adding that four of the injured were in a serious condition. "It was a suicide car bomb... The target was an army convoy," Maj Mushtaq Ahmad Khan of the Swat Media Centre said.

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India-Pakistan

Two Taliban 'commanders' among 20 killed

2009-12-05

[Dawn] Two Taliban 'commanders' were among 20 militants killed in clashes and air strikes in Swat and Orakzai Agency on Thursday. In Swat, 13 insurgents were killed in clashes with security forces on Thursday. According to Swat media centre, security personnel came under fire when they raided a Taliban hideout in Sigram area of Koza Bandai. During an exchange of fire, 10 militants and one soldier were killed. Detained militant commander Mohammad Naseem alias Abu Faraj was with the troops and he was also killed in the clash. Abu Faraj, a close aide of Maulana Fazlullah, was captured by security forces in September. The terrorists killed in the clash included Luqman, Abdul Azim, Zahid, Nawab Ali, Abdul Samad, Amir Baz Khan, Saeedullah, Shafeeq Ahmed, Ali Hussain, and Shah Hussain. Their bodies were handed over to local police. Another Taliban Commander Alamgir, and his father were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Bar Thana area of Matta tehsil. Bodies of two militants, Mian Gul and Zakir, were found in Peochar and Khwazakhela, respectively. In Dherai, security forces blew up houses of three terrorists. Security personnel also arrested 180 suspects in different areas of Swat during house-to-house searches soon after the death of ANP MPA Shamsher Ali Khan in a suicide attack in his hujra in Dherai area, the hometown of Maulana Fazlullah. In Orakzai, seven terrorists were killed and their five hideouts and camps of insurgents were destroyed by helicopter gunships in lower Orakzai agency on Thursday. The helicopters pounded the hideouts of TTP terrorists in Feroze Khel, Dara Garhi and Mirbak areas where members of the Tariq Afridi group of Taliban are said to be based. Afridi is the TTP chief of Khyber Agency and Darra Adam Khel. The death toll may rise because, according to sources, the house of local TTP chief, Akhunzada Aslam Farooqui, and an ammunition depot in Feroze Khel area were razed to ground. Official sources said that almost all suicide attacks in Peshawar had been planned in the Orakzai Agency. Police in Kohat, meanwhile, arrested 17 suspects, two foreigners among them, in a search operation on Thursday. Police also seized eight Kalashnikovs, five shot-guns, two rifles, six pistols and hundreds of cartridges.

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India-Pakistan

ANP MPA killed in suicide attack

2009-12-02

[Dawn] A teenaged suicide bomber blew himself up, killing ANP lawmaker Shamsher Ali Khan as he was seeing off guests who had come to his house here to offer Eid greetings on Tuesday. Shamsher Khan's two brothers and nine other people were injured. The man with explosives strapped to his body had walked unchallenged into the Hujra of the MPA's house, witnesses said. Shamsher Khan died on the spot while his brothers Shaukat Ali Khan and Mohammad Ali Khan were injured. The other injured were identified as Siddiq Akbar, Mohammad Shah, Rehmani Gul, Amjad, Siraj Khan, Mehar Shah, Shujaat Ali and Rozimand. They were taken to Saidu hospital where condition of some of them was reported to be critical. Shamsher Khan was a seasoned politician and friends and local people affectionately called him as Dr Shamsher. He is the second ANP lawmaker killed by terrorists this year. Earlier, MPA Alamzeb Khan was killed by a roadside bomb blast in Peshawar. Swat District police officer Qazi Ghulam Farooq and bomb disposal squad personnel reached the place and collected evidence. According to the bomb disposal squad personnel, the bomber was about 18 years old, who had used nearly 10 kilograms of explosives. Police found legs and other parts of the bomber's body and whatever was left of the suicide vest. Some people blamed inadequate security for the attack. Agencies add: Senior police official Ali Khan said that the politician had been sitting on the lawn in front of his house receiving guests and local constituents when the young man rushed up to him. 'His brother rushed to save the lawmaker but the bomber blew himself up before he could be prevented,' the police official said. Spin Zada, a doctor at a local government hospital, confirmed that the bodies of Shamsher Khan and the bomber had been brought to the hospital. Swat was the focus of a fierce military offensive launched earlier this year to rid the one-time tourist paradise of Taliban terrorists. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the attack would not derail the government's efforts against terrorists. 'Such reprehensible acts can never defeat our resolve to root out terrorism and militancy,' he said.

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Bangladesh

Boy killed as cops fire on warring groups

2009-12-01

[Bangla Daily Star] A teenage boy was killed yesterday when police opened a barrage of rubber bullets to disperse two rival groups fighting over the claim of a char emerged in river old Brahmaputra. The victim was identified as Abul Hossain, 16, son of Shamsher Ali of Dakpora village in Sherpur sadar upazila. Police said they had fired 10 teargas canisters before firing more than 50 rubber bullets to disperse the people, estimated at 20,000, who engaged in the clash. At least 20 people, including police, were wounded in the clash. Both sides used locally made weapons. Acting Police Super Anisur Rahman confirmed the death of Abul Hossain in police firing. The body was sent to Sherpur Hospital for autopsy. Witnesses said residents of Pathalia, Guabari and Naobhanga villages of Jamalpur and adjacent areas of Char Pakhhimari union of Sherpur claiming ownership of the char of about 4,000 acres of land engaged in the clash in the afternoon. Sherpur sadar upazila chairman Ilias Uddin said police came from Jamalpur and opened indiscriminate fire without any provocation. He alleged that police were influenced in taking such drastic action that took away the life of a young boy.

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India-Pakistan

NWFP lawmakers seek end to Swat, Fata operations

2008-12-24

Legislators in the NWFP Assembly on Tuesday expressed concern over the growing incidents of lawlessness and deaths of innocent people, asking the government to stop military operations in the province and Fata and resolve the problems through dialogue. Thirteen members from various political parties took part in the discussion on law and order and almost all of them were unanimous in their views, suggesting to the government that use of force would never help resolve the problems in Fata and Swat. They asked the government to constitute a peace committee to review the situation and enforce Shariah, which was a longstanding demand of the people of the Swat valley.ANP MPA from Swat Dr Haider Ali observed that a war has been imposed on the people of the valley and their soil has been declared a war zone. He said Pakhtuns had great responsibilities and they should jointly work to change the mindset of the world, which had painted Pakhtuns as terrorists under a conspiracy. Mufti Janan of the JUI-F said the lives and properties of the citizens were not secure and the government has lost its writ. "Teachers, doctors and government and other organisations' employees are not attending their offices. Innocent people are being killed in the name of operation and everyone feels insecure." He asked why the innocent people and their properties were being destroyed and why misunderstanding was being created between police and the Army? Dr Khalid Raza Zakori said Europe and America wanted to usurp their independence, integrity and nuclear assets. If the situation remained the same, he said, the country would drift towards a civil war. Muhammad Anwar Khan of the PPP asked the government to hold negotiations with the militants and constitute peace committees to bring peace to the troubled areas.He also asked the government to enforce Shariah in Swat, a longstanding demand of the people of the valley. Shagufta Malik of the ANP said her party did not believe in politics of violence and all political forces should join hands to find out a permanent solution to the prevailing crisis.Shamsher Ali Khan, also from the ANP, said the militants were killing people in the name of Islam, while the security personnel were doing the same in the name of operation. Hafiz Akhtar Ali of the JUI-F asked the provincial government to ask the federal government to stop operation in Fata and Swat. "The government should also fulfil its promise with Sufi Muhammad and enforce Shariah in the Malakand division." Waqar Ahmad Khan of the ANP demanded formation of a joint inquiry commission to weigh factors behind the unrest in the region. He held the previous MMA government responsible for the existing crisis in the country and the NWFP. Atifur Rehman, another ANP MPA, criticised police for usually carrying out body search of common citizens, but they could not check activities of criminals. He also underlined the need for a joint action to curb corruption. Maulvi Obaidullah, an independent lawmaker from Kohistan, said the government should shun the policies of Musharraf and stop the inflow of Indian literature and culture, as it would ruin our coming generations.

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India-Pakistan

Brother of Fazlullah's spokesman killed

2008-01-15

Unidentified gunmen killed the brother of rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah’s spokesman Sirajuddin in Imam Dheri late on Sunday night, sources said. Bakht Bedar Khan’s body was found in the morning. Residents said Khan was a leader of the Awami National Party (ANP). Ghafoor, another brother of the deceased, told Daily Times that he was in Peshawar when his family told him via telephone that “military officials” had arrested Khan. Ghafoor said his family had told him eight men wearing military uniform barged into their house, locked them up in a room, and took Khan away. The family thought security officials had held him for “routine investigation”, Ghafoor said. “I contacted the Circuit House in Swat but military officials said they did not conduct any such operation,” he said. “Police in Kanjoo also said they had not arrested him.” His body was found near the house in the morning, he said. Local residents said Khan supported the government’s peace initiative and distanced himself from Sirajuddin’s activities. “I think his killing is a message for all those who oppose the Taliban, [they will not be spared] even if they are relatives of Taliban commanders,” said a local resident. Protest: Around 800 people from various villages staged a protest demonstration, carrying Khan’s body at Kanjoo Chowk. They blocked the road for more than two hours. Addressing the protestors, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and ANP candidates for the provincial assembly, Feroz Shah and Dr Shamsher Ali, condemned the killing and demanded the killers’ arrest. They said the government was seeking cooperation from the local people, but could not provide them security. The protestors dispersed after elders held talks with military officials at the Saidu Sharif Airport. Khan was later buried in Imam Dheri. Talking to Daily Times, Mingora Media Information Centre in-charge Colonel Nadeem said the incident was regretful. He said the military would enhance patrol and increase the number of checkposts in the area. Three children were injured in security forces’ artillery fire on suspected Taliban hideouts in the Dewlai and Totano Bandai areas in Swat on Monday. Officials did not confirm the civilian casualties. Sources said the shelling followed intelligence reports that important militant commanders were holding a secret meeting at a house. Locals said six houses were partially damaged and three children were injured. There were no reports of militant casualties when this report was filed.

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