India-Pakistan |
Operation launched for capture of Fazalullah |
2009-09-14 |
![]() Sources in security forces informed Online that the driver of Tehrik-e-Taliban Chief Swat Molvi Fazalullah has also been arrested and he during initial investigation said his boss is critically injured but he is in Swat. The arrested spokesman of TTP Haji Muslim Khan and Taliban commander Mehmood Khan, during investigations, told interrogators that they met Maulvi Fazalullah some days ago and he has been kept in an undisclosed location, sources added. After the arrest of senior leaders of the TTP, some accomplices of Fazalullah had recommended him to leave the area by disguise, but he refused to cut his beard. During the same course, the Taliban had offered dialogue with security forces but they were asked to surrender or renounce violence. Sources went on to say Fazalullah is under siege by security forces and an announcement with regard to his arrest or death will be made within a few days. Muslim Khan and Commander Mehmood Khan have disclosed the hideouts where Fazalullah can take shelter, sources added. Security forces have claimed that possible escape routes for Fazalullah have been closed and comprehensive intelligence operation with the full backing of locals has started. Officials and personnel of intelligence agencies are participating in the operation, sources said. |
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India-Pakistan |
Court orders Fazlullah, aides to appear in 7 days |
2009-08-20 |
An anti-terrorism court has issued a proclamation against Swat Taliban leader Fazlullah, his spokesman Haji Muslim Khan and other Taliban on sedition charges, and ordered them to appear in court or a police station within seven days. Malakand ATC Judge Khalilullah Khan Khalil said in the proclamation that those charged would be declared proclaimed offenders if they failed to comply with orders. |
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India-Pakistan |
Taliban Spokesman Blames American Women |
2009-04-24 |
This made my day. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that "the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban," but the spokesman, Haji Muslim Khan, said that Taliban anger was partly caused by the presence of female American soldiers in the region. Mr. Khan said that Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, "should think about Western white women who take up arms and come from 20,000 miles away to fight against us here." That's one thing to think about. The other thing to think about is: they're kicking your ass. Given that the circumference of the planet is only about 25,000 miles, it is not clear what route Mr. Khan believes Western forces are taking to get to Pakistan. |
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India-Pakistan |
Up shitcreek |
2009-04-05 |
By Ejaz Haider Apropos the faith -reviving video from Swat: let me congratulate, not necessarily in the same order, various people Mr Imran Khan, the Jamaat-e Islami leadership, Lt-Gen Hameed Napoleon Gul, the ANP government in the NWFP, the majority of Urdu-language columnists, some English ones who write poetic prose, and yes, tv anchors and my fellow Pakistanis. Finally, we have something to emulate, straight from the pure times of the rightly-guided caliphs. Islam, ladies and gentlemen, is here. General Zias dream has been fulfilled. Allah be praised. Since yesterday I have this strange sensation coursing through my veins, the feeling one gets after reading about the brave Muslims of yore in a Naseem Hijazi novel. I cant forget the sight of three specimens of Islams purity, two of them pinning down a fallen young woman and one flogging her backside for having allegedly committed zina while the girl, may she be damned, cried and repented. This is Islamic justice at its most effective. It is simple, straight, speedy, effective, earthy and devoid of the meanderings and trappings of modern existence, historical accretions and bida-infested innovations. Thats the stuff the satanic West is made of. Okay, sure. I am bullshitting. But really? How far from the truth am I? Let me recount. Columnist upon columnist has been writing about the brave Taliban in Afghanistan; how Taliban rule had recreated khilafat-e rashida; how there was peace in that country; how everyone was secure and so on. Mr Khan has been hell-bent on reversing all his great contributions to this country, both as a scintillating cricketer and a remarkable philanthropist, by misguiding this nation on issues of politics and inter-state relations about which his knowledge rivals only that of a kindergarten student. He has been talking incessantly about ghairat, how this is not our war and how our sovereignty is under attack from outside etc etc. The Napoleon, Lt-Gen Gul or shall I say Hans Guderian, since Gen Gul is an armoured corps officer and not a gunner has been mouthing his conceptions of grand strategies even as he carries the weight on his shoulders of the shameful defeat in Jalababad, a veritable fiasco. The religious parties, especially JI, have been fudging issues and telling lies about everything under the sun. Cmon folks. Go back and focus on the discourse in this country. From news anchors and tv hosts to columnists and experts and politicians. Revisit the days of the extraction operation against Lal Masjid and how we dealt with that. Recall how we have done everything possible to pull down the state in our enthusiasm to voice dissent on the basis of democracy which, incidentally, will be the first concept to lick the dust when the warriors come knocking on the doors. I had a hard time deciding how to deal with this issue of the flogging of a girl in Swat: express my deep resentment at the obscenity I saw or congratulate fellow Pakistanis for having successfully brought the state to this. Listen carefully to what people say on tv; deconstruct the discourse; discover the lies; the dissembling; the fudging and you would know why the flogging happened in Swat. I carried an article some weeks ago in these pages by Nasir Abbas Mirza (How we lost Swat, Daily Times, March 9). Go and reread it to see how and why Swat has been lost and how and why we are likely to lose the rest of Pakistan. I see outrage now. Why? Was everyone sleeping? The Urdu-language tv channels, for the most part, should be ashamed of the role they have played in giving airtime to the likes of Mr Khan, our various Napoleons and moronic politicians; for asking leading questions; for allowing them the opportunity to mouth crap; for supporting extremists in the name of jihad; for giving these thugs an aura of respectability and acceptability. So what the hell are we shocked about? Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Its as simple as that. We are still unclear and confused about the threat. Every outrage begets a standard response: Muslims cant do this; this is a conspiracy. In which case, we deserve what happened in Swat; in fact, far from expressing any outrage, we should celebrate the incident. The truth, however, is that Muslims can do this and more. They are doing it and will continue to do it. Listen to Haji Muslim Khan on tv channels. What kind of system and society would have him, with his pathetic knowledge of almost everything, including Islam for which he supposedly stands up, as a public figure? Listen to his fudging and his threats. Listen to what ANP minister Zahid Khan had to say about this being the tip of the iceberg. The question is not about when this incident was filmed but the fact that it did happen; also, that the Taliban, according to their admission, have been giving these punishments and will continue to do so since this is what shariat calls for. Well, how about telling them to stuff it; that we do not accept such barbaric and medieval practices in todays world; that Pakistani society is sophisticated enough to reject, in categorical terms, the obscenity the Taliban stand for. Are we prepared to do it; or will we remain confused about the nature, direction and extent of this threat? Finally, hello Pakistan Army. Are you guys there? I remember the in-camera briefing given to a select group of analysts back in November 2007. We were told that come March 2008, Swat would be reclaimed. Whatever the hell happened to that? Would someone tell me? But before I sign off, let me make a confession. Insert in all spaces whatever expletives you can think of because they are all there. Thats the kind of column I wanted to write. Who gives a f*** about niceties, intellectual and of other varieties, in the face of an existential threat that a collection of people has brought upon itself simply because they have some morbid notion of religion coursing through the body politic. I dont. So, fellow Pakistanis, here you are: up shitcreek without a paddle. Enjoy! Ejaz Haider is Consulting Editor of The Friday Times and Op-Ed Editor of Daily Times. |
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India-Pakistan | |
Pakistan: Flogging video Žan attempt to undermine Swat peace dealŽ | |
2009-04-04 | |
![]() Which is? The flogging or the video? The video presumably records what took place, right? The shocking two-minute video shows bearded Islamic militants - one of whom is her brother - holding the girl down as she screams out in pain. It was aired Friday on a Pakistani TV channel talk show and inflamed public opinion in the country. "We were able to acquire peace [in the Swat valley] after a very long time and such media manipulations showing a past event as recent would spoil these efforts and could drag the region once again in turmoil," Iftikhar told reporters. "Yeah. That happened a long time ago. We were all much younger then." "How long ago?" "'Bout 24 hours. That's all yesterday's news. Times have changed. It's time to move on." He claims he personally visited the Swat valley to investigate the case and that the flogging occurred on 3 January, nearly five weeks before the Swat peace deal was signed on 16 February. Local Islamic courts were established a few days later. "So, y'see, you're comparing apples and oranges and stuff." Iftikhar is the leader of the anti-Taliban secular Pashtun Awami National Party, which was targeted by Islamic militants during a bloody two-year conflict with security forces in the Swat valley which ended in February when they signed a controversial peace deal with the NWFP government.
Khan said the girl's flogging took place while the Taliban was fighting the Pakistani army. "We were not in a position to control each and every event and therefore some lapses happened," he said. "Nevertheless, one thing was confirmed and that is that the girl was wayward and therefore she should be punished." The flogging occurred after a neighbour reportedly claimed the girl had a relationship with a married man. "Some rules were ignored during the implementation of flogging like, it should be done behind closed doors and not in public," Khan admitted. Pakistan's chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has ordered Pakistan's interior secretary and the NWFP government to prepare a report on the incident by by Monday. | |
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India-Pakistan |
Sufi to meet national peace jirga today |
2009-02-21 |
![]() According to sources, third round of peace talks between TNSM and Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was held on Friday at an undisclosed location in Matta. Both sides made positive progress, while Maulana Fazalullah presented his demands to Maulana Sufi Muhammad for talks with the government. Sources said that Maulana Fazlullah has set several conditions for talks which include complete enforcement of Sharia in Malakand Division, withdrawal of security forces from Swat, release of prisoners, indemnity for Taliban and compensation of losses they had suffered during military operation. Maulana Fazlullah, Haji Muslim Khan and Maulana Shah Doran and other important members represented the TTP while TNSM comprised of its chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad, Maulana Alal, Amir Izzat Khan, Maulana Iqbal Khan and other members. TNSM spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said that important announcement is expected from Maulana Fazlullah anytime today. Sources further said that TNSM peace rally reached Deolai area of Kabal from Matta where chief of the national peace jirga Syed Inam-ur-Rehman and other members were called to discuss Swat peace. |
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India-Pakistan |
Swat: Six killed, four injured as primitives clash |
2008-10-26 |
![]() The battle continued for hours wherein both sides resorted to heavy firing. Swat Taliban spokesman Haji Muslim Khan disclaimed any responsibility of the incident. "This is an internal dispute between two rival groups," he said, adding that the Taliban had no connection with it. Meanwhile, two people were killed and two others injured when a mortar shell hit a house in Roringar village in Matta late on Friday night. Those killed have been identified as Mian Azhar and Muhammad Qayyum. The injured are Liaqat Ali and Barkat Ali. In other incident, unidentified men killed a man and his son in Detpanai village in Matta. |
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India-Pakistan |
Swat Taliban warn govt of vigilante action against kidnappers |
2008-07-10 |
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India-Pakistan |
NWFP govt and Taliban 'secretly' resume talks |
2008-06-21 |
![]() Wajid Khan met several Taliban leaders, including Ali Bakht, Haji Muslim Khan, Maulana Amin, Mahmood Khan and Nisar Khan in the Deouli area of Swat and asked them to continue peace talks. According to sources, the Taliban complained that their colleagues were still imprisoned and the army was still occupying the area. The Taliban also said that their reservations should be addressed by June 23 or there could be consequences. Khan requested the Taliban to continue negotiations so that all issues could be settled through dialogue and assured the Taliban that he would convey their reservations to the provincial government. The local Taliban had ended contact with the government on June 17 to protest at the governments delay in releasing 50 Taliban prisoners. Peace deal: NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour said the NWFP government would honour the peace agreement with the Taliban in letter and spirit to ensure stability and prosperity. Clause IV of the peace deal says prisoners would be released after reviewing cases against them. Under the deal, the NWFP government has conceded to a gradual withdrawal of all security forces from the Swat district. |
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India-Pakistan |
Swat Taliban discuss release of members with Malakand cops |
2008-05-25 |
Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat leaders met the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Malakand Range and district co-ordination officer (DCO) of Swat on Saturday to discuss the release of arrested Taliban members, withdrawal of cases registered against them and fledgling peace agreement with the government, sources said. They said a local Taliban delegation led by spokesman Haji Muslim Khan met Malakand DIG Tanvirul Haq Sipra and DCO Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and discussed the peace agreement in detail. The local Taliban demanded the earliest compliance with the treaty. They said that the Taliban spokesman told the meeting they would provide list of the people to the government who had been arrested during the operation in Swat, so that those held could soon be released. He also demanded the withdrawal of cases filed against Taliban members as soon as possible. Sources said that officials assured the Taliban their demands would be met soon. |
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