| 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 |
| Taliban kill rival group leaders |
| 2008-07-20 |
 GHALANAI/PESHAWAR: The Umar Khalid group of Taliban killed two top leaders of a rival militant group in Mohmand on Saturday. Taliban spokesman Dr Asad said that the chief of Shah group, Muslim Khan, and his deputy, Maulvi Obaidullah, were shot dead after a Taliban court ordered their executions. Meanwhile, Baitullah Mehsud called an immediate meeting of Taliban Shoora to hold accountable Khalid for the killings, Geo TV quoted Maulvi Umer as saying. |
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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Abu Suleiman al-Jazairi confirmed dead in missile air strike | ||
| 2008-06-01 | ||
The death two weeks ago of Abu Suleiman al-Jazairi, a highly experienced Algerian militant, has been confirmed only in the last few days, intelligence sources in Pakistan and Western Europe told The Observer.
Details are only now emerging about the strike on Damadola, a village near the Afghan-Pakistan border hit twice in the past. The house targeted and destroyed by the drone is believed to belong to a former Afghan Taliban defence minister, Maulvi Obaidullah, members of whose family, including women and children, are thought to have died. The surrounding area is in the hands of militants linked to the Pakistan Taliban militant group who have been blamed for the killing of Benazir Bhutto last year. The death of al-Jazairi, thought to have been director of external operations for al-Qaeda and thus responsible for running the terrorist group's European and British networks, was cited by CIA chief Michael Hayden last week as one of the reasons for the 'strategic defeat' of al-Qaeda. Another top militant, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in February. 'The ability to kill and capture key members of al-Qaeda continues, and keeps them off balance - even in their best safe haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border,' Hayden said. Hayden added that al-Qaeda had been defeated in Saudi Arabia, was losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Islamic world and was now unable to exploit the Iraq war to draw in new recruits. However, the CIA chief's upbeat assessment contrasts with collective thinking in the intelligence community in America and elsewhere. Senior counter-terrorist officials in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia in recent weeks revealed profound concern about the potential use of weapons of mass destruction by militants and the continued attraction of the al-Qaeda ideology for second or third generation immigrants and converts in the West. Britain, with its close links to Pakistan, is in a particularly vulnerable position. 'It is certain that mainstream hardcore al-Qaeda have suffered considerable setbacks - in Iraq certainly and elsewhere - but I think generally there is a lot more caution,' said Nigel Inkster, recently retired deputy head of MI6. 'It would only take a couple of attacks for the positive perception to radically change.' Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert at Georgetown University, said Hayden's comments needed to be seen in the context of American domestic politics. 'In an election year with a two term administration that is very sensitive to its historical record this is not unexpected,' he told The Observer. 'Al-Qaeda may not have had a successful attack in three years but it is too early to declare victory.' Hoffman said that the danger this year was in fact high. 'People do not join a terrorist group to sit on their hands and if [al-Qaeda] are going to retain their relevance it is now or never.' Yet senior figures within American intelligence have also been struck by the failure of al-Qaeda to mobilise broad support in the Islamic world, and have begun to think more optimistically about the future. Security services have closely followed disputes and defections in recent months. Vicious feuding has led some analysts to conclude that the Islamic militant movement is turning in on itself with al-Qaeda leaders Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri increasingly isolated. Postings by al-Zawahiri in a question and answer session on the internet a month ago had a defensive tone, seeking to justify civilian casualties in militant attacks. The strategy is seen as a failure by many militants outside al-Qaeda and by some within the group. | ||
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| India-Pakistan | |||
| Dozen militants killed in suspected US strike on Damadola | |||
| 2008-05-15 | |||
 At least a dozen militants including foreign fighters were killed Wednesday in a suspected US missile strike on two houses in northwestern Pakistan, a senior security official said. Two missiles apparently fired by a US drone aircraft demolished a house and a compound used by suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Bajaur tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, the official, who declined to be identified, told AFP. "We have reports that the missile strike killed at least 12 militants including some foreigners," the official said.
Separately, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP that the army was unaware of any missile strike in the region. "We have no information about the strike," he said, adding the army was not in the area.
The attack on Wednesday came as NATO urged Pakistan to improve security on its border with Afghanistan following a rise in cross-border attacks by Taliban fighters and Al-Qaeda militants. "The number of attacks is up significantly from the same period last year," the alliance's chief spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels. "There is not enough effectiveness in border control on Pakistan's side. The concerns have been communicated to Pakistan." Pakistan this week moved its troops away from villages and towns in a volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan as a peace process moves forward, officials said Wednesday. As part of the process, more than 30 tribesmen held in various prisons were freed Tuesday in return for the release of a dozen soldiers detained by pro-Taliban militants, a security official said. The new government in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, which replaced the pro-Taliban Islamist administration after February elections, has launched peace talks with the militants led by Al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mehsud, local officials said. "Talks are being held behind closed doors," a senior government official told AFP. "Some progress has been made," he said but did not elaborate. It was not clear what impact Wednesday's missile strikes would have on those talks. The United States has expressed concern about any peace deal between Pakistan and militant fighters. Pakistan's military said troop positions across the restive region were being "readjusted," with soldiers being moved away from towns and villages. The moves were mainly to facilitate the return of people who had fled the area due to previous unrest, the military said. More, from Daily Times... At least a dozen militants, including foreign fighters, were killed on Wednesday in a suspected United States missile strike on two houses in the Damadola area of Bajaur Agency, a senior security official said. Two missiles, apparently fired by a US drone aircraft, demolished a house and a compound used by suspected Al Qaeda militants, the official, requesting anonymity, told AFP. Two large blasts were heard around 8pm. Residents said they saw drones flying in the area beforehand, AP reported. They said that Taliban militants cordoned off the site soon after the attack. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar told Daily Times by phone that Taliban commander Maulvi Obaidullahs house had been targeted. He said most of the houses residents, including women and children, were killed.
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