South Asian Outlook : An Independent e-Monthly | South Asia: Pakistan

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Creating New Terror

Kanchan Lakshman
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

Assistant Editor, Faultlines: Writings on Conflict & Resolution

"We're Taliban Everybody here is Taliban...
We won't accept anything short of the Sharia system."

- Saifur Rehman, a resident of Matta in Swat,
on February 18 at the Taliban victory parade.

Rewarding militancy and supping with the enemy has become an entrenched Pakistani habit. In its most recent manifestation, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Government hammered out a deal – widely described as a "surrender" by Pakistani commentators – with the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). On February 16, the provincial Government formally announced the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law), known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009, in the Malakand Division and Kohistan District. NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti told a Press Conference after chairing a jirga (council of elders) in provincial capital Peshawar: "The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema [scholars] with the approval of Federal Government introduced changes in the 1999 Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. Today I announce promulgation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (Amended) 2009…" He added, somewhat wishfully, "The regulations will be implemented in Malakand following the return of peace and restoration of the writ of the Government." The jirga was attended by a 29-member delegation of TNSM, leaders of political and religious parties, NWFP cabinet members and senior bureaucrats. Hoti stated, further, that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 had been approved by President Asif Zardari following consultations with the TNSM representatives.

The provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain declared, "After successful negotiations... all un-Islamic laws related to the judicial system, those against the Quran and Sunnah [custom or manner of life], would be subject to cancellation and considered null and void,". He read an ‘announcement’ signed by three TNSM leaders and six NWFP Government officials that declared "null and void" all laws "contrary to Quran and Hadith." The announcement also requested the TNSM chief to co-operate with the Government for the restoration of peace in Malakand and promised that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations would be implemented in the region after peace was fully restored.

The agreement was reached after extensive discussions between the militants and the NWFP Government in Peshawar on February 16, 2009. The Taliban in Swat had declared a unilateral 10-day cease-fire the night before the talks commenced. Earlier, on February 14, they had released Chinese engineer Long Xiaowei, who was abducted on August 29, 2008, as a ‘goodwill gesture’. In response, the Chief Minister stated, "We will reciprocate the militants’ 10-day armistice with a cease-fire for good." Hoti also said troops would remain in "reactive mode" instead of a "proactive mode" and would not target anyone unless threatened. However, he added, the Army should be removed only after peace has been restored.

The Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 institutionalises a framework of Islamic laws and henceforth cases would be heard by ‘religious authorities’ (Qazis) and decided in accordance with Islamic injunctions in Malakand Division (comprising seven districts of Swat, Buner, Shangla, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Chitral and Malakand) and the Kohistan District of Hazara Division in the NWFP. Islamist extremists in Swat have long attempted, violently or otherwise, to impose Sharia and replace the secular jurisprudence which came into force after the former princely state was absorbed into the Pakistani federation in 1969.

Chief Minister Hoti has clarified that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 were in line with the Constitution of Pakistan, as these were the amended form of the regulations proposed for Malakand in 1994 and 1999. He said the new system had been devised to provide easy and speedy justice for the people and that both the Qazi and Police departments would be held accountable for any delay. He announced that all civil cases would be resolved within six months and all criminal cases would be decided within a maximum of four months. For its implementation, Hoti said, a task force comprising the Federal Secretary of the Interior, the NWFP Chief Secretary, the provincial presidents of the Awami National party (ANP) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Law and Home Secretaries, would be established.

The ‘deal’ in Swat constitutes an unambiguously desperate move to escape militancy in the Frontier. Such capitulation by the state can only increase the space for radical Islam and the operational capacities of militants who are already the de facto power across large swathes of Pakistan. More worryingly, all stakeholders, including the military, were reportedly taken on board before the agreement was signed. While the Army is on record as having stated that the situation in Swat was "not satisfactory", its spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, disclosed that the military had been asked to "back off". Reports indicate that month-long high-level discussions preceded a final decision arrived at during confabulations, in which President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani and Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti participated. In fact, President Zardari reportedly noted that, if peace could be achieved by introducing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009, these should be implemented immediately. Within the province, all political parties, including the PPP, the ANP, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman faction), the Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid, have endorsed the deal.

On the ground, intense violence continues to afflict the NWFP, although the guns have fallen silent in Swat since the ‘peace deal’ was announced. 572 people, including 274 civilians and 240 militants, have already died in the province in 2009 (till February 19). Approximately 2,944 people, including 1,021 civilians, 281 Security Force (SF) personnel and 1,642 militants, were killed and 1,748 were wounded in more than 2,183 incidents across the NWFP through 2008. The death count in 2008 registered more than a doubling over 2007, the year which had witnessed the sweeping transformation of the Frontier into a major battleground for radical Islam. While six out of the eight suicide attacks in 2009 occurred in the NWFP, 32 of the 59 suicide attacks in 2008 were located in the province. All the eight Districts where the Sharia is to be implemented are varyingly affected by violence and subversion, with Swat the worst affected.

People in Swat and elsewhere in the Frontier continue to be subjected to immense brutality. Nearly 200 girls’ schools have been bombed, an oppressive religious code is maintained with savage and public punishment, and those who defy the Taliban have been beheaded in public. Protracted fighting between the SFs and the Taliban has forced thousands of civilians to flee the Swat valley. While there are no official displacement figures, credible independent reportage indicates that up to 800,000 of the valley's 1.8 million people may have fled.

In a certain sense, the truce helps Islamabad and the Taliban. While the Taliban get de jure status and legitimacy, Pakistan’s embattled troops, who are already over-extended by a multiplicity of insurgencies, will get a breather. Reports indicate that SF personnel have refused to be posted in places like Swat, disregarding even the lure of higher salaries and more incentives, or the threat of punitive action. Javed Aziz Khan reported in The News on February 1, 2009,

"A large-scale desertion has been witnessed in Frontier Police and Frontier Constabulary since they became the prime target of terrorist attacks… Recruitment in Swat Police was announced on many occasions in the past year but very few candidates turned up for jobs. The rest decided not to join till peace is restored in the Valley. The Government even relaxed the criteria for these jobs but the tactic didn't work."

The intensity of fear is palpable. 600 commandos of the newly set up Elite Police Force refused en bloc to be posted in Swat District, saying they would prefer sacking to being made "scapegoats." As one unnamed source disclosed to The News, "The services of around 600 commandoes of Platoon No-1 to Platoon No-13 were placed at the disposal of District Police Officer of Swat. They were supposed to join duty during the first week of January. However, none of them left for the troubled town." Parents of these commandoes had also reportedly refused to send their sons to Swat where Policemen have been slaughtered and strangulated publicly in the recent past. The NWFP Inspector General of Police, Malik Naveed Khan, stated, on January 29, 2009, that Police were being recruited from other provinces after officials in Swat resigned because of the Taliban threat.

With many of its activists and leaders having become victims of the Taliban, the ruling Awami National Party may also get some respite. According to the ANP central secretariat in Peshawar, the party has lost more than 100 activists in Swat Valley alone during the last seven months. Among the latest victims was Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Alamzeb Khan, who was killed in a bomb blast on February 11, 2009, in Momin Town in capital Peshawar. In fact, ANP legislators, including two provincial Ministers, five MPAs and a Member of National Assembly from Swat had stopped visiting their constituencies after the Taliban scrapped the 14-point peace agreement with the provincial Government in July 2008. There have been casualties and material losses for the ANP in other Districts of the Frontier as well. Almost all the ANP leaders, ministers and legislators are on the militants’ hit-list. With free movement of its cadre curtailed and governance affected, the ANP, which carries the secular legacy of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, more popularly known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’, is now ‘forced’ to deal with the armies of radical Islam. It is significant to recall, in this context, that the ANP secured 48 seats of the total 124 seats in the provincial assembly elections of February 2008; by contrast, the Islamist parties, under the banner of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) secured just 14 seats. Democratic validation, however, has little relevance when political representatives are staring down the barrel of a gun.

Whatever relief Islamabad, the Army or the provincial Government and political parties may currently experience, however, promises to be fleeting. By implementing the Sharia, the Government has not only granted legitimacy to the outlawed TNSM, but has helped it to come over-ground and regain its influence in Malakand, which was waning as a result of the proscription since January 2002 and the extended incarceration of Sufi Mohammed and many cadres. The TNSM’s legitimization is fraught with grave dangers for any residual democratic potential. A few days before the ‘peace deal’ Sufi Mohammed declared,

"From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections… I believe the Taliban Government formed a complete Islamic state, which was an ideal example for other Muslim countries. Had this Government remained intact, it could have led to the establishment of similar Islamic Governments in many other countries."

Sufi Mohammad, a former Jamaat-e-Islami leader, had earlier led a revolt in Swat in the 1990s, for the introduction of Sharia. He was arrested after leading thousands of extremists to fight alongside the Taliban against US-backed forces in Afghanistan in late 2001. Pakistani authorities released him in April 2008 in an attempt to placate the Taliban militants led by his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah alias Fazal Hayat, in Swat. Peace will now largely depend on the ailing Sufi Mohammed’s ability to persuade Fazlullah to end his armed campaign. Doubts, however, persist on whether he has adequate influence over Fazlullah, who has gradually developed strong and intricate linkages with Taliban factions outside the NWFP and with al Qaeda, both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Too much faith, moreover, is being reposed in the idea that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 will usher in peace in the NWFP. If peace could be achieved by a mere reversal of legal systems or changes in administrative systems, Islamabad could easily replicate the idea across the country.

Worse, Sharia is conceptually open to subjective and widely divergent interpretations, unleashing significant potential for conflict between rigid sectarian factions. Among the very first conflicts could, for instance, emerge on who is to define or interpret Sharia. Disagreement is also unavoidable when the avowedly secular ANP will be pitted against forces like the TNSM and Taliban, who espouse their own vision of radical Islam.

Even as a beleaguered Islamabad fumbles about in search of an appropriate strategy, its misguided adventures appear, regrettably, to have US acquiescence. This ‘peace deal' has significant implications for the United States, especially on how it can prosecute the campaign against terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The United States said, on February 18, that it will wait for results before offering any comments on the peace deal. "We're in discussions or we're in contact with the Government of Pakistan, and we'll see what the results of their policy will be," State Department’s Deputy Spokesman, Gordon Duguid, disclosed. On February 17, Duguid had noted that the introduction of Sharia was "within the constitutional framework of Pakistan" and that it was not "an issue for anyone outside of Pakistan to discuss." Such a guarded reaction suggests that Islamabad had kept the US in the loop. However, Richard Holbrooke, the Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, while expressing concern, stated, "We are troubled and confused in a sense about what happened in Swat, because it is not an encouraging trend." He noted, further, that "previous ceasefires have broken down and we do not want to see territory ceded to the bad guys. The people who took over Swat are very bad people."

There is a school of thought in Washington and elsewhere that erroneously distinguishes between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban or between ‘moderate’ and ‘extremist’ Taliban.’ Successive US Administrations have tended to be indulgent towards the ‘moderate’ Taliban, subscribing to Pakistan’s reasoning that they can be won over and co-opted, unlike the ‘bad Taliban’, who are irreconcilable. The spectrum of tolerance for Pakistan’s delinquency since 9/11 has, moreover, gradually widened under the flawed rationale that applying greater pressure on Islamabad would compromise US operations in Afghanistan. Along with Pakistan's troublesome decision to release rogue nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan from detention, progressive Talibanisation represents a clear warning to the Obama administration that Pakistan is susceptible to what the US Joint Forces Command describes is "rapid and sudden collapse." While history has proven repeatedly that the appeasement of militants doesn't work, continued acceptance of Pakistan’s ‘terrorist blackmail’ can only lead to an undermining of the declared US policy of zero tolerance for terrorism, and a sinking into what Robert Blackwill described is "a swamp of moral relativism and strategic myopia."

The ‘peace deal’ in the NWFP is best seen as part of the Taliban’s strategic game-plan in its advance across Pakistan. As in the past, the Taliban will use this cease-fire to regroup, re-arm and consolidate its position in territories under its control, even as it works to extend its influence in contiguous territories. Peace processes only serve to embolden the radical forces, be it in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere. Far from ‘ushering in peace’, such deals have, in the past, provided the Taliban-al Qaeda combine secure safe havens and an opportunity to expand the sphere of their jihad. A parallel system of governance, including a harsh system of ‘justice’ and ‘tax’ collection, already exists under the command of the Taliban in the Swat Valley. The latest moves by the Government will merely institutionalise these aberrations.

The deal in Swat clearly rewards militancy and demonstrates Islamabad’s growing inability or lack of will to contest Islamist extremism. Ominously, it confirms a deeper and more dangerous reality: the Pakistani state is vulnerable to the extremist blackmail. Ceding spaces to Islamist extremists in Swat sets a precedent that the Taliban will now seek to replicate elsewhere in Pakistan. The Bajaur chapter of the TNSM has already demanded immediate implementation of Sharia in the Agency, promising, in return, its co-operation to establish the complete ‘writ of the state’, and accepting the Army’s presence in the region ‘till reconstruction work was completed’. TNSM’s Bajaur unit chief Ismail Muhammadi made this demand on February 15, while reacting to the Malakand pact, declaring, "After people's major demand of the enforcement of Sharia is met, the restoration of peace and purging the area of miscreants will become easier and the TNSM will be in a position to help establish writ of the government."

Embedded in the Malakand pact is Islamabad’s duplicity and desperation. A day before the Swat deal, President Zardari had warned that Taliban was trying to "take over the state of Pakistan", after having established its presence in "huge amounts of land" much beyond the tribal areas that form the group's original strongholds. "We have weaknesses and they are taking advantage of that weakness… we are fighting for the survival of Pakistan." But this declaration came even while the Swat deal was being hammered out with the extremists. Strategic confusion is now, inevitably, pervasive. Within three days of declaring that force was the only option against militancy, Zardari told Chinese journalists in Beijing, on February 16, that the fight against terrorism could not be won with guns and bombs alone.

The latest ‘peace deal’ in the NWFP will, most likely, be no more effective than previous misadventures of this kind. The ‘settlement’ with the TNSM will produce not more than a brief lull before a rising storm, even as Islamabad’s manifest weakness is exploited in new theatres across the country, creating expanding spaces for extreme violence.

[South Asia Intelligent Review]

News Briefs

Taliban to consider permanent cease-fire in Swat: The Taliban said on February 22, 2009 they would decide within days whether to call a permanent cease-fire in Swat after the Government agreed to allow Sharia (Islamic law) in the valley. Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, said they would review their current 10-day truce in the Swat valley when it expires on February 25. "We declared a 10-day cease-fire just after the agreement was signed and you will see an exemplary peace prevail in the valley once Sharia is enforced… In the next five or six days, our Shura [executive council] is meeting and it will decide about a permanent cease-fire," Khan told AFP. Fazlullah said the cease-fire would be made permanent provided the militants were confident about the Government’s intentions. He was speaking after talks with Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed, who signed the deal with the Government.

Earlier on February 21, the Government and the Swat chapter of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) agreed to a permanent cease-fire in Swat after Fazlullah accepted the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, leading the Government to announce the reopening of schools and return of the internally-displaced persons. Speaking on his FM channel, Fazlullah indicated that he would give up fighting in Swat but would not surrender. Commissioner of the Malakand Division, Syed Muhammad Javed, told the media that the cease-fire would now be permanent. "Yes, both sides will observe a permanent cease-fire," said Javed. Fazlullah also reportedly made the same announcement on the truce in his address. Daily Times; The News, February 22 & 23, 2009.

Taliban form new alliance in Waziristan: Taliban have formed a new alliance, Shura Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen, in the North and South Waziristan as a formal announcement to this effect came on February 22, 2009. The new alliance would comprise groups led by the central chief of banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baitullah Mahsud, and the two reportedly pro-government commanders Maulvi Nazir of South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur of North Waziristan. The three, according to sources, met at an undisclosed location and decided to resolve their differences to foil the external forces’ designs for dividing the multiple Taliban groups based in Pakistan. They formed a 13-member Shura (executive council) to run the affairs of the new alliance. The News, February 22, 2009.

81 militants among 86 persons killed in FATA during the week: Four militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in the ongoing military operation in different areas of Khar and Mamond sub-divisions of the Bajaur Agency on February 22. Sources said Security Forces (SFs) shelled suspected hideouts of militants in the Inayat Kellay, Bad-e-Samor, Bhai Cheena and Shinkot areas of Khar sub-division and some areas of Mamond subdivision with gunship helicopters, artillery and mortar guns, killing four militants and injuring three others.

Eight suspected Taliban militants were killed in firing by helicopter gun ships and artillery shelling by the troops in Bajaur Agency on February 21. A day earlier on February 20, the SFs fired mortar shells at suspected hideouts of the Taliban in various areas of the Mamoond and Khar sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency, killing four Taliban militants, including a commander, and injuring several others.

14 militants were killed and several others injured when SFs shelled suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of the Bajaur Agency on February 19. Official sources said that SFs targeted hideouts of militants in the Inayat Killay, Bhai Cheena and Shinkot areas of Khar sub-division with gunship helicopters and artillery. Suspected militants on February 19 also shot dead a prominent tribal elder in the Chamarkand area of Lakaro sub-division in Mohmand Agency. The Mohmand-based Taliban spokesman Ikramullah claimed that their fighters killed Malik Ameer Rahman for getting perks and facilities from the Government. "All the pro-government elements would meet the same fate", he warned.

SFs on February 18 claimed killing nine Taliban militants by bombing their suspected hideouts in the Mamoond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Another militant was killed and three more injured in a separate clash with the SFs in the Shandai area of Khar. The SFs on February 17 killed six Taliban militants during their ongoing operation to target suspected hideouts in Bajaur Agency. "Six militants were killed and scores injured during shelling by gunship helicopters in Inayat Qilay, Bhaicheena and Umerey areas in Mamoond tehsil [revenue division]," an unnamed official said. Meanwhile, the Taliban fired several rockets on the agency headquarters Khar, killing one woman and injuring four other people. According to AFP, three more civilians, in addition to the woman, were also killed after Taliban rockets hit houses, paramilitary barracks and a school.

At least 30 suspected militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in a missile strike on a refugee camp in the Kurram Agency on February 16, 2009. The three missiles believed to have been fired from a US unmanned aircraft destroyed a house used by a local Taliban commander. It was the first known drone strike in Kurram, AP reported. An unnamed intelligence official said field informants reported that Taliban showed up at the village bazaar and ordered 30 caskets. However, political authorities only confirmed 18 deaths from four missiles fired by two unmanned aircraft, while the local Taliban have claimed a death toll of 12. "Afghan Taliban were holding an important meeting there when the missiles were fired," an intelligence official in the area told Reuters. According to local sources, former Afghan premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami was running the refugee camp. Surkh Pul, the locality of the drone attack, was once reserved for Afghan refugees and a school was built for their children.

SFs killed five militants and injured several others during shelling by jetfighters in the Khar and Mamond sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency on February 16. Several underground bunkers of the militants were also destroyed in the attack. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, February 17-23, 2009.

Mumbai was one of 320 potential world targets of the Lashkar-e-Toiba: Mumbai was one of the 320 worldwide locations on the list of potential targets for commando-style terror strikes, The Guardian reported on February 19, 2009. The report suggested that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the outlawed terrorist group that planned much of the attack from Pakistan, "had ambitions well beyond causing mayhem in India". "Western intelligence agencies have accessed the computer and email account of Lashkar’s communications chief, Zarar Shah, and found a list of possible targets, only 20 of which were in India," Guardian reported. Two of the November 2008 attack’s key planners – Shah and Lashkar’s operations chief, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi – are now in police custody in Pakistan, it said. The Guardian also said "there has been some speculation that raids in Spain which netted 12 men – an Indian and 11 Pakistanis – were a result of the investigations into Lashkar’s role in the Mumbai attacks". Daily Times, February 21, 2009.

32 persons killed as suicide bomber targets funeral of Shia leader in NWFP: 32 persons were killed and 145 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the funeral procession of a slain employee of the Tehsil Municipal Administration near the busy Shubra Square in Dera Ismail Khan on February 20, 2009. Sources said the funeral procession of local Shia community leader Sher Zaman alias Shera, who was killed in firing by unidentified persons on February 19, was heading towards Kotly Imam Hussain for his Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) and burial when a suicide bomber ran into the mourners and blew himself up. While there was no immediate claim for the blast, Police and witnesses blamed sectarian extremists. "We cannot immediately say who could be behind the bombing but it appeared to be linked with the ongoing sectarian attacks," said Saadullah Khan, the local police station chief. Riots broke out in the city following the blast, and Police confirmed that two people were killed in the firing that followed the suicide bombing. Daily Times; The News, February 21, 2009.

NWFP Government formally unveils Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District: The NWFP Government formally announced on February 16, 2009 the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. "The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema with the approval of Federal Government introduced changes in the 1999 Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. Today I announce promulgation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (Amended) 2009… The regulations will be implemented in Malakand following the return of peace and restoration of writ of the Government," NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti told a press conference after chairing a jirga (council of elders) in Peshawar. "We will reciprocate the militants’ 10-day armistice with a cease-fire for good," the Chief Minister said. Hoti also said troops would remain in "reactive mode" instead of "proactive mode" and would not target anyone unless threatened. Earlier, the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain read an ‘announcement’ signed by three TNSM leaders and six NWFP Government officials that declared "null and void" all laws "contrary to Quran and Hadith" in Malakand Division and Kohistan District of Hazara Division. Daily Times, February 17, 2009.

71 militants among 79 persons killed during the week in FATA: Eight persons, including six Taliban militants, were killed and four injured during an operation launched by the Security Forces (SFs) in the Mamond sub-division of Bajaur Agency on February 16, 2009. According to a private TV channel, the SFs bombed the Taliban hideouts with jet fighters and destroyed several hideouts during the operation. Separately, the Taliban on February 16 killed an Afghan man in North Waziristan Agency, after accusing him of spying for the United States. The body of Imdad Khan, 35, was dumped on a roadside in Karamkot village, 20 kilometres east of Miranshah, the agency’s main town, a local administration official told AFP.

Two missiles fired by the suspected US drones killed 28 Taliban militants, including some foreign nationals, at South Waziristan on February 14. "We lost 28 Mujahideen in the missile attack… The drone fired two missiles and several ‘guests’ are among the dead," Taliban sources in Ladah said. Two Arab nationals, some local Taliban militants and a number of Uzbek nationals were reportedly killed in the strike.

The SFs on February 12 claimed to have killed four militants during a clash following an attack on a check-post in the Shandai Mor area of Bajaur Agency. Military sources said the militants attacked the check-post with rocket launchers and other heavy weapons. The SFs deployed at the check-post repulsed the attack and the ensuing clashes between Taliban militants and troops left four militants dead. In addition, a Police officer was killed and another wounded when Taliban militants fired rockets at the Shahbazkhel Police station in North Waziristan Agency early on February 12, Police official Noor Khan said.

Five suspected militants and a soldier were killed and several persons sustained injuries in clashes and bombing by the Pakistan Air Force fighter planes in Bajaur Agency on February 11. Military sources said warplanes targeted positions of militants in Inayat Killay, Bhai Cheena and Mamond subdivision, a stronghold of the militants led by Tehrik-i-Taliban deputy chief Maulvi Faqir Muhammad. Sources said the troops had also cleared major parts of Inayat Killay and Bhai Cheena towns of militants. Independent sources reported fierce fighting between the militants and Security Forces around Inayat Killay in which officials said five militants and a soldier were killed. Militant positions in the Mamond sub-division were also targeted with artillery and mortar guns from the agency’s regional headquarters, Khar. Suspected militants reportedly fired rockets at Khar sub-division, where a mortar fell in a residential area, killing a woman and a child.

SFs, backed by helicopter gunships, on February 10 killed 11 Taliban militants and destroyed many of their hideouts in the Bajaur Agency. The operation was launched on February 9 in the Inayat Qillay town, a suspected stronghold of the Taliban and al Qaeda-linked terrorists, after a rocket attack by the militants, military official Mustaqim Shah told AFP. The rocket attack destroyed a shop but caused no casualties, he said. "Troops backed by helicopters retaliated with artillery and mortar fire, and destroyed several suspected locations today [February 10]. At least seven militants were killed," he added. In addition, four militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs in Inayat Qilay town.

SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the Taliban, killing six suspected militants and injuring several others, including women, in different parts of Bajaur Agency on February 9. Military gunship helicopters targeted suspected hideouts in the Inayat Killay, Bade Samo, Bhai Cheena and Omari villages of the Khar sub-division, killing six militants. In addition, a Taliban ‘commander’ and key aide to Baitullah Mehsud was injured on February 9 in a bomb attack that killed his driver near the Afghan border. A remote-controlled bomb exploded by the side of a road in the Tanga area of South Waziristan when Noor Syed Mehsud was passing in a vehicle en route to Jandola village. "According to reports received here Mehsud was slightly injured, while his driver died in the bomb blast," an unnamed security official in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, told AFP. Further, Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan near Miranshah, accusing him of spying for the United States. The bullet-riddled body of 30-year-old Islamud Din was found dumped by the road in Sheratalla area, 40 kilometres north of Miranshah. Earlier, At least 10 people were killed while an unspecified number of them were wounded during clashes between two rival religious groups in the Terra valley of Khyber Agency on February 9. The groups, Ansar-ul-Islam and Lashkar-e-Islam, reportedly used mortar guns, small missiles, rockets and other arms in the clashes. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, February 10-16, 2009.

46 civilians among 57 persons killed during the week in NWFP: Four members of a family, including a minor, were killed in the Swat District on February 16, 2009. Sources said a shell fired by the Security Forces (SFs) hit a house in the Hazara area of Kabal sub-division, killing four members and wounding 10 others of a family.

Five persons, including a security official, were killed and several others sustained injuries in Swat on February 13. Sources said the militants attacked the SFs at Zarai Tehqiqati Farm Takhtaband, killing one soldier and injuring many others. In addition, three civilians, Taj Muhammad, Malik Zada and Gul Rahman, were killed and an unidentified person was wounded during shelling by the SFs who targeted suspected positions of the militants in the Bedara area of Matta sub-division. A man, identified as Mulla Jan, was killed when a soldier in a convoy of the SFs opened fire in the Kanju area of Kabal sub-division. Separately, the Taliban on February 13 killed two veil-clad women in the Kohat District and dumped the bodies by a roadside. Police official Riaz Khan said the slain women had a ‘bad reputation’ and were warned by people about a year ago to abandon their ‘immoral ways’.

Five persons were killed and 12 others sustained injuries during the military operation in Swat on February 12. One person was killed in the Shahdara area of Mingora town when SFs opened fire on him. In another incident, a man was shot dead in the Spairdar area of Matta sub-division. Sources said 12 persons were injured during the shelling in Kanju area. A child, peering out of windows of a house, was hit by a bullet, killing him on the spot. The mother of the child, who rushed to pick the body, was also killed in the firing. A trooper was killed in an attack on the Takhtaband area, while several others sustained injuries. The militants claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on SFs, but the latter have rejected this claim.

Alamzeb Khan, a Member of Provincial Assembly from the ruling Awami National Party (ANP), was killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Momin Town in Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 11. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Khan was on his way to attend a function in the city when his car was hit by a huge explosion at around 11:20 am on the main road of the Momin Town, close to his residence. "It was triggered through a remote control," Capital City Police Officer Safwat Ghayyur told journalists. Alamzeb Khan was elected a member of the NWFP Assembly from the PF-1 in the general elections in 2008.

Three soldiers were killed and several others were injured during clashes between SFs and militants in the Charbagh area of Swat District on February 11. Sources said the militants besieged and attacked a SFs’ camp in Darul Uloom Charbagh with heavy weaponry. Militants claimed that three SF personnel were killed and several others sustained injuries in the encounter while the camp building was also damaged.

One soldier was killed and 13 persons, including two civilians, were wounded as SFs and militants clashed in different areas of the Swat District on February 10. Nine persons, including five militants, were killed and 11 others sustained injuries in artillery shelling and incidents of violence in Swat on February 9. Five militants and two civilians were killed and five others sustained injuries when gunship helicopters shelled the Engaro Dherai, Takhta Band and Ogaday areas near Mingora city. In another incident, an artillery shell fired by the SFs hit the house of one Fazlullah in Chuprial area, killing his two children and injuring his wife and a child.

26 persons, including 11 children and a soldier, were killed while 38 others sustained injuries when mortar shells hit some houses during clashes between SFs and militants in the Qasimkhel area of Darra Adamkhel on February 9. Sources said militants fired three rockets at the Babozai check-post, killing a soldier, Mirdad, and injuring two others. SFs retaliated and an exchange of fire continued for sometime, during which heavy weapons were reportedly used. Reports said several shells fell at the main gate of the Government Girls Primary School Qasimkhel and nearby houses on the outskirts of Darra Adamkhel. An AFP report said the SFs denied involvement in the shelling. "No military operation is currently underway in the area," an unnamed security official said. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, February 10-16, 2009.

Taliban announces 10-day truce in Swat after Government agrees to enforce Sharia in Malakand: The Taliban of Swat announced a 10-day cease-fire on February 15, 2009 after the Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) reached an understanding about promulgating Sharia (Islamic law), termed ‘Nizam-i-Adl Regulation’, in the Malakand region. "Taliban have declared a unilateral cease-fire for 10 days as a goodwill gesture. Our fighters will not attack security personnel and Government installations," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. However, he said, the militants would hold their positions and defend themselves if attacked. He welcomed the move to enforce Sharia regulations in Malakand, but added: "We will see how sincere the Government is in their enforcement."

According to sources, a five-point draft accord was signed after negotiations between the Government and TNSM teams held at the Timergara rest-house where the outfit had set up a ‘protest camp’ on October 9, 2008. A formal announcement about enforcement of the regulations is likely to be made by the NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan in provincial capital Peshawar on February 16 at a meeting. During the talks on February 15, the NWFP Government team was led by Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, Livestock Minister Haji Hidayatullah, the Awami National Party spokesman Zahid Khan and Hazara Commissioner Javed Khan, while the TNSM was represented by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, spokesman Amir Izzat, Maulana Mohammad Alam and Badshah Sardar. Amir Izzat and Sufi Mohammad’s son Rizwanullah said "both sides have signed the accord" and an announcement regarding the enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand division would be made by the Chief Minister after a meeting with a jirga (council of elders) of the TNSM in Peshawar on February 16. "The NWFP government has accepted TNSM’s demand for enforcement of Shariat-i-Muhammadi in accordance with Quran, Sunnah, Ijma and Qias," they said. Dawn; Daily Times, February 16, 2009.

Government admits that the Mumbai terrorist attack was partly planned in Pakistan: Pakistan on February 12, 2009 acknowledged for the first time that the Mumbai terrorist attacks were partly planned in Pakistan and that it has arrested six suspects, including the "main operator." In its first detailed response to the dossier provided by India, Pakistan said criminal cases had been registered against nine suspects on charges of "abetting, conspiracy and facilitation" of a terrorist act. However, it said more evidence is required from India, including DNA samples of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the attack, to establish his identity.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the media that FIR No: 01/009 had been lodged with the Special Investigation Group in the Federal Investigation Agency against nine suspects. The Pakistani investigators have identified Hammad Amin Sadiq as the alleged ‘mastermind’ of the whole conspiracy. Malik said the cases against nine persons had been registered under the Anti-Terror Act and the Cyber Crime Act and they would be tried under these two sets of laws. He said six of the nine accused named in the FIR have already been arrested and being interrogated, two have been identified but not arrested so far while investigations are still under way into the possible involvement of the ninth accused. He identified those arrested as Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a LeT ‘commander’ who was arrested from Muzaffarabad soon after the Indian Government alleged that the LeT was responsible for the Mumbai attacks, Javed Iqbal, who was arrested from Barcelona in Spain, Hammad Amin Sadiq, believed to be the main operator belonging to southern Punjab, Zarar Shah, Mohammad Ashfaq and Abu Hamza. The name of Ajmal Kasab is reportedly not included in the FIR.

He also said some of those arrested by the security agencies of Pakistan for possible involvement in the Mumbai attacks belong to the LeT. Malik said Javed Iqbal, who was based in Barcelona, was the person who paid $200 for the ‘Internet Domain’ that was also used for communication and planning for the Mumbai attacks. "Having ascertained the involvement of Javed Iqbal, we somehow lured him into coming to Pakistan and he was arrested on his arrival," Malik said. He also said the e-mail sent by ‘Deccan Mujahideen’ claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attacks was believed to be prepared and sent by Zarar Shah, who was responsible for communication link in the whole operation. Mailk disclosed that the money to fund these attacks was transferred from Pakistan and was received in Italy. This money transaction was made through a Pakistani bank. He also said after thorough investigations by the Pakistani security and intelligence agencies it was learnt that these alleged terrorists operated from two bases — one inside Karachi and the other outside but not very far away from Karachi. He also disclosed that the terrorists used three boats for traveling to Mumbai, one named ‘Al-Hussaini’ and the other ‘Al-Ghaus’. For communication, they used ‘Call Phonic’ system and they also bought Indian cell phone SIMs for communication from inside India. He also pointed out that the satellite phone connection that was used for communication during the Mumbai attack was registered in the Middle East and not in Pakistan. The News, February 13, 2009.

Mumbai terrorist attacks not planned in Austria, says Austrian interior ministry: Austria’s interior ministry said on February 11, 2009 it had no evidence that the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 might have been planned in Austria, as reported in the media. "We have nothing that would justify our launching an investigation," ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said. "We have not been informed (of these claims) by either Pakistan or India and moreover, we have not received any requests for an investigation," he added. An Austrian newspaper quoted Indian media reports according to which Pakistan’s investigation into the attacks had found that they were planned in Austria and Dubai. An Austrian link to the attacks was also mentioned in December 2008 following reports that the militants had used an Austrian telephone number. Dawn, February 12 2009.

153 militants and 24 civilians among 183 persons killed in NWFP during the week: 11 civilians and three Security Force (SF) personnel were killed in fierce clashes between the SFs and militants in different areas of the Swat District on February 7, 2009. A group of militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah ambushed a SF vehicle in the Aligrama area of Kabal Sub-division and killed three soldiers on the spot. Four persons were killed in heavy shelling and gunfire between the SFs and militants in Takhtaband area in the outskirts of Mingora city. Helicopter gunships were reportedly used to target militant positions. Three people were killed and ten injured as mortar shells hit houses in the Shewar area of Matta sub-division. Further, a father and his son were killed and a woman was injured as mortar shells hit their house in the Sekhbanr area of Matta Sub-division. In addition, the decapitated body of Habibullah was recovered in the Alam Ganj area of Khwazakhela Sub-division. A motorcyclist was killed in firing in the Dherai area of Kabal.

One passenger was killed and two others were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a passenger coach near Gandiyali area in the Kohat District. Sources said that a Rawalpindi-bound coach was attacked when it reached Gumbat area, leaving one Muzammil Hussain dead while Muhammad Shafique Ahmed, a Frontier Corps soldier, and driver Ahmedullah Khan were injured.

Three women were killed in Swat on February 5 as the Taliban continued their attacks on people they consider to be pro-government. The women, Zarmina, Zarbibi and Farzana, were killed and three men were kidnapped when militants stormed their house in Dagai village and accused them of supporting security personnel manning the nearby Wenai bridge post. In another incident, a suicide attacker detonated an explosive-laden car near a Police Station in the Mingora town, injuring a dozen officers and destroying part of the building, said Dilawar Khan Bangash, the Police Chief. Bangash said militants also fired three rockets before the attack and one damaged a nearby hotel.

Nine members of a Bara-based militant group were killed in an encounter with the Police and the Qaumi Lashkar (militia) comprising armed villagers when they allegedly attempted to kidnap the chief official of Bazidkhel union council near Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 4. Three Policemen sustained injuries in the first incident of its kind in which the Police and villagers jointly countered the militants operating in Peshawar. Police and villagers said that members of the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam entered the Bazidkhel village in two cars and a motor cycle in a bid to kidnap Faheem, the local union council chief. In the ensuing encounter, seven attackers were killed. A source said another two militants were killed near Badaber when they were escaping on a motorcycle. A man was killed and 18 others injured in a hand grenade attack on a Sunni mosque at Mohallah Joginwala in the Dera Ismail Khan District in the evening of February 3.

Over 70 militants were killed by the SFs during clashes in the Swat District in the night of February 2 and February 3. A group of Taliban militants were attacked and dispersed by troops in the Alam Ganj Waliabad area of Charbagh in the night of February 2. In the evening of February 3, the militants gathered again and were reported to be planning an attack when the SFs cornered them. At least 64 militants were killed and several others were injured. In another incident, militants surrounded the Shamozai Police post manned by about 30 personnel on February 3. Six militants and three SF personnel were killed and 10 persons, including five militants, were injured in an exchange of fire. Further, suspected militants attacked a military convoy on the Mingora bypass. Troops subsequently cordoned off the area and launched an operation, killing four militants.

The military, on February 2, claimed it had killed 70 Taliban militants and injured several others during its assault on a village in the Chaharbagh Sub-division of Swat. According to a private TV channel, officials said residents had already vacated the village on February 1 before troops launched the operation. On the same day, Swat Police recovered eight bullet-ridden bodies from the region. An unnamed Police official blamed the killings on the Taliban militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, February 3-9, 2009.

91 militants among 98 persons killed in FATA during the week: Security Forces (SFs) killed 22 Taliban militants during a military operation in the Bajaur Agency on February 8, 2009. According to a private TV channel, SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in the Inayat Qilay area of Khar Sub-division on a tip-off, killing the 22 men. Another three deaths were reported from other areas of the agency, locals said.

Eight Taliban militants were killed during shelling by helicopter gunships in Bajaur on February 7. The troops targeted Taliban hideouts in the Dama Dola, Mataro Sha, Umrai and Shinkot areas of Mamoond Revenue Division. Residents said the troops advanced from the Agency Headquarters in Khar and gained control of Siddiqabad, Rehmanabad and Anayat Qalay. They said the Taliban offered no resistance during the Army deployment.

Army helicopter gunships killed 52 Taliban militants when they targeted hideouts in the Chapri and Feroz Khel areas along the border of Orakzai and Khyber Agencies on February 6. "Fifty-two militants were killed and a huge ammunition depot and eight vehicles were destroyed in an attack by Army helicopters," Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat told Reuters.

Separately, on February 6, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud Sub-division. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signalled him to stop. They said that he rammed his car into the trailer instead of stopping. Fida Bangash, a senior political administration official, said the bomber’s likely target were the Army engineers repairing a bridge in Landikotal, which was blown up on February 2. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban killed two tribesmen on February 6 for allegedly spying for the US in North Waziristan. The bullet-ridden bodies of Alam Pir and Muhammad Khan were found at Razmak Ada in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. Separate notes found near the bodies claimed both men had been ‘US spies’ and anyone spying for the US would meet a similar fate.

Eight Taliban militants were killed in a clash between two rival factions in the Orakzai Agency on February 4. Sources in the political administration said the militants were killed in fighting between Taliban commanders Gul Bahadar and Tariq factions in Shan Khel area. They said that all of the casualties were from Bahadar’s faction. The sources also claimed that a power struggle between Taliban factions was underway in Orakzai. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, February 3-9, 2009.

Nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan freed by Islamabad High Court: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on February 6, 2009, declared the detained nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan ‘a free citizen’, and disposed of his writ petition following a ‘mutual agreement’ between him and the federal Government which – according to the Court – cannot be made public in line with a request by the petitioner and the respondent. During an in-chamber hearing, Syed Ali Zafar – representing AQ Khan – argued before the IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam that his client’s detention was unjustified, as "he was not involved in nuclear proliferation." He asked the court to declare his client a free citizen ‘with due state protection’ in line with the terms of the mutual agreement between A.Q. Khan and the Government. According to the Court’s one-page verdict, Dr Khan’s counsel voluntarily accepted the terms and conditions offered by the Government in exchange for ending the detention of the scientist. According to AP, Government prosecutor Amjad Iqbal Qureshi said that ‘security measures’ for Khan would remain, suggesting that authorities may still limit his movement. Daily Times, February 7, 2009.

32 persons killed in suicide bombing outside Shia mosque in Punjab: 32 persons were killed and 48 others wounded when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up amidst a crowd of Shia worshippers outside a mosque in Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab province on February 5, 2009. Police said the blast targeted dozens of people converging on the Al Hussainia Mosque after dark, shortly before a religious gathering. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Police blamed sectarian extremists for the incident. "Ninety-nine percent it looks like a suicide attack… The explosion occurred just 50 feet short of the mosque. It is a terrorist attack aimed at Shias to create unrest," Shaukat Javed, the Inspector General of Punjab Police, told AFP. "It seems like a suicide blast… If something is planted or hurled, it leaves a crater. There is no crater at the site of the incident," Javed told a TV channel. "According to eyewitnesses, nothing was thrown from outside… It looks as if someone was standing at the site of the blast and waiting for the procession and he blew himself up as the procession came close to him," District official Jawed Mehmood Bhatti told Reuters. Daily Times, February 6, 2009.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announces UN commission on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination: The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 4, 2009, announced the establishment of an independent commission to probe the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. "I intend to establish an independent commission of inquiry to be headed by a distinguished person who will be appointed very shortly," he said while speaking at a dinner reception hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad. The state-run APP news agency reported that Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz would head the three-member commission. It said Indonesia’s Marzuki Dar Usman will be a member of the commission, but no decision has been made on its third member, likely to belong to Sweden or Norway. Daily Times, February 5, 2009.

Lashkar-e-Toiba is a global security risk, says CIA: Supporting India’s assessment that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is a security risk for the international community, the US Central Intelligence Agency believes that the terrorist group is among the top security threats for the US. The outgoing CIA chief Michael Hayden concluded that the LeT was among the top security challenges for the US. Hayden said in a television interview that al Qaeda has been increasing its links with terror organisations around the world and this was pushing the LeT to expand its scope of operation from India to Israel and America. "There was a migration in Lashkar-e-Toiba thinking over the past 6, 12, 18 months, in which it began to identify the United States and Israel as much as being the main enemy as it has historically identified India… That is a troubling development. And this migration of Lashkar-e-Toiba to a merge point (with al Qaeda) is probably taking place," he said. Economic Times, February 5, 2009.

75 civilians and 44 militants among 129 persons killed during the week in NWFP: 32 persons, including three soldiers, were killed and 22 others sustained injures as the Security Forces (SFs) intensified military operations in the Charbagh, Matta and Sangota areas of the Swat District on February 1, 2009. Locals said most of the people killed in Charbagh and Sangota during shelling were civilians, who were finding it difficult to move to safer places due to the perpetual curfew and escalating clashes. In addition, the ISPR-run Swat Media Centre in Mingora claimed that the SFs have killed 16 militants during the last 24 hours.

Three civilians and a militant were killed in a clash between the SFs and militants in the Dherai area of Kabal revenue division on January 31. Separately, three people were killed as helicopter gunships targeted Taliban positions in Kabal. The air attack also destroyed a self-proclaimed Taliban court building. In the Aligrama area of Kabal, the Taliban militants attacked a SF’s convoy killing three soldiers.

Six persons were killed in Swat on January 30 as the SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in several areas of the Chaharbagh Sub-division, including Coat and Darul Uloom. Troops reportedly advanced into the valley and consolidated their positions in Matta and Manglawar areas of the District. Separately, four soldiers were killed and eight injured when an Army convoy was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb in Malakand on January 30. Official sources said a military convoy of the Sindh Regiment was on its way to provincial capital Peshawar from the militancy-hit Swat Valley when a remote-controlled explosive device, planted by militants near a school building on Ghat Koto Road, went off, killing four soldiers and injuring eight others.

Three persons were killed and four others injured in the Swat District on January 29 amid several abortive attacks by the militants on the SFs. Four militants were killed and several others, including a Policeman, sustained injuries when suspected militants attacked a Police Post near Baran Bridge in Bannu District with rockets and heavy arms late in the night of January 28.

On the day the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Swat on January 28, the SFs killed seven militants and injured 11 others in Manglawar and Sanghota towns during a ground action backed by helicopters. Earlier, SFs killed more than 16 militants in Darra Adamkhel on January 27. The SFs claimed that they had besieged a large number of militants after a fierce battle which claimed the life of an Army officer and injured five soldiers in Tor Chappar. The troops had reportedly been attacking the militant hideouts in the area with artillery fire and shelling for the preceding four days. The Inter-Services Public Relations said in a Press Release from provincial capital Peshawar that 16 militants were killed in Tor Chapper on January 25.

After the SFs launched the third phase of Operation Rah-e-Haq, five civilians were killed by artillery and mortar fire. Locals said a man, a woman and three children were killed when mortar shells hit four houses in Mangalawar area of Charbagh Sub-division in the night of January 26 as SFs targeted Taliban positions. Nine people, including two children and two women, were killed and 17 others sustained injuries in different incidents of violence in various parts of the Swat District on January 26. A woman and her two children were killed when a mortar shell, allegedly fired by the SFs, landed in a house in the Serai area near Manglawar. Further, two persons, including a woman, were killed and 14 injured in Sangota when mortar shells hit their houses. Separately, four bodies were recovered from the Ningolai area of Kabal Sub-division. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, January 27-February 2, 2009.

[South Asia Intelligent Review]