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May
Vol 9 - No. 11
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May
Vol 9 - No. 11
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SOUTH ASIA: PAKISTAN News Briefs |
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This was not the first instance when a senior officer belonging to a rival sect was targeted by sectarian extremists. In the last such instance, on January 14, 2009, unidentified assailants killed four Policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a shootout in Quetta, capital of Balochistan. Three of the murdered Policemen belonged to the Hazara community and were Shia. "It was a target killing and Police officers belonging to the Hazara tribe were targeted," an unnamed senior Police officer had then confirmed. The Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) had then claimed responsibility. The April 19 incident was just another link in an incessant succession of sectarian killings in Pakistan. Earlier, on April 17, 2010, two burqa (veil)-clad suicide bombers targeted a crowd of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), waiting to register and receive relief goods, at the Kacha Pakka IDP camp on the outskirts of Kohat in KP. 44 persons were killed and more than 70 were injured. The LeJ’s Al-Aalmi faction claimed responsibility for the bombings and cited the presence of Shias at the IDP camp as the reason for the attack. On April 16, a suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack inside the Civil Hospital in Quetta, killing 11 persons, including two DSPs, and injuring 35 others. According to reports, unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle first killed Ashraf Zaidi, the son of the chief of the Shia Conference, Balochistan. As a number of sympathizers and onlookers gathered at the Hospital, where the body was brought, a suicide bomber struck. Sectarian attacks ordinarily spike during the religious months and festivals, and attacks on religious processions and congregations have become commonplace in the daily lives of the people. Nevertheless, data on sectarian incidents over the past years, demonstrates that the sectarian rivalry is not limited to these periods alone, and can erupt anywhere, at any point of time. 2010 has already witnessed 12 sectarian attacks, among which the most significant incidents include: March 5: 12 persons, including four women, were killed and 33 were injured when a suicide bomber targeted a Parachinar-bound civilian convoy carrying Shia passengers in the Tull area of Hangu in KP. "The target was a Shia convoy. This is sectarian violence," Kohat Division Commissioner Khalid Umarzai confirmed. March 1: Seven people were killed and 44 were injured in sectarian violence in the Dera Ismail Khan area of KP. "All the dead are Sunnis, there are some Shias among the injured," District Police Chief Gul Afzal Afridi disclosed. Sectarian Violence in Pakistan: 2002-2010
*Data
till April 23, 2010 Incidents and casualties in the first four months of 2010 are indicative of an increasing lethality of attacks. While 190 killings and 272 injuries were recorded in a total of 106 incidents in 2009, 2010 has already seen 116 killings and 272 injuries in just 12 incidents. Among the primary targets of this sectarian violence are places of worship of the rival sects. The data reflects an year to year increase in incidents targeting places of worship, with the exception of years 2005 and 2006. Sectarian attacks on Mosque in Pakistan
*Data
till April 23, 2010 Another soft target of this chronic animosity has been the religious leadership of the respective sects, in a tit-for-tat sequence that never ends. While earlier incidents were restricted to mob violence or grenade attacks, these have now overwhelmingly been replaced by suicide bombers targeting religious processions and rallies. In just the first four months of 2010, the following attacks targeting rival religious leaders have been recorded: March 11: The noted religious leader and chief of the Aalmi Majlis-e-Tahafuza-e-Khatam-e-Naboowat (AMTKN), Mufti Saeed Jalalpuri, was shot dead along with three associates in Karachi. An attempt was also made on Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, a leader of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), in which he was injured, while his son was killed. February 22: A prominent member of the Shia community, Dr. Syed Saqlain Haider Kazmi, was shot dead while his friend sustained injuries when unidentified assailants opened fire on them in the Yakatoot area of Peshawar. January 5: An Ahmadi leader, Muhammad Yousaf (70), was shot dead in the Ferozewala Police Station area of Karachi. The family of Muhammad Yousaf, leader of the Ahmadi community in Ferozewala, alleged that unidentified persons killed him because he demanded that the Police act against groups creating religious strife in the area. The primary player in the sectarian violence is the LeJ, which was formed in 1996. The LeJ aims to transform Pakistan into a Sunni state, primarily through violence. Muhammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori is the present Saalar-i-Aala (‘Commander-in-Chief’) of the LeJ. Lahori has been in Police custody since his arrest from Orangi Town in Karachi on June 17, 2002. Although Lahori officially remains the LeJ chief, Qari Mohammad Zafar is now believed to be the tactical ‘commander’, while operational command is understood to have moved to middle ranking leaders. Worryingly, despite several ‘crackdowns’ by security agencies and the arrest of some 20 high profile cadres in 2009, the LeJ organisation appears to retain enormous capacities for violence. The April 16, 2010, attack at the Civil Hospital at Quetta, moreover, demonstrates that the LeJ is now adopting patterns of multiple and coordinated attacks long used by the Taliban and al Qaeda. LeJ’s links with these groups have been of long standing, and a sharing of operational and training resources is now evident, something that does not augur well for the authorities in Islamabad. The Government has acknowledged these risks. On March 17, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a ‘decisive operation’ would be launched against banned sectarian outfits if they did not refrain from carrying out terrorist attacks in the country. Malik claimed that the defunct SSP and theLeJ were behind 90 per cent of the terrorist attacks in Punjab. Despite the eyewash of a crackdown and some arrests, however, no sustained effort to dismantle the sectarian groups, particularly the Sunni formations that have powerful links with the religious parties and the Pakistani establishment, is visible. Indeed, the impulse of sectarianism is deeply rooted in Pakistan’s society and structure of power, and extremist violence manifests an entrenched social divide. Unless Pakistan’s political wellsprings are cleansed of extremist ideologies, their manifestation in militancy and violence cannot be contained. [South Asia Intelligent Review]
85 militants and nine SFs among 100 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least 14 Taliban militants were killed and 16 others injured in air strikes and clashes with Security Forces (SFs) in the Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 25. SFs killed 10 Taliban militants in Lower Orakzai Agency on April 24. In addition, fighter jets pounded three more hideouts, killing another 10 Taliban militants. Also, a US drone fired three missiles at a Taliban hideout in North Waziristan, killing seven militants. At least 16 Taliban militants were killed and several others injured in the ongoing Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai Agency on April 23. Separately, the Taliban militants ambushed a SF convoy in North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers and injuring 16 others. In retaliation, helicopter gunships shelled the militants’ hideouts, killing six militants. Meanwhile, the bodies of four persons, including a headless one, were recovered in Mir Ali, 25 kilometers east of Miranshah in North Waziristan. A note lying near the bodies stated that they were spying for the US, adding that all spies would meet the same fate. The SFs killed 26 Taliban militants, while two soldiers also died, during clashes in the Orakzai Agency on April 22. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 20-26, 2010. 25 civilians and nine SFs among 39 persons killed during the week in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Unidentified militants killed former Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Alamzeb Omarzai and three others in an attack on his vehicle in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as North West Frontier Province, NWFP) on April 22. In addition, a group of Taliban militants attacked a security check post at Kabal town in Swat District. The security forces retaliated and killed four militants. Four persons, including two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-triggered blast targeting a Kurram Agency-bound Security Forces (SFs) convoy in the Tutkas area of Thall tehsil (revenue unit) in the Hangu District on April 20. At least 24 people, including a child and Police officials, were killed and 49 others injured in twin bombings hours apart at a school and a crowded market in Peshawar on April 19. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 20-26, 2010. Taliban attacking US forces in Afghanistan from FATA, says US Representative Richard Holbrooke: The United States (US) Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke alleged that the Taliban carry out attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan from their sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Daily Times, April 22, 2010. Army announces PNR 20 million relief package for Tirah Valley victims: The Pakistan Army, on April 19, announced a relief package of around PNR 20 million for victims in the Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where 61 civilian deaths were reported following air strikes over a Kokikhel jirga (tribal council) at Serawala area on April 10. Initially, the Army authorities denied the report of civilian deaths. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had subsequently tendered an apology to the Kokikhel tribe over the civilian deaths. Daily Times, April 20, 2010. 89 militants and four SFs among 93 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least 13 Taliban militants and one Frontier Corps trooper were killed in a clash between Taliban militants and Security Forces (SFs) during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in the Sangra area of Orakzai Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 18. At least 17 Taliban militants were killed and several others were injured during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency on April 16. In addition, six Taliban militants were killed as a US drone fired five missiles at a house and two vehicles in the Toll Khel village of North Waziristan.
Five militants were killed and two others sustained injuries when SFs targeted their hideouts in lower parts of Orakzai Agency on April 15.
A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle that killed four Taliban militants in the Degaan area of Datta Khel tehsil (revenue unit), 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency on April 14.
Five Taliban militants were killed when a US drone fired two missiles into a Taliban compound located in Boya village about 20 kilometres West of Miranshah on April 12.
At least 39 Taliban militants and four troopers were killed, while nine soldiers sustained injuries in clashes between SFs and Taliban militants at Shireen Darra area of lower parts in Orakzai Agency in the night of April 11. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 13-19, 2010.
55 civilians and six militants among 61 persons killed during the week in NWFP: Seven persons, including a child, were killed and another 30 injured in a suicide car bombing near the Saddar Police Station in the Kohat area of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on April 18.
On April 17, two burqa (veil)-clad suicide bombers targeted Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) waiting to get themselves registered and receive relief goods at the Kacha Pakka IDP camp on the outskirts of Kohat on April 17, killing at least 44 and injuring more than 70. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al-Aalmi faction claimed responsibility for the bombings, and cited the presence of Shias at the IDP camp as the reason for the attack. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 13-19, 2010.
US sanctions Al-Akhtar and Al-Rashid trusts: The United States (US) Treasury said on April 15 it had imposed sanctions on two "high-profile" Pakistani trust fund chiefs allegedly linked to terrorism. The Treasury identified the trust fund chiefs as Muhammed Mazhar, director of Al-Akhtar Trust, and Mufti Abdul Rahim, leader of Al-Rashid Trust, and said both Pakistani charities’ assets under US jurisdiction were frozen. Americans have also been prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. Mazhar was accused of supporting al Qaeda and the Taliban, while Rahim was charged with funding the Taliban. "Today’s designation of these two high-profile financiers of al Qaeda and the Taliban, who are also leaders of Al-Akhtar Trust and Al-Rashid Trust, further exposes those organisations’ continuing support for terrorism under the guise of charitable activity," said the Treasury. Daily Times, April 16, 2010.
136 militants and 11 civilians among 151 persons killed during the week in FATA: The Security Forces (SFs) backed by helicopter gunships killed 19 Taliban militants in the Lower Orakzai Agency of Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 11. 10 militants were killed in a clash in Shireen Dara area of Lower Orakzai while nine were killed in another clash between the Taliban and troops in Saam and Kangra areas of the Agency.
At least 45 Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants were killed in air strikes in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA on April 10. Three SFs personnel and 10 militants were killed in clashes in Sararogha District of South Waziristan Agency.
The SFs killed 30 Taliban militants in clashes during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in the Lower Orakzai and Kurram Agencies on April 9.
At least 10 abducted persons and two LI militants were killed as the fighter aircraft bombed a private prison of the LI outfit in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on April 8.
At least 14 Taliban militants were killed when SFs backed by fighter jets bombed various areas of Orakzai Agency during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham on April 6. Six militant hideouts were also destroyed in the air strikes.
The SFs killed 15 Taliban militants and destroyed four of their hideouts during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in various areas of the Orakzai Agency on April 5. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 6-12, 2010.
65 civilians and 35 militants among 101 persons killed during the week in NWFP: The Security Forces (SFs) killed at least 24 Taliban militants and arrested 21 others during fresh clashes in the Swat and Lower Dir Districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on April 8.
At least three persons, including a pro-Government lashkar (tribal militia) leader, were killed in a shootout in the Shahi Khel area of Hangu on April 7. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Orakzai chapter claimed responsibility for Sakhi’s killing. Three militants were killed in separate clashes with SFs in Matta tehsil (revenue unit) of Swat District.
At least 45 persons were killed and over 100 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a public meeting of the Awami National Party (ANP) at the Timergara Rest House in Lower Dir District on April 5.
A series of three powerful blasts followed by heavy gunfight in a brazen suicide mission, apparently planned to target the US Consulate in Peshawar, left eight persons dead and 18 others injured in Peshawar in the afternoon of April 5. Meanwhile, the TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in reaction to the US drone attacks. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, April 6-12, 2010. US seeks Pakistan’s action against Lashkar-e-Toiba: The US, on April 1, called on Pakistan to curb anti-India militants. Robert Blake, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia said, "I think one can argue there is a lot of important progress that has been made but we think there also needs to be progress against these Punjab-based groups." He was referring to banned groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Daily Times, April 2, 2010. 213 militants and 12 SFs among 234 persons killed during the week in FATA: The Security Forces (SFs) backed by tanks and artillery, repulsed Taliban attacks in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administer Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 4, killing 40 Taliban militants. In addition, three volunteers and two Taliban militants were killed during an encounter near a checkpoint of the Baizai Amn Committee in far-off Manzari Cheena village of Mohmand Agency. Also, four Taliban militants were killed and some others sustained injuries in a clash between two factions of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan Agency. 30 Taliban militants were killed in ground and air attacks in Orakzai Agency on April 3. Military sources also said that six troopers were killed and five other injured in clashes with Taliban militants. Seven Taliban militants were killed and five were injured, as SFs destroyed three Taliban hideouts in Orakzai Agency on April 2. Around 24 Taliban militants were killed as helicopter gunships targeted their vehicles and SFs pounded suspected hideouts during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai Agency on April 1. Also, six Taliban militants, including a local ‘commander’, were killed and five others injured during a factional clash between the Mullah Toofan and Maulana Rafique factions of Taliban at Chappar Mashti in the Orakzai Agency. Separately, two ‘commanders’ of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during their bid to escape the custody of SFs, while six cadres of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), including the nephew of LI ‘chief’ Mangal Bagh, were shot dead in a similar incident at Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency. At least 25 Taliban militants and six soldiers were killed on March 31, as SFs clashed with militants in Jansi area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency. Also, helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts during the operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in different parts of Orakzai Agency, killing at least 11 militants. Separately, US drones fired three missiles, killing six Taliban militants and destroyed a compound in North Waziristan Agency. In addition, five militants were killed and a SF trooper was injured when militants attacked a Frontier Corps (FC) post with automatic weapons in the Milanga area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency. At least 35 Taliban militants were killed and 22 were injured as fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban compounds during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency on March 30. At least 11 Taliban militants were killed during clashes with SFs in Orakzai and Khyber Agencies, while three key militant ‘commanders’ were arrested by troops on March 29. In addition, the bodies of three anti-Taliban tribal elders, with their throats slit, were recovered in the Chinarak area of Kurram Agency. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, March 30- April 5, 2010. [South Asia Intelligent Review]
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