Pakistan's Top 10 Militant Commanders

By Amir Mir

In a recent article, prominent Pakistani journalist Amir Mir warned that the killing of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud was "unlikely to give Pakistan a reprieve" in its fight against the Islamic militants in Pakistan's tribal region.

Baitullah Mehsud, the Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban), was reportedly killed in aU.S. drone attack on August 5, 2009. He had been responsible for uniting all militants in Pakistan, leading to the formation ofTTP in December 2007.

Amir Mir's article lists the top 10 militant commanders who could pose a threat to Pakistan in the near future, including British citizen Rashid Rauf, whose reported death in a U.S. missile remains unconfirmed by Pakistani and British security officials.

The article also mentions several militant organizations: Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), a non-Taliban group active mainly in the tribal district of Khyber Agency; Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, or Movement for the Enforcement of Prophet Muhammad's Shari'a), led by Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah who leads the Taliban in Swat district; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an Al-Qaeda affiliated organization based in the town of Jhang; Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), operating in India and Bangladesh; Jaish-e-Muhammad, an anti-India militant organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda; and others.

Following are some excerpts from the article: [1]

"Pakistan's Top 10 Most Wanted Terrorists Belong to Six Militant And Sectarian [Sunni/Shi'ite] Organizations Linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban"

"According to well-placed Interior Ministry sources in Islamabad, Pakistan's top 10 most wanted terrorists belong to six militant and sectarian [Sunni/Shi'ite] organizations linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Four of the 10 are affiliated with the TTP; two belong to the LeJ, while one each is associated with the TNSM, the JeM, the HuJI and the LeI. They include Maulana Fazlullah, the fugitive Emir of the Swat chapter of the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM); Hakimullah Mehsud; Qari Hussain Mehsud; Maulvi Faqeer Mohammad and Waliur Rehman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); Matiur Rehman and Qari Zafar of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ); Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri of the Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI); Rashid Rauf of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM); and Mangal Bagh of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI)."

No. 1 - Maulana Fazlullah

"With Baitullah Mehsud already down, Maulana Fazlullah has become the No. 1 most wanted terrorist. He is the son-in-law of Maulana Sufi Mohammed, the founder of TNSM. Born March 1, 1975, Fazlullah is widely known as Mullah Radio for using illegal FM channels to broadcast vituperative speeches, threatening people with dire consequences should they not adhere to shari'a and instigating the residents of Swat into taking part in jihad. He has been missing since April 2009, since the Pakistan Army launched a massive operation to dismantle his jihadi infrastructure following the collapse of ashari'a-for-peace agreement between Maulana Sufi Mohammed and the government. Though the Army has reclaimed Swat district, Maulana Fazlullah remains at large. He carries a reward of Rs 5 million on his head."

No. 2 - Hakimullah Mehsud

"A close confidant of Baitullah Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud is the new Emir of the TTP. Born in 1980, he used to command TTP fighters in Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram tribal agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs). Hakimullah, also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud alias Gudu, has been leading operations against NATO's supply lines in Khyber and Peshawar. His forces have been behind raids that have led to the destruction of more than 600 NATO vehicles and shipping containers. He had taken credit for a series of suicide attacks and complex assaults in Lahore and Peshawar, including the March 2009 attack on the Manawan Police Training Academy in Lahore. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed following the death of Baitullah that Hakimullah too had died in a gun battle. But he is still alive."

No. 3 Qari Hussain Mehsud

"Another close aide of Baitullah, Qari Hussain Mehsud ranks No. 3. He is a key commander of the TTP in South Waziristan, and known as the Ustad-e-Fidayeen (the trainer of suicide bombers). He runs camps that train children to become suicide bombers. Children are indoctrinated to wage jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as shown in a video taken at one of his camps... which was released by him himself. The two major suicide hits claimed on the video were the March 11, 2008 suicide attack on the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) building in Lahore and the November 24, 2007 twin suicide attacks in Rawalpindi, in front of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters. The Pakistani military demolished Hussain's suicide nursery in January 2008 and claimed that he too had been killed. But he mocked the military barely a week later during a press conference, saying, 'I am alive, don't you see me?"'

No. 4 - Ilyas Kashmiri

"No. 4 in the most wanted list, Ilyas Kashmiri, the chief of the Azad Kashmir [free Kashmir or Pakistani Kashmir] chapter of Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist organization Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), is a veteran of the Kashmir jihad who spent several years in an Indian jail. He was arrested after the December 2003 twin suicide attacks on General Pervez Musharraf's presidential cavalcade in Rawalpindi, but released a few weeks later due to lack of evidence. He later shifted his base to the Waziristan region and joined hands with Baitullah Mehsud. He later established a training camp in the Razmak area of Waziristan and shifted most of his militants from his Kotli training camp in Pakistani Kashmir. He has been named in a charge-sheet filed by the Islamabad police for masterminding the November 2008 murder of Major General (retired) Amir Faisal Alvi, the former general officer commanding (GOC) of the elite Special Services Group (SSG)."

No. 5 - Rashid Rauf

"No. 5 on the most wanted list, Rashid Rauf is an alleged Al-Qaeda linked British national of Pakistani origin who is wanted by Pakistan and Britain for being a central figure in an August 2006 plot to blow up some U.S.-bound trans-Atlantic airplanes. A close relative of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, Rashid has been accused of forming multiple cells, each comprising 12 terrorists, which had been dispatched in 2008 from Pakistani tribal areas to conduct a series of bomb attacks in the major cities of several European countries. Rashid was reportedly killed on November 22, 2008 after a missile fired from a CIA predator drone destroyed a mud bungalow in Alikhel village of North Waziristan. But it later transpired that he is alive and operating from the Waziristan region."

No. 6 - Mangal Bagh Afridi

"The No. 6 most wanted terrorist is Mangal Bagh Afridi, who is the founder of the Lashkar-e-Islam, an Islamic militant group operating in Khyber Agency which claims to be a reformist organization trying to promote virtue and prevent vice. Born in 1973 in the Bara Tehsil area of Khyber Agency, Mangal used to be a bus conductor, and now preaches extremism on his privately run FM radio stations. If he is to be believed, his Lashkar-e-Islam has 120,000 armed men who control most parts of Khyber Agency. Already declared a proclaimed offender, he left a trail of bloodshed, pillage and mayhem when his men attacked unarmed villagers in Sheikhan, near Peshawar, in early 2009 and killed dozens."

No. 7 - Matiur Rehman

"Born in 1977, Matiur Rehman, aka Samad Sial, chief operational commander of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, ranks No. 7. He is a Pakistani national, but identified as Al-Qaeda's planning director, wanted by both the FBI and FIA of Pakistan. Known as an extremely fine bomb-maker, he comes from Bahawalpur district of Pakistan's Punjab province and carries a bounty of 10 million Pakistani Rupees, as announced by the Pakistan government. He was linked with the August 2006 transatlantic plot to destroy U.S.-bound British aircraft. Suspected for his involvement in the September 2008 Marriot Hotel suicide bombing in Islamabad, Matiur Rehman is described as extremely dangerous because of his role as the liaison between Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani jihadi community."

No. 8 - Maulvi Faqir Mohammed

"Born in 1970 in the Bajaur Agency, a tribal district along the Afghan border, Maulvi Faqir Mohammed is a member of the Mohmand tribe and the deputy commander of the TTP. Formerly affiliated with the TNSM led by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, he is wanted due to contacts with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. Faqeer has publicly stated that he has close ties to Osama bin Laden deputy Dr. Ayman Zawahiri. After Baitullah's death, he first announced assuming temporary command of the TTP, but later declared that Hakimullah Mehsud has been selected as the leader of TTP. He is accused of orchestrating the November 8, 2006 suicide attack on an Army training center at Dargai in NWFP, which killed 45 recruits of the Punjab Regiment Centre."

No. 9 - Waliur Rehman

"Waliur Rehman, the commander of the South Waziristan chapter of the TTP, has emerged as a key jihadist figure after the death of Baitullah. Born in 1974, Waliur is a cleric who studied at a religious seminary in the town of Faisalabad - the Jamia Islamia Imdadia - before teaching for seven years at a madrassa in South Waziristan. He joined the Taliban movement in 2004 to become one of Baitullah's trusted aides, who used to look after the financial matters of the TTP. At one stage in his life, Waliur Rehman was associated with Maulana Fazlur Rehman's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a ruling party in Pakistan, and pursued peaceful politics. Waliur Rehman was a main contender for Baitullah's job as the TTP head, and his selection as the TTP head for South Waziristan has made him the pivotal figure in the organization."

No. 10 - Qari Mohammad Zafar

"Qari Mohammad Zafar is largely believed to be the acting Emir of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and runs a suicide bombing squad in Pakistan. Presently operating from South Waziristan, Zafar was alleged to be the mastermind of the September 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing. Hailing from Karachi, he is reported to have become one of the members of Al-Qaeda's hard-line inner circle in Pakistan and enjoying the protection of the TTP. In 2007, Zafar escaped from the custody of Pakistani security services in Lahore. He is also wanted for questioning in connection with the March 2, 2006 car bomb attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi."

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP253609

---

[1] The News (Pakistan), September 1, 2009. The article has been lightly edited for clarity.

Read more...

Wha did Taliban do to Pir Samiullah's deadbody?

’پیر سمیع اللہ کی لاش کا اب تک نہیں معلوم‘

عبدالحئی کاکڑ

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، پشاور

پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں اور صوبہ سرحد میں پچھلے کئی سالوں سے جاری تشدد کی لہر نے نہ صرف لوگوں کے ذہنوں میں ملک کی ’سلامتی‘ کے بارے میں خدشات پیدا کیے ہیں بلکہ اس کی کوکھ سے جنم لینے والے المیے متاثرہ افراد کی زندگیوں کے ساتھ ہمیشہ کے لیے نتھی ہو چکے ہیں۔ طالبان اور سکیورٹی فورسز کے مابین جاری لڑائی سے جنم لینے والے انسانی المیوں کے مختلف پہلووں کو صحافت کے تنگ دامن میں یا تو سرے سے جگہ ہی نہیں مل سکی اور اگر ملی بھی تو اس طرح نہیں جس طرح سے یہ واقعات رونما ہوئے اور یوں حقیقی کہانیاں صحافتی مقابلے کی دوڑ کے ملبے میں کہیں دفن ہوگئیں۔

پشاور میں بی بی سی کے نامہ نگار عبدالحئی کاکڑ جنگ زدہ افراد یا خاندانوں پر بیتی ہوئی انہی کہانیوں کی کھوج میں ہیں جنہیں بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام ایک سیریز کی صورت میں شائع کر رہی ہے۔ اس سلسلے کی پانچویں کہانی۔

اکبر علی، روڈ ی نگار، منگل ڈاگ تحصیل مٹہ سوات

جون دو ہزار آٹھ میں طالبان اور ہمارے یعنی پیر سمیع اللہ گروپ کے درمیان اختلافات شروع ہوگئے تھے۔ سوات کے باقی علاقوں پر کنٹرول حاصل کرنے کے بعد طالبان ہمارے علاقے میں بھی اپنی رٹ قائم کرنا چاہتے تھے۔ طالبان کی جانب سے لوگوں کے گلے کاٹنا، زبردستی داڑھی رکھوانا، اور سرعام کوڑے مارنے کا عمل پیر سمیع اللہ کو پسند نہیں تھا۔

طالبان کا خیال تھا کہ لوگ مزاحمت نہیں کریں گے اور وہ آسانی سے پیر سمیع اللہ کو اٹھاکر لے جائیں گے

انہوں نے طالبان کے علاقے میں آمد کی مخالفت کی۔ جب طالبان کے کمانڈر ابنِ یامین کو پتہ چلا تو وہ درجنوں مسلح ساتھیوں کے ہمراہ پیر سمیع اللہ کو اٹھانے کے لیے ہمارے گاؤں آئے۔ان کا خیال تھا کہ ان کی دہشت کی وجہ سے لوگ مزاحمت نہیں کریں گے اور وہ آسانی سے پیر سمیع اللہ کو اپنے ساتھ اٹھاکر لے جائیں گے۔ لیکن لوگوں نے مزاحمت کی اور صبح سے رات تک ہمارے درمیان جھڑپ جاری رہی۔

لوگوں نے طالبان کو پیچھے دھکیل دیا۔ اس جھڑپ میں پیر سمیع اللہ کے چھوٹے بھائی اٹھارہ سالہ عمران سمیت ہمارے چار ساتھی زخمی ہوگئے تھے۔ پیر صاحب کے چچا، جو ان کے مخالف تھے، ان کے زخمی بھائی کو علاج کے لیے لے جارہے تھے کہ طالبان نے انہیں راستے میں روک لیا۔ جب ابنِ یامین کو پتہ چلا کہ یہ پیر سمیع اللہ کے بھائی ہیں تو اس نے اس سے زخمی حالت میں گاڑی سے نکال کر سڑک پر پھینک دیا۔ وہ اس کے سینے پر زور زور سے کودتا رہا پھر اسے دو گولیاں سینے اور دو سر میں ماردیں۔ جب میں نے لاش دیکھی تو پورے جسم پر خنجروں کے نشان تھے۔

اس جھڑپ کے بعد پیر سمیع اللہ نے علاقے کے لوگوں کو بلایا اور ایک باقاعدہ لشکر تشکیل دیا جس میں چھ سو سے زائد مسلح رضاکار شامل ہوگئے۔ اس دوران فوج کے ساتھ بھی رابطہ ہوا جس نے ہمیں تقریباً پینتالیس کلاشنکوف، کئی بندوقیں اور کارتوس دیے۔ حکومت نے وعدہ کیا کہ طالبان کے خلاف لڑائی میں لشکرکی مدد کی جائے گی۔

طالبان نے گاؤں والوں کو پیغام بھیجا کہ اگر انہوں نے پیر سمیع اللہ کی حمایت ترک نہیں کی تو یرغمالیوں کو قتل کردیا جائے گا۔ اس دھمکی کے بعد لشکر میں شامل رضاکار ایک ایک کرکے الگ ہوتے گئے۔ تیرہ دسمبر جمعہ کی رات کو جب طالبان نے حملہ کیا تو اس وقت لشکر میں سو کے قریب مسلح رضاکار رہ گئے تھے۔

سوات کے علاقے سپین سر جس کی سرحد ضلع دیر کے ساتھ ملتی ہے میں تقریباً ہم نے کئی مہینے تک ایک بھی طالب کو گھسنے نہیں دیا۔ اس دوران اچانک ایک ایسا واقعہ ہوا جس نے ہماری قوت کو کمزور کردیا۔ ہمیں مینگورہ اور باقی علاقوں سے زندگی کی بنیادی ضروریات لانے لے جانے کے لیے جس واحد راستے سے گزرنا تھا وہ مکمل طور پر طالبان کے کنٹرول میں تھا۔ ایک دن شوگر ملوں میں دیہاڑی پر کام کرنے والے ہمارے گاؤں کے لوگ جا رہے تھے کہ طالبان نے انہیں ٹرکوں سے اتار کر یرغمال بنالیا۔

طالبان نے گاؤں والوں کو پیغام بھیجا کہ اگر انہوں نے پیر سمیع اللہ کی حمایت ترک نہیں کی تو یرغمالیوں کو قتل کردیا جائے گا۔ اس دھمکی کے بعد لشکر میں شامل رضاکار ایک ایک کرکے الگ ہوتے گئے۔ تیرہ دسمبر جمعہ کی رات کو جب طالبان نے حملہ کیا تو اس وقت لشکر میں سو کے قریب مسلح رضاکار رہ گئے تھے۔

ہمارے پاس ایک واکی ٹاکی تھا جس سے ہمیں طالبان کے آپس میں واکی ٹاکی پر ہونے والی بات چیت سنائی دیتی تھی۔ ہمیں پہلے سے معلوم تھا کہ طالبان ایک بڑے حملے کی تیاریوں میں مصروف ہیں۔ انہوں نے باجوڑ، وزیرستان اور کچھ ارود بولنے والے طالبان کو بھی مدد کے لیے بلایا لیا تھا۔

رات کا وقت تھا کہ دستی بموں، راکٹ لانچروں، میزائلوں، کلاشنکوفوں اور سنائپرز سے لیس تقریباً آٹھ سو کے قریب طالبان نے ابنِ یامین اور کمانڈر فاتح کی سربراہی میں گاؤں پرحملہ کردیا۔ وہ توپچی سے گولے بھی داغتے رہے۔ پوری رات ہمارے درمیان جھڑپ جاری رہی۔ اگلے دن بھی شدید فائرنگ کاتبادلہ ہوتا رہا لیکن اس دوران مقامی لشکر کے سبھی لوگ ہمیں چھوڑ کر چلے گئے۔ فوج بھی وعدے کے مطابق ہماری مدد کو نہیں پہنچی۔ صرف چار مرتبہ ہیلی کاپٹر آئے اور پہاڑیوں پر شیلنگ کی جس کا ہمیں کوئی فائدہ نہیں پہنچا اور نہ ہی طالبان پسپا ہوئے۔ پتہ نہیں فوج کی گولی طالبان کو کیوں نہیں لگتی۔ (اس وقت اکبر علی کے لبوں پر طنزیہ مسکراہٹ پھیل گئی)

آخر میں ہم صرف بارہ لوگ باقی رہ گئے تھے جو سبھی پیر صاحب کے رشتہ دار تھے۔ پیر صاحب میرے پھوپھی کے بیٹے ہیں۔ ہم نو افراد پیر صاحب کے ساتھ ان کے گھر میں مزاحمت کررہے تھے جبکہ باقی چار افراد مکان کی دوسری طرف لڑرہے تھے۔ جب طالبان مکان کے قریب آئے تو پیر صاحب نے صحن کے بیچ میں آ کر کلاشنکوف سے طالبان پر فائرنگ شروع کردی۔ میں ان کے قریب تھا کہ اس دوران سنائپر سے انہیں نشانہ بنایا گیا اور گولی ان کے گردن میں لگ گئی اور وہ گر پڑے۔

ہم نو افراد پیر صاحب کے ساتھ ان کے گھر میں مزاحمت کررہے تھے جبکہ باقی چار افراد مکان کی دوسری طرف لڑرہے تھے۔ جب طالبان مکان کے قریب آئے تو پیر صاحب نے صحن کے بیچ میں آ کر کلاشنکوف سے طالبان پر فائرنگ شروع کردی۔ میں ان کے قریب تھا کہ اس دوران سنائپر سے انہیں نشانہ بنایا گیا اور گولی ان کے گردن میں لگ گئی اور وہ گر پڑے۔

ہم نے ان کی تینوں بیویوں اور بچوں کو اندر جانے کو کہا لیکن اس وقت تک ہم طالبان کے گھیرے میں آچکے تھے۔ ہم نے فیصلہ کیا کہ پیر صاحب اور ان کے بال بچوں کو ہر حال میں یہاں سے نکالنا ہے۔ ہم نے اپنے چار ساتھیوں سے کہا کہ وہ زبردست فائرنگ شروع کردیں تاکہ طالبان کو یہ اندازہ ہوجائے کہ گھر میں مسلح لوگ بڑی تعداد میں موجود ہیں۔

جب انہوں نے فائرنگ شروع کی تو اس دوران ہم نے پیر صاحب اور ان کے گھر والوں کو نکال دیا۔ ہم انہیں زخمی حالت میں چار مڑ کے علاقے لے گئے تاکہ وہاں پر ایک ڈسپنسر ان کو ابتدائی طبی امداد فراہم کر دیں اور بعد میں ہم انہیں ضلع دیر لے جائیں گے۔

وہاں پہنچ کر ان کی مرہم پٹی کروائی لیکن بعد میں وہ زخموں کی تاب نہ لاکر چل بسے۔ جب تک وہ زندہ تھے انہوں نے صرف اتنا کہا کہ ’مجھے اپنی قوم اور حکومت نے دھوکہ دیا‘۔ اب ہمیں ان کے دفنانے کی فکر لاحق ہوئی۔ ہم نے ان کی میت اٹھائی اور منگل ڈاگ سے کوئی آٹھ کلومیٹر دور سولا تنڑ گاؤں میں اپنے رشتہ داروں کے پاس چلےگئے۔

دس گھنٹے کی پیدل مسافت کے بعد ہم ضلع دیر پہنچ گئے جہاں پر ہمیں پتہ چلا کہ طالبان کمانڈر نے سو لاتنڑ گاؤں جاکر پیر صاحب کی لاش کا پتہ لگایا ہے اور لاش نکال کر اپنے ساتھ لے گئے ہیں۔ پیر صاحب کی لاش طالبان نے اگلے ہی دن تحصیل مٹہ کے گوالیرئی کے بازار میں سرعام لٹکا دی۔ ہمیں ابھی تک یہ معلوم نہیں ہے کہ پیر صاحب کو کہاں دفنایا گیا ہے۔

رات کا وقت تھا۔ ہم نے ان کی نماز جنازہ پڑھی جس میں چند رشتہ داروں اور ان کے کئی مریدوں نے شرکت کی۔ بعد میں ہم نے انہیں اپنے رشتہ دار کے کھیت میں دفن کردیا۔ دفنانے کے بعد ہم نے قبر زمین کے ساتھ ہموار کردی تاکہ کسی کو اس پر قبر کا گمان نہ ہو۔

ہم چار ساتھی رات ہی کو وہاں سے پہاڑی راستوں کے ذریعے دیر روانہ ہوگئے۔ پہاڑوں پر چار فٹ برف پڑی ہوئی تھی۔ کھانے پینےکی کوئی چیز ہمارے ساتھ نہیں تھی۔ ہمیں جب پیاس لگی تو پانی پینے کا برتن بھی نہیں تھا تو ہم نے اپنے بوٹ نکال کراس میں پانی پیا۔

دس گھنٹے کی پیدل مسافت کے بعد ہم ضلع دیر پہنچ گئے جہاں پر ہمیں پتہ چلا کہ طالبان کمانڈر نے سو لاتنڑ گاؤں جاکر پیر صاحب کی لاش کا پتہ لگایا ہے اور لاش نکال کر اپنے ساتھ لے گئے ہیں۔ پیر صاحب کی لاش طالبان نے اگلے ہی دن تحصیل مٹہ کے گوالیرئی کے بازار میں سرعام لٹکا دی۔ طالبان نے لوگوں کے سامنے پیر صاحب کے دو اور ساتھیوں کے گلے کاٹ دیے اور ان کی لاشیں بھی لٹکادیں۔ دو گھنٹے تک لٹکانے کے بعد انکی لاشیں اتاردی گئیں اور پیر صاحب کو کسی نامعلوم مقام پر دفنادیا۔ ہمیں ابھی تک یہ معلوم نہیں ہے کہ پیر صاحب کو کہاں دفنایا گیا ہے۔

بعد میں طالبان نے میری اور میرے دوسرے ساتھیوں کی تلاش شروع کردی۔ انہوں نے میرے چھوٹے بھائی رحمت اللہ کو بھی اس لیے اغواء کرکے قتل کردیا کہ شاید ہم اب بھی حکومت کے ساتھ رابطے میں ہیں لیکن طالبان کو کیا پتہ کہ حکومت کو ہم یاد ہی نہیں ہیں۔ میں اس وقت بھی روپوشی کی زندگی گزار رہا ہوں۔

Read more...

Pakistan's "independent" judiciary fails to punish jihadi and sectarian killers

Fazlullah nearing his end?

One TV channel actually announced Saturday night that the Swat warlord Fazlullah had been captured in a wounded state from his Peochar stronghold in the area. But the official version is not far off the mark: he could be captured any time soon. Former FATA secretary Brigadier Mahmood Shah (retd) in his TV comment hoped that Fazlullah would be punished for what he has done and not be let off on bail, as has been done in the case Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid.

Why should someone as important as Mr Shah start fearing that Fazlullah will go free? Yet he is not alone in feeling that, despite our “independent” judiciary. Reports from Multan have been streaming in saying that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi killer Akram Lahori could be about to go free because witnesses against him keep on disappearing mysteriously. Judges are not exempt from threatening calls and, like the khassadars of Khyber, they could be more inclined to believe the terrorists rather than the state of Pakistan.

Briefing a Senate committee, FATA Additional Chief Secretary Habibullah Khan has said something that must upset a lot of people. He said: “There is evidence that the US, Israel and India are involved in nurturing the insurgency in FATA”. Like the evidence against India — which was never handed over to the Indians or shown in Pakistan — this evidence too has to be treated as “emotional” unless it is made public.

Why should America kill Baitullah Mehsud, thus breaking the back of the Taliban insurgency, and yet join India and Israel to conspire against the very country it wants not to succumb to terror? If America is following a strategy of dividing the Taliban in FATA then that should be differentiated from what the FATA officer thinks are acts against Pakistan. The Interior Ministry should seriously be worried about why people think that Pakistan will fail to punish its terrorists. (Daily Times)

Read more...

Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan arrested.

While Muslim Khan has been arrested, when will our security forces arrest the 'renowned' spokepersons of the Taliban namley 'Daktar' Shahid Masood, Javed Chaudhry, Irfan Siddiqi and Orya Maqbook Jan?

TTP spokesman Muslim Khan arrested

Friday, 11 Sep, 2009

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muslim Khan. — AP photo

PROVINCES

Polio vaccinations resume in Swat

VIDEO FEATURE

Terror tactics

PESHAWAR: Pakistan said Friday it arrested the current chief spokesman of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, formerly a commander and spokesman of the Swat Taliban, capturing the first most-wanted ring leaders behind a devastating two-year insurgency.

The northwest valley slipped out of government control after Mullah Fazlullah rose up in July 2007, commanding thousands of followers who beheaded opponents, burnt schools and fought to enforce Islamic law.

Pakistan launched a blistering offensive against the Taliban in the district after militants marched out of the former tourist district, advancing further south towards the capital Islamabad in April and now claims the area is clear.

The country posted a reward of 50 million rupees (more than 600,000 dollars) for Fazlullah and offered rewards for 15 of his top lieutenants, last May but Friday marked the first announcement of any arrests from the list.

‘Muslim Khan and Mahmood Khan with head money of 10 million rupees (120,482 US dollars) have been arrested by security forces in a successful operation in Swat,’ military spokesman Athar Abbas said in a statement.

Muslim Khan was second on the most-wanted list behind Fazlullah. He earned notoriety as the hardline Taliban spokesman in Swat but was largely impossible to reach after the military launched its summer ground and air assault.

Mahmood Khan was number four on the most-wanted list, described as commander of Kuza Banda in northern Swat and, like the spokesman, had a 10-million-rupee price on his head.

‘Along with them, three other terrorist leaders Fazle Ghaffar, Abdul Rehman and Sartaj have been also been apprehended,’ the military statement said. There was no known bounty money for the three.

Pakistan concentrated its military operation in Swat and neighbouring districts Buner and Lower Dir after Taliban gunmen advanced to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad last April in defiance of a peace deal.

The offensive forced 1.9 million civilians from their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis for impoverished Pakistan as they sheltered with relatives and crowded into refugee camps.

The United Nations said this week that 1.65 million Pakistanis have since returned home. The government has sponsored the displaced to return to areas commanders say are now safe.

But skirmishes continue, raising fears that the Taliban are regrouping in the mountains, a tactic militants adopted after previous offensives.

Fourteen police cadets were killed late August in a suicide attack in Mingora, the main town in Swat, which police blamed on Taliban militants.

Pakistan says more than 1,900 militants and over 167 security personnel were killed in the offensive but the tolls are impossible to verify independently.

طالبان ترجمان مسلم خان گرفتار

عبدالحئی کاکڑ

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، پشاور

مسلم خان کو کچھ عرصہ کے لیے تحریکِ طالبان پاکستان کا ترجمان بھی بنایا گیا تھا

پاکستانی فوج نے سوات میں طالبان کے ترجمان اور کمانڈر مسلم خان سمیت پانچ طالبان رہنماؤں کو گرفتار کرنے کا دعوٰی کیا ہے۔

پاکستان کے فوجی ترجمان میجر جنرل اطہر عباس نے بی بی سی اردو سے بات کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ان طالبان رہنماؤں کو گزشتہ ہفتے ایک کارروائی کے دوران گرفتار کیا گیا۔

کلِک

مسلم خان: پی پی پی سے طالبان تک

ان کے بقول گرفتار ہونے والوں میں طالبان ترجمان مسلم خان، کمانڈر محمود خان، شموزئی کے کمانڈر فضل غفار عرف مفتی بشیر، چہار باغ کے کمانڈر عبدالرحمن اور مٹہ کے کمانڈر شمشیر کے بھائی سرتاج شامل ہیں۔

فوجی ترجمان نے کہا کہ ان طالبان رہنماؤں کی گرفتاری کے بارے میں اس لیے زیادہ تفصیلات فراہم نہیں کی جا رہی ہیں کیونکہ ان کی نشاندہی پر علاقے میں حساس نوعیت کی مزید کاروائیاں بھی ہو رہی ہیں۔

ادھر پاکستان کے ایک انگریزی اخبار ’دی نیوز‘ نے ان طالبان رہنماؤں کی گرفتاری کے حوالے سے لکھا ہے کہ ان رہنماؤں کو مذاکرات کے دوران حراست میں لیا گیا ہے۔ سلمان نامی ایک شخص نے جو مسلم خان کی غیر حاضری میں خود کوسوات طالبان کا نیا ترجمان ظاہر کرتے ہیں، اخبار کو بتایا ہے امریکہ میں مقیم سوات کے باشندے کمال خان کی ضمانت پر طالبان فوجی حکام سے بات چیت کرنے پر راضی ہوئے تھے مگر اب ان کا طالبان کی پانچ رکنی مذاکرتی ٹیم سے کسی قسم کا کوئی رابطہ نہیں ہو رہا ہے۔

تاہم میجر جنرل اطہر عباس کا کہنا ہے کہ ’یہ بات بالکل غلط ہے۔ دہشت گردوں کیساتھ کسی قسم کے مذاکرات نہیں ہورہے ہیں۔ ان طالبان رہنماؤں کو ایک فوجی کاروائی کے دوران ہی گرفتار کیا گیا ہے‘۔ انہوں نے ان رہنماؤں کی گرفتاری کو طالبان کے لیے بڑا دھچکا قرار دیا۔

یاد رہے کہ حاجی مسلم خان گزشتہ تقریباً ڈھائی سال سے سوات طالبان کی ترجمانی کا فریضہ سر انجام دیتے رہے ہیں جبکہ محمود خان کو اس وقت شہرت ملی جب طالبان نے پچھلے سال سولہ فروری کو صوبہ سرحد کی حکومت کیساتھ امن معاہدہ کیا۔ محمود خان اس پورے عمل میں پیش پیش رہے تھے۔ حکومت نے ان دونوں کی سر کی قیمت ایک ایک کروڑ روپے مقرر کی تھی۔

سوات سے یہ اطلاعات بھی ملی ہیں کہ حاجی آباد کی علاقے میں فوج کی بڑے پیمانے پر نقل و حرکت نظر آئی ہے جہاں پر مقامی لوگوں کے مطابق گزشتہ روز طالبان ایک گروپ کی صورت میں نظر آئے تھے۔ غیر مصدقہ اطلاعات کے مطابق فوج کو طالبان کے اس گروپ میں کسی اہم طالب رہنماء کی موجود گی کا شک ہے

Read more...

Are Pakistani Taliban and jihadis agents of CIA, RAW etc?

Read more...

Zahid Hussain: From much sought after to ‘most wanted’

The faces of militant commanders for whose capture the government has announced millions of rupees seem all too familiar. Just three weeks before the start of the latest round of military operation in Swat I met most of them — not in their mountainous hideouts, but in the official residence of a top bureaucrat in Mingora, barely a few hundred metres from the army garrison.
Accompanied by dozens of well armed Taliban fighters, Muslim Khan, Sirajuddin, Mahmmod Khan and some others (who are said to be responsible for killings of hundreds of soldiers and civilians) were being hosted by the former commissioner of Malakand, Syed Mohammad Javed.
The only person conspicuous by his absence was Maulana Fazlullah, the man with a head money of Rs50 million. ‘He is in Kabal for some important work,’ I was told by one of his lieutenants.
It was April 12 and the commissioner had just returned from Buner where he had apparently brokered a truce between the Taliban threatening the district after the Swat peace deal and the local Lashkar who had long resisted the militant onslaught. It later transpired that the so-called peace accord virtually disarmed the Lashkar and handed over the control of Buner to Taliban.
There was little doubt that Mr Javed, who was known for close links with Sufi Mohammad, had drawn the accord to the advantage of the Taliban. But even he couldn’t have anticipated the consequences.
It seemed that the militant commanders had gathered at the Commissioner House that evening to celebrate the takeover of Buner after consolidating their hold on Swat on the back of the controversial peace accord.
Sitting in a corner of a large open veranda crammed with gun wielding Taliban fighters, I saw them arriving one by one with their armed escorts. There was Muslim Khan with his unruly grey beard, curly locks cascading down from his black turban, walking arrogantly past the police and paramilitary soldiers.
The man who now has a reward of Rs4 million on his head looked at home in the hospitable setting of the Commissioner House that night. I was taken aback to see top government officials standing there to receive the man who was responsible for ordering the execution of innocent civilians.
Earlier in the day when I went to interview him in Imam Dehri Madressah, he showed me a list of people whose execution orders were to be issued. Among them was a woman whose husband had allegedly served in the US army.
‘We are looking for her and she will soon come under the knife,’ the chief spokesman for the militants said smugly. Interestingly enough, Mr Khan himself had lived in the United States for many years before returning to Swat in 2002 to join Maulana Fazlullah’s ‘holy war’. It was bizarre to see him being entertained by government officials.
Sirajuddin, a former spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah who also has a bounty of Rs4 million for his capture, was huddled in a corner with some of his comrades. A thin framed man, he was appointed by Maulana Fazlullah to look after the rich emerald mines which the Taliban had seized after the February peace deal.
A former left-wing activist, he received his higher education in Kabul in 1980s during the communist rule in Afghanistan. He planned to join Lumumba University, but had to return home for reasons not known.
His transformation from a hard core socialist to a radical Muslim came in late 1990s when like many young men he fell under the spell of Maulana Fazlullah’s fiery sermons.
I met Sirajuddin for the first time in November 2007, just few weeks after the start of the first army operation in Swat. The area around Dehri was under militant control. Masked gunmen were entrenched in their bunkers just a few hundred metres from Saidu Sharif airport, where army troops had taken up positions. The sound of artillery shells landing was getting ominously closer. The meeting abruptly ended after a shell exploded outside the house where we were sitting. He looked triumphant when I met him again on the evening of April 12.
More shock was in store when later that evening I saw Faqir Mohammed walking in with a large entourage. Escorted by an Uzbek bodyguard he was whisked inside a large hall where a number of commanders squatted on a carpeted floor.
One of the top leaders of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Faqir Mohammed, has been spearheading the bloody war against Pakistani forces in Bajaur tribal region.
Because of his close links with al Qaeda, security agencies considered Faqir Mohammed more dangerous than Baitullah Mehsud. The presence of Pakistan’s most wanted militant leader at the Commissioner House that evening, when the fighting still raged in Bajaur, was intriguing, to say the least.
The widespread public cynicism about the action against militants was not without any basis. It is almost four weeks now since the army launched the new offensive against the militants in Swat and Buner, dislocating more than three million people and leaving around 100 soldiers killed.
The army now seems determined to eliminate Fazlullah and his commanders. ‘But will there be any accountability of those who were responsible for the return of Taliban in Malakand division. Could not the current devastation have been avoided if these wanted men were eliminated earlier instead of being patronised by the administration,’ wondered a Swat resident now forced to live with his family in Mardan.

(Daily Dawn)

Read more...

Farhat Taj: The army finally gets it right

It was retaliation par excellence. A convoy of the Pakistan army was ambushed by Taliban terrorists in the Kanjo area in Swat. The convoy had intended to go to Mangora to reinforce the army units there. Several soldiers died on the spot. The army responded with robust force and attacked the Taliban holding strategic positions on the heights containing Mangora emerald mines. From those heights the Taliban used to attack the Mangora circuit house, where the army was stationed. All the militants on the heights were killed and the state property, the emerald mines, was regained. Moreover, the army conducted successful attacks on other strongholds of the Taliban in Rahimabad and Takhtaband, and killed them there. "I am so pleased to see the forceful attacks. It is like avenging a slap in the face with a kick in the face," said a resident of Swat from Mangora. He also informed me that all the people in Swat were very happy with this retaliatory response of the army. "This is what we expect from the state army and this is how the army must deal with the Taliban beasts," he said further

Moreover, hundreds of Taliban terrorists have besieged the police station in Matta, a stronghold of the Taliban, for three days now. All roads leading to the police station have been mined by the militants so that the security forces could not reach the police station. Policemen and FC soldiers are within the police station. Entire Pakistan should be proud of them. They are resisting the militants, despite the fact that they are short of food, water and fuel. "The resistance of the besieged policemen and soldiers is very reassuring. Our prayers are with them. We love them. May God be with them," people of Swat who I contacted told me.

A wonderful achievement of the besieged policemen and FC soldiers is that they have killed Ibn-e-Aqel, the Taliban leader who was leading the siege of the police station. He was one of the cruelest Taliban leaders. He had mercilessly beheaded civilians, soldiers and policemen in Swat. He was the man who excavated the body of Pir Samiulla, the man who had led an armed resistance against the Taliban. Ibn-e-Aqel was the brother of Ibn-e-Amin, the top Taliban commander in Ber Swat area. Both the brothers have been strong opponents of Afzal Kahn Lala, a leader who stood up to the Taliban in his native village in Swat.

People of Swat say enough is enough. They have suffered enough atrocities. All those in Swat that I am in contact with told me they want the Pakistan army to eliminate the Taliban once and for all. For that purpose, they told me, they were ready to suffer as IDPs for some time. But the army operation must be swift, targeted and must kill the Taliban.

Indeed most Pakhtuns want the Pakistan army to annihilate the Taliban. The army would do itself a good if it crushed the Taliban. The Pakistan army has always had a high reputation in the eyes of the people of NWFP and FATA. This reputation is battered now. The army is seen as unable to eliminate the Taliban, or as ready to kill Pakhtun civilians but tacitly supporting the Taliban. Once Afzal Khan Lala, a veteran ANP politician, told me that he had clearly told Chief of Army Staff General Kayani that people in Swat believed that the army and the Taliban were one and the same. The same is the perception of people all over NWFP and FATA. Retaliations against the Taliban, like those in Swat in the last couple or so days, would improve the reputation of the army among the Pakhtuns.

But retaliations and reactions against the Taliban here and there in bits and pieces are just not enough. The army needs to deal with them all over Pakistan. The Taliban must be eliminated. They must be crushed for good. There are no moderate or good Taliban. There are no Taliban that can be engaged in dialogue. They all are mad beasts.

Look at the track record of the Taliban. They occupy a place. Unleash a reign of terror on the civilians there. Then they give it up and run away for life when faced with huge might. They did that in Kabul when the US bombed them and they will do so in Swat, Buner and Dir, where the army is conducting an operation against them. They will abandon the area and run away to FATA. They will wait in FATA for an appropriate time to reoccupy parts in NWFP.

The army need to be in a proactive mode. It must chase the Taliban in the tribal area and kill them in operations that are offensive not defensive. It must destroy the Taliban and Al Qaeda installations and training camps in FATA. The army must restore the sovereignty of Pakistan and retake the areas in FATA and NWFP that have long been occupied by the Taliban. The Pakistan army must free the Pakhtun citizens of Pakistan, who are forced to live under one of the most brutal occupations of our time.

Pakhtuns are loyal citizens of Pakistan. But they feel abandoned by the state to the Taliban. The Taliban, whether Pakhtun or non-Pakhtun, are the enemies of Pakhtun. The army must show that it stands with the Pakhtuns by eliminating the Taliban. The Taliban understand the language of violence only. The army must aggressively communicate with them in that language.

Moreover, there are Taliban and Al Qaeda hideouts and installations in other parts of Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and southern Punjab. They too have to be taken care of. The state must take control of all jehadi madrassas and must use force, if necessary. (The News, 9 May 2009)


The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo, and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy. Email: bergen34@yahoo.com

.....

Pakistan goes to war in Swat

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has declared war in Swat and he has all the important stakeholders on board. The peace deal — directly with Sufi Muhammad and indirectly with the Taliban — was sincerely followed by the government in the teeth of many dire predictions of conceding advantage to the Taliban under the guise of sharia embodied in the Nizam-e Adl. But even as Sufi Muhammad parleyed, his son-in-law and warlord Fazlullah violated the pledge of the “stand still” agreement, killed people, destroyed girls’ schools, maltreated women and generally intimidated a population that had returned from their earlier exodus by reposing trust in him.

The army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, says the army will fight till “decisive ascendancy” has been achieved in Swat. The army knows that it is backed by the entire nation. Earlier, when the parliament was briefed by the army on the expanding phenomenon of the Taliban, the reaction from the opposition was that it was “not Pakistan’s war” — and the general tenor of the joint resolution that emerged from it was for withdrawing troops and negotiating with the Taliban. When the NWFP government offered the Nizam-e Adl to Sufi Muhammad, the parliament endorsed its signature into law.

President Asif Zardari’s policy of getting the Nizam-e Adl clearly endorsed by parliament has turned out to be the right policy. The Taliban have offended all the parties that took part in this unanimous vote. The PMLN, which spent most part of 2008 garnering additional political support by positing military operations against the Taliban as “Pakistan fighting America’s war against its own people”, now has grounds for declaring that it “supports the government unconditionally in the greater national interest”. This support is crucial to the conduct of war in Swat. Together, the PPP and the PMLN have almost the entire voting population of Pakistan behind the war.

There is no doubt that there will be a period of attrition in this war. The Taliban of Swat are linked to the Taliban in adjoining territories and they have been preparing for this face-off because they never had any intention of abiding by the peace pledges of Nizam-e Adl. Foreign warriors and fighters external to Swat have always taken part in terrorism there, killing innocent people and spreading fear and intimidation among the common folk. According to ex-secretary FATA Brigadier Mehmood Shah, Uzbek warlord Tahir Yuldashev was only recently injured while engaging with the Pakistani security forces in the Swat region and was removed to South Waziristan for recovery.

Parliament remains the forum where the conduct of the war against the Taliban should continue to be discussed. An APC comprising elected and non-elected entities is not desirable because it will simply increase the complexities of the national consensus on the war. Many groupings may actually not like to be forced into expressing an opinion for or against the military operation. Some like the Jama’at-e Islami and Tehreek-e Insaf have articulated their opposition to it because they still think, wrongly, that it is not Pakistan’s war and that our army has gone out “to kill its own people”. The ANP, which increasingly speaks for the Pashtun majority in Pakistan located partly in Karachi, has decided to back the operation. This backing is in some ways more crucial than the support of all the nay-sayers in the unelected opposition.

A religious reaction against the Taliban has emerged in the rest of Pakistan. It is a good development provided it is not allowed to assume the shape of an anti-Taliban jihadi militia with unpredictable consequences for civil society in the future. The mosques in Punjab are sounding objections to the conduct of the Taliban and their local supporters, but this trend will die down unless the government also takes action against the old jihadis who have now joined the Al Qaeda-Taliban combine. Despite cases going on against them in connection with the Mumbai attacks, they are free to hold local agitprop public meetings and some have been reported as grabbing Barelvi mosques in South Punjab.

The army can do the job provided the civilian governments in the provinces take steps to prevent “revenge attacks” by the Taliban in their territories. Punjab is under a competent leadership which has already pledged to beef up the police to suppress the provincial reflex of dismissing terrorism as a “federal” problem. (Daily Times)

Read more...

President Zardari finally signs so-called Nizam-i-Adl Regulation & Swat officialy given to Talibans !

Daily Times' Editorial: Getting parliament to endorse Swat laws

President Asif Ali Zardari has sent the Nizam-e Adl Regulation to parliament for a vote of endorsement before he signs it into law for Swat and its traditionally linked jurisdictions. The ANP is understandably miffed because the February 16 “peace agreement” was signed between Sufi Mohammad of the Tehreek-e Nifaz-e Shariat-e Muhammadi (TNSM) and the government of the NWFP with the approval of the PPP-led federal government.

The President had only to sign the Regulation to turn it into law. Why has he sent it to the National Assembly?Although he has not spelt it out, he may not have wanted to take responsibility for perpetuating a system in Swat that clearly promises to be “subversive” in the eyes of many people.

Objections to the Regulation are coming both from inside and outside the country although the view inside Pakistan is split and subject to violent argument. On the other hand, the world seems certain that the “deal” will bring more trouble for Islamabad in the shape of curtailment of state sovereignty and encouragement to the Taliban.

Since Pakistan is poised to receive crucial financial assistance from multilateral institutions, the President may want to be seen riding on a national consensus rather than alone on the issue of the Regulation.

Opinion is so polarised in Pakistan that developments in Swat after the February 12 agreement can hardly be presented as ominous. Facts are being juxtaposed with blind faith in the saintly person of Sufi Muhammad to transform Swat into a cradle of peace.

The Taliban, after entering Buner for tabligh (spreading the faith), have killed a number of people supporting the local jirga and are using local mosques to recruit the youth of the district. Such is the effect of intimidation that it is the fresh “mujahideen” of a victimised Buner who will now ensure that the reign of warlord Fazlullah is perpetuated. Sharia will serve as their handmaiden rather than as the guiding light.

Questions are being asked that are difficult to answer. The News (April 13, 2009) had an op-ed piece stating: “Fazlullah, the leader of Swat Taliban, led the prayer at his home village, Mamdairi on Friday, April 3. He was warmly received by his followers, as well as military officials and officials of the district administration. Those who prayed behind him were key military and civil officers — including Brigadier Tahir Mubeen, Syed Javed Hussain, the commissioner of Malakand region, Khushal Khan, the DCO of Swat, Danishwar Khan, Swat’s DPO and the man in charge of Operation Rah-e-Haq. After the prayers, Fazlullah gave an emotional and threatening speech which was heard with zeal and respect by all, including the military and civil officials, like obedient subjects.”

The warlord son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad is not only swelling the ranks of his army, he is also putting together an economic base for his satrapy that will serve as the future backbone of the Taliban invasion of the NWFP. He has taken control of the Mingora emerald industry and will soon be in the international market selling precious stones. Two mines that were a source of income to the state, Shamozai and Gujaro Kalay, are being operated by him. Every Sunday, Mingora is the scene of auction of precious stones, and dealers from all over Pakistan throng the market to buy them.

In the eyes of many, the agreement with Sufi Muhammad is the treaty of the defeated. There are others who think that the PPP must stick to the commitment made earlier by it to sign the deal. The PPP on the other hand says the presidential signature was conditional to peace and that there is hardly any peace after Sufi Muhammad’s takeover in Swat. The ANP replies by asking another question: is there peace in Punjab and Balochistan? There is justifiable cynicism too in this because the Pakistan army, in the eyes of the ANP, is either unwilling to take on the Taliban or is incapable of doing so. If Peshawar is teetering on the brink, why should they worry about Swat and get selectively killed while Islamabad and GHQ watch the mayhem from the sidelines? *

Daily Dawn's Editorial: Simply endorsing the Nizam-i-Adl in a bid to bring peace to the Malakand Division may be too little and have come too late.

DID the federal government do the right thing by placing the Nizam-i-Adl regulation before parliament for debate? We believe it did.

With a matter as complex as Swat, there are inevitably many aspects to consider. Begin with the ANP. The party threatened to pull out of the federal government if President Zardari did not sign the Nizam-i-Adl regulation immediately. But this was not the kind of politics the country needed. Granted the constitution gives the president the authority to make “regulations for the peace and good government of a Provincially Administered Tribal Area”, and the Sharia deal was struck on the understanding that the president was on board. But what the ANP and TNSM agreed to implement in the Malakand Division is no ordinary change — it effectively cedes judicial control of a part of Pakistan to a band of militants who have been waging a savage war against the state.

Surely the correct approach politically was to bring parliament into the loop on such a dramatic change to the state’s writ. However, President Zardari must shoulder some of the blame for the mess. If the pact with the TNSM was unacceptable, then why did the president originally give his approval, tacit or otherwise? And if parliament was the right forum to debate the issue, then why wait for two months to do so?The fact is that both the ANP and the president painted themselves into corner over the Nizam-i-Adl.

The ANP perhaps calculated that in caving in to the militants’ demand in Swat, the party would at least be able to govern the rest of the province and consolidate support among the electorate. Having relied on the president for backing, the ANP found itself in an awkward position vis-à-vis the militants to whom they promised much. As for President Zardari, he tried to appease all sides — an impossible contortion act always destined to leave both allies and enemies fuming. The Nizam-i-Adl has been approved by parliament and promulgated by the president. But the debate in parliament was yet another missed opportunity.

The bigger point is that the politicians still need to reach a consensus on how to counter militancy. When force is used some segments in the political spectrum erupt in anger and indignation. When peace deals are pursued, other segments denounce them as appeasement. Yet, no one seems serious about devising a credible strategy to fight militancy. The time for platitudes has passed. If Swat and the Nizam-i-Adl were a test case, then the politicians have not done justice to finding that credible strategy. Already the militants have spread to Buner. Mardan and Swabi seem to be the next likely districts. Simply endorsing the Nizam-i-Adl in a bid to bring peace to the Malakand Division may be too little and have come too late.

’صدر کی بدنامی نیک نامی میں تبدیل‘
عبدالحئی

صوبہ سرحد کے ضلع سوات میں طالبان کا کہنا ہے کہ صدر آصف زرداری نے نطام عدل ریگولیشن پر دستخط کر کے ایک ایسا کام کیا جو ماضی میں علماء کی حکومت بھی نہ کرسکی۔
دوسری طرف کالعدم نفاذ شریعت محمدی نے پارلیمنٹ کی توثیق اور صدر آصف علی زرداری کی جانب سے مسودے پر دستخط کو خوش آئند قرار دیتے ہوئے سوات میں امن کیمپ دوبارہ لگانے کا عندیہ دیا ہے۔
طالبان کے ترجمان مسلم خان نے بی بی سی کو بتایا نظام عدل ریگولیشن پر صدر آصف علی زرداری کے دستخط پر مولانا فضل اللہ کی جانب سے جو پیغام جاری ہوا ہے اس میں انہوں نے اس اقدام کا خیر مقدم کیا ہے۔
ان کے بقول مولانا فضل اللہ نے کہا ہے کہ ’مسودے پر دستخط کرنے میں تاخیر سے زرداری نے جو ’بدنامی‘ سمیٹی تھی دستخط کرنے سے وہ ’نیک نامی‘ میں بدل گئی ہے‘۔
ماضی میں صوبہ سرحد میں مذہبی جماعتوں کے اتحاد متحدہ مجلس عمل کی حکومت کی جانب اشارہ کرتے ہوئے مولانا فضل اللہ کا کہنا تھا کہ صدر آصف علی زرداری نے وہ عظیم کارنامہ سرانجام دیا جو علماء بھی اپنے دورِ حکومت میں سرانجام نہ دے سکے۔ انہوں نے یقین دلایا کہ طالبان حکومت کے ساتھ ہر قسم کے تعاون کے لیے تیار ہیں۔

جب مسلم خان سے پوچھا گیا کہ نظام عدل ریگولیشن پر دستخط ہوجانے کے بعد کیا وہ اسلحہ رکھنے کے لیے تیار ہیں تو ان کا کہنا تھا ’ہمارے پاس تو روایتی اسلحہ ہے جو ہر پشتون کے گھر میں ہوتا ہے ہم تو الٹا یہ مطالبہ کرتے ہیں کہ حکومت ہمیں اسلحہ دے تاکہ ہم امریکہ کے ساتھ حساب برابر کردیں۔‘
دوسری طرف کالعدم نفاذ شریعت محمدی کے سربراہ مولانا صوفی محمد نے پارلیمنٹ کی توثیق اور مسودے پر دستخط کو خوش آئند قرار دیتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ وہ سوات میں امن کیمپ کے دوبارہ قیام کے بارے میں سوچ رہے ہیں۔
مولانا صوفی محمد کے صاحبزادے ضیاء اللہ نے بی بی سی کو بتایا کہ نظام عدل ریگولیشن پر دستخط کرنے پر وہ آصف علی زرداری کے شکرگزار ہیں۔ ان کے مطابق انہوں نے سوات میں امن کیمپ اس لیے ختم کردیا تھا کیونکہ وہ سمجھ رہے تھے کہ مرکزی حکومت عملی اقدامات نہیں اٹھا رہی ہے لیکن اب اس عملی اقدام کے بعد وہ سوات میں دوبارہ امن کیمپ لگانے پر غور کررہے ہیں۔
انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ صوبائی حکومت اور ان کی تنظیم مل کر اب دارلقضاء کے لیے قاضیوں کی تعیناتی پر بات چیت کرے گی جو تین علماء پر مشتمل اپیلیٹ بنچ ہوگا۔ نظام عدل ریگولیشن میں ہائی کورٹ کو دارلقضاء اور سپریم کورٹ کو دارال دارلقضاء کہا جائے گا جو صرف ملاکنڈ ڈویژن اور ضلع کوہستان میں کیسوں کی سماعت کرے گا۔
صدر آصف زرداری نے قومی اسمبلی سے قرارداد کی منظوری کے بعد شرعی نظامِ عدل ریگولیشن پر پیر کی شب دستخط کردیے تھے۔

Source: Daily Dawn, Daily Times, BBC Urdu, & Daily Express

Read more...

Farhat Taj: Life in Swat after the peace deal

On Feb 16 a peace agreement was signed between Sufi Mohammad, leader of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) and the government of the NWFP with complete blessing of the PPP-led federal government.

Sufi Mohammad reached Swat with a promise to convince his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, and his fighters to surrender weapons for the sake of peace.

Two months after the peace deal, how is life in Swat? What is happening to people? Is the peace deal working?

‘The peace deal is not working and will fall sooner than later,’ veteran ANP politician Afzal Khan Lala tells me. He is the only politician who is still standing up to the barbaric Taliban in Swat despite several death threats and the demands of his old age — the rest of the ANP leadership has fled the area.During a telephone conversation, he elaborated: 'The peace deal has been made by non-Swatis. People of Swat have not been taken into confidence on the deal. Also, I was never consulted by the ANP government in making of the peace deal.’

Day-to-day happenings in Swat clearly indicate that the apprehensions of Afzal Khan Lala are not misplaced and the peace deal has been strengthening the writ of the Taliban over Swat's 5,337-square-kilometre area. The Taliban have made the 1.7 million people of Swat hostage, and the people continue to suffer. The government in Swat seems helpless and paralysed. I will elaborate it with some examples.

Fazlullah, the leader of Swat Taliban, led the prayer at his home village, Mamdirai on Friday, April 3. He was warmly received by his followers, as well as military officials and officials of the district administration. Those who prayed behind him were key military and civil officers—including Brigadier Tahir Mubeen, Syed Javed Hussain, the commissioner of Malakand region, Khushhal Khan, the DCO of Swat, Danishwar Khan, Swat's DPO and the man in charge of Operation Rah-e-Haq. After the prayers Fazlullah gave an emotional and threatening speech which was heard with zeal and respect by all, including the military and civil officials, like obedient subjects. How funny is it that key state functionaries are praying behind the terrorist who killed soldiers of the Pakistani army, NWFP police officers and civilians of the Valley.

During the telephone conversation with this writer Afzal Khan Lala said: ‘There cannot be two swords in one sheathe. There cannot be two kings of one land. In Swat one king is Fazlullah and the other the government.’ The conduct of the state functionaries in Swat showed who the real king of Swat is. The people of Swat owe an explanation from the Pakistani army and the government of the NWFP. Would the army care to explain why its commander in Swat was offering namaz behind the terrorists who killed soldiers of the army and policemen? Would the ANP government care to explain why its senior-level government servants pray behind a terrorist who killed civilians in the very constituency that elected the ANP to power? It is also pertinent to mention that police in Swat have registered at least 60 cases related to suicide bombings, kidnappings, attacks on civilians, police and armed forces and damage to public and private property against Fazlullah.

Taliban have created their own income-generation sources in Swat. They have taken over the possession of the famous Mingora emerald mines. Mingora city is the district headquarters and a busy commercial centre of the valley. The Shamozai emeraled mine, some 25 kilometres from Mingora and now the Gujaro Killay emerald mine in the adjacent district of Shangla are also under the control of the Swat Taliban. Mining is in progress in these mines and precious stones are auctioned in the premises of the Mingora mine every Sunday, where the dealers from all over Pakistan come for shopping. Federal and provincial governments have kept silent over this looting and plunder of State properties.

The Taliban are in league with the timber mafia. They are mercilessly cutting the forests of Malamjaba, Fatehpur, Miandam and Lalko. They also cut the fruit orchards of the landlord opponent to them. The fruit orchards in Barabandi, on the main road and near to army check post, have been cut down in broad daylight. Barabandi is some six kilometres from Mingora.

The Taliban have plundered the Training Institute for Hotel Management (Paitahm), a joint venture of Pakistan and Austria, and the Malam Jaba tourist resort. The Taliban have carried away its furniture, Computers and electric appliances, even its doors, windows and ventilators. They have established a warehouse in Barabandai where all these things are auctioned. The Taliban call it mal-e-ghanimat (war booty). This is another of the income-generation sources of the Taliban.

The Taliban militancy is spreading towards the lower part of Malakand. The Taliban have banned women from markets and bazaars in Batkhela and Thana towns in Malaknd. Thana's Mina Bazaar, a famous market popular with women, has been razed to the ground.

There are several new training camps in Swat where the Taliban train teenage boys for militancy. The boys belong to the schools that have been destroyed by the Taliban. Lack of occupation and the jihadi preaching of the Taliban turn Swat's young men to jihad. Their schools are destroyed.

The Taliban have banned TV and music and playing of cricket. The young men have no activity and the Taliban constantly invite them to jihad. Hundreds of boys have joined the training camps, most of them without the permission of their parents. According to the Taliban's version of jihad, parents' permission is not needed at all. The helpless parents have nobody to ask for help in order to stop their children from joining the Taliban. The Taliban threatens parents who stop their children from joining the so-called jihad.

Some months down the road Pakistani right-wingers and so-called liberal leftists obsessed with anti-Americanism will say that the Taliban are popular in Swat and the proof is that their ranks have grown. But today no one is paying attention to the plight of the helpless parents who earnestly wish to stop their children joining the ranks of the Taliban but have no one in the entire Pakistan to help them.

The Swat Taliban sent 350 fighters to strengthen the Dir Taliban. People in Dir have made a local people's army against the Taliban. To combat the local people's army the Dir Taliban sent an SOS call to the Swat Taliban, who sent armed Taliban to Dir to slaughter the people of Dir.

More than a hundred Taliban crossed from Swat into the adjacent district of Bunair on April 5. Arms clashes have been reported between the militants and the armed lashkar. The army has vacated many check posts on the demand of the militants in Swat. The Taliban are not allowing the army to enter the areas that they were occupying.

Commenting on this situation Afzal Khan Lala said: ‘The army will meet tough resistance and will suffer a great deal when retaking the area because the Taliban have strengthened their positions in Swat.’

The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo, and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy.

Email: bergen34@yahoo.com

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=172210

Read more...

Taliban in Swat: Crippled and blind

Crippled and blind

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 The media should have been reporting – and celebrating – the eradication of polio from Pakistan years ago. We were almost polio-free as recently as three years ago, whereas today this dreadful and entirely preventable disease is spreading fast. It has just got a major boost in its bid to blight the lives of our children courtesy of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which on Sunday ordered all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to immediately leave the Swat valley, including those agencies working on polio eradication. The TTP spokesman Muslim Khan said, “They come and tell us how to make lavatories in mosques and houses. I’m sure we can do it ourselves. There is no need for foreigners to tell us this.” When asked why the TTP was against polio vaccination, Khan said, “The TTP is against polio vaccination because it causes infertility” – thereby reiterating the old and entirely-without-foundation myth in the Muslim world that polio vaccination is some sort of vast western conspiracy to emasculate and impoverish Muslim nations. He concluded by saying that he was against any operation run by NGOs and that the polio vaccine was imported and therefore could not be trusted. Membership of the comity of nations brings with it certain responsibilities. If we consider a nation as an individual, and that individual has a nasty communicable disease, we would not associate with them and would not appreciate attempts by our neighbour to infect us. This is precisely what happened in Nigeria in 2004. The Muslim northern states of Nigeria refused to participate in polio eradication programmes for the same reason that Muslim Khan is refusing to allow EPI teams into Swat. A rapid and catastrophic consequence was that polio quickly broke out, herd immunity in Nigeria was lost and neighbouring states were quickly infected. Benin, Burkina-Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, all polio free, were placed at risk and then quickly infected. They ‘caught’ polio from Nigeria because parts of that country refused to get themselves vaccinated. It took years and millions of dollars to bring the outbreak under control again. We now run the risk of doing precisely the same as Nigeria did to its neighbours. A viral reservoir will be quickly built up in Swat; herd immunity is probably already lost, and given the mobility of populations in that area the almost inevitable result is that the virus will find a ready means of travelling across borders, both national and provincial. The blindness of the likes of Muslim Khan is going to needlessly cripple the lives of many.

Read more...

Talat Masood: Revisiting the Swat deal with the Taliban

Revisiting the Swat deal

Monday, March 23, 2009 Talat Masood The Swat peace agreement, signed between the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM) and the ANP-led government of the NWFP, seems to be running in serious difficulties. Broadly, the agreement aims at imposing Sharia law in Swat and Malakand division. Regrettably, the agreement was signed from a position of weakness. The army was hesitant to undertake another major counter-insurgency operation in Swat, when two earlier ones had failed to dislodge the militants from their hideouts. Moreover, the ANP having given a commitment that it would seek a negotiated settlement, and the army not in favour of a military operation, preferred a negotiated settlement. The government and militant leader Sufi Mohammed offer different interpretations to the agreement, and differences have surfaced on the question of the formation of the courts. Sufi Mohammed, who refuses to accept the present panel of judges for presiding over Qazi courts, has announced the formation of Qazi courts, appointed his nominees as Qazis and is establishing appellate courts. In reality, the Taliban are aiming to transform the entire legal and administrative system and are not prepared to integrate the Sharia in the existing judicial and bureaucratic structure. The TNSM in all probability will apply a harsher code of conduct. During the Wali’s times the ruler was in full control of the state and it was his appointed courts that were functioning. And the state’s administration was the implementing authority. Mullah Fazalullah is now calling the shots and the state has buckled in. The Taliban of Swat have tasted power and will not be content with the adoption of Sharia. Mullah Fazalullah and his father-in-law of Sufi Mohammed practically rule Swat. The civil administration cannot go against their wishes and even the army at places has to move with their concurrence. No NGO’s are allowed to function without their approval. The close linkage between Mullah Fazalullah and Baithullah Mehsud is another source of serious concern. Lack of clarity in policy formulation, poor coordination and weak resolve on the part of the provincial and federal governments and ambivalent attitude of the army in fighting counter-insurgency operations has emboldened the Taliban. It is evident that the army that has proven itself in conventional wars has been less than effective while fighting insurgents in FATA and Swat. This phenomenon is not peculiar to Pakistan. Great Britain had won World War 1 with its allies but was forced to negotiate a treaty with IRA leaders. The clamour for Sharia and the support of Sufi Mohammad and Mullah Fazalullah is essentially a demand for justice and good governance that the people have been denied. The fairness and quick implementation of justice was the key to its acceptability. Whether the same standard of fairness and quick disposal of justice prevalent in the 1960’s will be maintained by the newly appointed Sharia courts is questionable. People are also deeply worried about their personal security. Many people in Swat have been compelled to provide at least one member of the family to the TNSM. In the current circumstances, when the government’s writ is virtually absent, ordinary people consider associating with Taliban a means of providing security to themselves and their families. In this way they associate with the system where maximum power resides. If the Sharia demand increases in the entire NWFP and is ultimately adopted then there would be two legal systems in Pakistan. Sharia operating in the west and the Pakistan penal code in the east! It is possible that in future militant groups in Punjab may make similar demands in their area of influence. On the other hand, if the government is able to use the peace deal to get a foothold in Swat and establish its writ by placing a strong administrative structure that can provide a reasonable level of governance then it could be justified. But the converse seems to be happening. Mullah Fazalullah by putting Sufi Mohammed in front has very cleverly outsmarted both the ANP government and the military and consolidated the Taliban position. The growing demands of Sufi Mohammed on the government are a clear indication of their motives. (The News) The writer is a retired lieutenant-general. Email: talat@comsats.net.pk

Read more...

Sufi Muhammad's judicial system in Swat: Is it really Islamic?

Daily Express, 22 March 2009

..

Ill-judged

Saturday, March 21, 2009

We have never seen the detail of the agreement made between the government of NWFP and the TNSM, if indeed any such detail exists. For all the world knows it is nothing more than a sequence of sketched-out generalities and 'understandings' that can be interpreted flexibly by any of the parties to the agreement. The last week has begun to reveal the position of the TNSM in a number of areas, most especially relating to the Qazi courts. All the indications are that the TNSM now has sufficient leverage to dictate terms to the government at least in matters of the law. They are now, both literally and metaphorically 'the law of the land'. Lawyers and judges have been told that they are surplus to requirements and that they should leave Swat immediately. They have been told that their safety cannot be guaranteed either in the courts where they are no longer welcome or in their own homes. We would draw your attention to a report of 4th February 2009 of an announcement made by an illegal FM radio station in Swat that said that all lawyers and judges, being part of an 'infidel judicial system', would be killed if they did not quit their profession. Unsurprisingly, the Swat Bar Association president quickly confirmed that the lives of 300 of his co-professionals were under threat and he was trying to contact the extremists in an attempt to assure them that the lawyers were ready to work under an Islamic judicial regime. You can be killed for making a career-choice of lawyering? Killed because you are a judge properly qualified and appointed? Is this the only possible solution to the problem of how Swat transitions from one judicial system to another…the killing of all those who represent the ancien régime? The death of any who may disagree with the new dispensation in Swat seems to be their preferred option, which if nothing else should ensure full employment for gravediggers in the foreseeable future. Any attempt to attend their offices by judges and lawyers would be seen as a violation of the peace agreement, said Sufi Mohammed speaking on March 16 ; and he went on to say that Qazi courts would now be established in Lower and Upper Dir districts, Buner, Malakand Agency, Shangla, Kohistan and Chitral districts of North West Frontier Province. His statement seems to imply that the writ of the Taliban now runs much further than the confines of the Swat valley, extending even to the so-far peaceful Chitral, which has managed to avoid the extremes that have plagued other parts of NWFP. Is there some agreement between the TNSM and the government, provincial or federal, to the effect that Qazi courts are to be extended as indicated by Sufi Mohammed? If there is it has not been publicized and one wonders whether the administrations of Lower and Upper Dir districts, Buner, Malakand Agency, Shangla, Kohistan and Chitral districts have been notified of the changes that are apparently imminent. There is a miserable irony that in the same week the people of Pakistan came out on the streets in their tens of thousands to support a secular movement, the lawyers' movement that was made up of men and women of differing faiths and denominational adherence; that nobody has come out on the streets to protest at the gutting and filleting of Swat. Such is the power of those who now rule Swat that they can project that power strategically into other areas and there is little, seemingly, that can stop them. Whatever agreement has been made with the TNSM we need to see its detail, chapter and verse, and we need to see it now. Justice has been ill-served by an ill-judged arrangement expediently made.

(The News)

...

Nazir Naji, Jang, 22 March 2009

Read more...