Swat: Taliban hit-list and two-finger sign

If international humiliation and domestic depression is what the Taliban wanted, they have found the device with which to do it in Swat. They have released a list of 43 people whom they have declared “wanted” and liable to punishment under the Taliban sharia. People on the list include former and current members of the national and provincial assemblies, district and local nazims, officials of political parties, local elders and other influential residents of the troubled valley.

And what is the Taliban sharia all about? Warlord Fazlullah says those on the list will face some sort of sharia court but he also says in the same breath that the “enemies” would “be arrested or killed by his men”. He promises that they would face the court only if they escape getting killed. The death sentence has already been passed and his men will most probably try to do the rough justice with their own hands. In his mind, Mr Fazlullah is content that the sharia court is there to back him up but only if he wants the court to do the job. There can be no doubt that he will make it clear to the court what kind of verdict he wants for his “enemies”.

This is not sharia. This is a clear stratagem of war. It becomes clear when he announces amnesty for those of his “enemies” who have stopped opposing him. This he has done without reference to the sharia courts he presumably has functioning in Swat. The charade is lost on no one except those who forgive the atrocities of these people because in their minds these have come about only because the army has not been withdrawn from Swat as per the “unanimous” resolution of the Pakistani Parliament. Publicists opposed to the government continue to bring up witnesses from the Swat region who complain only of the “atrocities” committed by the army through collateral damage.

One can make an easy prediction. The ANP claim that “good news” will come from Swat “in fifteen days” will have to be swallowed without a glass of water like the earlier papers signed with the warlord. The hit-list is in fact his answer to the ANP’s “good news”. The scene in Swat is depressing and it is all the more so because it is a warlord’s two-finger sign in the face of our mighty army. Swat is the war that Pakistan will have to fight if it wants to survive. All other “threats” are political red herrings. (Daily Times)

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No easy solution

THE news from Swat and Muridke is the latest evidence that militancy and terrorism are a hydra that defies an easy solution. Begin with Swat. Both the armed forces and the militants are changing tactics as fighting escalates. At the moment, the militants are in the ascendant and pressing ahead with the enforcement of their version of the Sharia. The Tehrik-i-Taliban have now demanded that some 50 prominent local political figures appear before a ‘court’ to answer what will presumably be ‘charges’ of ‘opposing’ Islam, i.e. the Swati Taliban. The charade is of course little more than a thinly veiled death threat. Given the disastrous security situation in the area, the Pakistan Army claims it has developed a “new strategy” to fight the militants which involves beefing up the troops in Swat and going after militants hiding among the locals and using them as human shields. Meanwhile, in Muridke the Punjab government has taken over the Jamaatud Dawa’s headquarters and appointed an administrator to oversee the welfare operations run by the group, including schools and hospitals.

Muridke, with its pro-poor face, and Swat, with its uninhibited, brutal militants, represent the two ends of the militancy spectrum in Pakistan. The tactics for uprooting the Jamaatud Dawa/Lashkar-i-Taiba in Punjab and the TTP in Swat must therefore necessarily be different. However, there are at least two commonalities between the two very different battles.

First, no military or law enforcement action will be successful without full political support. In Swat, the TTP has successfully cowed the politicians and across the political divide there are voices questioning whether the state should use force to reassert its writ. While there can be no purely military solution to militancy, the politicians must not be bullied into appeasement. Today the TTP has a hit list of prominent Swatis; what’s to stop them from issuing another list of politicians from Peshawar or the NWFP or even Islamabad? In fact, appeasing the TTP in Swat today virtually guarantees the militants will spread their tentacles further afield in Pakistan. The same goes for the Jamaatud Dawa. If the provincial and federal governments do not work together to ensure the group is shut down for good, in all likelihood it will re-emerge later in a new form, and perhaps with an even more virulent ideology. Second, a winning counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism strategy has to focus on the welfare of local populations. The Jamaatud Dawa’s welfare network must be absorbed by the state and its beneficiaries continue to get the services. Similarly, in Swat the terrorised locals must be looked after and shielded from attack. Militancy will only be defeated when the population sees the state as a protector and ally, and not as part of the problem. (Dawn)
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Swat: The Taliban hit list: Taliban commander summons dignitaries in its ‘court’

The taliban hit-list

1 – Ex-federal minister Afzal Khan (ANP)
2 – NWFP Minister Ayub Ashari (ANP)
3 – Tahir Ashari, brother of Ayub Ashari
4 – MPA Dr Haidar Ali (ANP)
5 – MPA Shamsher Ali (ANP)
6 – NWFP Minister Wajid Ali (ANP)
7 – MNA Muzaffarul Mulk (ANP)
8 – MPA Sher Shah Khan (ANP)
9 – MPA Waqar Khan (ANP)
10 – MPA Jafar Shah (ANP)
11 – Amir Muqam (PML-Q)
12 – Swat Nazim Jamal Nasir
13 – Shujaat Khan, Swat nazim’s father
14 – Sher Shah Khan (PPP-Sherpao)
15 – Ex-MPA Irfanullah (MMA)
16 – Khurshid Khan (ANP)
17 – Shaor UC Nazim Muhammad Sher
18 – Bakht Jamal from Gwalerai
19 – Zafar Ali from Shakardarra
20 – Gul Jan Bacha from Kooza Bandai
21 – Sher Afzal Khan, a local leader
22 – Faridullah Khan, a local influential
23 – Khan Muhammad
24 – Adalat Khan
25 – Haroonur Rashid from Kooza Bandai
26 – Jamshed Khan, son of Haroon
27 – Nisar Khan of Ring Mohalla
28 – Khan Nawar (ANP)
29 – Colonel (r) Munir, a local influential
30 – Khurshid, a local elder
31 – Afsarul Mulk, a local influential
32 – Malak Ahmad Khan from Kabal
33 – Taimoor Khan, a local influential
34 – Saifullah Khan from Manja
35 – Ahmad Khan from Manja
36 – Ilyas, also from Manja
37 – Said Badshah from Manja
38 – Wahid Zaman
39 – Sor Sharifai from Kabal
40 – Bashbanr Nazim Jamshed
41 – Abdul Qahar from Khwazakhela
42 – Khuda Bakhsh from Kabal
43 – Bacha Rehman from Kabal

Source: http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\26\story_26-1-2009_pg1_2

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Pak Taliban commander summons dignitaries in its ‘court’
25 Jan 2009, PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Taliban commander Maulana Fazullah has directed over 50 dignitaries, including provincial and federal lawmakers,(most of them belonging to PPP, PPP-Sherpao, ANP, PML-Q and some from JUI-F; interestingly none from Jamaat Islami, PML-N and Tehreek-e-Insaf; read the BBC article linked below) of the troubled Swat valley to appear in his "court" with their families within a week.

A list of the 50 dignitaries, including the local mayor, elders of Swat and members of the North West Frontier Province assembly and National Assembly, was circulated in the valley on Sunday, TV channels reported.

Fazlullah, a radical cleric who heads Taliban fighters in the Swat valley located 160 km from Islamabad, directed the dignitaries and elders to present themselves in his "court" with their families within a week.

Their absence from his court would lead to operations being conducted against them, Fazlullah warned.

Some of the persons summoned by Fazlullah have already left Swat due to security reasons.

Most parts of Swat, once a popular tourist resort, are now controlled by the Taliban, who have banned girls' education in the area and directed men to wear skull caps and stop shaving their beards.

A former mujahideen was recently gunned down by the Taliban for not hiking up his salwar over his ankles.

The Taliban have bombed and torched nearly 200 girls' schools in Swat and targeted shops selling CDs and DVDs.

Local militants man check posts in most towns and villages in the valley and Shariah or Islamic courts set up by the Taliban dispense their own brand of justice.

Taliban commanders also regularly announce edicts during their nightly broadcasts from illegal FM stations.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Swat since the army launched an offensive against the Taliban in October 2007. Despite several claims from the military that it had cleared the valley of militants, the Taliban are in control of most major towns and villages in Swat.(The Times of India)

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Article on BBC Urdu dot com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2009/01/090125_swat_taleban_list_nj.shtml


For a complete (hit) list of the persons summoned by the Taliban shariat court, you may wish to consult Rabia's blog: Grand Trunk Road. It may be useful to check if your name is or is not in 'the list'. .....



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Taliban Hit List: Who are Taliban's enemies and friends in Pakistan?

Taliban Hit List: A Where's Waldo? Pakistani Style

An interesting hit list has emerged from the Taliban in Pakistan. From Syed Saleem Shahzad in the Asia Times, see if you can guess who is missing from the list.

The initial skirmishes have already started in NWFP, where members and political allies of the ruling Pashtun sub-nationalist Awami National Party have been targeted. Four top leaders have already been killed and many homes have been gutted. Scores of anti-Taliban political workers have fled from the Swat Valley and other areas.

Taliban sources have confirmed to Asia Times Online that high-level targets are also planned, including army chief Kiani, the leader of the lead party in the ruling coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party’s Asif Zardari and Rehman Malik, the powerful advisor to the Ministry of Interior. Zardari has vacated his private Islamabad residence in favor of the prime minister’s house and he has also curtailed his public appearances.

On Wednesday, shots were fired at Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s motorcade, his spokesman said. The attack took place on the road to the airport in Islamabad. Gilani was not believed to be in the motorcade.
The Bajaur operation, which was intended to eliminate key figures in the “war on terror”, could end in leading figures in Pakistan being killed.

Why, whoever can the missing figure be? Here is a hint from Pakistan's Daily Times:

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Nawaz Sharif met Osama three times: former ISI official

Daily Times Monitor (23 June 2005)

LAHORE: Khalid Khawaja, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official who was dismissed from the service by the late Gen Ziaul Haq because of his outspoken nature, has said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif met Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden thrice in Saudi Arabia.

In an interview to Asia Times Online on Wednesday, he said, “After Gen Zia’s death in a plane crash (1988), elections were announced and there was a possibility that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led by Benazir Bhutto would win, which would be a great setback for the cause of the Afghan jihad against the USSR. The situation was discussed and all the mujahideen thought that they should play a role in blocking the PPP from winning the elections. I joined my former DG Hamid Gul and played a role in forming the then Islamic Democratic Alliance consisting of the Pakistan Muslim League and the Jamaat-e-Islami. The PPP won the elections by a thin margin and faced a strong opposition.”

Asian Times Online quoted Khalid as saying that Osama provided him with funds, which he handed over to Nawaz Sharif, then the chief minister of Punjab (and later premier), to dislodge Benazir Bhutto.

“Nawaz Sharif insisted that I arrange a direct meeting with the Osama, which I did in Saudi Arabia. Nawaz met thrice with Osama in Saudi Arabia. The most historic was the meeting in the Green Palace Hotel in Medina between Nawaz Sharif, Osama and myself. Osama asked Nawaz to devote himself to “jihad in Kashmir”. Nawaz immediately said, ‘I love jihad.’ Osama smiled, and then stood up from his chair and went to a nearby pillar and said, ‘Yes, you may love jihad, but your love for jihad is this much.’ He then pointed to a small portion of the pillar. ‘Your love for children is this much,’ he said, pointing to a larger portion of the pillar. ‘And your love for your parents is this much,’ he continued, pointing towards the largest portion. ‘I agree that you love jihad, but this love is the smallest in proportion to your other affections in life.’”

It quoted Khalid as saying these sorts of arguments were beyond Nawaz Sharif’s comprehension and he kept asking him ‘agreed or not’?

“Nawaz Sharif was looking for a Rs 500 million grant from Osama. Though Osama gave a comparatively smaller amount, the landmark thing he secured for Nawaz Sharif was a meeting with the (Saudi) royal family, which gave Nawaz Sharif a lot of political support, and it remained till he was dislodged (as premier) by Gen Pervez Musharraf (in a coup in 1999). Saudi Arabia arranged for his release and his safe exit to Saudi Arabia,” he told Asia Times online.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-6-2005_pg7_34

http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/09/taliban-hit-list-a-wheres-wald/
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