Stop, Go and condemn the US$
Once again Pakistan takes the US$ and condemns the USA, even when it strikes 'militants' who kill hundreds, thousands of its citizens, including a number of ISI staff and security forces:
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Yesterday, after the US launched a drone strike in South Waziristan that reportedly killed a Haqqani Newtork commander known as Abdullah Haqqani and an al Qaeda leader, the spokeswoman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.
The Pakistani government even denounced a US strike that killed Hakeemullah Mehsud, the previous leader of the al Qaeda-linked Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis.
Stop, Go, Flatten and Be Puzzled
One of the rare reports from North Waziristan, yes by a Pakistani reporter and one must assume either embedded or hosted by the Pakistani Army, It opens with:
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Once described as the “epicentre of terrorism”, Miramshah is now reduced to mere rubble. The long row of hotels that had sprung up over the last few years and had been used by foreign militants as rest and relaxation centres have been blown up by air strikes and heavy artillery fire.
It ends in part with:
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But unfortunately, it is a forgotten war for our political leadership. As one officer lamented: “It is painful to pick up every day the bodies of our fellow soldiers and young officers often blown into pieces by IEDs, but it is more agonising to hear some politicians sympathising with the killers.”
Link:http://www.dawn.com/news/1145359
Karachi: 20m people, 15k police and one dead every day
A short BBC report on policing in Pakistan's biggest city, based on a World Service programme. A very thin "blue line" and as for the courts, incredible:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30115827
Starts with:
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Pakistan's police are on the front line battling the Taliban. Not just in the remote north of the country, near the border with Afghanistan, but in Karachi, the country's economic and cultural heart.
He is open about the use of what he calls "arm twisting". He admits waterboarding is sometimes used, and I spot a taser gun in his hand although I do not witness him using it...
It can often take 10 years or more for a case to go through the courts.
Nothing startling if you know about policing there, but a good illustration of how Pakistan works, plus comments from a suspected Taliban member.
Peshawar school massacre: will it change anything?
It is the ever most terrible and grieved event taking place in Peshawar, Pakistan that resulted in the loss of 143 lives and 150 injured. Among the deaths included more than 130 School Children, belonging to upper class families in Peshawar (PAK Army officers, Government officials and famous Political leaders), two young female School Teachers, a Professor of mathematics and the School Principal were martyred. The Tehrik Taliban Pakistan based in FATA (which is a lawless area in Pakistan), claimed the responsibility for this event.
Terrorism Background: Geographically and politically, Pakistan is placed in a region of great tension influenced by both the immediate neighbors and global powers and is playing a key role in matters of global security. However, many crimes are faced as a result of careless management of refugees and illegal immigrants (including more than 7 millions from Afghanistan, Iran, Burma, Bangladesh and India) and the internally displaced people from the lawless regions in Pakistan.
The internal terrorism is on rise since the October 2001 that made number of productive activities meant for socio-economic development, uncompetitive both in the domestic and international markets resulting in employment and businesses insecurity. The total number of Pakistani killed in crimes and terrorism in the last decade is around 60,000 and more than 200,000 injured; more than 1.50 millions affected; critical facilities and infrastructures destroyed; many people have been disappeared. All these have terrorized and traumatized every other individual, resulting in increase in unemployment and poverty, inclination of people towards unfair means and crimes, harmful effects on developing community programmes, brain drain to foreign countries.
Description of the Incident: This particular event on Tuesday 16 December 2014 is carried out at the Army Public School Peshawar by a group of about eight terrorists (of age 25 to 30 years) dressed in the Frontier Corps uniform (a paramilitary in the KP Province), warring suicide jackets and carrying very large ammunition of latest technology. These terrorists entered the school from the graveyard at the backside at around 11 AM, killing three security guards, talking to each other in Pashto and Arabic. The school at that time was full of around two thousands students. The terrorists first entered the auditorium that was full of students (particularly of 8th and 10th class) busy in taking examinations. The terrorists started indiscriminate firing towards the students. Since the terrorists entered from the backside, some of the students run outside ground to escape. However, the terrorists stormed the ground, killing all the students, some of the students escaped being injured while few uninjured and went out of the school gate. The terrorists entered then the examination hall, where the 11th class students were busy in taking examination, and started indiscriminate firing – killing and injuring all (in the hall, those who run outside ground) where only few escaped unharmed and went out of the school gate. The terrorists when stormed the ground floor of the school, entered each and every classroom and laboratory (on the ground and the first floor) and killed everyone found – few of the students and staff fortunately escaped the deaths. The terrorists conducted the operation very promptly and rushed to escape. However, the Pakistan Army (quick response force) arrived soon, starting the counter-attack, and exchanged fire with the terrorists. The terrorists injured in the fire exchange blowed up themselves, resulting also in the deaths of more school children. The counter attacks by PAK Army were continued till evening - all the terrorists were targeted by PAK Army forces from outside the school through windows, ventilators whereas quick response forces that entered the school killed three of the terrorists.
Event Relevance: The ISPR (military media) reported that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in his interview to the media stated that the terrorists were carrying large amount of weapons and foodstuff sufficient for some days. The COAS mentioned that the PAK Army has identified the terrorists, the group to which they belong to and the place from where this operation was controlled. The Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Khalid Khurasani contacted the media through telephone that this operation was carried out in response to the Zarb-e-Azab operation that has been launched by PAK Army in June 2014 in the Northern Waziristan near Afghan border. Early morning the TTP Leader (Amir) Fazl Ullah telephoned one of the TV Channels Bureau Chief that in a few while He (Fazl Ullah) is attacking a school in Peshawar. The Bureau Chief reported that He (Fazl Ullah) ordered the terrorists to particularly target the children those belonging to the families of Pakistan Armed Forces and government high officials. The COAS went to Kabul, Afghanistan today (early morning) to demand the Afghanistan Government to handover TTP Leader Fazl Ullah. Since, He (Fazl Ullah) has warned of launching further attacks.
Event Impacts: The Prime Minister and other high-level political leaders arrived in Peshawar yesterday on the request of the PM. The PM in his address at the Peshawar KP Assembly said that this coward acts cannot diminish our will to eliminate terrorism. The PM mentioned that such acts of cowardice will not deter our resolve against terrorism and said that the Zarb-e-Azb operation will continue till the extermination of the last terrorist. The PM also ordered the KP Government to hang-till-death all those prisoners, which have been involved in various past terrorism activities and have been found guilty. The execution will be started within the next 48 Hrs.; it is to discourage the terrorism practices in the country.
Peshawar school massacre: will it change anything
The Tehreek-e-Taliban's (TTP) murderous attack on an Army Public School @ Peshawar, is being widely reported - with 132 children and 9 staff killed. For details:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30507836
SWC has followed events in Pakistan for a long time now, sometimes angry, often frustrated and frequently puzzled at the actions of an 'ally'. I suspect some will say nothing will change, so embedded is tolerance of some non-state violent actors within the Pakistani state.
In my reading I found these commentaries useful. First Zoha Waseem, a Pakistani @ KIngs War Studies:http://strifeblog.org/2014/12/16/ove...shawar-attack/
It includes the TTP explanation for the attack:
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Our suicide bombers have entered the school. They have instructions not to harm the children, but to target the army personnel. We targeted the school because the army targets our families. We want them to feel out pain. It’s a revenge attack for the army offensive in North Waziristan.
Shashank Joshi, of RUSI, provides the wider, public context based on Pew's opinion polling earlier this year:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...CC=3009934309&
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....8% of surveyed Pakistanis held a favourable view of the TTP. This is a small proportion, and belies the notion of widespread popularity. Nonetheless, on a crude extrapolation, it would amount to a staggering 14 million Pakistanis. Although a much larger slice of the population holds negative views of the Taliban (59%), this disapproval rate has fallen steadily from a high of 70% in 2009....
Finally Imran Awan, a British academic, calmly points aout the difference between Islam and terror:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/imra...?utm_hp_ref=tw
Personally I cannot see the stance of the whole Pakistani state changing, it may change the attitude of the Army to being far harder. The Pakistani public simply see India as the threat, regardless of how many Pakistanis die.
Mutual antipathy hampers Pakistan control of militants
The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones comments:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30520596
Shashank Joshi has an article in the FT (behind a registration wall) and this paragraph, which alas illustrates all too well the problem in Pakistan:
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When
General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military dictator, argued on Wednesday that India should be held responsible for the previous day’s massacre, he was only echoing a wave of similar delusion on social media. From there, it is a short step to the view that the solution is more LeT, more Haqqanis and more Afghan Taliban — whatever the price to innocent civilians.
Link:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9fc7bb30-8...#axzz3MIFBDs9R
Twitter reports that the death warrants for six Pakistani convicted terrorists have been signed by the Army Chief of Staff; they were convicted in military courts and security is being increaded @ Karachi Jail, where they are held - prior to execution.
Pakistani air strike on TTP No.1 in Afghanistan
On Twitter based on a Pakistan MoD Tweet:
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TTP commander Fazal Ullah was killed in an airstrike carried out by PAF jets inside Afghanistan......The SSG operators have now responded with the visual confirmation of the dead body of TTP commander Fazal Ullah.