Page 1 of 9 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 521

Thread: Pakistani internal security (catch all)

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    3,099

    Default Pakistani internal security (catch all)

    Moderator's Note

    Today a parallel thread 'Operations in Pakistan’s Frontier / Tribal Areas' was merged into this thread, it has become increasingly difficult to separate posts and the title has been amended (ends).


    ICG, 29 Mar 07: Pakistan: Karachi's Madrasas and Violent Extremism
    ...Karachi’s madrasas, which have trained and dispatched jihadi fighters to Afghanistan and Indian-administered Kashmir, offer a valuable case study of government failures and consequences for internal stability and regional and international security. In 2006, the city was rocked by high-profile acts of political violence. In three separate attacks, suicide bombers killed a U.S. diplomat, assassinated the head of the most prominent Shia political group and wiped out the entire leadership of a Sunni militant group locked in a struggle for control over mosques with its Sunni rivals.

    Not all madrasas in the city are active centres of jihadi militancy but even those without direct links to violence promote an ideology that provides religious justification for such attacks. Exploiting Karachi’s rapid, unplanned and unregulated urbanisation and its masses of young, disaffected and impoverished citizens, the madrasa sector has grown at an explosive rate over the past two decades. Given the government’s half-hearted reform efforts, these unregulated madrasas contribute to Karachi’s climate of lawlessness in numerous ways – from illegal land encroachment and criminality to violent clashes between rival militant groups and use of the pulpit to spread calls for sectarian and jihadi violence.

    The Pakistan government has yet to take any of the overdue and necessary steps to control religious extremism in Karachi and the rest of the country....
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 04-29-2013 at 09:07 PM. Reason: Add note

  2. #2
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    1,007

    Default NPS thesis "Pakistan's madrassas - weapons of mass instruction?"


  3. #3
    Groundskeeping Dept. SWCAdmin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    DC area pogue.
    Posts
    1,841

  4. #4
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    3,099

    Default

    Asia Policy, Jul 07: Militant Recruitment in Pakistan: A New Look at the Militancy-Madrasah Connection
    • With respect to intelligence collection and analysis, asking whether or not madaris produce militants is the wrong question. Querying the educational and other characteristics of key tanzeem (militant group) operatives, while keeping in mind the impacts of group efforts to select for desired skills and capabilities, will inform counterterrorism efforts more effectively.

    • A number of implications are pertinent to U.S. policy toward Pakistan and the threat posed by Pakistan-based terrorism to U.S. interests:

    - The U.S. can act unilaterally against known militant madaris only at great cost to other objectives (e.g., Musharraf ’s safety); Pakistan will cooperate in this regard only with varying degrees of commitment, limited capability, and diminished respect for rule of law and human rights.

    - Pakistan’s entire education system requires comprehensive reform; such reform may be beyond Pakistan’s capability and there may be only limited scope for the United States to help. Increased participation by multinational organizations and demand for accountability by all partners are required to complete this daunting task. The costs of failure are too high to countenance.

    - Because efforts to restrict the supply of terrorism have rapidly diminishing margins of return, interventions to reduce demand for terrorism are needed.

    - Madaris merit continual observation as they may contribute both to the demand for terrorism and to the limited supply of militants. For the same reasons, Pakistan’s public school sector deserves much more attention than it currently enjoys.

  5. #5
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,188

    Default Pakistan Launches Operation Against Radicals in Mosque

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19577341/

    "Shooting erupts at radical mosque in Pakistan
    At least nine killed, including 2 police officers, soldier, officials say
    ~
    The students later pelted two government buildings, including the Ministry of Environment, with rocks and set them ablaze, and torched a dozen cars in the ministry's lot.
    ~
    The battle marked a major escalation in a six-month standoff at the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, whose clerics have challenged the military-led government by mounting a vigilante anti-vice campaign in Islamabad.
    ~

    Hundreds of police and paramilitary Rangers have taken up position near the mosque in recent days in what officials have said is an effort to contain their activities.
    President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said last week that he was ready to raid the mosque, but warned that suicide bombers from a militant group linked to al-Qaida had slipped into the mosque and that the media would blame any bloodbath on the government. "

  6. #6
    Small Wars Journal SWJED's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Largo, Florida
    Posts
    3,989

    Default Pakistan Launches Operation Against Radicals in Mosque

    6 July Washington Post - Pakistan Launches Operation Against Radicals in Mosque by Griff Witte.

    Pakistani security forces launched a major operation Thursday against radical students holed up in an Islamabad mosque, seeking to end a months-long standoff that has turned bloody in recent days.

    Fighting raged in the darkness and continued early Friday, with the pops and cracks of small-arms fire echoing through the silence of a residential neighborhood. Just after 3 a.m., there was a major explosion, followed by an intense round of shooting that lasted nearly half an hour.

    The government had earlier been hoping to pressure the students to leave the mosque peacefully, but those negotiations appeared to have broken down.

    It was not immediately clear how many people had been killed in the clash, but leaders of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque have said they are prepared to fight to the death. The government, meanwhile, vowed Thursday to settle for nothing less than surrender...

  7. #7
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,188

    Default

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19627493/

    "Pakistan official: Musharraf’s plane fired on
    Intelligence officer contradicts government denials of attack"

    Another piece reports explosions at the Red Mosque

  8. #8
    Small Wars Journal SWJED's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Largo, Florida
    Posts
    3,989

    Default Musharraf’s Plane Fired Upon as Mosque Standoff Continues

    7 July NY Times - Musharraf’s Plane Fired Upon as Mosque Standoff Continues by Salmond Masood and Carlotta Gall.

    A burst of gunfire went off as President Pervez Musharraf’s plane took off Friday morning from an airfield in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, near the capital, as the government’s siege of a militant mosque entered its fourth day.

    Security officials said they recovered two antiaircraft guns and one submachine gun with a telescopic sight from the rooftop of a house barely a mile from the airport where the shooting had apparently taken place.

    It was not immediately clear if there was a link between the shooting and the siege at the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, complex in the heart of the capital, where the leader of the rebellion vowed to fight to the death...
    7 July Washington Post - Fear Grows Of Hostage Situation at Red Mosque by Griff Witte.

    Security forces ringing a besieged mosque pummeled Islamic radicals with gunfire on Friday, as concern grew that many of those still inside -- including children -- were being held against their will.

    Although more than 1,200 people have fled the mosque since the siege began Tuesday, authorities estimated that several hundred remain within. Only a few dozen are suspected to be hard-core radicals; others appear to want to leave but have been prevented from doing so...

  9. #9
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    3,099

    Default

    Received via e-mail this morning:
    Pakistani Special Forces launched a major operation against those holed up in Lal Mosque this morning at 0400 local using their most advanced military systems, including US Predator Drones and helicopters. Fierce fighting is reported inside the buildings within the compound. Military reports state that at least 40 security forces personnel and over 70 Lal Mosque students have been killed in the operation which is still ongoing. It was also reported that the operation is expected to be complete within a matter of hours.

    Monday night the government revoked the relaxation of the curfew re-enforcing the curfew for an indefinite period in Sector G-6. G-6 has been completely sealed off by the security forces and all hospitals are reportedly under their control. The media have also been strictly forbidden to enter into the area.

    The security situation in Islamabad remains extremely tense and a minimum presence observed in most all business centers. Roads leading to the city have been blocked by the military but routes leaving the city, including the main route to the airport remain open with stringent checking of vehicles at military checkpoints.

  10. #10
    Former Member George L. Singleton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South of Mason Dixon Line
    Posts
    497

    Default Pak Taliban Leader Batulla Massud KIA

    Reports are circulating as of Aug. 6 that Pakistan's chief Taliban Leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in Waziristan, was killed in a missile strike of about two days ago; (added to illustrate) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...d-is-dead.html

    Separeately on Aug. 6 the elders of the Massud tribe visited the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and met with the Deputy Speaker of the lower house and with some Pakistani national senators...one senator from Waziristan accompanied the visiting Massud tribe elders.

    Amazingly, the Massud tribe is seeking a truce and cessation of attacks on them by the Pakistani military; this is the sort of clap trap "on again off again" attempts which only allows the Taliban to regroup and rearm.

    I posted on SWJ yesterday, Aug. 5 an article supporting the fact that other Massud tribe folks have fled into Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan, and three options for discussion of what these Massud folks could actually be up to. (Added original link: http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/sh...7544#post77544)

    Am wondering if others are unable or unwilling due to current events to discuss these current events topics?
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-07-2009 at 09:15 AM. Reason: Tidy up spelling, leader's name and add links.

  11. #11
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Drone success?

    It will be interesting to see if confirmation comes for Baitullah Mehsud's death, although I am not confident it will; e.g. Rashid Rauf's death was never confirmed.

    Secondly, how will Pakistanis regard the drone attack? Previously discussed on: http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=6801

    I wonder how the Pakistani state / military are explaining this, after all he is primarily their enemy.

    davidbfpo
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-07-2009 at 10:10 AM. Reason: Add link

  12. #12
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default He's dead

    The BBC citing local people is reporting his death: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8188859.stm Note Pakistanis are seeking confirmation on the ground, even DNA; plus a successor is being chosen.

    There are five US media reports on: http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=8036

    davidbfpo
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-07-2009 at 12:09 PM.

  13. #13
    Former Member George L. Singleton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South of Mason Dixon Line
    Posts
    497

    Default New york times confirms mehsud's death

    Breaking News Alert
    The New York Times
    Friday, August 7, 2009 -- 7:20 AM ET
    -----

    Taliban Leader in Pakistan Is Dead, His Aides Say

    Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's fearsome Taliban
    militia, was killed Wednesday in a C.I.A. missile strike, two
    Taliban fighters said on Friday, adding that a meeting was
    taking place to determine who among his top deputies would
    replace him.

    Read More:
    http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

  14. #14
    Former Member George L. Singleton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South of Mason Dixon Line
    Posts
    497

    Default Understand ex-Pak tank officer is politically a leftist as author of 2nd article here

    I hope these GLOBAL HUJRA articles on the Khyberwatch inks help explain some of what is happening in Pakistan. I have included the biography of the leftist author of second article as it gives his background.

    http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7415

    http://www.chowk.com/writers/2100

    http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7417
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-07-2009 at 03:57 PM. Reason: Tidied up and moved to a new thread. PM to author.

  15. #15
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default He's not dead, this a Western ploy

    So say militants in the FATA, according to the BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8191105.stm

    So we await a tape recording arriving and being broadcast. By denying his death the Pakistan Taliban have set themselves a dilemma; a reminder how communications now have impacted.

    davidbfpo

  16. #16
    Council Member Bob's World's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    2,706

    Default

    Senior leaders tend to take themselves too seriously...and thereby ascribe the same self-importance to the leadership of their opponents.

    Querry: How deep into the leadership chain at the Pentagon would you have to cut in order to have a negative effect on US military operations?
    1 deep?
    10?
    100?
    1000?

    Query two:
    As you are chopping away at the top of the pyramid with no measureable affect on performance of the organization; what affect are your actions having on the motivation of the organization and its populace base of support to continue the fight???


    The real question isn't if he is dead or not; the real question is what is the relative effect of conducting such operations in the first place.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-08-2009 at 02:25 PM.
    Robert C. Jones
    Intellectus Supra Scientia
    (Understanding is more important than Knowledge)

    "The modern COIN mindset is when one arrogantly goes to some foreign land and attempts to make those who live there a lesser version of one's self. The FID mindset is when one humbly goes to some foreign land and seeks first to understand, and then to help in some small way for those who live there to be the best version of their own self." Colonel Robert C. Jones, US Army Special Forces (Retired)

  17. #17
    Former Member George L. Singleton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South of Mason Dixon Line
    Posts
    497

    Default Both Hakeemullah Mehsud and Walur Rehman, his chief rival, killed in shura shootout

    http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...n+fight--bi-08

    Today, Saturday, August 8, both Hakeemullah Mehsud the younger brother of just killed two days ago Pakistan Taliban leader Batulah Mehsud and Hakeemullah's chief rival to replace Batulah Mehsud, Walur Rehman from another clan of the total Mehsud conglomeration of clans were killed in a hot argument and shoot out during a secret (now public, obviously) shura in Sara Rogha in S. Waziristan.

    This leaves for the moment 50-year-old Azmatullah Mehsud as the next most likely Taliban to become leader of all Taliban in Pakistan...but Mullah Ohmar's grizzly gang could and may interfere now to place or pick another new leader of the Taliban for and in Pakistan.

    See above DAWN Sunday Aug. 9 story for details. I suggest you believe the fact that all these guys are now dead in such a short period of time. The Mehsud clan allegedly does not support the use of suicide bombers, purportedly believing the use of suicide bombers is heretical to Islam.
    Last edited by George L. Singleton; 08-09-2009 at 03:58 AM. Reason: Correct spelling of names

  18. #18
    Former Member George L. Singleton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South of Mason Dixon Line
    Posts
    497

    Default DAWN story again confirms top 2 Pak Taliban leaders dead

    For anyone reading this on SWJ, in posts on the deaths of these three murdering thugs, Islamist Taliban, I identified the two now dead Meshuds as brothers, and the third dead Taliban leader, Rehman, as their cousin.

    In fact all three are of the Meshud tribe but may or may not be the type of kinship I presumed from reading a Pakistan NEWS initial bulletin(s) on them during the weekend.

    Will be glad to be openly corrected by anyone who can factually correct my statements of kinship, which solely comes from reading the English daily Pakistan NEWS stories about them.

    Thanks,
    George Singleton

    http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...-turkistan-089

    http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=23778

    Hakeemullah and Wali both dead: Turkistan

    Monday, 10 Aug, 2009 | 07:25 AM PST ISLAMABAD: Baitullah Mehsud had been killed along with 40 militants in a drone strike last week and was buried in his house, says a commander of the rival group.

    Haji Turkistan Bhittani, a commander of the Abdullah Mehsud group, told various TV channels on Sunday that Qari Hussain, mastermind of several suicide attacks, was seriously injured in the attack.

    He said that Mufti Waliur Rehman and Hakeemullah Mehsud, the two leading contenders for the top slot, were also killed along with several aides when fighting erupted at a shura meeting held to choose new chief of the Taliban.—APP
    Last edited by George L. Singleton; 08-10-2009 at 02:32 PM.

  19. #19
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default After Mehsud The rest of the Pakistani Taliban won't be such easy targets

    A very comprehensive review of how we got here and what might be next, Hat tip to Abu Muqawama: http://www.slate.com/id/2224668/

    Now the hard part begins. Since the CIA has demonstrated its ability to pinpoint "high-level targets," it will want to go after other top Taliban leaders in Pakistan, such as Maulvi Nazir in South Waziristan and Jalaluddin Haqqani in North Waziristan. But Pakistan's military and security establishment perceives both men, who focus their fighting in Afghanistan and not in Pakistan, as national security assets more than threats. And there's no magic drone strike to fix that.
    davidbfpo

  20. #20
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    97

    Default

    Mehsud killed while getting 'leg massage'
    AFP
    8/10/09

    WASHINGTON — US officials stuck to their belief that Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed last week, amid reports a CIA drone fired missiles at him as he was getting a leg massage on the roof of his father-in-law's house.

    A US counterterrorism official told AFP on Monday "there are strong indications (Mehsud) is dead" following a missile attack launched from unmanned aircraft.

    "No one is expecting him home for dinner tonight," the official said.
    (snip)

Similar Threads

  1. Diplomatic security after terrorists kill US Ambassador in Benghazi, Libya
    By Peter Dow in forum Government Agencies & Officials
    Replies: 48
    Last Post: 01-19-2014, 07:11 PM
  2. US Internal Security Redux
    By Jack_Gander in forum Global Issues & Threats
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 12-19-2011, 03:41 AM
  3. UK National Security Strategy
    By Red Rat in forum Europe
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-18-2010, 09:47 PM
  4. Toward Sustainable Security in Iraq and the Endgame
    By Rob Thornton in forum US Policy, Interest, and Endgame
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 06-30-2008, 12:24 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •