Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - Jan 04, 2014

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Mar 2014 12:22

Dilbu wrote:Then will Red Mullah or whoever is doing this get their 72 very soon? The whole TTP operation is now at a stage where they can't afford to have such distractions. 1 soosai bomber out of the 500 should take care of this. That is if at all they are able to identify the responsible group.

Dilbu, why should Red Mullah get his 72 ? After all, he is acting in concert with the rest of the TTP. It is said in the Book that the enemy must not only be defeated but thoroughly humiliated, disheartened so that he loses the will to fight. Deceit is a genuine act of war. These are the tactics that the TTP is carrying out, IMHO.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 06 Mar 2014 13:48

SS saar, my point is that if this is certainly a rogue group planning to upset TTP's plans then we should see some action from their side. All they have done so far is issue a statement saying it not our responsibility to investigate who are behind the terror acts in Pakistan. So your conclusion seems to be the only logical answer.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 06 Mar 2014 13:51

Pak govt negotiator to meet Taliban shura in Waziristan

A member of the Pakistan government's negotiating team will soon travel to Waziristan along with the Taliban nominated committee to meet the banned group's 'shura' as part of the second phase of the peace dialogue.

The committee members from both sides today met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over breakfast and discussed the modalities for carrying forward the crucial second phase of dialogue between the government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to end the decade-long insurgency.

sudhan · Post by **sudhan** » 06 Mar 2014 16:44

Too many actors in this peace talks tamasha! Why are the TFTAs quiet and not mouthing their take on this issue? If this TSP negotiator gets his 72 on his way to (or back from ) Waziristan, then probably we know what the TFTAs want..

sum · Post by **sum** » 06 Mar 2014 17:28

Trust TSP to always have some Khujli:

Kashmiri students accused of sedition welcome in Pakistan

Please take in some of our other esteemed TSP lovers like "glow when in Pak" K.Nayyar, Mahesh Bhatt etc

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 06 Mar 2014 17:44

SSridhar wrote:India-Pakistan-Iran Pipeline Remains Most Viable Option - Sandeep Dikshit, The Hindu

Bullcr@p. IPI can and will never be viable. Only some lobbies such as pro-Pakistan or dumb peacenik or those who want to keep Indian energy security compromised keep speaking about this option. We have already wasted over a decade.

Despite the Foreign Office emphasising that India was looking for an undersea route to source gas from Iran, bypassing Pakistan in the process, reliable sources {who are these 'vested interests' and what is the basis of their reasoning?} here maintained that the India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) “Peace Pipeline” still remained on the drawing board and was the most viable option.

Following talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid last week, official sources suggested that one important subject, which was also discussed with the Oman Foreign Minister the same day, was the revival of an undersea pipeline project. Official sources suggested that this pipeline, which would bypass Pakistan, was now technically feasible after the success of the North Sea undersea pipeline.

If Iran was looking at the cheapest way to get gas to customers, it would prefer European customers. But what Iran had in mind was providing spillover benefits of the surface pipeline to the region it passes through, especially the Makran Plateau common to both Pakistan and Iran and where poverty has fuelled subversive tendencies.

And, the sources suggested that the future of the IPI pipeline was entwined with the Chah-bahar port as Iran was keen to ensure that this town and the surrounding region of Sistan-Baluchistan Province also gained from the availability of gas. The benefits will cross the border as development of industry due to availability of energy would give more employment opportunities to Pakistani youth. Interestingly, this is India’s approach too. Its officials began two days of talks with their Pakistani counterparts here on Wednesday on exporting electricity.

Just 72 km from the Pakistani port of Gwadar being built with Chinese help, the first phase of developing the Chah-bahar port is nearly over. The Union Cabinet has already earmarked $100 millions for the development of the port in anticipation of Iran agreeing to involve India in developing the port as well as utilising a north-bound route that enters into Afghanistan and Central Asia.

After the latest conversation between the Iranian and Indian Foreign Ministers, official sources said Tehran will get back before Nauroz holidays (Persian New Year) with answers to queries raised. But the next government will have to work on several other fronts before Iran agrees to give India access to a port that faces the open sea unlike the bigger Iranian port of Bandar Abbas which is in the Persian Gulf.
Peregrine ji, your thoughts please.

SSridhar Ji :

Land Pipe Line - Oil or Natural Gas from Iran or Turkmenistan or wherever - though Pakistan is a Humungous Pile of Bovine Faecal Droppings!

You and I have been aware and support the Oman-India Gas Pipe Line - which can have spurs from Qatar, Iran etc - since the Early Part of this Century which was feasible then as per the INTEC report.

The statement Official sources suggested that this pipeline, which would bypass Pakistan, was now technically feasible after the success of the North Sea undersea pipeline. is not entirely true as the INTEC Pipe Line was feasible by the Late 1990s and only M S Aiyer - the Beef Eating Secular Brahmin (apologies to the Dwij Uttam) - and ILK have been the cause of the Deep Sea Pipe Line being kept hidden somewhere in the Deep Dungeons of GOI.

We have had the Episodes of Terrorism, MFN Status and every other type of relationship with Pakistan - all of which have ended in grief for India.

As such the Deep Sea Pipeline - earlier it was a 24 in Line - would now be of 36" or even 48" Size and as such may work out cheaper as double the Diameter would deliver possibly Four Times the Volume.

The situation today is that if the Indian Entrepreneurs decide to go for it then the cost i.e. "Couple of Billions of US Dollars" will not be the deterrent. It is only the Anti-Indian Element in the Congress and their ILK that wants to keep the Nations Strategic Energy Assets under the Thumb of Pakistan and its Four Fathers.

I shall now stop my rant!

Cheers

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 06 Mar 2014 17:44

Probably should be posted on the internal security threats thread also....

Pakistan’s mysterious love for Indian anti-corruption crusaders

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Mar 2014 17:54

sudhan wrote:Too many actors in this peace talks tamasha! Why are the TFTAs quiet and not mouthing their take on this issue? If this TSP negotiator gets his 72 on his way to (or back from ) Waziristan, then probably we know what the TFTAs want..

I agree with you. This government negotiator does not have bright chances of returning live from his trip. He may excuse himself in the last minute.
BTW, the TFTAs are part of the next 'peace committee'.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 07 Mar 2014 02:01

Some more info. about Pakistan's F-16s:
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htproc ... 40305.aspx

sudhan · Post by **sudhan** » 07 Mar 2014 02:24

We stopped the terrorists from killing the judge! (By killing him ourselves)

I am guessing the bodyguard went all Mumtaz Qadri on the Judge's musharraf..

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 07 Mar 2014 04:10

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 07 Mar 2014 07:38

sum wrote:Trust TSP to always have some Khujli:

Kashmiri students accused of sedition welcome in Pakistan

Please take in some of our other esteemed TSP lovers like "glow when in Pak" K.Nayyar, Mahesh Bhatt etc

They won't go because Pakistan is Fixed deposit (FD) and India is savings account. They have both by living in India.

arun · Post by **arun** » 07 Mar 2014 07:55

sudhan wrote:We stopped the terrorists from killing the judge! (By killing him ourselves)

I am guessing the bodyguard went all Mumtaz Qadri on the Judge's musharraf..

The Judge was apparently hit by three bullets fired in panic from his bodyguards Pistol.

Is accidental fire a plausible explanation for getting hit with three bullets fired by a Pistol

:

Islamabad attack: Nisar says judge accidentally killed by guard's fire

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 07 Mar 2014 08:04

Guard probably saw his chance to qadrify the judge and took it.

partha · Post by **partha** » 07 Mar 2014 08:10

What's funny is the way they are saying it - "Hey guys, it was not Taliban that killed the judge, just the guard. It is not all bad in Pakistan."

partha · Post by **partha** » 07 Mar 2014 08:22

shiv wrote:
sum wrote:Trust TSP to always have some Khujli:

Kashmiri students accused of sedition welcome in Pakistan

Please take in some of our other esteemed TSP lovers like "glow when in Pak" K.Nayyar, Mahesh Bhatt etc
They won't go because Pakistan is Fixed deposit (FD) and India is savings account. They have both by living in India.

+1. In this sense, they are similar to RAPEs. Both want a stake in India's soft power while maintaining their exclusive Islamic zones where kufrs aren't allowed. RAPEs want to be like KMs. Get all the benefits of being Indian citizens yet act as if they are separate to keep out kufrs. This is why they are pushing for "liberal visa" regime. Of all the CBMs, this is the worst. I can even live with giving them free electricity but not visas. A strict NO as far as visa is concerned.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Mar 2014 09:24

Paki Naam Karega Roshan .RedMullah Pyara Pyara

Militant camp in Iraq named after Lal Masjid’s Abdul Rasheed Ghaazi

KARACHI: An Iraq-based militant group named the Ansar al-Islam has released a video of its new training camp, which is named after the Lal Masjid’s Abdul Rasheed Ghazi. They have also apparently named a subdivision of their group after the Lal Masjid’s controversial cleric. Rasheed Ghazi was killed in 2007 when an operation was conducted against the armed militants holed up inside the Lal Masjid in Islamabad. He was the brother of Abdul Aziz, the khateeb of the Lal Masjid.

. It was formerly called Ansar al-Sunnah and its membership is believed to be mostly Kurdish. The video then shows visuals of the Lal Masjid itself, along with the Jamia Hafsa and also visuals of troop deployment prior to the operation itself. The voice-over, which showers praise on the Lal Masjid militants, also condemns the government of Pakistan and the army for conducting the operation.
The militants, who appear very well-trained, are shown practising hand-to-hand fighting, drilling hostage-taking scenarios and also demonstrating how to disarm opponents. The terrain seems to be that of a flat, rocky desert, and it is difficult to tell exactly where it may have been shot. At one point in the video the heavily armed militants are shown holding a banner with the organisation’s name: Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s Mu’askar al-Shaikh Rasheed Ghazi. This loosely translates as: Ansar al-Islam’s Shaikh Rasheed Ghazi force. Even more interesting is that the video ends with an Urdu jihadi anthem, interspersed with Arabic liEnes. While foreign militants, mostly of Arabic and Uzbek origin, have been known to operate in Pakistan, this is possibly the first time that a group has actually named itself after a Pakistani militant cleric. There is also anecdotal evidence suggesting that some Pakistani-origin militants may be fighting in Syria. Some reports suggests that Ansar al Islam has also sent fighters to Syria, where they operate under the name of Ansar al-Sham.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 10:30

Rangers to patrol Islamabad streets

ISLAMABAD - In the aftermath of gun and suicide attack at the district courts of the federal capital, the federal government has decided to deploy troops of Rangers in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan while talking to a select group of journalists at his chamber in the Parliament House informed that Ministry of Interior had decided the deployment of Rangers personnel in the capital.
Under the proposed plan, the Rangers will be deployed at the check posts along with police personnel and at different sensitive points of the city, an official of the interior ministry said, adding that Rangers would also do patrolling duties.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 10:31

Pak-Saudi ties celebrated on board Pakistan Navy ship

ISLAMABAD: The Consul General of Pakistan in Jeddah, Aftab A Khokher, has stated that relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is beyond any limits. He was speaking as chief guest at a reception, held in Jeddah on Tuesday night at Pakistan Navy ship “PNS ALAMGIR”. Consul Generals of different countries, diplomats, dignitaries, media persons, officers of the Saudi Navy and a large number of community members with families were also present on the occasion.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 10:35

Majority of Taliban not anti-state: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday claimed that a clear majority of the Taliban were not the enemies of the country.

He said that some elements among them could be against the Pakistan government but most of their groups had no animosity to the state of Pakistan.

He said that the extremists had a plan to bomb Islamabad with aircraft but their designs were frustrated by the government.

He said when the terrorists started shooting within the premises of the district courts, additional district and sessions judge along with his guard and reader shut themselves inside the retiring room. He said the guard committed foolishness by keeping his fingers on the trigger. “As the suicide bomb blast was heard outside, he inadvertently fired three shots hitting the judge,” the minister said.

He said that the guard had confessed and the medical report also showed that bullets were fired from the pistol and not from a Kalashnikov.

“The investigation has been completed according to which the additional sessions judge was killed with a 9mm pistol and not a Kalashnikov,” he said.

He observed that one should not reach conclusions immediately as such things could influence the investigations of the agencies.

partha · Post by **partha** » 07 Mar 2014 10:43

Dilbu wrote:Majority of Taliban not anti-state: Nisar
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday claimed that a clear majority of the Taliban were not the enemies of the country.

He said that some elements among them could be against the Pakistan government but most of their groups had no animosity to the state of Pakistan.

He said that the extremists had a plan to bomb Islamabad with aircraft but their designs were frustrated by the government.

He said when the terrorists started shooting within the premises of the district courts, additional district and sessions judge along with his guard and reader shut themselves inside the retiring room. He said the guard committed foolishness by keeping his fingers on the trigger. “As the suicide bomb blast was heard outside, he inadvertently fired three shots hitting the judge,” the minister said.

He said that the guard had confessed and the medical report also showed that bullets were fired from the pistol and not from a Kalashnikov.

“The investigation has been completed according to which the additional sessions judge was killed with a 9mm pistol and not a Kalashnikov,” he said.

He observed that one should not reach conclusions immediately as such things could influence the investigations of the agencies.

This whole report is major

So the guard kept his fingers on the trigger and pointed the gun at the judge?

He said the United States had spent trillions of dollars on improving the homeland security but even safest of their places had not been spared by the terrorists.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 07 Mar 2014 12:43

Dilbu wrote:
He said when the terrorists started shooting within the premises of the district courts, additional district and sessions judge along with his guard and reader shut themselves inside the retiring room. He said the guard committed foolishness by keeping his fingers on the trigger. “As the suicide bomb blast was heard outside, he inadvertently fired three shots hitting the judge,” the minister said.

He said that the guard had confessed and the medical report also showed that bullets were fired from the pistol and not from a Kalashnikov.

“The investigation has been completed according to which the additional sessions judge was killed with a 9mm pistol and not a Kalashnikov,” he said.

He observed that one should not reach conclusions immediately as such things could influence the investigations of the agencies.

Yeah right. Bear in mind that this is a pistol. One shot could be accidental, but 3 shots into the judge means the guard would have to have pulled that trigger 3 times.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Mar 2014 12:46

Jhujar wrote:Militant camp in Iraq named after Lal Masjid’s Abdul Rasheed Ghaazi
KARACHI: An Iraq-based militant group named the Ansar al-Islam has released a video of its new training camp, which is named after the Lal Masjid’s Abdul Rasheed Ghazi. They have also apparently named a subdivision of their group after the Lal Masjid’s controversial cleric. . . . At one point in the video the heavily armed militants are shown holding a banner with the organisation’s name: Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s Mu’askar al-Shaikh Rasheed Ghazi. This loosely translates as: Ansar al-Islam’s Shaikh Rasheed Ghazi force. Even more interesting is that the video ends with an Urdu jihadi anthem, interspersed with Arabic liEnes.

I won't be surprised if it is actually some of Pakistan's own Ansars on the prowl.

Let us concentrate on two well-known outfits, HUM (Harkatul Mujahideen) and HuJI (Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami) and see if the Ansars are from these organizations. Why am I focussing on these two to the exclusion of the other three dozen outfits ? That's because the leaders of these two outfits were really close to Al Qaeda and especially OBL.

HUM's Emir has been Fazlur Rahman Khaleel. Now, Fazlur Rehman Khaleel also heads Ansarul Ummah, a factional jihadi outfit of Harkatul Mujahideen. Known to be a close personal friend of Osama bin Laden and also Jalaluddin Haqqani, he has fought the US forces in Afghanistan even after 2001. His 18-year-old son died in Nuristan in 2010 in one such encounter. When it was banned in c. 2003, it morphed into Jamia't-ul-Ansar. HUM is the parent organization for such terror outfits as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA). Maulana Masood Azhar split from HUM to float his JeM. HUM also operated the 'Al Faran' outfit which was responsible for spiriting away 5 western tourists in Kashmir in c. 1995. HUM runs the 'Al Ansar' trust to collect funds. HUM is a Founding Member of IIF (Islamic International Front for Jihad against the Crusaders and the Jewish people)

HuJI traces its origin to Jamiat Ansar-ul-Afghaneen (Companion of the Afghans) founded in February 1980 in Karachi’s Jamia Binoria. HuJI itself was founded in circa 1984 by Qari Saifullah Akhtar and Fazlur Rehman Khalil who later broke away to form his own group, Harkatul Mujahideen (HUM). Qari Saifullah Akhtar, a Pashtun from Waziristan and a product of Karachi’s Jamia Binori, was involved along with Army officers Maj. Gen. Zaheerul Islam Abbassi and Brig. Mustansar Billah in Sep 1995 in a military coup to establish an Islamic Dictatorship in Pakistan. Was planning to kill Benazir Bhutto in 1995 and Gen. Abdul Waheed Kakkar, the then COAS. Maj. Gen. Abbassi was later released by Gen. Musharrf in circa 1999. However, Qari turned approver in the case and was released much earlier, in November, 1996, when he became political adviser to Mullah Omar in Afghanistan. Qari Saifullah Akhtar was requested in c. 1996 by Maulana Nizamuddin Shamzai, the head of the Binori mosque, to help bring Osama bin Laden from the Sudan to Afghanistan by brokering a deal with Mullah Omar. It was this which made him close to both Osama bin laden and Mullah Omar. He built terror training camps in Kandahar, Kabul and Khost. Because of his closeness to Mullah Omar, his group, HuJI was originally called ‘Punjabi Taliban’. HuJI calls itself "second line of defence" of all Muslim states. It is also the Founding Member of IIF (Islamic International Front for Jihad against the Crusaders and the Jewish people)

HuJI and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) were merged in Kashmir in 1993 by Gen. Naseerullah Babar, interior minister in Ms. Benazir Bhutto’s cabinet and a former Chief of Frontier Corps and also the creator Taliban, for better coordination and called as Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA). When they were merged, Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil became the Amir and Qari Akhtar, Deputy Amir.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 07 Mar 2014 12:47

guard will claim the oscar pistorious defense
"m'lord, eye thaaght m'lord waj an yintroodar. eet waj dark and he looked shaart, so i phyrred! only layter i yam diskavar ki eet eej m'lord"

sudhan · Post by **sudhan** » 07 Mar 2014 13:05

ArmenT wrote: Yeah right. Bear in mind that this is a pistol. One shot could be accidental, but 3 shots into the judge means the guard would have to have pulled that trigger 3 times.

Hmm, 3 rounds.. There is a good chance that its a pistol like the H&K 93R with a 3 round burst mode (probably even an MP5 which fires 9mm)..

But hey! this is TSP.. Land of the pure and the home of the Qadris... The most likely story in this case is a Mumtaz Qadri II

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 13:33

Eating own birathers, hainji?
LHC takes notice of donkey meat sale

Lahore - The Lahore High Court Complaint Cell on Thursday took notice of the sale of donkey’s meat as beef in Kasur district and sought report into the matter within a week. The complaint cell also directed Kasur District & Sessions Judge to look into the matter and submit a detailed report regarding steps taken by police along with his own comments within a week.

They said when the raid was conducted the donkey meat was being prepared for supply to various sale points in the city.
The ringleader, George Masih, was arrested from the scene and handed over to police. According to officials, Masih told the raiding team that only fat was being extracted from dead donkeys for soap manufacturing.
The AC told media that the accused could not explain why the meat was chopped like ordinary beef available in the market and why the whole process was being done in a secret way at a deserted place. “Even if we accept that accused was right, the use of dead animal’s fat in the soap-making was also illegal,” Niazi said, adding the police were investigating into the matter. A case was registered against the accused under Slaughter Act.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 13:52

Bomb defused in Karachi's Orangi Town

KARACHI: A bomb was defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) early on Friday in the Orangi Town area of Karachi, DawnNews reported.

According to BDS, a call was received from the MPR Colony on the presence of a bomb in a packet.

The bomb contained two kilograms of explosive material and ball bearings.

Moreover, after an hour long struggle, the BDS defused the bomb and cleared the area.

Karachi is riddled with targeted killings, gang wars, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 14:00

Violent splinter group mars peace deal with Pakistan Taliban

Responsibility for Monday's attack was claimed by a group called Ahrar-ul-Hind, or "Liberators of India", that had splintered from the Pakistani Taliban just a month earlier.

Coming a little over a week after the Pakistani Taliban announced a ceasefire to revive faltering peace talks with the Prime Minister Sharif's government, the attack may have succeeded in destroying chances for negotiation.

Frighteningly for Pakistan, investigators believe the leader of Ahrar-ul-Hind, Umar Qasmi, can draw support from other militant outfits, including several linked to al Qaeda, that have wreaked bloody havoc in the country over the last decade.

Investigators say Qasmi, a 38-year-old from the central province of Punjab, is experienced in organising joint operations against Pakistani cities, using fighters drawn from the country's Punjabi heartland and tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

"Ahrar-ul-Hind could be the new name of one of several Punjabi factions that Taliban insurgents have teamed up with," said one official involved in investigating Monday's attack.

"A team of Pashto-speaking Punjabi fighters was carefully selected and given their target via a phone call," said a second investigator. "The fighters just had five days to study the building, rehearse the attack and strike. That was all it took."

Among those killed was a judge who ruled in October that former President Pervez Musharraf should not be tried for murder for ordering his commandoes to storm Islamabad's "Red Mosque" in 2007 to root out militants attempting to impose Islamic sharia in the capital.

The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to destroy Pakistan's fragile democracy and set up an Islamic sharia state, but had lately shown a readiness to talk as their strongholds in the northwest tribal lands bordering Afghanistan were targeted by military airstrikes over the past month.

Groups have broken off from the Pakistani Taliban before and many security analysts question whether this might be yet another ploy by the militants to gain the upper hand in negotiations by continuing terror attacks under another guise.

Announcing its formation in February, Ahrar-ul-Hind said it wanted no part of any ceasefire, and its attack has laid bare the Pakistani Taliban central leadership's lack of control over wilder elements operating on its fringes.

Intelligence officials say the new group has roots in the central province of Punjab bordering India.

Hatred of India is in the DNA of many Punjabi militants recruited by radical Islamist preachers to fight a jihad, or holy war, on the Indian side of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory disputed by South Asian rivals.

Pakistan's spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, has long tolerated - critics say backed - groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad that target India.

According to intelligence officers, Qasmi hails from Jhang, a southern Punjab city that is home to the eponymous Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an anti-Shi'ite sectarian group which supplied foot-soldiers for al Qaeda in Pakistan.

Soon after high school, they said, Qasmi moved to nearby Bahawalpur, close to the Indian border, where he is said to have enrolled in a seminary run by Maulana Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish.

And in subsequent years he became dangerously well-networked as he moved between southern Punjab and the tribal lands in the northwest, notably in the Mohmand region, where a Pakistani Taliban faction executed 23 soldiers last month - an incident that raised criticism of Sharif for pursuing peace talks.

Officials also believe Qasmi is close to Jundullah, the group behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 78 Christians at a church in Peshawar last September.

And they reckon he could muster 1,200 fighters drawn from various Punjabi-based groups for deadly operations against Pakistani cities.

"We belong to the urban areas of Pakistan," said Ahrar-ul-Hind spokesman Asad Mansoor. "The focus of our jihad activities will also be the urban areas."

partha · Post by **partha** » 07 Mar 2014 14:11

What if - Ahrar-ul-Hind is a Pak state actor created for India and this attack was just to create a perception that they are against Pakistan too? If they attack India, Pakistan can claim "look, they have attacked us too.. we are also victims of Ahrar-ul-Hind".

I guess time will tell.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Mar 2014 14:36

Nothing can be ruled out in Pakistan. However, I believe that Ahrar-ul-Hind is an anti-Pakistani Establishment organization. Otherwise, they will be eliminated by the TTP soon for being fake greens. GoP/ISI can cheat people but not the Taliban.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 15:20

partha wrote:What if - Ahrar-ul-Hind is a Pak state actor created for India and this attack was just to create a perception that they are against Pakistan too? If they attack India, Pakistan can claim "look, they have attacked us too.. we are also victims of Ahrar-ul-Hind".

I guess time will tell.

Don't they have enough actors to do this already including IM and its supporters inside India? If there is another attack in India claimed by Ahrar-ul-hind it hardly matters to India. Just another one of keedas. However a splinter group coming out in TTP has significant implications for TSP in the current situation. So I think this is a Pak specific operation. Who and why are the bigger questions to be answered.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 16:16

Rehman Malik suggests PM to meet Karzai and bring Fazlullah back to Pakistan

Malik said that the first thing Nawaz Sharif should meet the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and negotiate the return of the TTP leader Mullah Fazlullah back into Pakistan. If Fazlullah is brought back, terrorism in the Pakistan will be halved, he added.
He asked what Fizza Malik, one of the victims of the Islamabad court blast, had done to deserve this death. Two of the men who attacked the court fled after the incident, said Malik, and will launch attacks elsewhere.
“I think Islamabad is not safe until they are caught,” said Malik, appealing to security forces to use all their resources to bring them into custody.
ISLAMABAD- Former interior minister Rehman Malik said today that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are “anti-Islam” and against Pakistan.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 16:18

Pakistan considers launching military operation against Taliban

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Reuters in an interview that the government would not hesitate to bomb militant hideouts or send forces into the tribal areas if the Taliban did not abide by the ceasefire announced last weekend.

“It will not take months now. We’ll have to march in the month of March,” Mr Asif said, describing the government’s response if insurgent attacks continued.

“If there is a ceasefire, it has to be complete. Without that, we just can’t afford to have talks with the Taliban.”

Mr Asif, long considered a pro-talks politician, is now one of a growing number of members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet who believe it is time for tougher military action against Pakistani Taliban strongholds.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 07 Mar 2014 16:25

Hasan claims India is trying to destablise Pakistan

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer, Munawar Hasan said Friday that India is using its presence in Afghanistan to detablise Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters here, Hasan claimed attacks were being carried out under the Taliban’s name. “Those who tried to malign the Taliban by carrying out the Islamabad court attack will be exposed.”

Hasan added that the government had shown seriousness in the dialogue process. When asked if the army should be involved, the JI Ameer replied that the army was an institution of the government and could be part of the committee.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 07 Mar 2014 18:03

Spine deficit : Pakistan’s leadership crisis

It’s like in those old fairy tales : you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The government now wants the army involved in the comedy of talks with the Taliban, almost as if fearing ridicule and isolation it wants the army to drink from the same cup of humiliation it has stirred for itself. The glory of a triumph no one likes to share but the responsibility for confusion and failure one gladly spreads.

Doesn’t the Pakistani general staff know what the Taliban threat is about? Don’t the generals know that there can be no peace settlement with the Taliban without the capitulation of the Pakistani state? Don’t they know that this is a war that will have to be fought?

The Taliban now, in one shape or another, are now spread across Pakistan. Punjab is home to a vast madrasseh population. In Lahore itself there is a foreign population (I am being deliberately vague) unaccounted for in any government register. The Lal Masjid was not in Waziristan but in the heart of Islamabad. Wali Khan warned long ago, “Yeh jo aag tum Afghanistan mein laga rahe ho, aik din yeh Attock ke uss paar aa kar tumhe jala degi”…this fire that you are lighting in Afghanistan will one day cross the Attock and burn you. Such warnings seemed fanciful at the time. They are all too real now.

Cheers

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Mar 2014 18:37

Peregrine wrote:Spine deficit : Pakistan’s leadership crisis
. . . this fire that you are lighting in Afghanistan will one day cross the Attock and burn you. Such warnings seemed fanciful at the time. They are all too real now.

Was it written in c. 1979 ? Deja vu. But, the fact is that this too shall pass.

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 07 Mar 2014 22:48

^^It is a useless opinion piece IMO.
He conveniently places all the blame on the Government, and completely avoid the army's role in this blood thirsty mess. Everyone knows that the Pakistani government exists at the mercy of their armed forces. The government has never had any say in anything other than signing a check for the Army and acting as an acceptable democratic mask for the armed forces. They are not even kept informed on what is going on there. they have no meaningful contacts with the Taliban leadership. There is no way the Taliban will sit and talk with the government. By not leading the talks, the army is just establishing a "plausible deniability" like they did during Kargil downhill skiing.

What is the point of this misplaced anger and derision from I-ass. Grow up man!

SRoy · Post by **SRoy** » 08 Mar 2014 00:24

^^

What's wrong with the article?
BTW, Pakistani Army is the government. So, its not misplaced anger, rather trying to pretend that such separate entities like a government and an army exists.

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 08 Mar 2014 02:42

Single entry is bad enough - but, why go ahead and propose multiple entry for terrorists and wanna-be terrorists...

India moots multi-entry visa on LoC to boost trade

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 08 Mar 2014 03:20

More hand wringing :

The Mighty Nuclear State

The northern areas of Pakistan should be cleared of the non-Pakistanis and the entire region should be cleansed. However, this can only be done if the Assemblies themselves are first cleansed of the cancer called corruption

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP’s) latest position seems to be bringing the ‘mighty nuclear state’ of Pakistan to its knees. We are seeing (table) talk with the rebels who have successfully infiltrated not just the Margalla hills of Islamabad but the federal cabinet itself. It is now becoming clear that the befuddled prime minister has not decided on a course. The hawks in his coterie are acting like crows, and taking the lead by volume rather than intellect. The sane elements are being drowned out by the din rather than common sense.

In Pakistan, democracy fails because the elections throw up people unqualified to govern into positions of power where they can do the most damage. No nation in the history of the world has suffered such economic disasters as have been visited upon us by Mubashar Hassan’s ‘nationalisation’ and devaluation yet the PPP, with its insatiable appetite for corruption, has been returned to power again and again. Are we destined to be ruled by a collection of bumbling, unqualified robbers with fake degrees, which is itself a punishable offence, certainly enough to disqualify the candidate from political life? The Assemblies are packed with people with fake degrees and people who do not pay taxes or electricity bills. These lawbreakers are running this country.

This leadership has brought the country to its present state of confusion. Talks with the TTP are meaningless especially when the bulk of the nation has contempt for the negotiations. Chaudhry Nisar has successfully brought Islamabad into focus as the most dangerous city in the world — a singular achievement for the capital of the only Muslim nuclear power in the world.

The army is being hobbled and is being forced to sit with those who hold our constitution in contempt. They are enemies of the state and should be hunted down. The northern areas of Pakistan should be cleared of the non-Pakistanis and the entire region should be cleansed. However, this can only be done if the Assemblies themselves are first cleansed of the cancer called corruption. This is the weak spot, the soft underbelly, exposed and infiltrated by the TTP. All the member political parties are joining in and feeding off the body of the state without caring for the damage to its life, or the other inhabitants.

The army, under Kayani, was convinced that the TTP was a strategic partner in their fight against India, for Kashmir. Now it has turned on Pakistan and is determined to prove that it will succeed provided certain conditions are met. This extendable, long list is an excuse to complete its takeover of the state, and has been achieved by the politicians unwilling to forego their corruption, or to obey the law.

The army is already aware of the enemy for the TTP has declared itself. The politicians, by their behaviour, have also identified themselves as the enemy. With the way things are going, it seems time for the bloodletting, either by the army or the TTP — whoever moves first. The TTP is already positioned having encircled Karachi.

The army must move forward with precision strikes as TTP sympathisers in the PM house are already reciting the ‘all is well’ mantra, firm in their belief that this mantra will indeed have the desired soporific effect on their targets. While the policy of appeasement continues, the TTP moves more men into position. It seems that, like in classic guerrilla warfare, they will move when they are ready. Are we ready?

The mighty Pakistani army, the people, the politicians, the only Muslim nuclear power, are being encircled by a band of rebels of their own creation.
Cheers