Pakistan: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2012

"The new recruits, several of them well educated, join these training programmes for several days. Their day starts early in the morning with religious prayers, listening to lectures, exercising, studying about weapons and how to make IEDs and later they are asked to use them. If the trainers find that a particular recruit is not concentrating, he is removed from the training programme," a source said. Read less...

A bomb planted at the railway track in the Bin Qasim Police Station area, exploded. The railway traffic was suspended for some time, though railway officials said the track was not seriously damaged and it occurred in an isolated place. The bomb disposal squad (BDS) personnel said that the bomb was locally made and carried around 100 grams explosive material. Police said they found a paper chit there pronouncing responsibility by the Sindh Liberation Army. Read less...

A senior investigating official quoted, "Had all the 25 militants completed the training and made it to Mumbai the carnage would have been much worse”. Jundal claims that though he did visit LeT’s training facility at the Pakistan-Iran border but he was not present during the time that the Mumbai module was undergoing training there. Indian investigating agencies asked Jundal to identify the exact location of this camp with help of Google map but Jundal failed to do so. Read less...

A six-year-old girl Sadida was killed and two other children were injured in two blasts in the border area of Upper Dir on July 1, reports Dawn. The residents of the area said that the blasts were caused by explosives planted near a house. Read less...

Abu Jundal further told his interrogators on July 1, that LeT militants are trained in 'internet activities' and the outfit has a dedicated band of "trained and educated" boys who look after the entire gamut of online activities like sending emails, maintaining websites and using different servers in a way to show the IP addresses in the US and other western countries. Read less...

According to July 1 Report, Abu Jundal, the alleged handler of November 26, 2008 (26/11) terrorists, has further revealed that Mumbai attackers had undergone training in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, as reported by Zee News. Jundal is believed to have informed the interrogators that the 26/11 terrorists were trained by hardcore al Qaeda militants at a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) camp near the Pakistan-Iran border. Read less...

At least eight militants were killed in a US drone attack on a compound in the Kund Ghar area of Shawal tehsil (revenue unit), 50 kilometres southwest of Miranshah, the headquterer of North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 1, reports The Nation. The attack killed cadres loyal to militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, adds Dawn. Sources further add that some foreign militants belonging to the Turkmenistan Islamic Movement (TIM) and militants of the Bahadur group were believed to have been killed in the attack. Read less...

Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested seven allegedly politically affiliated target killers from different areas of Karachi along with weapons, reports The Express Tribune. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) CID Fayyaz Khan, the arrested include Hassan Ali, Fahim, Salim, Abdul Rauf alias ‘Lamba’, Danish, Azadi Khan and Syed Salik Siraj. CID officials also recovered a cache of weapons from the arrested, including one Kalashnikov, six TT pistols and 320 cartridges along with 500 grams of heroin and three stolen cars. The SSP said that during interrogation, the alleged killers had confessed to killing eight persons in different areas of the city, including five Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers. The names of the killed were Peshimam Qari Jameel, Arshad, Hanif Qadri, Hameed, Jaffar, Kashif, Haji Farid and Syed Gul. Read less...

In the unending incidents of bloodshed, 180 innocent people lost their lives during the month of June and many were injured in Karachi, as target killers have a free hand to strike at the place of their liking. A significant number among them were first kidnapped, tortured and then their body bags were thrown on roads. According to reports in the first ten days of June, 63 people were shot, including 32 who were kidnapped, tortured and then shot dead. From June 11 to 20, another 72 people lost their lives, including 27, who were kidnapped. In the last ten days of June, the situation did not change and 45 more citizens were killed. Dead bodies of seven members of banned organisations were recovered from Memon Goth, Gadap and Manghopir area. Eight policemen also lost their lives during the month including a traffic police constable. Read less...

Jundal claimed there was a 'great degree of coordination now between LeT, al Qaeda and even the Taliban.’ The LeT felt that hardcore al Qaida terrorists could provide foolproof training to the module used to attack Mumbai. Read less...

Jundal has also given information about LeT’s training camps running all over Pakistan. Sources said Jundal had given names of some trainers as well. Jundal has also given some helpful inputs to agencies about the IISC attack in 2005 and Rampur attack in January 2008. The cops are also planning to confront him with Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin, who are in jail for the Rampur attack. Read less...

Jundal has told officials that German Bakery blast accused Fayaz Kagzi, who was Ansari's accomplice and who inducted him into the LeT, is living in Abu Dhabi. "We have got details on Fayaz Kagzi, who is involved in recruitment for LeT in the UAE," said a source. Read less...

Pakistan has secretly allowed US-led NATO forces to use its airspace to transport lethal supplies to Afghanistan while disregarding a resolution approved by Parliament that set conditions for the movement of supplies, Indian Express quoting The Express Tribune reported on July 1. It was not clear when permission was granted for transporting the lethal supplies but the arrangement is believed to be a stop gap one between Pakistan and the US till they finalise a deal on reopening land routes to Afghanistan, official sources were quoted as saying by The Express Tribune. The move could trigger a strong public backlash in view of the resolution passed by a joint session of Parliament that states Pakistan's territory, including its airspace, will not be used to transport arms and ammunition to Afghanistan, the report said. Read less...

Police have arrested three militants and 119 proclaimed absconders in a grand cleanup operation launched in several parts of the Lakki Marwat District. “The operation was launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Bannu Nisar Ahmad Tanoli”, an official said. He said that the District police carried out successful actions against anti-state elements and eliminated hideouts of miscreants and notorious criminals’ gangs in parts of Lakki Marwat, Naurang, Tajori, Ghaznikhel and Darra Pezu towns. He said that the law enforcers also recovered three hand grenades, three kalashnikovs, 11 Kalakovs, 8 rifles, 15 shotguns, 37 pistols, 3250 bullets, 406kg hashish and a small quantity of heroin from anti social elements. Read less...

Police repulsed militants' attack on Sheikhan check post in Peshawar after a crossfire which lasted for two hours and in which cops from nearby police stations also joined in, reports Frontier Post. Militants managed to escape. No causalities were reported in the whole operation. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) on July 1 defused a landmine in Sadar Din area of Pat Feeder in Dera Bugti District of Balochistan, reports Daily Times. Police said that some unidentified miscreants planted a landmine in Sadar Din area. The SFs, on receiving information about the presence of the landmine, reached the site and neutralised it successfully. Read less...

Sources further said that they found around 60 "interesting" numbers in Jundal's mobile phone and Jundal has allegedly claimed that of these about 15 are of ISI officers and LeT members in Pakistan. The other numbers are of contacts in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Read less...

The dead body of a man was recovered from Jaama Cloth within the remits of the Aram Bagh Police Station. Identity of the victim could not be ascertained. Police officials said the victim had received three bullets and that unidentified men threw his body on the road near a local hotel. The officials said the victim appeared to be Katchi-speaking. Read less...

The intelligence agencies had intercepted calls made by the 10 Pakistani terrorists belonging to LeT) who had attacked Mumbai on 26/11 to their handlers in Pakistan. In some of those intercepts Jundal is allegedly heard directing the terrorists, urging them to kill more hostages and to prolong the siege. Read less...

The officials said Jundal had obtained the SIM card for his mobile from Pakistan. "He was in regular touch with these people from Saudi Arabia," said the source. Jundal has also disclosed details of the Mumbai plan discussed by Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Muzammil, Sajid Mir and other LeT leaders with him. Read less...

The Provincial Government has decided to refer the investigation of “sensitive cases” to the Crime Investigation Department and called for a review of the regulations pertaining to the movement of pilgrims under the Travel Agency Act, 1976. The Provincial Home Secretary also held meetings with the Iranian consul general. Both sides agreed to beef-up security arrangements from Quetta to Taftan and discussed possible arrangements for facilitating the movement of members of the Hazara community between Marriabad to Hazara Town and Hazar Ganji. Read less...

The sectarian violence in Balochistan has claimed more than 400 lives in more than 200 incidents of ethnic and sectarian violence in the past four years. The decade-long insurgency recently turned into a battleground for politically motivated attacks on religious sects with banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi allegedly targeting the Shia and Hazara communities throughout the embattled province. The official report which covers a period of four years states that over 400 Shias and Hazaras, who account for nearly a fifth of the country’s 170 million population lost their lives as a result of the aggression. Around 100 pilgrims have been killed in just the first half of the current year. Another 450 people were injured in over 110 sectarian attacks from 2008 to 2011. The increasing trend of violence is alarming. Over 120 members of the Shia and Hazara communities were gunned down last year while close to a 100 sustained injuries, compared to 81 fatalities and 200 casualties in 2010. In 2009, 39 members of the Shia community were killed and 20 injured in over 30 incidents of ethnic violence, while only 15 were killed and 10 injured in 2008. Read less...

Three more people were killed in the ongoing violence in different parts of Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh, on July 1. Read less...

Two people were shot dead at a bazaar on Link Road in Karimabad area within the jurisdiction of the Azizabad Police Station. The victims were heading somewhere on a motorcycle when unidentified armed assailants, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on them. As a result, they received multiple bullet injuries and died on the spot. The victims were identified as Noor Mohammad (35), son of Gul Marjan, and Shakeel (31), son of Shabbir Ahmed. According to SHO Haseeb Qureshi, Noor Mohammad was a resident of Saeedabad area of Baldia Town, while Shakeel was a resident of Faqeer Colony of Orangi Town. The official suspected that it was an incident of targeted killing. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up the boys’ primary school in Dara village of Swabi District, reports The News. The school was completely destroyed after a powerful explosion that shattered the windowpanes of nearby buildings. Read less...

A Balochistan Levies officer was killed and another injured in an incident of shooting at the Jewa Intersection in Surab area of Kalat District. According to Levies sources, a squad was patrolling the area when unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on the personnel, killing one official and seriously injuring another. The deceased was identified as constable Fareed Khan and the injured as Constable Ahmed Din. Read less...

A man was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Faizabad area of Sariab in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, on July 2, reports Daily Times. The assailants managed to flee the crime scene. Police said Hassan was attacked when he was on his way home. Read less...

A tortured body of an elderly man was found from Sultanabad area within the jurisdiction of Jackson Police Station. According to Police, the victim was identified as Sultan Muhammad (60), son of Badshah, a resident of the same area. They said that the deceased was tortured to death while the motive behind incident was yet to be ascertained. Read less...

A youngster was killed in PIB Colony within the remit of PIB Colony Police Station. Police officials said that unidentified assailants shot and killed the youngster in the area after abducting him from an unknown place. Read less...

Afghan defence officials denied the alleged incursion. “We are not aware of such an operation by the Afghan National Army in that area,” AFP quoted Daulat Wazir, a spokesman for the Ministry Of Defence, as saying. Colonel Ahmad Jan, a spokesman for Army Corps 203 in southeastern Afghanistan, said: “It is not true; our forces have not entered Pakistan. We have not had any operations near the border recently.” Read less...

Afghan National Army (ANA) troops intruded into Muqbal village, some 20 kilometres south of Parachinar, in Kurram Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 2 and killed two tribesmen and injured another, reports Dawn. Hours before the incident, a security post of the ANA came under attack near Anzer Kali in Danda Pattan area of Afghanistan’s Paktia province. The border post is adjacent to Kherlachi village in Upper Kurram. Sources said the pre-dawn attack had been repulsed by the Afghan army. They said Afghan troops intruded into Pakistani territory while pursuing the fleeing attackers and came across people of Muqbal village. Local people said the ANA personnel fired at three farmers. Lahore Khan and Gul Wazir died on the spot while Khwaja Din was injured. Read less...

Afghanistan accused Pakistan’s Army of launching months of rocket attacks on its territory and threatened to report Islamabad to the UN Security Council, straining already troubled ties between the neighbours. Kabul has regularly accused elements in Islamabad’s government and Army of backing militants fighting the US-backed Kabul government, charges denied by Pakistan. But it was the first time Afghanistan has held Pakistan directly responsible for hundreds of rocket strikes on the heavily forested Afghan border province of Kunar that it says have killed four civilians since March. “We now have enough evidence that proves the rockets used in these attacks belong to the Pakistani army,” the spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, Shafiqullah Taheri. Read less...

Claiming that Pakistan was being run to the ground, the country’s former President General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf has not ruled out a fresh military takeover of the Pakistan, reports Pakistan Observer. “The state is being run to the ground at the moment, and people are again running to the military to save the country,” Musharraf told a gathering in Aspen in Colorado in the US. While he maintained that Pakistan’s Constitution was “sacrosanct”, the former dictator also questioned: “Should we save the country, and do something unconstitutional or uphold the Constitution of the country, and let the state go down?” Vowing to return home on his “own accord”, Musharraf shrugged off calls in his country for Interpol to arrest him saying he was prepared to risk arrest by returning for elections, which he claimed would be held this year. Read less...

Earlier on July 2, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and Naek held a meeting to discuss the legal matters to deal with the issue of missing persons. The Government had decided to take up the issue of pick, kill and dump incidents on an emergency basis with reports of over 203 bullet-riddled dead bodies being found in various parts of Balochistan in 2011. By comparison, there were reports of only 103 such incidents in 2010. “Supreme Court’s orders on missing persons in Balochistan must be implemented in letter and spirit,” stated an official release quoting Naek who, presided meeting. Read less...

Four people, including an employee of Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) and a sympathiser of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi on July 2. Read less...

In another incident, a sympathiser of the MQM was shot dead at MA Jinnah Road within the limits of Nabi Bux Police Station. Police said that the victim, later identified as Imtiaz (26), son of Saleem was a resident of Ranchore Lane. He was at MA Jinnah Road to shop when unidentified pillion riders shot and killed him. Read less...

In the first incident, an employee of the KESC was targeted inside the company’s office located in Nazimabad No 1 within the precincts of Rizvia Police Station. A Police official informed that Yaqoob Baloch (41), son of Taj Baloch, a resident of Old Golimar was busy in his routine work when unidentified assailants barged into the office and shot him dead. Police added that preliminary investigation suggested that Baloch was also a member of the Balochistan National Party and had recently given a statement against the banned People’s Amn Committee, which might have been the reason for murder. Read less...

Police arrested two alleged Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and a gangster in separate raids conducted in the city. A police official informed that two alleged militants of the TTP, Faisal Mehsud and Khan Mohammad alias Sajid, were apprehended from Orangi Town. He said that the accused were allegedly involved in the killings of ASI Nadeem and Constable Sajid. Separately, an alleged gangster Shaukat was arrested from Pak Colony along with his Kalashnikov and narcotics. Police officials said that the suspect was associated with Ghaffar Zikri group and involved in several targeted killings. Read less...

Police recovered a body near Pero Bridge from Dera Murad Jamali tehsil (revenue unit) of Naseerabad. Mir Hassan Police Station officials recovered the body near Pero Bridge and moved it to a nearby hospital, where the victim was identified as Noruz Bugti. Read less...

Proclaiming Balochistan was top on his list of priorities, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on July 2 said bringing stability and prosperity in the Province would be the top priority of his Government, reports Daily Times. Chairing his first meeting on Balochistan crisis as Prime Minister, Raja said the self-styled independence of federal agencies is being checked by ensuring that they do not act independently in connection with law and order. He said the Federal Agencies were meant to provide assistance to the Provincial Government as and when required. The Prime Minister further said that he had invited the Baloch leadership for dialogue to address all their grievances within the framework of federation. “I will soon visit Balochistan with a view to find out an acceptable solution of the Balochistan problem after holding detailed discussion with all the stakeholders,” he announced. Read less...

Slamming Pakistan for refusing to cut ties with the Haqqani network of militants, a leading US newspaper The Daily has said the military of the 'crippled and chaotic' state continues to play a 'double game' of accepting aid from America while enabling the Afghan Taliban, reports Indian Express. The Daily said in the editorial piece titled 'Crippled, Chaotic Pakistan' that for years, Pakistan ignored the Obama administration's pleas to crack down on militants who cross over to attack American forces in Afghanistan. Recent cross-border raids by Taliban militants who kill Pakistani soldiers should give Islamabad a reason to take that complaint more seriously, it said. Fighting extremists should be grounds for common cause, but there is no sign that Pakistan's military leaders get it. They see the need to confront the virulent Afghan-based insurgency that threatens their own country and has killed thousands of Pakistani soldiers and civilians. “But they refuse to cut ties with the Haqqanis and other militants, who give Islamabad leverage in Afghanistan and are the biggest threat to American efforts to stabilise that country,” The Daily said. Read less...

The Pentagon has asked Congress to shift billions of dollars in the defense budget to pay for added fuel costs to ferry supplies to Afghanistan after Pakistan closed its border to NATO convoys, US officials said July 2, reports Dawn. In a letter to congressional defence committees, the Pentagon requested “reprogramming” USD 8.2 billion in funds previously approved to finance more urgent priorities, officials said. There were “some unanticipated costs that we just didn’t foresee,” spokesman Captain John Kirby told reporters. It remained unclear what programs in the defense budget would receive less funding as a result. A large portion of the request was due to the costs “associated with the extended closure of the ground lines of communication” in Pakistan, Kirby said. The Pentagon reportedly estimates an alternative network of northern supply routes through Central Asia has generated USD 2.1 billion in additional fuel costs compared to the shorter Pakistani route. The request to shift funds was also needed to cover the cost of deploying an additional aircraft carrier to the Gulf region. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up a Government school in Darra area of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 2, raising the total number of destroyed educational institutions in the District to 17. Two rooms of government primary for boys in Darra were destroyed when explosive material planted in its veranda went off at 3:30am. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up an eight-inch-diameter gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District. As a result, gas supply from well no 41 to the Sui Gas Purification Plant was suspended. Read less...

US drones target Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, where journalists and aid workers do not have independent access. The programme is covert, but US officials have defended the attacks as a vital weapon in the war on terror, despite concerns from rights activists over civilian casualties. The decline in casualties correlates to a decline in attacks as relations between Islamabad and Washington deteriorated since Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in May 2011 and after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November. According to an AFP tally, 101 US drone strikes were reported in Pakistan in 2010, 64 in 2011 and only 24 so far this year. According to the bureau, between 2,496 and 3,202 persons were reportedly killed by drones in Pakistan since 2004. Among them are 482-832 civilians, 175 of them children. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay last month called for a UN investigation into US drone strikes, questioning their legality and saying they kill innocent civilians. Read less...

A 65-year-old man identified as Noor Habib was gunned down outside his factory where he was working as a watchman in SITE area. Read less...

A Police constable identified as Gulzar Alvi (47), was shot dead near his home in Petal Wali Gali in Rizvia Police Station area. The deceased was posted to the Hassan Square Police headquarter and was on the way to headquarter when at least two armed motorcyclists shot and killed him. Read less...

A remote-controlled blast killed a paramilitary officer and injured four other security personnel in the Bara Kamangara area of Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency, reports Central Asia Online. Sources said that the Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were carrying out a search in the area after one early-morning explosion when the second blast occurred causing the causality. Read less...

After much deliberation after the April 15 Bannu jailbreak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities on July 3 decided to build an underground jail to hold terrorism suspects now incarcerated throughout the province, Central Asia Online quoting Dawn reported. Officials have begun practical work and preparation of the underground facility, PC-I. Suspected militants will be detained in a separate jail at the Peshawar Central Jail until the new jail is built. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has allocated PKR 213.5m (USD 2.3 million) in fiscal 2012-2013 (July 1-June 30) for building the underground jail, where it intends to hold only Taliban or other terrorism suspects. They plan to try more than 3,000 suspected militants there after completing construction. Read less...

An activist of the PPP and a passerby were shot dead in an act of target killing in Sector 14-E area of Orangi Town within the limits of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station. Deceased PPP worker was identified as Shahid Ahmed aka Shaheen Bihari (35), while the passerby as Muhammad Haroon (50). Read less...

Another PPP worker namely Muhammad Saleem Awan Khan (35), was shot dead when at least four armed men, on two motorcycles, opened fire on his car near his home in Qaimkhani Colony in Baldia Town within the jurisdiction of Mochko Police Station. Police officials said that the deceased was the PPP Cultural Wing’s President for West Zone. Read less...

At least five persons including two workers of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a Policeman were shot dead in a spate of target killings in different parts of Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh. Read less...

At least four women were killed and four others injured, including women and children, in a grenade attack at a home in Malik Din Khel area of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 3. Read less...

Awami National Party (ANP) District President, Khan Gul Bhattani, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of Shaheed Murid Akbar Police Station on July 3, reports Daily Times. The attackers ambushed the vehicle of Bhattani and injured him critically. Later, he succumbed to the wounds. The assailants managed to escape from the scene. Read less...

Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani declared insufficient the “privately-rendered soft apology” of ISAF commander General Allen over the Salala incident. BBC, quoting an “important Pakistan Army officer well informed about diplomatic endeavours between Pakistan and the USA”, said that while General Kayani appreciated and encouraged the ‘private apology’ of ISAF’s General Allen, yet he had declared it insufficient. General Kayani stressed the fact that the issue was not between two armies, but two states, and hence could only be resolved at state level. Read less...

Fewer civilians have died in US drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year than at any other time in the last four years, a report Bureau of Investigative Journalism said July 2, reports Dawn. Three to 24 civilians were reported killed by American CIA drones in Pakistan from January to June, according to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Reported civilian casualty rates have not been so low since the first half of 2008, when 12-21 civilians reportedly died under former US president George W Bush, it said. It was also a marked decline on the 62-103 civilians reported killed by drone strikes in Pakistan in the first six months of 2011, the bureau added. Read less...

Law Minister Farooq H Naek, on the directives of the Prime Minister, has constituted a committee to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, where hundreds of people have gone missing in past four years, reports The Express Tribune. Chief Secretary Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad will head the committee which will give its detailed briefing to Ministry of Law and Justice on July 6. Fateh will also update the committee on the views of disgruntled Baloch leaders who are being invited by the government to kick off negotiations addressing their concerns. “We will formally hold an important meeting on Friday (July 6) to discuss all issues that is dialogue with Baloch leaders and missing persons,” a senior official said. Chief Minister Balochistan Nawaz Aslam Raisani will also present his view points on resolve the chronic issue, the official said. Raisani assured the Law Minister of his full cooperation in formulating laws which would help keep check on enforcement agencies to stop enforced disappearances. Read less...

NATO truckers welcomed Pakistan’s decision to reopen supply lines into Afghanistan but said they feared militant’s attack, demanding security guarantees before the resumption. Mir Muhammad Yousaf Shahwani, head of the largest oil tanker owners association in Pakistan, said that supply trucks and tankers could be en route in “days” but insisted they needed protection first. “It is a sudden decision but even then we can start supplies in days. The thing is, who will protect us,” Shahwani said. Read less...

Pakistan on July 3 agreed to reopen its border to NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan after the United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington was sorry for the loss of life in NATO arial attack on Salala border check-post on November 26, 2011. The announcement, following months of negotiations, will come as a relief to the United States and its NATO allies which need the routes for a planned withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan through 2014. During a telephonic conversation, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar “informed me that the ground supply lines into Afghanistan are opening”, Clinton said. Islamabad has long demanded that Washington apologise for the deadly air raid before it would reopen the NATO routes, closed in anger after the US attack. “Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives,” Clinton said in a statement. “We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.” Clinton said, “Pakistan will continue not to charge any transit fee in the larger interest of peace and security in Afghanistan and the region. This is a tangible demonstration of Pakistan’s support for a secure, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan and our shared objectives in the region.” Read less...

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened to attack trucks carrying supplies to US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan after Islamabad and Washington reached a deal to re-open the lines. “We will attack NATO supplies all over Pakistan. We will not allow anyone to use Pakistani soil to transport supplies that will be used against the Afghan people,” the outfit’s spokesman told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. Read less...

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) approved reopening NATO supply route after it accepted a formal apology from the US. The committee, which met with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the chair, decided “in line with parliamentary recommendations” that no arms supply would be allowed through the route except for materials and weapons of Afghan forces. “The DCC... decided to reopen the Ground Lines of Communication (GLOCs) through Pakistani territory to and from Afghanistan to facilitate the transition and the subsequent transformation process in that country,” the formal decision of DCC said. “It was decided that no lethal cargo will go into Afghanistan except equipment for Afghan National Security Forces, essential for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan,” officials said. Read less...

US will release about USD 1.1 billion to Pakistan’s Army as part of a deal that will see Islamabad lift a blockade on NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan, a US official said. The money, from a US Coalition Support Fund (CSF) designed to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of counter-insurgency operations, had been withheld due to tensions between the two countries and Islamabad’s closure of the supply routes. Read less...

A man, Muhammad Sarwar (52), son of Ghulam Hussain, was shot dead in Lines Area within the limits of Brigade Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on July 4, reports Daily Times. Police said Muhammad Sarwar was on its way to home when two armed pillion riders shot him multiple bullets, leaving him dead on the spot. Read less...

A security official was killed and another injured in a landmine blast in Mat Mondrani area of Sui District. According to sources, security personnel were distributing ration among their colleagues on a vehicle when it hit the landmine in Mat Mondrani. A security official, Rafiqullah, was killed and another, Muhammad Ali, wounded in the explosion. Read less...

A young woman working for women’s rights in tribal regions, Fareeda Kokikhel (26), Director of Sewara, was killed in Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 4, reports. According to her family, three men who were hiding in bushes opened fire on Fareeda when she came out of her home in Ghundi in the morning to go to her office in Hayatabad area of Peshawar. The assailants escaped on a motorcycle when members of the family rushed to the place after hearing gunshots. She received a bullet in head and two in neck. Fareeda told a Jamrud-based journalist a month ago that she was “under threat”. But she had not named the people threatening her. “I could even be killed in Peshawar,” Fareeda had responded when the journalist asked if she would move to Peshawar following the threats. She said she had changed her mobile phone number but people threatening her got her new cell number as well and kept on threatening her. Human rights activist Zarteef Afridi was killed in a similar attack on December 8, 2011 in the same area and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the murder. Read less...

Administrative officer of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Karachi, Khan Muhammad Maher was abducted from Malir Cantonment area. Police officials said that Maher was abducted shortly after he left his home situated in Gulshan-e-Omar, with family members, for interior Sindh. Read less...

Anti-Extremist Cell (AEC) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and Special Investigation Unit (SIU) arrested seven suspects, including target killers and Lyari gangsters, in separate raids. The AEC claimed to have apprehended four men allegedly associated with the Lyari gangster group of Baba Ladla. AEC chief Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Aslam Khan said the arrests were made from Gulbai area in Mauripur. “The detained suspects were Faisal, Younus, Hameed and Arsalan. Five kalashnikovs, five pistols, five hand grenades were also recovered.” Read less...

At least 12 suspected militants were rounded up by law enforcement agencies near Zhob, a town bordering Waziristan Agency of FATA. According to sources, security personnel raided a suspected hideout near Sambaza area of Zhob, adjacent to Waziristan border, and rounded up 12 suspects allegedly belonging to al Qaeda or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “The suspects entered [the area] from South Waziristan,” an official said. “Eight suspects are Turk nationals, three Chechens and one is Pakistani hailing from Waziristan,” sources said. They said that weapons, CDs and maps were recovered from their possession. Read less...

At least three persons, including a local government assistant director, were shot dead in a sectarian attack on July 4 in Kuchlak, some 25 kilometres from the provincial capital of Balochistan, Quetta, reports Daily Times. According to Police, Assistant Director Muhammad Saeed, along with a local government superintendent, was on his way from Pishin to Quetta when unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on them. Resultantly, the assistant director and the superintendent were killed on the spot, while their driver was seriously injured. The attackers managed to flee the crime scene. The injured driver later succumbed to injuries on his way to hospital. The deceased superintendent was identified as Muhammad Khan, a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the driver as Muhammad Saleem. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) ‘spokesman’ Abu Bakar Siddique claimed responsibility for the killings. However, he did not make any comment on why the group had targeted the three men. Read less...

Balochistan government has expressed its inability to provide security to NATO supply vehicles because of shortage of law-enforcement personnel. “We are unable to give full security to NATO supplies along 850km route from Karachi to Chaman with the present available security manpower,” Home Secretary Nasibullah Bazai said. The Balochistan Government has informed Islamabad about the situation and demanded that the Federal Government should provide extra resources and manpower for the safe passage of NATO vehicles. “We need at least 50 new vehicles, latest weapons and communication system for the safety of Nato containers,” Mr Bazai said. The Provincial Government asked the Federal Government to send 30 platoons of Frontier Constabulary for deployment along the route between Hub and Chaman. Read less...

Elders of various tribal agencies have expressed grave concern over the Government’s decision to open routes for supply to NATO forces in Afghanistan and feared it will result in surge in terrorist acts in Pakistan, reports Dawn. Led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Khyber Agency organiser Mohammad Iqbal Afridi, the elders belonging to various tribal regions told a press conference in Peshawar Press Club on July 4 that the Government’s decision was against the will of Pakistani nation. He said that the Government did not take the nation into confidence before restoration of NATO supply, which could disturb the already fragile law and order situation, especially in Khyber Agency. Mr Zaib said that tribesmen had suffered huge losses of lives and properties due to the so-called war on terror and as such they would continue to oppose the pro-American policies of the Government. “A protest movement will be started after Ramazan (fasting month) from Bajaur Agency against the reopening of NATO routes,” he warned. He asked the parliamentarians belonging to Federally Administered Tribal Areas to resign from their seats, as they had failed to protect the interests of tribal people. Read less...

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also issued instructions to field formations to make preliminary arrangements for the release of NATO/ISAF containers destined for Afghanistan. Sources said that the FBR had directed relevant collectorates of Customs, including Model Customs Collectorates Quetta, Peshawar and Port Qasim, to finalise arrangements for the clearance of consignments of ISAF and NATO. A letter of the Interior Ministry, addressed to the Pakistan Rangers DG, has been faxed to relevant collectorates. Read less...

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on July 4 that the Government decided to reopen Ground Lines of Communication (GLOCs) into Afghanistan in line with the parliamentary recommendations and there was no secret deal behind this, reports Daily Times. She was talking to journalists on the same day the Federal Cabinet formally approved its defence committee’s decision of restoring the ground supply routes of NATO that had been suspended after November 26’s Salala attack. Khar clarified that there was no secret deal with the US for reopening the route rather the decision was taken in accordance with the parliamentary recommendations regarding resetting rules of engagement with the US and restoration of the NATO supply. “The government never deviated from any parliamentary resolution by reopening ground supply lines to NATO forces in Afghanistan.” Read less...

In addition, the Ministry of Interior has asked Pakistan Rangers to arrange proper security for NATO/ISAF supply containers moving into Afghanistan through Pakistani territory. Sources said the Ministry had written a letter to the Pakistan Rangers DG, asking the force to provide foolproof security to ISAF/NATO containers. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik also issued directions to the interior secretary to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for providing “maximum security to NATO supplies to Afghanistan”. Read less...

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned a website by the name www.alislam.org which was controlled by the Ahmadiyya community, reports The Nation. An official of the authority said that the site had been blocked because Ahmadis were not allowed to propagate their religious views under the constitution of Pakistan. The PTA had already blocked several sites with inappropriate content, he added. A source, however, said that the site was accused of blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muttahida Ulema Board had demanded of the PTA to close down the site. Read less...

The chief security officer of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Major (retd) Muaaz, was injured as an explosive device went off near his house in Karim Block area of Iqbal Town in Lahore in the night of July 4, reports Daily Times. Sources said Major (retd) Muaaz was leaving his house in Karim Block vehicle when a device dropped from beneath the vehicle. His neighbour said that a minor servant picked up the device and gave it to Muaaz’s sister, who called him (Muaaz) on the phone and said that some part of his car had fallen down. On his return, Muaaz was given the device, which exploded when he dropped the bomb while he was examining it. He received injuries on his legs and back, while his car and another vehicle parked in the street near his house were damaged. Read less...

A cable operator was shot dead near Telephone Exchange in New Karachi within the limits of New Karachi Police Station. SHO Ashraf Gujjar said that the victim, Amir Khan (28), son of Naseem Khan, was shot dead by unidentified pillion riders. The victim received three bullets whereas the culprits managed to flee from the scene. Read less...

A cadre of the MQM-H, Syed Farooq, 29, son of Syed Badshah, was shot dead at Landhi No 6 within the precincts of Landhi Police Station. Police official said that Syed Farooq was sitting outside his house when unidentified motorcyclists shot him. Read less...

A man, identified as Abdul Malik Abro, was killed in Faizabad area of Sariab Road of Quetta. According to the Police, Abdul Malik Abro was sitting in his shop in Faizabad area when unidentified armed men opened fire on him. The deceased was an employee of the Health Department. Read less...

A man, Muhammad Alam (40), was killed in North Karachi within the limits of Ajmair Nagri Police Station. Police said Muhammad Alam was shot dead by unidentified persons in sector 5-D-1 of North Karachi. Read less...

A religious scholar, Maulvi Abdul Qasim, hailing from Sunni school of thought was shot dead in Musa Colony in Sariab locality in Quetta in a suspected incident of sectarian killing, reports Daily Times. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the killing. More than 10 Sunni clerics have been killed in Quetta during the past few months. Read less...

An aged man died mysteriously in Block 4-A area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal within the precincts of Mobina Town Police Station. SHO Saleemullah Qureshi said that the identity was yet to be ascertained. Read less...

At least two Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants were killed and three others injured when a remote-controlled bomb exploded in the Akakhel area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency, reports Daily Times. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. Read less...

Eight persons, including a Mohajir Quami Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) cadre, were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on July 5. Read less...

Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said that the decision to reopen the NATO supply lines was made in national interest and the US had clearly said ‘sorry’ to Pakistan for the Salala incident, reports Dawn. Replying to questions, the spokesman said NATO supplies have actually resumed following decision by Pakistan to restore them after suspension of seven months. Khan said that Pakistan had not permitted the NATO to transport of lethal weapons. Read less...

One Nasir (22), son of Afzal, was killed within the limits of Garden Police Station. According to Police, Nasir was on his way home in Usmanabad when an armed man shot him dead. Read less...

Pakistan on July 5 rejected renewed Indian charges that Pakistani “state actors” were involved in planning and coordinating the 2008 Mumbai attacks, reports The Express Tribune. “I would very strongly reject any insinuation of any involvement of any state agency in acts of terrorism in India,” Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters after talks with his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai. The two top civil servants in their respective Ministries held two days of talks in New Delhi to bolster a peace dialogue undermined by fresh tensions over the Mumbai attacks and political flux in Pakistan. Read less...

Police arrested three alleged target killers, involved in the killing of some Ulema, after heavy exchange of fire in the Jinnah Town of Quetta. Three arrested persons were identified as Jahangir Haider Shah, Nadeem Abbas and Qaisar Abbas — belonged to Dera Ismail Khan and had come over to Quetta on a mission to kill people. This was disclosed by Deputy Inspector General (Investigations) Hamid Shakeel at a press conference. City SP Khalid Manzoor and other senior officers were present on the occasion. “They confessed to the murder of seven important religious and other personalities in different areas of Quetta,” Mr Shakeel said. Soon after making the arrests, the police raided the suspects’ house in Faisal Town and recovered a motorbike, weapons, their national identity cards and some important documents. Mr Shakeel said that during interrogation the three men confessed that they were headed for Killi Ismail area to attack an important personality. He added that they had confessed to killing Maulana Abdul Karim Mengal, Hafiz Abdul Basit, Qari Abdul Jalil, Maulana Faizullah, Qari Yasin Abbasi, Farooq Bangulzai and former Union Council nazim Saleem Jadoon. Read less...

Police recovered a body from Bado Nullah in Kharan and moved it to hospital for an autopsy where the deceased was identified as Muhammad Yousaf. Read less...

Prime Minister (PM) Raja Pervez Ashraf on July 5 defended the decision to reopen the Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs), which allowed NATO supplies through Pakistani territory, saying it was taken in the best national interest and in the light of the recommendations of Parliament, reports Daily Times. The PM expressed these views while talking to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House. The PML-Q leaders had supported the government’s decision to reopen NATO supplies. Raja said, “As the withdrawal of the NATO and ISAF forces gets underway, Pakistan wants to facilitate the process in the interest of regional peace and stability.” He said that peace and stability in Afghanistan was closely linked to peace and stability in Pakistan. Read less...

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on July 5 said his Government will continue its "moral, political and diplomatic support" to Kashmiris till the issue is resolved in accordance with their aspirations and UN resolutions, reports DNA. Ashraf made the remarks during a meeting with Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, the "Prime Minister" of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, an official statement said. Majeed thanked the Federal Government for including important projects for PoK like medical colleges and the Kohala-Muzaffarabad road in the budget for development programmes fiscal year. He also appreciated the federal cabinet's decision to facilitate overseas Pakistanis by introducing a bill to give people with dual nationality the right to contest elections in Pakistan. Read less...

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik on July 5 said the Government has prepared a strategy to curb the activities of extortionists during Ramazan and a new anti-terrorism law for ensuring conviction of target killers will be sent to the National Assembly after its adoption by the Senate, reports Dawn. Talking to reporters after presiding over a meeting in Karachi, Malik tried to dispel a perception that the number of suicide attacks had decreased because of closure of NATO supply routes and that these were likely to increase after the resumption of the supplies. Read less...

Salarzai tribes of Bajaur Agency have reiterated their resolve to step up the fight against terrorists in Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) and to form more lashkars (tribal militia) in towns bordering Afghanistan. The move comes in response to increased attacks by militants across the border in Upper Dir and other border areas in FATA and settled Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Political Agent Jabar Shah, Bajaur Scouts Commander Colonel Shakeel Janjua and lashkar commanders attended a Salarzai tribal grand jirga (tribal council) July 5 in Khar. During the meeting, the tribesmen reassured authorities of their commitment to keep fighting the terrorists. Read less...

Terror incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) killed more than 459 people and injured about 875 in the first six months of 2012, according to the Edhi Welfare Foundation, which provides emergency and healthcare services to terrorism victims, reports Central Asia Online. The Edhi foundation reported 254 bombings, including 17 suicide attacks. Its statistics did not include North Waziristan, which remained inaccessible. Terrorist explosions destroyed 52 KP and FATA schools and three colleges, Edhi spokesman Mujhaid Khan said. Twenty-eight of the 52 destroyed schools were for boys. In Peshawar alone, 49 bombings, including seven suicide attacks, killed 93 and injured 256. Read less...

The first trucks supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan crossed the border from Pakistan on July 5 after Islamabad ended a seven-month blockade, reports Daily Times. Three trucks loaded with mineral water were cleared to enter Afghanistan from the Chaman border post in Balochistan, Chaman District customs official Abdul Razaq Imran said. “Three NATO containers parked in customs house Chaman for the last seven months have crossed into Afghanistan from the Chaman border,” he said. “We cleared their documents and allowed them to cross the border after we received a letter from the Federal Board of Revenue about the restoration of the NATO supply.” Malik Hukam Dad, an official from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Chaman, said three trucks had been cleared and two had already crossed the border. Read less...

Unidentified assailants abdcuted the manager of a motorcycle company, Hanif Afshani, and his driver, from Hub town of Lasbela District. Hanif Afshani was on his way along with his driver Nawaz in Hub when armed men intercepted him at gunpoint and escaped towards undisclosed location after bundling both of them into their vehicle. Read less...

Unidentified assailants opened fire and left six persons in critical condition in Machhar Colony. Haji Noor (58), Siraj Mian (30), Moin (32), and Sohail (31), succumbed to their injuries, while the condition of Ilyas (27), and Khalid (31), was stated as critical. The killer was identified as Fareed Tunda member of Badshah Group who fled under the cover of darkness. Police succeeded in apprehend three suspects and seized weapons from their possession. The initial investigation revealed that a group of Lyari gangsters was behind the incidents. Read less...