Pakistan: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2012

A dead body, identified as that of Ajab Khan, was recovered from Yaro area of Pishin District. Another dead body of a man, identified as Abdul Rehman, was recovered from Turbat District. Read less...

A report appearing on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Urdu website said on March 1 that Brigadier Ali Khan of Pakistan Army, currently facing court-martial, planned to spread mutiny against the Government and attack the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi with support of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), reports Daily Times. Major Suhail, Defence counsel’s witness, in his written statement to the a military court, said that Brigadier Ali had hatched a conspiracy with a pilot and planned to attack GHQ during a meeting of corps commanders. The report said that during a meeting with members of HuT, the officer drew circles on paper to highlight his plan and told them that with support of three to four hundred armed men, they could take control of the Government. Read less...

Also, the provincial Government announced that it would shortly undertake reconstruction of completely destroyed schools and renovation of partially damaged infrastructure in the militancy-hit southern Districts of the Province. The reconstruction of 16 schools and dozens of small infrastructure schemes would be carried out with an investment of PKR 305 million by the Provincial Government, an official told the media. “The reconstruction requirements of the militancy-affected southern districts are far more than the activities being initiated in Bannu District and its adjoining districts,” said a development planner. Read less...

An unidentified man was killed in Mangochi area of Khuzdar District. Read less...

At least 20 militants were killed and their five hideouts were destroyed by Security Forces (SFs) in different areas of Orakzai Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 1. Read less...

Expressing dissatisfaction with the report submitted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI) in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail missing prisoners’ case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gave out a stern reprimand on March 1, reports Express Tribune. He said, “Do not assume in your head that you [ISI and MI] are superior and others [civilians] are inferior, you are not above the law.” Read less...

Police found an unidentified dead body of man in a gunny bag from a ground in Hazrat Bilal Colony within Korangi Industrial area Police limits in Karachi on March 1, reported Daily Times. A Police officer said that the victim appeared to be of Afghan descent. Read less...

Six tribesmen were critically injured when six mortar shells fired by NATO forces in Afghanistan landed in Zairai village of Dattakhel tehsil (revenue unit) in North Waziristan Agency. The area is considered by United States (US) as stronghold of al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. Read less...

The Chairman of Kandahar (Afghanistan) Peace Council Haji Ata Muhammad Ahmadi said that just as political efforts to stabilise Afghanistan gather pace, the Quetta Shura started to show signs of flexibility towards dialogue, reported Express Tribune on March 1 (today). “From what I’ve heard from Afghan tribal elders who have met former Taliban commanders ‘in their individual capacity’, they’re willing to talk peace,” said Muhammad Ahmadi. “They (Taliban) are also fed up with fighting, nobody can fight for ever,” Ahmadi told the media. However, he clarified that the Kandahar Peace Council, in its official capacity, hasn’t sent any delegation to engage the Quetta Shura in talks. “But yes, some Afghan tribal elders have individually travelled to Quetta and met with former Quetta Shura commanders,” Ahmadi added. Denying reports of the Quetta Shura rejecting the report of it peace talks, Ahmadi claimed that nobody was opposed to peace talks with them. “They’re sons of the Afghan soil. They cannot be ignored in the final settlement,” he said. Read less...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government will adopt a holistic approach to counter extremism by improving economic conditions, creating jobs and promoting sports and culture, said Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain on March 1, reports Dawn. “Extremism cannot be eliminated by bullets only. It requires a change in mindset to weaken the terrorists by making people to make a conscious decision to withdraw their support from extremist elements,” said Hussain, who also heads the Culture Ministry. Read less...

The witnesses further claimed that he was also confided by these people that the GHQ would be targeted with an F-16 jet to be flown from a nearby airstrip. They had further planned to attack US bases inside Pakistan and Black water’s locations. Major Suhail Akbar also admitted that during the last seven years, he had been in contact with HuT but refused to join the secret plans because he did not like violence. Brigadier Ali also claimed to have succeeded in getting support from Tripple One Brigade and certain Generals. Read less...

Three alleged militants were killed in a clash with Frontier Corps (FC) in Pir Sori area of Dera Bugti District on March 1, reported Express Tribune. According to details, unidentified armed militants allegedly attacked FC with sophisticated weapons, injuring two security personnel. The FC personnel returned fire, killing three alleged militants. Read less...

Unidentified militants opened fire on one Hidayatullah in Rekhni area of Barkhan District. No further detail was reported. Read less...

17 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, including two key ‘commanders’ were killed and 13 injured, while five of their hideouts were destroyed after jetfighters pounded their hideouts in Akhun Kot, Bilrass and Chappar areas of Manozai areas of Upper Orakzai Agency, reported Dawn. However, local spokesman for TTP Hafeez Saeed denied killings and said not a single fighter of his group was killed in the attacks. He told reporters from an undisclosed location over the telephone that jetfighters bombarded houses already vacated by the Taliban. Read less...

23 people were killed in a suicide attack targeting a mosque after Friday prayers on March 2 in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reported Daily Times. “The bomber detonated himself near the gate of a mosque in Tirah Valley when people were returning from the prayers, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 20 others” said the local administration official Jamilur Rehman, adding the toll may rise. The mosque is located in an area controlled by warlord Mangal Bagh, he said, adding that most of the dead were from his Lashkar-e-Islam (LI). Read less...

A Policeman and a five-year old girl were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the motorcade of former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao near Kangra village on March 3 soon after he left the venue of a public meeting in nearby Battgram village of Shabqadar tehsil (revenue unit) in Peshawar, reported Dawn. A member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and six other people were also injured in the incident. Sherpao, the Pakistan Peoples Party – Sherpao (PPP-S) chief and a member of the National Assembly, and his son Sikander Sherpao, member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, narrowly survived the attack as the explosion badly damaged their Land Cruiser. Sikander Sherpao got a slight injury on his hand and leg. Read less...

Anti-Violent Crime Cell and Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) claimed to have recovered Doctor Khalid Mehmood, an abducted doctor, and arrested two alleged abductors in a joint raid at Khuda Ki Basti in Surjani area. CPLC officials said Doctor Mehmood was abducted from Lyari Expressway along with his car on February 25, 2012 and the abductors, who earlier demanded PKR 20 million as ransom for his release, settled the deal at PKR 5 million after negotiation. The two abductors arrested were identified as, Haroon and Muhammad Altaf. Read less...

Business community and people in Mardan District on March 2 expressed concern over the wide circulation of fake currency notes of different denominations, which is causing financial loss to them, reports Dawn. Talking to the media reporters, several residents of Mardan city said that counterfeit notes, especially of PKR 1, 000 and PR 500 denominations, were in circulation in the market for last few months and no action was taken against the elements involved in this anti-state activity. Read less...

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on March 2 said that it is time to get rid of ‘strategic depth’ hangover. She hoped for a relationship with Afghanistan based on trust and called for leaving behind the past associated with interference in that country and support for Taliban. “Recognise what we are doing now without overshadowing it with whatever has been Pakistan’s historical baggage. We are moving out of that hangover,” Minister Khar said, adding, there is definitely no remorse for “the historical baggage” because all the countries that helped create the “Frankenstein” should share the blame. Read less...

In another incident, 23 LI militants and 10 army personnel were killed in fresh clashes in Lakaro Baba area of Tirah Valley. The LI militants attacked a check post of Security Forces (SFs) in the wee hours, shot dead 10 troops and injured eight others, the sources said, adding that 23 LI fighters, including a nephew of an LI ‘commander’, was killed in retaliation by the SFs. Read less...

Local political administration arrested four elders of Bulandkhel tribe in Ismailzai tehsil of Upper Orakzai Agency and sent them to jail under the Collective Territorial Responsibility Act, reports Dawn. The arrested men were identified as, Malak Rafiullah, Malak Muhabat Ali Khan, Malka Inayatullah Jan and Malak Roshan Khan. Read less...

Two bullet-riddled dead bodies of security guards, identified as Saleem and Imran, were found outside their office located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area within the limits of Mobina Town Police Station in Karachi on March 2, reported Daily Times. Read less...

Two more persons succumbed to their injuries in March 2 suicide attack in Tirah, in a private clinic in Mehraban Kallay taking the death toll to 25. Read less...

Two separate hand grenade attacks on March 3 injured four including two suspected attackers in Lyari area in Karachi, reports Dawn. Two suspected attackers got injured in the first blast when the grenade exploded in their hands near Kamila Stop. However, both the injured attackers successfully fled away from the scene. The second grenade was exploded near Lee Market in which two people got minute injuries who were taken to the Civil Hospital immediately after the incident. Read less...

Two volunteers from the Tawheed-ul-Islam were killed and two other people were injured when their vehicle hit a roadside explosive device in Dwa Toi area of Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency, reported Daily Read less...

Unidentified militants set ablaze the house of Haji Khiyal Akbar, a local tribal elder in Sipah area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit). The house, which had been vacated some time ago owing to the ongoing military operation, was completely gutted. In the same vicinity, armed militants took away the doors and windows of the house of Niaz Mat Shah, younger brother of Haji Khiyal Akbar. Read less...

Unidentified militants shot dead an Intelligence Bureau (IB) inspector, Bashir Khan (38), in a target killing incident near Abasar Colony on Warsak Road in Peshawar on March 2, reported Daily Times. Khan’s son sustained injuries during the attack. The inspector was the third IB official to be killed in the last few months. Read less...

Bullet-riddled bodies of three missing Frontier Corps personnel were found near Machh town in Bolan District on March 3, reports Dawn. The three FC personnel were identified as Lance Naik Mohammad Yousuf, Lance Naik Tosiq and Sepoy Rashid Ali. The personnel had gone missing after militants attacked four Frontier Corps check-posts in Margat coalmines area of Machh last month, killing over a dozen security personnel and injuring several others. Read less...

Four militants were killed and two others received injuries in clashes between two rival groups in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), on March 3, reports Dawn. Sources said that armed militants of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) attacked a bunker of Tawheed-ul-Islam (TI), its rival group, following an exchange of fire resulted in killing of four LI militants and injuries to two TI militants. Read less...

In a year since the assassination of Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, three suspects have been arrested and subsequently released due to lack of evidence, reported Express Tribune on March 3 (today). “No solid leads could be found to direct the investigations the right way,” said a Police Official who has been closely associated with the investigation of the case. “The details have been murky since the beginning,” he divulged, on condition of anonymity. Read less...

A local leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Abdul Zareen alias Shah Gee, was arrested from Bara Koh, a suburb area of Islamabad on March 4, involved in attacks on Army troops and Frontier Constabulary forces in Bajaur Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Daily Times. Read less...

A suicide attack injured five officers, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), and badly damaged the vehicle when a teenage suicide bomber struck a Police patrol at Commissionery Bazaar in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 4, reports Dawn. “The suicide bomber was on foot. He blew himself up when the police vehicle was patrolling in a street,” senior Police official Qazi Jamil ur-Rehman said. “Five policemen were wounded, condition of one of them was critical,” he added. Read less...

Docks Police arrested seven accused and recovered arms and drugs from their possession in different actions in the night in Machhar colony. Read less...

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said on March 4 that only 48 persons were missing from Balochistan and the figure of 6,000 such people was “highly” exaggerated one, reports Daily Times. During his visit to the National Press Club, he appealed to the media to avoid filing stories on Balochistan that were based on propaganda. The Minister said the Government was closely monitoring anti-state activities of the Baloch leaders living abroad. He said he would welcome exiled Baloch leaders and assured them that they would not be arrested as criminal cases against them had been withdrawn. However, he added, relevant information about political cases against Baloch leaders was being gathered. He said that only those leaders would be welcomed who showed honour for the national flag. Read less...

In addition, Chakiwara Police arrested three suspects associated with banned outfit Aman committee in Lyari area and recovered two Kalashnikovs, three TT pistols and 300 bullets. Read less...

Magistrate Ahmed Mansoor Janjua said on March 3 that Abdul Rasheed, the main accused behind the October 8, 2007 suicide blast on Benazir Bhutto’s rally, revealed to him that the attack was planned and orchestrated by the then Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, reports The Express Tribune. During the hearing of Benazir Bhutto murder case in a special Anti-Terrorism Court, Janjua said that he had told Rasheed that his statements could be held against him, but Rasheed replied that he is giving the statements without any pressure. The magistrate told the court that Rasheed confessed that Mehsud not only brought two suicide bombers from Waziristan but also handed him PKR 400,000 to carry out the task. The suicide bombers were taken for a survey of Liaquat Bagh a day before the rally. The map of the area was explained to them, and after spending the night with Rafaqat and Hussain – both currently under arrest – the bombers arrived at the rally venue five hours before it began, detailed Janjua. He added that both the bombers were supposed to detonate themselves, but the target was achieved after Bilal blew himself up. So Mehsud took the other bomber Ikramullah back to South Waziristan after he was informed of a successful attack. Read less...

Over 50 members of the Hindu community across Balochistan have been abdcuted in the last four years, compared to seven instances of abduction during former President General Pervez Musharraf’s nine years, said Basant Lal Gulshan, the human rights and minorities affairs minister for Balochistan. “Among those are two assistants from my own pharmacy, abducted two days ago,” the minister said. The alarming rise in kidnapping of Hindus across the province was confirmed by Balochistan Chief Secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri while speaking to The Express Tribune. Out of a total of 72 people abdcuted in the past few months, 24 were Hindus, Lehri said. Of them, 21 have been either released or recovered through the efforts of the community itself, he added. Read less...

Police found dead body of another young man near Coast Guard Quarters in Korangi area within the limits of Zaman Town Police Station. Read less...

Police found the bullet riddle dead of young man, identified as 25-year-old Sameer, resident of Ghousia Colony within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. Read less...

Punjab Rangers and Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts recovered live rockets, light machine guns and other arms from two separate points of Gilgit city and arrested seven suspected persons. “GB Scouts raided a suspected house in Yadgar Mohallah and took into custody eight live rockets while in Amphary Punjab Rangers recovered two light machine guns, four SMGs, 3 pistols and 900 bullets,” informed Home Secretary Sajid Chohan at a press briefing in GB Scouts headquarters. He said three people were arrested from the Yadgar Mohallah and four from Amphary, who were being interrogated. Read less...

Rehman Malik said that Afghanistan had closed the training camps of Baloch separatists in that country, adding that this was done at the intervention of Afghan President Hamid Karzai who had admitted recently that some of the troubles in Balochistan were originating from his country. “After we approached the honourable President of Afghanistan with facts and figures he was kind enough to look into the matter by promising to stop infiltration of miscreants from his side of the border,” the Interior Minister told media persons during a visit to the National Press Club. Read less...

Section 144 was imposed as two persons, including a security official, were injured in a shooting incident in Baseen area of Gilgit on March 4, reports Daily Times. A convoy of Security Forces (SFs) had stopped in Baseen when people, participating in rally to mourn the killing of 18 Shias during a bus ambush in Kohistan on February 28, pelted stones on them. SFs had to retaliate which resulted in shooting in the area. Read less...

The driver of a Police patrol vehicle was killed in an ambush by unidentified militants at Landi Akhun Ahmad area of Peshawar in the evening of March 4, reports Dawn. An official informed that a Police party of Pishtakhara Police Station was on routine patrol when militants fired at the vehicle which resulted in death of the driver, Ilyas Khan. Read less...

the residence of Shakeel Afridi, who is arrested over treason charges, has been sealed due to law and order concerns. The family of the arrested doctor is said to have relocated itself to an unidentified destination, and the Hayatabad residence has been reported to be vacant since May. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on March 4 removed its ‘deputy chief’ Faqir Muhammad from the key position, reports Daily Times. TTP, however, permitted him to be part of the terrorist group as an ordinary fighter. In an interview with a foreign media organisation, TTP ‘spokesman’ Ahsanullah Ahsan said that a consultation meeting of the TTP was held on March 2 under its Chief Hakeemullah Mehsud. The meeting, which was also attended by nine other important TTP ‘commanders’, took a number of decisions, including the removal of Faqir Muhammad, the spokesman said. Ahsan said that no one had been nominated to replace Faqir, adding that the announcement could be made in the next TTP meeting. Declining to divulge reasons for Faqir’s removal, Ahsan said the ‘deputy chief’ had only been conveying decisions under instructions of Hakeemullah Mehsud. Faqir had been heading TTP in Bajaur Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He had developed differences with the TTP leadership after an abduction of 20 children in Bajaur Agency on the eve of Eidul Fitr in 2011. He was accused by Maulvi Dadullah, another TTP ‘commander’, of having links with the Government. Read less...

Three persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on March 4, reports Daily Times. Forty-year-old Rozi Khan was killed and his friend Sakhi Jan injured in a firing incident near Indus Plaza at a local hotel along the Super Highway within the jurisdiction of Sohrab Goth Police Station. A Police official said that the victim was the resident of Junejo Colony in Sohrab Goth and hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Read less...

A man, identified as Sarwar (26), was shot dead by unidentified militants at Main Bazaar situated near Nimco Shop within PIB Police precincts. The victim was abducted on March 4, 2012 from a shop situated near Sindhi Hotel. Read less...

A total of 333 cases have been received by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances over the past 14 months, stated a press release issued in Islamabad on March 5, reported Dawn. There were 138 cases of missing persons till January 1, 2011. The commission received 333 cases during the period from January 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012. With these cases, the number of missing persons has increased to 471, and a total of 175 cases have been disposed of so far. Read less...

According to official sources, three FC check posts located on Chaman Road, Quetta-Karachi Highway and Sibi Road were abolished to promote reconciliation efforts in Balochistan, reported Daily Times. Read less...

An official of Mehsud Scouts was killed during a search operation in Naway Kamar area on Sheen Qamar Road in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) when an explosive device planted inside an empty house exploded. Read less...

As a result of proceedings held in Islamabad and Karachi, some missing persons were traced in February this year. The commission plans to visit Quetta in the second week of March. Read less...

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani on March 5 ordered the heads of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), including FC and Police, to take steps to fight terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and other heinous crimes in the province, reports Dawn. He was speaking at a meeting, presided over by him and the commander of the southern command in Quetta, to review the law and order situation in the province. It was decided that all possible steps would be taken to curb terrorist activities, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes that were increasing in the province. “LEAs should take all measures to ensure security of the people in Balochistan,” the Chief Minister said. Read less...

Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah and the Chief Secretary visited Chilas, the headquarters of Diamer District, and met with elders and public representatives. It was agreed at the meeting that a jirga (council) from the District would make efforts for establishing durable peace in the region. Later, a 100-member jirga comprising notables from across the Diamer District was formed in Chilas. Read less...

District Coordination Officer (DCO) of Gwadar, Abdul Rehman Dashti, was killed by unknown armed assailants in Karachi on the night of March 5, reports Daily Times. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) District South Naeem Shaikh said that the DCO was killed at the bungalow of Mir Imam Bezenjo, a political personality from Turbat District of Balochistan and later his body was placed in a car and it was abandoned at Khayaban-e-Tanzeem not far from the bungalow. The car was bearing green colour registration plate bearing Government of Balochistan number. Two employees of the house were detained by the Police. Police said initial reports suggested that DCO had come to Karachi to attend a meeting. However, the reason for DCO’s presence in the house was not clear. Read less...

FC arrested a suspect, identified as Haji Lala Khan, recovering arms from his possession from Satellite town area in Quetta, reports The News. According to sources, Khan was signaled to stop his vehicle. During checking, ammunitions including one Kalashnikov, 2 Magazine, 48 rounds and one SMG were recovered from his possession. Read less...

Four militants were killed when rival outfits clashed with each other to get control over an important bunker in Dwa Thoe area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 5, reports Dawn. Sources said that Tariq Afridi group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked a bunker of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Dwa Thoe area. Both the outfit traded heavy fire, which resulted in killing of four militants. LI sources in Bara claimed that they not only repulsed the offensive but also killed three of their opponents. The LI had captured the same post after expelling TTP from the Kukikhel dominated areas of Tirah valley. Both groups have been fighting with each other since October 2011 to gain full control of the area. Read less...

He had also sought the initiation of criminal proceedings against Gen Musharraf and others for allegedly planning and executing the plot to assassinate Ms Bhutto and named as respondents former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, former law minister Babar Awan, then acting interior minister Lieutenant-General (retd) Hamid Nawaz, former Director General of Intelligence Bureau Syed Ijaz Hussain Shah, former interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah and senior police officers of Rawalpindi. Read less...

Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) is a non-political organisation and does not operate clandestinely, rather it works openly within society in order to bring back the glorious era of Islam, the organisation’s Counsel, Chaudhry Umar Hayat Sindhu said on March 5, reports Daily Times. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said that his organisation had nothing to do with terrorism. He said a ban was imposed on the organisation during President Pervez Musharraf’s regime on the suspicion of terrorism. He claimed that nobody had proved yet that HuT was a terrorist organisation. The counsel said the organisation filed a petition in the court against the Government’s decision, but the case had not been heard despite the passing of several years. Read less...

In the District, at least seven people, including a bystander woman, were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on the crowd gathered at Awami National Party’s (ANP) welcome rally for its newly-elected senator Shahi Syed near Malir area. The Mohajir Qaumi Movement - Haqiqi (MQM-H) also participated in the rally. Read less...

Kukikhel volunteers defused an explosive device planted on a roadside in Serhai area. Local sources said that the device was spotted minutes before a Kukikhel jirga was held in the area. The total number of destroyed schools in the entire Khyber Agency has crossed 80, whereas in Landikotal this number is about 24, Read less...

Local residents found headless body of Tor Mullah Zakhakhel, a tribesman, at a deserted place in Akkakhel Read less...

Militant leaders in Bajaur Agency (FATA) have reacted strongly to the removal of their chief from the post of deputy Amir (chief) of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and threatened to form their own group, reports Dawn. Four top militants loyal to Maulvi Faqir Mohammad called local reporters and said they rejected as one-sided TTP`s decision to remove their leader from the deputy leader’s post. Maulana Abdul Mutalib, Fazal Khan, Maulvi Abdullah and Liaquat Khan said the decision of TTP’s central shura (council) was untimely and would sow discord among the militants. “The decision of the shura has disappointed Bajauri Taliban,” one of them said. Their reaction came a day after TTP’s central spokesman Ihsanullah Ahsan announced that the shura had removed Faqir Mohammad from the post. Read less...

Public and private schools, offices and markets re-opened in Gilgit city of Gilgit District on March 5 after remaining closed for a week following the February 28, 2012 Kohistan killing of 18 Shias Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) recovered a cache of weapons in a search operation in the Chiragali area of Upper Dir District. Sources said that the SFs launched the operation following leads provided by a militant commander arrested a day earlier. The seized weapons included AK-47 rifles, four rocket shells and four RR shells. Official sources, however, refused to confirm the arrest of the militant commander. Read less...

Sindhu further claimed that Hizbut-Tahrir was working in 40 countries, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, UK, Denmark, Turkey and Jordan. It has hundreds and thousands of followers but has never been involved in any act of terrorism. The Counsel demanded the Government lift ban on the organisation and provides justice to its activists. Read less...

The Supreme Court hearing a plea for registration of a second FIR in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case ordered on March 5 that a summons be pasted on the wall of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s residence in Islamabad, reports Dawn. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez said the move was aimed at informing the retired general of the case that would be taken up again after two weeks. Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry, who filed the petition, is one of the injured witnesses of a gun-and-bomb attack on the Former Prime Minister outside Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007. He served the slain PPP leader as protocol officer for 21 years. The petitioner had challenged the rejection by the Lahore High Court of a plea for registration of the second FIR in the case. Read less...

The terrorists’ bid to blow up a tribe elder`s house in Hangu city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was neutralised on March 5 after occupants spotted a 15 kilograms improvised explosive device on the premises and got it promptly defused by the bomb disposal squad, reports Dawn. Local officials said tribal elder Islam Khan Orakzai living in Balamina area was the target of the terror plan. Read less...

Three militants were killed as a Balochistan Frontier Corps (FC) patrol team retaliated to their attack in Hameedpur area in Naseerabad District on March 5, reported Daily Times. An FC spokesman said that the team was on routine patrol in the area as a group of militants opened fire on the officials with sophisticated weapons. Three militants were killed in retaliation and the remaining militants managed to flee. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up a Government primary school in Malik Jafar Khan area of Landi Kotal. The blast damaged the building. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up three 220-KV electricity towers in Mach area of Bolan District suspending electricity to some areas. No loss of life was reported. Read less...

A bullet-riddled dead body, identified as that of Ahmed Ali, was found dumped in the Dasht area of Mastung District, reported Express Tribune. Relatives of Baloch missing persons rushed to the hospital after being informed about the recovery of a body. Read less...

A media report stated that authorities in Islamabad have allowed the family members of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, including his widows and children, to leave the country. A Yemeni brother-in-law of Laden has arrived in Pakistan to take away his two Yemeni widows; a newspaper quoted official sources as saying. Read less...

A security man, identified as Khalid of Swat Scouts, was killed and two others received injuries when an improvised explosive device went off in Baizai tehsil (revenue unit) of Mohmand Agency. Sources said that security personnel were on routine patrol in the Baidmanai Kando area of Baizai when they stepped on the explosive device, planted along the road. Read less...

An activist of the Awami National Party (ANP), identified as Bacha Zada (33), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants at Sir Shah Suleman Road near Hassan Square area in Essa Nagri within the limits of Aziz Bhatti Police Station in Karachi on March 6. Read less...

An alleged drug kingpin from Turbat District of Balochistan, Mir Imam Bizenjo, has been identified as the prime suspect in the March 5, 2012 murder of Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rehman Dashti. The murder took place at the home of Imam Bizenjo. “We have an eyewitness who has confirmed that he was killed inside the home and not in the car,” said Clifton TPO Superintendent of Police (SP) Tariq Dharejo. Bullet casings as well as traces of blood were found. “We know that he [Mir Imam] is responsible for the murder but this is a kingpin of a very big drug cartel so it will definitely take time to arrest him and he will be very hard to catch,” said Dharejo. However, Clifton Station House Officer (SHO) Amir Altaf sees a missing link in the case. Read less...

An Anti-extortion Cell, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Wasif Qureshi, has been set up in Karachi on the demand of Small Traders Association (STA), The News reported. The handout further said that Policemen would be stationed at check posts set up with the help of traders' community in South Zone within the next 24 hours. Read less...

Asserting that the United States (US) faced tough threats from the American recruits of al Qaeda, Attorney General Eric Holder on March 6 said that the Government has "clear authority" to kill its citizens abroad who present an imminent threat of violent attack, reports Times of India. "Given the nature of how terrorists act and where they tend to hide, it may not always be feasible to capture a US citizen terrorist who presents an imminent threat of violent attack," Holder said, adding, "In that case, our Government has the clear authority to defend the US with lethal force." Holder said the argument by some that the US President is required to get permission from a federal court before taking action against a US citizen who is a senior operative of the al Qaeda or associated forces is not accurate. Read less...

At least 17 militants, including two al Qaeda ‘commanders’ and seven suicide bombers, were killed in separate Security Forces (SFs) actions in Upper Orakzai and Malakhel area of Dabori in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the night of March 6, reports Daily Times. Two al Qaeda ‘commanders’, identified as Abdullah Mubarak and Ahmed, were Arab nationals. Read less...

He further said both internal and external forces were involved in creating unrest in Balochistan. Responding to a question, he clarified that red notices, not red warrants of former President Pervez Musharraf have been issued. In red notices, the court concerned of the related country is requested to hand over the wanted culprit. Replying to another query, he said the family of Osama Bin Laden was living in Pakistan illegally and they would be dealt in accordance with the law of the land. Read less...

In compliance with the Supreme Court orders during hearing of a plea for registration of a second First Information Report (FIR) in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, summons was pasted on the front wall of the residence of former President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on March 6, reports Dawn. Officials of the Rawalpindi Police reached the model farm house number 1-C/B Park Road, Chak Shahzad area in Islamabad, which is the property of General Musharraf and pasted the summons. The summons instructs the former President to ensure his presence at the Supreme Court on March 22, 2012. The summons asks Musharraf to “take further notice that you are required to bring your original identity card for the purpose of verification of your identity for entrance in the premises of the Supreme Court Building”. Read less...

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the security of the Federal Capital had been tightened to foil any terrorism bid especially from the Margalla hills in Islamabad Read less...

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 6 granted bail to two alleged militants, Mufti Imamuddin and Qari Mohammad Arshad, who were arrested on charges of planning attacks on sensitive and important buildings of the Federal Capital and arranging funds through abductions for ransom, reported Dawn. According to the prosecution, the accused were among five alleged militants who had planned to attack Parliament House, Diplomatic Enclave, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Headquarters, Presidency, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Convention Centre and the Islamabad Club. They had also planned to abduct the son of an industrialist for ransom as they wanted to arrange funds for the act of terrorism but were arrested in September 2011, the prosecution said. The other accused were Kamran Akram, Mohsin Ali and Mohammad Ali, facing the trial in Adiala jail. Read less...

Keeping in view the terrorist attacks on Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Department decided to upgrade the buildings of Police Stations as per requirements in order to avert the sabotage acts and secure lives of the people, reports Dawn. This was stated by Provincial Police Officer Mohammad Akbar Khan Hoti while inaugurating the newly constructed Gulberg Police Station in Peshawar. He said that beside construction of Police buildings, which were targeted in the ongoing war against terrorism, the present insufficient police infrastructure would be made as per the requirement of modern time. Mr Hoti said Police station was the first step towards dispensation of justice and vowed that all available resources would be utilised to ensure best policing as per aspiration of the general public. Read less...

March 6 reported that the Balochistan High Court disposed of 83 cases of missing persons, among 4000 cases during the Judicial Year 2011. Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Qazi Faez Isa revealed these figures during a full court reference to mark the commencement of the new judicial year 2012 at Balochistan High Court (BHC). “The court took suo motu notices of sensitive cases and had never come under pressure nor was influenced in any case. All the verdicts were given on merit fulfilling the constitutional obligations,” he said. Justice Isa said that court was taking keen interest into the cases of missing persons. “As many as 83 missing persons surfaced while 43 such cases are still pending. A separate day in a week was allocated for the cases of missing persons,” he said. Read less...

Police Special Branch arrested one Dinesh Chandar, an alleged Indian spy from Malir Khokrapar area, reports Express Tribune. The Police also recovered an Indian identity card and maps of villages and cities in Pakistan. He is currently being held at the Mithadar Police Station. Read less...

Seven unidentified militants were killed while nine others were wounded during a clash with Security Forces (SFs) at the RD 238 Uch area of Naseerabad District on March 6, reported Daily Times. According to official sources, the clash erupted after armed militants ambushed the convoy of a commander of security officials of the Naseerabad division. SFs also recovered arms and explosives from the dead militants. Read less...

The ousted deputy chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Maulvi Faqir Muhammad on March 6 said to Reuters that he still favours peace talks with the Pakistani Government. “Whenever I’ve held talks with the Government of Pakistan, I’ve held them with the permission and advice of the central leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Maulvi Faqir Muhammad said from an undisclosed location. “When the Taliban in Afghanistan can talk to America, then why can’t we talk to the Government of Pakistan?” he added. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain denied any talks had been held, but said the announcement “clearly shows the differences among Taliban ranks”. Read less...

Unidentified militants abducted three persons from a Hujra (guest house) in Sultankhel area of Haleemzai tehsil. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up five houses in Dahri Likpani area in the Katlang Police Station jurisdiction of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 6, reports Daily Times. Police and locals said the militants had planted explosive material outside the house of a retired employee of the Pakistan Air Force, Ameer Rehman. Four other houses in the surrounding area, including that of Rehman’s brother Rwadad Khan, were partially damaged. No casualties were reported in the incident. Read less...

A boy was killed and three others injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast on the Kohat-Peshawar Road in Kohat District. Read less...

A CD market was blown up by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by unidentified militants on Takkar Road at Takhtbhai Bazaar in Mardan District. Read less...

A headless body of a student, identified as Abdul Mateen, was found in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing. Read less...

A jirga (council) of Kukikhel tribe asked all armed groups to vacate its area immediately, threatening to take action against those, who provide shelter to militants on its soil, reports Dawn. “Besides putting his house on fire, a fine of PKR one million will be imposed on anyone found guilty of sheltering militants in Kukikhel area,” Haji Zabita Khan, a tribal elder said. The tribal elder said that use of force would be their last option to expel militants from the area as first they would try to convince armed groups through negotiations. The jirga decided to hold talks with all groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of Tariq Afridi group, LI, TI of Zakhakhel tribe and Ansarul Islam (AI) to stop them from using the soil of Kukikhel for any type of violence. “Kukikhel is a peaceful tribe. We will not allow anyone to shed blood of innocent people on our soil,” Zabita Khan said. Read less...

Al Qaeda’s main operational commander and the chief of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reportedly killed on June 3, 2011 in a United States (US) drone attack in South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), was spotted in North Waziristan Agency recently, reported Daily Times on March 7 (today), referring to reliable sources. The HuJI leader reportedly visited North Waziristan this week and held sittings with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud. Sources said that during the visit, Kashmiri spent a night with Mehsud, as his guest. During Kashmiri’s visit to the TTP comrade in Waziristan, a renowned journalist from Islamabad was also reportedly present there. During the sittings with Mehsud, Kashmiri allegedly reviewed the future strategy in connection with jihad, his movement and the present situation in Afghanistan. However, sources said that security officials of the US and Pakistan failed to confirm the death of the HuJI commander and media reports were published in July 2011 that he was still active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, it is said that the photograph believed to be of Kashmiri’s corpse, was actually that of a militant belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Read less...

An activist of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), identified as Lala Ayaz (38), was shot dead and a young boy Saleh Muhammad (12) injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on them near a hotel at Met Office in Karachi, reports Dawn. Read less...

An official of Balochistan Levies, identified as Abdul Ghani, was shot dead by unidentified assailants while he was sitting along with his friend at a roadside hotel in Khuzdar District. Read less...

At least four persons, including two women, were killed and two others injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire after entering a house in Shaheen town area on University Road in Peshawar on March 7. Read less...

At least three militants were killed when rival outfits clashed in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 7, reported Dawn. Sources said that Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Zakhakhel dominated Tawheedul Islam (TI) exchanged heavy gunfire in Naree Bara locality to gain control of Tol Mela hilltop. Sources said that at least three persons were killed and many others injured in the clash. Read less...

China is facing a network of militants entrenched in neighbouring states, but authorities, especially in Pakistan, are trying to stamp out violence and protect China’s interests, the Governor of China’s Xinjiang region said on March 7, reports Daily Times. China has blamed incidents of violence in Xinjiang on Islamic separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. Some Chinese officials have blamed attacks on militants trained in Pakistan, though China’s Foreign Ministry has refrained from public criticism on Pakistan. Read less...

Interior Minister Rehman Malik also claimed that at no stage was the Government aware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, adds Dawn. The Minister admitted the failure of civil Intelligence Agencies in tracking down the al Qaeda founder. However, it was for the first time that a government official told the Abbottabad Commission that the Government was unaware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country. Read less...

Interior Minister Rehman Malik on March 7 revealed that Pakistan’s Security Agencies were a few days too late – saying they were ‘very close’ to capturing the slain al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, reports Express Tribune. He told a judicial commission that security agencies were about to find Bin Laden’s compound when United States (US) Special Forces captured and killed the al Qaeda chief on May 1, 2011 in Abbottabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We were about to catch Osama when US Navy SEALs raided his compound (in Abbottabad),” insiders told The Express Tribune while quoting Malik. Read less...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the Government was ready to accept the genuine demands of the TTP. The Minister said the Government could not accept “unjust demands”, adding that conceding at this point would encourage the abductors to ‘lift’ more people for ransom, bringing the Government under pressure. Read less...

One activist of Awami National Party (ANP), identified as Rehan Mehsud (28), was shot dead in Machhar Colony within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station in Karachi on March 7, reported Daily Times. Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Ghaffar Jumani said he was a labourer by profession and hailed from South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Read less...

One Nazimuddin Umrani, a relative of Mir Sadiq Ali Umrani, President of the Balochistan Chapter of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was abducted by armed assailants from the Allahbad Tamboo area of Naseerabad District on March 7, Read less...

Police found a two-day old torture-marked unidentified dead body from Azeem Pura, within the precincts of Shah Faisal Police Station. Read less...

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on March 7 urged the Government to disclose the whereabouts of two Sindhi nationalist leaders - Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Senior Vice Chairman Dr Mir Alam Muree and Umer Teewano alias Raja Dahar, who were picked up by plain clothed men belonging to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) from Gulshan-e-Sajad area in the jurisdiction of Bhatai Nagar Police Station of Hyderabad District in Sindh on March 5, 2012. Read less...

The Sabzi Mandi Police on March 8 arrested 60 suspects during a search operation in various localities of Islamabad, reports Daily Times. According to details, Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Abid Akram, along with Police teams, Police commandoes, conducted special checking of various houses, under-construction buildings, inns and slums. The suspects were arrested after they failed to produce any authentic document of their identification. The Police also arrested two people for possessing illegal pistols. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a fresh footage of the abducted Vice Chancellor (VC) of University of Peshawar, Doctor Ajmal Khan, reported Daily Times. In the video message, Doctor Khan is seen making an appeal for his recovery. Read less...

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist) meeting scheduled for March 7 to finalize relief packages to disgruntled Youth Communist League (YCL) members and show the details of People’s Liberation Army ( PLA) finances was postponed due to absence of PLA chief, Nanda Kishor Pun, reports Republica. UCPN-M Chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda bowing to intense pressure, had assured YCL members of holding talks with them on March 7. Dilip Prajapati, YCL Chief said he is hopeful that the PLA members who were recruited into YCL back in 2007 will receive relief packages. “The party has already decided to provide them with relief packages and I think the decision will be implemented,” he said. The disgruntled YCL members have been demanding that the party provide them with relief packages on par with the PLA members who opted voluntary retirement with hefty pay-checks or await jobs at the Nepal Army (NA) directorate, and show how the money collected from the PLA personnel NPR 1,000 each PLA personnel every month) was spent. Around 3,500 PLA members are still working for the YCL. Read less...

Trader Ashok Kumar, who was abducted on February 27, 2012 from Gandahwa area of the Jhal Magsi District, returned home. It is not known how much ransom he paid to the abductors. Read less...

Unidentified militants abducted three FATA Sustainable Plains Development Programme (SPDP) officials and a Levies soldier from the Ghundi Hassankhel area in the Frontier Region (FR) Lakki of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the night of March 7, reports Dawn. Sources said Jehanzeb, Awal Khan and Kachkol Khan guarded by Naseer Khan of Levies, were in Ghundi Hassankhel area to inspect work on SPDP projects. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline with explosives in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District destroying a portion of the gas pipeline resulting in suspension of gas supply to a plant from well no 16. Read less...

Unidentified militants killed three labourers and injured six others in a town close to the Iranian border in Kech District on March 7, reports Dawn. “The victims belonged to Punjab and were waiting for bus after returning from Iran via Mand Bulo border when they were targeted,” sources said, adding that dead bodies were sent to Faisalabad District of Punjab for burial. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings. Read less...

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region current Chairman Nur Bekri said that “we have certainly discovered that East Turkestan activists and terrorists in our neighbouring states have a thousand and one links”, while talking on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of Parliament, when asked about a Pakistan connection with attacks in Xinjiang. “But officials, especially in Pakistan, have said over and over again they oppose any violent activities directed against China and will maintain China’s national sovereignty and core interests,” he added. Read less...

Two alleged militants were arrested from the basement of a mosque during an operation in Malgeen area of Lachi tehsil (revenue unit) in Kohat District, reports Dawn. The arrested militants were identified as Haji Mohammad and Noor Nawaz. Police recovered a small machine gun, a set of goggles, two hand grenades and surgical equipment from their possession. Read less...

250 Afghan citizens were arrested for allegedly not having travel documents from check post in Mian Ghundi area of Quetta, reported The News. According to the Police, Security Forces raided four passenger buses, travelling from Quetta to Pichgor, and detained 250 Afghan citizens for not having travel documents. The Afghan citizens were trying to illegally visit Iran. Read less...

A worker of a political party succumbed to his injuries after being shot on March 8, 2012 in Surjani Town area. Read less...

Authorities have brought charges against former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s three widows for illegally entering and living in the country, Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said on March 8, reports The Express Tribune. “They (the wives) were presented before the court. After that, they are on judicial remand, and are being kept in a proper, legal manner,” Malik told reporters. “Cases have been registered against the adults, not the children.” The children, he said, were living comfortably in a five-bedroom house in Islamabad. “A house has been bought for them to live in.” Two of the wives are Saudi nationals, and one is from Yemen, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry. Malik did not specify which court was dealing with the case, or where the women were being held. They will have to stand trial, but it was not clear what punishment they faced if convicted. Read less...

Gilani termed the US an important country and said Pakistan did not wish to spoil its relations with it. Gilani said the Parliamentary Committee on National Security had already prepared recommendations for new terms of engagement and cooperation with the US, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO. About the unilateral drone strikes, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan considered these attacks against its sovereignty and pointed that the people also saw it as an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty and against the people. He said the matter had been raised with the US authorities. When questioned about the success of the drone attacks in decapitating al Qaeda leaders, he said it was beside the point; the matter was of the sovereignty of the country. He said Pakistan and the US had cooperation in defence and intelligence but stressed that actionable and credible intelligence was needed to be passed on to Pakistan for action. Read less...

In a new twist to the Osama bin Laden saga, emails leaked from an intelligence analysis firm Stratfor suggest that the body of the al Qaeda leader was actually sent to the US for cremation and not buried at sea, reports Indian Express. According to the emails, Osama was killed in a US raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and was transported to the US and cremated. The emails were allegedly obtained by the hacker group Anonymous from Stratfor, a private organisation dealing with analysis of intelligence and geopolitical situations. WikiLeaks has released the emails exchanged within Stratfor on May 2, the day Osama was killed. Following his death, the US said he was buried at sea in accordance with Islamic tradition. However, Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton reportedly said he doubts the White House version of what happened. Burton, says the body was “bound for Dover, [Delaware] on (a) CIA plane” and “onward to Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda (Maryland)”. Read less...

Pakistan possessed up to 110 nuclear weapons and spent a whopping USD 2.2 billion on its atomic arsenal last year, claims a report by an international NGO, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), reports Times of India. In the report titled "Don't bank on the bomb", the ICAN said that Pakistan had between 90 and 110 nuclear weapons. "Its arsenal has grown substantially in recent years, from 60 to 80 nuclear weapons in 2008," it said. The report, issued this week, quoted sources as saying that Pakistan intended to double its arsenal in the next five to 10 years with the goal of having up to 350 weapons of varying yield. It further said Pakistan spent an estimated USD 2.2 billion on its nuclear weapons programme last year, up from USD 1.8 billion in 2010. Read less...

Police found a dead body of an unidentified woman from bushes near Afghan Camp, within the precincts of Gulshan-e-Maymar Police Station in Karachi on March 8, reports Daily Times. Station House Officer (SHo) Ali Ahmed Bugti said the victim appeared to be a 25 year old Afghan national. Read less...

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on March 8 said that Pakistan desired relations with the United States (US) on the basis of mutual respect and interest without compromising its national sovereignty, reported Daily Times. In an interview with Jim Middleton of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s programme Newsline, the prime minister said the two countries were working as partners for the common goal of fighting extremism and terrorism. He was asked whether the relations between the two countries were returning to normal after the deadly strike that killed scores of Pakistani soldiers along the Pak-Afghan border. Read less...

Railway track was blown up in Nushki District on March 8 suspending the train service between Quetta and the Iranian city of Zahedan. Read less...

Reacting to the report, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said it was "highly exaggerated and part of an insidious propaganda campaign." "Pakistan's strategic programme was modest (and) aimed at maintaining a credible minimum deterrence to ensure national security," Basit said. He said Pakistan's primary focus was on economic development and the welfare of its people. "Pakistan was opposed to an arms race in South Asian or in any other part of the world," he said. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘commanders’ are locked in talks, trying to heal a damaging rift that has inflamed tensions over whether to pursue peace efforts with the Government, Dawn quoting insiders’ sources reported on March 8. “The one-point agenda is how to adopt a uniform policy,” a TTP ‘commander’ told AFP from an undisclosed location on condition of anonymity. Read less...

Government offer for talks with Baloch nationalist leaders was heading nowhere as most of them rejected it, saying they have no trust in the rulers. “This is a trap and our leaders, including Brahamdagh Bugti, will not return; the Government did the same in the 1960s when they invited the Baloch leaders for talks and later persecuted them. The rulers also tricked Nawab (Akbar Khan) Sahib,” Shahzain Bugti, a leader of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) told the media. Read less...

“Nobody trusts the Government anymore, whether it is Interior Minister Rehman Malik or anybody else. Dictatorial policies of the past continue to dominate the current scenario in Balochistan.” The Interior Ministry has ordered the chief secretary of Balochistan to withdraw cases against Brahamdagh, Harbyar Marri and Akhtar Mengal, but the nationalists described the move as double standards of the Government. “The point is that who will guarantee the deal; what happens if talks fail or the Government doesn’t want to listen to anything,” said Shahzain. “Behaviour is the problem and Islamabad’s mindset is the main culprit; neither are we a colony of the Federal Government nor slaves,” added Shahzain. Read less...

A bomb hoax at the Karachi University (KU) spread panic among the students, prompting an evacuation, reported Daily Times. The entire university was evacuated after the dissemination of false information. However, Station House Officer (SHO) Mubina Town Khan Muhammad Sheikh rebuffed the information, saying tension was escalating after the clash between two students’ organisations. Read less...

A man was shot dead in Mujahidabad area of Orangi Town, reported Dawn. The incident occurred following the targeted killing of a former cadre of a banned outfit in Meraj Nabi Colony the same day. Read less...

A new twist to the mystery of how Osama got a shelter in a Pakistani cantonment town for over six years, before he was killed by US SEALs came from a retired Pakistani brigadier Shaukat Qadir, who carried out his own investigations, the Times said. Besides the intense jealousy among his wives, Qadir claims that Osama had been sidelined by his outfit. “al Qaeda decided to retire him in 2003 as he was mentally senile having picked up some degenerative disease from 2001.” Read less...

A Police informer, identified as Muzammil (35), and a pushcart juice vendor Muhammad Aslam were shot dead at Faqeera Goth within the limits of Sohrab Goth Police Station in Karachi on March 9, reports Daily Times. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ejaz Rajper confirmed that Muzammil was a Police informer, adding that one Imran and his accomplices were arrested over the charge of his murder. He said Imran, who was arrested on the information of Muzammil, had threatened him for dire consequences after his release from the jail. Muzammil was the prime target of armed riders and the juice vendor came in the line of fire, he added. Read less...

A Police official succumbed to his wounds after being injured during a clash with the outlaws in New Karachi area. Read less...

A refresher course in criminal law will focus mainly on the Protection of Women Act 2006, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2010 on sexual harassment, Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010, Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Amendment) Act 2011, Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Acts of 2010, among others. The force will also be trained to counter violence against women, child rights, handling of juvenile offenders, police powers of arrests, entering a situation, searching suspects, seizing weapons or other things and questioning and the role of women police officers. Read less...

Accusing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of “crossing the last limits of corruption”, she said: “The party which has grabbed power in PoK through rigging should tell what it has done for the amelioration of masses in the region?” She also underlined the need for amendments in PoK’s Interim Constitution Act 1974 so as to empower the region’s Government. Read less...

After the shootout, a large number of local tribesmen blocked the portion of National Highway linking Quetta and Afghanistan by putting barricades and boulders. In the meantime, a convoy carrying customs and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials arrived at the place and were stopped by armed militants. They abducted Balochistan Customs Additional Collector Syed Shahanshah Hassnain, a superintendent, two inspectors, two constables, two officials of the NAB and two drivers. According to the sources, a former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Nawabzada Humayun Khan Jogezai, along with local administration officials held negotiations for several hours with tribal elders. “Negotiations with the tribal elders proved to be fruitful and resulted in the release of all the kidnapped men,” an official of Qila Abdullah administration said. Read less...

Al Qaeda confirmed that one of its commanders, Badr Mansoor, died on February 9 in an US drone strike in a compound located in Miranshah. The US-based SITE monitoring service said that the confirmation of Mansoor's death came in a video statement by Ahmad Farooq, al Qaeda's head of media and preaching in Pakistan. Read less...

An activist of an unnamed political party was killed in New Karachi area. Read less...

As the insurgency in Balochistan gets into international limelight, several foreign Governments have assured Pakistan of steps to curb activities of Baloch separatists on their soil, reported Dawn. “We have been assured that their respective territories would not be used for anti-Pakistan activities,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said on March 9 while responding to a question about enhanced activities of expatriate Baloch activists, who have been rejuvenated by the United States (US) Congressional hearing and tabling of a resolution on Balochistan. Read less...

At least 10 Government officials were abducted and later released after the killing of two alleged suspects on March 9 in the Killi Misezai area of the Qilla Abdullah District on March 9, reports Dawn. According to sources, personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) and the Anti-Terrorism Force launched a search operation in Maizai Addah area on a tip off about the presence there of a gang involved in abduction for ransom and other heinous crimes. Armed militants opened fire on the security personnel, injuring an FC soldier and destroying two vehicles with rockets. An intense clash continued for over an hour. “Two criminals involved in abduction for ransom were killed in the exchange of fire,” an FC spokesman told the media. 15 other people were injured. Later, 16 suspects were arrested and a large quantity of arms and ammunition seized. “Many members of the kidnappers’ gang were arrested,” the FC sources said. Read less...

At least 18 militants, among them six foreigners, were killed when US drones fired missiles on a compound and a vehicle in two different areas of South Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) on March 9, reports Dawn. According to intelligence sources, 12 militants were killed in the attack on the vehicle in Jandool Mandow area of Shaktoi. The drones fired four missiles and foreigners were among the casualties, they said. However, independent sources said that eight missiles were fired on the vehicle at around 5 pm in which 15 people were killed. Six Uzbeks died when drones fired two missiles at the compound in Nesphah, 12 kilometres from Jandool Mandow. Read less...

At least five terrorists were killed by Security Forces (SFs) after they attacked convoy of the (SFs) in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency, political authorities said. The terrorists attacked the convoy in Alam Godar area. The SFs retaliated to the attack and killed five terrorists. Following the incident, SFs started a search operation in the area. Read less...

Basit remarked that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders had recently urged the Indian Government to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act. Replying to another question on the need for India and Pakistan to work together to settle the Siachen issue in order to minimise damage to the environment, Basit said Islamabad wanted the matter to be "resolved as quickly as possible". Read less...

Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Dost Muhammad Khan said on March 9 that 2012 would be the year of release of missing persons, reports The News. “No one is above the law and the Constitution,” he said in his speech as chief guest at the general body meeting of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA). The PHC chief justice claimed that more missing persons were recovered in his three-month period as chief justice than the previous three years of the high court. He said it was the constitutional duty of the judiciary to protect fundamental human rights, liberty and property of the citizens when the state failed to do so. Read less...

Crime Range West claimed to have arrested a target killer, Rahim Mama alias Rahim Bux, from Rashid Minhas Road. According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Khurram Waris, the raid was conducted on tip-off, leading to the arrest of Rahim Bux. He said the accused, during initial investigation, confessed to have killed six persons in different areas of the city, including Syed Ahmed alias Amir Shah and Khalid Jakhrani in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area. “He had no affiliation with political or religious party”, SP Waris said, adding the accused only used to work for money. Read less...

Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) held a rally in Peshawar, demanding the immediate release of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ismail Darvesh of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaatud Dawa leaders also addressed the rally. They termed the unrest in Balochistan an international conspiracy against Pakistan and stated that the DPC will not allow this to continue. The rally demanded the immediate release of missing persons through a resolution and said that those in the custody of the military and in jails should be released. Their emphasis regarding missing persons focused on those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Read less...

Former Member of National Assembly (MNA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Marvi Memon on March 9 called for representation of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) so that the two regions could properly plead and protect their stakes, reports Dawn. Marvi struck the chord with almost everyone by taking strong exception to the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) for its poor performance in rehabilitation and reconstruction of earthquake affected people and areas. She announced that she would stage a sit-in against “ERRA’s corruption” over which she had also recently filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Read less...

In the District, a civilian was killed near Pakistan Chowk locality Read less...

Leader of the peace militia of the Stori Khel Tribe in Orakzai Agency, Malik Waris Khan, was attacked and killed by militants in Feroz Khail area of Orakzai Agency. The militant, according to the official, managed to escape. However the house he took refuge in was soon located and encircled by security forces however. With no way to escape, and capture imminent, the militant killed himself. “He first exploded a hand grenade and injured himself but when the security forces moved closer, he shot himself,” said the official. The spokesperson for the TTP Ehsanullah Ehsan called reporters from an unknown location and claimed responsibility for the attack on the peace lashkar leader. “He was fighting against us,” said Ehsan. Malik Waris Khan had been awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan on the 23rd of March, 2011, recognising his efforts to combat militants and restore peace in his area. Read less...

Osama bin Laden was betrayed by one of his jealous wives and his aides. It seems all was not well in Osama’s safe house in Pakistan towards the end, the media report stated saying there was “poisonous mistrust” between Osama’s three wives, with one of them being accused of betraying him to United States (US) intelligence. Tensions erupted between Sadah, described as “the favoured wife,” and Khairiah Saber, an older woman who occupied a separate floor. In interrogation, Sadah accused her rival of having betrayed their husband to US intelligence. Read less...

Pakistan on March 9 said it is not putting the "core issue" of Kashmir on the backburner as it works to normalise ties with India, and any final settlement between the two sides would be linked to realising the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people", reports Indian Express. "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is about the people of Kashmir and their inalienable right to self-determination. Therefore, there is no question of freezing this issue or putting this core dispute on the backburner," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said. "Doubtless, we are taking steps on the path to normalise Pakistan-India relations but reaching the final destination will inevitably be contingent upon realisation of Kashmiris' aspirations," he said during the weekly news briefing in response to a question on whether Pakistan is willing to set aside the Kashmir issue while normalising ties with India. Read less...

Sindh Police will be inducting 400 more women officers into the ranks to add to the 900 which are already part of the force. Sindh Inspector General (IG) Police Mushtaq Ahmed Shah held a meeting at the Central Police Office to review capacity-building measures for improving women policing. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Administration Abdul Khaliq Shah announced that short-term training courses have been designed for the women officers. Read less...

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants ambushed a military convoy, killing seven soldiers at Khar Qamar, 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, reports Daily Times. “After the ambush, military helicopters and troops retaliated and there were reports of deaths of nine militants," an intelligence official said. Read less...

The ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi expressed his unfamiliarity with the ban. He, however, made it a point that if such a ban exists, it would be challenged in court. He added that his group respected the laws, and that trying to impose a ban on his organisation was akin to imposing a ban on Pakistan. Read less...

The commission will be authorised to seek a report from the Federal Government on its own motion or on receipt of a petition on violation of human rights. The commission or any person authorised by it could visit any jail, place of detention or any other institution or place under the control of government or its agencies where convicts, under-trial prisoners, detainees or other persons are lodged or detained. The members of the commission could visit any jail or any other institution under the control of the government where convicts or under-trial prisoners are serving their sentences. Read less...

The functions of the commission do not include inquiring into the acts of intelligence agencies. If a complaint is made to the commission alleging that an act or practice of such an agency is in violation of human rights, the commission shall refer the complaint to the competent authority. The legislation would at least open a window to inquire upon the alleged human rights violations committed by the intelligence agencies. The new legislation also includes the establishment of ‘human rights courts’ for the purpose of speedy trial of offences arising out of violation of human rights. To make the commission financially independent, the bill makes it mandatory for parliament to make due appropriation in the budget and provide the funds to the commission directly. No contribution from any foreign source, private or governmental, shall be acceptable to the commission, except after the approval of the Federal Government Read less...

The Government on March 9 appointed Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam as the new head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), quashing rumours of another extension for Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, reports The Express Tribune. Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam will step into Pasha’s boots as Director General of the Directorate of ISI after serving as the commander of the V Corps, a key army administrative unit that is based in Karachi. “Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has appointed Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam, corps commander Karachi, as new director general of the Inter Services Intelligence,” the PM’s office said in a terse statement. The appointment of Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam, whose nomination was supposedly backed by President Asif Ali Zardari, was finalised on March 9 evening. Read less...

The local tribesmen in Mezai Ada area of Qilla Abdullah District, while referring to March 9, 2012, incident where Security Forces (SFs) launched a search operation against alleged abductors killing two suspects, accused the SFs and opposing tribesmen of killing and detaining innocent people during the operation. A local tribal elder Mohammad Shafiq Misazai flanked by other tribesmen said SFs and their opponents barged into their houses and opened indiscriminate fire. “60-year-old Haji Dost Mohammad and young Sadam were killed on the spot while 16 others were wounded. The forces also whisked away 14 of our injured tribesmen,” he claimed. “All the victims were innocent and unarmed when attacked by forces and opponent tribesmen,” he added, alleging that the assailants also took away valuables from their houses. However, a Frontier Constabulary (FC) spokesperson said that SFs had conducted a search operation against criminals involved in kidnapping and other crimes. One FC personnel was also wounded during the search operation. Read less...

The spokesman said that taking notice of those activities, the Foreign Ministry “made demarches to the relevant Governments”. Many Baloch leaders and activists have taken refuge in European countries from where they have been actively promoting their cause. Western Governments have been generally sympathetic to Baloch separatists and some of them are allegedly patronising them indirectly. The spokesman said Balochistan was an ‘internal matter’ which would be dealt with in “our own constitutional political way”. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on March 9 threatened attacks against the Government, Police and military officials if three of the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s widows were not released from Pakistan’s custody, a spokesman for the militant outfit said, reports Express Tribune. “If the family of Osama bin Laden is not released as soon as possible, we will attack the judges, lawyers and security officials involved in their trial,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters. “We will carry out suicide bombings against Security Forces and the Government across the country,” he added. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan on March 9 threatened to attack Shad Begum, recipient of the International Women of Courage award, reports The Express Tribune. Shad Begum, who hails from Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, received the International Women of Courage Award on March 8 from First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her work on women rights and development. Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters that Shad Begum “works for a secular and infidel system in Pakistan. That is why America has given her this prize” and threatened attacks against her. Read less...

The Upper House on March 9 unanimously passed ‘The National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012’ with major amendments to the bill passed by the National Assembly earlier, to provide for the establishment of National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) for protection and promotion of fundamental human rights in the country, . Read less...

The US State Department said those that would threaten Shad Begum, are “out of step with the aspirations of the Pakistani people.” Laura Lucas, a State Department spokesperson said, “Begum comes from a long tradition of strong female Pakistani civil society leaders. We have recognised her for the strong and courageous work that she does, which is appreciated by the many communities she has helped, and those who would threaten her are out of step with the aspirations of the Pakistani people.” Read less...

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth also ordered the Police department to close down all the illegal detention facilities within 10 days. It directed the NAB Director General to conduct the inquiry and in the light of it file a reference against the SHO within 30 days. The bench was hearing a writ petition concerning alleged illegal detention and torture of a 5th grade student, Iqbal Hussain, by the SHO. Hussain’s mother, Ms Mamala, has filed the petition, challenging his detention. Read less...

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik on March 10 said that the alleged suspects for the February 28, 2012 target killing of 18 Shia bus passengers in Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been traced through frequency of their cell phones and five of them have already been arrested, reports Dawn. However, their identity cannot be disclosed at the moment. “The names of the killers will be given to the Jirga (council) members who will hand them over to the Law-Enforcement Agencies,” the Minister said. Read less...

Four terrorist hideouts in the Khadezai and Mamozai areas of tribal region were destroyed by bombardment of jet fighters, killing at least 21 terrorists. Orakzai is one of seven ethnic Pashtun tribal areas where the Pakistani military has carried out offensives to root out insurgent groups. Read less...

Pakistani fighter jets bombed several terrorists’ hideouts in the northwestern Orakzai Agency, near the Afghanistan border, killing 33 terrorists and injuring 23, military officials said on March 10. According to security sources, hideouts of terrorists were pounded in shelling by the forces in Upper Orakzai Agency area of Mamozai, Oadkhel and Jabba. As a result, a dozen saboteurs were killed and several others injured. As many as three terror dens were also destroyed in the crackdown, sources added. Read less...

Quetta Police on March 10 busted eight outfits involved in abduction for ransom and other heinous acts, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Operations Quetta Qazi Abdul Wahid, reports The News. Flanked by other Police Officials, DIG Operations said that since January, 2012 Police dismantled eight outfits involved in abducting citizens for ransom, car lifting, motorbike snatching and robberies. Read less...

Six members of a pro-Government tribal militia (Aman Lashkar) were killed when they were ambushed by militants in the Dera Bugti area of Balochistan on March 10, security officials said. According to sources, volunteers of the militia were travelling to Phelaogh from Sui when they were attacked by the armed militants positioned on the hills. Six volunteers died on the spot while several got injured. Security Forces cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation after the attack. However, no arrests have been reported so far. The Baloch separatists and Taliban militants are active in the province, and have been blamed for such violence in the past. Read less...

The Government of Pakistan has discreetly banned the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jama’at (ASWJ), reported Express Tribune, quoting the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Urdu report on March 10 (today). In what the BBC describes as a notification issued by the Interior Minsitry two weeks ago, the ASWJ was suspected to have been involved in terrorism related activities of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the defunct terror outfit. The new notification, unannounced publically, has been issued based on schedule-one of the Anti-Terrorism Act. According to the copies of the notification available with the BBC, authorities in all four provinces have been alerted to the change in status. Read less...

The Government on March 10 banned three religious/charity organisations working in the country, reported Dawn. According to a senior official of the Interior Ministry, with the latest ban imposed on Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jama’at (ASWJ), Al Harmain Foundation (AHF) and Rabita Trust (RT), the number of outlawed organisations and groups rose to 38. The three organisations were outlawed by the United Nations (UN) in 2009 under a resolution adopted by the Security Council. Read less...

The Minister further said that the incident should not be viewed as a terrorist action against a particular sect. “Rather, the killings were carried out by those who want to destabilise the state, the Government and are active throughout our country. “An international conspiracy may be under way and the investigators have taken this into consideration,” he added. Read less...