Pakistan: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2012

A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report said that contrary to the perception that Osama bin Laden lived in seclusion for nearly five years in Pakistan's Abbottabad, he travelled to the restive Waziristan region to attend a dinner about a year before he was killed. The al Qaida chief was the surprise guest at a dinner hosted by two men on the fringes of the Waziristan region late one night in the summer of 2010, BBC report said. Read less...

A bullet-riddled dead body, identified as that of one Shah Zaman, was found in Mastung District, reported Daily Times. “The body had multiple wounds,” sources said. Read less...

A former Obama Administration official Michael Leiter who served as the head of the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) said on May 1 that the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden wanted to see President Barack Obama and General David Petraeus assassinated, reports The Times of India. But Michael said that he didn't think it was bin Laden's highest priority, suggesting the terrorist leader dreamed of another large-scale, 9/11-type attack on the United States. Read less...

A senior unnamed official of the Communication Ministry claimed that during the past 10 years, Pakistan's road infrastructure suffered damages estimated at PKR 100 billion due to the heavy NATO trucks carrying goods to Afghanistan. He said a report about claims for damages worth USD 1.5 billion had been submitted to a standing committee of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament. NATO containers damaged 26 per cent of the main highways and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of these roads cost USD 1.36 billion, the official claimed. The National High Authority's network connects Pakistan to Afghanistan via three routes with a total length of 406 kilometres. Read less...

A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Asim Mehsud on May 1 said that “we will continue to carry out attacks such as the one in Bannu,” while denying reports that escaped prisoners were handed over under any truce with the Government. Asim denied reports published in a Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) based Urdu daily which stated that the TTP had decided to hand over the escaped prisoners to the Government as their sole aim was to release Adnan Rashid. “There were no talks between the government and the TTP for the release of the prisoners, neither any plans to hand them back to the government,” Asim said. Commenting on the condition of the escaped prisoners, the TTP spokesperson said that all prisoners had reached safe locations. As reported earlier, the TTP militants had attacked the Bannu jail on April 15, 2012. Read less...

Ahmed is accused of acting as a recruiter and making an "explorative visit" to Pakistan where he may have undertaken terrorist activities. Hussain allegedly specialised in the distribution of funds and provisions, while Arshad allegedly provided practical guidance on activities abroad, what to wear to fit in and lead the outdoor training. All four were accused of possessing editions of Inspire, and a terrorist book called "44 Ways to Support Jihad". Read less...

An official of the Frontier Corps (FC) was killed while another sustained injuries as a remote-controlled bomb exploded in Kalat District on May 2, reports The Express Tribune. Assistant Commissioner Noor Baksh confirmed the casualty and number of injured. Sources said that the blast targeted an FC convoy which was patrolling in the area. Read less...

At least two passers-by, identified as Tanveer (14), a student, and Muhammad Khalid, a clerk at University of Balochistan, were killed and 16 others, four of them security personnel, were injured in a powerful remote-controlled explosion near Irrigation Colony on Saryab Road area in Quetta on May 1, reported Daily Times. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Sar Kalam Khan claimed responsibility for the attack. According to Quetta Capital City Police Officer Ehsan Mehboob, it was a remote-controlled blast and the target was a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy. Two passers-by were killed and 16 others injured. “Civilians suffered casualties and loss in the explosion, while vehicles of Security Forces were partially damaged,” he added. Read less...

Bodies of two Baloch missing persons, identified as Mohammad Murad Marri (35), from Kohlu District, and Dil Murad from Sibi District, were found near Patar Bridge in the Coastal Highway area of Uthal in Lasbela District. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons spokesman Nasrullah Baloch told the media that the two men were abducted on an unspecified date from Vindar area of the District and were on the missing persons’ list. Baloch said that a total of 395 bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch missing persons, including 75 so far this year [2012], had been found in different parts of Balochistan. Read less...

Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said Government of Pakistan and armed forces played a vital role in capturing former al Qaeda chief through a mobile phone’s chip/SIM, reports Dawn. He revealed that the former al Qaeda chief was hunted down through a mobile phone’s SIM/chip which was found ‘fortuitously.’ He claimed that it was Pakistan’s armed forces which had weakened the al Qaeda’s terrorist network. Read less...

Four militants surrendered to the Army in the Charming area of Bajaur Agency, reports Central Asia Online. “The militants, among them a commander ... handed over weapons to the authorities and pledged to remain peaceful in future,” Political Agent Islamzeb Khan said. More than 5,000 militants have surrendered in the past three years as they lost public support and could not withstand military pressure, Khan added. Read less...

It was reported that the residents of Bilal town in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad where Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 1-2 have asked the Government to build a 'statue of peace' or a beautiful monument at the site of his compound to remind the world that there is no place for such a terrorist mastermind. "We have written to the Pakistan Government to build either a statue of peace or a beautiful monument at the site where Laden lived illegally. By doing so, we should give a message to the world that the man who was the symbol of terror is no more along with his philosophy. His elimination will bring peace to the world," Zubair Ahmed, a resident of Bilal Town said. Read less...

On May 1, four Pakistani-Britons were charged with taking inspiration from al Qaida magazine ‘Inspire’, and plotting to use a toy car to attack a base of the Territorial Army in Luton town of Britain, reports Times of India. The plot was, however, foiled. Zahid Iqbal (30) is accused of leading the terror network. He was joined by Mohammed Sarfaraz Ahmed (24), Umar Arshad (23), and Syed Farhan Hussain (21). The gang is accused of working to recruit others for jihad and raising funds. The accused were arrested at their homes in Luton on April 24. The Westminster magistrates' court heard the accused bought survival equipment, downloaded al Qaida terror manuals and discussed methods and targets. Two of the arrestees were caught discussing how to build explosive devices from instructions in Inspire magazine. It was also claimed the gang planned to attack NATO forces in Afghanistan. Read less...

Pakistan continues to support insurgent groups and provide terrorist safe havens so as to have its influence inside the war-torn Afghanistan, the Pentagon told the United States (US) Congress on May 1, reports Times of India. The Pentagon said that Pakistan continues to seek a stable, secure Afghanistan, an Afghan Government with primacy for Pashtuns and limited Indian influence. "To this end, Pakistan has allowed an insurgent sanctuary in its border to persist, offering a safe haven to Afghan Taliban and associated militant groups including the Haqqani Taliban Network in the North Waziristan Agency," it said. Read less...

Pakistani authorities on May 1 proposed the imposition of a levy of USD 1,000 on each truck and container transporting supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan through the country's territory, reports Indian Express. The Communication Ministry had proposed the levy, National Highway Authority Chairman Mohammad Ali Gardezi said. As reported earlier, the Government is considering reopening the supply routes that were closed after a cross-border NATO air strike on November 26, 2011, in which 25 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Read less...

Pakistan's selective counter insurgency operations, passive acceptance of insurgent safe havens and its unwillingness to interdict materials such as IEDs components undermine the security of Afghanistan, it said in a congressionally mandated report. The Pentagon informed Congress that because of "pervasive mistrust, long standing tensions an divergent strategic interests" continue to make genuine co-operation with Pakistan very difficult for the United States. Read less...

Political and social organisations of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency have taken strong exception to unlawful detention of internally displaced families of Bara by Peshawar Police for extortion and warned of a protest demonstration in front of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Peshawar if the practice is not stopped. Read less...

The contractor, Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai, who took up the contract for the demolition of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad house, was getting life threat, reports Daily Times. Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai Yusufzai told AFP that the Taliban had sent him threatening letters. Read less...

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) team, headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam, claimed to have taken control of a den owned by Taj Muhammad Taju. The team also claimed to have recovered Balochistan Liberation Army’s (BLA) anti-state literature from the den. Sources said the BLA was supporting the gangsters, adding that they were getting weapons via Hub-Sakran border. Read less...

The gangsters also hurled grenades at a hotel in the Napier Police precincts, injuring 10 people. An Airport Security Force (ASF) official, Aziz Baloch, sustained bullet injuries in the same area. Another man, Hassan Muhammad, was also injured in Bihar Colony area. A Police source said the gangsters had fired 18 rockets and lobbed several grenades at the Police in various parts of Lyari. Read less...

The gun battle between the Lyari gangsters and the Police entered the fifth day on May 1 killing two persons, including a Police Constable, and injuring 12 others, reports Daily Times. A Police source said the gun battle between the gangsters and Police further intensified when Police commandos marched towards Gul Muhammad Lane and Sukhi Lane to set up a Police check post. The gangsters fired five rockets at Cheel Chowk, killing Police Constable Muhammad Tufail. In Kalakot Police precincts, former international boxer, Javed Jan, was killed by a stray bullet in Gabool Park area. Read less...

Three persons were killed due to shelling of Security Forces (SFs) in the Khan Mir Garhi area of Mamonzai in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on May 1, reports Daily Times. Sources said that a shell fell in a garden where some civilians were sitting, due to which three persons, identified as Murree Khan, Shoaibullah and Khaliq died instantly, while two persons - Hameed Khan and Luqman – received severe injuries. Read less...

A report released by UNESCO ranks Pakistan as the second-most dangerous country for journalists in 2010-2011, reports Dawn. Mexico was the most dangerous, with 18 journalist fatalities in that time frame. Two Pakistani journalists were killed in 2006-2007, followed by six in 2008-2009 and 16 in 2010-2011, the report, “The Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity,” found. Forty-two journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Read less...

Al Qaeda was plotting to carry out audacious terror attacks in Europe similar to 26/11 Mumbai strikes, a "treasure trove" of documents embedded inside a porn movie recovered from a terrorist returning from Pakistan has revealed, reports Indian Express. The al Qaeda plots were found inside encoded inside a movie stored in a digital disk, after Police arrested Austrian Maqsood Lodin (22) in Berlin on May 16, 2011. He had returned from Pakistan via Budapest, Hungary, and then travelled overland to Germany, CNN reported. The interrogators found the digital storage device and memory cards hidden in his underpants. Inside them was a pornographic video called "Kick Ass" and a file marked "Sexy Tanja". More than 100 al Qaeda documents that included an inside track on some of the terror group's most audacious plots and a road map for future operations were found in the movie. Read less...

Annual Report, Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, released by Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan on May 2 reported that the hate campaign against the Ahmadis reached new heights in Pakistan and even innocent children are not spared now. The report said, “There was an open hate campaign against Ahmadis in Pakistan and young children studying in nursery grade classes are not even spared from this horrific discrimination and hatred.” “The hate filled posters; stickers, fliers and calendars were openly distributed across Pakistan,” it added. The report specifically mentioned the hate campaigns faced by the Ahmadis in Faisalabad District of Punjab province where fliers and leaflets were openly distributed calling people to kill Ahmadis. The Government and security agencies failed to take any concrete action against such actions. Expelling children from educational institutions also increased and even kids studying in nursery were not spared. Ahmadi children faced expulsion from schools or outright refusal by the educational institutions to admit them. Read less...

At least four people were injured when a series of bombs exploded outside at least half a dozen branches of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in seven Districts of Sindh early in the morning of May 2 (today), reports The Express Tribune. According to initial reports, bombs had targeted bank branches and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) installed in NBP in Hyderabad District, Nawabshah District, Sukkur, Dadu, Larkana, Ghotki, and Badin Districts. Read less...

At least six people were killed and more than 40 wounded on the sixth day of the ongoing gun battle between Police and gangsters in Lyari area of Karachi on May 2, reports Daily Times. Police failed to make advance in the area. Read less...

Claiming that the documents uncovered are "pure gold", US intelligence sources told CNN they were the most important haul of al Qaeda materials in 2011, besides those found when US Navy SEALs raided Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan. The future plots included the idea of seizing cruise ships and carrying out attacks in Europe similar to the gun attacks by Pakistani terrorists in Mumbai in November 2008. Read less...

Gangsters also attacked Police Stations and the house of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Rafiq Engineer in Shidi Lane. They propelled rockets and hurled hand grenades in several other areas, including Lee Market, Kharadar, Chakiwara, Nawa Lane and Behtai Lane, wounding 40 people and damaging Police vehicles. Police called in further contingents of force and more APCs were deployed. A Police officer said that there was no history of such kind of “prolonged and deadliest operation in which law enforcement agencies have failed and looking for a way out”. Read less...

Hearing the case, Justice Chaudhry censured the Federal Government and Security Agencies over their lack of progress and the Provincial Government’s apparent helplessness. “It has been observed that the Federal Government is not cooperating for the recovery of ‘missing persons’, while the Provincial Government appears to be helpless,” he said, adding, “Where are the missing persons? Has the earth or the sky swallowed them up?” “Balochistan is burning, while the Chief Minister along with his Cabinet members is busy attending luncheons in Islamabad,” Justice Chaudhry said. “People are being subjected to enforced disappearances; mutilated bodies are found dumped; targeted killings are multiplying and incidents of kidnapping-for-ransom are also increasing,” he added. Read less...

Hyderabad Police said that bombs went off near NBP branches in Anaj Mandi, Fatima Jinnah Road, Nasim Nagar, and Liaquatabad. In Nawabshah District, a bomb exploded outside an NBP branch on Sakrand road. In Dadu District, an under construction NBP branch was targeted near the Press Club. Also, two branches of NBP in Larkana District located on Bakrani Road and VIP Road were also attacked by low-intensity bombs. Read less...

In Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi, unknown assailants hurled a cracker bomb near the complaint office of Karachi Electric Supply Company in Block 15. Read less...

It was reported that the ongoing Lyari operation is proving to be a financial burden for the Sindh Government, with daily costs running into hundreds of thousands of rupees. According to estimates, bullets worth PKR 5 million have been used, so far. For the operation, around 2,000 personnel have been deployed around Lee Market, Cheel Chowk and other surrounding areas. Read less...

One Sajjan Bibi was killed in Kalakot area when a bullet hit her inside her home. Separately, one Noor Zaib (7) was killed during a shootout in Usmanabad area. Also, one Ismail Katchi was killed and seven other people injured during a rocket attack by gangsters on Jumman Baloch Road. Another violence victim, Amjad, who was wounded in Kalakot, succumbed to his injures. Zafar Katchi was killed at Cheel Chowk and an unidentified man was knocked to death by a Police’s Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) in Kalakot area. However, the Police declined the incident. Elsewhere, Police claimed that they had killed a gangster in Afshani Street. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) have been put on high alert across Pakistan to counter any possible terrorist attacks ahead of Osama’s death anniversary, reported The News. Pakistani officials said they fear attacks could mar the anniversary, saying that security agencies had been ordered to be "extra vigilant" on May 2 (today). "These agencies are in a state of high alert and have been directed to be very careful since this is going to be an important day," one security official told on condition of anonymity. Western embassies in Islamabad have issued warnings, advising citizens to avoid public places for fear of attack. The US embassy in particular has restricted staff from going to restaurants and markets until May 5, 2012. Read less...

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the National Security (PCNS) Raza Rabbani made it clear that the drone strikes, despite remarks of some senior US officials, were a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, and had to stop. Rabbani took an exception to a statement by some US officials who had tried to validate drone strikes under the international law. He said that the US would have to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and the drone attacks have to be stopped. Read less...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet on May 2 was informed by Police Department that 97 persons, including 25 Policemen and a soldier of the Frontier Constabulary, were killed in 105 terror attacks during the first quarter of 2012 in KP, reports Central Asia Online. Of 331 people wounded in the quarter, 68 were police, Police officials told the KP cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti. Attacks damaged 14 Police vehicles, 4 Police Stations, 21 schools, 2 bridges, 4 electricity towers and 45 private vehicles, Police told the cabinet. Read less...

The nationalist parties of Sindh mounted pressure on the Government to stop the ongoing Lyari operation. They consider Lyari operation a one-sided action against the criminals in Karachi and an attack on the already oppressed Baloch population. Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah-led Sindh United Party (SUP) called for a province-wide protest on May 5, 2012. Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) and Awami Tehreek (AT) are scheduled to hold protest demonstrations in Sindh on May 4, 2 Read less...

The nephew of Mir Fhaiq Ali Khan Jamali, a former Provincial Minister, identified as Rohsan Ali Jamali and his driver, identified as Munir Shah, were abducted by a group of armed militants from Dhadar area of Bolan District while he was on his way to Jaffarabad District, reports Daily Times. Read less...

The pact between the United States and Afghanistan could leave the door open for continued drone strikes against militant targets in Pakistan after 2014, US Ambassador Ryan Crocker indicated on May 2, reports Dawn. “There is nothing in this agreement that precludes the right of self-defence for either party and if there are attacks from the territory of any state aimed at us we have the inherent right of self defence and will employ it,” he said. Read less...

The Pakistan Government desire to expand ties with India in diverse fields, especially trade, while maintaining peace and promoting prosperity in the region, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on May 2, reports Times of India. "Pakistan is a peace-loving and moderate country and wants to have friendly and cordial relations with all countries, including India," he added. Read less...

The report urged the Government to consider Ahmadiyya-specific laws and ensure that Ahmadis in Pakistan were given equal rights as any other citizen. “Ahmadis are facing legal, social, cultural and political discrimination because of these laws which are against the very base of our society where equal rights of individual are prime,” it added. Read less...

The Supreme Court summoned Balochistan’s top Government officials to explain progress, or lack thereof, on the issue of ‘missing persons’ during the hearing of a case on the volatile security situation in the province, reported The Express Tribune. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry sought an assurance from Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and Home Minister Zafarullah Zehri that they will protect the life and property of the people under Article 9 of the Constitution. Read less...

Two persons, including a cadre of Sunni Tehreek (ST), were shot dead in two separate incidents of target killing in Karachi. A cadre of ST, identified as Babar Qadri (27), was shot dead in Jacob Lines area near Allah Wali Masjid, within the limits of Brigade Police Station. ST spokesman claimed the victim was his party worker and targeted only over his political association. Separately, Police found an unidentified bullet-riddled dead body from Malir River close to Saleh Muhammad Goth. Read less...

Which was en route to Karachi was attacked in a bomb blast in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki District. Read less...

A religious scholar and teacher of Darul Uloom Haqqania, Maulana Naseeb, was found dead on Ring Road in Nowshera town of same District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on May 3, reports The Express Tribune. Police said that Naseeb had been abducted by unidentified people from Taru Jaba area of Nowshera District a few days ago. A statement issued by the seminary following his disappearance had alleged that secret agencies had picked up Maulana Naseeb when he was on his way to Kohat for a protest. Read less...

A SCBA Executive Committee member said that Balochistan needs a good administrator to resolve its issues, as the incumbent provincial Government had failed to resolve people’s problems. He said the committee believed there were three main issues in Balochistan: target killing, missing persons and kidnapping for ransom, but Police were too scared to take steps to resolve these issues. He also said some authoritative persons in the province had told them if Police were empowered and FC were withdrawn then the Province’s situation could stabilise. Read less...

At least five Policemen and four criminals were killed in a gun battle between the Police and gangsters on the seventh day of Lyari operation in Lyari area of Karachi on May 3, reported The Express Tribune. The Lyari gangsters, including People’s Amn Committee (PAC), remained on a standstill position and used automatic weapons, rockets and grenade against the Police, killing five of them, report Daily Times Read less...

Chaudhry, however, said the situation in Balochistan is not as bad as is being portrayed outside the Province. He expressed this during a meeting with the Supreme Court Bar Association’s Executive Committee, including SCBA President Yasin Azad, who called on him at the Supreme Court Quetta Registry. The CJP said it was not completely true that no one was safe in Balochistan as all office-bearers met their relatives, friends and lawyers in Quetta, which shows the situation was not bad enough that people could not move freely. He hoped the suo motu action would bear fruit and help restore law and order in Balochistan. Read less...

Elders of various Baloch tribes were trying to convince Uzair Baloch, Zafar Baloch and Baba Ladla of PAC to evacuate the area or surrender. Sources privy to the development said that elders of PAC gangsters were ready to surrender, but were seeking the assurance of their dominated areas. The PAC believed that the authorities would hand over Lyari to their rival Arshad alias Pappu gang. Source said Police had decided to hand over Lyari to the Pappu gang after the evacuation of PAC operatives. Sources pointed out that gangsters having affiliation with rival gangs were also among the Police in a drive against PAC Read less...

Five persons, among them three Security Force (SF) personnel, were killed in two back-to-back bomb explosions in Chamarkand area, some 25 kilometres from Khar town on May 3, reports Dawn. Sources said that Anar Gul and his son Adeel were killed when they stepped on a bomb planted by terrorists in Chamarkand area. The second bomb went off after SF personnel reached the incident site about half an hour later. Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, identified as Afsar Ali and Sobedar Riaz, and Hawaldar Ruhul Amin of Levies Force were killed and another was injured in the second explosion. SFs launched a search operation in the area and detained 12 suspects. Read less...

Further, the bench expressed strong resentment when informed that Home Minister Zehri did not disclose the names of ministers allegedly involved in kidnappings for ransom. “We can take action against the home minister in accordance with law if he was lying earlier,” remarked Justice Khilji Arif Hussain. The CJP said it means the minister had maligned the constitutional government by levelling serious allegations against provincial ministers. He directed Police officers to interrogate the minister and make a breakthrough in this case. Read less...

He criticised the Police and Provincial Government, saying law enforcement agencies had failed to produce a single missing person even after a lapse of three days since the court passed its orders in this regard. He said FC, ISI, MI and IB had told the court the missing persons were not in their custody, while Police officials said they were unaware of the whereabouts of the missing persons. Read less...

In letters from his last hideout, Osama bin Laden fretted about dysfunction in his terrorist network and crumbling trust from Muslims he wished to incite against their governments and the West. “I plan to release a statement that we are starting a new phase to correct (the mistakes) we made,” bin Laden wrote in 2010. “In doing so, we shall reclaim, God willing, the trust of a large segment of those who lost their trust in the jihadis.” Until the end, bin Laden remained focused on attacking Americans and coming up with plots, however improbable, to kill US leaders. He wished especially to target airplanes carrying General David Petraeus and even President Barack Obama, reasoning that an assassination would elevate an “utterly unprepared” Vice President Joe Biden into the presidency and plunge the US into crisis. Read less...

Indian Army sources say there are about 2,500 militants in various training camps in PoK. There are over 40 such camps on the other side of Line of Control (LoC). Read less...

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that issue of mutilated bodies of missing persons would be resolved in a week as restoration of law and order in the province was the Government’s top priority, reported Daily Times. He strongly rejected the statements by Baloch nationalists that military operation was on the go in Balochistan. “No military operation is underway in Balochistan, however, army is only deployed in Sui for the security of Sui installations,” he added. He assured that the dumping of decomposed bodies of Baloch missing persons would be stopped within a week and the missing persons would also be recovered. Read less...

Law enforcement agencies arrested a key ‘commander’ of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), Hussain alias Hamza, during a raid on a compound in jurisdiction of West Cantonment Police Station of Peshawar, reports Dawn. Sources said the arrested militant was wanted by security agencies for terrorist activities, including bomb blasts. Read less...

Pakistan was working with the US at various levels to resolve all outstanding issues, including an alternative to drone attacks, Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said on May 3, reports Daily Times. “We have raised drone attacks issue with the US at various levels. We are trying to resolve this issue on a priority basis. There is a need to resolve all issues with the US”, said Moazzam Khan. Pakistan had a clear stance on the drone strikes and considered them illegal, a violation of the country’s territorial sovereignty and counter-productive, Khan added. Read less...

Police arrested a militant, Qari Atiq, along with his friend during an operation in the Odigram area of Swat District. Sources said that Qari Atiq was wanted to the Police for making provocative speeches and burning of TV sets and CDs. Read less...

Police claimed to have killed four cadres of PAC. The gangsters removed dead bodies of two of the four killed - Junaid and Shehzad, Police said. Residents of the area said both, Junaid and Shehzad, were not criminals. They were residents of Baghdadi area and Shehzad was a contractor while Junaid was a security guard at Bilawal House. Read less...

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man in Juma Goth within the precincts of Ibrahim Hyderi Police Station. Station House Officer (SHo) Naik Mohammad Jakhrani said the victim appeared to be Baloch speaking. Read less...

Police set up temporary check post in Singo Lane and Afshani Gali. Police tightened the grip in the area and blocked all major roads leading to Lyari, including Cheel Chowk, Ghulam Abbas Road, Dhobi Ghaat, Mira Naka, Maripur Road and Shershah Road. Read less...

The Balochistan Government announced PKR 500,000 cash prize for those who would provide information about the suicide attack on the residence of an official of the Frontier Corps in Quetta on September 7, 2011. Read less...

The People’s Amn Committee (PAC) Chairman Uzair Baloch who had on May 3, 2012 agreed to surrender went back on his offer, saying that the locals had asked him against doing so. Read less...

The Supreme Court on May 3 directed the Balochistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) to produce all missing persons before the court and submit a progress report, reports Daily Times. “People accuse FC or security agencies of illegal arrests but police have to investigate these cases,” Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked during a hearing of missing persons’ cases at the court’s Quetta Registry. The CJP also summoned Balochistan Home Minister Zafarullah Zehri again today (May 4) to explain his statement accusing three provincial ministers of involvement in kidnappings for ransom. Read less...

The United States (US) on May 3 released 17 documents found during the May 1-2, 2011, raid at slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s Abbotaabad compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan, reports Daily Times. The White House allowed the declassified documents to be published online by the Combating Terrorism Centre at the West Point military academy. The papers include letters or draft letters dated from September 2006 to April 2011, a total of 175 pages in the original Arabic. The documents reveal internal correspondence inside the al Qaeda network, including letters authored by Osama bin Laden and leaders of the group’s affiliate in Yemen and fellow terrorists in Somalia and Pakistan. Read less...

The US State Department said the United States and Pakistan were committed to working through bilateral problems as doing so was in both countries’ national interests. The State Department said the two countries had a shared struggle against the menace of terrorism, which had claimed lives of thousands of Pakistanis. “We’ve talked before about the fact that terrorism is an existential threat for Pakistan. Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives to terrorism. So this is a shared struggle. We recognise that. We’re committed to working through the problems that we’ve had in the past, because it’s in our national interests to do so,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner noted. Read less...

There have been a number of clashes reported as some Kashmiri militants in training camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have wished to return to India, reports Daily News. There are growing incidents of clashes between militants wanting to return to Jammu and Kashmir from training camps in PoK and those wanting to stay on, intelligence sources say. "Recently two Kashmiri militants desirous of returning home from the Bagh training camp opposite Uri sector of the Kashmir Valley got killed in clashes with those who wanted to stay put," an unnamed source said. Sources added that those showing a desire to return to India were under strict vigilance. Read less...

Three missing persons of Quetta, identified as Safar Khan, Mohammad Kareem and Doha Khan, reached home late on the night of May 3, reports The News. All three went missing on April 1, 2012 from the Marwar area of Quetta. Read less...

Two brothers, Azizullah and Ali Akbar Khilji, were shot dead when armed assailants opened fire on them in Asmatabad area of Quetta on May 3. Read less...

Two people, including former Army man, were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi on May 3, reported Daily Times. Ex-Army man, identified as Saiful Mulk (40), was shot dead and two others, Ismail and Special Branch Police Constable Abdul Ghani, were injured in Rabbani Mohalla, Frontier Colony within the limits of Pirabad Police Station. Read less...

Unidentified militants abducted three truck drivers from a roadside restaurant on the National Highway in Dadhar area of Bolan District, reports Daily Times. The Quetta-based drivers were identified as Khair Muhammad, Muhammad Aslam and Muhammad Ishaq. All of them belonged to the Satakzai tribe. Read less...

Uzair Baloch, the head of the PAC and “Lyari’s most wanted” criminal, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that he will not surrender to the Police. But, he added, that he will surrender to the Rangers “only on one condition, that they should investigate themselves”. “We will welcome the Rangers… But we do not trust the Government,” he added. “The people of Lyari can bow down if treated with love, but they will never stoop under power.” Read less...

A man, Sabir Hussain alias Babu (32) was shot dead while he was sitting with his friends near Chaghi Hotel, Qasba Colony within the limits of Pirabad Police Station Read less...

A Pakistan-born US teen pleaded guilty on May 4 to terror charges for offering assistance to a woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” and supported a terror cell bent on waging a jihad in Europe, reports Daily Times. The 18-year-old, Mohammad Hassan Khalid, faces a 15-year prison sentence for a single count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists for his offer to raise money and recruit terrorists. Khalid, then 17, was arrested in July 2011 after he corresponded with a woman who later admitted plotting to kill a Swedish artist who had offended Muslims. He was 15 when he began online chats with Colleen LaRose, the US woman calling herself Jihad Jane. She now faces life in prison. Khalid was held in FBI custody as a juvenile before being indicted after turning 18. Khalid and his family are legal immigrants from Pakistan, and he could be deported following completion of his prison term. A sentencing date wasn’t immediately set. Read less...

A Police Officer, identified as Syed Sabtain Naqvi, was shot dead near Mughal Kanta, Kunwari Colony, within the jurisdiction of Pirabad Police Station. Read less...

A shutter-down strike was observed in major cities of Balochistan to condemn the ongoing security operation in Lyari, a Baloch-dominated area of Karachi. The strike call was given by the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and supported by Baloch Student Organisations (BSO). BRP spokesman Sher Muhammad Bugti said, “The people of Lyari are trapped indoors for the past one week, running short of food, potable water and other essential needs of life.” He said it seemed that it had been decided to “punish” the Baloch in the country and deny them their basic rights. Read less...

A suicide attack targeting Security Forces (SFs) on May 4 (today) killed at least 20 persons, including four Policemen, and injured over 42 others at Khar Bazaar in Khar town of Bajaur Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports The News. The target of the attack was Levies Force. According to sources, Levies Force personnel were conducting routine checking at Khar Bazaar when a suicide bomber blew himself that killed eight persons initially. Later the toll rose to 20. A senior official confirmed that it was a suicide attack and four Policemen were killed in the blast. However, The Express Tribune put the number of Levies personnel killed at seven. An official from the area told The Express Tribune that initial reports suggested that the target of the bomber was Subedar Major Javed and Subedar Fazl Rabi, who was also honoured with the Tamgha-e-Shujaat (Medal of Bravery) award. Read less...

Also, the Inspector General (IG) Sindh Police Mushtaq Shah said that the Police are hopeful of achieving their target in Lyari by May 5, 2012. He said that the area where the operation is being carried out is the main headquarter of the terrorists, and the Police will try to clear out the area of criminal elements. “The police will continue to be after the criminals until they are arrested,” Shah added. Further, the IG said that the Criminals, with the help of the Taliban, had managed to resist law enforcers so far, reports The News. The Express Tribune added that the Government offered PKR 1.5 million for the arrest of PAC leader Uzair Baloch. “We will arrest him or kill him,” said the IG. The Police alleged that the Taliban and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were involved in the violence and are taking up arms with criminals. However, they could not provide any proof for this allegation apart from speculation. Read less...

At least 11 persons aggrieved by the 2007 military operation in Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) registered murder and kidnapping charges against the then entire state hierarchy with the City Police on May 4, reported Dawn. A Senior Police Officer confirmed that the Aabpara Police Station of Islamabad entered their separate complaints in its Roznamcha (daily diary). “We are following the legal procedure. That was the first step in entertaining the complaints,” he told Dawn on condition of anonymity. Read less...

At least eight rockets were fired in Cheel Chowk, Gabool Park and Afshani Gali areas of Karachi on May 4, injuring two Policemen, reports Daily Times. Amidst the firing the Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that the ongoing Lyari operation would be suspended for 48 hours. The move came on the heels of the Sindh Government’s decision to offer surrender to the criminals operating in the area. Police and Frontier Constabulary were asked to withdraw from the areas where the clashes were taking place. The Interior Minister, however, said Police would remain in Lyari to prevent attacks by the gangsters. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) Police claimed to have destroyed a post of gangsters in Afshani Street and recovered arms and ammunition. Read less...

Balochistan National Party (BNP) workers also staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan and raised slogans against the Government and Police for their “brutal policies against the Baloch”. BNP Information Secretary Agha Hassan said the ongoing operation in Lyari was part of “genocide of the Baloch”. “The excessive use of force against the Baloch, which had started from Balochistan, has now been extended to Karachi,” Agha added. Read less...

Each of the 11 people wanted a murder or kidnapping case registered against former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, his cabinet members, including the then Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and religious minister Ijazul Haq, former Federal Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah, the then area Corps Commander, Director General Rangers, Senior Officers of the City Police and Administration – and also any person these accused name during their interrogation. Read less...

Government gave 48 hours to ‘miscreants’ active in Lyari and elsewhere to surrender their weapons and ordered paramilitary Rangers to take positions along with Police to weed out criminals, adds Dawn. Interior Minister Rehman Malik asked people to give the Government one month to expose the elements who were involved in terrorism and destroying Karachi’s peace. Malik said all those in possession of illegal weapons, including rocket-launchers and grenades, must surrender them within 48 hours at the nearest Police Station or a Rangers check post. Rehman Malik said the 72-hour deadline had been given on the demand of people of Lyari who had asked to give peace a chance. Read less...

In addition, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to The Express Tribune. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said that their targets were Levies officials Subedar Major Javed Khan and Subedar Quarter Master Fazl Rabi. Fazal Rabi, according to Ehsan, was honoured with a ‘presidential award’ (Tamgha-e-Shujaat or medal of bravery) for killing several TTP militants. “While (Subedar) Major Javed was involved in the killing of Shaikh Marwan,” he said. Shaikh Marwan was an Arab militant ‘commander’ who was killed by Levies personnel before the 2008 military operation in Bajaur Agency. The TTP ‘spokesperson’ Ehsanullah Ehsan further said that the group knew all those involved in ‘activity’ against the Taliban, and warned that such people “will be treated with iron hands”. Read less...