Pakistan: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2013

A civilian worker of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was killed and four security men were seriously injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a remote-controlled bomb near Matches Camp in Miranshah. Read less...

A truck driver, Allahyar was injured in an attack on National Highway near Dasht area of Mastung District, reports Daily Times. According to Levies Force, a Quetta-bound truck, carrying medicines from Karachi, was on its way when unidentified assailants riding a motorbike opened fire on it. Read less...

An IED was defused in Orangi Town, reports Dawn. Police said a suspicious parcel was found near the Orangi Town Police Station. After the discovery of the parcel, the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) was called for help. The BDU team defused the IED, which contained two and a half kilograms of explosives. The IED was connected with four battery cells and circuits. Read less...

An officer of the Balochistan Government, Saifuddin Baloch and his driver, were killed and another man was injured when their car was sprayed with bullets in the Besima area of Kharan District, reports Dawn. Read less...

Ashraf (25) was shot dead in Gulistan-i-Jauhar Police Station in Karachi. Read less...

Aslam (40) was killed in Sector 11-1/2, Orangi Town, in Mominabad Police Jurisdiction in Karachi. Read less...

Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Faiz Ahmed (51), was shot dead by unidentified assailants near the Habib Bank roundabout in the SITE-A Police Jurisdiction in Karachi. Read less...

At least four persons were killed and more than 50 others injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted in a parked motorcycle exploded near Ayesha Manzil within the precincts of Gulberg Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on January 1, reports Daily Times. The remotely-controlled bomb hit the locality after a joint public gathering of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran concluded. The victims were identified as Talib Hussain, Rehan Ullah, Tayyab and Hashim. Read less...

At least three fishermen, identified as Sikandar, Akhtar and Sheri Jan, were shot dead while one Shafiq was injured by unidentified armed assailants in the Pasni town of Gwadar District on January 1, reports Daily Times. Read less...

Bakhtiar Alam (30) was shot dead in Gulshan-e-Iqbal’s Block-11 in Karachi. Read less...

Imran Baloch (28) was shot dead near Muslimabad in Old Golimar of Pak Colony Police Station in Karachi. Read less...

One Abdul Razzaq Baloch (55) was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Salman Heights situated in Gulbahar Police Station of Karachi, reports The News. Read less...

Police foiled a terrorism bid in the Sarband area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP by defusing a 70-kilogramme bomb. The bomb was planted in a drum outside a tribal elder’s house in the semi-tribal village of Keena Bala. The Bomb Disposal Squad neutralised the bomb. Read less...

Riaz (26), was shot dead near a restaurant in Gulshan-e-Iqbal’s Block 10-A in the Sharea Faisal Police Limits in Karachi. Police said Riaz was a security guard at the Indus Security Company. Read less...

Seven persons, including six women, working for a non-governmental organisation (NGO), were shot dead at Sher Afzal Kalley area in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on January 1, reports Daily Times. An employee for Support with Working Solutions (SWWS) organisation, working on health and education, told Daily Times that the van was on its way from a centre of the NGO when the gunmen ambushed it at Sher Afzal Kalley. The driver of the vehicle carrying the local NGO staff was wounded critically, District Police Officer Abdur Rashid said. “The gunmen were waiting for the NGO staff by the roadside and ambushed their van when it reached there,” said the Police Officer who, however, did not say what the motive of the killing was. Five of the women were teachers, the sixth was a health worker and the man worked as a health technician, officials said. “Four men came on two motorbikes. They attacked their van, a Toyota HiAce. They opened fire to the right and left of the van and fled,” said Abdul Rashid Khan, Swabi Police Chief. Read less...

Shahab Khan (32) was shot dead near Nayabad in Shershah Police Station in Karachi. Police said that it was a target killing incident. Read less...

Sub-Divisional Education Officer Rehmatullah Khan asked the heads of primary schools to ensure presence of watchmen in their respective schools during night time. The instructions to this effect have been delivered to headmasters in Meenakhel, Tajazai, Serai Gambila, Tattarkhel, Gandi Khankhel and Kala Manjiwala circles. Read less...

The house of an anti-polio worker was partially damaged in a blast apparently carried out by militants at Vermando Mela in Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency. The sources said that militants placed explosives in the backyard of the newly- constructed house of one Ashfaq, who has been working as polio campaigner in the area for last several years, before triggering the explosion. Two rooms and a veranda were destroyed in the explosion, the sources added. Read less...

The Pakistani Army establishment’s decision to join hands with the US in its war against terror has made the country suffer 896 deadly incidents of suicide bombings in the past 11 years which have killed 5,243 innocent people and injured 11,221 others between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2012, reports The News. Statistically speaking, the staggering death toll (of 5,243) means that the human bombs were able to kill 476 people every year on average and 40 people each month since 2002. Likewise, Pakistan suffered an average 81 suicide bombings every year and seven attacks a month over the past eleven years. Pakistan had experienced only one suicide bombing before 9/11 when the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad was targeted. However, over the next 11 years between January 2002 and December 2012, the human bombs let loose a reign of terror in almost every nook and cranny of the country, killing over 5,000 people in almost 900 suicide attacks. Read less...

The warden of Machh jail, Mohammad Ali, who belonged to the Hazara community, was shot dead in Machh bazaar of Bolan District. Read less...

Two girl students of a seminary were killed and five others injured when a mortar shell landed outside the institution in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 1, reports Dawn. The mortar shell fired from an unknown direction fell outside the seminary in Gud Malang locality when the students were leaving the place after attending their classes. The victims were identified as six-year-old daughter of Said Muhammad and seven-year-old daughter of Aziz Khan Zakhakhel. Five other girls injured in the incident were identified as daughters of Zar Malik, Manduz Zakhakhel and Zakir Khan. Read less...

Unidentified assailants attacked a house with a hand grenade in Abakhel village. “The hand grenade exploded in a compound of the house of one Shad Nabi,” an official said, adding that the blast did not cause any human or property loss. Read less...

Unidentified militants exploded two home-made explosive devices at boys’ primary school at Dallokhel village in Lakki Marwat, damaging a portion of its boundary wall, reports Dawn. An official said that the bombs weighed 2.5 kilogrammes each and the watchman who was present in the school building remained unhurt. Read less...

Unknown armed assailants shot dead a man, identified as Dost Muhammad, in Manguchar Bazaar area of Kalat District reports The News. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants abducted seven soldiers from a bus from Jand area of Punjab on January 2, reports Dawn. The soldiers were travelling between Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and their stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when they were taken off their bus in Jand The militants took the seven soldiers and let go a sweeper on the bus with them, one military official said. The gunmen were wearing military uniforms. TTP ‘commander’ Tariq Afridi, who has forces in the area, was not available for comment and no TTP ‘spokesman’ returned calls seeking comment. Read less...

A 16-inch-diameter gas pipeline was blown up in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan on January 2, suspending supply to a purification plant in the area, reports Daily Times. According to reports, explosives were planted underneath the main supply line in the Pir Koh area. However, no casualty was reported. Read less...

A single-member Peshawar High Court bench directed the Provincial Government to raise money from philanthropists for safe release of eight Water and Power Development Authority workers abducted over four months back. The WAPDA workers were abducted by militants on August 15 when they were on the way to Tank District from the dam site in South Waziristan Agency of FATA. The abductors have demanded PKR 150 million ransom. At the same time, the court asked the families of the abductees not to protest, observing that the act may threaten the life of their members. While issuing these directions, Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan gave another week to the Government for the safe recovery of the WAPDA workers associated with Gomal Zam dam project, and adjourned hearing to January 10. Read less...

A special meeting held at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 2 to discuss security-related issues for General Elections came to the conclusion that the army would be deployed at sensitive polling stations only, reports Dawn. The ECP in principle decided to allow candidates to bring along armed private security guards to polling stations. The meeting was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and attended by the Federal Secretaries for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Establishment and States and Frontier Regions, the Additional Interior Secretary, Provincial Chief Secretaries and Inspector General of Police of provinces. A participant quoted Defence Secretary Lieutenant-General (retd) Asif Yasin Malik as saying it was not possible to provide army personnel for each of around 80,000 polling stations. In an apparent reaction to the CEC’s statements calling for deployment of Army at all the polling stations, he said 200,000 Army personnel could not be spared for this purpose. The secretary said two soldiers would be needed for every polling station as there would be at least two polling booths at each station. Besides, additional staff will be required for logistic and command arrangements. He pointed out that the Army was already engaged in defending the borders, besides deployment in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and providing security to the staff of some multinational companies. Read less...

According to Police, two twin brothers were targeted on Shah Abdul Latif Bhattai road when they were on the way to University of Karachi (KU) for B.Com examination. Station House Officer (SHO) Jan Khan Niazi said the victims were the residents of Bihar Colony. Read less...

Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in an interview published on January 2 has denied having any links with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), condemning the TTP’s strategy of blowing up schools and blocking girls’ education, reports Dawn. Hekmatyar, a former Prime Minister who leads Afghanistan’s second largest militant group Hizb-i-Islami, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that he was against the blowing up of schools and educational institutions “not only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but elsewhere in the world.” “I don’t think that a devoted Mujahid could be involved in such things,” said Hekmatyar, accusing ‘foreign intelligence agencies’ of being involved in such attacks. The TTP’s blocking of girls’ schooling was thrown into the spotlight in October 2012 by its attempted murder of 15-year-old education campaigner Malala Yusufzai on her school bus. Hekmatyar indicated that Hizb-i-Islami, notorious for its bloody siege of Kabul in the 1990s, has softened some of its hardline Islamist policies which included banning women from education. Read less...

Although the Army Generals will discuss the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) ‘peace offers’ at a corps commanders’ meeting to be in Islamabad, they want the political leadership to formulate a response to the militants’ suggestion for a ceasefire, reports Dawn. “It is for the government to decide whether or not to hold dialogue with the militants. We are continuing with our operations geared towards eliminating terrorism,” a senior military officer said. He said that although the offer was yet to be fully dissected it could be a tactical move by the militant outfit given its timing and the conditions that had been set. “Political leaders should capitalise on the situation,” he said and referred to pressure on the terrorist group generated by the Army’s counter-terrorism operations. Militant leaders in back-to-back statements sent to the media last week offered a ceasefire if the government ‘adopted Shariat after changing the Constitution, revised foreign policy and ended its engagement with the war on terror in Afghanistan’. Read less...

Another man was shot dead near Habib Bank Chowrangi when he was travelling on a flyover in a car within the jurisdiction of SITE-A Police Station. Read less...

At least six persons, including two Police guards, were killed in separate incidents of violence in various parts of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on January 2, reports Daily Times. Read less...

At least two suspected militants were killed and six others injured in an overnight operation by Security Forces in Miranshah of North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 2, reports Daily Times. According to an official, curfew had been imposed in the area indefinitely. Read less...

Daily Times, quoting local authorities said that a second drone strike targeted other militants, including TTP ‘commander’ Faisal Khan and two Uzbek militants in Mir Ali region of NWA on January 2. Read less...

Dera Ismail Khan Police busted the network involved in two bomb attacks on Ashura processions and arrested four top members of the group, The News reported quoting a Senior Police Official said. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Dera Ismail Khan, Qazi Jamilur Rahman told reporters that four persons associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested and suicide jackets, detonators and explosives and ammunition recovered from their hideouts. Nine people were killed and 26 others wounded in a blast in Thoya Fazil on the ninth of Muharram. The next day another bomb went off in Commissionary Bazaar killing seven people and injuring over 138 others. Read less...

Five students received minor injuries slightly when an explosive device went off at University of Peshawar (UoP) in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on January 2, reports Dawn. About one kilogram of explosives were used in the blast occurred in the conference hall of Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies, UoP, Campus Police Station House Officer (SHO) Saidullah Afirdi said. The blast created panic at UoP as students staged a protest demonstration after the incident, alleging that the campus had become unsafe. The protesting students also demanded suspension of officials at Campus Police Station for their failure to protect students. However, UoP spokesperson claimed that nobody was injured in the blast as the conference hall was empty at the time of explosion. He said that the blast caused damage to the furniture, doors and windows of the hall and a nearby computer laboratory. Read less...

In what appears to be a paradigm shift in its decades-old policy, Pakistan Army on January 2 described home-grown militancy as the “biggest threat” to national security, reports The Express Tribune. According to the new Army Doctrine, ongoing activities of Taliban militants in the restive tribal regions and unabated terrorist attacks on government installations in major cities are posing a real threat to Pakistan’s security. The Army Doctrine deals with operational preparedness and is reviewed on and off. For decades, the army considered India as its No 1 enemy but growing extremism in the country compelled the military authorities to review its strategy. A senior military official confirmed to The Express Tribune that a new chapter has been added to the Army Doctrine that would now also include threats posed by sub-conventional warfare. “Pakistan’s armed forces were trained for conventional warfare but the current security situation necessitated the change,” said the official requesting anonymity. “Forces fighting on the front-line in the tribal regions are now being trained according to the requirements of sub-conventional warfare,” he added. Read less...

Mobile phone services were suspended in several cities and Districts of the country on January 2, in line with the Government’s security plan for Chehlum announced a day earlier, reports Dawn. The services of all cell phone companies would resume at 11pm on January 3. The cities and towns where the service were blocked included Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. The service was suspended in 18 Districts of Punjab, nine in Balochistan and six each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Federal Ministry of Interior had announced that the services of v-ptcl and other wireless phone services will also be suspended in sensitive areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Quetta. Read less...

The brother of one Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist, Rameez (20), son of Mohiuddin, was targeted near Usmania Hotel within the precincts of Jamsheed Quarters Police Station. SHO Inayatullah Marwat said Rameez was the brother of an MQM activist and might have been killed on the similar ground. Read less...

The past five years have been difficult for Balochistan according to statistics revealed by the Home Department, reports The Express Tribune. Violence in the province has claimed over 2,100 lives and left 3,845 injured in over 3,232 incidents of bomb blasts and rocket attacks in this period. Amidst rising sectarian strife and targeted killings, the government’s inability to deal with the situation appears more jarring than ever. Throughout the province, sectarian killings remain the biggest challenge. From 2008 to 2012, 758 members of the Shia community were killed in 478 incidents. Of these, 338 victims belonged to the Hazara community, indicating that Hazaras remain the prime targets of these aggressions. The province has become a base for a decade-long insurgency as well as a killing field for various sects. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) allegedly keeps targeting Shias throughout Balochistan. Accordingly, officials have beefed up safety measures from Quetta to Taftan and are even planning to hold meetings with Iranian authorities to discuss possible arrangements to facilitate the movement of Hazaras from Marriabad to Hazara Town and Hazar Ganji. The findings also uncover staggering ‘kill and dump’ statistics. Around 570 dead bodies have been found strewn throughout the province, with 370 of the victims belonging to the Baloch community and 89 to the Pashtun community. The rest remain unidentified to this day. Further still, over 402 non-Baloch have been killed in 498 incidents, and over 486 injured in multiple attacks. Not surprisingly, security personnel have also suffered great losses. As many as 340 Frontier Corps personnel and 380 Policemen have lost their lives in the line of duty, and 508 security officials in total have been left wounded. Analysts say that despite the staggering figures, the Provincial Government is yet to review regulations pertaining to the movement of pilgrims under the Travel Agency Act of 1976. In one instance, police decided to refer the investigation of ‘sensitive cases’ to the Crime Investigation Department after the arrest of alleged terrorist Sher Dil of LeJ, also known as Babu, in a bid to curb violence in Balochistan. Read less...

Two Police guards lost their lives when they offered resistance during a robbery bid near Banaras Bridge within the jurisdiction of Pirabad Police Station. SHO Faryad Hussain said the deceased, who were identified as Rizwan and Naeem, were Police guards. Read less...

Unidentified militants abducted a trader from Panjgur District. Police said that Ijaz Ahmad was on his way home when militants abducted him and moved to an undisclosed location. Read less...

A Government school was blown up in Mashokhel village in the night of January 3. Police officials in the area said the militants bombed the school by placing explosives at the building of the Government High School Mashokhel located the jurisdiction of the Badaber Police Station. The explosion was triggered with a remote-controlled device that destroyed three rooms and caused cracks in other parts of the building. Read less...

A jirga (tribal council) of Haleemzai tribe in Mohmand Agency on January 3 decided at Ghallanai to strengthen the local peace committees to protect Government properties in the area. The jirga, held at the hujra (guest house) of local peace committee leader Malik Mohammad Ali Haleemzai at Sangar village, extended cooperation to SFs and political administration in maintenance of peace in the tribal region. Read less...

A Pakistan judicial commission, appointed 18 months ago, on January 3 submitted findings from its investigation into how slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden lived in the country undetected for years until his killing by US Special Forces on May 1-2, 2012, officials said, according to Daily Times. The commission’s chairman, Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal, submitted the report to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, a statement from Ashraf’s office said. Pakistani officials say Ashraf will decide whether to keep the report classified or make it public, but observers have said they expect little of substance to be revealed. The Pakistani Government set up the five-member panel after US Navy SEALs killed Laden without informing Islamabad until afterwards. Read less...

A suspected Pakistani al Qaeda operative, Abid Naseer, accused of planning attacks in the United States (US), Britain and Norway was on January 3 extradited to the US, the Interior Ministry in London announced, reports Daily Times. Metropolitan Police officers escorted Naseer from Belmarsh Prison to London’s Luton Airport where he was taken into custody by US authorities. “We can confirm that today, January 3, Abid Naseer was extradited to America where he is accused of terrorism offences. His case is now a matter for the US authorities,” a statement from the Home Office said. The 26-year-old is wanted by the US authorities over allegations that he provided material support to al Qaeda and conspired to use explosives. He was named as a suspect in an alleged transatlantic plot directed by Pakistan-based al Qaeda groups. Naseer was originally arrested in Britain along with 10 other Pakistani men in 2009 over a suspected bomb plot. But they were released without charge after prosecutors said there was not enough evidence, and ordered to be deported. An immigration judge subsequently ruled that despite Naseer being “an al Qaeda operative who posed and still poses a serious threat”, he could not be returned to Pakistan as his safety could not be guaranteed. In July 2010, Naseer was arrested again on a US arrest warrant. In January 2012, a judge approved Naseer’s extradition to the US. He appealed to the European Court of Human Rights but his case was thrown out in December. Read less...

Daily Times reported that on January 4 Salahuddin Ayubi was appointed as the successor to Maulvi Mullah Nazir, who was killed in a drone attack on January 3. Two of his deputies were killed with him, but a close associate and militant ‘commander’ who goes by the name Salahuddin Ayubi has been anointed his successor, Pakistani intelligence officials said. “Ayubi, whose real name is Bahawal Khan, was appointed as top commander of the group after Nazir’s funeral,” one of the officials added. He said that Ayubi, who belonged to Nazir’s Kaka Khel sub-division of the main Wazir tribe, had been very close to Nazir for more than 16 years. Another official described Ayubi as being in his mid 30s, well built and well-respected among his tribesmen and the group. Taj Wazir, from the Tuji Khel tribe, was appointed deputy after Rafey Khan, who was deputy to Nazir, was also killed in drone strike. Ainullah, a local commander in the group, confirmed the appointments. As reported earlier, Nazir was killed along with nine other militants in the South Waziristan Agency of FATA on January 3. Read less...

Dawn reported that helicopter gunships pounded several areas in NWA on January 3, killing three people, including a woman, and injuring four others. Dozens of families fled the area after several houses were damaged by shelling on Matches Camp in Miranshah. Militants were suspected to be hiding in the areas. The administration imposed a curfew in the region for the second day and launched a search operation after a security man and a civilian were killed and four personnel injured in a roadside bomb attack on a vehicle of the Frontier Works Organization. Read less...

In North Waziristan Agency (NWA), six militants, a close associate of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud among them, were killed in a drone attack in Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) on January 3. According to sources, unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at about 9am on a car carrying Shah Faisal and other militants in Mubarak Shahi, some 20 kilometers east of Miranshah. Two others killed in the attack were identified as Israr and Lateef. Read less...

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said on January 3 that the Government generally preferred holding talks with militants to launching military operation against them because negotiations were the preferred mode of dispute resolution, according to Dawn. “We even held talks with Sufi Mohammad, despite opposition from many quarters. It is our policy to resolve issues through negotiations, but if needed we will carry out military operations,” Kaira remarked. He said the government’s anti-terrorism policy was in place and the forces concerned, including intelligence agencies, were working on the approved strategy. “We are fighting, taking territories back from them. Many hardened militants have been killed and the success is visible too,” Kaira said. “But we need to understand that we are not dealing with just four dacoits or a small gang of outlaws.” He said religious extremism was the outcome of a particular mindset and criticised the media for “being soft on those who were supporting extremists”. “It is you people who should come forward and highlight those who are giving them the leverage, even providing them with flagged cars,” Kaira added. Read less...

One person, identified as Aslam Zia, was injured when two motorcyclists opened fire at a majlis (religious gathering) held in a house at Wahdat Colony, a few metres from the local police station, in Taxila (Taxila District) and fled away, reports Dawn. The majlis was held in connection with the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain. Read less...

Pakistan is providing paramilitary and Police support to polio vaccinations being resumed discreetly in the northwest after a series of attacks on medical workers, Daily Times reported on January 4 quoting officials. UN agencies suspended work on a nationwide campaign to inoculate children against the highly infectious disease after nine health workers were murdered in a string of attacks in the northwest and Karachi in December. Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is endemic, but efforts to stamp out the disease have been hampered by resistance from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has banned vaccination teams from some areas, and distrust. Read less...

Pakistan is working with the United States (US) to facilitate an Afghan-owned and -led reconciliation process, said Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman while also assuring American lawmakers that Islamabad is equally determined to fight terrorists inside its borders, Dawn reported on January 4. In an article in The Hill newspaper, which is distributed among US lawmakers, the Pakistani ambassador assured the lawmakers that Pakistan was on their side as they try to make an important security and political transition in Afghanistan. Underlining Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism at home, the ambassador noted that in an historic joint session, the Pakistan’s parliament had adopted unanimously a resolution condemning terrorism. She said Pakistan was also deeply aware of concern of members of the Congress about US casualties in Afghanistan attributed to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). She pointed out that the situation in Pakistan’s parliament was similar as the country also had suffered 15,851 IED-related deaths. This was 43 per cent of all casualties over the past four years. “We identify with the US on this issue,” she said while noting that only one-tenth of 1 per cent of calcium ammonium nitrate produced in Pakistan as fertiliser was allegedly smuggled across the border into Afghanistan. Pakistan was effectively monitoring 99.9 per cent of its production, while still waiting for a matching interdiction on the other side, she said. “Nevertheless, we are still determined to keep our shoulder to this wheel and stop that leakage too,” she added. Read less...

Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir was among 10 Taliban militants killed in a US-operated drone strike in the South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 3, reports Daily Times. The drone targeted the Taliban leader’s moving convoy. “Maulvi Nazir was on his way to Wana from Birmal when the convoy was hit in Sarkundi area (in Birmal tehsil), killing him and nine others,” officials sources said. Maulvi Nazir is the second top Taliban leader to be killed in a drone strike after Baitullah Mehsud, who was chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) when he was killed in 2009. Maulvi Nazir had ‘earned fame’ in spring 2007 when he led a successful uprising against foreign militants in Ahmedzai Wazir-held areas, ousting Uzbek militants along with their local supporters. He linked administration of polio vaccination to cessation of drone strikes and no polio drive could be launched in Ahmedzai Wazir areas since the ban in June 2012. Security agencies warned the Government of likely backlash from the supporters of Maulvi Nazir. “There may be backlash from a Taliban group and the federal government should direct all provincial capitals to increase vigilance against any threat,” security officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon (US) welcomed reports that Maluvi Nazir was killed in a drone strike, saying his death would represent a “major development.” Pentagon spokesman George Little did not confirm the reports of the killing, but said, “If the reports are true, then this would be a significant blow, and would be very helpful not just to the United States but also to our Pakistani partners.” Dawn, however, reported that Nazir was killed along with his five guards when a missile hit his vehicle while he was going to Wana from Birmal on January 2. Maulvi Nazir’s key aide Rata Khan was among the other militants killed when the vehicle was attacked near Angoor Adda on the Afghan border, the official said. Nazir had survived a suicide bombing in November 29, 2012. The TTP, the umbrella organisation of Pakistani militant groups, denied its involvement, but Nazir, under pressure from the government, ordered the expulsion of Mehsud tribesmen from Wana. The TTP leadership comes from the Mehsud tribe. He had entered into a peace agreement with the government after his group expelled militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, led then by Tahir Uldashev, in 2007 from the area. Nazir’s fighters avoided attacking government and Security Forces’ installations in the tribal region and cooperated with the local administration, an official said. The military is believed to have struck a non-aggression pact with Nazir ahead of its 2009 operation against militants in South Waziristan. Nazir was understood to be close to the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network. Nazir had property in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. He earlier used to be a member of the Hizb-i-Islami, an Afghan militant group. Nazir’s group quickly appointed his close aide Bawal Khan as a replacement, according to one of his aides. But a Reuters report named the successor as Salahuddin Ayubi. Read less...

Testimonies of 50 of the 294 witnesses recorded in the past four days by the one-man judicial commission, headed by Justice Shehzado Sheikh, inquiring into the July 3-11, 2007, operation that killed 103 people, including family members of Maulana Abdul Aziz, head cleric of the mosque, teachers and students of the seminaries and 10 security personnel, revealed that the top clerics of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad and several key functionaries of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia, the two seminaries attached to it, were either not present in the mosque or had left it before the military launched its final assault on July 10, 2007, Dawn reported on January 4. Asiya Hameed, a teacher of Jamia Hafsa and custodian of the record of the girl’s seminary, was among the 16 witnesses who recorded their statements with the commission on January 3. “Since I was not in the madrassa during the operation, I don’t know the exact details,” she said when asked by Justice Shehzado Sheikh of the Federal Shariat Court, whether she had the record of the girls who were on rolls, or went missing during the operation. She said her uncle had taken her away from the mosque complex, where the girl’s seminary operated, on July 3, 2007, the day the operation began. When she rejoined Jamia Hafsa, she said, she did not find the record, which security agencies might have taken away. Maulana Aziz, who also acted as principal of Jamia Faridia located in Sector E-7, had similarly told the commission in his testimony on December 31 that he could not compile the record of the students killed or went missing in the operation as he was arrested when he came out of the mosque on July 4, 2007, the day after the army laid siege to the mosque. Read less...

The bullet-riddled body of a local mosque’s prayer leader was found in the Shahmansoor Mountains of Swabi District on January 3, reports Dawn. The prayer leader, Naseebullah alias Zarbat Khan, belonged to Orakzai Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and he went missing after he offered Asr prayer in his mosque on January 3. Read less...

A dead-body was recovered in a gunny bag on M. A. Jinnah Road near Radio Pakistan office. The body was later identified of a young man who was kidnapped earlier. Read less...

A Karachi district education officer was also abducted along with his car in the metropolis. Read less...

A man was gunned down in Korangi, while special branch’s police inspector Abdul Rasheed was killed in Gulbahar. Read less...

A man was killed by unknown miscreants near Samama Shopping Centre on University Road while a man, identified as Sajid, was killed by gunmen who opened fire on his shop in Rizvia Society. Read less...

A man, suspected of involvement in the January 1 murder of seven aid workers in Swabi (Swabi District), was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Police, reports Dawn. The suspect, who was holed up in a house in the Gar area of Swabi District, was among the gunmen who killed the seven workers, Swabi District Police Officer Abdur Rashid Khan was quoted as saying. His companion, a suspected accomplice, escaped, officials said. Khan said that a motorcycle and a pistol that was used in the killing had been recovered from the suspected terrorists. Read less...

Daily Times adds that Pakistan condemning the latest drone attacks in Waziristan said the attacks were illegal, counterproductive, unacceptable and violation of its territorial integrity. “Pakistan wants to resolve the issue of drone attacks through bilateral talks with the United States,” said Moazzam Ali Khan. Read less...

Explosives planted at the building of a private school in Hassan Garhi went off. However, no casualty was reported in the blast that slightly damaged the boundary wall of the school. Read less...

Federal Minister of Interior A Rehman Malik on January 4 said that mobile phones are now a weapon of terrorism, reported Dawn. The Minister said, “Mobile phones are now a weapon of terrorism as all improvised bombings were conducted through them.” The minister suggested that legislation should be done to ban illegal mobile phone SIMs sell as it has become a weapon of committing terror, adding the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been written a letter in this regard. He said that suspension of mobile phone services helped avoiding blasts. The minister added that mobile phone services were suspended in different cities on Chehlum of Imam Hussain after taking all the provinces into confidence. In another context he said that around 90 per cent Afghan refugees are living in Katchi Abadis (slums) and despite repeated warnings, they have not yet left the country. “Anyone who violates the law would be apprehended. Most of the handlers of suicide bombings were found in Katchi Abadis,” he said. Read less...

Four explosions destroyed the under-construction District Jail in Rehmanabad area of Hangu (Hangu District). Talking to reporters, District Police Officer (DPO) Mian Saeed Ahmed said that militants had placed explosives inside the under-construction jail building in Rehmanabad and triggered the explosions around midnight. The bomb disposal unit (BDU) officials said that 35 kilograms of explosives had been used in the four blasts. “Two barracks and a room of the jail were razed to the ground due to the powerful explosion,” he said. However, independent sources said that two barracks and five rooms were destroyed in the four blasts. ‘Spokesman’ for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Darra Adamkhel chapter, Muhammad, claimed responsibility for blowing up the under-construction prison. Read less...

Police arrested two brothers in Baffa area of Mansehra District over allegedly threatening a lady health worker of dire consequences for administering anti-polio drops to children in their village, reports Dawn. The FIR was lodged on the written complaint of lady health worker Shabnam Bibi. In her application addressed to the district health officer, she stated that Shamsur Rehman and his brother Saifur Rehman threatened her of dire consequences during the anti-polio drive in December 2012. Read less...

Prime Minister (PM) Raja Pervez Ashraf on January 4 said that Pakistan needs to redesign and redefine its military doctrine, according to Daily Times. The PM urged national security institutions to further improve intelligence gathering and establish effective coordination among civil and military institutions to comprehensively tackle terrorism. “The threats to Pakistan’s national security stem mainly from non-state actors who were targeting the state’s symbols and institutions in a bid to impose their agenda,” Raja added. Read less...

Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, talking to lawmakers from Balochistan, on January 4 said that instead of finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the Balochistan issue, the Ayub Khan, Julfikar Ali Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf regime went for military action and that has aggravated the situation in the Province, reports The News. He said that the Balochistan issue is very important for the whole country and a policy should be evolved with a consensus to end deprivations of the province. He said the resolution of the Balochistan issue was in democracy. Read less...

Seven more bullet-riddled bodies were recovered near Sarobi village area on Miranshah-Razmak road in North Waziristan Agency (NWA). The sources said unidentified assailants after killing the seven men placed their bodies near Sarobi village. The residents of Sarobi village went there and saw the seven bodies, but they were not able to recognise them. The villagers said all the seven men were shot dead. They said some of the bodies had several marks of bullet injuries. Nine bullet-riddled bodies were recovered a few days ago from Mir Ali subdivision on December 31. Read less...

The annual report by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), released on January 4, stated that 5,047 people were killed and another 5,688 were injured in 2,217 attacks in 2012, reports Daily Times. Comparatively, in 2011, there were 2,895 such attacks and 7,107 consequent fatalities. Karachi, Quetta, Kurram Agency and Gilgit were the hardest hit, witnessing more than 85 percent of all terrorist incidents in 2012, while the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emerged as a major actor responsible for the prevalent instability. Balochistan remained the focal point of nationalist insurgency and sectarian violence, witnessing 474 terrorist attacks, the highest for any region. The TTP-infested and militancy-hit KP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) remained second and third most volatile regions, with 456 and 388 terrorist attacks reported, respectively. Meanwhile, 187 terrorist attacks were reported in Karachi and 28 in other parts of Sindh; 26 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB); 17 in Punjab and one in Islamabad. The country witnessed a 53 percent increase in sectarian violence. Non-sectarian attacks, on the other hand, decreased by 20 percent. The number of suicide attacks across the country fell by 27 percent. Meanwhile, the US drone strikes and the consequent killings also recorded a 40 percent decrease. The number of cross-border attacks and clashes decreased from 84 in 2011 to 79 in 2012. However, the casualties in these attacks increased by 25 percent. “Most of the cross-border attacks and clashes (70%) were reported from Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan, including attacks reportedly carried out by militants of the TTP’s Swat chapter hiding in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan provinces,” said the PIPS report. Read less...

The Balochistan National Conference (BNC), which concluded at the Punjab University (PU) on January 3, adopted a unanimous resolution holding the Federal Government responsible for the current situation of the Province, reports Daily Times. One of the participants, Brigadier (retired) Nadir Mir said the Balochistan issue could only be resolved if “we all consider ourselves Baloch”. According to him, “Baloch nationalism” was not a threat to Pakistan. Read less...

The CID police arrested three suspects, wanted for murders and kidnappings for ransom, and recovered weapons from possession when they carried out raids in Surjani Town and New Karachi areas. Read less...

The militants stormed a security post in Mera Matani area of Peshawar in the evening, reports The News. The alert Police commandos and Frontier Constabulary personnel resisted the attack. The exchange of fire continued for some time before the attackers escaped. No casualty was reported in the attack. Read less...

The Pakistani Government cannot verify reports suggesting that Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed in a US drone strike, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Moazzam Khan on January 4, according to The Express Tribune. The spokesperson strongly condemned the drone strikes in the country’s tribal belt saying, “We strongly condemn drone attacks as they are in violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.” In another context he said that Pakistan and Afghanistan were making efforts to hold an Ulema Conference in January in Kabul to help advance the peace process in the war-torn country. The spokesperson confirmed that Pakistan had so far released 26 Afghan Taliban at the request of Kabul. However, he did not provide further details whether those released were still in Pakistan or reached Afghanistan. Read less...

The Security Forces (SFs) arrested a militant ‘commander’ of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) during a search operation in Jalozai camp. The sources said that the SFs sealed the phase-I in “S” sector at the camp and launched a search operation at 11am. During the operation, Abdul Haq was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Read less...

Three persons sustained injuries in a blast in the limits of Miryan Police Station, reports The News. The sources said a blast outside the hujra (guesthouse) of one Qalandar Khan injured him and also Sher Dawar and Izzat Khan. The Sources said that it could not be ascertained whether it was a hand-grenade attack or explosives were planted outside the hujra. Read less...

Twenty militants were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in air strikes carried out by Army warplanes in the Kukikhel area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 4, reports The News. The sources said that fighter jet bombed the sanctuaries of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Dwatoy and Bragat areas, killing 20 militants and causing injuries to 12 others. The official sources said that ‘commander’ Abdul Wali alias Umar Khalid, designated head of TTP for Tirah valley, was also present in Dwatoy at the time of the attack. Some reports suggested that he was among the dead. However, it couldn’t be verified from independent sources or the TTP due to lack of communication facilities in the Tirah Valley. The Kukikhel part of the Tirah valley fell to the TTP a few months back after the militant group defeated the Kukikhel Afridi tribal lashkar (tribal militia). The sources said that the ‘commander’ Tariq Afridi-led faction of TTP having bases in the valley had claimed responsibility for the assassination of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Minister Bashir Bilour in Peshawar and also for the killing of 22 kidnapped members of the Levies force in Frontier Region Peshawar. Sources said that TTP cadres had celebrated the death of Bashir Bilour by resorting to festive firing for two hours in Dwatoy and surrounding areas. The fresh airstrikes conducted by the Security Forces (SFs) might be a reaction to the assassination of Bashir Bilour and the deaths of 22 Levies personnel. Read less...

Two brothers, one of them a prayer leader, were shot at in the Sariab Road area of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan, on January 4, reports Daily Times. Police sources said that unidentified armed motorcyclists opened indiscriminate fire on the brothers, identified as Maulana Israr Ahmed and Akhlaq Ahmed, leaving them injured. The attackers managed to escape. Read less...

Two people were killed in separate incidents of firing in Maripur Road and Baldia Town areas while three dead-bodies wrapped in gunny bags were recovered from Baldia Town, Netty Jetty Brigde and Sher Shah neighbourhoods. Read less...

Two persons were killed and another was injured in a bomb explosion in Badhaber area on the outskirts of Peshawar (Peshawar District), the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on January 4, reports The Express Tribune. A local cricketer Ijaz Khan along with his friend Aman was returning from the playground after a match when they were hit by the powerful bomb. Police said that a bomb had been planted along an electricity pylon in Gul Khan Forest area of Badhaber. The explosion also damaged the electricity pylon suspending electricity supply to the area. A rocket had landed in the same Gul Khan area earlier in the day, but did not cause any damage. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants abducted spiritual leader Mualana Wali Muhammad from the Satellite Town area in the morning of January 4. According to Police, Wali Muhammad was on his way home after offering Fajar prayers when gunmen took him away. Read less...

Unidentified assailants opened fire and injured a local trader, Abdul Rahim, in the Pashtoonabad area of Quetta, the Provincial capital of Balochistan, on January 4, Daily Times reports. Police said that unidentified armed motorcyclists came at the shop of Abdul Rahim. “The armed assailants opened fire at the shopkeeper, leaving him seriously injured,” Police said, adding that the attackers fled right after the incident. Read less...

Unidentified assailants, riding two motorcycles, opened fire on a car near Essa Nagri locality killing Akhtar Hussain and Naveedul Haq and injuring Ashfaq. The victims were reported to be transporters. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up a house in the Kaingar village of Bannu District. No loss to human life took place. However, the house was badly damaged by the powerful explosion. Read less...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on January 5 that the strength of militants has increased so alarmingly that now, they can reach anywhere they want to carry out their activities, reports Dawn. “The time has come to take the final decision on whether to hold dialogue with militants or to begin a meaningful operation against them,” the Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the provincial assembly on a point of order about the recent acts of militancy, especially the killing of seven aid workers, including six women, in Swabi. Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said a lot had been spoken in condemnation of militant attacks and therefore, it was direly needed to take militancy to its logical end. He said there were two options with the Government either to hold dialogue with militants and if it was not possible, then the second option was intensive operation against them. All political parties and security agencies should get together to make an effective strategy before the Government held dialogue with militants or went for operation against them, adds Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain. Read less...

Unidentified militants opened fire and killed four passengers and injured 10 others traveling in Jaffar Express near Kohsar area of Kachhi in Bolan District on January 5, reports Daily Times. Official sources in the Pakistan Railways said that Jaffar Express was on its way to Quetta from Rawalpindi when it was attacked by the unidentified militants in the mountainous area of Bolan. Read less...

At least 17 persons, all believed to be suspected militants, were killed and eight others sustained injuries in three separate US drone attacks in the mountainous Babar area of Ladha subdivision in South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 6, reports The News. According to sources, the drones fired 10 missiles and hit three different compounds of militants located in the remote mountainous Babar area. The compounds were reportedly inhabited by the militants affiliated with Hakimullah Mehsud’s Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and cadres of the Punjabi TTP chapter leader Qari Imran. A cousin of the TTP ‘chief’ Hakimullah Mehsud, Wali Mohammad Toofan, was among the killed militants, adds Dawn. Toofan had been recently elevated to head TTP’s ‘Fidayee wing’ (Suicide wing) after its leader Qari Hussain died in a drone strike. Read less...

An explosive device went off near the hujra (guest house) of an official of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Arakh area of Razar tehsil (revenue unit) in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 6, reports The News. The sources said that unidentified persons had planted two bombs near the main gate of the hujra of Fazal Muhammad in Arakh area and triggered the explosion. The blast damaged the main gate and boundary walls of the structure but didn’t cause any casualty. The sources added the personnel of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) recovered a second bomb and defused it. Read less...

At least 255 lives were lost in 40 strikes by the CIA-operated drones while 54 people sustained injuries in various parts of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in 2012, Daily Times reported on January 7. The US drones carried out at least 40 strikes in North Waziristan and fired 123 missiles at various targets. Along with some known foreign and local militants, innocent tribal people including women and children were also killed in these attacks. Another 54 persons, mostly women and children up to 15 years of age, were injured in the drone attacks. Most of the injured were maimed for life. Read less...

One Abdullah was killed and three persons — Ehsan Reza, Arif Hussain and Latif — were seriously injured when the car they were travelling in came under fire on Spiny Road in Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan, on January 6, reports Dawn. The victims belonged to the Hazara community and Police described the incident as a sectarian attack. Read less...

Pakistani Rangers arrested two suspected members of a banned outfit during a search of Lyari area on January 6, reports Central Asia Online. The Rangers raided many houses throughout Lyari acting on a tip. They arrested two suspects wanted in connection with various cases. The authorities didn't identify the banned group or specify the cases that the suspects are linked to. The Rangers recovered illegal arms, drugs and stolen vehicles from the suspects. Read less...

Six persons, including a woman, were killed when unidentified assailants ambushed a car in Dargai area of Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency, reports The News. The sources said that the car was heading to Jamrud Bazaar from Chapri village when armed assailants ambushed it and killed two people and injured four others. All the victims of the shooting belonged to Kukikhel tribe, reports Daily Times. Read less...

Six rockets were fired at Bannu cantonment (Bannu District) on January 6-night from an unspecified direction. However, no loss of life or property was reported, reports Daily Times. The local Police officials said that five of the rockets fell in an open area, while one hit a residential colony of the Irrigation Department. Read less...

Ten militants killed and several others were injured when fighter planes shelled in the militants’ stronghold of Arghanjoo in Mamozai area in Orakzai Agency. Witnesses said that the planes came into action at around 10am and carried out intense shelling on four houses, razing them to the ground. The dead belonged to Uthmankhel, Ferozkhel and Mamozai areas. Read less...

A bomb exploded in a ground near Jan Mohammad road in which a man and a woman were injured. Read less...

A hand-grenade was hurled into a tea shop on Sariab Road in which two people were wounded. Read less...

A prayer leader of Deoband community, Maulana Shaukat, succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Police said that unidentified assailants targeted him in new Karachi Sect 5-E within the limits of Bilal Colony Police Station on 31 December, 2012. Read less...

A truck driver was killed near Northern Bypass within the precincts of Manghopir Police Station. Arif (21) was going to a poultry farm on truck when unidentified assailants intercepted his vehicle and shot him dead. Read less...

An engineer was killed while three other persons, including a Police official, sustained injuries in an explosion on Sariab Road, reports Daily Times. According to Police, the deceased has been identified as Nazir Ahmed Qambarani, sub engineer of Balochistan Development Authority (BDA), and the injured as Abdul Salam Bangulzai, Sajjad Ahmed Raisani and Assistant Sub Inspector of Police Aftab Ahmad Parkani. Read less...

Another sectarian killing took place in Block 13-D of Gulshan-e-Iqbal within the precincts of Gulshan-e- Iqbal Police Station. Police said Ali Raza Naqvi (26), was going on a motorbike along with his friend Raees when armed men shot him dead near railway track. Read less...

Armed assailants shot dead a man on his way to home within Soldier Bazaar Police Station. Police said Murtaza Alvani was on his way to home when unidentified assailants targeted him near Bara Board. Read less...

At least two security personnel were killed and another one injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion near Albo security check post in Margano Jalaa area of Khwezai tehsil (revenue unit), some 40 kilometres west of Ghalanai, the main town of Mohmand Agency, on January 7, reports Daily Times. Assistant Political Agent for Khwezai, Ghazi Nawaz, confirmed that two security personnel were killed and one was injured in the blast. Read less...

Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) has indicated to Indian officials that they have a water-tight case against Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ‘commander’ Zakir-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and 28 other accused in November 26, 2008, (26/11) Mumbai terrorist attacks, Hindustan Times reported on January 8. The FIA has matched the voices of terrorists Abu Al Qama and Zarar Shah with the samples of the communication intercepts between Karachi-based LeT handlers and the Mumbai attackers which were provided by India. Sources said Pakistan authorities had discreetly shared their findings with Indian Home Ministry official Dharmendra Sharma, who had stayed back in Islamabad for two more days after three of his colleagues returned to New Delhi, on December 24, 2012. The FIA officials told Sharma that they were confident of convicting Lakhvi, but still had to find evidence against LeT chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. Read less...

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik had said on January 7, “TTP has threatened to attack the long march. But we will not stop the long march and (we will) provide them full security.” Qadri leads the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran, which has a network of religious and educational institutions. Read less...

Hearing a petition by Senator Haji Adeel for reviewing the progress on the judgement on Karachi (Sindh) law and order passed by the Supreme Court in October 2011, the court on January 7 directed the Sindh Chief Secretary and Advocate General to submit a comprehensive reply by January 22 with regard to implementation of its orders. The court expressed its dissatisfaction with non-implementation of the judgement even after more than a year and directed Advocate General Fateh Malik to present a comprehensive report with detailed progress against each point of the judgement at the next hearing. The bench warned that contempt of court proceedings would be started against the authorities concerned if they fail to provide details of steps that have been taken in this regard. During the hearing, the court expressed its concern to know that Karachi Police is controlled and run by a gambler, Wasim Beater, and postings and promotions of Police Officers are made on his recommendations. Sindh Police Inspector General (IGP) Fayyaz Leghari, Chief Secretary Raja Muhammad Abbas and Additional Chief Secretary Wasim Ahmed expressed their ignorance on the issue. But Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sannaullah Abbasi and Sindh Additional IG Bashir Memon admitted before the court in the presence of their seniors that Wasim Beater is a junior Police Officer and run a ‘gambling den’ in Karachi and have great influence in the Police Department. Read less...

In an incident of sectarian violence, a person and his minor daughter were killed while his wife and other daughter sustained injuries near Ayesha Manzil within the limits of Gulberg Police Station. Asghar Ilyas (40) and his two-year-old daughter Zainab were shot dead, while his wife Farzana and another minor daughter Dua injured near Ayesha Manzil. Police said that the family was on its way to home when unidentified assailants opened fire on them. According to Police, the victims belonged to Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). Read less...

In Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, Army jetfighters targeted militant hideouts. Sources said that the hideouts were pounded in Khurma Tung area of Akkakhel. Two hideouts were destroyed while militants escaped unhurt as they had vacated the place before the aerial bombing. Read less...

Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, saw its deadliest year in two decades in 2012, with around 2,000 persons killed in violence linked to ethnic and political tensions, Daily Times reported January 8. According to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, 2,124 people were killed in Karachi in 2012, the worst year since records began nearly 20 years ago. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says 1,800 people died in targeted killings in the first nine months of 2012. In 2011, it put the number at 1,000, which was then the deadliest in 16 years. Police insist killings related to ethnic and sectarian disputes accounted for only 20 percent of the murders, but rights activists say a shortage of law enforcement officers is part of the problem. “Karachi is becoming a city where controlling violence is becoming increasingly difficult because of an insufficient police force, which is less than 30,000 for around 18 million people,” says Zohra Yusuf, HRCP chairwoman. Karachi, a business centre with a population of 18 million, accounts for 20 percent of GDP, 57 percent of tax revenue and elects 33 lawmakers to the Federal Parliament. Karachi has all the ingredients of an explosive cocktail – gang warfare, land grabbings, drugs, extremism, political rivalries, ethnic tensions, extreme poverty and a mushrooming population owing to migration. Read less...

Militants made a serious threat to the Government against re-starting anti-polio campaign by planting a bomb weighing three kilograms in a health centre in the Rashidabad area of Peshawar (Peshawar District), the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on January 7, reports The News. The bomb was, however, detected and defused. They also found a piece of paper with a message for the Government and senior health department authorities. “The letter carried a message, apparently from the militants, for the government authorities.” Read less...

Security Forces arrested four suspected militants during a search operation in Ghundi area of Jamrud tehsil. Read less...

The bullet-riddled body of a man was found from Chanasir Goth within the jurisdiction of Mehmoodabad Police Station. Read less...

The dead body of an abducted person was found from bushes in Toori Bangash Colony within the limits of Iqbal Market Police Station. Unidentified assailants kidnapped the man and shot him dead. Police said the person could not be identified yet. Read less...

The high-ranking Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Wali Ur Rehman has made a rare video appearance pledging to send fighters to Kashmir and wage a struggle for the implementation of Sharia rule in India, Daily Mail reported on January 8. "The practical struggle for a Sharia system that we are carrying out in Pakistan, the same way we will continue it in Kashmir, and the same way we will implement the Sharia system in India too. And this is the only solution for people's problems," Rehman reportedly said. The translation was provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based think tank. Rehman, against whom the US has announced a USD five million (PKR 27 crore) reward over his involvement in the murder of seven CIA officials in Afghanistan in December 2009, is believed to have appeared on video along with TTP ‘chief’ Hakimullah Mehsud. The two militant leaders have spoken for the first time about their ambitions transcending beyond the Af-Pak border to Kashmir and the US as well. Read less...

Three militants and a Police Officer were killed and a Constable was injured in separate incidents of firing in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 7, reports Dawn. According to official sources, a Police team headed by District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Idrees Khan surrounded a house in Abakhel village after a tip that militants were hiding there. Militants opened fire when Police entered the house, killing the Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Ismail and injuring a Constable of the elite force, Zahid Ali. Two militants died when Police retaliated. Read less...

Tribal elder Malik Amir Nawaz Khan escaped a remote controlled bomb blast at Kassai area of Haleemzai tehsil. Officials said that Malik Amir Nawaz was going to Sangar village to attend a jirga (tribal council) when the blast occurred. He escaped unhurt. Read less...

Two suspected militants on a motorbike attacked a patrol party of Ghaznikhel Police when they signalled them to stop near Balkhi Koroona area. Police opened fire, killing one of the attackers. The other suspect was arrested and seven grenades, four Kalashnikovs and live rounds were recovered from his possession. Read less...

Two unidentified armed motorcyclists shot dead vice-president of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Muhammad Shakeel, near Kot Pindi Das area of Sheikhupura town of same District in Punjab on January 7, reports The News. According to Police, the Muhammad Shakeel had been on his way to Lahore when unknown motorcyclists opened fire on him near Kot Pindi Das. Read less...

A member of a peace committee was killed and another injured in an explosion in Bokhar, remote area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal areas (FATA) on January 8, reports Daily Times. Unidentified assailants had planted the bomb near the road that exploded, killing a member of peace committee, Imran, and injured another person, identified as Noor Muhammad. Read less...

A roadside bombing on January 8 killed a member of peace committee and injured one other in Bokhar area of the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Central Asia Online. The deceased was identified Imran and the injured as Noor Muhammad. Read less...

According to Levies officials, unidentified armed assailants fired indiscriminately at two tankers carrying LPG in Shiehkwasil area in Mastung District. Three people were killed and another was injured in the firing. “The deceased and injured were residents of Punjab,” Levies officials said. Read less...

At least eight militants were killed and four others injured on January 8 (today) when US drones fired missiles struck militant compounds in the villages of Haider Khel and Hisokhel, some 25 kilometres east of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Dawn. “US drones fired missiles on two militant compounds. At least eight militants have been killed,” a security official in Miranshah said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The two attacks occurred within an hour, with four militants killed in each compound, the official added. Legal lobby group Reprieve estimates that up to nearly 900 civilians were among the 2,621 to 3,442 people killed by drones in Pakistan since 2004. Read less...

Daily Times quoting Punjab Counterterrorism Department reported on January 9 that there is a threat of a suicide attack on the long march of Dr Tahirul Qadri on January 14, 2013. The feared attack has been planned by a Jihadi group – Ghazi Fidayee Force – under the leadership of Saifullah Baqi of Abbottabad. According to a report of the Department, Yar Bakht Khan of Hango, Ahmad of Charssada and Alam Khan have been assigned the task of a suicide attack. Read less...

Levies force said a person was shot dead by unidentified assailants. However, the incident site was not mentioned. Read less...

On January 8, unidentified assailants shot dead within the remit of Soldier Bazaar Police Station in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, according to Daily Times. Read less...

One Imran Abbas, a resident of Kashmir colony, was shot dead in Nomish Chowrangi area. Read less...

One person was wounded in a bomb blast on Raisani Road in Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan. “The blast damaged electricity pole and smashed windowpanes of nearby buildings,” a police official said, adding that three to four kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast. According to Police sources, the explosive device was fixed with an electricity pylon at Raisani Road, yards away from Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani’s family residence. Read less...

The Federal Interior Ministry says it has intercepted a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) phone call in which the terrorists are planning an attack on Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march to be held in Islamabad on January 14, Daily Times on January 9 reported. The ministry said in a press release that the caller used Miranshah (headquarter of the North Waziristan Agency in FATA)-based Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) landline. The threat alert was received from a credible intelligence source, the press release said. The release further said the TTP’s statement is an effort to mislead Tahirul Qadri in particular and public in general. “The government does not believe in the fake representative of the TTP and will continue to take protective measures for the long march.” Read less...

Three Policemen were injured when unidentified assailants lobbed a hand grenade at them in the Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 8, Police said, according to Daily Times. The Policemen were on routine patrolling in the Swabi bazaar (market) when the attack happened. Read less...

TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan had denied that the group had threatened to attack the protest. “This is not true. We have not issued any threat to attack the long march. We have no comments for the long march,” he had said. Read less...

Two armed groups clashed at Rabia City apartment, leaving one person injured. Police and Rangers later arrested some eight suspects from the incident site. Read less...

Two people were killed and another was wounded in Pishin (Pishin District). Levies sources said that a vehicle was passing through Pishin Bypass area when armed assailants opened fire on the vehicle killing one person and two injuring two others. Read less...

Unidentified assailants riding a motorbike opened fire at the house of one Safdar, belonging to the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), injuring Safdar and his friend, Qayoom. Subsequently, irate people set a bus on fire in Golimar area. Sectarian tension gripped the entire locality amid aerial firing that injured three boys. Read less...

A dead body was found in Mand area of Kech town (Kech District). The deceased was identified as Abdul Sattar. Read less...

A person was killed by unidentified assailants in front of Madrassah Darul Uloom, Sariab Road. Read less...

Abdul Aziz, a worker of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP- M), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants at the Eastern Bypass. The party sources said that deceased was a nephew of the former BNP-M general secretary Habib Jalib. Read less...

After a trial spread over 14 months and conducted in an uneasy environment, Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Pervez Akhtar jailed a blasphemy accused, Ghulam Ali Asghar for 10 years and imposed a fine of PKR 200, 000 on January 9, reports Dawn. Convict Ghulam Ali Asghar, a resident of Chinji village in Talagang tehsil (revenue unit) was booked on Nov 17, 2011, on a charge of blaspheming the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by misquoting a Hadith in Punjabi language. Read less...

An Intelligence Agency Official was shot dead by unidentified militants in the Kharotabad area of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan on January 9, reports Daily Times. Read less...

At least seven militants were killed when Security Forces (SF) pounded the hills of Darra Admakhel town of Kohat District with artillery shelling on the night between January 9 and 10, reports Dawn. Read less...

Four children were injured when a mortar shell fell on the house of Askar Khan Malikdinkhel in Sur Kas area of Bar Qambarkhel. Read less...

Mahmood Ahmed Barkati (87), a Hakeem and former Union Council (UC) Nazim (secretary) was shot dead by two unidentified assailants, who barged into his clinic near the Taleem-e-Bagh situated in the FB Area. Apart from being a Hakeem, the victim was a noted writer and had authored more than 24 books. He also wrote some 500 columns in different newspapers. Barkati, the Police confirmed, was also a former UC Nazim from the Jamaat-e-Islami. Read less...

SFs with the help of Shalobar Peace Committee arrested four suspected militants during a raid in Nawgazee Baba area, reports Dawn. The arrested men, Mohammad Jan, Khuga Jan, Marjan Khan, Jerman Khan and Zar Mohammad, were accused of having contacts with a Bara-based militant outfit. Read less...

Syed Ali Haider (55), the owner of the Lal Qilla Grammar School and also the Principal of the same institute was shot dead by two armed assailants outside his residence in Sector 11/A of North Karachi in the Sir Syed Town Police area. Read less...

Syed Muhammad Shakeel (35), an MQM activist, was killed near Sector 11-1/2 of Orangi Town in the Iqbal Market Police Jurisdiction. Read less...

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) Police arrested five suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants from a slum area in Ittehad Town of Karachi, reports Daily Times. The CID team recovered a four-wheeler bike for special people that contained around 60 kilogrammes of explosives, two pressure cookers, nine cricket balls laden with explosives, 25 kilogrammes of explosives, and five hand grenades, four Kalashnikovs, five pistols and ammunition. Sheikh informed media that the arrested TTP militants were involved in various cases of terrorism and crimes in the metropolis. Read less...

The dead body of a Sikh man, who was abducted by militants over a month ago after accusing him of acting as a “spy” for a rival group, was recovered from Zakhakhel Bazaar in Khyber Agency on January 9, reports Daily Times. Unidentified militants abducted Mohinder Singh from his shop in Tabbai village on November 20. Read less...

The release of another dozen Afghan Taliban prisoners by Pakistan is on the cards, a move aimed at boosting the Afghan reconciliation process that has been ‘sluggish’ hitherto due to a lack of interest shown in it by the Mullah Omar-led Taliban, Pakistan Today reported on January 10. Pakistan released eight Taliban prisoners in December 2012, including former Afghan Taliban Justice Minister Mullah Nooruddin Turabi. Prior to that in September 2012, as many as 18 Afghan Taliban detainees were set free by the Pakistani Government during the visit of Afghan High Peace Council’s delegation to Islamabad led by Salahuddin Rabbani, son of former Afghanistan President and the council’s first chief, late Professor Burhabuddin Rabbani. The release of Afghan Taliban prisoners by Islamabad is seen as a key step that would help persuade the Afghan Taliban leadership to sit for negotiations with the Afghan Government. Pakistan is seen as a key player in the ongoing global efforts aimed at bringing about peace in Afghanistan, as the US-led foreign troops stationed there plan to depart the war-torn country in 2014. Read less...

Three security men - a khasadar, Khan Akbar, and two personnel of Mehsud Scouts — Naib Subedar Ashraf and Sepoy Asad — were injured when unidentified militants ambush a convoy of Security Forces (SFs) in Muslim Dhand area of Bara. The convoy was on its way to Levies centre in Shahkas when it was attacked. Read less...

Two cellular phone shops were blown up by unidentified militants at a market on Dera Road in Bannu town (Bannu District), reports Dawn. Sources said that unidentified persons planted improvised explosive devices near the shops of Zubair and Karimullah in a market at Taji Kallay Bus Stand that went off one after another at 1am, destroying both the shops. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a trader, identified as Manzoor Shah, near Sirat Chowk of Khuzdar town (Khuzdar District). Read less...

Unidentified assailants on January 9 shot dead a Shia doctor associated with the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Dabgari area of Peshawar (Peshawar District), the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Daily Times. Riaz Hussain was president of the PPP branch in Kurram Agency (FATA). He was killed as he left his clinic in the Dabgari area and police suggested it was a targeted, sectarian killing. Read less...

Unidentified militants abducted four watchmen at Jandola bazaar in the Frontier Region (FR) Tank, reports The News. The sources said watchmen Sultan Khan, Attaullah Khan Bhittani, Shaukat Khan Bhittani and Samiullah were abducted from a private market in Jandola Bazaar. Read less...

Unidentified militants attacked the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Chattan Road of Panjgur town (Panjgur District) with hand grenades. A Police source said that nobody was present in the office when the attack was carried out and nobody got hurt. No group had claimed responsibility for the grenade attack. Read less...

A 25-year-old man was shot dead In the Mauripur Police area Read less...

An explosive device resembling a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG-6) spotted in Rabia City, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, was safely defused, reports Dawn. Read less...

At least 30 members of the Tableeghi Jamaat were killed and more than 70 were injured in a suicide blast inside the Tableeghi Markaz located on the Takhta Band Road in Mingora city, the headquarters of Swat District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, on January 10, reports Post Jagaran. Some Police Officials initially claimed that the blast was caused by a gas cylinder but Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Malakand Akhtar Hayat later confirmed that it was a terrorist act. Read less...

At least 82 persons were killed and over 200 persons were injured in two separate bomb blasts in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, on January 10, reports The News. At least 70 people were killed and over 160 injured in an attack targeting Shias at Alamdar Road in Quetta late in the evening. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a snooker club on Alamdar Road, which has two Shia prayer halls and a sizeable population of Shia Hazaras. Another blast took place outside the snooker club 10 minutes later. The twin blasts resulted in the death of as many as 70 people on the spot, most of them from the Hazrara Shia community. Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP), Mujahid Hussain, Station House Officer (SHO), Zafar Ali, Samaa cameraman Imran Sheikh, a reporter of the same channel, Saifur Rehman, and four Edhi volunteers were among those killed. Police experts said that more than 125 kilograms of explosives were used in the blasts. “It was the largest ever bomb to have hit the city,” said an unnamed senior Police Official. Read less...

At least six militants were killed in United State (US) drones attack in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometers east of Miranshah town of North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), on January 10, reports Daily Times. It was the fifth American drone strike reported in Pakistan in a week. Pakistani security officials said US drones fired four missiles – two at a house and another two at a nearby motorbike, killing four militants in the house and two on the bike. Read less...

Earlier in the day, a powerful bomb went off under a Security Forces (SF) vehicle at the busy Bacha Khan Chowk. Twelve persons were killed and over 40 others injured. Read less...

Eight labourers were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants while they were asleep near the Gabol Market in Quetta Town. Victims are identified as Hubbar Khan (25), Ghulamullah (30), Sattar (25), Gul Samad, Naeem (25), Javed, Muhammad Jan and Nazeer. Read less...

Javed Soomro (22) was shot dead near the Mauripur truck stand in the Kalri Police Limits by unidentified armed assailants. Read less...

Khurrum (40) was shot dead near Nazimabad Chowrangi in Gulbahar Police area. Read less...

Maulana Basheer (45), a MQM activist, was shot dead by two armed assailants near Lucky Star in the Saddar Police Limits. Read less...

Mirza Akhter Baig (30) was shot dead by armed assailants in the Gulberg Police Jurisdiction near Water Pump Chowrangi. Read less...

PPP activists, identified as Abdul Ghani (25) and Naeem (25), were shot dead near Anda Morr in the Sir Syed Police Limits. Read less...

The bullet-riddled body of a young man, stuffed in a gunny bag, was found from a drain near ICI Bridge in Baghdadi police limits. Police said that the victim was abducted, who later killed him and threw his body in the drain. Read less...

The Government’s persistent failure to protect the minority Shia community from sectarian attacks by Sunni militant groups, is reprehensible and amounts to complicity in the slaughter of Pakistani citizens, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on January 10, reports The Express Tribune. “The government should immediately hold accountable those responsible for ordering and participating in deadly attacks targeting the Shia across Pakistan and particularly the Hazara Shia in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. 2012 was the bloodiest year for Pakistan’s Shia community in living memory and if this latest attack [January 10 attacks] is any indication, 2013 has started on an even more dismal note,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director at HRW. “As Shia community members continue to be slaughtered in cold blood, the callousness and indifference of authorities offers a damning indictment of the state, its military and security agencies,” he added. In 2012, well over 400 members of the Shia population were killed in targeted attacks. Over 120 of these were killed in Balochistan Province, the vast majority from the Hazara Shia community. Similar attacks targeting the Shia population have taken place repeatedly over the last year [2012] in Balochistan, Karachi (Sindh), predominantly Shia populated areas of Gilgit Baltistan in the northern areas, and in Pakistan’s tribal areas, HRW said. “Pakistan’s tolerance for religious extremists is not just destroying lives and alienating entire communities, it is destroying Pakistani society across the board,” said Hasan. Read less...

A 21-year-old Islam Ahmed was killed and his brother wounded in Sector 15/G of Surjani Town. Read less...

A Sunni Tehreek cadre, 20-year-old Muhammad Ali, was shot dead near New Preedy Street in Lines Area. The Brigade Police said Ali was riding his motorcycle, when two assailants, also on a two-wheeler, shot him dead. Read less...

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi expressed his displeasure over the deteriorating law and order situation in the Province. “We have lost the right to govern,” Magsi said. Read less...

Daily Times reports that two drivers were killed and 10 NATO containers were damaged when several rockets attacks were carried out on a terminal near Hazara Ganji, on the outskirts of Quetta, in the night of January 11. According to Police, unidentified armed men fired four rockets targeting NATO containers which were en route to Kandahar (Afghanistan) from Karachi (Sindh) and were temporary parked at the terminal. “Two drivers, identified as Abid and Waheed Shah, received multiple wounds in the attack and died,” a Police official said, adding that the assailants also opened indiscriminate fire that lasted for about half an hour. Read less...

In Machar Colony in Sohrab Goth, assailaints shot dead 22-year-old Behram Khan. Read less...

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder and Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed on January 11 warned New Delhi of an escalation in violence in Jammu and Kashmir, reports Zee News. He was giving an interview to Reuters. Read less...

Militants blew up a Government school for girls in Hanji Ayub Kallay in Spin Qabar area in the night of January 11. The explosion destroyed the school building and caused damage to two nearby houses. Read less...

Police on January 11 arrested 40 people in connection with the January 10 bomb blast at a Tablighi Jamaat centre in Takhtaband area of Mingora area of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Dawn. Suprintednet of Police (SP, Investigation) Irshad told Dawn that five kilogrammes explosive device was used in the blast. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. As reported earlier, 30 people were killed in the blast. Read less...

The Balochistan Government once against gave the Police powers to the Frontier Corps (FC) to maintain law and order in the Province. A notification issued here stated that the FC was given Police powers for one month in Quetta to maintain law and order. According to the notification, the FC would act under the supervision of the civil administration and would follow the restrictions and conditions laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. Previously, the Government had withdrawn the Police powers from the FC on December 3, 2012. Read less...

The death toll in January 10 twin blasts near a snooker club at Alamdar Road in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, increased to 105 on January 11, reports The Times of India. As reported earlier, 70 persons were killed in the blasts. According to reports, two blats occurred at around 8.50pm, one inside a snooker club and the other outside in a car, within a 10-minute gap in a Shia-Hazara community dominated neighbourhood, killing 105 people and wounding 169. The dead included 25 rescue workers, nine Police officers and three journalists. The building housing the club was razed in the blast. In the first incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the snooker club. Bomb disposal squad officers said an estimated six to seven kilograms of explosives were used by the suicide bomber. As police, rescuers and media persons rushed to the site, another bomb fixed to a vehicle parked nearby went off. An estimated 100 kilograms of explosives were used in the second blast. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ), claimed responsibility for the attacks. In calls made to local journalists, LeJ spokesmen Bakar Saddiq said the first blast was carried out by a suicide bomber and the second was a bomb planted in a car that was triggered by remote control. Read less...

The decomposed body of an unidentified 30-year-old man was found trussed up and stuffed inside a gunny bag at Khajji Ground in Rizvia Society. Read less...

The News reported that a complete shutter-down strike was observed in the Quetta to condemn the bombings on the call of the Anjuman-e-Tajiran Balochistan, endorsed by nearly all politico-nationalists parties. Read less...

The United Baluch Army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Security Forces at Bacha Khan Chowk in Quetta that took place around 3.50pm, prior to the twin blasts at Alamdar Road. An estimated 25 kilograms of explosives were used in the bomb. As many as 13 vehicles were destroyed in the blast. The explosion also caused damage to nearby shops, offices and homes. Read less...

Unidentified assailants attacked Maulana Haseebullah Madni, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami-ul-Haq (JUI-S), a religio-political party near Gillani Railway Station in Block 13-D/2 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal in Karachi (Karachi District), the provincial capital of Sindh, injuring him and eight others and killing his security guard, reports The News. While the assailants were firing on the JUI-S leader’s car, a private school’s van carrying children was passing nearby and its driver, Imdad, was struck by a bullet. The driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a wall. Five children, aged between five and 10 years, suffered injuries. Police said that it was the third attack on Madni, adds Daily Times. Gulshan-e-Iqbal Station House Officer (SHO) Rana Haseeb told The News that the assailants had used Kalashnikovs and 9mm pistols. “Police found over 70 empty bullet shells at the scene,” he added. Read less...

US President Barack Obama said on January 11 that it would be very hard to imagine stability and peace in the region if Pakistan and Afghanistan did not come to some agreement, reports Dawn. At a White House news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama also acknowledged that he had seen “a greater awareness (of this issue) on the part of the Pakistani government”. “We welcome the recent steps,” said Obama in an indirect reference to Pakistan’s decision to release Taliban leaders in its custody for enabling them to attend peace talks with the Afghan government. President Obama also noted that Pakistan and other regional states had a role in the Afghan peace process and that “a strong and secure Afghanistan is in the interest of the entire region”. Read less...

A blast killed a child and injured another person in Brewery road area of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan in the night of January 12, reports Dawn. Wazir Khan Nasar, the Deputy Inspector General said that the militants planted an improvised explosive device near an internet cafe in Brewery road area. “The blast killed a passerby child and injured another person,” he said. Nasar said the blast caused damage to the internet cafe and other nearby shops. Read less...

Around 4000 personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) deployed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to help the Police in maintaining peace in the province are reaching Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) on January 12 (today) for deployment during the long march of the Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran scheduled for January 14, reports The News. Sources said the federal government directed the commandant of FC to immediately withdraw 4200 personnel assisting the KP Police and multi-national companies in the province for deployment in Islamabad during Tahirul Qadri’s long march. Read less...

Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) on January 12 warned Zakhakhel tribe to either provide it with volunteers or leave the area. Sources said that LI militants distributed pamphlets and made announcements through loudspeakers in Shalobar area, asking Zakhakhel to send them volunteers or leave the area. Read less...

One soldier, Amir Khan, was injured critically when militants fired at a checkpost in Ajali Nadi area of Shalobar in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency on January 12. Read less...

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on January 12 said that they would cease their occasional attacks on the Army in their stronghold of North Waziristan Agency (FATA) and concentrate attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan instead – an announcement possibly designed to head off divisions in the insurgency, reports Daily Times. The ceasefire does not apply to the rest of the country, where there are often fierce clashes between the TTP and security agencies. Thousands of soldiers are stationed in North Waziristan. There have been occasional clashes there between the soldiers and TTP, but a leaflet issued by TTP ‘Chief’ Hakimullah Mehsud ordered those to stop. A senior commander confirmed the pamphlet’s veracity. “O Mujahideen brothers! As you know, the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid are engaged in jihad against the crusaders and infidels, and are supporters of each others in the ongoing holy war,” the pamphlet said. Read less...

Two rooms of a private school were badly damaged when a mortar shell hit it. An overhead water tank at the house of Malik Waris Khan, a Former Minister of State, was also damaged when it was hit by a stray mortar shell. Read less...

Unidentified assailants shot dead in-charge nurse of the District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ) at a bus stop in Hakeemabad area of Nowshera in same District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 12, reports Dawn. Officials said the nurse Farzana Kawsar, wife of Sajjawal Khan of Hakeemabad, was waiting for office vehicle at the bus stop when unidentified assailants opened fire on her. Read less...

A person was killed by unidentified armed assailants near a shop situated in Kharadar area within the limits of Kharadar Police Station. Police informed that the identity of the victim could not be ascertained yet, however, he seemed to be around 20-year-old, belonging to the Memon community. Read less...

A roadside bomb killed as many as 14 soldiers and injured 21 others in Dosali village, 50 kilometres south of Miranshah, in North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 13, reports Daily Times. A ‘spokesman’ for the Mujahideen Ansar, a group dominated by Uzbek fighters, claimed responsibility and said that the attack was retaliation for the Army's complicity in drone strikes. The group is allied to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). A senior military official said all the soldiers killed were in one truck and those injured were in vehicles behind it. Read less...

A soldier was killed when a shell fired by the militants hit a security checkpost in the Nala area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency, reports The News. The killed soldier was identified as Sepoy Rehmat Hussain. Following the attack, Security Forces (SFs) shelled the suspected positions of militants in various areas of Bara. Read less...

An elderly man was stabbed to death in Nazimabad No-1 area within the limits of Nazimabad Police Station. Read less...

One person was killed and eight others were injured on January 13 (today) when a blast struck a passenger coach in Khwar Killay area near Sadda town in Kurram Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Dawn. A passenger coach, carrying around two dozen passengers, was travelling from Peshawar to Parachinar when it was struck by a remotely detonated improvised explosive device (IED). Read less...

Pakistan Intelligence Agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly opened two new centres to train a large number of youngsters on terrorism, The Times of India reports on January 14. The centres are in the Pakistani side just opposite the Jaisalmer-Ganganagar area along the International Border (IB). One is 50 km away from the Jaisalmer border in the Ghotaki area (Ghotki District of Sindh Province) of Pakistan. And the second one is opposite the Ganganagar border in Bahawalpur area (Bahawalpur District of Punjab Province). Both the centres are managed by ISI officials and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants. Upon receiving this information from across the border, the Border Security Force (BSF) has put its troopers on high alert. The sources also said there has been information that a new alliance has been made between JeM and Babbar Khalsa at Rahim Yar Khan District of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Read less...

The Federal Government of Pakistan on January 13 accepted to the demands of Quetta bombing victims and protesters across the country and announced to impose Governor’s rule in Balochistan, effective from January 14 (today), reported Daily Times. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf announced in principal to invoke Article 234 of the constitution and impose Governor’s rule in the province, as demanded by the bereaved families and political and social circles. He assured the protesters that the Federal Government would fully cooperate with the Governor. He said that false cases registered against members of the Shia community would also be withdrawn. Read less...

The Police and the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) foiled a terrorism bid by defusing a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing two kilogrammes on Manghopir Road within the precincts of Pirabad Police Station. Station House Officer (SHO) Shahid Khan said that unidentified militants first threw a low intensity hand grenade in the area, however, no loss occurred. He informed that during the checking of the blast site, the Police personnel found a suspicious stuff near the site. The BDS experts rushed to the scene and successfully defused the IED attached with a remote control. Read less...

Three security personnel were injured when their vehicle came under a bomb attack in Shabqadar area of Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 13, reports Dawn. The vehicle was passing the Qala Shah Baig area when a remote-controlled bomb planted on the road hit it. Three security personnel and a passer-by were injured. The security personnel were identified as Asif, Asim and Ashar Mahmood. Read less...

Two children received injuries when a mortar shell fell on the house of Hikmat Khan near Aziz Market of Akkakhel area while in Mandi Kas area one Hazratullah was injured in a similar incident. Read less...

A Policeman, identified as Ghulam Shabbir (52) was killed by unidentified armed assailants inside his house situated in Jamali Goth of Sohrab Goth area within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station. Read less...

At least eight persons were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast, weighing one kilogram, at a mini mart at petrol station located in Kahayan-e-Ittehad in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-VI within the limit of Gizri Police Station. Read less...

Hearing the Balochistan target killings case, the Supreme Court (SC) observed that it never wanted the dismissal of the Balochistan Assembly and that there is a difference between legislative business and authority of executive. The Court sought the notification dismissing the Provincial Government and imposing Governor’s rule in the province. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Azmat Saeed, has also sought a report over steps taken to resolve the worsening law and order situation in the province. Read less...

In another incident, a man, Zahid (29), was shot dead in Orangi Town within the limits of Iqbal market Police Station. Read less...

Pakistani authorities imposed Section 144, a ban on pillion riding (two people sharing a motorcycle) across Balochistan in the wake of a spike in terror-related incidents, according to a Home Department statement, Central Asia Online reports on January 15. Read less...

Three khasadar (tribal police) personnel, captured by militants during a clash in Kohikhel area of Shalobar in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 14, were beheaded, reports Dawn. At least seven khasadar personnel were injured during clashes. The fighting erupted in the evening of January 14 after militants attacked three security posts in Kohikhel. The attackers reportedly forced security personnel to retreat from two posts and captured arms and ammunition. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants injured a man, identified as Rehmatullah near the Western Bypass of Quetta (Quetta District), the provincial capital of Balochistan. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a man, identified as Faqir Muhammad, in Nasirabad town of same District on January 14, reports Daily Times. Read less...

13 bullet-riddled bodies of local people belonging to three families were also found in Alamgudar and Dogra areas of Bara populated by Sepah Afridi tribe. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the killings. Read less...

197 Pakistani militants surrendered to the Army in the year 2012 in Bajaur Agency, Central Asia Online reports on January 16. Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah commented, "During the past five years, more than 6,000 militants have surrendered to the government”. He further added that ex-militants who surrendered have denounced terrorism and joined mainstream society. Peace committees and the general public has been instrumental in forcing militants to lay down arms, he further said. Read less...

A person, identified as Asghar Ali Shah (30), was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Sector 7/C in the Surjani Town Police Jurisdiction. Victim belonged to Shia community and he was an organiser of a mourning procession. Police said that it was a sectarian killing. Read less...

A Policeman, identified as Muhammad Naeem, was injured in an explosion in Bakra Mandi area of Eastern bypass, on the outskirts Quetta, the Provincial Capital of Balochistan. Read less...

Abdul Quyyum (25), a hotel employee, was shot dead in Sector 4/A of North Karachi in the Sir Syed Town Police Station. Read less...

At least three Police personnel were injured in a bomb explosion in Chaman area of Qilla Abdullah District, a boarding area with Afghanistan. Read less...

Atta-ur-Rehman (40) was shot dead and Shabeer was shot injured by unidentified assailants at a hotel near Qalandri Chowk situated in Sakhi Hassan in the Shahra-e-Noorjehan Police area. Read less...

Five Policeman, identified as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in Crime Investigation Department (CID), Naseem Baloch, Constable Tahir, Constable Noor Ahmad, Constable Mohsin Ali and Constable Abdul Whaid were killed in a remote-controlled blast in Bonistan area of Panjgur District on January 15, reports Daily Times. A Police official, Atiqur Rehman, said that a Police vehicle was patrolling in the Bonistan area when the remote-controlled device went off. Read less...

In Islamabad, the state-run Pakistan Radio claimed the country's DGMO lodged a strong protest with his Indian counterpart over killing of a Pakistani soldier. As reported earlier, Pakistan Army claimed that a trooper was shot dead in cross-border firing by Indian forces on January 15. Read less...

Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants attacked the house of a Frontier Corps (FC) trooper Shabir in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and killed his father Abdul Jalil and four brothers on January 15, reports Daily Times. An FC official said that Shabir was not at home at the time of the attack. Read less...

Seven soldiers and four militants were killed in fighting between banned Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Security Forces (SFs) in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 15, reports The News. The sources said that dozens of militants of LI attacked the newly-established three security posts manned by personnel of Frontier Corps (FC), Pakistan Army and Khasadar Force in Arjaleen Adey, Machine Dhand and Mashomanu Adeera in Shalobar area of Bara. Following the attack, the SFs shelled the suspected positions of militants in different areas of Bara from nearby bases. Two helicopters shelled the suspected hideouts of militants in Shalobar and Nala area but no casualties were reported. The sources said that dozens of suspected persons were also arrested by SFs in Sepah and Shalobar area of Bara. Read less...

The Balochistan Assembly collectively adopted two resolutions on January 15, which rejected imposition of Governor’s rule in the Province as an undemocratic move, demanded reversal and called for a judicial inquiry into the killing of Shia Hazaras in bomb blasts on January 10, reports Dawn. The movers and supporters of the resolution said that it was for the fifth time that an elected Government of Balochistan had been dismissed by the centre. They warned Islamabad against pushing to the wall the people and political parties which stand for parliamentary politics and democracy. Read less...

The dead body of Noor-ul-Hassan (25) was found near Maser Goth, Lyari, in the Baghdadi Police Limits. Read less...

The dead body of Syed Hassan Raza (25), stuffed in a gunny bag, was recovered near a local hotel in the Baghdadi in Napier Police Limits. Read less...

A person, identified as Noor Kabeer Bengali (45), was shot dead outside his residence in Muhammadi Colony in the Docks Police Limits. Read less...

Ibne Hassan (50) was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants outside his residence near Ghousia Market in Muhammadi Dara, just opposite Naeem Hospital, in Malir-15 in the Saudabad Police Limits. According to Station House Officer (SHO), Saudabad Hassan Haider, the man was production manager in General Tyres and he belonged to the Shia community. Police said that it was a sectarian killing. Read less...

Militants attacked a Frontier Corps (FC) check post with rockets in Panjgur District. No loss of life was reported. No group claimed responsibility for the incident. Read less...

Muhammad Ayub (40) was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Haroonabad in Baldia Town in the SITE-B Police Jurisdiction. Read less...

The building of Government Middle School was partially damaged when an Explosive Device planted by unidentified militants went off in Shahdand area of Loundkhor in Mardan District on January 16, but no causalities were reported. Read less...

The dead body of an unidentified man, stuffed in a gunny bag, was recovered from Baghdadi area in the Napier Police Limits. Read less...

The house of an official of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was partially damaged in an explosion in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 16, reports The News. The sources said that the explosive device was planted near the main entrance of the house. Read less...

Umer Katchi (20) was shot dead near KMC Workshop in Ranchore Lane in the Eidgah Police Jurisdiction. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants abducted a man, identified as Mir Hassan, from the Usta Muhammad area of Jaffarabad District on January 16, reports Daily Times. Read less...

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead an Afghan prayer leader, identified as Abdul Malik, in the Banda Shiekh Ismail area of Akbarpura in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 16, reports Daily Times. Read less...

A man, identified as Arshad Hussain (27), was killed in Sikandar Goth within the limits of Sachal Police Station. Read less...

At least five persons, including two women and two children, were killed and nine others were injured when helicopter gunships shelled targets in Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) of North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on January 17, reports Dawn. Sources said the helicopter gunships attacked targets in Hassamkhel, Haiderkhel, Inzar, Aipee and Khushal Toorikhel villages in Mir Ali. Several houses were destroyed in the shelling. According to the sources, the shelling was in retaliation to a remote-controlled bomb attack on security personnel. Read less...

Muhammad Hussain (24) was killed and Noor (27) was injured in an armed attack near Brooks Chowrangi in Korangi within the jurisdiction of Korangi Industrial Area Police Station. Read less...

Rahmat Ali (37) was killed near Rehmania Masjid located in sector 3 in Korangi within the jurisdiction of Zaman Town Police Station. Read less...

The MQM MPA, Syed Manzar Imam, was killed along with three of his guards by six unidentified assailants in Orangi Town. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan, in a statement from an undisclosed place, claimed the responsibility for the attack on the MPA. The group also claimed responsibility for attack on MQM’s rally in Karachi on January 1, 2013, which killed four persons and injured 50 others. Read less...

Two seminary students, Identified as Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Akhtar, were injured in an attack by assailants in a Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality near Mochi Mor, reports Dawn. Read less...

Unidentified militants blew up a CD shop at Chowki Mamraiz area of Nowshera District on January 17, reports Dawn. Read less...

Unidentified militants shot dead a man, identified as Hafiz Talha (21), in Bhattai Colony within the jurisdiction of Ibrahim Hyderi Police Station. Read less...

US District Judge on January 17 handed Pakistani Canadian Tahawwur Rana a 14 year jail term for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and for conspiring to provide material support for a plot involving attacks on the office of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, reports The Tribune. The sentencing includes an additional five years of supervised release. According to a statement issued by the US Attorney’s office in Chicago, the Judge said, “This certainly was a dastardly plot.” Read less...

Armed assailants shot dead the principal of a private school, identified as Ikram Mengal, along with his five-year old son, in Kharan District on January 18, reports Dawn. Read less...

A religious scholar, Mohammad Ajmal of the Alami Majlis Khatam-e-Nabuwat, and another man associated with the Majlis were killed on M.A. Jinnah Road. Read less...

An unidentified man was killed in the old Karachi area Read less...

President Barrack Obama administration is nearing completion of a detailed counterterrorism manual that is designed to establish clear rules for targeted-killing operations but leaves open a major exemption for the CIA’s campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan, The Washington Post quoting unnamed US officials reported on January 19. The carve-out would allow the CIA to continue pounding al Qaeda and Taliban targets for a year or more before the agency is forced to comply with more stringent rules spelled out in a classified document that officials have described as a counterterrorism “playbook.” The document, which is expected to be submitted to President Obama for final approval within weeks, marks the culmination of a year-long effort by the White House to codify its counterterrorism policies and create a guide for lethal operations through Obama’s second term. A senior U.S. official involved in drafting the document said that a few issues remain unresolved but described them as minor. The senior U.S. official said the playbook “will be done shortly.” Read less...

The dead body of an unidentified man, stuffed in a gunny bag, was recovered near Sohrab Hospital in Urdu Bazar in the Aram Bagh Police Limits, reports The News. Read less...

The Frontier Corps (FC) killed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) ‘commander’ Rashid Shahwani and his companion Shahjahan during a targeted operation against militants in Mastung District, reports Daily Times. FC personnel recovered a large number of weapons and explosive material during the operation. Read less...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government proposed amendments to the relevant laws to protect the identity of judges, prosecutors and witnesses in terrorism related cases, reports Dawn. The proposal has been sent to the Federal Government in writing, according to provincial Home Secretary Azam Khan. Read less...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department has approved a plan to renovate 274 Police mobile vans turning them into bullet-proof vehicles in the wake of security situation on January 18, reports Daily Times. Read less...

The United State (US) supports democratic Government in Pakistan rather than any specific political party or person‚ including Tahirul Qadri, US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson said on January 18, reports The Express Tribune. He further said that the US would like to see free and fair elections in Pakistan. Read less...

Two brothers, identified as Mohammad