the Rise of FATA - Pakistan Army Successful Law Enforcement Operations

Koh-e-Safaid mountain range with highest peak of Sikaram Sar which forms a natural boundary and water shed with Afghanistan is situated in Kurram agency. It remains covered with snow throughout the year, luring nature lovers and captivating them in its fascinating beauty. Kurram valley starts from Thall in Hangu district towards northwest upto Peiwar Kotal on Pak Afghan border. It can be divided into two parts i.e. the Lower Kurram and the Upper Kurram. The lower Kurram extends from Thall in Hangu district to Sadda.

But due to some sectarian disputes, since last two years, the allured valley was under the influence of feuding quarrels regarding sect, and getting the benefit of this worse situation an infamous organization Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) played its role to further aggravate sectarianism and launched terrorism and felony against the people of Kurram valley in order to accomplish their vicious intrigue to bring chaos and disarray in Pakistan. TTP is a banned organization involved in a number of suicide attacks, killing dozens of innocent people with bastion in South Waziristan agency.

Battered people of kurram agency requested Pak army to take charge of miscreants and an operation “KOH-E-SAFAID” was launched against TTP in July 2011 in order to annihilate the infidel cadre. With the arrival of Pak army in Kurram agency, the obdurate organization got no way out but to hide in mountains and to amalgamate in normal people for deception and ambush. But the evildoers didn’t know the fortified Pak army which took control of the situation in a very small amount of time and diminished the mongers of Satan and ousting the remaining out of the valley. With the conscientious efforts of Pak army, Thal-Parachanar road is also reopened after years which is really appreciated by the public. Now displaced people are back to their homes and army is helping poor people to settle down their once again in amity with each other.

Read more »

Pakistan Army Relentless Efforts to Stabilize FATA

PESHAWAR: No army in the world could win war without the support of its countrymen and political ownership of the ongoing military operations in militancy-hit areas of the country was necessary to achieve long-lasting peace, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Khalid Rabbani said .

Addressing participants of a seminar on ‘War on terror and role of Pakistan Army’ at University of Peshawar (UoP), the corps commander said from 2008 to 2012, the government’s writ had been re-established in 91 per cent of Fata, while the situation in the remaining areas was under control.

He said around 3,300 Pakistan Army personnel had lost lives in the line of duty in the war against terrorism and more than 10,000 had been severely injured in various operations.

“We and the whole nation feel proud of those, who have laid lives for peace in a war where there is only one option for us and that is to win it,” he said

Lt-Gen Khalid said Pakistan Army had conducted more than 300 major and 760 minor operations in militancy-hit areas over the last few years, mostly in 2009-10. He said peace had been restored in the entire northern region of Pakistan and road accesses to most of Fata had been established.

The corps commander said the army was working on a sustainable development plan for Fata to improve livelihood of locals.

He said the army had been carrying out 52 educational projects in Fata and they included establishment of a cadet college in South Waziristan Agency, Khyber Institute of Technical Education and Waziristan Institute of Technical Education.

Lt-Gen Khalid called for gradual mainstreaming of Fata and said its infrastructure development was imperative for socioeconomic development in the region.

He said the army went to an area for pace at the request of the federal government. He denied that the army consumed eight per cent of the budget and said all three forces i.e. army, navy and air force consumed 17 per cent of the country’s total budget, while the army shared in it was 8.7 per cent.

Chairman of UoP Political Science Department Professor Dr AZ Hilali, whose department organised the seminar, highlighted the importance of the seminar and said it was a sign of solidarity with Pakistan Army, which rendered great sacrifices for peace in the country.

Read more »

Balochistan's Road towards Prosperity

ISLAMABAD: Whereas the steps being taken by the Pakistan Army for the establishment of peace in Balochistan and to remove the sense of deprivation among people of the province are yielding positive results, the growing Taliban threat has forced the Indian spymasters to shift from Afghanistan to the Gulf states where they are operating as businessmen.

“The steps being taken by the army under the guidance of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to establish peace in Balochistan and remove the sense of deprivation among the people of the province are yielding positive results, causing distress to the Indian intelligence agencies,” an official source said here on Wednesday, requesting anonymity. “A positive change is being witnessed in the thinking of common Baloch people because of the recruitment of Baloch youths in the army and other security institutions on priority basis,” he said.

The source said the worries of the Indian intelligence officials are, however, growing because of the change in thinking of the Baloch youths while the recruitment of the Baloch youths in the army and security institutions on priority basis has saved Pakistan from a battle front, which was more dangerous than Waziristan because lava was boiling there. He said the Indian spying network, which was targeting Balochistan since long, has almost been defeated now because the Balochistan policy of General Kayani has shattered the Indian policy of misleading the Baloch youths. “When he had taken over as the army chief, General Kayani faced the toughest and the biggest challenge of establishing peace in Balochistan and also defeating the Indian campaign of misleading the Baloch youths,” the source said. “General Kayani was extremely serious in addressing the Balochistan problem and he took pragmatic measures, which are now yielding positive results,” he remarked.

The source revealed that the country’s top security agency achieved highly important successes during the past three years but details of those successes could not be made public because of their sensitive nature. He said these successes also helped other security agencies of the country to achieve their goals. He said the powers that wanted to pit the Baloch people against other provinces and national institutions were behind the kidnapping and target killing incidents in the province during the past few years.

“The foreign elements have been involved in planning the killing of passengers of public transport in different cities and districts of Balochistan and the most prominent among these elements were the Indians. The term of Baloch Liberation Army was also introduced by the Indian intelligence agencies because India wanted to infuse into the Baloch youths the hatred against other provinces and the army,” the source said.

“Although the Indians had initially succeeded in their nefarious designs to a great extent and their operations were on their peak following the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the strategy devised by General Kayani and implemented by the army to bringing the Baloch people, particularly youths, into the national mainstream has now completely changed the scenario,” he added.

The source pointed out that because of the growing threat of the Taliban attacks, the senior Indian intelligence officers have shifted from Afghanistan to the Gulf states in the vicinity of Balochistan, where they are posing as businessmen and are providing jobs to Baloch youths so as to create afresh an atmosphere of hate in Balochistan. This is the reason that the Pakistani establishment is trying to provide maximum job and business opportunities to Baloch youths to save them from the economic blackmailing of Indians, he remarked.

When contacted by The News for comments, former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen (R) Hamid Gul said no doubt General Kayani is doing good work in Balochistan because the situation had worsened in that province during the Musharraf regime. He said that under a long-term policy, General Kayani recruited the Baloch youths in the army and also took other measures on priority basis to address the sense of deprivation among Baloch people.

“However, the president and prime minister too should give priority to Balochistan, as the government and civil institutions have yet much to do there and a short-term policy is also needed because India and the US do not want peace in Balochistan. Therefore, the elimination of the Indian and US influence there is utmost necessary,” he commented.

Read more »

False Alert?: Mumbai Goes on Alert While ‘Terrorists’Work at Lahore’s Mobile Market

This screenshot from India Today shows the news and pictures of three of the five suspected terrorists who had allegedly sneaked into Mumbai. PHOTO: INDIA TODAY SCREENSHOT

LAHORE:

Mumbai Police on Wednesday released photographs of three alleged terrorists, out of five, that it claimed belonged to banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and had entered Mumbai.

The three, however, are present in Lahore, with two of them running businesses and one serving as a security guard at the city’s famed electronics market Hafeez Centre.

Terror threat

According to a Times of India report, Indian intelligence agencies warned the Mumbai police that five LeT operatives have sneaked into the city and are plotting to attack vital installations, possibly through the sea route.

The alert was sent on Sunday along with colour photographs of the five terrorists, all of whom are in the age of group of 25-30 years. Following the warning, police commissioner Arup Patnaik called a high-level meeting on security on Monday to discuss heightening of security at important installations, the TOI quoted sources as saying.

A senior police officer who attended the commissioner’s meeting said the central alert declares that the terrorists plan is to “sabotage” key installations close to the coast by “hiring a ferry from the Gateway of India” and “attacking them from the sea.”

The terrorists, the officer added, infiltrated the country earlier by land through the borders of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. They are carrying on them fake Indian identity cards, copies of which have been sent by central intelligence agencies to the Mumbai police.

Terrorists or traders

The individuals in the photographs, however, are purportedly working at Hafeez Centre and approached the local police station for security after the photographs were released, sources said.

The individuals were identified as businessmen Atif Butt and Mehtab Butt, and security guard Baber.

They approached the president of the shopping mall’s association, Muhammad Fayyaz Butt, who strongly condemned the “irresponsible and biased attitude of India.”

Atif Butt is running a mobile phone business, Sun Mobiles, in shop number 25 at lower ground floor while Mehtab Butt is running a business in the name of Al Hafeez in shop number 26 on the same floor, Fayyaz said while speaking to The Express Tribune late Wednesday night.

Baber performs his duties as a security guard at Hafeez Centre, he added.

Two of the three individuals do not even have a passport, he said, adding that he will raise the issue at all forums.

Criticising Indian authorities for releasing the individuals’ pictures and branding them terrorists, Fayyaz asked the Indian government to apologise immediately.

Read more »

Pak Army to Launch Offensive in North Waziristan

ISLAMABAD - After the beheading of 13 Pakistani soldiers by the Taliban in Miranshah, Pakistan Army has decided to initiate a targeted offensive in North Waziristan.
US has repeatedly demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive in North Waziristan especially against the so-called Haqqani network. Pakistan has promised to address the concern on Haqqani network but was reluctant to launch a full fledged operation in restive North Waziristan.
However, after this latest incident against Pakistani soldiers, sources told Online, Pakistan Army has decided to launch a targeted operation in North Waziristan in next few days, which would be completely different from the operation launched in Swat.
Sources said that Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani in this regard has consulted Pakistan Supreme Commander Asif Ali Zardari in this regard and taken him into confidence.
Sources confirmed that currently three brigades of Pakistan Army are in North Waziristan who are fighting against militancy. However, the sources, were reluctant to give the final date of the operation but said it could be any time in next few days and likely before the NATO heads summit meeting in Chicago, which is to be attended by Asif Ali Zardari.
After the military offensive in South Waziristan nearly 3000 militants went into hiding in NW.
According to sources, as the weather is becoming warmer the militants are coming down from mountains and are attacking the army soldiers.

Read more »

'US making Islamabad Scapegoat for Failure to Beat Afghan Insurgency': Pak Army Commander

A top Pakistani military commander has reportedly accused Washington of seeking to make Islamabad a scapegoat for its failure to beat insurgency in Afghanistan.

Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani, the corps commander for Peshawar, during an interview with an American Press agency, said US efforts to talk peace with insurgents in Afghanistan meant Washington can no longer expect Pakistan to attack all militant factions on its side of the border, some of whom Islamabad is also reaching out to.

"Why do they raise their fingers toward Pakistan? It is shifting the blame to others," The Express Tribune quoted Lt. Gen. Rabbani, as saying.

Lt. Gen. Rabbani remarks came a day after militants in North Waziristan killed 13 soldiers, including four that it captured when troops raided a militant hideout.

According to the paper, Lt. Gen. Rabbani defended the government's dealings with North Waziristan-based militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is believed to have signed a nonaggression pact with the government, saying "at the moment he seems to be trying to keep himself out of the trouble."

He also stressed that U.S. and NATO were in contact with insurgents in Afghanistan to try and "co-opt them into the peace process."

"Something has to be done, and it's in the offing. North Waziristan is the only region we haven't cleared. It should be done as early as possible," the paper quoted Lt. Gen. Rabbani, as saying. (ANI)

Read more »

Bramdagh Bugti- The Master-mind of killing Mir Bakhtayar Domki's Wife

The Bharati government has sponsored terror in Balochistan for decades. Solid proof of Delhi’s involvement Anti-Pakistan terror comes from the fact that is has given Bramdagh Bugti an Indian Passport for travel purposes.

The Pakistani government has asked the Swiss authorities to reject the plea for political asylum made by Bramdagh Bugti, who heads an outlawed Baloch terrorist group, and extradite him to Pakistan. The Swiss government was that of considering the request.
Bugti, 30, heads the terrorist outfit call the “Baloch Republican Party.” Bugti has been responsible for attacks against third generation of folks that live in Balochistan. His terror group routinely blows up gas pipelines, government installations and armed forces. Pakistan has handed over the ‘proof’ of his involvement in subversive activities.
Bramdagh Bugti has been on the run since 2006 and at first took refuge in Afghanistan. He stayed in Kabul in the heyday of the Bharati presence there. He directed terror against Pakistan for almost four years from his plush home in Kabul. His stay however a bone of contention with the Karzai government was and almost halted all cooperation with Afghanistan. Bugti’s presence in Afghanistan sparked a diplomatic row between Kabul and Islamabad.

The US and some European countries helped him to relocate to Switzerland. He has been there since October of last year to fortify his group and launch ploys against Pakistan. Conversely, feuding between ‘mari’ and ‘bugti’ tribe cannot be neglected as well due to strong intertribal/ intratribal differences. Recent killing of Mir Bakhtyar’s wife is so evidently executed by Bramdagh Bugti in order to become a successor of Nawab Akbar Bugti and to get ticket of asylum in Switzerland. As per various authentic sources, extra judicial killings and abductions are committed on the behest of Bramdagh Bugti with intent to defame Pakistan Army.

Read more »