washingtonpost.com
ISLAMABAD -- The footage was chilling - a woman crying out in pain, held face-down on the ground, as a man with a long beard flogged her in front of a crowd.
It could be the video that changed Pakistan.
That two-minute clip, purportedly shot in the Swat Valley where the Taliban held sway until a recent military offensive, has come to represent the militants and their extreme form of Islam. The footage is increasingly seen here as a turning point - perhaps even more persuasive than all the bombings, beheadings and other violence, most recently Tuesday's suicide attack on a luxury hotel.
The circumstances of the beating are murky, no one is sure where exactly it happened, and the woman's identity remains unclear more than two months after the whipping was shown repeatedly on TV.
No matter. She remains irrevocably linked with the Taliban, an instant icon the government has used to ask Pakistanis if this is what they want for their country.
The answer from many seems to be no.
There are no scientific polls, but in informal interviews by The Associated Press with more than three dozen Pakistanis across the country Wednesday and Thursday, not a single person expressed sympathy or allegiance toward the Taliban. The most common answer was the militants should be hunted down and killed.
Many people told the AP they used to support the Taliban but no longer do so. The finding is supported by those of Pakistani analysts and commentators, who say they detect a similar shift in public opinion recently against the Taliban.
Certainly, the militants retain some support, particularly in the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan that the Taliban and al-Qaida have used as sanctuary. The extremists would likely retreat to these areas if they continue to suffer defeats elsewhere.
But the change in public mood is empowering the army in its offensive against the militants - a campaign supported by the Obama administration, which believes security in Pakistan is vital to defeating the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
Now the army says it has the Taliban on the run, helped by tips from residents in villages under fire. It's quite a change from several months ago, when the Taliban was on the march within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad, and there was talk of the entire country falling to the militants.
"Like all of us, I was welcoming the Taliban in the beginning," said Abdul Jabbar Khan, a 52-year-old shopkeeper. Khan now lives with eight family members in a relief camp in Mardan, along the northwest border with Afghanistan. They said they were forced from their home by fighting in Mingora, Swat's biggest town.
"When Maulana Fazlullah started giving sermons on the radio, he was talking about good things - heaven and Islamic teachings," Khan said, referring to the Taliban leader in Swat.
"Now we have the result," he continued. "It is very miserable, painful for all of us. We had a good life there. We had a good home and everything. Now we are begging for even daily meals. These people are responsible. They betrayed us and played with our religious emotions."
Nadeem Ahmad Awan, a 31-year-old bookseller in the southwestern city of Quetta, said the army should "kill each and every Taliban."
"No Taliban should go unharmed," agreed Asma Arshad, 23, a college student in the central city of Multan. "The killing of Taliban is good for Islam and it is good for Pakistan."
A majority of Pakistanis have always opposed Islamic extremists. Previous army offensives against the militants, however, have resulted in public backlashes as many people concluded the only way to end the bloodshed and destruction was for the weak central government to strike a deal with the extremists.
That may be changing.
"The mood has changed toward the Taliban even among those who had empathy with them," said Mahmood Shah, a retired military officer. "Now I don't think they can talk openly in favor of the Taliban. They will be stoned or something."
Attacks like Tuesday's bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar that killed at least nine people, including two U.N. workers, also have hardened people's resolve.
"I get the sense that setting off bombs on any civilian target in the North West Frontier Province - particularly in a place like Peshawar, which might otherwise be a hotbed of support for the insurgency - is fairly obviously a counterproductive strategy," Shah said.
The militants' efforts to expand their sway beyond Swat also appear to have been a miscalculation. Under a February peace deal signed with the government, they imposed sharia, or Islamic law - the whipping in the video appeared to be punishment for an offense - and have been accused of murders, rapes and pillaging.
Sufi Muhammad, an influential Taliban cleric, further stirred outrage with a speech in which he denounced democracy and elections - an unpopular pronouncement in a country that recently has emerged from a decade of military rule.
When the Taliban advanced from Swat into the neighboring Buner district in April, the deal collapsed and the government sent the army to oust the militants from the region.
The rising public sentiment against the militants has played into the government's efforts to build support for offensives against the Taliban that started, with strong encouragement from Washington and other allies, in Swat and may yet head for tougher targets in the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan.
Sheik Maqsood, a 47-year-old social worker in Multan, said he used to like and respect the Taliban, but that over the years their atrocities in the tribal regions have changed his mind.
"These Taliban are unpopular to such an extent that not a single person is willing to utter even one word in their favor," Maqsood said.
The sea change in sentiment appears to have started with the video, said Mehdi Hasan, a journalism professor and political commentator.
The two-minute video, widely aired on local television in early April, shows the woman face down on the ground with two men holding her arms and feet. Her all-enveloping burqa has been hitched up to expose a pair of pink trousers.
A third man in a black turban with a long beard whips her backside more than a dozen times, causing her to scream repeatedly and shout "Stop it, stop it! It is painful!" A crowd of men watches silently in the background.
"After the flogging of the girl in Swat, the people of the country's mood changed," Hasan said. "Before that, the public attitude was apologetic and defensive because of the word Islam."
The Taliban's other actions had an impact, too.
"The militants were blasting saloons, destroying girls' schools. They were stopping women from coming out of their homes or going to the doctor," Hasan said. "People became fed up with this. They are reclaiming Islam. ... For the first time in Pakistan, they are taking a strong stand against the Taliban and the extremists."
Zahid Omar, 37, a local trader in the eastern city of Lahore, said people had been forced to see the Taliban's "ugly faces."
Zafar Hilaly, a former Pakistani ambassador, wrote in the influential daily The News that the Taliban's actions already have cost them any chance of destabilizing the government.
"They helped the public make up its mind," he wrote. "They helped the army do what it should have done much earlier, which was to fight. They encouraged parliament to acquire some spunk. Pakistan's victory in the present war against the Taliban is preordained for no other reason than the nation is finally united against the enemy."
The government has shown more savvy than in previous offensives against militants that left civilians dead. They appear to have been careful to avoid collateral damage as much as possible this time, though it's impossible to know for sure because the military has severely restricted access to the combat zones.
In addition, there has been a nearly monthlong pause in U.S. drone-fired missile strikes against militant targets near the Afghan border. Such strikes are unpopular in Pakistan, though U.S. officials say the lull was not timed to allow the government to build good will.
The Pakistani army - whose reputation took a beating under former military leader Pervez Musharraf - says it's succeeding in Swat partly because it has more public support. Many residents are now more helpful in tipping off security forces to Taliban presence, military officials say.
The military also quickly dispatched helicopter gunships to the Upper Dir region in support of a citizens' militia that sprang up after the bombing last week of a mosque that was blamed on the Taliban. Some similar efforts have foundered for lack of government support.
Still, critics say the Pakistani army does not have the will or ability to vanquish the militants, given its close links to extremist groups.
While the peace deal with the Taliban was widely criticized at the time as a capitulation, President Asif Ali Zardari says he signed off on it because he knew the militants would violate it and show their true colors.
The flogging and other Taliban actions seemed to resonate with Pakistanis because Swat is much more a part of the Pakistan they're familiar with than the tribal areas. People who live in Punjab have vacationed in Swat and gone there to honeymoon. The tribal areas, on the other hand, are like another planet.
The surge in support for the offensive still could end if the government fails to address the more than 2 million people displaced by the fighting or to hold Swat once it's cleared. Bringing law and order to that stretch of the northwest is critical to preventing the Taliban's re-emergence.
Residents in the troubled Bajur tribal region cursed the Taliban in interviews with the AP - but also complained the government did nothing for them after a successful military operation last year against the Taliban.
When the militants were in power, "we were facing threats from the Taliban but at least we could still live in our homes," said Dost Mohammed, one of thousands who fled their town of Mamund during the fighting - only to return to find their homes and crops destroyed.
Mohammed still favors army action against the Taliban. But he said that the government should help those who pay a heavy price for the war on terror.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
How Sarkozy stood up to Obama
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French President sets himself up for a little mockery. Here's a classic example, taken at Saturday's D-Day commemoration in Normandy.
Speaking from the same podium as Barack Obama, Sarkozy added about six inches to his five feet five by standing on a little stool. Added to his custom-crafted elevator shoes, this took him up to the same altitude as the six-feet-two US president.
Jimmy Carter in Syria
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Damascus, SANA _President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday that Syria was and is still clear in its position and committed to the option of peace that will return the land to their owners and the legitimate rights to the Palestinian people.
That came when President al-Assad received former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
President al-Assad and Carter reviewed the current situation in the Middle East and ways of activating the stalled peace process.
For his part, President Carter hoped to see an improvement in the Syrian-US relations under the administration of President Barack Obama who wishes to pursue a new policy with all countries of the region dominated by dialogue and mutual respect.
Carter pointed out that Syria is an important player in the region, and that he believed that the U.S. administration is willing to develop this relation.
He stressed that the current Israeli government has to stop settlement and adopt the bases of peace.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Dr. Buthaina Shaaban, Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Fayssal Mikdad and the delegation accompanying President Carter.
In a press conference following the meeting Carter said: " I discussed with President al-Assad the cooperation built on the goodwill between Syria and the United States, George Mitchell's forthcoming visit and the situation in Iraq as I briefed the President on plans of my tour which I intend to complete in the region.
He expressed his belief that President Barack Obama wants to establish
relations of cooperation and friendship with Syria, and this includes the lifting of sanctions and sending US ambassador to Damascus.
President Carter added: " Our main task is to support the Middle East peace process with the hope of resumption of negotiations between Syria and Israel, and Israel's withdrawal from the Golan , and I hope a positive progress would be achieved in the peace process, where today there is a commitment by the President Obama to play an active role."
Carter added that there is no doubt that U.S. involvement is necessary to ensure the success of the peace process, but I can not predict the final result… there is no doubts that the international community, the Europeans, Russia and the United States are deeply interested in the success of the initiative launched by President Obama, which set a deadline before end of his term in 2012 for the completion of a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and Syria.
He called on the US government to conduct, as soon as possible, a dialogue with Hamas, adding, "It's impossible to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians without inserting Hamas directly in this process.
Carter pointed out to Israel's detention of 11700 Palestinian captives, among them 400 women and children as well as members of the Palestinian Legislative Council who were elected in 2006 in addition to Marwan al-Barghouthi.
This is Carter's third visit to Damascus in 2008 and 2009 with the aim of pushing the Syrian-US relations forward and removing the obstacles facing them.
Earlier, the U.S. State Department announced that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell visits Damascus at the end of this week as a part of efforts to revive the peace process and President Obama's efforts to reach a comprehensive peace in the region.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and National Security Council Senior Director Daniel Shapiro, held talks in Damascus last March and May with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and agreed on continuing the existing dialogue to address the standing differences to achieve the two countries' interests.
Six delegates from the U.S. Congress also visited Damascus this year to discuss bilateral relations and ways to move them forward through a serious and constructive dialogue based on mutual respect and common interests.
U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Is Given More Leeway
NYT.COM
WASHINGTON — The new American commander in Afghanistan has been given carte blanche to handpick a dream team of subordinates, including many Special Operations veterans, as he moves to carry out an ambitious new strategy that envisions stepped-up attacks on Taliban fighters and narcotics networks.
The extraordinary leeway granted the commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, underscores a view within the administration that the war in Afghanistan has for too long been given low priority and needs to be the focus of a sustained, high-level effort.
General McChrystal is assembling a corps of 400 officers and soldiers who will rotate between the United States and Afghanistan for a minimum of three years. That kind of commitment to one theater of combat is unknown in the military today outside Special Operations, but reflects an approach being imported by General McChrystal, who spent five years in charge of secret commando teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With his promotion approved by the Senate late on Wednesday, General McChrystal and senior members of his command team were scheduled to fly from Washington within hours of the vote, stopping in two European capitals to confer with allies before landing in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
General McChrystal’s confirmation came only after the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, went to the floor to make an impassioned plea for Republicans to allow the action to proceed, fearing that political infighting would delay approval of the appointment. He told of a phone call on Wednesday from Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mr. Reid said that Admiral Mullen had told him that there was a sense of urgency that General McChrystal be able to go to Afghanistan that very night. He said that according to Admiral Mullen, “McChrystal is literally waiting by an airplane” to go to Afghanistan as the new commander.
Almost a dozen senior military officers provided details about General McChrystal’s plans in interviews after his nomination. The officers insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the effort, and insisted that their comments not be used until the Senate vote, so as not to preempt lawmakers.
For the first time, the American commander in Afghanistan will have a three-star deputy. Picked for the job of running day-to-day combat operations was Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, who has commanded troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Generals McChrystal and Rodriguez have been colleagues and friends for more than 30 years, beginning when both were Ranger company commanders as young captains.
General McChrystal also has picked the senior intelligence adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, to join him in Kabul as director of intelligence there. In Washington, Brig. Gen. Scott Miller, a longtime Special Operations officer now assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff but who had served previously under General McChrystal, is now organizing a new Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell.
Admiral Mullen said that he personally told General McChrystal that “he could have his pick from the Joint Staff. His job, the mission he’s going to command, is that important. Afghanistan is the main effort right now.”
Just how this new team will grapple with the increasingly violent Taliban militancy in Afghanistan is unclear, although General McChrystal has said he will focus on classic counterinsurgency techniques, in particular protecting the population.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has asked General McChrystal to report back within 60 days of taking command with an assessment of the mission and plans for carrying out President Obama’s new strategy.
“Success will be difficult to define but will come in reduction in I.E.D.’s, reduction in poppy, more interdiction of Taliban crossing the border, some anticorruption arrests/exiles, and greater civilian effort possible as a result of a reduction in the threat,” said Maj. Gen. Peter Gilchrist, a retired British officer and a former deputy commander of allied forces in Afghanistan who praised General McChrystal’s appointment.
At the Pentagon, under General McChrystal’s direction, a large area of the Defense Department’s underground, round-the-clock emergency operations facility — called the National Military Command Center — has already been shifted to the Afghan war effort.
The makeover in the American military command is not the only major set of personnel changes in Afghanistan.
The Obama administration has surrounded the new United States ambassador to Kabul, Karl W. Eikenberry, a recently retired three-star Army general, with three former ambassadors to bolster diplomatic efforts in the country.
Francis J. Ricciardone Jr., a former ambassador to Egypt and the Philippines, has been tapped as General Eikenberry’s deputy. Earl Anthony Wayne, a former ambassador to Argentina, is heading up economic development initiatives in the embassy. Joseph A. Mussomeli, the former ambassador to Cambodia, will be an assistant ambassador in Kabul.
As director of intelligence on the Joint Staff, General Flynn holds a position, called the J-2, that has often been a springboard to a senior executive position across the alphabet soup of American intelligence agencies. But General Flynn, who was General McChrystal’s intelligence boss at the Joint Special Operations Command, has chosen to return to the combat zone.
In a sign of the importance being given to explaining the new strategy to Afghans, across the region and the world, General McChrystal will also be taking the first flag officer to serve as chief of public affairs and communications for the military in Afghanistan.
Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, who has served as director of communications and spokesman in Iraq during the troop increase under Gen. David H. Petraeus, had been scheduled to retire this summer. But officials said he received a personal request from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to serve in the same capacity for General McChrystal.
Failure to protect
Dawn Editorial
The devastating strike against the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar is another sobering reminder that the terrorists are continually adapting their modus operandi and probing gaps in security arrangements in what should be high-security areas.
The attacks on the FIA centre in Lahore in March 2008 and the Marriott hotel in Islamabad last September introduced the devastation of truck-bombing to Pakistan and led to a scramble to put up heavy-duty security barriers at the entrances to buildings that could be potential targets of terrorists across the country. Then last month in Lahore, a similar attack on an ISI building may have been thwarted but it did severely damage a Rescue 15 building and killed dozens. Seemingly having learned from that experience, the terrorists in Peshawar arrived at the hotel in an innocuous looking car, and when the barrier was lowered for them they fired in the air dispersing the guards. Then, followed closely by the truck filled with the explosive material, they drove to their target. Even more alarmingly, the terrorists appear to have thoroughly reconnoitred their target: they exploded their truck at a point that caused maximum damage to the portion of the hotel that reportedly was occupied mostly by foreigners.
What is equally clear though is that there was a spectacular failure of security at the hotel itself and the surrounding neighbourhood. Private security guards at the hotel were clearly not up to the task of fending off sophisticated terrorists on a suicide mission. Or were they complicit in the crime, as NWFP senior minister Bashir Bilour suspects. But where were the police and other law-enforcement personnel? With humanitarian workers and officials from international aid agencies flocking to help the IDPs in the north-west, the local, provincial and federal administrations should have already had a plan in place to protect the hotel.
After all, terrorist strikes in retaliation against the military operation in Malakand had already occurred and more were expected. Clearly, more — much more — needs to be done on the security front. If there is a shortage of personnel, then they must be urgently recruited. If there is a shortage of other resources, the relevant administrations must provide them to the law-enforcement agencies immediately. If the intelligence apparatus is stretched thin, then it must quickly be beefed up.
The neighbourhood in which the hotel is located ought to be kept in mind. The provincial assembly, Supreme Court registry, Governor House, Chief Minister House and Corps Commander House are all a stone’s throw from the Pearl Continental. True, the road on which the hotel is located is a major artery and security concerns must be balanced against the need of the population to move around. But the fact that a truck laden with explosives could travel unchecked on the road is extremely disconcerting. A system needs to be put in place that can screen all traffic, particularly heavy vehicles.
UN halts operations in NWFP after PC blast
PESHAWAR: The United Nations has suspended its activities including humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced persons till Monday next in the wake of devastating bombing at Pearl Continental Hotel, sources say.
According to sources, the UN has communicated to all its employees to stay away from offices till Monday. A meeting of the UN will be held on Monday to review the situation and decide about resumption or stoppage of relief work for IDPs.
Sources said that the UN had evacuated its entire expatriate staff to Islamabad and the local employees had been asked to stay home till further orders.
Sources in the UN told Dawn that they had cancelled all their activities in Peshawar an elsewhere in NWFP due to the blast at a local five-star hotel on Tuesday night.
They said that suspension of relief work by the UN agencies at this stage would adversely affect the internally displaced persons because in all areas, including water, sanitation, shelter, food and health etc the UN had been playing major role.
‘Earlier, the UN offices in Peshawar were asked to remain closed for Wednesday, but later they were told about the new decision to remain off the office and fields till Monday,’ said officials.
They said that their activities regarding relief to IDPs could not be compromised. They hoped that UN would soon revive its decision of abandoning work in view of the help needed by million of IDPs from Swat, Buner and Dir districts of Malakand region.
Sources maintained that the decision to suspend work was taken after the death of at least five UN employees, including UNHCR, World Food Programme and United Nations Population Fund which had prompted the global agency to provide protection to its employees.
Sources said that the roles of WFP, World Health Organisation, UNHCR and UNICEF were extremely vital for the IDPs and the provincial government had been persuading the high-ranking officials of the UN to rescind the decision and ask its staffers to get back to field work.
At the time of the blast, officials of the WFP, UNHCR and UNFPA, who had arrived in Peshawar, were present at the hotel to take stock of the IDPs situation, sources added.
Sources said that WFP had lost three of its staffers in the explosion besides two employees including a woman of UNICEF and UNHCR were also killed. Two drivers of the UNFPA were also killed in the blast and three UN employees sustained injuries in the blast, they said.
Sources said that NWFP had been placed in phase-III of the UN security from the past several months due to law and order situation and the expatriate staff had been asked to stay away from Peshawar.
In the next security phase, the UN would completely halt its operations that could deal a severe blow to the government’s relief work at IDP camps, they added.
However, after the military operation in Malakand and subsequent mass exoduses from the region, the UN expatriate staff began arriving here to take part in high-level meetings with the officials regarding the relief activities at the camps established for IDPs, they added.
The World Food Programme (WFP) had suspended work at food distribution points for internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Swat and Buner here on Wednesday due to killing of the UN officials in the explosion in a five-star hotel in Peshawar on Tuesday.
Officials at WFP distribution points told Dawn that work remained suspended from June 5 to June 9 and they were told that food supply would be resumed on Wednesday but the whole scenario was changed after Peshawar blast.
A number of displaced persons visited the WFP food points. However, after confirming the suspension of food supply the visiting displaced persons were told by the WFP staff that they got the order from the high-ranking officials that there would be no food distribution till further order.
The WFP staff said that there all preparations were completed and even the wheat supply to their stores had been completed during the five-day break.
The officials said that they were not in a position to tell the IDPs that they should visit the food distribution point on a particular day.
The IDPs said that those who were responsible for the destruction of the five-star hostel should be punished by the government. They demanded an immediate resumption of the food supply.
Four killed, many injured in Peshawar police attack
Unknown miscreants targeted a police party with hand-grenade followed by a suicide attack at Ring Road area here Thursday that killed four people and injuring many others, a private TV channel reported. According to preliminary reports, unknown miscreants hurled a hand grenade at a police patrolling vehicle at Ring Road area, injuring one cop. Police has installed a security checkpoint at the attack site. When heavy contingents of police were rushed to the scene soon after the grenade attack another powerful blast hit the security convoy, killing at least three policemen and injuring many others, it was reported. The second attack was supposed to be suicidal and killed the bomber among three policemen and injured ten others. The injured and corpses have been rushed to Lady Reading Hospital of Peshawar where emergency have already been declared.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Afzal Lala gets Hilal-i-Shujaat
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari conferred Hilal-i-Shujaat on veteran politician Muhammad Afzal Khan Lala at an investiture held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.The investiture was attended among others by Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, cabinet members and provincial ministers.
Hilal-i-Shujaat has been conferred on Muhammad Afzal Khan Lala, a former federal and NWFP minister, in recognition of the great courage and steadfastness demonstrated by him during the operation against militants in Swat.
The citation read out on the occasion said: “With granite determination he refused to abandon his village and inspired his people to stand up to bigotry, fanaticism and extremism”.Talking to reporters Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the provincial assembly of NWFP had adopted a unanimous resolution about three months ago, urging the president to immediately confer Hilal-i-Shujaat on Afzal Lala for his courage in fighting against militancy for the survival of Pakistan.
Afzal Khan fondly called Lala in NWFP belongs to the village of Drush Khela in Swat. When the victims of militants were streaming out of Swat for safety, 78-year-old Afzal Khan stood up against militants and refused to abandon his ancestral home for fear of life, he added. In standing up to militants he became a tower of strength and encouragement to the besieged people.
Hilal-i-Shujaat has been conferred on Muhammad Afzal Khan Lala, a former federal and NWFP minister, in recognition of the great courage and steadfastness demonstrated by him during the operation against militants in Swat.
The citation read out on the occasion said: “With granite determination he refused to abandon his village and inspired his people to stand up to bigotry, fanaticism and extremism”.Talking to reporters Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the provincial assembly of NWFP had adopted a unanimous resolution about three months ago, urging the president to immediately confer Hilal-i-Shujaat on Afzal Lala for his courage in fighting against militancy for the survival of Pakistan.
Afzal Khan fondly called Lala in NWFP belongs to the village of Drush Khela in Swat. When the victims of militants were streaming out of Swat for safety, 78-year-old Afzal Khan stood up against militants and refused to abandon his ancestral home for fear of life, he added. In standing up to militants he became a tower of strength and encouragement to the besieged people.
NWFP govt admits security lapses
PESHAWAR - The death toll in Pearl Continental Hotel blast reached 19 on Wednesday, as six more bodies were retrieved from the debris on Wednesday.
The bodies of a woman, three foreigners, hotel manager Syed Kamal Ahmad, and PIA captain Muhammed Ayub were recovered from the wreckage of the hotel.
The hotel was damaged in a powerful blast on Tuesday night and the government has also formed an investigation team headed by DIG Sifwat Ghayyur.
Police and hospital sources revealed that the injured and killed persons also included some foreigners who had been shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. The deceased foreigners were identified as Alexander (45), citizen of Serbia and a UN employee, and a Philippine citizen Parse, while the injured were identified as Witson, a UN employee, Golden Brown, citizen of Great Britain, and Enas, a citizen of Germany.
One Jamil Shah told that he was a driver in the hotel and when the blast occurred he was coming out of the mosque and some 20 persons including the prayer leader (Imam) came under the rubble of the mosque. A portion of the hotel razed to the ground while around 50 vehicles in the parking lot were damaged, he added.
The rescuers are still searching for bodies while some people are busy removing debris of the collapsed portion. Security has further been tightened to avert any possible attacks of militants. More troops have been deployed on Corpse Commander House and important installations.
The number of casualties can rise as some of the injured persons were stated to be in critical condition.
An official of bomb disposal squad said that more than 500 kilograms explosive material was used in the attack and probably its original target was the house of Corps Commander Peshawar.
AFP adds: Rescuers have pulled at least nine bodies from the rubble of a luxury hotel in the City hit by a suicide car bomb, as blame fell Wednesday on Taliban rebels avenging a military push.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said there were 'security lapses' leading up to the blast late Tuesday at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar city, and vowed an investigation.
He said the bombing was likely the latest in a string of attacks by militants seeking to exact revenge for a six-week offensive against them in swathes of the northwest.
“The blast is a reaction to the army offensive in Swat and Malakand. The possibility of this type of terrorist attack cannot be ruled out in future,” said Iftikhar.
He earlier put the death toll at 18, but late Wednesday told a Press conference that new information indicated nine people had died.
“Nine people died including two foreigners,” he said, adding that 62 people were injured. “Earlier information was obtained in an emergency situation.”
Local police, however, have put the death toll at 13.
Iftikhar said one of the vehicles had earlier attracted suspicion and come under fire near the residence of a senior military official, while the electronic barrier at the Pearl Continental was lowered when attackers hit.
“This shows there were clearly security lapses,” he said. “There will be an official investigation.”
Online adds: Senior provincial minister and central ANP leader Bashir Bilour has said that the involvement of hotel employees in the blast cannot be ruled out, adding that the province was in a state of war.
Talking to mediamen during a visit of destroyed hotel, he said definitely the terrorists had local support to carryout deadly blast in luxury hotel while the investigating team led by CCPO Peshawar is investigating the matter and nation would be informed about the results.
Answering a question, he said the province was in a state of war. “If we have taken no security measures then 50 to 60 blasts could have been happened in Peshawar. Foreigners were the target of terrorists and targeting those foreigners who were in Pakistan for help of internally displaced people is condemnable,” he said.
Monitoring Desk adds: An organization which calls itself Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade (AASB) has claimed responsibility of the Tuesday’s bomb blast at Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, reported a private TV channel on Wednesday.
Almost 19 people including foreigners were killed in the Tuesday’s suicide attack at PC Hotel.
The bodies of a woman, three foreigners, hotel manager Syed Kamal Ahmad, and PIA captain Muhammed Ayub were recovered from the wreckage of the hotel.
The hotel was damaged in a powerful blast on Tuesday night and the government has also formed an investigation team headed by DIG Sifwat Ghayyur.
Police and hospital sources revealed that the injured and killed persons also included some foreigners who had been shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. The deceased foreigners were identified as Alexander (45), citizen of Serbia and a UN employee, and a Philippine citizen Parse, while the injured were identified as Witson, a UN employee, Golden Brown, citizen of Great Britain, and Enas, a citizen of Germany.
One Jamil Shah told that he was a driver in the hotel and when the blast occurred he was coming out of the mosque and some 20 persons including the prayer leader (Imam) came under the rubble of the mosque. A portion of the hotel razed to the ground while around 50 vehicles in the parking lot were damaged, he added.
The rescuers are still searching for bodies while some people are busy removing debris of the collapsed portion. Security has further been tightened to avert any possible attacks of militants. More troops have been deployed on Corpse Commander House and important installations.
The number of casualties can rise as some of the injured persons were stated to be in critical condition.
An official of bomb disposal squad said that more than 500 kilograms explosive material was used in the attack and probably its original target was the house of Corps Commander Peshawar.
AFP adds: Rescuers have pulled at least nine bodies from the rubble of a luxury hotel in the City hit by a suicide car bomb, as blame fell Wednesday on Taliban rebels avenging a military push.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said there were 'security lapses' leading up to the blast late Tuesday at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar city, and vowed an investigation.
He said the bombing was likely the latest in a string of attacks by militants seeking to exact revenge for a six-week offensive against them in swathes of the northwest.
“The blast is a reaction to the army offensive in Swat and Malakand. The possibility of this type of terrorist attack cannot be ruled out in future,” said Iftikhar.
He earlier put the death toll at 18, but late Wednesday told a Press conference that new information indicated nine people had died.
“Nine people died including two foreigners,” he said, adding that 62 people were injured. “Earlier information was obtained in an emergency situation.”
Local police, however, have put the death toll at 13.
Iftikhar said one of the vehicles had earlier attracted suspicion and come under fire near the residence of a senior military official, while the electronic barrier at the Pearl Continental was lowered when attackers hit.
“This shows there were clearly security lapses,” he said. “There will be an official investigation.”
Online adds: Senior provincial minister and central ANP leader Bashir Bilour has said that the involvement of hotel employees in the blast cannot be ruled out, adding that the province was in a state of war.
Talking to mediamen during a visit of destroyed hotel, he said definitely the terrorists had local support to carryout deadly blast in luxury hotel while the investigating team led by CCPO Peshawar is investigating the matter and nation would be informed about the results.
Answering a question, he said the province was in a state of war. “If we have taken no security measures then 50 to 60 blasts could have been happened in Peshawar. Foreigners were the target of terrorists and targeting those foreigners who were in Pakistan for help of internally displaced people is condemnable,” he said.
Monitoring Desk adds: An organization which calls itself Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade (AASB) has claimed responsibility of the Tuesday’s bomb blast at Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, reported a private TV channel on Wednesday.
Almost 19 people including foreigners were killed in the Tuesday’s suicide attack at PC Hotel.
Editorial: Peshawar hotel blast
Daily Times
Editorial
A massive 500kg blast inside the compound of the only five-star hotel in Peshawar, the Pearl Continental, reminds us of the October 2008 Marriott Islamabad attack and tells us about the modifications made in the plan of attack by the terrorists as well as the lack of lessons learned by the security agencies. The barrier was one of the most effective erected by the hotel management, but like the Rescue 15 incident in Lahore, the detail of guards mounted to oversee the barrier was not adequately protected. On the side of the terrorists, the lesson learned from the Marriott was that the barrier had to be crossed somehow.
The hotel management can hardly be blamed. Anyone who has visited the Peshawar PC will recall the security erected at the gate of the hotel, which is more distant from the main building than the Marriott barrier was. The guards were always vigilant and unremitting in their strictness despite the dull routine of letting in vehicles through the day. What no one anticipated was that a truck laden with explosives would succeed in making its way through the city roads to the gate of the hotel. More, it was not anticipated that the terrorists would kill all the guards before making their way into the hotel compound.
Some mistakes on the part of the administration were repeated in the light of the Marriott Islamabad blast. The trucks coming into the area were not stopped and inspected. However, one has to admit that Peshawar is not Islamabad and its capacity to inspect all kinds of traffic coming into the area is limited. In Islamabad the plan to block and inspect all big vehicles was in place but was defeated by the terrorists by using the moment of the breaking of the Ramadan fast to get through to the target. In Lahore the recent Rescue 15 attack had a new feature that should have been taken stock of: the terrorists reduced the barrier to zero by killing the guards.
The Marriott blast was planned meticulously by highly educated men who put the truck together in South Punjab before bringing it to some place close to Islamabad without being noticed. In Peshawar conditions are quite different. The administration is quite weak after years of significant advance of warlords and criminals into the various sections of the city. Warlords located in Khyber and other tribal agencies now own properties in the city grabbed from intimidated original owners. There are sections in the city where people calling themselves Taliban rule without being challenged. The ANP government in Peshawar has warned about the steady decline of the writ of provincial government dating from the times when the MMA was ruling the NWFP.
The loss of life is small in proportion to the scale of the explosion. One can say that the hotel security was after all effective in so far as it prevented too many deaths. But out of the 15 killed, the death of those belonging to various UN departments is indeed damaging to the state of Pakistan as it struggles to look after its refugees from the various war zones in the tribal areas. That said, the world will expect Pakistan to stand up and fight despite the reversals it is experiencing from attacks such as the one on the Peshawar PC. The hotel must come back into business after mounting an even better security barrier, like the one at Serena Hotel in Islamabad where the guests may be inconvenienced as a price for their security.
The Taliban are facing challenges in Pakistan as they never faced before. Their casualty rate is significant and they are on the run. But their strength arises from the years of exemption they enjoyed in Peshawar and the adjoining tribal and “frontier region” (FR) cities. This strength is now being challenged and rolled back by the Pakistan Army. The targeting of hotels is significant. It cuts off cities from one another by preventing important people from travelling; and it cuts Pakistan off from the rest if the world. Therefore the Peshawar blast must not result in closure of the hotel. All red tape should be lifted to permit the PC to return to its normal profile with better security. Hotels are symbols of normal life. They are a part of our national struggle against terrorism.
The hotel owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, is a brave and committed man who has given his all to this country. The government must do everything to help him keep his hotels going in the face of adversity.
Editorial
A massive 500kg blast inside the compound of the only five-star hotel in Peshawar, the Pearl Continental, reminds us of the October 2008 Marriott Islamabad attack and tells us about the modifications made in the plan of attack by the terrorists as well as the lack of lessons learned by the security agencies. The barrier was one of the most effective erected by the hotel management, but like the Rescue 15 incident in Lahore, the detail of guards mounted to oversee the barrier was not adequately protected. On the side of the terrorists, the lesson learned from the Marriott was that the barrier had to be crossed somehow.
The hotel management can hardly be blamed. Anyone who has visited the Peshawar PC will recall the security erected at the gate of the hotel, which is more distant from the main building than the Marriott barrier was. The guards were always vigilant and unremitting in their strictness despite the dull routine of letting in vehicles through the day. What no one anticipated was that a truck laden with explosives would succeed in making its way through the city roads to the gate of the hotel. More, it was not anticipated that the terrorists would kill all the guards before making their way into the hotel compound.
Some mistakes on the part of the administration were repeated in the light of the Marriott Islamabad blast. The trucks coming into the area were not stopped and inspected. However, one has to admit that Peshawar is not Islamabad and its capacity to inspect all kinds of traffic coming into the area is limited. In Islamabad the plan to block and inspect all big vehicles was in place but was defeated by the terrorists by using the moment of the breaking of the Ramadan fast to get through to the target. In Lahore the recent Rescue 15 attack had a new feature that should have been taken stock of: the terrorists reduced the barrier to zero by killing the guards.
The Marriott blast was planned meticulously by highly educated men who put the truck together in South Punjab before bringing it to some place close to Islamabad without being noticed. In Peshawar conditions are quite different. The administration is quite weak after years of significant advance of warlords and criminals into the various sections of the city. Warlords located in Khyber and other tribal agencies now own properties in the city grabbed from intimidated original owners. There are sections in the city where people calling themselves Taliban rule without being challenged. The ANP government in Peshawar has warned about the steady decline of the writ of provincial government dating from the times when the MMA was ruling the NWFP.
The loss of life is small in proportion to the scale of the explosion. One can say that the hotel security was after all effective in so far as it prevented too many deaths. But out of the 15 killed, the death of those belonging to various UN departments is indeed damaging to the state of Pakistan as it struggles to look after its refugees from the various war zones in the tribal areas. That said, the world will expect Pakistan to stand up and fight despite the reversals it is experiencing from attacks such as the one on the Peshawar PC. The hotel must come back into business after mounting an even better security barrier, like the one at Serena Hotel in Islamabad where the guests may be inconvenienced as a price for their security.
The Taliban are facing challenges in Pakistan as they never faced before. Their casualty rate is significant and they are on the run. But their strength arises from the years of exemption they enjoyed in Peshawar and the adjoining tribal and “frontier region” (FR) cities. This strength is now being challenged and rolled back by the Pakistan Army. The targeting of hotels is significant. It cuts off cities from one another by preventing important people from travelling; and it cuts Pakistan off from the rest if the world. Therefore the Peshawar blast must not result in closure of the hotel. All red tape should be lifted to permit the PC to return to its normal profile with better security. Hotels are symbols of normal life. They are a part of our national struggle against terrorism.
The hotel owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, is a brave and committed man who has given his all to this country. The government must do everything to help him keep his hotels going in the face of adversity.
Over 100 killed as troops target Taliban in Bannu
LAHORE: Troops killed more than 100 Taliban during two days of operation in Jani Khel and Baka Khel areas of Frontier Region (FR) Bannu, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.
According to the channel, Taliban commander Sher Alam is among the dead.
Security forces are pounding Taliban positions with gunship helicopters and artillery shells, the channel said.
Taliban: Up to 800 Taliban have reportedly arrived in the semi-tribal area of FR Bannu that borders North Waziristan to fight the army that has started an operation in the area.
“Reportedly 600 to 800 terrorists reached Jani Khel from Miranshah and Razmak. They are planning to strike at various places in the NWFP,” the military said in a press release.
The operation was launched after Jani Khel tribesmen failed to hand over Taliban involved in the abduction of hundreds of students and staff of Razmak Cadet College last week.
Troops moved in on Monday after talks between two tribes thought to be involved in the brazen abduction and political administration broke down.
“Forces pounded the militant hideouts for the whole night and in the morning in Jani Khel tribal area,” local police official Khalil Zaman told AFP. “Authorities have imposed curfew in some areas.”
Rocket attack: Also in Bannu, a man was killed and two others wounded when Taliban fired a rocket at a house, AFP reported. daily times monitor/staff report/afp
According to the channel, Taliban commander Sher Alam is among the dead.
Security forces are pounding Taliban positions with gunship helicopters and artillery shells, the channel said.
Taliban: Up to 800 Taliban have reportedly arrived in the semi-tribal area of FR Bannu that borders North Waziristan to fight the army that has started an operation in the area.
“Reportedly 600 to 800 terrorists reached Jani Khel from Miranshah and Razmak. They are planning to strike at various places in the NWFP,” the military said in a press release.
The operation was launched after Jani Khel tribesmen failed to hand over Taliban involved in the abduction of hundreds of students and staff of Razmak Cadet College last week.
Troops moved in on Monday after talks between two tribes thought to be involved in the brazen abduction and political administration broke down.
“Forces pounded the militant hideouts for the whole night and in the morning in Jani Khel tribal area,” local police official Khalil Zaman told AFP. “Authorities have imposed curfew in some areas.”
Rocket attack: Also in Bannu, a man was killed and two others wounded when Taliban fired a rocket at a house, AFP reported. daily times monitor/staff report/afp
Bombing Challenges Aid to Pakistan Refugees
new york times
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — One casualty of the bombing that killed as many as 18 people at a luxury hotel here Tuesday night may be the effort to aid Pakistan’s surging population of refugees, who have been displaced by the military campaign against the Taliban.
Around 30 United Nations staff members were at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Tuesday when the bomber hit it, a United Nations spokesman said, and two were among the dead.
The bombing disrupted operations immediately, if temporarily, prompting a one-day suspension of food distribution efforts and forcing many United Nations agencies to move most of their international staff to Islamabad, the capital.
There, they will regroup, reassess risk levels and determine if and how many foreign staff members will now be posted in Peshawar, United Nations officials said.
“It’s a reshaping of operations, it’s not a reduction,” said Kilian Kleinschmidt, emergency coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is leading the humanitarian effort.
Among them were 10 World Food Program employees, who had recently been brought to Pakistan to help handle the crush of nearly three million refugees from the Swat Valley, north of here, where the military has been conducting an operation to root out Taliban insurgents for a month.
The bombing at the Pearl Continental was believed to have been carried out by the Taliban in retaliation for the military’s campaign. Taliban leaders promised major attacks in Pakistani cities, and Peshawar has been hit by seven bombs since the operation began.
“This is a very specific targeting of the humanitarian effort,” said a spokesman for the World Food Program, Paul Risley. “It was a tragedy, but it won’t stop the U.N.’s work.”
Two World Food Program employees were wounded in the blast, one of them seriously. But Mr. Risley said that more staff members were expected to arrive in Pakistan in the near future, and that the program would not be reduced. Food distributions were scheduled for Thursday by Pakistani staff members.
The United Nations High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, condemned the attack in a statement with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “Humanitarian workers around the world are coming under increasing attack and it is the poor, the uprooted and the vulnerable who will suffer the most by their loss,” Mr. Guterres said.
The hotel was also a broader symbol of affluence and Western visitors. It had even been considered by the United States as a location for a consulate in Peshawar.
“Yes, we were looking at it,” said Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administrations special envoy to Pakistan, adding that he had stayed in the hotel. But no deal had ever been closed, he said at a news briefing in Washington.
Diplomats and aid workers increased security measures last year after bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in which more than 50 people were killed. But like in the case of that bombing, the overwhelming majority of the victims were Pakistani.
The United Nations workers killed on Tuesday night were identified as Aleksandar Vorkapic, a Serbian technology specialist with the refugee agency; and Perseveranda So, of the Philippines, who directed education programs in impoverished areas of Pakistan for Unicef.
Two Pakistani drivers and an administrative assistant were among the United Nations local staff who died, said Muhammed Ajmal, a spokesman for the United Nations Population Fund. They were attending a dinner being held at the hotel.
Pakistani news programs on Wednesday broadcast footage from a closed circuit television camera near the security gate of the hotel that showed a man riding a bicycle passing through the security post. Almost immediately, a Toyota car sped inside, and rushed through the security barrier, followed by a small truck laden with explosives.
In a sign of a major security lapse, the electronic barrier was already lowered, allowing the attackers to speed through the security post.
Two Pakistani security officials said that security agencies had been tipped by a source to watch for attacks by the same type of small truck used in the hotel attack.
Security agencies had warned high-profile installations to step up security, among them the Pearl Continental, the officials said, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Officials also said that the Toyota car that entered the security gate first was unrelated to the truck, and that all the attackers were in the truck. The driver of the car, from an upscale area in Peshawar, called Hayatabad, was injured in the blast.
The security officials said that Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, may have carried out the attack, though his group, often quick to claim responsibility, has remained silent about this one.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the hotel, criticized the government for not providing sufficient security to important buildings. He said he planned to reopen the hotel within two months.
“We will not abandon the more than 2 million people,” Mr. Kleinschmidt said. “That’s very clear.”
Search for Pakistan blast victims
Rescuers are searching for victims of a suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar which killed at least 18 people.Rescue teams are picking through the rubble of the Pearl Continental Hotel recovering bodies and looking for more people trapped in the debris.The UN says two of its employees - one from Serbia and the other from the Philippines - are among the dead.
A spate of bombings has followed an army crackdown on Taliban militants.
The latest attack came as the Pakistani army stepped up its operations in the north-west with an offensive in the Bannu district bordering semi-autonomous North Waziristan.
Artillery and helicopter gunships have pounded positions held by the Janikhel tribe, which is accused of aiding the Taliban.
Similar tactics
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says the Peshawar attack bore similarities to one on the Lahore police headquarters last month.
Gunmen forced their way through a security barrier, firing at guards, before a van packed with explosives was driven through and detonated in the car park.Police believe the bomb contained about 500kg of explosives.
The death toll rose to 18 with the discovery of three bodies early on Wednesday, our correspondent says. At least 60 people have been injured.
"The number of casualties could rise as we fear that some people are still trapped under the debris," police spokesman Abdul Ghafoor Afridi told AFP news agency.
ANALYSIS
Jill McGivering, BBC News The PC is a well-known landmark in Peshawar. Often used by foreigners but also by Pakistani officials and businessmen, it is known for good Western as well as local food and 5-star service. All factors which may have contributed to its becoming a target. When I visited recently, there was a whole series of security checks. First of vehicles, as they drove in, past heavy concrete barriers. Then of people, screened by metal detectors and bag searches. But suicide bombers and gunmen are hard to stop. There are clear echoes of the devastating assault on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad last September. Security in Peshawar has worsened dramatically in the last year. Many of those who can afford to move have taken their families to Islamabad or beyond - abandoning a city now becoming consumed by fear and violence.
"One portion of the hotel was totally destroyed. Three people including a manager of the hotel are missing and we fear they are under the debris."
The UN named its two employees killed in the attack as Serbian national Aleksandar Vorkapic, of the refugee agency UNHCR, and Perseveranda So of the Philippines who worked for the children's agency Unicef.
Unicef said the bombing was "reprehensible and unacceptable" and said it was "greatly saddened" by the death of Perseveranda So.
"She was in Peshawar, a dangerous and difficult environment, helping implement programmes to assist girls in gaining access to the education they so desperately need. She will be greatly missed," the statement said.
At least a dozen UN workers had been staying at the hotel before heading out to refugee camps in North West Frontier Province.
Peshawar, the main city in the north-west, is not far from the Swat valley, where the government's offensive against the Taliban has been concentrated.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the attack but the blast hardly comes as a surprise, says the BBC's Chris Morris, in Islamabad.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday night's attack, our correspondent says most people will assume it to be the work of the Taliban.
The injured include a British man and a German national, Peshawar district co-ordination officer Sahibzada Anis said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify".
Eyewitnesses told the BBC News website the blast could be seen up to 5km (3 miles) away. The blast left a large crater and parts of the hotel were destroyed.
“ I saw the red light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound ”
Musa Khan BBC News website reader in Peshawar
An injured man, Jawad Chaudhry, said he had been in his room on the ground floor when he heard gunshots, then an explosion.
"The floor under my feet shook," he said. "I thought the roof was falling on me. I ran out. I saw everybody running in panic. There was blood and pieces of glass everywhere."
Correspondents say the Pearl Continental - usually just called the PC - runs a series of security checks, first of vehicles as they drive in past concrete barriers, then of people who are screened by metal detectors and bag searches.
Taliban leaders have promised revenge attacks on major Pakistani cities and claimed responsibility for the bombing in Lahore last month which left at least 28 people dead.
A suicide attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel last September killed at least 53 people and injured more than 266.
In Bannu, officials say 70 militants have been killed in the action which started on Tuesday, but the figures cannot be verified.
Security officials say the tribe refused to hand over militants involved in the kidnapping of students and teachers from a college last week who were later freed.
A curfew has been imposed in Bannu.
Analysts say North and South and North Waziristan are strongholds for al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Story from BBC NEWS:
A spate of bombings has followed an army crackdown on Taliban militants.
The latest attack came as the Pakistani army stepped up its operations in the north-west with an offensive in the Bannu district bordering semi-autonomous North Waziristan.
Artillery and helicopter gunships have pounded positions held by the Janikhel tribe, which is accused of aiding the Taliban.
Similar tactics
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says the Peshawar attack bore similarities to one on the Lahore police headquarters last month.
Gunmen forced their way through a security barrier, firing at guards, before a van packed with explosives was driven through and detonated in the car park.Police believe the bomb contained about 500kg of explosives.
The death toll rose to 18 with the discovery of three bodies early on Wednesday, our correspondent says. At least 60 people have been injured.
"The number of casualties could rise as we fear that some people are still trapped under the debris," police spokesman Abdul Ghafoor Afridi told AFP news agency.
ANALYSIS
Jill McGivering, BBC News The PC is a well-known landmark in Peshawar. Often used by foreigners but also by Pakistani officials and businessmen, it is known for good Western as well as local food and 5-star service. All factors which may have contributed to its becoming a target. When I visited recently, there was a whole series of security checks. First of vehicles, as they drove in, past heavy concrete barriers. Then of people, screened by metal detectors and bag searches. But suicide bombers and gunmen are hard to stop. There are clear echoes of the devastating assault on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad last September. Security in Peshawar has worsened dramatically in the last year. Many of those who can afford to move have taken their families to Islamabad or beyond - abandoning a city now becoming consumed by fear and violence.
"One portion of the hotel was totally destroyed. Three people including a manager of the hotel are missing and we fear they are under the debris."
The UN named its two employees killed in the attack as Serbian national Aleksandar Vorkapic, of the refugee agency UNHCR, and Perseveranda So of the Philippines who worked for the children's agency Unicef.
Unicef said the bombing was "reprehensible and unacceptable" and said it was "greatly saddened" by the death of Perseveranda So.
"She was in Peshawar, a dangerous and difficult environment, helping implement programmes to assist girls in gaining access to the education they so desperately need. She will be greatly missed," the statement said.
At least a dozen UN workers had been staying at the hotel before heading out to refugee camps in North West Frontier Province.
Peshawar, the main city in the north-west, is not far from the Swat valley, where the government's offensive against the Taliban has been concentrated.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the attack but the blast hardly comes as a surprise, says the BBC's Chris Morris, in Islamabad.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday night's attack, our correspondent says most people will assume it to be the work of the Taliban.
The injured include a British man and a German national, Peshawar district co-ordination officer Sahibzada Anis said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify".
Eyewitnesses told the BBC News website the blast could be seen up to 5km (3 miles) away. The blast left a large crater and parts of the hotel were destroyed.
“ I saw the red light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound ”
Musa Khan BBC News website reader in Peshawar
An injured man, Jawad Chaudhry, said he had been in his room on the ground floor when he heard gunshots, then an explosion.
"The floor under my feet shook," he said. "I thought the roof was falling on me. I ran out. I saw everybody running in panic. There was blood and pieces of glass everywhere."
Correspondents say the Pearl Continental - usually just called the PC - runs a series of security checks, first of vehicles as they drive in past concrete barriers, then of people who are screened by metal detectors and bag searches.
Taliban leaders have promised revenge attacks on major Pakistani cities and claimed responsibility for the bombing in Lahore last month which left at least 28 people dead.
A suicide attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel last September killed at least 53 people and injured more than 266.
In Bannu, officials say 70 militants have been killed in the action which started on Tuesday, but the figures cannot be verified.
Security officials say the tribe refused to hand over militants involved in the kidnapping of students and teachers from a college last week who were later freed.
A curfew has been imposed in Bannu.
Analysts say North and South and North Waziristan are strongholds for al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Iran demonstrators aim to see off Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 'empire of lies'
It was open insurrection, a rebellion of a sort seldom seen in the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic, an eruption of pent-up rage against the repressive Government of President Ahmadinejad.
“Death to the Government,” chanted the several thousand Iranians packed into a football stadium in Tehran. “Death to dictators,” roared the young men and women, draped in green shirts, ribbons, bandanas and headscarves to signal their support for Mir Hossein Mousavi. “Bye-bye Ahmadi,” they sang as they waved a sea of banners for the man who hopes to topple Mr Ahmadinejad in the presidential election on Friday. “Don’t rig the election,” they added for good measure.
Women have suffered particularly badly under Mr Ahmadinejad, and twentysomethings sporting sunglasses, make-up and dyed hair beneath their mandatory headscarves shouted themselves hoarse as speaker after speaker promised an end to repression, despair and the “empire of lies”.
“I feel danger every second I’m on the street because of the morality police,” an arts student called Nina said. As she was speaking another young woman way back in the mêlée scribbled a note and passed it forward. “We need freedom. We want big change. We don’t want liar government,” it declared.
Men and women scaled the floodlight pylons for a better view. Hundreds more crammed on to a nearby overpass. Astonishingly there was not a policeman or basij (Islamic vigilante) in sight, further evidence of how the regime seems to have relaxed — or lost — its grip in the final days of an election far more competitive than anyone had expected.
The biggest roar of the afternoon was reserved for the main speaker, Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi’s wife. “You’re here because you don’t want any more dictatorship,” she declared. “You’re here because you hate fanaticism, because you dream of a free Iran, because you dream of a peaceful relationship with the rest of the world.” The candidate himself was nowhere to be seen, but that hardly mattered because the crowd was inspired by a hatred of Mr Ahmadinejad rather than a love for Mr Mousavi.
To anyone arriving in Tehran this week it would be easy to assume that Mr Mousavi was an Iranian Barack Obama. The capital appears convulsed by Mousavimania. It is festooned with posters of his bearded face. Fanatical supporters career around the city in their cars, honking their horns and shouting slogans.
In truth Mr Mousavi, 67, bears more resemblance to Bob Dole, who failed to unseat Bill Clinton in 1996. The bespectacled former Prime Minister lacks charisma, is an uninspiring public speaker and was trounced by Mr Ahmadinejad in their televised debate last week. Aides said that he was resting before another television appearance, which was perhaps a mercy because his wife — like Elizabeth Dole — is a more compelling performer.
Most of the crowd yesterday were too young to remember Mr Mousavi in his previous incarnation as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1989, and that may be a good thing too. He steered his country’s economy through the Iran-Iraq War but was a zealous revolutionary who brooked little dissent and has been accused of being behind the massacre of political prisoners.
He retired from politics for 20 years and devoted himself to art and architecture — he designed several prominent buildings in Tehran and his paintings sell for substantial sums. He says that he wants to save Iran from the “danger” of Mr Ahmadinejad, but he is hardly a reformist.
His candidacy had to be approved by the Guardian Council, a body of senior clerics not known for its liberalism. He is seeking to appeal to disaffected conservatives as well as moderates. His platform is one of managerial competence and stability. He wants better relations with the world but would not suspend Iran’s nuclear programme. He promises greater equality for women but has no plans to challenge the political system.
Mr Mousavi’s campaign has skilfully employed the internet and text messaging to circumvent the statecontrolled media, but it is almost certainly financed by Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former President regarded by many as the embodiment of the corrupt Establishment.
It is a measure of how much Iran’s urban middle class loathes Mr Ahmadinejad that they have thrown their weight behind Mr Mousavi’s imperfect candidacy, and that so many liberals who would normally refuse to vote lest they legitimise the regime are prepared to do so this time.
“I didn’t know anything about Mousavi until a few days ago, but I’d vote for anyone to get Ahmadinejad out,” one English-speaking Iranian woman admitted last night.
Rampaging militants kill 11, injure 50 in Peshawar hotel
PESHAWAR: A huge explosion ripped through the sole five-star hotel of the Frontier province’s metropolis on Tuesday evening, killing 11 people. A foreign national was among the dead.
More than 50 people, including foreigners, were injured.
Police said that armed men first launched a frontal assault on the main entrance to the Pearl Continental Hotel, killing security guards. They then lowered down an electronic barrier so that an explosives-laden mini-truck could get in.
‘The assailants first killed the security guards on the main gate to lower the electronic barrier and then went inside the main parking lot, firing indiscriminately.’
‘A mini-truck laden with explosives then entered the hotel premises and exploded in the main parking lot close to the main building,’ Capital City Police Chief Safwat Ghayyir told Dawn.
‘I was going for my night shift when I heard intense firing between the security guards and the armed men. Then there was a big explosion. I don’t remember what happened next,’ said Nasir, one of the wounded security guards at the hotel.
He said that three armed men, wearing military uniform and riding on a white-double cabin pick-up truck, started shooting at the security guards while one of them was firing into the air.
The same truck then drove into the parking lot and exploded, he said.
Ikram, an accountant at the hotel, said he saw armed men firing from a white colour double pick-up. ‘I took refuge in the small mosque in the parking area.’
Police, quoting eyewitnesses, said the assailants were three in number and the explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that eleven people had died in the attack and more than fifty were injured.
‘This is what we know from the ground, although only two bodies have been taken to the nearby hospital.’
District Coordination Officer Sahibzada Mohammad Anees and the CCPO confirmed the death of only two workers.
The hotel was frequented by expatriates, more so in recent days, by staff members of aid organisations looking after the internally displaced people from Malakand division.
One of the dead included a Russian employee of an international humanitarian organisation. He was identified by his first name, Joseph.
Among the injured were citizens of the United Kingdom, Somalia, Germany and Madagascar.
The hotel is located near the the residence of the Peshawar Corps Commander and the Commandant of Frontier Constabulary, which is presently occupied by NWFP’s Inspector-General of Police Malik Naveed Khan.
The explosion caused the western side of the hotel to collapse. Police and rescue workers feared that many might have been buried under the rubble.
‘This attack has all the signatures of the Rescue 15 attack in Lahore. The same tactics appeared to have been repeated here,’ one security official said.
Shafqat Malik of the Bomb Disposal Squad told reporters outside the hotel that the explosives weighed between 500 and 550 kilograms. ‘It was a massive car bombing,’ he said.
The explosion caused a 16 by 15 feet crater.
‘I don’t think we have ever had an explosion in Peshawar of this magnitude,’ Senior Superintendent of Police Qazi Jameel said.
Peshawar has been under a high state of alert for the past one week after intelligence agencies warned of terrorist attacks against landmark buildings.
‘It is too early to pin blame on a particular group. But this appears to have come from the same group that masterminded the Rescue 15 attack,’ the security official said.
The CCPO said that a few suspects had been detained for questioning. ‘Investigations are under way,’ he said.
FM against transferring Afghan problems to Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey Tuesday agreed on holding a regional summit on Afghanistan and its neighbours in November to discuss peace and security.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressing a joint stakeout with his Turkish counterpart Ahmed Davutoglu said the summit to be held in Turkey would address the issues of regional importance including economic development.
Foreign Minister Qureshi said Turkey enjoys excellent relations with Afghanistan and can play an important role in bringing Pakistan and Afghanistan closer.
The Foreign Minister stressed the need for mutual cooperation between the two countries at diverse levels.
He said Pakistan and Turkey enjoy excellent relations and called upon the two governments for increasing the potential of tourism between them, thus turning friendliness into tourism.
Qureshi said Pakistan and Turkey has a tradition of strong relations which can be enhanced by encouraging the students to study in each other’s universities.
He appreciated Turkey’s role in Friends of Democratic Pakistan and for intending to hold second ministerial meeting in Istanbul in September.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu in his speech conveyed his country’s warm sentiments for Pakistani brethren and said Pakistan’s prosperity and development greatly mattered for Turkey.
He said Turkey considers Pakistan as its strategic partner with the ties spanning in international and regional affairs.
He said Turkish people value Pakistan as their second home and reiterated his government’s commitment to provide assistance to Pakistan for the rehabilitation of IDPs.
He said Turkish International Development Agency and Red Crescent were fully involved in helping IDPs.
He urged the international community and Muslim countries to express solidarity with Pakistan and provide all out help for IDPs.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi replying to a question said consistent military surge in Afghanistan might have implications on Pakistan particularly in Balochistan.
He said Pakistan had talked through political and military ways at all levels to the stakeholders that transferring the problems from Afghanistan to Pakistan will not help resolve the issue.
He said there should be a civilian surge to promote reconciliatory efforts in Afghanistan to resolve issue.
Indefinite curfew imposed in Bannu, operation looms
PESHAWAR: Authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in Bannu city amidst the probability of a security operation, a day after the military marched into the region.
The troops entered the region on Monday after the talks between local tribesmen and the political administration failed to produce a favourable outcome.
Security forces also fired artillery at militant positions in the region on Monday night, said official sources.
Janikhel and Bakakhel tribes had been warned by local authorities of a military action if they failed to expel local and foreign militants from their areas.
But tribal elders say they don’t have the power to confront the Taliban and therefore cannot give any guarantees to the government.
The two tribes have been blamed for the kidnapping of Razmak Cadet College students late last month. And security forces have detained one hundred tribesmen from the region for questioning.
Due to the seriousness of the situation, the University of Engineering and Technology Bannu has been shut down till the 23rd of June and scheduled examinations have been postponed.
Militants headquarter in Imam Dherri blown up
Security forces have blown up the headquarter of militants at Imam Dherri in Swat, while Maulana Waliullah Qabil Grami has surrendered to the security officials. The forces have conducted a search operation in various parts of Kanju and blown up the militants headquarter Imam Dheri Markiz. The forces operations against militants continued in tehsil Kabal. The authorities have relaxed curfew till 4:00 pm at Dargai- Chakdarra road to take out the people trapped in Chakdarra after migrating from various areas.
27 militants killed during 24 hours: ISPR
RAWALPINDI :During last twenty four hours, 27 militants were killed and 22 were apprehended in various areas of Malakand, while 1 soldier embraced Shahadat and 9 were injured.
During search and destroy operation in area around Peochar Valley, 14 terrorists were killed and 22 were apprehended, while 6 soldiers were injured. A Tunnel, cache of arms and ammunitions and explosive were also recovered.
Security Forces conducted cordon and search operation and secured village Darmai in Sakhra valley.
Terrorists fire raided at Kalpanai check post, resultantly 1 soldier embraced shahadat. During exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists at Uchrai Sar 3 soldiers were injured.
Whereas Lashkars in upper Dir secured 4 villages and killed 13 terrorists. Presently Lashkar is surrounding village Shatkas and Ghazigae to flush out terrorists from the area.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Charity fashion show held for Pakistani displaced persons
Models take to the stage during a charity fashion show organized by the Pakistan Fashion Designers Council in Lahore June 7, 2009. The show was held to raise money for internally displaced persons fleeing military operations in the Swat valley region. About 2,000,000 PKR ($25,000) was raised, event organizers said. Xinhua.com
North Korea jails U.S. journalists and warns U.N.
SEOUL - North Korea raised the stakes in its confrontation with Washington on Monday by sentencing two American journalists to 12 years hard labor for "grave crimes" while President Barack Obama's spokesman said the two were innocent and should be freed.
Obama is due to meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the White House on June 16 to discuss a number of issues, expected to include including growing threats by North Korea which tested a nuclear bomb in May.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday Washington was considering putting the reclusive North back on its list of states that sponsor terrorism, further isolating a country already facing additional United Nations sanctions.
The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV, were arrested in March working on a story near the border between North Korea and China. The trial for the two, working for the company co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, had opened on Thursday.
"The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor," the official KCNA news agency said.
In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the journalists' fate should not be linked to the dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
The White House said in a statement Obama was "deeply concerned" and added: "We are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release."
The journalists' sentence seemed certain to deepen the chill in relations with the United States which has been trying for years to convince Stalinist North Korea to give up its ambition of becoming a nuclear weapons power.
"(North Korea) is using the sentence as bait to squeeze concessions out of the U.S. amid heightened tension," said Lee Dong-bok, a senior associate with the CSIS think tank in Seoul and an expert on the North's negotiating tactics.
South Korea's main stock index dipped as the news of the sentencing weighed on sentiment. "Although this (fall) will probably be short-lived, there still are concerns the United States may take stringent measures in response," said Lee Yun, a market analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
Analysts say it would take a military clash at sea or on the border to have a major impact on global markets.
MILITARY GRANDSTANDING
Obama at the weekend called the North's nuclear test, which was followed by a series of missile tests, "extraordinarily provocative" and said that this time there would be no appeasement by Washington.
Communist North Korea kept up its rhetoric which is increasingly unnerving a region that accounts for a sixth of the world's economy.
It threatened to retaliate with "extreme" measures if the United Nations punished it for the nuclear test.
"Our response would be to consider sanctions against us as a declaration of war and answer it with extreme hardline measures," the North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.
It also issued a no-sail warning off its east coast, up to 260 km (160 miles) off the Wonsan area from where it launched a short-range missile in May and a barrage of short-range missiles in 2006.
The U.N. Security Council may adopt a new resolution as early as this week, but members are divided on how to respond.
Japan wants a strong resolution to make it clear that such tests would not be forgiven and Clinton said last week Washington wanted the strongest possible resolution. China has said a "balanced" resolution was needed.
Senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States -- met in New York on Monday but reached no deal on a sanctions resolution.
Non-Chinese diplomats close to the talks said the Chinese had yet to offer any counter proposal to provisions on inspecting North Korean air and sea cargo which they opposed as currently stated in a U.S. drafted text.
The diplomats said they hoped the Chinese would come up with a concrete proposal later on Monday, in which case they might have a draft to circulate to the council on Tuesday.
North Korea has said it would fire an intercontinental ballistic missile if the Security Council did not apologize for punishing it for its April rocket launch, widely seen as a disguised missile test that violated U.N. resolutions.
The North appears to be preparing a long-range missile for a test that could be conducted as early as this month. It also appears to be readying for tests of mid-range missiles that could strike anywhere in South Korea or most of Japan.
TERRORISM BLACKLIST
The United States removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist in October in a bid to revive faltering six-party nuclear disarmament talks, prompting the North to take some measures to disable its nuclear facilities.
Pyongyang has since reversed those steps and said it had restarted the nuclear complex -- including reprocessing nuclear fuel to obtain weapons-grade plutonium.
China is seen as nervous of measures that might push its fragile neighbor into collapse, especially at a time when there is uncertainty of the health of leader Kim Jong-il, who is widely believed to have suffered a stroke last year.
Many analysts say the North's belligerence may be aimed largely at a domestic audience, with Kim, 67, using it to bolster his position at home with the military and to better secure the succession for his youngest son Kim Jong-un.
FC to get over 18,000 sets of body armour
WASHINGTON: The Frontier Corps will get US body armour to bolster them in their fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the nation's ungoverned northwest provinces, according to a Pentagon official.
The US has pressed the government in Islamabad to wrest control of this area from the insurgents. The corps' 65,000 troops live there and are critical to this effort.
The US is shipping more than 18,000 sets of body armour to the corps, with the first delivery as early as next month, Army Colonel Brandon Denecke said in an interview. That is a significant increase over the roughly 400 sets given to Pakistan commando units and aircrews since 2001. The Frontier Corps "is widely viewed as being well-positioned to do the brunt of on-the-ground counterinsurgency fighting in western Pakistan," said Alan Kronstadt, a Pakistan analyst for the Congressional Research Service. "Such basic infantry equipment is considered crucial" if the corps "is to be transformed into an effective counterinsurgency force."
The corps is a federal paramilitary force recruited from the tribal areas and led by officers from the Pakistan army. A Pentagon report in April 2008 said the corps is under-trained, ill-equipped and "in many cases outgunned by their militant opponents". Kronstadt said the US focus now on the Frontier Corps "is major and will continue for some years". The Obama administration says the militants in Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions threaten the stability of the nuclear-armed nation and hamper the war effort by the US and Nato in neighbouring Afghanistan. In addition, al-Qaeda-linked fighters use bases there to plan attacks on the West, the US says.
President Barack Obama has said an aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year would be conditional on the government tackling extremists. The armoured vests are just one element in the US effort to beef up Pakistan's forces as it moves against them. The Pentagon as early as next week plans to deliver to the Pakistan Army on a lease basis four Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopters owned by the US Army. The MI-17 is a medium-weight helicopter, capable of ferrying troops, performing medical evacuations and carrying out ground attacks. In addition, six containers of spare parts for Pakistan's fleet of 32 Cobra helicopters have arrived in Karachi and are being shipped overland to the Pakistan Army, Denecke said. Pakistan also is negotiating to have the US refurbish eight of its Cobras in the US, said Denecke, who handles Pakistan issues for the Pentagon's foreign military assistance agency. -
The US has pressed the government in Islamabad to wrest control of this area from the insurgents. The corps' 65,000 troops live there and are critical to this effort.
The US is shipping more than 18,000 sets of body armour to the corps, with the first delivery as early as next month, Army Colonel Brandon Denecke said in an interview. That is a significant increase over the roughly 400 sets given to Pakistan commando units and aircrews since 2001. The Frontier Corps "is widely viewed as being well-positioned to do the brunt of on-the-ground counterinsurgency fighting in western Pakistan," said Alan Kronstadt, a Pakistan analyst for the Congressional Research Service. "Such basic infantry equipment is considered crucial" if the corps "is to be transformed into an effective counterinsurgency force."
The corps is a federal paramilitary force recruited from the tribal areas and led by officers from the Pakistan army. A Pentagon report in April 2008 said the corps is under-trained, ill-equipped and "in many cases outgunned by their militant opponents". Kronstadt said the US focus now on the Frontier Corps "is major and will continue for some years". The Obama administration says the militants in Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions threaten the stability of the nuclear-armed nation and hamper the war effort by the US and Nato in neighbouring Afghanistan. In addition, al-Qaeda-linked fighters use bases there to plan attacks on the West, the US says.
President Barack Obama has said an aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year would be conditional on the government tackling extremists. The armoured vests are just one element in the US effort to beef up Pakistan's forces as it moves against them. The Pentagon as early as next week plans to deliver to the Pakistan Army on a lease basis four Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopters owned by the US Army. The MI-17 is a medium-weight helicopter, capable of ferrying troops, performing medical evacuations and carrying out ground attacks. In addition, six containers of spare parts for Pakistan's fleet of 32 Cobra helicopters have arrived in Karachi and are being shipped overland to the Pakistan Army, Denecke said. Pakistan also is negotiating to have the US refurbish eight of its Cobras in the US, said Denecke, who handles Pakistan issues for the Pentagon's foreign military assistance agency. -
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Villagers besiege 200 Taliban in Dir
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of tribesmen furious over a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque have laid siege to around 200 Taliban in Upper Dir, killing 13 in total – nine of them on Sunday, according to officials and a private TV channel.
The weekend clashes appeared to be the latest evidence of growing anti-Taliban sentiment in Pakistan – a shift that comes as suicide attacks have surged and the military wages an offensive in the nearby Swat valley.
The attack on the mosque killed 33 worshippers during Friday prayers, angering residents of the Haya Gai area of Upper Dir.
Some 400 villagers banded together to attack five villages in the nearby Dhok Darra area that were known Taliban strongholds, said DCO Atifur Rehman.
He said the citizens’ lashkar has occupied three of the villages since Saturday, and was trying to push the Taliban out of the other two on Sunday. Some 20 houses of villagers suspected of harbouring Taliban were destroyed, he added.
“They are standing up against the militants themselves as they consider them troublemakers,” Atif told Reuters over the telephone.
District police Chief Ejaz Ahmad said around 200 Taliban were putting up a tough fight, but were surrounded by the villagers.
One resident of Upper Dir said, “We are Muslims … we don’t want them, they have to go. Attacking a mosque is not Islam. They’re not Muslim.”
Tribal elder Mohtabar Khan said letting the Taliban stay was asking for trouble. “It means inviting a military offensive which we don’t want.”
The weekend clashes appeared to be the latest evidence of growing anti-Taliban sentiment in Pakistan – a shift that comes as suicide attacks have surged and the military wages an offensive in the nearby Swat valley.
The attack on the mosque killed 33 worshippers during Friday prayers, angering residents of the Haya Gai area of Upper Dir.
Some 400 villagers banded together to attack five villages in the nearby Dhok Darra area that were known Taliban strongholds, said DCO Atifur Rehman.
He said the citizens’ lashkar has occupied three of the villages since Saturday, and was trying to push the Taliban out of the other two on Sunday. Some 20 houses of villagers suspected of harbouring Taliban were destroyed, he added.
“They are standing up against the militants themselves as they consider them troublemakers,” Atif told Reuters over the telephone.
District police Chief Ejaz Ahmad said around 200 Taliban were putting up a tough fight, but were surrounded by the villagers.
One resident of Upper Dir said, “We are Muslims … we don’t want them, they have to go. Attacking a mosque is not Islam. They’re not Muslim.”
Tribal elder Mohtabar Khan said letting the Taliban stay was asking for trouble. “It means inviting a military offensive which we don’t want.”
Pakistan military campaign has broad support, but for how long?
Mardan, Pakistan — Cradled in his father's arms, 8-month-old Maaz Ayaz appeared listless and underweight.A smudge of dirt marked the boy's face. His father, Mohammed Ayaz, anxiously talked of how he and his wife could feed Maaz only tea and biscuits -- the only food they could get their hands on at the refugee camp.
"We've asked for milk, but there's none available," Ayaz said. "We're worried about our boy."
Such moments of anguish abound at the Sheikh Yaseen camp in this chaotic, sun-baked city that has become the hub for Pakistanis fleeing the fighting in the Swat Valley, about 30 miles to the north.
Support for the military offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest has been widespread, cutting across economic and ethnic lines. But that support hinges precariously on how Pakistan manages the massive humanitarian crisis created by the war's displacement of an estimated 3 million Pakistanis.
About 200,000 of the displaced people, nearly all ethnic Pashtuns, are crammed into sprawling tent camps in Mardan and elsewhere in the country. The rest have sought refuge with relatives or friends. At Sheikh Yaseen, more than 7,600 people live in 1,485 tents.
The Pakistani military launched the offensive in April after Taliban militants based in Swat began to assert control over adjoining districts, one of them just 60 miles from the capital, Islamabad.
The broad support for the military campaign could be undermined if the flow of displaced Pashtuns to other regions and cities triggers ethnic tensions. Thousands of Pashtuns have sought shelter in camps and homes in the southern port city of Karachi, where political leaders of the majority ethnic Sindhi population have vehemently opposed their influx.
More than half of Karachi's shops and markets closed May 25 after Sindhi nationalists called for a citywide strike to protest the arrival of Pashtuns from Swat. In the past, many Sindhis have opposed the settlement of Pashtuns in Karachi, saying their presence marginalizes locals and takes away jobs.
Pakistanis have been encouraged by reports of the gains being made by the troops against militants, and, experts say, they are realizing how severe of a threat the Taliban poses if allowed to spread unchecked.
That threat was underscored late last month by a suicide bombing outside security buildings in Lahore that killed 27 people and injured more than 250. Pakistani Taliban leaders have claimed responsibility for the attack.
With no end to the conflict in sight, many of the displaced say they're running out of patience. After trekking for days from the Swat Valley with little more than the clothes they were wearing, they have endured weeks of sweltering heat in cramped tent cities with little sanitation and bare-bones health care. Those lucky enough to get their hands on a donated fan are still waiting for the electricity to power it.
Experts say conditions for displaced residents must be improved soon and the pace of the offensive has to quicken, or the government risks losing the public support needed to sustain momentum against the Taliban. Aftab Sherpao, a former Pakistani interior minister, says the displaced Pashtuns could begin rioting in weeks if the crisis isn't dealt with soon.
"These people have left everything they have," Sherpao said. "If this gets prolonged, there could be a volatile response from refugees, and then support will drop. And if the support isn't there anymore, then we're in trouble."
The Pakistani government and military have been emboldened by a level of public backing not seen before. The difference, experts say, is that people believe the government's resolve to root out Taliban militants is stronger than ever before.
In addition, the military has been able to maintain control of territory after driving out Taliban fighters. Mingora, Swat's largest city, has been seen by many as a crucial test because Taliban militants were braced for combat in an urban environment. Pakistani troops, however, have made significant headway, methodically driving militants out of sections of the city, including the infamous town plaza where mutilated corpses were hanged from tree limbs.
Public confidence in the offensive is also bolstered by the fact that, unlike in the past, the country's fractious array of political parties and movements appear to agree on the need for military action against the Taliban. Support from one of Pakistan's most popular politicians, Nawaz Sharif, for the military operation has also helped galvanize public support, said Rasul Baksh Rais, a political analyst in Lahore.
Even among Pashtuns, the main ethnic group in northwest Pakistan, support has grown for the military even as it fights militants who are also Pashtuns. This is largely because of the harshness Taliban rule in areas they controlled. Militants burned down or bombed scores of girls' schools in Swat and carried out public floggings for acts they deemed un-Islamic.
In February, Taliban fighters in Swat agreed to put down their arms if local leaders imposed Sharia, or Islamic law. The Pakistani government acquiesced, hoping the move would bring peace to the region. But soon Taliban militants reneged on the deal, extending their reach into the neighboring district of Buner, upon which Pakistani leaders decided to mount the offensive.
"The Taliban entered into the peace agreement, and then they picked up arms," says Umar Zada, a real estate agent in Mardan. "So it became imperative that this operation be done. We have to do this, or our people will never have peace."
Every day, Umar Zada deals with the fallout of the offensive on his brethren Pashtun; he leads a neighborhood effort to provide food, drinking water and clothing to 175 Pashtun who fled Mingora and now live in a five-room grade school.
The next pivotal step for Pakistani leaders, Umar Zada said, will be reconstruction, to ensure refugees have homes, schools and hospitals to return to once the fighting ends.
"Many innocent people have had their homes destroyed," he said. "Rebuilding has to happen."
At Sheikh Yaseen camp, rebuilding isn't the priority. Getting through the day is.
For a huddle of hungry men suffering through 105-degree heat, temporary relief meant tussling over pieces of ice. They barked at each other and flayed elbows, pouncing on the glistening shards and shoving chips into their mouths while using their dust-covered smocks to haul away larger chunks. By the time they got back to their tents and their families, much of the ice had melted away.
Living at the camp has been particularly agonizing for farmer Lalbat Shah and his family. Fatima, his 5-year-old daughter, was scalded by water from a tea kettle as the family fled their home in Saidu Sharif, the administrative capital of Swat district. The girl has not received any medical attention.
"We've been here 15 days and no healthcare," said Shah, 30, as Fatima, shirtless, stared out from a tent with straw mats as bedding and several hand fans strewn on the ground.
On one recent searing afternoon, the people at the camp mostly huddled inside their canvas tents. A blur of activity came when a supply truck pulled up, triggering an angry scramble that was quelled when security guards with long, thick sticks beat the crowd.
"All we want is peace to return so that we can go back to our homes as soon as possible," said Johar Alishah, 27, a driver from Mingora at the camp with his pregnant wife and 6-year-old son. "These conditions here, we can't bear them anymore."
The TTP’s funding
Dawn Editorial
Perhaps one of the least understood aspects of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan is how it finances its activities. An insurgency is an expensive business to carry on: arms and ammunition have to be purchased, communication systems set up, salaries have to be paid to the rank and file and commanders, compensation has to be given to the families of suicide bombers — hundreds of millions of rupees, more likely billions, are needed.
Where does the money come from? Initially, private donations from Karachi, Lahore, the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, etc were funneled to the Taliban’s coffers through informal banking channels. In the years since 9/11 some of those routes were shut down, but there is little doubt that a sizeable amount still goes through such channels into the Taliban’s baitul maal. Then there is the Afghan Taliban and their earnings from the drug trade in Afghanistan and their more sophisticated front companies that make investments regionally and internationally and plough some of the money back into insurgency-related activities in Fata.
Clearly, Pakistan and the international community need to do more to follow these trails of money and devise new ways to reduce the flow as much as possible.
There is also the control that the TTP has over economic activities in Fata and, until recently, the northwest. With large swathes of territory under the de facto control of the TTP, the militants have been able to set up check posts and charge ‘customs duties’ on goods moving through those territories. And in Swat, the TTP took a slice of the earnings of the timber mafias operating there and also briefly controlled the lucrative emerald mines. All of this was possible because the TTP physically controlled these areas — wherever they continue to be in control, they will be able to raise funds for their activities.
Perhaps the simplest way for the TTP to generate cash is by robbing banks. The quickest infusion of cash of course comes from walking into a bank and emptying its vault and looting its customers. From Karachi to the Malakand division, across the length and breadth of the country, many bank robberies in recent times have been linked to the TTP. It is difficult to put a figure on the amounts involved given that national data on such crimes is not readily available, but it is easily in the range of tens of millions of rupees. Finally, there is the kidnapping route.
In Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, even in smaller cities and the tribal areas, rings of kidnappers pick and choose who they will target next from among the rich. The state must work harder to clamp down on these networks which generate easy cash for the militants — every extra rupee raised by them is another rupee available to help the militants fight the state.
Perhaps one of the least understood aspects of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan is how it finances its activities. An insurgency is an expensive business to carry on: arms and ammunition have to be purchased, communication systems set up, salaries have to be paid to the rank and file and commanders, compensation has to be given to the families of suicide bombers — hundreds of millions of rupees, more likely billions, are needed.
Where does the money come from? Initially, private donations from Karachi, Lahore, the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, etc were funneled to the Taliban’s coffers through informal banking channels. In the years since 9/11 some of those routes were shut down, but there is little doubt that a sizeable amount still goes through such channels into the Taliban’s baitul maal. Then there is the Afghan Taliban and their earnings from the drug trade in Afghanistan and their more sophisticated front companies that make investments regionally and internationally and plough some of the money back into insurgency-related activities in Fata.
Clearly, Pakistan and the international community need to do more to follow these trails of money and devise new ways to reduce the flow as much as possible.
There is also the control that the TTP has over economic activities in Fata and, until recently, the northwest. With large swathes of territory under the de facto control of the TTP, the militants have been able to set up check posts and charge ‘customs duties’ on goods moving through those territories. And in Swat, the TTP took a slice of the earnings of the timber mafias operating there and also briefly controlled the lucrative emerald mines. All of this was possible because the TTP physically controlled these areas — wherever they continue to be in control, they will be able to raise funds for their activities.
Perhaps the simplest way for the TTP to generate cash is by robbing banks. The quickest infusion of cash of course comes from walking into a bank and emptying its vault and looting its customers. From Karachi to the Malakand division, across the length and breadth of the country, many bank robberies in recent times have been linked to the TTP. It is difficult to put a figure on the amounts involved given that national data on such crimes is not readily available, but it is easily in the range of tens of millions of rupees. Finally, there is the kidnapping route.
In Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, even in smaller cities and the tribal areas, rings of kidnappers pick and choose who they will target next from among the rich. The state must work harder to clamp down on these networks which generate easy cash for the militants — every extra rupee raised by them is another rupee available to help the militants fight the state.
Upper Dir tribesmen avenge mosque blast, attack Taliban
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of tribesmen banded together and attacked Taliban strongholds in a troubled northwestern region to avenge a deadly suicide bombing at a local mosque, a top government official said Sunday.
The incident Saturday underscored a swing in the national mood toward a more anti-Taliban stance —a shift that comes as suicide attacks have surged and the military wages an offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.
Some 400 villagers from neighboring Upper Dir district, where a suicide bomber killed more then 30 worshippers at a mosque in the Haya Gai area on Friday, formed a militia and attacked five villages in the nearby Dhok Darra area, said Atif-ur-Rehman, the district coordination officer.
The citizens' militia has occupied three of the villages since Saturday and is trying to push the Taliban out of the other two. Some 20 houses suspected of harbouring Taliban were destroyed, he said. At least four militants were killed, he said.
The government has in the past encouraged local citizens to set up militias, known as lashkars, to oust Taliban fighters.
‘It is something very positive that tribesmen are standing against the militants. It will discourage the miscreants,’ Rehman said.
The surge in suicide attacks reached Islamabad late Saturday when a man wearing an explosive-laden jacket attacked a police compound but was shot down before he could enter the main building. Two officers died and six others were wounded, police said.
Meanwhile, Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed Sunday that authorities killed the TNSM’s deputy chief, Maulana Mohammad Alam, and spokesman Amir Izzat because US envoy Richard Holbrooke was visiting.
‘It is a gift the government has presented to Holbrooke,’ Khan told The Associated Press via phone from an undisclosed location. ‘We believe that they are martyred. We want to tell the government that their martyrdom is not going to be futile.’
The incident Saturday underscored a swing in the national mood toward a more anti-Taliban stance —a shift that comes as suicide attacks have surged and the military wages an offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.
Some 400 villagers from neighboring Upper Dir district, where a suicide bomber killed more then 30 worshippers at a mosque in the Haya Gai area on Friday, formed a militia and attacked five villages in the nearby Dhok Darra area, said Atif-ur-Rehman, the district coordination officer.
The citizens' militia has occupied three of the villages since Saturday and is trying to push the Taliban out of the other two. Some 20 houses suspected of harbouring Taliban were destroyed, he said. At least four militants were killed, he said.
The government has in the past encouraged local citizens to set up militias, known as lashkars, to oust Taliban fighters.
‘It is something very positive that tribesmen are standing against the militants. It will discourage the miscreants,’ Rehman said.
The surge in suicide attacks reached Islamabad late Saturday when a man wearing an explosive-laden jacket attacked a police compound but was shot down before he could enter the main building. Two officers died and six others were wounded, police said.
Meanwhile, Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed Sunday that authorities killed the TNSM’s deputy chief, Maulana Mohammad Alam, and spokesman Amir Izzat because US envoy Richard Holbrooke was visiting.
‘It is a gift the government has presented to Holbrooke,’ Khan told The Associated Press via phone from an undisclosed location. ‘We believe that they are martyred. We want to tell the government that their martyrdom is not going to be futile.’
Islamabad police on high alert after suicide blast
ISLAMABAD: Police in Islamabad were on high alert Sunday after a deadly suicide blast, as the prime minister insisted a spike in attacks would not deter an anti-Taliban offensive.
Two policemen were killed late Saturday when a suicide bomber walked up to a police emergency helpline centre in an Islamabad residential district where many government officials live and detonated explosives strapped to his body.
The nighttime assault came after a suicide blast killed 38 people during Friday prayers at a mosque in Upper Dir, near three northwest districts hit by a six-week military offensive against Taliban fighters.
‘Islamabad police are on high alert. We have taken tough security measures after the bombing on Saturday,’ a senior police official told AFP, asking not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
‘They are conducting surprise checks of vehicles. A combing operation is underway to trace the culprits. We are hopeful the accused would be arrested over the next few days.’ No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Saturday’s bombing is the latest in a series of attacks on civilian and security targets — attacks widely seen as retribution by extremists for Pakistan’s blistering air and ground offensive.
Since the offensive began in late April more than a dozen bomb blasts have killed over 100 people, with Peshawar, the main city in the northwest, Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore and now Islamabad all hit.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the Islamabad attack, calling it a ‘cowardly act of terrorism,’ a statement from his office said late Saturday.
‘The prime minister reiterated his government’s resolve to stamp out the menace of militancy and terrorism, adding that such incidents will not deter the government’s commitment to eliminate this scourge from the country,’ it added
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