Ataque al aeropuerto de Karachi desata ofensiva contra los Talibanes en el Pakistán

Doble atentado en Pakistán; perecen 40
Afp

Periódico La Jornada
Lunes 9 de junio de 2014, p. 25

Karachi. Al menos 21 personas murieron cuando hombres con unformes de guardias de seguridad atacaron anoche el aeropuerto Internacional Jinnah de esta ciudad. Nueve efectivos policiales, dos empleados del aeropuerto y 10 agresores murieron, reportó CNN. En la frontera entre Irán y Pakistán, 23 personas murieron y decenas resultaron heridas en una explosión doble en un restaurante donde se encontraban peregrinos chiítas, informaron las autoridades.

Gunmen attack Karachi international airport
At least 23 dead after armed attackers disguised as security forces target cargo terminal at Pakistan's busiest airport.
Last updated: 09 Jun 2014 05:34
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Heavily armed gunmen disguised as security forces stormed a terminal at Karachi's international airport overnight, with at least 23 people killed and 18 wounded as flights were suspended and the army was called in.

The gunmen hurled hand grenades and fired automatic weapons as they attacked the cargo terminal at Jinnah international airport, which is Pakistan's busiest.

The army said it had regained control of the airport around dawn on Monday after the six-hour siege.

The dead included at least 10 of the attackers, officials said.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said no one had yet claimed responsibility for the well-planned attack.

"They were wearing uniforms of the airport security force, they were using fake IDs to enter the airport," Hyder said.

Most passengers were evacuated to a secure location overnight and all local and international flights were suspended.

However, witnesses told Al Jazeera that more than 60 people were stranded in the main international airport terminal for several hours as they waited for security clearances.

Security was ramped up at airports and military installations across Pakistan following the siege.

The gun battles went on for several hours and television pictures showed a large fire burning at the airport as ambulances ferried casualties away.

Officials showed pictures of weapons used in the raid including sub-machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, grenades and explosives.

Hyder said the gunmen had entered an old terminal normally used for VIP and cargo flights before gaining access to the airport's tarmac for one of the worst attacks in Karachi in years.

"This is not the first time, there have been two major attacks in the past, one in Karachi and another in Kamra airbase, there was another attack on Peshawar airport which was foiled," Hyder said.
Source:
Al Jazeera

Pakistani Taliban claims Karachi airport raid
Group threatens more attacks following assault that has left 29 people dead at country's busiest airport.
Last updated: 09 Jun 2014 11:16

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The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for an assault on Karachi airport that has killed 29 people, and given warning that more attacks are on the way.

Besides the dead, at least two dozen people were wounded and flights were suspended as a result of Monday's attack on Jinnah International Airport, which is Pakistan's busiest.

A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said the attack, which began after midnight, was in retaliation for the treatment of TTP prisoners, for air raids in North Waziristan and for the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone strike last year.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the armed group said: "We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes. It's just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one, we have to take revenge for hundreds."

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the TTP's Shahidullah Shahed sent a text message confirming responsibility and motive.

The raid involved heavily armed attackers disguised as security personnel, who hurled hand grenades and fired automatic weapons as they targeted the airport's cargo terminal.

The army said it had regained control of the airport around dawn after a six-hour siege, but explosions and shooting could still be heard on Monday morning and Pakistani troops relaunched their operation.

The dead included at least 10 of the attackers, officials said.

Al Jazeera's Hyder said the assault was well-planned, with the attackers "wearing uniforms of the airport security force and using fake IDs" to enter the terminal.

People stranded

Most passengers were evacuated to a secure location overnight and all local and international flights were suspended, officials said.

However, witnesses told Al Jazeera that more than 60 people were stranded in the main international airport terminal for several hours as they waited for security clearances.

The gun battles went on for several hours, and television pictures showed a large fire raging at the airport as ambulances ferried casualties away.

Officials showed pictures of weapons used in the raid including sub-machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, grenades and explosives.

Our correspondent said the terminal - an old facility normally used for VIP and cargo flights - was targeted by the attackers before they could gain access to the airport's tarmac.

"This is not the first time. There have been two major attacks in the past, one in Karachi and another in Kamra airbase [in Attock district in Punjab]. There was another attack on Peshawar airport which was foiled," Hyder said.

Security was ramped up at airports and military installations across Pakistan following the Karachi assault.

In a separate incident on Sunday night, at least 23 people including Shia pilgrims were killed in a gun and suicide attack inside a restaurant in Taftan, a town near the Pakistan-Iran border.

Karachi airport training centre under attack
Armed men raid Airport Security Force Academy within airport grounds, a day after attack killed at least 36.
Last updated: 10 Jun 2014 08:31


The Airport Security Force Academy in the compound of Pakistan's international airport in Karachi is under attack by unknown armed men.

The attack follows an all-night siege at the airport that resulted in the deaths of at least 36 people.

Sources told Al Jazeera that intense firing was taking place between security forces and attackers.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said that that four or five men had attacked the academy within the compound of the airport, adding that all activities at the airport had been suspended.

"There are a number of people wounded and we are waiting for more reports," Hyder said, adding that the armed men were carrying water and food supplies.

"After the split [within Taliban], Pakistani Taliban is trying to show that it has not weakened through these attacks. And they should be taken seriously by the government"

"The airport was declared open yesterday at 10GMT following Monday's attacks," Hyder said, stressing that the attack came only hours after the government declared the airport safe.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault and gave warning that more attacks were on the way.

At least two dozen people were wounded and flights were suspended as a result of Monday's attack.

US offers to help Pakistan with airport probe
US offers to help Pakistan investigate night-long assault on Karachi airport by Pakistani Taliban as operations resume.
Last updated: 10 Jun 2014 04:46


The United States has offered to help Pakistan investigate a deadly five-hour siege on Karachi's international airport.

The offer came after Pakistani Taliban fighters disguised as police guards stormed the facility - the country's busiest - setting off explosions in an attack that left at least 29 people dead.

"The United States condemns the attack on the Karachi airport. And our hearts go out... to the families of the victims and those who were wounded in that attack," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday

Washington has offered "assistance to the relevant Pakistani authorities investigating this crime," added State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf, although she was not aware if the offer had been taken up.

Operations at the Jinnah international airport resumed on Monday afternoon, hours after the end of overnight fighting that also left at least two dozen people wounded.

A spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan said the attack was in retaliation for the treatment of Taliban prisoners, air raids in North Waziristan and for the drone strike death last year of Hakimullah Mehsud, a top Taliban commander.

In a Twitter statement, the group said: "We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air raids. It's just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one, we have to take revenge for hundreds."

Disguised

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the statement came from group's Shahidullah Shahed.

The raid involved heavily armed attackers disguised as security personnel, who hurled hand grenades and fired automatic weapons as they targeted the airport's cargo terminal.

The army initially said it had regained control of the airport at dawn after the siege, but relaunched their operation after explosions and shooting were heard in the morning.

The dead included at least 10 of the attackers, officials said.

Al Jazeera's Hyder said the attackers were wearing uniforms of the airport security force and and used fake IDs to enter the terminal.

Most passengers were moved to a secure location overnight and all local and international flights were suspended, officials said.

However, witnesses told Al Jazeera that more than 60 people were stranded in the main terminal for several hours as they waited for security clearances.

Television pictures showed a large fire raging at the airport as ambulances ferried casualties away.

Our correspondent said: "This is not the first time. There have been two major attacks in the past, one in Karachi and another in Kamra airbase [in Attock district in Punjab]. There was another attack on Peshawar airport which was foiled.

Security was increased at airports and military installations across Pakistan following the Karachi assault.

Pakistan Taliban claims second Karachi attack
Gunfire reported near security training academy in airport compound, causing temporary flight disruption.
Last updated: 10 Jun 2014 10:35

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An assault on Karachi airport by Pakistani Taliban fighters early on Monday left 36 people dead [AFP]

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a second attack in Karachi, after armed men targeted a security training facility in the compound of the city's airport, briefly halting flights.

Tuesday's gunfire came within 48 hours of an assault on Karachi's international airport that killed at least 36 people and wounded dozens more.

"It was not such a big attack. Two people came towards the ASF checkpost and started firing," Colonel Tahir Ali, an army spokesman, said on Tuesday.

"They ran away after the firing and because we are on high alert. Under the standard operating procedure we called in [paramilitary] rangers and the army."

Fighters from the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, disguised as police guards stormed a terminal of Karachi airport in the early hours of Monday, setting off explosions.

The TTP later claimed responsibility for the assault and gave warning of more attacks.
A breakdown of Pakistan's armed groups

Discussing Tuesday's incident, Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said a few men attacked the Airport Security Force Academy, which is within the airport compound, forcing all activities there to be briefly suspended.

He said Pakistani authorities played down reports of a major attack and announced that all flights were back to normal at the airport after a brief break.

"The incident has been taken way out of proportion," he said quoting the Pakistani authorities.

"After the split [within the Pakistani Taliban], it is trying to show that it has not weakened through these attacks. And they should be taken seriously by the government."

He said the second incident occurred just hours after the government had declared the Karachi airport safe.

Also on Tuesday, rescue workers at the airport retrieved the bodies of seven people who had been trapped in a cold storage facility.

The victims had sought refuge in the facility during Monday's attack, but the room caught fire and the seven were burned alive.

A TTP spokesman said Monday's Karachi airport attack was in retaliation for the treatment of Taliban prisoners, air raids in North Waziristan and for the drone-strike death last year of Hakimullah Mehsud, a top Taliban commander.

Against this backdrop, the Pakistani military said in a statement on Tuesday that it carried out air raids in the Tirah Valley area of the northwestern Khyber tribal district, killing about 25 people.

The statement said "nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed" in the raids.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

US resumes drone strikes in Pakistan
Government condemns first strikes for nearly six months in which at least 16 people were killed in North Waziristan.
Last updated: 12 Jun 2014 11:31


Drone strikes have been the subject of numerous protests in Pakistan [AP]

A missile strike from a suspected US drone has targeted a compound in a northwestern tribal district in Pakistan near the Afghan border, killing at least 10 people, Pakistani intelligence officials have said.

Thursday's attack came a day after a drone strike in the same area in North Waziristan, marking the resumption of the CIA-led programme in Pakistan after a nearly six-month hiatus.

The Pakistani government condemned the strikes, with a ministry of foreign affairs statement calling them a violation of Pakistani sovereignty and territorial integrity.



The latest attack, early on Thursday, saw a pair of US drones drop three missiles on a compound and a vehicle in the town of Ghulam Khan, two Pakistani intelligence officials told the AP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.



Military sources told the Reuters news agency that six people, including four Uzbeks, were killed in Wednesday's strike around 5km north of Miranshah, the capital of the North Waziristan tribal region, where Taliban fighters are holed up.

Pakistan's northwest, particularly the North Waziristan tribal area, is home to numerous armed groups - both local and al-Qaeda-linked foreign groups - who often work together, sharing fighters, money or expertise.

Due to stricter rules on the use of drones, diplomatic sensitivities and the changing nature of the al-Qaeda threat, the number of drone strikes had dwindled.

Airport attack

The missile strikes came in the wake of a siege on the international airport in Karachi, Pakistan's busiest hub. The five-hour attack ended with 36 people dead, including the 10 attackers.

The Pakistani Taliban, who have been fighting to overthrow the government and install their brand of Islamic law, killing thousands of people in the campaign, initially claimed responsibility for the attack on Jinnah International Airport.

An Uzbek armed group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, also based in North Waziristan, later said it had also played a role in the attack.

The statement appeared to be a sign of increased cooperation between armed groups in Pakistan.

Shahidullah Shahid, a Taliban spokesman, said on Wednesday that the Taliban had worked with the Uzbek group but did not give any details.

The Pakistani government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has tried to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban ever since he took office last summer, but those talks have so far yielded little results.

Pakistan tribal area hit by missile attack
Six people reported dead in North Waziristan, days after fighters attacked country's busiest airport.
Last updated: 12 Jun 2014 07:28

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A suspected US missile attack has killed six people in a northwest tribal district in Pakistan, Pakistani sources say, days after fighters launched a raid on the country's busiest airport.

Missiles were fired at a vehicle and a compound in Dargah Mandi village in North Waziristan, about 10km west of the main town of Miranshah in an area considered a stronghold for the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.

"Four of them were Uzbeks and two were Punjabi Taliban," said a Pakistan intelligence official in Miranshah, referring to fighters from Pakistan's central Punjab province who have taken shelter in North Waziristan.

Pakistani officials said fighters had parked their truck against the outer wall of the compound. "Both compound and truck were completely destroyed. Local informers told us that both are still on fire," he said.

The US, which had not conducted a drone attack in Pakistan since December 25, 2013, has not commented.

The missile strike comes after 36 people were killed in an attack on Karachi's international airport on Sunday and early Monday.

The Pakistan Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which operates in Pakistan's northwest, said they carried out the attack

"Our brother organisation, IMU, played role in the attack on the Karachi airport," a Taliban spokesman told the AP news agency on Wednesday.

Pakistan clashes drive many into Afghanistan
Hundreds of families seek shelter across the border to escape fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters.
Last updated: 13 Jun 2014 14:35

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Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing threats from al-Qaeda-linked Taliban factions [AFP]

Hundreds of Pakistani families have fled into neighbouring Afghanistan following a surge of clashes between Pakistani government forces and fighters, an Afghan government official has said.

Pakistani government forces have been launching air strikes against Pakistani Taliban fighters in a northwestern valley near the Afghan border in recent days, after Taliban fighters raided the country's biggest airport in Karachi late on Sunday.

Millions of Afghan civilians have for decades sought shelter in Pakistan to escape war in their homeland but the fighting in Pakistan this week has sparked a rare flow of civilians the other way.
A breakdown of Pakistan's armed groups

"Around 300 Pakistani families have escaped because they are worried about fighting between Pakistani forces and Pakistani Taliban," Jabar Nahimi, governor of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province, over the border from northwest Pakistan, told the AFP news agency.

"We have provided aid for 100 of these families and the rest will be helped soon... We have also provided vaccinations as we are concerned about polio," he added.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing threats from al-Qaeda-linked Taliban factions but relations between the neighbours are more often marked by mutual suspicion, and even hostility, rather than cooperation on security.

Pakistan for years supported the Afghan Taliban , who are fighting to expel US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan, while battling the Pakistani Taliban at home.

Missile-firing US drone aircraft have also, for the first time in six months, attacked fighters this week in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, a lawless stronghold on the Afghan order.

Some Pakistani Taliban fighters, who want to overthrow the Pakistani state, are based in mountain hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, from where they launch raids into Pakistan.

Pakistan is considering a full-scale offensive against Pakistani Taliban fighters in its northwest which would likely push more villagers across the largely unmarked border into Afghanistan.

Pakistan army launches assault in tribal area
Army says "comprehensive operation" launched in North Waziristan, killing fighters linked to Karachi attack.
Last updated: 15 Jun 2014 17:23


Pakistan says it has launched a "comprehensive operation" against armed groups in the northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan, after killing scores of fighters in air raids.

The military said on Sunday the operation would target "foreign and local terrorists" hiding in North Waziristan. The operation was launched a week after fighters attacked Karachi international airport.

"Using North Waziristan as a base, these terrorists had waged a war against the state of Pakistan", the military said, adding the groups had "paralysed life within the agency and perpetually terrorised the entire peace-loving and patriotic local population".

"Our valiant armed forces have been tasked to eliminate these terrorists regardless of hue and colour, along with their sanctuaries," it said.
Analysis: Pakistan's offensive against Taliban and the Uzbeks

Troops, artillery and helicopter gunships were involved, according to the Reuters news agency.

The operation was announced hours after Pakistani jets bombed the territory, with the military saying 105 people, mostly Uzbek fighters, were believed killed.

"A number of terrorist hideouts in Degan, Datta Khel in NWA [North Waziristan Agency] were targeted by jets," it said.

"There were confirmed reports of presence of foreign and local terrorists in these hideouts who were linked to planning of the Karachi airport attack," it said, a reference to the attack last week that killed 36 people.

Eight hideouts were targeted in the raids, the AP news agency quoted two intelligence officers as saying. The army said that an ammunition dump was also destroyed.

A video seen by Al Jazeera showed widespread damage in the town of Mir Ali.

Abu Abdul Rehman al-Maani, the suspected planner of the Karachi attack, had been killed, the sources said.

RELATED: #HowNotToEliminateTaliban popular on Twitter after Karachi attack

The Pakistan Taliban, however, said that those killed were civilians and that it would avenge the deaths.

Uzbek fighters and the Pakistan Taliban both said they were involved in the airport attack, and the Pakistan Taliban said the two had worked together to carry it out.

The air raids were the second time this week the military has hit the tribal regions. Pressure has been mounting on the Pakistani government to launch a ground offensive in North Waziristan against the Taliban.

The US carried out two drone attacks in the region on Wednesday, the first time its controversial drone programme was used this year.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

Pakistani Taliban raise cash in Karachi
Police say group uses Pakistan's largest city to raise funds, a bulk of which comes from extortion and kidnappings.
Last updated: 16 Jun 2014 03:48


Taliban fighters are using Pakistan’s largest city and commercial capital, Karachi, to raise funds.

Police investigators have told Al Jazeera that fighters made more than $1.2m from extortion and kidnappings alone in the last eight to 10 months.

Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid reports from Karachi.

Pakistan continues N Waziristan air raids
Military offensive against fighter hideouts goes on, a week after deadly attack on airport in Karachi claimed 29 lives.
Last updated: 16 Jun 2014 09:13

Pakistani fighter jets have resumed air raids in the country's North Waziristan region, a day after the army announced the start of a major military operation to flush fighters out of the region bordering Afghanistan.

Security officials said the jets bombed two government schools west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, early on Monday, killing at least 12 fighters who were sheltering in them.

Military officials told AP news agency that some of the fighters killed were foreigners.

Pakistani jets carried out raids in the same region on Sunday, with the military saying 105 people, mostly Uzbek fighters, in eight hideouts were believed to have been killed.

Al Jazeera cannot independently confirm the military's accounts of the casualties.

The Pakistani Taliban said that those killed on Sunday were civilians and that it would avenge the deaths.

Raids in the northwest tribal region signify a new Pakistani military operation, where it has deployed up to 30,000 troops, artillery and helicopter gunships in a long-awaited offensive to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters from their border stronghold.

The military operation is seen as Pakistan’s response to a deadly attack on its major airport in Karachi a week ago.
A breakdown of Pakistan's armed groups

"This operation will continue till the surrender or elimination of enemy," Khawaja Asif, Pakistani defence minister, said.

The army has imposed an all-day curfew and turned off mobile phone services to undermine the fighters and restrict people's movements, leading to food shortages in some places, Reuters said.

The curfew will be relaxed in the next couple of days to allow residents to leave the area, security officials said.

Military also said that surveillance of the territory of the air raids is being carried out by own aerial surveillance platforms.

Expecting an escalation of violence, two-thirds of families have fled from the ethnic Pashtun region, residents told the agency, many heading for neighbouring Afghanistan, where they have relatives.

"We have packed up everything and are ready to leave as soon as the curfew is lifted," Ethasham Khan, a resident of the regional capital of Miranshah, said.

After the Karachi attack, public opinion also appears to have swung in favour of a military operation, even if military action in North Waziristan means a higher risk of revenge attacks by the Pakistani Taliban outside the tribal region.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

Tens of thousands flee Pakistan offensive
More than 137,000 flee after military begins operations in tribal area that is a Pakistan Taliban stronghold.
Asad Hashim Last updated: 19 Jun 2014 20:52


Islamabad - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis have fled their homes in the tribal area of North Waziristan, as a military offensive against the Pakistan Taliban continues.

On Thursday, the local disaster management authority told Al Jazeera that it had registered more than 76,623 people flee since a curfew was loosened in the last 48 hours.

The total number of civilians and others to have left the area, a stronghold of the Pakistan Taliban and other armed groups, has now risen to 137,856, local official Haseeb Khan told Al Jazeera. Most of the internally displaced people headed to the neighbouring district of Bannu, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, he said.

Pakistan’s military said that it had killed at least 228 - all designated “terrorists” - in the military operation, dubbed “Zarb-e-Azb”. Most of those were killed in air raids, with a large number reported to be foreign fighters associated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

Civilian casualties, however, have also been a concern, and the Islamabad-based FATA Resource Centre, which has done extensive work in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, says that at least 100 civilians have been killed since air raids began in North Waziristan two weeks ago.

“There are no terrorists in my family, and yet my whole family has been killed,” Noor Daraz Khan, a former resident of the village of Mosaki, told Al Jazeera. Three three missiles hit his home on May 21, killing 24 family members including 19 children.

“There is no point in living in Pakistan,” said the 45-year-old labourer, who lives and works in Dubai. “All of my property there has been looted. It was even difficult to say the funeral prayers for my family, because there is shelling from the morning until night everyday.”

No advance warning

Khan’s family was killed in a preliminary wave of attacks against targets in North Waziristan, but military operations have been continuous since June 15, when the operation officially began. Those who left North Waziristan after they started said they faced many difficulties in escaping.

A military source told Al Jazeera that residents had not been provided advanced warning before June 15. He added that the army was holding off from a full scale ground offensive until after civilians were able to leave the area.

He said that the army was however concerned that Taliban fighters would slip away from the area along with refugees.

The Taliban has promised to carry out retaliatory strikes against civilian targets. Security has been stepped up in the major urban centres of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, the capital Islamabad and elsewhere, authorities say, in anticipation of such attacks.

Amir Rana, the director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said that increased violence was possible.

“If they want to launch attacks in Pakistan, they will do so by their affiliates who are already present elsewhere. […] It is important that they do not have the kind of territory in Pakistan to challenge the state. But you cannot say that you are going to completely end terrorism with this operation,” he said.

Minhaj Uddin contributed reporting from Bannu.

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Thousands flee Pakistan's Waziristan conflict
As the Pakistani army battles Taliban forces, civilians in North Waziristan face an arduous escape for relative safety.
Asad Hashim Last updated: 20 Jun 2014 17:50


Islamabad, Pakistan - An ongoing military operation against Taliban fighters and their allies in the Pakistani tribal areas has triggered a mass exodus of residents from the area, with internally displaced people braving bombs, curfews and blocked roads to make it to the relative safety of neighbouring districts, residents and officials have told Al Jazeera.

"When we set off to flee to Bannu [a neighbouring district], we were unable to find transportation. At first, we walked for three hours on foot, and then we rented a car at three times the regular rate," said Muhammad Naseem Khan, 50, a resident of Mir Ali whose family of 30 is now staying with relatives in Bannu.

"There are five rooms and already 25 people living in the house. We are 30 people in our own family, and we are facing many difficulties," he told Al Jazeera, adding that he had received word from neighbours in recent days that his home in Mir Ali had been destroyed by bombs.

On Thursday, the local disaster management authority told Al Jazeera that it had registered more than 76,623 people fleeing the conflict since a curfew was loosened in the past 48 hours. The total number of civilians and others to have left the area, a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and other armed groups, has now risen to 137,856, local official Haseeb Khan told Al Jazeera. Most of the internally displaced people (IDPs) have headed to the Bannu district, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, he said.

Pakistan's military said that it has killed at least 228 - all designated "terrorists" - in the military operation, dubbed "Zarb-e-Azb", so far. Most of those killed have been targeted in air strikes, with a large number reported to be foreign fighters associated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

'No terrorists in my family'

Civilian casualties, however, have also been a concern, and the Islamabad-based FATA Resource Centre, which has done extensive work in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reported that at least 100 civilians have been killed since regular air strikes began in North Waziristan two weeks ago.
Thousands of Pakistanis flee to Afghanistan

"There are no terrorists in my family, and yet my whole family has been killed," Noor Daraz Khan, a resident of the village of Mosaki, told Al Jazeera. Three missiles, apparently fired by Pakistani fighter jets, hit his home on May 21 , killing 24 family members, including 19 children, he said.

A Pakistani military spokesperson denied that any civilian deaths occurred in the air strikes on May 21.

"There is no point in living in Pakistan," said the 45-year-old labourer, who now lives and works in Dubai. "All of my property there has been looted, my 10 cows have also been killed. It was even difficult to say the funeral prayers for my family, because there is shelling from the morning until night everyday."

Khan's family was reportedly killed in a preliminary wave of airstrikes against targets in North Waziristan, but military operations have been continuous since June 15, when the operation officially began. Those who left North Waziristan after the commencement of those hostilities say they faced many difficulties in escaping.

Muhammad Sajjad Khan, a 21-year-old university student from Mir Ali, said that the operation has "ruined" his education.

"I had given two exams when the curfew was imposed in the area, and then the bombing started. I was unable to return home and stayed with friends for about eight days. On the eighth day, after not being able to find a vehicle I borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and left Mir Ali," he said. The journey normally takes a few hours, but today he said he spent nine hours making the drive.

"There was a severe shortage of food and water, and I saw several people killed in an accident along the way. I saw three kids being brought to Bannu in a wheelbarrow."

No prior warning

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a military official with knowledge of the operation said that residents of North Waziristan had not been provided advanced warning before the military operation officially began on June 15, as air strikes had been occurring for several weeks beforehand. The army is holding off on a full scale ground offensive until civilians are able to evacuate the area, he added.

The army said that it has loosened a 24-hour curfew in North Waziristan since Wednesday, and opened up selected roads, in order to allow those looking to flee to leave the area. The military said it has also established areas where fighters can lay down their arms.

Residents looking to flee need to pass through multiple checkpoints, however, and they say that severely slows them down.

"Our concern is that with the outflow of IDPs some [Taliban fighters] might also attempt to escape, but we have a very detailed verification system in place to ensure that does not happen," a military source told Al Jazeera.

Amir Rana, the director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), said there is a risk that members of the TTP or its affiliates may escape in the exodus, but that there was a low probability that any high-ranking members of the group would attempt to flee.

People are busy trying to get out, but there are no cars or routes open to take them.

Khan Wazir, Mir Ali resident

"It's always a threat. We saw it happen in Swat [after a 2009 military operation against the Taliban]. Many Taliban fighters [were] left there [when IDPs fled], but often it is not high profile people," he said. "Affiliates or the low ranked people might be able to leave and they will also try to detach themselves. Those who are fleeing are coming out of fear."

Strict security checks, a partial curfew and closures on certain routes make it difficult for many civilians to leave areas under threat, residents said.

"People are busy trying to get out, but there are no cars or routes open to take them," Khan Wazir, 33, a native of Mir Ali who has been living in Bannu for several years, told Al Jazeera. "Some of [my family members] have come, but there are quite a lot of them who are stuck there. It is difficult to find vehicles for them. We sent a car to get them, but they turned the car back from the checkpoint."

With the roads closed and a full curfew imposed, even during the first few days of airstrikes, many North Waziristan residents chose to flee to neighbouring Afghanistan's Khost province, officials said. On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a press briefing that the Pakistani military was coordinating with Afghan authorities to ensure that fighters were not able to avail that escape route.

Government-run IDP camp empty

Officials with the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) said that they have set up a camp for the displaced in the area of Bakkakhel, along Bannu's border with North Waziristan, but that so far few have used its facilities.

"There are not so many people at the Bakkakhel camp, because they are preferring to stay with the host community at the moment. They prefer that option because they have homes and relatives in Bannu," said Haseeb Khan, the FDMA official, explaining why only four of thousands of available tents were currently occupied at the government's camp.

There is no need to request UN and other humanitarian organisations for help.

- Pervez Khattak, chief minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province

Registered IDPs will be provided with tents, dry rations, clean drinking water and a monthly allowance of $71 per family for food, he said. The FDMA is also providing vehicles to the political administration in North Waziristan to aid those attempting to flee, he said. Health officials say they are also providing polio vaccination drops to children leaving North Waziristan, the world's worst-affected district for the debilitating disease.

"Right now, the lower numbers of IDPs is because of the curfew and the closed roads," said Mansur Khan Mahsud, director of the FATA Resource Centre. "Once the roads open and the curfew is lifted, that number will double or triple."

Pervez Khattak, the chief minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, said on Wednesday that $9.7m has been allocated to aid IDPs fleeing the conflict.

"There is no need to request UN and other humanitarian organisations for help. The federal and provincial governments have sufficient resources to fulfill the needs of affected people," he told the media on Wednesday. Pakistan is already home to more than 2.2 million IDPs from previous military operations in the tribal areas, according to the FDMA.

Analysts said that it remains unclear if the military operation will be able to achieve its objectives. North Waziristan is home to a complex network of armed groups, including the TTP, the Haqqani Network, ETIM and others, as well as to local commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who has historically supported the government over the last ten years.

"It will be successful in regaining territory," said Rana. "Physically they will control the territory, but we cannot translate that into completely defeating the militants and TTP there."

The TTP for its part has promised to carry out retaliatory strikes against civilian targets in Pakistan's cities, and Rana said that its operatives in major urban areas remain a threat, despite operation in North Waziristan. Security has been stepped up in the major urban centres of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, the capital Islamabad and elsewhere, authorities said, in anticipation of such attacks. On June 8, Taliban fighters launched a brazen attack against the Karachi airport, resulting in 29 deaths.

"If they want to launch attacks in Pakistan, they will do so by their affiliates who are already present elsewhere... It is important that they do not have the kind of territory in Pakistan to challenge the state," said Rana. "But you cannot say that you are going to completely end terrorism with this operation."

This story was updated at 17:45 GMT on June 20 to reflect the Pakistani military's denial of civilian deaths due to air strikes on May 21.

Minhaj Uddin contributed reporting from Bannu.

Follow Asad Hashim on Twitter: @AsadHashim

Operation Waziristan: Can Pakistan’s Military Root out Taliban Sanctuaries?

BY Hassan Abbas
JUNE 24, 2014
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The bane of Pakistan's counterterrorism policy has been denial, delay, and as some would argue, deception. This approach not only earned widespread insecurity; the country also paid heavily in terms of tens of thousands of innocent lives Thousands of soldiers and policemen courageously laid down their lives fighting terrorist outfits, but the confused state policy -- partly a product of directionless public opinion-- did little to protect their sacrifices. The latest military campaign, named Zarb e Azb (meaning sharp and cutting strike), geared towards targeting all and sundry among the terrorists in the North Waziristan tribal agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) promises a new beginning. Indeed, it is better late than never.

Even though mistakes committed in the conflict in the tribal belt can haunt Pakistan for a while, the real question now is whether Pakistani public opinion can sustain support of the new campaign in the long haul and if the apparent civil-military cooperation in the matter can also survive. In the face of the almost certain Pakistani Taliban backlash in urban areas, national resilience will be critical.

I spent the last few days in Iraq and, while shuttling between the cities of Najaf and Baghdad, I observed many military convoys heading north. Civilians traveling on the highway showed tremendous support for them. In Najaf, I was staying in near the residence of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Seestani, the most influential Shia cleric in Iraq. There was a constant flow of large groups of Iraqi tribes visiting him (and other 3 grand Ayatollahs) to complain that Iraqi army was not registering them for fighting against ISIS terrorists. Seestani had encouraged his followers to join the Iraqi military in a major fatwa earlier. While witnessing this history unfold in Iraq, I could only pray for similar leadership from Pakistan's religious parties. Unfortunately, it turned out to be only Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam -- the two leading religious political parties in the country -- who refused to support the military campaign.

A comprehensive military action in North Waziristan was seen as unlikely for many years because the so-called ‘good Taliban,' like the Haqqani network, Hafiz Gul Bahadar, and the Maulvi Nazir group (and lately the Khan Said Sajna) were also operating in this specific zone. None of these factions were believed to be involved in terrorist activity in Pakistan. Only recently, Pakistan's security ‘wizards' have started realizing that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) (the really ‘bad Taliban') benefits in many ways from logistics, infrastructure and even funding sources of ‘good Taliban.'

What Pakistan still avoids to fully acknowledge is that TTP today is a far more dangerous group than it was when it emerged in late 2007. Now, its tentacles are reaching deep into Pakistan and it has close links with the remnants of al Qaeda as well as organized crime. It is diverse in its human resource outlook, drawing on Uzbeks, Chinese and non-Pushtun (especially Punjabi) militants. It raises funds from Karachi (through bank robberies and kidnapping for ransom) and hundreds of its foot soldiers have landed in the Syrian conflict areas learning new techniques and acquiring new weapons. A TTP-ISIS alliance is only a matter of time. A joint communiqué from them should not come as a surprise; security analysts both in Pakistan and the U.S. are behind the curve in this regard.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left no stone unturned in an effort to reach a negotiated settlement with the Pakistani Taliban but in the end it seems that the TTP fooled the government by engaging in 'talks' and gained time to move their assets to safer locations. The new military leadership under General Raheel Sharif and his two top advisors, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ashfaq, Chief of General Staff, and Maj. Gen. Aamir Riaz, Director General Military Operations, acting as army's core strategist group, appears to be clearer in their thinking in comparison to political leadership. They made the case for a decisive military action to disrupt the TTP's onslaught.

Still, Pakistan will not be able to defeat, dismantle, and discredit the TTP through military means alone in FATA. It should be ready to deal with them through civilian law enforcement methods inside the mainstream Pakistan, especially Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province. Pakistan's recent security policy brief shows little indication that it has any plans to invest in reform and modernization of its police and broader criminal justice system. Change in this arena will be the most potent sign of real shift in Pakistan's counterterrorism policy. President Obama's policy adjustment as regards its drawdown schedule in Afghanistan gives Pakistan some more time for a corresponding shift in its approach -- which in Pakistan's case will be through establishing its writ in its FATA and incorporating it in mainstream Pakistan. Last but not least, religious political parties in Pakistan whose misdirected enthusiasm has played a critical role in Pakistan's overall drift must also be convinced to do some rethinking. Degradation of religious education and discourse remains a very important factor in this matrix. The military has finally taken a solid step forward in its fight against terrorism. It will only succeed if other sectors of the state and society do their part. Stabilizing Pakistan will take time but it is certainly achievable.

Hassan Abbas, an academic based in Washington, D.C. is the author of the recently published book, The Taliban Revival.

Pakistan's Taliban Offensive Will Fall Short

BY Shuja Nawaz
JUNE 24, 2014

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Pakistan's military is in the midst of an assault on Taliban and allied Islamist fighters in the rugged mountains of North Waziristan -- an offensive that the U.S. government has been urging it to undertake for at least a decade. The conventional wisdom in Washington has been that a North Waziristan sweep would clean out the last and strongest bastion of armed Islamic militancy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre -- most critically, the so-called Haqqani network of guerrillas fighting the U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

But even though this offensive seems likely to be the most ambitious Pakistani attempt in the past decade to control North Waziristan, it will, at best, fall far short of what Washington and Islamabad hope for.

One reason is that Pakistan still lacks any national strategy in which the government and armed forces together fight Islamist militancy and terrorism. In North Waziristan, the army is re-using the blunt force approach it has used before: clear out the local population, then use air strikes, artillery, and ground forces to clean out any insurgents that remain. This tactical, rather than strategic, approach means that the North Waziristan battle will not be definitive, but rather just another fight in Pakistan's inconclusive long war.

To build a national strategy, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government needs to bring the military out of what has been a long silence to share with the Pakistani public its vision of what will work. The government must then include the military's view in a way it has not so far. In February, for example, Sharif's administration released an embryonic National Internal Security Policy that had been prepared with no visible participation by the military and that has already hit snags in its implementation.

In North Waziristan, both the army and the government have been telegraphing their intentions, reducing hopes that the offensive might decapitate the Taliban leadership. Chances are that the leaders have already fled to Afghanistan or elsewhere in Pakistan. Cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Islamabad offer safe haven against U.S. drone surveillance and strikes. If the Taliban and their affiliates follow previous patterns, they will have left North Waziristan to be defended by Uzbeks, Chechens, and others who cannot blend in to Pakistani populations.

While the army says its commander, Gen. Raheel Sharif (no relation to the prime minister), has directed "that all terrorists along with their sanctuaries must be eliminated without any discrimination," it has not specified the targets of the assault. The Haqqani group, long a source of U.S.-Pakistani tension because of its attacks in Afghanistan from bases in North Waziristan, was not mentioned. (It is unclear whether Pakistan may have asked the Haqqanis to evacuate the area, or whether it will leave them untouched by the offensive.) Given the interlocking franchise arrangements among the Taliban, al Qaeda, and Punjabi militants, it is hard to imagine a successful operation that leaves any of these groups untargeted.

Regardless, the current operation could prompt some serious thinking on Pakistan's need for a unified, civil and military campaign beyond North Waziristan. The heartland of Punjab province, Karachi in Sindh province, and the southwestern province of Balochistan remain hotbeds of militant activity, and are often given the blind eye by officialdom for political reasons. Sectarian and ethnic violence permeate Pakistan's polity, too. Prime Minister Sharif should make a clear, concise statement to his people on the broad strategy of this long war, rather than leaving it to a restricted military operation in North Waziristan that may produce instant gratification, but that avoids Pakistan's larger internal security problems. If he deals in reality rather than rhetoric, the people of Pakistan may surprise him with their support. Most of them are fed up with the steady deterioration of their lives and the economy, as well as the apathy of the ruling class in dealing with insecurity.

A Pakistan that shows a willingness to fight a truly national campaign against militancy will need help from the United States and other friends to better track down terrorist networks, and to cut off their domestic and external sources of financial support. One of the least used domestic resources in that regard is the ability of the State Bank of Pakistan to track financial flows and to quarantine suspicious activities. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran could also help in curtailing the flows of funding from their countries that feed a proxy war between Shia and Sunni extremist groups in Pakistan.

In the end, Pakistani society must decide if it will hide its head in the sand or recognize the existential dangers of militancy and terrorism within its borders. The counterfactual to this is a steady decline that will make nuclear-armed Pakistan an even more dangerous place.

Shuja Nawaz is the director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.

Pakistan launches ground war in Waziristan
Army says about 15 rebels killed and three soldiers wounded in North Waziristan as military launches ground offensive.
Last updated: 30 Jun 2014 11:28
[img]http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2013/3/24/201332401247414734_20.jpg[img]
Pakistan has launched a ground offensive against rebel strongholds near the Afghan border after evacuating nearly half a million people from the tribal region, the army has said.

A military statement said on Monday that soldiers had found underground tunnels and bomb-making factories in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan.

"After the evacuation of all the civil population, a ground operation commenced in and around Miranshah early morning today," it said. "A house to house search of Miranshah town is being carried out by infantry troops and special service group."

It said nearly 15 rebels were killed and three soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire in the initial ground advance, the statement said.

Attack on Karachi

The operation - limited to airstrikes at the first stage - began days after rebels attacked the main airport in the southern port city of Karachi, killing 26 people.

The 10 assailants were also killed in the roughly five-hour siege that shocked Pakistanis by showing how vulnerable the country's institutions have become.

Pakistani forces killed 376 rebels during the first 15 days of the offensive, the statement said, adding that 17 troops also died.

The extent of civilian casualties is unclear. North Waziristan has been completely sealed and there is no way to verify the military's death tolls.

Pakistan passes tough anti-terrorism law
Controversial legislation grants police powers to shoot and kill suspects and hold prisoners at secret facilities.
Last updated: 02 Jul 2014 15:11

Nearly 500,000 people have fled North Waziristan since troops launched an offensive against armed groups [EPA]

Pakistan has passed a law giving security forces sweeping powers to clamp down on terrorism, but many activists and politicians have described the provisions as draconian.

The new legislation adopted on Wednesday grants police officers the powers to shoot and kill alleged terrorists and detain suspects for questioning for up to 60 days without charge.

It also allows prisoners to be held at secret facilities, and the police to carry out warrantless searches.

The legislation, known as the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, must now be signed into law by the president.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said, parliament passed the bill despite considerable opposition, citing the need to show solidarity with the army and its military offensive.

Tahrira Abdullah, a human-rights activist, told Al Jazeera: "The government of Nawaz Sharif managed to sneak this bill through parliament.
A breakdown of Pakistan's armed groups

"The police and armed forces are now able to shoot people if they see them commiting a crime, or suspect them of wanting to commit a crime in the future. This has huge implications for human rights."

The debate over the law follows months of deadly Pakistani Taliban attacks and this month's offensive by the Pakistani military against sanctuaries in the remote border region of North Waziristan.

Nearly half a million people have fled North Waziristan since the military launched a ground offensive against the Pakistani Taliban late last month.

The new legislation is intended to replace Pakistan's outdated 1997 law, which has been the main piece of legislation used to counter armed grouos in the country.

But Fawad Chaudhry, a media adviser for the opposition Pakistan People's Party, told Reuters news agency the old law had not been used properly and he doubted that this one would be either.

Hundreds of Pakistanis have been held for years in secret prisons without being charged. Extra-judicial killings by the security forces are also common.

"The passing of legislation is hardly a problem. The problem is the implementation," Chaudhry said.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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Pak Army Fooled Mujahideens for Blood Game in Kashmir: Taliban
New Delhi | Dec 28, 2014
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a new video accusing the Pakistani Army of attacking the 'Mujahideens' even after using them for "blood game" and "proxy war" in Jammu and Kashmir in the name of "so-called freedom" and in Afghanistan.

The video purportedly of its senior Commander Adnan Rashid, a former Pakistan Air Force official who was involved in an attack on ex-dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf, calls upon the soldiers of Pakistani Army to join the TTP listing the atrocities committed by the force including "killing of millions" and "raping of own sisters" during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

In his little over 15-minute long video released before Christmas, Rashid accuses Pakistan Army officers, the "Brahmins" of the force, of treating their juniors as "Shudras".

Rashid, in what appears to be British-accented English, says in the video released by TTP's media wing 'Umar Media' that, "you may remember when people from tribal areas fought for you the war of 1948 and liberated for you the Azad Jammu and Kashmir".

Mistakenly identifying the 1971 war as the Indo-Pak war in 1965, Rashid who had escaped from Pakistani jail in 2012, says, "I hope you remember when you lost half of the country to India...This nation said to you welcome home and deliberately forgot your war crimes.

"You remember when thousands of Pakistani youth fought your proxy war in Afghanistan and in Indian Kashmir...."

He then asks what the Pakistani Army has given in return and cites numerous examples of "ungratefulness" including kiling of "thousands of your Baloch brothers".

"And then you went into the dollar game and you earned millions from the proxy war in Afghanistan and you deceived the nation in the name of jihad. The Muslims have not forgotten the blood game you played in Indian Kashmir exploiting youth in the name of so called freedom," he said.

He accused the Pakistani Army of taking a "U-turn" and labelling jihad as terrorism and mujahideens as terrorists.

Mocking the soldiers of the Pakistani Army as the "most foolish creature", Rashid asked them not to obey the orders of the "generals and the air marshals".

He also announced a "general amnesty" for all those Pakistani soldiers wanting to join the TTP.