4 ASWJ workers gunned down in Karachi

Undisclosed Stakeholders By Ahmed Farooq Oct 15th, 2012 ( 1 Comment ) Karachi: At least four people were gunned down in Mobina Town area of Karachi on Monday, police said. According to preliminary reports, unknown gun men opened fire and killed three men while another got injured on Abul Asfahani Road within the remits of Mubina Town Police Station. The dead and injured were taken to Civil Hospital Karachi, where the injured succumbed to his injuries. Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) spokesman said four of their workers were killed in the firing. He said “we condemn the killing of workers”. Hundreds of people lost their lives in Karachi in what appeared to be a sectarian rift. SSP Qaim Khani confirmed the incident was part of targeted killings. Police and Rangers were called in following the firing incident in the area. According to the report, death toll from Karachi firing in different parts of the city had risen to nine on Monday. =========== Nine, including five ASWJ men, killed in Karachi Staff Report KARACHI: Unabated wave of violence claimed lives of nine more people, including five men of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), in the city on Monday. In the first incident, four people belonging to ASWJ were shot dead near Siddique-i-Akbar mosque within the precincts of Mobina Town police station. SHO Saleemullah Qureshi said that at least half a dozen armed pillion riders opened volley of bullets on sitting people at a shop near Siddique-i-Akbar mosque, resultantly Umer, 30, Qari Abdul Shakoor, 28, Imran, 23 and Asadullah, 29, received multiple bullet wounds. They were rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (PJMC) for treatment, where doctors pronounced Asadullah and Umer as dead, while Imran and Shakoor succumbed to their injuries during treatment. Umar was the owner of the shop while the remaining others arrived to visit him when the culprits targeted them. Deceased Asad and Imran were siblings and lived in Manghopir area, while Umer and Shakoor lived in Scouts Colony in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. All the victims were affiliated with ASWJ. A heavy contingent of law enforcers were deployed at the area to avoid any untoward incident. Scores of people belonging to ASWJ, victim relatives, neighbourers and friends gathered on the road and staged a protest against the incident. They also pelted passing vehicles with stones and burnt tyres. Similarly, another activist of ASWJ was shot dead at his shop in Gulbahar area within the limits of Gulberg police station. Police said that Abdul Hannan, 29, was shot and killed by unidentified armed riders when he was busy in work at his shop. His body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for medico-legal formalities. An activist of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek was killed in New Karachi area within the jurisdiction of Bilal colony police station. An official said that two armed pillion riders opened targeted firing on a 27-year-old Usman Qadri alias Lara, while sitting at a party office, as a result, he received fatal bullet wounds and died on the spot. His body was shifted to ASH for an autopsy. The deceased was unmarried and lived in the same area. Commercial activities in the area were suspended following the incident while extra contingents of law enforcers were also deployed to avoid any untoward incident. A police constable, Jamil, 45, son of Ameen, was killed near his home in Gulshan-e-Ghazi within the jurisdiction of Mochko police station. Police officials said that the victim was posted at the west zone security and the culprits targeted him when he left home for somewhere, adding that the motive behind the incident has yet to be ascertained. A doctor was shot dead in Orangi Town within the limits of Pakistan Bazaar police station. SHO Sabir Khan said that 33-year-old Jameel, son of Ghulam Qadir, was standing outside his clinic when two armed riders shot him dead and ran away. His body was brought to ASH for a postmortem. The deceased was residing in the same area and was father of one child. Meanwhile, Sattar Brohi, a gang war suspect, was killed in a police operation in Dalmia, police said. =========== Security guard killed as another Gulistan-e-Johar bank loses millions to bandits By Our Correspondent Published: October 15, 2012 In another incident, guards steal Rs10 million from cash van of money changer. PHOTO: FILE KARACHI: Gulistan-e-Johar appears to becoming increasingly dangerous for financial institutions, as the Habib Metropolitan Bank’s branch in the area was robbed of Rs3.6 million on Monday. One of the branch’s security guards was killed and another injured as they tried to prevent at least five bandits from looting the bank. In a rather contrasting incident, security guards of a private money changer took Rs10 million from the company’s money van and fled. On October 2, bandits had looted Rs4.5 million from the Gulistan-e-Johar branch of Bank Al Habib. In the 19th bank robbery to take place in the city this year, police said that the bandits arrived on motorcycles at the bank, located in Block 4, around 1:30 pm and forced the two security guards into the building. According to SHO Asif Rauf, some of the bandits were busy gathering money and the others were keeping watch over the security guards and the bank’s staff. They opened fire on the security guards when they reportedly resisted their captors. Mir Hassan, 48, son of Hanif Shah, died while Lal Zareen, son of Kamal Shah, was injured. The bandits also reportedly beat other members of the bank’s staff. They also took away the CCTV cameras installed at the bank. SHO Rauf told The Express Tribune that the culprits wore shalwar kameez and were speaking in Pashtu. The robbers also took away the CCTV cameras that were installed at the bank, and also the deceased guard’s revolver. Judging from the tactics involved in recent heists around the city, police suspect that a single group of robbers might be involved. SHO Rauf said that the sketches of the robbers were being made, and they will later compare it with with the culprits of other bank robberies. Guards rob money-changing agency Two private security guards at the Glaxy money changer looted over Rs10 million from the cash van of the company on Monday. Police said that Shams and Ashfaq were in the cash van as it was on its way to a bank when they turned their weapons on other staff members and the driver. They asked the driver to stop the van in Sharfabad, and were soon joined by their accomplices who arrived on motorcycles. After looting the cash, the two guards escaped with their companions on the motorcycles. According to Jamshed Town ASP Ghulam Murtaza Malik, the bandits stole Rs9 million in Pakistani rupee notes, with the remaining denominated in Saudi riyals. ASP Malik added that police are inquiring about the guards from the private security company. ============== Exclusive: Emerging Pakistan Taliban chief to focus on Afghan war Thu, Dec 06 11:49 AM EST 1 of 4 By Mehreen Zahra-Malik WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's Taliban, one of the world's most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change that could mean less violence against the state but more attacks against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said. Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless commander who has led the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the last three years, has lost operational control of the movement and the trust of his fighters, said a senior Pakistan army official based in the South Waziristan tribal region, the group's stronghold. The organization's more moderate deputy leader, Wali-ur-Rehman, 40, is poised to succeed Mehsud, whose extreme violence has alienated enough of his fighters to significantly weaken him, the military sources told Reuters. "Rehman is fast emerging as a consensus candidate to formally replace Hakimullah," said the army official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. "Now we may see the brutal commander replaced by a more pragmatic one for whom reconciliation with the Pakistani government has become a priority." Pakistani military officials in Rawalpindi, headquarters of the army, declined comment on the Taliban leadership struggle and said they had no official position on the issue. The TTP, known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of militants in 2007. Its main aim is to topple the U.S.-backed government in Pakistan and impose its austere brand of Islam across the country of 185 million people, although it has also carried out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. The militants intensified their battle against the Pakistani state after an army raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque in 2007, which had been seized by allies of the group. Mehsud, believed to be in his mid-30s, took over the Pakistan Taliban in August 2009. He rose to prominence in 2010 when U.S. prosecutors charged him with involvement in an attack that killed seven CIA employees at a U.S. base in Afghanistan. His profile was raised further when he appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed the employees. Reuters interviewed several senior Pakistan military officials as well as tribal elders and locals during a three-day trip with the army in South Waziristan last week, getting rare access to an area that has been a virtual no-go zone for journalists since an army offensive was launched in October 2009. Three senior military officials said informers in the Pakistan Taliban told them Mehsud was no longer steering the group. Pakistan Taliban commanders did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the possible leadership change. U.S. officials said that while Rehman was Mehsud's natural successor, they cautioned about expecting an imminent transition. Mehsud's standing in the Pakistan Taliban might have weakened, but he still had followers, they said. Washington has offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of either Mehsud or Rehman. One Pakistan military official, who has served in South Waziristan for more than two years, said his Pakistan Taliban contacts first alerted him to Mehsud's waning power six months ago, when constant pressure from the Pakistan military, U.S. drone strikes and poor health had hurt his ability to lead. "Representing the moderate point of view, there is a probability that under Rehman, TTP will dial down its fight against the Pakistani state, unlike Hakimullah who believes in wanton destruction here," said the military official based in the South Waziristani capital of Wana. The official said this might lead to more attacks across the border in Afghanistan because Rehman has been pushing for the group's fighters to turn their guns on Western forces. Other factions within the Pakistan Taliban such as the Nazir group in South Waziristan and the Hekmat Gul Bahadur faction in North Waziristan have struck peace deals with the Pakistani military while focusing attacks on Western and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. A change in the Pakistan Taliban's focus would complicate Western efforts to stabilize Afghanistan before most NATO troops leave by the end of 2014, said Riaz Mohammad Khan, a Pakistani diplomat who has held several posts dealing with Afghanistan. The United States is already fighting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which is based along the unruly frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan and which is perhaps Washington's deadliest foe in Afghanistan. The last thing U.S.-led NATO troops need is a new, formidable enemy in the approach to 2014. Such a shift in emphasis, however, could reduce the number of suicide bombings that have plagued Pakistan in recent years, scaring off investment needed to prop up an economy that has barely managed to grow since 2007. AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS The Pakistan Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, remain resilient despite a series of military offensives. They took part in a number of high-profile operations, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the attempted assassination of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai in October, who had campaigned for girls' education. The Pakistan Taliban were also blamed for the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed more than 50 people. Under Mehsud, the organization formed complex alliances with other militant groups spread across Pakistan. But it has long been strained by internal rivalries over strategy. Mehsud has pushed the war with the Pakistani state, while others such as Rehman want the battle to be against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. "Rehman has even held secret negotiations with the Pakistani government in the past but Hakimullah always stood in his way, wanting to carry on fighting the Pakistani military," a second Wana-based military official said. The two were at each other's throats earlier this year and hostilities were close to open warfare, Taliban sources said. "Differences within the ranks have only gotten worse, not better, rendering the TTP a much weaker force today than a few years ago," the second military official said. A source close to the Taliban told Reuters there had been months of internal talks on the Pakistan Taliban's decreasing support among locals and fighters in tribal areas where the group has assassinated many pro-government elders. "The Taliban know they are fighting a public relations war, and under someone like Hakimullah, they will only lose it," added the source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. It isn't clear whether Mehsud will hand over the leadership to Rehman without a fight. A power struggle could split the group, making it more difficult to recruit young fighters and also disrupt the safe havens in Pakistan used by Afghan militants. According to accepted practice, a leadership council, or shura, will ultimately decide whether to formally replace Mehsud with Rehman. Intelligence officials said Mehsud had not commanded any recent operations, including an August 16 attack on the Minhas Airbase in Pakistan and a suicide attack on a street market in May that killed 24 people. Military sources said Rehman planned the April 15 jail break in Bannu in Pakistan that freed 384 prisoners, including an estimated 200 Taliban members and an al Qaeda-linked militant who had attempted to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf. FALL FROM GRACE Intelligence officials in the area said Mehsud's brutality had turned his own subordinates against him, while the more measured Rehman had emerged as the group's primary military strategist. "If a leader doesn't behave like a leader, he loses support. For the longest time now, Hakimullah has done the dirty work while Wali-ur-Rehman is the thinker. Taliban fighters recognize this," said the first Pakistani military source. A local elder described Mehsud as "short-tempered and trigger-happy". "(Mehsud) used to work 24 hours a day, tirelessly. But he would also put a gun to anyone's head and kill them for his cause," said a local shopkeeper who has family members involved in the Pakistan Taliban. Mehsud gained his reputation fighting with the Afghan Taliban against U.S. and allied forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan. He was later given command of Taliban factions in the Bajaur, Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram regions. He took over the Pakistan Taliban after a weeks-long succession battle with Rehman following the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike. The two Mehsuds were not related. (Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar; Editing by Randy Fabi, Michael Georgy and Dean Yates) ==============