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) ==============

Karachi: 17 more killed during 24 hours

Alerts Intermediate commerce results: Institute of Business Education students make a clean sweep 11:45 AM PST Sectarian hit-men move from killing individuals to targeting families: Police By Faraz Khan Published: September 28, 2012 They suspect it has been going viral after the ISO blast. PHOTO: INP/ FILE KARACHI: It is difficult to decipher a trend if the victims are picked off one by one each day. Isolated reports fail to give the full picture. But now the police are fairly certain that the sectarian revenge killings have taken a new turn: groups and families are being targeted rather than the individual. In the last 30 days, six similar homicides suggest that the Deobandi and Shia militant wings are interlocked in a frightening new spiral. It started on August 18, when suspects from the banned Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan killed nine friends affiliated with the Deobandi school of thought in Gulberg and North Karachi within two hours. District West DIG Akram Bharoka believes that the Deobandis were targeted in North Karachi primarily because it was their home territory. The police suspect that the killings were an instant reaction to the bomb blast at the Imamia Student Organisation’s Youm-e-Quds rally which took place earlier that day. A few weeks later, on September 5, suspects from the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan gunned down an advertising icon and the chairperson of the Islamic Research Centre Trust, Mukhtar Aazmi, and his son Mohammad Baqir. The suspects opened fire on Aazmi’s car as the father and son were heading home from work. Aazmi’s grandson, who was also in the car with them, was injured. Around 19 days later, four brothers affiliated with the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat were shot dead by motorcyclists near Disco Morr, North Karachi. On September 26, 60-year-old Mohammad Raza and his two sons, Kumail and Abbas, were killed in Pan Mandi, Napier Road. As the killings continued, on Wednesday night, three more Shia men were shot dead in two separate murders. In Gulbahar, four men on two motorcycles opened fire at 42-year-old Zafar Ahmed Alvi, said the Rizvia police. According to DSP Rustam Khattak, the suspects started shooting at other people as they tried to escape and killed Zahid Ali Jaffery, 45, and injured three men identified as Altaf, Iqbal Ahmed and Jackson Pervez. The DSP believes that Zafar, who was associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement was the prime target. Thirty-five-year-old Zaheer Abbasi was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in Gulberg after he dropped his son off at school, said the Samanabad police. They believe that he was killed in a sectarian attack. Another Shia man identified as Nisar was shot dead while his brother and cousin were injured in a targeted attack in New Karachi by four men. However, the police suspect that Nisar was killed for personal reasons. Changing trends From an eye for an eye in the 1990s, sectarian attacks have grown to also target mosques, imambargahs and important party workers, religious leaders and scholars. Law enforcers claim that the militants who went to prison for sectarian killings in the 1990s are free now and might have helped train a new set of killers. According to Crime Investigation Department’s SSP Fayyaz Khan, one of the groups had the support of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. “There are several reasons behind the sectarian violence but the recent cases are coming up because of Eidul Azha,” he said. “In the weeks leading to Eid, these people like to flex their muscles to show their strength and collect donations. If you link the previous events together it sort of makes sense – Deobandi scholars were killed and then Shias were killed.” So far the only suspect the police have been able to arrest was an alleged hitman from the banned Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan. They claim he killed seven Deobandis near Disco Morr. DIG Bharoka said that the suspect had confessed to being from a militant group which was trying to increase sectarian violence. “We cannot fight this overnight,” he said. “We need to divide into teams and work on solving these cases. That is the only way to combat sectarian violence.” One of the big sectarian killing cases in 1994 was the attack on Major Alay Ali Jaffri’s house in PECHS Block 6. His house, which was also used as a small imambargah and ibadatgah, was attacked one morning by men allegedly from the SSP. CID’s SP Mazhar Mashwani, who at the time was an ASI and in charge of the case, says that the suspects had tied the men up with their cummerbunds and opened fire on them. Five people were injured and two, including Jaffri, were killed. “When we [the police] got there, we had an encounter with the suspects,” he said. “Two of them were killed and we arrested three others, including Shahid, Farhan and Imran.” Mashwani was promoted, became a sub-inspector and received a medal from the president. However, the suspects were later released on bail by the court. Another well known case in the 1990s was the murder of Deobandi scholar Maulana Habibullah Mukhtar near Guru Mandir in 1997. The police managed to arrest two suspects, Tanveer Abbas and Saleem Jaffer, who were later acquitted by the court. They believe that the main suspect, a man identified as Rana, was hiding in Iran. Around a year or so ago, Abbas was murdered in Rizvia. The police suspect that he might have been killed in a mugging. While talking to The Express Tribune, Mashwani said that these target killings are incomparable. “We suspect that these people are not acting alone. They have a strong back-up system,” he said. “In the 1990s, a target killer was hired with a clear-cut reason to kill someone. Like if someone wanted to kill me they would hold against me the fact that I am a policeman and have arrested a lot people. They would monitor my movements and strike within a few day. Now, they are just killing families – there is no clear direction just the motivation to kill.” DEOBANDI (Hardline Sunni) Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Established: 1996 Leadership: Mohammad Ajmal aka Akram Lahori, Malik Mohammad Ishaq, (late) Riaz Basra Headquarters: Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Lahore, Karachi Legal status: Banned Strongholds: Presence in southern Punjab and Karachi, as well as Balochistan, because of its close links with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (see right) The LeJ is a breakaway group of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (dark orange) that has been implicated in and has taken responsibility for attacks on Shias as well as the attack on the CID headquarters in Karachi and the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan Established: 1985 Leadership: (Free) Ahmed Ludhianvi, Orangzaib Farooqui, (behind bars)Ghulam Raza Naqvi, Munawar Abbas Alvi Headquarters: Jhang Legal status: Banned Strongholds: Support in key urban areas of Pakistan as well as rural Sindh and southern and central Punjab The SSP was founded by Haq Nawaz Jhangvi and was reportedly propped up by the establishment as a counter to what it saw was increasing Iranian and Shia influence in the country. It has contested elections in the past and plans to do so in the future. It is a member of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a coalition of religio-political parties. SHIA Sipah-e-Mohammad Established: 1993 Leadership: Unknown Headquarters: Lahore, Karachi Legal status: Banned Described as a Shia group responsible for executing revenge attacks for the murder of Shias, and opposes the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (see left). Earlier, members had broken away from the Tehrik-e-Jaffaria Pakistan. Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2012. ============ Karachi: 17 more killed during 24 hours September 27, 2012 - Updated 40 PKT From Web Edition 4 0 2 0 KARACHI: Seventeen people, including activists of political and religious parties, were killed in different parts of the metropolis during the last 24 hours on Wednesday. Late on Wednesday, firing incidents claimed three lives in Aisha Manzil, Buffer Zone and Defence phase 6. Earlier, Two people, Zafar Alvi and Zahid Hussain, were gunned down while two others were injured in Rizvia, Gulbahar police limits, near the Zamindaar Chowk. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rustam Khan Khattak of Nazimabad said that Alvi was shot outside his house when two armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on him. He added that the accused were fleeing when they were hit by a motorcycle rider near the Liaquat Chowk, some distance away from the crime scene. Thinking that motorcyclist was a friend of Alvi, the fleeing assailants opened fire on him. Motorcyclist Zahid Hussain and two passersby, Iqbal and Jackson, were injured. The injured were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where during treatment Alvi and Zahid Hussain succumbed to their injuries. Alvi was also an activist of the MQM of Nazimabad Sector. Later, tension developed in the area where armed men resorted to aerial firing and forced shopkeepers to close their businesses. A case was reported and investigation is underway. Sources said on Wednesday morning, after dropping children at school, Zahir Abbas was heading home when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at him, killing him on the spot. Station House Officer (SHO) Rashid of the Samanabad Police Station said the police received information on Wednesday morning that a man was shot near the Water Pump Chowrangi. Acting on the tip off, a police van rushed to the spot and moved the injured to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Abbas was a resident of Ancholi. Following the incident, tension developed in Gulbahar, Rizvia, Nazimabad, Gulberg and Ancholi where armed men resorted to aerial firing and forced shopkeepers to close their shops. In a separate case, Naeem Baloch was shot dead in Mominabad police limits on Wednesday morning. Police said that the deceased was a resident of Faqeer Colony of Orangi and was present outside his house when two armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire at him and fled. The injured was moved to the Civil Hospital where he expired. Khalid, 25, was shot dead in the Garden police limits. Police said that the deceased was passing by the Fowara Chowk when two armed men on a motorcycle shot him, injured him and fled. The injured was moved to the Civil Hospital where he expired. The deceased was a resident of the same area. Babar Shahzad's tortured and bullet-riddled body was found from the Kalri police limits. The body of Babar was retrieved from the Mirza Adam Khan Road on Wednesday afternoon. Police said that they shifted the body to the Civil Hospital and also aired a message on the police control. Afterwards, a family approached the police and identified the deceased as a resident of the Old City area. In the Korangi Industrial Area police limits, armed men gunned down Mehar Ali Panhwar, 40. Superintendent of Police (SP) Irfan Bhutto of the Shah Faisal Division said that Mehar Ali, a resident of Mehran Town, Bilal Colony, Korangi, was present outside his house when two armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at him, killing him on the spot. The body was moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for post mortem. Investigators termed the murder of Mehar Ali a part of target killings and added that he was also a worker of MQM's Muzafati Committee. Jameel Ahmed Setho was shot dead in the Aziz Bhatti police limits on Wednesday evening within No-15 of Dalmia Society near Golden Kitchen. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Nasir Lodhi of New Town Division said that Jameel was a reporter of a local newspaper and a resident of Shanti Nagar. On Wednesday evening, two armed men riding a motorcycle shot him and injured him. He was rushed to the JPMC where during treatment he expired. In Kharadar, armed men targeted Bilal Ali, 30. Police said that the deceased was a resident of Defence and came to Kharadar to attend the funeral prayers of some one. When he was returning after offering the prayers at the Napier Road, two armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at him. He was moved to the Civil Hospital where he expired. Investigators termed the murder of Bilal as part of target killings and added that he was a supporter of the MQM. In Surjani Town, two workers of the Pakistan People's Party, Umer Sheikh and Lala Fazal, were gunned down. SHO Irshad Gabol of Surjani Town police station said that the deceased were residents of Sector-7E and owners of a snack bar. On Wednesday night, they were present at their shop when two armed men riding a motorcycle came and injured them. They were moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where during treatment they expired. Investigators termed the murder of Umer and Lala Fazal target killings and added that they were active members of PPP of PS-97. Moreover, deceased Umer's relative Feroze was also gunned down in the same area two weeks back. In the Al-Falah area, armed men gunned down Nazeer Nawaz, 60, on Wednesday night. SHO Sarfraz Gondal of Al-Falah police said that the deceased was a resident of Gharib Nawaz Colony and was also the caretaker of Gharib Nawaz Mazar. On Wednesday night, after offering the Esha prayers, he was returning to his house when two armed men on a motorcycle shot him dead on the spot. The body was later moved to the JPMC for post mortem. Investigators termed the murder of Nazeer as target killing and added that his younger son was an active member of the MQM while he was a supporter of the party. Meanwhile, Nisaar Ali was shot dead while Waheed and Nadeem were injured in the New Karachi area. SDPO Chaudhry Mohammed Akhtar of the New Karachi Division said that deceased Nisaar and Waheed and Nadeem were relatives and belonged to Gambat. They used to visit Karachi to sell pampers at the Budh Bazaar in New Karachi. On Wednesday night, they were working at their stall, when two armed men came, opened fire on them, injuring Nisaar, Waheed and Nadeem. They were moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where Nisaar expired. Late on Wednesday night, in the Taimooria police limits, Siddique was injured when armed men fired at him from a pick-up van near the People's Chowrangi. He received two bullet wounds and was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he died. In a late night incident, Syed Qasim was shot dead near Dhatmal Bakery. He was the owner of a sweet shop and a resident of Liaquatabad. Empty bullet shells found from various crime scenes have been sent for investigation. Meanwhile, separate cases have been lodged and investigation is underway.

Suicide blasts at Sufi shrine in Pakistan kill 44

Pakistan's top spy visits Washington in patch-up trip
11 Apr 2011 08:41

Source: reuters // Reuters


ISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - The head of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is visiting his counterpart at the CIA, the agency said on Monday, in an attempt to patch up an alliance considered crucial to winning the war against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.

Lieutenant-general Ahmad Shuja Pasha's visit comes at a time when U.S.-Pakistan joint intelligence operations have been disrupted over a series of disputes, particularly the case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore in January.[ID:nL3E7F908B.

Pakistan held Davis despite U.S. insistence that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. He was released last month after the families of the dead men were paid compensation, a custom in Pakistan and sanctioned in Islam.

The ISI offered no details on Pasha's trip which also comes days after the Pakistani government extended his tenure for the second time to ensure continuity.

Pasha is generally seen as getting on well with his U.S. counterparts, but he has faced personal embarrassment after families of the victims of the Mumbai 2008 attacks named him and other ISI operatives in three lawsuits filed before a federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

The suits allege that the ISI officers were involved with Lashkar e Taiba (LeT), an anti-India militant group, in planning and orchestrating the Mumbai attacks in which U.S citizens were among the victims.

Pakistan's government has said it will "strongly contest" the litigation. (Created by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)


===

Policemen remove explosives from a suicide bomber as he lies severely injured at the site of the attack in Dera Ghazi Khan on Sunday. PHOTO: REUTERS
DERA GHAZI KHAN:
At least 44 people have been killed and 120 wounded in a double suicide bomb attack at a shrine in this central Punjab district on Sunday.
The bombers struck outside the shrine of the 13th century Sufi saint Ahmed Sultan, popularly known as Sakhi Sarwar.
Thousands of devotees had gathered for the annual urs celebrations at the shrine, sited some 40 kilometres away from Dera Ghazi Khan city, when the attacks took place.
“We have recovered 44 bodies so far,” said local police officer Zahid Hussain Shah, adding that more than 100 were wounded. “Both were suicide attackers, they came on foot and blew themselves up when police on duty stopped them.”
Many of those wounded in the attacks were in a serious condition, he said.
“It was around 5pm. Devotees were performing devotional dance at the main entrance to the shrine when a teenager detonated the explosives strapped to his body,” an eyewitness told the Daily Express. “Around 15 minutes later another suicide bomber struck at the staircase of the shrine,” he said. “Bodies were scattered all over and the injured people were crying for help,” added another witness.
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Ahmed Mubarak confirmed that two suicide bombers tried to enter the shrine but failed and blew themselves up.
Police officer Shah claimed that they have arrested a third suspected suicide bomber, identified as Fida Hussain, a 15- to 16-year-old Afghan refugee from the tribal belt.
According to eyewitnesses, after the bombings, devotees were running in panic. The bomber ran into an elderly woman devotee and a hand grenade dropped from his hand. The woman raised alarm and some policeman standing nearby opened fire on him.
Police said the bomber was injured and could not detonate his suicide vest. Later, police arrested him and defused his suicide jacket.
Police also recovered the severed head of one of the numbers and also found a school card nearby. The card identifies the bomber as Abdullah, son of Noorullah, resident of Mirali in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The injured were ferried to different hospitals in Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan where a state of emergency was declared.
Dera Ghazi Khan’s commissioner confirmed the casualties saying that the death toll could rise as some of the injured are in a critical condition.
A police official, requesting anonymity, said the shrine had received threats from unidentified militants.
Shrines of Sufi saints, who follow the mystical dimension of Islam, have increasingly been the target of bloody attacks by militants in the country.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but extremists, including the Taliban, are vehemently opposed to the Sufi strand of Islam and consider their shrines to be idolatrous.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the blasts, saying that “such cowardly acts of terror clearly demonstrate that the culprits involved neither have any faith nor any belief in human values”.
“Such violent acts only seem to be conspiracy to divide the society and create fear,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office.
He directed the law-enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and apprehend the terrorists.
With additional input from wires
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2011.


============
03 Apr 2011 16:16

Source: reuters // Reuters


(Updates death toll, adds detail)

By Asim Tanveer

MULTAN, Pakistan, April 3 (Reuters) - Two Taliban suicide bombers caused carnage on Sunday at a Sufi shrine in eastern Pakistan, killing at least 41 people and wounding scores in the latest bloody attack on minority religious groups.

"These were suicide bombings and we arrested an attacker who could not completely detonate the explosives on his body. He was wounded," Zahid Ali, a police officer in Dera Ghazi Khan city where the blasts took place, told Reuters by telephone.

Police said some 65 people were wounded. They said the attackers struck during an annual ceremony for the Sufi saint to whom the shrine is dedicated.

"I was just a few yards away from the place where the blast happened," said witness Faisal Iqbal.

"People started running outside the shrine. Women and children were crying and screaming. It was like hell."

Taliban militants, who follow an austere interpretation of Sunni Islam, condemn other interpretations of Islam as heretical and have launched repeated attacks on the country's Shi'ite, Sufi and Christian minorities. They claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide bombings.

"Our men carried out these attacks and we will carry out more in retaliation for government operations against our people in the northwest," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Last October, a bomb blast at a Sufi shrine in another eastern city, Pak Pattan, killed six people. In July, 42 people were killed in a bomb attack in Pakistan's most important Sufi shrine, in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.
Many analysts say the attacks are motivated by more than religious hatred, and that militant groups hope by inflaming sectarian tensions they can further destabilise Pakistan and weaken the government's tenuous grip on the country. (Additional reporting by Kamran Haider and Mubasher Bokhari, writing by Andrew Marshall, editing by Daniel Magnowski)


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Sakhi Sarwar Shrine: 30 killed, 100 injured in three blasts
Sakhi Sarwar Shrine: 30 killed, 100 injured in three blasts At least thirty people were killed and hundred were injured in three blasts at Sakhi Sarwar Shrine.



According to sources, the first blast was occurred near the main gate of the shrine and the second was occurred near the shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan on Sunday.

Rescue operation has started. The injured and dead bodies were being shifted to Multan and nearby hospitals.

Police have arrested two suspects outside the shrine.

On the other hand, young doctors have ended the strike in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan due to the blast. The Yong Doctors Association president has urged the doctors to join their duties immediately.


===

Intelligence warning: Hizb ut-Tahrir planned ‘Arab spring’ in Pakistan
By Irfan Ghauri / Zia Khan
Published: July 25, 2011

Classified report says the radical group sought to recruit ‘like-minded’ military officers to its cause. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
ISLAMABAD:

Several weeks before the military detained a group of senior officers for alleged links with the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir earlier this year, the country’s intelligence agencies warned that the banned organisation was planning an Egypt-style uprising in Pakistan by seeking support from ‘like-minded’ elements within the armed forces.

In a correspondence among the Punjab police, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the government in April this year, made available to The Express Tribune, there was a clear warning of the outfit attempting a ‘deep infiltration’ of the military and academia.

Wary of its burgeoning network and in what appeared to be an early warning of the group’s growing influence, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the police called for taking ‘appropriate’ steps to control the group that calls for establishing a caliphate in Pakistan by overthrowing the government.

“All were forewarned about what was coming,” an official told The Express Tribune on Sunday about the letter.

Officials said the arrest of Brigadier Ali Khan and four hitherto unknown majors in May came after months of such correspondence between various law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, hinting at ‘suspicious’ activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir activists and their possible collaboration with military personnel, particularly in Punjab.

The brigadier and majors are still in the military’s custody and might face a court martial for ‘inciting fellow officers for a mutiny’.

The crucial letter urged law-enforcement officials to take ‘preventive or pre-emptive measures’ to avert any untoward incident and make efforts to “identify and apprehend the miscreants before they succeed in their nefarious designs.”

According to the document, Hizb ut-Tahrir was working on a plan to seek an uprising in Pakistan similar to ones in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year. “They wanted an Arab spring in Pakistan,” said an official familiar with the letter.

Hizb ut-Tahrir had regularly been distributing pamphlets and leaflets in middle and upper-middle class residential areas of large cities. This activity gained momentum after the successful uprising in Tunisia.

In its pamphlets, Hizb ut-Tahrir specifically addressed the armed forces, urging military personnel and the general public, especially the youth, to make a concerted effort to get rid of the government, citing the example of Tunisia.

The pamphlets also sought to utilise the public’s anti-American sentiments, inciting them against what it called the ‘pro-American’ generals who they said had engaged a ‘Muslim’ army in a war with their fellow brothers in the tribal areas at the behest of the United States.

Intelligence agencies warned that Hizbut Tahrir was trying to mobilise public opinion in favour of establishing a caliphate in Pakistan by overthrowing the government. As a first step towards their proposed revolution, they want to have an Arab-style uprising which would have the support of the armed forces.

If the organisation could not get generals to support its plans at the institutional level, it would seek officers who were supportive of its ideology to carry out its mission in an individual capacity.

After the arrest of serving army officers for their alleged links with Hizb ut-Tahrir, the government also detained some office bearers of the banned group.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has launched a campaign for their release, with posters seen on walls in different parts of Islamabad, condemning the arrests.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2011.

Two Honeymoons Washington will not forget

The first came on February 10 in Tehran where the 30th anniversary of the fall of the pro-USraeli Shah and his hated CIA-established SAVAK secret service that carried out torture and executions. Besides the CIA whose former head, Richard Holmes, became US ambassador to Tehran, the Shah had also depended on the advice of large numbers of Israeli MOSSAD agents in liquidating the political opposition of mostly seculars and leftists. This had left the field wide open for the religious opposition, lead by Ayatollah Khomeini. It was no wonder that one of Khomeini’s first actions was to close the US embassy and to hand the Keys of the Israeli embassy to Yasser Arafat who raised the Palestinian flags on top of the building in Tehran. Thirty years have gone and the Iranians continue to chant Death to America and Death to Israel.

The second is the anniversary of February 15, 1979, when the CIA-financed and trained Afghan Mujahidyeen to toppled the secular government of Dr Najeebullah, forced the Russians to retreat and the former USSR to collapse. Following that, the CIA continued to support successive governments of religious fundamentalists; that ended with the establishment of the Taleban regime supported by Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda men.

This honeymoon with the Taleban ended on November 7, 2001 when America decided to topple the regime of Mullah Omar after failing to hand in Bin Laden following the attack of 9/11. With the help of the CIA, Bin Laden can easily claim credit for the dismantlement of the USSR and for bankrupting America.
Due to US short-sighted foreign policy, the lack of appropriate tactics and clear strategies, and the unlimited support for Israeli Nazi-style atrocities against Arabs have put the Americans in conflict with Shiat and Sunni Muslims throughout the world.

Many cruel empire had sent their soldiers to occupy our lands; including the Romans, Alexander the Great, the Moghuls, the Ottomans and the American Barbarians. Our rivers continued to flow and our date palm trees remained lush producing sweet dates. Alexander the Great died in Mesopotamia. The Moghuls became Muslims and the Americans continue to die until they call it a day. Here is somrthing for you:
In America one shouldn't ask
Who robbed the bank?
or why Linda and Jack
are dying on the Tigris bank?

Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times =================== No secret talks with U.S.-senior Taliban commander 19 Dec 2011 15:03 Source: Reuters // Reuters (Adds quote, details) PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A senior Afghan Taliban commander on Monday denied that the group held secret talks with U.S. officials which had reached a turning point. "How can talks be at a critical point when they have not even started," the commander told Reuters by telephone in response to comments by U.S. officials who say talks have been taking place for 10 months and had reached a turning point. Senior U.S. officials say they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war. As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters has learned, the United States is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody. The Taliban have publicly maintained they will not enter into any negotiations while foreign troops are in Afghanistan, so even if they are participating, they might be reluctant to admit that. Commanders might also worry about morale among fighters on the ground, if their believed their leaders were in talks. "Our position on talks remains the same. All occupying forces have to leave Afghanistan. Then we can talk," said the commander from an undisclosed location. There is a precedent for the Taliban to respond to events based on political motives rather than their actual role. Recently, a spokesman for the group initially claimed and later denied responsibility for the September assassination of peace envoy and former president Burhanuddin Rabbani. (Reporting by Jibran Ahmad; Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher) ============= Memogate case: SC admits Husain Haqqani's plea 12:00 PM PST Twilight of the Taliban : TTP buckles under internal fissures, external pressure By Zia Khan Published: December 19, 2011 With chain of commands crumbling and funds dwindling, the militia appears to be in disarray. PHOTO: AFP/FILE ISLAMABAD: The twilight of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – an outlawed umbrella of militant groups – appears to have set in. The group responsible for most violence in the country is in disarray with its ‘chain of command’ crumbling, funds dwindling and infighting intensifying, admit Taliban foot soldiers. “It appears the TTP’s days are numbered … what was a well-coordinated militia just a year ago has fragmented now and dozens of splinters groups have emerged,” a disgruntled member of the network told The Express Tribune. At least two associates of the group in South Waziristan, the strongest bastion of TTP where its chief Hakimullah Mehsud is hiding, also confirmed this. They said Mehsud has further isolated himself due to threats to his life from the dreaded American drones and Pakistani spy agencies. “He is virtually a lonely man running for his life … he is always on the move and doesn’t meet even his once most-trusted lieutenants,” said Muhammad, a nom de guerre because the militants seldom use their real names. Muhammad, who lives in the North Waziristan tribal region, was in Islamabad for the treatment of some kidney ailment at a private clinic. Mehsud has stopped meeting members of his notorious network from Punjab, better known as Punjabi Taliban, suspecting that some of them might be spying on him for Pakistani agencies. “This is one of the reasons for relative peace in the country … there is no coordination among various groups of the Taliban,” said an intelligence official. There has been a visible decline in the Taliban violence in the country over the past few months. The TTP associates said that their group was crumbling due to differences on the question of pursuing peace talks with the government — an option Mehsud had rejected outright when he was first approached with the offer. One the other hand, several key TTP leaders have responded positively to peace overtures from the Pakistani agencies. TTP’s deputy chief in South Waziristan Mufti Waliur Rehman and the group’s No 2, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad from Bajaur Agency, are reportedly in talks with the government, indirectly though. Officially, both the government and the TTP deny peace talks. Muhammad claimed that several members of the TTP shura, or decision-making council, have also showed willingness for talks. He added that the shura, which once had around three dozen senior leaders, has now shrunk to less than 10. “People are now deserting Mehsud and joining the group led by Waliur Rehman,” he said, adding that the latter’s group is becoming more powerful. No more money Apart from differences within, supply of foot soldiers to the TTP is also drying up fast, said Muhammad who himself has given up violence to start a small business in his village. “They (foot soldiers) are deserting because it no longer earns them money,” said Raqeebullah Mehsud, a former TTP field commander. Intelligence officials are claiming the credit for the TTP’s imminent collapse, saying it was their squeeze that had played a key role in blocking funds supply to the Taliban. But experts like Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Saad believe that TTP’s inability to generate money might be the result of what has been happening behind closed doors in Afghanistan in the recent past. “There have been reports that the Afghan Taliban are actively engaged in peace talks,” he added. Saad said that the war in Afghanistan was the main source of funds for the TTP “but it may not be the case anymore”. But Brigadier (Retd) Mehmood Shah, another security analyst based in Peshawar, said it won’t be fair to deny the Pakistani agencies credit for the isolation and subsequent rupture in the ranks of the TTP. “Much of this happened due to their (Pakistani agencies) maneuvers,” he said. Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2011. Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of the story mentioned Baitullah Mehsud as the current TTP chief. The current chief is Hakimullah Mehsud. ===============