At least 90 persons
were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden
pickup truck in the middle of a volleyball game in the Shah Hasan
Khel village of Lakki Marwat District in the Bannu Division of
the North West Frontier Province NWFP.
More than 60 persons were injured.
Six persons, including
an anti-Taliban tribal elder, were killed when a remote-controlled
bomb exploded in the Mandal area of Salarzai tehsil (revenue
unit) in the Bajaur Agency of FATA.
Five Taliban militants
were killed and another seven injured in different parts of Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
Three US drones fired
two missiles at a car in North Waziristan Agency in FATA, killing
three Taliban militants and injuring another three persons.
Two suicide bombers
were killed when explosives in their jackets went off accidentally
due to a malfunction in the Zargari area of the Hangu District
in NWFP.
The TTP claimed that
they used a turncoat CIA operative to carry out a suicide bombing
that killed seven American CIA employees in Afghanistan as revenge
for a top militant leader's death in a US missile strike.
January
2
Eight
Taliban militants were killed when fighter jets destroyed four
of their hideouts in the Orakzai Agency of FATA.
At least five Taliban
militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs in Kullachi
tehsil (revenue unit) of Dera Ismail Khan District in NWFP.
Four Taliban militants
were killed in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat (path to salvation)
in South Waziristan in FATA.
Three volunteers
of a local lashkar (tribal militia) were also killed in
a clash with militants in Sturikhel area of the Orakzai Agency
in FATA.
Two militants were
killed and two others were arrested during an encounter with SFs
near Jani Khel of Jandola sector in South Waziristan in FATA.
Two Taliban militants
were killed and another two injured as they attacked a checkpost
near Shuza Algad in South Waziristan in FATA.
A trooper was killed
and another five were injured at Metari Narai when militants fired
rockets at a SF checkpost.
January
3
The SFs killed seven
Taliban militants during operation in South Waziristan Agency
of FATA.
The missiles fired
by a suspected US drone killed five militants in Mosakki village,
about 25 kilometres east of Miranshah in FATA.
A roadside bomb killed
at least four people in Hangu District, including former NWFP
Irrigation Minister Ghaniur Rehman.
SFs killed three
militants during an encounter carried out in Shuza Algad near
Sararogha in FATA.
Two tribal elders
were killed and another four injured when a remote controlled
bomb exploded in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
Two persons, including
a policeman, were killed and another sustained serious injuries
in a hand grenade blast in a shop near Al-Muslim Masjid in Muslim
Town of Rawalpindi in Punajb.
SFs killed two suspected
Taliban militants during Operation Rah-e-Rast at Qadir Banda Post
near Gwalerai of NWFP.
A patrolling party
moving from Shagai to Piochar in NWFP shot dead two suspected
militants.
An IED killed a trooper
and injured five others in Jandola Sector of South Waziristan
Agency in FATA while they were moving from Jandola to Top Sar.
Another trooper was
killed when unidentified militants fired three rockets followed
by intermittent firing at the Pash Ziarat checkpost in Razmak
Sector of in North Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Extremists squeezed
out of Pakistan and Afghanistan will emerge in struggling states
like Yemen and Somalia, said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
January
4
SFs neutralised two
militant hideouts, killing seven Taliban militants and arresting
two others in Operation Sherdil (Lion Heart) in the Bajaur Agency
of FATA.
January
5
The SFs killed three
Taliban militants in the continuing Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path
to Salvation) when they tried to attack SFs at the Pungai checkpost
in South Waziristan of FATA.
The SFs killed three
Taliban militants in the continuing Operation Rah-e-Nijat at Mora
Kandao in Swat District of NWFP.
Two volunteers of
peace committee were killed and as many sustained injuries during
a clash with militants in Baizai sub-division in Mohmand Agency
in FATA.
An Ahmadi leader
Muhammad Yousaf (70) was shot dead allegedly for seeking Police
protection against sectarian zealots in Ferozewala Police Station
area of Karachi.
One person, identified
as Sajid (25), who had sustained injuries in the Ashura procession
on M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi on December 28, 2009, passed away
at the hospital. This brings the death toll of blast victims to
45.
SFs said they flushed
out most of the militants from the Mohmand tribal region of Mohmand
Agency in FATA. "Mohmand is a big agency and up till now 80 per
cent of the area has been cleared," commander of the Mohmand Operation,
Colonel Saifullah, said.
January
6
13 persons were killed
when three US drones targeted a house in Sumzalai, 50 kilometers
west of Miranshah, in the Dattakhel tehsil of North Waziristan
in FATA.
SFs killed seven
militants in separate encounters in Kabal of Swat District of
NWFP.
Three SF personnel
killed in a suicide bomb blast at an Army training school in Tararkheil
town of Sudhanoti District in PoK.
A trooper was killed
and two others sustained injuries in a rocket attack in the Tabi
Sar area of Razmak in South Waziristan Agency in FATA where Operation
Rah-e-Nijat is being carried out.
Around 350 militants
were killed by the SFs in operations while 104 pro-Government
elders and volunteers of a peace committee as well as 65 SFs personnel
were killed in the Mohmand Agency of FATA in the year 2009, said
Mohmand Agency Additional Political Agent (APA) Ahmed Jan.
The News quoting
its Government survey reports that up to 8,000 houses were damaged
in the Swat District of NWFP during militancy spanning over two
years and the subsequent military operations.
January
7
At least 10 Taliban
militants were killed and several were injured as gunship helicopters
bombed militant's hideouts in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Five militants were
killed when the vehicle they were travelling in, exploded in the
Darr village of Kurram Agency in FATA.
Four Taliban militants
were killed and four others arrested by SFs from different parts
of Swat and Malakand in NWFP during Operation Rah-e-Rast.
A trooper was killed
while two others sustained injuries following a rocket attack
by militants in Tabi Sar area of Razmak sector in South Waziristan
in FATA where operation Rah-e-Nijat is being carried out.
The FC personnel
Noor Sher, who was severely injured in an attack by militants,
succumbed to his injuries at the Combined Military Hospital in
Peshawar in NWFP.
Police arrested an
important 'leader' of the TTP, Israr Amin, from Islamabad in Punjab.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani unveiled a relief package for militancy-affected areas
of NWFP and FATA, announcing tax concessions, rebates in duties
and relief in utility bills - in addition to allocating an additional
1 percent share to the province from the federal divisible pool.
January
8
Eight persons were
killed and 11 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself
up at the gate of the headquarters of the militant outfit Ansar-ul-Islam
in Tirah area of Khyber Agency in FATA. The bomber was reportdely
a member of rival militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam.
Six persons, including
one civilian were killed in an explosion in a house near Babri
mosque in Baldia town locality of Karachi.
Six militants were
killed and three others injured in air strikes on suspected militant
hideouts in upper Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Four Taliban militants
were killed and two injured when drones fired two missiles, one
at a car and the other at a house, in Palali village in North
Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Two militants were
killed and three others injured in a clash with the SFs in Nawagai
tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
One trooper was killed
as the Taliban militants fired at the SFs near Mazakai, Ghundi
Gar, Pungai, Gani Khel and Sinetiza area of South Waziristan in
FATA during operations Rah-e-Nijat.
A suspected militant
'commander', identified as Irfan, blew himself up during a Police
raid in the Adezai village in Matni on the outskirts of Peshawar
in NWFP.
Operation Commander
Major General Ashfaq Nadeem said that a large number of Taliban
militants in Swat of NWFP have fled to Karachi and South Waziristan
to escape the Army operation Sherdil (lion heart) in Malakand
division.
January
9
A US drone strike
killed at least four terrorists in North Waziristan of FATA,.
Seven Policemen were
injured when an alleged suicide bomber blew himself up in a house
in Adezai village in Mattani area of Peshawar in NWFP.
January
10
Unidentified militants
shot dead two tribal elders in the Pandyalai sub-division of Mohmand
Agency in FATA.
The National Crisis
Management Cell of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan warned that
TTP has decided to attack newspaper offices and renowned journalists
across the country.
January 11
Eight Taliban militants
and one trooper were killed during a clash between Taliban militants
and SFs in the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
The Taliban militants
fired on a checkpost at Pash Zairat in Razmak sector of South
Waziristan Agency in FATA, killing a trooper and injuring three
others.
A Jordanian Taliban
'commander', who moved to Afghanistan in 1999 and stayed on to
fight US-led forces, was killed in a US drone attack in Waziristan.
Police arrested a
key TTP 'commander', Hayatullah alias Humayun, from a house in
Baloch Goth in Orangi Town area of Karachi.
January 12
Four Taliban militants
and a soldier were killed in a gunbattle when dozens of Taliban
militants attacked a checkpost in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
January 13
At least three Taliban
militants were killed while nine others were arrested by SFs during
the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat of NWFP.
Two unidentified
passers-by were killed in an exchange of fire between SFs and
militants in Qambarkhel area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency
in FATA.
A teenager, Muhammad
Shoaib, was killed and six other boys were injured when an explosive
device exploded at a playground in the Civil Lines area of Tank,
the headquarters of Tank District.
A headless body of
a man was recovered by the Police in the Peepal Kalay area in
Hangu District in NWFP.
Law enforcement agencies
have so far arrested 2,200 suspected terrorists from across the
country, including 80 suspects from Islamabad, federal capital,
Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the Senate.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik categorically said that India was interfering in
Balochistan while missing Baloch were forcibly taken to training
camps in Afghanistan.
January 14
A US drone targeted
TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud in South Waziristan Agency in FATA
and security agencies area waiting for confirmation if Hakeemullah
is among the 10 militants killed in the strike. TTP has denied
media reports that the group's chief, Hakeemullah Mehsud, has
been killed in a US drone strike.
The Chief of the
pro-government Khwazai Peace Committee, Muhammad Akbar, and one
of its member, Gulistan, were killed and seven others persons
sustained serious injuries in a roadside blast at Dorbakhel area
of Halimzai sub-division in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
The JuD, front organisation
of the Lashkar-e-Toiba has declared suicide bombings un-Islamic
and said those involved in killing of Muslims were playing in
the hands of the US, India and Israel.
January 15
Two US drone strikes
killed at least 11 Taliban militants in North Waziristan Agency
of FATA.
Ibrahim Kukikhel,
the tribal malik (leader) and head of the Kukikhel Qaumi Jirga,
was shot dead while his wife and a son were injured in Wazirdand
area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency in FATA.
A US drone strike
killed one of FBI's most-wanted terrorists, a Palestinian suspected
in a 1986 plane hijacking with a USD five million bounty on his
head, said three Pakistani intelligence officials. The intelligence
officials said a January 9 missile strike in North Waziristan
killed Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim.
TTP warned the Government
against continued drone attacks in the Tribal Areas amid reports
that TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud is "under treatment" for "serious
injuries" sustained in a drone strike on January 14.
The bullet-riddled
dead bodies of seven Taliban militants were recovered while an
anti-Taliban leader was also killed in different areas of NWFP.
Two dead bodies,
including that of Taliban 'commander' of Khawazakhela area Mohammad
Rehman, were recovered from Khawazakhela in Swat in NWF.
Security has been
tightened at the Farooqabad Police Training School after intelligence
reports revealed that the school was on the hit list of militants.
January 16
Five militants were
killed in clashes with Security Forces in Spin Qabar area of Bara
of Khyber Agency in FATA.
Four non-Baloch persons
were killed in different parts of Balochistan in an apparent backlash
of January 15' killings of two Baloch nationalists. Three of the
killings have been confirmed as target killings. Meerak Baloch,
a spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) called the offices
of various newspapers and accepted responsibility for killing
the three Punjabi settlers
A suicide bomber
attacked an Army vehicle near the town of Rawalakot in Pakistan
Occupied Kashmir (PoK), injuring two troopers.
Asmatullah Muaviya,
one of the main 'commanders' of the TTP Punjab chapter, was among
the 10 persons killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan
of FATA. The drone had targeted a militant's compound at Shaktoi
village on January 14. Earlier, a local news agency also reported
the death of Qari Hussain and Muhammad Mehsud in the Shaktoi strike.
Qari Hussain, who had a 50 million head money, was believed to
be a "master trainer" of suicide bombers.
January 17
A US drone strike
killed at least 20 Taliban militants, including foreign terrorists
(Uzbeks), in a South Waziristan Agency area in the FATA.
Two tribesmen, including
a prominent tribal elder and agency councillor, were killed in
two separate incidents in FATA.
Two militants were
killed in a clash with the SFs in the Mulla Said area of Salarzai
tehsil in FATA.
Two militants were
killed by the SFs in the in Malakand area of NWFP.
On Shakai Sector
in FATA, the SFs conducted search and clearance operation in the
Zawar Darman Khel, Shankai - Dargai and killed at least one militant.
The Taliban released
another audio message purportedly containing the voice of their
chief Hakeemullah Mehsud. Hakeemullah said that he was releasing
the message on January 16 and the missile attack had been carried
out in Shaktoi on January 14.
January 18
SFs killed 10 Taliban
militants and arrested five others in a clash in North Waziristan
in FATA.
Taliban militants
attacked lashkar personnel in Mohmand Agency in FATA, resulting
in the death of one tribesman and three militants.
Three militants were
killed as a bomb exploded near central Kurram Agency in FATA.
January 19
SFs during a search
operation exchanged fire with the Taliban near Kunar Sar area
in Admi Kot area of South Waziristan in FATA. 10 Taliban militants
were killed and five others arrested during the operation.
Five Taliban militants,
including 'local commander' Hamad, were killed when militants
opened fire at members of a peace committee in Baizai tehsil in
the Mohmand Agency in FATA. Two committee members were also killed
and two others injured in the clash.
Six Taliban militants
were killed when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in
Degan village of North Waziristan's Dattakhel tehsil in the FATA.
In Jandola Sector
in FATA, two soldiers were killed in a bomb blast near Janata,
where the SFs defused three roadside bombs.
Eight terrorists
shot dead two Awami National Party activists in Pir Baba area
of Buner District in NWFP.
January 20
Five Taliban militants,
including Ghulam alias Adil, a key 'commander', were killed and
two others injured in a raid conducted by members of the peace
committee at Khewzai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA.
A notorious criminal
with suspected terrorist links identified as Akhtar Ali Joiya
alias Akhtari, carrying head money of PNR two million and his
accomplice carrying head money of PNR 200,000 were killed in an
encounter at Khudian area in Kasur District of Punjab.
Several militants
were believed to be killed and their hideouts destroyed when gunship
helicopters attacked various areas of Safi and Baizai subdivisions
in the Mohmand Agency in FATA.
A jirga (council)
of Mehsud tribe agreed to hand over 378 men, including Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, to the Government and announced
to fully support Islamabad in maintaining peace in South Waziristan.
An alleged 'commander'
of TTP was granted bail against a solvent surety of PNR 50,000
in an illicit arms case by Judicial Magistrate, Malir, Aslam Sheikh
in Karachi.
January 21
Clashes between the
SFs and terrorists left at least nine terrorists dead in Mohmand
Agency in FATA.
A roadside bomb killed
two tribal elders and a woman travelling on a bus in Salarzai
District of Bajaur Agency in FATA. 20 other passengers were injured
in the explosion.
Five militants, including
a 'commander', were killed in a clash with SF in Madyan area of
Swat District in NWFP.
One soldier was killed
while eight others sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) blast during the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat in
near Janata in Jandola Sector of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Pakistani Intelligence
officials said that a Filipino militant, identified as Abdul Basit
Usman, wanted by the US, is believed to have been killed in a
drone strike in the Tribal Areas close to the Afghanistan border
on January 14.
The Hyderabad Police
claimed to have arrested three militants of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JuD) outfit by foiling a robbery bid in a house in the limits
of the Cantonment Police Station.
January 22
SFs attacked the
stronghold of local and foreign Taliban militants killing 15 of
them and arresting 25 others in Machis camp near Miranshah in
North Wazristan in FATA.
Two militants and
a soldier were killed in a clash at Bilandkhel area in Orakzai
Agency in FATA.
Bodies of two tribal
elders were found dumped under a bridge on Tank-Wana Road near
Pattar village in NWFP.
One Taliban militant
was killed and five others injured in a gunbattle between the
SFs and the militants at the Ghutti Sar check post in FATA.
Unidentified men
had planted an IED on the roadside in Talai village in Salarzai
in Bajaur Agency in FATA. A woman was killed and 23 passengers
injured when a vehicle hit the device.
29 officials in the
NWFP Education Department were sacked for their alleged links
with militants.
One of the two dacoits,
from whose custody two abducted persons were rescued, belonged
to al-Qaeda. They were abducted from Larkana IN Punjab a few days
ago and were rescued from the jurisdiction of Fatehpur Police
Station of Dokri.
The Special Investigation
Group (SIG) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has traced
the names and addresses of nine terrorists who were involved in
a suicide attack on former President General Pervez Musharraf.
January 23
14 Taliban militants
and three SF personnel were killed while 12 other Taliban militants
were injured in clashes in Orakzai Agency in FATA.
At least four persons
including a trooper were killed in a suicide car bombing near
a Police Station at Gomal, about 25 kilometres south of Tank District
in NWFP.
At least two Army
personnel were killed and two others were injured after unidentified
motorcyclists opened fire on a group of soldiers in a market in
Khuzdar of Balochistan.
January 24
Taliban militants
killed seven persons on suspicion of spying for the US in North
Waziristan Agency of FATA.
One trooper was killed
and another injured in an IED blast in Khyber Agency. Subsequently,
in a search operation, SFs killed three militants and arrested
12 others. The slain militants included senior 'commander' Gul
Hakim.
A close aide of TTP
chief of Swat Division was killed in clashes with SFs at Imam
Dheri in Swat of NWFP.
Taliban militants
claimed to have shot down a US drone in Hamzoni village near Miranshah,
the main town in North Waziristan. Government and Military officials
confirmed the plane crash but were not sure about the cause of
the incident.
January 25
SFs backed by fighter
jets and helicopter gunship targeted Taliban strongholds across
the FATA, killing 25 militants in the Kurram and Bajaur Agencies.
Air strikes by the jet fighters continued for more than two hours
killing 10 terrorists in Khar in Bajaur. At least 15 suspected
militants were killed when SFs, backed by helicopter gunship and
artillery, pounded their positions in Kurram Agency.
One FC trooper was
killed and 10 others were injured in a bomb blast in a crowded
market of the Pakistan-Iran border town of Panjgur in Balochistan.
January 26
Three militants were
killed and several others sustained injuries when gunship helicopters
fired at suspected hideouts of insurgents in Mamond and Salarzai
tehsils in Bajaur Agency in FATA.
Militants killed
one person and freed two out of the four abducted tribesmen in
Salarzai in FATA.
A Taliban 'commander'
was killed by SFs in Swat District in NWFP.
Taliban militants
in North Waziristan claimed to have shot down another US drone
in Boya village of Dattakhel tehsil near the border with Afghanistan
but failed to provide any proof in this regard.
Appreciating the
role played by FATA parliamentarians in the fight against militancy,
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani asked them to closely follow
various phases of the development process in their respective
areas.
NWFP government has
sacked 55 employees for having links with the Taliban militants
As many as 2,072
persons have been killed in 1,780 incidents of terrorism across
the country since April 2009, the National Assembly (NA) in Islamabad
was informed. Speaking during the question hour in the NA, Interior
Minister Rehman Malik said the people killed included 565 individuals
from various law enforcement agencies. He added that 6,253 persons
had been injured in these attacks, including 1,590 Security Force
personnel.
January 27
12 Taliban militants
were killed and three others injured in clashes between Salarzai
laskhar (pro government Tribal militia) and militants in Chinnar
village of Bajaur Agency in FATA. One trooper was killed in the
attack.
Three children were
killed in a bomb explosion in Nanger Khani village of Dir District.
Pakistani investigators
that there is "sufficient incriminating evidence against" the
seven arrested terrorists for their involvement in the Mumbai
(India) terrorist strikes on November 26, 2008.
January 28
SFs killed nine militants
and injured five others in a clash in Salarzai tehsil of
Bajaur Agency in FATA.
SFs killed four Taliban
militants in Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Salvation) in South
Waziristan Agency.
January 29
SFs killed 24 Taliban
militants in air strikes and clashes in Bajaur Agency FATA. In
one incident, the fighting erupted when militants attacked a check
post manned by the Frontier Corps and members of an anti-Taliban
militia in the Chinar town. Troops retaliated and killed 14 militants.
A paramilitary soldier was also killed and three others were wounded
in the clash.
Fighter jets bombarded
a Taliban hideout in the town of Sewai in the Mamoond tehsil killing
10 terrorists and injuring 15 others.
Five suspected militants
were killed and four others sustained injuries in a drone attack
in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan.
Unidentified assailants
opened fire on pilgrims, killing three Shias and injuring seven
others, in a sectarian attack in Quetta in Balochistan.
January 30
A suicide bomber
killed 16 people, including 14 civilians and two Police officers,
and wounded 20 others at a police check point in the Bajaur Agency
of FATA.
Suspected US missiles
killed nine alleged militants. Three US missiles hit a compound
and a bunker in the Mohammad Khel area of North Waziristan Agency,
part of a surge of the drone-fired strikes. Two missiles attack
hit the compound being used by the militants, killing seven of
them. The third killed two more insurgents in the bunker.
January 31
Nine Taliban militants
were killed when fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in Swoi
and Damadola areas of Mamoond tehsil in Bajaur Agency of
FATA.
The state-owned PTV
channel reported that TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud died a few
days ago, while some private channels also claimed that he was
buried in Orakzai Agency of FATA three days back. Meanwhile, Interior
Minister Rehman Malik told a private television channel that the
Government was trying to verify the report. Further, the Army
said it was investigating reports of Hakeemullah's death.
TTP Orakzai Agency
chief Malik Noor Jamal said that the reports of Hakeemullah Mehsud's
death and his subsequent burial in Mamuzai in Orakzai Agency are
baseless.
February
1
The SFs killed at
least 20 Taliban militants in different clashes during operation
Sherdil (Lion heart) in Bajaur Agency of FATA where a solider
was also killed and 11 others injured.
Six Taliban militants
were killed during clashes with SFs in Chinagai, Shinkot and Kharki
areas of Bajaur Agency.
An ATC in Lahore
awarded eight times death sentence along with PNR 200,000 fine
each and total 30 years of rigorous imprisonment to the four convicts
involved in the killing of Punjab Additional Advocate General
(AAG) Muhammad Arif Bhindar and seven others.
February
2
The SFs killed 20
Taliban militants while two soldiers were killed and another injured
in various clashes in Bajaur Agency of FATA. Two Taliban militants
were also reportedly injured in the attacks. SFs consolidated
territorial gains by regaining control of Damdola area.
At least 16 Taliban
militants were killed after US drones fired 18 missiles at Datta
Khel village in North Waziristan of FATA.
Three militants were
killed and eight persons injured in a clash with SFs in Malikabad,
a mountainous area in Gadoon Amazai, of Swabi District in NWFP.
The TTP chief Hakimullah
Mehsud's close aide Qari Hussain, the top trainer of suicide bombers
and one of his potential successors, was killed in the same United
States drone attack that fatally injured him, sources said. The
sources said Qari Hussain died in the attack in North Waziristan
on January 14, 2008.
Taliban spokesman
Azam Tariq said that there is no need to release proof that TTP
leader Hakeemullah Mehsud is alive, just to refute reports that
he succumbed to his injuries sustained in a US drone strike in
January.
Chairman of US Joint
Chiefs Staff Admiral Mike Mullen at a Congressional hearing reports
that Pakistan has reversed the Taliban territorial gains through
a series of military operations and also advocated Washington's
help towards resolving the India-Pakistan tensions for South Asian
stability.
Five American nationals
accused by Pakistan of having contacts with al Qaeda-linked groups
pleaded their innocence, saying they were being 'set up' and tortured
by the FBI and the Pakistani Police.
Al-Qaida can be expected
to attempt an attack on the US in the next three to six months,
senior US intelligence officials told Congress.
February
3
12 Taliban militants
were killed in various areas of Mamoond tehsil (revenue
unit) in Bajaur Agency of FATA when fighter jets and helicopter
gunships bombed Taliban hideouts.
Three US troopers
and four female students were among nine persons killed when a
blast targeted a military-led convoy in Lower Dir of NWFP. At
least 115 persons, including 95 schoolgirls, were also injured
in the attack. The TTP claimed responsibility for the bomb attack
that killed three US troopers, a spokesman for the network claimed
in a telephone call.
The death toll in
the February 2 attack by eight US drones at Datta Khel village
in North Waziristan of FATA rose to 31 as 14 more dead bodies
were retrieved from the houses destroyed in the missile strikes.
The COAS General
Ashfaq Kayani has strongly rejected allegations that Pakistan's
premier intelligence agency, ISI, is pursuing double standards
in the war on terror, reported a private TV channel. General Kayani
said that the Indian "Cold Start Strategy" is an aggressive strategy
and Pakistan cannot close its eyes towards it.
Pakistan's nuclear
arsenal is safe since the country's military knows there would
be "catastrophic consequences, primarily for Pakistan", if any
of its nuclear bombs fell into the wrong hands, the US National
Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said.
February
4
SFs killed 12 Taliban
militants, including four foreigners, while 16 militants were
arrested from different areas of Bajaur Agency in the FATA.
An anti-India jihadi
rally to express Yakjehti-e-Kashmir (Solidarity with Kashmir)
was organized in Muzaffarabad of PoK by the JuD, frontal organization
of the LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujaheedin (HM).
The NWFP CM Ameer
Haider Hoti approved to establish an institutional framework for
the victims of terrorism.
February
5
At least 25 persons
were killed and over 100 others, including women and children,
wounded in twin blasts in Karachi as the city marked Hazrat Imam
Hussain's chehlum (40th Day after death) ceremony.
SFs bombed Taliban
hideouts in various areas of Mamoond Tehsil (revenue unit) in
the Bajaur Agency of FATA, killing five Taliban militants.
The JuD, front organisation
of the LeT, held a public meeting in Islamabad, vowing to seize
Kashmir by force and threatening "rivers of blood" in India. In
Lahore too, the JuD organised a public rally, led by its chief
Hafiz Saeed, alleged by India to have masterminded the Mumbai
attacks. The rally went from the JuD headquarters in Chauburji
to the University Grounds, where Hafiz Saeed led the participants
in Friday prayers. It proceeded to the famous Masjid-e-Shohada
on Mall road, where the second tier leadership of the group made
anti-India speeches.
The Lok Virsa (Museum
situated in Islamabad) in collaboration with the Kashmir Affairs
and Gilgit-Baltistan Ministry organised a festival in Islamabad
to show solidarity with Kashmiris struggling for their right of
self-determination.
February
6
SFs killed seven
Taliban militants and injured five others in Mamond tehsil
(revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency in the FATA. SFs took over the
Taliban stronghold of Damadola after nine years, local sources
said.
Death toll in the
February 5 Karachi twin blasts raised to 33 as six more persons
succumbed to injuries.
Karachi Anti-Terrorism
Court's Administrative Judge Justice Amir Hani Muslim 6 remanded
two accused, stated to be activists of the banned outfit Jundullah,
to judicial custody until February 13 in the Karachi Ashura bomb
blast of December 28, 2009.
February
7
The investigators
probing into the two recent suicide bombings in Shahi Koto area
of Lower Dir in NWFP said that militants fleeing from Bajaur Agency
of FATA as a result of the military operation are behind the terrorist
attacks in Lower Dir on February 3 that killed nine persons including
three United States troopers. Meanwhile, the fugitive chief of
Taliban in Lower Dir, 'Commander' Hafizullah claimed that February
3's suicide attack in Shahi Koto area was aimed at the US military
personnel, regretting the killing of schoolgirls and harm to journalists.
February
8
At least 12 troopers
were killed and two others were injured in a clash with militants
during the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat (path to salvation)
in Ahmed Wam area of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.
A minor girl was
killed and four others including a woman sustained serious injuries
when militants fired four rockets at the Army garrison and a surrounding
village in Khugakhel area of Landikotal in the Khyber Agency
A powerful explosion
completely destroyed container carrying supplies for United States-led
NATO forces in Afghanistan near the Torkham pass along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border.
Police arrested six
suspected militants, including a would-be suicide bomber who was
allegedly plotting to attack a five-star hotel and kill US nationals,
from Grand Trunk Road in Shahdara area of Lahore.
Daily Times quoting
intelligence reports said that TTP had sent eight female suicide
bombers to attack high-value targets in Punjab.
The TTP Lakki Marwat
chapter threatened local politicians of attack for their alleged
involvement in protecting feudal lords and creating law and order
problem in the Lakki Marwat District of NWFP.
Blackwater is not
operating in the country and NSA is protecting the Prime Minister
and the President, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. "No Blackwater
or foreign security agency is providing security cover to the
President or the Prime Minister. Our Police and security agencies
are fully capable of providing them security,"
The Pakistani SFs
have captured several members of the Jundallah militant group
and handed them over to Iranian authorities, National Assembly
Speaker Fehmida Mirza said, according to Iran's Press TV channel.
February
9
A civilian was killed
in a militant attack on SFs and 12 suspected militants were arrested
in search operations in different parts of the Khyber Agency in
FATA.
Five militants were
arrested while the houses of six others were destroyed during
search operation in Banda area in Salarzai and Mamond sub-divisions
of Bajaur Agency, official sources said.
SFs arrested a militant
'commander' who also happens to be the nephew of LI 'leader' Mangal
Bagh during a search operation in Bara tehsil of Khyber
Agency.
SFs sources claimed
to have killed 74 militants and injured 54 others and wrested
the strategically important hilltops and areas from the insurgents
during the weeklong military operation in the Mamond subdivision
of Bajaur Agency.
At least four persons
including two children were injured in a bomb explosion in Gahi
Khan Chowk area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan.
The bomb disposal
squad defused a seven-kilogramme explosive device planted close
to NWFP Minister Ayub Khan Asharai's house in Matta tehsil of
Swat District.
The Taliban claimed
to have developed a new bomb nicknamed 'Omar' after their leader,
which they say is impossible for Western mine sweepers to detect.
The Interior Minister
Rehman Malik indicated that militants who had fled military operations
in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Swat are active in
Karachi.
Calling Pakistan's
anti-militancy efforts over 2009 "terrific", Unite States Defence
Secretary Robert Gates said Pakistanis are in the driver's seat
in combating Taliban on their soil.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani said asked militants to lay down their weapons and
adopt the right path or face death.
February
10
A suicide bomber
rammed an explosives-laden car into a khasadar patrol vehicle,
killing 17 persons, including 11 khasadar personnel in Wazir Dhand
area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA.
Four Taliban militants
and two women were killed in bombings in various areas of Mamoond
tehsil in Bajaur Agency.
A brigadier was killed
while a colonel and lieutenant were injured after suspected Taliban
militants attacked a rescue team sent after a crashed Cobra helicopter
in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency.
SFs along with the
Mamoond Qaumi Lashkar (tribal militia) burnt the houses of six
militants in the Taliban stronghold of Damadola and destroyed
underground bunkers and training centres.
At least two persons
were injured in a bomb blast in a CD shop in the main bazaar of
Hangu in NWFP.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik said that he had credible reports regarding the death
of TTP 'chief' Hakeemullah Mehsud in a drone attack in North Waziristan
in mid-January.
TTP lashed out at
the Government for referring to "credible reports" that their
leader Hakeemullah Mehsud had died after a US drone attack in
mid-January.
Pakistan has always
preferred dialogue to war with India, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani said and praised New Delhi's "intention" to resume dialogue
with Islamabad.
Indian Indus Water
Commissioner G. Aranga Nathan said that India and Pakistan will
not go into war with each other over the water issue because the
Indus Water Treaty is intact and being respected.
The Pakistan military
commanders discussed India's offer to Pakistan for talks among
other issues at a meeting of the top brass held at the General
Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan will keep
Kashmir the first item on the agenda for negotiations with India
at any level, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said.
February
11
At least 15 persons
were killed and 24 others injured in a twin bomb blast in Bannu
of NWFP.
Four persons, including
an arms dealer, were injured when their double-cabin pickup truck
was blown up in a bomb blast near Miramshah Bazaar in North Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
The death toll in
February 10 suicide attack in Jamrud of Khyber Agency reached
19, when a Levies official, Lance Naik Abdul Mannan, succumbed
to injuries at the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
US Vice-President
Joe Biden said that his greatest concern was not Afghanistan,
not Iraq, nor the Iranian nuclear crisis, but Pakistan.
The US military is
planning to set up new training centres inside Pakistan where
American special operations trainers would work with Pakistani
forces close to the Afghanistan border battle zone, a senior defence
official said.
The US National Security
Adviser General James Jones and his delegation visited Swat of
NWFP.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani said that while composite dialogue is the only way
forward for the resolution of all outstanding issues and India
has offered Pakistan talks, New Delhi "does not want to talk on
Kashmir."
The Foreign Office
said that Pakistan wants to resume peace talks with India, but
they should be wide-ranging and cover all outstanding issues,
including the Kashmir dispute.
Syed Salahuddin,
'chief' of the HM, said that talks between Pakistan and India
will fail if they do not focus on the "core issue" of Kashmir.
Talks would be "a futile exercise" if they did not address the
dispute over the Himalayan region.
February
12
Four militants were
killed and several others sustained injuries during a clash with
SFs at Charmang in Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
The militants handed
over dead bodies of two slain pilots unconditionally to the political
administration through the efforts of the Federal Minister Hamidullah
Jan Afridi in Jamrud tehsil of the restive Khyber Agency.
Two militants were
killed and a soldier injured during a clash between SFs and militants
in a border area of Swat and Buner in NWFP.
The Anti-Extremism
Cell of the Sindh Police's CID arrested a 'commander' of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Al-alami and recovered weapons and Jihad (holy war) literature
from his possession.
February
13
A student of Iqra
University Karachi was killed, while another was injured in an
ambush on the RCD Highway near Mangochar in Kalat of Balochistan.
The Taliban militants
blew up a boys' high school in the village of Qamardin at Safi
area of the Mohmand tribal District in FATA along the Pakistan-
Afghanistan border.
SFs continued their
search operation and arrested 16 suspected militants from different
areas of FATA and NWFP during the past 24 hours.
February
14
A US drone killed
seven Taliban militants at a training compound in the Mir Ali
town of North Waziristan Agency in the FATA.
The SFs killed three
Taliban militants in the Charmang area of Bajaur Agency, while
a would-be suicide bomber and three other Taliban militants were
killed in a blast.
Unidentified militants
shot dead three persons, including two pro-Government tribesmen,
in separate attacks in Khyber Agency.
SFs arrested 11 militants,
including a 'local commander', during a search operation in Khyber
Agency.
Three persons were
killed and 16 others injured in bomb blast on the Cinema Chowk
in the main town of Dadu District.
Two bomb blasts occurred
on a railway track in the Sariab area of Quetta in Balochistan.
Four militants were
arrested after an encounter with the SFs in the Darsamand area
of Hangu District in NWFP.
The Police during
a search operation arrested 18 suspected persons, including Afghanistan
prayer leaders and defused a rocket in the Tugh Lalma area of
Kohat District.
The US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, while condemning the recent terrorist
events in Karachi, said that al Qaeda had killed more than 2,000
people in Pakistan within few months.
US Vice-President
Joe Biden said that American forces have killed al Qaeda militants
under ground - 12 top leaders and 100 of their associates.
Pakistan's Ambassador
to the US, Hussain Haqqani, said, that "Pakistan doesn't want
America to interfere in its affairs nor does the US want to do
so".
February
15
A US drone attack
killed at least three Taliban militants in the North Waziristan
Agency of FATA, security officials said.
SFs arrested four
wanted militants during a raid on a madrassa (seminary)
in the Bisham area of Shangla District in the NWFP.
The SFs arrested
a local doctor in a raid in the Sholabar area of Bara, as the
doctor was involved in the treatment of LI militants.
The Ahmedzai Wazir
tribes in South Waziristan Agency of FATA demanded a separate
administrative status for areas under their control during a jirga
(council) also attended by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq
Kayani, tribal elders said.
The key objectives
of the military operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency
in FATA have been achieved and most of the high profile terrorists
have been wiped out from the area, a private TV channel quoted
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani as saying.
Top terrorist 'commander'
Ilyas Kashmiri, whose '313 Brigade' is an operational arm of the
al Qaeda, has vowed to continue attacks across India until the
Indian Army leaves Indian-held Kashmir and gives the Kashmiris
their right to self-determination.
February
16
SFs backed by jet
fighters and gunship helicopters pounded Taliban hideouts and
killed 10 Taliban militants in the Bajaur Agency of FATA.
Two women were killed
when an artillery shell hit their house in Bandai area of Mamoond
tehsil. Eight other persons were also injured in the same incident.
Unidentified militants
blew up a school in Lakaro village of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency
in the late night.
A powerful bomb blast
destroyed a house situated along Rehman Kewal Road in Quetta.
Daily Times
quoting New York Times reported that the US and Pakistani
intelligence services arrested the top military 'commander' of
Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi.
An Afghan Taliban
spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, denied a US report that the group's
military commander had been arrested by US and Pakistani forces
in a secret operation in Pakistan.
The Interior Minister
Rehman Malik branded as "propaganda" reports that the top Taliban
military 'commander' had been arrested in a joint Pakistani-US
spy operation.
February
17
Unidentified assailants
killed six militants allegedly to be associates of Taliban 'commander'
Noor Jamal alias Maulana Toofan by ambushing their vehicle in
central Kurram Agency of FATA.
A US drone strike
killed at least three suspected Taliban militants at a compound
close to the Afghanistan border in North Waziristan.
SFs arrested nine
suspected militants from the Khyber Agency and cleared five caves
used by militants in the Bajaur Agency, according to a FC statement.
SFs arrested five
militants, identified as Ghulam Ullah, Gulab, Abdul Ghaffar, Khan
and Jaipur, from in Mamoond tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur
Agency.
Unidentified militants
shot dead a journalist, identified as Hameed Marwat, at the Sariab
Road in Quetta.
Ashfaq Mangi, a reporter
of a private television channel was shot dead by unidentified
militants in front of the Gambat Post Office in Khairpur.
Three civilians and
a policeman sustained injuries when a suspected militant opened
fire on Police in Marghazar Town of the Bunrh area in the outskirts
of Mingora in the NWFP.
SFs arrested a senior
'commander' of the Swat Taliban, Abdul Rashid, from Nowshera.
The CID arrested a 'Taliban commander',
Abdullah alias Abu Waqas, who was about to train 270 teenage girls
as suicide bombers.
An ATC in Sargodha
in Punjab rejected the bail applications of five Americans, accused
of having links with militants.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik confirmed the arrest of a senior Taliban leader Mulla
Abdul Ghani Baradar from Karachi.
The Pakistani Army
confirmed that the Afghan Taliban's top military commander, Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been arrested.
US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton praised "valuable" US-Pakistan cooperation in
fighting extremism, saying the Pakistani leadership "recognises
that standing firm against the threat is important to the country's
future".
President Asif Ali
Zardari announced a plan for the upgradation and strengthening
of paramilitary Levies Force in tribal areas to improve the Levies
Force's capability.
February
18
At least 30 persons,
including a LI 'commander', were killed and 110 others injured
in a suicide attack near a mosque in Akakhel area of Tirah valley
in Khyber Agency of FATA.
AFP quoted an intelligence
official as saying, "There is a possibility that the rival outfit,
AI, attacked the LI base."
Four Taliban militants,
including a Taliban 'commander' Jalaluddin Haqqani's son Muhammad
Haqqani, were killed when US drones fired two missiles in Danday
Darpakhel village near Jalaluddin Haqqani's madrassa (seminary),
four kilometres north of Miranshah, the headquarters of North
Waziristan in FATA.
A remote-controlled
bomb exploded near a tanker in Baghbana area of Khuzdar District
in Balochistan.
A Policeman was killed
and a passer-by injured when armed militants opened fire at a
Police patrol party in the Mingora city of NWFP.
The SFs arrested
two militants during a search operation and neutralised the ex-plosive-laden
car recovered near Chunai area in Abakhel village in Lakki Marwat
District in the night.
Two senior Taliban
militants were arrested in recent days in Pakistan after their
military 'commander' Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar was arrested by
the US intelligence agencies and their Pakistani counterparts
only days earlier.
February
19
Five Taliban militants
were killed in Banda and Ghundo areas of Nawagai tehsil
(revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency of FATA when fighter jets and
helicopter gunships bombarded Taliban hideouts.
SFs claimed to have
recovered Indian-made IED from South Waziristan. Security officials
recovered five sacks, each containing 20 kilograms of polypropylene
with the text "Reliance Industries Ltd, Jamnagar, Gujrat, India"
printed on them.
SFs shot dead two
militants in an encounter in Faisalabad who were involved in the
GHQ attack in Rawalpindi on October 10, 2009.
Four officials of
Mercy Corps (MC), an international NGO, were abducted by unidentified
militants from Shankai area of Qillah Saifullah District in Balochistan.
The Police arrested
six 'most-wanted' Taliban militants and recovered 11 kilogrammes
of explosive powder along with dynamite from a cave during search
operations in the mountainous region of Sawaldher, Rama, Katlang
and Choora in Mardan District of NWFP.
Police arrested a
person allegedly involved in terror activities from Jamal Ghari
village under Jabar Police Station.
The South Korean
Police claimed to have arrested a Pakistani national, who was
allegedly a member of the Taliban, on charges of using a fake
passport.
The SFs arrested
one Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan militant, Syed Hammad Riaz, from
Karachi allegedly involved in the assassination of the SSP, Ameer
(Chief) Maulana Azam Tariq.
Pakistan will not
turn over the Afghanistan Taliban's 'second-in-command' and two
other terrorists captured in the month of February to the US,
but may deport them to Afghanistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said.
Pakistan's direct
and indirect cost in the war on terror has been around USD 35
billion over the last three years, Minister of State for Economic
Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said.
February
20
SFs killed at least
36 Taliban militants during operations in the various regions
of FATA. The SFs killed at least 30 Taliban militants during operation
Rah-e-Nijat (path to salvation) in various areas of Shawal
mountains in South Waziristan Agency.
Six Taliban militants,
including a 'commander', were killed in clashes with the SFs at
Chapri Ferozkhel, the border area between Khyber and Orakzai Agencies.
Two suicide bombers
attacked Police Stations in Balakot and Mansehra areas of NWFP,
killing a SHO and wounding several others. According to Police
sources, Khalilur Rehman, SHO of Balakot Police Station, was killed
and several others injured in the attacks at the police stations.
Four Taliban militants
were killed in a clash with the Security Forces in Ogda Takhta
Band area in the outskirts of Mingora in Swat.
The dead body of
a person abducted by the Taliban militants a year ago was found.
He was identified as Ziadullah, a businessman from Landaki area
of Swat.
February
21
Eight unidentified
militants were killed and two troopers sustained injuries in a
clash during a search operation in Darra Adamkhel of NWFP. The
sources said SFs carried out a search operation in Turk Ismailkhel,
Jawakai and Shindhand areas where the militants opened fire on
SFs.
The militants launched
a rocket attack on the flour mills of NWFP Minister for Housing,
Amjid Afridi, near Gumbat in Kohat. However, no casualty was reported.
Police arrested Maulvi
Kabir, one of the top 10 most-wanted Taliban leaders and a former
Governor of Nangahar province of Afghanistan, from Nowshera.
Three militants surrendered
to SFs in Charbagh Tehsil of Swat District during a search
operation.
The headless dead
body of two abducted Sikh persons recovered in Khyber Agency of
FATA. However, Daily Times reports that one Chopal Singh's dead
body was recovered.
The Taliban militants
blew up two boys' schools in Mohmand Agency. However, there was
no casualty.
SFs hoisted the Pakistani
flag in the Damangi area for the first time after clearing it
of the Taliban.
SFs arrested at least
74 suspects during a search operation in Wazir Dhand area of Jamrud
tehsil in Khyber Agency.
A cadre of the TTP
was arrested by SFs from the outskirts of Lahore. A suicide jacket,
hand grenades and explosives were recovered from his possession.
February
22
13 persons, including
three Security personnel and four women, were killed and 41 others
injured when a suicide bomber hit a SFs convoy at the Nishat Chowk
in Mingora city of NWFP.
A prominent member
of the Shia community was shot dead while his friend sustained
injuries when unidentified attackers opened fire on them in Yakatoot
area of Peshawar in NWFP.
SFs arrested 34 suspected
militants during a joint operation by Police and FC in Thall,
Doaba, Kahi, Darsamand and Naryab areas of Hangu along the region
bordering Orakzai Agency.
Militants fired several
rockets and mortar shells at the Fort Salop in Bara sub-division
of Khyber Agency in FATA.
43 militants, including
four commanders, surrendered before SFs in Mamond sub-division
of Bajaur Agency.
February
23
Five Taliban militants
were killed and four others were injured when the explosives that
they were planting around their hideout detonated accidentally
in Ali Sherzai Dar village of Kurram Agency in FATA.
The militant outfit
LI organised the public execution of a tribesman in the Tirah
Valley of Khyber Agency, after pronouncing him guilty of double
murder at a self-styled Islamic court, tribesmen said.
SFs destroyed four
hideouts of TTP in Ali Baz Kalay of Darra Adam Khel while arresting
six militants.
The Taliban militants
attacked a vehicle owned by a local lashkar (army) chief
in Adezai village on the outskirts of the provincial capital of
NWFP, Peshawar.
The CENTCOM chief
General David Petraeus and British General David Richard arrived
in Mingora. Sources said that Pakistani military officials held
a briefing for the two generals at the Circuit House in Mingora.
Pakistan has made
some 'real progress' in the war against terrorism and it is committed
in securing its long border with Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary
Robert Gates said.
Foreign Minister
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that "Pakistan would welcome
any role (to bridge the gap between India and Pakistan) given
to China because of the trust and confidence we enjoy among each
other".
South Korean Police
said that they were investigating whether a Pakistani Muslim cleric,
who was arrested for travelling on a fake passport, was also involved
in militant activities.
February
24
A Taliban 'commander',
Mohammed Qari Zafar, wanted in connection with the 2006 bombing
of the US consulate in Karachi, was among 13 persons killed in
a suspected missile strike in the Dargah Mandi area of North Waziristan
of FATA near the border with Afghanistan.
A rocket fired from
an unknown direction hit the house of Haji Awal Khan in Kohi Sher
Haider area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency and injured his two
daughters.
Nine Taliban militants
were killed when a US drone fired missiles into a Taliban compound
in the Dandey Darpa Khel area of North Waziristan in the FATA.
The Taliban militants
beheaded three men, including two Afghans, in North Waziristan,
accusing them of spying for the US.
A soldier was killed
in a roadside bomb explosion in Salarzai sub-division of Bajaur
Agency.
The SFs demolished
the house of a militant 'commander', Maulvi Abdullah, during search
operation in the Banda area of the same Agency.
Unidentified militants
fired several rockets on Lagharai village In Mamond subdivision.
However, the rockets missed the target and landed in the fields.
16 Taliban militants
including two 'commanders' surrendered to SFs in Mamond sub-division.
Three passengers
were killed and three others sustained injuries when unidentified
militants opened fired at a railway coach in the Tor Ghar area
of Thall Tehsil in Hangu District of NWFP.
One alleged TTP militant,
Omer Abdul Rehman alias Sailaab, was arrested in a joint raid
by Security Force personnel from the Lasbela District.
A militant of the
Jalaluddin Haqqani Network, identified as Amanullah Mehsud, was
arrested by the Security Force personnel from the Clifton area
of Karachi.
February
25
Unidentified militants
blew up a primary school in Saafi tehsil (revenue unit)
of Mohmand Agency.
25 suspected militants
were arrested during a search operation in Akakhel, Kohi Sher
Haider and Sipah areas of Bara tehsil.
Four militants were
killed during an encounter between SFs and militants in the Charsadda
District of NWFP.
Suspected militants blew up a tanker
carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan in Bhanamari Police
Station area of Peshawar.
A senior Taliban
'commander', Musa Khan, was arrested along with his two accomplices
in Damghar area of Kabal tehsil (revenue unit) of Swat
District.
Police arrested three militants during
a raid at Hajiabad in Charsadda District.
The CID of the Sindh
Police arrested one Abdul Aziz, a close aide of Qari Hussain Mashood,
a mastermind of suicide bombing squad of the banned militant group
TTP from the Sohrab Goth area in Karachi.
An ATC in Karachi
awarded death sentence to two persons, identified as Kamran and
Farhan, for killing two Policemen on October 12, 2006, in the
limits of the Shah Latif Town Police Station.
President Asif Ali
Zardari urged the aggrieved Baloch leaders not to resort to violence
as the Government acknowledged their rights and was doing all
within its means to help them.
February
26
At least 17 Taliban
militants were killed in an operation in the Pastawana area of
Kohat in NWFP.
The SFs and Intelligence
Agencies arrested a nephew of TTP Swat chapter 'head' Maulana
Fazlullah from Pirsabak village in Nowshera District.
The CID of the Sindh
Police arrested three militants belonging to the LeJ outfit from
a hideout near Jamshed Road in Karachi.
The Lahore High Court
temporarily restrained Federal and Punjab Governments from handing
over Mullah Baradar and four other Afghan Taliban militants to
America or any other country and added that the detainees would
not be moved out of Pakistan without its prior permission.
Taliban have blown
up 16 schools in the tribal regions of Mohmand Agency, Bajaur
Agency, Khyber Agency and Orakzai Agency of FATA during the month
of February, NWFP Education Minister Sardar Hussain Babak said.
February
27
A suicide bomber
rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a Police Station in Karak
District, killing four persons including two Policemen and wounding
23 others.
Unidentified gunmen
opened fire on a religious procession in the Dhaki More neighbourhood
of Dera Ismail Khan District of NWFP, killing a person and wounding
several others.
The personnel of
Intelligence Agencies arrested two militants from Saeedabad in
Karachi.
February
28
SFs killed 25 militants
in frontier region of Peshawar in NWFP in the first four days
of Operation Spring Cleaning, according to officials.
12 persons were injured
when a remote-controlled explosive went off in Thari Mirwah town
in Khairpur in Sindh.
March 01
Seven people were
killed and 44 others injured in sectarian violence in Dera Ismail
Khan area of NWFP.
SFs recovered the
dead bodies of a senior Taliban 'commander' and five of his accomplices
from the Madyan area of Swat. Sources said that dead bodies of
former Taliban 'commander' in Buner, Muhammad Alam, Matta tehsil
'commander' Shamsul Haq, and their accomplices Abdullah, Muhammad
Musafir and Sher Zaman were found at a roadside in Madyan area.
Suspected Taliban
militants blew up a tanker carrying fuel for NATO troops based
in Afghanistan near Jamil Chowk on Ring Road of Peshawar, the
capital of NWFP.
An al Qaeda-linked
militant who had called for attacks on China over its treatment
of Muslims was killed in a US missile strike in North Waziristan
of FATA.
Two of the three
Sikhs who were abducted for extortion escaped from Taliban captivity
and reached the Jamrud of Khyber Agency.
SFs set the houses
of 15 militant commanders on fire in the Charmang valley of Nawagai
tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency.
The Taliban issued
'threatening pamphlets', claiming responsibility for the suicide
attack on the Khasadar (tribal Police) personnel in Jamrud tehsil
of Khyber Agency on February 10, 2010.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik urged Ulema ( Muslim religious leaders) belonging
to different schools of thought to foil the conspiracy aimed at
fanning sectarian strife in the country and play an effective
role in thwarting terrorism.
March 02
Seven militants,
including a 'commander', were killed in a clash between two factions
of militants in the Dogar area of Kurram Agency in FATA. The sources
said the factions of militants headed by Mulla Toofan and Mulla
Rafique clashed in Dogar area using heavy weapons and ammunition.
At least two persons
were killed and five others injured in a bomb blast in a cultural
function on the premises of a local Engineering University in
Khuzdar of Balochistan.
Two important Taliban
'commanders', identified as Muhammad Tufail alias Abdullah and
Muhammad Iqbal, were killed by SFs in an exchange of fire during
the ongoing Operation Spring Cleaning in Frontier Region
of Peshawar, the capital of NWFP.
Taliban militants
detonated explosives planted around the house of a pro-Government
tribal elder, Malik Zaliman Shah, in Aliabad area of Hangu District,
injuring 10 members of the family.
The Police submitted
a charge sheet against five American national detained in 2009
in an ATC in Sargodha on charges of plotting terrorism.
ATC in Rawalpindi
has acquitted seven persons accused of a suicide attack on a Government
bus because of lack of evidence.
The Interior Minister
Rehman Malik said that the SSP and TTP were involved in terrorist
activities in the country and warned of strict action against
them. Referring to the SSP, the interior minister said it had
close links to al-Qaeda and Taliban.
March 03
SFs killed a local
Taliban 'commander', identified as Sultan Azeem, during an encounter
in the Malakand Agency of NWFP. Sultan Azeem's body was found
lying by the roadside in Palai area.
The SFs killed a
supplier of suicide jackets and explosives, Mohammad Iqbal, who
operated a key inter-city network during an encounter in the north-western
part of Peshawar.
The Education Department
terminated the services of five teachers in Lower Dir for having
alleged links with the Taliban. Education Department officials
said that education officers in Lower Dir had carried out investigations
and discovered proof of the five terminated teachers' links with
the Taliban.
One person was killed
and two others injured in a landmine explosion that took place
in the outskirts of Dera Bugti District.
Protesters blocked
the Quetta-Karachi Highway, ransacked a state-run utility store
and set a post office on fire following the blast in a cultural
function at the Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology
in Khuzdar on March 2.
A private TV channel
reported that the recently arrested Iranian militant Abdul Malik
Reigi, leader of the banned Jundullah outfit, was among the 25,000
foreign recipients of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs)
issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
One trooper died
and four others injured in the overnight gun battle after an early
morning attack on an Army check post in Chamarkand area of the
Momand region of FATA.
The death toll in
factional clash of the Taliban militants in the Kurram Agency
of FATA rise to 10.
The Taliban militants
blew up a boys' school in the Spin Qabar area of Khyber Agency
in the midnight. However, there was no loss of life and property
was reported.
Six militants surrendered
to the SFs in the Malangi area of Bajaur Agency. Tribal sources
said the local elders persuaded the militants to lay down arms
and surrender to the SFs.
Paramilitary Forces
claimed to have killed 38 Taliban militants during the weeklong
Operation Spring Cleaning.
US Special Representative
for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said that the February
26 terrorist attack in Kabul did not target the Indians specifically
and cautioned against jumping to conclusions without any solid
proof. "In regard to this attack, I do not accept the fact that
this was an attack on an Indian facility like the embassy. They
were foreigners, non-Indian foreigners hurt. It was a soft target,"
he told reporters at a State Department briefing.
The militant training
camps for those fighting in Jammu and Kashmir (India) are once
again being established in 'AJK' and recruitment is also on the
rise in Punjab, the BBC said.
Motasim Agha Jan,
son-in-law of Taliban 'supreme' leader Mullah Omar was arrested
by Intelligence Officials from a house in Ahsanabad area in Karachi.
The CID of Sindh
Police arrested a TTP 'commander', identified as Alam Mehsud,
from Surjani town in Karachi. Alam was a close aide of the slain
TTP 'chief' Baitullah Mehsud.
The British High
Commission in Islamabad received a call from an unidentified person
threatening to "blow them up" if the BHC did not close down its
offices in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
March 4
Nine more Taliban
militants were killed in the on going factional clash between
followers of Noor Jamal alias Mullah Toofan and Rafiq Mengal in
the Neka Ziarat area of Kurram Agency.
The SFs arrested
three persons, including an Afghan national and recovered arm
and explosives from an Afghanistan-bound passenger vehicle at
Michni check post in Khyber Agency in the night.
An unidentified person,
suspected to be a suicide bomber, was killed in a blast at a grocery
shop, about seven kilometres from the Sarwar Chowk of Shaheed
town of Muzaffargarh.
An IED planted at
the Ganj Bakhsh market in the Mardan area of NWFP went off, destroying
five shops.
SFs arrested 25 suspected
militants, including three militant 'commanders', in separate
raids in Ziarat Kaka Sahib and Badrashi areas of Nowshera District.
March 5
Twelve persons, including
four women, were killed and 33 others injured when a suicide bomber
targeted a Parachinar-bound civilian convoy carrying Shia passengers
in Tull area of Hangu in NWFP.
Five militants were
killed in clashes with SFs in Charbagh and Matta tehsils
in Swat Valley of NWFP.
SFs killed a militant,
identified as Abdullah, in Qalagai area in Matta tehsil. SFs also
set ablaze the house of militant 'commander' Shah Wazir Khan in
Barikot tehsil.
SFs killed a militant
in Narai Sar, in the outskirts of Mingora, and arrested seven
others.
Police arrested three
militants from the Ellam Mountain in Buner District. Sources said
the militants were identified as Noorul Alam, Shaukat Ali and
Gul Qadar.
At least 30 Taliban
militants were killed when SFs retaliated against a predawn attack
on Marjhana security post in the Chamarkand area of Safi tehsil,
some 45 kilometres northeast of Ghallanai, in Mohmand Agency of
FATA.
The Army officials
said there were strong indications that senior TTP 'commanders',
including Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Maulvi Abdul Wali, Qari Ziaur
Rahman and Omar Rahman alias Fateh, were killed or injured in
heavy bombing by the Army gunship helicopters in Pindyali tehsil
in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
Two Taliban 'commanders'
Latifullah and Najeebullah along with their 35 aides surrendered
before the SFs in the Bajaur Agency. Latifullah and Najeebullah
left the defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban (Latif faction), a militant
outfit, and announced complete support to the SFs and the political
administration for maintaining peace in the area.
Pakistan Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani said, "We have dealt severe blows to terrorists
and the day is not far when we will rid the country of them".
Yousaf Raza Gilani
vowed to restore the 1973 constitution to its original form. He
said his Government would complete its constitutional term after
which it would appear before the nation once again to be held
accountable.
March 7
At least eight militants
were killed and two injured as fighter jets pounded Taliban hideouts
in Hamdana area of Sararogha tehsil (revenue unit) in South
Waziristan of FATA at around 2pm (PST).
The unidentified
militants abducted and beheaded a pro-Government tribal elder,
Malik Taj Mohammad, in Orakzai Agency.
Unidentified gunmen
killed a local Taliban 'commander', identified as Maulvi Noor
Muhammad, on the outskirts of Miranshah in North Waziristan.
The SFs blew up the
house of a militant 'commander', Ali Rehman, and arrested his
father and bother in Erab area of Mamond subdivision.
Six insurgents were
arrested during raid on a seminary in Kas area of Bajaur Agency.
Three Bugti tribesmen
were injured in a bomb explosion at Achanak Chowk in Dera Bugti.
Daily Times quoting
a Government official source reports that Adam Gadahn, the American-born
spokesman for al-Qaeda, was recently arrested by the Pakistani
intelligence personnel in Karachi.
March 8
13 persons were killed
and 80 others injured in a suicide bomb blast in front of the
Special Intelligence Agency's (SIA) office in the Model Town area
of Lahore. 13 persons included a woman, a five-year-old girl and
security personnel.
A spokesman for the
TTP claimed responsibility for attack on the SIA's office in Model
Town. "The attack was to avenge (US) drone attacks and (Pakistani)
military operations in the Tribal Areas," said Taliban spokesman
Azam Tariq. "We have 2,800 to 3,000 more suicide bombers ... We
will target all Government places, buildings and offices," he
added.
Three missiles fired
by a US drone killed five Taliban militants in the Miranshah area
of North Waziristan in FATA.
Two pro-Government
tribal leaders were killed while another was injured when some
unidentified Taliban militants blew up their car in Shakai area
of South Waziristan.
Two persons including
brother of a commander of Ansarul Islam outfit was killed in Bara
tehsil of Khyber Agency.
A minor girl was
killed and her mother and sister sustained serious injuries when
a stray mortar shell hit their house in Alingar area in Safi tehsil
of Mohmand Agency.
A Salarzai lashkar
(tribal militia) set ablaze 130 Taliban houses in Bajaur Agency.
One Taliban militant was killed and nine others arrested in a
joint operation of the political administration and an armed lashkar
of the Salarzai tribe.
The SFs arrested
four suspected militants from the Akakhel area of Bara tehsil
in the night.
SFs arrested a potential
Afghan suicide bomber while planting a landmine on a roadside
in the Koz Chamarkand area in Safi tehsil and also recovered a
suicide vest from his possession.
A gunman, identified
as Noorul Haq, was shot dead by the Police in the Kashmirabad
area near Sariab Road in Quetta.
Hafiz Saeed, the
founder and 'chief' of Lashkar-e-Toiba (also known as Jama'at-ud-Da'awa)
and the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks, accused
India of waging water wars on Pakistan while addressing a public
rally in Lahore.
March 9
An activist of the
MQM, Zulfiqar-ul-Hasan alias Papu, was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in the Saeedabad Police Station area of Karachi.
A letter send by
an anonymous sender to Sindh Police IG Sultan Salahuddin Babar
Khattak and Sukkur Regional Police Officer reports that as many
as 66 militants belonging to the banned TTP have arrived at Sindh
including Karachi to carry out terror attacks.
The death toll in
the Lahore bomb blast of March 8 rose to 15 as rescuers recovered
a dead body from the debris and shifted it to morgue while another
injured person succumbed to his injuries at the Jinnah Hospital.
The CIA arrested
four Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan militants from Lahore. The
arrestees were identified as Muhammad Yasin, Muhammad Kamran of
Sahiwal, Abubakar and Khurshid Ali.
SFs and a local tribal
lashkar set ablaze 14 houses of the Taliban militants in
the Mamoond tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
SFs arrested three
suspected Taliban militants in Barokhel area of Halimzai tehsil
and demolished the house of a wanted militant in Safi tehsil.
The CIA Director
Leon Panetta said counter terrorism operations have placed al
Qaeda's top leaders under extreme pressure and many are "on the
run" but recent thwarted terror plots in the US indicate the terror
network is changing its tactics.
March 10
At least 14 Taliban
militants were killed in a US drone attack in the North Waziristan
Agency of FATA in the night. Sources based in Miranshah said that
in the first attack, a US drone fired four missiles on a vehicle
in Macha Madakhel at Dada Khel tehsil, killing six militants.
Six persons, including
two women, were killed and seven others were injured when over
a dozen militants armed with Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and hand-grenades
attacked the office of World Vision International, a US-based
Christian aid agency, in Oghi village in Mansehra of NWFP.
At least 60 militants,
including two would-be suicide bombers, were arrested during a
week-long search operation in Hangu, security officials said.
March 11
At least four civilians
were killed and 20 others injured when a suicide bomber, who was
supposed to target a paramilitary convoy, prematurely detonated
explosives at Old Bara area near Khyber Agency on the border between
Khyber and Peshawar of FATA.
Three persons, including
a soldier, were killed in clashes between the Mamond Lashkar backed
SFs and militants in Mulla Killay, Lagharai and adjoining areas
of Mamond subdivision in Bajaur Agency.
Three more militants,
including one senior Taliban 'commander' Qari Mohammad Ayub, were
shot dead by unidentified assailants at Naurak village near Mirali
subdivision of North Waziristan Agency.
The noted religious
leader and chief of the Aalmi Majlis-e-Tahafuza-e-Khatam-e-Naboowat
(AMTKN), Mufti Saeed Jalalpuri, was shot dead along with three
associates in Karachi.
An attempt was also
made on Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, a leader of the SSP, in
which he was injured, while his son lost his life.
The Swat Taliban
'chief' Mullah Fazlullah overcame the security siege in the region
to flee the valley to avoid siege, Lieutenant General Masood Alam
of Peshawar corps commander said.
Authorities declared
red alert at sensitive installations after the reported entrance
of an explosive-laden car in the Lahore.
The law enforcement
agencies warned the authorities concerned that 19 militants were
deputed in 12 cities of the province will most likely target National
Accountability Bureau offices and anti-terrorism courts.
The law enforcement
agencies have discovered that the suicide attack on the SIA office
in Model Town on March 8, 2010, had been planned in Lahore.
Pakistan's relationship
with Afghanistan is close to the core of Islamabad's National
Security interests and Pakistan must be a partner in finding solutions
to Afghanistan's problems, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband
said.
March 12
At least 57 persons,
including eight soldiers, were killed and more than 90 persons
were injured as twin suicide blasts, moments apart from each other,
ripped through the Lahore's RA Bazaar in the cantonment area.
Five persons were
injured when seven low-intensity explosions, six in Allama Iqbal
town Police Station area and one in the Samanabad area of Lahore,
were carried out in the late night.
Intelligence sources
warned that four bombers were still present in the city awaiting
instructions to hit their targets.
Four persons were
killed and 25 others injured when a powerful bomb exploded near
the Bara Qadeem checkpost close to a market on the Bara Road in
Peshawar.
Four persons were
injured during an explosion in Sariab Road area of Quetta in Balochistan.
"Pakistan's military
is likely paying compensation to the families of the terrorists
killed in the Mumbai attacks", says chairman of US House Subcommittee
on the Middle East and South Asia Gary Ackerman on March 11 and
blamed Islamabad for allegedly continuing to support LeT.
A Pakistani-American
expert, Shuja Nawaz, said that the LeT was "a Frankenstein's monster",
which assumed a broader regional role.
Shuja Nawaz said
that "Resolving the Kashmir problem by itself is not going to
remove this threat because the aim of these groups is to leverage
themselves into a position of power inside Pakistan and to take
control."
A resolution of Kashmir
dispute between India and Pakistan would no longer satisfy LeT
and it would continue to pose a serious threat to both India and
the western world in particular the United States, top experts
have told American lawmakers.
The Interior Minister
Rehman Malik has said that there is solid evidence of the Indian
involvement in acts of terror in Balochistan and that the Pakistani
Government was taking up the matter diplomatically with the Indian
Government.
March 13
At least 17 persons
including two Policemen and an army trooper were killed in a suicide
attack at a checkpoint manned by Police and military personnel
at Mingora town of Swat District in NWFP.
A civilian, Ikramullah,
was killed in a landmine explosion in the Gara Akhunzada area
of Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP.
The bomb disposal
squad defused a five kilograms of explosive device found near
the venue of a public meeting of former Chief Minister Mohammad
Akram Durrani in the Cantonment Police jurisdiction of Bannu.
The SFs recovered
one kilogramme explosive, five rockets, 10 shells, hand grenades,
six Kalashnikovs and 2,000 cartridges from a militant during a
search operation in the jurisdiction of the Kaki Police Station.
Unidentified assailants
killed the commander of a local lashkar (tribal militia) and his
two bodyguards in Mohmand Agency of FATA. However, in Mohmand
Agency, about seven anti-Taliban lashkar are operating, while
locals said the Taliban had warned their heads and volunteers
of dire consequences through media and other sources.
The SFs and volunteers
of local lashkar (militia) arrested the wife and brother-in-law
of TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar, who is already in detention in the
Bajaur Agency since August 2009.
The Khasadar (local
tribal force) Force defused an explosive device planted in an
oil tanker near Jamrud in the Khyber Agency.
March 14
At least 18 Taliban
militants were killed when fighter PAF jets bombed their hideouts
in Orajzai Agency of FATA.
Two persons, including
the brother of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bara chapter 'president', were
killed in firing incidents in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Two unidentified
assailants shot dead Muhammad Amin, son of Nawab Khan, a resident
of Malik Dinkhel, besides two passers-by identified as Tasleem,
son of Jalil and Akhtar Sher, son of Hazrat Sher, sustained injuries
in the firing.
The Police arrested
a suspected militant, Fida Hussain, involved in planting explosive
devices at the house of a journalist, Misri Khan Orakzai, and
at a Police post in Hangu.
The BDS defused another
explosive device planted near the Police post in Mamoo Banda area
of Thall tehsil on the main Thall-Hangu Road.
A suspected cadre
of the TTP, identified as Hidayatullah Barki (32), was shot dead
and one of his associates, Usman Khan (22), got injured during
foiled bid to abduct a property dealer in Manghopir Police station
area of Karachi.
Unidentified assailants
tried to blow up a SF vehicle, carrying Law Enforcement Agency
personnel, at the Hazarganji Road in Quetta.
An oil tanker carrying
fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan was blown up in Chaman, injuring
a passer-by.
The FC personnel
defused a bomb planted at a grid station located along the Airport
Road in Khuzdar.
A truck loaded with
explosives was seized in Haji Shah area of Attock District. However,
the three culprits managed to escape.
Around 279 suspects
were arrested from Rawalpindi and Islamabad during search operations
in the wake of militant activities in Lahore.
March 15
SFs claimed that
the mastermind of March 13's suicide attack on SFs check post
in Mingora of NWFP, which left 17 persons dead, was killed in
an encounter at Shamak area of Khawazakhela.
Two persons were
killed and two others injured in an exchange of fire between militants
of banned militant outfit LI and local residents in Sangu area
of Peshawar District.
Two unidentified
assailants shot dead one Muhamadullah, belonging to Malik Din
Khel sub-section of Afridi tribe, after picking him from his shop
near his house in Nala area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency
of FATA.
Police recovered
1,500 kilograms of explosive materials during a search operation
in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore.
Police recovered
around 70 kilograms of explosive material from a Toyota Hiace
(LXK-1618) during checking near Toll Plaza on I. J. Principal
Road under Sabzi Mandi Police Station in Islamabad.
A TTP spokesman said
that the outfit would stop targeting public and Government places
in Punjab if the Provincial Government gave an assurance that
the Taliban would be spared from any action.
March 16
At least 13 persons,
including 10 TTP militants and three tribesmen, were killed in
a clash between a local lashkar and Taliban militants in
central Kurram Agency of FATA.
10 Taliban militants
were killed when US drones fired four missiles at a house in Manzarkhel
village located in Dattakhel tehsil, 40 kilometres west
of the North Waziristan Agency headquarters, Miranshah around
12:45 pm (PST).
38 Taliban militants
including a senior Taliban 'commander' surrendered before the
Government in Khar of Bajaur Agency. SFs recovered a cache of
arms and ammunitions.
Two NATO tankers
were attacked by unidentified militants in Kalat town and Dhadar
area in Balochistan, leaving three persons injured.
One person got injured
when unidentified assailants opened fire on a NATO tanker in the
Dhadar area of Bolan District.
Police recovered
3,000 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate and potassium, which can
be used for a lethal explosion, and four machine guns from a shop
in the Sabzi Mandi area of Lahore.
The unassembled parts
of three submachine guns and one light machine gun were also found
from the shop in Mehran Block Iqbal Town.
A Bajaur-based militant
'commander', identified as Mohammad Rehan, was arrested during
an operation in Wakho Pul on Kohat Road under Bhanamari Police
Station area of Peshawar.
Police arrested one,
Salman Mehsud, a TTP 'commander', who was wanted for abduction
and various other charges from Karachi.
March 17
Six Taliban militants
were killed during encounter with SFs in Darra Adam Khel of NWFP
late in the night.
The SFs shot dead
five Taliban militants, including two Taliban 'commanders', who
were wanted over an uprising in Swat, in an encounter at Pattan
town in Abbottabad District.
The NWFP Information
Minister Iftikhar Hussain ruled out the possibility that the Taliban
would reorganise in Swat as the SFs have dismantled their network
in the valley.
At least six Taliban
militants were killed and five others arrested in a clash with
a lashkar at Dagar area in Kurram Agency of FATA.
At least five Security
personnel were killed in a militant attack on a check post in
Sheen Darand area of Akakhel under Bara tehsil of Khyber
Agency. SFs retaliated but no militant casualties can be confirmed.
A NATO oil tanker
blew up at the Wali Khel area of Landikotal in the Khyber Agency.
According to official sources, the tanker was carrying 44,000
litres of oil to NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Unidentified militants
blew up a Government-run girls' primary school in Malkana of Nawagai
sub-division in Bajaur Agency.
A senior US official
said that an al-Qaeda leader who is believed to have played a
key role in the bombing of a CIA post in Afghanistan in December
31, 2009, was apparently killed in a missile strike last week
(unspecified date).
Four officials of
the Balochistan FC were injured in a hand grenade blast followed
by firing on their vehicle at, while one of the militants was
also killed.
One person was killed
in an explosion in a house in the Chalobawri area of Quetta.
Police arrested two
suspected militants during a search operation at Faruukhabad area
of Shahdara in Lahore.
The Ministry of Interior
said that the Taliban have planned to launch fresh attacks on
the SFs in all major cities of the country, a private news channel
reported.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik said that a decisive operation will be launched against
banned sectarian outfits if they do not refrain from carrying
out terrorist attacks in the country.
The Law enforcement
agencies are considering of launching a "well-coordinated large-scale
operation" against possible militant hubs close to the entry points
of the provincial metropolis.
An ATC charged five
Americans with planning terrorist attacks in the country and conspiring
to wage war against nations allied with Pakistan, their defence
lawyer Hasan Dastagir said.
March 18
One Policeman was
shot dead, while four others sustained injuries in an attack at
Quetta in Balochistan. Police officials were on patrolling when
unidentified militants opened fire at them on the Samungly Road
of Quetta.
Unidentified militants
shot dead a security guard in the Sariab area of Quetta. According
to police, some unidentified militants opened fire at Shair Ali
at Killi Geo in Qambrani Sariab area, killing him on the site.
Three persons were
injured in a remote-controlled explosion at Achanak Chowk in Dera
Bugti. According to Police sources, unidentified militants attached
an explosive device to a cycle and parked it at Achanak Chowk.
A girl was killed
when she stepped over an IED in Mohmand Agency of FATA. Bushra,
a resident of Mahmadghat, was killed when the IED planted by suspected
Taliban militants exploded on Chinari-Sheikh Baba Road, said the
sources.
Unidentified assailants
opened indiscriminate fire near Prush Pul in Khar tehsil
of the Bajaur Agency, killing Levies Force trooper, Ghafoor Khan,
as he was going home after duty.
SFs blew up houses
of two militants in Nawagai Khas area of the same Agency.
The Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan vowed that they would "free Pakistan from the American
clutches" and continue jihad for the enforcement of sharia (Islamic
law) law in the country.
The death toll in
R. A. bazaar suicide attacks of March 12 rose to 62 after an injured
driver, Faqeer Shah, succumbed to his injuries.
The law enforcement
agencies arrested three suspected members of the TTP and recovered
explosives from their possession.
The law enforcement
agencies arrested another alleged TTP commander, Ismail Mehsud.
March 19
At least 13 TTP militants
were killed and many others injured when the PAF planes attacked
and destroyed six hideouts in different parts of Orakzai Agency
in FATA.
The militants blew
up a Government primary school in the Mandal area of Bajaur Agency,
increasing the number of schools attacked in the tribal agency
to at least 70.
Unidentified militants
blew up another Government primary school in Ghundai in Nawagai
Tehsil.
The Levies Force
personnel raided many houses during a search operation in Yousufabad
area of Khar tehsil. Around 29 suspects were arrested during the
operation.
Three persons, including
a student of Mastung Cadet College, were killed in an attack on
a vehicle of the college in Mastung District.
The Sindh Police
Special Investigation Unit on March 19 claimed to have arrested
a wanted militant of Lower Dir chapter of TTP, from Jamshed Quarters
of Patel Para area in Karachi.
Pakistan's recent
arrests of top Taliban leaders have halted the United Nations'
secret talks with the outfit, said the UN's former envoy to Afghanistan
Kai Eide.
Pakistan rejected
a suggestion from the former head of the UN mission in Afghanistan
that the arrest of senior Afghan Taliban members in Pakistan may
have halted talks with UN representatives.
Attacks in Pakistan
have driven Osama bin Laden and other leaders underground and
reduced al-Qaeda's ability to plan attacks, CIA Director Leon
Panetta said.
March 20
Two 'commanders'
of the TTP Mullah Toofan group are among 15 persons killed and
nine others injured in FATA.
The jet fighters
continued aerial strikes on Taliban hideouts in Mamozai, Shaktangi
and Arghujo areas of the Upper Orakzai agency, which claimed ten
lives.
Salarzai Qaumi Lashkar
announced a final crackdown on the Taliban and its volunteers
burnt 140 houses of the Taliban in collaboration with the political
administration in Ghundai area of the Bajaur Agency.
March 21
At least 24 Taliban
militants were killed in Orakzai and Kurram Agencies of FATA.
Around 11 Taliban militants were killed by SFs in an offensive,
as they pounded terrorist hideouts in Orakzai Agency.
The ongoing clash
between the Mulla Toufan and Mulla Rafiq Taliban faction resulted
in the death of six more militants from both the sides.
Around seven Taliban
militants were also killed in bombing by gunship helicopters on
both Taliban factions in central Kurram Agency.
A US drone aircraft
fired two missiles into an al Qaeda and Taliban hideout at Inzar
village of North Waziristan in FATA, killing eight militants.
The bullet-riddled
bodies of four tribesmen, killed by the TTP for allegedly spying
for the US, were found in North Waziristan.
Unidentified militants
blew up a primary boy's school in Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur
Agency, raising the number of schools destroyed to 76.
The political administration
with the help of Levies Force arrested 17 suspected militants
in a crackdown in Nawagai tehsil.
A remote-controlled
bomb attached to a bicycle killed three persons, including two
Policemen, and injured 14 others on Kawari Road in Quetta.
Unidentified militants
hurled a hand grenade at a grid station located in the Sariab
area of Quetta.
An injured militant
'commander' under treatment at hospital of the International Committee
of Red Cross in University Town of Peshawar, the capital of NWFP,
managed to escape taking the cover of night.
March 22
SFs killed three
Taliban militants, including a key Taliban 'commander' Bakht Marin,
in a clash with the Taliban, while arresting more than 500 suspected
terrorists in a search operation in the Swat District of NWFP.
SFs arrested around
500 suspected militants during a search operation at Nave Kelai,
a suburb village area of Mingora city.
SFs arrested a key
Taliban 'commander', Iliyas also known as Usman, from the Bakhsh
Pul area near Charsadda road of Peshawar.
A roadside bomb killed
one person and injured three others near a busy intersection in
Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Police arrested two
militants who were masterminds behind a bomb attack on a UN office
that killed five persons in Islamabad on October 5, 2009.
A renowned educationist
Professor Fazal Bari was shot dead by the BLA in Quetta.
March 23
The missiles fired
from US drones killed at least six militants in the suburbs of
Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
The SFs killed five
Taliban militants in the Anjani area of Orakzai Agency. The SFs
targeted Taliban hideouts with heavy artillery, killing at least
five Taliban militants and injuring three others. A TTP hideout
was neutralised by the SFs.
The dead body of
one of the six abducted tribal elders was recovered in Ghaljo
area of Upper Orakzai Agency. The dead body was identified as
of one Janat Khan.
The SFs neutralised
three Taliban hideouts in Bhai Cheena area of Khar tehsil in Bajaur
Agency. During the crackdown in Bhai Cheena, the SFs also set
ablaze houses of two militants and seized weapons.
The SFs foiled a
terrorist bid in Mohmand Agency. SFs arrested eight persons while
they were planting explosives in Mosa Kor area of Ambar tehsil.
Unidentified militants
blew up a girls' high school in Shapnao area of Risalpur near
Nowshera District of NWFP.
The militants vowed
to wage jihad (holy war) to liberate Kashmir from Indian control.
About 5,000 persons attended a rally in Kotli in PoK, shouting,
"We are ready for jihad, we are ready for jihad!" The gathering
marked the anniversary of the 1940 Pakistan Resolution, in which
Indian Muslims decided to struggle for a separate country following
independence from British rule. Pakistan was born seven years
later on 14th August 1947.
Taliban leader Mullah
Mohammad Omar appointed two of his top Taliban 'commanders' from
the south to replace his former 'deputy' Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
who was arrested by Pakistani forces in Karachi on February 18.
March 24
SFs killed at least
21 Taliban militants in Ajani area of Lower Orakzai Agency in
FATA. The sources said the operation was formally launched in
Storkhel, Ajani and Khalil Kalay areas of the Agency.
Pakistan continued
to support some militant outfits that operate in Afghanistan,
a top US intelligence official said.
March 25
At least 66 Taliban
militants were killed in air strikes in Taliban strongholds of
Ghaljo and Mamuzai areas of Orakzai Agency in the FATA.
10 militants were
killed in clashes with the SFs in Adamkhel Kalay and Mirobak areas
in Lower Orakzai while eight others were killed in air strikes
in Dabori in Upper Orakzai.
Two headless dead
bodies of missing tribal elders were recovered days after they
were abducted by suspected Taliban militants. The militants abducted
six elders and had killed at least three of them.
Suspected Taliban
militants blew up primary girls' school at Doda area in Nawagai
tehsil of Bajaur Agency. With this latest attack, the total
number of schools destroyed in the agency has surged to 77.
SFs recovered a cache
of weapons during search operations in Nawagai and Mamoond tehsils
of the Bajaur Agency.
US drone attacks
in the tribal areas are being carried out without Pakistan's consent
and the matter will be taken up with Washington during bilateral
discussions, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. He added that
the US was committed to provide drone technology to Pakistan.
March 26
At least 31 Taliban
militants and five soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were
killed in fighting and air strikes in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Fighter jets pounded
Taliban hideouts and training centres during the on going Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Dabori, Mamozai,
Khadezai and Ghaljo, killing 10 Taliban militants.
One 10-year old Faisal
Khan was killed while two others sustained injuries in a landmine
blast near the Hopo Colony in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti.
The two others injured were identified as Ghulam Hussein and Sona
Khan.
Three persons were
injured in a bomb explosion inside a tea stall, owned by Jalat
Khan Zarkon, in Kohlu town.
The CID of the Sindh
Police arrested four members of a gang, which used to provide
logistical support to militants belonging to the tribal areas
as well as a neighbouring country, from unspecified location of
Karachi. A cache of fake documents was also seized from their
possession.
The Interior Minister
Rehman Malik while giving day-wise details of Operation Rah-e-Nijat
(path to salvation) during Question Hour said that since October
17, 2009 till February 20, 2010, 823 militants were killed.
Pakistan does not
want the Taliban to take over Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi said on March 25, adding, however, there was a
time when there was a Taliban Government in Afghanistan and Pakistan
felt comfortable with that.
After a meeting with
US Vice President Joseph Biden, Qureshi said he expressed the
US administration's willingness to transform the US-Pakistan relationship
into a mutually beneficial and sustained partnership.
March 27
Airstrikes killed
around 16 Taliban militants in the on going Operation Khwakh Ba
De Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A US missile strike
in North Waziristan killed four militants in a suspected al Qaeda
and Taliban hideout. One of the two missiles fired by a drone
aircraft hit a village house used by militants as a hideout, killing
four persons and wounding five, officials said.
March 28
At least 17 Taliban
militants were killed in air strikes and clashes with SFs in Orakzai
Agency of FATA. The political administration officials said that
10 Taliban militants were killed in a clash with SFs in Geedar
area of Lower Orakzai, while seven more were killed in air strikes
in Ferozkhel.
Taliban militants
fired three rockets in Kalaya. There were no casualties.
SFs arrested 17 suspected
militants, including a would-be suicide bomber, during a raid
on the house of a former Khasadar Force Line Officer, Noor Muhammad,
in Speen Qabar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency, reports
The News. Noor Muhammad is the cousin of Mangal Bagh, head of
banned militant organisation LI.
A bomb attack injured
five persons and destroyed a compact disc shop in the Hayatabad
area of Peshawar. SSP (Coordination) Sher Akbar said that five
persons were injured when a bomb explosion at around 4:30pm completely
destroyed the Afghan compact disc shop in Bilal Market.
11 suspected militants
were arrested during a search operation in Hangu.
An Interior Ministry
report said that 40 out of the total 55 wanted militants affiliated
with the banned TTP in the Malakand Division were killed. According
to officials, SFs, with the help of the local people, killed 40
wanted militants out of 55 who carried head money from PNR 0.1
million to PNR 10 million.
The TTP plans to
abduct US and Afghanistan diplomats in order to get arrested militants
released in exchange for the abducted foreigners, intelligence
agencies reports revealed.
The TTP, in connivance
with the LeJ, planned suicide attacks on the main offices of the
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the passport
issuing authority in Lahore and Islamabad to punish them for their
role in identification of suicide bombers through DNA tests and
fingerprints, said an official letter.
March 29
At least 11 Taliban militants
were killed during clashes with SFs in Orakzai and Khyber Agencies
of FATA, while three key militant 'commanders' were arrested by
troops.
The throat-slit bodies of three
anti-Taliban tribal elders were recovered in the Chinarak area
of Kurram Agency.
A suicide attack killed two tribesmen
including an elder who headed another anti-Taliban private militia
in Mamoond town in the Bajaur Agency.
A civilian was killed and two
others injured in a suicide attack targeting anti-Taliban militia
in Tank District of NWFP.
Five Policemen were injured when
a remote-controlled bomb exploded near Hangu bypass.
The SFs arrested a militant, identified
as Naeem, during a search operation carried out in Khawazakhela
tehsil of Mingora.
One person was killed and three
others injured as their vehicle hit a landmine at the Degari coalfield
area, 20 kilometres off Quetta.
Three high-profile militants,
including an operational 'commander' of the banned outfit LeJ,
were arrested by the Anti-Extremist Cell of the Sindh Police's
CID during a raid in Rehri Goth area of Bin Qasim Town in Karachi.
The Sindh Police's Anti-Violent
Crime Unit arrested four suspected militants affiliated with unspecified
banned militant outfits in Wana and Waziristan, after an encounter
at Hub River Road in Karachi.
March 30
At least 35 Taliban militants
were killed and 22 others injured as fighter jets bombed suspected
Taliban compounds during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
A SSP cadre was shot dead by unidentified
motorcyclists in Karachi. According to the Police, the deceased,
Mohammed Nisaar, was sitting at his shop in Godhraan Camp Wali
Gali, when four men on two motorcycles came over and opened indiscriminate
fire at him, killing him on the spot.
The Taliban militants set ablaze
two schools in Lower Dir of NWFP.
Police arrested five suspected
Taliban militants during raids in Hangu.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said that militants operating on the Pakistan border may
have helped organise suicide bomb attacks that killed 38 persons
in Moscow on March 29.
The Foreign Ministers of the G8
countries agreed on an economic initiative plan for the Pak-Afghan
border regions, Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said.
March 31
As many as 25 Taliban militants
and six soldiers were killed on March 31, as SFs clashed with
militants in Jansi area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency
of FATA.
The helicopter gunships pounded
militant hideouts during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in different
parts of Orakzai Agency, killing as many as 11 militants, officials
said.
The US drones fired three missiles,
killing six Taliban militants and destroyed a compound at Tapi
village, about 20 kilometres east of Miranshah in North Waziristan
Agency.
Five militants were killed and
a SF injured when militants attacked an FC post with automatic
weapons in Milanga area of the Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
April 01
Around 24 Taliban militants were
killed as gunship helicopters targeted their vehicles and SFs
pounded suspected hideouts during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Six Taliban militants, including
a local 'commander', were killed and five others injured during
a factional clash between the Mullah Toofan and Maulana Rafique
factions of Taliban in Orakzai Agency.
Two 'commanders' of the TTP were
killed during their bid to escape the custody of SFs, while six
cadres of the LI, including nephew of LI 'chief' Mangal Bagh,
were shot dead in a similar incident at Bara tehsil in
Khyber Agency.
The Taliban militants set ablaze
a basic health unit in Lower Orakzai, local residents said.
Two TTP militants were arrested
by the Police in Karachi. According to officials of Sindh Police
Crime Investigation Department's anti-Extremist Cell, the arrestees
were identified as Sardar Shah alias Sardar Khan and Tahir.
The US called on Pakistan to curb
anti-India militants, praising Islamabad's recent efforts against
extremism but saying it could do more to improve ties with New
Delhi.
The US imposed new sanctions on
a close associate of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, who helped
smuggle foreign fighters into Iraq.
April 2
Seven Taliban militants were killed
and five others injured as Security Forces destroyed three Taliban
hideouts in Orakzai Agency in FATA.
One person was killed while another
was seriously injured when Taliban militants fired at a vehicle
in Charkhel area of Lower Kurram Agency.
In Jalka Mela and Bezot areas
the Taliban militants destroyed a Government degree college and
a technical institute with explosives.
Unidentified militants blew up
a Government secondary school in Khogh Pand area of Mohmand Agency's
Saafi tehsil. The school was completely destroyed in the
explosion.
Two militants, identified as Shah
Khalid and Musa, were killed and a soldier was injured in an exchange
of fire at Kanju Damghar in Swat District in NWFP. SFs demolished
six houses owned by militants in Dangram area. Meanwhile, the
operation commander in Charbagh, Colonel Ijaz, presented before
the media a huge cache of arms recovered from agricultural fields,
concealed by militants while fleeing the area.
April 3
30 Taliban militants were killed
in ground and air attacks in Orakzai Agency of FATA. Military
sources also said that six troopers were killed and five other
injured in the clashes with the Taliban militants.
The Military has announced a running
death toll of more than 100 militants in the Orakzai operation
since last March 2010, but the figures cannot be verified independently
because access to the remote area is extremely limited.
April 4
The SFs, backed by tanks and artillery,
killed 40 Taliban militants during the Operation Khwakh Ba De
Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Three anti-Taliban volunteers
and two Taliban militants were killed during an encounter near
a checkpoint of the Baizai Amn Committee in far-off Manzari Cheena
village of Mohmand Agency.
Four Taliban militants were killed
and some others sustained injuries in a clash between two factions
of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan Agency.
Unidentified militants blew up
a girls' primary school in Bakhmal Shah area of Mohmand Agency.
At least 28 Taliban militants
belonging to various areas of Mamoond tehsil in Bajaur
Agency laid down their arms and surrendered to the SFs.
Three Taliban militants were killed
and two SF personnel sustained injuries in an exchange of fire
in the Palai area of Malakand Agency in NWFP. Sources said the
militants were intercepted by SFs when they were trying to enter
Malakand Agency from the Swat District.
A HuMA cadre, Jamal Iqbal, was
shot dead by unidentified assailants near Babar Kanta area of
Karachi.
One FC trooper, Mohammad Zaman,
was injured in a firing incident at Sultan Ibrahim Road in Khuzdar
town.
April 5
At least 45 persons were killed
and over 100 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber blew
himself up at a public meeting of the Awami National Party at
the Timergara Rest House in Lower Dir District of NWFP.
A series of three powerful blasts
followed by heavy gunfight in a brazen suicide mission, apparently
planned to target the US Consulate in Peshawar, left eight persons
dead and 18 others injured in Peshawar, the provincial capital
of NWFP, in the afternoon.
The TTP claimed responsibility
for the attack, saying it was in reaction to the US drone attacks.
Two former officials of the ISI
and a free lance journalist have gone missing in suspicious circumstances
from Kohat of NWFP. Family sources of the missing ISI officials
Colonel (retired) Imam and Squadron Leader (retired) Khalid Khawaja
said that these officers were assisting the free lance journalist,
Asad Qureshi, who was making a documentary on Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The SFs arrested six militants
including three important 'commanders' of TTP during a search
and clean-up operation in Kot Adda area of Dargai tehsil
(revenue unit) in Malakand Agency.
The SFs killed 15 Taliban militants
and destroyed four of their hideouts during the Operation Khwakh
Ba De Sham in various areas of the Orakzai Agency in FATA.
The beheaded body of security
official Kaleemullah was recovered in Goteen area of the Orakzai
Agency. Kaleem was abducted a few days ago.
Three SFs, including a gunman
of the Assistant Political Agent (APA), were injured in an attack
by the Taliban in Kalaya area.
The Taliban militants set ablaze
eight tankers, supplying fuel to NATO troops in Afghanistan, with
petrol bombs and rockets at a terminal in Mathakhel area of Landikotal
in Khyber Agency.
The unidentified militants shot
dead a senior official of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)
in the Satellite Town Police area of Quetta.
April 6
At least 14 Taliban militants
were killed when security forces backed by fighter jets bombed
various areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA during the Operation Khwakh
Ba De Sham. Six militant hideouts were also destroyed in the airstrikes.
The militants fired several mortar
shells from the Baizai direction on the SFs Forces camp in Mamad
Gat area of Mohmand Agency.
The volunteers of Khwezai Peace
Committee arrested two suspects for having links with Taliban
militants and handed them over to the political authorities in
Kong area in Mohmand Agency.
Two persons were killed and four
another were injured in a landmine explosion near Pir Koh in Dera
Bugti District of Balochistan.
Police shot dead two suspected
suicide bombers during a raid in Mattani area on the outskirts
of Peshawar, the provincial capital of NWFP.
The death toll of the April 5's
suicide attack on the Awami National Party (ANP) public rally
in Timergara, the headquarters of Lower Dir District, rose to
55 as 10 more injured persons succumbed to their injuries.
The unidentified militants attacked
a Frontier Crops checkpost in Shahu Khel area of Hangu. Further,
the militants fired three rockets at Hangu city targeting the
Elite Force Headquarters, damaging the building.
Following the suicide attack of
April 5, the US Embassy has shifted the employees of its Peshawar
consulate to Islamabad due to security reasons. In addition, the
UN announced a two-day closure of its offices in Peshawar, citing
security fears following the attack on the US consulate.
The BDS defused four bombs planted
in an electricity pylon near the Mochko check post in Mauripur
Police limits in Karachi.
The Intelligence agencies have
warned the Government about possible terror attacks in the month
of April, while specifying Bohri Bazaar and various other installations
located along the MA Jinnah Road, the downtown commercial hub
of Karachi- as potential targets.
A high intensity bomb was defused
by the BDS at Habib Colony in Lahore. The BDS said that the bomb
was a timed device and the militants used an Indian-made cellular
phone and subscriber identity module card for the potential detonation.
A mini-truck belonging to the
National Logistical Cell was snatched away in Islamabad by unidentified
persons after intoxicating and injuring the driver.
Underscoring the need for establishing
nuclear safety around the world, US President Barack Obama said
that he is confident that Pakistan has secured its atomic weapons.
A Pakistan-born Chicago cab driver
on April 5 pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to
aid al Qaeda by sending money to Ilyas Kashmiri, a terrorist leader
believed to be in Pakistan, reports IANS.
April 7
At least three persons, including
a pro-Government lashkar (tribal militia) leader, were
killed in a shootout in the Shahi Khel area of Hangu in NWFP.
Three militants were killed in
separate clashes with SFs in Swat District. The sources said that
two militants, identified as Khaista Muhammad, resident of Khareri
village, and Bakhtzada of Sambat area, were killed in a clash
with SFs in Matta tehsil. Another suspected militant, identified
as Sarbuland, was killed in an encounter with Paramilitary Forces
in Madyan area.
At least 12 shops, located in
the main bazaar of Mingora city, were completely destroyed due
to a bomb blast. However, no casualties were reported in the incident,
local Police said. According to DPO Qazi Ghulam Farooq, the incident
occurred after Isha (night time) prayers.
The Taliban militants bombed three
Government schools with explosives in different areas of Peshawar,
the provincial capital of NWFP, late in the night.
A child was burnt alive in a coach
while three others, including two women, sustained burn injuries
when a powerful time bomb exploded in a NATO oil tanker near the
Michni checkpost in Landikotal of Khyber Agency in FATA at 12:45
pm (PST).
Unidentified assailants opened
fire and seriously injured a Police official at the Qambrani Road
in Quetta.
Unknown assailants abducted two
FC personnel from a passenger bus near Panjgur.
A bomb exploded in a parking lot
adjacent to a patrol pump in the Jinnah Super Market in Islamabad.
April 8
The SFs killed at least 24 Taliban
militants and arrested 21 others during fresh clashes in Swat
and Lower Dir Districts of NWFP.
A 'spokesman' for the for Swat
chapter of the TTP, Noor Hashim Ahrabi, claimed responsibility
for the recent suicide bombing at the ANP rally in Timergara in
Lower Dir District on April 5 and for all the bomb attacks in
Malakand Division.
At least 10 abducted persons and
two LI militants were killed as the fighter aircraft bombed a
private prison of the LI outfit in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency
in FATA.
A hand grenade was hurled at a
vehicle carrying labourers by unidentified militants in Hub town
of Balochistan.
The Afghan Taliban released a
Greek national unharmed seven months after he was abducted near
Chitral in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan, officials
said.
An ATC in Rawalpindi acquitted
six persons accused in two separate cases related to suicide attacks
because of lack of sufficient evidence.
April 9
The SFs killed 30 Taliban militants
in clashes during the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Lower Orakzai
and Kurram Agencies of FATA.
A UN report said that more than
200,000 civilians have fled a military offensive and violence
in the tribal Districts near the Afghanistan border.
Two alleged suicide bombers blew
themselves up when they were signalled by Police to stop for a
body search in Ameer Wanda area in Lakki Marwat District of NWFP.
However, no other casualties were reported.
Unidentified militants fired 10
rockets at Security check posts in Shahu Khel area of Hangu District
late in the night. Three rockets landed near Qazi Talaab checkpost
while one hit a house injuring, an Afghanistan refugee.
NWFP Police Chief Malik Naveed
said that Kala Dhaka is the new base for the Taliban, who fled
last year's Army operation in Swat and other Districts in Malakand.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik
assured the National Assembly that citizens would not be affected
by the action against outlaws in Kala Dhaka, a tribal area adjacent
to Hazara region.
April 10
At least 45 LI militants were
killed in air strikes in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.
However, the locals said the people who died in the airstrikes
in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency were civilians. "The dead civilians
included women and children," locals said, adding that the house
and a nearby building were completely destroyed.
Three SFs personnel and 10 militants
were killed in clashes in Sararogha District of South Waziristan
Agency. During the clashes, seven security personnel and several
militants were also injured.
A LI 'commander' Ghazi Afridi
was killed in an encounter with abductors of EPI technician, Khitab
Gul, at Karamna area of the Khyber Agency.
A toy bomb injured two children
in Chaman of Balochistan. Sources said that two children, identified
as Bacha (10) and Ali (12), were playing outside their house in
the Mehmoodabad area of Chaman when one of the children found
a toy bomb and started playing with it.
Unidentified militants blew up
a gas pipeline in Mastung District, 40 km from Quetta, The BLA
claimed responsibility of the blast.
A patrolling team of the FC escaped
a remote controlled bomb attack in Panjgur.
Unidentified militants blew up
a boys' primary school with explosives in the Charagali area of
Upper Dir District of NWFP on April 10.
April 11
The SFs backed by helicopter gunships
killed 19 Taliban militants in Lower Orakzai Agency of FATA. Three
paramilitary personnel were injured in the fighting, Political
administration officials added.
The Unidentified militants ambushed
a Police patrol van across a bridge in the town of Mardan in NWFP,
killing one officer and wounding two others.
Daily Times quoting The Washington
Post reports that the ISI had set free at least two senior Afghan
Taliban militants even as it helped the US detain the Taliban's
second-ranking commander in the area.
April 12
Five Taliban militants were killed
when a US drone fired two missiles into a Taliban compound located
in Boya village about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Miramshah,
the headquterer of North Waziristan.
Unidentified militants blew up
a Government-run school in Pampokha area of Anbar subdivision
in Mohmand Agency.
The SFs arrested seven Taliban
militants and recovered a cache of arms, suicide jackets and rocket
launchers from the hideout of a Taliban 'commander', Maulana Noor
Majeed, in Kala Dhaka sub-division of Mansehra District of the
NWFP.
April 13
Unidentified militants killed
two persons including ANP's provincial leader at a shop in Abaseen
Market in Mingora city of Swat District NWFP.
The unidentified militants fired
on a NATO supply convoy at Kata Koshtra near Parang Sam checkpost
in Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber Agency of FATA. However,
the vehicles were not damaged.
At least four NATO supply containers
were recovered during a search operation from a warehouse, owned
by Safeer Ullah, in the Khunga Khel Shinwari area of Landikotal
in the Khyber Agency.
Two persons were injured when
unknown assailants hurled a hand grenade at a barber shop in Chitkan
bazaar in Panjgur District of Balochistan.
An explosive device, apparently
home-made, went off here in the green belt near Overseas Pakistanis
Foundation College in Sector H-8/4 of Islamabad at around 1:00
p.m (PST), almost at the time of the college closure, causing
fear among the students and parents.
The democratic Government in Pakistan
is fully committed to ensuring nuclear security, Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani said.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
vowed to rid the country of "evil forces", adding that Osama Bin
Laden was not in Pakistan and he had no information whether he
was alive or not.
April 14
A US drone fired two missiles
at a vehicle that killed four Taliban militants in the Degaan
area of Datta Khel tehsil, 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, the
headquarters of North Waziristan Agency in the FATA around 6:45pm
(PST).
A journalist, Muhammad Imran Khan,
and his sister were injured when unidentified militants made a
failed attempt to abduct them from their home in Khar of Bajaur
Agency in the FATA.
The TTP spokesman Azam Tariq told
journalists in North Waziristan that the "pro-America" media was
spreading wrong information about the Taliban.
A bomb planted by unidentified
militants exploded in the vicinity of Mir Hassan Police Station
in Dera Murad Jamali of Nasirabad District in Balochistan. However,
no loss of life and property was reported.
April 15
Five militants were killed and
two others sustained injuries when SFs targeted their hideouts
in lower parts of Orakzai Agency in FATA. SFs also destroyed two
hideouts of militants in Shireen Darra, the sources added.
Unidentified militants blew up
two Government-run schools in various areas of Ambar tehsil
in Mohmand Agency.
The SFs arrested eight militants
during search operation in various areas of Bajaur Agency.
Three militants laid down their
arms and surrendered before the SFs in Mandal area.
Two teenager assailants shot dead
Qaumi Lashkar 'chief' Alamgir Khan and another person,
Mukaram Khan, in an unspecified place around Mingora city in Swat
District of NWFP.
A Bugti tribe chieftain was killed
while his six supporters were injured in an attack by unidentified
militants at his compound near Dera Murad Jamali in Nasirabad
District.
The LI said that it is ready to
hold talks with the Government. LI spokesman Zarr Khan called
on the Government to stop the ongoing military operation in the
tribal region of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency and said
his outfit was willing to hold talks with the administration.
The United States Treasury said
it had imposed sanctions on two "high-profile" Pakistani trust
fund chiefs allegedly linked to terrorism.
April 16
At least 17 Taliban militants
were killed and several others were injured during Operation Khwakh
Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA. The sources said that
the SFs had taken control of the Sanghar area.
Six Taliban militants were killed
as a US drone fired five missiles at a house and two vehicles
in Toll Khel village of North Waziristan.
SFs arrested eight Taliban militants
in Bajaur Agency. A search operation was carried out in various
areas of the Bajaur agency in which weapons and hand-grenades
were recovered.
A suicide bomber blew himself
up in an attack inside civil hospital in Quetta, killing 11 persons
and injuring 35 others.
A team of CID personnel arrested
two suspected suicide bombers from the Ferozepur Road of Lahore
in Punjab.
April 17
Two burqa-clad suicide bombers
targeted a crowd of IDP waiting to get them registered and receive
relief goods at the Kacha Pakka IDP camp on the outskirts of Kohat
in NWFP, killing at least 44 and injuring more than 70.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al-Aalmi
faction claimed responsibility for the bombings, and cited the
presence of Shias at the IDP camp as the reason for the attack.
The UN has temporarily suspending
its programmes helping displaced people in Kohat and neighbouring
Hangu as a result of the bombings.
April 18
At least 13 Taliban militants
and one Frontier Corps personnel were killed in a clash between
Taliban militants and SFs during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in Sangra area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Unidentified militants abducted
one Dr Amanullah along with assistant from his Khwar Bazaar clinic
in Zakhakhel area of Landikotal in the Khyber Agency. Dr Amanullah,
a resident of Charsadda District in NWFP, has been running the
clinic for the last many years.
The Bomb Disposal Squad neutralised
a seven-kilogram bomb planted in a Government high school in Warsata
area of Orakzai Agency.
Seven persons, including a child,
were killed and another 30 injured in a suicide car bombing near
the Saddar Police Station in Kohat of NWFP.
A key Taliban 'commander', Ibrahim
alias Zubair, of Swat chapter was killed in a clash with SFs at
a house in Gandeeri area of Swat District. Three other militants
were arrested.
The dead bodies of two Taliban
militants, Abu Jandal and Mullah Fazal, were recovered from Ogdai,
a suburb of Mingora city.
The capital city police arrested
three TTP militants, including the mastermind of the Rescue 15
bomb blast.
April 19
At least 24 people, including
a child and Police officials, were killed and 49 others injured
in twin bombings hours apart at a school and a crowded market
in Peshawar, the provincial capital of NWFP.
Two more members of a pro-government
village defence committee were shot dead and three others, including
a woman, were injured by unidentified assailants in the Koza Bandai
area of Swat District.
A mortar shell killed a Government
high school principal's daughter-in-law, while his granddaughter
and a Khasadar official sustained injury in Landikotal of Khyber
Agency in FATA.
A bomb attack destroyed two tankers,
carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, near Takhtabeg village
in Khyber Agency.
The Taliban militants fired five
mortar shells in Landikotal, which landed in an open area around
the Landikotal Degree College. However, no casualties or damage
to properties was reported.
The Taliban abducted a Khasadar,
Sameen Khan, from his house in the Zakha Khel Bazaar area.
The Pakistan Army announced a
relief package of around PNR 20 million for the victims of the
Khyber Agency where 61 civilian deaths were reported following
air strikes over a Kokikhel jirga (tribal assembly) at Serawala
area in remote Tirah valley.
April 20
Four persons, including two FC
personnel, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in a blast
caused by an IED targeting a Kurram Agency-bound SFs convoy in
Tutkas area in Thall tehsil of Hangu District in NWFP.
Two FC officials were killed while
another was seriously injured when a security vehicle hit a landmine
in the Margat area in Mach town of Bolan District in Balochistan.
An intelligence agency warned
the law enforcement agencies that six to seven al Qaeda-linked
militants entered Gujranwala and are likely to target foreigners,
especially Chinese nationals who are working on different projects
in various areas of the city, and residing in WAPDA Town.
Daily Times quoting the CNN reports
the Taliban militants demanded release of three Afghan Taliban
leaders in return of abducted filmmaker and former ISI officials
who were abducted from Kohat of NWFP on April 5.
April 21
A woman was killed and four children
injured as a mortar shell hit their house in the Kamar area of
the Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in the Khyber Agency in
FATA.
The US Special Representative
to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke alleged that the
Taliban carry out attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan
from their sanctuaries in FATA.
April 22
The SFs killed 24 Taliban militants,
while two soldiers also died during clashes in Orakzai Agency
of FATA. Troops used heavy artillery to target suspected militant
bases in two villages in the Orakzai Agency.
Unidentified militants killed
former MPA Alamzeb Omarzai and three others in an attack on his
vehicle in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly
known as NWFP).
A group of Taliban militants attacked
a security checkpost in Kabal town in Swat District. "The security
forces retaliated and killed four militants," said Major Mushtaq
Ahmad Khan, a spokesman for the Swat media centre.
A senior cadre of the SSP, Athar,
was critically injured following a shot at incident near Darul
Uloom locality under Awami Colony Police Station of Korangi town
in Karachi.
The JI 'chief' Syed Munawar Hassan
on April 22 offered his services for negotiations between the
Government and Taliban to curb terrorism in the country.
April 23
At least 16 Taliban militants
were killed and several others injured in the ongoing Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA. The sources said
one trooper was also injured in the action in Ferozkhel area of
Lower Orakzai.
The Taliban militants blew up
a girls' school in Mamozai area of Upper Orakzai Agency.
The Taliban militants ambushed
a SF convoy at North Waziristan in FATA, killing seven soldiers
and injuring 16 others.
Dead bodies of four persons, including
a headless one, were recovered in Mir Ali, 25 kilometres east
of Miranshah in North Waziristan. A note lying near the bodies
read they were spying for the US, adding that spies would meet
the same fate.
A Taliban spokesman warned the
media for "the last time" against "ignoring" his group's viewpoint,
and claimed newspapers and television channels were "hiding the
truth" and "conveying the Army's point of view.
A SSP cadre, Athar Jadoon, who
was injured in an attack, succumbed to his injuries. Athar was
shot at near the Darul Uloom at Korangi in Karachi on April 22.
The Taliban militants blew up
a power supply tower in Maroofkhel village near Peshawar, the
provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The suspects planted
explosives close to the tower and detonated them at around 3 am
(PST).
April 24
SFs killed 10 Taliban militants
in Lower Orakzai Agency of FATA. Troops raided a militants' ammunition
depot in Sangra village of Orakzai, killing 10 Taliban militants,
while a soldier was also injured in the clash.
Fighter jets later pounded three
more hideouts, killing another 10 Taliban militants.
A US drone fired three missiles
into a Taliban compound in North Waziristan, killing seven militants,
Security Officials said.
Four Policemen were killed by
unidentified militants, who also set 12 NATO oil tankers on fire,
at the Talagang-Mianwali Road in Chakwal District of Punjab. Talagang
DSP Ghaffar said that the incident took place around two kilometres
from Talagang in Chakwal district.
At least 11 persons were injured
in a bomb blast in a confectionary shop at Masjid Road in Sibi
town of Sibi District in Balochistan.
A suicide attack targeting a Police
van wounded at least 10 policemen along the Timergara bypass near
a girls' college and the Lower Dir District jail of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
April 25
At least 14 Taliban militants
were killed and 16 others injured in airstrikes and clashes with
SFs in Lower Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Unidentified militants attacked
a checkpost and killed three officials on duty near Rabi Canal
in Dera Murad Jamali city in Nasirabad District of Balochistan.
Pakistan handed over to India
six dossiers on its own investigation into the Mumbai attacks,
with a request that India hand over Ajmal Kasab and an Indian
national, Fahim Ansari, so that their testimonies could be recorded
in Pakistan. Top Foreign Office officials handed over the dossiers
to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner. "We have sought India's
help that he (Ajmal Kasab) should be handed over to us so that
the trial here can go forward," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul
Basit said. Islamabad is holding seven suspects linked to the
November 26 to 29 attacks on India's financial capital, including
alleged mastermind of the operation, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and
LeT operative Zarar Shah. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also
said that Kasab is required to appear in Rawalpindi.
April 26
Six key Taliban 'commanders' of
Swat Chapter were killed in two separate clashes with SFs in Swat
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The first clash occurred at Kanju
town of Kabal tehsil in which four wanted Taliban 'commanders'
were killed. During second clash, the troops killed two Taliban
'commanders' in Elam area of Barikot tehsil.
The Charbagh operations commander,
Colonel Ejaz Malik, said the Charbagh jirga announced complete
support for the SFs.
Six Taliban militants were killed
as a US drone pounded three missiles on a Taliban compound at
Khushhali Toori Khel village of the Mir Ali sub-division, 30 kilometres
east of Miranshah, the headquterer of North Waziristan Agency,
in FATA.
The dead body of a tribal elder,
abducted by unidentified gunmen in the evening of April 25, was
recovered in Bajaur Agency. Local residents said Maulvi Abdul
Hakeem was abducted along with five other tribal elders from Nawagai
tehsil, 30 kilometres northwest of Khar.
The SFs arrested 25 militants
during a search operation in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. The
arrested militants belonged to the banned LI outfit.
The CID of Sindh Police arrested
a high-profile militant belonging to TTP in Karachi and recovered
a loaded TT pistol from his possession. CID (Operations) SSP Fayyaz
Khan said the arrested militant Hakimullah Wali Swati was a close
associate of the Amir (Chief) of the TTP in Swat District
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Police arrested three LJ militants
who had robbed at least PNR 4.3 million from a private bank under
the Memon Goth Police Station area in Karachi.
April 27
The SFs killed 13 Taliban militants
during a fresh offensive in the Orakzai Agency of FATA. The forces
also arrested five militants from the Mashti area. Airstrikes
killed five more in the Kasha area of Orakzai.
The SFs killed five Taliban militants,
including two 'commanders', and arrested another 18 during an
operation in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. The operation was launched
at the Akakhel area in which two commanders, including five militants
of the LI were killed.
A female professor of Balochistan
University, Nazima Talib, was shot dead in Quetta. A spokesman
for the BLA claimed responsibility for Nazima's killing. He told
reporters on phone that it was a reaction to the killing of two
Baloch women and torture of women political workers.
The SFs arrested 26 Taliban militants,
including three important 'commanders', in the Lower Dir District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A militant 'commander', Jan Gul,
surrendered before SFs in Puran tehsil of Shangla District. Jan
Gul, whose brothers are already in custody of the SFs, reportedly
played a key role in bringing militants to Shangla District via
Buner. The US administration has issued red warrants for five
American nationals arrested in Sargodha under terrorism charges.
An official of the US embassy submitted the warrants to the Anti-Terrorist
Court set up in Sargodha District jail during the case's hearing.
April 28
Security Forces killed four Taliban
militants in North Waziristan Agency. Taliban attacked the security
checkpost at Esa, 10 kilometres east of Miranshah on the Bannu-Miranshah
road. Four militants were killed and two troopers injured in the
gunfight that followed.
Around 10 Taliban militants surrendered
before the troops at Koza Bandai in Kabal tehsil. Officials
said the troops also arrested five Taliban militants, including
two 'commanders', at Koza Bandai area.
At least four Policemen were killed
and 15 others wounded as a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpost
in the Pir Bala area on the outskirts of Peshawar.
Four Taliban militants were killed
in clashes with the SFs in Swat and Buner Districts. SFs said
the deceased, included a close aide of Swat Taliban 'chief' Fazlullah,
identified as Irfan Tarabi.
The Anti-Extremist Cell of Sindh
Police's CID arrested Ahsanullah alias Ahsan Bhai, a top
militant of the HuM, from a slum in Karachi. He was accused of
his involvement in several terrorist activities, and was also
included in the CID's Red Book of wanted terrorists and had a
head money of PKR 500,000.
Newsweek reports that Abdul Qayum
Zakir, a top Taliban leader, who was arrested along with Taliban's
'second-in-command', Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in February 2010
by Pakistani Security Forces aided by the CIA of the US, was recently
released.
Intelligence sources warned that
two explosives-laden vehicles have entered Punjab and that terrorist
activities could intensify at Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in
the next few days.
The TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud
has survived an American drone strike in January 2010 and he is
alive.
April 29
At least 15 militants were killed
and several others injured in clashes with SFs in Orakzai Agency
of FATA. A security official was also injured in the clash, sources
added.
The unidentified militants blew
up three primary girls' schools in Mamozai area of Orakzai.
SFs arrested two 'commanders'
of the TTP of Swat chapter during a raid at around 3pm (PST) at
the Shah Kas area of Jamrud tehsil in the Khyber Agency. The arrested
commanders were identified as Sardar Khan and Azizullah who were
residents of Swat. Both of them were members of the council of
Swat Taliban 'chief' Fazalullah.
One Haji Bakh, a commander of
the LI surrendered to the political administration in Jamrud.
Four persons were injured in Quetta
as a result of multiple rocket fire by unidentified militants.
According to the Police, four rockets fired from an unidentified
location landed in various areas of the provincial capital.
The abductors of two former ISI
officials and a British journalist of Pakistani origin are asking
for a PML-N party leader to play the role of a mediator in negotiations
over their demand for the release of key Afghan Taliban leaders
in Pakistan.
The South Waziristan Political
Agent Syed Shahab Ali Shah said that 4,000 additional men will
be recruited to the Levies Force to effectively enforce the writ
of the Government in the Agency.
Pakistan has shifted 100,000 of
its troops from its Indian frontier to spearhead an unprecedented
crackdown on Taliban along the Afghanistan border, but the offensives
are unlikely to have an immediate impact on the US-led war in
Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said that TTP is
no longer being run by Hakeemullah Mehsud, who Pakistani intelligence
officials now believe survived a CIA drone aircraft strike in
January 2010.
The US drone attacks were illegal
because the CIA was using civilian contractors to launch them,
a US lawyer told a key Congressional Committee.
April 30
The SFs killed 21 militants, while
two SFs were injured in clashes in Esa Khel Pahar and Mir Garh
areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
The unidentified militants blew
up a girls' middle school in Siddiq Abad area of Khar in Khyber
Agency, raising the number of schools destroyed so far by terrorists
in the Agency to 80.
30 displaced families returned
to Stori Khel area after it was cleared by the troops.
One person was killed and five
others were injured when a bomb went off in Karachi's Soldier
Bazaar. The bomb was fixed to a motorcycle parked near a trash
site in Hindu Para area of Soldier Bazaar.
The bullet-ridden body of former
ISI official Khalid Khawaja, who was abducted on April 5 along
with one of his colleague and a British Journalist, was recovered
from Karam Kot, seven kilometres south of Mir Ali, in North Waziristan
of FATA.
The Pakistani authorities, investigating
the abduction and subsequent assassination of the former ISI official
Khalid Khwaja believe that the killers, "Asian Tigers", which
had demanded PNR 10 million and release of a senior commander
of the Afghan Taliban Mullah, was actually a cover for HuJI led
by 'commander' Ilyas Kashmiri.
A team of law enforcement agencies,
in collaboration with the Police, arrested a militant in Lahore
and recovered large quantities of explosives from his possession.
The arrested militant was identified as Khalil.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
told the Senate that around 1,800 suspected terrorists had been
arrested from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on various
charges during military operations, while 12 teams were investigating
charges against them.
The TTP claimed that its 'chief'
Hakimullah Mehsud was alive and in a safe place. TTP spokesman
Azam Tariq claimed in a statement to the media that Hakimullah
was in good health and somewhere in South Waziristan.
Azam Tariq warned the tribesmen
and pro-Government people, saying the Government was trying to
pit Mehsud tribesmen against Taliban and wanted to use the Mehsuds
as a shield to achieve their nefarious designs.
May 1
At least 15 militants killed when
the jet fighters heavily bombed militant hideouts during Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai Agency of
FATA.
Seven persons including three
Taliban (TTP) militants were killed and 16 people, including seven
SFs, were injured in a suicide blast and a retaliatory clash between
SFs and Taliban (TTP) at a commercial plaza in Mingora city of
Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a local leader of the ANP, Riaz, in the Manja Delvi area of Kabal
tehsil of Swat District.
Three persons, including a father
and son, were killed and two others injured when unidentified
assailants opened fire on them on the costal highway near Pasni
tehsil of Gwadar District in Balochistan.
Six people, including a DSP, were
injured when a bomb went off on Qambrani Road of Quetta. Sources
said the bomb blast occurred when a Police party was patrolling
the Qambrani Road as part of beefed up security measures.
Karachi Police arrested a key
commander of the TTP from Baldia Town area of Karachi. The arrested
militant, Fazl Akbar, belonged to TTP Fazl group and was working
under a 'commander' named Yasin.
A jirga representing Afghan Taliban
'chief' Mullah Muhammad Omar reached North Waziristan on May 1
to negotiate the safe release of former ISI official Colonel Imam,
as a tribal peace committee secured the body of another former
ISI official Khalid Khawaja, who was found dead on April 30, a
pro-Taliban PML-N leader and family members said.
May 2
At least 21 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and 29 others injured when the helicopter gunships
bombed Taliban (TTP) hideouts in two consecutive successions during
Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
The SFs shot dead a young would-be
bomber heading towards military vehicles in Bilalabad area near
Khar town in Bajaur Agency.
The Taliban (TTP) militants blew
up two more boys' schools in Khar tehsil, increasing the number
of schools so far destroyed in the Agency to 82.
A woman was killed and three persons
were injured in a grenade attack at a house in Kabal tehsil of
Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Maulana Fazlullah Rehman-led
Swat Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing
in Sohran Khan Chowk of Mingora city on May 1 and threatened more
such attacks.
Three Policemen were injured when
unidentified militants opened fire at a Police checkpost in Hanjarwal
Police Station area in Marghazar Colony in Lahore. Two constables,
Tahir Siddique and Ali Sher, along with a volunteer were injured
in the attack.
The Balochistan Police said that
sectarian and ethnic targeted killings in Balochistan have claimed
87 lives and injured 303 people in 168 incidents so far in 2010.
The 'commander-in-chief' of TTP
Hakimullah Mehsud has appeared in a new video issued months after
his reported death, vowing revenge attacks on the United States,
US monitoring groups SITE said.
An Internet video purportedly
from Pakistani Taliban group, TTP, claimed responsibility for
the car bomb attempt in Times Square in New York, the US monitoring
service SITE said.
The mysterious abductors of Afghanistan
ambassador-designate to Pakistan, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, have broken
their silence after almost a year-and-a-half to claim that the
diplomat is alive and in their custody.
May 3
At least 13 Taliban (TTP) militants
and two troopers were killed during clashes in Orakzai Agency
of FATA while gunship helicopters fired heavy artillery at militant
hideouts in Bajaur Agency, killing another 18 Taliban (TTP) militants.
The US missiles fired from drone
killed four suspected Taliban (TTP) militant in North Waziristan.
The three missiles were fired minutes apart at a moving vehicle
in the Marsi Khel area.
The Taliban (TTP) militants set
ablaze a basic health unit in the Kasha area of Orakzai Agency.
Two Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed during clashes with SFs at the Manja area in Kabal tehsil
in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Police arrested key Swat Taliban
(TTP) 'commander' Sher Afzal from the Baidar area of Matta tehsil
and recovered weapons from him.
The SFs issued a three-day deadline
to the Swat Taliban (TTP) to voluntarily surrender by May 5 (Wednesday),
otherwise their houses will be destroyed and their relatives will
be expelled from the Malakand division.
The German officials said a suspected
militants of German origin linked to a outfit convicted of plotting
attacks on US facilities in Germany appears to have been killed
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA on April 30. Germany's main
domestic intelligence agency said a statement issued by the Islamic
Jihad Union (IJU) informing of 22-year-old Eric Breininger's death
on April 30 appeared to be authentic.
Pakistan's economic challenges
are directly linked to the war on terror, Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani said and called on the US Congress to facilitate his
country in addressing the root cause of terror. Gilani made the
comments while addressing a delegation of members of the US House
of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, - led by its chairman,
Howard L Berman - who called on him at Prime Minister's House.
The Foreign Minister Makhdoom
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the Government and people of Pakistan
were committed to continue fighting against militancy and terrorism
until its total defeat.
A United States estimates show
CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas over the last two
years have killed more than 500 militants - a fraction of whom
are considered top-tier leaders - and fewer than 30 civilians,
US officials said.
India is trying to defame the
Kashmiri freedom movement by unjustifiably naming Hafiz Saeed
and Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi in the Mumbai attacks case, spokesman
of the JuD, the frontal organisation of LeT, Yahya Mujahid said
in response to an Indian court's verdict against Ajmal Kasab,
the alleged lone surviving militant involved in the Mumbai attacks.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami
(JUI-S) 'chief' Maulana Sami ul Haq offered to mediate between
the Government and the Taliban (TTP).
May 4
An activist of the ANP, Jahangir
Shah, was shot dead at the Jamia Millia Road of Malir township
under Al Falah Police station area of Karachi.
A cadre of the LeJ was arrested
by the Police on suspicion that he was involved in a bank robbery
that took place on April 26 in Gadap town of Karachi.
The intelligence agencies have
revealed that militants have planned to use explosive-laden vehicles
to hit targets in Punjab. According to the reports, Suzuki mini
vans are likely to be used by militants for carrying out the attacks.
The Law-enforcement officials
arrested the Pakistani-born US citizen, Faisal Shahzad (30), suspected
in the failed attempt to explode a bomb-laden car in Times Square
of New York on May 2.
The father of Faisal Shahzad,
retired Air vice Marshal Baharul Haq, hurriedly vacated the family
home in Phase IV of Hayatabad town in Peshawar.
The Law enforcement authorities
in Pakistan detained at least five persons allegedly linked to
Faisal Shahzad. Two of the suspects were arrested in Karachi,
and are connected with suspect Faisal Shahzad through telephone
records, a top security official said.
The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi reiterated the country's principled stand aimed at a just
and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with
UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
To maintain peace in the Pak-Afghan
region, it is necessary to promote political and bilateral relations
between both countries, because a stable Afghanistan is the key
to a safer Pakistan, NATO's senior civilian representative in
Afghanistan Ambassador Mark Sedwill said.
May 5
The Khuzdar District Police confirmed
that the dead body belonging to two FC personnel were recovered
in the Naal area of Khuzdar. FC sources confirmed that both the
personnel had been listed missing for the past four weeks from
the Besima area of Washuk District.
The Taliban (TTP) militants cut
off the hands of three persons, alleged to be thieves, in Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
The SFs recovered a huge cache
of arms and ammunitions and arrested four suspected militants
during a search operation in South Waziristan and Tank respectively.
The Law-enforcement officials
arrested three persons in Lahore after the Interior Ministry directed
intelligence agencies to immediately interrogate Times Square
bomb suspect Faisal Shehzad's relatives in the city.
Police arrested four persons after
recovering two truckloads of explosives from their possession
in Dera Ghazi Khan District. Four tonnes of explosives hidden
in each of the vehicles were recovered.
A court in Islamabad acquitted
four persons accused of planning and masterminding the suicide
bomb attack on the five-star Marriott Hotel on September 20, 2008
on grounds of insufficient evidences.
The Times Square bomber, Faisal
Shahzad, confessed of his involvement and is cooperating with
investigators who are seeking details about his contacts in Pakistan,
postponing indefinitely any court appearance, said law-enforcement
sources.
The ISPR Director General Major
General Athar Abbas said that a link is yet to be established
between the Times Square bomb suspect and the Taliban (TTP) in
Waziristan.
The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi warned that the foiled New York car bomb attack blamed
on a Pakistani-American could be retaliation for US drone attacks
on the Taliban (TTP).
An Emirates Airlines official
said that Faisal Shahzad, the chief suspect in the attempted bombing
of New York's Times Square, tried to flee the US with a one-way
ticket to Islamabad.
The Pakistani Government is firmly
committed to combating terrorism and militancy, which is hampering
the country's economic development, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani said.
May 6
27 Taliban (TTP) militants and
a trooper were killed during operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in various areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA. Four troopers were
also injured. The SFs destroyed three militant hideouts.
The SFs killed two militants,
identified as Azizullah and Gul Nawab, in Tiligram village of
Kabal tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The SFs neutralised two bombs
planted near the Dakoda Police Station in Buner District.
The SFs arrested two militants
of TTP Bajaur chapter, during a search operation in Rashakai and
Jehangira areas Nowshera District. The arrested militants were
identified as Omar and Zabihullah.
A 15-year-old boy was killed in
an explosion in the cantonment area of Bahawalnagar District.
The explosion was caused by a hand grenade hurled at a house.
The Punjab Government has issued
orders to place the four persons accused of masterminding the
Marriot Hotel blast under house arrest for one month. The order
came shortly after their release by an ATC due to inadequate evidence.
Three NBP officials were abducted
by unidentified militants near the Bhagnari area of Quetta in
Balochistan. Police sources said NBP Manager Abdul Ghafar Umrani
along with his two colleagues Naubat Khan Abro and Abdul Rauf
Khosa were on their way to Dera Murad Jamali when unidentified
armed men intercepted their vehicle and abducted them.
Former ISI officer Sultan Amir
Tarar alias Colonel Imam, and a British journalist of Pakistani
origin, both of whom had been abducted by a lesser known outfit
Asian Tigers, were released by their captors in North Waziristan.
The Intelligence Agency officials
in Pakistan arrested New York bomb plotter Faisal Shahzad father,
Air-Vice Marshal (Retd.) Baharul Haq, arrested along with four
others.
The Pentagon said that it was
encouraged by Pakistani cooperation in the investigation into
a failed plot to bomb Times Square and that Washington was letting
Islamabad set the pace of its operations against militants.
The Interior Minister of Pakistan
Rehman Malik told Reuters in an interview in Beijing (China) that
"according to the available information, Faisal Shahzad says it
was his individual act. I would not tend to believe that."
The Karachi Police claimed to
have arrested 32 militants associated with the TTP and their associates
in Karachi during 2010.
The TTP distanced itself from
the Times Square bomb suspect, saying it had no connection with
Faisal Shahzad. "We have no connection with Faisal Shahzad," Azam
Tariq, a spokesman for the TTP said.
May 7
Five Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed as choppers pounded militant hideouts during Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in various areas of Orakzai Agency in
FATA. Sources said that the shelling was carried out in Chappar
Masti Khel and Kole Bargan areas. Two Taliban hideouts were also
destroyed in the attack.
SFs arrested 10 militants during
a search operation carried out in Shalobar area of the Bara tehsil
in the Khyber Agency.
The Taliban (TTP) militants attacked
a Police checkpost situated in Ghazi Kot town of the Mansehra
District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing four Policemen and critically
injuring one.
Two important militant 'commanders'
including an alleged mastermind of suicide attacks were killed
in a clash with the SFs at Mamdheri village in Swat District.
The slain militant 'commanders' were identified as Qari Abdullah
of Charbagh and Sajjad alias Anees of Kabal tehsil
in Swat.
The SFs arrested three alleged
militants in Kabal tehsil. The sources said the militants
Murad, Habib-un-Nabi and Abdul Qadeer were arrested during a search
operation by the SFs in Kanju area.
The SFs recovered two Kalashnikov
rifles, a gun and two pistols and cartridges during search operation
in Asharbanr area in Charbagh tehsil.
The Provincial Government will
soon launch a search operation against terrorists in Kala Dhaka,
KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.
Dawn reports that Pakistan's Interior
Minister Rehman Malik, while addressing the Pakistani Community
in Beijing, the capital of China, said that Abdul Haq, the leader
of Islamist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) has recently
been killed in Pakistan.
Intelligence agencies have warned
the Punjab Government about various madrassas (Islamic religious
schools) which have been established close to sensitive installations
across the province without proper permission and registration.
The United States General David
Petraeus, who oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, says that
the Times Square bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, is a "lone wolf"
who did not work with others.
Faisal Shahzad confessed before
investigators that he drew inspiration from Yemeni-American militant
cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
The intelligence agencies in Karachi
have released several alleged militants who were detained over
their potential links with Faisal Shahzad. Two JeM members, Shahid
and Inam, who were arrested from Sector 11 of Orangi Town in Karachi,
were among those released.
A New York Times report claimed
that the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which American investigators
suspect were behind the attempt to bomb Times Square, have in
recent years combined forces with al Qaeda and other groups, threatening
to extend their reach and ambitions.
The US has warned of "severe consequences"
if a successful extremist attack in America were traced back to
Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview.
The United States while expressing
its admiration for the "extraordinary efforts" of the Pakistan
military to take on violent extremists has pledged to assist the
Pakistan Armed Forces with a supply of the relevant equipment
needed to fight the war against terror.
May 8
At least nine Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and several others sustained injuries during clashes
with SFs in Orakzai Agency of FATA. According to sources, the
clashes occurred at Dapora area, the agency headquarters of Upper
Orakzai, where a trooper was also injured.
Unidentified militants blew up
a power supply tower in Shergai area of Kohat.
A lecturer of Quetta Agriculture
College was found dead in the Rahim Colony area of Quetta, the
provincial capital of Balochistan.
May 9
Around 43 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed in various areas of FATA. At least 33 Taliban (TTP)
militants were killed and four injured during clashes with the
SFs and jet air strikes in Orakzai Agency.
At least 10 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed when a US drone fired two missiles into a compound
in North Waziristan. The strike targeted a house in Inzar Kas
village, 60 kilometres west of Miranshah, injuring four others.
Two militants, identified as Kabir
Khan and Akbar Khan, were killed in an exchange of fire with the
SFs in Kabal tehsil of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aneesur Rehman, a former Colonel
of the Pakistan Army, who was currently working as pilot for the
FC Director General, was abducted from Gadap Town of Karachi along
with two of his friends. Sources said Aneesur Rehman was accompanied
by his two friends-cum-business partners when he was abducted
from "militant hub" Gadap.
The Airport Security Forces arrested
an alleged suicide bomber at the Jinnah International Airport
in Karachi and successfully foiled a likely plane bombing or hijacking
incident.
Intelligence agencies have reported
that a militant, Abu Bakr, is planning to attack law enforcement
agencies in Punjab, on the orders of his 'commander' Qari Zalzla.
The Russian Ambassador to India
Alexander M. Kadakin said that around 40 terror camps are still
active in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas and Islamabad
is yet to dismantle them.
The US charged for the first time
that the TTP was behind the failed attempt to detonate a car bomb
in the Times Square of New York. "We've now developed evidence
that shows that the TTP was behind the attack," said Attorney
General Eric Holder on ABC television's Sunday current affairs
talk show 'This Week'.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that US has formally requested Pakistan for cooperation in
investigations into the failed bombing attempt at New York's Times
Square and Pakistan will completely cooperate with Washington
in this regard.
The intelligence agencies have
warned that al Qaeda might be planning to attack the American
embassy in Pakistan and the outfit is likely to use three bullet
proof vehicles from Afghanistan. The potential suicide bombers
are Ismail and Majeed.
May 10
At least 40 Taliban (TTP) militants
and nine soldiers, including two lieutenants were killed in a
fierce clash between the Taliban (TTP) and SFs during Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A militant was killed and two
others arrested by the SFs during a search operation at Kajori
area in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. Later, they were
identified as the cadres of LI.
A doctor, Haider Abbas, was shot
dead in suspected sectarian attack in Karachi of Sindh.
"Some Pakistani officials know
more about al Qaeda and Taliban than they actually claim", the
CBS television channel quoted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
as saying.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah
Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan will provide every possible
support to the US in investigations regarding Faisal Shehzad,
the mastermind behind the Times Square bombing attempt, adding
that the incident had damaged Pak-US relations to some extent.
Pakistani intelligence agencies
have revealed that militants belonging to two different groups
from the Orakzai Agency and Waziristan have entered Rawalpindi,
Islamabad and other cities of Punjab to carry out attacks in the
province in the next few days.
May 11
The US drones killed 21 Taliban
(TTP) militants in two separate strikes at North Waziristan in
FATA.
The helicopters gunships pounded
suspected Taliban (TTP) hideouts in various areas of Orakzai Agency,
killing eight Taliban (TTP) militants and injuring five others
during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you).
The Peshawar Police shot dead
an alleged militant, Amanullah, wanted over terror attacks including
the 2009 murder of an official with the Iranian consulate, at
Sheikhabad area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants blew up
a power supply tower in the Urmar area on the outskirts of Peshawar.
The intelligence agencies arrested
TTP cadre, identified as Qari Abdullah bin Usman, from Karachi
of Sindh.
The CID Operations of Sindh Police
arrested a LeJ cadre, Saleem Qaiser Baloch, from Kalakot area
of Karachi, who was allegedly involved in a bank heist of PNR
3.2 million.
Police released a person, Faiz
Mohammad, who was detained at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport
in Karachi, as he tried to board a plane for the Middle East with
batteries and an electrical circuit in his shoes.
A Pakistani national, identified
as Mauhannas Saifur Rehnab Khan, was arrested after traces of
explosives were detected on his body and belongings during a visit
to the US embassy in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
The Chilean authorities said that
they extended Pakistani national's detention for five days. His
detention was being extended under anti-terror laws, the authorities
said.
May 12
Five persons, including two young
girls, were killed in two separate attacks at Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A teenager was killed while two
others injured at Chaman in Balochistan when a bomb exploded in
a tanker carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a person in Dera Murad Jamali. According to details, unidentified
militants opened fire on a local identified as Manzoor Ahmed,
killing him on the spot.
The TTP militants shot dead two
persons, at North Waziristan in FATA. They were accused of spying
for the US. Notes attached to the bodies warned others to learn
from the fate of the so-called American spies.
An IED went off at a roadside
in agency's Landikotal tehsil of Khyber Agency. However,
no casualties were reported.
Provincial Police Chief Malik
Naveed Khan claimed that 20 militants were arrested in the ongoing
operation at Kala Dhaka of Mansehra District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province.
US President Barack Obama said
the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban continued to plot from the Af-Pak
border region. Obama also reiterated his resolve to dismantle,
disrupt and defeat the extremist network in the region.
The United States President Barack
Obama warned that extremists pose a serious threat to Pakistan's
sovereignty and pointed out that Islamabad had realised that it
was not India but the "cancer" of terrorism emanating from its
own territory that was its primary concern.
May 13
At least nine Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and another 10 injured when the PAF fighter jets bombed
suspected militants hideouts in Tirah Valley of the Khyber Agency
in FATA.
A leader of the ANP and a child
was shot dead in separate incidents of targeted killing in Karachi.
The Federal Agents of United states
conducted raids in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey in connection
with the failed Times Square car bomb of May 2 and arrested three
people, including two persons of Pakistani origin who provided
money to the suspect, Faisal Shahzad.
The intelligence officials in
Pakistan have arrested a suspect linked to the Pakistani Taliban
(TTP) who said he helped Faisal Shahzad to set off a car bomb
in New York's Times Square.
The news that militants are planning
to target and attack Policemen in the Punjab has sent shockwaves
in Police circles.
May 14
Seven Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed when the SFs shelled suspected militant hideouts with
artillery in Kasha, Khawray and Teer Angar areas of the Orakzai
Agency in FATA.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
one Hirat Khan, a kin of AI commander, in Nala area in Bara tehsil
of Khyber Agency.
The death toll of May 13's airstrikes
on the hideout of militants in Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency reached
16 as seven more bodies of militants were recovered from the debris.
15 militants surrendered before
SFs in the Bajaur Agency. According to sources, a jirga
of Salarzai tribesmen was held at Khar, the headquarter of Bajaur
Agency, in which militants belonging to the Gang, Pur Mukhai and
Tangi areas of Salarzai tehsil surrendered.
Two persons, Muhammad Hassan and
Abdus Samad, were shot dead by unidentified militants in Mastung
city, the capital of Mastung District, in Balochistan.
A person, identified as Faiz Bugti,
was killed and his son sustained injury after unidentified militants
opened fire on them in Jaffarabad District.
The ICRC has restricted the movement
of its staff in Balochistan, owing to threats calls by an unidentified
militant outfit.
The LeT plans to attack a convoy
of US military shipment en route from Karachi to Afghanistan,
Daily Times quoting intelligence agencies sources reported.
Hundreds of militants fleeing
from the restive northwest have taken refuge in the teeming commercial
hub of Karachi, where a growing nexus with militant outfit is
a headache for law enforcers.
The TTP warned the United States
that it will soon "burn" while calling for Pakistan's rulers to
be overthrown for following "America's agenda".
A senior US senator urged Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton to blacklist the TTP and the Haqqani
network, fighting US forces in Afghanistan as foreign terrorist
organisations. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein
wrote to Clinton that the label could be affixed to groups that
are foreign, engage in terrorism, and whose acts threaten US citizens
and national security.
A former CIA analyst, who helped
President Barack Obama formulate his Pakistan-Afghanistan policy,
said that "a very serious possibility that the next mass casualty
terrorist attack on the United States will be postmarked Pakistan".
Pakistan is reciprocating US concerns
over the threat of terrorism, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said. Clinton told a gathering of experts at the US Institute
of Peace "investigation on the Faisal Shehzad case is going well
between the two (US and Pakistani) investigative bodies".
May 15
At least 15 persons were killed
and others were injured as eight missiles, fired from across border
in Afghanistan, struck an encampment in Tirah Valley of Khyber
Agency in FATA. However, another TV channel reported five killings
in the missile strike.
May 16
The SFs backed by fighter jets
and helicopter gunships, killed 58 Taliban (TTP) militants in
Orakzai Agency of FATA. Five security personnel were also injured
in the clash, the sources said, adding that three explosives-laden
vehicles were also destroyed in the fighting.
Five persons, including a man,
a woman and three children, were injured as choppers shelled suspected
hideouts of militants in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency.
50 of the 60 persons abducted
on May 15 from the border of Thall tehsil (revenue unit) of Hangu
District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kurram Agency of FATA reached
their homes unharmed. According to the sources, 10 of the abducted
managed to escape while 40 were freed by their captors. The people
were set free without negotiations, source added. On May 15, unidentified
militants abducted the 60 persons. Militants intercepted the hostages'
vehicles at Chapria area and whisked them away at gunpoint.
A Pakistani national detained
with suspicious chemical residues at the US Embassy in Chile was
set free. Mohammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan was ordered to stay in
Chile and check in with authorities once a week.
The Punjab Police on May 16 has
officially admitted for the first time the movement of the Taliban
(TTP) militants and gradual expansion of their network in southern
Punjab and their fund-raising and recruitment drive in the province.
Intelligence agencies have forwarded
a detailed report to the authorities concerned in Punjab, in which
they have identified two terrorist groups TTP and the LeJ, who
are planning to target law enforcers and civil officers in the
province in order to disrupt the law and order situation in Punjab.
The militants in Punjab have started
issuing death threats to senior Government officials as target
killings. The abduction and extortion have emerged as "new ways"
of fund collection by militant outfits.
Despite official denials, a secret
network of private spies set up by a US Defence Department official
continues to operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Citing unnamed
US officials and businessmen, the newspaper said the network was
still operating, the paper reported.
May 17
At least 26 Taliban (TTP) and
a soldier were killed in a clash between SFs and the Taliban (TTP)
militants during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see
you) in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A tribal elder, Malik Muhammad
Hashim Nekzankhel Mehsud, was shot dead by unidentified assailants
near Khar Pul in Tiarza area of Tank District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified abductors, who abducted
60 persons on May 15 from Thall tehsil (revenue unit) of
Hangu District, released the remaining 10 abducted persons. Earlier,
10 of the abducted managed to escape while 40 were freed by their
captors on May 16 without negotiations.
Three militants surrendered to
the SFs while two others were arrested in various areas of Swat.
Six persons, including three Policemen
and three BDS officials, were injured in an explosion in Kaichi
Beig area of Saryab in Quetta.
TTP leader Hanif Gabol alias Maviya
surrendered to the Police in Mianwali in Sargodha District in
Punjab. Hanif Gabol was the Seraiki (an ethnic group from the
south-eastern areas of Pakistan) Ameer (Chief) of the TTP.
The Intelligence agencies have
warned that the banned militant outfit, LeJ, has reorganised itself
and formed two new subgroups, JFF and SFF, to target Shia leaders
and Police officials across the country.
May 18
A remote-controlled bomb targeting
a Police patrol killed 13 persons, including Kullachi DSP Muhammad
Iqbal, his gunman and driver, in Kachi Paind Khel area of Dera
Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two persons were injured in a
roadside bomb blast in Toot Kashey Mechani area of Thal tehsil
in Hangu District.
Three persons were abducted by
unidentified militants from Ibrahimzai area of Hangu District.
Six Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and 10 others injured in a clash with SFs during Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in Kol area of Dabori tehsil in Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
A Taliban (TTP) squad tracking
"American spies" in North Waziristan Agency warned the local population
against facilitating drone attacks by providing information on
the Taliban (TTP). The "Ittehad-e-Mujahideen-e-Khurasan", a wing
of the Taliban (TTP) tracking "American spies", said no family
should help its member if he was spying on the Taliban (TTP).
Unidentified militants shot dead
an activist of the ANP, Nabi Khan, in the Shah Faisal Colony in
Karachi.
The main accuse of Times Square
bomber, Faisal Shahzad, was ordered held without bail at his first
court appearance since his arrest on May 3. Magistrate Judge James
Francis remanded Shahzad in custody after his court-appointed
defence lawyer, Julia Gatto, opted not to challenge the prosecutors'
request that he remain jailed pending trial.
A audiotape conversation between
Hamid Mir, Executive Editor of GEO News and a man purportedly
linked to the TTP, has revealed that negative information that
Mir passed on to the Taliban (TTP) could have led to the execution
of Khalid Khawaja, the former ISI official, allegedly killed on
April 30 by a group calling themselves the 'Asian Tigers' on May
16.
Osama Khalid, son of Khalid Khawaja,
confirmed that the audiotape of the telephonic conversation between
TV anchor Hamid Mir and Usman - the earlier unidentified Taliban
(TTP) militant - is original, as his family used to talk to him
during negotiations for his father's release.
Hamid Mir has sent legal notices
to the publisher, editor and staff reporter of Daily Times, as
well as the chief executive of television channel Business Plus
for publishing and telecasting "defamatory material against him".
Intelligence agencies have warned
that the TTP militants have recruited a suicide bomber to attack
the Parliament House or any other important building. According
to the report, the TTP has prepared a 24 or 25-year-old bomber
named Amer Aaqa Hadifa, belonging to Jhang in Punjab for the purpose.
The United Nation provided Interior
Ministry of Pakistan a list of wanted al-Qaeda and Taliban (TTP)
leaders to all the provinces with the directives to arrest them
and seize their properties or businesses, if they have any, across
the country.
Two top national security lieutenants
of US President Barrack Obama have arrived in Islamabad to accelerate
United State's "do more" mantra for Pakistan. US National Security
Advisor General James Jones and CIA Director Leon Panetta arrived
in Islamabad to engage in meetings with high-ranking military
and civilian leadership on May 19 (today), US embassy spokesman
Richard Snelsire confirmed.
May 19
At least 60 Taliban (TTP) militants
and four soldiers were killed in a clash between the Taliban (TTP)
and SFs during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Dabori area of Orakzai
Agency in FATA.
The jet fighters bombed Taliban
(TTP) militant hideouts in Dabori area, killing five Taliban (TTP)
militants and injuring several others. Three Taliban hideouts
were also destroyed in the airstrikes.
SFs arrested a key TTP 'commander'
Swat Khan, son of Zar Mohammad, from Lalakand area of Jamrud tehsil
in the Khyber Agency.
Four suspected militants were
killed and seven houses destroyed during an encounter with the
SFs in Amakhel village of Tank District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The slain militants were identified as Gul Sarwar, Mashal Khan,
Qari Saleem and Qari Ismail.
SFs destroyed seven houses of
Mashal Khan, Gul Sarwar, Akbar, Maulvi Din Muhammad, Haider Khan,
Mir Sultan and Ghaffar Khan for their links with the TTP.
Six security personnel were injured
in a rocket-cum-bomb attack in Quetta of Balochistan.
Unidentified militants planted
a remote-controlled bomb at Saryab Road near Moosa Colony in Quetta,
which was detonated when a vehicle of the FC passed by. However
no one was injured in the attack.
A trailer carrying goods for NATO
forces in Afghanistan was set ablaze near Chaman in Qila Abdullah
District.
The Intelligence agencies, including
the ISI, presented an investigation report to Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani regarding an audiotape of the telephonic conversation
between TV anchor Hamid Mir and an unidentified Taliban militant.
Osama Khalid, son of former ISI
official Squadron leader Khalid Khawaja, said that he will take
legal action and register an FIR against Geo News anchor Hamid
Mir over what he called "playing an instigative role in his father's
murder".
Daily Times Editor Rasheed Rahman
said that legal action must be initiated against Hamid Mir after
the ISI and Government quarters confirmed the authenticity of
the taped conversation between Mir and a Taliban militant.
A Pakistani Army Major has been
arrested in connection with the failed bomb plot on May 1 in New
York's Times Square.
President Asif Ali Zardari said
that militancy and terrorism are the common enemies of the United
States and Pakistan and it is important that the existing robust
cooperation between the two countries continues to fight the menace.
The Canada's weekly current affairs
magazine, Maclean, quoting an unnamed LeT commander claimed that
Faisal Shahzad, the confessed bomb plotter of Pakistani origin,
had received terror training in one of the 'jihad' (Holy War)
camps of the LeT in PoK.
The LeT commander, however, denied
any direct involvement of his outfit with New York bombing plot.
"Shahzad came to us for training. He stayed with us for three
months and we provided him with the basics. Then he went back
to the U.S," the commander claimed.
May 20
At least 24 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and 29 another injured when Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
fighter jets bombed different parts of Orakzai Agency in FATA
in the on going Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham.
SFs arrested six suspected militants
and recovered arms and ammunition during a search operation in
different parts of Bajaur Agency.
Unidentified assailants barged
into the house of a Police officer, Mureed Hussein, in Shaheed
Murad Colony in Dera Allah Yar in Jaffarabad District of Balochistan
and shot dead two of his daughters, and injured his son.
Unidentified assailants stormed
into the house of Mohammad Barani, and opened fire killing him
and his three-year-old daughter, on the spot, and injuring three
other family members in Goth Bahadur Shah town.
A local resident, identified as
Asif, was shot dead in Dera Murad Jamali in Nasirabad District.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
(JUI-F) Amir (chief) for FATA and former member National
Assembly, Maulana Merajuddin Qureshi, was shot dead in the precinct
of the Gomal Bazaar Police Station in Tank of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Osama Khalid, the son of former
ISI officer Squadron Leader Khalid Khawaja, has claimed that the
Asian Tigers have indirectly threatened to do the same to him
as they did to his father if any action is taken against Hamid
Mir.
The representatives of the Taliban
and the Afghanistan Government are holding talks in the Maldives,
officials said. Maldives Government spokesman Mohamed Zuhair said
15 representatives of the Afghan Government and seven Taliban
militants met and would meet again over the weekend. However,
a spokesman for Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, Waheed Omar
said the Government did not send any official representatives.
Robert Simmons, the NATO Deputy
Assistant Secretary General told reporters in Islamabad that It
is up to Pakistan to decide when to move against the Taliban (TTP)
in North Waziristan.
May 21
The SFs backed by fighter jets
killed at least 34 Taliban (TTP) militants in the on going Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in various parts of Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A US drone attack on a militant
compound killed six Taliban (TTP) militants in Miranshah, the
capital of North Waziristan Agency.
Taliban (TTP) militants strapped
bombs to two persons, accused of spying for the US, blowing them
up at a public execution in the Degan area of North Waziristan.
Taliban (TTP) militants executed
a tribesman for his alleged involvement in a drone attack in North
Waziristan and placed his bullet-riddled body on a roadside in
Mir Ali in North Waziristan.
The SFs arrested 10 suspects during
a search operation in Bajaur Agency.
Three Taliban (TTP) militants,
identified as Alam Sher, Khan Wali and Muhammad Ameen, were killed
during a clash with the SFs in the Matta tehsil of Swat
valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The suspected militants blew up
a girls' primary school in Ferozabad area under Matani Police
Station on the outskirts of the Peshawar, the provincial capital
of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The process to expel families
of absconding Taliban (TTP) started in Swat after the deadline
given to the on-the-run Taliban expired on May 20. 25 families
of the Taliban (TTP) in hiding were expelled from Malakand division.
Nipki Khel Qaumi Jirga had asked the militants to surrender
by May 20, which resulted in the surrender of 115 absconding militants.
Seven persons, including three
Police officials, were severely injured as five low-intensity
explosions went off at the Tibbi area of old Lahore in Punjab.
Panic gripped people at the Allama
Iqbal International Airport in Lahore in Punjab in the morning
after rumours spread of a bomb having been placed on an Islamabad-bound
flight of PIA.
The five American nationals on
trial for militancy claimed that wedding finery and return tickets
to the US proved they had nothing to do with militancy.
The Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) of Punjab Police revealed in a report that 55 Afghanistan-trained
boys from southern Punjab, who disappeared from their houses sometime
ago, are likely to be used in militant activities The authorities
issued the warning after they rechecked a list of Afghanistan-trained
boys who participated in militant activities in the past.
Intelligence agencies warned that
militants are planning to target supply depots of NLC and NATO
in Punjab and abduct or assassinate high-profile diplomats and
political personalities. The warning has been issued by Farid
Ahmed Khan, the director operations of the NCMC.
The United States embassy warned
that militants outfits might have "established links" to a high-class
catering company in the country that a security official said
was owned by a suspect arrested over the failed car bombing in
Times Square of New York.
Police detained at least four
persons suspected of links with Faisal Shehzad, the Pakistani-American
arrested over the New York bombing bid. One of the four was connected
with the catering company, a Government official said.
The Taliban rejected the report
of any talks between the Taliban Movement and the Karzai regime
of Afghanistan in the Maldives.
The Times Square bomb suspect,
Faisal Shahzad, claimed during his lengthy interrogation that
he received financial support from the Taliban (TTP) for his failed
one-man operation, two US law enforcement officials close to the
probe said.
The Taliban (TTP) is not only
trying to overthrow the Government in Islamabad, but is also launching
attack against other countries, including the United States, the
Defence Secretary Robert Gates said.
May 22
A member of local peace committee
was killed and three others sustained critical injuries when militants
opened fire on them in Baizai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA.
The tribal elder Malik Atta Jan,
who was abducted by unidentified militants some days back (unspecified
date), was found dead in Yaqoobi Kandao in Baizai area.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a member of the local peace committee, Ahmed Jan, in Gat Shor
area of Matta tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two men detained in Pakistan for
alleged links to the attempted Times Square bombing have admitted
playing a role in the botched attack and are unrepentant, with
one angrily accusing interrogators of "siding with the infidels",
a senior intelligence official said.
A Chilean court ordered back to
jail a Pakistani man, Mohammad Saif Ur Rehman Khan, who had been
briefly detained and charged after being found with traces of
explosives at the US embassy in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
A catering company executive,
Salman Ashraf Khan, who was among six persons detained by Pakistan
for allegedly helping the New York Times Square bombing suspect
had differences with American policy in the region but no hatred
towards the country, his father, Rana Ashraf Khan, said.
May 23
At least 71 Taliban (TTP) militants,
including four commanders, were killed and their seven hideouts
destroyed when PAF jet fighters blitzed targets in upper parts
of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
The LI militants abducted a Naib
Subedar of Khassadar force, Taza Khan Afridi, from Sor Kas Qambarkhel
area while he was going home located in Shalobar area of Khyber
Agency.
At least three Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and others injured during a clash with SFs in Gangro
and Gambat areas of Maidan tehsil of the Lower Dir District in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As many as 40 personnel of Islamabad
Police have died in the line of duty during the last few years,
whereas 90 militants, including would-be suicide bombers, were
arrested from the administrative jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital
Territory (ICT) in Punjab averting possible disasters in the same
period, said Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed
Kaleem Imam in a press statement.
The Sunday Times reports that
Taliban militants earn a bounty of up to PNR 200,000 (£1,660)
for each NATO soldier they kill. Taliban commanders said The Sunday
Times said the money was said to come from protection rackets,
taxes imposed on opium farmers, donors in the Gulf States who
channel money through Dubai and from the senior Taliban leadership
in Pakistan.
The militants from FATA and Swat
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are behind the recent wave of target
killings in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, a private television
channel quoted Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik as saying.
May 24
Two persons were killed and 15
others injured in a bomb explosion at the Airport Road in Quetta
in Balochistan in a suspected sectarian attack.
In another suspected sectarian
attack, unidentified assailants shot dead the vice principal of
a Hub Technical Training Centre on Pircas Road in Hub in Lasbela
District.
Unidentified assailants hurled
a hand grenade at the residence of BNP senior member Arbab Mohammad
Nawaz Mengal in Khuzdar.
The BDS found and defused three
explosive devices planted at the Provincial Excise and Taxation
Headquarters in Quetta.
The SFs killed a militant and
injured several others during a search operation in Hashim Charmang
area of the Nawagai tehsil in Bajaur Agency of FATA.
SFs arrested eight LI militants
from the Shalobar area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
A special Police team arrested
an alleged militant in Lahore of Punjab as he was trying to enter
the city who later confessed to be directly involved in the low-intensity
explosions at the Peru's Café and Tibbi City.
Five militants surrendered before
the SFs in the Minglawar area of Matta tehsil in Swat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs destroyed the houses of two
militant commanders, identified as Daud Khan and Shahi Roomi,
at Shakar Dara of Matta tehsil.
The Hakeemullah Mehsud led TTP
militants along with some Punjabi Taliban finally started leaving
North Waziristan for the adjoining South Waziristan tribal region
following successful talks between Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Hakimullah
Mahsud.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
said that despite Pakistan's own regional challenges, it remains
committed to a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue through
negotiations and dialogue.
The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
added his voice to the calls to donors for more contributions
to meet a funding shortfall in UN programmes to meet the humanitarian
needs of the growing number of internally displaced persons in
Pakistan.
May 25
At least 13 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and several others injured when PAF fighter jets bombed
several militant hideouts during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in the Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Six suspected militants were arrested
during a raid on a house in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Two Taliban (TTP) militants including
an important commander, Ali Rehman alias Sparlay, and his
accomplice Habibur Rehman were killed when they attacked the SFs
in the Fateh Pur area of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The NATO forces in Afghanistan
have installed a sophisticated surveillance system along the Pak-Afghan
border to monitor insurgents' movement in the area.
Senior US officials summoned an
urgent meeting with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to present
a dossier on terrorism suspect Faisal Shahzad, including a detailed
chart describing his contacts with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP)
before his attempt to detonate an explosives-laden vehicle in
New York City's Times Square on May 1.
Daily Times reports that Osama
Khalid, the son of Khalid Khawaja, submitted an application in
the Shalimar Police Station for registration of a FIR against
media person Hamid Mir and suspected militant Osman Punjabi for
the murder of his father.
A three-member Supreme Court bench
dismissed pleas of the Federal and Punjab Governments against
the release of JuD, the frontal organisation of LeT, 'chief' Hafiz
Saeed, maintaining that it was not a live issue.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that some Baloch separatists with the help of Taliban and
external forces are conspiring to dismember Pakistan but the Government
would ensure country's security and safety.
The Minister said the Federal
Government is working along with the Provincial Government for
improving the security situation in the province and all necessary
measures would be taken in this regard.
A spokesman for Afghanistan's
intelligence agency accused Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI
involvement in the suicide bombing in Kabul on May 19 that killed
six NATO soldiers.
May 26
At least 15 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and 10 others injured when PAF fighter jets bombed
several militant hideouts during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in various parts of the Upper Orakzai Agency of FATA.
The SFs killed two Taliban (TTP)
militants during an operation at Baidara village in the Swat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Authorities released a list of
96 wanted terrorists, including top Taliban (TTP) 'commander'
Ziaur Rehman, and displayed it at all important places of the
Swat District.
Australian Army Chief General
Keith James visited the Swat valley and got a briefing on the
law and order situation in the District. Operation Rah-e-Rast
Commander Major General Ashfaq Nadeem briefed the visiting Australian
Army chief.
The Islamabad Capitol Territory
Police arrested a militant and two of his accomplices and seized
a hand grenade from their possession from sector I-10/1 in Islamabad
in Punjab.
A suspected militant was arrested
at Chung in Gujranwala District in Punjab, after he had entered
the premises of the PTC in the region using fake identification
documents to get past the entrance.
The Federal Investigation Agency
submitted in a court Rawalpindi a supplementary investigation
report on the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
accused the slain chief of TTP, Baitullah Mehsud, of masterminding
the murder.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik
revealed that Faisal Shahzad, arrested by the US for carrying
out a failed attack in New York's Times Square on May 1, had links
in South Waziristan.
Two top United Sates President
Barrack Obama administration officials have told Pakistan that
it has only weeks to show real progress in a crackdown against
the Taliban (TTP), a senior US official said.
The President Barack Obama's new
national security doctrine will make clear that the United States
does not consider itself to be at war with Islam, a top adviser
said.
May 27
53 Taliban (TTP) militants and
one SF killed in various clashes during Operation Khwakh Ba
De Sham in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Taliban (TTP) militants armed
with rockets and grenades stormed the home of a pro-Government
tribal elder, killing him, his wife and son before blowing up
the house in Asghar village, about 40 kilometres northwest of
Khar, the main town in Bajaur Agency.
Two militants were killed and
three others were arrested during an attack on a FC checkpost
in Chora area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency.
Two militants and a Policeman
were killed and two Police officers were injured in an encounter
when a group of militants attacked a Police van in Mamo Khwar
area in Thall tehsil of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs killed three Taliban (TTP)
militants, including a local 'commander', during search operation
at Arkot area in Matta tehsil of Swat District.
Maulana Fazlullah, the Swat Taliban
(TTP) 'chief', has apparently been killed along with six other
militants in a clash with Afghan border forces in Nuristan province
of Afghanistan on May 26, intelligence sources said.
Unidentified assailants hurled
a hand grenade at the residence of, senior BNP leader, Attaullah
Mohammadzai in Khatan locality in Khuzdar District of Balochistan.
A woman was injured in the attack.
The Minister for Defence Chaudhry
Ahmed Mukhtar said the nuclear assets of Pakistan are in safe
hands and the United States as well as the international community
are completely satisfied with safety and security mechanism evolved
for strategic wealth.
May 28
At least 80 worshippers killed
and 92 others injured as seven assailants including three suicide
bomber attacked Ahmadiyya place of worship in Model Town and Garhi
Shahu areas of Lahore in Punjab.
The Punjab chapter of TTP claimed
the responsibility for the attack.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah
said that the militant arrested in Model Town hails from Rahim
Yar Khan District and used to be a student of a madrassa based
in Karachi.
The Minister for Interior Rehman
Malik said the involvement of Indian intelligence agency R&AW
cannot be ruled out in the Lahore terror attacks. "About Balochistan
I am sure that RAW is involved in sabotage activities. But, for
Lahore we are investigating," the Minister said while speaking
to media persons.
The SFs backed by fighter jets
and helicopters gunships killed at least 80 Taliban (TTP) militants
and injured 60 others during Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
One SF, Sajjad Ali, was killed
in a roadside bomb blast in Mushti Maila area of Orakzai Agency.
Unidentified militants killed
four Policemen in Satellite Town area of Quetta in Balochistan.
LeJ claimed responsibility for the attack.
A person belonging to the Shia
community was killed and some others were wounded in a clash between
two rival sects at Islam Chowk in Orangi Town of Karachi in Sindh.
A Pakistani college student, Adnan
Babar Mirza (33), living in Texas was convicted of conspiring
to help the Taliban and fight US troops. A federal jury convicted
Adnan Babar Mirza of two conspiracy counts and seven firearms
violations after a three-day trial held in Houston.
FBI Special Agent John McKinley,
the prosecution's first witness, told jurors that Mirza can be
heard on the taped conversations talking about sending money to
support Taliban families.
Another suspect was detained in
connection with the main suspect, Faisal Shahzad, in the New York
Times Square attempted car bombing on May 1, a Pakistani official
said. The latest suspect to be questioned is a Pakistani national
Humbal Akhtar.
A UN human rights expert Philip
Alston reports that the use of drones by US intelligence agencies
to target suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan lacks
accountability required under international law.
May 29
At least 44 Taliban (TTP) militants
and two soldiers were killed in clashes and shelling during Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in upper tehsil of Orakzai Agency in
FATA.
At least three policemen, including
a sub inspector, were killed when unidentified assailants opened
indiscriminate fire at a police checkpost in Samanabad area of
Lahore in Punjab.
The death toll in the terror attacks
on two Ahmadi mosques at Model Town and Garhi Shahu in Lahore
rose to 95.
A retired Army major, Adnan Ahmad,
said he had been cleared of any wrongdoing after Pakistani intelligence
released him from custody in connection with the attempted car
bombing in New York's Times Square.
The US military planners are looking
at options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan, if a successful
attack on US soil is traced to the Tribal Areas. US retaliation
would be contemplated only under extreme circumstances, unnamed
senior military officials said.
May 30
The SFs backed by fighter jets
killed 42 Taliban (TTP) militants and injured 13 others in Operation
Khwakh Ba De Sham in various parts of Orakzai Agency in
FATA.
Swat Scouts killed 22 Taliban
(TTP) militants in a six-hour battle in Mulla Khel, Rangi Kandu,
Mir Garh, Drai Choti and Sumpag and consolidated their position
in the areas. The SFs also destroyed 12 terrorist hideouts in
these areas.
An attempt to abduct Interior
Minister Rehman Malik's brother was foiled by his driver in Islamabad
in Punjab. Unidentified armed men attempted to stop Khalid Malik
outside the Ministers Enclave when he was leaving his residence
in a car.
Seven persons were arrested over
alleged links with the militants who attacked places of worship
of the Ahmadi community in Lahore.
Lahore Police arrested a burqa-clad
suspect near Ghazi Road where Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
was to arrive later.
The British Foreign Office has
reported that a British national was killed in attacks on two
worship places of the Ahmadi community in Lahore.
The Government will eliminate
militants from all parts of the country, including southern Punjab,
as they have started sneaking into other parts of the country
from there and measures are being taken to deal with them, Interior
Minister Rehman Malik said, hinting at a new strategy against
militants.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff of US Admiral Mike Mullen said he is more focused on
Pakistani cooperation to contain the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan
than weighing military action against militant targets in that
country in retaliation for a terror attack in the US emanating
from there.
May 31
At least five people, including
a woman, were killed when at least four unidentified militants
stormed various wards of Jinnah Hospital in Lahore in Punjab in
the night. Reports said the attack was an attempt to free a militant,
Muaz, who was under treatment at the hospital after being arrested
following May 28's attacks on an Ahmedis' prayer facility in Model
Town's C-block.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a prayer leader and his companion at Taughi Road near Mezan Chowk
in Quetta of Balochistan.
Nine persons were injured in a
clash in Sector 19 of Awami Colony in Karachi in Sindh. Calling
the incident sectarian violence, Station House Officer Zawar Hussain
said the clash was a reaction to an incident of May 30, in which
a person, Noor Ahmed, was injured at Singer Chowrangi.
Three UN human rights investigators
reports that the official discrimination in Pakistan against the
Ahmedis fuels hatred of the community and prompts violent attacks
against them.
The Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
said that the Punjab Government must ensure zero tolerance towards
banned religious outfits, suggesting that leniency would embolden
them.
June 1
The gunship helicopters targeted
Taliban (TTP) positions in Teri and Kot Kalay areas in Upper Orakzai
of FATA, destroying three hideouts and killing 20 militants.
Taliban (TTP) militants blew up
a Government school for girls and a health centre at Khushal Kally
in Mohmand Agency, while three people were killed in different
incidents, officials said.
A person belonging to Shia community,
Asif Raza Rizvi (42), was killed in an alleged sectarian targeted
killing near the Inquiry Office at Nazimabad of Karachi City in
Sindh.
At least eight people were injured
in an explosion in the busy commercial area of Hub Industrial
Township.
SFs targeted militant hideouts
at Alacha in Landikotal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police arrested two suspected
terrorists involved in the attack at Jinnah Hospital, in which
at least four gunmen killed five people in an attempt to get to
a suspect in recent attacks on the worship places of Ahmedis.
The Pakistan Army declared victory
over militants in Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai
Agency of FATA and said that the military operation in the area
had been completed and civilians could expect to return home soon.
June 2
At least 33 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed during clashes with SFs in different parts of Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
More than a dozen Taliban (TTP)
militants attacked an Army checkpost in the Shahu Khel area in
which two soldiers were wounded, the local administration official
Sajjad Ahmed said.
20 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and 12 injured in helicopter gunship attacks and ground
clashes in upper parts of Orakzai.
Pakistan Army spokesman Major
General Athar Abbas said that major operations in Orakzai were
over, although "stabilisation" operations may continue.
One woman and two children were
injured when unidentified militants fired three rockets that landed
in the jurisdiction of Pishtakhara Police Station of Peshawar
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in night.
Two persons, including the driver
of an oil tanker supplying fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan,
were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at the tanker
near Sibi in Balochistan.
A security official said that
the total number of people killed in Orakzai since May 1 in action
against Taliban (TTP) is estimated at 719.
Despite the Pakistan Army's announcement
on June 1 of "successful conclusion of the operation in Orakzai
Agency", locals and officials said that more than half of the
Agency was yet to be cleared of the Taliban (TTP).
They said the forces had cleared
areas bordering Khyber Agency in northern Orakzai, blocking the
Taliban's attempt to zero in on Peshawar and target supply routes
for NATO and American forces in Afghanistan.
The LeJ allegedly threatened to
kill the MS of the Sindh Government Hospital of Saudabad in Khokhrapar
area of Karachi in a suicide attack.
The Punjabi Taliban holed up in
south Punjab have become more dangerous and are geared up for
large-scale sabotage in the country, Interior Minister Rehman
Malik said.
The Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif said that the Interior Minister Rehman Malik's statement
about the Punjabi Taliban is aimed at creating disharmony among
the provinces.
A UN investigator called for a
halt to CIA-directed drone strikes on suspected al Qaeda and Taliban
terrorists, warning that killings ordered far from the battlefield
could lead to a "Playstation" mentality.
June 3
One LeJ militant was shot dead
and three others arrested during a bid to escape after robbing
a private bank in Orangi Town Police Station area of Karachi.
A doctor, identified as Hassan
Hyder, belonging to the Shia sect was shot dead by unidentified
assailants near the Railway Colony of Karachi.
The SFs recovered explosives,
hand-grenades and arms, during a raid in Shakardara area of Matta
tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two militants, one of them a former
FC solider, were arrested in an operation carried out in Spin
Kanray area in the Kalan Police Station area of Nowshera District.
The Police have arrested five
more suspects in connection with the sectarian attacks on Ahmedis
Mosque in Lahore on May 28.
A surviving militant of the Lahore
carnage, Abdullah alias Muhammad, disclosed that he was
misled into believing that Ahmedis were involved in drawing blasphemous
caricatures of the Holy Prophet so their bloodshed was a great
service to Islam.
Ahmedis and rights activists have
strongly criticized the Punjab Government for "its slackness"
in dealing with the arrested militant, who was allegedly facilitated
by the authorities to the extent of having the privilege of using
a cell phone while in custody.
June 4
Two persons were killed by the
Taliban (TTP) militants in North Waziristan in FATA on charges
of 'spying' for the US Forces in Afghanistan.
Authorities have put Lahore on
high alert following recent threats and intelligence information
of more terrorist activities in the city.
Police arrested three suspects
from areas around the Ahmedis' worship place in Garhi Shahu.
Investigations into the Garhi
Shahu and Model Town attacks have taken an important turn after
information gathered during the interrogation of the arrested
militant, Muaaz. Sources said following the information, investigators
now suspect Police officials and officers deputed at both worship
places of the Ahmedis and have started monitoring them as well.
Quoting a private television channel
that Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that the policy against
the banned religious organisations has been forwarded to the Punjab
Government and the SFs have arrested as many as 700 militants
belonging to southern Punjab.
Pakistan People's Party central
leader Abida Hussain has suggested drone attacks be carried out
in southern Punjab as they are being done in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
and Balochistan.
June 5
25 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and another 22 others injured when SFs backed by gunship
helicopters pounded militants hideouts in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
At least seven militants and two
civilians were killed in an armed clash between the TTP and the
LI militants in the Tabai Bazaar area of Zakha Khel in Landikotal
of Khyber Agency.
25 Taliban (TTP) militants surrendered
to the SFs and announced their complete support against other
Taliban (TTP) militants in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency.
Unidentified assailants riding
a motorcycle shot dead a SSP cadre, Shehzad (25), in Petal Wali
Gali under Gulbahar Police Station area of Karachi in Sindh in
the night.
June 6
The SFs killed 44 Taliban (TTP)
militants and injured another 11 in various areas of Upper Orakzai
of FATA.
14 more militants were killed
in the ongoing clash between the LI and the TTP that began in
Khyber Agency on June 5. The death toll reached 21 as seven militants
were killed earlier on June 5.
A Policeman, Atta Muhammad, was
injured when unidentified militants fired a rocket at a Police
vehicle near Sonakhan checkpost on Saryab Road in Quetta of Balochistan.
Washington accepts that the final
political solution in Afghanistan can involve reformed Taliban
in the Government if certain "red lines" are respected, US Special
Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said.
June 7
SFs killed at least 12 Taliban
(TTP) militants and injured another 20 in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
An official of the Khasadar,
Subedar Ayaz Afridi, and two other persons were injured when militants
hurled hand grenades at a checkpost in Charwazgai area in Landikotal
tehsil of Khyber Agency.
The Crime Investigation Agency
team of Lahore Police arrested 12 terrorist suspects from the
house of a doctor, Dr. Mirza Safdar Baig, in the Township Police
Station area of Lahore.
Investigators probing the terrorist
attacks on the worship places of the Ahmedis in Lahore have discovered
that all the weapons and ammunitions used in the attacks were
foreign made.
Police arrested three persons
allegedly affiliated with a banned Shia outfit and seized weapons
from their possession in Karachi in Sindh.
Pakistan military's successful
operations in tribal areas have forced many important Taliban
leaders to flee outside Pakistan and Afghanistan, Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
called for composite dialogue between Pakistan and India to resolve
all outstanding disputes, including Kashmir and water.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh said meaningful talks between Pakistan and India, which
can lead to a resolution of outstanding issues, are possible only
when Pakistan does not let its territory be used for terrorism.
June 8
Six soldiers were killed and eight
others were injured on June 8 when Taliban (TTP) militants stormed
a checkpoint in Orakzai Agency in FATA.
The Taliban (TTP) militants staged
a public execution in front of hundreds of tribesmen in Miranshah
in North Waziristan Agency after a Taliban (TTP) court convicted
the person, identified as Waheed, of killing two brothers.
Unidentified militants attacked
and set fire to a convoy of about 50 tankers and containers of
the NATO forces heading towards Peshawar on the Motorway, at the
Sangjani area of Ternol near Islamabad in Punjab, killing four
persons and injuring three others.
Law enforcement agencies have
arrested some 26 persons in Islamabad and recovered weapons from
them.
A Hindu rice trader, Hamesh Kumar,
was shot dead as he resisted the abduction of his son, in Quetta
in Balochistan.
A cloth vendor, Abdul Sattar,
was shot dead in the Buleda Bazaar of Turbat.
Pakistan called for an international
cooperative approach against terrorism through real time intelligence
sharing and by addressing its root causes. Addressing the third
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in
Asia (CICA), in Istanbul in Turkey, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood
Qureshi called for a two-pronged strategy to confront terrorism,
which remained the paramount security threat confronting the world.
A senior US official, Robert Blake,
the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, said that India
has voiced understanding for the giant US aid plan for its historic
rival Pakistan despite earlier security fears.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that the Government has no plans to launch a military operation
in southern Punjab and the war on terror would be fought in collaboration
with the Punjab government.
Sources told Daily Times
that the provincial capital is becoming a safe haven for terrorists
from Tribal Areas who have decided to set up shop in Punjab after
the Pakistan Army drove them out of Waziristan of FATA.
The ambassadors of 13 Islamic
countries visited Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and highly
lauded the successful military operation by the Pakistan Army
against militants.
June 9
The Taliban (TTP) militants attacked
two security checkpoints in Mohmand Agency in FATA, resulting
in a gun battle that killed two soldiers and 40 Taliban (TTP)
militants.
14 militants were killed and three
Security Forces personnel injured in clashes in various areas
of Upper Orakzai Agency.
Two persons including a woman
were killed and six others sustained injuries when an artillery
shell exploded in a house in Damadola in Mamond subdivision of
Bajaur Agency.
A person belonging to the Shia
community was shot dead at Karachi in Sindh in the continuing
wave of sectarian violence in the city. The victim was identified
as Shahzad Raza Rizvi.
A Pakistani-born American man
accused of providing support for Al-Qaeda's efforts to combat
US forces in Afghanistan was sentenced on June 9 to 15 years in
prison.
An Anti Terrorist Court in Punjab
acquitted five persons accused in the Islamabad District courts
and the Aabpara Market suicide bombing cases for want of incriminating
evidence.
Pakistan’s next priority in the
fight against the Taliban (TTP) is North Waziristan, Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Istanbul in Turkey.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab
Muhammad Aslam Raisani said that no military operation was on
the cards in the province and that no operation could be justified,
as the law and order here was comparatively quite better than
other provinces.
June 10
Three militants were killed when
a US drone fired two missiles at a house in North Waziristan in
FATA.
64 militants, including five ‘commanders’,
surrendered before the SFs in Bajaur Agency.
SFs recovered huge cache of arms
during a search operation in Bajaur Agency.
Two vehicles were destroyed when
military gunship helicopters shelled suspected hideouts of militants
in various areas of Safi sub-division near Pak-Afghan border in
Mohmand Agency.
A Pakistan Naval Police official
was killed and three others injured in a bomb explosion at the
main gate of the naval base on Hub River Road in Baldia Town in
Sindh.
The Sindh Police’s Special Investigation
Unit arrested a MQM-H cadre. The SIU conducted snap checking at
Islamia College and arrested Asif Raza alias Saqib, while recovering
a TT pistol from his possession.
Unidentified armed assailants
opened fire at a NATO convoy near Wadh in Balochistan injuring
three persons and damaging a car.
Nearly four million people are
living under Taliban (TTP) rule in Pakistan’s northwest, suffering
human rights abuses from the extremists as well as the military,
Amnesty International said. According to the report titled "As
If Hell Fell on Me", more than 1,300 civilians were killed
in fighting between the Pakistani troops and the Taliban (TTP)
in 2009 while more than one million internally displaced persons
(IDPs) are still in various towns.
Intelligence agencies have forwarded
information that militants in Punjab, especially in Lahore have
direct links with local criminal networks.
The Punjab Government will strongly
oppose any ‘Rah-e-Nijat style’ military operation against extremists
in the province, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said.
June 11
A series of US missiles killed
15 Taliban (TTP) militants in North Waziristan in FATA.
Two unidentified persons were
killed in another strike in North Waziristan.
Three persons were shot dead at
Mastung town in Balochistan. Unidentified car riders opened indiscriminate
fire on three persons riding a motorcycle in the Kand Masori area,
killing them on the spot.
The CID of the Sindh Police arrested
two suspected ‘commanders’ of the TTP during a raid in Lyari Expressway
in Karachi. During the preliminary interrogation, the TTP commanders
revealed they had kidnapped and later released an Afghan NGO activist
in North Waziristan after receiving PNR four million as ransom.
President Asif Ali Zardari, while
addressing the 10th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit
in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, said that regional countries must join
hands to address menace of violence and terrorism.
June 12
10 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and six others injured when fighter jets targeted their
hideouts at Orakzai Agency in FATA, security sources said. Four
terrorist hideouts were destroyed in the attack, the sources added.
The Taliban (TTP) militants set
ablaze schools in various parts of the agency.
Two persons were shot dead by
unidentified assailants at Kili Bangulzai area of Quetta in Balochistan.
The victims were identified as Umer Farooq and Abdul Rauf.
Four people, including a Police
Constable, were injured in a hand grenade attack on the District’s
Fatima Jinnah Road.
Two persons were shot dead in
two sectarian targeted attacks at Karachi in Sindh and violence
continued for the third consecutive day, sparking riots in various
parts of the city.
The Police arrested four suspects
from Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police identified two
of the arrested persons as Dilawar Khan and Haji Mat, both wanted
militants.
Troop arrested a Taliban (TTP)
‘commander’ Abdul Mateen Khan from Kohat.
June 13
SFs killed three militants during
a search operation at Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Police arrested two suspected
militants during a raid on the house of an Afghan refugee named
Shereen Dil in Hangu District. The arrestees, identified as Meena
Gul and Ameen Gul were Afghan citizens.
The SFs set ablaze houses of two
militant ‘commanders’ in the Swat Valley. Families of the ‘commanders’
Abdul Wahab and Bakht Zaman were expelled from their hometown
of Baish Banar.
A Policeman was killed in Karachi
in Sindh. Constable Imran was shot dead in the Sardeed Sector-11-C1
area when two armed assailants on a motorcycle opened indiscriminate
fire, killing him on the spot.
The bullet-ridden body of Abdul
Latif Baloch, a former employee of the People’s Peace Committee,
was found from the Maripur area.
A militant along with his son,
were arrested in Karachi. The arrestees were identified as ‘commander’
Gul Raheem and Anwar Ali. Both were residents of Kabal tehsil
of the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
A vehicle carrying a foreign mission’s
registration number-plate hit a Policeman and fired at other Policemen
attempting to stop it, in Rawalpindi in Punjab.
A LSE report authored by Matt
Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University claimed that the Pakistan’s
ISI provides funding, training and sanctuary to the Taliban in
Afghanistan on a scale far greater than previously believed.
"Although, the Taliban have
a strong endogenous impetus, according to Taliban commanders the
ISI orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences the movement,"
wrote author Matt Waldman. However the LSE report was dismissed
by the Pakistani military as "malicious and baseless". Presidential
spokeswoman Farah Ispahani and Afghan Taliban also rejected the
report.
June 14
PAF fighter jets bombed different
parts of the Orakzai Agency in FATA killing 10 militants and injuring
six others.
A bullet-riddled body was found
dumped at Tarkhusay area of Mamoond tehsil. A note had
been placed on the body saying all US spies would face the same
fate.
A commander of the LeJ, Qari Zafar,
allegedly involved in the attack on the US Consulate in Karachi
on March 2, 2006, was killed in an IED blast near Miranshah in
North Waziristan on an unspecified date.
SFs also set ablaze 10 houses
of militants in Malangi, Zaray and Zagi areas of Mamond tehsil
during search and clearance operations.
Seven militants were arrested
in Bajaur Agency while another 16 surrendered before the SFs.
Two Policemen were killed and
four others injured, in an attack by militants in Bannu in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
A person died in a landmine explosion
in Jaffarabad District in Balochistan. According to official sources,
a farmer Shehzada Khan was working in some fields near Bugti Kila
when he stepped on a landmine.
Two persons were injured when
unidentified assailants opened fire in Quetta and Jhal Magsi.
A leader of the SSP was shot dead
by two unidentified assailants in the Mobina Town Police limits
at Karachi in Sindh.
Deputy Jailer of the Karachi Central
Jail, Ishaq Meo, was shot dead by two unidentified motorcyclists
while he was on his way home.
The Central Information Secretary
of the militant outfit MQM-H, Kamran Rizvi said that number of
killings of MQM-H (Amir Khan Group) cadres has risen to 36 since
January 2010 and the Sindh Government has yet to take serious
notice of those incidents.
The Sunday Times has published
a report from Kabul in Afghanistan authored by Miles Amoore in
which Pakistan has been accused of providing arms to Taliban militants.
June 15
Seven persons, including a tribal
elder, were shot dead and two others injured when their vehicle
was ambushed on the RCD Highway in Surab tehsil of Kalat
District in Balochistan.
A person was killed in an explosion
at the Airport Road in Turbat. According to Police sources, a
man was planting an explosive device at the Airport Road when
it exploded, resulting in his instant death. BLF spokesman Doda
Khan, calling from an undisclosed location claimed that victim
Qadeer Ahmed was a BLF member who was on a ‘secret mission’.
Unidentified armed motorcyclists
hurled a hand grenade at a barbershop in the Kili Almo area of
Quetta injuring three persons.
An under construction building
of the Levies was completely destroyed in a rocket attack in Besima
area of Quetta. Four Levies personnel were injured in the explosion.
A NATO oil tanker was partially
damaged in a bomb explosion near Chaman. According to Police sources,
the bomb, planted on the tanker carrying oil for the NATO forces
in Afghanistan exploded, partially damaging the rear portion of
the vehicle. No casualties were reported.
Two members of the Safi Aman
(Peace) Committee were shot dead in Mohmand Agency in FATA. The
victims, Malik Subedar and Malik Dildar, were returning after
attending a jirga organised by the Mohmand Agency political
administration at a local hotel when armed motorcyclists opened
fire at them, killing them on the spot.
Houses of 10 militants were burnt
down by the law enforcement agencies, local jirga and the political
administration in Mohmand tehsil of the Bajaur Agency.
Also, 16 militants surrendered to the SFs.
Threats written on TTP letterheads
were distributed in various areas of the Mamoond and Khar tehsils
of Bajaur Agency, saying the TTP would continue fighting against
the US and its allies.
A Police Officer, identified as
ASI Riaz was killed by unidentified assailants in Khwaja Ajmer
Nagri area of Karachi in Sindh.
Around 11 militants surrendered
to the SFs in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According
to sources, the militants belonging to the Shah Dheri and Koza
Bandi areas of Kabal tehsil denounced terrorism and surrendered
to the SFs along with their weapons.
June 16
Troops backed by helicopter gun
ships and artillery killed 38 Taliban (TTP) militants in attacks
on their hideouts at Bajaur Agency in FATA. Ten soldiers were
also killed in clashes.
The TTP militants executed an
alleged murderer in public in North Waziristan. Waheed Khan was
shot dead in front of some 200 people in Dattakhel tehsil for
allegedly killing a tribesman on June 12.
The Pakistan Army reported that
more than 30 Pakistani troops are missing following the attack
by the Afghan Taliban militants on a border check post, on June
14. The Taliban claimed to be holding up to 10 soldiers captive.
A JeM, identified as Owais, cadre
was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Karachi in Sindh.
An alleged Police informer, identified
as Bahadur Khan (50), was shot dead by unidentified militants
outside his residence in Pathan Colony.
A levies official was killed and
another seriously injured after unidentified assailants hurled
a hand grenade into a levies Police station in Kharan District
of Balochistan. The deceased was identified as Muhammad Yaqoob
and the injured as Muhammad Ali.
A person was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in the Usta Muhammad area of Jaffarabad District.
The District Chief of JeI, Fida
Saadi, who is also a member of the provincial executive council,
was shot dead while his driver sustained critical injuries in
a firing incident in Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Punjab Government in Pakistan
gave financial assistance to the JuD, which was labelled a front
for the LeT by the UNSC, after the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan’s
Punjab province government, which is led by the PML-N, gave PKR
82.77 million to the JuD, whose chief Hafiz Saeed is accused of
masterminding the terror attacks, and its associates in the last
fiscal year (2009
The US has presented evidence
to the Pakistan Government that the Haqqani faction, that is aligned
with the Taliban militants and is based in Pakistan, orchestrated
brazen attacks in Afghanistan in May 2008.
General David Petraeus, who oversees
the Afghan war as head of US Central Command, told a Senate hearing
that he, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan and the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised Haqqani links in
a recent meeting with Chief of the Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani.
June 17
A doctor was shot dead in a sectarian
attack in Karachi in Sindh. According to eyewitness accounts,
the victim identified as Dr Zahid Hussain was in his car when
unidentified assailants opened fire on him and managed to escape
from the incident site.
An official of the Pakistan Rangers,
identified as Sohail Abbas, as was shot dead on Bagh-e-Halar Road
in Garden Police precincts.
A SHO was shot dead and a passer-by
was injured in Mastung in Balochistan. City Police Station SHO
Murad Sajidi was on a routine patrol when unidentified armed motorcyclists
shot him at the Masjid Road near the City Police Station.
A man was shot dead in the Sohran
area of Dhaddar in Bolan District. The victim was identified as
Yar Muhammad.
A woman was injured when unidentified
men hurled a hand grenade at a house in Aminabad Street at the
Brewery Road in Quetta.
14 of about 40 Pakistani Soldiers
who went missing after a militant attack on a security check post
on June 14 have been found in Afghanistan and flown home by helicopter.
A low scale operation in South
Punjab has been planned and will be implemented through Police
and Rangers personnel. Intelligence agencies have collected reliable
data on the activities of banned religious groups and militants
gathering in South Punjab and linking with the TTP or even al
Qaeda.
Punjab Inspector General Tariq
Saleem Dogar arrived in Islamabad through a chartered plane for
an emergency meeting with the head of an intelligence agency and
it was learnt that the agency had compiled a report on the activities
of these banned groups.
The Punjab IG met the head of
the jihadi wing of the LeT, who is a retired Pakistan Army colonel,
while the Muzaffargarh DPO also joined them.
The Federal Government has allocated
PKR 130 billion in the federal budget 2010-11 for expenditures
on the war against terrorism. Finance Division Public Sector Reforms
wing official Nauman Ishaq said.
The Defence Secretary Lieutenant-General
(Retired) Syed Athar Ali informed the Public Accounts Committee
of the National Assembly that financial reserves of Armed Forces
were depleting fast because of the ongoing military operations
near or along the western border.
June 18
Daily Times reports that dead
bodies of six FC personnel were recovered from Mohmand Agency
in FATA by a tribal jirga after the tribal elders visited
and held talks with the Afghan Taliban militants.
The search for the remaining 34
missing paramilitary soldiers is still on.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-born
American national arrested over the botched car bombing in New
York’s Times Square, was formally charged with 10 terrorism and
weapons counts including attempted use of weapon of mass destruction.
The FIA has completed its inquiry
into the assassination of former Prime Minister and PPP chairperson
Benazir Bhutto, blaming Taliban (TTP) leader Baitullah Mehsud
for orchestrating the attack.
The FIA report also revealed that
there were two suicide bombers present outside Liaquat Bagh to
target the PPP leader. Earlier, all investigation reports claimed
that only one suicide bomber, Saeed alias Bilal, was present at
the spot and exploded himself near Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle.
Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
said that the Taliban (TTP) militants are present in Punjab but
the provincial Government is hesitant to accept the fact.
Senior Adviser to the Punjab Chief
Minister, Zulfiqar Khosa said that although the Taliban (TTP)
are recruiting the unemployed youth of Southern Punjab, their
training camps do not exist in any area of the Province.
General David Petraeus, the commander
of the US Central Command overseeing America’s war efforts in
Afghanistan and Iraq, refused to endorse a LSE report which blames
Pakistan for maintaining links with the Afghan Taliban.
Appreciating the sacrifices rendered
by the Pakistan Army and law enforcing agencies to curb the menace
of militancy, Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik reiterated
the Federal Government’s resolve to free the country from terrorism
and insurgency.
June 19
A US drone targeted a Government-run
tube-well in the Soheele village of Mir Ali sub-division in the
North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing at least 12 Taliban (TTP)
militants and injuring 16 others.
A roadside bomb targeting a Police
patrol killed a passer-by and injured eight people in Dera Ismail
Khan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Senior Police official Aslam
Khattak said that the attack occurred as the Police vehicle travelled
through the town, which borders the Tribal Areas. Among the injured
was a police official, who has played an important role in arresting
terrorists.
June 20
13 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and 10 others were injured when fighter jets bombed their
hideouts in Orakzai Agency in FATA. Four militant hideouts were
also destroyed in the bombing in Ghotak, Tor Samt and Kot Kaley
areas of the Agency.
Five Taliban militants, including
‘commander’ Abid Afridi, were killed and three others were injured
in an explosion at an ammunition depot in Sheikhan Kaley area
of Orakzai Agency.
In Mohmand Agency, troops backed
by helicopter gunship killed four pro-Taliban (TTP) militants
and injured 10 others.
Five members of a family were
killed and two others injured when unidentified gunmen opened
indiscriminate fire on them in their house in Jamrud tehsil
of Khyber Agency.
Three Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed in a clash with the SFs in Charbagh tehsil
in Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two Levies recruits were killed
and two others injured when suspected militants stormed a training
centre in Dir. According to the sources, the recruits were staying
in tents pitched on the ground of the Government Technical College
in Timergara when a group of suspected militants attacked the
centre with rockets and heavy weapons.
Suspected TTP militants killed
two women for alleged involvement in adultery at Ranu Garhai in
capital Peshawar.
Two persons were killed and another
injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at them on Art
School Road in Quetta in Balochistan. The deceased were identified
as Hasnain Ali and Shuja Ali.
An Army official was killed and
13 others, including seven army men, were injured in a roadside
bomb explosion targeting a military convoy. The deceased was identified
as Deedar Ali.
A person, identified as Naimat
Habib, was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Qasab Colony
in Karachi in Sindh.
June 21
10 Taliban (TTP) militants and
three SF personnel were killed in Orakzai Agency in FATA. According
to officials the militants attacked a Frontier Corps vehicle with
three rockets in Andkhel area of the agency, killing three Soldiers
and injuring another five.
Unidentified assailants blew up
a 66-KV grid station in the Bajaur Agency.
The house of a suspected terrorist
was also destroyed by the political administration.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a person and injured his two brothers in Gulistan-e-Jauhar in
the remit of Shahrah-e-Faisal Police Station in Karachi in Sindh.
The Anti-Extremist Cell of the
CID arrested a TTP militant from Kunwari Colony. The arrestee,
identified as Azmatullah alias Asmatullah, is the brother Wahabullah,
a TTP ‘commander’ for North Waziristan in FATA.
A key Taliban (TTP) ‘commander’
Farooq was killed in a clash between the SFs and the Taliban (TTP)
militants in Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Suspected militants blew up a
shrine of a saint named Mian Umer Baba on the outskirts of Peshawar.
No loss of life was reported.
A German man wearing a burqa (an
all-enveloping cloak worn by traditional Muslim women) and carrying
a pistol was arrested in Bannu.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American
terror suspect accused in the failed New York car bombing case,
pleaded guilty. Faisal Shahzad entered the plea in US District
Court in Manhattan just days after a federal grand jury indicted
him on 10 terrorism and weapons counts, some of which carry mandatory
life sentences.
Pakistani authorities have arrested
another six persons on suspicion of having links with Faisal Shahzad.
The six were arrested from different cities across the country.
June 22
43 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed in clashes with SFs in the Orakzai Agency in FATA. Militants
had attacked the SFs with lethal weapons and mortar shells in
the Sawar Kot area. Around 43 militants were killed in the gun
battle that followed. At least 12 soldiers were also injured in
the shootout.
Around 22 Taliban (TTP) militants
laid down their weapons and surrendered before the SFs in the
Bajaur Agency.
SFs seized a large number of weapons
including Russian manufactured Kalashnikov rifles during search
operations in various parts of Mohmand tehsil.
Taliban (TTP) militants acknowledged
that they were holding 33 missing FC soldiers who went missing
since militants attacked a check-post near the Afghan border in
Mohmand Agency on June 14 as hostages and offered prisoner swap
with the Government.
The Taliban (TTP) has put up posters
in the main market in Landikotal in Khyber Agency, warning those
who supply goods to NATO forces in Afghanistan to stop doing so,
threatening those who fail to comply with attacks on their homes.
Five militants were killed in
separate incidents in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Three
terrorist ‘commanders’ were killed in clashes with SFs in the
Miandam area. The SFs also seized a large number of weapons from
them.
In another gun battle, a militant
identified as Muhammad Ilyas, a close aide of Mullah Fazlullah,
the militant leader of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was killed
at the Gat Papuchar area in Matta tehsil.
Militants freed the Vice Chancellor
of the Kohat University of Science and Technology Dr Lutfullah
Kakakhel, after holding him in captivity for six-and-a-half months.
Four US senators are seeking to
force the Obama administration to blacklist the Pakistani Taliban
(TTP), a day after Faisal Shahzad the failed Times Square bomber,
pleaded guilty and admitted getting training from the outfit.
The senators, Charles Schumer,
Kirsten Gillibrand, Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, all
Democrats, said that they would introduce a bill requiring the
State Department to designate the Pakistani Taliban a "foreign
terrorist organisation".
The IGP of Punjab, Tariq Saleem
Dogar said, that there was no need to launch an operation in southern
Punjab. While talking to the media, Dogar said that no religious
school in the region was involved in providing military training
to militants. Southern Punjab should not be linked with terrorists,
he added.
June 23
15 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed during a clash with SFs in the Dabori Ali Khel area of
Upper Orakzai in the FATA. One soldier was killed, while 15 others
were injured in the clash.
24 Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed in the Hatango area. An official said the militants attacked
a Security check post at around 11am with small arms and rockets,
prompting retaliation from the SFs. SFs also destroyed two militant
hideouts.
SFs in a pre-dawn raid arrested
five militants from a hideout in Mullagori area in Khyber Agency.
Two persons, identified as Farooq
and Asad, were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Quetta
in Balochistan. A 15-year-old passer-by was also injured in the
attack.
A barber was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in Gushabad area in Hub town.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a leader of the JI and abducted his son in Darra Adamkhel in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. A group of militants attacked the house of Muhammad
Khan Afridi, JI chief for Darra Adamkhel chapter and also the
Frontier Regions, dragged him out of his residence and shot him
dead.
The CID arrested two cadres of
the MQM-H in a raid in the Pakistan Bazaar Police jurisdiction
in Karachi in Sindh. The arrestees, identified as Hamid alias
Piya and Aslam Zafar alias Gunja, were allegedly involved
in target killings.
A Pakistani intelligence report,
according to the BBC, says that militants are publicly raising
funds in the Punjab Province. The report says at least 17 banned
militant outfits are operating in the Province under different
names. They are raising donations through religious gatherings,
certificate award ceremonies and meetings held in the name of
social welfare.
Anti-Terrorism Court concluded
the trial of five Americans charged with terrorism and is expected
to announce its verdict. The Americans have been on trial in a
closed anti-terrorism court behind prison walls in Sargodha in
Punjab where they were arrested in December 2009.
June 24
Eight militants were killed and
four others injured when fighter jets bombed their hideouts in
Orakzai Agency in FATA. According to the sources, two militants’
hideouts were destroyed by aerial bombing in the Sheikhan, Mullah
Khel and Sadda Khel areas of Ghandaki in upper Orakzai Agency.
Four oil tankers carrying fuel
for Afghanistan-based NATO forces, and part of a filling station
were set ablaze by unidentified militants on the Grand Trunk Road
near Kala Mandai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following an explosion.
The CID arrested three LeJ cadres
from Liaquatabad and Orangi Town in Karachi in Sindh. The arrestees,
identified as Hafiz Muhammad Ali Qureshi, Talha Zubair and Muhammad
Zahid were suspected to be involved in targeted killings.
A Police constable has come under
suspicion for having abetted the four under-trial prisoners who
were believed to be members of banned outfit Jundullah, in their
recent escape from the city courts premises.
Two persons were arrested by a
team of law enforcers from Shahdara area in Lahore in Punjab in
connection with their involvement in the attacks on the Ahmedis’
worship places on May 28, 2010.
Five American nationals alleged
to have been involved in terrorist activities were convicted by
ATC Special Judge Mian Anwar Nazir in Sargodha in Punjab. They
were sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison and fined PNR
70,000 each. The judge handed down two prison terms for each person,
one for 10 years on a criminal conspiracy charge, and the other
for five years on the charge of funding banned outfits.
American President Barack Obama
said that the US must ensure a stable Afghanistan and an effective
Pakistani Government to achieve its mission in Afghanistan to
dismantle and destroy al-Qaida and its affiliates.
Intelligence agencies have reported
that Shia outfits are operating in southern Punjab and are working
against their rival factions.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
told the National Assembly that the TTP and other banned outfits
were involved in target killings and sectarian violence.
The intelligence agencies of Pakistan
have revealed that al Qaeda, the Afghan Intelligence Agency, India’s
R&AW and the Afghan Taliban have joined hands to carry out
terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
June 25
Ten TTP militants
were killed and five others, including two personnel of Paramilitary
Forces were injured during an exchange of fire in Orakzai Agency
in FATA.
SFs during a search
operation recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition in
Charmang in Bajaur Agency. It included rockets, missiles, mortars,
Kalashnikov rifles, anti-tank mines, hand-grenades and explosives.
Eight Taliban
(TTP) militants, including four ‘commanders’, surrendered before
SFs in Bajaur Agency. Talking to reporters, Major Tanveer and
Major Zabih said the surrendered militants were associated with
Afghan warlord Qari Ziaur Rehman, who had been fighting the forces
for the last two years.
A person was abducted from Musa
Colony in Quetta in Balochistan. According to details, unidentified
armed men, travelling in a car, took Fazal Muhammad hostage at
gunpoint and fled.
Five bomb explosions hit railway
tracks in lower Sindh. Four bomb explosions hit the railway track
near Tandi Phatak, Ghotki while the fifth one took place in Bin
Qasim area of Karachi.
In Hyderabad, a Police patrol
found two bombs that had been planted near the railway track in
Sherishnager. Personnel of the Bomb Disposal Squad defused both
the bombs.
Two Pakistani nationals heading
to South Africa were arrested by the Police in Zimbabwe. One of
the arrestees is under an international arrest warrant for terrorism.
One of the most wanted cadres
of the TTP was arrested by the Police after a brief encounter
in Baldia Town in Karachi in Sindh. Initial interrogation revealed
the arrested man was a close associate of the TTP Commander in
Swat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Shah Doran.
Section 144 has been imposed in
Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province after reports
of security threats in the city.
June 26
Fighter jets pounded militant
hideouts in upper Orakzai Agency of FATA, killing 14 Taliban (TTP)
militants and injuring eight others, security sources said.
Two militants were killed and
two others injured as a result of an US drone strike in Mir Ali
area in North Waziristan.
June 27
At least 66 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and another 30 injured in air strikes and clashes
with the SFs across the country’ northwest, security sources said.
In Orakzai Agency, the SFs said
they killed at least 63 TTP militants in the last 24 hours. The
sources said around 15 TTP militants were killed and another six
injured in a clash with the SFs in the Agency’s Dabori area. Three
soldiers were critically injured in the clash.
Eight TTP militants were killed
and another 24 injured in a clash with the SFs in the Bakar Ghari
area of Upper Orakzai. Also, the sources added that fighter jets
attacked a Taliban (TTP)-run makeshift hospital in Upper Orakzai,
killing 40 TTP militants under treatment at the facility.
In Khar, four troopers were killed
when TTP militants ambushed an Army patrol in Bajaur Agency, officials
said. The terrorists attacked the troops during a patrol in the
border town of Kharaki, 25 kilometres north of Khar. "
Troops backed by helicopter gun
ships and fighter jets killed eight militants in Orakzai Agency
in FATA. Six militants were also injured in the attack.
Six Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed and two others injured when a US drone fired two missiles
at a compound in North Waziristan Agency. A vehicle was also destroyed
in the attack.
A Government-run school was partially
damaged when an explosive device planted by the militants exploded
in Tangi area in Bajaur Agency.
Six militants, including key Taliban
(TTP) ‘commander’ Fazal Rahim alias Karar, were killed during
a clash with the SFs in Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Nine hand grenades and other arms
and ammunition were also recovered by the troops during the operation
at Tuligram area in Charbagh tehsil.
Taliban (TTP) ‘commander’ Sher
Muhammad laid down arms and surrendered to the SFs in Kaday Sir
Minglawar area in Swat.
Four militant ‘commanders’ were
arrested in three separate actions in Nowshera District. The arrestees
were identified as Mustafa, Shahzad, Pir Muhammad and Sabir.
An activist of the PPP was shot
dead by unidentified assailants near Pak Colony Police Station
in Karachi in Sindh. The deceased, identified as Arif, was an
associate of the PPP Pak Colony Union Council No 1 information
secretary.
A person, identified as Sardar
Khan, was shot dead by unidentified assailants near the Afghan
Camp in Sohrab Goth Police Station precincts.
PPP leader Faizuddin Sasoli was
shot dead and three others injured in an attack by unidentified
assailants in Khuzdar District of Balochistan.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information
Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that the Taliban (TTP),
militants are in the process of reorganising themselves around
Peshawar as they are planning to carry out a major attack in the
city.
Pakistani Foreign minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi, in a statement issued in Islamabad has ruled
out barring LeT founder and mastermind of 26/11, Hafiz Saeed,
from giving inflammatory speeches targeting India.
World's most wanted terrorist
Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas, CIA
chief Leon Panetta said. Panetta said the al-Qaida leader Osama
bin Laden is in deep hiding in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but
did not give any further details.
The chiefs of intelligence agencies
of India and Pakistan held a meeting in Islamabad as part of cooperation
to fight terrorism and deal with security issues.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman
Malik described his talks with his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram
as "a good beginning". It’s a good beginning,"
Sources said that Pakistan may
give India voice samples of the seven accused in the Mumbai terror
attacks, currently standing trial.
The SAARC Home Ministers, who
met in Islamabad, vowed to step up coordinated action against
terrorism and work out modalities to strengthen information sharing
on terrorists.
June 28
Over 40,000 litres of oil were
wasted when unidentified assailants targeted a NATO oil supply
tanker with a bomb on the main road in Landikotal. No casualties
were reported in the incident.
Five persons, including two members
each from the Shia and Barelvi sects, were shot dead in different
areas of the Karachi City in the ongoing spree of target killings.
A member of the Dawat-e-Islami,
a religious organisation of the Barelvi sect, was killed by two
unidentified men on a motorcycle in the Liaquat Market area in
Malir.
Ali Muhammad was murdered outside
his house in Muslimabad.
An unidentified man’s bullet-riddled
body was recovered in Haji Miandad Goth and taken to the hospital
where doctors pronounced him dead.
Law enforcers have arrested three
terrorists who reportedly provided weapons and ammunition to the
terrorists responsible for the attack on Ahmedis’ worship places
in the provincial capital Lahore.
The criminals responsible for
carrying out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks wanted to instigate a war
between India and Pakistan, and Hindu extremists are carrying
out terrorist activities in India, a private TV channel quoted
Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying.
June 29
A US drone fired two missiles
on a compound used by the Punjab chapter of the Taliban (TTP)
near Wana in South Waziristan in FATA, killing at least ten militants,
including an al Qaeda foreign fighter.
Two Levies personnel were shot
dead by unidentified assailants in Dasht area of Mastung in Balochistan
in the night.
The Lahore Police arrested three
cadres of a banned terrorist outfit under suspicion of involvement
in attacks on UN vehicles and other installations across the country.
Several teams of the Lahore Police
arrested 15 more terrorists during raids at hideouts in different
areas of the city as well as its outskirts. "
Sources said, "During the
crackdown, a special police team also arrested a terrorist from
Z-Block Defence housing Authority of Lahore and recovered a large
quantity of explosives from his possession."
The Interior Ministry has warned
the Punjab Government of a life threat to Punjab Governor Salmaan
Taseer. The Interior Ministry sent a letter to the Punjab Government
warning it that terrorists might target Governor Taseer, the channel
reported.
June 30
Fighter jets pounded Taliban (TTP)
hideouts in various areas of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA, killing
20 Taliban (TTP) militants and injuring 15 others, security sources
said.
At least four persons were killed
and several others injured when a roadside explosion occurred
near a Police check post at Lasbela in Hub of Balochistan, a private
television channel reported.
Troops arrested a key militant
commander from a house in Jalala area of Takht Bhai Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
sources said.
Pakistan rejected allegations
levelled by Indian Army Chief General V.K. Singh about the existence
of terrorist training camps in AJK.
July 1
At least 40 persons were killed
and 175 others injured when three suicide attackers blew themselves
up inside the shrine of Lahore’s patron saint Syed Ali Hajwairi
popularly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, at about 11 pm (PST) in the
night.
Sources confirmed that the Ministry
of Interior had informed the authorities concerned in the Punjab
Government two days ago about the impending terrorist threat in
Lahore.
10 militants were killed and six
others sustained injuries when two groups of militants traded
heavy fire in Neka Ziarat area in the central parts of Kurram
Agency in FATA.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a woman in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency. The sources said
that unidentified assailants entered the house of Ali Gul in Masood
locality and opened indiscriminate fire on his wife. She received
multiple bullets and died on the spot.
In the same tehsil, a soldier,
whose name could not be ascertained, sustained injuries when a
landmine planted by militants at a roadside exploded in Shawa
Farsh area.
A SHO associated with the Brigade
Police, and his guard, were shot dead near German Chowk under
Brigade Police Station of Karachi in Sindh in the night.
A cadre of the SSP, Qari Noor
Muhammad (35), was shot dead in Khokhrapar Police Station area
of Karachi.
Two young sisters were killed
and another boy suffered multiple injuries in a grenade attack
on their residence on Saryab Road in Quetta in the night.
Five persons were injured in three
rocket attacks in Quetta.
A boy was killed and three officials
of the TESCO and a passer-by injured in a hand-grenade attack
on a vehicle near a Police checkpost in Bara Qaeedm area of Peshawar
District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The South Waziristan Agency has
been cleared of the Taliban (TTP) and there are no more insurgent
hideouts in the tribal region, a private television channel quoted
Pakistan Army’s operations commander in South Waziristan, Major-General
Nawaz Khan, as saying.
Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant
General Asif Yasin Malik said that effective measures had been
taken for the smooth and dignified return of South Waziristan’s
IDPs.
July 2
SFs killed 15 Taliban (TTP) militants
during an operation in Akakhel area of Bara tehsil in Khyber
Agency of FATA.
Armed militants attacked a security
post in Janay Khwar area of Matani, 20 kilometres away from Peshawar
the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing three soldiers
of the FC and injuring as many before abducting two security personnel
and taking away ammunition on July 2.
Unidentified assailants killed
a Shia scholar, Ali Muhammad, in a suspected sectarian attack
in Saryab area of Quetta in Balochistan.
A truck driver was abducted from
the National Highway in Bakhtiarabad area of Bolan District.
The suicide attack on the Data
Darbar shrine of Lahore on July 1 rose to 44.
People lashed out at the US, blaming
its alliance with the Pakistani Government and its presence in
Afghanistan for spurring suicide attacks on Data Darbar. Protests
were held in Lahore against the attack.
The TTP denied any involvement
in a triple suicide bombing on the Data Darbar shrine. "We are
not responsible for these attacks, this is a conspiracy by foreign
secret agencies, you know we do not attack public places," Azam
Tariq, a spokesman for the TTP told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed
location.
Lahore Police arrested 17 alleged
militants, including the masterminds of the attack on Ahmadi worship
places in Model town and Garhi Shahu on May 28 from various areas
of Lahore.
The Law enforcers neutralised
the network of a terrorist group named ‘Fidaieen’, arrested its
four cadres and recovered a list of expected targets in Lahore
from their possession.
Pakistan urged the international
community to stay engaged in the war-torn country of Afghanistan
without interfering in the country’s internal affairs. "Long-term
objectives of peace, stability and development in Afghanistan
can only be realised by respecting its sovereignty, independence,
unity and territorial integrity," Ambassador Abdullah Hussain
Haroon told the UN Security Council.
July 3
At least 10 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed in clashes with SFs in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Six Taliban (TTP) militants were
killed in a clash between SFs and Taliban (TTP) militants at Sangra
area in Lower Orakzai Agency.
Four soldiers were killed and
seven others sustained injuries when an IED hit a vehicle of SFs
in Gurguri area in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
At least two persons lost their
lives while another five sustained injuries when they came under
explosion caused by a roadside bomb in Ibrahim Khel locality in
Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
July 4
At least 12 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed when fighter jets pounded their hideouts in Orakzai
Agency of FATA.
Two soldiers were injured when
unidentified militants attacked a SFs convoy in North Waziristan.
Two SFs personnel were injured
in a landmine blast in Mashti Meela area of Lower Orakzai.
The SFs and volunteers of a tribal
lashkar arrested five wanted Taliban (TTP) militants from
Bindari area of Mamoond tehsil. The arrested Taliban were
identified as Inayatullah, Zakirullah, Muhammad Faiz, Rasool Khan
and Muhammadullah.
Elsewhere in Bajaur Agency, the
political administration set a two-day deadline to the militants
in Samasai village in Khar tehsil to surrender or face action.
Four workers were shot dead and
another seven were injured when unidentified assailants opened
fire in Surab tehsil of Kalat District, around 200 kilometres
from Quetta, in Balochistan.
The Police arrested 12 suspected
terrorists over May 28 attacks on two worship places of the Ahmadi
community and a hospital in Lahore.
The Taliban (TTP) will soon launch
their own ‘media regulatory authority’ to monitor TV channels,
radio stations and newspapers to "stop propaganda" against
Islam, a TTP spokesman said.
The Punjab Home Department has
decided to launch a crackdown on 17 banned outfits in the province
and formed task forces at the district level to oversee the operations.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
once again stressed that military action against terrorists in
Punjab is vital.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said
his party is ready to convene a national conference to address
the root causes of terrorism and to chalk out a national policy
to deal with the threat.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
agreed to a proposal put forth by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif to
call a national conference to discuss the issue of terrorism.
Prime Minister Gilani said that
the Government will take action against militants in southern
Punjab only if the Interior Ministry, intelligence agencies or
the Punjab Government provide solid and credible information about
the existence of terrorist outfits in the area.
The Punjab Government was informed
of possible terrorist threat to mosques and shrines in the province,
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.
The religious clerics from various
schools of thought vowed to join hands with the Government to
foil terrorists’ designs in order to maintain sectarian harmony
in the country.
July 5
At least 23 militants were killed
while many others injured during clashes with SFs in Lower Dir
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier on July 4 night, four
militants were killed when they tried to storm a Security camp
in Timergara in Lower Dir. One security personal was killed, while
11 others were also injured in the attack.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a tribal elder, Malik Hashim Khan, in Kohi Hassankhel area in
the Frontier Region of Peshawar.
A cleaner of a pickup van was
killed and a passer-by sustained injuries when an explosive device
planted in a vehicle went off at the bus stand near the Qasaban
Gate in Bannu, the principal city of Bannu District.
At least 10 Taliban (TTP) militants
were killed and four others injured when fighter jets of Pakistan
Air Force bombed their hideouts in Orakzai Agency.
A volunteer of the pro-government
lashkar was killed and two troopers’ sustained injuries
in a landmine blast in Kong area in Khwezai subdivision in Mohmand
Agency.
A wanted TTP ‘commander’, Ameerullah
Mehsud, was killed in a clash with SFs at a security checkpost
in Miranshah. Ameerullah alias ‘Langra Qari’ carried a head money
of PNR 20 million.
Four persons, including a Levies
Force official, were killed and another four injured in separate
incidents in Balochistan.
One Levies personnel killed and
another two sustained injured in a firing incident in Mastung
District.
Unidentified militants killed
an elder of the Jatoi tribe and a passer-by on the Qambrani Road
in Quetta.
The CID of Karachi Police arrested
a LeJ militant, Zahid Khan alias Shakeel, from the Sohrab Goth
area of Karachi.
In an official handout, the Sindh
Police claimed of arresting 46 militants affiliated with different
jihadi outfits in Karachi during the first six months of
the 2010.
The Lahore Police arrested six
militants involved in the May 28 attacks on the worship places
of Ahmedis and recovered large quantities of explosives and weapons
from their possession.
The Punjab Government banned 23
militant organisations operating under new names after having
been outlawed and directed Police to keep a strict vigil on 1,690
office-bearers and workers of the outfits after including them
in Schedule 4.
The Government offered to hold
talks with militant outfits provided that they lay down arms and
accept the writ of State, after the country’s top civilian leadership
pondered over the question of how to stop deadly terrorist attacks
on civilians at a high-level meeting.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
ruled out any military operation in Punjab and said that whatever
action was required, it would be taken by the Punjab Government.
Federal and Provincial Governments
resolved to stop the banned outfits from operating under any other
name with rigorous monitoring of activities of all such organisations.
July 6
Two unidentified
assailants riding a motorcycle shot dead a member of the Shia
community Fayyaz Hussain Naqvi (24) in Orangi Town of Karachi
in Sindh.
Two Government primary
schools, one each for boys and girls, were destroyed in Bhai Chena
area of Khar tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
The militants blew
up a state-run primary school at Khattako Pul area in the outskirts
of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police arrested
a person, Jamaluddin, and recovered seven kilogrammes of explosives
from his possession in Tajabad area, a suburban area of Peshawar.
Unidentified militants
fired rockets from the seaside on the Gwadar Port and the Gwadar
Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar City of Balochistan.
Taking advantage
of the new violence in Kashmir, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘chief’
Syed Salahuddin addressed a rally in Islamabad to "denounce human
rights violations in Kashmir".
An increasing number
of militants of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement fighting for
separation of China's Muslim majority Xinjiang province were "fleeing
to Pakistan and settling down there for future plots".
The PoK 'Prime Minister'
Raja Farooq Haider advised Pakistan Government not to link ongoing
negotiations with India to resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying
this is not the right time as Islamabad's position is "quite weak"
due to "internal vulnerabilities".
Prime Minister Syed
Yousaf Raza Gilani stressed that Pakistan’s role as a frontline
State in the war against terrorism has had a serious impact on
all spheres of national life, especially on the country’s economy.
The Afghan Taliban
strongly reacted to media reports about the arrest of their spiritual
leader Mulla Mohammad Omar in Pakistan in March 2009 and termed
it propaganda of their enemies.
The US Consul General
in Peshawar Candace Putnam said that the United States desired
to see Pakistan take action against the Haqqani network, which
is killing American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Candace rejected
the notion that Washington was taking an early "flight"
to leave Afghanistan. "Our strategy has not changed. Our
main goal is to defeat, dismantle and disrupt al Qaeda in Afghanistan
before going back," she declared.
The JuD chief Hafiz
Saeed has declared suicide attacks in Pakistan 'haram'.
Speaking in an interview, he said suicide attacks had no moral
grounds, and elements behind such attacks should be publicly executed
The Pakistani authorities
said no fresh order has been issued to ban militant groups working
under new names or to impose curbs on foreign travel by individuals
like the JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, though action will be taken only
if evidence is found against them.
July 7
Atleast 15 militants
were killed and 10 others wounded when SFs pounded militant hideouts
in different areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Seven persons, including
five women, were injured when unidentified assailants hurled hand-grenades
at the houses of two local journalists, Noor Muhammad Binori and
Imran Khan, in Bhai Cheena near Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur
Agency.
A boys’ degree college
was damaged in a bomb blast in Khar.
Two persons were
injured in a grenade attack on a NATO oil tanker near Chaman town
of Balochistan.
A bomb blast destroyed
five vehicles parked outside a showroom under Faqirabad Police
Station in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police arrested
two key members of the TTP, Allah Yar alias Junaid and Qari Ubaidullah,
from the Azadi chowk area of Lahore.
British Police arrested
a Pakistani national suspected of being an al-Qaeda operative
in north-eastern England after US authorities issued a warrant
for his arrest. Abid Naseer (24) is sought by the United States
on charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist
organisation, conspiring to provide material support, and conspiracy
to use a destructive device.
Al Qaeda’s top leadership
in Pakistan directed confessed agent Najibullah Zazi in his plot
to bomb the New York subway, US officials said. In an indictment
against five alleged terrorists, the US Justice Department revealed
Zazi’s plan was "directly related to a scheme by al Qaeda
plotters in Pakistan to use Western operatives to attack a target
in the UK".
Intelligence reports
revealed that after the destruction of the terrorists’ communication
systems and the disruption of their supply lines by law enforcement
agencies and the Pakistan Army, the terrorists were planning to
expedite suicide attacks across the country through suicide bombers
and explosives-laden vehicles.
July 8
The ISI Director
General Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha briefed parliamentarians
about the ongoing war against terrorism during an in-camera meeting
of the PCNS.
July 9
At least 65 persons
were killed, including women and children, and 110 injured, as
two suicide bombers blew them off through political offices, just
seconds apart from each other, in Yakka Ghund tehsil of
Mohmand Agency in FATA. TTP Mohmand chapter claimed responsibility
for the attacks.
At least 10 Taliban
(TTP) militants were killed, including a key Taliban commander,
whereas scores others sustained injuries, when SFs pounded militants’
hideouts located in Orakzai Agency of FATA in the morning.
Muhammad Rafeeq
alias Akhlaaq, ‘chief’ of Jund-ul-Khyber (JK), a dissident group
of TTP, was captured by militants of its rival group, LI, along
with his six companions in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency a few
days back.
Three officials
of the Frontier Works Organisation were recovered soon after unidentified
militants abducted them in Wana of South Waziristan in the morning.
The sources said the elders of the Ahmedzai tribe contacted the
abductors and secured the safe release of the officials unconditionally
in the afternoon.
Two persons were
killed and the same number sustained bullet injuries when unidentified
militants ambushed their vehicle in Dera Bugti of Balochistan.
85 militants arrested
and six houses of militants destroyed during search operation
in different localities of Nowshera and Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Far from being just
an ISI creation against India, the LeT, Pakistan army's favourite
terror group, is a growing threat to the US and the Western world,
Times of India quoting a new investigative report said.
July 10
Three Pakistan Army
troopers were killed as Taliban (TTP) attacked SFs in Makeen District
of South Waziristan Agency in FATA, sparking clashes in which
25 Taliban (TTP) militants were killed, officials said.
The death toll in
July 9 suicide bomb blasts at the political offices in Yakka Ghund
tehsil of Mohmand Agency’s rose to 106, as many more of
the wounded succumbed to injuries in hospitals, while 18 people
are still missing, the political administration said.
A soldier was killed
and two others were injured in a roadside bomb blast in the Tornajar
area of Khyber Agency, Security sources said.
July 11
At least 22 TTP
militants were killed and 10 others injured when the fighter jets
and helicopter gunships of PAF bombed various areas of Upper Orakzai
Agency in FATA.
Maula Bakhsh Dashti,
National Party (NP) leader and former Turbat District Nazim,
was shot dead in Turbat of Balochistan.
A person, Ghulam
Sakhi, was killed in the Spin Karez area after being abducted
from the outskirts of Quetta on July 7.
Unidentified militants
abducted two personnel of a law enforcement agency from Quetta.
SFs arrested about
seven key militant ‘commanders’ and some 225 other suspects from
different cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including provincial capital
Peshawar, Nowshera and Sarbanda.
The SFs arrested
at least 53 suspects, including the former chief of the SSP, during
the ongoing crackdown against banned organisations in Southern
Punjab.
The intelligence
agencies revealed that there has been a worrying increase in the
activities of banned religious and militant organisations in the
province, some of whom have been functioning under new names and
have been found to be distributing hate literature.
The intelligence
reports revealed that three banned outfits, LeJ, HuJI and TTP,
are involved in recent terrorist attacks across Punjab.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik said that terrorists are infiltrating into Pakistan
via Afghanistan, asking the Afghanistan Government to take action
against the insurgency Talking to reporters in Islamabad, the
Minister asked the Afghanistan Government to seal the Pak-Afghan
border from Kunar (Afghanistan province) to Mohmand Agency.
A senior US senator,
Carl Levin, urged Pakistan to crack down on the al Qaeda-linked
Haqqani network, which operates on both sides of the Pakistan’s
border with Afghanistan.
July 12
A security official
was killed and four others injured in a roadside bomb blast in
the Sangra area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Unidentified militants
blew up a primary school at Sheikh Baba Kalay in Khar tehsil
of Bajaur Agency, raising the number of schools so far destroyed
in the agency to 93.
Militants fired
two missiles at Khar. However, there was no damage done as one
missile landed near the Civil Colony and other on a field.
The SFs arrested
216 suspected persons in Speen Qabar area of Bara tehsil
in Khyber Agency. The sources said that most of the arrested persons
were from Sepah tribe to which Mangal Bagh, head of the LI, belonged.
A suicide bomber
blew himself up outside the guesthouse of a pro-Government tribal
elder, Malik Swab Khan, in Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police arrested
410 suspects during a grand search operation in various parts
of the provincial capital Peshawar.
SFs in a joint search
operation arrested 45 suspects from the Azakhel camp area in Nowshera
and recovered arms, drugs and ammunition from their possession.
Police arrested
39 suspected terrorists from across Punjab, 20 from Multan and
19 from Lahore, as part of a crackdown launched against activists
of various banned militant organisations.
In the provincial
capital, Lahore, different teams of law enforcers launched massive
operations in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Ravi Road, Shafiqabad, Gulshan-e-Ravi,
Township, Green Town, Sabzazar, Ghaziabad and Mughalpura.
July 13
At least 100 TTP
militants were killed and one soldier injured in a clash with
SFs in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
The TTP militants
blew up a Government school in Tanai area of Mamoond tehsil
in Bajaur Agency, taking the total number of destroyed schools
to 94.
The political administration
arrested 24 persons belonging to the Mamoond tribe for their alleged
involvement in missiles attack in Khar.
A FC trooper and
a local person were killed as a FC trooper tried to rescue abducted
personnel in Kabu area of Kalat District.
The driver of a
NATO oil tanker was killed and his colleague injured in Mastung
town.
Two Police officials,
including a SHO, were injured in a grenade attack on Mastung Police
Station.
A roadside bomb
went off in Saro Killay of Shabqadar tehsil in the Charsadda
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa soon after a delegation of the
PPP visited the blast site in Ekkaghund.
A tanker carrying
oil for NATO forces in Afghanistan and seven trucks were burnt
after a ‘mysterious’ blast at the Khajoor Stop on the Grand Trunk
Road in Pabbi near Nowshera.
July 14
24 TTP militants
were killed and 34 others injured when the fighter jets of PAF
pounded militant hideouts in Kasha, Srigaray, Khorhi, Mamoonzai
and Shakartangi areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
A soldier sustained
injuries when a remote-controlled bomb exploded in Askarabad area
of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
A powerful explosion
shattered Masjid-e-Ishkhel mosque and some shrines in Landi Kotal
tehsil of Khyber Agency. However, no casualty or injury
was reported in the incident.
Habib Jalib Baloch,
a former member of the Senate and Secretary General of the Balochistan
National Party (Mengal Group) was killed by unidentified assailants
in Quetta city, the Police said.
The beheaded bodies
of two militants were found in Zor Killay and Bostikhel area in
the Darra Adamkhel region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Three rockets fired
by militants from unknown direction landed in the mountainous
Sultankhel area near Jawaki in Frontier Region Kohat.
The number of suspected
persons during the last three days rose to 671 on July 14, as
91 more persons were arrested from parts of the provincial capital
Peshawar.
Police and the Elite
Force in a joint action arrested a known militant ‘commander’
Ahmed Wali alias Sheikh Saadi, along with his two accomplices
and recovered a cache of weapons, including explosives and communication
gadgets, during a raid on a house in Khander area in Nowshera
Kalan of Nowshera District.
The Police arrested
more than 200 suspected persons, including Afghan nationals, during
its ongoing search operations, from various parts of Lahore.
Faisal Shehzad,
the man arrested for plotting car bombing in New York’s Times
Square appeared in a video on Al-Arabiya television in which he
said he planned to attack the United States.
Indian Foreign Minister
S. M. Krishna interacting with Indian media in Islamabad outlined
terrorism as the "core issue" saying "the time had come" for Pakistan
to act on "overwhelming evidence" presented to it over the role
of Pakistan-based terror outfits in the 26/11 attacks
July 15
At least 15 TTP
militants were killed and several others injured as helicopter
gunships targeted militant compounds in the Ghundaki, Mashti Kandi,
Chapri Alikhel and Dharra Dhar Mamzai areas of Upper Orakzai in
FATA.
A US drone destroyed
a compound used by the TTP militants in Sheerani Mada Khel village
of North Waziristan, killing at least 10 militants at around 6:30
pm (PST). The drone fired at least two missiles into the compound
which was a TTP and al Qaeda stronghold.
Five persons were
killed and 60 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself
up near a busy bus stand in Mingora, the headquterer of Swat District,
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs arrested a foreign
militant Badshah Gah from Ahmadi Banda near Thall in Hangu District
during a search operation.
Police arrested
another militant on the information gleaned from a commander and
militants arrested during a grand operation in Kandar Killay near
Nowshera.
Unidentified militants
opened fire on four NATO-supply containers in Mach locality of
Bolan tehsil in Quetta of Balochistan in the night, setting
them ablaze.
Three aid workers
employed by the US-based charity Mercy Corps have been freed in
good health by their abductors after a five-month abduction ordeal.
The attack on a
Police vehicle with a timed explosive device in Gujranwala spread
fear among the personnel of the FIA and Punjab Police, adding
that it had been disclosed earlier in intelligence reports that
terrorists were planning to target law enforcement agencies’ personnel
in the province.
Reports compiled
by the intelligence agencies have revealed that terrorists are
planning to carry out suicide attacks on the US embassy, the British
High Commission and consulates, while also targeting 2,600 Chinese
engineers working on different projects in Punjab.
Another intelligence
agency report stated that Abdullah and Abul Rehman, aged 14 to
15 years, went missing from a seminary in Manshera since June
4, and they were likely to be sent on suicide missions targeting
important personalities in Punjab.
After three rounds
of discussions through the day between the Foreign Ministers,
India and Pakistan were unable to find a meeting ground on most
of the irritants in bilateral relations but decided to remain
engaged nonetheless.
July 16
At least 16 Shia
persons were killed while four others sustained critical injuries
as their vehicles were ambushed by unidentified militants in Char
Khel locality of Kurram Agency in FATA.
10 persons, including
three children, were killed and 14 others injured when a bomb
planted inside a shop went off in a market in Tirah Valley of
Khyber Agency.
The TTP executed
two persons by strapping explosives to their bodies after accusing
them of spying for the US in a village near Miranshah of North
Waziristan.
Four Policemen and
five civilians injured in a remote-controlled bomb targeted a
Police vehicle near Baghto Chowk on Tall Road in Hangu District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Five NATO oil tankers
were torched in two separate incidents in Balochistan.
Another NATO oil
tanker was burnt by unidentified militants in Wadh area of Khuzdar.
Accusing India of
being "selective" in its approach, Pakistan said the dialogue
cannot move forward till its concerns were also understood by
New Delhi. "If we focus more only on those issues which India
gives importance to and ignore those considered important by Pakistan,
then I don't think the talks can move forward," Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
July 17
The death toll in
Shia caravan attack in Dhad Kamar area of Char Khel region in
Lower Kurram of FATA on July 16 increased to 18. All the dead
persons were Shias who were travelling from Parachinar to Peshawar.
Kurram tribal Agency has for three years been a flashpoint for
sectarian violence. More than 4,000 persons have died in outbreaks
of sectarian violence in the area.
Two persons were
injured when unidentified militants opened fire at a container
carrying goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan near Kalat in Balochistan.
July 18
At least 25 militants
were killed and 23 another injured when the fighter jets and helicopter
gunships of PAF bombed various parts of Upper Orakzai Agency in
FATA.
24 militants including
three ‘commanders’ surrendered to the SFs along with a cache of
heavy weapons and explosives during a search operation in Mamond
subdivision in Bajaur Agency.
Three persons were
killed and more than 20 others were injured when a suicide bomber
blew himself up outside an Imambargah in Sargodha town
of Punjab in the evening.
The twin bomb attacks
in Kampala that killed 73 persons on July 11 were carried out
by suicide bombers and Pakistanis were among 20 suspects arrested,
the Ugandian Police said.
July 19
Military planes
and helicopter gunships pounded suspected hideouts of the militants
in the Orakzai and Central Kurram Agency, killing 42 militants
and injuring several others.
Security officials
thwarted a major terrorist attack in Mardan when they killed three
suicide bombers and two of their aides close to Mardan Cantonment
training grounds in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police claimed to
have arrested two persons and recovered eight bundles of wire,
used in making bombs, from their possession at a checkpost near
Dobai Bus Stand in Mardan.
SFs arrested 700
suspected persons including five militant ‘commanders’ during
search operation carried out in Ziarat Kaka Sahib, Bahadur Baba,
Kheshgi Mera, Rashakai, Jaroba, Speenkhak and Akbarpura villages
and the Azakhel refugees’ camp for IDPs in the Nowshera District.
24 militants laid
down arms and surrendered to security forces in Bajaur tribal
region. More than 900 militants have surrendered to SFs so far
in Bajaur tribal region.
Two low intensity
bombs exploded in the Wali Khel area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency
of FATA.
The US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton said she believed Osama bin Laden was
still in Pakistan, in a television interview between high-level
talks in Islamabad.
July 20
The unidentified
assailants shot dead a soldier of Bajaur Levies and injured a
passer-by in Yousufabad area near Khar, official sources said.
The SFs also seized
huge cache of arms including rockets, missiles, mortar guns, anti-aircraft
guns, mines, Kalashnikovs, explosive and a large number of cartridges
during search operation in Meena area of Mamond tehsil.
Unidentified militants
blew up a private school in the Akharwal area of Frontier Region
of Kohat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the morning.
Unidentified armed
men shot dead Liaquat Ali Mengal, former president of the BNP-M,
in Kalat District in Balochistan.
Terrorists are planning
attacks on the worship places of minorities in Lahore, Jhang,
Chiniot, Muzaffargarh and Chakwal, intelligence agencies reported.
Another report of
an intelligence agency revealed that an unknown terrorist group
‘Munsa’ was planning to attack offices of sensitive agencies,
government buildings, army garrisons and check posts in Lahore.
Some elements in
the Pakistan Government know the whereabouts of al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, warning
Islamabad against keeping a "poisonous" snake in its backyard.
She said the US
is getting closer to the fugitive. "I don't want to put a proximity
or timeline on it (getting bin Laden). As I've said, we have gotten
closer because we have been able to kill a number of their trainers,
their operational people, their financiers," Hillary told Fox
News channel.
Prime Minister Syed
Yusuf Raza Gilani asserted that Osama bin Laden and Taliban spiritual
head Mullah Omar were not in Pakistan as alleged by Hillary Clinton.
The United Sates
will continue to have close cooperative relationship with Pakistan,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed in an interview, asserting
that walking away from the key South Asian ally would be a mistake.
To counter sectarianism,
the Government is making all-out efforts to spread tolerance and
understanding in society in a phased manner, Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani said. He said the government would continue its efforts
for sectarian harmony.
July 21
SFs killed 40 militants
and injured 30 others in a clash in Upper Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Three SF personnel were also killed in the clash, while six officials
were injured.
Unidentified assailants
shot dead two persons in Mashwad Bazdad area of Awaran District
in Balochistan.
A 10-year-old girl,
Sharifa Bugti, was killed in a landmine blast in the Ghot Band
Ali Sundrani area of Jaffarabad District.
The personnel of
BDU defused a remote-control bomb planted by unidentified militants
to attack a convoy of the SFs in Mattani area near Peshawar of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A senior TTP ‘commander’
and close aide of TTP Swat ‘chief’ Mullah Fazlullah, Qari Sohail,
surrendered before the SFs at Charbagh tehsil of Swat.
Sohail was in charge of the TTP’s FM-radio station during their
rule in Swat.
65 civilians have
so far fallen victim to 93 incidents of landmine explosions because
of the lack of precautionary measures in the militancy-affected
Swat District, officials of a Swiss organisation said during a
one-day workshop in Swat.
The NATO has signalled
that it aspired to playing a role for bringing about peace in
South Asia and its periphery even after its combat mission in
Afghanistan, says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
NATO decided to
establish a trust fund in order to train Pakistan’s Security Forces
in counter-terrorism techniques. NATO Secretary-General Anders
Fogh Rasmussen informed President Asif Zardari about the decision
during a meeting, according to spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani emphasised the need for joint monitoring of the Pak-Afghan
border and increased sharing of information between Pakistan and
NATO-ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) forces on
cross-border movement of terrorists.
Refusing to take
any more allegations from Washington, Pakistan Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi clearly saying that Osama Bin Laden or al-Qaeda
were no friends of Pakistan or peace. He strongly dismissed US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assertion that Osama bin
Laden was in Pakistan.
July 22
At least 29 militants
were killed and 17 others injured in two separate clashes and
during shelling by gunship helicopters as SFs took control of
the Ghiljo tehsil in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A local TTP ‘commander’,
Irshad Khan, and his aide were killed when a bomb they were constructing
in the militant chief’s home exploded in Khar area of Bajaur Agency.
Two cadres of the
MQM were killed in different parts of Karachi in Sindh.
Muhammad Fazal,
a cadre of the MQM-H, a splinter outfit of the erstwhile MQM,
was shot dead by four armed assailants riding two motorcycles
near the Sauidi College in the Sauidabad Police area.
Police killed three
militants and arrested 262 alleged criminals including proclaimed
offenders and 90 suspects during a search operation carried out
in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Government closed two registration centres in Peshawar set up
for the IDPs of Kurram Agency, after receiving threats from TTP
asking the Government to close the centres or face attacks.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said that the
network of terrorists has been dismantled and around 100 wanted
suspects have been arrested during a search operation.
A person was injured
when unidentified assailants opened fire on him at Esanagri in
Quetta in Balochistan. Police said unidentified assailants opened
fire on Naseebullah, a resident of Pishin, leaving him critically
injured.
A private TV channel
has received the footage of the TTP Swat leader Maulvi Fazalullah,
which shows him addressing his comrades. The fresh footage rubbishes
statements of the Pakistani and Afghanistan Government that the
fugitive leader was killed in a clash with the armed forces.
Faisal Shahzad,
the main suspect behind the failed Times Square bombing plot,
is seen in a new video footage along with TTP leader Hakimullah
Mehsud, with the two shaking hands and hugging each other.
Admiral Mike Mullen,
the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned on of fresh
attempts by militant groups to push India and Pakistan into a
military conflict. Mullen said he feared extremists would attempt
another operation similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks in order
to goad India into armed retaliation against Pakistan.
July 23
At least 29 TTP
militants, including two ‘commanders’ were killed and several
others injured, during a military operation in Orakzai Agency.
The chief of the
pro-Government peace committee, Malik Sardar Ali, along with two
colleagues, Karim Khan and Gul Muhammad Khan, were killed in an
explosion caused by an IED in Sapary area of Mamond tehsil
in Bajaur Agency.
The LI militants
released Muhammad Rafiq alias Akhlaaq, head of Jund-ul-Khyber,
a dissident group of TTP, along with his six companions unconditionally
and allowed the group to operate in the Mangal Bagh-controlled
area in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency.
A Police Constable
was killed and at least five other Policemen, including a SHO
and a Sub-Inspector, were injured in suspected terrorist attacks
outside two Police stations in Lahore in Punjab.
SHO Rizwan Latif,
Sub-Inspector Abdul Razzaq and Constable Muhammad Aamir, were
injured when a low-intensity timed-device, fixed inside the vehicle,
exploded outside the Lytton Road Police station.
Two gunmen opened
fire on a Police vehicle outside the Gulshan Ravi Police station,
where Muhammad Saleem, driver of the Police vehicle, as well as
Constables Muhammad Naseer and Muhammad Masood received bullet
injuries.
Two rockets fired
from the nearby Khyber Agency landed in different parts of the
Peshawar city, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in
the wee hours.
The personnel of
the BDU defused a 12 kilogram IED planted by unidentified militants
on the Samana Road of Hangu.
The Police arrested
75 suspected persons during a search operation carried out in
mountainous areas of Sawaldher, Guli Abad, Spari as well as Chura
and Jabar areas in the Mardan District and recovered 175 kilograms
of explosives, 2,500 fuses and 2,000 meters prima card used in
triggering blasts and 750 dynamites.
Three key leaders
and financiers for the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban
have been "designated," or targeted through sanctions,
for supporting acts of terrorism linked to the militant outfits
based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States Department
of the Treasury announced.
The three individuals
were also added to the United Nations 1267 Consolidated List on
July 19, 2010 for being associated with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden
or the Taliban, the Treasury said in a statement.
According to a research
carried out by the BBC Urdu service, nearly 2,500 people have
been killed as a result of US drones and militant attacks since
January 2009.
Pakistan is cooperating
more with US-backed Afghanistan peace efforts but not to the extent
sought by Washington, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and
Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said. Speaking on a visit to Britain,
Richard Holbrooke cited several areas of progress, including a
greater Pakistani military push against the militants on its soil,
but an Afghan Taliban faction called the Haqqani network remained
a "real problem".
President Asif Ali
Zardari proposed the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops
from Siachen glacier, the highest battleground in the world.
Two US lawmakers,
a Republican and a Democrat, proposed a bill demanding the withdrawal
of all US troops in Pakistan, where they are conducting covert
operations against militants. "We have known that US forces
have been operating in secret inside the territories of Pakistan
without congressional approval," Democratic Representative
Dennis Kucinich said, pointing to reports the United States was
stepping up its presence there.
July 24
At least 16 militants
were killed while scores others injured in US drone strikes in
Angora Adda locality of South Waziristan Agency in the early morning.
The TNSM Bajaur
Agency chief Ismail Muhammadi surrendered along with six other
militants at Khar, the headquarters of the Bajaur Agency in FATA
and announced their full support for the Pakistan Army in the
war against terrorism.
Two persons, identified
as Muhammad Sarwar and Noor Alam Bangali, were shot dead by unidentified
assailants near Gwadar International Airport of Gwadar District
in Balochistan on.
Unidentified militants
shot dead the son of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian
Iftikhar Hussain in Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Admiral Mike Mullen,
the US joint chiefs of staff chairman said on July 24 that the
LeT had become "a very dangerous organisation and a significant
regional and global threat".
July 25
24 TTP militants
were killed and 18 others sustained injuries in air strikes by
the PAF fighter jets in Tursamat and Jabbar villages of Orakzai
Agency in FATA.
24 persons, majority
of them local tribal militants, were killed and some others injured
in three different missile attacks by the US drones in South Waziristan
and North Waziristan Agencies.
Unidentified militants
stopped a vehicle in Arjaleen Aday area of Khyber Agency and shot
dead the two persons after forcing them out of the vehicle. The
two slain persons were identified as Sher Alam and Taj Meer Khan
of Shalobar tribe.
Two girls and a
woman were injured when a house was hit by a shell in Zawa Khormatang
area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency where security forces
conducted search operation and pounded the suspected hideouts
of militants.
A vehicle of SFs
was partially damaged in a remote-controlled bomb attack in Shalobar
area near Hisara Khwar.
Unidentified militants
abducted a person, identified as Asghar Khan of Malik Din Khel
tribe, from Dro Adda in Akakhel area.
One person was shot
dead by unidentified assailants in Sariab Road in Quetta. The
deceased was identified as Faqir Mohammad Bangulzai.
One person was wounded
when unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade at a house in
Kili Baro area.
SFs arrested 22
suspected persons in Khanmahi and Umarzai areas of Charsadda District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One Kalashnikov rifle, nine guns and a
pistol were also recovered from their possession.
A desperate woman,
identified as Shazia Sultan, appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Government and the human rights organisations to provide her protection
against a Swat TTP ‘commander’, who was forcing her to marry him.
The TTP claimed
responsibility for the killing of Mian Rashid Hussain, the only
son of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.
The Punjab Government
has converted the CID into the ATD, established the Punjab Security
Board and the Security Implementation Committee.
July 26
24 dead bodies,
believed to be that of militants, were recovered in Akakhel area
of Khyber Agency in FATA.
14 TTP militants,
including a ‘commander’, were killed when jet fighters bombed
two vehicles of militants in Dogar area in Upper tehsil
of Orakzai Agency. The slain militants included a TTP ‘commander’
identified as Amjad, the sources added.
Around 200 militants
stormed the Achini Police post jointly manned by the Peshawar
Police and the Frontier Constabulary, killing a soldier and a
Policeman.
Six persons were
seriously injured when unidentified militants hurled hand-grenades
on the house of a local journalist in Khar tehsil of the Bajaur
Agency.
SFs blew up the
house of a wanted militant with explosives in the area of Chengazo
in Bajaur Agency and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition
from the area.
Eight persons, including
three Policemen and two children, were killed, while 23 others
were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the
house of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar
Hussain in the Khan Sher Garhi area of Peshawar.
Five members including
three minors of a family were killed when rocket fired by the
militants struck a house in Darra Adamkhel.
Four persons including
two minors were shot dead and four others sustained injuries when
unidentified militants ambushed a car in Charbagh tehsil
of Swat District.
Two militants were
killed during a search operation conducted by SFs in Tank District.
Explosive devices
planted near the Hujra of MPA Munawwar Khan in Lakki Marwat
city went off in the night, without causing any damage.
Militants blew up
a primary school for boys in Matani area of Peshawar.
Unidentified militants
blew up a franchise of a private cellular company adjacent to
a mosque with a time device in Hangu. However, no casualty was
reported.
Two Levies personnel,
identified as Karim Dad and Zahoor Ahmed, were shot dead by unidentified
assailants near the Pirnawa area of Awaran District in Balochistan.
A Frontier Corps
official, identified as Naveed, was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in Khuzdar District.
Unidentified militants
shot dead Habibullah, the son of National Party (NP) central leader
Tufail Sabir in Khuzdar.
One person was injured
in Quetta when unidentified gunmen opened fire on him in Kashmirabad
area of the city.
Two bodies were
found on the Qambrani Road in Quetta. The deceased were identified
as Ashfaq Mengal, and Farooq Mulazai.
Two brothers were
shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of Sadar Sammundri
Police station in Faisalabad in Punjab.
TTP claims it has
organised 3,000 terrorists for its declared battle against India,
the TTP spokesperson tells Tahir Ali in Islamabad. TTP declared
that it is providing training to terrorists to launch an attack
on India. The TTP spokesperson Azam Tariq told this correspondent
in a telephone interview that the TTP has vowed to capture "Hindustan".
"India is our Jageer," Tariq said, "and we will attack
to take possession of it.
A former ISI official,
Colonel Ameer Sultan alias Colonel Imam, who is in custody of
militants since four months in North Waziristan, appealed to the
President, Prime Minister and Director General of the ISI to accept
demands of the militant organisation, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami,
to save his life.
A little known militant
organisation, Asian Tigers, had claimed responsibility for the
abduction and later set their terms for the release of the three
abducted persons.
Pakistan was actively
collaborating with the Taliban in Afghanistan while accepting
US aid, leaked US military reports showed on July 22, a disclosure
likely to increase pressure on Washington’s embattled ally.
The United States
said it had alerted the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan when
it learned thousands of secret military files about the Afghan
war were to be published by the media.
ISI lashed out against
a trove of leaked US intelligence reports that alleged close connections
between it and Taliban militants fighting NATO troops in Afghanistan,
calling the accusations malicious and unsubstantiated.
Spokesperson for
the JuD Attiq Chohan has said that his organisation was no more
banned as the Lahore High Court had cleared it of the charges
in a detailed verdict last year.
Pakistan Interior
Minister Rehman Malik said that the Pakistani-American, Faisal
Shehzad who pleaded guilty to a New York bomb plot met the country’s
TTP ‘chief’ Hakimullah Mehsud, just days after footage emerged
of them hugging.
Rehman Malik said
that Pakistan had lodged protest with the Afghanistan Government
about the presence of key leaders of terrorists in Afghanistan’s
Nuristan province allegedly involved in planning and carrying
out terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Pakistan's obsession
with India is leading it to "dig its own grave" as the ISI’s destructive
role" now stands exposed in the wake of the revelations by classified
intelligence documents, a leading US lawmaker said.
Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that it will be impossible for it to
continue the dialogue with India if New Delhi does not pay importance
to the Kashmir issue.
The US Consul General
to Karachi William J. Martin announced the launch of special projects
in Balochistan besides the opening of a US consulate in the provincial
metropolis.
Pakistan harbours
no aggressive designs against any state, but was determined to
defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani said.
July 27
Unidentified militants
shot dead a Police Officer, ASI Naimatullah Shahwani, in the Kalat
area of Balochistan.
Four soldiers were
critically injured in a roadside blast in Meshti Mela area in
Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Two Khasadars,
Ahmed Shah and his brother Ihsanullah, and a minor Gulab sustained
critical injuries when a landmine planted by militants exploded
in Kodakhel area in Baizai subdivision in Mohammad Agency.
A soldier got injured
during an encounter between SFs and militants at the newly established
checkpost in Zag area of Manzari Cheena.
The SFs launched
massive search operations by clamping curfew in the different
areas of Orakzai Agency and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.
The ANP lost about
485 diehard activists during the ongoing ‘war on terror’ for its
tough stance against militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal
areas over the last many years.
TTP said that it
was the duty of the Mujahideen to annihilate the ANP, as
it was "not only the enemy of the Taliban, but Islam as well".
Admiral Mike Mullen,
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said that the information
in leaked documents on the war in Afghanistan did not call into
question the US strategy or Washington’s relationship with Pakistan.
Pakistan’s ambassador
to the US Husain Haqqani has said the "outdated perspectives"
of the leaked American military intelligence reports were out
of step with the emerging Islamabad-Washington cooperative partnership
to fight terrorism.
The Government introduced
comprehensive legislation in the Senate to create adequate deterrence
and curb terrorism in the country in the most effective manner.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik introduced the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment)
Bill 2010 to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, which contains
several measures to make the law harder on terrorists.
Under the proposed
legislation, if someone is found possessing an explosive substance,
with or without an explosive device, without lawful justification,
it would be presumed, unless proven contrary, that the explosive
substance would be used for terrorism purposes.
The country’s authorities
have a blueprint of the enemy’s intentions, which culminate at
Pakistan’s destabilisation, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told
the Senate.
Pakistan dismissed
as "baseless" and "skewed" the leaked US intelligence reports
that accused its ISI agency of supporting Taliban fighters. Foreign
Office spokesman Abdul Basit told the media that leaked reports
were "far-fetched and skewed" and inconsistent with ground realities.
July 28
Three SFs were killed
and 10 others injured when militants attacked a convoy in the
Pash Ziarat area of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.
The general secretary
of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Bajaur chapter and religious scholar,
Maulana Hanif Fazil, was shot at by unidentified assailants at
his seminary in Khar of Bajaur Agency.
Unidentified assailants
killed a Police Officer in an ambush at Naupura on the outskirts
of Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The militants fired
three rockets at Kohat Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However,
no loss was caused as the rockets landed in open areas.
An anti-terrorism
court extended 10-day judicial remand of the alleged terrorist,
Asmatullah alias Muaz, and his accomplice Abdullah, nominated
in the attacks on two Ahmadi worship places.
An anti-terrorism
court in Karachi indicted four suspected militants in an explosive
substance case.
The personnel of
law-enforcement agencies were put on alert after rumours about
the entry of a suicide bomber in Khan Shergarhi area in Pabbi
tehsil of Nowshera District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Corps Commander
Peshawar Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik said that after suffering defeat
in Swat and South Waziristan, the militants had now started arriving
in major cities to terrorise the people but the SFs would soon
eliminate their new sanctuaries in urban areas.
The Corps Commander
denied the charges of human rights violations against the Army
in Swat and said the Pakistan Army was one of the world’s best
and professionally trained armies and there was no way it would
trample human rights.
Defending US military
assistance for Islamabad, the President Barack Obama Administration
told New Delhi that a stable Pakistan should not be seen as a
threat to India.
US lawmakers challenged
the President Barack Obama’s war strategy, defeating a resolution
calling for the removal of US forces from Pakistan by a crushing
38-372 margin.
Pakistan Ambassador
to the US Hussain Haqqani asked the critics of Pakistan’s anti-terrorism
performance not to judge its resolve by the Afghan war leaks but
view it in the context of current unified efforts, marked by Pakistan’s
countless sacrifices and unprecedented level of cooperation with
the US and Afghanistan.
David Headley’s
revelation that LeT planned the Mumbai attacks with possible help
from the ISI is a ‘ticking time-bomb’ that could wreck the US-Pakistan
relationship and take the subcontinent to disaster, a former CIA
official Bruce Riedel has warned.
Cooperation with
Pakistan on counter-terrorism is at an "all-time high",
General James Mattis said. A trove of leaked US military documents
released this week also raised new questions about whether Pakistan
was secretly supporting the Taliban.
As terrorism is
a global, regional and local issue, Pakistan and the United Kingdom
have a robust and comprehensive partnership, including on counter-terrorism,
Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said.
July 29
12 militants were
killed and 11 others injured in a clash with SFs in the Kurram
Agency of FATA. SFs launched a search operation in the Marghan
Kandaw area of central Kurram Agency on information that militants
were regrouping there.
At least 10 persons
were killed and their houses set ablaze in sectarian violence
in Kurram Agency. Local residents said that men of the Shia sect
carried out the attack.
One person was killed
while another was seriously injured in Quetta in Balochistan.
Unidentified attackers
threw a hand grenade in the house of Wasif Siraj, a Government
employee in Railway Housing Scheme on Brewery Road.
Unidentified assailants
set the Zakat office in Awaran District on fire causing
partial damage to its furniture.
Afghanistan President
Hamid Karzai urged his Western allies to destroy Islamist militant
sanctuaries in neighbouring Pakistan after thousands of secret
US files were leaked.
The Pakistan Foreign
Office reacted sharply to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s
suggestion of a NATO operation inside Pakistan, saying the comments
were "incomprehensible".
Rejecting the Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai’s comments, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah
Mehmood Qureshi has said that most of the Afghanistan war stalwarts
had left Pakistan for other places due to crackdown by Armed forces.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani assured the Senate that the issue of hostile statements
against Pakistan made by British Prime Minister David Cameron
would be taken up at a diplomatic level and warned that such statements
could adversely affect the war against terrorism.
US Vice-President
Joe Biden said in an interview aired that Pakistan’s intelligence
agency ISI was "changing" its behaviour towards Afghanistan.
Chairman of the
US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen asked the ISI to
"strategically shift its focus", as any ties with the terrorist
outfits that has come to light in the wake of the WikiLeaks episode
is unacceptable.
Pakistani Ambassador
to the US Hussain Haqqani renewed Pakistan’s support for the Kashmiris’
right to self-determination and asked India to enter into result-oriented
talks with Islamabad towards resolution of the decades-old Kashmir
conflict.
Pakistan is concerned
about "influence of India in Afghanistan" and does not want to
be caught in a "pincer movement" on the issue, the country's envoy
to the US, Husain Haqqani, has said.
Former head of ISI
General Hamid Gul said that he never ordered Indians killed. He
has described the 91,000 leaked US military documents, which allege
close connections between Pakistan and Taliban militants, as "fictional".
July 30
A Police constable
was shot dead near Barech Market at the Sirki Road in Quetta,
the provincial capital of Balochistan.
A NATO oil tanker
was attacked in the Western Bypass area of Quetta. Police officials
said unidentified assailants attached an IED to the tanker.
The CID of the Sindh
Police arrested two persons allegedly associated with the JeM
at Shershah area in Karachi.
The US brushed aside
an Afghanistan demand to strike at Afghani Taliban safe havens
across the border, saying it has no plans to send combat troops
to Pakistan.
Though terror groups
continue to strike in their country, a majority of Pakistanis
still consider India as a major threat, view America as an enemy
and are far less concerned about Taliban and al Qaida, the Pew
Research Center opinion poll reported.
A majority of them
are far less concerned about India-centric terror outfit LeT as
compared to Taliban and al Qaeda. The Pew Research Center in its
latest opinion poll released said that "Just 35 per cent
have a negative view of LeT, a much lower percentage than for
the other extremist organisations tested."
July 31
The militants allegedly
killed two persons on charges of ‘spying for the American forces’
and dumped their bodies along the roadside at separate places
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Six people, including
a woman and four Police officials, were injured when unidentified
assailants fired on a Police van in the Killi Tarka area of Spiny
Road in Quetta of Balochistan in the morning.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal,
president of the BNP and a former chief minister of the Balochistan
accused the Government and its functionaries of carrying out target
killings of Baloch leaders and activists.
August 1
At least 15 TTP
militants were killed and 10 others injured when the SFs backed
by fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency of
FATA.
A roadside bomb
exploded as Army troops were clearing a road connecting the villages
of Sararogha and Janata in South Waziristan, killing two soldiers.
A Police Officer
was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Karachi in Sindh.
The US Defence Secretary
Robert Gates defended Pakistan, saying the country was actively
targeting militants, after leaked documents alleged that Islamabad’s
intelligence agency is guiding Afghan insurgents.
Over 3,400 Pakistanis
have been killed in more than 200 bloody incidents of suicide
attacks carried out in the last three years between July 2007
and July 2010 in the aftermath of the Operation Silence carried
out by the Pakistan Army at the Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad.
Figures compiled
by the Federal Ministry of Interior show that a total of 3,433
Pakistanis have been killed in 215 incidents of suicide attacks
across Pakistan during the last three years since the Lal Masjid
action [between July 2007 and July 2010].
Official figures
show that 16 people were killed on average in 215 incidents of
suicide bombings across Pakistan between [between July 2007 and
July 2010].
A record number
of 1,217 Pakistanis were killed by human bombs in 80 suicide attacks
carried out during 2009. On average, 15 Pakistanis lost their
lives in six suicide attacks every month in 2009.
Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani announced that the Government was ready for dialogue
with the Baloch leaders whether they were in or out of the country.
Pakistan does not
share Taliban’s ideology and it is working to contain the threat
posed by the group, said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain
Haqqani said. Haqqani said "The Pakistani intelligence services
are working effectively to contain all terrorists including Taliban
from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
August 2
15 militants were killed and eight
others, including two SFs, were injured in a clash with SFs near
Dabori area of Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A MQM leader and a member of the
Sindh Assembly, Raza Haider, and his security guard, Khalid Khan
were shot dead by unidentified assailants inside a mosque in the
Nazimabad area of Karachi in Sindh.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik,
however, accused SSP for the assassination of Haider. Talking
to reporters at the Parliament House, Malik said there were reports
of death threats to Haider's life, which had been conveyed to
certain senior officials.
Following the incident, as at
least 35 more persons were killed and more than 125 were injured
in incidents of violence that broke out in various areas in response
to the killing.
Liaquatabad Town SP Waqar Mallan
said that Police recovered empty shells of a 9mm pistol and an
SMG from the crime scene.
Punjab Police arrested two cadres
of the militant outfit Fazal Mehsud group in Lahore in Punjab.
The Police said that the arrested militants belonged to the Fazal
Mehsud group, which was involved in attacks on the worship places
of the Ahmadis in the provincial metropolis.
The TTP spokesman Azam Tariq asked
reporters and journalists to be impartial in their profession.
"The media should avoid creating rifts in the ranks of Mujahideen
who are fighting a holy war," the TTP spokesman said while addressing
media organisations on phone from an undisclosed location.
35 al Qaeda members and 10 Taliban
members and affiliates were removed from a UN sanctions terror
list after an exhaustive review of 488 names, Austria's UN ambassador
announced.
"In Pakistan, we've seen the government
begin to take the fight to violent extremists within its borders.
Major blows have been struck against Al Qaeda and its leadership,"
US President Barack Obama said.
August 3
A prominent trader was injured
and his driver killed when unidentified assailants opened fire
on them in Satellite town area of Quetta in Balochistan in the
night.
The Police arrested several suspects
for alleged links to the LeJ as investigators suspected their
involvement in the murder of MQM MPA Raza Haider.
Suspicion falls on terrorists
of banned outfits, who have executed killings recently on sectarian
grounds," said Raja Umar Khattab, an officer of the Special Investigation
Unit.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that a joint committee comprising officials from the ISI,
the IB, the FIA, Rangers and Police had been constituted to restore
peace in Karachi, where target killings claimed scores of lives.
MQM Coordination Committee accused
the ANP of harbouring militants, and arms and drug barons in Karachi.
"The ANP is condescending jihadi outfit as the city has regularly
witnessed arrests of militants, mostly from Pashtun-dominated
localities," the committee said.
Sindh ANP Secretary-General Amin
Khattak told that he regretted that the MQM leadership was trying
to implicate the ANP in the MPA's murder. He denied all allegations.
Coalition forces are losing the
war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, President Asif Ali Zardari
said in an interview published in France. "The international community,
to which Pakistan belongs, is losing the war against the Taliban.
The White House dismissed comments
by President Asif Ali Zardari that US-backed coalition forces
are losing the war in Afghanistan.
Over ten terrorist outfits reunited
on the intervention of certain high-profile jihadis belonging
to various countries, adding that the outfits were earlier divided
and were carrying out their activities separately.
Taking advantage of the internal
mass migration of people in Pakistan's KP province due to heavy
flooding, militants are reportedly trying to enter Peshawar and
other Districts of the province.
Expressing serious concern over
increasing Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan that has its support
in its Army and the intelligence, a bipartisan US Congressional
independent panel has warned that the South Asian country is "vulnerable"
to an Iranian style revolution.
August 4
The FC chief Sifwat Ghayoor along
with his three bodyguards was killed in a suicide attack at FC
Headquarters in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
11 persons were also injured in the attack. SP Cantonment, Shafiullah,
said that the suicide bomber targeted Ghayoor's vehicle in FC
Chowk near Deans' Trade Center, situated about 100 yards from
the FC Headquarters, when he was returning home from office.
Two children were killed and four
others injured in a grenade explosion at Adam Bhanda in Thall
tehsil of Hangu District. The children were playing with
a toy bomb they found when it went off.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information
Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain vowed that the Government's battle
against militants would continue and such attacks could not shake
its determination to fight terrorism.
The Islamabad Police shot dead
an alleged militant in sector G-8 and arrested another in an encounter.
"According to our intelligence network, some terrorists had handed
over a car to a workshop owner in G-8 for repair, and said they
would be back to recover it," Police said. SSP Tahir Alam said
that the arrest of a militant is an achievement of Islamabad Police.
The Shabab-e-Milli President Chaudhry
Sajid said that Zahir Ahmed Awan was a member of their organisation
but he left the organisation some months back.
At least 45 militants, including
three known 'commanders', surrendered before SFs in Sarkari area
of Nawagai subdivision in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
SFs recovered weapons including
bombs, rockets and mortar shells, Kalashnikov rifles, anti-tank
mines and hand grenades during search operation in the mountainous
Charmang valley of Nawagai subdivision of Bajaur Agency.
The Karachi Police and the Intelligence
Bureau is investigating the role of a top leader of the TTP, Qari
Muhammad Zafar alias Ustad-e-Fidayeen, in the assassination of
MQM leader Raza Haider on August 2. Zafar, who is on the US State
Department's "wanted-list", has head money of $ five million and
he is also believed to be behind the bombing at the US Consulate
on March 2, 2006.
Pakistan is fighting the war against
terror for world peace and the Swedish Government would leave
no stone unturned to help it in this regard, said Swedish Ambassador
to Pakistan Ulrika Sundburge.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah
said that they wouldn't prevent JuD's relief work as it may end
up creating goodwill for it. "It's a delicate situation and authorities
would tread carefully," he told Times of India from Lahore.
August 5
One person was killed and another
injured, when unidentified assailants opened fire on a NATO oil
tanker at Airport Road in the suburbs of Quetta.
Two FC personnel were injured
in a hand grenade attack on a check post in Bara Qadeem area of
Peshawar District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Foreign-made arms, including pistols
and ammunition, were seized from a person returning from the US
at the Lahore airport.
Bomb hoax created panic at a shopping
centre in Kamra cantonment of Attock District, resulting in closure
of adjacent G.T. Road and evacuation of people from the surrounding
markets.
The Islamabad Police obtained
seven days physical remand of a suspected terrorist to interrogate
him about his accomplices. Anti-Terrorism Court-I (ATC-I) Judge
Malik Mohammad Akram Awan remanded Rana Zaffar Iqbal into Police
custody for seven days after the SHO Margalla sought his custody
for 13 days.
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT)
Police claimed that the alleged terrorist Zahirud Din, who was
killed in G-8, was shot dead by his own fellow.
The US said that despite major
setbacks, al Qaeda's core in Pakistan is the "most formidable"
terrorist group threatening the US, along with affiliates in Yemen
and Africa.
In Afghanistan, despite some heavy
losses among militants and their leaders, the Taliban's "ability
to recruit foot soldiers from its core base of rural Pashtuns
remained undiminished," the report said.
The U.S. State Department's annual
"Country Reports on Terrorism for the year 2009 said that Pakistan's
lacklustre approach to bring to justice the 26/11 perpetrators
has basically frozen Indo-Pak peace talks, which also warned that
the LeT remained a serious threat to Western interests.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed
to enhance cooperation between their law enforcing agencies and
increase intelligence sharing to counter terrorism.
August 6
A militant of the LI was killed
in a hand-grenade explosion in the Tirah valley in Khyber Agency
of FATA. The sources said that Samad Khan was inspecting a hand-grenade
in headquarters of LI in Nari Baba area when it suddenly went
off in his hands, killing him on the spot.
A Naib Subedar of the FC, along
with his two cousins, were arrested as investigators suspect the
involvement of insiders in the August 4 suicide attack on FC chief
Sifwat Ghayoor.
The US and the UN designated Pakistan's
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation"
and targeted its commander for supporting acts of terrorism.
Dozens of convicted and condemned
terrorists who should have been hanged are alive and well because
the Federal Government and the Presidency are sitting over their
mercy petitions, in some cases for over five years.
Regional Police Officer Rao Muhammad
Iqbal said that the Punjab Government replaced the CID with the
Counter Terrorism Department to eliminate terrorism from the Province
and special equipment was being provided to it.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
said that he's willing to consider negotiations with the Taliban
in his country. Zardari said his country had never closed the
door to talks with the Taliban.
The US Under-Secretary of Defence
Michele Flournoy said the US had no doubts on Pakistan's commitment
to the war against terrorism and both countries share the same
interests, as the Pakistan Army and its people have rendered invaluable
sacrifices in the fight against militancy.
Flournoy said the US Government
would provide $1 billion to Pakistan as Counter-Insurgency Support
Fund, in 2010, in its commitment towards helping Pakistan in all
spheres of life.
The US Government also condemned
this report. Let me assure you that there is absolutely no involvement
of the US Government in this matter," she said.
August 7
Reacting to the statement of President
Asif Ali Zardari that they had never closed the door to talks
with the Taliban (TTP), the TTP militants have said that their
leadership would hold negotiations on one point i.e. complete
withdrawal of troops from all parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and
tribal areas, a condition that the Government would never be able
to accept.
On August 6 Zardari told a foreign
news agency that his country had never closed the door to talks
with the Taliban. "We never closed the dialogue," Zardari said,
skirting the question as to when talks could actually resume.
Terrorists killed my wife, Benazir
Bhutto, and hundreds of Pakistanis so there is no need to preach
me about terrorism, President Asif Ali Zardari said. "Everybody
is sensitive, as we have lost so many people, including my late
wife," Zardari said.
August 8
Two Policemen were shot dead by
unidentified assailants in the Sikandarabad area under Jackson
Police Station of Keamari Town in Karachi.
Unidentified assailants on a motorcycle
hurled a hand grenade and fired several shots at the residence
of the Minister of State for Industries and Production Mir Ayatullah
Durrani in the Parengabad area of Mastung District in the evening.
The bomb disposal squad personnel
defused a 12 kilogrammes bomb planted on a roadside near Askari
Madarasa, situated on the main Hangu road in Peshawar of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants abducted
five persons and took away two pick-up trucks, carrying cattle
to border area, in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency in FATA.
Two Khassadar force personnel
were abducted by militants in Chora area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber
Agency.
Two persons were abducted by unidentified
militants from different areas of Bara tehsil in Khyber
Agency.
Another tribesman Abdul Raheem
was abducted by unidentified militants from Sepah area in Khyber
Agency.
The Police arrested five accomplices
of suspected militant Rahim, who is allegedly involved in the
attack on the ISI's Multan office on December 7, 2009, from Jalalpur
Peerwala area under Lodhran tehsil (revenue unit) in Multan
District of Punjab.
The strategy chalked out to halt
the bloodshed in Orangi Town of Karachi in Sindh failed, while
people accused SFs for fuelling ethnic violence.
The decision for deploying the
FC in Orangi Town was termed discriminatory by the inhabitants,
who said that forces already deployed were reluctant to take action
against the criminal posts on the hilltops surrounding the town.
Law enforcement agencies have
decided to use satellite imaging and real-time intelligence for
the first time to pin-point the outfits involved in firing from
roof-tops and other hide-outs in troubled areas of the city.
The leader of the militant outfit
HuJI, Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, has become the first Pakistani
Jihadi leader to have been designated by the United Nations
and the United States as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist'
for his alleged al-Qaeda connections.
The CCPO Muhammad Aslam Tareen
has stressed the need to formulate a well-coordinated strategy
to combat the menace of terrorism. He said the basic purpose of
establishing Mohalla Committees was to enable the Police to access
information at the grass-roots level.
The Sunni Ittehad Council announced
a "long march" against terrorism and failure of the Punjab Government
in nabbing the Data Darbar attackers. The announcement was made
at a peace conference to mark the Data Darbar suicide attack of
July 2.
President Asif Ali Zardari in
an interview with The Sunday Telegraph said that he now
had full control over Pakistan's intelligence services, which
have long been suspected of lending secret support to militant
causes. Zardari, who is on a five-day visit to London, spoke out
after talks on August 7 with British Prime Minister David Cameron,
aimed at patching up damage caused by the latter's recent remarks
that Pakistan was involved in "the export of terror".
August 8
The office of the Benazir Income
Support Programme (BISP) in Turbat was badly damaged when unidentified
assailants attacked the building with a grenade in the night.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab
Aslam Raisani said that he could bring the resistance forces in
Balochistan to the table for talks if the Federal Government and
other quarters concerned gave him the mandate to do this.
Backing the Pakistani military
line on the Afghanistan issue, former ISI chief Hamid Gul claimed
that it's only Taliban and its 'chief' Mulla Omar who can guarantee
that there would be no threat to the US from this part of the
world.
August 9
Unidentified assailant shot dead
one Levies official, Juma Khan Jattak, in Killi Barozai area of
Qambarani Road in Quetta of Balochistan.
Gulalai Wali Khan, sister of Awami
National Party (ANP) president Asfandyar Wali Khan, escaped an
attempt on her life when three unidentified assailants fired three
shots at her as she left her clinic in Karachi Market in the busy
Khyber Bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs arrested a suspected person
in Charbagh tehsil while four others allegedly involved
in militancy surrendered in Mingora of Swat District.
The COAS General Ashfaq Kayani
met Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the
31st Tripartite Commission meeting of military representatives
in Kabul, where the two leaders discussed the new counter-terrorism
strategy.
Pakistan rejected the statement
of India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram accusing Pakistan of stoking
violence in Kashmir. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, while
responding to the remarks of Chidambaram, said that by accusing
Pakistan, India was not only insulting the indigenous and legitimate
struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but also betraying
its lack of seriousness towards resolving the Kashmir dispute.
Notwithstanding the lack of progress
in July 15 talks, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said it
is ready to walk the "extra mile" as it wants to "move forward"
in building relations with India but insisted that the two countries
need to be "mutually accommodative".
US Representatives for Pakistan
and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke said that the Taliban do not
represent the popular will of the people in Afghanistan, a day
after a former ISI chief Hamid Gul said that the Taliban represents
the national resistance movement of that country.
August 10
Six persons, including three soldiers
and as many militants, were killed and seven others injured in
two separate incidents of violence in Sagi area of Mohmand Agency
in FATA.
A former District President of
Balochistan National Party - Mengal Fraction (BNP-Mengal), Attaullah
Baloch, was shot dead in Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
Rawal Khan Mohammad Hasni, an
elder of Mohammad Hasni tribe, was shot dead by unidentified armed
assailants near his house at Brewery road in Quetta.
Four persons were injured in an
incident of firing when where unidentified assailants riding a
motorcycle opened fire on them on College Road in Panjgur.
A sessions court in Karachi acquitted
two suspects stated to be associated with a banned militant outfit
in an explosive material case for want of evidence.
The TTP urged the Government to
not to accept any foreign aid for victims of the worst flood in
the country's history. TTP Spokesman Azam Tariq said that the
TTP would themselves provide money if the Government stopped accepting
international help.
The United States "clearly observes"
how the weapons it is supplying to Pakistan are being used, said
the US under secretary for Defence Michelle Flournoy.
The Extremists may take advantage
of flood-situation in Pakistan, the White House Deputy Press Secretary
Bill Burton told reporters at his daily news conference.
Against the back of the WikiLeaks
disclosure about ISI double-game in Afghanistan, former US Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the Pakistani spy agency
has a relationship with the Taliban.
August 11
A woman was killed and her three
sons sustained serious injuries after a mortar shell fired from
an unidentified location struck the house of Wazir Muhammad in
Sagi Bala area of Safi sub-division in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
A Shia person, Zakir Hussain (24),
was shot dead by unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle in
sectarian attack near the Madni Mosque in the Tariq Road area
of Karachi in Sindh.
The SFs arrested 10 suspected
cadres from southern Punjab, who have alleged links with the TTP
and the Haqqani network in Waziristan.
Police first arrested TTP southern
Punjab 'commander' Muhammad Saeed alias Talha and Al-Asr Trust
activist Muhammad Afzal. According to details, Ahmedpur Sharqia
Police arrested Afzal and Saeed at a picket on Katchery Road,
while they were riding a motorcycle.
The United Nation aid envoy to
flood-stricken Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, warned that armed
militants could take advantage of the country's worst humanitarian
disaster by operating among its displaced victims.
The suicide attack on Data Darbar
in Lahore on July 1, 2010 was a reaction of the arrests of some
suspected terrorists from Shahdara town of Lahore, who were involved
in exploding NATO tankers in Islamabad as well as the attack on
Ahmedi worship places on May 28.
Following the revealed information,
law enforcement agencies have directed to monitor a few LESCO
officials, as according to the information recovered from the
terrorists' USB, they also had links with LESCO officials, who
"helped" terrorists evolve a modus operandi to carry out explosions
by use of electricity poles.
Pakistan said it is ready to take
action against JuD 'chief' Hafiz Saeed but added India should
give "concrete evidence" that stands "legal scrutiny" and holds
him responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
August 12
Nine persons, including a woman
and a four-year-old girl, received splinter wounds in two separate
incidents of hand grenade attacks in Kharan and Hub in Balochistan.
Six persons were injured when
unidentified assailants thrown a grenade into a house in Kharan.
Explosives planted near Khuzdar
Civil Secretariat exploded. However, no causalities were reported.
Unidentified armed assailants
attacked the FC mess in Khuzdar District of Balochistan. According
to details, armed motorcyclists opened indiscriminate fire at
the FC mess.
ISAF in Afghanistan said that
the Taliban command and control system is in Quetta from where
it issues orders to the Taliban across the border.
A local tribal chief, Malik Abdul
Haleem, along with four relatives was abducted from a militant
stronghold around 10 days ago in Zakha Khel Bazaar of Landikotal
in FATA, the family of the abducted men disclosed.
The Punjab Government sought intelligence
gadgets from Norway to counter terrorism. A formal request to
the effect was made by Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah
during his meeting with Norwegian Justice and Police Minister
Terje Moland Pederson in Oslo, Norway.
The US Special Representative
for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, urged a greater
global response to the major floods there, insisting that the
fight against terrorism is only an indirect goal.
Hamid Gul, former ISI chief credited
with helping in creation of Afghan Taliban, said his country's
Army would not change its India-centric policy, unless the Kashmir
issue is resolved.
Hamid Gul told the CNN that the
Soviet occupation was wrong, and so is the American occupation.
"And that Afghan nation will not accept that position, Afghan
nation has never accepted for past 5000 years, they won't accept
it now.
August 13
Three Police personnel were killed
when unidentified assailants opened fire on them at a checkpost
near Chaki Shawani area of Saryab in Quetta of Balochistan.
Unidentified militants opened
fire on a local transporter Lehri and his companion when they
were travelling on Saryab Road near the Quetta Degree College.
Consequently, the two and a passerby, Wajid, received injuries.
Later, Lehri and Wajid succumbed to their injuries.
Unidentified militants attacked
a checkpost near the Rakshan River in Panjgur, killing an FC Subedar
on the incident site.
Unidentified armed militants opened
fire at a barbershop in Ghousabad area of Satellite Town in Quetta,
killing the barber Mohammad Rafiq.
A rocket which was fired from
unspecified location landed on Masoom Shah Street close to the
residence of Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussein Durrani
next to the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Quetta. A Constable,
identified as Lal Mohammad, and a six-year-old passerby Mohammad
Umer were wounded in the attack.
Two explosions took place in Gwadar
town where the offices of the deputy commissioner and Radio Pakistan
were partially damaged. No casualties were reported in the attacks.
In Khuzdar District of Balochistan,
unidentified militants planted an explosive device near the Government
Model High School and another explosion took place outside the
Deputy Commissioner's office in Awaran.
Unidentified militants hurled
a hand grenade at a power grid station in Sorab area of Khuzdar
District. According to Police, no casualties were reported.
An unidentified militant hurled
a hand grenade at the residence of Noorul Haq in Mastung. However,
no casualties were reported.
The Capital City Police arrested
two persons alleged to have been involved in the July 14 assassination
of BNP leader Habib Jalib Baloch.
Two MQM-H cadres were shot dead
in separate incidents of targeted killings in Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh. Waseem alias Bhutto was shot dead near the Gul
Ahmed Textile Mills under the Quaidabad police precincts.
Four troopers were injured when
militants targeted a convoy of Mehsud Scouts Commandant with an
explosive device in Nala-Malikdinkhel area of Bara tehsil of Khyber
Agency in FATA.
One person sustained injuries
when a roadside bomb went off in Loesam area of Khar tehsil in
Bajaur Agency. Political administration officials said that a
landmine planted by unspecified persons on Bajaur-Peshawar highway
exploded injuring Ihsan Khan hailing from Rabat Dir.
The Police claimed to have foiled
a sabotage attempt and recovered cache of various kinds of explosive
material and mortar shells on the Peshawar-Bara Road in Peshawar,
the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Five Pakistan-based "most dangerous
bad guy groups", including LeT responsible for the 2008 Mumbai
terror attack, pose a critical threat in war-torn Afghanistan,
says US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard
Holbrooke.
There is a massive conspiracy
to destabilise Karachi, Pakistan's only economic hub by jihadi
outfits which only recently decided to regroup and reorganise
themselves to launch a series of high-profile killings and bomb
blasts.
The "Quetta Shura" which consists
of the top leadership of the Afghan Taliban, headed by Mulla Omar,
from an unknown place in Pakistan and whose at least nine out
of 18 leaders had been arrested to this date, has cut ties with
al Qaeda, leaving al Qaeda and Arab militants inside Pakistan
no choice other than to join the TTP.
The Pakistan Army is playing the
leading role in rescue efforts after the worst floods in decades,
but it will not divert forces from the battle against Taliban,
said Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas.
August 14
At least 13 TTP militants, including
a key commander, were killed and six others injured when a US
drone struck a compound in Eisori village near Mirali, a town
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Unidentified assailants singled
out Punjabi passengers travelling on a bus, killing 10 and injuring
five others near the provincial metropolis. According to official
sources, a group of armed men riding motorcycles stopped the passenger
coach near Ahb-e-Gahm near Mach.
Six Punjabi speaking persons were
shot dead by assailants riding motorcycle when they were going
home from work in Khilji Colony of Quetta in Balochistan. The
men were labourers and belonged to Multan.
BLA claimed responsibility for
the killings of these six workers and 10 bus passengers. A BLA
spokesman, Jiaind Baloch, calling journalists from unidentified
location, said: "BLA conducted both attacks in response to killing
of missing persons in Government custody."
A woman, Sabra, and a boy, Dilshad,
were killed and eight other persons injured in a clash between
two sectarian groups in Hirabad town in Sindh in the night.
Congratulating people of Pakistan
on the occasion of its 63rd independence day, US President Barack
Obama expressed his country's long term commitment in strengthening
ties with the country.
August 15
Pakistan's ISI have revealed that
the TTP, the Jandullah outfit and banned local militant outfits
plan to target foreigners, embassies, Shia clerics and Imambargah
in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Okara and Karachi.
It is reported that the Federal
Capital is going to get under religious violence solely due to
negligence on part of the CDA. After Lal Masjid operation, only
six out of many mosques built on encroached land were removed
and the CDA then promised to build them on alternative land has
not realize the promise yet due to financial crunch.
Sources reported that more than
300 hardliners and their mentors from various parts of the country
have gathered across the provincial metropolis, acquiring houses
in Afghan and Pashtun populated localities, adding that several
high-profile hardliners are also hiding in posh localities across
the city.
The United States is poised to
bring in changes in its counter terrorism operations against al
Qaida and its extremist affiliates by saying that instead of the
"hammer" they will now be relying on the "scalpel" to dismantle
terrorist outfits.
General David Petraeus, the US
commander in Afghanistan, on August 15 held out the prospect of
eventual reconciliation with the Taliban, including negotiations
with leaders with "blood on their hands".
August 16
A DSP, his security guard, the
son of the Shia Action Committee head and a doctor were shot dead
in three separate incidents in Karachi.
29 militants of 'commander' Qari
Zaiur Rehman fraction of TTP laid down arms and surrendered to
SFs in Charmang areas of Nawagai tehsil in Bajaur Agency
of FATA.
SFs recovered a cache of weapons
and explosives during search operation in different areas of Charmang
valley in Bajaur Agency.
With the country reeling from
the devastation of the worst floods in its history, President
Asif Zardari warned that if the political leadership failed to
lead the nation, extremists and militants could step in to fill
the vacuum. Speaking at a dinner hosted in honour of the editors
of prominent national dailies at the Presidency, Asif Zardari
said the political leadership should not be afraid of leading
the nation even if in doing so they attract criticism.
August 17
Two persons were shot dead in
separate incidents of firing in Quetta and Mastung of Balochistan.
Sources said that Haji Azeem, an excise inspector, was on his
way home when some unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened
fire on him near Qambrani Road in Quetta.
Unidentified assailants on a motorbike
shot dead one Munawar in Mastung Town. He died on the spot while
the assailants managed to escape from the incident site.
At least 10 persons were injured
in a remote-controlled blast in the coastal Pasni Township. Sources
said that unidentified persons planted an explosive device in
Ward No 6 area of Pasni and detonated it as a school van approached
near.
A prayer leader Mufti Furqan (50),
son of Babu Ansari, belonging to the Deobandi sect, was shot dead
by unidentified assailants while he was heading home in Marwari
Mohalla on his motorcycle near Sabri Masjid on Nishtar Road under
Nabi Bux Police Station in Karachi.
The SFs repulsed an attack by
militants after an encounter in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency
in FATA in the night.
SFs recovered a cache of explosives,
heroin and charas during a search operation in Lala Kandao locality
of Jamrud tehsil. However, no arrests were made.
Four suspected TTP terrorists
were arrested by intelligence agency from Fatehjang Road in Islamabad.
Their arrest also led to the recovery of three Kalashnikovs, six
pistols and maps of five sensitive installations located in Rawalpindi
and Islamabad. The arrested militants were identified as Mohammad
Uzair, Jehangir, Talha and Rustam Ustad.
The Police arrested two young
would-be suicide bombers, with suicide vests around their waists,
while they were trying to enter Peshawar, the capital of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
The ISI said that homegrown terrorists
have overtaken the Indian Army as the greatest threat to national
security, a finding with potential ramifications for relations
between the two rival South Asian nations and for the US-led war
in Afghanistan.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
is reviewing a draft Post Crisis Need Assessment (PCNA), which
prescribes interventions in four strategic areas aimed at curbing
militancy in the province and its adjoining tribal region. The
PCNA, conducted by Asian Development Bank, European Union, United
Nations, World Bank and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government, was the
first-ever study, looking into the causes of militancy and suggesting
remedial steps.
August 18
Three militants were killed and
several others injured when militants of Mullah Nazir group, a
break away faction of Hakeemullah Mehsud led TTP, and TTP clashed
in Mantoi area of South Waziristan in the FATA.
SFs arrested four suspected militants
during a raid conducted at the seminary of Sahibzada Mohammad
Umar in Ash Khel area of Khyber Agency. The arrested militants
included Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Taqi, sons of Mohammad Umar,
an Afghanistan national Mulana Abdur Rahim and a resident of Bara
whose name could not be ascertained.
10 LI militants attacked a mosque
and killed two anti-TTP fighters while they were praying in Adezai
village on the outskirts of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
An hour later, about 100 militants
from the same outfit attacked on a Police Post in Sarbanda village,
on the western edge of Peshawar, leading to a 40-minute encounter
but no injuries were reported. "They were Mangal Bagh's people,"
Muhammad Karim Khan, a Senior Police Official said.
Sardar Nadir Jan Gichki of the
royal family of Mekran and maternal uncle of Sardar Akhtar Mengal,
president of the BNP, was shot dead by unidentified assailants
outside a mosque in Tump of Balochistan in the evening. His son,
late Hassan Gichki, had been tortured to death under judicial
custody by Government functionaries in 2006. Sardar Akhtar Mengal
accused the Government of killing Hassan Gichki for political
reasons.
A doctor, Javed, son of Abdul
Shakoor, allegedly belonging to the HuM outfit was shot dead near
the AO Clinic in Nazimabad area of Karachi, the provincial capital
of Sindh.
City Police arrested two alleged
members of the LeJ accused of being involved in over 10 targeted
killings in the city, including the assassination of MQM legislator
Raza Haider in the Jama Masjid in Nazimabad on August 2.
The IMU confirmed that the death
of its 'chief', Muhammad Tahir Farooq, popularly known as Tahir
Yuldashev who had been killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan
Agency of FATA in 2009.
August 19
Atleast 11 militants were killed
in different operations of SFs in the Orakzai and Kurram Agencies
of FATA. At least seven militants were killed and seven others
injured when SFs retaliated after an attack on a security check
post in the Tapoo area of Orakzai Agency.
SFs bombed the hideouts of militants
in Wasti Kurram and Chinarak areas of Kurram Agency killing four
militants and injuring 10 others.
Two officials of the IB and the
FC respectively were shot dead on the RCD Highway near Mastung,
around 50 kilometres from Quetta.
Three FC personnel injured when
their vehicle hit an IED near Turbat in Balochistan. According
to sources, a FC convoy coming from Gwadar hit an IED which was
planted in Danuk area, some five kilometres from Turbat. However,
the BLA spokesman Sarbaz Baloch taking responsibility of the blast
claimed that eight FC personnel were killed in the attack and
said it was in retaliation to the killing of Sardar Nadir Gichki,
who he said was the father of BLA commander Mir Beberg Baloch.
A militant was killed and two
passers-by were injured during a search operation in Matha Speen
Khak area of Katlang tehsil in Mardan District of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. The slain militant was identified as Fazal Qadir,
son of Gul Qadir.
18 persons were injured when a
bomb exploded in Bannu Bazaar in Bannu District. Eyewitnesses
said that a stranger threw a black plastic bag at Tail Mandi (oil
market) which exploded after a moment.
Two devotees were injured when
a low-intensity device, thought to be a cracker, exploded at Baba
Khaki Shah's shrine near Bagrian Chowk in Green Town area of Lahore.
The Federal Government asked the
provinces to initiate action against terrorist organisations,
which are operating in the country under the guise of charity.
The Government asked the respective Home Secretaries of all the
provinces to constitute a task force headed by a DIG to identity
such elements and initiate action against the charity organisations,
which had been banned by the Government.
The Judicial Magistrate of Karachi
West granted the physical remand for seven days of two alleged
cadres of the LeJ accused of 10 target killings. The IO produced
the suspects, Mohammad Wasim alias Baroodi and Abdullah alias
Taimur alias Darzi before JM Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim under strict
security arrangements.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information
Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain warned that militants were regrouping
in areas around Peshawar and could launch an attack anytime. The
warning came a day before the Provincial Government hosts donors'
conference in Islamabad to seek assistance for rehabilitation
of the flood-affected people. Representatives of the United Nations,
US, European Union, Gulf states, China and lending agencies have
been invited to the conference.
Appealing to the West for immediate
help, President Asif Ali Zardari expressed the fear that children
of flood-affected people and orphans may end up at terrorist training
camps. "We are giving them everything we've got. There is a possibility
that some negative forces would exploit this situation. For example,
militants can take orphaned babies and put them in terror training
camps," the President said at a joint press conference with US
Senator John Kerry after visiting flood-affected areas of Multan
and Jampur.
August 20
Unidentified assailants killed
two Policemen and injured a third one in an attack on a checkpoint
near Qureshi chowk in Dera Ismail Khan Town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Militants blew up a Government
school in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in the night. The sources
said that a group of militants in pickup vehicles came to Malakdin
Khel area and planted explosives on the building of Tamash Khan
Kallay Government Primary School.
Unidentified attackers set ablaze
a NATO container near Wadh area of Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
CID officials arrested two men
allegedly affiliated with the banned outfit LeJ and involved in
the killing of the MPA Raza Haider. The Police recovered two pistols
and nine rounds from their possession.
Pakistan courts are yet to convict
a single person in any of the country's biggest terrorist attacks
of the past three years, a symptom of a dysfunctional legal system
that's hurting the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda at a
critical time.
The Police without basic investigative
skills such as the ability to lift fingerprints, and prosecutors
who lack training to try terror cases, are some of the main reasons
cited. It has "caused a sense of terror and insecurity amongst
the members of society", said Lahore high court chief justice
Khawaja Mohammad Sharif.
Pakistan to clamp down on charities
linked to Islamist militants amid fears their involvement in flood
relief, exploiting anger against the Government, will undermine
the fight against outfits like the Taliban. Islamist charities
have moved in swiftly to fill the vacuum left by a Government
overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and struggling to reach
millions of people in dire need of shelter, food and clean water.
The JI criticised the Federal
Interior Minister's statement outlawing flood relief operations
by banned outfits as well as the Government's plan to impose tax
in the name of flood aid. JI chief Syed Munawwar Hasan said when
the nation needed collective efforts to cope with the situation,
Interior Minister Rehman Malik's orders banning banned outfits
from relief work would divide the nation.
Adding to this issue of floods
and terrorists the foreign terrorists could take advantage of
the issuance of duplicate and new Computerised National Identity
Cards (CNIC) to the millions of flood victims across the country.
Authorities have restricted access
to hundreds of Internet pages containing "anti-Islamic content",
but have allowed these outfits to operate online without censorship.
"Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook give such outfits
a forum for carrying forward their agenda," said Amir Rana, an
author and expert on the Taliban and militancy in the country.
The BNP said that target killings,
military operations, enforced disappearance of political workers
and torture of detained persons would never be able to suppress
the Baloch political struggle. Leaders were speaking at a meeting
held to mark the chehlum of Habib Jalib Baloch, secretary-general
of the BNP-Mengal who died in an armed attack on July 14, 2010.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi said that Islamabad will not allow terrorists
to take advantage of humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country.
Qureshi said we are not going to allow them to take advantage
or exploit this natural disaster. He was at the UN General Assembly
to attend a special meeting on Pakistan, underlining the need
for immediate international assistance.
August 21
Six persons died and five others
were injured as a vehicle hit an explosive device at Baizai tehsil
of Mohmand Agency in FATA. The political authorities said that
the deceased are members of the Peace Committee of Khowai Zai
area and were going to sub-division office at Baizai.
Six militants were killed in US
drone missile attack in North Waziristan, locals and official
sources said. Sources said that a US drone fired four missiles
at two vehicles at Anghar village, some four kilometres of Miranshah,
and killed all the six militants in the vehicles.
The suspected militants killed
son of a pro-Government tribal elder and injured two others in
an attack on his house in the Charmang area of Bajaur Agency in
FATA. Sources said a group of over 40 suspected militants attacked
the house of pro-government tribal elder and active member of
Charmang peace committee Malak Gul Khan with heavy weapons, killing
his young son Shahabuddin and injuring two others, Fazal Rehman
and Zaffar Khan critically.
A minor girl was killed when SFs
opened indiscriminate firing on militants in Jhansi area of Bara.
SFs arrested at least 11 militants,
a 10-year-old young would-be suicide bomber and three masterminds
of suicide bombings among them, during a raid on a hideout in
Satin area of Kurram Agency. Sources said that the boy had been
kidnapped from Karachi, when he was only four-year-old. He was
kept and trained by militants in Satin area of Kurram Agency.
The Khasadar Force recovered three
abducted persons, identified as Umair Khan, a resident of Rawalpindi,
Hamza, a resident of Charsadda and Mir Qadar, a resident of Landi
Kotal, during a raid on a house in Bakarabad locality in Jamrud
tehsil. However, the abductors managed to escape before the raid.
Suspected militants attacked a
Police check post located at Bara Qadeem (old Bara) area at Peshawar-Bara
Road near Peshawar killing a civilian and injuring three Policemen.
The SHO of Sarbanda Police Station Fazal Maula Khan said that
the attackers, riding three motorcycles and armed with Kalashnikovs,
belonged to the Mangal Bagh-led LI.
Pakistani authorities claimed
that they have arrested an Indian 'spy' in a border village in
Punjab province. The alleged spy was identified by the Pakistani
officials as Banu Das Bhattal, claiming that he had been living
in Chohrpura village of Kasur District, 60 kilometres from Lahore.
August 22
Three militants, including a 'commander',
were killed during a clash with SFs in Rajgali Kandaw area of
Buner District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that SFs
got information that some militants would use the Rajgali Kandaw
route to sneak into Gokand valley from Elum Ghar. They were identified
as militant commander Naseeb Zada, a resident of Narbatwal area,
and his two accomplices Wazir and Gul Nazar of Dokada area.
Militants blew up a Government
girl's primary school in semi-autonomous tribal area of Zarghun
Khel in frontier region of Kohat.
The bomb disposal squad defused
two hand grenades, which were found on roadside in Sector I of
Phase-II of KDA Town in Kohat District.
The Saddar and Canttantonment
Police of Kohat in a joint operation arrested 28 suspects and
recovered a cache of weapons from their possession. The search
operations were conducted in Jarma, Khwasi Banda, Kharmato, Ghulam
Banda, Tappi, Merozai and Dhodha.
Law enforcement agencies arrested
a high profile militant from Hangu who was allegedly involved
in the abduction of 35 Police recruits from Orakzai Agency of
FATA in July 2008. During investigation, the sources said, the
militant confessed the Police that he had rented a house in Lakhti
Banda area.
The Police arrested two persons,
identified as Mohammad Adnan and Shah Jahan alias Munna, for their
associations with LeJ and JeM after an alleged encounter in Korangi
in Karachi.
Terrorists are regrouping outside
Peshawar, the Tribal Areas and the flood-hit areas, and the Federal
and Provincial Government should launch an immediate action against
them, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain
said. He made these remarks while addressing a press conference.
"Terrorists are joining the flood victims. They are posing as
flood affectees and regrouping in the flood-hit areas," the KP
information minister said.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
decided to take action against outlawed terrorist outfits involved
in collecting donations for the flood affectees by using different
names.
Nearly a month after worst-ever
natural disaster flooded a fifth of the country and hit at least
20 million people, the spectres of social unrest and extremism
are stalking the nation. Torrential rains have had a catastrophic
impact on the nation, causing economic losses that could see the
country default on an IMF loan and leaving eight million people
dependent on aid for survival.
The Islamabad Capital Territory
Police left the security of mosques at the disposal of mosque
committees exposing the faithful to the risk of terrorism during
Ramzan. The sources said the Ministry of Interior had sent a report
to the Islamabad Capital Territory administration and federal
Police that there was a possibility of terror attack at some places
in Red Zone.
The capture of top Taliban 'commander'
Abdul Ghani Baradar may have been a bid by Pakistani intelligence
to thwart talks between the Taliban and the Afghanistan Government,
said The New York Times report. Baradar was a top military strategist
and trusted aide of the militia's shadowy leader, Mullah Mohammad
Omar.
August 23
26 persons, including
a former member of the National Assembly (NA) were killed and
40 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside
a mosque in Wana town of South Waziristan in FATA at 3 pm (PST).
Pro-Government cleric Maulana Noor Muhammad was delivering a sermon
in the area’s biggest mosque when the attack occurred.
Missiles fired from
a US drone killed 13 militants and seven civilians in Dandey Darpa
Khel area, about five kilometres from Miranshah, the main town
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
A bomb blast at
a meeting of tribal elders killed seven persons and injured another
seven in Khumas village about 10 kilometres east of Parachinar
of Kurram Agency in FATA.
Three militants
were killed and as many injured when SFs repulsed an attack on
a checkpost in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency.
The driver and conductor
of a tanker carrying fuel for NATO forces were killed after their
vehicle was destroyed in a bomb blast in Landikotal of Khyber
Agency.
A Havaldar of Bajaur
Levies was killed when dozens of militants attacked security checkpost
in Sadiqabad and Bilalabad areas of Bajaur Agency with rockets
and mortars.
Militants attacked
the house of a pro-government tribal elder, Malak Sher Zamin Khan,
with hand grenades in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsil in Bajaur
Agency in the night. However, no loss of life was reported.
SFs blew up houses
of four militant ‘commanders’ in Rashakai area of Khar tehsil
during a search operation.
Three volunteers
of an anti-Taliban lashkar were killed and 11 another injured
in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Adezai near Peshawar of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Militants attacked
Spina Thana security checkpost in Darra Adamkhel with rockets
without causing any damage.
Two activists of
a religious group were arrested after an alleged encounter on
from Abdullah College roundabout near Paposh Nagar graveyard within
the jurisdiction of North Nazimabad Police Station in Karachi.
Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen
while condemning the arrests said that the Police were trying
to escalate ethnic violence in the city by arresting innocent
people.
National Security
Adviser of Afghanistan Rangin Dadfar Spanta urged the United States
to re-evaluate its friendship with Pakistan, accusing the country
of supporting al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists as it plays
a double-game.
August 24
A young activist
of the MQM and a Head Constable associated with the CID of Police
were shot dead in separate incidents in Korangi town in Karachi.
A Head Constable,
50-year-old Izhar Hussain, associated with the CID Police was
shot dead near P&T Society in Korangi.
The TTP militants
killed one Bacha Gul on charges of spying for the Government in
the Sagai area of Mohmand tehsil in Bajaur Agency of FATA.
TTP spokesman Ikramullah Mohmand claimed responsibility for the
killing saying the man was spying for the Government.
One militant was
killed and 29 others arrested during a search operation by SF
in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Five NATO oil-supply
tankers were blown up at the Pakistani side of Torkham border
in Khyber Agency.
The militants killed
a peace body activist, belonging to Frontier Region of Peshawar
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but released his son.
A report said that
al Qaeda is gradually shifting its base from the unsafe and spy-infested
tribal belt of Pakistan – which is under the radars of virtually
all intelligence agencies – to more secure, urban areas of the
country, which according to a Western diplomat, are "immune
to drones".
President Asif Ali
Zardari warned that the TTP could take advantage of the country’s
floods crisis while defending the Government’s handling of the
catastrophe.
It was reported
that Pakistan relieved some helicopters from the fight against
the Taliban for use in rescue and relief operations in flooded
regions.
The Minister for
Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira that the Government
is fully geared to deal with the flood crisis and will not allow
any banned terrorist outfit to take advantage of the situation.
US asked Pakistan
to take "decisive action" against extremism within its territory,
even as it expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far,
State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley said.
August 25
Unidentified militants
killed the mother and a nine-year-old brother of a khasadar,
Ismail, in Lodin Kor Mirzakhel area of Qandharo tehsil
in Mohmand Agency of FATA. Ismail himself and a sister sustained
injuries in the incident.
An official of Bajaur
Levies, identified as Rahmanullah, was shot dead by militants
at Ghakhi area of Bajaur Agency when he was going home after performing
his duty.
A suspected militant
was shot dead by SFs in the Bara of Khyber Agency during a search
operation after a bomb attack on a security convoy. Sources said
that SFs opened firing when Parvaiz Iqbal, a resident of Gujrat
of Punjab province, tried to escape during the search operation.
Militants attacked
security posts with heavy weapons in Sadiqabad and Bilalabad areas
in Bajaur Agency. Security Forces retaliated and repulsed the
attack.
Political administration
arrested over 50 tribal persons under the collective territorial
responsibility act of Frontier Crimes Regulation. The arrests
were made in connection with the growing attacks on security posts
in Sadiqabad and Bilalabad areas of Khar tehsil.
Pakistan People’s
Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) leader Mustafa Khusrani was shot dead by
unidentified assailants in Surab Bazaar, around 230 kilometres
south of Quetta.
A bomb blast partially
damaged a hotel being used as a cinema hall in Baffa Bazaar of
Mansehra District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that the
bomb, planted at the outer wall of hotel, exploded when a movie
was being screened.
As many as 390 suspects,
detained on the charge of having links with banned militant outfits,
are to be released soon. According to official figures as many
as 390 activists belonging to banned outfits like SSP, LeJ, JeM,
HuJI, Al-Asar Trust, Jamiatul Furqan and some other banned militant
outfits working in previous or new, and fake, names had been detained
during the crackdown.
The Ministry of
Interior, Punjab Home Department and the Punjab Inspector General
have directed the Police and other law enforcement agencies to
immediately put security on high alert across the country, particularly
in Punjab, to foil the nefarious designs of these extremists.
The Ministry of
Interior issued an alert for 10 politicians that they were on
terrorists’ hit list. The terrorists’ targets included PML-N MNA
Ahsan Iqbal and Khurram Dastagir, Minister of State for Communications
Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukthrar and a
Member of Provincial Assembly from Punjab.
TTP plans to conduct
attacks against foreigners participating in the ongoing flood
relief operations in Pakistan.
An ATC reserved
judgment in a case of seizure of three explosive-laden vehicles
in 2008. The judgement on trial of accused Intikhab Abbasi and
12 others accused in Adiala Jail will be delivered on August 30.
WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower
website, released a CIA memo analysing the risks of terrorists
operating from the US, but the document offered no revelations
of Government secrets like the Website’s earlier leaks.
A Pakistani origin
suspect and contestant of Canada's version of American Idol were
among three people arrested as part of a major al Qaeda terror
plot to bomb targets within and outside the country. Misbahuddin
Ahmed, believed to be born in India, and Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh,
both from Ottawa (Canada), and Pakistani origin Khurram Syed Sher
of London were accused of conspiring with three others - James
Lara, Rizgar Alizadeh and Zakaria Mamosta - in a terror plot Police
traced back to Pakistan, Iran and Dubai.
August 26
Two prisoners, Muhammad
Anwar and Nabi Bakhsh, were shot dead and a Levies trooper injured
when unidentified militants stormed a Levies post and held the
Levies personnel hostage in Bakhtiarabad, 300 kilometres from
Quetta, in Balochistan.
A child, Umer, was
killed and five others, including two women, were injured in a
grenade attack at the residence of one Abdul Karim, a non-Baloch
settler, in Panjgur District.
A bullet-riddled
dead body was recovered from Bagh Bana area of Khuzdar, 350 kilometres
from Quetta. The victim, identified as Tahir Muhammad, was abducted
earlier on an unspecified date from Koshak area of Khuzdar.
Two persons, including
a woman, were injured in an explosion on Hospital Road of Khuzdar
District, 300 kilometres from Quetta.
Three NATO oil tankers
were attacked in Quetta, Kalat and Mastung areas. According to
sources, an oil tanker, carrying fuel for NATO forces was coming
from Karachi when unidentified assailants opened fire on it on
the RCD Highway near Lak Pass area of Quetta.
A Pakistan Telecommunication
Company Limited (PTCL) cabinet was set ablaze in Awaran District,
disrupting telecommunication system of the entire District.
A militant was killed
and another injured during a clash with anti-Taliban volunteers
and SFs in Matani area of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the
night.
Militants shot dead
the son of a former TTP ‘commander’, Haji Farman, and injured
three passes-by in Khar Bazaar of Bajaur Agency in FATA.
Militants blew up
a girl’s school in Yara Jan Kallay area of Bara tehsil of Khyber
Agency.
Unidentified militants
abducted a flour dealer at gunpoint in Qambar Abad area of Bara
tehsil. Sources said that the abducted man, Haji Naseer Khan,
was a close relative of former Senator Mohammad Shah Afridi.
SFs arrested six
suspected militants during two separate raids on a seminary and
the house of a militant commander in Kakakhel and Qambarkhel areas.
A US Federal Official,
Ross Feinstein, said that a Pakistani man from Maine was released
from jail 15 weeks after he was arrested on an immigration violation
while police were investigating the failed Times Square car bombing.
The TTP threatened
to launch attacks against foreigners helping in the flood relief
efforts, saying their presence was "unacceptable". TTP
‘spokesman’ Azam Tariq claimed the US and other countries that
have pledged support are not really focused on providing aid to
flood victims but had other motives he did not specify, adding,
"No relief is reaching the affected people, and when the
victims are not receiving help, then this horde of foreigners
is not acceptable to us at all."
A terrorist group
linked to the TTP announced a general amnesty for ‘spies’, collaborators
of the US and Pakistan Army, as a gesture of respect for Ramzan.
"We announce a general amnesty for all those spies who have
not yet taken part in bombings or drone attacks on the Taliban,"
a pamphlet from the Ittehad Mujahideen Khurasaan read.
The National Security
Adviser of Afghanistan Rangin Dadfar Spanta urged the United States
to sanction Pakistan and refuse visas to Pakistani Generals. In
an interview to the Washington Post, Rangin Dadfar Spanta claimed
that the central issue in the war against terrorists was their
ability to take refuge in Pakistan and not the rampant corruption
in Afghanistan.
Activists of banned
militant outfits are reported to be collecting funds and relief
goods for the flood victims with impunity in various areas across
the provincial capital. Posters, banners and flags of the LeT
have been openly displayed in and around these camps and extremists
are seen openly collecting money from citizens.
August 27
A US drone strike
killed four militants in Shahidano village of Kurram Agency along
Afghan-Pakistan border in FATA. "All those killed militants
belong to the TTP," a security official said.
Unidentified militants
abducted Haji Said Anwar, father of KP provincial assembly member
Mufti Said Janan, in the Sapire Kot area of Kurram Agency.
Militant ‘commander’
Maulvi Mohammad Nazir of Maulvi Nazir group has given a two-day
deadline to the supporters of TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud to
leave Wana subdivision of South Waziristan or be ready to face
‘stern action’.
Two persons were
injured in a firing on a NATO oil tanker in the Miandar area of
Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
The US has seen
evidence that Pakistani terrorists and the charities affiliated
with them are deepening their involvement in flood-relief effort
in a bid to win popular support, a senior US official said.
Indian-American
USAID chief, Rajiv Shah, said that he had to leave a relief camp
in flood-hit Pakistan in a hurry after being threatened by extremist
elements present there.
Pakistan’s High
Commissioner in India Shahid Malik told Interior Minister Rehman
Malik that Pakistan handed over a dossier on David Headedly to
the Indian Government and sought some additional information about
him.
August 28
The bullet-riddled
body of a FC solider, Baitullah, was found in Bara area of Khyber
Agency in FATA. Local residents said that a note found on the
body stated that he was executed by the militants for spying.
A foreign militant
was killed in a clash with SFs at Shakas area in Jamrud tehsil
of Khyber Agency. The SFs retaliated and an Uzbek fighter was
killed. Four local terrorists, who were present in the house at
the time of operation, were also arrested.
Army commandos and
Frontier Constabulary personnel stormed an intelligence office
in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and
freed two people who were taken hostage by militant.
At least 50 Afghan
Taliban militants abducted 10 labourers from a forest near Kalash
valley of Bumburate in Chitral District in the night. All the
labourers belong to Dhoke Dara village of Upper Dir District.
A TTP threat against
aid workers helping flood victims in Pakistan must be taken seriously
and shows that militants have no moral boundaries, US Joint Chiefs
of Staff Committee Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said.
The Pakistan Government
plans to seek permission from the anti-terror court — conducting
the trial of the seven suspects in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks
case — to set up a commission to record statements of key witnesses
and officials involved in the trial in India.
August 29
The Asian Tigers
or Punjabi Taliban Chief Usman Punjabi and five of his cadres
were killed in a shootout between two factions in the Dandy Darpakhel
area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Two soldiers were
killed and four others injured in a roadside blast in the Mamerani
area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. Sources said that
the soldiers were patrolling the area when an IED exploded.
A trooper, Saif
Amin Orakzai, was injured when he stepped on a landmine during
a search operation in the Lakhkar Kallay area of Baizai tehsil
in Mohmand Agency.
Militants attacked
SFs in Shamsha area. SFs repulsed the attack. No loss of life
or property was reported.
SFs demolished the
houses of four suspected militants during a search operation in
Torkhel area.
Two militants, including
a commander, Qari Abdullah, were killed during a clash with the
SFs in Charbagh tehsil of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Tribal elder Mir
Kamal Khan Marri appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and
international human rights organisations to take notice of alleged
abduction of his brother.
August 30
Five LI militants were killed
and three SF personnel received injuries during an operation in
the Kalakhel area of Bara tehsil in the Khyber Agency of
FATA.
Unidentified assailants set ablaze
an oil tanker carrying fuel for NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan,
near Gunjadori area of Mastung in Balochistan.
Unidentified assailants set ablaze
a NATO oil tanker in the Chamroke area in Khuzdar District.
The Police recovered explosives
from an Afghan national, identified as Sadikullah, in an area
near Nali Chak village of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two hand grenades and 30-bore pistol were recovered from the arrested
person.
The Security Forces recovered
and defused a bomb planted by suspected militants in Alam Ganj
area of Swat District.
The Karachi Police arrested three
suspected cadres of the TTP in two raids. The Sohrab Goth Police
neutralised a hideout in Gulshan-i-Maymar area and arrested two
persons, Asghar and Riaz.
The CID of the Sindh Police arrested
one Fawad Ali allegedly associated with the Fazlullah faction
of the TTP from Shahzad Cinema area near Pirabad Chowki in the
Qasba Colony of Karachi.
The NCA, religious gatherings,
sensitive installations, railway stations, public places, shrines,
Imambargahs and other worship places at the risk of potential
attacks from terrorists during the last 10 days of Ramazan.
The lack of global response in
flood hit Pakistan opens up room for militant and religious outfits
to intervene. The gap is being filled by religious organisations
that are ready to provide the people with food and funds too.
August 31
SFs killed more than 40 militants
in shelling in different areas of the Tirah valley in Khyber Agency
of FATA. According to officials, over a dozen militants were killed
in Nari Baba, 13 in Nakai and 18 in Takhta Kai and Qilla areas.
However, Daily Times put the death toll to 18.
Four persons, including three
locals, were killed when militants attacked a house in Chinarak
area of Kurram Agency.
TTP attacked tribal elder Inzar
Gul's house in Dogar area of Orakzai Agency, killing his wife,
two sons and abducted another son.
TTP cut off electricity supply
to Lower Orakzai Agency after tribesmen set ablaze their five
vehicles.
30 militants, including three
'local commanders' identified as Shah Jahan, Daud Khan and Malang
Jan laid down arms voluntarily and surrendered to a jirga
in Bajaur Agency.
Two persons, including a BNP-M
leader, were shot dead in Kalat District of Balochistan. According
to sources, Kalat District BNP-M leader Nawabuddin Nechari and
his friends, Saffar Khan and Mullah Bakhsh, were on their way
on the national highway when unidentified assailants opened indiscriminate
fire on their vehicle.
A helper of a NATO container,
carrying logistic supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan, was
killed and the driver injured in an attack on the National Highway
in Baghbana tehsil area of Khuzdar District.
Unidentified assailants set a
NATO container on fire in the Pirangabad area of Mastung District.
The container was completely destroyed, but the driver and his
helper remained unhurt in the attack.
Three militants, including two
local 'commanders', were killed in an encounter with SFs in Malam
Jabba area of Charbagh tehsil in Swat District of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. The militants were identified as Dawa Khan, Sardar
Ali and Bahadur.
SFs arrested two suspected militants
and razed a house of another one during a search operation at
Kotka Burghoo Adamzai area under Tajori Police Station in Lakki
Marwat District.
Three children were injured when
a low-intensity device exploded in the suburbs of the Rahim Yar
Khan District. Mairaj (7), Suleman (5) and Mahboob (9), residents
of Chak 258-P, were playing at a Kandair Chowki area when they
found a toy-like device which exploded.
A special ATC judge in Rawalpindi
sentenced six terrorists to life imprisonment for planning to
kill former President Pervez Musharraf by bombing the Presidency.
Seven other accused were acquitted.
JuD is reportedly trying to take
advantage of the large-scale misery caused by the devastating
floods in Pakistan by attempting to enlist 50,000 new fighters
for the TTP. According to reports, thousands of militants are
in flood-hit regions to carry out relief efforts.
NATO commander General David Petraeus
said that Afghanistan concern about Pakistan is legitimate. President
Hamid Karzai's complaints that international forces should focus
on militant leaders hiding in neighbouring Pakistan instead of
Afghanistan villages doesn't mean the Government no longer supports
the US war strategy, General David Petraeus said.
September 1
29 persons were killed and another
243 injured in two suicide attacks and one grenade attack on a
Shia procession marking Hazrat Ali's martyrdom in Lahore. LeJ
Al-alami claimed responsibility for the three attacks that occurred
minutes apart in Bhaati Gate locality of Lahore.
Lahore Commissioner of Police
Khusro Pervez acknowledged before the media that Police negligence
was one of the main reasons behind the explosions and the subsequent
violence.
At least 15 TTP militants were
killed and 10 others injured as jet fighters and gunship helicopters
bombed their hideouts in Kurram and Orakzai Agencies of FATA.
The death toll in August 31 air
raids on suspected militant hideouts in Tirah Valley in Khyber
Agency has risen to 60.
Two pro-Government tribesmen were
killed by unidentified assailants in Ghundo area of Nawagai tehsil
in Bajaur Agency.
SFs destroyed houses of about
25 militants during search operation in Dabori and Ghaljo areas
of Orakzai Agency.
Two militants were killed in an
encounter in Sakhara area while a convoy of SFs was attacked in
Pashmal area of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A convoy of SFs narrowly escaped
a roadside blast in Pashmal area. Sources said that SFs cordoned
off the entire area soon after the explosion and arrested more
than 150 persons on suspicion. However, later on majority of them
were released.
At least seven persons including
a Police constable sustained minor injuries when unidentified
assailants in a building near Empress Market of Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh, opened fire near the main Youm-e-Ali procession
at 5:30 pm (PST).
Two NATO tankers were attacked
in two separate incidents in Mastung and Khuzdar. Resultantly,
the driver received bullet injuries while the assailants managed
to escape.
Unidentified militants intercepted
a NATO tanker and took the driver and the cleaner hostage at gunpoint
in Wadh of Khuzdar District. The attackers sprinkled petrol on
the tanker and set it ablaze.
The US added the TTP to its international
terrorism blacklist, targeting the outfit and its leaders with
financial and travel sanctions. "The group threatens US National
Security," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a
notice published in the Federal Register. She designated the outfit
a "foreign terrorist organisation" under US law.
The US prosecutors have also charged
Hakimullah for the plot that killed seven CIA employees at an
American base in Afghanistan in December 2009, said the US Justice
Department.
The Ambassador to the US Hussain
Haqqani warned that terrorist will exploit the aftermath of devastating
floods unless the international community moves quickly to help
Pakistan.
September 2
Two civilians were killed and
eight others injured when unidentified assailants opened fire
on a passenger bus carrying Shia pilgrims in Pidrak area near
Turbat in Balochistan.
A female teacher was killed and
two of her colleagues wounded when masked militants opened fire
in an ambush in Bajaur Agency of FATA. The victims, all women,
were targeted as they returned home from their school in Khar,
the main town of Bajaur District, officials said.
Militants killed a taxi driver
in Akakhel area of Bara in Khyber Agency. They said that Maroof
Khan was returning home after attending the funeral prayers of
his friend when he was abducted by armed militants.
The death toll of the Karbala
Gamay Shah bomb blasts increased to 37. The TTP claimed responsibility
for the attack. "It is the revenge of Maulana Ali Shair Haidree
who was martyred by Shia extremists,'' said a statement sent to
the BBC. More attacks on Shias everywhere have been forecast by
the TTP.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik
had urged the Shia community not to hold mourning processions
in open places to avoid more suicide attacks. "How can police
provide security to a gathering of 15,000 people," the Minister
said while talking to reporters outside the Parliament House.
September 3
At least 55 persons were killed
while over 200 others were injured after a suicide bomber blew
himself up amidst participants of a rally held to mark the Al-Quds
Day in Quetta. However, Dawn reports death of 56 and injury of
160 civilians, including killing of a driver of a private television
channel and injury of seven media personnel, four of them cameramen,
in a suicide attack in the Al Quds procession.
The TTP claimed responsibility
for attacks on processions in Quetta and Lahore over the past
three days. The 'chief' of TTP's suicide wing, Qari Hussain, said
that the attacks had been carried out by TTP suicide bombers.
Two US drone strikes killed at
least 10 militants, including some foreign militants, in North
Waziristan Agency of FATA. The first struck a militant compound
on the outskirts of North Waziristan's main town of Miramshah.
A Khassadar official was killed
and another sustained critical injuries when unidentified assailants
opened fire on their vehicle carrying salaries of the Khassadar
personnel near Isha area of Mirali tehsil in North Waziristan.
Three pro-Government peace committee
members were injured in a mine blast in Baizai tehsil of
Mohmand Agency. The sources said the anti-militants peace committee
members were patrolling in Dag Darra in Baizai tehsil when their
vehicle hit a roadside mine.
Three militants were injured when
a gunship helicopter pounded their hideouts in Alladad Mena and
Soran Darra area in Baizai tehsil.
At least one person was killed,
while four others were injured in a suicide attack on a worship
place of the Ahmedis in Muslimabad area of Mardan, the main town
of Mardan District, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A Policeman was killed and another
three sustained injuries when militants targeted a Police patrolling
team by a remote control bomb in Achini Bala area of Peshawar.
Militants blew up a girl school
in Kalam area of Swat District in the night. TTP, Malakand Division
chapter spokesman Omar Hasan Ahrabi, phoned reporters to claim
responsibility for the attack.
Two FC personnel, Behdozaman and
Alam Shah, were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Khuzdar
District of Balochistan.
A Policeman and an unidentified
militant were killed in an encounter in the export processing
zone of the Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi. A TT pistol was
recovered from the encounter site.
The death toll of the triple bomb
blasts at Karbala Gamay Shah in Lahore on September 1 raised to
39 after two women succumbed to their injuries in Lahore.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates
said that the Pakistan military's planned military operation in
North Waziristan Agency of FATA might be delayed due to the devastating
floods in Pakistan.
Robert Gates said that militants
operating out of safe havens in Pakistan remain a major threat
to Afghanistan but cooperation between NATO-led forces and the
Pakistani military is increasing. Before leaving Afghanistan,
Robert Gates went south to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Afghan
Taliban, to visit US troops and described the Taliban as 'a resilient
enemy'.
September 4
Eight militants killed when their
vehicle hit a bomb detonated by remote control in the Spaircate
area of Kurram Agency in FATA.
The SFs destroyed three militant
hideouts in Chinarak, killing six militants and injuring 10 others.
According to sources, a large number of militants have been moving
to Kurram from Orakzai Agency because of the Army operation Khwakh
Ba De Sham.
US drone missiles killed eight
militants and injured 12 others in a village near Miranshah, the
main town in North Waziristan Agency of FATA, Pakistani officials
said on September 4.
At least seven TTP militants managed
to escape from the custody of a LI private jail after killing
their two guards in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency in the night.
Two guards were identified as Hayat Mohammad and Kashmal Khan.
The seven TTP militants were taken captive by the LI on the charge
of abducting three Sikhs and killing one of them.
A LI 'commander', Chitral, was
killed while two of his guards injured when a rival of the same
outfit 'commander' Said Karam opened fire on them while they were
leaving a mosque after offering afternoon prayer in Zawa area
of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.
A shopkeeper, Mohammad Younus,
was killed in a failed abduction bid by unidentified militants
at the Saryab Road in Quetta of Balochistan.
A man, Ali Mohammad Lango, was
shot dead by unidentified assailants in Kalat Market of Kalat
District.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a Levies Force official, identified as Masood Ahmed, while he
was on his way back to home in Tump bazaar in Turbat District
of Balochistan.
Ajab Khan, a resident of Peshawar,
was injured in a firing incident in the Chitkan area of Panjgur
District, when the victim was standing close by his shop.
Three NATO tankers were set ablaze
in the Mongechar area of Kalat District. According to official
sources, NATO tankers were carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan
and were on their way to Kandahar. Unidentified militants on a
motorcycle intercepted the oil tankers and took the people on
board hostage at gunpoint and set the trucks on fire.
SFs killed three militants after
an encounter in Matta tehsil of Swat District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. The sources said that three militants, Alam Khan,
Muzammil Shah and Rehmat Shah, attacked the SFs checkpost in Peochar
area in Matta tehsil. SFs retaliated and killed three of them.
35-year-old Jameela, the wife
of a Sub-Inspector Muhammad Waseem and her nephew, Abdul Rasheed
(25), were shot dead in a pre-dawn ambush on their car near Dawood
College of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
the driver of a NATO oil tanker, Noor Kamal, near Asadullah village
at Fateh Jang of Attock District in the Punjab.
The death toll of September 1
suicide attack on Shia procession in Lahore reached 43. A 25 year
old Ali Raza, a resident of Main Bazaar, Lower Mall, succumbed
to his injuries in Mayo Hospital on September 4.
Militants affiliated with the
TTP led by Hakimullah Mahsud reportedly planned to target prominent
politicians and important personalities during Eid ul Fitr and
at Eid Milan parties, official sources said.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
demanded the Federal Government to launch an operation against
militants, who were regrouping in the FATA. Addressing a press
conference at the Chief Minister's House, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesman
Mian Iftikhar Hussain said militants were regrouping in FATA to
attack Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
ANP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President
Senator Afrasiyab Khattak said militant sanctuaries in FATA must
be dismantled or the whole region will be engulfed in flames of
extremism and militancy.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister
Ameer Haider Hoti said the Government would not bow before the
terrorists and the ANP would not hesitate to offer more sacrifices
to make the country safe and secure.
Pro-Taliban terrorists are trying
to create sectarian rift, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said,
as a new wave of violence piled pressure on a Government already
struggling with a flood crisis. The TTP, al Qaeda and LeJ, an
anti-Shia outfit, were all part of the same organisation, he added.
The whole nation wants the removal
of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for his alleged relations
with terrorist outfits, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said. Taseer
said that he had informed the Punjab Government about Sanaullah's
links with banned outfits but the PML-N had termed my statement
'political' but now the whole nation had realised the fact and
was calling for the law minister's removal.
September 5
Two soldiers sustained injuries
in a landmine explosion near a checkpoint in Dag Kallay area of
Mohmand Agency.
Three children were injured when
unidentified militant lobbed a hand grenade inside the house of
one Mukammal Shah in Gulshanabad area of Jungle Khel area in Kohat
District.
A powerful blast in the basement
of Shalimar Shopping Plaza of Liaquat Bazaar in Quetta in the
afternoon, creating panic among people shopping for Eid. "The
blast occurred in the basement of the shopping plaza," police
said, adding it was an explosive device that went off with a big
bang. However, there was no report of any causality.
A large number of terrorists,
who escaped from Waziristan, are hiding in "base camps" set up
in different localities adjacent to the National Highways and
Motorways. According to sources, the Punjab Government has issued
directions for taking stern action in this regard, adding that
provincial law enforcement agencies have also started to work
against such elements holed up in Punjab.
The IRM categorically condemned
the suicide bombing in the Al-Quds rally in Quetta to express
solidarity with the Palestinians, a statement issued by the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen
said. The IRM urged Muslims across the world to unite under the
flag of Islam since the issues of Palestine, Al-Quds and the Al-Aqsa
Mosque were related to all the Muslims.
September 6
19 people, including nine Policemen
and three students were killed and another 34 injured when a suicide
bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the Lakki City Police
Station in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 7 am
(PST) in the morning. "The terrorists rammed an explosive-laden
vehicle into the rear wall of the Police Station, which was reportedly
housing an estimated 40 to 50 Policemen at the time," Lakki Marwat
DCO Ayaz Mandokhel said. Mandokhel said that recently, SFs had
killed a TTP 'commander' in the area and the TTP had issued a
warning to the local Police that they would soon take revenge
for the death of their companion.
Two militants, identified as Zarai
alias Mulla Dad and Khan Sahib, were killed during an encounter
with the SFs in Shokhdhara area of Matta tehsil (revenue
unit) in Swat District.
The TTP bombed a Government girls'
high school in the Landi Arbab area of Peshawar at 2am (PST) in
the night.
Six unidentified militants were
killed when missiles fired by a US drone hit a car in Madakhel
area of North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Local people said that
two missiles were fired at the car.
Militants blew up two schools
in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. The sources said that
an explosive device planted at the Government Boys Primary School
in Mir Akbar Killay and Government Girls Primary School in Fazal
Muhammad Killay in Mandikas area was triggered at 10:50 p.m. destroying
the buildings.
Four short-range missiles fired
from the Afghan territory landed in the Pakistani border villages
of Kharghalay and Charbagh in Landikotal tehsil in the night.
However, no casualty was reported.
The bullet-riddled dead body of
an abducted lawyer, Zaman Marri, was recovered from Mastung in
Balochistan. Zaman was abducted by unidentified militants from
Jinnah Road of Quetta when he was returning home from his office
on July 19.
An injured cameraman of a private
television channel, Ijaz Raisani, succumbed to his injuries at
the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) raising the death toll of
the September 3 Quetta suicide blast to 66.
Two low-intensity roadside bombs
exploded in the township locality in south Lahore. The first bomb
exploded near the house of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Legal)
Afzal Hussain at A1 Block, slightly damaging a car, which had
been parked outside his house, but injuring no one. The second
device exploded near the office of the BDS in C Block. No one
was injured in the blast.
Meanwhile, Shia leader and president
of the Islami Tehrik Pakistan, Allama Sajid Ali Naqvi, alleged
that some Punjab Government officials had links with terrorist
groups and unless they were removed from the cabinet, the ongoing
wave of terrorism could not be checked.
Authorities declared red alert
in the night on the eve of Shab-e-Qadar (the night of emancipation)
in Lahore due to the recent attacks on a religious procession
in the provincial capital as well as continuous threats by terrorists.
The Investigations by Daily
Times revealed serious concerns, as according to one official,
the peace in Karachi is under "imminent threat" from the newly
re-organised Jundallah, which has been working in the city since
2003. An intelligence official who had been on a hunt went as
far as to claim, "Jundullah is the new al Qaeda in Pakistan."
Daily Times was the first
publication to report the new al Qaeda and TTP strategy to open
new fronts inside urban areas of Pakistan to bring the war to
"A areas of Pakistan" and divide the army's effort to curtail
these elements in FATA.
A top intelligence chief explained,
"So dangerous is Jundullah that they targeted two intelligence
bureau officials who solved the Nishtar Park bombing."
The MPAs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Assembly proposed joint strategy and unity to fight terrorism
in the province and vowed war would continue against militants
till they were crushed. Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar
Hussain said it was time to raise collective voice and devise
joint strategy to effectively take action against militants.
During question-hour, Minister
for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arshad Abdullah told the House
a total of 723 abduction cases were registered from January 1,
2008 to April 30, 2009. He said 1001 were abducted and out of
these, 874 were recovered in various districts of the province.
The law minister said 2,343 persons were charged with abduction
in FIRs and 1,157 accused were arrested. He said 124 abduction
gangs were smashed. Besides, Abdullah said 95 dacoit cases were
registered from January 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009 in different
Districts. He said 673 people were nominated in FIRs out of whom
189 were arrested.
September 7
At least 20 persons, mostly women
and children, were killed, while more than 94 others were injured
in a car bomb attack near the Kohat Police Lines in Kohat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Three Policemen, including a senior
officer, were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast near Hangu
bypass road in Hangu District. District Superintendent of Police
Farid was travelling in a Police mobile along with two other Police
personnel to visit the site of an earlier bomb blast.
Unidentified militants blew up
a second girls' school in Kalam area of Swat District. The terrorists
had destroyed more than 402 schools in the District before they
were expelled in Army operation in 2009.
The VC of the Islamia College
University Ajmal Khan, and the cousin of ANP chief Asfandyar Wali
Khan were abducted by unidentified militants from the Professors'
Colony area of the university campus at around 9am (PST) in Peshawar.
Unidentified militants killed
two persons at Hattian area of Hazro town in Attock District of
Punjab. The Police said Abdul Aziz and his nephew Adnan were returning
from a mosque when they were fired upon.
The TTP said that they would continue
to target Pakistani SFs with suicide attacks as they claimed responsibility
for the suicide attack on Lakki Marwat Police Station on September
6 that killed 19, TTP Azam Tariq said. "We are targeting Pakistani
security forces because the Government has allowed America to
launch drone attacks on us," TTP spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP
by telephone.
The Army operation against militants
in the Orakzai Agency has now comes to an end, claimed Operation
in charge Brigadier Pervez. Operation in charge Brigadier Pervez,
while addressing a press briefing, said that 90 per cent of the
Orakzai Agency area has been cleared of militants during the operation,
which was lasted for five and a half months.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
has once again demanded a conclusive military operation against
the TTP, which it said was strengthening its position in the tribal
belt. "TTP terrorists have started targeting settled areas of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa once again and carried out two major attacks
in Lakki Marwat and Kohat within two days," KP Information Minister
Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
announced that the Government had decided to take stern action
against miscreants in Balochistan based on the approach used to
restore peace in Karachi. Talking to reporters at the Quetta airport,
Malik said the BLA and Baloch Students Organisation had taken
the place of political parties in the province and were involved
in targeted killings.
Addressing a press briefing with
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafrullah Khan Zehri at the Chief
Minister's Secretariat, the Interior Minister said that the Government
was ready to accept all the legitimate demands of nationalist
leaders. Malik reiterated the offer for talks, saying the Government
once again invites nationalist leaders to come forward to hold
talks so that peace could be secured in the province.
September 8
Fourteen suspected militants and
four children were killed when US drones carried out three attacks
targeting a compound, a car and a house in Dandy Darpakhel near
Miramshah in parts of North Waziristan Agency of FATA near the
Afghanistan border.
A house in Dandy Darpakhel was
attacked with three missiles. Four suspected militants were killed.
A pro-Government tribal elder,
Malak Abdul Manan, was shot dead by suspected militants in Mamond
tehsil of Bajaur Agency. Local people said a group of militants
stormed a mosque in Nakhtar area of Mamond tehsil and opened indiscriminate
firing on Malak Abdul Manan, a pro-Government and eminent tribal
leader.
Two persons were injured in roadside
explosions while the third bomb was defused in Mohmand Agency.
Sources said a Khasadar and a local person were injured when two
homemade bombs planted by suspected militants along the roadside
near the Hujra of former senator Abdur Rehman Faqir in
Faqirabad area of Baizai tehsil went off.
Two persons, including a local
leader of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal) Abdul
Khaliq, and Police Sub-Inspector Abdul Sattar, were killed while
seven others sustained injuries in a bomb blast in Rind Market
of Hub Industrial Town in Lasbela District of Balochistan. Sources
confirmed that the target was the BNP leader.
Unidentified assailants set three
NATO trailers on fire in Wadh area of Khuzdar District. According
to sources, two trailers, carrying logistic support for NATO forces
stationed in Afghanistan, were heading towards Kandahar from Karachi
when unknown armed men intercepted them and made the drivers and
cleaners hostage at gunpoint.
DSP Farid Khan Khattak who was
injured in the Hangu bomb blast succumbed to his injuries. Three
Policemen, including the DSP, had been injured in the blast on
September 7 as their vehicle was passing through the Hangu Bypass.
Corps Commander Peshawar, Lieutenant-General
Asif Yaseen Malik, and IGP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fiaz Ahmed Toru,
disclosed that they had credible information that militants were
planning to target sensitive installation in the province.
The SFs released the list of 19
wanted terrorists and ordered them to surrender before Eid ul
Fitr festival. Otherwise, their houses would be dismantled and
strict action would be taken against them under the law.
The Police claimed to have arrested
three accomplices of Faisal Shahzad, the main suspect/accused
of Time Square bombing plot in New York. Police said that arrested
suspects Akhtar, Shoaib Mughal and Shahid had provided financial
help to Shahzad. All the suspects belong to TTP, Police added.
The Federal Government has transferred
Police powers to the FC and banned five Balochistan militant groups.
The FC's new powers, extended for a period of three months, will
enable it to search and detain people. Talking to reporters in
Quetta, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the decisions
had been taken during a high-level meeting held at the Chief Minister's
Secretariat to review the law and order situation in Balochistan.
The banned groups are the BLA, the BRA, the BLUF, the BLF and
the BMDT. "They (banned groups) will not be allowed to undertake
any activity, their offices will be closed and action will be
taken against their office bearers," Malik said, adding that their
bank accounts had also been seized.
A spokesman of the Balochistan
Government disowned all the decisions announced by Interior Minister
Rehman Malik. "The views expressed in the news conference were
Rehman Malik's personal and the Balochistan Government has nothing
to do with those decisions/views," the official statement issued
by the Balochistan Government stated.
September 9
At lest 12 persons, including
three children and two women, were killed and two others injured
in a roadside bomb explosion near Palaseen village in Kurram Agency
of FATA. Sources said that they were going to Hangu from Dool
Ragha area in central Kurram when their vehicle hit an IED near
Palaseen village.
Six Uzbek militants were killed
and five others injured when a US drone fired missiles into a
compound in Machus Camp area of North Waziristan Agency.
A US drone strike killed at least
four militants in outskirts of Miranshah, the main town in North
Waziristan Agency. "Two US drones fired three missiles. We have
reports that four militants were killed," a security official
based in Peshawar said.
Four activists of the ANP were
shot dead in Doaba town of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
in the night. ANP's local leader Haji Gul Saeed was sitting outside
a Hujra along with party men Qadeem Gul, Mastan Shah and
Noor Gul when unidentified militants opened fire on them.
Three of the 10 labourers, abducted
by TTP from Chitral District on August 29, were killed. Three
dead bodies of abducted persons, identified as Mohammad Rasul,
Misal Khan and Khoedad, were recovered in the Ghambeer Gul area
near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Arandu area of Chitral
District.
Balochistan Finance Minister Mir
Asim Kurd had a narrow escape when a suicide bomber detonated
himself inside the minister's residence in Quetta, killing five
persons and injuring four others.
The blast occurred moments after
Mir Asim Kurd, the PML-Q parliamentary leader in the Balochistan
Assembly, left for his office, located in the Civil Secretariat.
The Provincial minister and leader
of the PPP parliamentary party in the Balochistan assembly Mir
Sadiq Ali Umrani said that the suicide attack on the residence
of Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd was a reaction to Interior Minister
Rehman Malik's statement about military operation in the province.
A low-intensity explosion destroyed
a Police van parked outside the Shalimar Police Station in Lahore
of Punjab. Though there were no causalities, the blast spread
panic among the residents of the area.
An anti-terrorism court in Karachi
indicted three suspected militants, Abdul Baqi alias Talha, Mohammad
Ismail and Yousuf, in explosive substance and illicit weapons
cases. Three were stated to be associated with the militant outfit
LeJ, have been charged with planning to target an Eid Milad-un-Nabi
congregation at Nishtar Park in February 2010 and possessing explosive
material and unlicensed weapons, which were recovered by Police.
A British journalist abducted
by militants in North Waziristan in March 26 was released. Asad
Qureshi (51) was abducted while he was trying to sneak into North
Waziristan on March 26 to make a documentary for BBC Channel 4,
along with two former officials of ISI - Khalid Khawaja and Sultan
Ameer Tarara aka 'Colonel Imam'.
The United Nations General Assembly
reaffirmed its support for the UN anti-terror strategy. The resolution
recognised the need to enhance the important role of the UN, including
the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force that played along
with other international and regional organisations in facilitating
and promoting coordination and coherence to national, regional
and global levels.
Pakistan urged for developing
a mechanism to implement the provisions of the UN global strategy
against terrorism. "We have realised that the strategy in itself
will be of little value unless it is transformed into action by
an effective implementation mechanism," Ambassador Abdullah Hussain
Haroon said.
September 10
Mortar shells fired from Afghanistan
killed three persons and injured five others in Saidgi area of
North Waziristan in FATA. Officials said that several mortar shells
were fired from a NATO base in the Khost province of Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza
Gilani stated that the Federal Government had no intention to
launch a Swat-like military operation in Balochistan. "There is
no such plan to launch a Swat or Malakand-like operation. That
is wrong. It is for the Provincial Government in Balochistan to
take decisions about their province," Gilani told a group of newspaper
editors and media persons at the Prime Minister's House.
September 11
A US missile strike killed six
persons and injured several others in the Newey Adda village in
the Datta Khel area near Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan
Agency in FATA.
A 32-year-old Naeem Hussain, associated
with a youth organisation, was shot dead by unidentified assailants
in the Lyari area of Karachi, the capital of Sindh.
September 12
A roadside bomb blast killed six
persons and injured four others in Kurram Agency of FATA. A pickup
truck was heading from Sadda to Wacha Darra in Parachemkani area
when an IED planted on a dirt track exploded with a bang. Six
persons died on the spot while four others sustained injuries.
A Policeman, Fazal Rabi, was critically
injured, when an explosive device, allegedly planted by unidentified
militants near the main gate of the Lotharan Sarhadi Church in
Mardan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, triggered with a bang in the night.
The Police foiled a terrorist
bid to blow up tankers carrying fuel supplies for NATO by defusing
10 kilogrammes explosive attached to one of them near a petrol
pump located on G.T. Road, a kilometre away from Rawat area of
Islamabad.
At least 52 journalists lost their
lives in the first eight months of 2010 because of their jobs
- four fewer than during the same period of 2009, a global media
watchdog International Press Institute said.
September 13
A TTP 'commander' said to be expert
in making of IEDs surrendered before the SFs in Khar tehsil
of Bajaur Agency. Officials said that Qari Hussain, a chemical
engineer by profession, laid down arms unconditionally through
a jirga.
A suspected militant, Asim Zakir,
was killed when explosives he was carrying in a vehicle triggered
in Rawalakot town of Poonch District in PoK. Sources said that
the militant was an employee of the Electricity Department and
there were strong indications about his links with TTP.
A home-made device exploded outside
a cable operator's office in Palandari town.
The Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
said that Punjab Government should have zero tolerance for banned
outfits. Talking to a private TV channel, the Punjab Governor
said that there were no terrorist training camps in Punjab.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
delayed the trial of banned TNSM 'chief' Sufi Mohammad after the
prosecution department failed to produce solid evidence and witnesses
against him. Official sources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal
Affairs Department revealed that first the TNSM chief's trial
was delayed due to security reasons and TTP threat to anti-terrorism
judge and it was decided to run his trial in Central Prison Peshawar.
British Foreign Secretary William
Hague said that the "Extremists can move in to a vacuum that if
Governments did not show that they can do something to help those
people then others will move in there and start to win their confidence.
September 14
14 militants were killed in two
desperate incidents of missile attack by the US drones on September
14 in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. In the first attack, officials
said four missiles hit a compound in Bushnarai village in Shawal
District of North Waziristan Agency.
A 'commander' of the Haqqani network,
identified as Saifullah, was killed in a drone attack. Commander
Saifullah was said to be a cousin of Sirajuddin, a son of Jalaluddin
Haqqani.
Eight TTP militants and a soldier
were killed in an encounter in Dabori Tapu Kaley area in Orakzai
Agency. Sources said that the clash erupted when a group of militants
attacked a security check post in Dabori Tapu Kaley area.
The elders of Mandal tribe in
Khar tehsil of Bajaur Agency decided to hand over wanted militants
to SFs and political administration till September 20.
Two persons were shot dead in
Mand, a town near the border with Iran, of Balochistan. The Police
said four persons hailing from Rahimyar Khan City of Punjab were
staying at a guesthouse for the last several days.
A tribal elder, Mir Hasan Qalandrani,
his son and a nephew were abducted near Sungar area of Mastung.
Sources said that unidentified militants intercepted Mir Hasan
Qalandrani, his son and the nephew near Sungar area of Mastung
and took them away on gunpoint.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a senior journalist, Misri Khan Orakzai, in front of the Hangu
press club building in Hangu Bazaar of Hangu District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. Misri Khan Orakzai was the president of Hangu Union
of Journalist.
Two Government-run primary schools
were blown up by unidentified militants in the limits of Cantonment
Police Station in Bannu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Police in association with
intelligence agencies arrested seven suspected militants, two
of them said to be Tajik, and recovered from them maps of sensitive
places, suicide jackets and sophisticated weapons in Raiwind of
Lahore.
The Interior Minister Rehman Malik,
while announcing a grand operation against LeJ, once again made
it clear that no military operation was taking place in Balochistan.
Backtracking on an earlier statement,
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that no military operation
was being planned for Balochistan.
Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah
Omar is based in Pakistan and everyone knows it, French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner said, calling on Islamabad to do more
to help end the conflict.
US had asked Pakistan in 2002
to end infiltration across the Line of Control in J&K but was
instead told not to "push it too far" on the issue with an assertion
that "Kashmir should have been ours", Times of India quoting declassified
documents released by the National Security Archive of the George
Washington University reported.
The declassified documents reveals
that as the US prepared to invade Afghanistan in 2001 after 9/11
attacks, the ISI wanted America to enter into a dialogue with
the Taliban, but the then George Bush Administration "bluntly"
told President Pervez Musharraf that it had no inclination to
do so.
September 15
At least 21 militants, including
14 foreign nationals, were killed when the US drones carried out
two attacks on al Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani network hideouts in
North Waziristan of FATA.
Four persons were killed when
militants attacked the house of a pro-Government tribal elder,
Malak Buner Khan, in Ghafoor Shah Village of Khar tehsil
(revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency of FATA in the midnight.
Five security personnel sustained
injuries when a military convoy was targeted with a remote controlled
explosive device, planted at roadside, in Spin Qabar area of Bara
tehsil in Khyber Agency.
The SFs demolished the houses
of three militants and arrested Sadiq Khan, an important 'commander'
of LI in Spin Qabar area of Sipah in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
The militants whose houses demolished were identified as Hazrat
Mohammad, Nek Alam and Azeem.
SFs arrested 25 suspected militants
and recovered suicide jackets, huge quantity of explosives and
some non-registered vehicles in Shalobar area of Bara tehsil.
The SFs raided a house near Sindhi
Hotel and Madrassa-e-Arabia Faizanul Quran in the Liaquatabad
area of Karachi in Sindh and recovered a cache weapons, including
explosive materials, while arresting three alleged suspects. The
arrestees were identified as Shafiqullah, Noman and Faizan.
Firing on Islamabad Expressway
from where motorcade of PM passed sometime earlier showed a serious
security lapse. After passing of PM's motorcade from the Expressway
two militants started aerial firing near Dhoke Kala Khan area.
However, no casualty was reported. Islamabad Traffic Police officer
later arrested both the assailants and seized arms from their
possession.
The TTP claimed responsibility
on September 15 for killing a senior journalist, Misri Khan, in
Hangu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The claim for responsibility
was made by deputy TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan over a phone
conversation to a BBC journalist in Peshawar.
The Dir jirga (tribal assembly)
tells Government to take action or allow lashkar (tribal militia)
to attack TTP. The residents of Doog Darra and surrounding areas
have angrily reacted to abduction of their seven villagers from
Chitral by TTP on August 29 and subsequent killing of three of
them on September 9, asking the Government to take action against
militants or allow the local lashkar to attack them.
The Dir lashkar fought with militants
for three months and inflicted heavy losses on them. They were
forced to flee the area. The fugitive militants are vengeful because
the local lashkar did not allow them to gain a foothold in Doog
Darra.
September 16
The militants of BLA shot dead
a barber, Tahir Manzoor, in Naushki Bazaar of Naushki District
in Balochistan.
A FC official was shot dead by
BLA militants when he was performing his duty at a picket established
near the main intersection of Hub Chowki in Lasbela District.
The deceased was identified as Hanifullah and belonged to Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Calling from an unspecified location,
a spokesman of the BLA, who introduced himself as Jayhind Baloch,
claimed responsibility of the killings of the FC personnel and
the barber.
The SFs killed two TTP 'commanders',
Abdul Baseer and Samiul Haq, in Khawazakhela tehsil of
Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
said that Pakistan attached great significance to Afghanistan's
unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and remained committed
to its reconstruction. "We want stability, peace and prosperity
in Afghanistan," Gilani said during a meeting with visiting Afghan
President Hamid Karzai and his delegation at the Prime Minister's
House.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai
reassured Pakistani leaders of a role in the reconciliation process
with Taliban and other Afghan warring factions as his country
headed for parliamentary elections this weekend. The Afghanistan
Government is expected to announce the 35-member peace council
soon.
September 17
A CD shop was damaged in a bomb
blast in Pat Bazaar area of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police said that an unidentified militant put a computer packed
with 5 kilogrammes explosives inside the CD shop and left.
Five TTP sought pardon in a public
gathering for "crimes" they committed during the TTP rule in Swat
District. "We made a mistake by joining the TTP. The TTP leadership
is anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam," the five told residents of Kabal
tehsil.
The Police defused a bomb found
from the place from where few days ago two bombs were found in
the limits of Rawat Police Station in Islamabad.
The US special envoy for Pakistan
and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said that US would not accept
any "slackness" on part of the Pakistan Army in the fight against
the TTP due their engagement in flood relief efforts.
September 18
Suspected TTP militants planted
explosives around the Iqra Rozatul Atfal Girls' School at Charkha
Khel area of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which went off around
1:40am. Police said that the blast damaged the walls, rooms and
windowpanes of the school. However, the watchman of the school,
who was present there at the time of the blast, was unhurt.
September 19
The dead bodies of six militants
were found at a graveyard while militants attacked the house of
a tribal elder in Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sources said that six bodies of militants, who had been shot dead,
were found at the graveyard of Akhorwal area.
Five persons, including two Police
Constables, were injured when unidentified assailants ambushed
the vehicle of a former councillor of Sumari union council, Mujahid
Shah, near Muslimabad on Indus Highway in Kohat.
The TTP militants bombed another
school in Peshawar at 2:10 am in the night. Earlier on September
18, suspected TTP militants blew off the Iqra Rozatul Atfal Girls'
School at Charkha Khel area of Peshawar.
The SFs and Adezai Qaumi Lashkar
launched an operation against TTP militants in Frontier Region
of Peshawar. A source said that increasing sabotage acts and recent
threats by militants prompted SFs and lashkar to launch operation
against them.
Swat Qaumi Aman Jirga said
that the absconding militants have no other option but to lay
down arms and surrender to the SFs without delay. During a meeting
of the Qaumi Aman Jirga, the participants, who also included
Nekpikhel Jirga members, announced to continue extending support
to the security forces to flush out militants from the area.
A suspected US drone fired three
missiles at the house of a local militant and was located in Dattakhel,
a town in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing five militants
in the 14th such attack in September 2010 - the most intense barrage
since the strikes began in 2004, said intelligence officials.
The identities of the terrorists were not known but an intelligence
official in Miranshah said that those killed in the strike were
associated with the Haqqani network.
A person belonging to the Shia
community was killed in the Rizvia Police Station area in Karachi,
the province capital of Sindh. DSP said the victim, identified
as 37-year-old Tanveer Abbas, was at Old Golimar Chowrangi area
when two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle shot him dead
and managed to escape.
September 20
Suspected US drones fired missiles
at militant hideouts in a village near Mir Ali, a town in the
North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing six persons in the 15th
such attack in September 2010.
At least 10 persons, including
four FC personnel, were injured in a remote-controlled blast near
Javed Shaheed Chowk in Panjgur District of Balochistan.
Two oil tankers supplying fuel
to NATO forces in Afghanistan were attacked and damaged in Rodenjo
village of Kalat District.
The Sindh Police Chief gave special
powers to the CID to investigate and prosecute suspects involved
in sectarian terrorism and bomb blast cases. Prior to this decision,
the CID was not bound to investigate and prosecute any suspect
arrested by it.
An anti-terrorism court extended
judicial remand of alleged terrorists, Asmat Ullah alias Muaz
and his accomplice Abdullah, by October 4.
Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorist Court
send three militants allegedly involved in helping Faisal Shahzad
in planning an attack at Times Square in the US to Adiala Jail
on a 14-day judicial remand.
The Anti-Terrorist Court adjourned
hearing in Maulana Abdul Aziz and his family case till October
10.
September 21
More than 42 militants were killed
in the ongoing operation against TTP in Frontier Region of Peshawar
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that several other militants
were injured and captured as the operation continued on the third
consecutive day.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information
Minister Mian Iftikhar told reporters that about 200 terrorists
had engaged SFs in the hilly area.
At least 28 persons were killed
in three US led drone strikes in the remote areas of South and
North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Two security personnel were killed
in a roadside blast in Shin Qamar area of Khyber Agency.
September 22
10 militants and three Security
personnel were killed in an ongoing military operation in FR of
Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The latest
killings bring to 52 the total number of militants deaths, sources
said.
Four militants were killed and
another eight injured in an encounter with SFs Spray and Bandaray
villages in Mamoond tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA. Sources
said SFs thwarted an attempt by the TTP to capture Spray and Bandaray,
two border villages.
Three Security personnel were
killed in a roadside blast in Mamari area of Bara tehsil
in Khyber Agency.
The CIA runs an Afghan paramilitary
force that hunts down al Qaeda and Taliban militants in covert
operations in Pakistan, a US official said. Confirming an account
in a new book by famed reporter Bob Woodward, the US official
said that the Counter-Terrorism Pursuit Teams were highly effective
but did not offer details.
The ISPR Director General Major
General Athar Abbas said that "We do not allow any foreign troops
or militia to operate on our side of the border." "There are no
reports of any such incident, and, should it happen in future,
they will be fired upon by our troops."
September 23
Three persons were killed in terrorist
attacks on NATO oil tankers in Landi Kotal and Torkham areas in
Khyber Agency of FATA.
Militants blew up three government-run
schools in the Badbher area on the suburbs of Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A US Federal Court sentenced Aafia
Siddiqui, a Pakistani national, to 86 years in prison for the
attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan.
The US National Counterterrorism
Center Director Michael Leiter said that the al Qaeda in Pakistan
is at one of its weakest points organizationally but noted that
the "regional affiliates and allies can compensate for the potentially
decreased willingness of Qaeda in Pakistan - the deadliest supplier
of such training and guidance - to train new recruits".
The US Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano said that al Qaeda and its allies are likely
to attempt small-scale and less sophisticated terrorist attacks
in the United States.
September 24
Two labourers were killed and
four others injured when unidentified assailants ambushed the
vehicle of a textile mills in Boraka area of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A bullet-riddled dead body of
an abducted Baloch lawyer, Ali Sher Kurd, was found from a desolate
place in Khuzdar. Ali Sher was reportedly abducted by armed militants
from Quetta some days ago.
Three NATO containers were set
ablaze in the Menguchar area of Kalat District. According to sources,
the containers, carrying logistic support for NATO forces were
heading towards Kandahar (Afghanistan) from Karachi (Sindh) when
unidentified assailants opened fire on them and then set the containers
ablaze. No group has claimed the responsibility of attack.
SFs, assisted by the Khyber Khasadar
Force, raided warehouses and a private house in Jamrud of Khyber
Agency in FATA and recovered huge quantity of goods allegedly
looted from NATO containers.
Police arrested SSP leader Maulana
Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi from Jhang in Lahore in Punjab. Police
had detained Ludhianvi just to hold discussions for maintaining
the law and order situation in the month of Muharram (period
of mourning in Shia Islam).
The Peshawar Police banned the
entry of all NATO containers and heavy vehicles destined for Afghanistan
into the city for security reasons.
Pakistan stressed that the US
had a special role in facilitating an acceptable settlement of
the Kashmir dispute and underscored the relation between resolution
of the dispute and success in the war on terrorism in the region.
September 25
The US missiles, targeting a vehicle,
killed four militants in Datta Khel, a town in the North Waziristan
Agency of FATA. It had been the seventeenth such attack this month
- the most intense barrage since the air strikes began in 2004.
A NATO oil tanker, carrying 44,000
litres of oil for NATO forces in Kandahar, was destroyed in a
bomb blast at Torkham pass on the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber
Agency. No casualties were reported in the blast.
A driver was shot dead and three
more containers, carrying logistic support for NATO forces in
Afghanistan, were set ablaze in separate incidents in Balochistan.
Another oil tanker carrying fuel
for NATO forces was set on fire in Khuzdar District, some 300-kilometer
from Quetta. The assailants managed to escape from the incident
site after destroying the oil tanker.
September 26
The US-led NATO helicopters killed
more than 30 militants inside Pakistan in areas near Miranshah
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. US military sources said that
all 30 - killed during a hot pursuit- were Haqqani Network militants.
Atleast seven militants were killed
when the US drones carried out two attacks in Lwara Mandi village
in Dattakhel, around 50 kilometres west of Miranshah, in North
Waziristan Agency.
Two persons were killed and seven
others injured when unidentified assailants attacked a mosque
in a suspected sectarian attack in Bahawalpur of Punjab in the
morning.
SFs killed two suspected militants,
identified as Abdullah and Khan Tooti, in Venai area of Swat District
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The dead body of Gulab Khan Afridi,
a commander of Tariq Afridi fraction of TTP, was found in a bazaar
at Shni Kalay area of Darra Adamkhel. He was shot dead and also
beheaded by unidentified assailants, sources said.
At least four persons, including
three children, injured in a hand grenade attack at Chaki Shawani
area in Quetta of Balochistan.
Unidentified assailants set two
NATO oil tankers on fire in different areas of Balochistan.
September 27
At least five persons were killed
and nine others injured when NATO helicopters once again crossed
Pakistani borders and pounded shell in the Mata Sangar area of
Kurram Agency in FATA at 5 am (PST).
Four militants were killed when
a US drone fired missiles at a house located in Khushali, a village
near Mir Ali, in North Waziristan Agency.
Three volunteers of a peace committee
sustained injuries when landmines planted by suspected militants
went off in Kong area of Khwazai tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
A labourer sustained injuries
when a landmine went off in Suran area of Safi tehsil.
A person belonging to the Shia
community, identified as Zaheer Abbas, was shot dead in a suspected
sectarian attack near his house in Gulshan-e-Hadeed area of Karachi,
the provincial capital of Sindh.
Calling it a violation of Pakistan's
sovereignty, Interior Minister Rehman Malik assured the Senate
that Afghanistan ambassador will be summoned to explain his position
over violation of Pakistani territory by two NATO helicopters
and an attack inside the country's border.
The tourism sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province was badly affected by terrorism as it suffered losses
of USD 400 million while the damage caused by recent floods still
needed to be assessed, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Minister
for Tourism, Culture and Sports Syed Aqil Shah.
Frustrated over Pakistan's lacklustre
response to failed Times Square bombing, the US has warned Islamabad
that it will be "unable to stop the consequences" of any terror
attack, whose wires are linked to that country, a new book by
Bob Woodward, 'Obama's War', reveals.
Further, the book reveals that
the US doesn't want to arm Pakistan against India, adds Times
of India. After 26/11 Mumbai carnage, in an Oval Office meeting
with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, US President Barrack
Obama bluntly tells him his country has to get over its obsession
with India.
September 28
Six militants were killed and
five others injured when helicopter gunships shelled militant
positions in the upper parts of Orakzai Agency in FATA. Sources
said that the helicopters targeted two hideouts in Nandar Mela
area of Dabori and destroyed them.
A US drone attack killed four
militants and destroyed one militant hideout in Zeba village close
to the Afghanistan border and west of Wana, the main town in South
Waziristan Agency.
Al Qaeda's operational 'chief'
for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sheikh Fateh, was killed in a US
drone strike in North Waziristan on September 26, Pakistani security
officials said. Sheikh Fateh was reportedly made al Qaeda 'chief'
in Afghanistan and Pakistan after Qaeda's purported number three
and former Osama Bin Laden treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid was
killed on May 21, 2010.
Three persons were injured when
unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade at a Government
High School in Industrial Town Hub of Lasbela District in Balochistan.
Three suspected militants of the
TTP were arrested from Jinnah town, located in the limits of Sihala
Police Station in Islamabad in Punjab. Sources said one of them,
Zar Wali, was an important TTP leader in Swat's Charbagh area.
Intelligence agencies have disrupted
an al Qaeda-linked plot to launch terror attacks in Britain, France
and Germany, Britain's Sky News television sources reported. Militants
based in Pakistan planned simultaneous strikes in London and major
cities in France and Germany, the report said, adding the plan
was advanced but the attacks were not imminent.
In an effort to foil a suspected
terrorist plot against European targets, the CIA has ramped up
missile strikes against terrorists in Pakistan's tribal regions,
current and former agency officials were quoted as saying by the
Wall Street Journal.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
told the National Assembly that TTP were using Kuner province
of Afghanistan as an operation-base against Pakistan. "We are
at war on the Western borders and Kuner is being used as a safe
haven to create unrest in Pakistan," Malik said, adding that the
matter was brought to the notice of the Afghanistan President
Hamid Karzai during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Less than a month after the Mumbai
attacks, Pakistan's the then ISI chief Lieutenant-General Ahmed
Shuja Pasha had admitted before the CIA that the terror strikes
had ISI links but claimed it was not an "authorized" operation
and carried out by "rogue" elements, according to the book Obama's
War written by investigative American journalist Bob Woodward.
The Pentagon said recent cross-border
air strikes by NATO helicopters in Pakistan may have violated
procedures and resulted from "communication breakdowns".
September 29
Three Pakistani soldiers were
killed in a NATO helicopter attack at Teri Mangal village in Kurram
Agency of FATA in the morning. "The helicopters shelled the area
for about 25 minutes. Three of our soldiers manning a border post
were killed and three wounded," a senior security official said.
This is the fourth such strike in recent days.
Suspected militants attacked and
damaged a check post in Shahabkhel, a suburban village in the
limits of Badbher Police Station, in Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at midnight.
The TTP South Waziristan 'commander'
Waliur Rehman reaffirmed his outfit's ties to al Qaeda, vowing
to fight for imposition of Islamic law across the world. He underlined
the persistent efforts of the group to raise its profile beyond
Pakistan.
The CIA Chief Leon Panetta said
that the CIA will continue the drone attacks in Pakistan. In his
meeting with the ISI DG Shuja Pasha, Panetta said that the CIA
was achieving 100 percent results through the drone attacks. Panetta
said that the alliance forces respect Pakistan's sovereignty.
Terming the recent NATO intrusions
into Pakistani territory as unacceptable, Foreign Minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi said he has taken up the issue with top US officials
in his meetings.
Former President Pervez Musharraf
warned that the country is at risk of a new coup, as he prepared
to launch his own audacious bid for a comeback as a civilian president.
September 30
Three militants were killed in
an encounter with SFs in Byakan area of Matta tehsil of Swat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified assailants abducted
three Government high school teachers from Wargaray area of Frontier
Region of Lakki District in the night. They were identified as
Sanaullah Wazir, Inamullah Bittani and Farooq Wazir.
The SFs arrested 10 suspected
militants during a raid on a seminary in the frontier region of
Kohat.
A suspected TTP militant, Faisal
Abbasi, was arrested by SFs from Islamabad of Punjab for allegedly
facilitating Faisal Shahzad, the failed New York Time Square car
bomber.
Pakistan stopped NATO supply trucks
at the Torkham border after three FC soldiers were killed in an
attack by alliance helicopters on a Pakistani checkpost in Khuram
Agency of FATA on the border with Afghanistan on September 29.
At least 28 NATO oil tankers parked
at a petrol pump in Shikarpur District of Sindh were set ablaze
in the night. The huge fire damaged the petrol pump and a nearby
hotel and a mosque. The tankers contained between 40,000 and 60,000
litres of diesel. Driver Asal Khan was injured when he fell into
a nearby pond. Other drivers and staff of the tankers escaped
unhurt.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
conveyed Pakistan's concern over the increased drone attacks and
NATO helicopter strikes inside Pakistan in the last few days to
Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations, when the US Senator called on the Premier.
At least 20 Britons are undertaking
terrorist training in Pakistan to launch attacks in Britain, an
intelligence report said. Al Qaeda and associated terrorist groups
are training the young Muslims, who hold British passports, in
the tribal areas, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph
said.
A Pakistani intelligence official
said that eight Germans and two British brothers are at the heart
of an al Qaeda-linked terror plot against European cities, but
the plan is still in its early stages, with the suspects calling
acquaintances in Europe to plan logistics.
Three female students of Jamia
Hafsa have been trained to carry out suicide attacks on those
groups, who are allegedly anti-Islamic or 'misguiding the people'
across the country, an intelligence agency sources said.
Al Qaeda and a group based in
North Waziristan Agency calling itself 'Brigade 313', which is
made up of the TTP and allied extremist group members, including
LeT and Karachi-based Jandullah, has prepared a plan to attack
the 19th Commonwealth Games, which are due to be held in News
Delhi from October 3 to October 14.
October 1
The driver and a cleaner of NATO
supply tanker were burnt to death when unidentified assailants
set the tanker on fire in Baghbana area of Khuzdar District in
Balochistan.
A person, Niaz Ali, died in a
landmine explosion in Dil Gowash area of Dera Bugti District.
Four persons, including three
personnel of Balochistan Constabulary, were injured in an incident
of firing on Saryab Road in Quetta, the provincial capital of
Balochistan, in morning.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
told the National Assembly that the Government might consider
other options if someone tried to interfere with the country's
sovereignty. Responding to a point of order raised by Lieutenant
General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, the PM said, "If they (NATO)
don't apologise and remove our apprehensions, we may consider
other options as well."
The Barrack Obama administration
is committed to working with Pakistan, as success in Afghanistan
is not achievable without Pakistan being part of the solution,
US Special Representative for Afghanistan-Pakistan Richard Holbrooke
said. He commented that an extended closure of NATO supplies would
have colossal effect on region's economy.
Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden
is involved in an unfolding plot to launch attacks on European
cities and may have even targeted the US, the National Public
Radio (NPR) reported.
October 2
Two US drone attacks killed 18
suspected militants in Datta Khel town of North Waziristan Agency
in the FATA. "In the first attack two missiles were fired at a
house while in the second attack four missiles targeted a house
and a vehicle.
18 suspected militants were killed
and another six were injured when helicopter gunships of Pakistan
Army shelled their hideouts in Chinarak, Ormegai and Dombakai
areas in Kurram Agency in the night.
Two persons, hailing from Punjab,
were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Shahrag tehsil
of Harani District of Balochistan. The slained persons, identified
as Mohbin and Manzoor, belonged to Bahawalpur District of Punjab.
Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan, a renowned
religious scholar and vice chancellor of the newly established
Swat Islamic University, was shot dead by unidentified assailants
at his clinic in Defence colony of Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The TTP claimed responsibility
of Islamia College University Vice Chancellor Dr Ajmal Khan's
abduction, who is also the cousin of Awami Nation Party Chief
Asfandyar Wali Khan.
An al Qaeda plot to launch Mumbai-style
attacks on European cities was planned by the group's number three
leader, Sheikh Yunis al-Mauretani, with Osama bin Laden's support,
the German weekly Der Spiegel reported.
The US military is secretly diverting
drones from Afghanistan to escalate a CIA-led campaign against
militants in neighbouring Pakistan, The Wall Street Journal reported.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen
will meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
on October 4, amid a row over a NATO helicopter strike inside
Pakistan.
October 3
Six persons were killed and over
a dozen sustained injuries when unidentified militants opened
fire at 28 NATO oil tankers and set them ablaze near the DHA Phase
2 on Grand Trunk Road in Islamabad, the national capital of Pakistan.
The TTP militants killed the 'chief'
of the Asian Tigers, Sabir Mehsud, along with two of his aides
whose dead body were recovered lying in the main market of the
Razmak area in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
The TTP militants killed three
persons on charges of espionage for US in NWA. The bullet-riddled
bodies of three persons were recovered lying on a road alongside
the Miran Shah-Dattakhel road in NWA.
The suspected TTP militants blew
up Government Boys' Middle School in Masood Ziarat in the Mohmand
Agency, which left three classrooms, a balcony and a bathroom
completely destroyed.
Another boys' primary school was
destroyed by suspected militants in Mandan area of Bajaur Agency.
The TTP Swat chapter claimed responsibility
for the murder of Swat Islamic University Vice Chancellor Mohammad
Farooq Khan. Swat TTP spokesman Umar Hassan Erabi phoned media
persons and accepted responsibility of Farooq's killing.
Erabi, meanwhile, claimed that
their leader Maulana Fazlullah was still in Swat, adds The News.
He denied reports that their leader Maulana Fazlullah and his
men recently crossed over to Chitral from Nuristan in Afghanistan.
He insisted that Maulana Fazlullah was alive and in good health.
Intelligence Agency reports revealed
that al Qaeda and the TTP have plans to abduct the Lebanon ambassador
and senior diplomats from Islamabad and attack United States Consulates'
vehicles. Another intelligence report stated that a group of terrorists,
codenamed "Sajan Group", has dispatched personnel from Waziristan
Agency of FATA to carry out suicide attacks and bomb blasts across
the country.
Pakistan's Ambassador to the United
States Husain Haqqani said that Pakistan is an ally of United
States, not a satellite. The two allies were working closely to
thwart terrorist attacks anywhere in the world but made it clear
that his country would not allow any foreign troops on its soil
and follow its own timeline for anti-terror actions on its side
of the Afghanistan border.
Pakistan will only reopen a supply
route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger over
NATO incursions eases and security improves, the Foreign Ministry
spokesman Abdul Basit said.
October 4
Eight terrorists of German nationality
were killed when a US drone fired two missiles that struck a mosque
in Mirali area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Unidentified militants bombed
a Government-run school at Nawy Kallay village in Bajaur Agency
in the night. About 98 schools both for boys and girls had been
damaged in Bajaur Agency during the last two years.
SFs and militants exchanged fire
near Khar area. No casualty was reported.
SFs and militants clashed near
Afghanistan border in Baizai tehsil of Mohmand Agency.
Two oil tankers carrying fuel
for NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan were set ablaze near
Mangochar tehsil of the Kalat District in Balochistan.
Later, the TTP claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Two militants, identified as Salahuddin
of Shagor and Shakirullah of Nawi Kallay, were killed and one
SF was injured in an encounter with the SFs in Babo area of Khawazakhela
tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night.
The SFs repulsed an attack by
a group of 60 LI militants on Sarbanda checkpost in Peshawar,
the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sources said
that militants had entered Peshawar from Shalobar area of Bara
tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA.
TTP claimed responsibility for
two recent attacks on NATO supply convoys in Pakistan and threatened
to carry out more, Azam Tariq, the TTP spokespersons said. "We
accept responsibility for the attacks on the NATO supply trucks
and tankers," Azam Tariq said. "I am talking about attacks both
in Sindh on September 30 and in Islamabad on October 3," he said.
"We will carry out more such attacks in future. We will not allow
the use of Pakistani soil as a supply route for NATO troops based
in Afghanistan," he added. "This is also to avenge drone attacks,"
he added further.
Several persons involved in plotting
terrorist attacks in Europe have been identified and targeted,
Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani said. "I think
that several people who were involved in the plotting have been
targeted, and the others are certainly on the radar of the US,
Pakistani and European intelligence services," Haqqani told the
ABC news channel in an interview.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab
Aslam Raisani said that friendship with Iran would be strengthened
and terrorists' design to undermine the efforts towards that end
would be defeated. "We will not allow Jundullah and other terrorist
groups to use our soil against Iran," he said while talking after
attending a ceremony held in connection with the handing over
of Iranian relief goods to Provincial Government.
October 5
Two soldiers were killed and eight
others injured when a roadside bomb exploded at the Boya checkpoint
in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. A military convoy was going
from Miranshah to Gherlamy when the bomb went off near one of
the vehicles at the Boya checkpoint.
A small bomb damaged a truck near
the Torkham border of Khyber Agency that was carrying oil for
NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Six militants were arrested in
a Police raid on an old Afghanistan refugee camp in Darsamand
area of Orakzai Agency. The arrested persons were identified as
Akhtar Gul, Neyaz Gul, Karim Gul, Badam Khan, Jumma Khan and Ghuncha
Gul. A rocket, Kalashnikov, rifle and hundreds rounds of cartridges
were recovered from their possession.
A teacher of the Jamia Binoria
Al Almia shot dead in Site area. Police said 50-year-old Maulana
Mohammad Amin was going to visit his relatives when at least four
assailants fired from the front and rear at the jeep he was driving.
According to the Police, Maulana Amin was once associated with
the SSP as its divisional chief in Karachi and later quit the
party after it was banned.
Security Force personnel arrested
four al Qaeda suspects, including an injured Arab national, after
an encounter in Ganja Dori village near Mastung District. The
other three suspects were Afghans who were handed over to the
concerned authorities for interrogation.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born
US citizen who tried to set off a car bomb in New York's Times
Square was sentenced to life in prison. Faisal Shahzad pleaded
guilty in June to a failed May 1 bombing in Midtown Manhattan.
He admitted to investigators he received bomb-making training
from the TTP, and funded the bomb plot.
A British terror suspect, Abdul
Jabbar, killed in a drone strike in Pakistan on September 8 was
being groomed to head a new al-Qaeda splinter group in Britain
tasked with attacking Europe, the BBC reported. Abdul Jabbar,
a British citizen living in Pakistan, was being prepared to lead
the new group which was to be called the Islamic Army of Great
Britain, the BBC said, citing a senior security source overseas.
Former President Pervez Musharraf
admitted that Pakistan had trained militant groups to fight in
Kashmir, German magazine Der Spiegel reported. "They (underground
militant groups to fight against India in Kashmir) were indeed
formed," Musharraf told German magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.
The Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman
Abdul Basit rejected Pervez Musharraf statement as "baseless".
"I do not know really what prompted him (Musharraf) to say this
because he is not in Pakistan and I would not really know as to
the purpose of saying this," Abdul Basit said.
US President Barack Obama told
lawmakers that no changes were needed to his Afghanistan and Pakistan
strategy, as US forces escalate operations against the Taliban
and al Qaeda. "We are continuing to implement the policy as described
in December and do not believe further adjustments are required
at this time," Obama wrote in the assessment.
October 6
11 militants were killed in two
US drones attacks in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Three militants were killed and
four others injured during a clash with SFs at Ghanam Shah area
of Baizai tehsil of Mohmand Agency. Arms and ammunition
have been recovered from their possession.
Three children were injured in
a grenade attack on a house in Gulshanabad area of Jungle Khel
in Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police said that unidentified
terrorists lobbed a hand-grenade on the house of one Mukammal
Shah in Gulshanabad area of Jungle Khel.
Unidentified assailants attacked
a convoy of NATO oil tankers on the GT Road near the Khairabad
area of near Nowshera, setting 35 of the tankers ablaze.
Unidentified militants set ablaze
more than 20 NATO supply trucks heading for Afghanistan near the
Akhtarabad terminal in Quetta of Balochistan in the morning.
The TTP claim responsibility for
attack on NATO tankers on the outskirts of Quetta in Balochistan.
TTP spokesman Azam Tariq said that their militants carried out
an arson attack on NATO tankers in Pakistan as revenge for a scaled-up
US drone strike campaign in the country's northwest.
The LeT had increased its targeting
of Indian citizens and Indian interests in Afghanistan. Credible
intelligence with the Indian Government revealed that LeT has
in fact become the principal dispenser of instructions from Pakistan
on Indian targets. Pakistan's Army-ISI establishments continue
to direct operations and even pay for the attacks while LeT is
in charge of executing the attacks.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
warned that "non-state actors" wanted to take over the country
by weakening the democratic system. It would be dangerous for
the whole region if these "non-state actors" succeed in their
plans, Zardari said, without identifying such elements. However,
he expressed confidence that there would be no political change
in the country through undemocratic means.
US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne
W Patterson extended an apology to the country on behalf of the
American people for the cross-border NATO airstrike on September
30, which resulted in the death of three Pakistani Frontier Corps
soldiers.
The British national, Abdul Jabbar,
killed by an air strike on September 8 in Pakistan had ties with
the would-be Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani
intelligence official said. The official, who declined to be identified,
told Reuters the Briton, Abdul Jabbar, had also been in the process
of setting up a branch for the Taliban in Britain.
October 7
Nine persons, including two children,
were killed and over 65 others sustained injuries when two suicide
bombers blew themselves up at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi
in the Clifton area of Karachi in Sindh. The suicide bombers were
reported to be teenage boys. It was reported that a spokesman
of the TTP claimed the responsibility for the attack over phone
to the British media service.
A person was killed and several
others injured in the violence that followed the twin blasts at
the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine. Unidentified assailants also set
ablaze a vehicle each in the Garden, Landhi and Preedy areas of
Karachi.
A US drone fired two missiles
on a militant compound in Khaisoori town of Mir Ali District in
North Waziristan Agency of FATA killing four militants and injured
two others.
Two FC personnel, Attaullah Khan
and Yajeet Khan, were killed in a roadside landmine explosion
in Kar Kandari area of Safi tehsil in Mohammad Agency.
The SFs neutralised four landmines
at Haider Kor village.
The Police raided a madrassa (seminary)
and arrested an Afghan Taliban commander 'Abdul Raziq' in the
Jamia Imdad-e-Aloom-e-Islamia premises in Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistani security officials rejected
a report claiming that a British-origin Pakistani militant, Abdul
Jabbar, tasked with attacks in Europe died in a US drone strike
in September 8.
Top US defence officials are concerned
some elements of the Pakistan's ISI may be interacting improperly
with Taliban and other insurgent groups, a Pentagon spokesman
Colonel David Lapan said.
A new White House assessment concludes
that Pakistan has been unwilling to aggressively pursue al Qaeda
and Afghan Taliban militants in its Tribal Areas. The White House
assessment first reported by The Wall Street Journal and
confirmed by Reuters, faults the Pakistan Government and
military for lacking the will to take action against the militants
in North Waziristan Agency.
The US remains committed to tracking
down Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, US Joint
Chief of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Millen said. He said in an
interview that al Qaeda had been weakened in the past two to three
years and predicted that the network's top two leaders would eventually
be hunted down.
The US admitted the situation
in Pakistani tribal areas was "difficult and complex" as tensions
with Islamabad escalated over US drone attacks on extremists and
a border row.
Pakistan's ISI is pressing Taliban
commanders in Afghanistan to fight the US and allied troops and
"kill everyone" so that no peace deal is cut to end the war without
Islamabad's involvement, a The Wall Street Journal report said.
Nuclear powered Pakistan is home
to top al Qaeda leaders and a safe haven for terrorists, is "powder
keg" of the world that can blow up any moment now, investigative
American journalist Bob Woodward said.
October 8
10 militants were killed when
a US drone fired two missiles on a compound in Charkhel village,
about 25 kilometres west of Miramshah in Dattakhel tehsil of North
Waziristan in FATA.
At least two soldiers including
an Army Major were killed in a roadside blast in Janata areas
of Sararogha tehsil of South Waziristan Agency. The troops were
on a routine patrol when an IED went off in Mehsud area. The other
slain victim was a sepoy while another one was injured in the
blast.
Unidentified militants blew up
a girls' primary school at Mashokhel and boys' primary school
at Shaikhan Village villages of Peshawar, the provincial capital
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night. They had arrested 10 suspects
following the acts of sabotage. He said that three houses of suspected
militants were also demolished at Sulemankhel village.
The Peshawar High Court granted
bail to 19 suspected militants charged with attacking a Police
Station in Upper Dir District on May 7, 2009 which had resulted
in killing of a Police Constable and injuries to three others.
An Anti-terrorism Court of Rawalpindi
acquitted a person, Arshad Satti, in a suicide attack case after
no evidence was found against him.
Pakistan decided to completely
restore the NATO supply lines after it succeeded in getting its
demands accepted by the US authorities. "The Government has decided
to completely restore the NATO supply lines and also to take some
important measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum
products, food items and military hardware to the NATO forces
based in Afghanistan," a official said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that Pakistani defence forces were fully capable and alert
to country's defence and would use any option to this end. Responding
to points of order in the National Assembly regarding ISAF forces'
incursion into Pakistan, Malik said NATO mandate limited it to
carrying out operations within Afghanistan and attacks inside
Pakistan were a clear violation of it.
Dubbing his political detractors
as "cowards," Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf
said that the greatest threat his country is facing today is "failure"
of governance than India or Taliban. "I would say, failure of
governance is the greatest threat today," Musharraf said.
October 9
Five militants belonging to the
TTP Swat chapter were killed in a clash with SFs at Totano Bandai
in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least five militants were killed
as gunship helicopters targeted militant hideouts in the Bara
area of the Khyber Agency in FATA. The military operation in Bara
was launched after militants had targeted a Security convoy in
the Malik Din Khel area on October 8.
Unidentified militants bombed
three Government-run schools in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency
in the night. Officials said that militants had destroyed total
56 schools, most of them girls, and a degree college in the area.
Unidentified militants set ablaze
nearly 30 tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan
at the Mithri area of the Bolan District in Balochistan in the
wee hour. According to the sources, the assailants fired a rocket,
targeting the tankers parked near a hotel.
October 10
Seven militants were killed and
three others injured when US drones attacked a house and a car
in Spinwam tehsil of North Waziristan Agency. The Spinwam
area where the strikes occurred is dominated by a militant group
led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur that regularly attacks NATO troops in
Afghanistan.
The Police foiled plans of militants
to attack a worship place of Ahmadis and a private clinic by arresting
two suspects LeJ militants, Naseem Haider alias Ferron
and Asif Rasheed alias Dumba, from Orangi Town area of
Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.
The Police arrested seven suspected
militants during a search operation in Maidan and Jandola areas
of Lower Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The TTP claimed responsibility
for October 9 attack on NATO supply convoys in Sibi District of
Balochistan, and vowed they would continue until US drone strikes
were stopped. "We accept responsibility for the attacks on the
NATO supply trucks and tankers in Sibi district on Saturday,"
TTP spokesman Azam Tariq said.
NATO supply trucks and oil tankers
started crossing the Torkham border once again after an 11-day
deadlock imposed following a US helicopter strike that killed
three Pakistani soldiers. Dozens of NATO oil tankers and trucks
were allowed to cross into Afghanistan.
Islamabad Police claimed that
the Police arrested 120 terrorists and recovered one suicide jacket
and 969 kilogram explosive material from them in 2010.
A Pakistan Government delegation
is taking part in talks between Afghanistan Government and Taliban
representatives in Kabul, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), a US Congress-funded media organisation. Quoting sources
in Kabul, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE&RL) reported
that the talks, at the five-star Serena Hotel, were aimed at setting
the ground for negotiations on ending the Afghan war.
Former President Pervez Musharraf
said in an American news channel ABC's "This Week" programme that
he favoured agreements with moderate Taliban as a purely military
victory was not possible in the war against terrorists. "After
defeating the Taliban, after 9-11, I always was of the view we
need to go in for deals," Pervez Musharraf said. "My strategy
was always to strike a deal."
October 11
The Police neutralised a powerful
explosive device planted under a bridge on Choha Gujar-Hazar Khwani
Road under Chamkani Police Station in Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs arrested 10 militants and
recovered a large number of arms and ammunition from their possession
during a pre-dawn search operation in Katlang tehsil of Mardan
District.
The Police arrested a militant
during a search operation in Mingora city. Sources said that a
Police team raided the house of militant, identified as Iqbal,
after getting information about his presence there.
Judicial Magistrate (West) Mohammed
Arif Rajput sent two LeJ cadres to Police custody till October
14 allegedly involved in the killing of a doctor on August 17.
They were identified as Naseer Haider alias Firon and Asif Rasheed
Dumba.
The Police issued two images of
the suspected suicide bombers who struck Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine
on October 7, killing eight people and injuring more than 60.The
CID in its circular appealed to the public to help in identifying
the bombers.
The flood calamity will not distract
the Government of Pakistan from pursuing its campaign against
terrorism and extremism, said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
"I would like to emphatically state that the flood calamity will
not distract us from pursuing the campaign against terrorism and
extremists. Our brave armed forces and security agencies, with
full support of the nation, will succeed in eliminating terrorism
from our sacred soil," Gilani stated.
October 12
At least 10 TTP militants and
one soldier were killed in an operation against militants in different
parts of the Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sources
added that around 800 suspected terrorists had also been arrested
in the operation.
A Police van of the Shalkot Police
Station, patrolling the western bypass on the outskirts of Quetta,
was damaged in a remote controlled blast.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
said that renewed Afghanistan efforts to make peace with the Taliban
and end the nine-year war would fail without Pakistan's help.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said this week he had renewed
overtures to the militants, confirming in an interview that his
government had been holding talks with the Taliban "for quite
some time".
October 13
The US drone launched four missile
strikes at a house and two vehicles in the Dattakhel area of North
Waziristan Agency in FATA near the Afghanistan border in the evening,
killing 11 militants, including three foreigners.
Unidentified militants killed
three anti-Taliban tribal elders tasked with protecting their
areas from insurgents in the Bazai area of Mohmand Agency.
Mir Nooruddin Mengal, a central
leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), was shot
dead in Kalat town in Balochistan. Mengal was a member of the
party's central executive committee and was going home when unidentified
assailants on a motorbike opened fire on him. He later succumbed
to his injuries.
The City Police's CID identified
one of the suicide bombers of the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine blasts
of Karachi in Sindh and issued a copy of his Computerised National
Identity Card. The militant identified as Badshah Khan, belonged
to the Mehsud tribe and was a resident of the Ladha area of South
Waziristan in FATA.
The Law enforcement agencies are
alarmed by wall chalking in favour of the TTP seen at a local
college in Faisalabad town of Punjab, an intelligence agency report
revealed. In the light of the report, the Punjab Home Department
detained 2,151 suspects in the 4th Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism
Act.
President Asif Ali Zardari said
that the battle against militancy was multidimensional and the
use of military force was only one component of it, the other
components being economically empowering the people of Tribal
Areas and waging an intellectual battle against militants' philosophy.
The US Defense Secretary Robert
Gates asked Pakistan to take action against the terrorist safe
havens in North Waziristan Agency as soon as possible, which is
said is critical for the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.
"Well, I think it's important. It's clear that North Waziristan
is an important safe haven not just for al Qaeda but for the Haqqani
network and for others," said Robert Gates.
The US envoy for Pakistan, Richard
Holbrooke, said that he had seen no evidence that the floods in
Pakistan have benefited the TTP. He said this while talking about
the Osama Bin Laden humanitarian appeal urging Muslim Governments
to help Pakistan's flood victims in an audiotape made available
by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.
October 14
A religious scholar, Sardar Haider,
was shot by unidentified assailants on his way to his office from
his house in the Kotwali area of Peshawar, the provincial capital
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The TTP militants released a video
of the abducted Islamia College University Peshawar VC Prof Ajmal
Khan in which he appeals to the Government to accept the militants'
demands to secure his release. Professor Ajmal Khan, the cousin
of ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan was abducted on September 7.
A child suffered splinter wounds
in a hand grenade attack at the residence of one Nadeem Isahqzai
in Ferozabad area of Sayrab in Quetta of Balochistan.
Unidentified militants blew up
the shrine of Syed Muhammad Shah at Loy Shelman, near Parang Dra
in Landikotal of Khyber Agency in FATA. However, no casualties
had been reported in the blast. "Shrines are mostly destroyed
because of sectarian bias," an elder of the area said, adding
that Islam did not allow destroying of shrines."
SFs recovered a cache of arms
and ammunition in two different places under Bara tehsil.
SFs demolished the houses of three
important 'commanders' of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Sipah area in
Bara. Officials said the commanders were wanted in a number of
sabotage activities.
The Police arrested seven LeJ
militants plotting to kill the PM Yousaf Raza Gilani in a suicide
attack at his house in Multan in Punjab. The conspiracy against
PM was nearly complete, Police officials said.
The CID of the Police arrested
a SMP militant, Jawad Hussain, from the SITE area of Karachi in
Sindh. A TT pistol was recovered from his possession. CID (Operations)
SSP said Hussain was involved in various cases of sectarian killings
and admitted during interrogation that he killed Ashraf in Orangi
Town of Karachi, Mushtaq in Baloch Colony in Sindh and Khursheed
in Karachi's Iqbal Market Police Station area.
October 15
At least nine militants were killed
when the US Drone launched two missile strikes in two villages
along the Afghanistan border near Mir Ali in North Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
Four members of a tribal lashkar
and three TTP militants were killed as clashes broke out in the
Kasha area of Orakzai Agency. Six tribal razakars were also injured.
Five soldiers were killed in a
TTP attack on Talab check post in mountainous Sararogha area,
some 50 kilometres northeast of Wana, of South Waziristan Agency.
The driver and conductor of the
NATO container were killed by unidentified militants in Takhta
Bag area of Jamrud in Khyber Agency in the night of October 14,
prompting Security Forces to stop NATO supply trucks' movement
from Takhta Bag to the Torkham border on October 15.
The 'master trainer' of suicide
bombers and second-in-command of TTP, Qari Hussain Mehsud, is
reported to have been killed in the October 4 US drone attack
in Mirali town of North Waziristan Agency of FATA. However, TTP
contradicted reports about Qari Hussain's death and described
it as part of a campaign to demoralise its fighters.
The driver of a NATO container
was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Mangochar in Kalat
District. The helper was injured in the attack. The assailants
managed to escape.
The Police repulsed a militant
attack on Shadi Khel checkpost on Rawalpindi Road in Kohat of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Militants attacked the Shadi Khel Police checkpost
with hand grenades.
At least 42 suspected persons
were arrested in the ensuing search operation. A car, a motorcycle,
seven Kalashnikovs, two repeaters, 10 rifles, eight shotguns,
20 pistols and 56 kilogrammes of hashish were recovered during
search operation.
Security Forces arrested 30 suspected
militants, including three 'most wanted' men, during the ongoing
search operation in Katlang area of Mardan District and its suburban
villages. Three of the arrested were believed to be involved in
the killing of noted religious scholar Dr Mohammad Farooq Khan
and other suicide attacks in Mardan District.
Pakistan freed the 'Supreme commander'
of Taliban in Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to enable
him to play a pivotal role in back-channel talks with the US,
through the Pakistani Army, Asia Times Online reported.
The release of Baradar, who was arrested in Karachi in February
2010, was confirmed by an unnamed senior Pakistani counter-terrorism
official.
Pakistan said that it was willing
to assist talks between the Afghanistan Government and the Taliban.
NATO and US officials have said they are ready to do more to help
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's reconciliation efforts with
the Taliban, but Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the
talks must be led by Afghanistan itself.
Intelligence reports suggest TTP
militants plan to use poisonous gas in attacks. According to intelligence
reports, TTP was also considering other ways to carry out terrorist
attacks.
Senior US officials are concerned
over recent intelligence indicating that the TTP, which orchestrated
the failed Times Square bombing, may have successfully placed
another operative inside the United States to launch a second
attack.
Despite pressure from the United
States and the NATO to conduct an operation against terrorists
holed up in North Waziristan Agency along the Afghanistan border,
Pakistan made it clear that a decision on "when, how and what
[should be done]" would be made by Islamabad.
October 16
Two militants of the TTP Swat
chapter, identified as Rahim Shah and Qamar Ali, were killed and
another was arrested after a clash with SFs in Asharay village
under Matta tehsil of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs arrested two unidentified
TTP 'commanders' from an undisclosed location and shifted them
to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
Suspected TTP militants blew up
a Government school in the Badhaber area of Peshawar, in the night.
No loss of life was reported in the attack.
TTP spokesman Azam Tariq on October
16 contradicted news reports about Qari Hussain's death in a drone
strike and described it as part of a campaign to demoralise the
TTP.
PM Yusuf Raza Gilani said that
the battle of fighting extremism and terrorism cannot be won comprehensively
without forming global alliances and partnerships for the eradication
of poverty.
October 17
Suspected TTP militants left the
decapitated heads of two unidentified persons in Saiful Darra
Bazaar of Orakzai Agency in FATA. The victims had been slaughtered
at some undisclosed place before their heads were displayed in
the bazaar. A lashkar of Meshti tribe had taken action against
TTP militants operating in the area a couple of days ago.
A boy, identified as Ishaq, was
injured when he stepped on a landmine in Salarzai tehsil
of Bajaur Agency. Ishaq was working along with his father in the
fields when he stepped on a landmine.
Authorities set ablaze the houses
of five persons for their alleged links with militants in the
Mandal area. They were accused of providing shelter to militants.
Militants shot dead a peace committee
chief, Mumtaz Mithakhel, in the Doaba Bazaar of Hangu District
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf
Raza Gilani said that Kashmir issue is part of the national agenda
of the country which "can never forget it". "Kashmir is part of
our national agenda and we can never forget it.
October 18
The US drone strike
killed seven militants in the Dattakhel region of North Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
Three militants,
identified as Fazal Malik of Shor, Mian Syed Ali Shah of Koz Shor
and Mian Akhtar Ali Shah of Shagai, were killed in an encounter
with SFs in Shagai area of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police foiled a
terror plot by killing a suspected suicide bomber who was driving
an explosive-laden pick-up near Jabukhel village in Lakki Marwat
District. 14 persons were injured when the vehicle exploded after
Police firing.
Unidentified militants
set ablaze the house of a tribal elder, Sher Mir, in Tora Warai
area of Hangu along the border of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Three people, including
two minor girls, sustained injuries in a low-intensity blast near
Pakistan Muslim League House on Davies Road in Lahore, the Provincial
capital of Punjab.
Police arrested
12 suspects, including Afghans, and seized 21 vehicles, including
10 motorcycles, in a search operation in Sihala and Koral areas
of Islamabad, the national capital.
Two NATO tankers
carrying oil for the international forces stationed in Afghanistan
were set ablaze in two separate incidents in the Akhtarabad area
of Quetta and Mangochar area in Kalat District in Balochistan.
In a separate incident
in Mangochar area of Kalat District in Balochistan, some unidentified
armed militants on a motorbike opened fire on a NATO tanker, setting
it ablaze. No casualty had been reported in these two attacks.
The al Qaeda chief
Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri may be hiding
close to each other in houses in northwest Pakistan, protected
by some members of ISI, a CNN report revealed.
The Pakistani authorities
categorically rejected the report. "I categorically deny
the report about the presence of Osama bin Laden or Ayman Al Zawahiri
or even Mullah Omar in Pakistan," Interior Minister Rehman
Malik said. "Bin Laden... and all other terrorists are anti-Islam
and anti-Pakistan and hired assassins. If we have any information
we will take action against them," he said.
Pakistan ambassador
to US, Hussain Haqqani, said that the US has been successful in
arresting key Taliban leaders due to the help Pakistan extended
to its intelligence agencies and forces.
The Islamabad Police
said that the TTP militants had extended financial support to
Faisal Shahzad in planning the terrorist attack in New York’s
Time Square. This was stated by Sihala Police in its investigation
report about the arrest of three militants, Hunbal Akhtar and
Mohammad Shoaib Mughal of Rawalpindi and Mohammad Shahid Hussain
of Islamabad.
Anti-Terrorism Court
in Karachi reserved its verdict till October 28 in an explosive
substance and illicit weapons case against three LeJ militants,
Abdul Baqi alias Talha, Mohammad Ismail and Yousuf Chandio.
October 19
Three soldiers were
killed and two others injured when unidentified militants attacked
a military convoy in the Kalundar Keley area, about 60 kilometres
from South Waziristan Agency’s main town Wana, in FATA.
Unidentified assailants
set ablaze two NATO containers in Dasht Bado area of Kalat District
in Balochistan.
The Barrack Obama
administration is putting final touches to a security assistance
package worth two billion US dollar spanning five years to help
Pakistan fight extremists on its border with Afghanistan, reported
CNN.
Pakistan will preserve
its national interests as it partners with the US in fighting
the terrorist threat, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.
Qureshi also renewed Islamabad’s desire to seek a civilian nuclear
technology deal from the US as part of efforts to meet the country’s
fast-expanding energy requirements.
Balochistan CM Nawab
Aslam Raisani strongly refuted reports about military operation
in any part of the province. Talking to the United States Consul
for Sindh and Balochistan, William J Martin, at the CM Secretariat
in Quetta, Nawab Aslam Raisani however confirmed that some action
is being taken against anti-social elements.
October 20
At least eight militants
were killed in a SFs aerial attack on militants’ hideouts in the
Hangu area of the Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Six militants, an
Afghanistan national among them, were killed and another was injured
in an encounter with SFs in Aleengar area of Safi tehsil
in Mohmand Agency in the night.
Three security personnel
were killed and three other, received serious injuries in a remote
control bomb attack on a military convoy at the Soor Ghar area
in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Militants killed
an Afghan national in Miramshah town of North Waziristan Agency
on charges of being a US spy.
Six security personnel
were injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in Lakhkar Kalli
area of Baizai tehsil in the Mohmand Agency near the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border.
A Police constable,
Abdur Rehman, and two militants, Qari Obaidullah and Ismail, were
killed and another constable was injured in an encounter in the
Township Police Station area in Bannu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police shot dead
a militant who hurled a hand grenade at Bara Qadeemi checkpost
on Peshawar-Bara Road under Sarbanda Police Station in Peshawar.
Police constable Asad Khan and a passer-by were injured in the
grenade attack.
The Peshawar City
Police recovered four NATO transport containers loaded with US
Army jackets and laptop computers that had been stolen while on
their way to Afghanistan.
The CIA’s expanding
operations in Pakistan have taken "a serious toll" on
the al Qaeda network, CIA Director, Leon Panetta said on October
20. But it remained unclear whether the effort had prevented a
possible terror plot against European cities, he added.
The US asked Pakistani
leaders participating in the strategic dialogue to accelerate
the pace and take strong action against terrorist safe havens
there, even as it appreciated Islamabad's role in the war against
terrorism.
The Barrack Obama
administration is believed to be including a clause in a new security
aid package of over USD two billion to Pakistan that the equipment
bought under it would be used only for the purpose it is meant
for - fight against terrorism.
Pakistan asked the
Barrack Obama Administration to work for the resolution of disputes
in South Asia, particularly the Kashmir issue, which it claimed
is key to peace in South Asia. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi spoke about the recent unrest in Jammu and Kashmir
and said "any person of conscience cannot ignore the use of brute
force against defenceless Kashmiri youth."
October 21
Six TTP militants,
a ‘commander’ among them, were killed and several others injured
in a landmine blast along a road in the Marandi area of Kurram
Agency in FATA. The local TTP ‘commander’, identified as Hakim
Khan was suspected of attacking Pakistani troops and abducting
people for ransom.
Some unidentified
assailants shot dead the ANP’s former District President Khogh
Badshah along with his security guard in the Doaba area of Hangu
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs destroyed the
house of a militant, Amjad, near Sawaldher village of Katlang
under Chora Police Station in Mardan District. A cache of arms
and explosives ere recovered from his house. SFs also neutralised
the mines, planted by the militant near his house.
Police arrested
a militant, Bahadar Khan alias Patay, from a hideout in Mohammadzai
village near the border of Orakzai Agency under Cantonment Police
Station of Kohat District.
Yemeni SFs arrested
10 persons, among them five Pakistanis, for spreading extremist
religious ideas in the outskirts of the capital Sanaa. The 10
persons, whose ages ranged from 27 to 65, were spreading extremist
ideas among the population of the Dilaa Hamdan area, the Yemen’s
Interior Ministry posted on its website.
The US Special Envoy
to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke said that the US
would not play a direct role in resolving the Kashmir issue. The
US envoy said Pakistan and India should find a negotiable solution
to the dispute. The US could mediate only if both countries agree
to it, he added.
Pakistan again warned
that nothing less than a sustained and result-oriented dialogue
with India to resolve the long-standing disputes including the
Kashmir issue could ensure peace and prosperity in the region.
Replying to a question at a weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesman
Abdul Basit said, "Aspirations of the people of IHK cannot
be suppressed for ever and they will ultimately win their right
of self-determination."
October 22
At least 10 militants
were killed and seven others injured when helicopter gunships
targeted militant hideouts in Dumbaki and Nowwandi areas of Kurram
Agency in FATA.
A lieutenant colonel
of the Pakistan Army and five other soldiers were killed when
a roadside time bomb exploded in the Yakh Kandao area of Orakzai
Agency. Two SF personnel were also injured.
Unidentified militants
blew up a Government degree college in the Malakdin Khel area
of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.
SFs arrested a local
TTP ‘commander’ and 17 other militants in the Chengazo area of
Bajaur Agency.
An IED, detonated
through a remote control, killed five persons and injured 22 others
inside a mosque in Pishtakhara suburb of Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police recovered
stolen NATO goods at Kharkhano market, a known centre of smuggled
goods on the outskirts of Peshawar near the border with Khyber
Agency in FATA.
Police arrested
Riaz, a TTP militant of Kurram Agency Chapter [FATA], during a
search operation following the killing of former ANP Hangu President
Khogh Badshah in the night.
A Pakistani national,
Adnan Mirza (33), who moved to Texas in US on a student visa,
was sentenced to 15 years in jail for conspiring to provide material
support to the Taliban and illegal gun possession. Adnan Mirza
was among several men arrested by the FBI in 2006 for engaging
in at least six terrorism training sessions during weekend camping
trips near Houston.
As the United States
announced USD 2.29 billion in new military aid to Pakistan despite
India's concerns in this regard, the US has said its ties with
Islamabad do not come at the expense of India and vice-versa.
"This is a subject (India's concerns about US military assistance
to Pakistan) that comes up in all of our discussions with high-level
Indian officials.
Earlier on the day,
the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new USD
two billion security assistance package for Pakistan, as she pushed
Islamabad to take stronger action against terrorists within the
country, thus ignoring India's concerns. She also announced 29
million aids to Pakistan in International Military Education and
Training (IMET), thus increasing the total aid package to USD
2.29 billion.
October 23
23 militants were
killed and another 19 injured when SFs stepped up action against
militants in Orakzai Agency and the adjacent Kurram Agency of
FATA.
Local people shot
dead a suspected militant in Chinarak area of Kurram Agency when
he was planting an explosive device along a road.
One trooper was
injured when a landmine explosion, planted by militants along
the roadside, went off in Ziarat Chowk of Safi tehsil of Mohmand
Agency in FATA. TTP Mohmand chapter spokesman Sajjad Momand claimed
responsibility for the explosion while talking to journalists
in Mohmand Press Club.
SFs targeted militant
hideouts with artillery fire from Ghallanai, the headquarters
of Mohmand Agency. However, there was no report of any causality.
Two militants, identified
as Mohammad Javed and Mohammad Iqbal, were killed when they tried
to escape from the custody of SFs in Arain area of Behrain in
the Swat District.
Driver and cleaner
of a container, carrying goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan,
that was coming from Karachi (Sindh) to Kandahar (Afghanistan),
were injured when unidentified militants opened fire near Wadh
area of Khuzdar District in Balochistan. However, the attackers
managed to escape from the incident site.
Intelligence reports
revealed that as many as 23 terrorists have entered Islamabad
and Lahore to attack senior Police officers, bureaucrats and important
buildings. The report also said that the TTP has planned attacks
on religious leaders and activists of two particular sects, Barelvi
and Shia, and their business interests.
A survey report
prepared by a provincial intelligence agency reveals that only
58 out of a total 319 durbars (shrines) across the province, have
security arrangements, that too inadequate. The remaining 261
shrines have no security at all and are at risk of terrorist attacks,
it said.
October 24
At least 13 militants
were killed and seven others injured when helicopter gunships
of Pakistan Army shelled their hideouts in Torkani and Yakh Kandao
areas of the Upper tehsil in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A militant ‘commander’,
identified as Hazrat Omar, was killed when SFs repulsed a militant
attack on a FC camp in the Mahmadghat area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand
Agency.
Militants attacked
a security post in Bhai Daag area of Baizai tehsil near the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border in Mohmand Agency.
Unidentified militants
blew up two schools by detonating explosive devices, at Manogai
Mandal village in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency. The schools
were completely destroyed.
Unidentified militants
blew up the Government College Kohe Sher Haider in Malik Deen
Khel of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency. However, no casualties were
reported in these incidents.
Five militants were
killed in an encounter with the SFs in Chaparyal and Kharerai
areas of Matta tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants,
riding on a motorbike, shot at and injured the driver and set
ablaze two NATO vehicles, carrying supplies for troops in Afghanistan,
at Baghbana town of Khuzdar District.
Unidentified assailants
hurled a hand grenade on the Levies office in Khuzdar, causing
some damage to the property. However, no one was injured in the
attack.
The US special envoy
to Af-Pak region Richard Holbrooke said he has no evidence to
support media reports stating ISI and Pakistan Army are opposed
to the peace talks between Afghanistan Government and Taliban.
Holbrooke said that
top ranking Taliban leaders are showing interest in talks with
the US-backed Government in Kabul in increasing numbers, as pressure
mounts from an intensifying NATO military campaign, but he, cautioned
that the feelers so far add up to "contacts and discussions" rather
than peace negotiations to end a war now in its tenth year.
October 25
A bomb explosion at the eastern
gate of the Baba Farid Shrine in Pakpattan District of Punjab
killed at least six persons, including three women and injuring
several others.
Three TTP militants were killed
and two others were injured as their car hit a landmine in Taanda
village in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A pro-Government tribal elder
Malak Shah Farosh was killed by unidentified assailants in the
Heyag Banda area when he was on way to Khar tehsil in Bajaur
Agency.
A soldier, identified as Mir Alam
Khan, was killed while another soldier Hameed Khan sustained injuries
when militants opened fire on security post in Chamyar Jewarh
area of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency.
SFs defused an explosive device,
planted by militants along the road near the border of Charmang
and Mamond valleys.
SFs destroyed the house of TTP
'commander', Khera Jan, in Nawagai tehsil.
The chief of JUI-N, Shiekh Ayub
Mandokhel, was killed in firing by unidentified assailants in
Zhob city of Balochistan.
Two Government-run schools, a
CD centre and a guesthouse of a former nazim were blown
up by unidentified militants in different areas of Bannu District
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Militants blew up Bashir CD centre
on Dera Ismail Khan-Bannu Road under Saddar Police Station.
Suspected militants blew up a
Government-run school in Mohalah Hajyaan in Koza Bandai area of
Kabal tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in
the night. About 404 educational institutions were destroyed by
militants in Swat valley.
A teenaged under-training suicide
bomber was rescued as the SFs arrested two TTP militants from
Sohrab Goth area of Karachi in Sindh. The Anti-Extremism Cell
of the Sindh Police's Crime Investigation Department arrested
two TTP militants, identified as Sher Rehman and Zainullah alias
Bilal, during a raid and rescued, the 16-year-old boy, identified
as Mohammad Salam, who was being prepared for a suicide-bombing
mission.
The arrested terrorists also work
for the LeJ and often visited slain TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud,
'second-in-command' Qari Hussain Mehsud and other prominent TTP
'commanders', including Wahab Mehsud in South Waziristan to share
terror related information.
The FIA has completed its probe
into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
and held the TTP responsible for her death in a gun-and-bomb attack.
The TTP threatened to move into
Afghanistan and launch an "unending war" against the Pakistani
troops from there. A pamphlet purportedly distributed by the "Mujahideen
Shura of North Waziristan" in the market in Miranshah, the main
town of North Waziristan Agency, said the TTP asked Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai to provide them shelter if an operation
is launched in the region.
The warning by Taliban comes amidst
reports that the US is stepping up pressure on Islamabad to launch
a military offensive in the tribal region, which they suspect
to be the haven of al Qaeda and Haqqani Network faction of the
Taliban.
Pakistan will take every possible
step to maintain a minimum credible nuclear deterrence despite
economic constraints being faced by the country, Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani said.
October 26
Six militants and a soldier were
killed in an encounter in Orakzai Agency while five more militants
were killed when SFs shelled their positions in Kareer area of
Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
TTP blew up a boy's school Malak
Lal Syed in Wali Kor area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
The TTP spokesman Sajjad Mohmand claimed responsibility for the
incident. The number of schools bombed by militants in the Mohmand
Agency over the last two years has risen to 58.
FC IG Nadir Zeb claimed that the
SFs cleared almost 90 percent of Orakzai Agency of terrorists,
as over 650 terrorists were killed, while about 65 SF personnel
were killed in the operation.
Police arrested five militants,
identified as Mir Afzal, Afsar Khan, Mumtaz, Abdul Rehman and
Habibur Rehman, involved in subversive activities in the province
from Kohistan District.
Pakistan will consider mounting
an anti-Taliban offensive in North Waziristan in FATA only when
other tribal areas are stabilised, Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant-General
Asif Yasin Malik said. Malik said it would take at least six months
to clear militants from Bajaur Agency and Mohmand Agency.
October 27
Eight suspected militants were
killed in two US drone attacks in Datta Khel tehsil of
North Waziristan Agency in FATA. In the first attack, a drone
fired two missiles on a house owned by one Mohammad Nasim who
was believed to have had links with militants.
A local militant 'commander',
identified as Zubair, was killed and three of his associates were
injured in an encounter with SFs in Angah area of Mamond tehsil
in Bajaur Agency.
Seven persons including a pro-government
tribal elder, Malik Amal Gul, were injured in a remote controlled
explosion at Qambar Abad area near Bara Bazaar in Khyber Agency.
A constable and a passerby were
killed and 11 other injured as Police van blown up in Sariab area
of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan The slain were
identified as Constable Sadaqat Ali and Noor Ahmed who lived in
an area along the Arbab Karam Khan road. The BLA claimed responsibility
for the bombing.
Two Policemen were killed when
militants attacked a Police patrol party on Beri Bagh Road under
Yakatoot Police Station in Peshawar, the provincial capital of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the night. Two Policemen were identified
as Arshad Khan and Misal Khan.
A Pakistan origin American national,
Farooque Ahmed (34) was arrested for plotting attacks on subway
stations in and around Washington. Farooque Ahmed is believed
to be tied to al Qaeda, US officials said. Farooque Ahmed, who
lived in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, had been allegedly
casing and photographing subway stations since April to plan simultaneous
bomb attacks.
October 28
At least 12 militants and a security
official were killed and 13 others, including five troopers, were
injured in attacks on SFs and air strikes by gunship helicopters
in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Five militants and a volunteer
of the local peace committee were killed and 14 others injured
in an encounter between SFs and militants in Ambar tehsil of Mohmand
Agency.
TTP militants beheaded three "common
criminals", allegedly masquerading as TTP while stealing and kidnapping
for ransom, in the Yaka Ghaound area of Mohmand Agency.
The Haqqani network is negotiating
a peace deal with a Pakistani tribe in the Khuram Agency. Tribal
elders said that could give militants access to remote strategic
areas on the Afghanistan border.
Four Shia persons of Hazara tribe
were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Quetta, the provincial
capital of Balochistan.
A SSP militant, identified as
Abdullah, son of Amanullah, was arrested by Police under Chaki
Wara Police Station area near Lyari Town in Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh.
An Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced
three activists of a banned outfit to 20 years in prison for possessing
explosive substances and illegal weapons and planning to target
Eid Milad-un-Nabi (celebration of Prophets Birthday) procession
in February 2010.
An intelligence report revealed
that four foreigners have been given the task to assassinate two
prominent religious leaders of Tablighi Jama'at in Raiwind, a
town in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.
October 29
At least 12 militants were killed
and six others injured when helicopter gunships of Pakistan Army
attacked militant hideouts in Khadizai, Shahu Wam, Kasha and Saifal
Dara areas of Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A senior physician, Dr Khan Badshah,
was abducted by unidentified militants from his residence at Khyber
Agency Headquarters Hospital at Khar in the evening. Earlier,
Zakir Hussain, younger brother of Dr Badshah, was killed during
a abduction attempt by militants of TTP 'deputy chief' Mulana
Faqir Mohmmad in Chingaro area near Damadola.
At least two militants were killed
during an encounter with SFs in the Matta tehsil of Swat
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The slain militants were identified
as Latifullah and Rehmatullah. Two security personnel were also
injured in the encounter.
SFs recovered a high intensity
explosive device and neutralised it in Shakardara area of Matta
tehsil.
The driver of a tanker, carrying
supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, was killed and a 12 years
old boy injured when unidentified militants opened fire in Baghbana
area of Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
Another NATO tanker comes under
attack in the Mangochar area, 20 kilometres south of Quetta.
The newly-appointed US ambassador
to Pakistan, Cameron Phelps Munter, termed the drone attacks as
part of the war on terror and to be targeting the militants.
A senior Pentagon official broke
Government rules and lied to superiors when he set up an 'unauthorised'
network of private contractors to spy in Afghanistan and Pakistan,
an internal probe has found.
October 30
Five militants were killed and
seven others injured when helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts
in Mandal area of Salarzai tehsil, some 12 kilometres from
agency headquarters Khar in Bajaur Agency of Federally FATA.
Unidentified militants attacked
a military post, killing two soldiers in the Badar area, 30 kilometres
north of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan Agency.
The Chief Minister of Balochistan
Nawab Aslam Raisani said that Government has decided to take action
against a banned religious out-fit involved in target killings
in the province.
October 31
At least six militants were killed
and another two injured when US drone fired two missiles on a
militant compound in the Haider Khel village of Mir Ali in North
Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Three elders of the Masozai tribe
were killed and two others abducted when militants attacked them
in Zharaly area of Kurram Agency. The deceased were identified
as Gul Ahmad Shah, Daud Khan and Noor Janan. A woman was also
killed when a shell hit her house.
A trooper, identified as Waris
Ali, was killed when militants attacked a checkpost in Loe Kharkay
area of Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency.
Two personnel of the Khasadar
Force suffered injuries when they stepped on a landmine planted
in Totikhel area of Khwezai tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
Helicopter gunships shelled suspected
positions of militants in Dwezai area of Pandyalai tehsil.
However, there was no report of casualties.
SFs set ablaze the house of a
militant 'commander', Obaidullah, during a search operation in
Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency. The militant was wanted
by SFs in various acts of terrorism.
Unidentified militants abducted
an official of the veterinary hospital in Bara tehsil of
Khyber Agency. Officials said that Mohammad Hasan was going home
from Bara Bazaar when he was abducted by unidentified militants.
Elsewhere in Khyber Agency, Khasadar
force arrested two persons from Jamrud and recovered six Kalashnikovs,
17 pistols and 30 empty magazines from their possession.
SFs arrested two suspected militants
in Uthman Khel tehsil of Bajaur Agency. The suspects were
identified as Abdul Ghaffar and Samiullah.
The TTP militants detained 65
tribesmen on the 'charge' of selling and using hashish and heroin
and sentenced each of them to 10 lashes in Mamozai area of the
upper tehsil of Orakzai Agency.
Three 'commanders' of Swat chapter
of TTP, identified as Umar Said, Miftahuddin and Said Rahim, were
killed in encounter with SFs in the Bakrosar area of Matta tehsil
in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Law enforcement agencies recovered
explosive chemical, which were stolen from NATO supply trucks,
from Burhan near Hassanabdal in Attock District of Punjab. Three
persons, identified as Niaz Ahmed, Shamsul Hassan Shah and Sangeen
Khan, were arrested on the charge of storing the chemical.
November 1
At least 12 suspected militants
were killed while nine were injured during shelling by the SFs
gunship helicopters in Gowak, Haindara and Atam Ankhel areas of
Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Six suspected militants were killed
and 10 others injured when US drones fired two missiles on their
hideout in Haider Khel village in Mir Ali tehsil of North
Waziristan Agency.
TTP militants killed another anti-Taliban
tribal elder who was found dead in central tehsil of Kurram
Agency. Sources said that Malik Sabil Khan was abducted on October
31 and his bullet riddled body was recovered from Zarali area
of central tehsil.
The slain TTP 'chief' Baitullah
Mehsud's brother Yaqoob Khan was reportedly shot dead by unidentified
assailants in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.
SFs rescued Mohammad Hasan, the
abducted official of the Bara veterinary hospital and arrested
29 suspected militants including three important 'commanders'
of a local militant outfit in Yousaf Talab area of Bara tehsil
in Khyber Agency.
Two policemen were killed and
12 others, including six policemen, were injured in a commando-style
suicide attack on a Police headquarters in the Swabi District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mardan DIG Abdullah Khan said four militants
took part in the attack. TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.
TTP spokesman Azam Tariq told a foreign news agency in a telephone
call from an undisclosed location that TTP carried out the attack,
saying it was in retaliation for a stepped-up US drone strike
campaign.
TTP militants opened fire at two
NATO tankers near the town of Pabbi on the GT Road, injuring three
persons. "Around eight militants in two cars intercepted two oil
tankers and fired at them with Kalashnikovs," local Police Official
Hayat Khan said.
Police foiled a sabotage attempt
by defusing a powerful bomb, weighing about three kilogrammes,
planted on a road in Gul Gasht Colony under Bana Mani Police Station
in Peshawar.
Multiple blasts damaged up-and-down
country railway tracks in Sehrish Nagar area near Hussainabad
in Sindh. A two-page pamphlet issued by Sindhudesh Liberation
Army 'chief commander' Darya Khan was found on the spot. The pamphlet
enlisted 19 points, mentioning issues of Sindh and targeting what
it called Punjabi imperialism.
November 2
At least 17 suspected militants
were killed and 10 others injured when helicopters attacked the
Dwezai area in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
The unidentified militants blew
up the girls' primary school in Sagai and boys' primary school
in Sagi Bala village of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency,
taking the number of educational institutions destroyed in the
tribal region to 60.
Violating Pakistan's airspace,
NATO helicopters intruded into Kurram Agency. Officials said two
military helicopters entered the agency from Afghanistan's Paktia
province in the afternoon and flew over border villages of Kherlachi
and Burki for several minutes.
SFs killed two militants, identified
as Mohammad Amin of Gul Shah and Gulyar of Chaqor, in an encounter
in Matta tehsil of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A security man also sustained injuries in the incident.
Three powerful tribes joined hands
with SFs to restore peace and flush out remnants of militants
from their respective areas in Swat District. The Mulla, Mian
and Gujar tribes extended support to SFs during a jirga,
held in Gut Peuchar.
A powerful blast ripped apart
one and a half feet railway tracks near Detha Railway Station
in Hyderabad District of Sindh, while the second planted nearby,
failed to explode, neutralised by the bomb disposal squad.
An official vehicle of the FC
escaped a remote controlled blast in Panjgur District of Balochistan.
A remote controlled device was planted near a seasonal river Rakshan.
The banned outfit Lashkar-e-Balochistan claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Unidentified militants abducted
seven employees of a state-owned oil and gas company from Sobatpur
area of Jaffarabad District. Sources said the employees of Oil
and Gas Company Limited (OGDCL) were returning to Uchh gas fields
from Dera Allahyar in an official vehicle.
The Federal Government has issued
a 'high terror alert' on all international airports in the country,
specifically on out-bound 'air cargos' on way to foreign destinations.
The alert came against the backdrop of the United States terror
alert, following the discovery of two packages containing bombs
that were in transit to the US from Yemen.
November 3
Three US drones fired missiles
into militant hideouts different areas of North Waziristan Agency
of FATA, killing 13 militants and injured several others
A woman suffered injuries when
unidentified militants lobbed a hand grenade at a CD shop, owned
by Afzal Khan, in Garhi Atta Khan area of Kohat District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
A Government-run middle school
for girls was partially damaged when explosives planted at the
building went off in the night in Abdul Haq Banda area of Katlang
tehsil in Mardan District.
A portion of the provincial office
of Jamaat-i-Islami, also known as Al-Markaz-i-Islami, was damaged
in a bomb blast situated in Chughalpura under Chamkani Police
Stations on main G.T. Road of Peshawar in the evening.
SFs arrested 15 suspected militants
including wanted criminals in a midnight search operation in Tajori,
Dhoda, Daulat Tajazai and other localities of the Lakki Marwat
District.
Rail traffic remained suspended
for three hours when a low intensity bomb went off on Karachi-Lahore
up track near Nawabshah city of the Sindh. The Sindhudesh Liberation
Army, through a press release issued to the newspapers and news
agencies claimed the responsibility for the blasts.
The Anti Extremism Cell of the
CID arrested a top ranking TTP militant from Mominabad area of
Orangi Town in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Yousuf
alias Qari was a TTP 'commander' in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and had fled to Karachi during the Swat operation.
Clarifying about the news reports
claiming that a NATO aircraft "violated" Pakistan's airspace in
the Burqi and Kharlaci areas of Khurram Agency of FATA on November
2, the United States Embassy in Islamabad said that the accusation
is entirely false.
The Pakistani Senate expressed
serious concern over the violation of Pakistani airspace by NATO
forces. Legislators from Jamaat-e-Islami and PML-N staged a walkout
from the Senate session in protest and strongly condemned the
airspace violations by NATO forces.
November 4
Ten militants were killed and
seven others injured when helicopter gunships pounded militant
hideouts in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Two security personnel were injured
in a landmine explosion in Saafi tehsil of Mohmand Agency.
TTP militants blew up a water
supply tube-well in Lakaro of Mohmand Agency. The TTP have claimed
responsibility for the incident, saying the tube-well was used
for provision of drinking water to Security Forces.
SFs blew up the house of a local
militant 'commander', Ibrahim alias Dard, during search operation
in Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency.
Twelve-year-old Azeemullah was
killed and three tribesmen were injured when militants fired rockets
at the Ara Khel tribal area in Darra Admakhel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
in the night.
Six militants were arrested and
house of a wanted militant was set on fire in Mandani area of
Charsadda District.
A bomb blast on railway line near
Therhi railway crossing in Khairpur District of Sindh ripped one-foot
part of the tracks, suspending rail traffic for a couple of hours.
The US imposed sanctions on two
Pakistan-based militant outfits and a key militant leader for
November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The Treasury Department said
it targeted the financial and support networks of LeT and JeM.
It also took action against Azam Cheema, saying he had helped
train operatives for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and was
the "mastermind" behind the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings carried
out by LeT.
Al Qaeda in a message released
vowed revenge on the US over an 86-year jail sentence handed down
in September to a Pakistani woman Aafia Siddiqui convicted of
attacking her American interrogators.
November 5
Militant attacks on two mosques,
one at Juma congregation in Darra Adamkhel and the other at Isha
prayers in Badbher near Peshawar, left at least 68 persons dead
and another 70 injured. At least 65 people, 18 children among
them, were killed and 70 injured in a suicide attack on the Friday
congregation in the mosque in Darra Adamkhel area of the Kohat
Frontier Region.
At least three persons were killed
and 17 other injured in the militant attack on a mosque in Sulemankhel
area of Badbher near Peshawar.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
warned that the militants can carry out more sabotage activities
in parts of the province and FATA and the people should keep an
eye on movement of suspected elements.
A driver was killed and one more
person was injured when unidentified assailants attacked a tanker
carrying oil for NATO forces in Afghanistan in Surab area of Kalat
District in Balochistan.
Two simultaneous explosions caused
damage to an oil tanker and a trailer, carrying oil and other
goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan, at Torkham border under
Khyber Agency of FATA.
Another Government boy's school
was blown up in Ziarat area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency
at 10 pm (PST) in the night. The number of destroyed schools reached
to 62 in Mohmand Agency.
A Government-run girls' school
was blown up in a series of blasts in Sadat Sorani union council
in the Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Punjab Police beefed up Security
along the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border to stop infiltration
of militants ahead of the expected military operation in North
Waziristan Agency, says the District Police Chief Kashif Kanju.
Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
said that there are no training camps of terrorists in the province.
In a meeting held with Canadian High Commissioner Ross Hyness,
the Governor said the presence of seminaries in the province did
not mean that terrorists were being trained there.
November 6
10 militants were killed and five
others injured when helicopter gunships pounded their hideouts
in Andar Mella, Malokhel and Saidkhel villages of Orakzai Agency
of FATA.
Militants blew up two Government-run
primary schools for boys in Kamangara Miangan Kallay of Nawagai
tehsil in Bajaur Agency at 2:30 am (PST). The number of
destroyed schools reached to 102 in Bajaur Agency.
One NATO oil tanker carrying oil
for forces in Afghanistan was blown up on Peshawar-Torkham Road
in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Three militants were killed in
an encounter with SFs in Jawaki area of Frontier Region of Kohat
District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The unidentified militants launched
a rocket attack at village Jawaki from Tor Chappar area of Darra
Adamkhel. However, no loss of property or life was reported as
the two rockets landed in an open ground.
Death toll of the suicide attack
on a mosque in Darra Adam Khel reached 95, as 27 injured persons
succumbed to injuries.
US officials received at least
five warnings that an American man who became a key figure in
the 2008 Mumbai attacks was training or working with extremists,
The Washington Post said. Despite the warnings to US intelligence
agencies building up over seven years, officials did not move
to question David Coleman Headley or place him on any watch list,
the report said, citing a review underway for the US director
of national intelligence (DNI).
November 7
12 suspected militants were killed
in two US drone attacks within an hour in the Dandi Sedgai and
Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.
TTP publicly executed three tribesmen
at an open area on a road near a gas station in Miranshah of North
Waziristan Agency after accusing them of spying for the US.
Militants freed the six students
they had abducted on July 17 in attacks on two passenger vehicles
in lower tehsil of Kurram Agency which left 15 passengers dead.
Unidentified militants shot dead
four policemen in an ambush in the Gard Gab area in the Nushki
District of Balochistan. The slained policemen were identified
as Head Constable Nazir Ahmed Lehri, Constables Saeed Ahmed and
Muhammad Arif and the driver Nazir.
Two oil tankers carrying supplies
for NATO forces in Afghanistan were set ablaze near Wanhar village
in Talagang tehsil in Chakwal District of Punjab.
Intelligence agencies recovered
a cache of unlicensed arms including rocket launchers, hand grenades
and Kalashnikovs in the riverine area of Hatheji village in Ahmedpur
city in the Jhang District.
November 8
A security man, Ali Akbar Khan,
was killed in a roadside bomb blast in Dojangi area of Safi tehsil
in Mohmand Agency of FATA.
Unidentified militants fired a
rocket at NATO oil tankers in Khyber Agency, which missed the
target and hit the boundary wall of a home.
A NATO oil tanker was blown up
near Charwazgai in Landikotal. According to sources, the oil tanker
was carrying 44,000 litters of oil for the US forces in Afghanistan,
when it was blown up with an explosive device near Charwazgai.
Hidayatullah Wazir, the maternal
uncle of MPA Adnan Wazir and brother of a former AIGP, was abducted
by unidentified militants along with his gunman from an area under
Janikhel Police Station in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
TTP planned to attack mosques,
shrines and Imambargahs during Eidul Azha prayers,
especially in remote and rural areas across the country.
Pakistan said it hoped the United
States would not be swayed by "power politics" in its support
for a permanent seat for India in a reformed United Nations Security
Council.
November 9
Militants bombed three primary
schools in Safi tehsil in the Mohmand Agency of FATA. No casualties
were reported in the attacks. However, the school buildings were
completely destroyed. The militants have destroyed 65 schools
in the Mohmand tribal region since 2007.
The TTP 'commander' for Darra
Adamkhel and Khyber Agency, Tariq Afridi, said that his outfit
was not involved in the abduction of Peshawar Islamia College
University Vice Chancellor Ajmal Khan.
French Police arrested five alleged
Islamist militants suspected of having trained in Pakistani-Afghanistan
tribal areas.
The US Defence Secretary Robert
Gates said that the "heart" of al Qaeda remained in the Afghan-Pakistan
border area even as the network spreads its influence to places
like Yemen and Somalia.
Former President General (retd)
Pervez Musharraf criticised India for creating an anti-Pakistan
Afghanistan. "If I'm allowed to be very, very frank, India's role
in Afghanistan is to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan," he
said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
November 10
Gunship helicopters pounded militants'
positions in Orakzai Agency of FATA along the Afghanistan border
and killed 18 militants and injured another 22.
Two troopers received injuries
in a roadside blast in Musa Kor area of Ambar tehsil (revenue
unit) in Mohammad Agency.
A Government-run school for boy's
and house of peace committee member Jamal Shah were blown up in
Qillagai village of Safi tehsil in Mohammad Agency.
Helicopter gunships shelled militant
hideouts in Qandharo, Garhi and Haseebzai areas of Safi tehsil.
However, there was no report of any casualty.
SFs recovered huge quantity of
weapons and explosives from bunkers in Shago, Kherki and Speray
areas of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency.
12 militants laid down their arms
and surrendered to the Political Administration in Bajaur Agency.
Two militants, identified as Bakht
Baidar of Bodigram and Jabrail of Tetai, were killed in an encounter
with SFs in Sherpalam and Meramai villages of Matta tehsil
in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants set ablaze
two NATO oil tankers in the Dhadar area of Bolan District in Balochistan.
The CID arrested six most wanted
LeJ militants and recovered a huge cache of weapon. However, Dawn
stated an arrest of over more than half a dozen militants. It
was reported that the arrested militants were affiliated with
Asif Ramzi faction of LeJ outfit that planned sectarian violence
before Muharram by targeting nine important Shia community
members.
CID arrested a most wanted criminal
affiliated with the TTP from the Manghopir area in the north of
Karachi.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
on November 10 told the National Assembly that the Finance Ministry
has provided PKR 112.266 million from foreign assistance in the
annual budget of the Interior Ministry during the financial year
2009-10 in relation to the ongoing war on terror.
November 11
At least 20 persons, including
FC officials and Policemen, were killed and over 100 injured when
an explosive-laden truck blew up inside the head office of the
CID, which is located inside the main red zone of Karachi in Sindh,
in the night.
Though the attack is suspected
to be in reaction to the arrest of the militants affiliated with
LeJ that the CID made on November 10, the TTP also claimed responsibility
for the attack.
The AVCC personnel arrested five
militants belonging to the TTP.
Seven suspected militants were
remanded into Police custody for six days in a number of cases
in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.
Eight suspected militants were
killed and five others injured when US drones fired eight missiles
into a house in Guli Khel area along Afghanistan border of North
Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Six militants and a soldier were
killed in an encounter in Goak area of Orakzai Agency.
Three militants, a civilian and
a Khasadar Force trooper, Naib Subedar Qadar Khan, were killed
while three soldiers received injuries during a search operation
in Qandharo, Habibzai and Sandokhel localities of Safi tehsil
in Mohmand Agency.
A woman and her minor daughter
were killed in a TTP attack on Adezai village under Matani Police
Station of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police said that the
TTP militants attacked Adezai village with rockets at 2am (PST).
SFs arrested nine suspected militants
and recovered weapons during raids in Wari and Sundrawal areas
of Upper Dir District.
Unidentified militants set ablaze
two NATO trailers near Lakpass area of Mastung District in Balochistan.
The US is close to deciding where
and how to try self-professed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
and four other al Qaeda operatives involved in the 9/11 attacks,
Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Ilyas Kashmiri, the 'chief' of
HuJI, is suspected by counter terrorism officials to be fast emerging
as a new international jihad plotter, planning fresh strikes in
Europe and America.
November 12
Four militants and a soldier were
killed while another soldier suffered injuries when militants
attacked SFs in Kareer area of Mohmand Agency in FATA.
SFs resorted to artillery shelling
on militants' positions in Safi tehsil from their headquarters
in Ghalanai in the night of November 11. Residents said that shelling
continued throughout the day on November 12. No loss of life has,
however, been reported.
Two militants, identified as Omar
Farooq and Shah Faisal, were shot dead in an encounter with SFs
in Shoq Darha area of Matta tehsil in Swat District of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The sketches of two militants,
who thought to be involved in carrying out attack that ripped
through CID office at Karachi in Sindh on November 11, have been
drawn and released to law enforcement agencies.
The militants in Peshawar warned
drivers of girls' schools of dire consequences if they do not
stop taking students to schools in two days' time. The militants,
in a letter distributed among employees of Begum Shahabuddin High
Secondary School, Government Girls High School, Frontier Women's
College and several other institutions, said the drivers would
be responsible for whatever happened to them if they did not comply
with the warning.
The TTP and LeJ have planned to
carry out suicide attacks in Islamabad and other parts of the
country, Intelligence reports said. According to intelligence
information, TTP 'commander' Qari Momin sent four suicide bombers
to attack Eid congregations in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and
Faisalabad.
Counter-terrorism officials in
Europe and the United States said that al Qaeda plans Mumbai-style
attacks in Europe, with the US also possibly being targeted.
The US terrorism expert Bruce
Riedel while talking with Spiegel Online about how explosive the
situation was in Pakistan and how much influence al Qaeda still
had, said that coup in Pakistan a real possibility.
November 13
10 militants were killed and three
SF personnel were injured in an encounter in Toor Kanrhi area
of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Five persons were killed when
a US drone fired four missiles at a car in Ahmadkhel area of North
Waziristan Agency.
Two SF personnel were killed in
an encounter with militants in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency.
An unnamed TTP spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack
on the SFs, saying they took one of the bodies with them.
Three civilians were injured when
helicopter gunships and artillery shelled militant hideouts in
Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency.
A CID Police Constable, Umar Wahid,
who was injured in the CID office attack at Civil Lines area of
Karachi on November 11 succumbed to his injuries.
Six people, including two women,
were injured in a hand grenade attack at a property dealer's office
in Latif Abad area of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Abdul Khaliq Farahi, the Afghanistan
consul general in Peshawar who had been abducted on September
22, 2008 from Hayatabad area of Peshawar, was released by his
captors in the night. An Afghanistan diplomat in Islamabad confirmed
his release.
November 14
SFs killed six TTP militants during
an encounter in Matta tehsil of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Six militants, including two 'commanders' Naseebullah and Ibrahim,
were killed.
A member of the Shakai Peace Committee
was killed and eight others injured in a suicide attack at a busy
marketplace in Shakai village of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.
Two abducted professors were released
by militants in the Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Agency. According
to security officials, Inamullah Mehsud and Moinudeen, who were
professors at the Kabul University, were abducted on November
12 in Landi Kotal from near the Pak-Afghan border.
An oil tanker, carrying fuel for
the NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan, was set ablaze by unidentified
militants near Kundlani Bridge in Bolan District of Balochistan.
Railway authorities recovered
10 kilogrammes of explosives from a box with a timer from Shah
Rukne Alam train from Multan town of Punjab.
Pakistan has used terror outfits
as a hedge against India, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said. In an assessment of the situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan
region, Hillary Clinton acknowledged that the US policy of creating
the Mujahideen to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan had boomeranged.
The United States should use drones
to target LeT hideouts if Pakistan does not destroy them, says
US bipartisan task force. In a report to the Barack Obama administration,
the task force warns that another Mumbai-like attack could lead
to a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan.
Richard Armitage, while talking
to the media after the release of the task force's report on Pakistan
and Afghanistan, urged Islamabad to realise that the Haqqani network
also posed an existential threat to the Pakistani state.
US special representative for
Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said that Pakistan,
the US and India face a common enemy. Holbrooke said that some
extremist organisations in Pakistan had attacked US forces in
Afghanistan.
Richard Holbrooke said that sources
of funding for terrorists and militants come from outside Pakistan
and through extortion of NATO supply convoys.
November 15
Unidentified militants blew up
a Government primary school in Safi tehsil of the Mohmand
Agency. The number of schools destroyed by extremists over the
last two years rose to 68, out of which 24 were girls' and 44
were boys' schools.
Two persons were killed and three
others injured in a bomb explosion near the house of a slain anti-(TTP
tribal elder in the Adezai area, some 12.5 miles (20 kilometres)
south of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs killed two militants, identified
as Fazal Rabi and Jameel, when they refused to surrender after
being surrounded in the Pia village of Madyan area in Swat District.
Swat Qaumi Jirga demanded
exemplary punishment for the wanted militant leaders including
outlawed TNSM leader Maulana Sufi Mohammad, Swat TTP 'chief' Maulana
Fazlullah and TTP spokesman Muslim Khan.
The Federal Capital Police foiled
an attack on the office of the CIA, arrested a terrorist and recovered
explosive material with a detonator from his possession. The suspect
was trying to sneak into the main office of CIA to blow up the
building. The alleged terrorist was identified as Muhammad Rafique,
son of Noor Muhammad, belonging to Jabba area of Abdur Rahimkhail
in Orakzai Agency of FATA.
The JuD is openly running a public
campaign to collect donations and hides of sacrificial animals
ahead of Eid-ul-Azha festival despite Pakistan's Interior Ministry
placing it on a list of 16 militant or hardline groups barred
from such activities.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai
refused to endorse US drone strikes inside Pakistan, adding that
he could not talk in favourable terms about bombing people. In
an interview to a US media outlet, Hamid Karzai also showed an
unusual understanding of Pakistan's problems in dealing with the
militants.
While Somalia has replaced Iraq
as the state most at risk from terrorist attack, Pakistan ranked
second, according to a ranking by Global Analysts Maple croft,
which sees threats also rising in Russia, Greece and Yemen but
falling in India and Algeria.
November 16
20 militants were killed when
US drone missiles hit a house and a speeding vehicle in Bangi
Dar village in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
At least seven militants were
killed in a US drone strike on a militant training centre near
the Afghanistan border in Ghulam Khan village, 15 kilometres north
of Miranshah, in North Waziristan Agency of FATA early in the
morning.
SFs dead three TTP militants during
an encounter in Puran tehsil of Shangla District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Police arrested one suspected
militant and recovered explosives from his possession in Sargodha
District of Punjab.
A civil court in Rawalpindi sentenced
nine TTP militants to 10 years in prison and fined them Rs 20,000
each.
The US continues to hunt for Osama
bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist of the world, said P J Crowley,
an official in the Barack Obama administration.
Pakistan has been the chief victim
of international terrorism and curbing militancy is in the country's
own interest, Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of state for South
Asia, said while noting that a stable Pakistan was in the interests
of both the US and India.
November 17
Unidentified militants blew up
a gas pipeline in a building near Meezan Chowk area of Quetta,
the provincial capital of Balochistan.
LeT is a profoundly dangerous
outfit but not greater than al Qaeda, Daniel Benjamin, State Department
coordinator for counter terrorism said. "Obviously, LeT is a profoundly
dangerous group and its support that it derives from doing social
services is like Hamas, is like Hezbollah, and is of course of
great concern," Daniel Benjamin said.
German intelligence agents received
evidence from the United States that al Qaeda has sent two to
four terrorists to Germany and UK via India and the UAE to carry
out attacks. The mastermind behind the possible attacks was named
as Mohammed Ilyas Kashmiri, the 'chief' of HuJI and a leading
al Qaeda militant from Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood
Qureshi said the Government would continue to extend moral and
diplomatic support to the Kashmiris and highlight the issue. Kashmir
issue was still on the United Nation's agenda, he said, adding
that it was baseless news.
November 18
Pakistan is not making enough
progress in the war against terrorism, even though its commitment
to crush extremism has significantly increased in the last one
year, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said at the Wall Street
Journal CEO Council 2010 meeting.
The LeJ, an anti-Shia militant
group accused of having links with al Qaeda, has split into at
least eight small cells to better coordinate its activities across
Pakistan, according to a media report.
Individuals with connections within
the LeJ and intelligence officials tracking the group said the
move appeared to be an attempt to outsmart law enforcement agencies.
The LeJ, which is dominated by
militants from Punjab, has established hideouts inside North Waziristan
tribal region, which is controlled by the network of Afghan Taliban
commander Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The LeJ is the biggest militant
group operating in Karachi and 94 of 246 terrorists arrested in
the city since 2001 belonged to it, according to a secret report
of the CID.
11 years after the Kargil war
in 1999, the Pakistan Army has included the names of 453 soldiers
and officers who were killed during the conflict on its website.
The 453 Pakistani soldiers are shown as killed in the Batalik-Kargil
sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army also reveals the codename
given to the operation to occupy strategic mountains and heights
on the Indian side of the LoC - Operation Koh-e-Paima or Mountain
of Resolve.
During the Kargil conflict and
in subsequent years, the Pakistan Army insisted that none of its
regular soldiers were involved in the hostilities. This stance
continued despite the Indian Army capturing several serving soldiers.
November 19
Seven militants were killed and
21 others injured as SFs backed by helicopter gunships and artillery
targeted militant's hideouts in Garhai and Kareerh areas of Safi
tehsil and Aman Kot and Yarakhel area of Baizai tehsil
in Mohmand Agency in FATA.
Four militants were killed when
US drone missiles targeted a moving vehicle near Marsi Khel village
close to Afghanistan border in North Waziristan Agency.
A woman and two children were
killed and eight others injured when the Taliban militants fired
missiles from within Afghanistan side on the Shalozan village
of Khurram Agency.
Rockets fired by unidentified
assailants at a FC fort hit a house in Kohlu town in the Kohlu
District of Balochistan, killing a woman and injuring five other
persons, including two FC personnel.
Nine rockets were also fired in
the city of Sibi in Balochistan which exploded in a graveyard.
No causalities were reported.
The unidentified assailants set
fire to 10 NATO oil tankers on the Ring Road in Peshawar of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Police foiled a sabotage attempt
by neutralising a powerful bomb planted under a bridge in Chamkani
area of Peshawar.
SFs arrested three suspected militants,
identified as Hussain Zada and his sons Wajid Ali and Qaiser Ali,
during a raid on a rented house in Pohan Colony of Mardan District.
The operational commander of Dir
Scouts Brigadier Nadeem Mirza claimed that Lower Dir region had
been cleared of militants and residents are living in peaceful
environment.
Unidentified assailants attacked
a worship place owned by the Ahmedis in Mughalpura area of Lahore
in the province of Punjab. It is alleged that some cadres belonging
to the Jamaat-e-Islami and Khatm-e-Nabuwat were carrying on a
hate campaign against the Ahmedis and they had even placed a board
outside a local graveyard, reading, "Ahmedis are not allowed to
bury their dead in this graveyard".
Siraj Haqqani, the 'operational
commander' of the Haqqani Network, who had earlier been moved
from Miranshah in North Waziristan to Kurram Agency, has been
moved further to a secure "safe house" outside FATA.
The United States is seeking to
expand the areas inside Pakistan where CIA drones can operate,
The Washington Post reports. Citing unnamed US and Pakistani
officials, The Washington Post said US officials were eyeing areas
surrounding Quetta in Balochistan, where the Taliban leadership
is believed to be hiding.
Former President Pervez Musharraf
claimed that al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden funded PML-N chief
Nawaz Sharif for taking part in the 2008 elections.
PPP Punjab Information Secretary
Fakharuddin Chaudhry received death threats from some sectarian
outfit after he exposed close contacts between the Provincial
Government of the PML-N and these outfits in a press conference.
The callers claimed to be SSP and LeJ members, and threatened
him of dire consequences.
November 20
Five TTP Militants, including
three top ranking militants, were killed in an encounter with
SFs in the Totano Bandi area of Kabal tehsil in Swat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants blew up
a girls' school at Malagori village in Landi Kotal tehsil
of Khyber Agency in the night. Nobody has so far claimed responsibility
for the blast. So far at least 27 schools have been destroyed
in Bara and Landi Kotal tehsils of Khyber Agency since the start
of military operation in September 2009.
Rocket attacks continued in Kohlu
District of Balochistan for the second consecutive day and a rocket
also hit a house in Quetta damaging it. Eight rockets were fired
on Chamalang and Kohlu. According police, a rocket fired from
unspecified location exploded on the roof of a house in Baloch
Colony situated on Brewery Road of Quetta.
Quetta and 13 other Districts
of Balochistan were out off electricity for about 24 hours after
unidentified militants blew up pylon of a major transmission line
near Machh area of Bolan District in the night.
Foreign Office spokesman Abdul
Basit condemned any suggestion of expanding the US drones' range.
"We have very clearly conveyed that we will not in any case accept
the expansion of the area of these drone attacks," he said.
November 21
15 militants were killed and several
others injured when SFs targeted their hideouts in the Hazeri
and Koy Kaley areas of the Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Six militants were killed when
a US drone missiles hit into a compound in Khaddi village, 15
kilometres east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan
Agency.
Three SFs personnel were injured
when militants ambushed a military convoy with a remote controlled
bomb in the Yakh Kandaw area of Orakzai Agency. The injured personnel
were identified as Sepoys Ashfaq and Akram and Hawaldar Maqbool.
Unidentified militants opened
fire and injured a khasadar in Loe Shalman area of Landi
Kotal of Khyber Agency.
A bomb blast killed at least two
persons and injured several others in the Muslimabad area of Cantonment
Police Station in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The bomb disposal squad foiled
an attempt to blow up the house of a Policeman by neutralising
two bombs in Hangu.
A constable of the Balochistan
Constabulary, identified as Ali Khan, was killed when unidentified
militants attacked a security checkpost on the main Chattar Road
near Dera Murad Jamali in Nasirabad District of Balochistan.
Federal Interior Minister Rehman
Malik ruled out the involvement of external hand in terrorism
in the country, saying the locals were supporting terrorism, especially
the LeJ in Karachi. "No external hand is involved in terrorism
in Pakistan," Malik told reporters at the Karachi Airport, adding
that TTP, al Qaeda and LeJ were all coordinating with each other
and were trying to destabilise Pakistan.
November 22
At least five militants were killed
and several others were injured in a US drone attack at Mir Ali
tehsil in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Unidentified assailants killed
two militants, including a 'commander' of Amr Bil Maroof area,
in Khyber Agency.
The bomb disposal squad neutralised
a bomb planted in a house in Ghundi Sikandar Khel under Jamrud
tehsil in Khyber Agency.
SFs neutralised a roadside bomb
at Spin Qabar in Bara tehsil. Sources said a security convoy
passing through the area was the target.
The Islamabad Police recovered
130 kilograms of explosive material which was concealed in seven
cartons and being transported from Peshawar to Rawalpindi and
Islamabad for subversive activities
In the light of threat to blow
up Sindh Assembly's building, the security of the building has
been tightened. The threat was issued via phone and fax.
The NCMC informed the provincial
Governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan
and Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA about the planning and preparation
of radical outfits to spread terrorism throughout the country
in the coming days.
November 23
At least 14 militants were killed
and six others were injured in shelling by gunship helicopters
in Kot Killay and Khadizai areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
A Baloch National Movement leader,
Shahnawaz Baloch, was shot dead and another injured when unidentified
assailants opened fire on them in Ormara of Balochistan.
Special US Representative to Afghanistan
and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said that the top leadership of
al Qaeda terrorist network is in the Af-Pak border region.
The Taliban are "the true followers
of Islamic ideology", said Federal Minister for Tourism Maulana
Attaur Rehman who also believes that "America is the biggest terrorist
of the world".
November 24
A soldier was killed and another
injured when a roadside bomb exploded during a foot patrol in
the Tiarza area of South Waziristan Agency of FATA.
The US added Pakistan's Falah-e-Insaniyat
Foundation (FeF), a charity associated with LeT, to its official
list of blacklisted terror outfits.
Pakistan has allowed the US military
and its coalition partners in Afghanistan to maintain a presence
in Quetta, the Provincial capital of Balochistan, says a Pentagon
report to Congress.
An unnamed Pentagon official said
that Pakistan's negative perception of India's role in Afghanistan
is a matter of "continuing concern".
The Minister for Communications
Arbab Alamgir said containers that carry NATO goods have caused
damage of around PNR 82 billion to infrastructure of Pakistan's
communication network.
November 25
The SFs killed eight militants
in the upper areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA. Two hideouts of
militants were destroyed in the shelling.
Two SF personnel were killed and
six others injured in a remote controlled bomb blast at a bridge
in Sheen Kamar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.
A paramilitary soldier was killed
and six others were injured when a bomb exploded in Sarmalo Kando
area of Orakzai Agency.
A jirga of Mohmand Agency
tribal elders was held at Ghalanai, the Agency's headquarters
in which a terrorist 'commander' along with his two companions
surrendered to the authorities.
A woman was killed when a mortar
shell hit her house in the Qandaro area of Safi tehsil of Mohmand
Agency.
Two NATO gunship helicopters injured
three people, after violating Pakistan's airspace in Datta Khel
area of North Waziristan Agency.
Unidentified militants blew up
the Meera Khan Kali Government Girls' Primary School in Khugakhel
area of Landi Kotal in Khyber Agency in the night. Militants have
so far destroyed 28 Government schools in different parts of Khyber
Agency since the start of military operation in Bara in September
2009.
Militants blew up another Government-run
primary school in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency. Officials said
that so far 68 schools have been blown up by militants in Mohmand
Agency, depriving over 20,000 students of education facilities.
The SFs arrested 130 suspected
persons during a search operation in Hangu District of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession.
SFs killed three militants during
a search operation at Bahrain Chaprai area in Swat District late
in the night.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said that most of the explosives used in bomb attacks in the country
were smuggled from Afghanistan but insisted that the cross-border
movement of militants was being limiting.
The Army will wait until it has
completed the operation in Orakzai Agency, stabilised Swat and
Bajaur Agency and handed over stable places such as Shangla to
civilian control before it launches action in North Waziristan,
where the United States forcing an Army operation against safe-havens
of the Haqqani network and its local and foreign facilitators,
an unnamed high ranking official of Pakistani Army said.
Inspector General of FC Major
General Obaidullah Khan called upon the Baloch insurgents taking
refuge on mountains to throw away their weapons and enter the
political mainstream.
November 26
Eight militants and a trooper
were killed in an encounter with the SFs in the Mushti Mela area
of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along the border areas
with Lower Orakzai Agency of FATA.
A US drone attack targeted a vehicle,
killing four militants in Pir Keley village, 10 kilometres east
of Miranshah, the headquarter of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.
More than 250 persons have been killed in 47 strikes since September
3, 2010.
Unidentified assailants set ablaze
a NATO container near Zawa area of Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
They abducted its driver and cleaner.
Levy Force personnel arrested
a militant who made a failed attempt to blow up a tanker carrying
fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
SFs arrested two suicide bombers
attempting to attack the Parliament and a mosque in an up market
neighbourhood in the capital city of Islamabad. They also recovered
suicide jackets. Later, the militants confessed that they were
cadres of a South Waziristan Agency based terrorist outfit linked
with TTP.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah
Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan strongly condemns the November
26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11) and wishes
to see the culprits involved in the incident punished.
November 27
Three passengers including a woman
were killed when a Lakki Marwat bound coaster was ambushed by
unidentified militants in Akhorwal area of Darra Adam Khel in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A bullet-riddled body of a tribesman
was found in the graveyard of Akhorwal village in Darra Adamkhel.
He was abducted by the Tariq Afridi group of TTP on an unspecified
date before Eid.
The Government announced a reward
of PNR 10 million to anyone providing information about the TTP.
Rehman Malik said that most militants belonged to the LeJ and
SSP.
November 28
Two militants, identified as Mujeebur
Rehman and Omar Rahim, were killed in an encounter with SF in
Sher Palam area of Mingora in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A woman was killed and two other
persons were injured when a rocket shell hit a house in Safi tehsil
of Mohmand Agency in FATA.
Unidentified militants blew up
a boys' primary school in the Sandokhel area of Mohmand Agency.
SF arrested two suspected militants,
identified as Saifullah and Bilal, at a checkpost in Darwazgai
area of Safi tehsil.
A local leader of the SSP, Abdur
Rehman, was killed while his friend, Mohammed Faisal, injured
in the Sharifabad Police Station area of Karachi, the provincial
capital of Sindh.
The TTP held a secret meeting
where they decided to set up two units to carry out strikes on
foreigners and SFs.
At least 640 persons have been
killed and 1,800 injured in 37 suicide bomb attacks in the country
during the 2010, says the Federal Investigation Agency's Counter-Terrorism
Wing.
November 29
A Shia leader was shot dead by
unidentified assailants in a suspected sectarian attack in Mehmoodabad
area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.
A FC constable, identified as
Muhammad Yaqub, was killed when militants attacked a telephone
exchange in Bora locality of Peshawar, the provincial capital
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Unidentified militants lobbed
a hand grenade on the house of one Ameer Jan in Pahar Khel Thall
village in Lakki Marwat District. The blast, however, did not
cause any casualty.
The law-enforcement agencies foiled
a terrorist attempt by defusing a bomb at Khyber Sheikhwal area
of Landikotal. The bomb had been planted under a bridge, official
sources said.
Police arrested five militants
during a search operation launched in several parts of the Lakki
Marwat District. The arrested militants were identified as Shakirullah,
Ashraf Ali, Imtiaz, Ejaul Halim and Shamaal Din.
Federal Minister for Religious
Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi received a threatening letter from the
banned outfit TTP, demanding him to resign from his post.
The 'commanders' of the Haqqani
Network and TTP held talks on November 29 with elders of the Kurram
Agency, including two lawmakers from the Kurram Agency for restoration
of peace in Parachinar which has remained cut off from the rest
of country for three years.
A Pakistani tribesman is to sue
the CIA for USD 500 million after his son and brother were killed
in the covert drone attack against al Qaeda, his lawyer said.
Karim Khan from North Waziristan Agency of FATA claimed that his
house had been hit by US missiles on December 31, 2009.
November 30
Six persons including a Policeman
were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a Police van near Milad
Chowk in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack left
two Policemen and 14 civilians injured.
Three terrorists blew themselves
up when SFs besieged their hide out in the Elaum Mountain of Pir
Bala in Buner District.
A soldier was killed and another
injured in roadside bomb blast in Gheljo area of Orakzai Agency
in FATA.
A soldier suffered bullet injuries
when militants attacked a post Murghan area of Orakzai Agency.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
a sub-inspector of Police, Daheim Khan, in Dera Murad Jamali of
Balochistan.
Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar
Ali Magsi escaped unhurt when his convoy was targeted with a remote
control bomb in Mongechar area of Kalat District.
A cadre of a banned outfit JeM,
Muzaffar (24), was shot dead by two unidentified assailants outside
his house within the limits of Sir Syed Police Station in North
Karachi of Sindh. DSP Altaf Hussain said the victim was a religious
teacher. He was also a member of Al-Rehmat Trust, a frontal organisation
of JeM.
Law enforcement agencies foiled
a bid of terror attacks in the Karachi and arrested four militants
of TTP and recovered three suicide jackets from their possession.
December 01
Two militants were killed in an
encounter with SFs at Shakar Darra area in Matta tehsil
of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least two persons were injured
when militants targeted a passenger vehicle carrying volunteers
of a lashkar to Paya Jawaki from Bilitang with a remote
controlled bomb in Kohat.
A FC soldier was killed and six
others, including a passer by, sustained injuries in remote controlled
blast planted on a parked bicycle on the RCD Highway near Kalat,
around 150 kilometres away from the provincial capital of Balochistan.
Armed assailants attacked and
torched an oil tanker carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan,
on National Highway near Khuzdar. However, no loss of life was
reported.
Spanish Police arrested six Pakistanis
and a Nigerian suspected of providing forged passports to outfits
linked to al Qaeda, including the outfit accused of plotting the
November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11),
the Interior Ministry said.
December 2
The driver of a trailer, carrying
a ten-wheeler vehicle to NATO forces in Afghanistan, was killed
when unidentified assailants attacked it near Sukai village on
Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway under Toru Police Station in Mardan
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Five soldiers were seriously injured
when a military convoy, going from Mir Ali to Thall garrison,
was hit by a remote-controlled bomb in Spinwam tehsil of
North Waziristan in FATA.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned
three Pakistanis who were acting on behalf of terrorist outfits
and banned Americans from any dealings with them. It was reported
that Amanullah Afridi and Matiur-Rehman were supporters of LeJ,
and said Abdul Rauf Azhar was acting on behalf of JeM.
Security of the National University
of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad was beefed up, and the
university closed for three days, after intelligence reports and
a threat letter received by the NUML revealed that terrorists
planned to attack it.
WikiLeaks disclosure of a conversation
between US Senator John McCain and former Pakistan President Pervez
Musharraf, in which the latter talked about the possibility of
Osama Bin Laden and Aiman Al-Zawahiri being in Bajaur Agency of
FATA, bordering Afghanistan's Kunar province where US forces were
not deployed.
Federal Interior Minister Rehman
Malik claimed that illegal migrants from Afghanistan are involved
in terrorist activities in Pakistan. He said that "Terrorists
from Afghanistan have entered our country to carry out terrorists
activities in Pakistan".
Pakistan's Army and ISI are covertly
sponsoring four militant groups, including LeT, and will not abandon
them for any amount of US money, the American envoy to Islamabad
wrote in a secret review in 2009, reveals diplomatic cables released
by WikiLeaks. According to a report in British Newspaper The
Guardian on November 30, the review said that Pakistan had
received more than USD 16 billion in American aid since 2001,
but "there is no chance that Pakistan will view enhanced assistance...
as sufficient compensation for abandoning support to these groups",
former US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson wrote in the review
of Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy in September 2009.
December 3
Two Security Force personnel were
killed and seven others injured when militants attacked army convoys
in Sipah area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA.
A civilian, Umar Rafiq, was killed
when SFs targeted militant positions in Qamakhel area with artillery.
A trooper, Noor Rehman, was killed
and three others, Riaz Khan, Laqab, and Israr, were injured when
military patrol was ambushed on Chamarkand road in Safi tehsil
in the Mohmand Agency.
The boundary wall and main gate
of the Jamia Benoria Ashkhel Shinwari seminary were blown up in
Landi Kotal city of Khyber Agency. However, no casualties were
reported.
Unidentified militants blew up
a primary school in Saagi Baala area of Mohmand Agency. The bomb
blast brings to 70 the total number of schools destroyed by militants
in the Mohmand Agency.
The office of a customs clearing
agent was partially damaged in a bomb blast at Torkham border
area along Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Khyber Agency. Officials
said that they later defused another time device planted at the
same place.
Four persons, including a paramilitary
soldier, were killed and four others sustained injures in an incident
of firing in Suni area of Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
Thar Express escaped bomb blast
and the blast could only result in derailment of two compartments
of rail at Dhabeji place near Karachi the provincial capital of
Sindh.
The CIA arrested five suspected
TTP militants involved in the suicide attack on Rescue 15 Police
and ISI buildings in Lahore on May 27, 2009. A CIA Police team
arrested five militants in a raid carried out after a tip-off
from a Ravi Park resident that terrorists were hiding in the area.
The militants were identified as Sarfraz Ahmad, Shabbir Ahmad,
Umer Hayat, Hafiz Mahmood and Abid Akram.
Two Pakistanis were arrested from
Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus on suspicion of having links to
radical Islamic outfits after a tip-off from a foreign intelligence
agency.
December 4
SFs killed two militants when
they tried to escape in Charbagh area of Swat District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that security personnel took suspected
militants Akbar Ali and Hidayatullah to a nearby forest for recovery
of weapons.
One militant was killed and two
SF personnel were injured in different incidents of violence in
Mohmand Agency in FATA. Sources said militants attacked a security
post in Zegi Sar area of Ambar tehsil with heavy weapons.
Two SF personnel suffered injuries
when a convoy was targeted by a landmine planted by militants
at a roadside in Mansoor Kor area of Safi tehsil.
A bomb blast occurred in a mobile
market in a bazaar in Landikotal town of Khyber Agency. According
to details, a powerful bomb was detonated in a Landikotal bazaar,
which damaged at least 15 shops in the market. However, no loss
of life was reported in the blast.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai renewed commitment to continue
their joint strategy against terrorism and take their cooperation
in the economic sector to a higher level.
Exactly two years before the November
26, 2008 Mumbai attacks, American officials pressured the Pakistan
Government to crack down on the LeT and its front organisation
JuD but were unable to make much headway, a WikiLeaks cable revealed.
The US Embassy in Islamabad warned
Washington in 2009 that it would take 10 to 15 years to defeat
extremists operating in Pakistan, a WikiLeaks cable release reported.
"As we work to prevent Pakistan-based attacks on the US and its
forces, we should be clear that al Qaeda now wants more than just
a safe haven in Pakistan," US envoy to Pakistan Anne Patterson
said in a cable she sent to Washington in February 2009.
As the Afghanistan Government
engaged the Taliban in talks, the United States assured India
that it would not support a power-sharing arrangement between
Kabul and the militants, a WikiLeaks cable release reported.
December 5
A missile fired on a vehicle from
an undisclosed location, killed at least five occupants of the
vehicle, all militants, in Dutta Khel tehsil, 25 kilometres
from Miran Shah, in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Unidentified militants blew up
a girls' school in the Safi tehsil of the Mohmand Agency.
However, no injuries or casualties reported. The militants have
targeted schools in the area and the toll of the schools blown
up in the area has reached 70.
Three militants, identified as
Azizullah, Ghufranullah and Zakria, were killed in an encounter
with the SFs in the Choorluk Sar village of Khwazakhela area of
Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least seven persons, including
a khasadar, were injured when a passenger vehicle was targeted
by a roadside remote controlled bomb in Shindhand area of Frontier
Region of Kohat.
Militants in Darra Adamkhel and
Khyber Agency have threatened to target private and Government
vehicles if Indus Highway and Kohat Tunnel are not closed to traffic
during night. Mohammad, the spokesman for TTP chief of Khyber
Agency and Darra Adamkhel chapter, Tariq Afridi, contacted local
journalists by phone from an undisclosed location to convey the
warning to the Government.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
said the common threat of terrorism could be tackled through enhanced
economic ties and increased trade relations between Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia is the key source
of funding for radical Islamist outfits including al-Qaeda, the
Taliban, Hamas and LeT, according to a US diplomatic cable leaked
by WikiLeaks. "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant
source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," said the
document, an assessment from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
dated December 30, 2009.
December 6
At least 40 persons, including
tribal elders, Security Force personnel and journalists were killed
and another 70 injured in twin suicide bombings on a jirga
being held outside the office of the assistant political agent
of Mohmand Agency at Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency,
in FATA.
The 'chief' of the Mohmand chapter
of TTP, Umer Khalid, claimed responsibility for the attack. "Our
two suicide bombers targeted people who were working against the
Taliban," Umer Khalid told AFP by telephone from an unknown location.
Eight suspected militants were
killed when two missiles fired from US drone hit a car and in
Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Suspected militants blew up three
Government schools in Utmankhel area near Khar in the Bajaur Agency
in the night. More than 80 government-run schools and other education
institutions, both for boys and girls, have been destroyed in
the Bajaur Agency so far.
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders said that
an Army operation in North Waziristan Agency would serve to unleash
terrorist attacks across the country. JI Amir Syed Munawar
Hassan warned that any such adventurism would result in disastrous
consequences by producing militants in each and every part of
the country.
The oil tanker bearing registration
number TLL-684-Lasbella, carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan,
was blown up at Ring Road in the limits of Pishtakhara Police
Station in Peshawar of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the morning.
Suspected militants blew up a
government-run primary school for girls in Jogian area near Tarnab
Farm on Grand Trunk Road of Peshawar in the night.
China, at Islamabad's behest,
blocked efforts in the UN Security Council to put sanctions against
JuD and its leader Hafiz Saeed which was operating against India
from Pakistan, WikiLeaks revels of American diplomatic cable.
According to the cable dated August
10, 2009, originating from Clinton, a US request to list Hafiz
Saeed on a sanctions list was put on hold before the November
26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11) that India
blames on the JuD founder.
December 7
Three militants were killed in
an encounter with the Security Forces in the Shakardara area of
Mingora in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two SFs personnel were killed
and six others injured in a landmine blast at Bala Dhaki area
of Barkhan District in Balochistan. The BLA claimed the responsibility
for the attack.
The death toll in December 6 suicide
bombings in the Ghalanai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA rose to
45 after four injured persons succumbed to injuries.
The Chief of Army Staff General
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani asserted that the entire South Waziristan
Agency had been virtually cleared of militants.
10 persons, including five Policemen,
were injured when a suicide bomber in an attempt to attack the
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani blew himself up
at the Railway level crossing on Saryab road of Quetta in Balochistan.
The LeJ-al Alami claimed responsibility for the attack. However,
the LeJ denied its involvement in the attack. The head and legs
of the suicide bomber were found from the incident site, from
which it seemed the bomber was an Uzbek national.
The Rangers Special Force (RSF)
launched a search operation at Pirabad (Manghopir) area of Karachi
in Sindh on the morning of December 7 and arrested 13 terrorists
belonging to TTP.
Reporters Without Borders, International
media watchdog, after the death of two tribal journalists in December
6 suicide attack in Ghalanai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA has
called on TTP to stop bombings at public places.
The commander of US forces in
Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, said that the United States
and Pakistan were involved in efforts that would bring considerable
pressure on extremists groups operating in FATA but both sides
avoided discussing those efforts.
December 8
At least 18 persons were killed
and 32 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger
van at a bus stand in Tirah bazaar when people were returning
home in Lower Orakzai Agency from the bazaar. The TTP claimed
responsibility for the attack. Usman Ali, a spokesman for the
TTP Kohat chapter, told on telephone that "One of our fidayeen
has carried out the attack. I cannot disclose his name at this
stage. I can only confirm that my superiors ordered the attack."
Daily Times reports that it was
a sectarian attack as most of the passengers belonged to Shia
community. The daily quoting Usman Ali, the TTP Kohat chapter
spokesperson, reports that "Shias were targeted and more such
attacks would follow".
Three militants were killed in
an encounter with SFs in the Shakar Dara of Swat District in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
A Police Constable, Manzoor, was
killed and a Sub-Inspector, Naimat Ali, was injured during an
encounter with militants in a bid to free abducted school teachers
in the Darband area of Hangu District.
Three persons were killed while
another was injured when BLF militants opened fire on them in
the Parom area of Panjgur District in Balochistan. The BLF claimed
the responsibility for the attack.
The Balochistan Chief Minister
Nawab Aslam Raisani denied the presence of US troops and the Taliban
(Quetta shura) leadership in Quetta and termed foreign media reports
to that effect false and baseless.
Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani escaped an attempt on his life when the TTP militants fired
rockets at an area shortly after his visit in South Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for
Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that terrorists had their
roots in Afghanistan for the past 30 years and now it was the
responsibility of the US and the NATO to crush them.
Regarding the Muharram security
arrangements, Iftikhar said that 12 Districts in the province
had been declared sensitive, adding that special measures were
being taken to protect mosques and Imambargahs. He said
that some 647 citizens and 298 Police personnel were killed during
2010. Similarly, he added, about 157 terrorists had been killed
during 2010. He said that about 3,600 people had been killed and
1,200 injured since 2007.
December 9
Three persons were injured when
a passenger vehicle hit a landmine planted by suspected militants
along roadside in Mantoi village of Shakai tehsil (revenue
unit) in South Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Two Levies Force personnel, Havaldar
Shahid and sepoy Islam, sustained injuries when their vehicle
was hit by a remote controlled bomb planted by suspected militants
along roadside in Sarokhel area of Orakzai Agency.
A remote-controlled bomb attack
on a SFs vehicle injured four SF personnel in the Saro Khel area
of Doaba tehsil in Hangu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The death toll in the suicide
attack on a bus stand in Tirah bazaar of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
on December 8 rose to 19 after an injured woman succumbed to injuries.
The investigating team of suicide
blast released a sketch of the bomber to seek public help in his
identification.
The anti-Taliban lashkars threatened
to withdraw their support to the Government and Police if their
demands were not met within 10 days.
Police Constable, Mohammad Iqbal,
who was injured in the suicide attack on the Balochistan Chief
Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani's convoy in Quetta on December 7,
succumbed to his injuries, raising the death toll to two.
British Police arrested a 34-year-old
man on suspicion of murdering MQM leader, Imran Farooq, who was
attacked in London on September 17. "He has been taken to a North
London Police Station where he will be interviewed by detectives,"
the Police headquarters said in a statement.
December 10
At least 17 persons were killed
and over 20 others were injured in a suspected sectarian attack
when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into
an under-construction hospital in the in Pas Kalay area of Hangu
District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least 13 militants, including
a 'commander', were killed in different clashes with SFs in South
Waziristan Agency of FATA.
Four militants were killed when
a US drone fired two missiles in Khadar Khel town," about 40 kilometres
of Miranshah, in North Waziristan Agency.
A report by Campaign for Innocent
Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), a Washington-based NGO, said that
civilian casualties in drone strikes are higher than the United
States admits. The CIVIC, which works for civilians caught in
crossfire, uncovered more than 30 civilian deaths in only nine
cases, including at least 14 women and children, all of which
took place after January 2009.
The Naib Tehsildar of Mastung
District, Sabzal Khan, and four Security personnel were abducted
in Margat area of Bolan District in Balochistan in the evening.
The Inspector General of FC, Balochistan,
Major General Ubaidullah Khan warned that violation of Pakistan's
airspace by NATO aircraft and helicopters would not be tolerated.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
Lower Dir chapter 'chief' Maulana Hafeezullah and two of his aides
have been killed in Kunar province of Afghanistan on December
10, The Express Tribune quoting official sources reported on December
22. An official speaking on conditions of anonymity told The Express
Tribune that the TTP militants were killed by a drone strike in
Kunar province, 10 kilometres away from Pakistan's territory.
According to The Express Tribune correspondent Iftikhar Firdous,
both of Hafeezullah's aides were high ranking officials in the
TTP. The aides, Dr Wazir and Muftahudin alias Shabbar, had been
apprehended in Pakistan before but were set free after a peace
deal in Swat. Shabbar was known for carrying out public executions.
December 11
SFs killed five militants after
militants opened fire on a foot patrolling party in Shah Faisal
of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two Police constables, Pir Ghulam
and Tayyeb, were killed in a terrorist attack on a Police squad
at Shakas Square under Hayatabad Police Station in Peshawar.
SFs killed four militants in the
Saagi area of the Safi tehsil in the Mohmand Agency of
FATA.
Police recovered a pick-up truck
packed with a tonne of explosives in Kohat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Dilawar Bangash, the local Police Chief of Kohat, said the attackers
intended to use the truck bomb to target religious processions
in the city of Kohat marking the holy month of Muharram.
The BSO-Azad Central Committee
member Abdul Qayyum was whisked away by security agencies from
Gwadar town of Balochistan. According to the BSO-Azad's members,
FC entered Qayyum's house, held his family members hostage at
gunpoint, put him in a vehicle and sped away.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government
fully authorised Governor Awais Ahmed Ghani to hold talks with
the TTP for safe release of Islamia College University Vice Chancellor
Ajmal Khan who was abducted on September 7.
A senior 'commander' of Hakeemullah
Mahsud-led TTP some 10 days ago (around December 1) told reporters
from an undisclosed location that the Government and relatives
had promised to do whatever they "can for release of Ajmal Khan"
but sought some time. TTP extended the deadline on the appeal
of a jirga (tribal council) held in the Charsadda District on
November 7, after the TTP's November 20 deadline.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
accused Pakistan of trying to solve political issues in the guise
of terrorism, and stated that Pakistan will have to change its
policies. A joint declaration of India- European Union (EU) summit
at Brussels on December 10 had called upon all countries to act
against "havens of terror" and acknowledged the "cross-border
dimensions" of terrorism.
In a join press conference with
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Merkel said that it would
be made clear to Pakistan that terror was not a means to an end
when it came to solving political problems.
The new United States intelligence
reports paint a bleak picture of the security conditions in Afghanistan
and say the war cannot be won unless Pakistan roots out terrorists
on its side of the border, according to several US officials who
have been briefed on the findings.
The new reports are the first
ones done in two years on Afghanistan and six years on Pakistan,
officials said. Neither the Director of National Intelligence
nor the CIA would comment on either report.
Balochistan FC Inspector General
Major General Ubaidullah Khan said that no TTP or Quetta Shura
existed in any part of the province. Addressing a press conference
at the FC Headquarters, he said, "Propaganda was made that TTP
and their Quetta Shura existed in the provincial metropolis so
that Balochistan could be destabilised.
December 12
Three children were killed and
seven others received injuries when militants fired mortar shells
at an Imambargah in Talozan Tangi area of Kurram Agency
in FATA.
Unidentified militants set ablaze
a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan in
Dashti-i-Bado area of Kalat District in Balochistan.
December 13
Unidentified militants
killed two Policemen, Taseer Khan and Derwaish Khan, in Charsadda
area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A bomb blast in
the Sir Syed Islamic Model School’s bus killed a 13-year-old boy
and injured five others, including two students and bus driver,
on Charkhana Road in the Bhana Mari area of Peshawar.
The local political
leaders and elders of the area assured Government and SFs of their
cooperation in fight against terrorism, adding that they will
not allow militants to take shelter in Barawal area of Upper Dir
District.
A woman, identified
as Uma Bibi, was killed and five others were injured in a landmine
explosion when the pick-up car of a family hit a landmine in Dasht
Goran area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan.
Police neutralised
an attempt of militants to blow up a bridge in Roshan Colony area
of Sui and recovered 15 kilogrammes of explosive material.
A FC soldier, Murad
Khan Yusufzai, was killed and another soldier, identified as Imran
Khattak, sustained injuries in an IED blast in the Abdal Khad
area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency of FATA in the morning.
PM Yousaf Raza Gilani
underlined the need for having a common strategy by Pakistan,
US, allied forces and Afghanistan to fight the menace of terrorism.
The PM was talking to Michael J. Morell, the Deputy Director of
the CIA, who called on him at the PM’s House.
December 14
Four Haqqani Network
militants of Afghan nationality were killed when two missiles
fired by a US drone hit a car in Tall area of North Waziristan
Agency of FATA.
Two FC personnel
were killed and six others received injuries when militants attacked
a security post in Spaira Sar area of Ambar tehsil in Mohmand
Agency.
Unidentified assailants
killed a retired khasadar, Hamza Khan, in Bara of Khyber
Agency.
Militants blew up
two Government schools for boys and girls in Chenari area of Safi
tehsil. The number of destroyed schools in Mohmand Agency has
reached 73.
Unidentified militants
blew up the house of Ali Akbar, a volunteer of peace committee,
in Chenari area.
Unidentified militants
blew up a school in Bazaar-Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal in Khyber
Agency. So far militants have destroyed 29 educational institutions
in Khyber Agency since the start of military operation in Bara
on September 1, 2009.
NATO military planes
violated airspace of Pakistan and intruded into border areas of
Gagra, Bazaar-Zakhakhel, Tabai and Tirah valley in Khyber Agency.
Three caretakers
of Ghazi Baba shrine, identified as Mohammad Ali, Ghazi and Aslam
Khan, were shot dead by militants in Badbher area of Peshawar,
the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at about 2am (PST).
At least nine persons
were injured in a bomb blast at a CD shop in Lachi Bazaar of Kohat
District. Police said that militants had planted a time device
outside the CD shop near Municipal Office in Lachi Bazaar.
Three women travelling
in a car were injured when suspected militants detonated an explosive
device near a van carrying a Police team on the Charsadda Road
in Naguman area of Peshawar.
Unidentified militants
shot dead Khuzdar Press Club President Muhammad Khan Sasoli in
Khuzdar District of Balochistan.
The Sindh Police
CID arrested a militant associated with TTP suspected of involvement
in the CID office blast from the Sohrab Goth area in Karachi in
Sindh on November 11. During initial interrogation, the militant
confessed that he belonged to the Hafiz Saeed of TTP-Orakzai chapter.
The arrested militant was reported to be a resident of Sherpao
Colony of Landhi Town in Karachi.
The Anti Terrorist
Court No-I acquitted Qari Ilyas, an accused in Melody Market bombing
case in July 6, 2008, for want of evidence. On July 6, 2008, on
the first anniversary of Lal Masjid incident, a suicide blast
took place at Islamabad’s Melody Chowk in which some 20 people,
including several Policemen died, while 43 were injured. However,
the court after almost two years trial pronounced the accused
not guilty and ordered his release.
US Joint Chiefs
of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said that Pakistan would have to
launch an operation against terrorists in North Waziristan Agency,
adding that the Pakistan Government would decide the time of the
operation itself. Talking to reporters in Islamabad, chairman
of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mullen, denied the reports that
any operation was being conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
December 15
At least 12 militants
were killed and six others injured when SFs backed by helicopter
gunships pounded their hideouts in Kasha, Shakar Tangi, Saifal
Darra and Mamozai areas of Orakzai Agency of FATA.
Three children were
killed when a mortar shell landed on the house of one Gul Hamid
in Malikdinkhel area of Bara in Khyber Agency.
Three persons, including
two brothers and a child, were shot dead and another sustained
bullet injures in an incident of sectarian attack on Arbab Karam
Khan Road in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
Unidentified assailants
riding a motorcycle shot dead one Barkat Ali at the Kirani road
of Quetta and managed to escape.
A NATO oil tanker,
carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, was set ablaze in
Kalat District of Balochistan.
Levies Force personnel
recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from a refugee camp in
Boghra Karez area of Chaman near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Two rooms of a girls’
school were blown up by suspected militants in Mawia Kila area
on the Dera Ismail Khan Road of Bannu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
in the night.
The CID of Sindh
Police arrested two LeJ militants in different raids from Ayub
Goth in Karachi. The confession of the arrested TTP militant revealed
the information about the presence LeJ militants in Ayub Goth
area.
Malir Judicial Magistrate
remanded a suspect allegedly associated with TTP to the custody
of the CID till December 18.
Al Qaeda repeated
its call to avenge the sentence of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia
Siddiqui. The al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi called upon Pakistanis
to strike American aircraft, centres, and convoys in revenge for
the imprisonment of Siddiqui.
Shortly after she
was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 on charges of links to al
Qaeda, she was visited by US military officers and agents of the
US FBI.
At least 42 journalists
were killed around the world in 2010 and Pakistan was the deadliest
country of all, a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) said. Pakistan led the list of fatalities with eight, followed
by Iraq with four and three each in Honduras and Mexico, the New
York-based CPJ said.
The Barrack Obama
administration’s review of its Afghanistan policy will acknowledge
Pakistan’s increased anti-terrorist cooperation over the last
18 months and at the same time expect continued help to meet the
remaining challenges, the White House said. President Barack Obama
will make a statement on release of the review document on December
14, a year after setting out a revamped approach to fighting off
the al Qaeda and contain the Taliban insurgency.
December 16
At least seven TTP
militants were killed in a US drone attack in Speen Drang area
of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency of FATA. Sources said that of
the seven killed, two were of the TTP Swat chapter and five were
of Hafiz Gul Bahadar faction of TTP, which dominates the North
Waziristan Agency.
A woman was killed
and a child was injured in a landmine explosion in Tor Kor area
of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
SFs averted a sabotage
bid by defusing powerful bombs, planted on roadside in Warr Mamond
tehsil In Bajaur Agency.
A child was killed
while 25 mourners, including eight women and three children, sustained
injuries when militants threw a hand grenade at a Muharram
mourning procession at Yadgar Chowk in Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified militants
blew up a primary girls’ school in Adezai area of Matani, a suburb
of Peshawar, in the night.
SFs recovered three
powerful bombs and blew up the house of a militant in Kabal tehsil
of Swat District. Sources said that SFs raided the house of Rashid
Ahmad and recovered three bombs.
A person was killed
and three others were injured in a landmine explosion in Kohlu
town of Balochistan.
The FC foiled a
possible terror attack on Muharram processions in the Quetta,
the provincial capital of Balochistan, and recovered a cache of
arms and ammunitions and suicide jackets in Chaman town near the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The JuD ‘chief’
and November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed made
his first public appearance since his release in 2009, on December
16 in the national capital, Islamabad, in the company of leading
Pakistani politicians, and stoutly opposed Pakistani Government's
move to repeal the country's controversial blasphemy law.
The Foreign Office
said that it was looking into media reports that two British nationals,
possibly Muslim converts, were killed in a drone strike near Datta
Khel town in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA on December 10.
Declaring significant
progress in disrupting al Qaeda and combating the Taliban, US
President Barack Obama said that the US will start withdrawing
US troops from Afghanistan in July 2010 as promised.
US Defence Secretary
Robert Gates said that Pakistan needs to do more to control the
flow of terrorists along its porous border with Afghanistan. He
said he hoped that as progress increased in Afghanistan, the withdrawal
of US troops to begin in July 2011 could accelerate.
Interior Minister
Rehman Malik said that foolproof security arrangements have been
made during Muharram for protection of citizens and to
avert any terrorist activity in the country.
Military will find
increased support from the people in case it goes for an operation
against the Haqqani network in North Waziristan, a recent opinion
poll by Community Appraisal and motivation Programme revealed.
December 17
Three US drone attacks
killed 54 persons, most of them alleged militants, in Khyber Agency
of FATA close to the Afghan border.
At least six persons
were killed and eight others were injured in mortar shell attack
in different areas of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
SFs shot dead a
suspected militant who tried to enter the Ashura procession along
with a bag in a village near Khanpur in Shikarpur District of
Sindh.
Two bodies, identified
as of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razaq, were found in Padak area
of Turbat District in the morning.
Two bodies, identified
as Noor Mohammad and Mohammad Ibrahim, were recovered from Koshak
area of Khuzdar District.
The Joint Chiefs
of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said that he thinks it is possible
that the Pakistani Army can shut down militant hideouts on its
soil to prevent terrorists from moving back and forth across the
long, porous border with Afghanistan.
December 18
A dead body was
found in Mastung District. The Levies Forces sources said that
the body was thrown in an abandoned place in the outskirts of
the town.
Unidentified militants
set ablaze a NATO oil tanker and shot and injured driver and the
cleaner near Pinjra Pul area in Mach town of the Bolan District.
The relationship
with Pakistan is central to US efforts in Afghanistan, and Washington
should continue to prove its commitment to lasting relations with
the key regional country, Michele Flournoy, the Under-Secretary
of Defence for Policy of Pentagon, said.
December 19
A Police constable,
who participated in the Operation Clean-up (also known as Operation
Blue Fox) of 1992, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in
Malir town in the eastern part of Karachi in Sindh.
The driver and conductor
of a NATO oil tanker were injured when unidentified assailants
opened fire at them near Soor Kamar Jamrud of Khyber Agency in
FATA.
Security Forces
recovered a cache of arms and ammunition, including 89 missiles,
during a raid in Akakhel in the Khyber Agency, and arrested four
terrorists.
The reported deaths
of two British militants in a drone attack on December 10 in Dattakhel
area of North Waziristan raised fears that western Muslim converts
are being targeted by al Qaeda in its search for "white jihadis"
to mount November 26, 2008 Mumbai (also known as 26/11)-style
attacks in Europe, The Sunday Times reported.
The report claimed
that local sources in Waziristan had reported seeing many "white
skin" militants, most of them German, in the tribal areas.
"One tribesman said he had spoken to two young Germans with
'golden beards' who told him in broken Pashto: 'We are here for
jihad.'
Al Qaeda is trying
to "bring down" nuclear-armed Pakistan, US Vice President
Joe Biden warned. "Our overarching goal and our rationale
for being there is to dismantle, ultimately defeat al Qaeda, to
make sure that terrorists do not, in fact, bring down the Pakistani
Government, which is a nuclear power," Biden said, promising
that "we are going to be totally out of there, come hell
or high water, by 2014".
The Joint Chiefs
of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said that he thinks it is possible
that the Pakistani Army can shut down militant hideouts on its
soil to prevent terrorists from moving back and forth across the
long, porous border with Afghanistan.
The relationship
with Pakistan is central to US efforts in Afghanistan, and Washington
should continue to prove its commitment to lasting relations with
the key regional country, Michele Flournoy, the Under-Secretary
of Defence for Policy of Pentagon, said.
December 20
Four persons were killed, including
a father and his son, in two separate firing incidents in Dera
Bugti District and Awaran District of Balochistan.
Two people were killed when unidentified
militants riding a motorcycle, opened fire on them in the Kushak
area of Awaran District.
Police arrested 12 suspected persons
aimed at thwarting a major new terrorism plot against Britain.
The arrested suspects are British nationals but have with links
to Bangladesh and Pakistan, according to a counter-terrorism official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Daily Times confirmed that
two al Qaeda operatives who were arrested in Sohrab Goth area
of Karachi, the capital of Sindh, during a joint operation by
Pakistani and American Special Forces in November 17 were Umar
Misri, a top aide of al Qaeda's number two Ayman al Zawahiri and
Muhammad Muhammad, the operational manager of al Qaeda.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
told his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari to arrest and
hand over Jandullah militants.
A senior TTP 'leader' Ibn-e-Amin
who commanded one of al Qaeda's military units in north-western
Pakistan is said to be among the 32 people killed in December
17's drone attacks in Speen Darang village of Khyber Agency in
FATA, The Long War Journal reported.
Top US military commanders in
Afghanistan are seeking to expand ground raids by Special Operations
Forces across the border in Pakistan's tribal areas, The New
York Times reported.
The alleged militant safe havens
in Pakistan's tribal areas and Kabul's reconciliation with the
Taliban will be on the top of the agenda for this week's Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkey
summit in Istanbul.
December 21
Two persons were injured when
some unidentified assailants opened fire on two NATO containers
heading towards Chaman (Balochistan) from Karachi (Sindh), carrying
hardware for NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan, near Wadh area
of Khuzdar District in Balochistan.
One Siddique Eido, along with
his companion, Yousaf Baloch, were abducted by unidentified assailants
when they were returning home to Pasni after appearing in a court
in Gwadar.
One Ilyas Baloch, an active member
of Baloch Students Organisation-Azad, was abducted by suspected
persons near coastal highway of Ormara town.
A Hindu spiritual leader, Maharaja
Luckmi Chand Garji (82) was abducted along with four of his companions,
Sajan Das, Ram Chand, Babo Lal and Vinod Kumar on the RCD Highway
near Surab area of Kalat District in the night.
Militants abducted at least 10
tribesmen in central tehsil area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.
Sources said that militants attacked a vehicle of local tribesmen,
who had recently returned to the area from an IDP camp, and whisked
away at least 10 persons.
Unidentified militants abducted
a senior official of a foreign oil exploring company in Hangu
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
COAS General Ashfaq Kayani promised
jobs for former TTP militants. He said that Security Forces had
fought the war against terrorism for the people of Swat to secure
them from terrorists.
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said
that Army would stay in Swat till restoration of confidence among
the locals.
Pakistan ruled out the notion
of any foreign troops operating on its soil, with its top diplomat
in Washington stressing that Pakistani forces are capable of handling
terrorist threats within the country's borders.
December 22
Two persons were killed in an
incident of firing on Saryab Road of Quetta, the provincial capital
of Balochistan. The slain persons were as Muhammad Rahim and Dhani
Baksh, both residents of Mehar Gahr in Bolan District. Police
recovered a pistol from the possession of one of the slain person.
FC personnel arrested Jamhoori
Watan Party (JWP) chief, Shahzain Bugti, along with his 27 personal
guards at the Buleli checkpost in Balochistan and recovered a
cache of arms and ammunition from his motorcade. Shahzain was
returning from Chaman, a border town with Afghanistan, after offering
fateha (a short prayer too begin a religious obligation) for the
late Jilani Khan, an ANP leader, when his motorcade was stopped
for identification and search, which Shahzain reportedly refused.
Four Arab nationals and two Afghan
nationals were arrested after crossing over into Pakistani territory
from across the border near Chaman in Balochistan in the night.
One civilian was killed and three
others were injured in a roadside bomb blast in Ziarat Chowk of
Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency of FATA. One Irshad was killed
while Haider Zaman, Zahir Shah and Hazrat Ali were seriously injured
in the blast.
Two passengers were injured when
militants ambushed a convoy in Chhapari area of Kurram Agency.
The injured persons were identified as Syed Sajid Ali Shah and
Khan.
Former CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz
and former SP Khurram Shahzad were arrested from a courtroom in
the case of Benazir Bhutto's assassination of December 27, 2007,
after the Anti-Terrorism Court rejected bails to the two former
Police officials.
December 23
At least 24 militants and three
soldiers were killed in clashes when a group of 150 TTP militants
attacked a FC checkposts in Baidnami village near the border with
Afghanistan in Mohammad Agency of FATA.
SFs recovered ammunition worth
PKR 25 million during a search operation in Bara area of Khyber
Agency. 1,000 boxes of cartridges were recovered from a house.
Security officials confirmed that
wanted TTP 'commander', Asmatullah Bhetani, was killed in a clash
with SFs in South Waziristan Agency in the night of December 7.
Bhetani had been a reward of PKR 10 million for his arrest.
One person died while another
sustained injuries in a landmine blast at Nana Sab area in Dukkitehsil of Loralai District of Balochistan. According to
the local administration, two persons, identified as Murtaza and
Nasrullah, were on their way home when their motorbike hit a landmine
at Nana Sab area.
Unidentified assailants shot dead
an Education Department official, Sanaullah, near the Salim Nasar
Bagh locality of Loralai.
An anti-terrorism court remanded
provincial chief of the JWP Shahzain Bugti and his 26 personal
guards to Police custody for seven days.
Abdulrauf Rigi, a senior member
of the Jundallah, was arrested from Islamabad.
Former Police officers arrested
for their alleged involvement in the Benazir Bhutto murder case
have named four Intelligence officials, who could be interrogated
in the case.
An anti-terrorism court Judge
Rana Nisar Ali Khan gave a six-day physical remand of the accused
to the FIA. Khan ordered the FIA to produce the accused before
the court on January 7, 2011.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza
Gilani asserted that the ISI chief Shuja Pasha would never be
asked to appear before a US court. He was responding to concerns
expressed in the National Assembly about reports suggesting that
a U.S. court had issues summons to ISI chief Shuja Pasha and others
in a lawsuit filed by relatives of two Americans killed in the
Mumbai terror attack.
Members of an alleged terrorist
cell planning Mumbai type suicide attacks on Christmas shoppers
in London received their training in Pakistan. It was reported
that the cell is described as "al Qaeda inspired" because no specific
information has emerged about the links they may have made with
the terrorist outfits in Pakistan.
December 24
TTP militants attacked five checkpoints
in the Mohmand Agency of FATA after midnight, sparking a clash
which left 11 paramilitary soldiers and 24 militants dead. Officials
sources said that at least 150 militants launched coordinated
attacks on the five checkpoints - three in Safi tehsil
and two in Baizai - at about 1.30am (PST).
Two unidentified militants and
a FC trooper were killed when militants attacked the Bara Press
Club in Khyber Agency that the paramilitary force was using as
a security post. Sources said that more then a dozen militants
launched the attack on the building around 4.30 pm (PST).
A school student was killed during
a search operation launched by the SFs in Jamrud area of Khyber
Agency. Sources said that Niaz Ali, a 9th class student of Bagram
Model School, and two of his brothers were arrested during the
operation.
A sub-inspector was killed and
five others were injured in a remote-controlled bomb attack on
Qambrani Road of Quetta in Balochistan. As a result, Sub-Inspector
Dawood Shawani died on the spot while five others received splinter
injuries.
Two students and a teacher sustained
injuries when a bomb planted outside a Model Collegiate School
went off at Palosai in the suburbs of Peshawar, the provincial
capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 11.30 am (PST). The injured students
were identified as Mohammad Ibrahim (19) and Naveed Akhtar (18)
and their teacher Sajjad Ali (29).
Nasiruddin Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin
Haqqani and the Haqqani network's key fundraiser and financial
operative in the Middle East, was arrested, according to Taliban
and Pakistani Government sources.
A total of 1,224 people were killed
and 2,157 more injured in 52 suicide attacks across Pakistan since
January, making 2010 one of the bloodiest years since the turn
of the century. Though the total number of suicide bombings decreased
35 per cent this year as against the past year, 2010 was the bloodiest
year since 2001 in terms of the number of the people killed in
such attacks.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey
reiterated their determination to cooperate in the fight against
terrorism and extremism in all its forms during the fifth Trilateral
Summit meeting held in the Turkish capital, Istanbul.
December 25
A woman suicide bomber on December
25 blew herself up at a distribution centre of the World Food
Programme at Khar in Bajaur Agency of FATA, killing 45 persons
who had queued for aid and injured another 80 persons.
Five militants were killed when
Army helicopter gunships pounded militants` hideouts in Malangyar
area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
Unidentified militants killed
Khan Mohammad, a renegade commander of LI in Bara tehsil
of Khyber Agency. Sources said that Khan Mohammad was abducted
on December 22 and later his bullet ridden body was found from
Nala area.
Militant toll rises to 40 in Mohmand
Agency clash that started since December 24 midnight.
An Afghan businessman Abdul Hadi
was abducted from Spin Qabar area of Khyber Agency.
SFs neutralised a terrorist plot
by recovering a car full of explosives in Doaba area of Hangu.
During an exchange of fire with SFs, three suspected militants,
Abu Bakar, Anwar and Saeed Gul, sustained injuries and were arrested.
Lakki Marwat Police claimed to
have foiled a bid arms smuggling and recovered seven Kalashnikovs,
a G-III rifle, five pistols and 4,090 bullets from a car near
Naurang Town in the night of night.
The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan
General David Petraeus said there will be more coordinated military
operations on either side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border,
and commended Pakistan on its "impressive" counterinsurgency efforts.
December 26
A soldier was killed and three
others were injured when a convoy was targeted by an IED in Sra
Rogha area of South Waziristan Agency.
A Subedar-major of FC, identified
as Sharifullah Bitani, was killed and his colleagues Abid Ali
and Farman Ali sustained injuries when they fall prey to a landmine
in Shwa Farsh area of Anbar tehsil of Mohammad Agency.
A high ranking TTP commander,
Shah Jehan, was killed when cadres of LI and TTP exchanged fire
in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.
Two children received injuries
when they stepped on a landmine in Safi tehsil of Mohammad
Agency.
Unidentified militants attacked
Pran Sam checkpost in Jamrud of Khyber Agency. No loss of life
was reported in the attack. The line officer of Khasadar, Jahangir
Afridi, said that the personnel deployed at the post retaliated
and kept the militants at a distance.
The Khasadar Force backed by Army
heavily pounded the hideouts of militants in nearby mountains
of Prang Sang in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.
The fate of 23 tribesmen of North
Waziristan Agency will be decided by a TTP court. The tribesmen,
members of a committee of displaced persons, are in the custody
of TTP in South Waziristan Agency.
Azam Tariq warned that they will
take "severe action" against any persons who form "lashkars" or
militias to take on the militants in the restive tribal belt bordering
Afghanistan.
Security officials have confirmed
that a deadly attack on a World Food Programme's distribution
centre at Khar in Mohammad Agency was carried out by a woman,
in the country's first known case of a female suicide attack.
"The bomber entered from Swat and she stayed for two nights near
Khar," said an official.
Two dead bodies found from Qambrani
Road under Shalkot Police Station in Quetta. They were identified
as Zubair Sarpara and Tariq of Quetta from the paper found from
their pockets.
Police recovered two bodies from
the Dasht area of Mastung District. The slain persons were identified
as Shadin Marri and Subhat Marri.
A local leader and a worker of
the BNP-M were shot dead in Khuzdar. Police said that Abdul Latif
Shahwani, a District office-bearer of the BNP-M, was going home
along with a party worker when assailants on a motorcycle attacked
them.
The driver of a container carrying
supplies for NATO forces, Mohammad Aslam, was shot dead at the
Khadkocha area of Mastung.
A militant, identified as Hashim
Khan, was killed in a clash with SFs in Takhti Khel area of Lakki
Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
PM Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned
US drone attacks, stating them counterproductive. The PM Yousuf
Raza Gilani said that the drone attacks were increasing Pakistan's
problems instead of solving them and that the US should pass over
the drone technology to Pakistan.
December 27
US drones fired six missiles on three vehicles
at the vehicles in Shera Tala village in between Mir Ali and Thall
areas of in North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing 25 militants
and injuring four others.
NATO forces in Afghanistan, led by the US, violated
the Pakistani airspace, when its helicopters entered the Torkham
border in Landikotal town of Khyber Agency. However, US Embassy
on refuted reports of the NATO helicopters crossing into Pakistani
airspace.
A SF official was killed in a remote-controlled
bomb blast on a convoy in Malik Din area of Bara tehsil in Khyber
Agency.
Six militants, including a 'commander' of an unidentified
militant outfit were killed while three paramilitary troops were
injured in several incidents of encounter in Swat District of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Five persons, including a minor girl, were killed
and three others were injured in sectarian violence in different
parts of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.
A trailer carrying goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan
was set on fire in Mastung District in Balochistan.
Nine persons, mostly of Pakistani and Bangladeshi
origin appeared in a court and were remanded to custody. Police
said they have charged the persons, all aged between 19 and 28,
with plotting an explosion "of a nature likely to endanger life
or cause serious injury to property" between October 2010 and
December 2010, in a run up to Christmas.
December 28
At least 18 persons, mostly militants, were killed
in US drone attacks in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Local
officials said that two missiles were fired at two suspected compounds
at around 10 am (PST) in Sherkhel area, an abandoned Afghan refugee
camp, in Ghulam Khan tehsil.
Two militants were killed and four others injured
in an encounter with SFs in Ziarat area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand
Agency.
A security official was injured when he stepped
on a landmine in Ambar tehsil of the Mohmand Agency.
The Army helicopter gunships shelled suspected
locations in Rambat and Ghiljo Darra areas of Ambar tehsil.
Three members of a family were shot dead by unidentified
assailants in Sohbatpur tehsil of Jaffarabad District in
Balochistan.
Qadir Khan, a resident of Bajaur Agency in the
FATA, who had apparently provided vital information to Law Enforcement
Agencies that led to the arrest of several militants of the banned
TTP in the tribal areas, was shot dead by unidentified assailants
inside his small tea stall in Pak Colony area near SITE town in
Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.
A low-intensity blast at the cafeteria lawn of
Karachi University in Karachi left four students of the Imamia
Students Organisation injured.
Two Pakistani brothers, accused of collecting
money and recruiting jihadis for al Qaeda, have gone on
trial in the UAE. The Pakistanis appeared in court on December
27.
A key terror suspect, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, accused
of masterminding a suicide attack on former Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto's homecoming rally in Karachi on October 18, 2007,
in which 144 persons were killed and another 550 injured, has
resurfaced in Punjab as a free man. Akhtar is described as a "fugitive"
leader of the Taliban-linked HuJI outfit.
A US military commander says there is no practical
way to seal Afghanistan's vast border with Pakistan and stop all
Taliban fighters from slipping through, so troops are focusing
on defending vulnerable towns and fighting insurgents on Afghan
soil US commander Colonel Viet Luong Said.
Other senior US military officials have said they
hope the Pakistan military does more to shut down Taliban hideouts.
December 29
SFs targeted militant hideouts in the Chinarak
area of Kurram Agency in the FATA near the Afghan border, killing
seven TTP militants, injuring many others and destroying three
hideouts, including an ammunition depot.
TTP attacked two NATO supply trucks in Landikotal
of Khyber Agency killing a driver and injured two helpers.
A cadre of SSP, Imran, was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in Sector 11-G near Nullah Stop in the limits of New
Karachi Industrial Area Police station.
Unidentified assailants shot at and critically
injured Aslam, an ST worker in Godhra Camp in the jurisdiction
of New Karachi Industrial Area Police station.
Unidentified assailants destroyed one tanker,
carrying oil for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, in Ganchadori
area of Mastung District in Balochistan.
An anti-terrorism court sent former city Police
officer Syed Saud Aziz and former Rawal Town SP Khurram Shahzad
to jail on a 14-day judicial remand while rejecting an FIA plea
for extension of nine days in the physical remand of the Police
officers held in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. Special judge
Rana Nisar Ahmed Khan had granted the FIA a six-day physical remand
of the Police officers on December 23.
Rival militant outfits on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border have increasingly been teaming up in deadly raids, in what
military and intelligence officials say is the insurgents' latest
attempt to regain the initiative after months of withering attacks
from US and allied forces.
December 30
At least 25 militants were killed and 18 others
injured when helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts in Chinarak
area of Kurram Agency of FATA.
Seven militants were killed and three others sustained
injuries when two group of militants clashed with each other in
Marandi area of Kurram Agency.
Two intelligence personnel and a Police constable
were killed in an ambush near Bago Jatoi village of Ratodero area
in Larkana District of Sindh.
A journalist, Afaq Ahmed, escaped unhurt when
three unidentified assailants attacked him at the Market Chowk
in Mirpurkhas.
One driver was killed when unidentified assailants
attacked two tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan
near Dhadar in Bolan District of Balochistan.
Pakistan was the deadliest country for reporters
where 11 were killed this year, International media watchdog Reporters
Without Borders said. A total of 57 journalists were killed
worldwide this year, the group said, adding that fewer reporters
were being killed in war zones while more were targeted by criminals
or traffickers.
December 31
US drone missile attack killed at least four militants
when it targeted a vehicle in Ghulam Khan Town of North Waziristan
Agency close to the Afghanistan border.
One person was killed and two others were injured
in a bomb blast on a roadside near the Police Line Colony in Lakki
Marwat town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Three SF personnel were injured in a hand grenade
attack in Kharan District of Balochistan.
One person suffered injuries when an oil tanker
carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan was blown up with
a remote control bomb in Chaman town on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Levies Forces arrested four suspected persons
from a house in Ghancha Doori area of Mastung District, some 30
kilometres off Quetta, who were allegedly involved in carrying
out attacks on NATO suppliers on RCD highway.
PM Yousuf Raza Gilani stressed the need for improving
the country's anti-terror laws because "thousands of terrorists,
who were apprehended by law enforcement agencies, had been bailed
out from courts and had again indulged in terrorist activities".
The plot behind the 2007 assassination of former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was laid out at the home of a Pakistani
Army brigadier, reveals a media report, which was dismissed as
"totally concocted" by Interior Minister Rehman Malik. A fresh
probe uncovered the role of nine persons, including the brigadier
in whose residence the plot was hatched.
The Public Prosecution Department claimed to have
convicted 34 persons in 20 cases of suicide attacks and bombing
in the province in 2010.
A so-called "Sharia" court of the TTP ordered
released of 23 Mehsud elders who had been kidnapped from the Razmak
area of North Waziristan Agency on December 4.
Note:Compiled from news reports and
are provisional.