Suicide blast in Lahore

Pakistani Roman Catholic nuns visit the site of the suicide car bomb a day after the attack in Lahore. Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Lahore to avenge a military offensive in the northwest and vowed further deadly strikes. A van carrying high-intensity explosives hit a police checkpost outside the offices of the Rescue-15 and the Inter-Services Intelligence on Lawrence Road killing 26 people and leaving more than 251 injured.-AFP Photo/ Arif Ali.

(Dawn, Pakistan)

Analysis: Why attack Lahore?

By Syed Shoaib Hasan

BBC News, Islamabad



Lahore - Pakistan's cultural capital - has faced its share of militant attacks, but it has not had to put up with the kind of sustained campaign it now appears to be facing.

Wednesday's suicide bombing of the police emergency response headquarters on a heavily guarded section of Lahore's Mall road underlines the fact that the cultural heart of Pakistan is a city under siege.

It is a clear statement from the militants seen to be under siege in Swat and elsewhere - they are alive and can strike back.

A raid on the police training centre near the city in March - along with an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in the same month - brought home the fact that the city is now in the frontline of Pakistan's struggle against militancy.

According to security officials, part of the reason Lahore is now under threat may be because it has previously been seen as stable.

"Lahore is the only city in Pakistan which has remained relatively peaceful since the 9/11 attacks," says a security official.

"It has been Pakistan's saving grace, and whoever wants to destabilise the country or the government, would go after Lahore," the official says.

Suspects

There are a number of reasons why Lahore could be the centre of such attacks.
Many people suspect Taliban militants in Pakistan's north-west. Almost all major attacks inside Pakistan in recent years have been traced back to the tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Taliban militants fighting the Pakistani army have openly admitted planning and carrying out many of the attacks.

They recently issued a propaganda video which took responsibility for carrying out a number of suicide bombings on security forces over the last two years. At least two of them were carried out in Lahore.

Fingers have also been pointed at the Lashkar-e-Taiba, as they were after the attack on the Sri Lanka team.

Some experts say the attacks could be retaliation by elements within the group for the crackdown on it following the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) last November.

Others, like Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, accuse another militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which the US believes has close ties with al-Qaeda.

"Almost all the recent major terror attacks have either been claimed or traced back to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi," he told reporters in Lahore in March.


India, too, is blamed by many Pakistani government and security officials, who suspect retaliation for the Mumbai attacks. This was also a view voiced after the attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers.

Many analysts are quick to point out the change in tactics, and believe that the attacks are the handiwork of a new militant group.

'Assault tactics'

But what many seem to have forgotten is how it all began. Pakistani militants only started using suicide attacks in a co-ordinated manner in 2004. The first target was Karachi, where a series of bomb attack in May of that year left more than 100 people dead.

Since then, they have become increasingly popular, and now a suicide bombing is almost a daily occurrence in North West Frontier Province.

While experts have suggested a number of theories for this change of tactics, the militants themselves say there was one clear reason.

"We started using the suicide bomber because we were under siege at the time," a militant leader told me in 2006.

"We were short of trained men as many had been arrested or killed in the crackdown following 9/11. "The places where we could set-up training camps were also declared out of bounds.

"The easiest way to fight back was to use a bomb and the easiest way to ensure its success was to use someone to manually detonate the device. Little training was needed, and the younger the bomber the easier it was to convince them," the militant said.

But he added that the suicide bomber was not always effective, especially if the target was spread over a large area. "We will eventually start using assault tactics again, when we have regained our strength in men," he concluded. That increasingly appears to be the case, as the militants deploy a variety of different tactics in the field.

'Next Taliban state'

More than anything, this means that whatever Pakistan's government says, the power of the militants has increased substantially over the last two years. Political instability has given them encouragement, and they have thrived as they once did during the 1990s under state patronage.

Whether Pakistan's current government is up to the task of taking them on remains to be seen. Whether Pakistan's current government is up to the task of taking them on remains to be seen.

President Asif Zardari's government certainly has the desire to go after the militants. But whether it has the required backing from the military is an open question.

Pakistan's military has always seen the country's "strategic interests" through a different lens from the civilian governments. In the past the military has acted as godfather to the militants. But never has the country faced as great an internal threat as it does now. Experts say the situation can still be remedied if both parties agree that eliminating the militants is in Pakistan's best interests. If that does not happen, there appears little to prevent Pakistan from becoming the next Taliban state.

MAJOR ATTACKS IN PAKISTAN

• 27 May 09: At least 23 people are killed and 200 injured in Lahore
• 27 March 09: Suicide bomber demolishes crowded mosque near the north-western town of Jamrud, killing dozens
• 3 March 09: Six policemen and a driver killed, and several cricketers injured, in ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore
• 20 Sept 08: 54 die in an attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad
• 6 Sept 08: Suicide car bombing kills 35 and wounds 80 at a police checkpoint in Peshawar
• Aug 08: Twin suicide bombings at gates of a weapons factory in town of Wah leave 67 dead
• March 08: Suicide bombs hit police headquarters and suburban house in Lahore, killing 24

(BBC)

Blasts Rock Peshawar, Pakistan

By Catherine Maddux

Terrorists have struck again in Pakistan, with two bombs killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 70 others at an outdoor market in Peshawar. Meanwhile, the Taliban has taken responsibility for a car bombing that killed at least 23 people Wednesday in Lahore, calling it a revenge attack.

Senior Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud told news agencies militants had been planning to target Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, for a long time.

Hakimullah Mehsud is deputy to Taliban leader Baitullah Mesud, believed to have masterminded the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. He said Wednesday's attack in Lahore was retaliation and to expect more.

Security lapse

Former military official and defense analyst Talat Masood says the magnitude of the Lahore attack illustrates a serious lapse in security and a lack good intelligence.

"The security culture is not at all compatible with the type of threats that Pakistan is facing in the sense that the police and the security agencies are not truly trained to handle such incidents," he said. "I think it is a question of training, it is a question of equipment, it is a question of culture and mindset."

Masood says the area where the militants struck, outside a police emergency-response unit on one of Lahore's busiest streets, could have been better cordoned off with multiple zones of security. He says multiple rings of security would not have allowed a vehicle to park so close to the building, which was flattened by the explosion.

Response criticized

Masood says another clue that shows how unprepared Pakistan's security forces are is how they respond after an attack.

"The response after an event, you can see, is extremely chaotic," he said. "Immediately those places must be cordoned off. No outsiders must be allowed. All forensic evidence must be preserved."

Masood adds the public rarely hears or is informed of the perpetrators of such attacks being caught or brought to justice. With the threat of more attacks looming, the Pakistani army says it is up to the task of protecting the nation's cities and is ready to ward off any future terrorist attacks.

Shortly after Wednesday's attack, the government announced rewards for information leading to the capture of 21 Taliban-linked militant leaders, dead or alive.

(Voice of America)

Nearly Two Million Pakistanis Displaced by Offensive Against Taliban

By Ravi Khanna

Pakistan's military says its troops have recaptured a large swath of territory in and around the northwestern Swat Valley, destroying terrorist bases and killing hundreds of Taliban militants. A regional commander dismissed reports that many civilians are dying or that homes have been destroyed in the fighting.

Pakistan says it has stepped up its offensive to flush out Taliban militants from the northwestern Swat valley. The army is claiming major gains, which cannot be independently verified.

The number of Swat valley residents displaced by the fighting has reached more than two million, creating a humanitarian crisis, despite government claims that there has been no collateral damage.

At least 70,000 have found refuge at the Jalozai camp run by the United Nations near the city of Peshawar."I lost two of my sons, Adnan and Noman, during the evacuation from Mingora in the Swat Valley. We don't know where they are," Abdul Qayum said. Qaytum is from Mingora, the main town in the Swat Valley.

In the valley itself, damage from the fighting is evident in the villages. Mohammad Ayaz lost everything.

"I lost my tractor, my bed and all the things in the house," Ayaz said. I don't know who will pay for that."

The offensive is seen as a major test for Pakistan's army and its will to quell the Taliban insurgency. Public opinion so far appears to support the offensive, according to reports.

But some analysts say the mood could quickly turn if the fighting drags on or if the refugee crisis is badly handled.

There have been protests in Islamabad and Karachi against the operation.

Muhammad Hussein Mehanti belongs to the Islamic political party called Jamat-e-Islami. "This operation is not against any Taliban," he explains. "It's against the nation. Our demand is the operation should be stopped and, through talks, solution should be found."

Some experts say the army is used to conventional warfare with India, but is not adept at fighting insurgencies. That's why, they say, so many people have been displaced.

Pakistan built these camps for some four million Afghan refugees who fled the fighting in neighboring Afghanistan, first during the Soviet occupation and later because of the Taliban.

Today, Pakistanis have become refugees in their own country.

(Voice of America)

Swat Taliban pay mercenaries to kill policemen

MINGORA: The Taliban in Swat pay mercenaries for killing police and army jawans, a suspected Afghan terrorist arrested by local police told media on Thursday, adding that he was paid Rs 20,000 to kill a policeman. “I beheaded five policemen in Sitara Chowk,” Ghaniur Rehman told reporters after security forces arrested him from Malukabad area of the city on Wednesday. The suspected Afghan terrorist said he received training at a Taliban training facility in the Charbagh area. staff report

(Daily Times, Pakistan)

‘Provinces will be asked to fix 5% job quota for minorities’

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday he would ask the provinces to fix a five percent quota in government jobs for minorities.

“I will ensure the implementation of 5 percent of jobs quota for minorities in the federal government departments in letter and spirit. I will also advise the semi-government departments and provinces to allocate and ensure a five percent quota of jobs for minorities,” while addressing the Minorities’ Solidarity Convention at the Convention Centre.

Gilani on Thursday urged the religious minorities to express solidarity and support the government in defeat terrorists and extremists who wanted to destabilise the country.

“The situation demands the display of unity and solidarity that was displayed at the time of the Partition to defeat the terrorists and extremists and thwart their nefarious designs of destabilising Pakistan,” he said.

The prime minister also announced that August 11 would be observed as the minorities’ day, and that the government would establish an interfaith complex in Islamabad and form a Minorities’ Commission at federal level and committees at provincial level to promote interfaith harmony and protect the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the constitution.

Prime Minister Gilani said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led government followed the ideology of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and believe in the equality of all citizens irrespective of cast, colour and creed.

(Daily Times, Pakistan)

Joint Church stand on insurgency lauded

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (UCAN) -- As Pakistan's security forces remain locked in battle with Taliban militants in the country's northwest, the mainstream Churches have jointly called for structural, legal and policy reforms to pave the way for peace.

Pakistan's security forces on May 8 launched a deadly offensive against Taliban fighters in the districts of Lower Dir, Buner and Swat causing the worst exodus in the country's history.

Mehboob Sada, director of the Christian Study Centre, participated in a May 22 meeting of leaders of Christian Churches, including Catholic bishops. The meeting had the theme, "On Extremism and Religious Minorities." He also helped to draft a statement released later in a press conference, in which the Churches expressed their concern about the present state of affairs in the country.

Sada, 62, has been with the center for 23 years, including eight as director. The ecumenical center's work focuses on a range of issues facing the country, including studying Islamization and its impact on women and minorities, to researching Christian-Muslim relationships.

In recent days, Sada has been constantly in touch with locals in Swat and has been conducting meetings with Muslims and Christians to review the situation.

Sada explains in an interview with UCA News that Taliban militancy in Pakistan has its roots in Islamization, which has seriously affected the country's unity and even its independence. Nevertheless, he says that hope lies in reforming the constitution and having a balanced syllabus in educational institutions.

The interview with Sada follows:

UCA NEWS: How would you describe the current situation in Swat?

MEHBOOB SADA: We are witnessing the negative impacts of the process of so-called Islamization that began under the military rule of late president General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq from 1977-1988. People leading normal and harmonious lives have been uprooted and compartmentalized into religious sects. Hatred has developed in an arrogant, holier-than-thou way. The unrest is not only limited to the insurgency in Swat but throughout the whole country. We have failed to work as a nation.

How serious a threat is the present situation to Pakistan?

The current situation is very dangerous for the country. There is complete insecurity. The economy is weakening and social life is suffering. Tourism has come to a halt, especially in scenic Swat that was once one of the country's most popular destinations for foreign tourists. All paths to development have closed.

How would you describe the ideology of Taliban militants in Swat?

They are trying to impose a new Shari'a (Islamic law) which is devoid of the real Islamic spirit. These Islamic fundamentalists have declared democracy, girls' education and the judicial system as un-Islamic. They only believe in the principal of "kill or be killed," with the promise of paradise. The instances of such inhuman practices cannot be found in Islamic history. Liberal Muslims have condemned the Taliban's fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and only certain people with vested interests have approved of it.

Are their particular fears for Christians and other minorities?

A few Christian educational institutions have been targeted in the North West Frontier Province. There have been some rumors about some Islamic political parties alleging that Christian organizations are trying to convert Muslims during aid efforts.

Among minorities, the Sikh community constitutes the highest percentage of internally displaced people. They are mostly traders by profession and were asked to pay jazia (a religious tax imposed on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule) or convert to Islam. The refugees also include many Christian families and a few Hindus.

How serious is the humanitarian crisis springing from this?

The government is now facing a new challenge in the wake of the biggest migration since partition with India in 1947. Most of these people are not poor but had to leave their properties and businesses behind. Reconstruction in areas affected by the military operation will take time and these people will not be able to go back to their houses for one or two years.

What have the Christian Churches been doing to help?

Church leaders have clearly exhibited unity regarding the impact of extremism on religious minorities in the May 22 press conference in Lahore. The joint stand of Churches amidst the current insurgency is a good sign. We have formed a strategy of peaceful struggle and have called for a day of prayer and fasting as well as a day of rallies.

The Church of Pakistan's northern diocese is also running two camps for displaced Christians and Hindus in Mardan city in the North West Frontier Province, with 103 families presently residing there. That includes six Hindu and seven Muslims families, with the rest being Christians.

Do you see the present problem spreading?

The government claims that the army will control the situation and people are supporting the security forces. I also have hopes that the military operation could provide a solution to the Taliban problem.

Is there anything you would like to add or comment on?

The status of religious minorities is a key question that has to be dealt with in democratizing the country. The Christian Churches have learned from experience that responding to emergencies is not sufficient.

Religious extremism in the country can be eliminated by removing discriminatory laws from the constitution and biased religious material from the curriculum.

(Ucan News)

Historic Church Ransacked in Northwest Pakistan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a historic church in a secure area of northwest Pakistan was ransacked and vandalized the night of May 11. Rev. Ijaz Masih, the pastor of St. George Grecian Church in Bannu Cantt, told ICC that he had presided over a beautiful Sunday service on May 10. On the morning of May 12, however, laborers who were working to renovate the church were shocked when they arrived and found the church's cross broken in pieces, the altar demolished and partially burned, Bibles and hymnbooks burned and torn apart, and the pews reduced to ashes.

PASTORS ARRESTED FOR USE OF LOUDSPEAKERS

Police claim amplified Easter Sunday service defamed Islam.

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Compass Direct News) – Nine pastors from two neighboring villages in Pakistan could face prison time for using loudspeakers to broadcast prayers and sermons from their churches on Easter Sunday.

Martinpur and Youngsnabad, 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Lahore, are majority Christian villages. The nine pastors who lead congregations there say that local Muslim security forces have twisted the law to solicit a bribe.

Police arrested and detained Hafeez Gill, Fahim John, Maksud Ulkaq, and a catechist from the Catholic Church in Youngsnabad identified only as Saqab at 10 a.m. on May 16. While en route to the police station, the officers told them they would be released if they offered a bribe, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). The pastors refused and were detained, but following a public outcry from their parishioners they were released at 2:30 p.m.

Reports indicate the arrest was premeditated. A leader in the village council invited the pastors to his house for a meeting, but when they arrived in the morning local police were waiting for them. They were taken to the police station, where Station House Officer Mirza Latif showed them two First Instance Reports (FIR) registered on May 11 claiming they had misused their speakers. The FIRs, however, state the pastors misused the speakers on Easter Sunday, which happened nearly a month earlier.

The FIRs accused the pastors of misusing their loudspeakers under Section 3/4 of the Amplifier Act. Their attorney said the reasons for their arrest were both religiously and financially motivated.

Police claimed that the church leaders had used their loudspeakers to amplify messages defaming Islam. The FIRs, however, make no mention of the content of their remarks.

“The police wanted to cause humiliation to the pastors and were also asking for money,” said CLAAS attorney Akhbar Durrani.

The case was registered by a special branch of local police forces charging the four Youngsnabad pastors. On the same day, they filed charges against the five pastors in Martinpur: Shahazad Kamarul-Zaman, Mumbarab Kuhram, Hanuk Daniel, Amar Sohail, and a fifth pastor unnamed in the police report.

Nasir Bahatti, president of the Youth Welfare Association in Youngsnabad, a Christian social organization, said the church had permission to amplify the service and that the arrests were religiously motivated.

“There is no reason to ban the loudspeaker,” he said. “They are banning our worship and prayer. But we have permission [to use them] on particular days such as Christmas and Easter.”

If the FIRs are not withdrawn, the pastors will go to court over the alleged loudspeaker violation. Police released them from jail on May 16 under the condition that they obtain bail at an upcoming hearing.

The church loudspeakers broadcasted the church prayers and sermon for villagers unable to attend the service, as is custom in some Christian villages. Pakistani law limits the use of loudspeakers in Christian worship services to a specific time allotment (and usually to villages and towns with a small Muslim population), but these restrictions were not enforced in the almost-entirely Christian villages of Youngsnabad and Martinpur.

Few such restrictions, however, are placed on Pakistani mosques. The five daily calls to prayer, Friday sermons, and Quran recitations on Islamic holidays are frequently amplified on loudspeakers. The double standard follows a traditional Islamic dictum in which church bells were not allowed to ring in areas under Islamic rule.

“The Muslims in this nation can worship according to their prayer method, so why can’t we if we are all given equal rights?” Bahatti said.

The standard of living is relatively high in these villages due to a well-educated population. There are longstanding missionary schools in the villages, and much of the population has lived abroad. English missionaries founded Youngsnabad and Martinpur 120 years ago during British colonial occupation.

Some rights groups worry that the harassment of Pakistani Christians in villages such as Martinpur and Youngsnabad could mean deteriorating conditions for religious minorities in areas once considered secure.

CLAAS reported that vandals completely ransacked a church in Bannu Cantt, in the North West Frontier Province, on May 12. They destroyed the altar, burned Bibles, and broke pews. Although the city is located in a province that borders Afghanistan, where Taliban rebels have been active, it was thought to be a relatively secure area, according to the report.

Pakistan remains in turmoil as the military moves into Swat Valley to uproot the Taliban, which has established Islamic law (sharia) in the embattled area. An estimated 2 million Pakistanis have become refugees by fleeing the area after a government evacuation order.

(Compass Direct)

Homes of hundreds of Christian families bulldozed by police in Islamabad

Islamabad: May 27, 2009. (PCP) The Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti is praising government and claiming Thanksgiving on lame duck Quota of 5% for minorities when hundreds of Christian families are sleeping on green grass on roadside under open sky in capital city of Islamabad after demolition of their homes in Shehzad Town.
These displaced families are very close to office of Shahbaz Bhatti but he have not bothered to visit these families which are sleeping under sky with children, women and elders.

It is on record that Shahbaz Bhatti have not visited Christian IDP,s from Swat Valley nor issued and statement for their relief and discrimination in camps.

Only Human rights activist and one time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize J.Salik visited and showed solidarity with minorities families in Islamabad. He appealed Pakistan government to take a quick action to help these patriot nationals of country. J.Salik who is convener of World Minorities Alliance said that representatives of UNO must visit these IDPs.

These internal displaced persons belonging to unfortunate minority families are living as protest on a green belt in between a busy road of Islamabad. After a brutal police action here in capital city of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hundreds of poor people living far below poverty line displaced from their transitory built homes and tents after an action by the local authorities, who bulldozed their homes here in Shehzad Town two weeks back on 18th instant. Now they’ll have to slum it and stay on 10 meter wide and one kilo meter long a green belt strip here until government not pay attention to them and they can find a better place.

In the “green belt colony” there are several placards and signs appealing world community and human rights forums to pay attention to their miseries of these poorest of poor families of time. They have placed photos famous dignitaries of the world like Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General UNO, Asif Ali zardari, president of Pakistan, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, Priime Minster of Pakistan, Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhri, Chief Justice of Pakistan and other rulers of countries around the globe.

Instead of Thanksgiving Day Christians in Pakistan shall press upon government to provide alternatives plots to these Christian families.

Shahbaz Bhatti is Minister and can request his masters in government to rehabilitate these displaced Christians brothers to enjoy true Thanksgiving.

(Pakistan Christian Post)

Pakistan conflict map

Research by the BBC Urdu's service into the growing strength of Taliban militants in north western Pakistan shows that only 38% of the area remains under full government control.

This map of the area is a snapshot of the current situation. However, with ongoing fighting between the Pakistan armed forces and the Taliban the situation on the ground could change in the future.

BAJAUR (Taliban controlled)
Bajaur is one of those tribal areas where the Taliban established themselves early on. Analysts have long suspected the region to be the hiding place of Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other top al-Qaeda leaders. It is an area where suspected US drones launched their earliest missile strikes.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is the chief commander of the Taliban in Bajaur and is said to lead a force of nearly 10,000 armed militants. A year-long military operation ended in Bajaur early this year but a peace agreement has broken down and the Taliban are back in control in most areas outside the regional capital, Khar. Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the militant alliance Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comes from Bajaur. Taliban camps are reported at various places in Bajaur, such as Salarzai and Dasht.

BANNU (Taliban presence)
Bannu is a so-called "settled" (rather than "tribal") area in North West Frontier Province, which borders troubled Waziristan. The district has witnessed a number of attacks on security forces. Civilians have also been killed.
But locals do not have strong tribal affiliations with the Taliban, and the local Taliban have not been successful in building support for their activies in Bannu.
BUNER (Taliban controlled)

Buner is only 100km (65 miles) from the capital, Islamabad. The military launched an operation against the militants in April after the so-called Swat Taliban seized control of Buner. The district is popular with Pashtuns visiting the tomb of a Sufi saint, but traditional religious freedoms have been eroded. Militants from Swat tried to enter Buner in 2008 but were thwarted by locals. An armed clash between the two sides at Shilabandi left six Taliban dead, and the Taliban retreated to their bases in Swat. Local resistance did not go unpunished, however, as nearly 50 people were later killed by the militants.
After Sharia law was introduced in Swat, the Taliban again decided to target Buner as part of efforts to expand their area of influence. After negotiations with locals, the Taliban were permitted to operate in the district. Since then all barber shops and music stores have closed down.

D.I. KHAN (Taliban presence)

Traditionally famous for its flowers and sweets, Dera Ismail Khan (or D.I. Khan) has not escaped the increase in Taliban activity seen elsewhere in North West Frontier Province. Two groups of militants are active in D.I. Khan, one of them involved in sectarian attacks, the other in attacks on security forces. Taliban active in neighbouring Waziristan have claimed responsibility for almost all the attacks on security personnel. After troops stepped up an anti-Taliban drive in Waziristan in 2008, large numbers of tribal families settled in D.I. Khan. Some government officials fear that militants might also have left Waziristan and settled in D.I. Khan. Local police say 84 people, many of them security personnel, were killed and more than 100 injured in various violent incidents during 2008. Most analysts agree there will be no end to violence in D.I. Khan until peace is restored in neighbouring tribal areas and concerted action is taken to stop the sectarian attacks.

HANGU (Taliban presence)
Hangu, neighbouring Orakzai, is believed to be under the control of Hakimullah Mehsud, the right-hand man of Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Those parts of Hangu that border Orakzai are dominated by the Taliban.
The district also shares borders with two other Taliban strongholds, Kurram and Waziristan. Most analysts argue that if government fails to take steps to check the increasing influence of the Taliban in Hangu, the radical elements now confined to its border areas could soon expand their activities to other areas of district. Sectarian tension between Shias and Sunnis is yet another fault line, which deepened after a 2006 suicide attack on a Shia procession in Hangu.

KHYBER (Taliban presence)

Of the tribal areas of the North West Frontier, Khyber agency is the only one where different religious organisations operate. There are three known religious groups - Lashkar-i-Islam (Army of Islam) headed by Mangal Bagh, Ansar-i-Islam (Companions of Islam) headed by Qazi Mehboobul Haq and Amar Bil Maroof (Organisation for Virtues) headed by Niaz Gul. The Taliban presence in Khyber is fairly recent and most analysts link it to Nato's use of the main road through the Khyber pass to Afghanistan. The Taliban are believed to have moved into the area to attack convoys carrying supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan. There has been a spate of such attacks. The Taliban are now in almost total control of two of the three sub-divisions of Khyber agency, including Jamrod and Bara.

KOHAT (Taliban presence)

Kohat is only a stone's throw from the semi tribal district of Adamkhel.
The Taliban claim to have carried out attacks targeting security forces in the district. In a recent operation security forces say 35 militants were killed. As in Mardan and other districts in North West Frontier Province, the Taliban in Kohat have mostly confined their activities to opposing music and barber shops.

KURRAM (Taliban presence)

Kurram agency, like neighbouring North Waziristan, is also divided into three administrative areas or sub-divisions - Upper, Central and Lower Kurram.
The Taliban (who are Sunni Muslims) do not have a significant presence in Upper Kurram as the local population are Shias. Shias are also found in one town in Lower Kurram, Alizai. Otherwise, the Taliban are present almost everywhere else in Kurram where the Sunni population dominates.
Foreign Taliban fighters are believed to have moved into Kurram and adjoining Orakzai agencies since 2008 when missile attacks by suspected US military drones became more frequent in north-west Pakistan.

LAKKI MARWAT (Taliban presence)
Lakki Marwat is a district near North Waziristan where local tribes are very strong. There have been a number of clashes between militants and security forces in the area.

LOWER DIR (Taliban controlled)

There have been reports since late 2007 that the Taliban have found many hideouts in Lower Dir. This was confirmed in April when the army acknowledged that the Taliban had dug themselves in on the mountain tops. The area known as Maidan, which is also the home town of radical cleric Sufi Mohammad who brokered the now-defunct Swat "peace deal", has become a Taliban hotspot in the district. The army has twice claimed to have pushed the Taliban out of Lower Dir and taken control. But many people fear the militants may use Lower Dir to expand into nearby Upper Dir.

MALAKAND (Taliban presence)

Malakand is essentially a mountain pass between Mardan and Swat. Historically the district is known for a number of battles between local tribes and British soldiers in the last years of the 19th Century. Before extremism began surfacing in Swat, the local administration had been facing law and order problems in Malakand. At the time it mostly concerned criminal activities including kidnap for ransom. In January 2009 members of an international charity were taken hostage. But the biggest Taliban attack in Malakand was carried out apparently to avenge a US missile strike at Damadola. Forty paramilitary recruits were killed in the attack on a training centre at Dargai.
Despite the fact that the Taliban have not maintained a dominant presence in Malakand, the district seems susceptible to their influence and analysts argue that if they so choose the Taliban could move into the area in a big way.

MARDAN (Taliban presence)

Mardan, about 60km (37 miles) north-east of Peshawar, is one of the most densely populated districts of North West Frontier Province and a thriving centre for trade. In the past year the Taliban have boosted their presence in Mardan and reports of skirmishes with paramilitary security forces have become more frequent. Although there are not many of them in Mardan, the Taliban have proved able to disrupt the day-to-day administration of the district. Early signs of extremism in Mardan can be traced back to attacks on music shops, and more recently, shops providing cable services for different TV channels have been targeted. In another incident an NGO office was also attacked. Responsibility for most of these attacks was reportedly accepted by a militant who claimed to be the local head of the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan alliance. Mardan also made headlines in the international media when Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a high profile al-Qaeda suspect was arrested there in 2005.

MOHMAND (Taliban presence)

The Taliban are widely reported to be present in all three sub-divisions of Mohmand agency. The militants here are under the command of Omar Khalid who belongs to the Safi tribe of Pashtuns. He and about 5,000 militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from the southern and south-eastern parts of Mohmand in order to reduce pressure on Peshawar and elsewhere. Taliban fighters of Arab and Uzbek origin are also reported to be present in Mohmand.

NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Taliban controlled)
North Waziristan, home to the Wazir and Dawar tribes, is administratively divided into three sub-divisions called Miranshah, Mir Ali and Razmak. The Wazirs make up 75% of the local population, while the remainder belong to the Dawar tribe. The Taliban are in control of all three sub-divisions of North Waziristan. They mount regular daily patrols of town centres and hold informal summary courts, adjudicate in disputes and deliver verdicts from offices established in almost every part of the agency. North Waziristan is controlled by Taliban commander Gul Bahadur, but Baitullah Mehsud is also reported to be in command of at least three Taliban camps. Two of these are located in Miranshah while the third is in Razmak. As in South Waziristan, there is a considerable proportion of Taliban in North Waziristan who are referred to as "Punjabi Taliban".

ORAKZAI (Taliban controlled)

Orakzai agency is divided into two administrative districts.
The Taliban do not have a significant presence in Lower Orakzai as most locals belong to an anti-Taliban Shia sect. But, mountainous Upper Orakzai is dominated by Sunnis and has many Taliban and sympathisers. Most Taliban in Orakzai belong to the Mamuzai, Alikhel, Akhel and Ferozkhel tribes. The local population seems supportive of the Taliban more for sectarian reasons than because of the militants' activities. The Taliban appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as commander for Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies. He is a cousin of Qari Hussain, the mastermind behind the training of the suicide bombers used by the Taliban.

PESHAWAR (Taliban presence)
The capital of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Peshawar has become the front line city in the so-called "war on terror" in Pakistan. Bombings and suicide attacks coupled with kidnap for ransom have become commonplace. The city is surrounded by militants on three sides. Mardan and Charsadda to the north, Mohmand and Khyber agencies to the west and Darra Adamkhel to the south have all become battle grounds. Disrupting Nato plans in Afghanistan has been the key Taliban target in Peshawar - at least 400 vehicles carrying supplies for Nato forces have been destroyed. The Taliban say they will keep on attacking trucks destined for Nato forces until the US stops drone attacks in the region.

SHANGLA (Taliban controlled)

Shangla is said to be under the partial control of the Taliban. Recent reports speak of militants taking control of emerald mines here and it is rumoured that an army operation will soon be launched. The Taliban captured Shangla Top, a strategic point, about 18 months ago and since then have taken control of police stations in the district. Policemen had no option but to run for their lives. Other government buildings in Shangla have since been in and out of Taliban control - and some analysts believe the militants could retake them if they want.

SOUTH WAZIRISTAN (Taliban controlled)
South Waziristan is the largest tribal district or agency - two big Pashtun tribes, the Mehsud and the Wazir, dominate. The Wazirs are historically settled on either side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, while the Mehsuds are confined to South Waziristan. It is widely believed the Pakistani government has lost control of almost all of South Waziristan - for some time the army has been restricted to Zerinoor camp in the agency's main town, Wana.
The army had to evacuate the Mehsud-dominated area of South Waziristan in 2008 when around 300 troops were taken hostage. The army is understood to lack a secure supply line that could guarantee a smoother flow of men and ammunition into this area. Parts of South Waziristan under the direct influence of top Pakistan Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud are reported to contain as many as seven camps where suicide bombers are trained. These camps or training centres are believed to have been established at Makeen, Shaktoi, Kanigaram, Dela, Kot Kai, Shawwal and Badar. In addition, another Taliban leader Mullah Nazir is also believed to be running two separate training centres in South Waziristan at Shikai and Baghar. Some of his followers are also known to be based in Balochistan province, which almost borders Wana.

SWABI (Taliban presence)
Swabi is considered to be the heartland of the secular Pashtun political party, the Awami National Party (ANP). Mainly for this reason, people in Swabi have not welcomed the Taliban. But there have been recent incidents of graffiti in Swabi boasting local support for the Taliban's drive for their version of Sharia law and Islamic "virtues". Swabi was in the news in the early 1990s when an operative of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency emerged as a key link between the army and the Taliban.

SWAT (Taliban controlled)
Known as the Switzerland of Pakistan, the former princely state of Swat had been popular with tourists for decades. It is now under almost total Taliban control. The militants have targeted the security forces, the police, secular politicians and government-run schools. By early April 2009, Sharia law had been imposed as part of a deal between the authorities and the local Taliban. However, the militants failed to disarm completely in line with the accord and their fighters spread to neighbouring districts, prompting international concern. An army offensive was launched in Swat in early May. The local Taliban, under their leader Maulana Fuzlullah, have extended their control throughout Swat, especially in areas of policing and its judicial system.
Maulana Fazlullah is the son-in-law of radical cleric Sufi Mohammad who led an insurgency in the 1990s. Sufi Mohammad brokered the failed peace deal in Swat. There are a number of pockets in and around Swat where the Taliban are known to have hidden when in danger or as a tactic when pushed back by the military. Such safe havens could prove useful to them if political pressure mounts against them in Swat. The militants could melt away into the north of the district where they are in even fuller control.

TANK (Taliban presence)

Baitullah Mehsud's Taliban fighters from South Waziristan first started making incursions into the nearby city of Tank in 2005. Music stores, barbers' shops and police stations were their primary targets. That situation still remains, with a slight difference. Taliban groups composed of Bhittani tribesmen have been confronting Mehsud loyalists in the region. The Bhittani is the native tribe of Tank district and its largest, but is in a minority in the city of Tank, the administrative centre, where the Mehsuds dominate. It is thought the Bhittani Taliban are supported by the government. Nevertheless, the writ of the government runs thin in Tank, where fully armed members of rival groups roam the streets freely and run offices in different parts of the city. The police initially offered resistance, but have now downgraded their mandate to one of self-preservation. They stay inside heavily-barricaded police stations. The civil administration is almost completely paralysed.

UPPER DIR (Taliban presence)
Recent reports suggest Upper Dir has started showing some signs of increasing religious radicalisation, but local extremists claim to have no link with the Taliban and do not call themselves Taliban. Instead they are known to be involved in criminal activities, which does not fit with typical Taliban activity.
One notable incident of militancy in Upper Dir in February saw a paramilitary post captured. Militants refused to abandon it despite repeated requests from a local jirga (tribal council). In April five policemen were killed by unknown attackers. It is thought however the Taliban could gather support from Upper Dir if they wanted. Radical cleric Sufi Mohammad's TNSM organisation has established offices in Upper Dir and some locals sympathise with the movement.

(BBC World)

Pakistan conflict map

A map produced by the BBC suggests only 38% of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and surrounding areas is under full government control.

The map, compiled by the BBC's Urdu language service, was based on local research and correspondent reports as well as conversations with officials.

It shows the Taleban strengthening their hold across the north-west.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari rejected the findings, telling the BBC it was an "incorrect survey".

He was speaking after talks in London with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who pledged £12m ($18m) in humanitarian aid for north-west Pakistan.

Mr Zardari said the two countries were united in fighting the threat to their countries' democratic way of life, and also repeated assurances that his country's arsenal was in safe hands.

There was an international outcry recently when the militants moved into Buner district, just 100km (67 miles) from Islamabad.

Pakistan has continued its military offensive to regain control of the region, and has reported the deaths of 11 militants in the Swat valley in the past 24 hours.

Residents trapped in Mingora, the main town in Swat, told AFP news agency by telephone that militants had planted mines and were digging trenches.

"People are becoming mentally ill, our senses have shut down, children and woman are crying, please tell the government to pull us out of here," said one shopkeeper, who did not want to give his name.

"Forget the lack of electricity and other problems, the Taleban are everywhere and heavy exchanges of fire are routine at night."

Mapping lawlessness

The report the BBC map was based on covered the 24 districts of NWFP and the seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The researchers analysed reports from BBC Urdu correspondents over the past 18 months, backed up by conversations with local officials, police officers and journalists.

They concluded that in 24% of the region, the civilian government no longer had authority and Taleban commanders had taken over administrative controls.

Either the Taleban were in complete control or the military were engaged in operations to flush them out.

Another 38% of the region was deemed to have a permanent Taleban presence, meaning militants had established rural bases which were restricting local government activities and seriously compromising local administration.

In those areas - three districts in FATA and 11 in NWFP - the Taleban had repeatedly shown their capability to strike at will, says the report.

Militants had made their presence felt by carrying out periodic attacks on girls' schools, music shops, police stations and government buildings.

The map gives a snapshot of the current situation. However continuing fighting between Pakistani troops and the Taleban means the situation on the ground could change in the future.

The Pakistani army's spokesman, Gen Athar Abbas, rejected the BBC map as "grossly exaggerated".

"The ground situation doesn't give any indicator of such influence or control of Taleban in this area," he told the BBC in Rawalpindi.

Thousands flee

The region is notorious for its lack of law and order, so the researchers applied a series of rules to differentiate Taleban activity from general lawlessness.

The incidents had to be of a recurring nature, there had to be an official recognition of Taleban presence, Taleban militants must have appointed local "commanders" and religious schools sympathetic to the militants must be operating in the area.

Pakistan has been stepping up its campaign against the Taleban in the north-west.

Tens of thousands of people have fled from the region to escape the fighting.
The research also indicates areas to which researchers believe Taleban-style militancy may further spread inside Pakistan.

The report found that, based on current perceptions of religiously motivated violence, there were strong indications that in 47% of Punjab Province there was a high likelihood of an increase in Taleban militancy in the near future.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says that while the research indicates the strength of the Taleban in the region, the various factions and groups are only loosely co-ordinated.

Observers have warned against overstating the existence of one unified insurgency against the state, says our correspondent.

(BBC World)

Scottish Bible Society supports suffering Christians in India

The Scottish Bible Society is responding to appeals received by its sister organisation in India from Christians that have recently experienced persecution, especially in the state of Orissa.

The Scottish Bible Society’s new campaign for India aims to raise money in Scotland to help victims of anti-Christian violence as well as those seeking purpose in life.

Despite the fact that India’s constitution offers freedom of worship, Christians continue to be pressurised in a number of states. Methods range from legal disadvantages and intimidation at elections to outright murder.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary Ojas Ganj can only see out of one eye today. On February 19, four anti-Christian extremists beat him severely, inflicting multiple wounds including an eye injury. This was the second time fanatics attacked him this year, both times at his village in Orissa.

Rajma Naik, 45, fled to a camp after a mob chased her out of her home in Gonjugra village, also in Orissa. She said: "We've been told that if we don't become Hindus, we will be killed. But I will never become a Hindu, even if I have to die.”

Since August last year, scores of people have died while thousands of homes and dozens of churches have been burned down with the loss of furniture, belongings and, for many Christians, their most valued possession: the Bible.

There are 30 million Christians in India – around 2.5 per cent of the population. Many of them cannot afford to purchase a Bible or a New Testament for themselves, particularly those whose copies have been damaged or destroyed in the attacks.

The Scottish Bible Society wants to help its local counterpart to provide 10,000 Bibles, 10,000 New Testaments, 30,000 Bible portions and one million Scripture leaflets in 13 different languages.

The Bible Society in India has also asked for assistance with three smaller projects, with widows and women, children, and non-readers

Widows and women from low castes such as the Dalits (untouchables) endure appalling abuse and discrimination. A special project has been set up to help them engage with stories of courageous women in the Bible and receive comfort, courage and hope.

More than 40 per cent of India’s population are under the age of 15 years. With the government making education compulsory, millions of children are now able to read and understand the printed word. Thousands of Scriptures are needed for the 3-15 age group, from the Toddler’s Bible to a popular Children’s Bible designed locally. The Bibles will be produced in 16 different languages.

Increasing numbers of people in India, especially in the urban areas, are seeking a purpose in life but many of them are either illiterate or don’t use their limited reading skills. The Bible Society of India is developing a programme of songs, puppetry and cartoons in local languages on tape, CD and video to convey the Bible’s messages of love, joy, peace and purpose. An estimated 30,000 audio-visual Scriptures will be required in eight major languages such as Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati.

Says Elaine Duncan, chief executive of the Scottish Bible Society: “Despite the hard times that Christians in India are facing, many followers of Christ are prepared to lay down their lives for Him. In this extreme situation they are asking for Bibles, which we can provide with the help of our supporters.”

(Christian Today)

Homeless Pakistani Christians

Homeless Christians throw sand onto his head during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan. The protest was held to denounce a police raid on more than 300 Christian families residing in tented camps on the outskirts of Islamabad, where they had been living illegally for about a year. (AFP)

Carrying food

A girl carries donated food at Chota Lahore refugee camp in Swabi, Pakistan. She is carrying rotis on her head while Curry in her hands. (AP)

Fighting the Taliban

Pakistani Army soldiers gurad a post on a former base of Taliban militants overlooking the Swat Valley in Banai Baba Ziarat, Pakistan. (AP)

Taliban set sights on Muslim mystics

* Recent incidents show Taliban pose threat to religious and cultural heart of Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Worshippers still flock to the grave of Rahman Baba, a mystic revered by millions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But they now pray at a mound of rubble and twisted steel — all that remains of his tomb since the Taliban bombed it.

The blast in March was the most high-profile in a recent spate of attacks against the country’s homespun, tolerant brand of Islam by hard-liners trying to replace it with the more austere version espoused by the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other Sunni extremist groups.

The attack was a sign of the extreme intolerance of the Taliban and the threat posed by the insurgency to the religious and cultural heart of Pakistan.

Islam widely practiced in Pakistan is different to that in its birthplace, the Arabian peninsula. While still devout and socially conservative, most Pakistanis follow or are influenced by Islam’s mystical path of Sufism and incorporate local trappings such as visiting the shrines of saints, devotional songs and dancing. Some estimates say up to 75 percent of the country belongs to this group.

However, the extremists take their cue instead from Islam as practiced in the deserts of 7th century Arabia and are opposed to Sufism and indigenous forms of the faith — particularly the veneration of saints — which they consider dangerous deviations.

The fissure between the two forms of Islam has left some wondering whether the government or its Western allies could harness the moderation of the Sufis, and any anger they feel against the Taliban’s spreading grip over the nation. ap

(Daily Times, Pakistan)

Job quota for minorities welcome step: minister

ISLAMABAD: The allocation of five percent quota for minorities in federal government services is a commendable step, said Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti on Sunday. According to a statement issued to the press, he termed the decision a right step towards a right direction. “It will help in economic development, prosperity and welfare of the minorities, as it ensures their basic rights,” he said. staff report

(Daily Times, Pakistan)

Book review: Jihadi terror in Bangladesh —by Khaled Ahmed

Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh: A Complex Web

By Ali Riaz; Routledge 2008; Pp172; Price £80; Available in bookstores in Pakistan

Ali Riaz heads the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University and has written before on Islamism in Bangladesh. In this book he gets to the root of what led in 2005 to a countrywide setting off of 450 bombs that signalled the coming into its own of jihadi Islam.

Bangladesh has Harkat-ul Jihad Bangladesh (HUJIB), the Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) as functioning jihadi organisations. These three organisations can be traced to a single network. Others include Hizb-ut-Tawhid, Shahadat-i-Hiqma, and Jaish-e-Muhammad. Reliable data about the militant organisations, particularly the profiles of the activists, are not available, but profiles of the militants arrested since the beginning of 2006 indicate that former participants of the Afghan war and disaffected youth are at the helm of these organisations. The top leaders are thus ‘connected’ to organisations outside Bangladesh.

Their attacks have traced a uniform pattern, possibly in response to one central directive. They frequently target specific groups: locally prominent NGOs and NGO-run schools, members of the judiciary, women, and so on (p.31), which conforms to the pattern in Pakistan. Violence against the Hindus in Bangladesh after the 2001 Babri Masjid incident is well documented. Beginning in 2002, the Ahmedis were attacked by Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (KN), an umbrella organisation of the Islamist groups. They have begun a campaign to declare Ahmedis non-Muslims, just like Pakistan.

The BD government, instead of clamping down on the perpetrators of these attacks, has succumbed to their pressure and on January 8, 2004, banned all Ahmedi publications. It also allowed this organisation to attack Ahmedi mosques, and seize their properties, while the police and local authorities helped them pull down the signboards of Ahmedi organisations, more or less as in Pakistan, where the Ahmedis have been constitutionally declared non-Muslims. The Ahmedi headquarters in Dhaka was attacked in 1992, and Imam Shah Alam was killed in Jessore in 2003. (p.35)

The Saudi-assisted Ahle Hadith movement became strong in the 1980s and Bangladesh saw a mushrooming of the madrassas. Between 1972 and 2004, their growth rate was 73 percent. In May 2004, the police chief in Rajshahi was telling the press that Bangla Bhai was assisting the law enforcers in tracking down the left-wing outlaws. Bangla Bhai was a jihadi veteran from Afghanistan whom Pakistan had facilitated and who was eventually hanged once the civilian governments were removed with the imposition of emergency in 2006.

Bangla Bhai, with hundreds killed and maimed at his hands, gave Bangladesh a bad name in the world. But Bangladesh was on the self-chosen course of degradation together with Pakistan. Pakistan did it under its India-driven policy but Bangladesh did it out of sheer liking for violence under Islam. Others too were chosen for patronage. The case of Mufti Rauf is instructive.

Abdur Rauf went to Afghanistan via Pakistan in 1989 and fought alongside the Taliban until the end of 1992. He became a key organiser of a militant group soon after his return to Bangladesh. By his own admission, he imparted military training to madrassa students as a teacher in Madaripur district for about three years. Later he came into contact with the Rohingya rebels in the south-eastern region. In 1995 he was arrested with 40 other militants from a training camp at Cox’s Bazaar but was jailed for only five months (p.52).

Why was Bangladesh soft on terrorists? This is a question all Muslim states have to answer but will not. The question is important because their bias in favour of these terrorists has led to the death of many peaceful citizens.

Geographically, Bangladesh is surrounded almost entirely by India on its eastern western and northern borders, sharing 4,053 km (3,035 miles) of frontier and 193 km (172 miles) of it with Myanmar in the southeast. The Bay of Bengal, shared with India and Myanmar, bounds Bangladesh in the south. Five Indian states border Bangladesh, including four in India’s troubled northeast where dozens of militant groups are fighting for full statehood, greater autonomy or independence. (p.62)

Author Riaz writes: “After the 1975 military coup in Bangladesh, a new identity, called Bangladeshi nationalism, was articulated in a manner that portrayed India as an adversary. Over the following 30 years, the situation has worsened as more issues of difference have been added to an already distrustful relationship. There are four sources of boundary conflicts: (1) non-ratification of the 1974 Indo-Bangladesh Land Agreement; (2) non-delineation of maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal; (3) ownership of Talpatty Island referred to as New Moore Island; and (4) sharing of river waters that flow from India to Bangladesh.”

The book says India organised groups inside Bangladesh and gave them material support to conduct a low-intensity conflict till 1997. The military regimes in Bangladesh retaliated by resurrecting a policy begun by the Pakistani government of providing shelter and support to the insurgent groups of Indian north-eastern states (p.63). Bangladeshi masses converted to hardline attitudes towards the non-Muslims after the BJP arose in India and in 1992 caused the Babri Masjid crisis. This helped the Islamists argue that the right course for Muslim-majority Bangladesh would be to pursue an Islamist path. The secularist Awami League failed to present an alternative vision which would underscore national sovereignty, and address Dhaka’s concerns vis-à-vis India.

It further says: “The Indo-Bangladesh fence-construction project has progressed slowly and, to date only about half of the border has been fenced. Bangladesh authorities allege that Indians are violating the 1975 border guidelines which clearly state that any type of defensive work cannot be carried out within 150 yards of the zero line.” (p.64)

Relations with Burma went bad too. Between late 1977 and May 1978, about 200,000 Burmese Arakanese Rohingyas crossed the border and took shelter in Bangladesh as a result of persecution by the Burmese authorities (p.65). Later the Arakanese turned up in Karachi madrassas.

The above-mentioned terrorist organisation HUJIB, run by Shafiqur Rehman who had returned from jihad in Afghanistan, moved to the Chittagong Hill Tracts to help the Rohingya refugees. Subsequently, HUJIB militants acknowledged the existence of various training camps in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar districts based on madrassas established with foreign funds.

Foreign funds had also gone to the Naga rebels in India’s northeast. When the Indian army went after the Nagas in 1958 the most prominent leader of the Naga independence movement — Angami Zapu Phizo — fled to the then East Pakistan. Phizo was cordially received by Pakistani intelligence officials who helped go on to London to internationalise the Naga demand for an independent state, while his followers began receiving military training inside East Pakistan. (p.66)

Author Riaz reveals that “the Pakistani military intelligence agency had set up a Coordinating Bureau to supervise its covert operation in Nagaland; and that China began providing active support to the Naga movement in 1966 and military training to the rebels in 1967. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) continued to receive support from Pakistani intelligence agencies even up to the 1990s.” (p.67)

In Bangladesh, the presence of Indian intelligence operatives within Bangladesh is a matter of common discussion. RAW has been present and active in Bangladesh even when it was still East Pakistan, although RAW has always denied the allegations. Bangladeshi intelligence is ill-equipped. In December 2002, three army officers and a number of civilians were arrested from the border districts of north-eastern Sylhet and northern Mymensingh for spying for the Indians (p.78).

By 2003, the presence of the ISI in Bangladesh became so conspicuous that the foreign minister of Bangladesh acknowledged it to the press: “ISI and Al Qaeda have their networks throughout the world and they might have their activities in our country too,” commented Morshed Khan on September 19, 2003. It should be noted that Khan had previously denied any ISI presence in Bangladesh. For example, on November 28, 2002, Khan described Indian allegations about the presence of Al Qaeda elements and the ISI in Bangladesh as “unfounded and malicious”. (p.79)

Riaz writes: “Ostensibly, the ISI’s strategy was not only to help the existing north-eastern Indian insurgents but also to build other groups who would be able to keep the border regions unstable, provoke the Indian authorities, and drive a wedge between India and Bangladesh. RAW, on the other hand, was trying to beat the ISI.” (p.79)

The Afghan connection of the Bangladeshi militants is important because it facilitated the organisational structure of the militants without being known outside Bangladesh. Although it is widely known that the radical Islamists who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan alongside the mujahideen have been incorporated into the Islamic movements throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, their impact in other parts of the world, particularly in countries like Bangladesh, is understudied.

Beginning in 1984, a ‘volunteer corps’ was organised to join the jihad in Afghanistan. Some 3,000 people under the leadership of Abdur Rahman Faruki travelled in several batches to Afghanistan to fight alongside other volunteer mujahideen. Over the following four years at least 24 of them died and ten became disabled. In 1988, a delegation of self-proclaimed ulema too visited Afghanistan. (p.82)

As in Pakistan, Islamist terrorists attack the NGOs in Bangladesh. Throughout the 1980s, NGOs, especially through their micro-credit programmes for poor rural women and free primary education programmes as an alternative to madrassas, irked the Islamists. The Islamists responded with critiques of the NGOs, portraying them as aided by ‘Jews and Christian conspirators who undermine Islamic cultural values, spread atheism, convert people Christianity and try to create an aggressively feminist, impure society’. There are helped by Rabita Al-Alam Al-Islami, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, the International Islamic Relief Organisation (IIRO), the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RJHS), etc. (p.83) *

(Daily Times, Pakistan)

Christians denounce militancy in Pakistan

By Aftab Mughal

Christians are showing solidarity in Pakistan by calling for a day of prayer and fasting as they express growing concern over the inroads of the Taliban.

On May 22, Pakistani Churches raised voice against growing militancy in the country and urged for solidarity among people of Pakistan to fight against this menace.

During a press conference in Lahore, Church leaders said, “We call upon the people of Pakistan to recognize the reality of hatred, discrimination and injustice being encouraged and propagated in the name of religion. Groups and individuals doing this should not only be condemned, but should be taken to task for the solidarity and independence of our nation.”

Speaking to the media, Catholic Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore, who is also President of Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference, Moderator Church of Pakistan Bishop Samuel Robert Azraiah of Raiwind and Mr. Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary of National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), Catholic Church’s human rights body, said, “We express our deep concern about the present state of affairs in Pakistan. The alarming situation created by the religious extremists and militants have not only challenged the writ of the state but are definitely creating confusion about the democratic system among the people of Pakistan.”

Before the press conference the religious leaders of Catholic Church, Church of Pakistan, Salvation Army and the Executive Secretary of National Council of Churches in Pakistan joined a meeting on ‘Extremism and Religious Minorities in Pakistan,’ which was organized by NCJP to address the current situation in which people of Pakistan are facing direct threat of militancy, the government is in war with Taliban in Swat valley of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and internally displace people of the same region.

During the last few years, the religious militants (known as Taliban) have been gaining power and strength and now controlling a considerable area of NWFP. In addition, they also are penetrating into the other parts of the country. Besides that they are not only threaten to the common people along with religious minorities, especially Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.

A few months back, the Taliban were able to control the whole Swat valley, known as Switzerland of Pakistan. The government negotiated with them and on their demand Shariah law was enforced in the region. However, they violated the peace agreement with the government and tried to take control of two other adjacent districts. They had been carried out their brutal activities.

Therefore, the government once again started an operation against them. The Prime Minister Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani said the nation is at war. In the weeks’ long battle, the army has controlled some main cities of the valley. Though it is difficult to verify, the military sources say they have killed more than 1000 militates out of 4000/5000 and many are captured.

On May 23, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the media that the troops have moved into Mingora, the main city of Swat valley. Eye witnesses confirm that the fighting in the city is intensified butt Taliban are giving tough time to the army soldier.

Due to the war in the Swat valley, people fled to Mardan and Swabi city to take refugee. According to the independent sources about 2.5 million people are displaced living in hard conditions in refugee camps.

The Church leaders show their deep concern to these displaced people and said, “Reiterating our long - standing commitment to the service and development of our country we appreciate the fact that Christian organizations and individuals are lending their support to help the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Malakand, Swat and other parts of NWFP as a consequence of Military operation there. We encourage them to be even more generous and steadfast in this task.”

he Church leaders on behalf of all Church announced a day of prayer and fasting on May 30, 2009 through out the country for restoration of peace and in solidarity with families / people affected by extremism / militancy.

(Spero News)

Pakistan army 'in Taliban city'

Fierce fighting is taking place between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants in Mingora, the main city in the militant-controlled Swat valley.

At least 17 militants have been killed in the clashes, the army says. The Taliban deny the deaths.

The push into Mingora is seen as a key phase of an offensive aimed at crushing the militants, whose influence extends across a wide area of the north-west.
The fighting began after a peace deal broke down earlier this month.

"Street fights have begun," Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters.

He said soldiers had cleared parts of the city, but added that the pace of the offensive was "painfully slow".

"This is an extremely difficult, extremely dangerous operation, because clearance has to be done street by street, house by house." The military says the city is surrounded, most of the militants' ammunition dumps are destroyed and their supply routes cut off.

The BBC's Shoaib Hassan, in Islamabad, says it is the most important battle yet in the army's offensive against the Taliban in Swat. A swift victory would bolster public support for a greater fight against the militants, our correspondent adds.
Exodus

A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the military had entered Mingora, but denied that any militants had been killed.

The spokesman also said the Taliban would fight the security forces to their last breath. Residents say the militants are still in control of the city.

Nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced by this month's fighting in the north-western region, and about two million since last August, the United Nations refugee agency says. One resident who fled the Mingora area told the BBC that he was among many who had lost everything.

"Our homes were destroyed - we left behind our cattle and our properties," he said. "We walked all the way and had to walk for two days on the mountains."

On Friday, the UN appealed for $543m in humanitarian aid to help those displaced by the conflict.

Pakistan's army began an offensive against the Taliban on 2 May after the peace deal broke down and the militants began expanding their area of influence.

A recent investigation by the BBC suggested that less than half of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which contains Swat Valley, and the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas is under full government control.

In Swat, the army says that about 15,000 members of the security forces are fighting between 4,000 and 5,000 militants.

It says more than 1,000 militants and more than 50 soldiers have been killed since the offensive began.

(BBC News)