For some weeks now there have been persistent reports about Taliban leader Mullah Omar, asking fighters in the Pakistani Taliban to stop carrying out attacks there and instead focus on Afghanistan where Western forces are being bolstered.
The reclusive one-eyed leader had in December sent emissaries to ask leaders of the Pakistani Taliban to settle their differences, scale down activities in Pakistan and help mount a spring offensive against the build-up of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, a report in the New York Times said as recently as last week.
But the attacks haven’t stopped. If anything they have become even more brazen, with the Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore earlier this month and then Monday’s rampage through a police academy, again in Lahore. Between these two major attacks, there has a been suicide bombing in a mosque in the northwest near the Afghan border, a car bombing outside Peshawar and a blast in Rawalpindi, turning March into one of the bloodiest months in recent times.
And on Tuesday, Pakistani Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in a rather rare move, claimed responsibiity for the storming of the police training centre in Lahore, destroying whatever was left of Mullah Omar’s reported calls for cooling off in Pakistan.
Is Mehsud going off-message ? Or is he setting another course?
Mehsud told a Reuters reporter that the attack on the police academy was to avenge U.S. missile strikes by unmanned aircraft. These Predator drone raids have been focused on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) including South Waziristan, his base. According to U.S. army officials these attacks have taken a toll, accounting for a significant number of senior al Qaeda figures.
Mehsud has threatened more attacks, including in Washington which last week announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his location or arrest. So what really is behind the stepped up attacks inside Pakistan? Are the Pakistani Taliban, an off-spring of the Afghan Taliban, falling instead into an ever deeper thrall of al Qaeda?
By most assessments, Al Qaeda is encouraging a Taliban insurgency in Pakistani tribal lands bordering Afghanistan, and seeking to destabilise the Muslim nation of 170 million people. But these attacks have taken place in Lahore deep in Punjab, which is really the heart of the Pakistani establishment.
And they come just as U.S. President Barack Obama has made Pakistan the central front in his war on Islamist militancy in the region, prompting some to wonder if the militants’ game plan is to draw the U.S. deeper into Pakistan.
Monday’s attack in the Punjab capital should prompt concern about the internal stability of Pakistan, writes Nathan Hodge in Danger Room, pointing out it came less than a month after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in the same city.
“While Pakistani forces marked the recapture of the facility with celebratory gunfire, a serious question looms: Could the United States become more directly embroiled in Pakistan’s internal affairs?”
Obama told an interviewer over the weekend that there were no plans to deploy combat troops inside Pakistan in the hunt for al Qaeda.
U.S. strategy in Pakistan is supposed to centre on a significant boost in civilian aid, along with continued military assistance and the occasional U.S. drone attack. “But when you say you’re going after al Qaeda and its allies in the region, you are potentially expanding the roster of militant groups on the “to do” list,” Hodge says.
[Photos of police with a suspected militant involved in Lahore police centre attack and an Afghan refugee protester outside a conference on Afghanistan at The Hague]
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To Aamir Ali:
@f US can waste $1 trillion in Iraq and hundreds of billions in Afghanistan, it can send some dollars to Pakistan as well.
-There is one thing that no one can take from an indsividual even if poor—self respect. Please have some. 60 yrs since birth and still begging. Buddy, there is not money plant forest in US.
@At least in Pakistan’s case it is getting valuable cooperation in war on terror,
-Really! Siphoning off the money to Taliban and Pakistani Punjabi terrorists to trouble Kashmiris and Indians and spending money on planes but not buying night vision goggles from opem market in Peshawar. The world is watching you very closely now.
@a war Americans themselves helped create by promoting and funding Afghan jihad of the 1990’s”
- Posted by rajeev-If you had spine you could have said BIG NO, rather than helping them for $$$$$$$. Go read history–it was not 1990s.
Baluchistan- Naa Insafi Kaa Tadarak, An Article on a Burning issue of Pakistan
Dear Fellows
The latest Article of Mohammad Khalid Rana (President of Pakistan Thinker
Forum) is Published on Voice of People (www.VofP.pk ).You may click the following link
http://www.vofp.pk/cms/?p=1296
to read the Article An Article on a Burning issue of Pakistan
Baluchistan- Naa Insafi Kaa Tadarak
Regards
- Posted by Saeed Javed MughalHey if the Indians had not stolen Kashmir in 1948, there would be no problem in South Asia today. Similarly if the Indians had not supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and then later different factions of Mujahideen forces, there would be much less problems today.
If US can waste $1 trillion in Iraq and hundreds of billions in Afghanistan, it can send some dollars to Pakistan as well. At least in Pakistan’s case it is getting valuable cooperation in war on terror, a war Americans themselves helped create by promoting and funding Afghan jihad of the 1990’s
Finally to the fellow from Sweden who is maligning Pakistan Army, go to hell.
- Posted by Aamir AliPakistan is going through a very trying time.
It is a country that lives in a part of the world where China, Russia and India were the neighborhood bullies.
With the rise of Al Qaeda and the tit for tat response of “take no prisoners” by the US, the whole neighborhood has gone bully whack.
Pakistan has been outflanked in its efforts to boost the Taliban and the Indian strategy has borne fruit with its allies aspiring to control Afghanistan.
The frontier province was always a no man’s land. Pakistan’s control consisted on having the tribal chiefs on her side. This could continue as long as Pakistan was the toughest kid on the bloc. The tribal chiefs have
taken on the Americans and no longer need to bow to Pakistan or anyone else. They now believe that they control their own destiny and Pakistan is nothing but a pet of the US.
While the US has announced billions in aid, it will go to waste. US Aid is channeled through consultants and corrupt politicians and by the time it gets to the target, its worth is no more than that of that piece of shrapnel that started as a million dollar cruise missile and now lies in between the blown out limbs of the unsuspecting as they slept in their two dollar mud
house.
Pakistan’s civil movement holds promise but it must not be directed not at fighting a battle that, by its continuation, will destroy the country. Its
energy must be channeled into efforts towards building a civil and just society in Pakistan.
The best that the US can do is not to send billions into Pakistan but by leaving Pakistan and letting Pakistanis and the frontier men run their own lives. The US and Pakistani bombing of the tribal areas destroys the
village where these fearless frontier men have dwelled for hundreds of years. Having lost their homes these proud angry mountain men, whose pride demands that every death be avenged, are descending to the valleys and
cities of Pakistan and exacting revenge. How can you convince them that it is wrong to brazenly kill innocent civilians when they themselves have witnessed the wholesale deaths of their innocent family members by unseen (cowardly) drones?
The people of Afghanistan did not consider the US its enemy, Al Qaeda did. By attacking an entire swath of Afghanistan, the US now has made an entire population its enemy and turned ordinary Afghanis (and now frontier
- Posted by Mani DevajPakistanis) into Taliban.
Umair Wrote:
“The B*stard pig from Sweden is calling names to Pakistan Army Generals”
Umair MIND YOUR LANGUAGE, Will you ?
- Posted by punjabiyaar@Rajeev
- Posted by rajeevPakistan is at war, our heroes are dying unsung. We want an end to this senseless war, so do those in America, Canada. With every single soldier lost, justify to their family that they died to protect freedom. People like Suleman Maniya are casuing insults.
- Posted by Umair
-Umair, I understand that. It is given soldiers are doing the job they are given. But are those soldiers not dying bec, of the short-term and long-term flawed policies of Pakistani Army/ISI/civil govt. Same thing as in Iraq war, US solidiers did the job they were given but Bush’s strategy was wrong. Since Zardari is not in control of Army, it is the Army who has to take the blame. In India, it will be the Indian politicians who will be blamed under such conditions. It is ur call, but I suggest if u care about soldiers life, u will Qn the army generals who decide.
Umair writes: “Pakistan is at war, our heroes are dying unsung. We want an end to this senseless war, so do those in America, Canada. With every single soldier lost, justify to their family that they died to protect freedom. People like Suleman Maniya are casuing insults.”
Pakistan has been at war with India ever since 1947. Unless you call it “peace time.” War by itself is senseless. So tell your jihadi brothers to drop their arms and go do farming. Yours are not the only soldiers dying. Every country has lost its soldiers. And you guys conveniently disowned your soldiers at Kargil, whom our soldiers buried with respect. Telling the truth does not become an insult.
- Posted by MauryanRajeev
- Posted by UmairPakistan is at war, our heroes are dying unsung. We want an end to this senseless war, so do those in America, Canada. With every single soldier lost, justify to their family that they died to protect freedom. People like Suleman Maniya are casuing insults.
Umair:
Your this drastic move of no eventual consequence against Suleman Maniya Goteborg Sweden is undoing LongMarch and raising questions on the real intent of Pakistan to move towards democracy where freedom of expression with a reason is allowed.
Obsession about RAW?
- Posted by rajeevAnd now who is obsessed.
umair
“Mazhar Abbas, general secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, who said in an interview with Sweden based Radio Gwank that such barbaric atrocities are common in Pakistan.”
—Send this also to your ‘military attache’
- Posted by anup-Embassy of Pakistan (add Attention: embassy of Global Terrorist, or else they’ll just ignore your mail as inconsequent ional )
Stockholm, Sweden
Karlavagen 65, 1st Floor
SE-114 49 STOCKHOLM
Tel +46-8-20 33 00
Fax +46-8-24 92 33
“Pakistan army has threatened newspapers their advertisements would be stopped if journalists on their staff won’t stop writing about missing Baloch schoolteacher Zarina Marri, 23.”
“Major General Athar Abbas, director-general of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a public relations arm of the armed forces of Pakistan said that Marri was captive in a military torture cell and being used as a sex slave and comfort women.”
Umair Says-
- Posted by anup“we Pakistanis salute our men and ‘women’ (Zarina Marri?) serving in the Armed forces for their resilience(whose?Zarina Marri’s?) and professionalism.(or r*peism?)”
The B*stard pig from Sweden is calling names to Pakistan Army Generals, while we Pakistanis salute our men and women serving in the Armed forces for their resilience and professionalism. Here is a video i would like to share with all you guys:
Wana Olives: Pakistan Army and its role in the war on terror
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayxBSd7Ob Ds
This award winning documentary is a testament to the will and bravery of the soldiers of the Pakistan Army, many of whom have sacrificed their lives.
The son of Pakistan Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen Shaheed(Martyred) Mushtaq Ahmed was my class fellow.
I saw a hand written card left on the grave of Major General Javed Sultan martyred in chopper crash in Waziristan. The card was by her daughter, innocent words, the writing told she was still school going girl.
We salute our fallen heroes, we salute the families, Islam says Shaheed never dies. All the martyrs are alive, we just cant see them.
End this war, bring our soldiers back from Waziristan. We are not the sand diggers of anyone, let the Americans fight with their enemies. this is not our war.
Pakistan Zindabad!
- Posted by UmairSuleman Maniya Goteborg Sweden
I am sending an email attention to the military attache, I am sure they would trace you and figure out if you have got anything to do with RAW.
Embassy of Pakistan
Stockholm, Sweden
Karlavagen 65, 1st Floor
SE-114 49 STOCKHOLM
Tel +46-8-20 33 00
Fax +46-8-24 92 33
http://www.PakistanEmbassy.se
- Posted by Umairinfo@pakistanembassy.se
consular@pakistanembassy.se
Suleiman maniya writes: “Pakistanis lets rise beyond ourselves and forget Kashmir because reflecting on it would imply 60 or more years of war!”
Bravo! Suleiman, I am not saying this because I am an Indian. War is not worth it. It is good to have a military and weapons. But that’s about it. Countries should focus on growth and compete on that front. Pakistan could easily have competed with India on IT. It was an American ally right from the start and could have exploited that relationship to bring American industries and research institutions, built relationships between American and Pakistani universities, modernized in every way and become like Taiwan. Your leaders missed such a golden opportunity. Pakistan could have had semiconductor fabs in Lahore, Karachi etc. If the Americans had poured money into Pakistan in the 60s and 70s, your country probably would have been protected like a NATO country. American missiles would have been kept in Pakistan, facing the USSR. And no one would have dared enter Afghanistan. India was mired in socialistic swamp during that time under Indira Gandhi and her cronies. They deliberately kept India socialistic and poor in order to keep power to themselves. India had no chance then and Pakistan had everything. But your generals went after weapons. Let us hope your people win this time and turn Pakistan around. But I am afraid that you have more people like Umair and Aamir Ali in your population.
Your leaders went blind trying to bully India. See how much contempt does? It is not too late.
- Posted by Mauryan@We should understand the problem. All these basta*d generals heading the security establishments n the government want to keep us in this state if flux.
- Posted by Suleman Maniya,Goteborg,Sweden
–Suleman Maniya, I have been reading ur posts. I think Pakistanis like you are doing a great favor to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris and all will progress because of this. But this is irrespective of ur views on Kashmir.
- Posted by rajeevI am flabbergasted by Umair’s comment.Do you work for the ISI or are you so lame!
- Posted by Suleman Maniya,Goteborg,SwedenWe should understand the problem. All these basta*d generals heading the security establishments n the government want to keep us in this state if flux.
We need to rid ourselves of this excess baggage and fight the Taliban and the militancy causing insecurity all around.I am a realist.We have fought India more than 3 times and we think we can get Kashmir. This is what the army makes us believe and yet each time they have conceded more land. All I am advocating is to put an end to all such warfare and let both the nations forget this issue.I think Pakistan for one should do this.Open the borders with India even if they dont reciprocate( I am sure they will) and then people to people contact will clear the misunderstanding. We need to finish this proxy war first because it is bleeding us. Therefore resources can be directed to where they are needed.The military,elite etc have other ideas.They detest progress and love the status quo. Pakistanis lets rise beyond ourselves and forget Kashmir because reflecting on it would imply 60 or more years of war! Lets avoid deja vu!!
Pakistan has got to realize that the bigger threat is the Taliban and it’s fundamentalist views. However, in seeking an alliance with Pakistan against terrorists, America is courting a Muslim nation whose military is fixated on India.
I have a feeling that THIS is what the Pakistani Elite want:
USA to help solve the Kashmir problem. For USA to put pressure on India to leave Kashmir, then Pakistanis would gladly help USA against Taleban.
Its more like a typical tendency to link every problem in the world to the Kashmir issue. It sounds like this: if you don’t help Pakistan in Kashmir we will keep hurting ourselves and may even shoot ourselves in head. So, the USA should help Pakistan gain Kashmir when the same groups it used against India are now attacking Pakistan.
Yet Pakistan and the Taliban have made themselves the greatest existential threat to the United States, NATO, Europe and the world at large.
- Posted by bulletfishAn analogy of Pakistan today is that of a human body parts of which are cancerous. Whether the healthy cells can overcome the cancerous cells is for the healthy ones to decide. After using and harbouring terrorist groups against others it sounds hollow to claim victim status. Pakistani establishment has become past master at manipulating Americans to milk them of dollars. This is why the tribal areas and Afghanistan will remain forever disturbed. Pakistan has become a bottomless pit for American dollars. Naive Americans are only throwing good money after bad. If Pakistan self-destructs then contingency plans of USA, India and Israel must be already in place to prevent the strategic nuclear assets from going toxic.
- Posted by Manu