Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) targeting a convoy of the Frontier Corps (FC) !eft at least two soldiers dead and 14 wounded in North Waziristan Agency on September 26 while it was on its way to Sheva from Spinwam, reported Daily Times, quoting an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) official. “It was a remote-con-trolled device and the target was a military convoy,” a security official in Miranshah said.
Two Policemen sustained injuries in a remote-controlled bomb blast targeting a Police van of Saddar Police Station in Shadikhel area of Kohat District on September 29, reported Daily Times. According to the Police, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) targeted a Police van while it was on a routine patrol.
A suspected militant was killed while trying to plant a bomb in an oil tin in Badhaber area of Peshawar on October 2, reports Daily Times. The explosion occurred in Badhaber graveyard killing the man on the spot. Police rushed to the area and defused another bomb in the vicinity and started investigation.
A teenage boy, identified as Jalaluddin, was killed and around 15 people, including four Policemen, were injured in a bomb blast targeting a Police check post on Double Road in Quetta on October 8, reported Daily Times. According to Police sources, a bomb attached to a bicycle on Double Road exploded outside Urban Planning and Development Office. As a result, 16 people were injured, including four Policemen. Later, a Jalaluddin succumbed to his injuries. United Baloch Army (UBA) claimed responsibility for the attack. UBA spokesman Mazar Baloch telephoned news organisations from an undisclosed location and claimed the responsibility.
As many as 11 persons were killed and 21 others sustained critical injuries in a bomb blast on Nishtar Road in Sibi town of the same District in Balochistan on October 11, reports Daily Times. According to Police, a bomb was planted in a rickshaw parked on the road outside a hotel. “It was a remote-controlled blast in which nine people were killed and 22 wounded,” Sibi Deputy Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Jamali said. “Around 20 to 25 kg of explo-sives were used in the blast,” District Police Officer (DPO) Ghulam Lashari said, adding that the area was crowded and people were taking tea in main bazaar when the blast occurred.
Separately, three Security Force personnel were killed and five others sustained injuries in a landmine blast in Borbaj area of Dera Bugti District. According to sources, the landmine hit a vehicle carrying security personnel who were tasked with distributing ration among their colleagues. Three of the security men were killed and five others sustained injuries.
A car-bomb attack killed 18 civilians and injured 40 others in Darra Adam Khel tribal region in south of Peshawar on October 13, reports Daily Times. The bomber targeted headquarters of pro-Government peace body opposing Taliban-linked militancy. It was a vehicle-borne suicide attack which left 34 shops and seven vehicles destroyed.
A 13-year-old boy was seriously injured when explosive device went off in Hilalkhel area of Charming in Bajaur Agency on October 15, reports Dawn. Local sources said that some boys were playing in a field when an explosive device planted by militants exploded, seriously injuring Usman.
Targeted Killings
At least 12 more persons, including two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists and a Policeman, were shot dead in target killing incidents in Karachi on September 26, reported Daily Times.
At least 11persons, including two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader, and a cadre of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jama’at (ASWJ), were killed in different parts of Karachi on September 27, reported The News. An activist of MQM Union Council (UC)-3, Muhammad Moeen (25), was shot dead by two armed assailants out-side his shop near the Taji Wala Chowk in the Qazi Bazaar of the Kharadar Police limits.
A Shia man, identified as Ghulam Shaki, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants at a shop in Langove Plaza in Double Road area of Quetta on September 27, reported Daily Times. He worked for Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP). He was the second GSP employee killed in consecutive two days. Separately, another Shia man, identified as Gulab Shah, was shot dead at a photocopy shop in Goal Masjid area of Satellite Town in Quetta.
At, least 16 persons, including political workers and gangsters, were killed in separate acts of target killing and bomb blast in two separate Districts of Sindh province on August 28 and August 29, reports Daily Times. Three alleged gangsters, identified as Fida Baloch, Khalil Baloch and Imam Baloch, were killed in encounter with Police in Malir City. Police also recovered two Kalashnikovs and a repeater was also found from their possession.. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar said that deceased were wanted gangsters.
Two top Police officials, identi-fied as Pir Maqsood, Deputy Jail Superintendent and Abdul Razzak, Assistant Jail Superintendent, were shot dead in an act of target killing near NIPA Chowrangi under Gulshan-e-lqbal Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, on September 29, reported Daily Times.
Unidentified armed militants shot dead Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) provincial leader, Qadir Zehri, along with his two bodyguards in Hub on Sakran Road in Quetta on September 30, reports Daily Times.
Six persons, including two activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were shot dead in separate acts of violence in Karachi on October 1, reported Daily Times. A former unit in-charge of MQM, identified as Akhter Hussain Shah (40), was shot dead at Hangorabad in Lyari within the precincts of Kalri Police Station. Unidentified armed militants shot dead a member of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) and tribal leader Karm Khan Marri while he was travelling on Khuzdar Road in Khuzdar District on October 2, reported Daily Times.
Three tortured bullet-riddled dead bodies of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists were found from various parts of Karachi on October 3, reports The News. Two dead bodies were identified as that of Farhan Shah and Abid Awan, were found near a gutter that passes through the Old Haji Camp area in Napier. Investigators said both the victims had been abducted on October 2, 2012, and that their murder was a targeted killing.
Separately, the body of Sheikh Arif Ahmed was found in Jamshed Quarters on main Nishtar Road. Ahmed was an active member at MQM’s Liaquatabad Sector office. Investigations revealed that Ahmed was abducted from outside his residence in Iliyas Goth on October 2, 2012.
Three persons, including an activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and an active cadre of Sunni Tehreek (ST), were shot dead in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on October 5, reported Daily Times. A bullet-riddled dead body of an MQM activist, identified Ameen Ahmed was found from Moosa Lane in Lyari. SHO Sanaullah said unidentified culprits kidnapped the victim on October 4, 2012 and later threw his body in an abandoned place.
Separately, another man, identified as Atif was shot dead in his shop at Golimar roundabout within the jurisdiction of Rizvia Police Station. A Police official said that the deceased had no affiliation with any religious or political party, while it seemed that he was killed over refusal to pay extortion money.
In another incident, a cadre of ST as well as Dawat-e-Islami, identified as Fida Ali was shot dead in Landhi within the limits of Landhi Police Station.
Five persons, including a Shia man and a cadre of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal-Jama’at (ASWJ), was killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi on October 8, reported Daily Times. In the first incident, a Shia man, identified as Qamber Naqvi associ-ated with Majlis Wandat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) was shot dead in a sectarian attack at an inquiry office in Nazimabad within the precincts of Rizvia Police Station. Separately, a man, identified as Zahid was killed at Bengali Morr area within the jurisdic-tion of Gulshan-e-Maymar Police Station while he was on his way to home after closure of his shop in the same area. In another incident, a Bengali man, identified as Anwar Hussain was shot dead at Bawani Chali, SITE within the limits of SITE-A Police Station.
At least seven persons, including an activist of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and a Policeman, were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi on October 10, reported Daily Times.
Six persons, including a Policeman and a freelance lawyer, were killed in separate acts of tar-geted killing in Karachi on October 11, reports Daily Times. A Policeman was shot dead near his house at Kanwari colony within the precincts of Pirabad Police Station in Manghopir. The victim was identified as 45-year-old Shahjahan, son of Yousuf. The deceased, father of four children, was living in the same area and hailed from Hazara. The slain officer was posted at Manghopir Police Station. It is pertinent to mention here that in last few months, at least a dozen of police officials, including CID personnel, were shot and killed in targeted attacks in Pirabad and Manghopir areas.
Separately, two men were shot dead outside their house at Block S in North Nazimabad in Karachi. Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Tariq said that at least two armed pillion riders opened indiscriminate fire at people, sitting at the area. Resultantly, Abdul Rauf, son of Akhter, and Umair, son of Naeem, received multiple bullet injuries. Rauf, a freelance lawyer, was the father of three children and hailed from Gujranwala of Punjab, while Umair was unmar-ried and used to work in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
Meanwhile, a man was shot dead at New Muzaffarabad colony within the jurisdiction of Quaidabad Police Station. SHO Aman Ullah Marwat said that at least three armed riders shot and killed Abdul Qayum (40) and escaped after com-mitting the crime. He said that the deceased hailing from Swat had reached Karachi three days back. Similarly, another man was killed at Jinnah Bridge within the jurisdiction of Baghdadi Police Station. A police official said that Faizan was on his way to work when unidentified armed riders shot him dead.
Further, a man was shot dead at UP Morr within the limits of New Karachi Police Station. SHO Nasir Bukhari said that two armed riders shot and killed a motorcyclist, Syed Ejaz Haider Rizvi.m He said that deceased was a schoolteacher in Al-Murtaza School.
At least four unidentified dead bodies bagged in gunnysacks were found from two different areas of Karachi on the night of October 12, reported The News. Two bodies were found lying near Custom House, while the other two were picked up from Lyari’s Musa Lane area. Police, after examining the bodies, surmised the obvious that the victims were abducted, tortured, shot dead, trussed, and bagged in the sacks before their killers send them rolling down the road from a moving vehicle.
Four members of the Hazara community were shot dead in a sectarian attack in the Kabari Market scrap market of Quetta on October 16, reports The Express Tribune. All those killed ran junk and scrap shops in the area. “It was a sectarian attack. Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on them and drove away,” Asif Ghafoor, a Senior Police Official said.
In another incident, two labourers were killed in a firing incident in Turbat District, reports Daily Times.
At least five persons, including a Policeman, were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on October 17, reported The News. A Shia man, identified as Ali Raza, was shot dead near lmambargah (Shia place of religious gathering) in Qasba Colony.
Separately, an employee of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), identified as Shafqat Nasir, was shot dead in Shadman Town.
In another incident, unidentified militants opened fire on two Policemen, resultantly killing one, identified as Mehram Ali, and injuring another in Federal B Industrial Area.
Elsewhere, an unidentified dead body was found from University Road near Nishtar Basti.
Another unidentified dead body was found from Nagan Chowrangi.
Three Awami National Party (ANP) workers were shot dead in Par Hoti area of Mardan District on October 17, reports Dawn. Locals said unidentified armed militants opened fire on one Omar, his brother Farman and two associates, including Bilal Khattak, resul-tantly killing three of them and critically injuring Khattak.
Abductions/Ambush
A Policeman was killed and another injured when unidentified militants attacked a Police mobile in Wari area of Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on September 30, reports Daily Times. According to details, militants ambushed the Police van while it was on a routine patrol in Wari area. As a result, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Ameenur Rehman was killed and constable Ziauddin received injuries.
Miscellaneous
Five militants and a security official belonging to the 33 Baloch Regiment were killed when Tehreek-e-Taliban. Paksitan attacked a security checkpost in the Kadakard area of Upper Dir District on September 27, reported Daily Times. According to sources, the checkpost was attacked by a large number of TTP militants late on September 26, 2012. The clash between them continued till September 27, resulting in death of a security official and five militants.
Separately, unidentified armed assailants opened fire on one Haji Ahmed Nawaz and Malak Ghulam Shabir at Kala Gorh area within the jurisdiction of Paharpur Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan District killing them on the spot, reports Dawn.
Eleven Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants, three Security Force personnel and a member of Salarzai Qaumi lashkar (cpmmunity militia) were killed and several others injured as fighting intensified in Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency on August 28, reports Dawn. Sources said that fierce clashes between Security Forces and TTP have taken place in several areas of Salarzai tehsil in which both sides used heavy weapons.
At least 14 militants were killed and several others injured during an operation by Security Forces in different areas of the Orakzai Agency on September 29, reported Daily Times. Four hideouts of the militants were also destroyed in the operation.
Three militants, among them a `commander’, were killed and nine others injured when militants of Lashkar-e-lslam clashed with the militants of pro-Government out-fit Tawheedul Islam (TI) in the Zakhakhel bazaar area of Khyber Agency on September 30, reports Dawn. According to sources, the clash took place when the LI mili-tants attacked the positions of TI in Bhango Darra area of Zaoddin to reopen a supply line blocked by the latter a few days ago. The clash continued for hours, leaving two LI activists and a TI commander, iden-tified as Sajid alias Shahjee, dead. Nine TI men were also injured. The sources added that LI militants torched two houses belonging to their opponents and captured a bunker in Zaoddin area.
At least seven militants were killed as troops retaliated after a landmine blast killed a security officer in the Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency on October 1, reports Central Asia Online. Sources said one security officer was killed and two others were injured by the roadside blast in the Mamozai area. The security team had been on a routine patrol when their vehicle was attacked. Other Security Forces responded to the attack by using heavy artillery fire on suspected militant hideouts, killing at least seven militants and destroying two hideouts.
Separately, at least four militants were killed when a United States (US) drone fired four missiles targeting a vehicle in Khwaidadkhel area of Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) in North Waziristan Agency, reported Daily Times.
Three security men were injured in a blast near Gora Parai check-post in Baizai tehsil (revenue unit) of Mohmand Agency on October 3, reports Dawn. Sources said that security personnel were on routine patrol when the explosive device planted along the road went off.
Two Police constables, Sharafat and Fakhar Zaman, were killed on the spot in a firing attack on Sabzi mandi checkpost on Dera-Bannu Road within the jurisdiction of Mandan Police Station in Bannu District on October 8, reported Dawn. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It is the sixth such attack on Bannu Police.
Six militants of Lashkar-e-lslam (LI) and their ‘commander’ Khan Mohammad were killed when a bomb exploded in a bunker they had occupied after a clash with their rival outfit Tawheedul Islam (TI) in Sipah area of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency on October 9, reports Dawn.
Separately, bullet-riddled bodies of seven TI militants were found in a drain in Sipah area. There were marks of torture on the bodies. The TI militants had been abdcuted from Zakhakhel Bazaar area a week ago.
Two children were killed and one was seriously injured in a hand grenade blast on October 9 in College Town area of Kohat, reports Central Asia Online. The children were playing with a hand grenade when it exploded in Street No. 13 of the College Town area. The dead were identified as Tahir and Zakir and the survivor as Reshma Bibi. Separately, two unidentified dead bodies were recovered from road-side at Gul Bela area in the jurisdiction of Dawoodzai Police in the out-skirts of Peshawar, reports Daily Times. Police said both the persons had been gunned down, while the bodies bore torture marks as well.
Six militants and two Security Force (SF) personnel were killed during a clash in Asma Manza area of Laddah tehsil (revenue unit) in South Waziristan Agency on October 12, reports Dawn. The militants attacked the Security Forces’ check-post in the Asma Manza area at 5am, killing two SF personnel. The troops retaliated and killed six militants and injuring some others. The report conflicted with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claims to have killed more than 15 soldiers.
Meanwhile, three Shia students, including a girl who was identified as Nabila, were injured when the vehicle carrying them from Kohat to Parachinar comes under militants’ attack near Durrani area in Kurram Agency, reports Daily Times. The girl Nabila said that they were returning from Kohat University to their native areas after appearing in viva exams for their master’s degree. The militants intercepted the vehicle and opened fire when it was near Durrani area. They then threw acid on the students. On October 9, three Shias were injured, when militants opened fire at a passenger vehicle in Lower Kurram.
A policeman was shot dead out-side a mosque during Friday prayer in Bakhshi Pul area on Charsadda Road of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 12, reports Dawn. A spokesman for Police said Hukam Khan, an official of the Special Police Force, was doing his duty at Abu Bakar Masjid in Bakhshi Pul area during Friday prayer when two unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle showed up and opened fire on him.
Police, on Oct 17 repulsed a militant attack on their checkpost in Mashogagar area on the outskirts of Peshawar. An official of Badbher Police Station said several militants armed with rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs attacked the post but they had to flee after police opened fire on them. He said militants came to the post from the nearby Khyber Agency. Deputy Chief of Adezai Qaumi Lashkar Fazal Malik claimed, “They (attackers) belonged to Peshawar but shifted to tribal regions with families after Security Forces destroyed their houses a few years ago”.
Elsewhere, unidentified armed militants abducted an employee of FATA Health Department, Usman Kundi, also a cousin of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi from the Shah Alam area of Tank District, reports Daily Times.
PAKISTAN
Bomb hoax creates panic in Punjab
A bomb hoax created panic among employees of various offices situated near Kalma Chowk in Multan District on September 26, reports Daily Times. According to Chehlic Police, locals informed the Police that an unclaimed bag lay near the State Bank building, a hub of several departments, including PCGA, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, APP office, Arts Council, Rescue 1122 and other offices. Later, the Civil Defence cleared the site.
TTP removes from its “hit list”, federal minister for Railways
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on September 26 said they have removed Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour from their “hit list” after he offered USD100, 000 for the killing of the filmmaker who produced the anti-Islam movie, reports Daily Times. “We have totally forgiven him and removed his name from our hit list,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told the media in a phone call from an undisclosed location. Ehsan said that Taliban Shura had met on September 25, 2012 and “praised Bilour for his sacrifice”. “The Shura paid rich tributes to Bilour and endorsed his bounty announcement,” he said.
US believes it has Pakistan’s tacit consent for drone attacks, reveals WSJ
About once a month, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sends a fax to a General at Pakistan’s Intelligence Service outlining broad areas where the United States (US) intends to conduct strikes with drone air-craft, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying on September 26, reports Daily Times. The Pakistanis, who in public oppose the programme, don’t respond. On this basis, plus the fact that Pakistan continues to clear airspace in the targeted areas, the US Government concludes it has tacit consent to con-duct strikes within the borders of a sovereign nation, according to officials familiar with the programme. However, representatives of the White House’s National Security Council and CIA declined to discuss Pakistani consent, saying such information was classified.
Separately, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, lmran Khan on September 26 accused the Government of hypocrisy, saying on one hand it condemns drone attacks and on the other it is working in collusion with the US, reports The News. “The investigative report of the American University has proved that 90 percent of the victims falling prey to drone strikes are innocents,” lmran Khan observed while talking to media persons.
Former Balochistan CM and President BNP, Akhtar Mengal submits six point plan on forced disappearances
After having remained silent during three years of self-imposed exile, President of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Balochistan’s former Chief Minister Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal spoke in the Supreme Court on September 27 and described enforced disap-pearances as the real cause of the current unrest in Balochistan, reports Dawn. “Why should not we divorce peacefully rather than seeking for a bloody divorce if the rulers have decided to keep on giving us mutilated dead bodies,” Sardar Mengal said.
The bench comprising Chief Justice lftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain had taken up a petition of former President of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association Hadi Shakeel on the law and order situation, target killings, kidnappings for ransom and missing persons in the province. The court indicated to close the present proceedings and issue a binding injunction asking a responsible senior officer to recover all missing persons.
Sardar Mengal also presented a six-point charter and said it was imperative for the Government to take practical steps to implement the measures to create an appropri-ate atmosphere for Baloch reconciliation process and initiate a meaningful process of conflict resolution. According to the charter, all covert and overt military operations against Baloch people should be ended immediately all missing persons should be procured before a court of law all proxy “death squads” operating in a manner like Al Shams and Al Badar operated (in Bangladesh) allegedly under the supervision of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) should be disbanded Baloch political parties should be allowed to function and resume their political activities with-out any interference from intelligence agencies persons responsible for inhuman torture, killing and dumping of bodies of Baloch political leaders and activists should be brought to justice and measures should be initiated for rehabilitation of thousands of displaced Baloch living in appalling condition.
Journalist killed in Khuzdar
Unidentified militants shot dead Abdul Haq, the general secretary of Khuzdar Press Club, in Khuzdar District (Balochistan) on September 29, reported Daily Times. Abdul Hafiz, a constable of Khuzdar Police Station said Haq was reportedly on his way home from the press club when the militants attacked him. He was targeted near Khuzdar Post Office.
Two persons killed in NATO firing incident in Balochistan.
Two Pakistanis, identified as Noor Muhammad and Abdul Ghafoor, were killed in an alleged incident of firing by NATO forces near Pak-Afghan border in Chaghai District of Balochistan on October 1, reported Daily Times. According to sources, the victims had crossed the Afghan territory for bringing fire-wood and were on their way back when NATO forces allegedly opened fire on their vehicle. As a result, both victims sustained serious injuries and died immediately.
Terror follows FATA migrants to Rawalpindi district in Punjab
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on October 3 informed the Punjab Government that some families who left the militancy-hit Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and took up residence in Rawalpindi District of Punjab have received extortion threats, allegedly from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, reports Dawn. Officials in the know of the communication say the threats are delivered to better off over telephone or through ‘chits’, demanding large sums of money, or ‘valuable articles’ meaning jewellery, or ‘assistance’ to their operatives — at the pain of kid-napping or other harm.
According to the officials, the money raised by the militants through criminality goes to finance their terror apparatus as Governments at home and abroad have put strict checks on the flow of funds to banned outfits through charity and other sources. In its communication to the Punjab Government, the CTD identified at least eight such wealthy families residing in Naseerabad, Chah Sultan and Chowki Hameeda locali-ties of the garrison city that had paid extortion money.
Six militants and one soldier killed in cross border attack in FATA
Six militants and one soldier were killed in exchange of fire when militants from Afghanistan side attacked a border security post in Gursal area in Mohmand Agency of FATA on October 5, reports Dawn. Sources said that a group of militants attacked Mohmand Rifles border post in Gursal area with heavy and light weapons from across the Afghan border near the posts manned by Afghan troops. Security Forces (SFs) retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for over an hour. As a result, Naib Subedar Umar Daraz Khattak was killed while Naik Sher Aslam Khattak and sepoy Sabiullah received injuries. Official sources claimed that six militants were killed in the exchange of fire. SFs took into custody body of an unknown militant along with three Kalashnikovs and one anti-tank gun from the site of the incident. However, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan central ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan phoned media persons from unknown location and claimed that 17 security personnel were killed and as many injured in the attack.
Two TTP suicide bombers killed in KP
Two Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan suicide bombers were killed in Sarkadna of Hangu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 5, when bombs they were carrying exploded prematurely, reports Daily Times. Hangu District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Niaz Saeed Ahmad said the two suicide bombers were killed outside the house of rival TTP ‘commander’ Maulana Nabi Hanfi at Sarakdna. The house was completely destroyed, Police said, adding that parts of their bodies have been found.
Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as Abu Siyaf, ‘spokesperson’ for the Nabi Hanfi-led militant group, claimed that their men opened fire on the bomber as he entered the building and his suicide vest went off. He added that their men remained unhurt in the blast.
On the contrary, talking to reporters from an undisclosed location by phone, the TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan responsibility for the attack stressed that the bomber first killed 15 men of the Nabi Hanfi group in the building before blowing himself up. He said the TTP would continue its efforts to eliminate all the members of the Nabi Hanfi group.
TTP shoot award winning children’s rights activist, Malala
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan shot award winning children’s rights activist Malala Yousufzai in the head on her school bus in Mingora, the headquarter of Swat District on October 9 to avenge her campaigns for the right to education in the militants’ former stronghold of Swat, reports Daily Times. Police said two other girls were also injured in the attack on Malala’s school bus. Malala was airlifted to Peshawar where she was admitted to intensive neuro-care ward of a military hospital, said a military official. Doctors at the Saidu Sharif Medical Complex in Mingora, where she received initial treatment, said the bullet penetrated her skull but missed her brain, and she was out of danger. Malala won international recognition for highlighting TTP atrocities in Swat with a blog for the BBC three years ago. Her struggle resonated with tens of thousands of girls who were being denied education by militants across northwest Pakistan, where the Government has been fighting Swat TTP since 2007. She received the first-ever national peace award from the Pakistani Government last year, and was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by advocacy group Kids Rights Foundation in 2011.
Meanwhile, TTP claimed responsibility of an attack on Malala Yousufzai, reports The News. TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan said his group was behind the shooting. “We carried out this attack,” spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location. “Anybody who speaks against us will be attacked in the same way.” “She was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her idol,” Ehsan said by telephone from an undisclosed location. “She was young but she was promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas,” he added.
Further, TTP said that they will target her again if she survives because she was a “secular-minded lady”, reports The Express Tribune. This was a warning for all youngsters who were involved in similar activites and added that they will be targeted if they do not stop.
Separately, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information, Mian lftikhar Hussain saidthat Malala Yousufzai was attacked for her dynamic role towards promoting peace and obtainment of education and that it is high time a crackdown on TTP be launched in North Waziristan and other parts of Pakistan, reports The News. “It is high time a crackdown on terrorist elements be launched in Waziristan and signals for such an action have also been made by the Federation,” he asserted, adding Pakistan, NATO, US and Afghanistan will have to launch a joint offensive for stamping out terrorism from the region.
Suspected militants abduct ex-military intelligence officer after killing his driver in Islamabad
Suspected militants abducted a retired military intelligence officer a few hundred metres away from his house in the Defence Housing Authority residential colony on October 11-morning, after shooting dead his driver who resisted the attempt, reports Dawn. Brigadier (retired) Tahir Masood was being driven to his office from his house in the Defence Housing Authority residential colony when four gunmen in a Honda car blocked his Prado and abducted the brigadier, killing the driver, who tries to resist. Police said Brigadier Masood had entered property business after retirement. But the exact nature of his job could not be ascertained. Police quoted a security guard, who witnessed the incident, as saying that the silver Honda intercepted the former army officer’s vehicle on the main road inside Block-H of DHA Phase II.
50 Muslim scholars issue fatwa against TTP
At least 50 Islamic scholars belonging to ‘Sunni Ittehad Council’ on October 11 declared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s attack on Pakistani children’s rights activist Malala Yousufzai as un-Islamic, reports Dawn. The scholars issued a combined fatwa’ (Islamic ruling) in Lahore which said that the TTP’s interpretation of Islam was incorrect and was deviant from the actual interpretation of the Shariah. Sunni Ittehad Council representsBarelvi sect’ of Islam which is influenced by Sufism and defends the traditional Sufi practices from the criticisms of Islamic movements like the Deobandr, ‘Wahhabi’ and Ahl al-Hadith’. The fatwa added that TTP were misguided and their mindset was driven by ignorance. “Islam does not stop women from acquiring education and by attacking Malala the Taliban have crossed the limits of Islam,” the fatwa added.
The banned militant organisation TTP had issued a statement on October 10, using Islamic Shariah to defend the attack. TTP had said that although they do not believe in attacking women, “whom so ever leads a campaign against Islam and Shariah is ordered to be killed by Shariah.” TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan had argued that it is “not just allowed … but obligatory in Islam” to kill such a person involved “in leading a campaign against Shariah and (who) tries to involve whole community in such campaign, and that personality becomes a symbol of anti-Shariah campaign.”
Judiciary will be content when law and order is restored in the country, says Chief Justice of Pakistan
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on October 11 said the judiciary would be content when law and order was restored in the country and the killers of innocent people were arrested and cases were registered against them, reports Daily Times. He, however, said nobody was safe here. The chief justice made the remark during the hearing of a petition on the law and order situation and human rights violations in Balochistan, at the Supreme Court’s Quetta Registry. SM Zafar, the lawyer for the Frontier Corps (FC), continued his arguments in the apex court on the fourth day of the hearing and said that sitting in the court, he had got the impression that the Government of Balochistan had failed to maintain law and order in the province, adding that when a Government failed to maintain law and order, the anti-state elements and different gangs raise their heads.
LeJ Sindh Chapter chief arrested from Karachi
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Karachi Police disclosed that they arrested the ameer (Chief) of the Sindh Chapter of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Hafiz Qasim Rasheed from Patel Para area of Karachi on October 17, reports Daily Times. Addressing a press conference, Additional Inspector General (IG) CID Ghulam Shabbir said that Rasheed, carrying head money of PKR 500,000, was involved in the targeted killings of doctors, lawyers and politicians. The AIG said that the accused was involved in 100 targeted killings, adding that a pistol, Kalashnikov and a hand grenade were recovered from his custody.
The News added that while blatantly confessing to his crimes, Rasheed said that he and his associates would continue killing people belonging to a certain sect. “When they stop, we will lay down our arms.” He boastfully claimed that he had killed 30 or 35 people in the last two months.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh —Internal Dynamics
JMB leader arrested in Rajshahi
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested an aide to Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) second-in-command Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai at Baghmara sub-District in Rajshahi District on September 26, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee was identified as Abdul Kuddus (44) an alleged collaborator of the Pakistani occupation forces during the country’s Liberation War. RAB said Kuddus is accused in five cases including murder and extortion charges.
7 militants arrested in BD
Four cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) were arrested from Sylhet District on October 12 for giving threat to Awami League (AL) lawmaker Md Abu Zahir over the phone, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees were Al-Amin, Saddam Hossain, Motalib Miah and Ruhel Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the Police arrested three members of Hizb-ut Tawhid (HT) from Borachala area of Gazipur District on October 10, reports The New Age. The arrested persons are Shahidul Islam Shahid (22), Mehdi Hasan (28) and Nazma Mustakim (24). Police recovered three mobile phone sets, books and leaflets and one VSD from their possession.
JMB militant arrested in Rajshahi
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-5 on October 16 arrested a militant belonging to Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Nokhopara village in Bagmara upazila (Sub District) of Rajshahi, reports Daily Star. The arrested militant was iden-tified as Yaad Ali Mondol.
Two suspects arrested from different places
Two suspects were arrested in Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi Districts on October 16, reports UNBConnect. In Chapainawabganj District, Police arrested a cadre of Hizb-ut Tawhid (HT) from Central Bus Stand area while he was dis-tributing religious books and leaflets of his organization among local people. The arrestee was identified as Azizul Hague. In another incident, Police arrested a cadre of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the Rajshahi city of Rajshahi District. The officials of Rajshahi New Model Degree College caught Ehteshamul Bashir Ahmed while he was carrying out ‘suspicious’ campaign on the cam-pus in the morning. The youth, held with religious books and leaflets, was later handed over to Police.
Meanwhile, US Federal authorities on October 17 arrested a Bangladeshi man they said was plotting to blow up the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan, just blocks from the World Trade Center site, reports The Times of India. Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis (21) was arrested in a sting operation after he parked a van filled with what he believed were explosives outside the building and tried to detonate it in a suicide mission.
India — Internal Dynamics
ZUF-NSCN-IM clash leaves six dead and one injured in Manipur
Nagaland Post reports that a fierce gun battle between Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-lsak-Muivah cadres that erupted since September 25 evening has left six dead and injuring one civilian. However, identities of the deceased and the injured were not known. The incident sparked off inside a forest near Wairangba village in the interior Tamenglong District, Maipur. According to Manipur Police sources, NSCN-IM and ZUF with a combined force of other factions were involved in a fierce gunfight since September 25 evening till late night of September 26. Sources said casualties could go up.
PLIF cadres kill two people in Jharkhand
Two persons identified as Enu Ohdar (16) and Rajendra Singh (18), were killed allegedly by the cadres of People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, in Khunti District in Jharkhand on September 26, reports The Times of India. The PLFI cadres reportedly dragged out the duo from their homes at gunpoint and killed them at the village chowk in Gadsitam in the District. The cadres slit the throat of Ohdar and shot dead Singh. Khunti Superintendent of Police (SP) Amarnath Mishra confirmed the incident. “Enu Ohdar is the son of former PLFI member Manager Ohdar, who was recently released on bail and now lives in the village,” he said. Sources, however, said the boys were killed because they had refused to join the PLFI. “The rank and file of the PLFI was upset as Manager Ohdar had disassoci-ated himself from all rebel activities,” said a source.
Police arrest three arms dealers in Bihar
The Patna Police, acting on a tip-off, arrested three arms dealers from Patna and Nalanda District of Bihar on August 28, reports The Times of India. They allegedly used to sell arms to Communist Party of India-Maoist. One AK-56, one for-eign-made pistol and two .30 bore pistols along with some cartridges were recovered from their possession. Mantu Sharma alias Sanjay Singh alias Gendu Sharma (36) was arrested from his rented accommodation at New Bypass Road near Indira Nagar while on the basis of information provided by Sharma, the Police arrested two other arms dealers, Rakesh Singh (27) and Bablu Kumar (21) from the same area, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amrit Raj said.
Two policemen injured in Chhattisgarh
Two Policemen were injured when heavily-armed Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres opened fire on the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) camp located at Timmalwada village under Chintangufa Police Station in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on September 29, reported Hindustan Times.
Woman zilla parisad member killed by PLFI
Kalawati Devi zilla parishad (district level local self-Government institution) member and vice-president of the District Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s women’s wing was abducted from her home apparently for refusing to pay levy, and was subsequently killed by the cadres of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a break away faction of the Communist Party of India-Maoist in Gumla District on September 29, reported The Telegraph. The dead body of Kalawati was recovered from the roadside linking Naspura village with Palkot Police Station in the District. Sources in the Police said that a few weeks ago, the family refused to pay levy to the tune of INR 30,000 demanded by one Parmeshwar Gope, who had been sent to jail two years ago for alleged links with the PLFI.
Militant killed, policeman injured in Assam
Security Forces (SFs) on September 29 killed a militant belonging to Anti-Talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom at Bordumsa in Tinsukia District, reports Daily Pioneer. The encounter took place when a group of militants hurled a grenade on patrolling troopers. “In the explosion an Assam police constable was injured,” a top police official said. The militant was identified as Diganta Gogoi and SFs recovered one AK-81 assault rifle, three magazines and 40 rounds of live ammunition from him.
Two CRPF troopers shot
Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were on October 1 seriously injured after being shot at by the Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres during a combing operation in the forests of West Midnapore District, reports The Times of India. District Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Chowdhury said that joint Security Forces (SFs) were involved in a fierce gun battle with the Maoists in Goaltore area’s Metla forest since last night during which R L Reddy and Bijoy Mahalakshmi were shot at in the morning. Police suspect that some Maoists have also been injured in the exchange of gun fire.
Earlier, acting on a tip off, the Police arrested two top Maoist cadres, identified as Dinu Chalak and Toofan Mahato, during an anti Maoist drive in Jhargram area in West Midnapore District on September 30, reports in.news.yahoo.com. Superintendent of Police Bharati Ghosh said that both the Maoists had been booked in heinous crimes, including murder.
One person injured in grenade blast in Nagaland
Unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade at National Service Centre (NSC) in the 6th mile area of Dimapur District, injuring one person on October 1, reports Nagaland Post. According to eyewitnesses, two unidentified militants in a black color motorcycle arrived at the NSC gas filling station and lobbed a hand grenade injuring one of the workers and causing minor damages to the station.
Three persons killed in Manipur
The Sangai Express reports that a civilian, identified as Jaikalung (42), was killed in crossfire between a combined force of suspected Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang on one side and NSCN-Isak-Muivah cadres on the other at Tamenglong District headquarters at around 1.45 pm on October 2. Jaikalung (42) was killed while he was trying to herd the children playing at Model Village School ground to safe-ty when the firing began.
In another incident, a Police source claimed that a suspected militant cadre identified as one Thiyam Romenkumar alias Rome was killed during a ‘shoot-out’ with Imphal West commandos at Lamdeng Khunou Makha Leikai under Lamsang Police station in Imphal West District on October 2. One .9 mm pistol and two hand grenades were reportedly recovered from the encounter site. One of the hand grenades did not have a lever and it was hurled towards the commandos though it failed to explode. However, the family members of Rome alleged that he was picked up from home and was killed in a fake encounter.
Further, another suspected militant, identified as Sapam Ranjan, was slain in another reported encounter with Imphal West commandos at Takyel Khongbal, SAI road on October 1. He had reportedly joined Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup but came back home about a week ago.
Two CRPF troopers killed in West Bengal
Two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were shot dead by alleged cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist on October 1, in Metala forest of West Midnapore District, reports The Indian Express. They were identified as R N Mahato and Vijay Bhaskar. CRPF officials attributed the killings to a sudden Maoists attack. Vivek Sahai, Inspector General (IG), CRPF, said, “We were running a training camp in Metala forest.
Youth killed by suspected LWEs in Jharkhand
Manoj Mahto, a youth with links to several Left Wing Extremist (LWE) factions was picked by a group of unidentified men from his home at Kedli around 30km from Ranchi on October 2 and shot dead, reports The Telegraph.
Seven policemen injured in ambush in Manipur
The Telegraph reports that seven security escorts of Chandel superin-tendent of Police (SP), E. Priyokumar Singh, were injured when suspected militants ambushed the Police officer’s convoy along Imphal-Moreh road by exploding two bombs planted by the roadside at Khudengthabi near the border town of Moreh (Chandel District), about 100 kilometres from Imphal in the afternoon of October 4. Singh how-ever escaped unhurt. Official sources said the militants triggered the blasts when the SP’s convoy, comprising eight vehicles, was passing through the area while returning from Myanmar’s border town of Tamu, where an Indo-Myanmar border liaison officers’ meeting was being held. The meeting began October 3 and ended on October 4.
867 Police personnel killed on duty in India in 2011, according to National Crime Records Bureau
In 2011, 867 Police personnel across India were killed while on duty and 853 of them were from 28 States, according to statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau, as reported on October 12, by The Hindu. Of the seven Union Territories, only Delhi accounted for 14 casualties. In the year 2010, 872 police personnel were killed on duty.
Statistics also show that 671 of the deaths recorded in 2011 were in accidents and 132 in operations against terrorists and extremists and 12 were caused by mobs and 50 personnel were killed by criminals. The highest number of deaths-52, caused by operations against terrorist and extremist organisations was in the state of Chhattisgarh.
With 134 deaths, Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number of Police personnel killed while on duty in 2011. As many as 112 of these deaths were caused in accidents,15 by criminals and five by rioting mobs. There were 99 such deaths in Punjab, 94 of them in accidents, followed by Maharashtra with 90 and Chhattisgarh with 85.
In six States no Police personnel died while on duty — Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizorarri, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. In Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, all deaths were in accidents. Tamil Nadu came on top of the list with 83 deaths.
As many as 255 of those killed were in the 18-35 age group, 307 in the 35-45 group and 305 above 45. Four of them were of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or above, 67 of the ranks of inspector and sub-inspector and 796 in subordinate posts.
As many as 3,299 Police personnel were injured while on duty, 3,101 from the States and 198 from the Union Territories. The highest number of Police personnel to be injured while on duty was in Maharashtra, 716. The State was followed by Kerala with 515, West Bengal with 443 and Tamil Nadu with 278.
Mobs were responsible for the highest number of injuries, 1,884. In Maharasthra, 402 were injured during riot control and in Kerala the same reason accounted for 322 injuries. As many as 90 Policemen in the country were injured during operations against terrorists or extremists. These were mainly in Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra — 25, 22 and 22, respectively. The highest number of injuries caused by accidents was in Tamil Nadu, 155. Maharashtra followed with 139. While 2,822 serving Police personnel died natural deaths, 192 across the country committed suicide, the statistics show.
GNLA cadre and ex-cadre killed in skirmish in Meghalaya
A Garo National Liberation Army cadre and a surrendered cadre of the same outfit were killed on October 12, following a skirmish at Songsak Dikkagittim village in East Garo Hills District, reports The Telegraph. Sources said a group of around 11 cadres forcibly entered the residence of the surrendered GNLA cadre, Riknang A. Sangma alias Wanding. Riknang confronted the militants by using a dao (machete) and managed to kill one of the cadres identified as Babang, the ‘area commander’ of William-Nagar. While Riknang was engaged in the melee, a GNLA cadre shot him from behind, leading to his death.
Two police injured by Maoists
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres intercepted four trucks involved in road construction work and set ablaze in Surokhi village in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on October 14, reported Hindustan Times. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Police team was rushed to the area but as it neared the village, the Maoists attacked it, injuring two Police personnel, Police said. The security personnel retaliated, following which the Maoists escaped, the Police added.
One Assam Rifle injured in IED blast in Manipur
Kanglaonline reports that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast wounded Assam Rifle personnel, identified as Negi Vohra in a place between Khordak and Arong Nongmaikhong under Mayang Imphal Police Station in Imphal West District on October 15. The roadside bomb believed to have been planted by unidentified militants was set off as the foot patrol party of the Assam personnel crossed the area.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of the agreement reportedly reached between the Government of India and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah in the ongoing Naga peace process, the United Committee, Manipur (UCM) stated that it is ready to launch mass agitation more intense than the one launched in 2001 in case the State and Central Government take any decision against the interest of people of Manipur, reports The Sangai Express. In a statement issued on October 15, the UCM demanded the Central Government to come out clearly to the people of Manipur on certain special rights entitled to the Nagas in States of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh as mentioned in the report.
‘Three CRPF troopers killed
Three troopers of the 159 battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were reportedly killed and seven others injured, when Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), blast blowing an anti-landmine vehicle at Dumaria in Gaya District early on October 18, reports IBN Live. The CRPF troopers were reportedly returning after conducting a raid on a Maoist hideout. PTI adds that the incident occurred at 6:20am near Chakarbandha forests in Barha village of the District.
Maoists kill Congress leader
Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres killed a Congress leader at Reddygudem in Palvancha mandal (administrative unit) in Khammam District on October 16, reports The Hindu. Four Maoists went to the house of K. Venkat Reddy (45), also a former vice-sarpanch (deputy head of Panchayat, a village level local self-GoverInment institu-tion), and called him out. After holding a brief conversation over a land dispute Venkat Reddy had with a villager, the Maoists shot him dead. They left behind a letter at the incidents site in the name of the Badru dalam (armed squad) of the Kothaguda-Narsampet area.
Nepal — Internal Dynamics
Handing over govt leadership to NC would be suicidal
Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai on September 26 said that to hand over the Government leader-ship to Nepali Congress (NC) in the present circumstances will be ‘suicidal’, reports Nepal News. He claimed that if both the President and the Prime Minister are from NC then the party will postpone elections until the environment is conducive enough for it to win the elections.
Further, tourism minister and Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist secretary Post Bahadur Bogati on September 26 said his party was not ready to give Government leadership to the NC until the thorny issues of the new constitution were resolved.
Meanwhile, a meeting of five opposition parties on September 26 discussed the program of protests to be launched soon with the aim of unseating the present Government, reports myrepublica.com. Leaders of the NC, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Mohan Baidyaled Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist- Baidya), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and National Madhesh Socialist Party (NMSP) attended the meeting.
| Monthly Fatalities The following deaths, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism, occurred during the period Sept 25 to Oct 26, 2012: |
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militantrity | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assam | 03 | 00 | 12 | 15 |
| Manipur | 04 | 02 | 15 | 21 |
| Meghalaya | 01 | 00 | 07 | 08 |
| Nagaland | 00 | 00 | 03 | 03 |
| Tripura | 00 | 00 | 02 | 02 |
| Left-wing | 12 | 06 | 03 | 21 |
| Total | 08 | 42 | 07 |
Nepal warns people against use of Indian currency notes
In an attempt to prevent circulation of Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN), Nepal has asked its citizens, especially those residing along the lndo-Nepal border, not to use Indian currency notes of INR 500 and INR 1,000 denominations and warned that legal action would be initiated against those found violating the order, as reported on September 26, by The Times of India.
Nepal Rashtra Bank and Nepal Central Bank have issued a fresh notice asking citizens to refrain from using the Indian currency notes with INR 500 and INR 1,000 denominations also warned that those violating the law will be prosecuted.
CPN cadres vandalize school
Cadres of Mohan Baidya-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist, Baidya) vandalized the Janajagriti Higher Secondary School at Pithuwa in Chitwan District for running classes in defiance of the shut-down they had imposed in the district on September 28, reports myrepubli-ca.com. Four CPN-Maoist cadres vandalized school property, said Bishnu Kattel, a teacher at the school. The CPN-Maoist has announced a District-wide shutdown in Chitwan on September 28 in protest against the arrest of 13 of its cadres and leaders while trying to prevent vehicles with Indian registration number plates entering the District.
Meanwhile, with the Nepali Congress (NC) seriously differing over the protest programs announced by the CPN-Maoist and the latter showing reluctance to join a proposed taskforce of agitating political parties, the long-awaited formation of an alliance of opposition parties could not materialize on September 27. A meeting of 19 opposition political parties, held at the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) head office at Balkhu failed to form a taskforce even though a meeting on September 26 of three parties NC, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist had announced that they would make the protest programs public and form a taskforce to work out the details, on September 27. NC President Sushil Koirala, who was not present at the meeting on September 26, proposed at the meeting on 27th that the programs of agitation should be made public only after all the agitating political parties committed themselves to a set of principles. NC Spokesman Dilendra Prasad Badu told reporters, “Announcement of a ban on vehicles with Indian number plates and on Hindi films will have a negative impact on the movement.”
PM rules out resignation
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on August 28 on completion of one year in office defended the actions of the Government and ruled out resignation, reports The Hindu. Nepal News adds that Bhattarai claimed that he made all possible attempts to reach out to the leaders of the opposition parties for consensus. PM said that the parties now have no choice other than arriving at a consensus and said he was fully prepared to make way for a consensus government, but resigning without consensus might invite chaos in the country. “Who will take responsibility for the chaos that might trigger if I resign without an alternative?” asked Bhattarai. PM described the “progress” in peace process as a main achievement of the Government
A group of noted dissident leaders quit CPN-UML
A group of noted dissident leaders, including party Vice-Chairman Ashok Rai, quit Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) on October 4, reports myrepublica.com. The dissident leaders vowed to form an alternative political force to champion single ethnic identity-based federalism and social justice. Ashok Rai announced the names of 47 central-level leaders. He said at least 517 leading CPN-UML members from 61 Districts quit the party alone.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said his party is now ready to wage nationwide protests and demonstrations to pull down the current Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist led Government in order to pave the way for a national consensus Government, reports Nepal News. He said preparation for the same has now been completed.
UCPN-M and NC cadres clash in Sindhudi district
Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) and Nepal Congress (NC) cadres clashed in Sindhulimadi in Sindhudi District on October 11, reports Nepal News. Confrontation ensued while the NC cadres were staging a demonstration in protest against the manhandling of Taraun Dal central committee member Nabaraj Shrestha by UCPN-M cadres at Mathauli area of the Kalpabrikshya VDC following dispute over the construction of road in the area.
Sri Lanka — Internal Dynamics
President ready to accept PSC collective decision
Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said on September 26 that the government is always ready to negotiate and this is why President Mahinda Rajapaksa displayed his sincerity by saying he is prepared to accept any collective decision taken by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in connection with the ethnic issue, reports Daily News. Minister Yapa said unfortunately the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and other political parties are still dithering. “I think that in a situation like this, the President’s proposal is the best, because in the PSC, respective political parties can exchange their own opinions and come to an agreement,” he said. The minister said President Rajapaksa has stated that if political parties come to an agreement at the PSC, he will accept it.
Six Lankan Marxist grouclaims IDPs sent to another jungle
The People’s Wall of Comradeship affiliated to Sri Lanka’s Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on September 28 (today) said the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the North should not be sent to another jungle calling it resettlement, reports Colombo Page. Co-convener of the Movement, JVP parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti observed that the Government can-not wash its hands off the whole issue by settling the IDPs in a cleared jungle land. He notes that claims made by the President and the Government about resettling all displaced persons in the North have now proven to be false. He explained that the Government had said that the last 361 families in Menik Farm of Vavuniya District have been resettled, but they have not been resettled in their original homes and 110 families have been resettled in a newly cleared jungle area in the Seenimotta area of Mullaitivu District.
Sri Lanka has achieved rapid post-war development
Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on September 28 said that no other country in the world has achieved rapid post war development like Sri Lanka, reports Colombo Page. He explained that the government had also taken steps to rehabilitate former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres to re-integrate them to society while also assisting their families.-According to Rajapaksa, 80 percent of the de-mining work in the North has been completed. Referring to the construction and renovation of houses, he noted that over 6,000 houses have been constructed and an estimated 7,000 houses repaired or renovated for use. Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran on September 30 said the party would participate in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on finding a political settlement if the Indian Government could guarantee that an agreement would be reached at the commit-tee. He explained that there have been many committee reports in the past years on proposals for a political solution that have been discarded without consideration. The Indian Government has invited the TNA for talks in New Delhi on October 9th to discuss the reconciliation process and a political solution to the ethnic issue.
TNA may join PSC if Government assures not to ‘cheat again’, says TNA leader R. Sampanthan
Sri Lanka’s major Tamil political party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan on October 11 said that they will consider joining the parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) proposed by the Government to solve the ethnic issue if the Government assures them that they will not be cheated again, reports Colombo Page. During his hour-long meeting with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi, the visiting Leader of the TNA dis-cussed the party’s stance on the Sri Lankan Government’s proposals for power devolution to the minority Tamils. A seven-member delegation of the TNA, led by Sampanthan, is visiting India from 10 -13 October 2012 at the invitation of the Indian External Affairs Minister.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the TNA delegation on October 11 that India will not backtrack from its position that Tamils in Sri Lanka should lead a life of “dignity and self-respect” in a peaceful environment, reports Daily Mirror.
Navy finds plane shot down by LTTE after 14 years
The Sri Lanka Navy on October 12 said that it has found the wreck-age of a passenger plane believed to have been shot down by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 14 years ago, reports Colombo Page. The Navy searched the seabed on the request of the Terrorists Investigation Division (TID) and located the wreck-age of the ‘Lion Air’ domestic pas-senger plane. The Lion Air flight 602 from Palaly to Ratmalana carrying 48 civilians and 8 crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on September 29, 1998 over the north-ern seas. It was believed that, the LTTE terrorists in a missile attack shot down the Antonov 26 over the Iranativu Island just ten minutes after it took off from Palaly.
UN chief urges Sri Lanka to find speedy political solution
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on October 16 urged the Sri Lankan Government to find a speedy political solution to the underlying factors behind the country’s civil war which ended three years ago in May 2009, reports Colombo Page. The UN Chief, while noting the Sri Lankan Government’s latest efforts on accountability as well as the steady progress on resettlement issues, has raised the issue of a political solution and emphasized the need for a quick measure when he met with Sri Lanka’s Special Presidential Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at UN Headquarters in New York.
Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says the Government needed to agree to have bi-lateral talks with the party based on the five documents prepared at earlier in relation to a political solution. TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that following the party’s recent visit to India that party would participate in the proposed parliamentary select committee (PSC), if the Government agrees to hold bi-later-al talks with the party.
Former LTTE leader KP is free from prosecution, says Government
The Sri Lankan Government on October 17 said the former international wing leader and chief arms procurer of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP is free from prosecution as there was no evidence against him, reports Colombo Page. Lakshman Hulugalle, the head of the Media Center for National Security (MCNS) said the 58-year-old former LTTE leader is free to carry out work for a charity he founded for the welfare of the conflict-affected people in the North. Hulugalle said KP was no longer in detention and he is running a non-government organization and doing work for the benefit of the people during the last few months.
INTERNATIONAL
Yemen suicide bomber dies in attempt on official’s life
A suicide bomber killed himself and wounded four others in south Yemen on Saturday, Sept 29 in an attempt to assassinate a government official who had targeted al Qaeda militants, a security source said. The attacker walked up to the parked car of Mohammed Aidarous, who heads a “popular committee” of tribal volunteers who helped the army oust militants from the town of Lawdar in Abyan province this year. Aidarous, now the local government official in charge of Lawdar, was not in the vehicle but two people in the car and two passers-by were hurt in the blast, the source said.
Yemen has been in turmoil since an uprising against Ali Abdullah Saleh, who finally stepped down as president in February.
Al Qaeda convicts flee in Iraq jailbreak
Dozens of prisoners, including convicted al Qaeda members, escaped an Iraqi jail after militants dressed in police uniform attacked the prison and released them, security sources said on Sept 28. The jail, which housed some 300 inmates, was assaulted by gunmen driving police vehicles after a car bomb exploded outside the main gate late on Thursday, Sept 27 security sources said. Twelve prison guards and seven gunmen were killed in clashes.
Security forces managed to regain control of the jail, in the city of Tikrit, early on Friday, but an official said more than 50 prisoners were still on the run, among them leading members of al Qaeda who had been sentenced to death on more than ten counts. “There was clear negligence and laxness by those who are in charge of this prison. The operation was pre-planned, well pre-pared,” Hakim Al-Zamili, a member of parliament’s security and defence committee, told Reuters.
A curfew was imposed and helicopters hovered over the city, the home town of the executed former President Saddam Hussein. Around 20 escapees were recaptured overnight, but Zamili said it would be tough to track down the rest because they had destroyed prison records before fleeing.
Amnesty wants Egypt to tackle legacy of abuse
Amnesty International warned Tuesday, Oct 2 that abuses by Egyptian police and military continued with impunity after regime change and Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, and urged the country’s newly elected leader to deal with this “bloody legacy” by bringing to justice those responsible for killing, maiming and abusing protesters. Two extensive reports released by the London-based human rights group in Cairo on Tuesday detail cases of rights abuses by the troops after Mubarak left office in February 2011, focusing on six separate incidents of crackdowns that killed at least 120 protesters.
Amnesty said thousands of pro-testers were injured or maimed with documented cases of loss of eyesight during the crack-downs, and that detainees were tortured in custody.
Suicide bombers cause 100 casualties in Syria
Rebel suicide bombers struck on night of Oct 10 at an Air Force Intelligence compound on the edge of. the Syrian capital Damascus, killing or wounding at least 100 peo-ple, insurgents and activists said. A view shows the wreckage of a bus after a bomb exploded at al-Zablatani area, in Damascus. The militant Islamist group al-Nusra Front said it had mounted the attack because it was used a centre for torture and repression in the crack-down on the 18-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists living nearby said the bombing caused at least 100 casualties among security personnel, based on the number of ambulances that rushed to the scene and the enormity of the explosions. No official casualty figure was given. Security forces cordoned off the area and deployed snipers along routes leading to it.
Rebel fighters have carried out a series of bombings of government and military buildings in Damascus in recent months, bringing the war to the heart of Assad’s power base. The most notable was an attack on the National Security headquarters which killed the defence minister and two other senior security officials in July. The latest bombing coincided with a series of rebel raids on roadblocks manned by Assad forces on a high-way leading north from Harasta and in Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods of Damascus that have been at the forefront of the revolt, residents said.
S Korea, US within missile range: N Korea
North Korea on Tuesday, Oct 9 warned that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles and said that Washington’s recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country. South Korea announced Sunday that it reached a deal with Washington that would allow it to nearly triple the range of its missiles to better cope with North Korean missile and nuclear threats. On Tuesday, North Korea called the deal a “product of another conspiracy of the master and the stooge” to “ignite a war” against the North.
In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, an unidentified spokesman at the powerful National Defense Commission said the North will bolster its military preparedness. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had no official comment on the North’s statement, but Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking North Korea.
North Korean long-range rockets are believed to have a range of up to about 6,700 kilometers (4,160 miles), putting parts of Alaska within reach, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. But the North’s spotty record in test launches raises doubts about whether it is truly capable of an attack. Pyongyang shocked Japan in 1998 when it sent a rocket over Japan’s main island and into the Pacific. That also alarmed Washington because about 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan and their bases could be within the North’s range. Tokyo and Washington have since intensified their ballistic missile defenses.
Fighting near Damascus rages
President Bashar al-Assad’s forces fired heavy tank and rocket barrages at a Damascus suburb on Thursday, Oct 25 killing five people, opposition activists said, a day before a UN-brokered ceasefire is due to come into force. The fighting in Harasta, just northeast of Damascus, erupted after rebels overran two army roadblocks on the edge of the large town, which is on the main highway linking the capital to the country’s north, they said. “Harasta is being. pummeled by tanks and rocket launchers deployed in the highway. The rebels are putting up a fight and it does not seem the army will be able to enter the town this time,” Mohammad, a Damascus resident, said by phone. He was referring to the last armored incursion by loyalist forces into Harasta a month ago, which opposition campaigners said had killed 70 people. Harasta is one of a series of large Sunni Muslim suburbs ringing the Syrian capital that have been at the forefront of the 19-month-old rebellion against Assad. He belongs to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam that has dominated Syrian politics since the 1960s.
The Harasta Media Office opposition activists’ group described the town as a “disaster zone” following the shelling. “An (army) roadblock had been set up next to the main bakery. There is no water, no food, no medicine and prolonged power cuts,” it said in a statement. Other residents of Damascus said the sound of shelling targeting Harasta and the nearby neighborhood of Zamalka could be heard from the centre of the capital. On Wednesday, an Arab League mediator for the Syrian conflict told the U.N. Security Council that Assad has accepted a ceasefire for the Muslim ‘Eid’ holiday starting on Friday. An announcement by the Syrian authorities was expected later. But Moaz al-Shami, an opposition activist in Damascus said “no one is taking the ceasefire seriously”. “How can there be a ceasefire with tanks roaming the streets, roadblocks every few hundred meters and the army having no qualms about hitting civilian neighborhoods with heavy artillery? This is a regime that has lost all credibility.” Reuters.
Hillary Clinton to quit
President Barack Obama said on Oct 24 he would love for Hillary Clinton to stay on as secretary of state after his hoped for re-election, but that “despite my begging” she has decided to move on. “She has done an incredible job. She has logged a lot of miles, she has been working so hard, Obama told viewers on NBC television’s “Tonight Show,” a popular, late- night comedy program. Less than two weeks before the November 6 vote that will determine whether he will win a second term in the White House, Obama heaped praise on Clinton, who four years ago was his bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. Obama ultimately won the nomination before defeating Republican nominee John McCain in the November 2008 election. Clinton, the former first lady and one-time US senator, has proven to be an invaluable asset to Obama’s administration over the past four years and is viewed as one of its most competent and popular players. “She has done a great job. | would love for her to stay,” said Obama, adding however that he also understands why she is leaving. “| suspect that it is time for her to spend a little bit more time with her family,” he said. “I could not be prouder of the work she has done.”
Hillary Clinton is widely viewed as having taken a bullet for her boss earlier this month when she assumed the blame for the admin- istration’s clumsy handling of the September 11 attack on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which killed four Americans, including the American ambassador to Libya. Obama has come under fire from his criticsnover the assault during which heavily-armed militants stormed the consulate compound and attacked an annex housing US personnel on the 11th anniversary of the Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States. AFP
US, Israel seek to divide Muslims: Iran
Iran’s most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, Oct 25 accused the United States and Israel of fomenting divisions among Muslims to undermine “Islamic uprisings” across the Middle East. “By exploiting inattention … corrupt American, NATO and Zionist agents are trying to divert the deluge-like movement of Muslim youth and bring them into con-frontation with one another in the name of Islam,” he said in an annual message to Iranians who have gone to Saudi Arabia for the haj pilgrimage. “They are trying to turn the jihad against colonialism and Zionism into blind terrorism in the streets … so that Muslims shed each other’s blood.” Officials in Shi’ite Muslim Iran often describe the “Arab Spring” uprisings as an “Islamic Awakening”. Some of those uprisings have brought Islamists to power, while others, notably in Syria and Bahrain, have pitted Sunnis against Shi’ites or Alawites, members of an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. Iran has aligned itself with its regional ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ,Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah movement in what it calls an “axis of resistance” against Israel. At the same time it denies accusations from Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies that it is encouraging Shi’ite uprisings in their countries. “The aggressive and interventionist arrogant powers are making every effort to divert the course of these significant Islamic movements,” Khamenei said, according to Iranian state television, urging Muslims to show solidarity. He reiterated Iran’s opposition to outside intervention in Syria, saying only Syrians could decide their own future, and said other unspecified nations could also be engulfed by Syria’s turmoil. On Wednesday, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said both the Syrian government and most opposition groups had agreed to the principle of a ceasefire during the three-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which starts on Friday. —Reuters
Benghazi attack suspect dies in Cairo
A man suspected of involvement in an attack on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi last month has been killed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, officials said on Oct 26. The man was killed after an exchange of fire with security services in the Cairo suburb of Madinet Nasr. Authorities named the man only as Hazem. Four US diplomatic officials were killed in the Benghazi attack, among them the US ambassador to Libya.
According to the Egyptian officials the suspect was cornered in a flat in Madinet Nasr early on morning of Oct 25. He threw a bomb at the security forces, but it bounced back into the flat. An exchange of fire with the security services then began and went on for several hours, local media reports say. The suspect’s burnt body was found in the property, along with weapons and explosive materials, officials say.
Myanmar must protect Muslims: UN
UN human rights investigators called on Myanmar to halt deadly sectarian violence and warned it not to use the conflict as a pretext to remove Rohingya minority Muslims. Some 89 people have been killed in clashes between Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas in western Myanmar in the past 10 days, according to the latest official toll.
“This situation must not become an opportunity to permanently remove an unwelcome community,” said a joint statement issued by Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, and independent experts on minority issues and the internally displaced. They voiced their “deep concern about the assertion of the government and others that the Rohingya are illegal immigrants and stateless persons”. If the country is to be successful in the process of democratic transition, it must be bold in addressing the human rights challenges that exist,” Ojea Quintana said. “In the case of Rakhine State, this involves addressing the long-standing endemic discrimination against the Rohingya community that exists within sections of local and national government as well as society at large.” The Rohingyas say their homes were burned down by Rakhines armed with slingshots, wooden staves, knives and gasoline.
The United Nations says more than 97 percent of the 28,108 people who have fled the violence are Muslims, mostly stateless Rohingya. Many now live in camps. joining 75,000 mostly Rohingya dis-placed in June after a previous explosion of sectarian violence killed at least 80 people. Fearful Buddhists and Muslims are arming themselves with homemade weapons, testing the reformist government’s resolve to prevent a new wave of violence.
Russia fragile under Putin
When Vladimir Putin celebrated his 60th birthday in October, a group of patriotic mountaineers unfurled a portrait of the Russian leader on a 4,150-metre mountain peak. Hailing him as a guarantor of happiness and stability, the climbers’ leader explained: We have stuck Putin’s portrait on a rock wall we see as unbreakable and eternal as Putin”. But as Putin nears the end of his 13th year ruling this vast country, Russians feel increasingly unhappy and worries over long-term political and economic stability are grow-ing. Russia is exporting three things in great quantity, says a leading Moscow banker: natural resources, capital and people. Only the first could be regarded as healthy and sustainable; the other two imply that oligarchs and ordinary citizens alike are turning their back on Putin’s Russia. Almost a third of city-dwellers would like to emigrate from Russia, according to a poll in September. Among young people the proportion rose to nearly half. The most favored destinations were Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The reasons for this exodus of talent and money? A growing sense among educated Russians that their country is heading in the wrong direction, and that no change is likely. It all began very differently. Putin replaced Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin on December 31, 1999. His early years generated hope as the chaos of the Yeltsin era was replaced by order, the economy grew strongly – Russia’s GDP has grown nearly 10-fold under Putin -and a consumer boom created a new middle class.—Reuters
Kadima meltdown starts
Israel’s once dominant Kadima party faces eclipse at a January election, with polls suggesting the movement created by former prime minister Ariel Sharon could be replaced by new and revived forces at the helm of centre-left opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ehud Olmert speaks during a memorial ceremony for late Israeli presidents and prime ministers at the residence of President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. Surveys ahead of the January 22 election predict victory for Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud bloc, and a realignment that revives the ailing Labour party as leader of a strong centreleft, championing domestic issues of the economy and the ultra-religious’ role in Israeli society. Polls indicate that the centrist party once led by former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni will be trounced. The latest, published by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth on Friday, showed Kadima winning no seats at all, an astonishing col-lapse for the party that led Israel’s last government three years ago. “They simply haven’t delivered, nor identified enough with the issues of the day, therefore they have disappeared. People are looking for answers elsewhere,” says Tamir Sheafer, a political expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they disappear altogether given the continuing momentum of decline in popularity.” Kadima sought peace with the Palestinians more doggedly than the right-wing coalition of Netanyahu has done.—AP
Shocking’ dictatorship in Egypt?
A senior Israeli official described Egypt’s new government on Saturday, Nov 3 as a “shocking dictatorial force” and predicted there would be no high-level contacts between the two countries, but the Israeli government distanced itself from his comments. The remarks by Amos Gilad, a top aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, were some of the harshest yet about the rise to prominence of Egypt’s new Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June. “At the focus of what was said, (Gilad) emphasized the strategic importance of the peace agreement with Egypt and the importance of working relations with Egypt,” the statement said. “The defense establishment and (Gilad) do not intend to interfere in Egypt’s internal issues.” Mursi has faced some criticism at home from non-Islamists concerned about other voices being marginalized in Egypt.—Reuters
Five bomb blasts hit Bahrain capital, two killed
Five bombs exploded in the heart of the Bahraini capital Manama on Monday, Nov 5 killing two people, officials said, in rare attacks targeting civilians during the 21-month-old uprising against the kingdom’s U.S.-backed rulers. The blasts, one outside a cinema, could be a sign that radical elements of the opposition are escalating violence. They took place days after the government said it had banned all rallies and opposition gatherings to ensure public safety.
The victims were Asian street cleaners and one died after kicking a device which then blew up, said the Interior Ministry. It said the bombs were home-made and described the blasts as “terrorist acts” – its term for attacks by opposition activists. Police have been targeted by explosions several times this year, as the government has stepped up efforts to quell the uprising that has simmered since democracy protests broke out in early 2011.
But bombs targeting civilians are rare in the Gulf nation, where the Sunni Muslim Khalifa dynasty rules over a majority Shi’ite population. The kingdom hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which patrols oil shipping lanes in the Gulf region. The explosions on Monday took place between 4.30 am and 9.30 am (0130 and 0630 GMT) in the Qudaibiya and Adliya districts of Manama, the BNA agency said, cit-ing a police official. It described the explosives as **locally made bombs”. A third Asian worker was wounded, it said.
Suicide bomber kills 31 near Baghdad army base
A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-filled car into soldiers outside an army base near Baghdad on Tuesday, Nov 6 killing 31 people and injuring tens more in one of the worst attacks this year on the country’s military. Bombings and attacks have eased sharply since the height of Iraq’s sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but al Qaeda’s local affiliate and other Sunni Islamist insurgents often target local security forces and Shi’ite Muslims to stoke tensions.
The bomber drove his car into crowds of troops and recruits out-side the base in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, leaving body parts and burned vehicles scattered in the streets outside, police and hospital officials said. At least 31 people were killed, mostly soldiers, and another 50 people were wounded in the blast. Bombings at the end of October killed more than 40 people, including some in blasts in Shi’ite neighborhoods in Baghdad and an attack on an Iranian pilgrim bus during the Islamic Eid al Adha festival. Sunni Islamists and al Qaeda’s affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq, often hit Shi’ite pilgrims and religious sites in an attempt to drive the country back to widespread sectarian killing. They target security forces to try to weaken the government of Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.—Reuters.
| Current Threat Levels: |
| City Region | Threat Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Islamabad | Level 2 | ** |
| Karachi | Level 2 | ** |
| Lahore | Level 2 | ** |
| Punjab | Level 2 | ** |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Level 3 | *** |
| Peshawar | Level 2 | ** |
| Quetta | Level 2 | ** |
| Upper Balochistan | Level 3 | *** |
| Lower Balochistan | Level 2 | ** |
| Upper / Rural Sindh | Level 2 | ** |
| Gilgit and Northern areas | Level 3 | *** |
| Tribal areas, close to Afghan border | Level 3 | *** |
| Index to Threat Level Perceptions |
| Threat Level 1 Indicates there is no threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required. * |
| Threat Level 2 Indicates there is no specific threat to foreigners; however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised if traveling. ** |
| Threat Level 3 Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Level dictates that foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation. *** |
| Threat Level 4 Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law & order leading to anarchy. All foreigners advised to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff. **** |
| Threat Level 5 Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion /occupation by enemy ***** |
