Category: Terrorism

LAHORE, April 21: Journalists, civil society activists and politicians have demanded early arrest of the perpetrators of the attack on anchorperson Hamid Mir, while terming it an attack on the freedom of speech and expression in Pakistan.

A large number of journalists and civil society activists gathered at the Lahore Press Club where they held a protest demonstration after passing a condemnation resolution. Hamid Mir sustained three bullet injuries in an attack on Faisal Avenue in Karachi by four unidentified gunmen, on Saturday. Doctors said one bullet pierced his intestine while two others wounded his leg and pelvic area, however he was out of danger.

The Lahore Press Club condemnation resolution and protest rally was joined by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry, MNA Shafqat Mahmood, Andleeb Abbas, Punjab Federation of Union of Journalists leaders Rana Azeem, Afzal Butt and other office-bearers. LPC President Arshad Ansari, Afzaal Talib were also present there. Senior journalists including Geo Lahore bureau chief Khawar Naeem Hashmi and other journalist from Jang Group also joined the demonstration.

Civil society activists including former chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and former President Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir, Hina Gilani, IA Rehman, Abid Hassan Manto, Imtiaz Aalam, Jungo Mohin, Mehmal Sarfraz also participated in the protest rally and demanded early arrest of culprits involved in attack on Hamid Mir besides arrest of their mastermind. The protestors were holding various placards inscribed with slogan in support of Hamid Mir and press freedom.

LPC president Arshad Ansari said that the journalist community would boycott covergare of the government if proper and quick inquiry was not made and justice was denied. Khawar Naeem Hashmi said three bullets cannot stop him (Hamid Mir) from speaking truth. “Our fight which is continue from past will continue for the sake of truth and for the country.”

Earlier, a condemnation resolution was passed in LPC demanding a transparent investigation and bringing the culprits to the book. Separately, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah, while talking to media at Lahore airport condemned attack on Hamid Mir and urged the government to hold a transparent probe into the incident. PU vice chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran, Punjab University Academic Staff Association president Ihsan Sharif and secretary Javed Sami have also condemned the attack.

PU Institute of Communication Studies, the alma mater of Hamid Mir, where his father Waris Mir also served as chairman, has prayed for the early recovery of their journalists. ICS teachers and students have demanded the government to book the culprits at the earliest possible.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said the attack on a senior journalist Hamid Mir is tragic and highly condemnable. He prayed for early recovery of Hamid Mir. He was talking to media after inaugurating Walton Flyover Sunday.

The chief minister prayed that Hamid Mir take up his journalistic responsibilities again. He said that attack on Hamid Mir was an attack on freedom of press. He said that the federal government would conduct inquiry into the incident and ensure punishment to the culprits. He said that the elements involved in this heinous act will soon be apprehended and brought to justice so that no one could dare attack journalists again.

Federal Information Minister Pervauz Rasheed while talking to media at Lahore airport said as per a directive of Prime minister a committee was being constituted to conduct a transparent probe into the incident. He expressed his complete solidarity with the Hamid Mir and his family as well as the journalists community.

The attack on Hamid Mir has brough large-scale criticism of the government as well as the law enforcement agencies by the Pakistani and foreign media. India media has launched a campaign against ISI quoting a statement of Amir Mir, the brother of Hamid Mir, who is also an investigative journalist.

An ISI spokesman has condemned the attack on Mir and the allegations against the ISI: “The spokesman has condemned the incident of firing on senior anchor Hamid Mir, prayed for his wellbeing and quick recovery. The spokesman said that an independent inquiry must immediately be carried out to ascertain the facts.

The capital of the republic is hit. Perhaps, the attack on the wholesale market of fruits and vegetables the other day in Islamabad is the biggest terrorist attack in the capital since the massive bombing of the Marriott Hotel some years ago.

According to initial reports, explosives were packed into a crate of guavas. It took more than 20 lives instantly, and about the same number of people is told to be in a critical condition. We don’t know yet how many will survive and whether they will ever be able to lead a normal life. More than a hundred are injured and hospitalised. We don’t know how many will remain able-bodied afterward and whether it will be possible for them to work again to support their families.

No act of violence is welcome. But deplorable as it may be, attacking those who are in power and seen as making decisions that go against you, or killing those who are involved in a physical battle against you can be understood at one level. Killing innocent citizens in the name of an ideology, faith, liberation movement or political cause amounts to sheer callousness. It is a blatant crime committed against common people. In Pakistan, not only do terrorists of various hues and colours commit these crimes with complete impunity, the state collapses on a daily basis to protect the lives, liberties and properties of its citizens.

But what property is to be protected for a woman or a man belonging to the working class in Pakistan? It is only her or his life. S/he has a simple and difficult life to lead, perpetually struggling to support herself and the kith and kin in order to survive, and only enjoying the liberty to move to the workplace and be back home. Even that is being taken away. What hurts more is the pride terrorist outfits would take in killing the most ordinary women and men, seeing them as soft targets. What causes much greater pain is the inability of the Pakistani state to save its citizens.

As citizens, we will not hold the militant outfits and terror groups responsible for inflicting death, pain and suffering on the people of Pakistan. It is our state and successive governments that are responsible for their wrong actions in the past or concerted inaction at present, for their continuous failure to protect us. Not to mention their massive incompetence and failure to help all citizens lead a decent, prosperous and honourable life.

Let us have a look at the profile of those killed, injured or maimed in the wholesale market of Islamabad. Most of them must be fruit and vegetable vendors, hardly making their ends meet, or common citizens who think they will save a few rupees if they buy fruits and vegetables from wholesalers than retailers.

We do not know yet who perpetrated this attack as the claim made by a Baloch separatist outfit was rubbished by the interior ministry. Even if the Baloch separatists have made a rightful claim, does that particular group of Baloch secessionists think that the guava-sellers are consulted in by the federation while making policy or by the FC when it acts in Kalat, Khuzdar or Turbat? Has eliminating or pushing out barbers, milk sellers, schoolteachers, construction labourers, carpenters and masons from Balochistan helped the cause in anyway in the recent past?

Many of us believe that Balochistan as a province and the Baloch as a people have been denied their rights in our federation for too long. We stand with them in their struggle for realisation of their economic, political and cultural rights. We stand with them in asking for an immediate end to forced disappearances and military action by the Pakistani state. We condemn mass graves found anywhere. We do not accept the view of the powers that be, which squarely place the blame on Baloch tribal chieftains for the poverty and dispossession that Balochistan is subjected to.

Again, it was the failure of our state in meeting the basic needs and ensuring the fundamental rights of its Baloch citizens, not the responsibility of the sardars – many of who collaborated with the state anyway. We recognise that for decades when chappatis were baked in Lahore on the stoves fired by the natural gas piped from Balochistan and the industry in Karachi used natural gas supplied from and metals extracted from the ores in Balochistan, the province and its people neither had gas to cook with or to heat up their homes with during the harsh winters.

We also know that schools were not built, hospitals were not established, roads were not paved and industry was not set up in areas of Balochistan that fed the Pakistani elite and middle class in other provinces and the civil and military institutions they dominate. However, it is time for the disgruntled Baloch to ask how the killing of ordinary citizens and those belonging to the working class anywhere serve their cause. Will that not escalate violence in the province and make it increasingly difficult for their genuine advocates to plead their case?

The TTP has also denied its involvement but it is now increasingly obvious to most that the outfit is not necessarily a strong monolith. There may be some from the ranks of its coalition or outsiders who were involved even if the core was not. We don’t know. But if fruit and vegetable vendors are attacked in the name of faith or an ideology by anyone, one must ask if any of these people killed or injured participated in making decisions about their country playing a part in the war on terror in Afghanistan or in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

How many cauliflower sellers on the streets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were consulted before the Swat operation or before making air sorties in Fata? Did they ever exist for those planning drone strikes in our tribal regions? Did they help the Americans smoke out Saddam Hussein in Iraq or get Osama bin Laden trapped in his hideout near Abbottabad?

As far as the state and its ruling elite are concerned, they need to be reminded again and again what Hazrat Ali once said. “A profane state or government can surely survive but a cruel one never can.” What is meted out to them is not what the already struggling working and lower middle classes of Pakistan deserve. For them, prosperity is far away. The state is not even able to defend their right to life.

Knowing how our country and its economy works for its less privileged classes, one such attack will push hundreds of families in the throes of abject poverty. Doling out a couple of hundred thousand rupees – at the most – for each casualty will serve no purpose either. This money will be spent in a few weeks if they have to nurse the injured or else used to pay off a part of the debt such families are normally trapped in.

By killing a cobbler in the Nazimabad neighbourhood of Karachi for being a Pakhtun, an office clerk in the Baldia neighbourhood of the same city for being a Mohajir, a student leader in Khuzdar for being a Baloch rights activist, an unemployed political activist in Ghotki for being a Sindhi, a primary schoolteacher in Mastung for being a Punjabi, a shopkeeper in Quetta for being Shia, a worshipper in Lahore for being Ahmadi, a labourer in a church in Peshawar for being Christian and a fruit vendor in Islamabad for a reason still unknown, nothing will be achieved. But the state, in no uncertain terms, will dwindle fast.

Finally, I countenanced what I had been dreading for quite some time. Journalists and media houses being under threat is a well-known story in conflict-ridden Pakistan. I had also heard about my name being on a few hit-lists but I thought these were tactics to scare dissenters and independent voices. But this was obviously an incorrect assessment of the situation.

On Friday night, when I had planned to visit Data Darbar after my television show, my car was attacked by “unknown” (a euphemism for lethal terror outfits) assailants. The minute I heard the first bullet, the Darwinian instinct made me duck under and I chose to lie on the back of the car.

This near death experience with bullets flying over me and shattered window glass falling over me reminded me of the way my own country was turning into a laboratory of violence. Worse, that when I saved myself, it was not without a price. A young man, who had been working as my driver for sometime, was almost dead. I stood on a busy road asking for help and not a single car stopped.

A crowd had gathered and I was seeking their assistance almost like someone in a hysterical sub-continental film. The nearest hospital was a private enterprise, which initially refused to treat all three of us. I had to protest, after begging on the street and then seeking emergency medical aid. Suddenly, all that afflicts Pakistan became clear: the violence, the impunity for murderers, the failing values of a society and privatisation of essential public services.

Within minutes, my driver was declared dead, my wounds were cleaned and a third victim of barbarity struggled with a fast receding blood count. Thankfully, officers from the Punjab Police were helpful and enabled me to sort out things. This was harrowing and I became an object of all that I have condemned in recent years.

I am now at a safe location, unable to move out and have been told that my case is exceptional with six men — most armed — had attempted to eliminate me and they failed. And that the security agencies can only protect me if I remain locked up in a “safe” location.

So what is my fault, I have been wondering? I am a relatively small fry in the media and opinion industry. I am a recent entrant in the mass (electronic) media, but my views, I am told, are dangerous and invite trouble. So, I wish to ask my well-wishers the following questions: is raising the issue of minority rights unacceptable? Is demanding the inclusion of Jinnah’s August 11 speech in our Constitution and state behaviour unacceptable?

I have written a book on the shared history of India and Pakistan and this irked some. I have argued for rational engagement with the West and the outside world and that is not kosher. I reject conspiracy theories as I prefer reason over totem and this does not fit in a mindscape that considers the outside, external enemies.

Pakistan’s journalists face the oddest of challenges. They are being coerced into silence or singing praises of extremists and advocating legitimacy for their operations. Pakistan’s politicians have almost given up, as their private and public statements are at variance and they have accepted that this “new Pakistan” of fear, threats and unpunished violence is what they have to deal with.

I also know that I am not alone. There are dozens of other voices that have to be silenced by some quarters. These voices are a threat as they stand by civilian victims of terror and shun attacks on our security forces. These are voices, which also refuse to make martyrs out of terrorists. And they also hold that the greatest blasphemy is undermining humanity and using faith for spreading hatred.

The choice for me is stark. I am not willing to accept death as an option. Nor am I going to accept forced silence. I am grateful to all those who have shown support for my plight.

But it would be far more important if our collective outrage turns into public pressure to change the direction of the state and stop it from committing hara-kiri at the altar of a fabricated ideology or regional ambitions. There are no good or bad extremists. And there can be no justification for any form of violence by private actors. Who else would know, if not me?

I am haunted by the fact that a precious life has been lost while some people wanted to target me. More than that, I am worried that there may be many more lives at risk. I am not too hopeful if the current set of federal and provincial governments would deliver on security and public safety.

There is little or no will to tackle the camel that has entered the Pakistani tent and is displacing reason and humanity. Yet, there is no other recourse. So I appeal to the government to provide me security and not let me remain a victim of an ideology asserted with bullets and bombers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2014.

KARACHI, Feb 2014 — The Pakistani Taliban have tightened their grip over the country’s commercial hub, officials and residents said, despite a five-month government crackdown here.

On Thursday, tentative peace talks with the government were thrown into disarray when the militants claimed responsibility for a roadside bombing that killed at least 12 police officers when the bus taking them to duty was destroyed near the city’s southeastern Landhi neighborhood, an area the Taliban dominate.

Karachi is likely to pay a steeper price if efforts by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to forge a peace deal with the al Qaeda affiliate’s leadership in tribal areas collapse and a military operation is launched there.

“If the peace talks fail, we fear that a big terrorism wave will hit Karachi,” said Raja Umar Khattab, a senior officer in the counterterrorism Crime Investigation Department of the Karachi police.

The Pakistani Taliban are a national threat, with Karachi providing the group a vital financial lifeline. Money raised in Karachi from extortion, land-grabbing, kidnapping and robberies is sent to the group’s leadership in the tribal areas along the Afghan border, security officials said.

The January assassination of Karachi’s most prominent counterterrorism police officer, Chaudhry Aslam, showcased the militants’ reach and had a chilling effect on the police force, officers said.

“Everyone now is at a loss about who will step into Chaudhry Aslam’s shoes,” said Omar Shahid Hamid, a senior counterterrorism officer now on leave. “He had become a symbol, someone who is standing up to [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan]

In January, the militant group attacked police officers, shot and killed three journalists, repeatedly bombed paramilitary Rangers who are helping carry out the crackdown, gunned down three polio-vaccination workers, and slit the throats of six devotees visiting a shrine. Karachi police said 27 officers were killed in January, after 168 were killed last year.

Mr. Sharif, concerned that his economic-revival plans would be undermined by spreading mayhem, initiated the security operation in September. Karachi, a fast-growing city of at least 20 million, has a huge industrial base, the country’s only major port and is the nation’s center of banking and finance.

Some officers said they fear local political support is fading for the Karachi operation, which they view as a last chance to regain control of the city from TTP and other militias. The operation’s implementation depends largely on the Sindh provincial government, which is run by the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, and which controls Karachi’s police. There are signs of tension between the Rangers, who answer to Islamabad, and the provincial government, which is based in Karachi, security officials and politicians said.

“This is a difficult path,” said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, visiting Karachi on Thursday. “But, God willing, we will bring peace back to Karachi.”

Ahmed Chinoy, head of the Citizens Police Liaison Committee, a statutory body that works with the police to reduce crime, said parts of Karachi were still too dangerous for regular patrols, while the crackdown targeted regular crime. “While the focus of the operation was on other crimes, the militants got breathing space and took advantage.”

Last year, five different police chiefs served Karachi, disrupting the battle against crime. The current chief, Shahid Hayat, said that at any given time, he had about 7,000 officers available to be deployed on the streets, out of a total force strength of 27,000—9,000 officers are kept on personal security duty for politicians and other officials.

It is only in recent weeks, he added, that the operation has shifted focus to jihadi groups such as TTP.

“I’m being asked to control Karachi with such small numbers of police,” said Mr. Hayat. “Policemen are being killed day in, day out. But we’re still fighting.”

More than 13,000 people have been arrested in the sweep since September, in more than 10,000 raids by police and the paramilitary Rangers force, the provincial Sindh government said. But officials and residents said it has left largely untouched the poor outlying neighborhoods that remain under TTP control, encircling the city, including one adjacent to the new U.S. Consulate compound.

TTP is the most aggressive armed group operating in multiethnic Karachi, alongside the ethnic Baluch gangs in Lyari, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a party that represents the descendants of Muslim migrants from current India, and that has traditionally dominated Karachi politics.

The Karachi security operation led to the arrest of just 63 TTP members through the end of January, police said. That compared with the arrest of 296 people affiliated with the MQM, 101 with links to the Awami National Party—a secular Pashtun political party—and 171 members of Lyari gangs.

Sharfuddin Memon, the adviser to the Sindh provincial chief minister on security issues, said the operation had led to a 50% drop in assassinations and kidnapping for ransom in the city. He said police “morale is high” but the conviction rate for serious crimes is just 5%.

“There has been an impact from the operation, but if we don’t sustain it, we are in trouble,” said Mr. Memon.

Research by The Wall Street Journal, based on conversations with security officials and urban planners, shows TTP still control or dominate about 470 square miles of Karachi, or nearly a third of its area, where at least 2.5 million people live.

TTP’s sway in Karachi extends right up to Saddar—the city center—and into areas such as Sultanabad, a ramshackle community next to the new U.S. Consulate compound.

These are districts with a majority population of Pashtuns, the same ethnic group as TTP’s leadership. These areas that encircle the city include Baldia and the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate to the west and Gadap in the north. Residents in these areas said TTP’s hold had gotten stronger over the past year.

“There’s been no action against the main body of the TTP, just against some smaller factions,” said Khawaja Izharul Hassan, a provincial MQM lawmaker.

In addition to the main TTP faction from the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan in the tribal areas, long established in Karachi, the city is increasingly plagued by another TTP faction from the Mohmand tribal area, police officers said, along with TTP Swat.

Islamist militants also have influence over some non-Pashtun districts of the city, such as Lyari in the southwest where TTP ally Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has a base. TTP has an ability to stage attacks across Karachi.

TTP dominates 33 of Karachi’s 178 administrative units—known as union councils— security officials said. These tend to be the larger, peripheral, districts, with ever expanding shanty settlements that eat into the surrounding desert. The militants are also now getting more educated recruits, including non-Pashtuns, and spreading to neighboring areas outside Karachi, including Hub to the west and Jamshoro to the northeast.

In the areas it controls, TTP is levying a tax on residents and businesses, said a businessman in Sohrab Goth, a Taliban-run neighborhood just north of the city center.

The militant group has set up courts in neighborhoods to resolve disputes, which give written judgments, handling matters that include disagreements over land ownership and regulating levels of theft from power lines that they allow, residents said.

“The Taliban milk money from their own communities,” the businessman said. “They have calculated the worth of every person here.”

For instance, on a monthly income of 40,000 rupees ($380), TTP takes a levy of 1,000 rupees. Concentrate blocks made for use in construction—a major business in the Pashtun areas—are sold for 18 rupees each, of which three rupees goes to the Taliban. The businessman said TTP’s hold had hardened over the past year.

“The Taliban have complete control of Karachi,” said Bashir Jan, a senior member of the Awami National Party, the main secular Pashtun political party in the city. “They can go anywhere and do what they want.”