Benazir visits Karachi bomb blast victims
Amidst Crackdown on pro-Taliban Militants
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Pak begins crackdown on pro-Taliban militants.Security forces backed by helicopter gunships on Sunday moved into areas in the Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan dominated by militant followers of a pro-Taliban cleric, sparking tensions that prompted hundreds of people to flee from the region.Police and paramilitary troops set up security posts and bunkers protected by sandbags in Kabal, a small town near Maulana Fazlullah's stronghold at Imamdheri.Security forces also exchanged fire with heavily armed militants at several places in Swat district.Local residents said helicopter gunships bombed militant positions in mountains near Manglore, which were also targeted by paramilitary forces with mortars.
Several explosions were heard and columns of smoke were seen rising from bunkers set up by the militants, Dawn News channel reported.Sporadic clashes between security forces and militants erupted this morning after the rebels carried out pre-dawn attacks on police and paramilitary personnel and reiteratedtheir demand for the imposition of Islamic law in the region.The militants, who beheaded six security personnel and executed nine civilians on Friday in retaliation for an attack by troops on Fazlullah's madrassa at Imamdheri in the North.
Meanwhile, Benazir Bhutto visited victims of the devastating October 18 suicide blasts on Sunday, as the former Pakistan premier kept up a tightly secured trip to her ancestral home.
Guarded by security personnel bristling with AK-47 and M-16 rifles, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Sunday visited the family of a supporter slain in the attempt to assassinate her Oct. 19.
But with security fears still high following the attack in Karachi that killed more than 130 people hours after she returned to Pakistan, ending eight years of self-imposed exile, it was an impromptu visit.
Bhutto traveled to the town of Larkana, a few kilometers from her ancestral village of Garhi Khuda Baksh, where she is staying, and also visited the families of two other supporters who died during her exile. Television footage showed trucks packed with heavily armed security guards parked outside one home she visited as fervent supporters danced and waved black, red and green flags of her Pakistan People's Party.
"Today I came to Larkana to see the families of martyrs. I promise we will not leave these families alone because their loved ones sacrificed their lives for the cause of democracy," Bhutto told reporters. Some supporters stood on rooftops, others lined the streets and threw rose petals.
On Saturday, around 4,000 supporters turned out to welcome Bhutto back to her native Sindh Province as she made her way overland from the city of Sukkur to Garhi Khuda Baksh in a bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser.Bhutto then prayed at the tomb of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first popularly elected prime minister - who was toppled by the military in 1977 and later hanged - and held a news conference at her family home.But there was no large-scale public address out in the open due to fear that militants could make another assassination attempt. And she was also told not to host traditional open-house meetings for the public.
Bhutto made a jubilant return to her family district in rural southern Pakistan on Saturday, in her first trip outside of Karachi since the bombings that targeted the two-time premier and ripped through her homecoming parade.
Thousands of supporters cheered Bhutto as she flew into Sukkur city from Karachi before she was driven to Larkana district, where crowds danced and waved flags as she paid her respects at the Bhutto family tomb.
The mood was more sombre on Sunday as Bhutto called on a bereaved family who lost their son in the Karachi blasts to offer prayers, before moving on to the home of a party worker injured in the attacks, which killed 139 people.
"I have come to condole the martyrdom of a brave and innocent boy of 22 years who lost his life in the movement to save democracy," Bhutto wrote in a condolence book on the verandah of the family's two-room mud house.
"He did not bow his head before dictatorship or terrorism. His sacrifices shall not be in vain," she wrote.
Hundreds of people climbed onto rooftops and gathered in lanes of the impoverished neighbourhood in Larkana town to try to catch a glimpse of Bhutto, while others chanted "Jiye Bhutto (Long live Bhutto)."
Security was once again tight amid ongoing fears for her safety, with large numbers of private guards and paramilitary officers, armed with machine guns, surrounding the houses and keeping supporters at bay.
Bhutto later called on supporters and leaders of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the area, where her family has owned land and lived for generations.
She has vowed to stay in Pakistan despite the bombings and lead the PPP in general elections, which are seen as a key step in the nation's return to democracy after eights years of military rule by President Pervez Musharraf.
The attacks on her homecoming procession in Karachi happened just hours after Bhutto set foot on Pakistani soil for the first time since 1999 and ruined her planned triumphant return to contest the polls set for January.
Bhutto was granted an amnesty by Musharraf on corruption charges earlier this month, paving the way for her return to Pakistan and a possible power-sharing pact with the general, who seized power in a 1999 coup.
The United States and Britain have been quietly pushing the pact as the best chance of fighting Islamic extremism gathering force in Pakistan, and for political stability in the nation of 160 million people.
Bhutto expressed frustration late Saturday at the extent of the security surrounding her, which is unlikely to reduce in the run-up to the elections.
"What sort of politics is this where political parties cannot hold rallies? I want to be among my people but because of the security threat I cannot hold rallies," Bhutto told reporters.
Bhutto also vowed to continue to fight extremism, which she said was derailing the Islamic nation's return to democracy.
"I am very happy to be back among my own people. You have stood by me in good or bad times," she told about 500 supporters gathered outside her house overnight on Saturday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, with Bhutto alleging a link to rogue elements in the establishment and a pro-Taliban militant denying his involvement.
West Frontier Province, encircled Baghdheri police station and engaged security forces in an hour-long gun battle before they were beaten back.
The rebels also fought gun battles with troops in Kabal and Aligrama areas. Security forces shelled militant hideouts in this region after the militants began amassing for an attack.
There were also reports that four militants were arrested. Troops blocked the Mingora-Khawakhela road, one of the main highways in the region, this morning as helicopter gunships hovered over Imamdheri.
Federal interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah said the troops had been instructed to avoid collateral damage while fighting the militants, but people in Swat claimed a child was killed when he was caught in the crossfire between security forces and the rebels.
The Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that the paramilitary Frontier Corps and police had "secured and driven militants out of the area from Fiza Ghat up to Manglore".
It said the situation is under control in other areas of Swat and the army had not joined the operation in the area.
The clashes, however, created tension in the region and hundreds of people fled Mingora, the headquarters of Swat district, which till recently was a popular tourist destination for its archaeological sites and Buddhist heritage.
There was also tension in Khwazakhela, a town 25 km from Minora, where shops and markets were closed. People in Kabal were told by troops not to venture out of their houses though no curfew was officially declared.
Reports from the NWFP capital Peshawar, located about 50 km from Swat, said three rockets were fired into the city before dawn and one of them narrowly missed the US consulate and hit a politician's house nearby. No one was hurt, officials said.
The police said another rocket hit an empty house and the third landed in a street. The rockets were fired within the space of an hour. Security forces also found and defused five more rockets that were planted in a plant and aimed at the Peshawar airport.
SWAT, Pakistan (AP) -- Militants seized a police post and paramilitary troops set up sandbagged bunkers to bolster security in a tense town in northwestern Pakistan where supporters of a pro-Taliban cleric have taken up arms against the government, police said Sunday.Pakistan's paramilitary troops stand alert behind the barbwire at a post outside Mingora on Sunday. Militants have clashed with security forces in the Swat district since Friday, when the military raided the stronghold of the pro-Taliban cleric, Maulana Fazlullah.
Fifteen people have been killed in the violence, including six security personnel and seven civilians who were beheaded by militants, officials said.Militants captured the police post in Charbagh village near Mingora, the main town in Swat district, late Saturday after nearly a dozen policemen deployed there abandoned it when they came under heavy attack, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media comments.Police and paramilitary troops set up security posts and bunkers protected by sandbags in Kabal, a small town near Mingora dominated by supporters of Fazlullah, who is demanding implementation of Islamic laws in the region, the official said. Watch as Pakistani troops beef up in Swat »Militants and security forces also exchanged gunfire in Kabal late Saturday but there were no reports of any injuries, he said.
Authorities have deployed 2,500 paramilitary troops to Swat to fight supporters of Fazlullah, who has launched a Taliban-style Islamization campaign in the once-peaceful and scenic district and has called for a jihad, or holy war, against the government.
Militants decapitated six security personnel and seven civilians who were accused of being government spies, to "terrorize people," said Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir, the top civilian security official in North West Frontier Province where Swat is located.
The rise in militancy in northwestern Pakistan has shaken the authority of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S. war on terror.
Fazlullah is the leader of the banned pro-Taliban group Tehrik Nifaz-e-Sharia Mohammedi, or Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law.
In Malakand, a rugged area bordering Swat, authorities dropped pamphlets from airplanes on Sunday urging residents to cooperate with security forces, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported. The government made similar appeals in Swat a day earlier.
Titled "Message in the name of Patriotic Pakistanis," the pamphlets asked residents to help "the government in purging (Malakand) of terrorists."
Separately, three rockets hit the provincial capital of Peshawar before dawn Sunday, one striking a politician's house across the road from the U.S. Consulate, but no one was hurt, police
NATO 'losing' fight in Afghanistan
LONDON, England (CNN) -- NATO has lost the war in Afghanistan and success there is now unlikely, a former U.N. envoy warned Thursday, as Britain's prime minister met his Afghan counterpart and the U.S. defense secretary pressed for continued military commitment.
Paddy Ashdown, the former U.N. high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, warned major instability would be inevitable in the region if resurgent Islamic extremists gain the upper hand.
"We have lost, I think, and success is now unlikely," Ashdown told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"I believe losing in Afghanistan is worse than losing in Iraq. It will mean that Pakistan will fall and it will have serious implications internally for the security of our own countries and will instigate a wider Shiite-Sunni regional war on a grand scale," he added.
A NATO spokesman said he was baffled by the comments from Ashdown, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the proposed role of a new high-level international envoy to Afghanistan.
"I couldn't begin to understand what he's talking about," James Appathurai told CNN. "We are firmly committed to this, we feel we're on the right track, and we're going to keep going. There is no doubt."
U.S. commanders also believe NATO is winning in Afghanistan but say victory will still take years and requires a long-term commitment of more troops and equipment.
In a speech delivered Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said progress is "real but fragile."
"At this time, many allies are unwilling to share the risks, commit the resources, and follow through on our commitments to this mission and to each other," Gates said in prepared remarks to the Conference of European Armies in Heidelberg, Germany.
"As a result, we risk allowing what has been achieved in Afghanistan to slip away."
Gates said an ongoing problem among NATO member nations has been a lack of will and commitment to the Afghan campaign.
"Today, non-U.S. NATO nations have more than 2 million men and women in uniform, yet we struggle to maintain 23,000 non-U.S. troops in Afghanistan," he said, adding there are similar problems with equipment and other resources.
After talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he wants the international community to continue sharing the burden in Afghanistan while gradually giving more responsibility to the Afghan people.
"Is it time to leave Afghanistan? No. Is it time to add more responsibility to the Afghan people? Yes," Karzai said at a news conference.
Karzai said the international community's work in Afghanistan has produced "magnificent results" against terrorism, but he urged countries to stay committed.
Brown said he agreed with the idea of burden-sharing for a range of areas in Afghanistan.
"We know from the NATO commander that there are other countries prepared to do more," Brown said. "We know also that there are means by which burden-sharing can happen, but the military effort must be complemented by the diplomatic effort and by the development work that has been done."
Current Trends in Jihadi Networks in Europe
By Lorenzo Vidino
[From: Terrorism Monitor (The Jamestown Foundation, USA)
Volume 5, Issue 20 (October 25, 2007)]
http://www.jamestow n.org/terrorism/ news/article. php?articleid= 2373743
The terrorist related events that took place during the summer in
Europe—the doctors' plot in Great Britain, the dismantling of
various cells in Italy, Austria and Spain, and, finally, the
September arrests in Germany and Denmark—have confirmed that Europe
is a key staging ground for jihadi activities. Although large
differences exist from country to country and within various
subgroups in the ever-evolving underworld of jihadi networks in
Europe, it is possible to identify some current trends that, in one
way or another, are common to the whole continent.
Independent, or Part of a Network
During the last few years, commentators have been fascinated with
homegrown networks in Europe and, clearly, small groups of European-
born, self-radicalized, violence-prone Islamists have sprung up in
most European countries. Yet, the panorama of jihadi networks in
Europe is quite complex and, for a more accurate analysis, could be
described on a continuum. At one extreme, one can identify
quintessential homegrown groups such as the Hofstad Group in the
Netherlands: small domestic clusters of radicals that have developed
no ties to external groups and act in complete operational
independence. At the opposite side of the spectrum are cells that
respond to the traditional model used by al-Qaeda-affiliated groups
in the 1990s: compartmentalized cells inserted in a well-structured
network and subjected to a hierarchy whose heads are often outside
Europe. That is the model to which various cells of the Algerian
GSPC (today Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) belong.
In between these two extremes, there is a whole spectrum of
realities, positioned according to the level of autonomy of the
group. The most recurring model seems to be that of the cell
dismantled by Danish authorities on September 4, 2007: a small group
of young men, most of them born and/or raised in Europe, who knew
each other either from the neighborhood or from the mosque. Their
radicalization took place in Europe and only one or two members of
the group traveled out of the country (Pakistan, in this case) to
link up with foreign-based, well-structured groups ideologically or
operationally affiliated with al-Qaeda. The knowledge acquired by
the cell after this linkage obviously makes it more dangerous.
Traveling for Jihad: Primary and Secondary Fields
In contrast to the situation before the September 11 attacks, today
most European jihadis do not travel out of the continent for
training or to fight. Nevertheless, a small but significant number
of them still opt for short stints in places where they can join
training camps or guerrilla units. Pakistan/Afghanista n and Iraq are
the two primary destinations. The former seems to attract recruits
mostly from Northern Europe (Great Britain, in particular), while
militants from Spain, Italy and France seem to travel mostly to the
latter (El Periodico, May 6; Le Monde, December 16, 2004).
Noteworthy is the presence of European militants in two lesser known
fields of jihad: Somalia and Lebanon. A few dozen European
volunteers have been arrested by Ethiopian and Somali governmental
forces among the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) fighters since
December 2006. Several of these militants possess Scandinavian
passports, and, according to intelligence sources, Sweden is
considered the hub for the flow of money from Europe to the ICU
(Sveriges Radio, January 30). Italian authorities have also
monitored the visits of several ICU-linked preachers who are
traveling to various Italian cities in order to fundraise and
recruit among the country's Somali population (L'Espresso, February
5). Reportedly, Swedish and British fighters were killed by U.S.
missiles and Somali army operations (BBC News, June 3). A smaller
number of Western volunteers, mostly from Denmark and Australia,
have allegedly fought with Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Barid
refugee camp in Lebanon (The Australian, September 13).
The Muslim Ghetto Subculture: Jihad and Rap
Europe today is witnessing the growth of a disturbing new subculture
that mixes violent urban behaviors, nihilism and Islamic
fundamentalism. Many young, often European-born Muslims feel a
disturbingly intense sense of detachment from, if not sheer hatred
for, their host societies and embrace various antagonistic messages.
While some turn to Salafism, others adopt an indefinite blend of
counter-cultures, ranging from hip hop to Islamic fundamentalism.
Many youngsters from the Muslim-majority ghettoes of various
European cities adopt several behaviors typical of Western street
culture, such as dressing like rappers, smoking marijuana and
drinking alcohol, yet watching jihadi videos and having pictures of
Osama bin Laden on the display of their cell phones [1]. Any
individual who attacks mainstream society becomes a hero to these
teens, be it Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or the late American rapper Tupac
Shakur.
This hybrid street culture is particularly influenced by African-
American gangster culture and music. Bands such as Fun-da-mental and
Blakstone in the United Kingdom, Medine in France, and Zanka Flow
(Moroccan-based, but hugely popular in the Netherlands) combine
radical Islamic concepts with hip hop sounds, jargon and attitudes.
An aspiring star in the jihadi rap underworld is Mohammed Kamel
Mostafa, the son of former Finsbury Park imam Abu Hamza, who has
recently formed a rap duo called Lionz of Da Dezert. Using the stage
name of al-Ansary, Mostafa raps about jihad and killing infidels. "I
was born to be a soldier," read the lyrics of one of his
songs. "Kalashnikov on my shoulder, peace to Hamas and Hezbollah,
that's the way of the lord Allah. We're jihad. I defend my religion
with the holy sword" (Agence France-Presse, March 1, 2006).
While the phenomenon affects only a minority of European Muslims,
its dimensions and repercussions are more than noteworthy. In
London, city officials are worried about the growth of an extremely
violent gang commonly known as the Muslim Boys. Operating in the
southern areas of the British capital, the gang is composed of
several hundreds of members and is active in criminal activities
ranging from robberies to drug trafficking. The members of the gang
are mostly British-born black youth originally from the Caribbean or
Africa who converted to Islam in British penitentiaries and bond
over their newfound faith (Evening Standard, February 3, 2005). Yet,
their interpretation of Islam is perverted. The gang members do not
respect the most basic tenets of Islam, and their appearance and
slang more closely resemble that of American ghetto culture than
that of practicing Muslims. Tellingly, a gang member admitted to a
reporter from the Evening Standard: "I pray twice a day: before I do
crime and after. I ask Allah for a blessing when I'm out on the
streets. Afterwards, I apologize to Allah for what I done [sic]."
The gang is also involved in "forced conversions, " compelling black
youth at gunpoint to convert to Islam and join them; two years ago,
they executed a 24-year-old for refusing to convert.
The Expansion to the Countryside
Radical Islam in Europe has traditionally been an urban phenomenon.
Muslim immigrants have historically settled in large and mid-size
cities and, as a consequence, radical mosques and jihadi activities
have also been largely confined to urban settings. Yet, during the
past few years, there has been a noticeable expansion of radical
activities to rural areas. The phenomenon is particularly evident in
southern European countries, where large numbers of North African
immigrants are employed, seasonally or permanently, in agriculture.
Wandering imams, often linked to Tablighi Jamaat and small makeshift
mosques run by radicals, have popped up in small country towns and
villages in Spain, Italy and France, spreading Salafism among the
local Muslim communities. Taking advantage of the absence of other
mosques and the limited surveillance of the small local police
forces, Salafists have managed to establish a presence in rural
areas of Piedmont, Campania, Provence and southern Spain [2].
In some cases, Salafist networks have taken advantage of the
isolation provided by the countryside to create small fundamentalist
communes, as in Artigat, a bucolic village of less than 1,000
residents in the French Pyrenees. When French authorities dismantled
a Toulouse-based network that was smuggling volunteers to Iraq, they
uncovered links to a 60-year-old Syrian man who was leading an
Islamist commune in Artigat (Le Parisien, February 15). Living
completely isolated from the outside world, the commune's five
families lived under a strict self-imposed Islamic code and preached
a radical interpretation of Islam to their children and to the
visitors who would come occasionally from the city (mostly Toulouse)
to spend time in a "pure Islamic environment. "
Eastern Europe?
While not already an established trend, there are indications
showing that radical Islam is spreading, albeit at a slow pace and
with significant differences from country to country, to Eastern
Europe. The presence of radical networks in Bosnia, many of them
leftovers from the conflict of the 1990s, is well known. Although
less grave, Wahhabi influence, propagated mostly by a wide network
of Saudi-sponsored mosques, is on the rise in other areas of the
Balkans with significant Muslim populations such as Albania, Kosovo
and Serbia's Sandzak region (B92 Radio Serbia, June 6, 2006).
Various Islamist groups have been reported to be actively spreading
their propaganda to other Muslim populations throughout Eastern
Europe. Hizb-ut-Tahrir, for example, organized a large conference in
Ukraine in August, targeting mostly Crimean Tatars (Kommersant-
Ukraina, August 13). Yet, even countries with little or no native
Muslim population have seen a tiny, yet growing, presence of
Islamist activities, particularly among their Arab and Pakistani
student population. During the last few years, authorities in
Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria have arrested individuals who were
either promoting radical Islam through websites and publications or
funneling money to terrorist organizations. Additionally, in October
2006, Czech authorities issued a terror alert after uncovering
information of an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Jews in Prague
(Der Spiegel, October 6, 2006).
The attractiveness of Eastern European countries for jihadis has
increased significantly with the inclusion of many of them in the
European Union. Some Eastern European countries, with their
understaffed and often corrupt intelligence and law enforcement
agencies, easy access to black market weapons and forged documents,
and possibility of traveling to Western Europe without border
controls, can constitute ideal bases of operation. An interesting
related phenomenon is the suspicious spike in marriages between
Bulgarian and Romanian women and North African men reported in Italy
and Spain immediately after the entrance of the two Eastern European
countries in the European Union. In all likelihood, the majority of
these artificial marriages involve individuals with no connections
to terrorism who simply want to acquire a European passport to stay
and work in Western Europe. Nevertheless, the possibility that
terrorists could use the same scheme should also be considered.
Conclusion
Jihadism is a global movement whose characteristics mutate rapidly.
While today some of the abovementioned trends are still in a
developing phase or can be noticed only in some European countries,
it is likely that they will be replicated with greater intensity and
in more countries in the near future.
Notes
1. The information is based on author's observations throughout
Europe.
2. The information is derived from a variety of sources, including:
the Indictment of Abdelillah El Kaflaoui, Tribunal of Turin, May 7,
2005; Libero, October 18, 2007; author's private intelligence
sources.
