statism watch

It’s difficult to know at this remove precisely why civil war is being fomented in Pakistan, but it’s tragic – thousands more are fleeing South Waziristan as the clouds of war gather, VOA reports. The situation is complex – there are factions within the army, supported by elements of the ISI, that are attacking other elements of the army. It’s come out in the media that the Islamic groups are aided and abetted by elements of the Pakistan armed forces. Additionally, there have been accusations that Indian and American agencies are also supporting the ‘Taliban’. One previous insurgent leader, Qari Zainuddin, went public with this information and was promptly assassinated. Baitullah Mehsud, previously untouchable for some reason, was also eliminated by Predator strike shortly thereafter and replaced by his brother. What are we to make of all this? There’s more going on behind the scenes than we know. Qui bono?

Flashback: Pakistan launches air strikes before offensive | Pakistan hit by another deadly bomb blast | Bloody siege in Pakistan ends with 20 dead | Links to ‘Al-Qaeda’, Pakistani training camps linger after ‘Toronto 18′ member imprisoned | Pakistani militant leader dead: Taliban | Whistleblower Who Linked “Taliban” Leader To US Intelligence Is Assassinated | Pakistani president Asif Zardari admits creating terrorist groups | Western Governments Funding Taliban & Al-Qaeda To Kill U.S. Troops, Destabilize Countries | The Main Result of the “War on Terror”: The Destabilization of Pakistan | Not very cricket: Witnesses report Pakistani security abandoned convoy prior to attack | Report: CIA runs secret bases in Pakistan | Key Benazir Bhutto assassination witness shot dead | CIA, Pakistani ISI have long, complicated relationship | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation

CBC News
October 15, 2009

Five co-ordinated attacks killed at least 40 people in three Pakistani cities Thursday as violence escalated ahead of a planned offensive into the militant heartland on the Afghan border.

Officials said the violence began just after 9 a.m. with groups of gunmen attacking three sites in the eastern city of Lahore. Later in the day car bombs detonated in the cities of Kohat and Peshawar.

Gunmen initially launched a 1½ hour attack at the Federal Investigation Agency. Two attackers died in the standoff that also killed four government employees and a bystander, said government officials.

Soon after that assault began, a second band of gunmen raided a police training school in Manawan, on the outskirts of the city. During a brief attack, nine police officers and four militants died, officials said.

The third team of eight gunmen scaled the back wall of an elite police commando training centre and attacked the facility, said Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore. Five attackers died, as well as one police nursing assistant and a civilian also died in the attack, officials said.

Police said several of the Lahore gunmen appeared to be teenagers who were wearing vests rigged with explosives. Sajjad Bhutta, a senior government official, added the attackers appeared to be from the lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border.

“They were not here to live. They were here to die. Each time they were injured, they blew themselves up,” Bhutta said. “They were well-trained.”

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber struck in the Saddar area of Kohat, killing 11 people when a vehicle blew up next to a police station. And a remotely detonated car bomb exploded outside a government housing complex in the northwestern city of Peshawar in the evening, killing a six-year-old boy and wounding nine other people.

Attacks were expected: intelligence official

Two of the Lahore sites had been targets of previous attacks. An official at the Punjab provincial government’s intelligence agency said agents had information ahead of Thursday’s attacks and police had been alerted but the assailants still managed to strike.

All government offices and many businesses in the provincial capital were shut down during the attacks. Nearby roads were also closed. Witnesses said hundreds of police officers and soldiers were in the streets and sirens could be heard for most of the day.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. But Taliban militants have taken credit for a series of attacks in recent days, including a siege of the army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi that left 23 people dead.

President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement the bloodshed that has engulfed the nation over the past 11 days would not deter the government from its mission to eliminate violent extremists.

“The enemy has started a guerrilla war,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. “The whole nation should be united against these handful of terrorists, and God willing we will defeat them.”

Growing threat to Punjab

Analysts said the attacks underscore the growing threat to Punjab, the northeastern province next to India where the Taliban are believed to have made inroads and linked up with local insurgent outfits.

“First the [North West] Frontier province was on the front line, now they are playing their games in Punjab,” Malik said.

Military spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas said the attacks are a sign of desperation among the militants.

“These kinds of things are common for the terrorists,” Abbas said. “They use all these tactics and methods to bring the state under pressure.”

The Pakistani military is preparing a ground offensive in South Waziristan province, along the country’s western border with Afghanistan, to clear the region of militants.

Military officials have not said when the ground operation would begin, but there has been speculation it is imminent. Two divisions totalling 28,000 men have been moved into the area, according to reports.

Source | See also under Pakistan: Pakistan launches air strikes before offensive | Pakistan hit by another deadly bomb blast | Bloody siege in Pakistan ends with 20 dead | Pakistan to indict suspects in Mumbai attacks | Links to ‘Al-Qaeda’, Pakistani training camps linger after ‘Toronto 18′ member imprisoned | Pakistani militant leader dead: Taliban | Mumbai attack suspect shocks court and own defence lawyer by pleading guilty | Taliban flee new U.S. drive in Afghanistan | Pakistan remains silent as U.S. air attack kills 80 | Whistleblower Who Linked “Taliban” Leader To US Intelligence Is Assassinated | CIA: Bin Laden still in Pakistan | Pakistan army backs citizens fighting Taliban | The Main Result of the “War on Terror”: The Destabilization of Pakistan | Homing chips are CIA’s latest weapon against ‘al-Qaida’ targets hiding in Pakistan’s tribal belt | Pakistani troops battle Taliban in key Swat Valley city | Canada eyes arms sales to Pakistan | MacKay to discuss security concerns with Pakistan | Caught in the crossfire — the Swat valley’s fleeing families | CIA: Our Drones are Killing Terrorists. Promise. | 500,000 fleeing Pakistani airstrikes, fighting, UN reports | Pakistan is ‘abdicating to the Taliban,’ says Clinton | Mumbai attacks suspect alleges torture, retracts confession | US military may escalate ‘war on terror’ by striking deeper into Pakistan | Pakistan restores outspoken judge | Pakistani police attack opposition march for independent judiciary | Not very cricket: Witnesses report Pakistani security abandoned convoy prior to attack | Pakistani officers helped plan Mumbai attacks, says India | Report: CIA runs secret bases in Pakistan | Indian Mumbai dossier details gunmen’s calls with handlers | India to create national spy agency in wake of Mumbai attacks | Former ISI Chief: Mumbai And 9/11 Both “Inside Jobs” | Indian Intelligence Provided SIM Cards to Mumbai Gunmen | Mumbai Attacks Politicize Long-Isolated Elite | Mumbai terror attacks: Rice calls for ‘total transparency’ from Pakistan | CIA Foreknowledge of the Mumbai Attacks | “Fair-skinned, blonde” assailants began attack in Mumbai | Mumbai Attacks Blamed On Al-Qaeda As Pretext For U.S. Military Response | Terror strikes Mumbai | Don’t-ask-don’t-tell Policy: Pakistan and U.S. Have Tacit Deal On Airstrikes | Death toll climbs after U.S. air strike in Pakistan | US Incursion Turned Back by Pakistan Army | Bush secret order to send special forces into Pakistan | Pakistan fury over ‘US assault’ | Musharraf resigns as Pakistan president | Key Benazir Bhutto assassination witness shot dead | CIA, Pakistani ISI have long, complicated relationship | U.S. Intel Officer: Al Qaeda Leadership Allowed To Operate Freely in Pakistan | Afghanistan suggests Pakistan responsible for embassy bombing | Bhutto report: Musharraf planned to fix elections | Video: ‘The most conclusive evidence’ Bhutto was shot | Police abandoned security posts before Bhutto assassination | Bhutto assassinated | Benazir Bhutto: Bin Laden Murdered | Terror accused refuses to discuss links to Pakistan secret service, family threatened | London terror plotter was ‘hardened’ in ISI camp | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation

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