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Archive for category TRAITORS

Why Propaganda against New Head of Pakistan’s Spy Agency? By Sajjad Shaukat

Why Propaganda against New Head of Pakistan’s Spy Agency?

By

Sajjad Shaukat

 

Pakistan on June 16, this year appointed Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed as the new head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, replacing the agency’s head, Lieutenant General Asim Munir.

 

In this regard, as part of the continued propaganda campaign against Pakistan Army and ISI, on June 21, 2019, an article by Ayesha Siddiqa under the caption “New ISI Chief Faiz Hamed a manipulator picked by army chief Bajwa to be his master’s voice” left no stone unturned in maligning country’s key security agencies, while describing Lt. Gen. Faiz as a hardliner.

 

It is regrettable that some of the Pakistani liberals and self-styled champions of freedom of expression like Ayesha Siddiqa who seem in collusion with Indian security agencies forget that Pakistan bashing is in not interest of Pakistan.

 

 

In this respect, by ignoring ground realities which Pakistan Army and ISI are facing in maintaining the internal and external of the country, Ayesha wrote: “Lt Gen. Faiz Hameed, the new Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, has raised eyebrows, not due to his appointment but because he replaced Lt Gen. Asim Munir, who was appointed just eight months ago. This creates an impression that Faiz Hameed brings more to his boss’s [Army Chief] table than his immediate predecessor. The change has ensured for him the title of being ‘his master’s voice’ and the fact that this will have an impact on the politics inside the organisation for the short to medium term…a new head of the ISI will not or cannot tamper with its strategic goals. He will not interact with the jihadis on his own or eliminate them because he doesn’t agree with the idea. However, his relationship with the army chief, the ISI and the rest of the army will have an impact on his ability to perform…Qamar Bajwa, who had taken over the command of the army by then, brought his own man to head the ‘C’ wing of the ISI responsible for counter-intelligence, which means a hand on the political pulse of Pakistan and on the organisational pulse of its army…General Hameed could have continued as Adjutant-General had Bajwa not gotten restless and brought him back to the ISI…The shift will certainly leave a mark on the relationship between the army’s spy organisation, Military Intelligence…Bajwa’s influence leapt further…when he was included as a member in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s newly created body for Pakistan’s economic revival…the National Development Council.”

 

However, following the anti-Pakistan entities’ approach, Ayesha Siddiqa neglected the facts. She must know that Pakistan’s Armed Forces have successfully broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists by the military operations Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad which have also been extended to other parts of the country, including Balochistan province and Karachi. Army and ISI have broken the network of these terrorist groups by capturing several militants while thwarting a number of terror attempts. Peace has been restored in various regions of Pakistan, including Karachi and Balochistan.

 

But, foreign elements have, again, started terror attacks in Balochistan and other regions of the country which show that the US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel want to weaken Pakistan and to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As regards the new wave of terrorism in Pakistan, various terrorist outfits, particularly the Islamic State group (Also known as Daesh, ISIS, ISIL), and the affiliated faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (TTP-JA also known as JuA) claimed responsibility for these brutal acts. TTP based in Afghanistan has its connections with ISIL and other terrorist organizations and affiliated terror groups, including Baloch separatist elements, and all these outfits are promoting the anti-Pakistan agenda of the external entities against Pakistan. As part of the double game, American CIA, Indian RAW, Israeli Mossad and Afghan intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) which are in collaboration, are using these terror groups in weakening Pakistan and especially Balochistan in order to fulfill the covert strategic aims of the US-led India and Israel against Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran.

 

As Pakistan is the only declared nuclear country in the Islamic World, Hence, America, India and Israel have been acting upon their collective agenda to destabilize it. Besides, after the shift of the Great Game from Central Asia to Pakistan (Balochistan), the country has become a special target of the CIA, RAW and Mossad which are in connivance in supporting various terror-related attacks in various cities, including separatist elements in Balochistan province.

 

Besides, it was due to the corruption-practice of the previous regimes that at this juncture, Pakistan is facing multi-faceted crises and challenges like corruption, soaring prices, energy-shortage, unemployment, crimes, lack of health facilities, and dependence upon the US-led developed countries, IMF and World Bank for financial aid. Notably, the present drastic situation cannot be comprehended by the general masses and even the political leaders who abruptly change their opinion. Therefore, they become an unintentional victim of the external plotters who succeed in creating a rift particularly between the political groups, divided into ethnic and linguistic lines. These foreign enemies also seek to create a division between the political leaders and the Armed Forces of the country.

 

And under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, anti-corruption drive by the institutions is going on independently, where the military is not interfering, though rendering all possible assistance in eliminating of corruption. But, a writer like Ayesha is exploiting anti-corruption drive of the government in negative terms.

 

In fact, the appointment of Lt-Gen. Faiz Hameed as the new Director General of ISI is a routine matter which barely attracted any attention at all, except among the country’s liberals and the Indian media, with the two coming together through Ayesha Siddiqa’s article. Its provocative title clearly shows that the main aim of the article is to spread disinformation—an assault on multiple targets such as civil-military relations—ISI and the Army in order to create wedges among the key institutions of the country.

 

It is mentionable that Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa is an active member of the US-based “South Asians Against Terrorism & For Human Rights” (SAATH) Forum-an ultra-liberal platform run by former Pakistani Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani who describes himself on his official website as “an India-friendly Pakistani currently living in exile in the US”.

 

In his latest book, “Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State”, Husain Haqqani maligned Pakistan, its security agencies, while targeting the country’s ideology and nuclear weapons. Painting a dark picture of the country, Haqqani has distorted the image of Pakistan and its armed forces, while showing Pakistan a fundamentalist state in the line of the external propagandists.

 

 

As regards Husain Haqqani, while serving as Pakistani ambassador, he was protecting American interests. He had issued visas to many CIA agents like Ramond Davis to destabilize Pakistan. Besides, working at various American institutes, Husain Haqqani developed secret liaisons with Indo-Israeli lobbies and became a covert element of an anti-Pakistan campaign. Particularly, this could be judged from his book, titled, ‘Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military.’ In this book, Husain Haqqani targeted both military and Islamic ideology. While pointing out the relationship of the Pak Army and ISI with the Islamic militants, Haqqani allegedly wrote, “since September 11, 2001, the selective cooperation of Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf—sharing intelligence with the United States and apprehending Al Qaeda members—have led to the assumption that Pakistan might be ready to give up its long-standing ties with radical Islam.” He advised America, “Washington should no longer condone the Pakistani military’s support for Islamic militants.”

 

American famous writers and authors exaggeratedly praised the book of Husain Haqqani, as it was in accordance with the hidden agenda and blame game of the US and Indian high officials and their media and which still continue against Pakistan and its security agencies. Especially, Stephen P. Cohen, author of the book, ‘The Idea of Pakistan and The Pakistan Army’ allegedly wrote, “We are in Husain Haqqani’s debt for providing the authoritative account of the linkages between Pakistan’s powerful Islamists and its professional army.”

 

It worth mentioning that Haqqani was found guilty by a Pakistani court of authoring a memo in 2012 requesting America’s support against Pakistan’s military, which resulted in a warrant being issued for his arrest and his formal designation as an international fugitive when he failed to comply. Interpol which is under pressure from former Husain Haqqani’s American patrons refused to act on Islamabad’s request, so, he remains free to continue operating his ultra-liberal platform and engaging in other provocative activities.

 

Like Haqqani, Ayesha is also known for her controversial book titled ‘Military, Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy’; and criticized military and the ISI.

If anyone read various articles and books written by Ayesha Siddiqa, he can conclude undoubtedly that she, herself, is master’s voice of the US-led anti-Pakistan entities, while the article regarding the new head of Pakistan’s spy agency is part of the propaganda against Pakistan and its Army and ISI.

 

 

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NADRAGate: The terrifying cable that should not be ignored by Waqas Ahmed

 NADRAGate: The terrifying cable that should not be ignored  

by  

Waqas Ahmed

Daily Pakistan

 

Cablegate

In 2010-11, Wikileaks released a trove of classified US govt data which consisted of communications between Washington and her embassies worldwide – this was called Cablegate. Cablegate consisted of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables – an overwhelming amount of data. In the same year (2011) Pakistani journalists published a story about one cable of particular interest: #09ISLAMABAD1642_a, classified ‘secret’ by US govt.

There was some noise about this cable back then, but the public quickly forgot it and it remained forgotten till a few days ago when Wikileaks tweeted about it and reminded us.

This particular cable details a series of meetings held in 2009 between the then Interior Minister of Pakistan, Rehman Malik, the President of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani with US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano. The purpose of these meetings, from the US side at least, was to “Offer DHS assistance to enhance Pakistan’s border security and [seek] GOP views on an arrangement under which DHS would provide the Government of Pakistan (GOP) with technology to access and analyze Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data on passengers flying to and from Pakistan, in return for DHS getting access to the data.

What is API and PNR?

Advance Passenger Information is, in simple terms, information about the passenger who is travelling overseas. Suppose you are travelling to UAE, a country that requires API from Pakistani passengers, you will need to provide the following data about yourself prior to boarding your flight:

  • Full name
  • Passport number, issuing country, and expiration date
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Nationality

This information will be connected to your PNR, which is a unique ID identifying you as a passenger on a flight. This information will be received by your destination country so they could investigate your past criminal history (if any) before they allow you in that country. To do that, they will use your API information to search their own country’s database and check if you are clean or not. Without connecting API to the database of a host country, API is useless.

United States DHS, in the cable under discussion, wanted to provide us with such a tool which would connect API to NADRA database for the purpose of analysis, and in theory give us a heads-up if a terrorist was travelling to or from our country. United States, it seems benevolently, wanted to give us this technology for free – with only one catch: they would be able to access the data from our side. And not just the data of passengers travelling from US to Pakistan or vice versa, they would be able to access data of passengers from all countries going to and from Pakistan. To make it all useful, the API technology would have to be connected to NADRA database, therefore, in a way US would also get an interface to NADRA database.

Why was US pushing for API technology?

US was pushing Pakistan to install this technology for the obvious reason that they wanted the data. It is a good rule-of-thumb to remember that if something supposedly valuable is being given to you for free, you must be doubly suspicious.

But there was something else that was going on at that time.

At that time Pakistan was in the process of phasing out an old system provided to NADRA by an American company for a similar purpose. That system was called ‘Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES)’. NADRA aimed to phase out that system by 2011 and instead install a new indigenously made one: Integrated Border Management System (IBMS).

PISCES was installed in 1999-2002, when Lt Gen (r) Moinuddin Haider was the interior Minister under Musharraf’s govt. But listen to this: While IBMS cost us around Rs421 million to implement, PISCES was free. Why?

Here is a clue: PISCES was made by US firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen Hamilton was Snowden’s employer for those of you who can’t recall where you heard that name. Booz Allen Hamilton was an NSA contractor and that is enough to reach the conclusion that PISCES had a backdoor that allowed US to access all Pakistani data connected to it. Moinuddin Haider rubbished, at that time, any claims that PISCES had a backdoor – but in hindsight after Snowden leaks, it is highly improbable that PISCES was clean. Another clue is that US State dept wanted to give us $42 million (free) to upgrade and maintain PISCES and abandon all attempts to make something similar on our own. Here is an Express Tribune article (which was affiliated with New York Times at that time) telling us why IBMS sucks in comparison to PISCES.

The shady dealings with PPP govt

When US was pushing API on us, we were getting rid of PISCES, and I suspect, it was because of this exact reason API was being pushed on us.

How did the PPP-led govt react to that? While the behavior of PPP govt remains highly suspect, we can see in the same cable that Rehman Malik was being very slippery in his dealings with Ms. Napolitano.

According to the cable: On API/PNR, Interior Minister Malik assured the Secretary privately that the GOP wanted to be helpful, but in the meeting with his subordinates asked for information on model agreements, legal frameworks and precedents the Ministry could use to persuade those in the GOP worried about privacy rights and possible legal challenges in the courts to API/PNR data sharing. The GOP agreed to host future DHS visitors to continue discussions on API/PNR and border security. It is obvious that while Rehman Malik was being cooperative in front of US govt, he also wanted to protect his own behind and was trying to be extremely careful.

Not only that, the PPP govt at every turn tried to get something out of the US in return and in a way put a price on the private data of Pakistani citizens. In every meeting they tried to couple PNR/API issue with: Pakistani textile exports to US, non-stop PIA flights to US, and a few hundred Pakistani students receiving scholarships in the US. Rehman Malik also tried to make excuses by saying that overreaching Pakistani judiciary would never allow such a thing.

On the other hand Napolitano was even more stubborn:
Secretary Napolitano responded that the United States now wishes to deal with non-stop flights separately from the issue of API/PNR data exchange, and explained that enhanced access to API/PNR data is of direct benefit to Pakistan as well as to the United States. Prime Minister Gilani echoed Zardari’s comments on PNR, stating that, although the Interior Ministry is considering the U.S. request, to “do the whole world” will be difficult. To Gilani’s statement that Pakistan had been promised non-stop flights in return for buying Boeing aircraft in 2004, Secretary Napolitano was clear that flights will be dealt with as a separate issue, not as an exchange.

While in all these discussions the pretext is Pakistani border security, it is obvious that both parties know exactly what is going on: That US wants Pakistani data, and Pakistan, while not unwilling to provide access to that data, wants a ‘consideration’, i.e something in return. And without any potential political blowback.

Make no mistake, at no point did Rehman Malik or Gilani or Zardari say an outright “NO”. They wanted to put some sort of price on this invaluable data, something that would protect them from political repercussions. However, it seems that these discussions did not bear any fruits at that time. We don’t know the reason – there is no cable that follows up on this one.

Enter another shadowy company: International Identity Services (IIS)

On September 6, 2011 The News published a report that NADRA was out sourcing its UK operations to a private company. This news in itself would’ve been outrageous but the details were even more so: IIS was headed by an unnamed person with a criminal history. Not only that, but NADRA officials maintained that NADRA was working with the company since 2009, when in fact IIS was created the very same year, and maybe for the very same purpose.

IIS was formed in 2009, and closed its operations in just 5 years.
IIS was formed in 2009, and closed its operations in just 5 years.

There could be two reasons for such a discrepancy: Either some officials at NADRA or Interior Ministry were planning to receive kickbacks from that company made by someone close to them, or this company was a front for NSA/CIA/GCHQ. IIS, even more suspiciously, stopped its operations in 2014 – in just 5 years and disappeared off the face of this earth.

Is NADRA data safe?

In short: NO, NADRA data is not safe. Even one outsourced company or country that can access NADRA database through any interface can potentially steal the whole database. They might not even have to steal because we have people in our government, supposedly custodians of our national interests, willing to sell such invaluable national asset such as the database of the whole populace in exchange for pennies then all bets are off. We do not know, and we may never know, how much of our data has been compromised. But one thing we know for sure is that we cannot trust our government, elected or otherwise.

One thing we see in the cable is that Rehman Malik and Co, were afraid of public outrage. When this cable first surfaced, there was little to no great public backlash. If there is no adverse reaction, future governments may get bold. Let’s make sure that there is no such misunderstanding between public representatives and the public. Wikileaks has given us another chance to consider our reactions against those who claim to represent us but actually do not. Let’s give it to them.

Waqas Ahmed

Waqas Ahmed

Waqas Ahmed is Editor, Digital Media, at Daily Pakistan Global. You can reach him at waqas@dailypakistan.com.pk

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“Heated exchange between Traitor Hussain Haqqani, Dr. Ishrat Hussain over Pak-US ties at the USIP.”

“Heated exchange between Haqqani, Dr.Ishrat over Pak-US ties

at

the

US Institute of Peace (USIP) 

meeting”

Image result for Husain Haqqani Ghaddar Traitor Dog

Image result for Traitors

 

WASHINGTON: It was like a talk show on a Pakistani news channel when two top former officials of Pakistan had a heated exchange at a reputed US institution about the future of US-Pakistan ties and the Coalition Support Fund (CSF).

Former Governor of State Bank Dr. Ishrat Hussain and former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani were debating the utility of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and the US aid for Pakistan at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) here on Wednesday.

The audience included the former top US diplomats including assistant secretary of state for South Asian Robin L Raphel, experts of US foreign policy and some serving officials from both the countries.

“CSF was not assistance. It was our money that we spent to support the US logistic operations in Afghanistan during the war on terror and it was reimbursed later. I sat in cabinet meetings where we approved allocation from our own budget to support the US operation. That money was later reimbursed by the US government through the CSF,” Dr. Ishrat said while responding to Haqqani’s point that Pakistan did not deliver enough after receiving the US assistance after 9/11.

 

While praising the Indian progress after independence, Haqqani strongly criticized Pakistan for failing to utilize $43 billion aid it received from the US since 1949 for its development.

 

Haqqani argued that the US should not provide large-scale assistance to Pakistan. However, the former ambassador of Pakistan was reminded by no one else but an American former official that the US assistance was given to Pakistan to protect US national interests.

 

Maybe you are not serving your national interests by giving money to Pakistan,” Haqqani told the former US official. Haqqani said during his tenure as Pakistan ambassador he received the CSF bills that were objected to by the US authorities. “Once I received a request for $120 million for beef that was used by Pakistani soldiers serving in Swat and $100 million for barbed wire in tribal areas. I was asked by US officials what kind of barbed wire costs that much.”

 

The moderator of the discussion had to intervene to stop the heated exchange between Ishrat and Haqqani as the former ambassador started interrupting Ishrat. Dr. Ishrat said whatever assistance Pakistan received was delivered when the US needed Pakistani support. “Whether it was during the 1960s Cold War or 1980’s Afghan war and the recent war on terror, the assistance was given to promote the US national interests in the region.”

 

He said Pakistan did not need an aid model that never worked as it could not promote development. He said the US and Pakistan should cooperate in educational exchanges and human resource development as South Asian countries had huge potential.

 

“US Fulbright program is helping Pakistani students but these students need to be sent to the top US universities to learn science, mathematics, and related subjects,” Ishrat said adding that currently the majority of Pakistani students were placed in less famous universities as it cost less.

 

To this, Husain Haqqani argued that Pakistani students were not enough talented to get admission to the top Ivy League universities prompting a response from Ishrat. “This is not true I know many Pakistani students in my institute who are brilliant and could get admission anywhere,” Ishrat, who served as dean and director of the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, said.

 

Speaking on the occasion,Robin Raphel said the US assistance to Pakistan did achieve objectives. “We always know money can’t buy you love but when you build a road, you build a hospital or school, people do like that,” she said.  She listed major development projects that were completed in Pakistan with US assistance provided under the Kerry-Lugar bill.

 

These projects included 

1)  the 2,400-megawatt electricity project, 

2)  1,100-kilometre road in tribal areas, 

3)  clean energy project, 

4)  the largest Fulbright program and university partnership apart from $1 billion humanitarian assistance.

 

Praising Vision 2025 program of PML-N government, she said Pakistan under the current government had a better sense of development priorities. She said the current Pakistani administration was not talking much about aid but the focus had now shifted to trade and business opportunities.

 

She stressed that the US must stay engaged with Pakistan in its development through economic reforms as Pakistan was in the best US interest in the South Asian region.  “We need to keep a development program running no matter if it does not run in billions,” she said. The panelists agreed that under the Trump administration, the US-Pakistan ties would be strained for some time.”

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NAWAZ SHARIF ORDERED PERVAIZ RASHEED TO DEFEND GEO & JANG AT ALL COSTS:BLASPHEMY IRRELEVANT & INDIA’S IMAGE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PAKISTAN ARMY’S REPUTATION

Pervaiz-Rasheed-hints-at-going-to-any-extend-to-save-Jang_Geo

MAY 19, 2014

By Raza Ruman

Islamabad, May 19 (Pak Destiny) Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed has hinted that he will go to any extent in supporting and saving the Jang/Geo group come what may.

Perviaz Rashid has warned the Cable Operators of blocking any TV channel (Geo) or disturbing its number.
He did not condemn the Karachi Press Club incident in which Geo group reporters stopped the Cable Operators from holding a press conference.
On the issue of ISI chief bashing, Pervaiz Rasheed has not yet given comments being a law minister too sought from the PEMRA.
Earlier,he had made it clear “we are with the people of dalil (Geo group) not with the people of galail (ISI, army)”.
Let’s see if Mr Rasheed manages to save Geo from shutting down after the latest blasphemy episode involving its host Shiasta Lodhi. But one thing is clear Pervaiz Rasheed is making all out efforts to save the media group whom Imran Khan has labelled “PML-N media cell”. – Pak Destiny

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Commanders of the TTP : The Traitors Within – By Sabena Siddiqi

Commanders of the TTP : The Traitors Within

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tehreek Taliban Pakistan came into being under Nek Mohammed Waziri in 2002 when the Pakistani military conducted incursions into the tribal areas to capture foreign militants fleeing from the Afghan war into tribal areas of Pakistan. The operations were not a success and ended with an initial retreat of the Army and a ceasefire agreement, called the Shakai truce. The ceasefire was signed at a place called Shakai with five tribal leaders.

The Waziri and Mehsud tribes were traditional opponents with the Waziri tribe constantly trying to evict the Mehsud tribe from their land . The first ever US drone strike happened in 2004 and killed some people including Nek Muhammad Wazir in a strike on South Waziristan. It was done after the Mehsuds refused to give up foreign militants hiding in their midst .

The Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan emerged as an official militant group in December 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud , the first ‘commander ‘ of the rebel outfit .It acted as an umbrella organisation for about 13 Islamist militant factions . It started as an ‘alternate ‘ local group from the Afghan Taliban after Pakistan army scourged South Waziristan and the valleys for foreign militants who were responsible for rampant terrorism in Pakistan . Some Waziri tribes took offence and took it personally and the TTP started . Astonishingly their objective was to oppose the state of Pakistan, enforce their own interpretation of sharia and work against NATO. Baitullah Mehsud was under considerable influence of the Uzbek IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev who imbibed a hardline Shia ideology to him . The first fatwas against Pakistan army and government were announced after this and a chain of suicide bombing was started .

This was a stark contrast from the Afghan Taliban who never work against Pakistan , up till now most of TTP’s concentration and handiwork is against Pakistan . They can be rightly called the enemy within.

Shortly after TTP becoming official under Baitullah Mehsud,s leadership, the government of Pakistan placed a bounty on his head , banning media appearances and freezing assets and bank accounts . Mullah Omar sent a delegation to Baitullah to persuade him to help in engaging the Americans in Afghanistan . They came to an understanding which collapsed shortly after . Baitullah Mehsud is believed to have been behind numerous terrorist attacks within Pakistan including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto , he is said to have commanded upto 5000 fighters , according to US analysts . Abdullah Mehsud was also one of the Taliban field commanders who was handed over to USA, kept under detention in Guantanamo Bay and then judicially released subsequently. He became remarkably close to the Americans He went on to plan an attack on Chinese engineers working in Baluchistan and he also claimed responsibility for the Islamabad hotel bombing . Agencies conducted a raid on the house where he was staying and he killed himself by detonating a hand grenade.

 

 

Suicide attacks increased during Baitullahs tenure and 90% of them could be traced back to his stronghold . A transcript is available in which he discusses the assassination of Benazir Bhutto though he denied it later . He did claim responsibility though for attacking a Police Academy in Lahore in March ,2009 in retaliation for drone attacks in which he said Pakistan government was involved . He strangely also claimed responsibility for the April 2009 Binghamton , New York in which 13 people were killed even though the attacker was Vietnamese and confessed to different motives .

Baitullah Mehsud was killed in August 2009 in a drone attack in South Waziristan though he was rumoured as dead many times before in false attacks. Tahir Yuldashev was also killed in a US Predator drone airstrike shortly after Mehsud’s death .

Baitullah was succeeded by Hakimullah Mehsud , a young and aggressive field commander who had also been their spokesman . He maintained links with AlQaeda and Afghan Taliban both and TTP emerged as an umbrella for different factions . AlQaida and TTP never got along with the Lashkar e Taiba as they had expelled the Arab militants from their land. They both issued a Fatwa against LUT and a huge rift ensued . He organised raids against US military convoys from 2007 to 2008 which resulted in the closure of Khyber Pass six times. Pakistan government announced a Rs50 million $600,000 reward for information that could lead to his capture in 2009. He was rumoured as killed twice before in US drone strikes in 2010 and 2012 respectively . He seems to have survived and was now killed on 1st November , 2013 which has been officially accepted by the Taliban .

Maulana Fazlullah or “Mullah Radio”, is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist group and he is son in law of Sufi Muhammad ,the founder of TNSM . He owes his nickname to the fact that he started an illegal FM radio channel in Swat in 2006 .He forced the locals to stop paying their utility bills and disobey the State of Pakistan .He banned music , stopped women from studying and refused them the right to vote .He also opposed polio vaccination . The FM channel was used to perpetuate horrifying announcements of violators sentenced to beheading and other punishments in nightly broadcasts . He is believed to have ordered the attack on Malala Yousufzai . After the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid,a TTP and TNSM merger took place as Mehsud and Fazlullah reached understanding . After this he received direct orders from Mehsud , he managed to consolidate his political forces in Swat during a short ceasefire with the army . In November 2007, Pakistani army captured his headquarters and arrested his brother. He fled to another village and the sent took over Swat region. Fazullah hid in the Kunar province in Afghanistan which is American controlled . Pakistan had urged Afghanistan and the US to take action against Fazlullah in response to cross-border raids but they made no efforts .

On 7 Nov 2013 he was elected Amir of the TTP succeeding Hakimullah Mehsud . The decision to appoint Fazlullah was surprising as it was assumed that the leadership would remain in the hands of a member of the Mehsud tribe,maybe it was to quell criticism that the TTP head is always one of them .He is undoubtedly the worst hardliner the TTP has ,he also carries the dubious title of being Al Qaida ,s aide as well as being CIA backed . It is being rumoured though that Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar backed him just because it was announced from Afghanistan.

The other strongest contender was Said Ahmad aka Khalid Sajna,he opposed Fazlullah,s candidature ,it is possible the Mehsuds are feeling cornered now and might become a weak link in future . There is strong possiblity of splinter groups forming in the near future .. There are different factions in the TTP and Fazlullah was from the Swat camp …so to say . Recently the TTP Shura expelled Ismatullah Muaviya ,head of the Punjab Taliban as he welcomed talks with the government . He responded saying the Punjab Taliban has its own Shura and TTP cannot remove him . The Punjab Taliban split does not bode well for the TTP as this provided them a foothold in the mainland plus transportation and logistics. They even resorted to attacking Muaviya which resulted in his defection .

The TTP may have outlived its utility for those that held its reins and helped organise it . The Americans are leaving Afghanistan in 2014 and are in the process of slowly disowning it . They do not want to be any part of it any more , it appears India will be left behind to deal with the aftermath and take most of the blame . Fazlullah definitely has backing of some faction in Afghan government but the Karzai setup refuses to acknowledge .

The Afghan Taliban have termed Hakimullah Mehsud a martyr yet shown TTP a separate entity , no umbrella under the Afghan Taliban. They are simply playing games with the TTP . This is also in America s favour as it wants to have talks with the Afghan Taliban yet no truck with the TTP . In the long run America would definitely still have some vested interests in the TTP ,at least as long as it safely leaves the region . After it leaves it will be TTP and the Indians left dealing with them …or the remnants of the TTP . Another interesting case study is that of the JI , PTI and TTP . The Jamaat Islami are the origin of the Takfiri ideology so they can be called the father of TTP ,then many PTI members today are ex Jamaat .All three are interlinked ,the Jamaat leader Munawar Hasans son has had very close CIA and AlQaida links . Also ,PTI might be clamouring to stop NATO supplies yet the province it rules ,KPK ..has received 35 bn aid from NATO . So they all have common links and refuse to condemn each other . The TTP has excluded JI ,PTI ,PMLN and JUI from bomb attacks , the game is edging to a close as the TTP becomes less useful for its masters and more of a liability .

 

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