Friday, February 21, 2014

Karachi Central Jail: The next target of Al Qaeda?

From left to right: Abdul Hakeem, Adman Rasheed, and Yassin Chouka

“We pledge to God that we will spare no effort to free all our prisoners.”  An Islamic website posted a 22-minutes audio recording by al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,in July of 2013. Since then we have seen four successful jailbreaks, orchestrated by al-Qaeda, in Pakistan, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. The Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have formed a new organization called “Ansar al Aseer” (supporters of prisoners) that is specifically designed to free prisoners and support their families.

List of jailbreaks by Al-Qaida
Date
Freed
Dead/Injured
Location
2013-07-21
500
50+/unknown
Abu Ghraib and Taji, Iraq
2013-07-27
1,117
Unknown
Benghazi,Libya
2013-07-29
250
12/8
Dera Ismail Khan,Pakistan
2014-02-13
29
10/unknown
Sana'a, Yemen


All Al Qaeda linked jailbreaks follow a similar pattern from a single training manual. First, more than 100 fighters drive into town – usually in some kind of camouflage. Another 100 or more are deployed outside the town to prevent reinforcements from arriving and to allow the prisoners to escape via designated routes in buses.

Suicide bombers blast their way through the walls or the main gate of the prison and follow-up fighters kill any remaining guards. Using layout plans already in their possession, they make their way to the prominent militants first and then free the rest of the inmates. Finally, everyone makes an orderly exit.

Another common factor in all such jailbreaks is security guards paid by Al-Qaeda to provide information and support.


Central Jail, Karachi

Central Jail, Karachi, home to many known Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners was put on high alert after security threats. Cell phone jammers were planted around the prison and additional convoys of police, rangers and armored cars were deployed. Sindh High Court transferred twenty high-profile trials outside Karachi due to the security threat.

The million-dollar question is: Why Central Jail Karachi?

According to The Wall street Journal , “The Pakistani Taliban have tightened their grip over the country's commercial hub (Karachi). TTP controls or dominates about 470 square miles of Karachi, or nearly a third of its area specially outskirts.”  In Taliban controlled areas, TTP has established itself by taxing residents and businesses and setting up courts in neighborhoods to resolve disputes.


Sohrab Goth, an area on the outskirts of Karachi, is a known haunt for the Taliban as well as Al-Qaeda. Sohrab Goth is also considered a “Safe haven” for militants and a “NO GO AREA” for law enforcement agencies.

Fastest route from Central Jail Karachi to Sohrab Goth

The distance between Sohrab Goth and Central Jail Karachi is about 8 miles or 12.5 KM and travel time by car, in normal traffic conditions, is 11 minutes. In other words, the distance between the prison and a well-protected safe haven is just 11 minutes.

The frequent attacks on police and Rangers have become the new norm in Karachi.  Atleast 50 law enforcers were killed in targeted killings and bomb blasts since the beginning of 2014. After the murder of CID SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan, Police has “stopped” hot pursuit of members of TTP. Within areas considered TTP and Al-Qaeda strongholds, members of the police force do not venture out of police stations.

According NBC News “Security forces are struggling for their own safety as the Taliban increase the ferocity and nature of their attacks”

Karachi police and Rangers have shifted their focus from TTP/Al-Qaeda to the political victimization and extra judicial killing of political workers. Recently, Karachiites have witnessed in surge of police encounters. According to police and Rangers statistics ranging from January 27, 2014 to February 05, 2014, eighteen criminals have been killed in at least 47 encounters in the city.  Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the second largest political party in Sindh, has formally launched a nationwide protest against missing persons, brutal torture and extrajudicial killings of their workers by law enforcement agencies.

The question to ask is that can the highly politicized and demoralized police force prevent an attack on Karachi Central Jail by a powerful and organized enemy?  One can easily predict the outcome.

Also Published in:

Express Tribune
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/21131/11-minutes-to-karachi-central-jail-another-taliban-and-al-qaeda-jailbreak-in-the-making/

ARY News
http://blogs.arynews.tv/karachi-central-jail-next-target-al-qaeda/

Saach TV
http://www.saach.tv/2014/03/04/karachi-central-jail-the-next-target-of-al-qaeda/

Twitter ID: @fawadrehman

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Pakistan militants using social media for propaganda

Article Published in Indian Times and Indian Express
Terrorist organisations in Pakistan like the Taliban are increasingly using social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook to spread their propaganda and as a means of intimidation. A number of Twitter accounts allegedly managed by members of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan have emerged, on which they post messages and engage in dialogue with their followers. Facebook pages are used to upload statements and videos.
“The TTP is dominating the media. I feel they are savvier at spreading their message in a subtle way. Tackling them is not just about dialogue or military operations. We need comprehensive and broad policy to neutralise them,” Lt Gen (retired) Talat Masood, a leading security analyst, told PTI.
Some media houses in Pakistan have introduced “self-censorship” when it comes to articles against the TTP, which is a dangerous trend, he said. In the recent past, the TTP attacked the Karachi-based Express media group here thrice, creating fear in journalistic circles. Analysts said social media had been used in the past, but it now plays a bigger role.
Last year, the TTP posted a message on Facebook seeking writers for their magazine, but the page was eventually shut down by the social media network. The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), declared a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba by the UN Security Council after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has a dedicated media-wing that posts updates on its activities on social media networks.
“Sophisticated terrorist organisations like the TTP and Al-Qaeda realise that, in addition to violence, propaganda is needed for the successful orchestration of their activities,” a recent article by writer Fawad Rehman said.
Twitter ID: @fawadrehman

Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Islamic Emirate of Waziristan


According to published reports in every major newspaper around the world, Pakistani Taliban have presented their preconditions for dialogue and peace. These preconditions are: ● Peace is impossible until the government embraces Sharia (Islamic law) , ● The Pakistani Army will abandon all its posts and will not operate in North & South Waziristan,nor will it monitor the region, ● The Taliban will set up a Mujahideen Shura (or council) to administer the agency, ● An undisclosed amount of money has to be paid by the Pakistani government to the Taliban as ransom to end the fighting, ● Taliban commanders and foot soldiers must be released from Pakistani jails. The players in these talks would want us to believe that these preconditions were drafted for the latest attempt at peace but in truth we have seen them before. In the beginning of 2006, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban launched a military offensive against Pakistan’s military throughout both North and South Waziristan. By late spring, South Waziristan had fallen. The Pakistani military withdrew and Sharia law was established. Fighting continued in North Waziristan through the summer of 2006 with the military taking heavy losses. On September 4, 2006 the Pakistan Government and Taliban officials agreed to a truce. Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders victoriously renamed the territory of North and South Waziristan as “The Islamic Emirate of Waziristan”. The accord established an autonomous zone for militants within Waziristan where the government of Pakistan would no longer maintain control but would still be considered a part of the sovereign territory of Pakistan. After the Waziristan peace deal, Pakistan openly admitted that Osama bin Laden would remain a free man if committed to living peacefully in the (FATA) region. According to Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan “If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden would not be taken into custody as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen." The agreement between the Government of Pakistan, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, was known as the “Waziristan peace accord”. The preconditions of 2014 are a carbon copy of the terms presented by a three members Taliban negotiation committee led by Mulana Sami ul Haq, in 2006. The Waziristan peace accord was ended by the Talibans 9 months later. In 2006, An article by a retired US army Major, Ralph Peters, titled "Blood borders" published in the Armed Forces Journal has given Pakistan some food for thought over major geopolitical readjustments. According to Major Ralph Peters “Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier tribes (FATA) would be reunited with their Afghan brethren and Pakistan would also lose its Baluch territory to Free Baluchistan.”  
Now, in 2014, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al Qaeda and their apologists are still calling plays from the same playbook. Both banned terrorist outfits are trying to establish Islamic extremist sanctuaries in the FATA region, so they can operate freely like Fallujah, al-Anbar Province in Iraq and Swat in Pakistan. If the government of Pakistan and Pakistan Army do not take immediate action against these non-state actors then they should get ready for Al-Qaeda's black flags waving at every military checkpoint in the “Islamic Emirate of Waziristan”. Eventually, the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan/Islamic Emirate of Khurasan will result in the Talibanization of other parts of Pakistan as well.

Also Published in

ARY Blog
http://blogs.arynews.tv/the-islamic-emirate-of-waziristan/

PASHTUN WOMEN VIEWPOINT
http://www.pashtunwomenvp.com/index.php/2013-01-28-03-21-27/current-issue/407-the-islamic-emirate-of-waziristan

Saach TV
http://www.saach.tv/2014/02/20/the-islamic-emirate-of-waziristan/