Stand off in FATA: Taliban preparing to behead hostages, troops preparing assault

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

I’m glad to see the government is showing backbone and not caving in to releasing criminals. While it’s sad that these unfortunate hostages will most likely die (though inshallah they’ll survive the Taliban’s threats), caving in to their demands will set a bad example that you can make the Pakistan government do whatever you want by threatening to kill enough innocents

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Stand-off over Pakistan hostages

Security forces in north-west Pakistan say they are closing in on pro-Taleban militants holding hostages near the border with Afghanistan.

Negotiations aimed at securing the release of the hostages have collapsed, officials say.

More than 20 government employees were seized by the militants in Hangu district two weeks ago.

There has been tension in the area since the arrest of several militants some weeks earlier.

The militants have threatened to kill the hostages if the troops do not move back.

Talks mediated by a jirga, or tribal council, broke down when the government refused to release the militants who were arrested.

The government’s adviser on interior affairs, Rehman Malik, said the militants being held include a number two commander of top militant leader, Baitullah Mahsud.

On Saturday the militants killed 15 tribal border police in an ambush in Hangu district’s Zargari area bordering Orakzai tribal region.

Army officials say that troops equipped with tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) have advanced to the Zargari area and have taken positions there.

They say most Taleban have moved to the Orakzai region and are firing mortar shells at army positions from there.

An army spokesman told BBC News that troops were in return pounding militant positions in the hills with artillery.

He said they were using locally manufactured Luna spy planes to identify targets.

Residents say artillery shelling and attacks by helicopter gunships have continued unabated in the area since Wednesday.

A police official in the town of Doaba, near Hangu, told the BBC Urdu service that one of the mortar shells fired by the militants at a temporary army camp in the area last night had hit a nearby house, killing a woman and injuring two others.

Both Hangu and Doaba have been under curfew for over a week.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Orakzai Taleban, Maulvi Haider, told the BBC Urdu service that if the operation was not stopped, they would start beheading the hostages they hold.

The Taleban claim to hold more than 50 hostages. The government has confirmed some of them, but has not given any number.

It is generally believed the Taleban are holding at least 20 hostages.

2

Re: Stand off in FATA: Taliban preparing to behead hostages, troops preparing assault

If they kill the hostages I say drop cluster bomb on them :mad:

3

*But but...why does pakistani government want to attack innocent pakistanis? * why aren't people like mr sharif and friends not rising up like they did when our government did the same to similar people at lal terrorist masjid?

bayghairat they are. :)

I hope those taliban idiots eat many bombs.

Ahhh awkward sochal situwashuns
4

Perhaps very little damage will be done to Taliban and ultimate sufferers will be innocent people. Which will inturn create more Taliban as usual. The more you suppress, more will come out with strong force. I think best policy is to restraint and negotiate rather than using of brutal force.

As regard NS or Zardari, I think matter is above their intelligence. Only ANP, JI, IK and Maulana Fazal can play a vital role to save innocent human lives.

5

I know I said cluster bomb and that usually covers a larger area, however I meant to suggest to bomb only the location where they are holding hostages, if all hostages are killed by Taliban- God forbid- then just track their locations and bomb'em/target-shoot them.

6

Do you know what cluster bomb is? When it is dropped, it goes inside the earth, then it comes out, explode in mid air and destroy everything with in the radius of 50 miles.

Read what it does even it is droped on accurate targets.

"Cluster bombs are small explosive bomblets carried in a large cannister that opens in mid-air, scattering them over a wide area. The bomblets may be delivered by aircraft, rocket, or by artillery projectiles.

The CBU (cluster bomb unit) 26, which was widely used in Laos, is an anti-personnel fragmentation bomb that consists of a large bombshell holding 670 tennis ball-sized bomblets, each of which contain 300 metal fragments. If all the bomblets detonate, some 200,000 steel fragments will be propelled over an area the size of several football fields, creating a deadly killing zone"
ITVS: Bombies - Cluster Bombs

7

Re: Stand off in FATA: Taliban preparing to behead hostages, troops preparing assault

^^

When you are using a cluster bomb, the entire point is to kill or injure all targets in the area of effect. Rather than having to use hundreds of bombs to destroy a large area, you can then use a single bomb instead, which is much cheaper.

In the Doaba and Zargari regions the Pakistani government is issuing a warning that anyone who does not evacuate into designated relief caps will be considered as anti-government. It certainly sounds to me that the government, having given fair warning for innocents to leave, intends to kill anyone left in these areas. I would not be surprised if cluster bombs are used (and I’m pretty certain I’ve read of their use in anti-militant operations beore too).

8


May be I should rephrase what I said:

I suggested cluster bomb but actually what I wanted is ......[for rest read from above post]

Meaning I don't really want them to use cluster-bomb but effectively cleanse all extremists/militants from the area.

9

Re: Stand off in FATA: Taliban preparing to behead hostages, troops preparing assault

It is heart wrenching that it has come to this...a govt having to bomb its own land....but there's no choice

The Return of Kasauti (Kasauti I)
10

do you think anything can be cleansed by killing and mutilating?

turn off your TV buddy and listen more to your heart

11

Dude, you haven't read my previous posts, this suggestion doesn't come easily from me. Some people have been kidnapped and IF kidnappers kill the hostages THEN those kidnappers must be bombed, get it?

12

Re: Stand off in FATA: Taliban preparing to behead hostages, troops preparing assault

Grand jirga signs Hangu ceasefire accord

By Abdul Sami Paracha
KOHAT, July 24: A grand jirga, representing the Taliban, and Kohat’s regional coordination officer, who represented the authorities, signed a ceasefire agreement on Thursday and decided to resolve through talks all disputes arising out of the Hangu operation.

**Local people and members of the jirga termed it a satisfying development and announced support for the local administration and the government.
**
The jirga held a meeting with Orakzai Agency’s political agent Kamran Zeb and informed him that Taliban would be allowed to stay in the tribal area on condition that they would stop meddling in the affairs of state and refrain from imposing their own laws and punishments.

They also met Kohat’s regional coordination officer Omer Khan Afridi.

According to officials, displaced people of Hangu would be allowed to return to their homes after the lifting of curfew and assessment of the law and order situation.

The jirga included MPA Mufti Sayed Janan, district nazim Khan Afzal, Haji Faizullah, Hussain Asghar and Maulana Fazal Wahab.

They later proceeded to Tirah Valley for talks with Taliban leader Mohammad Karim Khan.

Talking to Dawn on phone, MNA Pir Haider Ali Shah supported the ceasefire agreement and said the main obstacle to peace talks between the jirga and Taliban had been removed. He said concerns of both sides would be discussed at various levels from time to time and disputes would be resolved for restoration of normality in the region.

“The first priority of the jirga will be to get hostages released from the custody of Taliban and to free their three high-profile comrades out of the seven arrested from Doaba,” he said, adding that “the next step will be to ask the military to withdraw from the area if Taliban give assurance that they will not challenge the writ of the government again”.

He said there should be no harm in releasing the seven arrested Taliban, including Rafiuddin, the No 2 of Baitullah Mesud, if there were no criminal cases pending against them. He made it clear that only a court, and not the administration or police, could decide about their fate.

**Pir Haider Ali called upon the Taliban to release the 28 hostages, mostly government employees and security personnel, as a goodwill gesture.
**
He said the NWFP government had played an important role in breaking the deadlock. The ANP-led government believed in resolving disputes through talks and was against use of force, he said, adding that the elected representatives would ask the government to pay compensation to people who were affected during the operation in the area.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/07/25/top2.htm

So stand-off is over? Atleast ceasefire reached, so looks like next is “prisoner” swap, hope it goes well!