Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Slickstar · April 8, 2009, 12:47pm

MINGORA: Pakistani Taliban are moving into a new area in northern Pakistan, clashing with villagers and police in a mountain valley, police and district officials said on Wednesday.

Separately, a Pakistani Taliban commander said the Pakistani military and the United States were colluding in US drone aircraft attacks and the militants would take their war to the capital, Islamabad, in response.

Surging militant violence across Pakistan is reviving western concerns about the stability of its nuclear-armed ally.

Pakistan is crucial to US efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, were in Pakistan for talks on security strategy this week.

In a development that will deepen the west’s concerns, scores of Taliban have moved into Buner district, 100 km northwest of Islamabad, from the Swat valley where authorities struck a peace pact in February aimed at ending violence.

‘About 20 vehicles carrying Taliban entered Buner on Monday and started moving around the bazaar and streets,’ said senior police officer Israr Bacha.

Villagers formed a militia, known as a lashkar, to confront the Taliban and eight of the insurgents were killed in a clash on Tuesday, police said.

Two villagers and three policemen were also killed.

‘People don’t like the Taliban,’ Ghulam Mustafa, deputy chief of Buner, told Reuters by telephone.

Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman in Swat, was defiant. ‘What law stops us going there?’ Khan said. ‘Our people will go there and stay there as long as they want.’

MISLEADING

Authorities agreed in February to impose Islamic law in Swat to end more than a year of fighting.

Critics said appeasement would only embolden the militants to take over other areas.

Pakistan’s western allies fear such pacts create safe havens for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.

Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer Ahmed said in an interview with al Qaeda’s media arm, Al-Sahab, that Pakistan was behind US drone attacks on militants.
Authorities were misleading the public by saying it was the United States carrying out the strikes, he said, and it was the Pakistani army that sent spies to facilitate them.

‘All these attacks that have happened and are still happening are the work of Pakistan,’ Ahmed said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on Al-Sahab’s website.

Alarmed by deteriorating security in Afghanistan, the United States has since last year stepped up drone strikes in Pakistan.

Pakistan objects to the strikes, calling them a violation of its sovereignty that complicates its effort to fight militancy.

Other Taliban commanders said recent violence in Pakistan has been in retaliation for the drone attacks and threatened more.

Ahmed said Pakistani Taliban factions had united and would take their war to the capital: ‘The day is not far when Islamabad will be in the hands of the mujahideen.’

Ahmed also blamed the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency for sowing divisions between factions, saying the ISI was the Taliban’s main enemy.

Some US officials have said recently the ISI maintained contacts with militants and there were indications ISI elements even provided support to the Taliban or al Qaeda militants.

Such accusations have angered Pakistan, although a military spokesman denied reports that ISI chief Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha had snubbed Holbrooke and Mullen by refusing to meet them on Tuesday.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect…-to-capital–qs

http://www.zoyidian.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/talibanistan.jpg

Discuss.

hanibal · April 8, 2009, 1:05pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Ya saw many other conspiracy theories, this is one of them

wine · April 8, 2009, 1:49pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

For the starters, if no-one knows, Swat is only 98KM from Islamabad!

Captain1 · April 8, 2009, 3:02pm

[mod]You need to post your own views and tell us what you need to discuss, there are dime a dozen articles about every issue available on net, please check rules when posting.[/mod]

coffee_cake · April 8, 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

This is sad and worrying. Muslim Khan needs to be KTFO!

Khehkeshan · April 8, 2009, 3:38pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Taliban - killing more pashtuns than ever. I hope someone from the mullah brigade will explain how attacking buner is revenge for US attacks?

Himalaya · April 8, 2009, 5:13pm

Buner is further from islamabad than mingora is. They are both much further than 98km from isb.

100km from Isbd and I believe you could end up in Swabi or Nowshera dist.

Salahuddin_Ayyubi · April 8, 2009, 6:31pm

It means they moved away by 2KM ... :)

Khehkeshan · April 8, 2009, 8:02pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

How far away is GHQ from Islamabad, because I think some taliban puppet masters are already there.

mercenary2k · April 8, 2009, 8:44pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

They managed to kill Bhutto in 2007 and they blew up the Marriott Hotel...

Don't know why these events these Pakistanis angry at the Taliban

Anwer_Pasha · April 8, 2009, 9:05pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

I am afraid but have to say,They are not 100 K.M.away. They are in side Rawalpindi,Islamabad. Here they are under different covers. Like Lal Masjid group and others. They are capturing Mosques. They are taking charge of different MADRISSAS. They are here attached with criminals and Mafias.
Perhaps same they will be doing in other cities.

coffee_cake · April 8, 2009, 10:02pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

The Talibanization of Pakistan seems unstoppable now. The army (some of it) rather quit then fight for their nation. Countries fight tooth and nail for 1cm of land, we are willingly surrendering swathes to these c***suckers!

Zia is to blame. And the Army and ISI-all feted Islamism for 2 decades, now they can suffer the consequences.

Khehkeshan · April 8, 2009, 10:06pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Israel and Pakistan - only 2 countries created in the name of religion tearing themselves apart.

coffee_cake · April 8, 2009, 10:10pm

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Whats amazing is that atleast the Israelis fight for their land, they fight tooth and nail for it. We seem content on losing it.

mercenary2k · April 9, 2009, 12:26am

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

^^ typical paki behaviour

coffee_cake · April 9, 2009, 12:28am

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

I'm switching from 2015 to 2012. Why are these bearded MFs seemingly so invincible!?

coffee_cake · April 9, 2009, 12:28am

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Dont rule out 2010. They will enter Isb proper by end of this year.

Bail_Out · April 9, 2009, 1:27am

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

what does this mean? do they literally advance in battalions or just pick up recruits? if it so open and obvious why can't the authorities simply arrest them?

Khehkeshan · April 9, 2009, 4:12am

Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad

Buner is about to fall, but the brave local pashtuns there are resisting. No thanks to army or FC who are stuck inside barracks. You know next taliban attack will be a suicide bombing to take out the local leadership in buner. After that, the people will be afraid and taliban will take over. And Buner is not in FATA, but NWFP

DAWN.COM | Front Page | 16-militants-among-21-killed-in-Buner-clash

16 militants among 21 killed in Buner clash
By Our Correspondent
Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009 | 05:03 AM PST
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BUNER, April 7: Twenty-one people, including 16 Taliban fighters, were killed in an overnight clash when local volunteers and police personnel tried to enter the Gokand Valley to flush out militants who had sneaked into the area on Saturday from the neighbouring Swat district.

Three policemen and two Lashkar men were among the dead.

When the combined force tried to enter the area via Rajagaly Kandow from the Pir Baba side and dislodge the militants, Taliban took position and refused to go back.

Members of a local jirga, including leaders of the Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM), and officials of the district administration, formed a committee and tried to persuade Taliban to leave the area, offering them safe passage. But the militant commander said that he had been ordered to stay, hold a ‘peace march’ and visit Shalbandi to condole the deaths of six militants.

Some of the deceased were identified as Waseem Khan, Pir Mohammad Khan, ASI Afreen, constables Mohammad Akbar and Jehanzada.

Sources said that the militants had sent 16 bodies and taken 13 of their wounded colleagues to Swat via Kalil Kandow on Tuesday morning.

shami2k · April 9, 2009, 4:21am

Taliban will soon capture Islamabad, says Mullah Nazeer

This is a very very scary thing. I hope & pray that they fail, but it seem that Taliban failed in Afghanistan, but Pakistan may fall to Taliban.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Taliban will soon capture Islamabad, says Mullah Nazeer
MINGORA: Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer Ahmed said in an interview with Al Qaeda’s media arm, Al-Sahab, that the Taliban would soon capture Islamabad.

Pakistani Taliban factions had united and would take their war to the capital, he said.

“The day is not far when Islamabad will be in the hands of the mujahideen.”

He accused the Pakistan Army of sending spies to facilitate US drone strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban, and said Pakistani authorities were misleading the public by saying it was the United States carrying out the attacks.

“All these attacks that have happened and are still happening are the work of Pakistan,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on Al-Sahab’s website.

Alarmed by deteriorating security in Afghanistan, the United States has since last year stepped up drone strikes in Pakistan. Pakistan objects to the strikes, calling them a violation of its sovereignty.

Mullah Nazeer Ahmed also blamed the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency for sowing divisions between factions, saying the ISI was the Taliban’s main enemy. reuters