PESHAWAR: The Frontier Corps (FC) has claimed that terrorists killed five family members of a soldier, threw the bodies of militants on a road in Bara, Khyber Agency and orchestrated protest demonstration in Peshawar to win public sympathies. In a rejoinder issued here on Sunday, FC said that between the night of Monday and Tuesday a fairly large number of terrorists attacked law enforcement agencies’ posts in Bara that resulted in the killing of four FC men and two khasadars. The rejoinder was issued five days after the incident wherein 18 persons were killed in Alamgodar area of Bara. The residents of the area claimed that the 18 civilians were killed by people in uniform. The incident sparked protests in Khyber Agency and Peshawar. The FC said that terrorists also suffered heavy casualties in the attack. To avenge their deaths, the terrorists ransacked the house of an FC soldier and killed five of his family members, it claimed. To stage a drama, the terrorists threw dead bodies including that of their colleagues in parts of Bara and also orchestrated a demonstration in Peshawar, the rejoinder claimed. The rejoinder said that the theme used by terrorists should be seen in true prospective. It said that local people should avoid falling into the trap of terrorists, who wanted security forces to leave Bara so that they could hold sway over violence in Peshawar and raise financial stakes through narco mafia, smugglers and abductors. Dawn, The News, Daily Times, The Express Tribune.
MIRANSHAH: The political administration of the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Sunday announced compensation for the families of those killed and injured in shelling by the helicopters.North Waziristan Political Agent Siraj Ahmad Khan announced Rs50, 000 compensation each for heirs of the families of those killed in the helicopters’ shelling while Rs20,000 for the injured ones.Earlier, Political Agent Siraj Ahmad Khan had formed a jirga of tribal elders that held talks with the protesting people and convinced them to end their strike. The News.
KHYBER AGENCY: At least five volunteers of Aman Lashkar sustained injuries when a bomb exploded in the Shalobar area of Khyber Agency on Sunday. According to media reports, an IED was planted on a roadside which exploded later. However, no loss of life was reported. Security forces rushed to the site of blast and started a search operation in the area. Online Daily Times.
KALAYA: The body of an unidentified man was found in Dabori area in Orakzai Agency on Sunday, official sources said. The sources said unidentified persons had killed the man somewhere else and dumped the body in Dabori area. Acting on a tip-off, the officials of the political administration shifted the body to the District Headquarters Hospital in Hangu for autopsy and identification. The News.
PESHAWAR: Police arrested four militants following exchange of fire in Sarband area on the outskirts of Peshawar on Sunday. According to the sources, the gun battle took place when the militants opened fire at police near Riaz Shaheed checkpoint. Police fired back injuring one attacker. Police arrested the injured attacker and the other four militants and shifted them to unknown location for investigation. Inp Daily Times.
PESHAWAR: The police repulsed another militant attack on security post in Sheikhan Badaber on Sunday.The police said a number of militants stormed a security post in Sheikhan area in the jurisdiction of Badaber Police Station Sunday evening. The already alert cops, however, exchanged fire with the suspected militants. The attackers were pushed back to the tribal areas. Posts in Sheikhan and nearby Sarband and Matani come under attacks frequently from the nearby tribal areas. The News.
LANDI KOTAL: MNA Hamidullah Jan Afridi has said that he will convene an All-Fata Jirga to take stock of the prevailing situation and suggest ways to restore lasting peace in tribal areas. “The intention is not to undermine or overshadow the 22-member jirga, which was formed after the killing of 18 innocent tribesmen in Bara,” he told Dawn after meeting scores of elders of various tribes of Khyber Agency on Sunday. The 22-member jirga from Bara will meet Khyber Agency political administration on Monday in pursuance of its demands relating to the three and half years military operation in Bara. Mr Afridi said that the elders urged him to convene a jirga of all the major tribes of Fata to find a solution to the existing situation in tribal areas. He said that Bara jirga was formed to negotiate with the government about an end to the military operation in Bara and formation of a judicial commission to investigate independently the killing of innocent people of Bara alongside an end to artillery shelling on houses of tribal people. The MNA said that the jirga would apprise the president, prime minister and chief of the army staff of the current situation in Fata and try to devise ways and means to bring peace in the entire tribal areas. Dawn.
BARA: The Shalobar Amn Lashkar has termed the ongoing protest by political parties in Peshawar and across the country against the killing of 18 persons in Alamgudar area in Bara irrational and asked the protesters to join hands with the peace body for the permanent peace in the area. Talking to reporters, commander of Amn lashkar, Jahangir Khan, said the protest was aimed at benefitting the militants who had killed over 3000 innocent people in Bara over the last four years. “The protest is one-sided and paving the way for the return of militants rule in the area which could not be tolerated at any cost” Jahangir said, adding if the political parties were sincere in bringing peace to Bara subdivision, they should back the efforts of Shalobar Peace Committee. The demand for bringing a halt to the military operation in Bara was premature until the area was cleared from the militants,” he said. The News.
HANGU: The residents of various areas on Sunday staged protest against prolonged power outages and the closure of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in the districts. Led by Maulana Abdul Jalil, the protesters gathered outside the Adda Masjid and chanted slogans against the government and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials. They demanded registration of a case against the Pesco officials for hours-long load shedding in the district, which was causing difficulties to the masses. “Patients are the worst affected due to the loadshedding,” Abdul Jalil said. The News.
LAHORE: Dozens of Pakhtun students, staging a peaceful demonstration on Sunday, demanded the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) take suo motu notice of the recent killings of innocent tribesmen in Bara, Khyber Agency. The students, belonging to Pakhtunkhwa Students Organisation (PSO) and carrying placards, gathered outside the Lahore Press Club and condemned the incident. “We strongly condemn the brutal killing of 18 innocent Pakhtun tribesmen, children and women in Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency in an unprovoked attack allegedly by the security forces of Pakistan”, they told the media. The demonstrators questioned if killing of a single youth, Shahzeb Khan, could make up for a suo motu action then why not the killing of 18 people?They also urged the media to give due coverage to the sufferings of people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. Later, participants of the demo dispersed peacefully. The News, Daily Times.
WASHINGTON: The administration of President Barack Obama is completing a counterterrorism manual that will establish clear rules for targeted-killing operations, but it contains a major exemption for the CIA’s campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan. The Washington Post reported on Saturday this exemption will allow the CIA to continue striking Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan for a year or more before the agency is forced to comply with more stringent rules spelled out in the document. According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between 2,627 and 3,457 people have been reportedly killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, between 475 and nearly 900 being civilians. The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against terrorists.Few of the victims are publicly identified. The manual is expected to be submitted to Obama for final approval within weeks, the paper said. The News, The Nation, Daily Mashriq.
PESHAWAR: The Fata Lawyers Forum (FLF) on Sunday called upon the superior judiciary to take notice of extra-judicial killings that were taking place in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). FLF President Mohammad Ijaz Mohmand told The News the Fata was part of Pakistan and both the Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court had constitutional jurisdiction to take notice of extra-judicial killings. Some 18 bullet-riddled bodies were found dumped at Alamgudar area in Bara a week back. The locals said eight victims, including a mentally retarded person, belonged to one family while three of the dead were members of another family. A woman and two minors were also among the slain people. The enraged tribesmen hailing from Bara brought the coffins containing 15 bodies to the provincial capital and staged sit-in outside the Governor’s House.Mohammad Ijaz Mohmand said, “The PHC had formed Human Rights Directorate for taking notice of violation of fundamental human rights of citizens. The directorate should take notice of Bara killings.” The News.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will unveil its new strategy to deal more effectively with terrorism in the backdrop of noticeable developments taking place in the region and a formal offer of dialogue is expected to be made today (Monday) to the militants willing to renounce terrorism. The announcement will come from Foreign Secretary Syed Jalil Abbas Jailani at the highest international forum of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) where an open debate will be spearheaded by Pakistan on the UN peacekeeping. Pakistan has sponsored and hosted a debate in the UNSC on ‘A Comprehensive Approach to Counter-Terrorism’ in its capacity as president of the UNSC, which it assumed early this month. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was scheduled to chair the UNSC debate but he cancelled his planned visit due to domestic political situation. The foreign secretary will highlight Pakistan’s contribution to the efforts for peacekeeping under the umbrella of the United Nations in various volatile parts of the world. Pakistan will also pledge to offer its services for the peacekeeping and commit its troops for the noble purpose. The News.
ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson Sunday said the US would extend all the necessary assistance and equipment to help Pakistani law enforcement agencies to check incidents of suicide attacks and bomb blasts. He said the United States highly values its relations with Pakistan, adding that they acknowledge the sacrifices made by Pakistan during war on terrorism.The ambassador had meeting with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and exchanged views on bilateral relations and security situation, particularly in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He appreciated the arrangements made by the Ministry of Interior during the long march for the security of the participants. Olson also lauded interior minister’s services for taking special measures to ensure safety of ambassadors and diplomats. The News.
SHABQADAR: More than six months after measles claimed 12 deaths in Mohmand Agency, the district health department launched an anti measles drive on Sunday. The agency’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Coordinator Dr Shabir Khan told The Express Tribune that 32 mobile teams have been formed for vaccinating 4,325 children in Haleemzai Tehsil with a target of covering 14,285 children across the agency. “The campaign will continue till all of the children are immunised,” he added. Khan further said that 12 children have so far died of measles since July 2012 but the number of cases gone up recently in the agency. Charsadda District Coordinator Dr Farhad said that some cases had been reported in Shabqadar Tehsil. “We sent our EPI team for sending a proposal about initiating a campaign in the district, but the team reported several cases as most of the people going to private clinics,” he added. The Express Tribune.
FRC REPORT
PARRACHINAR: The Locals of Kurram Agency held a protest demonstration in agency’s central place Parrachinar here on Sunday and chanted slogans against the officials of ‘Tesco’ over the prolonged and unscheduled power outages in the agency, FRC Filed reporter told. In the demonstration protestors tore off electricity bills. The dwellers vowed not to pay the bills in the future but with the availability of power in the area. It is pertinent to mention here that locals of Kurram Agency are facing acute power outages for the past few months and have been bearing the brunt of twenty to twenty two hours long load shedding. This has badly interrupted the business community besides the daily lives of locals of the area.
BAJAUR AGENCY: Tribesmen from the militancy-hit Lowi Sam area of Bajaur Agency on Saturday complained about the ban placed by the local political administration on the reconstruction of their houses. They appealed to the government and the Supreme Court chief justice to step in for easing their miseries. Addressing a news conference here, Lowi Sam elders Malik Sahib Jan, Malik Rehman Saeed and Dr Fazal Mabood said 110 houses in Lowi Sam area of Bajaur Agency were destroyed during 2008 military operation against militants. They alleged that the local administration had occupied 370 kanals of their land and want to build a township on it. The elders said the intervention of the KP governor recently forced the administration to cancel the proposed development of the township. However, they said, the land was still in the illegal control of the administration. “The people displaced from their land have been living in rented houses since 2008 as the administration is not letting them rebuild their own houses,” Malik Sahib said.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
