Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Six killed, seven injured (Hazaras) in Balochistan firing incidents
QUETTA: Five people lost their lives in two separate incidents of firing by some unknown armed men, early morning on Thursday, DawnNews reported.
The first attack took place in Kali Mubarak area near Spini road, Quetta, where five people (Hazaras)including a women were killed and six people were injured, when some unkown armed men opened fire.
The second attack took place in Mastung, where the vehicle of an NGO came under fire by some unknown armed men, killing two people and injuring another.
Dawn News
Earlier report,
QUETTA: Unidentified men opened fire on a car at Spini Road in Quetta that killed two persons and injured three others on Thursday, Geo News reported.
According to reports, armed miscreants opened fire on a car coming from Hazara Town to Quetta that killed two passengers and injured three others at 8:15 am.
It is important to mention that such incidents have occurred before in the same vicinity and at the same time when duties of security men are changed at 8:00 am.
Police reached the spot and traffic was resumed on the road while investigation has kicked off.
The motive of killing is still unknown.
Dawn News
The first attack took place in Kali Mubarak area near Spini road, Quetta, where five people (Hazaras)including a women were killed and six people were injured, when some unkown armed men opened fire.
The second attack took place in Mastung, where the vehicle of an NGO came under fire by some unknown armed men, killing two people and injuring another.
Dawn News
Earlier report,
QUETTA: Unidentified men opened fire on a car at Spini Road in Quetta that killed two persons and injured three others on Thursday, Geo News reported.
According to reports, armed miscreants opened fire on a car coming from Hazara Town to Quetta that killed two passengers and injured three others at 8:15 am.
It is important to mention that such incidents have occurred before in the same vicinity and at the same time when duties of security men are changed at 8:00 am.
Police reached the spot and traffic was resumed on the road while investigation has kicked off.
The motive of killing is still unknown.
Dawn News
Two members of Hazara community injured in Dasht
By Shehzad Baloch
Published: March 28, 2012
Gunmen shot at a car in Dasht area of Mustang on Wednesday.
QUETTA: Two people belonging to the Hazara community were injured while their three companions escaped unhurt when the car they were riding was attacked by a group of armed men near Dasht area in Mastung district on Wednesday.
According to an official of the Balochistan Levies, the five were travelling to Quetta from Mach town in a car when a group of armed men opened fire at them near Tera Mill area in Dasht. As a result of the attack, Jawad Ahmed and Khadem Hussain sustained bullet wounds while three others in the car escaped unhurt. The attackers managed to make good their escape after committing the crime.
Assistant Commissioner Dasht, Nasir Ahmed Jattak and Naib Tehsildar Mohammad Ramzan along with personnel of the Balochistan Levies reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
The injured were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment.
However, officials were unsure whether the attack was a sectarian attack or related to something else. “It could be an incident of sectarian targeted killing. However, a manhunt has been mounted in the area for the culprits,” an official told reporters.
The injured were later referred to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) because of security concerns.
It is pertinent to mention that as many as 26 pilgrims belonging to Hazara community were forced off a passenger bus,lined up before being shot in the dead. Similarly, a man was shot dead and another wounded in Quetta as part of a targeted attack. Both belonged to the Hazara community.
Law enforcing agencies have beefed up security on national highways and in Quetta after the attacks on Hazara community surged over the past year.
Express Tribune
Published: March 28, 2012
Gunmen shot at a car in Dasht area of Mustang on Wednesday.
QUETTA: Two people belonging to the Hazara community were injured while their three companions escaped unhurt when the car they were riding was attacked by a group of armed men near Dasht area in Mastung district on Wednesday.
According to an official of the Balochistan Levies, the five were travelling to Quetta from Mach town in a car when a group of armed men opened fire at them near Tera Mill area in Dasht. As a result of the attack, Jawad Ahmed and Khadem Hussain sustained bullet wounds while three others in the car escaped unhurt. The attackers managed to make good their escape after committing the crime.
Assistant Commissioner Dasht, Nasir Ahmed Jattak and Naib Tehsildar Mohammad Ramzan along with personnel of the Balochistan Levies reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
The injured were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment.
However, officials were unsure whether the attack was a sectarian attack or related to something else. “It could be an incident of sectarian targeted killing. However, a manhunt has been mounted in the area for the culprits,” an official told reporters.
The injured were later referred to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) because of security concerns.
It is pertinent to mention that as many as 26 pilgrims belonging to Hazara community were forced off a passenger bus,lined up before being shot in the dead. Similarly, a man was shot dead and another wounded in Quetta as part of a targeted attack. Both belonged to the Hazara community.
Law enforcing agencies have beefed up security on national highways and in Quetta after the attacks on Hazara community surged over the past year.
Express Tribune
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Balochistan violence: Two (Hazaras) killed in Quetta target shooting
By Our Correspondent
Published: March 27, 2012
Police official suspects sectarian motives in assault on Hazara men.
QUETTA: In a fresh spurt of target shootings on Monday, two men belonging to the Hazara community were killed when unidentified men opened fire on them on Quetta’s Sabzal Road before fleeing the scene.
As a result, Ejaz died on the spot while Asghar received critical wounds. The body and injured were shifted to Bolan Medical Complex. “The injured is in a very critical condition and was referred to the Combined Military Hospital,” doctors said.
A local police official said that it might be a case of sectarian attack. However, he hastened to add that investigations were ongoing to determine this aspect. Despite presence of paramilitary forces, target killings continue to increase in the restive province. Earlier, a young scholar was shot dead by unknown assailants in Quetta.
Police and counter-terrorism officials say that outlawed militant groups such as Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were actively involved in fomenting sectarian hatred in the province. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the killings.
Express Tribune
Published: March 27, 2012
Police official suspects sectarian motives in assault on Hazara men.
QUETTA: In a fresh spurt of target shootings on Monday, two men belonging to the Hazara community were killed when unidentified men opened fire on them on Quetta’s Sabzal Road before fleeing the scene.
As a result, Ejaz died on the spot while Asghar received critical wounds. The body and injured were shifted to Bolan Medical Complex. “The injured is in a very critical condition and was referred to the Combined Military Hospital,” doctors said.
A local police official said that it might be a case of sectarian attack. However, he hastened to add that investigations were ongoing to determine this aspect. Despite presence of paramilitary forces, target killings continue to increase in the restive province. Earlier, a young scholar was shot dead by unknown assailants in Quetta.
Police and counter-terrorism officials say that outlawed militant groups such as Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were actively involved in fomenting sectarian hatred in the province. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the killings.
Express Tribune
Monday, March 26, 2012
US defeat won’t be Afghan victory
By Pervez Hoodbhoy
Published: March 26, 2012
The writer teaches physics and political science at LUMS. He has a doctorate from MIT.
Ever since US Sergeant Robert Bales surrendered after calmly massacring Afghan women and children, he has been depicted as a man under unusual personal circumstances. A high-ranking US official told the New York Times: “When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues – he just snapped”. Unlike those sentenced to death by drones flying high over Waziristan, Bales will enjoy a thorough investigation. Whisked out of Afghanistan, he may or may not ever be convicted. If convicted, the penalty is unlikely to exceed a few prison years; “good behaviour” may qualify him for an early parole.
Although President Obama and Secretary Clinton habitually apologise to the Afghan people after every such atrocity — of which there is a long list — the fact that they happen is inevitable. Indian troops in Kashmir, and Pakistani soldiers in Balochistan, have not behaved any differently. At the core, the problem is the forcible occupation by an army of another country or people.
The Bales case has added one more reason for cash-strapped Americans to leave, speeding up the endgame. President Obama has announced plans to shift US forces to a supporting role next year and pull out most of the 90,000 U.S. troops in the country by late 2014, with 23,000 gone by this October. US Republicans — strong enthusiasts for overseas wars and interventions — are now criticising Obama for being too slow! Rick Santorum, a leading presidential candidate, said last week “We have to either make the decision to make a full commitment, which this president has not done, or we have to decide to get out, and probably get out sooner.” A day earlier, Newt Gingrich declared in even more direct terms that it was time to leave the country.
America’s “good war” — to be distinguished from the Iraq war — is rapidly collapsing and becoming more unpopular by the day. But it once had support across the world and military success had been almost instant. Weeks after 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, al Qaeda was chased out and, eventually, bin Laden was killed. With time the earlier support evaporated. Except for Marine Gen. John Allen and a few others, the pretence that the US can win is almost over. It has been unable to create a stable, non-hostile Afghan government that could stop extremist groups from using Afghan territory once again. The Taliban are smelling victory.
But, much as one welcomes the US exit, America’s defeat will not be Afghanistan’s victory. The crimes of foreign occupation pale in front of the enormous crimes committed by the Taliban government, 1996-2001. Although the outside world knew the Taliban largely for having blown up the 2000-year old Bamiyan Buddha statues and their cruel treatment of women, their atrocities were far more widespread. Going from door to door, they had executed thousands in Mazar-i-Sharif after ascertaining that they were ethnic Hazaras or Shias. A 55-page UN report says that Mullah Omar’s men, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians.Fifteen such massacres were committed during the period of the Taliban government until it was mercifully removed by the US invasion.
Eqbal Ahmed, who worked for Muslim causes from Palestine to Algeria, was by far the most perceptive and knowledgeable social activist and intellectual I have known. We had occasional disagreements but he too saw the Taliban as a social cancer that, if unchecked, would reduce Muslim society to medieval primitivism.
In 1998 — a year before he died — Eqbal had visited two cities under Taliban rule, Qandahar and Jalalabad. Soon after visiting a “land without music”, he wrote: “I have seen the future as envisioned by contemporary Islamists. It horrifies.” The Taliban had proscribed the pursuit of happiness: “Music is banned in historic Qandahar which had once been famous for its bards and story tellers. Play is forbidden.”
Eqbal tells of a boy he saw paraded through the bazaar; a rope around his neck, hands on his shaven head. This unlucky lad had broken the Taliban’s law. “He had been caught red handed, I was told — playing ball. Football is forbidden under Taliban rule as are basketball, volleyball and other games involving the movement of body. Boys playing ball can constitute undue temptation to men.”
Walking through the bazaars, Eqbal observed: “They are stacked with small electronic products, including transistor radios. Yet, none is playing. These bazaars are devoid of music which is banned in Qandahar, in homes no less than in public. Television is similarly banned. Homes are regularly raided, and people are harshly punished for listening to music. The chowkidar in the house next door to mine was caught in the act, and badly mauled. He misses his recorder and the tapes of ‘sweet Afghan naghma.’”
But if the Taliban are a social cancer then what cocktail of chemotherapies can work to prevent a second recurrence? There is zero chance of a secular, pluralistic democracy. Tribal Afghan society, locked into primitive concepts of honour and revenge, is likely to remain unenlightened and torn apart by internal conflicts well into the distant future. So the real question is: what could be the least bad outcome? Since we Pakistanis must live with a theocracy next door, then one can only wish for a relatively enlightened version rather than a barbaric one.
A relatively peaceful future will require that power in post-withdrawal Afghanistan be pluralistically shared by the country’s diverse ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, etc. Else there will be civil war. Regional actors can and must prevent this, as well as prevent a repeat of earlier Taliban horrors. To this end, Pakistan should give up its craving for ‘strategic depth’, Iran should be brought in to the picture by the US as a helpful ally, India should refrain from intrusions into Afghanistan that might antagonise Pakistan, and China must not signal the Taliban that it can fund them in exchange for mining rights. None of this is likely but, still, why not ask for the moon. What else to do?
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.
Published: March 26, 2012
Ever since US Sergeant Robert Bales surrendered after calmly massacring Afghan women and children, he has been depicted as a man under unusual personal circumstances. A high-ranking US official told the New York Times: “When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues – he just snapped”. Unlike those sentenced to death by drones flying high over Waziristan, Bales will enjoy a thorough investigation. Whisked out of Afghanistan, he may or may not ever be convicted. If convicted, the penalty is unlikely to exceed a few prison years; “good behaviour” may qualify him for an early parole.
Although President Obama and Secretary Clinton habitually apologise to the Afghan people after every such atrocity — of which there is a long list — the fact that they happen is inevitable. Indian troops in Kashmir, and Pakistani soldiers in Balochistan, have not behaved any differently. At the core, the problem is the forcible occupation by an army of another country or people.
The Bales case has added one more reason for cash-strapped Americans to leave, speeding up the endgame. President Obama has announced plans to shift US forces to a supporting role next year and pull out most of the 90,000 U.S. troops in the country by late 2014, with 23,000 gone by this October. US Republicans — strong enthusiasts for overseas wars and interventions — are now criticising Obama for being too slow! Rick Santorum, a leading presidential candidate, said last week “We have to either make the decision to make a full commitment, which this president has not done, or we have to decide to get out, and probably get out sooner.” A day earlier, Newt Gingrich declared in even more direct terms that it was time to leave the country.
America’s “good war” — to be distinguished from the Iraq war — is rapidly collapsing and becoming more unpopular by the day. But it once had support across the world and military success had been almost instant. Weeks after 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, al Qaeda was chased out and, eventually, bin Laden was killed. With time the earlier support evaporated. Except for Marine Gen. John Allen and a few others, the pretence that the US can win is almost over. It has been unable to create a stable, non-hostile Afghan government that could stop extremist groups from using Afghan territory once again. The Taliban are smelling victory.
But, much as one welcomes the US exit, America’s defeat will not be Afghanistan’s victory. The crimes of foreign occupation pale in front of the enormous crimes committed by the Taliban government, 1996-2001. Although the outside world knew the Taliban largely for having blown up the 2000-year old Bamiyan Buddha statues and their cruel treatment of women, their atrocities were far more widespread. Going from door to door, they had executed thousands in Mazar-i-Sharif after ascertaining that they were ethnic Hazaras or Shias. A 55-page UN report says that Mullah Omar’s men, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians.Fifteen such massacres were committed during the period of the Taliban government until it was mercifully removed by the US invasion.
Eqbal Ahmed, who worked for Muslim causes from Palestine to Algeria, was by far the most perceptive and knowledgeable social activist and intellectual I have known. We had occasional disagreements but he too saw the Taliban as a social cancer that, if unchecked, would reduce Muslim society to medieval primitivism.
In 1998 — a year before he died — Eqbal had visited two cities under Taliban rule, Qandahar and Jalalabad. Soon after visiting a “land without music”, he wrote: “I have seen the future as envisioned by contemporary Islamists. It horrifies.” The Taliban had proscribed the pursuit of happiness: “Music is banned in historic Qandahar which had once been famous for its bards and story tellers. Play is forbidden.”
Eqbal tells of a boy he saw paraded through the bazaar; a rope around his neck, hands on his shaven head. This unlucky lad had broken the Taliban’s law. “He had been caught red handed, I was told — playing ball. Football is forbidden under Taliban rule as are basketball, volleyball and other games involving the movement of body. Boys playing ball can constitute undue temptation to men.”
Walking through the bazaars, Eqbal observed: “They are stacked with small electronic products, including transistor radios. Yet, none is playing. These bazaars are devoid of music which is banned in Qandahar, in homes no less than in public. Television is similarly banned. Homes are regularly raided, and people are harshly punished for listening to music. The chowkidar in the house next door to mine was caught in the act, and badly mauled. He misses his recorder and the tapes of ‘sweet Afghan naghma.’”
But if the Taliban are a social cancer then what cocktail of chemotherapies can work to prevent a second recurrence? There is zero chance of a secular, pluralistic democracy. Tribal Afghan society, locked into primitive concepts of honour and revenge, is likely to remain unenlightened and torn apart by internal conflicts well into the distant future. So the real question is: what could be the least bad outcome? Since we Pakistanis must live with a theocracy next door, then one can only wish for a relatively enlightened version rather than a barbaric one.
A relatively peaceful future will require that power in post-withdrawal Afghanistan be pluralistically shared by the country’s diverse ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, etc. Else there will be civil war. Regional actors can and must prevent this, as well as prevent a repeat of earlier Taliban horrors. To this end, Pakistan should give up its craving for ‘strategic depth’, Iran should be brought in to the picture by the US as a helpful ally, India should refrain from intrusions into Afghanistan that might antagonise Pakistan, and China must not signal the Taliban that it can fund them in exchange for mining rights. None of this is likely but, still, why not ask for the moon. What else to do?
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Ice-cold isolation in Bamiyan
Nelson police inspector Brian McGurk, in Afghanistan on secondment with a European Union mission, reports on the extreme winter conditions and stark isolation in the Islamic central Asian nation.
This week is Nawroz, a holiday for the first day of the Persian New Year, which usually falls on the vernal equinox and marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring in Bamiyan and across all of Afghanistan.
The locals in the Hazarajet have been describing this winter as the coldest for about 15 years and in the news have been reports of people freezing to death. The harshness of the winter and the physical isolation of Bamiyan from the rest of Afghanistan has been a vastly different experience from a Nelson winter.
The first winter snowfall arrived in Bamiyan at the end of November. There has been snow on the ground constantly since the end of December and it is only in the last week or so that the snow has began to recede. The heavy snowfalls in recent days are just a reminder that winter has not quite finished.
The temperature really didn't rise above freezing any time during January or February, traditionally the coldest months. The temperature in Bamiyan hover around -10 degrees Celsius to -15C in the bright winter sunshine and often plunges down to -25C to -30C in the shade or when the sun gets low in the sky. It got even colder with temperatures of -33C recorded a few times during February.
It is a very dry cold and surprisingly it often doesn't feel as cold as it really is....Continue Reading...
This week is Nawroz, a holiday for the first day of the Persian New Year, which usually falls on the vernal equinox and marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring in Bamiyan and across all of Afghanistan.
The locals in the Hazarajet have been describing this winter as the coldest for about 15 years and in the news have been reports of people freezing to death. The harshness of the winter and the physical isolation of Bamiyan from the rest of Afghanistan has been a vastly different experience from a Nelson winter.
The first winter snowfall arrived in Bamiyan at the end of November. There has been snow on the ground constantly since the end of December and it is only in the last week or so that the snow has began to recede. The heavy snowfalls in recent days are just a reminder that winter has not quite finished.
The temperature really didn't rise above freezing any time during January or February, traditionally the coldest months. The temperature in Bamiyan hover around -10 degrees Celsius to -15C in the bright winter sunshine and often plunges down to -25C to -30C in the shade or when the sun gets low in the sky. It got even colder with temperatures of -33C recorded a few times during February.
It is a very dry cold and surprisingly it often doesn't feel as cold as it really is....Continue Reading...
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