US Department of State: Terrorist Designations of Lashkar I Jhangvi and Malik Ishaq

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC

February 6, 2014

The Department of State has designated Malik Ishaq, one of the co-founders of Lashkar I Jhangvi (LJ), as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. The consequences of this designation include a prohibition against U.S. persons engaging in transactions with Malik Ishaq, and the freezing of all property and interests of Malik Ishaq that are in the United States, or come within the United States or the possession or control of U.S. persons.

Malik Ishaq is a founding member and is the current leader of LJ. In 1997, Malik Ishaq admitted his involvement in terrorist activity that resulted in the deaths of over 100 Pakistanis. More recently, in February 2013, Pakistani police arrested Ishaq in connection with attacks on January 10 and February 16, 2013 in the northwestern city of Quetta, Pakistan that killed nearly 200 Pakistani civilians. LJ claimed responsibility for the Quetta bombings.

In addition to Ishaq’s designation under E.O. 13224, the Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of LJ in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. LJ specializes in armed attacks and bombings and has admitted responsibility for numerous killings of Shia religious and civil society leaders in Pakistan. LJ claimed responsibility for a 2013 attack in a crowded billiards hall in Quetta that resulted in the deaths of 80 Pakistanis.

As a result of maintaining the FTO designation, the legal consequences of the designation remain in place, including the prohibition against knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to LJ, and the freezing of all LJ assets under the control or possession of U.S. financial institutions.

The Department took these actions in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Treasury.

Source: US Department of State 

"Unity, faith, discipline aur TOLERANCE" Ibtihaj

Follow

Mohammad Jibran Nasir

While driving down Khayaban-e-Ittehad today I asked Ibtihaj "Ittehad ka matlab pata hai". He looked at his father and inquired "Ittehad?". His father replied "Unity!". Ittehad reacted "Oh, unity faith discipline." His father added "Haan Quaid-e-Azam ka three point: unity, faith and discipline."

Ibtihaj remarked "Nahi. 3 nahi 4 points. Unity, faith, discipline aur TOLERANCE."

I couldn't believe my ears. Jinnah sb never added that 4th point but this 11 year old knows Tolerance is the need of the hour.

P.S. In the past three days the Karachi Political Circle got complete. Representatives from PPP, PTI and MQM all met with Ibtihaj and sat down to listen to the concerns of the Hazara community as narrated by Ibtihaj's father. Ignorance is not an excuse anymore. I hope some action by some party will be taken.

Karachi embraced Ibtihaj with love and support but will you do the same, Bilawal Bhutto?

By Jibran Nasir Published: February 4, 2014



Bilawal can achieve better by standing with them on Alamdar Road in Quetta, not by sitting behind the tall walls of Bilawal House. PHOTO: JIBRAN NASIR

On the morning of January 27, 2014, I was looking up air tickets to fly to Quetta to meet the victims of the Mastung blast. None of my friends or family members were excited about this proposition.

Much to their relief, eight of the victims were shifted to the Agha Khan Univeristy Hospital (AKUH) at Karachi the same afternoon. I met 11-year-old Ibtihaj along with a few of my friends that same evening. He was a little overwhelmed, being suddenly surrounded by so many strange faces. A large number of the visitors were of the Hazara community members based in Karachi.

Later that day, I also met other victims whose names most have not heard and whose faces most have not seen on social or television media – and hence they haven’t received due attention.

There is 20-year-old Mehrin who still does not know that she, like Ibtihaj, has lost her mother and sister in the blast.

There is Zakir, who has lost one leg but not the will to walk again.

There is Saadat, who was once a professional bodybuilder but is now paralysed from the waist below.

There is Mujtaba, who has severe injuries in both his legs but a huge smile on his face, knowing that he would only know the full extent of his recovery once he is able to stand again on his feet.

Zakir, Saadat and Mujtaba are of humble means and the providers of their families.

As days progressed, my friendship with Ibtihaj and Mehrin grew. It was easy befriending them because, given that they do not have knowledge of the deaths in their family, one can talk only about happy things in life with them. You can engage them with topics like sports, music, animals (Mehrin is doing her BS in Zoology) and Facebook....Continue Reading... 

Payam Shuhadda Conference on Alamdar Road, Quetta

Spanish cyclist disputes claim that 6 levies men died protecting him in Balochistan

By Web Desk
Published: January 31, 2014

NEW DELHI: Spanish cyclist Federico Javier Colorado Soriano, who narrowly escaped an attack in Mastung, and survived another grenade attack just 12 hours later in the troubled district of Balochistan, has disputed the claim that six levies personnel had died protecting him, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported on Thursday.

Colorado, who spoke to La Vanguardia in the safety of New Delhi, recalled the harrowing events in Balochistan, where he was not allowed to cycle. He told the paper that he was waiting at a check post just 300 meters behind a bus carrying pilgrims, which was attacked with a suicide bomb. His camera was recording at the time and somehow he managed to capture the blast on video. The explosion had killed at least 30 pilgrims and left over 50 injured.

The cyclist said that ever since he crossed the Iran-Pakistan border, he was escorted by various members of the security forces who always transported him in their vehicles. However, he disputed the number of security personnel that he was being escorted by at the time of the attack. “Just after crossing into Pakistan from Iran, I was awarded two escorts, the Balochistan levies.”

Following the bus bomb attack on January 21, he was held in a police station overnight for safety and allowed to travel the following morning. Even after the explosion, Colorado was loaded into a van with only one gunman and a driver, with no following vehicle.

A little after they passed the destroyed bus on the Mastung highway, Colorado’s vehicle came under a bomb and gun attack in which he was injured just above his left temple. Colorado toldLa Vanguardia that the attack happened barely three minutes after they crossed the bus (visible in his video). He adds that contrary to the official version in which the deaths of six and injuries to three levies personnel is claimed, none of the two men accompanying him were injured, nor did he see anyone else die.

In the video, which he has uploaded on to the internet, Colorado can be seen lying on his stomach on the bed of the pickup truck with his cycle, holding the camera with one arm and his injured head with the other. In the video, an armed levies’ guard can be seen standing over Colorado while a second man, possibly the driver, walks around to the back of the vehicle and inquires whether the Spaniard is ok.

To this Colorado tells the driver in Spanish and broken English to keep going.

Later at the hospital in Quetta, one of the guards accompanying Colorado tells an attendant in Urdu that they had just escaped a blast and that four to five levies personnel had been killed, while at least three others were injured.

La Vanguardia further reports that according to Colorado, he was flown to Lahore where he stayed in his room for 36-hours with two ‘agents’ outside his door.

When he contacted his family in Madrid he read the official statement that he was given. But in New Delhi, he uploaded the video and said that he could no longer keep quiet about what had really happened.

Express Tribune 

A constant state of denial

January 28, 2014
MARVI SIRMED

After Pakistan’s Hazara community lost around three dozens precious lives last week, protests from Shia community erupted throughout Pakistan. The protesters were demanding targeted operation by the state against the perpetrators of massacre. Familiar images were repeated on 24/7 news media showing victims’ families in the sit-in with bodies of their loved ones in front of them. One has had it a year ago when around 90 dead bodies of Hazara Shias protested in the same manner, with similar demands. A year on and their demands are far from being heard, promises of the state further from being realized, culprits even further from facing justice and persecution of the victim community persisting with even more vigor.
A picture of Hazara siblings with sister clinging lovingly to her brother went viral. The sister had died at the spot while the brother was fighting his injuries. Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party released a photo with his sister in the same pose and with a little placard in hands expressing solidarity and inviting public support to the victims. One came across similar sentiment of solidarity and empathy going through umpteen talk shows on current affairs media and in the garrulous circles of the capital. The spirit however, suddenly evaporated when one would beseech them to participate in the sit-ins. Fear, distrust on the state to protect or ideological complicity? One wouldn’t know. But the otherwise vocal citizenry for secular and progressive Pakistan went unbearably silent.
Looking at the state incompetence coupled with criminal complicity, one can’t blame this silent faction of empathetic populace, which manages to still exist in whatever numbers after all these decades of sheer rupture of inflated illusion of state writ. Why are the Hazara victims of this continued violence? Why are the perpetrators still at large?.... Continue Reading .... 

Spanish Cyclist Records the Mastung Bombing