Buner falls to Taliban (is it the next Swat?)

[Daredevil]

Afghan Tajiks take control of Buner

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: The frightened people of Buner, which has now fallen into the hands of the Taliban, have given horrible accounts of their ordeal, saying they were driven out of their homes at gunpoint by Afghan Tajiks.

ìLet the whole Pakistan know that we have been invaded by the Afghan Tajiks who have come from the other side of the border. They are not the local Taliban the media has wrongly reported,î said an elderly man who, along with his wife and son, fled to Islamabad after his house was occupied and his marble factory was taken over.

These Afghan Tajiks are said to be using interpreters to communicate with the local Pakhtoons as they do not understand Pashtu. The families, who have escaped from Buner and its adjoining areas to save their lives, told The News that the Tajiks were looting and plundering their assets and properties. “They are occupying our businesses and destroying our homes,” the man said.

“For God sake, why don’t you people listen to our cries as we have been invaded by the Afghan Tajiks, not Pakistanis. Our families and honour are in danger,” said another man who too has fled to Islamabad along with his family. He wept in front of this correspondent while narrating his sad story of how he was driven out of his home at gunpoint.

He fled to Islamabad along with four other families after his factory and four petrol pumps of his friends were captured by the Afghan Taliban, where they have set up their camps. “I can swear on Holy Quran that those who have captured our village are Afghan nationals. You people sitting in Islamabad cannot imagine what sort of hell they have unleashed on us after advancing from Swat to our areas,” he said, sobbing. The details of these families are being kept secret for security reasons, as they have left their relatives back in Buner.

The man said as the people of Buner heard about the arrival of the Taliban from Swat, they formed a Lashkar to fight them. But, he lamented, the local police and law enforcement agencies facilitated them to capture the area.

“I am a local Pathan and I know who is a local and who is a foreigner. Our lands have been occupied by the Afghan Tajiks and no one is helping us to fight them. Rather, the Pakistani media and politicians are backing those who have invaded us,” he claimed.

“I have just received a phone call from my domestic servant that my house has been taken over by these Afghan Tajiks and they have destroyed everything there,” he further said. He said he was targeted because he was part of the Jirga that had held talks with the Tajik invaders. “I knew they will kill me. I lifted my elderly mother in my arms and crossed the mountains along with other family members and reached a nearby road and hired a taxi to reach Islamabad. I cannot sleep as the families of my brothers and sisters are still trapped in the village.”

“They are not Muslims at all who have occupied our lands. They are just ruthless people who have been given a free hand to rule over us and now they are playing with our lives and properties while the media, politicians and even the Army are watching silently,” he said.

“Let me warn you, if you do not stand up against these Afghan Tajiks, the people of Islamabad will soon become their target.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=21670

 

[Daredevil]

Buner under effective rule of Taliban

Buner under effective rule of Taliban

Internews/Sultanwas, Buner

Having established their headquarters at a majestic three-storey bungalow of a local businessman, the Taliban have virtually captured the strategically located Buner district in the North West Frontier Province, a report said yesterday.

The development comes despite the apparent peace efforts undertaken by the Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohamed.
The fearless Taliban commander Fateh is now calling the shots in Buner while Mufti Bashir has been made Qazi, or the judge, to address the complaints of the locals.

It was interesting to know that the bungalow, now serving as the Taliban nerve-centre for Buner in Sultanwas village, was owned by one Fateh Khan, who has now fled, while its new occupant is Taliban commander with the same name, Fateh.

The well-heeled Fateh Khan was running several petrol pumps and marble factories in Buner district.

He also spearheaded tribal lashkar to ward off Taliban from entering Buner in a recent clash between the Taliban and tribal lashkar, five people, including three policemen and two volunteers of the Iashkar were killed at Gokan village.

The residents of various villages thronged the Taliban headquarters to register their complaints and seek their assistance in resolving their longstanding issues and personal disputes.

“The cases which we have filed several years ago are still awaiting decision by the courts. We are sick of this delayed judicial process in which justice is only provided to the influential and rich people,” an elderly Mohamed Akbar of nearby Gokan village remarked.

Commander Fateh, who hails from Taliban’s stronghold Peochar village in Swat’s troubled Matta tehsil and had played a key role in bloody clashes against the security forces, argued that prime purpose behind their advance on Buner was to help implement Shariah in its true form.

“I am here to maintain peace and lead my colleagues in eradicating some bad and un-Islamic practices being practised at the shrine of Pir Baba,” Fateh claimed.

It may be mentioned here that Taliban had closed the shrine of great Sufi saint Syed All Termizi, lovingly called Pir Baba, for visitors coming from all over Pakistan.

According to the Taliban leaders, some people had turned the shrine of great Sufi saint into a den of crimes, vulgarity and obscenity. Therefore, they said, the shrine has been closed for visitors

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topi...=286044&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23

 

[Daredevil]

Swat's Taleban expand operations

Swat's Taleban expand operations

By Syed Shoaib Hasan
BBC News, Islamabad

Taleban militants operating in Pakistan's Swat region who agreed a peace deal with the government have expanded operations into nearby Buner.

Dozens of militants have been streaming into bordering Buner to take over mosques and government offices.

Buner is part of the Malakand region, which has just seen the implementation of Sharia law under the peace deal.

But the Taleban have mainly operated in Swat, where they fought the army from August 2007 until this year's deal.

Under the deal the Taleban were expected to disarm.

Buner district is only about 100km (62 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for North West Frontier Province, said he had received reports of the Taleban expansion.

Recent reports said the Taleban had ransacked the offices of international aid and development agencies working in Buner.

Some employees of the agencies were also briefly taken hostage before being released on Monday.

Patrols

The Taleban have banned the playing of music in cars and are also using mosques to invite local youth to join them.

“ We implemented Sharia law as it was a demand of the people, not just the Taleban ”
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, NWFP official
The Taleban have also started regular patrols in the district.

Buner's police chief, Rashid Khan, said the police had lodged an official complaint over the matter.

But the Taleban are not mentioned in the reports, which only names "unknown persons" as the culprits.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain maintains that the Taleban must disarm as agreed under the peace deal.

"Even Sufi Mohammad has said that there is no reason for the Taleban not to disarm," he said.

He was referring to the head of a local religious group who has been acting as the government's chief negotiator with the Taleban.

"We initially adopted the path of dialogue and reconciliation, but this is as far as we can go," Mr Hussain said.

"We implemented Sharia law as it was a demand of the people, not just the Taleban.

"If they continue with their activities, they will not have the support of the people.

"The majority of the people are now with the government. The government will not stand by and tolerate [the violation of] the peace deal."

The Taleban say they will not lay down their arms until Sharia is fully implemented.

Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Swat Taleban, said his movement's aim was the enforcement of Sharia law in all of Pakistan.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/8010148.stm

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

These chaps should worry about Islamabad next... I've heard that Buner is hardly a few kilometers from Islamabad...

 

[nitesh]

why they are referring to them as tajiks isn't it a propaganda to again rant against Indian consulates and saying India is supporting terrorism.

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

Nitesh... these are not Tajiks or Afghans or any other Race... they are just their own Estranged Pashtun brothers whom they were in bed with till the fall of the Taliban... and when the Pakistanis withdrew support from the Taliban, the same Pashtuns were infuriated and they're coming at the Punjabi heartland...

 

[Daredevil]

why they are referring to them as tajiks isn't it a propaganda to again rant against Indian consulates and saying India is supporting terrorism.

There are substantial numbers of Tajiks in Afghanistan. So. it could be Afghan Taliban, though it could be misinformation. It will get clear in coming days who actually these Talibs are (Afghan or Pakistani Talibs). But form the two other articles it is clear that they are the henchmen of Maulana Fazlullah, the Son-in-law of Sufi Mohammad.

 

[Mohan]

Or it may be to divert the public mind and garner their support for the government against the talib and also show the Americans that they the government has started something to do more.....

 

[nitesh]

EM my point is only towards referring tajiks which were historically supported by India when they had formed northern alliance. now they will use this as excuse to point fingers towards India

 

[A.V.]

tajiks in control at buner? what a joke buner fell not today but quite a few days ago when a jeep load of armed taliban<non tajiks> ran through the town center, many of he analysts have argued that the suport received for he taliban in areas such as swat was primarily local support who were against the policies of the pakistani goverment and its ideas they welcomes the changes that taliban brought with them .... fine then it was argued that the taliban would not flourish elsewhere in pakistan because they did not have local support but things seem to go from bad to worse i always believed that if you give the taliban some breeding space they will multiply at numbers greater than the neutrons.

all signs are pointing towards a big armed civil war in pakistan if it has not started already

 

[Sailor]

Whoever they are that took Buner, I feel so sorry for any of the women folk there.
Right now they are being tortured and murdered.
Is this the Earth? Are we sure this isn't on planet X? What the hell is going on in that part of the world? If the Western Christian nations pull out of this dung heap, what will happen?
When is someone other than us going to do something?

 

[Daredevil]

Whoever they are that took Buner, I feel so sorry for any of the women folk there.
Right now they are being tortured and murdered.
Is this the Earth? Are we sure this isn't on planet X? What the hell is going on in that part of the world? If the Western Christian nations pull out of this dung heap, what will happen?
When is someone other than us going to do something?

Are you trying to say that this is 'White man's Burden'?.

 

[Sailor]

Unfortunately yes because no one else is doing anything Daredevil.

 

[Vinod2070]

The West was a big part of the reason why these terrorists are there in the first place.

And the West is the one which is keeping that terror supporting country afloat by giving the military "aid" that is directed against India and helps them sustain an otherwise unsustainable hostile posture.

 

[johnee]

^^^^
you took words of my mouth.

yes, west is a big part of both the creation of the problem and sustaining it. the western christian great britian in its imperial quest created an artificial country to the west and east of india.
the western christian US was directly responsible for creating mujahids who are now known as talibs in their new avatar. US continues to give billions in aid to problem nation.
so, they dont have any moral high ground to preach others.

 

[Singh]

Buner falls into the hands of Swat Taliban

Taliban are seen at an entrance of the shrine of the Pir Baba adjacent to a mosque, which was closed by Taliban after taking it over in Buner.—AP/File


BUNER: Taliban militants from Swat took control of Buner on Tuesday and started patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district.

The militants, who had sneaked into Gokand valley of Buner on April 4, were reported to have been on a looting spree for the past five days.

They have robbed government and NGO offices of vehicles, computers, printers, generators, edible oil containers, and food and nutrition packets.

Sources said that leading political figures, businessmen, NGO officials and Khawaneen, who had played a role in setting up a Lashkar to stop the Taliban from entering Buner, had been forced to move to other areas.

The Taliban have extended their control to almost all tehsils of the district and law-enforcement personnel remained confined to police stations and camps.

The Taliban, equipped with advanced weapons, were reported to be advancing towards border areas of Swabi,

Malakand and Mardan, the hometown of NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti.

According to reports reaching here, the militants have set up checkposts and camp bases in Kangar Gali village, along the Malakand border; Naway Dhand village, along the Mardan border; and Tootalai village, along the Swabi border.

The sources said officials of the FC camp in Jorh had asked people to vacate their homes in view of threats of an attack.

The militants have started digging trenches and setting up bunkers on heights in strategic towns of Gadezi, Salarzai, Osherai and other tehsils.

After occupying the Buner district and setting up their headquarters in the bungalow of businessman Syed Ahmed Khan (alias Fateh Khan) in Sultanwas, the militants started patrolling the streets and roads with no signs of law-enforcement personnel.

Led by Fateh Mohammad, the militants were asking local people, particularly youngsters, to join them in their campaign to enforce Sharia.

They have established checkposts on roads and are searching all passing vehicles. They have virtually established their writ in Buner region, once a stronghold of the Awami National Party.

A Taliban commander said they would set up strict Islamic sharia courts in Buner as they have already done in Swat, but would not interfere with police work.

‘The Taliban who have arrived from Swat have increased patrolling, banned music in public transport and rampaged (through the) offices of NGOs and taken their vehicles,’ local government official Rashid Khan said.

‘Taliban militants armed with rocket launchers were manning the checkpoints and operating from local mosques,’ he said, adding that a report had been filed at the local police station against ‘unknown militants.’

‘We will soon establish our radio station. Our Qazis (Islamic judges) will also start holding courts in Buner soon,’ Taliban commander Mohammad Khalil told AFP.

‘We will not interfere in the police work, they can continue their job,’ he said, adding their purpose was to end a ‘sense of deprivation’ and to provide speedy justice.

‘People in their dozens have come to invite us’ to extend sharia.

Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman, told AFP from Swat that ‘the government writ is not being challenged in Buner and Taliban are not creating any hurdle in the administration's work.’

‘The Taliban will leave Buner after enforcement of Islamic justice system,’ he said.

However, several residents said they felt ‘scared’ and planned to leave the Buner area, fearing similar violence to that in Swat.

On Tuesday, armed groups entered the Rural Health Centre at Jure in Salarzai area and took away a Land-Cruiser being used by the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI), Buner.

On April 17, they raided a basic health unit in tehsil Chamla and looted 480 cans of edible oil. They took away from the house of a lady health visitor a large number of food and nutrition packets supplied by USAID and sewing machines from an Action Aid-sponsored vocational centre in the Korea village of tehsil Chamla.

On April 18, they looted a huge quantity of medicine from a health facility at the Afghan refugee camp in Koga in the same tehsil and 640 cans of edible oil from a godown of the World Food Programme in Nawagai.

On April 19, armed men took away a Suzuki Potohar Jeep from a rural health centre in Nagrai. A group of 20 militants took away a Suzuki Ravi car and 400 cans of edible oil from a basic health unit in Garga.

Another armed group snatched an ambulance, a pick-up provided by Gavi for EPI cell, a Suzuki Ravi from a health centre in Swari.

They also broke into the offices of Paiman (Save the Children) EPI, Jica offices and took away several computers, printers, two generators, fax machines, UPS and other appliances.

The armed men stopped near Ambela a double-cabin vehicle of Paiman going to Buner from Peshawar and took it along with the driver to a nearby camp. Later, they released the driver and escaped with the vehicle.

They have also occupied the main office of Rahbar in Swari.

DAWN.COM | NWFP | Buner falls into the hands of Swat Taliban

 

[Singh]

Swat Taliban consolidate grip over Buner

ISLAMABAD: Taliban militants are setting up checkpoints in a district next to Swat Valley, officials and witnesses said Wednesday, spurring fears that a government-backed peace deal imposing Islamic law in the area has emboldened the insurgents to expand their reign.

Reports that the top government official in another adjacent district was kidnapped by militants added to the growing concern.

Pakistan’s president signed off on the peace pact last week in hopes of calming Swat, where some two years worth of clashes between the Taliban and security forces have killed hundreds and displaced up to a third of the one-time tourist haven’s 1.5 million residents.

The agreement covers the Malakand region, which comprises roughly one-third of NWFP, a strategic stretch that runs along the Afghan border and bumps into the tribal areas where al Qaeda and the Taliban reportedly have strongholds.

Supporters say the deal was the best way to bring peace, and that it also addresses long-time local grievances over the inefficient regular judicial system. Critics, including the White House, have slammed the deal as an affront to democracy and human rights, saying it gives militants a state-sanctioned sanctuary.

Some critics go as far as to say that Swat could be the first domino to fall — that Islamabad, which is less than a hundred miles away, could follow along with other segments of the country that neighbours Afghanistan.

Since the provincial government agreed to the deal in mid-February, Taliban fighters had adopted a lower profile and stopped openly displaying their weapons in the valley as part of a cease-fire. However, as of Tuesday, upon the radio-broadcast orders of Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah, the militants had begun roaming parts of the valley with their rifles and other weapons.

An Associated Press reporter saw the patrols in Mingora, the valley’s main city.

Residents from other nearby towns also told the AP that they had seen militants setting up their own checkpoints at various roads and strategic locations. The residents requested anonymity out of fear for their lives.

The Swat militants have also staged forays into adjoining Buner district in recent days, sparking at least one major clash with residents who tried to force them out.

Istiqbal Khan, a parliamentarian from Buner, told the AP that the militants had entered the district in ‘large numbers’ and started setting up checkpoints at main roads and strategic positions.

‘They are patrolling in Buner, and local elders and clerics are negotiating with them to resolve this issue through talks,’ he said. ‘They did a bad thing, but I don’t suggest any military operation against them. Let us give peace a chance to evict these Taliban from Buner. I am optimistic that it can be done.’

Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a recent interview with the AP, Muslim Khan said al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other militants aiming to oust the US from Afghanistan would be welcome and protected in Swat — a statement the government condemned.

The deal was mediated by Sufi Muhammad, a hardline cleric who has long demanded Islamic law be imposed in Swat and surrounding districts. Muhammad has urged the Taliban to lay down their weapons, but his spokesman tried to downplay the Taliban patrols.

‘People need not worry,’ Amir Izzat said Wednesday. ‘These Taliban only want that the process of enforcing Islamic laws in the region to be expedited.’

Meanwhile, authorities said that the top government official in Upper Dir, an unsettled district next to Swat, was missing.

Atif Rehman was believed to be returning home after visiting the village of Chakdara, where he met with local tribal elders, but lost contact with his staff late Tuesday, said Ghulam Mohammed, the top official in Lower Dir.

‘We suspect he is in the custody of militants, along with his driver,’ he said.

DAWN.COM | NWFP | Swat Taliban consolidate grip over Buner

 

[Flint]

Sailor, the progress of western nations has come at the expense of Christianity, not as a result of it.

Whoever they are that took Buner, I feel so sorry for any of the women folk there.
Right now they are being tortured and murdered.
Is this the Earth? Are we sure this isn't on planet X? What the hell is going on in that part of the world? If the Western Christian nations pull out of this dung heap, what will happen?
When is someone other than us going to do something?

 

[Vinod2070]

^^ Yep, the Renaissance was a direct result of the role of Church being limited to where it belonged. The separation of Church and state was the pre-condition for the scientific development.

 

[Pintu]

Sify reports that Taliban is just 100 km from Islamabad.

The link and the report from Sify follows:

Taliban just 100 km from Islamabad


Taliban just 100 km from Islamabad
2009-04-22 21:11:18

Taliban in Pakistani ex-resort:

Islamabad: Saying they can go "wherever" they want, the Taliban have advanced to just 100 km north of the Pakistani capital even as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani warned that the Swat peace accord could be revisited by the government.

"We can go wherever we want. There are no rules for us," Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan told a TV news channel.

After consolidating their position in Swat, in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Taliban have extended their control to almost all tehsils of Buner district to the south and law-enforcement personnel remain confined to police stations and camps, Dawn reported Wednesday.

Taliban growing stronger in Pak's Punjab

Buner is just 100 km from Islamabad.

Asked to comment on the increased belligerence of the Taliban in the wake of the Swat accord signed February 16 Gilani said: "Parliament had unanimously approved it (the peace accord. The president gave his assent to it. It is meant to restore peace. If peace does not return, we can think otherwise,"

Equipped with advanced weapons, the Taliban are now reported to be eyeing the Swabi district further south, as also Mardan to the west, the home district of NWFP Chief Minister Haider Khan Hoti.

Led by local Taliban commander Fateh Mohammad, the militants in Buner have been asking local people, particularly youngsters, to join them in their campaign to enforce Sharia, or Islamic religious law.

According to reports from the area, the militants have set up checkposts along the borders of the two districts.

The militants have started digging trenches and setting up bunkers on the heights in strategic towns of Gadezi, Salarzai and Osherai.

They have also started patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district.

"They have robbed government and NGO offices of vehicles, computers, printers, generators, edible oil containers, and food and nutrition packets," Dawn said.

Sources said leading political figures, businessmen, NGO officials and tribal elders, who had played a role in establishing a peace council earlier this month to stop the Taliban from entering Buner had been forced to move to other areas.

Taliban-backed radical cleric Sufi Mohammad had signed the controversial peace deal with the NWFP government to impose Sharia laws in Swat and six other districts of the province, collectively known as the Malakand division, in return for the militants laying down their arms.

At that time, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had said he would ratify the accord only after peace returned to the area. He, however, backtracked in the face of strident international protests against the deal and tossed it to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

The National Assembly passed the Sharia Nizam-e Adil Regulation by a majority April 13 after the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), a junior partner of the ruling coalition, walked out in protest. Zardari ratified it the same night and the Sharia laws came into force two days later.

Significantly, when the Regulation was presented before the National Assembly, it was preceded by a warning from the Taliban that any legislator who did not endorse it would be deemed a "non-Muslim" - meaning that he or she would be considered an apostate and deemed worthy of being killed.

The Nizam-e Adl Regulation was Monday challenged in the Supreme Court on the ground that it was out of sync with Pakistan's laws.

As is now apparent, the Swat accord is being observed more in its breach than in practice.

On Tuesday, armed groups entered the Rural Health Centre at Jure in the Salarzai area and took away a Land Cruiser being used by the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI).

Earlier, the militants on April 17 raided a basic health unit in Chamla tehsil and looted 480 cans of edible oil. They took away from the house of a lady health visitor a large number of food and nutrition packets supplied by USAID and sewing machines from an Action Aid sponsored vocational centre in the Korea village of tehsil Chamla.