Pakistan kills school massacre 'facilitator'

Pakistan kills 77 militants after Taliban school massacre

Pakistani security forces have killed a Taliban commander who allegedly facilitated the Peshawar school massacre, which left 150 people dead in the country's worst ever attack.

Officials on Friday said the fighter, named only as Saddam, was killed on Thursday night in a gunfight with security forces in the restive Khyber tribal area, which borders the northwestern city of Peshawar where last week's attack took place.

"Commander Saddam was a dreaded terrorist, who was killed in an exchange of fire with the security forces in Jamrud town of Khyber tribal region," top local administration official Shahab Ali Shah told a press conference in Peshawar.

"Six of his accomplices were injured and arrested."
He added that Saddam is believed to have facilitated the school attack, although the extent or capacity of his alleged involvement was not yet known.

"Authorities are currently interrogating the injured terrorists," Shah said.
He described Saddam as an important commander in the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and said he had masterminded several bomb attacks.

Saddam and his accomplices had been involved in several recent attacks on security forces that had resulted in heavy casualties, Shah said.

The Taliban and other fighters have taken refuge in Khyber from a major army offensive launched in June in North Waziristan, another restive tribal area on the Afghan border that has been a hub for al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters since the early 2000s...

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced the establishment of military courts for terror-related cases in order to accelerate trials, and he has also lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.

Officials said Monday that Pakistan plans to execute around 500 fighters in the coming weeks.



Excerpt: Pakistan kills school massacre 'facilitator'

In Pakistan school attack, Taliban terrorists kill 145, mostly children

By Sophia Saifi and Greg Botelho, CNN

updated 1:28 AM EST, Wed December 17, 2014

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- "'God is great,'" the Taliban militants shouted as they roared through the hallways of a school in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Then, 14-year-old student Ahmed Faraz recalled, one of them took a harsher tone.

 " 'A lot of the children are under the benches,' " a Pakistani Taliban said, according to Ahmed. " 'Kill them.' "

By the time the hours-long siege at Army Public School and Degree College ended early Tuesday evening, at least 145 people -- 132 children, 10 school staff members and three soldiers -- were dead, military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa said. More than 100 were injured, many with gunshot wounds, according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani.

he death toll does not include the terrorists who attacked the school, bursting into an auditorium where a large number of students were taking an exam and gunning down many of them within minutes, Bajwa said.

"They started shooting indiscriminately," Bajwa said, "and that's where maximum damage was caused."

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurrassani said the militants scaled the school's walls around 10 a.m. (midnight ET), intent on killing older students there.

The Taliban had "300 to 400 people ... under their custody" at one point, said Khurrassani, whose group is called Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. But Bajwa said there was no hostage situation, as the attackers' focus was shooting to kill rather than taking captives.

They were eventually met by Pakistani troops who pushed through the complex building by building, room by room. By 4 p.m., they'd confined the attackers to four buildings. A few hours later, all the militants -- seven of them, according to Bajwa -- were dead.

Excerpt: In Pakistan school attack, Taliban terrorists kill 145, mostly children

Al Qaeda in search of its 'own territory' in India

India Conflict Map, SATP.org

Gabriel Domínguez, Sept 9, 2014

India has stepped up security after al Qaeda announced the formation of a local wing. But as analyst Gauri Khandekar tells DW, the militant group is in reality seeking recruits rather than launching a new branch.

In a video posted online, al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri announced it had created an Indian branch and promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the "Indian subcontinent" and Myanmar. Indian authorities said they were taking the move seriously and put several states on high alert on September 4.

In the meantime, the announcement was hailed by a new breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called Jamat-ul-Ahrar. "We believe that the branch will work hard for the achievement of the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent," the splinter group's spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in a message posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Analysts say al Qaeda has been increasingly overshadowed by 'Islamic State', a renegade offshoot of the terror group which has managed to capture vast territory in Syria and Iraq and inspired thousands of fighters to join its jihadist mission.

So far, terror threats In India have largely come from neighboring Pakistan and Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region. Gauri Khandekar, head of the Asia Program at the European think tank FRIDE, says in a DW interview that while there is no evidence of an al Qaeda presence in the subcontinent, the organization wants to take advantage of the large and young Muslim population in the region.

DW: How credible are the al Qaeda chief's claims of expansion and the creation of an Indian branch?

Gauri Khandekar: This is indeed worrisome. It has been said that al Qaeda (AQ) is trying to compete with IS for recruits and funding, but what has not been said is that the network is also differentiating itself from IS geographically. AQ does not want to compete with IS for territory, so it is trying to claim its own "territory of action" and channeling an undisclosed amount of its resources on the Indian subcontinent, especially as foreign troops prepare to leave Afghanistan.


Source: Al Qaeda in search of its 'own territory' in India 


It will be interesting to see how India and the new Prime Minister Modi handles this challenge. I think in the coming years India will face a wave of instability and internal attacks as militancy in the country intensifies.

Pakistan, Russia Sign 'Milestone' Military Cooperation Pact

 Nov, 20, 2014: Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu (Left) and Pakistan Defense Minister Khwaja Asif (Right).

Nov. 20, 2014 - 03:58P By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan and Russia signed a “milestone” military cooperation pact on Thursday aimed at bringing peace and stability to the region, Islamabad’s defence ministry said.

The agreement was signed during a visit by Russian Defence Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu with Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

“The signing of the military cooperation agreement between the two significant countries of the region is a milestone,” Asif said after the signing ceremony in a ministry statement.
“Both sides will translate this relationship in tangible terms and further strengthen military to military relations,” Asif added.

The pair expressed hope that the agreement will pave the way for exchange of views and information, as well as issues related to strengthening of mutual trust and international security, counter-terrorist and arms control activities.

“The first ever visit of the defence minister from Russian Federation has come at a very critical juncture when US-led NATO forces are drawing down from Afghanistan by the end of 2014,” the statement said.

“Apart from promoting bilateral defense relations, the visit will enable both countries to join hands in bringing peace and stability in the region,” it added.

Russia has long been the largest supplier of arms to Pakistan’s nuclear-armed arch rival India, which is the world’s top arms buyer.

Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency reported in June that the country had lifted its embargo on arms supplies to Pakistan and was holding talks on supplying Islamabad with combat helicopters.

Shoigu, who is accompanied by a 41-member high level delegation, commended the skill and expertise of Pakistani armed forces in fighting the war against terrorism, the Pakistani defence ministry said.

“The world community not only praises but wants to do business with Pakistan now,” it quoted Shoigu as saying.


Source: Pakistan, Russia Sign 'Milestone' Military Cooperation Pact

IDEAS 2014 International Arms Fair

December 1, 2014: IDEAS 2014 International Arms Fair in Karachi, Pakistan highlights from the Expo.

Pakistan offers defence cooperation to Afghanistan

KARACHI, Pakistan: The minister for defence production Rana Tanvir Hussain said on Wednesday that Pakistan is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in defence sector.


In a meeting with the Afghan Air Chief Major General Wahab Wardak during exhibition “Ideas 2014″ in Karachi on Wednesday, the minister said that Pakistan is desirous for a peaceful Afghanistan.

The minister said that steps being taken by the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are commendable.

The Afghan Air Chief and the Afghan General for Logistics General Afzal, who was also present on the occasion, expressed their willingness for greater cooperation with Pakistan.

The 8th biennial International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2014) continues at the Expo Centre in Karachi, and 88 delegations from 47 countries are taking part in it.

Some of the major indigenously developed products being showcased in the four-day defence exhibition include Main Battle Tank Al-Khalid, JF-17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft, Armoured Personnel Carriers and missile boats.

“It is very important event in the history of Pakistan because now we have capable to defend our country and also import our defense products. The IDEAS 2014 is highly significant to introduce our defense products at international level,” the analyst Dr Manzoor Khan said.

“Pakistan is on the track of technological inventions and we are the nation with atomic power which is very important for the defense of the country,” he added.

Source: Pakistan offers Defense Cooperation with Afghanistan

Demand Booming in Pakistan's IDEAS Arms Fair 2014

By Our Correspondent / Photo: Athar Khan

Published: December 4, 2014

KARACHI: Pakistan’s military exports have doubled in a year, Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer said on Wednesday as he visited the eighth International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) in Karachi.


Although officials remained tightlipped about the exact figure of Pakistan’s defence exports, they said the Pakistan Ordnance Factory (POF) in particular has started exporting ammunition to Morocco, New Zealand and Thailand in recent months.
“We have also exported 400 semiautomatic MP5 carbines to the United States and are selling weapons in advance economies like Germany as well,” said POF Director Exports Tabassum Rahman. According to him, POF-produced weapons, besides being reliable, had an edge over competitors in terms of price.

“Our guns are available for half the price the Germans are charging,” he said. “So the future looks even better.”

According to officials, POF has also started selling its prized POF Eye – a rig that allows the user to look and shoot around corners – to the country’s security forces. They added that POF has also modified the army’s standard issue G-3 rifle to make it lighter and more effective.
While POF’s exhibit, along with the locally produced Al-Khalid main battle tank and JF-17 jet fighter, continued to draw massive crowds on the second day of IDEAS 2014, local companies specialising in armouring cars against bullets and bombs attracted a large number of visitors as well.
“It’s not just VVIPs. Even police need solid protection in the present security environment,” said an official for Pak Armoring, which claims to have sold around 2,800 bulletproof and bombproof vehicles. The company has also set its sights on exporting armoured vehicles to African countries.
Various foreign firms also displayed products specific to Pakistan’s challenges. Turkey’s Havelsan, a tech solution provider to military and civilian establishments, has brought an electronic voting machine that can verify and register a vote in less than a minute.
Around 256 defense equipment manufacturers, including 77 Pakistan firms, are taking part in IDEAS 2014.

Source:IDEAS 2014: Pak defence exports have doubled in a year, says minister


Photos:

 Chinese firearm exhibit booth

GIDS booth, showcasing UAV drone