Adil Najam
LATEST DEVELOPMENT: Following a gun-battle early morning on Sunday that left three of teh hostages and foru terrorists dead, teh remaining 25 hostages have been freed. Details, from The News:
Operation against terrorists in GHQ has entered into last stages and 25 hostages have been freed. According to sources, 25 hostages have been freed, three hostages were martyred and four terrorists were killed after successful operation in GHQ. According to DG ISPR, Athar Abbas, operation against terrorist was launched early today at 6 am. “After the successful operation 25 hostages have safely been freed, while four terrorists were killed.†A terrorist was wearing suicide jacket to blow himself up causing maximum damage in case of operation, Athar Abbas added. Meanwhile clearance operation in the Head Quarter is continuing.
Earlier Post: In the latest horrendous development in the ongoing war against Pakistan, a planned terrorist attack on the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) has left at least six Pakistani soldiers and four attackers dead. A hostage situation continues with the attackers having taken more than ten military personnel hostage.
Coming a day after a heinous attack in Peshawar that left 49 Pakistanis dead, including little children and women, and less than a week after an attack on a UN office in Islamabad that the Taliban have taken responsibility for, this is also seen as an attempt by the Taliban to reassert themselves after recent setbacks in the Swat region and the death of their leader Baitullah Mehsud.
According to a report in The News:
About 4 to 5 terrorists in a security office near second GHQ check post are holding 10-15 people, including security and civil personnel, hostage after the attempted attack on GHQ, DG ISPR Maj. General Athar Abbas said on Saturday. Security personnel have surrounded the office, ISPR added.
Earlier, six terrorists attempted to launch an attack on GHQ which was foiled by the security personnel. Four terrorists were killed while two escaped from the scene. Six security men including a Brigadier and Lt. Colonel were also martyred in the incident. Six terrorists in army uniform attempted to get entry into GHQ at 11:30 am on Saturday from gate no 1. When stopped by security officials, they reached at check post no 1 and opened fire on security men after taking positions after leaving the car. Four terrorists were killed and two fled during trade of fire between security officials and terrorists. Army gunship helicopters started hovering over the area for vigilance. The commandos seized the bodies of terrorists and shifted them.
The DG ISPR confirmed killing of four terrorists whereas six security personnel including Brigadier Anwar and Lt. Col. Wasim were also martyred in the operation. Two terrorists managed to flee. The security men later found that the escaped terrorists took shelter in a nearby security office which is now surrounded by security forces. The ISPR said that more than two terrorists are in the security office where several security personnel are held hostage.
Here are more details, as reported in Dawn:
Heavily-armed militants tried to storm Pakistan’s army headquarters Saturday, with six soldiers and four militants killed in an audacious attack near the capital Islamabad, officials said. Six insurgents armed with automatic weapons and grenades shot their way through one check post in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, before being stopped by security forces at a second post. Two militants have fled, officials said.
Pakistan has seen a surge in attacks blamed on Taliban militants in the past week, as the insurgents vow to take bloody revenge for the death of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone missile attack in August. ‘The terrorists were wearing army uniform and were armed with sophisticated weapons and grenades,’ army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said on state-run television. ‘They came in a van and tried to enter from gate one to gate two in the sensitive area. They were stopped and now the situation is under our control,’ he said in a separate interview on private TV channel Geo.
‘The fighting is over now. The situation is under control.’
His deputy Colonel Attiqur Rehman told AFP: ‘Six soldiers were martyred in the attack.’ The firefight came a day after a car bomb attack blamed on the Taliban killed 52 people in the northwest city of Peshawar, and as the military readies for an offensive against militants in their northwest tribal stronghold. Another military official in Islamabad said there were at least six attackers in the assault on the heavily-fortified army command centre.
‘There were at least six attackers. Four were killed. Two are still missing. The hunt is going on,’ said the official with Pakistan army’s media wing. He blamed the Rawalpindi attack on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the umbrella militant movement based in the mountainous, semi-autonomous tribal belt that runs along the border with Afghanistan. Soon after the attack, army commandos encircled the area and helicopter gunships flew overhead.
An AFP journalist at the scene of Saturday’s gun battle reported that the firefight lasted about an hour and a half, with helicopters ferrying the dead militants away after the battle ended. Witnesses said that the militants hurled hand grenades, with one man saying five explosions rang out amid the gunfire. ‘A car was signalled to stop outside army headquarters,’ local police officer on the scene Amjad Ali told AFP.
‘The occupants opened fire and threw grenades at security guards who retaliated.’ Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack, a brief statement issued by his office in Islamabad said. The military is wrapping up a fierce offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat valley launched in April, with the army now poised to begin a similar assault in the lawless tribal belt.
The Taliban had already claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Monday on a UN office in Islamabad, which killed five aid workers. Taliban militants holed up in the northwest tribal belt have been blamed for a string of attacks and suicide blasts that have killed more than 2,100 people in the last two years, with 12 blasts hitting Islamabad alone. Several bomb blasts in the past two-and-a-half weeks in the northwest have killed dozens, with the Taliban threatening to unleash bigger assaults. There was a lull in bomb attacks after Baitullah Mehsud’s death in an August 5 US drone strike, but analysts had warned that the new Taliban leadership would likely be keen to show their strength with fresh, dramatic strikes.
@Shakeel
Glad to know you support Army and Pakistan against these savage Taliban. I believe Taliban can indeed be defeated just like they were in Lal Masjid, Swat and Bajaur. Their main center in Waziristan is still operating, hence the attacks we see around us.
A few comments from the many that have flooded into the ATP Facebook Page:
– “These Taliban have to be rooted out. But still there are Pakistanis who support these murderers Taliban who are the real enemy of Pakistan.”
– “save pakistan from the real enemy”
– “Wising a successful operation against these radicals. Amen! Terrorists have to be rooted out.”
– “yes these anti state elements are effecting the image of pakistan,”
– “i hope america’s renewed interest in pakistan as an ally is more help than hindrance”
– “This is what happens when Pakistanis support an entity that professes to carry the message of the Almighty. The blame lies no one but towards Pakistanis. If their obsession with trying to exert influence in Afghanistan wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t be seeing the Taliban. But there are A LOT of Pakistanis who support the Taliban and only a daft idiot would argue otherwise. Look at how many British Pakistanis continue to fight for the Taliban for proof.”
– “These terrorists are the people from our own nation exploited by the foreign factors, thats why its difficult to control them.”
– “The so called attack has been OUTSIDE the GHQ complex where the security office is located. The said terrorists were not capable of getting inside the GHQ compound”
– “mery HUM watnooon yah sirf or sirf Keri bill per se hamari tawajah hatanay our awamm ko uloo banan nay ki koshish ki jarahi hia.”
– “aj apnay doston ko fone karty bhi daar lag raha hay na janey keya jawab mely…”
– “are those less equipped and ill trained talibans able to proceed into ghq by decieving the 6th biggest army of the world? Why people do not think such things! If we think over it with the wisdom of hindsight, there will be only one answer! It is BLACKWATER”
– “All these Taliban agents who are trying to defend the Taliban or trying to distract attention by arguing someone else did this are real Traitors. They are supporting teh people who are killing Pakistanis, if you support the Taliban you support the enemy of Pakistan. Choose, are you with the Taliban or are you with Pakistan. Because we Pakistanis have to fight this enemy of Pakistan.”
– “weapons are not allowed inside offices in GHQ, apart from some exceptional places. So all of the hostages, even if they are trained, are unarmed! That’s how they can be held hostage, apne shoq se naee bethe woh ander.
Its sad how our entire nation including the private media starts at conspiracy theories and anti military things, as soon as something goes awry. We should not forget that these are the guys who sacrificed their lives rooting our militants in swat and would again in waziristan. This is the time to stand united, not point fingers!”
– “when people from the masses start saying their country is DOOMED, to phir Allah hi Hafiz. At least the military is putting up a fight, what on earth r u doing except posting ‘hahahaha’ after ‘Pakistan is doomed’?
Seriously! Some people need some serious perspective. Agar khud kuch naee kar sakte to logon ko blame karna chor den, wohee baree mehrbanee hai apkee.”
– “it doesn’t matter if its THEM or THESE. The point is, even if its THEM, the atrocities are being committed by the Taleban most of which are, sadly, pakistani nationals. So it becomes THESE.
As for THEM, we need to ease out the conspiracy mindset a little… we have started sounding like India, where everything wrong is ISI, and now in Pk, everything wrong is USA. We need to start looking inwards for the problems, vs pointing a finger at USA or anything else. This conspiracy mindset is exactly what these ppl use to recruit personnel from our lands.. ‘War against the infidels’ or something!’
– “right, and we know how RIGHTEOUS Taliban are, so if they say they have no agenda except Afghanistan, we should say Amen to that. They have been occupying our land for WHAT reason then? Or were they tricked into thinking Swat and Waziristan are ALSO Afghanistan. Don’t forget American soldiers are dying everyday in Afghanistan.. how on earth is then CIA NOW supporting taliban. this is like Indians chanting ISI, ISI everytime something goes wrong.
As for Blackwater, its presence in Islamabad is indeed alarming. it shud not be allowed there at all. But blackwater is a spy agency .. it doesn’t load up a ‘carry dabba’ with explosives and drive upto GHQ. Seriously! only a cobbler should reach this conclusion, not anyone with a sound judgement. I am sure they would do harm to this country, but they r not idiots to carry out pointless stupid attacks like these!”
– “We should not call them talibans instead we should call them the agents of blackwater, usa, india and israel! Infact, it’s upto us how we think on this! If we say that we should crush taliban with the view that they are now the agents of foreign enemies of pakistan, then it’s 100 percent right! But if we think that these are mujahideen who are spoiling the law of our land, it’s totally ridiculous. A muslim can not do this”
– “Since the black water has arrived pakistan, such incidents have increased greatly weather in karachi, peshawar or in islamabad”
– “Sadly, they r muslims. Whether or not they r following the Islam preached by Prophet PBUH is another story. And these attacks also increased ever since Hakimullah Mehsud and TTP vowed they wud.
However, in the end it does not matter who they r and who supports them. We know they and their supporters are neither friends of Pakistan nor of Islam. We know where this movement is rooted, and what we need to do. That waziristan operation needs to start, we also need to shunt out excessive foreign presence from our capital whether it is Blackwater or InterRisk AND we need to start being self reliant and not on aid from anyone… God help us in this ordeal.”
– “u r right, but it is also essential that we should not loose the respect for real mujahideen and ulemas that are working for our religion and fighting infidels from our hearts! Like we should give due respect to afghan and kashmiri mujahideen who are fighting against americans and indians for the righteous cause!”
– “Friends, be very careful. The Taliban supporters are all over the web and they are spreading these rumors that this is not Taliban but Blackwater or something. Any half sane person knows this is not so and this is Taliban propaganda. When you see someone who is trying to divert attention away from the Taliban, they are the enemies of Pakistan and they are the Mir Jaffars who are helping Taliban in their killing of Pakistanis. Be very careful of these people.”
“there are no “mujahideen” they are all enemies of Pakistan and should be shunted out. Anyone who supports these killers is an enemy of my country.”
This whole situation is more serious than we think. Specially with the hostages and them IN the GHQ itself. It should greater organization and resolve in the Taliban and it also shows that their sympathizers are everywhere. As others have said it the Taliban sympathizers everywhere that are an even bigger danger.
Attacking a formal, known and well established military headquarter is NOT an act of Terrorism by any definition.
Haleel,
You raise a good point that you cant screen everybody that looks the same.
Do you know that you can buy a full army uniform in any bazaars? I think the rate is quite cheap too: 300 rupess for a full general’s uniform.
Why? I mean .. Why are they doing this? Sometimes you wonder if anybody in this country even has a brain! Apparenttly the bomber in the UN office a few days ago was dressed in an Army uniform.
Dawn reported this few months back .. and even today had a video clip (which I cant find anymore else I’d post a link).
Shouldnt these uniforms be taken of the shops?