SC orders recovery of 56,939 acres of encroached land in Karachi

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Board of Revenue (BoR) to retrieve 56,939 acres of encroached land in Karachi within six months.

Hearing the Karachi law and order suo moto implementation case, the Supreme Court’s three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani inquired of the BoR members what efforts were being made to retrieve the encroached land.

The BoR member Zulfiqar Ali Shah and senior member BoR Malik Israr have submitted that about 59,803 acres and 39 ghuntas is the encroached land, which included both institutional and individual encroachments. They further stated that an area of 2,864 acres has been retrieved and the remaining is still under encroachment.

To a court query, Zulfiqar Ali Shah submitted that institutional encroachment is 52,130 acres and it includes both federal and provincial institutions. He submitted that efforts were being made to have the land vacated but it may take a few months.

However, on a specific query about the timeline, the BoR officials submitted that the BoR would be able to have the land vacated within a period of six months and sought time. The court directed the BoR to retrieve the government and private encroached land within six months and submit the compliance report before the court.

On the encroachment of 1,446 acres of forest land at Deh Shah Bukhari, Qasimabad, the applicant Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi submitted that despite the removal of the encroachment the land in question has been again re-occupied by the land grabbers and a construction has been raised. Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad Mohammad Nawaz submitted that pursuant to the order of the court, a piece of land measuring 1,446 acres was retrieved and its possession was handed over to the Forest Department on May 4, 2013.

Conservator Forest Mohammad Sadiq Mohal confirmed the statement of the DC Hyderabad. However, he apprehended that the encroachers might take over the land again and the DPO concerned has been requested to establish a picket at the spot to prevent fresh encroachment, which has not been done. He submitted that Forest Department has prepared a comprehensive plan to plant trees on the entire area and for that PC-I has also been prepared, which has been approved by the provincial government and in the current budget funds would be allocated.

The court directed the advocate general Sindh to get in touch with the chief minister to ensure that the requisite funds are made available to the Forest Department. The court also directed the DPO Hyderabad to deploy a picket as requested by the Forest Department to prevent any encroachment. The court observed that since both the deputy commissioner and the conservator forest have submitted that the possession was handed over to the Forest Department on May 4, 2013, therefore any order of status quo would ensure benefit of the Forest Department which had already taken possession on the afore-referred date.

On application of Salahuddin Siddiqui, who was denied possession and access of 10 acres long lease land for automotive parts near Steel Mills, Chairman of the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Agha Jan Akhtar submitted that the 10 acres of land allotted to the applicant in Eastern Industrial Zone is owned by the Sindh government but the subject land is situated between the PQA establishment and the Pakistan Steel Mills and that there is no road access and other amenities available for proper land utilisation.

He submitted that the PQA has certain issues with the provincial government regarding ownership of land and there is misconception in certain quarters that there was some encroachment by the Authority. He said that he had a meeting with the chief secretary Sindh recently and hopefully all the issues are likely to be settled.

Regarding the grievance of the applicant, he said the land allotted is owned by the provincial government but in deference to the proceedings of the court and the fact that the applicant is a potential investor, the PQA shall provide access road to the applicant on payment of due charges, if possible, from the land owned by the PQA and otherwise an alternative solution in this regard shall be found in conjunction/consultation with BoR and Pakistan Steel Mills.

The deputy commissioner Malir having visited the spot confirmed that such an alternate solution could be found and the applicant readily agrees. The deputy commissioner shall carry out this exercise and complete the same within a fortnight under intimation to the assistant registrar (Karachi) of the court. Siddiqui informed the court that 10 acres was allotted on a long lease for the construction of automotive parts industry and he made payment of Rs20 million approximately as required but despite the lapse of all these years possession has not been given on account of which the industry has not been established. He submitted that Deputy Commissioner Malir Kazi Jan Mohammad sent a possession letter along with a site plan two days back when the case is fixed Tuesday before the court, however there was no access to the said land. The court adjourned the hearing of the case.

Karachi: Four bodies recovered from Baldia Town

KARACHI: Four bodies bearing torture marks and hands tied behind their back were recovered from Baldia Town area of Karachi on Monday morning, Geo News reported.

According to police, four blind-folded bodies were found from Rais Goth area of Baldia Town today morning. The bodies had torture marks and bullet wounds while their hands were tied behind their back

The spent shells of 9mm pistol were also recovered near the bodies.

The bodies were shifted to the hospital for medico-legal formalities and identification purpose, however, the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained until the last report was filed.

Karachi forces in an operation arrest Uzbeks, Tajiks in dozens

KARACHI: Police and sensitive organisations launched an operation in different parts of the city and arrested over two dozen foreigners of Uzbek and Tajik descent, Geo News reported Sunday morning.

Sources said that following the attack on the Karachi airport, police and sensitive organisations went on a crackdown in different parts of the city and hauled up over two dozen foreigners who had no valid documents for their stay in the country.

All the arrested foreigners have been shifted to an unknown location for further investigation.

Karachi forces in an operation arrest Uzbeks, Tajiks in dozens

KARACHI: Police and sensitive organisations launched an operation in different parts of the city and arrested over two dozen foreigners of Uzbek and Tajik descent, Geo News reported Sunday morning.

Sources said that following the attack on the Karachi airport, police and sensitive organisations went on a crackdown in different parts of the city and hauled up over two dozen foreigners who had no valid documents for their stay in the country.

All the arrested foreigners have been shifted to an unknown location for further investigation.

Karachi: Two gunned down in Gulistan-e-Jauhar

KARACHI: Two people were killed when unknown armed men opened fire on a shop in Gulistan-e-Johar area of the city on Saturday.

According to police, the deceased were identified as Hyder Abbas and Qaisar Abbas. Police have launched an investigation into the killing.

United Nations vehicle snatched in Karachi

KARACHI: A vehicle belonging to the United Nations (UN) was snatched from the Shara-e-Faisal area of the city on Friday.

According to police sources, the thieves stole the car near Five Star Chowrangi after forcing the passengers out.

Police conducted raids in the area to search for the criminals.

Coasts of Karachi, Thatta, Badin hit by torrents

KARACHI: Due to a storm in the Arabian Sea, the coastal lines of Karachi, Thatta, and Badin have been hit by torrents and 34 villages were inundated.
Muhammad Ali Shah of the Fisherfolk Forum claimed that around 800 houses in Dabla Mullah of Rohri Goth were submerged due to the high tide while jetties in Ibrahim Hyderi were also flooded for the same reason. Rohri Goth and Ibrahim Hyderi are located in the Bin Qasim limits.According to him, Lath Basti, Chashma Goth and Pand Mullah in Bin Qasim and Sumar Goth near Sandspit were also flooded due to a high tide in the sea. Around 50 islands of Keti Bandar and Joho areas were also inundated. Gusty winds were also reported from these locations.

Shah mentioned that around 200 fishermen were still on the open sea. No contact could be made with them due to the bad weather. In the affected areas, fishermen had brought their boats to safer places. He added that luckily no human or financial loss was reported so far.

Inhabitants of the coastal areas of the metropolis, particularly residents of posh localities, were quite worried after getting the news of a cyclone in the Arabian Sea from local television and social media.

However, the Chief Meteorologist, Muhammad Touseef Alam, while talking to The News, said that this cyclone would not affect any part of the country. Some parts of the coastal belt of Balochistan might get rain with thunderstorm during the next 24 hours whereas there are chances of light rain in some coastal parts of Sindh, including Karachi on Friday (today). Otherwise, there is no danger from this cyclone and it would not cause any harm at all, he mentioned.

The Nanauk Cyclone is travelling at the speed of 10 kilometres per hour in the Arabian Sea. Presently, it is almost 680 kilometres away from the country. The cyclone’s direction is south/south-westerly and so far, it has been approaching the coastline of Oman, chief meteorologist Alam said.With the passage of time, the cyclone would turn from serious to very serious but will gradually start losing its intensity, he observed.

At the moment, the wind speed is calculated between 50 to 60 nautical miles, which is expected to reach up to 80 nautical miles in the next 24 to 48 hours, he said. Due to the development in the Arabian Sea, it would become rougher and rougher in the next couple of days, he added.

According to the Met chief, people should avoid going into the sea and fishermen and others related with the industry should also remain offshore for at least a week. “The fishermen travelling in open and deep sea might face serious difficulties. The beachgoers would not beat the high waves in the sea. That is why the people should adopt precautionary measures to safeguard their lives.”

The centre pressure of cyclone is around 986 millibar, which would further increase in the next 24-hours. Afterwards, it would start dropping. The intensity of the Nanauk Cyclone is expected to escalate on Friday (today). But there are high chances that from Saturday, the intensity of the cyclone would drop a great deal. There are probabilities that this cyclone would end up in the sea or slightly affect the lands of Oman, the chief meteorologist explained.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast the city would have partly cloudy to cloudy weather with chances of drizzle or light rain on Friday (today). The range of maximum temperature would remain between 34 degrees Celsius to 36 degrees Celsius.

Karachi airport attack: Chaudhry Nisar slams Sindh govt over ‘apathy’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday took a strong exception to Sindh government for not paying heed to interior ministry’s correspondence about security at the gates of old airport.

Calling for a judicial inquiry, he said that the Karachi airport incident was a result of non-seriousness on part of Sindh government which is condemnable. He urged the provincial government to speak truth to the nation.

He said that the Sindh government fulfilled its responsibilities over the last five months and it sent as many as six alert regarding potential terrorist attacks. Nisar Ali Khan said that the Sindh government didn’t take action despite it was informed precisely about the airport gates vulnerable to militant attacks.

The minister said as to why measures were not taken on the basis of intelligence information to prevent the attack.

Use of Indian weapons in Karachi attack

 

ISLAMABAD: The Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, on Wednesday asked the government to seek an explanation from the Indian High Commission about the recovery of Indian weapons that the militants used against Pakistani security forces at the Karachi airport attack.
“The Foreign Office should summon the Indian high commissioner and lodge a protest of founding of the Indian weapons from Karachi airport and show him the founded weapons as a evidence and should ask as to how militants got Indian weapons to attack Pakistani airport,” he said while talking to the newsmen at his chamber at the Parliament House.

He questioned that whether the Indian did not have any control on their agencies.The opposition leader said the opposition has given a complete mandate to the government against the terrorism, but it did not get benefit from it. “The government should play on front foot against the terrorism,” he said.

In reply to a question, the opposition leader said the National Assembly speaker should not have given a statement on security of Parliament. “The speaker should have avoided to make a statement on the security of Parliament as this statement is tantamount to invitation to attack on the parliament,” he added.

He was of the view that such things could be raised in internal meetings but not openly to expose the weaknesses,” he added.The opposition leader said it was decided in the opposition parties meeting that keeping of quorum during the budget debate as the maintaining of the quorum is the responsibility of the government.

“We can give them relaxation if 10 to 15 members were short of the quorum but not if the government wants to run the session with 30 to 35 members then we will point out quorum,” he added.In a reply to another question, the opposition leader said the opposition had decided to jointly move the cut motion on the grants.

Martyrs of Karachi airport attack laid to rest

KARACHI: Personnel of the Airport Security Force (ASF) who were martyred in the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport are being laid to rest in their respective hometowns amidst tears and sorrow.

ASF official Islamuddin’s funeral prayers were offered at the GPO ground in Multan. A resident of the Ghareebabad area of Multan, Islamuddin received a salute from the ASF officials before being laid to rest.

ASF ASI Tariq Masood Babar of Faisalabad was buried in his ancestral graveyard after his funeral prayers were offered in a nearby village.

ASF officials Mohammad Azam and Mohammad Hayat hailing from Toba Tek Singh and Mian Channu, were also buried in their hometowns.

The funeral prayer of ASF Inspector Muhammad Sarwar was held in Gul Bahar Colony, Lahore.

Meanwhile ASF sergeant Abdul Malik’s body has been transported to Sadiqabad where his last rites will be offered.

Cold storage fire near Karachi airport still rages on

KARACHI: Fire at a cold storage facility near Karachi airport could not be doused even after a lapse of two days.

The cold storage had caught fire as a result of the deadly attack on the airport by terrorists equipped with modern weapons on Sunday night.

The officials of the city’s fire brigade and Airport Security Force (ASF) had made claims to distinguish the fire by today.

Karachi airport attack: Last nail in peace talks coffin

ISLAMABAD: The bloody Fidayeen attack targeting the Jinnah International Airport has not only exposed the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect the vital national installations from terrorist attacks but has also proved to be the last nail in the coffin of peace talks between the Pakistan government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The dreadful assault has set alarm bells ringing for the law enforcement agencies which had earlier been criticised due to their failure to stop at least three similar Fidayeen attacks in the past — on May 22, 2011 targeting the Mehran Naval Base in Karachi, on August 16, 2012 targeting the PAF Kamra Airbase and on September 15, 2012 targeting the joint civil-military airport in Peshawar that houses the Bacha Khan International Airport and Pakistan Air Force and Army Aviation bases.

Subsequent investigations revealed that all these attacks were well planned, which could not have been possible without inside help.From the time Osama was gunned down in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011, the TTP has launched a bloody campaign of retribution against the Pakistani security forces and civil and military installations.

The June 8 Fidayeen attack by the TTP has given credence to the apprehensions of security establishment that the talks by the Taliban are just a ploy to gain time and space and to evade a possible military operation in North Waziristan. Even otherwise, by entering into unconditional negotiations with a terrorist group that is accused of having killed over 50,000 Pakistanis, the government has only undermined the writ of the state and security of the nation.

With the TTP’s responsibility claim, which in fact is an open declaration of war against the government, the civilian administration seems to have been left with no other option but to react with full military might by launching the much-delayed military operation in North Waziristan, which is being used by the Taliban as a launching pad to plan and launch terrorist attacks all over Pakistan. The government’s policy of one step forward, two steps back cannot bring peace — only more death and destruction.

While describing the airport assault an act of revenge for the November 1, 2013 killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone attack, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid has also dismissed the Pakistani government’s recent offer of a new round of peace talks as a ruse.

Threatening more terrorist attacks in the days and weeks to come, he said: “Pakistan used the peace talks as a tool of war. We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes. It’s just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one (Mehsud), we have to take revenge for hundreds.”

In fact, the June 8 Jinnah airport attack came 48 hours after the country’s civilian and military leaderships conveyed a clear message to the tribal elders in North Waziristan to flush out the miscreants, especially the foreign militants, from the volatile area within 15 days. The message was conveyed on June 6 when a Jirga of the Utmanzai tribe, led by Haji Sher Mohammad, held separate meetings with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan and Corps Commander Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani.

The tribal elders were told that they had failed to honour the six-point peace agreement, signed in 2006, as per which the Utmanzai tribe and the Shura Mujahideen North Waziristan leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is considered to be a “good Taliban”, were bound to expel the foreigners from the area.

The bottomline of the tribal elders’ meetings with the governor and corps commander was that they would get rid of the foreign militants, especially the Uzbeks; otherwise, the Government of Pakistan would have no other option but to initiate a military action. The tribal elders had actually formed the Jirga to request the federal government to put off the imminent military action in North Waziristan.

However, the fact that the TTP has already claimed responsibility for the Karachi Fidayeen attack clearly indicates that the Taliban Ameer Mullah Fazlullah has already made up his mind to completely abandon the peace talks. Earlier, on May 14, Fazlullah had sacked the pro-talks Khalid Mehsud alias Said Khan Sajna as the Ameer of the South Waziristan chapter of the TTP without consulting the Taliban Shura.

Three days later, on May 18, Fazlullah had ordered [in a video message] the TTP suicide bombers or Fidayeen attackers to get ready to face the tanks and guns of the enemy forces. “The suicide bombers who are able to receive his message should convey the same to others who are still unaware of my orders. Like the Taliban militants, the Pakistan government, the armed forces and the intelligence agencies would also have to accept the writ of Allah Almighty by enforcing Shariah which is the mission of my life and which I will continue to pursue come what may,” said Fazlullah, who has already been accused of having ordered the killing of several senior Pakistani military officials, including the General Officer Commanding of Swat.

Following Mullah Fazlullah’s open declaration of war against the state of Pakistan, the pro-talks Said Khan Sajna faction of the Taliban announced to discard the TTP umbrella on May 28. The development was being described by security analysts as a major setback not only for Mullah Fazlullah but also for the military might of the TTP given the fact that Sajna enjoys the support of 12 major Mehsud tribes of South Waziristan, which had played an important role in the past in establishing the Tehrik-e-Taliban as a force to reckon with.

However, the audacious attack on the Jinnah International Airport has proved that the parting of ways by Sajna has hardly affected the military might of the TTP, courtesy the availability of Uzbek militants belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Those investigating the Karachi airport attack have conceded that a group of foreign fighters, especially the Uzbeks, seem to have played a major role in the Fidayeen attack. “Three militants blew themselves up and seven were killed by security forces,” said DG Rangers Rizwan Akhtar in televised remarks. “The militants appear to be Uzbeks.”

The Uzbek militants living in North Waziristan had already denounced the 15-day deadline set by the Pakistani authorities for the foreign militants to leave the area. Irked by hoisting of national flag by tribesmen in Miramshah and Mirali areas as a proof of their allegiance to the state of Pakistan in order to escape bombings, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan had declared on June 7 that it has decided to respond by hoisting black flags. In fact, the sale of the national flag had increased as more and more people in North Waziristan want to hoist it to demonstrate their allegiance to the state and escape bombing.

However, the IMU has criticised those hoisting the Pakistani flag, stating that those doing so were “weak-hearted Muslims” who are using the flags as a “defence” to ward off bombing. In a message posted on a militant website, the IMU’s spokesman, Abu Ibrahim, said the local tribesmen frightened by army attacks and bombings by military planes and helicopters and artillery had begun hoisting the national flag on roofs of their houses. “We still have not understood how effective this ‘defence system’ is against bombs and rockets,” he said. The IMU, comprising militants from Uzbekistan and of Turkic origin, has its main base in the town of Mirali.

To tell the truth, the TTP and IMU have long been collaborating and conducting joint terrorist attacks, especially targeting the Pakistani security forces. The last time they carried out a jointly coordinated terrorist operation was on December 16, 2012 when the terrorists targeted the Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar. Four attackers were later identified as Uzbeks belonging to the IMU. The TTP and IMU had earlier joined hands to form a special unit of deadly Fidayeen attackers called the “Ansar Al Aseer” (the supporters of prisoners) whose prime mission would be to secure freedom for the imprisoned militants by carrying out jail-break Fidayeen operations all over Pakistan.

Blame-game unleashed after Karachi disaster

ISLAMABAD: If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, the Pakistani leaders play blame-games as terror strikes. The attack on the Karachi airport on Sunday night granted them another opportunity to settle scores with each other.
There is neither any likelihood of introspection nor any head will be rolled for negligence. There is nobody to lead by example. They are instead interested in making an example of each other through verbal onslaught.

Ironically, all those gunning at each other have been in the government at the provincial/federal level and failed to preempt the terrorist attacks. But when it comes to teaching others, they turn out to be Socrates.

The terrorists struck at the airport exposing the inefficiency of the government at the international level. Already, several foreign airlines have either closed down or suspended operations in Pakistan; the latest attack may serve yet another blow to the country.

The Taliban chose to attack the airport of Pakistan’s biggest commercial hub, Karachi, a turbulent city where better law and order has become a distant dream. In February this year, the Wall Street Journal quoting police officials had revealed that one-third of Karachi was under the control of Taliban, a report the government denied in a routine manner.

This is a story of the city where private security guards outnumber the police. There are 27,000 police officials (majority recruited on political basis), a figure in contrast with the numbers of private guards, 55,000. Earlier, a US diplomatic cable revealed that a political party’s militant wing has more members than the city police.

The IG Sindh on Monday absolved himself of any responsibility for the airport attack and instead demanded appreciation for doing his best with a limited number of cops.

The Sindh Information Minister, Sharjeel Memon, has saved the provincial government from any blame saying that the airport was a subject of the federal government as if the Sindh government has set a very good example of law and order in Karachi that remained closed for a couple of days after the arrest of MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London.

The Karachiites were in panic soon after the news broke about the arrest, fearing the development in London would have a snowball effect in Karachi. Instead of taking care of citizens, the top government functionaries started to take the lead in running away from their offices.

The chief secretary, home secretary and prosecutor general Sindh were the first to leave the Secretariat and their guards were seen gunning at the commoners to vacate their exit path, according to Imdad Soomro, The News correspondent who was present there at that time. Soomro himself couldn’t reach his home and had to spend three days with a friend somewhere else due to the road blockade.

Living to its reputation, the PTI leadership didn’t miss this opportunity of indulging in blame-game as if Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been declared a model province in terms of law and order. Imran has condemned the attack and lambasted the federal government for failing to establish its writ.

Almost a year ago, terrorists broke into the Dera Ismail Khan Jail to take away some of their detained colleagues, other than slaughtering some prisoners who belonged to a minority sect. Before the PTI government, the Bannu jail was attacked in a similar fashion when the ANP was at the helm of affairs. Imran Khan had then demanded the resignation of the incumbent government. However, he called for introspection and vowed to fix the responsibility after the DI Khan jail break.

A commission was set up to investigate the incident that submitted its report in December last year which was also partly released. No action has been taken yet. The report also disclosed that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was passed on the intelligence about the likely attack on the jail but he didn’t care to read it, let alone taking preemptive measures. This is another story that the army had taken some steps; nevertheless the incident could not be avoided.

In contrast to the PTI’s outcry over the Karachi attack and condemnation of the federal government, the PML-N reacted outright differently after the DI Khan jail break. No statement was issued to settle score with the PTI government for its negligence. Instead, a senior government official privately admitted the eroding writ of the state, no matter the venue fell in provincial or federal government’s jurisdiction. A minister, while commenting on the jail break, had then said: “Taliban wanted to attack there and they did. Had they planned it for Adiala Jail, nobody could have stopped them there as well.”

This honest admission was a grim reminder of the weakening state and the government’s pessimistic approach towards tackling it. Earlier, terrorists had attacked the GHQ in 2009. It was carried out six months after the Punjab Police’s Special Branch had conveyed a report about it. The police had intercepted an explosive-laden truck in Dera Ghazi Khan and also recovered a USB from the driver wherein the TTP had chalked out a plan of targeting different vital installations and the GHQ was one of them.

Maulana Ahmed Ludhyanvi and Malik Ishaq were airlifted by the army from Multan and Rahimyar Khan for negotiating with the terrorists as they were affiliated with their splinter groups.

While the Karachi airport is a subject of the Defence Ministry, the minister in-charge has been found nowhere on the scene. He could have made no difference had he even been on the forefront. This incident is another example of intelligence failure. Our agencies have got more important assignments than tackling terrorism. While we are fighting each other, terrorists are playing havoc with the country.

Karachi attack worst example of security failure: Opposition

 

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) on Monday deplored the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport while the opposition expressed its dismay over the government’s silence on the terror bid and questioned the absence of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar from the House.
It demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif take the parliament into confidence on the matter and said the government and the opposition were on the same page for taking solid steps to formulate a policy against the terrorists.

The NA session resumed after a delay of two hours due to disturbance of flights schedule in Karachi. Members from both the sides unanimously condemned the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport and on the pilgrims in Taftan in Balochistan.

Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah said the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport was a “national security disaster”. He questioned the government’s silence on it and absence of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar from the NA.

Sheikh Rashid suspected involvement of a foreign hand in the incident and questioned who will benefit from the attacks on Pakistan. He questioned what benefit will the tribal people from North Waziristan gain from the attack. “If such an incident had happened in India, they would have brought their forces to (our) borders.”

Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch said the war against terrorism was a national war.

Khursheed Shah urged the prime minister to take the House into confidence in this regard. “We don’t speak out as we are afraid of being killed. Who will speak if we keep quiet,” he questioned.

The opposition leader said, “We will fight like a lion and make Pakistan a cradle of peace. How can the people of Pakistan feel safe when the government is itself confused?”

He said there was no response from the interior ministry to the incident, which shows that the concerned ministry was unaware of what was going on in Karachi. “It seems that the prime minister tried to find out the interior minister the whole night and he was able to find him on Monday morning. Then the prime minister sent the interior minister to Karachi,” he added.

He said the Taliban had accepted responsibility for the attack and the government was silent over it.

The opposition leader said all the political parties of the country authorised the government to do anything for peace eight months ago but the government had not taken parliament or the political leadership into confidence on the fate of the dialogue.

The opposition leader was of the view that even the Parliament House was not secure anymore as a few weeks back, Sikh protesters entered it and no one stopped them. He said it was time that the prime minister take the nation into confidence and explain which ministry was responsible for the attack – the Defence Ministry, Interior Ministry or Aviation Division.

He said the PM’s adviser on aviation had reached Karachi on Sunday night but the interior minister was not able to reach there. He said by doing so, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar wanted to give a message to “someone” that he did not want to fight with anyone.

The opposition leader said he wanted to ask the question from all the institutions of the country that when pilgrims entered Iran, they were always safe but as soon as they returned home, they were attacked and martyred.

He said the parliamentarians’ phones were tapped, and their activities were monitored but “they” (those who tap phone calls) did not know about the terrorist attacks.

He said even they are more interested to know what TV channels the government was with and slogans were raised against those TV channels. “We are busy in such petty fights and nobody cares about the security of Pakistan,” he said.

Shah said if anyone wanted to live, then live like a lion rather than a jackal. “Pakistan belongs to all of us and all of us have to come forward to make our land safe and secure,” he added.

The opposition leader also appealed to the media not to telecast such incidents live as it will create a wrong impression.

PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government looked paralysed following the terrorist attack.

He said the interior minister should have rushed to Karachi on Sunday night. “The interior minister should have gone to Karachi after taking parliament into confidence,” he added.

Qureshi said Pakistanis wanted peace in the country and in the wake of terrorist attacks, the debate on budget was meaningless.

“When Karachi bleeds, how the finance minister can achieve the revenue target of Rs3.7 trillion which he proposed for the next fiscal year,” he added.

Ameer Zaman of the JUI-F extended support to the government to tackle the menace of terrorism.Abul Waseem of the MQM said the party was raising its voice against the Taliban in Karachi for long.

Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid strongly condemned the terrorist incidents in Karachi and Taftan.He paid tributes to the armed forces for bravely foiling the bid of terrorists. He said the interior minister had gone to Karachi to get details of the incident and will give a detailed statement in the House on Tuesday (today).

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Chaudhry Barjees Tahir said today was a very sad day for the nation. He said the nation had to make a resolve to fight terrorism. He said the government will not compromise on its writ. “The government is clear that it will hold a dialogue with those who are ready for it,” he added.

He said the PML-N government had inherited terrorism. The House offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in Karachi and Taftan to terrorists on Sunday night.

Operation to clear Karachi airport ends

 

KARACHI: Flight operations at Karachi’s international airport resumed after 16 hours on Monday afternoon after all 10 terrorists were killed in a joint operation by the security forces while the authorities confirmed the martyrdom of 19 persons, including 10 security personnel, and injuries to around 26 others.
However, seven employees of a private cargo service at the Karachi airport were still trapped inside a cold storage on Monday night. According to an ISPR statement, the army has launched an operation to rescue them.

According to the Jinnah Hospital administration, the martyred included ASF personnel Tariq Mehmood 32, Abdul Maalik 30, Muhammad Sarwar 45, Muhammad Hayat 40, Muhammad Azam 35, Muhammad Iqbal 35, Hafeez 32, Irfan 25, Ghulam Murtaza 30, Tanveer Anwar Khan 40, Islam-ud-Din 32, personnel of Pakistan Rangers Sindh Dil Murad Ali 35, PIA employees Muntazir 45, Fakhrul Hassan 30, Muzaffaral Hassan 30, Fazal Mehmood Zuberi 52, Syed Muhammad Ilyas 50, employee of Shaheen Airline Abdul Khaleeq Siddiqui 65. One of the deceased had not yet been identified.

The injured include ASF personnel Asad 22, Rajab Ali 40, Pervez 45, Faheem 26, Naseer Ahmed 35, Abid Hussain 35, Munawar Khan 35, Hafeez 35, Yousuf 45, Sikandar 35, Shabab Hussain 32, Muhammad Qasim 50, Muhammad Jamal 26, Ghulam Mustafa Shah 29, Rana Muhammad Afzal 22, Akhtar Hussain 45, PIA employees Ahmed Sheikh 45, Khawaja Muhammad Hassan 59, Special Security Unit (SSU) policeman Nisar Ahmed 28, police constables Naveed and Liaquat Ali 30, Pakistan Rangers Sindh personnel Zawar Ahmed 28, Ikramullah, Muhammad Imran 27, Muhammad Aqil and Faizullah.

The operation clean-up at the airport, headed by Corps Commander Karachi Lt. Gen. Sajjad Ghani, DG Rangers Rizwan Akhtar and IGP Sindh Iqbal Mehmood, started at 11:45 pm on Sunday night and ended at 4:30am after 10 heavily armed terrorists donning suicide vests and carrying Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades entered the airport and held hundreds of PIA and CAA personnel hostage at gunpoint.

Army contingents, including Special Services Group (SSG) commandos, also assisted the police and Rangers in the battle, officials said.DG Rangers Sindh Major General Rizwan Akhtar on Monday morning announced the completion of the operation, saying all 10 heavily armed militants had been killed.

Talking to newsmen, he said the terrorists killed in the operation appeared to be Uzbeks, but DNA tests would ascertain their identity.He said no aircraft was either destroyed or damaged in the attack. He said fire erupted at some places when the terrorists used hand grenades and other inflammable material.

DIG East Karachi Police Munir Shaikh said terrorists attacked the airport at 11:10pm with plans to take hostages and keep control of the airport for a long period but security forces immediately launched a counter attack and completed the operation in five to six hours by killing all the terrorists.

“The police and Rangers along with the ASF launched the airport was handed over to the CAA on Monday for flight operations,” DIG East Munir Shaikh told The News.He said terrorists entered the airport premises in two groups and took positions at Ispahani Hanger and International Cargo terminal.

“Terrorists didn’t appear to be Pakistanis and their features show they are citizens of some Central Asian country. They were carrying several AK-47 assault rifles, RPGs, rifle-grenades, hand-grenades and home-made bombs. Their backpacks also carried dates, water and militant literature,” he informed.

He said militants were also wearing suicide vests and some of them blew themselves up when they were encircled and besieged by the security personnel, causing some casualties and injuries to police and the Rangers.

He said terrorists had held at least 300 staff members of PIA and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as well as the staff of some other airlines hostage and after locking them in some rooms deployed some of their members as guard to prevent them from escaping.

“When the police, Rangers and ASF reached there to confront the terrorists, terrorists guarding the hostages joined the battle and were either killed or they blew themselves up during the fight,” DIG East added.

He said DG Rangers and IGP Sindh Iqbal Mehmood were jointly commanding the operation on the ground while he (DIG East), SSP East Pir Muhammad Shah and SSP Malir Rao Anwar as well as several SPs, DSPs and Jawans took part in the operation.

DIG East said one of the police personal, who was the gunman of SSP East Pir Muhammad Shah, embraced martyrdom and two others including SSP East were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near their APC at the airport during the clean-up operation.

Bodies of 10 terrorists, including one in pieces, were brought to JPMC mortuary, MLO Dr. Rohina said, adding that post-mortem examination of the bodies was yet to be performed.Meanwhile, PIA flights from Jinnah International Airport resumed at 1600 hours on Monday, a PIA spokesman said.

Around 20 flights were disturbed due to the terrorist attack. One domestic flight was diverted to Nawab Shah while three flights coming from abroad were diverted to Lahore. The passengers of the diverted flights were well looked after at Nawab Shah and Lahore.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Aviation Shujaat Azeem said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had commended the bravery of security forces for containing and eliminating terrorists attack.

Shujaat personally supervised the resumption of flight operations at Jinnah International Airport and visited all areas of Karachi airport along with DG CAA, Air Marshal (R) Muhammad Yousaf and DG ASF Brigadier Muhammad Azam Tiwana.

Security has been increased to the highest level at all airports.In a condolence message, Shujaat Azeem expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the killing of PIA engineers during the terrorist attack.

“The entire PIA family is deeply saddened at the loss of four employees of PIA Engineering — Fakhir Laghari, S.M Ilyas, Tanveer A Khan and Fazal Zuberi. May Allah Grant them eternal peace and strength to the family members of the departed souls”.

“Our prayers go out for the speedy recovery of all injured. We are grateful for the patience and discipline shown by the passengers present at the airport which helped in the success of the operation”, he said.

19 killed, 29 injured in Karachi airport attack: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Giving details about the audacious militant attack on Karachi Airport, Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that 19 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said that the Pakistan Army, the Rangers, the Airport Security Force and the police had foiled the attack.

He said all the national assents remained safe in the attack except some minor damages to a couple of aircraft. He said that 11 ASF and seven Rangers personnel were killed in the operation.

The minister said that within the 20 minutes of the attack, the army had reached the airport and 10 militants had been killed till 1:30 am.

He said that 10 militants entered the facility through two different entry points of the airport where three of them blew themselves up while seven others were killed by the security forces.

The minister said that the attackers appeared to be foreign nationals and the weapons they were using hinted towards a certain country. He, however, refrained from confirming his claim before further investigation.

Chaudhry Nisar said that the forces had saved the people’s lives by rendering sacrifices.

Flight operations resume at Karachi airport

KARACHI: Flight operations resumed at the Karachi airport at 4:00 PM with the first flight departing for Islamabad.

Operations had been suspended after heavily armed militants launched an assault on Pakistan´s busiest airport in Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.


Explosions and gunfire rang out as the attackers, equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan´s biggest city.

Authorities said all 10 militants were killed and that the bodies of 18 victims, including security personnel and four airport workers, had been identified at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has accepted the responsibility of the attack.

Karachi airport cleared, flights to resume at 4:00 PM

RAWALPINDI: DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa said on Monday that the final clearance of the entire airport has completed and the flight operation will resume at 4:00 PM.

In a message on a social networking website, the military spokesman added that the airport has been handed over to CAA/ASF and would likely re-open at 2:00 PM.

The prime minister’s adviser Shujaat Azeem said that the flights operations would resume at the Karachi airport from 4:00 PM.

Heavily armed militants launched an assault on Pakistan´s busiest airport in Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.

Explosions and gunfire rang out as the attackers, equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan´s biggest city.

Authorities said all 10 militants were killed and that the bodies of 18 victims, including security personnel and four airport workers, had been identified at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has accepted the responsibility of the attack.

Taliban claim responsibility for Karachi attack

TTP claim responsibility for Karachi attack

MIRANSHAH: The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack on Karachi airport in revenge for their late leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike in November.

"We carried out the attack on Karachi airport to avenge the death of Hakimullah Mehsud," Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told, while dismissing the Pakistani government´s recent offer of peace talks as a "tool of war".

He also promised more attacks in the future. "Pakistan used peace talks as a tool of war, it killed hundreds of innocent tribal women and children. This is our first attack to avenge the death of Hakimullah Mehsud," he said.

"We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes.

"It´s just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one, we have to take revenge for hundreds," he told.

The initial assault at Jinnah International Airport in Pakistan´s southern port city began late Sunday and raged until dawn, when the military said that at least 28 people -- including all 10 attackers -- had been killed.

Equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, they had battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan´s biggest city. Among the 18 victims were four airport workers. Security forces later announced that the military operation had been relaunched after gunfire at the airport resumed.

Umar Media, the official media wing of the TTP, claimed on their Facebook page that just six militants had attacked the airport.

"The biggest reason for attacking Karachi airport is because it serves as the biggest air logistics centre supplying goods for the Crusaders’ war in Afghanistan and Pakistan," a statement on their Facebook page claimed.

Death toll from Karachi airport attack rises to 22

KARACHI: Death toll from a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport attack has risen to 22 after recovery of two more bodies from Cargo Terminal, according to a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.

The spokesman said that the two men were burnt to death after a fire erupted at the terminal during the militant attack.

He further said that five people were still missing and efforts were underway to recover them.