Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KARACHI97
2009-03-24 16:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Karachi
Cable title:
BALOCHISTAN - SUICIDE BOMBER HITS GIRLS' MADRASSA
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C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000097
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PHUM PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - SUICIDE BOMBER HITS GIRLS' MADRASSA
REF: A. KARACHI 26
B. KARACHI 42
C. KARACHI 18
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ACTING CONSUL GENERAL CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ
FOR REASONS 1.4 b and d.
Summary:
--------
C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000097
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PHUM PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - SUICIDE BOMBER HITS GIRLS' MADRASSA
REF: A. KARACHI 26
B. KARACHI 42
C. KARACHI 18
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ACTING CONSUL GENERAL CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ
FOR REASONS 1.4 b and d.
Summary:
--------------
1. (SBU) A suicide bomber narrowly missed leading
Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leaders, including the
party's provincial head Mohammad Khan Shirani, during a March
2 attack on a girls' madrassa in the town of Pashin,
Balochistan that killed five people. Shirani was the
presumed target of the bomber. No one has yet claimed
responsibility, but speculation has centered on the terrorist
group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ),which has claimed
responsibility for a number of recent attacks in Quetta. The
Taliban, close to some factions of the JUI-F but not to
Shirani, could also have orchestrated the attack as
retaliation for his condemnation of the group.
2. (SBU) Five students were killed and another five injured
in a suicide attack at a girls' madrassa in Pashin,
Balochistan on March 2. The intended targets may have been
Mohammad Khan Shirani, the provincial head of
Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam Fazl (JUI-F),a religious political
party, and other JUI-F leaders such as provincial Public
Health Minister Abdul Bari Agha and Balochistan Assembly
Deputy Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha. All three had left the
madrassa several minutes before the attack occurred. No
group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Blame Placed on Religious Extremists
--------------
3. (C) Agha accused pro-Taliban forces of orchestrating the
attack, pointing specifically to the terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ),which has claimed credit for recent
sectarian killings in Balochistan (ref A, B). He said
extremist groups such as LEJ were not supportive of the
democratic process in Pakistan. (Note: LEJ, designated a
terrorist organization by both the USG and the GOP, has been
linked to a number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan,
including the 1997 killing of four American oil workers in
Karachi, the 2002 murder of Daniel Pearl, the 2002 killing of
11 French workers, and the 2002 International Church bombing
in Islamabad. End comment.)
4. (C) Siddique Baloch, a journalist and political analyst
also blamed LEJ and told Post that he believed the target of
the attack was Shirani, who survived an attempt on his life
in 2006. JUI-F leader Maulvi Noor Mohammed, a firebrand
Mullah in Quetta, has been very vocal in his support of the
Taliban. The mainstream JUI-F under Shirani has distanced
itself from the Taliban and has been critical of Noor
Mohammed,s sermons in the Taliban,s favor.
Comment
--------------
5. (C) In the convoluted world of Baloch politics, it is
often hard to determine culpability for violent acts. In its
previous attacks, LEJ has been quick to claim responsibility.
It has not done so in this case. Shirani has past links to
the Taliban dating back to the 1980s. He has pointedly
distanced himself from the Taliban in recent years, and his
faction of the JUI-F publicly denounces the Taliban.
Disgruntled Taliban, who have a presence in the province (ref
C),could also have organized the attack.
RODRIGUEZ
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PHUM PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - SUICIDE BOMBER HITS GIRLS' MADRASSA
REF: A. KARACHI 26
B. KARACHI 42
C. KARACHI 18
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ACTING CONSUL GENERAL CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ
FOR REASONS 1.4 b and d.
Summary:
--------------
1. (SBU) A suicide bomber narrowly missed leading
Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leaders, including the
party's provincial head Mohammad Khan Shirani, during a March
2 attack on a girls' madrassa in the town of Pashin,
Balochistan that killed five people. Shirani was the
presumed target of the bomber. No one has yet claimed
responsibility, but speculation has centered on the terrorist
group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ),which has claimed
responsibility for a number of recent attacks in Quetta. The
Taliban, close to some factions of the JUI-F but not to
Shirani, could also have orchestrated the attack as
retaliation for his condemnation of the group.
2. (SBU) Five students were killed and another five injured
in a suicide attack at a girls' madrassa in Pashin,
Balochistan on March 2. The intended targets may have been
Mohammad Khan Shirani, the provincial head of
Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam Fazl (JUI-F),a religious political
party, and other JUI-F leaders such as provincial Public
Health Minister Abdul Bari Agha and Balochistan Assembly
Deputy Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha. All three had left the
madrassa several minutes before the attack occurred. No
group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Blame Placed on Religious Extremists
--------------
3. (C) Agha accused pro-Taliban forces of orchestrating the
attack, pointing specifically to the terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ),which has claimed credit for recent
sectarian killings in Balochistan (ref A, B). He said
extremist groups such as LEJ were not supportive of the
democratic process in Pakistan. (Note: LEJ, designated a
terrorist organization by both the USG and the GOP, has been
linked to a number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan,
including the 1997 killing of four American oil workers in
Karachi, the 2002 murder of Daniel Pearl, the 2002 killing of
11 French workers, and the 2002 International Church bombing
in Islamabad. End comment.)
4. (C) Siddique Baloch, a journalist and political analyst
also blamed LEJ and told Post that he believed the target of
the attack was Shirani, who survived an attempt on his life
in 2006. JUI-F leader Maulvi Noor Mohammed, a firebrand
Mullah in Quetta, has been very vocal in his support of the
Taliban. The mainstream JUI-F under Shirani has distanced
itself from the Taliban and has been critical of Noor
Mohammed,s sermons in the Taliban,s favor.
Comment
--------------
5. (C) In the convoluted world of Baloch politics, it is
often hard to determine culpability for violent acts. In its
previous attacks, LEJ has been quick to claim responsibility.
It has not done so in this case. Shirani has past links to
the Taliban dating back to the 1980s. He has pointedly
distanced himself from the Taliban in recent years, and his
faction of the JUI-F publicly denounces the Taliban.
Disgruntled Taliban, who have a presence in the province (ref
C),could also have organized the attack.
RODRIGUEZ