FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JANUARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PESHAWAR 000017

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/30/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JANUARY
16 - JANUARY 22

REF: ISLAMABAD 180

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)
Introduction:
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1. (C) Fighting subsided in Bajaur during the third week of
January, but militants switched to "patrolling" Khar at night
and launching targeted killings. With military operations now
moving south to Mohmand Agency, an additional challenge for the
Pakistani military is balancing operations in Mohmand while also
implementing a "hold" strategy in Bajaur.


2. (C) Security forces launched an operation in Mohmand as
troops backed by helicopter gunships reportedly killed at least
64 militants.


3. (C) Violence continued to plague Swat during the third
week of January, with militants destroying schools, a factory
and health center; targeting the home of the late Abdul Wali
Khan; threatening a members of the Awami National Party (ANP),
along with a local newspaper; lashing suspected criminals;
demanding that local men wear caps and stop shaving; and
otherwise terrorizing the local population. 11th Corps
Commander General Masood told Ambassador that the Pakistani
military is adopting a "new strategy" to secure Swat, including
a focus on protecting main supply routes and urban centers by
putting more soldiers into the valley (septel). Militants loyal
to Maulana Fazlullah reportedly said on January 22 they were
willing to hold talks with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to bring peace
to Swat following President Zardari's decision to dispatch
Rehman to the Swat area for discussions with local players,
including the militants (Reftel.)


4. (C) The Pakistani Army appeared to restore peace to Hangu
during the third week in January after a two-day Shi'a-Sunni
sectarian battle killed forty the previous week. A peace
committee consisting of both Shi'a and Sunni elders offered
unconditional support to the political administration to restore
peace.


5. (C) The Political Agent of Khyber Agency informed post
that the convoy route from Pakistan to Afghanistan via the
Khyber Pass was closed for a few hours on January 19 as a result
of a security operation prompted by a rocket attack. The Khyber
Pass was reopened later that morning.

Bajaur
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6. (U) The following is a summary of events in Bajaur
Agency, where the Pakistani military has been conducting
military operations since August 2008:

January 22: Security forces carried out attacks on militant
hideouts in the Nawagai area, reportedly seizing a large
quantity of arms and ammunition.

January 17: The political administration imposed an evening
curfew after militants started patrolling Khar.

January 16: Militants reportedly chopped off the ears of five
members of a peace committee and killed the son of a prominent
tribal elder who supported the government's policies and threw
the body on the road.

NWFP
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7. (U) The following incidents have occurred in the
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and settled areas
of NWFP:

January 22, Swat: Security forces reportedly killed 11
militants, while 10 civilians died in the violence. Militants
destroyed another school in Qambar and a wool factory outside
Mingora. Taliban publicly lashed three accused thieves 39 times
each, shot a teacher, and his father, for not pulling up his
trousers above his ankles, and slit the throat of a pray leader
and his associate.

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January 21, Mardan: Militants demanded that bus drivers in NWFP
stop playing music or films for passengers under threat of
suicide bombing. Bus drivers throughout NWFP have begun
removing their audio and video equipment in response.

January 21, Swat: Militants reportedly destroyed another two
schools and a health center. TTP issued a statement threatening
to carry out suicide attacks on leaders of the Awami National
Party (ANP) for launching the operation in Swat.

January 20, Swat: Militants reportedly issued a decree
demanding that locals wear caps and stop shaving beards after
January 25. Chief of Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM)
Maulana Sufi Muhammad urged the government to implement Shari'a
law in Malakand Division to bring peace there.

January 20, Peshawar: A bomb explosion injured four policemen
on Ring Road.

January 18, Swat: Militants destroyed five schools in Mingora
and used an improvised explosive device (IED) against a convoy
of security forces. The deputy chief of Swat militants also
threatened the editor and staff of a local newspaper for
publishing a story against them.

January 17, Peshawar: An explosion destroyed two shops and
damaged four others. Elsewhere, a faith-healer was beheaded.

January 17, Hangu: As the Pakistani Army announced they had
taken control of Hangu, militants kidnapped four members of the
ANP from the area.

January 17, Lakki Marwat: Five militants and a tribesmen were
killed in a gunbattle with security forces backed by a tribal
lashkar.

January 16, Swat: Militants targeted the home of the late Abdul
Wali Khan, blowing up a portion of the house. Militants
attacked a military convoy, killing two security force
personnel. Two civilians also died in other violence.

January 16, Bannu: Militants blew up a government girls' high
school.

FATA
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8. (U) The following is a roundup of incidents of
Talibanization in the FATA and Frontier Regions:

January 22, South Waziristan: Militants reportedly fired three
rockets at Wana Scouts Camp.

January 21, Khyber: Fighting between rival militant groups,
Ansarul Islam and Barqambarkhel sub-tribe, reportedly killed
three in the Tirah valley. All shops in the area were closed
during the ongoing battle.

January 19-21, Mohmand: Troops backed by helicopter gunships
reportedly killed at least 64 militants in an ongoing military
operation. Security forces reportedly took control of Ziarat
Marble Mountain, a militant stronghold.

January 19, North Waziristan: Militants killed six people
charged with spying for the U.S.

January 19, South Waziristan: Militant commander Qari Hussain
released video statements from suicide bombers and footage of
deadly attacks. All of the suicide bombers spoke Pashto.

January 19, Khyber: Militants fired rockets into the cantonment
area of a Pakistani Army camp in Landikotal, killing one
Frontier Constabulary soldier and injuring 14 others.

Government Response
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9. (U) This is a summary of government responses to
"creeping Talibanization" according to press and consulate
contacts:

January 22, Peshawar: Police arrested Hassan Khogiani, a close
aid to Mustafa Kamran, leader of TTP Jamrud, accusing him of
involvement in the kidnapping of Afghanistan's
ambassador-designate to Pakistan and an Iranian diplomat.

January 21, Khyber: Security forces reportedly arrested seven
suspected militants in Bara Qadeem area, including a senior
al-Qaeda suspect, Zabiul Taifi.

January 21, Mohmand: Security forces reportedly killed five
militant commanders, including Umer Khalid, chief of
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

January 17, Khyber: The political agent announced that 700
Afghan families were expelled from Jamrud due to their
anti-social activities. He estimated that the writ of the
government had been established in 80 per cent of the agency.

January 16, Khyber: The political administration reportedly
arrested two taliban commanders.

Grass Roots Efforts to Halt Talibanization
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10. (U) The following events are examples of activities taken
by local communities to halt the spread of Talibanization:

January 22, Hangu: A peace committee consisting of both Shi'a
and Sunni elders offered unconditional support to the political
administration to restore peace.
TRACY