This is how Sipah-e-Sahaba and Taliban slaughter Shia Muslims in Pakistan – by Aqib Kazmi

I watched them cutting his nose, ears, hands, legs and neck with great pleasure as if they were sacrificing cattle on Eid day.

In 2008, three days after my uncle took charge as the principal of Elementary College Jamrud, he informed my father about a warning letter sent by a local Taliban official. The letter warned my uncle that they would kill him unless he left Jamrud immediately. Not one to fear death and abandon his responsibilities, he stayed on. However, the warning was taken seriously and he duly informed the administration, including the political agents of Jamrud.

Now, let me tell you a little about my uncle. He was a

We need your help to recover Jalil and Akmal – by Hassan Turi

This child has been missing for almost one year.

He was abducted by the Taliban from river Kurram on 5 March 2011.

His name is Jalil Hussain.

Kidnapped and forgotten sons of Parachinar – by Sibth-ul-Hassan Turi

Last month, the fake story of Shams Ul Anwer went viral on social media and caught the attention of well known human right activists and media spoke people. Once again Pakistanis united in supporting the victim before realizing it was all concocted drama. Rather than being totally disappointed, it gave me slight hope that, perhaps, despite that the story was fake, it did capture the collective imagination, and there are hundreds of similar stories in reality. For the last four five years, the people of FATA and Kurram Agency, in particular, have been worse victims of

Haideri Taliban? ISI and Jang Group’s joint propaganda against Pakistan’s Shia Muslims

Related post: Geo TV / Jang Group’s alliance with Sipah-e-Sahaba exposed

This report about imaginary ‘Haideri Taliban’ was brought to you by Rahimullah Yusufzai of ISI+Jang Group: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=94508&Cat=7

As Bureau Chief of The News, Peshawar, Rahimullah Yusufzai has refused to retract his ISI-inspired lies about Haideri Taliban.

We condemn Pakistan army/Jang group’s attempt to misattribute the Taliban-ASWJ-AQ terrorism to innocent Shia Muslims.

Haideri Taliban aka Mehdi Militia is an imaginary creation of General Kayani and Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman.

ISI has tasked Mir Shakil, CEO of the Jang Group, to obfuscate the silent Shia genocide taking place in

Graphic pictures of Shia Muslims’ massacre in Parachinar on 17 Feb 2012

یہ17 فروری بروز جمعہ کو طالبان دہشتگردوں کے مبینہ خودکش حملے اور اس کے بعد ان درندوں کی سرپرست سکیورٹی فورسز کی شیلنگ اور ٹینکوں سے کچلے جانے والے مظلوم شہدائے پاراچنار میں سے چند شہداء کی تصاویر ہیں۔

طوری بنگش قبائل کے مطابق چار سال تک جب پاراچنار شہر اور اپر کرم کی سکیورٹی شیعہ رضاکاروں کے ہاتھ میں تھی تو کوئی دھماکہ یا حملہ نہیں ہوا، چند ماہ پہلے جب ان چیک پوسٹوں

Dear Express Tribune, they are Shia too! – by Mustafa

While it is certainly commendable that Express Tribune (ET) has reported the protest demo organized by the youth of Parachinar, time when majority of the news outlets have with blithe disregard ignored it (as usual, for example this largest protest against target killing of Shias was blacked out by Pakistani media: criticalppp.com/archives/72401), the reporter, or perhaps the editor of ET needs to be reminded that the people of Parachinar are Shia too! At least 49 Shia Muslims were massacred by ISI-backed Haqqani Taliban (good Taliban) and the subsequent firing by Pakistan army/FC on 17 February 2012.

The news report refers to people

An interview with Subedara Bibi, a brave Toori mother who sacrificed three sons in war with Haqqani Taliban & LeJ

جس قوم و ملت کی ایسی مائیں ہوں کہ جو اپنے پانچ بیٹوں میں سے تین بیٹے راہ حق میں فدا کرنے کے بعد بھی اس خواہش کا اظہار کریں کہ کاش میرے پانچ بیٹے ہی کربلا والوں کی راہ میں شہید ہو جاتے، جس قوم کی ماؤں کا ایسا جذبہ ہو اس قوم کو اسلام اور پاکستان دشمن، طالبان دہشتگرد کھبی بھی شکست نہیں دے سکتے۔

اس عظیم بیوہ خاتون کا نام بی بی صوبیدارہ ہے، جنکی تاریخ پیدائش شناختی کارڈ کے مطابق 1944ء درج ہے۔ ان کے شوہر کا نام لعل جان مرحوم ہے، ایک بیٹی کے علاوہ پانچ بیٹے غلام حیدر، نور حیدر، نور حسین، گل حسین اور گلاب حسین ہیں جن میں سے ایک بیٹی کے علاوہ گل حسین اور گلاب حسین، یعنی تین اولادیں حیات ہیں جبکہ تین بیٹے غلام حیدر، نور حیدر اور نور حسین راہ حق میں جام شہادت نوش کر کے زندہ و جاوید بن چکے ہیں۔ شہداء کی ماں نے بتایا کہ جب بھی میرے شہید بیٹے کا جنازہ آتا تو میں رونے کی بجائے انہیں سلامی دے کر مبارک باد دیتی اور پھر ذکر سیدالشہداء ع و ماتم کرتی اور انکے کڑیل جوان علی اکبر ع کی یاد میں خوب گریہ کرتی۔

پاراچنار کرم ایجنسی کے اہل تشیع طوری اور بنگش قبائل نے یوں تو قیام پاکستان سے لے کر استحکام پاکستان تک پاک افغان سرحد پر رہائش پذیر ہونے کی وجہ سے نہ صرف پاکستان اور اسلام دشمن دہشتگرد عناصر، لشکر جھنگوی، سپاہ صحابہ اور طالبان کی جارحیت اور لشکرکشیوں سے

Bold statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Shia massacres in Pakistan under the patronage by Pakistan army

Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Shia massacres in Pakistan
PAKISTAN: Members of Shia community were under attack while the military forces look on
Source: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-124-2011

Members of one of the largest sects of Islam, the Shiaite community, came under attack from militant Islamic organizations which, in the past had the patronage of Pakistan army and its intelligence agencies who offered

A comment on Sadanand Dhume’s WSJ article on the plight of Pakistan’s Shia

Source: Pakistan Blogzine

We are pleased to cross-post an unusual article in Wall Street Journal which highlights the silent systematic mass murder of Shia Muslims in Pakistan by Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Taliban (TTP) etc which is on going since late 1980s.

The author clearly refers to this petition (initiated by Pakistan Blogzine) when he writes: “The country’s Shia are worried. In July, hundreds took to the streets of Quetta to protest the ongoing killings. Others have begun an online petition to draw attention to their plight.”

Sadanand Dhume’s article is an important first step in highlighting the silent mass murder of Shia Muslims currently taking place in Pakistan. While we appreciate the author, particularly his interest and courage in highlighting

Celebrating Eid in Parachinar still a far cry

Children of Parachinar in a peaceful protest

Source: Dawn.com

 The otherwise noisy street in Satellite Town wears a deserted look as most of its residents have left for their hometowns

After Quetta massacre on Eid, second package for Shia Muslims in Parachinar by ISI-TTP-SSP network

A group photo of Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani with the troops at Mandan during his visits in Kurram Agency on Thursday. – Photo by PPI

The ISI backed Haqqani Taliban killed seven Shia Muslims today in an attack on a minibus in the Kurram agency, northwestern Pakistan.The

Time to rescue the people of Parachinar – by Farahnaz Ispahani

Parachinar used to be called ‘a paradise on Earth’. Despite its natural beauty and strategic importance, Parachinar is presently in a dire state due to sectarian violence initially instigated by the negative policies of former president Ziaul Haq. The residents of Parachinar, predominantly Shia, have been the target of jihadi entities and this has been the primary cause of sectarian clashes there. This violence has transformed the once beautiful land into ruins, completely destroying infrastructure. The main road connecting Peshawar to Parachinar has been blocked by sectarian extremists who have been brutally killing travellers to and from Parachinar.

Local people have been forced to travel through dangerous routes via Afghanistan and back into Peshawar just to purchase daily rations and essential items. Today, even that route has been closed, effectively cutting them off from the rest of Pakistan. This has caused local merchants to raise prices of staple foods such as flour, ghee, sugar and rice up to six times. There is also a tremendous shortage of basic medical supplies and essential life-saving drugs in Parachinar, in addition to a scarcity of proper medical facilities and staff in the area. The youth of Parachinar are worse off since the lack of even basic education has meant that most schools in the area have remained closed for a long time. In the past few decades, the Shias of Kurram Agency have suffered greatly. This started when General Zia relocated the local Kurram militia from Parachinar to other agencies, upsetting the century-old tradition of keeping a local officer in the militia’s hierarchy or as a political administrator.

When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, the situation got much worse for Kurram agency. And, after their defeat in 2001, a large number of Taliban, along with al Qaeda members, fled to the bordering tribal areas in Pakistan, settling in regions in upper Kurram dominated by Shia tribes. This resettlement became a flashpoint and the oppression of the locals multiplied when, five years ago, the Taliban blockaded the only road that connects Parachinar with Thal — the first town in the settled area. This affected trade and downgraded the social life of the people, strangulating their livelihood. Consequently, they found it difficult to safeguard their families and find jobs, decent food and sometimes even basic medicines.

The situation of Parachinar is only getting worse. The people of Parachinar still remember, with deep affection, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed as they focused on the betterment of this desperately poor and deprived area in order to strengthen its resources by the rehabilitation of its schools, colleges, hospitals and medical facilities. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto also directed PIA to have a flight connecting Parachinar and Peshawar on a weekly basis at an affordable fare. This stopped during former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s tenure and needs to be reinstated urgently. Currently, only a few wealthy residents of Parachinar are able to afford a flight to Peshawar through a private plane service and it charges a high fare. It is time for us to step forward to rescue the people of Parachinar.

Published in The Express Tribune December 25^th, 2010.

Pakistani Shia Muslims call for end to 4-year siege of Parachinar

Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims in a Pakistani tribal region called for end to a 4-year siege of northwestern city allegedly by Taliban militants, as the blockade has increased difficulties of the people.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims in a Pakistani tribal region called for end to a 4-year siege of northwestern city allegedly by Taliban militants, as the blockade has increased difficulties of the people.
The demand was made by Shia Muslims in the Ashura day procession in Parachinar, the center of Kurram tribal agency.

Some two hundred thousands Shia Muslims took part in the Ashura procession, which started at 8 a.m. and continued till late night on Friday.

The procession was started from main Imambargah in Parachinar city and after passing via Kurram militia, Turi graveryard, katchery road and hazara graveyard ended in Central Imambargha at night time.

During Aazadari procession juma prayer were offered at central imambarghah while maghreeb prayer at Katchery Chowk near post office.

Through out the route of Procession mourners including all ages and children with addition to non-Muslims even Christians and hindus were beating their chests by doing ‘matam’ and zaadari. Azadars were also chanting Labik Ya Hussain, Down with USA, Down with Israel, Down with Taliban.

Addressing the biggest gathering of aazadars, ulema and scholars told that the people of Parachinar and martyrs set a new example of resisting and defeating the Taliban.

In Aazadari procession certain resolutions were adopted demanding the govt to lift four years of inhuman siege of Parachinar immediately by opening and securing main Thall- Parachinar Road.

They condemned attacks on Shia Muslims in Quetta, Peshawar and Hangu, murdering innocent children and women by yazeddi forces.

They said that if the govt does not lift the four years imposed siege and economic blockade, then they will start armed long march from Parachinar to Thall to open the main road and the responsibility will be on all concern.

Source

Our dereliction in Kurram

Kurram has had to run the gauntlet of the first TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud, who sent his Waziristan lashkar there under the blood-thirsty Qari Hussain in 2007.

According to a report published in a newspaper on November 30, the government has allowed a very dubious meeting between the elders of the Kurram Agency, members of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and “foreign” agents of the Haqqani Group from North Waziristan. The meeting was held “in a guesthouse” in Islamabad and the objective was “restoration of peace in Parachinar (Kurram headquarters) which has remained cut off from the rest of country for three years.”

Who were the interlocutors? MNA Sajid Hussain Turi representing the Shia of Kurram and some elders, while the opposite side was represented by Qari Taj, the commander of the Haqqani Group in Kurram Agency, and Karim Mushtaq, TTP commander for Kurram and Orakzai agencies. Another MNA, Munir Khan Orakzai, also attended the meeting. The talks were fruitless because the Shia Turi side was not willing to give the right of way to the TTP and Haqqani group militants through their territory. In retaliation, the other side refused to lift the roadblock on Thall-Parachinar Road that cuts Kurram off from the rest of the country.

The Turis are in a bind. They can’t leave or enter their agency and have to use Afghanistan territory where they are at risk of being killed by pro-al Qaeda terrorists. Al Qaeda is not particularly fond of the Turis because they are Shia and because they did not allow al Qaeda leadership to stay on their soil after its escape from Tora Bora in 2001. Well-off Turis spend Rs8,000 on a plane ride from Peshawar to get home. The Agency is no longer under any semblance of federal government control for the last three years. And the Haqqani Group from Afghanistan, which is being allowed to hold talks with the Turis in Islamabad, has no business being in Pakistan.

Pakistan is projecting its power into Afghanistan on the basis of warriors who don’t belong to Pakistan and is giving them a status inside Pakistan that violates the sovereignty of the state. The TTP is dominant under the banner of anti-Shia feeling spread in the region by the Sipah-e-Sahaba, a banned terrorist organisation of Punjab which inspires the tribes that live around Kurram. Kurram lies next to the three Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar. It has half a million inhabitants out of which around two-fifths are Shia — besides, the capital Parachinar has a majority Shia population. The agency lies next to Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber agencies where warlords harbour severely sectarian feelings. Down the road from Kurram to Peshawar, cities like Kohat and Hangu have Shia communities cowering before the power of the Taliban for the last decade.

Kurram has had to run the gauntlet of the first TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud, who sent his Waziristan lashkar there under the blood-thirsty Qari Hussain in 2007. Around 400 Mehsud and Wazir militants fought against the Shia in Kurram, burning down villages and killing dozens of them. Two months later, another warlord, Hakimullah Mehsud, sent hundreds of fighters to outnumber the Shia offering resistance to him. After becoming head of the TTP, Hakimullah appointed Mullah Noor Jamal from Orakzai, known as Mullah Toofan, to lead the Taliban. Mullah Toofan, a brutal commander, indulged in carnage and blocked the above-mentioned road, cutting Kurram from the rest of Pakistan. Infamous warlord Mangal Bagh of Khyber Agency, successfully challenging the Pakistan army, has also dipped his hands in the blood of the people of Kurram.

Pakistan’s military strategy focuses on a quest to control territories not part of its map, at the expense of territory it does have. The bulk of the Pakistan Army faces India on the eastern border. Because of Pakistan’s ambivalence towards the TTP and the Haqqani Group, it has had to suffer a gradual diminution of its writ in small cities like Kohat, Hangu and Bannu, while virtually losing control over the provincial capital, Peshawar. On the eve of America’s exit from Afghanistan, the focus is on how to prevent India from retaining its foothold there. It is difficult to imagine how territories lost inside Pakistan in the pursuit of this strategy will be regained.

Editorial
http://tribune.com.pk/story/84089/our-dereliction-in-kurram/
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2010.