Another episode of PkPolitics programme Khul Kay talking with Sohail Qalandar (Journalist) regarding Swat militancy and myths revolving around this particular issue in media.
Khul Kay – 15 May 2009:
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Two main militant commanders are/ were Ibn-e-Amin and Ibn-e-Aqeel. Names sound as if these people are inspired by Arabic culture. Their actions of slaughtering people show they are doctrinated by some Arabs. Pukhtoon culture is not a kirpan or knife culture. It is a gun, and now, RPG culture.
Names of these commanders are puzzling. How two brothers can have different father’s name? May be they had a common mother? Or may be just a reuse of some popular slaughtered names?
Plentifully informative show. Kudos to Sohail Qalandar
Sohail Qalandar was kidnapped for 50 day in 2007.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0cXEeBWerC2Pg
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0d0y7nI1aO9hY
Sohail Qalandar on Column Kar
http://pkpolitics.com/2009/05/09/column-kaar-9-may-2009/
@Ashrafi
You are worried about the names of Ibn-e-Amin and Ibn-e-Aqeel, and I am saying our stupid President is least worried about these two names as He and Rehman Malik are still enjoying the London and Paris trip. I am surprised you haven’t said a word about Zardari – this means you are a Zardari lover and this is I am saying ‘khul key’.
The Army clearly looks demoralised as NO significant progress has been made.
Saeed, the army is afraid of the massive damage and causalities to the civilians and itself when it goes into urban fighting in Mingora. That’s where the real fight will be, and it will be bloody and slow. Think Fallujah or even Grozny. Pakistani army, even the few hundred SOTF and SSG in Sawat has never trained for urban fighting at such a large scale.
SOTF’s main goal is for light infantry type operations that can operate independently behind enemy lines and conduct interdiction raids and mass assaults. Urban fighting with civilians and Taliban mixed inside houses with booby traps, IEDs, suicide bombings would be hard for any force even if trained and as well equipped as the Americans for this type of fighting in built-up areas.
Most SSG companies also deal with smaller scale unconventional operations or counter terrorist missions within very small AOs. I’m afraid the only way the Pakistani army will succeed here is to use air delivered precision munitions or artillery when air assets aren’t available. Causalities will still be high for civilians as you can never be 100% sure who is inside building.
Saeed afzal
Army is not demoralized it is talib lovers like you , who are feeling the heat.
Todays talat program is quite evident that progress has been made.
you talib apologists should be IDP( INTENSE DUFFER PERSON).
I may not like President zardari, but he is our president, he deserves respect.
The time has come that the situation in Swat should be analysed realistically keeping in mind the ground realities. The present Army Action was started without any solid planning and the orders were issued from Rehman Malik when (he and Zardari) they both were having fun with Altaf Hussain in London. The PM Yusuf Gialni speech to start Army Action was made in a very sloppy and casual manner. This war against Taliban is actually to prolong the tenure of Zardari. Zardari must be thrown out as soon as possible. Zardari’s father-in-Law broke Pakistan into two pieces and it looks that his son-in-law is going to do the same thing with the remainder of Pakistan.
I remember each and every day of March 1971 when Army action started in East Pakistan. After March I remember the months of April – Aug were relatively quiet in East Pakistan and then Mukti Bahini got training from Indian Army and that was the turning point.
Here in Swat the Pak Army has started using Gunship Helicopters, F16’s and heavy Artillery and for the time being the front is bit quiet.
Once more Tajiks and Uzbeks arrives after getting training from Indian Forces then I think the situation will be far tougher as we saw in East Pakistan that Mukti Bahini was far better trained then Pak Army. I saw yesterday in Kahif Abbasi’s programme that a very nervous looking Major was briefing Kahsif Abbasi and the other Army jawans looked nervous and shaky too. I was hoping that in order to get a clear picture at least an officer at the level of Brigadier or Maj General should have briefed Kashif Abbasi. Also in todays briefing by Gen Kiyani to Parliamentary Committee (in which Nawaz Sharif was also present), the atmosphere looked very nervous, with no sense of direction and no clear military planning.
The daily briefing of Army Spokesman, Gen Athar is totally giving us a wrong picture by saying that almost every day nearly 100 Talibans are killed is totally wrong. The same thing Bhutto used to say that our Army is in full control in East Pakistan and we all know what a shamful and humiliating surrender took place afterwards.
So far not a single refugee (or IDP) has not returned to his home. Just like East Pakistan, this time also India is watching the situation very closely and I have heard that India might send its Helicopters and Jets to Airbases in the Northern Afghanistan (commonly known as Shimali Ittehad). From there flying distance is only 20 mins to Swat and the Shimali Ittehad is very friendly to India. Hence India so far is not having any problems in Northern Afghanistan.
Our Army does not want to fight for survival of Zardari and the mood of refugees/IDP’s is now changing (just like East Pakistan) because in this terribly hot weather these people can’t stay in Camps any longer.
The Army is demoralised, there is no co-ordination among the field commanders which mainly consists of Capts and Majors. Gen Niazi surrendered at the Orders of Bhutto (and not Yahya Khan) and now Gen Kiyani takes orders from Rehman Malik who in turn takes instructions from Altaf Hussain.
The Indian trained Tajiks and Uzbeks are definitely giving tough time to our Army. Our Generals are only trained to surrender, Gen Niazi surrendered in East Pakistan, Gen Kakar surrendered in Siachin Glacier and Gen Musharraf surrndered in Kargil. Our Core Commanders meeting only discusses the promotion of Brigadiers to Major Generals and the promotion of Major Generals to Lieutenant Generals. As Yahya Khan used to invite Bhutto for entertainment with Noor Jehan, Tirana, Husna and Gen Rani (begum Akleem Akhtar) similary at this moment of writing these lines the wifes of our Brigadiesrs and Major Generals are entertaining Lieutenant Generals.
The Army Acion must stop NOW, and the negotiations must start with Taliban, and Zardari should resign immediately and all refugees/IDP’s should return to their homes with respect and dignity. If Gen Kiyani takes any more orders from Altaf Hussain or Rehman Malik then Gen Kiyani should also resign and step aside. I have very serious doubts about the Generalship qualities of Kiyani.
@Saeed Afzal
“The Army Acion must stop NOW, and the negotiations must start with Taliban,”
so, we should negotiate with the Taliban which you claim to be trained by India? how does that make sense? why would we negotiate with a terrorist body that is being trained by one of our main enemies – if not our MAIN enemy?
if these barbarians are backed and trained by India, then it is even more important that we finish off these traitors once for all.
“and Zardari should resign immediately”
why should Zardari resign? is Zardari’s resignation going to stop the Taliban from beheading people?
“and all refugees/IDP’s should return to their homes with respect and dignity.”
what respect and dignity? were the Taliban giving the refugees respect by chopping off their heads, digging up graves, public floggings, etc?
I am just as patriotic as you all are. All I am saying is let’s have a very fair, honest and military based assessement of the Swat situation. Before any of you bloody Zardari lover tells me that I am not an Army expert, then again let me remind you that Indira Gandhi was not a military General either. It was all her wicked planning and strategy that she won the East Pakistan war single handedly. Do you remember how she gave instructions to Gen Manik Shaw to train Mukti Bahini and when to start offensive in moonsoon season when there were floods in East Pakistan. And that what prcisely happened. Now WE don’t have a clever person like Indira Gandhi but we got a bloody fool like Yahya Khan and his name is Zardari and his new gay lover is Altaf Hussain.
I repeat again that I remember each and every day of March 1971. And today this Army spokesman Gen Athar is lying – Did you notice the face expressions of Gen Kiyani in Islambad meeting today, this fellow looked clearly very nervous and confused to me.
This is true we got the Nuclear Weapon, but at the moment we are fighting ground battle and with all fairness our ground Army only knows how to retreat from East Pakistan, how to retreat in Siachin Glacier and how to retreat in Kargil.
Zardari is prolonging this war in Swat to prolong his tenure. Army jawans looked nervous and the Capt and Majors on the ground have no clue how to fight in moutainous regions. You will not see any Brigadiers and Generals because they are preparing for surrender cerermony (just like Gen Niazi). The only way forward now is to negotiate with Talibans whether we like it or not. The Army Action has now been going on for 15 days and certainly Talibans have won the first round.
@Wahid Doyum
I have noticed that you have tried to explain that our Army is somewhat untrained to fight in these mountainous regions and on such a large scale and the situation is more complicated. Oh this is all bullsh*t.
I MUST tell you that we said the same thing about East Pakistan that our Army is not well trained and equipped to fight in East Pakistan’s muddy fields, rivers and moonsoon climate. But Indira Gandhi knew how to fight, her Generals knew how to fight in muddy rivers and she also knew how to give dunda to Yahya Khan and to Bhutto of course.
The problem is our Generals can only fight in bedrooms and bathrooms with Noor Jehan, Tirana, Husna, and Gen Rani.
And be warned, be warned, be warned we also got one bloody fool like Yahya Khan and his name is Zardari who like Yahya Khan is always pissed and drunk. They also got Advani and Chidambaram. We got Rehman Malik and Salman Taseer.
1971 was a genocidal campaign initiated by the West Pakistanis on Bengalis asking for their rights. No army, how well trained or even the taliban could have won in East Pakistan, as they were wrong to begin with and the locals supported the Mukhti Bahani 100%
This can’t be said for Swat or Buner situation, where locals actively resisted the taliban but caved in when the saws the government powerless and in some cases colluding with the brutal taliban. And yes, pakistani army si not built from the ground up for counterinsurgency. It is a slow moving, colonial era institution. As all the threats Pakistan is facing is through insurgencies of some kind (Taliban, BLA, MQM etc.), it needs to learn a few new tricks from American trainers or it will lose or win at a very high cost to itself and civilians.
You may know more about what happens in Noor Jehan’s bedrooms, I know a little bit more about what happens in war rooms.
@Saeed Afzal
Your quote:
“I have noticed that you have tried to explain that our Army is somewhat untrained to fight in these mountainous regions and on such a large scale and the situation is more complicated. Oh this is all bullsh*t.”
And yet you said the exact same thing!
“Army jawans looked nervous and the Capt and Majors on the ground have no clue how to fight in moutainous regions. “
You seem confused.
BTW, excellent interview by Sohail Qalandar. He seems like a well informed person and knows the taliban threat better then all the people sitting inpPindi, lahore, toronto or new york, as he is from the region itself.
According to me the most catching words/sentences of Sohail Qalandar (Journalist) are as followed:
“With authority I can say local Taliban at early stage they were not against Pak Army e.g. Maulana Fazal Ullah & others, M.F.U. only kept himself limited at FM radio, later-on gave impression that he is leading the movement.”
“Actual the real Taliban kept distance from this unrest who are against Pak Army.”
“Punjabi Taliban are the same who were involved in Kashmir Movement.”
“The Operation to be continued till 30th June,09.”
@Muhammad Usman
I dont understand what you mean by Zardari is your president and he deserve respect. Do you mean noone can criticise him ? Look like you are living in an old age of King and Queen.
If president or PM does anything we all have the right to criticise him. they are not our God but our servant.
When I called this army ‘Napak army’, participent on this forum named me bla bla bla but never came with a logical answer to tell me any good about the army.
Achievements of Napak army:
1. dismemberment of united Pakistan into two ( the photo of signing of defeat by ‘Shair’ general Niazi will never go away from my mind.
2. Giving away ‘Siachin glacier’ to our’ new found love’ India as there not even GRASS grows, so what good is siachin.
3. I don’t need to tell in detail about debacle in Kargil, where we lost hundred of our men, for WHAT.
4. They can only fight women and children as they showed during Lal masjid , but when fighting with men comes you know what happens, AND
4. their performance so far in waziristan/swat is evident, when whole bunch of them being taken away by Talibans even without firing a bullet.
Achievments on International arena.
1. Killing thousand of innocent palestineans under the command of gen Zia ( we must have paid for that as well, we can kill anybody as long as we get paid )
2. Murdered by war lord Farah adid in Somalia and
their business dealing/wheeling with rebels in gold rich Angola is no secret, where they sold guns for gold. This must have been done with ‘thapki’ from our top generals, who are only good in doing business, but it comes to fighting the enemy, they wet their paints.
If any body reply, please reply with facts.
@Mullah Omar
You want facts? Well, here are the facts
Arrogant Kashif Abbasi tries to catch the officer off guard and fails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVxRvo5uZpI
@Mullah Omar, it’s easy to be an arm chair general when you have not even fired a gun let alone faced one firing at you.
Army isn’t perfect, as it is made up of imperfect qaum known as pakistan.
@Admn.
Missing Merey Mutabiq, since May 10th 2009. Please put it.
Thanks.
regarding this program discussion, yet again looking at things at micro level, need to step back and look at things at macro level,
America has plan for this region and for that they want to disintegrate/balkanize pakistan
-Wasn’t Pakistan at peace between American invasion?
-Before American invasion did we ever imagine that there would be blood bath in Pakistan, people killing each other hundreds of thousands homeless & displaced??
-Haven’t we witnessed that America always used local population to fight for his cause? Examples of Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and Shia militias are in front of us. Why wouldn’t America use same policy in Pakistan?
-In the name of foreign elements this has become a large scale war against the people of north west.
We need to step back and look at bigger picture.
In order to weaken Pakistan, America is dividing it in:
-Barelwi vs Deobandi
-Shia vs Sunni
-Civilians vs Army
-Punjabi vs Pukhtoon
-Seculars vs Islamists
at the end it is the people of Pakistan who are loser.
We need to get united and say NO MORE to America.
Cyber Talibs you better help your brothers (the real talibs) by providing them some razors and burqas to disappear and pop up again in their father baitullah’s domain. These guys are on the run and the second round they will begin by unleashing terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in the main cities. These guys deserve to be kicked off on their butts.
@nota and Shirkuh
@naughtypakistani is referring to you guys….you cyber talibs, when will you stop sending your peculiar posts that misguide ’seedhi saadhi awam’?
@thankyou nota for the ‘facts’
if you rewind you memory to the period before invasion of Iraq, you would notice that all daily/weekly papers and radio and TV channels which were(are) run by right wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch bombard the hearts and mind of western readers and viewers and prepared US and allies government to invade Iraq.( I don’t need to tell all that where this aussie moron’s sympathies lies).
That is exactly what I am witnessing now in Pakistan, that more and more ‘analysts’,'thinkers’ and ‘cross borders’( or cross breeders) members of our national assembly are supporting this war.
Allah help us.
they did it before war started, but as usual we do things first and then think later. I thought that trait was only associated to the people on the other side of Punjab. But I am proved wrong once again by snake Zardari and associates.
Pakistan Army is army of the people of Pakistan, it is the ruler generals to blame for misdeeds.
If you are following current events you might notice that new culture introduced by Gen Busharraf of prosecuting Army officers who are practicing muslims is still continuing.
Army officers who practice Islam are harassed and prosecuted under pretext of spying etc… (Air Force x-officer Nadeem Shah & Lt Colonel Shahid Bashir)
‘47 taliban killed today’ by ISPR supremo Ather Abbas.
Is anybody keeping the count ?
@Tauqeer Akbar,nota,Shirkuh,razakhan and all taliban lovers.
I have just returned from Mardan and I have to tell you things that baboons will find fascinating and sure will derive pleasure from.
Phew..Where to start from?
There were no toilets so people have to go behind the so-called tents or boxes of relief goods needless to say there is no water for toilet use.
The Grand and Pompous Pakistan army was not to be seen anywhere except for a couple of water tankers which were half empty. It definitely was contaminated, welcoming Hepatitis and typhoid. A few NGO workers looked active only for the cameras around. Most relief goods were brought in by private people from Islamabad in their own cars. I did not see any political party workers there. (May be they were in some other camp.)
Older women were running high blood pressure, much complaint that they were on medications which they left at home. One old woman ,who could hardly get up, said that she wished to die at her home rather than come here and die like this.
Children and infants looked frightened and anguished; I gave them basket balls to play but they didn’t seem interested. A 7 year old girl told me that she feels very hot and wants to go back home. Her rosy cheeks had mosquito bites all over. Pregnant women had no idea what would happen to them especially those who were in their last trimester. Teenage girls were kept in parachute tents which are hot like hell, their grievance embarrassed me, they wanted sanitary napkins. I did take a huge supply with me but it was not enough. They had no clothes or towels or soaps or any basic necessity.
I am seeing funds and money pouring in from different countries and places but we all know where it will go…we still remember the 2005 earth quake, where did that money go, no one knows.
The army and Zardari government did not think twice before evacuating these poor people from their homes. All jurnails and bloody politicians should open their houses and keep at least 20 families each till the operation completes. Baboons of pkpolitics should once visit albeit for photos, they will know what displacement means. I am disgusted with these people who sit in their glass homes talking rubbish and obsessed with others’ blackberries and iphones and @$$es and bu-tts , they should go to these relief camps and see those bu-tts that have unbearable rashes that appeared due to constant contact with faeces because they do not have water to wash or clean. Bu—tts in abundance should make them happy and their ego satisfied.
Please please help them but do not trust anyone. Give them whatever you want to in person or through your relatives or friends.
I will upload some pictures later and write details tomorrow after I visit Swabi.
@pak.nukes
As I wrote to @Tauqeer. This is (unfortunately) only the beginning. I am afraid it will get much worse. This “policy” is unfortunately one of many other fatal policies of our military. To mention a few of them, which is still inflicting blows to Pakistan.
- The mess in Bangladesh
- The way the afghan refugee issue was handled. I especially referring to the drugs and arms pouring into Pakistan.
- The creation of MQM.
- And now the fight against Taliban on American terms.
^^
“Your comment is awaiting moderation. ”
And as usual for NOTHING
@ Saeed Afzal
Please refrain from slogans and statements which are inaccurate . I do not wish to have to deal with all of what you write- but please re evaluate and re read what you write before posting it.
That would help raise the level of the discussion.
@ Shirkuh
This policy is NOT the policy of the Army but of the political leadership of the country both at the Fed and provincial level.
The mess in Bangladesh was started in 1947 and continued as a policy of the central Govt till 1971. It was ZAB who was and should be held accountable for 1971 . The army carried out the orders of the political govt in Islamabad. Yes the army is to blame also but to put the entire baggage on the army is false.
The mess of the Afghan refugees was handled as good as anyone could. Over 6 million afghans came and everyone including the Americans were surprised that there were not more problems. How could anyone expect the army to control what was going on in the refugee camps when they were being run by UNHCR !
The MQM happened because of a political situation- yes the then leader of the country Gen. Zia used the situation for his own political benefit but the problem of disenfranchisement of the Urdu speakers was not created by Zia but by Bhutto.
This fight against the Talibs is also on the orders of the political leadership-( PPP and Zardari). It is the spineless political leadership which must bear the responsibility for this- the army is a mere tool of the GOVT. And of course we must give credit to the Talibs who have created this situation in Swat.
I am not a supporter of either the army or the PPP Govt. But we must keep things clean and tell only what is accurate rather than expressing our emotions which I know are raw at this time for everyone.
Some people n media and here are trying to highlight the troubled IDP camps with an aim to translate this into a sympathy for Taliban and flare up feelings against the military action.
IDPs are our brothers and sisters and deserve all our help with hearts and arms open wide but ths would be shame if they are displayed on media with an aim to get sympathy for the people who playedd a major role in their displacement in the first place.
@Shimatoree
“The mess in Bangladesh was started in 1947 and continued as a policy of the central Govt till 1971. It was ZAB who was and should be held accountable for 1971 . The army carried out the orders of the political govt in Islamabad. Yes the army is to blame also but to put the entire baggage on the army is false.”
Is it fair to hold ZAB as the lone responsible for that mess? You have stated it started back 47, then how can he be held responsible, and apart from that I don’t think such level of uprising can happen without a long time frame with unresolved issues.
“The mess of the Afghan refugees was handled as good as anyone could. Over 6 million afghans came and everyone including the Americans were surprised that there were not more problems. How could anyone expect the army to control what was going on in the refugee camps when they were being run by UNHCR !”
The Iranians also had the refugee issue. The issue was not as massive as the issue in Pakistan, but I think they handled it better. Restrictions o drugs and guns should have been far better, but how could it be, because Zia and cronies were busy collecting dollars. Had they spent some of them on controlling mechanisms instead of turning the camps to UNCHR then the result could have been different! It is all about priorities, and unfortunately the priorities in PAK ruling circles have always been short sighted.
This impression is unfair that people supporting Swat operation are indifferent to the miseries of IDP’s. People sympethetic to Talboos are hilighting the IDP sufferings to make their point. The way Talboos were advancing, they would have controlled the strategic Karakuram Highway by now. Killing and kidnapping of Chinese workers also show an overall pattern to whom the Talboos work for. Pak army is serious to curb the threat this time, see “Swat- A report from frontline”:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=177904
Folks , i have read all the comments very carefully. Fact is,,, This situation already existed before PPP took over, It does not mean the situation could not be controlled and rectified, PPP govt does not have brain to find a solution to any situation or unforeseen circumstances. They are unable to handle any crises. I guarantee you after completing their term in the govt they are going to fly away as our last PM did and we will be wiping our red ass*es.This govt needs to go ASAP otherwise we will lose a lot. Please get together and lets go for at least mid term elections.
@naughtypakistani
I agree with what you said. People somehow fail to think that there could be individuals who are patriot pakistanis like themselves, want this mess to end as soon as possible but may still hate Taliban for what they did.
So if you utter a word against Taliban in areas controled by them you may be beheaded and if you utter a word against them on Pkpolitics you will be labelled as Liberal Fascist. Can you see the similarities?. Intolerance is their greatest weapon.
IDPs are our brothers and sisters but this attempt to criticize military operation by highlighting miseries of IDPs is senseless. They would be in worst situation in their own homes if Tliban are let to govern their lives.
When two-faced hypocrites like Ansar Abbasi were mincing words confusing the nation and distracting away from the crimes of these murderous, anti-Pakistan fiends aka Qatilbans, Sohail Qalandar had the guts to call a spade a spade!
Bravo!
Sohail Qalandar is right! It is the duty of the media to lead the nation and take it out of the morass & paralysis created by the fifth columnist, intentionally dis-ingenious “analyses” offered by the religious wingnut operatives like Ansar Abbasi and the so called “religious” parties in general.
@ Ghost of TK
Sohail Qalander said: Destruction, militancy and terrorism hit me hard during “CURFEW”. Who let the dogs out.
So Mr. Sohail Qalander could you elaborate how come someone can do all this during CURFEW. Does not Curfew means to kill any person who breaks the curfew on the spot. So who is walking on the streets during curfew and WHOS responsibility it is to stop them from roaming around during curfew.
@Ghost Of TK,
Just wait, Sohail Qalander will be accused of being a CIA agent very soon and Ansar Abbasi and his B team will go after him for some reason or the other. This is now the best way for the pro-taliban infested right wing media to discredit pro-pushtun/pro-pakistan people.
Sohail Qalandar is a CIA agent. he is also a closet yahoodi. trust me… I know…
they’re all trying to destroy the good name of the noble Taliban who are shaving their beards and fleeing because I guess that’s a sunnat too?
Tarar sahib, it’s hard to tell between sarcasm and taliban propaganda these days as it gets wielder and weirder each passing day, though I think you are joking, right?
@Ghost Of TK
You are back to defend your boss “Zardari”
and America 
html examples
@Admin
you deleted my post for no reason. where is my freedom of speech? i didnt abuse anyone but i cant understand; you only want to whatever you wanted personally.
i just said that whenever a 500 lbs bomb drops it rips the people into pieces; isnt that more than slaughtering? your are so bias admin so bias/.
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