Chronology of Pakistan
March 2004 (Continued IV)
41 killed in Wana operation
March 20: Today was the bloodiest day in the five-day old military campaign against local and foreign militants in South Waziristan as an unverifiable number of civilians, troops and wanted men were killed in the fighting, The News said. Civilians’ deaths were put at 25 while 12 bodies of troops were reportedly brought to the Pakistan Army camp at Ziaray Noor near Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan. Military officials claimed that 16 "foreign terrorists" were killed in the operations.
NWFP people want immediate halt to Wana operation
March 20: The ongoing military operation against the alleged foreign terrorists in the country’s semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan has saddened people hailing from different walks of life and demanded its immediate halt. Majority of them, including politicians, lawyers, human right activists, traders and students leaders through press statements and telephone calls to The News have condemned use of armed forces against the Pakistani citizens. There would be a never ending civil war in the country if military operations in which the innocent tribesmen had been killed so far were not stopped immediately, the aggrieved citizens remarked.
‘Wana operation may lead to anarchy-like situation’
March 20: Expressing concern over the military operation in Wana, South Wazeeristan, the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Chief Zain Ansari warned that it would lead to an anarchy-like situation in the country.
US helicopters bomb tribal area: 3 injured
March 20: Three tribesmen were injured when they came under bombardment by US helicopter gunships in the Madakhel Wazir tribe's area , some 3km inside the Pakistani territory in the North Waziristan Agency. Officials said they had taken up the matter with the US authorities in Afghanistan. The US commanders, they added, claimed that it was a 'navigational error'.
SC reverses verdict against US firm: Bank guarantee controversy
March 21: The Supreme Court has finally ended a controversy generated after it had issued a direction to an American multinational to furnish US $1 billion bank guarantee for defending itself in a suit for damages instituted by a Pakistani company. The judgment which had distressed the American government and the World Bank and some say for whose reversal the government of Pakistan was approached at the highest level was finally reversed. The apex court bench headed by former Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad, in its decision on July 12, 2002, had directed the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, to furnish bank guarantee of US $1 billion for qualifying itself to defend a suit for damages.
Govt announces ceasefire: Jirga to negotiate militants' surrender
March 21: The government has agreed to a temporary ceasefire to allow a group of tribal elders in the rugged South Waziristan tribal region to make a last-ditch effort to persuade local and foreign militants to surrender, a senior official said. "There will be a kind of a temporary ceasefire. There will be no engagements, no artillery and no helicopter gunships. We will not engage unless our troops are fired upon," head of the security department in Fata, Brig. Mehmood Shah told Dawn.
Security officials fear backlash of Wana operation across country
March 21: As the operation against al-Qaeda fugitives in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) is in full swing, the security officials fear backlash from Jihadi outfits and religious extremists across the country, particularly in the metropolis, it is learnt. Well-placed sources told The News that the ongoing military operation in South Wazeeristan area might force the local militants to strike "soft targets", and now the possibility of targeting personnel of law-enforcement agencies are very high as compared to the past. It is an open secret that some groups of Islamic militants, who followed the ideology of Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, are operating in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and some other important cities and they can strike in retaliation of killing of their accomplices in the Wana area by the paramilitary troops, the sources said.
Imran Khan blasts 'no-choice' doctrine
March 21: Pakistan Tehrik Insaf chairman Imran Khan has termed the military action in the tribal areas "unacceptable" and demanded an immediate ceasefire. He blamed General Musharraf for what he said "playing with the country's integrity." He said the military must go back to the barracks before it was too late.
Ulema issue edict against Wana action
March 21: About 30 leading religious scholars from Rawalpindi and Islamabad declared that there was no legal, constitutional or moral justification for the army operation in Wana. The ulema, led by Qari Saeedur Rahman, Ghazi Abdur Rashid, Maulana Abdur Rauf and Maulana Abdul Razzaq Haideri, said they would seek signatures of over 500 religious leaders and scholars from all over the country on the edict they had unanimously drafted. The decision to issue the edict was taken at a meeting held under the auspices of the Jamiat Ulema Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal-Jamaat. The ulema said that people who were being dubbed 'terrorists were in fact true mujahideen who had been trained by Pakistani institutions in the past to wage jihad.
Kabul investigates dozen militants from Pakistan
March 21: About a dozen suspected al-Qaeda or Taliban militants have been captured in Afghanistan after crossing the border from Pakistan, where a major military offensive is underway, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman said. The nationalities of the group arrested were not yet known, he said, adding that these types of arrests were not unusual along the frontier.
Airspace violation by US chopper protested
March 21: Pakistan has lodged protest on air space violation by an American chopper across border with Afghanistan in Waziristan. The chopper carried out firing in Pakistan’s territory and returned when it was informed of being in Pakistan’s space. No loss of human or property has been reported due to the firing.
US paying $100m monthly for logistics support
March 21: Pakistan receives almost $100 million per month, on account of logistics support, it provided to the US troops in the war against terrorism, The News reported. Pakistan and the United States signed an acquisition and cross servicing agreement (ACSA) in early 2002 to facilitate reciprocal provision of logistics support and services between the two armed forces, to be used primarily during combined exercising, training, deployments, operations or other cooperative efforts. Items permitted under the ACSA include food, water, transportation, POL, communications and medical services and also covers use of facilities, training services, repairs and maintenance etc.
Patriots expelled from PPP
March 21: The Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) has announced permanent expulsion of legislators and office-bearers who formed PPPP-Patriots (PPPPP) and declared that there would be no room for renegades who deceived the party and violated the discipline to protect their own vested interests.
Tunnel found in Kaloosha
March 22: The much-talked about 'high-value target' being hunted by Pakistani troops during their massive operation against foreign militants and their local protectors in the South Waziristan area near the Afghan border may have escaped through a tunnel discovered during a temporary suspension of military action. According to Brigadier Mehmood Shah, head of the Fata Security Department, said it was a two-kilometre man-made tunnel, uncovered in Kaloosha area by the army's engineering corps personnel while they were demolishing houses of suspects in the targeted area.
12 troops die as army convoy is ambushed
March 22: Twelve soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed and twenty-two wounded when an army convoy was ambushed near Sarwakai on Wana road in the volatile South Waziristan tribal region, official sources said. The daring day-light attack on a army supply convoy taking fuel and ration to the troops battling foreign and local militants in the remote Azam Warsak area came at around 1400 hours.
Nation faces '71-like situation: PML-N
March 22: The PML-N top brass has said the nation faces a situation like that of 1971 owing to the mindless and uncalled for actions of a military dictator which eventually led to dismemberment of the country. The PML-N Quaid, Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, and the party president, Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, in their messages on the occasion of Pakistan Day falling on March 23 said: "At that time an armed operation was launched in East Pakistan in the name of crushing terrorism, today again gunfire has been opened under orders of a military dictator against the patriotic tribes of South Waziristan on the pretext of attacking foreigners."
Politicians criticize operation against tribesmen
March 22: A number of political leaders opposed the ongoing military operation in the tribal areas and warned President Gen Pervez Musharraf against its dangerous repercussions. Speaking at a seminar held in connection with the death anniversary of the founder of a national Urdu daily at a local hotel in Islamabad, the political leaders highlighted the negative outcome of pitching army against tribesmen who, they said, were natural defenders of the country's western borders.
Pakistan rejects US envoy's remarks
March 22: Pakistan angrily rejected comments by the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, that senior members of the ousted Taliban were hiding in Pakistan. "If the ambassador has any specific information or intelligence, he should have shared it with us instead of making these generalized insinuations through the media," Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said.
Islamabad condemns Tel Aviv
March 22: Pakistan condemned the assassination of top Hamas leader, Ahmed Yassin, and feared this act of Israel will pose serious threat to peace efforts in the Middle East. "The incident would prove to be a serious blow to peace efforts in Middle East and inflame the wave of extremism," said Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
NA regrets Hamas leader's killing
March 22: The National Assembly regretted the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin by an Israeli air strike in a mild resolution passed unanimously after opposition protests overcame the government's hesitation to join the move. It took the two sides more than two hours of behind-the- scene arguments over words after an opposition walkout to agree to a joint resolution that also condemned Israel's "unmitigated violence" in occupied territories.
Bomb blast in Quetta
March 22: A powerful bomb explosion rocked Quetta causing great panic. The bomb exploded at Anscomb Road just behind the Chief Minister's House. However, no casualty or other damage was reported in the blast.
'No Pakistani troops in S. Arabia'
March 22: Saudi Arabia has denied that Pakistani troops were stationed in the kingdom.
In response to a question about the perceived presence of Pakistani troops, the Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz said: "Pakistan is a brotherly country, but not a single Pakistani soldier is stationed in the country. We depend on ourselves for protection of our country," he emphasized.
Delhi to reciprocate Pak CBMs: Mishra
March 22: Indian Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra has informed Islamabad that New Delhi would continue to respond to Pakistan’s Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) for restoration of relations between the two countries. India has expressed its satisfaction about the steps taken by Pakistan for improvement of political environment and normalization of relations. Brajesh Mishra had a series of clandestine meetings in Islamabad, Lahore and at other places. Highly informed sources told The News here on Monday that the Indian foreign policy point man first met Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri and then had a series of meetings with Director General Inter-Services Intelligence General Muhammad Ehsanul Haq and other high officials of the Government of Pakistan.
Shatrughan, more Indians arrive
March 22: More and more Indians are pouring in the city for the last one-day match between Pakistan and India. Prominent among those who arrived today were filmstar Shatrughan Sinha, his wife and artistes from street theatres, TV and Radio. They were in addition to a contingent of over three dozen journalists who came to cover the fifth and the last One-day international.
Army audit reports tabled in NA
March 22: Five audit reports of Pakistan Army containing details of "financial and administrative irregularities to tune of Rs 40 billion" in defense budget in 2001-2002, were tabled in National Assembly. The Auditor General of Pakistan in his five reports has identified many "common lapses and negligence" on the part of Army, such as "prevalent practice of violation of rules, procedures, regulations, weak internal financial control over spending."
Journalists boycott Sindh assembly proceedings
March 22: The journalists assigned to cover the Sindh Assembly proceeding boycotted these as well as the press conference of the chief minister Ali Muhammad Maher due to misbehavior and insulting attitude of the police and security staff of the Sindh Assembly.
Fighting in Wana may spill, warns MMA leader
March 23: The Acting Central Secretary General of the Muttahida Majlis Amal Hafiz Hussain Ahmed has warned that the Wana operation would result in civil war that would be dangerous for the country's integrity and demanded that troops be withdrawn from the tribal area. Speaking in the Wana conference under auspices of JUI-F Quetta district in Zarif Shaheed Hall of Government Science College Quetta, he announced that MMA would hold protest meetings throughout the country on March 26 to condemn the army's operation in the tribal belt.
Four rockets hit Peshawar
March 23: Peshawar reverberated with explosions to night when at around 10.15pm missiles landed in four different localities of the city, wounding two people. An official of the Bomb Disposal Squad in Peshawar said 107mm missiles having a range of 8km had been fired from unknown directions, one landing inside the Bala Hisar Fort, headquarters of the Frontier Corps, second missile landed outside the offices of Excise and Taxation situated in the district court, the third landed in the parking area of the Civil Secretariat, while the fourth in the ground of Lady Griffith School in Dabgari Garden. A senior official said the missiles appeared to have been fired from the Peshawar's Ring Road that connected it with the Bara-Gate-Mall Road in the cantonment area.
Rocket fired at army post in Kurram agency
March 23: Suspected militants fired rockets on an army post in the Kurram tribal region, killing three soldiers and wounding four others, while thousands of troops laying siege to villages in the South Waziristan region to flush out militants passed a relatively quiet day. In the southern city of Bannu, four people, including three policemen were killed when an army convoy opened fire on them, mistaken them for terrorists. The dead included a sub-inspector and two constables, besides a civilian.
Govt accused of covering up civilian deaths
March 23: Parliamentarians belonging to Jamaat-i-Islami have accused the government of covering up civilian deaths in South Waziristan at the hands of the army, demanding that the party be allowed to enter the tribal areas. MNA Haroonur Rashid and provincial deputy secretary-general Zar Noor Afridi told journalists in Kohat that authorities had stopped their party activists from entering North Waziristan Agency in connection with preparations for the grand meeting of the tribal leaders to be held in Peshawar on April 3-4.
Troops killed in Wana not martyrs: JI
March 23: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) seconded the decree that Pakistani troops killed in the Wana operation were not martyrs, while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) demanded the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government resign because it failed to stop the operation.
Uzbekistan seeks extradition of IMU militants
March 23: Uzbekistan has demanded the extradition of any of its citizens caught among the suspected terrorists surrounded by soldiers in Pakistan, the country’s president said. The government has given the Pakistani Embassy a statement, declaring that any Uzbek citizens taken prisoner must be handed over to Uzbekistan’s justice department, which is an "international norm", President Islam Karimov said at a press conference in Tashkent.
Wolfowitz praises Pakistan
March 23: The United States is satisfied with the military action Pakistan has taken in South Waziristan against suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz said. Addressing a gathering at the Pakistan embassy in Washington on the Pakistan Day, Mr Wolfowitz said terrorists posed a threat to Pakistan as well. "The terrorists are threatening Pakistan's unity by creating religious differences between various factions of the Muslims and Christians," he said.
Non-NATO ally status to boost war against terror: US
March 23: The US decision to award the status of a major non-NATO ally to Pakistan underscores the country's role in the war against terrorism, the State Department said.
The department said this decision underscored the importance of Pakistan's role in the war against international terrorism, particularly in the continuing fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The department hoped that the granting of major non-NATO ally status will facilitate cooperation between the United States and Pakistan in the war against terrorism.