IEDs targeting Pakistan
Posted on 09. May, 2012 by S M Hali in Opinion
By S. M. Hali
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are wreaking double havoc in Pakistan. Firstly, their incessant use by miscreants is resulting in the loss of precious human lives and limbs. Secondly, Pakistan is being blamed for alleged complicity in the transportation of raw material (Ammonium Nitrate) used in the preparation of the IEDs. A number of international bodies and think tanks have conducted research but trust deficit between Pakistan and its erstwhile allies in the war on terror has led the studies into the subject to be colored by wrong perceptions and accusations of Pakistan’s complicity in the heinous crime. One such report is by the “Perceptors Group”, which painstakingly conducted an in-depth study on the issue of human sufferings specifically due to IED attacks causing immense human loss in Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, some elements in the group, perhaps owing to their own biases or due to unreliable inputs, could not resist pointing fingers towards Pakistan’s alleged involvement or having lax control on IED material transportation.
Any study, which takes into account only perceptions, apropos facts, must be taken with a pinch of salt. The study group claims that to ensure the credibility of the report, it collected secondary data from diversified sources ranging from reviews conducted by other credible groups, individual research of intellectuals and US and Pakistan government based facts and figures released from time to time and data compiled by international NGOs, think tanks working on both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, Pakistan-bashing is the flavour of the decade; not that everything is hunky dory here since poor governance, corruption and lax control has benefitted the terrorist groups but we are combating a very dangerous enemy and gaps if any in the system must be plugged but without prejudice.
For example, Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, who in US Senate hearing on the issue of IEDs, claimed that Pakistan remained the main source of the materials used for making the devices. During the same hearing General James Mattis termed it an area of frustration and serious topic of dialogue with Pakistan. Simultaneously, US Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, who serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, opined in a column in “newsmax that Pakistan is the “Benedict Arnold” (traitor in the US revolution) to America in the war on terror. Apparently, their opinion based on value judgment, without providing a shred of evidence, the trio recommended that the US “Administration’s request to send more money to Pakistan must be denied.” To rub salt in the wound, a US military body, the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), the Pentagon’s lead agency for combating makeshift bombs, concluded that the leaky border with Pakistan remains a problem. JIEDDO says that Pakistan contributes 80 percent of the fertilizer-based homemade bombs in Afghanistan that cause 90 percent of US casualties. Its observation regarding the porous border is a harsh reality but unfortunately, Pakistan’s earlier recommendation of fencing the Durand Line and installing biometric identification systems at the crossing points was vehemently opposed by the Afghans and ignored by the US.
The facts are contrary to the perceptions and must be taken into cognizance. The IEDs attacks alone in Pakistan has taken lives of 2707 soldiers whereas 1188 NATO soldiers became prey of IEDs in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012. Pakistan has undertaken major efforts to stop the free flow of Urea to Afghanistan including cutting dealership in northern region and changing the color of fertilizer to track it but still IEDs continue to be used against security forces engaged in FATA and Balochistan area and Afghanistan.
According to a “Telegraph” report of 2009, “US Marines captured a vast cache of IEDs made from agricultural ammonium nitrate fertilizer in 25 kilogram bags indistinguishable from the thousands of tons of fertilizer supplied to Afghanistan under Western aid programs.” In December 2011, a US delegation visited a fertilizer industry in Multan to seek the cooperation to stop the flow of fertilizer. It was explained to them by the owners that targeting Pakistan as the sole supplier of the ammonium nitrate was unfair since huge quantities of this fertilizer are imported to Afghanistan from the US, Australia, China, Pakistan, with smaller quantities from Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is also being pressurized to formalize legislation on the subject; this will take time. A civilized country like the US took 15 years after Oklahoma bombing, for completing the legislation process. Meanwhile, water starved Pakistan which needs fertilizers, is being targeted by IEDs as well as international bodies.
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S M Hali
Afriq
09. May, 2012
“….despite the fact that the Pakistani Parliament has taken cognizance of the “presence” of OBL in Abbotabad and the possibility of intelligence failure on the part of Pakistani Security agencies”
HOGWASH
why is Pakistan playing this insulting farce and ridiculing Pakistan. The whole world know that OBL died many deaths but only once is possible and that happened years ago and not 2010.
by allowing the US to play the farce Pakistan is handing itself to US terrorism and bashing. Whatever deals busharaf signed should no longer be allowed to stand.
Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, General James Mattis US Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican and the rest of the thugs in the house of horrors/crime/slaughter/criminals would make up another absurd false accusation and everyone knows that the goons would come up with Pakistani is teaching Maths/science in the schools blah blah blah ranting by the vicious ugly hags
NH4NO3 is used because it serves as a MULTI Pakistan bash
Used in agriculture:
Stoppage will cause massive problems for Pakistan- employment/agriculture/stability/food/public outrage.
Deny Pakistan the fertiliser and get the people angry with the gov. Use NH4NO3 as a component of IED – 2+2 makes 5 alla US thugs mentality
HOW MUCH IS PAKISTANI GOV WILLING TO GIVE UP?
They have sold their people to US+naTo goons for such insanity – martyr Dr Aafia Siddiqui
Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal Hears Testimony of Two Victims
http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=630382
Abbas Abid gives testimony of his torture
The Prosecution proceeded with the first witness namely Abbas Abid of Iraq. He was the chief engineer in the Science and Technology Ministry at the time of his detention by American and Iraqi forces on 28 August 2005. Abbas with the assistance of a translator revealed that American and Iraqi soldiers forcefully entered the home of his relative with any just cause. After searching the home they detained him and took him away to a temporary detention at Al-Muthanna Brigade HQ where they demanded to know the names of “terrorists” in his neighbourhood. When he said that he did not know any terrorists he was beaten and electrocuted. After 4 weeks he was taken to Al-Jadiria prison.
He was detained for a period of 1 year 2 months, in which time he experienced torture that included:
a. Being hit with tools (thick cudgels, cables, metal pipes, metal ribbons);
b. Electric shocks in various parts of the body and especially the penis;
c. Forced to drink a lot of water mixed with a diuretic solution, and his penis tied with rubber band to prevent him from urinating;
d. Hanging him from the wall while hanging weights from his penis for long hours;
e. Frightening him by shooting a gun around, near and above his head and various parts of his body.
f. Threatened to bring his wife and mother to the prison and sexually abuse them;
g. Cut off all food or drinks (except the water he was forced to drink with the diuretic solution) during the investigation period;
h. Forcefully extracting his finger nails;
i. Hanging him from the wall for long hours until he fainted – the hanging method was by handcuffing his hands to his back and then hanging him up from the handcuffed hands so that his shoulder got dislocated;
j. Hanging from the wall then hitting him with several tools of torture until the handcuffs breaks. This happened many times;
The 48-year-old Iraqi revealed that he was forced to sign a statement without being allowed to read or knowing its contents because they had put a bag over his head. This, he revealed, was done to all prisoners.
He was moved to a small room (2.5m by 2.5m) together with 30 other detainees; later to another nearby room (7m by 3.5m) where 70 detainees were kept. The numbers were later increased to about 115 in that room.
A bag was placed over his head for over two months and only removed when he was given food. He revealed that some prisoners would have a bag over their head for over five months. There was not enough room for everybody, so the detainees were sitting and sleeping over each other and most of them suffered from burns and frictions and severe wounds, some of them were even infected with contagious diseases like TB and scabies.
He also revealed that all detainees had to urinate in plastic bottles placed near the door. Visits to the toilet were made once every 4 days. A detainee was allowed only one minute in the WC. He further revealed that detainees had to discharge their waste in the plastic bags given to them and in the presence of ever one present. These bags were used to bring food and were kept for this purpose. These toilet bags were placed near the plastic bottles at the door. Because it is so crowded, the bottles and bags get knocked over and the waste would be spread all over the room.
The bottles and bags were emptied once every four days when they went to the WC and on their return they would be beaten by the guards. No medical care was available and detainees were left to die from their injuries caused by torture.
After 13 months he was brought to a court and the court ruled that he was to be released, as there was no evidence of any wrong doing against him. He revealed that he had to pay USD10,000 to the prison authorities before he was released a month after the court ruling.
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Pakistanis show that they know US thugs better than the government hence the big protest in Abbottabad against opening the terrorism route. You are allowing "short + long term vilification and destruction"
why dont you ask India about the Enrica Lexie + the mafia zionist marò killings – what was the ship carrying? weapons from qatari+saudi warehouses in Libya to be used in Pakistan????
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http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=2&cid=101&frid=41&seccatid=101&eid=54809
The Lutfallah II Caper… Another Watergate Unfolding?
Hassan and three of his friends actually saw the ship Lutfallah II being loaded in Benghazi, Libya. Hassan claims that it is well known at the docks that Qatar and Saudi Arabia control a total of five warehouses in the area of Benghazi & Misrata and supplied the weapons and money to hire the Lutfallah II container vessel.
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this was to the Syrian goons but you know the saudi+qatari back stabbers