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Afghan Militias repeated incursions inside Pakistan
June 10, 2011
Despite the fact that incidents of terrorism and extremism have become a routine but the last week incident in which more than 1000 Afghan militias violating international border intruded into Pakistan attacked a check post and killed 31 Pakistanis gave rise to a great concern
More than 1000 militants, including Afghan Taliban from across the border and Pakistani Taliban, took part in the attack which more than 24 hours.
The security men were told to lay down their weapons through loudspeakers. However according to a surviving soldier Khail Mohammad rather than to lay down their arms they preferred to fight and their battled lasted for five hours before they ran out of ammunition
Officials said the militants targeted the Shaltalu checkpoint, surrounded by mountains and forest in the northwestern district of Upper Dir, about six kilometers (four miles) from the border with Afghanistan's Kunar province.
The Pakistani military sent reinforcements to the police checkpost, deploying helicopter gunships in a bid to quell the attack along the porous border, where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants are dug in.
DIG Malakand Qazi Jamil ur-Rehman told that 28 people were killed in the attack, including 23 policemen and five civilians, among them two women, who died when mortar bombs fired by militants targeting the post landed in nearby houses.
Rehman said more than 20 police personnel were wounded and 71 Afghan militias were killed in the attack.
Taliban and other Islamist militants have carved out strongholds on both sides of the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, a region that the United States has called one of the most dangerous regions on Earth.
Upper Dir is part of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and borders the region where the military waged a major offensive to put down a local Taliban insurgency in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat in 2009.
Thousands of Pakistanis have died in bomb attacks over the last four years and thousands more soldiers have been killed fighting homegrown militants.
The brazen attack by Taliban militias has given rise to a new debate in the country. It has become clear that ever since the Taliban govt has come to an end the 2250 KM long border has become unsafe.
Alleged incursion of Pak Afghan borders and large number of witnesses raised many questions via whether police, Levy Force has responsibility of security at Pak-Afghan border or Pak Army is directly responsible for this. If police pickets were established in the place then such incident would not had happened.
It is being said that most of the killed police personnel were belong from untrained community police Force (Special force). That was the same force, which was recruited on contract base in connection with elimination of unemployment. According to security agencies, there is no doubt that warrior of ‘North Unity’ are utilizing all possible resources to deteriorate law and order situation in Pakistan so that they could divert the attention of Pak Army and security agencies towards western borders from Eastern borders.
According to analysts, 14 Indian consulates established across the border are being held responsible for terrorism activities in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. Pak-Afghan border is 2200 kilometer long and consist of forests and mountains and maintenance of foolproof security at the borders is a tough task.
After act of terrorism the local people have formed a team, which would cooperate with security agencies.
In wake of ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat against miscreants inside Pakistan especially in Malakand division, most of the militants have shifted to Nooristan, area adjacent to Pak-Afghan border while there are reports that Maulvi Fazal Ullah is hiding there and controlling the terrorism network in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan would have to make tangible steps to combat terrorism and conspiracies of Indian Consulate in Afghanistan.
In wake of worsening security situation at Pak-Afghan border there is dire need of stoppage of such incidents in future.
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