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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PESHAWAR 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  1/30/2019 
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP:  WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JANUARY 
16 - JANUARY 22 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD 180 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
Introduction: 
------------- 
 
¶1. (C) Fighting subsided in Bajaur during the third week of 
January, but militants switched to "patrolling" Khar at night 
and launching targeted killings.  With military operations now 
moving south to Mohmand Agency, an additional challenge for the 
Pakistani military is balancing operations in Mohmand while also 
implementing a "hold" strategy in Bajaur. 
 
¶2.      (C)  Security forces launched an operation in Mohmand as 
troops backed by helicopter gunships reportedly killed at least 
64 militants. 
 
¶3.      (C) Violence continued to plague Swat during the third 
week of January, with militants destroying schools, a factory 
and health center; targeting the home of the late Abdul Wali 
Khan; threatening a members of the Awami National Party (ANP), 
along with a local newspaper; lashing suspected criminals; 
demanding that local men wear caps and stop shaving; and 
otherwise terrorizing the local population.  11th Corps 
Commander General Masood told Ambassador that the Pakistani 
military is adopting a "new strategy" to secure Swat, including 
a focus on protecting main supply routes and urban centers by 
putting more soldiers into the valley (septel).  Militants loyal 
to Maulana Fazlullah reportedly said on January 22 they were 
willing to hold talks with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to bring peace 
to Swat following President Zardari's decision to dispatch 
Rehman to the Swat area for discussions with local players, 
including the militants (Reftel.) 
 
¶4.      (C) The Pakistani Army appeared to restore peace to Hangu 
during the third week in January after a two-day Shi'a-Sunni 
sectarian battle killed forty the previous week.  A peace 
committee consisting of both Shi'a and Sunni elders offered 
unconditional support to the political administration to restore 
peace. 
 
¶5.      (C) The Political Agent of Khyber Agency informed post 
that the convoy route from Pakistan to Afghanistan via the 
Khyber Pass was closed for a few hours on January 19 as a result 
of a security operation prompted by a rocket attack.  The Khyber 
Pass was reopened later that morning. 
 
Bajaur 
------ 
 
¶6.      (U)  The following is a summary of events in Bajaur 
Agency, where the Pakistani military has been conducting 
military operations since August 2008: 
 
January 22:  Security forces carried out attacks on militant 
hideouts in the Nawagai area, reportedly seizing a large 
quantity of arms and ammunition. 
 
January 17:  The political administration imposed an evening 
curfew after militants started patrolling Khar. 
 
January 16:  Militants reportedly chopped off the ears of five 
members of a peace committee and killed the son of a prominent 
tribal elder who supported the government's policies and threw 
the body on the road. 
 
NWFP 
---- 
 
¶7.      (U) The following incidents have occurred in the 
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and settled areas 
of NWFP: 
 
January 22, Swat:  Security forces reportedly killed 11 
militants, while 10 civilians died in the violence.  Militants 
destroyed another school in Qambar and a wool factory outside 
Mingora.  Taliban publicly lashed three accused thieves 39 times 
each, shot a teacher, and his father, for not pulling up his 
trousers above his ankles, and slit the throat of a pray leader 
and his associate. 
 
PESHAWAR 00000017  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
January 21, Mardan:  Militants demanded that bus drivers in NWFP 
stop playing music or films for passengers under threat of 
suicide bombing.  Bus drivers throughout NWFP have begun 
removing their audio and video equipment in response. 
 
January 21, Swat:  Militants reportedly destroyed another two 
schools and a health center.  TTP issued a statement threatening 
to carry out suicide attacks on leaders of the Awami National 
Party (ANP) for launching the operation in Swat. 
 
January 20, Swat:  Militants reportedly issued a decree 
demanding that locals wear caps and stop shaving beards after 
January 25.  Chief of Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) 
Maulana Sufi Muhammad urged the government to implement Shari'a 
law in Malakand Division to bring peace there. 
 
January 20, Peshawar:  A bomb explosion injured four policemen 
on Ring Road. 
 
January 18, Swat:  Militants destroyed five schools in Mingora 
and used an improvised explosive device (IED) against a convoy 
of security forces.  The deputy chief of Swat militants also 
threatened the editor and staff of a local newspaper for 
publishing a story against them. 
 
January 17, Peshawar:  An explosion destroyed two shops and 
damaged four others.  Elsewhere, a faith-healer was beheaded. 
 
January 17, Hangu:  As the Pakistani Army announced they had 
taken control of Hangu, militants kidnapped four members of the 
ANP from the area. 
 
January 17, Lakki Marwat:  Five militants and a tribesmen were 
killed in a gunbattle with security forces backed by a tribal 
lashkar. 
 
January 16, Swat:  Militants targeted the home of the late Abdul 
Wali Khan, blowing up a portion of the house.  Militants 
attacked a military convoy, killing two security force 
personnel.  Two civilians also died in other violence. 
 
January 16, Bannu:  Militants blew up a government girls' high 
school. 
 
FATA 
---- 
 
¶8.      (U)  The following is a roundup of incidents of 
Talibanization in the FATA and Frontier Regions: 
 
January 22, South Waziristan:  Militants reportedly fired three 
rockets at Wana Scouts Camp. 
 
January 21, Khyber:  Fighting between rival militant groups, 
Ansarul Islam and Barqambarkhel sub-tribe, reportedly killed 
three in the Tirah valley.  All shops in the area were closed 
during the ongoing battle. 
 
January 19-21, Mohmand:  Troops backed by helicopter gunships 
reportedly killed at least 64 militants in an ongoing military 
operation.  Security forces reportedly took control of Ziarat 
Marble Mountain, a militant stronghold. 
 
January 19, North Waziristan:  Militants killed six people 
charged with spying for the U.S. 
 
January 19, South Waziristan:  Militant commander Qari Hussain 
released video statements from suicide bombers and footage of 
deadly attacks.  All of the suicide bombers spoke Pashto. 
 
January 19, Khyber:  Militants fired rockets into the cantonment 
area of a Pakistani Army camp in Landikotal, killing one 
Frontier Constabulary soldier and injuring 14 others. 
 
Government Response 
------------------- 
 
 
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¶9.      (U)  This is a summary of government responses to 
"creeping Talibanization" according to press and consulate 
contacts: 
 
January 22, Peshawar:  Police arrested Hassan Khogiani, a close 
aid to Mustafa Kamran, leader of TTP Jamrud, accusing him of 
involvement in the kidnapping of Afghanistan's 
ambassador-designate to Pakistan and an Iranian diplomat. 
 
January 21, Khyber:  Security forces reportedly arrested seven 
suspected militants in Bara Qadeem area, including a senior 
al-Qaeda suspect, Zabiul Taifi. 
 
January 21, Mohmand:  Security forces reportedly killed five 
militant commanders, including Umer Khalid, chief of 
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 
 
January 17, Khyber:  The political agent announced that 700 
Afghan families were expelled from Jamrud due to their 
anti-social activities.  He estimated that the writ of the 
government had been established in 80 per cent of the agency. 
 
January 16, Khyber:  The political administration reportedly 
arrested two taliban commanders. 
 
Grass Roots Efforts to Halt Talibanization 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.     (U) The following events are examples of activities taken 
by local communities to halt the spread of Talibanization: 
 
January 22, Hangu:  A peace committee consisting of both Shi'a 
and Sunni elders offered unconditional support to the political 
administration to restore peace. 
TRACY