Circling the Lion's Den
A glance at the conflict in Afghanistan
Killings destabilise Pakistan's northern areas
Debate on drone casualties continues
Internal displacement rising in Afghanistan
Suicide bomber blows up a peace agreement
Useful database of Afghan personalities
Report on religious extremism in Pakistan
Contractor deaths outnumber military for first tim...
Cost of Afghan intervention: $443 billion and risi...
Taliban defence minister "died in Karachi gaol"
'Masterminds' republished in USA
openDemocracy article on Saleem Shahzad
Landmark US hearings on Balochistan
Keeping up contacts
New article in Emirates magazine
Army officer: US public being misled on Afghan war...
Hell and Back Again in running for an Oscar
Afghan civilian conflict deaths continue to rise
Pakistan aiding Taliban - can it be true?
Slight fall in US Afghan combat casualties in 2011...
Afghan&Military Blog
Bellavia ringing the Bell today
Feral Jundi
Maritime Security: Tanker Attacks Spark Call-Ups For Guards
afghanhindsight
Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world
Pakistani Girls Sold into Marriage
TOWARDS the LIGHT
Madina, The invisible women of my world
Juan de Herat
Mahatma Gandhi (1948): Non violence in peace and war
Afghanistan Analysis
5 things about the Taliban's 2018 spring offensive
WATANDOST: A Blog About Pakistan and its Neighborhood
The Future of Iraq: Findings of the Atlantic Council's Task Force Report 2017
Ghosts of Alexander
An Actual Real Charity in Central Asia, Amidst a Sea of Fake NGOs
Kabul Perspective
Failure of Security Transition?
Transitionland
I should have raised hell
While there is Chai Sabz, there is hope
Abu Muqawama
Nick Fielding
This blog aims to highlight issues and information that don't always make it into the mainstream media. Recognising that comment is cheap, wherever possible it will link you directly to documents and sources that are mentioned in the text. I realised some time ago that it was impossible to write about Afghanistan without writing about Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. With that in mind, the reader will come across articles that, while not specifically about Afghanistan, in some way shed light on the conflict.
Gilgit crowds protest at Kohistan killings
In yet another sectarian attack on Shia pilgrims, 18 passengers were taken off four Gilgit-bound buses travelling along the Karakorum Highway in northern Pakistan by men dressed in Pakistan Army fatigues yesterday and shot to death on the side of the road. A breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility.
The killings are likely to cause great tension in the northern areas of Pakistan, which have been comparatively quiet in recent years. Earlier today there was a violent reaction to the killings in parts of Gilgit and Hunza Nagar, resulting in a curfew being imposed and schools and public buildings being closed. One man was shot dead in Gilgit.
The killers of the Shia pilgrims - who were returning from visiting Shia shrines in Iran - flagged the buses down near the town of Harban Nala, 130 miles north of Islamabad. They then climbed on board to examine identity papers before taking all the Shia men off the buses to shoot them one-by-one. Eight wounded survivors, including some women and children, were taken to the nearest hospitals, five hours drive away.
In a phone call to a news agency following the atrocity, a spokesman for the Jandullah faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility.
"They were Shias and our mujahedeen shot them dead one by one after bringing them down from a bus," said Ahmed Marwat, who described himself as a Jandullah commander. He said the killings were in revenge for the murder of two Sunnis in Gilgit a few days earlier.
Some of those killed outside Harban Nala
A similar attack on Shia pilgrims occurred in Mustang in Balochistan last September. Then, 26 Shias from Quetta's Hazara minority were shot dead on a bus travelling to Iran. The attack was claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Update: The Asian Human Rights Commission, based in Hong Kong, says in a statement that it believes the killings at Harban Nala were carried out by members of the Pakistan Army. "It is inconceivable in this day and age of modern communications, when every person owns a cell phone that the killers were able to operate on their own without any fear that they would be stopped at a military check post. This can only mean that they were military personnel themselves."
Yesterday Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the perpetrators of the massacre had been tracked down and would soon be shown to the public.
Posted by Nick Fielding at 11:20
Labels: Ahmed Marwat, Jandullah
Afghanistan, Taliban