Pakistan: Altaf Hussain leader of powerful opposition party arrested in London

Paul8591 · Jun 4, 2014

Altaf Hussain leader of a powerful opposition party, which has a strong hold in the port city of Karachi arrested in London.
Altaf Hussain is arrested on money laundering charges. Though his party denied these charges but London Police was investigating him for the last two years before formally arresting him.
Altaf Hussain is also been investigated with his involvement in the murder of Dr. Imran, former party worker.
Altaf Hussain has equal number of supporters and opponents in the country. With his arrest there's gonna be a big vacuum in the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/world/asia/pakistani-political-leader-arrested-in-london.html?_r=0

waltky · Jun 9, 2014

Taliban strikes Karachi airport...

Pakistani Taliban vows more violence after attack
June 9, 2014 The Pakistani Taliban threatened more violence Monday after a five-hour assault on the nation's busiest airport killed 29 people including all 10 attackers raising a new challenge for a U.S. ally trying to end years of fighting that has claimed thousands of lives.

With recently started peace efforts stalled, the cautious government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may be dragged closer to a decision on whether to take on the militants in earnest across a country with a long history of ambiguity when it comes to dealing with militancy. A further weakening of stability in the nuclear power whose tribal regions are already a hotbed of foment could ripple to neighboring Afghanistan as international combat forces prepare to withdraw from that country. "Everywhere is a threat," warned Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. "Every area is a target, every building is a potential target." Such an attack in Karachi, Pakistan's business center, will likely discourage foreign investment at a time when its economy is struggling.

The Taliban said the assault on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, was in revenge for the November killing of the militant group's leader in a U.S. drone strike. In a telephone call to The Associated Press, the group's spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, warned that "such attacks will continue until there is a permanent cease-fire." The attack began late Sunday when 10 gunmen, some disguised as policemen, stormed into a section of the sprawling airport where a terminal for VIP flights and cargo is located. They opened fire with machine guns and rocket launchers, sparking a battle with security forces that lasted until around dawn. Heavy gunfire and multiple explosions were heard coming from the terminal amid the fighting. A major fire rose from the airport, illuminating the night in an orange glow as the silhouettes of jets could be seen.

Pakistani security forces examine ammunition confiscated from attackers who stormed late Sunday the Jinnah International Airport, during their investigation in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, June 9, 2014. The Pakistani Taliban on Monday claimed responsibility for a brazen five-hour assault on the country's busiest airport that saw gunmen disguised as police guards storm the international terminal in Karachi, set off explosions and killing over a dozen of people.

At least some of the gunmen wore the uniform of the Airport Security Force, said an official near the terminal. All the attackers wore vests of explosives, some of which were detonated when they were shot at by the police, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The attack started about the same time that airport security personnel and the staff from the Pakistani International Airlines engineering wing were changing shifts, said two of the PIA employees. The employees asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. A cargo building was left completely gutted by the fire and the explosions, said Rizwan Akhtar, the chief of Pakistan's elite paramilitary Rangers.

Just before dawn, security forces regained control of the airport, and all 10 attackers were dead, Akhtar said. Some of the attackers appeared to be Uzbeks, he added, but officials were still investigating. The attackers intended to destroy aircraft or possibly take people at the airport hostage, Khan said, adding that 19 people were killed. Most of the dead were airport security personnel who took the brunt of the assault. During the battle, airport operations were suspended and all incoming flights were diverted. It reopened Monday afternoon.

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A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF MILITANCY IN PAKISTAN
Jun 9,`14 -- The attack on Karachi's airport - Pakistan's busiest - killed 19 security personnel and civilians, along with the 10 assailants. The group that claimed responsibility Monday vowed even more violence. Here are the issues related to the history of militancy in Pakistan:

WHO ARE THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN AND WHAT DO THEY WANT?

The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, was formed in 2007 when various militant groups already operating in the country's northwest banded together. The group aims to overthrow the government and impose a hard-line form of Islam. It also has called on the government to pull all troops from tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where many of the militant groups are based. The TTP is loosely affiliated with the Afghan Taliban, which is fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, and shares similar ideology, but it has a different leadership structure. The TTP focuses its fight in Pakistan.

WHAT DOES THIS ATTACK MEAN FOR THE PEACE PROCESS BETWEEN THE PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT AND THE TALIBAN?

The attack raises serious doubts about the feasibility of continuing negotiations with the militants. The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has yet to say that it is abandoning talks altogether. The U.S. has said the negotiations are an internal matter but the U.S. has previously pushed for a military operation in North Waziristan, since many militant groups use the area as a base to attack Afghanistan. The U.S. is believed to question the likelihood of talks leading to the Pakistani Taliban disarming.

IS THE PAKISTANI MILITARY MAKING ANY HEADWAY AGAINST THE TALIBAN?

Pakistan has been carrying out large-scale military operations in the northwest since 2009, when it launched an operation to retake the Swat Valley, a heavily populated area that had been taken over by Taliban militants. That was followed by operations in other regions along the Afghan border that have displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and killed more than 4,000 Pakistani troops. North Waziristan is the only region where the military has not carried out a large operation so far, and it has become a hub for militant groups.

HOW DO PAKISTANIS FEEL ABOUT THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN AND THE ATTACKS?

Pakistanis are tired of the violence and the government's seemingly inability to end it despite repeated military operations. Sharif's pledge to halt the bloodshed through talks helped him get elected last year. Many Pakistanis blame the violence on the U.S. by saying that Pakistani militants are only attacking because the government is allied with the U.S., and once American troops leave Afghanistan, the attacks will stop. Many Pakistanis are angry at what they perceive to be a conflict pushed on them by the U.S. against fellow Muslims in the invasion of Afghanistan.

WHAT IS THE SECURITY SITUATION IN PAKISTAN IN GENERAL?
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Pakistan: Altaf Hussain leader of powerful opposition party arrested in London

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waltky Well-Known Member

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Pakistan: Altaf Hussain leader of powerful opposition party arrested in London

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