Summary CIA police officials were first kidnapped and afterwards killed in Peshawar
Islamabad (Dunya News) A CIA police party was on way to recover stolen cars when it was kidnapped and killed after wards, according to the Dunya News.
Islamabad police officials were visiting Peshawar when they were kidnapped by unknown miscreants. Another official Farid was kidnapped earlier and he was killed in North Waziristan.
The police were making efforts to recover the body of the unfortunate victim.
Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan are the three countries that bore the brunt of terrorist attacks, the US State Department said on in its annual report. Of more than 11,000 deaths and over 21,600 injuries sustained in a total of 6,771 attacks worldwide in 2012, 55 per cent of attacks, 62 per cent fatalities and 65 per cent injuries occurred in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan, the department said in the report on terrorism.
It said terrorist attacks took place in 85 different countries in 2012, but the highest number of fatalities occurred in Afghanistan (2,632), while the country with the most injuries was Iraq (6,641).
Specifically on Pakistan, the report said the country continued to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks last year, with loss of more than 2,000 civilian lives and around 700 security personnel.
The strategic assessment in the report, which the State Department submitted to the US Congress on Thursday, also found that terrorist safe havens existed on both sides of Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“Pakistan took steps to support an Afghan peace process and publicly called on the Taliban to enter into talks with the Afghan government,” the report recognises. “Over 2,000 Pakistani civilians and 680 security forces personnel were killed in terrorist-related incidents in 2012.
Terrorist incidents occurred in every province.” Terrorists attacked Pakistani military units, police stations, and border checkpoints and displayed videos on the Internet of the murders and beheadings of security forces, it said. Terrorist groups also targeted police and security officials with suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The terrorist groups also assassinated tribal elders, members of peace committees, and anti-Taliban government officials. The TTP often claimed responsibility for attacks targeting civilians and security personnel in Pakistan.
“In 2012, Pakistan remained an important partner in counterterrorism efforts against Al-Qaeda (AQ). Pakistan also undertook operations against terrorist groups that carried out attacks within Pakistan, such as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP),” the 2012 Report on worldwide terrorism situation notes.
With regard to Pakistan’s efforts against the menace of terror, the report notes that the Pakistani officials continued to make public statements against terrorism and violent extremism.
“The widely publicised shooting of a 14-year-old girl, Malala Yousufzai, by the TTP led to public calls for the government to do more against terrorist groups.”
In March, Pakistan’s Parliament affirmed its commitment to eliminate terrorism and counter violent extremism. The Government of Pakistan also moved forward several pieces of counterterrorism legislation. In its strategic assessment, the report says Al-Qaeda core, under the direction of Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been significantly degraded as a result of ongoing worldwide efforts against the organisation.
Osama bin Laden’s death in the preceding year was the most important milestone in the fight against AQ but there have been other successes, it said, adding that dozens of senior AQ leaders have been removed from the fight in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Recounting losses of some key operatives in 2011 and 2012, the report concludes that “as a result of these leadership losses, the Qaeda core’s ability to direct the activities and attacks of its affiliates has diminished, as its leaders focus increasingly on survival.”
At the same time, the report claims that despite leadership losses the Qaeda core still has the ability to inspire, plot, and launch regional and transnational attacks. “Along with Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, and other like-minded groups continue to conduct operations against US, coalition, Afghan, and Pakistani interests from safe havens on both sides of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.”
