Role of Frontier Corps in Balochistan

Balochistan covers 44 percent of Pakistan’s total land mass.  Policing such a huge geographical but mostly thinly populated area, has always been a security and management challenge for the federal and provincial governments. That is why some 95 percent of the area – designated as “B areas – is policed by the semi-government force called Levies. This force  comprises  about 14, 000, while only five percent of the provincial territory,  comprising big urban centers is under the direct control of the Police and Balochistan Constabulary  both totaling 29,800.

The over-arching security force deployed in the province is the Frontier Corps, a 50,000 strong para-military organization led by the military. Ever since the military operation launched in August 2006, the role of the FC has been expanding, and consequently the target of public and Baloch nationalist criticism as well. The ensuing struggle for control between nationalist militants and law enforcement agencies created a “security state” phenomenon, whereby federal law enforcement agencies became central not only to security but also to the political governance and overstepped their authority in going after militants. That is why frequent complaints of forced disappearances (missing persons), extra-judicial killings and abuse of power by the FC-led security apparatus.

Baloch nationalist leaders like National Party, Balochistan, vice president, Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo are continuously pointing towards the malicious role of federal law enforcement agencies in enabling and perpetuating crime in the province. During a discussion forum at CRSS in February 2012, he unequivocally underscored that 50 percent of the issues in Balochistan can be addressed within days by withdrawing FC from the province. Such an overwhelming role is played by the FC in defining and underwriting security order in the province?

If public perceptions were an indicator, the FC has then certainly emerged as a prime conflict driver – a state actor that, in the eyes of the public at large, is brutal, excessive and extra-judicial in dealing with non-state actors i.e. separatist Baloch nationalists and those opposed to the presence of the security forces in the province.

[2] “Enforced disappearances: Pressure builds on FC in missing persons’ cases”, The Express Tribune, May 12, 2012.

Pakistan’s largest city Karachi – with a population of over 16 Million – is a melting pot of various ethnicities and cultures drawn from all over the country.

It is also Pakistan’s commercial hub, gate-way for imports and exports as well as  the financial life-line because of two ports – the Karachi Port and Port Qasim – on the Arabian Sea. Coupled with misgovernance and corruption, these features also make it a huge attraction for the criminal gangs. It virtually serves as the ATM for the underworld. The CRSS report Karachi – The State of Crimes – is a cursory look at the criminal activity that goes on in the city, to the peril of common citizens. The report covers the crime scene in Karachi until early March 2012. (For Details See the section REPORTS on the home page)

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Once again, the civilians paid the maximum price of the ongoing spate of violence in the country. Civilians topped the list of all casualties with 67 percent; some 60 civilians were killed and 117 others were wounded in different incidents of violence across the country. Meanwhile military vs. militants’ clashes in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA region resulted in 55 deaths, while during last week it were only 17. Furthermore a CIA operated drone struck in Shawal valley, North Waziristan Agency (FATA) killing eight suspected militants and injuring three others. The sabotage campaign launched by the militants to disrupt  state infrastructure continues in KP and FATA, and three more schools were blown up in different areas of KP and FATA region during the week in focus.

Two sectarian attacks were also reported during the week, resulting in the killing of one Shia Muslim of the ethnic Hazara community in Balochistan. Another nine sustained injuries in these attacks. A suicide attack carried out by a teenager belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Bajaur Agency (FATA) left 29 people dead including five levies (tribal police) personnel. During the reporting week, fatalities due to target killings dropped to 16 percent as against last week’s 31 percent of the total death toll. But the magnitude of target killing continues to top the chart indicating that the target killing remains the weapon of choice in the hands of violent actors to inflict violence (as depicted in pie chart below). The pie chart shows that 46 percent of the total violent attacks were of target killing. Furthermore, out of 21 incidents of target killings —63 percent took place in Karachi alone, and left 11 people dead, including a policeman, and wounded four others. Contrary to the past few weeks militants’ casualties as a result of the ongoing military operation against militants in KP and FATA region surged considerably from last week’s 17 to 55 this week, and was responsible for  41 percent of the total death toll. Meanwhile, 21 security forces’ personnel were also killed during the week and 18 of these were slaughtered in the militancy hub, North Waziristan Agency (FATA).

Meanwhile, ten dead bodies, including those of two soldiers, were also recovered from different areas of Karachi, Balochistan and FATA. Overall a sudden surge in violence was recorded during the week. The death toll increased (nearly doubled) from last week’s 77 to 136 this week. The number of violent incidents, however, dropped to 46 against last week’s 65. A concise look into the trends and territory of violence suggests that  violence is once again returning to the familiar terrains that is KP and FATA, after rocking  Karachi and Balochistan in the past two weeks. It also underlines that the conflict between militants and military is rapidly taking the turn for the worst. The recovery of beheaded dead bodies of Pakistan Army soldiers and brazen attack on a military convoy in North Waziristan Agency are the cases in point.

Against this backdrop of huge losses of military men within a span of one week, there are media reports that military brass in Pakistan is pondering options to go after militants in the area. It is noteworthy that the US has been demanding since 2009 to crackdown on Pakistani and Afghan militants, particularly those reportedly sheltering Al Qaeda operatives, in North Waziristan Agency. American intelligence officials believe that North Waziristan is home to thousands of hard core militants operating freely across Pak-Afghan border. And the latest brutal attacks against Pakistan military succinctly verify the American claims. Also, the launch of military operation in North Waziristan Agency can remove a major hitch between USA and Pakistan, at a time when relations between both the states are in steep slope.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. The Frontier Post
7. Jang (Urdu)
8. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
9. Aaj (Urdu)
10. The Nation

During the course of the week once again it were the civilians who paid the maximum human cost of the ongoing spate of violence, as 67 percent of the total causalities were of the civilians, whereby 52 civilians were killed and 126 others were wounded in different episodes of violence across the country. Meanwhile military vs. militants’ clashes in different areas of KP and FATA region left 17 militants dead and injured 11 others. Furthermore after a respite of three weeks, CIA operated drone once again struck in Miramshah, North Waziristan (FATA) and killed three suspected militants and their operations’ base, which was located in an abandoned school building. Also, sabotage attacks by the militants continued unabated as three more schools, two gas pipelines, and portions of railway track were blown up by the militants in different areas of KP, Balochistan, Sindh and FATA region during the week in focus.

Contrary to the preceding week, the number of sectarian attacks decreased slightly from last week’s four incidents to three violent episodes during the current week. Whereby two people were killed as a result of these attacks and both of these deaths were reported in Sindh.  The wave of sectarian violence in Sindh ensued after unidentified armed men shot at and injured a religious leader of Shia Ulema Council, Shafqat Ali HarhoDomki, in Qambar Shahdadkot district (Sindh).

During the reporting week, as many as 31 percent of the total deaths occurred due to the gory episodes of target killings all over the country, hence target killings was the weapon of choice in the hands of miscreants to inflict maximum casualties (as depicted in pie chart below). Out of 19 incidents of target killings – 63 percent took place in Karachi alone, and left 19 people dead, including two policemen, and wounded 58 others. Contrary to the past weeks militant causalities as a result of the ongoing military operation against militants in KP and FATA region caused just 22 percent of the total death toll.

Moreover, security operation against criminal gangs in restive Layari district of Karachi was the salient feature of the week. So far 29 people mostly suspected criminals and four policemen have been killed as a result of frequent clashes between the battling groups and security forces in the area. Meanwhile, seven dead bodies were also recovered from different areas of Karachi, Balochistan and FATA.

Overall there was a relative respite in violence as against the whopping violence during past weeks. The death toll dropped marginally from last week’s 83 to 77 this week. But the number of violent incidents swelled – 65 against last week’s 56. A concise analysis of the data suggests that there is going on a shift into the territory and nature of violence in the past few weeks, and the center of gravity is shifting to Karachi and Balochistan as against KP and FATA. Target killing is emerging as the major cause of violence and civilians continues to be the prime victim of violence.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. The Frontier Post
7. Jang (Urdu)
8. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
9. Aaj (Urdu)
10. The Nation

A concise look into the nature of fatalities of actors involved suggests that the defenseless civilians bore the brunt of hostilities across Pakistan during the current month. In March, militants were at the receiving end and suffered a big number of causalities. As noted in pie chart I below, civilians accounted for almost 59 percent of the total dead. The sole reason for this shift is the ongoing ethno-political violence in Karachi, where large numbers of civilians (political workers belonging to the ethnic Muttahida Qaumi Movement –MQM and the ethnic Pakhtun Awami National Party – ANP) are becoming the target of turf wars between the two parties, primarily  for political influence and territorial control in the commercially crucial city on the Arabian Sea. Militants accounted for some 34 percent of the total loss of lives. While seven percent causalities were of security forces and these were mostly recorded in insurgency-hit  areas of KP, FATA and Baluchistan. Furthermore, during the current month, only one CIA operated drone strike was reported in North Waziristan Agency (FATA), which resulted in the killing of four suspected militants. This is a very unusual development given the fact that missile strikes off pilot-less predators have been the choicest weapon  under the Obama administration. Tensions with the United States over continued suspension of food, fuel and military supplies via Pakistan after the Salala Check post attack in the Mohmand border region in November appear to be the major reason for a decline in the drone strikes.  Meanwhile, carrying on their subversive and  sabotage campaign directed against the state utility infrastructure, militants blew up 11 government schools in different parts of FATA and KP during the course of month. Also, eight acts of sabotage were reported in different parts of Baluchistan and Karachi, where miscreants blew up gas pipelines, power pylons and torched vehicles.

Based on the available statistics on the instruments of violence, one finds that target-killing was the principal tool deployed against rivals.  The pie chart II below depicts  that target killings accounted for a staggering 65 percent of the total dead i.e  some 217 people were shot dead across Pakistan in 134 incidents. Karachi topped in this tool of violence with as many as 92 persons falling victim to the rivals’ bullets. Meanwhile, military vs. militants’ clashes were the second major cause of deaths, as 151 people were killed, including 138 militants and nine security forces personnel. During the course of the month, some 38 dead bodies were also recovered across Pakistan, most of them recorded in Karachi.  The fourth major cause of violence was bomb blasts. Among bomb blasts, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and road side bombs killed most of the people. Likewise, two (one percent of total violent tactics) suicide attacks killed four people, and both of the attacks were reported in the familiar terrain of  KP and FATA, the hotbed of war on militancy.

Moreover, looking at the ferocity of violence in different areas of the country, one finds that militancy stricken areas of FATA and Karachi, the hotbed of urban ethno-political violence suffered most of the violence during the month under review. As bar chart below underlines that almost 319 people were killed in the said regions in different circumstances. And it accounted for 78 percent of the total killings across the country during April, while 78 persons were dead in Baluchistan,  some 40 percent among them being members of the minority Shia Muslim community. Unlike the previous month, violence dramatically subsided in KP province and only 35 people were reportedly killed as a result of different violent incidents.

Furthermore, the specter of sectarian violence continued to take its toll on the Shia Hazara community based in Quetta (Baluchistan) as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), northern Pakistan, where attacks on the Shia community disrupted life for several weeks. In case of Baluchistan, 28 Shia men were butchered in what appeared to be another act of organized target-killing and bomb blasts allegedly by the majority Sunni extremist organizations, most importantly, the outlawd Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) . Meanwhile, 14 people belonging to Shia and Sunni communities based in GB were shot dead as a result of sectarian violence, which is gripping the area since February 2012, when unknown militants killed 18 Shia Muslims  near Chilas, while they were on their way to Gilgit from Rawalpindi. Also, four Shias were gunned down in Karachi. In total, 48 Shias were killed in as many as  14 violent incidents across Pakistan during April.

As a whole, all kinds of violence – ethno-political to religio-political to nationalistic separatist subversion – loomed large  on the regions mentioned above during April, also a reminder of the mid 1990s, when a massive wave of sectarian and ethno-political violence had rocked Karachi and central Pakistan. This wave of violence consumed several thousand, largely shia Muslims and political workers in Karachi. Even a cursory look suggests that Pakistan is finding difficult to get a handle on violence, particularly the militant campaign against shia Muslims and the inter-party rivalry in Karachi that has held large parts of the country’s economically most important city. Political patronage of militant groups , usually armed wings of political and religio-political parties stands out as a major reason for the continued spate of violence.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. The Frontier Post
7. Jang (Urdu)
8. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
9. Aaj (Urdu)
10. Baluchistan Times

During the course of the week, once again, the civilians bore the major brunt of the ongoing spate of violence, as 69 percent of the total causalities were of the civilians. Numerically, 58 civilians were killed and 88 others were wounded in different episodes of violence across the country. Meanwhile, clashes between military and militants in different areas of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KP) province  and FATA regions resulted in the killing of 24 militants and injuries to eighteen others. Furthermore, for the third consecutive week, no US CIA-operated drone strike was reported in any part of the country. However, sabotage attacks by the militants continued unabated as four more schools, two gas pipelines, two electricity transformers and a power pylon were blown up by the militants in different areas of KP, Balochistan and FATA.

Contrary to the preceding week, the number of sectarian attacks registered a slight  decreased, with the number going down from last week’s seven incidents to four in the current week. And the number of causalities also dropped significantly from 14 to three. Once again, the Shia Hazara community residing in Quetta  turned out to be the main target, as all the slain persons belonged to this community.

Moreover, 60 percent of the total civilian deaths occurred due to the gory tool of violence i.e. target killings all over the country. Hence for the past four weeks, target killing emerged as the major means of violence  being perpetrated by invisible miscreants, believed to be the death squads of the rabidly anti-Shia militant outfit Lashkare Jhangvi.. Meanwhile, 31 incidents of target killings – 74 percent of which took place in Karachi alone – left 36 people dead and 56 others wounded during the week. On the other hand, militant causalities as a result of ongoing military operation in KP and FATA continue to dwindle, as 16 militants were killed during various clashes with the military.

The pie chart underscores that the target killing was the most frequently employed tactic by the violent actors  for eliminating rivals or inflicting  damage on adversaries. During the  week under,  as many as 31 incidents of target killings were reported across the country. Military vs. militants’ clashes were  the second major cause of fatalities, whereby 24 militants lost became victims of the military operations, while eighteen others got injured – in about five military-militants’ clashes in KP and FATA region. Ten dead bodies, all of them civilians, were also recovered from different areas of Karachi, Balochistan and FATA areas.

Overall,  there was a relative lull in violence compared to the preceding weeks, as the death toll dropped from last week’s 101 to 83 this week. But the number of violent incidents remained unchanged – 56 for both the current and the previous week.  The accumulative data suggests that 208 people were killed and 126 others were wounded in  the last two weeks across Pakistan. Most of the dead were civilians belonging to Karachi, Balochistan, and FATA regions.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. The Frontier Post
7. Jang (Urdu)
8. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
9. Aaj (Urdu)

For the third week in a row, the civilians endured the major brunt of violence. As data depicts that 67 percent of the total perished, were the civilians: 68 civilians lost their lives and 54 others were injured in the ongoing armed conflicts of various natures across the country. The militants ranked second on the causality ladder, 30 militants were killed and 14 others injured, mostly as a result of the ongoing military vs. militants’ clashes in different areas of KP and FATA. Furthermore like the preceding week, no CIA operated drone strike was reported during the current week in any part of the country. Meanwhile militants continued their sabotage campaign to demolish state infrastructure and blew up three schools in different areas of KP and FATA.

Moreover, a keen look into the territory of bloodshed suggests that sectarian violence is picking up in the country, especially in Quetta (Balochistan) and Karachi (Sindh). Sectarian attacks are directed against the minority Shia people, particularly belonging to Hazara community residing in Quetta. Seven sectarian attacks, six in Quetta and one in Karachi, killing 14 (12 from Hazara community) and injured two others were reported during the current week.

Like the previous four weeks, once again target killings left majority of the people dead during the current week. As 82 percent (4/5) of the total civilian causalities were the result of the ongoing spree of target killing in Karachi, Quetta and tribal regions. Data shows that 40 incidents of target killings –of which 22 were reported in Karachi alone, left 56 people dead and 40 others wounded. Meanwhile unlike March during the current month, deaths due to the ongoing military operations against militants in KP and FATA declined sharply. During the current week, only 1/5 of the total deaths were the result of military vs. militants’ clashes.

The bar chart illustrates the number and nature of tactics employed by the militants to project violence. It notes that target killings proved to be the most lethal tactic, as more than one half (55 percent) of the total deaths occurred due to the ferocious wave of target killings. The second major cause of causalities was the military-militants’ clashes, and 30 militants were killed and 14 others were injured in four clashes in KP and FATA regions. Ten mutilated dead bodies; nine of civilians and one of a police constable were also recovered from different areas of Karachi, Balochistan and FATA.

On the whole, the death toll dropped from last week’s 107 to 101 this week, but the number of violent incidents swelled a little – 56 against last week’s 51. Sectarian attacks involving minority Shia people and banned militant sectarian outfits, and target killings of the people belonging to different ethno-political backgrounds are driving the state deeper into the abyss of violence and bloodshed.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. The Frontier Post
7. Jang (Urdu)
8. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
9. Aaj (Urdu)