Tribesmen condemn Taliban killing of 70-year-old baker

2012-02-28 By M. Ibrahim in Khyber Agency

A soldier guards militants detained during operations in Khyber Agency. Militants in Khyber Agency beheaded a 70-year-old baker whom they accused of spying. [K. Parvez/Reuters]

The decapitation of a 70-year-old baker by the Taliban on February 2nd in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, has terrorised the local population and aroused universal condemnation from tribal society and rights activists.

The Taliban accused the man of being a spy in an attempt to justify his murder.

"Waris Khan had always lived a clean life and confined himself to a limited number of friends," Qadeer Jan, a close friend of the murdered baker, told centralasiaonline.com. He declined to comment on militant behaviour on grounds of personal safety.

Taliban terror is the main reason local residents will not comment on such matters, said local elder Hasam ud Din.

"We are simply terrorised and are extremely worried about our own safety," he said, adding he and other tribal elders have limited their contact with officials and security personnel for fear of being called spies.

Former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) security secretary Brig. (Ret.) Mehmood Shah agreed.

"Such brutal killings [on charges of spying] are more aimed [...] at terrorising the tribal population," he said.

'Executions' are murder

Most such killings are groundless, he said. "By and large, [the Taliban] intimidate tribesmen not to speak against them and keep them terrorised," he said.

The Taliban's "executions" have no legal backing, said Karim Mehsud, former president of the FATA Lawyers Forum.

Pakistani law prescribes capital punishment for spying, Mehsud said. "But assisting government officials or security forces is no crime, and executing anyone on these charges is totally against the law."

"Every civilised citizen of Pakistan is under a moral and legal obligation to serve the country [...] such behaviour [...] cannot be called spying," he said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan opposes all forms of killing of innocent human beings, said rights activist Kamran Arif.

"It is a simple murder without a fair trial," he said. "Taliban courts have no legal justification, and it is completely illegal and inhuman."

Taliban's effort to enforce Islam 'based on lies'

Arif said it was unfortunate that the government has not been able to extend the country's regular laws to FATA.

"Article 247 of the constitution provides a separate mechanism of administration for FATA, and no act of parliament could be implemented in FATA unless the president desires it," he said, adding that it was high time Islamabad altered FATA's administrative system to suit tribal aspirations.

The Taliban's effort to enforce Islam is based on lies that no practicing Muslim can trust, Allama Noor ul Haq Qadri said.

Qadri is a tribal religious scholar and Member National Assembly from Khyber Agency.

"They are involved in the killing of innocent people and [...] confessed to the crimes they had committed against those who raised their voices against such inhuman and un-Islamic acts," he said.

Qadri has bitter personal experience in the matter. Three years ago, militants killed his brother, nephew, uncle and brother-in-law, after which he had to move his family to Islamabad.

"The religion of Islam clearly orders the execution of such enemies of humanity," he said, insisting militants have committed countless acts of subversion and anti-state activities.

"They kill innocent people on the basis of a mere doubt, which is not acceptable in Islam," he argued. "They are criminals in the eyes of our religion [....] All their acts are un-Islamic and have no religious or moral justification."

Political parties outraged

The incident also incurred the wrath of the activists of different political parties operating in tribal areas.

Such killings are meant to terrorise rather than to enforce justice, since mostly tribesmen of unblemished character have been killed, said Abdur Rahim, the FATA leader of the Awami National Party.

"A personal vendetta [...] could be a factor [...] but in most cases militants carry out such executions to stifle criticism," he said.

His party has a clear-cut policy against terrorism and wants the menace uprooted from tribal society, he said. "Killing innocent people on charges of spying [...] should be condemned in the strongest possible words," he said.

Said Wali Shah, the FATA co-ordinator for the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), also condemned such incidents in tribal areas and demanded an end to them.

"We believe it is a systematic genocide of the people of FATA and was aimed at subduing them," he said.

Victims do not get a fair trial, said social activist and teacher Farid Khan.

"Never have militants explained in their charges what specific crimes the victims had committed," he said.

"Whatever the motives for such gruesome acts by militants, they leave marks of terror on the minds of ordinary tribesmen," he said, adding some of his terrified pupils had asked him about the baker's beheading.

Militants want to suppress voices of reason in FATA, said another social activist, Zar Ali Khan.

"Such acts are more aimed at obstructing peace and development in tribal areas," he said, adding human rights are seldom respected in FATA.

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READER COMMENTS

نصر عباس

2012-4-8

When the name Taliban is mentioned, we immediately think terrorism as well as the scenes of death, bloodshed and homelessness across the world because this suspicious movement has strong and direct links with terrorism and it is one of the key terrorist organization that carried out many terrorist crimes and targeted the civilians with its terrorist acts that spared nothing, as it is a leading terrorist organization.
عثمان جودي

2012-3-20

It is very important to fight all the elements and groups of the Taliban, which spread its operations and ideas in all the Arab and Islamic countries. For instance, there are groups of al-Qaeda in the State of Yemen, the movement of young people in the State of Somalia, and the elements of Islamic groups in the State of Egypt, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Islamic groups in Iraq, in addition to al-Qaeda and its base in Afghanistan. As for the Taliban who are located in Pakistan, they also caused all this chaos, harm and damage to the innocent people who have no fault. Therefore, we hope to eliminate all of the terrorist elements in all the Arab and Islamic states and keep the situation calm, stable and free from any violence, terror, murder, bloodshed, or the attack on the citizens everywhere.
رستم الفتلاوي

2012-3-20

The Taliban is a terrorist movement which promotes and incites violence, terrorism, crime, chaos, confusion, criminality, brutality, cruelty, differentiation, and dispersal among the nation. Therefore, the Taliban is a movement that contributes to the destruction of many communities, causing the creation of an atmosphere of shedding blood of the innocents without guilt. For this, it is very necessary to eliminate and get rid of all the elements called the Taliban, which has left a record full of negative things that incite and encourage the commission of atrocities and heinous crimes. They are the cause of everything that is happening in the countries such as the lack of stability, security, peace, and tranquility.
فريد فوزي

2012-3-19

The world today suffers from the terrorist organizations that are widespread in many countries and that contributed significantly to the tragic and painful conditions in the world today. The criminal acts of these organizations target the civilians and leave many innocent victims. The Taliban is one of the important faces of the world of terrorism, and it is one of the terrorist organizations that believe in extremism and Takfir according to their whims. Hence, I am absolutely sure that the Taliban is one of the main terrorist organizations in the world, and it is known for its horrible crimes in many countries of the world, especially Afghanistan. This country suffers terribly because of the criminality of this terrorist movement and its cowardly acts that lasted for many years. The Afghan people suffered from the crimes of murder, kidnapping, and the abuse of children in the most horrible ways. Hence, we can confidently say that the Taliban is a criminal and terrorist group, and its ideology does not differ significantly from the extremist and takfiri ideology of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. They believe in the same ideas and carry out the same dirty acts that target the peoples and leave many victims, because of their bloody operations that embittered the life of the world indescribably, because of the crimes and bloodshed that are committed by the Taliban. Hence, I consider the Taliban one of the most dangerous organizations that undermine world peace and security and violate the prohibition of the bloodshed through its terrorist acts, which are still going on today. I condemn the terrorist acts of this movement, and I also condemn the Taliban and its crimes, which include murder, attacks on the civilians and humanity in general.
صابر محمود

2012-3-16

The Taliban have targeted the interests of the countries that helped it and stood beside it in defeating the Russian forces and removing them from Afghanistan. When the movement of the Taliban has become a danger to the Arab national and international security, the whole world condemned their criminal acts that they have committed against the innocent people. However, the movement of the Taliban did not comply with all the convictions made by the world towards it. It increased the area of its crimes against the innocent people through the use of its members who represent it in most Arab countries as well as the other countries of the world.
ابو ريم

2012-3-15

The Taliban is a racist movement which is seeking to kill innocent people without any justification. The victims of Taliban often lose their lives because of its destructive operations. Besides, Taliban has a close relationship with the evil al-Qaeda organization which is based on the killing of innocent people who committed no crime. It is also striving to provoke sectarian strife and many other evil deeds in order to arouse fear and bring about calamities. Indeed, Taliban members are the most cowardly people ever since they commit all acts of malignancy and they kill and slaughter innocent citizens. Taliban members were so villainous that they did not hesitate to mobilize child soldiers in order to undertake suicide attacks. Such acts could not go unpunished. I pray Almighty Allah to save us from this great worrying. Indeed, the most important concern of that lousy movement is the killing of innocent people. Taliban wants to discredit the Islamic religion. It is driven by malignancy and repressed hatred for the Arabs and the Muslim world.
ماجد ا يوب

2012-3-14

There is too much talk about the Taliban and the views vary. Some support it but the majority rejects it. In spite of all that, the Taliban remains a terrorist group that takes the guise of religion by hiding its terrorist acts from the unarmed civilians who want to live in peace. Since the first day of the establishment of the Taliban, they claim to be a movement that is built on the foundations of Islamic advocacy and they are taking the shield and sword jihad against the invasion and occupation. However, the innocent, unarmed and peaceful civilians reject aggressive behavior and could not justify their crimes against the Islamic nations and peoples. The Taliban seeks by all means to deepen its roots by the Arab and Islamic influence as well as the imposition of brute military force. They do not work only on the external schemes aimed to split the Arab nation and destroy it. The Taliban seeks in every way to impose hegemony on the Arab region and take some of the areas as bases for the implementation of its criminal acts. They pursue an approach to terrorize people, intimidate them and impose their rule by force, as happened in Afghanistan. Opponents of the Taliban are the enemies in the first place, regardless of their ethnic, religious or even political background. They do not accept the other party and the opposition does not accept anyone who is contrary to their opinion because they do not deserve to live.
ادريس الكناني

2012-3-14

All that concerns the Taliban is harboring the terrorists and training the masses of the Mujahideen, drug cultivation and then exporting them to different destinations. They do not obey national laws and international norms, standing with the Islamic issues, especially the Palestinian uprising of Al-Aqsa, and hunting down the real national leaders and then assassinating them under the pretext that they are agents of reaction and colonialism. And creating alternatives in times of need by putting them in prison, highlighting them, publishing their rhetoric and fiery statements, and eliminating all elements of the industrial, economic and cultural Renaissance. There is the impoverishment of the rich under the pretext of equality and increasing poverty of the poor, corrupting the education and the dissemination of ignorance, diseases and underdevelopment, and the spreading of unemployment and underemployment.
يونس ال فتاح

2012-3-14

Taliban is an Afghani movement. All that it did in Afghanistan was taking Afghanistan from the impressive light of civilization to the overwhelming darkness of ignorance. Women were deprived of education and the doors of houses were shut to prevent them from going out to schools and universities. Women were banned from working or exercising professions. The veil was imposed on women. They were banned from venturing into music and singing on the theaters or halls.
ايمن محمود

2012-3-14

It is known that the Afghan movements, including the Taliban, are hated by the USA, and they also hate the USA and want to eliminate it from existence. However, the USA was a main player in founding these movements in the past to confront the Russian influence in this state. We all know this and no one can deny it. However, the Taliban exceeded all limits because of its crimes against the West, and it adopted an ideology that is mainly based on terrorism and bloodshed. I hate anyone or any movement that adopts killing as a tool to achieve its political or economic objectives, through targeting the innocents and killing people, sometimes people who are not guilty of anything, just to achieve its objectives. This is disgusting and ridiculous. It is common knowledge that the main purpose behind the formation of the Taliban was to seize the authority and rule the country, to control it politically and economically. All people know this and realize its objectives. However, there is nothing that can justify murder or approve it, irrespective of the purpose of the Taliban, in my opinion.
حسين مجيد

2012-3-12

I am not never convinced of their extremist ideas because religion never allowed bombing and terrorist and suicide operations, especially that it is implemented against Muslims and civilians and result in a lot of casualties among them they come to boasting that they are struggling and this is not jihad but this is criminality.
عاصم عبدالحكيم

2012-3-12

One of the most dangerous terrorist movements that sponsor the terrorist ideology and work on spreading it everywhere are those criminals and murderers who are manipulating the reputation of Muslims and Islam and undertaking these crimes, through which they killed many innocent people of the Islamic nation, causing many problems because of their extremist thoughts. This applies as well in the case of the terrorist Taliban operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan who commit many crimes against civilians and innocent people. This movement worked a lot with the terrorist al-Qaeda in order to kill more innocent people and to disseminate the ideas of extremism, violence and murder and intimidation. I am against the ideas of this movement and I am not a supporter of them even though I am a Muslim and they claim Islam and that they are an Islamic movement, but these things are lies and no longer impress us because we have uncovered these tactics and these lies and we know what these dogs are trying to reach.
صديق احمد

2012-3-9

In spite of Afghanistan being liberated from the influence of this criminal movement that was ruling the country strictly, the Taliban movement cells and groups are still carrying out violent acts; they are still committing the most horrible kinds of crimes, and innocent blood is still being shed, whether in Afghanistan or even Pakistan. Therefore, I would like to say that the Taliban movement is one of the worst terrorist and extremist movements that have abused the innocent people. This is my opinion about this movement. I wish it could be eliminated, along with all the other terrorist organizations, so that the world could live in safety and peace, away from terrorism, extremism and the crimes that claim the lives of the innocent people every day, due to those criminals and these terrorist, infidel, extremist and fanatical movements.
حازم يوسف

2012-3-9

The Taliban movement is considered one of the greatest terrorist movements, and it is not less dangerous or criminal than the rest of the terrorist movements, like the Taliban movement and other criminal organizations. They do not know anything but extremism and strictness, and they abused the civilian people and the countries with their ideas and terrorist acts. This is the case that applies to the Taliban movement, which criminalized and caused a lot of tragedy and pain for the civilian people and the innocent people. This happened in the country of Afghanistan, whose people suffered from this movement’s remnants gaining control of it and their carrying out of the most terrible kinds of crimes that targeted humanity in general. I believe that the Taliban movement is a dirty terrorist movement, which I condemn, along with its criminal acts, which were a disaster for the innocent people. The extremism and the strictness, as well as the attempt to impose the misguided policies, are among the traits which characterizes this infidel movement that claims jihad. But what kind of jihad is it carrying out? This is a fake jihad and these are lying slogans, because of which dozens of innocent souls are claimed. May God shame this movement and its thoughts and the detested terrorist acts. In my opinion, the Taliban movement is a terrorist movement with all its privileges. This is what we found out about it through what we hear, in terms of committing a lot of terrorist operations which are practiced in Afghanistan, like the terrorist bombing operations that harm the civilians, as well as the abduction, stealing and looting operations practiced by the Taliban movement elements, who have been known for their criminality and for how terrible they have been throughout the previous years.