Pakistani gunman linked to cricket attack

Salman Masood, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: October 12. 2009 11:00AM UAE / October 12. 2009 7:00AM GMT

Pakistani soldiers stand in front of the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi. Alexandre Meneghini / AP

ISLAMABAD // The surviving gunman in the weekend’s attack and hostage crisis at Pakistani army headquarters has been identified as having been involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March.

Maj Gen Athar Abbas, the military spokesman, said eight attackers were killed in a rescue operation yesterday morning. He identified the one arrested man as Aqeel, alias Dr Usman.

Aqeel was arrested after Pakistani army commandos stormed a building inside their own army headquarters early yesterday to rescue more than three dozen hostages in what has been called one of the most spectacular attacks on the country’s armed forces.

The pre-dawn rescue operation ended an 18-hour siege that began when at least 10 heavily armed terrorists, dressed in military fatigues, attacked General Headquarters, the nerve centre of the Pakistani army, in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.

Pakistani Army officials initially claimed that the group of attackers numbered no more than six – four of whom were killed almost immediately – and that two attackers managed to escape after the group was intercepted at a guard station on the outer perimeter of the headquarters.

But as evening fell, a troubling and embarrassing picture for the army transpired: the attackers were bigger in number, had managed to infiltrate further into the army premises and held dozens of hostages inside a military intelligence building.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said the audacious attack showed there was a growing terrorist threat to Pakistan, a nuclear-armed US ally, but she said there was no risk of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of terrorists. “We have confidence in the Pakistani government and military’s control over nuclear weapons,” she said.

Two senior army officers killed yesterday were identified as Brig Anwarul Haq and Lt Col Waseem Ahmed, both worked in military intelligence, a military official said. Haq was a deputy director security of military intelligence. The two men, who were not among the hostages, were killed as they came out of an office after hearing gunfire in the first hour of the attack.

Three hostages could not be rescued and lost their lives. The rescue operation started at 6am and lasted for 40 minutes, Maj Gen Abbas said.

Two army commandos died and two were wounded in the rescue effort as explosions and gunshots echoed in the headquarters compound. Gen Abbas said one attacker wearing a vest filled with explosives was holed up in a room and had taken 20 hostages. Commandos managed to kill him before he could detonate his explosives.

From Kahuta in Punjab province, Aqeel is described as one of the most wanted men in the country. He worked as a paramedic soldier in the Army Medical Corps before becoming a renegade in 2005, an intelligence official said. Afterwards, he joined banned extremist groups before finally striking a partnership with Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, who was killed in August in a US missile strike.

Aqeel is also accused of involvement in a failed assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf, the general-turned-president, in 2007. Pakistani officials said he had fled to Waziristan after the attack on the Sri Lankan team this year.

By midday yesterday, the Pakistani army claimed complete success. Local news networks started airing songs eulogising the army. Rallies expressing solidarity with the armed forces were held in several cities across the country.

Asif Ali Zardari, the president, in a message to Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the chief of army staff, said the whole country stood behind its armed forces. Mr Zardari said that saving hostages with minimum casualties was a proof of “impeccable supremacy” and “skillfulness of operational strategy” of the army.

“Those martyred are owed the nation’s respect and gratitude by saving us from a national embarrassment,” Mr Zardari was quoted as saying.

However, the attack has raised questions about the audacious and lethal ability of militants to strike at the heart of the army, and the apparent vulnerability of the security forces in defending themselves.

The attack comes after several public announcements by Pakistani officials, indicating an impending military operation in South Waziristan, the rugged mountainous safe haven and stronghold of Taliban militants. It is not clear what has stopped the military planners from launching the operation so far despite claims that all operational preparations have been made.

“The militants couldn’t have sent a stronger signal of their intentions; they have essentially said ‘come and get us if you think you can; we can hit you anywhere, any time’,” said Cyril Almeida, an editor at Dawn, the country’s most prestigious daily newspaper, in an interview.

“The fact that the attack lasted so long means it’s more than just another poke in the eye. It’s a direct challenge to the military’s ability to defend itself,” Almeida said.

Questions were also asked as to why the security forces could not follow up on earlier intelligence reports by the provincial government of Punjab. A memo in July, prepared by the Punjab crimes investigation department, was sent to the interior ministry and provincial police chiefs. It warned of a possible attack on the general headquarters by militants disguising themselves in security uniforms.

Details were initially sketchy yesterday about what actually happened as security officials contradicted their initial claims and account of the attack.

“The army being institutionally more disciplined and tight-lipped, few details have been given. The attack site was also not accessible to journalists and it compounded the problem of getting details,” Almeida said.

Interviews with military and intelligence sources suggested that the attack was well planned and thought out.

The terrorists were armed to the teeth, carrying suicide jackets, grenades, homemade bombs, detonators and other explosive material, according to military officials.

Their suspected objective of causing massive damage while managing to get sensational headlines met with success. “Their aim was to get inside the premises and the aim was achieved,” an intelligence official said.

The military intelligence building is located at a distance of less than 100 metres from the second guard post. After overpowering the security at the first station, the attackers ran towards the second.

“The military intelligence building was right in front and they entered it. It was their sheer luck,” the official said.

He said it seemed the terrorists had chosen one of the three entry points to army headquarters that was closest to the sprawling compound and offices.

“The initiative is always with the terrorist,” the official said. Despite knowing about the threats, the guards at the outer perimeters were at a disadvantage because the militants opened fire almost immediately when stopped to prove their identity.

Intelligence officials said the terrorist attack would result in a security review of military installations.

The army headquarters in Rawalpindi is surrounded by residential and commercial neighbourhoods. An earlier plan by Mr Musharraf to relocate the army headquarter to Islamabad has been shelved.




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