April 14, 2009:
In areas adjacent to the Swat Valley in Pakistan, tribes are forming militias to keep the Taliban out. The Pakistani government has approved the peace deal with the Taliban in the Swat Valley. The deal calls for the Taliban in Swat to disarm and leave law enforcement to the police. But Sharia law will replace civil law in Swat, and pro-Taliban clerics will decide what is permitted with Sharia, and what is not. So far, it appears that Taliban thugs are already ignoring the police and enforcing strict lifestyle rules, in violation of the peace deal. The Pakistani government keeps doing this, and regretting it later as the Islamic radicals use their "Sharia law zone" as a base for terrorist operations. The Pakistani government wants to avoid a wide scale war in the tribal areas, fearing this would weaken the armed forces, and make Pakistan more vulnerable to conquest by India. This ignores the fact that Indian media have never run with the "let's conquer Pakistan" story, because no one in India wants to acquire the political, social and economic mess in Pakistan. But it's become an article of faith in Pakistan that India is a threat, even though Pakistan now has nuclear weapons.
Tribal warriors continue to attack truck depots near the Khyber Pass in Pakistan. Although the attacks are announced as being against NATO and U.S. supplies, most of the vehicles destroyed or damaged are carrying goods for civilian customers in Afghanistan. The attacks are aimed at extorting more money out of the trucking companies, to guarantee safety from these attacks. Most of U.S. and NATO supplies are now being shipped in from the north, via railroad from the Baltic or Black Seas.
Pakistani police recently arrested Badshah din Mehsud, a Taliban leader working for senior Taliban leader Baitullah Mehud. Badshah din Mehsud was arrested in the port city of Karachi, where he was apparently performing his usual job, of supervising the acquisition of weapons for the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan is resisting the terms of an economic relief package from the United States. In order to $7.5 billion over the next five years, all terrorist camps on the Afghan border must be closed. The U.S. will certify this via their own intelligence capabilities, and halt aid if the Pakistanis do not take action against terrorists.
In southwest Pakistan, near the Iranian border, the Taliban took credit for shooting to death a man and a woman who had eloped to get married. The parents of the woman had arranged for her to marry another man.
Violence continued (in response to the death of three local political leaders) in Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan), leaving nearly twenty dead.
In eastern India, over a hundred Maoists attacked a government run bauxite mine, seeking to steal explosives and the weapons of the guard force. But the Maoists were repulsed, after ten hours of fighting, leaving eleven security guards and four Maoists dead.
April 13, 2009: In Bangladesh, police arrested 17 Islamic terrorists, and captured large quantities of explosives and weapons.
April 10, 2009: In eastern India, police raided several Maoist hideouts and seized large quantities of explosives and weapons.
April 9, 2009: In Karachi, Pakistan, police arrested five terrorists who had been involved in the Marriot hotel bombing last September, and were planning six or more attacks on government offices. Police seized large quantities of weapons and bomb making components as well. The five arrested men had raised money for their terrorist activities via bank robbery and other criminal activities. They belonged to a local group affiliated with al Qaeda.
In southwest Pakistan, three popular Baluchi political leaders were found dead. They had been kidnapped by persons unknown days earlier. The deaths caused Baluchis in Baluchistan and elsewhere in Pakistan, rioted and attacked police.