Pakistan

Intelligence: Interior ministry raised alert a week ago

The federal interior ministry had issued an alert warning security agencies to beef up security across the country.

Asad Kharal May 22, 2011

LAHORE:

Intelligence reports had warned police and other security agencies that terrorist outfits, including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were planning to carry out such attacks on army, navy and air force installations.

The report had suggested that the TTP was very likely to mount attacks like the one they carried out, targeting a navy bus on April 26 in Karachi.

The federal interior ministry had issued an alert, warning police and other law-enforcement agencies to beef up security across the country.

Sources said that the despite ample intelligence warnings and a security alert issued by the interior ministry, Sunday’s attack had occurred because of a security breach.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2011.

COMMENTS (24)

Azman | 13 years ago | Reply Well, USA used 60 million dollar stealth helicopter. According to Interior Minister, six terrorists climbed over the wall, entered into the base destroyed two state of the art spy planes, killed atleast eleven persons and two left the base again climbing those walls.

saeed ahmad | 13 years ago | Reply @faraz: no sir... these are your CIA friends

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

R S JOHARin | 13 years ago | Reply In a country where terrorists whose complicity in masacring hundreds is well known to the whole world are allowed to issue dire warnings to a neighbouring country openly but the same is ignored by the state. Others are dealt with a kid glove despite being enemy of the state then who can save this country irrespective of any advance intelligence reports.

Khalid Javed | 13 years ago | Reply @ Sabahat: May be a JV of MCR (Mossad, CIA & RAW) to disseminate impressions of Pakistan's inability to defend its own assets. Previously the focus of terror attacks was general public in markets, shopping malls, now next phase military, navy & its assets...... seems a Grand design to all this Chaos. It's a wake-up call for ISI & our BELOVED Military to shun its political ambitions & involvements, be professional & to do what they are supposed to do.............To defend.

Sabahat | 13 years ago | Reply We all can understand such type of attacks is not possible without a sophisticated training. This fact reflects favor of some external agencies to these terrorists. Who they are we all know, who are our enemies. The basic cause of such type of attacks is to demoralize our nation from defense agencies of our country. They, in the past, have proved that they are “second to none” in the world. So say no to such type of messages and ask yourself Where the intelligence agencies were on 9/11 and Bombay attacks?. We need to be unite in order to compete the situation…

KM Khan | 13 years ago | Reply @Maulana Diesel When your No.1 priorty is trading plots in Bahria Town, and Defence this could happen.

Iftikhar-ur-Rehman | 13 years ago | Reply @Tigon: I have very serious doubts, no heads rolled after GHQ takeover by terrorists, so why now????

Khalid Javed | 13 years ago | Reply The attack proves uselessness & ineffectiveness of such intelligence reports. After Osama's killing & TTP's vowing for revenge, even a man selling potatoes could have forecasted such attacks What big stuff Interior Ministry has done? Waiting for national assets to be destroyed & our soldiers to be killed?

Tigon | 13 years ago | Reply Incompetence at every level. Will any heads roll?

ARF | 13 years ago | Reply there are no more words left for our rulers cuz obviously they dont care. we shud all be shaming ourselves for always being made fools of and voting these same "worthless" people into power to "safeguard" our needs.

Shakeel | 13 years ago | Reply Pathetic. Wonder why no one took neccessary measures on this alert and even if they did, there are now BIG question markes on the sophistication of such measures. We have to kill this bad bad habbit of us (as a nation) to take everything for granted and leave every thing on ALLAH (as in "Allah khair karay ga"). We first need to take steps/actions and then hope for the best.

Ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply Now it is time to be more serious in handling country's affairs. We have to focus on War on Terror, at least Pakistan should have planned something which can appease these terrorists. The enmity against Pakistan armed forces is very dangerous. So, please try to redesign your foreign policy and try to halt the drone attacks for the time being. Now, CIA is using another tactics through WikiLeaks to damage the already-troubled Muslim community.

Moise | 13 years ago | Reply If I wanted alerts why would I pay for domestic investigations agency? Just name your department alert dispatch unit.

Raza | 13 years ago | Reply A very common statement from intellegence agencies after these type of incidents..

Muhammad Ahsan | 13 years ago | Reply Entring in one of the most sensitive combined military/navy/airforce base with a group of 12 heavily armed men accompanying the modern weapons. Oh don't tell that tehreek-e-taliban is such capable of implementing this operation plan. It is more likely that CIA itself, or its trained 'personnel' have carried out such an operation. They simply want to tell the world that Pakistan's forces aren't even capable enough to protect themselves, so Pakistan's nuclear assets aren't safe either. Looks like another raid is expected from US to our nuclear assets. Happy Government :)

father of goat | 13 years ago | Reply I think the security agencies were on full alert. But, unfortunately were looking for Hindus and Jews!!

Khalid Javed | 13 years ago | Reply The man selling tomatoes on a roadside could imagine what TTP or the likes are going to do next after OBL ,killing...... Issuing warnings without specifics, proper co-ordination among various state agencies & organs, without any follow-up system to monitor for the precautionary steps taken to pre-empt such threats is just futile. The terrorists stormed into our biggest military base & gleefully reduced P3 Orion worth 36 million dollar along-with the image of military to ashes. . .

saeed ahmad | 13 years ago | Reply This is rubbish. Should we assume that now FIA has relations with terrosist organizations...! Everytime R. Malik gets rid of his responsibility by declaring that FIA informed in advance. It's time that agencies like IB and FIA take their work seriously. They are to be held equally responsible in such cases. The purpose of spreading such news is actually to undermine ISI and create an impression that other agencies are working all right. It's time R. Malik is sacked. Why is the press quiet on it? As for this attack..it surely is the handiwork of the elements infiltrated and installed by CIA [in collaboration with RAW] in Pakistan during past 2-3 years. All with active facilitation of FIA and the stupid ambassador who is very fond of showing off his literary skills of Twitter [and dished out those free visas to CIA guys in thousands] It is aparant now that Pakistan's Civil Gov and Armed forces are actually working in two different directions. What was once "Unthinkable" is now very much possible and is actually happening....!

Jehanzeb Khan | 13 years ago | Reply You are an Interior ministry.Your job does not end by just giving information but taking full protective measures.What did yoy do? Do not as usually after every dastardly incident make such statements to pass the buck.It is your responsibility and of MQM who keep you 95% engaged in their problems.Both PPP-Z and MQM is failing the nation yet pretend saviors and saints.

Iftikhar-ur-Rehman | 13 years ago | Reply If this warning had been given then why was security so lax at this Air Base???? Is it an inside job like that of attack on Musharraf at Jhanda Chichi, Rawalpindi,where Airforce personnel were involved???

Imran | 13 years ago | Reply This demonstrates the mindset as well as the inadequacies of the military establishment. It continues to fail to pay heed to the civilian controlled interior ministry. Bloody civilians... right? As usual, now they will spin conspiracy theories.

faraz | 13 years ago | Reply I think these are Punjabi taliban who operated in Kashmir, they are very well trained for such kind of attacks

Maulana Diesel | 13 years ago | Reply I am flabbergasted.....how could they force their way in into a facility that should have been completely secure. These very expensive planes were housed there and now they seem to have destroyed these too....costing Pakistan millions of dollars. The question that our so called "intelligence agencies" should be asking is that how can these terrorists so easily get the hands on these heavy weapons and explosives.

Nadeem Ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply Be Alert and wait for terrorists! What nonsense is this? You have guns, tanks, planes and whereabouts of terrorists. Attack and finish them.

Replying to X