PESHAWAR:
The Taliban have released a video showing the execution of more than a dozen security forces in the Upper Dir district last month, police said.
The video, posted on the LiveLeak website, shows at least 15 men in shalwar-kameez suits, lined up before four militants with their faces covered.
Army spokesperson Major-General Athar Abbas said that the security men had been captured by militants during a cross-border raid in Dir district on June 1.
A senior police official said the video was filmed on the same day, while Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, also confirmed that the video was from Upper Dir.
A commander, seemingly Taliban, and other bearded fighters armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades stand in front of the apparent policemen, none of whom are in uniform.
The commander then delivers a brief speech, declaring policemen enemies of Islam and deserving of death.
“These are the enemies of Allah’s religion and have left Islam. Allah orders to kill such people,” he says in Pashto.”We arrested them in fighting here. They killed six innocent children in Swat in the same way,” he claims.
The commander and his fighters then opened fire on the men, who cry out in pain. They later pumped bullets into the still alive victims at close-range.
Mir Qasim Khan, police chief for Upper Dir district, put the number of victims in the video at 18. “This was a pre-dawn attack and that’s why most of them are not wearing uniforms,” he said.
Another police official said that at the time 500 militants, including Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, took part in the attack which began before dawn on June 1 and continued throughout June 2.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2011.
COMMENTS (43)
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@mind control: First of all Taliban never issued any comment against Pakistan (Counter gangs like TTP dont count). Making video is also haram, have you ever saw Mullah Omar video speech? (CIA agent OBL and MI6 Zawahiri dont count).
Taliban biggest crime they started considering Argentinian company for pipeline project which led to Enron demise. Second biggest crime is to cut the funding of CIA by declaring opium production haram and destroying opium production. This is the time when these videos started appearing and witch hunt started.
You might have seen these videos recently but this type of video are turning up since 80s. These videos turned up in Yugoslavia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. Why not get some history books and come out of trance of "US is our friend" mindset and understand empires run on oil and opium, not on religion.
@Moise
Counter gang at its best. Kill policemen, video tape it and frame Taliban. How naive you think people are?
If you a representative sample, then I would say, VERY. You have to be really naive to believe that Taliban need 'framing' to prove their bloodlust.
@Y Khan: Try it once ... You know what's next ...
So the Taliban kills Paks, and some of you blame the U.S. What weird logic from twisted minds!
Why don’t we see people marching in the streets asking the corrupt Pakistani government to first clean its house and then to eradicate the Taliban and their brutality? Until enough good Paks recognize the rotten core of the government and make their views known forcefully, the fringe elements in the society will go on killing other Paks, their supporters will keep on blaming outside powers for imagined problems and, before long, the lunatics who have hijacked Islam will control the lives of the Paks. Just look back to what the Taliban did to AFG while in power.
The silent majority should not remain cowed by these extremists, if they expect to leave behind a decent life for their children. Pak is at a crossroad. A choice needs to be made on which fork in the road to take.
Counter gang at its best. Kill policemen, video tape it and frame Taliban. How naive you think people are?
@Realist
Drone attacks have never targeted Malakand. These Taliban attacking Dir are those who were kicked out during Malakand operation.
@Mirza:
these millitants are operating from pakistan.. like it or now its now our war!
Unsung Heroes....i don't know how many of such brave have offered their lives for our safety. At least we should give them proper respect and honor they deserve. I don't think the media is playing is due role in this regard.
Pakistan Zindabad. Pakistan Paindabad.
@Vicram Singh:
iv come to the conclusion there indians ahve serious misconceptions about alot of facts.. wht u just said is one such misconception.. im not even gonna bother correcting u.. just do ur research before u speak. makes u sound real foolish otherwise.
This is America's war and not Pakistan's war. The freedom fighters cannot shoot the Americans, all they can do is to kill innocent Pakistanis. Why is the Pak army not trying to save poor lowly paid policemen? Any other country's army would have cleaned these terrorists out of their country, however, we are their hosts for a long timee and do not want to move against them.
Its high time that we kill ALL Talibans and their sympathisers where ever they are. We will start with the Tribal areas, I dont care if it looks like the surface of mars afterwards and nothing can be cultivated there for a million years. I want revenge and I want it NOW!
Shame on the pakistani's who are not condemning this massacre! Where is the Army, politicians who didn't even condemn this incident! Where is Maulvi Imran khan & his dharna?
Why are we not honoring our martyred soldiers killed in the line of duty? Why are the names not being disclosed! If we dont even honor them, what will happen tothe morale of the armed forces?
Kayani, plz plz honor them & support their families!
still there will be a lot of people like our religious leaders ad Imran Khan type of things who will keep quite against this brutality, ad will blame the intelligence agencies of all the world,i have see the video ad i couldn't sleep for two nights ...these guys are a disgrace to the humanity
If this brutal and barbaric act is being done in the name of islam then I have to think about my faith.We preach Islam is a religion of peace,love and forgiveness but act contrary to it.Shame on us and those who still support these funatics.
@random: " ... watching the video makes your boil doesn’t it… They should be dealt with once and for all… "
These were your heroes in your fight against India until recently.
@Realist: Drone attacks are done on the family of Jalaluddin Haqqani. The Haqqani group does not operate in Pakistan, and certainly does not attack Pakistanies. These are members of Mehsud group who does not fight in Afghanistan, just kills Pakistanies. Drones do not attack their ally Mehsud group.
@Khalid Ahmed: These are fake Taliban. Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Arabs are all part of Northern Alliance and helped USA Allies end Taliban rule. They now work with Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (fake Taliban) headed by Mehsud group, a CIA agent.
@Ba Ha: Never fail to put the blame on CIA/ Mossad thanks for forgetting RAW
Our borders should be sealed and heavily guarded in order to make such entries impossible into our pious territory and harm our beloved brother citizens.
@khan: and what about the people who are educated, intelligent, technology aware, far more superior than secular rats, and yet more brutal than those. And they live in the cities ... do you think they are sitting like ducks and watching all this drama comfortably ... This war will be decided with their will and its not that only seculars are born on daily basis, this war will go on and on and on ... neither me nor you can stop it
Didnt the world's sixth largest army blood boiled after seeing this massacre of their men in uniform on this video ? If given an opportunity, Indian army can surely eliminate Taleban if Pak military cannot do it themselves.
i saw the video..it's really awful to see Muslims killing Muslims in the name of Allah... i don't know why the hell the pak army still wants to support these heartless cowards. just think of these innocent policemen who sacrifice for your country, not asking for a same kind of revenge but just nuke them all...
@Cheema: You know what, that was job well done ...
Job well done ... Awaiting more ... By the way Tribune Express is so quick in making stories that I posted this video link yesterday in comments section and today its a news ... I am sure I could be more vigilant and pro-active reporter than the ones you already have ...
If the 16 policemen were captured in June, why was this news not widely known ? What other news is being hidden ?
@ realist drone attack is conducted by americans and they kill the innocent people of pakistan by bomb blast and brutally kill other law enforcement personnel who nothing to have do with drone. what type of retaliation is this???
Wait. These were Afghan Taliban? I thought Afghan Taliban were "Good Taliban".
oouch, thats really bad....
oh my god.. that video was the most distrurbing one I have ever seen.. how can any sane person do that to another? Religion of peace eh? My thoughts to go out to those police men and their families,, may they rest in peace..
Strategic depth is so successful ! Lets have Hamid Gul and Orya Maqbool Jan and cyber jihadis on to sing the praises of Taliban/AQ/TTP and other alphabet soup of terrorists.
It's the CIA/Mossad sponsored Asian tigers not Taliban (now renamed likely)
@Realist
By Killing poor policemen? Shame on you. It becuse of cancer like you we are in this mess. All the Taliban, Alquida and people of that thought process have the same solution. Which is same as cancer therapy!
Most despicable and cowardly act by the savages. Cold blooded massacre in the name of Islam!!! my heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families. As usual the establishment has nothing to defend.
Will anyone recoginze the sacrifices of these policeman or are they just not worthy?
Pakistan army needs to take action against these brutal forces. It's good that we cooperate with the US while they arenhere. Use their tech like drone etc. Once they leave there will be vacuum and Pakistan will have to deal with them by themselves.
How many more innocents die until we realize this is our war and these are our enemies?