Jundallah or
People's Resistance Movement of Iran (
PRMI) not to be confused with
People's Mujahedin of IranThe People's Mujahedin of Iran is an Islamic socialist organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic government of Iran....
, is an insurgent Sunni Islamic organization based in
BalochistanBalochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by geographical area, constituting approximately 48% of the total area of Pakistan. At the 1998 census, Balochistan had a population of roughly 6.5 million. Its neighbouring regions are Iran to the west, Afghanistan and the North West Frontier...
that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was founded and is currently under the command of
Abdolmalek RigiAbdolmalek Rigi is the leader of Jundallah, a terrorist organization based in the southeastern area of Iran. He was born in 1983 into Regi tribe, one of the many Baloch tribes. He never went to school though he attended a sunni religious seminary for a few years...
.
It is believed to have 1,000 fighters and claims to have killed 400 Iranian soldiers and many more civilians. It is a part of the
BalochThe Baloch or Baluch are the majority ethnic inhabitants of the region of Balochistan in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia, including parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan....
insurgency in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
's
Sistan and Baluchistan ProvinceSistān o Balūchestān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan.The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million...
. The group started under the name of Jundallah and later renamed itself as People's Resistance Movement of Iran. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by Iran, which accuses the group of being behind numerous acts of terror, kidnapping and smuggling narcotics. Although it has been alleged to receive support from the US Government, the US denies any involvement even though several sources, such as Abdolmalek Rigi's own brother testify that the CIA is funding the budget, and that the ties are no longer to Al-Qaeda.
Background
Peoples Resistant Movement of Iran (PRMI), former Jundallah of Iran, is a Sunni Baloch terrorist organization believed to have emerged on the scene in 2003 and it is known for attacks against high-profile Iranian targets, especially government and security officials as well as civilians. Its origin and structure remain murky. Some claim it might be an offshoot of
Baluchi Autonomist MovementBaluchi Autonomist Movement or BAM was an ethnic Baluchi guerrilla movement in Iranian Balochistan led by Mowlawi Abdul Aziz Mollazadeh in the 1980s. The movement was supported by the then Iraqi government. The BAMs main demands were limited autonomy and economic concessions for Iranian Baluchis...
, which was created and supported by
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
along with other terrorist groups like Mujahideen-e Khalq during
Iran-Iraq warThe Iran–Iraq War, also known as the Imposed War and Holy Defense in Iran, and Saddām's Qādisiyyah in Iraq, and the First Gulf War , was a war...
. There appears to be at least another terrorist organisation with the name of Jundallah operating independently in Pakistan.
Iran accuses the United States and other foreign elements of backing PRMI, possibly from Pakistani territory with Islamabad's support, despite Pakistan's apparent history of cooperation with Iran to suppress trans-border terrorism, whereas PRMI adamantly denies any connections to
al-QaedaAl-Qaeda , alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is an Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989 and early 1990...
or the Taliban, as well as foreign governments such as the United States and Great Britain. The United States steadfastly denies any support or involvement with this group.
In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, its leader
Abdolmalek RigiAbdolmalek Rigi is the leader of Jundallah, a terrorist organization based in the southeastern area of Iran. He was born in 1983 into Regi tribe, one of the many Baloch tribes. He never went to school though he attended a sunni religious seminary for a few years...
stated the group had given "over 2,000 men" military, political and ideological training but that the number of its members "in the mountains does not exceed 200."
It has also been alleged that Jundallah is involved in smuggling Iranian diesel fuel to
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
, price of which is more than five times cheaper than the diesel fuel in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. The diesel fuel is then bartered with
opiumOpium is a narcotic formed from the latex released by lacerating the immature seed pods of opium poppies . It contains up to 12% morphine, an opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade...
, which is smuggled into
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
from
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
to be sold in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
.
Views and goals
The group's leader is known to be
Abdolmalek RigiAbdolmalek Rigi is the leader of Jundallah, a terrorist organization based in the southeastern area of Iran. He was born in 1983 into Regi tribe, one of the many Baloch tribes. He never went to school though he attended a sunni religious seminary for a few years...
(also spelled Abd Al-Malek Rigi and also known as Emir Abdul Malek Baloch). In a telephone interview with
RoozRooz is a Persian and English news website. It is mostly staffed by exiled reformist Iranian journalists including Masoud Behnoud, Ebrahim Nabavi and Nikahang Kowsar with occasional articles by activists and journalists inside Iran, including Shirin Ebadi and Ahmad Zeidabadi...
, (Iranian online newspaper), Rigi defended PRMI's use of violence as a just means to defend Baloch and Sunni Muslim interests in Iran and to draw attention to the difficult economic situation and ethnic discrimination of the Baloch people, whom he describes as Iran's poorest. Significantly, Rigi declared himself an Iranian and Iran as his home. He also denied harboring
separatistSeparatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group, often with demands for greater political autonomy and even for full political secession and the formation of a new state...
aspirations. According to Rigi, PRMI's goal is to improve the life of Iranian Baloch and Sunnis and not to separate from Iran or even demand autonomy.
In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, Abdolmalek stated, "the only thing we ask of the Iranian government is to be citizens. We want to have the same rights as the Iranian Shiite people. That's it." He described his group as an Islamic awakening movement but denied any ties with Al Qaeda or the Taliban. He also told the interviewer that despite the fact that "many of us have been martyred ... we are prepared to reach an understanding" with the Iranian government, Insha Allah.
United States
A report by
Brian RossBrian Elliot Ross is an American investigative correspondent for ABC News. He has been with ABC News since July 1994. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News.-Major scoops:...
and
Christopher IshamProfessor Christopher Isham is a theoretical physicist at Imperial College London. His main research interests are quantum gravity and foundational studies in quantum theory. He was the inventor of the HPO formalism - an approach to temporal quantum logic...
of
ABC NewsABC News is a division of American television network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Its current president is David Westin.-Current programs:* America This Morning* Good Morning America* Good Morning America Weekend Edition...
in April 2007 alleged that Jundallah "has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials" to destabilize the government in Iran, citing U.S. and Pakistani tribal and intelligence sources. The report alleges that U.S. Vice President
Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush....
discussed the activity of the group against Iran during his visit to Pakistan. In a
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
, the network stated that the support was believed to have started in 2005 and been arranged so that the U.S. provided no direct funding to the group, which would require
congressionalThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
oversight and attract media attention, drawing parallels between American support for Jundallah and U.S. involvement in
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
in the
Iran-Contra AffairThe Iran–Contra affair was a political scandal in the United States which came to light in November 1986, during the Reagan administration, in which senior US figures agreed to facilitate the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo, to secure the release of hostages and to fund...
.
The report was denied by
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
official sources. But despite their denial
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
stood by their claim.
Alexis DebatAlexis Debat is a French commentator on terrorism and national security issues, based in Washington D.C., USA. He worked as a reporter, consultant, and source for ABC News for six years, as a senior fellow at the Nixon Center, and was a contributing editor to The National Interest...
, one of the sources quoted by Ross and Isham in their report alleging US support for the Jundullah, resigned from ABC News in June 2007, after ABC officials claimed that he faked several interviews while working for the company. Ross went on to say the Jundullah story had many sources, adding, "We’re only worried about the things Debat supplied, not about the substance of that story." According to Ross, ABC had found nothing that would undermine the stories Mr. Debat worked on. However, he acknowledged that as the stories of fabrications continue to roll in, the network "at some point has to question whether anything he said can be believed." This caused the network in 2007 to send a second team of producers to Pakistan investigating the original reports.
Fars News AgencyFars News Agency is a news agency in Iran. While it describes itself as "Iran's leading independent news agency", organizations such as the BBC describe it as a "semi-official" news agency , i.e. with ties to the government...
, an Iranian state run news agency, reported that the United States government is involved in PRMI's terrorists acts.
Gholamali Haddadadel, Iranian parliament speaker in 2007, speaking to reporters said, Jundallah is part of pressure tactics used by United States to subdue Iran and hoped with Pakistani help, Iran would be able to defeat Jundallah.
On April 2, 2007, Abdul Malik Rigi, appeared on the
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
service of
Voice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. Its oversight entity is the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio, TV and the Internet around the world in...
, the official broadcasting service of the United States government, which identified Rigi as "the leader of popular Iranian resistance movement" and used the title of "
DoctorDoctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word which means teacher. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university...
" with his name. This incidence resulted in public condemnation by Persian-American communities in the U.S, as well as the Iranian government.
Investigative journalist
Seymour HershSeymour Myron Hersh is a United States Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C...
revealed another report in July 2008 that US congressional leaders had secretly agreed to former president
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
's USD 400 million funding request, which gives the US a free hand in arming and funding terrorist groups such as Jundullah militants.
Iranian speaker of parliament
Ali LarijaniAli Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the chairman/speaker of the Iranian parliament. Larijani was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from August 15, 2005 to October 20, 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,replacing Hassan...
, three days after the 2009 terror attack against Zahidan mosque revealed, that
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
had
intelligenceIntelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence...
reports regarding the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
links with certain terrorist groups operating against Iran and accused the United States, of commanding them. He implicated the United States in trying to start a
civil warA civil war is a war between organized groups within a single nation state, or, less commonly, between two nations created from a formerly-united nation state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the nation or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies...
between shia and sunni segments of Iranian society. Regarding the investigation of the terrorist act he added that Iran would want
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
to cooperate fully and not become a mere part of the designs against Iran.
According to
The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier...
Jundallah is just one part of a
Black OperationA black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly secret.-Origins:Black ops missions often fit into the deniable category, a situation in which there is no claim of responsibility for the action, and/or a false flag operation is used to give the...
Plan involving
psychological operationsPsychological Operations are techniques used by any set of groups to influence a target audience's value systems, belief systems, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior...
and other covert operations to support dissents among minorities (Baloch, Arab, Kurds, Azeris, etc.) in Iran, which along with tactics of military posturing, risky maneuvers and occasional conciliatory gestures are designed to improve United States bargaining position in any future negotiation with Iran. Furthermore these
Black OperationA black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly secret.-Origins:Black ops missions often fit into the deniable category, a situation in which there is no claim of responsibility for the action, and/or a false flag operation is used to give the...
s build upon a coordinated campaign consisting of disinformation, placement of negative newspaper articles, propaganda broadcasts, the manipulation of Iran's monetary currency and international banking transactions.
Iranian Interior Minister
Mostafa Pour-MohammadiHojatoll-Islam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi is a politician in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2005, he was appointed as the new interior minister of the country by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with the approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...
, has said, United States intelligence operatives have been meeting and coordinating with Anti-Iranian militants in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
as well as encouraging drug smuggling into Iran.
Jundallah is currently not included in the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign designated terrorist groups. Inclusion on the list would prohibit US citizens, companies, or government agencies from supporting the group, and trigger criminal or civil penalties for doing so.
A former
Chief of Army StaffThe Chief of Army Staff or Chief of Staff of the Army is the most senior officer in the command structure of many armies. The title comes from the fact that the officer is the chief army aide to the Commander-in-Chief, who is usually the head of state...
of the
Pakistan ArmyThe Pakistan Army is a branch of the Pakistan military that protects the state borders and territories.The Pakistan Army, combined with the Navy and Air Force, makes Pakistan's armed forces the sixth largest military in the world. The Army is modelled on the United Kingdom armed forces and came...
General Aslam Beg has accused the Coalition Forces in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
of training and supporting Jundallah against
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
.
Saudi Arabia
Iran considers Jundallah as a group connected to Taliban and their
opiumOpium is a narcotic formed from the latex released by lacerating the immature seed pods of opium poppies . It contains up to 12% morphine, an opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade...
revenues, getting financial as well as ideologic support directly from
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
in collusion with
ISIThe Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is the largest intelligence service in Pakistan...
as well as other hard-line elements within
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
. Others point to the fact that United States has for long supported
Low intensity conflictLow intensity conflict is the use of military forces applied selectively and with restraint to enforce compliance with the policies or objectives of the political body controlling the military force...
and assassinations with Saudi money, especially against nationalists, socialists and Shias.
Sweden
American journalist
Dan RatherDaniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is a journalist and former news anchor for the CBS Evening News and is now managing editor and anchor of a television news magazine, Dan Rather Reports, on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981, to March...
has traveled to
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
,
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
investigating Jundallah and its funding sources. On the US cable channel
HDnetHDNet is a general interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
's television news magazine
Dan Rather ReportsDan Rather Reports is a weekly news television show hosted by former CBS news anchor Dan Rather that airs on HDNet. After being broadcast, episodes are available on DVD and in the iTunes Store. Like all HDNet programming it is broadcast in high definition. Rather signed a three year contract and...
, he indicated that support comes from Balochis in Sweden where Radio Baloch FM is broadcast from Stockholm.
Great Britain
Iranian authorities also blame
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
for supporting Jundallah.
In
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
production "Panorama: Obama and the Ayatollah", a terrorist organisation which has carried out acts of terror leading to death of civilians and children in Iran is briefly mentioned but not named, with the official prosecution files and their
InterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
warrants blacked out in video. The international warrants call for their arrest under international anti-terrorism laws, which has not happened and Tehran blames western governments particularly British government for protecting them from an international arrest.
Pakistan
Hossein Ali Shahriari, Zahedan's representative in parliament, rhetorically asked, "Why does our diplomatic apparatus not seriously confront the Pakistani government for harboring bandits and regime's enemies? Why do security, military and police officials not take more serious action?". It has been claimed, Jundallah can not operate with at least some degree of support from within Pakistan and that elements from within Pakistani security establishement, particularly
ISIISI may refer to:Schools*Indian Statistical Institute, school in West Bengal, India*Institut Seni Indonesia, multiple schools*International School Ibadan, part of the Nigerian university...
with financial support of Saudi Arabia and its supplementation through the largest opium black market in the world have woven a complicated web of drug smugglers and terrorists to project power in the region and beyond. General Hasan Firoozabadi of Iranian Army said, one of the main bases of Jundallah has been identified and pointed out to Pakistan and Iran is awaiting for Pakistan's action on the matter. In a rare criticism Iranian
IntelligenceIntelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence...
minister after the saravan attack claimed Pakistan is not meaningfully cooperating with Iran on the issue of Jundallah.
At least some Iranian analysts believe this huge transnational web comprising of economic, political and military dimensions is ultimately being run by CIA (
Special Activities DivisionThe Special Activities Division is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service , responsible for covert action and "special activities". These activities include covert political action and paramilitary operations...
), aiming to topple or at least weaken Iranian government; with Pakistan just being a pawn much like the earlier United States support for Mujahedin against
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
with collaboration of Pakistan. These analysts believe the ideological element supporting Jundallah and similar groups come from religious madrassah's of Pakistan supported religiously and financially by
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
.
Death penalty for Jundullah activists
The information below pertains to another terrorist organisation with the name of Jundallah. Both Jundallahs are based in Pakistan but the one below are a non-Baloch Jihadist group.
In February 2006 the Karachi anti-terrorist court handed down the death penalty and life imprisonment for eleven activists of Jundullah group for attacking the convoy of former
V CorpsThe V Corps is one of the Pakistan Army's ten active corps, and the only one in the Sindh. It is based in Karachi. The Corps was raised in 1975 to command Pakistani units in the entire of Sindh and some parts of southern Punjab and eastern Balochistan.- History :...
Commander, and the previous Vice Chief of Army Staff,
GeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
Ahsan Saleem Hyat in
Karachiis the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 3rd largest city in the world by population and 20th largest city of the world, in terms of metropolitan population. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and...
on June 10, 2004. The activists were Ata-ur-Rehman, Shahzad Bajwa, Aziz, Danish Imam, Khurram Saifullah Shoaib Siddiqui, Rao Khalid, Shahzad Mukhtar, Adnan, Yaqoob Saeed, and Najeebullah belonging to a terrorist group named Jundullah. They were convicted of attacking the convoy of General Hayat near Clifton Bridge. Some 10 people, including six soldiers and three police personnel, were killed and 21 injured in the attack.
The judge also handed down 14-year and 10-year prison terms for planting a bomb and damaging public property, respectively. The court also ordered the convicts to pay Rs 100,000 each to the heirs of the deceased, along with Rs 50,000 each as a fine for an attempt to murder charge and another Rs 50,000 fine each for damage to public property. In case of default, they will have to serve an additional six month jail sentence.
Once the judge announced the judgment, all the accused present in the court got to their feet and started to chant "Allah-o-Akbar" and flash victory signs. Family members and relatives of the accused were also present in the courtyard of the court.
Five accused (Bilal, Qasim, Hammad, Shahab and Tayyeb) have already been declared absconding by the court.
Defense councils said that they would challenge the judgment in Sindh High Court within the stipulated period of seven days.
On 21 February, 2006 an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced 11 members of Jundullah to death for the attack on General Hayat.
2005 Attack on Iranian President
The motorcade of Iranian president
Mahmoud AhmadinejadMahmoud Ahmadinejad is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country.An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the...
was ambushed during his visit to Balochistan province, in which at least one of his bodyguards was killed and others injured.
2006 Tasooki Attack
On 16 March 2006, four days before Iranian new year, Jundallah blocks a road near Tasooki and kills 22 civilians including a thirteen year old student on his way for new year holidays.
2007 Zahedan bombing
On February 14, 2007, a car bomb and gunfire directed at a bus killed 18 members of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards CorpsThe Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution is a branch of Iran's military, founded after the Iranian revolution. Sepāh is thought to number as many as 120,000 with its own small naval and air units...
. Guards commander Qasem Rezaei said, "This blind terrorist operation led to the martyrdom of 18 citizens of Zahedan" and attributed the attack to "insurgents and elements of insecurity." Jundallah claimed responsibility for the attack on 15 February.
Iranian security forces also arrested five suspects, two of whom were carrying camcorders and grenades when they were arrested, while the police killed the main "agent" of the attack. Among the arrestees was Said Qanbarzehi, a Balochi, who was hanged in Zahedan prison on 27 May 2007. He had been sentenced to death at the age of 17 along with six other Balochi men—Javad Naroui, Masoud Nosratzehi, Houshang Shahnavazi, Yahya Sohrabzehi, Ali Reza Brahoui and Abdalbek Kahrazehi (also known as Abdalmalek) -- in March 2007, despite the absolute international prohibition on the execution of child offenders. Two days later on Friday, Feb 16 2007, Jundallah bombed a girls school in city of Zahedan and the leader of the group took responsibility for it on the official TV of
MEKMEK can stand for* In chemistry and industry methyl ethyl ketone, a solvent, used also to weld some plastics* The Iranian organisation Mujahideen-e Khalq* Mek, a comic mini series by Warren Ellis...
.
Mass abduction
Jundallah militants kidnapped 21 Iranian truck drivers near
ChabaharChabahar , previously also Bandar Beheshti, is an Iranian city and a free port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman.Chabahar is situated on the Makran Coast of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iran's government...
on August 19, 2007 and brought them to Pakistan. Pakistani forces later freed all of them.
Police abduction
On June 13, 2008, 16 police in southeastern Iran were abducted and brought into Pakistan. In December 2008, Jundallah announced that it had killed all the hostages.
Saravan bombing
In a rare suicide bombing in Iran, a car bomb was driven into a security building in Saravan, Iran, on December 29, 2008. The explosion killed four Iranians.
Saravan ambush
On January 25, 2009, 12 Iranian policemen were ambushed and killed by Jundallah near Saravan.
Zahedan mosque blast
A bomb blast on May 28, 2009 rocked a mosque in the city of southeastern Iranian city of
ZahedanZahedan is a city in southeastern Iran and the capital of the province of Sistan and Baluchestan. The city had an estimated population of 580,071 in 2005.
-Geography:...
as mourners participated in a ceremony marking the death of the daughter of the prophet of Islam, which killed 25 people and injured 125 others, less than 3 weeks before the Iranian 2009 presidential elections. The Iranian government promptly accused the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of having financed and orchestrated the attack in order to destabilize the nation in the lead up to its presidential election. Two days after the attack, three men were publicly hanged for smuggling the explosives used in attack into Iran from Pakistan. The trio were already in prison at the time of attack and had been tried for previous attacks by Jundallah including
2007 Zahedan bombingsThe 2007 Zahedan bombings occurred from 14-17 February in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Iran. While Jundallah, claimed responsibility, the Iranian government has accused the governments of Pakistan and the United States of complicity. The first bombing occurred at 6:30 a.m...
. Interior Minister
Sadegh MahsouliSadegh Mahsouli is the current interior minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet.Mahsouli has been appointed to head the ministry of internal affairs of Iran after impeachment of Ali Kordan by Iranian parliament in November 2008...
said in a statement posted on the internet Friday that "those who committed the Thursday bombing are neither Shia nor Sunni. They are
AmericansThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
IsraelisIsraelis , are citizens or nationals of the modern state of Israel. Israel is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds including most numerously Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and others...
." Abdel Raouf Rigi, the spokesman for Jundallah claimed responsibility on a Saudi Arabian state owned TV channel, Al-Arabiya.
2009 Pishin bombing
On October 18, 2009 42 people were killed in a suicide bombing in the Pishin region of Sistan-Baluchistan, including at least 6 officers in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards such as the deputy commander of the Guards' ground force, General Noor Ali Shooshtari, and the Guards' chief provincial commander, Rajab Ali. Jundallah claimed responsibility.
See also
- CIA activities in Iran
-Iran 1952:Britain, resentful of the nationalization of Iran's oil industry, came up with the idea for the coup in 1952 and pressed the U.S. to mount a joint operation to remove the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and install the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to...
- Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service , responsible for covert action and "special activities". These activities include covert political action and paramilitary operations...
- United States and state terrorism
- Sistan and Baluchistan Province
Sistān o Balūchestān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan.The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million...
- Iran-Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the Imposed War and Holy Defense in Iran, and Saddām's Qādisiyyah in Iraq, and the First Gulf War , was a war...
- Baloch
- Baluchi Autonomist Movement
Baluchi Autonomist Movement or BAM was an ethnic Baluchi guerrilla movement in Iranian Balochistan led by Mowlawi Abdul Aziz Mollazadeh in the 1980s. The movement was supported by the then Iraqi government. The BAMs main demands were limited autonomy and economic concessions for Iranian Baluchis...
- جندالله
- Divide and rule
In politics and sociology, divide and rule is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy...
- CIA sponsored regime change
- CIA drug trafficking
It has been alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency is involved in drug smuggling, specifically in at least three significant episodes...
- Opium production in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is, as of March, 2008, the greatest illicit opium producer in the world, before Burma , part of the so-called "Golden Crescent". Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the downfall of the Taliban in 2001...
- Allegations of CIA assistance to Osama bin Laden
Claims have been made that the American government, and in particular the Central Intelligence Agency , are responsible for enabling "Afghan Arabs," and in particular Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda....
- Persecution of Shia Muslims
The dispute over the right successor to Muhammad resulted in the formation of two main sects, the Sunni, and the Shia. The Sunni, or followers of the way, followed the caliphate and maintained the premise that any devout Muslim could potentially become the successor to the Prophet if accepted by...
- List of designated terrorist organizations
- Psychological Operations (United States)
The purpose of United States psychological operations is to induce or reinforce propaganda favorable to U.S. objectives. It can be used at the strategic, operational, also known as Psychological warfare, level or at the tactical level...
- Religious terrorism
Religious terrorism is terrorism by those whose motivations and aims have a predominant religious character or influence.In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism more often involved anarchism, nihilism and...
- Irregular Warfare
Irregular warfare is warfare in which one or more combatants are irregular military rather than regular forces. Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare, and so is asymmetric warfare....
External links