Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

On April 24, a five-kilogram bomb in a bag exploded at the Lahore Railway Station. The
blast killed three people and injured 58.
On July 12, the TTP stormed a police training facility in Lahore and executed nine police
cadets.
On August 16, the TTP launched a coordinated assault with armed commandos and
suicide bombers on the Kamra Air Force Base in Attock, Punjab. One security official
was killed in the attack.
On August 29, terrorists attacked a Pakistani military post near the Afghan border in
South Waziristan and killed 12 soldiers. TTP uploaded video to the internet of some of
the soldiers being beheaded.
On September 3, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle next to a
Consulate General Peshawar motorcade near the entrance to the Consulate’s University
town housing area. The blast killed one bystander and injured at least 20 others. Two
U.S. diplomatic personnel were injured along with three local staff members and two
Pakistani Police officers.
On November 21, a suicide bomber detonated his jacket near a Moharram religious
procession in Rawalpindi. The blast killed 23 people and injured 62.
On December 15, terrorists attacked Peshawar Airport, killing nine people and injuring
42.
On December 22, at least nine people, including a provincial Minister, were killed and
over 18 others were injured when a suicide bomber attacked a political gathering in
Peshawar.
On December 29, 22 Pakistani soldiers were killed by TTP elements outside Peshawar.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: In November, the Cabinet approved the
National Counter Terrorism Authority Act of 2012, which was designed to strengthen
counterterrorism coordination and information-sharing between security agencies and provincial
police and provide a vehicle for national counterterrorism policy and strategy formulation. In
December, Pakistan’s National Assembly approved the Fair Trial Act, which was designed to
provide the necessary legal tools to intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, and
prosecutors to detect, disrupt, and dismantle terrorist activities and organizations. The law
authorizes trial courts to use evidence obtained by electronic interception and surveillance.
Pakistani security forces conducted counterterrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province and throughout the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that resulted in the detention
or arrest of thousands of militants. Security forces intercepted large stockpiles of weapons and
explosives, and discovered bomb-making facilities.
Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Courts have a high acquittal rate. Witnesses routinely recant their
statements or fail to appear because of threats against them and their families. In June, an Anti-
Terrorism Court acquitted four men accused of assisting Faisal Shahzad, the TTP-trained
militant who attempted to explode a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square in 2010,
claiming a lack of evidence. The court would not accept evidence collected by electronic
surveillance. The Fair Trial Act, approved by parliament in December, will allow evidence
obtained by electronic interception and surveillance to be admitted as evidence in the courts
system.
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