Pakistan's Descent into Chaos: Terrorist & Drone Attacks

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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009/04/20/story_20-4-2009_pg3_1

Editorial: Hangu attack and Pakistani mind

If anyone was ever focused on the developments in Hangu, a town within the administrative jurisdiction of the NWFP, he/she could have predicted the latest violence committed there by the TTP warlord Baitullah Mehsud. The violence against the Shia of Hangu had gone on but without moving the conscience of anyone in Pakistan. On Saturday, a suicide bomber drove a van full of explosives into a security checkpost in Doaba on the outskirts of Hangu, killing 27 security personnel.

Mr Baitullah Mehsud is angry at Pakistan for fighting the American war against his Tehreek-e Taliban in general, and for not stopping the American drones from attacking his area in particular. He says he can do more. He has already threatened Lahore and Karachi and doesn’t have to boast about hitting Islamabad because he can do it easily without offending the population there, a large chunk of which follows the spiritual message of Maulana Abdul Aziz, the custodian of the Red Mosque who has just been released on bail by the Supreme Court on grounds of “insufficient evidence”.

In fact, Mr Baitullah Mehsud doesn’t have to mount a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan. He has already won most of them and is now challenging the establishment to “follow the people” and not the Americans. The ANP government in the NWFP has sued for peace and won a kind of “reprieve of the defeated” while confronting the “liberal” community with the reality of what is happening on the ground. The government in Islamabad wants to fight the war against terror but has told the international community that its perception of threat is different from theirs.

Islamabad described its position on the threat of terrorism quite clearly when it told the Americans recently that it can actually reject economic assistance if it comes with conditions that are not in line with its “national interest”. There is also a gradual streamlining of the perception of threat between the ruling party and the army on the one hand and the opposition and the army on the other. The opposition has its ears close to the ground, anticipating political trouble before the incumbent government completes its five-year term. There is, unfortunately, a large section of opinion on how not to fight terrorism. And terrorism here doesn’t simply mean confronting Mr Mehsud.

This gelling opinion is based on the threat coming first from India and then from America. There is a lot of incomprehensible mishmash of thinking here but this is how the scene is set. Baitullah Mehsud is asking Pakistan to abandon the Americans or at least get them to stop the drone attacks on him. In Pakistan, it is increasingly being said that Baitullah Mehsud is being paid by both America and India to mount terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. To what end, one may ask? The conspiracy-theorists’ answer is apparently simple, “to destabilise Pakistan”. And why is the US doing it? Because, say the conspiracy theorists, the US is ganged up with India to reduce Pakistan to the position of a lackey of hegemonic India. And, of course, all that anticipates the conversion of South Asia into a pro-American bastion against China, according to these people.

The military perception is India-linked.
According to this, India is being allowed by the US to dominate Afghanistan and thus saddle Pakistan with a two-front situation, which is not permissible in Pakistan’s strategic thinking. Therefore, it follows from this assumption that the US cannot ask Pakistan to fight the Taliban who attack Afghanistan across the Durand Line unless it helps Pakistan in pacifying the likes of Baitullah Mehsud. And the policy vis-à-vis the Pakistani Taliban is based on seeking peace through negotiation rather than through war. But the Pakistani Taliban will not relent unless the Americans leave Afghanistan, after which the Indians there will have to contend with a Pakistani response.

Most Pakistanis believe that terrorism in the tribal areas and Balochistan is being fomented by India, although no proof has yet been made public about it. Pakistanis also look at America as their enemy which is determined to snatch Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and thus reduce Pakistan to a power of unequal status vis-à-vis India. Retired army officers used as experts of strategy by the TV channels throw in Israel and Mossad as the other destabilising factor in the equation. Given this situation, it is difficult to conceive how the state of Pakistan is morally and psychologically prepared to fight the man who kills its soldiers on a daily basis.
 

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Media Watch: Monitoring the situation in Pakistan- a few free-to-air news channels

Gentlemen, the following is a link to a webcast for free, live news channels from a near-instantaneous satellite broadcast:


Watch Live DawnNews Tv Dawn News DawnTv Online - English Pakistani Channel Television | iMuslimz Network


The website hosts the following news channels online:

Dawn (English)* [Dawn is Pakistan's premier English language news channel ]
AlJazeera (English)
GeoTV News Online (Urdu)*
Ary Digital (Urdu)
PTV News (Urdu)


*Recommended


I'd like this to remain a separate thread so that other members can post links to additional webcasts online- not just for Pakistan, but for the region at large.
 

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US sees spike in Afghanistan, Pakistan attacks

US sees spike in Afghanistan, Pakistan attacks

By MATTHEW LEE – 2 hours ago
Apr 29, 2009


WASHINGTON (AP) — Terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan have risen sharply as extremists have consolidated and expanded operations, according to the government and independent analysts.

On Thursday, the State Department's annual assessment of worldwide terrorism is expected to show that terrorist attacks in Pakistan alone more than quadrupled between 2006 and 2008, according to a U.S. official briefed on its findings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress is still being notified of the findings.

Last year's "Country Reports on Terrorism" from the State Department found that attacks in Pakistan had more than doubled from 375 to 887 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300 percent from 335 to 1,335.

Terror attacks also were up in Afghanistan, according to the new report. Last year's State terrorism report found the number of attacks rose 16 percent in Afghanistan, to 1,127 incidents in 2007, killing 1,966 people, 56 percent more than the 1,257 who died in 2006.

The American Security Project reported separately Wednesday that there is "no good news" from either Pakistan or Afghanistan.

"Governmental weakness in both states has created opportunities for radical Islamist groups on both sides of the border," the independent analysts concluded.

The attacks complicate the Obama administration's efforts to boost military and civilian programs in the region.

"Terrorist attacks are up, but worse, territory controlled by the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban has also increased," said the American Security Project, a bipartisan Washington-based organization that analyses terrorism trends and the effectiveness of U.S. counterterrorism policies.

The American Security Project attributes the rise in incidents to the spread of the Taliban, which it said has a "persistent presence" in about 75 percent of the Afghanistan. In Pakistan, it noted that the government increasingly has ceded authority to militants in tribal areas, even before turning over the Swat Valley to the Taliban earlier this month.

Bernard Finel, an author of the report, offered a starkly dim view of Pakistan, saying the Taliban's power has become institutionalized in the Swat Valley and the situation in the country "may already be irretrievable."

The report added that the number of attacks attributable to Islamist extremists is on the rise in other nations as well, notably in the Middle East, Somalia, Russia and the Philippines, and that the trend would pose great difficulties for what the Bush administration termed the global war on terrorism.

It said the rise in such violence could be due to a decrease in attacks in Iraq in 2008.

It counted 670 attacks by Islamists in 2008 outside of the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters and Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the fourth consecutive year the number has risen. It said the radical Islamist violence is now 10 times more common than in the late 1990s.

"The explosive growth in Islamist violence in 2008 forces us to have a very pessimistic outlook on the struggle at the start of the Obama administration," the project said.


Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.




The Associated Press: US sees spike in Afghanistan, Pakistan attacks
 

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SOLUTIONS/ULLMAN: What to do about Afghanistan?

SOLUTIONS/ULLMAN: What to do about Afghanistan?

By Harlan Ullman | Sunday, April 5, 2009


The Obama administration's strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, now collectively called AFG/PAK, specifically focuses on disrupting and defeating the principal danger of al Qaeda. That strategy will increase U.S. forces by 21,000 for counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and apply greater effort on the civil side for development and reconstruction in both countries.

I believe this strategy, however, contains several flaws that must be corrected if success is to be achieved.

First, the threat extends beyond al Qaeda. Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and other extremists are out to topple the governments in Kabul and Islamabad. Al Qaeda can be eliminated and these dangers still will pose existential threats to both countries.

Second, Pakistan is the true strategic center of gravity in this two-front war. Unless the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) are cleansed of the insurgencies and their root causes, success in Afghanistan cannot be achieved because the porous and ill-defined border offers too much unfettered access and sanctuary.

Third, if the dangers are as real as President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. believe, and I agree with that assessment, we have terribly underresourced this effort. In the current financial and economic crises, the collapse of AIG, for example, was deemed as ruinous to the system. So far, the U.S. has pumped $170 billion into AIG. If the collapse of Afghanistan or Pakistan holds similar consequences for regional and global stability, then more money must be available to prevent that implosion.

By its own admission, Pakistan faces simultaneous security and economic crises of existential proportion. A report issued by the Atlantic Council earlier this year co-chaired by Sens. Chuck Hagel and John Kerry concluded that Pakistan could overcome these dual crises without the need for our troops. Five billion dollars to $6 billion a year for several years above what is currently in the pipeline would redress the economic and security crises.

The bulk would go to repairing an economy reeling over critical shortages of food, energy and water. The remaining amount would go to the army and to recruiting and training 15,000 additional police a year to secure territory once cleared by the army in FATA and the NWFP. Pakistan has the people and the infrastructure for this. Pakistan simply lacks the money to pay for and support this initiative.


Unfortunately, the $10 billion in coalition funding intended for the Pakistan army over the last decade went to the Finance Ministry to fill holes in the economy. The army received less than a third — a reality that does not go down well in Congress. Hence, the army is still in vital need of equipment to end an insurgency rather than fighting India.

NATO has bet its future on Afghanistan. A second Atlantic Council report released last year warned: "Make no mistake. NATO is not winning in Afghanistan." The reason was the inability to secure that country, given the limited security forces at hand.

Afghanistan is not Iraq, where some 700,000 to 800,000 forces of all stripes maintain a measure of security in a country that is much smaller in size and population than Afghanistan. Neither we, NATO nor Afghanistan will be able to field the necessary security forces to guarantee stability for the foreseeable future. And, as history records, Afghanistan has been a graveyard for foreign forces.

But to succeed in Pakistan, the gaping trust deficit between America and Pakistan must also be closed. Many Americans believe that the Pakistani army sees India and not the insurgency as the true threat. Others see Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence (ISI) as a rogue agency uncontrollable or uncontrolled by the civilian government. And the government of President Asif Zardari is viewed as weak and fragile.

Pakistanis are not convinced of America's staying power, given the unhappy history of embrace and rejection. Sanctions over Pakistan's nuclear programs and A.Q. Khan's role in selling technology to America's adversaries, along with tariffs on textiles, continue to anger Pakistanis. And Predator attacks by the U.S. in FATA and the NWFP enflame the public.

With the proper oversight, accountability and the willingness to overcome this trust deficit, money becomes the principal instrument for success in Pakistan, which will lead to success in Afghanistan. The strategy is to turn Pakistan's economy around; provide the army with weapons, related systems and development money to defeat the insurgency in the rugged Hindu Kush; persuade India to assure Pakistan that it is no longer an existential threat; and achieve closer coordination among Pakistani, NATO and Afghan forces on the border.

In Afghanistan, counterinsurgency operations can work realizing that further troop additions will increase casualties and likely reinforce Afghan resistance to foreign intervention. Dialogue with the tribal and ethnic structures, as well as various shades of "Taliban," could reduce some of the violence. If we are serious about job creation, then focus explicitly on effective agricultural plans and rebuilding the once extensive irrigation system destroyed by the Soviets and then the Taliban is crucial. And if the drug problem is to be tackled, licit purchases that worked in India, Thailand and Turkey must be examined.

The collective "we" can and must defeat these threats to our ways of life. Getting the right strategy is step one. Then, having the courage and stamina to carry that strategy out will determine success or failure.


Harlan Ullman is a senior adviser at the Atlantic Council and a frequent visitor to Pakistan.




SOLUTIONS/ULLMAN: What to do about Afghanistan? - Washington Times
 

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19 including woman, children injured in Quetta attack

By Saleem Shahid
Sunday, 03 May, 2009 | 04:40 AM PST |



QUETTA: At least 19 people, a woman and three children among them, were injured after a hand grenade exploded in the Jail Road area, on Saturday evening.

According to police, two people tried to throw the grenade on the roof of a shop, but it bounced back and landed on the busy road, injuring the passers-by.

The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital in Quetta, where a large number of people, including relatives of the victims, gathered and blocked the main Jinnah Road, protesting against the government.

Seventeen of the injured people have been identified as Nazar Mohammad, Jahangir, Gul Mohammad, Sher Mohammad, Faiz Mohammad, Abdul Hameed, Abdul Razaq, Samiullah, Javed, Abdul Rehman, Tanveer, Dil Aziz, Ali Mohammad, Mehmood, Bismillah, Saeed Ahmed and Rashida Bibi.


DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | 19 including woman, children injured in Quetta attack
 

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Monday, May 04, 2009

Taliban kill ‘US spy’ in North Wazirsitan

Monday, May 04, 2009

MIRANSHAH: The Taliban in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday shot dead an Afghan national, accusing him of spying for the United States, a police official said. The bullet-ridden body of Fazal Haq, 28, was found dumped by a roadside in Naurak village, 15 kilometres east of Miranshah, the agency’s main town. “Haq, who was kidnapped two months ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body,” police official Omar Niaz told AFP. A note written in Pushto language and found on Haq’s body said, “He was killed because of spying for the US against the Taliban.” afp


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2 policemen shot dead in Quetta

Monday, May 04, 2009


QUETTA: In what appeared to be target killings, unidentified assailants shot dead two policemen on Arbab Karam Khan Road on Sunday, said police. Police said Head Constable Khan Gul and Constable Shamshad were on duty when they came under attack. An investigation has been launched. Meanwhile, city police arrested 30 suspects on Sunday as part of an investigation into Saturday’s grenade blast that injured 19 people, said police sources. Balochistan IG Asif Nawaz Warraich vowed that police would arrest those responsible for the blast within 48 hours. app


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‘15 journalists killed in murderous year for Pakistani media’



Daily Times Monitor
Sunday, May 03, 2009


LAHORE: Fifteen journalists were killed in the line of duty in Pakistan in the past 12 months (the media year between May 3, 2008 and May 3, 2009) while one committed suicide over the non-payment of salary, making it the most ‘murderous’ year in Pakistan’s media history.

These findings have been reported in an annual ‘State of Media in Pakistan’ report regarding the violations committed against Pakistani media. The report has been developed by media development and research organisation ‘Intermedia’. The report revealed media had to pay a heavy price for the war on terror over the past 12 months. Five of the 15 journalists died as a result of either suicide bombings or were killed by security forces or militants.

During the period in review, there were 11 recorded instances of 35 journalists either arrested by the security forces or kidnapped by unknown persons or militant groups. Of these, 27 journalists were either arrested or kidnapped in three instances in FATA, three were arrested or kidnapped in three instances in Sindh, two each in NWFP and Punjab and one in Islamabad. The study also reveals that a total of 61 journalists were assaulted and injured in 35 separate incidents in the period under review.

The report recorded a total of 104 cases of intimidation or threats to journalists and media organisations. 11 cases of attacks on media properties were also recorded. However, no such incidents occurred in Sindh and Azad Kashmir (AJK). There were also 22 recorded instances of forced censorship or gag orders during this period.

In all, there were 248 reported cases of violations against the media in Pakistan in the period. The violations included such categories as killings, arrests, kidnappings, assaults, injuries, intimidation, threats, attacks on media properties.

Punjab was statistically the most dangerous place for journalists with 81 of the 247 cases of violations against the media, while Islamabad was second with 48 incidents. Among the journalists killed, six were from Punjab including Raja Assad Hameed (based in Rawalpindi); Malik Tariq Javed (Lahore); Amir Wakeel (Rawalpindi); S M Shahid (Lahore); Abdul Razaq Jora (Mianwali) and Tabish Ishtiaq (Lalamusa). One journalist from Punjab, Muhammad Azam Khan (Lahore) committed suicide for nonpayment of salary.

Five journalists from NWFP were killed in the past 12 months including Musa Khankhel (Swat); Tahir Awan (Dera Ismail Khan); Muhammad Imran (Dera Ismail Khan); Qari Mohammed Shoaib (Swat) and Abdul Aziz Shaheen (Peuchar). Two journalists were killed in Sindh including Mian Atta Muhammad Siddiki (Shahdadkot) and Muhammad Azam Leghari (Dadu). One journalist from Balochistan, Wasi Ahmad (Khuzdar), and one from FATA, Muhammad Ibrahim (Khar) were also gunned down.

Two journalists (Tahir Awan and Mohammad Imran) were killed in a suicide blast in Dera Ismail Khan, one (Qari Muhammad Shoaib) was killed by security forces in Swat while all the others were murdered by unknown assailants although a few of them were suspected of being killed by militants.

November 2008 proved to be the most bloody with four journalists (SM Shahid, Mian Atta Muhammad Siddiki, Qari Mahammad Shoaib and Abdul Razaq Jora) killed in this month. Three (Mohammed Imran, Tahir Awan and Amir Wakeel) were killed in January 2009, two (Malik Tariq Javed and Raja Assad Hameed) in March 2009, two (Abdul Aziz Shaheen and Muhammad Azam Leghari) in August 2008, one (Wasi Ahmed) in April 2009. Ten of those killed worked for newspapers while five worked for TV channels.


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Man killed, five women injured in Bajaur

Staff Report
Sunday, May 03, 2009

KHAR: A man was killed and five women were injured in suspected Taliban rocket and missile attacks in Pusht area in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Saturday.

Volunteers of a tribal lashkar retaliated.

Sources in the area said that a grand jirga of tribesmen was scheduled in Pusht when the Taliban attacked the venue with rockets, destroying three houses. Tribesman Abdul Jabbar was killed and five women including three of a family sustained critical injuries.

The volunteers of Salarzai Qaumi Lashkar followed the Taliban in the hills and exchanged fire for several hours. The security forces also targeted the attackers’ positions from Khar.

Except one man, no casualties were reported as the gunfight continued until late on Saturday.


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Taliban kill ‘US spy’ in Waziristan

Saturday, May 02, 2009

[Incident distinct from Monday, May 04, 2009]

MIRANSHAH: The Taliban on Friday killed a man in North Waziristan for allegedly spying for the US, Daily Times has learnt. The bullet-ridden body of Muhammad Gul, a resident of Dosali tehsil, was found on the Miranshah-Razmak road, some 40 kilometres south of the agency headquarters. A note found near the body warned that anyone spying for the US would meet the same fate. staff report


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One Shia killed, six wounded in Kohat blast

Friday, May 01, 2009

PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb blast in Kohat killed a Shia man and wounded six others travelling by a mini-bus in an apparent sectarian attack on Thursday, the police said. “Seven people were injured in the bomb blast,” local police official Shafiq Khan said. “It appears to be a sectarian attack as all the passengers in the van were Shias,” he said, adding the blast was caused by a crude, makeshift device. Another police official, requesting anonymity, said one of the wounded died in hospital and that three of the wounded were in a serious condition. afp


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Qaeda figure urges Pakistanis to rebel against govt


DUBAI: A top Al Qaeda commander has called on Pakistanis to rise up against the Pakistani government where Taliban are fighting the army, according to a message on websites promoting extremism on Thursday.

The 29-page article by Abu Yahya Al-Libi, who is thought to be in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was dated mid-March. Pakistan’s army has been trying to fight back Al Qaeda’s Taliban allies who have taken control of areas close to Islamabad. “Muslims in Pakistan, and especially their clerics, should prepare themselves and rise up to perform the duty ... of fighting the Pakistani army and the rest of the apparatus that are the pillars of their tyrannical state,” Al-Libi wrote.

“The criminals in the Pakistani government and its army have not only been a cover for the occupying crusader infidels in Afghanistan, they have directly helped them in committing all their crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere,” he said. reuters


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Govt buildings, schools blown up in Buner

By Abdur Rehman Abid
Tuesday, 05 May, 2009 | 08:14 AM PST |


Veiled women sit on the rubble of a blown up structure in the troubled region.
- AP/File photo



BUNER: Militants blew up several government buildings and schools in Buner district while security forces expanded their operation on Monday after securing Ambela.

People in the area are in panic and fleeing their homes. Hospitals are running short of essential drugs.

Militants are still controlling key positions along the main highway from Daggar to Pir Baba and the Gokand valley.

Reports reaching here said that higher secondary schools for girls and boys, tehsil administration buildings and a police station at Gagra were destroyed.

Sources said troops had moved from Daggar, the headquarters of Buner district, towards the Gagra subdivision, but were facing stiff resistance.

Fierce clashes have been reported from Kalpani, Tangoo Bridge and Dewana Baba. Local people said that troops backed by tanks faced resistance near the Kalpani village.

The sources said that after taking control of Gagra, troops would move towards the Gokand valley, considered a militant stronghold.


DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Govt buildings, schools blown up in Buner
 

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Taliban kill five tribesmen in Hangu ambush

Friday, May 08, 2009


HANGU: At least five people were killed and eight others injured in a clash between the Taliban and a local lashkar (tribal militia) in Hangu district on Thursday, locals said. They said the Taliban had abducted three people from Sanjikhel tribe. The lashkar followed them to get the men released. Amir Nawaz, Noorullah, Noor Wali, Faizullah and Akhtar Jan were killed in the ensuing gunfight. abdul saboor khan


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Taliban blow up school in Darra

Friday, May 08, 2009


LAHORE: Taliban blew up a high school in Darra Adam Khel, a private TV channel reported on Thursday. According to the channel, Taliban planted explosives in a government high school in the Bosti Khel area in Darra Adam Khel that went off with a bang. The blast damaged the building, however, no loss of life was reported, the channel said. The political administration has launched an investigation into the incident, it added. daily times monitor


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Mausoleum, shrine blown up in Orakzai Agency

Thursday, May 07, 2009


HANGU: Unidentified men blew up an under-construction mausoleum in Lower Orakzai Agency on Wednesday. Residents told Daily Times that the men blew up the mausoleum of Khyal Muhammad in a graveyard in Shehan area. He was killed in Dubai six months ago and his family was getting a mausoleum constructed on his grave. Meanwhile, unidentified armed men abducted a government primary school teacher Zahiruddin from Hangu when he came to a bank to withdraw his salary. Unidentified armed men also blew up the shrine of Maulvi Rehman in in Shakian area of the agency, Online reported. No casualties were reported. The blast also damaged a few houses near the shrine. staff report/online


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Three security personnel killed in Sibi attack

By Malik Siraj Akbar


QUETTA: Suspected Baloch militants killed three personnel of the security forces and injured three others when they attacked their van on Wednesday.

The morning attack occurred in Thali area of Karmo Wadh town close to Balochistan’s Sibi district.

According to the details, the assailants ambushed the security personnel from their hideouts in the mountains.

Baloch militants have been engaged in a four-year-long insurgency in the province and demand control of the province’s resources.

The killed soldiers were identified as Farman Ali, Muhammad Ramzan and Muhammad Rahim while Gohar Ali, Nehamatullah and Muhammad Ibrahim were injured. Local sources said the attack was followed by clashes between the security forces and the attackers, however, the attackers managed to escape.

Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen killed three persons of a family, including a woman, and injured eight others working at a farm in Dera Bugti district. The gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on civilians working at the farm in Maro area of Dera Bugti, killing Turk Ali, his wife and son.


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Grenade injures 17 in DI Khan mosque

Thursday, May 07, 2009


PESHAWAR: At least 17 people were wounded after unidentified attackers threw a hand grenade at a mosque Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, police said.

The attack took place when people were offering Isha prayers at the mosque. "Seventeen people were injured after a grenade attack on the mosque," local police official Diljan Khan told AFP.

"The injured have been shifted to hospital and police have started an investigation," Khan said, adding that the attack on the Sunni mosque appeared to be linked to sectarian violence. afp


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15 dead in Waziristan drone attack, ambush

By Our Correspondent
Saturday, 09 May, 2009 | 10:32 PM PST |


The missiles hit a compound at Tabbi Langar Khel village,
a tribal district bordering Afghanistan. -File Photo



WANA: Six people were killed and three others injured when suspected US drones fired four missiles on two cave-houses in Sararogha sub-division of South Waziristan on Saturday.

Sources claimed that those killed and injured in the attack belonged to the Baitullah Mehsud group.

According to reports, four planes were flying over the area when missiles hit the cave-houses. Four loud explosions were heard by the area people.

After the attack, militants retrieved the bodies and the injured. The injured were taken to a government-run hospital in Sararogha. ‘I can confirm a missile strike at a compound at Tabbi Langar Khel,’ a security official told AFP.

Semi-autonomous South Waziristan is a stronghold of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who recently threatened to avenge missile strikes with attacks across the country and in the United States.


NINE KILLED

Meanwhile, at least nine people were killed on Saturday in a gunfight following an attack on a military convoy in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

Troops returned fire after suspected militants ambushed the convoy in Sheen, a village in South Waziristan, a security official said.

‘Four militants were killed, two of them were arrested and one security official was also killed,’ the official said.

‘Four civilians caught in the crossfire were also killed,’ the official said. Local administration officials confirmed the incident.


DAWN.COM | Pakistan | 15 dead in Waziristan drone attack, ambush

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Scores dead as drone hits Mehsud stronghold

Sunday, May 10, 2009


TANK: Four missiles fired by a suspected US drone on Saturday killed several Taliban in South Waziristan, although exact figures could not be determined.

Officials claimed 10 Taliban had been killed, a deputy Taliban commander said five were killed, the political administration claimed nine Taliban were killed, while tribesmen claimed they had counted 25 bodies. staff report


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Five injured in Hub blast

Sunday, May 10, 2009


QUETTA: Five people have been injured in a motorcycle bomb blast, police in Balochistan’s industrial town of Hub said on Saturday. According to details, a bomb fixed to a parked motorcycle went off early on Saturday in the Baloch-dominated town of Hub in Lasbela district.

Eyewitnesses said the blast occurred near Sher Ali petrol pump on the RCD highway.

Though the actual target of the bomb was believed to be a checkpost of the Frontier Crops, it missed the target. Windowpanes of several shops and buildings were damaged because of the blast.

Karam Soomro, assistant superintendent of police, said unidentified men had fixed a bomb to a motorcycle and left it parked until it exploded. “Luckily, the blast did not kill anyone and it failed to cause serious damage to life,” he said. staff report


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Taliban blow up Umar Baba’s shrine

Saturday, May 09, 2009


PESHAWAR: Taliban on Friday blew up the shrine of Sheikh Umar Baba at Regi area of the city, locals told Daily Times.

According to the police, the explosives had been planted near the pillars of the centuries-old shrine, APP reported. Locals said a blast around 3am destroyed the shrine situated on Palosi Road.

A local resident said the villagers were now worried about other shrines in the area.

Meanwhile, the Taliban also blew up two plazas and killed a local activist in Adezai area in the Mattani Police Station jurisdiction.

Adezai Union Council Nazim Abdul Malik told reporters that Taliban had planted bombs in two plazas that went off around 2am on Friday. He said at least 16 shops and houses were destroyed in the blast.

Taliban also killed a local activist, Shamim, in the Adezai village around 8am on Friday. staff report/app


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4 killed as rocket hits refugee camp in Darra

Saturday, May 09, 2009


KOHAT: At least four people were killed and several others injured when a rocket fired from an unidentified location hit an Afghan refugee camp in Jangal Khel area, while the security forces launched a fresh operation against the Taliban in Darra Adam Khel.

Four people, including two women and a child were killed when the rocket hit a house at the Afghan Refugee Camp number two. Three children were also seriously wounded.

Meanwhile, according to security sources, an operation had been launched against the Taliban in Shen Dhand, Tor Chappar, Sunni Khel, Bosti Khel and Akhorwal areas in Darra Adam Khel. The security forces were targeting Taliban hideouts with heavy artillery. app


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‘US missiles’ kill 10 in South Waziristan

Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Staff Report


WANA: Ten persons were killed and four others wounded in South Waziristan after 10 missiles were fired from across Afghanistan reportedly by US forces, local elders said on Tuesday.

The missiles were fired after Taliban attacked a coalition forces checkpost in Paktika province.

“Some 10 missiles hit a house in Sra Khawra, 20 kilometres north of Angoor Adda near the Afghan border and 10 casualties were reported,” sources close to border guards told Daily Times.

The Taliban engaged the coalition forces in Paktika early on Tuesday and the crossfire lasted more than an hour, the sources quoted the border guards as saying. Local authorities in Wana said it was not clear the killed people were Taliban or civilians.

An unmanned spy plane was seen hovering over the area during the missile attack, local residents said.

Yar Mohammad, a resident of the area, told The Associated Press by telephone that he had seen Taliban removing bodies from the attacked building and taking them away in vehicles.


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School blown up in Jamrud

Wednesday, May 13, 2009


JAMRUD: Unidentified men on Tuesday blew up a boys’ primary school in Ali Masjid area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency. During the last two days two schools have been destroyed in the region.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Separately, security forces demolished two houses owned by Taliban leaders, Yahya Hijrat and Muhammad Amin, in Ghundai area of the tehsil.

Talking to Daily Times, a political administration official said Hijrat was arrested during operation Darghlam while another wanted man, Rahimullah, handed himself over to the administration. sajid ali


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Gas line blown up in Quetta

Monday, May 11, 2009


QUETTA: Unidentified men blew up a gas pipeline in the suburbs of Quetta on Sunday, officials said.

The Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) officials said the explosion along the 16-inch diameter pipeline, in Mengalabad area on Sariab Road, destroyed a portion of the gas pipeline, affecting gas supply to some suburbs.

They said that a SSGCL team had been rushed to the site for repairs. The police have registered a case. app


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Suicide attack kills 10 in Darra

* 17-year-old car bomber could not hit targeted FC post

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomber killed 10 people in an attack on an FC checkpoint in Darra Adam Khel on Monday.

“Ten people were killed. Three of them died of their injuries in hospital. And seven people are injured,” an intelligence official told AFP.

Officials said a six-year-old girl and two security personnel were among those killed when the suicide bomber exploded his car near the checkpost.

“The target was the checkpost but he couldn’t manage to reach the soldiers because of a queue of cars,” police spokesman Fazal Naeem told Reuters.

Vehicles on the Kohat-Peshawar road were hit by the bombing. Online said the attacker was 17 years old. Eleven members of a family and 13 security personnel were injured in the attack, it said.

President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack. agencies


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Taliban activities surge in Peshawar

* A suicide attack, bomb blasts, rockets attacks and several kidnappings for ransom have been reported in city in first 10 days of May

By Manzoor Ali Shah
Monday, May 11, 2009


PESHAWAR: Taliban activities are surging in and around Peshawar after the Swat operation began.

A suicide attack, bomb blasts, rockets attacks and several kidnappings for ransom have been reported in the first 10 days of May, and traders staged a protest against what they call the government’s failure to curb the increasing incidents of abduction.

Suspected Taliban fired six mortar shells on Adezai village in the precincts of Mattani Police Station late on Saturday. There were no casualties.

Late on Friday, suspected Taliban blew up two markets in Adezai. At least 16 shops were destroyed in two blasts. A member of a local lashkar (tribal militia) was also killed.

Five alleged Taliban were killed in a clash with police in the precincts of Chamkani Police Station on the same night, while a police official sustained injuries.

Also on Friday night, the Taliban blew up the shrine of Sheikh Baba in Regi area. It was the second attack on a shrine in the provincial capital in recent months. The shrine of Sufi poet Rehman Baba was destroyed in March this year.

Also on Friday, Taliban threatened doctors in Peshawar hospitals against wearing western clothes, and three rockets were fired at the Peshawar airport. On Thursday, Taliban destroyed two CD shops in the limits of Bhanamari Police Station, and damaged another three.On Wednesday, an electricity pylon was blown up in the precincts of Urmur Police Station and the owner of Asia Pipe Store was kidnapped. Two other people were kidnapped on the same day.

On Tuesday, a suicide car blast ripped through the Bara Qadeem checkpost on the border with Khyber Agency, killing at least seven people and injuring 48.

On Saturday, six tankers carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan were destroyed in an attack on a terminal, while three kidnappers were killed in a gunfight with police while trying to abduct a deputy director of the Frontier Highway Authority (FHA).

Residents of Regi village fear more attacks as a number of shrines are situated in the area.

A resident told Daily Times while requesting anonymity that Taliban from Bara and Jamrud visit the Regi village and had sent threatening letters to the caretakers of another shrine.

Adezai Nazim Haji Abdul Malik, who is resisting the Taliban in the area which abuts the semi-tribal Darra Adamkhel area, told Daily Times that Taliban activities had increased over the last one week and that they were targeting people who oppose them. At least five attacks have occurred in his area recently, he added.

Senior police officials were not available for comment.


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Peshawar rocked by blast; seven killed, 75 injured



Shopkeepers and security personnel gather at a car bomb blast site in Peshawar. -AFP Photo


PESHAWAR: A devastating car bomb ripped through a cinema and some vehicles on the busy Cinema Road at Khyber Bazaar killing at least seven persons and injuring 75 others Friday evening.

Hospital sources feared that the death toll might rise as some of the injured were in critical condition.

It was the second major blast during a period of one week in Peshawar, as earlier 13 persons were killed in a car bombing on the City Circular Road on May 16.

Within three hours of the blast some unidentified miscreants hurled two hand grenades on a vacant police post at Wazirbagh.

‘The explosives weighing about 65 kgs were planted in a Suzuki Alto Car which went of when cine-goers were coming out from Tasveer Mahal Cinema,’ said the SSP (Coordination) Qazi Muhammad Jamil.

About the attack on police post, he said that fortunately nobody was around and the building was only partially damaged.

An official of the bomb disposal squad said that it was a time device similar to the one used in the last car bombing on City Circular Road.

Sources in the Lady Reading Hospital, where most of the dead and injured were shifted, said that they had received six bodies and 75 injured wherein six were critical.

The eye witnesses who were working in a hotel opposite to the cinema told Dawn that they were busy in routine activities when they heard a loud bang and windowpanes of the building were smashed.

‘Initially, we couldn’t properly see due to the thick smoke and dust as to what had happened but when people started crying inside the cinema we understood that blast had occurred,’ said Fayaz Mohammad, manager of Ambrina Hotel.




With broken windowpanes and concrete strewn all over the place, the groaning injured persons were lying on floor on the busy Cinema Road, housing two cinemas and scores of audio cassettes and CD shops.

Another witness Amjad Ali, whose clothes were stained with blood from rescue work, said he was sitting in a shop near the cinema that the blast occurred. ‘The blast took place when a film show had just ended and the people were coming out,’ he said.

The blast destroyed at least eight vehicles including two auto rickshaws. The explosion was so powerful that it smashed windowpanes of the buildings, music centers, CD shops and hotels situated at a distance.

The blast had also played havoc with nearby electricity poles and transformer, causing power suspension in the area.

Panicked shopkeepers even in the nearby Qissa Khwani and Khyber Bazaar started pulling down shutters soon after the blast.

The police had cordoned off the entire area and blocked the Cinema Road for vehicular traffic.

The NWFP Minister for Sport and Culture Syed Aqil Shah, who also visited the blast site, told reporters that it was a terrorist act which was aimed at destabilizing the government.

He said his government would never bow to the terrorists and continue fighting them to ensure protection to lives and properties of the people.


DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | Peshawar rocked by blast; seven killed, 75 injured.
 

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