Pakistan News
Pakistan clashes kill 8 soldiers, 18 militants
Friday, February 03, 2012, Islamabad: In a pre-dawn strike, Taliban militants on Friday attacked a strategic check post in Pakistan's restive tribal belt along the Afghan border, triggering fierce clashes in which at least eight security personnel and 18 terrorists were killed.
Militants also abducted five security personnel during the attack on the check post in Shidano Dand area of Kurram tribal region, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.
The attack triggered fierce clashes in which eight soldiers and 18 militants were killed, they said.
There was no official word on the incident. Fourteen soldiers and over 80 militants were recently killed in a fighting in Jogi area of Kurram tribal agency, where the Taliban had targeted soldiers holding a strategic mountain.
Troops recently took control of the mountain after flushing militants out of the area.
Combat jets carried out air strikes in the region after the Taliban killed several soldiers in attacks.
The Pakistan army and air force have been conducting operations against the Taliban in Kurram since the beginning of the year.
Besides the activities of the Taliban, Kurram has been affected by clashes between Shia and Sunni tribesmen over the past four years. Hundreds of people have died in the fighting between the rival tribesmen.
Meanwhile, one person was killed and two others injuries in a blast in Bara area of Khyber tribal agency today, local media reported.
Pakistan hints at ending NATO blockade “within a week”
Islamabad, Feb 3: Pakistan has hinted at ending the NATO blockade possibly “within a week”, which lasted for over two months in protest against the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said reporters that parliament, tasked with adopting the review, would “hopefully” meet next week.
“I cannot pre-empt what the parliament is going to decide but I would assume that should not be so much of a problem,” The News quoted her, as saying.
“I’m going to hopefully ensure and push it very hard that it is no later than within a week… first half of February is probable,” she added.
She said Pakistan would encourage Afghan insurgent groups like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban to pursue peace if asked by Afghanistan. Khar also said that the Afghan reconciliation process was active on several fronts, but was far from producing results.
Pakistan’s fragile alliance with the United States stooped down to new lows after the NATO attack in Pakistan’s tribal areas killed 24 of the country’s troops. fficials in the northwest, where the main Torkham crossing into Afghanistan is situated, had said last December that there were no plans of reopening the border then.
“There is strong public resentment. People are angry about this incident and we cannot take a decision in haste,” a senior security official had said.
“Pakistan will reopen the border when public anger cools down and the route is protected,” he added. (ANI)
Pakistan fails to send team to probe Mumbai attacks
Pakistan has failed to send a team of officials to India to investigate the November 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks, Indian officials said.
Islamabad told Delhi that the judicial commission would not be able to come as planned, a home ministry official said.
The team was due to arrive in Mumbai on Thursday. Its members were due to meet Indian officials and doctors involved in the investigation.
The Mumbai attacks claimed 165 lives. Nine gunmen were also killed.
The sole surviving gunman from the attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, was convicted of murder and waging war on India in May 2010 and given a death sentence.
His appeal is pending in the Supreme Court.
Officials said no reason had been given for the cancellation of the visit.
Pakistan had agreed last year to send a judicial team to India during home secretary-level talks between the two countries.
The 60-hour siege of Mumbai began on 26 November 2008, targeting luxury hotels, the main railway station and a Jewish cultural centre.
Relations between India and Pakistan hit rock bottom after India blamed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks.
After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged that the assault had been partially planned on its territory and that Qasab was a Pakistani citizen.
Pakistani Taliban kills 7 soldiers, abduct in strike near Afghan border
Friday, February 3, PARACHINAR, Pakistan — A large group of Islamist militants attacked a Pakistani army checkpoint near the Afghan border on Friday, killing seven paramilitary soldiers and abducting four, a government official and a spokesman for the insurgents said.
Up to 18 insurgents were killed in retaliatory fire during the incident in Kurram region, said Jamil Khan.
He said there were around 40 attackers armed with rockets, grenades and automatic weapons.
The attack was the latest in a series of bloody violent incidents in Kurram over the past week that have reportedly highlighted the tenacity of the insurgency there.
It was not possible to independently confirm the information because the border region is effectively off-limits to reporters. Militants have in the past disputed army accounts of casualties, and human rights groups say civilians often die in military actions.
Kurram is one of the seven Pakistani border regions where the military has battled for several years against militants.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to reporters.
He made no mention of any insurgent casualties.
The Taliban have abducted and killed several Pakistani army soldiers and paramilitary police in recent weeks.
PPP wants Pak general elections to be held ahead of schedule
Islamabad, Jan 29: Pakistan People's Party is seriously thinking about holding general elections ahead of the schedule, apparently in the fall of this year, and in this connection the party leadership is taking views of heads of the coalition partners and other key stakeholders including the main opposition parties.
The Nation quoted sources, as saying that the PPP wanted to take its coalition partners on board on the matter and the process would be completed by the February-end, while some tentative schedule and composition of an interim setup would be finalised after the upcoming Senate elections on March 2.
They also said the differences on early elections existed among the coalition partners, as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) wanted local bodies elections ahead of general elections and in this connection they were putting pressure on their senior coalition partner in Sindh so as to settle the matter with them on the fate and future of the Local Bodies setup in the province.
Both the PPP and the MQM had failed to resolve their differences over the future setup of local bodies in the province, as MQM was a strong supporter of the District Government System while the PPP, Sindh chapter, was in support of the old municipality system, which was partly restored in shape of commissionerate system in the province and restoration of the old districts in the port city of Karachi.
The sources within the PPP informed that in a recently held core committee chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari, it was the unanimous view of the party leaders that soon after the Senate elections on March 2. The party would reportedly engage the key political players, including the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in dialogue over the composition of an interim setup, which would also require meaningful consultation between the Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. (ANI)
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