World stands behind Pakistan

By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir

UNITED NATIONS: Major world powers on Friday pledged to assist the Pakistani democratic government in its efforts to overcome economic and security challenges, standing behind it at the launch of the new "Friends of Pakistan" Forum.

Saudi Arabia was conspicuous by its absence.

The United States has asked Pakistan to adhere to economic reforms for making early recovery in the economic arena.

US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice said this in response to a question immediately after the meeting of the Friends of Pakistan Forum.

"We've had a very constructive meeting today," President Asif Ali Zardari said in his post-meeting comments with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and the UAE foreign minister expressing full support to the elected government's endeavours to deal with economic challenges.

The initiative would be institutionalised with top representatives from the influential capitals slated to meet again in Abu Dhabi next month to give concrete shape to the assistance pledges to help the country pull out of the economic morass.

Zardari said the overwhelming expression of support for Pakistan reflected that "the world cares for Pakistan and the people of Pakistan can rest assured that democracy does work and it is the success and victory of democratic Pakistan that we are standing before you." He was of the view that the US support was a blessing for Pakistan.

"There is a very strong support of the international community for Pakistan's democratically-elected government. We know Pakistan has many challenges in the security and economy fields," said Secretary Rice, standing alongside the new Pakistani leader.

The international community will be by the side of the young democracy as "it takes difficult decisions to move towards a more stable and prosperous Pakistan," she added.

Washington, she said, is engaged with Pakistan through financial institutions to help it implement economic reforms. "All of us are working very closely with the international financial institutions to make certain that there is support for Pakistan."

President Zardari, when asked about his government's stance towards the United States, said he looked at the support by the US and the world at this critical moment for the country as a blessing.

"Pakistan is a country which has lot of potential. We are 180 million strong and willing to work hard. The support I am looking for is how to help myself. I am not asking them to give me fish, I am going to learn how to fish and make my people fish themselves."

The president said whenever the leaders of Pakistan and the US met, they discussed the weaknesses in relationship and tried to convert those into strength. "All weaknesses have to be looked at and if there are any weaknesses, definitely we will talk about them."

Foreign Minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahyan described the meeting very constructive and said the UAE had always been a very close ally and friend of Pakistan.

"But we want to further our relationship with Pakistan to assure our Pakistani brothers and friends of our commitment and support."

Emotional support pledged to Pakistan

Saturday, September 27, 2008

By our correspondent

NEW YORK: Pakistan and its President Asif Ali Zardari received an emotional response from all the key developed countries who gathered under the banner of Friends of Pakistan at the UN on Friday, each promising to come forward with economic, political and moral support within days and weeks.

Although, no dollar figures were immediately committed, foreign ministers and senior diplomats of the US, the UK, Italy, the UAE, Canada, Australia, France, the EU, Turkey, China, Japan and the UN, all promised to start bilateral negotiations with Islamabad immediately and to report back to the group next month in Abu Dhabi, as the conference was co-hosted by the UAE and Pakistan.

Briefing the media after the conference, President Zardari said it was a blessing for his country while the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and the UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said there was consensus to help Pakistan.

Participants of the meeting, which went on for one hour at the UN Headquarters, reported that the sentiment was almost emotional as there was an outpouring of support.

"Almost every foreign minister condoled with President Zardari on Benazir Bhutto's death and praised his courage and commitment," one participant said.

The Australian foreign minister said his country was amazed that after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, Pakistan was still able to continue on the democratic path and establish an elected government.

The Italian foreign minister asked why the World Bank was not immediately releasing $500 million aid to Pakistan that was in the pipeline.

The sentiment was that Pakistan must be helped both in the short term and the long term, economically, politically and morally, as Pakistan had sacrificed a lot in the war on terror.

President Zardari told the meeting that a democratic Pakistan would provide security and stability in the region and would be a major player for regional peace.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the group should not be named as the Friends of Pakistan but as the Friends of a Democratic Pakistan. Almost, all speakers in the conference followed her lead.

The German foreign minister told the meeting a delegation from Germany would go to Pakistan very soon as his leaders had already talked to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

There was a consensus that the membership of the group should be expanded and President Zardari said in so many words that if India wanted to join, it would be welcomed by Pakistan.



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Lashkar-i-Jhangvi network busted

Saturday, September 27, 2008

By Salis bin Perwaiz

KARACHI: The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Crime Investigation Department (CID), the SSP Lyari Town and personnel of Sindh Police busted the network of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sindh, after a fierce gun-battle in Baldia Town on Friday, killing three suicide bombers and recovering huge quantity of arms, explosive material, splinters, hand grenades and thousands of bullets. The incident took place after the police arrested LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah alias Ali Hasan after a shootout.

Provincial Police Officer, Sindh, Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak, said that Friday’s encounter was a joint operation by the local police and intelligence personnel, who had recovered huge quantity of C-4 explosives and acid used for igniting fires.

PPO Sindh Khattak maintained that after the arrest of Rahimullah, also known as Naeem, the Ameer of LJ, the network of terrorist organisation in Sindh had been busted.

The probe team is interrogating Ameer Naeem regarding the terrorists operations in the city in the past. About the involvement of the LJ in the October 18 blast in Karachi at the caravan of assassinated PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he said that it was premature to say anything at this stage.

Intelligence sources said that on late Thursday night, the Intelligence Bureau received information about the presence of LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah in Kalapul area, who was talking on his cell phone in Waziristan with his co-leaders.

The IB Sindh personnel started tracing Rahimullah and got his location at Kala Pul bridge. The IB personnel conducted a raid and after resistance, arrested Rahimullah and took him to their headquarters for interrogation. Moreover, the IB informed the CID departmental head regarding the arrest of the LJ Sindh Ameer by their personnel.

Later, a CID team, including SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan and SSP Raja Omer Khataab, reached the IB headquarters and started interrogating Rahimullah.

During the course of investigation, Rahimullah disclosed that his other aides, including three suicide bombers, were present in Baldia No-9, Sector-F, and were loaded with huge quantity of weapons and explosive material.

A Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) of the IB and the CID personnel conducted a raid with police contingents and initially cordoned off the area. After taking positions, they went to a nearby mosque and made an announcement to warn the residents not to come out of their houses. Soon after the announcement, the terrorists opened fire, which the police retaliated. A brief encounter took place. During the encounter, the terrorists also threw nine to 10 hand grenades due to which a Police Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) was damaged and two Constables, Wajid Ali and Mehmood, received minor injuries.

The police killed two terrorists and were trying to come near the house when an explosion took place and the house was reduced to rubble. All three were killed.

The police started removing the debris and recovered four bodies. It also recovered large quantity of hand grenades, explosive material used for making suicide jackets, splinters, pelts, two Kalashnikovs, four TT pistols and thousands of bullets and literature of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. The killed were shifted to a hospital where they were identified as Noor Muhammad alias Sultan Omer, Siddiq Mehsud, Zubair Bengali and Shaukat Afridi.

A neighbour of the killed militants Saleem said that he was a resident of Baldia Town and was a labourer by profession but he did not know that the persons residing next to his house were terrorists. He added that some time back, he became suspicious about the persons due to their late night movements.

He further stated that on Friday morning, the police had cordoned off the area and also taken positions on the roof of his house and killed the terrorists in a fierce encounter.

SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan and Raja Omer Khataab said that all the three -- Sultan Omer, Siddiq Mehsud and Zubair Bengali -- were suicide bombers of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Sultan Omer was the brother of Sultan Saifullah (suicide bomber of Nishter Park), Siddiq Mehsud was a relative of Baitullah Mehsud while the third person Zubair Bengali was the relative of Abdul Karim Bengali, the suicide bomber who had killed Allama Hassan Turabi. Regarding deceased Shaukat Afridi, whose body was recovered from the rubble, they said that Shaukat Afridi was a trader of oil and a resident of Defence Society. On May 8, 2008, Shaukat Afridi, son of Haji Mohammed Sakhi, resident of Defense Phase-VII, was kidnapped by the militants from Clifton Block 2. They later called his family and demanded a ransom of Rs 500 million for his release but the family told the kidnappers that they could not arrange that much amount.

After negotiations, the matter was settled at Rs 50 million but the criminals refused to release him and again asked for the same amount.

Deceased Shaukat was a trader of oil and supplied oil to Nato forces through his tankers. The officers disclosed that two militants were killed in the firing of the police. The third militant Waseem Bengali received a bullet wound, who after killing Shaukat Afridi blasted the house with remote control bomb made with RDX.

The officers disclosed that LJ Sindh Ameer Rahimullah, during investigations, disclosed that a few months ago he, along with the killed accomplices who were all trained in Waziristan for suicide bombings, came to Karachi to achieve their targets, assigned to them by their leader Qari Zafar. He further disclosed that they were funded by Abid Mehsud, a commander of Baitullah Mehsud group, for the purchase of arms, explosives and vehicles.

Rahimullah also disclosed that in Allama Hasan Turbai case, he had dropped suicide bomber Abdul Karim at NIPA Chowrangi in a red color car and in the Nishter Park case, in which the top leadership of the Sunni Tehrik was killed, he had trained and dropped Sultan Saifullah near the Nishter Park.

Regarding the attack on SSP Raja Omer Khataab, LJ Ameer Ali Hasan disclosed that he had personally manufactured the bomb and fixed it in a bicycle and later went to the Saddar area and parked it near a petrol pump. It was further disclosed that Waseem Bengali was assigned to kill SSP Khurram Waris and before Eid they were ready to make a suicide attempt on SSP Waris. They had also on their hit list two Shia Ulema and the task was assigned to deceased Saddiq Mehsud and Sultan Omer.

They were planning target killings of SSP Mohammed Fayyaz Khan, SSP Farooq Awan and other officers who had conducted operations against their group. These directives were issued to them by their leader Qari Zafar.





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1,000 militants killed in Bajaur

Saturday, September 27, 2008

By Mushtaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR: Military officials on Friday said around 1,000 militants, five of them important foreign and local commanders, including al-Qaeda's Afghanistan chief Abu Saeed al-Misri, had been killed in the two-month-long military operation launched by the Pakistan Army against the militants in Bajaur Agency on August 6, in which 27 personnel of the security forces also embraced martyrdom.

Also, military officials said 25 more suspected militants and three security personnel, including two senior officers, were killed in the daylong clashes between the Taliban fighters and the security forces on Friday.

Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Tariq Khan, while briefing media representatives who were taken from Islamabad to militancy-stricken Bajaur Agency on Friday about the ongoing military operation in Khar, said the security forces had so far achieved remarkable successes against the militants.

"The command and control system of the militants has been disrupted and they are now on the run due to effective and targeted operation by the security forces in the last two months."

After days of wait, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-Gen Athar Abbas finally took around 50 journalists, mostly foreigners, to Bajaur in a military helicopter, where officials of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and the political administration briefed them about the ongoing military operation.

Gen Tariq claimed that over 1,000 militants had been killed in the operation so far, in which five were important foreign and local militant commanders. The foreigners killed in the operation belonged to various countries, including Egypt, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Arab states, he added.

He said among the foreign militants killed in the air strikes were Abu Saeed al-Misri, reportedly al-Qaeda's Afghanistan chief, Abu Suleman, and an Uzbek militant Mulla Mansoor.

The spokesman said Abdullah, son of Taliban leader in Bajaur and deputy chief of the Baitullah Mehsud-led banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, had also been killed in the operation.

Abdullah, the military official said, had close contacts with al-Qaeda's No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Apart from killing important militant commanders, the official said an Afghan militant commander Munaras Khan and several others had been arrested during the operation.

Maj Gen Tariq Khan claimed that the security forces had unearthed underground channels, which the militants had dug to ambush the security forces in Tang-Khatta, Rashakai, Khazana, Kausar and Loisam areas.

He said the security forces had destroyed several strongholds of the militants in these areas and recovered arms and ammunition from their hideouts.

He said 27 personnel of the security forces had died and more than 100 were injured in clashes with the militants.

The FC commandant said the local tribesmen had extended unprecedented support to the security forces in the operation against the militants. He hoped that militants would soon be flushed out of the once peaceful tribal region.

However, Gen Tariq said the operation could last for the next six weeks for complete eradication of the militants and restoration of writ of the government.

Later, the media team was given aerial view of Kerala, Tang-Khatta and Khazana where they were briefed about the operation of the security forces.

Also, Shafeerullah Khan, political agent, Bajaur Agency, briefed the media about the role of tribal Lashkars of Salarzai and Utmankhel tribesmen against the militants.

He said due to the support of Salarzai and Utmankhel armed Lashkars, the writ of the government was now established in the two sub-divisions of the tribal agency.

The elders of Salarzai and Utmankhel tribes also informed the media about the activities of their respective armed Lashkars against the militants.




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McCain, Obama clash over Pakistan policy

Sunday, September 28, 2008



NEW YORK: US presidential candidates — Republican John McCain and Democratic Barack Obama — on Friday differed on Pakistan, especially over US attacks into the country’s territory.

During the first of a series of televised debates ahead of the November election, McCain, 74, while emphasizing the need for Pakistan’s support, said he would not publicly state a policy of attacking militants in Pakistan. On the other hand, Democratic rival Obama responded that the United States should attack militants if Pakistan was unwilling to do so.

In the debate held at Oxford, Mississippi, Obama said $10 billion in aid to the Pakistan government over the last seven years had failed to rid the border region of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, which he said was key to success in Afghanistan and that Washington might need to act alone. “If the United States has Al-Qaeda, (Osama) bin Laden, top-level lieutenants in our sights, and Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act, then we should take them out,” he said.

McCain called for a quiet policy. “You don’t do that. You don’t say that out loud. If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government,” he said. He said support from the Pakistani people was necessary. He cautioned that newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari has his “hands full” and said “this area on the border has not been governed since the days of Alexander the Great.”

“I’m not prepared at this time to cut off aid to Pakistan,” he said. The debate also saw a little role reversal. It was Obama who seemed more aligned with President George W Bush’s current policy of authorizing the American Special Forces to cross the Afghan-Pakistan border into the tribal areas.

In one of the more heated moments of the debate, Obama argued that he would take the war to Osama bin Laden’s cave door, whether Pakistan cooperated or not. And it was McCain, who argued that without Pakistan’s cooperation, any such operation was doomed.

At its core, the candidate’s argument is about the “central front” in the war on terrorism. Obama said it was, and always has been, Pakistan’s tribal areas and the neighbouring areas of Afghanistan.

In a 90-minute debate that gave undecided voters their first chance to directly compare the White House candidates in the Nov 4 election, McCain and Obama traded heated jabs over the economy and security, highlighting broad policy differences but producing no major blunders or knockout blows.

McCain questioned the first-term senator’s readiness for the White House. “I honestly don’t believe that Senator Obama has the knowledge or experience, and (he) has made wrong judgments in a number of areas,” the Arizona senator said.

Obama repeatedly tied McCain to the policies of unpopular Republican President George W Bush and said both men had been too focused on the Iraq war while ignoring other problems. “The next president has to have a broader strategic vision about all the challenges we face,” he said.

Neither candidate appeared to score a clear victory in the debate, the first of three such encounters. The debate between the vice presidential contenders, Republican Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska and Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, is next up on Thursday.

“I hope I made you proud tonight,” McCain told the cheering supporters at a small rally after the debate. He headed immediately back to Washington to take part in negotiations on a bailout package for the US financial industry.

Both McCain and Obama said they were optimistic Congress would come up with a $700 billion rescue plan but agreed the huge price tag would limit their agendas as the next president. McCain said he would freeze federal spending as president on most programmes other than defence and veterans’ care, and accused Obama of being a big-spending liberal who could not bring together Republicans and Democrats. “Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate,” said McCain, who aggressively attacked Obama and at times put him on the defensive. “It’s hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left.”

Obama said McCain would cut taxes for the wealthy and slash corporate tax rates, and said support of anti-regulatory approaches by Republicans like McCain had led to the collapse on Wall Street. “This is a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policy promoted by George Bush and supported by Senator McCain,” he said.

While Obama talked tough on Pakistan, McCain was harsh against Russia. McCain denounced Russia as a KGB-run state and chided Barack Obama as naive. McCain said Obama had misunderstood Russia’s intentions by calling for restraint on both sides when fighting erupted between Russia and Georgia in August over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.

“A little bit of naivetÈ there,” said McCain. “Russia has now become a nation fuelled by petro-dollars that has basically become a KGB apparatchik-run government. I looked in Mr Putin’s eyes and I saw three letters — a K, a G and B,” McCain said.

Obama called Russia’s incursion into South Ossetia “illegal and objectionable.” The candidates agreed that Georgia and Ukraine should be allowed to join the Nato alliance and Obama said they should be given an immediate plan for membership.



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15 militants killed in Dera Bugti clashes

Sunday, September 28, 2008

News Desk

RAWALPINDI: At least 15 militants have reportedly been killed while six personnel of law-enforcing agencies were injured during clashes between security forces and Baloch militants in Gandoi area of district Dera Bugti, Geo TV said on Saturday evening.

According to reports, the fighting broke out when militants attacked a convoy of the security forces, which was on routine patrol in the area early Saturday morning.The battle continued for the whole day in which over a dozen militants were killed, the security official said.

PPI adds: The clashes took place in the Sui-Chattar area where security forces were carrying out an operation in Tehsil Tamboo against those targeting public installations and security forces personnel.

During the clashes seven militants were killed and four security personnel were injured. According to unconfirmed reports a security person was also killed in the encounter. Exchange of fire between militants and security forces continued till the filing of this story. The troops have sealed off the area and started monitoring the situation.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17542

Zardari quits dinner amid turf war between envoys

Sunday, September 28, 2008

By Shaheen Sehbai

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hussain Haroon stayed away from President Asif Ali Zardari’s dinner for PPP leaders from across the US as the event ended on a note of utter confusion on Friday night in the heart of Manhattan when the president left suddenly without addressing the audience.

Hussain Haroon was not even invited to the dinner though top sources in the presidential camp said he had even asked for an invitation card but was denied one. So he stayed at his home entertaining some guests. When journalists asked him for comments on phone, he admitted that he had not been invited to the function.

The show was organised by Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani but President Zardari left abruptly within a few minutes after he arrived some 40 minutes after Iftar. Scores of PPP leaders, some with their families, were astonished as Mr Haqqani had arranged a podium and President Zardari was expected to make a speech.

But as soon as he arrived, he went around a few tables to shake hands with the guests and then left the hall, leaving the guests in utter confusion whether to wait for him or to have dinner without him or to leave.

Thousands of Pakistani tax payers’ dollars were wasted because the event not only ended on a note of confusion, PPP leaders and workers, some of whom had come from far off states, did not get a chance to hear the president.

A loud shouting match started before President Zardari’s arrival when some PPP supporters wanted to put up banners and PPP flags in the hall and Ambassador Husain Haqqani tried to stop them.

The PPP supporters insisted and hot words were exchanged, which alarmed the security personnel and the hotel management. Haqqani quickly allowed them to put up Benazir’s banners and PPP flags on the walls.

When asked to comment on what happened, Haqqani told the media representatives the hotel administration had specifically told the organisers that no banners or posters be pasted as that would damage the d*©cor of the hall and heavy penalties might have to be paid if the walls were used for such banners.

He told journalists there was no untoward scene. “I told the security people not to worry as this was like an Irish wedding when people occasionally raised their voices but there was no trouble,” he said.

When specifically asked by The News why Mr Hussain Haroon was not present, he said the envoy to the UN might be busy with his UN General Assembly work.

When told that Mr Hussain Haroon is probably boycotting the event because it was his turn and right to invite the president and was denied that right, Mr Haqqani said this was not true as all community events anywhere in the US were to be organised by the US Embassy and the consulates.

There is a tradition in the UN that the permanent representative always hosts a grand dinner for the president or the prime minister at his home in which the community notables are invited and that opportunity was denied to Mr Haroon.

But the turf war between the two Pakistani envoys was swept aside by President Zardari when he arrived late and left without any public announcement or information whether he would come back to address the crowd. The president, however, went to some tables and shook hands with PPP supporters amid slogans of Benazir and Bhutto. Some shouts for Mr Zardari were also heard.

Guests sitting at the head table, including Finance Minister Naveed Qamar, Information Minister Sherry Rehman, Ambassador at Large Akbar Khawaja and others were told by Haqqani that the president had left because of security concerns and also because he had been overwhelmed by the emotional welcome he had received by the audience and was almost choking.

But the guests were not told about it as before Haqqani could inform the audience that President Zardari had left because of these reasons, he was stopped by some of the cabinet ministers. These ministers were not sure whether Zardari had left for good or he would return after a short break.

Soon afterwards, while only the first course of the dinner, a salad, had been served, most of the media and the guests started leaving as Haqqani told them that the president would not return.

A senior official of the embassy told some journalists later that the president had gone for a private dinner to a popular New York restaurant, Geisha, located at the Madison Avenue and 61st Street, a place he used to visit while he was living in New York before he returned to Pakistan.




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18 killed in US strikes on NWA villages

Saturday, October 04, 2008
Women, Arabs among the dead; ISPR denies Nato bombing

By Mushtaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR: Eighteen people, including women and a child, were killed and several others injured in two different attacks by US pilotless spy plane and jet fighters on villages in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Friday.

Official and tribal sources said a US spy plane, also known as drone or Predator, fired two Hellfire missiles on Mohammad Khel village, about 20 kilometres west of Miramshah, headquarters of the NWA, in which 15 people were killed and several others injured.

There were reports that those killed in the missile attack included some Arabs, who were invited to a dinner by the pro-Taliban tribesmen in the village. According to the villagers and official sources, a US spy plane that had been flying over NWA since Friday morning blitzed two houses owned by the Dawar tribesmen, Daud Jan and Abdur Rahman.

Tribesmen in Miramshah said they heard two heavy explosions caused by the missile strikes in the evening. The villagers said 15 bodies were retrieved from rubble of the destroyed houses and most of them were beyond recognition.

They said several other people were injured in the attack and were shifted to various hospitals in Miramshah. The villagers said the drone fired missiles right when the guests were having their dinner.

Sources close to the militants told The News that majority of the foreigners, earlier on request of the residents of Mohammad Khel village, had left the area and settled in other border villages when US drones continuously fired Hellfire missiles on their village.

However, they said foreign militants, particularly Arabs, used to visit their old friends in the village. They said some of the foreigners were invited to the dinner but it was not clear whether they were killed in the attack or not.

The villagers said a death toll from the missile could rise as some people were still trapped under the collapsed rooms. Even after the attack, the villagers said the US spy plane was flying over various tribal villages of the NWA.

Similarly, three tribesmen, including two women and a child, were killed and six others injured when two US jet fighters reportedly bombarded villages in the NWA, near the border with Afghanistan’s Khost province on Friday.

Official and tribal sources told The News from the border areas that two US jet fighters and gunship helicopters pounded border villages between Pakistan and Afghanistan after US troops, patrolling the border areas inside Afghan territory, came under attack.

Afghan Taliban led by prominent commander, Sirajuddin Haqqani alias Khaleefa claimed that their fighters attacked US troops in Narayzai area of Tanaee district in Afghanistan’s Khost province, killing five soldiers and injuring eight others.

Taliban claimed they also fired at two US helicopters that came to airlift the bodies and injured US soldiers.Sources said the US jetfighters and gunship helicopters later started pounding suspected positions of Taliban inside Afghanistan in which some of the bombs fell on two Pakistani border villages - Kharseen and Mazdak.

The residents said two men, two women and an equal number of children were injured in the attack. They were admitted to various hospitals in Miramshah. However, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, Director General of the ISPR, denied any bombing by the Nato forces on Pakistani tribal villages.

Reuters adds from Islamabad: Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force had informed Pakistan it would be conducting an operation across the border from North Waziristan, and there was no intrusion into Pakistani territory.

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US House okays, Bush signs $700 bn bailout bill

Saturday, October 04, 2008

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush on Friday signed a mammoth economic rescue package aimed at saving troubled US banks and easing a credit crunch that he warned could spell disaster for the US public.

After campaigning for the bailout for two weeks and courting reluctant lawmakers in person and by telephone, Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 before leaving Washington for the weekend.

Earlier, the US House of Representatives passed the landmark $700 billion financial bill. Eyeing both the Nov 4 elections and stock market indexes, the House voted 263-171 to approve the largest government intervention in the financial markets in decades. The measure passed the Senate on Wednesday.

Some lawmakers complained that the bailout would help big banks, but do little for troubled homeowners, while giving sweeping powers to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and whoever replaces him after the election.

"This will give unprecedented, unbelievable authority to Henry Paulson, a Wall Street speculator who created the financial weapons of mass destruction and now says he knows how to disarm them," said Oregon Democratic Rep Peter DeFazio.

Others said the plan was needed to prevent Wall Street's problems from causing a potential economic disaster. Rep Zach Wamp, a Tennessee Republican who opposed the bill on Monday but supported it on Friday, said: "We're out of choices, our backs are up against the wall."

Meanwhile, Bush said, "We have acted boldly to help prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country." Bush cautioned, however, that it would take some time for the legislation to yield benefits for the economy, which he said was still facing serious challenges.

The bill will allow the US Treasury to buy toxic debt from banks, which many economists said is necessary to head off the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."Exercising the authorities in this bill in a responsible way will require a careful analysis and deliberation," Bush said. "This will be done as expeditiously as possible but it cannot be accomplished overnight."

"We'll take the time necessary to design an effective programme that achieves its objectives and does not waste taxpayers' dollars," he added.He took note of objections to the bill but insisted it was the best course of action to curb the financial crisis.

"I know some Americans have concerns about this legislation, especially about the government's role and the bill's cost," Bush said. "As a strong supporter of free enterprise, I believe government intervention should occur only when necessary. In this situation, action is clearly necessary. Ultimately the cost to taxpayers will be far less than the initial outlay."

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17626

Asfandyar survives suicide attack

Saturday, October 04, 2008
Three bodies to probe into Charsadda blast; PM condemns incident

By Javed Aziz Khan & Sabz Ali Tareen

PESHAWAR/CHARSADDA: Three inquiry committees have been constituted to probe into a suicide blast at Wali Bagh on Thursday, second day of Eidul Fitr, in which four persons were killed and 18 others injured.

The additional inspector general (AdIG) investigation, NWFP, is heading the high-level inquiry committee, while one is being headed by the SP investigation, Charsadda, and another by a senior officer of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The experts of the FIA and police examined the site of the blast and sent the specimen of the body of the suicide bomber for a DNA test. At least four persons were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Hujra of Asfandyar Wali Khan, President of the ANP, who was the target of the attacker at Wali Bagh, Charsadda.

Those who were killed included a police official Shabbir Ahmad, gunman of the ANP president Yar Zameen, a poet and officer of a local bank Fazal Ghani and a party worker from Buner Shamsuzzaman, who were laid to rest at their respective hometowns amid moving scenes.

The ANP chief remained unhurt despite he was hardly 12 feet away from the bomber, when his brave gunman, Yar Zameen, embraced the attacker in a bid to stop him after he was coming straight to Asfandyar Wali amid bullets being fired at him from different sides.

“He forced his entry into the Hujra just when a group of 30 to 35 people were going out. He was between us and the cops that is why the policemen on main gate could not open fire on him. However, those at the side fired at him but he remained unhurt as I could saw only dust billowing from his body when it sustain any bullet,” Asfandyar Wali told newsmen.

He added that during the firing the attacker came close to the veranda. “At that time Yar Zameen opened fire on him and when it also did not work he embraced him and threw him on the ground before he came over the attacker who then blew himself up,” the ANP chief said while showering praise on his brave security guard whose body was reduced to pieces.

Asfandyar Wali made it clear that the ANP would not change its policies due to these attacks. “I must make one thing clear that if somebody thinks that we, the followers of the philosophy of Bacha Khan and Wali Khan, could be stopped from the way that we have opted to take, he is mistaken. We will sacrifice our lives for this soil but will never give it up to the terrorists,” the nationalist leader said.

Asfandyar Wali and his family were shifted to Islamabad in helicopter after the tragic incident. There were already threats to the life of the ANP chief and other stalwarts of the party since terrorists were operating in various parts of the Frontier province.

Strictest security arrangements were made at the Wali Bagh for Eidul Fitr as thousands were expected to visit the venue to condole with the family over the death of Sangeen Wali Khan. A walk-through scanner was also installed on the main gate.

However, the bomber made his way to the veranda despite all the security measures. According to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), NWFP, Malik Naveed, police had made strict security arrangements and that was why the attacker could not cause more damage or casualties.

“It was a pillar of the Chopal (a straw-made shade) that protected Asfandyar Wali. He was not going to run or lay down on the ground when all the other persons sitting in the veranda secured their lives either by laying down on ground or rushing away from the Chopal,” an eyewitness told The News.

He added that a police officer requested the ANP chief to duck down on the ground for cover but he refused. There were reports that the bomber, who was wearing a bullet-proof jacket, fell on the ground for a while after suffering a bullet in his leg but he again started running towards the ANP leader.

“Yes, he sustained bullets in his legs but he continued to run towards Asfandyar Khan and others sitting in the veranda,” provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News. Many eyewitnesses said the attacker seemed to be out of senses and some people present in the Hujra thought he was an abnormal person.

Agencies add from Islamabad: Asfandyar Wali Khan told a private TV channel that local Taliban had denied their involvement in the heinous crime and held foreign elements responsible for the act.

“It is not our work rather it is the work of foreign elements,” he quoted local Taliban as saying. The statement of local Taliban gave a clear message that there was rift among the militants operating in tribal areas, he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday telephoned Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and strongly condemned the Thursday’s suicide attack at Wali Bagh in Charsadda.

He conveyed his sincere sympathies to the families of the victims and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. Gilani also had a telephonic contact with ANP chief Asfandyar Wali and expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives in the suicide attack. The prime minister announced a compensation of Rs300,000 each for the heirs of the dead and Rs100,000 each for the injured.



http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17627

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PM calls for India-like US nuclear deal

Saturday, October 04, 2008
MULTAN: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan will demand a civilian nuclear agreement with the United States after Washington signed such deal with India.

The US Senate endorsed a landmark US-India nuclear pact, removing the final legislative hurdle for resumption of civilian nuclear trade between the two countries after three decades. Pakistan, the world’s only nuclear-armed Islamic nation, is a key US ally in the “war on terror” but it remains at the centre of global concerns over an international black market run by its top atomic scientist.

Referring to US-India deal, he said: “This is a step forward. Pakistan now will have the right to a similar civilian nuclear deal that India has gotten from the United States.î The PM added, ìWe do not want discrimination. Pakistan will make efforts for civilian nuclear technology and the United States will have to accommodate us.î

Pakistan and India had been locked in hostilities for more than six decades and carried out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in 1998. They launched a peace process in 2004, but the Indian nuclear deal has been a source of annoyance to Islamabad since US President George W Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first agreed to the deal in 2005.

Pakistan has an ìenergy security planî envisaging an increase in nuclear power generation from the current 425 megawatts to 8,800 megawatts by 2030 to meet its growing energy demands.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17629

Haqqani seeks Aafia’s custody from US

Saturday, October 04, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani has demanded that the US should immediately hand over Dr Aafia Siddiqui to Pakistan. According to Geo News, he said there were better facilities of psychiatric evaluation and treatment in Pakistan. Earlier, the US State Department apprised the Pakistan embassy that Dr Siddiqui had been moved to Texas from New York for psychiatric evaluation on the court’s order. Earlier, Dr Aafia’s lawyer pleaded that she should not be sent to Texas where she would undergo psychiatric examination only, adding Siddiqui required medical treatment as well.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17632

Families of UN staff, UK diplomats to leave Pakistan

Saturday, October 04, 2008

By Mobarik A Virk

ISLAMABAD: Due to the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan, the UN Secretary-General on Thursday approved imposition of Security Phase-III, which requires the children and spouses of the international staff to leave the country and relocated for an interim period.

According to a press release, the Security Phase-III has been imposed in parts of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and nine districts of Balochistan. Peshawar and some other NWFP districts have already been under the 'Security Phase-III', according to sources in the United Nations in Islamabad.

"The UN shall keep reviewing the security and safety situation in the country, and shall revert to Security Phase-II as and when the security situation improves," a press release issued by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) here on Thursday said.

"Following a number of security incidents in the recent past, including the bombing of the Marriott hotel, have drawn attention to the prevailing security situation in the country and the potential security risks to the international and national communities," it said.

"After a careful assessment of the security situation in the country and implications for the United Nations in Pakistan, the secretary-general has approved a change to Security Phase-III for certain locations in Pakistan," it added.

Meanwhile, sources in different organisations of the UN in Islamabad told The News on condition of anonymity that the recommendations enhancing the Security Phase were sent to the UN headquarters in New York.

They said the Pakistani authorities concerned tried to convince the UN not to enhance the Security Phase in Pakistan, as it would hurt the status of the country internationally. But they failed to convince the UN headquarters and the secretary-general eventually approved enhancing the security phase in some parts of Pakistan from phase-II to phase-III.

A senior UN official, when contacted by The News, said following the declaration of Security Phase-III in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, nine districts of Balochistan, including the provincial capital Quetta, the spouses and children of the international staff of the UN would be required to be relocated temporarily.

However, sources also said those spouses, who might wish to be here, would be allowed to stay in these cities and districts. "The UN will strive to minimise any adverse effects of phase-III security measures on the scope and efficacy of its programmes. We wish to reaffirm that the United Nations stands committed to maintaining its support and assistance to the people of Pakistan," the UNIC press release said.

AFP adds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office decided that the children of UK-based staff at the British High Commission should leave Pakistan following the increased security threats, a spokesman said. The spokesman said the “core work of the High Commission will not be affected.”


http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17634

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Cabinet expansion after joint session

Monday, October 06, 2008
President, PM discuss arrangements for in-camera briefing

By Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday finalised a plan for the reshuffling and expansion of the cabinet, which is expected to be announced in the second week of this month.

They decided to induct new ministers into the federal cabinet after the October 8 in-camera briefing to the joint sitting of parliament on the prevailing security situation and meeting of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the PPP on October 11.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country and to finalise arrangements for the first-ever in-camera briefing to members of parliament on the law and order situation, with particular reference to the government's policy on the war against terror.

It was the second consecutive meeting between the two in two days, and lasted for about two-and-a-half hours. A host of issues relating to the security situation, expansion in the federal cabinet as well as party affairs were discussed in the meeting.

Sources said the leaders finalised names for induction into the cabinet from the PPP side, besides discussing a proposal for reshuffling the portfolios of present ministers. The president and the prime minister also took up the agenda for the CEC meeting of the party, which would be held on October 11 with President Asif Ali Zardari in the chair.

The sources said they also decided to invite parliamentary leaders of the political parties to the in-camera briefing, besides contacting their leaders to ensure the presence of their parties' parliamentarians.

It was decided that the president would contact Mian Nawaz Sharif to request him to ensure the presence of his party's parliamentarians in the briefing, while the prime minister would contactMQM chief Altaf Hussain, opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and all the parliamentary leaders of various political parties.

The sources said they also discussed a proposal to constitute a steering committee for running the day-to-day affairs of the party in the absence of the PPP's co-chairman and to assist Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The proposal would be taken up in the meeting of the CEC for final approval.

The committee, to be headed by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, would comprise provincial heads of the party, the party secretary- general and other members, to be finalised in consultation with the CEC.

President Asif Ali Zardari on this occasion said that all institutions and departments should work jointly to overcome the crisis being faced by the nation, adding that a balance of power would also be ensured among all the institutions. The president said the opposition would also be taken into confidence over the joint session of parliament on October 08.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17656

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