Pakistan Troops Kill Militants in NW Pakistan

The Pakistani military says its troops have killed nearly 40 militants in two separate attacks Sunday in the northwest region of the country.Officials say both offensives were in the Orakzai tribal area near the Afghan border.A government official said several dozen militants attacked a village, but troops beat them back, killing many of the insurgents.Hours later, militants and troops battled in another area of the region. A government official says 12 rebels were killed in that fight.
Pakistan's military figures cannot be independently verified because access to the remote area is limited.Pakistan's military began an offensive in Orakzai in March to flush out Taliban insurgents believed to have fled an earlier military offensive in South Waziristan.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's 31st death anniversary will be observed today

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed on April 4, 1979, a darkest day in the history of Pakistan. Bhutto wrote a book from his death cell, Titled "If I am assassinated," its last pages contained a quote from Russian author Nikolai Dostoevsky: "Man's dearest possession is his life, and since it is given to him to live but once, he must so live as not to be scared with the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so as not to be tortured for years without purpose, that dying he can say, 'All my life and my strength were given to the first cause in the world - the liberation of mankind.' "As death stared the Z.A Bhutto in the face, he stared back. His past has no shame of cowardice. His daughter, too, gave her life in courage. I would like to express that this man is and was hero of Pakistan. Historians, Retired Judges of the Superior Courts and eminent lawyers have now unanimously admitted that Mr. Z.A Bhutto was hanged by a military dictator General Zia-Ul Haq by orchestrating a judicial trial to get rid of a popular leader. He gave Pakistan its first constitution, nuclear programme, held peace talks with India and brought 90,000 POW who were in Indian prison and were going to face war crimes. He liberated the small farmers and peasants from the repression and cruelty of big landlords and banished the jagirdari and sardari system declaring that all citizens are born equal and must live with equal rights. Z.A Bhutto was a Legend, who lived and died like a hero with courage, determination and devotion to his principles, when cruel dictator Zia was going to kill him, Z.A Bhutto could sign few papers and could live in exile but he was a real man, he was not a coward. He too could have made a deal and lived to fight another day; but only great men with principles sacrifice their life for their cause. He was a brilliant Diplomat who negotiated some of Pakistan's most enduring diplomatic policies as well as bargaining from a position of weakness against Indira Gandhi in Simla. He was a great diplomat; there is a story that the American President John F. Kennedy was much impressed with then Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. When they met, Kennedy walked with him in the Rose Garden and said, "Bhutto, if you were an American, you would be in my Cabinet". To which Zulfikar Ali Bhutto smilingly replied, "No, Mr. President. If I were an American, you would be in my cabinet".
Z.A. Bhutto is still our greatest leader and has been an inspiration to many. God bless his soul - forever in our prayer.I hope we get a leader like you, waiting for our new Bhutto in our great nation to heed the desperate call of our women, youth and elderly.
The greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.


The 31st death anniversary of former Prime Minister and founder Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will be observed today (Sunday).
According to the Programme issued by the party, a two minute silence was observed at 02:12 am, the hour on which the Shaheed leader was put on gallows.Mehfil-e-Mushaira will also be held and the documentary of Shaheed Bhutto will be shown on Sunday.
Various programmes including seminars, workers' conventions have also been chalked out in different parts of the country to pay tribute to Quaid-e-Awam.Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television have also made arrangements for a marathon transmission from 7.00 am to 11.00 pm tomorrow. The special transmission will highlight the life, struggle, services and revolutionary achievements of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.Lovers of Bhuttos and Sympathizers of Pakistan Peoples Party across the country, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have started to arrive at Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to pay homage to their great leaders.Meanwhile, a central executive committee meeting of the Pakistan People's Party will also be held at Naudero this evening which is expected to be chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari who is also the co-chairman of the party.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that today, we are solemnly observing the death anniversary of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who dedicated his life and comforts for the rights and betterment of the common man.
"Addressing a gathering in Karachi on January 2, 1974, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto said "our cherished goal is the betterment of the lot of the common men.Each step closer to that goal fills my heart with immeasurable pleasure, for the attainment of that goal has been the sole object of my life and all my work."
In a message on the occasion being observed today (Sunday), the Prime Minister said instead of compromising on his noble mission, Shaheed ZA Bhutto preferred martyrdom and live to his own words, "if sacrifices are for a good cause, for a cause of national unity, for a cause of national consolidation or happiness then they are not in vain."At a time when the entire nation was beset with gloom following the Fall of Dhaka in 1971, it was the towering personality of ZA Bhutto who came forward and stemmed the tide of defeatism.The promulgation of Constitution of 1973 with the full support and consensus of all strands of political opinion is an abiding tribute to the leadership and statesmanship of Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto.His policy of 'bilateralism' served to correct the imbalance in Pakistan's foreign policy. His launching of Pakistan's nuclear programme to offset the Indian strategic dominance has turned out to be a sole guardian of our territorial integrity.Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the idea of political unity within the Muslim Umma was always close to his heart. His was the driving spirit behind extraordinary meeting of the Islamic Summit in Lahore in 1974.
So numerous are contributions of Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto that cannot be summed up in a few paragraphs. He sought to redefine the direction of Pakistan in accordance with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal.