Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Monday pledged to introduce reforms within months to address a wave of protests against his rule, but blamed saboteurs for the unrest and warned that no deal could be reached with gunmen.
Assad said a national dialogue would start soon to review new legislation including laws on parliamentary elections, the media, and allowing political parties other than his Baath Party, as well as look at possible changes to the constitution.
Activists and analysts dismissed his promises, saying they failed to engage the demands of protesters who for three months have defied a fierce military crackdown in rallying for greater freedoms, posing the gravest challenge to his 11-year tenure.
Syrian rights groups say at least 1,300 civilians have been killed and 10,000 people detained since March.
The United States said it wanted to see "action, not words" from Assad. Turkey, which has had to cope with 10,000 refugees fleeing from the crackdown across its borders, said the speech was 'not enough' and called for broad democratic reform.
After Assad's speech, delivered at Damascus University, demonstrators hit the streets of the capital's suburbs and in the coastal city of Latakia, activists and residents said.
"The regime has no realization that this is a mass street movement demanding freedom and dignity," opposition figure Walid al-Bunni said. "Assad has not said anything to satisfy the families of the 1,400 martyrs or the national aspiration of the Syrian people for the country to become a democracy."
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a briefing: "Bashar al-Assad has been making promises to his people for years, for weeks. What's important now is action, not words."
Washington and the EU have already imposed sanctions on Assad and other senior officials. EU foreign ministers said on Monday they were preparing to expand the number of targets.
Acknowledging the economic damage done by the unrest, Assad urged Syrians to help restore confidence in their economy.
"The most dangerous thing we face in the next stage is the weakness or collapse of the Syrian economy, and a large part of the problem is psychological," he said.
In just his third speech since unrest began in March, Assad appeared tense as he pledged to pursue a national dialogue on reforms and held out the prospect of expanding a recent amnesty. Bu he made clear he would not be leaving, as protesters demand.
"We have to distinguish between (those who have legitimate demands) and saboteurs. The saboteurs are a small group that tried to exploit the kind majority of the Syrian people to carry out their many schemes," he said.
No political solution was possible with people carrying weapons, he said.
As Syrian forces swept through the northwestern border region, blocking refugees trying to flee into Turkey to escape the military crackdown, Assad called on the 10,000 who have already crossed to come home.
"There are those who give them the impression that the state will exact revenge. I affirm that that is not true. The army is there for security," he said in his speech.
A committee on national dialogue is to invite more than 100 personalities in the next few days to discuss a framework and mechanism for discussions on political reform.
Assad said he hoped the reforms would be ready by September to be approved by a new parliament, but that the dialogue would also examine whether polls would go ahead as planned in August.
"The parliamentary elections, if they are not postponed, will be held in August. We will have a new parliament by ... August and I think we can say that we are able to accomplish this package (of reforms) ... in September," he said.
Lebanese analyst Oussama Safa said Assad's reform pledges were "too little too late," adding that, for Syria's opposition, Assad had lost legitimacy.
NIGHT PROTESTS
The violence so close to Turkey's border has challenged the policy of "zero problems with neighbors" under which it has befriended the Middle East's entrenched autocratic rulers while presenting itself as a champion of democracy.
A senior Turkish official said Sunday that Assad had less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms before "foreign intervention" begins, although he did not specify what this might mean.
Monday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a speech that Assad's proposals were "not enough," and that he should transform Syria into a multi-party democracy.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking ahead of the EU meeting, said Assad had a last chance to "concretely start reforms," but added that many people were losing hope.
"So far we have been looking at horrible crimes ... Police shooting civilians in the streets ... This is absolutely unacceptable," Frattini told reporters.
Faced with troops firing live ammunition, Syrian protesters have taken to venting their anger against Assad at night.
Demonstrations erupted overnight in the cities of Hama, Homs, Latakia, Deir al-Zor, the town of Madaya near the Lebanese border, several suburbs of the capital Damascus and in Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq, witnesses and activists said.
Authorities blame the violence on armed groups and Islamists, backed by foreign powers. Syria has barred most international journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to verify accounts from activists and officials.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev practically ruled out Moscow backing any U.N. resolution condemning Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
In an interview published in the Financial Times Monday, Medvedev criticised the way Western countries had interpreted U.N. Resolution 1973 on Libya, which he said turned it into "a scrap of paper to cover up a pointless military operation."
"I would not like a Syrian resolution to be pulled off in a similar manner," he added.
M WAQAR..... "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --Albert Einstein !!! NEWS,ARTICLES,EDITORIALS,MUSIC... Ze chi pe mayeen yum da agha pukhtunistan de.....(Liberal,Progressive,Secular World.)''Secularism is not against religion; it is the message of humanity.'' تل ده وی پثتونستآن
Monday, June 20, 2011
US missile attacks hit northwest Pakistan
Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles at a vehicle and a house in northwest Pakistan, killing at least seven people Monday in a rare attack in an area where some of NATO's fiercest enemies have reportedly traveled, Pakistani officials said.
The first attack in the Kurram tribal area hit a vehicle, killing five suspected militants, said Noor Alam, a local government official. As tribesmen rushed to the scene, the vehicle was again struck, killing two more people, he said.
Minutes later, a suspected U.S. drone attacked a nearby house, but it is not yet clear whether that strike caused any casualties, Alam said.
The identities of the suspected militants killed in the strikes Monday in Kurram were not yet known. The attacks were confirmed by two Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Obama administration has dramatically stepped up covert CIA drone attacks against militants in Pakistan, but there have only been a handful of strikes in the Kurram tribal area.
Most of the recent drone strikes have taken place in North Waziristan, an important sanctuary for the Haqqani network, which U.S. military officials have said is the most dangerous militant group battling foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly asked Pakistan to launch an offensive against the network in North Waziristan, but the military has said that its forces are stretched too thin by other operations in the tribal areas.
Local tribesmen said late last year that the Haqqani network cut a deal with Shiite Muslim militias in Kurram to allow the militants to cross through the area on their way to fighting in Afghanistan. The route would help them avoid the drone attacks that have rained down on North Waziristan.
Drone attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan and have generated tension between Washington and Islamabad, which increased following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month and humiliated the Pakistani government.
Around 1,000 tribesmen held a protest against drone strikes Monday in Miram Shah, one of the main towns in North Waziristan. The rally was organized by a pro-Taliban political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam. The crowd shouted "Down with America" and threatened to block NATO supplies to Afghanistan if the drone attacks don't stop.
The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge drone attacks in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that they have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.
Pakistani officials regularly criticize the drone strikes in public, but some are believed to support them in private depending on which militants they target. At least some of the drones are also widely believed to take off from bases inside Pakistan.
Analysts have said that Pakistani officials likely support drone strikes that target the Pakistani Taliban, which has declared war on the state and carried out scores of deadly attacks across the country.
But officials are likely less inclined to support strikes against the Haqqani network, which has historical ties to the Pakistani government and has focused its attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan. Many analysts believe the Pakistani government views the Haqqani network as a key ally in Afghanistan once foreign forces withdraw.
Also Monday, dozens of militants attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in the Mohmand tribal area with grenades and machine gunfire, killing four people and wounding six others, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. One of the tribal elders was critically wounded in the attacks, which took place shortly after midnight.
Elsewhere in the northwest, a 9-year-old school girl wearing a suicide vest was detained at a paramilitary checkpoint in Lower Dir district, said local police chief Salim Marwat. She was kidnapped from the city of Peshawar on Saturday and was forced to wear the vest, he said.
____
Associated Press
The first attack in the Kurram tribal area hit a vehicle, killing five suspected militants, said Noor Alam, a local government official. As tribesmen rushed to the scene, the vehicle was again struck, killing two more people, he said.
Minutes later, a suspected U.S. drone attacked a nearby house, but it is not yet clear whether that strike caused any casualties, Alam said.
The identities of the suspected militants killed in the strikes Monday in Kurram were not yet known. The attacks were confirmed by two Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Obama administration has dramatically stepped up covert CIA drone attacks against militants in Pakistan, but there have only been a handful of strikes in the Kurram tribal area.
Most of the recent drone strikes have taken place in North Waziristan, an important sanctuary for the Haqqani network, which U.S. military officials have said is the most dangerous militant group battling foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly asked Pakistan to launch an offensive against the network in North Waziristan, but the military has said that its forces are stretched too thin by other operations in the tribal areas.
Local tribesmen said late last year that the Haqqani network cut a deal with Shiite Muslim militias in Kurram to allow the militants to cross through the area on their way to fighting in Afghanistan. The route would help them avoid the drone attacks that have rained down on North Waziristan.
Drone attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan and have generated tension between Washington and Islamabad, which increased following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month and humiliated the Pakistani government.
Around 1,000 tribesmen held a protest against drone strikes Monday in Miram Shah, one of the main towns in North Waziristan. The rally was organized by a pro-Taliban political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam. The crowd shouted "Down with America" and threatened to block NATO supplies to Afghanistan if the drone attacks don't stop.
The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge drone attacks in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that they have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.
Pakistani officials regularly criticize the drone strikes in public, but some are believed to support them in private depending on which militants they target. At least some of the drones are also widely believed to take off from bases inside Pakistan.
Analysts have said that Pakistani officials likely support drone strikes that target the Pakistani Taliban, which has declared war on the state and carried out scores of deadly attacks across the country.
But officials are likely less inclined to support strikes against the Haqqani network, which has historical ties to the Pakistani government and has focused its attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan. Many analysts believe the Pakistani government views the Haqqani network as a key ally in Afghanistan once foreign forces withdraw.
Also Monday, dozens of militants attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in the Mohmand tribal area with grenades and machine gunfire, killing four people and wounding six others, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. One of the tribal elders was critically wounded in the attacks, which took place shortly after midnight.
Elsewhere in the northwest, a 9-year-old school girl wearing a suicide vest was detained at a paramilitary checkpoint in Lower Dir district, said local police chief Salim Marwat. She was kidnapped from the city of Peshawar on Saturday and was forced to wear the vest, he said.
____
Associated Press
US missile attacks hit northwest Pakistan
Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles at a vehicle and a house in northwest Pakistan, killing at least seven people Monday in a rare attack in an area where some of NATO's fiercest enemies have reportedly traveled, Pakistani officials said.
The first attack in the Kurram tribal area hit a vehicle, killing five suspected militants, said Noor Alam, a local government official. As tribesmen rushed to the scene, the vehicle was again struck, killing two more people, he said.
Minutes later, a suspected U.S. drone attacked a nearby house, but it is not yet clear whether that strike caused any casualties, Alam said.
The identities of the suspected militants killed in the strikes Monday in Kurram were not yet known. The attacks were confirmed by two Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Obama administration has dramatically stepped up covert CIA drone attacks against militants in Pakistan, but there have only been a handful of strikes in the Kurram tribal area.
Most of the recent drone strikes have taken place in North Waziristan, an important sanctuary for the Haqqani network, which U.S. military officials have said is the most dangerous militant group battling foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly asked Pakistan to launch an offensive against the network in North Waziristan, but the military has said that its forces are stretched too thin by other operations in the tribal areas.
Local tribesmen said late last year that the Haqqani network cut a deal with Shiite Muslim militias in Kurram to allow the militants to cross through the area on their way to fighting in Afghanistan. The route would help them avoid the drone attacks that have rained down on North Waziristan.
Drone attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan and have generated tension between Washington and Islamabad, which increased following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month and humiliated the Pakistani government.
Around 1,000 tribesmen held a protest against drone strikes Monday in Miram Shah, one of the main towns in North Waziristan. The rally was organized by a pro-Taliban political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam. The crowd shouted "Down with America" and threatened to block NATO supplies to Afghanistan if the drone attacks don't stop.
The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge drone attacks in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that they have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.
Pakistani officials regularly criticize the drone strikes in public, but some are believed to support them in private depending on which militants they target. At least some of the drones are also widely believed to take off from bases inside Pakistan.
Analysts have said that Pakistani officials likely support drone strikes that target the Pakistani Taliban, which has declared war on the state and carried out scores of deadly attacks across the country.
But officials are likely less inclined to support strikes against the Haqqani network, which has historical ties to the Pakistani government and has focused its attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan. Many analysts believe the Pakistani government views the Haqqani network as a key ally in Afghanistan once foreign forces withdraw.
Also Monday, dozens of militants attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in the Mohmand tribal area with grenades and machine gunfire, killing four people and wounding six others, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. One of the tribal elders was critically wounded in the attacks, which took place shortly after midnight.
Elsewhere in the northwest, a 9-year-old school girl wearing a suicide vest was detained at a paramilitary checkpoint in Lower Dir district, said local police chief Salim Marwat. She was kidnapped from the city of Peshawar on Saturday and was forced to wear the vest, he said.
____
Associated Press
The first attack in the Kurram tribal area hit a vehicle, killing five suspected militants, said Noor Alam, a local government official. As tribesmen rushed to the scene, the vehicle was again struck, killing two more people, he said.
Minutes later, a suspected U.S. drone attacked a nearby house, but it is not yet clear whether that strike caused any casualties, Alam said.
The identities of the suspected militants killed in the strikes Monday in Kurram were not yet known. The attacks were confirmed by two Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Obama administration has dramatically stepped up covert CIA drone attacks against militants in Pakistan, but there have only been a handful of strikes in the Kurram tribal area.
Most of the recent drone strikes have taken place in North Waziristan, an important sanctuary for the Haqqani network, which U.S. military officials have said is the most dangerous militant group battling foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly asked Pakistan to launch an offensive against the network in North Waziristan, but the military has said that its forces are stretched too thin by other operations in the tribal areas.
Local tribesmen said late last year that the Haqqani network cut a deal with Shiite Muslim militias in Kurram to allow the militants to cross through the area on their way to fighting in Afghanistan. The route would help them avoid the drone attacks that have rained down on North Waziristan.
Drone attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan and have generated tension between Washington and Islamabad, which increased following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month and humiliated the Pakistani government.
Around 1,000 tribesmen held a protest against drone strikes Monday in Miram Shah, one of the main towns in North Waziristan. The rally was organized by a pro-Taliban political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam. The crowd shouted "Down with America" and threatened to block NATO supplies to Afghanistan if the drone attacks don't stop.
The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge drone attacks in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that they have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.
Pakistani officials regularly criticize the drone strikes in public, but some are believed to support them in private depending on which militants they target. At least some of the drones are also widely believed to take off from bases inside Pakistan.
Analysts have said that Pakistani officials likely support drone strikes that target the Pakistani Taliban, which has declared war on the state and carried out scores of deadly attacks across the country.
But officials are likely less inclined to support strikes against the Haqqani network, which has historical ties to the Pakistani government and has focused its attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan. Many analysts believe the Pakistani government views the Haqqani network as a key ally in Afghanistan once foreign forces withdraw.
Also Monday, dozens of militants attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in the Mohmand tribal area with grenades and machine gunfire, killing four people and wounding six others, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. One of the tribal elders was critically wounded in the attacks, which took place shortly after midnight.
Elsewhere in the northwest, a 9-year-old school girl wearing a suicide vest was detained at a paramilitary checkpoint in Lower Dir district, said local police chief Salim Marwat. She was kidnapped from the city of Peshawar on Saturday and was forced to wear the vest, he said.
____
Associated Press
U.S. Ambassador warns Karzai over criticism of West
The U.S. ambassador to Kabul has issued a thinly veiled warning to Afghan President Hamid Karzai that harsh criticisms of the West could jeopardize the troops and funding critical to the Afghan government's survival.
Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said he found comments from "some" Afghan leaders "hurtful and inappropriate," according to a transcript of a speech released late on Sunday.
Although Eikenberry did not mention Karzai by name, the speech appeared to be a direct response to a string of verbal broadsides against Western troops serving in Afghanistan and the diplomatic and aid programs that accompany them.
In one recent fiery speech Karzai warned that foreign soldiers risked being seen as occupiers because of civilian casualties they caused. Last week he said the West was polluting the country with weapons containing toxic chemicals.
Eikenberry said those comments left him ashamed and speechless in front of the relatives of U.S. war dead."When I hear some of your leaders call us occupiers, I cannot look at these mourning parents, spouses, and children in the eye and give them a comforting reply," Eikenberry told an audience of students and academics at Herat University in western Afghanistan.
"When we hear ourselves being called occupiers and worse, our pride is offended and we begin to lose our inspiration to carry on," he added, in a personal addendum to a speech on education and transition.
Karzai's office declined to comment immediately comment on Eikenberry's statement.
He was speaking as U.S. President Barack Obama mulls how steep a U.S. troop drawdown pledged to start in July should be.
That will coincide with the first phase of a gradual handover of security control to the Afghan police and army, who are due to take responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, though critics warn this date is premature.
At present NATO is rushing to expand and train up security forces that have long struggled with problems ranging from widespread illiteracy, drug abuse and corruption to a dearth of leaders and equipment and a damaging rate of attrition.
Although the training team say progress is impressive, it will still be years before they have a real hope of holding off disciplined and battle-hardened insurgents across the country.
Even when they can fight alone, the size of the security forces and Afghanistan's sickly economy means they will need help paying salaries and buying equipment for years to come.
Eikenberry warned that patience to help Afghanistan seek security would not be infinite if Afghan partners were dismissive of U.S. sacrifices of lives and money.
"At the point your leaders believe that we are doing more harm than good ... especially at a time our economy is suffering and our needs are not being met, the American people will ask for our forces to come home," Eikenberry said.
"I would ask, as the outgoing Ambassador, that your leaders please bear this in mind when they speak of my nation, my armed forces, and my people, as well as those others who also are making contributions to and sacrifices for your country."
Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said he found comments from "some" Afghan leaders "hurtful and inappropriate," according to a transcript of a speech released late on Sunday.
Although Eikenberry did not mention Karzai by name, the speech appeared to be a direct response to a string of verbal broadsides against Western troops serving in Afghanistan and the diplomatic and aid programs that accompany them.
In one recent fiery speech Karzai warned that foreign soldiers risked being seen as occupiers because of civilian casualties they caused. Last week he said the West was polluting the country with weapons containing toxic chemicals.
Eikenberry said those comments left him ashamed and speechless in front of the relatives of U.S. war dead."When I hear some of your leaders call us occupiers, I cannot look at these mourning parents, spouses, and children in the eye and give them a comforting reply," Eikenberry told an audience of students and academics at Herat University in western Afghanistan.
"When we hear ourselves being called occupiers and worse, our pride is offended and we begin to lose our inspiration to carry on," he added, in a personal addendum to a speech on education and transition.
Karzai's office declined to comment immediately comment on Eikenberry's statement.
He was speaking as U.S. President Barack Obama mulls how steep a U.S. troop drawdown pledged to start in July should be.
That will coincide with the first phase of a gradual handover of security control to the Afghan police and army, who are due to take responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, though critics warn this date is premature.
At present NATO is rushing to expand and train up security forces that have long struggled with problems ranging from widespread illiteracy, drug abuse and corruption to a dearth of leaders and equipment and a damaging rate of attrition.
Although the training team say progress is impressive, it will still be years before they have a real hope of holding off disciplined and battle-hardened insurgents across the country.
Even when they can fight alone, the size of the security forces and Afghanistan's sickly economy means they will need help paying salaries and buying equipment for years to come.
Eikenberry warned that patience to help Afghanistan seek security would not be infinite if Afghan partners were dismissive of U.S. sacrifices of lives and money.
"At the point your leaders believe that we are doing more harm than good ... especially at a time our economy is suffering and our needs are not being met, the American people will ask for our forces to come home," Eikenberry said.
"I would ask, as the outgoing Ambassador, that your leaders please bear this in mind when they speak of my nation, my armed forces, and my people, as well as those others who also are making contributions to and sacrifices for your country."
journalist Shafiullah:From North Waziristan to Peshawar and back
Young Shafiullah was on way to becoming a journalist but the barbaric suicide bombing at the Khyber Super Market here on June 11 took his life and destroyed the hopes that his family in North Waziristan had attached with him.
One would have thought that there were more chances of Shafiullah getting killed by the US drones or the roadside bombs in his native North Waziristan. Instead, he lost his life as a result of the bombing of a small restaurant in Peshawar Cantonment. This was evidence that Peshawar has become so dangerous that people of Waziristan and Swat feel safer in their own areas than in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Before the June 11 twin bomb blasts in Peshawar, 10 journalists from Fata had been killed in the line of duty. The Tribal Union of Journalists has added Shafiullah to the list and declared him the 11th tribal journalist to die in acts of violence linked to militancy and military operations. He was honoured posthumously and his wish to become a journalist was granted.
Shafiullah was keen to pursue a career in journalism. After obtaining a master’s degree in journalism from the Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, he joined the Peshawar office of The News International to train as journalist. As luck would have it, he had barely spent a week when tragedy struck just outside his workplace and close to his rented room. The bomb explosion caused him severe burn injuries and only a miracle could have brought him back to health. The absence of burn injury centre in Peshawar and the province meant that precious time was wasted in putting him to a proper treatment regimen.
When his elder brother Azizullah, who is an officer at the Higher Education Commission in Islamabad, shifted him to the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Hospital in Wah Cantonment where a specialized burn care centre existed, doctors were surprised to find metal shrapnel in his right shoulder. It was obvious that the overworked doctors at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar where Shafiullah and other victims of the bombing with burn injuries were taken had missed the shrapnel embedded in his shoulder. Gradually the other patients with burn injuries were also shifted to Wah, but all had to pay for the costly treatment and none were wealthy enough to bear the expenses. The government high-ups as usual gave statements directing the administration of the public hospitals in Peshawar to take care of the bomb blast victims and then forgot about it as no effort was made to find out as to how the injured poor were coping with the situation.
Shafiullah had suffered over 50 per cent severe burn injuries. Another 20 per cent of his bruised body had sustained superficial burn injuries. The doctors at Wah had told his brothers that his fate would become known in a week’s time. Exactly five days after the June 11 bombing, Shafiullah breathed his last almost at the same time at which he had been caught in the explosion. The young man had fought hard and long for life. Like all burn injury patients, he was able to talk and showed signs of improvement. He even spoke on the phone to freelance journalist Arshad Yusufzai the day he died and said that he wanted to get up from his hospital bed, walk and go to the toilet on his own. His doctors and brothers knew better and before long their worst fears came true when Shafiullah expired.
On June 17, his body was brought to the family home in Palangzai village near Miramshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, for burial. His family had sent Shafiullah to Peshawar to become a journalist but here he was in a coffin, a burned out corpse, due to a senseless bombing that killed 42 innocent civilians.
One would have thought that there were more chances of Shafiullah getting killed by the US drones or the roadside bombs in his native North Waziristan. Instead, he lost his life as a result of the bombing of a small restaurant in Peshawar Cantonment. This was evidence that Peshawar has become so dangerous that people of Waziristan and Swat feel safer in their own areas than in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Before the June 11 twin bomb blasts in Peshawar, 10 journalists from Fata had been killed in the line of duty. The Tribal Union of Journalists has added Shafiullah to the list and declared him the 11th tribal journalist to die in acts of violence linked to militancy and military operations. He was honoured posthumously and his wish to become a journalist was granted.
Shafiullah was keen to pursue a career in journalism. After obtaining a master’s degree in journalism from the Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, he joined the Peshawar office of The News International to train as journalist. As luck would have it, he had barely spent a week when tragedy struck just outside his workplace and close to his rented room. The bomb explosion caused him severe burn injuries and only a miracle could have brought him back to health. The absence of burn injury centre in Peshawar and the province meant that precious time was wasted in putting him to a proper treatment regimen.
When his elder brother Azizullah, who is an officer at the Higher Education Commission in Islamabad, shifted him to the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Hospital in Wah Cantonment where a specialized burn care centre existed, doctors were surprised to find metal shrapnel in his right shoulder. It was obvious that the overworked doctors at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar where Shafiullah and other victims of the bombing with burn injuries were taken had missed the shrapnel embedded in his shoulder. Gradually the other patients with burn injuries were also shifted to Wah, but all had to pay for the costly treatment and none were wealthy enough to bear the expenses. The government high-ups as usual gave statements directing the administration of the public hospitals in Peshawar to take care of the bomb blast victims and then forgot about it as no effort was made to find out as to how the injured poor were coping with the situation.
Shafiullah had suffered over 50 per cent severe burn injuries. Another 20 per cent of his bruised body had sustained superficial burn injuries. The doctors at Wah had told his brothers that his fate would become known in a week’s time. Exactly five days after the June 11 bombing, Shafiullah breathed his last almost at the same time at which he had been caught in the explosion. The young man had fought hard and long for life. Like all burn injury patients, he was able to talk and showed signs of improvement. He even spoke on the phone to freelance journalist Arshad Yusufzai the day he died and said that he wanted to get up from his hospital bed, walk and go to the toilet on his own. His doctors and brothers knew better and before long their worst fears came true when Shafiullah expired.
On June 17, his body was brought to the family home in Palangzai village near Miramshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, for burial. His family had sent Shafiullah to Peshawar to become a journalist but here he was in a coffin, a burned out corpse, due to a senseless bombing that killed 42 innocent civilians.