Friday, October 23, 2009
Refugees flee heavy fighting in South Waziristan
Pakistani military continues its offensive against Taliban fighters in South Waziristan
Nineteen days of bloodshed in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A wave of suicide bombings, coordinated grenade, bomb and gun assaults, and drive-by shootings blamed on militants has left more than 190 people dead in Pakistan so far this month.
Here is a timeline of attacks in the past 19 days:
October 23: A suicide attack kills six people near a Pakistan air force base in Kamra, about 60 kilometres west of Islamabad.
October 22: Gunmen kill a Pakistani brigadier on leave from a UN peacekeeping mission and his driver in Islamabad.
October 20: Twin suicide blasts tear through Islamabad's International Islamic University, killing five people as well as the bombers.
October 16: A suicide car bomb rips through a police investigation bureau killing 11 people and wounding 13 others in the northwest city of Peshawar.
October 15: Gunmen armed with suicide vests and grenades attack three police buildings in the eastern city of Lahore and bomb a northwest station, killing 39 people. A car bomb at a government residence in Peshawar kills a child.
October 12: A suicide bomber rips through a market as a paramilitary convoy passes in Shangla, a district neighbouring the northwest Swat valley and the target of a recent anti-Taliban offensive. About 45 people, mainly civilians, are killed. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims responsibility.
October 10/11: Ten militants besiege army headquarters in the garrison town Rawalpindi, with 23 people killed and 39 hostages freed. The dead included 11 troops, three hostages and nine attackers. TTP claims responsibility.
October 9: A suicide car bomber kills 52 civilians and wounds more than 100 in a crowded market in northwest city Peshawar. It is the sixth attack in four months in the city, near the tribal belt on the Afghan border where tens of thousands have fled a feared offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
October 5: Five UN World Food Programme workers are killed when a suicide bomber walks into their office in Islamabad and blows himself up, dressed in military uniform. The TTP claims responsibility for the attack.
Here is a timeline of attacks in the past 19 days:
October 23: A suicide attack kills six people near a Pakistan air force base in Kamra, about 60 kilometres west of Islamabad.
October 22: Gunmen kill a Pakistani brigadier on leave from a UN peacekeeping mission and his driver in Islamabad.
October 20: Twin suicide blasts tear through Islamabad's International Islamic University, killing five people as well as the bombers.
October 16: A suicide car bomb rips through a police investigation bureau killing 11 people and wounding 13 others in the northwest city of Peshawar.
October 15: Gunmen armed with suicide vests and grenades attack three police buildings in the eastern city of Lahore and bomb a northwest station, killing 39 people. A car bomb at a government residence in Peshawar kills a child.
October 12: A suicide bomber rips through a market as a paramilitary convoy passes in Shangla, a district neighbouring the northwest Swat valley and the target of a recent anti-Taliban offensive. About 45 people, mainly civilians, are killed. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims responsibility.
October 10/11: Ten militants besiege army headquarters in the garrison town Rawalpindi, with 23 people killed and 39 hostages freed. The dead included 11 troops, three hostages and nine attackers. TTP claims responsibility.
October 9: A suicide car bomber kills 52 civilians and wounds more than 100 in a crowded market in northwest city Peshawar. It is the sixth attack in four months in the city, near the tribal belt on the Afghan border where tens of thousands have fled a feared offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
October 5: Five UN World Food Programme workers are killed when a suicide bomber walks into their office in Islamabad and blows himself up, dressed in military uniform. The TTP claims responsibility for the attack.
Strong earthquake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan
KABUL: A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the border area between northeast Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday, shaking buildings in both countries, officials said.
The quake struck at 12:21 am (1951 GMT Thursday) at a depth of 196 kilometres (122 miles) in the Hindu Kush area, the US Geological Survey said.
It said the epicentre was 77 kilometres south-southeast of Feyzabad in Afghanistan, near the Tajikistan border, and 115 kilometres northwest of Chitral in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
‘It was a severe earthquake. People woke up and came out of their houses, fortunately there was no damage,’ Chitral resident Momin Khan told AFP.
‘It was a major earthquake. The intensity was 6.3 on the Richter scale and the epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains,’ said Riaz Khan, a senior official at Pakistan's meteorological department.
‘It was felt in most parts of Pakistan, including Kashmir, and also in Afghanistan,’ he told AFP.
‘So far we have no reports of human losses but there may be some slight damage in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan,’ he added.
The tremors woke Pakistanis up in the middle of the night in some areas where panicked residents ran out of their homes, witnesses said.
‘There are reports of five people slightly injured in Dir and Swat owing to cracks in walls,’ said Javed Khan, an official in the main police control room for Pakistan's NWFP.
‘But as a whole, there are no major losses or damage,’ he added.
Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northwest Pakistan and Kashmir in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million.
The quake struck at 12:21 am (1951 GMT Thursday) at a depth of 196 kilometres (122 miles) in the Hindu Kush area, the US Geological Survey said.
It said the epicentre was 77 kilometres south-southeast of Feyzabad in Afghanistan, near the Tajikistan border, and 115 kilometres northwest of Chitral in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
‘It was a severe earthquake. People woke up and came out of their houses, fortunately there was no damage,’ Chitral resident Momin Khan told AFP.
‘It was a major earthquake. The intensity was 6.3 on the Richter scale and the epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains,’ said Riaz Khan, a senior official at Pakistan's meteorological department.
‘It was felt in most parts of Pakistan, including Kashmir, and also in Afghanistan,’ he told AFP.
‘So far we have no reports of human losses but there may be some slight damage in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan,’ he added.
The tremors woke Pakistanis up in the middle of the night in some areas where panicked residents ran out of their homes, witnesses said.
‘There are reports of five people slightly injured in Dir and Swat owing to cracks in walls,’ said Javed Khan, an official in the main police control room for Pakistan's NWFP.
‘But as a whole, there are no major losses or damage,’ he added.
Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northwest Pakistan and Kashmir in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Pukhtunkhwa govt demands military operation in Waziristan, Punjab
PESHAWAR: Following the suicide blast in Peshawar on Friday and Saturday’s attack on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the NWFP government has demanded the federal government launch a decisive military operation in Waziristan and southern Punjab.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain conveyed the provincial government’s demand during a press briefing on Saturday. “The NWFP government-supported military operation in Malakand has succeeded. The people of Malakand are free from the Taliban. Now, the time has come for the federal government to start a decisive military operation in Waziristan and put a halt to the terrorism spreading from these tribal agencies to the rest of the country,” he said.
“The NWFP will continue to be plagued by suicide attacks until the training centres are destroyed,” he said. The minister said there were reports of training camps in the Muridke region of Punjab too, adding the government should launch a military operation in that area as well.
Committed: The information minister said Friday’s suicide attack was the worst yet, as most of the deceased had been burnt beyond recognition. He said the Taliban, through such attacks, wanted to pressure the government to stop military operations. However, he added, the government would not stop until every last militant had been eliminated.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain conveyed the provincial government’s demand during a press briefing on Saturday. “The NWFP government-supported military operation in Malakand has succeeded. The people of Malakand are free from the Taliban. Now, the time has come for the federal government to start a decisive military operation in Waziristan and put a halt to the terrorism spreading from these tribal agencies to the rest of the country,” he said.
“The NWFP will continue to be plagued by suicide attacks until the training centres are destroyed,” he said. The minister said there were reports of training camps in the Muridke region of Punjab too, adding the government should launch a military operation in that area as well.
Committed: The information minister said Friday’s suicide attack was the worst yet, as most of the deceased had been burnt beyond recognition. He said the Taliban, through such attacks, wanted to pressure the government to stop military operations. However, he added, the government would not stop until every last militant had been eliminated.
Pakistan vows revenge after devastating blast
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Eight-year-old Amna Bibi was dressed in festive orange and headed to a wedding with her family when the car bomb exploded yesterday near a crowded market in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
A man scooped up the girl and dashed from the scene. It was too late.
"Our sister is dead," her older sister said as tears rolled down her cheeks at the hospital. "We are wrecked."
The bomb tore through a busy road in the heart of Peshawar, a city of more than 3 million. The force of the blast flipped a bus on its side, ripped apart a motorbike and flung charred debris down the street.
Pakistan has been rocked by almost weekly attacks by Islamic militants, but the sheer horror of yesterday's bombing -- which killed 49 people and wounded more than 100 -- spurred the government to declare it would launch a new offensive against militant strongholds along the Afghan border.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the militants had left the government "no other option" but to hit back into the rugged mountains of South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal belt where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may be hiding.
"We will have to proceed," he told a local television station. "All roads are leading to South Waziristan."
The United States has been pressuring Pakistan to take strong action against insurgents who are using its soil as a base for attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan. A push into South Waziristan could be risky for the army, which was beaten back on three previous offensives there.
But the army may have been emboldened this year by a reasonably successful military campaign in the Swat Valley and adjoining Buner district and by the death in a U.S. missile strike of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
A man scooped up the girl and dashed from the scene. It was too late.
"Our sister is dead," her older sister said as tears rolled down her cheeks at the hospital. "We are wrecked."
The bomb tore through a busy road in the heart of Peshawar, a city of more than 3 million. The force of the blast flipped a bus on its side, ripped apart a motorbike and flung charred debris down the street.
Pakistan has been rocked by almost weekly attacks by Islamic militants, but the sheer horror of yesterday's bombing -- which killed 49 people and wounded more than 100 -- spurred the government to declare it would launch a new offensive against militant strongholds along the Afghan border.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the militants had left the government "no other option" but to hit back into the rugged mountains of South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal belt where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may be hiding.
"We will have to proceed," he told a local television station. "All roads are leading to South Waziristan."
The United States has been pressuring Pakistan to take strong action against insurgents who are using its soil as a base for attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan. A push into South Waziristan could be risky for the army, which was beaten back on three previous offensives there.
But the army may have been emboldened this year by a reasonably successful military campaign in the Swat Valley and adjoining Buner district and by the death in a U.S. missile strike of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Security personnel taken hostage at GHQ: army
ISLAMABAD: Several gunmen who escaped after the attack Saturday morning on the Pakistan army HQ near Islamabad had taken some security personnel hostage and were encircled by troops, a military spokesman said.Army Spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said 4-5 militants were holed up in the security agency’s building and they had taken 10-15 hostages. ‘Efforts are under way for their safe recovery,’ said the spokesman.‘Security forces have surrounded the terrorists. We are trying to recover the hostages safely,’ he added.
NASA’s search of water on moon fails
WASHINGTON: The recent attempt from NASA to bomb moon surface in search of water has failed to achieve success as the dust appeared with the blow of rocket did not carry possible water vapors.
After gearing up for the space agency's much-hyped mission to hurl two spacecraft into the moon, the public turned away from the sky Friday anything but dazzled. Photos and video of the impact showed little more than a fuzzy white flash.
In social media and live television coverage, many people were disappointed at the lack of spectacle. One person even joked that someone hit the pause button in mission control.
Yet scientists involved in the project were downright gleeful. Sure, there were no immediate pictures of spewing plumes of lunar dust that could contain water, but, they say, there was something more important: chemical signatures in light waves.
That's the real bonanza, not pictures of geyser-like eruptions of debris, the scientists said.
The mission was executed for “a scientific purpose, not to put on a fireworks display for the public,'' said space consultant Alan Stern, a former NASA associate administrator for science.
Scientists said the public expected too much. The public groused as if NASA delivered too little. The divide was as big as a crater.
“We've been brainwashed by Hollywood to expect the money shot, like 'Deep Impact' or when Bruce Willis saves us from a comet,’ said physicist and television host Michio Kaku, who was not part of the mission. “Science is not done that way.'
After gearing up for the space agency's much-hyped mission to hurl two spacecraft into the moon, the public turned away from the sky Friday anything but dazzled. Photos and video of the impact showed little more than a fuzzy white flash.
In social media and live television coverage, many people were disappointed at the lack of spectacle. One person even joked that someone hit the pause button in mission control.
Yet scientists involved in the project were downright gleeful. Sure, there were no immediate pictures of spewing plumes of lunar dust that could contain water, but, they say, there was something more important: chemical signatures in light waves.
That's the real bonanza, not pictures of geyser-like eruptions of debris, the scientists said.
The mission was executed for “a scientific purpose, not to put on a fireworks display for the public,'' said space consultant Alan Stern, a former NASA associate administrator for science.
Scientists said the public expected too much. The public groused as if NASA delivered too little. The divide was as big as a crater.
“We've been brainwashed by Hollywood to expect the money shot, like 'Deep Impact' or when Bruce Willis saves us from a comet,’ said physicist and television host Michio Kaku, who was not part of the mission. “Science is not done that way.'
GHQ attacked; Brig, Lieut. Colonel among 10 killed
RAWALPINDI : Gunmen wearing military uniforms and wielding assault rifles and grenades attacked Pakistan's army headquarters Saturday, sparking a ferocious gunbattle outside the capital that killed four of the assailants and at least six soldiers, including one brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, media reported.
Two of the attackers managed to infiltrate the heavily fortified compound, and troops were trying to flush them out hours after the initial assault, the military said. An Associated Press reporter at the scene heard four gunshots from inside the compound - long after an army spokesman said the situation was under control.
The audacious assault was the third major militant attack in Pakistan in a week and came as the government said it was planning an imminent offensive against Islamist militants in their strongholds in the rugged mountains along the border with Afghanistan.
It showed that the militants retain the ability to strike at the very heart of Pakistan's security apparatus despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August.
Pakistani media said that the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the ongoing assaults strengthened the government's resolve to launch the offensive.
"We have been left no with other option except to go ahead to face them," he told a private television.
The attack began shortly before noon when the gunmen, dressed in camouflage military uniforms, drove in a white van up to the army compound and tried to force their way inside, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.
The assailants shot at the guards at one checkpoint, killing some of them, and then jumped out of the van and ran toward a second checkpoint, he said. Abbas said the guards were likely confused by the attackers' uniforms.
The heavily armed attackers then took up positions throughout the area, hurling at least one grenade and firing sporadically at security forces, said a senior military official inside the compound. The official, who said top army officials were trapped in the compound during the assault, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas, who told a private television channel that the assault was over and the situation "under full control."
But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the compound, and Abbas confirmed that two more gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the headquarters compound in Rawalpindi. The city, adjacent to the capital of Islamabad, is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.
Troops were closing in on the men, he said.
Abbas said six troops were killed and five wounded, one critically. An intelligence official said eight soldiers were killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver, was standing outside the gate of the compound when the white van pulled up, and the shooting erupted.
"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast. Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."
The gunbattle was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani cities, following a car bombing that killed 49 on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the bombing of a UN aid agency, Monday, that killed five in Islamabad. The man who attacked the UN was also wearing a security forces' uniform and was granted entry to the compound after asking to use the bathroom.
Two of the attackers managed to infiltrate the heavily fortified compound, and troops were trying to flush them out hours after the initial assault, the military said. An Associated Press reporter at the scene heard four gunshots from inside the compound - long after an army spokesman said the situation was under control.
The audacious assault was the third major militant attack in Pakistan in a week and came as the government said it was planning an imminent offensive against Islamist militants in their strongholds in the rugged mountains along the border with Afghanistan.
It showed that the militants retain the ability to strike at the very heart of Pakistan's security apparatus despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August.
Pakistani media said that the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the ongoing assaults strengthened the government's resolve to launch the offensive.
"We have been left no with other option except to go ahead to face them," he told a private television.
The attack began shortly before noon when the gunmen, dressed in camouflage military uniforms, drove in a white van up to the army compound and tried to force their way inside, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.
The assailants shot at the guards at one checkpoint, killing some of them, and then jumped out of the van and ran toward a second checkpoint, he said. Abbas said the guards were likely confused by the attackers' uniforms.
The heavily armed attackers then took up positions throughout the area, hurling at least one grenade and firing sporadically at security forces, said a senior military official inside the compound. The official, who said top army officials were trapped in the compound during the assault, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas, who told a private television channel that the assault was over and the situation "under full control."
But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the compound, and Abbas confirmed that two more gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the headquarters compound in Rawalpindi. The city, adjacent to the capital of Islamabad, is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.
Troops were closing in on the men, he said.
Abbas said six troops were killed and five wounded, one critically. An intelligence official said eight soldiers were killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver, was standing outside the gate of the compound when the white van pulled up, and the shooting erupted.
"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast. Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."
The gunbattle was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani cities, following a car bombing that killed 49 on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the bombing of a UN aid agency, Monday, that killed five in Islamabad. The man who attacked the UN was also wearing a security forces' uniform and was granted entry to the compound after asking to use the bathroom.
Death toll from Peshawar suicide car blast rises to 52
PESHAWAR: The death toll from the suicide car bombing in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar has risen to 52 after three more people died in hospital overnight, police and health officials said Saturday.
The massive blast ripped through a packed market at midday on Friday killing at least 49 people and injuring over 100.
Charred corpses were strewn in a shopping area of the city's main Khyber Bazaar, with cars reduced to burning wrecks and a city bus destroyed and flung on its side.
‘Three seriously injured died in the hospital and 15 more are in serious condition,’ said doctor Hameed Afridi, the chief executive of Peshawar's main Lady Reading Hospital.
‘We are trying our best to save their lives,’ Afridi said, adding that 47 dead bodies have been identified and handed over to relatives.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed the Taliban for the attack and said it could force the army to bring forward a planned operation to wipe out militant strongholds in the northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Peshawar is the main city in the northwest and has been a frequent target of extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
‘They are compelling us to launch the operation in South Waziristan early. We will take a decision on the operation against terrorists over the next few days,’ Malik told reporters in Islamabad on Friday.
It was the sixth bombing in Peshawar in four months in which 77 people have been killed. It comes as the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to increase attacks to avenge the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in August.
‘Senior police experts are investigating the blast, we have got some clues which can not be disclosed at this juncture,’ Liaqat Ali, police chief of Peshawar told AFP.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ‘strongly condemned’ the bombing, expressing his government's resolve to continue action against extremists, his office said in a statement.
The military is wrapping up a fierce offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat valley launched in April.
Friday's blast is the deadliest in Pakistan since March this year, when a suicide bomber attacked a packed mosque in the northwestern town of Jamrud at prayer time, killing around 50 people.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Monday on a UN office in Islamabad, which killed five aid workers.
The massive blast ripped through a packed market at midday on Friday killing at least 49 people and injuring over 100.
Charred corpses were strewn in a shopping area of the city's main Khyber Bazaar, with cars reduced to burning wrecks and a city bus destroyed and flung on its side.
‘Three seriously injured died in the hospital and 15 more are in serious condition,’ said doctor Hameed Afridi, the chief executive of Peshawar's main Lady Reading Hospital.
‘We are trying our best to save their lives,’ Afridi said, adding that 47 dead bodies have been identified and handed over to relatives.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed the Taliban for the attack and said it could force the army to bring forward a planned operation to wipe out militant strongholds in the northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Peshawar is the main city in the northwest and has been a frequent target of extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
‘They are compelling us to launch the operation in South Waziristan early. We will take a decision on the operation against terrorists over the next few days,’ Malik told reporters in Islamabad on Friday.
It was the sixth bombing in Peshawar in four months in which 77 people have been killed. It comes as the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to increase attacks to avenge the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in August.
‘Senior police experts are investigating the blast, we have got some clues which can not be disclosed at this juncture,’ Liaqat Ali, police chief of Peshawar told AFP.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ‘strongly condemned’ the bombing, expressing his government's resolve to continue action against extremists, his office said in a statement.
The military is wrapping up a fierce offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat valley launched in April.
Friday's blast is the deadliest in Pakistan since March this year, when a suicide bomber attacked a packed mosque in the northwestern town of Jamrud at prayer time, killing around 50 people.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Monday on a UN office in Islamabad, which killed five aid workers.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Peshawar bleeds
TheNews
There was a depressing, appalling, familiarity about the news that a car bomb had exploded in the busy Khyber bazaar area of Peshawar around noon on Friday. Friday; a time of prayer and peaceful reflection and celebration of the Muslim faith across the country, but seems to be the favourite day for those whose deadly business is to terrorise us. At the time of writing there are at least 42 dead and 54 injured with an estimated twenty of those injured being in critical condition. The numbers of dead and injured will inevitably rise. Rescue services are calling it the 'worst blast we have ever seen'. Interior Minister Rehman Malik was swift to condemn the atrocity and said that the long-promised operation in Waziristan was 'imminent'. Local business men speaking on private TV channels spoke of their frustration and anger at the way in which their lives and livelihoods were being destroyed and of their desire to leave the city as attempting to carry on business was pointless – and carried with it an unacceptable level of risk. There is understandable confusion about the type of device that caused this carnage, but the opinion seems to be that it was a suicide bomb, probably carried in a car which may have been moving at the time of the blast and the Khyber bazaar may not have been the intended target.
There will be entirely predictable statements that there has been a security lapse or failure and this that or the other agency has failed in its duty to protect the public. The bombers should have been spotted at any one of the numerous checkpoints that ring the city. Intelligence should have been better. CCTV cameras should have recorded them…all will be cited as a failure of the systems set up to protect the citizenry. All will miss the point that NWFP is a war-zone, not merely the site of what may euphemistically be termed an 'insurgency' – but an area where a fully-fledged war is being fought. It is a war fought by combatants who in one case may have signed the Geneva Convention on the conduct of warfare but have little care for it; and in the other the Geneva Convention is something they have never heard of. Civilian casualties are as much a part of the war in NWFP as were the thousands of refugees who died when the Allies firebombed Dresden in the Second World War or the civilians who were fried to a crisp in Hiroshima.
This is a war being fought with a ferocity that is increasing by the day and short of putting the entire city on lock-down there is probably little the civil or military authorities can do to stop the carnage. Realistically, there will be intelligence successes that we may not hear about, and operations that net the bombers and terrorists, but there will always be one that gets through. Such is the nature of warfare. This is a war that we cannot afford to lose no matter the attrition. It is our war, no matter how it gets 'dressed up' for political purposes. Ours to win and ours to lose. Now is the time for us to stand against the bombers and the gunmen, to expose them, reveal their dark plots and evil designs. More of us will die doing so, but stand we must.
40th terror attack in Peshawar since Malakand operation
PESHAWAR: The provincial capital has suffered almost 40 terrorist attacks since the launch of military operation in troubled Malakand Division last June.
The Friday blast in Soekarno Square was the deadliest so far, followed by explosion at the Pearl Continental (PC) hotel on June 9 that killed 17 people and injured over 50 others. Only a day after the PC blast, a police party on Ring Road near Charsadda Road was first attacked with a hand grenade and later hit by a suicide bomber to kill one person and injure eight policemen.
Intelligence reports about tasking terrorists to hit any target in Peshawar are being received on a daily basis. An alleged suicide bomber was caught along with two accomplices only a day before the Soekarno Square blast.
The city was attacked with almost 40 rockets in around a dozen barrages during the last less than one month. These rockets have landed in almost all parts of the provincial capital. Also, attacks on Nato terminals seem to have started once again as four vehicles were torched early Friday, exactly in the area where two oil tankers were attacked last month.
The situation has resulted in erecting barricades on almost all the main entry points to the city and cantonment, causing inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of Peshawarites everyday. Apart from the inconvenience, the dwellers of the city are scared of almost daily terrorism incidents. This has forced many to change their planning, as they fear a bleak future of the city ahead due to wrong policies of tackling terrorists.
The holy month of Ramazan proved to be the most peaceful when only two terrorist attacks were reported, both in the first two days. One of the attacks occurred in Hayatabad where two people were killed while a suicide bomber blew himself up on the next day in Momin Town, killing five.
Peshawar has proved to be a soft target for terrorists since 2004. However, the ongoing wave of terror intensified first with the launch of military operation in Swat and then in the tribal agencies.
Peshawarites started to bear the brunt of the army action on May 8 when three rockets were fired at its international airport. A police van was attacked by the terrorists in Chamkani on May 12 when the cops were transporting some infamous militants. Police not only foiled the attack but also managed to gun down five attackers including a top leader of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Nato container terminals on the Ring Road were attacked twice in mid May, torching several trailers and containers. A suicide attack on FC camp near Matani killed 11 persons, including security personnel on May 11 while a huge blast ripped through the crowded Barrisco Bazaar near Aasya Gate on May 14, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. The same day another explosion occurred in congested Gora Bazaar of the Peshawar cantonment that killed a minor girl and wounded four others when people were busy in shopping.
A high-intensity blast outside the Tasveer Mahal Cinema in Kabuli Chowk on May 21 killed another 12 people. Over 65 people, mostly labourers, were injured in the explosion that destroyed the cinema building and nearby establishments.
Terror struck the city again on May 28 with twin blasts in Qissa Khwani and a suicide attack on a police post in Sra Khawra on Kohat Road in quick succession. A total of nine people were killed in these terrorist attacks.
On June 3, a school was targeted with bombing in Sulemankhel village while a police van was blown up and its driver killed in another attack on police party in Hazarkhwani on June 8. Another school was blown up in Tirayee Payan on second day of Eidul Fitr.
Peshawar seems to be literally under siege where dwellers fear happening anything untoward to their lives and families. Police say that strict security measures have been taken in and around the town to protect its almost 3 million residents, but the fact is that the terrorist continue to hit targets right under the nose of several security agencies.
The Friday blast in Soekarno Square was the deadliest so far, followed by explosion at the Pearl Continental (PC) hotel on June 9 that killed 17 people and injured over 50 others. Only a day after the PC blast, a police party on Ring Road near Charsadda Road was first attacked with a hand grenade and later hit by a suicide bomber to kill one person and injure eight policemen.
Intelligence reports about tasking terrorists to hit any target in Peshawar are being received on a daily basis. An alleged suicide bomber was caught along with two accomplices only a day before the Soekarno Square blast.
The city was attacked with almost 40 rockets in around a dozen barrages during the last less than one month. These rockets have landed in almost all parts of the provincial capital. Also, attacks on Nato terminals seem to have started once again as four vehicles were torched early Friday, exactly in the area where two oil tankers were attacked last month.
The situation has resulted in erecting barricades on almost all the main entry points to the city and cantonment, causing inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of Peshawarites everyday. Apart from the inconvenience, the dwellers of the city are scared of almost daily terrorism incidents. This has forced many to change their planning, as they fear a bleak future of the city ahead due to wrong policies of tackling terrorists.
The holy month of Ramazan proved to be the most peaceful when only two terrorist attacks were reported, both in the first two days. One of the attacks occurred in Hayatabad where two people were killed while a suicide bomber blew himself up on the next day in Momin Town, killing five.
Peshawar has proved to be a soft target for terrorists since 2004. However, the ongoing wave of terror intensified first with the launch of military operation in Swat and then in the tribal agencies.
Peshawarites started to bear the brunt of the army action on May 8 when three rockets were fired at its international airport. A police van was attacked by the terrorists in Chamkani on May 12 when the cops were transporting some infamous militants. Police not only foiled the attack but also managed to gun down five attackers including a top leader of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Nato container terminals on the Ring Road were attacked twice in mid May, torching several trailers and containers. A suicide attack on FC camp near Matani killed 11 persons, including security personnel on May 11 while a huge blast ripped through the crowded Barrisco Bazaar near Aasya Gate on May 14, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. The same day another explosion occurred in congested Gora Bazaar of the Peshawar cantonment that killed a minor girl and wounded four others when people were busy in shopping.
A high-intensity blast outside the Tasveer Mahal Cinema in Kabuli Chowk on May 21 killed another 12 people. Over 65 people, mostly labourers, were injured in the explosion that destroyed the cinema building and nearby establishments.
Terror struck the city again on May 28 with twin blasts in Qissa Khwani and a suicide attack on a police post in Sra Khawra on Kohat Road in quick succession. A total of nine people were killed in these terrorist attacks.
On June 3, a school was targeted with bombing in Sulemankhel village while a police van was blown up and its driver killed in another attack on police party in Hazarkhwani on June 8. Another school was blown up in Tirayee Payan on second day of Eidul Fitr.
Peshawar seems to be literally under siege where dwellers fear happening anything untoward to their lives and families. Police say that strict security measures have been taken in and around the town to protect its almost 3 million residents, but the fact is that the terrorist continue to hit targets right under the nose of several security agencies.
Traumatic scenes witnessed at LRH
PESHAWAR: The emergency ward of the Lady Reading Hospital was the scene of human tragedy on Friday as people mourned the death of their near and dear ones in the suicide blast and were searching for their kin amid screams of the injured writhing in agony.
As many as 49 people were killed and over 100 injured when a suicide car bomb ripped through Soekarno Chowk. It was the second suicide attack in provincial metropolis in the fortnight, in which civilians were targeted.
A large number of people gathered at the emergency ward of the busiest tertiary care hospital of the province. Sobbing women and men could be seen moving in chaos as many did not know the fate of their loved ones. Several wounded brought to the hospital in critical condition succumbed to injuries.
Though the number of the injured was huge, the doctors and paramedical staff were devotedly treating the injured and worked hard. They have been very busy for the last two years due to frequent bomb blasts in Peshawar and other cities of the province.
Wearing no shoes and chaddar, a middle-aged woman was desperately searching for her son in various wards of the hospital. She was crying and repeatedly saying “wai zama Tariq sa sho” (oh! where is my Tariq). Her son, who belonged to Michni area of Peshawar, was a vendor who used to sell beans at the Soekarno Chowk.
Another person was mourning the death of his brother, who was the driver of the ill-fated mini-bus that was reduced to twisted irons in the incident. “I used to drive the bus but today my brother replaced me,” he said. Cursing the perpetrators of the blast, he said in choked voice that may these terrorists face the same fate. The conductor of the bus also died in the blast, he cried.
Raheem Zada, an elderly man, weeping on the death of his son and two nephews, said most of his family boys were daily wagers and used to come in search of work to Soekarno Chowk. He said all the three were having little kids. “What kind of Islam is this? Can any Muslim kill people in such a brutal manner?” he questioned.
The most heartrending scene was that of a five-year old Amna, killed in the blast and lying in the arms of her injured father at a hospital bed. The unfortunate Afghan family of Badaber was going by the bus to attend a marriage ceremony of a relative in Haripur. Instead of celebrating the marriage, the couple was mourning the death of the minor.
People in the emergency ward could not stop crying when they saw body of the innocent girl wearing bangles, with her hands adorned with Henna. With tears rolling down her face, the unlucky mother, Zarin Bibi who was standing beside the bed, said, “May God destroy their (terrorists’) own homes as they have unleashed barbarity on us.” She lost her daughter while two of her sons and husband were injured in the blast.
Naseebullah, 30, hailing from Timergara in Lower Dir, was hit by shrapnel on his right cheek. Talking to The News, Naseeb said that after collecting his passport, he went to Khyber Bazaar for shopping. He said there was rush at the time of the blast, adding that soon after the incident the entire area was covered with a cloud of dust, rendering people unable to see anything. He said as the dust settled, he saw bodies lying scattered at the scene, while the injured were crying for help. After the incident, the city was gripped by a wave of fear, grief and despondency. The traders association of Khyber Bazaar announced a three-day mourning.
As many as 49 people were killed and over 100 injured when a suicide car bomb ripped through Soekarno Chowk. It was the second suicide attack in provincial metropolis in the fortnight, in which civilians were targeted.
A large number of people gathered at the emergency ward of the busiest tertiary care hospital of the province. Sobbing women and men could be seen moving in chaos as many did not know the fate of their loved ones. Several wounded brought to the hospital in critical condition succumbed to injuries.
Though the number of the injured was huge, the doctors and paramedical staff were devotedly treating the injured and worked hard. They have been very busy for the last two years due to frequent bomb blasts in Peshawar and other cities of the province.
Wearing no shoes and chaddar, a middle-aged woman was desperately searching for her son in various wards of the hospital. She was crying and repeatedly saying “wai zama Tariq sa sho” (oh! where is my Tariq). Her son, who belonged to Michni area of Peshawar, was a vendor who used to sell beans at the Soekarno Chowk.
Another person was mourning the death of his brother, who was the driver of the ill-fated mini-bus that was reduced to twisted irons in the incident. “I used to drive the bus but today my brother replaced me,” he said. Cursing the perpetrators of the blast, he said in choked voice that may these terrorists face the same fate. The conductor of the bus also died in the blast, he cried.
Raheem Zada, an elderly man, weeping on the death of his son and two nephews, said most of his family boys were daily wagers and used to come in search of work to Soekarno Chowk. He said all the three were having little kids. “What kind of Islam is this? Can any Muslim kill people in such a brutal manner?” he questioned.
The most heartrending scene was that of a five-year old Amna, killed in the blast and lying in the arms of her injured father at a hospital bed. The unfortunate Afghan family of Badaber was going by the bus to attend a marriage ceremony of a relative in Haripur. Instead of celebrating the marriage, the couple was mourning the death of the minor.
People in the emergency ward could not stop crying when they saw body of the innocent girl wearing bangles, with her hands adorned with Henna. With tears rolling down her face, the unlucky mother, Zarin Bibi who was standing beside the bed, said, “May God destroy their (terrorists’) own homes as they have unleashed barbarity on us.” She lost her daughter while two of her sons and husband were injured in the blast.
Naseebullah, 30, hailing from Timergara in Lower Dir, was hit by shrapnel on his right cheek. Talking to The News, Naseeb said that after collecting his passport, he went to Khyber Bazaar for shopping. He said there was rush at the time of the blast, adding that soon after the incident the entire area was covered with a cloud of dust, rendering people unable to see anything. He said as the dust settled, he saw bodies lying scattered at the scene, while the injured were crying for help. After the incident, the city was gripped by a wave of fear, grief and despondency. The traders association of Khyber Bazaar announced a three-day mourning.
compensation for blast victims
The Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti on Friday announced compensation for the deadly blast victims of Khyber Bazaar. This was announced by NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain in a press statement here. He said that Chief Minister has announced Rs.300,000 for each deceased and Rs. one lakh for each critical injured. He directed the DCO Peshawar to prepare list of the deceased and injured of the Khyber Bazaar's blast victims at earliest in order to provide them quick compensation.
49 killed, 100 hurt in Peshawar suicide blast
PESHAWAR: A massive suicide car bomb Friday ripped through Khyber market in Peshawar, leaving at least 49 people dead, officials said.The blast in a shopping area close to the northwestern city's main Khyber Bazaar also wounded more than 100 people, provincial health minister Zahir Ali Shah told reporters."At least 49 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the blast," Shah told reporters in the main Lady Reading Hospital,doctor Mehboob Ali at the hospital confirmed the toll and put the number of wounded at 103. The injured included women and children, he said.
More than 50 people were in serious condition, he said.
Police official Mohammad Karim estimated the size of the bomb at around 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds), while Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal squad, confirmed that a suicide attacker had detonated the bomb.
The device was planted in the door panels of the vehicle and included machinegun ammunition, designed to cause maximum casualties, Malik said.
"The suicide attacker was sitting in the vehicle," he added.Another police official, Nisar Marwat, said the death toll could rise, given that some of the wounded were in critical condition."We have declared an emergency in the hospitals," Local administration chief Sahibzada Mohammad Anis told reporters.
‘Doomsday’ blast kills 41 near Pakistan bazaar
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle along a road near a well-known market in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 41 people and underscoring militants' ability to strike in major cities despite U.S.-backed military offensives pressuring their networks.
The attack in the Khyber Bazaar area came as Pakistan's army prepares for another major operation in the al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan tribal region. The militants have threatened bombings if the army doesn't back off, but the U.S. has continued to prod Pakistan to take action against insurgents using its soil to fuel the insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan.
Television footage showed the charred skeleton of a bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus. A nearby vehicle was in flames.
Noor Alam saw the vehicle explode, and suffered wounds on his legs and face.
"I saw a blood soaked leg landing close to me," Alam told The Associated Press at the overwhelmed Lady Reading hospital. "I understood for the first time in my life what a doomsday would look like."
Blast levels passing minibus
Peshawar Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the attacker was in a car packed with "a huge quantity of explosives and artillery rounds." A minibus apparently carrying passengers nearby was also leveled in the blast.
It came days after a suicide attack killed five at a U.N. office in the capital, Islamabad and two weeks after another explosion killed 11 in a Peshawar commercial area.
It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber demolished a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud in March, killing about 50.
Provincial Health Minister Syed Zahir Ali Shah said 41 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Friday.
"Death has to come one day, but we will keep chasing these terrorists, and this attack cannot deter our resolve," Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said as he visited the bloody scene.
Arrest in attack on U.N. offices
Also Friday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said a suspect had been arrested in Monday's suicide attack at the office of the U.N.'s World Food Program in Islamabad. Malik says the man was alleged to have given the attacker shelter, but gave few details.
Militants in Pakistan also have targeted trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Early Friday, militants ambushed a tanker carrying fuel for the Western troops at a gas station near Peshawar, torching it, said Fazal Rabi, a police official. No injuries or deaths were reported.
U.S.-Pakistan tensions rising
The attacks come amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan over a multibillion-dollar U.S. aid package that is aimed at helping Pakistan's economy and other nonmilitary sectors.
Pakistan's army has raised concern over strings attached to the aid, bolstering critics who say it will invite U.S. interference.
The debate over the proposal also has exposed rifts between Pakistan's military and its weak civilian government.
The government has hailed the package, which would provide $1.5 billion a year over the next five years. But the measure, which awaits President Barack Obama's signature, makes U.S. aid contingent on whether Pakistan's government maintains effective control over the military, among other conditions.
The army, which has ruled Pakistan for around half its 62-year existence, raised "serious concern" over the conditions, while the government said nothing in it was against Pakistan's interests.
Nobel peace prize awarded to Barack Obama
The US president, Barack Obama, was today awarded the 2009 Nobel peace prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".
The Nobel committee said "only rarely has a person such as Obama captured the world's attention and given his people hope for a better future".
"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population," the citation said.
The committee said Obama, who only took up the presidency in January, had been acknowledged for his calls to reduce the world's stockpile of nuclear weapons and working for world peace.
"Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."
The first African American to hold the country's highest office, Obama has called for disarmament and attempted - so far without success - to restart the stalled Middle East peace process. He is currently considering whether to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan where the US is mired in an eight-year-old conflict.
The choice of Obama for the prize from a field of more than 200 candidates astounded international commentators, in part because he took office less than two weeks before the February nomination deadline.
His name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award it to the president.
Michael Cox, a North America expert at the Chatham House thinktank, said: "It is difficult to see why it would be awarded to him at this stage in his presidency. There are problems in the Middle East and an ongoing war in Afghanistan. You could say it is a little bit premature. It is certainly a very interesting choice."
The committee said that for 108 years it had sought to stimulate precisely the international policy and attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.
"The committee endorses Obama's appeal that 'Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges'."
Former US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson won the award in 1906 and 1919 respectively. Former president Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002 for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflict".
The former US vice-president Al Gore shared the 2007 prize with the UN panel on climate change.
The prize, worth 10 million Swedish crowns (£880,000), will be awarded in Oslo next month.
The Nobel committee said "only rarely has a person such as Obama captured the world's attention and given his people hope for a better future".
"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population," the citation said.
The committee said Obama, who only took up the presidency in January, had been acknowledged for his calls to reduce the world's stockpile of nuclear weapons and working for world peace.
"Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."
The first African American to hold the country's highest office, Obama has called for disarmament and attempted - so far without success - to restart the stalled Middle East peace process. He is currently considering whether to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan where the US is mired in an eight-year-old conflict.
The choice of Obama for the prize from a field of more than 200 candidates astounded international commentators, in part because he took office less than two weeks before the February nomination deadline.
His name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award it to the president.
Michael Cox, a North America expert at the Chatham House thinktank, said: "It is difficult to see why it would be awarded to him at this stage in his presidency. There are problems in the Middle East and an ongoing war in Afghanistan. You could say it is a little bit premature. It is certainly a very interesting choice."
The committee said that for 108 years it had sought to stimulate precisely the international policy and attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.
"The committee endorses Obama's appeal that 'Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges'."
Former US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson won the award in 1906 and 1919 respectively. Former president Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002 for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflict".
The former US vice-president Al Gore shared the 2007 prize with the UN panel on climate change.
The prize, worth 10 million Swedish crowns (£880,000), will be awarded in Oslo next month.
Peshawar suicide car blast kills 41, wounds 100
PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle along a road near a well-known market in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 41 people.
The attack in the Khyber Bazaar area came as Pakistan's army prepares for another major operation in the al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan tribal region. The militants have threatened bombings if the army doesn't back off.
Television footage showed the charred skeleton of a bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus. A nearby vehicle was in flames.
Noor Alam saw the vehicle explode, and suffered wounds on his legs and face.
‘I saw a blood soaked leg landing close to me,’ Alam told The Associated Press at the overwhelmed Lady Reading hospital. ‘I understood for the first time in my life what a doomsday would look like.’
Peshawar Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the attacker was in a car packed with ‘a huge quantity of explosives and artillery rounds.’
A minibus apparently carrying passengers nearby was also levelled in the blast.
It came days after a suicide attack killed five at a UN office in the capital, Islamabad and two weeks after another explosion killed 11 in a Peshawar commercial area.
It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber demolished a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud in March, killing about 50.
Provincial Health Minister Syed Zahir Ali Shah said 41 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Friday.
‘Death has to come one day, but we will keep chasing these terrorists, and this attack cannot deter our resolve,’ Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said as he visited the bloody scene.
Also Friday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said a suspect had been arrested in Monday's suicide attack at the office of the UN's World Food Program in Islamabad.
Malik says the man was alleged to have given the attacker shelter, but gave few details.
The attack in the Khyber Bazaar area came as Pakistan's army prepares for another major operation in the al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan tribal region. The militants have threatened bombings if the army doesn't back off.
Television footage showed the charred skeleton of a bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus. A nearby vehicle was in flames.
Noor Alam saw the vehicle explode, and suffered wounds on his legs and face.
‘I saw a blood soaked leg landing close to me,’ Alam told The Associated Press at the overwhelmed Lady Reading hospital. ‘I understood for the first time in my life what a doomsday would look like.’
Peshawar Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the attacker was in a car packed with ‘a huge quantity of explosives and artillery rounds.’
A minibus apparently carrying passengers nearby was also levelled in the blast.
It came days after a suicide attack killed five at a UN office in the capital, Islamabad and two weeks after another explosion killed 11 in a Peshawar commercial area.
It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber demolished a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud in March, killing about 50.
Provincial Health Minister Syed Zahir Ali Shah said 41 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Friday.
‘Death has to come one day, but we will keep chasing these terrorists, and this attack cannot deter our resolve,’ Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said as he visited the bloody scene.
Also Friday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said a suspect had been arrested in Monday's suicide attack at the office of the UN's World Food Program in Islamabad.
Malik says the man was alleged to have given the attacker shelter, but gave few details.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Peshawar: Water shortage in near future
PESHAWAR: The Peshawarites would face acute water problems in near future as the water table in Peshawar and surrounding areas is gradually falling, according to official sources. The sources added that the water table had fallen from 15 to 20 feet in the Peshawar valley, affecting the performance of tube-wells in many parts of the city. The water table, engineers said, had gone down in other parts of the province as well, particularly its southern belt and the adjacent tribal areas, causing shortage of water. The drought-like situation, which started in 2000, had affected over 2.2 million acres of agricultural lands in the province, according to a report compiled by the planning, environment and development department. The situation had forced a large number of people of southern districts to migrate to other areas. Many tube-wells ran dry in the city following which town municipal administrations had to connect additional pipes to make them operational. The residents of Hayatabad, University Town, Shaheen Town, Canal Town, etc., are facing water shortage. In Town-I alone, they said, 200 tubewells were in operation and added that capacity of each tube-well was around 10,000 gallons per hour. According to a report, by the year 2025, 52 nations comprising half the world's population, will have a severe shortage of potable water. In the next 25 years, some 3 billion people will be facing water shortages. In Pakistan, the vast majority of the country's 135 million inhabitants do not have access to drinkable water. Pakistan's attempt to raise the living standards of its citizens has meant that economic development has largely taken precedence over environmental issues. Unchecked use of hazardous chemicals, vehicle emissions, and industrial activity has contributed to a number of environmental and health hazards, chief among them being water pollution. Much of the country suffers from a lack of potable water due to industrial waste and agricultural runoff that contaminates drinking water supplies. Poverty and high population growth have aggravated, and to a certain extent, caused, these environmental problems. This means that most people are forced to use unclean water not only for all their sanitation needs, farming, and livestock but for drinking as well. For much of the population, often there is only one water source. It may be a nearby river or pond, maybe rain water from a catch basin or a creek. Typically, the water source is used by both humans and animals. People use it for bathing, washing up, doing laundry, collecting for cooking, and drinking. Needless to say, the water is anything but clean. Drinking water that is unsafe can, and usually does, lead to all sorts of health-related problems such as dysentery which is severe, prolonged diarrhea with bloody stools, fever, and weakness; cholera and typhoid; flukes stagnant, polluted water, especially in tropical areas, often contains blood flukes. If you swallow flukes, they will bore into the bloodstream, live as parasites, and cause disease; and leeches. If you swallow a leech, it can hook onto the throat passage or inside the nose. It will suck blood, create a wound, and move to another area. Each bleeding wound may become infected. Pakistan is currently in the midst of what some are saying is the worst water crisis the country has ever seen. The drought affecting the region threatens agricultural output, and levels in the country's reservoirs are dangerously low. While drought and pollution play a significant role in the lack of safe drinking water, some critics maintain that a large part of the problem is a result of poor management. By some estimates, as much as 60% of Pakistan's fresh water is allowed to go wasted, flowing back into the sea. Only 40% of the water is used. It is imperative that Pakistan seeks out new and cheaper ways to provide safe drinking water for its people. Some experts have looked at inexpensive desalination techniques, ones that could be employed on a mass scale. To be sure, this precious commodity, the very lifeblood of humans, is getting scarcer and scarcer everyday.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
US Nurse Brings Medicine and Education to Afghan Women
VOA.COM
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent allied war in Afghanistan, a registered nurse from California wanted to help innocent people in the Muslim world who were caught in the violence.
In this week's edition of our series Making a Difference, we meet an Iranian-born woman who says education is the best way to help the people of Afghanistan, especially women and children.
In 2001, Fary Moini traveled to Pakistan where she volunteered in a refugee clinic, helping to deliver babies. She says the lack of supplies was shocking.
"There were no bed sheets, no hot water, no heater at all. During delivery, electricity was gone and we had to use a flashlight, and doctors were using food gloves. Without any anesthesia or anything, we delivered the baby with a flashlight," she explains, "I'll never forget I went back, and I sat in a chair, and I felt sick. And tears were running down my face, and they said, 'What is wrong with you?' And I said, 'What is wrong with me!? What is this?' I mean, it was so inhumane!"
Moini's experience in the clinic got her thinking about what she could do to help the people of Afghanistan over the long term.
With help from the service organization Rotary International, she raised nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars to build a school in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The school opened in 2004.
But Moini noticed something that troubled her -- there were few girls beyond the age of 13 in school.
"I found out they don't like to go, if they have male teacher. They need female teachers," she says, "At that time, they had only two female teachers at the whole school."
Again, with help from Rotary International, Fary Moini raised enough money to hire 13 female teachers, allowing hundreds of girls to finish high school. All the while, she thought of ways to improve the education of girls and young women. Her latest project -- an all-women's dormitory at Nangarhar University.
"If they don't have a dormitory or a safe house or a family member, they will not send them, they will not send their girls for higher education," she says, "That was the reason we came up with the idea of 'why don't we build a dormitory,' because if they have a safe house, we will have more girls [in school]."
During eight years and 11 trips to Afghanistan, Fary Moini says she has encountered some criticism from local men. But for the most part, she says they seem to accept her and her efforts.
Moini says that the best way to educate women in Afghanistan is to educate men as well -- convincing them that schooling their sisters and daughters will benefit them and their society.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent allied war in Afghanistan, a registered nurse from California wanted to help innocent people in the Muslim world who were caught in the violence.
In this week's edition of our series Making a Difference, we meet an Iranian-born woman who says education is the best way to help the people of Afghanistan, especially women and children.
In 2001, Fary Moini traveled to Pakistan where she volunteered in a refugee clinic, helping to deliver babies. She says the lack of supplies was shocking.
"There were no bed sheets, no hot water, no heater at all. During delivery, electricity was gone and we had to use a flashlight, and doctors were using food gloves. Without any anesthesia or anything, we delivered the baby with a flashlight," she explains, "I'll never forget I went back, and I sat in a chair, and I felt sick. And tears were running down my face, and they said, 'What is wrong with you?' And I said, 'What is wrong with me!? What is this?' I mean, it was so inhumane!"
Moini's experience in the clinic got her thinking about what she could do to help the people of Afghanistan over the long term.
With help from the service organization Rotary International, she raised nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars to build a school in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The school opened in 2004.
But Moini noticed something that troubled her -- there were few girls beyond the age of 13 in school.
"I found out they don't like to go, if they have male teacher. They need female teachers," she says, "At that time, they had only two female teachers at the whole school."
Again, with help from Rotary International, Fary Moini raised enough money to hire 13 female teachers, allowing hundreds of girls to finish high school. All the while, she thought of ways to improve the education of girls and young women. Her latest project -- an all-women's dormitory at Nangarhar University.
"If they don't have a dormitory or a safe house or a family member, they will not send them, they will not send their girls for higher education," she says, "That was the reason we came up with the idea of 'why don't we build a dormitory,' because if they have a safe house, we will have more girls [in school]."
During eight years and 11 trips to Afghanistan, Fary Moini says she has encountered some criticism from local men. But for the most part, she says they seem to accept her and her efforts.
Moini says that the best way to educate women in Afghanistan is to educate men as well -- convincing them that schooling their sisters and daughters will benefit them and their society.
US, UK Public Support for Afghan War Declines
Opinion polls in the United States and Britain indicate that on the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan Wednesday, public support for the conflict is slipping.
An Associated Press poll finds only 40 percent of Americans support the war, while in Britain, 56 percent of people surveyed in a BBC poll said they are against it.
In Afghanistan, a Taliban statement marking the anniversary said the group never had any agenda to harm other countries, nor has it such an agenda today.
The group said its goal is Afghanistan's independence and the building of an Islamic state. But it also warned that if the West wants to turn Afghanistan into a colony, then it should brace for a prolonged war.
In violence Wednesday, a Spanish soldier was killed and five others wounded in western Herat province. Two Afghan civilians were killed and about 25 others wounded when their bus was hit by an insurgent rocket in eastern Ghazni province.
Meanwhile, the NATO-led force says Afghan and international troops killed or detained suspected militants in two separate operations in central Wardak and southern Helmand provinces Wednesday.
A NATO statement said that in Wardak, a joint security force killed and detained several suspected militants and destroyed a suicide vest during a raid on a compound known to be used by a Taliban group.
In Helmand province, Afghan and NATO forces detained several militants and uncovered 50 kilograms of black tar heroin. No Afghan civilians or security forces were harmed in the operations.
An Associated Press poll finds only 40 percent of Americans support the war, while in Britain, 56 percent of people surveyed in a BBC poll said they are against it.
In Afghanistan, a Taliban statement marking the anniversary said the group never had any agenda to harm other countries, nor has it such an agenda today.
The group said its goal is Afghanistan's independence and the building of an Islamic state. But it also warned that if the West wants to turn Afghanistan into a colony, then it should brace for a prolonged war.
In violence Wednesday, a Spanish soldier was killed and five others wounded in western Herat province. Two Afghan civilians were killed and about 25 others wounded when their bus was hit by an insurgent rocket in eastern Ghazni province.
Meanwhile, the NATO-led force says Afghan and international troops killed or detained suspected militants in two separate operations in central Wardak and southern Helmand provinces Wednesday.
A NATO statement said that in Wardak, a joint security force killed and detained several suspected militants and destroyed a suicide vest during a raid on a compound known to be used by a Taliban group.
In Helmand province, Afghan and NATO forces detained several militants and uncovered 50 kilograms of black tar heroin. No Afghan civilians or security forces were harmed in the operations.
White House Moves to Adjust War Aims to Qaeda Focus
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan does not pose a direct threat to the United States, officials said Wednesday.
As Mr. Obama met with advisers for three hours to discuss Pakistan, the White House said he has not decided whether to approve a proposed troop buildup in Afghanistan. But the shift in thinking, outlined by senior administration officials on Wednesday, suggests that the president has been presented with an approach that would not require all of the additional troops that his commanding general in the region has requested.
It remains unclear whether everyone in the president’s war cabinet fully accepts this view. While Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has argued for months against increasing troops in Afghanistan because Pakistan was the greater priority, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have both publicly warned that the Taliban remain linked to Al Qaeda and would give its fighters safe haven again if it regained control of all or large parts of Afghanistan, making it a mistake to think of them as separate problems.
Moreover, Mr. Obama’s commander there, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has argued that success demands a substantial expansion of the American presence — up to 40,000 additional troops — and any decision that provides less will expose the president to criticism, especially from Republicans, that his policy is a prescription for failure.
The White House appears to be trying to prepare the ground to counter that by focusing attention on recent successes against Al Qaeda cells in Pakistan. The approach described by administration officials on Wednesday amounts to an alternative to the analysis presented by General McChrystal. If, as the White House has increasingly asserted in recent weeks, it has improved the ability of the United States to reduce the threat from al Qaeda, then the war in Afghanistan is less important to American security.
In reviewing General McChrystal’s request, the White House is rethinking what was, just six months ago, a strategy that viewed Pakistan and Afghanistan as a single integrated problem, according to several administration officials and outsiders who have spoken with them. Now the discussions in the White House Situation Room are focusing on related but separate strategies for fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
“Clearly, Al Qaeda is a threat not only to the U.S. homeland and American interests abroad, but it has a murderous agenda,” one senior administration official said in an interview initiated by the White House on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the strategy review has not been finished. “We want to destroy its leadership, its infrastructure and its capability.”
The official contrasted that with the Taliban in Afghanistan, which the administration has begun to define as an indigenous group that aspires to reclaim territory and rule the country, but does not express ambitions of attacking the United States. “When the two are aligned, it’s mainly on the tactical front,” the official said, noting that Al Qaeda has fewer than 100 fighters in Afghanistan.
Another official, who also was authorized to speak but not to be identified, said the different views of Al Qaeda and Taliban are driving the president’s review. “To the extent that Al Qaeda has been degraded, and it has, and to the extent you believe you need to focus on destroying it going forward, what is required going forward?” the official asked. “And to prevent it from having a safe haven?”
The officials argued that while Al Qaeda is a foreign body, the Taliban cannot be wholly removed from Afghanistan because it is too ingrained in the country. Moreover, the forces often described as Taliban are actually an amalgamation of militants that includes local warlords like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Haqqani network or others fighting for local grievances rather than jihadist ideology.
Mr. Obama has defined his mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan as attempting “to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and other extremist networks around the world.” But he made clear during a visit to the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday that the goal behind it is to protect the United States. “That’s the principal threat to the American people,” he said.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, repeated Wednesday that the president’s “primary focus is on groups and their allies that can strike our homeland, strike our allies, or groups who would provide safe haven for those that wish to do that.”
The discussion about whether the Taliban poses a threat to the United States has been at the heart of the administration’s debate about what to do in Afghanistan. Some in the Biden camp maintain that the Taliban can be contained with current troop levels and eventually by Afghan forces trained by the United States. Moreover, they suggest the Taliban have no interest in letting Al Qaeda back into Afghanistan because that was what cost them power when they were toppled by American-backed Afghan rebels in 2001.
“The policy people and the intelligence people inside are having a big argument over this,” said Leslie Gelb, a former president of the Council on Foreign Relations who has advised Mr. Biden. “Is the Taliban a loose collection of people we can split up? Can we split the Taliban from Al Qaeda? If the Taliban comes back to power in parts of Afghanistan, are they going to bring Al Qaeda back with them?”
Some analysts say that the Taliban and Al Qaeda have actually grown closer since the first American bombs fell on the Shomali Plains north of Kabul eight years ago Tuesday.
“The kind of separation that existed between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in 2001 really doesn’t exist anymore,” said Anthony Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who has advised General McChrystal. “You have much more ideological elements in the Taliban. In the east, they’re really mixed in with Al Qaeda.”
Frances Fragos Townsend, who was President George W. Bush’s homeland security adviser, said the two groups remain interlinked.
“It’s a dangerous argument to assume that the Taliban won’t revert to where they were pre-9/11 and provide Al Qaeda sanctuary,” she said. Referring to General McChrystal, she added: “If you don’t give him the troops he asked for and continue with the Predator strikes, you can kill them one at a time but you’re not going to drain the swamp.”
Officials said Wednesday that General McChrystal’s official request for additional forces was forwarded to Mr. Obama last week. Mr. Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said he had given Mr. Obama “an informal copy” at the president’s request.
The meeting Wednesday was the president’s third with his full national security team. Another is scheduled for Friday to talk about Afghanistan and then a fifth is planned, possibly for next week. Mr. Gibbs said the president is still several weeks away from a decision.
As Mr. Obama met with advisers for three hours to discuss Pakistan, the White House said he has not decided whether to approve a proposed troop buildup in Afghanistan. But the shift in thinking, outlined by senior administration officials on Wednesday, suggests that the president has been presented with an approach that would not require all of the additional troops that his commanding general in the region has requested.
It remains unclear whether everyone in the president’s war cabinet fully accepts this view. While Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has argued for months against increasing troops in Afghanistan because Pakistan was the greater priority, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have both publicly warned that the Taliban remain linked to Al Qaeda and would give its fighters safe haven again if it regained control of all or large parts of Afghanistan, making it a mistake to think of them as separate problems.
Moreover, Mr. Obama’s commander there, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has argued that success demands a substantial expansion of the American presence — up to 40,000 additional troops — and any decision that provides less will expose the president to criticism, especially from Republicans, that his policy is a prescription for failure.
The White House appears to be trying to prepare the ground to counter that by focusing attention on recent successes against Al Qaeda cells in Pakistan. The approach described by administration officials on Wednesday amounts to an alternative to the analysis presented by General McChrystal. If, as the White House has increasingly asserted in recent weeks, it has improved the ability of the United States to reduce the threat from al Qaeda, then the war in Afghanistan is less important to American security.
In reviewing General McChrystal’s request, the White House is rethinking what was, just six months ago, a strategy that viewed Pakistan and Afghanistan as a single integrated problem, according to several administration officials and outsiders who have spoken with them. Now the discussions in the White House Situation Room are focusing on related but separate strategies for fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
“Clearly, Al Qaeda is a threat not only to the U.S. homeland and American interests abroad, but it has a murderous agenda,” one senior administration official said in an interview initiated by the White House on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the strategy review has not been finished. “We want to destroy its leadership, its infrastructure and its capability.”
The official contrasted that with the Taliban in Afghanistan, which the administration has begun to define as an indigenous group that aspires to reclaim territory and rule the country, but does not express ambitions of attacking the United States. “When the two are aligned, it’s mainly on the tactical front,” the official said, noting that Al Qaeda has fewer than 100 fighters in Afghanistan.
Another official, who also was authorized to speak but not to be identified, said the different views of Al Qaeda and Taliban are driving the president’s review. “To the extent that Al Qaeda has been degraded, and it has, and to the extent you believe you need to focus on destroying it going forward, what is required going forward?” the official asked. “And to prevent it from having a safe haven?”
The officials argued that while Al Qaeda is a foreign body, the Taliban cannot be wholly removed from Afghanistan because it is too ingrained in the country. Moreover, the forces often described as Taliban are actually an amalgamation of militants that includes local warlords like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Haqqani network or others fighting for local grievances rather than jihadist ideology.
Mr. Obama has defined his mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan as attempting “to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and other extremist networks around the world.” But he made clear during a visit to the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday that the goal behind it is to protect the United States. “That’s the principal threat to the American people,” he said.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, repeated Wednesday that the president’s “primary focus is on groups and their allies that can strike our homeland, strike our allies, or groups who would provide safe haven for those that wish to do that.”
The discussion about whether the Taliban poses a threat to the United States has been at the heart of the administration’s debate about what to do in Afghanistan. Some in the Biden camp maintain that the Taliban can be contained with current troop levels and eventually by Afghan forces trained by the United States. Moreover, they suggest the Taliban have no interest in letting Al Qaeda back into Afghanistan because that was what cost them power when they were toppled by American-backed Afghan rebels in 2001.
“The policy people and the intelligence people inside are having a big argument over this,” said Leslie Gelb, a former president of the Council on Foreign Relations who has advised Mr. Biden. “Is the Taliban a loose collection of people we can split up? Can we split the Taliban from Al Qaeda? If the Taliban comes back to power in parts of Afghanistan, are they going to bring Al Qaeda back with them?”
Some analysts say that the Taliban and Al Qaeda have actually grown closer since the first American bombs fell on the Shomali Plains north of Kabul eight years ago Tuesday.
“The kind of separation that existed between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in 2001 really doesn’t exist anymore,” said Anthony Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who has advised General McChrystal. “You have much more ideological elements in the Taliban. In the east, they’re really mixed in with Al Qaeda.”
Frances Fragos Townsend, who was President George W. Bush’s homeland security adviser, said the two groups remain interlinked.
“It’s a dangerous argument to assume that the Taliban won’t revert to where they were pre-9/11 and provide Al Qaeda sanctuary,” she said. Referring to General McChrystal, she added: “If you don’t give him the troops he asked for and continue with the Predator strikes, you can kill them one at a time but you’re not going to drain the swamp.”
Officials said Wednesday that General McChrystal’s official request for additional forces was forwarded to Mr. Obama last week. Mr. Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said he had given Mr. Obama “an informal copy” at the president’s request.
The meeting Wednesday was the president’s third with his full national security team. Another is scheduled for Friday to talk about Afghanistan and then a fifth is planned, possibly for next week. Mr. Gibbs said the president is still several weeks away from a decision.
PA decries British PM’s remarks against Pakhtuns
PESHAWAR: The treasury and opposition lawmakers in the NWFP Assembly Wednesday condemned the statement of the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown terming Pakhtuns as terrorists and extremists.The legislators submitted a resolution in the assembly secretariat for House debate on Friday to unanimously condemn the “insulting” remarks by Gordon Brown against Pakhtun nation.Carrying signatures of the leader of the opposition Akram Durrani, Sikandar Sherpao (PPP-S), Nighat Orakzai (PML-Q), Munawar Khan, Javed Abbasi (PML-N) and senior ministers Bashir Bilour and Rahimdad Khan expressed shock and anger over the remarks of the British premier.Terming Pakhtuns as brave, Islam-loving and patriotic, they asked the federal government to lodge official protest with the UK government over its Prime Minister’s remarks against Pakhtuns.On a point of order, Munawar Khan raised the issue by posing a question as to how Gordon Brown had said that 90 per cent of Pakhtuns were terrorists.Akram Khan Durrani said the statement terming Pakhtuns as terrorists and extremists was the unfortunate and insulting. “This is an insult to the entire Pakhtun nation and we represent them,” he said, adding that protecting rights and honour of Pakhtuns was their topmost priority.Referring to the reported sale of the PC Peshawar after the blast, he said allowing a foreign country to purchase the lone five-star hotel in the city would create problems for the people. He requested the chair to relax rules and allow them to move the condemnation resolution.Bashir Ahmed Bilour said Pakhtuns are peace-loving nation. They hate war and love peace. “We are the proponents of non-violence as the use of force breeds hatred, while non-violence begets love.”He said these were Pakhtuns who fought against the terrorists and five per cent of them may be involved in terrorism, which negates Brown’s claim of their 90 per cent involvement.Meanwhile, the NWFP Assembly will also hold debate on the Kerry-Lugar Bill in the coming session and the speaker proposed to the opposition to prepare a joint resolution for debate on the bill.Javed Abbasi of the PML-N said the entire country was opposing aid at the expense of national sovereignty. Since the legislators from other parties wanted to speak on the issue, the speaker suggested a joint resolution for debate on it.Zahir Shah of the PML-Q withdrew his privilege motion against the education minister, Sardar Hussain Babak, when he sought forgiveness for his reported utterance against the members. The minister, who remained under fire on Wednesday, said he withdraw his words, if they had hurt sentiments of the members.The opposition and ruling alliance’s members were critical of the education minister for making transfers and postings of teachers in their respective constituencies.Provincial labour minister Sher Azam Khan also came down hard on his cabinet colleague, saying Babak had appointed a corrupt EDO in his district who is not acceptable to all the four elected members. He pointed out gross irregularities in the appointment of the PTC teachers and said they (MP) would only be satisfied with the transfer of the EDO from Bannu. Javed Tarakai said that 186 teachers have been appointed in his constituency and said that his runner-up in the last elections is now acting like an MPA.Akram Durrani in his adjournment motion said the undeserving people had been appointed in the education department. However, he did not press his resolution after the assurance by the minister who said the practices would not be repeated.Minister for Higher Education Qazi Muhammad Asad presented the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Bill, 2009. Saqibullah Khan Chamkani of the ANP and Abdul Akbar Khan’s amendments were discussed which would be taken up again in the coming session.
Obama briefed on Pak political situation
WASHINGTON: A key meeting was held to brief US President Barrack Obama on Pakistan’s Political situations.According to sources, US President were given briefing on Pakistan’s political situation regarding Kerry-Lugar (KL) Bill in the meeting held in White House.Top level military, intelligence and political official attended the meeting.Obama is considering to increase cooperation to counter Al Qaida.Meanwhile current situation in Afghanistan was also discussed in the meeting.
Peshawar to have zoo, heritage centre
PESHAWAR: Commissioner Peshawar, Muhammad Azam Khan, Wednesday said the establishment of a heritage centre and zoos was under consideration in the provincial metropolis.
Speaking on the ‘Guest Hour’ programme of the Peshawar Press Club, Azam said the city had no zoo and he had plans to establish the same in Peshawar and construct a heritage centre on the lines of Lok Virsa at Gorghatri. He said that Peshawar, being one of the oldest cities, had rich culture and history and the proposed Lok Virsa could be one of the best in Pakistan.
Talking about his priorities, the commissioner said a better traffic system; price-control and removal of encroachments were at the top of his agenda. He said these were considered to be minor issues but they were badly affecting routine life. He added that if these problems were solved, the people would see a positive change.
Peshawar Development Authority Director General Qazi Muhammad Laiq, who accompanied the commissioner, said they would also initiate mega projects to ensure signal-free traffic system. He said new fly-overs and underpasses would be constructed to achieve the target.
The commissioner said the devolution plan was launched with sincerity but it has some lacunas that were more evident in NWFP. Azam said under the devolution plan, there was no link between NWFP and Fata, which aggravated law and order. He said the district governments had also failed to check the prices effectively.
About the restoration of magistracy system, he said criminal cases would be disposed of by the magistrates to ensure speedy justice. The commissioner said he had directed all magistrates to dispose of cases within four months. The aggrieved party, he added, would have two forums up to the commissioner level to challenge the verdict of a magistrate. “However, appeals at the two forums will take only a month time to decide the case,” he added.
The PDA director general and the commissioner assured journalists that work on the media colony would soon be started and better roads, sewerage and drainage systems would be built.
Speaking on the ‘Guest Hour’ programme of the Peshawar Press Club, Azam said the city had no zoo and he had plans to establish the same in Peshawar and construct a heritage centre on the lines of Lok Virsa at Gorghatri. He said that Peshawar, being one of the oldest cities, had rich culture and history and the proposed Lok Virsa could be one of the best in Pakistan.
Talking about his priorities, the commissioner said a better traffic system; price-control and removal of encroachments were at the top of his agenda. He said these were considered to be minor issues but they were badly affecting routine life. He added that if these problems were solved, the people would see a positive change.
Peshawar Development Authority Director General Qazi Muhammad Laiq, who accompanied the commissioner, said they would also initiate mega projects to ensure signal-free traffic system. He said new fly-overs and underpasses would be constructed to achieve the target.
The commissioner said the devolution plan was launched with sincerity but it has some lacunas that were more evident in NWFP. Azam said under the devolution plan, there was no link between NWFP and Fata, which aggravated law and order. He said the district governments had also failed to check the prices effectively.
About the restoration of magistracy system, he said criminal cases would be disposed of by the magistrates to ensure speedy justice. The commissioner said he had directed all magistrates to dispose of cases within four months. The aggrieved party, he added, would have two forums up to the commissioner level to challenge the verdict of a magistrate. “However, appeals at the two forums will take only a month time to decide the case,” he added.
The PDA director general and the commissioner assured journalists that work on the media colony would soon be started and better roads, sewerage and drainage systems would be built.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Army top brass to scrutinise US aid bill
ISLAMABAD: The Kerry-Lugar bill is expected to consume a fair share of the corps commanders’ time when they meet in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
There are indications that the US aid legislation is likely to find little support at the General Headquarters and may ultimately sour relations between the armed forces and the government, which favours the bill and claims it as a major foreign policy success.
According to sources, the bill appears unpalatable, not just because of its feared impact upon the nation’s sovereignty, but primarily because it imposes strong checks on the country’s security matrix.
The most contentious parts of the otherwise pro-democracy document that are viewed as highly intrusive by certain circles are three certifications that the US secretary of state is required to provide to congressional committees for continuing security assistance and the format of monitoring reports.
The certifications include confirmation that the government continues to cooperate in investigating nuclear proliferators; is making sustained efforts against terrorists, including blocking support by elements within the military and intelligence network for terrorists, taking action against terrorist bases and acting on intelligence about high-value targets provided to it; and that the security forces are not subverting the political and judicial processes.
Almost all these aspects are covered in the format prescribed for the assessment reports, but an additional stipulation that has sent alarm bells ringing in the military establishment concerns an assessment of how effective a control the government has on the military, including oversight and approval of defence budgets, chain of command, promotions of senior commanders and civilian involvement in strategic planning.
Apart from these, there are hardly any other conditions for the development and economic assistance which forms the core of the bill. Its stated objectives are supporting democratic institutions; assisting efforts for expanding the rule of law and promotion of human rights; aiding economic freedom and development; investing in people, particularly women and children; and strengthening US public diplomacy.
Senior military officials confirmed that they were concerned about certain elements of the bill and saw it as interference in the country’s internal affairs.
‘Obviously the Kerry-Lugar bill is related to security and would be examined at the corps commanders’ conference,’ an official said.
Analysts believe that the apprehensions in the military have played a role in setting the agenda for a public debate on the issue in spite of the fact that the bill supports democracy.
PML-Q secretary general Mushahid Hussain, like many other politicians opposing the legislation, centres his criticism on US double-standards, threats to Pakistan’s sovereignty and security, its destabilising effects and demeaning the country’s dignity.
But he makes a valid point that differences over aid may create a rift between the civilian and military leadership as emboldened political leaders would try to gain influence over the monitoring and control of the armed forces’ professional matters.
The US Embassy’s Counsellor for Political Affairs, Bryan D. Hunt, told Dawn that the rationale behind the conditions was that the Congress felt very strongly that the US should be dealing with civilian governments. ‘Pakistan also agrees that we should be dealing with civilians, and not the military.’
However, he regretted that this shared agreement on promoting democracy was getting lost in the ‘nationalist debate’ that had followed the approval of the bill by the Congress.
Mr Hunt described much of the criticism as ‘unfortunate and short-sighted’.
But more importantly, politicians wrangling over the military-related conditions have lost sight of a caveat that follows the certification clause: ‘The secretary of state, under direction of the president, may waive the limitations… if the secretary of state determines that it is important to national security interests of the United States.’
Seen against a history of US support for military-led removal of civilian governments, there is every likelihood that Washington, in case of any military intervention, may find an excuse for dumping politicians because of its ‘national interests’.
This waiver clause would be handy in such an eventuality.
There are indications that the US aid legislation is likely to find little support at the General Headquarters and may ultimately sour relations between the armed forces and the government, which favours the bill and claims it as a major foreign policy success.
According to sources, the bill appears unpalatable, not just because of its feared impact upon the nation’s sovereignty, but primarily because it imposes strong checks on the country’s security matrix.
The most contentious parts of the otherwise pro-democracy document that are viewed as highly intrusive by certain circles are three certifications that the US secretary of state is required to provide to congressional committees for continuing security assistance and the format of monitoring reports.
The certifications include confirmation that the government continues to cooperate in investigating nuclear proliferators; is making sustained efforts against terrorists, including blocking support by elements within the military and intelligence network for terrorists, taking action against terrorist bases and acting on intelligence about high-value targets provided to it; and that the security forces are not subverting the political and judicial processes.
Almost all these aspects are covered in the format prescribed for the assessment reports, but an additional stipulation that has sent alarm bells ringing in the military establishment concerns an assessment of how effective a control the government has on the military, including oversight and approval of defence budgets, chain of command, promotions of senior commanders and civilian involvement in strategic planning.
Apart from these, there are hardly any other conditions for the development and economic assistance which forms the core of the bill. Its stated objectives are supporting democratic institutions; assisting efforts for expanding the rule of law and promotion of human rights; aiding economic freedom and development; investing in people, particularly women and children; and strengthening US public diplomacy.
Senior military officials confirmed that they were concerned about certain elements of the bill and saw it as interference in the country’s internal affairs.
‘Obviously the Kerry-Lugar bill is related to security and would be examined at the corps commanders’ conference,’ an official said.
Analysts believe that the apprehensions in the military have played a role in setting the agenda for a public debate on the issue in spite of the fact that the bill supports democracy.
PML-Q secretary general Mushahid Hussain, like many other politicians opposing the legislation, centres his criticism on US double-standards, threats to Pakistan’s sovereignty and security, its destabilising effects and demeaning the country’s dignity.
But he makes a valid point that differences over aid may create a rift between the civilian and military leadership as emboldened political leaders would try to gain influence over the monitoring and control of the armed forces’ professional matters.
The US Embassy’s Counsellor for Political Affairs, Bryan D. Hunt, told Dawn that the rationale behind the conditions was that the Congress felt very strongly that the US should be dealing with civilian governments. ‘Pakistan also agrees that we should be dealing with civilians, and not the military.’
However, he regretted that this shared agreement on promoting democracy was getting lost in the ‘nationalist debate’ that had followed the approval of the bill by the Congress.
Mr Hunt described much of the criticism as ‘unfortunate and short-sighted’.
But more importantly, politicians wrangling over the military-related conditions have lost sight of a caveat that follows the certification clause: ‘The secretary of state, under direction of the president, may waive the limitations… if the secretary of state determines that it is important to national security interests of the United States.’
Seen against a history of US support for military-led removal of civilian governments, there is every likelihood that Washington, in case of any military intervention, may find an excuse for dumping politicians because of its ‘national interests’.
This waiver clause would be handy in such an eventuality.
Taliban rockets injure three in Peshawar
PESHAWAR: Three people – including a woman and a girl – were injured and two houses damaged on Tuesday when suspected Taliban fired rockets into the provincial capital, said police and locals. An official from the Banamari Police Station told Daily Times that two rockets – fired at around 1:05am – landed in Miskeenabad and Landi Arabab areas of the city, injuring three people.
U.S. Push to Expand in Pakistan Meets Resistance
NYT.COM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Steps by the United States to vastly expand its aid to Pakistan, as well as the footprint of its embassy and private security contractors here, are aggravating an already volatile anti-American mood as Washington pushes for greater action by the government against the Taliban.
An aid package of $1.5 billion a year for the next five years passed by Congress last week asks Pakistan to cease supporting terrorist groups on its soil and to ensure that the military does not interfere with civilian politics. President Asif Ali Zardari, whose association with the United States has added to his unpopularity, agreed to the stipulations in the aid package.
But many here, especially in the powerful army, object to the conditions as interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs, and they are interpreting the larger American footprint in more sinister ways.
American officials say the embassy and its security presence must expand in order to monitor how the new money is spent. They also have real security concerns, which were underscored Monday when a suicide bomber, dressed in the uniform of a Pakistani security force, killed five people at a United Nations office in the heart of Islamabad, the capital.
The United States Embassy has publicized plans for a vast new building in Islamabad for about 1,000 people, with security for some diplomats provided through a Washington-based private contracting company, DynCorp.
The embassy setup, with American demands for importing more armored vehicles, is a significant expansion over the last 15 years. It comes at a time of intense discussion in Washington over whether to widen American operations and aid to Pakistan — a base for Al Qaeda — as an alternative to deeper American involvement in Afghanistan with the addition of more forces.
The fierce opposition here is revealing deep strains in the alliance. Even at its current levels, the American presence was fueling a sense of occupation among Pakistani politicians and security officials, said several Pakistani officials, who did not want to be named for fear of antagonizing the United States. The United States was now seen as behaving in Pakistan much as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan, they said.
In particular, the Pakistani military and the intelligence agencies are concerned that DynCorp is being used by Washington to develop a parallel network of security and intelligence personnel within Pakistan, officials and politicians close to the army said.
The concerns are serious enough that last month a local company hired by DynCorp to provide Pakistani men to be trained as security guards for American diplomats was raided by the Islamabad police. The owner of the company, the Inter-Risk Security Company, Capt. Syed Ali Ja Zaidi, was later arrested.
The action against Inter-Risk, apparently intended to cripple the DynCorp program, was taken on orders from the senior levels of the Pakistani government, said an official familiar with the raid, who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The entire workings of DynCorp within Pakistan are now under review by the Pakistani government, said a senior government official directly involved with the Americans, who spoke candidly on condition of anonymity.
The tensions are erupting as the United States is pressing Pakistan to take on not only those Taliban groups that have threatened the government, but also the Taliban leadership that uses Pakistan as a base to organize and conduct their insurgency against American forces in Afghanistan.
In a public statement, the American ambassador, Anne W. Patterson, suggested last week that Pakistan should eliminate the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, a onetime ally of the Pakistanis who Washington says is now based in Baluchistan, a province on the Afghanistan border. If Pakistan did not get rid of Mullah Omar, the United States would, she suggested.
Reinforcing the ambassador, the national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, said Sunday that the United States regarded tackling Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan as “the next step” in the conflict in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in an unusually stern reaction last week, said that missile attacks by American drones in Baluchistan, as implied by the Americans, “would not be allowed.”
The Pakistanis also complain that they are not being sufficiently consulted over the pending White House decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.
The head of Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, met with senior officials at the Central Intelligence Agency last week in Washington, where he argued against sending more troops to Afghanistan, a Pakistani official familiar with the visit said.
The Pakistani Army, riding high after its campaign to wrench back control of the Swat Valley from the Taliban, remains nervous about Washington’s intentions and the push against the new aid is reflective of that anxiety, Pakistani officials said.
Though the Zardari government is trumpeting the new aid as a triumph, officials say the language in the legislation ignores long-held prerogatives about Pakistani sovereignty, making the $1.5 billion a tough sell.
“Now everyone has a handle they can use to rip into the Zardari government,” said a senior Pakistani official involved in the American-Pakistani dialogue but who declined to be named because he did not want to inflame the discussion.
The expanding American security presence has become another club. DynCorp has attracted particular scrutiny after the Pakistani news media reported that Blackwater, the contractor that has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, was also in Pakistan.
Recently, there have been a series of complaints by Islamabad residents who said they had been “roughed up” by hefty, plainclothes American men bearing weapons, presumably from DynCorp, one of the senior Pakistani officials involved with the Americans said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office had sent two formal diplomatic complaints in the past few weeks to the American Embassy about such episodes, the official said.
The embassy had received complaints, and confirmed two instances, an embassy official said, but the embassy denied receiving any formal protests from the Foreign Office. It also declined to comment about the presence of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, in Pakistan.
American officials have said that Blackwater employees worked at a remote base in Shamsi, in Baluchistan, where they loaded missiles and bombs onto drones used to strike Taliban and Qaeda militants.
The operation of the drones at Shamsi had been shifted by the Americans to Afghanistan this year, a senior Pakistani military official said.
Several Blackwater employees also worked in the North-West Frontier Province supervising the construction of a training center for Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, a Pakistani official from the region said.
There was considerable unease about the American diplomatic presence in Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, one of the senior government officials said. Politicians were asking why the United States needed a consulate in Peshawar, which borders the tribal areas, when that office did not issue visas, he said.
Another question, he said, was why did the consulate plan to buy the biggest, and most modern building in the city, the Pearl Continental hotel — which was bombed in a terrorist attack this year — as its new headquarters.
As Parliament prepared to discuss the American aid package Wednesday, the tone of the debate was expected to be scathing. On a television talk show, Senator Tariq Aziz, a member of the opposition party, called the legislation “the charter for new colonization.”
“People think this government has sold us to the Americans again for their own selfish interests,” said Jahangir Tareen, a former cabinet minister and a member of Parliament, in an interview. “Some people think the United States is out to get Pakistan, to defang Pakistan, to destroy the army as it exists so it can’t fight India and to break down the ISI’s ability to influence events in India and Afghanistan. Everyone is saying about the Americans, ‘Told you so.’ ”
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Steps by the United States to vastly expand its aid to Pakistan, as well as the footprint of its embassy and private security contractors here, are aggravating an already volatile anti-American mood as Washington pushes for greater action by the government against the Taliban.
An aid package of $1.5 billion a year for the next five years passed by Congress last week asks Pakistan to cease supporting terrorist groups on its soil and to ensure that the military does not interfere with civilian politics. President Asif Ali Zardari, whose association with the United States has added to his unpopularity, agreed to the stipulations in the aid package.
But many here, especially in the powerful army, object to the conditions as interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs, and they are interpreting the larger American footprint in more sinister ways.
American officials say the embassy and its security presence must expand in order to monitor how the new money is spent. They also have real security concerns, which were underscored Monday when a suicide bomber, dressed in the uniform of a Pakistani security force, killed five people at a United Nations office in the heart of Islamabad, the capital.
The United States Embassy has publicized plans for a vast new building in Islamabad for about 1,000 people, with security for some diplomats provided through a Washington-based private contracting company, DynCorp.
The embassy setup, with American demands for importing more armored vehicles, is a significant expansion over the last 15 years. It comes at a time of intense discussion in Washington over whether to widen American operations and aid to Pakistan — a base for Al Qaeda — as an alternative to deeper American involvement in Afghanistan with the addition of more forces.
The fierce opposition here is revealing deep strains in the alliance. Even at its current levels, the American presence was fueling a sense of occupation among Pakistani politicians and security officials, said several Pakistani officials, who did not want to be named for fear of antagonizing the United States. The United States was now seen as behaving in Pakistan much as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan, they said.
In particular, the Pakistani military and the intelligence agencies are concerned that DynCorp is being used by Washington to develop a parallel network of security and intelligence personnel within Pakistan, officials and politicians close to the army said.
The concerns are serious enough that last month a local company hired by DynCorp to provide Pakistani men to be trained as security guards for American diplomats was raided by the Islamabad police. The owner of the company, the Inter-Risk Security Company, Capt. Syed Ali Ja Zaidi, was later arrested.
The action against Inter-Risk, apparently intended to cripple the DynCorp program, was taken on orders from the senior levels of the Pakistani government, said an official familiar with the raid, who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The entire workings of DynCorp within Pakistan are now under review by the Pakistani government, said a senior government official directly involved with the Americans, who spoke candidly on condition of anonymity.
The tensions are erupting as the United States is pressing Pakistan to take on not only those Taliban groups that have threatened the government, but also the Taliban leadership that uses Pakistan as a base to organize and conduct their insurgency against American forces in Afghanistan.
In a public statement, the American ambassador, Anne W. Patterson, suggested last week that Pakistan should eliminate the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, a onetime ally of the Pakistanis who Washington says is now based in Baluchistan, a province on the Afghanistan border. If Pakistan did not get rid of Mullah Omar, the United States would, she suggested.
Reinforcing the ambassador, the national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, said Sunday that the United States regarded tackling Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan as “the next step” in the conflict in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in an unusually stern reaction last week, said that missile attacks by American drones in Baluchistan, as implied by the Americans, “would not be allowed.”
The Pakistanis also complain that they are not being sufficiently consulted over the pending White House decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.
The head of Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, met with senior officials at the Central Intelligence Agency last week in Washington, where he argued against sending more troops to Afghanistan, a Pakistani official familiar with the visit said.
The Pakistani Army, riding high after its campaign to wrench back control of the Swat Valley from the Taliban, remains nervous about Washington’s intentions and the push against the new aid is reflective of that anxiety, Pakistani officials said.
Though the Zardari government is trumpeting the new aid as a triumph, officials say the language in the legislation ignores long-held prerogatives about Pakistani sovereignty, making the $1.5 billion a tough sell.
“Now everyone has a handle they can use to rip into the Zardari government,” said a senior Pakistani official involved in the American-Pakistani dialogue but who declined to be named because he did not want to inflame the discussion.
The expanding American security presence has become another club. DynCorp has attracted particular scrutiny after the Pakistani news media reported that Blackwater, the contractor that has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, was also in Pakistan.
Recently, there have been a series of complaints by Islamabad residents who said they had been “roughed up” by hefty, plainclothes American men bearing weapons, presumably from DynCorp, one of the senior Pakistani officials involved with the Americans said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office had sent two formal diplomatic complaints in the past few weeks to the American Embassy about such episodes, the official said.
The embassy had received complaints, and confirmed two instances, an embassy official said, but the embassy denied receiving any formal protests from the Foreign Office. It also declined to comment about the presence of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, in Pakistan.
American officials have said that Blackwater employees worked at a remote base in Shamsi, in Baluchistan, where they loaded missiles and bombs onto drones used to strike Taliban and Qaeda militants.
The operation of the drones at Shamsi had been shifted by the Americans to Afghanistan this year, a senior Pakistani military official said.
Several Blackwater employees also worked in the North-West Frontier Province supervising the construction of a training center for Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, a Pakistani official from the region said.
There was considerable unease about the American diplomatic presence in Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, one of the senior government officials said. Politicians were asking why the United States needed a consulate in Peshawar, which borders the tribal areas, when that office did not issue visas, he said.
Another question, he said, was why did the consulate plan to buy the biggest, and most modern building in the city, the Pearl Continental hotel — which was bombed in a terrorist attack this year — as its new headquarters.
As Parliament prepared to discuss the American aid package Wednesday, the tone of the debate was expected to be scathing. On a television talk show, Senator Tariq Aziz, a member of the opposition party, called the legislation “the charter for new colonization.”
“People think this government has sold us to the Americans again for their own selfish interests,” said Jahangir Tareen, a former cabinet minister and a member of Parliament, in an interview. “Some people think the United States is out to get Pakistan, to defang Pakistan, to destroy the army as it exists so it can’t fight India and to break down the ISI’s ability to influence events in India and Afghanistan. Everyone is saying about the Americans, ‘Told you so.’ ”
Monday, October 5, 2009
UN offices shut across Pakistan
All the offices of the United Nations (UN)’s agencies will remain closed until further orders, a private TV reported on Monday. According to sources, the decision came in connection with a bomb blast at UN’s office in federal capital Islamabad, which left two Pakistani women and a foreigner killed and eight others injured.
Bomb at U.N Food Office in Pakistan Kills at Least 3
NewYorkTimes
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An explosion apparently caused by a suicide bomber in the lobby of the World Food Program office in Islamabad killed at least three people — one foreigner and two Pakistani women — and wounded eight others on Monday, according to police and United Nations officials.
Ishrat Rizvi, the spokesperson for United Nations operations in Islamabad, said that all U.N. offices in Pakistan were closed immediately as a precaution.
“This is a temporary arrangement to ensure the safety and security of our staff,” she said by telephone.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Police officials said the explosion was apparently triggered by a suicide bomber, suggesting as serious security breach in a building tightly guarded by private security officers.
One of the dead women was a receptionist and the other was a logistics officer. The nationality of the dead man was not immediately known.
Fire trucks and police officials immediately rushed to the three-story building in a leafy, upscale residential neighborhood of Islamabad.
Around 80 people work at the heavily fortified United Nations facility, which was equipped with video surveillance cameras, motion detectors and explosives detection devices. The street was barricaded at both ends and vehicles and visitors were allowed entry only after a thorough security check.
The fact that the suicide bomber managed to pass through the security surprised police officials and workers at the office.
There was speculation that someone from within the office helped the bomber to gain entry. Several private security guards were taken into custody for questioning by Islamabad police officers, according to local news media.
“I was on the upper floor when there was the sound of a huge explosion downstairs. I found many of my colleagues lying on the floor full of blood,” a World Food Program employee who declined to be named told The Associated Press. “We immediately put the most critically wounded in a vehicle and rushed them to hospital.”
Residents of the street were rattled by the explosion but expressed annoyance that the district administration had allowed diplomats and United Nations offices to operate in residential neighborhoods of the capital
Saadia Abbasi, a former senator who lives in a nearby house, said she was about to leave her house when she heard a loud explosion. Ms. Abbasi said she saw a car entering the compound moments before the blast rocked the neighborhood.
“For four years, I have been writing to the district administration to remove these offices from residential neighborhoods to no avail,” she told reporters from local news media.
The explosion comes at a time when the Pakistani Army is planning to launch a full-scale offensive in South Waziristan, the rugged tribal region in the country’s northwest which is a stronghold of the Taliban.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An explosion apparently caused by a suicide bomber in the lobby of the World Food Program office in Islamabad killed at least three people — one foreigner and two Pakistani women — and wounded eight others on Monday, according to police and United Nations officials.
Ishrat Rizvi, the spokesperson for United Nations operations in Islamabad, said that all U.N. offices in Pakistan were closed immediately as a precaution.
“This is a temporary arrangement to ensure the safety and security of our staff,” she said by telephone.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Police officials said the explosion was apparently triggered by a suicide bomber, suggesting as serious security breach in a building tightly guarded by private security officers.
One of the dead women was a receptionist and the other was a logistics officer. The nationality of the dead man was not immediately known.
Fire trucks and police officials immediately rushed to the three-story building in a leafy, upscale residential neighborhood of Islamabad.
Around 80 people work at the heavily fortified United Nations facility, which was equipped with video surveillance cameras, motion detectors and explosives detection devices. The street was barricaded at both ends and vehicles and visitors were allowed entry only after a thorough security check.
The fact that the suicide bomber managed to pass through the security surprised police officials and workers at the office.
There was speculation that someone from within the office helped the bomber to gain entry. Several private security guards were taken into custody for questioning by Islamabad police officers, according to local news media.
“I was on the upper floor when there was the sound of a huge explosion downstairs. I found many of my colleagues lying on the floor full of blood,” a World Food Program employee who declined to be named told The Associated Press. “We immediately put the most critically wounded in a vehicle and rushed them to hospital.”
Residents of the street were rattled by the explosion but expressed annoyance that the district administration had allowed diplomats and United Nations offices to operate in residential neighborhoods of the capital
Saadia Abbasi, a former senator who lives in a nearby house, said she was about to leave her house when she heard a loud explosion. Ms. Abbasi said she saw a car entering the compound moments before the blast rocked the neighborhood.
“For four years, I have been writing to the district administration to remove these offices from residential neighborhoods to no avail,” she told reporters from local news media.
The explosion comes at a time when the Pakistani Army is planning to launch a full-scale offensive in South Waziristan, the rugged tribal region in the country’s northwest which is a stronghold of the Taliban.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Socialists win in Greece; 'hard work' ahead, Papandreou says
cnn.com
ATHENS, Greece- Greece's opposition Socialist party on Sunday defeated the incumbent center-right government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, as Socialist leader George Papandreou promised to chart a new course for an economic comeback.
"On this course, nothing is going to be easy -- it will take work, hard work," Papandreou said in his victory address. "And I will always be honest with the Greek people so that we may better solve the problems of the state."
Sunday's national elections were held two years before originally scheduled. Karamanlis called the elections in response to pressure from Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece, which threatened to block the election of a president in February if no general election was held. The Greek constitution requires the two major parties to agree on the election of a president, giving either party an effective veto.
Karamanlis' term was not due to expire until September 2011. But Papandreou insisted on new elections before the end of President Karolos Papoulias' term as president.
The country's ailing economy was the focus in the run up to the elections, as both candidates offered conflicting prescriptions to revive it. While Karamanlis called for cuts in spending, Papandreou proposed a massive stimulus.
Karamanlis, of the New Democracy party, congratulated Papandreou in a nationally televised concession speech.
"And like every Greek, I hope that he succeeds at the big challenge of facing up to the economic situation," Karamanlis said. "Because this challenge, I have said many times, is a national issue."
It was unclear whether Karamanlis would step down as New Democracy party leader, as the elections marked the worst defeat the party has seen in more than 20 years.
According to figures posted on the Interior Ministry's Web site, the Socialist party received 44 percent of the vote, compared wotj New Democracy's 34 percent, with 87 percent of votes counted. The margin is the largest seen in a Greek vote in decades.
The Socialist party will receive an estimated 160 seats in Greece's 300-seat Parliament, officials said, compared with New Democracy's 93 seats.
Greek state television ERT showed cheering, flag-waving crowds surrounding Papandreou as he made his way to party headquarters.
"All of the opinion polls are suggesting that Greek voters are becoming more frustrated with (Karamanlis') governance, more frustrated that after two parliamentary terms some of the objectives which he'd set have not been achieved," Kevin Featherstone, director of the London School of Economics' Hellenic Observatory, told CNN.
However, Papandreou's stimulus plan is also under scrutiny, with critics wanting to know more details, such as how it would be funded.
In addition, problems such as corruption have long plagued the Greek government, Featherstone noted.
"These are systemic problems. These are problems which have been in Greece for generations. Over the last 20 years, we've had a succession of governments coming into power promising to clean up, promising to tackle waste, promising to reform the public administration, promising to be more transparent and clean," he said. "By and large, voters have been disappointed or there has been some fair degree of frustration and disappointment."
"Tackling the problem, these endemic problems, really requires major efforts to reform public administration to tackle corruption and to change the culture of expectations," he said.
Karamanlis' conservative New Democracy party suffered a sharp setback in European elections in June, when the Socialists matched New Democracy's tally of eight seats, with 36 percent of the vote.
That election was seen as a litmus test for Karamanlis at a time of political and economic uncertainty with the economy shrinking and the country staring at a recession after nearly 15 years of high-profile growth.
Nearly 10 million Greeks are registered to vote.
ATHENS, Greece- Greece's opposition Socialist party on Sunday defeated the incumbent center-right government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, as Socialist leader George Papandreou promised to chart a new course for an economic comeback.
"On this course, nothing is going to be easy -- it will take work, hard work," Papandreou said in his victory address. "And I will always be honest with the Greek people so that we may better solve the problems of the state."
Sunday's national elections were held two years before originally scheduled. Karamanlis called the elections in response to pressure from Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece, which threatened to block the election of a president in February if no general election was held. The Greek constitution requires the two major parties to agree on the election of a president, giving either party an effective veto.
Karamanlis' term was not due to expire until September 2011. But Papandreou insisted on new elections before the end of President Karolos Papoulias' term as president.
The country's ailing economy was the focus in the run up to the elections, as both candidates offered conflicting prescriptions to revive it. While Karamanlis called for cuts in spending, Papandreou proposed a massive stimulus.
Karamanlis, of the New Democracy party, congratulated Papandreou in a nationally televised concession speech.
"And like every Greek, I hope that he succeeds at the big challenge of facing up to the economic situation," Karamanlis said. "Because this challenge, I have said many times, is a national issue."
It was unclear whether Karamanlis would step down as New Democracy party leader, as the elections marked the worst defeat the party has seen in more than 20 years.
According to figures posted on the Interior Ministry's Web site, the Socialist party received 44 percent of the vote, compared wotj New Democracy's 34 percent, with 87 percent of votes counted. The margin is the largest seen in a Greek vote in decades.
The Socialist party will receive an estimated 160 seats in Greece's 300-seat Parliament, officials said, compared with New Democracy's 93 seats.
Greek state television ERT showed cheering, flag-waving crowds surrounding Papandreou as he made his way to party headquarters.
"All of the opinion polls are suggesting that Greek voters are becoming more frustrated with (Karamanlis') governance, more frustrated that after two parliamentary terms some of the objectives which he'd set have not been achieved," Kevin Featherstone, director of the London School of Economics' Hellenic Observatory, told CNN.
However, Papandreou's stimulus plan is also under scrutiny, with critics wanting to know more details, such as how it would be funded.
In addition, problems such as corruption have long plagued the Greek government, Featherstone noted.
"These are systemic problems. These are problems which have been in Greece for generations. Over the last 20 years, we've had a succession of governments coming into power promising to clean up, promising to tackle waste, promising to reform the public administration, promising to be more transparent and clean," he said. "By and large, voters have been disappointed or there has been some fair degree of frustration and disappointment."
"Tackling the problem, these endemic problems, really requires major efforts to reform public administration to tackle corruption and to change the culture of expectations," he said.
Karamanlis' conservative New Democracy party suffered a sharp setback in European elections in June, when the Socialists matched New Democracy's tally of eight seats, with 36 percent of the vote.
That election was seen as a litmus test for Karamanlis at a time of political and economic uncertainty with the economy shrinking and the country staring at a recession after nearly 15 years of high-profile growth.
Nearly 10 million Greeks are registered to vote.
Pakistan has forces,equipment for Taliban assault-US
Reuters.com
WASHINGTON,- Pakistan has mobilized enough forces and equipment to launch a long awaited ground offensive against Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border, U.S. defense officials said on Sunday.
Washington sees a concerted push by Pakistan to eliminate Taliban and al Qaeda "sanctuaries" in its territory as the key to turning around a faltering U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has cited shortages of helicopters, armored vehicles and precision weapons in putting off a Waziristan assault, but U.S. officials said they believed the army was sufficiently equipped to act.
"We would assess that they have plenty of force to do the job right now," said one of the officials, who has been closely monitoring Pakistani preparations for the offensive.
The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing Pakistani military planning.
Pakistan has amassed troops around Waziristan, imposing a blockade to try to choke off Taliban supplies. Before an anticipated ground assault, the army has increased artillery fire and the CIA has stepped up attacks using drone aircraft armed with missiles.
Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said two divisions, of up to 28,000 soldiers, were in place, enough to take on an estimated 10,000 Taliban.
While declining to discuss force levels, a U.S. defense official described the Waziristan deployment as "significant" and said he did not expect any additional reinforcements.
"You might see some troops moving but they would probably be rotating. I think they're going to maintain about the same strength that they have there now," the official said.
Washington believes the Pakistanis will have to "clear and hold" the rugged, mountainous territory to crush militants loyal to the late Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Baitullah was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August. U.S. intelligence agencies believe his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, may have been killed soon thereafter in a firefight with rivals, leaving the Taliban in disarray.
Allied with al Qaeda, Mehsud's group has mostly been fighting against Pakistani forces but also sends militants to join the battle against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
AL QAEDA SANCTUARY
Appearing on CNN, White House National Security Adviser James Jones pointed to al Qaeda "sanctuaries" in Pakistan as "the problem, the next step" in the fight against the group.
Washington hopes expanding U.S.-Pakistani military ties "will lead to a campaign against all insurgents on that side of the border," Jones told CBS's "Face the Nation." He said such a "strategic shift ... will spill over into Afghanistan."
Analysts say Islamabad has so far only been acting against militants that directly threaten its power, like Mehsud's Taliban, while leaving alone some of the groups leading the fight against NATO in neighboring Afghanistan.
U.S. officials see the Pakistani army's offensive against the former Taliban bastion in Swat, 80 miles (128 km) northwest of Islamabad, as a sign that the country's political and military leaders have learned from past missteps.
"I think they're determined to not make the mistake of withdrawing (from Swat) before the government forces are able to come in and backfill, and do the hold and build functions of counter-insurgency," the official said.
U.S. officials acknowledged Pakistani troops need more armored vehicles and night-vision devises to protect themselves against improvised explosive devices, the most lethal weapon used by the Taliban against American forces in Afghanistan.
"But the lack of that equipment does not mean they cannot conduct successful military operations. It might mean that it would be a little more difficult, that the logistics would be a little trickier. But it doesn't mean they can't pull the trigger if they want," said one of the defense officials.
Another U.S. military official said an assault by ground forces in Waziristan "can still be effective" despite some shortages, adding that the Pentagon was trying to free up helicopters and other equipment for Pakistan "as soon as possible".
The Pentagon has sought permission from Congress to transfer used military hardware from Iraq to the Pakistani army but American lawmakers have so far balked at the request, citing concerns that Islamabad could use the equipment against India.
Washington is also securing some equipment through third governments but the effort is moving slowly, officials said.
WASHINGTON,- Pakistan has mobilized enough forces and equipment to launch a long awaited ground offensive against Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border, U.S. defense officials said on Sunday.
Washington sees a concerted push by Pakistan to eliminate Taliban and al Qaeda "sanctuaries" in its territory as the key to turning around a faltering U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has cited shortages of helicopters, armored vehicles and precision weapons in putting off a Waziristan assault, but U.S. officials said they believed the army was sufficiently equipped to act.
"We would assess that they have plenty of force to do the job right now," said one of the officials, who has been closely monitoring Pakistani preparations for the offensive.
The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing Pakistani military planning.
Pakistan has amassed troops around Waziristan, imposing a blockade to try to choke off Taliban supplies. Before an anticipated ground assault, the army has increased artillery fire and the CIA has stepped up attacks using drone aircraft armed with missiles.
Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said two divisions, of up to 28,000 soldiers, were in place, enough to take on an estimated 10,000 Taliban.
While declining to discuss force levels, a U.S. defense official described the Waziristan deployment as "significant" and said he did not expect any additional reinforcements.
"You might see some troops moving but they would probably be rotating. I think they're going to maintain about the same strength that they have there now," the official said.
Washington believes the Pakistanis will have to "clear and hold" the rugged, mountainous territory to crush militants loyal to the late Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Baitullah was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August. U.S. intelligence agencies believe his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, may have been killed soon thereafter in a firefight with rivals, leaving the Taliban in disarray.
Allied with al Qaeda, Mehsud's group has mostly been fighting against Pakistani forces but also sends militants to join the battle against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
AL QAEDA SANCTUARY
Appearing on CNN, White House National Security Adviser James Jones pointed to al Qaeda "sanctuaries" in Pakistan as "the problem, the next step" in the fight against the group.
Washington hopes expanding U.S.-Pakistani military ties "will lead to a campaign against all insurgents on that side of the border," Jones told CBS's "Face the Nation." He said such a "strategic shift ... will spill over into Afghanistan."
Analysts say Islamabad has so far only been acting against militants that directly threaten its power, like Mehsud's Taliban, while leaving alone some of the groups leading the fight against NATO in neighboring Afghanistan.
U.S. officials see the Pakistani army's offensive against the former Taliban bastion in Swat, 80 miles (128 km) northwest of Islamabad, as a sign that the country's political and military leaders have learned from past missteps.
"I think they're determined to not make the mistake of withdrawing (from Swat) before the government forces are able to come in and backfill, and do the hold and build functions of counter-insurgency," the official said.
U.S. officials acknowledged Pakistani troops need more armored vehicles and night-vision devises to protect themselves against improvised explosive devices, the most lethal weapon used by the Taliban against American forces in Afghanistan.
"But the lack of that equipment does not mean they cannot conduct successful military operations. It might mean that it would be a little more difficult, that the logistics would be a little trickier. But it doesn't mean they can't pull the trigger if they want," said one of the defense officials.
Another U.S. military official said an assault by ground forces in Waziristan "can still be effective" despite some shortages, adding that the Pentagon was trying to free up helicopters and other equipment for Pakistan "as soon as possible".
The Pentagon has sought permission from Congress to transfer used military hardware from Iraq to the Pakistani army but American lawmakers have so far balked at the request, citing concerns that Islamabad could use the equipment against India.
Washington is also securing some equipment through third governments but the effort is moving slowly, officials said.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Michael Moore's 'Capitalism, A Love Story' challenges many aspects of American life
Although the latest Michael Moore documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story" has been screening in Los Angeles in a few theaters for a week, the controversial film debuted nationwide on Friday.
The consensus of film reviewers sampled by RottenTomatoes.com gives the controversial (and funny) doc a respectable 72% "fresh" (meaning more favorable reviews than unfavorable ones). L.A. Times film critic Kenneth Turan's review is equally lukewarm to the movie that uses AIG, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger and even Jesus Christ to help prove Moore's theory that capitalism is hurting America. An excerpt:
Clearly, Moore has not lost his provocateur's gift for stirring the pot, and it is heartening to have a filmmaker take on a subject this all-encompassing and almost taboo. But not even Moore's skill can quell the suspicion that "Capitalism" misses the narrower focus that gave his earlier films some of their punch.
In a sense, "Capitalism" comes by its wide-ranging, scattershot approach naturally. After all, this is a heck of a big subject: Just ask Karl Marx, who spent 18 years researching and writing his multi-volume "Das Kapital." So it's perhaps inevitable because of the ton of territory "Capitalism" covers that this film ends up as the sum of its parts, nothing more.
That said, Moore's scattershot is a lot more interesting than some filmmakers' focus, and many of those individual parts are classic. For one thing, Moore retains the instincts of a shrewd stand-up comedian -- the astonished, baffled looks he often wears are a case in point, as is his decision to include under the rubric of "When did Jesus become a capitalist?" the dubbing of a section of a biblical epic with free-market platitudes.
So now that the film has been released nationally, if you've seen it, feel free to give us your take in the comments below.
U.N.'s Afghan vote fraud row shows split in West
Reuters.com
KABUL - A U.S. diplomat's scathing charge that the United Nations effectively let Afghanistan's election be stolen has exposed the international community's disunity and may help explain Washington's new doubts about the war.
The outcome of the August 20 election has yet to be decided, amid accusations of massive fraud, and in public all Western diplomatic missions in Kabul say they are reserving judgment until a complaints process is complete.
In a strongly worded letter to Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, veteran U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith accused his Norwegian U.N. boss of blocking anti-fraud efforts, which Galbraith said would have forced a second round of voting if carried out properly.
The United Nations responded by sacking Galbraith. The U.N. mission chief, Kai Eide, has rejected the criticism and says he supports a fraud investigation which is still under way.
But the ramifications of the dispute go far beyond the question of who will occupy the number two post at the mission's headquarters in a secluded compound in central Kabul, and could help decide the future of the eight-year-old war.
Galbraith is a close ally of Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
U.S. officials have cited the dispute over the election results as one of the main reasons for the Obama administration's unexpected decision last month to begin a new review of its whole policy toward the region.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has asked for tens of thousands of additional troops to carry out an overhauled counter-insurgency strategy that would focus on protecting the Afghan population.
Some in the Obama administration favor other options, including scaling the mission back.
"COMPLICIT IN A COVER-UP"
In his letter, excerpts of which were published in the New York Times, Galbraith wrote that he had tried to prevent Afghanistan's election commission from including "votes that it knew to be fraudulent" from its preliminary tallies.
Galbraith said Eide blocked him from intervening after Afghan President Hamid Karzai complained.
The U.N. mission chief "sided with Karzai in this matter, seemingly indifferent to the fact that these fraudulent ballots were the ones that put Karzai over 50 percent."
"Given our mandate to support 'free and fair elections' I felt UNAMA could not overlook the fraud without compromising our neutrality and becoming complicit in a cover-up," he wrote, referring to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
In the end, the provisional results gave Karzai 54.6 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a second round run-off. Those results included whole villages where every single vote cast was for Karzai, often with the president receiving exactly 500 or 600 votes at multiple polling stations.
Eide insists he has been no pushover for fraud, but that the proper way to address it is through an Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), which is led by a Canadian and has the authority under Afghan law to nullify fake ballots.
The ECC has ordered a recount of 12 percent of polling stations, and the final result cannot be certified until that recount is complete, possibly next week.
"I completely reject that I have been more favorable to one side than to any other," Eide told the New York Times.
Diplomats in Kabul say privately that the U.N. mission was split between those who supported Eide and those who backed Galbraith, hoping for a more vigorous response to fraud.
Galbraith's outspoken approach also appealed to some American officials, concerned that a weak international response to fraud allegations could undermine any future Afghan government.
"He's not alone out there. He's not the only one saying what he's been saying," one Western diplomat said of Galbraith.
U.S. and U.N. officials say privately that they expect Karzai will still be re-elected, either with his first round victory confirmed or after a second round later in October.
So far Afghans have shown little appetite for confrontation to challenge the electoral result on the streets. Where the dispute has caused havoc is in Washington and other NATO capitals, where leaders face the prospect of selling the public on a war to protect a government with a dubious mandate.
"What's most important is that there is a sense of legitimacy in Afghanistan among the Afghan people for their government," Obama said last week. "If there is not, that makes our task much more difficult."
KABUL - A U.S. diplomat's scathing charge that the United Nations effectively let Afghanistan's election be stolen has exposed the international community's disunity and may help explain Washington's new doubts about the war.
The outcome of the August 20 election has yet to be decided, amid accusations of massive fraud, and in public all Western diplomatic missions in Kabul say they are reserving judgment until a complaints process is complete.
In a strongly worded letter to Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, veteran U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith accused his Norwegian U.N. boss of blocking anti-fraud efforts, which Galbraith said would have forced a second round of voting if carried out properly.
The United Nations responded by sacking Galbraith. The U.N. mission chief, Kai Eide, has rejected the criticism and says he supports a fraud investigation which is still under way.
But the ramifications of the dispute go far beyond the question of who will occupy the number two post at the mission's headquarters in a secluded compound in central Kabul, and could help decide the future of the eight-year-old war.
Galbraith is a close ally of Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
U.S. officials have cited the dispute over the election results as one of the main reasons for the Obama administration's unexpected decision last month to begin a new review of its whole policy toward the region.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has asked for tens of thousands of additional troops to carry out an overhauled counter-insurgency strategy that would focus on protecting the Afghan population.
Some in the Obama administration favor other options, including scaling the mission back.
"COMPLICIT IN A COVER-UP"
In his letter, excerpts of which were published in the New York Times, Galbraith wrote that he had tried to prevent Afghanistan's election commission from including "votes that it knew to be fraudulent" from its preliminary tallies.
Galbraith said Eide blocked him from intervening after Afghan President Hamid Karzai complained.
The U.N. mission chief "sided with Karzai in this matter, seemingly indifferent to the fact that these fraudulent ballots were the ones that put Karzai over 50 percent."
"Given our mandate to support 'free and fair elections' I felt UNAMA could not overlook the fraud without compromising our neutrality and becoming complicit in a cover-up," he wrote, referring to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
In the end, the provisional results gave Karzai 54.6 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a second round run-off. Those results included whole villages where every single vote cast was for Karzai, often with the president receiving exactly 500 or 600 votes at multiple polling stations.
Eide insists he has been no pushover for fraud, but that the proper way to address it is through an Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), which is led by a Canadian and has the authority under Afghan law to nullify fake ballots.
The ECC has ordered a recount of 12 percent of polling stations, and the final result cannot be certified until that recount is complete, possibly next week.
"I completely reject that I have been more favorable to one side than to any other," Eide told the New York Times.
Diplomats in Kabul say privately that the U.N. mission was split between those who supported Eide and those who backed Galbraith, hoping for a more vigorous response to fraud.
Galbraith's outspoken approach also appealed to some American officials, concerned that a weak international response to fraud allegations could undermine any future Afghan government.
"He's not alone out there. He's not the only one saying what he's been saying," one Western diplomat said of Galbraith.
U.S. and U.N. officials say privately that they expect Karzai will still be re-elected, either with his first round victory confirmed or after a second round later in October.
So far Afghans have shown little appetite for confrontation to challenge the electoral result on the streets. Where the dispute has caused havoc is in Washington and other NATO capitals, where leaders face the prospect of selling the public on a war to protect a government with a dubious mandate.
"What's most important is that there is a sense of legitimacy in Afghanistan among the Afghan people for their government," Obama said last week. "If there is not, that makes our task much more difficult."
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