Blog about what is happening in Pakistan and around.

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A young boy who was killed by Rangers

The gruesome footage of Rangers killing an unarmed young boy was a real shock for me. The unarmed boy pleading for mercy, was shot dead by Rangers personnel at point blank. By watching the video, one can clearly see that the young boy posed no threat. There were 5 Ranger personnel in the video and the one who shot the poor boy seemed a bit over whelmed by the weapon he had and the uniform he was wearing. This is another incident after the Kharotabad killings, where Rangers killed 5 people. That case is still pending and now we have another one. 
Who gave the right to Rangers, Police or Army, to kill innocent Pakistanis in cold blood. Human rights are openly violated and there is no one who can stop them. There will be another enquiry, there will be more discussions on this. More TV reports and politicians condemning the mishap. But then nothing will be changed. Again we will hear same or worse stories. 
   
   
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PEMRA issues licence to ‘Geo Super’

Few of my friends are of the view that most of the news in my blog are depressing. Are they??? Well obviously, because now a days we are in a state of sufferings. How can we publicise the news of a flower exhibition over a suicide bomber killing many. 

But anyway the good news for today is that PEMRA has issued licence to Geo Super to operate from Pakistan. Geo Super has been closed for over 60 days due to refusal of Govt and PEMRA to allow the channel to uplink from Pakistan. 

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Amir Hani Muslim heard the case.  

I hope all the other cases, the big ones, are decided too. This took over 60 days to resolve, our problems are over 60 years old and I don't see any one who has the capacity and capability to resolve the problems and issues.

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Shahid Afridi quits international cricket


Former skipper Pakistan cricket team Shahid Khan Afridi has announced retirement from international cricket here late on Monday.

According to sources, Afridi’s disagreement with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over some issues resulted in his early retirement.

He said it was hard for him to play under a cricket board, which pays no respect to senior players.

“I cannot work with the people who find it difficult to tolerate statements in favour of cricket,” he stated, saying that the duty of a coach is to work for the welfare and in favour of team.

"It is nothing short of an hounour for me that Pakistan played world cup semifinal under my captaincy," he added.
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No plans to attack Pak nuclear arsenal: Taliban

The Taliban have no plans to attack Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, their spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.

A larger assault earlier this week by the Taliban on a naval base in Karachi renewed fears that Pakistan’s sizable nuclear arsenal could be vulnerable. 

Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, dismissed those concerns on Wednesday as America’s “excuse” to pressure Pakistan’s government into fighting the Taliban, who he portrayed as the country’s true protectors.

“Pakistan is the only Muslim nuclear power state,” Ehsan said in a telephonic interview, adding that the Taliban had no intention of changing that fact. He mocked Pakistan’s willingness to work with the US, saying, “Isn’t it a shame for us to have the Islamic bomb, and even then we are bowing down to the pressures of America.” 

Following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Taliban offered to fight against India alongside Pakistan’s army in the event of war. Still, it was impossible to judge the sincerity of Ehsan’s declaration regarding Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. 

Even if the Pakistani Taliban have no designs on the arms, there are myriad groups which are believed to have interest in acquiring nuclear weapons.
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Big change on the cards, says Imran

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Thursday claimed that a big change was on the cards in Pakistan as masses are looking towards his party to solve their problems.

Talking to politician and traders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who joined the PTI here at the party Central Secretariat, Imran Khan said next few months were crucial, and a big change was about to take place on the national horizon.

He said through ballot box, a historic revolution would take place in Pakistan during the next general election, and he said people looked towards his party for saying goodbye to US slavery and bringing economic stability in the country.

“Future politics will be focused on two major points—how to get rid of the US subjugation and ensure economic stability,” the PTI chairman maintained while welcoming the delegates to his party.

Imran believed without the removal of incumbent rulers, who had bargained for a few dollars on the life and honour of Pakistanis, needed to be removed for which the PTI would hold countrywide demonstrations and also stage historic sit-ins in Lahore and Multan. The PTI chairman continued a final round would be played in Islamabad to send the rulers packing and pressure would also be mounted on fake rulers in Punjab.
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Pak shuts 3 US 'intelligence fusion' cells

Pakistan has closed three US military intelligence liaison centers in Quetta and Peshawar, a US newspaper reported.

The liaison centers, also known as intelligence fusion cells, in Quetta and Peshawar are the main conduits for the United States to share satellite imagery, target data and other intelligence with Pakistani ground forces conducting operations against militants, including Taliban fighters who slip into Afghanistan.

US special operations units have relied on the three facilities, two in Peshawar and one in Quetta, to help coordinate operations on both sides of the border, senior US officials said. The U.S. units are now being withdrawn from all three sites, the officials said, and the centers are being shut down.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the steps are permanent. The closures, which have not been publicly announced, remove US advisors from the front lines of the war against militant groups.

The decision has not affected the CIA's ability to launch missiles from drone aircraft in northwest Pakistan.
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US engaged in direct talks with Taliban: report

American officials have met with a senior aide to the fugitive Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, at least three times in recent months in the first direct exploratory peace talks, officials in the region said, a US paper claimed.

The meetings have been facilitated by Germany and Qatar, but American officials have been present each time, meeting with Tayeb Agha, who is a close personal assistant to Mullah Omar, the officials said. The C.I.A. and the State Department have been involved in the meetings, one official said.

Talks have begun before the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2.

The presence of Mr. Agha, a longtime personal assistant of the reclusive Taliban leader, is a sign that the Taliban are serious despite their public opposition to peace talks, the officials said. 

Yet the senior Afghan official cautioned that the meetings might not represent much because Mr. Agha was known to be no longer particularly close to Mullah Omar. Mr. Agha was a much trusted personal assistant, answering phone calls and making appointments for Mullah Omar, for most of the Taliban’s time in power, from 1994 to 2001. 

The meetings have been conducted without the participation of Pakistan.

Germany, which has troops in northern Afghanistan, has led the process with the Taliban and hosted some meetings, while Qatar has hosted another, according to the officials.
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Chopper damaged in OBL raid back in US: Pentagon

Pakistan has returned the wreckage of a US helicopter used in the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden early this month, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. 

"The wreckage of the helicopter destroyed in the bin Laden operation was returned over the weekend and is now back in the United States," Colonel Dave Lapan said.

The helicopter was damaged in a hard landing at bin Laden's compound and US special forces deliberately blew it up after gunning down the Al-Qaeda leader in the May 1-2 raid, officials have said.

Photographs of the tail of the wrecked helicopter fueled speculation among experts and aviation enthusiasts that the aircraft was a secret model with design features to reduce noise or foil radar detection -- most likely a modified Blackhawk.

Pakistan had said earlier this month that it would not share the damaged helicopter with China, which has been accused of buying up wreckage of US military aircraft to get an insight into American defense technology.

Tensions between the United States and its ally Pakistan have run high since bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the world's most wanted man, was found living in Abbottabad, a garrison town near Islamabad.
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Four dead, 28 injured in Peshawar suicide blast

Four policemen were killed and 28 others including eight police officials were injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive laden vehicle into CID police station at University Road in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Relief and rescue teams have rushed to the site and initiated their work. The injured are being shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital and Lady Reading Hospital.

It is said that the blast was heard across Peshawar city. Windowpanes of the nearby buildings were smashed into pieces in the blast. Security forces have cordoned off the area.

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US urged Zardari to reject Iran’s oil offer: WikiLeaks

A secret diplomatic cable has revealed that the US forced Pakistan to reject Iran’s concessional oil offer.

According to the cable, President Asif Ali Zardari was urged by a US official not to agree to Iran’s concessional oil offer as it would be providing Iran with a foothold in Pakistan.

The cable filed on October 22, 2008 by former US ambassador Anne Patterson revealed that Zardari told US Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher that Iran’s proposal was an offer he could not refuse but Boucher reminded him of the Deputy Secretary’s caution of not allowing Iran to gain presence in Pakistan.

The meeting between the two officials took place at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on October 18 where the president expressed reluctance upon Boucher’s request to turn down Iran’s offer. He was concerned that how could he go to the National Assembly and tell them Iran had offered the assistance and Pakistan has refused it.

In another cable filed on May 26, 2009, a Congress delegation also met President Zardari and reminded him of the US caution but the President said that Pakistan is desperately seeking new energy resources to fulfill its need but no other country is ready to help except Saudia Arabia.
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IGP orders red-alert in Sindh

The IGP Sindh Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari has ordered red-alert across the province in the wake of attack of terrorists at PNS Mehran.

According to a statement of IGP office Monday, he directed all the RPOs (Regional Police Officers) of Hyderabad, Sukkur and specially CCPO Karachi to make fool-proof security arrangements at all sensitive locations.

The IGP directed that security of all sensitive installations, government offices,mosques,Imambargahs and specially foreign diplomats be beefed up.

In addition, Leghari also ordered enhanced and effective patrolling, snap checking and strict vigilance at entry and exit points of the city.

All the police training centres, police lines should also be fully secured, he maintained.
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PNS Mehran operation: 4 militants dead, 4 arretsed

It is reported from the vicinity of Pakistan Navy base that four militants blew themselves up, while the security forces have arrested four other militants.


It is reported that the arrested terrorists camouflaged themselves with dark dresses and fake cards have been recovered from them. Four security personnel who participated in the operation against militants have come out of the base. 

During the operation, six navy and one Rangers’ personnel embraced martyrdom while 14 other security personnel were injured. 

The operation against militants who attacked PNS Mehran started at 10.30 pm on Sunday. There is currently no resistance reported from the militants and the security forces are searching the entire area for clearance.
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PNS Mehran: security forces, militants fighting underway

Exchange of firing between security forces and militants, involved in PNS Mehran attack, is still continuing almost eight hours after the attack began.

According to the sources, fresh commandos have reached PNS Mehran on Monday morning and its Zarar company is participating in the operation while helicopter are also being used for surveillance.

Fifteen bomb explosions have been heard so far since militants assaulted PNS Mehran.

Navy spokesman said that two P-3C Orion aircrafts have completely destroyed in the attack while five including four navy and one rangers personnel have been killed while nine others received injuries.

He expressed hope that operation would soon be concluded.
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US apologizes Pak over drone attacks

The United States has formally apologized Pakistan over drone attacks, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

According to sources, the US apologized civil and military leadership of Pakistan over the drone strikes that killed nine people in North Waziristan on Monday.

The sources added that these strikes were scheduled before the visit of US Senator John Kerry. 

The US has stated that it would work together with Pakistan on any future operations in the country.

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Dozens of militants attack checkpoint; two soldiers killed

Scores of militants armed with rifles and rocket launchers attacked a police checkpoint before dawn Wednesday, killing two officers and wounding five others, police said.

There was no confirmation of casualties among the militants because police said the attackers fled after the furious shootout, which took officers an hour to fend off in the suburbs of Peshawar.

The checkpost in Sarband lies next to Khyber.

Police said they repelled an initial attack at around midnight (1900 GMT Tuesday), but another group of 70 Taliban fighters armed with guns and rocket launchers again laid siege before dawn.

It took police about an hour to fend off each attack, senior police officer Mohammad Ijaz Khan said.

"Two of our policemen were martyred and five wounded," Khan said, adding that the attackers threw hand grenades and fired rockets at the checkpoint.

He said the attackers came from the direction of Khyber and fled back in the same direction after staging what appeared to be a carefully planned hit under cover of night.

"They travelled in vehicles towards the checkpost, then left the vehicles in the tribal area and reached the checkpost on foot using ill-frequented routes." 
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'US to deploy troops if Pak nukes come under threat'

US troops will be deployed in Pakistan if the nation's nuclear installations come under threat from terrorists out to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Sunday Express can reveal on Sunday.

The plan, which would be activated without President Asif Ali Zardari's consent, provoked an angry reaction from Pakistan officials last night. Barack Obama would order troops to parachute in to protect key nuclear missile sites. These include the air force's central Sargodha HQ, home base for nuclear-capable F-16 combat aircraft and at least 80 ballistic missiles.

A US source told the Sunday Express: "The plan is green lit and the president has already shown he is wiling to deploy troops in Pakistan if he feels it is important for national security." However, news of the plan has further increased tension between the US and Pakistan with relations already at an all-time low after the Operation Geronimo raid by the US Navy Seal special forces team that killed bin Laden at the house where he had been hiding in Abbottabad, near to a Pakistan military academy. 

An angry Pakistani official said: "Pakistan has an elaborate command and control structure and is fully capable of defending its strategic assets under any circumstances and does not need any assistance from any country, including the US, to safeguard its nuclear installations."

The plan reflects growing concern over reprisals for the al-Qaeda terror leader's death. More than 80 people were killed and 140 injured when two Taliban suicide bombers struck at a military academy in the north-western town of Charsadda on Friday.

Alex Neill, of the Royal United Services Institute, said: "The United States places its own national security issues above all other sovereignty issues and trust in Pakistan's abilities are extremely low."

"If Obama can persuade congress that placing US troops at the installations is necessary to protect US citizens from possible nuclear attack, then that's what he will do." The Pentagon on Saturday refused to deny the existence of the plan, with a spokesman saying only: "We are confident that Pakistan has taken appropriate steps towards securing its nuclear arsenal."
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President, PM ordered Raymond Davis release: ISI chief

Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha told the joint parliamentary session that CIA contractor and killer of two Pakistanis Raymond Davis was handed over to the US on orders of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, a PML-N MP quoted the chief spymaster as saying.

According to The News, Senator Mushahidullah said Gen Pasha stated: “We advised the government to resolve the issue. But we did what we were finally asked by the president and the prime minister to do.”

The issue of Raymond Davis figured when Pasha faced critical inquires from the PPP’s Fauzia Wahab besides the PML-N’s Mushahidullah and Anusha Rehman.

“Pasha initially tried to evade the questions but later said the ISI has acted on the advice of the prime minister and the president,” confirmed another MNA. He left untouched the questions like who paid the blood money, where the deal was done and the present whereabouts of the families, thereby confirming the suspicions already lingering in the mind of the public and politicians.

Senator Mushahidullah recounted several relevant and revolutionary couplets from the works of different poets including Habib Jalib and others to buttress his arguments. He asked: Who paid the blood money (Diyat); where are its recipients and how was Davis sent out of Pakistan when his passport is still with the Punjab government? He said when no response came to his question, he repeated it and ultimately got the reply.

He said that as the ISI chief has talked about forging unity in the nation at this point of time on the Abbottabad episode, there would be instant matchless national harmony and cohesion, more than that of the 1965 war, if just two announcements are made: one, Gen Pasha should declare that from now onward his agency would not make or break political parties, or create favourites in any political force by taking certain politicians to its safe houses; second, the Army chief or the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on his behalf should announce that the military would never destabilise the democratic system or impose martial law.

Responding to this, Lt-Gen Pasha, according to Mushahidullah, said: “On our own, we have decided to stay away from politics; and when I meet the Army chief, he too says there will be no derailing of the democratic system.”

The senator said in his remarks that it was a pity that the colonel and the major who tortured Makhdoom Javed Hashmi in the Sarwar Road Lahore police station served in the Army later as well and one of them recently retired as general.

Gen Shuja Pasha raised many eyebrows when he disclosed that there was not a single written Pak-US agreement over counter-terrorism operations inside the country starting from drone strikes to providing logistic facilities and joint operations.

He, therefore, stressed on the government to put in writing the degree of cooperation and the extent of operations to be carried out jointly or single-handedly in Pakistan.

Pasha also apprised the parliamentarians of the backlash of the ongoing Afghan war on Pakistan that, he said, would continue suffering for another five to 10 years.

As he spoke on the question of slippage of al-Qaeda leadership into Pakistan after 9/11, the ISI chief argued they could have been sorted out inside Afghanistan had the US shared information with the Pakistani authorities but this was not done despite repeated requests.

Background interviews with different lawmakers revealed the briefing went well after a bumpy start as Pasha’s opening remarks offended parliamentarians, in particular the PML-N, as they were said to be ‘couched in taunts and showed arrogance’.

The ISI DG, for example, opened his speech complaining about the indifference of the political class towards the sacrifices the spy agency had rendered in the war against terrorism after losing 86 officials whose families were now being looked after by the agency. As he said this, many lawmakers raised their hands to affirm that they had either met the families or spoke to the ISI officials regarding them.

Senator Pervez Rashid intervened, pointing towards Pasha’s speech terming it ‘political’, and saying they still have many questions to answer but that the spy chief must remain focused to the point for which he has been summoned. Opposition leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan and Tehmina Daultana echoed the same line, thereby putting Pasha and his supporters on the defensive.

According to insiders, Pasha spoke at length answering several key questions. Among them were the reported Pak-US agreements on drone strikes, unilateral strikes inside Pakistan in hunt for high-value targets, logistic facilities to Americans and granting them permission to operate inside Pakistan.

There have been many reports in the western media indicating that Pakistan had agreed on unilateral strikes, like the Osama bin Laden operation, drone strikes and the use of Pakistani bases by the Americans. A denial of these reports by the spy chief before the joint sitting of parliament was considered highly significant.
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Imran asks PM, President to resign over Abbottabad incident

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, announcing to stage sit-in in Karachi on May 21 and 22 and to block Nato supply line, against US drone strikes, has called upon PM Gilani and President Zardari to immediately step down over Abbottabad incident.

In an emergency meeting of PTI’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), Imran blamed army and civilian leadership for Abbottabad incident where US Navy commandos violated Pakistan airspace and raided a compound where Al-Qaeda kingpin Osama Bin Laden was hiding.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should hold transparent general elections soon, he demanded.
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How the raid on Osama hideout unfolded

The latest accounts of the US raid on Osama bin Laden's compound reveal the shooting was over quickly, that only one man ever fired on the American commandos and that the Al-Qaeda chief had an AK-47 in his bedroom when he was killed.

According to US officials and media reports, here is how the operation unfolded:

-- Under cover of night, several helicopters ferry 79 commandos towards Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, flying low to avoid detection by radar, as Pakistan has not been told of the raid in advance.

-- Two helicopters deliver more than 20 US Navy SEALs to the residence, which has 12-18 foot (four-to-six meter) walls covered with barbed wire. One of the choppers, a MH-60 Blackhawk apparently modified to evade radar, is out of commission due to "mechanical failure," according to initial reports from US officials.

-- One group of commandos moves toward a smaller guest house next to the compound's main building. Bin Laden's trusted courier opens fire and is shot and killed, along with his wife.

The courier is the only man at the compound who fires on the Americans, contrary to earlier accounts from the White House that described a firefight throughout the nearly 40-minute operation.

-- Another US special forces team enters the main three-story house. They encounter the courier's brother, who has one hand behind his back, causing the SEALs to suspect he may have a gun, which turns out not to be the case, according to NBC news. He is shot and killed.

-- The commandos move up the stairs and meet up with bin Laden's adult son, Khalid, who is killed after he lunges at the Americans, according to the New York Times.

-- On the top floor, they find bin Laden and his wife in the bedroom. She reportedly tries to move between her husband and the commandos, and is shot in the leg. bin Laden, who gives no signal of surrender, is shot in the head, and some media say he is also struck in the chest.
Earlier versions of the raid said bin Laden "resisted" and that he had used his wife as a human shield, but the White House later acknowledges those details are incorrect.

-- President Barack Obama, following events from the White House, is told the SEALs have tentatively identified bin Laden. A Time magazine report, based on an interview with CIA Director Leon Panetta, suggests bin Laden was killed less than 25 minutes into the raid.

-- In bin Laden's room, the US team finds an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9 mm Russian pistol. Other weapons are discovered in the compound.

-- The special forces find cash and telephone numbers sown into Bin Laden's clothing, suggesting he was prepared for a quick escape.

-- In an intelligence coup, the Navy SEALs haul away five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices, which will be scoured for leads on possible plots, financing and the location of Al-Qaeda deputies.

-- The US team destroys the downed helicopter, after moving women and children in the compound to a safe area.

-- About 38 minutes after the start of the raid, the US helicopters fly away, carrying the corpse of the man the United States has hunted for years.

-- At 0335 GMT on Monday, Obama announces on television that bin Laden has been killed.

- Bin Laden's body is taken to the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier off the coast of Pakistan. At about 0600 GMT, after Islamic religious rites are administered, bin Laden's body is eased into the Arabian Sea.
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Osama had another house near Abbottabad, reveals wife

Slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden lived in a small village close to the Abbottabad highway for more than two years before moving into a larger compound in the Pakistani garrison town in 2005, according to the dreaded terrorist's Yemeni wife who is now in custody.

The woman told investigators that Laden lived with his family for nearly two-and-a-half years in the village of Chak Shah Mohammad, a little more than a mile southeast of the town of Haripur, on the main Abbottabad highway, the New York Times (NYT) reported quoting two unnamed Pakistani officials.

One of the officials pointed out that this meant that Laden had moved from the rugged terrains of tribal villages to the relatively urban settings sometime in 2003.

The presence of Pakistan's military academy in Abbottabad made several observers to suggest that it was impossible for the army or intelligence officials not to know that Laden was hiding in the vicinity.

"If he was there since 2005, that is too long a time for local police and intelligence not to know," Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistani official now teaching at Columbia University, told NYT.

The newspaper pointed out that the Obama administration had stopped short of formally accusing Pakistan of some form of complicity in Laden's concealment for over a decade.

The Times reported that the Obama administration has demanded the names of some of the top intelligence operatives in Pakistan to determine whether they had contact with Laden or his agents.

"At best, it was willful blindness on the part of the ISI," said Art Keller a former CIA official. "Willful blindness is a survival mechanism in Pakistan."

In particular, American officials have demanded information on what is known as the ISI's directorate, which has worked closely with militants since the days of the fight against the Soviet army in Afghanistan.

"It's hard to believe that (Pakistani army chief Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani and (ISI director general Ahmad Shuja) Pasha actually knew that bin Laden was there," a senior administration official said.

The official, however, said "there are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn't surprise me if we find out that someone close to Pasha knew."
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Osama's death paves way for Afghan exit: US official. Does it???

US officials involved in war policy claimed that the killing of Osama Bin Laden has cleared the way for US exit from Afghanistan and it could pave the way for reconciliation with the Taliban.

The paper reported: "Administration officials believe it now could be easier for the reclusive leader of the largest Taliban faction, Mohammad Omar, to break his group's alliance with al-Qaida, a key U.S. requirement for any peace deal. They also think bin Laden's death could make peace talks a more palatable outcome for Americans and insulate President Obama from criticism that his administration would be negotiating with terrorists".

"Bin Laden's death is the beginning of the end game in Afghanistan," said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy deliberations. "It changes everything."

This whole drama is to craft the exit of US forces from Afghanistan. It is costing US trillions and Americans want this to end. Obama has to show some dramatic progress in the war against terror. He needed some solid material for his speeches for the upcoming elections. Now on the basis of Osama's death, he will be again asking for votes and it is anticipated that stupid Americans will vote for him. The whole propaganda scheme has worked out beautifully till now. 

Lets have a look at another recent story, the jail break of Kandahar by Taliban. Could this be the possibility that US was involved in helping the jail break to get in good terms with the Taliban. After the death of Osama bin Laden, US would want to negotiate with Taliban, as they are not terrorists now according the US official stated above. This is obvious that if they want negotiations with Taliban, Taliban won't allow US to transfer all the detainees to Guantanamo bay or any other such facility and setting Taliban commanders free will definitely hurt US position in war against terror. 

So this could be an easy way out for them to let them escape to show good gesture and then negotiate with the Taliban to benefit the most. 

This could be just a theory but sometimes theories are correct. What do you think????
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Dark side of our society..

Have a look at these snaps. These are from different areas of Peshawar. I shot these when some of my students wanted to capture images of the deprived kids for a photo exhibition to show them to the rest of the society. 








Can you describe your feelings after seeing these images? I can't...

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China urges world to back Pakistan

China reaffirmed its support on Thursday for efforts by its ally Pakistan to combat terrorism after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US forces, and urged the world to help Islamabad.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu stopped short of directly criticising the daring raid by US special forces on Pakistani soil that ended with bin Laden's death but said national sovereignty "should be respected" at all times.

"Pakistan is at the forefront of the international counter-terrorism effort. The international community should understand and support Pakistan," Jiang told a press conference.

"We support Pakistan's position and understand and support Pakistan formulating and implementing a counter-terrorism strategy based on its national conditions."

Since Sunday's raid, Pakistan has been on the defensive over its failure to find bin Laden, who was living in a compound near the country's top military academy in Abbottabad.

Islamabad has rejected those criticisms, with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani saying that the United States and other countries shared the blame for not finding bin Laden sooner.

Gilani on Wednesday called on the "entire world" to help Pakistan fight terrorism and extremism -- a call quickly answered by its close ally Beijing.

"We believe that terrorism is a public enemy of the international community and the international community should work together to combat the potential terrorist threat," Jiang said.

"A holistic approach should be taken to address the symptoms and causes of terrorism and eliminate the breeding grounds."

Earlier this week, Jiang called the death of bin Laden a "positive development in the international anti-terrorism struggle" but on Thursday, she suggested China did not necessarily approve of US methods.

"We uphold that countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected," the foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

Islamabad has complained that the US military raid was unauthorised and unilateral, and should not set any precedent, but US President Barack Obama has said he reserves the right to target fugitives in Pakistan in future.

CIA director Leon Panetta said that the United States chose not to alert Pakistan of the operation on its soil for fear that officials may have alerted the Al-Qaeda chief -- evidence of Washington's uneasy ties with Islamabad.

Its good to have at least one friend who is supporting us in these difficult times. We must change the way we act else we will be under threat all the times. Recent news show India's intentions of following the footsteps of US and carrying out operations on Pakistani soil. 

Today the Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir warned of catastrophic results if anyone followed the example of US. "There should be no doubt Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence." he said.
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Internal rift led to Osama killing: Saudi paper

US troops were led to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by his own deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, because of a simmering internal power struggle, a Saudi newspaper reported on Thursday.

Al-Watan newspaper, quoting an unnamed "regional source," said the top two Al-Qaeda men had differences and that a courier who led US forces to bin Laden was working for Zawahiri.

The courier was a Pakistan national and not a Kuwaiti as the US suspected, Al-Watan said. The man knew he was being followed by the US military but disguised the fact.

"The Egyptian faction of Al-Qaeda is defacto running the organisation now and since he was taken ill in 2004 they have been trying to take full control," 
according to the paper.

It said Zawahiri's faction had persuaded bin Laden to leave tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border and take shelter instead in Abbottabad near Islamabad where he was finally killed by US commandos on Monday.

With the return of an Egyptian figure in Al-Qaeda, Saif al-Adel, last autumn from Iran, the Egyptian faction had hatched a plan to dispose of Saudi-born bin Laden, according to Al-Watan. Geo News
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Does Obama reserve the right to act again in Pakistan?

The White House has said that US President Barack Obama reserves the right to act again against top terror suspects inside Pakistan, following the raid which killed Osama bin Laden.

Obama’s spokesman Jay Carney was asked whether the president would be prepared to target fugitives again if they were on Pakistani soil, despite Islamabad’s complaints the bin Laden raid was unauthorised and unilateral. “He made very clear during the campaign that that was his view. He was criticised for it,” Carney said.

“He maintained that that was his view and, by the actions he has taken as president, feels that it was the right approach and continues to feel that way,” he said. 

What should be the reaction from our side to these statements? Everyone had anticipated these intentions from US and now we are watching them do whatever, whenever and where ever they want. 

Could this be the beginning of a dark age where US will start attacks within Pakistan??? This is the question every Pakistani is asking. How could we tolerate such intrusion? Why have we become such a weak country that US does not even bothered to ask us or inform us about the attack? 

Imran Khan is organizing sit ins in different cities demanding drone attacks to be stopped. I would suggest he should start planning on something more intense as the current situation is looking very glim and we have to raise voices to stop this.
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Obama watched live video of Osama hit

Dramatic pictures have been released of US President Barack Obama watching live footage of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

Photographs issued by the White House show the president and other members of his team looking tense as they watch live video of the mission as it happened.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is shown with a particularly anxious expression, with both her hands clasped over her mouth.

US chief counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan was also among those viewing the footage.

Brennan: "It was probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of time. It was clearly very tense, a lot of people were holding their breath.

"There was a fair degree of silence as the operation progressed.

"Minutes passed like days and the President was concerned about security of his personnel."

He added that a "tremendous sigh of relief" came in response to confirmation that Bin Laden was among those found in the compound.

Asked how Obama reacted when he received the news that bin Laden had been killed, Brennan recalled that the president said, "We got him."

Now if this is the case then we all would want to see that video in which Osama Bin Laden is killed so we could analyse it and draw conclusions. If Osama Bin Laden is killed then why US kept things so ambiguous? His body should have been shown to the media. When they hanged Saddam Hussain, they made videos of it and were shown to public. Why not in the case of Osama Bin Laden? 
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Compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed

US forces finally found al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden not in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan's border, but in a million-dollar compound, with his youngest wife, U.S. officials said early on Monday.


They were led to the fortress-like three-story building after more than four years tracking one of bin Laden's most trusted couriers, whom U.S. officials said was identified by men captured after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"Detainees also identified this man as one of the few al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden. They indicated he might be living with or protected by bin Laden," a senior administration official said in a briefing for reporters.

Bin Laden was finally found -- more than 9-1/2 years after the 2001 attacks on the United States -- after authorities discovered in August 2010 that the courier lived with his brother and their families in an unusual and extremely high-security building, officials said.

"When we saw the compound where the brothers lived, we were shocked by what we saw: an extraordinarily unique compound," a senior administration official said.

"The bottom line of our collection and our analysis was that we had high confidence that the compound harbored a high-value terrorist target. The experts who worked this issue for years assessed that there was a strong probability that the terrorist who was hiding there was Osama bin Laden," another administration official said.

The home is in Abbotabad, a town about 35 miles (60 km) north of Islamabad.

The building, about eight times the size of other nearby houses, sat on a large plot of land that was relatively secluded when it was built in 2005. When it was constructed, it was on the outskirts of Abbotabad's center, at the end of a dirt road, but some other homes have been built nearby in the six years since it went up, officials said.

WALLS TOPPED WITH BARBED WIRE

Intense security measures included 12- to 18-foot (3.6 meters to 5.5 meters) outer walls topped with barbed wire and internal walls that sectioned off different parts of the compound, officials said. Two security gates restricted access, and residents burned their trash, rather than leaving it for collection as did their neighbors, officials said.

Few windows of the three-story home faced the outside of the compound, and a terrace had a seven-foot (2.1 meter) privacy wall, officials said.

"It is also noteworthy that the property is valued at approximately $1 million but has no telephone or Internet service connected to it," an administration official said. "The brothers had no explainable source of wealth."

U.S. analysts realized that a third family lived there in addition to the two brothers, and the age and makeup of the third family matched those of the relatives -- including his youngest wife -- they believed would be living with bin Laden.

"Everything we saw, the extremely elaborate operational security, the brothers' background and their behavior and the location of the compound itself was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden's hide-out to look like," another Obama administration official said.

A small U.S. team conducted a helicopter raid on the compound on Sunday afternoon, officials said. After 40 minutes of fighting, bin Laden and an adult son, one unidentified woman and two men -- identified as the courier and his brother -- were dead, officials said, and Obama was preparing a television address to the nation.
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Taliban threaten US, Pakistan over Osama

Pakistan's main Taliban faction on Monday threatened to attack Pakistan and the United States after the US confirmed that Osama bin Laden had been killed near the Pakistani capital.

"If he has been martyred, we will avenge his death and launch attacks against American and Pakistani governments and their security forces," spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"These people are in fact the enemies of Islam," he added.

The Taliban spokesman said the militia had not itself managed to confirm bin Laden's death, which was announced by US President Barack Obama.

"If he has become a martyr, it is a great victory for us because martyrdom is the aim of all of us."
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Pakistan says US conducted operation

Pakistan on Monday confirmed the death of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in an “intelligence-driven military operation” conducted by the US army, in the early hours at Abbottabad.

A statement from the Foreign Office said the most wanted terrorist mastermind was killed in an operation “conducted by the US forces in accordance with declared US policy that Osama bin Ladin will be eliminated in a direct action by the US forces, wherever found in the world.”

The Foreign Office termed it “a major setback to terrorist organizations around the world.” The statement said President Obama telephoned President Zardari on the successful US operation which resulted in killing of Osama bin Ladin.

Osama bin Ladin’s death illustrates the resolve of the international community including Pakistan to fight and eliminate terrorism. 

The Foreign Office statement said al-Qaeda had declared war on Pakistan. Scores of Al-Qaeda sponsored terrorist attacks resulted in deaths of thousands of innocent Pakistani men, women and children.

Almost, 30,000 Pakistani civilians lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the last few years. More than 5,000 Pakistani security and armed forces officials have been martyred in Pakistan’s campaign against Al-Qaeda, other terrorist organizations and affiliates. 

Pakistan has played a significant role in efforts to eliminate terrorism. 
“We have had extremely effective intelligence sharing arrangements with several intelligence agencies including that of the US. We will continue to support international efforts against terrorism.”

“It is Pakistan’s stated policy that it will not allow its soil to be used in terrorist attacks against any country. Pakistan’s political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism,” the statement said.
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Osama Bin Laden is dead: US media

Al Qaeda's elusive leader Osama bin Laden is dead and his body has been recovered by US authorities, American media reported. US President
Barack Obama was to make the announcement shortly.

US President Barack Obama would make this announcement shortly, a senior US official said.

The official said that Bin Laden was dead, but did not provide details of how his death occurred.

Obama was imminently to address Americans in a highly unusual Sunday night appearance on television.
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Thousands of plant lovers have flocked to the northern Swiss city of Basel to see a giant, stinky flower bloom for the first time.

The Basel Botanical Gardens expects 10,000 people to see its amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, in full glory before the bloom wilts late Saturday or Sunday. The plant is 17 years old and has never bloomed before.

Visitors haven't been deterred by the strong stench of rotting flesh the flower emits to attract insects for pollination.

The 6.6-feet (2-meter) tall flower is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the last one to bloom in Switzerland was 75 years ago.
Worldwide, there have been only 134 recorded blooms from artificial cultivation.

The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos, "phallus", and titan, "giant") is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. (The largest single flower is borne by the Rafflesia arnoldii; the largest branched inflorescence in the plant kingdom belongs to the Talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera).

Due to its odor, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing mammal, the titan arum is also known as a carrion flower, the "Corpse flower", or "Corpse plant" (Indonesian: bunga bangkai - bunga means flower, while bangkai means corpse or cadaver; for the same reason, the same title is also attributed to Rafflesia which, like the titan arum, also grows in the rainforests of Sumatra).
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World's fastest broadband


A UK based telecoms and cable giant Virgin Media said it will test the world's fastest broadband as demand grows for lightning-quick internet connections.

The company said it planned to trial speeds of up to 1.5 gigabits per second - more than 10 times faster than its current fastest service of 100 megabits per second and 240 times quicker than the UK average.

It would mean that customers could download a high-quality movie or video game in 55 seconds, rather than the three hours and 40 minutes it would take with the current UK average speed of 6.2mb.

Trials of the super-fast internet connections will begin this month at four companies near Old Street, in London, dubbed the 'Silicon Roundabout', but the service will eventually be used in homes as well as offices.

The company said one of the greatest advantages of the 1.5gb service is not the speed, but the increased number of users who will be able to use the network simultaneously without interruption.
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4 killed, 56 injured in Navy buses attack in Karachi

Four people including two personnel of Pakistan Navy were killed in two separate terrorist attacks targeting Pakistan Navy buses in Karachi on Tuesday morning, a spokesman of Pakistan Navy said.


He identified the dead as Sub-Lieutenant Iqbal and Umar Farooq, a Sailor of Pakistan Navy, Dr. Nazia, a civilian working with Pakistan Navy, and Muhammad Sharif, a civilian employee of Pakistan Navy.

Of the 56 injured being treated at Pakistan Navy hospitals, some were discharged after providing them with first aid.

The spokesman pointed out that two Navy buses were targeted in two different parts of the metropolis almost simultaneously.

The buses, he added, were taking the staff to their respective units.

The two Navy buses were targeted in Defence Phase two and Mohajir Camp in Baldia Town area here.

The Commander Karachi, Rear Admiral Syed Khawar Ali, visited the hospitals and inquired about the health of the injured, the spokesman further stated that the Naval Headquarters has ordered an inquiry.

The Inquiry Committee has been directed to submit its report to the Naval Headquarters.
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Mass jailbreak by Taliban stuns Kandahar

Afghan insurgents proudly claimed they helped dig the long, narrow tunnel used by at least 475 inmates to escape Sarposa prison in the southern city of Kandahar.
Some said they helped haul away the dirt during the last five months using pickup trucks, trailers and even donkey carts. The tunnel, measuring more than 1,050 feet long, reportedly began inside a Taliban sympathizer's mud-walled compound, surrounded by shops, and reached into the prison grounds.
It was unclear Monday whether those who helped dig the tunnel lived in the sympathizer's compound while they worked. But they said they plotted together as the tunnel grew, skirting police checkpoints, under the busy Kandahar-Herat highway and into a central cell block of the prison's political wing.
The tunnel had grown to about 3 feet wide by Sunday, when the diggers reached their goal.
Somehow, they had managed to alert a team of three Taliban inmates that they were coming, and given instructions on what to do when they arrived.
When they finally broke through the prison's concrete floor about 11 p.m., the three sentinels were waiting — with keys to fellow prisoners' cells.
Quietly, the guides unlocked cells and led hundreds of inmates to the tunnel without raising an alarm or disturbing their jailers.
An inmate who claimed to have helped organize the escape told the Associated Press on Monday that he used his connections to obtain copies of the cell keys in advance.
"There were four or five of us who knew that our friends were digging a tunnel from the outside," said Mohammad Abdullah, who was sentenced to two years at Sarposa after he was caught with a weapons cache. "Some of our friends helped us by providing copies of the keys. When the time came at night, we managed to open the doors for friends who were in other rooms."
Mullah Asadullah Akhund, 30, claimed to have been among those awakened to join the escape.
Akhund told the Daily Beast by cellphone Monday that the senior Taliban commander in the prison woke him about 2 a.m. Akhund said he joined a line of prisoners moving through the narrow tunnel by flashlight. At one point, a large truck passed overhead, shaking the ground, knocking dirt onto the prisoners and causing them to fear the tunnel would collapse, he said.
"It was the greatest escape of my life," he told the Daily Beast. "It was like a dream."
Inmates spent 4 1/2 hours escorting at least 475 of their brethren, most of them political prisoners, to freedom without triggering security cameras or otherwise disturbing their guards, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesmen claimed 541 inmates were freed.
They also claimed that forces near the prison had been prepared to stage an attack, but the "need did not arise due to the inaction shown by the enemy."
Akhund said he escaped in a pickup with 10 others and within 20 minutes was at a Taliban safe house, where they hired a truck to take them to a nearby town to celebrate, according to the Daily Beast.
By the time prison officials discovered the escape Monday morning, Taliban officials said the inmates had been spirited away to "secure destinations."
Government officials said some of the Taliban accounts of the escape are exaggerated, but acknowledged that much of the basic story is true.
They confirmed that the tunnel began at the Taliban sympathizer's compound and that at least 475 inmates had escaped their locked cells.
Officials said the tunnel had undercut the prison's main line of above-ground defense, including guard towers at each corner, concrete barriers, razor wire and multiple entry checkpoints.
A Taliban spokesman claimed that 106 of the escapees were "important commanders." Sarposa has not been known to house the most dangerous Taliban fighters. The U.S. keeps Taliban detainees it considers a threat at a detention center outside Bagram air base in eastern Afghanistan while the Afghan government houses some others in a high-security area of the main prison in Kabul, the capital.
Afghanistan's Justice Ministry was responsible for securing the prison, which houses 1,200 inmates. Authorities had caught 26 of the escapees by late Monday and were confident about catching the rest with the help of biometric data, said Kandahar Gov. Tooryalai Wesa.
A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said Monday that based on preliminary reports, the escape exposed serious problems with prison security.
"This is a blow. It is something that shouldn't have happened," spokesman Waheed Omer said. "A prison break of this magnitude of course points to vulnerability.... We have loopholes."
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