Pakistan

Islamabad, August 20: Militant commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad on Wednesday declared himself as the head of the Pakistani Taliban, saying he was temporarily replacing Baitullah Mehsud, whom Washington and Islamabad have said was almost certainly killed in a drone attack, as the latter is “seriously ill”.

Maulvi Faqir, the commander of Taliban fighters in Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, contacted journalists on phone and declared himself as the new chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Islamabad, August 19: Militant commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad today declared himself as the head of the Pakistani Taliban, saying he was temporarily replacing Baitullah Mehsud, whom Washington and Islamabad have said was almost certainly killed in a drone attack, as the latter is “seriously ill”.

Maulvi Faqir, the commander of Taliban fighters in Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, contacted journalists on phone and declared himself as the new chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Islamabad, August 19: At least 16 people, including four children, were killed Wednesday when the passenger bus in which they were travelling veered off the road and fell into a gorge in northwest Pakistan, TV reports said.

The accident occurred in the Mansehra area. The bus was on its way from Karachi to Battagram, Geo TV reported. Forty people were injured in the accident.

It was not immediately known how many people were on board the bus at the time of the accident.

—Agencies

Islamabad, August 19: The supply of modern equipment needed for Pakistan”s drive against Taliban in the country”s restive northwest region figured in talks army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had with top US military commander David H Petraeus here today. Gen Petraeus, Commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, held discussions with Kayani soon after he arrived in the Pakistan capital.

Islamabad, August 19: An anti-terrorism court Wednesday declared Pakistani Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah a proclaimed offender, officials said.

Maulana Fazalullah, chief of the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat valley, is wanted for his involvement in acts of terrorism.

Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Khalil Khan Khalil directed Fazlullah and other accomplices to appear in the court or a police station within a week.

In May, the Pakistani government announced 50 million rupees (about $625,000) reward for providing information about Fazlullah.

Islamabad, Augst 19: Several NATO vehicles have been attacked by unknown assailants in Khyber agency in northwestern Pakistan, but no casualties were reported.

The incident took place at Landi Kotal area in Khyber agency when militants opened fire at a NATO convoy and partially damaged two vehicles, officials told Press TV.

The containers were returning to Pakistan via Torkham border after delivering supplies to US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Islamabad, August 19: As part of their campaign against education for girls, Taliban militants today attacked two schools in Dir area of Pakistan’s restive northwest region.

A primary school and a high school for girls in Moranai area of Lower Dir district were attacked overnight, media reports said.

However, there were no casualties in the attacks.

The Taliban, who have declared education for girls as “un-Islamic,” have so far destroyed 51 schools in Lower Dir district.

London, August 19: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf will launch a new political party soon, the Online news agency reported Tuesday.

A councilor of Britain’s Conservative Party disclosed this to a TV Channel here.

Musharraf will discuss about his new party with his supporters during Iftar dinners in London, he said.

He added that Musharraf offered free Iftar Parties during Ramadan for his supporters.

–IANS–

Islamabad, August 18: A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban who was arrested by security forces a day ago told investigators that top militant leader Baitullah Mehsud had died in a US missile attack, intelligence officials said Tuesday.

Maulvi Omar of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a loose alliance of more than a dozen militant groups, was Monday night detained in Mohmand district in the country’s ungoverned tribal belt that borders Afghanistan.

New Delhi, August 18: External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said it would be “extremely difficult” to have meaningful talks with Pakistan unless it brings to justice the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks.

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made India’s position very clear that unless there are visible actions taken to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on Mumbai, it would be extremely difficult for meaningful talks with Pakistan,” Krishna told reporters here after the release of a book ‘India’s foreign relations- 2008 documents’ by A S Bhasin.

Kabul, August 18: A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded in a separate blast, the U.S. command said.

Hours before the suicide blast, two mortar rounds struck near the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. military said.

Islamabad, August 18: Thirty-four militants, including a member of the Taliban council, were captured by Pakistani security forces and local militias while another 10 insurgents surrendered to troops in the country’s lawless tribal region, the military said today.

Security forces apprehended 20 suspects during a search operation at Malukabad in Swat valley, it said in a statement.

Four suspects were captured by troops during a search at different locations in Kanju, a former Taliban stronghold.

Islamabad, August 18: Pakistani security forces have arrested 34 militants in northwest Pakistan, the army said in a statement Tuesday.

The militants were captured during search operations in Swat and Malakand division by the security forces and pro-government militias in the past 24 hours to Tuesday evening.

In a separate incident Tuesday, militants have blown up a girls’ school in the Lower Dir district. Several adjoining houses were also destroyed in the blast, TV reports said citing the Inter Services Public Relations.

Islamabad, August 18: Pakistani security forces have scored a significant success in their drive against the Taliban by apprehending two close aides of militant commander Baitullah Mehsud, weeks after the feared warlord was reportedly killed in a US missile strike, officials said today. The top spokesman of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Maulvi Omar, for whom the government had offered a reward of Rs 10 million, was captured with his accomplices Wahid Gul and Hameedullah in the Mohmand tribal region bordering Afghanistan last night.

Islamabad, August 18: Intelligence officials say security forces are holding the Pakistani Taliban’s top spokesman after capturing him near the Afghan border.

The three officials said Tuesday that Maulvi Omar was seized from a village in the Mohmand tribal region Monday night as he was traveling in a car with two of his associates.

They said local tribal elders assisted troops in locating Omar, who became prominent in recent years as spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, calling journalists to claim responsibility for dozens of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

Islamabad, August 17: At least 12 people were killed in a car bomb attack at a petrol station in northwest Pakistan, TV reports said Monday.

The bomb was placed in a pick-up truck parked at a petrol pump in Shabqadar town, some 30 km from Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed deep sorrow over the attak. He said the government would not be deterred by such acts and vowed to fight the militants till they are eliminated.

Islamabad, August 17: At least seven people have been killed and eight more injured as a car bomb explosion ripped through a petrol station in northwest Pakistan.

The blast took place on Monday, when a pickup truck carrying passengers pulled into a filling station in Charsadda town, about 30 km (18 miles) northeast of Peshawar, the capital of the restive North West Frontier Province.

“Seven civilians, including two women and three children, were killed on the spot while eight others were wounded,” local police chief Mohammad Riaz Khan told AFP.

Karachi, August 17: The leader of a banned Sunni Muslim militant party in Pakistan was shot dead on Monday in an apparent sectarian attack, police and party officials said.

Hundreds of Pakistanis have been killed in recent years in violence between militants from the Sunni Muslim majority and their minority Shia Muslim rivals.

The killings, especially of faction leaders, raise fears of revenge attacks triggering cycles of violence.

Islamabad, August 16: A song inspired by ‘Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan’, a hit number from a 1954 Bollywood film, has become the theme tune for a leading Pakistani news channel and is being played every hour to lament the ills plaguing the country.

An “adaptation” of the title song from the late I S Johar’s film ‘Nastik’ was Geo News channel’s ‘Independence Day Special’ and it has decided to air it every hour today as well due to the people’s favourable reaction to it.

Islamabad, August 16: Pakistani troops on Sunday found bodies of at least 18 suspected militants in the scenic Swat valley, where the army is wrapping up a three-month offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

The corpses were discovered the same day that US President Barack Obama’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, was scheduled to visit Mingora, main town of the district.

Holbrooke’s trip was postponed Sunday morning because of heavy rains in the region, located 140 kilometers from the capital city, Islamabad.

Islamabad, August 16: US special envoy Richard Holbrooke will Sunday hold talks with Pakistani leaders on the security situation in the northwest and tribal regions as elections loom in neighbouring Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama’s top troubleshooter for the Muslim neighbours arrived late Saturday on his second visit in less than a month, as the White House puts Pakistan at the heart of its fight against Islamist extremists.

Islmabad, August 15: Pakistan government on Friday (August 14) said it was close to collecting material evidence about the death of Tehrik-e-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and will present it before the nation soon.

The Pakistani Taliban chief was reportedly killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan earlier this month, but the terrorist group has maintained that he is alive.

The government is close to collecting material evidence of Mehsud’s death, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.

Islamabad, August 15: Pakistan government has said it was close to collecting material evidence about the death of Tehrik-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and will present it before the nation soon.

The Pakistani Taliban chief was reportedly killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan earlier this month, but the terrorist group has maintained that he is alive.

The government is close to collecting material evidence of Mehsud’s death, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday.

Islamabad, August 15: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari unveiled political reforms in the country’s tribal belt Friday in a bid to extricate the lawless region from the grip of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Pakistan’s seven federally administered tribal areas (FATA) have become a stronghold for hundreds of extremists who fled after the US-led invasion toppled the hardline Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan in late 2001.

Islamabad, August 15: Three security personnel were killed and five others injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed vehicle into a check post in northwestern Pakistan, TV reports said Saturday.

The incident took place in the Khawazakhela area of Swat.

This is the first suicide attack in Swat since Pakistani security forces launched an operation against the Taliban in April.

–IANS