PESHAWAR: Fighting for the control of what appears to be the last stronghold of Pakistani militants in Tirah Valley has been intense as the military claims to have cleared two-thirds of what could be the last leg of the large-scale operation across the seven tribal regions. The valley with dense forests and dominating mountain features, stretching over roughly 1500 square kilometres, has been serving as the last redoubt to many of the Pakistani militant groups…
Posts published in March 2015
MIRPUR – Without uttering a single word about the freedom of Held Kashmir on the soil of AJK, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday announced to make ‘Naya Azad Kashmir’ simultaneously with his party’s proposed broad-based programme of turning the country into a ‘Naya Pakistan’. He was addressing an election rally here for his party’s candidate Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry who is contesting by-election in Mirpur city, LA-III, constituency, being held on March 29. The rally…
Shooting down the views of his own party members and other political leaders, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has opted to move ahead with the setting up of a judicial commission to probe allegations of rigging in the 2013 general election. These allegations have lingered now for a period approaching two years. An agreement between the PML-N and the PTI to set up a commission was reached on March 20. The prime minister has now announced…
In his write-up in a national English daily titled \”Zardari is having difficulty reading new GHQ\”, a renowned analyst pointed out that Asif Ali Zardari wanted to have some bargaining, but failed. He wrote: \”Some other ex-generals had baggage, but General Raheel is a free agent (free agent is a person who does not have any constraints that restrict his actions). Some other ex-generals were on extension; General Raheel Sharif has to honor the two…
LAHORE: Unidentified armed men fired on police personnel deputed outside a church in Township creating panic in the vicinity on Tuesday. The policemen survived the attack while two passers-by suffered bullet injuries and were stated to be stable at hospital. The incident took place a few weeks after suicide blasts carried out at two churches in Youhanabad. The Tuesday’s ‘armed attack’ outside Saint Peter’s Church at Girja Chowk of Township alarmed the police authorities who…
QUETTA: Six militants were killed in an operation in the Awaran district while eight militants surrendered to the Frontier Corps, Balochistan, in the Mawand area of Kohlu district on Tuesday. Sources said six terrorists were killed, several others were injured and a security personnel embraced martyrdom in an operation in the Mashkay area of Awaran district. The FC launched a search operation in the Mashkay area of Awaran district against the militants. “The militants opened…
BARA: Fifteen militants were killed and several others sustained injuries in air strikes by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter aircraft in various areas of Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Tuesday, official sources said. The sources said the fighter aircraft and helicopters bombed the sanctuaries of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Wacha Wona, Surkas, Seekhkot and other mountainous areas in the Kukikhel tribal territory. They said five foreigners, including Uzbeks and…
The writer is Project Director of Peace and Development Unit at the Planning Commission. A military operation is underway. The militants are living through their last hour, we are told. And yet, the mind wonders why they would target Christians? A minority, already persecuted, doesn’t have much to do with any operation against the TTP. The militant group’s various factions are quick to accept responsibility but nobody questions these claims, with no serious investigations undertaken,…
The writer is an editor at the The Friday Times. Currently, The dual suicide attacks on Lahore’s Christian churches last Sunday were a continuation of evidently unstoppable violence against the country’s minorities. A gruesome lynching and burning of two Muslim men by a charged mob followed the attack. Christian protestors, sidelined and neglected by the state, attacked Metro Bus stations, blocked major roads and also impeded VIP movements. They were baton-charged and after two days…
The attack on the Bohra community mosque is a stark reminder of the cost we have to pay for the struggle against extremism. The fact that a counter-attack was expected is no consolation to the grieving relatives of the victims, nor should it be presented as such. The state should be doing all it can to mitigate the fallout of their actions, especially since the militants have clearly displayed their mode of reprisal; attacks on…
Perception is everything: by Ayaz Fakir in Daily Times,Mar 26, 2015
The writer is a freelance columnist The present situation in Karachi is the culmination of many, many years of misgovernance under persons elected to govern but who turned to criminal activities. Among their main pursuits were extortion, kidnapping and even murder, all backed with political muscle. So, when the Saulat Mirza televised confession appeared one was shocked, but the facts were already well known on the street. The details were not. Saulat Mirza has provided…