Taliban Suicide Bomber Attacks Ashura Procession in Pakistan, Kills 23

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

A suicide attack targeted an Ashura procession in Pakistan overnight, killing 23 people and wounding 62 others, including eight children, as Muslim leaders gathered for a rare summit in Islamabad.

Police in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital said the bomber blew himself up when he was stopped for a security check as Muslim faithful commemorated the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad’s (as) grandson Imam Hussein (as) during the holy month of Muharram.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, another explosion that killed two people near a mosque in Karachi, and attacks targeting security forces in the northwest.

Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP that “we carried out the attacks (on Wednesday) in Rawalpindi and Karachi because the Shiite community is engaged in defiling the Prophet.”

Pakistan is hosting a summit which includes Egypt, Iran and Turkey Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria.

The summit is aimed at strengthening “Pakistan’s international standing and helping remove misconceptions (about the country) created in a section of international media", according to a Pakistani government statement.

India has asked Pakistan to increase security at its embassy

Source : www.pakistannews.net

India has asked Pakistan to increase security at its embassy, following fear of demonstrations or possible retaliation after the execution of Pakistani militant Ajmal Kasab, who was the sole survivor of the terror squad responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

"We did ask for precautionary measures in terms of protecting our diplomats in Pakistan. We sent a missive to that effect," The Dawn quoted Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, as saying.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that the demand had been made as "there was a need for extra security".

The move follows the Pakistani Taliban's threat on Thursday to attack Indian targets to avenge the country's execution of Kasab.

"We have decided to target Indians to avenge the killing of Ajmal Kasab," said Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.

Kasab, who hailed from Pakistan's Faridkot village, was hanged at a jail in Pune's Yerwada jail early on Wednesday, after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his appeal for mercy.

Kasab was sentenced to death in May 2010 after he was found guilty of a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts.

He appealed in the Supreme Court claiming he did not receive a fair trial, but his petition was struck down in August.

During the 2008 attacks, heavily armed gunmen stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station. (ANI)

Pakistani PM opens defence exhibition, vows to resist terrorists

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minster Raja Pervez Ashraf Wednesday opened an international defence exhibition in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, in which a total of 135 foreign and 74 Pakistani firms are displaying their defence equipment and machinery, local media reported.

Nearly 80 foreign delegations, including 24 high level ones, headed either by their respective defence ministers, secretaries or service chiefs, are also attending the five-day International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2012), organizers said.

Inaugurating the exhibition, the prime minister said that Pakistan is confronted with numerous challenges ranging from terrorism and extremism to social problems. "The terrorists will not be allowed to enforce their agenda," he said. He stressed the need to eliminate root causes of terrorism to ensure durable global peace.

About the Pakistan-China relationship, the Prime Minister said that both countries enjoy enduring relations. He said that there is also progress in Pakistan's relations with Russia. Pakistan is also strengthening cooperation with Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey. He said Pakistan supports peace process in Afghanistan.

Referring to Pakistan-India relations, Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf said that two countries are moving in a right direction through dialogue. He described Pak-Iran gas pipeline as the path to development. However, he said, establishment of peace was vital for it.

The Prime Minister said Asia is becoming a centre of economic activity and Pakistan will greatly contribute in this regard. He said efforts are underway to strengthen national economy. In this regard, tax net is being expanded to generate revenue for the development of the country.

Earlier, Minister for Defence Production Sardar Bahadur in his welcome address expressed the hope that the defence products manufactured in Pakistan would greatly cater for the defensive and military requirements of the needy buyers and countries.

Some of the major indigenously developed products are also showcased in the IDEAS 2012 including Battle Tank Al-Khalid, JF-17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft, Jet Trainer Aircraft and UAVs.

Separate country pavilions have been reserved for Turkey and China. Adequate space has also been made available to accommodate defence companies from North America, South America and Asia.

The exhibition opens for officially invited delegations comprising senior officials of foreign countries and trade visitors from abroad as well as from the country.

An organizer, Brigadier Mazhar Mumtaz, said that potential buyers included countries from Far East, Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.

"Pakistan's markets are the countries that are not war intensified as Central Asia, South Asia and Africa," he told a news conference ahead of the conference.

Decision makers from foreign countries are provided with a chance to meet local exhibitors and manufacturers that may further open opportunities for outsourcing as well as joint ventures.

Several high level meetings have also been planned on the sidelines of IDEAS 2012 that would promote potential of Pakistan Defence Industry on the intentional horizons.

The conference includes seminars with major focus on "Security Outlook 2025 - Future Security Trend and Challenges for Defence Industry in Mounting Technological Response".

Scholars from Pakistan, the United States, Turkey, China and other countries would make their respective presentations, organizers say.

An international defence conference is also scheduled.

Suicide attack on Pakistan base kills one

Source : Egypt Independent

suicide bomber killed at least one person when he rammed his vehicle into the gates of a military base in Pakistan's largest city on Thursday, police said, the latest in a series of audacious attacks on security forces.

Thirteen people were wounded in the explosion but the attacker was unable to penetrate into the headquarters of the Rangers paramilitary base in the port city of Karachi.

"It is a heavy blast near the Rangers office, with some casualties," said senior police official Javed Odho.

He told Pakistani television the bomber had used more than 100 kg of explosives in the attack. Karachi is Pakistan's financial hub and is home to 18 million people.

The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks on military bases in Pakistan, including a 16- hour assault on Pakistan's navy base in Karachi in 2011 that killed at least 10 people and an attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi in 2009.

Some of the assaults have prompted speculation the attackers had sympathizers inside the military who gave them information about the bases.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan, an uneasy US ally, is fighting its own homegrown Taliban as well as other insurgents who cross its porous border with neighboring Afghanistan.

Karachi is home to a number of sectarian groups and fighters allied to the Taliban insurgency and is also faced with an epidemic of violent crime.

3 killed in blast in NW Pakistan

Via : Pakistan News.Net

Islamabad, Nov. 7 (Xinhua-ANI): At least three people were killed and ten others injured when a blast took place in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency on Wednesday, reported local media.

According to local Urdu TV channel Dawn, the blast took place at about noon time at a market area in Sadda, a small town in Kurram Agency which borders Afghanistan.

The injured people include a local political officer and they have all been shifted to hospital, said local media.

Other details about the blast are not immediately available.

This is the second blast reported in the country's restive northwest where a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday morning killed at least six people including three policemen and wounded over 30 others in Peshawar, the largest city in northwest Pakistan.

The target of the Peshawar blast was a local investigation department police officer who got killed together with his two police bodyguards and three others in the attack, including the suicide bomber himself.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. (Xinhua-ANI)

Pakistan’s anti-drone campaigner Imran Khan removed from US airline for interrogation

Source : RT

.. immigration authorities have taken Pakistan’s former cricket superstar-turned-politician Imran Khan off a flight to New York and interrogated. Khan is known for his anti-drone campaigning.

Khan, who is now a popular political figure in Pakistan and ahead of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI), was removed from an American Airlines flight heading from Canada to New York and interrogated. Immigration officials asked him whether he was planning to protest in the US, as well as demanding to know his views on drone strikes and jihad.

Earlier this month, the former cricket star led thousands of Pakistani protesters, together with some US anti-war advocates, on a march from Islamabad to the tribal region of South Waziristan in opposition to US drone strikes. About 15,000 of his supporters joined him in the high-profile march, which focused attention on the strikes that have killed large numbers of civilians. Islamabad recently said that 80 percent of drone-related deaths were civilians.

“I was taken off the plane and interrogated by US Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop,” Khan wrote in a tweet after being questioned on Friday. Khan had been on his way to the US to give a speech and attend a fundraiser organized by his political party, which the delay caused him to miss.

“Missed flight and sad to miss the fundraising lunch in NY but nothing will change my stance,” he tweeted.

Furthermore, Khan said the official who was questioning him did not seem to understand drone warfare himself. He also expressed confusion over why he was granted a visa to visit the US given if his stance on drones was a problem.

Khan heads a political party that was founded in 1996 and ignored for years. The PTI was called “Pakistan’s one-man party” by the US Department of State. Today, it is rapidly growing, with electable officials joining. The Pakistani leader believes the War on Terror “has been devastating for Pakistan,” he said in an interview with Julian Assange in June.

“Basically, our army was killing our own people,” he said.

He is an avid opponent to US presence on Pakistani soil – even when it came down to the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011. The US mission to kill the former terrorist leader in Pakistan shows that “our ally did not trust us,” the politician said.

Rather than employ Pakistan as “a hired gun, being paid to kill America’s enemies,” Khan believes the US should trust that there will not be terrorism coming out of Pakistan.

Several Canadian commentators have suggested that groups protesting Khan’s entrance to the US may have influenced Immigration to pull him off the flight. The American Islamic Leadership Coalition last week requested that Hilary Clinton attempt to revoke his visa due to what they believe are sympathetic views towards the Taliban.

“The US Embassy made a significant error in granting this Islamist leader a visa,” the group said in a statement reported by the Sun. “Granting individuals like Khan access to the US to fundraise is against the interest of the people of Pakistan and the national security interests of the US.”

Ali Zaidi, a senior PTI party leader, demanded an apology from the US government for removing Khan from the plane. So far, no apologies have been made, and Immigration officials have only restated their policies.

“Our dual mission is to facilitate travel in the United States while we secure our borders, our people, and our visitors from those that would do us harm like terrorists and terrorist weapons, criminals, and contraband,” Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Joanne Ferreira told the Toronto Sun.

Belgian al Qaeda recruiter reportedly killed in Pakistan

Source : The Express Tribun

ISLAMABAD: A Belgian-Tunisian al Qaeda recruiter who allegedly mentored an extremist who shot dead seven people in France this year has been killed in Pakistan, according to the US monitoring service SITE.

SITE said a post on an extremist web forum on Monday announced the death of Moez Garsalloui, who had claimed responsibility for one of the attacks carried out by Mohamed Merah in the southern French city of Toulouse in March.

Garsalloui was a recruiter and propagandist formerly based in Belgium and Switzerland, SITE said, who remained focused on signing up militants to attack targets in Europe even after moving to the battlefields and training camps of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The post announcing Garsalloui’s death said he was killed in a “raid”, SITE said without elaborating, having previously escaped bombings in Miranshah.

No details of the raid were given but the website announcement appeared a few days after two US drone strikes in North Waziristan killed 23 people, according to Pakistani security sources.

The death notice named Garsalloui as the leader of “Jund al Khilafah”, or Army of the Caliph, a militant unit that claimed responsibility for Merah’s attack outside a Jewish school on March 19.

A forum post from one of Garsalloui’s accounts in April described meeting Merah in Pakistan and mentoring him, SITE said, helping him as he struggled to make himself understood to other fighters in Arabic.

Garasalloui and his wife, Belgian-Moroccan jihadist Malika el Aroud, were convicted by a Swiss court in June 2007 for running websites that supported terrorism.

He was jailed for three weeks and then moved to Belgium, where he and his wife were accused of recruiting militants to fight in Afghanistan.

He left Europe in late 2007 and was later identified as a link between al Qaeda leaders and a Belgian network that was disrupted by raids in December 2008, accused of planning an imminent attack.

Gunmen kill four in Pakistan's southwest

Sources : thetelegraph.com.au

GUNMEN have shot dead four Shi'ite Muslims, in a fresh sectarian attack in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan.

All those killed on Tuesday ran junk and scrap shops in Kabari Market in Quetta, the provincial capital where sectarian and separatist violence is common.

"It was a sectarian attack. Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on them and drove away," Asif Ghafoor, a senior police official, told AFP.

The province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is plagued by sectarian violence between the minority Shi'ite and majority Sunni community, as well as by Taliban attacks and a separatist insurgency.

Riasat Ali, another police official confirmed the incident and told AFP that the victims were critically injured and died on their way to hospital.

Sectarian violence involving Sunni and Shi'ites, who account for around 20 per cent of the population, has killed thousands of people since the late 1990s.

Violence claims 10 lives in Karachi, Pakistan

Source : Xinhua English.news

Violence claims 10 lives in Karachi, Pakistan

English.news.cn 2012-10-15 23:08:18

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) --At least 10 people were killed and several others injured in separate incidents of violence in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Monday, police said.

Some unknown gunmen opened fire at a shop in Abul Hasan Isphahani Road of the city in the evening, killing four people right on the spot.

Spokesman for the religious group Ahl-e-Sunnat said all the four dead were their party workers.

Police termed the incident as a target killing.

In the afternoon, four people were injured when two unknown militants riding a motorbike hurled a cracker at a spare parts shop near Napier Police Station Karachi. The miscreants fled from the scene after the attack.

In North Nazimabad area, two people were killed by unknown gunmen. Meanwhile, a police constable was shot dead in Baldia Town area, bringing the police death toll to 67 during the current year in Karachi.

In the morning, a middle-aged man was gunned down by unknown armed assailants in North Karachi Sector 5. Police later said that the killed man was an activist of a political party.

Another man was killed in a similar incident of firing by unknown gunmen in Landhi area.

In Dalmia area, a suspected extortionist was killed during exchange of fire with police.

An additional number of police and rangers has been reportedly deployed in the city to maintain law and order, however, the police has failed to apprehend any of the killers yet.

The incidents of target killing notably increased in Karachi over the last two years, during the first nine months of the current year, an estimated 1,725 people including 227 political activists were murdered in targeted killings, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said.

15 killed in suicide car bomb blast in NW Pakistan

Source : Xinhua  English.news.cn

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed and 17 others injured when a suicide car bomb blast ripped through a market in Pakistan's northwest town of Dera Adamkhel on Saturday morning, reported local media Express.

While some local media said that it was a car bomb blast, local Urdu TV channel Express and two other channels quoted unidentified sources as saying that it was a suicide car bomb blast.

There is no official confirmation about the nature of the blast yet.

According to local media reports, the blast took place at about 10:40 a.m. local time near a local pro-government militiamen's office at a market in Dera Adamkhel, a small town lying some 30 kilometers south of Peshawar, the largest city in northwest Pakistan.

At least 20 shops and eight vehicles were reportedly destroyed in the huge blast.

Police and rescue team rushed to the site shortly after the blast was reported.

All the injured have been shifted to hospitals in the neighbouring cities of Peshawar and Kohat.

At least ten injured people have been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, according to local media reports. Hospital sources in Peshawar said that some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll may further rise.

Political administrator of Dera Adamkhel told local media that the target was a local pro- government peace militiamen.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari issued a statement and strongly condemned the bomb attack.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

10 dead in Pakistani market blast

Source : Voice of Russia

A car bomb on Saturday killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 others at a crowded market in a northwestern Pakistani tribal town, officials said.

The bombing ripped through the main market in Darra Adam Khel, near to a local anti-insurgent peace committee office, the officials added.

Second Drone Strike in Two Days

Sources : Newsweek Pakistan

U.S. drone attack on Thursday killed 18 insurgents—mostly Afghans—at a militant compound in Pakistan’s tribal region near the northwestern border with Afghanistan, officials said.

It was the second U.S. missile strike reported in as many days in the northwest, considered a stronghold of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The attack was the deadliest since a similar strike in August last year killed 21 Taliban fighters in the restive tribal region. The attack comes as Pakistan is in shock over the Taliban’s attempted assassination of a 14-year-old child rights activist.

“U.S. drones fired four missiles on a militant compound and initial reports say 11 militants have died,” local administration chief Khushal Khan told AFP in Orakzai district. He said most of the dead were Afghans. His deputy Rafiq Mohmand later put the toll at 18 dead. “Several militants were wounded who died later and the new death toll is 18,” Mohmand told AFP. A security official confirmed the attack and the death toll.

The compound was located in the Baland Khel area on the border between Orakzai and North Waziristan, a Pakistani intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Militants had sealed off the flattened building and were recovering bodies, he said.

The building belonged to Maulvi Shakirullah, a commander in the forces of Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Bahadur is an ally of the Al Qaeda- linked Haqqani network blamed by the Americans for a string of high-profile attacks in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday a U.S. drone strike targeting another compound in North Waziristan killed five fighters, according to Pakistani officials. The covert U.S. attacks are unpopular in Pakistan, where the government calls them a violation of sovereignty, but American officials believe they are vital weapons against Islamist militants.

Last week, cricket legend turned politician Imran Khan led thousands of supporters in a motorcade from the capital Islamabad to the edge of the tribal belt to protest against the U.S. strikes. Human rights activists have said Tuesday’s shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai in the former Taliban stronghold of the Swat valley should be a wake-up call to those who advocate appeasement or peace with the Taliban.

Islamabad Formally Protests at US Drone Attacks

Fars News Agency 

Islamabad Formally Protests at US Drone Attacks TEHRAN (FNA)- The Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that it has sent a note of protest to the US Embassy over Washington's continued drone attacks on the Muslim country's soil.

The protest was lodged with the US Embassy in Islamabad on Thursday, following two recent US drone strikes in the country's Northwestern tribal regions.

"A protest has been lodged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the US Embassy in Islamabad against drone strikes inside Pakistani territory on 10 and 11 October, 2012," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The embassy was informed that the "unacceptable" drone strikes are not only a violation of international law, but also a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

On Thursday, a US drone fired four missiles in the northwestern tribal area, killing at least 16 people.

A US drone strike on Wednesday, also killed five people in North Waziristan.

It was the first drone strike since demonstrators marched to the border of Pakistan's tribal region over the weekend to protest the attacks. Activists from the United States and Britain participated in the march, which was led by the cricket star turned politician Imran Khan.

The protest march against US drone strikes in Pakistan came to a halt on Sunday when authorities used steel shipping containers and security forces to block access to the demonstration's final destination in the tribal region.

When confronted with the roadblock, Khan directed protesters to turn back, saying the march had achieved its goal of drawing attention to the controversial US drone strikes.

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the US has launched more than 300 drone strikes in Pakistan in the last eight years, killing more than 2,500 people in North Waziristan alone.

Some estimates say a large number of those were civilians, including children.

Pakistan - Newsfeed Oct. 11. 2012

US missiles kill 10 militants in NW Pakistan

Source : yahoo.com

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) — U.S. drones fired four missiles at a compound of a Pakistani militant commander in a northwestern tribal region on Thursday, killing 10 militants, while a pair of bombings in another part of the country killed 10 civilians and three security personnel, officials said.

A government administrator in Orakzai region, Salim Khan, said 15 insurgents were also wounded in the drone attack near Biland village bordering the North Waziristan tribal region. Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the dead and wounded men were fighters loyal to militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is based in North Waziristan.

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Shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl activist triggers mass protests

Source : Strategic Culture Foundation

Protests swept Pakistan following the shooting of a 14-year-old schoolgirl by the Taliban. Schools closed their doors across the country in solidarity with the teenager, shot for advocating education for girls and criticizing the terrorist group.

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Pakistani schoolgirl shot by Taliban moved to army HQ hospital

Source : yahoo.com

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani schoolgirl fighting for her life after being shot by Taliban gunmen was transferred on Thursday from a hospital in a province that is a militant haven to a specialist hospital in the army garrison town of Rawalpindi.

Newsfeed - Pakistan Oct. 10. 2012

Pakistani doctors work through the night to save girl shot by Taliban | Egypt Independent

The Daily Star - Mobile Edition :: News :: International :: U.S. drone strike kills five 'militants' in Pakistan

U.S. drone strike kills five 'militants' in Pakistan

Source: The Daily Star - Mobile

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Oct 10, 2012 (AFP) - A US drone strike targeting a militant compound killed five insurgents in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Wednesday, security officials said. The attack was the first since a massive anti- drone rally last weekend near the lawless region known as a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, they said. "Several US drones flew into the area before dawn and fired four missiles on a compound, killing five militants," a security official told AFP after the strike in Hurmuz area, east of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal region. Another security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the attack and casualties. The identities of those killed in the strike was not immediately clear. The Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington.

The attacks by unmanned US aircraft remain contentious -- they are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but American officials are said to believe they are too important to give up.

Imran Khan, Pakistan's cricket hero turned politician, led thousands of supporters on a long drive from the capital Islamabad to the edge of the nearby tribal district of South Waziristan in a two-day protest against US drone strikes.

The rally was the first from a mainstream politician to the tribal belt described by US officials as one of the most dangerous place on Earth.

Khan defied official warnings and led emotional supporters and dozens of Western peace activists to Tank, the last town before the semi- autonomous area.

The march passed through Tank but turned back before reaching the border with South Waziristan.

Khan insisted the march -- a motorcade that included several thousand vehicles -- was a success.

"We have given our message -- it has gone across the world," he told supporters.

"We have succeeded in raising this issue. We came here to raise this issue, we came here to take a stand against drones."

"We had already made our point to the international media. Globally our message was conveyed, so we should not go ahead and put lives at risk."

Islamist militants have killed thousands of people in Pakistan since 2007, and US officials say the drone strikes are a key weapon in the war on terror.

But peace campaigners condemn them as a breach of international law. Pakistanis call them a violation of sovereignty that breeds extremism, and politicians including Khan say the government is complicit in killing its own people.

Casualty figures are difficult to obtain, but a report commissioned by legal lobby group Reprieve estimated last month that 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012.

Pakistan - Newsfeed Oct. 8. 2012

Imran Khan happy with Waziristan peace march – The Express Tribune

ISLAMABAD:

PTI chairman says turning back from the Waziristan border was not a failure. PHOTO: REUTERS

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan expressed content over his party’s peace rally which tried to march into Waziristan to protest against US drone strikes.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Khan said that turning back from the Waziristan border was not a failure as he himself did not want the participants to be in the area at night.

“Fear was instilled among the participants. First it was said that there will be six suicide blasts, then the number was raised to nine. There were even rumours that the drinking water in Waziristan has been poisoned,” Khan laughed and said that if any unfortunate incident had happened during the rally, then it would have given a worse impression of Pakistan tribal areas.

Thanking all rally participants, his party workers, journalists and the tribal people, Khan said that this was the first time anyone had gone to the tribal areas to ask about the people. “All the parties which criticised me, I want to ask their leaders to at least go to DI Khan and see in what conditions the people are living there. Ask how they are alive.”

Khan also narrated the story of a drone attack victim whose son was killed in a strike and his family was injured. A friend of the boy who was killed, who was studying electrical engineering at Khan’s Namal University, went to Ghaznavi and carried out a suicide blast against the US, Khan added telling how drones end up making more terrorists.

Newsfeed - Pakistan TopNews Oct. 8. 2012

Pakistan rejects Karzai's assertion as misplaced, baseless Source: Xinhua | English.news.cn ISLAMABAD, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Monday rejected comments reportedly made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai about conditions for a proposed Strategic Partnership agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan as "entirely misplaced and without any basis." It was reported that Karzai said in Kabul last week that conditions would be attached to negotiations on a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Pakistan. Listing conditions, Karzai said at a press conference that neighbors must stop the export of terrorism, suicide bombers, interference and all the other things which result in killing and disturbing the Afghan people's tranquility and destabilizing Afghanistan. "Once we are assured that Pakistan with which we want to have a friendly relationship meets these conditions - eliminates terrorism and extremism and stops the training and export of insurgency to Afghanistan - Afghanistan will be ready to work on this," the Afghan president said. Commenting on Karzai's assertions, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman clarified that Pakistan desires to promote good relations with Afghanistan on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest. "In this regard comments reportedly made by President Karzai and certain other quarters in Afghanistan are entirely misplaced and without any basis." The spokesman further clarified that the proposed Strategic Partnership Agreement was suggested by President Karzai during a trilateral summit between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain in New York last week. Referring to allegations against Pakistan, the spokesman said that Pakistan has invested heavily to promote stability in Afghanistan. The spokesman underscored that Pakistan would like to have a mature and responsible dialogue with Afghanistan. However, diplomacy through the media needed to be avoided. -------------------------------------------

Imran Khan leads anti-drone march in Pakistan

Source: Islamic Invitation

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis, along with dozens of international peace activists, are holding a peace march to protest against US assassination drone strikes on Pakistan’s tribal areas, Press TV reports.

Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan is leading the convoy of hundreds of vehicles that started the 440-kilometer journey from Islamabad on Saturday and is scheduled to reach South Waziristan on Sunday.

Thousands of people lined the road to greet Khan, who is the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice or PTI), and his supporters.

US peace activist Tighe Barr told Press TV, “It is time for the United States to end the mass murder that is taking place in Pakistan’s tribal areas” and end the CIA drone strikes there. “They are killing women and children. This is wrong, and this is a war crime.”

“I condemn the hypocrisy of the government, that tried their best to make this march fail,” Khan told the crowd at a brief stopover on the outskirts of Mianwali in northern Pakistan

“They are saying that the Taliban have sent nine suicide attackers. If (President Asif Ali) Zardari sends even a 100 suicide attackers, this march will not stop,” Khan added.

A survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Global Attitudes Project in June showed that former cricket star Khan was the most popular politician in the country.

Khan’s stance on Washington’s war on terror, which he calls a war of terror, his opposition to the US drone attacks in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region, and his struggle for the rule of law, justice, equality, and the eradication of corruption, have endeared him to the Pakistanis.

They are saying that the Taliban have sent nine suicide attackers. If (President Asif Ali) Zardari sends even a 100 suicide attackers, this march will not stop,” Khan added.

A survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Global Attitudes Project in June showed that former cricket star Khan was the most popular politician in the country.

Khan’s stance on Washington’s war on terror, which he calls a war of terror, his opposition to the US drone attacks in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region, and his struggle for the rule of law, justice, equality, and the eradication of corruption, have endeared him to the Pakistanis.

International peace activists have condemned the drone strikes as a violation of international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty say the policy is breeding extremism and terrorism in the country’s tribal belt.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants crossing the border with Afghanistan, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

Last month, a report by the Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law gave an alarming account of the effect that assassination drone strikes have on ordinary people in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The report noted, “The number of ‘high- level’ targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is extremely low — estimated at just 2%.”

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1 killed, 11 others injured in blast in SW Pakistan

Source: Xinhua English.news.cn

English.news.cn 2012-10-08 15:49:51

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least one was killed and 11 others including three cops were injured when a roadside planted bomb hit Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta on Monday, sources in Quetta told Xinhua.

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Pakistan’s Military Moves Against Anti-Drone Rally

News From Antiwar.com

The Pakistani military has moved against the Pakistani Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) march today in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwah Province, preventing them from entering the South Waziristan Agency as they had initially planned.

A PTI official familiar with the incident says party leader Imran Khan was briefly detained by the military, and that the troops had threatened to fire on any demonstrators who tried to cross into South Waziristan.

Instead, the convoy changed its course, ending up in the city of Tank for their final speeches condemning the ongoing US drone strikes against Pakistan’s tribal areas, promising to continue to speak out against the attacks.

The Pakistani government had initially tried to scare the rally away from South Waziristan by claiming there were going to be terrorist attacks, but when they refused to stop the march the military just claimed they didn’t have legal permission to enter the tribal areas.

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U.S. embassy issues emergency alert for nationals in Pakistan

Via: Strategic-Culture.org - Strategic Culture Foundation

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on Sunday issued a threat alert for its nationals in Pakistan, especially in the Pakistani capital, asking them to keep a low profile.

The embassy drew attention of American nationals that Pakistani Ministry of Interior issued a general threat alert on possible terrorist attacks in Islamabad on Sunday, which will be against key government installations in the downtown area of Islamabad known as the "Red Zone" and the five-star and several other hotels in Islamabad.

"The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad advises all U.S. citizens to avoid these areas, remain vigilant, keep a low profile, and continue to exercise caution while in Pakistan," the message posted on the U.S. embassy website said.

The U.S. citizens traveling or living in Pakistan were also asked to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

It was the second alert message issued to the Americans in Pakistan in a month. U.S. citizens were warned of possible attacks during protests against the anti-Islam movie made in the United States.

Pakistan - Newsfeed Oct. 7. 2012 / 7/365

Firing at political gathering kills 6, injures 10 in southern Pakistan

Via:  Xinhua | English.news.cn

Firing at political gathering kills 6, injures 10 in southern Pakistan

English.news.cn 2012-10-08 02:23:00

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and ten others injured when two riva groups fired at each other on a political gathering in Pakistan's southern district of Khairpur on Sunday night, reported local media quoting police and eyewitnesses.

Local Urdu TV channel Geo quoted police and eyewitnesses as saying that the firing took place

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Pakistan forces halt anti-US drone march to S. Waziristan
Source: RT

Media reports suggest the march failed to enter South Waziristan on Sunday as Pakistani security forces Sunday stopped thousands of anti-US drone strikes marchers over security concerns.

After consultations with the organizers, army officials convinced them to drop the plan in view of the security situation in the area.

The marchers returned to Tank, a major city near South Waziristan, where the organizer of the rally, former cricket superstar-turned- politician Imran Khan, addressed the ten thousand-strong rally.

"The drones are inhumane," Khan said, surrounded by thousands of protesters.

"We want to give a message to America that the more you carry out drone attacks, the more people will hate you.”

About 30 Americans traveled to Pakistan to take part in the protest and apologize for the strikes to men and women who had been maimed or lost family members.

"We have to put pressure on the United States government," said Billy Kelly, a 69-year-old Vietnam veteran from New York. Earlier, a group of US and British anti-war activists have already marched through the Pakistani capital Islamabad in protest against US drone strikes in the northwest territory.

They chanted “Stop, stop drone attacks!" and sang "We are marching to Waziristan." One placard read "Drones fly, Children die."

The group then boarded around 150 cars and the motorcade proceeded through the route, stopping in major urban centers to rally more supporters.

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US embassy in Pakistan issues terror alert

The US embassy in Pakistan has warned Americans in Islamabad to keep central part of the city due to possible terrorist attacks. There is a protest Pakistan against the US use of drones in attacks on Taliban targets. The ra however denounced the protest, saying that its organizer Imran Khan is a “slave of the West.”

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Pakistan’s Anti-Drone Peace March Begins as Taliban, Govt Both Threaten It

News From Antiwar.com

The first day of the Pakistani Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) protest march against US drone strikes has come to an end in Dera Ismail Khan, a key city on the road to the tribal area. They plan to leave for South Waziristan Agency in the morning.

Pakistan - Newsfeed / Oct.6.2012

Pakistan protests against US drones

Thousands of Pakistanis led by the local cricket star Imran Khan drove from Islamabad to South Waziristan as a protest against US drone strikes in the country.

The convoy of 150 vehicles drove to South Waziristan which is often stricken by US drones targeting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Activists are unhappy with the strikes as they often kill civilians which, they think, only benefits the insurgents.

RIA

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Pakistan should stop terrorists crossing to Afghanistan: Karzai

via The Express Tribune

[ KABUL: Afghan president says we want strategic pact with Pakistan but we want some conditions and preconditions. PHOTO: AFP/FILE Addressing the possibility of signing a strategic pact with Pakistan, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan “should stop terrorists, suicide bombers crossing to Afghanistan.” ]

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Russia backs Pakistan’s position on drone strikes

Via The Express Tribune

[ ISLAMABAD: Calling drone attacks a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia backs Pakistan’s position on this matter ]

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Afghan, NATO-led forces capture 2 Taliban leaders, kill dozens in 2 days   
Via Xinhua  English.news.cn

By Abdul Haleem, Chen Xin

[ KABUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan and NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces have captured two Taliban local leaders and eliminated dozens others over the past two days across the country, the alliance said in a statement released here Friday. ]

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Massive Rally Against US Drone Strikes to Be Held in Pakistan

News From Antiwar.com

[ A convoy of Pakistanis and foreign supporters (including a handful of Americans) are in the capital city of Islamabad tonight preparing for the start of tomorrow’s major march into the South Waziristan Agency. ]

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http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/05/us-warns-americans-not-to-attend-pakistans-anti-drone-rally/

[ US diplomats have been holding secret meetings with members of the anti-war group Code Pink, warning them against attending a rally in Pakistan’s South Waziristan Agency which aims to protest ongoing US drone strikes against the region. ]

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Via The Daily Star - Mobile Edition :: News :: Middle East :: Haqqani tie to Afghan insider attacks possible: U.S.

[ KABUL: The Haqqani insurgent network, based in Pakistan and with ties to Al-Qaeda, is suspected of being a driving force behind a significant number of the "insider" attacks by Afghan forces that have killed or wounded more than 130 U.S. and allied troops this year, American officials say. ]