Pakistan frees bin Laden bodyguard

 

Pakistan said to have freed bin Laden bodyguard

Pakistan recently freed a senior al-Qaida commander who was also an Osama bin Laden bodyguard, raising concerns about the country's commitment to tackling terrorism, media reports say.
Dr. Amin al Haq was freed several weeks ago because Pakistani officials could not prove his ties to al-Qaida and because he is not in good health, according to an Afghan Islamic Press report cited by other news organizations.
Haq reportedly was detained in Lahore by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency in December 2008, seven years after escaping with bin Laden, the Daily Telegraph of London reported. Haq served as the security coordinator of Osama bin Laden's Black Guard.
ISI passed Haq, 51, to police Peshawar in northwest Pakistan before his release, a security source told the Telegraph.
"Amin al-Haq had been arrested mistakenly, therefore, the police failed to prove any charge of his association with Osama bin Laden and the court set him free," he told The Daily Telegraph.
Haq, a doctor, was a member of the Hizb-i Islami Khalis (HIK), a key mujahadeen group that helped defeat the Soviets during the 1980s, according to Mother Jones magazine. HIK also helped bring bin Laden to Afghanistan after he was ejected from Sudan in 1996. And Haq himself reportedly accompanied bin Laden in his escape from Tora Bora in 2001.

Suicide bomber in Afghanistan

Suicide bomber kills 2 in southern Afghanistan

KABUL: A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a police truck outside a bakery in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least two civilians, officials said.
The attacker apparently was waiting in the car at the gates of the police headquarters just outside a bakery where officers regularly buy bread in the morning in Lashkar Gah, the main city in Helmand province, said deputy provincial Police Chief Kamaluddin Sherzai. The bomber the slammed into a police truck that was parked at the shop, triggering the car’s explosives, he said.
Two civilians — one man and one young boy — were killed in the blast, said provincial government spokesman Daoud Ahmadi. Another 26 people were wounded, including 10 police officers and six children, he said.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack, which came hours after the Taleban released a formal statement rejecting claims that the insurgency has become splintered or that the group or any of their allies have ties to the Pakistani government.
The statement said the Taleban insurgency “is at its strongest and unified more than it has been at any other stage,” and denied that the movement has bases in Pakistan.
The claim runs contrary to US and international assertions that the Taleban retain numerous safe havens and bases in Pakistan’s tribal areas, used to stage attacks into neighboring Afghanistan.
The Taleban also reject US charges that the Haqqani network, a key affiliate, has ties to Pakistan’s intelligence service. The group says Haqqani network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani is a key member of the Taleban leadership.
The Taleban statement appeared to be an attempt to give the Pakistani government some breathing room as Islamabad comes under increasing pressure to take action against insurgents within its borders.
In the wake of three major attacks in the Afghan capital in the past two weeks, US officials have ramped up their public comments alleging the Pakistani government backs the Haqqani network, which is believed to be behind a number of attacks in and around Kabul. The Afghan government, meanwhile, has upped its protests against cross-border artillery attacks it blames on Pakistan.
On Monday, the Afghan government said that Afghan-Pakistan relations will suffer if the attacks in eastern Afghanistan continue.
A NATO forces spokesman said Monday that the Haqqani network is still very much operating out of Pakistan.
“We have no credible intelligence indicating that the Haqqani network has eliminated their operating safe havens in Pakistan,” said Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan. “They continue to plan and execute operations from across the border.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to India

Hillary heads to India after Mumbai blasts

Hillary Clinton headed to India shadow of triple bomb blasts in Mumbai, with regional security as well as growing trade links high on the agenda.

Clinton will hold "strategic dialogue" talks with leaders in New Delhi before heading south to Chennai. The country's economy opens up to foreign investment.

Her arrival in India late yesterday comes after the blasts in Mumbai last week that killed 19 people. The region's struggle to crack down on terror attacks.

By militant strikes in India that the government blames on Pakistan -based groups.

Pakistan's instability and the threat of the Taliban's re- emergence in Afghanistan.

The Asia programme at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said the latest attacks "will inevitably colour Secretary Clinton's visit."

Mumbai attack, promises support, USA

Mumbai attack, promises support, Obama condemns

US President Barack Obama saying

"India is a close friend and partner

of the United States".

India is a close friend and partner of the United States. Support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice. US president Barack Obama led a strong American condemnation of yet another terrorist attack on India's financial capital Mumbai.

In a White House statement Obama recalled "I saw firsthand the strength and resilience of the Indian people, and I have no doubt that the India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks." the triple blasts that killed more than 20 people.

"I strongly condemn the outrageous attacks in Mumbai, The US government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens," Obama said.

 "It's far too early to speculate. The Indian government will no doubt begin an investigation of the incident, and we'll wait for their results,"

The Obama statement comes even as the Ahmed Shuja Pasha, chief of Pakistan's spy agency ISI, alleged to have masterminded the last major terrorist attack on Mumbai.

 
Toner said he was not aware of any connection or warning in the attack linking it to secretary of state Hillary Clinton's scheduled visit to India next week and saw no change in her schedule. Clinton is slated to visit New Delhi and Chennai; Mumbai is not on her schedule.

There was outrage also on the Hill, where there is growing disquiet about Pakistan's reluctance to act against terrorist networks it has fostered for long.

Phone gives clues to Osama bin Laden in Pakistan

Phone gives clues to Osama bin Laden in Pakistan 

  The New York Times reported on a cell phone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency,

          The discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan, the newspaper said, citing the officials and others sources it did not identify.

 

The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.

"We cannot confirm this account," a U.S. official in Washington said when asked about the report.

In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.

India, Pakistan aim to nudge peace process forward

  India and Pakistan begin peace talks on Thursday, an important safety valve between two nuclear-armed countries which the United States hopes will help stabilise the region as it prepares to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

But after many false starts, hopes were being kept deliberately low for the two days of talks between the Indian foreign secretary, Nirupama Rao, and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir.

       ‘We have realistic expectations,’ an Indian government source said. ‘We should not expect quick and dramatic resolutions.’

       With the India-Pakistan rivalry often spilling into Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are hoping the peace process will gather pace in tandem with plans to gradually withdraw western troops ahead of a 2014 deadline.

       The president, Barack Obama, is due to announce the first of a phased withdrawal of US troops later on Wednesday.

       During the talks, the foreign secretaries will discuss Kashmir, the disputed territory which has bitterly divided India and Pakistan since independence in 1947.

       Pakistan and India, which have fought three full-scale wars since independence, two over Kashmir, resumed a formal peace process in February, broken off after the November 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants which killed 166 people.

       Any sudden crisis between the two — for example if another Mumbai-style attack triggered a military confrontation — could further destabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan.

       Given the importance of India’s growing economy, it would also send shock waves around fragile markets worldwide.

Pakistan ‘concerned’ by NATO incursion near border

          NATO aircraft attacked one of its military posts in the northwest near the Afghan border and it had expressed its serious concern to the US embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan said Friday

          The incident in the Mohmand tribal region comes after relations between the United States and its ally hit a new low following the killing of Osama bin Laden by US SEALS in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May.

          The Pakistani foreign ministry said NATO aircraft intruded around 2.5 km inside Pakistani territory and attacked a military post.

          Its statement said Pakistan had conveyed its ‘serious concern’ to the US embassy.

          ‘A joint inquiry of the incident has also been requested,’ it said, without saying when did the incident took place.

          Local officials in Mohmand said it occurred early Friday and that a few bombs were dropped but no casualties were reported.

          Relations have been seriously damaged since the killing of al-Qaeda leader that Pakistan is crucial for the United States in its efforts to stabilize war-ravaged Afghanistan

Worst Places for Women in the World.

 Worst Places for Women-

Afghanistan,The Democratic Republic of Congo,Pakistan,India,Somalia

A New Study Names Worst Places for Women –Afghanistan Ranks First

          Millions of women all over the world are still oppressed and forced to fight for their lives. Women have come a long way since they were granted suffrage and the equal rights movement began.

          Afghanistan has been named the most dangerous country for women, The country also ranked the worst in three risk categories -- non-sexual violence, health and lack of access to economic resources.

          "Ongoing conflict, NATO airstrikes and cultural practices combined make Afghanistan a very dangerous place for women," said Clementina Cantoni, a Pakistani-based aid worker with the European Commission's humanitarian aid department (ECHO).

          "Women who do attempt to speak out or take on public roles that challenge ingrained gender stereotypes, such as working as policewomen or news broadcasters, are often intimidated or killed," Cantoni said.

          Afghan women also have a one in 11 chance of dying in childbirth, according to UNICEF.

          With more than 400,000 women raped there every year.

          The Democratic Republic of Congo has been named by the United Nations as "the rape capital of the world" and the second most dangerous country for women.

          "A Statistics on this: ongoing war, use of rape as a weapon, recruitment of females as soldiers who are also used as sex slaves," Cantoni said.

          Pakistan ranked third because of the high rates of dowry murder, "honor killings" and early marriage. About 1,000 women -- young and old -- die in honor killings each year, according to the country's Human Rights Commission.

          India ranked fourth due to high levels of human trafficking involving women, while Somalia came in at number five because of increased deaths during pregnancy, rape and its controversial practice.

Suicide bombing kills 34 in Pakistan

        34 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Peshawar late Saturday, the latest attack since Osama bin Laden's killing last month.

       The bombing took place near a building that houses several newspaper offices as well as apartments. The attack occurred when a large number of people were dining in the nearby restaurants.

    

A small blast preceded a big one, which senior police official Banaras Khan said police suspected was carried out by a suicide bomber.

         "After the second blast, a fire broke out. Several charred bodies were lying on the ground while some wounded people were crawling away from the site," witness Naeem Ahmed told Reuters.

       Television footage showed twisted window frames, shards of broken glasses and fallen electricity cables strewn on roads as rescue workers were loading wounded men on stretchers into ambulances.

        Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister of the northwestern Khyber Pukhtunkhuwa (KP) province, told reporters that doctors had said the death toll was 34, "but it may rise as many wounded people are in critical condition."

Peshawar is the capital of KP, which borders Afghanistan.

Hospital officials said 100 people were wounded, 21 of them seriously. Several journalists and policemen were among the wounded.

       "As I arrived here, one of the wounded man cried 'please take me to hospital, I am alive'," another witness told Express television at the site of the attack.

        Since bin Laden was killed, militants have attacked a heavily guarded naval base in Karachi; killed nearly 100 people in twin suicide bombings at the headquarters of a paramilitary force in the northwest.

Arrest warrant against Pervez Musharraf

Permanent arrest warrant against Musharraf

                           A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has issued a permanent non-bailable arrest warrant agianst former President Pervez Musharraf for failing to cooperate with investigators probing the 2007 assassination of ex-premier  Benazir Bhutto.
                         TheFederal Investigation Agency (FIA) told Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court on Saturday that Musharraf had not appeared in court even after being issued summons and declared.

                        They asked the court to issue a permanent arrest warrant.

                       The judge issued a fresh and permanent non-bailable arrest warrant for Musharraf, currently living in self-exile outside Pakistan.

                        The prosecutors also asked the court to issue orders to confiscate Musharraf's moveable and immovable property.

                        The judge directed authorities to submit details of his assets at the next hearing and adjourned the case for two weeks.

                          The trial of five suspects, including a would-be suicide bomber, on charges of involvement in former premier Bhutto's killing has been held up for several months due to Musharraf's refusal to cooperate with investigators.

                           Investigators have alleged that Musharraf's regime had failed to provide adequate security to Bhutto after she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in 2007.

                            Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber after she had addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

 

 

kill 24 in Pakistan

Militants, bomb attacks kill 24 in Pakistan

Taliban fighters stormed a checkpoint, killing eight Pakistani soldiers in an Afghan border region that the army previously said it had cleared of insurgents, while two bomb attacks on Thursday elsewhere in the northwest killed six civilians, officials said.

The attacks showed the strength of militant groups along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan despite both the Pakistani army offensives against them and U.S. drone-fired missile strikes. After four years
of offensives, there are few signs the authorities have the upper hand.

The Taliban raid on the army checkpoint the Marabi area of South Waziristan took place late Wednesday and two intelligence officials said 10 insurgents who took part in the attack were also killed when soldiers returned fire. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with their organization's policy.

The deadliest of the two bomb attacks Thursday took place on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar in the Matani area, where several anti-Taliban militias are based.

The blast hit a passenger vehicle, killing four people, including a woman and a child, said Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali Khan. The target was not immediately clear, but on Sunday another blast in Matani killed six people.

Two other people were killed and three were wounded in a second roadside bombing against a vehicle carrying food supplies for a paramilitary camp in the Upper Dir district of Saber Killy, said
police officer Rehmat Khan.
In 2009, the army launched a major operation against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan. The army eventually declared victory in that operation but many of the insurgents fled to nearby areas,
including neighboring North Waziristan.

This week, the U.S. launched five missile strikes that have hit both tribal regions. A pair of drone-fired strikes on Wednesday killed 23 people in North Waziristan.

North Waziristan is the usual target for U.S. missiles because it is home to more groups who focus on fighting in neighboring Afghanistan and because the Pakistani military has resisted U.S. appeals to launch an offensive there. The army has preferred to pursue militant groups staging attacks on Pakistani soil.

Islamabad officially protests the missile strikes as violations of Pakistan's sovereignty, but it is widely believed to have secretly aided the program.

The May 2 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a garrison city in Pakistan's northwest, infuriated Pakistani lawmakers who saw it as another violation of their sovereignty. Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution demanding the missile strikes end, but the U.S. has ignored it.
md.nurul kader, Bangladesh.