| AlJazeera, Aug 21, 2009 |
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At least 10 people have been killed after a suspected US drone fired missiles into Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, Pakistani intelligence agency officials have said. The raid on Friday on Darpa Kheil village was the third such attack this month in Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtun tribal areas by what are believed to be CIA-operated pilotless aircraft. “The attack caused a huge explosion,” said a Reuters reporter in Miranshah, about 2km from the scene of the raid. Drones were seen flying over the area after the blast, he said. Madrassa attacked Darpa Kheil village is home to a large madrassa, or religious school, set up by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former veteran Afghan fighter commander who is also a senior Taliban leader. US drone aircraft attacked the complex in September last year, killing 23 people, most of them members of Haqqani’s family. Pakistani and US officials believe Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief, was killed in a similar strike in neighbouring South Waziristan on August 5. Pakistan, an ally of the US, which is fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the region, officially objects to US drone attacks on its soil, saying they violate its sovereignty. |
Archive for the ‘Pakistan’ Category
Deadly ‘US drone raid’ in Pakistan
August 21, 2009
Pakistan police book former President Musharraf: officials
August 12, 2009 By Agence France-Presse
Raw Story, August 11, 2009
Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and sacked about 60 judges on November 3, 2007 when the supreme court appeared poised to declare him ineligible to contest a presidential election while in military uniform.
On a plea filed by lawyer Mohammad Aslam Ghuman, Islamabad district and sessions judge Mohammad Akmal directed police to register a case against Musharraf, who is currently in Europe.
At Least 14 Killed as US Drone Strikes South Waziristan
August 12, 2009Taliban Spokesman Insists Only Civilians Were Killed
A US drone strike into the South Waziristan Agency of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) struck a house in the village of Ladda, killing at least 14 people and wounding several others. The village was near last Wednesday’s drone strike, which officials claim killed TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Pakistani officials say the house attacked today was a “militant hideout” or conversely a “training ground,” but a spokesman for an unnamed Taliban-style organization in the area insisted it was a civilian residence and only civilians were killed in the strike.
It was the first US attack in the region since last week’s strike, and the status of Baitullah Mehsud is still unknown. Pakistani and US officials insist they are certain he was killed, but they also claimed to be certain Hakimullah Mehsud, one of his aides, was killed in a battle days later. Hakimullah has since emerged to insisted that neither he nor Baitullah is actually dead.
TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar says that Baitullah is being held at an undisclosed relative’s house and that he is ill. Baitullah has diabetes and has sometimes been in failing health as a result.
US ‘Biggest’ Threat, Say Pakistanis
August 10, 2009by Owen Fay, Al Jazeera, Aug 9, 2009
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| About 43 per cent of Pakistanis support dialogue with the Taliban, the survey said [AFP] |
A survey commissioned by Al Jazeera in Pakistan has revealed a widespread disenchantment with the United States for interfering with what most people consider internal Pakistani affairs.
The polling was conducted by Gallup Pakistan, an affiliate of the Gallup International polling group, and more than 2,600 people took part.
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US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town
July 29, 2009By Nadeem Sarwar and Aqeel Yousafzai, M&C.com, Jul 27, 2009
Peshawar – Fear is spreading across University Town, an upmarket residential area in Pakistan’s north-western city of Peshawar, due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater.
Sporting the customary dark glasses and carrying assault rifles, the mercenaries zoom around the neighbourhood in their black-coloured armoured Chevy Suburbans, and shout at motorists when occasionally stranded in a traffic jam.
The residents are mainly concerned about Blackwater’s reputation as a ruthless, unbridled private army whose employees face multiple charges of murder, child prostitution and weapons smuggling in Iraq.
Pakistan court orders Musharraf to explain emergency rule
July 23, 2009
Reuters – Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf smiles during a business meeting in New Delhi March …ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered former president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday to answer questions next week about his decisions to oust the judiciary and impose emergency rule in 2007.
The order, issued by a 14-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, instructs Musharraf to either show up in court himself on July 29 or have an attorney do so on his behalf.
Compliance is not mandatory, but failure to show up will mean Musharraf will have no further chances to defend himself in a case that is aimed at determining whether it was constitutional for him to oust the judiciary and impose emergency rule in November 2007.
The government’s top lawyer said this would be Musharraf’s only opportunity to defend himself.
“We’ve made it clear to the bench that we aren’t prepared to defend him. The government doesn’t consider his actions lawful or constitutional,” Attorney-General Latif Khosa told Reuters after the hearing.
Asked whether criminal proceedings could be started against Musharraf if his actions were declared unconstitutional, Khosa said that would be up to parliament.
“A committee has already been formed to annul his amendments and if it gives the go-ahead, that could happen,” he said.
Musharraf’s moves in late 2007, which included ousting Chaudhry and other judges, triggered nationwide protests and were seen by political opponents as a bid to extend his presidency for another five years.
However, the unpopularity of emergency rule, together with the assassination of rival politician Benazir Bhutto, weakened support for Musharraf, leading to a victory for the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in elections in February 2008.
Musharraf resigned last August in the face of an impending impeachment motion, and he left Pakistan over a month ago for London.
Yasin Malik: Include Kashmiris in talks
July 16, 2009
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Srinagar, July 15: The chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik, on Wednesday reiterated that bilateral talks between India and Pakistan couldn’t yield any result till Kashmiris were recognized as a principal party to the dispute and were included in the process.Latest US Drone Strike in South Waziristan Brings Weeklong Toll Over 100
July 11, 2009Two Missiles Kill Eight Suspected Militants
A US drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound in South Waziristan today, killing at least eight and wounding an unknown number of others. The attack was the latest in a string of US strikes on the restive Pakistani agency which have killed over 100 in the past seven days.
US attacks into Pakistani territory had temporarily stalled after an attack on a funeral procession in late June killed 80, including dozens of innocent civilians. The attack was roundly condemned by the Pakistani government, which feared the massive toll would undercut support for the Pakistani military’s offensive in the tribal area.
The two-week calm ended last Friday when a drone killed 17. On Tuesday another attack killed 16 more, and then on Wednesday multiple attacks killed at least 60 others. The eight killed today bring the confirmed toll up to 101.
The Pakistani government is reported to have significant influence over the targets selected by the US in the strikes, though Pakistan’s civilian government has fervently denied that it has anything to do with the unpopular attacks. The Obama Administration has dramatically increased the rate and severity of attacks since taking office.
US Drone Strikes Kill at Least 60 in Pakistan
July 9, 2009Twin Strikes Today Bring Total to Four Strikes, Nearly 100 Killed in Less than a Week
by Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com, July 08, 2009
US Predator drones launched a pair of missile attacks at two targets in South Waziristan today, killing at least 60 and wounding an unknown number of others. The attacks are the second and third in less than 24 hours, and the fourth in less than a week.
In the first attack, drones fired six missiles at a mountaintop training camp, killing 10. Later more drones fired missiles at several vehicles 12 miles east, killing at least 50.
Yesterday, the drones had attacked another compound, killing at least 16 and wounding around 30 others. On Friday, another strike killed 17. So far there are no reports that any high profile militants have been killed in any of the strikes.
Though the Obama Administration has dramatically ratcheted up the rate and severity of the strikes since President Obama’s inauguration, the level has risen even further in recent weeks. The latest escalation seems to be coinciding with the Pakistani military’s offensive in South Waziristan, though it is unclear what role, if any, the Pakistani government had in the selection of the most recent targets.
Peace and Justice Post 
CIA Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones
August 21, 2009WASHINGTON — From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees.
The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.
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