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Pakistan
Statement:2009
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Date
Incidents
January - 1 
According to India's Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, less than two weeks after it was banned by the United Nations, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) front Jama’at-ud-Da’awa is active, CCN-IBN reported. Menon said the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD) is now operating under a new name. He also said the JuD has
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According to India's Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, less than two weeks after it was banned by the United Nations, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) front Jama’at-ud-Da’awa is active, CCN-IBN reported. Menon said the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD) is now operating under a new name. He also said the JuD has a new website, which is being used to collect money to fund terrorist activities. Speaking to the All India Radio, Menon rejected Pakistan's offer of joint investigation into the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26. He said India has shared evidence with Pakistan several times, but without any results. Menon added that even the Joint-Anti Terror mechanism set up by India and Pakistan has yielded no results so far.
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January - 1 
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on January 1 that the writ of the Government had already been established in four sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency, and Charmang and Mamoond sub-divisions would be under the complete control of the Government by the end of this month.
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Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on January 1 that the writ of the Government had already been established in four sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency, and Charmang and Mamoond sub-divisions would be under the complete control of the Government by the end of this month.
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January - 1 
Baloch Republican Party Chief and militant leader Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti has urged the Baloch nationalist groups to abandon parliamentary politics and form a united front in their struggle for 'freedom', Dawn reported. In a telephonic press conference from an unknown location on January 1, he reje
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Baloch Republican Party Chief and militant leader Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti has urged the Baloch nationalist groups to abandon parliamentary politics and form a united front in their struggle for 'freedom', Dawn reported. In a telephonic press conference from an unknown location on January 1, he rejected the idea of holding negotiations with the Government to resolve the Balochistan issue. He said the Baloch people did not trust state elements, which he claimed had deceived them in the past. He said the Baloch leaders, Khan of Kalat Ahmed Yar Khan, Price Agha Karim and Nawab Nauroz Khan Zarakzai, had also held talks with rulers but it proved aimless as the 'usurpers' were reluctant to recognize the national rights of the Baloch people. Bramdagh Bugti said the Baloch people were passing through a critical phase of their history and in such situations it was the responsibility of the Baloch masses, especially the political forces to realize the gravity of situation and strive for a collective struggle. He maintained that the only way to get sovereign rights was to join an armed struggle against the 'usurpers that have occupied their motherland'. He alleged that the troops in Balochistan were using missiles from the United States and Britain against their resistance movement and added that the Balochs would still be able to defeat the state forces that were killing people in military operations. Bugti also stated that tribalism, individualism and self-interest of opportunists were the main hurdles in the unity of the Baloch people.
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January - 1 
Claiming a major breakthrough on the third day of the ongoing operation against the militants and outlaws in Khyber Agency, the political authorities on January 1 indicated at reopening the Pakistan-Afghan Highway by January 3, The News reported. Authorities said 80 per cent of the targets were achi
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Claiming a major breakthrough on the third day of the ongoing operation against the militants and outlaws in Khyber Agency, the political authorities on January 1 indicated at reopening the Pakistan-Afghan Highway by January 3, The News reported. Authorities said 80 per cent of the targets were achieved as several notorious criminals were either arrested or surrendered to the administration. Some 13 houses, used for anti-social activities, were also demolished. The encroachments along the Jamrud Bazaar and the adjoining areas were removed. Sources said 15 more wanted criminals were arrested on January 1, bringing the tally of those arrested during the last three days of the operation to 43. A total of 33 structures, including houses and guest houses, were demolished in the operation. The NATO supplies snatched earlier were also recovered during the operation. The looted items were recovered from the house of Adam Jee in Wazir Dhand area, prompting the troops to demolish the house after retrieving the snatched goods. Briefing the media, Political Agent of the Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat said that on the third day of the operation, militants’ hideouts and criminal dens in Ghundi, Shahkas and Wazir Dhand area were targeted with artillery shells before the troops moved in. He also said that known kidnappers and looters were arrested during the operation and a large quantity of arms and ammunition and looted goods recovered from different places. Tariq reiterated that the operation named ‘Daraghlum’ (Here I come) was not aimed at any single entity or group but against a host of groups that had made the entire region insecure. “Lawlessness in Jamrud Tehsil [revenue division] has direct implication on the law and order situation in Peshawar, which experienced one of its worst periods during the last quarter of the year 2008,” the administrative head of the agency said and added 37 people were kidnapped and 16 vehicles lifted from Jamrud during the last three months. He also informed that during the same period, a total of 100 people were abducted from Peshawar and all the kidnappings had direct links to the tribal territory, where the operation was in progress now. Besides, the area was also used to launch rocket attacks on Peshawar and hundreds of vehicles, including that of the NATO, were targeted.
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January - 1 
Pakistan on January 1 dismissed criticism that some elements in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were involved in acts of terrorism and were not in control of the Government, The News reported. “Pakistan’s Government and state institutions are committed to the war against terror. Therefore, vil
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Pakistan on January 1 dismissed criticism that some elements in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were involved in acts of terrorism and were not in control of the Government, The News reported. “Pakistan’s Government and state institutions are committed to the war against terror. Therefore, vilifying Pakistan or for that matter any of its state institutions on this score is unwarranted and unacceptable. In Pakistan’s view, in the given situation, what is needed is more accurate alignment in the perception and interests of Afghanistan, Pakistan, US/NATO and countries in the region that have stakes in the struggle against terrorism,” said the spokesman at the Foreign Office at an online media briefing. The spokesman also denied charges of any terrorist infrastructure on the Pakistani soil. “There is no terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. Terrorism is a global issue. Terrorist elements are found in every society and religion. Pakistan, India and other countries of the region need to follow a cooperative, and not accusatory, approach to jointly deal with this menace,” he said.
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January - 2 
Leaders of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) have reportedly indicated that militants operating in Swat and Bajaur would quit militancy if the Government announced the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in the Malakand region and Bajaur, according to The News. Senior TNSM
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Leaders of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) have reportedly indicated that militants operating in Swat and Bajaur would quit militancy if the Government announced the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in the Malakand region and Bajaur, according to The News. Senior TNSM members close to the founding chief of the outfit, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, claimed that Maulana Fazlullah and Maulana Faqir Muhammad had not only shown their willingness to give up the militancy but had also formally conveyed their messages to the TNSM leadership. Fazlullah, the son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad, has been commanding the militants in Swat, while Faqir Muhammad is the deputy chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of all the militant groups operating in the tribal agencies and settled Districts of the NWFP. “Yes, they (Fazlullah and Faqir) have sent messages to Maulana Sufi Muhammad that they were willing to stop the armed struggle and rejoin the TNSM if the Sharia is enforced. His (Sufi) hands are tied as the inordinate delay in enforcement of Sharia has been the major impediment in his way to initiate efforts for restoring peace,” they said.
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January - 2 
The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) rejected on January 2 a report that one of its leaders had acknowledged the group’s involvement in the multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, The News reported. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, reported on December 31 that Pakist
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The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) rejected on January 2 a report that one of its leaders had acknowledged the group’s involvement in the multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, The News reported. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, reported on December 31 that Pakistani authorities had obtained a confession from a senior LeT member. The suspect, identified as Zarar Shah, allegedly told investigators he had played a key role in the planning of the November attacks. “Lashkar-e-Toiba rejects the Wall Street Journal report,” its spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in an email statement. “India has failed to furnish any evidence of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s involvement in the Mumbai attacks and America is now trying to help it out,” he claimed. No evidence could be found “on the scene of the crime, and now there is an effort to manufacture evidence thousands of miles away,” he added.
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January - 4 
Balochistan National Party (BNP) Information Secretary and former senator Sanaullah Baloch has disclosed that the supporters of Taliban have captured land worth PKR Two billion in the eastern and western parts of provincial capital Quetta with the covert support of the ‘establishment’ in order to un
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Balochistan National Party (BNP) Information Secretary and former senator Sanaullah Baloch has disclosed that the supporters of Taliban have captured land worth PKR Two billion in the eastern and western parts of provincial capital Quetta with the covert support of the ‘establishment’ in order to undermine the Baloch nationalist movement and promote Talibanisation in Balochistan. In an interview with Daily Times on January 4, the former senator said the Government had failed to establish its writ in Quetta, where the Taliban and their supporters were consolidating their grip. Several parts of the provincial capital have become ‘no-go areas’ where the Taliban and their supporters have consolidated their position, he said. He said the Government was fully aware of these encroachments but it was deliberately silent because the Taliban enjoy the support of the Government and its intelligence agencies who wish to pit the religious elements against the Baloch nationalists. “We are surprised why the Government does not undertake a military operation against these elements who have openly challenged the writ of the Government. Military operations were carried out in Dera Bugti and Sui areas by the Government on the pretext of establishing the writ of the Government, but the state machinery does not move against the Taliban and their supporters who have illegally and forcefully captured large areas of land in Balochistan,” he said. Sanaullah said the Government was trying to patronise the Taliban elements in Quetta and its outskirts in order to undermine the power of the actual democratic forces. The Afghan refugees, besides being a burden on the economy of Balochistan, have become the biggest cause of lawlessness and terrorism in the country’s largest province, he added.
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January - 4 
Three armed groups in Balochistan on January 4 announced the formal end of a four-month-old unilateral cease-fire in response to the Security Forces’ continued military operation in the province, Daily Times reported. Declaring the end of the truce, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Bi
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Three armed groups in Balochistan on January 4 announced the formal end of a four-month-old unilateral cease-fire in response to the Security Forces’ continued military operation in the province, Daily Times reported. Declaring the end of the truce, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Bibarg Baloch said the BLA, the Balochistan Republican Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front were disappointed by the Government’s ‘lacklustre’ response to the cease-fire. The three ‘pro-independent Balochistan’ groups announced the cease-fire in September 2008. Bibarg told Daily Times they had decided to unconditionally halt their operations last September, hoping the Government would concede to the Baloch demands. He said the three groups had sincerely adhered to their pledge of not launching attacks, but alleged the Government continued the military operation, exploiting Baloch resources and killing innocent people. “We have decided to end the cease-fire in the wake of fresh attacks in Dera Bugti and Sui areas which have killed more than 50 people, mainly women and children,” said Bibarg, claiming the situation in the conflict areas was worse than what was being reported in the media, as the media had limited access to the areas. Bibarg also said the Government took the truce as an opportunity to expand the military operations to Gwadar, Turbat, and Mashky. He said the Baloch wanted to convey to the world that Islamabad would not review its policy towards Balochistan in any case.
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January - 5 
Jihad will be mandatory for the Pakistani nation in case India attacks the country, a joint communiqué issued in an All Parties’ Conference said on January 5, according to Daily Times. The conference, held at Jamia Naeemia in Lahore, was attended by a number of noted religious scholars and heads of
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Jihad will be mandatory for the Pakistani nation in case India attacks the country, a joint communiqué issued in an All Parties’ Conference said on January 5, according to Daily Times. The conference, held at Jamia Naeemia in Lahore, was attended by a number of noted religious scholars and heads of various religious and political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the Sunni Tehrik, the Mustafai Tehrik, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, the Minhajul Quran, the Nizam-e-Mustafa Party and the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat. The participants demanded the Government immediately convene an emergency session of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). The participants also demanded the OIC issue a declaration condemning India and expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. Chairing the meeting, Federal Minister for Zakat and Ushr Pir Nurul Haq Qadri said the two major political parties of the country should not create difficulties for each other, as that would worsen Pakistan’s current crises.
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January - 5 
Pakistan said on January 5 it was reviewing a dossier India handed over regarding the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, according to Dawn. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the Government remained committed to punishing Pakistani nationals accused of taking part in the Mumbai at
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Pakistan said on January 5 it was reviewing a dossier India handed over regarding the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, according to Dawn. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the Government remained committed to punishing Pakistani nationals accused of taking part in the Mumbai attacks if ‘credible’ evidence is given against them, AFP reported. Gilani made the comments during talks with Richard Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, who arrived in Islamabad early on January 5. In Islamabad, a foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India had received the file in New Delhi on January 5 and had sent it to authorities back home. “The material has been received in Pakistan now and is being examined by concerned authorities,” the spokesman said. “It is our duty, my duty to examine the dossier carefully, understand it and be truthful to myself, to my country and the neighbourhood,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Reuters.
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January - 5 
Two US choppers, carrying American troops, reportedly intruded into the Pakistani tribal territory and landed at the Bange Dar village of North Waziristan Agency (NWA), bordering the Khost province in Afghanistan, and abducted three nomads in the night of January 5. However, Government officials and
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Two US choppers, carrying American troops, reportedly intruded into the Pakistani tribal territory and landed at the Bange Dar village of North Waziristan Agency (NWA), bordering the Khost province in Afghanistan, and abducted three nomads in the night of January 5. However, Government officials and security authorities based in Miranshah denied violation of Pakistan’s airspace by the coalition forces. “We have our troops deployed along the border with Afghanistan but none of them reported any such violation by the foreign forces,” a military officer said. Major General Athar Abbas, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, denied reports about violation of Pakistan’s airspace by the US choppers. “No, I don’t have any kind of such report. I am in touch with senior military officials but none of them talked about this issue, which I am sure would not have taken place,” explained Abbas.
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January - 6 
The Government ‘emphatically rejected’ on January 6 an allegation by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that Pakistan was involved in sponsoring terrorism in India, Dawn reported. It said India had embarked on a ‘propaganda offensive’ and such allegations would jeopardise chances of co-operatio
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The Government ‘emphatically rejected’ on January 6 an allegation by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that Pakistan was involved in sponsoring terrorism in India, Dawn reported. It said India had embarked on a ‘propaganda offensive’ and such allegations would jeopardise chances of co-operation against terrorism. According to sources, the Indian allegations were rejected during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held soon after Dr Singh’s statement on January 6. Zardari urged the Indian leadership to refrain from hurling allegations about involvement of official agencies in the Mumbai attacks, because this could only escalate tension. He said Pakistan would itself take action against ‘non-state actors’ involved in the Mumbai attacks and there was no question of their extradition to India. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq quoted President Zardari as saying: “Instead of responding positively to Pakistan’s offer of co-operation and constructive proposals, India has chosen to embark on a propaganda offensive. The approach is fraught with grave risks… Vilifying Pakistan, or for that matter any of its state institutions, on this score is unwarranted and unacceptable. This is a sure way to close avenues of co-operation in combating the menace (of terrorism).” While claiming that Pakistan did not sponsor terrorism, Sadiq said “our civilian and armed forces’ causalities over the past year in terror attacks and in countering terrorism have been far more than those of India.” The spokesman added: “Pakistan is also carrying out investigations on its own. We reiterate our call for a pragmatic and cooperative engagement between the two countries to fight terrorism which is a region-wide phenomenon and the common enemy of our people.”
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January - 7 
Information Minister Sherry Rehman told Daily Times that “Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani. Further investigations are under way.” Earlier, a high-ranking Government official told Dawn that the preliminary investigation had provided enough information to conclude that the man at present in India’s custody
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Information Minister Sherry Rehman told Daily Times that “Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani. Further investigations are under way.” Earlier, a high-ranking Government official told Dawn that the preliminary investigation had provided enough information to conclude that the man at present in India’s custody was from a Punjab village, and perhaps belonged to a militant group that was bent upon destabilising the region by undermining the peace process. Answering a question about consular access to Kasab, a senior official said the militant had damaged Pakistan ‘like no other’. “We are not yet sure when to ask for consular access. We may not ask for it. He is involved in a heinous crime,” the unnamed official said.
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January - 7 
On January 7, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked his National Security Adviser Major General (retd) Mehmud Ali Durrani for giving a statement on Mohammad Ajmal Amir alias Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008, wit
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On January 7, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked his National Security Adviser Major General (retd) Mehmud Ali Durrani for giving a statement on Mohammad Ajmal Amir alias Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008, without taking him into confidence, The News reported. Before the formal announcement, Prime Minister Gilani told Geo News on telephone that Durrani had given a statement to an Indian news channel regarding Ajmal Kasab without taking him into confidence. Gilani said that Durrani’s statement had tarnished the country’s image. “So I decided to sack him,” he told Geo News.
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January - 7 
The Pakistani Government confirmed on January 7 that Mohammad Ajmal Amir alias Ajmal Kasab – the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008 – is a Pakistani. “The initial investigations have confirmed that Ajmal Kasab, involved in the Mumbai
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The Pakistani Government confirmed on January 7 that Mohammad Ajmal Amir alias Ajmal Kasab – the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008 – is a Pakistani. “The initial investigations have confirmed that Ajmal Kasab, involved in the Mumbai terrorist attacks, is a Pakistani national. Further investigations are under way,” Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said, Daily Times reported. Sources in the foreign ministry said security agencies analysed the information India had gathered and shared with Pakistan, and concluded in a preliminary probe that Kasab is a Pakistani. Pakistan had earlier said its National Database and Registration Authority had no record of the man. Sadiq confirmed that the Interior Ministry had given the information to the Foreign Office. But he denied Pakistan would provide official support to Ajmal Kasab. “Kasab has committed a heinous crime. He will not be provided any official support or consular access,” the spokesman said.
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January - 8 
The head of al Qaeda in Pakistan and his lieutenant were killed in the past few days, a US counter-terrorism official told AFP late on January 8, reportedly struck by a missile fired from an unmanned drone, Dawn reported. The men are believed to be Kenyan national Usama al-Kini, described as al Qaed
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The head of al Qaeda in Pakistan and his lieutenant were killed in the past few days, a US counter-terrorism official told AFP late on January 8, reportedly struck by a missile fired from an unmanned drone, Dawn reported. The men are believed to be Kenyan national Usama al-Kini, described as al Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan and his lieutenant Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. "There is every reason to believe that these two top terrorist figures are dead," said an unnamed source, adding that the duo was killed "within the last week." The counterintelligence source did not say how the men died, but according to Washington Post, which first reported the story, the duo was killed in a January 1 missile attack near Karikot in South Waziristan. The militants died after being struck with 45 kilo Hellfire missile fired from a pilot-less Predator drone operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, Washington Post reported. Officials believe al-Kini was behind the September 2008 car bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel that killed 60 people. He is also linked to a suicide attack on late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's convoy as it traveled through Karachi upon her arrival in Pakistan on October 18, 2008. The two men are also on the FBI's most wanted list for links with the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa.
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January - 9 
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 9 Friday that premier intelligence agencies of the United States and Pakistan had been working closely to investigate the multiple terrorist in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, and recently the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had provided a detailed re
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 9 Friday that premier intelligence agencies of the United States and Pakistan had been working closely to investigate the multiple terrorist in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, and recently the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had provided a detailed response to questions and issues raised by US investigators on behalf of their Indian counterparts, Dawn reported. “Our ISI has given its feedback, which has been forwarded to India,” he told reporters after addressing a seminar in Islamabad. He gave no details of the contents of the dossier or the response formulated by a committee, but said Pakistan would co-operate if more information was required. He said India had provided a 52-page dossier to the CIA which was passed on to Pakistan. The dossier was also handed over directly by India to Pakistan. Gilani also said Pakistan was ready to share information sharing with the CIA.
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January - 10 
The house arrest of Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (a front for the Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT]) founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed has been extended for another 60 days, Punjab Additional Home Secretary Usman Anwar said on January 10, Daily Times reported on January 11. “His house has already been declared a sub-jail where
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The house arrest of Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (a front for the Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT]) founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed has been extended for another 60 days, Punjab Additional Home Secretary Usman Anwar said on January 10, Daily Times reported on January 11. “His house has already been declared a sub-jail where he will spend the rest of the detention period,” Anwar said, adding that the Punjab Government extended the detention on orders from the federal Government.
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January - 14 
Hundreds of young women are being trained at several terrorist camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and in Pakistan, Indian as well as American intelligence agencies have confirmed, Asian Age reported. Asiya, a 24-year-old Pakistani woman who was recently arrested while trying to sneak across t
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Hundreds of young women are being trained at several terrorist camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and in Pakistan, Indian as well as American intelligence agencies have confirmed, Asian Age reported. Asiya, a 24-year-old Pakistani woman who was recently arrested while trying to sneak across the Line of Control into India, has reportedly revealed during interrogation that several terror camps where women are being trained are in the Bimar, Kotli and Sensa areas of PoK. During interrogation, she reportedly revealed that a large number of young women "mujahids" were being trained at these camps. "There are intelligence inputs that terror camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr are located at several places in PoK. We have reports that women are also being trained at these camps to carry out operations in India," a senior official of the US Central Intelligence Agency was quoted as saying. "The terror camps are located in Muzaffarabad, Attock, Oghi and Mansera areas of PoK. While the Lashkar training centre is located in Muzaffarabad, the JeM is training new recruits at Attock. Besides, Lashkar has a training camp at Mansera. Al-Badr has its own training centre at Oghi," the official said, adding that all available inputs indicate that most of those trained at these camps were young women. The official said that even after renewed Indian and international pressure on Pakistan following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, these camps continued to function. Some are reportedly close to major Pakistani cities such as Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala and some of Lahore’s outskirts.
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January - 15 
The Government said on January 15 that it had shut down five training camps of the outlawed Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), banned their seven publications and blocked all their websites, Dawn reported. The authorities have reportedly detained 124 people, several leaders and offic
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The Government said on January 15 that it had shut down five training camps of the outlawed Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), banned their seven publications and blocked all their websites, Dawn reported. The authorities have reportedly detained 124 people, several leaders and officials of the organisations among them. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik, assured India that Pakistan would do its utmost to bring the people involved in the Mumbai attacks to justice. Giving details of a crackdown, Malik said that training camps had been closed down in Punjab and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. He said members of the banned groups who had been detained included their founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT ‘operations commander’ Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Mufti Abdur Rehman, Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed and Ameer Hamza. “We have arrested a total of 124 mid-level and top leaders of JuD in response to a UN resolution — 69 from Punjab, 21 from Sindh, eight from Balochistan and 25 from the NWFP — blocked six websites associated with the organisation and closed down its five relief camps,” the adviser said. He said 20 offices, 87 schools, two libraries, seven seminaries and a handful of other organisations and websites linked to the JuD had also been shut. He also said authorities had closed several relief camps of the organisation after the UN Security Council had passed the resolution. The publications banned are Mujalatud Dawa, Zarb-i-Taiba, Voice of Islam, Nanhay Mujahid, Ghazwa and Al Rabta. Assuring India that sincere efforts were being made to take all non-state actors involved in the attacks to the task, he urged New Delhi to provide access to Pakistani investigators to the scenes of the crimes and jointly investigate the incident so that all those involved could be brought to justice. He also announced the formation of a special investigation team headed by an additional director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to examine, “without any prejudice”, all aspects of the Mumbai attacks and the information provided by India. The team will include two officers with counter-terrorism experience. “Information has been provided by India and we have formed an investigation team to reach the culprits,” he said. He said India had handed over information comprising 19 pages. Malik, however, ruled out handing over any Pakistani suspect to India. He said Pakistani laws allowed for prosecution of citizens who might have committed crimes elsewhere. He added that results of the investigation being conducted by the FIA would be made public and nothing would be concealed.
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January - 16 
Owais Ahmad Ghani, the Governor of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is reported to have told a delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Peshawar on January 16 that there are approximately 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition and equ
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Owais Ahmad Ghani, the Governor of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is reported to have told a delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Peshawar on January 16 that there are approximately 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition and equipment. The Governor said that a militant was normally given PKR 6,000 to PKR 8,000 per month while their leaders got PKR 20,000 to 30,000 per month.
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January - 17 
A son of Osama bin Laden who spent years under Iranian house arrest has left Iran and is now probably operating inside Pakistan, a senior American intelligence official said on January 17, The News reported. Saad bin Laden is one of a number of senior al Qaeda operatives detained inside Iran in rece
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A son of Osama bin Laden who spent years under Iranian house arrest has left Iran and is now probably operating inside Pakistan, a senior American intelligence official said on January 17, The News reported. Saad bin Laden is one of a number of senior al Qaeda operatives detained inside Iran in recent years. Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, told reporters that Saad bin Laden was probably in Pakistan. He gave no details about whether bin Laden had escaped from custody, whether his departure reflected a deal between Iran and al Qaeda or whether he was simply allowed to go by Iranian officials. McConnell’s announcement came as the Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on January 16 on Saad bin Laden and three other people believed to be al Qaeda operatives and thought to be in Iran. Saad bin Laden is one of Osama bin Laden’s older sons and is believed by officials to have been captured in Iran while escaping Afghanistan after American troops invaded the country in 2001. In addition to bin Laden, the Iranians have also been holding Saif al-Adel, a Qaeda operations chief, under house arrest.
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January - 18 
The federal and NWFP Governments will use their powers to ensure that the girls’ schools affected by the Taliban in Swat are reopened by March 1, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on January 18, Daily Times reported. Talking to reporters in Karachi, she said the Government would also ensure pr
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The federal and NWFP Governments will use their powers to ensure that the girls’ schools affected by the Taliban in Swat are reopened by March 1, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on January 18, Daily Times reported. Talking to reporters in Karachi, she said the Government would also ensure protection of all female students in Swat and all other restive areas. “Along with our ally in the NWFP, the Awami National Party, we will get the girls schools reopened. No ‘non-state actor’ will be allowed to burn female educational institutions,” Sherry told reporters.
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January - 18 
The outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) announced on January 18 it would support a peaceful and democratic struggle to liberate Kashmir, according to Daily Times. In a statement issued in Srinagar, capital of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, LeT spokesman Abdullah Gaznavi said his group took up arm
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The outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) announced on January 18 it would support a peaceful and democratic struggle to liberate Kashmir, according to Daily Times. In a statement issued in Srinagar, capital of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, LeT spokesman Abdullah Gaznavi said his group took up arms when the world did not respond to the Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle for more than four decades. “If the world listens to our cries and plays its role in resolving the Kashmir issue, there is no point in continuing fighting,” he said. “Our struggle is only confined to Kashmir and we have no relations or association with armed groups operating at the international level. We have no global agenda. We just want the freedom of Kashmir and if it comes though peaceful means, we will welcome it,” he stated. He said the groups did not believe that an armed struggle was the only way to achieve political objectives. According to him: “We had only responded to the cries of our Kashmiri brethren and had no choice but to call the world’s attention to their suffering through arms… If the world listens to our appeals and the Kashmir issue is resolved, there will be no reason for us to fight.” He also said it was ‘unfortunate’ that British Foreign Secretary David Milliband had blamed the LeT for the Mumbai attacks. “We don’t have a global agenda. We have done nothing [in the UK], and we don’t have any such plans. The British government should be careful in accusing someone,” he said.
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January - 20 
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tasked ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman to aid talks between the Government and the Taliban in Swat during a meeting on January 20, Daily Times reported. “Force is being used as a last option,” a private TV channel quoted President Zardari a
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President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tasked ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman to aid talks between the Government and the Taliban in Swat during a meeting on January 20, Daily Times reported. “Force is being used as a last option,” a private TV channel quoted President Zardari as saying. According to the channel, the leaders discussed national and regional security and “other important matters” in the meeting at the President’s House that also included Interior Adviser Rehman Malik. Another news channel, however, said Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, had denied he was assigned such a task but said he would play his part in the peace efforts if he was given the responsibility.
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January - 20 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti offered dialogue to the Taliban on January 20 to restore peace in the troubled areas. He said the dialogue offer was still intact, asking the Taliban to come to negotiate without weapons as problems could not be solved by force.
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti offered dialogue to the Taliban on January 20 to restore peace in the troubled areas. He said the dialogue offer was still intact, asking the Taliban to come to negotiate without weapons as problems could not be solved by force.
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January - 21 
The new US administration will increase non-military aid to Pakistan, but hold Islamabad accountable for security along the border region with Afghanistan, according to a US foreign policy document released soon after President Barack Obama assumed office, Daily Times reported. The document– availab
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The new US administration will increase non-military aid to Pakistan, but hold Islamabad accountable for security along the border region with Afghanistan, according to a US foreign policy document released soon after President Barack Obama assumed office, Daily Times reported. The document– available on the White House website – says, “Obama and [Vice President Joe] Biden will increase non-military aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan.” It also says that Obama and Biden would ‘refocus’ American resources on the “greatest threat to our security – the resurgence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. “They will [also] increase our troop levels in Afghanistan, press our allies in NATO to do the same, and dedicate more resources to revitalise Afghanistan’s economic development. Obama and Biden will demand the Afghan government do more, including cracking down on corruption and the illicit opium trade,” it adds.
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January - 22 
ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said on January 22 that the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Swat has provided them an opportunity to re-emerge in the area, and the Sharia (Islamic law) imposed by them is terrorism. Talking to a private TV channel, Abbas said the Taliban had r
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ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said on January 22 that the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Swat has provided them an opportunity to re-emerge in the area, and the Sharia (Islamic law) imposed by them is terrorism. Talking to a private TV channel, Abbas said the Taliban had regrouped in Swat as the SFs had changed their strategy after the peace deal, Daily Times reported. He said the Government’s writ was intact in the areas where SFs were present.
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January - 23 
In an improvised explosive device attack in the Takhtaband area of Mingora town in Swat District on January 23, three civilians, including a woman, were killed and a soldier sustained injuries, The News reported. The militants reportedly intended to target a convoy of the Security Forces but failed
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In an improvised explosive device attack in the Takhtaband area of Mingora town in Swat District on January 23, three civilians, including a woman, were killed and a soldier sustained injuries, The News reported. The militants reportedly intended to target a convoy of the Security Forces but failed in their bid. The Taliban claimed responsibility and warned of more attacks. "As long as bullets are fired at us, such attacks will continue to take place," a spokesman for the Swat chapter of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan threatened.
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January - 23 
NWFP Minister for Science and Technology addressed a press conference in Gul Kada in Swat on January 23, reiterating the Government’s resolve to give amnesty to those laying down their arms. Ayub Asharay said that the Government was ready to announce a general amnesty if the militants abandoned thei
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NWFP Minister for Science and Technology addressed a press conference in Gul Kada in Swat on January 23, reiterating the Government’s resolve to give amnesty to those laying down their arms. Ayub Asharay said that the Government was ready to announce a general amnesty if the militants abandoned their armed movement and stopped challenging the writ of the Government.
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January - 25 
According to Dawn, the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has asked its members to stop attacks on Government installations, kidnapping for ransom, bank dacoities and car snatching across the country. A statement purportedly issued by the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud on January 25 said: “All organ
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According to Dawn, the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has asked its members to stop attacks on Government installations, kidnapping for ransom, bank dacoities and car snatching across the country. A statement purportedly issued by the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud on January 25 said: “All organizers and workers are directed that Mujahideen will not damage government property, commit highway robbery, bank dacoity, kidnap people for ransom or snatch vehicles from today… All such activities would be prohibited. No excuse that an activist had permission from the Ameer (Chief) to carry out such acts would be accepted... From now on, all previous permits meant for attacks on government installations and other activities would stand cancelled.” This is the first time the TTP has released a statement urging its workers to stop anti-Government activities. A special force has reportedly been created to put hand on those elements violating these instructions and they would be strictly dealt with and punished for their acts.
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January - 26 
A day after 43 officials were summoned to Taliban courts for opposing the group, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 26 that a parallel Taliban judiciary is unacceptable, Daily Times reported. “We will not accept a policy like this,” Gilani told reporters after attending the inaugural
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A day after 43 officials were summoned to Taliban courts for opposing the group, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 26 that a parallel Taliban judiciary is unacceptable, Daily Times reported. “We will not accept a policy like this,” Gilani told reporters after attending the inaugural session of a conference in Islamabad. He admitted that the situation in Swat and Balochistan was not normal, but said he had sought a report on developments in these areas to make future plans. On January 25, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Swat chapter, had issued a list of 47 ‘wanted persons’, including former and serving federal and provincial ministers, incumbent Members of National Assembly and Members of Provincial Assembly, deputy parliamentary leader of the PML-Q in the National Assembly, district Nazim and other prominent political and social figures, asking them to appear before the Taliban court or face dire consequences. “The decision was taken at a Shura meeting with Maulana Fazlullah in the chair. Around 50 members of the Shura participated in the meeting and there was consensus on the names of 45-47 people declared as wanted for opposing the Taliban. All of them will have to appear before the Taliban court, otherwise they will face action,” Swat TTP spokesman Muslim Khan told The News by phone from an undisclosed location.
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January - 27 
The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the main city of Swat, said a statement by the army’s media centre on January 27 - hours after the Security Forces (SFs) launched the third phase of a military operation in the valley, Daily Times reported. Military sources said the third phase of
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The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the main city of Swat, said a statement by the army’s media centre on January 27 - hours after the Security Forces (SFs) launched the third phase of a military operation in the valley, Daily Times reported. Military sources said the third phase of Operation Rah-e-Haq had been launched in light of a list released by the Taliban which contains names of officials ‘wanted’ by the group. After the operation began – five civilians were killed by artillery and mortar fire. Locals said a man, a woman and three children were killed when mortar shells hit four houses in Mangalawar area of Charbagh sub-division in the night of January 26 as SFs targeted Taliban positions. After the start of the intensified operation late on January 26, official sources and locals told Daily Times on January 27 that the Government had already imposed curfews in Nengolai, Bara, Koza Banadai, Shakar Dara and Charbagh towns for an indefinite period, and issued shoot-at-sight orders for violators. The curfew in Mingora was imposed after about 100-150 Taliban militants stormed the streets of the town displaying arms. While no violence was reported, a private TV channel said the Taliban had taken over bus stands in Mingora town.
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January - 27 
The United States will continue to carry out missile strikes against al Qaeda in Pakistan, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on January 27, Daily Times reported. He was responding to questions on the issue and Pakistan’s complaints at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Both preside
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The United States will continue to carry out missile strikes against al Qaeda in Pakistan, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on January 27, Daily Times reported. He was responding to questions on the issue and Pakistan’s complaints at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Both president Bush and President Obama have made clear that we will go after al Qaeda wherever it is and we will continue to pursue that,” Gates said.
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January - 28 
16 more people, including seven militants, were killed and 23 others injured in the Swat District on January 28, even as Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani vowed to establish the writ of the Government, The News reported. On the eve of the COAS’s visit to Swat, the military spokesman, Major
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16 more people, including seven militants, were killed and 23 others injured in the Swat District on January 28, even as Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani vowed to establish the writ of the Government, The News reported. On the eve of the COAS’s visit to Swat, the military spokesman, Major Nasir Ali said the military operation would be “decisive and final” and the militants would be completely crushed, while their strongholds would be destroyed or captured. The spokesman claimed that Security Forces (SFs) had killed seven militants and injured 11 others in Manglawar and Sanghota towns during a ground action backed by helicopters. “The two were strongholds of the militants but we have completely secured them now,” he claimed. Earlier, General Kayani made an unannounced visit to the Swat valley and issued fresh directions about the operation.
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January - 28 
Meanwhile, the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs in North West Frontier Province, Malik Zafar Azam, said in Peshawar that registration of Madrassas had begun in the province and 720 religious seminaries had been registered thus far.
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Meanwhile, the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs in North West Frontier Province, Malik Zafar Azam, said in Peshawar that registration of Madrassas had begun in the province and 720 religious seminaries had been registered thus far.
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January - 28 
The militants’ commander and presenter on FM Radio channel, Maulana Khalil, who recently replaced Shah Dauran, claimed to have killed 35 SF personnel in Qambar. As an indefinite curfew remained in force in Manglawar near Mingora, six people were reportedly killed for curfew violation. Those shot dea
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The militants’ commander and presenter on FM Radio channel, Maulana Khalil, who recently replaced Shah Dauran, claimed to have killed 35 SF personnel in Qambar. As an indefinite curfew remained in force in Manglawar near Mingora, six people were reportedly killed for curfew violation. Those shot dead by the SFs were reportedly attempting to migrate from the troubled area.
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January - 29 
Darra Adamkhel unit of the Tehrik-i-Taliban on January 29 issued a one-week deadline to the NWFP Government to accept their demands and in case of non-compliance they would kill the kidnapped Polish geologist. A Taliban spokesman told Dawn: "We cannot wait more as the government has taken acceptance
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Darra Adamkhel unit of the Tehrik-i-Taliban on January 29 issued a one-week deadline to the NWFP Government to accept their demands and in case of non-compliance they would kill the kidnapped Polish geologist. A Taliban spokesman told Dawn: "We cannot wait more as the government has taken acceptance of our demands (in return) for the release of Polish geologist Peter (Stanczak) very light. So, our Shura has decided to wait till Feb 4 evening for a positive reply from the government and in case of refusal we will kill him." The spokesman, who identified himself as Mohammad, said they had demanded from the Government complete withdrawal of SFs from tribal areas and release of their captured associates. He also said, "We are not interested in ransom and just want the government to accept our two longstanding demands." The Polish geologist working for the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) is in the custody of the Taliban reportedly at a place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He had been kidnapped from an OGDCL facility near the Jand town of Attock district in Punjab province four months ago. He had been shifted from Attock in a boat through the Indus River to Kohat and then taken by the Taliban to their hideout. The Taliban had released his video in which the victim had appealed to his Government to request Pakistan for acceptance of demands of the Taliban to save his life.
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January - 29 
Police in Rawalpindi claimed to have arrested nine suspected terrorists and seized 100kg of explosives, detonators and other material during a raid on January 29, Dawn reported. According to City Police Officer (CPO) Rao Iqbal, the suspects belonged to a group formed by a Kenyan national who himself
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Police in Rawalpindi claimed to have arrested nine suspected terrorists and seized 100kg of explosives, detonators and other material during a raid on January 29, Dawn reported. According to City Police Officer (CPO) Rao Iqbal, the suspects belonged to a group formed by a Kenyan national who himself was killed during a terrorist attack. Addressing a press conference, he said the arrests were made when police and elite force personnel raided a house in the city’s Dhoke Lakhan area. They also seized four motorbikes, one car, detonators with wires, nut and bolts weighing 20 kg, one timer, four hand-grenades and eight pistols. One of the detained suspects is Dr Abdul Razzaq of the Cantonment Hospital who has been missing for some time and his case is in the Lahore High Court in Islamabad. The CPO said the terrorist gang had indirect links with the militant group of Baitullah Mehsud in Wana. He said they had confessed to having carried out a number of terrorist attacks, including the RA Bazaar bombing in which seven army personnel were killed, assassination of Lt-Gen Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, Melody suicide attack on police force, blast outside the Danish embassy and heinous attack on Italian restaurant. The terrorists, Rao Iqbal said, were planning a suicide attack during the March 23 Pakistan Day parade. The terrorists were identified as Mohammad Ilyas alias Qari Jamil, Mohammad Rizwan alias Shamasul Haq, Faisal Ahmed Khan, Zeeshan Jaleel, Mohammad Sarfraz, Mohammad Naeem Shakir, Mohammad Nadeem and Osama Bin Waheed, besides Dr Abul Razzaq.
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January - 29 
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told the Senate on January 29 that a new strategy had been worked out to combat militancy in Swat, Dawn reported. While he did not divulge details of the new strategy, the adviser said the situation in Mingora had been brought under control i
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Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told the Senate on January 29 that a new strategy had been worked out to combat militancy in Swat, Dawn reported. While he did not divulge details of the new strategy, the adviser said the situation in Mingora had been brought under control in four to five days through the new policy. He said the groups behind the insurgency in Swat included al Qaeda, the Tehrik-i-Taliban led by Maulana Fazlullah, Tanzeem-i-Islami, Tora Bora group and Qari Mushtaq group. He said that a Taliban ‘commander’, Qari Hussain Ahmed, ran a training camp for suicide bombers in Waziristan and Maulana Naamdaar had a role in bringing suicide bombers from Waziristan to Swat. Qari Hussain was reported killed in January 2008 when his house was destroyed in an air strike. Malik said the objective of the militants was not to enforce Sharia (Islamic law), but to destroy Pakistan. He told the Senate that around 1,200 civilians had been killed and 2,000 injured in violence, while 189 military personnel had lost their lives. He said 123 Government schools and 10 private schools had been destroyed and many CD shops and barbers’ salons set ablaze. He also said a so-called ‘Taliban court’ had ‘summoned’ 40 people.
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January - 30 
A Pakistani investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 has shown they were not planned in Pakistan, the Pakistani High Commissioner to Britain told an Indian television news channel on January 30, Daily Times reported. "Pakistani territory was not used so far as the investigato
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A Pakistani investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 has shown they were not planned in Pakistan, the Pakistani High Commissioner to Britain told an Indian television news channel on January 30, Daily Times reported. "Pakistani territory was not used so far as the investigators have made their conclusions," Wajid Shamsul Hassan told NDTV in an interview. Hassan said the nationality of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the attacks, did not necessarily prove the hand of Pakistan in the attacks. "He does come from Pakistan, that doesn’t mean that Pakistan has sponsored whatever he carried out in Bombay… We are waiting for the report to be finalised, and once the report comes, it will make everything crystal clear. We do not think that evidence is credible," said Hassan. Hassan also said Pakistan’s examination of the Indian dossier would show its ‘non-involvement’ in the attacks and questioned the veracity of the Indian information, saying it ‘could be fabricated’.
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February - 1 
14 people were injured when a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded in the town of Dera Murad Jamali, police said. “The bomb detonated by remote control was apparently targeting paramilitary vehicles which narrowly escaped,” senior Police official Shahid Nizam Durrani said.
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14 people were injured when a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded in the town of Dera Murad Jamali, police said. “The bomb detonated by remote control was apparently targeting paramilitary vehicles which narrowly escaped,” senior Police official Shahid Nizam Durrani said.
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February - 2 
In Bara, headquarters of Khyber Agency, leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), Mangal Bagh, has banned shaving of beards and asked women to wear proper veils. Addressing on his private FM radio station on February 2, Mangal Bagh said: “From now on, the men are warned to grow breads according t
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In Bara, headquarters of Khyber Agency, leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), Mangal Bagh, has banned shaving of beards and asked women to wear proper veils. Addressing on his private FM radio station on February 2, Mangal Bagh said: “From now on, the men are warned to grow breads according to Islam’s teachings and women should be properly veiled while leaving homes”. Last week, the LI enforced Sharia (Islamic law) in the Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency.
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February - 2 
Trapped amidst clashes between the Taliban and SFs, residents in Swat have begun a mass exodus from the area. Thousands of civilians were fleeing the fighting in the valley, Reuters reported. The people leaving Swat are joining thousands of villagers who have fled fighting in other restive areas, pa
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Trapped amidst clashes between the Taliban and SFs, residents in Swat have begun a mass exodus from the area. Thousands of civilians were fleeing the fighting in the valley, Reuters reported. The people leaving Swat are joining thousands of villagers who have fled fighting in other restive areas, particularly Bajaur Agency. Government officials have blamed the militants for using villagers as human shields, The News reported. “Thousands of people are migrating from the areas of fighting because of the military operations and the militants’ use of civilians as human shields,” the Swat valley’s top administrator, Shaukat Khan Yousafzai, told Reuters.
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February - 3 
Sarbaz Baloch, a BRA spokesman, told Daily Times the murders had been carried out in reaction to a recent attack by the SFs on a wedding ceremony of a local Baloch couple. He said the attack had resulted in the deaths of the bride and the bridegroom, in addition to nine other people. He charged that
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Sarbaz Baloch, a BRA spokesman, told Daily Times the murders had been carried out in reaction to a recent attack by the SFs on a wedding ceremony of a local Baloch couple. He said the attack had resulted in the deaths of the bride and the bridegroom, in addition to nine other people. He charged that around 17 people had also been injured in the incident. “We will carry out attacks on all Punjabis wherever they live in Balochistan. We do not tolerate Punjabis on our land. It is the Punjabi forces attacking our people,” he added.
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February - 3 
The Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD, the Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT] front) on February 3 released the appeal it had made to the United Nations pleading its innocence and claiming that it has no link with al Qaeda, Taliban or the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Dawn reported. The, appeal signed by JuD chief Hafiz Muhamm
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The Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD, the Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT] front) on February 3 released the appeal it had made to the United Nations pleading its innocence and claiming that it has no link with al Qaeda, Taliban or the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Dawn reported. The, appeal signed by JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, was released on the eve of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s visit to Pakistan. The UN imposed a ban on the JuD on the request of India for its involvement in Mumbai attacks in November 2008 that claimed about 170 lives. The appeal said the UN had taken a hasty decision in proscribing the JuD, its chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and others members and termed the UN decision detrimental to the interests of Pakistan. It said that millions across the country were directly or indirectly benefiting from JuD’s services particularly in the areas of health, education, water, sanitation, rehabilitation and particularly the provision of food and shelter to the homeless. Saeed requested the UN Secretary General to mobilize his good offices for the lifting of sanctions and delisting of all JuD entities. “We categorically make it clear and declare that Jamaat ud Dawa is neither an associate of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden nor the Taliban, hence the embargo imposed is materially in contradiction to that set out in their rules and highly unjustified under the international law of human dignity and freedom,” Saeed said. He said the UN Security Council’s decision was not based on any solid evidence and relied entirely on the one-sided story of the Indian lobby, which was devoid of any material facts provided by an independent and impartial international judicial system. “Jamaat ud Dawa or Hafiz Muhammad Saeed have never ever supplied, sold or transferred arms or any related material to Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden or Taliban and recruited any one for or on behalf of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden or Taliban nor have supported their acts or activities or any of their cell, affiliate, splinter group or even derivative group thereof,” he said.
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February - 4 
Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman for President Zardari, told Daily Times that a framework of the commission was being finalised. He said Pakistan had offered to pay all the expenses on the probe, but the UN asked Islamabad to pay only the seed money adding it would ask other countries to contribute
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Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman for President Zardari, told Daily Times that a framework of the commission was being finalised. He said Pakistan had offered to pay all the expenses on the probe, but the UN asked Islamabad to pay only the seed money adding it would ask other countries to contribute to the probe. “The people of Pakistan hope that this commission will determine the facts and circumstances of assassination of the former prime minister, and that the findings of the commission will lead to eventually exposing the financers, perpetrators, organisers, sponsors and conspirators of the terrorist act and bring them to justice,” he said.
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February - 4 
Nine members of a Bara-based militant group were killed in an encounter with the Police and the Qaumi Lashkar (militia) comprising armed villagers when they allegedly attempted to kidnap the chief official of Bazidkhel union council near Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 4, The News reported.
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Nine members of a Bara-based militant group were killed in an encounter with the Police and the Qaumi Lashkar (militia) comprising armed villagers when they allegedly attempted to kidnap the chief official of Bazidkhel union council near Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 4, The News reported. Three Policemen sustained injuries in the first incident of its kind in which the Police and villagers jointly countered the militants operating in Peshawar. Police and villagers said that members of the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam entered the Bazidkhel village in two cars and a motorbike in a bid to kidnap Faheem, the local union council chief. In the ensuing encounter, seven attackers were killed. A source said two more militants were killed near Badaber when they were escaping on a motorcycle. Meanwhile, Lashkar-e-Islam chief Mangal Bagh threatened the Bazidkhel villagers with reprisal if found to be involved in killing nine of his men. Earlier, a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Islam denied that the slain men wanted to attack the Badaber Police station. However, spokesman Misri Khan conceded that their men were on their way to Bazidkhel to take action against some criminals and elements opposed to their organisation. “Ours is a peaceful organisation that never attacked the security forces and the police. Had they gone there to attack the Badaber police, they would have first attacked Hayatabad and Sarband police stations,” he claimed. The spokesman alleged that their men were stopped at the Frontier Corps check-post, arrested and later killed by the Police and criminals from Bazidkhel.
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February - 4 
Supporting India’s assessment that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is a security risk for the international community, the US Central Intelligence Agency believes that the terrorist group is among the top security threats for the US, Economic Times reported. The outgoing CIA chief Michael H
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Supporting India’s assessment that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is a security risk for the international community, the US Central Intelligence Agency believes that the terrorist group is among the top security threats for the US, Economic Times reported. The outgoing CIA chief Michael Hayden concluded that the LeT was among the top security challenges for the US. Hayden said in a television interview that al Qaeda has been increasing its links with terror organisations around the world and this was pushing the LeT to expand its scope of operation from India to Israel and America. “There was a migration in Lashkar-e-Toiba thinking over the past 6, 12, 18 months, in which it began to identify the United States and Israel as much as being the main enemy as it has historically identified India… That is a troubling development. And this migration of Lashkar-e-Toiba to a merge point (with al Qaeda) is probably taking place,” he said. The CIA Director also admitted that Pakistan is in “difficult circumstances” on all fronts. “You do have the after-effects of Mumbai. You do have what is happening in the tribal region. You do have the instability along the Afghan-Pakistan border. You do have very serious economic problems with the Pakistani state... That is a real devils brew of issues,” he said.
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February - 4 
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 4 announced the establishment of an independent commission to probe the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Daily Times reported. “I intend to establish an independent commission of inquiry to be headed by a distinguishe
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The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 4 announced the establishment of an independent commission to probe the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Daily Times reported. “I intend to establish an independent commission of inquiry to be headed by a distinguished person who will be appointed very shortly,” he said while speaking at a dinner reception hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad. The state-run APP news agency reported that Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz would head the three-member commission. It said Indonesia’s Marzuki Dar Usman will be a member of the commission, but no decision has been made on its third member, likely to belong to Sweden or Norway.
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February - 5 
Several banned militant groups on February 5 met in Muzaffarabad, the Pakistan occupied Kashmir capital, and pledged to continue the jihad to “liberate” Kashmir from India, The Hindu reported. The meeting was organised by a previously unknown group, Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir, on the eve of “
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Several banned militant groups on February 5 met in Muzaffarabad, the Pakistan occupied Kashmir capital, and pledged to continue the jihad to “liberate” Kashmir from India, The Hindu reported. The meeting was organised by a previously unknown group, Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir, on the eve of “Kashmir Solidarity Day” observed on February 5. Groups affiliated to the United Jihad Council (UJC), the umbrella organisation of more than a dozen militant outfits, were in attendance including the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). The meeting took place at Chattar, a neighbourhood that reportedly houses Government offices, top Government functionaries and political VIPs. The local administration did not prevent the event, held under a tent on a main road. However, there was no comment from the Pakistan Government on the meeting. Syed Salahuddin, leader of the HM and the UJC, was the chief guest at the meeting. He accused Indian intelligence agencies of staging the Mumbai attacks to “divert international attention” from the Kashmir issue. He claimed, “I can say with the utmost surety that Lashkar, which has a remarkable role in Kashmir freedom struggle, is not involved, directly or indirectly, in those attacks.” Salahuddin also said, “Pakistan should immediately reverse its decisions which have sent a negative message to the Kashmiris across the divide.” The participants reportedly made cash donations for the Kashmir jihad on the suggestion of a speaker that this would send an effective message that people were not ready to accept such bans. The UJC chief said Kashmiri militants battling Indian forces were, in fact, also fighting for the defence of Pakistan and any compromise on the struggle would harm its interests. “Pakistan has weakened the fighters in Indian Kashmir which has encouraged India to hurl threats against Pakistan. If even today the restrictions are lifted, India can be given a tough time and will never dare hurl threats at Pakistan,” said Mufti Asghar, a JeM leader. Attiqur Rehman, a HuM leader, said: “We will fight [in Kashmir] as long as there is a single drop of blood in our veins.”
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February - 6 
A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signaled him to stop. They sa
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A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signaled him to stop. They said that he rammed his car into the trailer instead of stopping. Fida Bangash, a senior political administration official, said the bomber’s likely target were the army engineers repairing a bridge in Landikotal that was blown up on February 2. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility for the attack. “It was our man who martyred himself in Jamrud… We warned the government to stop military operations in Khyber, Swat and other tribal areas, otherwise we will completely shut down the NATO supply line… We have shown that we can do that,” Omar told AFP. Earlier, in the night of February 5, another suicide bomber had rammed a car bomb into a police station in Mingora in the Swat District of NWFP, injuring 11 soldiers.
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February - 6 
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Bibarg Baloch on February 6 denied any BLA role in the abduction of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) head in Balochistan John Solecki. Speaking to Daily Times, Baloch said, "We are not involved in the kidnapping of the US citiz
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The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Bibarg Baloch on February 6 denied any BLA role in the abduction of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) head in Balochistan John Solecki. Speaking to Daily Times, Baloch said, "We are not involved in the kidnapping of the US citizen in any way." Unidentified people had kidnapped Solecki on February 2 after murdering his driver in the provincial capital Quetta. The BLA spokesman, however, confirmed the group had kidnapped six officials of the Mari Indus Gas Company. He said they had not decided about the fate of the kidnapped.
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February - 7 
The Taliban said on February 7 they had killed Stancza because the Government had refused to free 60 detained militants. Earlier, a spokesman for the militants in Darra Adamkhel in the NWFP refused to hand over the body of the slain engineer unless the Government accepted their demands. A Taliban sp
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The Taliban said on February 7 they had killed Stancza because the Government had refused to free 60 detained militants. Earlier, a spokesman for the militants in Darra Adamkhel in the NWFP refused to hand over the body of the slain engineer unless the Government accepted their demands. A Taliban spokesman told Dawn that they would swap the body of the engineer with “our men in government’s custody”. Stancza was kidnapped in September 2008 when he was on a visit to his company’s site in Attock in the Punjab province.
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February - 9 
The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) has said that a dossier of information given by India to Islamabad is ‘insufficient’ to make headway in a conclusive investigation into the Mumbai attacks, and called on India to provide substantial evidence, Daily Times reported. The committee met in Islam
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The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) has said that a dossier of information given by India to Islamabad is ‘insufficient’ to make headway in a conclusive investigation into the Mumbai attacks, and called on India to provide substantial evidence, Daily Times reported. The committee met in Islamabad on February 9 under Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to deliberate on the findings of an inquiry – conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) – into the Mumbai attacks. After a briefing on the progress of the inquiry based on the information provided by India, the DCC decided that a case should be registered and further investigations carried out. Sources told Daily Times that the committee was of the unanimous view that the information provided by India was insufficient for the prosecution of the perpetrators.
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February - 9 
The Lashkar-e-Toiba said on February 9 that it has no plans of expanding its operations to the United States or Britain and the outfit posed no threat to Western World. "The CIA report issued after Mumbai attacks which describes Lashkar-e-Toiba as a threat to the US and Britain is baseless, misleadi
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The Lashkar-e-Toiba said on February 9 that it has no plans of expanding its operations to the United States or Britain and the outfit posed no threat to Western World. "The CIA report issued after Mumbai attacks which describes Lashkar-e-Toiba as a threat to the US and Britain is baseless, misleading and far from truth. CIA should not get swayed by the Indian propaganda," LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in a tele-statement. Ghaznavi claimed the LeT had no network in the US or the UK and has no intention of starting armed actions in these countries. “We have made it clear time and again that LeT had no role in the Mumbai attacks. India wants to sabotage the freedom struggle of Kashmiri people by getting it labeled as terrorism at international level,” he said.
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February - 9 
Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan near Miranshah, accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said on February 9, Daily Times reported. The bullet-riddled body of 30-year-old Islamud Din was found dumped by the road in Sheratalla area, 40 kilometers north of Miranshah. “Is
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Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan near Miranshah, accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said on February 9, Daily Times reported. The bullet-riddled body of 30-year-old Islamud Din was found dumped by the road in Sheratalla area, 40 kilometers north of Miranshah. “Islam, who was kidnapped two weeks ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body,” local police official Mehboob Khan told AFP. A note found on the body said he was “spying for the US”, the official said.
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February - 10 
Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar said they had killed five security officials in a multi-pronged attack on Inayat Qillay. One tank was also destroyed in the attack, he claimed. Security officials, however, denied the claims.
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Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar said they had killed five security officials in a multi-pronged attack on Inayat Qillay. One tank was also destroyed in the attack, he claimed. Security officials, however, denied the claims.
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February - 10 
The fighting in the Tribal Areas can drive more than 600,000 people from their homes, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on February 10, Daily Times reported. Spokesman Ron Redmond said the UNHCR would ramp up its relief work in the county’s northwest, where security has deteriorated
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The fighting in the Tribal Areas can drive more than 600,000 people from their homes, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on February 10, Daily Times reported. Spokesman Ron Redmond said the UNHCR would ramp up its relief work in the county’s northwest, where security has deteriorated sharply since 2008. “Latest estimates put the number of displaced people in the region at around 450,000, but the UN believes more than 600,000 could be displaced within weeks,” he told a press briefing in Geneva. “UNHCR is encouraged by the safe arrival and return of the first UN convoy of supplies to this dangerous region of Pakistan where curfews and general insecurity hamper relief efforts,” Redmond said. He also said the UNHCR had no news about the fate of the American head of its office in Quetta, John Solecki, who was abducted last week after gunmen ambushed his car and shot dead his driver. He said security officials were investigating a claim from the Balochistan Liberation United Front, a previously unknown group, which said it kidnapped Solecki to draw attention to the ‘plight’ of the Baloch people.
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February - 10 
The Swat-based Taliban leader Maulana Muhammad Alam alias Khalil has asked the people of Malakand division not to pay electricity bills. Announcing this on FM radio, Khalil said his militants would teach a lesson to those who tried to disconnect the power supply in the area. “We are demanding our ri
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The Swat-based Taliban leader Maulana Muhammad Alam alias Khalil has asked the people of Malakand division not to pay electricity bills. Announcing this on FM radio, Khalil said his militants would teach a lesson to those who tried to disconnect the power supply in the area. “We are demanding our rights but these are being denied. Therefore, the people of Malakand must not pay utility bills to the Government… We would either implement the Sharia [Islamic law] in Swat or embrace martyrdom,” he said. He vowed to continue efforts for the Sharia enforcement and claimed that the uprising from Swat would spill over to the whole country.
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February - 10 
US President Barack Obama on February 10 asserted that his administration would not allow ‘safe havens’ for al Qaeda and the Taliban operating with ‘impunity’ in the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan, Daily Times reported. “My bottom line is that we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have
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US President Barack Obama on February 10 asserted that his administration would not allow ‘safe havens’ for al Qaeda and the Taliban operating with ‘impunity’ in the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan, Daily Times reported. “My bottom line is that we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region,” said Obama at his first press conference after assuming office. “You’ve got the Taliban and Al Qaeda operating in the FATA and these border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan… What we haven’t seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that would ultimately make our mission successful,” he added. The President also noted that “It’s not acceptable for Pakistan or for us to have folks who, with impunity, will kill innocent men, women and children. And you know, I believe that the new government of Pakistan ... cares deeply about getting control of this situation, and we want to be effective partners with them on that issue.”
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February - 11 
Austria’s interior ministry said on February 11 it had no evidence that the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 might have been planned in Austria, as reported in the media, according to Dawn. "We have nothing that would justify our launching an investigation," ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia
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Austria’s interior ministry said on February 11 it had no evidence that the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 might have been planned in Austria, as reported in the media, according to Dawn. "We have nothing that would justify our launching an investigation," ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said. "We have not been informed (of these claims) by either Pakistan or India and moreover, we have not received any requests for an investigation," he added. An Austrian newspaper quoted Indian media reports according to which Pakistan’s investigation into the attacks had found that they were planned in Austria and Dubai. An Austrian link to the attacks was also mentioned in December 2008 following reports that the militants had used an Austrian telephone number.
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February - 11 
Five attackers who targeted the Afghan Justice Ministry building amid a wave of coordinated suicide attacks on February 11 had contacted Pakistan shortly before being shot dead, the Afghan intelligence chief said, Daily Times reported. Mobile phones found at the scene showed the attackers had "sent
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Five attackers who targeted the Afghan Justice Ministry building amid a wave of coordinated suicide attacks on February 11 had contacted Pakistan shortly before being shot dead, the Afghan intelligence chief said, Daily Times reported. Mobile phones found at the scene showed the attackers had "sent three messages to Pakistan calling for the blessings of their mastermind" as they entered the building, Afghan intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh said, according to AFP. All five attackers were shot dead, the Defence Ministry said. The five attackers were aged between 20 and 25, Saleh added.
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February - 11 
The chief of the banned outfit Ansar-ul-Islam (AI), Qazi Mehboobul Haq, on February 11 claimed to have taken complete control of Bar Qambar Khel after burning several houses of the opponents at the remote Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency, The News reported. Addressing on his private FM radio, he said t
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The chief of the banned outfit Ansar-ul-Islam (AI), Qazi Mehboobul Haq, on February 11 claimed to have taken complete control of Bar Qambar Khel after burning several houses of the opponents at the remote Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency, The News reported. Addressing on his private FM radio, he said the flag of AI was hoisted on Tortoot in the Bara sub-division, as the area of Qambarkhel came under the control of his group. He also said a cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition left by the opponents at Toray seminary was seized. He also said the houses of the people who voluntarily migrated from Tirah Qambarkhel would not be demolished.
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February - 11 
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened on February 11 to destroy all educational institutions in Bajaur Agency if the Government did not withdraw Security Forces (SFs) stationed in Government schools in the region within three days, Dawn reported. Talking to reporters on the phone, TTP spoke
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The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened on February 11 to destroy all educational institutions in Bajaur Agency if the Government did not withdraw Security Forces (SFs) stationed in Government schools in the region within three days, Dawn reported. Talking to reporters on the phone, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said SFs had set up check-posts and bunkers in almost all Government schools to attack Taliban positions. He said the Government had forced the Taliban leadership to act like the Swat Taliban and attack educational institutions in Bajaur. "Not a single school building will be spared after three days," he added. In reply to a question, he said that talks with Swat Taliban were going on and the ‘ban’ on girls’ education would be lifted soon. The TTP spokesman also threatened to target Government installations and said Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur Agency, would be turned into a battlefield if the military operation continued. He said attacks on SFs would be intensified, even in Khar. Omar said that attacks on schools in other tribal regions would also be launched if the military operation was not stopped.
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February - 12 
A United Nations (UN) official on February 12 expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by Pakistan in compliance with the UN’s sanctions on Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD), Daily Times reported. Security Council Coordinator Richard Barrett said he had discussed the implementation of the Security Council’
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A United Nations (UN) official on February 12 expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by Pakistan in compliance with the UN’s sanctions on Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD), Daily Times reported. Security Council Coordinator Richard Barrett said he had discussed the implementation of the Security Council’s decision to sanction the JuD with Pakistani officials. He said he would visit Islamabad soon to make an assessment of Pakistan’s actions. Earlier, he told reporters at a press conference that it was difficult to implement the sanctions completely, adding that the group was involved in charitable activities and running schools and clinics.
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February - 12 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said that a money exchange company in Islamabad was involved in transferring money to a suspect of the Mumbai attacks in Spain, Daily Times reported. According to a private TV channel, the money was transferred through Paracha International Exchange’s Euro 2005 bran
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said that a money exchange company in Islamabad was involved in transferring money to a suspect of the Mumbai attacks in Spain, Daily Times reported. According to a private TV channel, the money was transferred through Paracha International Exchange’s Euro 2005 branch in Islamabad to Javed Iqbal in Barcelona. The branch was later found sealed. Representatives of other branches have, however, denied that such a transaction took place. But one of the two owners confirmed the transaction, and blamed his partner for it.
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February - 12 
Pakistan on February 12 acknowledged for the first time that the Mumbai terrorist attacks were partly planned in Pakistan and that it has arrested six suspects, including the “main operator”, The News reported. In its first detailed response to the dossier provided by India, Pakistan said criminal c
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Pakistan on February 12 acknowledged for the first time that the Mumbai terrorist attacks were partly planned in Pakistan and that it has arrested six suspects, including the “main operator”, The News reported. In its first detailed response to the dossier provided by India, Pakistan said criminal cases had been registered against nine suspects on charges of “abetting, conspiracy and facilitation” of a terrorist act. However, it said more evidence is required from India, including DNA samples of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested during the attack, to establish his identity. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the media that FIR No: 01/009 had been lodged with the Special Investigation Group in the Federal Investigation Agency against nine suspects. The Pakistani investigators have identified Hammad Amin Sadiq as the alleged ‘mastermind’ of the whole conspiracy. Malik said the cases against nine persons had been registered under the Anti-Terror Act and the Cyber Crime Act and they would be tried under these two sets of laws. He said six of the nine accused named in the FIR have already been arrested and being interrogated, two have been identified but not arrested so far while investigations are still under way into the possible involvement of the ninth accused. He identified those arrested as Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a LeT ‘commander’ who was arrested from Muzaffarabad soon after the Indian Government alleged that the LeT was responsible for the Mumbai attacks, Javed Iqbal, who was arrested from Barcelona in Spain, Hammad Amin Sadiq, believed to be the main operator belonging to southern Punjab, Zarar Shah, Mohammad Ashfaq and Abu Hamza. The name of Ajmal Kasab is reportedly not included in the FIR. He also said some of those arrested by the security agencies of Pakistan for possible involvement in the Mumbai attacks belong to the LeT. Malik said Javed Iqbal, who was based in Barcelona, was the person who paid $200 for the ‘Internet Domain’ that was also used for communication and planning for the Mumbai attacks. “Having ascertained the involvement of Javed Iqbal, we somehow lured him into coming to Pakistan and he was arrested on his arrival,” Malik said. He also said the e-mail sent by ‘Deccan Mujahideen’ claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attacks was believed to be prepared and sent by Zarar Shah, who was responsible for communication link in the whole operation. Mailk disclosed that the money to fund these attacks was transferred from Pakistan and was received in Italy. This money transaction was made through a Pakistani bank. He also said after thorough investigations by the Pakistani security and intelligence agencies it was learnt that these alleged terrorists operated from two bases — one inside Karachi and the other outside but not very far away from Karachi. He also disclosed that the terrorists used three boats for traveling to Mumbai, one named ‘Al-Hussaini’ and the other ‘Al-Ghaus’. For communication, they used ‘Call Phonic’ system and they also bought Indian cell phone SIMs for communication from inside India. He also pointed out that the satellite phone connection that was used for communication during the Mumbai attack was registered in the Middle East and not in Pakistan. Malik said the findings have already been shared with India. The Indian high commissioner in Islamabad was called to the foreign office and the report was handed over to him officially. “We also have forwarded a set of 30 questions for which we would need answers as early as possible to support and further the investigation process on our side. We have asked the Indian government to provide us the DNA samples of the lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, to ascertain his nationality, as we don’t have any record of the individual with Nadra (National Database Registration Authority)… At the same time we would like to have the statement given by Ajmal Kasab to the Indian investigators, how this group of terrorists managed to sneak past the Indian security and intelligence agencies guarding their coastal lines, and how these nine persons managed to travel in a small boat and reach the Indian coast.”
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February - 12 
The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is reported to have condemned the Government on February 12 for filing a case against some of the group’s top operatives, according to Daily Times. “We strongly condemn the lodging of the FIR [First Information Report] against LeT,” Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Ghaznav
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The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is reported to have condemned the Government on February 12 for filing a case against some of the group’s top operatives, according to Daily Times. “We strongly condemn the lodging of the FIR [First Information Report] against LeT,” Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi told AFP over the telephone. The case was brought to ‘win appreciation’ from India and the US and to “implement India’s agenda of suppressing the people’s struggle for freedom in Kashmir”, said Ghaznavi. The Government has lodged a FIR against eight suspects, including the presumed mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
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February - 12 
The CIA’s unmanned Predator aircraft striking terrorist targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are flown from an airbase inside Pakistan, a senior US lawmaker said on February 12, Daily Times reported. The disclosure by Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligen
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The CIA’s unmanned Predator aircraft striking terrorist targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are flown from an airbase inside Pakistan, a senior US lawmaker said on February 12, Daily Times reported. The disclosure by Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a US official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land. At a hearing during testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee by US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, she said, "As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base." The CIA, however, declined to comment. A spokesman for Feinstein said her comment was based solely on previous news reports that Predators were operated from bases near Islamabad. However, the Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar has denied that US drone attacks in the FATA are being carried out from Pakistani airbases. "We do have the facilities from where they can fly, but they are not being flown from Pakistani territory. They are being flown from Afghanistan," he told a private TV channel. About comments by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Mukhtar said, "I do not know on what she based all this."
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February - 13 
The Government has no alternative except to use force against the Taliban to end militancy in the country, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 13 while vowing to eliminate the insurgents, according to Daily Times. He was addressing a meeting jointly presided over by the president and Prime M
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The Government has no alternative except to use force against the Taliban to end militancy in the country, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 13 while vowing to eliminate the insurgents, according to Daily Times. He was addressing a meeting jointly presided over by the president and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to review the situation in FATA and Swat. Zardari said the Taliban wanted to impose their political agenda on the people of Pakistan through use of force, adding that the Government and the people would never allow a handful of insurgents to do so.
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February - 13 
The Taliban, who killed Polish national Piotr Stanczak last week, are now demanding US$200,000 for return of the body, The News reported. According to sources in the Interior Ministry, the Taliban have not directly contacted the Government but conveyed to Poland through a private negotiator that the
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The Taliban, who killed Polish national Piotr Stanczak last week, are now demanding US$200,000 for return of the body, The News reported. According to sources in the Interior Ministry, the Taliban have not directly contacted the Government but conveyed to Poland through a private negotiator that they will not hand over the body until they are paid the amount. The official confirmation of the Polish engineer’s killing came late on February 13-night from the Foreign Ministry after the authorities were able to verify through a number of independent sources that he was beheaded by his captors last week. This fact was also formally conveyed to Warsaw, which had been awaiting official confirmation from Islamabad. "The Government and the people of Pakistan are outraged at the gruesome killing of Polish national Mr Piotr Stanczak and condemn this heinous crime and brutal act of terrorism in the strongest possible terms," Foreign Office Spokesperson Abdul Basit said in a statement.
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February - 15 
Hours after the meeting, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced a 10-day cease-fire in Swat through his illegal FM channel, Daily Times reported. “The Swat chapter of Taliban agrees with talks between the provincial Government and TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad, and ceases
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Hours after the meeting, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced a 10-day cease-fire in Swat through his illegal FM channel, Daily Times reported. “The Swat chapter of Taliban agrees with talks between the provincial Government and TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad, and ceases hostilities for a temporary period of 10 days,” locals quoted Fazlullah’s broadcast. They said he had elaborated the Taliban would review the progress of Sharia implementation after 10 days and decide their future course of action. He said the TTP fully respected the TNSM chief’s decisions.
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February - 15 
The Taliban of Swat announced a 10-day cease-fire on February 15 after the Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) reached an understanding about promulgating Sharia (Islamic law), termed ‘Nizam-i-Adl Regulation’, in Malakand region, Dawn reported. “Taliban have declared a un
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The Taliban of Swat announced a 10-day cease-fire on February 15 after the Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) reached an understanding about promulgating Sharia (Islamic law), termed ‘Nizam-i-Adl Regulation’, in Malakand region, Dawn reported. “Taliban have declared a unilateral cease-fire for 10 days as a goodwill gesture. Our fighters will not attack security personnel and Government installations,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. However, he said, the militants would hold their positions and defend themselves if attacked. He welcomed the move to enforce Sharia regulations in Malakand, but added: “We will see how sincere the Government is in their enforcement.” When asked about the possibility of the militants disarming themselves, the spokesman said everything would depend on the line of action of the authorities in Swat. According to sources, a five-point draft accord was signed after negotiations between the Government and TNSM teams held at the Timergara rest-house where the outfit had set up a ‘protest camp’ on October 9, 2008. A formal announcement about enforcement of the regulations is likely to be made by the NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan in provincial capital Peshawar on February 16 at a meeting to be attended by provincial ministers, a delegation of the TNSM and leaders of political parties. During the talks on February 15, the NWFP Government team was led by Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, Livestock Minister Haji Hidayatullah, the Awami National Party spokesman Zahid Khan and Hazara Commissioner Javed Khan, while the TNSM was represented by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, spokesman Amir Izzat, Maulana Mohammad Alam and Badshah Sardar. Amir Izzat and Sufi Mohammad’s son Rizwanullah said “both sides have signed the accord” and an announcement regarding the enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand division would be made by the Chief Minister after a meeting with a jirga (council of elders) of the TNSM in Peshawar on February 16. “The NWFP government has accepted TNSM’s demand for enforcement of Shariat-i-Muhammadi in accordance with Quran, Sunnah, Ijma and Qias,” they said.
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February - 16 
President Asif Ali Zardari will not sign documents of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 until peace is restored in Swat, Malakand, and other troubled areas, Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on February 16, Daily Times reported. “The Government will monitor the situation, as security and
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President Asif Ali Zardari will not sign documents of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 until peace is restored in Swat, Malakand, and other troubled areas, Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on February 16, Daily Times reported. “The Government will monitor the situation, as security and well-being of Swat is top priority,” Sherry said in a statement following an agreement between the NWFP Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). However, she said, “The will of the population of the Swat… should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement.” Meanwhile, the Pakistan army said it will abide by the deal between the NWFP Government and TNSM. The Inter-Service Public Relations spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a private TV channel that the military had been asked to retreat, but it would only respond if attacked. He said the situation in Swat was not satisfactory, but the Government had adopted another strategy. To a question whether the army was consulted before the deal, Abbas said, “Consultation is always there.”
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February - 16 
The NWFP Government formally announced on February 16 the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division and Kohistan District, Daily Times reported. “The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema
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The NWFP Government formally announced on February 16 the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division and Kohistan District, Daily Times reported. “The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema with the approval of Federal Government introduced changes in the 1999 Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. Today I announce promulgation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (Amended) 2009… The regulations will be implemented in Malakand following the return of peace and restoration of writ of the Government,” NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti told a press conference after chairing a jirga (council of elders) in Peshawar. The jirga was attended by a 29-member Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) delegation from Dir, leaders and representatives of political and religious parties, members of the NWFP cabinet and senior bureaucrats. He said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 had been approved by President Asif Zardari following consultation with TNSM representatives, APP added. “We will reciprocate the militants’ 10-day armistice with a cease-fire for good,” the Chief Minister said. Hoti also said troops would remain in “reactive mode” instead of “proactive mode” and would not target anyone unless threatened. He said the army should be removed only after peace has been restored. Troops would play their role in reconstruction and rehabilitation, he added. He said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 were in line with the Constitution of Pakistan as it was the amended form of the regulations proposed for Malakand in 1994 and 1999. He said the new system had been devised to provide easy and speedy justice for the people. He said both the qazi and the police department would be held accountable for any delay. He announced that all civil cases would be resolved within six months and all criminal cases would be decided within a maximum of four months. For its implementation, Hoti said, a task force comprising the federal secretary interior, the NWFP chief secretary, the provincial presidents of the ANP and the PPP, the law and home secretaries, would be established, The News reported. Sources told Daily Times that the TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad would head a jirga to Swat in the next two days to discuss the restoration of peace with the residents and Taliban. Earlier, the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain read an ‘announcement’ signed by three TNSM leaders and six NWFP Government officials that declared “null and void” all laws “contrary to Quran and Hadith” in Malakand Division and Kohistan District of Hazara Division. The Malakand Division comprises seven districts of Swat, Buner, Shangla, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Chitral and Malakand. The announcement also requested the TNSM chief to co-operate with the Government for the restoration of peace in Malakand and promised the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations would be implemented there after peace was fully restored.
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February - 16 
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly welcomed the agreement between the TNSM and NWFP Government for the enforcement of Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Talking to a private TV channel, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said the Taliban would try their best for the enforceme
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly welcomed the agreement between the TNSM and NWFP Government for the enforcement of Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Talking to a private TV channel, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said the Taliban would try their best for the enforcement of Islamic system in the country and FATA. When asked if the TTP would lay down their arms and renounce violence in the FATA and Swat, he said they would accept every decision taken by Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
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February - 16 
The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on February 16 that the Samjhauta Express incident and Mumbai attacks were interconnected and the investigation process could only proceed if India responds to questions asked by Pakistan, Dawn reported. Talking to journalists at the Multan Airport, he
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The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on February 16 that the Samjhauta Express incident and Mumbai attacks were interconnected and the investigation process could only proceed if India responds to questions asked by Pakistan, Dawn reported. Talking to journalists at the Multan Airport, he said if India wanted to punish the culprits of the Mumbai attack it should reply to the 30 questions raised by Pakistan because answers to these questions were necessary for completion of investigation.
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February - 16 
The Bajaur chapter of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on February 16 demanded immediate implementation of the Sharia (Islamic law) in the Agency and in return assured the Government of its co-operation to establish a complete writ of the state, demanding the Army to stay in the regi
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The Bajaur chapter of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on February 16 demanded immediate implementation of the Sharia (Islamic law) in the Agency and in return assured the Government of its co-operation to establish a complete writ of the state, demanding the Army to stay in the region till reconstruction work was completed. TNSM Bajaur chief Ismail Muhammadi made this demand while reacting to the finalisation of a five-point agreement for enforcement of Sharia in the Malakand division after successful talks between the NWFP Government and TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. “We assure the Government of complete cooperation for a lasting peace and for establishing writ of the state in the troubled agency if people’s demand of enforcement of Shariah is met,” Ilyas told The News. “After people’s major demand of the enforcement of Shariah is met, the restoration of peace and purging the area of miscreants will become easier and the TNSM will be in a position to help establish writ of the government,” he added.
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February - 16 
The Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), which claims to have kidnapped American UN official John Solecki, said on February 16 it had extended a 72-hour deadline for the Government to meet demands for his release, Daily Times reported. “We have decided to extend the deadline on the appeal of
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The Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), which claims to have kidnapped American UN official John Solecki, said on February 16 it had extended a 72-hour deadline for the Government to meet demands for his release, Daily Times reported. “We have decided to extend the deadline on the appeal of our honourable Baloch leaders,” a BLUF spokesman told reporters via telephone at the Quetta Press Club. “A new deadline will be announced later,” AFP quoted the spokesman as saying. UN officials have reportedly initiated contact with important Baloch leaders to persuade them to ask the kidnappers to release Solecki, sources said.
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February - 17 
The implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division will not affect the Government’s policy on the war against terror, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 17, Daily Times reported. During a meeting with the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, he said t
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The implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division will not affect the Government’s policy on the war against terror, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 17, Daily Times reported. During a meeting with the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, he said the agreement between the Taliban and the NWFP Government was one part of an overall strategy for peace, a private TV channel reported.
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February - 17 
US President Barack Obama has ordered an additional 17,000 US soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan, saying “the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action,” Daily Times reported. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on February 17, he said the
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US President Barack Obama has ordered an additional 17,000 US soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan, saying “the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action,” Daily Times reported. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on February 17, he said the war against the Taliban was ‘still winnable’. He also said he was ‘absolutely convinced’ that military means alone “cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region”. The US president said only a ‘comprehensive strategy’ that also relies on diplomacy and development could succeed. In a statement released separately by the White House, Obama said the troop dispatch is “necessary to stabilise a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires”. The increase doesn’t “pre-determine the outcome” of a review of the war in Afghanistan, he said.
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February - 18 
A North Waziristan Agency Taliban ‘commander’ on February 18 ordered the Taliban to halt sabotage activities in the settled districts of the NWFP to facilitate a religious congregation in the Bannu District of the province. Taliban commander Gul Bahadar’s spokesman, Ahmedullah Ahmedi, announced the
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A North Waziristan Agency Taliban ‘commander’ on February 18 ordered the Taliban to halt sabotage activities in the settled districts of the NWFP to facilitate a religious congregation in the Bannu District of the province. Taliban commander Gul Bahadar’s spokesman, Ahmedullah Ahmedi, announced the directive in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan. “All Taliban have been directed to stop attacks on Government installations to facilitate the congregation in Bannu District,” Ahmedi said in a press statement. According to the Taliban spokesman, a unilateral cease-fire would be in place until March 5.
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February - 18 
In a suspected sectarian incident, unidentified men killed the Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat-Noorani provincial leader Maulana Iftikhar Ahmed Habibi in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, on February 18. According to Daily Times, Police said Habibi, who was also a regular Islamic commentator on the Pak
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In a suspected sectarian incident, unidentified men killed the Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat-Noorani provincial leader Maulana Iftikhar Ahmed Habibi in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, on February 18. According to Daily Times, Police said Habibi, who was also a regular Islamic commentator on the Pakistan Television, was killed by unidentified men when he was on his way to work. No group has claimed responsibility for the murder so far. “This is an act of sectarianism carried out by those who had previously threatened to kill Habibi,” Mir Abdul Qudoos Sasooli, the provincial president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, said. “The murder was carried out by the activists of banned organisations which are operating now under new names,” he said, giving the Balochistan Government a 72-hour ultimatum to arrest the murderers.
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February - 18 
More than 300,000 people in the northwest region of the country have been displaced over the last six months because of fighting between Taliban and Security Forces, officials said on February 18, The News reported. A total of 55,729 displaced families, or 337,772 individuals, have been registered b
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More than 300,000 people in the northwest region of the country have been displaced over the last six months because of fighting between Taliban and Security Forces, officials said on February 18, The News reported. A total of 55,729 displaced families, or 337,772 individuals, have been registered by the authorities, Shaukat Tahir, a senior official from the National Disaster Management Authority, told a press conference in Islamabad. Around 70 per cent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan, Tahir said, stressing that people were now beginning to return. He said people had left their homes because of an “ongoing operation in tribal areas”. They were now returning “because roads have mostly been reopened and the military authorities have cleared the mines,” he said. Amnesty International has estimated that 200,000-500,000 people have been displaced from the Swat valley over the past year. However, Tahir put the number for the past six months at 2,085 people. “International agencies threw around controversial figures about IDPs which were picked up by the media. Our figures are documented and came after a proper registration mechanism which can be verified,” he said. In terms of aid, some 67,756 individuals were provided with shelter in 12 camps in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), while 269,836 individuals were moved elsewhere, Tahir added. Nine emergency camps were set up in Swat alone, he claimed. Tahir said 13 UN aid agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Pakistani Red Crescent were participating in relief efforts.
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February - 18 
The Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF) has rejected a plea by the United Nations for direct negotiations for the release of John Solecki, the head of the UNHCR in Balochistan who was abducted two weeks ago. Mir Shahak Baloch, who claimed to be the spokesman for the previously unheard of BLUF, cal
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The Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF) has rejected a plea by the United Nations for direct negotiations for the release of John Solecki, the head of the UNHCR in Balochistan who was abducted two weeks ago. Mir Shahak Baloch, who claimed to be the spokesman for the previously unheard of BLUF, called reporters from an undisclosed location and said the UN official’s health had worsened in the last few days. He said the group had provided details of the missing persons to the Government along with a video of John Solecki released last week. “Instead of cooperating with us, the Government is trying to move the missing persons to more secretive places. We want the UN to formulate a team and come to Balochistan to see the actual situation about the missing persons,” the BLUF spokesman said.
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February - 18 
The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and gangster Dawood Ibrahim are not in Pakistan, the Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said on February 18, Times of India reported. Pakistan will not provide protection and refuge to any criminal, including Ibrahim, Malik told reporters on th
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The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and gangster Dawood Ibrahim are not in Pakistan, the Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said on February 18, Times of India reported. Pakistan will not provide protection and refuge to any criminal, including Ibrahim, Malik told reporters on the sidelines of an official function in Lahore. He said both Ibrahim and Masood Azhar are not in the country.
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February - 19 
Militants blew up another Government school building. Sources said that militants dynamited the building of the Government Primary School at Tali in the Salarzai sub-division, raising the number of schools destroyed so far to 31. Talking to the media, spokesman of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
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Militants blew up another Government school building. Sources said that militants dynamited the building of the Government Primary School at Tali in the Salarzai sub-division, raising the number of schools destroyed so far to 31. Talking to the media, spokesman of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Bajaur chapter, Maulvi Omar, claimed responsibility for blowing up the school and threatened that their fighters would destroy all educational institutions in the Agency if SFs did not stop the ongoing operation against them. Omar said that buildings of schools and colleges were being used by the troops as their camps to launch operations against the Taliban. "We would take action and destroy all the buildings of educational institutions if security forces continued their operation against our fighters," he warned.
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February - 19 
The commandant of Mohmand Rifles warned militants and miscreants of stern action if they tried to challenge the Government’s writ in the agency. Addressing a ceremony held in connection with distribution of relief goods and free medical camp for the affected people in Darwazgai-II Camp and Lakaro, C
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The commandant of Mohmand Rifles warned militants and miscreants of stern action if they tried to challenge the Government’s writ in the agency. Addressing a ceremony held in connection with distribution of relief goods and free medical camp for the affected people in Darwazgai-II Camp and Lakaro, Colonel Saifullah said no one would be allowed to impose their personal agenda on the people and make them hostage. He claimed that they had achieved the set objectives in the military operation and warned that those destroying Government installations would be dealt with an iron hand.
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February - 19 
The militants involved in 9/11, the Mumbai attacks and unrest in Swat have common roots, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke told a meeting in Washington on February 19, Daily Times reported. In the meeting to review the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation, he said the US was troubled and confused about t
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The militants involved in 9/11, the Mumbai attacks and unrest in Swat have common roots, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke told a meeting in Washington on February 19, Daily Times reported. In the meeting to review the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation, he said the US was troubled and confused about the development in the Swat valley. According to a TV channel, Holbrook said in an interview that progress in the Swat valley was not an encouraging trend and that the US would not like militants to get hold of any territory in Pakistan. According to another news channel, Holbrooke also said victory in Afghanistan was not achievable in purely military terms. Reducing tensions between India and Pakistan was imperative to get Pakistan more focused on the terrorism war along the border with Afghanistan, Holbrooke reportedly told a US TV channel.
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February - 19 
The US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said he called President Asif Ali Zardari on February 19 expressed US concern over the Swat peace deal, which he said was ‘hard to understand’, Daily Times reported. Richard Holbrooke said in an interview with CNN that Zardari assured him the pact was
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The US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said he called President Asif Ali Zardari on February 19 expressed US concern over the Swat peace deal, which he said was ‘hard to understand’, Daily Times reported. Richard Holbrooke said in an interview with CNN that Zardari assured him the pact was an “interim arrangement” to stabilise the restive region. “He (Zardari) does not disagree that the people who are running Swat now are murderous thugs and militants and they pose a danger not only to Pakistan but to the United States,” said Holbrooke. “I am concerned, and I know that Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton is and the president is, that this deal which is portrayed in the press as a truce does not turn into a surrender… President Zardari has assured us this is not the case,” said Holbrooke.
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February - 19 
The US State Department said the US was interested in seeing results of anti-terrorism efforts in Pakistan and will continue to stay in touch with Pakistani officials over the Swat peace arrangement. Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said: "These types of deals have happened before and (in that context
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The US State Department said the US was interested in seeing results of anti-terrorism efforts in Pakistan and will continue to stay in touch with Pakistani officials over the Swat peace arrangement. Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said: "These types of deals have happened before and (in that context) the direction of events in Swat valley are not in going in a positive way. What we do want to see is results."
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February - 20 
32 persons were killed and 145 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the funeral procession of a slain employee of the Tehsil Municipal Administration near the busy Shubra Square in Dera Ismail Khan on February 20, The News reported. Sources said the funeral procession of local Sh
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32 persons were killed and 145 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the funeral procession of a slain employee of the Tehsil Municipal Administration near the busy Shubra Square in Dera Ismail Khan on February 20, The News reported. Sources said the funeral procession of local Shia community leader Sher Zaman alias Shera, who was killed in firing by unidentified persons on February 19, was heading towards Kotly Imam Hussain for his Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) and burial when a suicide bomber ran into the mourners and blew himself up. While there was no immediate claim for the blast, Police and witnesses blamed sectarian extremists. “We cannot immediately say who could be behind the bombing but it appeared to be linked with the ongoing sectarian attacks,” said Saadullah Khan, the local police station chief. “The head and a foot of the suicide bomber has been found at the scene. The bomber appeared to be 20 years old with a beard,” he added. The suicide bombing consequently led to rioting and firing in the air by some angry funeral participants. They reportedly targeted an approaching Police patrol vehicle, prompting the authorities to impose an indefinite curfew in the city. In the Sikligara area, a Police mobile van was also fired at. However, the Policemen in the vehicle escaped unhurt, sources said. Riots broke out in the city following the blast, and Police confirmed that two people were killed in the firing that followed the suicide bombing, according to Daily Times. Separately, Police said they had arrested three of the four people suspected of killing Sher Zaman.
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February - 20 
A breakthrough is reported to have occurred during talks between the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed and Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah on February 20, Dawn quoted a TNSM spokesman as saying. Separately, the Taliban said they would probably extend the c
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A breakthrough is reported to have occurred during talks between the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed and Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah on February 20, Dawn quoted a TNSM spokesman as saying. Separately, the Taliban said they would probably extend the cease-fire in Swat. Sufi Mohammad is seeking to persuade the Taliban to eschew violence and accept the Government's offer to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in the Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said “Hopefully, you'll hear good news in one or two days.” “They met and discussed how peace will return here and what actions need to be taken for it,” said Khan, adding that Sufi Mohammed was expected to make the Taliban's case to the Government. According to The News, Sufi Mohammed accompanied by thousands of his activists on February 20 continued to rally through the strife-torn towns and villages of the Swat Valley. He also met his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, to persuade the militants to lay down their arms.
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February - 20 
The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on February 20 that Washington could accept a political agreement between the Afghan Government and the Taliban militants along the lines of a truce in neighbouring Pakistan, The News reported. When asked if Pakistan succeeds in pacifying the militant activ
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The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on February 20 that Washington could accept a political agreement between the Afghan Government and the Taliban militants along the lines of a truce in neighbouring Pakistan, The News reported. When asked if Pakistan succeeds in pacifying the militant activity in Swat, the United States would allow Afghans to make a similar type of agreement, Gates replied: “If there is a reconciliation, if insurgents are willing to put down their arms, if the reconciliation is essentially on the terms being offered by the government, then I think we would be very open to that. We have said all along that ultimately some sort of political reconciliation has to be part of the long-term solution in Afghanistan.”
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February - 20 
Top Taliban leaders from North and South Waziristan met on February 20 to forge an alliance, Daily Times reported. Sources said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud and Taliban leaders Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadar met at an undisclosed location in Waziristan and agr
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Top Taliban leaders from North and South Waziristan met on February 20 to forge an alliance, Daily Times reported. Sources said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud and Taliban leaders Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadar met at an undisclosed location in Waziristan and agreed to form an alliance. The three Taliban leaders have reportedly formed a 13-member committee and authorised it to make ‘all decisions’. They also agreed that they would jointly defend attacks against them, and make plans in consultation with the committee. An unnamed senior militant commander of the Nazir group told The News that all the three commanders in a meeting held somewhere in South Waziristan Agency resolved all their differences and promised to live peacefully with each other in future. He said senior Pakistani and Afghan Taliban commanders played role in resolving differences among the three. He also said a 14-member Shura (executive council) was formed later after their final meeting that would comprise Baitullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Maulvi Nazir and militants commander in South Waziristan, while 10 other people had been drawn from Baitullah Mahsud’s tribe, Gul Bahadur’s Utmanzai Wazir tribe and Maulvi Nazir’s Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.
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February - 21 February - 22
The Taliban said on February 22 they would decide within days whether to call a permanent cease-fire in Swat after the Government agreed to allow Sharia (Islamic law) in the valley, Daily Times reported. Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, said they would review their curren
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The Taliban said on February 22 they would decide within days whether to call a permanent cease-fire in Swat after the Government agreed to allow Sharia (Islamic law) in the valley, Daily Times reported. Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, said they would review their current 10-day truce in the Swat valley when it expires on February 25. “We declared a 10-day cease-fire just after the agreement was signed and you will see an exemplary peace prevail in the valley once Sharia is enforced… In the next five or six days, our Shura [executive council] is meeting and it will decide about a permanent ceasefire,” Khan told AFP. Fazlullah said the cease-fire would be made permanent provided the militants were confident about the Government’s intentions. He was speaking after talks with Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed, who signed the deal with the Government. Sufi held a meeting with close aides in Mingora on February 22 to review the situation, his spokesman Ameer Izzat said. Earlier on February 21, the Government and the Swat chapter of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) agreed to a permanent cease-fire in Swat after Fazlullah accepted the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, leading the Government to announce the reopening of schools and return of the internally-displaced persons. Speaking on his FM channel, Fazlullah indicated that he would give up fighting in Swat but would not surrender. Fazlullah also stated that he would continue his struggle at the international level and the fight against the US till Washington was defeated. Commissioner of the Malakand Division, Syed Muhammad Javed, told the media that the cease-fire would now be permanent. “Yes, both sides will observe a permanent cease-fire,” Javed told The News. Fazlullah also reportedly made the same announcement on the truce in his address. After the agreement, Javed said all the schools would be reopened by February 23. Fazlullah has also reportedly allowed girls’ students to appear in examinations in proper purdah (veil). The Government also urged the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes, declaring that it would provide them assistance and compensation. The commissioner said the Government had provided funds in this regard and PKR 300,000 and PKR 100,000 would be given to those killed and wounded during the violence, respectively. He asked those police officials who had deserted the force during the conflict to rejoin their duty and announced promotion for policemen who had bravely performed duty during the conflict, besides double salary of all the turbulent months. He added that the Chief Minister would soon announce a development package for Swat.
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February - 22 
Taliban abducted and later released the new District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) in Swat and his six bodyguards to secure the release of their three aides on February 22, Daily Times reported. “We have released the official and his six guards in exchange for the release of our two colleagues,” Talib
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Taliban abducted and later released the new District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) in Swat and his six bodyguards to secure the release of their three aides on February 22, Daily Times reported. “We have released the official and his six guards in exchange for the release of our two colleagues,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. “The Government has released two (of) our men and soon they will release the third. The Government violated the agreement by arresting our men in Peshawar and killing in Dir (district) that is why we had to do this,” Khan said. Government officials said they could not confirm the claim by Khan, saying they had not yet heard from the kidnapped official. “I have received some information about the release of the Government official and his guards, but we have not heard from him yet,” the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP. DCO Khushhal Khan and six bodyguards were taken away at gunpoint from a Taliban check-post in Mingora earlier on February 22.
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February - 23 
The chief of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that the ‘main threat of global terrorism’ is coming from the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Daily Times reported. According to a Voice of America programme, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on February 23 that another thr
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The chief of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that the ‘main threat of global terrorism’ is coming from the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Daily Times reported. According to a Voice of America programme, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on February 23 that another threat could come from militants recruited on US soil. He said the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 had raised concern about whether a similar attack could be carried out elsewhere. "This type of an attack reminds us that terrorists with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximise their impact," said Mueller at the Council on Foreign Relations. He said the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan posed the ‘greatest threat’ of terror attacks.
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February - 23 
The Taliban on February 23 announced a unilateral cease-fire and secretly signed a peace accord with the Government, pledging to remain peaceful, The News reported. Following the signing of the accord, in which the Government reportedly announced amnesty for the Taliban, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Talib
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The Taliban on February 23 announced a unilateral cease-fire and secretly signed a peace accord with the Government, pledging to remain peaceful, The News reported. Following the signing of the accord, in which the Government reportedly announced amnesty for the Taliban, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Taliban commander in Bajaur and deputy leader of the Baitullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), announced a unilateral cease-fire through his FM radio on the evening of February 23. He directed his cadres to stop fighting the Security Forces and help restore peace in Bajaur as an understanding had been reached with the Government. Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said they had heard about the militants’ announcement of a truce but the Government had not yet reciprocated. He said the chief of the Frontier Corps, after discussions with the civilian administration, would decide about the Government’s stance on February 24 (today) in response to the militants’ cease-fire. Official and tribal sources said that besides pro-government militant commanders, prominent tribal elders, including Malik Abdul Aziz, Malik Ayaz and Malik Manjapar, helped in peace talks between the Government and the Faqir Mohammad-led Taliban in Bajaur. Sources said that after a few rounds of talks between the two sides through the tribal jirga, the two warring sides agreed to resolve their major differences through dialogue instead of fighting. The sources said senior militant commanders, including Faqir Mohammad and TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar, signed the peace agreement on behalf of the Taliban while Political Agent of Bajaur Agency Shafeerullah Khan, Commissioner of Malakand Syed Muhammad Javed and a few other senior Government and military officials inked the truce from the Government’s side.
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February - 24 
The Security Forces suspended their operations in Bajaur Agency on February 24 and agreed to hold fire for four days, Daily Times reported. "Security forces have decided to observe a four-day ceasefire across Bajaur," Political Agent Safirullah Khan told reporters. He described the decision as a "go
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The Security Forces suspended their operations in Bajaur Agency on February 24 and agreed to hold fire for four days, Daily Times reported. "Security forces have decided to observe a four-day ceasefire across Bajaur," Political Agent Safirullah Khan told reporters. He described the decision as a "goodwill gesture" made at the request of tribal elders. A source said tribal leaders wanted to hold talks with Taliban in order to negotiate a permanent peace in the area. "The security forces reserve the right to retaliate if they come under attack," Khan said. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Maulvi Faqir Muhammad had declared a unilateral truce in Bajaur late on February 23. He said in a radio broadcast that his men had vacated Inayat Killay, a Taliban stronghold outside Bajaur’s main town of Khar.
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February - 24 
The Taliban in Swat declared an indefinite cease-fire in the valley on February 24, Daily Times reported. The decision was made in a meeting of the Taliban shura (executive council) on February 24, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah announced the decision in a speech
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The Taliban in Swat declared an indefinite cease-fire in the valley on February 24, Daily Times reported. The decision was made in a meeting of the Taliban shura (executive council) on February 24, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah announced the decision in a speech that was reportedly cut short when the security forces blocked the transmission of his FM radio channel. A private TV channel said the Security Forces had imported equipment to jam the radio transmission and used it for the first time on February 24. Fazlullah asked his men to stop displaying weapons, end their armed patrols and not to attack security convoys or abduct Government officials, according to copies of the speech sent to the media. He urged the Government to restore all officials removed during the unrest in Swat. Fazlullah ordered his commanders to disband their checkpoints, which he said created "unnecessary problems" for residents. The Taliban chief also stopped all non-government organisations (NGOs) from operating in the valley until the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law). "All NGOs should leave Swat because they are creating problems for peace," Fazlullah said in the speech. But he added that emergency medical crews were exempt from the order. Fazlullah called on soldiers deployed in Swat to remain at their bases, vowing to retaliate against any troop increases.
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February - 25 
Taliban on February 25 disbanded checkpoints and stopped carrying weapons in public a day after announcing an indefinite cease-fire in the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah ordered his followers to disband checkpoints in a speech on his illegal FM radio station la
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Taliban on February 25 disbanded checkpoints and stopped carrying weapons in public a day after announcing an indefinite cease-fire in the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah ordered his followers to disband checkpoints in a speech on his illegal FM radio station late on February 24 and asked them not to carry weapons in public. “The Taliban have removed their checkpoints in and around Mingora,” Irfan Ahmad, a resident of Swat, said. Another Swat resident, Mushtaq Khan, said checkpoints have been removed from Matta, Charbagh and Kabal, all Taliban strongholds. “We adhere to the announcement made by Mullah Fazlullah on Tuesday night… We will completely remove all checkpoints after army troops withdraw from the area,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. Fazlullah announced that the Taliban would not attack army vehicles carrying rations or moving between bases. Khan also said girls could go to schools if they are properly veiled.
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February - 25 
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on February 25 announced full support to the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) if the Security Forces (SFs) started an operation against the LI in Khyber Agency, Daily Times reported. The Bara-based TTP leader Hamza Afridi told reporters by telephone from an undisclosed locat
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on February 25 announced full support to the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) if the Security Forces (SFs) started an operation against the LI in Khyber Agency, Daily Times reported. The Bara-based TTP leader Hamza Afridi told reporters by telephone from an undisclosed location that they would support the LI in the agency if the SFs launched an operation against it. He also said the Taliban would not abandon LI chief Mangal Bagh.
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February - 26 
Sufi Muhammad said he was ready to play his role for restoration of peace in Waziristan and Bajaur. He said he was in consultation with the Malakand Commissioner, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand Range), and senior military officials for restoration of peace in Swat. He said he was also
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Sufi Muhammad said he was ready to play his role for restoration of peace in Waziristan and Bajaur. He said he was in consultation with the Malakand Commissioner, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand Range), and senior military officials for restoration of peace in Swat. He said he was also in contact with the Taliban leadership. He called on the people of Malakand Division and Kohistan District to withdraw all the cases pending before the courts in order to file them afresh under the proposed Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009.
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February - 26 
The Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC), Major General Salim Nawaz, has said terrorist activities are still being carried out in Balochistan despite Government efforts for reconciliation, Geo TV reported. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, he said the FC has foiled a major terrorist act i
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The Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC), Major General Salim Nawaz, has said terrorist activities are still being carried out in Balochistan despite Government efforts for reconciliation, Geo TV reported. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, he said the FC has foiled a major terrorist act in the province by seizing a heavy stock of weapons. These weapons were to be smuggled to different parts of the country from Afghanistan. He also said no operation is being carried out in any part of Balochistan for the recovery of UN official John Solecki because it is feared that his abductors might kill Solecki on seeing the troops approaching. The officer also claimed that Brahamdagh Bugti is reported to have links with the abduction of John Solecki.
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February - 27 
Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Nauman Bashir said on February 27 he had no proof that Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab - the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested after the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 - used Pakistani waters to reach India. “I do not have any proof, so I canno
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Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Nauman Bashir said on February 27 he had no proof that Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab - the lone Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant arrested after the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 - used Pakistani waters to reach India. “I do not have any proof, so I cannot confirm that claim,” said Nauman while addressing a press conference in Karachi, Daily Times reported. “The Indian navy is much larger than ours, and if Ajmal Kasab had gone from here, then what were their coastguards doing and why they did not stop the terrorists?” the naval commander was quoted as saying by AFP. Nauman declined further comment on the Mumbai attacks. “There are many questions about the Mumbai attacks which need to be answered and until then, we cannot make any comment,” he said.
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February - 27 
According to Times of India, the Government of India on February 27 rejected the Pakistan Navy chief’s claim. “The dossier handed over to Pakistan was irrefutable and solid on facts,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram was quoted as saying at a press conference. According to AFP, the Union Minister of Ext
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According to Times of India, the Government of India on February 27 rejected the Pakistan Navy chief’s claim. “The dossier handed over to Pakistan was irrefutable and solid on facts,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram was quoted as saying at a press conference. According to AFP, the Union Minister of External Affairs, Anand Sharma, also rejected the naval chief’s claim, and said Pakistan was engaging in ‘multiple speak, duplicity and denial’ and had ‘created this confusion’.
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March - 1 
The Security Forces (SFs) claimed to have forced militants out of Bajaur Agency and advanced towards strongholds of the Taliban in the region, The News reported on March 1. “We think that we have secured this agency,” said Major General Tariq Khan, the commander of forces fighting in Bajaur. “They h
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The Security Forces (SFs) claimed to have forced militants out of Bajaur Agency and advanced towards strongholds of the Taliban in the region, The News reported on March 1. “We think that we have secured this agency,” said Major General Tariq Khan, the commander of forces fighting in Bajaur. “They have lost. They have lost their cohesion out here,” Khan told reporters flown by helicopters from Islamabad. Colonel Saifullah said the military had also beaten back militants in the neighbouring Mohmand Agency. “Now the people’s minds are clear. They now believe in the strength of the force and the resolve of the government that this militancy is being pursued and is being finished,” he told reporters in Ghalanai, headquarters of Mohmand Agency. “The influence of militants has reduced over a major proportion of the population and area,” the colonel added. General Tariq said about 50 percent of the militants were Afghans and some Sudanese and Egyptians had been killed in Bajaur in the initial stages of operation. He described a unilateral cease-fire declared by the Taliban on February 23 as “a face-saving statement”. “There was no question of ceasefire, the resistance has melted, dissolved. It is not there,” he said. Shafiullah, the chief of the Bajaur civil administration, said 1,600 militants were killed during the campaign and more than 2,000 injured while some 150 civilians also died and about 2,000 were injured in the fighting. He appealed for international donors to come forward with money for reconstruction and the provision of basic services such as electricity and water to 304,598 people displaced from their homes in Bajaur. The official said more than 180,000 had returned.
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March - 1 
Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the Security Forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce.
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Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the Security Forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce.
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March - 1 
The NWFP Government has withdrawn its decision regarding the distribution of rifles among villagers to protect their areas against militants, The News reported on March 1. The decision was taken during a meeting of the NWFP cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti in capital Peshawar on F
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The NWFP Government has withdrawn its decision regarding the distribution of rifles among villagers to protect their areas against militants, The News reported on March 1. The decision was taken during a meeting of the NWFP cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti in capital Peshawar on February 28. The meeting discussed the arms distribution and majority of the members asked for reversal of the decision following which the cabinet decided not to go for distribution of rifles, said Information Minister Mian Iftikhar. The Government had taken the decision of arms distribution on the demand of people of the troubled areas, the minister explained. He also said the cabinet observed that arms distribution among villagers would create more problems instead of providing some help to the Government.
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March - 2 
All major terrorist networks have a safe haven in Pakistan to operate creating a big "problem" to the US war against terror, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said, PTI reported. "I think it's the safe haven on the Pakistani side of the border, not just for Al-Qaeda but for the Taliban for the Haka
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All major terrorist networks have a safe haven in Pakistan to operate creating a big "problem" to the US war against terror, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said, PTI reported. "I think it's the safe haven on the Pakistani side of the border, not just for Al-Qaeda but for the Taliban for the Hakani network, for Gulbaddin Hekmatyar and other affiliated groups that are all working together -- they're separate groups, but they're all working together, and I think as long as they have a safe haven to operate there, it's going to be a problem for us," Gates told the MSNBC news channel in an interview. Gates, who met with Pakistani Army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani last week in Washington, said the Pakistan leadership now knows that what is going on in their tribal region is very dangerous for their country. "I believe, based on my talks with the Pakistanis here in Washington this past week, that they clearly now understand that what's going on up there in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan," Gates said.
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March - 3 
An ISPR press release said the attack was followed by exchange of fire which continued for an hour. Both sides are reported to have used heavy weapons. SFs fired artillery shells for the first time after a cease-fire was declared in Swat. One mortar shell hit a house, killing a man. Taliban spokesma
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An ISPR press release said the attack was followed by exchange of fire which continued for an hour. Both sides are reported to have used heavy weapons. SFs fired artillery shells for the first time after a cease-fire was declared in Swat. One mortar shell hit a house, killing a man. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed the soldiers were attacked because of their movement in the area without giving prior information. He alleged that the movement of troops was pre-planned and aimed at consolidating their positions. At a press conference in Saidu Sharif, Sufi Mohammad blamed the SFs for the incident and said that they had violated the truce. According to him, it had been decided that no side would move till mid-March, except with prior permission of the TNSM. He said it was agreed that whenever the troops wanted to move they would inform the TNSM in advance to avoid misunderstanding. “The troops didn’t inform us which led to the ill-fated incident,” he said. He warned that if the cease-fire violation continued, the TNSM would have to come out of the peace process. The TNSM, he said, was satisfied with the Taliban activities, but had reservations about the role of SFs in the peace process.
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March - 3 
Police claimed at least 12 terrorists, who appeared to be highly trained and used rocket launchers, hand-grenades and sophisticated automatic guns in the operation lasting about 30 minutes, were involved in the attack. The attackers subsequently escaped from the incident site after commandeering a c
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Police claimed at least 12 terrorists, who appeared to be highly trained and used rocket launchers, hand-grenades and sophisticated automatic guns in the operation lasting about 30 minutes, were involved in the attack. The attackers subsequently escaped from the incident site after commandeering a car and rickshaw. Police found a large quantity of hand-grenades, rocket launchers, suicide jackets, plastic explosives, time devices, Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and walkie-talkies left at different places in a radius of a few furlongs by the attackers. Police also seized three hand-grenades, a time device and a Kalashnikov from the backyard of the house of a retired army officer and several other weapons from near the Alfatah Departmental Store in Makka Colony and other adjacent places. They also seized a car parked near the Liberty Park with a huge-quantity of grenades and Kalashnikovs.
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March - 3 
Sri Lanka canceled the tour immediately after the attack and sent a special plane to escort its team back home later in the day. Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer termed the incident a planned attack and said it seemed to have followed the Mumbai attacks pattern, adding the attackers were not ordina
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Sri Lanka canceled the tour immediately after the attack and sent a special plane to escort its team back home later in the day. Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer termed the incident a planned attack and said it seemed to have followed the Mumbai attacks pattern, adding the attackers were not ordinary people, but highly trained. Capital City Police Officer Haji Habibur Rehman said the identity of the suspects was yet to be ascertained and an investigation had been launched to track them. Police also claimed they had detained a rickshaw driver from the Cantonment area whose three-wheeler had been used by two gunmen to escape from the scene. A senior police officer said they had detained five people for questioning, according to Daily Times.
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March - 4 
The NWFP Government struck a 17-point deal with the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) in the Swat valley on March 4, Daily Times reported. “A 17-point understanding was reached with a TNSM delegation … music has been banned in Swat and it has been agreed to expel prostitutes and pi
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The NWFP Government struck a 17-point deal with the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) in the Swat valley on March 4, Daily Times reported. “A 17-point understanding was reached with a TNSM delegation … music has been banned in Swat and it has been agreed to expel prostitutes and pimps from the district,” said a senior official. The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-led the provincial Government at the talks, while Maulana Safiullah and spokesman Amir Izzat Khan represented the TNSM – with Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed also in attendance. The meeting came a day after suspected Taliban militants killed two army troops and continued taking Government officials hostage, despite having agreed to a cease-fire in the wake of the provincial Government’s February 16 accord on the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) in Swat. “Music and vulgar CDs will be banned; shops will remain closed during prayer times and the complete implementation of sharia laws in the region will come into effect from the 16th of this month… Vulgarity would be rooted out and profiteers dealt with under the law. An anti-crime campaign will be launched and Quran classes will be started for jail inmates in the region,” according to the key points of the understanding. The Malakand Commissioner’s office released to the media the 17-point understanding – which does not say if the Taliban would stop abducting Government officials and attacking Government forces. The Commissioner told the TNSM delegation that he would forward the 17 points to the Chief Secretary in Peshawar for the Government’s approval, said the officials.
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March - 4 
The top US diplomat in Kabul warned on March 4 that Pakistan posed a bigger security challenge to America and the world than Afghanistan. "From where I sit [Pakistan] sure looks like it’s going to be a bigger problem," said Christopher Dell, currently running the US embassy in Kabul. "Pakistan is a
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The top US diplomat in Kabul warned on March 4 that Pakistan posed a bigger security challenge to America and the world than Afghanistan. "From where I sit [Pakistan] sure looks like it’s going to be a bigger problem," said Christopher Dell, currently running the US embassy in Kabul. "Pakistan is a bigger place, has a larger population, its nuclear-armed… It has certainly made radical Islam a part of its political life, and it now seems to be a deeply ingrained element of its political culture. It makes things there very hard," he said in an interview. Dell also said there were signs the rate of infiltration of insurgents across the frontier from Pakistan’s Tribal Areas had increased, possibly as a result of cease-fire deals agreed by Taliban and the Pakistani Government.
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March - 5 
Calling the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore an ‘eerie replica’ of the Mumbai attacks, the United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Pakistan is facing a serious internal security threat, a private TV channel reported on March 5. Speaking at a meeting of NATO fore
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Calling the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore an ‘eerie replica’ of the Mumbai attacks, the United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Pakistan is facing a serious internal security threat, a private TV channel reported on March 5. Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Clinton said a broad agreement had been reached on the basic elements of a strategic review on the way forward for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Clinton said the US wanted strong relations with the people and the Government of Pakistan and stressed the need for regional approach that included Pakistan and Afghanistan for the resolution of the issue of terrorism on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
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March - 5 
Locals said the administration had also been warned before the attack to stop women from visiting the shrine. Police told Daily Times that militants planted the explosives and then jumped over a wall of the shrine to escape. City Superintendent of Police Ijaz Abid said, "Bara-based militants could b
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Locals said the administration had also been warned before the attack to stop women from visiting the shrine. Police told Daily Times that militants planted the explosives and then jumped over a wall of the shrine to escape. City Superintendent of Police Ijaz Abid said, "Bara-based militants could be behind the attack, as they are opposed to shrines and have previously attacked other shrines as well."
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March - 6 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said in Peshawar on March 6 that only those Taliban prisoners that fall in the ‘white category’ will be released as part of the peace deal in Swat. Prisoners in the black and grey categories – who are a serious threat to national security according to police
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said in Peshawar on March 6 that only those Taliban prisoners that fall in the ‘white category’ will be released as part of the peace deal in Swat. Prisoners in the black and grey categories – who are a serious threat to national security according to police investigation manual – will not be freed, he told Daily Times. “I have directed the home secretary to look into the cases of those prisoners who are in the white category. We will not free prisoners in black and grey categories,” the chief minister said. Maulana Sufi Muhammad, chief of the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), had demanded the release of all Taliban prisoners arrested during military operations in Swat. Hoti also said his Government would soon send the draft Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 to the president for his approval. “In the next few days it will be sent to the [NWFP] governor who will forward to President Zardari… The president has to sign it. It is just a formality,” he said.
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March - 9 
Investigators have not found any concrete evidence so far of involvement of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3 and see the evidence of a ‘foreign hand’ behind the incident, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the National Assembly Standin
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Investigators have not found any concrete evidence so far of involvement of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3 and see the evidence of a ‘foreign hand’ behind the incident, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on March 9, Daily Times reported. The committee is reported to have discussed the law and order across Pakistan, the Lahore terrorist attack and efforts for the release of abducted United Nations official John Solecki. Rehman Malik said the investigation into the Lahore attack was moving in a positive direction and the leads gathered so far provide sufficient evidence of involvement of a foreign hand in the terrorist attack. The committee expressed displeasure over the security arrangements made for the visiting team and termed the incident a security lapse. The committee members said the Government should have provided extra security to the guests because there were intelligence reports of a possible attack.
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March - 9 
Sri Lanka on March 9 rejected reports that India might have been involved in the terrorist attack against its national cricket team in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said "From our point of view, there is no Indian involvement… India has helped us in our counter-terrorist efforts. I
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Sri Lanka on March 9 rejected reports that India might have been involved in the terrorist attack against its national cricket team in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said "From our point of view, there is no Indian involvement… India has helped us in our counter-terrorist efforts. I do not see a need for India to target the Sri Lankan cricket team."
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March - 9 
The central nervous system for the next major terrorist attack on the US soil lies in Pakistan, said senior US officials and lawmakers, Dawn reported. Two key US officials - Director of the National Intelligence and Director of the Military Intelligence - told the Senate Armed Services Committee tha
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The central nervous system for the next major terrorist attack on the US soil lies in Pakistan, said senior US officials and lawmakers, Dawn reported. Two key US officials - Director of the National Intelligence and Director of the Military Intelligence - told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pakistan had allowed Taliban to operate freely from Quetta while the tribal areas had become a “central nervous system” for al Qaeda. US lawmakers and officials also said that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has the ideological commitment to replace al Qaeda as the next major terrorist group in the world. They said the Pakistani establishment and intelligence agencies had taken some measures against the LeT recently but were not co-operating fully with the United States in dealing with this threat. The committee was also told that LeT had supporters among the Pakistanis living in the United States who could abet its efforts to carry out a terrorist attack in North America. “The central nervous system for the planning (of an attack on the US soil) would emanate from Fata,” said Senator Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, during a hearing on current and future worldwide threats to the national security of the United States. Earlier, chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, Senator Carl Levin, said that the Afghan Taliban forces under Mullah Omar operated with impunity from Balochistan, crossing unhampered into southern Afghanistan while al Qaeda was based in FATA from which attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan itself are launched.
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March - 9 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti signed on March 9 the draft of the proposed Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, and sent it to Governor Owais Ghani to be forwarded to the President for approval, sources in Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Daily Times on March 9. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Sh
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti signed on March 9 the draft of the proposed Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, and sent it to Governor Owais Ghani to be forwarded to the President for approval, sources in Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Daily Times on March 9. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) has set March 15 as the deadline for the Government to implement Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand. NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah told a press conference that the provincial Government had given final shape to the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 and President Asif Ali Zardari would sign the document in three days. The law minister said the regulation would deal with criminal cases only. According to the regulation, the minister said that two appellate Sharia courts – Darul Qaza and Darul-Darul Qaza – would be established in Malakand Division. He said that verdicts delivered by the Darul Qaza court could be challenged in the Darul-Darul Qaza court, whose verdict would be final. The law minister also said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations would be deemed to have come into effect on February 16.
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March - 10 
Lt-Gen Michael Maples, Director of US Defence Intelligence Agency, noted that while “strategic rivalry” with India drove Pakistan’s defence strategy, al Qaeda was using FATA to recruit and train operatives, plan and prepare regional and transnational attacks, disseminate propaganda and obtain equipm
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Lt-Gen Michael Maples, Director of US Defence Intelligence Agency, noted that while “strategic rivalry” with India drove Pakistan’s defence strategy, al Qaeda was using FATA to recruit and train operatives, plan and prepare regional and transnational attacks, disseminate propaganda and obtain equipment and supplies. General Maples warned that while Pakistan has taken important steps to safeguard its nuclear weapons, “vulnerabilities still exist”.
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March - 11 
The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on March 11 signed the draft of Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, for forwarding it to the president for a final approval, official sources told Daily Times. The sources, however, did not confirm if the draft had been sent to the president. NWFP Law Minister A
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The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on March 11 signed the draft of Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, for forwarding it to the president for a final approval, official sources told Daily Times. The sources, however, did not confirm if the draft had been sent to the president. NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 was expected to be implemented in Malakand Division and Kohistan District by March 15, and would have a retrospective effect from February 16, 2009. The minister said President Asif Ali Zardari had verbally agreed with the NWFP Government to sign the draft as soon as he received it. The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation will repeal the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2001, the law through which the executive magistracy was abolished across the country on August 14, 2001, and will revive the former system including the offices of district magistrate, additional district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate and other executive magistrates.
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March - 11 
The Sindh Government has been warned by intelligence agencies that terrorists could attack the lawyers’ ‘long march’ in Sindh, with provincial capital Karachi being a prime target. A Sindh Home Department official told Daily Times that the intelligence agencies have warned the Sindh Government of po
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The Sindh Government has been warned by intelligence agencies that terrorists could attack the lawyers’ ‘long march’ in Sindh, with provincial capital Karachi being a prime target. A Sindh Home Department official told Daily Times that the intelligence agencies have warned the Sindh Government of possible terrorism threats. “Agencies have been specifically warned that terrorist organisations can strike during the long march ... with March 14 and 15 being sensitive days,” said the sources. Capital City Police Officer Wasim Ahmed confirmed the news about possible terror threats in Sindh during the lawyers’ march. Meanwhile, a private TV channel reported that al Qaeda planned to target US consulates and citizens during the ‘long march’.
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March - 12 
A suspected US missile strike destroyed a Taliban training camp in Kurram Agency, killing at least 15 Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists, as well as injuring another 50, security officials said on March 12, Daily Times reported. "Fifteen militants were killed and 50 wounded," a senior security official
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A suspected US missile strike destroyed a Taliban training camp in Kurram Agency, killing at least 15 Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists, as well as injuring another 50, security officials said on March 12, Daily Times reported. "Fifteen militants were killed and 50 wounded," a senior security official told AFP. No high-value targets were believed to have died, the unnamed official added. Another security official said most of the dead were Afghan Taliban militants. "The training centre was run by local Taliban commander Fazal Saeed and training was underway at the time of the strike," the official added. The Taliban sealed off the area and retrieved bodies from the rubble of the building after the strike late on March 12.
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March - 12 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the Senate on March 12 that intelligence agencies have warned that the Sharif brothers’ lives were in danger and that a Mumbai-like incident could be replicated in Karachi. Responding to PML-N parliamentary leader Ishaq Dar, he said the Government had urged the pro
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the Senate on March 12 that intelligence agencies have warned that the Sharif brothers’ lives were in danger and that a Mumbai-like incident could be replicated in Karachi. Responding to PML-N parliamentary leader Ishaq Dar, he said the Government had urged the provincial Governments, through a letter, to ensure foolproof security arrangements for the PML-N leadership. He said a copy of the letter had been forwarded to the Sharif brothers and to the Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence.
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March - 13 
The number of those killed in a suspected US missile strike in Kurram Agency increased to 24 on March 13, according to Daily Times. Two missiles fired by an unmanned drone destroyed an alleged Taliban training camp in Kurram, said officials. "We have handed over 24 bodies after cleaning and wrapping
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The number of those killed in a suspected US missile strike in Kurram Agency increased to 24 on March 13, according to Daily Times. Two missiles fired by an unmanned drone destroyed an alleged Taliban training camp in Kurram, said officials. "We have handed over 24 bodies after cleaning and wrapping them in cloth," Saidur Rehman, an official of the local charity Al-Khidmat Foundation, told AFP. Local administration officials also confirmed that 24 bodies were found from the rubble, having earlier said that 18 bodies had been found. A senior security official told AFP that 50 others, ‘mostly Taliban’, were injured, and the dead included ‘foreigners’. No high-value targets were believed to have died, said the official. Another security official said most of the dead were Afghan Taliban.
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March - 13 
The political administration has reportedly launched crackdown on Afghan nationals living illegally in different parts of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the crackdown was launched after the administration received reports that the some Afghans who had been repatriated to their homeland had returned to
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The political administration has reportedly launched crackdown on Afghan nationals living illegally in different parts of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the crackdown was launched after the administration received reports that the some Afghans who had been repatriated to their homeland had returned to Bajaur. The local administration directed the Afghans living in Khar sub-division to leave the area in two days otherwise an operation would be launched against them.
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March - 15 
Intelligence officials said late on March 15 that two missiles fired by suspected United States drone planes killed five people at Chota Janikhel village in the Bannu District of NWFP, Daily Times reported. The officials said the dead included two Arabs and three other people. Reuters reported that
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Intelligence officials said late on March 15 that two missiles fired by suspected United States drone planes killed five people at Chota Janikhel village in the Bannu District of NWFP, Daily Times reported. The officials said the dead included two Arabs and three other people. Reuters reported that the missiles struck a house at around 10:30pm.
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March - 16 
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani early on March 16 (today) announced the reinstatement of all sacked judges, including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after the retirement of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on March 21, Daily Times reported. In a brief address to the nation at 5:50am, the Prime Minist
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani early on March 16 (today) announced the reinstatement of all sacked judges, including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after the retirement of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on March 21, Daily Times reported. In a brief address to the nation at 5:50am, the Prime Minister said he, in consultation with President Asif Ali Zardari, had decided the time had come to fulfill “the promises”. “I announce that all judges including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will be reinstated on March 21,” he said, adding that a notification to this effect would be issued later in the day. Gilani also said it was not possible to reinstate Chaudhry while Dogar was still in office as the Chief Justice. The Prime Minister also announced that the Government would file a review petition in Supreme Court against the decision of a three-member bench to disqualify former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif. Gilani ordered the provincial Governments to immediately lift Section 144 and to release all political workers arrested in connection with the ‘long march’. In response, Nawaz Sharif has called off the ‘long march’ to Islamabad.
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March - 17 
Police claimed to have arrested a would-be suicide bomber along with his relatives during a raid in the Turangzai village of Charsadda District on March 16-night, The News reported. Addressing a press conference on March 17, the District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Riaz said the Police raided a ho
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Police claimed to have arrested a would-be suicide bomber along with his relatives during a raid in the Turangzai village of Charsadda District on March 16-night, The News reported. Addressing a press conference on March 17, the District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Riaz said the Police raided a house in Turangzai and arrested a would-be suicide bomber, identified as Qari Shahid Ali, his father Kifayat, brother Imran and sister Iffat Begum, who is a lady Police constable, and a minor. He said Police also seized a suicide vest, a Kalashnikov rifle, a computer set, CDs and literatures from their possession. The DPO said the suicide bomber confessed to have links with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) headed by Baitullah Mehsud. He also said the would-be suicide bomber and one Kamran were allegedly involved in plotting the earlier suicide bombings in which the Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao faction) chief Aftab Sherpao and Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan were targets. "The bomber was planning to target NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti’s father and former federal minister Azam Khan Hoti, and Imtiaz Shagai, the recently-elected PPP MPA from Mardan’s PF-30 constituency," the DPO added. He said the bomber was a teacher in Maulana Zubair’s seminary and was an active member of the TTP in the area.
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March - 17 
The death toll in the March 16 suicide bombing in Rawalpindi bomb blast increased to 15 on March 17, Dawn reported. 25 people were also injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a busy bus stand at Pirwadhai. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Superintendent of Pol
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The death toll in the March 16 suicide bombing in Rawalpindi bomb blast increased to 15 on March 17, Dawn reported. 25 people were also injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a busy bus stand at Pirwadhai. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Superintendent of Police (Investigation) said, "Powerful explosives were used in the attack and the bodies of most of the victims were charred."
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March - 18 
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said on March 18 that the February 2009 attacks on Government buildings in Kabul were planned and directed from Pakistan, saying seven Afghans had been arrested, Dawn reported. The attackers were in telephone contact with a Pakistan-based ringleader during the simul
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Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said on March 18 that the February 2009 attacks on Government buildings in Kabul were planned and directed from Pakistan, saying seven Afghans had been arrested, Dawn reported. The attackers were in telephone contact with a Pakistan-based ringleader during the simultaneous attacks on the justice ministry, prisons directorate and education ministry, agency spokesman Saeed Ansary told reporters. The February 11 attacks, claimed by Taliban, killed 26 Afghans. Eight of the attackers were killed, three by their suicide bombs. “Seven terrorists were arrested and one was killed during the arrest operation,” Ansary said, without giving any further details about the raid. The alleged ringleader, whom Ansary identified only as Harris, was based in the Waziristan tribal area on the Afghan border and was still at large there, the official said. Some of the suspects told authorities they had received military training in Waziristan, he said. “I met Harris in Waziristan and received training in using weapons,” one alleged suspect said in a video recording handed to the media.
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March - 18 
In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP, “We have seen the report. It appears to be speculative and we cannot comment on speculations”. Up to now missile strikes launched by the US drones against militants who carry out attacks in Afghanistan have been limited to Pakistan’s nor
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In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP, “We have seen the report. It appears to be speculative and we cannot comment on speculations”. Up to now missile strikes launched by the US drones against militants who carry out attacks in Afghanistan have been limited to Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas, NYT reported. “It is fair to say that there is wide agreement to sustain and continue these covert programmes,” an unnamed senior US administration official told the newspaper.
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March - 19 
The Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC), Major General Saleem Nawaz has described as baseless reports that Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders and militants were hiding in Balochistan and said the Taliban did not have political and tribal support in the province, Dawn reported. “The border an
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The Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC), Major General Saleem Nawaz has described as baseless reports that Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders and militants were hiding in Balochistan and said the Taliban did not have political and tribal support in the province, Dawn reported. “The border and other areas of Balochistan are not suitable for Taliban activities,” he told reporters at the FC headquarters in Quetta on March 18. He also said the NYT report about the presence of Taliban militants and their free movement in Quetta and other parts of the province needed to be verified, adding that Balochistan was not a safe heaven for Taliban. He claimed that political parties in the Pashtun-dominated areas were against the Taliban and the atmosphere was not congenial to the Taliban setting up their headquarters there.
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March - 20 
For the first time since 9/11, Pakistan has been officially mentioned along side Afghanistan as the launch site of the attack on the twin towers, Dawn reported. "The reason that we're in Afghanistan is precisely because 9/11 was launched from the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Foreig
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For the first time since 9/11, Pakistan has been officially mentioned along side Afghanistan as the launch site of the attack on the twin towers, Dawn reported. "The reason that we're in Afghanistan is precisely because 9/11 was launched from the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Foreign Secretary David Miliband while answering a question from BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys for the ‘Today’ programme on March 20. Talking on-line from Brussels, Miliband said that what was significant about American review on Afghanistan was that it looked for the first time at the balance between Afghanistan and Pakistan "and is determined to realign America's relationship with Pakistan".
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March - 21 
The Bara Peace Committee described the operation as a violation of an agreement reached with the political administration. Peace committee leader Haji Amal Gul, whose house was demolished in the shelling on March 21, said those arrested during the operation were innocent and not involved in any crim
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The Bara Peace Committee described the operation as a violation of an agreement reached with the political administration. Peace committee leader Haji Amal Gul, whose house was demolished in the shelling on March 21, said those arrested during the operation were innocent and not involved in any criminal activity. He called for an immediate halt to the operation and release of all prisoners.
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March - 22 
Stating that the core of al Qaeda has shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on March 22 said that Britain was about to take the war against terror “to a new level,” The News reported. Britain will release on March 24 a new counter-terrorism strategy called Con
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Stating that the core of al Qaeda has shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on March 22 said that Britain was about to take the war against terror “to a new level,” The News reported. Britain will release on March 24 a new counter-terrorism strategy called Contest Two, billed as the most comprehensive approach to tackling the threat of terrorism by any government in the world. Writing in The Observer, Brown said: “We know that there is an al Qaida core in northern Pakistan trying to organise attacks in Britain. We know also that there are a number of networks here… Al-Qaida terrorists remain intent on inflicting mass casualties without warning, including suicide bombings. They are motivated by a violent extremist ideology based on a false reading of religion and exploit modern travel and communications to spread through loose and dangerous global networks.” Al Qaeda is still active in Afghanistan, but the threat has crossed the border, he said, adding: “Over two thirds of the plots threatening the UK are linked to Pakistan.”
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March - 23 
The Pakistani state could collapse within six months if immediate steps are not taken to remedy the situation, warned a top adviser to the US Central Command, The News reported. David Kilcullen, who advises CENTCOM commander General David H. Petraeus on the war on terror, urged US policymakers to fo
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The Pakistani state could collapse within six months if immediate steps are not taken to remedy the situation, warned a top adviser to the US Central Command, The News reported. David Kilcullen, who advises CENTCOM commander General David H. Petraeus on the war on terror, urged US policymakers to focus their attention on Pakistan as a failure there could have devastating consequences for the entire international community. In an interview with The Washington Post (Sunday Edition), Kilcullen warned that if Pakistan went out of control, it would ‘dwarf’ all the crises in the world today. “Pakistan hands down. No doubt,” he said when asked to name the central front in the war against terror. Asked to explain why he thought Pakistan was so important, Kilcullen said: “Pakistan has 173 million people, 100 nuclear weapons, an army bigger than the US Army, and al-Qaeda headquarters sitting right there in the two-thirds of the country that the government doesn’t control.” He claimed that the Pakistani military and Police and intelligence service did not follow the civilian Government; they were essentially a rogue state within a state. “Were now reaching the point where within one to six months we could see the collapse of the Pakistani state, also because of the global financial crisis, which just exacerbates all these problems,” he said. “The collapse of Pakistan, al-Qaeda acquiring nuclear weapons, an extremist takeover — that would dwarf everything we’ve seen in the war on terror today.”
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March - 23 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said the attack was carried out by one of the suicide bombers who entered the national capital just before the ‘long march’ earlier this month, Daily Times reported. “We had very authentic information that 15 to 20 Uzbek suicide bombers were sent [to Islamabad] by Baitu
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said the attack was carried out by one of the suicide bombers who entered the national capital just before the ‘long march’ earlier this month, Daily Times reported. “We had very authentic information that 15 to 20 Uzbek suicide bombers were sent [to Islamabad] by Baitullah Mehsud following a meeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),” he told the media.
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March - 24 
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued a list of members of banned outfits and ordered all banks to scrutinise the list before opening accounts or transferring money, sources told Daily Times on March 24. An unnamed bank official said the purpose of the list was to stop the banned outfits from
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The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued a list of members of banned outfits and ordered all banks to scrutinise the list before opening accounts or transferring money, sources told Daily Times on March 24. An unnamed bank official said the purpose of the list was to stop the banned outfits from operating their accounts and transferring money. The SBP spokesman Syed Waseemuddin said Pakistan was bound to follow the instructions of the United Nations, which had banned several religious outfits for their alleged involvement in terrorism. He said the list, provided by the UN, was regularly updated.
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March - 25 
A senior militant commander said the drone fired two Hellfire missiles on two vehicles — a double-cabin pick-up and a car — carrying some militants. He said the militants were en route to their destination after shopping in Makeen bazaar along with local tribal militants, including Maulvi Noor Moham
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A senior militant commander said the drone fired two Hellfire missiles on two vehicles — a double-cabin pick-up and a car — carrying some militants. He said the militants were en route to their destination after shopping in Makeen bazaar along with local tribal militants, including Maulvi Noor Mohammad and Maulvi Mohammad Shafiq. According to militant sources, the victims were junior-level Arab fighters and there was no prominent figure among them.
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March - 26 
President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Balochistan Government to form a parliamentary committee to hold talks with the disgruntled elements in the province, Daily Times reported. Presiding over a briefing on law and order in the province, he stressed the need for expediting the reconciliation p
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President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Balochistan Government to form a parliamentary committee to hold talks with the disgruntled elements in the province, Daily Times reported. Presiding over a briefing on law and order in the province, he stressed the need for expediting the reconciliation process so that the disgruntled people could be brought into the mainstream and play a proactive role in the province’s development and progress. Zardari assured the meeting that the federal Government would ensure the provision of funds for strengthening and capacity-building of the law enforcement agencies of the province. He assured Balochistan that its share in the revenue generated through the exploitation of natural resources would be increased and ordered the formation of a federal parliamentary committee to look into the matter and submit recommendations.
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March - 27 
Germany is home to several hundred "potentially dangerous Islamists", including a hard core of around 100 people classed as dangerous, a senior Interior Ministry official said on March 27, according to Daily Times. Between 60 and 80 "jihadists" out of some 140 have returned to Germany, who had under
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Germany is home to several hundred "potentially dangerous Islamists", including a hard core of around 100 people classed as dangerous, a senior Interior Ministry official said on March 27, according to Daily Times. Between 60 and 80 "jihadists" out of some 140 have returned to Germany, who had undergone training in camps in the Tribal Areas on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, State Secretary August Hanning said. "The danger should not be underestimated. The 60 to 80 who have returned make up the overwhelming majority of up to around 100 people whom we class as dangerous," Hanning told the Tagesspiegel. "On top of that there are about another 300 potentially dangerous Islamists. All in all we are talking about a circle of around 1,000 people," said Hanning, who used to head German foreign intelligence agency, the BND. He added he was worried about the possibility of attacks in the run up to this September’s general election in Germany. "The threats do not mention the elections directly. But in the view of jihadists in Pakistan the election is important because it will determine Germany’s foreign policy in the future," he said.
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March - 27 
Several Baloch nationalist groups have rejected the ‘reconciliation policy’ of President Zardari for resolving the Balochistan issue, Dawn reported. Speaking at a rally on March 27, leaders of the Balochistan National Party-M, National Party and Baloch Students’ Organisation-M said the economic pack
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Several Baloch nationalist groups have rejected the ‘reconciliation policy’ of President Zardari for resolving the Balochistan issue, Dawn reported. Speaking at a rally on March 27, leaders of the Balochistan National Party-M, National Party and Baloch Students’ Organisation-M said the economic package announced in Quetta by President Zardari was a mockery of sacrifices made by people like Nawab Akbar Bugti and Nawabzada Balach Marri. They said the leaders had not sacrificed their lives for ‘some billion rupees’. The Baloch people were waging a political struggle to achieve national rights and to protect their coast and resources, the speakers said. They also said the Baloch had already rejected mega projects launched by former president Pervez Musharraf. Leaders of the Anjuman Ittehad Marri, Baloch Women Panel, BSO-A, the Baloch Bar Association and Raisani Qaumi Ittehad alleged at another rally, at Mannan Chowk, that Balochistan had been "annexed" by Pakistan without the consent of its leadership in 1948. They also said the parliament of the Khan of Kalat had not approved the accession of the province to Pakistan.
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March - 27 
There are "indications" that elements of Pakistan’s intelligence service are supporting al Qaeda and the Taliban, the United States top military officer said on March 27, Daily Times reported. "There are certainly indications that’s the case," US Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Admiral Mik
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There are "indications" that elements of Pakistan’s intelligence service are supporting al Qaeda and the Taliban, the United States top military officer said on March 27, Daily Times reported. "There are certainly indications that’s the case," US Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN when asked if elements of Pakistan’s intelligence agency were backing al Qaeda and its Taliban allies. "Fundamentally that’s one of the things that has to change," Mullen said.
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March - 29 
The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates urged Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to cut contacts with extremists in Afghanistan who were “an existential threat” to Pakistan, Daily Times reported. The ISI has had links with extremists “for a long time, as a hedge against what might happen in
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The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates urged Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to cut contacts with extremists in Afghanistan who were “an existential threat” to Pakistan, Daily Times reported. The ISI has had links with extremists “for a long time, as a hedge against what might happen in Afghanistan if we were to walk away,” Gates said on “Fox News Sunday”. “What we need to do is try and help the Pakistanis understand these groups are now an existential threat to them and we will be there as a steadfast ally for Pakistan,” Gates said. “
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March - 30 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told journalists that the terrorist attack was planned in South Waziristan. Addressing a press conference, he said the gunman captured during the gunfight and three other terror suspects were being questioned and details would surface in two or three days. The arrested
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told journalists that the terrorist attack was planned in South Waziristan. Addressing a press conference, he said the gunman captured during the gunfight and three other terror suspects were being questioned and details would surface in two or three days. The arrested attacker belonged to the Paktika province of Afghanistan, Malik said, and preliminary interrogation revealed he is linked to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. He could only speak Pashto and was living in a rented house in Lahore, Malik said. "We had received information that terrorists could hit police installations and other government buildings on March 25," he said, citing his warnings before the lawyers’ ‘long march’.
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March - 30 
Operation Daraghlam (Arriving)-II was launched in Khyber Agency on March 30, the Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan said, according to Daily Times. During a news briefing, Khan said orders to shoot the Taliban militants on sight had been issued. He announced that the victims of the suici
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Operation Daraghlam (Arriving)-II was launched in Khyber Agency on March 30, the Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan said, according to Daily Times. During a news briefing, Khan said orders to shoot the Taliban militants on sight had been issued. He announced that the victims of the suicide attack at a mosque on the Peshawar-Torkham Highway in the Jamrud Sub-division on March 27 would each be given PKR 300,000. Khan said a ban had been imposed on Taliban from patrolling the area, adding that they could be behind the suicide attack.
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April - 1 
In America, counter-terror officials are reportedly warning Police of a threat made by the Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud to attack the US. In response, federal authorities advised Police and other law enforcement officials that Mehsud’s threat was an aspiration rather than evidence of an imminent o
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In America, counter-terror officials are reportedly warning Police of a threat made by the Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud to attack the US. In response, federal authorities advised Police and other law enforcement officials that Mehsud’s threat was an aspiration rather than evidence of an imminent or specific threat against the United States. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Mehsud has made similar threats in the past and has no record of striking targets abroad, although he is suspected of being behind a 10-man cell arrested in Barcelona in January 2008 for plotting suicide attacks in Spain.
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April - 1 
US President Barack Obama said on April 1 that al Qaeda was planning to attack the US mainland from Pakistani soil and added that the US would chase and defeat the terror organisation wherever it was present in the world, The News reported. Addressing a joint press conference with British Prime Mini
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US President Barack Obama said on April 1 that al Qaeda was planning to attack the US mainland from Pakistani soil and added that the US would chase and defeat the terror organisation wherever it was present in the world, The News reported. Addressing a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama said the US policy was clear for both Pakistan and Afghanistan, while Afghanistan would not be allowed to become a safe haven for al -Qaeda.
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April - 3 
President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the flogging of a 17-year-old girl in public in Swat and ordered an inquiry into the matter, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had sought a report from the NWFP Government and the local administration and cal
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President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the flogging of a 17-year-old girl in public in Swat and ordered an inquiry into the matter, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had sought a report from the NWFP Government and the local administration and called for arresting those responsible. The two-minute video reportedly shows the girl, wearing a veil, face down on the ground with two men holding her arms and feet and a third man in a black turban with a long beard whipping her. The incident occurred in the Kala Killay area of Kabal sub-division, The News reported.
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April - 3 
Samar Minallah – who works for a Pakistani human rights organisation – distributed the video given to her by people in Swat to the Western media. "The entire village knows she is innocent," Samar told AFP. She told The Guardian that the flogging had taken place in the last 10 days.
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Samar Minallah – who works for a Pakistani human rights organisation – distributed the video given to her by people in Swat to the Western media. "The entire village knows she is innocent," Samar told AFP. She told The Guardian that the flogging had taken place in the last 10 days.
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April - 3 
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan acknowledged that his group was responsible for the flogging in public, "because no indoor arrangement for Islamic punishment could be made, as we are at war with the government". The provincial Government spokesman Mian Iftikhar said the flogging took place on January
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Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan acknowledged that his group was responsible for the flogging in public, "because no indoor arrangement for Islamic punishment could be made, as we are at war with the government". The provincial Government spokesman Mian Iftikhar said the flogging took place on January 3, much before the peace deal with the Taliban. "We believe there is a conspiracy to sabotage the peace process by airing a video recorded before the deal," he claimed. Muslim Khan, however, said, "this incident took place nine months ago." Muslim Khan also said the Taliban had handed out a ‘lenient’ punishment to the girl – suggesting she would have been stoned to death had a ‘serious view’ of the ‘crime’ been taken.
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April - 4 
Deputy Inspector General of Police Benyamin confirmed the casualties. He said that 37 constables had been present at the post at the time of the blast, adding that the terrorist used around six kilogram’s of explosives. Senior Superintendent of Police Tahir Alam Khan told Daily Times that 11 FC pers
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Deputy Inspector General of Police Benyamin confirmed the casualties. He said that 37 constables had been present at the post at the time of the blast, adding that the terrorist used around six kilogram’s of explosives. Senior Superintendent of Police Tahir Alam Khan told Daily Times that 11 FC personnel were still missing. He said the legs of the suicide attacker had been recovered from the blast site. In addition, Police arrested a suspicious person from the incident site. Intelligence agencies had earlier warned of a possible terrorist act in the capital.
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April - 5 
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik, has said that those involved in the suicide bombings are Pakistanis and that they are playing with the lives of innocent people for the sake of a few pennies, according to The News. Talking to the media after the suicide attack at Chakwal on A
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Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik, has said that those involved in the suicide bombings are Pakistanis and that they are playing with the lives of innocent people for the sake of a few pennies, according to The News. Talking to the media after the suicide attack at Chakwal on April 5, he said that “the price of a suicide bomber is from Rs 0.5 million to Rs 1.5 million while the family of the bomber gets Rs 0.5 million”. He further said that Islamabad and Lahore were the worst affected cities due to the recent series of terrorist incidents.
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April - 5 
Chand Bibi, the young girl who was shown being flogged by the Swat Taliban in a videotape aired on television channels, gave a statement to a Qazi (Islamic judge), on April 5, denying the incident. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP Information Minister, told The News that she made the statement to Moh
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Chand Bibi, the young girl who was shown being flogged by the Swat Taliban in a videotape aired on television channels, gave a statement to a Qazi (Islamic judge), on April 5, denying the incident. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP Information Minister, told The News that she made the statement to Mohammad Riaz, the judge of the Qazi Court for Matta Tehsil (revenue division), and the Commissioner of Malakand Division, Syed Mohammad Javed, both of whom visited her village, Kala Killay, in Kabal sub-division on April 5. Quoting the Commissioner, Mian Iftikhar said Chand Bibi made it clear that she was indeed married to Adalat Khan and everyone in the village knew about it. She refuted the reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for maintaining illicit relations and then forcibly married. According to the information minister, the Commissioner and the Judge had visited Kala Killay to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police (NWFP) had been directed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to appear before his court and also produce the girl who was flogged. The Chief Justice had taken suo moto notice of the case after the two-minute videotape was shown on TV channels.
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April - 6 
The top leadership of the Taliban is hiding in Balochistan province, Admiral Mike Mullen, the US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said, Daily Times reported. He said this while talking informally, along with Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, to a select group
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The top leadership of the Taliban is hiding in Balochistan province, Admiral Mike Mullen, the US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said, Daily Times reported. He said this while talking informally, along with Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, to a select group of invitees at US Ambassador Anne Patterson’s house in the US embassy in Islamabad on April 6. Asked if the US was winning or losing the war in Afghanistan, Admiral Mullen said that since the US was not winning, it could be said that it was losing it. Admiral Mullen also said that the US was targeting Baitullah Mehsud now because he had established strategic links with al Qaeda in the past year or so and was facilitating al Qaeda’s attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.
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April - 7 
Expressing satisfaction over the truce in the Malakand Division, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on April 7 the Government’s writ had been restored in about 70 per cent of Swat area after the February 16 peace deal, The News reported. “This is a suitable recipe for bringing
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Expressing satisfaction over the truce in the Malakand Division, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on April 7 the Government’s writ had been restored in about 70 per cent of Swat area after the February 16 peace deal, The News reported. “This is a suitable recipe for bringing peace and we shall apply it wherever it is needed once it proves successful in Malakand Division,” Mian Iftikhar told a press conference in Peshawar. Briefing journalists after the 10th meeting of the provincial cabinet, the minister said militants had agreed to lay down arms after the enforcement of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand. The minister, however, admitted that situation in parts of Swat was not ideal, but there was no reason to call it disappointing. He claimed that schools and colleges had been reopened, businesses had been resumed and the people were happy.
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April - 7 
The top leadership of Afghan Taliban is hiding in Pakistan and controlling the covert war against US-led forces in Afghanistan, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on April 7. “The Taliban leadership is in Pakistan and the Taliban militants are fighting
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The top leadership of Afghan Taliban is hiding in Pakistan and controlling the covert war against US-led forces in Afghanistan, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on April 7. “The Taliban leadership is in Pakistan and the Taliban militants are fighting in Afghanistan,” said Holbrooke, accompanied by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. Talking to reporters in Islamabad, he said the US knew from various sources that the Taliban shura (executive council) was hiding in Balochistan and that had serious implications for the new US strategy for the region. He also said the issue had been discussed with the Pakistani leadership. Further, Admiral Mullen said Baitullah Mehsud was a direct threat to the US and his men were crossing into Afghanistan to fight against the NATO and ISAF forces.
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April - 8 
Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer Ahmed said in an interview with al Qaeda’s media arm, Al-Sahab, that the Taliban would soon capture Islamabad, Daily Times reported. Pakistani Taliban factions had united and would take their war to the capital, he said. “The day is not far when Islamabad wi
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Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer Ahmed said in an interview with al Qaeda’s media arm, Al-Sahab, that the Taliban would soon capture Islamabad, Daily Times reported. Pakistani Taliban factions had united and would take their war to the capital, he said. “The day is not far when Islamabad will be in the hands of the Mujahideen,” he declared. He accused the Pakistan Army of sending spies to facilitate US drone strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban, and said Pakistani authorities were misleading the public by saying it was the United States carrying out the attacks. “All these attacks that have happened and are still happening are the work of Pakistan,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on Al-Sahab’s website. Mullah Nazeer Ahmed also blamed the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency for sowing divisions between factions, saying the ISI was the Taliban’s main enemy.
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April - 8 
The newspaper also reported that al Qaeda, Taliban and other militants have been relocating from the Tribal Areas to Pakistan’s overcrowded and impoverished cities, which is likely to make it harder to find and stop them from staging terrorist attacks. “Putting these guys on the run forces a lot of
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The newspaper also reported that al Qaeda, Taliban and other militants have been relocating from the Tribal Areas to Pakistan’s overcrowded and impoverished cities, which is likely to make it harder to find and stop them from staging terrorist attacks. “Putting these guys on the run forces a lot of good things to happen… It gives you more targeting opportunities. The downside is that you get a much more dispersed target set and they go to places where we are not operating,” said a senior US defence official. Officials also pointed out that the strikes by the missile-firing drones are a recruiting issue for extremists because of the civilian casualties.
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April - 8 
The United States has assured Pakistan it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview with Dunya TV on April 8, Daily Times reported. “Not only the people of Pakistan, but also the government is concerned over the drone attacks,” Zardari said. He
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The United States has assured Pakistan it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview with Dunya TV on April 8, Daily Times reported. “Not only the people of Pakistan, but also the government is concerned over the drone attacks,” Zardari said. He said the US had incorporated several of Pakistan’s suggestions in its new policy for Afghanistan, but the two countries disagreed on the drone strikes. However, he said Washington “has assured us it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan”.
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April - 10 
The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on April 10 Friday assured the NWFP Government that it would keep the peace deal intact, but warned that the delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in signing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation could hinder the return of peace to the Swat Valley, The News report
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The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on April 10 Friday assured the NWFP Government that it would keep the peace deal intact, but warned that the delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in signing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation could hinder the return of peace to the Swat Valley, The News reported. The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and the peace envoy to the NWFP Government Afrasiyab Khattak reportedly went to Batkhela to meet the TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who wound up the peace camp in Swat on April 9. However, Sufi Muhammad refused to meet the visiting delegation in protest against the delay in the signing of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. “We met him (Sufi) during the Friday prayers but he did not participate in the talks,” said Mian Iftikhar.
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April - 13 
Daily Times reports that Taliban in Swat have renewed efforts to recruit fighters and supporters following delays in the implementation of their peace agreement with the Government. “As long as we were there enforcing peace, they were not recruiting,” Rizwanullah Farooq, son of Sufi Muhammad, told B
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Daily Times reports that Taliban in Swat have renewed efforts to recruit fighters and supporters following delays in the implementation of their peace agreement with the Government. “As long as we were there enforcing peace, they were not recruiting,” Rizwanullah Farooq, son of Sufi Muhammad, told Bloomberg on April 13. He said, “Now recruitment is going on even in Buner because they don’t see a chance for peace. The government must understand this.” The report adds that the drive into Buner brings the Taliban closest to Islamabad in the five years since they began fighting the government for territorial control. The Tehreek Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, which signed the two-month-old peace accord with the Government on behalf of the Taliban, abandoned the vigil last week by leaving Swat in protest and has threatened to pull out of the peace accord to protest delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in approving the system of Sufi’s Sharia (Islamic law) courts in the area.
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April - 13 
Pakistan’s Interior Adviser Rehman Malik on April 13 said that information provided by Indian authorities regarding Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008 is incomplete and Islamabad has asked New Delhi to provide the missing information for the successful prosecution of the culprits, reports
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Pakistan’s Interior Adviser Rehman Malik on April 13 said that information provided by Indian authorities regarding Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008 is incomplete and Islamabad has asked New Delhi to provide the missing information for the successful prosecution of the culprits, reports Daily Times. “We had sent 32 questions to India on the Mumbai attacks and India sent its response on March 13... We sent it to the investigation team for evaluation. Based on the reservations shown by the Pakistani investigators, we have written to the Indian high commissioner and gave him a briefing on what is missing and what is not provided,” Malik told a press conference. “Pakistan has asked India to provide an attested copy of the judicial statement of Ajmal Kasab,” he said. “We have sought a copy of statement of ATS chief investigator Karkre on the Samjotha Express incident, we have asked Indian authorities to provide details of the SIM cards, the GPRS system, the credentials of those Indian arrested in connection with the attacks, the report on Kasab’s DNA and a copy of charge sheet against the culprits,” Malik said. The interior adviser said the DNA reports of Kasab and another suspect, Ismail, were identical. He said another suspected facilitator of the attacks, Shahid Jamil Riaz, had been arrested.
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April - 13 
President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for Swat on April 13, after the National Assembly passed a resolution in favour of the draft regulation, Daily Times reported on April 14. "Yes, the president has signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation before leaving for Dubai on a two-day visi
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President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for Swat on April 13, after the National Assembly passed a resolution in favour of the draft regulation, Daily Times reported on April 14. "Yes, the president has signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation before leaving for Dubai on a two-day visit," said presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar. Earlier on April 13, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recommending the President sign the regulation to be imposed in the Malakand Division in accordance with a peace agreement between the NWFP Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had expressed its reservations over the resolution but abstained from voting to allow it to be passed unanimously. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly that the issue had been brought before the House to build a broad national consensus and establish the supremacy of Parliament.
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April - 13 
The Federal Government in Islamabad on April 13 presented the peace accord to lawmakers for approval. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had said the deal would be presented in the National Assembly to reach a consensus on the subject.
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The Federal Government in Islamabad on April 13 presented the peace accord to lawmakers for approval. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had said the deal would be presented in the National Assembly to reach a consensus on the subject.
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April - 14 
Afghanistan on April 14 warned that the peace deal with Swat Taliban for imposing Islamic law might have "dire consequences" for the region and could harm Pakistan-Afghanistan ties. The criticism came after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. "We do not interfere in Pakista
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Afghanistan on April 14 warned that the peace deal with Swat Taliban for imposing Islamic law might have "dire consequences" for the region and could harm Pakistan-Afghanistan ties. The criticism came after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. "We do not interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs," President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman said. However, there were concerns that "dealing with terrorists and handing over parts of one country to terrorists could have dire consequences in the long term", he said.
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April - 14 
The White House said on April 14 the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation accord signed by the NWFP Government with the TNSM to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand Division and the Kohistan District of NWFP was against human rights and democracy, AFP reported. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Presid
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The White House said on April 14 the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation accord signed by the NWFP Government with the TNSM to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand Division and the Kohistan District of NWFP was against human rights and democracy, AFP reported. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama’s administration believed that "solutions involving security in Pakistan don’t include less democracy and less human-rights. The signing of that denoting strict Islamic law in Swat valley goes against both those principles". He also said "We are disappointed that parliament did not take into account legitimate concerns around civil and human rights."
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April - 15 
Al Qaeda and other militant groups within its territory pose “an ever more serious threat to Pakistan’s very existence”, General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), has said, Daily Times reported. In an interview with Philadelphia Inquirer, he said US President Barack Obama had mad
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Al Qaeda and other militant groups within its territory pose “an ever more serious threat to Pakistan’s very existence”, General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), has said, Daily Times reported. In an interview with Philadelphia Inquirer, he said US President Barack Obama had made Afghanistan and Pakistan the focus of his foreign policy because of the presence of al Qaeda in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. To questions on why troops were being increased in Afghanistan if the real threat were in Pakistan, he said: “You have to ensure that Afghanistan doesn’t become once again a place where Al Qaeda establishes safe havens.” If Taliban ideologues regain control of Afghanistan, it would further destabilise Pakistan, he added. Petraeus said the surge of 17,000 troops would be enough, as Afghanistan was not plagued by a raging insurgency throughout the country, as was the case in Iraq. “Seventy percent of the violence is in 10 percent of the districts,” he said.
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April - 15 
The Capital City Police Officer Safwat Ghayyur and District Police Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan told reporters that Police had been tipped off that two explosive-laden cars would enter the district from Malakand to carry out terrorist activity, The News reported. District Police Officer Riaz Khan said
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The Capital City Police Officer Safwat Ghayyur and District Police Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan told reporters that Police had been tipped off that two explosive-laden cars would enter the district from Malakand to carry out terrorist activity, The News reported. District Police Officer Riaz Khan said the attack might be in retaliation to the killing of a suicide bomber by the Charsadda Police a few days ago. The suicide attacker was shot dead by Station House Officer Jehangir Khan, when the bomber was on his way to blew himself up at a public gathering being addressed by the provincial president of the Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao faction) Sikander Sherpao in Charsadda.
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April - 15 
The Government may review the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 if peace is not restored in Swat, President Asif Ali Zardari said on April 15, according to Daily Times. Addressing the Pakistani community in Tokyo, he said the Nizam-e-Adl, and not Sharia (Islamic law), had been imposed in Malakand Division
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The Government may review the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 if peace is not restored in Swat, President Asif Ali Zardari said on April 15, according to Daily Times. Addressing the Pakistani community in Tokyo, he said the Nizam-e-Adl, and not Sharia (Islamic law), had been imposed in Malakand Division, a private TV channel reported. The President was in Japan to attend the Friends of Democratic Pakistan ministerial meeting and a donors’ conference.
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April - 15 
The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation on April 15, formally enforcing Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. “Today, it is an historic day,” he told reporters in provincial capital Peshawar after signing the law two days after President Asif Ali Zardari ap
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The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation on April 15, formally enforcing Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. “Today, it is an historic day,” he told reporters in provincial capital Peshawar after signing the law two days after President Asif Ali Zardari approved it following a nod from the National Assembly.
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April - 17 
Replying to a supplementary question, Mujtaba Kharral said no inquiry report had been submitted to Parliament, but promised that the Government would soon table inquiry reports on all incidents. Replying to a question by Begum Nuzhat Sadiq, the Interior Ministry told the House that 6,007 illegal for
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Replying to a supplementary question, Mujtaba Kharral said no inquiry report had been submitted to Parliament, but promised that the Government would soon table inquiry reports on all incidents. Replying to a question by Begum Nuzhat Sadiq, the Interior Ministry told the House that 6,007 illegal foreigners were imprisoned in Pakistan during 2008-09. Of these foreigners, 5,087 are in Balochistan, 678 in Sindh, 80 in NWFP and 162 in Punjab. The ministry said that 162 female foreigners with illegal documents had been arrested over the last three years – 143 in Sindh, 3 in NWFP, 10 in Balochistan and 6 in Punjab.
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April - 18 
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed 16 Army and two Police deaths. But hospital sources said dead bodies of 27 SF personnel had been brought to the Combined Military Hospital in Tull and 48 injured wounded had been admitted to the hospital. Seven injured Policemen were being treated i
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Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed 16 Army and two Police deaths. But hospital sources said dead bodies of 27 SF personnel had been brought to the Combined Military Hospital in Tull and 48 injured wounded had been admitted to the hospital. Seven injured Policemen were being treated in Hangu Hospital. 16 of the injured were later shifted to other cities by helicopters. Doaba Station House Officer Amal Khan, who was also injured in the bombing, told Daily Times at Hangu Hospital that the Policemen were on their way back from a raid when the vehicle, coming from the Serozai side, hit the check post. A soldier had been killed and seven others injured in a suicide attack on the same check post several months ago. No organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
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April - 19 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said six suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the Mumbai terrorist attacks, The News reported. Talking to the media in Lahore on April 19, Rehman said Pakistan had asked New Delhi to provide it the chargesheet against the lone arrested Lashkar-e-Toi
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said six suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the Mumbai terrorist attacks, The News reported. Talking to the media in Lahore on April 19, Rehman said Pakistan had asked New Delhi to provide it the chargesheet against the lone arrested Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Ajmal Kasab and his confession before the court.
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April - 19 
The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad declared on April 19 that the country’s superior courts were un-Islamic and could not hear appeals against decisions of the newly set up qazi (Islamic) courts, Daily Times reported. "There is no room for democracy in Islam,
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The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad declared on April 19 that the country’s superior courts were un-Islamic and could not hear appeals against decisions of the newly set up qazi (Islamic) courts, Daily Times reported. "There is no room for democracy in Islam," said Sufi while addressing a gathering in the Mingora town of Swat District. Western democracy was a "system of infidels" and had divided the clerics and the people of Pakistan into factions, he said, and the Supreme Court and the high courts were strengthening the system. The TNSM chief told the Government to withdraw all judges from Malakand Division – including from Kohistan District – within four days and set up a Darul Qaza to hear appeals against the decisions of qazi courts. He also demanded the appointment of qazis at the district and tehsil (revenue division) levels throughout the Division. "The government will be responsible for all the consequences if our demands are not implemented," he warned. He also said it was impossible to implement the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 – promulgated on April 15 following approval from the President and the National Assembly – without support from the Army and Police.
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April - 19 
The US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, warned on April 19 that no other place in the world today faced a more dangerous situation than Pakistan, Dawn reported. In an interview to CNN, Holbrooke said Pakistan also faced a "very difficult economic situation" and needed i
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The US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, warned on April 19 that no other place in the world today faced a more dangerous situation than Pakistan, Dawn reported. In an interview to CNN, Holbrooke said Pakistan also faced a "very difficult economic situation" and needed immediate help. "This is a really dangerous situation in Pakistan today and we are focussed on this very heavily," said Holbrooke. Asked if the terrorist threat could cause Pakistan to collapse, the US envoy said that President Asif Ali Zardari and other Pakistani leaders too conceded that it was a very dangerous situation. "Swat is not in the tribal areas. It is only 100 miles from Islamabad … it is like East Hampton and Manhattan … people from Islamabad went to Swat for holidays … it is really an extraordinary situation." Ambassador Holbrooke termed the current situation in Pakistan as ‘very perilous’ and claimed that the militants operating from Swat and FATA had already increased their reach to Punjab. "There can be more terrorist attacks in cities like Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi," he warned. He opined the Swat truce always seemed like a confused deal to him. The Pakistani military, he said, felt that it was ‘stretched thin’ and that’s why it concluded this deal. Holbrooke pointed out that if the Pakistani military wanted to persuade the militants to lay down their arms by concluding this deal, it did not succeed in doing so. The chief spokesman for the Swat Taliban "publicly renounced the part of the deal that requires the militants to lay down arms", he said, adding "You cannot deal with these people by giving away territory. They are now getting closer and closer to Islamabad and Punjab."
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April - 21 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik on April 21 warned of stern action if the TNSM violated the peace agreement it had made with the NWFP Government. He said that the Nizam-e-Adl was invoked in 1994, under which a session judge was named Qazi. "No one should create the ambiguity that any maulvi (cleric) w
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik on April 21 warned of stern action if the TNSM violated the peace agreement it had made with the NWFP Government. He said that the Nizam-e-Adl was invoked in 1994, under which a session judge was named Qazi. "No one should create the ambiguity that any maulvi (cleric) will hold the charge of a judge," he said. Malik also ruled out lifting the ban on the TNSM.
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April - 21 
The Netherlands’ national intelligence agency is reported to have stated that a growing number of West Europeans are attending terror training camps in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. The General Intelligence and Security Service chief Gerard Bouman said
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The Netherlands’ national intelligence agency is reported to have stated that a growing number of West Europeans are attending terror training camps in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. The General Intelligence and Security Service chief Gerard Bouman said Al Qaeda is boosting its capacity to carry out attacks by increasing co-operation with other extremist groups. He also said there is still a real threat of attacks in the region, AP reported.
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April - 22 
Brahamdagh Bugti has said the Baloch want independence irrespective of Pakistan’s own existence, a private TV channel reported on April 22. Talking to the channel over the phone, the Baloch leader denied the allegations leveled against him by Rehman Mailk. He said if there was any record of his stay
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Brahamdagh Bugti has said the Baloch want independence irrespective of Pakistan’s own existence, a private TV channel reported on April 22. Talking to the channel over the phone, the Baloch leader denied the allegations leveled against him by Rehman Mailk. He said if there was any record of his stay in Afghanistan or international telephone calls related to UN official John Solecki’s abduction, it should be made public. He said he would appeal to foreign countries, including India and the US, for help in achieving Baloch objectives. He, however, denied that any foreign country, especially India, was supporting him.
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April - 22 
The Government on April 22 informed the Senate that Russia and India were supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in its secession bid, saying the same outfit had kidnapped the UNHCR official John Solecki from Quetta, The News reported. Making a policy statement at the end of the five-day d
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The Government on April 22 informed the Senate that Russia and India were supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in its secession bid, saying the same outfit had kidnapped the UNHCR official John Solecki from Quetta, The News reported. Making a policy statement at the end of the five-day debate on the killing of there Baloch leaders and the deteriorating law and order in Balochistan, Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik, claimed they had proof of foreign involvement in the province. While talking to the media later, Malik called on India to stop its interference in Balochistan, dubbing it an open enemy of Pakistan. He noted that the proposal of reviving the ‘Sardari system’ in the province was being considered. He added the Frontier Corps (FC) had been put under the chief minister and all the 36 FC check-posts had been removed. Malik also revealed that the BLA chief Brahamdagh Khan Bugti lived close to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s presidential palace in Kabul and enjoyed local support. He added thousands of Baloch students had got training in Russia and were present in Balochistan. He claimed that 4,000 to 5,000 Baloch people had got training in several centres there. Malik noted that the BLA had kidnapped Solecki in order to highlight what he called their totally unjustified and uncalled for demand of freedom from Pakistan. "Solecki was abducted two days before UN Secretary General’s Pakistan visit to project BLA’s bid for freedom. On the basis of evidence, I met Karzai and sought his help for the repatriation of Brahamdagh or stopping him from what he was doing back in Pakistan, but he expressed his government’s ignorance about his presence there," the adviser said.
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April - 22 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on April 22 she believed the Pakistani Government was abdicating to the Taliban and other militants, Dawn reported. In a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, she warned that nuclear-armed Pakistan was becoming a "mortal threat" to the world
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on April 22 she believed the Pakistani Government was abdicating to the Taliban and other militants, Dawn reported. In a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, she warned that nuclear-armed Pakistan was becoming a "mortal threat" to the world. "I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," Clinton said. According to her, "Pakistan poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world… And I want to take this occasion ... to state unequivocally that not only do the Pakistani government officials, but the Pakistani people and the Pakistani Diaspora ... need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents." "(We) cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances now within hours of Islamabad that are being made by a loosely confederated group of terrorists and others who are seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state," Clinton said.
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April - 22 
Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), the Balochistan National Party and the National Party have branded Rehman Malik’s Senate statement on Balochistan as ‘a bundle of lies’, according to Daily Times. JWP leader Talal Bugti told a private TV channel that the Government should pay attention to the problems of
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Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), the Balochistan National Party and the National Party have branded Rehman Malik’s Senate statement on Balochistan as ‘a bundle of lies’, according to Daily Times. JWP leader Talal Bugti told a private TV channel that the Government should pay attention to the problems of the Baloch and claimed that a military operation was underway in Balochistan.
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April - 23 
President Asif Ali Zardari vowed on April 23 not to allow anybody to challenge the Government’s writ or run a parallel Government in any part of the country, and said the Government is aware of the problems emanating from extremism and terrorism, Daily Times reported. The pledge came during talks wi
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President Asif Ali Zardari vowed on April 23 not to allow anybody to challenge the Government’s writ or run a parallel Government in any part of the country, and said the Government is aware of the problems emanating from extremism and terrorism, Daily Times reported. The pledge came during talks with the US President’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, who had called the president over the telephone. Zardari and Holbrooke discussed the threat of increasing Taliban influence in Pakistan. Holbrooke’s call coincided with a two-day visit to Pakistan by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, who has held talks with the military leadership on the Taliban threat.
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April - 23 
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Orakzai chapter commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, told reporters by phone from an undisclosed location that the TTP was not responsible for the killing of civilians. “Until the government stops operations and ensures a halt to the drone attacks in the tribal areas, the T
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Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Orakzai chapter commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, told reporters by phone from an undisclosed location that the TTP was not responsible for the killing of civilians. “Until the government stops operations and ensures a halt to the drone attacks in the tribal areas, the TTP will continue attacking the government installations,” he added. The residents of Dabori, Khadizai and Ghiljo Tehsil have started to migrate to safer locations in tractors, vans and carts. They complained that no camp had been set up in the Hangu District of NWFP for the migrating people by the political authorities. “We have no proper place to accommodate the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hangu and have requested the provincial government to allot us a place for setting up a camp for the affected people,” Political Agent Orakzai Agency Abdul Baseer said, adding the political authorities had also sought funds from the central government on an emergency basis for the rehabilitation of the affected people in the District.
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April - 23 
The Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas claimed the situation in Buner was not as dire as some have portrayed. He told the Associated Press that Taliban were in control of less than 25 percent of the District, mostly its north. “We are fully aware of the situation,” Abbas said.
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The Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas claimed the situation in Buner was not as dire as some have portrayed. He told the Associated Press that Taliban were in control of less than 25 percent of the District, mostly its north. “We are fully aware of the situation,” Abbas said.
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April - 23 
The Government issued a brief statement saying that Holbrooke discussed with President Zardari the situation in the region and Zardari’s visit to the US early May 2009 to attend a trilateral meeting.
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The Government issued a brief statement saying that Holbrooke discussed with President Zardari the situation in the region and Zardari’s visit to the US early May 2009 to attend a trilateral meeting.
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April - 24 
The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is planning to create further unrest, the commander of US forces in the Middle East said on April 24, Daily Times reported. “We should observe that the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba ... are trying to do more damage and they’re trying to carry out additional attacks,” General Dav
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The banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is planning to create further unrest, the commander of US forces in the Middle East said on April 24, Daily Times reported. “We should observe that the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba ... are trying to do more damage and they’re trying to carry out additional attacks,” General David Petraeus told US lawmakers. Petraeus said the US expected that “extremists that are trying to cause that kind of tension and also to take (Pakistan’s) focus off of the internal extremist threat would indeed strive to do that.”
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April - 24 
The Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on April 24 rejected the notion that the peace deal through Sufi Mohammed amounted to giving any “concession” to the armed Islamists, and declared that not only the Army had the resolve to take on the militants but, according to him, “victory ag
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The Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on April 24 rejected the notion that the peace deal through Sufi Mohammed amounted to giving any “concession” to the armed Islamists, and declared that not only the Army had the resolve to take on the militants but, according to him, “victory against terror and militancy will be achieved at all costs”. Speaking at a meeting of top military commanders at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the army chief acknowledged that doubts were being voiced about the intent and capability of the army to defeat the militants, Dawn reported. But, he added, the army “never has and never will hesitate to sacrifice, whatever it may take, to ensure safety and well-being of the people and country’s territorial integrity”. He described the recent peace deal with Maulana Fazlullah’s Swat-based militants as an “operational pause” that was meant to give the “reconciliatory forces” a chance, but declared that it “must not be taken for a concession to militants”.
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April - 24 
There is no evidence that India is supporting violence in Pakistan, the US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on April 24, Daily Times reported. “If the Indians were supporting those miscreants in Pakistan that would be extraordinarily bad, really dangerous, bu
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There is no evidence that India is supporting violence in Pakistan, the US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on April 24, Daily Times reported. “If the Indians were supporting those miscreants in Pakistan that would be extraordinarily bad, really dangerous, but they are not doing so. There is no evidence that Indians are support miscreants in western parts of Pakistan or in Balochistan,” he said in an interview with a private TV channel. He also said India was the second largest country in the world and one of the most important. “If we are interested in helping Pakistan, we will have to talk to its neighbours, which include China, India and Afghanistan,” he added. He said India had given about $1 billion assistance to Afghanistan, and it should not be a cause of concern for Pakistan. “Pakistan does not need to worry about India in Afghanistan, but it has to be worried about miscreants and militants in its western parts,” he added.
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April - 24 
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview broadcast on April 24 that he was “extremely concerned” that Pakistan could be overtaken. “We’re certainly moving closer to the tipping point where Pakistan could be overtaken by extremists”, Admiral Mike Mullen said in the interview
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The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview broadcast on April 24 that he was “extremely concerned” that Pakistan could be overtaken. “We’re certainly moving closer to the tipping point where Pakistan could be overtaken by extremists”, Admiral Mike Mullen said in the interview with NBC Television. Mullen said he hoped the arrival soon of an additional 17,000 American combat troops in Afghanistan will stabilise things there and in Pakistan.
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April - 26 
Banned terrorist groups in Pakistan’s Punjab province are gaining strength after joining hands on a new platform called the Muslim United Army (MUA), Daily Excelsior reported. The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) have a common cause under the banner of MUA an
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Banned terrorist groups in Pakistan’s Punjab province are gaining strength after joining hands on a new platform called the Muslim United Army (MUA), Daily Excelsior reported. The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) have a common cause under the banner of MUA and their activities are also in line with those of the Taliban, according to a report drawn up by the Crime Investigation Department (CID). The report also said militancy has been rapidly taking roots in Punjab province, especially in the five districts of Muzaffarghar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bhakkar. "As several members of the three banned groups have taken part in the Afghan war, they have developed a nexus with the Taliban," a senior CID officer said. "In the suicide bombings of the Naval War College and Federal Investigation Agency office in Lahore and the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team and police training school in Manawan, the facilitators of the perpetrators were from these organisations operating in Punjab," the officer said. Police officials also believe the three groups had joined hands primarily to target the security forces. Though the main actors of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - Malik Ishaq and Akram Lahori - are in jails in Multan and Karachi respectively, they are operating their group from behind bars in connivance with the prison staff, sources said. Though both are being tried in a number of cases, they are yet to be convicted in a single case due to lack of evidence. Police claim people are afraid of giving testimony against them. The CID official said the LeJ is currently at the forefront in carrying out attacks in Punjab along with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. He also said the MUA has developed a core group in five Districts as the three proscribed groups had their seminaries there. "The function of the core groups is to ensure maximum recruitment from seminaries, give the recruits training and equip them with weapons. The extremists then start intimidating security forces, terrorising people, occupying roads and targeting wealthy people, whom they consider exploiters of the poor people," the officer explained.
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April - 26 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on April 26 the Government has no option but to take action against the Taliban. Malik said citizens “cannot bear such unwanted elements in the country that compel the government to take action against them”. In Islamabad, the Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Bab
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on April 26 the Government has no option but to take action against the Taliban. Malik said citizens “cannot bear such unwanted elements in the country that compel the government to take action against them”. In Islamabad, the Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the Government’s peace deal with the Taliban in Swat is ‘intact’ despite the launch of a military operation in Lower Dir. Babar said the operation did not void the pact. Lower Dir is part of the Malakand Division, which is covered by the agreement.
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April - 26 
Sources said the troops entered Lal Qila after an intense battle. The SFs reportedly used helicopter gunships and artillery in the operations, and shelled the Tokri and Kal Dherai areas in Maidan, the ancestral village of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
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Sources said the troops entered Lal Qila after an intense battle. The SFs reportedly used helicopter gunships and artillery in the operations, and shelled the Tokri and Kal Dherai areas in Maidan, the ancestral village of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. The SFs fired mortar shells from Chakdara Fort – killing eight Taliban militants, including Lower Dir ‘commander’ Maulana Shahid, and injuring scores of others. Troops and the Taliban also engaged in crossfire. The NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain told Daily Times, “The situation was such that the security forces had no option but to launch an operation … the district police officer (DPO), the district nazim and other officials have already been killed and a number of troops and people kidnapped.” Iftikhar said the SFs had been coming under attack, and they had to take action under the circumstances. The minister, however, said that the operation would not affect the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, and SFs were still present in Malakand.
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