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Chinese president to visit This visit, he said, will mark a new milestone in Pak-China friendship. The Federal Minister who accompanied President Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit to Salim Saifullah Khan said, during presidents tour various dimensions of After becoming member of the SCO, The federal minister said, President Musharrafs meeting with President Putin of Salim Saifullah Khan said, the SCO,s communiqué was reflection of positions President Musharraf had taken in his key address at the summit. The SCO,s communiqué also upheld in principle the right of the people to self-determination. In a way the SCO supported the liberation struggles in Kashmir and |
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In Tribal
Influence of Taliban Said to Be Spreading Beyond Border Areas Near
By Pamela Constable
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; 7:32 PM
A tide of Islamic militancy is spreading across and beyond the semiautonomous tribal areas of northwest Pakistan that hug the Afghan border, despite the deployment of some 70,000 Pakistani army troops there, according to a variety of people with close family, professional or political ties to the tribal regions.
Senior army officers in this provincial capital say they are making steady progress in pacifying the restive tribal belt and reining in religious extremists, who
"We have them on the defensive now," Lt. Gen. Mohammed Hamid Khan, commander of the 11th Army Corps, said in an interview. "The miscreants have gone into their shells, and things have cooled down tremendously." Khan said the army had shifted from mass raids to "snap operations" based on intelligence and now controls key towns once in the hands of militants.
But other observers say the army's aggressive efforts since 2004 have backfired, alienating the populace with heavy-handed tactics and undermining the traditional authority of tribal elders and officials. They say the local Taliban movement, which has close ethnic and theological links to the Taliban across the border in
"Things are starting to spin out of control," one Western diplomat in
The tribal areas are off-limits to foreign visitors, including journalists, except for periodic, brief helicopter visits with military authorities. But in recent interviews here, tribal lawyers, educators and politicians with knowledge of events in the areas described growing fundamentalist influence and intimidation that is spilling beyond the sparsely inhabited tribal zones and edging closer to settled, government-run localities.
In the past six months, they said, dozens of tribal elders and officials have been killed, including an uncle of the current provincial chief minister. Fundamentalist clerics have freely used FM radio stations to preach holy war and set up public recruiting offices in towns such as Dir and Bannu just outside the tribal areas. Music stores have been shut down and thieves executed before crowds.
"North and
One university instructor, who comes from
"The situation is not what the government says," he said. "The Taliban are totally in control. The people welcome them and the youths idolize them. There is no government, only the security forces who kill people. The Taliban settle disputes and deliver justice on the spot. The tribal areas are becoming nurseries for the Taliban, and the army can't stop it."
Last week, the discovery that a journalist in
Many government critics here accuse the intelligence services of fomenting religious extremism in the tribal areas as a means of keeping
"In my view, stability for
The Pakistani army has suffered numerous casualties since it entered the tribal areas two years ago under pressure from
Until recently, most religious violence was limited to North and
In Swat, a peaceful agricultural valley, Islamic preachers persuaded people to hand over their television sets in May and burned stacks of them in public. In the Khyber Agency, a prosperous commercial area that straddles a major highway into Afghanistan, armed followers of an Islamic preacher burst into shops and lodging houses in early June, demanding at gunpoint that people pledge to follow Islamic law. In the ensuing clashes with another religious militia, several dozen people were killed.
"There are elements that have decided to create Taliban enclaves and to 'Waziristanize' the other tribal agencies," said Afrasiab Khattak, a human rights activist and official of the secular Awami National Party. "The government says it is taking action, but it is not. The source of the problem is here, not in
Even in
On a recent Friday, men emerging from prayer services said they were upset about army attacks on civilians in tribal areas and worried that
Another man with a black turban and bushy beard proudly identified himself as a former Taliban member who had fought in the capture of
"Under the Taliban there was peace, there was order, there was justice. Now our people are facing cruelty, injustice and crime. It has all come back, and it cannot be allowed to continue," said Wahidullah, 32, who runs a religious academy for boys. "If I didn't have other responsibilities now, I would love to join the fight again."
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
20 Jun 2006 12:12:47 GMT Source: IRIN Background South Asia earthquake
MUZAFFARABAD, 20 June (IRIN) - The World Health Organization (WHO) handed out 23 newly constructed Basic Health Units (BHUs) on Saturday to health authorities in earthquake-affected Pakistani-administered
"All these BHUs - equipped with medicine, supplies and furniture are currently operational, but we are giving [them] officially to the government to take care of the maintenance and staffing process," Dr Khalif Bile, WHO representative in Pakistan, told reporters in Muzaffarabad, capital of the Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
"The 23 BHUs will provide basic health services for some 400,000 people in Muzaffarabad, Nelum, Bagh and Poonch districts," Bile explained.
Over 75,000 people were killed and thousands more injured after the powerful quake of 7.6 magnitude ripped through
"We have provided 50 prefabricated BHUs in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The [first] 23 BHUs are to be completed in the first phase and the remaining would be built in the next phase," Jafer Ilyas, public health officer at the WHO, told IRIN in Muzaffarabad.
The earthquake has caused widespread damage to infrastructure: in Muzaffarabad alone 79 percent of health service buildings were badly damaged, with only 7 percent untouched by the quake, according to WHO statistics.
"There are no proper medicines or clinics in our village
I arrived here after a three-hour walk with my ill son," said Zarina Bebi, 40, who was waiting in a long queue outside a WHO-funded BHU in Dullai village in Muzaffarabad.
The BHUs will carry out various health services in the quake-hit areas, including maternal health, communicable disease control, vaccinations, treatment of common diseases, transfer of serious patients to the hospitals and reporting of any outbreaks in the region.
"They have to report within 24 hours on any suspicious cases," Bile remarked, adding that the rapid response team would investigate the area and would carry out strict measures for the prevention of the disease if an outbreak were discovered.
The WHO is also in the process of providing 12 larger prefabricated Rural Health Centres (RHC) in AJK. Out of these, seven will be established in Muzaffarabad district in the near future, according to Ilyas.
Meanwhile, the WHO, in collaboration with other aid organisations such as the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the International Committee of the Red Crescent (ICRC), the UK-based medical relief organisation, Merlin, and government health authorities, is planning to establish nine cholera camps in Muzaffarabad and Neelum districts in case of an outbreak of the disease.
According to the WHO, there were at least 29 deaths from cholera among 20,000 reported cases in quake-struck Pakistani-administered
"The significance of this cholera prevention preparedness plan is to be able to manage the cases reduce mortality," Ilyas told IRIN.
Despite widespread efforts to assist those affected and provide them with health services, many are still suffering from lack of access to proper medicine and healthcare, particularly in remote parts of Muzaffarabad.
Pakistani journalists stage a sit-in in front of the
Rice in Pakistan to seek unity against Taliban
27 Jun 2006 18:45:58 GMT
Source: Reuters
Background
By Robert Birsel
KABUL, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday began a mission to urge Pakistan and Afghanistan to cooperate in fighting resurgent Taliban forces and two British soldiers were killed in fighting in the region.
Violence this year in
Rice arrived in
Rice will travel to
In other violence on Tuesday, a suicide car-bomber attacked a German NATO peacekeeping patrol in the generally peaceful north but none of the troops was hurt, a spokesman said. The bomber and two passers-by were killed, an Afghan official said.
NATO FORCE
The NATO force, which operates in
The British soldiers were killed when their patrol came under attack in Sangin
"A
The deaths are the second and third British military fatalities since British forces were deployed to the volatile area of
The British patrol received help from aircraft and a quick reaction force and fighting went on for about two hours, Gibson said. A British military vehicle was later destroyed by a rocket-propelled grenade but no one was hurt, he said.
A spokesman for the Taliban said their fighters had launched the attack and killed a large number of foreign and Afghan troops, as well as destroying three trucks carrying supplies for foreign forces.
In
For now they remain under command of
In the northern Kunduz province, a suicide bomber attacked the German patrol, killing himself and two passers-by, an Afghan security official said. The Taliban claimed
responsibility.
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Associated Press
Rice Pushes
By ANNE GEARAN , 06.27.2006, 01:52 PM
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised two key Muslim allies who are sometimes at odds, calling
"Our view is that we have two good friends and two fierce fighters in the war on terror," the top
But, Rice added, she expects
Rice will see Karzai on Wednesday for talks on that country's political progress and the international military campaign to quell terrorism in the south.
She also planned to meet with counterparts from the Group of Eight industrialized nations in
Rice's back-to-back visits were meant to temper tensions between
Karzai has criticized
"Which country has a greater
stake in peace and stability in
He challenged
"Tell us where they are hiding," he said. "We promise to investigate and take action."
Rice smiled tightly during Kasuri's monologue, adding only that the
Before arriving in
She urged patience to give diplomacy a chance to win the release of the Israeli soldier.
"There really needs to be an effort now to try and calm the situation, not to let the situation escalate," Rice said during a news conference aboard her plane.
Musharraf became an unlikely ally of the Bush administration following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when he pledged cooperation against terrorists who passed easily between
"
Rice had even stronger praise for Karzai.
"This is an extraordinary leader and we're going to back him and back him fully," Rice said. "When he has problems we're going to sit with him and we're going to find ways to resolve those problems. But any implication that anybody thinks that he is somehow not up to the job or not living up to his responsibilities
is simply false."
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Pakistani American Congress-PAC (Washington, DC.) is a nation wide umbrella representative entity of Pakistani Americans & Pakistani Organizations in North America since 1990. PAC is incorporated as a non-profit, non-religious & non partisan premier community organization. It is a catalyst of social, educational and political activities which promote the interests & protect the civil rights & liberties of Pakistani American community in the U.S. It also strives to promote good will, friendship, & understanding between the two countries & two people.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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