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:: FOCUS - TURMOIL IN PAKISTAN
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Some fraud expected in Pakistan poll: US official
Washington, January 30 (IANS): US lawmakers want Washington to increase pressure on President Pervez Musharraf to ensure free and fair elections in Pakistan even as a senior official admitted that some fraud was to be expected.
Bodies of 13 slain troops found in Pakistan: report
Islamabad, January 30: Authorities in Pakistan Wednesday found the bodies of 13 soldiers who were seized by the Islamic militants six days ago in the country's North-West Frontier Province, the Aaj news channel reported.
Suspect in Bhutto case identifies bomber
Islamabad, January 29: A teenage boy suspected to be a member of a suicide squad picked to murder former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto has identified the bomber who blew himself up near her car, TV channels reported Tuesday.
Militants take Pakistani children hostage for several hours
Islamabad, January 28: Islamic militants Monday took dozens of school children hostage in the North West Frontier Province for several hours during a failed attempt to kidnap a government official, and released them after being given safe passage.
24 militants killed as Pakistan military secures tunnel
Islamabad, January 27: Security forces in Pakistan Sunday killed 24 militants and gained control of a strategic road tunnel, while 31 rebels were seized in restive Swat valley in the country's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), the army said.
More suspects in Bhutto's assassination arrested
Islamabad, January 26: Pakistani authorities have arrested more suspects in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on a tip from a detained suspect, a senior official said Saturday.
Pakistan increases security of its nuclear weapons
Rawalpindi, January 26: Pakistan said it had bolstered security for its nuclear weapons in recent months and ruled out the possibility of Islamic militants or Al Qaeda terrorists getting them under their control.
US offers joint combat operations with Pakistan
Washington, January 25: US military has offered to undertake joint combat operations with Pakistani forces against Islamic militants if the government there requests help, Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates has said.
This is seen as a change in the US position since Pentagon officials had so far avoided talking publicly about the possibility of operations with Pakistan because of avowed opposition by President Pervez Musharraf and the likelihood of widespread protests against direct American involvement.
Imran Khan meets US lawmakers, seeks aid cut to Pakistan
Washington, Jan 25 (IANS) Imran Khan, the Pakistani cricketer-turned politician, said he met key US Senators and Congressmen to press Washington to cut aid to President Pervez Musharraf's administration to put pressure on him to reinstate the sacked judiciary, a key to restoring democracy in the country.Underlining Musharraf's scorn for democracy and public accountability, Khan said here Thursday, "The $10 billion US aid since 9/11 was never mentioned in Pakistan's parliament, which Musharraf used as 'rubber stamp'."
Pakistan Army kills 30 militants in tribal region
Islamabad, January 25: Up to 30 Islamic militants and two soldiers were killed Friday when Pakistan's security forces launched an offensive in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan to recover four trucks carrying ammunition rebels had seized the day before, the army said.
"A group of six hired civilian trucks, which were carrying stores and supplies, including some ammunition, was intercepted by miscreants at Dara Adam Khel Thursday and four of these were hijacked," a statement from the Pakistani Army said.
Pakistani nuclear arsenal in safe hands: army chief
Islamabad, January 25: Pakistan's nuclear weapons are in safe hands and fears in the West that they could fall into extremist hands are "unrealistic", army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said Friday.
The general made the comments after Pakistan successfully test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile Shaheen-1 (Hatf-4), marking the conclusion of the army's annual field training exercises.
Post assassination-riots, 12,000 Karachi workers could lose jobs
Karachi, January 25: The riots that followed the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto caused damage worth more than Rs.80 billion to public and private property in her home province of Sind and could result in at least 12,000 workers in this southern port city losing their jobs. These workers were employed in 19 factories that were gutted in the Korangi Industrial Area in Karachi and they are now threatening to come out on the streets in protest.
Pakistan launches major offensive against Taliban
Islamabad, January 23: Two soldiers were killed on Wednesday as hundreds of Pakistani troops launched a major operation against a pro-Taliban commander who has been blamed for the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said.
More than 700 soldiers from the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army began an offensive against the hideouts of Islamic militants in the mountains of the tribal south Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, a local security official said.
Pakistan distancing itself from Bhutto murder probe
Islamabad, January 24: The Pakistani government seems to be distancing itself from the probe into former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, saying it was for Scotland Yard to deliver the last word on this.
US Senate leader wants aid to Pakistan cut
New York, January 23: US Senate majority leader Harry Reid, after meeting Pakistani politician Imran Khan, has asked President George W. Bush to cut non-developmental aid to Pakistan if the forthcoming elections there are not free and fair.
US Senate leader wants aid to Pakistan cut
Toronto, January 23 (IANS): The Taliban continues to enjoy "safe havens inside Pakistan, where it is refinanced, rearmed and replenished with new recruits", says an independent panel in its report submitted Tuesday on Canada's future role in Afghanistan.
US rules out aid cut, military strikes inside Pakistan
Washington, January 23 (IANS): The US has ruled out military strikes on its own inside Pakistan despite shortcomings in the quality of information it's getting about terrorist groups and militants operating in the country's tribal area.
:: Benazir Assassination
Zardari rejects offer to become Pakistan PM
Islamabad, January 19: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has rejected an offer from the establishment to head a proposed national reconciliation government, media reports said.
Bilawal: Is he really that 'hot'?
Ever wondered what Benazir Bhutto, the slain Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader, would have thought of the way her 19-year-old son Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto is being wooed and fawned over, not just in cyber world but in her hometown of Karachi?
Pakistan questions two suspects in Bhutto plot
Islamabad, January 20: Pakistani authorities questioned two suspects Sunday, including a 15-year-old boy, about their links with a militant group allegedly behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, officials said.
Teen held in Bhutto murder plot
Islamabad, January 20: A teenaged boy arrested Friday has told investigators that he was the next in line to kill former prime minister Benazir Bhutto if the Dec 27 attempt had failed, a media report Sunday said.
Bhutto's family did not want autopsy: Musharraf
New York, January 13: Benazir Bhutto's family did not want a post-mortem examination, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said, expressing his willingness to exhume the assassinated leader's body now.
Benazir, politics and India's oil economy
The turmoil in Pakistan following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had unexpected fallout on the world economy. The fears of political repercussions in the Islamic world made oil markets react nervously and pushed the already high crude prices to a record peak of 100 dollars per barrel on Jan 2. While this may have been a one-day wonder, the very fact that oil prices reached these dizzying heights is worrying governments in both developed and developing economies.
Bhutto medical report fraught with lacunae: experts
Islamabad, January 6: The medical report of slain former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is fraught with lacunae as doctors at the Rawalpindi General Hospital acted "unprofessionally" while writing it, medico-legal experts say.
Risks to Pakistan's economy rising: report
Karachi, January 6: Key indicators recorded a significant decline during the first quarter of the current fiscal and the resulting imbalances could have adverse consequences for the Pakistan economy, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said in its quarterly report.
Bhutto death augurs unrest, lawlessness in N-armed nation
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination could not have come at a worse time for turbulent Pakistan and threatens to conflagrate a highly volatile security situation in a largely lawless country armed with nuclear weapons.
Was Benazir a victim of West's democratic fundamentalism?
London, Dec 29 (IANS) As Pakistan burned in the angry aftermath of former premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a chorus arose in the capitals of powerful Western countries: howsoever grave the crisis, Pakistan must hold elections as planned. The trans-Atlantic panegyric for democracy may have seemed curiously out of place to many in Pakistan in their hour of incomprehension and grief, but it did not arise out of nowhere.
Benazir's Assassination: A Tragedy Foretold
The assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto by snipers and suicide bombers Dec 27 in Rawalpindi has left the world shell shocked. One could see it coming, though, as a predictable outcome of the tailspin into which Pakistan's polity and society have hurtled through incessant militarisation. Beyond the semantics about derailment of democracy, Benazir's violent end brings into sharp relief the inseparability of Pakistan's governance and social life from Kalashnikov and jehad culture.
Benazir's assassination has dangerous portents
The assassination of former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto is indicative of the rapid stride Pakistan has taken on the path of extremism under General Pervez Musharraf.
Benazir: the girl who mesmerised Shimla
In July 1972, Shimla, the summer capital of the British Raj and a tourist paradise after Independence, had few tourists. The reason was that the Himalayan resort had top officials of India and Pakistan arriving in droves to prepare for a summit meeting between then prime minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the then prime minister of Pakistan.
Bush's Pakistan strategy in ashes
Washington, Dec 29 (DPA) For the Bush administration, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto puts a major question mark over its efforts to push democracy in south Asia as a bulwark against Islamic extremism.
Bhutto's body had bullet marks, reiterates aide
Islamabad, Dec 29 (IANS) Accusing the Pakistan government of mounting a massive cover up operation over former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a close aide of the slain leader Saturday stoutly maintained that she died of gunshots.
India worried about Bhutto murder fallout; suspends travel links
New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's death cast a shadow of worry in neighbouring India that suspended its bus and train link with the country Friday amid concern that the elements that murdered her might try and create trouble here as well.
A troubled nation bids Benazir Bhutto adieu
Garhi Khuda Baksh (Pakistan), Dec 28 (IANS) The dust clouds swirled Friday as Pakistan's slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was laid to rest, leaving behind a restive country with mobs trawling the streets and 22 people killed in clashes. All the while the clamour for President Pervez Musharraf's resignation grew louder.
India suspends bus, train services to Pakistan indefinitely
New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) India Friday cancelled all train and bus services to Pakistan, except the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road link, indefinitely following widespread violence in that country in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
Bhutto died from hitting vehicle roof, says government
Islamabad, Dec 28 (IANS) Controversy continues to surround Benazir Bhutto's death with the Pakistan government Friday evening stating that the former prime minister was killed not by bullets or shrapnel but by hitting the sunroof of her vehicle as she tried to duck after a suicide attack.
Musharraf was relieved not being Benazir's military secretary
Islamabad, Dec 28 (IANS) Pakistan's slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto may have wanted Pervez Musharraf, then a brigadier in the Pakistan Army, to serve as her military secretary but he declined the offer - and is thankful he did so, the president said in his memoir.
She came to save Pakistan, says Zardari
New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) "She came to save Pakistan," a grieving Asif Zardari said Friday shortly before the funeral ceremony of his wife, Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in Rawalpindi.
Long saga of assassinations in South Asia
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) The killing of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto - whose family is compared with the Kennedys in triumph and tragedy -- highlights the bloody saga of assassinations in South Asia since the end of British rule six decades ago.
Benazir regretted not making peace with India when in power
New York, Dec 27 (IANS) Slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto regretted missing an opportunity when in power in the country to make peace with India.
Benazir assassination strikingly similar to Rajiv's
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) For millions of Indians, the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto brings alive the haunting images of the May 1991 killing of their own former premier Rajiv Gandhi.
Benazir, Rajiv were beacons that have been snuffed out
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) The year was 1988, the occasion the SAARC summit in Islamabad, the two main players - Benazir Bhutto and Rajiv Gandhi, two prime ministers, two scions of political families, two leaders expected to take South Asia to a bright new millennium.
Connivance of establishment in Bhutto killing: Pakistani journo
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) The security and defence establishment in Pakistan are to blame for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said senior Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam Thursday.
Day that began in hope, ended in Bhutto's assassination
Islamabad, Dec 27 (IANS) Benazir Bhutto began her day in hope Thursday, reaching out to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and speaking of a new beginning between their nations. Hours later, it ended in tragedy with the gory assassination of the former Pakistani prime minister.
Countdown to an assassination
Islamabad, Dec 27 (IANS) Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday, a little over two months after she returned home from exile and vowed to take on President Pervez Musharraf in the Jan 8 general elections.
Benazir Bhutto assassinated; Pakistan in turmoil
Islamabad, December 27 (IANS) Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, an iconic symbol of Pakistan, was assassinated in nearby Rawalpindi Thursday moments after a suicide bomber blew up at an election rally killing 30 people and a gunman fired at her, hitting her in the neck and head.
Bhutto's killing sparks violence in Pakistan
Islamabad, December 27 (IANS) Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination sparked violent and emotional outbursts all across Pakistan, with mobs taking to the streets crying, weeping, howling - and attacking government property.
Zardari blames Musharraf government
New Delhi, December 27 (IANS) Asif Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief, has blamed the Pervez Musharraf government for her assassination. Zardari left for Pakistan from Dubai with their three children after hearing of the assassination Thursday evening.
World powers condemn Benazir assassination, urge stability in Pakistan
Washington, December 27 (Xinhua) Major world powers condemned the assassination Thursday of former Pakistan prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and urged Pakistan government to ensure stability in the country.
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