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India-Pakistan

Zardari moves court for acquittal in all corruption cases

2014-01-20

[DAWN] Former president and Pakistain People's Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday moved an application with a trial court for getting rid of the five corruption references pending against him in the accountability court. On the application of Mr Zardari, special judge Mohammad Bashir of the accountability court Islamabad issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and sought its reply on February 3, the next date of proceedings. The judge also exempted Mr Zardari from day-to-day appearance before the court after Farooq H. Naek and Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, the counsel for the former president, cited security concerns. The five corruption references were filed against Mr Zardari 17 years back. They included Cotecna, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), ARY Gold, Ursus tractors and polo ground cases. The accountability court in October last year had reopened the proceedings against Mr Zardari in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment passed in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case in December 2009. In the judgment, the apex court had ordered the revival of the cases which had been closed after the promulgation of the NRO in 2007. The Cotecna corruption reference was initially prepared by Saifur Rehman, the then chairman of Ehtesab Bureau, during the second government of Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... . Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... and her spouse Mr Zardari were the main accused in the reference while Nusrat Bhutto, former CBR chairman A.R. Siddiqui and six directors of the Swiss company, Cotecna, were the co-accused. They were charged with taking as kickbacks six per cent of the total value of a $131 million pre-shipment contract awarded to the Swiss company.

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India-Pakistan

Key Fazlullah commander killed in Swat offensive

2007-12-13

A key commander was among several other militants killed as security forces continued bombing Taliban positions in Piochar and adjoining areas of the troubled Swat district late on Tuesday night. Local commander Ibne Amin and several other close associates of Maulana Fazlullah were killed in an overnight bombing by the security forces, sources told Daily Times. Ibne Amin was a key militant commander, who also remained involved in the Afghan jihad. Stopping short of confirming the killing of the commander, spokesman for Swat Media Centre Major Amjad Iqbal said, “We have received reports about his (Amin’s) death through local media. The matter is being investigated and nothing can be said at the moment.” 16 suspects apprehended: The spokesman said a number of other militants were also killed, while 16 suspects had been apprehended at various security checkposts last night. However, he would not mention the exact number of those claimed to be killed in the overnight shelling. Locals said a woman, whose family was leaving the Chaparyal area of Matta for a safe location, was killed as the vehicle the family was travelling in came under fire from the security forces near Sangota. Two other family members sustained injuries. Major Amjad confirmed the woman’s killing, but said the troops opened fire at the vehicle after it violated the curfew. He said that people who had suffered losses during the ongoing military operation against the militants should submit their applications with the district coordination officer by December 14 to get compensation. He also informed reporters about an uprising against the militants in Nihak Dara and Lok Dara areas of the valley. Meanwhile, shops and business centres in Matta, Khwazakhela and Mingora remained opened and people were seen shopping for the upcoming Eidul Azha. Residents of Ghat Piochar, Shaur, Namal and Venai, on the other hand, continued fleeing their areas for safer locations due to the ongoing operation against the militants. Local administration has imposed a curfew in Swat from 6pm on Wednesday till 7am on Thursday. The curfew will be relaxed from 7am today (Thursday) till evening in Mingora, Kabal, Matta and other areas of Swat. However, there will be no relaxation in curfew hours from Fiza Ghat checkpost to Khwazakhela, the sources told Daily Times.

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India-Pakistan

5 killed in rocket attacks in Swat

2007-12-11

Five people were killed and two others injured when stray shells landed on houses in Swat district’s Chaparyal area, residents said on Monday. Also, seven army men, including a major and a captain, who were kidnapped by local Taliban in Kabal, were freed on Monday, Taliban sources said. The five people, including four of a family and a child, were killed and another child injured as the army continued pounding suspected militant hideouts with artillery in the Chaparyal and Venai areas. Another child was allegedly injured in shelling from military helicopters in Venai, the residents said. Provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal was not aware of these casualties. About the release of troops, he said they escaped from captivity after overpowering their Taliban guards last night. “The two officers and five soldiers reached at a safe location at around 4am.”He also said seven people, including a would-be suicide bomber and a foreigner, were detained in Kanjoo and Mingora. In Kabal, the houses of Maulana Fazlullah’s aides Akbar Hussain and Ishaq were demolished by locals, Amjad said. The residents said the army continued targeting militant positions in the Ghat Piochar, Shaur, Namal, Venai and Chaparyal areas.

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India-Pakistan

Suicide car bomber kills 8 in Pakistan

2007-12-10

A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a police outpost yesterday, killing eight people in an area where the military has been battling Islamic militants loyal to a fugitive cleric, an official said. Five civilians including two children and three policemen died in the attack at the Nimgole post, the headquarters of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah, said chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. Arshad Waheed. Several others were wounded. The outpost is near Imam Dheri, the headquarters of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah that troops captured Thursday. "There's nothing we could say about the perpetrators before investigating, but involvement by remnants of Fazlullah's militants can't be ruled out," said Amjad Iqbal, a spokesman for the Swat military command center. The attack occurred a day after the commander of military operations in Swat said insurgents in the area were on the run but remained dangerous. Waheed said militants were trying to strike back while on the run. "Suicide attacks are something that is hard to avoid, but security forces in Swat are in control of the region," Waheed said. Followers of Fazlullah had fended off security forces sent to reinforce the area's beleaguered police since July, but have been scattered by a major army operation launched last month. Maj Gen Nasser Janjua said Saturday his 20,000-strong force has retaken all the towns seized by the militants, killing 290 of them and capturing 140, while driving a hard-core group of some 400-500 into the Piochar side valley. Three bullet-riddled bodies were found in the Samgota area, some 22 miles northwest of Mingora, the main town in Swat. "Evidence found at the scene suggested the dead men were local militants apparently killed by the local residents of the area," Iqbal said.

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India-Pakistan

Troops capture Fazlullah's base

2007-12-07

Seize weapons, computers and liquor bottles from Imam Dheri madrassa complex Security forces captured Imam Dheri, headquarters of pro-Taliban militant leader Maulana Fazlullah, and the Khwazkhela area in Swat, officials said on Thursday. The army also blew up the houses of Fazlullah and his spokesman Maulana Sirajuddin, besides seizing several weapons, computers and some bottles of liquor from the site, army officials said. The liquor was believed to be seized at militants’ checkposts from people. Right. It wasn't in the mullah's liquor cabinet. Nope. Earlier, Troops backed by tanks and gunship helicopters advanced towards Imam Dheri and seized control of a madrassa run by Fazlullah, and an adjacent mosque without any resistance. troops backed by tanks and gunship helicopters advanced towards Imam Dheri and seized control of a madrassa run by Fazlullah, and an adjacent mosque without any resistance. De-mining experts have started combing the area for landmines and booby traps. In Khwazkhela, the troops have taken control of a police station from the militants and handed it over to the local police. The local administration in Swat announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew from 4pm to 8pm on Thursday. The army took local reporters to Imam Dheri in the afternoon. Major General Nasir Janjua, commander of the Swat operation, told the reporters that the troops had operated very carefully in Imam Dheri to avoid any structural damage to the mosque-madrassa complex. An unknown number of militants fled the towns before they were overrun. About 400 troops and police moved in, and found the complex abandoned, AP reported. The troops also dismantled a prison set up by militants inside a girls’ primary school in Matta and freed dozens of people, an intelligence official told AFP. There are reports that Fazlullah’s deputy, Maulana Shah Dauran, had been killed in a gunbattle late on Wednesday, provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal said.

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India-Pakistan

Troops destroy militants' fuel and ammunition depot in Swat Valley

2007-12-04

MINGORA: The army destroyed a petrol and ammunitions depot used by militants in Swat with heavy artillery fire from helicopter gunships, an army spokesman told reporters on Monday. Fuel supply to militants has been suspended after the destruction of a key petrol station in the Kooz Shor area of Matta tehsil, said Amjad Iqbal, the head of the Swat Media Centre. Army control: Security forces seized sophisticated weapons and explosives from a house in the Nangolai area of Kabal tehsil, said Iqbal. Troops have taken control of the area between Kanjoo and Baryam Chowk of Swat, he added. He said troops had set up check posts at Pir Kalay and Barymam Chowk — areas previously controlled by militants. Meanwhile, as residents continued to return to their homes in Kabal tehsil, hundreds abandoned their houses in Shor, Sambat Kharerai and other areas of Matta after heavy artillery fire on Taliban positions, residents said. The local administration has relaxed the curfew from 7 to 5pm in Mingora and from noon till 5pm in other troubled areas of the district.

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India-Pakistan

Mullah Fazlullah's brother held: Stray shell kills 11 civilians, 40 militants arrested

2007-11-30

Around 11 civilians were killed and 9 wounded when a stray army shell hit a residential area in Swat District, officials said on Thursday. Meanwhile, around 40 suspected militants, including a brother of the pro-Taliban militant leader, Maulana Fazlullah, were arrested, officials told AFP. The shell destroyed a house in Allahabad, a village in the Swat valley, as security forces continued an offensive against the followers of Fazlullah late on Wednesday, a police official said. Eleven members of the family died, while nine more were wounded, said the official, Mohibullah Khan. However, military spokesman Major Amjad Iqbal told Reuters that he had no information about civilian casualties in the village but confirmed that a clash had taken place there on Thursday after militants fired rockets at troops. “We responded and fired into the area from where the fire came. People should not shelter any militants in their residences,” Iqbal said in Mingora. Cheeze. The voice of sweet reason in Pakistain. Who'da thunkit? Police and residents said a two-year-old boy and his mother were among the dead, who otherwise were mostly males aged 16 to 22, AFP reported. The shredded bodies of two victims were covered in white sheets, witnesses said, adding that residents were protesting against the deaths. Protest and be damned. Hospital official Jamil Khan said 12 injured people, including three women, had been brought to the hospital and around six were in a serious condition. Top Military Spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said security forces had arrested Maulana Fazal Ahmed along with other militants at a checkpost located between Chakdara and Mingora, Online reported. Were they disguised as girls? They usually are. They included a nephew of Maulana Sirajuddin, the militants’ main spokesman, and a 20-year-old student carrying a suicide vest, both of whom were traveling in the same car when they were detained, Amjad said. "You there, in the suicide vest! Stickem up!" "Hokay." The bodies of six militants, including two Uzbeks, were found on Wednesday, Arshad said. Up to 220 militants and 15 soldiers have been killed in the last 10 days.

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India-Pakistan

Troops seize Fazlullah's base

2007-11-29

Troops on Wednesday seized Maulana Fazlullah’s base in Swat, where nearly two weeks of clashes have killed around 250 militants, officials said. “Security forces entered the town of Imam Dheri, the main base of Maulana Fazlullah,” provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal told AFP. The whereabouts of Fazlullah, however, remain unknown. “He has gone underground,” the official said. Security sources in the area said the cleric’s close aides have also fled, including his spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin. They quoted residents as saying they [Fazlullah’s men] were seen heading for the mountains. Iqbal said security forces were in “complete control” of a large stretch of Kabal district after shelling suspected insurgent locations with artillery and mortar fire. Locals destroy militant bunkers: As the militants fled, people in a number of towns destroyed the fortified bunkers they left behind, Iqbal said, adding that authorities would on Thursday extend a break in the curfew to allow residents time to demolish the remaining positions. He said foreign militants were fighting alongside the Fazlullah loyalists. “The security forces recovered six bodies from Najia Top, they included two foreigners,” he said, referring to the highest peak in Kabal district. Security forces took the bodies of 50 dead militants into custody during the operation. Iqbal told BBC that some militants’ dead bodies had, however, been handed over to their families.

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India-Pakistan

Militants vacate trenches in several areas of Swat

2007-11-28

Militants in several parts of the restive Swat district vacated their trenches on hilltops and disappeared on Tuesday, Daily Times has learnt. Rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah’s loyalists had established trenches in the Dherai, Kooza Bandai, Bara Bandai, Nangolai, Charbagh, Khwazakhela and Pir Kalay areas of Swat. However, they vacated the areas on Tuesday morning and their current whereabouts are unknown, residents said. "We dunno. They jes' lit out like their salwar kameez wuz on fire!" Locals believe the Taliban have fled the area under intense pressure from the military, which had been using artillery and gunship helicopters to target their positions in several areas of Swat and Shangla districts for the last few days. Meanwhile, Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal told journalists that a local resident had killed Taliban commander Khan Khitab, as people of the area were tired of the Taliban. Iqbal claimed 50 militants had been killed in the ongoing military operation over the past three days. His claim could not be confirmed from an independent source, while purported Taliban spokesman Sirajuddin was also unavailable for comment. One of the 50 deaders, perhaps? That'd be pleasant. Local residents and state television, meanwhile, reported that Fazlullah’s pirate radio station had shut down. Meanwhile, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Dawn television that troops had taken control of Najia Top, a stronghold of Fazlullah. He estimated the insurgents’ strength in the area at about 1,000, reported AFP. Local residents and state television, meanwhile, reported that Fazlullah’s pirate radio station had shut down. Also on Tuesday, the Swat administration announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew to let the local residents fulfill basic necessities of daily life.

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India-Pakistan

40 militants, four soldiers dead in Swat clashes

2007-11-27

Security forces used artillery and gunship helicopters on pro-Taliban militants in the troubled Swat valley, killing 40 militants, including two commanders, and losing four soldiers, said military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad. He said another five soldiers had been injured in the operation. Arshad told Daily Times that the hilltops had been cleared, while security forces were now advancing towards areas where the militants had taken refuge. Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal said two local commanders were among those killed, reported AFP. Commander Khitab Khan was one of the commanders killed, Daily Times learnt. Iqbal said security forces had targeted the hideouts of militants loyal to rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah throughout Sunday night. Meanwhile, a statement issued here said security forces destroyed eight vehicles and killed several militants during an operation. The militants’ convoy was destroyed on Bara Bandai-Shakardara Road. Separately, two security personnel were injured in a mortar attack on Kabal Golf Course. Bet that complicated the 11th hole... Curfew relaxation: Also on Monday, the local administration announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew from 8am till 12pm. The curfew had been in place since Saturday.

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India-Pakistan

Mighty Pak army starts ground offensive in Swat

2007-11-26

Security forces backed by gunship helicopters and artillery have begun a ground offensive against pro-Taliban militants, killing at least 35 of them and losing two soldiers, the military said on Sunday. It was the first time ground troops had been used in the Swat region, said army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad. He said the troops had gained control of mountaintops overlooking three militant-held villages near Mingora in an operation that was launched late on Saturday, reported AP. The troops controlled all entry and exit points to these villages, he added. He said 15 soldiers were also wounded. “The strongholds of militants are being hit. Troops have demolished their bunkers and destroyed a checkpost,” Arshad said. Meanwhile, Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal told reporters that three policemen had been injured in fighting in the Balogram, Rahimabad and Barikot areas. Online reported that two of the policemen had sustained minor injuries when militants in Balogram and Rahimabad shot at a mobile police car. In another incident, a Suzuki van parked along the roadside exploded on Saturday night, injuring one soldier. He said security forces had ensured that mosques, madrassas and the civil population were not affected by Saturday night’s operation. An arms depot discovered in Kooza Bandai Government School had been destroyed, he added. Curfew extended: Also on Sunday, the local administration announced a 24-hour extension to the curfew that has been in place since Saturday afternoon, enforcing it till 2pm on Monday. Earlier, a 24-hour curfew had been imposed from 2pm on Saturday till 2pm on Sunday. Local residents said artillery had been targeting militant positions in Dherai, Kooza Bandai and Najia Top, while gunship helicopters pounded rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah’s headquarters in Imam Dherai and its surroundings, Daily Times staffers Daud Khattak and Saleem Athar reported. Several Taliban have been killed and injured in the previous 24 hours of fighting but the exact number of casualties could not be confirmed from any independent sources. People of the restive areas continued fleeing their houses to escape to the relative safety of Mingora, Faizabad and Saidu Sharif. Telephone connections have been switched off and people in areas where the fighting is going on are facing food shortages. Local residents said the troops had stopped the delivery of any food items, medicine and other basic necessities of life to Taliban-held areas, resulting in residents facing serious food, healthcare and transportation problems. Fazlullah visit: Meanwhile, Taliban sources said Maulana Fazlullah had visited militant positions in Najia Top, Kooza Bandai and Dherai and issued fresh instructions to his men. Briefing journalists a day earlier, NWFP caretaker Information Minister Imtiaz Hussain Gillani said the provincial government was planning to convene a grand jirga to discuss the trouble in Swat and suggest methods to defuse the tension there. He said the caretaker cabinet had decided to establish camps for the people of Swat displaced by the fighting between security forces and Taliban militants. FM radio: Authorities have also set up their own FM radio station to counter the militant propaganda spread by Fazlullah’s pirate radio station.

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India-Pakistan

Jirga manages ceasefire in Kurram Agency

2007-11-25

A 16-member peace jirga has managed a ceasefire in the Sadda, Parachinar and Arauli areas of Kurram Agency, where sectarian clashes have raged over the past week, and returned to Hangu on Saturday for peace negotiations, locals and eyewitnesses told Daily Times. Jirga member Syed Alhussaini told Daily Times that both parties would nominate eight people for peace discussions and would review the situation arising from the clashes to find a durable solution. Denial: Political authorities, meanwhile, denied reports of nearly 50 deaths in renewed sectarian fighting overnight in Parachinar. “There was some fighting late on Friday and several militants were killed, but we do not have exact details of casualties,” AFP quoted government spokesman Amjad Iqbal as saying.T he staff report goes on to add that security forces had begun patrolling the main highway between Chappari, Sadda and Parachinar. Political Agent Zaheerul Islam told reporters that Governor Lt Gen (r) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai visited Parachinar on Thursday and talked to jirgas and urged them to intensify efforts for peace. Meanwhile, on orders from the governor, 50 tonnes of relief goods, including food, for the locally displaced people are being airlifted to Parachinar.

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