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India-Pakistan

India-Pakistan train fire explosion kills 60 64, injures 50

2007-02-19

About 60 passengers are feared to have burned to death after suspected blasts aboard a train bound from India to Pakistan, officials said on Monday. "It appears to be a case of sabotage," B.N. Mathur, a top railway official, told reporters. "We have found two suitcases, there were IEDs in them," he said referring to improvised explosive devices. About 50 passengers were also reported wounded. The incident comes days before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri is due in New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders. Funny number, though not funny ha-ha. Usually there are two to three wounded for every killed. I'd expect to see somewhere between 120 and 180 wounded in this case. The coaches of the Samjhauta Express train, which connects New Delhi to the northern Pakistani city of Lahore, erupted in fire near Panipat town, about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Indian capital, around midnight on Sunday (1830 GMT). The incident comes days before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri is due in New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders to push forward a slow-moving peace process between the old rivals. A bit more: PANIPAT: The death toll in fire on the Samjhota express, which reportedly erupted after blasts in the train in the northern Indian state of Haryana, has increased to 64, the reports said. Five unexploded bombs have also been recovered from the train. Some people with burns have been pulled from the carriages but firemen are still fighting the blaze. According to Indian media reports it might be the incident of terrorism as the bombs were recovered from the train. Two carriages of the train have been completely destroyed as a result of the fire.

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Afghanistan

Taliban says want no part of tribal peace talks

2006-12-12

The Taliban on Monday backed away from comments they might join tribal councils aimed at ending growing violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Senior spokesman Sayed Tayeb Agha said the rebels would never join such talks as long as foreign soldiers remained in Afghanistan. "Such jirgas (councils) are aimed at protecting American interests only. Such jirgas are neither independent nor do they take independent decisions," he told Reuters from Quetta a secret location. "Such jirgas (councils) are aimed at protecting American interests only. Such jirgas are neither independent nor do they take independent decisions," he told Reuters from Quetta a secret location. "The Taliban will not take part in any jirga in the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan because such jirgas or meetings have no significance." There are about 40,000 foreign troops in the country under separate NATO and U.S. commands. But while Afghanistan and Pakistan agree jirgas should be held, they have so far failed to agree on when, how or who should be included. Kabul wants all Afghan tribes involved. Islamabad wants the councils restricted to the border tribes -- essentially the Pashtuns from which the Taliban draws its support. Government and political leaders in both countries say at least moderate elements of the resurgent Taliban must be included in any talks to end the fighting. A Taliban spokesman said on Sunday the group might join the jirga talks if asked, but Agha -- a more senior official closer to the group's leader -- said that did not reflect the militants' position. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri met officials in Kabul on the jirgas last week but no agreement was reached.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Pakistan proposes to fence Afghan border

2005-09-13

Fed up with accusations it allows Taliban fighters to cross into Afghanistan, Pakistan has offered to erect a fence between the two countries to prevent incursions from either side. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made the offer during talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said after the 75-minute meeting. If it's good enough for Israel ... General Musharraf and Dr Rice are among scores of foreign leaders and ministers in New York for the UN World Summit. Gen Musharraf is expected to meet US President George W Bush this week. "Pakistan is prepared to raise a fence so that we can put an end to these allegations," a spokesman for the Pakistani President said. The spokesman did not specify exactly where and when a fence could be erected, how long it would be, or who would pay for it. "Pakistan can do nothing more than that to prevent incursions," he said. "We are fed up of people who say we have to do more." You heard him, Fred ... Oh. Well. Sorry I brought it up... Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been strained because of complaints from the Government in Kabul that Islamabad could do more to stop Taliban fighters infiltrating from Pakistan's tribal areas.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Pakistan arrests three al Qaeda linked suspects

2005-05-20

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (Reuters) - Pakistani police have arrested three Pakistani Islamic militants suspected of links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, police said on Friday. The three were members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Sunni militant group implicated in assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, said a senior police official who asked not to be identified. He identified them as Ali Sher, Haji Ejaz and Pir Jamil and said they were arrested in the central city of Multan five days ago. "They were arrested in a raid on their hideouts on the outskirts of Multan. They have been arrested for suspicion of links with al Qaeda," the police official said. "These people had fought in Afghanistan and have also reportedly met Osama (bin Ladan) and (Ayman) al Zawahri," the official said, adding that the meetings with the al Qaeda leaders were thought to have taken place about a year ago. "They were involved in ensuring safe passage and settling down of terrorists and militants fleeing from the South Waziristan area," he said, referring to a tribal region bordering Afghanistan where al Qaeda militants took refuge last year. He said laptop computers, satellite phones and maps were seized at the time of the arrests. Goody, goody The arrests followed the capture this month of Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, thought to be al Qaeda's number three, in northwestern Pakistan, but it was not clear if the raids were connected. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told reporters on Thursday that bin Laden was thought to be alive, based on video and audio tapes the al Qaeda leader had released and the tracking of communications by security forces. Kasuri said bin Laden was probably moving from place to place in a small group, but it would not be in his interest to remain in the border region if he was there. Kasuri said Pakistani security forces had succeeded in destroying the communications, propaganda and other infrastructure of al Qaeda and the network no longer had the capability to carry out large-scale attacks in the country. Musharraf said in early March that his forces believed they nearly hunted down bin Laden about 10 months earlier, but the trail had since gone cold.

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