LANDI KOTAL: The candidates for a National Assembly seat in Bara have demanded of the authorities to postpone the upcoming general elections in NA-46 constituency owing to threats from a militant group and inability of political administration to devise a foolproof security plan for electioneering. Although election campaign has not been launched in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, yet Lashkar-i-Islam, a militant group, has threatened to target all those people, who try to take part in the elections. “The government is not sincere in holding peace talks with our group. As long as there is no clear cut response from the government side, we will not allow anyone to take part in the elections,” said a message sent by Faqir Mohammad, a local commander of Lashkar-i-Islam, to the candidates in Bara. Dawn.
BANNU: An official of the Frontier Region (FR) Bannu was injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on him at Enjal Amir Khan village in the limits of Mandan Police Station on Monday, sources said.The sources said that Maqbool Rehman, who was the political tehsildar in FR Bannu, was on his way home after offering ‘maghrib prayer’ when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on him, leaving him injured. He was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital where his condition was stated to be stable. The News.
KHAR: Two personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) were killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Monday, official sources said. The sources said that the security forces were on a routine patrol in Damadola village when a remote controlled bomb went off, killing two FC soldiers. The identity of the slain soldiers could not be ascertained.Following the incident, the security forces reached the spot and shifted the bodies to the army camp in Khar, headquarters of Bajaur Agency. The News, The Frontier Post, The Express Tribune.
MIRANSHAH: Residents suffered hardships as curfew clamped in North Waziristan Agency continued for third consecutive day in the volatile tribal region on Monday.Also, the government has suspended some papers of the ongoing SSC examination in North Waziristan due to curfew. The local administration had clamped curfew in the entire tribal region after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a roadside military checkpoint and killed 18 soldiers and four tribesmen in Esha area, 12 kilometers east of agency headquarters Miranshah. The News, The Frontier Post, The Express Tribune.
D.I. KHAN: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalu Rehman said Taliban Should not have postponed the “talks offer” as there is still a ray of hope twords betterment though the government is showing sluggish attitude regarding peace talks with the support of the Grand Jirga.He said on Sunday in a Press Conference at his residence in Shor Kot, Dera Ismail khan on the occasion of seat adjustment with Ex.MPA Israrullah Gandapur on Pk-67 of Tehsil Kulachi, who was also present on the occasion. JUI chief said the next government if comes into power as a result of the general election, will surely be under pressure to continue negotiations with Taliban. The Frontier Post.
ISLAMABAD: Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Amman and asked for his help with President Hamid Karzai to further the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. The meeting for which Mr Kerry had to specially travel from Iraq to neighbouring Jordan was held on Sunday night, but both sides made it public on Monday as the former headed to Kabul on an unannounced trip for meeting with Mr Karzai. Mr Kerry’s agenda in Kabul includes discussions on reconciliation and transition and presence of US troops in Afghanistan after 2014. Dawn.
KABUL: US Secretary of State John Kerry made a show of unity with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a short visit to Afghanistan on Monday, following weeks of heightened tensions between the two countries. Mr Kerry made the unannounced visit to Afghanistan in order to discuss a host of issues including attempts to stabilise the country before most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014, the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces and Afghanistan’s elections, a US official told reporters. Dawn, The Frontier Post.
PESHAWAR: A senior Afghan diplomat has complained that some Pakistani traders are exporting substandard medicines to Afghanistan that damages reputation of genuine exporters in the market. During a meeting, Peshawar-based Afghan Consular General Syed Mohammad Ibrahimkhel told officials of Fata Civil Secretariat on Monday that Afghanistan imported medicines worth $40 million every year. The share of Pakistan in the export of medicines to Afghanistan was 95 per cent, he said. Dawn.
WASHINGTON: The Taliban insurgency will continue after coalition combat forces withdraw from Afghanistan in late 2014 but the Afghan government will survive, the ex-chief of the NATO-led force said on Monday. “Sometimes this comes as a surprise when I say this, that on January 1st, 2015 there’s still going to be fighting in Afghanistan,” General John Allen said in a speech to the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. The NATO-led combat mission is scheduled to wind up on December 31, 2014 and be replaced by an 8,000-12,000-strong contingent tasked with training and advising Afghan army forces. The News.
BARA: Former Federal Environmental Minister Hamid Ullah Jan Afridi said that on going clash between the two groups in Tirrah Valley had left many tribesmen homeless. He blamed the government for taking no steps to help the needy tribal people of the area in the crisis situation. He appealed to federal and provincial government to announce package for the victims of the Tirrah clashes and demanded to restore peace in the valley. He expressed these views in a press statement on Monday and condemned the Jalouzai Blast. The Frontier Post.
PESHAWAR: Governor Shaukatullah Khan has taken notice of election candidates in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) using his name and picture on their campaign posters. In a directive issued on Monday to commissioners, political agents and deputy commissioners, the governor said all such material should be removed immediately. The directive stated the governor does not support any political party or candidate and wishes to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. “Political agents and deputy commissioners may take immediate action and remove any such material, poster, etc which indicates [the] name or picture of the governor. The Express Tribune.
THE British administered Pakistan’s tribal areas with a combination of such skill and guile for more than 100 years that doubts were widely expressed whether the government of Pakistan would be able to win the trust of the tribes more as citizens of an independent country rather than as crafty fighters or loyalists of an imperial power. The Indian Political Service having been abolished, on independence the responsibility of administering the tribes fell on a group of officers carefully chosen from among the provincial (PCS) and federal (CSP) cadres. Syed Ijlal Haider Zaidi who died the other day was a leading light of that group. Dawn.
FRC REPORT
BAJAUR AGENCY: Two security forces personnel killed in a remote controlled bomb blast in Dama Dola village of Bajaur tribal region on Monday, FRC Field Reporter told. Local and the officials of the local administration said that the personnel of the security forces were on routine patrolling in the remote parts of the agency when a remote control explosive device planted by unidentified militants went up with a huge blast. As a result two personnel of security forces died on the spot. Soon after the explosion volunteers of the local peace committee and heavy contingent of the security forces rushed to the site and cordoned off the area.
