MIRAMSHAH: At least 14 soldiers were killed and 21 injured, most of them critically, when an explosive device hit a military convoy in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday. The deadly attack took place hours after Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s chief Hakimullah Mehsud had ordered his supporters to abide by a peace agreement reached by the government and the Taliban group in the agency headed by Hafiz Gul Bhadur. According to officials, the convoy was going to a garrison in Bannu from Razmak when one of its vehicles was hit by the bomb in Dumdail area, some 35km south of Miramshah, the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. The convoy was passing an area on the Razmak-Miramshah Road at about 1.30pm. Dawn, The News, Daily Times, The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: While the military authorities have refuted rumours of having struck a clandestine peace deal with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, it was Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a pro-government “good Taliban leader” from North Waziristan who actually persuaded the TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud to direct his militia not to target the Pakistani security forces in North Waziristan, in accordance with a 2006 military-militants peace contract. Several international news agencies have reported while citing a pamphlet released by Hakimullah Mehsud that the Pakistani Taliban and the military authorities have cut a clandestine deal after which the TTP chief has informed his followers and local people in North Waziristan of his decision by issuing a pamphlet inscribed with the message. He has ordered his fighters through the pamphlet to stop attacking the Pakistani forces in North Waziristan and concentrate on targeting the Nato forces in Afghanistan instead. However, the ceasefire does not apply to the rest of the country, where there are often fierce clashes between the military and militants. The News.
PARACHINAR: A man was killed and 10 others were injured when a remote-controlled bomb struck a passenger vehicle near Sadda in Kurram Agency on Sunday. The vehicle was going from Parachinar to Peshawar when it was attacked in the Khwar Kali area. Ali Nabi was killed on the spot. The injured included Nasir Ali, Zulfiqar Ali, Yaqub Ali, Shabbir Hussain, Sajjad Ali, Haider Zaman, Abid Hussain and driver Syed Badshah. The political administration launched a search operation in the area after the incident and detained several people under the collective and territorial responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations. Dawn, Daily Times.
WASHINGTON: The US should focus on a policy that looks at the long-term stability of the region and Pakistan’s security imperatives, a former American general said on Sunday. Stanley McChrystal, who commanded the US forces in Afghanistan until 2010, said a stable Afghanistan was important to Pakistan. “My question on the future would be what do we want in the region? This is not just a case of Al Qaeda was in Afghanistan and now they largely are not. It is a question of the future of the region, the future of Afghan people but also the stability in the region,” the ex-general told CBS in ‘Face the Nation’ programme. Mr McChrystal said that in the event of an ungoverned area in Afghanistan or a Taliban state, Pakistan’s very stability, now with the Pakistani insurgency strong, would “really be threatened and nuclear armed Pakistan in a threatened position would be a real challenge.” Dawn, The News, The Nation.
CHARSADDA: Three security personnel were injured when their vehicle came under a bomb attack in Shabqadar area on Sunday, sources said. The vehicle was passing the Qala Shah Baig area when a remote-controlled bomb planted on the road hit it. Three security personnel and a passer-by were injured. The security personnel were identified as Asif, Asim and Ashar Mahmood. The SHO of Saro Kallay police station said some suspects were taken into custody during a search operation carried out in the area after the blast. Dawn, The News, The Nation.
PESHAWAR: Police investigators have rejected the claim of outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) about Saturday’s attack on Awami National Party leader Bashir Khan Umarzai. They said that the prime victim among 15 injured had a blood feud with another influential political family in his hometown Charsadda. The motive of the attack didn’t seem political, they added. “The modus operandi of the attack resembled with the ones carried by Taliban elsewhere in the country but it can’t be equated with the assassinations of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, Mian Rashid Hussain and other ANP leaders and workers,” police said. They said that in many cases Taliban received money from people to target their rivals. “TTP harbours criminals in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and pays them for every act of terrorism,” they said. The officials associated with investigation said that Taliban would have received amount from the rival family for targeting Bashir Umarzai, a former provincial minister. Dawn.
GHALANAI: A child died and several others were seriously affected as measles broke out in the remote areas of Haleemzai tehsil in Mohmand tribal agency. The local people said that it was third death in the area since outbreak of the epidemic. They said that the last victim of measles was three-year-old Daniyal Khan, son of Amanullah, a resident of Babikhel village.
POLIO DRIVE: Officials said that 87,753 children would be vaccinated during the anti-polio campaign that would be launched in Mohmand Agency on Monday. Political Agent Dr Amber Ali Khan inaugurated the campaign by administering oral polio vaccine to children. Dawn.
BARA: A soldier was killed when a shell fired by the militants hit a security checkpost in the Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency on Sunday, official sources said. The sources said the mortar shell hit the checkpost in Nala area of Bara, killing Sepoy Rehmat Hussain. Following the attack, security forces shelled the suspected positions of militants in various areas of Bara Tehsil. Meanwhile, the militants took away the chairs, tables, cupboards and gates from the Government Girls’ Primary School Juma Khan Killay in Sepah area. The News.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
