Fifteen people, including two children, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries when a passenger vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Landay Shah area in Lower Dir district on Sunday, officials and eyewitnesses said. The Munda-bound pick-up truck was targeted with an IED early in the day. The vehicle was destroyed in the explosion. The dead were identified as Mohammad Azam, Wali Khan, Nasrullah, Said Mohammad, Attaullah, wife of Said Mohammad, wife of Gul Raz, Gul Zameen, Asad Khan, Bakht Khan, Abbas Khan, Anwar Said Khan, Mehboob Khan, Najeeb Khan and Shamoza Bibi. Even as the local administration and the police were trying to determine whether it was an act of terrorism or the result of some enmity, the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) through its spokesman claimed responsibility for the roadside blast and said the attack was directed against the members of the pro-government peace body opposed to the militants. The News, Dawn, Daily Times, The Frontier Post, Business Recorder, The Express Tribune.
Eight militants were killed when security forces pounded their positions in Khadezai area of Orakzai Agency on Sunday, officials said. They said that three hideouts of militants were also destroyed in the artillery shelling by security forces. They claimed that eight militants were killed in the action, however, independent sources didn’t confirm the claim as local media has no access to the area Security forces also conducted search operation in some pockets of the troubled tribal agency and recovered suicide jackets, weapons and ammunition. No arrest was made during the search operation. Dawn.
Pakistan has quietly conveyed to the United States to not make any public statement on its planned operation against militants in the restive North Waziristan Agency bordering Afghanistan. The advice stems from the fact that any remarks by American officials may complicate the Pakistani authorities’ plan to create the ‘necessary environment’ for the Waziristan offensive, a senior government official said. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official told The Express Tribune that the military does not want to be seen as aligned with the US on the issue of launching a fresh operation in the rugged tribal belt because of growing anti-American sentiments in the country. The US has long been calling on Pakistan to go after the deadliest Afghan insurgents, the Haqqani network, which is believed to be based in North Waziristan. The Express Tribune.
Dr Hussain A Gezairy, former health minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has publicly appealed Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal regions to lift the ban on polio vaccination and save thousands of children from becoming victims of the crippling disease. He personally came to Peshawar to make the appeal to the Pakistani Taliban who have banned polio vaccination in their respective tribal regions as a mark of protest against the US drone attacks which, the militant leaders claimed, targeted innocent people including women and children. Talking to a group of journalists here on Sunday, Dr Gezairy said the same vaccine, which has been effectively used to eradicate polio from the majority of the Muslim world including Saudi Arabia has unfortunately become a hotly debated and controversial subject in Pakistan and was now threatening the rest of the world. The News, The Express Tribune.
Nato was accused of killing eight women Sunday, in an attack that the US-led ISAF initially said was an air strike that targeted about 45 insurgents, but for which it later expressed its sincerest condolences over ‘possible ISAF-caused civilian casualties’ numbering five to eight. Civilian casualties have strained relations between the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In June, ISAF ordered an end to air strikes on homes, except as a last resort. Sunday’s attack came shortly before dawn, in Alingar district of Laghman province, east of Kabul, as women set off to collect firewood, said a local official. “In this raid, eight women are killed and another eight women are wounded,” provincial spokesman Sarhadi Zwak told AFP. The News, Dawn.
The Home and Tribal Affairs Department has approved the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Arms Policy 2012. Although there was no change in the monthly quota for licenses for districts, with Peshawar being issued 800 licenses, divisional headquarters 300 and Fata and other districts 200, a few minor changes have been introduced in the arms manufacturing and dealership licenses category. All licenses for arms manufacturing, dealership and repair will be issued by the home department in three categories after all conditions are complied with. A time period of 12 months will be granted to establish manufacturing units or dealership shops after issuing of licence. In case of failure, the license shall stand cancelled and another six months grace period will be granted after a renewal fee is deposited. The Express Tribune.
Border security forces have established hundreds of check-posts and fenced the entry points of the country as part of measures to control smuggling of various items. Around 700 check posts along the international border (Pakistan-Afghanistan) have been established while pickets and foot patrolling are also being conducted to control smuggling. Listing the measures, a senior official on Sunday said that Frontier Corps (KPK/Balochistan) and Pakistan Rangers (Punjab/Sindh) are border security forces which carry out anti-smuggling coordination as such powers have been delegated to them by the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) through a special SRO. He said earlier custom powers were entrusted by FBR to the above forces only from December 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 which were further extended until June 30 this year. However, the FBR has recently, extended the said powers for another two years. The official said responsibility of checking of different items being imported and exported and smuggled through entry point at Wagha/Attari as well as though Samjhota Express train rests with the Customs authorities. No worthwhile smuggling has, however, been reported through this route so far, he added. The News.
Members of North Waziristan peace committee on Sunday launched crackdown against anti-state elements and demolished suspected hideouts which were reportedly used for attacking security forces and government officials at Machis area. The demolition of suspected hideouts of the militants has helped release tension that gripped Waziristan for the past few days after the government clamped curfew in the tribal region following an IED attack on a vehicle carrying Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). Three FWO officials were injured in a roadside blast on their vehicle on Ghulam Khan Bypass Road on September 3. The tribal elders including Maulvi Gul Ramazan, Hafiz Noorullah Shah and Maulvi Salimar Jan later held meetings with the political administration and military officials and demanded lifting of the curfew that caused hardships to local people. The political administration agreed to lift curfew if the jirga members helped maintain order and demolished hideouts of the anti-state elements in Miranshah.The jirga members assured the political administration that the tribesmen would extend cooperation to the government in maintaining law and order in the area. The News.
Many elders of Ahmedzai Wazir tribe have said that they were not prepared to compromise on the property of Gomal Zam Dam as it was inherited by their forefathers. They said that the land of the Dam was not accidentally gifted by some body to them but they have offered sacrifices for it. During a survey, the elders of the tribe accused Political Agent Shahid Ullah for making it controversial property. The elders also questioned a separate jirga held by him with Wazir and Mehsud tribe after eight workers of the dam were kidnapped. They stated suck kind of confrontation would lead the two tribes toward destruction. Describing the value of the Gomal Zam Dam Road, the elders mentioned that it was a secure and shortest road for transporting goods to Afghanistan and as well as Central Asian States. They said that why a land of peace was being turned into bloodshed. The Frontier Post.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHRY
