PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban finally confirmed on Friday that their top commander in the semi-autonomous Darra Adamkhel tribal region, Tariq Afridi, has been killed. The militants affiliated to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said unknown gunmen had shot and seriously injured Tariq Afridi four months ago in the mountainous Tirah valley of Khyber tribal region along the Afghan border. They said he died of the fatal injuries a few days ago. However, Pakistani security officials insisted that he had died four months ago but the militants wanted to keep it a secret. The TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said they were working to find out the killers of Tariq Afridi. The News.
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice on Friday directed the federal government to apprise the court of any agreement between Pakistan and the US on drone attacks being carried out by the latter. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued the direction during the hearing of a petition filed by Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed against drone attacks inside Pakistan by the US. `Is the collateral damage caused by US drone attacks not violation of basic humanrights? What is the justification for a drone strike on a school or civilian population to target one wanted `terrorist`?` the judge asked. Dawn.
WASHINGTON: The United States wants to continue to work with Pakistan to defeat terrorism inside that country, said the US State Department while rejecting the perception that it was only interested in protecting its soldiers in neighbouring Afghanistan. `One of the reasons that we work so hard with the government of Pakistan to strengthen, deepen, and improve the counter-terrorism relationship that we have,` said the department`s spokesperson Victoria Nuland. `It`s not just about the region as a whole; it`s also about thethreat of terrorism to Pakistanis. At a Thursday briefing at the State Department Ms Nuland noted that `innocent Pakistanis have been victims of terrorism in the thousands and thousands. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will conduct survey of schools destroyed by militants in different districts of the province, a senior official said. Provincial secretary rehabilitation and settlement Rashid Khan said at a press briefing on Friday that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would provide $25 million for the reconstruction of government schools in militancy-affected districts except those of Malakand division. He said that the survey of damaged schools would be launched in 18 districts of the province, including Peshawar, Kohat, Hangu and Bannu. He said that Provincial Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the relevant departments would conduct the survey. Dawn, The Nation.
GHALANAI: The vehicular traffic was disrupted in Haleemzai tehsil of Mohmand tribal region when an improvised explosive device went off on Barokehl-Sultankhel Road.Local sources said that the explosive device was planted by unidentified persons on the night between Friday and Saturday. They said that the explosive device went off early in the morning and destroyed a culvert on the road completely.Later, political administration conducted a search operation in Barokhel area and detained two persons under the collective territorial responsibility clause of FCR. The detained tribesmen were shifted to a lockup in Ghalanai for interrogation, source said. Dawn, The Nation.
NOWSHERA: Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Abbas Afridi Friday said the government would soon take solid steps for the return of the internally displaced persons residing in the Jalozai Camp to their areas of origin. Addressing a committee of elders in the Jalozai village, he said the rights of people being affected by the Jalozai housing scheme would be protected. He appreciated the local people for their generosity in terms of providing land to the government to set up camp first for the Afghan refugees and then for the IDPs form Malakand division and Fata in Jalozai. The News.
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan on Friday refused to hand over senior Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad hours after Islamabad requested his extradition following his capture by Afghan forces. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had taken up the matter with Afghanistan asking her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul, during a phone conversation on Wednesday night, to hand over Faqir Mohammad but Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Janan Musazai ruled out his extradition. The Nation.
BRUSSELS: Nato may station up to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan to train and assist Kabul’s forces after the alliance’s combat mission there against the Taliban ends in 2014, US officials said Friday. US Pentagon spokesman George Little said Nato was considering deployment of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops, including any US contribution, but no final decision has yet been made. Reports of a US presence of 8,000 to 12,000 troops “are not correct,” he said. The Nation.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
