PESHAWAR – Three security personnel were killed and 21 others wounded when two terrorists rammed their explosives-packed vehicle into the wall of a military base in South Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday. According to official sources, the bombers detonated the vehicle outside the Zarai Noor camp – seven kilometres west of the agency headquarters Wana – after it was signalled to a halt. The sources added that the terrorists were targeted by security personnel when they crossed into the prohibited area. The Nation, Dawn, The News, The Frontier Post, Daily Mashriq.
ISLAMABAD: In the backdrop of the November 29 assassination attempt on al-Qaeda linked tribal warlord Mullah Nazir and the subsequent decision of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe to expel all Mehsud tribesmen from South Waziristan by December 5, including loyalists to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan led by Hakeemullah Mehsud, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has claimed that his group has nothing to do with the suicide attack on Mullah Nazir. The TTP spokesman condemned the assassination attempt on Mullah Nazir but added in the same breath that the Tehrik-e-Taliban may have organizational differences with him (Nazir) but there were no ideological differences between both the militant groups. “The problem created in South Waziristan is a tribal feud between the Ahmedzai Wazir and Mehsud clans which would be settled in accordance with the tribal customs”, TTP spokesman has been quoted as saying by the Long Wear Journal (LWJ), a top American news website. The News.
LANDIKOTAL: At least six persons were killed and eight others sustained bullet injuries when Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) volunteers attacked pro-government peace Lashkar Tauheedul Islam (TI) post in Bukar area of Zakhakhel in Tirah valley, officials and tribal sources said late Wednesday night. The sources said that dozens of LI gunmen attacked the Satani bunker with heavy and automatic weapons post situated on the Bokar hills top. The gun battle was continued for hours long in which both sides used heavy and automatic weapons. The News, The Frontier Post, Daily Mashriq.
PESHAWAR: A father and his son, kidnapped by the militants five months ago from FR Jandola, escaped from kidnappers and were rescued by the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) personnel near the Afghan border in North Waziristan on Wednesday. Official sources said the militants five months ago kidnapped a number of members of the peace committee members in FR Jandola and shifted them near the Afghan border. The News.
PESHAWAR: The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Wednesday extended deadline for an indefinite time they have given for the workers of Gomalzam Dam they have kidnapped.The TTP has earlier given December 6 as final deadline for killing the Gomalzam Dam workers, if the government failed to accept their demands.The TTP spokesman however said they extended the deadline on the appeal of family members of the kidnapped people. The News.
HANGU: A soldier sustained injuries in a landmine blast in Dabori area in Orakzai Agency on Wednesday, official sources said. The sources said that Sepoy Essa Khan was performing his duty in Dabori area when he stepped on a landmine planted by security forces. He sustained injuries and was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Kohat.
Militants torched two houses in Orakzai Agency, official sources said on Wednesday. The sources said that militants set on fire the houses of a watchman of a school identified as Javed and his relative Gul Shirin in Kada village in Ismailkhel area of Orakzai. The News.
BRUSSELS – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday it was crucial that Nato allies stick to their commitments to fund Afghanistan’s security forces after Western forces end their combat role in the country in 2014. Afghanistan’s foreign backers have pledged $4.1 billion per year to fund Afghan security forces after 2014, but there have been concerns expressed that austerity-hit European countries may not be able to meet their commitments. “It will be crucial for every nation to follow through on their commitments, and for those who haven’t yet committed any funding to do so,” Clinton told a meeting in Brussels of Nato foreign ministers and countries contributing to the Nato-led military mission in Afghanistan. The Nation.
ISLAMABAD – The Majority of Taliban backed off the Afghan-led reconciliation process due to its eligibility criteria, sources said on Tuesday. Calling it a ploy to divide Afghans, sources said: “Like in the past these efforts would never do well in realising the core objective of peace and reconciliation in the war ravaged country”. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said ‘the process cannot bear fruits as long as the Afghan government and the United States do away with their decision to categorise the various resistance groups particularly Taliban into reconcilable and irreconcilable groups. “This does not and will never serve the purpose”, sources said. The Nation.
KHYBER AGENCY – A bid to smuggle local wine from Pakistan to Afghanistan was foiled by the Frontier Corps (FC) troops here on Torkham, tehsil Landi Kotal, on Wednesday, security forces sources said. They said that on a tip-off the FC on duty personnel intercepted a bus (E-1136) carrying Afghan refugees for routine checking. During search, 556 bottles of local liquor were recovered from the bus cavities, the sources said. The Nation.
PESHAWAR – The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Khyber Agency, has expressed its concern over the prolonged curfew and ongoing military operation in tehsil Bara, and demanded of the government to take steps for the recovery of missing tribesmen. “A large number of innocent people were being arrested by the law enforcement agencies on the basis false charges of terrorism, JUI Tehsil Bara Khyber Agency Senior Naib Ameer Shamsul Din Afridi alleged while speaking at a news conference here at the Press Club on Wednesday. The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: Iran has welcomed Pakistan’s decision to set free Taliban detainees for aiding the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. “If some groups are ready for peace then they should be engaged in dialogue,” Iranian Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Ramin Mehmanparast, who is visiting Pakistan, said in response to a question about the possibility of the move ruffling feathers in Tehran. Pakistan’s support for Taliban remained a source of tension between the two countries during the Taliban regime. Dawn.
GHALANAI: A government school for boys in Ekkaghund tehsil of Lower Mohmand Agency was destroyed in a bomb blast on Wednesday, according to sources. The sources said that unidentified men had planted some explosive devices in the school building. The political administration confirmed the report. Locals said the area reverberated with gunshots soon after the blast.
Earlier, the administration had signed an agreement with the tribesmen that they would protect the government property and reconstruct any school, if blown up in a blast. No causalities were reported in the incident.
Some 113 schools in Mohmand Agency have been destroyed by suspected militants, thus depriving more than 20,000 pupils of their right to basic education. Only six school buildings have been rebuilt so far. Dawn, The News.
TANK: The Mehsud elders have requested the political administration to extend the deadline set for expulsion of the tribe from South Waziristan Agency. Scores of Mehsud elders submitted a written application with political agent of South Waziristan Agency through the assistant political agent, seeking extension in the Dec 5 deadline, which expired on Wednesday. In the application the tribal elders said that thousands of Mehsuds were residing in South Waziristan and their expulsion in such a short span of time was not possible. They said that sufficient time should be given to them to leave the area.
Meanwhile, a jirga of Mehsud elders will be held at political compound in Tank on Thursday to review the situation thoroughly. Dawn, The Frontier Post.
PESHAWAR: Police recovered explosives, wireless sets and other items used in preparation of bombs loaded in a truck (E-6482) here on Wednesday night. A police source said that two people had also been arrested but avoided disclosing their names. He said that the truck was parked inside a godown owned by one Haji Abdul Salam at Chamkani Mor near Motorway in suburbs of Peshawar. The recovered items included 13 wireless sets, 52 receivers, 13 remote control devices, eight kilogram chemicals (used in bombs), safety fuses, and other items. The accused, he said had been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation. He avoided as to where the truck was going and which group owned it. Dawn, Daily Mashriq.
LANDI KOTAL: Kukikhel elders have expressed dissatisfaction over the role of Khyber Agency political administration in resolution of land dispute between their tribe and Peshawar Development Authority. They have also approached the Peshawar High Court against the PDA for alleged occupation of the Kukikhel tribe’s 7,000 kanal for Regi Lalma Housing Scheme. The court has fixed December 20 for next hearing, directing the Peshawar administration, PDA administrator and political agent Khyber Agency to submit a report about the Kukikhel’s claim over the disputed land. Dawn.
HANGU: The police defused an explosive device in Baguta village here on Wednesday, official sources said. The sources said that the militants planted an explosive device beside the house of one Majeed, son of Yar Gul, in Baguta village. One militant was killed and another injured in a clash with the police in the same village two months ago and the villagers had been receiving threats from the militants since then. The News.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
