BARA/GHALLANAI: Two including a member of peace committee were killed in hand grenade attack at a house and another act of violence here on Wednesday. According to details, unknown miscreants attacked house of peace committee member located in Manzar Cheena area, tehsil Balazai of Mohmand Agency with hand grenades. As a result of attack the peace committee member was killed on the spot while the house was destroyed. Meanwhile, the security forces recovered a bullet riddled body of an unknown person near Takhta Baig check post in Khyber Agency. The Frontier Post, Daily Times.
MIRANSHAH: A Pakistan Army soldier working with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) on the Bannu-Ghulam Khan Highway was killed and three labourers were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in Mir Ali on Wednesday, official sources said.Also, the political administration announced curfew in the entire North Waziristan from 6am today (Thursday) for an indefinite period. The News, The Frontier Post.
MIRANSHAH: The political administration on Wednesday took notice of the kidnapping of two paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel, one of whom was later killed, and asked the Kuchi tribespeople to leave North Waziristan or face the consequences. The two FC men identified as Havaldar Adil Hussain and Sepoy Niaz Ali were kidnapped from Bangedar village in Ghulam Khan a week ago and reportedly taken to Afghanistan.The bullet-riddled body of Havaldar Adil Hussain was later found on Miranshah-Ghulam Khan while Sepoy Niaz Ali is still missing. The News.
TANK: Enough is enough. Mehsuds can no more spend life as IDPs out of their own territory. The security forces should clear the tribal areas forthwith as they can’t live in camps any longer. This was announced by a jirga of Mehsud elders here at the political compound of South Waziristan on Wednesday. The political agent and other government functionaries were also in attendance. Elders Malik Mehsud Ahmad, Malik Sayedur Rehman, Malik Syed Anwar, Malik Rapa Khan, Malik Haji Mohammad, Malik Mohammad Rafiq, Malik Azizullah, Malik Attaullah, Malik Ayaz and others addressed the jirga. They said Mehsuds had vacated their houses on the directives of the security forces and political administration for great national interest. Dawn.
LONDON: Amnesty International has alleged in a new report that millions of people in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas are locked in perpetual lawlessness where human rights abuses are allegedly being committed by the Taliban as well as the armed forces. The News has seen exclusively the new report titled: “The Hands of Cruelty – Abuses by Armed Forces and Taliban in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas” in which the rights group alleges that rights abuses are taking places beyond the reach of justice and how the region’s “legal wilderness” is fuelling a human rights crisis. The report is based on interviews with scores of victims of human rights abuses, witnesses, relatives, lawyers, and representatives of the Pakistani authorities and armed groups in the region. The News, The Frontier Post.
KOHAT: The police defused a rocket found in a graveyard in Chakarkot village on Wednesday, official sources said. The sources said the police were tipped off that a rocket was dumped by unidentified person in the graveyard. The police and personnel of the bomb disposal unit took the RPG-7 rocket into possession. The News.
ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians from Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed on Wednesday there should not be supremacy of any third country in the region before and after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in 2014. In a joint declaration adopted at the conclusion of the seventh round of two-day bilateral parliamentary dialogue facilitated by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, they said the leadership role of any third country was not needed in the region. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: Militants have extracted monetary benefits from the Peshawar High Court’s prolonged ban on animal export to Afghanistan, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. “Due to the ban on exports, militants are benefited, as the smugglers have to pay rahdari (to them) while using unfrequented routes,” says a provincial government report available with Dawn. The information, packaged under a detailed report prepared by the livestock and dairy development department, has recently been submitted to the Peshawar High Court in line with the latter’s instructions to the provincial chief secretary to probe the
reasons for the increase in prices of the cattle, poultry products and their byproducts in the province. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the federal government to recover the eight kidnapped employees of Wapda, working at Gomal Zam Dam project at the time of their abduction, through holding negotiations with the militants within a week. The court directed the government to conduct targeted operation for recovery of the kidnapped employees if the negotiations didn’t bear fruits. The bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth ordered that federal government, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor, Fata additional chief secretary, the sector commander concerned and political agent should take practical measures for their release and submit report to the court on Sept 19. Dawn, The News, The Frontier Post, The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: United States Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson has said that talks with Haqqani Group could also be initiated. In an interview with the BBC, he also expressed the strong possibility that United States’ latest reconciliation policy could be applied to all extremist groups, and as such Haqqani Group also stood a chance to benefit. However, regarding the Pakistani chapter of Haqqani Group, he said that taking any further action against the ‘most bothersome’ Haqqani network was the responsibility of Pakistan’s government. Olson acknowledged the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in its 10-year war against terrorism. He expressed deep gratitude and appreciation of Pakistan’s sacrifices, which had also suffered quite a blow to country’s internal infrastructure and developmental progress. The News, The Frontier Post, The Nation.
Dera Ismail Khan: Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Dr Ashiq Saleem along with three companions went missing since Tuesday night. The EDO left for Dera Ismail Khan from Peshawar on Tuesday evening along with three companions in his private vehicle and the last contact with him was made at 9 pm. It was feared that Dr Ashiq Saleem has been kidnapped along with his companions. Nobody has claimed responsibility yet and families of the missing persons have also been not approached by the abductors. The police also remained clueless and unable to trace the missing persons. The Nation.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY