LANDIKOTAL: A female volunteer of anti-polio vaccination team was injured when a blast took place in vaccination center at Khyber Agency, officials said on Tuesday. According to local political agents, the blast occurred in immunization center inside Tehsil Jamrud’s civil hospital where a team of polio workers, including women volunteers, was busy in administering polio drops. The News, The Frontier Post, Dawn, The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: Barely four days after an All Parties Conference convened by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman Group) announced its support to the dialogue process with the militants and asked the government to respond positively to the Taliban’s talks offer, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a horrific video carrying graphic footage of six Pakistani soldiers being killed and subsequently beheaded in Waziristan, writes Amir Mir. Released by the Umar Media, the propaganda arm of TTP, the video is titled “Strike of a Believer” and it focuses on the Pakistani Taliban’s fight against the Pakistani military in South Waziristan. The video also carries a statement from the TTP Ameer Commander Hakimullah Mehsud in which he has threatened to carry out terrorist attacks against the United States and the Great Britain. The News.
PESHAWAR: The bomb disposal unit (BDU) officials defused two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted in Matani on Tuesday.Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the BDU Shafqat Malik said there was a tip-off about planting two IEDs on roadside in Matani after which the experts rushed to the site. The official said both the IEDs were defused successfully. “We defused four IEDs during the last 24 hours,” said the AIG BDU. The News, Dawn.
KALAYA (INP): At least 10 militants were killed in an operation launched by security forces in two different area of Orakazai Agency. During the operation launched by security forces against militants in Upper Orakzai Agency, security forces backed by helicopter bombarded at the hideouts of the militants in Mir Kalam Khail and Adam Khail areas, killing 10 militant. The Frontier Post, The Nation.
PESHAWAR: In an effort to create a feeling of peace and normalcy among the people of FR Kohat, the government has undertaking various measures including development activities, says press release issued on Tuesday by Directorate of Information Fata Secretariat. A press release states that the streets and drains of Bagh Killi village in Upper Jawakai were in bad shape, with a tendency for waste materials and stagnant water to collect. As such, the Political Administration prioritized the construction of street pavements and the provision of drains in the area. This project now benefits about 3,000 residents of this village. The Frontier Post.
PESHAWAR: A plot unleashing major destruction was foiled at Matni in the outskirts of the provincial capital city on Tuesday. Police said that a bomb was planted by roadside at Maiamzai in the vicinity of Matni Police Station, while the bomb disposal squad said that the remote control bomb weighed 12 kilogram, which was defused before it could cause any havoc. The Frontier Post.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the US are again at odds over drone attacks this time they are in conflict over who carried out two strikes in Waziristan last month. On Tuesday, a military spokesman not only denied the involvement of Pakistani armed forces in the two attacks, but also accused the US of trying to obfuscate facts on drone strikes that have time and again riled up the Pakistani public. `Such an accusation is distortion of facts and seems to be aimed at diluting Pakistan`s stance on drone strikes. Pakistan`s security forces have not carried out any operation, including air strikes, in the area on dates mentioned in the news report,` the ISPR said in a statement about a New York Times report in which US officials had disowned two reported strikes on militant compounds in North and South Waziristan on Feb 6 and 8 and suggested the attacks could have been carried out by Pakistani forces. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday urged the federal government to own the proposed negotiations with the Taliban, saying the atmosphere for peace talks was ripe. `The federal government should convene an all parties conference and take all stakeholders on board,` provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters at Civil Officers` Miss. Mr Hussain asked who would own the talks if they were taken place between Taliban and leadership of political parties. Dawn, The Frontier Post.
WASHINGTON: Only peace and reconciliation can end violence in Afghanistan, said the US State Department as the Taliban announced their plan to form a political party. `We believe peace and reconciliation is the surest way to end violence,` said a US State Department spokesman, PatrickVentrell, when asked to comment on the Taliban`s plan. `So we continue to have the objective of Afghans sitting down with Afghans to determine the future of their country,` he added. A Taliban spokesman told reporters on Monday that they might form a political party before the Afghan elections due next year. Soon after the elections, the United States intends to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan, transferring their responsibilities to Afghan forces. Dawn.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
