Does the government have a plan to help people cope with the ever-rising cost of electricity? No, it doesn't. On the contrary, the government on Tuesday, September 9 (which, coincidentally, also happened to be the day on which Asif Ali Zardari took oath of office as president), increased the electricity tariff by up to an […]
PAKISTAN may or may not be the world's most dangerous country, but it is certainly the most difficult one to govern. Considering its many problems, it is a source of constant wonder that so many people aspire to the top job. Soon after the coalition government was formed in Islamabad following the February elections, I […]
Pakistan's government eased its rhetoric Saturday against unilateral U.S. attacks on militant havens near the Afghan border, saying it hopes quiet diplomacy will persuade Washington that the raids only inflame sentiment against leaders of both countries. Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar claimed Washington already has agreed to curtail its military activities against militants in Pakistan, although […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani military on Friday warned that it could strike back at U.S. soldiers if they conducted cross-border raids from Afghanistan, escalating the tension between the allies as U.S. missiles again pounded suspected militant hideouts. Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, seen here meeting with commandos in July, has said American […]
WASHINGTON, Sept 12: The United States continues to refuse to talk about US military actions inside Fata with the White House saying that it does not want to comment on rules of engagement with the enemy. But unnamed Pentagon officials, in interviews to CNN, BBC, Fox News and other channels, confirmed that President Bush had […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ‚ As the American campaign against suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal areas seemed to intensify on Friday, two missiles fired from remotely piloted American aircraft killed 12 people on Friday in an attack on a village compound in North Waziristan, according to a local journalist and television reports. At […]
The New York Times reported that President Bush secretly signed an executive order authorizing the American military forces operating in Afghanistan to carry out cross border raids, attack or both if necessary to fight the Taliban. The question is whether this will help or hurt the fight against terrorism. Every leading foreign policy expert has […]
On Tuesday, at the press conference following his swearing-in, President Asif Ali Zardari set the tone by saying: "The president will only carry forward the brief of the government and bow before the parliament; the president will be subservient to parliament". This is all he could say as president, but those present around him wanted […]
Pakistan's civilian leadership today endorsed the head of the army after he took the unusual step of criticising the US for launching unilateral attacks on Pakistani soil. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, considered by the US as a pivotal figure in the “war on terror”, said yesterday Pakistan had never agreed to allow the US to […]
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan ‚ Two important al-Qaida operatives were among four foreign militants killed in a CIA missile strike in Pakistan's northwest, officials said Wednesday. Some Pakistani intelligence officials said one of the men was in charge of the terror network's activities in Pakistan's tribal regions, semiautonomous areas that the U.S. fears have become […]
Another terrorist group tried and sentenced in Britain; another link with Pakistan as the training centre for terrorists established. This time, the group of eight accused of trying to blow up seven airliners over the Atlantic two years ago was in the spotlight following a lengthy trial. Three were found guilty of assorted terrorism charges, […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 9 — Signaling a historic shift for a region troubled by decades of conflict, newly elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed Tuesday to work together to resolve long-simmering tensions between their two countries and to fight the rising Taliban insurgency on both sides of their border. […]
George Bush today described Pakistan as a central battleground in the so-called war on terror, alongside Iraq and Afghanistan. In a barbed message for the new Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, Bush said Pakistan had a “responsibility” to fight extremists “because every nation has an obligation to govern its own territory and make certain that […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The widower of assassinated former Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto took office as the country's new president Tuesday, facing immediate pressure to crack down on Islamic militants and address daunting economic problems. Pakistan's top judge swore in Asif Ali Zardari at a brief ceremony in the presidential palace recently vacated by Pervez Musharraf, […]
Pakistan is under attack by the Taliban who are determined to destroy Pakistan's secular values, and by the Americans, who are also determined to eliminate the Taliban. Poor Pakistanis are being squeezed to the limit and there is no way out for the ordinary Pakistanis and they are trapped in this unavoidable battle. Pakistan did […]
