DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Explosions reportedly caused by missiles fired from U.S. drone aircraft hit a house and seminary linked to a key Taliban commander in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing at least nine people, officials and witnesses said. The blasts occurred in a village in North Waziristan, a militant stronghold in Pakistan's wild […]
Late in the afternoon of June 10, during a firefight with Taliban militants along the Afghan-Pakistani border, American soldiers called in airstrikes to beat back the attack. The firefight was taking place right on the border itself, known in military jargon as the "zero line." Afghanistan was on one side, and the remote Pakistani region […]
PESHAWAR, Sept 6: At least 30 people, five of them policemen, were killed and 79 wounded after a suicide car bomb ripped through a police checkpost and nearby markets on Saturday. The explosion was so powerful that it left the checkpost and two markets in the Zhangali area of the provincial capital in ruins. A […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Sept 5: An assorted majority of a parliamentary electoral college will on Saturday deliver a divisive presidency to Asif Ali Zardari, whose double march to succeed former president Pervez Musharraf in what is now Pakistan's most powerful office is marked by political skill and broken promises. The vote by the two houses of […]
New Delhi – A high-ranking Pakistani official has alleged that American ground forces crossed over from Afghanistan to carry out an attack on Pakistan soil. While the United States has frequently been connected with missile attacks in Pakistan , usually carried out by pilotless drone aircraft , this claim, if true, would mark “a threshold […]
Less than a year ago, Asif Ali Zardari would have hardly been considered a likely candidate for high office. His image was that of a flamboyant polo-playing former businessman who had to fight allegations of corruption and shake off the nickname of "Mr Ten Per Cent". But tomorrow he is widely expected to become the […]
Saturday's Pakistan presidential contest is the final stage in the consolidation of power over the past year by the Pakistan People's party, which used to be led by Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister. It also marks the return of the presidency to genuinely civilian hands for the first time since the 1999 coup […]
By common consent Pakistan stands at a critical juncture. The Islamist insurgency in Afghanistan has spread into its western tribal areas, where al-Qaida and Taliban militants are now firmly established. The “war on terror” alliance with the US is under severe strain as Washington noisily criticises the army's failure to curb extremism. Meanwhile 71% of […]
American Special forces entered South Wazirstan to target Al-Qaeda early Wednesday morning. This is a new and significant development because prior to this attack, Americans and NATO forces normally used air power to bomb suspected terrorists in Pakistani tribal areas. This attack signals that Americans and NATO forces are increasingly taking matters in their own […]
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan ‚ Helicopter-borne American Special Operations forces attacked Qaeda militants in a Pakistani village near the border with Afghanistan early Wednesday in the first publicly acknowledged case of United States forces conducting a ground raid on Pakistani soil, American officials said. Until now, allied forces in Afghanistan have occasionally carried out airstrikes […]
PESHAWAR/BEIJING: Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday claimed they had kidnapped two Chinese telecommunications engineers and two Pakistanis and that abductions would continue until the government stopped attacking militants. Talking to Daily Times over telephone, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the two Chinese engineers, their guard and driver were in the custody of his colleagues. He said […]
A failed assassination attempt on Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the capital Islamabad highlights insecurity in the nuclear-armed country just three days before a presidential election will name Pervez Musharraf's successor. Pakistan has been rocked by a spate of violence that has seen hundreds die in suicide bombings and explosions over the past […]
The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibilty for an assasination attempt on Yousuf Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister. Shots were fired at the pime minister's motorcade on Wednesday near Islamabad's international airport, but officials and police said Gilani was not in the car at the time. The Taliban said it was behyind the attack and said it […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ‚ Shots were fired at the motorcade of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Wednesday afternoon near the capital, Islamabad, but Mr. Gilani was not in the motorcade at the time, Pakistani officials said. Mr. Gilani was returning to Islamabad after a visit to the city of Lahore, and had departed Chaklala Air […]
Given the bleak economic and security situation in Pakistan, it is easy to forget that 2008 has also been a year of positive events for the country. February's elections proved that it is possible to hold free and fair polls in Pakistan, that in such circumstances undemocratic leaders such as Musharraf and his allies will […]