AfPak region

10 killed in powerful blast outside Quetta mosque

August 31, 2011
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10 killed in powerful blast outside Quetta mosque

A suicide blast destroyed Eid day peace in Quetta on Wednesday, Aug 31, killing at least 10 people. As many as 22 persons were injured in the blast on Gulistan Road in the Murriabad area of the city, local police chief Ahsan Mahboob said said. Express Taliban reported on its web site that the attacker targeted a Shiite congregation that was offering Eid prayers in a mosque. The bomb was detonated when the people were returning home after prayers. The blast also destroyed 10 cars and several houses in the vicinity. A police official said that it may be a sectarian attack as it took place in a Shiite dominant area. Authorities fear a rise in the number of casualties and have declared an emergency at the Civil Hospital after the incident. The Shiite community of Quetta has announced that it will observe seven days of mourning to condemn...

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Action Against Haqqanis -Key to Success in Afghanistan

July 22, 2011
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Action Against Haqqanis -Key to Success in Afghanistan

By Surender Kumar Sharma Columnist on South Asian affairs The US has given Pakistan time until July to capture Taliban supremo, Mullah Muhammad Omar and Operations Chief of the Haqqani Network, Sirajuddin Haqqani and has warned of military offensive in North Waziristan if the two are not captured. Besides the two, the list also includes al Qaeda’s new chief, Ayman al Zawahiri and the Libyan Operations Chief of al Qaeda, Atiyah Abad Al Rahman. This warning was reportedly given by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Chairman of US Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen during a visit to Pakistan last month. Admiral Mullen, when asked about the possibility of Pakistan launching an Operation in North Waziristan said it was critical to go after the militants in the region for the Afghan war to succeed; but he refused to discuss specific plans for the offensive. The Haqqanis belong...

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The Red Falcon

July 11, 2011
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The Red Falcon

By SADIA DEHLVI Centuries ago, the Qalandar mystics emerged as a separate movement of Sufism with a distinctive style of dress and behaviour. Shaykh Jamaluddin and Hasan al Jawaliqi of Iran rank among the celebrated Qalandars. Bu Ali Shah Qalandar of Panipat migrated from Iraq to India. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar of Sindh is another famous Qalandar of the subcontinent. One of the most popular qawaalis of the subcontinent ‘Dam a dam mast qalandar, Ali da pehla number, sindhdi da, sehwan da, Sakhi Shahbaz Qalandar’, invokes the name of the Sindhi Sufi Lal Shahbaz. The verse demonstrates the mystic’s deep love for Imam Ali which is inscribed on his grave: ‘I am a Haidari, Qalandar and intoxicated, I am a slave of Ali Murtaza, I am a leader of those intoxicated with love, For I am a dog of the lane of “Allah’s Lion”. ’ The Hindus lovingly address Lal...

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Obama’s Afghanistan Plan and the Realities of Withdrawal

June 23, 2011
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Obama’s Afghanistan Plan and the Realities of Withdrawal

By Nathan Hughes STRATFOR Special U.S. President Barack Obama announced June 22 that the long process of drawing down forces in Afghanistan would begin on schedule in July. Though the initial phase of the drawdown appears limited, minimizing the tactical and operational impact on the ground in the immediate future, the United States and its allies are now beginning the inevitable process of removing their forces from Afghanistan. This will entail the risk of greater Taliban battlefield successes. The Logistical Challenge Afghanistan, a landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, is one of the most isolated places on Earth. This isolation has posed huge logistical challenges for the United States. Hundreds of shipping containers and fuel trucks must enter the country every day from Pakistan and from the north to sustain the nearly 150,000 U.S. and allied forces stationed in Afghanistan, about half the total number of Afghan...

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Pakistan: Unpleasant Pleasantries

June 17, 2011
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Pakistan: Unpleasant Pleasantries

By SADAF ARSHAD* New Delhi (Syndicate Features): No pleasantries to exchange and no truth to be told. One man, Saleem Shahzad is dead today and mysteriously buried under tons of mud leaving behind a wife with three kids and thousands of mourners. Another man, Ilyas Kahmiri, is reported to have been killed by a drone attack, but his family seeks proof of his death. I do not intend to draw any comparison, but I still see some contrasting notions the way the society judges both men at the moment. Saleem, a brave and courageous journalist, has been murdered in the line of duty in a country which has been declared “the most dangerous place for journalists” by press freedom organisations. A true “martyr” he is who died in his pursuit of truth, which many will agree is “jihad”. A true “martyr” he is who died in his pursuit of...

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Pakistan Taliban vow to attack US targets overseas – video

June 7, 2011
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Top Taliban commander Omar Khalid Khorasani says (in this video on The Guardian,UK) death of Osama bin Laden has given his fighters ‘new courage’. He also says their goal is to change Pakistan.

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Who killed journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad ..?

June 3, 2011
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Who killed journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad ..?

By SAAD SARFRAZ SHEIKH* (Syndicate Features): Pakistan continues to make headlines under the masthead of being the world’s deadliest country for journalists. Statistically, 16 journalists have been killed in Pakistan the past 14 months; some of the worst excesses occurred in the restive Balochistan province. “These journalists work under extremely dangerous circumstances”, says noted Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi. The Friday Times Editor-in-Chief said that journalists are both “part of the problem and solution,” walking a fine line between reporting the public’s sentiments on Pakistan’s ongoing turmoil and reinforcing them. Sadly, what is being revealed by human rights groups (here) is that it isn’t just the terrorists and their activities that make Pakistan dangerous for journalists. In addition to anti-state elements (militants), state elements top the list for “abducting, beating, detaining, disappearing, threatening, torturing and murdering journalists, who dare to question their intervention and authority”. 40- year- old Syed Saleem...

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Clinton talks to zardari

May 28, 2011
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Even without Osama, Afghan end game not in sight

May 5, 2011
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Even without Osama, Afghan end game not in sight

By Shantanu Chakrabarti* (* This article first appeared on POREG) The ‘killing’ of Osama bin Laden by the US special force inside Pakistan has provided yet another opportunity to tireless analysts across the spectrum to crystal gaze the evolving situation in the Af-Pak region. The general consensus is that while euphoric speeches and statements would continue to emanate from various sections of the US establishment obviously with an eye on domestic audience, cool headed decisions would be taken soon in the background. One such decision, according to many analysts, would be to enhance the intensity of negotiations with the remnant Taliban factions. According to a recent report appearing in the Washington Post, for instance, the US administration officials think that it would be now easier for Mohammad Omar, the leader of the largest Taliban faction, to break his group’s alliance with al-Qaeda, a key U.S. requirement for any peace...

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Death of bin Laden and a Strategic Shift in Washington

May 4, 2011
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Death of bin Laden and a Strategic Shift in Washington

STRATFOR COMMENTARY Two apparently distinct facts have drawn our attention. The first and most obvious is U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement late May 1 that Osama bin Laden had been killed. The second is Obama’s April 28 announcement that Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, will replace Leon Panetta as CIA director. Together, the events create the conditions for the U.S. president to expand his room to maneuver in the war in Afghanistan and ultimately reorient U.S. foreign-policy priorities. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan, as stated by Obama, is the destruction of al Qaeda — in particular, of the apex leadership that once proved capable of carrying out transnational, high-casualty attacks. Although al Qaeda had already been severely weakened in Afghanistan and has recently focused more on surviving inside Pakistan than executing meaningful operations, the inability to capture or kill bin Laden meant that the U.S....

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