Pakistan

Pakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say

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Security officials say soldiers were trying to enter South Waziristan by helicopter


Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border. Photograph: Matiullah Achakzai/EPA

Pakistani troops opened fire on US soldiers trying to enter the country’s lawless tribal area today, according to reports, marking a dangerous further deterioration in relations between the two anti-terror allies.

Details of the incident, in South Waziristan, are unclear. According to local security officials and tribesmen, however, two US helicopters breached Pakistani airspace in the early hours but were forced to retreat when they came under fire.

The US forces were likely to have been on a hit-and-withdraw mission against suspected militants in the area, similar to the first documented US ground raid into the tribal territory earlier this month, when choppers flew in commandos. That enraged the Pakistani army and public.

Read morePakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say

Pakistan jets sent to confront US drones

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Pakistan has ordered its jet fighters to confront any attack by the US-led coalition forces on the tribal belt near the Afghan border.

Air force fighters have carried out sorties in the tribal region for the first time after US missiles attacks killed dozens of civilians, sources said on Saturday.

Air Force Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood, meanwhile, said that the Air Force could respond to violation of the country’s air space by the US forces if the government issued orders.

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Pakistan order to kill US invaders

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KEY corps commanders of Pakistan’s 600,000-strong army issued orders last night to retaliate against “invading” US forces that enter the country to attack militant targets.

The move has plunged relations between Islamabad and Washington into deep crisis over how to deal with al-Qa’ida and the Taliban

What amounts to a dramatic order to “kill the invaders”, as one senior officer put it last night, was disclosed after the commanders – who control the army’s deployments at divisional level – met at their headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi under the chairmanship of army chief and former ISI spy agency boss Ashfaq Kayani.

Leading English-language newspaper The News warned in an editorial that the US determination to attack targets inside Pakistan was likely to be “the best recruiting sergeant that the extremists ever had”, with even “moderates” outraged by it.

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Pakistan: Army ordered to hit back

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Corps commanders discuss latest US strategy

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army has been ordered to retaliate against any action by foreign troops inside the country, Geo News quoted ISPR spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas as saying on Thursday night.

Shakil Shaikh adds from Islamabad: Pakistan’s military commanders resolved to defend the country’s borders without allowing any external forces to conduct operations inside Pakistan.

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Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan

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WASHINGTON – President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.

The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush administration after nearly seven years of trying to work with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after months of high-level stalemate about how to challenge the militants’ increasingly secure base in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

American officials say that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission.

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Pentagon admits Afghan strategy not succeeding

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military conceded it was not winning the fight against an increasingly deadly insurgency in Afghanistan and said on Wednesday it would revise its strategy to combat militant safe havens in Pakistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee success in Afghanistan would require more civilian effort beyond the military fight.

“Frankly, we’re running out of time,” Mullen said.

“I’m not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can,” he said, offering a sober assessment nearly seven years since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

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Pakistan threatens to retaliate against US

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A spokesman for Pakistan’s army, Major Murad Khan, has slammed Washington for killing Pakistani civilians, warning of retaliatory action.

“Border violations by US-led forces in Afghanistan, which have killed scores of Pakistani civilians, would no longer be tolerated, and we have informed them that we reserve the right to self defense and that we will retaliate if the US continues cross-border attacks,” Khan said in an exclusive interview with Press TV.

His warning came after US forces launched cross-border attacks in tribal areas in Pakistan’s North Waziristan, killing at least 20 civilians and wounding 25 others on Monday.

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200,000 civilians flee fighting in north Pakistan

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Intense fighting in the Bajaur tribal district in north Pakistan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee their villages, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official has said.

“There is a real war shaking the Bajaur region at the moment,” said Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC Pakistan delegation, with government forces “facing heavy opposition.”

Pakistan’s forces have launched a number of major military offensives in recent weeks against militants in the Bajaur district, which is thought to be an Al-Qaeda stronghold.

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Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, elected president in Pakistan

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Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the assassinated former prime minister, Benazir Bhuttto, has been elected president by the country’s parliament and regional assemblies.


Mr Zardari is a shrewd politician. He has taken firm control of Bhutto’s ruling Pakistan People Party Photo: EPA

According to an unofficial tally, Mr Zardari secured at least 458 out of 702 electoral college votes, including over 280 votes in the parliament.

“It’s not only a victory for Mr Zardari and the Pakistan People’s Party but it’s a victory for … Benazir Bhutto’s dream of a democratic political system,” said Farzana Raja, the party’s spokeswoman as Mr Zardari’s supporters chanted “long live Bhutto”.

Members of Pakistan’s national assembly, senate and four provincial assemblies were seeking to replace Pervez Musharraf, who resigned as president last month.

Read moreAsif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, elected president in Pakistan

Pakistan cuts supply lines to NATO troops in Afghanistan

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In a move seen as the latest fallout from Wednesday morning’s US attack on South Waziristan, the Pakistani government has ordered that supply lines to NATO troops in Afghanistan be immediately severed for an indefinite period of time.

The move comes as thousands of protesters marched through South Waziristan’s capital of Wana chanting “death to America”. Officials cited repeated attacks which had made it difficult to provide security for transportation across the only border crossing, but Pakistani media cited other sources who said the move came as the government feared retaliation from South Waziristan tribesmen if they didn’t respond to the US attack.

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Pakistan: Uproar grows over first ground assault by US troops

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Pakistani military officials fear American intervention in the tribal areas could spark a rebellion, derailing counterterrorism operations.

United States forces conducted their first ground assaults into Pakistani territory from bases in Afghanistan early Wednesday morning in a raid on a suspected Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan, one of Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas. The attack has caused an uproar in Pakistan and raised concerns of a new period of tension between the US and its valuable, nuclear-armed ally in the war on terror, which has entered a period of political uncertainty after the resignation of long-serving president Pervez Musharraf last month.

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Pakistani women buried alive for choosing husbands

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A Pakistani politician has defended a decision to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands.

Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, told a stunned parliament that northwestern tribesman had done nothing wrong in first shooting the women and then dumping them in a ditch.

“These are centuries-old traditions, and I will continue to defend them,” he said.

“Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid.”

The women, three of whom were teenagers and whose “crime” was that they wished to choose who to marry, were still breathing as mud and stones were shovelled over their bodies, according to Human Rights Watch.

The three girls, thought to be aged between 16 and 18, were kidnapped by a group of men from their Umrani tribe and murdered in Baba Kot, a remote village in Jafferabad district.

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Pakistani city of Peshawar could fall to Taliban as fear and attacks grow

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When the summer holidays end tomorrow, the parents of 1,400 pupils at the Badabher Government Girls’ School will face a difficult choice.

Should they let their daughters go back to lessons in the rubble of their school, blown up by the Taliban in the middle of the night, or should they keep them safe at home?

Hashim, the caretaker who was held at gunpoint by masked gunmen, was warned that they would be back if the school is rebuilt. He fears that next time they could blow it up with pupils inside.

Read morePakistani city of Peshawar could fall to Taliban as fear and attacks grow

Rockets, guile and the lessons of history: the Taleban besiege Kabul

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The lorry drivers who bring the Pepsi and petrol for Nato troops in Kabul have their own way of calculating the Taleban’s progress towards the Afghan capital: they simply count the lorries destroyed on the main roads.

By that measure, and many others, this looks increasingly like a city under siege as the Taleban start to disrupt supply routes, mimicking tactics used against the British in 1841 and the Soviets two decades ago.

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U.S. debates going after militants in Pakistan

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WASHINGTON — The ongoing disarray among Pakistan’s new civilian leadership, including its refusal to accept a U.S. military training mission for the Pakistani army, has led to intense frustration within the Pentagon and reignited a debate over whether the U.S. should act on its own against extremists operating in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions.

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Are You Ready For Nuclear War?

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By Paul Craig Roberts

Pervez Musharraf, the puppet installed by the US to rule Pakistan in the interest of US hegemony, resigned August 18 to avoid impeachment. Karl Rove and the Diebold electronic voting machines were unable to control the result of the last election in Pakistan, the result of which gave Pakistanis a bigger voice in their government than America’s.

It was obvious to anyone with any sense–which excludes the entire Bush Regime and almost all of the “foreign policy community”–that the illegal and gratuitous US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel’s 2006 bombing of Lebanon civilians with US blessing, would result in the overthrow of America’s Pakistani puppet.

Read moreAre You Ready For Nuclear War?

Taliban kill 14, declare “open war” in Pakistan

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The Seattle Times has removed the article but the printer friendly version still works.
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan – In retaliation for Pakistan’s aggressive air assault on the tribal region this week, the Taliban declared “open war” and bombed a minibus Tuesday carrying 18 Pakistani air-force personnel on a major road in Peshawar. Up to 14 people were killed.

Read moreTaliban kill 14, declare “open war” in Pakistan

George Bush blasted by Pakistan PM

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PAKISTAN’S Prime Minister lashed out at George W. Bush during talks in Washington yesterday, “reproaching” the US President over a US Hellfire drone missile strike inside Pakistani territory only hours before the leaders met.

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India, Pakistan in Kashmir clash

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India says that the Pakistani troops have now retreated

An Indian soldier has been killed by Pakistani troops who crossed the Line of Control dividing the disputed territory of Kashmir, India says.

A spokesman for the Indian army, Anil Kumar Mathur, told the BBC that 10 to 12 Pakistani soldiers had entered Indian territory.

He said that shots were exchanged after an argument, and that firing had continued until Monday evening.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir.

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Pakistan has the right to retaliate if allied forces attacked says President Pervez Musharraf

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President Pervez Musharraf Saturday said he is concerned over the Nato forces attack in Pakistani tribal areas and warned a U-S think-tank that no such attacks will be tolerated in future, and Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate.

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CENTCOM’s Master Plan and U.S. Global Hegemony

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Many people deny that the U.S. government presides over a global empire. If you speak of U.S. imperialism, they will fancy that you must be a decrepit Marxist-Leninist who has recently awakened after spending decades in a coma. Yet the facts cannot be denied, however much people’s ideology may predispose them to distort or obfuscate those facts.

How can a government that maintains more than 800 military facilities in more than 140 different foreign countries be anything other than an imperial power? The hundreds of thousands of troops who operate those bases and conduct operations from them, not to mention the approximately 125,000 sailors and Marines aboard the U.S. warships that cruise the oceans, are not going door to door selling Girl Scout cookies. United States of America is the name; intimidation is the game.

Read moreCENTCOM’s Master Plan and U.S. Global Hegemony

Will Bush Play “Get-Out-of-Jail-Free” Card?

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I just listened to Vincent Bugliosi talking to Bobby Kennedy about his plan to prosecute Bush for murder. (Listen here.)

It sounds like Bugliosi has an airtight case. If Bush leaves 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next January, there should be a squad car waiting to pick him up.

Even if he somehow dodges the murder rap, sooner or later Bush will face dozens of charges of war crimes, kidnapping, torture, electoral fraud, maybe even high treason against the Constitution of the United States of America. Bush is a good bet to be our first ex-president to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

I say IF Bush leaves office next January because…well, he’d have to be crazy to step down.

Bush only has one card left to play: The get-out-of-jail-free card.

Set off a nuclear or biological weapon on American soil. Blame the usual suspects, “Muslim terrorists,” and link them to Pakistan or Iran. Attack Pakistan or Iran, invoke Presidential Directive 51, suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, intern dissidents and Muslims in FEMA camps, seize control of the other branches of government, and suspend the elections “until order has been restored.”

A high-risk move? Sure. But cornered rats sometimes make high-risk moves.

Read moreWill Bush Play “Get-Out-of-Jail-Free” Card?

Nine Americans were killed, deadliest incident for U.S. forces in 3 years

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KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. troops abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine of their comrades this week, officials said Wednesday, in another sign of the struggle facing foreign and Afghan security forces strung out along the mountainous border.

Elsewhere in the frontier region, NATO launched artillery and helicopter strikes in Pakistan after coming under insurgent rocket fire, officials said.

The violence is another indication of the growing strength of the Taliban-led insurgency, especially in Afghanistan’s east, where the outpost near the village of Wanat was breached by militants on Sunday. Nine Americans were killed in the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in three years.

Read moreNine Americans were killed, deadliest incident for U.S. forces in 3 years

US backs Jundullah to destabilize Iran

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Jundullah bandits

Pakistan’s former Army Chief, Retired General Mirza Aslam Baig, says the US is supporting the outlawed Jundullah group to destabilize Iran.

He said that the US is providing training facilities to Jundullah fighters–located in eastern areas of Iran–to create unrest in the area and affect the cordial ties between Iran and its neighbor Pakistan.

Baig added that Iran and Pakistan are under the siege of western conspiracies.

The intelligence agencies of the coalitional forces are very active in Afghanistan and work against the interests of Iran, Pakistan, China and Russia in the region, he said as quoted by Pakistan Daily newspaper.

The former Pakistani official hailed Islamabad’s decision to hand over the captured Jundullah members to Iran, saying those working against the interests of Iran and Pakistan should be dealt with iron fist.

Jundullah is a terrorist group, headed by Abdolmalek Rigi, which operates in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan’s Baluchistan.

Last month Pakistan handed over Abdolhamid Rigi, brother of Abdolmalek, to Iran.

Wed, 09 Jul 2008

Source: Press TV