Rising Food Prices Leave Many in Pakistan Struggling: IRIN
31 March 2011
"The price of wheat in Pakistan has almost tripled since 2008, making people in places like the poorer suburbs of Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, wonder how they will feed their families, local residents say. 'A few years ago we paid just a little over Rs 200 [US$2.35] for a 20kg bag of wheat flour,' Saleem Yousaf, a father of four who works as a cook said. 'Today, we pay over Rs 550 [$6.47] for the same amount, which lasts us less than...
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Another Lawyer Kidnapped in Balochistan
31 March 2011
"Unidentified armed men kidnapped another lawyer from the Surab area, which is around 240 kilometres from the provincial capital in central Balochistan on Wednesday. According to sources, the lawyer, identified as Farzand Ali, a resident of Usta Muhammad, Jaffarabad, was going to Karachi from Quetta in his car when unidentified armed men stopped his vehicle and pulled him out at gunpoint and kidnapped him. Separately, lawyers held a demonstration...
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Views of Pakistani General on Accuracy of U.S. Drone Campaign: Report
31 March 2011
"One of the most contentious issues related to the Central Intelligence Agency's drone campaign in Pakistan is the estimated number of civilians killed by these strikes. Those against drone strikes in Pakistan argue that the attacks kill a disproportionate number of civilians. Others, however, argue that the number of civilian casualties is small, and that the operations have led to the deaths of many senior Taliban and al-Qa'ida. Finding evidence...
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Second Suicide Attack on JUI-F Party in Two Days
31 March 2011
"A prominent Islamist politician narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up near his car in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least 11 people, government officials and aides said. Several people accompanying cleric Fazl-ur-Rehman, head of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party, as well as policemen, were wounded in the attack in the town of Charsadda, but Rehman was reported to be safe. 'The...
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Bali Bombing Suspect Allegedly Captured in Pakistan
30 March 2011
"One of Indonesia's top terror suspects, wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bombing, has been captured in Pakistan, reports say. Umar Patek, a suspected member of the militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), was detained earlier this year, local and foreign intelligence sources say. Jakarta is sending a team of police officers to confirm his identity. The 2002 attacks on nightclubs in the Indonesian tourist hub left 202 people dead,...
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Suicide Bomber Kills 10 near Peshawar
30 March 2011
"A suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up near a police checkpoint in Pakistan on Wednesday, killing ten people and wounding more than 20, police and hospital officials said. Police chief Abdullah Jan said the checkpoint was close to a camp set up by a religious political party for a public meeting in the northwestern town of Swabi, about 10 kilometres (60 miles) east of Peshawar. 'Seven people died on the spot and three more succumbed to...
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Haqqani Network Influence in Kurram and Its Implications for Afghanistan: Report
30 March 2011
"The Haqqani Network is one of Afghanistan's most capable insurgent groups. Based in Pakistan's North Waziristan Agency, the Haqqani network's senior leadrship directs the insurgency in Afghanistan's southeastern provinces of Khost, Paktika, and Paktia. The network is important not only because of its tactical and operational proficiency, but because it links foreign terrorists, such as al-Qa'ida, to operations inside Afghanistan. In the last...
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Reforming Pakistan's Electoral System: Report
30 March 2011
"Electoral rigging has hampered Pakistan’s democratic development, eroded political stability and contributed to the breakdown of the rule of law. Facing domestic pressure for democracy, successive military governments rigged national, provincial and local polls to ensure regime survival. These elections yielded unrepresentative parliaments that have rubber-stamped extensive constitutional and political reforms to centralise power with the military...
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The Risks of Supporting Tribal Militias in Pakistan: Report
30 March 2011
"For the past 10 years, Taliban and al-Qa'ida militants have been highly active in Pakistan's northwest region. As these fighters expanded their presence in Pakistan after 2001, civilians increasingly became victims to Taliban violence. Beginning in 2007, tribal leaders in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP) resumed organizing militias, known as lashkars, to counter the Taliban and their al-Qa'ida...
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Pakistan to Compensate Families of Drone Strike Victims
29 March 2011
"Pakistan will pay compensation to the families of 39 people who died in a US drone strike on a northwestern tribal area bordering Afghanistan, an official said Saturday. Civilians and police were among those killed when missiles hit a compound in Datta Khel, 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan on March 17. Tribal administration official Asghar Khan told AFP a compensation package was ready for the victims'...
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