New Drone Strikes Kill More Than 40 in North Waziristan
17 March 2011
"At least 40 people have died in a US drone strike in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan, local officials say. Most of the victims were believed to be civilians attending a tribal meeting near the regional capital, Miranshah. Earlier reports said many militants were among the dead. The area is an al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold and US drones regularly target the region. [...] The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says Thursday's drone strike...
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Pakistanis in Countrywide Protests over Davis' Release
17 March 2011
"With people across Pakistan protesting the court decision of releasing the US Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis in a twin-murder case, the country's top government functionaries preferred to remain tight-lipped on the unpopular issue in a bid to avoid wrath of the masses. The release of Raymond Davis has ended a diplomatic standoff between the US and Pakistan but also brought the weak PPP-led coalition government on the verge...
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UNICEF Encourages Pakistan's Rural Communities to Abandon Child Marriage
17 March 2011
"Pakistan’s disastrous flood last July has created an opportunity to convince rural communities to stop pushing girls into child marriages. People from remote villages who were forced to abandon their homes by the flood are being exposed to new outside influences and arguments against under-age marriage. 'People are coming out of isolation,' said Jan Sigismund, UNICEF emergency coordinator in Multan, Punjab. 'A change of mentality is taking...
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"Anti-Americanism" More Challenging Than Taliban: Pakistan Army
17 March 2011
"For Pakistan Army, fighting ‘anti-Americanism’ among the Ahmedzai Wazirs is more challenging than taking on the Taliban in South Waziristan. [...] What social services will you demand from the government? tribal elder Kengray Khan was asked. 'First, get these planes away from us,' he said pointing his finger at two American F-18 jets circling overhead. 'The Taliban fire shots at Americans and the Americans in return open fire at us,'...
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