Swat Taliban Used Local Weaknesses to Build Support: Report
11 April 2011
"The Taliban gained support in Swat valley in part by building on a variety of local grievances, including weaknesses in local law enforcement and justice institutions, according to a World Bank report released on Saturday. Discussing the situation in the federally administered tribal areas (Fata), the report stresses the need for removing or amending laws perceived as unjust and discriminatory, such as the Frontier Crimes Regulation, which applies...
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US Calls for Renewal of Ties
11 April 2011
"The US ambassador to Pakistan on Monday called for a renewal of ties in a bid to overcome a series of damaging rows that have hampered efforts to cooperate in the war on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The January killings of two men by a CIA contractor exposed a growing rift between the countries’ spy agencies over intelligence sharing and exacerbated tensions over America’s controversial drone war targeting militants. Cameron Munter,...
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Captured Attacker Claims 350 Suicide Bombers Training in North Waziristan
11 April 2011
"A would-be suicide bomber who failed to detonate his vest in an attack at a Sufi shrine on April 3 has told officials that hundreds of suicide bombers are currently training at camps in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. The failed suicide bomber, who was identified as Fida Hussain earlier this week, was captured after his vest failed to detonate outside the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab...
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Afghanistan War Destabilising Pakistan: Zardari
11 April 2011
"The war in Afghanistan is destabilising Pakistan and seriously undermining efforts to restore its democratic institutions and economic prosperity after a decade of military dictatorship, Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, has told the Guardian. Speaking during an exclusive interview in the imposing presidential residence in Islamabad, Zardari also pointed to widespread concern in Pakistan at the slow pace of efforts to end...
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