WikiLeaks Cables Reveal Pakistani Military Requested “Continuous Drone Coverage”
20 May 2011
Secret internal American government cables, accessed by Dawn through WikiLeaks, provide confirmation that the US military’s drone strikes programme within Pakistan had more than just tacit acceptance of the country’s top military brass, despite public posturing to the contrary. In fact, as long ago as January 2008, the country’s military was requesting the US for greater drone back-up for its own military operations. Previously...
Read the post »
Taliban Attack on US Consular Vehicle Kills Bystander, Wounds 12
20 May 2011
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a US convoy in Peshawar, the first attack on Americans in Pakistan since the death of Osama bin Laden on 2 May. A bystander was killed and 12 people, two of them American, were wounded when a blast hit two armoured jeeps as they travelled to the US consulate, which is believed to house a large CIA station. "We had warned that we will avenge the martyrdom of Osama," a Taliban spokesman, Ahsanullah...
Read the post »
New Study Finds No Link Between Poverty, Support for Militant Groups
20 May 2011
Spending millions of pounds on development in Pakistan will do nothing to keep young men out of the clutches of the Taliban, according to an extensive survey of Pakistani attitudes towards extremism which will deepen the row over Britain's aid budget. The study, conducted by researchers from prestigious American universities, found no link between poverty and support for militant groups. The findings undermine a central pillar of the Conservative...
Read the post »