Security Forces Accused of Sabotaging "Hearts and Minds" Campaign in Balochistan
02 February 2010
Security Forces Accused of Sabotaging "Hearts and Minds" Campaign, The National, 1 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A 'hearts and minds' initiative by the Pakistani government to bring an end to a nationalist insurgency in the western province of Balochistan has been undermined by a shadowy 'zero tolerance' campaign by security forces, it was claimed yesterday. A public spat between Nawab Aslam Raisani, the chief minister...
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Would Mehsud's Death Be a "Fatal Blow" for Taliban?
02 February 2010
, Brookings Institution, 1 February 2010
EXCERPT: "Reports that Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has died from wounds inflicted in a CIA drone attack are welcome if true. But his demise is unlikely to significantly disrupt the Taliban's operations. Since its birth just a few years ago the Pakistani Taliban has rapidly developed and matured into a formidable terror network reaching across the country....
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"Anti-Terrorist" Fertilizer Ban Hinders Farmers
02 February 2010
"Anti-Terrorist" Fertilizer Ban Hinders Farmers, IRIN News, 2 February 2010
EXCERPT: "The ban on ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizers was imposed in Malakand Division - comprising the Dir, Swat, Chitral and Malakand districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) - in November 2009 by the NWFP government, following reports that those chemicals were used by militants to make explosives......
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Taliban Warn Government Against N. Waziristan Operation
02 February 2010

Taliban Warn Govt Against N. Waziristan Operation, Daily Times, 1 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A shura of Taliban in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday said it can withstand government action but would not tolerate a military operation in the agency. In a pamphlet addressed to the people of North Waziristan and distributed in Miranshah Bazaar, it warned the government that launching an operation in the agency would lead to war. The pamphlet...
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Troops Capture Major Taliban Base in Bajaur Tribal Agency
02 February 2010

Pakistan Troops "Capture Taliban Base in Bajaur", BBC News, 2 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A major Taliban base in the north-western tribal region of Bajaur has been captured by Pakistani troops after days of fierce fighting, officials say. Troops are now advancing on the militants' main training area in the Damadola district of Bajaur. Local residents say hundreds of people are fleeing the area to escape the fighting. Militants...
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