Army Chief Pays a Controversial Visit to Washington
22 March 2010
, The New York Times, 21 March 2010
EXCERPT: "In a sign of the mounting power of the army over the civilian government in Pakistan, the head of the military, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, will be the dominant Pakistani participant in important meetings in Washington this week. At home, much has been made of how General Kayani has driven the agenda for the talks. They have been billed as cabinet-level...
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Tribal Council Calls for the Army to Crush Taliban
22 March 2010
Peshawar Jirga Backs War on Taliban, Al Jazeera, 21 March 2010
EXCERPT: "An umbrella group of aid organisations and political parties from Pakistan's semi-autonomous regions near the Afghan border have issued a declaration calling for the army to crush the Taliban. The statement was issued at the end of a meeting, attended by some powerful tribal leaders, held on Saturday in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Participants...
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Use of Tribal Militias Fuels Human Rights Concerns
22 March 2010
Rights Group Criticizes Pakistan over Tribal Militias, Earth Times, 22 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Monday criticized the military for forcing civilians to form anti- Taliban militias and use them as 'proxies' in extra-judicial killings in the country's militancy-plagued north-western region. We have 'serious reservations' about 'giving people the power to kill other people,'...
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2009 UK Report on Human Rights in Pakistan
22 March 2010
[pdf], United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office via the Human Security Gateway, 19 March 2009
EXCERPT: "Pakistan's civilian government has faced a series of challenges in 2009, exacerbated both by a serious economic crisis and a concerted and violent campaign by terrorist groups. This has included a campaign of suicide attacks by violent extremists in major cities throughout the country. Despite...
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Over 15 Militants Killed by Military Operations, Drone Strikes
22 March 2010
Pakistani Airstrikes Kill 15, US Drones Kill Four, VOA News, 21 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Pakistani intelligence officials say airstrikes against Taliban positions in the northwest tribal regions have killed at least 19 militants. Officials said at least five suspected militants were killed in a Pakistani strike in Orakzai agency and another ten were killed in an assault in Kurram agency. In a tribal area of Pakistan near the Afghan border...
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In Swat, Taliban Instill Fear Despite Defeat
22 March 2010
In Pakistan's Swat, Taliban Instill Fear after Defeat, Reuters, 22 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Kishwar Begum studied nursing until she apparently decided to take lives, not help save them. Her photograph appears on the front-page of a newspaper identifying her as a would-be suicide bomber, still at large in the Swat Valley, a former Taliban bastion seized by Pakistan's army in a major offensive nearly a year ago. Many Taliban were killed....
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