Rising Food Prices Leave Many in Pakistan Struggling: IRIN
31 March 2011
"The price of wheat in Pakistan has almost tripled since 2008, making people in places like the poorer suburbs of Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, wonder how they will feed their families, local residents say. 'A few years ago we paid just a little over Rs 200 [US$2.35] for a 20kg bag of wheat flour,' Saleem Yousaf, a father of four who works as a cook said. 'Today, we pay over Rs 550 [$6.47] for the same amount, which lasts us less than...
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Another Lawyer Kidnapped in Balochistan
31 March 2011
"Unidentified armed men kidnapped another lawyer from the Surab area, which is around 240 kilometres from the provincial capital in central Balochistan on Wednesday. According to sources, the lawyer, identified as Farzand Ali, a resident of Usta Muhammad, Jaffarabad, was going to Karachi from Quetta in his car when unidentified armed men stopped his vehicle and pulled him out at gunpoint and kidnapped him. Separately, lawyers held a demonstration...
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Views of Pakistani General on Accuracy of U.S. Drone Campaign: Report
31 March 2011
"One of the most contentious issues related to the Central Intelligence Agency's drone campaign in Pakistan is the estimated number of civilians killed by these strikes. Those against drone strikes in Pakistan argue that the attacks kill a disproportionate number of civilians. Others, however, argue that the number of civilian casualties is small, and that the operations have led to the deaths of many senior Taliban and al-Qa'ida. Finding evidence...
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Second Suicide Attack on JUI-F Party in Two Days
31 March 2011
"A prominent Islamist politician narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up near his car in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least 11 people, government officials and aides said. Several people accompanying cleric Fazl-ur-Rehman, head of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party, as well as policemen, were wounded in the attack in the town of Charsadda, but Rehman was reported to be safe. 'The...
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