Militancy in Khyber Agency: Backgrounder
30 May 2011
The Khyber Agency in Pakistan has emerged in recent times as a centre of sectarian conflict - partially as a result of the spillover of deep-rooted differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the nearby Kurram Agency and partially as a reaction to efforts by hardline Sunni groups to establish their writ in the area. One of seven tribal agencies located along the Pakistan-Afghan border, the strategically significant Khyber Agency offers easy access...
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Authorities Warn Aid Agencies to Prepare for Mass Displacement as Military Plans N. Waziristan Offensive
30 May 2011
Humanitarian agencies active in Pakistan's northwest have been quietly told to prepare for up to 365,000 displaced people in advance of a military offensive against North Waziristan, a senior official with an international humanitarian agency said Monday. The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, was responding to a media report in a local newspaper that Pakistan will launch a military offensive against al Qaeda...
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Hangu Bazaar Suicide Attack Kills Dozens
27 May 2011
At least 28 people, four policemen among them, were killed and 55 injured when a suicide bomber exploded his vehicle at a checkpoint in Hangu bazaar on Thursday. Officials said the pick-up was laden with 450kg of explosives. It was detonated by the bomber as soon as he reached the police post. The nearby official residence of the district coordination officer, offices of the Hangu police chief and the special branch, the city police station, 17 shops,...
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Mumbai Attack Co-Accused Claims He "Attended Over 50 Training Sessions" with ISI Handler
27 May 2011
Mumbai attack co-accused David Headley on Thursday told a U.S. court that a Pakistani Navy man was present during discussions with his Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handler Major Iqbal on landing sites and arrival of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists by sea. Headley also said he had attended over 50 training sessions with the powerful Pakistan's intelligence agency and that he always briefed Iqbal first during his visits to Paksitan. Iqbal was...
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Overview of Most Recent Pakistan-US, bin Laden Developments
27 May 2011
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said there is no evidence senior people in Pakistan knew that Osama Bin Laden lived so close to Islamabad. But she said that the US and Pakistan needed to do more to battle Islamist militancy and that bilateral relations had reached a turning point. Mrs Clinton said any peace deal in Afghanistan would not succeed unless Pakistan was part of the process. She expressed Washington's "strong commitment" to relations...
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Insurgents Kill 26 in Peshawar Suicide Bombing as Attacks on Government Targets Continue
26 May 2011
A suicide bomber in a pickup truck detonated his explosives near several government offices in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 26 people, in the latest violence to hit the country since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Its devastation was likely to add to criticism of the government, already under fire over the unilateral U.S. operation to kill the al-Qaida chief...
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US to Withdraw Troops after "Request from the Pakistani Government"
26 May 2011
The US military has announced the withdrawal of a number of its troops from Pakistan. The Pentagon said it had received a request from the Pakistani government to reduce its presence in the country. The request came after a raid by US special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in early May. The US has more than 200 troops in Pakistan helping to train the army. But there are said to be intelligence and special forces operating there....
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Karachi Authorities Seize 375 Kilograms of Heroin in "Largest Ever" Haul
26 May 2011
Pakistan said Wednesday it had seized its largest ever heroin haul, impounding 375 kilograms (825 pounds) of the narcotic worth an estimated $44 million on the international market. About 108 kilograms hidden in matchboxes was seized late Monday from a container at the Arabian sea port and another 267 kilograms of heroin in a follow up raid in Quaid Abad neighbourhood, officials said. "We have arrested five people and during investigations they have...
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Taliban Attack Peshawar Police Station; Fears Grow about Security of Nuclear Arsenal
25 May 2011
A suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed car into a police station on Wednesday as the Taliban intensified attacks against Pakistan's security forces after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. At least five policemen and a soldier were killed in the attack in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The Pakistani Taliban said they were responsible. The militants, allied with al Qaeda, have vowed to avenge bin Laden's killing by U.S. forces...
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Foreign Fighters in Tribal Regions Plan Attacks in Afghanistan: Captured Al-Qaeda Member
25 May 2011
Foreign fighters are massing in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas as they prepare to launch attacks across the border on international troops in Afghanistan, according to an al-Qaeda member captured by Nato.The Moroccan man, who was captured earlier this month, has told interrogators how he helped fighters enter Afghanistan. "After his capture the facilitator provided details about his personal travel from Germany," said a statement from the International...
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