May 9

BBC - Pro-Taleban militants say they are holding six soldiers in a tribal region in north-western Pakistan.

A spokesman for the militants said 24 other soldiers had been freed in Bajaur agency. The military says just one soldier was captured.

Elsewhere in the region a soldier was killed and at least two others wounded in an attack in the Swat Valley.

Violence in the region has increased in recent days after militants suspended peace talks with the government.

Washington | May 9

NYT - When the Pentagon announced in March that Maj. Gen. Jay W. Hood would become the senior American officer based in Pakistan, it reflected the military’s aim to put a crisis-tested veteran in a critical job at a pivotal time in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

But nearly two months later, the military has quietly canceled the assignment of General Hood, a 33-year Army veteran who was excoriated in the Pakistani news media for one of his previous jobs: commander of the United States prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

During General Hood’s command from 2004 to 2006, military authorities force-fed with tubes detainees who were engaging in hunger strikes at the Guantánamo prison, a step they justified as necessary to prevent the prisoners from committing suicide to protest their indefinite confinement. Also during General Hood’s tenure, reports that an American guard may have desecrated a Koran stirred wide protests in the Islamic world.

Peter Spiegel & Greg Miller | Washington | May 7

LA Times - Amid criticism of a lack of oversight on spending, the U.S. has denied or deferred about $81 million in requests from Pakistan, the Government Accountability Office says.

The Pentagon has rejected or deferred millions of dollars in military aid requests from Pakistan amid criticism that the Islamabad government has squandered U.S. funding and allowed Al Qaeda to rebuild a haven in its western tribal regions.

In February, the Defense Department turned down or delayed more than $81 million requested by Pakistan, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The rejection represents a small portion of the nearly $1 billion a year Pakistan has received through a program called Coalition Support Funds, launched after the Sept. 11 attacks.

But it marks a sudden change in U.S. policy toward Pakistan, which for years has spent American military aid without having to show results in the fight against Al Qaeda and other militant groups. Even some officials in the Pentagon have acknowledged shortcomings in U.S. funding strategy.

Eric Schmitt | Washington | May 1

NYT - Terrorist attacks against noncombatants more than doubled in Pakistan from 2006 to 2007, reflecting the growing violence in the country’s turbulent tribal areas and new bombings against Pakistani government officials and security services, according to a report released Wednesday by the State Department.

The report also said the number of deaths from the attacks in Pakistan quadrupled in that time period, to 1,335 fatalities, casting doubt on the American-backed counterterrorism policies of President Pervez Musharraf that the new government in Islamabad is now reshaping.

April 30

BBC - Leaders of Pakistan's new government are to hold urgent talks on Wednesday on the country's sacked judges, in the coalition's first real test.

Former PM Nawaz Sharif will meet Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari, at whose Dubai residence talks are to take place.

The month-old government's deadline to reinstate the judges ends on Wednesday.

The sides differ over how much power to give to judges whom President Musharraf sacked under emergency rule last year.

Failure to resolve differences over the issue has put the month-old coalition under strain.

Julian Borger | Lahore | April 17

The Guardian - After more than seven years in exile, Pakistan's former PM is back in power and doing his best to depose the president. Julian Borger goes to visit him at the family home outside Lahore

The road to Nawaz Sharif's house performs some radical zigzags along the way. This is presumably for security purposes - forcing would be suicide-bombers to slow down enough for the guards to take a shot. But the winding drive must also serve as a daily reminder for Sharif of the precarious route to power in Pakistan.

He has twice been prime minister. His last term was cut short in 1999 by a coup by his army chief, Pervez Musharraf. Nine years on, Musharraf is still president but has been haemorrhaging authority for months in the face of public disdain.

Sharif is back from exile and back in power, this time as part of a new democratically elected coalition, and working hard to sideline the president with the aim of eventually forcing him out.

US offers Pakistan government $7bn in non-military aid to fight terrorism

· Civilian cabinet told drone air strikes will be curbed
· New strategy marks break with Musharraf and army

Lahore | April 13

Daily Times - * US president says terror plans in Afghanistan would be routed out with firepower
* Says US has no intention of attacking Iran

If another September-11 style attack is being planned, it probably is being plotted in Pakistan and not Afghanistan, the AP news agency quoted US President George Bush as saying on Saturday.

In an interview with a US TV channel, Bush said if terrorists planning such attacks were in Afghanistan, they would be routed out. “We’ve got plenty of firepower to take on Al Qaeda cells in Afghanistan,” he said, although more US and NATO troops are headed to Afghanistan.

Salman Masood | Islamabad | April 3

NYT - Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan’s atomic weapons program who confessed four years ago to having run an illicit global nuclear proliferation network, expressed hope in an interview published Wednesday that the new government would end his house arrest and lift the restrictions on his movements.

In the interview, his first since 2004 when he was put under house arrest in Islamabad, Dr. Khan, 72, bitterly complained about his confinement and what he described as his deteriorating health.

The interview was published by Nawa-i-Waqt, an Urdu-language newspaper, and its sister English-language publication, The Nation. It was unclear precisely when the interview had been conducted and whether it had been done in person or by telephone. Ayesha Khan, one of Dr. Khan’s two daughters, said in an interview on Wednesday evening that there were no signs of her father’s immediate release and that the family had not been approached by any official of the government of Yousaf Raza Gilani, the new prime minister. “Nobody has come to us,” she said.

“The hope has always been there, but we are not holding our breath,” Ms. Khan said when asked if the family was optimistic about the lifting of the restrictions on her father.

Salman Masood | Islamabad | March 26

NYT - The top State Department officials responsible for the alliance with Pakistan met leaders of the new government on Tuesday, and received what amounted to a public dressing-down from one of them, as well as the first direct indication that the United States relationship with Pakistan would have to change.

On the day that the new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, was sworn in, Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte and the assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, Richard A. Boucher, also met with the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, whom they had embraced as their partner in the campaign against terrorism over the past seven years but whose power is quickly ebbing.

The leader of the second biggest party in the new Parliament, Nawaz Sharif, said after meeting the two American diplomats that it was unacceptable that Pakistan had become a “killing field.”

“If America wants to see itself clean of terrorists, we also want that our villages and towns should not be bombed,” he said at a news conference here. Mr. Sharif, a former prime minister, added he was unable to give Mr. Negroponte “a commitment” on fighting terrorism.

The statements by Mr. Sharif, and the cool body language in the televised portions of his encounter with Mr. Negroponte, were just part of the sea change in Pakistan’s domestic politics that is likely to impose new limits on how Washington fights militants within Pakistan’s borders.

Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, also met with the Americans but did not speak to reporters afterward. Husain Haqqani, an adviser who attended the meeting with him, said, though, that the American officials had been given notice that the old ways were over.

“If I can use an American expression, there is a new sheriff in town,” Mr. Haqqani said. “Americans have realized that they have perhaps talked with one man for too long.”

Pakistan appears to be headed toward a clash between the civilian parliament and Musharraf. But the civilians, who are operating with real skill and courage, may have the upper hand.

Today, the Pakistani parliament elected Yousaf Gilani as their prime minister. Gilani, who has served as vice chair of Bhutto and Zardari's PPP as well as speaker of the National Assembly, won with a crushing margin over the challenger from Musharraf's camp. Sources from the PPP also say that Gilani is here to stay, despite speculation that Zardari could attempt to insert himself into the parliament and become top dog later on. In any case, with Zardari progressively extracting himself from the legal troubles (like this murder case) that have dogged him for more than a decade, the PPP looks to be in good shape, with multiple strong leaders in the spotlight.

March 24

Al Jazeera - One of Pakistan's most senior judges has been released from house arrest on the instruction of the newly appointed prime minister.

Crowds of supporters thronged the home of Iftikhar Chaudhry, the chief justice of the supreme court, on Monday after Yousuf Gilani ordered that the judge be freed.

The move is seen as further jeopardising the authority of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president.

Gilani, a former parliament speaker and aide to the late Benazir Bhutto, ordered the release of all the judges detained under a state of emergency in the run up to elections earlier in the year.

Gilani told parliament: "Today, democracy has been restored thanks to the great sacrifice of Benazir Bhutto."

Excuse me if I offend anyone in this article, but I would like to know what happened to the Democratic Party? I always thought of Democrats as those that supported Unions, workers, the middle-class, civil liberties and silly things like that. One thing I was also taught to do was to follow the money when it comes to whom really is supporting who in things such as criminal enterprises and of course, politics. I have been around for a while now, and I believe that I’m just as aware of what’s happening in my own country as anyone else. In fact, I believe that I’m really more aware of what’s happening than most. I am a voracious reader and I have a lot of time on my hands and I actually try to dig behind the rhetoric I hear. What I have found amazes me.

Jonathan S. Landay | Peshawar | March 20

McClatchy -

Shaheed Rehman Afridi lay in a casualty-packed trauma ward, unable to make sense of the blast that punctured his body with tiny metal missiles and killed dozens of his kinsmen as they met for a traditional tribal assembly.

On nearby beds, children with head wounds writhed in pain, inconsolable by frantic parents. Men with torn abdomens and shattered limbs lay in silent semi-consciousness or moaned in wide-eyed agony as relatives called out for one of Lady Reading Hospital's too few doctors. The air reeked of blood, disinfectant and sweat.

The young fanatic who detonated himself on March 2 and inflicted the suffering on innocent civilians once would have found welcome and honor in Pakistan's autonomous tribal belt, along with other Islamic extremists, including Osama bin Laden and his followers, who fled there after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

No more.

The tribes no longer are willing hosts to the foreign fighters, local jihadis and criminal warlords who hold sway over parts of the Pashtun tribes' mountain homeland. They've become tired and infuriated by the bloodshed, coercion and suffering that radical Islam has brought to their lives, said tribal elders and local journalists.

I hear more drones in the future ~ tina

Syed Saleem Shahzad | Karachi | March 19

Asia Times Online - Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), on Friday emerged as one of the cleanest politicians in the country after he was acquitted of all corruption cases against him as a result of a Washington-brokered deal between his slain spouse Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf, who signed a National Reconciliation Ordinance to clear all charges against the couple.

Yet Zardari's 11 years in prison still dominate his new role as a kingmaker on the political scene as once-ostracized figures replace reliable politicians of the PPP.

Zardari heads the PPP-led coalition that controls almost two-thirds of the 342-member National Assembly, which was sworn in on Monday, and the party will name its candidate for prime minister within days.

Washington and the Pakistani establishment and even circles within the PPP are still cautious about Zardari and are weighing up their options for another choice.

In a conversation with Nobel Peace Prize winner and Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, Kennedy sought his advice [about Vietnam]. "Get out," Pearson replied. "That's a stupid answer," shot back Kennedy. "Everyone knows that. The question is: How do we get out?"(source: Wikipedia)

Pakistan is not Vietnam. For the moment, I do not believe that our involvement there will escalate into anything more than, in the military sphere, limited strikes and assassinations, and in the political sphere, support for thugs. But there are disquieting similarities between our current activities in Pakistan and the early stages of American intervention in Vietnam: namely, our willingness to set aside common sense as we commit more resources to a bad situation, all in the service of a reality-distorting ideology.

Peshawar | March 16

AFP - At least 16 people were killed when a missile struck a suspected militant compound in a lawless Pakistani tribal area on the Afghan border Sunday, residents and state television said.

Residents said they heard several blasts after several missiles fired from an unknown site hit the home of a local tribesman in a village near Wana, the main town in the tribal district of South Waziristan.

Foreigners linked with Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants were believed to be staying at the compound in Doog village, the residents said.

"Militants have cordoned the blast site and are taking out bodies from the rubble," one local tribesman told AFP.

Islamabad | March 14

AFP - A Pakistani court Friday quashed the last remaining graft case against the husband of slain Benazir Bhutto, his lawyer said, removing the final possible hurdle to him standing for prime minister.

Asif Ali Zardari was acquitted by the anti-corruption court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, in the last of seven cases that had been hanging over him for more than a decade, lawyer Farooq Naik said.

"By the grace of God he has been honourably acquitted. I am very happy today that after a struggle of 11 years the state has failed to prove any cases against Asif Ali Zardari," Naik told TV channels outside the court.

"These are all politically motivated cases. After the long darkness in the tunnel the light has finally come and we hope that in future there will be no politics of revenge."

March 11

BBC - Pakistani rescue workers and police officials examine the bomb blast in front of badly damaged building of the Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore
Most of the victims died in a blast that hit a federal police office

At least 24 people have been killed and 100 injured in two suspected suicide car bombings in the city of Lahore in eastern Pakistan.

A majority of the victims died in a car bomb attack that hit a federal police building in the heart of the city.

Another bomb in a suburb killed three, including two children, police say.

Jane Perlez | Rawalpindi | March 9

NYT - Beside racks of hanging meat and barrows of oranges in the alleys of the old town here, Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the lawyers movement in Pakistan, was back on the campaign trail on Saturday, calling for the release of top justices from house arrest.

Fresh from being released after four months in detention, Mr. Ahsan said the recent parliamentary elections were not enough proof that President Pervez Musharraf’s government was dedicated to democracy. He insisted that the next step had to be the release of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was fired along with the rest of the Supreme Court during a state of emergency imposed by Mr. Musharraf on Nov. 3. Mr. Chaudhry and nine other justices remain under house arrest.

“Our struggle is to make Pakistan a state where the judiciary is independent, and what Musharraf did to the chief justice is an example of how under him no judge is ever independent,” Mr. Ahsan said to a crowd of lawyers who chanted for Mr. Musharraf’s resignation.

The rally here on Saturday was part of a series of marketplace demonstrations between the capital, Islamabad, and this nearby city to show support for the chief justice. The lawyers are planning a week of demonstrations on behalf of the justices, called Black Flag Week after the protesters’ flags and armbands. But the rallies, which are also a show against Mr. Musharraf, are sending another message, too: that the lawyers are not willing to take the back seat to their partners in the opposition.

Zeeshan Haider | Islamabad | March 7

Reuters - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday he would support an incoming coalition government that could potentially seek his resignation, so long as peace was maintained.

Musharraf, who came to power as a general in a 1999 coup, will face a hostile parliament after the crushing defeat of his allies in a parliamentary election on February 18.

The incoming government could try to drive Musharraf out of power, though the leader of the party that will lead the next coalition has not made his intentions clear.

"Durable, stable governments should be formed in the centre and provinces for five years," Musharraf said while inaugurating a water supply project in southern Sindh province.

"And if peace is maintained, I assure that I will fully support the coalition that is being formed."

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Zeeshan Haider | Islamabad | March 5

Reuters - A Pakistani court dismissed five corruption cases against the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday, his lawyer said, in a major step towards clearing the way for him to hold government office.

Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, led her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to election victory on February 18 and is now negotiating with other parties on a coalition government.

"The accountability court has terminated five references against Mr Zardari and they stand withdrawn," Zardari's lawyer, Farooq Naik, told Reuters, referring to the charges.

"All orders about confiscation and seizure of his property have also been terminated," he said.

Naik said there were two more cases pending against Zardari and a court was due to hear them on March 12.

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Syed Saleem Shahzad | Karachi | March 5

Asia Times - Over the past few months, the Pakistani military's new leadership has devised a roadmap aimed at national reconciliation without compromising the country's commitment in the "war on terror".

The plan centered on developing an understanding with the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal areas that at the onset of a planned military offensive there, both sides would attempt to keep losses to the minimum; that is, they would go through the motions while Pakistan fulfilled its obligations in the eyes of the world in cracking down on militancy.

Initially, the project went well. But, coinciding with the visit this week to Pakistan - the second in a month - of the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, and a series of suicide attacks, the situation has changed.

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Thom Shanker | Islamabad | March 4

IHT - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, arrived here on Monday to emphasize America's eagerness to help Pakistan in its fight against foreign terrorists and homegrown militants operating in the country's northwestern tribal areas.

Mullen said the United States was willing to offer assistance for things like training, transport helicopters and night-combat operations, but he stressed that he was bringing no specific proposals on this visit and that he would await formal requests from Pakistan's military.

The trip by Mullen, America's highest-ranking military officer, is his second here in less than a month, and it underscores Washington's view of the vital role Pakistan plays in the global counterterrorism effort.

But it also highlights the delicate nature of the relationship between the countries, in which the United States cannot be seen as dictating combat missions on Pakistan's sovereign territory.

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Joseph R. Biden Jr. | March 2

NYT - The next president will have to rally America and the world to “fight them over there unless we want to fight them over here.” The “over there” is not, as President Bush has claimed, Iraq, but rather the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

That is where those who attacked us on 9/11 came from, where the attacks in Europe since originated and where Al Qaeda is regrouping. It is the real central front in the war on terrorism.

Afghanistan is slipping toward failure. The Taliban is back, violence is up, drug production is booming and the Afghans are losing faith in their government. All the legs of our strategy — security, counternarcotics efforts, reconstruction and governance — have gone wobbly.

If we should have had a surge anywhere, it is Afghanistan. And instead of eradicating poppy crops, which forces many farmers to turn to the Taliban, we should go after drug kingpins.


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David Rohde | Islamabad | Feb 29

IHT - The Bush administration's continued backing of President Pervez Musharraf, despite the overwhelming rejection of his party by voters last month, is fueling a new level of frustration in Pakistan with the United States.

That support has rankled the public, politicians and journalists here, inciting deep anger at what is perceived as U.S. meddling and the refusal of Washington to embrace the new, democratically elected government. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Thursday during a Senate panel hearing that the United States would maintain its close ties to Musharraf.

Pakistanis say the Bush administration is grossly misjudging the political mood in Pakistan and squandering an opportunity to win support from the Pakistani public for its fight against terrorism. The opposition parties that won the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections say they are moderate and pro-American. By working with them, analysts say, Washington could gain a vital, new ally.

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