Pakistan Taliban kill 28 in attacks.

Afghan, Pakistan Taliban kill 28 in attacks on provincial police HQs.

Reuters | 17 Feb 2015 : : Four suicide attackers on Tuesday stormed a provincial police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan, killing 22 police, an official said. Taliban insurgents immediately claimed responsibility.

The attack in Logar province outside the capital, Kabul, was the latest to target Afghan security forces following the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops at the end of last year.

In neighbouring Pakistan, another Taliban suicide attack on a provincial police headquarters killed at least seven people in the eastern city of Lahore, in what militants called a revenge bid for the recent hangings of their colleagues.

The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are separate groups that share the goal of establishing hard-line Islamic rule.

In the Afghan assault, the four attackers rushed the gates of the police compound in early afternoon, with one detonating his explosives-filled vest at the main gate and killing one policeman, Logar government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish said.

The attack triggered a 25-minute battle with police, he said.

Another of the militants reached the station's dining hall, killing 21 police and wounding seven when he detonated his vest, said Abdul Wali Toofan, Logar's deputy police chief. The other two attackers were killed with no further casualties.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility on his official Twitter feed.

Earlier on Tuesday, a bomb attached to a vehicle wounded one person in Kabul, police said, breaking a recent lull in attacks in the Afghan capital.

Kabul had been rocked by a string of bombings by insurgents late last year in the run-up to the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops from Afghanistan after 13 years of war.

A suspected magnetic bomb attached to a 4-wheel-drive vehicle exploded in the east of the city, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said.

( Courtesy : Reuters )

Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief

Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief.

DUBAI | Msn News | 06 Sep 2014 : :  Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.

In a 55-minute video posted online, Zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in an apparent snub to the Islamic State armed group challenging al Qaeda for leadership of transnational Islamist militancy.

Zawahri described the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as a glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.

Counter-terrorism experts say al Qaeda's aging leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with Islamic State, which has galvanized young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border.

Islamic State leader Abu Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls himself a "caliph" or head of state and has demanded the loyalty of all Muslims.

The group fell out with Zawahri in 2013 over its expansion into Syria, where Baghdadi's followers have carried out beheadings, crucifixions, and mass executions.

As well being an indirect repudiation of Islamic State, the announcement could pose a challenge to India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi. He has already faced criticism for remaining silent about several incidents deemed anti-Muslim, underscoring fears that his Hindu nationalist followers will upset religious relations in the majority Hindi nation.

However, while al Qaeda is very much at home in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, due to influential contacts and a long presence there, it is a minnow compared to local militant groups in terms of manpower and regional knowledge. (Courtesy : Retures, Msn News )

Taliban leaders establish new political movement.

Former Taliban leaders establish new political movement.

KABUL | The Nation | 01 may 2014   : : A new political movement was established by a number of former Taliban group leaders and members in Afghanistan, with a motive to form an independent Islamic government in the country.

The political movement - Rah-e-Nejat Afghanistan 'Ways to Save Afghanistan' announced its establishment during a gathering in Kabul city, which was attended by a number of Taliban group members. The movement is led by former Taliban leader Syed Akbar Aqa, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for abducting three UN officials in 2004. Syed Akbar Aqa was released from the prison by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2010.

Addressing the gathering Akbar Aqa called on foreign forces to return to their homes and promised the neighboring countries of Afghanistan that theY shared and mutual interests of each other would be considered. He said the Ulemas, former Mujahideen members who were not involved in civil war, students, teachers and members of the civil society can obtain membership of the political movement. A statement was also released by the political movement which stated that the bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington was proposed in a situation where only a few cities and areas were in control of the current government. The political movement in its statement also criticized the government of Afghanistan for growing corruption.( Courtesy : The Nation ) 

Taliban inmates break out of Afghan prison.

Taliban inmates break out of Afghan prison.

KABUL | AP | 21 April 2014 ::  An official says three Taliban insurgents escaped from a prison in northern Afghanistan using weapons smuggled into the facility in a jailbreak that killed three police guards.

A spokesman for the Faryab provincial government, Ahmad Jawad Dedar, said on Friday that the breakout took place the previous night. A fourth inmate who was also trying to escape was killed in a shootout with security forces.

Dedar says the fugitives are low-level Taliban operatives who were jailed for planting roadside bombs. The four inmates launched their breakout during the nightly count of prisoners, throwing several grenades and shooting guards with at least one pistol.

Dedar said authorities have launched a search for the three fugitives and are investigating how the weapons were smuggled into the prison.( Courtesy : Dawn )

Taliban Calls Kabul Cafe Attack Retaliation for a Strike That Killed Civilians.

Taliban Calls Kabul Cafe Attack Retaliation for a Strike That Killed Civilians.

KABUL | Afghanistan | 18 jan 2014 ::  The Taliban claimed responsibility on Saturday for an attack the day before on a popular Kabul cafe that killed 21 people, mostly Western civilians, saying it was in retaliation for a coalition airstrike on Wednesday in which a number of Afghan civilians had died in a village north of Kabul.

In their statement, the Taliban said they picked a restaurant frequented by “high-ranking foreigners” where alcohol was served. The attack, one of the most significant on Western civilians since the start of the war in 2001, struck at the heart of one of Kabul’s most secure districts, very close to many embassies and coalition military bases.

Western officials questioned the Taliban’s stated motive for the coordinated attack, which occurred just two days after the airstrike and would have required extensive planning. A suicide bomber cleared a path for two gunmen who stormed in and fired on diners, the police said.

The dead included the representative of the International Monetary Fund in Afghanistan, the United Nations’ senior political affairs officer here and a British Labour Party candidate for the European Parliament who had been working in Afghanistan. Two Americans working at the American University in Afghanistan were also killed in the attack, the university said in a statement on Saturday.The attack was in retaliation to the massacre carried out by foreign invaders two days earlier in Parwan Province’s Siyah Gerd district, where the enemy airstrikes destroyed up to 10 homes, razed several orchards as well as killing and wounding up to 30 innocent civilians, mostly defenseless women and children,” the Taliban statement said.

The international coalition, the United Nations, diplomats and Afghans quickly offered condolences and condemnations over both attacks. Later, President Hamid Karzai, whose relationship with the Americans has been strained in recent months by negotiations over a long-term security contract, expressed sympathy for the victims of the cafe attack but also seemed to use the airstrike to criticize his NATO allies over the issue of civilian casualties.

“The war on terror will bear fruit when victims and terrorists are distinguished from each other and the elements of terror are fought against,” said Mr. Karzai, who appointed a committee to investigate the civilian casualties from the airstrike. “If NATO, led by the United States, wants to be the Afghan people’s ally, they should target terrorism.”

An American military official said that the airstrike had been called in by Afghan and American forces who were under fire from Taliban fighters. “The operation was requested by the Afghans and approved by the Afghans,” the official said.

“More than 80 percent of Afghan civilian casualties are caused — in most cases intentionally — by Taliban, Haqqani and other terrorist and insurgent groups,” the official added.

The Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the Afghan police, suspended the commander and intelligence officer in charge of the district where the restaurant is and placed them under investigation.

Kabul appeared to return to normal on Saturday, with a slightly heavier police presence visible along its traffic-choked streets, especially near where the cafe attack occurred. While bombings are not uncommon in Kabul, the extent of the damage and the targeting of Western civilians raised alarms.

Some international organizations tightened security, clamping down on the modest freedom of movement enjoyed by foreigners working in Kabul. United Nations officials, meeting privately, vowed not to adopt a “bunker mentality” in response to the attacks, which claimed the lives of four of its personnel, including two from the United Nations Children’s Fund.

( Courtesy : The New york Times )

Taliban attack kills NATO soldier in Afghanistan.

Taliban attack kills NATO soldier in Afghanistan.

Taliban attacked a joint Nato-Afghan base in eastern
 Afghanistan killing one NATO soldier, according to
 officials. (File photo: Reuters)

Kabul | Al Arabiya | 05 Jan 2014 :: Officials say a Taliban attack on a joint NATO-Afghan base in eastern Afghanistan has killed one NATO soldier.

Spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai in Nangarhar province says the attack took place on Saturday morning when a suicide bomber struck outside the base in the province’s Ghani Khail district.

After that, five Taliban fighters on foot tried to storm the base. Abdulzai says Afghan and NATO troops returned fire, killing the attackers.

NATO said a service member had died following a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan. The alliance did not identify the soldier’s nationality.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in an email to the media.

Afghan insurgents have intensified attacks recently in a campaign to regain territory as foreign forces prepare to leave at the end of 2014.( Courtesy : Al Arabiya )

Taliban founder shares dais with PC, netizens rap Govt.

Taliban founder shares dais with PC, netizens rap Govt.

PNS | New Delhi| 15 Nov 2013 ::  The presence of Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, one of the founding members of Taliban and once a close confidant of its former chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, in a function also attended by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Goa on Sunday has created a flutter. The cyberspace was abuzz with netizens giving vent to their ire against the UPA Government after pictures of Chidambaram and Zaeef at the venue of the event went viral.

“Sushilkumar Shinde must have been busy at a music release function else he would have gone to welcome Mullah Zaeef at the airport,” said one Abhigyan on Twitter.

“How does this terrorist get Indian visa,” tweeted Sourabh Bharti. Officials of Ministry of Home Affairs, however, were tightlipped on the granting of visa to Zaeef, who is currently acting as Taliban’s contact point with the outside world. The Taliban leader delivered lectures at the Goa event on Saturday and Sunday.

Zaeef was a deputy Minister in the Taliban Government and was its Ambassador to Pakistan during the 9/11 attacks on the US. He was known for his vitriolic speeches in his Press conferences in Islamabad. After the US invaded Afghanistan and the Taliban lost power, he was captured in Pakistan in 2001. He was then sent to the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison where he was lodged till 2005.

Strangely, however, he later on managed to get off the list of terrorists prepared by the US. Intriguingly, Zaeef is said to have never apologised for his role in Taliban.

He was also not produced before any tribunal by the US forces. After landing back in Kabul, for several years he was under house arrest. Later, he emerged in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and was seen in several peace talks with the Western world and is still considered as Taliban’s ambassador.(Courtesy:The Pioneer)

Pakistan frees top Taliban prisoner Mullah Baradar today.

Pakistan frees top Taliban prisoner Mullah Baradar today.

Mullah Baradar

ISLAMABAD | 21 Sep 2013 ::  Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the senior most Afghan Taliban in Pakistan’s custody, would walk out of detention centre on Saturday amid the hope that he could be the game-changer for the stalemated reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

In order to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process, the detained Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, would be released tomorrow (21 September 2013), said a press release issued by the Foreign Office on Friday.

The announcement came hours after Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI Director General Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan’s top official on foreign affairs and national security, earlier in the month had said that Baradar could be released as soon as this month.

“In principle, we have agreed to release him. The timing is being discussed. It should be very soon ... I think within this month,” said Sartaj Aziz, advisor on foreign affairs and national security to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be freed into Pakistan and he will remain in the country until he decides himself to move anywhere he deems necessary to initiate the peace process,” he told Dawn.com on Monday.

Aziz, however, added that the former Taliban second-in-command will not be handed over to Afghanistan. “Handing over the key Taliban commander to Afghanistan will sabotage the purpose behind the decision of releasing him,” he said.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not make any statement about his future but an official and a Taliban source in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa said that Baradar was expected to stay at home in Karachi where his family lived.

“He will be kept as a simple guy in the network, who can convey messages from time to time but who will not be able to reintegrate the Shura and regain power,” the Taliban official said.

Born in 1968 in the southern province of Uruzgan, Mullah Baradar fought the occupying Soviet forces in the late 1980s before becoming one of the founding members of the Taliban movement.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Taliban bomb kills top Pakistani general, officers.

Taliban bomb kills top Pakistani general, officers.

Islamabad | Pakistan | CNN | 15 Sep 2013 ::  A roadside bomb killed a top Pakistani general Sunday, just a day after officials announced plans to withdraw troops from a war-ravaged region near the border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Khan, the commanding officer in Swat Valley. Two other officers were also killed, army officials said.

For years, troops have clashed with Taliban militants in Swat, which drew global attention last year when militants there shot teenager Malala Yousafzai point-blank in the head and neck after she defied the Taliban's ban against girls in school.

The Pakistani army has reclaimed control of the Swat Valley, where the Taliban held significant sway for years. But Sunday's attack was a troubling reminder of the region's volatility even as officials consider pulling out troops.

The roadside bombing occurred in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in northern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.

On Saturday officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announced for a "phased withdrawal" of troops from Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Swat.

And last week the Pakistani government announced plans to pursue renewed peace talks with Taliban militants.

But a Taliban spokesman said Sunday that there is no ceasefire with the Pakistani government, warning that such attacks will continue.

"We have killed them," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said, "as they are killing us."

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a statement expressing condolences over the slain officers' deaths Sunday.

"(The) Pakistan Army has made substantial sacrifices to protect the nation against the menace of terrorism," he said, "and such cowardly acts by terrorists cannot deter the morale of our armed forces."(Courtesy:CNN )

Taliban releases 'pointless' for Afghan peace: officials.

Taliban releases 'pointless' for Afghan peace: officials.

Afghan and US officials, at the time of Abdul Ghani
 Baradar's arrest, hadaccused Pakistan of
sabotaging peace efforts by arresting him.

KABUL | AFP | 14 Sep 2013 ::  Afghan officials say Pakistan's release of 33 Taliban prisoners from jail, a policy initially trumpeted by Kabul as an opportunity to ignite peace talks, has resulted in no concrete progress.

The Afghan government, desperately searching for a way to negotiate peace before Nato troops leave next year, has said that the release of influential insurgents could encourage their comrades to the negotiating table.

But despite the 33 Afghan Taliban prisoners released by Pakistan and dozens of others freed in Afghanistan, there is still no peace process and some fighters have returned to the battlefield.

The Taliban still refuse publicly to deal with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, branding him a US puppet.

They have also shown no willingness to participate in elections on April 5, 2014 when Karzai will step aside for a new leader for the first time since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Instead their readiness to negotiate with the Americans about a prisoner swap has only infuriated Karzai, who late last month asked Pakistan to help find a direct channel of communication.

In parts of Afghanistan, which continue to suffer daily from Taliban violence, the releases have been met with incomprehension if not anger by local government officials.

“The Taliban who are released... rejoin the battlefield again,” said Zurawar Zahid, police chief of the flashpoint southern province of Ghazni.

“We put our lives in danger to arrest them, but the central government releases them under different pretences,” he added.

Zahid told AFP that more than 40 Taliban, including some senior commanders, who were recently freed from Ghazni central prison on Karzai's orders have gone back to the battlefield.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Army, Pakistani Taliban exchange prisoners ahead of likely talks.

Army, Pakistani Taliban exchange prisoners ahead of likely talks.

Pakistani policemen escort a suspected
 militant of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
. – File Photo by AFP

DERA ISMAIL KHAN | AP | 11 Sep 2013  ::  The armed forces of Pakistan and Taliban militants exchanged prisoners Wednesday as a confidence building measure ahead of possible peace talks, intelligence officials and a militant commander said.

The exchange included six militants of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and two paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers, officials and the commander said.

It occurred in the Shawal area of the South Waziristan tribal region. The militants were subsequently taken to neighboring North Waziristan, the country's main Taliban sanctuary.

Militants fired in the air with joy when their colleagues were freed, the intelligence officials said. The officials and the Taliban commander spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

The release occurred only days after Pakistan's main political parties endorsed peace negotiations with the Taliban and their allies Monday as the best way to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people.

The exchange was meant to build confidence between the government and the militants before formal peace talks, the Pakistani Taliban commander said.

Senior Taliban leaders are currently discussing whether to take the government up on its offer to hold negotiations, said the commander and one of his colleagues.

The Taliban said they were open to talks at the end of last year but withdrew that offer in May after the group's deputy leader, Waliur Rehman was killed in a US drone strike.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif campaigned on a platform of holding peace talks and has maintained that line since he took office in June. He scored a victory when his stance was endorsed by other parties on Monday – a decision that was generally welcomed by the Taliban.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Pakistan releases seven Afghan Taliban prisoners.

Pakistan releases seven Afghan Taliban prisoners.

ISLAMABAD | KABUL | 07 Sep 2013 ::  Pakistan freed a group of Afghan Taliban on Saturday in an attempt to improve its troubled ties with its South Asian neighbour, but risked angering Afghanistan further by not handing them over directly to the Kabul authorities.

The announcement followed last month's trip by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Pakistan, where he sought the handover of some Afghan insurgents as part of the stalled peace process.

Karzai as well as the United States want Pakistan to hand the insurgents directly to the Afghan authorities, but on Saturday, a group of seven Taliban was simply allowed to walk out of their cells into Pakistan.

“In order to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process, Pakistan is releasing seven Taliban detainees,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A foreign ministry spokesman separately said all seven, including a senior commander called Mansoor Dadullah, were freed on Saturday. The other prisoners are Said Wali, Abdul Manan, Karim Agha, Sher Afzal, Gul Muhammad and Muhammad Zai.

Asked if they had been handed over to the Afghan authorities or were just released in Pakistan, the spokesman said: “Just released.”

Pakistan is said to have backed the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s and is seen as a crucial gatekeeper in attempts by the US and Afghan governments to contact insurgent leaders who fled to Pakistan after the group's 2001 removal.

But Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of playing a double game in its 12-year-old war against Taliban fighters. It says Pakistan, facing a Taliban insurgency of its own, makes pronouncements about peace, but allows elements of its military to play a spoiling role.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Bomb wounds 11 at Pakistan girls school.

Bomb wounds 11 at Pakistan girls school.

School attack: A bomb wounded 11 people,
mostly children, when it exploded outside a
 Pakistani girls' school, a doctor said. Photo:
AFP

AFP | 06 Sep 2013 :: A bomb has gone off outside a Pakistani girls' school, wounding 11 people, mostly children, a doctor says.

The bomb exploded at the end of the school day on Thursday as pupils walked into a street lined with fabric shops in the north-western town of Bannu, which has been a flashpoint for Islamist militancy.

Doctor Omar Zeb said that 11 people had been brought to the local hospital – seven primary schoolgirls and four other people who had been in the street.

Police official Azad Khan said at least four girls, two boys and a man had been wounded. Three of them are seriously hurt.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Islamist militants often attack girls' schools, usually when the buildings are empty in the evening or during the holidays.

Last October the Taliban shot schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai in the head in the

north-western Swat valley.

She has largely recovered and now lives in England, where she is enrolled at a private school and has become a global icon for children campaigning for the right to an education.

In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen on a motorbike fired at a NATO supply truck on Thursday in the north-western city of Peshawar and wounded two people, police said.

The attack took place near Karkhano market on the edge of Peshawar and close to the Khyber tribal district where Islamist militants are active.

"Two people were wounded in firing on a NATO truck which was carrying military vehicles from Afghanistan to the Pakistani port city of Karachi," local police official Daud Khan said.

The Khyber district straddles the NATO supply line used by US-led troops to evacuate military equipment ahead of their 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Pakistani troops have been fighting for years against homegrown insurgents in the tribal belt, which Washington considers the main hub of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.(Courtesy:The Age)

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 6 in Pakistan, Fueling Anger.

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 6 in Pakistan, Fueling Anger.

US drones have fired missiles into inaccessible border
 areas such as North Waziristan since 2004 [Reuters]

ISLAMABAD | Pakistan | 06 Sep 2013 :: At least six people were killed in an American drone strike in Pakistan’s restive northwestern tribal areas early Friday, according to government officials and local news reports.

The strike was directed at a house in the Ghulam Khan area of the North Waziristan tribal region, close to the border with Afghanistan.

A senior Haqqani network commander was killed, a security official said. The official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that the ranking Haqqani official in the region, Sangin Zadran, had been killed. “He was the most influential commander in the area,” the official said. “The Americans had been after him for a long time.”

North Waziristan has long been a haven for Taliban and Qaeda militants.

American drone strikes are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, and opposition to them has become an essential staple of local politics and grievances against the United States. Pakistani politicians and government officials condemn the missile strikes, which are directed by the Central Intelligence Agency, as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Opposition politicians like Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, have campaigned against the strikes, saying that they result more in civilian casualties than militant killings. In October 2012, Mr. Khan led a big protest rally to the edges of the tribal regions against the use of drones on Pakistani soil.

The number of drone strikes has, however, dropped sharply in recent months. The last strike occurred on Aug. 31, when at least four suspected militants were killed in an attack in North Waziristan.(Courtesy:New york times)Read More>>>

Escape from Taliban' author shot dead in Afghanistan.

Escape from Taliban' author shot 

dead in Afghanistan.

In this photograph taken on March 6, 2003, Indian
 author Sushmita Banerjee holds one of her
 Bengali language novels. (AFP files)

KHOST | Afghanistan | 06 Sep 2013 ::  An Indian author whose story was told in the movie "Escape from Taliban" was shot dead after returning to Afghanistan to make a documentary about women, police said on Friday.

The killing of Sushmita Banerjee, 49, on Wednesday was the latest in a series of attacks on women in the conservative Islamic country, adding to concern that hard-won women's rights are eroding ahead of next year's withdrawal of most international forces.

The Afghan Taliban denied involvement.

Banerjee, who told her story of life under the Islamist Taliban in "A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife", was dragged from her house in lawless southeastern province of Paktika and shot as many as two dozen times, police said.

Her body was found on Thursday morning near an Islamic school about three km (two miles) from her home, Paktika police chief General Dawlat Khan Zadran said.

"Gunmen entered her house at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, took her out and shot her dead," Zadran said, adding that he suspected Taliban involvement.

Speaking to Reuters from Paktika police headquarters, Banerjee's husband, Jaanbaz Khan, said he had heard knocking on the back gate of their compound on Wednesday night.(Courtesy:Toronto SUN)Read More>>>

Pakistani Taliban free over 175 inmates in DI Khan jailbreak.

Pakistani Taliban free over 175 inmates in DI Khan jailbreak.

Nearly 400 prisoners including militants escaped
 on Aril 15, 2012 from Bannu Jail after an attack by
 insurgents armed with guns, grenades and
 rockets. – File photo

PESHAWAR | 30 Jul 2013 ::  Dozens of heavily-armed Pakistani Taliban insurgents freed nearly 175 inmates, including 35 ‘high-profile militants’, during a brazen overnight attack on the central jail in Dera Ismail Khan, officials said Tuesday.

At least nine people, including four policemen and five militants, were killed in the attack and the following shootout, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shaukat Yousufzai.

KP chief minister Pervaiz Khattak termed the brazen attack a failure on the part of the intelligence agencies, and has vowed to punish those found guilty of negligence.

Khattak confirmed the number of escaped prisoners, including the 35 hardcore militants. Earlier unconfirmed intelligence reports had suggested at least 45 high profile militants were being held at the jail.

Earlier unconfirmed intelligence reports had suggested that 247 prisoners, including 6 women, had gone missing after the attack. Six of the fugitives were later arrested from Daraban Road, sources had said.

The heavily armed militants had attacked the prison from different sides around midnight. Armed with guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and bombs, the militants dressed in police uniforms bombarded the prison before escaping with scores of inmates after a three-hour shootout.

According to police, the gunmen launched their attack with a series of heavy explosions before firing rocket propelled grenades and machine guns.

The attack began with a huge explosion and several smaller blasts before security forces engaged the attackers. An intelligence official said the militants shouted “God is great” and “Long live the Taliban”.

Military troops were eventually called in which conducted a six-hour long operation to take back control of the prison.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Shahidullah Shahid, accepted responsibility for the attack. Speaking to Dawn.com, he claimed around 100 militants attacked the prison including a number of suicide bombers.(Courtesy:Dawn)Read More>>>

Pakistan Taliban faction claims attack on ISI office.

Pakistan Taliban faction claims attack on ISI office.

Karachi | 25 Jul 2013 ::  The Jundullah faction of the banned Pakistani Taliban today claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on an ISI office in Sindh province, saying it was carried out to avenge the killing of commander Waliur Rehman in a US drone strike.

In a statement sent to TV news channels, Jundullah spokesman Ahmed Marwat said, "We sent four suicide bombers and our target was the ISI."

"It was revenge for the killing of Waliur Rehman," he said, referring to the killing of the senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander in a drone strike earlier this year.

The statement blamed the Pakistan government of working with US forces. Marwat said the militants would continue attacking security forces for targeting the rebels.

"These (intelligence officials) are friends of the US and until they refrain from their coalition with the US, we will continue to target them," he said.

Five persons, including a Deputy Director of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, were killed when a group of suicide attackers stormed a high-security compound in Sukkur yesterday.

Five terrorists also died during the attack, officials said.

The compound housed offices of the ISI, Military Intelligence, Pakistan Rangers and police.

Militants have targeted ISI offices in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the past. Dozens of people have died in attacks on ISI offices in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar in recent years.(Courtesy:NDTV)

Tough times follow Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban to Delhi.

Tough times follow Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban to Delhi.

One of the major problems that they face is lack of work permit.AP

New Delhi | 24 Jul 2013 :: Sharifa Jan fled Afghanistan for India last year when the Taliban killed her husband and threatened her six children. New Delhi's chaos baffled her but the city also provided a safe haven. But like thousands of other Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in India her security comes at a price: Jan's family is trapped in limbo. The Afghans don't have work permits. Many have trouble enrolling their children in school. They can't even get a local phone. ``If today there is no education, no good food and drink, no good living conditions, then what will they become in the future?'' Jan, 40, said of her children. ``They won't become anything.''

With their blue United Nations refugee cards, the Afghans do little more than just survive. The Afghan refugees `'need help and more attention,'' said M. Ashraf Haidari, deputy chief of mission of the Afghan embassy in India. Sayeed Habib Hadat, who has degrees in English and information technology, survives by working informally as a translator at pharmacies for Afghan patients.

``We just solved one of our problems, that is, our lives are saved. But here are a lot more problems,'' said Hadat, 28, who fled Afghanistan last year. His family has applied for resettlement in Australia in hopes they can finally start building their future. Australia recently vowed to resettle all refugees who arrive in the country by boat on the island nation of Papua New Guinea. The move is seen as a way to deter an increasing number of asylum seekers. Afghanistan is among the largest sources of asylum seekers reaching Australia.

There were more than 18,000 Afghan refugees in India as of December 2011, according to the foreign ministry. It is unclear how many more unregistered Afghans are living here. Last year the largest number of refugees worldwide - 2.6 million in 82 countries - were from Afghanistan, according to a report released by the United Nations in June. Afghanistan has been the main source of refugees for over three decades with numbers fluctuating from 500,000 in 1979 to more than 6.3 million at the peak of the conflict in 1990. Ninety-five percent of Afghan refugees are in Pakistan and Iran, where many of them live in squalid camps.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

Taliban say still focussed on Pakistan.

PESHAWAR | AFP |17 Jul 2013 ::  Pakistani Taliban commanders on Tuesday rejected suggestions they were sending fighters to Syria, saying some have gone there independently but the movement’s focus remained on Pakistan.

They said some militants, mainly Arabs and Central Asians, had gone to fight the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, but a senior Taliban leader dismissed reports of them setting up camps in Syria.

The tribal areas of northwest Pakistan along the Afghan border have long been a magnet for militants from across the Muslim world eager to fight US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan.

But since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, foreign militants have flocked to Syria, where disparate groups are seeking his downfall.

Some media reports in recent days have claimed that scores or even hundreds of Pakistani Taliban are among them and that they have set up camps in Syria.

A senior commander who sits on the shura of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said there was no tactical shift and no decision had been made to send forces to Syria.

“There is no reality in these reports, we have far better targets in the region, Nato troops headed by the Americans are present in Afghanistan,” he said on condition of anonymity.

“We are already in a war with Pakistani troops. We support the mujahideen’s struggle in Syria but in our opinion, we have a lot more to do here in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

The TTP is an umbrella group for numerous factions trying to bring down the Pakistani state and impose Sharia law. It has ties to the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda.

“The great evil (America) is here in Afghanistan, troops from 30 kafir (non-believer) countries are attacking innocent people in Afghanistan, so Bashar al-Assad is not that important for us,” the TTP commander said.

“Obama is the big evil, Americans are a much bigger evil for us. The Taliban shura has never discussed sending mujahideen to Syria.”

Another mid-ranking TTP commander in Miramshah said some fighters had gone to Syria “in a personal capacity”.

A third senior TTP cadre said those who had gone were mostly Arabs, Uzbeks and Chechens.

More than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad erupted, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai dismissed claims of the TTP setting up camps in Syria as “a publicity campaign” by some of the militants.

“But we cannot deny the fact that they are quite ambitious and want to send a clear message to the world that they are still very strong and have strong linkages with other local and international groups,” he said.

However, Ismail, an Arab fighter from Al Qaeda, said that he planned to join the fight against Assad. “I am going to Syria in the next few days, my family will stay here,” he said.

“Our mujahideen are going not only to Syria but also to Lebanon, Egypt and other Arab countries.”

Saifullah Khan Mehsud, the executive director of the FATA Research Centre and an expert on the tribal zone, said fighters had been going to Syria from Pakistan for at least a month and a half.

“Most of them are foreigners but Pakistanis have also joined them,” he said.—AFP (Courtesy:Dawn)

First batch of fighters reaches Syria, confirms Pakistani Taliban.

120 more fighters are on their way to fight Syrian
 President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a key
 TTP commander told Dawn.com.

PESHAWAR |16 Jul 2013 :: The first of batch of Pakistani Taliban fighters has reached Syria and has established a command and control center to launch operational activities alongside Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

A key commander of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Abdul Rashid Abbasi, confirmed the developments while speaking to Dawn.com on Monday. He also confirmed that “another batch of 120 to 150 fighters is on its way from different routes and will reach Syrian cities this week to join the force.”

“We shall be sending more volunteers, but can not give the exact numbers at this moment. We will provide whatever support is needed by our Syrian brothers,” Abbasi remarked.

A close associate of Taliban Amir (Chief) Hakeemullah Mehsud, confirming establishment of the Syrian base, said the TTT fighters had been sent upon the request of al Qaeda’s operational commander in Syria, Abu Omar Baghdadi.

He said Baghdadi had requested the Pakistani Taliban “to be part of a global jihad against the tyrant Syrian regime and we have agreed to send the fighters.”

The aide, who did not wish to be named, said: “Yes, the TTP has a global agenda of fighting jihad against the infidels and this movement of sending fighters is part of that spirit.”

“The Arabs had been here to support us against the Russians and the Americans and now we are going there to support them.”

The Pakistani Taliban have also asked its local chapters in Mohmand, Bajaur, Khyber, Orakzai and Waziristan Agencies to recruit fresh fighters who are willing to go to Syrian mission. Many of the youngsters have reportedly started registering their names to go on the foreign mission.(Courtesy:Dawn)