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Pakistan
Statement:2007
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Date
Incidents
January - 3 
Anti-terrorism forces in Pakistan have been told to brace themselves for a wave of atrocities following the release of 80 hardcore militants on bail, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. “We are back to square one and the situation is more precarious than it was before 9/11,” one senior of
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Anti-terrorism forces in Pakistan have been told to brace themselves for a wave of atrocities following the release of 80 hardcore militants on bail, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. “We are back to square one and the situation is more precarious than it was before 9/11,” one senior officer told Sunday Telegraph, adding, “They are planning more attacks. They have got huge backup. There are so many youths who are joining them. The old ones who are released from the prison are guiding and training the new cadres.” The released militants are believed to have been involved in crimes including the attempted assassination of President Pervez Musharraf and a suicide attack on the American consulate in Karachi. “A memo sent by the Interior Ministry to law enforcement agencies around the country warns of a plot to use suicide bombers to target Britons and Americans, including diplomats, in a coordinated campaign involving some of the country’s most notorious terrorist groups. The ministry warned that the bombers were also believed to be looking at high-profile individuals and military installations as potential targets,” says the report by Massoud Ansari and Gethin Chamberlain.
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January - 3 
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz stated that Pakistan will continue to respect the “easement rights” clause of the Durand Line agreement of 1893 which allows cross-border social and commercial interaction for the tribes in the border area, but it will fence and mine the border despite Afghanistan’s oppos
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz stated that Pakistan will continue to respect the “easement rights” clause of the Durand Line agreement of 1893 which allows cross-border social and commercial interaction for the tribes in the border area, but it will fence and mine the border despite Afghanistan’s opposition, according to Daily Times. He told a press briefing on January 3 that the fencing and mining would be carried out “selectively” on Pakistan’s side of the border, and not “across the entire border”. The Prime Minister said that fencing and mining would take place only on points along the Durand Line, which are frequently used by militants on both sides of the border, adding, “This will help us discourage those elements effectively.”
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January - 11 
Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism is genuine and the country remains an important ally of the United States, a senior US official said on January 11, Daily Times reported. Pakistan "is committed to this not just because we are all concerned about terrorism, but because of the commitment th
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Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism is genuine and the country remains an important ally of the United States, a senior US official said on January 11, Daily Times reported. Pakistan "is committed to this not just because we are all concerned about terrorism, but because of the commitment that they have ... of orienting Pakistan in a different direction," Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul. Pakistan wants to create a "modern society that is free from the kind of extremism, terrorism that has beset Pakistan and some of its neighbours in the past," he opined.
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January - 12 
Afghanistan has reportedly welcomed the comments. President Hamid Karzai's chief-of-staff, Jawed Ludin, told BBC that Afghanistan had long maintained that the Islamic militants operated from within Pakistan, and that Negroponte's statement was refreshing in its honesty.
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Afghanistan has reportedly welcomed the comments. President Hamid Karzai's chief-of-staff, Jawed Ludin, told BBC that Afghanistan had long maintained that the Islamic militants operated from within Pakistan, and that Negroponte's statement was refreshing in its honesty.
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January - 12 
Pakistan, he said, was a key ally in the war against terror, and the US would continue cooperating with it in all fields. "I do not question the commitment and the resolve that is being shown by Pakistan against terror," he said.
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Pakistan, he said, was a key ally in the war against terror, and the US would continue cooperating with it in all fields. "I do not question the commitment and the resolve that is being shown by Pakistan against terror," he said.
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January - 12 
Pakistani foreign office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam rejected the comments. "Pakistan does not provide a secure hideout to al-Qaeda or any terrorist group," she claimed. "In fact the only country that has been instrumental in breaking the back of al-Qaeda is Pakistan."
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Pakistani foreign office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam rejected the comments. "Pakistan does not provide a secure hideout to al-Qaeda or any terrorist group," she claimed. "In fact the only country that has been instrumental in breaking the back of al-Qaeda is Pakistan."
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January - 12 
The US National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte, said that al-Qaeda leaders have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength, according to BBC. Negroponte told a Senate committee that al-Qaeda was still the militant organisation that "poses the greatest th
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The US National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte, said that al-Qaeda leaders have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength, according to BBC. Negroponte told a Senate committee that al-Qaeda was still the militant organisation that "poses the greatest threat to US interests… They are cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders' secure hideout in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," he said. However, he did not specify where in Pakistan the group's leadership was hiding. "Pakistan is our partner in the war on terror and has captured several al-Qaeda leaders. However, it is also a major source of Islamic extremism," Negroponte said in written testimony submitted to the Senate committee.
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January - 12 
US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said in Islamabad on January 12 that Pakistan and the United States had been unsuccessful in eliminating terrorists and both needed to do more, according to Dawn. "Pakistan has not succeeded despite signing an agreement with tribal people in North Wazi
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US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said in Islamabad on January 12 that Pakistan and the United States had been unsuccessful in eliminating terrorists and both needed to do more, according to Dawn. "Pakistan has not succeeded despite signing an agreement with tribal people in North Waziristan as terrorists are still going into Afghanistan. Likewise, the United States did not succeed in Afghanistan to curb violence and extremists, and they both need to harness more efforts to make the region peaceful and safe," he told a press conference after high-level talks in the capital.
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January - 15 
Pakistan on January 15 warned against any attempt of a pre-emptive strike inside its territory on the pretext of combating terrorism, according to Dawn. "As for anyone referring to a pre-emptive strike against Pakistan, they should know that this is unacceptable. Pakistan will not tolerate that," Fo
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Pakistan on January 15 warned against any attempt of a pre-emptive strike inside its territory on the pretext of combating terrorism, according to Dawn. "As for anyone referring to a pre-emptive strike against Pakistan, they should know that this is unacceptable. Pakistan will not tolerate that," Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam stated in response to a question at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad. She said this when her attention was drawn to the US intelligence agency chief’s reported statement at a Senate briefing last week that India’s patience was running thin on the issue of terrorism being perpetrated inside its territory by groups based in Pakistan and that India might take action to punish Pakistan if any major incident occurred in the days ahead.
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January - 15 
President Pervez Musharraf on January 15 rejected US Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley’s claim that Jalaluddin Haqqani was operating from inside Pakistan to foment violence in Afghanistan, and said that the "baseless allegations" could harm Pakistan-US cooperation in the war on terror, Daily Times reporte
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President Pervez Musharraf on January 15 rejected US Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley’s claim that Jalaluddin Haqqani was operating from inside Pakistan to foment violence in Afghanistan, and said that the "baseless allegations" could harm Pakistan-US cooperation in the war on terror, Daily Times reported. He also reportedly declared that allegations by several US commanders and others that the Taliban were operating from Pakistan were "baseless".
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January - 17 
An Inter-Services Public Relations termed the statement "ludicrous and fabricated". An ISPR spokesperson said in Islamabad that at about 2:15am on January 17, two BSF posts, located north of Najwal village in Jammu and Kashmir, fired seven illuminating rounds, followed by small arms fire that contin
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An Inter-Services Public Relations termed the statement "ludicrous and fabricated". An ISPR spokesperson said in Islamabad that at about 2:15am on January 17, two BSF posts, located north of Najwal village in Jammu and Kashmir, fired seven illuminating rounds, followed by small arms fire that continued intermittently till 3:20am. "Pakistan Rangers did not fire a single shot," he claimed. BSF Additional Deputy Inspector General, K. S. Chouhan, told reporters, "We lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers at a flag meeting at Matkola outpost in Khour sector."
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January - 17 
Gul Aghar Sherzai, Governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, showed the media on January 17 photographs of Hanif, claiming he had been picked up in a house containing packets of anthrax powder. Intelligence officials involved in the arrest and police would not confirm the discovery of anthrax,
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Gul Aghar Sherzai, Governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, showed the media on January 17 photographs of Hanif, claiming he had been picked up in a house containing packets of anthrax powder. Intelligence officials involved in the arrest and police would not confirm the discovery of anthrax, which would be a first for Afghanistan. Another purported Taliban spokesperson, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, confirmed Hanif’s arrest in a phone call from an undisclosed location, but said that the Taliban’s governing body had already appointed a new spokesman, Zadiullah Mujahid.
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January - 17 
Pakistan on January 17 rejected India’s claim of a cease-fire violation near the International Border in Kashmir – an incident in which, according to an Indian Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson, "Pakistani troops fired covering fire for suspected Muslim militants." Two BSF personnel were woun
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Pakistan on January 17 rejected India’s claim of a cease-fire violation near the International Border in Kashmir – an incident in which, according to an Indian Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson, "Pakistani troops fired covering fire for suspected Muslim militants." Two BSF personnel were wounded, a senior Indian security official told Reuters. The AFP quoted the BSF spokesperson as saying, "This is the first time since the ceasefire that there was direct firing by Pakistani Rangers." He said the Pakistani guards were providing cover to a group of about 10 suspected militants trying to cross the border.
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January - 17 
The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, said the 26-year-old Haqiq had also said the regular suicide attacks in Afghanistan were plotted in a Madrassa (seminary) in Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal area. He also claimed former ISI chief, Hamid Gul, had financed the att
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The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, said the 26-year-old Haqiq had also said the regular suicide attacks in Afghanistan were plotted in a Madrassa (seminary) in Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal area. He also claimed former ISI chief, Hamid Gul, had financed the attacks and showed propaganda videos against the foreign forces in Afghanistan, the NDS statement said.
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January - 19 
Speaking at a dinner meeting with Azad Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) Prime Minister Sardar Attique, the APHC leader said peaceful negotiations were the only way out. According to him, "We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts which have not
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Speaking at a dinner meeting with Azad Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) Prime Minister Sardar Attique, the APHC leader said peaceful negotiations were the only way out. According to him, "We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts which have not achieved anything other than creating more graveyards." The Mirwaiz said some people involved in the struggle could still have some reservations, but as far as the APHC was concerned, "we are not prepared to sacrifice any more of our loved ones." He said with their new strategy they would convince India to arrive at a more agreeable settlement.
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January - 21 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on January 21 that “certain Pakistani circles” were protecting insurgents fighting in Afghanistan and added that drugs and corruption in his Government were contributing to the violence, according to Dawn. Karzai, speaking at the opening of a new session of the Afg
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on January 21 that “certain Pakistani circles” were protecting insurgents fighting in Afghanistan and added that drugs and corruption in his Government were contributing to the violence, according to Dawn. Karzai, speaking at the opening of a new session of the Afghan parliament, said the danger from the insurgency and drugs would intensify in the coming year. “The enemies of Afghanistan’s freedom and independence very disgracefully continued their intervention and meddling in our internal affairs,” said Karzai. According to him, “They formed terrorist groups consisting of international terrorist networks under the protection of certain Pakistani circles for martyring mercilessly our children, teachers and clerics.”
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January - 21 
Western diplomats and Pakistani opposition figures said that Pakistani intelligence agencies, particularly the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI), have been supporting a comeback by the Taliban, The New York Times reported on January 21. The newspaper said the Pakistani
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Western diplomats and Pakistani opposition figures said that Pakistani intelligence agencies, particularly the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI), have been supporting a comeback by the Taliban, The New York Times reported on January 21. The newspaper said the Pakistani services were motivated not only by Islamic fervor but also by a longstanding view that the Jihadist movement allows them to assert greater influence on Pakistan’s vulnerable western flank. Dozens of interviews with residents on each side of the porous border leave little doubt that Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, is an important base for the Taliban, and there are many signs that Pakistani authorities are encouraging the insurgents, if not sponsoring them, it said.
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January - 22 
Eye-witnesses said that three military vehicles and a passenger coach were also damaged in the first attack since the Government and Taliban-backed militants signed a peace agreement on September 5, 2006. Army and paramilitary troops had vacated the Khajori checkpoint as per condition of the truce a
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Eye-witnesses said that three military vehicles and a passenger coach were also damaged in the first attack since the Government and Taliban-backed militants signed a peace agreement on September 5, 2006. Army and paramilitary troops had vacated the Khajori checkpoint as per condition of the truce and it is now managed by members of the Khasaddar force (a local force). However, a statement issued from the security office of the Taliban in North Waziristan, said: “We (Taliban) have no hand in the bomb attack and we want to keep the peace agreement intact and the government should also act upon the deal.”
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January - 22 
The Foreign Office has rejected reports that Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar is in Pakistan and said he is probably leading the Taliban resurgence from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Reuters reported. A Taliban spokesperson captured in Afghanistan last week had claimed that Omar was living in
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The Foreign Office has rejected reports that Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar is in Pakistan and said he is probably leading the Taliban resurgence from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Reuters reported. A Taliban spokesperson captured in Afghanistan last week had claimed that Omar was living in Pakistan under the protection of Pakistani intelligence. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam rejected the claim and said Omar was most probably in Kandahar. “We have very regular meetings, intelligence sharing with the US, to some extent with Afghans. Nobody has any information about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar,” she told a weekly press conference in Islamabad. “But, generally, the likely scenario is that he is in Kandahar where he’s marshalling his fighters,” she added.
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January - 31 
Pakistan has said that it would not hand over nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan for questioning to Washington despite an American bill, which could force Pakistan to surrender him and hoped that the Bush administration would intervene to make the final legislation more balanced, Rediff reported. Speaking
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Pakistan has said that it would not hand over nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan for questioning to Washington despite an American bill, which could force Pakistan to surrender him and hoped that the Bush administration would intervene to make the final legislation more balanced, Rediff reported. Speaking to the media persons in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said US queries should be forwarded to the Government, which would investigate and respond. The proposed law called the Nuclear Black Market Counter Terrorism Act, recently passed by the US House of Representatives, requires the President to submit a report identifying any country or person connected with transactions with the nuclear proliferation network that supplied Libya, Iran, North Korea within 90 days of its enactment. Khan is currently held under house arrest in Islamabad after he confessed of proliferating nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
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February - 3 
The Government has ordered the deployment of thousands of paramilitary personnel across Waziristan to neutralize “high value” terrorist targets, according to Daily Times. Sources in the Interior Ministry said the Government had ordered the deployment of 2,000 personnel each of the Frontier Corps and
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The Government has ordered the deployment of thousands of paramilitary personnel across Waziristan to neutralize “high value” terrorist targets, according to Daily Times. Sources in the Interior Ministry said the Government had ordered the deployment of 2,000 personnel each of the Frontier Corps and Levies in Waziristan to comb the region ahead of the “grand operation”. “Security forces are expected to begin a grand operation in the troubled Waziristan tribal region to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban militants, including Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the area,” the sources said, citing a decision made at a high-level meeting held late on February 3-night.
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February - 5 
The India-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism will hold its first meeting in Islamabad on March 6, the External Affairs Ministry announced in New Delhi on February 5, reports Daily Excelsior. The three-member Indian delegation at the meeting will be led by K C Singh, Additional Secretary (Intern
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The India-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism will hold its first meeting in Islamabad on March 6, the External Affairs Ministry announced in New Delhi on February 5, reports Daily Excelsior. The three-member Indian delegation at the meeting will be led by K C Singh, Additional Secretary (International Organisations), in the External Affairs Ministry. The Joint Anti-Terror mechanism was conceived at a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on September 16, 2006, in Havana on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations.
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February - 10 
On February 10, the US advised American citizens to avoid crowded markets and public demonstrations in Peshawar, following the blast at the ICRC. “Americans are advised against visiting Peshawar’s Old City and Sadar Bazaar, and restrict movement throughout the city, staying mainly in the University
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On February 10, the US advised American citizens to avoid crowded markets and public demonstrations in Peshawar, following the blast at the ICRC. “Americans are advised against visiting Peshawar’s Old City and Sadar Bazaar, and restrict movement throughout the city, staying mainly in the University Town area,” read a notice issued by the US Embassy in Islamabad.
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February - 10 
The international aid agency said it was suspending all field operations in NWFP, but ICRC spokesman Raza Hamdani told Daily Times from Islamabad that ICRC would continue its operations, and a security review was underway. The spokesman said a gas cylinder was lobbed into the car park, but Peshawar
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The international aid agency said it was suspending all field operations in NWFP, but ICRC spokesman Raza Hamdani told Daily Times from Islamabad that ICRC would continue its operations, and a security review was underway. The spokesman said a gas cylinder was lobbed into the car park, but Peshawar police chief Abdul Majeed Marwat said the blast had been caused by an explosive device planted near a geyser.
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February - 12 
At least 700 Taliban activists have crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan to reinforce militants attacking a key dam, a major source of electricity and irrigation, a provincial governor in Afghanistan said on February 12. "We have got confirmed reports that they are Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen nat
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At least 700 Taliban activists have crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan to reinforce militants attacking a key dam, a major source of electricity and irrigation, a provincial governor in Afghanistan said on February 12. "We have got confirmed reports that they are Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen nationals and have sneaked in," Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa told Reuters. The Kajaki dam has seen major fighting in recent weeks between the Taliban and NATO forces, mainly British and Dutch, according to Daily Times. Built by the Soviets in 1953, the dam irrigates about 285,000 acres of farmland and two hydroelectric plants built by the United States in 1975 have a capacity of 33 megawatts. Wafa disclosed that the Taliban cadres were brought in by local commanders for a joint operation with the al Qaeda. "They are planning to destroy the Kajaki dam," he said, accusing Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of providing training and logistical support for the militants. "Pakistan is supporting the Taliban in order for them to keep fighting on in Afghanistan. They don’t want Afghanistan’s development and reconstruction," he said.
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February - 14 
A top US military commander has called for "steady and direct" attacks on Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan, according to Dawn. Lt-Gen Karl W. Eikenberry, the outgoing commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, warned that the Karzai Government would suffer an irreversible loss of legitimacy among Afg
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A top US military commander has called for "steady and direct" attacks on Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan, according to Dawn. Lt-Gen Karl W. Eikenberry, the outgoing commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, warned that the Karzai Government would suffer an irreversible loss of legitimacy among Afghanis if the internal situation did not improve. He claimed that senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders have set up training camps and recruiting grounds in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which they use for carrying out attacks in Afghanistan. Since September 2006, when Pakistan signed a peace deal with tribesmen in North Waziristan, "the cross-border attacks have tripled," he said. "Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership presence inside Pakistan remains a very significant problem," Gen Eikenberry told the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, warning of the "growing threat of Talibanization" inside Pakistan. He was supported by senior US lawmakers who also accused Pakistan of continuing to allow the Taliban extremists to operate freely in the tribal areas. "The Taliban regularly ship arms, ammunition, and supplies into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Most suicide bombers came from Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan," said Congressman Hank Johnson. "Components for improvised explosive devices are often smuggled across the Afghan- Pakistan border," he added. "Speaking in private, knowledgeable US, Nato, Afghan, and UN officials are nearly unanimous in asserting that the Pakistani intelligence service continues to collaborate with the Taliban and other insurgent groups operating out of its border regions," he stated.
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February - 14 
President General Pervez Musharraf has said that the Government will not allow the Talibanisation of Pakistani society, nor allow the Taliban to impede development and prosperity, according to Daily Times. "The Taliban system will not be allowed to come to the country and the Taliban will not be all
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President General Pervez Musharraf has said that the Government will not allow the Talibanisation of Pakistani society, nor allow the Taliban to impede development and prosperity, according to Daily Times. "The Taliban system will not be allowed to come to the country and the Taliban will not be allowed to hamper the path to development and prosperity. We will continue to move forward to transform Pakistan into a moderate, enlightened, Muslim welfare state," Gen. Musharraf said in his address at a seminar titled ‘Voices of Asia for the process of peace, cooperation and security’, held in Islamabad on February 14 at the Institute of Strategic Studies. He said Pakistan would continue its war against the Taliban and Qaeda for its survival. "We are fighting this war for our security rather than to appease someone else," he claimed. He said peace deals like the one with tribal elders in North Waziristan should take place "in other areas" too. The president rejected "baseless charges" made by Afghanistan that Pakistan was aiding the Taliban. "No other country has played a more vital role than Pakistan in the war on terror. This blame game against Pakistan despite its pivotal role in the war against terrorism is a blatant denial of facts. Such a strategy has to be devised that the problems are resolved with a pragmatic approach," he said. Peace and stability in the world could not be ensured without addressing the basic problems of Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iraq, he claimed. He said the Pakistan-India peace process had made progress on issues like Siachen and Baglihar. "But we cannot overlook the Kashmir issue," he added.
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February - 14 
President Pervez Musharraf has said that the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) will be amalgamated into the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) after the Taliban and al Qaeda elements are eliminated from the region, according to Daily Times. In an interview with ARY Television aired on Feb
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President Pervez Musharraf has said that the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) will be amalgamated into the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) after the Taliban and al Qaeda elements are eliminated from the region, according to Daily Times. In an interview with ARY Television aired on February 14, Gen. Musharraf said the Government had started work towards this end in 2000 with the consent of tribal elders, who welcomed this step. "We should have amalgamated FATA into the NWFP province much earlier. We had the same idea when our forces entered the area," he said. Gen. Musharraf also said people sitting in Pakistan undoubtedly planned the September 11 attacks in the US and were still planning more attacks. These elements are trying to spread "Talibanisation" in Pakistan, which would be disastrous and take the country backwards, he said. "These elements want to impose their brand of Islam on us but we don’t want that Islam that takes us towards backwardness," he said. The president said Al Qaeda and Taliban had moved to Pakistan from Afghanistan and hurt Pakistani society. The Taliban are fighting in Afghanistan but are also getting support from sympathisers in Pakistan. "The problem lies in both Afghanistan and Pakistan but the major problem is in Afghanistan and we have clearly told the Afghan government that we have done enough and now it is your turn to do something substantial," he said.
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February - 16 
The White House has rejected a suggestion that Pakistan may have faked terrorist attacks on President Pervez Musharraf to win America’s sympathy, according to Dawn. It also defended President Musharraf as "a valuable asset" in the war against terror, hours after US President George W. Bush vowed to
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The White House has rejected a suggestion that Pakistan may have faked terrorist attacks on President Pervez Musharraf to win America’s sympathy, according to Dawn. It also defended President Musharraf as "a valuable asset" in the war against terror, hours after US President George W. Bush vowed to support the Pakistani leader’s efforts to fight terrorism. The issue of al Qaeda’s failed attempts on President Musharraf’s life came up for discussion when an Indian journalist suggested that Islamabad might have faked those attacks "to get US sympathy and money."
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February - 18 
The Government has ordered immediate closure of all offices of the Al-Rashid Trust (ART) and Al-Akhtar Trust (AAT) throughout Pakistan after the United Nations Security Council declared them to have links to militant groups, according to Daily Times. Sources said that the Interior Ministry had direc
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The Government has ordered immediate closure of all offices of the Al-Rashid Trust (ART) and Al-Akhtar Trust (AAT) throughout Pakistan after the United Nations Security Council declared them to have links to militant groups, according to Daily Times. Sources said that the Interior Ministry had directed the four provinces, the chief secretaries of the Northern Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and the Islamabad Capital Territory district administration to close the offices, schools, hospitals and other ongoing projects of ART and AAT in their respective areas. They have also been asked to detain the staff of the two trusts, impound their vehicles and confiscate equipment from their offices. An ART official in Rawalpindi, Maulana Ghiasuddin, criticised the Government’s action and said, “It is cruel. We’ve been doing charity, nothing illegal. Everything is clear and transparent so why this?... Even those who sealed our office had no information on why it was being done.”
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February - 19 
President Pervez Musharraf said on February 19 that the attack on the Samjhauta Express would not be allowed to sabotage the ongoing peace process with India, Daily Times reported. “Such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen the resolve to attain the mutually desired objecti
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President Pervez Musharraf said on February 19 that the attack on the Samjhauta Express would not be allowed to sabotage the ongoing peace process with India, Daily Times reported. “Such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen the resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between Pakistan and India,” Gen. Musharraf said in a statement. As reported earlier, at least 66 people, including some Pakistani nationals, were killed in explosions reportedly set off by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in two coaches of the Delhi-Attari special train for Lahore in Deewana near Panipat (in the Haryana State of India), about 100 kilometers from Delhi. The train runs non-stop from Delhi to Attari where the passengers are shifted to the Samjhauta Express, which goes to Lahore after customs and immigration clearances.
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February - 20 
According to Daily Times, an Islamist “fanatic” shot dead the Social Welfare Minister of Punjab province, Zile Huma Usman, in an open court in her hometown of Gujranwala on February 20. Police said Muhammad Sarwar shot dead the minister during a brief power cut during the open court at Pakistan Musl
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According to Daily Times, an Islamist “fanatic” shot dead the Social Welfare Minister of Punjab province, Zile Huma Usman, in an open court in her hometown of Gujranwala on February 20. Police said Muhammad Sarwar shot dead the minister during a brief power cut during the open court at Pakistan Muslim League House. Police arrested Sarwar immediately after the shooting and later said he was a religious fanatic opposed to women being independent, and had been implicated in four murders and two attempted murders in Gujranwala. “He considers it contrary to the teachings of Allah for a woman to become a minister or a ruler. That’s why he committed this action,” the police said in a statement. Punjab province Law Minister Raja Basharat said “He (Sarwar) is basically a fanatic.” The minister had reportedly been the target of several death threats since she had tried to organise a “mini-marathon” for men and women in Gujranwala in 2005. The race was attacked by Islamist extremists who consider it un-Islamic for men and women to run together. She was also attempting to organise another marathon in Gujranwala in late March 2006, and had again received death threats. “He killed her because she was not observing the Islamic code of dress. She was also campaigning for emancipation of women,” local police officer Nazir Ahmad told AFP.
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February - 20 
An eight-member bench of the Supreme Court on February 20 ruled that the office of the Mohtasib (ombudsman), as envisaged in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Assembly’s Hasba Bill, could not be delegated judicial powers and a seminary-qualified person could not be graded an ‘aalim’ for appoin
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An eight-member bench of the Supreme Court on February 20 ruled that the office of the Mohtasib (ombudsman), as envisaged in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Assembly’s Hasba Bill, could not be delegated judicial powers and a seminary-qualified person could not be graded an ‘aalim’ for appointment as a provincial Mohtasib, according to Daily Times. The court said the NWFP Assembly should review the Hasba Bill to exclude controversial sections, otherwise the rest of the bill was okay. The bench was giving its ruling on a reference filed by President Pervez Musharraf, who had sought the court’s opinion on Hasba Bill’s validity. The NWFP Assembly passed the first Hasba Bill on July 14, 2005, but the Supreme Court, on a presidential reference, declared that several sections of the bill were unconstitutional. The NWFP Assembly passed a fresh bill in November 2006, and claimed it had been drafted in accordance with the SC recommendations. However, the president filed another reference in the court under the Supreme Court’s advisory jurisdiction challenging the new bill in December 2006. On December 15, 2006, the Supreme Court directed the provincial governor not to assent the bill in its present form. The Hasba Bill envisages an office of the Mohtasib at the provincial level and in each district.
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February - 20 
Security agencies have sealed the only office of the Al-Akhtar Trust in the Kashroot locality of Gilgit and frozen its account, according to Dawn. However, the local in-charge of the trust, Maulana Ataullah Shahab, said they would continue their welfare work.
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Security agencies have sealed the only office of the Al-Akhtar Trust in the Kashroot locality of Gilgit and frozen its account, according to Dawn. However, the local in-charge of the trust, Maulana Ataullah Shahab, said they would continue their welfare work.
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February - 20 
The Government on February 20 claimed to have traced a network of terrorists allegedly involved in the killings of former Member of National Assembly Maulana Azam Tariq (chief of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan [SSP], provincial minister Pir Binyamin and 41 other people in various incidents tha
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The Government on February 20 claimed to have traced a network of terrorists allegedly involved in the killings of former Member of National Assembly Maulana Azam Tariq (chief of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan [SSP], provincial minister Pir Binyamin and 41 other people in various incidents that occurred in Punjab and Islamabad between 2003 and 2006. “Two members of the network have been arrested by Islamabad Police’s CID department from Sector G-6/2 and efforts are being made to catch their six accomplices who are reported to be hiding in the capital,” a senior official of the interior ministry told Dawn. The arrested were identified as Mudassar Ali alias Usman Chaudhry and Mohammad Ali alias Abbas. The official informed that in October 2003, the accused had intercepted Azam Tariq’s car near Golra More Toll Plaza in Islamabad and opened fire, killing Tariq, his three security guards and a driver.
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February - 21 
Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network continue to operate from the area that straddles the Durand Line, said the US State Department without specifying whether the alleged Al Qaeda camps are on the Afghan or Pakistan side of the border, according to Dawn. "We continue to be concerned about the ex
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Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network continue to operate from the area that straddles the Durand Line, said the US State Department without specifying whether the alleged Al Qaeda camps are on the Afghan or Pakistan side of the border, according to Dawn. "We continue to be concerned about the existence of Al Qaeda’s leadership that’s out there, Osama bin Laden among others," the department’s deputy spokesperson Tom Casey told a briefing in Washington. "And we continue to be concerned as you know, about cross-border activities from Pakistan to Afghanistan," he added. Casey was commenting on a New York Times report earlier this week that the al Qaeda leadership has successfully revived the terrorist network, working from bases in North Waziristan.
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February - 22 
Security agencies claimed on February 22 to have averted at least four major terrorist attacks in different parts of the country and said that 19 suspects, who were being controlled by some people in tribal areas near the Afghan border, had been arrested. An interior ministry official told Dawn that
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Security agencies claimed on February 22 to have averted at least four major terrorist attacks in different parts of the country and said that 19 suspects, who were being controlled by some people in tribal areas near the Afghan border, had been arrested. An interior ministry official told Dawn that seven people had been arrested from Dera Ismail Khan on January 29. They were local Taliban and belonged to the Mehsud tribe from South Waziristan. Further, 12 Afghan nationals were arrested for suspected links with militants in Faisalabad on January 29, he added. The interior ministry official informed that a countrywide terror alert, especially in capital Islamabad, had been issued after investigations revealed presence of some suicide bombers in various parts of the country. The terror threat level had not been lowered from ‘red alert’, he added.
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February - 23 
According to Daily Times, after the recent wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan, a Karachi-based Urdu daily newspaper conducted a survey seeking Fatwas (religious decrees) on suicide attacks. In the survey, clerics from all schools of thought have declared suicide attacks un-Islamic and forbidden the
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According to Daily Times, after the recent wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan, a Karachi-based Urdu daily newspaper conducted a survey seeking Fatwas (religious decrees) on suicide attacks. In the survey, clerics from all schools of thought have declared suicide attacks un-Islamic and forbidden them under the Shariah. They said that killing a non-Muslim without a legitimate cause was against the Islamic way of life. Maulana Ameer Hamza of the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa said that a suicide attack was, beyond doubt, an act of terrorism. He said that someone who kills himself to kill others also "recounts for the sins of those who (he has) killed." The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said that since Islam did not permit the killing of innocent people, it was necessary to figure out why suicide bombers went to such extremes. He said that since there was no way of effectively stopping a suicide bomber, the only solution was to eliminate the causes which gave rise to such resentment that people resorted to suicidal tactics. He added that no final Fatwa could be given on the issue, since a suicidal defence strategy was employed by the Pakistani Army at Chawinda to repel an Indian attack during the 1965 war, a strategy that was approved by the religious scholars of the time. However, he said that an Islamic war by an Islamic state could not be compared to the recent wave of suicide attacks that targeted innocent civilians. Former minister and Sunni cleric Dr Mehmood Ahmad Ghazi reportedly said, "A suicide attack was clearly murder and its legality was further called into question by the fact that they occurred in a Muslim state which was not occupied by infidels." Other clerics quoted in the report included Sunni scholars Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman and Allama Jamil Ahmed Naeemi and Shia clerics Allama Abass Hussain, Allama Sheryar Aabidi, Allama Shehnshah Naqvi and Allama Ather Mashhadi.
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February - 25 
“Police have arrested 40 students and six teachers of Aziz-ul-Aloom, a seminary in Chichawatni,” a police official said, according to Daily Times. “Maulana Alam Tariq, the late Maulana Azam Tariq’s brother, is among the arrested,” he informed. “The suspects were members of the Sunni extremist group,
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“Police have arrested 40 students and six teachers of Aziz-ul-Aloom, a seminary in Chichawatni,” a police official said, according to Daily Times. “Maulana Alam Tariq, the late Maulana Azam Tariq’s brother, is among the arrested,” he informed. “The suspects were members of the Sunni extremist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi [LeJ],” police sources said.
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February - 27 
Al Qaeda is re-establishing training camps in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zwahiri are probably there too, the new US intelligence chief said on February 27, according to AFP. "To the best of our knowledge the senior leadership
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Al Qaeda is re-establishing training camps in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zwahiri are probably there too, the new US intelligence chief said on February 27, according to AFP. "To the best of our knowledge the senior leadership [of Al Qaeda], number one and number two, are there," retired admiral Michael McConnell, the new Director of National Intelligence, told a Congressional hearing.
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February - 27 
Director of United States National Intelligence Mike McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 27 that Al Qaeda and the Taliban maintain "critical sanctuaries" in Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, reports IANS. He said that while 75 percent of Al-Qaid
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Director of United States National Intelligence Mike McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 27 that Al Qaeda and the Taliban maintain "critical sanctuaries" in Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, reports IANS. He said that while 75 percent of Al-Qaida's leadership has been killed or captured, a new generation of terrorists is training in Iraq, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and East Africa. Criticising Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for making agreements with local tribal leaders who since have allowed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to regroup, McConnell said, "The president of Pakistan believed that he could be more effective by signing this peace agreement. And in our point of view, capabilities of Al Qaeda for training and so on increased." He added, "We believe (Pakistan) could do more."
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February - 28 
President Pervez Musharraf warned foreign terrorists hiding in Pakistan’s mountainous tribal areas to leave the country or face the consequences. Speaking at a large public gathering at Larkana on February 28 he said, "People come to Pakistan from outside – they are living in our mountains and sprea
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President Pervez Musharraf warned foreign terrorists hiding in Pakistan’s mountainous tribal areas to leave the country or face the consequences. Speaking at a large public gathering at Larkana on February 28 he said, "People come to Pakistan from outside – they are living in our mountains and spreading terror not just in Pakistan, but the world over." He added, "These people are endangering Pakistan’s image and its security and should leave, or they will be dealt with."
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March - 1 
President General Pervez Musharraf said on March 1 that the government was willing to hold talks with insurgents in Balochistan to end the violence in the province, reports Daily Times. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Sibbi festival in Sibbi, he said, “They should tell us what their dema
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President General Pervez Musharraf said on March 1 that the government was willing to hold talks with insurgents in Balochistan to end the violence in the province, reports Daily Times. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Sibbi festival in Sibbi, he said, “They should tell us what their demands are. We are ready to give them everything.” He, however, added that “no power can separate Balochistan from Pakistan”. Musharraf further said, “We have the capability to counter terrorist acts in Balochistan. Those indulging in terrorist acts are also from among us. I appeal to them to give up these activities and join the development process.”
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March - 7 
A Pakistani official has denied that there is a link between the Government and the Taliban, according to Daily Times. Shafqat Jalil, the press counsellor at Pakistan's permanent mission to the United Nations (UN), wrote in a letter published by the newspaper on February 7 that the attempt to link t
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A Pakistani official has denied that there is a link between the Government and the Taliban, according to Daily Times. Shafqat Jalil, the press counsellor at Pakistan's permanent mission to the United Nations (UN), wrote in a letter published by the newspaper on February 7 that the attempt to link the Taliban to Pakistan's domestic political situation was based on "incorrect information". He wrote, "President Gen Pervez Musharraf is known for his moderate disposition, and has time and again rejected extremism and fundamentalism... There is no alliance with pro-Taliban forces in parliament. The ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz represents moderate political forces." "We have made several proposals for checking cross-border movement, including the return of Afghan refugees, selective mining and fencing of the Pak-Afghan border. We've also requested equipment for strengthening monitoring on both sides of the border. These proposals unfortunately have not been accepted by the quarters concerned. Defeating Al Qaeda requires foremost that our assessment be acknowledged firmly in sound empirical judgment and not blinded by conjecture," he wrote further.
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March - 7 
India denied allegations by Pakistani officials that New Delhi was involved in aiding tribal militants in its Balochistan province, reported Dawn. "India has nothing to do with developments in Balochistan," India's foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in response to Pakistan's charges.
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India denied allegations by Pakistani officials that New Delhi was involved in aiding tribal militants in its Balochistan province, reported Dawn. "India has nothing to do with developments in Balochistan," India's foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in response to Pakistan's charges.
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March - 7 
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on March 7 said that the Taliban and al Qaeda are using Pakistan's tribal areas, particularly North Waziristan, to regroup, according to Daily Times. "I would say the Taliban and Al Qaeda have been able to use the areas around, particularly North Waziristan, to regr
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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on March 7 said that the Taliban and al Qaeda are using Pakistan's tribal areas, particularly North Waziristan, to regroup, according to Daily Times. "I would say the Taliban and Al Qaeda have been able to use the areas around, particularly North Waziristan, to regroup and it is a problem. We are working together with Pakistan to address that problem," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.
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March - 8 
Pakistan Navy's submarine force Commodore Farrukh Mahfouz said that Pakistan would not allow its maritime area to become a 'floating base' for international terrorism.
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Pakistan Navy's submarine force Commodore Farrukh Mahfouz said that Pakistan would not allow its maritime area to become a 'floating base' for international terrorism.
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March - 8 
President Pervez Musharraf has said that the country is facing 'serious threats' of suicide bombing and extremism, which need to be checked before it is too late. "The menace of terrorism, particularly suicide bombing and extremism, is eating up the fabric of society like a termite and we all have t
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President Pervez Musharraf has said that the country is facing 'serious threats' of suicide bombing and extremism, which need to be checked before it is too late. "The menace of terrorism, particularly suicide bombing and extremism, is eating up the fabric of society like a termite and we all have to play our role in combating it," he said while addressing the International Women's Day Convention on March 8. The President appealed to women, especially mothers, to influence their children not to pursue the path of extremism and suicide bombings because these were un-Islamic. "This scourge could only be defeated with the support of the women as they can certainly influence their family members in this respect," he said, urging women to support government's efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.
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March - 8 
The outgoing US Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker has said that the peace deal between the Pakistan Government and tribal elders in Waziristan, though "well written", has not been implemented. In an interview with Khyber television channel, Crocker said the Waziristan agreement had all the points that the
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The outgoing US Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker has said that the peace deal between the Pakistan Government and tribal elders in Waziristan, though "well written", has not been implemented. In an interview with Khyber television channel, Crocker said the Waziristan agreement had all the points that the allies of Pakistan including the US wanted, but the question was implementation. "We asked Pakistan to ensure that the agreement would be respected. I personally appreciate the points written in the agreement but unfortunately the militants haven't respected the agreement because there are some tribal areas where the Pakistan government doesn't have full control," he added.
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March - 12 
Pakistan and Afghanistan on March 12 concluded the first round of their two-day talks to convene traditional tribal jirgas (assembly) to formulate a joint strategy to deal with the issue of militancy in the border areas, reported Daily Times. The meeting between senior officials from the two states
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Pakistan and Afghanistan on March 12 concluded the first round of their two-day talks to convene traditional tribal jirgas (assembly) to formulate a joint strategy to deal with the issue of militancy in the border areas, reported Daily Times. The meeting between senior officials from the two states was held in a cordial atmosphere and both jirga commissions explained their points of view, according to a statement of the Interior Ministry. "A joint statement will be issued at the conclusion of the talks," it added.
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March - 14 
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Peter Pace told Chicago Tribune, "It is proper for us to point out to President Musharraf that people are continuing to come across the border." He also said that a controversial treaty that President Musharraf signed with tribal chiefs in North Waziristan had not
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Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Peter Pace told Chicago Tribune, "It is proper for us to point out to President Musharraf that people are continuing to come across the border." He also said that a controversial treaty that President Musharraf signed with tribal chiefs in North Waziristan had not produced the results that the Pakistani leader hoped it would in reducing cross-border attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda insurgents. Under the treaty, Pakistan withdrew its troops from the area in exchange for a vow by the tribal leaders to help fight militants.
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March - 14 
Two senior US officials –- the secretary of defence and the military chief -– have once again accused Pakistan of allowing the Taliban and al Qaeda to continue their activities in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), according to Dawn. "Taliban and Al Qaeda are both using some of the wild are
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Two senior US officials –- the secretary of defence and the military chief -– have once again accused Pakistan of allowing the Taliban and al Qaeda to continue their activities in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), according to Dawn. "Taliban and Al Qaeda are both using some of the wild areas on the Pakistani side of the border as havens," said Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates in an interview to the Pentagon television channel, adding, "There clearly is a problem along the Pakistani border. Now, we're working with the Pakistanis to try and deal with that problem."
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March - 16 
The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai said on March 16 that continued hostilities between two religious groups in Bara had threatened peace and were hampering development projects in the Khyber Agency, reported Daily Times. According to an official statement, Orak
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The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai said on March 16 that continued hostilities between two religious groups in Bara had threatened peace and were hampering development projects in the Khyber Agency, reported Daily Times. According to an official statement, Orakzai was talking to a jirga of Afridi tribe elders, who called on him at the Governor’s House to apprise him of progress made, so far, in resolving the dispute between the two religious factions in the Bara subdivision. He said numerous innocent people had lost their lives in the ongoing conflict, warning that the political administration could not allow such a tense situation to persist any longer, as it was bringing a bad name to the Afridi tribe and the political administration.
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March - 17 
According to Daily Times, on March 17 a jirga (council) of Mamoond tribal elders and senior administration officials warned tribesmen against sheltering foreign terrorists in Bajaur Agency of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that overlooks Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Tribal elder Malik Shah Jeh
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According to Daily Times, on March 17 a jirga (council) of Mamoond tribal elders and senior administration officials warned tribesmen against sheltering foreign terrorists in Bajaur Agency of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that overlooks Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Tribal elder Malik Shah Jehan told the jirga “Anyone sheltering foreigners will be punished heavily.” Quoting tribal elders the report said that the jirga is a step towards a North Waziristan-like peace accord. The report further said that the government was trying to reach a North Waziristan-like peace accord with Bajaur militant leader Maulana Faqir Muhammad.
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March - 18 
A Pakistani official denied on March 18 that Pakistan was playing a “direct role in arming and financing” the Taliban, according to Daily Times. M. Akram Shaheedi, Press Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, in a letter in New York Times took exception to an article run by the newspaper
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A Pakistani official denied on March 18 that Pakistan was playing a “direct role in arming and financing” the Taliban, according to Daily Times. M. Akram Shaheedi, Press Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, in a letter in New York Times took exception to an article run by the newspaper on March 11 that included the accusation. “The Taliban and Al Qaeda are killings our citizens and soldiers and nearly assassinated Pakistan’s president and prime minister. So how can our intelligence agency ‘play a direct role in arming and financing’ the Taliban?” he wrote. Shaheedi also disagreed with the newspaper article which said that President Pervez Musharraf “has regularly brokered agreements” with Islamists “in the provinces”. The ruling Islamists in the North-West Frontier Province, the embassy official explained, were voted to power in the 2002 elections and the “government respects the verdict of the people”. He quoted State Department official Richard Boucher, who told a Senate committee recently that “Pakistan is enormously cooperative.” No country has captured more Al Qaeda or lost more men doing it than Pakistan”.
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March - 20 
Pakistan Ambassador to United States Munir Akram told the United Nations (UN) Security Council on March 20 that there was no proven direct co-relation of an increase in incidents inside Afghanistan with the conclusion of the North Waziristan agreement signed by the Pakistani Government with tribal l
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Pakistan Ambassador to United States Munir Akram told the United Nations (UN) Security Council on March 20 that there was no proven direct co-relation of an increase in incidents inside Afghanistan with the conclusion of the North Waziristan agreement signed by the Pakistani Government with tribal leaders, Daily Times reported. He told the council during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan that Pakistan was pursuing a comprehensive strategy to promote peace and progress in its frontier regions, and this involved military, political, economic and administrative components. The objective of this strategy is to win the hearts and minds of the local population and isolate the militants from the moderates. Akram said, "Pakistan’s frontier regions have been deeply affected by three decades of war and conflict in Afghanistan. As part of our programme for modernisation and rapid socio-economic development, it is in Pakistan’s vital interest to eliminate Al Qaeda terrorists, Taliban militancy and Talibnisation in these frontier regions." Responding to an observation by Tom Koenigs, a special representative of the UN Secretary General, that suicide attacks, facilitators and Taliban commanders were crossing over from Pakistan, the Ambassador said crossing of the border was in both directions, and the Taliban must be controlled on both sides of the border. He refuted allegations of "safe havens and sanctuaries" for Taliban in Pakistan as "unsubstantiated".
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March - 20 
President General Pervez Musharraf warned militants on March 20 that they should lay down their arms, otherwise “they will be eliminated and allowed to exist no more”, reports Daily Times. “Where does decency stand on the way to blowing up gas pipelines and railway tracks? These elements are opposed
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President General Pervez Musharraf warned militants on March 20 that they should lay down their arms, otherwise “they will be eliminated and allowed to exist no more”, reports Daily Times. “Where does decency stand on the way to blowing up gas pipelines and railway tracks? These elements are opposed to development and want their hegemony to prevail. I warn them to surrender, otherwise they will be eliminated and they will not be allowed to exist any more ... these miscreants are minimal in number, and we will deal with them. If they want to fight, I know (how) to fight more than them,” said Musharraf while inaugurating the Gwadar deep-sea port.
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March - 21 
United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on March 21 expressed worry that Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan was serving as a possible safe haven for terrorists and said extremists in the area have to be dealt with, Daily Times reports. Rice, in testimony before a congressional heari
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United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on March 21 expressed worry that Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan was serving as a possible safe haven for terrorists and said extremists in the area have to be dealt with, Daily Times reports. Rice, in testimony before a congressional hearing, also expressed concern about a disputed peace deal that the Pakistani Government struck last September in the North Waziristan tribal area under which traditional tribal leaders are to enforce an end to militancy. Critics say the peace accord has allowed militants to regroup in an area viewed as a possible hiding place for al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Rice said the frontier "is remote, it is cut-off, it is underdeveloped, and it is a hotbed for extremism", adding, local tribal groups had started to fight back against extremists in the area. "You have to separate the population from the foreign fighters. And you do that through fighting — the Pakistani army fighting them, through the tribals fighting them. But you also do that by trying to improve the economic base and the modernisation of that region."
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March - 22 
Daily Times quoting Interior Ministry sources reported that the Government is considering launching an offensive to flush out foreign militants in the Waziristan tribal region, particularly in Wana. A senior ministry official said the Government had prepared a plan in consultation with the army. "Th
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Daily Times quoting Interior Ministry sources reported that the Government is considering launching an offensive to flush out foreign militants in the Waziristan tribal region, particularly in Wana. A senior ministry official said the Government had prepared a plan in consultation with the army. "The ministry has discussed the ‘Mountain Thrust’ plan with officials of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies," the official said, adding that the plan might take up to three weeks to implement. However, Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said there was no such plan under consideration and the local administration was doing its job firmly.
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March - 22 
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the toll in four days of fighting likely crossed 135 on March 22. The dead include some 100 foreigners, 25 fighters of local tribes. Security officials in Tank city said that pro-Maulvi Nazir militants ambushed two vehicles carrying 12 Uzbek milit
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Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the toll in four days of fighting likely crossed 135 on March 22. The dead include some 100 foreigners, 25 fighters of local tribes. Security officials in Tank city said that pro-Maulvi Nazir militants ambushed two vehicles carrying 12 Uzbek militants, killing six of them in Zarmilan, 35 kilometres south of Wana. "Other foreign militants fled in the second vehicle while local militants lost two comrades in the ambush," the security officials said. Otherwise, the clashes on the fourth day of the conflict were less intense, a military spokesman said. "The clashes continued but their intensity was low," Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times.
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March - 25 
Pakistan army patrols of the border with Afghanistan and refugee camps are helping to block Taliban reinforcements moving into the south, a NATO commander said on March 25, according to Daily Times. A NATO and Afghan operation launched in the southern province of Helmand nearly three weeks ago had n
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Pakistan army patrols of the border with Afghanistan and refugee camps are helping to block Taliban reinforcements moving into the south, a NATO commander said on March 25, according to Daily Times. A NATO and Afghan operation launched in the southern province of Helmand nearly three weeks ago had not been met with any “major mobilisation” of forces, Major General Ton van Loon told reporters. In that area, “We are seeing that there are limited amounts of foreign fighters coming into the country and I think the Pakistanis are really making a big difference,” the Dutch General told reporters. There had been an “increase in patrolling at the border and around refugee camps by the Pakistani army,” he said.
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March - 25 
The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) can only be renamed through a referendum, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Salim Saifullah Khan said in a statement on March 25, reports Daily Times. Khan criticised the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Government for “spending billions of rupee
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The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) can only be renamed through a referendum, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Salim Saifullah Khan said in a statement on March 25, reports Daily Times. Khan criticised the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Government for “spending billions of rupees in developmental funds on a few districts”, adding that the MMA was trying to divert the people’s attention from the “miserable state of affairs of the province” by announcing that the NWFP’s name would be changed. The federal minister said that a single party would not be allowed to impose its agenda on the people. “People are not interested in changing the province’s name. They want the NWFP government to solve their problems,” he said.
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March - 26 March - 27
Schools, Government offices and commercial centres were closed amidst fears of more Taliban attacks after a clash with Police on the premises of a school on March 26. AFP reported that Taliban militants abducted the principal of the school, Farid Mehsud, on March 27. He had called for police protect
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Schools, Government offices and commercial centres were closed amidst fears of more Taliban attacks after a clash with Police on the premises of a school on March 26. AFP reported that Taliban militants abducted the principal of the school, Farid Mehsud, on March 27. He had called for police protection after the Taliban visited his school in a bid to recruit youth for jihad. "Government offices, bazaars and schools were closed after midday," said schoolteacher Mumtaz Khan as Tank Nazim Riaz Kundi ordered the closure of all schools for a week on security grounds.
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March - 27 
President Pervez Musharraf denied on March 27 that his Government was behind the disappearances of hundreds of citizens and said that they were in the custody of jihadi groups, reports Daily Times. The families of the missing say they have been secretly detained by Pakistani security agencies, but t
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President Pervez Musharraf denied on March 27 that his Government was behind the disappearances of hundreds of citizens and said that they were in the custody of jihadi groups, reports Daily Times. The families of the missing say they have been secretly detained by Pakistani security agencies, but the President said that they had probably been "brainwashed" into joining militant groups. He added, "The government is not involved. We don’t indulge in such activities. These people may have gone on their own ... to Kashmir, Afghanistan or Iraq. I don’t know. The judiciary is also taking notice of this issue." The President asserted that jihadi groups were brainwashing young men and training them to be suicide bombers, which was against Islam. He warned that extremism was a real threat to Pakistani society and the development of the country, saying, "No society with the menace of extremism can progress and if we fail to deal with it, the progress will halt."
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March - 28 
An all-tribes jirga (council) of Tank district has decided to meet pro-Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud to seek his help in bringing normalcy to the district, bordering South Waziristan, reports DailyTimes. Senator Saleh Shah of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal said that representatives of all tr
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An all-tribes jirga (council) of Tank district has decided to meet pro-Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud to seek his help in bringing normalcy to the district, bordering South Waziristan, reports DailyTimes. Senator Saleh Shah of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal said that representatives of all tribes in the district would meet Mehsud on March 28 (toady) with a "peace message".
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March - 30 
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said more than 50 people had been killed on March 30 during clashes between Islamist militants and local Pashtun tribesmen.
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Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said more than 50 people had been killed on March 30 during clashes between Islamist militants and local Pashtun tribesmen.
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March - 30 
law-enforcement agencies will launch a house-to-house search operation within the next 24 hours to collect illegal weapons in Tank, said a spokesman on March 30. DIG Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema said security forces would launch the search operation if residents did not hand over illegal weapons voluntaril
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law-enforcement agencies will launch a house-to-house search operation within the next 24 hours to collect illegal weapons in Tank, said a spokesman on March 30. DIG Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema said security forces would launch the search operation if residents did not hand over illegal weapons voluntarily, adding, "All types of illegal (unlicensed) weapons must be handed over to the Government."
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March - 30 
Maulana Abdul Aziz, the prayer leader at Lal Masjid and principal of Jamia Hafsa, gave the Government a week’s deadline to "enforce Sharia" in the country, otherwise "clerics will Islamise society themselves". "If the government does not impose Sharia within a week, we will do it," Aziz told a gathe
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Maulana Abdul Aziz, the prayer leader at Lal Masjid and principal of Jamia Hafsa, gave the Government a week’s deadline to "enforce Sharia" in the country, otherwise "clerics will Islamise society themselves". "If the government does not impose Sharia within a week, we will do it," Aziz told a gathering after Friday prayers.
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March - 30 
State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem said the Government was considering moving the madrassas out of Islamabad. Azeem told reporters that madrassas in Islamabad would be relocated for the convenience of residents, adding that the Government would provide land and financial support for the cons
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State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem said the Government was considering moving the madrassas out of Islamabad. Azeem told reporters that madrassas in Islamabad would be relocated for the convenience of residents, adding that the Government would provide land and financial support for the construction of new madrassas.
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March - 30 
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said that the Government should take stern action against religious organisations challenging the writ of the Government and disrupting law and order in the country. "The CII made this recommendation to the Government after students of the Jamia Hafsa madrassa c
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The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said that the Government should take stern action against religious organisations challenging the writ of the Government and disrupting law and order in the country. "The CII made this recommendation to the Government after students of the Jamia Hafsa madrassa challenged the writ of the Government by starting an unofficial ‘anti-vice’ campaign in the federal capital," sources privy to the CII meeting told Daily Times.
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March - 30 
The intelligence agencies have informed the Interior Ministry that sectarian terrorists would target 26 clerics and other important personalities on the occasion of Eid Miladun Nabi. Sources told Daily Times on March 30 that most clerics on the terrorists’ hit list belonged to the Sunni and Deobandi
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The intelligence agencies have informed the Interior Ministry that sectarian terrorists would target 26 clerics and other important personalities on the occasion of Eid Miladun Nabi. Sources told Daily Times on March 30 that most clerics on the terrorists’ hit list belonged to the Sunni and Deobandi sects. They said that another intelligence report submitted to the Interior Ministry stated that extremists were also expected to target senior Government officials, foreigners and diplomats on Eid Miladun Nabi. Airports and other sensitive buildings could also be attacked, they added. The sources said that following these reports the Interior Ministry had directed the provincial home secretaries and Police chiefs and the chief commissioner and inspector general of Police of Islamabad to take necessary precautionary measures.
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March - 30 
The Islamabad District administration has decided that it will take action against the students of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia madrassas after April 3, sources told Daily Times. The sources said that a meeting chaired by Islamabad Chief Commissioner Khalid Pervaiz decided that the Rawalpindi Poli
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The Islamabad District administration has decided that it will take action against the students of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia madrassas after April 3, sources told Daily Times. The sources said that a meeting chaired by Islamabad Chief Commissioner Khalid Pervaiz decided that the Rawalpindi Police and Rangers would be summoned for an operation against the madrassa students for trying to "Talibanise" the federal capital, adding that the administration was waiting for the Interior Ministry’s approval.
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April - 2 
Two religious seminaries, Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, are planning to enforce Shariat (Islamic law) in the national capital Islamabad and across the country and said they will announce their movement in the Lal Masjid (Lal Mosque) in Islamabad on April 6, according to Dawn. They warned the govern
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Two religious seminaries, Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, are planning to enforce Shariat (Islamic law) in the national capital Islamabad and across the country and said they will announce their movement in the Lal Masjid (Lal Mosque) in Islamabad on April 6, according to Dawn. They warned the government of serious consequences if it tried to create hurdles in implementing the Islamic law. "We will start our Islamic revolution in Islamabad on Friday by launching a crackdown on CDs, DVDs and other secular activities in the G-6 sector. The exercise will be extended to the NWFP [North West Frontier Province] and other areas at later stages. We have full support of madressahs in various cities," Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa in-charge Maulana Abdul Aziz told Dawn on April 2. "Ten thousand students of the two seminaries are ready to sacrifice their lives for Shariat and we are determined to enforce the Islamic law in Islamabad in order to make it example for people," said Maulana Aziz, elder brother of Ghazi Abdul Rashid. He claimed that thousands of people and government officials in Islamabad had lauded the recent raid on a brothel which, he said, was the first successful step of the movement. Asked what the funding source of the two seminaries and the Lal Masjid was, Maulana Aziz said: "Whenever we are short of essential items we close our eyes and demand the goods from Allah. Within a few minutes, we find the desired things in our kitchens." He said he was supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and South and North Waziristan and conceded that students of his seminary had joined the Taliban but on their own. "No doubt, our students are joining jihadis because we are teaching them jihad but we have not pressurised them to fight, rather they are doing it by their own," he said.
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April - 4 
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told reporters in Islamabad that around 200 Uzbek militants and 50 tribesmen have been killed since March 19. "This is the result of the agreements the government made with tribal people in which they pledged to expel foreigners and now they are doing it," he said.
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Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told reporters in Islamabad that around 200 Uzbek militants and 50 tribesmen have been killed since March 19. "This is the result of the agreements the government made with tribal people in which they pledged to expel foreigners and now they are doing it," he said.
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April - 5 
Hard-line religious leaders established on April 5 a Qazi court in Lal Masjid (Lal Mosque), a parallel judicial system in the federal capital Islamabad, challenging the writ of the government for the fourth time over the past 45 days, Dawn reported. According to an announcement from Lal Masjid, the
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Hard-line religious leaders established on April 5 a Qazi court in Lal Masjid (Lal Mosque), a parallel judicial system in the federal capital Islamabad, challenging the writ of the government for the fourth time over the past 45 days, Dawn reported. According to an announcement from Lal Masjid, the court comprising 10 Muftis will decide disputes and give their verdict in accordance with ‘Islamic injunctions’. The deputy in-charge of Lal Masjid and its Madressah Hafsa, Maulana Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, said the court had been set up but its formation would be formally announced on April 6, today, with the commencement of a three-day Nifaz Shariat-o-Azmat Jihad Conference to be held in the Lal Masjid. He said the court was not a new thing because there was a general practice that Muftis often sat in the mosque to issue decrees (Fatwas) to resolve different kinds of disputes in the light of what he called ‘Shariat’. "But this time it would become a regular feature of Lal Masjid as Muftis will sit on a regular basis," he said.
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April - 5 
Military spokesperson, Major General Waheed Arshad, said the army had received no such request from the tribes so far. "Let the request come and then we will see what action can be taken," informed Arshad. He disclosed that at least 240 Uzbek militants had died in clashes with the local tribesmen si
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Military spokesperson, Major General Waheed Arshad, said the army had received no such request from the tribes so far. "Let the request come and then we will see what action can be taken," informed Arshad. He disclosed that at least 240 Uzbek militants had died in clashes with the local tribesmen since fighting began, adding that 60 tribesmen had been killed in the clashes.
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April - 5 
The elders of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe have formally requested the government for air support and supply of weapons against foreign militants, a deputy spokesman for the Maulana Nazir-led militants told Daily Times on April 5. "Key elders like Malik Saeedullah and Malik Sher Jan met Political Agent
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The elders of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe have formally requested the government for air support and supply of weapons against foreign militants, a deputy spokesman for the Maulana Nazir-led militants told Daily Times on April 5. "Key elders like Malik Saeedullah and Malik Sher Jan met Political Agent Hussainzada Khan in Wana to request for airstrikes on Uzbek strongholds and provision of light weapons," said the deputy spokesman. The request comes 16 days after an anti-Uzbek campaign was launched around Wana, administrative headquarters of South Waziristan.
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April - 9 
Ministers and officials of the intelligence agencies reportedly voiced opposition to a crackdown on students of the pro-Taliban Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia and the Lal Masjid administration for political and security reasons, at a meeting on April 9, according to Daily Times. Interior Minister Af
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Ministers and officials of the intelligence agencies reportedly voiced opposition to a crackdown on students of the pro-Taliban Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia and the Lal Masjid administration for political and security reasons, at a meeting on April 9, according to Daily Times. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told the meeting, chaired by President Pervez Musharraf, that the government could not afford the use of force against seminary students since general elections were near. Officials of the intelligence agencies maintained that a crackdown would create a law and order situation in Islamabad and would strengthen extremists in the country.
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April - 10 
Javed Iqbal Cheema, Director General of the National Crisis Management Cell, also opposed the use of force, "because we are already confronting difficult situations in Waziristan and Balochistan," according to the sources. Sources added that almost all the participants at the meeting, including Prim
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Javed Iqbal Cheema, Director General of the National Crisis Management Cell, also opposed the use of force, "because we are already confronting difficult situations in Waziristan and Balochistan," according to the sources. Sources added that almost all the participants at the meeting, including Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Law Minister Wasi Zafar and Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, opposed a crackdown on the seminary students. Sources also said that Gen. Musharraf had approved a strategy for a crackdown in case negotiations failed.
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April - 10 
The pro-Taliban Lal Masjid administration on April 10 re-launched its Website on an international domain two days after it was blocked by the government. Earlier, the government said it had blocked the Website and a radio station of the Lal Masjid. "We have blocked the Website of Lal Masjid and also
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The pro-Taliban Lal Masjid administration on April 10 re-launched its Website on an international domain two days after it was blocked by the government. Earlier, the government said it had blocked the Website and a radio station of the Lal Masjid. "We have blocked the Website of Lal Masjid and also blocked the radio station… We will block anything that promotes religious hatred, calls for suicide attacks - this cannot be tolerated," Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem told AFP.
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April - 11 
Military spokesperson, Major General Waheed Arshad, told the reporters that “The Taliban problem lies in Afghanistan and not in Pakistan. We are trying to make sure that there is no active support from here.”
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Military spokesperson, Major General Waheed Arshad, told the reporters that “The Taliban problem lies in Afghanistan and not in Pakistan. We are trying to make sure that there is no active support from here.”
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April - 12 
President Pervez Musharraf on April 12 said mutual trust was a pre-requisite to fight terrorism and Pakistan’s allies must not doubt its sincerity and commitment to the fight, according to Daily Times. "Our sincerity must not be doubted. We have contributed a lot and suffered a lot ... but we are no
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President Pervez Musharraf on April 12 said mutual trust was a pre-requisite to fight terrorism and Pakistan’s allies must not doubt its sincerity and commitment to the fight, according to Daily Times. "Our sincerity must not be doubted. We have contributed a lot and suffered a lot ... but we are not disillusioned. If (anyone thinks) I am bluffing or if the ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] is bluffing, we should be out of the coalition," the president said while addressing the concluding session of a two-day symposium on ‘Common Security and Global War on Terrorism’ at the National University of Defence in Islamabad. The president told the audience, which included senior military delegates from 21 countries, that the war against terrorism could not be won without trusting each other and addressing the root causes by the resolution of political disputes, which, he said, promoted extremism and terrorism. He said the Taliban had support from southern Afghanistan where locals supported Taliban guerrillas. "Mulla Omar is also in south Afghanistan. He never came to Pakistan," he claimed, adding that Pakistan alone could not stop movement on its border with Afghanistan. Gen. Musharraf also claimed that there was no Pakistani Taliban in the Balochistan province. "They are Afghan Taliban who cross the border and find sanctuaries in refugee camps. We have arrested 700 Qaeda men and eliminated Al Qaeda from our cities," he said. He said Pakistan had taken six initiatives to contain extremism: stopping misuse of loudspeakers at mosques, banning sectarian outfits and arresting their leaders, checking hate material, revising the schools syllabus, mainstreaming madrassas, and trying to ensure Islam is understood in its true perspective. "The degree of success in these areas varies ... but we are in the right direction." He asked the West and particularly the United States to help the Muslim world in bringing about socio-economic change.
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April - 17 
The declaration said that movements like the ones started in Malakand and Khyber Agency and in some parts of the country in the past were initially peaceful, but later turned to militancy and violence because the activists took the law in their hands. It also said that a dangerous situation was deve
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The declaration said that movements like the ones started in Malakand and Khyber Agency and in some parts of the country in the past were initially peaceful, but later turned to militancy and violence because the activists took the law in their hands. It also said that a dangerous situation was developing following an announcement by Islamabad’s Lal Masjid administration that they would enforce Shariah (Islamic law). NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani said no seminary in the province and the tribal areas was involved in terrorism, adding that some "secret forces" were creating law and order problems to bring a bad name to the provincial government.
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April - 19 
The Afghan defence ministry said in a statement that fighting occurred between the Afghan border town of Shkin and Angoor Adda in the Waziristan area of Pakistan. A Pakistani military spokesperson was quoted as saying that Afghan forces "indulged in unprovoked firing" across the border into Pakistan
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The Afghan defence ministry said in a statement that fighting occurred between the Afghan border town of Shkin and Angoor Adda in the Waziristan area of Pakistan. A Pakistani military spokesperson was quoted as saying that Afghan forces "indulged in unprovoked firing" across the border into Pakistani territory.
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April - 20 
The US military does not have permission to conduct operations inside the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) of Pakistan even if it has information that Osama bin Laden is hiding in that area, said the commander of the US Central Command, according to Dawn. Admiral William Fallon told a Congr
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The US military does not have permission to conduct operations inside the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) of Pakistan even if it has information that Osama bin Laden is hiding in that area, said the commander of the US Central Command, according to Dawn. Admiral William Fallon told a Congressional hearing that the arrangement they had with Islamabad did not allow them to take direct military actions against targets inside Pakistan. "I do not have permission to go across that border on my own, and to conduct activities within that country, without some arrangement or agreement with the government of Pakistan," he said. Admiral Fallon also disagreed with the suggestion that under the Waziristan agreement, Islamabad had given the area to any specific group.
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April - 23 
Pakistan has adopted a four-pronged strategy based on military, political, administrative and developmental measures to tackle terrorism and extremism, President Pervez Musharraf said on April 23, according to Daily Times. In an interview to Polish Television, the president said besides taking effec
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Pakistan has adopted a four-pronged strategy based on military, political, administrative and developmental measures to tackle terrorism and extremism, President Pervez Musharraf said on April 23, according to Daily Times. In an interview to Polish Television, the president said besides taking effective military action, Pakistan has launched administrative, political and development reforms in the areas near the Afghan border to combat terrorism. "We are spending a lot of money and the US is giving us $150 million annually for development projects in those areas," he said. "We are sealing our borders so that the people do not go across into Afghanistan, but the ultimate battle remains in Afghanistan," he added. Explaining Pakistan’s strategy, Gen. Musharraf said it involved military action against the Taliban, followed by reaching out to people through an agreement that his government was trying in North Waziristan. He claimed the agreement aimed to end fighting, adding that "We are putting pressure on the people who signed the agreement to deliver what they signed." He said the tribal people had killed 350 foreigners because of the political deal. The president said no country in the world had done as much as Pakistan, adding that no other country had arrested any al Qaeda leader. He informed: "We have lost 500 soldiers, and killed thousands of people and arrested over 700 al Qaeda members in this war against terrorism." He also said the majority of Pakistan is moderate but some parts of the country do have Taliban and al Qaeda elements. He noted that religious groups had never secured more than seven percent of the seats in parliament, but due to the fallout of 9/11, they had a 17 percent share in the present assemblies.
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April - 25 
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on April 25 admitted that supporting the Taliban was a big mistake on the part of her government, Geo Television reported. Addressing students at the London School of Economics (LSE), she said her government thought that Taliban could restore peace in Afghanistan
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Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on April 25 admitted that supporting the Taliban was a big mistake on the part of her government, Geo Television reported. Addressing students at the London School of Economics (LSE), she said her government thought that Taliban could restore peace in Afghanistan but it did not happen. "We made mistakes and so did others. We thought Taliban would restore peace," she said.
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April - 26 
President Pervez Musharraf has accused the Afghan government of "doing nothing to fight terrorism" and said that it is ‘losing the war’ against Taliban, according to Dawn. "Those who do nothing against terrorism, like (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai, are also the ones who criticise those who are fig
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President Pervez Musharraf has accused the Afghan government of "doing nothing to fight terrorism" and said that it is ‘losing the war’ against Taliban, according to Dawn. "Those who do nothing against terrorism, like (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai, are also the ones who criticise those who are fighting, like us," Gen. Musharraf told the Spanish daily El Pais. He denied accusations of President Karzai that the al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar were in Pakistan, saying the two men were ‘probably’ holed up in Afghanistan. "Those who say that the ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] helps the Taliban because we want a weak Afghanistan are liars," claimed President Musharraf. "They say these things to hide their shame because they are losing the war against the Taliban," he observed. President Musharraf also said any attack by the US on Iran would fuel sectarian tension in Pakistan. "There would be an effect on Pakistan as well, with implications for religious sectarianism, from any operation against Shias in Iran, which Sunnis would suffer just as much," he said, adding, "Most Pakistanis are anti-American, and that feeling would grow."
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April - 27 
A top al Qaeda ‘commander’, who led operations in Afghanistan and also plotted the assassination of President Pervez Musharraf, has been taken into United States (US) custody, the Pentagon said on April 27, Dawn reported. Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi, who was taken to Guantanamo Bay within the past week, w
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A top al Qaeda ‘commander’, who led operations in Afghanistan and also plotted the assassination of President Pervez Musharraf, has been taken into United States (US) custody, the Pentagon said on April 27, Dawn reported. Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi, who was taken to Guantanamo Bay within the past week, was reportedly intercepted as he was trying to reach Iraq to manage the al Qaeda operations and possibly plot attacks against western targets outside Iraq, Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman said. "He also in recent years was involved in plots to assassinate perceived opponents of al Qaeda to include Pakistan President Musharraf as well as other officials," he stated. Recently, he associated with leaders of extremist groups allied with the al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the Taliban, the Pentagon added. Al-Iraqi was held by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before being turned over to US military authorities, said Whitman. An unnamed US intelligence official said al-Iraqi had been captured during late 2006. Whitman claimed that al-Iraqi also met some al Qaeda members in Iran. "I would think of him in relation to the plot against Musharraf as someone who had a leadership or guiding role," he said.
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April - 27 
Pakistan on April 27 said that a total of about 1,400 people have been killed in over 100 military operations in South and North Waziristan and asked the international community to extend over a billion dollars for development schemes to win the hearts and minds of the people, according to Dawn. The
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Pakistan on April 27 said that a total of about 1,400 people have been killed in over 100 military operations in South and North Waziristan and asked the international community to extend over a billion dollars for development schemes to win the hearts and minds of the people, according to Dawn. The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor, Lt Gen (retd) Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, told the participants of the Pakistan Development Forum in Islamabad on April 27 that Pakistani forces had killed over 600 militants, including foreigners, and handed over to the United States an equal number of persons involved in acts of terrorism. He said approximately 700 security force personnel had died besides more than 100 pro-government tribal elders.
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April - 29 
Investigators said Russian-made explosive material had been used in the attack on a public meeting addressed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao. The head of the suicide bomber found at the site was taken to Peshawar for DNA tests on April 29. Charsadda district police officer Feroz Shah t
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Investigators said Russian-made explosive material had been used in the attack on a public meeting addressed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao. The head of the suicide bomber found at the site was taken to Peshawar for DNA tests on April 29. Charsadda district police officer Feroz Shah told Dawn that high-intensity MVU type explosive had been used in the bomb. Assistant Inspector General of Police Fiaz Ahmad Khan Toru said preliminary findings had revealed that the suspect bomber appeared to be from a hilly area, but it could not be said with certainty if he was an Afghan or Uzbek.
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April - 29 
The Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, who survived a suicide attack at Charsadda in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on April 28, disclosed that preliminary investigation has revealed that Waziristan-based tribal militant Abdullah Mehsud was behind the attack, according to Dawn. Acc
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The Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, who survived a suicide attack at Charsadda in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on April 28, disclosed that preliminary investigation has revealed that Waziristan-based tribal militant Abdullah Mehsud was behind the attack, according to Dawn. According to the minister, “preliminary investigations have revealed that the attack was committed by a suicide bomber of Abdullah Mehsud.” Sherpao told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at his residence in Islamabad on April 29-night that investigations had revealed he was the main target of the attack.
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May - 2 
Suspected pro-Taliban militants beheaded an Afghan refugee, identified as Shamsuddin Afghani, at Goorwak village in North Waziristan on charges of spying for US troops in Afghanistan, a security official said on May 2, according to Daily Times. A note left near the body said "this is the fate of Ame
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Suspected pro-Taliban militants beheaded an Afghan refugee, identified as Shamsuddin Afghani, at Goorwak village in North Waziristan on charges of spying for US troops in Afghanistan, a security official said on May 2, according to Daily Times. A note left near the body said "this is the fate of American spy," AFP reported.
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May - 2 
The Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam on May 2 rejected the US State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 that the leadership of al Qaeda was in Pakistan. Talking to a TV channel, she said Pakistan was the only country that had arrested top leaders of the al Qaeda from the Federally
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The Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam on May 2 rejected the US State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 that the leadership of al Qaeda was in Pakistan. Talking to a TV channel, she said Pakistan was the only country that had arrested top leaders of the al Qaeda from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. This had brought security and stability to the region, she claimed, while denying the US report’s allegations. "If the US State Department has such news, it should share it with the Pakistan government," she added.
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May - 7 
Intelligence agencies have warned the Interior Ministry’s Crisis Management Cell (CMC) that a Waziristan-based Jihadi group has planned suicide attacks at police offices to avenge the killing of its members by security forces, Daily Times has reported. The CMC has urged the provincial home secretari
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Intelligence agencies have warned the Interior Ministry’s Crisis Management Cell (CMC) that a Waziristan-based Jihadi group has planned suicide attacks at police offices to avenge the killing of its members by security forces, Daily Times has reported. The CMC has urged the provincial home secretaries, the provincial police chiefs and the inspectors general of police of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir, and the Islamabad chief commissioner to take necessary measures to prevent any untoward incident. The letter warned that militants may carry out suicide attacks on police training centres and police lines in the coming months. The CMC letter informed that some terrorists had already entered Punjab from Waziristan to launch suicide attacks.
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May - 8 
Pakistan has increased the number of its troops deployed along the Afghan border to 90,000 to make it more difficult for the Taliban and al Qaeda militants to cross, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on May 8, The News reported. However, he provided no details of when the troop increase occurred
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Pakistan has increased the number of its troops deployed along the Afghan border to 90,000 to make it more difficult for the Taliban and al Qaeda militants to cross, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on May 8, The News reported. However, he provided no details of when the troop increase occurred or where exactly the troops were deployed. Kasuri announced the increase after talks with the NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on the intensifying violence in Afghanistan. Kasuri also said Pakistan had increased the number of military posts along the frontier from 100 to 110, and challenged Afghanistan to show the same resolve to close the frontier. "This is the level of Pakistan's commitment," Kasuri claimed at a press conference in Islamabad.
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May - 9 
The US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates, told a congressional panel on May 9 that the United States has military missions in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan to pursue al Qaeda leaders hiding there, according to Dawn. At a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committe
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The US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates, told a congressional panel on May 9 that the United States has military missions in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan to pursue al Qaeda leaders hiding there, according to Dawn. At a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Gates said al Qaeda had established training facilities in FATA and the extremist leaders based there also had links to terror cells in other parts of the world. "We know that al Qaeda has re-established itself in the Federally-Administered Territories on the western border of Pakistan where they are training new recruits," Gates told the Senate panel while defending his department’s budget for 2008. "They have established linkages now in North Africa. And so … al Qaeda has actually expanded, I would say, its organisation and its capabilities." He stated that al Qaeda was operating from an area which was difficult, "both in terms of terrain and in terms of politics in terms of our ability to range freely in that area."
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May - 10 
Official sources said that six rockets were also fired in the mountain area of Dera Bugti district. However, there were no reports of any casualty. Two bomb blasts were reported from near Dera Bugti. Another report said that a powerful explosion occurred near the Post Office chowk in Khuzdar.
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Official sources said that six rockets were also fired in the mountain area of Dera Bugti district. However, there were no reports of any casualty. Two bomb blasts were reported from near Dera Bugti. Another report said that a powerful explosion occurred near the Post Office chowk in Khuzdar.
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May - 10 
Pakistan has erected the first section of a fence on the Afghan border, the chief military spokesperson said on May 10, according to Daily Times. "We have completed 20 kilometers of fencing in North Waziristan’s Lwara Mundi area," Major General Waheed Arshad said in an interview to AFP. According to
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Pakistan has erected the first section of a fence on the Afghan border, the chief military spokesperson said on May 10, according to Daily Times. "We have completed 20 kilometers of fencing in North Waziristan’s Lwara Mundi area," Major General Waheed Arshad said in an interview to AFP. According to him, "This is that difficult part where most militants reportedly were crossing over." Another 15-kilometre stretch would soon be fenced in the neighbouring South Waziristan, Arshad said. Lwara Mundi is a tiny and remote settlement located in a gap between two mountain ranges through which Arshad said militants were driving vehicles and heavy weapons.
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May - 10 
Security forces are on the verge of wiping out militant camps in Balochistan, President Pervez Musharraf said on May 10, while reiterating an amnesty offer for the insurgents, according to Daily Times. Gen. Musharraf, on his first visit to Sui in Balochistan, told a public rally that the governmen
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Security forces are on the verge of wiping out militant camps in Balochistan, President Pervez Musharraf said on May 10, while reiterating an amnesty offer for the insurgents, according to Daily Times. Gen. Musharraf, on his first visit to Sui in Balochistan, told a public rally that the government would not tolerate terrorism. He informed that the security forces had destroyed 65 ‘farari [insurgent] camps’ in Balochistan and the remaining three or four camps would be eliminated soon. "Only three to four rebel camps are left. We will wipe them out too," he said. Repeating an amnesty offer, Gen. Musharraf said the government would take no action against insurgents if they laid down their arms. "They are our brothers and sisters. I urge them to surrender their arms. No action will be taken against them if they do so," he said. "Give up weapons and terrorism; otherwise the law will take its course. We will not allow terrorism," he added. The president said there was no peace in the province a few years ago and more than 90,000 people had settled elsewhere in the country to avoid persecution by tribal leaders. But, he claimed that the situation had changed considerably now. President Musharraf stated that the government had established its writ in Balochistan and 25 districts which had been previously considered "B areas" had now been converted into "A areas". He also announced a PKR 2 billion development package for Sui and said that Balochistan would be developed at par with rest of the country. He said the government was carrying out 138 development projects worth PKR 135 billion in Balochistan. The president announced a PKR 100 million grant for each district and PKR 10 million for each tehsil for development projects.
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May - 10 
The Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sultan Ahmad Baheen said that "the Afghan government is against fencing the border. It separates families and people living on both sides." Major General Arshad rejected Kabul’s objections, saying that the fencing was done on Pakistani soil and "we do not nee
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The Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sultan Ahmad Baheen said that "the Afghan government is against fencing the border. It separates families and people living on both sides." Major General Arshad rejected Kabul’s objections, saying that the fencing was done on Pakistani soil and "we do not need to ask anybody how we should manage our borders."
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May - 13 
At least seven Afghan soldiers were killed on May 13 after they opened fire on Pakistani positions in a border region, Pakistan Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said, according to Daily Times.
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At least seven Afghan soldiers were killed on May 13 after they opened fire on Pakistani positions in a border region, Pakistan Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said, according to Daily Times.
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May - 13 
The Afghan Defence Ministry spokesperson, Zahir Azimi, however, said thousands of civilians joined Afghan forces to fight Pakistani troops who had penetrated several kilometers into Afghanistan. He claimed that local tribesmen had shot down a Pakistani helicopter at the site of the clash in Zazai di
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The Afghan Defence Ministry spokesperson, Zahir Azimi, however, said thousands of civilians joined Afghan forces to fight Pakistani troops who had penetrated several kilometers into Afghanistan. He claimed that local tribesmen had shot down a Pakistani helicopter at the site of the clash in Zazai district of Paktika province. Pakistani army, meanwhile, denied the Afghan officials’ allegations that Pakistani troops entered the Paktika province, Geo TV reported.
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May - 13 
The government is reported to have ordered the paramilitary Rangers to shoot rioters on sight and imposed Section 144 as eight people were killed and nine persons, including three police personnel, injured on the second day of violence in Karachi, capital of Sindh province, on May 13, according to D
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The government is reported to have ordered the paramilitary Rangers to shoot rioters on sight and imposed Section 144 as eight people were killed and nine persons, including three police personnel, injured on the second day of violence in Karachi, capital of Sindh province, on May 13, according to Daily Times. “The Rangers have got extra powers of shoot on sight and arrest in case of riots and violence,” Major General Javed Zia, head of the Rangers, told AFP. Federal Interior Minister, Aftab Sherpao, informed that the government had ordered extra troops into troubled areas to restore order. Officials said about 18,000 paramilitary and police personnel were on the ground. The Sindh government has imposed Section 144, banning public meetings, processions and rallies in the province for 30 days, Geo TV reported.
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May - 15 
The NWFP Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam told reporters that it was a suicide attack. "I myself saw the suicide bomber’s two legs inscribed with two messages, one in Pushto and the other in Persian. The message written in Pashto warned that those spying for America would face the same consequences." A
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The NWFP Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam told reporters that it was a suicide attack. "I myself saw the suicide bomber’s two legs inscribed with two messages, one in Pushto and the other in Persian. The message written in Pashto warned that those spying for America would face the same consequences." Azam said it would be premature to say who was behind the suicide attack, "but it may be a reaction to Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah’s killing two days ago in Afghanistan." He added that the owner of the hotel, which is located near the Mahabat Khan mosque, was from Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and most of the customers at the hotel were Afghans. However, the Federal Interior Ministry’s spokesperson, Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, told a press conference in Islamabad that "We have found no clue suggesting that the attack was in reaction to the Taliban leader’s killing in Afghanistan… Dadullah was an Afghan national operating from Afghanistan and he died there. Pakistan has nothing to do with his death." He, however, said that the suicide bombing might have links with terrorists operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Waziristan region.
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May - 16 
The Chinese government has requested Pakistan to hand over more than 20 Chinese insurgents hiding in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. Sources said the Chinese authorities had claimed that more than 20 activists of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an Islamist mili
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The Chinese government has requested Pakistan to hand over more than 20 Chinese insurgents hiding in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. Sources said the Chinese authorities had claimed that more than 20 activists of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an Islamist militant outfit fighting for an independent East Turkestan in China’s Xinjiang province, were hiding in the tribal areas. They have requested the Pakistani authorities to arrest and hand over the militants, sources added. However, the Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, refused to confirm the report. She said she was not aware of any such appeal.
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May - 19 
Al Qaeda’s command base in Pakistan’s tribal areas is being increasingly funded by money coming from the group’s affiliate in Iraq, Los Angeles Times reported on its Website on May 19. Citing unidentified senior US intelligence officials, the newspaper said there had been a significant increase in t
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Al Qaeda’s command base in Pakistan’s tribal areas is being increasingly funded by money coming from the group’s affiliate in Iraq, Los Angeles Times reported on its Website on May 19. Citing unidentified senior US intelligence officials, the newspaper said there had been a significant increase in the movement of al Qaeda operatives and money from Iraq to Pakistan. Al Qaeda operatives in Iraq are raising substantial sums from donations to the insurgency as well as abductions of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity, according to the paper. The report also said a major hunt for al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden launched by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2006 has produced no significant leads on his whereabouts. The CIA deployed 50 clandestine operatives to Pakistan and Afghanistan for the search, the paper added.
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May - 21 
Pakistan on May 21 refuted a claim that there was al Qaeda’s base command in the tribal areas and declared that the government was determined to take action against ‘remnants’ of the group who may be hiding in the country, according to Dawn. "There is no al Qaeda base in Pakistan. We have repeatedly
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Pakistan on May 21 refuted a claim that there was al Qaeda’s base command in the tribal areas and declared that the government was determined to take action against ‘remnants’ of the group who may be hiding in the country, according to Dawn. "There is no al Qaeda base in Pakistan. We have repeatedly said that Pakistan is the country that has taken the strongest action against al Qaeda," Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing in Islamabad. She, however, said: "There may be some Al Qaeda remnants in Pakistan. We are taking action against them." Aslam dismissed as ‘speculative’ a report in the United States media quoting American intelligence officials as saying that some 50 Central Intelligence Agency operatives had been deployed in Pakistan in 2006 to search for al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and that the group had a base command in the country. "There is no real evidence or intelligence with us on his whereabouts and nobody knows where he is. So there is no question of 50 CIA agents looking for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan," she said.
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May - 22 
According to Shakir Afridi, president of the Truckers’ Association, said that 22 oil tankers and containers had been destroyed and damaged during the last one-and-a-half months in different parts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) but no steps had been taken by the government to provide secu
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According to Shakir Afridi, president of the Truckers’ Association, said that 22 oil tankers and containers had been destroyed and damaged during the last one-and-a-half months in different parts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) but no steps had been taken by the government to provide security to the transporters. He informed that oil tankers have been attacked and damaged in Peshawar, Kohat and Khyber Agency.
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May - 23 
President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview with The Globe and Mail that talks with the Taliban and other opposition may be necessary to bring stability to Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. "We have to have a multipronged strategy. In Afghanistan it is only the military strategy which is wo
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President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview with The Globe and Mail that talks with the Taliban and other opposition may be necessary to bring stability to Afghanistan, according to Daily Times. "We have to have a multipronged strategy. In Afghanistan it is only the military strategy which is working now," Gen. Musharraf said, adding that peace could not come from the barrel of a gun. "[The] political element is the negotiations between warring factions. Who are the warring factions? Warring factions are the Afghan government and the coalition forces on one side and the militant Taliban and even non-Taliban... so some form of negotiations between these two." He opined, "Maybe, there are groups who want to give up militancy and negotiate ... so I can’t lay down whether you negotiate with the Taliban, but [if] they want to go on fighting, you don’t negotiate with them, take a military angle. You negotiate, you develop contacts with people who are not for fighting." He claimed Pakistani intelligence agencies played no role in the creation of the Taliban, although he acknowledged that Pakistan gave the extremists legitimacy by being among the only countries to establish diplomatic relations when Taliban took over the government of Afghanistan. "I know for sure – 200 percent – that they were not a creation of Pakistan. They were a creation of circumstances in Afghanistan," he said. Gen. Musharraf claimed that Pakistan was the only country that had a military, political, developmental and administrative strategy to defeat extremism. "I would tell everyone: Come and learn from us. We are sitting here knowing exactly what is happening on ground," he said. "You sitting in the West don’t know anything. So, don’t teach me, come and learn from us. Come and understand the environment. And then decide on what has to be done and what doesn’t have to be done. We are doing more than any other country in the world." Commenting on casualties in the war on terror, President Musharraf said: "Unfortunately the people in the West think that their lives are more important than our lives ... they think the gun fodder should be from these countries like Pakistan and developing countries. If their soldiers, one soldier, dies, there is a problem, but 500 of ours have died. And then, yet they are blaming us. Isn’t 500 important? ... And yet Pakistan is blamed for not doing enough."
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May - 24 
Unidentified men fired seven rockets at a paramilitary fort in Tank city of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in an overnight attack, an official said on May 24, according to Daily Times. No casualties were reported.
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Unidentified men fired seven rockets at a paramilitary fort in Tank city of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in an overnight attack, an official said on May 24, according to Daily Times. No casualties were reported.
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May - 26 
Suspected Taliban militants abducted two doctors in the Lakki Marwat district on May 26. An unnamed police official told Daily Times that unidentified men intercepted Dr. Abdur Rehman and Dr. Muhammad Ishaq of Lakki Marwat District Headquarters Hospital at Khankhel Morr in the Tajuri police precinct
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Suspected Taliban militants abducted two doctors in the Lakki Marwat district on May 26. An unnamed police official told Daily Times that unidentified men intercepted Dr. Abdur Rehman and Dr. Muhammad Ishaq of Lakki Marwat District Headquarters Hospital at Khankhel Morr in the Tajuri police precincts and abducted them along with the driver of their vehicle, Anwaruddin.
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May - 30 
Officials said the militants fired indiscriminately on people in the house. The dead reportedly included six members of the family and seven guests. "We could hear the rattle of guns and explosions in our office," said Marwat. "It was a big attack and a large number of militants were involved," he a
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Officials said the militants fired indiscriminately on people in the house. The dead reportedly included six members of the family and seven guests. "We could hear the rattle of guns and explosions in our office," said Marwat. "It was a big attack and a large number of militants were involved," he added. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Amiruddin Khan belonged to a spiritual family of South Waziristan and one of his brothers, Attiqur Rehman, was a Pir (someone who is considered to have mystic powers, according to the Sufi tradition) and his actions might have antagonised some people. After expulsion from his native area, Pir Attiq shifted to Karachi where he now has a large number of followers. He brings out a magazine, Zarbe Haq, from Karachi to propagate his ideology. Officials said the self-proclaimed Pir published editorials and articles in his magazine against militant commander Abdullah Mahsud and described him as an agent of the US. The 40-year-old Pir has been a strong critic of Talibanisation and militancy in the tribal region.
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May - 30 
The Interior Ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) has reportedly warned three federal ministers that they are on the hit list of Baitullah Mehsud, the South Waziristan-based Taliban leader, and should take extra security measures. Sources told Daily Times in Islamabad on May 30 that Bai
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The Interior Ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) has reportedly warned three federal ministers that they are on the hit list of Baitullah Mehsud, the South Waziristan-based Taliban leader, and should take extra security measures. Sources told Daily Times in Islamabad on May 30 that Baitullah Mehsud was running the biggest suicide training camp in the country and planned to assassinate Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and Minister for Political Affairs Amir Muqam. Mehsud is believed to have been behind the suicide attack on Sherpao on April 28, the sources said. The NCMC has formally informed Ahmad and Muqam of the intelligence reports warning of serious threats against them. "Yes I have received a letter from the Interior Ministry showing concern over my security," Ahmad confirmed. NCMC Director General Brig. (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema in his letters to both ministers said that the group that tried to kill Sherpao at Charsadda might attack them with car bombs, said the sources.
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May - 31 
“Independent cells” on the pattern of al Qaeda inspired by the Taliban are actively spreading Talibanisation across the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Tank district is the “litmus test” for these cells to prove how serious a threat they pose to the state, officials said on May 31, according
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“Independent cells” on the pattern of al Qaeda inspired by the Taliban are actively spreading Talibanisation across the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Tank district is the “litmus test” for these cells to prove how serious a threat they pose to the state, officials said on May 31, according to Daily Times. “These independent cells are proving their point in Tank district,” said counter-terrorism officials. NWFP Information Minister Asif Iqbal said the people attacking Tank represented “small independent groups” operating under the Taliban name. “When the strongest arm of the government, the army, was neutralised it gave the cells hope that they could take on the relatively less equipped administration of a settled district,” officials said. “The people in Swat have no link to Baitullah Mehsud but are doing something the Taliban in Pakistan or Afghanistan would take pride in.” Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, former Federally Administered Tribal Areas home secretary, told Daily Times. “The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman faction) is the political face of Islamic militancy in Pakistan,” he said.
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June - 1 
The top army commanders on June 1 endorsed the "pivotal role" of General Pervez Musharraf as the President of Pakistan and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in the ongoing reforms process in the country, according to Daily Times. General Pervez Musharraf presided over the 101st corps commanders’ meetin
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The top army commanders on June 1 endorsed the "pivotal role" of General Pervez Musharraf as the President of Pakistan and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in the ongoing reforms process in the country, according to Daily Times. General Pervez Musharraf presided over the 101st corps commanders’ meeting, also attended by all principal staff officers, at the General Headquarters in Islamabad. "The participants (of the meeting) reiterated support for the pivotal role of the president and the COAS in the ongoing reform process," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said after the conference. "The participants reaffirmed Pakistan Army’s support for continuity of the government’s policies, both internal and external," the ISPR said. Expressing their support to the president, the top army brass reaffirmed that "Pakistan Army is committed to lending full support towards realisation of the vision set by the president for a dynamic, progressive and moderate Islamic state."
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June - 5 
Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on June 5 informed that recent intelligence reports suggested that remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda were regrouping and reorganising in Wana and South Waziristan, according to Daily Times. "Following such reports, law enforcement agencies are in
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Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on June 5 informed that recent intelligence reports suggested that remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda were regrouping and reorganising in Wana and South Waziristan, according to Daily Times. "Following such reports, law enforcement agencies are in constant contact with the local tribes to ensure that no one would be allowed to destroy peace in South Waziristan, "he said.
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June - 8 
The Balochistan Government on June 8 held the Hamid Karzai-led Afghan Government responsible for providing shelter to Baloch separatist insurgents, which they believe was "clear evidence of Afghan involvement in the instability created in Balochistan," according to Daily Times. "There is ample evide
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The Balochistan Government on June 8 held the Hamid Karzai-led Afghan Government responsible for providing shelter to Baloch separatist insurgents, which they believe was "clear evidence of Afghan involvement in the instability created in Balochistan," according to Daily Times. "There is ample evidence to substantiate our allegations that Afghanistan is creating trouble in Balochistan and extending full support to Baloch fighters," Raziq Bugti, spokesperson for the Balochistan Government, told a press conference held in the Chief Minister Secretariat at Quetta. He said that from day one, the government had not ruled out the involvement of a foreign hand in creating trouble in Balochistan. However, he said, the government’s stance became self-evident since the Governor of Afghan province of Kandahar, Asadullah Khalid, stated that several Baloch had taken shelter in his province after fleeing from the conflict-stricken province of Balochistan. He informed that the Balochistan Government had made a formal request to the Afghan Government for handing over the people who the government believed were involved in terrorist activities across the province. According to the spokesperson, a majority of the people who were hiding in Afghanistan had escaped from the Dera Bugti and Sui areas in 2006 when the conflict between the government and Bugti tribesmen intensified.
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June - 10 
Senator Hamidullah Afridi has said that a grand jirga (council) of tribesmen would be convened in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), on June 14 to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Dawn. Talking to el
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Senator Hamidullah Afridi has said that a grand jirga (council) of tribesmen would be convened in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), on June 14 to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Dawn. Talking to elders from the seven agencies and six Frontier Regions of FATA in Peshawar on June 10, Afridi said that elders and professionals belonging to the remote region would participate in the jirga to discuss the situation and provide suggestions in this regard. He said the tribesmen should launch a struggle for their rights, adding that the jirga would focus on the role tribal people would be playing in the proposed Pak-Afghan Loya Jirga to be held in Kabul in August 2007.
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June - 12 
Rockets fired from Pakistan at a US and Afghan military base in south-eastern Afghanistan landed on civilian houses and injured a family of five, an Afghan governor claimed on June 12, according to Dawn. Several rockets were fired late on June 11 at a base in Paktika province, just kilometers away f
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Rockets fired from Pakistan at a US and Afghan military base in south-eastern Afghanistan landed on civilian houses and injured a family of five, an Afghan governor claimed on June 12, according to Dawn. Several rockets were fired late on June 11 at a base in Paktika province, just kilometers away from the Pakistani border, provincial governor Mohammad Akram Khepelwak told AFP. "A woman, three children and a man were wounded in a rocket attack on their home yesterday," he said. Around 50 rockets have been fired into the district called Barmal in the past few days from across the border, he claimed.
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June - 14 
The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, on June 14 praised Islamabad’s role in the “war on terror” and agreed to the Pakistani assertion that there was no solid evidence of Mullah Omar’s presence in Balochistan, according to The News. Boucher met Bal
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The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, on June 14 praised Islamabad’s role in the “war on terror” and agreed to the Pakistani assertion that there was no solid evidence of Mullah Omar’s presence in Balochistan, according to The News. Boucher met Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yusuf in the provincial capital Quetta on June 14. During the meeting, Yousuf reportedly dispelled the impression that Quetta was the Taliban headquarters. “There is no headquarters of Taliban in Quetta, nor Mullah Omar or Osama bin Laden are present in Quetta or any other part of Balochistan,” he said, according to an official statement. The statement claimed that Boucher agreed that there was no concrete “evidence that Mullah Omar was present in Balochistan” and that he appreciated Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism. The statement said Yusuf informed Boucher that Pakistan was an important ally of the United States in the global war on terror and President Pervez Musharraf was determined to eliminate terrorism from the country with the support of the people. APP reported that Boucher also visited the border town of Chaman where he saw the biometric system installed by Pakistan on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with the objective to check illegal cross-border movement.
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June - 15 
The Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Muhammad Yousuf said on June 15 that a crackdown would soon be launched on elements behind the ambush. The Secretary-General of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal group), Habib Jalib, claimed that police had arrested over a dozen activists of his party, inc
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The Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Muhammad Yousuf said on June 15 that a crackdown would soon be launched on elements behind the ambush. The Secretary-General of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal group), Habib Jalib, claimed that police had arrested over a dozen activists of his party, including three senior leaders - Agha Hasan Baloch, Musa Khan Baloch and Jahangir Baloch. He said that police raided houses in Killi Qambrani and in the outskirts of Quetta, and arrested 16 leaders and workers.
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June - 15 
The United States Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Boucher, said in Islamabad on June 15 that holding of free and transparent elections in Pakistan was a bigger problem than the issue of President General Pervez Musharraf’s uniform, Daily Times reported. Boucher denied that he had come to Pakis
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The United States Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Boucher, said in Islamabad on June 15 that holding of free and transparent elections in Pakistan was a bigger problem than the issue of President General Pervez Musharraf’s uniform, Daily Times reported. Boucher denied that he had come to Pakistan to broker a deal between President Musharraf and the Pakistan People’s Party. Speaking to the media, Boucher said that President Musharraf had assured the US that the issue of his two offices would be settled in accordance with the Constitution and the US believed him. He said that President Musharraf had also assured the US that the elections would be held in a free and transparent manner. He added that the US was willing to provide monetary, technical and observer assistance to Pakistan for the elections. Boucher opined that the US believed that Pakistan was moving towards democracy and becoming a moderate country, adding that there was no contradiction in the US policy of supporting media freedom and President Musharraf simultaneously. Asked about Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism and frequent statements by US officials that Pakistan should do more, Boucher said “We certainly recognise the enormous effort, the enormous achievements and the enormous sacrifices that Pakistan has made so far. I’ve often said in the Congress and elsewhere that no country has done more against the terrorists or lost more people doing so than Pakistan. And I think that’s an important place to remember.” However, he said more had to be done in both Pakistan and Afghanistan to eliminate “spaces where terrorists can plot and plan”.
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June - 16 
The visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte said on June 16 that the United States was interested in the advancement of democracy and fair and free elections in Pakistan, adding it was for President Pervez Musharraf to decide the uniform issue. “It is up to him (Gen Musharraf) to de
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The visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte said on June 16 that the United States was interested in the advancement of democracy and fair and free elections in Pakistan, adding it was for President Pervez Musharraf to decide the uniform issue. “It is up to him (Gen Musharraf) to decide when to take off his uniform but we do want free, fair and transparent elections scheduled for this fall or early next year,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad. He said he had not discussed the uniform issue with the president. When asked whether the US was facilitating political understanding between President Musharraf and the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Negroponte said he had not discussed the issue specifically. “Only in general was this issue discussed during my meetings with various people here,” he claimed. Negroponte said the US would offer $750 million to Pakistan over the next five years – about $150 million every year – for development in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
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June - 17 
The US State Department described President Pervez Musharraf as an agent for “positive change” in Pakistan but if there are issues with Islamabad, the US will not hesitate to “speak out” about them “in a respectful manner.” “We believe that President Musharraf is an agent for positive change, not on
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The US State Department described President Pervez Musharraf as an agent for “positive change” in Pakistan but if there are issues with Islamabad, the US will not hesitate to “speak out” about them “in a respectful manner.” “We believe that President Musharraf is an agent for positive change, not only in the region, but for Pakistan,” spokesperson Sean McCormack told a regular briefing in Washington.
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June - 19 
The Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General, Major General Arshad Waheed, however, denied reports that Pakistan army or coalition forces had carried out the attack. "It was an accidental blast in the area and, according to the tribal administration, 20 people were killed," he claimed. Local
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The Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General, Major General Arshad Waheed, however, denied reports that Pakistan army or coalition forces had carried out the attack. "It was an accidental blast in the area and, according to the tribal administration, 20 people were killed," he claimed. Local intelligence officials said the explosion occurred in a bomb factory in a seminary. An unnamed source, however, said a cluster of three houses and a tent had been hit by a missile fired from across the border. He said that there were 45 or 46 people there at the time.
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June - 19 
Tribal sources quoted local militants as saying that the attack had been carried out from Afghanistan. Local people said the seminary had been struck by missiles in Mamerogha Seleria, about 45 kilometers west of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said it
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Tribal sources quoted local militants as saying that the attack had been carried out from Afghanistan. Local people said the seminary had been struck by missiles in Mamerogha Seleria, about 45 kilometers west of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said it was not involved. "We checked into this and we have no indications that we have fired anything across the border into Pakistan," coalition spokesperson Colonel David Accetta said in Kabul.
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June - 20 
China has asked Pakistan to locate and hand over 22 Chinese rebels who are believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas in Pakistan, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn on June 20. China had reportedly provided a list of 22 wanted militants belonging to the East Turkistan Islamic Move
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China has asked Pakistan to locate and hand over 22 Chinese rebels who are believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas in Pakistan, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn on June 20. China had reportedly provided a list of 22 wanted militants belonging to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, a secessionist group based in the Sinkiang province bordering Pakistan. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao would visit China from June 24 to discuss the issue and other matters of common interests including terrorism.
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June - 29 
President Pervez Musharraf said on June 29 that an operation could be launched against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa brigade, but a raid would lead to heavy casualties on both sides because a large number of suicide bombers were inside the mosque and seminaries, according to Dawn. Speaking to the m
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President Pervez Musharraf said on June 29 that an operation could be launched against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa brigade, but a raid would lead to heavy casualties on both sides because a large number of suicide bombers were inside the mosque and seminaries, according to Dawn. Speaking to the media at the National Defence University in Islamabad, General Musharraf said: "Can you guarantee that blood of any dead or injured will not be screened on television channels during the operation?" He informed that militants having links with the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and al Qaeda were hiding in the mosque and seminaries and they had explosives. They might cause havoc in case of an armed operation, he said, adding: "Let it be clear that the action against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa brigade was not withheld because of government’s weakness or cowardice in the face of enemy." "Critics should understand that the Madrassa houses 2,500 women students with minor boys and suicide bombers inside are equipped with sophisticated arms. While police are not capable of launching such a complex operation, the army cannot be involved for it can give a wrong message to the world," the president said. He also observed, "We have involved senior clerics of the country, the Council of Islamic Ideology and the Imam-i-Kaaba to end the standoff. Shall we now call Allah to help these elements shun their wrongdoings?"
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July - 1 
A senior police official told AFP that the suspects supplied suicide bombers and explosive devices to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. He said the eight-member group was based in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, and used to collect materials and volunteers from the Punjab province. “During the interr
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A senior police official told AFP that the suspects supplied suicide bombers and explosive devices to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. He said the eight-member group was based in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, and used to collect materials and volunteers from the Punjab province. “During the interrogation they confessed to having carried out a series of suicide bombings and bomb blasts against foreign forces in Afghanistan over the past several years… The suspects were preparing remote-controlled devices for the Taliban in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that they had “links” with former Mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani and his pro-Taliban son Siraj Haqqani.
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July - 3 July - 4
NWFP police chief Sharif Virk blamed Maulana Fazlullah, who leads a proscribed militant organisation, for both these attacks. "Militant leader Maulvi Fazlullah has close links with the administration of the Lal Masjid and the provincial government is contemplating action against him," Virk told Dawn
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NWFP police chief Sharif Virk blamed Maulana Fazlullah, who leads a proscribed militant organisation, for both these attacks. "Militant leader Maulvi Fazlullah has close links with the administration of the Lal Masjid and the provincial government is contemplating action against him," Virk told Dawn. Fazlullah, who had recently signed an agreement with the NWFP government, in broadcasts on his FM channel on July 3 and 4, asked his supporters to take up arms against the government to avenge the action taken against Lal Masjid and carry out suicide attacks.
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July - 5 
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said there was absolutely no question of holding any further talks with the militants holed up in the mosque. Another minister, Tariq Azeem, added that "Ghazi and others will have to give up and offer an absolute, total and unconditional surrender." Meanwhile, hospita
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Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said there was absolutely no question of holding any further talks with the militants holed up in the mosque. Another minister, Tariq Azeem, added that "Ghazi and others will have to give up and offer an absolute, total and unconditional surrender." Meanwhile, hospital sources said that five bodies had been brought on July 5 from inside the mosque, and Interior Minister Sherpao said the death toll had reached 19.
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July - 6 
The government has once again rejected a conditional surrender offer made by Ghazi. Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani informed a press conference that Ghazi would not be humiliated if he surrendered. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah disclosed that so far 1,221 people, including 795 men and 426
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The government has once again rejected a conditional surrender offer made by Ghazi. Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani informed a press conference that Ghazi would not be humiliated if he surrendered. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah disclosed that so far 1,221 people, including 795 men and 426 women, had surrendered and 19 had died.
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July - 6 
The holed up chief cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi told a TV channel that he and his associates were ready to die and would never surrender. "We have decided that we may be martyred, but we will not surrender… We are sacrificing our lives for the supremacy of our religion and for the enforcement o
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The holed up chief cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi told a TV channel that he and his associates were ready to die and would never surrender. "We have decided that we may be martyred, but we will not surrender… We are sacrificing our lives for the supremacy of our religion and for the enforcement of Islamic laws. We have no regrets and we will embrace martyrdom," he said. Ghazi claimed that four students were killed when a mortar fired by the SFs hit a room in the mosque. However, this was not confirmed by officials.
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July - 6 
The ISPR Director General, Major General Waheed Arshad, denied that the president’s aircraft had been fired at in Rawalpindi on way to Turbat in Balochistan. "The president was not in the aircraft which was targeted. I have no details about the incident as investigations are underway," he said. Agen
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The ISPR Director General, Major General Waheed Arshad, denied that the president’s aircraft had been fired at in Rawalpindi on way to Turbat in Balochistan. "The president was not in the aircraft which was targeted. I have no details about the incident as investigations are underway," he said. Agencies reports added that Police have arrested two people in connection with the attack. One of the suspects has been identified as Ghaffar who is a property dealer and had rented the house to the alleged attackers, NNI reported. An unnamed security official told AFP that the guns were "similar to those used by the Taliban in Afghanistan."
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July - 7 
President Pervez Musharraf on July 7 warned the militants holed up in Lal Masjid to surrender or be prepared to get killed, according to Dawn. “The government has the power and could do everything, including killing them, but it is demonstrating great patience to save human lives,” he said. The Pres
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President Pervez Musharraf on July 7 warned the militants holed up in Lal Masjid to surrender or be prepared to get killed, according to Dawn. “The government has the power and could do everything, including killing them, but it is demonstrating great patience to save human lives,” he said. The President was talking to journalists in the Sani Shoran area of Balochistan after visiting the flood-affected Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad and Bolan districts. He said the people barricaded in the mosque had defamed Islam and Pakistan, but the government had exercised restraint despite having capability of ousting and killing them. “We want to save the lives of women and children trapped inside the mosque,” he stated. “The people inside the mosque should come out and surrender, otherwise I am saying it here they risk being killed,” General Musharraf said.
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July - 8 
A senior Pakistani army commando, Colonel Haroon Islam, was shot dead on July 8-morning (today) by Islamic militants besieged in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, said Major General Waheed Arshad, head of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), according to Times of India. Islam "was supervising the
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A senior Pakistani army commando, Colonel Haroon Islam, was shot dead on July 8-morning (today) by Islamic militants besieged in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, said Major General Waheed Arshad, head of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), according to Times of India. Islam "was supervising the operation and got injured and expired in the hospital," said Arshad, adding, another army official was injured during the operation to blow up part of the wall surrounding the fortified mosque complex. "Islam was leading the operation and the wall was destroyed in order to facilitate the women and children who were made hostages by the militants inside the mosque," he added, and disclosed that there were intense exchanges of gunfire overnight between security forces and Islamists holed up inside the Lal Masjid.
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July - 8 
Eight “high value terrorists” wanted by Pakistan and other countries are holed up inside the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, while another was killed by security forces in the ongoing operation, Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq disclosed on July 8, according to Daily Times. “Nine suspected terrorists
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Eight “high value terrorists” wanted by Pakistan and other countries are holed up inside the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, while another was killed by security forces in the ongoing operation, Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq disclosed on July 8, according to Daily Times. “Nine suspected terrorists said to be far more dangerous and harmful than al Qaeda and Taliban operatives were hiding inside the mosque compound,” Haq said at a press conference in Islamabad. However, the minister refused to reveal the identities of these militants. He informed that security forces killed one of these suspected terrorists inside Lal Masjid on the second day of the ongoing operation. He was the mastermind of the failed suicide attack on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at Attock in 2005, he added. Haq also said that the militants and not Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Lal Masjid’s deputy chief cleric, were controlling the mosque. “The militants are holding children and Ghazi hostage,” he informed. The minister also ruled out the government launching any action against other seminaries in Pakistan, including the Jamia Faridia.
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July - 8 
Talking to Dawn, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said that at least 15 suicide bombers were present in the mosque and they had been given explosive belts. “We also have information that militants have heavy ammunition, landmines and rocket launchers,” he informed.
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Talking to Dawn, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said that at least 15 suicide bombers were present in the mosque and they had been given explosive belts. “We also have information that militants have heavy ammunition, landmines and rocket launchers,” he informed.
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July - 9 
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz confirmed that the government would allow Ghazi to be held under house arrest with his ailing mother if he surrenders and frees the hostages. "We are trying to avoid loss of life and using all negotiating options to end this crisis, including house arrest for Ghazi and hi
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz confirmed that the government would allow Ghazi to be held under house arrest with his ailing mother if he surrenders and frees the hostages. "We are trying to avoid loss of life and using all negotiating options to end this crisis, including house arrest for Ghazi and his old mother," informed Aziz. An AFP report added that Aziz said he had a list of several "heavyweight" militants inside the mosque but refused to give their names.
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July - 9 
The ISPR Director General, Major General Waheed Arshad, denied the presence of al Qaeda or Taliban militants inside the Lal Masjid. He, however, admitted to The News that the militants holed up in the mosque might have links with some local banned militant outfits. "Only local militants of banned or
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The ISPR Director General, Major General Waheed Arshad, denied the presence of al Qaeda or Taliban militants inside the Lal Masjid. He, however, admitted to The News that the militants holed up in the mosque might have links with some local banned militant outfits. "Only local militants of banned organisations are present inside the Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid premises," he claimed. When asked about a list of persons present inside the mosque that was published in some newspapers on Monday, he said that any such list or its source was not in his knowledge. Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, Director-General of the National Crisis Management Cell, also conformed that there were no reports of presence of al Qaeda or Taliban militants inside the Lal Masjid.
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July - 10 
Agencies reports added that the European Union (EU) is "gravely concerned" about fighting between government forces and militants in Pakistan because of the possibility it may spill over into Afghanistan, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on July 10, adds AP.
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Agencies reports added that the European Union (EU) is "gravely concerned" about fighting between government forces and militants in Pakistan because of the possibility it may spill over into Afghanistan, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on July 10, adds AP.
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July - 10 
Expressing concern over the Lal Masjid crisis, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on July 10 called for a peaceful resolution of the problem. Michele Montas, Ban’s spokesperson, said that the Secretary-General stressed that the issue should be "resolved peacefully, with respect for human r
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Expressing concern over the Lal Masjid crisis, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on July 10 called for a peaceful resolution of the problem. Michele Montas, Ban’s spokesperson, said that the Secretary-General stressed that the issue should be "resolved peacefully, with respect for human rights."
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July - 10 
Gen. Arshad told AFP that troops had secured 80 percent of the complex. He said the operation was being prolonged because the militants were using women and children as shields, they were well trained and heavily armed, and because of the complex layout of the 75-room compound, which had been extens
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Gen. Arshad told AFP that troops had secured 80 percent of the complex. He said the operation was being prolonged because the militants were using women and children as shields, they were well trained and heavily armed, and because of the complex layout of the 75-room compound, which had been extensively booby-trapped. "The operation is in its last stages. There are one or two areas to be cleared," he informed.
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July - 10 
In Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, provincial police chief Sharif Virk termed the incidents a reaction to the storming of the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa compound. "Except Lower Dir and Battagram, the overall situation in the province is under control," said Virk. Army troops have reportedly been dispatch
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In Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, provincial police chief Sharif Virk termed the incidents a reaction to the storming of the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa compound. "Except Lower Dir and Battagram, the overall situation in the province is under control," said Virk. Army troops have reportedly been dispatched to the Swat district and army personnel have also started patrolling the Mingora town.
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July - 10 
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on July 10 in Islamabad that the killing of Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi was a triumph for the government, according to Daily Times. Addressing the federal cabinet, he expressed satisfaction over the successful operation and said any attempt to use sem
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on July 10 in Islamabad that the killing of Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi was a triumph for the government, according to Daily Times. Addressing the federal cabinet, he expressed satisfaction over the successful operation and said any attempt to use seminaries to promote militancy and extremism was intolerable. "The two cleric brothers always challenged the writ of the state due to which a grand operation against them was inevitable," said Aziz.
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July - 10 
The former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, said in London that Pakistan faces being taken over by religious militants if President Pervez Musharraf's "dictatorship" continues. Benazir said Gen. Musharraf had taken the right decision over the mosque siege, but said she was "frightened for the future
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The former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, said in London that Pakistan faces being taken over by religious militants if President Pervez Musharraf's "dictatorship" continues. Benazir said Gen. Musharraf had taken the right decision over the mosque siege, but said she was "frightened for the future of the people of Pakistan." "Unfortunately a military dictatorship needs the external crutch of a militant threat to justify its existence to the international community," she told Britain's Sky News television.
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July - 10 
The United States on July 10 reportedly regretted the loss of lives in the Lal Masjid operation but blamed militants for not choosing a peaceful solution. Talking to Dawn, a State Department official also noted that the Pakistani government and security forces showed remarkable restraint since the s
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The United States on July 10 reportedly regretted the loss of lives in the Lal Masjid operation but blamed militants for not choosing a peaceful solution. Talking to Dawn, a State Department official also noted that the Pakistani government and security forces showed remarkable restraint since the situation began in January 2007, "providing many opportunities to everyone inside the Red Mosque to resolve the crisis peacefully." The official described the operation as Pakistan’s internal security matter, adding that "each government, concerned about the security of its citizens, must make its own decision about when to end negotiations and when to act to end a crisis."
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July - 11 
Al Qaeda has become entrenched in a remote corner of Pakistan and the United States fears a military strike could spawn new militant activity in the country, US officials said on July 11, Reuters reported. Top intelligence analysts, appearing before the US House of Representatives Armed Services C
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Al Qaeda has become entrenched in a remote corner of Pakistan and the United States fears a military strike could spawn new militant activity in the country, US officials said on July 11, Reuters reported. Top intelligence analysts, appearing before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said the militant network led by Osama bin Laden has become increasingly active in the ungoverned sections of Pakistan near the Afghanistan border, where bin Laden himself is believed to be protected by local tribal leaders. "They seem to be fairly well settled into the safe haven in the ungoverned spaces of Pakistan. We see more training. We see more money. We see more communications," said John Kringen, the Central Intelligence Agency’s Director of Intelligence. Thomas Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence for analysis, warned that US intervention could stir into action militants currently involved in struggles against India over Kashmir. "It is not too great an exaggeration to say there is some risk of turning a problem in northwest Pakistan into the problem of all of Pakistan," he said.
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July - 11 
Britain is investigating how the ringleader of a failed 2005 London bombing plot, identified as a possible terrorist, went to Pakistan for terror training, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on July 11, according to Dawn. Brown confirmed reports of the investigation after it emerged that Muktar Said I
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Britain is investigating how the ringleader of a failed 2005 London bombing plot, identified as a possible terrorist, went to Pakistan for terror training, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on July 11, according to Dawn. Brown confirmed reports of the investigation after it emerged that Muktar Said Ibrahim, who was convicted along with three other defendants, had made the trip barely six months before the attacks, although he was on bail. The Woolwich Crown Court in London heard during the trial that Ibrahim travelled to a militant training camp in Pakistan in December 2004. He was there at the same time as Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, two of the four British nationals who later blew themselves up on the London transit system on July 7, 2005, killing themselves and 52 commuters.
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July - 11 
Security forces collected 73 bodies of militants as they cleared the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa of mines and booby traps on July 11 after flushing out or killing all the militants holed up inside, according to Daily Times. Major General Arshad Waheed, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Re
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Security forces collected 73 bodies of militants as they cleared the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa of mines and booby traps on July 11 after flushing out or killing all the militants holed up inside, according to Daily Times. Major General Arshad Waheed, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, informed reporters that the cleanup operation was almost complete and that 73 bodies had been collected, and none of them were of women. He also said that another soldier was injured in overnight fighting, taking the casualty figures for the armed forces to 10 deaths and 33 wounded. Three more militants were also killed in the fighting overnight, the military spokesperson informed. However, he did not disclose the number of civilian casualties. Around 100 graves were being prepared in the Sector H-11 graveyard for the collective burial of militants killed in the Lal Masjid operation, Geo News reported. According to The Hindu, there is no clarity yet on whether those killed inside were all militants or if they included "civilians" who, the government said, were being held hostage by "a few hardcore militants." More than 500 dead bodies of female and male students have been recovered from the debris of the Lal Masjid in the second phase of Operation Sunrise, according to Frontier Post.
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July - 12 
President Pervez Musharraf on July 12 defended the Lal Masjid operation and declared that no mosque or seminary would be allowed to be misused like the Jamia Hafsa, according to Dawn. "We will not let any mosque and madrassa [seminary] follow Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa," Gen Musharraf said in a tele
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President Pervez Musharraf on July 12 defended the Lal Masjid operation and declared that no mosque or seminary would be allowed to be misused like the Jamia Hafsa, according to Dawn. "We will not let any mosque and madrassa [seminary] follow Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa," Gen Musharraf said in a televised address to the nation, Daily Times reported. According to him, "I am an ardent supporter of madrassas but these kinds of madrassas will not be allowed to function in the country." He stated that militancy, extremism and terrorism in the country would be crushed. "We have yet to achieve our goals to get rid of these menaces," he warned. The President while acknowledging that the operation had become controversial said that establishing the government’s writ had become inevitable. Regretting that the government had to take action against its own people which should not be termed anybody’s victory or defeat, he said: "In fact, today is the day of sorrow and … introspection to avoid the recurrence of such incidents." Blaming the Lal Masjid clerics for having forced the government’s hand, general Musharraf observed that the crisis had started when they captured the children’s library, abducted policemen and set on fire government buildings. The issue assumed grave proportions when the militants abducted six Chinese citizens and killed a Rangers’ personnel, he added. President Musharraf said that the abduction of Chinese citizens, a shameful act in itself, was aimed against a country which had always supported Pakistan, providing the country with necessary political, economic and military assistance. "It was an embarrassing moment when the Chinese president telephoned me to seek protection for Chinese citizens working in Pakistan", the president said. The president said that the administration of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa was not doing any service to Islam. He said that while the mosque-seminary complex sheltered 5,000 students, it also harboured terrorists. Gen. Musharraf said the government had shown utmost restraint and leniency for more than six months "but then there was a great pressure on me from Pakistanis to take action and establish the writ of the government that was repeatedly being challenged". He said that because of delaying the operation, the government was even accused of colluding with the Lal Masjid militants and was blamed for exploiting the situation politically.
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July - 13 
Federal Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao disclosed on July 13 that 102 persons lost their lives in the operation at Lal Masjid, including 91 civilians, 10 army and one Ranger’s official. He also said that four to five corpses have been identified as that of suspected foreign militants. Addressing a p
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Federal Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao disclosed on July 13 that 102 persons lost their lives in the operation at Lal Masjid, including 91 civilians, 10 army and one Ranger’s official. He also said that four to five corpses have been identified as that of suspected foreign militants. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said 248 people sustained injuries in the operation. The minister informed that 242 students are still in jails and students below 18 years have been sent home, adding that Maulana Abdul Aziz’s wife and two daughters will remain in custody, as there are cases filed against them. He revealed that the government had the tape of Abdur Rashid Ghazi when he was pleading for the safe passage for the foreigners. However, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah told reporters after the minister’s press conference that "In the final assault some 75 people were killed in the complex and I think 50 to 60 were militants and the rest were women and children."
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July - 13 
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz while talking to newsmen in Islamabad on July 13 has ruled out general amnesty for “miscreants” in Balochistan. “No proposal is under consideration to announce general amnesty for miscreants in Balochistan. Stern measures will be adopted against violators of the law and t
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz while talking to newsmen in Islamabad on July 13 has ruled out general amnesty for “miscreants” in Balochistan. “No proposal is under consideration to announce general amnesty for miscreants in Balochistan. Stern measures will be adopted against violators of the law and the writ of the government will be ensured at every cost,” said Aziz.
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July - 13 
The government on July 13 moved an army brigade to the Tank district, Daily Times reported. Tank District Police Officer Mumtaz Zarin said that the army had been called in to improve security and to stop incursions from the tribal areas. He, however, refused to comment on how many soldiers were bein
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The government on July 13 moved an army brigade to the Tank district, Daily Times reported. Tank District Police Officer Mumtaz Zarin said that the army had been called in to improve security and to stop incursions from the tribal areas. He, however, refused to comment on how many soldiers were being deployed there, but said the army deployment was a gradual process. "No operation is being considered at the moment," he added. The NWFP Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai while ruling out a military operation in the area, claimed that the army had been summoned to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order. "We were against use of force in Islamabad... how can we agree on an operation in the NWFP?," he said.
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July - 14 
At least 23 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 27 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into their convoy on July 14, reported Daily Times. “The FC lost 23 jawans in the terrorist attack,” ISPR Director General Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times. An unna
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At least 23 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 27 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into their convoy on July 14, reported Daily Times. “The FC lost 23 jawans in the terrorist attack,” ISPR Director General Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times. An unnamed senior administration official said the attack occurred 20-kilometres southeast of Miranshah when a FC convoy was heading towards Miranshah from the Razmak area.
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July - 14 
President Pervez Musharraf has failed to contain al Qaeda and must regain control over areas bordering Afghanistan, said Stephen Hadley, President George Bush’s national security adviser, Daily Times reported. Answering questions in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s ‘Political Capital with Al
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President Pervez Musharraf has failed to contain al Qaeda and must regain control over areas bordering Afghanistan, said Stephen Hadley, President George Bush’s national security adviser, Daily Times reported. Answering questions in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s ‘Political Capital with Al Hunt’, he said Musharraf’s strategy of giving tribal leaders more autonomy “has not worked the way it should have”. The US is working with the Pakistani government to thwart the latest threats, Hadley said, adding that the Musharraf government is “beginning to take some moves that will reassert control in those areas”.
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July - 14 
President Pervez Musharraf, speaking at a meeting in Islamabad on July 14 ruled out any compromise with the “miscreants” who, he said, were sabotaging peace and development activities in the Balochistan province. “The government will make all efforts for accelerating the pace of development in Baloc
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President Pervez Musharraf, speaking at a meeting in Islamabad on July 14 ruled out any compromise with the “miscreants” who, he said, were sabotaging peace and development activities in the Balochistan province. “The government will make all efforts for accelerating the pace of development in Balochistan and for establishing its writ,” Musharraf said.
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July - 14 
The Governor of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, who was the architect of the accord, said that the government was trying to save the peace agreement. He said he met tribal elders and others who were members of the peace committee on July 14 to contact
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The Governor of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, who was the architect of the accord, said that the government was trying to save the peace agreement. He said he met tribal elders and others who were members of the peace committee on July 14 to contact the militants and convince them not to scrap the accord and help in maintaining peace in North Waziristan. He stated that troops were deployed at the checkpoints following some attacks on security forces and in view of an increase in incidents of kidnapping, car-lifting, gun-running and other crimes. He said the soldiers could be withdrawn once the law and order situation improves in North Waziristan.
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July - 15 
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said the two attacks could be a militant response to the Lal Masjid assault. Many of the locals were terming the incident as act of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which according to them had well-trained and brainwashed people in the district.
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Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said the two attacks could be a militant response to the Lal Masjid assault. Many of the locals were terming the incident as act of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which according to them had well-trained and brainwashed people in the district.
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July - 17 
State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem said the incident was a suicide attack and the head of the suicide bomber had been found and added, “It is too early to say anything about the target and motive behind this attack. The security agencies have cordoned off the scene and started investigations
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State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem said the incident was a suicide attack and the head of the suicide bomber had been found and added, “It is too early to say anything about the target and motive behind this attack. The security agencies have cordoned off the scene and started investigations.” Tariq Azim told Geo TV that the government would consider various options to ensure people’s lives were protected, including imposing emergency in Pakistan. There was no immediate indication of who carried out the attack or whether it was linked to a spate of bombings and suicide attacks in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas in recent days that have been blamed on religious extremists. Security agencies have warned of the possibility of more attacks in the capital, claiming that a number of suicide attackers had entered the city a few days ago.
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July - 18 
President General Pervez Musharraf on July 18 hoped the general elections would return moderate forces to Parliament with whom he would work to develop a greater national consensus to restore credibility to the political system and take on the forces of religious extremism, Daily Times reported. Tha
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President General Pervez Musharraf on July 18 hoped the general elections would return moderate forces to Parliament with whom he would work to develop a greater national consensus to restore credibility to the political system and take on the forces of religious extremism, Daily Times reported. That is why, he said, the next general elections were critical for Pakistan and had to be free and fair in order for their results to be accepted as legitimate and representative of the popular will. He reiterated that there will be no state of emergency in the country and Presidential and general elections will be held on time "as per the Constitution".
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July - 18 
President George W Bush's counterterrorism adviser said that US officials believe al Qaida wants to launch "a mass casualty, spectacular event" in the US but do not think it can do so. "Make no mistake, they're determined to figure out a way," said Frances Frago Townsend. The report concluded among
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President George W Bush's counterterrorism adviser said that US officials believe al Qaida wants to launch "a mass casualty, spectacular event" in the US but do not think it can do so. "Make no mistake, they're determined to figure out a way," said Frances Frago Townsend. The report concluded among other things that al Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on US soil, heightening the terror threat facing the US over the next few years.
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July - 18 
President Musharraf said that al Qaeda was on the run in the tribal areas and the flow of Taliban from Pakistani territory to Afghanistan had been reduced. He pointed out that the Pakistan Army was dispatching two full divisions of troops to the troubled areas in the North West Frontier Province (NW
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President Musharraf said that al Qaeda was on the run in the tribal areas and the flow of Taliban from Pakistani territory to Afghanistan had been reduced. He pointed out that the Pakistan Army was dispatching two full divisions of troops to the troubled areas in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and also raising new paramilitary forces to aid civil power. He explained that in National Security Council meetings the NWFP chief minister had fully supported the federal government’s strategic plan to put down the Taliban in the frontier regions and win hearts and minds. He implied he would continue to woo the moderate mainstream mullahs everywhere because they too were against religious extremism and violence, and thereby isolate and crush the extremists by a combination of military, political and religious moves.
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July - 18 
The United States (US) on July 18 said that it will insist on a tougher approach to fighting al Qaeda in Pakistan, acknowledging that a strategy pushed by President General Pervez Musharraf had not worked. "There’s no doubt that more aggressive steps need to be taken," White House spokesman Tony Sno
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The United States (US) on July 18 said that it will insist on a tougher approach to fighting al Qaeda in Pakistan, acknowledging that a strategy pushed by President General Pervez Musharraf had not worked. "There’s no doubt that more aggressive steps need to be taken," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. "President Musharraf attempted to engage in...carrot diplomacy with tribal leaders in the tribal areas and it didn’t work. So what you have to do when something doesn’t work is you have to fix it, and that’s what’s going on now," he pointed out, and added, the strategy had "created an opportunity for Qaeda to find safe haven."
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July - 19 
According to Daily Times, the White House on July 19 refused to rule out striking at suspected terrorist targets inside Pakistan. George Bush’s top counter-terrorism adviser, Tony Snow, at the White House recently suggested that the United States is not getting all the cooperation that they expected
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According to Daily Times, the White House on July 19 refused to rule out striking at suspected terrorist targets inside Pakistan. George Bush’s top counter-terrorism adviser, Tony Snow, at the White House recently suggested that the United States is not getting all the cooperation that they expected from Pakistani government in the global war on terrorism. "It is clear that Taliban and Al Qaeda, in the Northwest Territories and the federally administered tribal areas, have begun to put on operations that threaten the government of Pakistan itself," said Snow, and added, "President Musharraf, having tried one approach, in terms of dealing with the tribal leaders, is now going to have to be more aggressive and is being more aggressive moving forces into the region to deal with the security problems there."
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July - 19 
Addressing a 45-member inter-tribal jirga at the Governor’s House in capital Peshwar on July 19, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai urged the tribal elders to help the government establish its writ and urged the militants to leave Pakistan “with
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Addressing a 45-member inter-tribal jirga at the Governor’s House in capital Peshwar on July 19, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai urged the tribal elders to help the government establish its writ and urged the militants to leave Pakistan “with honour and dignity”.
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July - 19 
President Pervez Musharraf has urged the nation to stand united against extremists as they are a threat to the country. Musharraf in a gathering of students from the Punjab province said, "The challenge needs to be faced with courage, but one person alone cannot do it. I cannot do it alone, neither
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President Pervez Musharraf has urged the nation to stand united against extremists as they are a threat to the country. Musharraf in a gathering of students from the Punjab province said, "The challenge needs to be faced with courage, but one person alone cannot do it. I cannot do it alone, neither the police, nor the army can do it alone, unless the people of the country support it."
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July - 19 
The federal government has decided to provide PKR 3.6 billion to the NWFP government to recruit more personnel to the law enforcement agencies in the province. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that the NWFP government had asked for an additional 15,000 police personnel where the federal government a
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The federal government has decided to provide PKR 3.6 billion to the NWFP government to recruit more personnel to the law enforcement agencies in the province. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that the NWFP government had asked for an additional 15,000 police personnel where the federal government agreed to provide half of the grant.
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July - 19 
The NWFP government will hold a meeting with a 45-member jirga (council) that negotiated the peace deal with the militants in 2006. "We have been invited for a meeting with NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai on Thursday (today). We don’t know the agenda, but the meeting will obviously focus on the peace
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The NWFP government will hold a meeting with a 45-member jirga (council) that negotiated the peace deal with the militants in 2006. "We have been invited for a meeting with NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai on Thursday (today). We don’t know the agenda, but the meeting will obviously focus on the peace deal," Malik Waris Khan from Khyber Agency, who is among 45 other elders from six tribal regions to attend the meeting, told Daily Times in Peshawar.
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July - 20 
According to Dawn, a meeting presided over by President Pervez Musharraf on July 20 approved ‘an all-encompassing strategy’ to combat terrorism, extremism and growing militancy in the country, particularly in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas. Sources said the meeting decided
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According to Dawn, a meeting presided over by President Pervez Musharraf on July 20 approved ‘an all-encompassing strategy’ to combat terrorism, extremism and growing militancy in the country, particularly in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas. Sources said the meeting decided to provide ‘necessary financial and security support’ to NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani to restore law and order in the province. "The meeting discussed all aspects of the current wave of violence and terrorism and took a number of important decisions to improve the law and order situation across Pakistan," said the President’s Media Advisor Rashid Qurashi. Sources said the president told the meeting that the writ of the government would have to be established by chasing terrorists and militants and that the government would not bow before their demands.
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July - 22 
A senior White House aide said on July 22 that the US would consider using military force to neutralise alleged al Qaeda hideouts in Pakistan, according to Dawn. “Just because we don’t speak about things publicly doesn’t mean we’re not doing things you talk about,” said Frances Townsend, Homeland Se
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A senior White House aide said on July 22 that the US would consider using military force to neutralise alleged al Qaeda hideouts in Pakistan, according to Dawn. “Just because we don’t speak about things publicly doesn’t mean we’re not doing things you talk about,” said Frances Townsend, Homeland Security Adviser to President George W. Bush. She was reportedly responding to a question, asked during her interviews with CNN and Fox News, why the US does not conduct special operations to destroy al Qaeda hideouts. “Our job No 1 is to protect the American people. There are no options off the table,” she said. Her comments came a day after President Bush endorsed US intelligence reports that al Qaeda had built a safe haven in Pakistan’s tribal area.
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July - 22 
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in the lawless parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said on July 22, according to Daily Times. McConnell blamed President Pervez Musharraf’s government for allowing al Qaeda to regrou
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Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in the lawless parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said on July 22, according to Daily Times. McConnell blamed President Pervez Musharraf’s government for allowing al Qaeda to regroup via a peace deal with the militants in North Waziristan in September 2006. Asked about bin Laden, he told NBC Television, “My personal view is that he’s alive. I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan.” McConnell added that if Musharraf were forced from power by the Islamist violence and pro-democracy unrest sweeping Pakistan that could have a “severe impact” on the US struggle against terrorism.
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July - 22 
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao told AFP “Our stance is that Osama bin Laden is not present in Pakistan… If anyone has the information he should give it to us, so that we can apprehend him.”
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Pakistan’s Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao told AFP “Our stance is that Osama bin Laden is not present in Pakistan… If anyone has the information he should give it to us, so that we can apprehend him.”
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July - 23 
Commenting on a statement of by US intelligence chief Mike McConnell about the presence of al Qaeda safe haven in the FATA and the possibility of US strikes in these areas, she said: “We are committed and we will take firm action on the basis of information gathered by us through our own means or co
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Commenting on a statement of by US intelligence chief Mike McConnell about the presence of al Qaeda safe haven in the FATA and the possibility of US strikes in these areas, she said: “We are committed and we will take firm action on the basis of information gathered by us through our own means or concrete and actionable intelligence shared with us… Like any other country, we remain deeply concerned over the possibility of al-Qaeda or any other terrorist entity establishing a sanctuary or regrouping or regenerating inside our territory.”
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July - 23 
Pakistan on July 23 said it would not allow any attack by the United States on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in a hunt for al Qaeda, saying the counter-terrorism measures would be taken by its own security forces, according to The News. “We have stated in the clearest terms that any
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Pakistan on July 23 said it would not allow any attack by the United States on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in a hunt for al Qaeda, saying the counter-terrorism measures would be taken by its own security forces, according to The News. “We have stated in the clearest terms that any attack inside our territory would be unacceptable,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters in Islamabad. “Any such action would be irresponsible and dangerous,” she warned.
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July - 23 
The Federal Government on July 23 rejected the local Taliban demand for the removal of security check posts across North Waziristan. “The governor excused himself from meeting the demand, saying there is no question of removing the check posts unless the government is assured (by the Taliban) of an
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The Federal Government on July 23 rejected the local Taliban demand for the removal of security check posts across North Waziristan. “The governor excused himself from meeting the demand, saying there is no question of removing the check posts unless the government is assured (by the Taliban) of an improvement in the security condition,” a tribal elder told Daily Times.
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July - 23 
Tony Snow, press secretary to US President George W. Bush, said on July 23 that Pakistan is a sovereign country, Daily Times reported. Commenting on the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s remarks about the inadvisability of a US strike in the FATA, Snow replied, “I think there has been this notion afoot, o
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Tony Snow, press secretary to US President George W. Bush, said on July 23 that Pakistan is a sovereign country, Daily Times reported. Commenting on the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s remarks about the inadvisability of a US strike in the FATA, Snow replied, “I think there has been this notion afoot, or at least an attempt or an inclination somehow we’re going to invade Pakistan. We always maintain the option of striking actionable targets, but we also realise that Pakistan is a sovereign government and a very important player in the war on terror. Not only has Pervez Musharraf twice faced direct threats from al Qaeda, but also Pakistan, itself, has been a very important ally in trying to interrupt plots, to go after al Qaeda activists.”
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July - 24 
Interior Ministry spokesperson Javed Iqbal Cheema confirmed the killing and informed a press conference in Islamabad that Mehsud was wanted for the abduction of two Chinese engineers in 2004 and for "many terror attacks". "We are 200 per cent sure that Abdullah Mehsud has died," the spokesman said i
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Interior Ministry spokesperson Javed Iqbal Cheema confirmed the killing and informed a press conference in Islamabad that Mehsud was wanted for the abduction of two Chinese engineers in 2004 and for "many terror attacks". "We are 200 per cent sure that Abdullah Mehsud has died," the spokesman said in reply to a question expressing scepticism over the Government’s claim, according to Dawn. He was also an "active Taliban commander and staunch al Qaeda supporter," Cheema added. Cheema denied the US had shared any intelligence with Pakistan about Mehsud’s hideout. An unnamed Pakistani intelligence official said Mehsud was intercepted on his way back from Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where the official said he led supporters fighting alongside the Taliban against Afghan and US forces. The intelligence official said Mehsud had been in Afghanistan for more than a year.
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July - 25 
A United States embassy spokeswoman rejected Geo Television channel’s report that the US planned to strike at nine places in North Waziristan. Elizabeth Colton told Daily Times that there was no threat to Pakistan from the US Government. "Pakistan and the US are allies in the war on terror and we ar
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A United States embassy spokeswoman rejected Geo Television channel’s report that the US planned to strike at nine places in North Waziristan. Elizabeth Colton told Daily Times that there was no threat to Pakistan from the US Government. "Pakistan and the US are allies in the war on terror and we are cooperating closely," she said.
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July - 25 
According to a Reuters report of July 21, German authorities believe al Qaeda is targeting Germany for possible attacks and that German Islamists have been travelling to Pakistan for "terrorist training." Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, "The dan
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According to a Reuters report of July 21, German authorities believe al Qaeda is targeting Germany for possible attacks and that German Islamists have been travelling to Pakistan for "terrorist training." Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, "The danger that there could be terrorist attacks here is very real… We have many indications that al Qaeda is targeting Germany and German installations abroad, such as embassies." Hanning, a former head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, also said German Islamists were being trained in Pakistan. Three German Islamists who trained there returned to Germany at the beginning of June 2007, he disclosed. "We have to assume that the people who returned from Pakistan are planning attacks," he informed. He said the Interior Ministry was aware of 14 Islamists who went to Pakistan, some of whom were still there. He added that Berlin believed that there were more Germans who had gone to "terrorist training camps" in Pakistan. In recent months, Pakistani authorities have detained at least seven German Islamists "who could have been involved in planning attacks", he disclosed. "We need to do everything possible to find out who went to Pakistan and was trained there," Hanning said.
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July - 25 
According to Daily Times, the US authorities have pointed out the locations of nine alleged terrorist training camps in North Waziristan to Pakistani authorities and an anti-terrorism campaign has been started in the area. Geo News reported on July 25 that Pakistan and the US would act secretly agai
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According to Daily Times, the US authorities have pointed out the locations of nine alleged terrorist training camps in North Waziristan to Pakistani authorities and an anti-terrorism campaign has been started in the area. Geo News reported on July 25 that Pakistan and the US would act secretly against terrorists in Waziristan. They said that the action against Abdullah Mehsud in Balochistan was part of the "silent operation started under US pressure."
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July - 25 
Attacks by militants along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border doubled last month over the same period in 2006, but are decreasing now because of Pakistan’s new military operations on its side of the frontier, a top US commander said on July 25, according to Daily Times. Army Major General David Rodrig
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Attacks by militants along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border doubled last month over the same period in 2006, but are decreasing now because of Pakistan’s new military operations on its side of the frontier, a top US commander said on July 25, according to Daily Times. Army Major General David Rodriguez also said there has been a 50 percent to 60 percent increase over last year in the number of foreign fighters flowing into Afghanistan from Pakistan. "The Al Qaeda network is the one that brings most of the foreign fighters in," he said. Rodriguez estimated that foreign fighters account for less than five percent of insurgents there and said they execute a minority of attacks. But they provide money and other resources and have "leadership skills" to serve as a core for forming larger groups, he told Pentagon reporters via video conference from Afghanistan. He also said the number of larger scale Taliban attacks has declined from a high point in May and June, as a result of operations by US, NATO and Pakistani forces. The operations had "a significant impact on their leadership that has disrupted their capability to conduct many of those large attacks," he informed.
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July - 25 
President Pervez Musharraf on July 25 reiterated Pakistan’s offer to cooperate with India to root out terrorism and warned that any “punitive action” against Pakistan would be “paid back in the same coin”. “Nobody should have this wishful thinking that Pakistan will bear any kind of adventure inside
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President Pervez Musharraf on July 25 reiterated Pakistan’s offer to cooperate with India to root out terrorism and warned that any “punitive action” against Pakistan would be “paid back in the same coin”. “Nobody should have this wishful thinking that Pakistan will bear any kind of adventure inside its territory. No one is there who can take any punitive action against Pakistan, as its defence is in strong hands,” Musharraf said at a function at Port Qasim in Karachi.
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July - 27 
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Khalid Perveez said it was a suicide bombing, adding “We were expecting such an incident. There was intelligence that five suicide bombers had entered the federal capital territory. Two of them have completed their mission and three are still there.”
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Islamabad Chief Commissioner Khalid Perveez said it was a suicide bombing, adding “We were expecting such an incident. There was intelligence that five suicide bombers had entered the federal capital territory. Two of them have completed their mission and three are still there.”
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July - 27 
Pakistan territory near the Afghan border, saying that American forces would not be allowed to operate in the area as Pakistani forces were quite capable of doing this, Dawn reported. “Inside Pakistani territory only Pakistani forces will operate and they are fully capable of performing this task,”
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Pakistan territory near the Afghan border, saying that American forces would not be allowed to operate in the area as Pakistani forces were quite capable of doing this, Dawn reported. “Inside Pakistani territory only Pakistani forces will operate and they are fully capable of performing this task,” Musharraf told reporters as he left for a visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “We are fighting extremism and terrorism in our national interest and we do not have to please anyone,” the president said. He also rejected the US allegations that al Qaeda was regrouping in Pakistan's tribal area. “A small number of al Qaeda elements present in the area are on the run and we are pursuing them,” the president stated.
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July - 29 
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on July 29 that Islamist extremist leaders were plotting to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf’s Government and had converted madrassas (seminaries) in Pakistani cities into military headquarters with well-stocked arsenals, AFP reported. She accused Genera
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Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on July 29 that Islamist extremist leaders were plotting to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf’s Government and had converted madrassas (seminaries) in Pakistani cities into military headquarters with well-stocked arsenals, AFP reported. She accused General Musharraf of adopting an “appeasement policy” toward extremists that had only strengthened them. She also admitted that she had made mistakes during her time in office in trying to work with the Taliban to pacify the country. Speaking to Britain’s Sky News television, Benazir said she would return from exile to stand in Pakistan’s next general election. “I think the chances right now are pretty good. It’s about 90 percent out of 100 for me to stand in those elections,” she said. However, Benazir claimed that she would not strike a power-sharing deal with President Musharraf so long as he remained the army chief. According to her, “It’s very important to deal with who’s there. He is the person there and if we can find a way to get the uniformed presidency out of the picture, we can find a way to get democracy back... we will be looking forward. We’re not there yet.” She added: “The post of the army chief must be separated from that of the president.”
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July - 29 
The Government has sounded a red alert in the wake of reports about the presence of 600 suicide bombers within the limits of the national capital Islamabad and asked security force personnel to avoid gathering in groups and not to wear uniform in public, according to The Hindu. The suicide bombers a
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The Government has sounded a red alert in the wake of reports about the presence of 600 suicide bombers within the limits of the national capital Islamabad and asked security force personnel to avoid gathering in groups and not to wear uniform in public, according to The Hindu. The suicide bombers are hiding in madrassas (seminaries) and mosques within and around the limits of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Daily Times quoted officials as saying. Most of these bombers are believed to be those who went missing after the crackdown on the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque). “Around 600 students of the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Fareedia have not returned to their homes after the Lal Masjid operation. These are the people called ‘missing students’ and they are hiding in madrassas and mosques in and around the two cities. These are walking bombs and are determined to blow themselves up anytime, anywhere,” investigators said. The presence of the bombers was revealed by the sacked chief cleric of the Lal Masjid, Abdul Aziz, who is in detention. “During interrogation, Aziz said 500-600 students of the two madrassas had been trained, equipped and brainwashed to carry out suicide attacks. These students left the madrassas according to a plan before the final operation against the mosque was launched,” the officials said.
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July - 30 
Meanwhile, the political administration have reportedly suspended payment of incentives and salaries of the residents of Darpakhel, Borakhel and Miranshah villages under the collective and territorial responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. An official told Dawn that the incentives
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Meanwhile, the political administration have reportedly suspended payment of incentives and salaries of the residents of Darpakhel, Borakhel and Miranshah villages under the collective and territorial responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. An official told Dawn that the incentives were suspended after security forces had come under attacks in the areas. The administration has also warned officials and Khasadar (tribal security force) personnel to immediately report for duty or face termination. Many government employees and Khasadar personnel have not reported for duty after militants warned them against working for the armed forces. After scrapping the peace deal with the government, local militants distributed pamphlets asking Khasadar and Levies personnel not to report for work. The continuing tension in the region has also reportedly affected business in the Miranshah bazaar which has remained closed for six days.
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July - 31 
A senior al Qaeda operative in an Internet video posted on July 31 praised the Islamists who died in clashes with security forces during a raid on the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, Dawn reported. Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al Qaeda’s leaders in Afghanistan, hailed as ‘martyrs’ the pro-Taliban
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A senior al Qaeda operative in an Internet video posted on July 31 praised the Islamists who died in clashes with security forces during a raid on the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, Dawn reported. Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al Qaeda’s leaders in Afghanistan, hailed as ‘martyrs’ the pro-Taliban militants who were killed when troops stormed the mosque on July 10-11. "They engraved a page in history, a story of fighting which seldom will be repeated," Libi said in the video, which was produced by al Qaeda's media wing and provided to AFP by the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group. Libi also reportedly called for the overthrow of President Pervez Musharraf in the video, which had subtitles in Urdu.
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July - 31 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said on July 31 that General Pervez Musharraf should be given "safe passage" through his re-election as president in uniform, to save the country from another bout of martial law. "I think once again we should all deliberate
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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said on July 31 that General Pervez Musharraf should be given "safe passage" through his re-election as president in uniform, to save the country from another bout of martial law. "I think once again we should all deliberate on this option to avoid a repeat of the East Pakistan tragedy," he told Daily Times in an interview. Rehman, who is also head of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party and secretary general of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, said that Gen. Musharraf could impose another martial law if he failed to win political support for his re-election as president in uniform. He said the support of the international community, particularly the United States, to Musharraf could embolden him to go ahead with this plan. "I think history should not repeat itself and there should be no 1969-like marital law in the country," he said.
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July - 31 
President Pervez Musharraf has urged the United States to review a bill linking aid for Pakistan to progress in tackling al Qaeda and other militants, saying the legislation could hurt the two countries’ strategic partnership, Daily Times reported. In a meeting with the new US Ambassador to Pakistan
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President Pervez Musharraf has urged the United States to review a bill linking aid for Pakistan to progress in tackling al Qaeda and other militants, saying the legislation could hurt the two countries’ strategic partnership, Daily Times reported. In a meeting with the new US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, who called on him at the Presidency to present her credentials on July 31, General Musharraf rejected remarks by US officials that US forces could strike against terrorists in Pakistani territory, saying the Pakistan Army is fully capable of coping with militants in the tribal areas, and neither al Qaeda nor any other group would be allowed to make them a safe haven. The ambassador conveyed a message from US President George W. Bush to Gen. Musharraf, renewing his commitment to strong relations and strategic partnership between the two countries.
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July - 31 
The United States has asked Pakistan to hand over India's most wanted fugitive and international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim for his alleged links to al Qaeda-related terrorists groups and involvement in the global heroin trade, Press Trust of India reported. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and
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The United States has asked Pakistan to hand over India's most wanted fugitive and international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim for his alleged links to al Qaeda-related terrorists groups and involvement in the global heroin trade, Press Trust of India reported. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have sought assistance from Pakistan's Interior Ministry, the Anti-Narcotic Force and Inter-Services Intelligence to trace Dawood in Pakistan, according to The News. Dawood has been described by the American agencies as "an al Qaeda facilitator now living in Pakistan who has already been placed in the same category as top al Qaeda operatives with Interpol issuing a special notice against him." According to the DEA, Dawood is involved in large-scale shipment of narcotics to the United Kingdom and Western Europe and its smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa have shared links with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. However, only the Interior Ministry has reportedly responded to the request of the US agencies so far, saying that any such help was impossible since no such person by the name of Dawood Ibrahim lived on Pakistan soil.
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July - 31 
The US Vice President Dick Cheney has discounted the possibility of American forces going into Pakistan to hunt al Qaeda even as they work closely with Islamabad, according to Daily Times. “Well, we work closely with President Pervez Musharraf and his government in Pakistan. We’ve captured and kille
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The US Vice President Dick Cheney has discounted the possibility of American forces going into Pakistan to hunt al Qaeda even as they work closely with Islamabad, according to Daily Times. “Well, we work closely with President Pervez Musharraf and his government in Pakistan. We’ve captured and killed a lot of al Qaeda in Pakistan. But it’s obviously a sovereign state. They’ve got reason to go after al Qaeda,” he said in an interview on July 31 to CNN.
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August - 2 
The government has so far deported 554 foreign students from seminaries across Pakistan, while cases of another 717 such students are under consideration for deportation, the Interior Ministry told the National Assembly in a written reply to a question on August 2, according to Daily Times. It said
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The government has so far deported 554 foreign students from seminaries across Pakistan, while cases of another 717 such students are under consideration for deportation, the Interior Ministry told the National Assembly in a written reply to a question on August 2, according to Daily Times. It said that all the foreign students failing to submit a no objection certificate (NOC) from their respective governments would be deported and no foreign student allowed admission in Pakistani seminaries in future. The ministry disclosed that 12,395 of the total 13,500 madrassas across Pakistan had been registered during the government’s drive to regulate seminaries and no religious school could be opened without the government’s NOC under the new rules.
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August - 2 
The United States wants Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda in the battlefield and will not hesitate to use its own forces to achieve this objective, said Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, according to Dawn. Burns observed that al Qaeda had built a safe haven in Pakistan, while
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The United States wants Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda in the battlefield and will not hesitate to use its own forces to achieve this objective, said Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, according to Dawn. Burns observed that al Qaeda had built a safe haven in Pakistan, while the Taliban leadership operated from bases in and around Quetta, capital of Balochistan. The US policy, as explained by Burns, favours a democratic change in Pakistan, which brings a government that is friendly to Washington and is a "judicious custodian of the country’s nuclear weapons." Burns said linking US aid to Pakistan’s performance in the fight against terror was justified because as a friend Washington had the right to expect Islamabad to fight the terrorists who attacked the US on Sept 11, 2001. He also said Pakistani banks were involved in laundering money for al Qaeda and other terrorist outfits. There could be no talks with al Qaeda, which had to be defeated militarily, he said. The US respected Pakistan’s sovereignty but it would not hesitate to use its forces to target what he called al Qaeda hideouts inside Pakistan, he added. "With al Qaeda, we do not believe that there can be reasoned dialogue, so we would prefer the Pakistani government to take it to al Qaeda and defeat them in the battlefield," Burns told C-Span television. Burns said Pakistan should take two immediate steps to fight terrorists: "First, they have got to take stronger military measure in Balochistan against the Taliban and in North and South Waziristan against al Qaeda to defeat those groups inside Pakistan. Second, there is a lot of financing, of course, money that gets laundered through banks that support these terrorist groups. We have asked the Pakistani government to take stronger measures to try to interdict this kind of laundering of money which is vital to support the operations of these terrorist groups."
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August - 4 
Colonel Jawad and Colonel Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Army told a meeting of local elders, councillors and political leaders that there would be no military operation in Swat. They said the army had been called in to maintain law and order, which was why the troops did not retaliate despite terrorists’
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Colonel Jawad and Colonel Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Army told a meeting of local elders, councillors and political leaders that there would be no military operation in Swat. They said the army had been called in to maintain law and order, which was why the troops did not retaliate despite terrorists’ attacks on the army.
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August - 6 
Following an upsurge in suicide bomb blasts in the country, the government on August 6 issued directives for re-arresting all terrorists, who were released from various jails, according to The News. The interior ministry in its 14-point notification issued to all provinces directed the National Data
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Following an upsurge in suicide bomb blasts in the country, the government on August 6 issued directives for re-arresting all terrorists, who were released from various jails, according to The News. The interior ministry in its 14-point notification issued to all provinces directed the National Database and Registration Authority to keep record of prisoners in various jails, besides bio-metric database so that terrorism could be controlled. It has been further advised that three separate lists be prepared concerning the suicide attacks. In the first list names of the most wanted terrorists, in the second names of those, who impart training to them while in the third names of possible suicide attackers be recorded.
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August - 6 
On August 6-evening, some TV channels claimed that Dawood was shot at by three local gangsters, including Black Prince, after a brawl in a gambling den in a Karachi hotel. The Karachi police, however, denied the incident.
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On August 6-evening, some TV channels claimed that Dawood was shot at by three local gangsters, including Black Prince, after a brawl in a gambling den in a Karachi hotel. The Karachi police, however, denied the incident.
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August - 6 
The Governor of the Afghan province where Taliban militants took 23 South Koreans as hostage has accused the Pakistani Taliban working with Pakistani intelligence agents of holding them captive, Indian Express reported. "In the beginning it was the local Taliban, but after a few days, Pakistani Tali
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The Governor of the Afghan province where Taliban militants took 23 South Koreans as hostage has accused the Pakistani Taliban working with Pakistani intelligence agents of holding them captive, Indian Express reported. "In the beginning it was the local Taliban, but after a few days, Pakistani Taliban and ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] officers disguised as Taliban arrived in the region and they took control of the situation," Ghazni Governor Merajuddin Pattan told Reuters. Taliban militants seized 23 South Korean church volunteers from a bus in the Ghazni province on the main road south from Kabul on July 20. The abductors have shot dead two male hostages after Kabul refused to give in to their demand and free Taliban prisoners.
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