Pakistan Timeline - 2012

Date

Incidents

January 01

Fifteen militants were killed and five hideouts were destroyed when fighter jets bombed militant hideouts in Torsmat, Jabba Kellay, Akhunkot and Sama Bazaar in Upper tehsil of Orakzai Agency in FATA.  The dead included five terrorists of ‘Commander’ Ziaur Rehman group of TTP.

At least 12 militants were killed and three hostages were rescued from their custody after an encounter with SFs in the Alamgir Killay of the Karmina area in Landikotal tehsil of Khyber Agency. Khasadar Force sources said that a FC soldier was also killed and another injured during the encounter. According to official sources, TTP Tariq Afridi group ‘commander’ Qari Kamran was among the dead.

A girl, identified as Hajra Bibi, was killed and three persons, two among them members of an anti-TTP lashkar, were injured when a bomb planted by suspected militants in a sewerage line in Tarano Kalli bazaar of Bajaur Agency exploded. 

Four security personnel were killed and two others injured in a landmine explosion in Surali area, some10 kilometres from Sui town of Dera Bugti District.

One person was killed and his brother was injured when three Iranian border guards after allegedly crossing the border shot at a car at Mazan Sar Mashkail area in Washuk District.

At Least 10 people were injured in a hand grenade attack in a shop on Joint Road in Quetta. 

A local trader, identified as Muhammad Akbar Mulazai, was abducted in Surab township of Kalat District.

An unidentified decomposed body of a young man was found packed in a gunny bag within the limits of Jamshed Quarters Police Station.

The year 2011 was one of the deadliest years for the residents of Karachi. 1,354 people were reportedly killed in terrorist attacks and target killing incidents throughout the year. Target killing incidents escalated in the third quarter of 2011 and some 602 people were targeted on political or ethnic grounds. July and August remained the deadliest months of 2011 as some 552 citizens were killed, including 301 in July and 251 in August.  Some 50 people were killed in September, 44 in October, 28 in November and 31 in December.

Pakistan is unmatched in terms of the freedom it allows for the pursuit of jihad and for the spread of Islam, said JuD chief Hafiz Saeed. Saeed said that he did not believe in modern nationalism, but no other “territory” in the world matched Pakistan and it was a great blessing from Allah, adding that the non-Muslims were conspiring against Pakistan both internally and externally.

JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the future relationship between Pakistan and the US should be based on mutual respect and the country’s interests should be kept supreme.

January 2

At least 20 militants were killed in two separate operations by the Army on January 1-2 in Upper tehsil of Orakzai Agency in FATA. 

12 militants were killed and nine others got injured when jet fighters pounded their hideouts in Bilras, Bar Mella and Toor Semath area of Mamozai tehsil. Sources said that hideouts were destroyed. 

Three militants and a volunteer of Qaumi lashkar were killed during a clash in Landikotal tehsil of Khyber Agency.

Sindh University Director of Student Affairs Professor Bashir Ahmed Chanur was killed in an armed attack by unidentified assailants in the varsity’s premises in Jamshoro District. One of the assailants got injured when a security guard retaliated by firing.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead a local leader of ANP, identified as Furqan Shaha, in Hasrat Mohani Colony within Pak Colony Police precincts in Karachi, triggering indiscriminate fire that left five people injured.

Police found the body of an unidentified man from a drain in Nasir Colony, Korangi within the limits of Zaman Town Police Station.

At least four people, including two security guards, Zafar and Younus, and two passersby were injured when militants attacked a mobile company franchise near Hyderi market within the remit of North Nazimabad Police Station.

Chief of ASWJ Aurangzaib Farooqui and three others were booked in December 31, 2011 murder case of Shia leader Askari Raza on Rashid Minhas Road in Karachi, while SSP of the CID’s AEC Chaudhry Aslam also came under interrogation. 

Two men were shot dead in Goht Shadi Pert area, in the limits of Barija Levies Thana of Jhal Magsi District.

The bullet-riddled body of a missing trader identified as Wazir Khan Marri was found dumped near Eastern Bypass, a suburb of Quetta.

At least five children were injured in a land mine explosion in the Sui area of Dera Bugti District.

Two security personnel, identified as Hawaldar Hazrat Umer and Sepoy Shukat Ali, were injured in a land mine explosion in Tuba Nukani area of Dera Bugti District. 

At least four people including a medical practitioner and his brother were abducted from Chatar area of Naseerabad District on the night of December 31.

Iran shut its border with Pakistan as Pakistan authorities took three Iranians in to custody over alleged cross-border attack of January 1 that killed one Pakistani citizen in Washuk District, quoting BBC Urdu report.

Unidentified militants blew up an 8-inch diameter gas pipeline in Pirkoh area of Dera Bugti District.

A local JUI-F leader and former Nazim Haji Mohammad Azeem Khan was killed and his driver was seriously injured when unidentified assailants attacked his pickup near Naverkhel on Begukhel road in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Intelligence agencies stepped up security for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, after intercepted messages from militants revealed they were planning a suicide attack.

All Jihadi groups, in consultation with Islamic Emirate Afghanistan (shadow Taliban Government in Afghanistan), have decided to set up a committee to set aside differences in their ranks and step up support for war against western forces in Afghanistan. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Taliban Shura held at an unspecified place on January 2. A statement issued in the form of a pamphlet to the media in Waziristan after the meeting said that “All Mujahideen —local and foreigners —are informed that all jihadi forces, in consultation with Islamic Emirate Afghanistan, have unanimously decided to form a five-member commission. It will be known as Shura-i-Murakbah.”

Spokesman for the TTP Ehsanullah Ehsan confirmed that the meeting had been held and the statement dated December 31 was issued after approval by Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Omar. The sources said the committee had been formed to resolve differences among various militant factions regroup them and investigate killings on spying charges and excesses, if any, committed by the Taliban against local people.

The sources said the high command of TTP and Afghan Taliban had been trying for two months to reach an agreement on uniting different factions. The first meeting in this regard was held on November 27 in Azam Warsak near Wana in South Waziristan Agency.

Talking to Dawn on phone from an unspecified place, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah said the Mujahideen groups had reposed their confidence in the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar and recognised him as the leader of Afghanistan. He said the TTP would send its fighters to Afghanistan after March for waging jihad against “US-led infidel forces”.

The year 2011 witnessed a marked decline in suicide attacks in the country, Conflict Monitoring Centre (CMC) report said. CMC is a data collection NGO which taps into Interior Ministry, Health Department and ISPR resources. As a result, the number of deaths also decreased by 48% compared to the previous year. The brunt of fatalities were faced by civilians – out of 606 people killed in 2011, 358 were civilians while the Army  lost 33 of its soldiers, the Frontier Constabulary  lost 100 and the Police lost 54 personnel.  A total of 23 of the 41 attacks targeted civilians. As many as 51 suicide bombers were used in the attacks – certain hits used more than one human bomb. Only four of the recorded bomb attacks targeted the military.

NATO’s ISAF Coalition spokesman, Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen, said that NATO wants to get relations with Pakistan back on track “as quickly as possible” to reopen its key supply route for foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan. Pakistan closed its main trading route to Afghanistan after the November 26, 2011 raid choking a major supply line for the 130,000 US-led force.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne said that Pakistan's "desire" for peaceful settlement of issues must not be misconstrued as its weakness as the country has the means to give a "befitting response to any unprovoked attack of blatant aggression", adding, "Pakistan is a peace-loving country. However, our desire for peaceful settlement of issues must not be misconstrued as our weakness."

January 3

Three persons including two Levies personnel were killed and eight civilians were injured when a powerful car bomb exploded in Landi Kotal Bazaar of Khyber Agency in FATA.

One passenger was injured in a roadside bomb blast at Pir Qayum village near Sadda Town in Kurram Agency.

Militants blew up a Government primary school for boys in Gurbaz Gagezai area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency. An unnamed spokesman for TTP Mohmand chapter claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two persons were killed and 19 others got injuries when a bomb planted in a motorbike at Azam Tower on Arbab Road in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, went off.

Unidentified militants blew up a tower of Sheikh Muhammadi transmission line near Rashakai, disrupting power supply to Peshawar and adjoining areas.

Unidentified militants blew up a pylon on Tarbela-Peshawar transmission line at Baba Ji Kallay in Nowshera District.

An anti-terrorism court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for 34 TNSM and Swat Taliban leaders for non-compliance with the court order to appear in a case. The case was registered against TNSM Chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and others for anti-state and anti-judiciary speeches at the Grassy Ground in Mingora, Swat in 2009. Maulana Sufi Muhammad, his three sons Hayatullah, Rizwanullah and Ziaullah and another TNSM leader Mufti Safiullah appeared in the Swat Anti-Terrorism Court headed by Syed Asim Imam in the case. However, 34 others who had delivered anti-state and anti-judiciary speeches were absent from the court.

Two alleged suicide bombers blew themselves up near Gorali locality of Gujrat town in Gujrat District of Punjab. According to Police, two alleged suicide bombers, identified as Ramzan Ali and Muhabbat Khan of Bhimber in PoK, wearing suicide jackets were heading towards their target on a motorcycle when they heard the sound of siren of the Rescue 1122 ambulance.

Unidentified militants blew up an eight-inch-diameter gas pipeline in Loti Gas Field area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan.

Al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani militants have held a series of meetings aimed at containing what could soon be open warfare between the two most powerful TTP leaders. Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of the TTP and his deputy, Wali-ur-Rehman, were at each other’s throats, the sources said.

Taliban sources said Wali-ur-Rehman had ordered his fighters to eliminate Hakimullah Mehsud because of his increasing closeness to al Qaeda and its Arab contingent. Wali-ur-Rehman also alleged that the TTP chief received money from India to kill a former Pakistan spy agency official acting as a mediator between the TTP, Afghan militants and the Pakistani Government.

The Islamabad-based PIPS annual report 2011 released shows the decrease in violence in 2011. PIPS, a think tank monitoring security situation of the country, suggested “crucial steps” should be taken to root out militancy and terrorism despite reduction in violence in 2011.

The report noted that the trend of an overall decrease in the number of violent incidents and casualties in Pakistan that was witnessed in 2010 continued in 2011.

According to the report, a total of 2,985 violent incidents—including terrorist attacks, security forces operations, ethno-political violence, inter-tribal clashes, drone attacks, and cross-border attacks—were reported in Pakistan in 2011.

January 4

SFs killed 10 militants and injured five others during an operation in the Central Kurram Agency in FATA.

At least six LI militants and a volunteer of Zakhakhel lashkar were killed in renewed clashes between LI and the Lashkar in Bazaar-Zakhakhel area of Khyber Agency. Another Zakhakhel volunteer was injured in the incident.

Militants bombed the house of Haji Muhammad Saleem, a tribal leader from Sada area of Kurram Agency injuring two of Saleem’s daughters, two other children and his brother Malik Sardar.

The Abdullah Azam Brigade (AAB) has threatened to target all public and private places and social and religious gatherings in Khyber Agency in retaliation of the military operation conducted in Karamna area in Landikotal on January 1.

Five TTP militants were killed and 13 others arrested in a clash with the Frontier FC troops in Murgha Kibzai area of Zhob District of Balochistan. A FC spokesman said SF received information about the presence of TTP militants in Murgha Kibzai area and dispatched troops there.

Unknown armed assailants shot dead DSP-Investigation, Mohammad Ibrahim, in Gilgit city of Gilgit District. 

A man, identified as Sikandar Hayat, was found dead in a market at Jutial area in Gilgit.

A former ‘commander’ of a local peace committee, Umar Gul, was killed allegedly by TTP militants in Warki village of Tank District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night. TTP have killed at least seven peace committee heads in the past two months.

A man, identified as Mohammad Waqas, received serious injuries in an indiscriminate firing by unknown armed assailants in Gawalmandi area of Lahore.

Thousands people gathered at Data Darbar in Lahore in support of the former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassin Malik Mumtaz Qadri, and called for his release. Supporters of various religious parties that form the Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Rasalat Mahaz (TNSM) staged protests at the Lahore Press Club, Minar-e-Pakistan and other places before gathering at the Darbar.

One speaker, Allama Muhammad Tahir Tabassum, suggested that the Government auction off the gun with which Qadri shot the Governor, “like an auction of the bats or hockey sticks of famous athletes”.

A resolution was adopted at the end of the rally asking President Asif Zardari to declare clemency for Mumtaz Qadri and punishment for Asia Bibi, the Christian woman jailed for blasphemy whose release Taseer had campaigned for.

‘Secret talks’ between Pakistan’s Security Agencies and the TTP who have reportedly splintered down into many different groups entered a decisive phase. Now both sides are hoping their negotiations will culminate in a ‘lasting’ agreement which will restore peace in the country’s lawless tribal lands.

“These are crucial times…we have to be extremely careful. A slight miscalculation can harm us in a big way,” the official, requesting anonymity, added in reference to changes in the regional war given the eventual withdrawal of the US-led international forces by 2014.

Raqeebullah said TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud was not aware of these talks and he, along with a core group following his hard-line positions on talks with the Government was aware of these negotiations. “He [Hakimullah] is out. At least people here think so,” Raqeebullah commented.

The US Ambassador-At-Large Daniel Benjamin, who will head the newly-established Bureau of Counterterrorism at the State Department said that it wants to strengthen Pakistan’s civilian capacity to counter terrorism as the South Asian nation suffered more at the hands of terrorist violence than any other country.

Over 200 containers carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan started returning to Karachi from the border town of Chaman in Qilla Abdullah District. Official sources confirmed the return of NATO containers to Karachi, and added that they were not allowed to enter Afghanistan through Chaman border gate following the November 26, 2011 attack on Salala border post that killed 26 soldiers.

Afghan Taliban's Commander Mullah Mohammad Omar put pressure on militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan to form a new grouping which pledged to stop targeting Pakistani SFs and instead focus attention on US-led troops in Afghanistan. It is reported that the Afghan Taliban and TTP formed a joint five-member ‘shura’ or council, named Shura-e-Muraqba, with other Pakistani militant outfits.

Prominent al Qaeda members also asked the Pakistani Taliban, in a pair of rare meetings, held on the request of the Afghan Taliban, to set aside their differences and step up support for the battle against US-led forces in Afghanistan, militant commanders said Monday.

January 5

TTP militants killed 15 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA to avenge, in the words of a TTP spokesman, the death of one of their ‘commanders’ in another tribal area at the hands of SFs. The bullet-ridden bodies thrown on a hill in Mir Ali sub-district were spotted by tribesmen in the morning. TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told local media in Miranshah, “We have killed these personnel”. He said the killings were in retaliation for the death of Qari Kamran, an important ‘commander’ of TTP, who was killed along with 12 others on January 1 by SFs at Alamgir Killay in the Kermina area near Landikotal in Khyber Agency. "This is revenge for the killing of our comrades in Khyber by Pakistani forces. We will soon take revenge for other operations too," Ehsan added.

The 15 personnel guarding the boundary between the FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been taken hostage on December 23, 2011 in a pre-dawn attack by TTP militants on their post in Mullazai area of Tank District (KP). 

TTP released 17 children, who mistakenly crossed the border into Afghanistan from Bajaur Agency, after three months of captivity.

A leader of the ANP and two activists of the MQM were shot dead in Karachi.

The President of the ANP, Said Ahmed Khan, was killed and one of his associates, Bashir Ahmed, was wounded in an attack at his house in the Metroville area of SITE, while one of the assailants was shot dead by a Police Constable.

Two MQM activists, identified as Habibullah and Maqsood alias Kala Guddu, were shot dead in Orangi Town by two unidentified armed assailants.

An unidentified dead body of a young man was dumped from a fast-moving car in Murad Memon Goth in Malir area.

TTP Karachi Chapter ‘commander’ Abdul Qayum and his three accomplices were arrested in Karachi along with a suicide jacket, a rocket, a BM missile, two Kalashnikovs and bullets of different types.

The construction of 22 school buildings to replace structures destroyed by militants in Swat should be completed by the end of January, Shakeel Qadir Khan, Managing Director, PDMA said.

One ASI, Ghulam Raza Bangash, was shot dead by unidentified militants in Nawan Killi area of Quetta. It is believed to be a sectarian attack.

In a separate incident, one unidentified security personnel was killed and two others injured in an accidental landmine explosion in Maro area of Dera Bugti District.

Elsewhere in the District, unidentified militants blew up the gas pipeline in Pir Koh area disrupting the gas supply from well Numbers 12 and 21.

Unidentified militants abducted a British official of the ICRC, identified as Doctor Khalil Ahmed Dale, from Chaman Housing Society in Quetta.

Hundreds of militants who surrendered in FATA areas are facing threats from active TTP militants who are pressuring them to rejoin or face reprisals, officials and former militants said. “At least 3,000 militants have laid down arms and expressed repentance over their association with Taliban in Bajaur Agency,” Haji Shafqat Gul, a member of the Bajaur peace committee, told Central Asia Online.

January 6

At least six militants were killed and 12 got injured after LI and its rival Zakhakhel tribal force exchanged gunfire to gain control of a key base in Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency of FATA.

The head of a peace committee, identified as Malik Mohammad Ali Haleemzai, remained unhurt in a blast targeting him in Sangar Khwar area of Mohmand Agency.

Militants bombed science laboratory of Government High School in Miramshah of North Waziristan Agency in FATA in the night.

A Police SI, identified as Zarnosh Khan, and Bawar Khan, the father of a militant ‘commander’ Tariq were killed when law-enforcement personnel raiding a house in Jungary village of Dubai Adda area in Mardan District came under attack of the hiding militants.

A Police sub inspector was killed during clashes between Security Forces and militants in Bakhshali area of Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while eight militants were arrested.

Militants blow up a Government girls’ school in Ibrahimzai area of Charsadda District by triggering an IED.

A man, identified as Shaban, was killed and his friend Abid Khan sustained injuries in a landmine explosion in Jan Beri area of Dera Bugti District. 

Carrying out raids in different areas, Police arrested up to 50 suspects for questioning in connection to the January 5, 2011 abduction of Khalil Ahmed Dale, a British employee of ICRC from Quetta.

LEAs arrested 27 illegal Afghan nationals under foreign Act from Mian Ghundi area in Quetta.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif demanded an immediate end to military operations in Balochistan and said that an All Parties Conference will be convened soon in Islamabad to discuss the situation in the province and to find ways of resolving the crisis the seed of which had been sown by the regime of Pervez Musharraf.

PPP MNA Afzal Nadeem Chan said that the ISI and the MI were active in Balochistan while the civilian Government had no say in the provincial affairs.

Supporters of the People’s Aman Committee clashed with the Police on II Chundrigar Road in Karachi during a protest rally that was making its way towards Bilawal House to express their grievances.

Following the killings of political workers on January 5, several parts of Karachi fell into intense wave of tension suspending all commercial and social activities. 

A Pakistani national, identified as Irfan ul Haq (37) was sentenced to 50 months in prison for conspiring to smuggle a member of the TTP outfit into the US.

Two other Pakistani nationals Qasim Ali (32) and Zahid Yousaf (43) were sentenced respectively to 40 months and 36 months in prison in the same incident. The three were arrested in Miami in March 2011 after accepting payment and procuring a fake Pakistani passport for the TTP member. FBI Special Agent in Charge Gillies said that Haq and his co-conspirators sought to smuggle men into the US and did not care if they came here to “blow up” something as long as they got paid.

Another Pakistani national, Nadeem Akhtar (46) who lives in Maryland outside Washington was sentenced to 37 months in a US prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer nuclear-related materials to Pakistan from the US. Akhtar took direction from the owner of a trading company in Karachi who had business relationships with a Pakistani Government entity.

The State Bank of Pakistan directed all exchange companies to follow the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime by submitting suspicious transactions manually or electronically directly to the Financial Monitoring Unit.

A US Treasury delegation will meet senior economic managers in Islamabad on January 9 to exchange views on the problem of money-laundering and terrorists funding. 

The National Assembly was told that about five million illegal immigrants were residing in different parts of the country due to local and regional disturbances. In a written statement, the Ministry of Interior told the National Assembly that out of the five million illegal immigrants, approximately two million were Bangladeshis, 2.5 million were Afghans, and 0.5 million other nationals, including Africans, Iranians, Iraqis and Myanmarese, who had been living in the country for more than three decades.

Planning and Development Minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor said that peace and order in the province could not be guaranteed if blasphemy against the Holy Prophet continued.

Malik Perveiz Rafique, a Member of Punjab Assembly had demanded that the Government do more to provide security to the minorities and their worship places.

Security agencies want the TTP to abandon their strongholds of Orakzai and Khyber Agencies of FATA for a possible truce but are not keen to wrench back the control of other lawless tribal regions from the TTP.

January 7

The CID claimed to have killed an alleged TTP Balochistan Chapter ‘chief’ Syed Yasin Shah alias Asghar Baloch and arrested his accomplice, Syed Yar Shan, in a brief encounter near Rasheed Minhas Road at Sharah-e-Faisal Police limits of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

Unidentified militants blew up an 18-inch diameter gas pipeline in Ghot Jani Khan area under Malagzad Police Station of Jaffarabad District in Balochistan.

Militants fired rockets at the Tochi Scout camp in Miramshah town of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

The Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) warned of countrywide protests if the Government reopens supply routes for allied forces stationed in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The meeting was attended by DPC Chairman and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sameeul Haq (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samee-ul-Haq, Gen (r) Hameed Gul, JI chief Syed Munwar Hassan, JuD chief Professor Saeed Ahmad, Pakistan Awami League chief Sheikh Rasheed, Pakistan Muslim League-Zia-ul-Haq leader Ijaz ul Haq, Abdul Rasheed Turabi, Jamiat Al-Hadith General Secretary Abtisam Elahi, Ghulam Mustafa Jadoon and Hafiz Abdur Rehman.

The members of the National Assembly’s special all-party committee on law and order will visit Quetta on January 10 to receive a briefing from senior officials of the provincial administration and law-enforcement agencies on the issue of sectarian killings in Balochistan.

January 8

A former activist of ST, identified ad Abdul Aziz alias Bhayya (36), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in an incident target killing at Tonga Stand Street, Jutt Lines within the precincts of Brigade Police Station Karachi.

According to the confessional statement of a naval officer, Mohammad Israrul Haq, who was sentenced to 15-year imprisonment on May 6, 2010, for planning a series of attacks on important naval installations, the National Defence University, and for taking hostages, the al Qaeda was planning to hold hostage senior officers at the NDU and use them to negotiate the release of detained militants, besides attacking the Naval Headquarters and targeting other important buildings of the navy.

In his statement, the accused admitted to meeting al Qaeda members in Makeen area of South Waziristan Agency and Angoor Adda, the border area of South Waziristan Agency and Afghanistan’s Paktika province, where they discussed the locations of important naval installations.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari questioned the failure of the judiciary to take action against former President General Pervez Musharraf despite Benazir Bhutto holding the ex-military ruler responsible if she is killed.

"He (Pervez Musharraf) will be responsible; he is part of the FIR. Why is the judge not taking actions against him?” said President Zardari, adding, "I ask Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry what has happened to case? The courts are not under me." Zardari said that the FIA had submitted the challans with the court and asked why four judges had been changed during the course of hearing.

A nearly two-month lull in American drone strikes in Pakistan since November 17, has helped embolden al Qaeda and several Pakistani militant factions to regroup, increase attacks on Pakistani Security Forces and threaten intensified strikes against allied forces in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported citing US and Pakistani officials.

American intelligence agency CIA has failed to eliminate more than four al Qaeda leaders in its highly costly and controversial ‘assassination by drones’ campaign inside Pakistan during 2011, revealed an annual report compiled by CMC on drone attacks.

American drones fired 242 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles during the year and destroyed 38 houses, 37 vehicles, one camp and a seminary. One such missile costs for $68000 which means the CIA spent $16.456 million or Rs 1.5 billion to kill 609 people.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the US-Taliban talks could not produce any result without the participation of all stakeholders.

The dead bodies of 10 FCB paramilitary troops were recovered from in Dabori town of Orakzai Agency in FATA. One security official said 23 soldiers were attacked late in the night on December 21 by nearly 100 heavily armed militants. The TTP claimed responsibility for the killings. TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan in a phone call to Reuters said that his men were behind the December 21, 2011 attack.

Arshad Khan who was injured in a blast targeting a local jirga on December 31 in Khugakhel area of Landi Kotal in Khyber Agency, succumbed to his injuries in a Peshawar hospital.

A passer-by, identified as Sohail, was injured when a bomb planted on the roadside exploded at Ali Masjid.

Elsewhere in Landi Kotal, unidentified assailants abducted a transporter, Niamat Wali, at gunpoint in front of his house from Kuktarhel area at around 9pm. Sources said that Niamat Wali was allegedly involved in stealing goods from NATO containers. 

Unidentified militants blew up a NATO oil supplying tanker at village Mian Khel on Shalman Road. The Afghanistan-bound oil tanker was parked at Mian Khel village when the militants detonated explosive material planted on the tanker.

Four people, including a Police Officer and a member of MQM Elders Committee, were shot dead in Karachi in separate acts of violence.  A shia man, identified as Syed Qalb-e-Abbas Rizvi, who was also the member of MQM Elders Committee succumbed to his injuries. 

Police found an unidentified bullet-riddled body of a youngster from old Truck Stand within the precincts of Kalri Police Station.

A man, identified as Asif (32), was shot dead two unknown militants near Pehalwan Goth within the jurisdiction of Gulistan-e-Jauhar Police Station while he was on his way home.  

ASI Anwar Sheikh (40) of the Foreign Security Cell deployed at the American Consulate was shot dead by unknown armed assailants at the consulate situated within Jackson Police precincts.

Different departments of the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested two target killers and an extortionist in separate raid in Karachi. CPLC and Bahadurabad Police in a joint raid claimed to have arrested an extortionist Allah Ditta from Gizri area of Defence.

SP Mazhar Mashwani of the CID, along with his team conducted a raid at Regal Chowk, Saddar and arrested two target killers namely Fahim and Shakeel, besides recovering their weapons.

Unknown motorcyclists shot dead a Mehsud tribesman, Sher Mohammad, in Jafarabad Colony in the limits of Dera Township Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

The dead body of a man was found near the Pehur High Level Canal in the jurisdiction of City Police Station in Topi tehsil of Swabi District. 

Hundreds of protesters closed the Kohat-Hangu highway against the killing of a prominent member of SSP. Sources said that Abdul Wahab, a cadre of SSP and Sunni Supreme Council, was abducted from the station area of Hangu on December 31, 2011.

Former Chairman of the Punjab Bar Council’s Executive Committee, Advocate Chaudhry Nasrullah Warraich, was shot dead by unidentified militants in Lahore District.

The HRCP voiced concern at the reports of a number of journalists facing threats in recent weeks and asked the authorities to ensure that threats to journalists end. A statement issued in Lahore District by HRCP said, “The HRCP is alarmed at reports of threats received by journalists on account of their work. 

Further the report stated, “HRCP wants to remind the authorities that for two years now Pakistan has held the dubious distinction of being one of the deadliest countries for journalists. HRCP reiterates that those making threats and perpetrating violence against journalists are encouraged by the fact that out of over 70 journalists killed in Pakistan in the last decade, the perpetrators have been brought to justice in only one case.”

A Melbourne-based Pakistani student, Salman Ghumman (23), was deported on security grounds after being questioned by Australian security intelligence officials over his suspect phone calls to Pakistan.

CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, expressing concern over the worsening law and order situation in Balochistan, observed that the number of missing persons in the province was increasing day by day. He said that uncertainty prevailed in the province as bullet-riddled bodies were found every day.

A powerful bomb planted in a pick-up van exploded at a petrol station in Jamrud bazaar in Khyber Agency of FATA, killing 35 persons, four of them Khasadar personnel, and injuring 78 others. Khyber Agency Administrator Mutahir Zeb said it appeared that Zakhakhel tribe which had formed a lashkar against TTP militants in the area was the target. However, a TTP ‘spokesman’ who identified himself as Mohammad told by phone from an unspecified location that his organisation had not carried out the attack. 

After a lull of about 55 days, the US resumed its drone operation by killing four suspected militants in the out skirts of Miranshah in the North Waziristan Agency.

Unidentified assailants shot dead Haji Kaleem, commander of Akkakhel peace committee for Margatkhel area in Khyber Agency. 

One child was killed another two got injured when a mortar shell landed in a playground in Spin Qabar area. 

A tribesman was killed in crossfire between militants and SFs in Mian Mandi Bazaar of Mohmand Agency. 

An explosion at a market injured seven persons and caused damage as many shops in Landi Kotal of Khyber Agency.

In Akkakhel area, two women received injuries when two mortar shells fell on the houses of Khyber Khan and Ambel Khan.   

Unidentified militants blew up a Government school in the remote Haji Nadir Shah Kallay in Zakhakhel Bazaar area.

A bomb hoax at Atif Aslam concert held at the Al Hamra Cultural Complex in Lahore led to a stampede that killed three girls and injured five others. The deceased girls were identified as Maheen Naseem (17), Sara Nawaz (22) and Nimra (16).

A worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), identified as Ahmed (31), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in an act of target killing while two others, Nadir Bharam (25) and Imran (32), sustained injuries in the same incident at Cantt Bazaar within Shah Faisal Colony in Karachi.

CID claimed to have arrested an activist of a SNP, identified as Saifal Bugti alias Suriya over the charge of committing terrorist activities in Sindh from Quaid-e-Azam Park located in Gulshan-e-Hadeed area in Steel Town of Karachi.

Rangers conducted a raid in Hasrat Mohani Colony, Pak Colony area and arrested three suspects besides recovering three pistols from their possession.

KP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that students are future of the country and any nation can’t compromise on its future.

KP Minister of Higher Education Qazi Muhammad Asad said that out of USD 200 billion, only one percent was allocated to the education sector per annum.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said that there was no proposal under consideration to link transfer of civil nuclear technology with the resumption of NATO supply.

Al Qaeda continues to preach jihad in Pakistan through an Urdu monthly magazine, Hiteen. The 200-page magazine, Hiteen, is delivered by post to not only the Deobandi but also to Ahl-e-Hadith and Barelvis to convert them to al Qaeda’s point of view. Hiteen, the battlefield where Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi defeated the Crusaders, was started in June 2011, a month after Osama Bin Laden’s killing.

An editorial in the magazine says that it is not true that the mission of the ‘mujahedeen’ has been damaged with Bin Laden’s death. The mujahedeen are still fighting with their full strength.

A Judicial Commission probing the May 30, 2011 murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad submitted its report to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with findings as well as recommendations by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) for the journalist community and financial assistance to Shahzad’s family. 

The PCNS is likely to hand over to the Government its report comprising recommendations on new terms of engagement with the US and NATO and ISAF in the war on terror and broad outlines of the country’s relations with Afghanistan and India.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who represented the Foreign Office during the committee’s deliberations, told reporters that the Government was seeking the Parliament’s wisdom and would reframe its foreign policy in accordance with the mandate given by the PCNS.

At least 14 of FC personnel, including two junior commissioned officers, were killed in an ambush in the Wakai area near Nawano check post in Turbat city of Turbat District. BLF claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least 11 militants were killed and six others got injured when jet fighters pounded their hideouts in Jabba, Toor Semath, Akhunkot, and Mir Qalamkhel localities in Mamozai tehsil in Orakzai Agency of FATA. Four hideouts were destroyed. 

Rafiq alias Akhlaq, head of a militant group Jundul Khyber, was killed by the cadres of AI in Bagh locality of the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency.  The sources said that Akhlaq had abducted an associate of the rival Tariq Afridi group, a commander of TTP, and imprisoned him at his Hujra in Narkhaw area of Maidan being controlled by AI.  The TTP asked the AI that one of its fighters had been detained by Akhlaq and sought their help to get the captive released.

Persons displaced from Bara tehsil and currently sheltering in tents and rented houses have complained of prolonged curfew and closure of Bara bazaar, educational institutions and hospitals, and demanded an early end to ongoing military offensive in their area to ease their misery.

A Hujra of former Union Nazim Johar Mohammad (Advocate) was partially damaged in an explosion in Dallokhel village of Lakki Marwat District.

Paris-based global media rights group Reporters without Borders and Tribal Union of Journalists jointly held six safety-training sessions for over 90 journalists in Peshawar.

A grand Jirga of Utmankhel Qaumi Movement demanded complete educational facilities for girls at Utmankhel Tapa in Bajaur, Malakand and Mohmand agencies. 

Police found an unidentified body of a woman cut into six pieces at Shaheed-e-Millat Road within the remit of Firozabad Police Station in Karachi. 

A head constable, identified as Sher Afzal Mehsud alias Dali (35), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in Muzaffarabad Colony within the jurisdiction of Quaidabad Police Station while was sitting in front of his house.

A detained TTP Karachi chief, who was arrested by the CID on January 5, 2012, confessed to his involvement in the blast at the house of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister that had claimed the life of his son. Police claimed to have arrested four militants, including TTP Karachi chief Abdul Qayyum Mehsud, Muhammad Sharif, Habib Mehsud and Usman.

Unidentified militants blew up a primary school for girls at Shagai village in Razaar tehsil of Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Three houses were damaged in Ali Abbas area when five mortar shells were fired at Hangu city from an unspecified location.

The Army warned of “serious ramifications” and “consequences” for the country over Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s allegations that the Army Chief and the ISI Director General “unconstitutionally” submitted their response in the memo scandal to the Supreme Court.

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked Secretary Defence Khalid Naeem Lodhi and handed over the additional charge of secretary defence to Nargis Sethi.

In a related development, the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani summoned an emergency meeting of the corps commanders. Dawn quoted sources as saying that the military high command had appointed Brigadier Sarfaraz Ali commander of the 111 brigade. Brigadier Sarfaraz Ali was named the new commander of the 111 Brigade, an infantry formation that is part of the X Corps and has usually been called out during past military takeovers to take over key buildings and installations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, sources said.  

US State Department said that the conflict between the civil and military establishments in Pakistan was the country’s internal matter and it would not like to comment on it.

Pentagon said the US military Chief General Martin Dempsey had telephoned General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani but the United States neither sought nor received any assurance from the Pakistani military that it would not stage a coup.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik constituted a task force for early implementation of matters regarding Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package.  The Interior Secretary will head the task force, while additional secretaries of concerned ministries would be its members.

The Minister said that it was decided that the concerned ministries would prepare their suggestions to evolve a system for a more expeditious and result-oriented mechanism for implementation of the AHBP. Rehman Malik said that the Coast Guards and Frontier Constabulary would not establish any check post on RCD or Bolan Highway.

US Consul General William Martin announced USD 10 million in aid on for rehabilitation and provision of educational and health facilities in the Duregi area of Lasbela District. Martin announced the multi-million dollar aid package on behalf of the US Government, while visiting a girl’s primary school in Duregi.

The US Embassy in Pakistan said that it gave money to Sunni Ittehad Council, a Pakistani Muslim group that organized anti-Taliban rallies, but which later demonstrated in support of an extremist who killed a leading liberal politician. 

The SIC was formed in 2009 to counter extremism. It groups politicians and clerics from Pakistan's traditionalist Barelvi Muslim movement, often referred to as theological moderates in the Pakistani context. 

Two leading members of the council denied receiving any American funds. "This propaganda is being unleashed against us because we are strongly opposed to Western democracy and American policies in the region and in the world," said Sahibzada Fazal Karim, the head of the council, adding, "We are against extremism, but we support Qadri because he did a right thing".

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said that the committee had proposed 35 consensus recommendations to review relations with the US, NATO and the country’s foreign policy.

At least 15 militants were killed and several others got injured while 3 terrorist hideouts destroyed in an air attack by SFs in different areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA.

At least six militants were killed and two others injured when a US drone fired two missiles at two vehicles in the Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency.

Five people, including four children and a woman were killed when a mortar shell fell on a house in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.

A militant was killed and two hideouts were destroyed during a search operation by SFs in Akakhel area. Two soldiers were also injured during the crossfire.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead two rickshaw drivers in two separate incidents in Karachi.

Police found an unidentified body of a man near Naval Flats, Lyari within the limits of Kalri Police Station.

A teenage girl, identified as Zahra (17), was killed by a stray bullet in a slum area of Shahzad Moor within the jurisdiction of Pirabad Police Station. 

A former lieutenant commander of Pakistan Navy, identified as Asghar Ali Dogar, now heading the Security Department of a private hospital who was shot and injured in Korangi area on the night of January 11 succumbed to his injuries. 

The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested a militant of LeJ, identified as Riyaz Ahmed alias Riyaz Afghani alias Zahid Hussain Gilgiti from Hub River Road in Karachi and recovered two hand grenades, one repeater and two pistols from his possession.

During his interrogation, he confessed that he had given money to Usman Choto for killing of Shia leader in Karachi but Choto was arrested before committing the crime.

At least seven LI militants and three SF personnel were killed in an attack on a checkpost in Sarbanda, a suburb of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the late night. Thirteen Police and Frontier Constabulary personnel were injured.

Seven people were injured when unidentified militants blew up a CD shop by planting and triggering off an IED at a sewage line near the Ali CD Centre on Nowshera Road in Charsadda District. 

The IDPs of Khyber Agency have given a two-week deadline to the Government to meet their demands. Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club in Peshawar, the tribesmen led by PTI FATA Chapter leader Mohammad Iqbal Afridi said that supply of food items to the IDPs had been suspended for the past nine months and despite their repeated appeals no attention had been paid to the issue so far. 

The UNHCR asked the Afghan refugees residing in four camps of Lower Dir District to prepare for voluntarily repatriation to their home country by end of this year. In this regard, an office of the UNHCR called Centre for Voluntary Repatriation was inaugurated at Khiaima area of Timergara in Lower Dir.

Speaking on the occasion, the UNHCR provincial head praised Pakistan and Sudan for hosting a large number of Afghan refugees for over 30 years. He said that the refugees had to complete repatriation to their homeland by December 2012.

The Supreme Court ordered the Defence Secretary to verify claims made by military authorities while branding a Swat resident a terrorist. A four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken up a petition of Abdul Ghaffar Khan seeking to reclaim his ancestral farmland and gardens he had left behind while leaving as an internally displaced person when the Operation Rah-e-Rast was launched by SFs against militants in Swat.

SFs launched a search operation in Buleda tehsil of Turbat District to arrest the militants involved in the January 11, 2012 killing of 14 FC personnel in an ambush.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain said that he is ready to talk to the TTP for country’s security, peace and stability.  He said this while talking to the head of FATA Grand Alliance Malik Khan Marjan over telephone.

The MQM chief said that the tribal people living in different parts of the world were calling MQM International Secretariat. They welcomed the demand for the creation of the Qabailistan province. 

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdaus Ashiq Awan said that according to the report of commission investigating the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad, his killers could not be traced, but the Police and Law Enforcement Agencies have been directed to continue investigating the case. 

Talking to media outside the Parliament House, Awan said the report will be made public today and would be uploaded on website of the Ministry of Information by the afternoon of January 13.

The Commission blamed various ‘belligerents’ involved in the war on terror for his murder. But it didn’t single out any person or organisation, which could have killed him, leaving the room open for further probe. In its set of recommendations, the most important was to rein in the ISI and IB and make them accountable within their organisations and to the parliamentary committees concerned.

A trooper was injured when unidentified militants attacked FCB fort in Girni Sheikhan of Tank District. 

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that the terrorist attacks against them will boost the Police and SFs’ resolve to bring about peace instead of affecting it.

Four people, including two members of MQM, were shot dead in the recent wave of recent target killings in Malir town of Karachi.

Another man, identified as Shahnawaz Baloch, was killed when in Siddique Goth area near Gul Muhammad football ground within Al-Falah Police limits.

A man, identified as Rashid (28), was shot dead at his poultry shop in Jamia Millia, Malir area. 

A Shia man, identified as Syed Mushtaq Hussain Zaidi, (50) was shot dead and another, Kamran, was injured by unidentified militants near UP Morr within the jurisdiction of New Karachi Police Station.

Two bullet-riddled bodies were found in Yak Mach and Shakar Aab areas of Chagai District.

Unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade at the residence of a Government employee, identified as Saleem Khokar, in Killi Ibraimzai area on Brewery Road in Quetta.

The ISPR, Quetta Cantonment, strongly refuted reports about a military operation in Balochistan. An ISPR spokesman said that news stories published or aired by a section of media about a military operation in Balochistan were totally baseless and a false propaganda against the Pakistan Army.

The local TTP set ablaze over a dozen computers, television sets, cellular phones and several cassettes in the Wana bazaar of South Waziristan Agency in FATA. The TTP led by Maulvi Nazeer said they had already banned using television and computers for watching movies and music and carrying cellular phones with cameras.

Four suicide bombers attacked the DPO’s office in Dera Ismail Khan District, killing four people. “Three suicide bombers detonated themselves and one was shot dead by the army,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Akbar Hoti said. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Police found the body of man, identified as Nasir Ali Baloch (25), from Shah Waliullah Road, Lyari within the precincts of Kalri Police Station in Karachi.

Police found a dead body of a man, identified as Rafiq (25), from a drain at Shafiq Mor within the jurisdiction of FB Industrial Area Police Station.

A Khasadar official, identified as Duny Dar, was injured in an IED explosion near Landikotal railway station in Khyber Agency of FATA.

The local political administration sent a notice to all Afghan nationals in the area, asking them to leave within the next five days or face strict legal action.

Chattar SHO Gulam Haider Manjo escaped a remote-controlled blast in Naseerabad District. Chattar DSP Deedar Hussain Magsi said that unidentified militants had planted explosives along the roadside to target the Police.

Three Iranian security personnel booked for killing a Pakistani national, Saeed, and injuring another, Ismail Gul Reki, in Mashkel tehsil of Washuk District on December 31, 2011, were acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Kharan after successful negotiations between the victims’ family and the accused.

Officials of the Anti-Extremism Cell claimed to have foiled a terror plot to attack the main Chehlum procession, and arrested a TTP ‘commander’, Mohammad Daud, who was involved in a number of terrorist cases in Ittehad Town in Karachi.

The Police also recovered 50 kilograms of explosives, four suicide jackets, one light machinegun, a rocket launcher, two rockets, 10 hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs, two TT pistols, 1,000 bullets, a 20-foot detonating cord, and five detonators. He said the plan to target the shrine had been made in Waziristan and that he had been given PKR 20,000 by a TTP commander there to complete the job.

CID team raided a place along the National Highway near Abbot Factory and arrested two alleged TTP militants namely Azeem Ahmad Sheikh alias Anees and Zubair Alam alias Munna.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that he was once again inviting militants for talks, but they would have to lay down their arms and renounce violence first.

Pakistan will start repaying the USD 7.6 billion IMF loan in February 2012, with the first tranche of USD 1.2 billion that has been allocated in the budget 2011-12.

The DCC rejected a US military investigation into the deadly NATO air strikes on Pakistani border posts of Mohammad Agency. A meeting of the committee, chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, asked the military command to share its rejoinder with the American side.

Chief of the rightwing JuD Hafiz Mohammad Saeed expressed support for the contacts between the US and Afghan Taliban and urged the Government to open a dialogue with Pakistani militants.

At least 18 people, belonging to the Shia sect, were killed while 30 others were wounded when a bomb exploded near a procession marking Arbain or the chehlum (40th day) of Hazrat Imam Hussain’s martyrdom in Khanpur city of Rahim Yar Khan District. 

In a sectarian killing incident, a security guard, identified as Musa Khan, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants in Jam colony Imambargah in Quetta.

Four members of a family hailing from Punjab province were abducted from Loralai area in Barkan District by unidentified armed militants, who intercepted their vehicle Chori Bridge while they were on their way to Quetta.

Four militants, involved in attack on Riaz Shaheed Police Post in Sarbanda, the suburb of Peshawar, in the night of January 12, were arrested during a search operation in the area.

An Afghan girl (9), identified as Haleem, carrying 50 bullets and an Afghan man, identified as Gul Mohammad (25) were arrested by Security Force deployed at the main procession of Hazrat Imam Hussain’s Chehlum in Kashmiri Bazaar in Lahore District.

When Police contacted on the address in Chakwal, they could not trace the family of the girl. Afterwards, the Police arrested the girl’s uncle from Dhoke Hassu in Rawalpindi District.

The leader of TTP, Hakimullah Mehsud, was believed to have been killed by a US drone strike on January 12, Pakistan intelligence officials said. The officials said they intercepted wireless radio chatter between TTP cadres detailing how Hakimullah Mehsud was killed while travelling in a convoy to a meeting in the North Waziristan Agency region near the Afghan border.

The TTP said Hakimullah was still alive, but their denial was far less assertive than one issued in 2010 after media reports said he had been killed in a drone strike.

The US urged Pakistan to “really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes the Balochistan issue forward”. “The US is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Balochistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances and other human rights abuses,” said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.

At least 10 militants were killed in an armed clash with SFs in the Bahlol area of Kohlu District. Official sources said that militants attacked personnel of the FC in an area close to Chamalang when they were setting up a check-post. The FC retaliated, killing 10 militants.

The dead body of a man, identified as Wazir Khan Marri (35), was recovered from Liari tehsil of Lasbela District.

Police found an unidentified dead body dumped in a gunny bag in Chetkhan area of Panjgur District.

The main pipeline supplying gas to Sindh was blown up in the Gopang area of Pat Feeder in Sui tehsil of Dera Bugti District. The spokesman of Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Sarbaz Baloch calling media from an unspecified location claimed responsibility for the blast.

Police found the dead body of a teenager boy, identified as Shahzaib Baloch (17), from Mawatch Goth within the jurisdiction of Mauripur Police Station in Karachi.

One Policeman, identified as Ghulam Mohammad (27), hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan, was shot dead in a sectarian attack in Alamgir Market near Bara Maidan within the limits of North Nazimabad Police Station.

The death toll of January 15, 2012 bomb attack on a chehlum (40^th day of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom) procession at Darbar-e-Hussain Imambargah in Khanpur city of Rahim Yar Khan District rose to 21, while another bomb weighing two kilogrammes was found in the same area.

The private security personnel claimed to have arrested one suspect. They said that they found the man with two remote controls in his pocket.

Shahzain Bugti, a grandson of slain Akbar clan chieftain and former Chief Minister of Balochistan, Nawab Akbar Bugti, announced head money for former Army dictator and President Pervez Musharraf. Akbar Bugti, along with his comrades, was killed on his way from the Bugti Hills to Marri Hills in a military operation in Kohlu District of Balochistan on August 26, 2006. The operation was allegedly ordered by Musharraf.

Inspector General of Frontier Corps Major General Nadir Zeb rejected having any type of contact with TTP and said that SFs were determined to restore peace in the tribal areas. Addressing the passing-out parade of the 16^th batch of 155 new FC recruits at Landi Kotal Army camp, he said that SFs would require more time to uproot the menace of terrorism in FATA.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar said that law and order situation in the province and FATA is far better than that of years ago.

Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the United States talks with the Afghan Taliban won’t be result-oriented unless Pakistan and Afghanistan are included in the quest for peace. He said for lasting peace in the region the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan would require concerted efforts to evolve a common peace strategy.

As many as 14,362 people, including 150 women, have “disappeared” in Balochistan since 2001 and 370 mutilated bodies have been found in different parts of the province so far, Qadeer Baloch, Vice President of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons said. Sitting in a camp in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, since January 1, 2012 to protest against the “disappearances” of Baloch people, Qadeer said about 250,000 people from Marri and Dera Bugti areas had migrated to other provinces and even to Afghanistan since their lives were in danger.

Speaking at a News Conference on International Human Rights Day at the KPC, HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf had said the establishment saw the problem of Balochistan as a “security issue” but it would not be fair to say it wanted to get rid of Balochistan.

The Supreme Court rejected a report filed by the Balochistan Chief Secretary on the security situation in the province. The court said the report was “not satisfactory” because no steps had been taken to improve the security situation. A three-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also directed the Balochistan Advocate General to submit reports from the IB and CID on the law and order situation in Balochistan in the last three months on January 20.

Police found an unidentified seven-day-old dead body of a young man from the Lyari Expressway area within the limits of Shershah Police Station in Karachi. Police said the victim appeared to be Baloch and had several torture marks and had received a bullet in his head. 

Police found another unidentified dead body of a man bearing torture marks from Khayaban-e-Qasim area within the limits of Darakhshan Police Station. A Police Officer said that the victim appeared to be Punjabi.

A senior tribal reporter, Mukarram Khan Atif, correspondent for Washington-based Pashto language Deewa Radio and a reporter for a private TV channel, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants in Shabqadar area of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

SFs foiled an attempt to smuggle arms from Darra Adamkhel to Peshawar and arrested two carriers at Spina Thana checkpost in Kohat. Official sources said that the SFs stopped a Suzuki car (9040-Karachi) at Spina Thana and upon search found 40 pistols and hundreds of cartridges in it.

A bullet-riddled body of a man, identified as Munir Ahmed, was found near Sorap Dam area of Panjgur District. Ahmad had been missing for the last six days. 

Another dead body that was found on January 16 from Chetkhan area of the same District was identified as that of Muhammad Azeem Sasoli, a resident of Surab area of Kalat District.

Unknown assailants again blew up an 18 inch diameter high pressure gas pipeline in Pat Feeder in Sui area of Dera Bugti District, suspending the gas supply to Quetta and other Districts. BRA reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

One person, Muhammad Dost, sustained injury in a remote-controlled blast in Khyber Sadu Khel area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency of FATA in the evening.

Annoyed with the silence of the Government and others over the US drone intrusions, gun-toting tribesmen took things in their hands and fired at the drones that appeared over North Waziristan Agency.

A Pakistani ATC conducting the trail of seven men charged with involvement in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks (also known as 26/11) adjourned proceedings till January 28, 2012 after the main accused, LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, sought time to appoint a new lawyer.

In a call to her Pakistani counterpart this month, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated the Obama administration’s counter-terrorism “red line”. The US reserved the right to attack anyone who it determined posed a direct threat to US national security, anywhere in the world. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar responded in kind, telling Mrs. Clinton that Pakistan’s red line was the violation of its sovereignty.

At least three LI militants were killed when they clashed with volunteers of Akkakhel peace committee in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA. Three slain LI militants were from Shalobar, Zakhakhel and Malikdinkhel area.

Unknown armed militants shot dead a youth, identified as Sardar Muhammad, at Killi Kashmirabad area near Sariab Police Station in Quetta.

TTP claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior tribal reporter, Mukarram Khan Atif, correspondent for Washington-based Pashto language Deewa Radio and a reporter for a private TV channel, in Shabqadar area of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 17. TTP's spokesmen Ehsanullah Ehsan and Mukarram Khurasani told reporters that the group killed Mukarram Khan Atif because he 'broadcast anti-Taliban' reports and they said they will kill other American radio journalists.

Intelligence agencies and SFs denied the custody of Mohammad Hasnain, a missing official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Communication and Works (C&W) Department.

Ghulam Nabi Khan, counsel for the missing official, accused intelligence agencies and SFs of taking away many people and said the number of missing persons was the highest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed the Upper House that former President Pervez Musharraf would be arrested upon his return to Pakistan in the September 2006 Akbar Bugti murder case.

He told the House that a complainant was needed to make the Federal Government register a case against Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution. The Interior Minister asked the PML-N to come forward as it was affected the most by the October 12, 1999, coup.

A Sub-Inspector, Asghar Ali Tarar (50), was shot dead by unidentified armed militants while he was sitting in his car in Orangi Town within the precincts of Mominabad Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

The victim had played a pivotal role in Karachi Operation during 1992-96. SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam said that more than 300 Policemen involved in Karachi Operation had been killed in the recent years, adding, that Tarar was working against the militants of banned outfits besides performing on and off tasks for the Special Branch (Orangi Town). 

Police found an unidentified dead body of a strangulated man from Zafar Town, within the limits of Shah Latif Police Station. Police said the victim appeared to be Pakhtoon. 

One Maaz Farooqui, an activist of the Islami Jama’at-e-Talaba (IJT), a student wing of the Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI), who had been missing since December 18, 2011, returned home safely. Maaz was let go near Abdullah College in North Nazimabad area.

The militant outfit MQM-H is expected to come into a coalition with any political or religious party in the next general election. Chairman MQM-H Afaq Ahmed stated this while talking to journalists after a meeting with former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza.

Abdullah Khorasani, a militant who acted as a senior operations organiser for al Qaeda was targeted and killed in one of the two US drone strikes launched on January 10 on a compound near the town of Miranshah in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA, an unnamed US official said.

Six persons, among them a Police official, were injured when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up to avoid arrest in Akora Khattak area of Nowshera District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

An explosion occurred near the building of the PPL in Sui area of Dera Bugti District causing no damage. "Unknown men had planted explosive material near the building of PPL and exploded it with remote control", the Police said.

FC IG Ubaidullah Khan Khattak said that incidents of abductions in Balochistan had increased at an alarming rate and had become a source of generating funds for militants.

Responding to a query about the links between TTP and Baloch militants, he said there is no link between the two. He said foreign elements were involved in destabilizing Balochistan in order to advance their vested interests using local people as tools. 

Two Europeans, identified as Giovanni and Bernd, working with the Welthungerhilfe, a German International Non-Governmental Organisation for food rehabilitation, were abducted from Western Fort Colony of Qasim Bela area in Multan District while returning from Kot Addu tehsil of Muzaffargarh District.

Police claimed to have arrested 14 suspects for their alleged involvement in the March 3, 2009 attack on Sri Lankan Cricket Team and other terrorism-related activities in Lahore District during the year 2011.

Peace talks between Government and al Qaeda-linked TTP militants have made little progress, a Senior Security Official told Reuters. The official said the group, seen as the biggest security threat to the strategic US ally, had flatly rejected a demand that it works through tribal elders to reach a deal whereby fighters approach authorities and lay down their arms.

The JuD said that the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will attend its Difa-e-Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) rally to be held in Multan District of Punjab Province on January 29, 2012. JuD leaders said the Difa-e-Pakistan gathering would also be attended by JeI chief Munawar Hassan and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and leaders of other religious and political parties. 

The movement was launched shortly after a cross-border November 26, 2011, NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. During rallies and meetings organised as part of the movement, leaders of the JuD and other extremist groups have mainly targeted the US and India.   

US President Barack Obama wants the United States and Pakistan to continue to work together for achieving their common goals of defeating terrorism and building a stable and peaceful Pakistan, says the White House. A brief statement, issued by the White House, said Obama conveyed this message to Pakistan’s new Ambassador Sherry Rehman.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar warned Washington against pushing Islamabad to go after terrorist groups or bringing them to the Afghan peace process. “Now that the re-evaluation process is underway as we speak, so till the time that that re-evaluation process is not completed, we cannot start the reengagement,” Minister Khar said in an interview with Reuters

Pakistan expects to reopen supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan, halted after a NATO cross-border air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November 26, 2011, but will impose tariffs, a senior security official under the condition of anonymity said.

The Pentagon says the US is paying six times more than before to send war supplies to troops in Afghanistan through alternate routes since Pakistan’s punitive decision in November, 2011 to close border crossings to NATO convoys.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said that the cases of missing persons was a major issue of fundamental rights and because of their efforts around 700 such persons had been shifted to internment centres so far.

Four militants, two each from both sides, were killed when cadres of LI clashed with the TTP militants in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.

Unidentified assailants shot dead an official of Frontier Corps in Malikdinkhel area of Bara tehsil. 

Seven SF personnel were injured when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Baz Garha area of Bara.

Three volunteers of a tribal peace committee were injured in a bomb blast in Tirah Valley.

Militants blew up a government primary school for boys at Bacha Mayna in Landikotal near the Torkham border at around 8:30pm.

Three people, including a MQM activist, were killed in different acts of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Unidentified assailants, riding a motorcycle, shot and injured Arif Baig (26) and Tahir (28), near Qatar Hospital within the limits of Orangi Town Police Station.

Police found dead body of a man near Crown Cinema within the limits of Kalri Police Station.

Police found another dead body of a man from Gulistan-e-Jauhar within the precincts of Shahrah-e-Faisal Police Station.

Unidentified militants shot dead an elder from Mohmand Agency of FATA at Bakhshi Pul area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Unidentified militants blew up a 16-inch diameter gas pipeline near Pir Koh area in Dera Bugti District of Balochistan.

Police registered a case against 15 persons for their alleged involvement in the January 15 bomb blast at a chehlum procession of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) in Khanpur.

A Pakistani judicial review board ended the house arrest of Malik Ishaq who was detained in 2011 after his group was blamed for a string of attacks on the minority Shia community.

The Government is establishing two de-radicalisation centres to ensure psychological and economic rehabilitation of those people of the FATA who renounce militancy. These centres are being set up in Sikandaro area of Bajaur Agency in FATA and Government Degree College in Tank town of Tank District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is adjacent to the militancy-infested South Waziristan Agency.

The Government nominated focal persons in three Districts of Kohat division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for ensuring quick response to acts of terrorism and decided to devise a strategy for the repatriation of illegal Afghan refugees.

A little known Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan group militants shot dead two alleged kidnappers, Israfeel and Ghulam Nabi, in Touda Chenna area of Kurram Agency in FATA.

An Army official, Lieutenant Atta Muhammad, was killed when a landmine planted by militants on a dirt track exploded in Talai area of Kurram Agency.

Four Levies Force personnel received injuries when their vehicle was targeted with a remote controlled bomb near Mian Mandi Bazaar in Haleemzai tehsil of Mohmand Agency. The spokesperson for TTP Mohmand Agency chapter chief, Mukarram Khurassin, talked to local journalists by telephone and claimed responsibility for the attack.

A security man, Bashirullah, was injured when one of the vehicles taking paramilitary forces from Alizai to the garrison town of Thall was hit by a bomb near the Chappari check-post of Kurram Agency. Officials said about 240 militants have been killed so far.

SFs arrested 35 persons in the wake of January 20’s bombing of a school in Torkham of Landikotal.

TTP released a video showing them killing 15 FC personnel who were abducted in a raid on December 23 in FATA. 15 soldiers stood blindfolded, handcuffed to each other on a barren hilltop as one of their bearded TTP captors held an AK-47 rifle and spoke with fury about revenge. TTP militants on January 5 killed 15 FC personnel in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

Around 390 families from Khyber Agency took refuge in Jalozai internally displaced persons camp as an intensified crackdown on militants has triggered displacements from Shalobar tribal area.

A large number of families left Qamberabad, Surkas and other villages inhabited by Shalobar tribe in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. People began leaving their houses after hearing that the Government has decided to extend IDP status to members of the Shalobar tribe in view of intensified crackdown.

A firm run by the Pakistani military will collect a fee of USD 1,000 for every container truck passing through the country under new conditions for the reopening of NATO supply routes, a media report said.

There is no proposal from the FBR to impose a transit fee on ISAF and NATO containers but the Government is considering a proposal to allow the NLC to charge a fee for transportation charges and for providing No Objection Certificates, revealed the sources privy to the development.

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, expressing concern over the worsening law and order situation in the province, said that it was the responsibility of the provincial Government to improve security to the satisfaction of the people.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry warned that he would not tolerate any violation of the orders of the apex court. “Any violation of the orders of Supreme Court would be taken seriously and would entail strict action.”

Addressing members of the bar and bench after administering oath to the newly elected office bearers of the Karachi Bar Association here on Saturday, the Chief Justice especially referred to the target killing of lawyers in Karachi and said this was “really very frustrating.”

The death of a senior al Qaeda leader in a US drone strike in the out skirts of Miranshah in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA on January 10, the first strike in almost two months, signaled that the US-Pakistan intelligence partnership is still in operation despite political tensions. 

Two militants were killed in a bomb blast in Zakakhel Banjwal area of Khyber Agency in FATA.

One ASI, identified as Habibullah, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Zarghoonabad area of Quetta. 

A main gas pipeline was blown up in Mullguzar area of Jaffarabad District disrupting the gas supply to several areas in Sindh. BRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

SFs recovered and deactivated an explosive device planted by unidentified militants outside the Pakistan Petroleum Limited office in Sui area of Dera Bugti District.

The FC paramilitary troops impounded 12 containers of the of the Afghan Transit Trade near the Chaman border in Qilla Abdullah District carrying fuel for the NATO-led forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The Police foiled a terror bid by arresting a suspected terrorist and recovering weapons from a house during a raid in Basyakhel area of Bannu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Three German nationals were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in ‘suspicious activities’ from a house located in University Town of Peshawar. The suspects, who were interviewed after reports they were living in the house on the Park Lane Street illegally, failed to produce documents validating their stay in Pakistan.

A donors’ conference will be held next month to raise the required USD 200 million funds for quick rehabilitation of internally displaced persons of FATA. A handout issued said that during a presentation on FATA Disaster Management Authority, held at Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar was told that so far 145,338 displaced families out of total 298,715 had been sent back to their permanent dwellings.

The leaders of the Pakistan Defense Council, comprising of 44 politico-religious parties of the country gathered at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi in a rally against what they called the anti-Pakistan forces.

“The current standoff between state institutions is the result of a sin that we committed 10 years ago by allowing our territory to be used against Afghan Muslims, and until we repent for that grave mistake, we will never be able to overcome these issues,” Saeed said, adding, “This is America’s war and we only want to fight Pakistan’s war.”

At least five militants were killed when US drone fired two missiles on a house and a vehicle at Mohammad Khel and Degan village in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA. Intelligence officials said the dead militants were from Turkmenistan, but their exact identities were not immediately known.

Unidentified militants shot dead a person, identified as Haji Noor Mohammad while was going home after offering Maghrib (evening) prayers in Eesakkhe village mosque in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Unidentified militants killed one Sahibzada Daud Ahmad, near Kotka Parade in Naurang town. 

At least one Policeman was killed while another was injured when unidentified militants opened fire on them in Par Hoti area of Mardan District. 

Four Policemen were injured in a roadside bomb blast targeting the Police in Ajab Bagh area of Nowshera District.

The elders of Dallokhel area in Lakki Marwat District and local leaders of JUI-F said that they would continue to cooperate with LEAs and SFs for restoration of durable peace in the area.

A FC team arrested four suspect persons and recovered a large quantity of arms from Gulistan area in Qila Abdullah District of Balochistan. Two-hundred grenades, 45 rockets, three rocket launchers, three submachine guns and thousands of rounds were seized during the raid.

Kot Addu Police claimed to have arrested four suspected persons in connection with the abduction of two European aid workers from Western Fort Colony of Qasim Bela area in Multan District on January 19, 2012. Punjab Police IG Javed Iqbal said the aid workers, were being held for ransom.

Tehran closed Zero Point, the trade gate between Pakistan and Iran, in the bordering town of Taftan in Chagai District of Balochistan province.

Pakistan’s fledgling democratic Government, under increasing pressure from the military, appeased extremist groups, ignored army abuses, and failed to hold those responsible for serious abuses accountable in 2011, said Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2012. Targeted killings and other attacks on civilians by the TTP and sectarian and ethnic militant groups, as well as killings of journalists, were commonplace during the year, it said. 

The Rights group said security deteriorated dramatically throughout the country as the result of suicide bombings by the TTP and affiliated groups, which targeted civilians and public spaces, including marketplaces and religious processions.

Relations between Pakistan and the US deteriorated markedly in 2011. Factors fuelling the diplomatic crisis included the killing of two men by a CIA contractor at a Lahore traffic junction the withholding of USD 800 million in military aid to Pakistan Pakistan’s alleged support for militants from the “Haqqani Network” the alleged harboring by Pakistan of Osama bin Laden and his killing by the US and the November 26, 2011 Mohmand Agency strike by NATO that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

The Senate passed a unanimous resolution asking the Government to arrest former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on his return from abroad and try him for committing treason.

The Senate, through the resolution, said that General Musharraf held the Constitution in abeyance twice and brought the judiciary into disrepute. It said that General Musharraf removed, ridiculed and arrested judges of the superior judiciary.

A 24 pages document released by ISPR, the military’s public affairs wing, revealed that a direct intervention by Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and warning of an enhanced response had finally brought NATO’s air strikes on Volcano and Boldak posts in Mohmand Agency of FATA on November 26 2011 to a halt.

General Kayani talked to ODRP (Office of the Defense Representative Pakistan) Chief L.G. Keen at the US Embassy and warned that if the fire did not stop immediately he would order an enhanced level of response, beyond the one which was already being given by the Pakistani military until that time in the shape of small arms and mortar fire.

The document, which outlined the first formal reaction to the attack by the GHQ, rejected the US investigation report on the Salala incident which claimed the lives of 24 Pakistani soldiers. “Pakistan does not agree with several portions and findings of the investigation report as these are factually not correct,” it said.

The US Defense Department said that the November 26 NATO air strikes were not ‘unprovoked’, rejecting a Pakistani report which said NATO and ISAF had attacked its troops without provocation.

The Defense Secretary failed to submit a report in the Supreme Court regarding the alleged occupation of the property of a citizen in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by SFs. The court directed the District Officer (revenue) to retrieve the occupied property and submit a report on January 27, 2012. The court also maintained that no authority would interfere in the process of retrieving the occupied land.

Federal Law Minister Mir Maula Bakhsh Chandio claimed that the political and other crises in the country are man-made and artificial. Talking to reporters, he recalled the misrule of military dictators, saying that pro-establishment forces had never created any crisis to embarrass any military dictator, nor did those Governments face artificial problems “created for vested interests”.

Commenting on Balochistan, Chandio said violence was not a solution to any problem. “The PPP leadership apologized and wants to bring the Baloch people into the mainstream. The Government is ready to hold talks and negotiations with the Baloch leadership. However, violence from either side has remained a hindrance in addressing their grievances,” he added.

Seven militants and two soldiers were killed during a clash in Jogi area of the Central tehsil in Kurram Agency of FATA. Two soldiers were also injured.  According to officials, the clash erupted when troops fired back on militants who had attacked a check post in Jogi area, killing Salman Khan and Assad Khan. Military and paramilitary troops launched operation in the area about a month ago and reported to have killed over 250 militants.

A Khasadar, identified as Murtaza Khan, was killed and two persons were injured when a bomb, buried under the debris of a destroyed school, went off in Sheikhmal Khel area of Landi Kotal tehsil in Khyber Agency.

Officials of the Education Department said that number of schools destroyed in Khyber Agency had reached 57. Out of these schools 32 were targeted in Bara, 22 in Landi Kotal and four in Jamrud, depriving 16,000 children of education only in Bara tehsil. 

A CD shop was destroyed completely when explosive went off in a market in Dagai village of Landi Kotal. Two other adjacent shops were also damaged. Nobody was hurt in the incident. 

Unidentified assailants shot dead two cadres, identified as Muhammad Ali alias Mama, (33), and Muhammad Nauman, (22), belonging to ASWJ, near Pan Mandi Jodia Bazaar within the precincts of Risala Police Station in Karachi. The Police claimed that it was a sectarian killing.

A bystander, identified as Ishaq, was killed in Memon Society when unidentified assailants restored to firing to protest target killings of the ASWJ activists. 

Police found an unidentified torture-marked dead body of a person from the Nigar Cinema area of Lea Market within the jurisdiction of Kharadar Police Station. An officer said that the victim appeared to be of Katchi descent.

A vehicle carrying workers of PAEC partially damaged in a roadside blast on Lakki-Mianwali Road near Chowkijand in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Rawalpindi Police claimed to have arrested two suspected militants, identified as Usman Liaquat alias Shah Gee and Saqib Ali Shah alias Hamza, during a raid of a hideout of an alleged militant in the Wah Cantt area and seized two Kalashnikov rifles and eight magazines, 200 rounds and four hand grenades from them. 

Police accused militants for the abduction of a German aid worker and his Italian colleague at gunpoint on January 19 from Multan District, and a Kenyan aid worker abducted on January 22, from Khairpur District of Sindh.

LEAs neutralised a potential terrorism bid by defusing an anti-tank landmine in Shambey area near Gwadar Town in Gwadar District. Local Police said unidentified militants had planted the landmine along the road to target vehicles traveling by which was detected and defused by a team of LEAs.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's media adviser Farahnaz Ispahani alleged that she ran away from the country over fears that the ISI might abduct her to force her husband, former Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, to sign a confession and implicate the President in the Memo Gate scandal.

Lamb, a foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times, who filed story on Pakistan from Washington, is banned from entering Pakistan after being deported from the country in 2001. She wrote that Haqqani's life was in danger and his wife Ispahani had fled to Washington amid fears that "ISI might kidnap her to force her husband to sign a confession and implicate the President."

The Afghan Taliban shared with Pakistan the ‘functional blueprint” of their formal talks with US officials in the Gulf state of Qatar, an Afghan leader said. It is possibly the first time that the Afghan Taliban has shared details of what they will be discussing with US negotiators, even though they haven’t divulged what had been previously discussed.

The USAID will continue its support for economic and social development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. This assurance was given by Andrew Sisson, the USAID’s Mission Director in Pakistan, while speaking at a ceremony at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

HRCP expressed alarm at reports that another person, identified as Abdul Saboor’s, who had been detained for suspected involvement in the 2009 GHQ attack was found dead in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Twenty two militants and six soldiers were killed during a clash when SFs captured a TTP stronghold in the Jogi area of Central tehsil of Kurram Agency in FATA. According to sources, the clash broke out when security personnel launched a search operation in the Jogi area. Officials said that around 50 TTP militants attacked troops during a search operation in Jogi village.

Militants attacked a SFs’ checkpost with rockets, small and heavy weapons in Haleemzai tehsil of Mohmand Agency. However, no casualty was reported. The checkpost manned by Levies personnel came under attack at 2:00am. TTP claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has said that peace will be maintained in Kurram Agency at all costs. He urged the tribesmen, relevant authorities and parties to the peace agreement to watch the situation for a quick response to any eventuality.

An Inspector of the FIA, Walayat Hussain, Quetta television artiste Abid Hussain Nazish and Mohammad Anwar Hussain, an accounts officer at the Balochistan Accountant General’s Office, were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in a sectarian attack in Quetta. Police said it appeared to be a case of targeted sectarian killings because the victims were Shia who belonged to the Hazara tribe.  

A man was killed and another sustained injuries in an incident of firing in Chattar area of Naseerabad District. According to sources, the victim, identified as Wali Muhammad, was on his way to work along with his friend Ranjhan when unidentified assailants opened fire on them.

Police recovered a bullet-riddled body dumped in the desert area of Hub town in Lasbela District. Later, the deceased was identified as Muhammad Imran.

Senior journalists during a conference held at the Quetta press club expressed that Balochistan is the second most dangerous place after Afghanistan for journalists as they are under serious threats to their lives.

A fresh wave of sectarian violence in the city has claimed the lives of four persons, including three lawyers. In the first incident, unidentified assailants shot dead three members of the Shia Lawyers’ Forum on Maulana Din Muhammad Wafai Road of Karachi.

A member of the Tableeghi Jamaat was shot dead near Hashmi Masjid in of Orangi Town. DSP Tariq Malik said the deceased, identified as Mehtab, was attacked when he was on his way home from a mosque.

Overruling an office objection, the Supreme Court accepted on January 25 a petition by a woman whose three sons had been picked up by intelligence personnel for their alleged role in the October 2009 attacks on the Army GHQ and the ISI’s Hamza Camp in Rawalpindi. She alleged that her sons and eight other people had been kept in illegal confinement since May 29, 2010, and four of them, including Abdus Saboor, died in mysterious circumstances.

Militants killed six soldiers, including a non-commissioned officer, in an attack on a check post of the FC at Kachhi canal area in Dera Bugti District.  BRA claimed responsibility for the attack and said its men had taken away an FC man, along with weapons that included four G-3 rifles, one light machine gun and other small weapons.

Iranian SFs killed eight traders and injured others on Zaran hills, an area between Chabahar District of Iran and Gwadar District of Balochistan. Six cattle traders from the Pakistani side of Balochistan were returning home after delivering cows to their customers in Iranian Balochistan when they were chased and fired upon by Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards of Iran). All six died on the spot. Four other travellers from Bahu Kalat and Dashtiyari sub-districts of Iran also came under fire. Two of them were killed while as many injured in the attack.

One soldier was killed and another injured when a group of militants stormed a FCB checkpost near Baran dam in FR Bannu. The attack killed FCB soldier Saleem Afridi and injured another Owalyar Khan. 

An unidentified person was shot dead at Jinnah Road of Street No 1 within the limits of Shershah Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. SHO Shahid Jabbar said the victim appeared to be Baloch speaking.  

The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested three alleged target killers and recovered weapons from their possession near the Capri Cinema within the limits of Soldier Bazaar Police Station. The three target killers had affiliation with a political party and were identified as, Sher Alam Mehsud alias Langra, Shaheen Mehsud alias Salman, and Gul Khan Afghani.

Pakistan Military Academy wall was damaged in rocket attack in Abbottabad town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. DCO Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah said that no casualty took place.

After two months into Pakistan's blockade of NATO supplies crossing into Afghanistan, thousands of trucks are crowding the port in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, where drivers, fed up with waiting, are starting to desert.

"They had no more money in the end so they left one helper with their vehicle for security and care, and went back to their families," All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association Vice Chairman Muhammad Saleh Afridi said, adding, that more than a thousand trucks were stranded in Karachi. There are about 5,000 containers and military vehicles, according to a count provided by the authorities in early January this year.

The US has termed as "untrue" sentiments inside Pakistan that it was being sidelined by the Barrack Obama Administration in peace talks with the Afghan Taliban. "Absolutely untrue", State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, when asked there was a feeling inside Pakistan that they are being sidelined in these talks with Afghan Taliban.

Despite the killings of Osama bin Laden and radical US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, al Qaeda remains a “real threat to the United States” US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said in a TV interview late on January 25.

Even if the militants do not lay their weapons, they should accept the writ of the Government, said ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan during a party address.

A security official was killed and another injured when militants opened fire on them near Uch gas field, a boarding area between Jaffarabad District and Dera Bugti District of Balochistan. The deceased was identified as Haider Zaman and the injured as Muhammad Sharif. The BRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

A Police constable, identified as Yousuf Ali (45), was shot dead near Kausar Medico, within the precincts of Arambagh Police Station in Karachi while going on his duty.

The Supreme Court directed the ISI and the Military Intelligence to submit reports on senseless and indiscriminate killings in Balochistan. The order was issued by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez during the hearing of a petition about the breakdown of law and order in the province.

Under Article 9 of the Constitution (security of person), it was the prime duty of the Provincial as well as the Federal Governments to protect the life and property of people, the order said, deploring the Law-Enforcement Agencies seemed to be helpless.

A huge crowd comprising mostly of youngsters with majority of them in a uniform dress code from different seminaries across Sindh gathered at the first major show of political prowess of the JUI-F at Bagh-e-Quaid on M.A Jinnah Road in Karachi.

Holding black and white party flags, the supporters had a variety of slogans but common thoughts to share. “We don’t want any secular and liberal party to rule Pakistan,” said Haseebullah, a second-year student of Dars-i-Nizami, who accompanied his more than 500 seminary students from Korangi town at the rally. “People have witnessed those who are allied with the United States,” said Shiraz Khan, in his mid-20s, and enrolled with a Clifton seminary.

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Barrister Masood Kausar has appointed chairman and two members of the FCR Tribunal. A notification issued by the law and order Department of FATA Secretariat in Peshawar said that the Governor had appointed Shah Wali Khan as chairman of the tribunal whereas Advocate Pir Fida Mohammad and Akbar Khan had been appointed its members.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed a decline in the number of bomb blasts in 2011 compared to 2010, a Peshawar City Police study said. Yet this is hardly a cause to rejoice, as the death toll from the attacks was actually higher than the previous year. According to a comparative study by the capital city police, a total of 34 bomb blasts took place in the province in 2011, killing 400 civilians and 134 police officials, while 37 blasts were witnessed in 2010 which killed 411 civilians and 99 security personnel.

Former President General Pervez Musharraf will definitely be arrested if he returns to the country, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.  “In fact, there had been murder charges against him, and there had even been some very grave charges against him, and the Supreme Court had already given a verdict against him,” Gilani was quoted as saying at the Global Economic Forum in Davos.

A former trustee of Aal-Aba Imambargah, identified as Jaffar Mohsin Rizvi (60), was shot dead in the Gulberg area of Karachi. SHO Raja Tariq said that there was a possibility the incident was linked to the recent wave of sectarian killings in Karachi. 

An activist of the MQM, Muhammad Aslam alias Achra, was killed while three other party workers, Tahir, Azeem and Ali, sustained severe bullet wounds in a drive-by shooting in Ram Swami Area within the jurisdiction of Garden Police Station.                                            

An unidentified young man was shot dead near Mehmand Hotel, Lyari within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. The victim appeared to be Mianwali. 

Police found an unidentified 10-day-old dead body of a man from a drain at Singer Chowrangi within the limits of Awami Colony Police Station. 

Tension gripped the city after two assailants hurled a hand grenade at Green Hardware Shop near Dak Khana Chowrangi in Liaquatabad area, leaving five persons wounded.

A Policeman, identified as Jehangir, was killed when heavily armed militants fired at him on Grid Road, in Dera Ismail Khan District. One of the suspected militants was killed in retaliation. The remaining militants, who had reportedly hid in Qurtaba School, managed to flee.

A house was partially damaged in an IED explosion in Meri Colony of Kohat District. No loss of life was, however, reported.

Two soldiers were killed in a roadside blast in the Jogi area of Kurram Agency in FATA. Official sources said that a convoy of Security Forces was on its way to its camp when a roadside bomb exploded, killing two soldiers on the spot.

The six Pakistanis killed by Iranian border guards on January 26, 2012 were alleged to be “drug traffickers” who crossed over from Pakistan. The six were shot dead after they allegedly crossed the border and opened fire the report said quoting the Iranian Sistan-Balochistan province border Police.

Pakistan's Ambassador in Washington Sherry Rehman reached out to Pakistani-Americans to seek their support towards better Pakistan-US relations, which she underscored, must be based on "mutual respect, interests and shared values”.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the US in advance of the Navy SEAL’s assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad on May 1, 2011. Panetta acknowledged that Dr Shakeel Afridi had in fact been working for the US intelligence, collecting DNA to verify the 9/11 mastermind’s presence.

Three tribal volunteers including a ‘commander’ of a pro-government peace lashkar were killed when unidentified armed militants attacked their check post in Lop area of the Sui tehsil of Dera Bugti District. A spokesman of BRA, Sarbaz Baloch, claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Two unidentified bullet-riddled dead bodies of a woman and a man were found in Dera Bugti District.

A driver was killed and eight passengers received injuries when SFs opened firing on a vehicle when driver did not stop the vehicle for checking at a checkpoint in Alam Goder area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA. 

A soldier was killed and another received fatal injuries in a landmine explosion in Kari Wam area of Frontier Region Tank. 

A roadside bomb blast killed one security official in Jandola tehsil of South Waziristan Agency. 

A landmine blast killed Frontier Corps trooper, Irfanullah, in Jawakai areas in the FR Kohat. The SFs exchanged fire with militants, hiding in the mountains along gun manufacturing Darra Adamkhel town, on the second day of operation. 

A volunteer of Aman lashkar was also killed by terrorists in the same area.  

Two security personnel were injured in a mortar shell attack in the Jogi area of Kurram Agency. 

The tribesmen extended full support to SFs during operation against militants in Mohmand Agency, said Brigadier Aftab Ahmad.  Addressing a jirga at Ghalanai, he said that a quota will be specified for Mohmand tribe to encourage youth of the area to join Army. He said that a cadet college would be established in the area.

Two activists of ST, identified as Sohail Ahmed and Saleem Qadri, were shot dead in an incident of sectarian killing near their party’s office in Usmanabad area within the precincts of Garden Police Station in Karachi.  

Baldia Police found a dead body of a man, identified as Saleem Akhter, from Saeedabad area. 

One MQM-H cadre, identified as Atif, was injured in an exchange of fire that took place outside the residence of Chairman Afaq Ahmed at Landhi. MQM-H Chairman Afaq Ahmed had called a workers meeting at his residence when some armed assailants of a rival organisation opened indiscriminate fire and also abducted 18 to 20 workers of the MQM-H.

A chief of the Dera Ismail Khan chapter of Pakistan TTP, Imran Gandapur, of was shot dead during an operation with Police on Grid Station Road in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Imran Gandapur a former Policeman, involved in the killing of Mian Iftikhar Hussain’s son, Mian Arshad Iftikhar.

SFs arrested two militants, identified as Umer Afridi alias Ameer Saib and Jalal Khan alias Bahadar Khan of Khyber Agency, during a search operation in Jalozai camp of Nowshera District.

Police beefed security and started through checking of vehicles and pedestrians in the District, especially in the hilly area of Ziarat Kaka Sahib. The Police were trying to block entry of militants into Nowshera as SFs had launched operation in FR Kohat, sources said.

An industrialist abducted along with his driver from Alipur Road near Kachi Kothi in Nawab Town in Lahore District on January 28, 2012 was recovered by Police from Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, known as the Lillah interchange.  The Lahore, Jhelum, Chakwal and Motorway Police undertook the search and found an injured and tortured Syed Feroze Hassan abandoned near Sardi village.

The proscribed Sunni Tehreek, known as a religious organisation, announced that it was converting itself into a political party to be called Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST). The announcement was made by the head of the Tehreek, Maulana Sarwat Ejaz Quaderi, who was addressing the “Pakistan Bachao Janisaran-e-Mustafa Conference”, held at Nishtar Park in Soldier Bazaar of Karachi.

The Afghanistan and Pakistan Governments are seeking peace talks with the Afghan Taliban in Saudi Arabia separate from US-brokered talks with the militants in Qatar, officials said.

But Afghan and Taliban officials indicated in response to a BBC report about plans for talks in Saudi Arabia that both Kabul and Islamabad were looking for their own talks with the militants. Asked for his response to the BBC report, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said, “Of course we support any steps towards the Afghan peace process.”

Afghanistan Ambassador in Islamabad, Omar Daudza said that Pakistan FM Hina Rabbani Khar will visit Kabul and call on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and will also hold talks with her Afghanistan counterpart Doctor Zalmay Rassoul to pave the way for the restoration of joint peace and reconciliation efforts. 

The relations between the two neighbors were severely strained following the September 20, 2011 assassination of former Afghan President, and Chairman of Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani.

During a public meeting at Multan Sports Ground in Multan District the leaders of the Pakistan Defense Council warned the Government against reopening of the NATO supply routes, threatening strikes and sit-ins if the rulers compromised on the issue.

Thousands of traders and activists from religious parties gathered near the Holy Family Hospital at Satellite Town in Rawalpindi District on January 29 to call on the Government to stop ‘unconstitutional’ activities of the Ahmadiyya community. The protest, arranged by Traders’ Associations, was attended by activists of JuD, JeI and the ASWJ. Members of the SSP were also in attendance.

Three members of the MQM were killed when unidentified armed assailants resorted to indiscriminate firing in New Karachi area. The victims were identified as, Nizamuddin alias Adil, Adnan and Irfan alias Shahrukh. 

A Shia man, identified as Syed Taseer Abbas Zaidi (24), was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Ancholi area. The victim was a member of the Anjuman Tanzeem-e-Hussaini. According to Samanabad Police officials, it was an incident of sectarian killing.

At least three people were injured when unidentified motorcyclists hurled a hand grenade at the people sitting in a teashop at Bihar Colony in Lyari. The injured were identified as Ajmal (30), Abdul Ghafoor (40) and Yousuf (40). 

Police arrested number of suspects in a search operation in Qasba Colony, Bukhari Colony, Mujahid Colony, Aligarh Colony areas of Orangi Town along with parallel combing of Ranchor Line, Gulsha-e-Iqbal’s Quaid-e-Azam Colony, and parts of Malir.

A ‘commander’ of AI, identified as Haji Akhunzada, and three others, including his nephew and son-in-law, were killed in a suicide attack in Pakha Ghulam area, on the outskirts of Peshawar. Seven people were also injured, of whom five were reported in critical condition. “The attacker was between 20 and 25 years of age. He targeted Haji Akhunzada, a commander of the AI,” SSP Tahir Ayub said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Peshawar Police pointed fingers at LI.

Unidentified militants shot dead the leader of a tribal militia, identified as Malik Wazir (70), at Bakhshi Pul area on Charsadda Road in Peshawar.  Wazir headed a peace body in Baizai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet expressed confidence in the Federal Government over the Afghan refugees’ repatriation issue, asking it to involve the Provincial Government in the future tripartite dialogue on the matter. The Provincial Government had decided to ask centre to involve Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the course of the future tripartite dialogue for the repatriation of Afghan refugees, Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was told that Kohat Central Jail and Lakki Marwat sub-jail had been handed over to Pakistan Army for conversion into detention centers where under-trail terrorists could be interrogated. Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that after proper identification and classification of the detainees arrested on terrorism charges and the under-trail prisoners would be shifted to detention centers in Kohat and Lakki Marwat Districts.

Levies Force arrested six Bangladeshis near the Taftan-Iran border in Chagai District. Tehsildar Ghulam Mustafa said that the six foreigners apprehended wanted to illegally cross into Iran.

Paramilitary troops and City Police combed the Margalla Hills in Islamabad after two suspects in custody spoke of militants hiding there to strike the city.  Security sources said the suspects’ words were taken seriously as they were arrested in the widespread hunt for the militants who fired rocket on the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on January 27, 2012.

An Oslo court sentenced two suspects to prison for planning to bomb the Danish Newspaper that published drawings of the Prophet Mohammed in Norway’s first-ever guilty verdict for “plotting to commit a terrorist act”. According to Norway’s Intelligence Service, Police Security Service (PST), Davud, a short, bearded man received training in making and using explosives from al Qaeda members and sympathizers in Pakistan’s region of Waziristan between November 2008 and July 2010.

According to the prosecution, the two men had in liaison with al Qaeda planned to use explosives against the offices of the Danish Newspaper and to murder Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist behind the most controversial of the 12 drawings of the Prophet published in September 2005. 

The Supreme Court directed the chiefs of the spy agencies to produce the remaining seven missing prisoners in court on January 31 who were picked up by them from outside Adiala Jail following their release on February 9, 2010.

The court expressing concern over the mysterious death of four missing prisoners, sought a reply, explaining the circumstances under which the four had died and directed filing the charges against them and directed the counsel for the Director Generals of the ISI, MI and Judge Advocate General Branch, Raja Muhammad Irshad, to produce the remaining prisoners of Adiala Jail on the next hearing. 

The counsel requested the court that some time is given to file a comprehensive reply on the petition regarding death of four missing prisoners. He denied that four prisoners died in the custody of agencies, however, said the remaining missing prisoners were under the custody of the Provincial Government.

 US President Barack Obama officially acknowledged and confirmed that the US drone aircraft have struck Taliban and al Qaeda targets within Pakistan. When asked about the use of drones by his administration in a chat with web users on Google+ and YouTube, Obama said, “A lot of these strikes have been in the FATA. For the most part, they’ve been very precise precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates, and we’re very careful in terms of how it’s been applied.” “This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases, and so on,” he added. 

Explaining that many strikes were carried out “on Al-Qaeda operatives in places where the capacities of that military in that country may not be able to get them,” Obama confirmed that Pakistan’s lawless tribal zone was a target.

The Government of Pakistan should redouble efforts to find the killers of journalist Saleem Shahzad following the failure of the judicial inquiry commission to identify those responsible, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The Commission concluded in its January 10, 2012 report to the Government that the Police had failed to question Pakistan’s military intelligence officials in its criminal investigation.

The ISI, the HRW said, had a long and well-documented history of abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings of critics of the military and others. Those abducted are routinely beaten and threatened, their relatives told not to worry or complain as release was imminent, and then released with the threat of further abuse if the ordeal is made public.

Shahzad, a reporter for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and for Adnkronos International was killed on June 1, 2011 in the Mandi Bahauddin District of Punjab province.

At least 35 militants and eight soldiers were killed in a gun-battle after a newly-established security checkpost was attacked in Jogi heights of Mamozai tehsil in Kurram Agency of FATA. Over 100 terrorists attacked the post in Jogi heights in the morning, damaging the post badly. 15 soldiers and scores of militants injured in the attack.

Six militants were killed in a clash with security personnel, the third day of an operation in the Frontier Region Kohat. The SFs intruded for the first time into the Golono Tangi area in the semi-autonomous tribal area while chasing militants and a clash took place between the two sides. 

Six FC personnel were killed and 13 others injured when some unidentified assailants opened fire on three FC check posts in the Killi Pir Ismail area of Ziarat District. The assailants managed to escape.

One Balochistan MPA, identified as Mir Bakhtiar Domki, his wife and daughter were shot dead when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on their car near a flyover in the Gizri area of Clifton Police Station in Karachi.  

A security guard and a lady receptionist of a mobile franchise were shot dead and three customers injured in an armed attack under North Nazimabad Police Station in Karachi.

Doctor Ashfaq Ahmed Qazi was shot dead in a sectarian attack near Malir railway crossing within the precinct of Saudabad Police Station. According to Police, it was an incident of sectarian killing and the victim belonged to the Deobandi school of thought.

Naeem Abbas (25) was standing in Mughal Hazara Goth when unidentified militants opened fire on him, injuring him seriously. Gulistan Jauhar Police shifted him to nearest private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Police said that the victim belonged to the Shia community and had come from Gilgit-Baltistan to Karachi only two month ago.

A man, identified as Omar Rehman (42), was shot dead in Bawani Challie within the limits of Site A Police Station.

Muhammad Ahmed was shot dead at Ramswami near BP Factory in the limits of Garden Police Station.

13 persons, including three PESCO officials were abdcuted by unidenfied militants in Badhber area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that the linemen of PESCO and labourers were repairing a power pylon at Khushal Khwar area when militants abdcuted them. An official said that a tower had been blown up by militants in the area few days ago and PESCO officials were repairing it to restore power supply but militants did not let them do so. 

SFs blew up the house of two wanted militants, Haider and Usman, who refused to surrender to the law enforcement agencies despite repeated warnings in the Bara Bandai area of Kabal tehsil in Swat District.

Reacting to US President Barack Obama’s admission of drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas, elders from North Waziristan Agency of FATA announced a long march from the tribal belt to the Parliament House in Islamabad on February 25.

Pakistan reminded the United States about the illegality of the drone war in tribal areas and emphasised that Islamabad was very sensitive about violation of sovereignty. “Drone attacks are unlawful, counter-productive and hence unacceptable. We cannot condone violation of our sovereignty,” Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said.

A militant outfit has plans to carry out a rocket attack on the Pakistan capital, similar to the one at Abbottabad on January 27, 2012, said Islamabad Police Chief Bin Yamin Khan.

A secret NATO report claims to “fully expose” direct links between Pakistan’s ISI and the Afghan Taliban, reported The Express Tribune quoting January 31 report of the BBC. According to the BBC, the leaked report notes “Pakistan manipulation of the Afghan Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly.”

The secret document reported that the ISI is secretly helping Afghan Taliban, who assumes their victory is inevitable once Western troops leave. The leaked report “State of the Taliban”, seen by the BBC and The Times, was compiled from information gleaned from insurgent detainees and was given to NATO commanders in Afghanistan in January 2012, the media reports said.

The Times quoted the report as saying the Afghan Taliban’s “strength, motivation, funding and tactical proficiency remains intact” despite setbacks in 2011. “Many Afghans are already bracing themselves for an eventual return of the Afghan Taliban,” it said, adding, “Once (NATO forces) International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is no longer a factor, Afghan Taliban consider their victory inevitable.”

The US Department of Defence said it could not comment on the report but set out its fears about Pakistan and its influence in Afghanistan. “We have not seen the report, and therefore cannot offer comment on it specifically,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

Pakistan has one united policy towards the US, which has the support of all Government institutions, said Ambassador Sherry Rehman emphasizing the need to dispel the impression that Pakistani institutions are divided over the country’s relationship with Washington. 

The US Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper said that continued pressure from the US and its allies will likely reduce al Qaeda’s core leadership in Pakistan to “largely symbolic importance” over the next two to three years as the terrorist organisation fragments into more regionally focused groups and homegrown extremists.

Balochistan Member of Provincial Assembly, Mir Bakhtiar Domki, his wife and daughter were killed when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on their car near a flyover in the Gizri area of Clifton Police Station in Karachi (Sindh).

At least 15 personnel of the FC were killed and 12 others were injured when militants belonging to the BLA attacked four FC check posts near Margat coalmines in Mach area of Bolan District. A BLA spokesperson, who introduced himself as Mirak Baloch, while talking to the local media, said that his organisation had carried out the attack.

Another 10 FC soldiers who had been wounded in attacks on their posts in the Killi Pir Ismail area of Ziarat District on January 31, 2011, succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll to 16. Some FC personnel remain missing. Spokesman for BLA, Merick Baloch claimed responsibility for the attack and said that they had also abducted three FC soldiers.

One person, identified as Wazir Muhammad, was killed and eight others including four women were injured in a hand grenade attack in Killi Dur Muhammad area of Sibi District.

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline on Link Badini Road in the jurisdiction of Satellite Town Police Station in Quetta. However, no casualties were reported. 

A Hindu trader, identified as Vijay Kumar, was abducted from Bazaar area of Mastung District. According to Police, Kumar was on his way home when a group of armed assailants intercepted him and abducted him at gunpoint.

Army fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in the Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency in FATA before dawn, killing at least 20 TTP militants. “At least 20 Taliban militants were killed in the bombing,” a military official in Peshawar said. The hideouts belonged to TTP ‘commanders’ Mulla Toofan and Maulvi Moinuddin, a security official said. Commander Maulvi Moinuddin and six foreigners were among the dead, says another report. 

The beheaded body of a missing bread baker, identified as Waris Khan, was found in Khowgakhel area of Khyber Agency. Waris Khan was abdcuted by unidentified militants on January 31 evening when he was returning home from a nearby mosque after offering Maghrib prayers. A chit found with his body said that he was uted on charges of spying against TTP. 

A jirga of Safi Masood tribe in Mohmand Agency decided that tribesmen would not accept any pressure to form peace committees. The jirga, attended by about 300 tribesmen, was addressed by Haji Gul Nabi, Hussain Ahmad, Saeed Khan, Malak Mohammad Jan, Jangrez Khan and others.

Three Policemen were killed when their patrol vehicle was ambushed by unidentified militants near Buland Khel Mod in Shahbaz Khel area of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Militants threw hand grenades first and then opened fire on Police mobile van which was on routine patrol.  

A prominent member of Sunni Supreme Council and secretary general of a welfare organisation, Khalid, was killed by unidentified militants on the bypass road in Hangu District.

Unidentified militant abdcuted six elders of Bittani tribe from Omarkhel area of Tank District. Sources said that the six elders were travelling in a car when militants intercepted them at Omarkhel village and whisked them away along with their vehicle. All the six elders including Malak Payo Gul, Malak Multan, Seri Khan, Ghazanmir, Haji Sarwar Khan and Khwaja Mir belong to Nematkhel clan of Bittani tribe.

A man, identified as Tahir Hussain (25), was shot dead near People’s Football Ground, Mauripur Road within the limits of Kalri Police Station in Karachi. The victim hailed from Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

A private security guard and a suspected militant were wounded in a clash that took place outside the Madinatul-Ilm-Imambargah in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area in an attempt to foil a sectarian attack at the Imambargah.

A senior professor, Shaharyar, of King Edward Medical University in Lahore District received threats after he asked a student not to wear the ''Hijab'' (headscarf) in his classes. Shaharyar, the head of the Oncology Department had asked a girl attending a fourth-year MBBS class not to wear the Hijab. "It’s better if you wear the Hijab outside the classroom," Shaharyar had said while delivering a lecture a few days ago. Following his remarks, students affiliated to the Islami Jama’at Tulba (IJT), the student wing of the JeI boycotted Shaharyar's classes and protested against him.

The JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has kept the guessing game on about his reported political ambitions.  At a press conference on January 31, 2011 in Karachi, he parried questions on whether the JuD would declare itself a political party and participate in elections. 

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said that peace in Afghanistan was critical for the peace and security in Pakistan, and said that it does not want any political settlement in Afghanistan that would destabilise Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan had no hidden agenda in Afghanistan and would back a peace process with Afghan Taliban as long as it was driven by Afghans and not other figures on the international stage. Khar also dismissed a leaked US military report claiming Pakistan supported Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, saying it can be “disregarded”.

A couple of Ministers from Southern Punjab during the Cabinet Meeting on February 1 raised the issue of former leader of LeJ, Malik Ishaq’s free movement in Punjab and said  that it appeared that Ishaq got patronage from the Provincial Government. Malik Ishaq had attended a rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council in Multan District on January 30, 2011. 

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the permission for the rallies held in Lahore and Multan by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council recently had been granted by the DCOs concerned. The cabinet decided to formally take up the issue with the Provincial Government, ensuring that the Difa-e-Pakistan Council should stay away from individuals like Malik Ishaq in future.

The US said it has "long standing concerns" over Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) links with the Afghan Taliban and wants Pakistan to "cut-off" those ties, hours after a NATO report blew the lid off the ISI''s "manipulation" of Afghan Taliban''s senior leadership.  Pentagon spokesperson Captain John Kirby told reporters during an off-camera briefing that the facts laid bare by the damning report were "not a new notion" and these concerns have been raised earlier as well.

CIA Director David Petraeus said that Pakistan is not putting enough pressure on the Afghan Taliban to make them seek a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. “Obviously, there’s been insufficient pressure on the Haqqani Network, on some of the other elements — again, the allies of al Qaeda such as the Commander Nazir group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and then some others. And then needless to say, the Afghan Taliban has not been pressured sufficiently in the sanctuaries that it enjoys in Balochistan and in other areas as well,” David Petraeus told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Three persons were killed when unidentified militants opened fire on a car in the Mashkil area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

Unidentified assailants shot dead tribal elder and Khuzdar Traders Union former President Muhammad Ramzan Zehri and injured his companion Ahmed Khan in Kanak area of Khuzdar District. 

Unidentified militants blew up an 8-inch diameter gas pipeline in Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District. However, no loss of life was reported. 

In a bid to draw attention to the near blackout of Balochistan-related atrocities by the dominant television networks of the country, all Urdu channels have been shut down across the province for the past 24 hours.

One trooper was killed and another four injured when militants stormed a check post in Daulat Khel area of Khyber Agency in FATA. 

SFs recovered a huge cache of ammunition and an explosives-packed car, defused two bombs and arrested eight suspects from the Khugakhel area in Landikotal. 

KP Governor Syed Masood Kausar said that a swift change is taking place in FATA as restoration of peace has ushered in an era of development. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the newly constructed 110 kilometres Tank-Jandola-Makin Road in South Waziristan Agency, he said that development activities in FATA would pick momentum in the days to come and peace would be maintained at all costs to facilitate an uninterrupted uplift process across the tribal areas.

Two boys were injured after one of them stepped on a landmine during a football match in Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel town in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  

Police were put Peshawar on high alert following a Special Branch report regarding a potential suicide attack in the city. The tip-off came two days after the Peshawar Police recovered improvised explosives attached to a motorcycle near the border with Khyber Agency of FATA. According to the report, TTP had grouped with other terror organisations in the area and was planning attacks on Peshawar.

After the Sindh Government announced a reward of PKR One million for the arrest of sectarian killing suspects, the Anti-Extremism Cell of the CID claimed to have arrested three suspected militants belonging to SSP for their alleged involvement in killing 10 persons, including five lawyers from Mauripur area.

The suspects were identified as Mohammad Taufeeq Ansari, Salahuddin Israel and Maulana Mohammad Arshad. During the investigation, the accused allegedly disclosed that they had killed Kafeel, Shakeel and Badar Muneer in the Arambagh Police limits on January 25, 2012.

The Muzaffargarh District administration issued a notice to the District Police banning entry of LeJ leader Malik Ishaq into the Muzaffargarh District for three months after he was released from Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore District on January 21, 2011.

Special Branch official said that the decision was taken anticipating that Ishaq’s entry to the District may cause disruption of peace and sectarian tensions. He said DPO Rao Munir Zia had sent a letter on January 31 to DCO Tahir Khursheed suggesting the ban.

The founder of LeT and JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed appeared to lose his cool on a TV show when Indian Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Mani Shankar Aiyar questioned his contention that Indians did not accept Pakistan, and said he should be arrested and brought before court.

Responding to a question from the host, the founder of LeT said, “Giving India MFN status is not correct because there are already big problems that haven’t been resolved. The dams being made by India will create a crisis in Pakistan.”

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Pakistan wanted the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with honour and called upon the international community for assistance in this regard.  Talking to UNHCR Antonio Guterres at the PM’s House, the Prime Minister said it seemed that the international community had forgotten Afghan refugees. The Prime Minister said Pakistan would support any reconciliation process, which was Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and added that its culmination would not destabilise Pakistan.

Pakistan is willing to do whatever the Afghanistan want to help facilitate an end to 10 years of war with the Afghan Taliban, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said. Speaking a day after talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul billed as a fence-mending visit designed to ease frosty ties, Khar sought to refute perceptions that Islamabad was an obstacle to peace. 

Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan would be willing to push the Afghan militant groups like the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban to make peace if asked to do so by the Afghan Government, an action seen as key to the reconciliation process.

The US State Department issued a new travel warning for Pakistan, telling American citizens that the reaction to the November 26 NATO raid on a border post had created new threats for them in that country.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that there is nothing new in the new classified report of NATO on Taliban, leaked portions of which says that the Pakistan continues to have links with the extremist organisation. "I think that there have already been comments that there's nothing new in what has been released, but I'm not going to go into it in any depth," Clinton told reporters at a joint media availability with the visiting Singapore Foreign Minister K Shanmugam.

Eighteen militants and seven soldiers were killed and three others injured during a clash that broke out when a group of 40 TTP militants attacked on SFs checkpost in Shidano Dand area of Kurram Agency in FATA. TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan in a telephone call from an unidentified place claimed responsibility for the raid, saying 12 Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and four others captured by terrorists. “We carried out this attack to avenge the killing of our commander Taj Gul in Khyber Agency,” Ehsan said, without giving details when he was killed and his significance to the outfit.

Three militants and a volunteer of the tribal lashkar were killed in fresh fighting between the LI and the Zakhakhel tribe in Sherkhel area in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. The sources said that the Zakhakhel tribal lashkar continued its advance towards Sherkhel and Zor Killay amid tough resistance from the rival side.

LI militants attacked a security checkpost in Malikdinkhel area, leaving one FC soldier dead and four others injured. Sources said that two suspected militants were killed during the SFs’ operation in the area soon after the attack.  

In Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal, an explosion outside the house of a local elder killed his son and injured two of his other family members. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. The Zakhakhel tribe revolted against LI in April 2011 and after forcing the LI activists to leave their area, they now have found their own armed group, Tawheed ul Islam. 

A LI militant was killed and three others were wounded when LI cadres and its rival outfit AI clashed in Akkakhel area. 

A bridge in Shalobar area was partially damaged when a time device planted to it exploded. Forces have recently established a number of checkposts in Shalobar area of Bara after nearly 3,000 families vacated their houses and shifted to Jalozai camp in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

The main mosque was blown up in Motharey area of Tirah Valley. They said the area was populated by the Ziauddin sub-branch of the Zakhakhel tribe and the explosion was meant to hit the tribesmen by the rival LI.

Four persons were killed and several others injured in a car bomb attack on the house of a tribal elder in the Pishtakhara area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Cantonment Circle Superintendent of Police Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed said that about 40 kilograms of explosives had been packed in the car and detonated with remote control. Astana Gul, who was once associated with the Khyber Agency (FATA)-based militant LI outfit headed by the Mangal Bagh, joined its rival Ansar-ul-Islam and the blast appeared to be aimed at punishing him and warning for others against leaving Mangal Bagh’s outfit. LI claimed responsibility for the blast. 

Unidentified militants blew up the Government Girls’ Primary School in Kotla Saeedan area of Dera Ismail Khan District. 

Police arrested 25 suspects during a search operation in an Afghan refugees’ camp in Gandi Chowk area of Lakki Marwat District. Police, on a tip-off about presence of militants in the camp, cordoned off the area and started a door-to-door search operation, after which the camp was sealed.

Two Police constables, identified as Nadeem Abbasi and Sajjad were shot dead by two assailants on Manghopir Road in Karachi while they were on their way home. Manghopir Police said that Abbasi was posted in the area on intelligence duty, while Sajjad worked at the Gabol Town Police Station.

A man, identified as Fareed Khan, was shot dead in an incident of target killing at Gali-59 of the Urdu Bazaar Chowk on the Lyari Expressway. 

A man was shot dead in front of his house along the Super Market, Super Highway within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station. A Police official said that the victim used to run a general store in the area and had also very close link to some Police Officers. 

A man, identified as Mujahid Ali, was detained in case of blasphemy in Korangi Industrial Area Police Station for using abusive language against Khulfa-e-Rashideen.

Three SSP suspects arrested on February 2, 2012 were remanded in Police custody in 10 cases pertaining to encounter with Police, possessing illicit weapons and explosives. 

The residence of a FIA Deputy Director, Akbar Baloch, was attacked with an IED on Mano Jan Road in Quetta. However, there were no casualties in the attack.

In the wake of deteriorating security situation in Balochistan and the January 31, 2011 murder of the granddaughter of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence summoned Intelligence Agencies to brief it on February 29, 2012. 

A shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan for the second consecutive day to condemn the January 31, 2011 killings. BNP-A General Secretary Asad Baloch and PML-Q’s Nasreen Khethran staged a walkout during proceedings of the Balochistan Assembly to protest the killings.  A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Sibi, Turbat, Dera Allahyar, Naushki, Khuzdar, Mastung, Hub, Washuk, Khuzdar and other parts of the province. The strike was called by BRP and backed by the BNP, National Party and other nationalist parties.

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik stressed the need for improving law to control activities of banned organisations. Malik told the National Assembly that the delay in approval of an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act was the main reason behind banned outfits’ holding rallies across the country.

Malik apprised the Senate that the January 31, 2011 murder was a conspiracy against the country. Replying to various points of order, Malik said it was not an ordinary incident and the conspirators would not be spared. “Whenever we head towards positive development in Balochistan such things start happening,” he said and added that it was an attempt to disrupt peace in the province.

The BBC Urdu reported that the banned jihadi groups have seen a revival after affiliates have started opening local and foreign currency accounts to restart their money-trains. BBC Urdu reported that it had managed to obtain a list from Intelligence Agencies of jihadi groups, which have been banned by Pakistan, have been opening new accounts under pseudonyms to receive funds from local as well as foreign sources.

Intelligence Agencies have expressed their fear that following the reopening of their cash lines, these extremist groups are once again gathering momentum. Interior Ministry sources said that as per reports from Intelligence Agencies, seven banned groups have been opening accounts in different banks. The groups include JeM, Tehreek-e-Islami, Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Ghazi Force, Hizbut Tahrir, Jama’at-ul-Furqan, and Khairunissa International Trust (KIT).

CIA Director General David Petraeus told a congressional committee that he believes Afghanistan forces should not enter Pakistan to destroy the sanctuaries that the Afghan Taliban leaders allegedly enjoyed in that country.

Two civilians were killed and four others, including a TV cameraman, were injured as the SFs opened fire on protesters in Sibi District. According to reports, the incident took place when scores of people blocked the National Highway near the bridge over River Nari in Sibi during the wheel-jam strike called by BRP condemning the deaths of granddaughter and great granddaughter of Nawab Akbar Bugti during which the SFs opened fire on protesters who refused to open the highway for traffic.

Two Police personnel were killed and another injured in a landmine explosion in Nasirabad District, Police said. The Police personnel, Sher Muhammad Umrani and Hamid Ali Lehri, were on their way to Hussain Bakhsh checkpost when the motorbike they were riding on hit a landmine. The two died instantly while a passer-by identified as Muhammad Ali sustained injuries.

AVCC claimed to have arrested five suspected abductors and recovered three employees of Governor House Sindh during a raid from a house in a forest area in Sakran area of Lasbela District in Balochistan. The recovered abductees were Ejaz Baig, Mohammad Naeem and Mohammad Waseem. They were the residents of New Karachi and were kidnapped on November 12, 2011.

A law enforcement agency arrested 42 Afghan nationals who were trying to enter Iran illegally. Law enforcers deployed on the Pak-Iran border gate in Taftan town asked the potential illegal immigrants to produce traveling documents, and were taken into custody after they failed to do so.

BLA released the photographs of three personnel of FC and claimed that its men seized the security personnel on February 1 during clashes Margat coalmines in Mach area of Bolan District which claimed the lives of 35 soldiers. Frontier Corps officials confirmed that three of their personnel were abdcuted after the clash. Meerak Baloch, the BLA spokesman, sent newspaper offices three photographs showing handcuffed FC personnel along with their weapons, ammunition and communication gadgets. He called the journalists and claimed that the three personnel were captured after the BLA attack on four FC checkposts. He claimed that 35 FC personnel were killed and scores of others injured in the fighting. However, the official sources claimed that 15 FC personnel were killed and 12 others were injured.

Unidentified assailants shot dead an eight-year-old boy in Peerokhel area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency of FATA. The boy was carrying a patient along with other family members to hospital when the assailants asked them to stop their car. The driver did not stop the vehicle, prompting the attackers to open fire. The boy was killed in the attack.

SFs arrested 18 persons during a search operation in Shinwari area of Landikotal. Landikotal Tehsildar Abdul Nabi confirmed the arrests, although the political administration did not take part in the operation.

The house of an alleged militant was demolished in the Mabikhel area.

The SFs arrested nine suspects, including four cadres of the TTP, including the ‘commander’, Mullah Hakeem, during a raid carried out in Toori Bangash Colony of Orangi Town in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. The ‘commander’ was arrested on a tip-off from TTP cadres. Hakeem was involved in over 100 bomb attacks on schools in Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Weapons and jihadi literature were recovered from the suspects. The identities of the TTP suspects were not revealed.

One security official was killed while 12 others were injured when militants ambushed SFs in the Shahedano Dhand area of Kurram Agency in FATA. The militants detonated a bomb near a military vehicle and then opened fire at the convoy. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.

A railway track was blown up in the Put Feeder area of Dera Murad Jamali city of Naseerabad District.

Sindh Rangers in coordination with the Police arrested 25 suspects during raids in various localities of Karachi. The Rangers also recovered ammunition and 16 weapons of various calibers. The spokesman of Sindh Rangers said that these areas included Surjani, Gadap Town, Mosmaiat Chowk, Gulshan Town and Zamzama-Clifton Town.

Kashmir Committee Chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that a briefing should be held for Kashmiri leaders to apprise them of the pros and cons of Pakistan’s plan to grant the MFN status to India. Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House after a meeting with the Kashmiri leaders, he said the committee would request the Government to direct the commerce and foreign ministries to brief the Kashmiri leaders on the issue in order to address their apprehensions about enhancing trade relations with India.

The Parliamentary Kashmir Committee reiterated that it would continue to support the people of Kashmir in their struggle for their right to self-determination.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the issue of November 26, 2011 NATO attack was referred to the PCNS, which comprised the chosen representatives and had the backing of the people of Pakistan.

“Gone are the days, when the foreign policy was made by individuals. Now, the policies would be made by the chosen representatives and through the Parliament,” Gilani added.

Security Forces pounded militant hideouts with jet fighters, killing at least 15 and injuring eight militants in Khadezai, Mamozai and Torsamant areas of Upper Orakzai sub-division in Orakzai Agency of FATA. 

Militants fired seven rockets which hit the hangers at a helipad near a paramilitary base in Miramshah town of North Waziristan Agency.

A man, identified as Abdul Majeed, (24), was killed in an act of target killing at Mushki Para in Garam Chashma area of Manghopir in Karachi.

An unidentified man was shot dead in Mawatch Goth area of Baldia within the precincts of Saeedabad Police Station on February 5. The victim appeared to be of Pashtun descent.

A truck driver, Ghulam Badshah (45), was shot dead near Ali Town Truck Stand, Super Highway within the jurisdiction of Sacchal Police Station.

Unidentified assailants shot dead two people, identified as Fayyaz Ahmed and Kashmir Khan, at a roadside barbershop in Naushki District.

Militants shot dead a man, identified as Habibullah, in the Khuchlak bazaar on the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta. 

A security official, identified as Haq Nawaz, was injured when he stepped on a landmine planted by unidentified militants in Dera Bugti District. 

Three gas pipelines were blown up in the Loti field area of Dera Bugti District, disrupting gas supply to the Loti purification plant.

A man was shot dead and 14 others were injured as two rival sectarian groups clashed during Eid Miladun Nabi (celebration of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad) in Mansehra town of Manshera District of KP. The deceased was identified as Muhammad Naseem while, injured include a DSP and three constables.

Seven persons were injured in firing between two groups during an Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession organised in Kalar Abadi area of Gujranwala District. The clashes were preceded allegedly by provocative slogans raised by some members of the procession organised by the Sunni Ittehad Council, Sunni Tehreek, and Sunni Force.

According to a FIR registered on the complaint of Rafiq Shabbir, a prayer leader at a mosque run by Ahl-e-Hadith school, the slogan-chanting started when the procession was passing the house of Markazi Jama’at Ahl-e Hadith Gujranwala Amir Maulana Sadiq Attiq.

A man, dressed as a security guard was detained by the Police and Law Enforcement Agencies from central procession of Eid Milad-un-Nabi at Wah Cantt in Islamabad. The central procession was carried out from Markazi Jamia Masjid and led by religious scholar Pir Naqeeb-ur-Rehman and others.

Thomas Durkin, an attorney for Raja Lahrasib Khan, a Pakistani-born American taxi driver accused of attempting to send money to al Qaeda, said that his client will change his plea to guilty.

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik demanded the Punjab Government to take to task its officials who allegedly let two firebrand leaders of SSP sneak into Islamabad on February 3, 2012 to make provocative speeches.

According to the sources, the ceremony had been a long tradition and the Margalla Police came to know about the presence of the leaders only because it was there to provide security. It was considered prudent not to incite religious frenzy by arresting them

The Minister of State for Health Sheikh Waqas Akram of PML-Q rubbished the Government’s anti-terrorism efforts “a drama.” He said he knew that a Paighumber-e-Islam Conference planned in Karachi was in fact meant to provide a stage for religious militants to spread venom.

A report, compiled by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), said that the drone attacks in FATA have repeatedly targeted rescuers who rush to the scene of a strike, as well as mourners at subsequent funerals. The BIJ report found that at least 50 civilians had been killed in follow-up strikes after they rushed to help those hit by a drone-fired missile.

But most other studies of drone strikes have relied on sketchy and often contradictory news reports from Pakistan. The bureau’s investigation, which began last year with a study of civilian casualties, involved interviews with villagers who said they saw strikes, wounded people and relatives of those killed. The bureau counted 260 strikes by Predator and Reaper drones since President Barack Obama took office. It said between 282 and 535 civilians had been ‘credibly reported’ killed in those attacks, including over 60 children.

The level of corruption in Police departments is evident by studying the number of officers charged for corruption in KP in 2011 which do not include the number of complaints filed against the Police or cases which could not be pursued. Talking to The Express Tribune, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Inquiry and Inspection Sultan Haneef Orakzai stated that in 2011, 219 corruption cases were registered against police officers which resulted in penalties for 105 officials.

The Supreme Court rejected a report by the Inspector General of Sindh Police on the killing of lawmaker Mir Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter at Ghazi Flyover in Karachi and ordered IGP to arrest the killers.

The Supreme Court, accepting a plea of Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq, granted more time to the ISI and MI to file their reports on the law and order situation in Balochistan.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani described Kashmir as a cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, but called for a need to resolve the dispute "through diplomacy and dialogue" as his country "cannot afford wars in the 21st century''.

"Four wars have already been fought over the issue of Kashmir and the region remains a flashpoint. However, in the 21st century, we cannot afford any more wars," Gilani said. He also said that Pakistan wants to resolve the matter through "dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus". 

Five persons, including activists of the PPP, ANP, and a cadre of ASWJ, were killed in separate incidents of target killings in various parts of Karachi.

PPP activists Daad Rehman and Soomar were killed while six passers-by, including two women, injured when two militants hurled a hand grenade at a PPP office on Faqeer Muhammad Dura Khan Road in the Kalakot area of Lyari. Investigators termed the attack on the PPP office part of targeted violence. 

An ANP leader, identified as Gul Zaman, was shot dead by two assailants at Lasbela Chowk in Jamshed Quarters while he was sitting in a hotel.  He was the President of his party’s office in Jamshed Quarters. 

Afsaar Khan was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in the Peerabad Police limits. Police said that the victim was a labourer and had no affiliation with any group. 

A local leader of the ASWJ, identified as Qari Asghar, was shot dead in the Surjani Town Police limits.

The LEAs claimed to have arrested 45 suspects and recovered arms from their possession during midnight search operation in different areas of Karachi.

A heavy contingent of Police conducted search operation in Baldia, Saeedabad, Jackson, Liaquatabad, MPR Colony, North Nazimabad, Abul Hassan Ispahani Road, Pehalwan Goth and Rabia City.

Shahrah-e-Faisal Police officials said that some unidentified armed men opened aerial firing in front of Rabia City, where heavy contingents of Police rushed and concocted search operation.

Pakistan Rangers Sindh in a press release said that they, in coordination with Police, conducted targeted operations and snap checking in different areas of Karachi, including Memon Goth, Gadap, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Bin Qasim Town and Sukhia Goth and arrested 11 suspects while six weapons and large quantity of ammunition were seized.

SFs carried out a search operation in various areas of Landikotal town in Khyber Agency of FATA and arrested around nine suspects. According to details, the SFs took the suspects into custody during night raids in different areas, including Haji Khan Building, Shinwari and Sultankhel.

Five persons, including a security official, were injured in a bomb blast near a flourmill in Rabee Bairon area in Notal Police Station jurisdiction of Naseerabad District.

A security guard of a bank was injured and 20 shops damaged in a bomb blast in front of a bank in Liaquat Bazaar area of Quetta.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government launched a crackdown on unregistered seminaries in Peshawar and arrested 100 madrassa students belonging to TTP and Afghan Taliban in one such raid on Jamia Zuberia in Yakatut area, Police said.

Mansehra Police booked 12 clerics on charges of instigating people to create law and order during Eid Miladun Nabi procession on February 6, 2012. 

The elders of Mathra village in Peshawar expressed grave concern over reports about a possible operation against suspected persons in the area and warned that the local people will strongly react if they are not taken into confidence in this regard.

A group of men claiming to be members of an ‘Intelligence Agency’ took into custody four armed activists of the JuD detained by Rawalpindi Police.

A press release issued by the JuD in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh stated that the arrangements for Difa-e-Pakistan conference were in full swing and central leaders of JuD have reached Karachi.

Lawmaker Ejaz Virk claimed that two MPs entered the Parliament House in Islamabad carrying weapons, prompting Interior Minister Rehman Malik to order a probe into the matter.

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik announced to set up a separate investigation elite unit and prosecution wing in Islamabad Police for speedy probe into cases and trial of criminals through collection of strong evidences against them.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the chief of JuD, confessed for the first time about his meeting with al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and said he studied under the same scholar, named Sheikh bin Baz, who taught Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

The US briefed Pakistan on its initial contacts with the Afghan Taliban in a move which signals the easing of months-long tensions between the two allies.

The move signifies that, despite apparent strains in their relationship, the two countries have managed to cover considerable ground to narrow down their differences, including the way forward for the Afghan endgame.

While talking to Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar at the Amiri Diwan (Emir’s Office) in the State of Qatar, Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani said that Islamabad is in favor of a peaceful outcome of the situation in Afghanistan, but any initiative on the neighboring country must not affect our country.

A senior American Military Commander, General James N. Mattis, the head of the Central Military Command, is expected to travel to Pakistan in February 2012 in what Obama administration officials say is the first step towards thawing a strategic relationship that has in effect remained frozen for more than two months.

The State Department is supporting a proposal circulating in the administration for the US to issue a formal apology for the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers in the air strike by American gunships. “

Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said that Pakistan should reopen its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies after negotiating a better deal with the coalition. The Defense Minister said that the Government should negotiate new “terms and conditions” with NATO, then reopen the border.

A US drone fired two missiles at a house suspected of being a militant hideout in the village of Tapi 15 kilometers east of in Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing 10 suspected militants in the morning.

Two Khasadar Force officials were killed and another was injured in an IED explosion during routine patrolling in the Alenger area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency. 

SFs arrested five suspects during a search operation in Khugakhel area of Landikotal in the night.

The number of Shalobar families displaced from Khyber Agency due to military operation against militants is expected to cross the 8,000 mark shortly putting relief agencies under pressure. The relevant officials told the media that the influx of Shalobar displaced families had made the Jalozai camp’s administration to let the newly-registered IDPs stay outside the premises if they wished.

JUI-I central leader Maulana Abdul Ghani was shot dead in Nayabad area of Chaman of Qilla Abdullah District.

At least four people, including a child, were injured in a hand grenade attack on Zarghoon Road area near the Saryab Bridge in Quetta.

Surab Deputy Director (Agriculture) Abdul Sattar Reki was abducted along with his five family members while he was traveling towards Khuzdar District from Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

The Army claimed to have made major progress in Operation Azmari Ghero launched in November 2011 in Kurram Agency of FATA after clearing the snow-covered Jogi Mountains and severing a vital supply route to militants in North Waziristan Agency. 

Tension remained prevalent in Lyari area of Karachi as Police booked former Union Council nazim Abdul Rauf Baloch and Faisal Baloch for attacking PPP office and killing two of its activists in the Kalakot area of Lyari on February 7. 

The Special Investigation Unit claimed to have arrested two suspects, identified as Arif Rahim Sajid and Amir Rasheed, in a raid conducted near Safoora Chowrangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar areas.

All members of the Senate, irrespective of their political affiliation, walked out of the House in Islamabad in protest against the January 31, 2012 target killing of the wife and daughter of a Balochistan Assembly Member, Mir Bakhtiar Domki in Karachi the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Authorities at a public sector hospital in Peshawar are perturbed over the manner in which missing persons are brought there by Intelligence Agencies in critical condition and with slim chances of their survival, an official at the hospital said. 

The 11 prisoners were acquitted by ATC in Rawalpindi District of Punjab in different cases of terrorism. But they went missing mysteriously on May 28, 2010, after the Lahore High Court ordered their release. Initially, the Government continued to express ignorance about them, but in December 2010 counsel for Intelligence Agencies admitted that they were in their custody.

According to the latest Annual Status of Education Report 2011, at least 85 per cent of children in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are still enrolled in schools.

The authorities have decided to constitute committees in 59 Union Councils of the Mansehra District to monitor standard of education and implement court’s verdict about fee concession to two siblings studying in the same educational institution.

During a public meeting to observe the 37^th death anniversary of former Governor Hayat Mohammad Khan in Charsadda District, Chairman of PPP-S Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said that he would launch a movement to restore peace in the region.

HRW, keeping a watch on gross human rights violations in Balochistan, asked the US to take action against the crimes taking place in the province. The crimes include extra-judicial killings, torture, illegal detention, disappearances and forced displacement.

The Supreme Court sought a comprehensive progress report on missing persons from the commission probing the case. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan ordered the Pakistan Baitul Maal to submit a report regarding the compensation, which would be paid to the heirs of the missing persons. During the proceedings, Defense of Human Rights Chairperson Amina Masood Janjua complained against the inquiry commission probing the cases.

Senior military officials of Pakistan, Afghanistan and coalition forces based in Afghanistan held for discussing border security and coordination marked the formal resumption of military contacts with the US and NATO after months of estrangement in the aftermath of November 26, 2011 strikes on Pakistani border posts.

The DGMO, Major General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, represented Pakistan at the meeting, which was technically the highest level of military interaction among the three sides since the November 26, 2011 Salala incident after which Pakistan had closed the crucial NATO supply route, evicted US personnel from Shamsi airbase, and essentially put the entire bilateral relationship on hold.

US President Barack Obama has overwhelming support from American voters for his use of drone strikes against terror suspects and his planned troop drawdown in Afghanistan, a poll found conducted revealed. 83 per cent of those asked in the Washington Post and ABC News survey said they backed Obama’s use of unmanned drone aircraft against suspected militants in the tribal belt of Pakistan.

A US drone fired two missiles that hit a compound located in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency of FATA, killing four militants.

Pakistan al Qaeda Chief, Badr Mansoor, one of the Americans’ main targets and wanted for attacks that killed scores of people, was reportedly killed in this drone attack. Badr Mansoor, who reputedly sent fighters to Afghanistan and ran a training camp in North Waziristan Agency of FATA, was killed, Pakistani officials and a member of his group told AFP.

SFs recovered a cache of arms and ammunition during a raid on a Government school in Landikotal of Khyber Agency in FATA. Officials said that SFs raided a Government high school and the adjacent living quarters of teachers after they were informed by an arrested militant about presence of arms there.

SFs launched a search operation against suspected persons in Sultankhel area of Landikotal in the evening.

Unidentified militants shot dead a Punjabi settler, identified as Khuda Bakhsh, in Turbat District. According to details, the victim was a resident of Rahim Yar Khan District of Punjab.

JeI leader and former union council nazim, Dr Matiullah Shah, was abdcuted from his farmhouse in an ambulance from Mangal Bibi area on Rawalpindi road in Kohat town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Mr Shah, who is a dental surgeon, went to his farmhouse in Mangal Bibi area in his car in the morning of February 8, but did not return home in the evening.

ATC awarded life term to a man, Rehmatullah, involved in several abduction cases in Kohat. ATC judge Anwar Hussain awarded life imprisonment to Rehmatullah, resident of Latambar in Karak District.

JeI moves to Peshawar High Court to challenge legitimise unlimited powers for the military to target suspected terrorists without any evidence. The petition was submitted to the circuit bench (Darul Qaza) of the Peshawar High Court by former Provincial Minister Shah Raz Khan who will be represented by Barrister Ghulam Nabi.

A three judge panel of the US Court of Appeals is set to hear an appeal on February 9 by Pakistani neuroscientist Doctor Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyers, against her September 2010 conviction on charges for attempting to kill American intelligence officers in Afghanistan in 2008.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government is likely to seek Federal Government’s permission to go after the Afghan nationals residing illegally in the province, an unnamed official sources said.  Data compiled by the Home and Tribal Affairs Department revealed that around 400,000 Afghans have been staying in the province without legal documents and that the FIA and Police had not taken action against them under Foreigners Act.

Local Police have begun random checking of Khyber Agency’s IDPs and directed people to avoid renting out houses without informing them.  Some families residing in the limits of Yakatoot Police Station informed that Police had begun visiting houses of IDPs and they were worried about their children and could not move freely.

PIHRO, during a demonstration in front of Parliament House in Islamabad, expressed solidarity with the heirs of the victims of the war on terror and demanded the Government to compensate the affected families and provide them free legal aid.

President Asif Ali Zardari said that war on drugs trafficking was a major missing element in the war on terror. While commenting on the fight against militancy said that defeat was not an option and that we (Pakistan) had no other option except to fight and defeat this mind-set so as to leave a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pakistan for our coming generations.

The US drones hitting targets on Pakistani territory is illegal, and reports of alleged involvement of ISI with the Taliban are not even worthy of comment, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said. “Attacks by US drones on Pakistani territory are illegal and cannot be tolerated,” Khar said in an interview to a Russian english news channel, RT.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said that Pakistan will host a two-day summit on counter-terrorism on February 16-17, 2012 involving leaders of Afghanistan and Iran. Basit said that it will be attended by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter while speaking with reporters at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad, revealed that supply to NATO in Afghanistan is continuing by using Pakistani air space. He said that both Pakistan and US have to work together to improve their relations and resolve the issues.

Accusing Pakistan of using brutal force in Balochistan, US lawmakers expressed serious concern over the human rights violations in the restive province.  "Balochistan deserves our attention because it is a turbulent land marked by human rights violations committed by regimes that are hostile to America's interests and values," said Congressman and Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Dana Rohrabacher. 

US State Department distanced itself from a congressional hearing on Balochistan and opposed the idea of independent Balochistan, adding that the problems of the province should be resolved through peaceful and political means.

Senators from both sides of the divide condemned the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for discussing the Balochistan issue, and termed it as a direct interference in Pakistan’s affairs.

The Foreign Office looked satisfied with the US State Department’s clarification on the Congressional hearing on Balochistan even as legislators protested on the issue in the Senate.

The Afghan-Pakistan jihad is attracting fewer foreign fighters following the death of Osama bin Laden, the growing threat posed by US drones, and lack of funds, Western security officials said.

In a report, entitled “Militant Pipeline” describing the links between the northwestern Pakistani frontier and the West, researcher Paul Cruickshank quoted one Ustad Ahmad Faruq, a Pakistan-based al Qaeda spokesman who acknowledged his network’s difficulties.

SFs killed 11 militants and injured 19 others in a crackdown in the Mamozai area of Kurram Agency in FATA.

Members of the thousands of families belonging to four Khyber Agency tribes that earlier missed registrations are likely to get the internally displaced persons status, official sources said.

Two militants of SSP, Qari Jalal Ahmed (25) and Irfan (35), were killed in Buffer Zone area of Shadman Town, within the limits of Taimuria Police Station in Karachi. Maulana Taj Hanfi, spokesman of ASWJ, formerly known as SSP, said both victims were going their homes after attending the meeting of ASWJ in Surjani area.

One ST cadre was shot dead in Jutt Lines area within the limits of Brigade Police Station. 

One person was killed and 11 others, including four policemen, were injured in a grenade and gunfire attack on a Police van in Razaar tehsil of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack took place after the conclusion of a public gathering arranged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

One constable got injured in grenade attack by militants during a search operation in Mando Khel area of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night.

JUI-F leader and MPA Mufti Kifayatullah denied his involvement in a murder committed in Mansehra and described it an attempt to drive him out of politics. 

Speaking at a monthly crime meeting Mansehra, District Police Officer Ijaz Ahmad Khan said that a committee of Ulema would be formed soon to work for maintaining sectarian harmony in the Mansehra District.

A man was killed and another got injured in a bomb explosion in the Katan Bridge area of Khuzdar District.

Two Police personnel were abducted at gunpoint by unidentified militants from a check post in Goth Naseebuallah area of Subatpur tehsil in Jaffarabad District.

FC claimed to have rescued three abducted people, including a child from the captivity of an outfit led by Barat Khan alias Barati in a joint operation in Gulistan tehsil of Qilla Abdullah District.

Nine British-Asians of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin have been jailed in the UK over an al Qaeda-inspired plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and to organise a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. The men, who were convicted last week, were described by the judge at the Woolwich Crown Court as 'Islamic fundamentalists'.

The father of a terrorist faced up to 40 years in prison after his conviction on charges that he destroyed evidence and lied to investigators to cover up his son’s plot to attack the New York City subways in 2009. Mohammed Wali Zazi (55) remained free on bail after his conviction in July 2011.

Lawyers for Dr Aafia Siddiqui, serving an 86-year prison sentence for shooting at US soldiers in Afghanistan, told an appeals court that she was so mentally ill, she should have been barred from testifying at her own trial.

Two Afghan officials said that Pakistan had arrested two suspects from Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, in connection with the September 20, 2011 assassination of former Afghan President and head of the Government-appointed Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was trying to broker a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban.

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik categorically refuted the February 9, 2012 claim by US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, that Pakistani airspace is being used to send in supplies to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.

Dissatisfied with Rehman Malik’s statement the opposition senators, including those from the PML-N, JUI-F and JeI walked out from the House against the Government’s decision of allowing NATO supplies through Pakistani airspace.

The Balochistan situation dominated the National Assembly and the Senate as the lawmakers from the province felt uneasy over the situation in their province amid assurance from the Government that they would be given an in-house briefing next week.

Rehman Malik said that PKR 14.59 billion were spent in 2011 on personnel of FC and Pakistan Coast Guards deployed in insurgency-hit Balochistan. He said that 48,928 FC men and 2,057 PCG personnel have been deployed in the province. Talking about the Balochistan Package, he said that 85% of the package had been implemented.

BNP President Sardar Akhtar Mengal applauded the February 9, 2012 US Congressional hearing on the Balochistan issue and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee’s concerns regarding appalling human rights emergency in Balochistan and endorsing Baloch people’s right to self-determination.

Taking strong exception to the controversial US Congressional hearing on Balochistan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman termed it an ill-advised move that would be detrimental to building trust between Pakistan and the US.

Bitterly disappointed with Agencies over the non-production of seven suspects who had been taken into custody by Intelligence Agencies for their alleged involvement in several cases of terrorism, the Supreme Court ordered the ISI, MI, Judge Advocate General Branch and the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 10 to ensure presence of these prisoners by February 13, 2012.

The Afghan Security Forces raided a house in Badini area of Qila Saifullah District close to the Afghan border, abducted two suspected Afghan Taliban militants, identified as Abdullah and Muhammad Sarwar Shabozai, and later shot them dead.

Two abducted Policemen, identified as Karim Bakhsh and Lashkar Khan, were killed in Jaffarabad District of Balochistan. BRA claimed responsibility for the February 10, 2012 abduction of the two Policemen from the Sohbatpur area of Jaffarabad District and said the two had been killed and their bodies were thrown in the Shahpur area. 

A man, identified as Mohammad Zubair, was killed in a firing incident in Mastung District.

In another incident, two persons, identified as Abdul Ghafoor and Mohammad Aslam, were injured in firing incident in Turbat District.

A rocket fired from an unknown location exploded on Karani Road in the Killi Geo area of Quetta. However, no casualty was reported. 

The dead body of an abdcuted Khasadar Force official, Toor Gul Khan, was found in Khwezai area of Mohmand Agency in FATA. TTP Mohmand Agency chapter spokesman Mukarram Khurasani claimed responsibility for the killing of the abdcuted official, saying other people in their custody are relatives of khasadars.

One person was injured and a vehicle was partially damaged when a roadside bomb exploded at Khayest village in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.

Unknown assailants shot at and injured the local secretary of JUI-F, identified as Minhajuddin, at Khomar area of Gilgit city in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Suspected TTP militants attacked an oil and gas plant in Karak District. The militants used small and heavy weapons in the attack in Gurgure area of Karak District. The attack caused no damage to the vital installation of the OGDC.

Police arrested four criminals, including a militant of SSP, and recovered weapons from their possession in Sir Syed Police Station area of Karachi.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan condemned attacks on Security Forces in North Waziristan Agency of FATA and said they would abide by the peace agreement with the Government.

The TTP called on fighters to honour an agreement to not to attack the Pakistani military in the most important sanctuary for the Taliban and al Qaeda along the Afghan border.

A senior TTP commander claimed of keeping two western aid workers abducted from Multan District of Punjab on January 19, 2012, hostage near the Afghan border. 

One of the two suspects, identified as Zia-ur-Rehman, in the murder case of former Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was arrested in Dubai with the help of the Interpol. Zia-ur Rehman and another suspect Malik Abid, both residents of Faisalabad District in Punjab were identified as possible suspects by a pastor named Hafiz Nazar, who was arrested by the Karachi Police in March 2011.

A Police official said, “to treat them as prime suspects would be wrong. We have no evidence to suggest that they were involved in the murder even though they could have certain issues with him.” Both suspects belonged to Faisalabad, the former minister’s native city.

The Army started court martial proceedings against five officers, including Brigadier Ali Khan, over their suspected ties to the banned outfit Hizbut Tahrir. Brigadier Ali Khan and four other officers were detained in May 2011 for suspected links to the outfit.

Anti-Terrorism Court was told that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed December 27, 2007 because she supported the Lal Masjid operation. Magistrate Taufiq Ahmed, who had recorded confessional statements of Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Aitzaz Shah on February 13, 2008, said the accused told him that they wanted to kill only Bhutto and because of the deaths of 23 other people in the attack, which they regretted, they would accept any punishment awarded to them.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that the Provincial Government was ready to talk with TTP for the sake of regional peace and future of young generation, but it will only be possible if TTP laid down arms and accepted Government writ. He offered clemency for the blood of innocent people if the TTP abandoned their anti-state acts and pledged to accept writ of the land.

Levies Force recovered a mutilated dead body of a missing person, identified as Mir Khan Chah, from Chagai District. Khan Chah was reportedly missing since 20 days. 

A Hindu trader, identified as Sham Lal, was abducted on February 12 from Veer area of Wadh tehsil in Khuzdar District while he was on his way to Karachi in Sindh.

LEA arrested 100 foreigners in Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District under the Foreign Act. According to Levies Force, Afghan nationals including Uzbeks, Tajiks, Hazaras and Afghans, were taken into custody in Chaman while entering Pakistan from Afghanistan without ant travelling documents. 

Levies Force arrested two suspects from Roghani area in Qilla Abdullah District and recovered a truck from their possession.

Balochistan Government termed reports about involvement of some Provincial Ministers in abduction for ransom and smuggling baseless. In a statement a spokesman for the Provincial Government denied a report published in some newspapers and said: “The Provincial Government considers the act of kidnapping for ransom a hateful and heinous crime.”

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said US drone strikes targeting al Qaeda and Taliban militants are counter-productive and his Government has not given permission for such attacks. “First of all I want to inform you that we did not allow or give permission to fly drones from Pakistan,” Mr Gilani told Al Jazeera television.

Sources privy to investigations revealed to The Express Tribune that the planners of 26/11 Mumbai attacks watched the terror unfold live at a rented house in the North Nazimabad neighbourhood of Karachi. The planners not only watched the terror unfold via cameras carried by the attackers, they provided them live instructions to engage Indian security personnel and inflict maximum damage, sources added.

The Federal Capital, Islamabad, once again is under threats by militant outfits, well-placed sources said. The Intelligence Agencies believe that the attacks could be conducted from Margalla Hills in Islamabad and asked for adopting stringent measures to counter such threats, sources maintained.

Religious parties during a rally held in a ground near the Quaid Mausoleum in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, vowed to hold a sit-in outside Parliament on February 20, 2012 in protest against restoration of NATO supplies and warned to turn every square of the country into Tahrir Square if attempts were made to push the country to US subservience.

The rally was dominated by JuD, JeI and ASWJ. Several speakers paid tribute to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar.  Hafiz Mohammad Saeed of JuD said the US wanted to avenge its defeat in Afghanistan and was exploiting the situation in Balochistan.

Ali Dayan Hassan, the Pakistan Director for a US-based HRW organisation, said that the human rights violations in Balochistan cannot be swept under the carpet as an internal issue.

Slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden urged his younger children to go live peacefully in the West and get a university education, his brother-in-law said in an interview published. Zakaria al-Sadah, the brother of bin Laden's Yemeni fifth wife Amal, told Britain's The Sunday Times that the Saudi-born terrorist believed his children "should not follow him down the road to jihad". ''He told his own children and grandchildren, 'Go to Europe and America and get a good education’,” al-Sadah said, adding, Bin Laden told them, "You have to study, live in peace and don't do what I am doing or what I have done.”

February 13

Two children, identified as Liaquat Ali and Bashir Ahmed, were killed and 21 others, including Dera Murad Jamali additional SHO, Rasool, were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Dera Murad Jamali area of Naseerabad District. BRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two dead bodies, identified as that of Bakhshal Bugti and Jan Muhammad Marri, were found in Hub tehsil of Lasbela District.

Two Balochistan Constabulary personnel, identified as Sub-Inspector Wahid Bhaksh and Constable Baddaruddin, were shot dead when a group of militants armed with automatic weapons encircled a check post and opened fire on them in Chatter tehsil of Naseerabad District.

A man, identified as Zardad, was found dead in Mand Bolo area of Turbat District. 

The bullet-riddled dead body of a missing BRP leader, Sangat Sana, was found in Murgap area of Turbat District. Sangat Sana, a resident of Mastung District was also a former Chairman of BSO-A.

Unidentified militants abducted the son of a Hindu trader, identified as Jaish Kumar, from Zarghoon Road area of Quetta.

Police found two unidentified dead bodies disposed off in gunny bags from Qadri Graveyard, near Khajji Ground within the limits of Rizvia Police Station in Karachi. 

Two militants of an unidentified outfit were killed in a firing incident in Nazimabad area of Karachi.

An activist of MQM, identified as Imran (25), was shot dead while another youngster, identified as Salman, was injured at Lea Market Chowk, within the precincts of Kharadar Police Station.

Pakistan Rangers Sindh claimed to have arrested 40 suspects besides recovering weapons from their possession in different raids across Karachi.

The seven missing detainees out of the 11 prisoners who went missing from outside Rawalpindi’s Adilyala Jail in May 2010 were brought to the Supreme Court.

The prisoners were wanted for different acts of terrorism. One thing was common among all. They are suffering from a common ailment of skin with the entire body covered with small blisters.

Religious seminaries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa collected PKR 30.46 million from foreign countries/institutions during the last five years, the Ministry of Interior said in a report submitted to the National Assembly. 

Replying to a question of MNA Qudsia Arshad regarding foreign funding to religious seminaries, the Home Department of Sindh added that as per report of the Police special branch, some heads of institutions visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE to collect funds but detail of the funding could not be collected.

The US State Department requested the Congress to approve USD 2.4 billion in allocation for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2013. The Pakistan support and expenditure request is part of the overall budget request, the Barrack Obama administration forwarded to Congress for the new fiscal year, beginning October 1, 2012.

The COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani made it clear that only 18 percent of the budget was being spent on the armed forces, and of this allocation, the Army got only 8 to 9 percent.

Pakistan officially conveyed to the US its serious concern with regard to the hearing held by the US Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations in relation to Balochistan.

The Afghan Taliban demanded that Pakistan release details of how one of its former Ministers died in a Pakistani jail in 2010.  Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, who was Defence Minister when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s, was captured in Balochistan in 2007, and died of heart disease in March 2010, the Taliban said in a statement. 

February 14

Seven labourers were shot dead and two others injured when a group of militants opened fire on them while they were engaged in the construction of Turbat-Bulieda Road in Turbat District. BLF claimed responsibility for the attack.

Unidentified militants shot dead two people, identified as Muhammad Hussain and Shah Wali, in Ali Khel area of Qila Saifullah District.

Two militants, belonging to SSP were shot dead near Rickshaw Stand in Nazimabad area of Shamim Shaheed Police check post in Karachi. They were identified as Shabbir (35), and Ateeq (40). SHO Rao Ehsan said that the victims were affiliated with SSP and were killed over sectarian bias.

A butcher, identified as Saleem Qureshi, was shot dead in an act of target killing at Bhimpura within the limits of Risala Police Station. 

AEC of the CID claimed to have arrested two target killers, identified as Javed Kaka and Faisal, from Risala area.

SFs conducted a search operation in Samghakhi area of Khwezai tehsil in Mohmand Agency of FATA and arrested seven suspected persons. 

The political administration imposed night curfew in Shalobar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.

The Haleemzai tribesmen have again formed an armed lashkar, after a break of three years, to take action against militants in their area in Mohmand Agency. The chief of Haleemzai Peace Committee, Malik Mohammad Ali, said that armed volunteers would take positions on hilltops to check movement of anti-state elements.

The Islamabad Police took Malik Abid into custody for his alleged role in the March 2, 2011 killing of Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, and obtained his physical remand from the ATC for seven days.

A Home Department Report said that, “Target killings still continue in most parts of the country and major reasons behind these are sectarian, demographic changes, easy access to illicit weapons, mistrust among ethnic groups, family enmities and business rivalries”.

In Balochistan, target killings appear to have been adopted as the foremost instrument of terrorism more recently. It makes a change of tactics. The terrorist incidents seemed to have been carried out more for harassment than causing casualties consequently, there were bomb blasts on unfrequented roads/streets and rockets landing in open areas or wilderness causing little casualties.

Pakistan lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan and the NATO-led ISAF over the February 11, 2012 abduction and killing of two Pakistani tribesmen and demanded an inquiry and punishment to those responsible for the incident.

Islamabad publicly admitted that it had allowed NATO to use Pakistan’s airspace to fly supplies into Afghanistan, despite a more than two-month blockade on the border crossings.

The US Ambassador Cameron Munter said that Pakistani politicians don't want Americans to go away from their country. During his lecture at Harvard Kennedy School, Munter said that the relationship between CIA and ISI were still intact.

February 15

One person was killed and five others injured in a bomb blast in Wazir Dhand area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency.

Police found a dead body of an activist of MQM, identified as Abdul Hafeez (35), from a gunny bag abandoned in Altaf Nagar within the precincts of Manghopir Police Station in Karachi.                                                           

One person identified as Ali Muhammad alias Baba was tortured and shot dead in Lyari area. According to Police sources, two people of the Kachhi community, identified as Ali Muhammad alias Baba and Imran were abducted from Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Road.

A member of Kachhi Rabita Committee (KRC), Umer Katchti (48), was shot dead by unidentified militants who also fired a rocket at Gul Muhammad Street.

Three persons were injured in a grenade attack in Agra Taj area near Ibrahim Mosque. 

There were reports of one more rocket fired near Khayyam Bakery.

Khuzdar Police neutralised a terror bid by recovering 20 kilogrammes of explosives near Jhalawan Complex in Khuzdar District.

The US prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals filed charges against a Pakistani who grew up outside Baltimore, alleging he plotted with al Qaeda to attack US targets and assassinate former President General Pervez Musharraf.

The AHRC while quoting the incident of abduction and killing said “the policy of Intelligence Agencies to kill and dump has been seen in the province and most of the victims have been young students from the nationalist groups”.

As court martial proceedings against Pakistan Army’s Brigadier Ali Khan are underway, for suspected ties with banned group HuT, the BBC Urdu service reported that it had acquired a copy of the official charge sheet against the Senior Army Officer.

Former President General Pervez Musharraf was aware of Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad location and the safe house where he was sheltered was built by ISI, a former ISI chief General (retd) Ziauddin Khwaja said.

Khwaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, allegedly said that Bin Laden’s safe house in Abbottabad “was made to order” by Brigadier Ijaz Shah, a former head of the Intelligence Bureau.

However, Butt told Geo News that he had been misquoted in the article but refused to give details of what he had said which could have been misconstrued.

The Government and the people of Swat will not let militants regroup in the valley, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti. He said this while addressing a 150-member Swat representative jirga during a meeting in Peshawar.

The Lahore High Court directed the Government to begin negotiations with US and Afghanistan Governments for the return of seven Pakistani detainees in Bagram. Hearing a petition challenging the alleged abduction of the seven Pakistanis, Justice Khalid Mehmood found there to be no serious allegations against the detainees.

Rejecting a report presented by the Balochistan Home Department on the rampant human rights violations and law and order situation in the province, the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights urged the Government to introduce laws that clip the wings of all-powerful security agencies.

The Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai, quoting the report, said that the Government had arrested 31 people in connection with abductions for ransoms. “Law-enforcing agencies often arrest the culprits but they are set free due to lack of evidence,” he told the committee.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the Government would soon convene an All Parties Conference (APC) to discuss and address issues of Balochistan, particularly the law and order situation in the province.

The JUI-F condemned the Government’s decision to partially reopen NATO supplies to Afghanistan through the country before a debate on the issue in the Parliament.

February 16

Two US drone strikes killed at least 21 militants near the Afghan border in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency of FATA. 

Eight militants and a security man were killed and four personnel, among them a captain, suffered injuries during a raid on a hotel at Rustam Bazaar in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan Agency. A group of TTP militants, comprised of both the Punjabi and Mehsud militants, resisted the SFs in the hotel, triggering a gunbattle that continued for hours.

SFs arrested 31 suspects and imposed curfew in Gagra area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency.

Khyber Agency Political Agent Motahir Zeb said that the Government was eager to clear the areas of Khyber Agency of militants to restore peace and establish writ of the Government so that people could lead a peaceful life. 

Three persons were killed and nine other injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the office of the DCO in Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Eight persons including three Policemen were injured when a man hurled a hand grenade at them on Bara Road in suburbs of Peshawar.

Militants tried to target members of a peace committee in Mashokhel area of Badhber with a bomb but no one was injured in the blast. 

An official of the Judge Advocate General Branch of the Pakistan Army, Colonel Noor Ahmad, informed the PHC that the youths de-radicalised at military rehabilitation centres following the Swat operation were again joining militant groups after their release.

Unidentified militants shot dead a trader, identified as Hafiz Abdul Qader Gulamani, on Jinnah Road near the Jilani Chowk area of Khuzdar District. 

A low-intensity explosion occurred at the Chakar Khan Stadium in Sibi District.

Unidentified militants attacked a security check post in Toll Plaza area of Dera Murad Jamali in Naseerabad District.

JUI-F Quetta Chapter Secretary General Abdul Sadiq Norzai was abducted from Saryab Road in Quetta. 

FC neutralised a terror bid in Balochistan and recovered 1400 kilogrammes of explosive material that was being smuggled from Chaman town in Qilla Abdullah District to interior Balochistan.

Police and Law Enforcement Agencies recovered 10 kilogrammes explosive material and two mortar shells from a car on Saryab Road in Quetta.

Rangers and Police officials arrested three alleged suspects and seized arms and ammunition during a house-to-house search operation in Lyari area of Karachi.

Three suspects, allegedly involved in the Lyari gang war, were remanded in Police custody for a week.

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan made a special mention of the killings in a meeting with Senior Police Officials, and called for a reassessment of the Government’s strategy for curbing target killings in the city.

SFs arrested a TTP Swat chapter militant, identified as Hashmat Ullah, during an operation in the limits of Sabzi Mandi Police Station in Islamabad.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed upon the need to resolve all issues and stressed mutual cooperation to tackle the common challenges of terrorism and extremism. The two sides also resolved to remove bottlenecks, if any, in the way of the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement, and work for stability and peace of both the countries.

President Zardari said Pakistan had always desired a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan as it was in Pakistan’s own national interest, and assured continued support to every effort aimed at restoring peace and stability.

The Abbottabad Commission further delays in releasing its report as it struggles to determine how and with whose help al Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden had been living in Abbottabad for years.

An international money-laundering watchdog, FATF, added Pakistan along with Indonesia, Ghana, Tanzania and Thailand to its blacklist of nations that fail to meet international standards.

The US State Department strongly urged Pakistan to prevent JuD Chief Hafiz Saeed from moving freely in the country, freeze the assets of the groups associated with him and stop allowing LeT from acquiring weapons.

The SFCHR urged the Parliament and the judiciary to play their role to resolve the missing person’s issue. The committee met with Senator Afrasiab Khatak in chair. He wondered why law and order situation was not being improved in the province while the provincial autonomy had been given after the passage of 18th Amendment into the Constitution.

The ISPR assailed the US based HRW which accused its personnel of acting like a state within a state. On January 30, 2011 HRW condemned the impunity of Pakistani intelligence services over the June 1, 2011 murder of journalist, Saleem Shahzad, who was killed after writing about links between al Qaeda and rogue elements in the military.

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council during a public meeting in Attock District of Punjab strongly opposed restoration of supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan and vowed to resist what its leaders said the humiliating move of the Government.

The US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said that al Qaeda is the primary enemy of US in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and that part of the Taliban who support al Qaeda is also American target.

The chairman of US Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Carl Levin, said that Pakistan’s links to various terrorist groups and its role in the reconciliation process gives it the power to influence outcomes in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan’s support to the Haqqani Network is a major cause for US-Pakistan relations reaching a low point where they’re going to remain until the Pakistan military ends its ties to these extremists carrying out cross-border attacks,” he said.

February 17

At least 26 Shias were reportedly killed while 36 others injured, after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives just near the targeted mosque in the Kurmi bazaar of Parachinar, the main town of Kurram Agency in FATA. Fazal Saeed Haqqani-led TTI – a breakaway faction of the TTP – has claimed responsibility for the attack.

SFs took possession of a strategic bunker on Sallo Sar (hill) in the Bara area of Khyber Agency after a fierce clash in which 17 militants, two security personnel and three militiamen died. The fighting erupted after troops and militiamen launched a joint operation against the LI militants in the Bara area.

Two activists of a religious group, identified as Rizwan and Akber, were shot dead at Irshad Autos in Sagheer Centre on Rashid Minhas Road in Karachi. 

LEAs arrested Vice President of People’s Amn Committee Israr Baloch and recovered weapons from his possession.

Leaders of Kachchi Rabita Committee demanded construction of Police check posts in Lyari area on permanent basis to stop influx of gangsters and restore Government writ in the area.

Unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade at a house owned by one Abdul Wahab in Kattan area of Khuzdar District.

A power pylon was partially damaged after two bombs fitted to it exploded in Nazar Banda area of Yar Hussain region of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Islamabad Police conducted a search operation in the vicinity of Margalla Hills and maintained high alert in the city to ensure foolproof security. Search operations were conducted at slum areas, inns, hotels, restaurants and Afghan habitats.

Dubai Law Enforcement Agency released Ziaur Rehman, an accused in former Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti murder case. Ziaur Rehman was arrested there on the request of the Ministry of Interior, the sources said, adding that he had proved his innocence before the Dubai authorities.

Around a dozen relatives of an abducted man identified as Syed Sabir Naqvi, staged a demonstration at Neelum valley in Gilgit-Baltistan, calling upon Human Rights Organisations and superior judiciary to take stock of Naqvi’s abduction. 

Demonstrators told reporters that Naqvi (26) was a soldier in the army and left it some four years ago and adopted tailoring as a profession.

Official documents said that the Government over the past four years has issued about 50,000 prohibited-bore arms licenses. According to official documents, the licenses have been issued since the PPP-led coalition came into power in 2008 to applicants from all the provinces, allowing them to carry sub-machineguns and AK-47s for their personal security.

The PHC ruled that target killings and street crimes were on the rise due to the Government’s issuance of arms licenses on political grounds. It directed the Federal Interior Secretary and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Secretary to present a report about the licenses issued thus far.

Spokesperson for JuD Yahya Mujahid said that the founder of LeJ Malik Ishaq was present on the stage of the DPC rally in Multan District.

JuD called statements of the US State Department, which called on Pakistan to put curbs on the group in compliance with international sanctions, as disrespecting the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan pledged to strengthen cooperation to eradicate extremism, terrorism and militancy from the region. President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put their heads together at the third trilateral summit to forge regional cooperation in multifaceted areas.

Addressing a press conference along with his Afghan and Iranian counterparts, Zardari vowed to fight the external pressure on the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, saying that the “external forces can’t undermine bilateral relations”.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said it would be “preposterous” for Afghanistan to expect Islamabad to deliver the Taliban’s leader to the negotiating table, as talks between the two countries on the peace process ended with little sign of progress.

A bill has been tabled in the US House of Representatives calling upon Pakistan to “recognise the right to self-determination for Balochistan”. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher introduced a House Concurrent Resolution that the Balochi nation has a historic right to self-determination.

HRW Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hassan, in his submitted remarks, had said that cases documented by the HRW showed that Pakistan’s Security Forces and its Intelligence Agencies were involved in the forced disappearance of ethnic Baloch.

Foreign Office blasted the bill tabled in House of Representatives by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher seeking right to self-determination for Balochistan.

A US congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives asking the US Government to bestow its highest civilian award on Doctor Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who was crucial in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

February 18

Two SF personnel, identified as Lutfullah and Muhammad Riaz were killed and nine others injured in a remote-controlled blast in the Sangsilla area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan. The BRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

A Police van was partially damaged in another remote-controlled blast in Chatter area of Nasirabad District in Balochistan.

Unidentified armed militants abducted a jeweller, Abdul Qayyum, from his shop in Liaquat Bazaar of Quetta.

SFs foiled an attempt to blow up a gas pipeline with explosives and arrested three suspects in Sui area of Dera Bugti District.

A volunteer of Zakhakhel Peace Committee was killed and another received injuries in renewed clashes with LI in Tirah valley.

The death toll of February 17 suicide attack that hit Kurmi Bazaar in Kurram Agency of FATA, bordering Afghanistan, rose to 39.

A Policeman was killed and another suffered injury when a vehicle of suspected militants hit them near Pabbi in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police averted a terrorist attack by recovering 25 kilogrammes of explosive material in a cave at Khwar area of Lower Dir District.

Police arrested two Afghan militants in an hour-long operation Said Shah Banda village in Thall tehsil of Hangu District and recovered a suicide jacket and weapons from their possession.

Police arrested ‘commander’ Bakht Ravan, an uncle of a high ranking TTP ‘commander’ Ibn-e-Amin, in the Chaparyal area of Swat District.

Pakistan decided to launch an operation against the militant outfit Jundullah in Balochistan.

Iran continued to hold Pakistan responsible for covertly aiding Jundullah until the arrest of the then group head, Abdolmalek Rigi, on February 23, 2010, by Iranian authorities on a tip-off of Pakistan’s spy agency when Rigi was flying from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. 

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani said he was dismayed to learn about the bill on Balochistan in US House for espousing “self determination”, since it constituted challenging Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Republican Dana Rohrabacher moved the bill in the House of Representatives on February 17, 2012.

The PM clarified Pakistan’s position on restoration of US and NATO supplies. “If we can take extreme measures like stopping NATO supplies and declining to attend a conference (in Bonn) on Afghanistan, we can take any action and decision in the national interest,” he said.

The capital administration banned the entry of three religious leaders in Islamabad for next four days to avoid their presence in a sit-in by Difa-e- Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) Council at Aabpara in Islamabad.

The traders and the shopkeepers of Aabpara have approached the city administration with the request not to allow protests and rallies at Aabpara.

February 19

At least nine members of Zakakhel lashkar were killed and four others injured when a bomb planted by militants exploded at Stana checkpoint of Nari Baba area in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.

A mortar shell fired from an unidentified location landed in the house of one Abdalkhel, killing two children and injuring five others at Sheen Drand area of Akkakhel in Bara tehsil.  

Militants attacked a check-post, killing a security man and injuring three others in the town of Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan Agency, near the Afghanistan border.

The death toll of February 17 suicide attack in Kurmi Bazaar of Parachinar in Kurram Agency reached 43 as two more injured persons succumbed to their injuries.

A rickshaw driver, identified as Abdul Malik, was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants near the cattle market in Quetta.

Unidentified militants shot dead a man, identified as Akram Zamrani, in Shaptan area of Panjgur District.

Levies Force arrested 13 Afghan nationals under Foreign Act from Chaman Town in Qilla Abdullah District near the Pak-Afghan border.

Around 7,000 children were abducted in 2011 and of the total, a large number belonged to Karachi, a report published by the HRCSA highlighted, stating that kidnappings noticeably increased in 2011.

The sources in CPLC said that abduction for ransom has become an easiest way to get money in Karachi. According to details, the trend of abduction for ransom has risen frequently in the commercial hub of the country, Karachi, where majority of people are paying ransom for release of their dear ones.

In a period from 2002-2011, a total of 879 cases of abduction were registered. In 2002, as many as 25 people were kidnapped while in 2003, some 33 people were abducted.

At least 11 accomplices of Doctor Shakil Afridi, who was accused of helping the US track down al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Operation Geronimo on May 1, 2011, were suspended from their duties.

An architect regularly employed by the ISI Agency worked on the compound in which Osama bin Laden was sheltered for years in Abbottabad and also communicated regularly with LeT from his hideout. The architect who worked on the structure was regularly employed by the ISI, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said while quoted an intelligence source.

A total of 231 bullet-riddled bodies were found by roadsides in Balochistan in 2011, said a report, titled “Balochistan’s Maze of Violence” compiled by the CRSS, launched in Islamabad.

February 20

Unidentified militants opened fire on a general store on Kasi Road in Quetta, killing the owner of the store, Muhammad Dawood, and another man, Rehmatullah on the spot.

Two people were shot dead while they were passing through the main bazaar Dera Murad Jamali city of Naseerabad District.

Unidentified armed assailants opened fire on one Abdul Qadir in Balochi street area of Quetta, killing him on the spot.

A young shepherd grazing his cattle in the area was killed in a landmine explosion in Gerisni area of Kohlu District.                            

A man, identified as Faizu, was killed and his mother sustained injuries when they stepped on a landmine while going home in Mondrani Pat area of Sui in Dera Bugti District.

Unidentified men blew up a gas pipeline disrupting gas supply to Pir Koh gas plant in Dera Bugti District.

Unidentified armed militants abducted a businessman, identified as Javed Khan, from Quetta-Chaman Highway in Quetta while he was travelling on his vehicle. 

The ATC in Turbat District awarded death sentence to Sakin Ali, an accused in the February 2011 murder case of Panjgur District SHO Siraj Ahmed.

The BDS averted a terror attack by defusing a powerful 15-kilogramme bomb on GT Road at Doaba area of Hangu District.

Swat Police arrested a suspected militant, Shaukat Ali, allegedly involved in several terror acts from Khawazakhela village in Swat District.

A single-member Peshawar High Court bench dismissed bail plea of a suspected school bomber Mehraban Khan who is charged with blowing up Aziz Khan Public School in the jurisdiction of Mathra Police Station on the outskirts of Peshawar on September 21, 2010 by an explosive device.

SFs arrested one suspect under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation and demolished residential and commercial property belonging to TTI militant ‘commander’ Fazal Saeed Haqqani and his relatives after he claimed responsibility for February 17, 2012 suicide attack that claimed 43 lives in Parachinar town of Kurram Agency in FATA. 

The Islamabad High Court summoned a major of the ISI to appear in a missing persons’ case. Judge Noorul Haq Qureshi heard a petition seeking the recovery of Doctor Abdul Qayyum and Doctor Abdul Wahid and put ISI’s Major Tariq on notice and directed him to appear before the court on March 14, 2012.

TTP and its aligned terror outfits have embarked upon a campaign of high-profile abductions which has armed the militant with millions of dollars in ransom being used to galvanise a sophisticated network of jihadi gangs whose reach spans the country, a report of Pakistan’s security officials said.

The TTP say that the kidnappings earn valuable funds and leverage to free imprisoned fighters. Pakistani and foreign militant commanders, in Waziristan, give the orders, but it is a combination of hired criminals and “Punjabi Taliban” who snatch hostages.

Islamabad summoned United States (US) Charge d’affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland and a ‘strong protest was lodged’ with him over a resolution submitted to the US House of Representatives on Balochistan, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US congressmen.

Baloch nationalist leader Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said that Balochistan was being run by ISI for all practical purposes for the last 15 years with no civilian control over governance in the volatile province. He rejected Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s claim that Army was not involved in the disappearance of people and murder of activists whose decomposed bodies are found dumped at desolate places. 

Speakers at a DPC rally in Islamabad condemned US drone attacks, military operations in tribal areas, tabling of a resolution on Balochistan in the US House of Representatives and the ban on some religious parties.

Protesters poured onto Islamabad’s streets, chanting “death to America” and demanding ‘holy war’. JeI Chief Syed Munawar Hassan criticised the armed forces and said they had failed to contain the US aggression inside Pakistan, but continued to launch operations against their own people.

Britain’s Court of Appeal accepted that the Government has been unable to comply with an order to obtain the release of a Pakistani man Yunus Rahmatullah from a US military prison in Afghanistan because “the Americans are not going to play ball”. 

In December 2011, lawyers for Yunus Rahmatullah won a writ of habeas corpus from the court to compel British officials to bring the prisoner before the court. But the Government lawyers said the US has refused to release the prisoner it has held for eight years, and the Court of Appeal accepted that outcome.

February 21

Police found a seven day old unidentified dead body of a man from Liaquatabad area graveyard within the precincts of Super Market Police Station in Karachi.               

A man, identified as Abdul Hafeez Khan (70), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in Rasheedabad area of Baldia within the precincts of Site B Police Station. 

During a protest against extortion the shopkeepers said that unidentified extortionists were demanding extortion from them on daily basis, threatening of dire consequences in case of non-payment. Recently, the extortionists sent a extortion note of PKR 0.5 million to a florist, Laiq.

A trader, identified as Zohaib Bora, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants during an abduction bid on Mission Road area in Quetta.

Police claimed to have arrested a suspect from Kandahari Bazaar area of Quetta.

A low intensity bomb planted in a motorcycle that was parked in the Mathani bazaar in Peshawar exploded.

Police officials claim to have averted a terrorist attack by recovering a bomb planted at the Baghdada Bridge in Mardan District.                 

SFs claimed to have regained control of strategic Tor Chappar area of Darra Adamkhel town in Kohat District during a lengthy operation, launched against militants on January 27, 2012.

The Peshawar High Court ordered the Police to register the FIRs of four missing persons after Security Agencies and the Ministries of Defence and Interior denied picking them up. 

The tribal elders from Kurram Agency in FATA during press conference at Peshawar Press Club in Peshawar expressed concern over deteriorating security situation in the tribal region and demanded of the authorities to take proactive steps for maintenance of lasting peace.

While referring to the Joint Investigation Team report that was made public, Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed former President Pervez Musharraf and former TTP head Baitullah Mehsud for assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (December 27, 2007).

He said Baitullah Mahsud, Ilyas Kashmiri, and al Qaeda leader Abu Ubaidullah Misri were involved in the assassination plan and no less than 27 terrorist outfits had come together under the umbrella of TTP to assassinate Benazir.

Reacting to the Interior Minister’s briefing on Benazir Bhutto case, Pervez Musharraf strongly denied his involvement in the assassination of Pakistan PPP former chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Rejecting Rehman Malik’s charges of his students’ involvement in Benazir’s assassination, chief cleric of the Darul Uloom Haqqania, Maulana Samiul Haq, asked the Interior Minister to “prove them guilty.” “I have asked the Government and security officials several times to take concrete steps to prove the accused students guilty, instead of leveling allegations against them,” said Haq.

Praising the tabling of a resolution on Balochistan in US Congress, the BRP urged the Baloch people to unite and continue their struggle for independence. BRP central organising committee’s spokesman Sher Mohammad Bugti said in a statement that introduction of the resolution demanding an independent Balochistan was the result of continuing struggle of the Baloch people against “their enemy”.

The US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, “We encourage all parties in Balochistan to work out their differences peacefully and through a political process”.

Afghan officials are holding talks with the TTP, the head of Kandahar Peace Council, Ata Mohammad Ahmadi said in Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

At least 46 journalists were killed across the globe in 2011 and Pakistan continues to be the most deadly country for the second year in running, New York based rights group Committee to Protect Journalists said.  Pakistan reported seven deaths followed by five each in Iraq and Libya. 

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights requested the Government to ensure that the students from war-affected areas get free education in universities.

February 22

Two civilians, identified as Sawab Khel and his nephew Arshad, were killed in a bomb blast along a roadside near their house in Jansi area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA.

Two militants were killed in exchange of fire when they came face to face with SFs in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil.

One person was injured when militants opened fire on a passenger vehicle in Dwatoy area of Tirah valley, the area of the Kokikhel Tribe. 

SFs demolished houses of three suspected militants during a search operation in Alingar area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency. SFs also recovered four IED and two rocket shells during raids on suspected hideouts.

SFs defused an explosive device in Alingar area.

Unidentified militants opened indiscriminate fire on one Abdul Baqi in Mand Sohro area of Kech District. The victim received multiple bullet wounds and succumbed to his injuries. 

Armed militants abducted three people, identified as Sanaullah, Bahadur Khan and Naib Khan, while they were travelling near Saranan area of Pishin District.

Unidentified assailants shot dead a supporter of the MQM, identified as Mohammad Ali (28), and wounded another, Waqas Ali (26) in Jodia Bazaar within the jurisdiction of Kharadar Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Judicial Commission, constituted under the Supreme Court’s directives for monitoring the target killings in Karachi, submitted its preliminary report of the incidents that occurred in 2011 to the provincial Government.

Police arrested two more suspects, Waheed Ahmed of Mandi Bahauddin District and Mohammad Ijaz of Gujranwala District, from Rawalpindi District for their alleged involvement in the November 12, 2011 Pir Chunbal incident where four security officials and a civilian were killed. 

An ATC in Rawalpindi released Malik Abid, an accused in the murder of former Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. Police said when Malik Abid was produced in the ATC, Bhatti’s cousin Tahir Naveed Chaudhry told the judge that neither he had nominated the accused in the case nor leveled any allegation of killing against him.

Sources close to the investigation said investigators had identified two more persons in connection with the murder case. They were identified through the pamphlets found at the spot where the Minister was shot dead.

Supporting the US congressional bill on Balochistan, BRP’s self-exiled chief Brahmdagh Bugti welcomed all foreign intervention in the province whether it is by the US, NATO or India.

“Baloch women, political leaders, activists, students, writers, poets, professors and intellectuals are being subjected to enforced disappearances and undergoing torture for years. Their mutilated bodies turn up daily. Under such circumstances, we will welcome the support of foreign countries,” he said.

JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that the US should compel India to stop atrocities in Indian administered Kashmir rather than taking up the Balochistan issue.

“Why is America silent over the killings of Kashmiris, even though Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) is an internationally recognized disputed territory,” he asked. “America is discussing Balochistan in its parliamentary hearings, although, it is an integral part of Pakistan,” he said, adding, “It is clearly interference in the internal matters of Pakistan.”

Shortly before the US ended a two-month pause in missile strikes on militants in Pakistan last month, senior US officials telephoned their Pakistani counterparts and told them Washington would be resuming its covert drone program despite mounting objections in Islamabad.

Pakistan will give its full support to any clear effort by the Afghan Government to achieve a political settlement with the Taliban but does not want to lead a peace process that would impose a solution, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said during a speech at Chatham House, an international relations think tank in London.

February 23

At least 17 TTP militants were killed in an air strike in Khadizai, Samar bazar and Bermela areas of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA.

Two people were killed and three others injured when militants fired four rockets on three houses targets in Enjani Kali area from nearby mountains. 

Hundreds of tribesmen staged a protest demonstration at Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency against the US drone attacks, saying innocent people were being killed in these strikes.

At least 15 people, including two children, were killed and 38 injured when in a car bomb attack at bus stand on Peshawar-Kohat Road in Peshawar.

Police claimed to have killed two militants in a shootout following an attack on a Police van that was on routine patrol in the Dagglarra area within the Mithri Police precinct in Peshawar.

Two unidentified armed assailants opened fire at a tea stall on Chagla Street in Kharadar area of Karachi killing an activist of the MQM and injuring another person.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man bearing torture-marks from an empty plot in Qaimkhani Colony, Baldia within the jurisdiction of Mochko Police Station. 

One Essa Khan (34) received bullet injuries in an armed clash between two communities hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Kashmir Colony, within the limits of Mehmoodabad Police Station. Later he succumbed to his injuries.

A bomb exploded near the gate of Lakson Tobacco Company at Yar Hussain village.

Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani appreciated the tribal people for assisting armed forces against terrorists and militants. “

Condemning the Pakistani Government for accusing India of creating unrest in Balochistan, JWP Provincial President Shahzain Bugti said it was Pakistan’s intelligence agencies that were responsible for killings and abductions in the province.

He said the Federal Government can restore the trust of Balochis within 72 hours. To achieve this, Bugti said General Pervez Musharraf should be arrested in the Akbar Bugti murder case military operation should be stopped and all forces should be withdrawn from Balochistan controversial security posts should be abolished from Balochistan the killing of innocent people should end.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced withdrawal of cases against the Baloch leaders currently residing abroad. “Following the Government’s reconciliation policy, I announce that Baloch leaders, including Brahmdagh Bugti and Hyrbyair Marri, return to Pakistan to take part in the political and development process and I would personally receive them,” he said. 

Even as the Interior Minister was extending the olive branch to Baloch nationalists, reports began coming from Karachi of the arrest of the Vice-President of the Voice of the Baloch Missing People, Qadeer Baloch. Qadeer was picked up, detained for several hours and then released.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Pakistan was too important for Washington to turn its back on, following ice-breaking talks with her Pakistan counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.

February 24

Seven militants and three soldiers were killed when militants attacked troops deployed in Malikdinkhel area of Khyber Agency in FATA.

At least four Policemen were killed and six others injured when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in a Police Station on Circular Road in Peshawar. 

TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the attack. He said that the attack had been carried out by an affiliated group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigade to avenge the death of one of its leaders, Badar Mansoor, in a United States drone strike on February 9, 2012. 

A militant was injured while planting an explosive device in Shaheedabad area on Ring Road under Chamkani Police Station.

A major part of the Government primary school for boys was destroyed in a bomb blast in Khat Killay area of Swabi District while bomb disposal squad defused another homemade device at the site.

Police claimed to foil a terror bid by recovering six hand grenades and a huge quantity of other explosives during a raid from a house owned by one Ikramullah Gandapur in Dera Ismail Khan District. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the latest terrorist attacks in Peshawar were in reprisal for the US drone strikes in FATA.

Unidentified militants shot dead an activist of ANP identified as Khair Uddin Mehsud (30) near his residence in Hassan Noman Colony within the jurisdiction of Sohrab Goth Police Station in Karachi.

The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested five militants belonging to SSP and recovered two hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs, three TT pistols and several rounds from their possession during a raid at Allahwala Town in Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi.

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Pirkoh area of Dera Bugti District, disrupting gas supply to the purification plant.

Suspected militant havens in Pakistan could jeopardise the US strategy in Afghanistan, secret cables exchanged between the US Ambassador in Kabul and his superiors in Washington revealed, a The Washington Post report said.

The Supreme Court repeated its earlier directive to the ISI and the Military Intelligence to submit their reports on ‘senseless and indiscriminate’ killings in Balochistan.

While addressing the Balochistan issue is the top most priority of the Government President Asif Ali Zardari said that he was ready to visit the province to hold dialogue with Baloch leaders. 

The Baloch nationalist leaders rejected Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s February 23, 2012 announcement about withdrawal of cases against Brahmdagh Bugti and Hairbyar Marri and said the Balochistan issue cannot be resolved without recovery of missing persons and bringing to justice the elements involved in dumping bullet-riddled bodies.

The HRCP, Balochistan Chapter, expressed its strong resentment over deteriorating law and order situation in the province and urged the Government to pay serious attention for retaining peace.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the FIA had been directed to write to Interpol for issuance of a Red Warrant against General Pervez Musharraf.

Sindh High Court issued a notice summoning Musharraf on April 7, 2012 in connection with a case of political violence in Karachi that resulted in the death of at least 50 people on May 12, 2007.

While talking to reporters at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), Chairman of the House Democracy Partnership Congressman David Dreier said that Pakistan and US need to sit together to resolve the issue of reopening NATO supply line to Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appealed to the Afghan Taliban leadership and other Afghan groups, including Hizb-e-Islami, to participate in an intra-Afghan process for national reconciliation and peace.

The Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan hailed Prime Minister Gilani’s appeal to Taliban and other militant groups to join Afghan peace process. Hizb-e-Islami Political Affairs Head Doctor Ghairat Baheer said that his organisation had also proposed intra-Afghan dialogue “which is the only solution to end the Afghan war”.

Pakistan's military has agreed to the resumption of the United States' drone strikes against terrorist groups operating on its soil, highly-placed diplomatic sources said.

February 25

Separatists targeted the railway track using low-intensity explosive devices in eight Districts of Sindh, affecting the movement of trains for hours. Irshad Baig, a spokesman for Pakistan Railways, said that at least 13 small blasts were reported on the railway line in different areas. 

Law enforcement agencies found a letter written by the SDLA from near the blast site. The organisation says it aims to secure the rights of Sindhis and calls for an autonomous status for Sindh.

Following the series of blasts on railway tracks in Sindh, the CID of Sindh Police formally inducted the name of Shafi Burfat, a chief of SDLA, in its Red Book.

Political administration arrested 21 members of Mangal tribe in Kurram Agency after rocket attack on Piwar area.

Three gas pipelines were blown up in the Pirkoh area of Dera Bugti District, disrupting gas supply to purification plant.

Four men who had been missing for the past few months were released by their captors and according to some sources, reached their home in the night. Unconfirmed reports, however, put the number of freed men at 10.

All the cases filed against Baloch leaders have been quashed. According to notification issued to Balochistan Government as well as province’s IGP and Commissioner Quetta, cases lodged against Brahmdagh Bugti, Hairbyar Marri, and Akhtar Mengal stand null & void. 

JeI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch blamed the political leadership and Army for the Balochistan crisis, which he said has reached the point of no return.

February 26

10 militants and two SF personnel were killed in a clash between SFs and militants in the Siplatoi area of South Waziristan Agency in FATA during a search operation.

Six LI militants were killed when helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts in Nangrosa and Nari Baba areas in Landikotal town of Khyber Agency.

Three children and a woman were killed while two women received injuries when a mortar shell fell on a house in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.  

Two SF personnel were killed and another was injured in a roadside bomb blast during a routine patrol on Jandula-Sararogha Road in South Waziristan Agency. 

Two SFs were killed when militants fired rockets on a check post in Saro Kalli area.

A LI ‘commander’, Khalid Zakhakhel, was shot dead by unidentified persons in Akkakhel area of Khyber Agency.

Another LI ‘commander’ Meen Asghar was killed when a mortar shell hit a hideout of militants in Speendand area of Tirah valley.

An activist of ANP, identified as Ibrahim Hussain (32), was shot dead by two unidentified assailants in Bukhari Colony within the precincts of Orangi Town Police Station in Karachi.                     

Unknown assailants targeted and killed a physically impaired man, identified as Abdul Kareem (35), in Aligarh Colony of Orangi Town.

A bakery worker, identified as Zubair, was also shot dead in an act of target killing in Hussainabad area within the jurisdiction of Azizabad Police Station.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead a man, identified as Mirban, at his house in Gomal bazaar of Tank District. Mirban’s wife Balgees and son were injured.

Unidentified militants attacked Ghouriwala Police Station in Bannu District with three rockets followed by heavy gunfire.

Police foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons from Darra Adamkhel town in Kohat District to down country at the toll plaza near Kohat tunnel and arrested four suspects.

Security Forces demolished the Abbottabad compound of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. 

Leaders of the JeM delivered lectures at the University of Peshawar’s campus though the varsity’s rules do not permit such gatherings. Maulana Mufti Abdur Rehman and Maulana Hafizullah of the JeM visited the university.

A Law Enforcement Agency arrested 10 Afghan nationals under the Foreign Act in Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District. 

The HRCP expressed concern over the growing incidents of abduction for ransom in Balochistan and called upon the Government to take action against those responsible.

February 27

Seven people were killed and 20 others wounded when a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded after senior ANP leadership left a public meeting in Nowshera District.

Police found dead body of a man, identified as Shafnan (25), from Nishtar Road, Almari Street within the limits of Garden Police Station in Karachi.

Saeedabad Police claimed to have recovered a Russian made hand grenade from a shrubbery situated in Dawood Goth area.

A Police Officer and a constable were injured in an exchange of fire with armed militants at Mengal Road area in Quetta.

Unidentified militants blew up a pipeline in Pirkoh gas field in Dera Bugti District disrupting the gas supply to a purification plant.

A resident of Nushki District, identified as Mahazullah, who remained missing for a month and a half, returned home.

Brigadier Ali Khan who was arrested (taken into custody on May 6, 2011) for his alleged links with HuT filed a petition through Colonel (retired) Inamuraheem, pleading to the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Branch that the court martial proceedings against him be declared illegal. 

According to his counsel, the petition said, “I have been retired from Pakistan Army and they [army] have charged me with heinous crimes without any proof.” Brigadier Ali has alleged that the military brass is influencing his court martial proceedings.

The State Bank of Pakistan informed Senate Committee on Finance that Pakistan would amend its Anti-Terrorism Act and is working on a draft legislation to ensure enforcement of ATA provisions in financial services sector for conviction of persons found involved in money-laundering. 

The Governor informed the committee that the ministries of Finance and Interior, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the SBP and other stakeholders were working on new legislation to put Pakistan back on Anti-Money Laundering compliant countries list.

February 28

Armed militants dressed in military uniforms killed at least 18 Shias, all men, from Gilgit-Baltistan, on the Karakoram Highway in Kohistan District while they were returning in a convoy from a pilgrimage in Iran.

The Jundullah claimed responsibility for the attack. “They were Shias and our Mujahideen shot them dead,” said Ahmed Marwat, a purported ‘commander’.

Two unidentified armed militants killed two people, including a Chinese woman, identified as Jiang Hua (30) in Jahangirpura Bazaar of Peshawar.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government primary school Mir Aftab Kohtay at Aman Kote village in Swabi District.  

A bomb exploded in Suraizai village on the outskirts of Peshawar. However, no loss of life was reported in both the incidents.

Peshawar Police recovered a toy bomb, weighing 15 kilograms, placed in a bag full of hashish near Tata Park in Hayatabad.

Unidentified assailants shot dead one MQM activist, identified as Noor Hussain (26), at Kunwari Colony in Manghopir Road within Pirabad Police limits in Karachi.

One Ali Raza (32) was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in a hair salon situated at Qasba Colony within Pirabad Police precinct.

Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that militants maintain a significant presence in several parts of Nowshera District and warned that their protectors would not be spared any longer. He said militants had maintained presence in several pockets of the District, including Badrushee, Bahadur Baba, Akora Khattak and Nowshera.

The ISI and the MI explained before the Supreme Court that they treated court orders with great sanctity, but could not shut their eyes to rebellious acts of internal and external elements involved in serious cases of terrorism.

A statement was submitted on behalf of the agencies two days ahead of a scheduled hearing by the Supreme Court on production of seven of 11 suspects picked up by Intelligence Agencies for their alleged involvement in the October 2009 attacks on the GHQ and the ISI’s Hamza Camp in Rawalpindi District of Punjab.

More than 25 cases of terrorist attacks in Islamabad have been pending in the ATCs of Rawalpindi District in Punjab for over a year due to the lackadaisical attitude of the capital territory administration.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and lawmakers expressed concern over diversion of its aide money by Pakistan for other purposes, even as the US has tried to build a firewall in this regard. "Well, we certainly have constructed one," Clinton told lawmakers. 

Osama bin Laden (OBL) was in routine contact with several senior figures from the Pakistan’s military and its intelligence arm while hiding in the country. The Telegraph reported that according to one of the Wikileaks e-mails, the firm had been given access to information papers collected from bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound after US Special Forces attacked it on May 1, 2011, killing the al Qaeda leader.

The e-mail, from a Stratfor analyst, suggested that up to 12 officials in Pakistan’s ISI knew of the safe house. “Mid to senior level ISI and Pakistan military with one retired Pakistan Military General that had knowledge of OBL arrangements and safe house,” the e-mail said.

February 29

One Abdul Waheed Baloch, the brother of a BNP-M leader and his companion, Salman Baloch, were shot dead on the Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo Stadium Road in Khuzdar District. Abdul Waheed Baloch was younger brother of Abdul Latif Baloch, a local leader of BNP-M. 

Unidentified armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire killing Maulvi Ali Mohammad Mengal in Quetta.

A 22-year-old youth, identified as Mohammad Bilal Bangulzai (22), was shot dead by armed militants on Sabzal Road area in Quetta.

Armed militants shot and injured one Mohammad Javed in Mastung District.

Two women and a child were killed when a bomb ripped through their vehicle on the outskirts of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA. “

Eight persons, including women and children, were injured when a mortar shell, fired by a rival group, fell on the house of local militant ‘commander’ Salamat in Sturikhel area of the Agency.

The house and a pick-up truck of militant ‘commander’ Shah Mehmud were badly damaged. Sources in the area said that militants of LI and rival Tawheedul Islam were targeting each other’s positions with mortars and rockets when the house and vehicle were hit. 

Five officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor’s Development Programme were abducted by unidentified armed militants in Pir Tangi area in FR Tank.

US fighter jets violated Pakistan airspace near the tribal area of Loda Mandi in North Waziristan Agency.

Police said that a man, identified as Naveed, was killed in a clash with Law Enforcement Agencies in Gilgit District. 

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik said that perpetrators of Kohistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) killing were traced down and soon they would be produced before the nation.

Unidentified militants blew up the sub-campus of Abdul Wali Khan University at Palosa area in Charsadda District.

Militants blew up a Government primary school in Dalazak area of Shabqadar tehsil.

Unidentified armed militants abducted two members of paramedical staff of the Korean-based hospital in Orangi Town, within the limits of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station, in Karachi when they were on their way to work.

Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal, while hearing the case of the missing persons at the Pakistan Secretariat’s National Crisis Management Cell (provincial office), informed that out of 10 missing persons, seven, including Arshad, Amid, Sajid and others, were recovered from different places.

After nearly nine years of incarceration, the first high-value detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Majid Khan (32), plead guilty to terrorism charges against him, as part of a plea-bargain agreement.

Khan was reportedly kept in a CIA secret prison from 2003 to 2006, before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. While at the detention facility, Khan reportedly tried to commit suicide twice, once by “chewing on his veins.”

Pakistan rubbished WikiLeaks disclosure that some of its intelligence and Army officers were in touch with slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and knew his whereabouts before his killing in Abbottabad on May 1-2, 2011.

Pakistan’s intelligence official sources said that Osama bin Laden kept two copies of the Bible where he wrote secret clues to future terror attacks to be conducted across the globe. The two copies of the Bible were found hidden at his house in Abbottabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Pakistan has no justification for holding Doctor Shakil Afridi, who had a role in the CIA operation to hunt down Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 1-2. 2011.

The Chairman of Kandahar (Afghanistan) Peace Council Haji Ata Muhammad Ahmadi said that just as political efforts to stabilise Afghanistan gather pace, the Quetta Shura started to show signs of flexibility towards dialogue.

Denying reports of the Quetta Shura rejecting the report of it peace talks, Ahmadi claimed that nobody was opposed to peace talks with them.

The FIA sent a formal request to Director of Interpol, Pakistan, to issue Red Warrants for former President and Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf who is an accused and proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

Another petition filed before Pakistan Supreme Court by Chairman of Al-Jihad Trust, Habib Wahabul Khairi, asking it to shut the political wing of ISI.  The petitioner, Khairi, accused former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of forming the ISI’s political cell for his personal interests in 1975.

Air Marshal (Retired) Asghar Khan had also filed a similar petition in 1996, appealing the court to look into allegations that the ISI had provided PKR 140 million to create the Islamic Jamhoori Ittehad to harm Benazir Bhutto’s election campaign.

March 1

At least 20 militants were killed and their five hideouts were destroyed by SFs in different areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA. 

Six tribesmen were critically injured when six mortar shells fired by NATO forces in Afghanistan landed in Zairai village of Dattakhel tehsil in North Waziristan Agency.

Police found an unidentified dead body of man in a gunny bag from a ground in Hazrat Bilal Colony within Korangi Industrial area Police limits in Karachi.

The bullet-riddled dead body of a missing tribal elder, Takri Raheem Dad, was found dumped in the Dasht area of Mastung District.

The Balochistan Government asked the Federal Government to transfer the investigation of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder to the FIA. Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed on August 26, 2006.

At least five people sustained injuries when a rocket fired from Khyber Agency in FATA landed at Ibrahim Market in Hayatabad locality in Peshawar.

An unnamed faction of TTP claimed responsibility for the killing of a Chinese woman on February 28, 2012, saying it was in revenge for China’s killing of Muslims in its troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang. 

A report appearing on BBC Urdu website said that Brigadier Ali Khan of Pakistan Army, currently facing court-martial, planned to spread mutiny against the Government and attack the GHQ in Rawalpindi with support of HuT.

The witnesses further claimed that he was also confided by these people that the GHQ would be targeted with an F-16 jet to be flown from a nearby airstrip. They had further planned to attack US bases inside Pakistan and Black water’s locations.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the report submitted by the ISI and the MI in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail missing prisoners’ case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gave out a stern reprimand.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government will adopt a holistic approach to counter extremism by improving economic conditions, creating jobs and promoting sports and culture, said Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

The provincial Government announced that it would shortly undertake reconstruction of completely destroyed schools and renovation of partially damaged infrastructure in the militancy-hit southern Districts of the Province.

March 2

23 people were killed in a suicide attack targeting a mosque after Friday prayers in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. “The bomber detonated himself near the gate of a mosque in Tirah Valley when people were returning from the prayers, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 20 others” said the local administration official Jamilur Rehman, adding the toll may rise. The mosque is located in an area controlled by warlord Mangal Bagh, he said, adding that most of the dead were from his LI. 

23 LI militants and 10 army personnel were killed in fresh clashes in Lakaro Baba area of Tirah Valley. The LI militants attacked a check post of SFs in the wee hours, shot dead 10 troops and injured eight others, the sources said, adding that 23 LI fighters, including a nephew of an LI ‘commander’, was killed in retaliation by the SFs.

17 TTP militants, including two key ‘commanders’ were killed and 13 injured, while five of their hideouts were destroyed after jetfighters pounded their hideouts in Akhun Kot, Bilrass and Chappar areas of Manozai areas of Upper Orakzai Agency.

Two volunteers from the Tawheed-ul-Islam were killed and two other people were injured when their vehicle hit a roadside explosive device in Dwa Toi area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency.                  

Local political administration arrested four elders of Bulandkhel tribe in Ismailzai tehsil of Upper Orakzai Agency and sent them to jail under the Collective Territorial Responsibility Act.

Three alleged militants were killed in a clash with FC in Pir Sori area of Dera Bugti District.

An unidentified man was killed in Mangochi area of Khuzdar District.

A dead body, identified as that of Ajab Khan, was recovered from Yaro area of Pishin District.

Unidentified militants opened fire on one Hidayatullah in Rekhni area of Barkhan District.  No further detail was reported.

Two bullet-riddled dead bodies of security guards, identified as Saleem and Imran, were found outside their office located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area within the limits of Mobina Town Police Station in Karachi. 

Anti-Violent Crime Cell and CPLC claimed to have recovered Doctor Khalid Mehmood, an abducted doctor, and arrested two alleged abductors in a joint raid at Khuda Ki Basti in Surjani area.

Unidentified militants shot dead an IB inspector, Bashir Khan (38), in a target killing incident near Abasar Colony on Warsak Road in Peshawar.

Five people, including three men of foreign origin and two Pakistani women, were taken into custody at the office of an Afghan NGO in Attock District.

Business community and people in Mardan District expressed concern over the wide circulation of fake currency notes of different denominations, which is causing financial loss to them.

In a year since the assassination of Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, three suspects have been arrested and subsequently released due to lack of evidence.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that it is time to get rid of ‘strategic depth’ hangover. She hoped for a relationship with Afghanistan based on trust and called for leaving behind the past associated with interference in that country and support for Taliban.

March 3

Four militants were killed and two others received injuries in clashes between two rival groups in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.

Two more persons succumbed to their injuries in March 2 suicide attack in Tirah, in a private clinic in Mehraban Kallay taking the death toll to 25.

Unidentified militants set ablaze the house of Haji Khiyal Akbar, a local tribal elder in Sipah area of Bara tehsil.

Bullet-riddled bodies of three missing Frontier Corps personnel were found near Machh town in Bolan District. The three FC personnel were identified as Lance Naik Mohammad Yousuf, Lance Naik Tosiq and Sepoy Rashid Ali.

A Policeman and a five-year old girl were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the motorcade of former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao near Kangra village soon after he left the venue of a public meeting in nearby Battagram village of Shabqadar tehsil in Charsadda District.

Two separate hand grenade attacks injured four including two suspected attackers in Lyari area in Karachi.

March 4

Three persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Forty-year-old Rozi Khan was killed and his friend Sakhi Jan injured in a firing incident near Indus Plaza at a local hotel along the Super Highway within the jurisdiction of Sohrab Goth Police Station.

Police found the bullet riddle dead of young man, identified as 25-year-old Sameer, resident of Ghousia Colony within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. 

Police found dead body of another young man near Coast Guard Quarters in Korangi area within the limits of Zaman Town Police Station. 

Docks Police arrested seven accused and recovered arms and drugs from their possession in different actions in the night in Machhar colony. 

Chakiwara Police arrested three suspects associated with banned outfit Aman committee in Lyari area and recovered two Kalashnikovs, three TT pistols and 300 bullets.

A suicide attack injured five officers, including a DSP, and badly damaged the vehicle when a teenage suicide bomber struck a Police patrol at Commissionery Bazaar in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The driver of a Police patrol vehicle was killed in an ambush by unidentified militants at Landi Akhun Ahmad area of Peshawar in the evening.

The residence of Shakeel Afridi, who is arrested over treason charges, has been sealed due to law and order concerns.

Section 144 was imposed as two persons, including a security official, were injured in a shooting incident in Baseen area of Gilgit.

Punjab Rangers and Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts recovered live rockets, light machine guns and other arms from two separate points of Gilgit city and arrested seven suspected persons.

A local leader of the TTP, Abdul Zareen alias Shah Gee, was arrested from Bara Koh, a suburb area of Islamabad, involved in attacks on Army troops and Frontier Constabulary forces in Bajaur Agency of FATA.

The TTP removed its ‘deputy chief’ Faqir Muhammad from the key position. TTP, however, permitted him to be part of the terrorist group as an ordinary fighter. In an interview with a foreign media organisation, TTP ‘spokesman’ Ahsanullah Ahsan said that a consultation meeting of the TTP was held on March 2 under its Chief Hakeemullah Mehsud. The meeting, which was also attended by nine other important TTP ‘commanders’, took a number of decisions, including the removal of Faqir Muhammad, the spokesman said.

Magistrate Ahmed Mansoor Janjua said that Abdul Rasheed, the main accused behind the October 8, 2007 suicide blast on Benazir Bhutto’s rally, revealed to him that the attack was planned and orchestrated by the then TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said that only 48 persons were missing from Balochistan and the figure of 6,000 such people was “highly” exaggerated one.  During his visit to the National Press Club, he appealed to the media to avoid filing stories on Balochistan that were based on propaganda.

Rehman Malik said that Afghanistan had closed the training camps of Baloch separatists in that country, adding that this was done at the intervention of Afghan President Hamid Karzai who had admitted recently that some of the troubles in Balochistan were originating from his country.

Over 50 members of the Hindu community across Balochistan have been abdcuted in the last four years, compared to seven instances of abduction during former President General Pervez Musharraf’s nine years, said Basant Lal Gulshan, the human rights and minorities affairs minister for Balochistan.

March 5

Four militants were killed when rival outfits clashed with each other to get control over an important bunker in Dwa Thoe area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency of FATA. Sources said that Tariq Afridi group of TTP attacked a bunker of LI in Dwa Thoe area. Both the outfit traded heavy fire, which resulted in killing of four militants.

An official of Mehsud Scouts was killed during a search operation in Naway Kamar area on Sheen Qamar Road in Bara tehsil when an explosive device planted inside an empty house exploded. 

Local residents found headless body of Tor Mullah Zakhakhel, a tribesman, at a deserted place in Akkakhel. 

Unidentified militants blew up a Government primary school in Malik Jafar Khan area of Landi Kotal. The blast damaged the building. 

Kukikhel volunteers defused an explosive device planted on a roadside in Serhai area. The total number of destroyed schools in the entire Khyber Agency has crossed 80, whereas in Landikotal this number is about 24.

Three militants were killed as a Balochistan FC patrol team retaliated to their attack in Hameedpur area in Naseerabad District.

Unidentified militants blew up three 220-KV electricity towers in Mach area of Bolan District suspending electricity to some areas.

FC arrested a suspect, identified as Haji Lala Khan, recovering arms from his possession from Satellite town area in Quetta.

According to official sources, three FC check posts located on Chaman Road, Quetta-Karachi Highway and Sibi Road were abolished to promote reconciliation efforts in Balochistan.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani ordered the heads of LEAs, including FC and Police, to take steps to fight terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and other heinous crimes in the province. 

DCO of Gwadar, Abdul Rehman Dashti, was killed by unknown armed assailants in Karachi in the night. SSP District South Naeem Shaikh said that the DCO was killed at the bungalow of Mir Imam Bezenjo, a political personality from Turbat District of Balochistan and later his body was placed in a car and it was abandoned at Khayaban-e-Tanzeem not far from the bungalow.

A man, identified as Sarwar (26), was shot dead by unidentified militants at Main Bazaar situated near Nimco Shop within PIB Police precincts.

At least seven people, including a bystander woman, were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on the crowd gathered at ANP welcome rally for its newly-elected senator Shahi Syed near Malir area.

The terrorists’ bid to blow up a tribe elder’s house in Hangu city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was neutralised after occupants spotted a 15 kilograms improvised explosive device on the premises and got it promptly defused by the bomb disposal squad. 

SFs recovered a cache of weapons in a search operation in the Chiragali area of Upper Dir District. 

The Supreme Court hearing a plea for registration of a second FIR in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case ordered that a summons be pasted on the wall of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s residence in Islamabad.

He had also sought the initiation of criminal proceedings against General Musharraf and others for allegedly planning and executing the plot to assassinate Ms Bhutto and named as respondents former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, former law minister Babar Awan, then acting interior minister Lieutenant-General (retd) Hamid Nawaz, former Director General of Intelligence Bureau Syed Ijaz Hussain Shah, former interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah and senior police officers of Rawalpindi.

Public and private schools, offices and markets re-opened in Gilgit city of Gilgit District after remaining closed for a week following the February 28, 2012 Kohistan killing of 18 Shias.                   

Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah and the Chief Secretary visited Chilas, the headquarters of Diamer District, and met with elders and public representatives. It was agreed at the meeting that a jirga from the District would make efforts for establishing durable peace in the region. Later, a 100-member jirga comprising notables from across the Diamer District was formed in Chilas.

A total of 333 cases have been received by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances over the past 14 months, stated a press release issued in Islamabad.  There were 138 cases of missing persons till January 1, 2011. The commission received 333 cases during the period from January 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012. With these cases, the number of missing persons has increased to 471, and a total of 175 cases have been disposed of so far.

As a result of proceedings held in Islamabad and Karachi, some missing persons were traced in February this year. The commission plans to visit Quetta in the second week of March.

HuT is a non-political organisation and does not operate clandestinely, rather it works openly within society in order to bring back the glorious era of Islam, the organisation’s Counsel, Chaudhry Umar Hayat Sindhu said. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said that his organisation had nothing to do with terrorism.

Sindhu further claimed that Hizbut-Tahrir was working in 40 countries, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, UK, Denmark, Turkey and Jordan.

Militant leaders in Bajaur Agency (FATA) have reacted strongly to the removal of their chief from the post of deputy Amir of the TTP and threatened to form their own group. Four top militants loyal to Maulvi Faqir Mohammad called local reporters and said they rejected as one-sided TTP’s decision to remove their leader from the deputy leader’s post.

March 6

At least 17 militants, including two al Qaeda ‘commanders’ and seven suicide bombers, were killed in separate SFs actions in Upper Orakzai and Malakhel area of Dabori in Orakzai Agency of FATA in the night. Two al Qaeda ‘commanders’, identified as Abdullah Mubarak and Ahmed, were Arab nationals. 

A security man, identified as Khalid of Swat Scouts, was killed and two others received injuries when an improvised explosive device went off in Baizai tehsil of Mohmand Agency.

Unidentified militants abducted three persons from a Hujra in Sultankhel area of Haleemzai tehsil.

Seven unidentified militants were killed while nine others were wounded during a clash with SFs at the RD 238 Uch area of Naseerabad District.

A bullet-riddled dead body, identified as that of Ahmed Ali, was found dumped in the Dasht area of Mastung District.

An activist of the ANP, identified as Bacha Zada (33), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants at Sir Shah Suleman Road near Hassan Square area in Essa Nagri within the limits of Aziz Bhatti Police Station in Karachi. 

Police Special Branch arrested one Dinesh Chandar, an alleged Indian spy from Malir Khokhrapar area. The Police also recovered an Indian identity card and maps of villages and cities in Pakistan.

An alleged drug kingpin from Turbat District of Balochistan, Mir Imam Bizenjo, has been identified as the prime suspect in the March 5, 2012 murder of Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rehman Dashti. The murder took place at the home of Imam Bizenjo.

An Anti-extortion Cell, headed by DSP Wasif Qureshi, has been set up in Karachi on the demand of STA.

Unidentified militants blew up five houses in Dahri Likpani area in the Katlang Police Station jurisdiction of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police and locals said the militants had planted explosive material outside the house of a retired employee of the Pakistan Air Force, Ameer Rehman.

IHC granted bail to two alleged militants, Mufti Imamuddin and Qari Mohammad Arshad, who were arrested on charges of planning attacks on sensitive and important buildings of the Federal Capital and arranging funds through abductions for ransom.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the security of the Federal Capital had been tightened to foil any terrorism bid especially from the Margalla hills in Islamabad. 

He further said both internal and external forces were involved in creating unrest in Balochistan.  Responding to a question, he clarified that red notices, not red warrants of former President Pervez Musharraf have been issued.

In compliance with the Supreme Court orders during hearing of a plea for registration of a second FIR in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, summons was pasted on the front wall of the residence of former President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad. Officials of the Rawalpindi Police reached the model farm house number 1-C/B Park Road, Chak Shahzad area in Islamabad, which is the property of General Musharraf and pasted the summons.

Keeping in view the terrorist attacks on Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Department decided to upgrade the buildings of Police Stations as per requirements in order to avert the sabotage acts and secure lives of the people. 

The ousted deputy chief of the TTP, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad said to Reuters that he still favours peace talks with the Pakistani Government. “Whenever I’ve held talks with the Government of Pakistan, I’ve held them with the permission and advice of the central leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Maulvi Faqir Muhammad said from an undisclosed location.

The Balochistan High Court disposed of 83 cases of missing persons, among 4000 cases during the Judicial Year 2011. Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Qazi Faez Isa revealed these figures during a full court reference to mark the commencement of the new judicial year 2012 at Balochistan High Court.

Al Qaeda’s main operational commander and the chief of the HuJI, Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reportedly killed on June 3, 2011 in a US drone attack in South Waziristan Agency of FATA, was spotted in North Waziristan Agency recently, referring to reliable sources.

Asserting that the US faced tough threats from the American recruits of al Qaeda, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Government has "clear authority" to kill its citizens abroad who present an imminent threat of violent attack.

A media report stated that authorities in Islamabad have allowed the family members of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, including his widows and children, to leave the country.

March 7

At least four persons, including two women, were killed and two others injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire after entering a house in Shaheen town area on University Road in Peshawar. 

A boy was killed and three others injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast on the Kohat-Peshawar Road in Kohat District.

A CD market was blown up by an IED planted by unidentified militants on Takkar Road at Takhtbhai Bazaar in Mardan District. 

The TTP released a fresh footage of the abducted VC of University of Peshawar, Doctor Ajmal Khan. In the video message, Doctor Khan is seen making an appeal for his recovery.               

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the Government was ready to accept the genuine demands of the TTP. The Minister said the Government could not accept “unjust demands”, adding that conceding at this point would encourage the abductors to ‘lift’ more people for ransom, bringing the Government under pressure. 

Two alleged militants were arrested from the basement of a mosque during an operation in Malgeen area of Lachi tehsil in Kohat District.

Unidentified militants killed three labourers and injured six others in a town close to the Iranian border in Kech District. 

An official of Balochistan Levies, identified as Abdul Ghani, was shot dead by unidentified assailants while he was sitting along with his friend at a roadside hotel in Khuzdar District.

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline with explosives in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District destroying a portion of the gas pipeline resulting in suspension of gas supply to a plant from well no 16.

One Nazimuddin Umrani, a relative of Mir Sadiq Ali Umrani, President of the Balochistan Chapter of PPP, was abducted by armed assailants from the Allahbad Tamboo area of Naseerabad District.                                                      

Trader Ashok Kumar, who was abducted on February 27, 2012 from Gandahwa area of the Jhal Magsi District, returned home.

One activist of ANP, identified as Rehan Mehsud (28), was shot dead in Machhar Colony within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station in Karachi.

An activist of the PPP, identified as Lala Ayaz (38), was shot dead and a young boy Saleh Muhammad (12) injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on them near a hotel at Met Office in Karachi.           

Police found a two-day old torture-marked unidentified dead body from Azeem Pura, within the precincts of Shah Faisal Police Station.

Unidentified militants abducted three FATA SPDP officials and a Levies soldier from the Ghundi Hassankhel area in the FR Lakki of FATA in the night. 

At least three militants were killed when rival outfits clashed in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.

A headless body of a student, identified as Abdul Mateen, was found in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing. 

A jirga of Kukikhel tribe asked all armed groups to vacate its area immediately, threatening to take action against those, who provide shelter to militants on its soil.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik revealed that Pakistan’s Security Agencies were a few days too late – saying they were ‘very close’ to capturing the slain al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik also claimed that at no stage was the Government aware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan.  The Minister admitted the failure of civil Intelligence Agencies in tracking down the al Qaeda founder.

The HRCP urged the Government to disclose the whereabouts of two Sindhi nationalist leaders - Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Senior Vice Chairman Dr Mir Alam Muree and Umer Teewano alias Raja Dahar, who were picked up by plain clothed men belonging to LEAs from Gulshan-e-Sajad area in the jurisdiction of Bhatai Nagar Police Station of Hyderabad District in Sindh on March 5, 2012.

China is facing a network of militants entrenched in neighbouring states, but authorities, especially in Pakistan, are trying to stamp out violence and protect China’s interests, the Governor of China’s Xinjiang region said.

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region current Chairman Nur Bekri said that “we have certainly discovered that East Turkestan activists and terrorists in our neighbouring states have a thousand and one links”, while talking on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of Parliament, when asked about a Pakistan connection with attacks in Xinjiang. 

March 8

Police found a dead body of an unidentified woman from bushes near Afghan Camp, within the precincts of Gulshan-e-Maymar Police Station in Karachi.

Railway track was blown up in Nushki District suspending the train service between Quetta and the Iranian city of Zahedan. 

250 Afghan citizens were arrested for allegedly not having travel documents from check post in Mian Ghundi area of Quetta.

The Sabzi Mandi Police arrested 60 suspects during a search operation in various localities of Islamabad.

The TTP ‘commanders’ are locked in talks, trying to heal a damaging rift that has inflamed tensions over whether to pursue peace efforts with the Government, insiders’ sources said.

Pakistan possessed up to 110 nuclear weapons and spent a whopping USD 2.2 billion on its atomic arsenal last year, claims a report by an international NGO, ICAN.

Reacting to the report, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said it was "highly exaggerated and part of an insidious propaganda campaign."

The Government offer for talks with Baloch nationalist leaders was heading nowhere as most of them rejected it, saying they have no trust in the rulers.

“Nobody trusts the Government anymore, whether it is Interior Minister Rehman Malik or anybody else. Dictatorial policies of the past continue to dominate the current scenario in Balochistan.” The Interior Ministry has ordered the chief secretary of Balochistan to withdraw cases against Brahmdagh, Harbyar Marri and Akhtar Mengal, but the nationalists described the move as double standards of the Government.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said that Pakistan desired relations with the US on the basis of mutual respect and interest without compromising its national sovereignty.

Gilani termed the US an important country and said Pakistan did not wish to spoil its relations with it. Gilani said the Parliamentary Committee on National Security had already prepared recommendations for new terms of engagement and cooperation with the US, ISAF and NATO.

Authorities have brought charges against former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s three widows for illegally entering and living in the country, Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said. 

In a new twist to the Osama bin Laden saga, emails leaked from an intelligence analysis firm Stratfor suggest that the body of the al Qaeda leader was actually sent to the US for cremation and not buried at sea.  According to the emails, Osama was killed in a US raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and was transported to the US and cremated.

March 9

At least 18 militants, among them six foreigners, were killed when US drones fired missiles on a compound and a vehicle in two different areas of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.

TTP militants ambushed a military convoy, killing seven soldiers at Khar Qamar, 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency.

Leader of the peace militia of the Stori Khel Tribe in Orakzai Agency, Malik Waris Khan, was attacked and killed by militants in Feroz Khail area of Orakzai Agency. The spokesperson for the TTP Ehsanullah Ehsan called reporters from an unknown location and claimed responsibility for the attack on the peace lashkar leader.

Al Qaeda confirmed that one of its commanders, Badr Mansoor, died on February 9 in an US drone strike in a compound located in Miranshah.

A Police informer, identified as Muzammil (35), and a pushcart juice vendor Muhammad Aslam were shot dead at Faqeera Goth within the limits of Sohrab Goth Police Station in Karachi.

A man was shot dead in Mujahidabad area of Orangi Town. The incident occurred following the targeted killing of a former cadre of a banned outfit in Meraj Nabi Colony the same day.              

An activist of an unnamed political party was killed in New Karachi area.

Elsewhere in the District, a civilian was killed near Pakistan Chowk locality.                                      

A worker of a political party succumbed to his injuries after being shot on March 8, 2012 in Surjani Town area.

A Police official succumbed to his wounds after being injured during a clash with the outlaws in New Karachi area.

A bomb hoax at the Karachi University (KU) spread panic among the students, prompting an evacuation.

Crime Range West claimed to have arrested a target killer, Rahim Mama alias Rahim Bux, from Rashid Minhas Road. According to SP Khurram Waris, the raid was conducted on tip-off, leading to the arrest of Rahim Bux.

At least 10 Government officials were abducted and later released after the killing of two alleged suspects in the Killi Misezai area of the Qilla Abdullah District. According to sources, personnel of the FC and the Anti-Terrorism Force launched a search operation in Maizai Addah area on a tip off about the presence there of a gang involved in abduction for ransom and other heinous crimes.

After the shootout, a large number of local tribesmen blocked the portion of National Highway linking Quetta and Afghanistan by putting barricades and boulders.

The Government appointed Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam as the new head of the ISI, quashing rumours of another extension for Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha. Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam will step into Pasha’s boots as Director General of the Directorate of ISI after serving as the commander of the V Corps, a key army administrative unit that is based in Karachi.

The TTP threatened attacks against the Government, Police and military officials if three of the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s widows were not released from Pakistan’s custody, a spokesman for the militant outfit said.

The New York Times reported that Osama bin Laden was betrayed by one of his jealous wives and his aides.  It seems all was not well in Osama’s safe house in Pakistan towards the end, the media report stated saying there was “poisonous mistrust” between Osama’s three wives, with one of them being accused of betraying him to US intelligence.

A new twist to the mystery of how Osama got a shelter in a Pakistani cantonment town for over six years, before he was killed by US SEALs came from a retired Pakistani brigadier Shaukat Qadir, who carried out his own investigations, the Times said. 

The TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan threatened to attack Shad Begum, recipient of the International Women of Courage award. Shad Begum, who hails from Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, received the International Women of Courage Award on March 8 from First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her work on women rights and development.

The US State Department said those that would threaten Shad Begum, are “out of step with the aspirations of the Pakistani people.”

The Government of Pakistan has discreetly banned the ASWJ, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Urdu report said. In what the BBC describes as a notification issued by the Interior Ministry two weeks ago, the ASWJ was suspected to have been involved in terrorism related activities of the SSP, the defunct terror outfit.

The ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi expressed his unfamiliarity with the ban. He, however, made it a point that if such a ban exists, it would be challenged in court.

The Sindh Police will be inducting 400 more women officers into the ranks to add to the 900 which are already part of the force. Sindh IG Police Mushtaq Ahmed Shah held a meeting at the Central Police Office to review capacity-building measures for improving women policing.

A refresher course in criminal law will focus mainly on the Protection of Women Act 2006, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2010 on sexual harassment, Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010, Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Amendment) Act 2011, Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Acts of 2010, among others.

As the insurgency in Balochistan gets into international limelight, several foreign Governments have assured Pakistan of steps to curb activities of Baloch separatists on their soil.

The spokesman said that taking notice of those activities, the Foreign Ministry “made demarches to the relevant Governments”. Many Baloch leaders and activists have taken refuge in European countries from where they have been actively promoting their cause.

The Upper House unanimously passed ‘The National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012’ with major amendments to the bill passed by the National Assembly earlier, to provide for the establishment of NCHR for protection and promotion of fundamental human rights in the country.  

The commission will be authorised to seek a report from the Federal Government on its own motion or on receipt of a petition on violation of human rights.

The functions of the commission do not include inquiring into the acts of intelligence agencies. If a complaint is made to the commission alleging that an act or practice of such an agency is in violation of human rights, the commission shall refer the complaint to the competent authority.

Pakistan said it is not putting the "core issue" of Kashmir on the backburner as it works to normalise ties with India, and any final settlement between the two sides would be linked to realising the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people". "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is about the people of Kashmir and their inalienable right to self-determination. Therefore, there is no question of freezing this issue or putting this core dispute on the backburner," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.

Basit remarked that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders had recently urged the Indian Government to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act.

Former MNA and PML-N leader Marvi Memon called for representation of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan in the Council of Common Interests so that the two regions could properly plead and protect their stakes.

Accusing PPP of “crossing the last limits of corruption”, she said: “The party which has grabbed power in PoK through rigging should tell what it has done for the amelioration of masses in the region?” She also underlined the need for amendments in PoK’s Interim Constitution Act 1974 so as to empower the region’s Government.

Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Dost Muhammad Khan said on March 9 that 2012 would be the year of release of missing persons. “No one is above the law and the Constitution,” he said in his speech as chief guest at the general body meeting of the PHCBA.

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) held a rally in Peshawar, demanding the immediate release of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ismail Darvesh of JUI-F and Jamaatud Dawa leaders also addressed the rally.

March 10

Pakistani fighter jets bombed several terrorists’ hideouts in the northwestern Orakzai Agency, near the Afghanistan border, killing 33 terrorists and injuring 23, military officials said. 

Four terrorist hideouts in the Khadezai and Mamozai areas of tribal region were destroyed by bombardment of jet fighters, killing at least 21 terrorists.

At least five terrorists were killed by SFs after they attacked convoy of the SFs in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, political authorities said.

Six members of a pro-Government tribal militia were killed when they were ambushed by militants in the Dera Bugti area of Balochistan, security officials said. According to sources, volunteers of the militia were travelling to Phelaogh from Sui when they were attacked by the armed militants positioned on the hills.

Quetta Police busted eight outfits involved in abduction for ransom and other heinous acts, said DIG Police Operations Quetta Qazi Abdul Wahid. 

March 11

At least 39 militants were killed in clashes at various places during a SFs’ operation in Alam Godhar Area of Khyber Agency in FATA.  

Five security personnel including a high-ranking officer were killed when they stepped over a land mine in Ghalanai area of Mohammad Agency. Seven others were injured in the incident. 

A security man was killed when an improvised explosive device went off in Wali Kor area of Baizai tehsil. Sources said that security personnel were fetching water from a spring in Wali Kor area when one of them stepped on the explosive device, planted along the track. A spokesman for TTP Mohmand chapter talked to local journalists by telephone from an undisclosed location and claimed responsibility for the blast. 

In Khyber Agency, two persons including a security man were killed and two children received injuries in different incidents in Bara tehsil. 

The headless body of an abdcuted official of FC was found in Alamgudar area of Bara. Sources said that the deceased identified as Jameel Khattak was kidnapped by militants after he got injured during a clash with them. 

In Jamrud, unidentified persons shot dead a tribesman near Shahkas locality. Sources said that Amir Jan, a resident of Bara, along with another person was coming to Jamrud on a motorcycle when he was intercepted by two assailants, also riding a motorcycle. 

Two children were injured when a mortar shell fell on the house of Janas Khan in Akkakhel area of Bara.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in the suburban Badbher area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 16 persons and injuring 33 others. A Senior Police official said Advocate Khushdil Khan, Deputy Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, appeared to be the target of the attack. The blast took place immediately after he had left the place. Darra Adamkhel chapter of TTP claimed responsibility for attack. TTP spokesman Mohammad Afridi said the politician was the target because he had set up a militia to battle against the TTP. “These militias are the front lines for the Pakistan army,” the spokesman added.

An activist of the ANP, identified as Shaad Mohammed (25), was shot dead at Sarrafa Market in Pathan Colony of Karachi. Police said that the deceased had been lobbying against the drug mafia operating in the area and was continuously receiving death threats.

The mutilated and bullet-riddled dead body of a teenage boy, identified as Naeem, was found from Chappa Gali in the Eidgah Police limits.

Another bullet-riddled dead body of a boy, identified as Mohammed Fahim, was recovered from Machlee Market in the Soldier Bazaar Police limits.

Police found body parts of a woman from a garbage dump yard within the remits of Soldier Bazaar Police Station.

Unidentified militants shot dead a man in Kali Kabeer area of Quetta. The identity of victim is yet to be ascertained. 

A man, identified as Riaz, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants in Tasub Bazar of Panjgur District. 

An unidentified dead body of a man was found in a complex of Jinnah Road in Quetta. 

Another unidentified dead body was recovered from hills of Pakhtoonabad area.

Unidentified militants blew up a 16-inch diameter gas pipeline in the Pirkoh area of Dera Bugti District.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said that the alleged suspects for the February 28, 2012 target killing of 18 Shia bus passengers in Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been traced through frequency of their cell phones and five of them have already been arrested.

The Minister further said that the incident should not be viewed as a terrorist action against a particular sect. “Rather, the killings were carried out by those who want to destabilise the state, the Government and are active throughout our country.

It was reported that the administration of Kohistan District has constituted a 70-member jirga of local Ulema and elders, which would extend help to the LEAs in arresting perpetrators of the February 28 killing.

After volatile Balochistan, the situation in Gilgit-Baltistan has turned into a volcano that could erupt at any time, exposing hundreds of locals to violence, hatred and death.

The report further adds that most of the time the major cities of Gilgit-Baltistan, especially, Gilgit face imposition of curfew by the security forces to maintain the law and order situation, whereas media is also unable to report independently on the issue.

The Government banned three religious/charity organisations working in the country. According to a senior official of the Interior Ministry, with the latest ban imposed on ASWJ, Al Harmain Foundation (AHF) and Rabita Trust (RT), the number of outlawed organisations and groups rose to 38. The three organisations were banned by the UN in 2009 under a resolution adopted by the Security Council.

The organisations previously banned by the Government are: LeJ, SMP (SMP banned on August 14, 2001), JeM, LeT, SSP, TJP, TNSM, TeI (on January 14, 2002), al Qaeda (on March 17, 2003), Millat-i-Islamia Pakistan, Khuddam-ul-Islam, Islami Tehreek Pakistan (on November 15, 2003), JuA, JuF, HuT (HuT on November 20, 2003), Khair-un-Naas International Trust (on October 27, 2004), BLA (BLA on April 7, 2006), Islamic Students Movement of Pakistan (on August 21, 2006), LI, AI, Haji Namdar Group (on June 30, 2008), TTP (TTP on August 25, 2008), JuD, Al-Akhtar Trust and Al-Rashid Trust (banned under the UNSC Resolution 1267 on December 10, 2008), Shia Talba Action Committee, Markaz-e-Sabeel (Gilgit), Tanzeem Naujawan-i-Sunnat (Gilgit), People’s Aman Committee (PAC), BRA, BLF, LeB, BLUF and BMDT (banned in 2011). ST was put on a watch list on January 14, 2002. 

ASWJ hit back at reports of a Government ban saying it was slapped at the behest of the US. “Attempts at banning ASWJ are on the directives of the US,” Chairperson Maulana Ahmad Ali Ludhianvi told media. The Government has not sealed any of ASWJ offices, thus far, Ludhianvi said, adding, “We have learnt about the ban in a BBC Report. We haven’t received any official intimation”.

A banker at the centre of a scandal over the funneling of millions of rupees from ISI to politicians in the 1990s has said that he personally delivered cash to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif at his home.  Former Mehran Bank chief Yunus Habib did not specify how much he had paid to Sharif, a two-time former premier. 

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman expressed serious concern over Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s resolution on Balochistan, in a letter addressed to US House of Representatives speaker John Boehner.

SFs killed eight militants during operations in different areas of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA and destroyed three hideouts.

Two people were killed and 20 others injured when a bomb ripped through a bus near Sadda town in Kurram Agency. The bus was going from Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to Parachinar in Kurram Agency, when it was hit by the remote-controlled bomb planted on the road near Pir Qayyum village. Nine women and four children were among the injured.

SFs defused two bombs planted along the road in Mat Khuza area of lower Kurram Agency.

Political administration of FR Lakki Marwat launched a crackdown on Bettanni tribesmen after the expiry of deadline, set for safe recovery of four abducted officials. Three officials of SPDP, identified as Jehanzeb, Kachkol Khan and Awal Khan, residents of Mardan District, along with a Levies soldier, Nasser Khan, were abducted from FR Lakki in the night of March 7-8.

The death toll of March 11, 2012 Badhber (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) suicide bombing reached to 17 as another injured person, identified as Naveed, succumbed to his injuries.

Police claimed to have foiled a major terror bid by recovering a huge quantity of explosive material from a vehicle parked near a Police check post in Peshawar.

The residents of Battagram District threatened to launch a mass agitation drive if Government didn't expel Afghan refugees from the District.

Darul Qaza Swat, the Circuit Bench of Peshawar High Court in Mingora town of Swat District, granted bail to six accused charged by Police in terrorism and other crimes on surety bonds of PKR 500,000 and PKR 300,000.

The Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that banned organisations would be delisted if they "closed down their militant wings". "If the proscribed organisations assure us that they have closed down their militant wings and abandoned extremism, we would like to meet them in next few days," Rehman Malik told the media, adding, "We have been contacted by several banned organisations that want to sit and talk. If they want to give up militancy we will talk to them as we are revising the list of proscribed organisations".

Pakistan has faced heavy criticism for not doing more to clampdown on the groups, many of which are allowed to operate freely under new names, such as JuD, an UN-blacklisted charity considered a front for the LeT.

Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said that there has always been a political wing in the Directorate of ISI and the Prime Minister and the President will be informed about the agency's policies and requirements by newly-appointed ISI Director General Zahirul Islam.

The US drones struck twice in the regions along the border with Afghanistan in SWA of FATA, killing 15 militants, including two senior 'commanders', security and intelligence officials said.

Three persons were killed by unidentified militants in Tirah Kukikhel near Spean Khwar in Khyber Agency.

NWA APA Azmat Jamal and his two associates were killed when unidentified militants ambushed their vehicle in Mir Ali tehsil of NWA.

A militant was killed and office of the LI was destroyed as the SFs launched search operation in Sepah area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.

Unidentified militants destroyed six video shops in the main bazaar of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, while no human loss was reported.

The elders of Salarzai tribe in Bajaur Agency assured local administration of continued support to its peace endeavors and said they wanted complete elimination of militants from the area.

Unidentified assailants shot dead four Police constables and injured another two at a picket in the jurisdiction of Sadar Police Station in Gujrat District.

Islamabad Police arrested a suspect, identified as Sohail, from Saadat Colony within Golra Police Station area and recovered three hand grenades and 370 rounds of a submachine gun from him.

An ASI Raja Moin (47) was shot dead by two armed assailants while he was sitting in front of his house in Ali Town near Super Highway within the limits of Sachal Police Station in Karachi.

A Police constable (57), identified as Ayub alias Chacha, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants while he was going home after performing his duty at Taimoria Police Station.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead a shopkeeper, identified as Ghulam Gilani Hotak, at Killi Ferozabad on Sabzal Road in Quetta.

LEAs arrested at least 345 Afghan nationals under the Foreign Act from a passenger coach during checking at a check post in Panjgur District.

The local tribesmen in Meezai Adda area of Qilla Abdullah District, while referring to March 9, 2012, incident where SFs launched a search operation against alleged abductors killing two suspects, accused the SFs and opposing tribesmen of killing and detaining innocent people during the operation.

An unknown caller allegedly threatened to abduct and kill the daughter of 'Memogate scandal' proponent Mansoor Ijaz in London.

Police arrested an Afghan 'hired assassin' from a private medical centre at Dabgari Garden in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and recovered a pistol from his possession.

Pakistani authorities have "documentary evidence" of the distribution of millions of rupees among the country's politicians in 1990 by a banker, Yunus Habib, who acted at the behest of the security establishment, Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said.

Former ISI chief Asad Durrani told the Supreme Court that he distributed millions of rupees among politicians on the instructions of then Army Chief General Mirza Aslam Beg and late President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Yunus Habib, the former head of Mehran Bank, testified in court that he had arranged PKR 1.48 billion on the directions of Beg and Khan.

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council said that Interior Minister Rehman Malik has personally refuted a BBC report that claimed the ASWJ has been declared a banned outfit in Pakistan.

Sources in the Interior Ministry on condition of anonymity confirmed the existence of a notification for the ban on ASWJ for involvement in anti-state, terrorist activities and sectarian violence.

ASWJ is reported to be working towards a lift of the ban on SSP, the proscribed outfit that the ASWJ claims to be a part of.

ASWJ, while making a pledge to ensure that "Gilgit-Baltistan remains a Sunni province", called for a protest against a change in curriculum which will have the names of the Holy Prophet's companions removed from textbooks. The reaction came after the arrangement of changing the curriculum entered its final stage, as claimed by ASWJ.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik announced that the TTP had split into two groups.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the talks between US and Afghan Taliban had led to a deep split within the TTP.

As reported earlier, the TTP had removed Maulvi Faqir Muhammad from the post of 'deputy commander' on March 4, 2012, over his differences with Chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Eight civilians and six suspected militants, including an Afghan national, were killed during operation in Sipah area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA.

At least six members of an anti-Taliban militia were killed and three others injured in an IED blast during a meeting of tribal elders at Kotkai village of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ahsan said over phone that the elders were attacked because they had formed a Government-backed anti-TTP force.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government high school at Mawaz Khan Kallay village in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency.

A minor girl was killed and five people, including four personnel of FCB, were injured in a rocket attack on a Police post at Janay Khwar in Mattani area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A Government primary school for girls was blown up by unidentified militants at Taru area near Pabbi in Nowshera District.

An unidentified decomposed body of a man was found from a deserted place in Sector 38-B of Surjani Town in Karachi.

A man, identified as Saleh Mohammad, was shot dead by NATO forces at Bibi Jan village on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chagai District. They also arrested four others and took them across the border.

The BRP alleged that SFs have launched a massive 'siege and search' operation in different parts of Dera Bugti District during which several innocent people had been killed and many had been arrested.

There have been no confirmations by officials about any operation in Dera Bugti.

Former President and APML chief General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf claimed that Nawab Akbar Bugti, the founder of JWP, was not murdered, but had committed suicide.

Pakistan is going to put 'tough conditions' for reopening of NATO supply routes which it had blocked in protest at the November 26, 2011, NATO raid on Pakistani border posts in Mohmand Agency.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed Washington's commitment to remain engaged with both Pakistan and Afghanistan even as the US works to end the Afghan war.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US looks forward to having a good partnership with Pakistan moving forward. "That's what our focus is on. We believe it is critical for the region and for the mission in Afghanistan," spokesperson, Navy Captain John Kirby, said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa senator and the Senior Vice-President of the ANP Haji Muhammad Adeel, during the fourth regional conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, said that militancy in the country was still being "supported by the Arabs", The ANP senator alleged that "Arabs are still providing support to the militants" while Pakistan faced 9/11 everyday.

SP-Rural Kalam Khan was killed when a bomb ripped through his car at the Pishtakhara Chowk in Peshawar.

Peshawar SSP Tahir Ayub said that the blast that killed Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdul Kalam Khan, was a suicide attack and the bomber's head had been found at the place.

Police have been put on high alert after an alleged letter from TTP threatened attacks on co-educational schools and non-governmental organisations in Mansehra District.

The Peshawar High Court said that 30% of 'missing' persons are likely to remain with authorities, whereas the rest will be identified and set free. "The matter has seriously been considered," said the Peshawar High Court Chief Justice while hearing the missing persons' cases.

The inquiry commission investigating the US raid on the Abbottabad residence of Osama bin Laden revealed that Russian-made weapons were found in the compound. The weapons were found in a cupboard of Osama bin Laden. According to them, only one casing of a used bullet was found.

One Jafaria Alliance leader, Mohsin Rizvi, was attacked and injured while his son, Akmal, was shot dead by unknown armed assailants near Patel Para area of Karachi.

The MQM threatened to boycott the forthcoming joint session of Parliament to protest the unabated activities of extortionists in Karachi, urging the Government to take appropriate measures to improve the situation in the city.

The death toll of March 14, 2012 search operation reached 21 as seven more dead bodies of civilians were found in Sipah area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA.

Two suspected militants were killed and four injured, while three of their hideouts were destroyed when gunship helicopters targeted them in Ghaibi Neeka area of Sipah in Tirah Valley.

Unidentified militants blew up the building of Government Degree College for Boys in Jamrud tehsil by detonating two bombs.

SFs arrested six suspected militants during a search operation in Warr Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency.

SFs arrested three suspected militants during a search operation in Lara Banda, Bara Banda, Niag Banda areas of Loe Mamond tehsil and seized a large quantity of weapons, missiles and explosives.

Two abducted tribesmen, identified as Zeeshan and Irshad, reached home in Haleemzai tehsil of Mohmand Agency, They had been abducted along with two others in Haleemzai on March 6, 2012.

As many as 21 cadres of HuT were arrested by LEAs from a house in Islamabad. The raid was conducted by a joint team of the city Police and Security Forces on information that the outfit was holding a meeting against 'national interest'. The raiding team also seized some literature, computers, laptops and CDs from the house.

A Swiss couple abducted from Loralai District in Balochistan on July 1, 2011 year escaped from the captivity of TTP in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Olivier David Och and Daniela Widmer were brought to Peshawar by a military helicopter.

Aamir Malik, the son-in-law of former Chairman of Joint Chiefs Of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majeed, who was abducted from outside his Model Town residence in August 2010, reached home after being released by the TTP captors.

The bullet riddle body of a former peace committee member was found in the fields near a tube well in Sheikhabad village in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Two Government schools for boys were destroyed by explosive devices in Dhoda and Zer Janu villages, which are 15 to 20 kilometres away from Lakki town, in Lakki Marwat District.

A Government high school was destroyed after two bombs went off in Kaddi village of Swabi District.

Militants blew up a primary school for boys in remote area of Kotangi Marchoongi in Kohat District.

The American and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government officials inaugurated a newly built primary school in Torwarsak of the Buner District, displaying the shared commitment of the United States and Pakistan to rebuild what militants destroyed in the province and in the Tribal Areas.

A remote-controlled explosive device hit a passenger bus in Parchar Khel area of Kurram Agency in FATA, injuring 16 passengers and damaging the bus partially.

The retired Army officers from FATA have demanded of the Government to stop the operation and end the prolonged curfew in Bara area of Khyber Agency so that the people could return to their homes.

Refuting the data collected by a NGO, according to which only 10 per cent of South Waziristan Agency's residents had suffered displacement, Senator Saleh Shah said that people had been forced to flee from five of its eight tehsils due to military operations.

Police rescued two hostages, identified as Shahzad Alam and Abdul Hadi, from the custody of their abductors from Sukkur District.

The PML-LM and the MQM agreed to deweaponise Karachi before the general elections. Both the parties evolved an agreement in a meeting between the Steering Committee chairman of the PML-LM, Saleem Saifullah, and MQM Chairman Afaq Ahmed.

ATC Rawalpindi gave custody of arrested HuT activists to Police. Industrial Area Police produced the activists of HuT, who were arrested in a raid on March 15, 2012 from Islamabad, in the ATC to seek their physical remand.

The Balochistan Government decided to withdraw 28 cases registered in Dera Bugti District against BRP chief Nawabzada Brahmdagh Bugti, reports Dawn. Provincial Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai directed Divisional Commissioners and the Balochistan IGP to collect details of cases against the leaders in their respective divisions.

Slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had ordered his followers in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack the aircraft of US President Barack Obama. The report, which cited documents seized at the Abbottabad compound where Bin Laden was killed by US forces, said the al Qaeda leader also sought to kill General David Petraeus, who then headed international forces in Afghanistan.

"Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the US into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour, and killing him would alter the war's path in Afghanistan," said the documents.

Urging the Pakistanis to revolt against the Government and the military, the al Qaeda Chief Ayman al Zawahiri said that unless its demands were met, al Qaeda would not release an elderly American development expert who was abducted from Lahore District of Punjab province on August 13, 2011.

23 suspected militants were killed when Army planes targeted their positions in Dabori and Mamozai areas of Orakzai Agency.

Eight terrorists were killed and several others injured in aerial bombing in the areas of Samaa Bazaar, Toor Semath, Kagu Qamar, Mamuzai, Jabba, and Balaras of Orakzai Agency.

The volunteers of TuI, a Zakhakhel-based group killed three suspects militants involved in bomb blasts at Zakhakhel and Tirah areas of Khyber Agency in FATA.

Three women were killed in a roadside bomb explosion, while two others sustained injuries at Mundi Kas area in Bara tehsil.

The dead body of the nephew of Akram Baloch, former leader of the PPP, identified as Naushad alias Appu (25), was found near Crown Cinema within the remits of the Kalri Police Station in Lyari area of Karachi.

At least two buses of Karachi University (KU) were attacked by armed assailants injuring two on-board students. Karachi University had announced on March 16, 2012 that the university would remain open and all academic activities would continue despite MQM's call to observe a Black Day and the business community's strike in the metropolis.

Two FC personnel, identified as Naik Akhtar and Naeem Jan, were killed when armed militants opened fire on them during their patrolling hours in Sangsilla area of Dera Bugti District.

Two children were injured on the outskirts of Kohlu town in Kohlu District when a landmine exploded.

Two people, identified as Mastung District Education Officer, Haji Abdul Fateh Shahwani, and his driver, were abducted from Lindsay area of Bolan District while coming to Quetta from Dera Murad Jamali town of Naseerabad District.

SFs arrested two Afghan militants, identified as Abdul Bari and Abdul Mannan, from Muslim Bagh area of Qilla Saifullah District.

Two watchmen of Government High School for Boys were injured when militants blew up the building the School in Babozai area of Katlang tehsil in Mardan District.

A low-intensity roadside bomb ripped through a suburban locality of Peshawar, Qadirabad.

A trader, Shaikh Allah Nawaz, was abducted from his house in Pathankot area of Tank District when over a dozen assailants wearing army uniforms stormed the house and took him away along with his servant in his car.

The BDS neutralised a terrorism bid by defusing 20 kilogrammes of explosives on a roadside in Sarbanda area of Peshawar.

Militants' bid to blow up a bridge at Darsamand area of Hangu District was thwarted by the bomb disposal squad as they defused a 10 kilograms bomb attached to it.

A court remanded family members of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, including his Yemeni wife, in judicial custody for nine days. Osama's youngest wife Amal Abdulfattah was with him in a compound in Abbottabad when he was killed in a US Navy SEALs' operation on May 1-2, 2011.

The Laden family is residing in an Islamabad house that has been declared a sub-jail. The family members face trial on charges of illegal stay in Pakistan under sections 13 and 14 of the Foreigners Act. A FIA Special Investigation Unit's official said that 17 members of Osama bin Laden's family were in custody of the agency.

One of the six abducted officials, identified as Maqbool Ahmed, of the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) was killed at an unidentified location.

A middle school was blown up by unidentified militants in Sarok Kallay area of Charsadda District. Two rooms and a veranda of the school were destroyed in the blast. 

Unidentified militants blew up a cellular phone shop in Amirabad village of Umarzai area.

A Government school was blown up in the Lawangkhel village in Lakki Marwat District. 

At least 26 terrorists were killed in air strikes by fighter jets in the bordering areas of Orakzai and Kurram Agencies in FATA.

14 bullet-riddled bodies were found in Speen Qabar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency, a day after SFs left the area after an operation.

SFs resorted to indiscriminate firing and shelling in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan Agency, killing five civilians, one of them a child, after two military convoys were attacked.

Two militants were killed and one sustained injuries as the SFs repulsed an attack on the security checkpoint in Badar area in Serwakai subdivision in South Waziristan Agency.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead three persons, including the leader of Kachchi Rabita Committee (KRC), Rasheed Kutchi (37), ASI Khalil, and security guard Zubair (33), at Ghausia Road in Agra Taj Colony.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man bearing torture marks from bushes near Dolmen City, Sea View Moor, in Clifton area within the limits of Boat Basin Police Station.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Police have arrested around 31 extortionists from Karachi in the last two days.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead two people in Tajikabad area of Quetta. According to Police, the victims, identified as Yaqoob Shah and his son Muhammad Naveed, were standing in a shop when the armed assailants opened fire on them.

Law Enforcement Agencies arrested 106 Afghan nationals under the Foreign Act from the Nokundi area of Chagai District.

A local official of Saudi Embassy's sub-office, identified as Doctor Hafiz Abdul Rasheed Azhar, was killed at his residence in Islamabad. Azhar belonged to Ahl-e-Hadith sect and was a religious scholar.

Police claimed to have arrested two suspects, Wajid Baloch and Master Mohammad Nawaz Bhund, for their alleged involvement in the January 15, 2012 bomb blast in Khanpur on a Chehlum procession from Rahim Yar Khan District.

A Policeman of the Special Branch, Ali Zar Khan, who was injured in the evening of March 17 when two unidentified assailants opened fire on him at Yar Hussain Bazaar of Peshawar, succumbed to his injuries.

Fearful of a yet another string of terrorist attacks, the Mansehra administration advised owners of CD shops and net cafes to change their line of business. This comes after threats by a self-proclaimed offshoot of the TTP, Hafsa Brigade, to bomb all internet cafes, CD shops, cable TV operators, NGOs and educational institutions offering co-education in the District if they are not shut down.

The HRCP voiced alarm over the continued deterioration in the state of human rights across the country, emphasising the institutions and authorities concerned to urgently address the pressing issue of violations of human rights.

March 19

At least eight persons were killed and 15 others injured in clashes between SFs and militants in Dattakhel area near Miranshah, the main town of NWA, in FATA.

Five TTP militants were killed in bomb blast, carried out by the LI, in Doa Thoe area of Tirah Valley area in Khyber Agency. Sources said the remote-controlled bomb, placed on the back of a mule, was detonated when the quadruped got close to a TTP bunker in Doa Thoe area. A spokesman for the LI claimed responsibility for the blast and said the TTP had been punished for spreading false reports about the death of LI leader Mangal Bagh.

The KP IG Akbar Hoti claimed that Mangal Bagh, the chief of LI, was killed in a military operation in Kurram Agency.

Unidentified motorcycle borne assailants shot dead one Zakir Ali, chief of Shia Peace Committee, at Shahu Square in Mohallah Sangerh of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

An alleged cadre of Swat chapter of TTP, Fazal Hadi, stated to be a central character in the flogging incident of a woman in Swat in 2009, was arrested in the evening.

The students and teachers of Islamia College Peshawar (Chartered University) staged a protest demonstration in Peshawar against the Government for its failure to recover Professor Ajmal Khan, the abducted vice-chancellor of the university.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a man, identified as Muhammad Hashim, on Qambarani Road area in Quetta. 

SFs claimed to have foiled a terror bid, planned for March 23, 2012, by seizing a huge quantity of explosive materials and arms in Quetta. According to official sources, acting upon a tip-off, SFs had beefed up security at the Buleli Check post and intercepted several vehicles.

The Sindh Government finally decided to crack down on extortionists in Karachi. “An operation against extortionists will begin in Karachi before dawn on March 20,” Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.

The AEC of the CID arrested nine suspects belonging to the PAC and recovered arms from their possession in a raid in Lyari area. SSP Mohammed Aslam Khan of the AEC along with his force launched the crackdown and dismantled the network of the extortion mafia in Kalakot of Baghdadi area. 

Pakistan's support for Haqqani Network has increased through both facilitating additional sanctuary and providing strategic and operational guidance, revealed Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, in its report. The report has asserted that the network represents a strategic threat to the enduring stability of the Afghan State and US national security interests in the region.

"US forces cannot curtail or cease offensive operations in the areas South of Kabul in Regional Command East in 2012. The United States and its Afghan partners must dismantle the Haqqani Network's strongholds in Khost, Paktika, and Paktia and contain the organisation's expansion toward Kabul prior to a shift in mission.

The Investigative Agencies submitted reports in the court of Senior Civil Judge Farrukh Arjumand in Islamabad regarding slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s existence in Pakistan. The report said that Bin Laden entered Pakistan along with his family through Afghanistan and resided in various areas of the country.

The local court deferred its decision till March 26, 2012, on a petition by a brother of the Yemeni wife of Osama seeking access to his sister. The prosecution told the court that Osama’s family had illegally entered the country from Afghanistan.

Officials said that after the November 26, 2011, NATO air strike on Pakistan’s border posts in the Salala area of Mohmand Agency in FATA, the US now plans to offer a formal public apology to Islamabad.

“The apology may come from the highest level and will be offered during or soon after the Joint Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to open a debate on March 20 on new terms of engagement (with the US),” an unnamed senior leader in the PPP-led ruling coalition said.

March 20

Two Policemen, identified as Hazrat Ali and Hassan, were killed and six others were injured when a bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded on the Ring road bridge in the Garhi Qamardin area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the evening.

Two unidentified assailants shot dead a lady health visitor in the limits of Gomal Police Station in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The deceased LHV was working with ICRC at Kot Hakeem basic health unit. 

In a suspected ethnic attack, a man, identified as Rehan, was killed while his friend Amin sustained bullet injuries when unknown militants opened fire at them after abducting them from a shrine situated within Super Market Police remit in Karachi.

Armed assailants smashed windows of Geo News satellite van and resorted to firing outside the office at I. I. Chundrigar Road in Karachi. According to details, unidentified assailants cut-off cable wires in different areas and the technicians sent for repair were threatened.

Police booked leaders of the PPP, the PAC, two brothers of Baba Ladla, a Police inspector, and six other suspects for killing a KRC leader on March 18. According to SHO Safdar Mashwani, none of the nominees were arrested and the Police were looking for them.

SFs demolished the house of Amir Faqir, a local ‘commander’ of LI and also arrested at least 50 suspected militants in the Shalobar area of Khyber Agency in FATA.

Thousands of people are trapped in the Bara tehsil because of the ongoing military operation. All roads are blocked and there is no transport for people to get out of the conflict zone. SFs recently launched the offensive against the LI in Malikdinkhel, Sipah, Qambarkhel and Akakhel areas.

Officials in the FDMA said that 9,233 families had so far reached the Jalozai relief camp in Nowshera. The situation is very critical. Thousands of IDPs immediately need tents, food and other goods, said an official at the camp where around 16,000 displaced families from different parts of Fata have been living for some time.

The Peshawar High Court directed the NAB, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to conduct an inquiry against the SHO of Hayatabad Police Station suspected of being involved in extortion of money from detainees kept at illegal detention facilities.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth also ordered the Police department to close down all the illegal detention facilities within 10 days. It directed the NAB Director General to conduct the inquiry and in the light of it file a reference against the SHO within 30 days.

A Field General Court Martial where HuT linked Brigadier Ali was being tried dropped one of two charges against him. The dropped charges were that he had planned to carry out an air raid on GHQ using F-16s.

The special joint sitting of the two houses of parliament called for unconditional apology from the US over Salala border post air strike and reduction in the country’s footprints in Pakistan, as it started a debate on redefining the terms of engagement with Washington in the light of the recommendations of the PCNS.

Apart from recommendations to review the relations with the US, the committee also touched upon Pakistan’s sensitive defence pacts. Presenting guidelines for revised terms of engagement with the US/NATO/ISAF and general foreign policy, Rabbani said, “Parliament has three options, it can either accept the recommendations, accept them with amendments or totally reject them.”

The US said it supported calls by Pakistan for mutual respect but held off a formal response to a parliamentary demand for an apology over a deadly air raid. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that the US would not comment in-depth on the long-awaited Pakistani report on US relations until it comes up for debate in parliament next week.

A recently-released Home Department Report revealed that the bodies found in the province are still overwhelmingly those of the ethnic Baloch. According to the official report of the Balochistan Home Department, 218 of the 308 bodies found in 2010 and 2011 were of the ethnic Baloch people. The trend does not seem to be changing for the current year as 16 of the 25 bodies recovered were also of ethnic Baloch people, the report revealed.

The Government’s failure to stabilise Balochistan led the Supreme Court to draft a solution based on local tribal traditions. A three-member bench, headed by CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, advised the Government to convene a grand Baloch jirga to restore order in the volatile province.

Abductions for ransom dominated the agenda at the Balochistan Assembly proceedings with a provincial lawmaker claiming that over a 1,000 people have been abducted in the past four years in the province.

Providing data collected by his party, Baloch said that as many as 1,047 people have been abducted during the past four years and all were freed after paying a huge sum of money as ransom to their kidnappers.

ANSF would have to be deployed on Afghanistan-Pakistan border if the issue of safe havens in Pakistan is not resolved, said US Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Allen.

Responding to questions from US Congressmen, General Allen said the presence of safe havens in Pakistan continues to be a threat to the war against terrorism campaign.

March 21

At least five militants were killed and two SF personnel were reportedly injured during clashes in an unspecified place of central part of Kurram Agency in FATA. 

The volunteers of TuI killed three alleged LI militants, who were suspected to be involved in bomb blasts in the area, at Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landikotal in Khyber Agency.  

SFs arrested six suspected persons from Khugakhel area of Landikotal.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead two Police personnel, identified as Nimatullah and Liaquat, while they were on duty at a picket line on Smungli Road in Jinnah Town area of Quetta.

Unidentified armed men shot dead a man, identified as Muhammad Allam Satakzai, near the Jabal-Noorul Quran Western Bypass area of Quetta.

Police averted a terror bid by defusing a 12-kilogramme bomb in the Darandi Palosa area of Hangu District.

Lyari area of Karachi remained tense due to the ongoing operation launched by SFs against the extortionists. Clashes between protesters and Police were reported from a number of areas.

Police detained eight people involved in violence and moved them to an unknown place for interrogation. SP City Town Nasir Aftab accused the Lyari gangsters of misguiding people, saying that Police and other forces demolished several gambling dens and now they (gangsters) were worried about their source of income.

The SIU of the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested five extortionists during separate raids in Surjani, Preedy and Garden areas.

Major Haroon Ashiq, a former Pakistan Army commando who became a key al Qaeda operative and an accused in several murder cases and abductions is all set to walk free from his Rawalpindi prison cell after being acquitted by Anti-Terrorism Court in a murder case, with witnesses withdrawing their testimony in fear of reprisals.

Major Haroon has been acquitted on charges of killing Doctor Abdul Saboor Malik on January 16, 2009 the administrator of the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore after both the prosecution witnesses retracted their testimonies, apparently under pressure.

French Police laid siege to an apartment block where a self-declared al Qaeda militant who boasted of having “brought France to its knees” with a wave of deadly attacks was holed up. Prosecutors said suspect Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, had fought off several Police assaults on his flat and bragged to negotiators of having been trained by al Qaeda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Molins said Merah had claimed responsibility for three cold-blooded shootings over the previous 10 days in which three French paratroopers, three Jewish children and a teacher were killed, shocking the nation.

“Mohamed Merah explained that he belonged to al Qaeda. He explained he had been trained by al Qaeda in the Pakistani-Afghanistan region in Waziristan,” Molins told reporters in Toulouse, scene of two of the shootings.

According to a report published in The Telegraph quoting a meeting of the former DG ISI Ahmed Shuja Pasha with a Stratfor Researcher, DG Pasha was fearful of a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan as that would mean dangerous implications for Pakistan’s security.

In reference to Pakistan’s delay in taking military action against militants holed up in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Pasha said that there were pre-requisites to any offensive in NWA.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman said that decision on NATO supply routes would be made in national interest of the country. Rehman said recommendations by the Parliament would help restore confidence, adding, that no compromise would be made on country’s sovereignty and national integrity. 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US and Pakistan shared interests in fighting terrorism. Clinton declined to comment in-depth on the PCNS’s recommendations but said that the US was committed to an “honest, constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with Pakistan”.

The Princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, during her visit to Islamia College University in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that Thai Government was well aware of the sacrifices of people of Pakistan in the war against terrorism and supported its principled stance on the global issue.

March 22

Two persons, a soldier and his son, were killed in a explosion when a bomb hidden inside a radio exploded at a military base in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan Agency.

A blast occurred in Naseerabad District tripping one of the two electricity lines of Daddu-Guddu Circuit. The BDS in-charge Saleem Vistro said that they defused two IEDs.                            

Police conducted raids in different areas of Quetta and busted four outfits involved in target killings, abductions for ransom and other violence related incidents.

Five IEDs went off damaging Hub-Jamshoro Circuit of the NTDC near Liaquat University of Medical and Health Science in Jamshoro District of Sindh.

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline in Matta area of Shabqadar tehsil in Charsadda District.

The Supreme Court directed the Balochistan IGP to submit a comprehensive report regarding “each of the missing persons” in Balochistan. The ISI, MI and IB were also directed through the AG of Pakistan to submit details of all such persons “and the circumstances on the basis of which such persons have disappeared and are not traced out so far”.

Provincial Ministers demanded the Home Minister and LEAs to disclose the names of those ministers allegedly involved in abductions in the province.

Wasey said that JUI-F had already demanded Home Minister Mir Zafar Zehri to disclose the identity of ministers involved in criminal activity. “They must be sacked from the cabinet,” he said, adding that he had also demanded the Chief Minister to immediately convene a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in Balochistan.

According to a report, there has been a swift rise in the number of abduction for ransom in Lahore District. One reason for the rise in the crime is the failure of Law Enforcement Agencies to track down the abducted people, which, in a way, encouraged criminals to snatch people.

Sources in the CPLC said that a majority of the families declined to register cases and avoided Police interference for the recovery of victims. They categorised the kidnapping gangs in the city into two groups – those operating from southern Punjab and affiliated with various terrorist outfits and others formed because of poverty.

Human rights violations increased manifold in 2011 according to a report released in Islamabad. The report on ‘State of Human Rights in 2011’, launched by the HRCP, spoke of a gloomy scenario vis-à-vis administration of justice, law and order, jails and prisoners, freedom of movement, expression and thought, rights of women, children and workers, education and health as well as environment and status of refugees.

Proposals to set up a grand peace militia to tackle consistent militant attacks on the outskirts of Peshawar failed after locals expressed strong reservations. Elders of 10 villages bordering the confluence of Khyber Agency, Frontier Regions Peshawar and Kohat gathered at the Provincial Assembly’s conference hall to convince the locals to form a grand alliance against militants from various factions, who recently stepped up their attacks.

“The Adezai lashkar and other such militias in the area are creating a lot of problems. Instead of fighting militancy, they were a threat themselves and harassing people in the area,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

The dislocated people of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA expressed concern over prolonged military operation in their area and demanded IDPs status and facilities for themselves.

March 23

At least 13 persons, including eight LI militants, were killed and four others got injured when a TTP suicide bomber blew himself up at Dars Jumat mosque in Sandapal area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA. TTP Khyber Agency chapter spokesman Muhammed Afridi claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Unidentified assailants shot dead two militants of the Mulla Toofan group of TTP in Maidan area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. Sources said that one of the killed militant was a brother of Mulla Toofan, a TTP ‘commander’ in Orakzai Agency.

In a pre-dawn attack on a paramilitary check post in Paswara area of Mugha Kot in Sheerani District of Balochistan TTP militants killed at least four BFC personnel and injured three others. They also abducted four others. A senior official of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident took place in Shirani District.

Four Afghan nationals were arrested and a large quantity of explosives and ammunition were seized in Khuchlak area of Quetta.  The four Afghan nationals taken into custody were identified as Abdullah, Amir Mohammad, Sher Alam and Abdul Bari.

A soldier and three children were wounded when a military convoy was hit by a roadside bomb near Dan Pul (bridge) checkpost in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

A man identified as, Mohammad Bilal (32), was shot dead while another Khan Dil Khan (30), was injured by unidentified armed militants near Saba Avenue in Clifton Town in Karachi.

Further, one among the five residents of Khuhra town who were abducted by armed abductors at the National Highway in Khairpur District.

A trader identified as Shaman Memon, his three friends, identified as Abdul Qadir alias Papoo Larik, Haji Sonaro and Shafqat Kalhoro, and the driver, was abducted in Sukkur District.

Rangers were deployed in Lyari area of Karachi as protests entered fourth day with routine and commercial activities totally shut, protesters turning more violent and hurling petrol bombs on Police vehicles, and the area echoing with gun shots.

Police arrested five accused and recovered arms from their custody during search operation in Bukhari colony, Katti Pahari and Mohammadpur areas of Orangi Town.

Seven MNAs belonging to the FATA announced their decision to form a separate parliamentary group and dissociate from the main group which had hitherto been negotiating with the PPP-led Government FATA’s share in the Federal Cabinet and allocation of resources to the legislators.

They said they would not allow the Government to restore the supply of goods, equipment and weapons to NATO forces in Afghanistan until a decision to stop drone attacks was taken.

The US has apparently refused to revisit its policy on drone strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal areas as recommended by a Pakistani Parliamentary committee.

In view of proposed restoration of NATO supply routes, the DPC staged a rally in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while a grand Jirga in North Waziristan Agency also warned against the route’s reopening. Activists of ASWJ, JUI-S and JuD gathered at the Ashraf Road after Friday prayer and chanted anti-US slogans.

Provincial Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi said that Balochistan issue cannot be resolved without involving all stakeholders, including the Government, the Army and Intelligence Agencies, in dialogue with the estranged Baloch nationalist leaders.

The provincial Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani ruled out that his Government had doubled its efforts for holding negotiations with Baloch leaders following the resolution tabled in the US Congress.

March 24

At least 12 militants and four soldiers were killed in a clash between SFs and TTP during a search operation in Shin Warsak area of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.

10 militants and three soldiers were killed after TTP militants stormed a check post in Khadizai area of Orakzai Agency, a senior military officer said. 

At least eight militants were killed in Khyber Agency area in an explosion inside their hideout.

At least three devotees, including a tribal leader, were killed and nine others, including women and children, sustained injuries when their vehicle, owned by local tribal leader Muhammad Nawaz, was attacked by a group of unidentified militants in Tambo tehsil of Kohlu District.

A religious scholar, identified as Qari Abdul Basit, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Kasi Road area of the Quetta. 

Former President of Malir Bar Association Salahuddin Jaffery (64), and his son, identified as Ali Raza Jaffery (35), were shot dead in the fresh spate of sectarian target killing within the jurisdiction of Malir City Police Station in Karachi. 

A Policeman was killed and two others were injured when one of the vehicles of MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmed came under an attack at Landhi, officials and party sources said.

Police claimed to have arrested eight suspects allegedly involved in cases of extortion in Karachi. The arrested suspects included Rehman Qureshi alias Imran, Abid alias Kallu, Ramiz alias Mullah Qureshi, Mohammad Faisal Qureshi, Mohammad Amir alias Aapa, Shahbaz alias Shera, Shoaib and Saleem, while their absconding accomplices were Bholo Qureshi, Taj Uddin, Qadeer and Akbar.

Dozens of French Muslims are training with the TTP in the north western region of Pakistan, raising fears of future attacks following the shooting deaths of seven people in southern France allegedly by a man who spent time in the region, revealed Pakistani Intelligence Officials. Approximately 85 Frenchmen have been training with the TTP in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA for the past three years, according to the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US military decided not to take action against those service members involved in November 26, 2011 Salala check post attack, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. According to a US newspaper, the US military has finalized its second inquiry report in which it has held Pakistan army personnel responsible for the incident.

The commander of United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan said that he believes that resurgence of Afghan Taliban and overthrow of the Afghan Government by the militant outfit is not in the interest of Pakistan, noting that Pakistani military is fighting them in tribal areas.

March 25

Four persons were killed and two others sustained bullet injuries when unidentified armed militants opened fire at them near Shero Jhangi area on Charsadda Road in Peshawar.

One Policeman sustained injuries when unidentified militants attacked a Police mobile van by detonating an IED near Arbab checkpost in the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The border police were recently reinvigorated to stop entry of militants into the Chitral District from Nuristan province of Afghanistan, said Chitral District Coordination Officer Rahmatullah Wazir.

Unidentified armed militants opened indiscriminate fire on the driver of a truck carrying marbles in Surab area of Kalat District.

One man, identified as Dad Muhammad, was killed and another injured in a firing incident on Sariab Road in Shalkot Police Station area in Quetta.

The MPA asked the abductors of the officials of BRSP on March 24 to give them more time to negotiate their release. Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani asked Senior Minister Maulana Wasay to form a committee of legislators to discuss with security officials the recovery of four employees of the BRSP who were abducted on December 13, 2011.

Provincial Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi on March 25 in his address at the concluding ceremony of a three-day festival organised by the Pakistan Army and the Provincial Government as part of the Pakistan Day celebrations said Balochistan would always remain an integral part of Pakistan.

Police personnel and some assailants exchanged fire near the venue of a Mushaira (recitation of poetry) organised by the Defence/Clifton Residents Committee of MQM in Karachi on March 25 in which one of the suspects was killed. 

Security Forces arrested six militants and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from their possession during a search operation in Kurt village of Kurram Agency in FATA. 

The TTP threatened to attack lawmakers if they voted in support of resuming supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan. “Everybody knows we are against restoration of NATO supplies and we will target each and every members of parliament who will support the restoration,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.

Unknown armed militants shot dead a retired employee of Nadra, identified as Khush Mohammad, in Napura area of Gilgit District by opening indiscriminate fire on him. 

Unidentified masked assailants attacked a Police party injuring two Police Constables, identified as Syed Nazir and Fazal Ilahi, and took away with them a prisoner, who was being taken to the DHQ in Gilgit city.

March 26

Two Hazara youth, identified as Ejaz Hussain and Ali Asghar, were shot dead when unidentified armed militants opened fire on them on Sabzal Road area in Quetta. A local Police Official said the victims belonged to Hazara community and it could be an incident of sectarian targeted killing.

One person, identified as Noor Mohammad, was shot dead and another Ghulam Mohammad was injured when armed militants opened fire on them while they were working in a field in Bakhtiarabad area of Sibi District.

Armed militants shot dead one Shahnawaz in Barkhan District.                                   

One official of the Frontier Corps, identified as Baz Gul, was killed in a landmine explosion during routine patrol in Bakher area of Dera Bugti District.

Unidentified assailants shot dead a former DSP, Amanullah Khan, a resident of Karak District, at Kanju Township of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night.  

Police claimed to have arrested the prime accused, accompanied by his seven accomplices, from different areas of Clifton, including Shah Rasool Colony, Neelam Colony and Shireen Jinnah Colony of Karachi, for the March 25, 2012, armed attack on a Mushaira (poetry recital) organised by the MQM.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government boys’ primary school, telephone exchange and a Community Health Centre in Atta area of Khewazai tehsil in Mohmand Agency of FATA.

The UNCHR suspended relief activities at Jalozai camp after IDPs from Khyber Agency attacked its workers and official vehicles. Witnesses said that situation went out of control when about 5,000 IDPs thronged registration centre in the camp and had been waiting for registration and relief assistance.

A local court in Islamabad is set to charge five members of Osama bin Laden’s family on April 2, 2012, with illegally entering and living in the country, their defence lawyer said.

Pakistan’s Human Rights activist Asma Jehangir during her visit to India raised the issue of addressing the unrest in Balochistan while appealing Islamabad to stop "hair-raising" atrocities in the troubled province.

ISAF Commander General John Allen while speaking at the think tank Brookings Institution in Washington DC said that the relationships between the ISI, the Haqqani Network and other groups go back a long time, but he refused to comment further, saying he could not speculate why the ISI is doing anything, and said that these relations were unhelpful. He said they are trying to restore cross-border relations with Pakistan.

CIA offered ISI Agency to give advance notice of US future drone strikes against targets on Pakistani territory, though Pakistani spy agency dismissed the offer, demanding that the US hand over the intelligence, so its forces or jets could pursue targets on their own.

The Government signed an agreement with the World Bank for a USD 150 million loan as additional financing for the social safety net project aimed at supporting the expansion of and strengthening the performance of the BISP.

The project will assist the Government in evolving the BISP from a basic cash transfers system to a more integrated national safety net system which promotes human development. The project will be implemented in partnership with other stakeholders, including Provincial Governments.

March 27

10 people were killed and 17 others injured while 46 vehicles were set ablaze after the killing of two MQM workers in PIB Police precincts in Karachi. Educational institutions, petrol pumps, major and minor markets and transport facilities were completely suspended.

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan confirmed the killing of 10 people and formed a committee to probe into all incidents, including the murder of MQM workers.

CID Sindh conducted operation against suspected elements in Lyari area and arrested two suspects who were then transferred to undisclosed location. Raids were conducted in Sangoleen area for Aziz Baloch, Zafar Baloch, Ahmed Ali and Habib Jan of PAC.

Three persons sustained injuries when explosive material, planted by unidentified militants, went off near the residence of PPP-S leader Malik Nadeem on Dilazak Road in Faisal Colony of Peshawar. 

The UNHCR will resume registration of IDPs and relief activities in Jalozai camp from March 28. The UN agency’s spokesperson in Peshawar Taimur Ahmad said that relief operation would begin in the camp with the coordination of the PDMA.

The abductors holding five officials of the BRSP extended their deadline for ransom till April 10, 2012. The earlier deadline was March 25, 2012. The issue was taken up by the Balochistan Assembly on March 24, 2012 and legislators had appealed to the abductors to extend the deadline by at least a month so that negotiations for the release of the abducted officials could be held properly.

A strike was observed in parts of Balochistan against the accession of the province to Pakistan on March 27, 1948. The strike that had been called by the BNF completely paralysed business and trade activities in parts of the province. The flow of traffic on National and RCD highways was affected.

Three American lawmakers espousing the cause of the people of Balochistan alleged that the Pakistani Government is a "radical Islamist" one and is providing weapons and resources to extremist groups. Seeking independence of Balochistan, the three Congressmen led by Dana Rohrabacher at a news conference held at the National Press Club in Washington claimed that Pakistan is not a friend of the US, but an American enemy. Rohrabacher said,

The seeds of terrorism were sown by leaders of religious parties and former dictator General Zia-ul Haq but now the Government of ANP was harvesting the crop, said Provincial Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour during a public gathering at Anzer Banda in Karak District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In another context he alleged that Shamsi airbase was handed over to the US during the Government of MMA. “Now we have taken back the airbase from Americans,” he claimed.

Yemen urged Pakistan to free one of Osama bin Laden's injured widows, Amal Al-Sadeh, saying the Yemen-born Amal and her four children were not guilty of any crime. "The Pakistani authorities retracted from their initial position to surrender Amal to the Yemeni government," Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Reuters.

March 28

At least five people were killed after a worker of ANP Sindh Chapter, Zianul Abideen, was shot dead and his two companions injured near Matric Board Office in Nazimabad area of Karachi. The situation was also tense in areas around Abul Hassan Ispahani Road and Essa Nagri where rival ethnic groups clashed with each other, bringing life to a standstill and forcing residents to stay indoors.

Amidst the intense wave of violence that left all commercial activities halted, the LEAs detained half a dozen suspects in raids at various parts of the metropolis. Rangers conducted a raid in a residential complex located at Abul Hassan Ispahani Road that led to the arrest of three suspects. Two of them were identified as Raheel and Tariq Khan, having criminal records. Similarly, a CID raided several areas of Lyari and arrested the members of People’s Amn Committee, including Zafar Baloch, Aziz Baloch, Ahmad Ali, Habib Jan Baloch and others.  

Two people, identified as Jawad Ahmed and Khadem Hussain, belonging to the Hazara community, were injured while their three companions escaped unhurt when the car they were riding was attacked by a group of armed militants near Dasht area in Mastung District. 

Two people, identified as Fahim Zahir and Jasim, were wounded in an incident of firing in Turbat District.

Two Policemen were wounded in an explosion in Pishin District. According to official sources, an explosive device planted by unidentified militants in a car parked near Police Line and Agricultural Office went off.

Two Policemen, identified as Abdul Malik and Naveed, were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire at residence of Justice Jahangir Arshad, a newly-appointed judge of the Shariat Court in Mumtazabad area of Multan District.

A gas pipeline was blown up by unidentified militants with a low-intensity bomb near Ring Road on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The military officials have asked people in the border areas of Upper Dir District to keep a vigilant eye on suspected people as militants can launch attacks from Afghanistan.

The District witnessed cross-border attacks last summer that prompted authorities to deploy troops along the border. In the first attack, carried out in the first week of June 2010, 31 people, including 27 Police and Levies officials were killed.

Maulana Fazlullah-led Swat Taliban, flushed out from Swat in a major military operation in 2009 and believed to have regrouped in Kunar Province of Afghanistan, had claimed responsibility for those attacks.

Islamabad Police released ASWJ leader Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi after negotiations between the leaders and the local Police administration.

A jirga, comprising elders of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA, failed to convince Mangal Bagh, head of LI, to shun violence and surrender unconditionally. Sources said that members of the jirga remained at an undisclosed location in Tirah for almost three days and returned to Bara empty handed owing to the rigid attitude of Mangal Bagh.

Pakistan has an "addiction" of "playing around" with militant groups against India, Michael Sheehan, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, said. "They have an addiction to playing around with militia groups to achieve certain interests, particularly vis-a-vis India. That gets them in all kinds of trouble," Michael Sheehan told senators at a Congressional hearing. 

The information about Osama bin Laden crossing over into Pakistan and staying in different cities and towns before moving to Abbottabad came in the testimony given by his widow Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, during interrogation by a joint investigation team comprising civilian and military officials.

She further said that she had a desire to marry a mujaheed and Osama was available. “So in this connection when she got a message of marriage with Osama bin Laden, she came to Pakistan and landed at Karachi airport on 17/07/2000,” the JIT report said.

The US and Pakistan resumed their high-level military contacts for the first time since cross-border NATO strike in Mohammad Agency of FATA that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, 2011. The meeting between Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the top US commander in the region, General James Mattis, and the top commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, took place in Islamabad, a day after President Barack Obama met Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in Seoul during a nuclear summit.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar hinted at introducing local bodies system in FATA, expressing hope that the system would strengthen efforts towards democracy to counter extremist narratives. “We are seriously considering turning the municipal committees in tribal areas into elected bodies, responsible for provision of civic amenities to the local population,” he remarked after launching a report, ‘Mainstreaming FATA’, compiled by Shaheed Bhutto Foundation and based on opinions of people from different walks of tribal society.

March 29

At least five Hazaras were killed and seven others injured when unidentified militants opened fire on their car on Spiny Road in Quetta in a suspected sectarian attack.

Two people, Mubarak Shah and Nazir Hussain, were killed and six others injured when Police fired during a protest organised by Hazaras against the killing. 

Two officials of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, Hafizullah and Mohammad Zahid, were killed and another was injured in an attack on their vehicle in Mastung District.

At least five more people were killed in the fresh wave of ethnic violence and at least four vehicles were set ablaze in Karachi. A man, namely Fahadul Samar, was shot dead in Aligarh Bazaar.

Police found two bodies, identified as that of Zeeshan (26) and Jaleel (27), near Katti Pahari area.

Unidentified assailants opened fire on a hotel at Perfume Chowk, killing its waiter Sadaqat Shah.

The body of an unidentified person was found in Farooq Colony, Orangi Town.

The CPLC and AVCC claimed to have recovered a captive, identified as Mohammad Naeem Mughal (33), besides arresting his five abductors from their hideout in Ghaghar Phatak area of Karachi on March 27.

The HRCP urged the Government to release three office-bearers of the Jeay Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (JSTP) – Sachal Gopang, Qurban Gopang and Musa Sheikh – who had been missing after they were allegedly stopped by Rangers at Hala checkpoint in Hyderabad District on March 28, 2012.

A US drone launched a missile attack on a militant compound in a market area of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency, in FATA, killing four TTP militants and injuring two others.

Mullah Toofan, a TTP ‘commander’ of Orakzai chapter, asked the Tirah Valley (Khyber Agency)-based AI militant outfit to surrender the killers of his brother or face the consequences. A younger brother of Mullah Toofan and his associate were shot by unidentified assailants in Salamdin Pir area of Maidan in Tirah valley a week ago.

Two persons were arrested from Kasur District for their alleged involvement in the March 17, 2012 murder of a religious scholar belonging to the Ahl-e-Hadith sect and local official of Saudi Embassy’s sub-office.

Complete shutter down strike was observed in main areas of Gilgit city after the call of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jama’at to protest against the arrest of SSP Gilgit Chief Maulana Attaullah Saqib.

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Mehdi Shah has asked the Home Department to immediately make payment of death compensation to families of the victims of February 29, 2012 Kohistan killing incident.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government sacked the surgeon, Doctor Shakeel Afridi, recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden, officials said, amid calls for him to face treason charges. Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who is in custody, was fired on disciplinary grounds by the Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where bin Laden was killed during a clandestine US raid.

The bid to release a Swiss woman abdcuted in Yemen has suffered a blow after her abductors made excessive demands, including for Osama bin Laden’s widows to be freed, tribal chief Ali Abdullah Zibari said. Al Qaeda fighters abducted the woman on March 14 from her home in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, where she had been teaching at a foreign language institute.

March 30

At least 21 militants were killed by the SFs in an retaliatory fire in the Khadizai area, around 75 kilometres southwest of Kalaya, which is the main town of Orakzai Agency in FATA.

At least 10 more persons, including one SSP and an ANP worker, were killed in the ongoing spate of violence in Karachi.

Four people traveling in a car on Banaras Bridge were shot and killed. The dead were identified as Arif, Kamal, Wasim and his son, Hasan (12). Another person was injured in the same incident.

A member of the ANP Sindh Council, Hidayatullah Mehsud, was killed in the Manghopir area. 

Another person was shot dead in Frontier Colony in Site. One more person was killed in gunfire in Bukhari Colony in Orangi.

One person was killed in a firing incident in Defence Phase II.  Another person was killed near UP Mor.

Unidentified assailants shot dead SSP Crime Branch Farooq Awan near Lasbela Chowk. His guard, head constable Imran Baloch, received bullet wounds.

One man was injured in a firing incident near Dhoraji.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government girls’ school in Ibrahimzai area of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Kohat City Police failed to find any clue to Doctor Matiullah Shah, who was abducted by unidentified persons in an ambulance from his farmhouse in the limits of Saddar Police Station of Kohat in daytime on February 9.

Pakistani authorities were unable to trace the reports of two commissions that investigated the funding of politicians by the ISI in 1990, the Government's law officer informed the Supreme Court on March 31.

The Bench also took up a recent media report which had alleged that PKR 270 million were withdrawn from the IB’s secret fund to change the Government in Punjab province in 2009. 

Banker Yunus Habib had testified in court that he arranged PKR 1.48 billion for the military and about PKR 400 million were distributed among politicians linked to the army-backed Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJT) in a bid to prevent the PPP from coming to power in the 1990 General Election.

The senators pressed the Government to link restoration of supply to NATO troops to the suspension of drone attacks. During a joint parliamentary session to discuss recommendations of the PCNS, they also urged the United States to stop drone attacks and respect Pakistan’s sovereignty.

A senior US general telling a congressional panel that the United States would have to rely on India and the northern distribution network if Pakistan did not reopen NATO supply lines to Afghanistan.

Slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11, 2001 (also known as 9/11) attacks, and during that time he moved between five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a Government hospital, his youngest wife, Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh (30), told Pakistani investigators.

Reacting to the revelations, the US State maintained that they never found credible evidence which points towards a Pakistan support network for Laden. On being asked whether the Pakistan Government was consistently lying to the US over bin Laden, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner on March 30 responded “immediately after the Abbottabad raid, we asked the Pakistani Government the question of whether there was a larger network at play here or there was some kind of network of support, I guess, for bin Laden when he was there.  We have not received any information that indicates that there was such a network of support there.”

A new book, tilted, The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has claimed that it was not Osama bin Laden who had come up with the 9/11 plot.

March 31

At least 14 militants were killed when the Army helicopters targeted militant hideouts in Akhunkot area of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA.

April 1

Nine persons, including an ANP activist and a women, were killed in the ongoing violence at different places of Karachi. 

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal, clashes between the workers of the ANP and the Muttahida Organising Committee of the MQM killed two persons.  

A 25-year-old man, identified as Murtaza was shot dead in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, while a woman and a man who could not identified until this report was filed, were shot dead in Saddar and Nazimabad areas. 

Unidentified assailants shot and injured a PPP member Syed Mansoor Rizvi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. 

In an encounter in Lyari, Police claimed to have killed Saqib Khan alias Shaki, an alleged member of a Lyari gangster group. The encounter ensued in the search operation of police in Chakiwara area. An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Waheed also sustained bullet injuries during the exchange of fire. Police also claimed to have arrested Saqib’s aide Kashif besides recovering a Kalashnikov and a TT pistol from his possession.

The car of Sindh Human Rights Minister Nadia Gabol came under an attack while she was on a visit to the affected areas. Fortunately, no injury or substantial loss was reported to have occurred in the incident. 

Two persons identified as Zakir (26), and Fahim (27) were killed in the limits of Jamshed Quarters Police Station. Police officials said both victims’ bodies were recovered from a vacant plot near Central Prison, Jamshed Quarters. 

In Orangi Town, unidentified assailants, riding a motorcycle shot and killed Ameerullah (26) while he was returning home after attending a wedding ceremony in Saeedabad.  He was a cab driver affiliated with the ANP and a resident of Frontier Colony in Orangi Town. 

The Federal and Sindh Governments decided to give a free hand to Police and rangers to take indiscriminate action against those who were disturbing law and order in Karachi. The decision was made at a meeting between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

A key TTP ‘commander’, Nasir Khan Zakakhel, was killed during a clash with SFs at an undisclosed location of Orakzai Agency in FATA. Nasir Khan Zakakhel belonged to Zakakhel tribe of the Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.

Unidentified militants blew up a portion of an 18-inch gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District in Balochistan.

In a bid to impose their own puritanical version of Islam, the TTP introduced “moral policing” in parts of north-eastern Afghanistan, Afghan Police claimed. Key leaders of the TTP – including its ‘commanders’ in Swat, Bajaur Agency and Mohmand Agency Maulana Fazalullah, Maulvi Faqir and Abdul Wali – and dozens of their loyalists had fled military operations and sought sanctuary in the Afghan provinces of Nuristan and Kunar.

April 2

Five SF personnel were killed when a group of TTP militants from across the Afghanistan border attacked a security post at Olai checkpoint in Mohmand Agency of FATA. Four other SF personnel were injured and another one was stated to be missing. At least eight militants died when SFs retaliated and pushed the attackers back to Afghanistan, officials said. A spokesman for the TTP, Mohmand chapter, Mukarram Khurasani said only one of his colleagues was killed in the gun battle and claimed that heavy losses had been inflicted on SFs.

A man was killed and 13 others were injured when a low intensity bomb exploded at a taxi stand near the Sadda Bazaar in Kurram Agency.

As many as six persons lost their lives and another 28 were injured during a daylong clash between protesters and Police in Lyari area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

The Police claimed to have recovered a Kalashnikov rifle and a pistol from the possession of alleged gangster Saqib alias Sakhi, who was killed in a Police ‘encounter’ in Chakiwara area on April 1.

An explosive device went off in a guest room at the residence of ANP leader Rasta Baaz Khan in the Mamashkhel area of Bannu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The United States placed LeT chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, along with his brother-in-law Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, on the most-wanted terrorist list. The USD 10 million rewards brought Hafiz Saeed at par with Taliban founder Mullah Omar, who the US holds responsible for 9/11.

A 50-year-old Pakistani-Canadian was sentenced to 14 years in jail in US for providing material support to the Sikh militant group Khalistan Commando Force, blamed for carrying out assassinations and bombings in India.

In a statement, the FBI said KCF comprises Sikh militants seeking a separate Sikh State in Punjab and has been responsible for thousands of deaths in India since it was founded in 1986.

The slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters were jailed for 45 days and fined PKR 10,000 each after finding them guilty of illegally staying in the country. A FIA official said that the family, including three widows, two daughters and nine children had already served a month sentence in a sub-jail in Sector G-6 of Islamabad.

The HRCP highlighted the difficulties in verifying the cases of forced disappearance in Balochistan, urging all concerned to play their role in documenting such cases to ensure that no forced disappearance case escaped attention, those in unlawful detention were freed and the illegal practice brought to an end.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his Government is in no hurry to reopen NATO supply routes and a decision to that effect will be taken only after evolving a consensus at the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.

April 3

As many as 20 people lost their lives and another 55 were injured in a fresh wave of sectarian violence across Gilgit-Baltistan, which erupted after clashes between ASWJ and Police in which five persons were killed in Gilgit city. The district administration has imposed curfew in the city.

Police officer Basharat Ali said that the violence began when five people were killed in Gilgit city in clashes between Police and protesting ASWJ cadres and sympathizers. The outfit had called for a strike in Gilgit to press the Government to release its leaders who were arrested for their alleged involvement in a firing incident on a Shia procession on March 28. 

Reportedly, the outfit later burnt tyres and forced shopkeepers to close down their shops. Meanwhile, unidentified people hurled a grenade at the protesting ASWJ cadres. Subsequently, mosques in Kashroot, hub of extremist Sunnis, made announcements to retaliate against Shias in Diamer and Kohistan Districts. At least 20 persons were killed in the following violence. In one such incident, nine people were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a bus on Karakoram Highway (KKH) near Gonar Farm in Chilas.

The ISPR said that the city administration had called army to control the law and order situation.

Two persons, Akbar Ali and Ali Raza, were shot dead by unidentified assailants in an incident of sectarian violence on Mecongi Road of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The victims were residents of Alamdar Road, an area dominated by the Hazara community. Relatives said the duo belonged to Gilgit-Baltistan. 

An employee of the WAPDA was abducted by unidentified persons in Nasirabad District. Sources said that lineman Zaffar Ali was on his way home when the armed persons took him away at gunpoint. 

The Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that the incessant recovery of mutilated bodies, increasing incidents of abductions and targeted killings affirm the notion that law enforcement agencies were either helpless or too weak to take action against criminals.

A security official was killed when a vehicle of the FC escorting a convoy of the Security Forces hit by IED near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency FATA. Two SF personnel were also injured in the attack.

Police arrested four target killers after an encounter and recovered weapons from SITE B area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

HRCP said that the ethnic, sectarian and politically-linked violence in Karachi has claimed at least 300 lives so far in 2012. Parts of the city have become battlegrounds in the last week with authorities unable to prevent spiraling violence blamed on activists from political parties representing competing ethnic groups.

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court requesting the court to eradicate irregularities and illegalities in promotional matters of the Sindh Police. The applicant, Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, filed the miscellaneous petition, making the federation, Sindh Interior Secretary, Sindh IGP and Provincial Chief Secretary respondents.

The US has hard evidence  that Pakistan-based JuD chief Hafiz Saeed was communicating with slain al Qaeda Osama bin Laden through a courier which subsequently led USA to put a USD 10-million bounty on Saeed’s head. The evidence also points to Laden of having played a key role in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people and injured more than 300.

The JuD officially condemned the US bounty Saeed, terming it “another attack by the US Government on Muslims and Islam”. JuD ‘spokesperson’ Yahya Mujahid said the US had offered the bounty due to the DPC strong resolve against the reopening of NATO supply routes through Pakistan, drone strikes in the country’s tribal badlands and trade with India.

The leaders of different religious parties in Pakistan said the JuD chief is a hero of Pakistan and allegations against him were in fact allegations against the Muslim Ummah and the country. The leaders of JUI-F, ASWJ, JUI-S, JI, Dawat Ahl-e-Hadees, Majlis Ahrar-e-Islam, International Khatam-e-Nabuwat and Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadees criticised the US move.

April 4

Seven people were killed and three others injured when a passenger van was blown up in a roadside bomb blast at Shah Kas area in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA.

Five people, including an activist of ANP, were killed in separate acts of target killing in Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh. 

An activist of ANP, Omar Malook (30), resident of Sector 36 in Taiser Town, was sitting in front of his house when unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle shot him dead and managed to escape.

A 26-year-old man, Sher Hakeem, was standing near New Sabzi Mandi, Super Highway, within the limits of Sohrab Goth Police Station when unidentified assailants opened fire on him killing him on the spot.  

Police found dead body of a man packed in a gunny bag from Karimabad, within the jurisdiction of Azizabad Police Station. The victim appeared to be 25-year-old Balochi speaking. 

An owner of PCO was shot dead at his shop near Al Asif Square within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station. The victim hailed from Afghanistan. 

A Shahbaz Rangers trooper, Irfan (34), who was injured when unidentified men targeted him on April 1 near Metrological office, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, succumbed to his injuries.

Security situation remained tense and volatile in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) despite curfew in the wake of April 3 sectarian violence and target killings. Despite the imposition of curfew, incidents of sporadic firings were reported in some areas. In Skardu, a strike was observed to protest against the Shia killings by terrorists in Chilas.

The Federal Minister of Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the clashes in Gilgit-Baltistan are not of a sectarian nature, rather hidden forces are involved and were trying to disrupt peace in the areas.

The Abdul Rehman Makki, the brother-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is a conduit between LeT and Taliban. Government sources say that one of the main reasons for the US announcing a reward of USD two million for Makki is said to be his proximity to Taliban supreme commander Mullah Omar and al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed mocked the United States during a defiant media conference close to the country's military headquarters in Rawalpindi, a day after the US slapped a USD 10 million bounty on him.

Pakistan rejected the US bounty on Saeed saying that the United States must provide “concrete evidence” if it wanted Islamabad to act against Saeed. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Islamabad would rather be presented with evidence about Hafiz Saeed than have a public discussion on the matter.

The US said that it was looking for evidence that could be used to put Hafiz Saeed behind bars. State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was working to assist Pakistan and provide the country with the evidence to arrest Saeed and try him in a court of law.

The Chief Minister Aslam Raisani said that the Federal Government and its bureaucracy were not mindful of the seriousness of the Balochistan issue, allowing foreign countries to interfere in the Province.

The CM said the Federal Government was not providing funds for the departments devolved to his province under the 18th Amendment. There was no provision in the 18th Amendment or the NFC Award that the provinces would bear all expenditures of the departments transferred to them, he added.

April 5

A suicide bomber targeted a senior Police Officer, Superintendent of Police (SP) Anwar Ahmed Khan, said to be a leading name in the crackdown on militants, killing four passers-by and injuring 17 others in the Malir area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Commonly known as Rao Anwar, SP Khan is among the few surviving officers who had played an active role in the Karachi operation during the 1990s. 

Earlier in a pre-dawn attack, three Policemen were shot dead in PIB Colony. A car carrying the Policemen was ambushed by unidentified militants who came on six motorcycles and two cars.

Three FC soldiers were killed and another two were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast at Balingor near Mand in Turbat District of Balochistan. 

Two men were killed after assailants on motorcycles fired at a shop in Sariab area of Quetta. 

Unidentified assailants shot dead a man, identified as Munawar Ahmed, in Mastung town of Mastung District.

The ongoing target and sectarian killings claimed four more lives in different parts of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.  

A young Shia man was shot dead in Buffer Zone, near Nagan Chowrangi within the limits of Taimuria Police Station. A Police official said that the victim hailed from Gilgit and initially Police revealed that it was sectarian killing. 

Police found a bullet riddle dead body of a man from Hub Dam Road area, near Sultanabad. The man was later identified as 35-year-old Haji Wali Rehman, a resident of Sultanabad, Sector 3.

A man was shot dead near Tyre Market of Gharibabad, within the precincts of Sharifabad Police Station. The identity of the victim was yet to be ascertained. 

Police found body of a man from seawater near Mai Kolachi Road within the limits of Jackson Police Station. The identity of the victim was yet to be ascertained.

Two LI militants were killed and another two were injured in a clash between the banned LI and TI activists in Kalanga area of Akakhel in Tirah Valley area of Khyber Agency in FATA. Two volunteers of the Zakhakhel-based TI (peace militia) were injured.

In another incident at Bokhar – Zakhakhel’s boundary with Nari Baba – a TI volunteer lost his life and another three were injured. Mortar shells landed at various locations in Bara.

Intelligence agencies arrested several suspected persons and recovered a suicide jacket during a raid at a house at Peshawar road under Tehalka Police Station area of Peshawar.

The Supreme Court ordered the Balochistan Police and Levies to investigate into dumping of bullet-riddled bodies in various parts of the province and compensates the aggrieved families. The Balochistan IGP was also ordered to take action or arrest the provincial ministers involved in kidnappings for ransom.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the case of JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is an "internal issue" and any evidence against him should be provided to Pakistan so that the courts can take action.

PM Yousaf Raza Gilani said that the US bounty on Hafiz Saeed would send a “wrong signal” at a time when the two countries were embarking upon new dimensions.

China has given rare details of what it says are the links between militant groups in its restive far western region of Xinjiang and neighbouring countries, most likely close ally Pakistan, as it unveiled a list of six wanted suspects. The Ministry of Public Security published the names of the suspects, all apparently ethnic Uighurs, on its website (www.mps.gov.cn) late on April 5, along with their photographs and an outline of their alleged crimes.

Some Chinese officials have blamed attacks on Muslim militants trained in Pakistan, though the Foreign Ministry has refrained from public criticism of the neighbour. Both Chinese and Pakistani officials have said that the militants based in western China have ties to the TTP and other militants in north-western Pakistani regions along the Afghanistan border.

Half of the terrorism-related stories published in the country’s key national newspapers originate from the border region in Pakistan’s northwest, says a new study released by a local media development organisation. “Almost 50 percent of terrorism stories come from FATA and KP,” says the study, ‘How Pakistani Media Reports Terrorism Related Conflict?’ The study has been conducted by the Intermedia Pakistan, an Islamabad-based media development organisation which focuses on training, advocacy and research on media issues.

In terms of regional break up of news coverage of terrorism-related events, the study says, “FATA dominates the coverage of terrorism with 26 percent of terrorism-related news emanating from the region, KP follows with 23 percent, Balochistan gets 24 percent coverage, Sindh 19 percent, Punjab eight percent, Islamabad six percent while Gilgit Baltistan two percent and AJK gets one percent of space in newspapers.”

April 6

Six persons, including three PPP and a PSF activist, were killed in the ongoing wave of target and sectarian killings in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Tension engulfed several areas of Orangi Town after four assailants, riding two motorbikes, opened fire at a shop in Urdu Chowk of Orangi Town. Four PPP workers, Farhan alias Guddu, Nafees Siddiqui alias Munno Bihari, Umer Hayat and Rana Faraz – received bullet injuries and were moved to hospital. Farhan, Nafees and Hayat succumbed to the injuries later. The killings triggered violence in Orangi Town’s sectors 10, 14 and 15, Bismillah Colony, Faqeer Colony, Urdu Chowk and its surrounding areas. Police moved in a container to block the way of protesters and also baton charged them, injuring six party activists. 

A seminary teacher, Naeem Sheikh (55), was also shot dead in an act of “sectarian” killing in Sector L-1 near the Maymarabad Mosque in Surjani Town.

A PSF worker, Saeed Hussain Khan (29), was also shot dead outside his house at Scout Colony under Mobina Town Police Station.

A cadre of SSP, Abdullah Bhumka (55), was shot dead in Godhra Society. Abdullah Bhumka was on his way home after offering Isha prayers when armed men shot him in sector 11-G, New Karachi.

A Senior Police Officer who had survived a suicide attack in the Malir area on April 5 accused a fellow officer, and not terrorists, of having hatched the conspiracy to kill him. However, the TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two bullet-riddled bodies were found in Kanak area of Mastung District in Balochistan. According to a Balochistan Levies official, some passersby spotted the bodies dumped in a deserted location in Kanak. 

Maulana Mohammad Qasim Sasoli, a prayer leader belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani group), was shot dead on Saryab Road of Quetta.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government-run girl’s primary school with explosives in the Lakrro area in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency in FATA. Terrorists in FATA have destroyed 92 Government schools, most of them for girls, schools in Mohmand Agency during the past three years.

Authorities launched a crackdown on activists of sectarian outfits and arrested dozens of people in the night of April 6 and early April 6 mornings. “Dozens have been arrested and more are yet to be taken into custody,” Police officials said. Sources said that raids were carried out in various localities of the city, including Amphary, Basin, Napura, Narote, Naikkoi, Kashrote, Nagarl and some other parts of the area.

The Foreign Office (FO) rejected Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s remarks that India has provided adequate proof linking JuD chief Hafiz Saeed to the Mumbai attacks.

A top Pakistani counter-terrorism official said that Hafiz Saeed has been helping Pakistan de-radicalise militants under efforts to stabilise the strategic US ally. "Hafiz Saeed has agreed with the Punjab Government programme of de-radicalisation and rehabilitation of former jihadis and extended full cooperation," the counter-terrorism official said under the condition of anonymity.

Gilgit-Baltistan Police IG Hussain Asghar denied any foreign involvement in the recent strain of violence in the region. The IG said that few job opportunities and a high literacy rate among the resident youth was fueling dissatisfaction and was feeding the rise in sectarianism.

The Supreme Court said there was no difference between a human being and animals in Balochistan where mutilated bodies were found on a daily basis. “I think I should stay in Quetta for a month,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, as a three-member SC bench resumed the hearing of a case concerning the poor security and human rights situation in Balochistan.

Around 20 million children in Pakistan, including an estimated 7.3 million of primary school age, are not in school, said a statement issued by UNICEF.

About the efforts of the fund for promoting education for children across the country, the statement said, “UNICEF is supporting the nationwide ‘Every Child in School’ campaign, which encourages parents and communities to ensure that all primary school-age children are enrolled for the new school year.

The Chairman of the Hinglaj Mata temple, Maharaj Ganga Ram Motiyani, was abducted from the Lasbela District.

April 7

In yet another wave of target killings, nine persons were killed while two bodies were found in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 11 more persons were also injured in the ongoing violence.

A Policeman, Rizwan Ahmed, was killed and two more, Raza and Imran, were injured when a Police picket in Sohrab Goth was attacked.

Within an hour, militants targeted another hotel in Block H of North Nazimabad in which one person was killed and three others were injured. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rasheed Khan said that all were affiliated with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

A prayer leader, Arif Ejaz Khan, was shot dead outside a mosque situated in Akbar Baloch Goth in Steel Town in a drive-by shooting.

A taxi driver, Khursheed, was killed and two others, Murtaza and Anwer, were also injured in Shah Faisal Colony.

Fourteen-year-old Sohail, a teenager died in an explosion in his own house near Manora.

In Meena Bazaar, a 40-year-old pushcart vendor, Abdul Karim Ghanchi, was shot dead near his house, said the PIB Colony Police. They claim that two motorcyclists shot at him twice and escaped.

A rickshaw driver, Khurram alias Shani (24) was killed in Landhi. He was a resident of Korangi. Station House Officer (SHO) Mazhar Awam said that he was killed near Landhi No.6.

Barkat Khan (23) was shot dead in Baldia Town in a drive-by shooting.  The Police said that Khan lived in Baldia Town and was a scavenger.

The body of an alleged Lyari gangster, Imran Baloch (26), was found near the District Collector office in North Nazimabad, said the Taimuria Police. There were reports that he was a PPP leader in Manghopir but SHO Kamal Naseem said that he had a criminal record and was associated with a gang in Lyari.

One Shahid (26) was found dead in Korangi. SHO Nail Mohammad Jakhrani said that Shahid was a resident of Shah Faisal Colony and used to work for a private company. He added that Shahid was abducted and shot in the head. He was from Punjab, had been married twice and might have been killed over a family dispute.

A seminary student, Mohammad Daud (17) was shot dead in Ghazi Town. DSP Rao Iqbal said that Daud used to study at Madrassa Arabia Islamia and he was with someone when he was killed.

Sarwar Bahadur, a leader of the ASWJ, formerly known as banned SSP, was injured when armed militants shot at him on Lasbela Road. Bahadur’s brother and an ASWJ supporter were also injured.

Three persons, including a Police official, were killed in separate incidents of firing in different parts of Balochistan. Assistant Sub-Inspector Abdul Samad Jan was shot dead in main Kalat bazaar in Kalat District.

Driver of a passenger bus, identified as Rahim Bakhsh, was shot dead on Saryab Road in Quetta.

In Barkhan District, a security man was killed and another sustained injuries when their checkpost was attacked by a group of armed militants.

April 8

Army gunship helicopters pounded militant positions in Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency in FATA and killed 14 militants. Officials claimed that militant ‘commanders’ Lutfur Rehman, Hisbanur Rehman, Luqman Khan and Islamuddin were killed in shelling on four militant hideouts.

Four personnel of Tochi Scouts were injured in a roadside bomb blast on the Miranshah-Dattakhel road near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency.

One FC soldier, identified as Nibat Khan, was killed when unidentified militants fired rockets at a check post in Barkhan District. However, two militants were killed when FC personnel returned fire, said Official sources.

A Police Sub-Inspector, identified as Abdul Samad, died when armed assailants opened fire on him in Kalat District. 

One Mohammad Rahim was shot dead in Surpul area of Quetta while he was sitting at his shop. 

Two Levies Force personnel were injured in Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District after some unidentified armed assailants opened fire on them.

Three more people were shot dead and five others wounded by unidentified armed assailants in Orangi Town, PIB Colony, Nazimabad and Lyari areas of Karachi.

One Shakeel (26) was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in PIB Colony.

A youngster was shot dead near Inquiry Office within the jurisdiction of Nazimabad Police Station. 

Three people, Naqeeb-ur-Rehman, Sher Khan, and Aslam Uddin, were wounded when unidentified persons sprayed them with bullets at Bihar Colony within Chakiwara Police precincts in Lyari.  

Two PPP workers, including General Secretary for District West Siddique Akbar, wounded in separate firing incidents in Orangi Town within Pirabad Police Station limits.                                                        

Authorities claimed to have arrested over four dozen suspects during various search operations in different areas of Karachi. They, however, were unable to arrest any of the culprits involved in incidents.

The US offered a lucrative monetary favour to the coalition Government led by the PPP for the federal budget 2012-13 in exchange for resumption of supply routes of NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) should have no role in the country's politics. "The ISI should have no role in the country's politics," he said while interacting with reporters at his residence. He was responding to a question on whether the ISI's political wing had been closed.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani acknowledged that the case of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed was an "issue" between Pakistan and India but said Islamabad needs "substantial" evidence against him to try him in a court of law.

Responding to a question about groups like JuD fanning extremism in Pakistan, Gilani said: "I have ordered action against all proscribed organisations". He said there should be peace between India and Pakistan and it was in the interest of both countries as well as the region.

Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani accused some elements in policy-making machinery in Islamabad of indirectly helping the elements trying to break up Pakistan by not implementing announcements and promises made by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani The Chief Minister said the Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan package was not being implemented in letter and spirit.

Under constant pressure from the US over the increasing use of IEDs by militants on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghan border, Pakistani authorities have worked out a strategy to counter the threat. Draft legislation for the National Strategy to Counter-IED will be soon tabled in parliament for approval. The proposed C-IED Act 2012 will provide a legal framework for the strategy and deal with issues like monitoring and controlling ingredients used in IED-making and prosecution of criminals by introducing new amendments to existing laws. 

The national strategy, soon to be made public, has been prepared by the National Counter-IED Forum. It is headed by the interior secretary and includes chief secretaries of all provinces, the National Counter Terrorism Authority FG, DG Engineers Pak Army, DGs/ IGs of all Civil Armed Forces, IG police of all provinces and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Inter-Services Intelligence. One of the most fatal tactical weapons used by militants, IEDs have caused 13,918 casualties – 47% of the total casualties suffered during the past four years on Pakistan’s side of the border. According to a policy paper available with The Express Tribune, out of these causalities, Pakistan Army and law-enforcement agencies in the FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have suffered 1,244 casualties with 221 people killed and 1,023 injured most of them critically.

Members of the Hindu community protested outside the Karachi Press Club alleging that the abduction of Maharaj Ganga Ram Motiyani was a conspiracy. Maharaj Ganga Ram Motiyani, the Chairman of the Hinglaj Mata temple, Maharaj Ganga Ram Motiyani, was abducted from the Lasbela District on April 6. Community leaders say the Chairman was abducted to sabotage the pilgrimage which attracts devotees from various parts of the world. Abduction-for-ransom is being ruled out by the community as Maharaj Motiyani is not a rich man.

April 9

Six Shia persons belonging to the Hazara community were killed and three others were injured when armed militants opened fire at a cobblers shop on Prince Road in Quetta. Quetta Police Deputy Inspector General Qazi Wahid said that all the victims belonged to Hazara community and it appeared to be a case of sectarian target killing.

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani sacked seven Police officials on duty for the killing of six Hazara. According to Police sources, 17 suspects have also been arrested in connection with killing. 

The Levies Force found two unidentified bullet-riddled dead bodies from the Surab area of Kalat District.

Two people, identified as Qasir and Asif Javed, were shot dead while they were waiting for a Karachi-bound bus in Mand area of Turbat District.

Four militants and two soldiers were killed during a clash when a group of 20 militants attacked a military checkpost in the Khapyanga area of Kurram Agency in FATA.

At least 10 IDPs were injured when policemen baton charged panicked IDPs to force them to follow queue. The IDPs belonged to the Zakha Khel tribe of Khyber Agency. This incident took place at a registration point in Jalozai camp in the limits of Nowshera District (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

A PPP activist, Younis Pathan (28), was shot dead, while another person identified as Zait Khan (25), was injured on Abul Hasan Isphani Road in the precincts of Mobina Town Police Station in Karachi in Karachi. 

Another PPP activist, identified as Syed Mukhtiar Shah (35), was shot dead in his school in Baldia Town in the Saeedabad Police Station precincts. 

A Policeman, identified as Raj Mohammad (32), posted at the Kalri Police Station was shot dead while he was checking Police deployment in the area on the Mauripur Road.   

Sir Syed Police claimed to have arrested a target killer Qasim alias Paratha from the slums of Bilal Colony, recovering a TT pistol and stolen motorcycle. SHO Changaiz Khan said Qasim was involved in three murder cases, including Rizwan murder case of 2010. Qasim is said to be associated with a politico-religious party.                               

AIG Karachi Akhtar Hussain Gorchani said, “Target killings have risen over the past few days in Karachi, however, some of these cases were either of personal disputes or involved individual gains”.

The Supreme Court refused to give an opportunity of hearing to former President Pervez Musharraf in a case regarding the registration of second FIR in the December 27, 2007 Benazir Bhutto murder case against him and 12 others because he had already been declared as a proclaimed offender by a lower court in 2011.

India, responding to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s statement on Hafiz Saeed, said that ‘solid evidence’ on the JuD chief and alleged 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind has already been given to Pakistan. Sources in the Indian Government said that the evidence includes the statement of Ajmal Kasab – the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks – saying that “Saeed was present during the selection and training of terrorists behind the 26/11 attack.” 

April 10

Five people, including two activists of the MQM and a member of the Pakhtoon Action Committee, were shot dead in different parts of Karachi. One MQM activist, identified as Muhammad Furqan (35), was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants near RCD Ground in Malir in the Saudabad Police limits, while he was returning to his residence along with his wife.  However, the MQM-H also claimed that Furqan was their activist.                                               

A bullet-riddled dead body of another MQM activist, identified as Qamar Qureshi alias Kamran (30), was found from Korangi area within Landhi Police jurisdiction. 

A member of the Pakhtoon Action Committee, Haji Muhammad Deen (75), was shot dead by two militants outside his residence near Mehboob Manzil situated in North Nazimabad within the Shahra-e-Noorjhan Police area. 

One Akhlaq (40) was shot dead by unidentified armed militants near Taiser Town in the Surjani Town Police jurisdiction, while he was going to his house. 

An ASI, Muhammad Aslam (40) who received bullet wounds on April 1 in the Khokhrapar Police limits, succumbed to his injuries. The Police claimed to have arrested two target killers in this connection. Aslam had named two suspects - Arshed and Akmal Raza – who were arrested on April 10 along with two TT pistols. During interrogation, the suspects confessed to being involved in a number of targeted killing incidents as well as opening fire on ASI Alam. 

The Sindh Government decided to strengthen the border Police check posts along the provincial border and entry and exit points with Balochistan to curb inter-provincial movement of criminals. Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan told the media that modern technology would be introduced at the Police check posts. He said orders have been given for effective check on the movement of criminals. 

For the establishment of law and order in Karachi, a presidential package worth PKR 2.5 billion was approved by the Government for the city. The fund will be provided in two phases.

At least 34 people abducted from Hunza District on April 3, 2012 in the wake of violence and bloodshed in Gilgit and Chilas were released on April 10 as a result of successful talks between the abductors and cleric Aga Rahat-ul-Hussain. Member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly Deedar Ali Shah said the 34 hostages had been released unconditionally.

The curfew imposed eight days ago remained in force, without any relaxation. Since the outbreak of violence, Gilgit has remained cut off from the rest of the country with no vehicle plying on the Karakoram Highway.

Police recovered three Marri tribe missing persons following the orders of CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry in Quetta. According to official sources, the Police claimed to have recovered Gul Mir, Mir Jan and Amir Khan. Earlier, the CJP had ordered the Balochistan IG and other officials concerned to recover seven missing persons who were picked up from the Sariab area on March 1, 2012.

The TTP claimed responsibility for the abduction of four members of a pro-government militia in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 25. The abducted men have been identified as Gul Muhammad, Mukhtiar, Abdul Wahab and Rehman.  Speaking from an undisclosed location, the TTP ‘commander’ for North Waziristan Agency, Asmatullah Shaheen, said that the four men were abducted from Umer bus terminal.

A jirga of Kukikhel tribe resolved to desist from all types of terror activities and not allow any banned group to operate on its soil in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency. Presided over by Dr Zabita Khan Kukikhel and held at Speena Khawra Markaz, the jirga unanimously decided to impose a fine of PKR one million on those violating the jirga decisions.

The Peshawar High Court directed the local Police to close down three illegal detention centres, which were run by a former SHO of Hayatabad Police Station in his area. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk pointed out that a recent inquiry conducted by the Police high-ups on the order of the high court proved that SHO Rajab Ali had been running three illegal detention centres in Hayatabad, Peshawar.

On the court order, a senior investigation officer of National Accountability Bureau Col (retired) Hussain Ali appeared and told the court that he had constituted a team for probing the allegations against the SHO of amassing wealth by indulging in illegal activities.

Peshawar High Court directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Police Officer to conduct an inquiry as to why police were extending illegal cooperation and help to those agencies which were not authorised under the law and constitution to pick up citizens. 

Peshawar High Court directed the quarters concerned to expedite the process of enlisting the [low profile] category B and C militants after the bench was requested to allow some time for the completion of the list.

Pakistan is going to deploy specially trained C-IED forces at 820 border posts along the Pak-Afghan border to counter the use of homemade landmines – the weapon that causes the most troop and civilian casualties on both sides of the border.

CAN and Ammonium Nitrate (AN) are used to manufacture fertilisers but simultaneously function as key ingredients in making homemade mines called IEDs. The FC has trained their personnel in basic EOD to undertake search and disposal operations, while specialised Police units have been established to undertake EOD tasks which will be used not only on border points but during raids on IED manufacturing sites on its side of the border. 

IEDs have caused over 13,918 (civilian and military) casualties, which is 47% of the total casualties suffered by Pakistan over the past four years in the FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone.

IEDs are the number one cause of casualties for ISAF, newly trained NSF troops and civilians. The US has devoted huge resources to defeating the IED threat over the years but with little success.  The US JIEDDO alone has an annual budget of over USD three billion, and since 2006, USD 20 billion have been spent on C-IED efforts.

The Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik urged parliament to adopt an amendment in anti-terror law to remove loopholes for closing door to terrorist' bailout. Addressing a joint parliamentary sitting on killings of people from the Shia community, the Minister said parliament needed to pass an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code as currently no law existed to bring terrorists to justice.

April 11

LI militants shot dead five Zakhakhel tribe persons in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA. They also slaughtered two of their former cadres. Among those killed were a former LI ‘commander’, Hazrat Khan, and his friend, Rehman. Sources said that the victims had recently started supporting SFs to bring peace to the area.

Four people, including two activists of the JSQM, were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in Karachi. Two JSQM workers, identified as Ghulam Hussain (29) and Waqas (25), were forcing the shopkeepers to pull down their shutters in Khadda Market area of Lyari when another group from the area resorted to firing, killing them on the spot and injuring five others, including two seminary students Muhammad and Umar Saeed.

A PPP activist Rashid Baig (25) was shot dead near his residence in North Karachi within the limits of Ajmer Nagri Police Station. 

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man stuffed in a gunny bag near Labour Square within the limits of Site B Police Station. The identity of the victim was yet to be ascertained. The victim appeared to be of Baloch descent.                                                                                                        

At least three girls were injured when unknown militants resorted to firing while forcing shops’ closure in Kalakot Police precincts. SSP South Nasir Aftab said it was not clear if they were targeted or caught in the line of fire.                           

Two passengers, Noor Shah and Muhammad Abdullah, were injured when two armed militants boarded a minibus and started firing near Dua Hotel on Mauripur Road. Following the gunfire, the militants set ablaze the bus as well as a truck parked nearby.

In Bakhtawar Goth and Safoora Chowrangi areas, unknown suspects set ablaze two minibuses. 

Police and Frontier Constabulary conducted a raid at Jokhio Para and detained five suspects for being involved in riots at Khadda Market.

Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) in collaboration with Police conducted targeted raids in different areas, including Keamari Town, Hussain Hazara Goth, Hijrat Colony, Baloch Para Jamshed Town and Nazimabad and detained 12 suspects along with 18 weapons of different calibers. 

The Police booked friends of Lyari ‘chief’ Habib Jan Baloch besides PAC leadership in the FIR of a Police constable Raj Mohammad’s murder that took place in Lyari on April 9, 2012.

Four alleged militants were killed and six others arrested by the FC after an exchange of fire with them at Sangsilla area in Dera Bugti District. According to official sources, a convoy of FC was passing from the area when a group of armed militants opened fire on it.

The curfew imposed in Gilgit City on April 3, 2012, continued for the ninth day. As reported earlier, 24 people were killed in violence in Gilgit-Baltistan region on April 3.

The people released by their abductors on April 10 left Gilgit for their native areas. The hostages belonged to Shangla in Hazara division and some areas of Punjab. The hostages spoke about their ordeal to the reporters. “I cannot believe that I am alive. The kidnappers were highly trained people. They blindfolded us and took us to Sumaira valley of Nagar subdivision and tortured us,” said one of them.

The Peshawar High Court summoned the Federal Ministers and Secretaries of Defence, Interior and Law in cases of missing persons, asking them to explain why they had been defending illegal and unconstitutional acts of the intelligence agencies.

The bench observed that in all the habeas corpus petitions in the High Court allegations were leveled against the ISI, MI, FIA and sector commanders of the Intelligence Agencies. It added that it was often alleged that these agencies picked persons from houses without search warrant, detained them in illegal detention centres and tortured them. The chief justice observed that keeping in view the provisions of the constitution regarding fundamental rights, the Government, particularly the Ministries of Defence and Interior, were not supposed to defend illegal acts of these agencies.

The continuous spilling of blood in sectarian killings in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, and GB is a result of failure to address religious intolerance in society, the HRCP said. 

It also said, “The people are paying the price of indifference with their lives. Rather than wasting time on addressing mere symptoms, the root cause of the problem must be identified and addressed. Instead of living in denial, we must now identify the policies that strengthen extremism and promote faith-based hatred in society. These constitute the single biggest threat to Pakistan.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain favoured resumption of NATO supply but said there should be no permission to the arms and ammunitions’ movement to Afghanistan in NATO containers and that NATO supply should be restored for food items only.

He urged the US to reconsider its policies, especially regarding drone attacks, saying it’s badly affecting the US image in the country and the world. The Minister said that the drone technology should be shared with Pakistan for better results against war of terror. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Humayun Khan praised the people of Malakand for bravely fighting the ‘war of survival’ in the country. He said the matchless sacrifices of the people would be written with golden words in the history.

The US has not kept Pakistan in the dark on its efforts to seek a negotiated settlement to Afghanistan, said US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman. “I have many faults. But not keeping the Government of Pakistan or the Government of Afghanistan fully informed on what we were doing on the reconciliation side is not one of them,” he told a gathering at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. “

April 12

At least 15 militants were killed when Army gunship helicopters heavily pounded terrorist’s positions near the Afghan border in Joki Zaranna areas of Kurram Agency in FATA.

Three people belonging to the Hazara community were shot dead and another wounded in separate incidents of target killings in the provincial capital Quetta. In the first incident, unidentified militants opened fire on a tea store on Shahrah-e-Iqbal area, killing a man on the spot and injuring the owner of the store identified as Sakhi Dad.

Armed assailants attacked another shop on Archer Road killing two people belonging to the Hazara community, Nor Ali and Nor Ahmed on the spot. The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) announced to stage a sit-in outside the Governor’s House and the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on April 13 to protest the killings.

Balochistan Weightlifting Association General Secretary Abdul Jabbar Khilji was shot dead while he was on his way home in Shalidar area Quetta.

13 labourers of a construction company were abducted from the Sui area of Dera Bugti District. No group has claimed the responsibility for the kidnapping.

Police and witnesses said that the families of the six abducted aid workers launched a public campaign to raise ransom money demanded by their abductors. On December 13, 2011 armed militants whisked away six people working for the BRSP from Pishin District.

An alleged LI militant was decapitated and his head displayed on a rooftop as a ‘warning’ in Sarbanda on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A day after Hazrat Khan, a former LI commander, was killed along with six others by Mangal Bagh’s men in Bara of Khyber Agency in FATA, Munsif Ali, believed to be an ardent follower of Bagh’s LI, was killed in the village of Bajri.

The Supreme Court released three ‘missing’ Baloch men after the Balochistan AG and DIG-Operations Wing Qazi Abdul Wahid produced them before the Court. The three men, Mir Jan, Amir Khan and Gul Mir were whisked away from their house some 40 days ago. They are all residents of Sariab Mills in the New Sariab Police precincts in Quetta.

It was reported that another missing person, identified as Mazar Khan, has not been recovered so far. The court was told that a case has been registered against SHO Noor Bukhsh and has been arrested. Khan was picked up by some unidentified people in the presence of Bukhsh.  The court adjourned the hearing until April 30, 2012.

Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about USD 2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report 'Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernization around the World’ by Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom said. “Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, and testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles” said the report.

Maulana Samiul Haq, Chairman of the DPC, in reference to reopening of NATO supply routes said that the DPC is standing firm against reopening the NATO supply routes and added that Parliament’s decision to reopen the routes will not be an easy decision to make.

Parliament approved new guidelines for the troubled ties with the US, a decision that will likely pave the way for the reopening of supply lines to NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan that have been blocked since November 2012. 

April 13

At least six people were killed and 17 others injured in separate incidents of firing and rocket attacks in Lyari area of Karachi. A man, identified as Hanif (50), was killed when a rocket targeting the Police was fired at his apartment block near Eidgah. The rocket attack was succeeded by a spell of firing around the Lyari General Hospital, injuring Abdullah, Abid, Arif, Babar and an unidentified victim. 

Another round of shooting incident at a bus stop killed one Taj Wali (25) and injured Ghulam Qadir (28), who was hit in the leg. 

One Hayat Gull (30) was killed by a stray bullet on Miranaka Bridge.

A boy, identified as Zakir (8), died and two other unidentified men were injured after being hit by a stray bullet near the Aath Chowk.

Another man, Rustam (30), was shot dead near the Dhobi Ghat area of Lyari. 

A man, identified as Yasin, died of gunshot wounds after he was hit by a stray bullet outside his home in Bihar Colony around the evening. 

Four children sustained bullet injuries in separate incidents taking place near Hotel Lyari, in Lea Market and opposite the Eidgah. The injured were identified as Usman (10), Munir Hussain (10), Rehan (8) and Usman (15). 

Later in the evening, two more rockets were fired near the Hub Chowki bus stop in Moosa Lane.  “The rockets hit a row of shops that were already closed. No casualties have been reported so far,” an Edhi volunteer said. 

Three suspected Lyari gangsters, allegedly belonging to the Uzair Baloch group, also known as the PAC, were arrested during a raid by the AEC. The detainees were allegedly involved in several cases of target killing as well as abduction-for-ransom and other crimes.

Targeted killings in Quetta continued as another member of the Hazara community, identified as Mohammad Ali Hazara, was shot dead by unidentified armed militants while he was sitting outside a shop on Abdul Sattar Road after Friday prayers. The killing had taken place when over 4,000 members of the Hazara community were protesting outside the Governor House and Chief Minister Secretariat.

Eight labourers working for a construction company were injured when militants hurled a hand grenade on them while they were waiting for a bus in the Shambay Ismail area in Gwadar District.

A United States national of Pakistani origin, Jubair Ahmad (24), was sentenced to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release for providing material support to the LeT. Jubair Ahmad, who lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, received the sentence after being found guilty of promoting and urging recruitment for the LeT, designated by Washington as foreign terrorist organisation, the Justice Department said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the Government’s green signal for non-lethal supply to NATO forces in Afghanistan would reduce terrorism and militancy in the country, especially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Minister said his ANP had suffered a lot in the war against terrorism and forced terrorists to flee from their strongholds. “We have lost around 750 ANP leaders, parliamentarians and workers to terrorism and militancy over four years but didn’t yield to our enemy,” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Mohammad Akbar Khan Hoti assured the business community of revival of CPLC in order to properly address the issues being faced by people in the province. Speaking at a meeting with members of business community at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the IGP said that the revival of the CPLC would help in resolution of people’s problems in a befitting manner.

Pakistan will deport Osama bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters to Saudi Arabia next week after their jail sentence for illegal residency ends, their lawyer Aamir Khalil said. The five were detained after a secret US Special Forces raid killed the al Qaeda chief in Abbottabad in May 2011.

More than 181,000 people have fled fighting between Government troops and Taliban or al Qaeda-linked militants in the Khyber Agency Areas of FATA, the UNHCR said.

The US said it seeks enduring and well-defined relations with Pakistan after the latter’s parliament backed new guidelines on ties, which ban the transport of arms across its soil to Afghanistan. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US had “seen that the Pakistani parliament has approved” the 14-point framework for revised terms of engagement with the US and NATO.

Unnamed US officials said the White House has no intention to end CIA drone strikes against militant targets on Pakistani soil, possibly setting the two countries up for diplomatic tensions after Pakistan’s parliament unanimously approved new guidelines for the country’s troubled relationship with the United States.

The US is drastically reducing the number of aid projects in Pakistan as part of reforms aimed at improving the distribution of billions of dollars in funding, the USAID head Rajiv Shah said. The total amount of civilian aid will remain the same, but the US hopes the reorganization will produce better, higher profile outcomes that can win hearts and minds in a country where anti-American sentiment is rampant, said Rajiv Shah.

April 14

Unidentified assailants riding motorcycles killed eight Shias, belonging to Hazara community, in two incidents of sectarian attacks in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. In the first incident, the assailants opened fire on a taxi, killing six people on Brewery Road in Killi Ibrahim Zai area. Later, they shot and killed another two Shias in a rickshaw in the same area. The deceased were identified as, Abdullah, Juma Ali, Muhammad Ali, Syed Asghar Shah and Eid Muhammad. The remaining bodies could not be identified so far.  

Unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire on people, killing one civilian and injuring another, on Sabzal Road. A man identified as Gul Muhammad died on the spot and another man, identified as Muhammad Hasan, was injured.  

Unidentified assailants killed a Police official in the Shalkot Police Station area.

An excise inspector, identified as Khaista Mir, was killed when a remote-controlled explosive device exploded outside his residence at Ghani Rehman Qila in Daudzai area in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Unidentified miscreants killed a young man, identified as, Rustam Ali, near Dhobi Ghat area in Lyari area of Karachi. 

Armed assailants on motorbikes opened fire randomly near busy Chandni Chowk area in Soldier Bazaar forcing traders to pull down their shutters. However, in the process, their own aide, identified as Moosa (30), suffered a bullet wound and later died in the hospital.

Some armed men on motorbikes attempted to intercept a bus in the Old Golimar area. However the bus driver did not do so and sped away. Then they fired a cracker which caused minor injuries to two people.

A soldier of Levies Force, Zafar Khan, was killed when militants attacked two checkposts in Haleemzai and Khewazai areas of Mohmand Agency in FATA in the morning. TTP Mohmand chapter ‘spokesman’ talked to local journalists by telephone and claimed responsibility for the attacks.

April 15

At least four persons, including two militants belonging to ST were killed in separate incidents in Karachi. Two armed assailants fired bullets at two ST activists, identified as Rashid (30) and Yahya (35), sitting near their residences in Gulshan-e-Zahoor area within the jurisdiction of Brigade Police Station. A Police Official said that they found sixteen empty shells of 9 mm pistol from the crime scene.  Spokesman of ST Fahim Sheikh said both victims were active workers of the ST. 

A supporter of the MQM, identified as Arsalan (24), was shot dead and three others wounded when unidentified militants opened fired at the youngsters playing cricket near Baitul Mukarram Mosque within the remit of Aziz Bhatti Police Station. The injured were identified as Hazim Iqbal, Asif and Junaid. 

An unidentified man was shot dead in Urdu Bazaar within the limits of Aram Bagh Police Station.  

An MQM activist, Abdul Mateen, was shot at and injured in Surjani Police remit. 

A CID’s ASI Dilshad Hussain was wounded in a firing incident near Shaheen Complex and Pervez Rafiq in Orangi Town.                                                           

Two youngsters identified as Talha Khan (18), and Mohammad Ali (20), received bullets injuries near Teen Hatti area of Liaquatabad. 

At least three alleged militants of the PAC were arrested during a targeted operation in Khadda Market within the remit of Baghdadi Police Station. They were identified as Bilal, Rahim alias Rahim Dada and Naeem.

Unidentified armed militant opened fire on two people in the Eastern bypass area of Quetta, killing them on the spot. One of them was identified as Abdul Ghani. However, the identity of another victim was unknown. 

A dead body of one Abdul Latif Jattak was found in Kararru tehsil area of Khuzdar District.

An unidentified dead body was found in the Western Bypass area of Quetta. 

LEAs arrested two suspects from Bhosa Mandi area within the jurisdiction of Sariab Police Station in Quetta and recovered two unlicensed pistols from their possession.

A trooper was killed when militants attacked a checkpost at Dery Deki area in Ladha tehsil of South Waziristan Agency. Sources said that the attack on the post in Dery Deki area was repulsed. However, a TTP ‘commander’, Shamim Mehsud, said four SF personnel were killed in the pre-dawn attack.

Hundreds of TTP militants stormed a prison in Bannu town in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and freed nearly 400 inmates, including one on death row for trying to assassinate former President General Pervez Musharraf. “Sources said the attack by around 200 militants was aimed at rescuing Adnan Rashid, a TTP militant who was convicted of an attack on Musharraf. TTP ‘spokesman’ Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said some 384 prisoners escaped the prison, adding that there were “at least 20 dangerous prisoners and some militants”, among the escapees.

Security Forces arrested a TTP ‘commander’, Gul Rahim, along with his accomplice from a hotel during a brief encounter in Taxila town of Rawalpindi District in Punjab. Authorities said Gul had escaped to Karachi after the Army operation in Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and was now going back home when captured in Taxila.

Curfew continued for the 13^th day in continuation in the violence-hit city of Gilgit. It was imposed on April 3 after 24 people were killed in Gilgit Baltistan. Parts of Gilgit have experienced food shortages following the suspension of traffic on Karakoram Highway in the wake of recent killings.

The nationalist parties of Gilgit-Baltistan have demanded of the Government to ban mainstream political and religious parties in GB to ensure long term peace and harmony. In separate statements, the leaders accused some major political and religious parties of creating disturbances due to vested interests. GB United Movement (GBUM) Chairman Manzoor Parwana said that security agencies were violating the fundamental rights of the people of GB by imposing the curfew.

Pak Observer reports that Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the third hand is involved in Chillas and Gilgit violence and the judicial commission will be formed for investigations.

Police claimed to have traced the man who had thrown a hand-grenade on protesting activists of the ASWJ at Ittehad Chowk on April 3. "We have traced the culprit who threw a hand-grenade on the protesters and conducted raids to arrest him, but he has changed his hideout," SP, Gilgit, Wasil Khan said, adding that the man was also wanted in some other cases.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani during a meeting in Quetta which reviewed the law and order situation in the province decided to launch a targeted operation against terrorists involved in sectarian and other killings. The meeting decided that a free hand would be given to the Police and other law-enforcement personnel to deal sternly with the terrorists.

The Bugti tribe leader, Nawab Aali Bugti blamed the national and international oil companies are equally responsible for creating unrest in Balochistan besides the Government, the intelligence agencies and the law enforcement agencies. Mastan Bugti, a spokesperson for the Bugti chief, said that besides the FC, oil companies continue to play a negative role in Dera Bugti as they deprive the Baloch of their legitimate political and economic rights.

Former President General Pervez Musharraf said that as long as Pakistan Army was there, Balochistan could not be separated from Pakistan. Addressing retired army officers organisation ‘Pakistan First’ over the video link on situation in Balochistan, the leader of All Pakistan Muslim League and former Army Chief said Balochistan Liberation Army is an organisation of militants supported by foreign elements and targeting non locals in the province.

April 16

One person was killed and three people sustained injuries when unidentified armed militants opened fire at a bus stop on M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi.

An unidentified man was shot dead near Al Asif Square in Sohrab Goth area within the precincts of Sohrab Goth Police Station. Police said that the victim appeared to be Pashto-speaking.

Police found the dead bodies of two youngsters, wrapped in a bed sheet and gunny bag near Fazal Kareem Hospital, in Korangi area within the limits of Korangi Industrial Area Police Station.

Another dead body of one Mohammad Subhan (23) was found dead in his rickshaw parked at Mir Mohammad Baloch Road within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. A police official suspected that the deceased was associated with Jabbar Jhengu Group that is involved in extortion and other crimes.

Police announced reward money for the arrest of 24 gangsters of Lyari, including the bigwigs of PAC. The names of five alleged members of the TTP have been proposed for being placed in the list of most wanted terrorists with reward money on them. The names of PAC leaders Uzair Baloch and Zafar Baloch have been placed on top of the list with a bounty of PKR 3 million each.

Unidentified armed militants opened fire on a tyre shop on Quivery Road in Quetta killing one Hazara, identified as Salam Ali. 

Four Shia Hazaras escaped an attempt on their lives when militants on motorcycle opened fire at their cab near the Benazir Shaheed overhead bridge while they were travelling towards Quetta.     

A spokesman for the LeJ, Ali Sher Haidri, claimed responsibility for the series of attacks on Hazaras in the past two weeks. 

The Levies Force freed an abducted man, identified as Attaullah Baranzai, after an operation in Dalbandin area of Chagai District and arrested four alleged captors. Baranzai was reportedly abducted- for-ransom from the Mal area in the afternoon and taken to the Sufi Jan area of Dalbandin.

The Chaman Levies Force arrested 14 Afghan nationals under the Foreign Act in Killi Luqman area of Chaman town in Qilla Abdullah District.

A student was killed and two others sustained injuries when unidentified assailants threw hand grenade at Iqra Public School in Charganokaly on Charsadda Road in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The BDS neutralised a four-kilogramme bomb at Balarzai village in the limits of Badhaber Police Station in the outskirts of Peshawar.

Three more missing persons were recovered in Quetta late in the night. People close to relatives of Akhtar Lango, Doctor Naseer and Hafeez Rodini confirmed their arrival. The men went missing from Killi Ismail area of Quetta on April 1, 2012 and their whereabouts were unknown ever since. VFBMP, an organisation striving for the recovery of missing persons, also confirmed the recovery of three missing persons. 

The Supreme Court sought a three year report from relevant authorities regarding the number of people gunned down in Balochistan. A three member bench of the apex court, presided by Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, held a proceeding over the law and order situation in the province.

Five militants denounced violence and surrendered before administration in Bajaur Agency of FATA. “They would remain in our custody for 24 hours, after which they would be freed,” Political Agent Islamzeb Khan said. 

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government removed four senior officials and ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident as more details emerged about the audacity of the attacking militants and utter failure of police to respond.

Mohammad Azam Khan, Provincial Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs, put the number of escaped prisoners at 384. According to last reports, 88 of them have since returned, most of them voluntarily. A few others were arrested in different areas. According to latest reports, of the 384 escaped inmates, 145 were under-trial, 94 were charged with murder and 30 in narcotics cases and 21 sentenced to death.

A militant ‘commander’ who helped plan an assault on the Bannu central jail said his group had inside information. “We had maps of the area and we had complete maps and plans of the jail as well,” the ‘commander’, a senior member of the TTP, told Reuters. “All I have to say is we have people who support us in Bannu. It was with their support that this operation was successful.”  

A terrorist freed by TTP militants was in touch with the outside world through a mobile phone, Facebook and blogs.  Over 380 other prisoners besides Adnan Rashid, who was on death row for an attempt to assassinate former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, escaped from the Central Jail at Bannu.

US Ambassador Cameron Munter has pledged USD 110 million in aid to Pakistan for the reopen of NATO supplies. The DCC, the apex decision making body on national security, is expected to meet next week to review the policy guidelines recently passed by the parliament, an official from the Prime Minister House said.

US Ambassador Cameron Munter held an important meeting with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. It added that Munter appreciated the parliamentary process and hinted at addressing all outstanding issues once Islamabad is “prepared to deal with Washington.”

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she will continue to urge Pakistan to squeeze the Haqqani network, as signs emerged it might be behind the April 15 Kabul attack. Recalling that she pressed Pakistan to “squeeze” the Haqqani network when she visited Islamabad in October 2011, Clinton told reporters in Brasilia that she will “continue to make that point, press it hard.”

The US CJCSC General Martin Dempsey said that there was currently no indication that the attacks had been planned in Pakistan. CJCSC made the revelation while addressing a press conference at the Pentagon with the Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta. 

Defence Secretary Panetta said Intelligence reports had suggested before a coordinated assault on the Afghanistan capital began that the Haqqani network of militants had been planning such high-profile attacks.

April 17

Three people were killed while two others, identified as Nazer Muhammad and Bilal, sustained injuries in a firing incident that occurred at a hotel located in Pahar Ganj area of North Nazimabad in Karachi.

Two unidentified dead bodies were recovered near Memon Complex located in North Nazimabad area.                

The Vice Principal of Jinnah Polytechnic Institute, Imran Zaidi (55), was shot dead near the Matric Board Office in Nazimabad area. SHO Sajid Javed suspected it to be a sectarian killing. JAP leader Allama Abbas Kumaili said that in 2012, around 22 Shia men, including lawyers were killed.                          

A bus driver, identified Sher Mohammad (36) alias Sheru, was shot dead and one Safdar was injured near a wedding hall in Korangi. 

One Ghulam Rasool (54) was shot dead in Korangi sector 35. 

One Raja Alauddin was shot dead, while four others were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at them at a bus stop near Capri Cinema.

Two people received bullet wounds in another incident near Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in North Nazimabad.              

The Mobina Town Police claimed to have arrested two alleged extortionists, identified as Inayat and Imran. Another alleged extortionist, identified as Yasin alias Raju, was arrested near Timber Market by the Napier Police.

The SIU of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested four alleged target killers in separate raids. According to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Shahjahan, an SIU team conducted raid near Crown Cinema, Mauripur Road and arrested Abdul Hannan and his son Bilal Hussain alias Billa.

AIG, Karachi, Akhtar Gorchani said that Police have detained 65 extortionists, including a notorious gang, in the ongoing crackdown against the extortion mafia of Karachi.

Unidentified militants blew up Pakistan International Public School, a private school owned by MPA and lawmaker of ANP, Sikandar Irfan, on Swabi-Jahangira Road in Swabi District.

LEAs arrested over 100 suspects in a joint operation in several areas of Quetta during the last four days, Police said. The operation was conducted by the FC, ATF and Police in several localities of the city, including Sariab, Sabzal, Shalkot, Nawan Killi, Smuggli and Spiny Road.

South Asian News Agency reported that two accused, identified as Muzammil Shah and Sher Khan, involved in Chilas firing incident were handed over by a local Jirga in Diamer District to Police which arrested them.

Chief Secretary Gilgit Baltistan said that other three accused persons will soon be arrested. Diamer Jirga has decided to assist Government in the arrest of culprits involved in Chilas tragedy.

Curfew remained in Gilgit for the 15th in continuation. 

Authorities put the ASWJ ‘chief’ Qazi Nisar Ahmed under house arrest for two months. Further, the home department announced cash rewards for those identifying places where illegal weapons are hidden. 

The two main Sunnis and Shias mosques in Gilgit were sealed in an effort to stem sectarian violence. “The two central mosques of Shia and Sunni sects have been sealed for an indefinite period,” an unnamed senior administration official said.

Addressing the Defence of Islam conference in Mirpur District of PoK, JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed said that there would be no peace in South Asia without resolution of the longstanding Kashmir dispute.

Through a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the Kashmir Committee meeting in Lahore, Pakistan reiterated the commitment to continue support to Kashmiris just cause for the right to ‘self-determination’.

According to HRCP Balochistan Chapter, as many as 34 members of the Hindu community, most of whom are traders, have been abducted across different parts of Balochistan so far since 2011.

The HRCP in Lahore District of Punjab condemned an attack by a militant organisation on a peaceful protest march by human rights activists and members of minority communities against forced conversions.

The New York based CPJ said in its newly updated Impunity Index released that deadly, unpunished violence against the press rose sharply in Pakistan and Mexico, continuing a dark, years-long trend in both nations.

The US would continue to urge Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani Network, said State Department Deputy spokesman Mark Toner. “We are trying to strengthen the relationship with Pakistan, but will continue to make the case for putting pressure and taking action against groups like the Haqqani Network,” Toner said during a briefing in Washington.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also expressed the need for a joint effort against the group. Clinton said that when she visited Pakistan in October 2011, she made it very clear that Pakistan had to “work with us to squeeze the Haqqani Network. And I’m going to continue to make that point, to press it hard”. Because of the threat the Haqqani Network posed to the entire region, “we’re going to take it very seriously”, she added.

Intelligence officials said that the intelligence services had warned the Government three months ago about a possible attack on a prison in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that was raided on April 15, 2012, freeing around 400 prisoners including militants.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government asked Federal Government to place names of 200 escaped prisoners of Bannu jail in the Exit Control List. According to the sources, the Provincial Government sent a list of 200 prisoners to the Federal Government, asking the Government to place the prisoners' name in ECL.

The Akkakhel peace lashkar claimed to help reopen eight educational institutions and launch a successful polio vaccination campaign after purging nearly 80 per cent of its territory of militants and restoring the writ of the Government.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar said that the Government was trying to turn FATA into the regional trade corridor by developing communication network of international standard.

The DCC gave a go-ahead for starting negotiations with the US for resetting ties in the light of parliamentary review. The negotiations are expected to primarily revolve round resumption of NATO supplies, counter-terrorism cooperation, greater transparency in US operations in Pakistan, demand for civilian nuclear deal and expulsion of foreign operatives from the country.

Prime Minister Gilani announcing the key “policy parameters” for re-engagement with the US in his opening remarks said, “Negotiation on new terms and conditions for resumption of the Ground Lines of Communication (more commonly referred to as NATO supply routes), joint counter-terrorism cooperation, greater inter-agency coordination, transparency in US diplomatic and intelligence footprint in Pakistan, strengthening of border security and non-use of Pakistan’s territory for attacks on other countries and expulsion of all foreign fighters from Pakistan’s territory, are our fundamental policy parameters.”

Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Khalid Rabbani during a seminar on ‘War on terror and role of Pakistan Army’ at University of Peshawar said that no Army in the world could win war without the support of its countrymen and ‘political ownership’ of the ongoing military operations in militancy-hit areas of the country was necessary to achieve long-lasting peace.

The Corps Commander said that from 2008 to 2012, the Government’s writ had been re-established in 91 per cent of FATA, while the situation in the remaining areas was under control. He said around 3,300 Pakistan Army personnel had lost lives in the line of duty in the war against terrorism and more than 10,000 had been severely injured in various operations. Army had conducted more than 300 major and 760 minor operations in militancy-hit areas over the last few years, mostly in 2009-10.

April 18

At least eight people, including two women, were shot dead in a renewed wave of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Two unidentified dead bodies were found in North Nazimabad area. Police officials said that the victims were killed after being abducted. Separately, a 25 year old man, identified as Sanober, was killed and Latif was injured when unidentified armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire at a hotel situated in North Nazimabad within Taimooria Police precincts.

One Rehan (28) was shot dead when unidentified militants opened fire at a sanitary shop situated within the limits of Liaquatabad Police Station.

An unknown donkey-cart rider was shot dead near Ghas Mandi on Siddique Wahab Road within the limits of Garden Police Station.

A dead body, identified as that of Aman Ullah Baloch (27), was found from Federal B Area. Police officials said that he was killed after being abducted. 

A waiter of New Quetta Abbasi Hotel, identified as Rafi Ullah (14), was shot dead while three others Hafeez, Niaz and Asif received bullet injuries in Block 16 of Gulistan-e-Jauhar area. 

One Imam Bux (22) was shot dead by unidentified armed militants near Medina Mosque Bakra Piri area of Lyari.

A Judicial Commission report identified the three suspects for the January 2, 2012, murder of Professor (Retired) Bashir Ahmed Channar’s in Jamshoro District. According to the report, the three suspects identified as Bachal Narejo, Meenhal Rajjar and Hamza Ali Chandio belonged to the Muslim Students Federation, the student wing of the PML-F.

The deceased professor’s sons accused PML-F leaders, namely ministers Jam Madad Ali and Rafique Bhanbhan, Adviser to the Chief Minister Imtiaz Shaikh and MNA Jadim Mangrio, of threatening them.

SFs secured an important strategic height ‘Tur Nazun’ from the terrorists in central Kurram Agency of FATA during an operation, killing seven militants and injuring 12 others.

A schoolteacher, Mullah Ahmed, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Zamran area of Kech District. 

Levies Force sources said that a check-post of the FC near Kolpur railway station in Quetta came under rocket attack. Sources said that unidentified militants perched in the nearby mountain fired two rockets that landed near the railway station and exploded.

Four persons sustained minor injuries when a van hit a landmine at Shahokhel Lakki Bazaar on Raisan Road in Hangu District in the night.

The educationalists at a seminar organised by Peace Education and Development (PEAD) Foundation in Peshawar said that some contents of the religious studies’ textbooks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about Afghan fighting were overemphasized in a way that could undermine peace and incite violence and therefore, the Government should bring necessary reforms to these books.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US are the major stakeholders in the region and they can guarantee lasting peace in Afghanistan through collective and sincere efforts.

According to an intelligence agency’s report, TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud convened a meeting in North Waziristan Agency of FATA to plan targeted attacks in case of the expected resumption of NATO supplies.

The report adds that in case of the resumption of NATO supplies, the militants will show their anger through terrorist activities across the country, including targeting high-profile personalities.

Another report revealed that the Jundullah group also held a meeting to plan out attacks across the country, particularly in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore District of Punjab. It added that the group had established an Army of 21 militants for the purpose.

Another report says that five TTP militants have entered Punjab from the Darya Khan Bridge in a double-cabin vehicle and are armed with huge quantities of explosives, ammunition and different numbered license plates.

The NAHRC was told that more than 650 Shias in Quetta (Balochistan) and 450 in Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) were targeted and killed recently. Mohammad Amin Shahidi, Deputy General Secretary of Wahdatul Muslimeen, a Shia organisation, informed the committee that more than 650 Shias in Quetta and 450 in Dera Ismail Khan were targeted and killed recently.

The NAHRC was also told that some ‘hidden forces’ were responsible for the killings of Shias in different parts of the country. The committee members agreed that there was no sectarian clash between the Shias and the Sunnis, observing that clerics of both sides agreed to restore peace in Gilgit-Baltistan, Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Quetta (Balochistan).

Joint Secretary of Ministry of Interior Khushdil Khan Malik during the NSC meeting on Human Rights held in Islamabad said that increasing incidents of target killing, assassination and abduction-for-ransom across the country are the result of complete failure of security agencies.

The mastermind of one of the most serious terror threats since the September 11, 2001 attacks (also known as 9/11), Najibullah Zazi (26), testified that al Qaeda trainers taught him a “very simple” formula for making suicide bombs in South Waziristan Agency of FATA.

Zazi, 26, was testifying for a second day at the trial of Adis Medunjanin in Federal Court in Brooklyn in US. Prosecutors allege that Medunjanin, Zazi and another former high school classmate from Queens, Zarein Ahmedzay, formed a terror cell that posed one of the most ominous terror threats since 9/11.

The US Republican Senator John McCain while addressing a gathering at Carnegie Institute on "Future of Afghanistan" in Washington said that Pakistan has no right to use Kashmir issue as an excuse for not taking action against groups like Haqqani Network.

Pakistan has not been given any deadline by the US to resume the NATO supply routes since it was already “moving in the right direction”, said Thomas Miller, the Minister Counsellor for Public Affairs of the US Embassy.

He also added that billions of dollars were being poured into development sector in Pakistan to resolve the energy crisis. “USD 80 million was being provided for the Gomal-Zam Dam,” he said about the project which envisions providing 25,000 houses with electricity.

The LeT founder and JuD Chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed moved the Lahore High Court asking it to stop Pakistani authorities from taking any "adverse action" against him under pressure from the US and provide security to him as his life was "not safe" and any "mishap" could happen.

Saeed filed the petition along with his brother-in-law Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, for whom the US has announced a USD 2 million bounty under its Rewards for Justice Programme. 

Pakistan is working on legal formalities to deport the members of Osama bin Laden’s family “as early as possible”, State Minister for Interior Imtiaz Safdar Warraich said.

April 19

Clashes between tribesmen backed by SFs’ helicopter gunships and militants left at least nine persons dead and several others injured in Shawa tehsil of NWA in FATA. It is the first time that a tribe has challenged the might of the TTP in NWA, report said. Satar Qabalkhel, who wields influence in Shawa tehsil, is a TTP deserter. 

Seven militants were killed and more than a dozen others injured in clashes with Security Forces in Jogi area of Kurram Agency.

Three people, including a Senior Assistant Editor of Dawn and an activist of MQM, were killed and several others were injured in different parts of Orangi Town in Karachi. Senior Assistant Editor and head of a Dawn magazine Murtaza Razvi was murdered in an art studio in Defence Housing Authority. His hands were tied and there were torture marks on his body. He had apparently been strangled to death.

An activist of MQM, Naeem Uddin alias Munno (38) was shot dead and another, Aslam (60), injured in Gulfam Abad within the limits of Orangi Town Police Station. After the killing of MQM worker, several areas of Orangi Town remained tense as heavy aerial firing started in Banaras, Metrovil, Qasba Colony, Bukhari Colony, Qazzafi Chowk and its surrounding areas.                                                                                                               

In the same area, one Amin received bullet injuries in a firing incident and later succumbed to his injuries. 

Three men received bullet injuries after attack on ice cream shop at Qazzafi Chowk, Orangi Town, where unidentified assailants opened fire and ran away. 

Police and Rangers have to submit a report in 24 hours on the killings in Karachi as the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court has taken suo motu notice of the matter. Chief Justice Musheer Alam has asked the officials to inform the court of what they have done against criminals, terrorists and elements involved in the unabated killings in the city, said an official of the SHC.

Three policemen were injured when unidentified militants lobbed a hand grenade at the Police van during routine patrolling near Mian Karim Baba shrine in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Haqqani network was responsible for a series of attacks in Afghanistan a few days ago, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said. “There is no question in our mind that the Haqqanis were responsible for these attacks,” Ambassador Ryan Crocker said.

Dawn telecast an exclusive footage of a high-profile prisoner, Adnan Rashid, who escaped from Bannu Central Prison in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2012, talking with the Taliban.

The video footage showed Rashid talking in Pashtu with his hosts in these words, “Qari sahib, how are you? How is your health? Are you feeling well?” A jubilant Rashid looking all around from his car’s window replied, “Ahmadullah (All praise to Allah) all is well.” Have you won your freedom from the prison? Adnan nodding his head again replied “Ahmadullah (All praise to Allah).”

Rashid was in contact with the world outside the prison through his cellular phone, according to sources. He was also in touch with several journalists and used to send them messages through SMS. The former junior technician of PAF, Rashid is a resident of Chota Lahore area of Swabi District in KP. He is fluent in English, Pashto and Urdu. He used to contribute to several social networking sites from the prison. He had joined PAF in 1997. He was around 24 when he was arrested in early 2004.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani while talking with former Prime Minister of PoK Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry said that welfare of Kashmiris was the passion of people of Pakistan. He said the democratic Government would continue to extend its moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Kashmir.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Pakistan to step up its efforts to fight terrorism and to open the transit supply route to NATO forces in Afghanistan. "And when it comes to our relationship with Pakistan, my main point is to stress that we need a positive engagement of Pakistan if we are to ensure long-term peace and stability not only in Afghanistan but in the region as such. So we want a strong and positive cooperation and relationship with Pakistan," he said at a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers with non-NATO countries contributing troops to ISAF.

The NATO chief said, "We have two problems in our relationship with Pakistan. The first is a very immediate challenge to see the transit routes through Pakistan reopened. It is of course an essential element in our operation in Afghanistan that we can cooperate with Pakistan when it comes to transit. So we hope to see these transit routes reopened as soon as possible.”

The US and Pakistan have begun exploring various options for joint ownership of drone attacks against militant targets in the tribal belt after the US flatly refused to stop the predator strikes. “We are striving to have genuine co-ownership of the drone operations,” an unnamed senior Pakistani diplomat said.

April 20

At least 18 persons were killed and 10 others injured in ethnic violence in Orangi Town area of Karachi. Among those killed were 11 Pashtuns, four Urdu-speaking people, and one Punjabi, Kutchi and Baloch person each. Leaders of both the MQM and ANP denied that the victims were affiliated with their parties. However, Daily Times reported the death of at least three MQM activists.

Orangi Town seemed to be one of the targets as nine people were reported to be killed in violence between the Pashtuns and Mohajirs. Eight others were shot dead in Ramaswamy, Sohrab Goth, Memon Goth, Jamshed Quarters, Shara-e-Noor Jahan, Khokhrapar, Jauharabad, New Karachi and Frere areas.

Unidentified armed militants abducted Mukesh Kohli, the legal adviser of JWP leader Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti from Ghousabad area of Satellite Town in Quetta.

Unidentified militants blew up Said Ahmad Jan Kali Government girls’ school in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA. Militant outfit Abdullah Ezzam Brigade took responsibility for the attack. Officials of the Education Department said that with the recent incident, the number of destroyed Government schools in Khyber Agency had reached 69.

District Police Officer Abdul Rashid claimed that they had traced identity of the accused involved in April 19’s grenade attack on special Police personnel at Karnal Sher Kallay of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which three Policemen were injured.

US President Barack Obama is sending Chairman of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry to Islamabad on April 29, 2012 to meet the country’s top civil and military leadership amidst efforts to reset ties in light of the new foreign policy guidelines recently approved by the Parliament.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced various initiatives for Balochistan to support the education and employment generation sectors in the province. Under the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package announced by the Government of Pakistan, the Prime Minister approved creation of 63 posts for the Postal Circle of Balochistan to facilitate the expansion of postal network in Balochistan.

PTI Chief Imran Khan said Balochistan problems cannot be resolved by military operations. Speaking at a large public gathering at Ayub stadium in Quetta, he vowed to find out political solution to maintain law and order situation in the province.

The TTP said that they conducted the Bannu jailbreak operation to free Adnan Rasheed, the alleged mastermind of the assassination attempt on former President General Pervez Musharraf. “Though there were some other high profile prisoners in the jail, our prime target was Adnan Rasheed and we are so happy to secure his release,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the TTP said.

The TTP spokesman claimed that only 150 militants were involved in the attack on the jail. “Out of 150 people, only 50 took active part in the operation while the remaining100 were wearing explosives-laden jackets and were standing in different places outside the jail. We did not face any resistance as we had already made all possible arrangements for the jailbreak,” Ehsanullah said.

The World Bank allocated an unprecedented amount of USD1.8 billion for Pakistan’s development projects, mainly in energy sector, in 2012, Finance Minister Doctor Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said after holding a meeting with World Bank Vice President Isabel Guerrero.

April 21

Two Shia Hazaras, Baban Ali and Hussain Ali, were killed on Brewery Road of Quetta in Balochistan in a spate of sectarian killing. The deceased were the residents of Hazara Town.

Two bullet-riddled bodies were found at Killi Umerabad in Bostan area of Pishin District. The bodies could not be identified so far.

The Balochistan Levies recovered a body from near a hotel in Chaman area of Killa Saifullah District.

A security official was injured in an IED exploded on Tank-Jandola Road near Khirgi village in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. SFs cordoned off the Khirigi area and started a search operation. Two IEDs were recovered and neutralised. Another IED reportedly exploded in Shanikhel village in the jurisdiction of Gomal Police Station. However, no loss of life or property was reported.

An IED went off near Kor FC Fort in Manzai, some seven kilometres from Jandola in South Waziristan Agency of FATA. A water tanker of the Frontier Constabulary was partially damaged in the explosion.

April 22

Unidentified assailants opened fire on a car, which was going from Peshawar to Adezai village, killing four persons, including two brothers, in the limits of Mattani Police Station of Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP.

A cab driver, Yousaf, was killed by unidentified assailants in the limit of Badhber Police Station. According to Police, Yousaf had bullet injuries on different parts of his body. 

A clinic was damaged when two bombs went off in Salmankhel village in the limits of Badhber Police Station. Police said militants had planted two bombs outside the doors of the clinic of Dr Misal Khan. 

Militants blew up a primary school building in Peshawar. Police defused another 12-kilogramme bomb planted in the vicinity of the site of the first incident.

Another bomb exploded in a middle school for boys in Dera Ismail Khan. Two rooms of the building were completely destroyed while police diffused the other bomb. No casualties were reported. 

143 prisoners who had escaped the Bannu jail are back into the jail, KP Home Secretary Azam Khan said. Khan said that out of 384 prisoners who had fled the jail, 108 had voluntarily returned while 35 others had been captured by law enforcement agencies.

The CM Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has said that his Government had planned to set up 18 more new degree colleges and 1,000 primary schools, including 700 for girls, in the province next year. The CM said promotion of education was his Government’s top priority for being the only way to eliminate terrorism from the society.

At least four people were killed in separate incidents of violence in the province. Two people were killed in a landmine explosion in RD 109, a bordering area between Sindh and Balochistan, while they were on their way to Khandkhot tehsil in Kashmore District of Sindh. 

Two people from the Bugti Amn Force were killed and two other injured in a landmine explosion while they were patrolling in Za Mardan village of Loti gas field area in Dera Bugti District.

A man, identified as Sajjad Ali, belonging to the Hazara community was shot at and injured on McCongy Road in Quetta in a sectarian attack. “The victim was a Shia Muslim and a resident of Marriabad on Alamdar Road, a Hazara dominated neighbourhood,” sources said. 

Unidentified armed militants abducted two men, identified as Abdul Khaliq and Amir Bakhsh, from Nal tehsil in Khuzdar District. 

Officials of the FC claimed to have arrested three suspected militants belonging to TTP and LeJ during a rand on a small house near the Hazara graveyard in the Brewery Road area of Quetta.

A cadre of the ST, identified as Shamshad, was killed in Yaqoob Abad area of Orangi Town, within the limits of Iqbal Market Police Station, in Karachi.  Deputy Superintendent of Police Tariq Malik said the victim was an active cadre of ST and used to live in the same area.

SFs arrested an important ‘commander’ of the TTP, Maulana Abdul Jalil, during a search operation in Sadda Bazar area of Kurram Agency in FATA. He belongs to Mullah Toofan group.

April 23

Two militants suspected to be sectarian target killers were killed and a Police Constable was injured in an encounter in Akhtarabad area of Quetta.

The DIG said Police had seized two pistols, hand-grenades, four 9mm rifles, a large number of bullets, fake number-plates and four CNICs. He claimed the suspects were target killers.

Police claimed to have arrested over 50 suspects in the overnight targeted operations in various parts of Karachi. At least two alleged target killers, arrested from Orangi and Baldia Towns, were also among the detainees.

The Mominabad Police arrested an alleged target killer, Imran. He was arrested while trying to flee after wounding two men near Badar Chowk, Orangi Town. A TT pistol was also recovered from his possession.

Another alleged target killer, Fahimuddin alias Fahim Kala, was arrested from Baldia Town. Saeedabad SHO Tariq Islam said that the arrested suspect during initial investigation confessed to have killed PPP workers Zafer and Majeed Bhola besides three ST workers during the recent wave of target killings.

ANPs District South President Abdul Bari Kakar accompanied by four of his companions Iqbal Kakar, Sadiq Tareen, Maqbool Kakar and Saddaruddin Agha, was arrested in a raid at the ANP Office located at Empress Market.

The Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet approved setting up a new force to eliminate sectarian violence from the region. The administration spokesperson and Education Minister Doctor Ali Madad Sher said a joint force comprising 400 personnel taken from Police, Punjab Rangers, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and Pakistan Army will maintain law and order.

A check post and patrolling point would be set up after 10 kilometres distance on the Karakuram Highway in the jurisdiction of Diamer District to avoid any untoward incident on the road, informed the Minister.

The minister also said three lists of anti-peace elements had been prepared and so far 20 out of the 30 most wanted people had been put behind the bars while raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining.

The Government urged the media to not to publish and give coverage to banned outfits particularly the sectarian militant groups, according to a directive issued.

Pak Observer adds that Ali Madad Sher said that mobile phone service would remain suspended in Gilgit, Diamer and Hunzanagar till complete restoration of law and order. However, the Cabinet has decided to restore mobile phone service in Ghizr District.

The curfew in Gilgit continued for the 21st day.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik revealed that activists belonging to political parties of the PPP-led coalition Government of Sindh are to be blamed for the menace of extortion in Karachi. Malik said that activists of PPP, MQM, ANP and other parties were involved in extortion in the metropolis.

The PPP and ANP rejected Rehman Malik’s statement while the MQM refused to comment.

Secretary Information of the ANP’s Sindh Chapter, Riaz Gul, also rejected Malik’s statement.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the era of wars has ended and Pakistan is prepared to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including the Kashmir dispute and terrorism, through talks.

JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed turned down a ‘request’ from the Government to limit his public appearances and activities after the US announced a USD 10 million ‘bounty’ on him on April 2, 2012. Associates of Hafiz Saeed told the media that Government agencies ‘advised’ him not to participate in public rallies for the time being.

Senator Pervez Rasheed, the spokesperson for the Punjab Government, said he was not aware of any such request made by the Government.

April 24

Five people, including a political activist, were killed in separate target killings incidents that took place in Karachi. Unidentified armed assailants shot dead two football players, identified as Shabbir and Azam, who used to represent the Karachi Port Trust team, at Jehangir Road No 2 within the jurisdiction of Jamshed Quarters Police Station. Police believed that the incident was a part of ethnic violence. 

An activist of MQM’s Muttahida Organising Committee, identified as Mohammad Omar Zaman (42), was shot dead, while two minor boys injured in Orangi Town within the limits of Pirabad Police Station. Two armed motorcyclists shot Zaman seven times, killing him on the spot. While trying to flee they restored to firing, injuring two passersby, Azhar (10) and Aftab. 

Two unidentified militants shot dead one person, identified as Gulab Khan (22), and injured another person, identified as Saifullah (24), at Arbaz Khan Bus Stop near Shah Zob hotel within the precincts of PIB Police Station. Both the victims were the son of Akbar Khan, the East Zone General Secretary of PPP. PPP leader, Sohail Abidi confirmed that the victims were PPP activist Akbar Khan’s sons. He said that they hailed from Balochistan and the incident was a sequel of PPP workers’ target killings.                                                               

Shamim Ahmed (42) was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants at Ilyas Goth within the limits of Super Market Police Station. Police believes that some Lyari gang to be involved in the incident, however, they are investigating the case from all possible angles. 

The CID team on a tip-off conducted a raid near Pikik compound at Khamosh Colony within the limits of Gulbahar Police Station and arrested three Lyari gangsters, Shahid Pikik, Shehzad Pikik and Fakhar Alam with weapons. He said the accused persons, who were the active members of notorious Lyari gangster Baba Ladla group, and were nominated in 35 murder cases and other heinous crimes including abduction-for- ransom, extortion, police encounters and others. He said the team also recovered four Kalashnikovs, two 9mm pistols, two TT pistols and eight hand grenades from their possession. 

The IG Sindh Police Mushtaq Shah a press conference at Karachi Police Head Office claimed to have arrested several suspects from different areas including Lyari in Karachi and called for placing bounty on 34 most wanted criminals.

At least three people, including a Railway Police official, died and around 45 others received injuries when a bomb exploded at the counter of Business Train on Platform No 2 of the Lahore Railway Station in Lahore District. The blast took place near the reservation office of Pakistan Business Train. BDS officials said 8-10 kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.

The bomb disposal experts defused an “Improvised Explosive Device” found in a bag on board Peshawar-bound Awam Express at the Attock Railway Station.

An eight-year-old Afghan boy, Israrullah, was killed and two shopkeepers injured after a hand grenade hurled by suspected militants at a FCB checkpost in Bara Qadeem area of Peshawar missed the target.

SFs repulsed an attack by the militants from Afghan side of the border at Pakhtoonbro checkpost in Chitral District. According to SFs sources the militants launched the attack from Zero point side but the personnel of NLI forced them to retreat. During the exchange of fire one NLI trooper and an attacker were injured. The retreating militants managed to take their injured companion with them. 

SFs arrested 16 militants during a joint operation in the Shahoo Khel area of Hangu District. For the operation, which lasted several hours, Saiful Drara area bordering Shahoo Khel area was sealed to stop militants from fleeing.

Unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline near Pir Koh area in the Dera Bugti District.

A power pylon of 132KV transmission line was blown up in Kohlu District. Sources said unidentified militants had fixed an explosive device on the pylon, which blew up disrupting power supply to Barkhan and Kohlu Districts. 

The two militants killed in an encounter near Hazara Town in Akhtarabad area of Quetta on April 23, 2012 have been identified as Hafiz Naseer and Hafiz Wazir Ali alias Ali Sher Haideri, the spokesperson of LeJ.

The Law enforcements agencies recovered a cache of arms during raid on a house at Wazir Dhand area of Khyber Agency in FATA. Two LMGs, eight Kalashnikovs, hundreds of cartridges were recovered and a car was recovered.

According to officials, the Government has paid financial compensation to the families of 2,894 people, who were killed in militancy, and 3,497 seriously injured. Statistics compiled by the Civil Secretariat of FATA show that 4,163 civilians have been killed and 5,346 seriously wounded in militancy and collateral damage in seven agencies and six FRs of FATA over the last five to six years. 

Families of 3,118 violence victims, including 1,849 seriously injured persons, have not been compensated so far. Officials told Dawn on April 24 that the Civil Secretariat of FATA had asked the Federal Government to release funds for payment to the violence victims’ legal heirs and wounded persons. However, a parliamentarian from the area insists there’s no shortage of funds and that the militancy-affected families from Kurram Agency will be compensated.

According to reports, militancy claimed lives of 655 civilians in Bajaur Agency, 469 in Mohmand Agency, 449 in Khyber Agency, 71 in SWA, 424 in NWA, 237 in Orakzai Agency, three in FR Peshawar, 186 in FR Kohat, 62 in FR Tank, seven in FR Lakki, one in FR Dera Ismail Khan and four in FR Bannu. The number of seriously injured people is 934 in Bajaur, 480 in Mohmand, 580 in Khyber, 704 in NWA, 60 in SWA and 221 in Orakzai, while 64 civil servants and 187 personnel of Levies and Khasadar forces lost their lives in militancy-related incidents.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government approved the purchase and immediate installation of cellular phone jammers, walk-through scanner gates and other Security equipment at all prisons in the province to counter attacks like the one that freed 384 inmates at the Bannu Central Jail on April 15. The Government has issued a notification to all relevant officials, said Qamar Ali, a provincial Home and Tribal Affairs section officer.

Al Qaeda's slain leader Osama Bin Laden had planned to follow up the September 11 (also known as 9/11) attacks with shoe bombers to blow up American passenger planes, which would have brought the American economy to its knees, a British man, Saajid Badat (33), convicted on terrorism charges testified in a trial Federal District Court in Brooklyn (New York). 

Badat was convicted in London for his role in a 2001 plot to bring down an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.  While Badat's testimony was not directly related to New York subway terror plot, it was used to corroborate facts about the training in Qaida run camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a report in The New York Times said.

April 25

Three TTP militants and as many members of a peace committee were killed during a clash in Darra Adamkhel area of Kohat District in KP. Sources said that two other members of the peace lashkar, led by Momin Khan Afridi, received injuries when they traded fire with Tariq Afridi group of TTP. One of the militants was also injured in the clash, sources added.

A comedian who poked fun at the TTP's practice of apprehending thieves and meting out summary punishment to them was abducted from Matani, a suburb of Peshawar, while he was entertaining guests at a wedding. Around 20 militants entered the guesthouse where he was performing and abducted him by saying that they "needed an entertainer urgently". "They told people not to panic and that Nisar is being taken away only for a few days. They said he will not be harmed". 

Police arrested two fleeing prisoners of Bannu jail from a Karachi-bound passenger bus from Serai Gambila of Lakki Marwat District.

The KP Police plan to hand control of four provincial jails to the Army. “We have requested the army to take over four central jails ... in Peshawar, Bannu, Haripur and Dera Ismail Khan ... as we would easily be able to take care of the remaining 18 jails,” KP Police Chief Akbar Khan Hoti said.

Three people were killed and another one injured in different acts of violence in Karachi. A man, identified as Qasim Khan Mehsud, was killed and another, Muhammad Khalid, wounded when unknown militants shot them at Latif communication shop’ on Manghopir Road within the limits of Pirabad Police Station.

An unidentified dead body of a man was found near the Love Lane Bridge within the limits of the Pak Colony Police Station.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man from Korangi Sector 51-C within the limits of Landhi Police Station.

Two LI militants were killed while making an IED in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. 

The repatriation of IDPs from Tank and Dera Ismail Khan to South Waziristan Agency began, UNHCR said.  “We have planned to repatriate 2,000 families (14,000 IDPs) to South Waziristan,” UNHCR spokesman Taimur Ahmed Shah said.

Two bullet-riddled bodies of BLA militants were found dumped in a desolate place near Kajori area of Musakhel District.

The Lahore High Court was informed that serious efforts were being made for the release of Pakistani citizens detained at Bagram Airbase prison in Afghanistan. On the request of Federal Government’s counsel, Justice Khalid Mahmood of the LHC postponed for four weeks the hearing of a petition seeking release of seven Pakistani citizens detained at Bagram Theatre Internment Camp in Afghanistan. 

A Balochistan-based militant outfit, LeB claimed responsibility for the Lahore railway station bomb blast on April 24.    

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government set a one-month deadline for illegal Afghan nationals to leave the province or face legal action. District Coordination Officer Siraj Ahmad Khan told a press conference that illegal Afghan nationals should leave the province by May 25 otherwise they would be treated according to the law of the land.

Pakistan, sheltering the largest refugee population since early 1980s, Afghanistan and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had signed a tripartite agreement to legalise stay of registered Afghans till December next. The Government has been issuing such deadlines to illegal Afghans since 2001, but did not implement the same. However, Police had launched a crackdown against Afghan prayer leaders some time ago and deported many of them. 

Earlier on April 24, Afghan Deputy Refugees and Repatriation Minister Samad Hami said Afghanistan and Pakistan soon plan to sign an agreement that would let refugees stay in Pakistan until 2017, Afghanistan. The deal would protect refugees from forcible deportation from Pakistan, he said.

April 26

Four persons, including a Head Constable, were killed in separate acts of target killings in Karachi. A senior PPP leader, Malik Muhammad Khan Niazi, was shot dead when he gathered up people to hold protest against the conviction of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a contempt of court case at Aath Chowk near Noorani Hotel within the precincts of Kalakot Police Station. 

An activist of the ANP, identified as Gul Shan Khan alias Rambo (30), was shot dead near Babar Market within the limits of Landhi Police Station. 

Police found an unidentified dead body of a young man from Darya Abad area of Lyari within the remit of Kalri Police Station. Police said he appeared to be of Baloch descent and had been abducted by unidentified militants from an unknown place and abandoned his body after killing him.                                        

In a separate incident of firing between the Police and Lyari gangsters, a head constable was killed and two others were injured within the precincts of Baghdadi Police Station.

The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested four politically motivated target killers and recovered weapons in a raid in Korangi Industrial Area.

Five people including Police personnel were injured during a grand operation that began in Karachi’s Lyari area where a heavy contingent of Police and FCB personnel took action against criminal elements. 

A would-be suicide bomber was killed when a detonator he was carrying along with suicide vest prematurely went off on Kirani Road near Hazara Town in Quetta.

The CIA shared intelligence with Pakistan suggesting al Qaeda planned to carry out major attacks inside Pakistan. The information was based on documents seized by US Navy SEALs during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad. Some of the details of the intelligence shared with Dawn revealed that before being killed in the May 2 raid, Osama bin Laden, along with Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who took over as al Qaeda chief in June 2011, and other senior leaders of the terror outfit had planned to mount indiscriminate attacks on Pakistani soil.

The US Embassy in Islamabad banned its staff from restaurants and markets in the capital for several days on either side of the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death.

The Government says Osama bin Laden’s three widows and his children have been deported to Saudi Arabia. A statement said the family left to the “country of their choice, Saudi Arabia”.

A special US envoy met Pakistani Government and Army officers in Islamabad in an effort to get the country to reopen American and NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. Washington’s envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman said during a joint conference with Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani that the US was ready for talks on re-opening the supply lines and clearing outstanding payments to Pakistan to meet the expenses of military operations in its tribal areas to fight Taliban and al Qaeda.

Army, which has dominated the country for much of its turbulent history, has less sway over foreign policy, and a new power equation is emerging within America's strategic ally, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said new dynamics were now taking hold in nuclear-armed Pakistan, one of the most unstable countries in the world.  I want you to also understand that things have changed in Pakistan, she told Reuters in an interview. 

April 27

At least eight persons, including two Security Force personnel, were killed in a gun battle between Police and Lyari gangsters in Lyari area of Karachi. PPP leader Nabeel Gabol narrowly escaped an attack near Mira Naka area.

The Sindh IG Mushtaq Shah said that the Police was facing intense resistance as gangsters used highly sophisticated weapons. He said, “We don’t have problems. More contingents of security personnel will be there to combat terrorists. Such retaliation by the gangsters proves their association with outlawed terrorist organisations.”

SIU claimed to have arrested five target killers in separate raids in different areas of Karachi. SP Khurram Waris said that Police raided Akhtar Colony phase one and arrested notorious gangsters namely Ibrahim alias Qari and recovered a TT pistol.

In another raid at Jamila Market in Kharadar, SIU team arrested Hyder, Zeeshan, Shehzad and Arshad. The SP claimed that accused persons were involved in more than 50 killings in the city.

Four suspected militants were killed and seven arrested by SF during a search operation in Gaybun area near Turbat District. A local Levies official, Shamim Ahmed, told the media that the FC had launched search operation in the Gaybun area.

A Police constable, identified as Abdul Samad, was injured when unidentified armed militants hurled a hand grenade at the residence of DSP Khalid Zaman Marri in Irrigation Colony of Dera Murad Jamali in Naseerabad District. 

SFs seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during a search operation in Naushki and Chattar areas. 11 submachine guns, three light machine guns, 14 rifles, nine shotguns and 100 SMG rounds were recovered during the operation.

Additional Sessions Judge Zulfiqar Naqvi issued non-bailable arrest warrants of JWP leader Shahzain Bugti and his 26 accomplices. Bugti and his aides were arrested by the FC in December 2010 at the Buleli check post for allegedly smuggling weapons from Chaman town to Quetta.

A SHO and five other Police officials were injured when their van was hit by a remote-controlled bomb at Sharaopul in Pishkando area of Mardan District. 

Unidentified militants blew up a Government girls’ school, Daman Matta, in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda District. 

The apex committee special meeting chaired by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar in Peshawar reviewed the overall law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA besides progress on the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in militancy-hit areas.

Two HuT activists, Doctor Abdul Qayyum and Doctor Abdul Wahid, allegedly picked up by the ISI and MI during a crackdown on a banned outfit after the arrest of Brigadier Ali Khan in August 2011 were released in Islamabad.                                                       

The court had sent their cases to the “inquiry commission on enforced disappearance” and a Joint Investigation Team was constituted for their recovery. Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman directed the JIT on April 16, 2012 to produce the missing activists in the court on May 14, 2012.

The curfew imposed in Gilgit on April 3 continued for the 25th day. Life has come to a halt in the city which is now under the military’s control. There is an acute shortage of food items and medicines. The telecom system is also completely blocked. 

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said the Government is providing all possible support for further improving law and order situation in Gilgit-Baltistan. 

On April 25, GB Chief Minister Mehdi Shah said that the perpetrators of the recent spate of sectarian violence would be brought to justice. Shah said the Police would arrest people against whom cases have been registered.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that there is “no silver bullet” to completely destroy al Qaeda but argued that killing Osama bin Laden helped set the network back.

Panetta said he was certain that America was safer as a result of the bin Laden operation. “When you combine that with the other operations that have taken place, that have gone after al Qaeda leadership, I think it really has weakened al Qaeda as an organization and certainly it has prevented them from having the command-and-control capability to be able to put together an attack similar to 9/11,” the Defense Secretary pointed out.

Pakistan, US and Afghanistan agreed to provide ‘safe passage’ to Afghan Taliban militants willing to join reconciliation talks and set up a working group to settle modalities for their unhindered movement.

The move, which comes in conjunction with the three sides agreeing to coordinate their activities at the UN for removing Taliban leaders from the Security Council sanctions list, is the biggest step forward for promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan since the core group was established a year ago for the sole purpose of advancing the peace process. 

The two steps are being seen as a confidence-building move to put the reconciliation process, which suffered a setback earlier with Taliban pulling out of the Qatar process, back on track.

Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden had planned to mount indiscriminate attacks on Pakistani soil before his killing in a covert US raid in Abbottabad, the documents seized by the Americans from the slain terrorist's compound in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad in KP have suggested.

The information was "based on documents seized by US Navy SEALs during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound" in Abbottabad in May 2011. Some details of the intelligence "revealed that before being killed in the May 1-2 raid, bin Laden, along with Ayman al Zawahiri and other senior leaders of the terror outfit had planned to mount indiscriminate attacks on Pakistani soil."

The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved two projects totaling USD 550 million aimed at supporting Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen education and natural gas sectors, which are critical to Pakistan’s growth and development. 

The Second Punjab Education Sector Project of USD 350 million will support the Punjab Government’s education sector reform programme which is designed to increase child school participation and student achievement.

The USD 200 million Natural Gas Efficiency Project aims at enhancing the supply of natural gas by reducing physical and commercial losses in the pipeline system. The challenges in the gas sector are also significant.

Major General Asim Bajwa was appointed the new Director General of ISPR and spokesman for the Pakistan Army. A military official confirmed that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani named Bajwa as the replacement for incumbent Director General of ISPR Major General Athar Abbas, who retires in June 2012. Bajwa will take charge as the new DG ISPR after Major General Abbas retires in June.

Major Bajwa is posted in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as GOC and has earlier supervised key military operations against militants in the South Waziristan Agency of FATA.

April 28

An encounter between Police and gangsters left 10 more persons dead, including a SHO and a constable, in Lyari in Karachi city, as gangsters used rockets and hand grenades against Police and the public. Civil Lines SHO, Fawad Khan and Constable, Malik Tassawur was among those who fell victim to the violence on the second consecutive day of an operation against gangsters in Lyari.

A Police personal was killed and three others, including SHO Malir City, were injured in an encounter in Salar Goth near Akbar Hotel within the confines of Malir City Police Station The injured Police personal was identified as, SHO Malir City Ishaq Lashari, Constable Pervez Iqbal, Khan Mohammad and armored personnel carrier driver Sabir.

Following the encounter, Police succeeded in arresting two gangsters, Mohsin Baloch and Abid Ali alias Kalu. Police recovered a Kalashnikov rifle from their possessions, however, their six accomplices managed to flee.

Ongoing violence claimed life of three persons identified as, Luqman Hameed, Shakeel, Akhtar Baloch and Wahid Baloch, in different areas of Kalakot and Chakiwara.

A man identified as, Akhtar (26), was also killed during the violence near Lyari General Hospital in the limits of Chakiwara Police Station.   

One Muhammad Azam (25) was killed near Cheel Chowk in the limits of Kalakot Police Station.

Yasin, a vendor, was shot dead in Nayabad in the confines of Kalri Police Station.

Police sources said that at least a dozen rockets were fired in different areas of Lyari on Saturday, adding that gangsters were also targeting noncombatants in the surrounding areas to divert the attention of law enforcers.

The PoK Police thwarted the attempt of more than one hundreds activists of NSF, a pro-independence group, led by their president Anwar Baig, to stage a march towards the LoC in Kotli District by taking many of them into “protective custody,” witnesses and Police sources said.

The call to cross the dividing line from Khuiratta sector, which faces Jammu Province in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, was given by NSF on a day [April 28] when “Karachi Agreement” was signed in 1949 by the Kashmiri leaders to handover the administrative control of Gilgit-Baltistan to the Government of Pakistan. NSF advocates complete freedom of the disputed Himalayan region.

In 1990 the NSF had staged a massive march towards the LoC in Chakothi sector in the south of Muzaffarabad, choosing February 11, the death anniversary of the JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, for the crossing. Two of its activists had died in firing by the troops right at the LoC. In August 2007, the group attempted to cross a snowcapped route in Neelum Valley that connects PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan and had lost another two activists, due to harsh weather.

“No one was hurt as Police contingents successfully overpowered the procession of at least 100 activists of the NSF,” said Superintendent Police Ghulam Akber Chaudhry while talking to The Express Tribune. According to organisers, the activists had planned to enter into Indian Kashmir to apprise the world of the irrelevancy of the LoC.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik announced lifting of curfew and restoration of mobile service in Gilgit from April 28-night. Malik said several persons were arrested following acts of violence in Gilgit. He also added that Police force strength in Gilgit would be increased to 10,000 from the present 5,000.

A statement issued from the office of Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah stated that the Army would withdraw only after peace was permanently restored in the city.

Though the Government claimed that cellular services have been resumed, residents of Gilgit said that the service was not fully restored yet.

Curfew was imposed in Gilgit on April 3, 2011, after violence killed 24 persons in GB on that day.

The regional Government has arrested nearly 20 out of 33 people involved in the recent wave of sectarianism that left over 24 dead and scores of injured in GB. Nearly all the accused nominated in the Chilas violence have been arrested, while negotiations are underway for the arrest of perpetrators nominated in clashes in Nagar valley, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Ali Sher.

In an attempt to effect reconciliation between the two warring sects, the GB Government is planning to constitute a ‘Mosque Board’. Two central mosques, one each of Shia and Sunni sects, were sealed earlier, and the regional law minister, Wazir Shakeel, has confirmed that a Mosque Board was being constituted to mediate between them. 

Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah spelled out measures to check the outbreak of sectarian violence in the future. Shah told journalists in Islamabad that a 410-strong force has been raised to patrol the strategic Karakoram Highway (KKH).

He also said that his administration would ban the clerics who are stoking sectarianism and fuelling hatred in their Friday sermons. Chief Minister Shah added that the two mosques would be reopened once a high-level committee settled the matter between the two sects.

April 29

Ten persons, including five militants, were killed and 14 others injured in a clash between LI militants and volunteers of Akkakhel peace committee in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA.

A US drone strike killed four suspected militants in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, near the Afghan border. The drone targeted an abandoned girls’ high school building used by militants in Miranshah.

At least two persons were killed and 20 others injured in a bomb explosion in Jamrud area of Khyber Agency.

Lyari gangsters fired rockets and hurled hand grenades on the third consecutive day of Police operation in Lyari area of Karachi killing four persons, including CID Police Constable Fayyaz Ahmed, and injuring 19 others.

Two persons, including a cadre of JSQM, were killed in two separate incidents. Police found a dead body of a man, identified as that of Tanveer Ahmed (32), from a family park situated in Zamanabad within the precincts of Landhi Police Station. The victim had been missing since April 27, 2012. Also, an activist of the JSQM, identified as Abdul Ghani (39), was shot dead in Haji Sukhia Goth within the limits of Khokhrapar Police Station.

Two people, identified as Abdul Whaid and Allah Baksh of the Mengal tribe, were shot dead by unidentified militants while they were travelling in a van in Dasht-e-Gohran area of Kalat District. 

The bullet-riddled dead body of a British employee of the ICRC, identified as Doctor Khalil Ahmed Dale, was found dumped near the Killi Umar area on the Airport Road in Quetta. Dale was a Yemen-born British national who was abducted from Chaman Housing Society of the District on January 5, 2012 by unidentified armed militants.           

An unidentified bullet-riddled dead body was found in Pir Gaib area of Bolan District. 

Unidentified armed militants damaged the railway track in Saryab area of Quetta. Police said that the militants used an IED to blow apart a two-foot long part of rails passing through Faizabad area of the District.

A main pipeline supplying gas to the Sui purification plant was blown up in Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District, suspending gas supply from three wells to the purification plant.

Kashmir Liberation Conference on April 29 decided to observe Milaap (Meeting) March at Neelam Valley in Islamabad on June 10.

The Swat operation in-charge Major General Ghulam Qamar said that more security posts have been set up on Pak-Afghan border to stop infiltration of militants from Afghanistan into Swat valley.

Blaming Pakistani media for "misreporting" the issue, the American Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, said that the US Government did not announce any bounty for JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

The ISI provided the US with information that was helpful in learning more about the compound where al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed, a US official said.

The official's comment came in response to a The Washington Post report that said ISI believes it deserves credit for helping US intelligence agencies to locate bin Laden's hideout. "The lead and the information actually came from us," an unnamed senior official with ISI said.

The US officials disputed the ISI version. "The fact is, our knowledge of the number didn't come from them telling us about it," the paper quoted US officials as saying.

April 30

At least eight people, including a Police Official, were killed and another 35 injured in the ongoing Police operation against gangsters in Lyari area of Karachi. In Sher Shah, armed assailants, fired at Shaheen Hotel, injuring four people. Three of them died later.                                                               

Unidentified militants hurled grenades at people in Agra Taj Colony area killing a man and injuring eight others. In another incident, unidentified assailants shot dead one Nasir (20) in Nayabad area. Similarly, another man, identified as Asif, was killed in the PIB area. 

A Police Official was killed and 10 other people injured in rocket and hand grenade attacks by militants at Cheel Chowk in Lyari area.  Elsewhere in the District, the dead body of an abducted man, identified as Kashif, was found in Lyari. Also, assailants hurled grenades at a hotel in Lee Market, injuring as many as eight people. 

Lyari gangsters also set on fire a PPP ward office in Kalakot and a Police check post in Garden area. The Special Investigation Unit conducted raids in Ilyas Goth and arrested nine members of Ahmed Ali Brohi gang after an encounter. Three gangsters, Ashraf, Asif and Naeem were injured. Police claimed to have recovered two Kalashnikov assault rifles, a shotgun, a repeater, six pistols and two grenades from them.

A man and woman were shot dead while another injured near Paracha Chowk within the limits of Sher Shah Police Station. Unidentified armed assailants entered a house situated at Café Bilal Street at Paracha Chowk and opened fire, killing a man and woman on the spot besides injuring another man.

An activist of SSP, identified as Farooq (40), was shot dead near Makka Hotel in New Karachi area within the limits of Khwaja Ajmair Nagri Police Station. Farooq was a seminary teacher. SHO Afzal said that the victim was from Deobandi sect and may have been killed over sectarian grounds. 

The Chief of Police announced that the fight to clear Lyari of criminals will take about three days, acknowledging that the force had no idea how much resistance it would face. On day four of the Police operation, Police morale was low despite the IG’s assessment that the troubled neighbourhood had been cleared about 60% of gangsters.

HRCP expressed concern over the sufferings of the civilian population in Lyari, where Law Enforcement Agencies’ operation against organised crime has been going on for four days.

A Policeman was killed and another received injury in a bomb blast in Ghari Suhbat Khan area on the suburbs of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government girls’ school with explosives in Mian Dheri area of Swabi District. As a result of the blast, the school building was partially damaged.

A Police Official, identified as Muhammad Ibrahim, was injured when unidentified armed militants attacked a check post in Dalbandin area of Chagai District. 

The Red Cross confirmed that it had been in contact with the abductors of a British aid worker Khalil Dale before he was killed in Pakistan and said his murder would prompt a review of its operations in the country.

Police said that Kahlil had been beheaded and a note on his body said he was killed after his captors’ demands were not met. “It’s inappropriate to go into the details of any contact we might have had with the abductors,” Maguire told the BBC radio.

The SFs arrested 17 suspected militants and recovered arms and explosives from their possession during search a search operation in different areas of Mamond and Khar tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.

Al Qaeda named Farman Ali Shinwari (30) who belongs to Khugakhel sub-tribe of Shinwaris, and hails from Landikotal subdivision of Khyber Agency in FATA, as its head in Pakistan. A statement had been issued by the al Qaeda leadership saying that Farman Ali Shinwari has been chosen as the head in Pakistan.

The sources said the al Qaeda commanders based in Pakistan was not involved in the decision, but they only ratified it. Shinwari has five brothers who are affiliated with the TTP and other militant outfits. His elder brother Hazrat Nabi Shinwari, alias Tamanchy Mulla, was a theology teacher in a Government-run school in Landikotal. He was leading the TTP in Khyber Agency in 2005 and also used to send militants to Kashmir and Afghanistan. He has remained the head of HuM and is nowadays said to be leading his group of TTP militants in Waziristan.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Chief of al Qaeda, remains at large in Pakistan's tribal area, said US Counter-Terrorism Official John Brennan on April 30 as Washington vowed to hunt him down.

He further said, "They have to go. Al Qaeda is an organisation that's dedicated to murder and mayhem and we as well as other countries of the world are determined to make sure that that happens." 

Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat to the Foreign Ministry and lodged a formal protest over the US drone attack on a house in Miranshah of North Waziristan Agency, which had killed at least four persons.

US President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism Chief John Brennan insisted that the drone strikes against al Qaeda is fully legal under international law.

Pentagon said that the US's relationship with Pakistan is very tensed but the two countries are working to resolve the issues. "It is a very tensed time in our relationship (with Pakistan). All the more tensed because of the event in late November. We are trying to work out through this," the Pentagon spokesman, Captain John Kirby said in a news conference.

May 1

At least two passers-by, identified as Tanveer (14), a student, and Muhammad Khalid, a clerk at University of Balochistan, were killed and 16 others, four of them security personnel, were injured in a powerful remote-controlled explosion near Irrigation Colony on Saryab Road area in Quetta. TTP spokesman Sar Kalam Khan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bodies of two Baloch missing persons, identified as Mohammad Murad Marri (35), from Kohlu District, and Dil Murad from Sibi District, were found near Patar Bridge in the Coastal Highway area of Uthal in Lasbela District.

Three persons were killed due to shelling of SFs in the Khan Mir Garhi area of Mamonzai in Orakzai Agency of FATA.

Four militants surrendered to the Army in the Charming area of Bajaur Agency. “The militants, among them a commander ... handed over weapons to the authorities and pledged to remain peaceful in future,” Political Agent Islamzeb Khan said.

Political and social organisations of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency have taken strong exception to unlawful detention of internally displaced families of Bara by Peshawar Police for extortion and warned of a protest demonstration in front of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Peshawar if the practice is not stopped.

The gun battle between the Lyari gangsters and the Police entered the fifth day killing two persons, including a Police Constable, and injuring 12 others.  A Police source said the gun battle between the gangsters and Police further intensified when Police commandos marched towards Gul Muhammad Lane and Sukhi Lane to set up a Police check post. The gangsters fired five rockets at Cheel Chowk, killing Police Constable Muhammad Tufail. In Kalakot Police precincts, former international boxer, Javed Jan, was killed by a stray bullet in Gabool Park area.                    

The gangsters also hurled grenades at a hotel in the Napier Police precincts, injuring 10 people. An Airport Security Force official, Aziz Baloch, sustained bullet injuries in the same area. Another man, Hassan Muhammad, was also injured in Bihar Colony area. A Police source said the gangsters had fired 18 rockets and lobbed several grenades at the Police in various parts of Lyari.

The CID team, headed by SSP Chaudhry Aslam, claimed to have taken control of a den owned by Taj Muhammad Taju. The team also claimed to have recovered BLA’s anti-state literature from the den. Sources said the BLA was supporting the gangsters, adding that they were getting weapons via Hub-Sakran border.

It was reported that the ongoing Lyari operation is proving to be a financial burden for the Sindh Government, with daily costs running into hundreds of thousands of rupees. According to estimates, bullets worth PKR 5 million have been used, so far. For the operation, around 2,000 personnel have been deployed around Lee Market, Cheel Chowk and other surrounding areas.

Police recovered arms and ammunition and arrested two people in Gilgit. Deputy Inspector General of Police Ali Sher said that Police on a tip-off raided a place in Kargah Nullah and recovered several SMGs, rifles, shotguns, pistols and live bullets.

Four Pakistani-Britons were charged with taking inspiration from al Qaida magazine ‘Inspire’, and plotting to use a toy car to attack a base of the Territorial Army in Luton town of Britain. The plot was, however, foiled. Zahid Iqbal (30) is accused of leading the terror network. He was joined by Mohammed Sarfaraz Ahmed (24), Umar Arshad (23), and Syed Farhan Hussain (21).

Ahmed is accused of acting as a recruiter and making an "explorative visit" to Pakistan where he may have undertaken terrorist activities. Hussain allegedly specialised in the distribution of funds and provisions, while Arshad allegedly provided practical guidance on activities abroad, what to wear to fit in and lead the outdoor training.

Pakistani authorities proposed the imposition of a levy of USD 1,000 on each truck and container transporting supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan through the country's territory. The Communication Ministry had proposed the levy, National Highway Authority Chairman Mohammad Ali Gardezi said. 

A senior unnamed official of the Communication Ministry claimed that during the past 10 years, Pakistan's road infrastructure suffered damages estimated at PKR 100 billion due to the heavy NATO trucks carrying goods to Afghanistan. He said a report about claims for damages worth USD 1.5 billion had been submitted to a standing committee of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament.

Pakistan continues to support insurgent groups and provide terrorist safe havens so as to have its influence inside the war-torn Afghanistan, the Pentagon told the US Congress. The Pentagon said that Pakistan continues to seek a stable, secure Afghanistan, an Afghan Government with primacy for Pashtuns and limited Indian influence.

Pakistan's selective counter insurgency operations, passive acceptance of insurgent safe havens and its unwillingness to interdict materials such as IEDs components undermine the security of Afghanistan, it said in a congressionally mandated report.

A TTP spokesperson Asim Mehsud said that “we will continue to carry out attacks such as the one in Bannu,” while denying reports that escaped prisoners were handed over under any truce with the Government. Asim denied reports published in a Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) based Urdu daily which stated that the TTP had decided to hand over the escaped prisoners to the Government as their sole aim was to release Adnan Rashid.

A former Obama Administration official Michael Leiter who served as the head of the NCTC said that the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden wanted to see President Barack Obama and General David Petraeus assassinated.

It was reported that the residents of Bilal town in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad where Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 1-2, 2011 have asked the Government to build a 'statue of peace' or a beautiful monument at the site of his compound to remind the world that there is no place for such a terrorist mastermind.

SFs have been put on high alert across Pakistan to counter any possible terrorist attacks ahead of Osama’s death anniversary. Pakistani officials said they fear attacks could mark the anniversary, saying that security agencies had been ordered to be "extra vigilant" on May 2 (today).

May 2

At least seven people were killed and more than 40 wounded on the sixth day of the ongoing gun battle between Police and gangsters in Lyari area of Karachi. Police failed to make advance in the area. 

One Sajjan Bibi was killed in Kalakot area when a bullet hit her inside her home. Separately, one Noor Zaib (7) was killed during a shootout in Usmanabad area. Also, one Ismail Katchi was killed and seven other people injured during a rocket attack by gangsters on Jumman Baloch Road. Another violence victim, Amjad, who was wounded in Kalakot, succumbed to his injures.  Zafar Katchi was killed at Cheel Chowk and an unidentified man was knocked to death by a Police’s APC in Kalakot area. However, the Police declined the incident. Elsewhere, Police claimed that they had killed a gangster in Afshani Street. 

Gangsters also attacked Police Stations and the house of PPP MPA Rafiq Engineer in Shidi Lane. They propelled rockets and hurled hand grenades in several other areas, including Lee Market, Kharadar, Chakiwara, Nawa Lane and Behtai Lane, wounding 40 people and damaging Police vehicles. Police called in further contingents of force and more APCs were deployed. A Police officer said that there was no history of such kind of “prolonged and deadliest operation in which law enforcement agencies have failed and looking for a way out”. 

Two persons, including a cadre of ST, were shot dead in two separate incidents of target killing in Karachi. A cadre of ST, identified as Babar Qadri (27), was shot dead in Jacob Lines area near Allah Wali Masjid, within the limits of Brigade Police Station. ST spokesman claimed the victim was his party worker and targeted only over his political association. Separately, Police found an unidentified bullet-riddled dead body from Malir River close to Saleh Muhammad Goth. 

At least 13 persons were injured when a series of bombs exploded outside at least half a dozen branches of NBP in 12 Districts of Sindh early in the morning. According to initial reports, bombs had targeted bank branches and ATM installed in NBP in Hyderabad District, Nawabshah District, Sukkur, Dadu, Larkana, Ghotki, and Badin Districts.

Hyderabad Police said that bombs went off near NBP branches in Anaj Mandi, Fatima Jinnah Road, Nasim Nagar, and Liaquatabad. In Nawabshah District, a bomb exploded outside an NBP branch on Sakrand road. In Dadu District, an under construction NBP branch was targeted near the Press Club. Also, two branches of NBP in Larkana District located on Bakrani Road and VIP Road were also attacked by low-intensity bombs.

The Jaffer Express which was en route to Karachi was attacked in a bomb blast in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki District.

Elsewhere in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi, unknown assailants hurled a cracker bomb near the complaint office of Karachi Electric Supply Company in Block 15. 

The nationalist parties of Sindh mounted pressure on the Government to stop the ongoing Lyari operation. They consider Lyari operation a one-sided action against the criminals in Karachi and an attack on the already oppressed Baloch population. Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah-led SUP called for a province-wide protest on May 5, 2012. JSQM, STPP and Awami Tehreek are scheduled to hold protest demonstrations in Sindh on May 4, 2012.

An official of the FC was killed while another sustained injuries as a remote-controlled bomb exploded in Kalat District. Assistant Commissioner Noor Baksh confirmed the casualty and number of injured. Sources said that the blast targeted an FC convoy which was patrolling in the area. 

A bullet-riddled dead body, identified as that of one Shah Zaman, was found in Mastung District. “The body had multiple wounds,” sources said.               

The nephew of Mir Fhaiq Ali Khan Jamali, a former Provincial Minister, identified as Rohsan Ali Jamali and his driver, identified as Munir Shah, were abducted by a group of armed militants from Dhadar area of Bolan District while he was on his way to Jaffarabad District. 

The Supreme Court summoned Balochistan’s top Government officials to explain progress, or lack thereof, on the issue of ‘missing persons’ during the hearing of a case on the volatile security situation in the province.

Hearing the case, Justice Chaudhry censured the Federal Government and Security Agencies over their lack of progress and the Provincial Government’s apparent helplessness.

The contractor, Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai, who took up the contract for the demolition of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad house, was getting life threat. Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai told AFP that the Taliban had sent him threatening letters. 

A BBC report said that contrary to the perception that Osama bin Laden lived in seclusion for nearly five years in Pakistan's Abbottabad, he travelled to the restive Waziristan region to attend a dinner about a year before he was killed.

Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said Government of Pakistan and armed forces played a vital role in capturing former al Qaeda chief through a mobile phone’s chip/SIM.

The Annual Report, Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, released by Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan reported that the hate campaign against the Ahmadis reached new heights in Pakistan and even innocent children are not spared now.

The report urged the Government to consider Ahmadiyya-specific laws and ensure that Ahmadis in Pakistan were given equal rights as any other citizen. “Ahmadis are facing legal, social, cultural and political discrimination because of these laws which are against the very base of our society where equal rights of individual are prime,” it added.

Al Qaeda was plotting to carry out audacious terror attacks in Europe similar to 26/11 Mumbai strikes, a "treasure trove" of documents embedded inside a porn movie recovered from a terrorist returning from Pakistan has revealed. The al Qaeda plots were found inside encoded inside a movie stored in a digital disk, after Police arrested Austrian Maqsood Lodin (22) in Berlin on May 16, 2011.

Claiming that the documents uncovered are "pure gold", US intelligence sources told CNN they were the most important haul of al Qaeda materials in 2011, besides those found when US Navy SEALs raided Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan.

The pact between the US and Afghanistan could leave the door open for continued drone strikes against militant targets in Pakistan after 2014, US Ambassador Ryan Crocker indicated.

The Chairman of the PCNS Raza Rabbani made it clear that the drone strikes, despite remarks of some senior US officials, were a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, and had to stop.

The Pakistan Government desire to expand ties with India in diverse fields, especially trade, while maintaining peace and promoting prosperity in the region, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.

The KP cabinet was informed by Police Department that 97 persons, including 25 Policemen and a soldier of the Frontier Constabulary, were killed in 105 terror attacks during the first quarter of 2012 in KP. Of 331 people wounded in the quarter, 68 were police, Police officials told the KP cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti. Attacks damaged 14 Police vehicles, 4 Police Stations, 21 schools, 2 bridges, 4 electricity towers and 45 private vehicles, Police told the cabinet.

A report released by UNESCO ranks Pakistan as the second-most dangerous country for journalists in 2010-2011. Mexico was the most dangerous, with 18 journalist fatalities in that time frame. Two Pakistani journalists were killed in 2006-2007, followed by six in 2008-2009 and 16 in 2010-2011, the report, “The Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity,” found. Forty-two journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

May 3

Five persons, among them three SF personnel, were killed in two back-to-back bomb explosions in Chamarkand area, some 25 kilometres from Khar town, in Bajaur Agency of FATA. Sources said that Anar Gul and his son Adeel were killed when they stepped on a bomb planted by terrorists in Chamarkand area. The second bomb went off after SF personnel reached the incident site about half an hour later. Two FC personnel, identified as Afsar Ali and Sobedar Riaz, and Hawaldar Ruhul Amin of Levies Force were killed and another was injured in the second explosion. SFs launched a search operation in the area and detained 12 suspects.

At least five Policemen and four criminals were killed in a gun battle between the Police and gangsters on the seventh day of Lyari operation in Lyari area of Karachi. The Lyari gangsters, including PAC, remained on a standstill position and used automatic weapons, rockets and grenade against the Police, killing five of them. 

Police claimed to have killed four cadres of PAC. The gangsters removed dead bodies of two of the four killed - Junaid and Shehzad, Police said. Residents of the area said both, Junaid and Shehzad, were not criminals. They were residents of Baghdadi area and Shehzad was a contractor while Junaid was a security guard at Bilawal House. 

According to details, Police set up temporary check post in Singo Lane and Afshani Gali. Police tightened the grip in the area and blocked all major roads leading to Lyari, including Cheel Chowk, Ghulam Abbas Road, Dhobi Ghaat, Mira Naka, Maripur Road and Shershah Road.

Elders of various Baloch tribes were trying to convince Uzair Baloch, Zafar Baloch and Baba Ladla of PAC to evacuate the area or surrender. Sources privy to the development said that elders of PAC gangsters were ready to surrender, but were seeking the assurance of their dominated areas. The PAC believed that the authorities would hand over Lyari to their rival Arshad alias Pappu gang. Source said Police had decided to hand over Lyari to the Pappu gang after the evacuation of PAC operatives. Sources pointed out that gangsters having affiliation with rival gangs were also among the Police in a drive against PAC.

Uzair Baloch, the head of the PAC and “Lyari’s most wanted” criminal, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that he will not surrender to the Police. But, he added, that he will surrender to the Rangers “only on one condition, that they should investigate themselves”. “We will welcome the Rangers… But we do not trust the Government,” he added. “The people of Lyari can bow down if treated with love, but they will never stoop under power.”

The Sindh Police IG Mushtaq Shah said that the Police are hopeful of achieving their target in Lyari by May 5, 2012. He said that the area where the operation is being carried out is the main headquarter of the terrorists, and the Police will try to clear out the area of criminal elements.

Later the Government gave 48 hours to ‘miscreants’ active in Lyari and elsewhere to surrender their weapons and ordered paramilitary Rangers to take positions along with Police to weed out criminals. Interior Minister Rehman Malik asked people to give the Government one month to expose the elements who were involved in terrorism and destroying Karachi’s peace.

Two people, including former Army man, were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi. Ex-Army man, identified as Saiful Mulk (40), was shot dead and two others, Ismail and Special Branch Police Constable Abdul Ghani, were injured in Rabbani Mohalla, Frontier Colony within the limits of Pirabad Police Station. 

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man in Juma Goth within the precincts of Ibrahim Hyderi Police Station. SHO Naik Mohammad Jakhrani said the victim appeared to be Baloch speaking.

Two brothers, Azizullah and Ali Akbar Khilji, were shot dead when armed assailants opened fire on them in Asmatabad area of Quetta. 

Unidentified militants abducted three truck drivers from a roadside restaurant on the National Highway in Dadhar area of Bolan District. The Quetta-based drivers were identified as Khair Muhammad, Muhammad Aslam and Muhammad Ishaq. All of them belonged to the Satakzai tribe.                      

The Balochistan Government announced PKR 500,000 cash prize for those who would provide information about the suicide attack on the residence of an official of the Frontier Corps in Quetta on September 7, 2011.

A religious scholar and teacher of Darul Uloom Haqqania, Maulana Naseeb, was found dead on Ring Road in Nowshera town of same District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police said that Naseeb had been abducted by unidentified people from Taru Jaba area of Nowshera District a few days ago. A statement issued by the seminary following his disappearance had alleged that secret agencies had picked up Maulana Naseeb when he was on his way to Kohat for a protest. 

Law enforcement agencies arrested a key ‘commander’ of LI, Hussain alias Hamza, during a raid on a compound in jurisdiction of West Cantonment Police Station of Peshawar. Sources said the arrested militant was wanted by security agencies for terrorist activities, including bomb blasts. 

Police arrested a militant, Qari Atiq, along with his friend during an operation in the Odigram area of Swat District. Sources said that Qari Atiq was wanted to the Police for making provocative speeches and burning of TV sets and CDs.

The Supreme Court directed the Balochistan IGP to produce all missing persons before the court and submit a progress report. “People accuse FC or security agencies of illegal arrests but police have to investigate these cases,” CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked during a hearing of missing persons’ cases at the court’s Quetta Registry.

The bench expressed strong resentment when informed that Home Minister Zehri did not disclose the names of ministers allegedly involved in kidnappings for ransom.

He criticised the Police and Provincial Government, saying law enforcement agencies had failed to produce a single missing person even after a lapse of three days since the court passed its orders in this regard.

Chaudhry, however, said the situation in Balochistan is not as bad as is being portrayed outside the Province. He expressed this during a meeting with the Supreme Court Bar Association’s Executive Committee, including SCBA President Yasin Azad, who called on him at the Supreme Court Quetta Registry.

A SCBA Executive Committee member said that Balochistan needs a good administrator to resolve its issues, as the incumbent provincial Government had failed to resolve people’s problems.

There have been a number of clashes reported as some Kashmiri militants in training camps in PoK have wished to return to India. There are growing incidents of clashes between militants wanting to return to Jammu and Kashmir from training camps in PoK and those wanting to stay on, intelligence sources say.

Indian Army sources say there are about 2,500 militants in various training camps in PoK. There are over 40 such camps on the other side of LoC.

The US released 17 documents found during the May 1-2, 2011, raid at slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. The White House allowed the declassified documents to be published online by the Combating Terrorism Centre at the West Point military academy.

In letters from his last hideout, Osama bin Laden fretted about dysfunction in his terrorist network and crumbling trust from Muslims he wished to incite against their governments and the West. “I plan to release a statement that we are starting a new phase to correct (the mistakes) we made,” bin Laden wrote in 2010.

Pakistan was working with the US at various levels to resolve all outstanding issues, including an alternative to drone attacks, Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said.

The US State Department said the United States and Pakistan were committed to working through bilateral problems as doing so was in both countries’ national interests. The State Department said the two countries had a shared struggle against the menace of terrorism, which had claimed lives of thousands of Pakistanis.

May 4

A suicide attack targeting SFs killed at least 29 persons, including four Policemen, and injured over 73 others at Khar Bazaar in Khar town of Bajaur Agency in FATA. The target of the attack was Levies Force. According to sources, Levies Force personnel were conducting routine checking at Khar Bazaar when a suicide bomber blew himself that killed eight persons initially. A senior official confirmed that it was a suicide attack and four Policemen were killed in the blast. An official from the area said that initial reports suggested that the target of the bomber was Subedar Major Javed and Subedar Fazl Rabi. 

TTP claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to The Express Tribune. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said that their targets were Levies officials Subedar Major Javed Khan and Subedar Quarter Master Fazl Rabi. Fazal Rabi, according to Ehsan, was honoured with a ‘presidential award’ (Tamgha-e-Shujaat or medal of bravery) for killing several TTP militants. “While (Subedar) Major Javed was involved in the killing of Shaikh Marwan,” he said. Shaikh Marwan was an Arab militant ‘commander’ who was killed by Levies personnel before the 2008 military operation in Bajaur Agency. The TTP ‘spokesperson’ Ehsanullah Ehsan further said that the group knew all those involved in ‘activity’ against the Taliban, and warned that such people “will be treated with iron hands”.

The political administration of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency issued notices to Shalobar area residents, asking them to vacate their houses and shift to safer places within four days so that an effective search operation against militants could be carried out.

Khyber Agency Political Agent Mutahir Zeb asked the elders of Akkakhel tribe during a jirga in Khyber House to return to Akkakhel areas where the Government writ had been restored after a successful military operation and formation of local peace committees. Mr Zeb claimed that almost 80 per cent of Akkakhel area had been cleared of militants and it was safe for the local people now living in Jalozai camp to come back to their native areas.

Three people, including a Police Officer and a political activist, were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi. Finance Secretary of PPP Culture Wing, Rana Amir (35), was shot dead while a passerby, identified as Tauseef (25), was injured in New Karachi area within the limits of Bilal Colony Police Station. 

A man, Sabir Hussain alias Babu (32) was shot dead while he was sitting with his friends near Chaghi Hotel, Qasba Colony within the limits of Pirabad Police Station 

A Police Officer, identified as Syed Sabtain Naqvi, was shot dead near Mughal Kanta, Kunwari Colony, within the jurisdiction of Pirabad Police Station.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government primary school with explosives under the Shabqadar Police Station area in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police registered a case against two serving Majors of FC, Major Nadeem and Major Tahir, on the orders of the Supreme Court for abducting a man, identified as Ali Hasan Mengal, from Wadh area of Khuzdar District on November 4, 2011. Ali Gohar Mengal, the son of the abductee, submitted an application in the Apex Court accusing two officers of FC of being involved in it and said that Police had not registered a case. 

Three missing persons of Quetta, identified as Safar Khan, Mohammad Kareem and Doha Khan, reached home late on the night of May 3. All three went missing on April 1, 2012 from the Marwar area of Quetta. 

The Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that issue of mutilated bodies of missing persons would be resolved in a week as restoration of law and order in the province was the Government’s top priority. He strongly rejected the statements by Baloch nationalists that military operation was on the go in Balochistan.

While hearing missing persons’ case CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry gave a two-week deadline to the Balochistan Chief Secretary, the IGP and the FC DIG to produce the missing persons before the court.

A Pakistan-born US teen pleaded guilty to terror charges for offering assistance to a woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” and supported a terror cell bent on waging a jihad in Europe. The 18-year-old, Mohammad Hassan Khalid, faces a 15-year prison sentence for a single count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists for his offer to raise money and recruit terrorists.

At least 11 persons aggrieved by the 2007 military operation in Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) registered murder and kidnapping charges against the then entire state hierarchy with the City Police. A Senior Police Officer confirmed that the Aabpara Police Station of Islamabad entered their separate complaints in its Roznamcha.

Each of the 11 people wanted a murder or kidnapping case registered against former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, his cabinet members, including the then Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and religious minister Ejazul Haq, former Federal Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah, the then area Corps Commander, Director General Rangers, Senior Officers of the City Police and Administration – and also any person these accused name during their interrogation.

At least eight rockets were fired in Cheel Chowk, Gabool Park and Afshani Gali areas of Karachi, injuring two Policemen. Amidst the firing the Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that the ongoing Lyari operation would be suspended for 48 hours. The move came on the heels of the Sindh Government’s decision to offer surrender to the criminals operating in the area. Police and Frontier Constabulary were asked to withdraw from the areas where the clashes were taking place. The Interior Minister, however, said Police would remain in Lyari to prevent attacks by the gangsters.  The CID Police claimed to have destroyed a post of gangsters in Afshani Street and recovered arms and ammunition. 

The PAC Chairman Uzair Baloch who had on May 3, 2012 agreed to surrender went back on his offer, saying that the locals had asked him against doing so.

President Asif Zardari said both force and political means would be used to curb law and order situation in Lyari. The President said that the restoration of complete law and order and the protection of lives and property of the citizens in Karachi was the priority of the Government. He said no compromise would be made in this regard. He directed that action should be taken against all violators, regardless of their affiliation, if any.

A shutter-down strike was observed in major cities of Balochistan to condemn the ongoing security operation in Lyari, a Baloch-dominated area of Karachi. The strike call was given by the BRP and supported by BSO.

BNP workers also staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan and raised slogans against the Government and Police for their “brutal policies against the Baloch”.

Up to nearly 300 VVIPs, including the country’s Defence and Foreign Ministers, use tinted glasses in their vehicles in clear violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, which forbids its use on security and health grounds. The Ministry of Interior, however, says it has allowed over 285 VVIPs to use tinted glasses, according to official documents submitted to the National Assembly.

May 5

At least 10 persons were killed while one was injured when US drone attacked a house in Darr-e-Nishtar area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA early in the morning.

Two suspects were arrested near Khar during a search operation. Weapons, grenades, suicide jackets and other explosive devices were seized, he added.

16 TTP militants, belonging to different tribes, including Masoodzai, Ali Sher, Afridi and Manttak (Orakzai), surrendered to the Government authorities in Kurram Agency. The militants gave up their weapons before the political administration in presence of the media in Parachinar, the headquarters of the region.

At least seven people, including a PPP activist’s son, were killed in a recent spate of target killings in Karachi. Unidentified armed assailants opened fire on a roadside chicken shop near Kati Pahari area, killing Muzamil Khan (29) on the spot and injuring his nephew Imran Khan (23) and a passerby, identified as Ghayas Rasheed (30).

One Rasheed, an employee of a printing press, was killed while he was passing through the area when a bullet pierced his head. Another passerby identified as Farman succumbed to his injuries due to indiscriminate firing near Aligarh Colony. 

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead one Saleem near Metro Cinema in Orangi Town No 1. 

A private airline’s supervisor, Javed Akhtar (58), was shot dead near Bahria graveyard in Dalmia in Sharah-e-Faisal Police precincts. 

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man near Jama Cloth in the Aram Bagh Police precincts. Police said the deceased had a bullet mark on his abdomen and seemed a Baloch.  

A teenage boy, identified as Jawed Khan (19), was shot dead outside his house on the Super Highway in the Sohrab Goth Police precincts. 

Armed clash between two parties in Lines Area left four people injured.

Police arrested two militants, identified as Ilyas and Akbar Zeb, affiliated with the Maulana Fazlullah faction of TTP, during a raid in Zarakhela area within the jurisdiction of Shamozai Police Station in Swat District.

After the chaotic eight days of gun battle between the Police and Lyari gangsters, life was finally seen progressing toward normalcy. The residents of Lyari, who remained huddled in their homes for over a week, finally felt ease as markets, schools, colleges and hospitals began opening. According to Police sources, the Sindh Police spent PKR 0.4 million daily on midday and night meals of some 1,400 law enforcers. In totality, sources said that the Sindh Government spent PKR 3.2 million only on meals during the weeklong operation. Despite spending huge amount on the operation, the Sindh Police provided a financial shock of PKR 15 million to the exchequer as some 20 vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers and police mobiles, were disfigured by the gangsters. 

Rangers started snap checking and patrolling in several parts of Lyari and rumours poured in that they might start operation anytime. However, Brigadier Waseem Ayub dispelled the impression as saying that no operation had begun in Lyari and the personnel were deployed just for the routine snap checking and patrolling.

BRP press release read that the random abductions and extra-judicial killings of the Baloch are on the rise in Balochistan. The presser also read on one hand, Pakistani officials and the Supreme Court claimed that they were making efforts to recover Baloch missing persons and to stop the dumping of decomposed bodies, on the other hand, Security Forces continued to abduct torture and extra-judicially kill them.                                                        

The released further read, the area always suffered from military offensives and the residents are threatened by the forces to quit the area so that they could pave the way for multi-national oil and gas companies. The only aim of the so-called efforts of the judiciary and claims of law enforcers about the recovery of the Baloch missing persons is to hide ground realities from the world.

Drone strikes on targets inside Pakistan will continue, said US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, rejecting Pakistan’s protest that the attacks were a violation of its sovereignty. Panetta’s first rejection of Pakistan’s stance on this issue came in an interview on with Judy Woodruff of the Bloomberg Television who pointed out that last week a senior White House official had acknowledged that the US was conducting drone strikes inside Pakistan.

“But let me just say this. We were attacked. The United States was attacked on 9/11. And we know who attacked us, we know that al Qaeda was behind it, and we are going to do everything we can, use whatever operations we have to, in order to make sure that we protect this country and make sure that that kind of attack never happens again,” he added.

May 6

Nine soldiers were killed and 12 more injured when unidentified militants ambushed a military convoy at Amin Check post, a security outpost on a hilltop outside Miranshah, in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. “Militants hiding there, opened fire at the soldiers with AK-47 assault rifles and RPG,” an unnamed senior Pakistan Army official said on condition of anonymity.

Eight militants were killed in Mamozai and Khadizai areas of Orakzai Agency. Security Forces attacked militant hideouts and killed eight militants, officials said, adding that two lairs were destroyed. 

Two persons were killed and a woman injured when unidentified militants attacked the house of a pro-government tribal elder, Malik Rehan, in Turbat area of Central Kurram Agency.

Nine Shias, including four women, sustained injuries when unidentified militants ambushed a passenger van at Arawali Sakhi Ahmed Shah village in Lower Kurram Agency. The sources said that the passenger van was heading to Peshawar from Parachinar when the militants targeted it near Arawali Sakhi Ahmed Shah village.

Unidentified militants blew up a girls’ middle school in Kari Kot area, five kilometres from Wana town of the South Waziristan Agency.

A primary school was blown up in Halimzai area of Mohmand Agency. However no loss of life was reported as the school was closed due to Sunday holiday. 

The Khasadar Force recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from Tirah area in Khyber Agency, but the alleged smuggler managed to escape from the recover site. Sources said that the administration was informed that a pickup was using Ziarai route to smuggle a bulk of arms and ammunition from the upper Tirah area. 

The Khyber Agency political administration has extended its deadline until May 8 to begin a fresh offensive against extremists and miscreants in Shalobar tribe of Bara. The militants have accelerated their attacks on the SFs in Shalobar area during the last couple of weeks. The military operation has been going in various parts of Bara for the last three years, but the law and order situation could not be controlled.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead a Hazara man, identified as Muhammad Ali, in Dasht area of Mastung District. A levies official said the man belonged to the Hazara community and that it was a sectarian killing.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a man, identified as Kuda Baksh, in Goth Haji Murad area of Hub in Lasbela District.  

A man was shot dead near Faizabad area on Sariab Road area of Quetta.

Two persons, Auleer Wani and Shanawaz, were injured in a landmine explosion at Mondrani near Sui area of Dera Bugti District. According to Police, the victims were on their way when their motorbike hit a roadside landmine planted by unidentified militants. 

Police foiled a terrorism bid after they recovered 20 kilogrammes of explosive material from a passenger train at the Chaman Railway Station in Qilla Abdullah District. 

Two truck drivers, identified as Hazoor Bakhsh and Allah Rakha, were abducted from Bolan District. Following the incident, a large number of truck drivers and transporters blocked the National Highway and protested the abduction of drivers. 

Three truck drivers, who were abducted from National Highway in Dadhar area of Bolan District on May 3, 2012 reached home. The abductors freed the drivers in Dera Allahyar area of Jaffarabad District.

Two persons, including an ASI, were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi. An unidentified dead body of a man was found in a gunny bag from Swat Colony within Mauripur Police limits. 

ASI Aslam Qadri (45) was shot dead in an act of target killing in Rajput Colony in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area within the jurisdiction of Mobina Town Police Station. 

A Sub Inspector Azhar and a Police Constable Zafar were wounded when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on Police mobile near Micasa Apartment within Aziz Bhatti Police precincts.

Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik said that no grand operation in Lyari was on cards. He said that only a targeted operation would be conducted in Lyari along with Police and Rangers. He said that Rangers and Police had been deployed in Lyari to protect people from criminals and gangsters, adding that Police did not lose the battle in the area.

Asking political parties to keep a distance from criminal groups in Lyari he said, “Contacts of some political parties with criminals in Lyari will result in lawlessness and such a move can be questioned according to law of land.”

While dismissing speculations about a “political solution” with the members of the PAC, the Minister said that the PAC members “could not be called politicians” and that there was no possibility of drawing them into negotiations. Malik said that they should “surrender, prove their innocence and then they will have every right to become politicians.” 

Responding to a suggestion given for handing over the criminals to the Punjab Police, the Interior Minister said that if they thought such an action would save them, they were mistaken. “The Punjab Police, too, have to work according to the law,” he said, adding that the constitution does not allow one to commit crime in one district and get prosecuted for it in another. “

Intelligence agencies expressed fears that the associates of Doctor Arshad Waheed, who was killed in a drone attack in 2008, may have rejoined militant activities after their release from custody.

The documents based on the reports submitted to the Federal Review Board (a judicial body formed by the Supreme Court to examine the detention cases of suspects) by the ISI, MI and the Interior Ministry said that some suspects who had been detained under the Security of Pakistan Act 1952 and were then released by the courts were no longer present at their given addresses.

The documents said the Agencies had information about their reunion with the terrorist groups. Doctor Akmal Waheed, a cardiologist, and his brother Doctor Arshad Waheed were accused of having links with al Qaeda, attacking Karachi Corps Commander’s convoy in 2004 and financially aiding and harboring activists of the Jundallah outfit. They were, however, exonerated from charges in 2006. Doctor Arshad was killed in a US drone attack in Waziristan in March 2008.

American Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that his country is a failed state and no amount of US aid money will ever change that.

In his letter, Rohrabacher condemned a recent Police action that resulted in the death of four Baloch men. "Pakistan's future will remain bleak and marred by political violence as long as the Pakistani Government and military continue to deny ethnic groups within Pakistan a right to self-determination," he wrote. 

Washington cautioned Islamabad of ‘multiple repercussions’, if the six-month-long blockade of NATO supplies is not lifted. The implications include a halt in US assistance for the country’s fragile economy and squeezing the political space available to the ruling PPP by relying on other political groups, according to officials familiar with the development.

“A message has been conveyed at the highest level that if the Government cannot take a decision regarding NATO supplies, the US will rely on Nawaz Sharif,” he disclosed.

The TTP killed 14 soldiers in Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA along the Afghan border. Militants beheaded all but one of them and hung two of the heads from wooden poles in the centre of the Zafar Town chowk.

Unidentified motorcyclists shot dead an activist of Kukikhel Peace Committee, Bulbul Shah, in Jamrud area of Khyber Agency.

SFs arrested man Irshad, a resident of Karkanai, wanted in a number of sabotage acts. He had links with militant group operating in Landi Kotal.

Hundreds of families began to leave Shalobar area of Khyber Agency after receiving final directives from the political administration. The authorities set a 48-hour deadline to Shalobar tribe to leave the area where a military operation against militant groups is on card.

A vehicle of the Uch Gas Field escaped a remote-controlled blast in Nuzband Pul area of Sohbatpur in Jaffarabad District.

A marble trader and an activist of MQM, Unit 190, Zafar Iqbal (46), was shot dead and a passerby Abdul Rehman (30) was injured when two unidentified armed assailants fired at Iqbal's shop situated near Bara Board within the remit of Pak Colony Police Station in Karachi. Police officials said that apparently Lyari gangsters were involved in the incident.

Anti-Extremism Cell of the CID claimed to have arrested three suspects allegedly affiliated with the BLA from Sher Shah Locality. The arrestees were identified as Abdul Ghaffar Bugti, Faisal Bugti and Shams Uddin Bugti. SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam said that the BLA militants were arrested on a tip-off after they arrived in the city from Balochistan to deliver rockets and ammunition to the PAC. Nine rockets and 550 rounds were recovered from their possession.

During the initial course of interrogation, the accused persons confessed to have delivered six consignments of rockets, mini rockets, grenades, launchers, guns and ammunition to the PAC or Lyari gangsters.

Police arrested three wanted militants, Azam Khan, Mazeed Khan and Fareed Khan, during a raid in Naryab area of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ATC during a proceeding that was held at Central Jail Peshawar indicted chief of TNSM Sufi Muhammad and 19 others accused, including two of his close aides, charged by Khwazakhela Police Station for abducting Policemen and challenging Government's writ in 1995. The court also framed charges against 19 others accused, including key TNSM leaders Maulana Khalid and Maulana Safiullah, in the same case and adjourned hearing until May 15, 2012. The court indicted the accused after their refusal to accept the allegations.

As the Federal Government reply was not submitted, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed postponed until May 21, 2012, a hearing of the petition filed by JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his Deputy Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, seeking Government's protection for US bounty on their heads.

On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a reply was submitted on April 25, 2012, stating that the US Government had fixed head money on Hafiz Saeed and Hafiz Makki, but it would neither be binding on Pakistani Government nor applicable in Pakistan. The reply also stated that the Pakistani Government takes action against its citizens only on solid proofs and the US Government was told to provide convincing proofs against Hafiz Saeed.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant messages, said that al Qaeda's media arm as-Sahab posted the video of American hostage Warren Weinstein on Jihadi forums. Weinstein was abducted on August 13, 2011, from Model Town area of Lahore District in Punjab province after armed militants tricked his guards and broke into his house.

In a video message posted on militant websites in December 2011 al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said Weinstein would be released if the US stopped air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world.

US State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said that cooperation with Pakistan continues in the Warren Weinstein case. The spokesperson said that co-operation with Pakistani law enforcement continues on the matter.

The US House Armed Services Committee chairman Republican Buck McKeon called for a bar on preferential import of goods or services from Pakistan until they re-open the NATO supply routes. In a release of his draft bill of the National Defense Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2013, the US Republican Congressman also called for a bar on support or reimbursement provided to Pakistan until the Secretary of Defense provides a report on "the model for reimbursement, including how claims are proposed and adjudicated new conditions or caveats that the Government of Pakistan places on the use of its supply routes and the new cost associated with transit through supply routes in Pakistan."

39 persons were killed in two days of clashes between SFs and militants in Miranshah area of North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Officials said 12 SF personnel, 10 civilians, including women and children, and 17 militants were killed. The officials said 72 persons were injured, adding that casualty figure could go up because some persons were still trapped under the debris of houses flattened by flying shells from explosions in arms and ammunition stores hit by helicopter gunships. Most of the militants were killed in an artillery attack on a compound. They were militants of TTP comprising both Punjabi and Mehsud fighters.

The bullet-riddled bodies of two militants, Taj Mohammad and Haider, were found at Niazi Market in Bara area of Khyber Agency. The unidentified assailants had left a chit with the bodies, warning locals that anyone found assisting or harboring activists of LI would meet the same fate.

Two AI militants were killed and four others injured when they clashed with the rival LI in Toor Zangal area of Tirah valley. Sources said that clashes took place between AI and LI in Toor Zangal area when both groups tried to capture each other's positions.

SFs set on fire eight hideouts of suspected terrorists during a search operation in Mulla Ghani Baba, Pipal Banda, Fatah Maina and Izzat Lal Banda areas of Mohmand Agency.

Normalcy is returning to Bajaur Agency and political administration has lifted curfew and trade centres, educational institutions and offices have been reopened. The trade centres, bazaars and markets in Khar, Inayat Kallay and other parts of the agency had been closed after May 4's suicide attack in Bajaur.

Four persons were killed in separate acts of target killing in different parts of Karachi. A Shia man and an activist of MQM, identified as Mirza Sarfaraz (38), was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants near Chamcha Hotel in Orangi Town within the limits of Orangi Town Police Station while going to open his general store in the area.

A man, identified as Naseebullah (39), was shot dead near Iqra Medical Centre, Qasba Colony with the limits of Pirabad Police Station.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man from Guru Mandir, within the jurisdiction of Soldier Bazaar Police Station.

One Juma Khan (35), a cadre of PAC was shot dead by four armed assailants in Hashim Baghicha, within the precincts of Nabi Bux Police Station.

Unknown armed militants shot at and injured CID SP Shahnawaz Khan in Satellite Town area of Quetta while he was outside his house for a walk. He succumbed to his injuries later.

A large number of vehicles and motorbikes were destroyed when a bomb exploded near the office of the Panjgur DC in Panjgur District. Sources said a bomb was attached to a motorbike that was later parked in the parking lot of the DC office.

According to VFBMP President Nasrullah Baloch, two more missing persons, Shahnawaz and Sanaullah, reached their homes in Nawa Killi area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Earlier, five out of seven persons, who were abducted from Marwar area of Mach Town in Bolan District on April 11, 2012, had been recovered following the directive of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhary.

JWP provincial chief Shahzain Bugti while speaking to the media after appearing at a Session's Court in Quetta for the hearing of an illegal arms possession case claimed that the arms recovery case against him is forged and he will not appeal against it. He further claimed that the three Bugtis arrested from Karachi on May 7, 2012, who were believed to be from BLA, had been picked up from Quetta on January 18, 2012.

Shahzain and his 26 security guards were arrested by paramilitary FC on December 22, 2010, at the Buleli check post in Quetta for allegedly smuggling weapons.

Police foiled a sabotage bid in Hamza Town on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, by defusing a roadside bomb.

Police foiled an attempt of smuggling fake currency from tribal area and arrested the carrier on Indus Highway in Kohat.

In pursuance of the Peshawar High Court orders in various missing person cases, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary has asked the civil administration and Police in the province not to arrest and detain a person and enter private lodgings without proper sanction of law.

The militants in NWA of FATA distributed pamphlets pledging holy war to mark the first anniversary of the killing of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, albeit a week late. Masked militants armed with assault rifles handed out copies of the pamphlet from pick-up vehicles in Miranshah, the main town of the NWA that has become known as a premier al Qaeda and Taliban hub.

A Pakistan-based legal charity has sought court injunctions for the PAF to shoot down the US drones flying into the Pakistani airspace in a lawsuit. Foundation for Fundamental Rights has filed two petitions before the Peshawar High Court on behalf of victims of the drone strike carried out on March 17, 2011.

ISI DG Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam and officials from other intelligence agencies briefed the PCNS that Balochistan's law and order situation was worsening and there was strong evidence of foreign elements' involvement in it.

It particularly discussed the issue of missing persons in Balochistan. The committee was informed that 69 missing persons had been traced, adding that 23 of them were found dead. Some other missing people could not be traced, the PCNS was told.

FC Inspector General Major General Nadir Zaib and the Balochistan Home Secretary also briefed the committee. "Zaib told that all missing persons had gone to Afghanistan and no one was in the FC's custody," said a participant of the meeting.

Repeating assurances by other top Army officers, the Peshawar corps commander Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani said the Pakistan Army would launch operations in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.

Pakistan is negotiating the return of its nationals languishing in the jails of 34 countries so that they could complete their sentences in their country, the Federal Minister for Textiles Makhdoom Shahabuddin told the Senate.

The US House Appropriations subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations considered making economic and or security assistance for Pakistan subject to cooperating certification from Secretary of State. According to the draft of the fiscal year 2013 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, the House subcommittee has proposed that no assistance under the Economic Support Fund, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, Foreign Military Financing Program and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund be released until the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton certifies such to the committee.

The Government of Pakistan, according to the draft bill, must co-operate with the US in counterterrorism efforts against the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, Quetta Shura Taliban, LeT, JeM and other domestic and Foreign Terrorist Organisations. Additionally, Pakistan must also end support of such groups and "prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan for carrying out cross border attacks into neighbouring countries." The draft bill adds that the US Secretary of State must also certify that Pakistan is not supporting terrorist activities against US or coalition forces in Afghanistan.

In another stipulation, the certification requires that Pakistan's Military and Intelligence Agencies are not "intervening extra-judicially into political and judicial processes in Pakistan." The draft bill expected to be addressed in the subcommittee's session on May 9, also calls for Pakistan to dismantle the IED networks, prevent proliferation of nuclear material, and give humanitarian organisations access to detainees, IDPs and those affected by the conflict.

A press release on the subcommittee's website says that the bill has slashed funding for the Global War on terror by USD 3 billion to USD 8.2 billion, which has reduced funding for programs in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Parliamentarians from FATA have taken strong exception to a resolution adopted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly asking for merger of FATA with the province. Condemning the resolution, they said that only people of FATA had the right to decide about future of FATA.

The commander of Pakistan's forces along the frontier Lieutenant-General Khalid Rabbani accused the US of seeking to make Pakistan a scapegoat for its failure to beat the insurgency in Afghanistan.

The US efforts to talk peace with Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan mean Washington can no longer expect Pakistan to attack all the militant factions on its side of the border, some of whom Islamabad is also reaching out to, he argued. One powerful faction in North Waziristan Agency of FATA in Pakistan is led by a commander called Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is believed to have signed a nonaggression pact with the Government but still funnels fighters into Afghanistan.

At least 10 TTP militants were killed and several others injured when Army helicopter gunships heavily pounded suspected hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA near Afghan border.

Six militants were killed during a clash between the LI and AI in Toorikhel area of Tirah Valley. Clashes between the two groups take place frequently as Ansarul Islam fights the LI to gain control of the area.

Tribal elders handed over to the political authorities the heads of two soldiers who had been killed during clashes with militants in North Waziristan Agency. The tribal elders led by Maulvi Gul Ramazan held talks with the militants at an unspecified place.

Four people, including a journalist of a local newspaper, were killed in different areas of Karachi. Police found two dead bodies, identified as that of Fawad Sheikh (31) and a Chief reporter of a local Sindhi Newspaper Tariq Kamal (35) from Lyari Naddi near Love Lane Bridge situated within the limits of Pak Colony Police Station.

An activist of the PML-N, identified as Malik Shahbaz, was shot dead in Junejo Town within the precincts of Baloch Colony Police Station.

A dead body identified as that of Mohammad (45) was found from Moosa Lane within the jurisdiction of Baghdadi Police Station. They said that the victim was had been missing since the evening of May 8, 2012.

A Police constable Mukhtiar and another person Faisal were injured when two armed motorcyclists opened fire at the Police personnel sitting at a hotel at Super Highway within the jurisdiction of Sohrab Goth Police Station. DSP Iftikhar Lodhi claimed that Sher Zaman Mehsud faction of TTP was involved in the attack.

Elsewhere in the District, tension engulfed Empress Market and its surrounding areas after an armed attack on an activist of the ANP.

A Hindu beggar, identified as Ram Chand, was sitting in Killi Faizabad area of Sariab in Quetta when unidentified armed militants opened fire on him killing him on the spot.

Police found a dead body, identified as that of one Shahnawaz, in Killi Shanawaz area of Sariab.

Another missing person, Babul Khan, reached his home in Bolan District. Police said Babul Khan had been missing from Dhadar area of the District few months ago.

The VBMP group alleged that the three men, Abdul Ghaffar, Shamsuddin Bugti, and Saifal Bugti, reportedly arrested from Lyari in Karachi and presented before the media as terrorists belonging to BLA are the students of Balochistan University who had been missing since January, 2012.

BRP press release stated that the military operations continue full-fledged and offensives in many parts of Balochistan have become a routine. In a most common fashion, a large number of Pakistani troops, with their armoured vehicles, lay siege to the area from where they want to drive out the Baloch, bomb the area for hours, torch houses and harass and torture women, children and aged people, loot valuables and livestock and sometimes burn the livestock and people alive, the press release read.

It also read that a Dera Bugti video showed security forces poisoning lakes, wells and other sources of water. The BRP press release read further that SFs were also seen laying landmines all over the area, especially fields and paths leading to lakes and wells. The latest offensive- affected areas were Pashenee, Takrav, Kaleri, Seyahtank, Suri and Karbur in Dera Bugti.

The press release read Pakistani forces began major offensives against innocent Baloch. SFs laid siege to the area and blocked entry and exit ways. According to the press release, SFs were also using gunship helicopters and heavy artillery.

The under-construction mausoleum of famous poet and politician Ajmal Khan Khattak in Akora Khattak area of Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was blown up and another explosion an hour later injured 12 persons who had gathered at the place. Khattak, a former president of the ANP, died in February 2010. Police said it was widely believed that the explosion was the handiwork of TTP who had earlier blown up shrines and mosques.

The Gilgit Baltistan Government has linked the opening of the mosques sealed in Gilgit in the aftermath of sectarian violence, which erupted on April 3, 2012, with the acceptance of the code of conduct that bars prayer leaders from making hate speeches. The code of conduct, prepared by a parliamentary peace committee, binds prayer leaders of both central mosques not to malign each other's beliefs or to use foul language against the rival sect's revered personalities.

The parliamentary committee on May 7 handed over the code of conduct to the Masjid Board that is represented by 20 members, 10 each from Shia and Sunni sects, who will be responsible for ensuring that the code is implemented. The Masjid Board is responsible for implementation of the 15-point code of conduct which is binding on prayer leaders in Gilgit.

Following sectarian violence in early April, the Government sealed the doors of central mosques, barring people from offering prayers there.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said that Pakistan is the part of solution, not problem on fighting terrorism. According to Gilani, Pakistan was "part of the solution, not part of the problem" when it came to the "global issue" of fighting terrorism. He alleged that the US had fuelled the problem by abandoning its ally Pakistan once the Soviets had been driven from Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said that Pakistan and the United Kingdom were partners in the fight against terrorism and extremism and his country was committed to fighting the scourge till its elimination.

Three men were shot dead, allegedly in ethnic and sectarian attacks, in separate areas of Karachi. Two men, identified as Mohabbat Khan (24) and Samiullah alias Sona, were shot dead in Korangi 6 within the limits of Awami Colony Police Station.

A Shia man, Syed Zain Hassan (24), was shot dead at Labour Square, Site within the jurisdiction of Site B Police Station.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a man, identified as Ghulam Muhayyuddin, in the Faizabad area of Sariab in Quetta.

A Police official was killed and three others were injured when a patrolling Police vehicle was attacked with a remote controlled bomb on Qambrani Road in Quetta.

Aman, identified as Haji Asad, was injured in a remote-controlled blast in the Mand area of Kech (Turbat) District.

A former member of a local peace committee was shot dead and five others injured when unidentified assailants ambushed their vehicle near Khwar in the Gomal Bazar Police Station jurisdiction of Tank District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A cache of weapons voluntarily handed over to SFs by the people of Upper Dir District in April was displayed to the media in Khwazakhela.

The Marwat Qaumi Jirga of Lakki Marwat District assured SFs of its continued support and cooperation in restoration of peace and said it and locals and won't let any person or group use their soil for militancy.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IG of Prisons Khalid Abbas told the Peshawar High Court that they would resist any undue pressure from intelligence agencies if they were provided protection by the court.

Hearing several cases of missing persons, the bench fixed May 16 for further hearing while observing that the agencies should stop illegal activities till that date, failing which the court would take drastic steps against them.

The US Congress proposed stopping preferential trade with Pakistan and reducing aid to just 10 per cent of available funds unless Islamabad reopens NATO supply routes. It also approved a proposal to stop all reimbursements to the country if Pakistan continued to ignore US demands.

Earlier on May 9, a House appropriations panel for foreign aid denied USD 800 million to Pakistan from a special fund for training and equipping Pakistan's military in counter-insurgency tactics.

The US House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations called for a complete ban on economic or security assistance to Pakistan until the Secretary Of State certifies that Pakistan is cooperating and taking action against terrorist networks.

The ICRC suspended most of its aid projects in Pakistan and recalled foreign staff to the capital, following the brutal murder of a British worker Khalil Dale on April 29, 2012.

"The recent attack against the ICRC compels us to completely reassess the balance between the humanitarian impact of our activities and the risks faced by our staff," said Jacques de Maio, ICRC's operations head for South Asia.

Four children - one girl and three boys - were killed and two women got injured on May 11 when a mortar slammed into their pick-up truck in the Qamberabad area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA. The family was hit while trying to escape the area to avoid a military operation, sources added. More than 1,000 families have fled the area so far. The political administration had given a three-day deadline to the residents of Shalobar tribe to vacate the area. The residents were directed to move to Peshawar or Jalozai Camp. A UNHCR spokesperson told reporters that as many as 230,000 people have been shifted to the Jalozai Camp.

Unidentified assailants killed a tribal elder, Malik Dilawar, in Hashtnagri area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

One man was killed and several wounded when around five rockets landed in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar.

Faqirabad Circle DSP Banaras Khan survived a bomb attack near the Ring Road Bridge in Peshawar. A bomb exploded near the Ring Road bridge moments after a Police vehicle with DSP on it passed by it in the morning.

A Police Officer, identified as SI Syed Jamal Shah, was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside his residence in Killi Kamalo area on Sariab Road in Quetta.

Personnel of the AEC of the CID Sindh claimed to have arrested an arms supplier of the BLA, identified as Rehmanullah, and recovered a huge cache of arms, including two rocket launchers, 60 hand grenades, 60 locally-made bombs, two .222 rifles, four mini-rockets, two LMGs, anti-aircraft guns, and 625 rounds of other weapons from Mowach Goth area of Karachi. SSP Mohammed Aslam Khan of the AEC said that after interrogating three suspects having links with the BLA, the Police came to know that militants from various outfits, including the PAC and TTP, had been purchasing arms from them.

The held suspects told the Police that their ring leader Rehmanullah had travelled from Balochistan to Karachi (Sindh) via Feroze Coach on the night of May 10 to deliver a huge cache of arms to the militant outfits. Consequently, a team of AEC personnel in civvies was deployed at Mowach Goth intercity bus terminal and as soon as the Feroze coach arrived, they took positions and overpowered Rehmanullah. However, his accomplice Subha Khan managed to escape.

A Code of Conduct was devised to regulate the affairs of two main mosques in Gilgit city of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Masjid boards of the two sealed central mosques of ASWJ and Imamia Mosque have agreed on a code of conduct for the top khateebs (preacher) and Imams (prayer leader), strictly prohibiting use of the forums for spreading hatred.

The boards' members held several rounds of meetings with the PC, after which they reached a consensus over a code of conduct for the top prayer leaders. This code of conduct would be presented in the assembly for approval so it could be given legal cover.

The Senate was informed that the number of 'missing persons' has surged in Punjab to 246 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to 169 in the past 16 months. Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik said that 467 people went missing across the country till May 2, 2021 as compared to 138 in 2010.

According to the commission, the number of cases reported from ICT was 24 and 12 are still pending with it. The Senate was informed that 170 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 134 from Punjab were still pending, 93 cases were reported from Sindh and 71 of them were pending, while 19 cases were reported in FATA and the PoK and 12 were pending. The house was told that 91 cases were reported from Balochistan and 56 were still pending with the commission.

The HRCPs Secretary General I. A. Rehman told the media that the figure was unrealistic. "The commission may have taken into account the cases which have been reported to it because many cases go unreported in the province, but still it is unbelievable that only 56 persons are missing in Balochistan, he said.

Qadir Baloch, Vice President of the VBMP, said the release of such misleading figures is a conspiracy against the Baloch nation. "The authorities want to hide truth," he added.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated that high-value targets of al Qaeda were nailed with the cooperation of ISI Agency and CIA. In an interview to British Television, PM Gilani said Pakistan wanted political solution of Afghanistan.

The US Democrat and Republican lawmakers urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to declare the Pakistan-linked Haqqani Network a FTO for its "indiscriminate attacks" on US interests. "It was clear that the Haqqani Network continues to launch sensational and indiscriminate attacks against US interests in Afghanistan and the group poses a continuing threat to innocent men, women, and children in the region."

"However, Ambassador Ryan Crocker said that there have been no such talks since late 2011, and that President Karzai has opposed their continuation. "It is clear that there is now no reason not to designate the Haqqani Network as a FTO, and urge such action immediately." Crocker blamed April 15, 2012 18-hour assault on Kabul - the biggest to hit the Afghan capital in a decade - on the Haqqani Network, saying the group's leaders planned the attack from North Waziristan Agency of FATA in Pakistan.

Three people, including a worker of the MQM Organising Committee, were killed in separate target killing incidents in Karachi. The MQM activist identified as Rao Gulsher (50) was shot dead in AB Sinia Line in the Brigade Police precincts.

Police found the bullet-riddled body of a close aide of Lyari gangster Wasiullah Lakho, identified as Faisal alias Lamba, from the Abdullah College Street near the Khadda Market in the Kalri Police precincts.

Police found the dead body of a young man from Liaquatabad C-1 area graveyard in the Super Market Police precincts. The body has not been identified so far.

Police claimed to have arrested a target killer, identified as Abdul Jabbar Baloch, in a raid from the Bada Board area. A Kalashnikov assault rifle was recovered from him.

Police claimed to have arrested an alleged target killer from Shah Muhammad graveyard in North Karachi. Police also seized a 30-bore pistol from Zafar alias Kaki.

Unidentified armed men killed a Police constable in Sariab area in Quetta. Police said that the unidentified gunmen, riding a motorbike, opened fire on the Constable, Abdul Qadir, injuring him seriously. The victim succumbed later.

A Policeman was killed and 20 others, including six cops and a woman, were injured when two vans carrying prisoners to Mardan were attacked outside Gulbahar Police Station on GT Road in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Federal Ministry of Interior banned two organizations, Anjuman Imamia Gilgit Baltistan and Muslim Students Organization GB, reports Pak Observer. Both organizations have been banned under Anti-Terrorism Act-1997 and moreover their accounts have also been frozen.

Four persons were killed and three received injuries in clashes between rival militant groups in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. Sources said that the clashes erupted when the cadres of AI attacked Sanda Pal, a stronghold of its rival LI. Both sides used heavy weapons against each other. The daylong clashes left three members of AI and one activist of LI dead. Three LI activists were injured in the clashes, sources said.

A tribal leader, Sultan Bachazad, was shot dead in the Mamonzai area of Kurram Agency. Sources said that unidentified militants opened fire on the tribal leader as he came out of his house.

A roadside bomb injured two SF personnel near Thal Pikkat when a convoy of security officials was passing on the Razmak-Miranshah Road in NWA.

Eight mortar shells fired from Afghanistan reportedly landed into Pakistani territory in North Waziristan Agency. The mortar shells were fired by the NATO forces in Khost but landed at Ghulam Khan Border area adjacent to NWA.

Four people, including prominent Deobandi religious leader and scholar Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri and his driver were killed in separate incidents in Karachi. Four unidentified armed assailants attacked Maulana Sheikhupuri's car in a sectarian target killing near the Rangoonwala Hall in Dhoraji area killing him and his driver.

Two dead bodies of Hazara men, identified as Bahadur Khan (36) and Shay Shah Faisal, were found in Bhutto Nagar area. SHO Mazhar Iqbal Awan said that the Police found at least five empty shells of a TT pistol from the site, adding the victims were shot on their face and neck. Both victims belonged to the Hazara community and were labourers, but Police said they had no political affiliation.

Two Policemen were shot dead while two others sustained injuries when some unidentified armed militants opened fire at Police cordon in Shera Kot area of Lahore District.

A child, identified as Naveed (10), was killed while other two Majeed (13) and Rabia (7) sustained injuries when a hand grenade exploded accidentally at riverine area of the River Sutlej near Mailsi in Vehari District.

Unidentified assailants killed Maulana Syed Mohammad Mohsin Shah, a District leader of a peace jirga lashkar at Jamia Haleemia seminary in Dara Pezo of Lakki Marwat District. Shah was a former JUI-F District chief and was attacked at dawn inside his seminary at Jamia Haleemia.

Eight people, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured in a remote-controlled bomb near a Police checkpost on Ring Road near the cattle market in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A bomb blast partially damaged a railway track in Sariab area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan in the night.

The criminal gangs of Lyari continue to commit kidnapping-for-ransom, brutal killings, extortion and other sorts of crime after their successful weeklong gun battle with the Law Enforcement Agencies that left at least 40 people dead besides injuring hundred others.

The retaliation of gangsters resulted in a defeat to the law enforcers besides compelling them to retreat from the battleground where 40 people and six of their personnel were killed. Such a defeat to the Police and FCB boosted up the morale of criminals who rule the densely populated areas of Lyari.

According to sources, the PPP had reportedly given a complete go-ahead to a chief gangster Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla against Arshad Pappu and others groups. Residents confirmed that Ladla's operatives were unable to dominate the entire Lyari. They said that Lyari Police Stations were completely under the influence of gangsters for the last 10 years and Police personnel have been fearfully performing their duties after the operation.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that there is insufficient evidence to arrest Mumbai terror attack (26/11) mastermind Hafiz Saeed. "If you arrest him (Hafiz Saeed), that means he will be released by the courts. For the courts you need more evidence," he said adding, "You know the judiciary is completely independent in Pakistan."

He also believes that al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri is not in Pakistan. "Why should I think he (Zawahiri) is in Pakistan?" he asked. "You have claimed that somebody has said that he is in Pakistan: if there is any information, please share with us," he was quoted as saying. "We don't think so," he added.

The Taliban can be defeated militarily in Afghanistan but the job is not done, senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said, noting that the insurgents still control more than a third of the populated areas of the country and have a "safe harbour" in Pakistan.

Ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago, Afghanistan, Pakistan and ISAF agreed on border control mechanism while restoration of the NATO supply also came under discussion during the 35th meeting of Tripartite Commission at GHQ in Rawalpindi.

According to sources, both General Karimi and General Allen were interested in restoration of the NATO supply. But the Afghan and ISAF sides seemed to agree to General Kayani that parliament had furnished its recommendations and it is for the government to decide fate of the stalled supply to NATO, sources added.

May 14

At least 20 militants and a peace volunteer were killed and several others, including two SFs, received injuries during clashes in different parts of FATA. 12 militants were killed and several others injured when SFs pounded their hideouts with artillery and helicopter gunships in two different areas of Kurram Agency.

Eight LI militants were killed and two soldiers were injured in a clash with SFs at Qamberabad Chowk in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.

A volunteer of the Khwezai Peace Committee, identified as Samar Gul, was killed and nine others were wounded when militants attacked their check post with rockets and other heavy weapons in Khara Shah area of Khwezai tehsil in Mohmand Agency.

Two civilians and two FC persons were killed, while 58 others, including 11 FC personnel, two children and a woman, were injured when a car bomb exploded as a FC convoy passed by in the Almo Chowk area of Quetta. Sarbaz Baloch, who introduced himself as a spokesman for the BRA, claimed responsibility for the attack and said such attacks would continue in future.

The Supreme Court said that there existed evidence that the FC were involved in abducting people in Balochistan. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, hearing Balochistan target killings’ case, told the FC IG that respect for the force was waning gradually, as 95 percent of the people in Balochistan had alleged that FC was involved in the picking up of civilians in the province.

The IG, Major General Obaidullah Khan Khattak, denied his force’s involvement in incidences of forced disappearance, and in response to CCTV footage played in the court that showed three missing persons being taken away in FC vehicle, said someone impersonating as FC men had picked up the three.

NA issued a notification on the formation of a Special Committee on Missing Persons by the NA Speaker Doctor Fehmida Mirza. The Committee has been mandated to investigate the issue of missing persons.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar hinted at restoration of NATO supplies, suspended six months ago after a US strike at Salala checkpost on November 26, 2011, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Addressing a press conference at the Foreign Office she clearly said, “We want to move towards positive zone.” 

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that Pakistan’s relationship with 48 countries serving in the NATO cannot be put on stake just because of the US. While indicating a possible shift in the policy towards NATO supply routes, Gilani said, “This is not a matter of one country, the issue of NATO supply is linked with 48 countries.” 

The US State Department said that the US and Pakistan have made “considerable progress” in talks aimed at reopening NATO supply routes into Afghanistan.

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani said that Pakistan-China friendship was a factor of peace and stability in the region and had contributed immensely to regional and international harmony, stability and understanding.

May 15

Nine militants were killed when SFs pounded their hideouts in Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency in FATA.

The increasing strikes of anti-state elements and militants on SFs have compelled the Federal Government to launch a wide-ranging operation against foreign radical elements and fugitives present in NWA. Sources privy to the measure being taken confided to Daily Times that though the date and time for the operation had not yet been finalised, all other modalities and arrangements were in final stages.

At least seven people, including three MQM workers and a MQM sympathizer, were shot dead in different parts of Karachi. A former councilor of the MQM Haq Parast group, identified as Anwar Alam aka Babu Bhai (38), was shot dead near his home in PECHS Block 2, said a duty officer at the Ferozabad Police Station. Following the incident, unidentified militants fired into the air, forcing closure of shops on Tariq Road and Bahadurabad and spreading tension in the areas of Khalid Bin Waleed Road and Tipu Sultan Road. 

Another MQM worker, Mohammad Azhar Ali (33), was found shot dead in the Memon graveyard within the remit of the Malir Cantt Police Station. Also, one Kamran Ali (22) of MQM was found shot dead in Ganna Mandi area within Sohrab Goth Police Station.                                                                                           

A Shia man, identified as Syed Mehdi Raza (32), was killed in a targeted sectarian attack near the Inquiry Office in Nazimabad area while he was going to offer prayers at Jamia Imamia Imambargah. The Police said the victim was an MQM sympathiser also. 

Two unidentified dead bodies were found in the Ilyas Goth area of Korangi. They looked like Afghans, said SHO Naik Mohammad Jakhrani, adding that the victims sustained two gunshot wounds to their heads. 

An unidentified dead body of a man was found in the Bakra Piri area of Malir within the Malir City Police Station. ASI said that the victim appeared to be Siraiki.                                                                                                        

The registrar, Ghulam Bashir, of the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology and his son, Farooq Ahmed, were wounded in a gun attack within the remit of the New Town Police Station. 

An alleged hit-man, Rana Mohammad Tasawar, who killed 24 people, including PPP workers and three Policemen in Orangi Town in 1994, was arrested in a raid carried out in Saddar area by the SIU.  SP Khurram Waris claimed that the suspect had 100 murders to his name.

Two brothers belonging to Hazara community, identified as Muhammad Tahir and Muhammad Qadir, were shot dead in front of the regional passport office on Joint Road in Quetta.

Five mortar shells in quick succession hit the Hayatabad area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the evening, leaving five persons injured. Security officials said militants wanted to target paramilitary forces’ headquarters in Phase 6, adding that the shelling also aimed at “terrorising” civilians. 

Three persons, including two girls, were injured when a grenade attack targeted the house of a local trader, Ehsanullah, in the New City Homes area of Peshawar.

The Federal Ministry of Interior cancelled licenses and NOCs for transportation of arms and ammunition aboard trains. “All the NOCs and permissions issued for allowing carriage of arms, weapons and ammunition through railway carriers stand cancelled until further orders, and those found violating this order will be dealt with according to the law,” Federal Minister of Interior Rehman Malik wrote in a letter to provincial Home Departments, the railways Inspector General and Pakistan Railways divisional superintendents.

The TTP released the video of April 15, 2011, Bannu jail attack. The video shows TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud briefing his team of warriors through a map containing different routes leading towards Bannu jail.

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet directed relevant Ministries and Departments to conclude the ongoing negotiations for new terms and conditions on resumption of NATO ground supplies. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, also reiterated Pakistan’s stance that only non-lethal cargo will be allowed to transit the country.

The committee welcomed the unconditional invitation by the NATO secretary general to President Asif Ali Zardari to attend NATO summit in Chicago, and fully endorsed the visit. It also discussed parliament’s call for expulsion of foreign fighters, if found, on the Pakistani side of the border. 

The COAS General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani summoned Corps Commanders Conference on May 16 to take them into confidence over restoration of NATO supplies.

The Gilgit Baltistan cabinet approved ‘Code of Conduct’ for mosques and gave legal status to Masjid Boards, which were formed by the Parliamentary Committee. Government spokesperson and Minister for Education Ali Madad Sher said the code of conduct has been approved and will be given a legal cover by presenting it in the Assembly in the shape of a Masjid Boards Act and its implementation will ensure harmony, tranquility and tolerance.

GB Government on May 14 decided to constitute a judicial commission to probe April 2012 sectarian bout which claimed at least 24 lives. Ali Madad Sher apprised the participants of the meeting that the Government has arrested 21 outlaws wanted for sectarian bout and has issued orders to arrest nine others. The Security Force formed in the wake of sectarian violence has also started operation on Karakoram Highway, he added.

May 16

At least eight persons were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi. Two armed militants shot dead a former nazim of Union Council and member of MQM, Khursheed Iqbal (45), near Millat Garden, Malir, within the jurisdiction of the Saudabad Police Station. Tension prevailed in various areas of Malir, including Jinnah Square, Malir-15, Liaquat Market, Khokhrapar, Saudabad, Kala Board and Rafah-e-Aam Society.             

Another MQM activist, identified as Zubair Siddiqui (40), was shot dead near Liaquat Market, Malir in Saudabad Police limits. 

One Hassnain Malik (35), associated with the MQM, was shot dead in Durrani Goth area of Orangi Town within the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Bazaar Police Station. SHO Sabir Hussain said Zubair had recently joined the MQM after quitting the PPP. 

An unidentified man of Baloch descent was shot dead at Mir Alam Road within the limits of Baldia Police Station. According to witnesses, unidentified militants pushed the man off one of their bikes before shooting him four times. 

One Sardar Hussain (42) was shot dead near Metro Cinema, Banaras, within the limits of Pirabad Police Station while he was standing at a bus stop.

Unidentified armed militants killed a rickshaw puller on Burns Road in the limits of Aram Bagh Police Station.  

A cadre PAC, identified as Aslam Niazi alias Commando (38), was shot dead at Niazi Chowk within the jurisdiction of Kalri Police Station. SHO Safdar Mashwani said that the victim was associated with a Lyari-based gang.

A man, identified as Wajahat (35), was killed and eight others were injured when as unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade at cafe, Allah Malik and New Quetta Noorani, located near Dawood Chowrangi in the limits of Shah Latif Police Station. 

CID of the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested a militant of LeJ, identified as Nawaz Khan alias Shah Jee, and recovered five kilogrammes explosive material, three detonators, seven metres, detonating wires and a TT pistol and weapons from his possession during a raid at Sohrab Goth Bus Stop, Super Highway. SSP Fayyaz Khan said during the interrogation, he confessed that the recovered explosive was being shifted to Karachi (Sindh) from Waziristan in (FATA) for attacks on rival sect’s members.

The death toll of May 14, 2102, blast at Almo Chowk in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, rose to five when a man succumbed to his injuries. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Arif.

Four people were injured after unidentified assailants entered a restaurant and opened fire on people in Pishin District.

At least two Policemen and prisoners were injured when a roadside bomb exploded while a Police van was on its way to Goth Pir Sher from Dera Murad Jamali in Naseerabad District. The BRA claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Kalat Division Commissioner Mir Ikhtiar Khan Bangulzai escaped unhurt in a gun attack on Regional Cooperation for Development Highway near Mastung District while he was on his way to Quetta from Khuzdar District.

Police arrested a person and recovered explosive material from him in the limits of Rustam Police Station in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that Rustam Police during checking on Rustam-Machi Road near Machi Bridge stopped a motorbike rider and recovered 188 dynamite sticks, 250 metres fuse and 150 detonators from a bag. The arrested accused was identified as Ali Sher, resident of Kalu Khan in Swabi District.

Several Western embassies in Islamabad received letters containing suspicious powder and threats to poison NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan officials sources said. Islamabad Police Chief Bani Amin said that embassies had received small packets containing black powder, which had been sent for laboratory analysis.

The French embassy, the Australian and British High Commissions had received suspicious packages.

Security agencies issued terror alert for Pakistan Rangers, who guard the Wagah check post - a key trading post between India and Pakistan. The increased deployment of the Pakistan Rangers came after an alert issued by the security agencies saying the trading post could be targeted by the TTP.

Militants in two southern Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have warned NGOs to stop their activities or face attacks. The militants sent letters to various NGOs in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. The NGOs reported the threats to Police.  Also, the militants directed well-to-do residents of Lakki Marwat and Bannu to start paying monthly dues or face attacks. Residents of Azakhel and Abakhel villages in Lakki Marwat District have refused to pay and said they will fight the militant groups.

An inquiry committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has found Police, paramilitary force, civil administration and intelligence agencies “collectively responsible” for April 15’s Bannu jailbreak by the TTP, Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.

KP Governor Masud Kausar said that about 90 percent of the seven tribal areas and Frontier Regions are under Government control because of successful action against the militants and activities to revive public life are gearing up as a result. “I must say, apart from North Waziristan Agency and some parts of South Waziristan Agency, the remaining FATA is clear now and the government writ is being consolidated,” Governor Masud Kausar said.

The University of Peshawar has beefed up security after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masud Kausar directed it to protect professors who received threatening letters from the TTP. Mujeeb ur Rehman of the English Department and Sarfraz Khan of the area studies centre received death threats from the TTP on May 1 because of reports that controversial writer Salman Rushdie’s novels would be included in college curricula, campus police officer Abdus Salam Khalid said.

Reports indicate that Pakistan is set to gain USD 365 million annually, under ‘an agreement’, for the reopening of supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan, a report of The Christian Science Monitor website revealed. The US-led coalition is expected to pay Pakistan a fee of USD 1,500 to USD 1,800 for every truck carrying supplies through the country. Officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the bill is estimated to go up to USD one million per day. 

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in categorical terms that reopening NATO supplies was in the interest of Pakistan. "The restoration of NATO supplies will be strictly in accordance with the resolution adopted by the Parliament," she said. She said Pakistan would receive one billion dollars in CSF. 

ISAF Commander in Afghanistan General John Allen said that the ISAF mission was not affected by the closure of NATO supplies. 

The White House strongly opposed recent congressional moves to impose restrictions on reimbursement of CSF for Pakistan as well as requirements of certification. Reacting to a series of proposals made by the House Armed Services Committee in NDAA for the fiscal year 2013, the White House budget office objected to several of the proposals.

JuD chief Hafiz Saeed sent legal notices to two journalists for publishing news about his alleged meeting with US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter. Saeed served the notices on columnist Nazir Naji and reporter Amir Mir and sought PKR 100 million in damages.

The Peshawar High Court informed relatives of ‘missing’ persons that those detained in FATA will be identified soon and their details will be submitted to the court within one week. PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan was informed by FATA Additional Chief Secretary Tashfain that a list of all those detained in tribal areas will be prepared, a copy of which will be given to the court.

Judge Advocate General Brigadier Nobahar told the court that the number of missing persons has sharply decreased and people were being shifted to internment centres.

Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department Muhammad Azam Khan informed the court that around 1,039 detained persons were so far released after they went through the de-radicalisation process in different internment centres.

May 17

Eight persons, including a MQM activist and two cadres belonging to ST, were killed in separate acts of target killings in Karachi. Three persons were shot dead and several injured including a woman in an incident of indiscriminate firing on a car in the Ancholi area of Karachi.

Police found a dead body of a man, identified Shafiq (24), in a gunny bag from a garbage drum in Lines Area within the limits of Brigade Police Station. The victim was a worker of MQM unit 197.

A man, identified as Adnan Baloch was shot dead in KBR Society within the limits of Taimuria Police Station.

One Tahir (28) was shot dead in Haryana Colony, Qaimkhani Chowk, and Orangi Town within the limits of Mominabad Police Station while he was sitting near a drug den at Qaimkhani Chowk.

A cadre of ST, identified as Shahbaz alias Shahzee, was shot dead in PECHS Society within the limits of Ferozabad Police Station while he was sitting in front of his house.

Police found the body of a ST activist, identified Armaghan Qadri (28), from Tariq Road within the jurisdiction of Ferozabad Police Station.

Two Police constables, Ghulam Murtaza and Sanaullah, belonging to Shia sect, were shot dead and another two, ASI Muhammad Hussain and Constable Deen Muhammad, were injured in a targeted sectarian attack in the Sardar Karez area of Eastern Bypass in Quetta. 

Another injured victim of May 14, 2012 blast at Almo Chowk in Quetta succumbed to injuries, raising the death toll six. The deceased was identified as Bibi Zakra.

Police foiled a terror bid by recovering three kilogrammes of explosive material from a railway track in Spezand area of Dasht area in Mastung District.

A businessman, identified as Mohid Khan (30), was killed and another injured when a remote-controlled bomb exploded in their spare parts shop near Scheme Chowk on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Suspected militants attacked a checkpoint with a hand grenade in the limits of Hayatabad Police Station, leaving two private guards injured.

A hand grenade was reportedly lobbed at a Police checkpost in Bilitang area of Kohat District, leaving two Policemen injured.

Police have arrested three escaped prisoners, who were on the run following Bannu jailbreak incident on April 15, from Muslimabad area of Kohat.

Unidentified militants blew up the building of Government Degree College for Women in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA with a remote-controlled bomb.

Police claimed to have foiled a terror attack by recovering 10 kilograms of explosives from a vehicle in the Kahuta area of Rawalpindi in Punjab. Police said that they also arrested two suspects inside the vehicle and recovered two suicide bomb jackets from their possession.

PIA evacuated a flight bound for Dubai because of a bomb threat. The Airbus was ready for take-off at 11.00am from Lahore airport when the authorities received an anonymous call claiming a bomb was on board, PIA spokesman Sultan Hasan. Officials escorted all 157 passengers and 10 crew off the plane to sweep for explosives. However, the officials did not find anything suspicious.

The KP Government suspended about 300 Government officials after receiving a report on the April 15 Bannu jailbreak. Twenty-seven senior officials were found negligent, suspended from their posts, and made OSDs, KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said. Penalised officials included NWA Political Agent Muhammad Yaha. Bannu Commissioner Abdullah Khan Mehsud and IG of Prisons Arshad Majeed Mohmand were placed on OSD status on April 16.

Pakistan and India beefed up security at Wagah border after receiving a letter from the LeT threatening to blow up the ICP at Attari in opposition to doing Indo-Pak trade before resolving the Kashmir dispute.

A Punjab Rangers spokesman said the force was as usual on a high alert at the Wagah border. However, he added, he had no information if the LeT had issued a letter that threatened to blow up the checkpost. 

President Asif Ali Zardari announced that he will attend the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago, accepting an invitation that was given after the country indicated it plans to end its six-month blockade of supplies meant for coalition troops in Afghanistan.

The White House said that the US and Pakistan has decided to “reach a conclusion” to their standoff over Pakistan’s blockade of a key supply route. But National Security Adviser Tom Donilon says it’s unclear whether a deal can be reached before this weekend’s NATO summit in Chicago. But with an agreement still not finalized, Donilon says there are no plans for President Barack Obama to meet separately at the summit with Zardari.

Pakistani negotiators have proposed a fee of about USD 5,000 for each NATO shipping container and tanker that transits its territory by land into and out of Afghanistan, a Washington Post report said. The newspaper said that the amount is a key sticking point in discussions about the terms of a deal that would allow the traffic to resume, according to US and Pakistani officials.

Earlier, The Christian Science Monitor website reported that US-led coalition is expected to pay Pakistan a fee of USD 1,500 to USD 1,800 for every truck carrying supplies through the country.

The Sindh Government has set aside PKR 95.2 million (USD 1.1 million) for the heirs of the 476 victims of terrorism and targeted shootings in 2011 in Karachi. Each legal heir will receive PKR 200,000 (USD 2,200), Rafiq Engineer, a Provincial Minister, told Central Asia Online. Fifteen heirs received compensation cheques from Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah during a ceremony at the CM House. Leaders of the PPP, the MQM and the ANP attended the event.

HuT spokesperson Naveed Butt’s wife demanded the release of Butt who was allegedly picked up by spy agencies from Islamabad on May 11, 2012. Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman directed the Intelligence Agencies to produce Butt on May 18, 2012.

American lawmakers of both Democratic and Republican parties slammed the Obama administration's request for USD 2.4 billion for Pakistan, calling it a "black hole" where the US has "sunk" USD 24 billion over the last decade. "Pakistan is like a black hole for American aid," Gary Ackerman, top Democrat on the house foreign affairs panel on the Middle East and South Asia said. 

Similarly Republican Dana Rohrabacher blasted US support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who he said was taking "marching orders" from Pakistan.  "We should cut Pakistan off of every cent because it has been used for evil purposes, including killing American troops," he said.

India will take up the issue of LeT founder and Chief of JuD Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of Mumbai 2008 (also known as 26/11) attacks with Pakistan during the upcoming May 25, 2012 secretary level talks between the two countries, said Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

May 18

At least five persons, including an activist of the MQM, were killed in separate acts of target killing in different parts of Karachi. An MQM activist, identified as Imran (26), was shot dead near Usman Mosque, Shah Faisal Colony while he was standing near the mosque. Tension engulfed the surrounding areas and major shops and markets were closed. 

A van driver, Ghulam Khan (26), was shot dead near Lyari Expressway in the jurisdiction of Sher Shah Police Station.                                 

One Usman (19) was also shot dead in Hassan Nauman Colony in the limits of Sohrab Goth Police Station.

Police found an unidentified bullet-riddled dead body in a gunny bag from near Sindhi Hotel in the precincts of Liaquatabad Police Station.

Police found another unidentified bullet-riddled dead body of a young man from Sector 16-B of Shah Latif Town.

A volunteer of a peace committee was killed, while two others received bullet injuries when militants opened fire on them while they were on a routine patrol in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency in FATA.

A railway track was blown up in Pirkaniabad area of Sariab in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. According to Police, unidentified militants planted explosive material to the railway track, which exploded, destroying one-and-half-foot long portion of the track.

The Police claimed to have arrested an important militant ‘commander’ Maulvi Abdur Razaq, associated with Swat chapter of TTP, during a raid in Kot area of Charbagh tehsil in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was wanted to the Police in the 2007 attack on Police checkpost in Charbagh. 

A Kohistan jirga banned poppy and hemp cultivation in the District and asked NGOs to operate there without violating local norms and values. The District administration had called the jirga in Dassu area to win the local elders’ support against the Maulvi Abdul Haleem decree that female workers of NGOs will be married off to locals in case of their entry to Kohistan.

Pakistan appears to be finally gearing up for lifting the ban on NATO supplies for foreign troops as US ‘diplomatic supplies’ were allowed to Afghanistan through Torkham Border. In a clearest sign as yet, the authorities opened a vital border crossing, albeit briefly, to allow at least four containers of ‘office supplies’ for the US Embassy in Kabul to cross into Afghanistan for the first time in six months.

The US slapped sanctions on two Haqqani Network and Afghan Taliban militants, Bakht Gul and Abdul Baqi Bari, barring American citizens from any dealings with them. Director of Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, Adam Szubin said on May 17 that Bakht Gul, a Haqqani Network communications official since 2009, has been designated for acting for or on behalf of senior Haqqani Network leader Badruddin Haqqani. Abdul Baqi Bari, an Afghan Taliban financier, is being designated for providing financial support for or financial services to the Taliban.

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Ministry of Defence, ISI and MI on a petition challenging a law that allows putting people accused of terrorism in internment centres. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain had taken up an application about the health condition of seven Adilyala prisoners who had been recovered on earlier directives of the court. 

The court issued the notices after it had been informed by an official of the internment centre in Parachinar (Kurram Agency of FATA) that prisoners Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid could not be released because they were allegedly involved in anti-state activities and attacks on the army.

The CID of the Punjab Police issued a fresh edition of ‘Red Book’ containing the profiles of 70 most wanted suspects involved in terrorist attacks and sectarian killings and the details of rewards for informants. The book also carries the names of the suspects who were involved in terrorist attacks on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, mastermind of suicide attack on Qasim Baila office of Inter-Services Intelligence Multan and terrorist involved in the suicide attack on PAF base Sargodha. 

According to the book, prepared by the Punjab counterterrorism department, of the 70 high profile terror suspects, 28 belonged to different Sunni outfits and 20 to Shia organisations, while the rest had association with various banned outfits including TTP. Abdul Hameed alias Wattoo belonged to TTP and wanted in connection with terrorist attacks on GPO Chowk and Naval War College, Lahore.

Among the desperately wanted terrorists, Ikramullah belonged to TTP Baitullah Mehsood group and was involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Matiur Rehman belonged to Amjad Farooqi group and wanted by Police in connection with suicide attack on former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf. The attack was carried out on December 25, 2003.

The NCMC of Federal Ministry of Interior sent a letter to the Sindh Government, revealing that the TTP Punjab chapter (also known as Punjabi Taliban) were planning on attacking Karachi’s (Sindh) Central Jail and other vital installations. The militants also planned on abducting foreigners and other important personalities. The information was given to the Crisis Management Cell by confidential sources.  

According to the information available, the Punjabi Taliban will pick up important people and foreigners in the first phase of the attacks. Sources said that the Punjabi Taliban was planning these attacks in order to get arrested members released.

Two months after he was shot dead by French Special Forces, a 23-year-old Algerian-origin terrorist Mohamed Merah was found to have been plotting to attack the Indian embassy in Paris on the direction of his Taliban handlers in Pakistan. Quoting sources from the French Internal Intelligence and the Special Forces, Le Monde reported that Mohamed Merah's Taliban handlers in Pakistan had tasked him to attack the Indian mission.

During the siege, the terrorist had long chats with the Policemen surrounding his house, which were recorded and are now part of the judicial dossier. Merah told the Police that he had dropped the plan to attack the Indian mission due to difficulty of the enterprise. He also said that he had attended jihad camps in Pakistan and undergone al Qaeda training.

The Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif for the first time admitted that southern belt of the province was a breeding ground for militants. The Provincial Government had, up to now, been denying the presence of any militant elements in southern Punjab.

He said Britain’s DFID and the Punjab Government were working on a project for improving the lot of the people by launching a skill development programme for southern Punjab. Both the DFID and the Provincial Government, he said, were contributing PKR two billion each for the project.

Britain’s Acting High Commissioner, Mrs Alison Blake, said that targets had been set for increasing trade between UK and Pakistan during the recent visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. She expressed the hope that collaboration would bring people of the two nations closer.

Human Rights organisation, Amnesty International took notice of life threats to Sindh MPA, Saleem Khursheed Khokhar for his vocal stance on the Rinkle Kumari case, and his call for Hindu women and girls to be protected from abduction and forced conversion to Islam.

The NGO also urged people to demand that anyone who is responsible for threats to the MPA, other abuse against minorities including forced conversion and marriage, be brought to justice in trials that meet international standards.

Khokhar had stated that he and his colleague, MPA Pitanber Sewani, had received text messages from an unknown number. The message read: “Only Muslims will be allowed to live peacefully in this country. No one else will be allowed to live here with dignity”. 

Pakistan has been ranked second in the list of most negatively rated countries in the world by a global poll for BBC World Service, which surveyed 24,090 people around the world. Pakistan was rated "mostly negative" by 51% of the respondents, getting placed just one spot above the most negatively rated country – Iran, which was rated negative by 55% of the total respondents.

According to the poll results, Pakistan is the only country that rated its own influence as negative. The survey results revealed that a negative view of Pakistan was found mostly in Western countries. Around 75% Americans, 69% Canadians and 72% Australians said Pakistan's influence in the world is mainly negative.

The HRW urged President Asif Ali Zardari not to sign a bill creating a National Human Rights Commission until it is revised to authorise investigations of the Military and the Intelligence Agencies for human rights violations. The National Human Rights Commission Act was passed by the National Assembly on May 4, but requires presidential assent to take effect.

The bill contains many positive elements to promote and protect human rights in Pakistan, the HRW said. The commission would be an independent body with members appointed by a Parliamentary Committee.

However, the HRW expressed strong concerns that the bill in its present form would prevent the commission from addressing or investigating human rights violations by members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies. In instances of allegations against the armed forces, the commission would only be mandated to seek a report from the Federal Government.

The UN humanitarian agencies need USD 169 million to help the Internally Displaced Pakistanis living in camps and elsewhere in Pakistan, a UN official said. A UN spokesperson told reporters that as of May 15 the UN High Commissioner for Refugees had registered some 232,390 people displaced since January when Pakistan army’s security operations began again.

May 19

Two dead bodies, stuffed in sacks, were recovered within the precincts of Yar Hussain Police Station in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A bullet-riddled dead body of missing journalist Razzaq Gul was found in a deserted area of Singani Sar area, near Turbat city in Kech District.  Razzaq Gul, a correspondent for Express News, was abducted near his house on May 18, 2012.

Balochistan Union of Journalists staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club on May 20 to condemn the killing of journalist Razzaq Gull.

A bid to smuggle cartridges/bullets from Afghanistan into Pakistan was foiled, by the Khasadar Force at Torkham border crossing in FATA. 9,960 sniper gun cartridges and 10,200 9mm gun bullets were recovered. Truck driver Malik and conductor Kamal, both of whom who hailed from Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, were arrested and sent to Landikotal jail for investigation, sources said.

Almost a year after key 26/11 suspect Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri was reported killed in a drone strike, the UN has updated his status as "reported dead" in a sanctions list of individuals and entities associated with al Qaeda. The UN Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions committee amended on May 10 the information related to Kashmiri in its comprehensive 'al-Qaida Sanctions List'. The updated information reads Kashmiri "reportedly deceased in Pakistan on June 11, 2011".

May 20

An ASI Sher Ahmed was shot dead in a target killing incident in Civil Colony area of Khuzdar District while he was on his way home.

Anti-Narcotics Force recovered 2,500 kilogrammes of opium and weapons from Washuk District.

An unidentified man was shot dead near Eidgah Ground within the jurisdiction of Nazimabad Police Station in Karachi. DSP Shahid Abbas said the victim appeared to be Pakhtoon.

An unidentified man was wounded when armed militants shot and injured him in Baldia Town.

Another young man, Aurangzeb (32) was shot and injured in Nazimabad locality. Police officials said that the man was associated with the MQM Unit 182.

A Police SI, identified as Shahnawaz, was wounded when armed assailants opened fire on him in Binnoria Mohalla in Orangi Town within the limits of Mominabad Police Station.

A militant was killed and two others were injured in an encounter with SFs in Salim Khan village of Swabi District in KP. Police said that another militant was arrested in the action. DPO Abdul Rashid said that the action was initiated in Salim Khan village on a tip-off that militants were present in a seminary, Jawaherul Quran that was run by Maulana Mujtaba.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government school in Kalu Khan area near Azamabad Police post in the Swabi District. Another bomb planted in the building was defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad.

Moving beyond the vague and clichéd 3-D (Development, Deterrence and Dialogue) strategy, KP Government has come up with a plan which officials and cabinet ministers say could well serve as the first comprehensive state response to overcome militancy. The 24-page presentation “Continuing Militancy, Challenge & Response”, unveiled at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti envisages a full state response in terms of governance, deliverance and coordination to overcome the challenges from non-state actors.

President Asif Ali Zardari pressed the US during a NATO meeting to help find a “permanent solution” to US drone strikes that have fuelled tensions between the two uneasy allies. “The President said that Pakistan wanted to find a permanent solution to the drone issue as it not only violated our sovereignty but also inflamed public sentiments,” President Zardari’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement after the Pakistani leader met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

The President Asif Ali Zardari will reportedly demand USD one billion from NATO as compensation for the war on terror and its dire consequences on the country’s economy. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari would put forward the demand at the NATO summit in Chicago.

Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman has said that Pakistan is looking at a ‘positive’ conversation about reopening of NATO supply routes but it will be pre-mature to say when the trucks will resume supply.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman said that some differences exist with Pakistan and it would take time for the issues to be resolved. The US envoy said that some difference remain between the two countries, however the process of negotiations between the two continue and efforts are being made for the resolution of contentious issues.

The US-Pakistani talks on reopening vital supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan have faltered over Islamabad’s “unacceptable” demand to charge steep fee for trucks crossing the border, a senior US official said. Pakistan has also failed to present a coherent, consistent position in the negotiations, said the official.

The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen said he would not be disappointed if a long-sought agreement with Pakistan on supply routes failed to materialise by the end of the NATO summit in Chicago on May 21. General John Allen told Reuters he was confident a deal would eventually be struck but “whether it’s in days or weeks, I don’t know”.

At least four militants and one volunteer of a peace committee were killed while several others were injured in clashes with SFs in Bukarh area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency of FATA. Sources said that an intense gunfight erupted when cadres of LI attacked a bunker of Zakhakhel Peace Committee in Bukarh area.                    

The tribal people from Khyber Agency have supported the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s unanimous resolution regarding FATA representation in the provincial assembly and demanded its merger with settled areas.

Afghan SFs intruded into Pakistani territory near Qila Saifullah District and opened fire on a passenger bus, killing one Pakistani national, identified as Rahem Dad, and injuring four others.

A dead body, identified as that of Sheikh Niazi (22), was found from a gunny bag abandoned alongside Shah Waliullah Road within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station in Karachi. SHO Ali Raza said Niazi was abducted on the night of May 20, 2012 from Niazi Chowk.

Hearing the May 22, 2011 PNS Mehran Base attack in Karachi, a military court on May 21 court-martialled three officers. According to details, an investigation team had found Base Commander Commodore Raja Tahir, Commanding Officer Israr, Air Base Security Officer Lieutenant Commander Absar irresponsible and negligent of their duties.

Banks in KP and FATA sealed 22 accounts worth billions of rupees owned by depositors suspected of links to militants and drug smugglers, officials said. Twelve of the accounts were in the Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur agencies of FATA.

The US pressed Pakistan to act against the extremists groups, including al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network, who threaten them as well as the region and sought reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in Chicago on the sidelines of the crucial NATO Summit focusing Afghanistan.

CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry once again expressed his strong resentment over the authorities’ failure to recover missing persons, and summoned the Defence and Interior secretaries, as well as the principal secretaries of the Prime Minister and the Balochistan Governor, on May 22 to explain the allegations leveled against SFs and other Government institutions in the missing persons’ cases. 

The Supreme Court Treasury Bench, headed by Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing the cases pertaining to the deteriorating law and order in Balochistan, targeted killings and kidnappings, expressed serious concern on the lack of progress in the cases of missing persons, and said the court would pass an order in this connection on May 22.

About 120 female health workers who resigned after TTP death threats in 2009 have returned to work in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. About 70 woman health workers and 50 nurses were re-appointed last week, said Dr. Ajmal Wazir, Assistant Executive District Officer for Health in Swat.

Islamabad has ordered officials to reach a deal with the US on reopening its border to NATO supplies, President Asif Zardari told NATO leaders. Pakistani officials have “decided to direct the relevant officials to conclude negotiations for resumption of the ground lines of communication”, Zardari said during a special summit focusing on Afghanistan.

Zardari said a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s national interest as he told the gathering that Islamabad believed in partnerships based on trust and respect. The President expressed Islamabad’s support for peaceful transition in Kabul, but urged a long-term commitment to ensure stability in Afghanistan.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen acknowledged that there could be no large drawdown of troops from Afghanistan without Pakistan’s help as both sides also expressed the desire to stay engaged with each other despite differences.

A rally opposing creation of Mohajir Province in Sindh, titled ‘Mohabbat-e-Sindh’ (Love of Sindh), organised by the Awami Tehreek (AT), a Sindh-based nationalist party, was attacked by unidentified armed militants at Napier Road in Karachi killing at least 13 people and injuring 35 others. The march started out as a peaceful one with a few thousand men, women and children at Lyari’s Ath Chowk.

JSMM Secretary General Muzzaffar Bhutto was found dead after he went missing on February 25, 2011, from Hyderabad District.

Rangers arrested 15 accused including two target killers during action in various areas of Karachi, including Musharraf Colony, Ranchore Line, Napier Road and others.

At least four militants were killed in a US drone strike on a militant compound in the Tabai area near Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, in FATA. 

SFs destroyed houses of four alleged militants and recovered arms and ammunition during a search operation in Chamarkand tehsil in Bajaur Agency.

Central Jail Mach Warden Shaukat Ali Kethran was shot dead by unidentified armed militants in Mach tehsil of Bolan District. The attackers managed to flee after the attack.

LEAs arrested about 60 Afghan nationals in Panjgur District. According to sources, the arrested Afghan nationals wanted to cross into Iran via Pakistan.

Expressing dismay over non-appearance of the secretaries of Defence and Interior and principal secretary to the Prime Minister before it, the Supreme Court observed that it appeared the Government, Police and Law Enforcement Agencies had no interest in recovering the missing persons.

Unidentified people hurled a hand-grenade on the outhouse of an ANP MNA, Pir Dilawar Shah, in Kohat District of KP. MNA Pir Dilawar Shah remained safe. His guards opened fire on the attackers and forced them to retreat. 

Unidentified militants blew up a Government-run primary school for girls in the Barakhel area of Mera Risalpur in Nowshera District. Police said the two bombs destroyed three classrooms, the main gate and the boundary wall. Militants have blown up 16 schools in Nowshera.

Police and SFs arrested 10 militants in a joint search operation in different areas of the Mardan District. The operation was conducted in Sawaldher, Chora, Jabbar, Dubai Adda, Guli Bagh, Umarabad, Shakar Tangai, Bashkhali and Surpul areas from 4am to 5:30pm. They said that a daylong curfew was imposed in those areas.

KP Government is installing radar to help protect citizens of Hayatabad against militant mortar and rocket attacks and to guard the city of Peshawar, Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour said. The Government will use all possible resources to protect its citizens, he said.

The four divisional commissioners of KP have started compiling a record of legal and illegal arms. The KP Government May 16 ordered the commissioners to inspect arms manufacturing units and assess weapons dealers in their areas.

Police recovered a renowned businessman and owner of Mr. Books at Super Market, Mohammad Yousuf, from a hideout in Rawalpindi District in the wee hours and arrested four captors, including a young woman, identified as Gulnaz (30), involved in his abduction-for-ransom. Yousuf was abducted on May 9, 2012 outside his store.

An arrest warrant issued against former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by Anti-Terrorism Court in connection with the Benazir Bhutto assassination case will remain valid till its compliance said the FIA authorities in Pakistan to the Interpol.

A leading global press freedom watchdog, RWB expressed concern over growing attacks on journalists in Pakistan with Abdul Razaq Gul becoming the fifth journalists killed this year.

A Senate panel approved a foreign aid budget for next year that cuts US assistance to Pakistan and Egypt. By voice vote a Senate Appropriations subcommittee approved the overall bill totaling USD 52.1 billion. That is USD 2.6 billion less than what President Barack Obama requested

Pakistan has to be part of the solution in Afghanistan, said US President Barack Obama after his two brief meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the NATO summit. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said his organisation invited Pakistan to the two-day summit because it was seeking “positive engagement with Pakistan”.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphasised the need to rebuild “a strong and mutually beneficial” relationship with Pakistan, feelings reciprocated by President Zardari in all encounters with US and NATO leaders during his stay in Chicago.

Outlining the US strategy for staying engaged with Pakistan, Mr Obama said: “It is in our national interest to see a Pakistan that is democratic, that is prosperous and that is stable.” He pointed out that the two countries shared a common enemy in the extremists that were “found not only in Afghanistan, but also within Pakistan”.

The Communication Ministry has proposed charging NATO forces USD 1,000 per container to offset the PKR 100 billion in damages caused to the road infrastructure in the past 10 years, said Communications Secretary Anwar Ahmad Khan.

The statement comes at a time when Pakistan and United States are negotiating new conditions for reopening the ground lines of communication (GLOC), the official name for the NATO supply routes through Pakistan. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has declined to accept Pakistan’s demand of USD 5,000 per container, inclusive of all charges.

After the meeting, Khan said that the Ministry has recommended USD 1,000 exclusive of other charges that the Government wants to receive for opening the GLOC. “General Musharraf allowed the use of Pakistan’s territory without getting legitimate benefits the mistake will now be rectified,” said PAC Chairman Nadeem Afzal Chan.

As many as 12 militants were killed after gunship helicopters pounded several hideouts in Mamozai, Sama Bazaar and Manzar Taap areas of the Orakzai Agency in FATA. Security sources said over 92 percent of Orakzai had been cleared of terrorists in the ongoing military operation. They also said that as many as 507 terrorists have been killed so far. 

Three militants and a peace volunteer were killed and one was injured in a clash in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. Sources said that Tariq Afridi group of TTP ambushed a patrolling party of Kukikhel peace volunteers in Dwa Thoe area, killing one of them and injuring another.

A woman and her 10-year-old son were killed when a mortar shell hit a house in Khwezai tehsil of Mohmand Agency.

Three armed motorcyclists shot dead a shura member of the council of a banned militant group Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar, Kohat Khan, in Qambarkhel area of Bara in Khyber Agency.

Three persons including a minor were injured when militants opened firing on a passenger coach near Tore Chapper village In Kurram Agency. The coach was going to Peshawar from Parachinar.

The death in the May 22 drone attack in the Tabai area near Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency increased to 10.  Earlier, it was reported that only four militants were killed.

At least five more people were killed over a dozen others injured in the ongoing in Karachi due to a strike call by Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo. Most of Sindh province remained closed in protest against an attack by unidentified militants on a rally of the AT on May 22, 2012 that killed around 13 people and left dozens injured, as well as the killing of JSMM Secretary General Muzzafar Bhutto.

Over 30 suspects, most of them political workers, were also arrested during overnight raids in the city by Rangers and Police. Rangers said raids were conducted in Ramswami, Ranchore Lane, Napier Road, Musharraf Colony, Bhorapir, Garden and Lines Area, adding that a huge cache of weapons, including two anti-aircraft guns, 22 Kalashnikovs, 11 repeaters and around a thousand bullets, were also recovered.   

Five suspects, including two Lyari gangsters, were arrested in separate Police encounters and a raid in different parts of Karachi. According to SSP West Amir Farooqui, the Police on a tip-off conducted a raid at Metroville area and arrested two alleged Lyari gangsters Umer and Afzal and recovered two Police SMGs, two TT pistols and several rounds from them.

The CID also claimed to have arrested an alleged target killer Mujahid Khan alias Khano with weapon within the limits of Jackson Police Station. SSP Fayyaz Khan said the accused person during initial course of investigation confessed to have killed Badshah Khan and Lal Jan Bibi in Sohrab Goth Police remit. 

Two more criminals were arrested after a brief encounter at Rashid Minhas Road near Gulshan roundabout within the limits of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Police Station. SHO Shahzada Saleem said the Police party during routine patrolling intercepted a bike for snap checking.

The pillion riders opened indiscriminate gunshots on police to break the security check. Reacting on the said act, the Police also fired multiple shots on them that led to the arrests of both militants, identified as Muhammad Ali and Jan, and also recovered two TT pistols and a snatched bike from them. 

The HRCP said that the killing of Sindhi nationalist leader Muzaffar Bhutto, one of the prominent victims of forced disappearance in Sindh, and the brazen attack on a peaceful political rally in Karachi, appeared to be the latest manifestations of violent suppression of political debate, and in the absence of effective measures, can plunge Sindh into Balochistan-style mayhem.

One unidentified bullet-riddled dead body was found in Zehri Qazt area in Dasht town of Mastung District. According to Balochistan Levies official Abdul Kareem, “The body had bullet wounds in the head.”

Another unidentified bullet-riddled dead body was found in Sardar Karez area in the Shalkot Police Station precincts in Quetta. 

A Police SI Muhammad Ayub’s bullet-riddled dead body was found near a river in Duraski area of Awaran District. According to a local newspaper, spokesman of BLF, who introduced himself as Bahsam Baloch, claimed the responsibility for Ayub’s killing.

A woman and her child were injured in an incident of firing in Satellite Town area of Quetta. Police said that unknown armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire at the house owned by one Asadullah in Satellite Town area.

Unidentified militants blew up a portion of railway track in Naushki District.

Prisoners in the District jail in Gilgit turned violent and set ablaze barracks following acquittal of two under-trial prisoners charged in two high profile murder cases. 

The Pakistani surgeon, Doctor Shakeel Afridi, recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison for treason, the officials said. In addition to his jail sentence, he was fined PKR 320,000.                     

Key US senators demanded that Pakistan pardon Afridi, warning that the decision could put US assistance at risk.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland recalled that both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had earlier raised concerns with Pakistan about the doctor’s case.

Amnesty International criticized the US for its use of lethal force, particularly for the ‘unlawful’ killing of Osama bin Laden in a clandestine US commando raid in Pakistan in May 2011.

Amnesty regretted President Barack Obama's failure to shut down Guantanamo, noting that at the end of 2011, nearly two years after his self-imposed closure deadline, "171 men were still held at the base, including four who had been convicted by military commission."

The CJP, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said constitution was being violated in Balochistan and if the PM says he is not responsible for restoring law then the constitution will take its way and emergency could be declared. The Chief Justice ordered registration of a case against Balochistan Home Minister Mir Nasirullah Zehri.

The Chief Justice told the Prime Minister’s principal secretary if the PM does not want implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders, other options, including emergency, were available in the constitution.

The White House ruled out an apology to Islamabad for November 26 incident in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a NATO cross border fire and said it is time that the two countries move ahead, two days after such a demand was made PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto.

A US Senate panel voted cuts in aid to Pakistan by 58 percent and threatened to withhold even more cash if Islamabad does not reopen its supply routes for NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, reflecting American frustration over a months-long standoff. The Senate panel voted to cut aid to Pakistan in fiscal 2013 from the request by the administration of President Barack Obama, said the panel’s chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy.

Eight militants were killed when a US drone attacked a militant hideout and a mosque in the Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan Agency in FATA. 

Six persons, including two political activists, were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi. Two PPP activists, identified as Ghulam Mustafa Khaskheli (28) and Khan Afsar (45), were killed while two others, Liaquat and Ajmal, were injured in an attack on a PPP office in Mawach Goth, located within the limits of Saeedabad Police Station.                                                                                                 

Two persons were killed in Ilyas Goth, Liaquatabad C-1 area within the limits of Super Market Police Station. SHO SM Raza informed that the casualties came as a result of clash between two groups and the victim had been associated with the Arshad Pappu group.

Unidentified armed militants attacked a passenger bus at Teen Hatti area within the precincts of Jamshed Quarters Police Station. According to bus conductor Riaz, two men came running and boarded the bus.

One Nasrullah (22), alias Bihari, the son of a PPP worker Moosa Khan was shot dead in Orangi Town within the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station.

A member of the Shia Hazara community, identified as Amir Muhammad, was killed in Killi Chakar area of Sariab Road in Quetta.

Another man, identified as Muhammad Muslim, was shot dead by militants in Mand Balo area of Turbat District.

A man, identified as Mehboob Ali, was shot dead in the Goth Khusa Lal Bukhsh area of Dera Allahyar in Jaffarabad District. 

Balochistan Levies found a dead body identified as that of Rhab Muhammad in the Shakari area of Kalat Division.

One person was killed and four injured when a remote-controlled bomb went off near the Ghulam Banda bridge in Kohat town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The vehicle of JUI provincial deputy chief, Maulana Yousuf Shah, was destroyed when an IED went off at Akora Khattak area of Nowshera.

Adezai peace lashkar leader Dilawar Khan announced the dissolution of Adezai peace lashkar, citing non-cooperation from the Government as the reason behind quitting the fight against militants. Khan, along with members of the lashkar and Adezai tribal elders, announced the decision during a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of PPP and the son of slain Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto said that ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf "murdered my mother," as he vowed to play a bigger political role in his homeland "in any way I can".

"Al Qaeda issued the instructions to do it, the Taliban... carried out the actual attack, while Pervez Musharraf purposely sabotaged my mother's security when he knew there were going to be attacks, so she would be eliminated, said Bhutto, adding, "He murdered my mother. I hold him responsible for the murder of my mother."

The US voiced concern over extrajudicial killings and religious intolerance in Pakistan, including in the restive province of Balochistan. In an annual report on human rights, the US State Department said that the “most serious human rights’ problems” in Pakistan included extrajudicial killings, torture and disappearances by both Security Forces and terrorists.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced as “unjust and unwarranted” the treatment with the Pakistani doctor, Shakeel Afridi, who was jailed on May 23, 2012 for 33 years for helping the CIA in the hunt for slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A US Senate panel voted to cut aid to Pakistan by a symbolic USD 33 million and USD one million for each year of jail time handed to Doctor Shakeel Afridi convicted of treason. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the amendment to the USD 52 billion US foreign aid budget in a 30 to zero votes. 

Islamabad said that the US should respect the country’s law and courts sentencing Shakeel Afridi, accused of helping the CIA in reaching al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. FO spokesman Moazzam Ali Khan said the decision in connection with Doctor Shakeel Afridi was Pakistan’s internal matter and the US should respect Pakistan’s law.

The Foreign Office reiterated its denunciation of drone attacks, but said that Pakistan’s desire for normalisation of ties with the United States remained unaffected. “Let me also add here that the US is an important country and it is an important relationship for Pakistan and there is a mutual desire to normalise this relationship,” FO spokesman Moazzam Khan said at his weekly media briefing while responding to a question about drone attacks and negotiations on re-engagement.

The US has continued to pound militant targets in tribal areas with hellfire missiles from Predator drones, although the two countries are negotiating a parliamentary demand for cessation of the strikes.

At least seven passengers on a Swabi-bound bus were shot dead three others were wounded when armed militants opened fire on the bus on National Highway at Rinn Shakh, near Qazi Ahmed Taluka town in Shaheed Benazirabad District (earlier known as Nawabshah District). DSP Sardar Khan Chandio said the SDLA claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to witnesses, the attackers had been raising slogans that they had taken revenge for an attack on the Awami Tehreek rally in Karachi.

Three people, including an activist each from the ANP and the MQM were killed here in separate incidents of violence in Karachi. President of ANP’s UC-1 Ward, Abdul Shakoor (38), was shot dead outside his house in Sector-8B of Bilal Colony within Korangi Police Station.

An activist of the MQM, Mohammed Ahmed (40), was shot dead by two unidentified armed militants near a warehouse in Iqbal Market.

An unidentified tortured bullet-riddled body of a man was found near Chiniot Hospital in Korangi.

At least six suspected Lyari gangsters, belonging to PAC were arrested and a huge cache of weapons including six hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs, five pistols, 950 bullets and a significant quantity of narcotics were also recovered from their possessions during a raid at Mawach Goth.

TTP militants killed an abducted employee of the BRSP, identified as Abdul Ghafoor, after they were not paid ransom in Waziristan tribal area near Zhob District, a senior official said. Six BRSP employees were abducted by armed militants from Barshore area of Pishin District on December 13, 2011. 

Anjuman-e-Tajiran Panjgur Committee President Mir Akram Mengal was shot dead in Gharibabad area of Panjgur District.

Militants fired two rockets from the nearby mountains on a FC camp in Awaran District. However, no loss of life or property was reported.

The District administration ordered Police to crack down on Afghan nationals illegally living in Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP at the expiry of the one-month deadline for their voluntary return. District coordination officer, Peshawar, Siraj Ahmad Khan issued the orders under Section 188 and 14 Foreign Act, according to a statement issued in Peshawar.

Section 144 has already been imposed in the city banning the movement of unregistered Afghan nationals. The KP Government had decided to expel Afghan refugees without legal documents from the province and directed the relevant authorities to begin the drive from Peshawar.

Intelligence Officials said that keeping Doctor Shakeel Afridi in Peshawar’s (KP) central prison is similar to keeping him in plain sight of the TTP who is purportedly baying for his blood. TTP threatened that they would kill Afridi to “avenge Sheikh Osama’s killing”.

Afridi, who helped the American CIA hunt down al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, faces a grave threat to his life while he is imprisoned in the Peshawar Central Jail, according to an intelligence report submitted to authorities in Islamabad.

The HRCP expressed its concern over denial of due process rights to Doctor Shakeel Afridi and demanded that irrespective of charges against him he must get a fair trial.

The statement added that the question of trying Afridi on charges of treason also remained controversial. “His actions may well have been prompted by the declared policy of the state to fight all forms of terrorism in sincerity. Irrespective of the charge against him, there was no reason for trying Afridi in a tribal court, when the supposed offence had taken place in Abbottabad, nor for denying him a public trial or legal assistance of his choice.”

The DPC staged protest demonstrations and rallies in Karachi and parts of Sindh province against the likely resumption of NATO supply routes, and resolved to strongly oppose any such move by the Government.

A protest rally was also staged in Lahore District of Punjab province where the founder of LeJ and JuD addressed a crowd. Protest leaders also expressed their grave concern on missing NATO containers in Pakistan.

A US drone attack killed at least four militants in Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency of FATA.

Two persons were killed and 20 others, two women among them, injured in two rocket attacks in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Abdul Salam (17), a labourer passing through Kandahari Bazaar on a bicycle, and Gul Zaman, another passer-by, were killed and 16 others injured when a rocket hit a shoe shop.

Another rocket fired from the same direction exploded in Basti Panchayat, a predominantly Christian neighbourhood, injuring four people.

A militant, allegedly involved in the January 12, 2011 murder of Geo News journalist Wali Khan Babar, was killed and a Policeman injured during an encounter at Sea View area of Karachi.

In addition to the target killings, a hand grenade was hurled attack near a hotel opposite the Karachi Central Jail, injuring 11 people.

While addressing a news conference in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, the LeT founder and Chief of JuD Hafiz Mohammad Saeed said that Pakistan is a sovereign state and the DPC will not allow the country to become an ‘Indian market’. 

Earlier during a series of rallies and protests organised by the DPC, Saeed had opposed the Pakistan Government's plan to give MFN-status to India by 2013.  Saeed said the DPC had decided to postpone a proposed ‘long march’ against the reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan because the leaders of the grouping had decided to launch the protest at the appropriate time.

In the aftermath of the sentencing of Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who was accused of assisting the CIA in tracking down slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, another twist emerged when the FATA Lawyers Forum refused to extend any legal help to the former Government surgeon. Members of Aman Tehreek and some FATA lawyers had earlier submitted an application at the Peshawar Central Jail, seeking Afridi’s approval for power of attorney.

US drone strike killed at least seven militants in Sokhel area of Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency of FATA.

Six militants were killed and two others injured in a gunfight with SFs in Gandi Tal area of Orakzai Agency.

At least five people, including an activist of MQM, were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi. Police found a dead body of an activist of the MQM identified as Shahid (28), from Memon Society Lyari near Kalri Police Station. SHO Kalri said the victim was abducted from Lea Market area, Kharadar on May 26, 2102 when he reached to meet his friend. 

Police found two days old dead body of a man, identified as that of Mohammad Bilal Mengal (30), from Lyari Naddi, Raxer Lane within the limits of Pak Colony Police Station.

A man, identified as Nasir (25), was shot dead in Jehanabad within the jurisdiction of Pak Colony Police Station.

A man, identified as Muhammad Younis, was killed while 13 others were injured when armed assailants hurled a hand grenade at an eatery, Yadgar Fish, within the limits of Jamshed Quarter Police Station over the owner’s refusal to pay extortion.

DSP Qaiser Ali dispelled the involvement of extortionists in the attack as saying that there were several unconfirmed reports that the grenade was hurled with an aim to suppress the owner to pay extortion but nobody, even the owner, complained in this regard. 

A man, identified as Mohammad Asif (20), was shot dead in an act of target killing in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area within the jurisdiction of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Police Station. 

Police arrested four top leaders of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP), identified as Yamin Mirani, Nadir Khoso, Hakeem Sethar and Amir Sheikh.

At least three people were killed and nine others, including a Policeman, were injured in a remote-controlled blast on Saryab Road in Quetta. SP Sikandar Tareen said explosives were planted underneath a donkey cart, while the target was a patrolling Police van.

The principal of Public School, identified as Muzaffar Jamali, and his nephew Abdullah (8) were killed and three others, including two girls and the driver were injured when armed militants opened fire on their car in Kharan District.

Jeiand Baloch, a spokesman for the BLA, claimed responsibility for the attack. He said that Jamali “worked for state agencies” and for that reason he was eliminated.

At least 10 people were injured when two blasts exploded at Mannan Chowk and Kasi Road in Quetta.

A soldier was killed and five others, including a captain, were injured when a remote controlled bomb went off in Risalpur area of Nowshera District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Two rockets were fired at the Hayatabad town of Peshawar damaged a house. According to the officials of Tatara Police Station the rockets were fired from the adjacent Khyber Agency of FATA. 

Police arrested a wanted militant ‘commander’, identified as Barkat Ali, who was allegedly involved in blasting schools and carrying out other terror activities, during a raid at a house located in Kala Kot area of Matta tehsil in Swat District. 

Swat Qaumi Jirga has urged all stakeholders to take decisive action against militancy to ensure sustainable peace in the valley and bring all culprits to justice. The jirga, a forum of civil society groups was organised in Mingora which was addressed by its president Mukhtiar Khan Yousufzai, Sher Shah Khan, Haji Zahid Khan, Mohammad Ali Khan and others.

The conviction of Doctor Shakeel Afridi by the Assistant Political Agent in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency has given birth to several questions and also exposed lacunas in the controversial judicial system in FATA.

While the tribal administration is yet to release the order and complete details about the arrest and conviction of Afridi, so far the only information provided by the administration is that a council of elders was constituted under section 11 of the FCR and in the light of the findings of the council the APA convicted and sentenced the accused on four counts.

A high-level meeting will review security arrangements for Doctor Shakeel Afridi. Official sources said on May 26 that the meeting would consider whether the jailed CIA informant should remain in a Peshawar prison or shifted somewhere else for security reasons.

Pakistan Government justifies the USD 5,000 fee for shipping NATO containers to Afghanistan as officials familiar with the US-Pakistan talks say Islamabad’s demand is “neither irrational nor out of the blue”. As Pakistan and the United States make some headway in bilateral talks, Islamabad’s demand for USD 5,000 per container for transporting goods to Afghanistan through its territory remains the biggest stumbling block.

The US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has ruled out paying Pakistan this amount. The infrastructure was used for eight years without paying any charges. In the ninth year, the US started paying a nominal handling fee of USD 220 per container to National Logistic Cell – the army’s logistics arm, officials said. Terming Pakistan’s demand as “extortion,” Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential aspirant, had claimed that the US was paying USD 250 per container to Pakistan.

The US-Pakistan relationship is on the slide and a US Senate panel’s decision to fine Pakistan for sentencing Dr Shakil Afridi has further compounded this phase, says PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “But it is time to turn a new corner to re-establish a working relationship and political and military partnership that is the centerpiece to a stable South and Central Asia,” Bilawal Zardari said in a speech to a gathering of US and Pakistani officials, scholars, journalists and think-tank experts.

Arguing strongly against what he called the "carpet bombing" of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said US drone attacks were turning out to be counter-productive due to the civilian toll they take. The leader-in-waiting of Pakistan's ruling party called for an end to the US drone attacks, which he said were a violation of his country's sovereignty and international law.

Bilawal Bhutto said that his country has asked Interpol to issue a "red warrant" against former President General Parvez Musharraf in his mother's assassination case.  Pakistan has asked Interpol to issue a "red warrant" for Musharraf's arrest, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told The Sunday Times.

May 28

At least 10 militants were killed when SFs fighter jets pounded various suspected militant hideouts in Mamozai, Jandarkhel and Samaa Bazaar areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA. The bombardment left three suspected militant hideouts completely destroyed. 

Two separate US drone attacks killed at least nine militants near Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency. The first, in the early hours of the morning, targeted a militant compound in Hassokhel town, 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Miranshah, killing at least five militants. The second attack targeted a militant vehicle in Datta Khel town, 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of Miranshah, killing four militants. 

Air forces jets killed five suspected militants in Tirah valley area of Khyber Agency. 

Three Shias were killed and another six injured when unidentified militants ambushed a Peshawar-bound bus in Charkhel village of Parachinar in Kurram Agency.

Two soldiers were killed and several injured in a TTP militants’ ambush in Kot Langarkhel area of South Waziristan Agency. 

Militants blew up a Government boys’ primary school in Qayumabad Lakaro area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency. However, no loss of life was reported. Over the last few months, 95 schools, dozens of health centres and a few telephone exchanges have been targeted by militants in Mohmand Agency. In Safi tehsil alone, more than 45 schools have been blown up leaving more than 25,000 children without education.

At least three tortured bullet-riddled bodies stuffed in a bag were found in the Ferozabad area of Quetta. The bodies were identified as Mehran Khan Kiyazai, Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Nabi Marri. Sources said that Mehran Khan was missing since April 11, 2012. Mohammad Khan Marri and Mohammad Nabi Marri, residents of Sariab, were brothers. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons’ Chairman Nasrullah Baloch told Daily Times that the deceased were on the missing persons’ list and were abducted in April from Zarghoon Road. He said as many as 407 bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch missing persons had been found so far.                               

Two dead bodies were recovered from Pnhinain area of Dera Bugti District. A spokesman for the BRP, Sher Mohammad Bugti, claimed that the bodies were dumped in the area.

A dead body, identified as that of Habibullah Nurzai, was found in the Pakhtoonabad area.                               

Another unidentified dead body was recovered from Khuzdar District.                                       

At least two Police officials, identified as ASI Abdul Qayyum and constable Muhammad Asif (driver),  were killed and another two were injured in an ambush attack on a Police van on Sariab Road in Quetta.

The headmaster of a middle school and a part time journalist, Abdul Qadir Hajizai, was shot dead while he was on his way to home in Basima area of Washuk District. Hajizai worked for a private Balochi language TV channel.  

At least three Policemen were injured when unknown assailants opened fire on a police mobile in Sariab Wali Jat area in Quetta. 

Armed militants opened fire on the house of the President of the Turbat Press Club, Irshad Akhtar in Turbat District. However, Akhtar and his family remained unhurt in the attack. 

A portion of the main railway track was blown up in Pirkaniabad area on Sariab Road in Quetta.

At least eight persons, including a SP and his doctor friend, were killed and 14 others were injured in separate incidents of violence in various areas of Karachi. Sindh IG Mushtaq Shah reached the scene and declared the incident an act of target killing. Talking to reporters, the IG said, “We are trying to probe the motive behind the murders. It could be a result of the deceased’s participation in the 1990s Karachi Operation as he was then Gulberg Station House Officer.”                                                                          

Two cadres of ASWJ, identified as Mufti Zeeshan and Danish alias Bihari, were shot dead in Zia Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.                        

A youngster, identified as Adnan Rafiq, was shot dead near Clifton underpass within the limits of Clifton Police Station. 

One person was killed by firing in Jodia Bazar area within the jurisdiction of Kharadar Police Station.

Police found the dead body of a man identified as Saeed Gul alias Afghani (24) near Government Degree College in Korangi, within the limits of Awami Colony Police Station. Gul was abducted before being killed.

Another unidentified dead body was found from Pehalwan Goth area. 

The Law Enforcement Agencies claimed to have arrested five suspects, including a militant of TTP from different areas of Karachi.

The SIU of AEC claimed to have arrested two extortionists, Israr Hussain and Mumtaz Ali, from Kharadar area during a raid in Gao Gali, Jodia Bazaar, and recovered two pistols from their possessions.

Police claimed to have repulsed a militant attack on Mullazai Police Station in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to police, a group of 80 to 90 TTP militants holding heavy weapons attacked the Police Station. Policemen fought against attackers for over one hour forcing the latter to flee. Later, security personnel also showed up. They jointly cordoned off the area and began search operation. During the search, a roadside IED exploded after a police van hit it. The explosion injured three Policemen Samiullah, Fayyaz, and Bashir. TTP later accepted responsibility for the attack. According to the TTP spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told reporters from an undisclosed location that TTP would continue fighting the Government until Shariah was enforced in the country.

Jam Mir Muhammad Yousuf, a former Chief Minister of Balochistan, was granted bail before arrest for half a million rupees in connection with the August 26, 2006 Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case.

The JWP Chief and the eldest son of Nawab Akbar Bugti, Talal Akbar Bugti said that Dera Bugti was his native town and no law could stop him from going there. Welcoming the hearings of the Supreme Court about missing persons in Balochistan, he said Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing a case on monthly basis in Quetta regarding law and order situation, but the court had not taken up the murder of his father Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. 

A plan to shift Doctor Shakeel Afridi from Central Jail Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab has been finalised and all the Law Enforcement Agencies have been put on high alert to avert any untoward incident.

The family of Doctor Afridi came out to defend him as his brother Jamil Afridi said the charges against him were ‘a pack of lies’. “Our brother has been made a scapegoat,” said Jamil Afridi, adding, “Everybody knew where Osama was”. “He is not a spy. This allegation from our Security Agencies is fabricated and baseless,” Jamil added. Jamil said they are not allowed to meet him and they have not been allowed to give him access to legal councils.

General Secretary of the Peace Movement, a civil society group against militancy, Samiullah Afridi said that Doctor Shakeel has done nothing illegal.  The actual reason behind the verdict could only be known once we are provided with a copy, he said.

Pakistan and the US moved a step ahead in the talks on resumption of NATO supplies as they started discussion of technical details of the matter, sources in the Foreign Ministry said. However, they clarified that the progress did not mean conclusion of talks. The two sides agreed on the broad framework of reopening of the supply lines, besides discussing the Salala incident, drone attacks and other issues, nevertheless, modalities were yet to be decided, the sources said.

JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that his party extended political and moral support to the Afghan Taliban because they had launched a jihad against the US forces in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban were justified in launching a war against the foreign forces because their objective is to liberate their homeland.

General Martin Dempsey, President Obama's top military adviser, said that Senate lawmakers made the right call by voting to trim aid to Pakistan. "Yeah, I support their - I think that choices should result in consequences. And I think, the Senate acted appropriately," General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the NBC news channel in an interview.

May 29

Fourteen militants were killed in air forces’ jet planes-shelling in Mamozai area of the Orakzai Agency in FATA. Three hideouts of the terrorists were completely destroyed in the action.

SFs killed seven militants and injured four others in air strikes conducted by the air forces’ jets in Dwa Toai area of Jamrud tehsil in Khyber Agency. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar said that tribal people were some of the most peaceful people of the world and were victims of aggression, thus, there is dire need for establishing and propagating the peaceful image of FATA residents worldwide. He was speaking at a grand jirga that was attended by around 800 jirgamaars (jirga decision makers), Maliks, clerics and elders from the FATA.

The ongoing wave of killings in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, claimed three more lives, including that of a MQM) activist. 

A gunny bag containing the body of an MQM activist was found on Northern Bypass near the Marwat Coach terminal under the Mauripur Police Station. Jamil Mubarak (34), resident of Masroor Colony, Mauripur, had been kidnapped in front of his home by armed men riding two motorbikes.

A young man was found shot dead on Northern Bypass within the remit of the Mauripur Police Station. Officials said the body of Khalid Qadir (28), was spotted near Quetta Hotel. The victim, a resident of Baloch Mohalla in Shershah, had been missing since May 28, the Mauripur SHO said, adding that he was a labourer.  

A civilian employee of the Pakistan Navy, Niaz Saeed (38), a resident of Jangal Goth in Sohrab Goth, was shot dead near new Sabzimandi on the Superhighway. Sources said that Niaz Saeed was on his way to work when he was intercepted by three men riding two motorbikes near the wholesale vegetables and fruit market and shot him dead.

A driver of an NGO was injured after unidentified assailants opened fire on the vehicle near the Kakaheer area in Khuzdar District of Balochistan. According to Police, the Balochistan Rural Support Programme’s vehicle was heading towards Khuzdar Town from Wadh.

Police claimed to have recovered three kilogrammes of explosives in the Goth Maluk area of Naseerabad District.

The Federal Government has finally taken notice of the troubles in Balochistan and announced some measures that could turn out to be revolutionary or simply symbolic. The meeting on the province, which the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had announced in a television interview a day earlier, was held and ended with the Government decision to give the generally missing-in-action CM of Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani, the powers to deploy the FCB in the province. In addition, the FCB was also relieved of its anti-smuggling duty in the border areas of the province.  

The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting attended by the civil and military leadership which Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had convened under Article 148 of the constitution. Under this article, the Federal Government can play a role in protecting a province from external and internal disturbances.

General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani threw his weight behind the political solution of the troubled province of Balochistan by assuring that the personnel of armed forces and FCB would carry out their tasks within the ambit of law. In a press briefing after the conference, Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the hallmark of the meeting was Gen Kayani’s complete support for resolving the issues in Balochistan through political means, as military solution is not a viable and durable one to tackle the situation in the province.

Sindh Government approved proposed funding for SSU in forthcoming annual budget 2012-13, which will be spent on procurement of arms, ammunition, arms accessories, vehicles and other equipments. The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Sindh CM Syed Qaim Ali Shah at the CM’s House.

Assistant Inspector General of Police (SSU) Mushtaq Ahmad Memon in his detailed briefing informed that SSU is responsible for security of VVIPs and VIPs, and keeping in the increasing threats in current wave of terrorism, lack of communication and coordination, initially untrained /unscreened personnel were deployed for the VVIPs duty from various units.

Dr Shakil Afridi who helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden was convicted on charges of colluding with the banned LI and its chief, Mangal Bagh, court documents reveal.

The five-page court document, available with Dawn, reveals that Mr Afridi was arrested for his “involvement in anti-state activities” on May 23, 2011, following reports that he was in league with LI. The order said intelligence reports had indicated that the accused had close links with the defunct LI and “his love for Mangal Bagh, Amir of Lashkar-i-Islam, and his association with him was an open secret”.

KP Government has asked the Federal Government to make immediate arrangement for shifting Dr Shakil Afridi from the Peshawar Central Prison to some other place. A senior government official said a large number of militants in the Peshawar prison posed a serious threat to the life of Dr Afridi.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police decided to withdraw their guards detailed for the security of VIPs in the province against the rules. The decision, which was made during a high level meeting here in light of shortage of staff and the delicate security situation, will come into effect forthwith.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called upon the international community to realise sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the war on terror and the role it played against terrorists and for peace in the region. Jiechi, who arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit to hold talks with Pakistani civil and military leaderships on regional peace, security and bilateral ties, was addressing a joint press conference along with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

May 30

At least 10 persons including Rangers SI were killed in separate incidents of violence and sectarian killing in Karachi.

Two Shias, identified as Syed Mehdi Raza (35) and Ahmer Raza (22), were killed in a sectarian target killing in the Hariana Colony of Orangi Town. Police detained over half a dozen suspects belonging to SSP.

Police found two dead bodies identified as Farhan (25) and Abdul Rehman Baloch (26), from Timber Market near Bhitt Shah within the limits of Napier Police Station. A Police Official said two slips were found from victims’ pockets that read, “Jo Mohajir sobay ka ghaddar hai woo maut ka haqdar hai”. (Whoever is an enemy of Mohajir is destined to be killed).

An activist of the MQM, identified as Imran Baig (24), was shot dead in Shah Faisal Colony. He was associated with the MQM unit-109 and was a former activist of the ST. 

Police found an unidentified body of a man that bore torture marks from Lyari Naddi near Miranaka in the limits of Chakiwara Police Station. 

A militant, identified as Mohammad Arshad alias Taliban, shot dead three brothers, Mohammad Jamshed, Mohammad Mushtaq and Mohammad Ishtiaq, in Badra area of Mansehra District before being killed by the locals in the area. One of the militant’s accomplices, Mohammad Naseer, and an unidentified man also suffered injuries in the clash.

The Kohat Police arrested a Bangladeshi national, identified as Mohammad Bin Ameen, during routine search on the Indus Highway in Kohat District.

The Qaumi Amn Jirga called for immediate ceasefire in the region to end the conflict that has been besetting FATA and Afghanistan for over a quarter of century. The peace jirga concluded in Peshawar with an eight-point declaration that called for stopping all sorts of foreign interference and instigation of violence in the region.

The declaration said that Afghan land, a land of peace and dialogues, was witnessing bloodshed and homicide and the whole area was converted into a dump of explosives and ammunition. It said that Pashtuns, who were portrayed as terrorists, were basically enlightened, tolerant and moderate but they were exploited by the outsiders for their ulterior motives. So they were killed as well as taunted, it added.

Addressing the jirga, Haji Din Mohammad, who had helped slain al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to stay in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, expressed deep concern over the plight of Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Two abductees were recovered and three persons, including one abductee, one Policeman and an abductor, were killed during an encounter in a joint raid by AVCC and CPLC at Alamdar Chowk, Qasimabad area in Karachi.

He said the abductors opened indiscriminate gunshots on Police that led killing of an ASI Arshad of AVCC. In retaliation, the joint team killed an abductor.

A man belonging to Hazara community, identified as Ali Muhammad, was shot dead near a roadside hotel on Joint Road in Quetta in a sectarian attack.

The New Kuchlak Police claimed to have arrested seven suspects, including three Afghans, and seized a huge cache of explosives from two vehicles near Bostan Phatak in Kuchlak town of Quetta while they were en route to Quetta from Zhob.

The CCPO Mir Zubair Mehmood said the suspects wanted to smuggle the explosives to Quetta. The CCPO said that it had not been known to which terror outfit the suspects belonged.

Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who helped the US find slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was imprisoned because of his close ties to the terrorist outfit LI and not for his links to the CIA, said a Pakistani officials according to a court document. The judgement document was made available to the media on May 30.

The US said that it sought clarification from Pakistan on the issue of Doctor Afridi's sentence. State Department's spokesman Mark Toner said that US sought clarity on the 'new reason' being given by Pakistan for sentencing Doctor Afridi.

Mark Toner said "It seems to contrast previous reports about his conviction and the basis of it, so we're trying to get clarity," adding, "It's unclear to me what else we could do for his case, but we certainly take it very seriously, the secretary's (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) very clear in her remarks saying that there's not any basis for holding Afridi."

The US sent a handful of military trainers back into Pakistan in a sign the two nations may be able to achieve some low-level cooperation against militants despite a string of confrontations that have left Washington’s relations with Islamabad in crisis.

“I wouldn’t call this a watershed moment (but) it’s not insignificant that this is happening,” the US official said on condition of anonymity. The picture is less encouraging on cooperation between US and Pakistani intelligence, which several American officials said remained dire as Pakistan’s officials resist easing restrictions on issuing visas to US intelligence personnel.

May 31

A Rangers’ SI Abdul Hameed Chanchar was shot dead in front of his house in Madina Colony of Korangi. 

Another man was shot dead at Maripur Road.

Unidentified armed militants opened fire near an eye hospital located in the adjoining area of Lee Market, killing one person and injuring the other.

One Asad Hussain (35) was shot dead in an incident of target killing in Korangi area.

Another person sustained injuries in a separate incident of firing in Korangi.

A woman, Mumtaz Begum w/o Saeed Khan, who was injured in a bomb blast in Ghulam Banda area of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on May 24 succumbed to her injuries, raising the death toll from the incident to two.

Unidentified militants blew up a girls’ primary school in the Jalander village on the outskirts of Mardan town. Police said that the unidentified militants planted two bombs in Community Girls Primary School of Jalander Village, by keeping the security guard as hostage. The blasts destroyed the building completely. 

A house was damaged when unidentified militants hurled a grenade at it near Lond Khor Goro.

The Bannu District Police have formed 24 squads of trained commandoes to counter jailbreaks in the future. The squads have been deployed across Bannu city, Bannu District Police Officer Waqar Ahmad said. Police are guarding all entry and exit points to the city and are searching all suspicious vehicles, he said.

Unidentified militants abducted a trader, identified as Lal Chand, from Dera Allah Yar area of Jaffarabad District while he was travelling from Sohbatpur to Jacobabad.

Ilyas Shinwari, a wanted militant ‘commander’ and key financer of the Abdullah Aizam Brigade of TTP, surrendered to political administration in Khyber Agency of FATA. Shinwari was wanted in connection with attacks on SFs and other terrorist activities, Assistant Political Agent, Landikotal, Khalid Mumtaz Kundi said.

Three militants surrendered in Bajaur Agency and pledged to help the agency administration promote peace, an official said. "Three Taliban militants ... are under the custody of the political administration and would be set free within three days," Bajaur Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah said.

Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah urged the UN agencies to continue their efforts for providing basic needs of life to the people of militancy-affected areas of the tribal region. Talking to a delegation of UN agencies, he said that militants were eliminated from the region and writ of the Government was restored as a result of a successful military operation.

In a bid to curb targeted killings and restore peace in Karachi, the Sindh Government has decided to revise territorial limits of existing Police Stations and to create Police sub-stations in sensitive neighbourhoods. Conferees at meeting at Chief Minister House decided on the plan to open Police sub-stations and to set up community policing and intelligence units, according to a Government statement.

Cricketer Umar Gul’s house in Peshawar was raided by a team of Army commandos and his brother arrested on charges of harbouring a wanted militant. Gul’s brother, Meraj, was arrested along with two other men on charges of providing shelter to his uncle, Haji Daly, who is believed to be an active member of banned outfit LI.

The LI said that it never had ties to Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who is accused of treason for helping the US CIA find slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, even though Islamabad on May 30 changed its stand and said that Doctor Afridi was jailed for aiding LI. “We have no link to such a shameless man. If we see him we’ll chew him alive,” said Abdul Rasheed, an LI commander, adding, “There is no truth to this. We want to get him ourselves. If we get hold of him, we are going to punish him according to the Sharia’ah, (Islamic Law)”.

China has urged Pakistan to take effective measures to stop the activities of ETIM militants present in FATA, BBC Urdu report said. According to the report, the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi currently visiting Pakistan said that it was their belief that militants belonging to the ETIM are influencing the Chinese province Xinjiang, which has a Muslim majority population.

The pace of repatriation of Afghan refugees has declined sharply over the past two years mainly because of the uncertain security situation in their country. According to officials, under an agreement signed in 2012 between Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Ministry of SAFRON and UNHCR, about three million remaining refugees were to be repatriated to Afghanistan by the end of December 2012, but a very small number of them have since returned.

On May 30, the jirga members met SAFRON Minister Shaukatullah Khan who assured them that the Pakistan Government would take every possible step to accelerate the pace of repatriation of Afghan refugees.

The jirga was informed that at present more than one million of the three million Afghan displaced persons were not registered with the authorities and because of this they were facing a number of problems.

The US Congressman Dennis Kucinich and ten other members of the US House of Representatives have asked US President Barack Obama to explain the targeting criteria for drone strikes and the legal justification for them, without which, the drones are part of US’ undeclared wars. A letter, circulated by Democrat Kucinich, expresses concern over the use of drone technology against suspected militants by the CIA and the JSOC.

June 1

Militants attacked troops near the Nadir Mela area of Kurram Agency in FATA, leading to a shootout that killed six militants and injured two soldiers, including a captain. Five other militants were injured, Frontier Corps spokesman Major Fazl said.  

Eight militants were killed and three were injured when gunship helicopters pounded militants’ positions in Mela Village of Orakzai Agency. Four militant bases in Mela Village were destroyed in that action, Assistant Political Agent Hamid Khan said.  

Three persons were shot dead and three others injured in a target killing incident in the Ghani Goth area of Khuda Ki Basti in Surjani Town. Initial investigations revealed that five assailants on two motorcycles opened fire on the six people and fled. The dead were identified as Mehboob Khan (35), Ghulam Qadir Baloch and an unidentified 28-year-old person. 

One MQM supporter, identified as Shahnawaz alias Shani, was shot near Abal Chowk at the Kaagzi Bazaar in Kharadar. 

Another MQM supporter Waqas alias Vicky was shot dead at Yousuf Plaza, near Anarkali Bazaar.

A man, identified as Ali Muhammad (60), was killed outside a bakery in Khokhrapar. Investigators said the victim was receiving threats from extortionists.

Former provincial Minister and Kalat District JUI-F Chief Attaullah Langoh’s son Hafiz Imdadullah was shot dead near on Spiny Road in Quetta. SP Malik Arshad said that unidentified militants riding a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying Langoh’s son.

Unidentified assailants shot dead Police constable Riaz Gul at Nawa-e-Killi area of Quetta in an incident of target killing.

A militant was killed in retaliatory firing incident with the Police in Chagai District. According to details, a vehicle carrying seven persons illegally entered in Chaghai. When SFs signaled to stop, the assailants opened fire. SFs retaliated, killing one alleged militant and injuring three others.

One Shahid was killed by unidentified assailants in the Katlang Town of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Officials of the Katlang Police Station said Shahid was killed by unidentified assailants when he was on his way to home from work. 

Three people were injured in Hangu Bazaar after an improvised explosive device and mortar shells placed in a handcart exploded. The blast partially damaged two shops and a bank. 

A police mobile van narrowly escaped a militant attack near Rashakai inter-change in Nowshera. DSP (Nowshera Circle) Riaz Khan said that militants had planted explosives along Nowshera-Mardan Road and they exploded when the van passed by. 

Police recovered an abdcuted businessman, Shahzad, from TTP terror camps in Ghuarazai area of Lachi tehsil.

The grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti and the head of BRP Brahmdagh Bugti said the NATO supply through Balochistan is not acceptable but if they (the Pakistani Government) want to do so, the Baloch should be taken into confidence.

The Baloch leader said that Pashtuns would not be part of “independent Balochistan” as the territory would be consisted of the Baloch majority area. He accused the Pakistan Army and ISI for using power and money to divide Baloch leaders struggling for their “independence”.

The lawyers, representing Doctor Shakeel Afridi jailed after helping the CIA find slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, appealed against his conviction.  Afridi was on May 23, 2012 sentenced to 33 years in jail.

The appeal, filed by his brother Jamil Afridi through lawyers, said the allegations were “false, concocted and without foundation”. It said Afridi had “no association” with LI and that the conviction should be dismissed because he had no opportunity of defence or fair trial. The appeal said Afridi was abducted by LI in 2008 and ordered to pay PKR 1 million.

Pakistan’s decision to allow two US military officials to return to a liaison post is a “sign of improving coordination between the United States and Pakistan”, the American Forces Press Service said. The story, posted prominently on the front page of the official Pentagon website, quotes spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby as saying that the two officers returned to Pakistan recently at the request of the Pakistani Government.

Earlier, Capt Kirby told a news briefing at the Pentagon that there were no US military trainers in Pakistan. “A couple of liaison officers, from the US Regional Command East, Bagram, have returned to the area around Peshawar to coordinate and continue to liaise with the 11th Corps headquarters there at the Pakistani military.”

June 2

More than 30 militants were killed in clashes with SFs in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. Source said that the SFs launched a massive crackdown in Tirah Valley. Four hideouts and compounds of militants were also destroyed.

At least four militants were killed in a drone attack in Ghwa Khwa area near Wana in South Waziristan Agency in the early morning. According to sources, four missiles were fired by a drone at a car parked in a house in Ghwa Khwa area.

Unidentified militants blew up a high-power transmission tower in Jar area of Bajaur Agency. After the incident the political authorities launched a search operation and arrested 20 persons in this regard. No group claimed responsibility for the destruction of the tower.

The SFs arrested a burqa-clad suicide bomber in Landikotal area of Khyber Agency. Official sources said that a bomber wearing burqa was stopped by SFs when they got suspicious.

SFs conducted a search operation in Juma Gul, Tormazdak, ShadiKhel and Abakhel areas of FR Tank. In the operation SFs arrested a number of suspects and also seized arms, ammunition and IED.

Armed militants killed one man at Ahmed Shah Bukhari road in Kalri area of Lyari of Karachi.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead another unidentified man in Sohrab Goth area.                                      

A woman was injured in firing in Pahar Ganj area while two other men were wounded at Bin Qasim roundabout and Qasba Colony respectively.

Rangers raided different areas of Gulshan-e-Iqbal including Quaid-e-Azam Colony and other adjoining areas after getting information about the presence of criminals in the area.

Unidentified militants killed two Balochistan Levies personnel, identified as Rasool Bukhsh and Mohammad Umer Jan, in an attack on a check post in Rado area of Jaho tehsil in Awaran District.

Unidentified militants killed a person of the Hazara community, Muhammad Ali, and another injured near a bus stop on Sariab Road in Quetta.

Around 121 insurgent training camps were operating in Balochistan and 30 in Afghanistan, which is contributing to unrest in the province, IG FC Major General Ubaidullah Khan said. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Khan claimed that the camps are being operated by Harbiyar Marri, Brahmdagh Bugti, Allah Nazar and Javed Mengal, and are running concerted campaigns to defame state institutions. Brahmdagh Bugti is the leader of BRP and Harbiyar Marri of BLA - both are accused of fuelling insurgency in the violence plagued province. Khan added that if the government tries its hard, these camps can be eliminated.

June 3

The US drone attack killed 10 militants in the Birmal area of South Waziristan Agency in FATA. Sources said that the drone fired four missiles at a suspected militant hideout in the Birmal area.

The LI militants killed two men and a woman in Qambar Khel area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency after accusing them of being involved in illicit affair. A spokesman for the LI, Abu Rasheed Lashkari, told reporters by phone that its activists had caught the three people “red handed” in Qambar Khel area and they had been punished “in accordance with the Shariat”.

An Afghan refugee, Ajmeer Khan was killed when he stepped on a mine in Shahedano Dhand in Kurram Agency.

The Akkakhel peace committee of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency has announced a general amnesty for all militants affiliated with any outfit, if they surrender unconditionally and gives an undertaking about good conduct in future.

At least six persons, including four Shias and a policeman, were killed and another Policeman injured when a group of unidentified assailants attacked a welding shop on Essa Khan Road in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Sources said unidentified assailants, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on the shop, killing five people, including a passer-by.

The assailants were escaping after killing the five people when a Police patrolling team spotted the assailants and opened fire at them. Two policemen were injured in the ensuing shootout and one of them succumbed to injuries. Sources said that two attackers were also injured but they escaped in a rickshaw.

Police found three men shot dead from different parts of Karachi, provincial metropolis of Sindh, while a MQM activist was shot at and injured.

The bodies of two young men were found from Sector 8-L within the jurisdiction of Orangi Town Police Station. They were identified as 26-year-old Asad Iqbal and 31-year-old Shahid. Police officials said both victims lived in Orangi Town and unidentified men killed them after kidnapping. They said both were shot in their heads and chests.

Another dead body of a man was found near Lyari Express Way in Bandhani Colony within the limits of Liaquatabad Police Station. Police officials said unidentified men, after kidnapping, shot the man once in his head before throwing his body into a deserted place. 

An activist of MQM, identified as Rashid, was shot and injured in a drive-by shooting in Malir. Police officials said that the victim is associated with the MQM Malir Unit-43. He was shot thrice while the motive behind the incident has yet to be ascertained.

Another MQM activist Ali Patni went missing from Kharadar locality.

Two TTP militants were killed in a clash with Security Forces in Kawar Qala area in Tank District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The slain militants were identified as Ihsanullah and Irfanullah.

Militants killed a man and abducted two of his grandchildren after an attack on his home in Ghalo Cheena in Doaba area in Hangu District.  The sources said that scores of militants stormed the house of one Asghar in Ghalo Cheena and opened indiscriminate fire on the family members.

Police claimed to have foiled a sabotage attempt and recovered huge cache of explosives and arms in Shahi Bagh locality of Damghar area in Swat District. Official sources said that personnel of Kanju, Kabal, and Shah Dheri Police Stations seized explosives, hand grenades, cartridges, wires and important documents during a search operation in Damghar area. The arms and explosive were dumped on the bank of the Swat River. The policemen spotted the arms during a joint patrolling in the area.

A rocket shell was neutralised by the BDS in a field near the Officers Colony here in the Bannu Cantonment of Bannu District. The sources said that a rocket shell was found in a field near the Officers Colony on the Bannu-Miranshah Road. Acting on a tip-off, officials of the BDS reached the spot and neutralised the shell.

The law-enforcement agencies have undertaken stringent security measures in and around the Peshawar Central Prison since shifting of alleged CIA informer Dr Shakil Afridi to the jail. The provincial government had made all necessary arrangements for the shifting of Dr Shakil to a more secure prison in Punjab and a green signal by the federal government to this effect was awaited.

Resentment is brewing up in GB with the local representatives there calling on the US to support the right of self- determination of the people of the disputed region, saying that they are being oppressed by the Pakistan Government.

Parwana called denial of the right of self-determination and degradation of local national and cultural identity as two main issues for the people of GB, saying that with abundance of natural resources and enviable geo-strategic location the region fulfils the criteria to sustain as an independent country.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directed the Balochistan Chief Secretary and Home Secretary to take steps to improve law and order situation in the province. Talking to a delegation of Hazara community at Governor’s House, the Prime Minister said that a concerted strategy must be evolved to ensure peace in Balochistan. He said any leniency on part of law enforcers would not be tolerated.

Gilani said he had directed the Balochistan Chief Secretary to identify 35,000 graduates of Balochistan to be given jobs by the Government. “Fifteen hundred jobs in Federal Levies Force have already been provided to the people of Balochistan,” he said while talking to a PPP Balochistan delegation led by its provincial president Mir Sadiq Umrani. “1,500 more jobs will be created in the Federal Levies Force in Balochistan this year,” Gilani said, adding that the Government would further recruit 10,000 youth in different departments.

The United States has agreed to reimburse USD 1.18 billion or almost 75 per cent of the claims Pakistan has submitted for the expenses incurred in the fight against militants along the Afghan border. The money comes from the Coalition Support Fund, which is used for reimbursing Pakistan and other US allies helping it in the war against terror.

US drone attack killed 15 militants in Hisokhel, east of Miranshah, the headquarter of North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Officials said two missiles slammed into a compound in the village of Hisokhel before dawn. "Fifteen terrorists were killed in a dawn strike on a compound. The bodies of those killed were unable to be identified," a security official in Miranshah said. He said there were unconfirmed reports that foreigners were among the dead. In the debris, local people found letterheads of TTP, wooden beds, blankets and mattresses. Dawn reported that al Qaeda's 'second-in-command' Abu Yahya al-Libi was the target of the US drone strike. US officials confirmed to The New York Times that Libi had been the target of the missile attack in North Waziristan, but could not say whether he had survived. A senior Pakistani security source in Peshawar, meanwhile, told The New York Times that it "looks like he has been killed."

10 militants were killed in aerial shelling in Dwa Thoe area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. Security officials said that fighter planes targeted hideouts of Tariq Afridi group of TTP in Dwa Thoe area in the morning that resulted in killing of 10 militants. The hideouts of Taliban were also destroyed in the bombardment, they added.

Two militants affiliated with LI were killed and three volunteers of Zakhakhel Peace Committee sustained injuries in a clash in Bukarh area of Zakhakhel Bazaar.

Three local LI 'commanders' surrendered to Akkakhel Peace Committee in Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil. The committee had given an ultimatum on June 3 to all militants in Akkakhel area to lay down arms and surrender before June 10.

Ten more persons were killed while six others were injured in the ongoing spat of violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Police officials claimed four MQM workers were among the dead while all the six injured also belonged to the MQM.

Armed men on motorcycles continued to target people in the Old City and its adjoining areas, for which Police blamed Lyari gangsters or People's Amn Committee. Armed men on at least a dozen motorcycles killed an MQM worker, and wounded three others, in Pan Mandi area. Shortly, the same armed men shot and injured two more MQM workers. Later, the same men killed a rickshaw driver and injured a passenger inside near Azeem Plaza in Dhobi Ghat area. The victims were associated with the MQM unit-32. A 32-year-old man was killed while his companion - both MQM workers - was wounded when the same culprits targeted them in Kaghazai Bazaar in Kharadar. The culprits targeted and killed a man at his shop in Bihar Colony. This victim was also a member of the MQM.

An unidentified man was killed and another wounded in a firing incident on Nishtar Road. DSP Qaiser Ali Shah said both victims were on a motorcycle when unidentified men targeted them. Condition of the injured was stated to be critical.

The violence claimed four more lives in different parts of the city, including Orangi Town, Defence, Ferozabad, Sacchal and Sohrab Goth. A man was gunned down near his house in Islamia Colony when he was sitting outside a mosque. Police officials said the deceased hailed from Kurram Agency.

Another man was killed when at least two armed men on a motorcycle shot him in the head. Police said the deceased was a watchman. Another watchman in Memon Nagar Society was gunned down.

Police said an unidentified man shot and killed the victim when he tried to stop him while trying to enter the society. A driver was killed when armed men attacked his car with gunshots near Jheel Park.

An unidentified man's body was found from a nullah near Super Highway. An MQM worker was wounded in an armed attack near Old Sabzi Mandi.

At least two people, belonging to Punjab, were shot dead in a suspected ethnic killing in Mand town of Balochistan. According to Balochistan Levies official Amman Baloch the victims were coming from Iran and were on their way from Mand to Karachi in a coach when unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle intercepted the coach. They took the two persons out of the coach and shot them dead.

A man was killed and another seven, including three security personnel, were injured in a remote-controlled blast in Bismillah Chowk in Panjgur District.

A peace volunteer, who was kidnapped on May 19, was found slaughtered in Matani area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sherbaz, a member of Bazidkhel Qaumi Lashkar (community militia), was abducted along with another friend on May 19 when he was on way to his home in Ghaziabad locality of Matani.

Six persons, including three US nationals, were detained at the Peshawar Motorway toll plaza after Police discovered a large cache of illegal arms from their vehicles. According to Police sources, the "suspicious cars" were stopped for a routine check at the Peshawar Motorway toll plaza when the weapons were discovered.

The Human Rights activist Asma Jehangir said that the country's security establishment was planning to get her killed using one of the many jihadi outfits operating in the country.

Jehangir went public with her fears after an "information-leak from a responsible and highly credible source." Alarmed by this leak, leading members of Pakistan's civil society said: "What makes the reported conspiracy to liquidate Asma Jehangir especially serious is, firstly, the environment of target-killings, in which dissident persons' dead bodies are being dumped all over, and, secondly, the fact that the finger of accusation has been pointed at the extraordinarily privileged state actors."

In a statement issued through the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, they said this is not a conspiracy against one individual alone but a plot against Pakistan's future as a democratic state.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani asserted that the Federal Government was currently negotiating with the exiled Baloch leaders to help resolve the crisis in the province and to ensure stability and prosperity in Balochistan. Addressing an official gathering at the Command and Staff College, Quetta, the Prime Minister maintained that nations thrived in the presence of democratic institutions, before adding that all the key state institutions should work within their respective jurisdictions and domains for the good of the people.

The Supreme Court was informed that a committee comprising senior officers of law enforcement agencies was formed for issues confronting Balochistan, including the matter of missing persons, mutilated bodies and abductions for ransom. Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir told a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, that a joint meeting was held to discuss the issues of the province.

The United States should apologies for the NATO attack on Salala checkpost attack, which killed 24 soldiers, if it wants Pakistan to reopen key supply routes into Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in an interview.

At least 20 TTP militants were killed in retaliatory fire by SFs when a group of militants attacked the Salala checkpost along the Af-Pak international border in Mohammad Agency of FATA. The Salala checkpost, which was attacked by NATO forces on November 26, 2011, severely straining Pakistan-US relations.

At least six militants were killed when Kukikhel peace lashkar clashed with Tariq Afridi group of TTP in Dwa Thoe area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. TTP had earlier claimed to have captured some bunkers previously occupied by Kukikhel volunteers in the same locality.

LI militants attacked a checkpost of the local peace committee in Akkakhel area of Bara. At least 14 peace volunteers were injured in the attack. Two of them were in critical condition, sources said.

Militants blew up a Government-run boys' middle school in the Afzalabad area of Mera Risalpur in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The US said that al Qaeda number two Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed in a drone attack at Hisokhel, east of Miranshah, the headquarter of North Waziristan Agency of FATA on June 4. "Our government has been able to confirm al-Libi's death," said White House spokesman Jay Carney, ending a prolonged US tussle with a man who once escaped from a US jail in Afghanistan, and had defied previous attempts to kill him.

News of the killing of Libi followed reports detailing the scope of the US campaign against global terrorism, including revelations that President Barack Obama personally presides over a "kill list" of top suspects.

Al Libi, a hero in militant circles for his 2005 escape from the US military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, was elevated to al-Qaeda's No. 2 spot when Ayman al-Zawahri rose to replace the slain Osama bin Laden. Militants and residents in the area told Pakistani agents that al-Libi was in the house when it was hit, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Pakistan summoned U.S. Charge d'affaires Richard Hoagland to the Foreign Ministry to convey the Government's serious concern over repeated drone strikes. Hoagland was told that drone strikes represent a "clear red line for Pakistan'' as they are unlawful, against international law and a violation of sovereignty.

The US State Department declined to comment on the Pakistani Foreign Office's demand for a discontinuation of drone strikes - terming it an "intelligence matter" - the spokesperson hinted there was little chance that these operations would cease and explained that drone operations were a part of Washington's counter-terrorism strategy. "I can't talk specifically about classified operations," said US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner during a briefing.

A Peshawar local judicial magistrate granted bail to three Pakistani staffers of the US Consulate, including two drivers and a security guard, charged with transportation of unlicensed automatic weapons in two diplomatic vehicles. He, however, linked their release with the furnishing of two sureties of PKR 100,000 each.

The Government provided police guards to different leaders of anti-TTP Adezai Qaumi Lashkar except its chief and assured them of full legal support. Addressing a joint press conference along with the leaders of different peace bodies at Malik Saad Police Lines in Peshawar, SP Shafiullah Khan urged the volunteers to continue activities against militants in their respective localities.

The SP appreciated the role of peace bodies against militants in the rural areas of Peshawar and hoped that Police and volunteers would continue to coordinate with each other for elimination of terrorism. He said that peace bodies had been formed when Dr Suleman was CCPO to check movement of anti-state and anti-social elements.

The Anti-terrorism court judge Shahid Rafique conducting the trial of LeT 'commander' Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other Pakistani suspects charged with involvement in the Mumbai (Maharashtra) attacks of November 26, 2008 (26/11), was changed on June 6, 2012. No reason was given for the judge's transfer.

Sindh CM Syed Qaim Ali Shah argues that the recent spree of targeted killings in Karachi is not politically motivated instead, he claims that it is a turf war between criminal gangs who are out to occupy each others' territory in show of might.

The DPC remarked that Pakistan should not "commit the mistake" of handing Doctor Shakil Afridi over to the US, and should give him "nothing less than a death sentence".

Nine militants, including a local TTP 'commander', were killed during the clash between the volunteers of Kukikhel tribe in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. It is learnt that TTP 'commander' Nazir Afridi was among the dead. He was a nephew of LI Chief Mangal Bagh and brother-in-law of TTP 'commander' Tariq Afridi.

Two volunteers of Akkakhel peace committee were shot dead by LI militants in the Abdullah Kor area of Bara.

The SFs escorted the health teams administered anti-polio vaccines to children in Sipah area of Bara due to the threatening of militant outfit. Local sources said that a Bara-based militant outfit had warned the residents of the area against vaccinating their children. The political administration also deployed its officials to help the polio teams to reach those areas, which were inaccessible for them during the previous vaccination campaigns.

Three persons, including an activist of the MOC of MQM, were killed in separate areas of Karachi. According to Police sources, a number of old city areas remained tensed due to the overnight clash between two ethnic groups, Baloch and Mohajirs over an abduction issue.

Armed militants shot dead an activist of the MOC of MQM, identified as Raees Ahmed, at Dar-ul-Uloom Road, Korangi within the precincts of Awami Colony Police Station. Tension engulfed Korangi and Landhi in the aftermath.

One Waqar Ahmed alias Khurram (30), was shot dead near his home situated in Federal B Area, within the jurisdiction of Jauharabad Police Station.

A man's body, identified as that of Mohammad Yaseen (26), was recovered from a gunny bag abandoned near Bait-ul-Mukarram Mosque, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, within Aziz Bhatti Police remit.

Pillion riders threw a hand grenade near KMC Workshop, Nishtar Road within Eidgah Police limits. Police officials said the grenade did not go off and no casualty was caused.

The Sindh Rangers on the night between June 6 and June 7 arrested scores of suspects during multiple targeted operations in Karachi, including included Chakiwarda, Jadgal Chowk, Dhobi Ghat, and Kashti Chowk, recovering firearms and ammunition.

Rangers raided buildings in Gadap and Mehmoodabad areas and arrested four suspects with weapons and ammunition.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transport Department is deploying security guards in the public bus terminal. "We have completed interviews of 30 security guards who would be deployed in the public bus stand next week to ensure that no untoward incident takes place there," said Jamil Ahmed, a transport department official.

In a bid to equip the Gilgit Baltistan Police to maintain law and order in the mountainous region, Gilgit Baltistan Chief Minister Mehdi Shah handed over 2,000 weapons and 200,000 rounds to the force.

The weapons handed over to the Police included a total of 700 G3-rifles with 70,000 rounds, 300 7.62mm sub-machine guns with 30,000 rounds, and 1,000 9mm MP5 sub-machine guns with 100,000 rounds were.

Afghan Intelligence accused Pakistan of poisoning at least 65 schoolgirls in Takhar province on June 2, 2012. At least 15 suspects have been detained over mysterious illnesses. A teacher and three female students are among those arrested and all 15 have confessed to being involved in poisoning, National Directorate of Security spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said.

The ISI dismissed the allegation as absurd and senseless. "This is an attempt to strain ties between the two countries. Pakistan wants peace and stability in Afghanistan. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in our interest," a Pakistani intelligence official said.

Terming drone attacks on Pakistani soil as 'self defence', US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta made it clear that the campaign will continue. "We have made it very clear to Pakistani leaders that we will continue to defend ourselves," Panetta, who is wrapping up his nine-day tour of Asia, said during an interaction at the IDSA in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said that drone strikes were a violation of human rights because innocent people, including children and women, get killed in such attacks.

At least 740 people have been slain in targeted killings between January 1 and May 31, the HRCP said. Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the HRCP, said 107 political activists were among the dead. In 2011, 1,715 people were killed in violent incidents in the city. If the January-May pace holds, this year's total will be higher, about 1,750. Zohra said people were being killed with impunity while the government seemed to have little control over the situation.

The US talks pertaining to reopening NATO supplies and review of ties between the two countries slipped into a deadlock over three important issues, including rate for charging a truck crossing the supply into Afghanistan.

Four inter-related subjects namely drone attacks, rate of charges of NATO supply, border's coordination mechanism, apology by US over Salala incident were discussed between the US and Pakistan.

US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said that though Pakistan has formally informed the US that sentencing of Doctor Shakeel Afridi was not linked to his help in tracing slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, there seems to be no change in the view of Obama administration that 33 year imprisonment to the physician was not justified.

Differences cropped up between office-bearers and members of FATA Lawyers Forum (FLF) after its patron-in-chief Abdul Kareem Mehsud announced to suspend the forum's cabinet, but the rival group insisted the suspension was illegal as Abdul Kareem had no legal authority to do so.

Lashing out at the Punjab Government, Adviser to the PM on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik while talking to the media at the NADRA Headquarters in Islamabad asked the PML-N to desist from patronising terrorist organisations like LeJ, as they were only harming the country.

Commenting on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's protest against load shedding and his recent visit to his camp office at Minar-e-Pakistan, Malik said, "You cannot get anything by travelling in buses... Why haven't your Police recovered the kidnapped son of the late Governor? Why don't you tell the nation that you have failed?"

A new book 'Confront and Conceal' by The New York Times journalist David Sanger reveals that US used troop movement threat to spur Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to act against Haqqani network, but he refused. The US intends to keep between 10,000 to 15,000 counter-terrorism troops in Afghanistan, much beyond its troops' drawdown in 2014, which could cross over into Pakistan in case of crisis, a top Barrack Obama aide had warned Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

At least 15 people, including five children, were killed and more than 48 got injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast outside a madrassa, Jamia Islamia Miftahul Uloom, near Bank Chowk on Sariab Link Road in Quetta. Majority of the victims were students of the madrassa.

At least three people, including two militants, were killed and another was injured in a firing incident in Chaghai District. Unidentified assailants opened fire on tribal elder Sardar Ali Mardan's son Raza Hasani in the main bazaar of the District.

An unidentified dead body was recovered from the mountains of Turbat District.

At least seven persons, including a PPP activist and a cadre belonging to SSP were killed in separate incidents of violence in different areas of Karachi. A trader, identified as Abdul Hameed (45), was shot dead while Head Constable Aslam Ameer was injured in an extortion armed attack in Latif Cloth Market within the limits of Kharadar Police Station. The All Karachi Trader Ittehad Chairman Ateeq Mir said that gangsters were committing crimes frequently while the Law Enforcement Agencies had failed to ensure traders' security.

One Adnan (26) was killed in an act of sectarian killing at Ayesha Manzil in the limits of Azizabad Police Station while he was going to Madni Mosque with his friend Tahir. Police said the victim belonged to Tablighi Jama'at and had no affiliation with any political party.

One Hanif (45) was shot dead in Angara Goth within the precincts of Liaquatabad Police Station while he was standing in front of his house.

Imam Badshah (50) was shot dead in Kunwari Colony within Pirabad Police remits. Police said victim was a member of his neighborhood's Inter-Religious Amn Committee.

A man, identified as Abu Bashar (43), was shot dead, while another injured near German School, Orangi Town within the precincts of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station. Police sources claimed that victim was a worker of the PPP.

Police found a dead body of one Kamran (28) from Furniture Market within the jurisdiction of Aram Bagh Police Station. Unidentified abductors reportedly abducted him and then abandoned his body in the market.

A cadre SSP, Shoaib (45), was shot dead while two passersby injured near Zeenat Square within the limits of Sharifabad Police Station. He was standing near a dairy shop when two armed assailants sprayed him with bullets while also injuring two passersby, Shahab and Zeeshan. Spokesman of ASWJ, formerly known as SSP, Maulana Taj Hanfi said that victim was an active worker of ASWJ.

The Motorway Police during a patrol recovered two Russian-made grenades from Lyari Expressway in Hassan Square, Gauharabad within the limits of PIB Police Station.

Four children received injuries when an explosive device, planted by unidentified militants, went off in Thang Khatta village of Bajaur Agency in FATA. Locals said that the children of Thang Khatta village were playing in a field when all of a sudden an explosive device, planted there, went off and injured four children. The injured children were identified as Bilal, Ayesha Bibi, Salma Bibi and Zahirullah.

Two persons including a child were injured when mortar shells fell on several of houses in Baz Garha area of Kamarkhel in Bara of Khyber Agency.

One person, Abdul Aziz, was injured when a shell fell on his house in Kalanga locality of Akkakhel. A portion of the house was also damaged. Likewise, houses of Haji Munawar and Baz Mohammad were partially damaged when hit by shells.

Khyber Agency tribesmen protested killings in the bombing of Tirah Valley by jetfighters and urged the Government to immediately halt military operation in the agency and ensure return and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons.

The Aabpara Police (Islamabad) during the last two days registered five separate cases over the disappearance of people, including the mother of former Lal Masjid [Red Mosque] cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and a businessman, during the operation, Police said. In all five complaints no one had been nominated.

The cases were registered before the June 8 deadline given by the Supreme Court to the Police directing them on May 25, 2012 to entertain the complaints over the disappearance of people during Operation Silence in 2007 and register cases, added Police.

Over the disappearance of Sahiba Khatoon, the Police registered a case in response of a complaint lodged by her son Maulana Abdul Aziz, who sated that his mother was missing since July 10, 2007. The second case was registered over the disappearance of Khalid Amin, in response of a complaint lodged by his brother Sajjad Ahmed, who stated that his brother was missing since July 7, 2007.Three other cases were registered over the disappearance including that of Mumraiz Khan, in response of a complaint lodged by his brother Munir Khan, a native of Murree. Mumraiz was missing since July 8, 2007.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for a UN investigation into US drone strikes in Pakistan, questioning their legality and saying they kill innocent civilians. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay made the remarks at the end of a four-day visit to Pakistan. "Drone attacks do raise serious questions about compliance with international law," Pillay told a news conference in Islamabad.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said that Washington was reaching the limits of its patience with Islamabad because of the safe havens the country offered to insurgents in neighbouring Afghanistan. It was some of the strongest language used by a top US official to describe the strained ties between the US and Pakistan.

Pakistan's ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman, branded Leon Panetta's statement as "unhelpful". In response to a media query about the remarks made by Leon Panetta, Sherry said "This kind of public messaging from a senior member of the US Administration is taken very seriously in Pakistan, and reduces the space for narrowing our bilateral differences at a critical time in the negotiations." "It adds an unhelpful twist to the process and leaves little oxygen for those of us seeking to break a stalemate," Sherry Rehman, said in a statement.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implicitly defended Washington's use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists. "We will always maintain our right to use force against groups such as al Qaeda that have attacked us and still threaten us with imminent attack," Clinton said in Istanbul.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou warned that jihadi fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are training militant groups in northern Mali. "We have information on the presence of Afghans and Pakistanis in northern Mali…They are believed to be working as instructors," he told the France 24 News Channel.

Mali has plunged into chaos since the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya in 2011 scattered mercenaries and weapons across the Sahel. The Tuareg rebels fought alongside a previously unknown militant group called Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), which is believed to be backed by al Qaeda's North African branch. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been active for years in northern Mali, where it has launched attacks against Government Army positions, kidnapped foreigners and allegedly benefitted from drug running.

"I think all these organisations cooperate amongst themselves, whether the Shebab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, AQIM in Algeria and in the Sahel in general, all the way to Afghanistan," he said. "Our concern is that the Sahel not becomes a new Afghanistan."

Pakistan said that it will 'soon' reopen the GLOCs for NATO containers to re-enter Afghanistan and this could happen in a 'week's time', reports The News. The US too admits that GLOCs will open 'soon' but has refrained from giving a timeframe. When a senior Pakistani diplomat, monitoring the deliberations, was approached, he said, "We will open GLOCs soon. My hunch is in a week's time" that could be around June 14, 2012.

When a senior official of the State Department was asked the same question, he said, "There is a "package deal" being discussed at high levels, which includes Coalition Support Fund (CSF), but the deal is not yet quite concluded. We remain hopeful."

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani while talking to the media after the inauguration of Gems and Jewellery exhibition in Karachi (Sindh) said that the Government would not succumb to any international pressure to open the NATO supply line and Shamsi airbase.

At least 18 persons, including 13 cadres of a militant outfit, were killed in a fierce gun battle with SFs in Chagai District. "The leader of the gang, Mohammad Azam, was killed in the gunfight," Chagai Deputy Commissioner, Doctor Tufail told the media, adding that the criminals killed in the fierce gunfight were wanted in several heinous crimes.

"The gang has been active in Chagai and other Districts of Balochistan for 20 years," Doctor Tufail said, adding that it was wanted in a number of cases of murder, looting, attacks on Government and security officials and abduction-for-ransom.

At least 21 persons were killed and over 40 others injured when a powerful bomb ripped through a bus carrying Government employees in Gulbela area on the Charsadda Road in the jurisdiction of Daudzai Police Station in Peshawar.

The body of a Khasadar (tribal Police), identified as Ghulam Rasool, who was abducted few days ago on an unspecified date, was found in Ingeer Khura area of Hangu District. TTP claimed responsibility for the abducting and killing of the Khasadar.

A tube-well owned by JUI-F lawmaker and MPA Naseer Mohammad Khan Maidadkhel was partially damaged in a bomb blast in Kherukhel Pakka area of Lakki Marwat District.

A Federal Judge James Zagel, sentenced a Pakistan-born Chicago taxi driver Raja Lahrasib Khan (58) to seven and a half years in prison for attempting to send money to Ilyas Kashmiri a terrorist with alleged links to al Qaeda and leader of HUJI, telling him that he had violated a citizenship oath made to God promising never to do harm to the US.

After Khan's arrest, authorities accused him of taking steps to send cash to Kashmiri after Kashmiri indicated he needed money for explosives. Khan believed Kashmiri was getting orders from Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said. He sent USD 950 in 2009 to an individual in Pakistan for delivery to Kashmiri he also took USD 1,000 from an undercover agent, allegedly believing that it would be used to buy weapons and possibly other supplies.

Hundreds of families were forced to flee when TTP launched a fresh offensive against Kukikhel tribe in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. Sources said that about 500 families, belonging to Maniya Khel and Sra Vela localities of Tirah, reached Ghundi village of Jamrud tehsil while around 300 more temporarily settled down in Ali Masjid area.

A resident of Maniya Khel, Saifullah told the media "Taliban came in a large number. They were heavily armed". He added that Kukikhel volunteers could not offer any resistance as they had exhausted all their ammunition and also vacated most of their bunkers.

Another Kukikhel volunteer Noor Zahir said that his tribe, which had earlier vowed to expel Taliban from their soil at any cost, lost most of their areas to Taliban fighters of Tariq Afridi group.

It was reported that the Totakhel tribe demanded to the political administration of Mohmand Agency to release its members, arrested under collective responsibility clause of FCR two months ago. The political administration had arrested 31 tribesmen under collective responsibility clause of FCR on March 27, 2012 after militants blew up a health unit, a school and a telephone exchange in Atta area of Khwezai tehsil.

The HM 'chief' Syed Salahuddin vowed to turn the guns on Pakistan if it stopped backing jihadis in J&K who, he claimed, were fighting "Pakistan's war". "We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan," said Salahuddin, who also heads the MJC, a grouping of terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.

He said he was "desperate and agitated" with the new approach adopted by Pakistan in the peace process with India. "Kashmir has been the key issue but now it has become peripheral as all claims of supporting our struggle politically, diplomatically and morally are nothing but lip service," Salahuddin claimed. He said he believed that militancy alone is the solution to the Kashmir issues.

"All those who were involved in the so-called peace talks eventually admitted that India is not serious and that it gained more and more time to implement its own design for the region," he claimed.

The US Counterterrorism officials reported that the death of al Qaeda's 'Deputy leader', Abu Yahya al-Libi on June 4, 2012 is likely to accelerate a shift in power from the group's dwindling leadership in Pakistan to its increasingly autonomous franchises, particularly the branch in Yemen, whose focus on attacking American interests is sure to continue.

For now, Ayman al-Zawahri, Qaeda's nominal leader, still holds the broad influence that he has consolidated since Osama bin Laden's death on May1-2, 2011. But the hierarchical structure of global jihad may be loosening a bit. Libi's death in a drone strike has torn at the connective tissue between the group's embattled leadership in Pakistan and its far-flung affiliates across the Middle East and Africa.

The US and Pakistan are working on the language of a possible US apology to end their stalemate and reopening of NATO's supply routes to Afghanistan by Pakistan. Pakistan wants the US to apologies over a November 26, 2011 air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Salala military post in Mohmand Agency of FATA.

A team of US experts has been based in Islamabad for the past six weeks, trying to end the dispute and reopen the supply routes. Another senior US official, Assistant Secretary of Defence Peter Levoy, also joined the team.

Government announced its provincial budget with increased allocations for security-related expenses by PKR 5.6 billion for financial year 2012-13 keeping in view the precarious law and order situation in the region, reported Dawn. Compared to the current fiscal year's allocation of PKR 23.2 billion the Government has earmarked PKR 28.8 billion for security-related expenses in the provincial budget for fiscal 2012-13.

According to the budget document, PKR 22 billion of PKR 28.8 billion would be provided from the federal divisional pool, while rest of the amount would be made available by the province. A sum of PKR 23.355 billion has been earmarked for Police in the budget, of which PKR 19.226 billion would be spent on salaries and PKR 4.129 billion on non-salary/operational expenses of the Police force.

At least five more persons were killed on the second day of gun fight between the SFs and militants in Chagai District. The clashes erupted on June 8 after the killing of a tribal elder's son. No trooper has been killed in the clashes and the death toll has now reached to 23.

Armed militants killed four Policemen on Sariab Road in Quetta. According to initial reports, unknown gunmen attacked a patrolling Police party that killed four security men on the spot while attackers fled from the scene.

Police recovered a bullet-riddled dead body of a man, identified as Meharullah, in the Sakuran area of the industrial town Hub in Lasbela District.

At least four people were killed and two others injured in intense exchange of fire between two groups of drug peddlers at Al-Asif Square in Sohrab Goth area of Karachi. According to the media, tensions were on a high in the area due to the conflict between the two groups and early in the morning the Square erupted with sounds of gunfire. One of those killed was identified as Irshad Mehsud, while another man was also believed to be part of the Mehsud clan. The other two dead were believed to be Afghans.

The families of the suspects revealed that the victims belonged to Waziristan's Mehsud tribe.

Three people were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi. A man, identified as Arshad (32), was shot dead while his friend Bilal Nasir was injured while they were sitting at a tyre shop near Ali Bhai Auditorium, Nishtar Road within the limits of Soldier Bazaar Police Station. ASI Tahir Ghazi said that victim's elder brother Moosa Baloch, affiliated with PAC, was recently killed in the same manner.

Police found a bullet-riddled body of one Naveed Khan (31) from Sarya Gali in Old Timber Market within the remit of Napier Police Station.

Another dead body, identified as that of Syed Raheel Shah (35), was recovered from Lyari Naddi within the precincts of Shershah Police Station. SHO Malik Nawaz said the victim was abducted, tortured and later killed.

The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested a TTP militant belonging to Sher Zaman faction, identified as Jahangir Khan Akakhel, along with his weapon, after a brief encounter near Nadir Hospital on Super Highway.

A Police Constable, identified as Kashif Ali, was killed during a pre-dawn encounter with militants in Kuthkani area of Maini village in Swabi District.

The Police claimed to have recovered explosive material and other equipment used in homemade bombs from a house in Abakhel village. "Two suspected militants arrested in connection with a case of bomb explosion revealed during their investigation that they had concealed explosives in their home," said a police official.

Ongoing conflicts in different areas of the country are not being properly reported in media due to pressure and threats of different pressure groups and there is a dire need to address this sensitive issue, noted the participants of a roundtable discussion.

The ongoing situation in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA is very critical and conflict reporting in these areas has become very difficult, as the reporters there have to face threats and pressures from different sides including military, militants, local administration and political groups.

Due to the sensitive natures of the ongoing conflicts, more and more news editors are opting not to publish even the reports based on real facts due to immense pressure of stakeholders, mainly the law enforcing agencies and militant outfits.

US President Barack Obama has ordered a 'sharp increase' in drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas in recent months, Bloomberg quoting two officials reported.

Pakistani national security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Bloomberg, claimed that all CIA officers working on the drone program were expelled and the drones were now being launched from bases in Afghanistan.

Pakistan said it was following a well-thought-out strategy to eradicate terrorism and would follow its own timeline in this endeavour. Maintaining that Pakistan was steadfast in its commitment to fighting terrorism, the Foreign Office said the country was following a "well thought out strategy to eradicate the menace of extremism and terrorism" and would follow its own timeline.

Pakistan's Ambassador in Washington Sherry Rehman said that "this kind of public messaging from a senior member of the US administration is taken very seriously in Pakistan, and reduces the space for narrowing our bilateral differences at a critical time in the negotiations''.

Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal, head of judicial commission formed for the recovery of missing persons, held foreign intelligence agencies responsible for the deteriorating situation of Balochistan, claiming that there was concrete evidence against them.

About missing persons, Iqbal said that the Chief Minister of Balochistan had sent a list of 945 'missing' persons to the commission, and added that the complete details of even 45 persons on the list had not been made available. "We sent the list back to the ministry for correction but it never came back," he pointed out.

He also said that "there is a baseless propaganda about the actual figure of missing persons in the country." He said that according to the commission, the total number of missing persons stood at 460, including 18 from Islamabad, 117 from Punjab, 174 from Sindh, 170 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 57 from Balochistan while 12 each from Azad Kashmir and FATA.

At least 10 people, including one security official, were killed, and 10 others injured when terrorists fired rockets at a security check post in South Waziristan Agency of FATA.

At least one security official was killed and another injured when a group of militants attacked a check post in Wana, sub-division of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.

A MQM activist was killed in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. Unidentified assailants opened fire and killed, Sohail Hussain, a MQM activist, at Nishtar Basti in PIB Colony near Old Subzi Mandi in Karachi. Soon, tension engulfed Hassan Square, Old Sabzi Mandi, University Road, Nishtar Basti, Jail Road and its surrounding areas. A heavy aerial firing was opened in different areas in which six people were injured. Angry people staged protests again killing and they set ablaze a rickshaw and jeep near Nishtar Basti.

MQM Coordination Committee in a statement said that the relentless killing of the MQM workers in the city was the part of a vicious conspiracy to undermine peace and tranquility. The statement further said that people belonging to every sphere of life in Karachi were feeling a sense of insecurity due to sharp increase in the activities of criminal elements, incidents of firing, extortion, bloodshed and kidnappings for ransom.

Unidentified militants blew up three power pylons in Dasht area of Mastung District suspending electricity supply to parts of the province. A spokesman for the Quetta Electric Supply Company said 45 grid stations in 16 Districts were affected.

KP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain has said that the Punjab Government has refused to keep Shakeel Afridi in Adiala Jail. Talking to the media, the information minister said that the KP Government had requested the Federal Government to shift the high-security-risk prisoner from the Peshawar Central Jail to somewhere else.

A website that posts messages from terrorist groups said that it would reveal a video message from slain al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al Libi. "Soon, God willing: a visual message from Abu Yahya al Libi," a notice posted on a forum said, without elaborating on when the message was recorded.

Unidentified militants blew up a government primary school for boys in Khat Kallay near Sheik Maltoon Town in Mardan District. Police said 10 to 15 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast that destroyed two classrooms of the school completely.

A Senior Official, District Coordination Officer Siraj Ahmad Khan said that around one hundred thousand illegal Afghan nationals have returned to their country from Peshawar since the City District Government issued warning to them on May 25, 2012.

A source said that International Agencies, monitoring cross border movement of registered and unregistered refugees between Pakistan and Afghanistan, did not report significant rush of Afghans at Torkham.

Two websites linked to al Qaeda announced that they will air a new video featuring the jihadist network's deputy leader Abu Yahya al-Libi, whom Washington claimed to have killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan Agency of FATA on June 4, 2012.

Nine persons, including four gangsters and one MQM activist, were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi.

Four Haji Salamu gangsters, including the leader Haji Salamu, his brother Shahzad alias Charlie, nephew Kashif and an accomplice were shot dead and two others were injured in Mauripur Road area when Lyari gangsters and Haji Salamu gang exchanged fire. Police suggested that Haji Salamu gangster were killed because Salamu's refused to join PAC.

Police found three unidentified dead bodies in gunny bags in Liaquatabad area and near Mauripur Road area.

One MQM activist was killed and six other people were injured when unidentified militants opened fire at them in PIB Colony.

One unidentified man was killed in the Golimar area.

At least six people were killed and over two dozen people were injured when a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded near a bus in the Dringarh area of Mastung District in a suspected sectarian attack.

Two people, including a commander of Aman Lashkar, were killed in two separate remote-controlled bomb blasts in the Mastak area of Khyber Agency in FATA.

TTP, Mehsud faction, in a pamphlet distributed in South Waziristan Agency, gave a final warning to residents to evacuate the area. According to the pamphlet distributed by the militants in the Mehsud territory of South Waziristan, it appealed to all residents of the Agency to vacate the Agency owing to the war in FATA.

It added that no NGO or any NGO contractors were allowed to operate in the area. Rather it termed them as legitimate targets. Included in this list were employees associated with educational activities, health, and members of the Khasadar force.

The TTP took full control of Kukikhel-dominated areas of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency as more families left their homes and moved to Jamrud town of the Agency. Sources said that besides fortifying their positions in the newly-occupied localities, TTP had also torched houses of some Kukikhel elders in Bagh and Sra Vela.

"The entire Tirah Valley, except Bazaar Zakakhel, is now under effective control of three militant groups, TTP (Tariq Afridi group), Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansarul Islam (AI)," confirmed Bakhtiar Mohmand, Assistant Political Agent of Jamrud.

The Pentagon said that the US has withdrawn negotiators from Pakistan after talks failed to produce an agreement on reopening vital NATO supply routes into Afghanistan. "The decision was reached to bring the team home for a short period of time," Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

The No. 2 US commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti said that the NATO supply, closed by Pakistan, has not affected their operation as supply is continuing through alternate routes.

In the backdrop of withdrawal of negotiators the FO Spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said Pakistan and US will have to adopt a realistic approach to improve bilateral relations. Talking to Pakistan Television, he said that Pakistan-US relations are important and there is a desire on both sides to build consensus on issues.

Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's office turned down a request for a meeting by visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Lavoy, reflecting the strains that have hit ties between the two countries since 2011.

One unnamed Pakistani official indicated the request was turned down because of allegations by US officials that Pakistan was not doing enough to rein in militants operating along the border with Afghanistan.

The Supreme Court hinted it could summon Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani over the worsening law order situation in Balochistan, and could ask him how the country should be run and what he can do in this regard. The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, remarked that the court could pass an order under Article 190 to summon the Army Chief.

Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd Gailu said, "About 150 missing persons have been traced due to the efforts of the incumbent Government. Efforts were afoot to bring the disgruntled Baloch leaders in the national mainstream.

Three people, including the brother of MQM's ex-MPA, were killed in separate acts of violence in the metropolis. Two armed militants shot at two brothers of Syed Shakir Ali, former MQM MPA. Both victims were traders and armed assailants came to Shershah scrap market near Jehanabad Police check-post and killed one brother, identified as Syed Qarar Ali (60), and injured another brother Syed Zakir Ali (42).

A man, identified as Abdul Waheed (25), was shot dead within the limits of Korangi Police Station while he was going home.

The dead body of KRC activist, identified as Moosa Sanghar, was found in a gunny bag near Kharadar Jama'at Khana. Sanghar was abducted on the night of June 11, 2012.

At least two Policemen, identified as Abdul Jabbar (40) and Naheedullah (38), were killed and five others, including three civilians were injured in a suicide attack targeting the convoy of Faheem-ur-Rehman, the head of the anti-Taliban Bazidkhel Qaumi Lashkar at Bazidkhel Chowk in Badhaber area of Peshawar. Both the Policemen killed in the attack belonged to Bazidkhel village and were members of the Special Force. According to bomb disposal unit, legs of the bomber had been found and he appeared to be a teenager.

Unidentified militants destroyed three shops and a tube-well in Merikhel area of Darra Adamkhel town in Kohat District. Sources said that owner of one shop Gul Hassan Afridi had been warned by militants to stop informing SFs about their activities. However no loss of life was reported.

A doctor, identified as Doctor Murli Lal who was abducted two months ago from Sohbatpur town in Jaffarabad District reached his home in Dera Allahyar town of the District.

A local cleric, Maulvi Ibrahim Chishti, declared the polio campaign 'un-Islamic' and announced at the local mosque that jihad should be carried out against the visiting polio vaccination team in Muzaffargarh District.

As a result, the polio team returned to Muzaffargarh city without carrying out immunisation, and reported the matter to Muzaffargarh Health Executive District Officer Doctor Aashiq Hussain.

Senior Minister Bashir Bilour told the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly that the provincial Government had discussed with the Federal Government the shifting of Doctor Shakil Afridi, who allegedly helped CIA track down slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, to other jails from the Central Prison Peshawar.

The Pakistani Government should "bite the bullet" and re-open supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan in order to ease tensions with the US, a senior US Government official said. The US had said on June 11, 2012 that it was withdrawing its team of negotiators from Pakistan without securing a long-sought deal on supply routes for the war in neighbouring Afghanistan, publicly exposing a diplomatic stalemate and deeply strained relations that appear at risk of deteriorating further.

Sources in the Foreign Affairs Ministry said that since negotiating teams of the US and Pakistan have finished their work and the decision now lies with the political leaderships of the two countries.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar urged a US Congressional delegation led by Representative Todd Platts that the relationship between Pakistan and the US is important and both sides simply cannot afford to ignore this fact.

The US Congressional delegation was briefed on the current status and challenges of Pakistan-US relationship. Foreign Minister Khar also informed the US Congressmen about the regional situation.

The Pakistan Body Count reported that there is a steep decline in suicide attacks in the past few years. According to the data collated by Pakistan Body Count, an organisation that maintains a 'news-report based database' of suicide and drone attacks carried out in the country, the number of incidents as well as causalities, have witnessed a steep decline compared to 2009 and 2010 - the peak years in terms of causalities.

The incidents which failed to reach even double digits in the five years spanning between 2002- 2006 suddenly spiked to 57 in 2007. The bombings claimed over 800 lives in that year. They went unchecked for the next two years and reached a peak in 2009 when 90 suicide bombings claimed over thousand lives. Although the number of incidents started declining in 2010 but the number of fatalities increased. In 2011 there were 44 blasts killing 625 people- nearly half of the 2009 figures. By March 2012, when the data was last updated, there were only 16 such blasts which took 119 lives.

Four people, including a cadre of PAC, were killed in separate acts of violence in different areas of Karachi. Police found two unidentified bullet-riddled dead bodies from a shrubbery in Sahib Dad Goth within the limits of Memon Goth Police Station.

Police found another unidentified dead body of a youngster from Kunwari Colony within the limits of Manghopir Police Station.

A, a cadre of PAC identified as Owais (25) was shot dead while another cadre, identified as Naeem alias Lahoti, was injured near Cheel Chowk, Nawa Lane within the precincts of Kalakot Police Station while they were guarding the stronghold of the outfit.

Sindh Police claimed to have arrested four suspects, including an extortionist, a target killer and two street criminals in different raids carried out in the city. Two suspects (street criminals), Farrukh alias Doctor and Jehangir along with their pistols and a snatched motorcycle, were arrested during snap checking in New Karachi within the limits of Bilal Colony Police Station.

The Anti-Extortionist Cell arrested an alleged extortionist-cum-target killer, identified as Salman alias Qadir, in a raid conducted in Baldia Town. A TT pistol and some narcotics were also recovered from the possession of the accused.

A wanted militant Israr Gul of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was arrested in a raid conducted in Orangi Town within the limits of Pirabad Police Station.

A US drone fired two missiles on a car near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency of FATA killing four suspects inside the car. The car was going to Tapi village near Esha check-post when it came under attack. Local people retrieved the charred bodies, they said, adding that those killed could not be identified.

Unidentified armed militants killed a PML-N activist Afzal Khan in the Swat District.

Unidentified militants blew up a primary boys' school in the Shah Pur area of Kohat District. According to the Police, around 600 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack.

A new video featuring al Qaeda's number two Abu Yahya al-Libi, who the US says was killed on June 4, 2012 in a drone strike in North Waziristan Agency of FATA in Pakistan, has been posted online by SITE. Both the SITE Monitoring Service and IntelCenter, which keep tabs on militants' websites, said it was not clear when the video had been made. SITE said the video production date only indicated it had been produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab sometime after November 2011.

In the video, Libi denounces Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a "tyrant" and calls his Government a "criminal regime", according to the SITE's translation. He urges the Syrian people to continue fighting and calls on fighters in Iraq, Jordan and Turkey "to rise to help their brothers and to sacrifice themselves for them."

Around 17 of 20 countries surveyed by Pew Global, more than half respondents disapproved of US drone attacks targeting extremist leaders and groups in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. But the unmanned aerial strikes are popular in the US, according to the research. Sixty-two per cent of Americans approve of the drone campaign, with Republicans taking a clear lead. As many as seventy four per cent Republicans support the drones. Sixty per cent independents and 58 per cent Democrats also back the strikes.

Outside the US, India is the only country where drone supporters outnumber those who oppose it. Thirty-two per cent of Indians surveyed said they supported the strikes. Twenty-one per cent said they were against it. Others expressed no opinion. The highest support for drones outside the US is in Britain where 44 per cent approve the strikes.

Pew also conducted a separate survey of drone strikes in Pakistan which will be released later. In predominantly Muslim nations, American anti-terrorism efforts are still widely unpopular. Just 7 per cent of Pakistanis have a positive view of President Obama, the same percentage that voiced confidence in President George W. Bush during the final year of his administration.

A senior US lawmaker Dianne Feinstein who also chairs the SIC said that apologising to Pakistan over the November 26, 2012 Salala incident would improve Washington's relations with a key ally. "National Security of the US will be better served with a positive relationship with Pakistan," Senator Dianne Feinstein said during a Senate hearing on budget priorities for 2013.

Pakistan's Ambassador Sherry Rehman said, "We appreciate Senator Feinstein for showing the way forward in normalising ties in a relationship that is important to both sides and critical for stabilising the region."

A senior Foreign Office official admitted that the apology, and not tariff rates, is the main hurdle for the resumption of NATO supplies to Afghanistan. Pakistan is willing to drastically reduce the taxes and transit fees it intends to impose on NATO supplies passing through the country only if the US accepts full responsibility of the Salala air raid and offers a public apology.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the US should examine setting conditions for aid to Pakistan but not cutting it off, as Islamabad's closure of supply routes to the Afghan war cost American taxpayers millions of dollars a month.

The PHC Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan underlined the need for solid steps to ensure rule of law and upholding of the Constitution for healthy development of society.

At least nine suspected militants were killed and four others were injured when military planes attacked their positions in upper tehsil of Orakzai Agency in FATA.

A US drone attack killed at least three more militants by firing two missiles on a building in the central market of Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency, quoting Pakistani Officials.

SFs and a tribal lashkar repulsed a TTP attack on a check post in Upper Dir District of KP from Afghan Province of Kunar, killing six attackers and injuring many, official sources said.

At least nine persons, including a Police Officer, were killed and over a half dozen injured in different acts of target killings in Karachi. A trader was shot dead and two others were injured in Japan Plaza, near Tibet Centre within the limits of Preedy Police Station when armed militants riding a motorcycle opened fire injuring three people Sohail (35), Aslam (40), and Asad Ali (40). Later, Sohail succumbed to his injuries.

An elder brother of MQM sub-organisation Muttahida Organising Committee sector in-charge, identified as Shahid (40), was shot dead on Taj Masjid Road area in Lyari within the jurisdiction of Kalri Police Station.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a tortured man from Shah Waliullah Road near Ghausia Mobile Mall within the precincts of Baghdadi Police Station. A Police official said the victim had several torture marks on his body and appeared to be Kachchi speaking.

Another unidentified dead body was found in a gunny bag from Khadda Market area of Lyari. Police said that the victims was first abducted and tortured before being killed.

In another area of Karachi, unknown armed assailants killed a man at Khushaal Chowk in Machar Colony while another person was injured at Jail Chowrangi.

One man Israr Khan (35) was shot dead in Muhammadi Colony near Khoshhal Chowk within the limits of Docks Police Station.

An unidentified teenage boy was shot dead near Power House Chowrangi within the jurisdiction of Bilal Colony Police Station.

A sanitary man, identified as Sunny (25), was shot dead in Khori Garden, old city area, within the limits of Kharadar Police Station.

A Police officer Rauf Baloch (35) was shot dead at Ghulam Hussain Qaim Road, within the limits of Garden Police Station.

MQM's former in-charge of Unit 32, Lyari sector, identified as Shabbir, and his son, Kamran, were injured near Garden Headquarter within the precincts of Nabi Bux Police Station.

One Doctor Amjad was shot and injured at his clinic near Kati Pahari within the limits of Shahrah Noor Jahan Police Station.

One Syed Abbas, and another Jaffar, received bullet injuries near Lea Market, Hub bus stand within the limits of Nippier Police Station.

Ehsan Khan, a vegetable supplier and resident of Sawat near Guru Jaglote, was injured when unidentified men opened fire on his van when he was returning to Gilgit after delivering stocks to the markets in Hunza. Khan succumbed to his injuries later. Police arrested seven people in connection with the murder, which the Police believe to be sectarian-motivated.

Infuriated over the killing of a vegetable supplier, the traders' union observed a shutter-down strike. Most of the city presented a deserted look.

The National Assembly approved five demands of grants worth PKR 11,377,526,000 for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Division for the fiscal year 2012-13. The demands of grants presented to the House by Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh included PKR 244,565,000 for the Federal Government to meet expenditure in respect of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Division, PKR 800,091,000 in respect of other expenditures of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Division.

Earlier, on June 11, the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly enacted a law to curb sectarian menace. The GBLA has become the first provincial legislature to have enacted a law dealing with sectarianism. Titled "Code of Conduct" (CoC), the bill was unanimously passed by the GBLA after being tabled in the house by Law Minister Wazir Shakeel on June 8.

Unidentified militants fired two rockets in Quetta on the night which exploded in open places, causing no casualties or damage to property. One rocket landed at the Wapda grid station in Marriabad on the Alamdar Road area and the other near Musa College in Gulistan Town. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Five unidentified armed militants abducted a 16-year-old boy, identified as Mehmood Akhtar, from Killi Bangulzai area of Quetta while he was travelling in his car to an educational academy to attend his tuition class on June 13.

Sindh Government banned the entry of Maulana Masood-ur-Rehman, a leader of SSP in Sindh province under Sindh Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. The notification, issued in provincial capital Karachi stated that Maulana Rehman will not enter, reside or remain in the province of Sindh. The order will remain enforced for 60 days.

PPP MPA Syed Fasihuddin Shah expressing the concern in Sindh Assembly session informed the house that SSP Nawabshah Nisar Channa was missing for the last few days and there were certain reports that the SSP has been abducted by the militants.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stalled a move to cut off US aid to the country. The amendment, proposed by Republican Senator Rand Paul, would have stopped US aid to Pakistan until the country released Doctor Shakeel Afridi who helped CIA find Osama bin Laden.

British Foreign Minister William Hague said that Britain supports democracy in Pakistan. Talking to Geo News programme, 'Aaj Kamran Khan Ke Sath', William Hague said his country is not with any political party rather it supports democracy in Pakistan.

FM Hina Rabbani Khar during a Ministerial Conference in Kabul accused Governments of doing a "terrible job" at working together to tackle militancy in Afghanistan as she called for a more unified approach. The conference aimed at building greater regional cooperation on Afghanistan and its future beyond the pullout of NATO forces in 2014.

FM Khar responded to US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's remarks on "losing patience" by saying she was "glad we are not losing patience with anyone, despite losing 24 soldiers".

She further said, "Pakistan still wants an unconditional apology and the reassurance that the Salala type of incident does not happen again."

In addition, during the same conference Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for greater international cooperation to stabilise his war-torn country and defeat militants. Karzai said the help of neighbouring countries and international powers was vital to economic growth and peace in his impoverished country.

The FO spokesman Moazzam Khan said that efforts were going on to repair relations between Pakistan and the US that deteriorated after the November 26, 2011 Salala incident. Responding to queries during his weekly briefing, he said that the issues the two countries were trying to deal with were difficult ones, and one must understand that particularly after the Salala incident this relationship really went through a huge dip.

US Senator John McCain, while criticizing Obama administration, said that it is unnecessarily damaging US relations with Pakistan. In an interview to American TV, Senator McCain said the Obama administration's encouragement of India's active role in Afghanistan and criticizing Pakistan could be disastrous.

Diplomatic sources reported that international pressure was mounting on Washington and Islamabad to end their stalemate on the issue of reopening NATO route. Pakistan and the US are denying that there was international pressure in this connection, nevertheless, they express their desire to strike a deal at the earliest pertaining to opening up what is being technically dubbed as Ground Lines of Communication into Afghanistan that are causing tension between Islamabad and Washington.

Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan, dispelled the impression that there was any pressure from UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and Danish Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal, Being friendly countries of Pakistan and the US, they do worry about the situation and have desired that the two countries should come closer.

Recent revelations about clandestine US drone campaigns against al Qaeda and other militants are not part of two major leak investigations being conducted by federal prosecutors, sources familiar with the inquiries said. Most detailed information on the drone wars, which were initiated by the George W. Bush administration but expanded by President Barack Obama, is highly classified, officials said.

But Obama and top administration officials, including White House counter-terrorism Chief John Brennan, recently have been alluding more openly to drone operations in public remarks, and detailed news coverage has been widespread.

The CIA did file a "crime report" following publication by the Associated Press last month of a report disclosing the foiling of a plot by Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack an airliner using a newly designed underwear bomb, sources said.

Afghanistan is expected to use the latest round of international talks on its future to raise pressure on Pakistan over so-called militant safe havens ahead of the departure of foreign troops. Representatives from 29 countries will gather in Kabul for the one-day conference, which follows a meeting in Istanbul in November aimed at mapping out the future of the war-torn country after NATO troops leave in 2014.

Afghan President Karzai says peace depends on regional cooperation to smash sanctuaries for militant networks waging violence in his country, and has voiced hope that Pakistan can help in this process.

Pakistanis say that the Americans and Afghans are trying to find a scapegoat in them for the deterioration of the decade-old war in Afghanistan. But in Afghanistan and the US, critics say Pakistan's resistance to cracking down on militant sanctuaries has only fuelled attacks.

At least 11 more people were shot dead and two others wounded in different parts of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

In separate acts of target killings, at least seven people were shot dead and two others were wounded in different parts of the city.

At least four to six armed assailants shot dead a man, Pir Dad, near his house in Baloch Para in the PIB Colony Police Station jurisdiction. Following the incident, fear gripped the area, where the routine and commercial activities were partially suspended.

One Ayub Baloch, 27, was shot dead and his relative Nadeem Baloch, 30, was injured when at least two armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on them near Gilani Masjid at Ghulam Hussain Qasim Road. SHO Mutahir Hussain, who was later suspended over a series of target killings within his jurisdiction, said that both the victims hailed from Balochistan and had arrived in the city to visit their relatives, adding that the incident took place when they were parking their car.

The dead body of a young man was found from Dhobi Ghat locality.

An employee of telephone exchange who was injured on June 14 succumbed to his injuries.

Two people, including an activist of a political party, were killed and four others injured in Hyderabad. According to Police, a political worker was killed and two others injured in a clash over hoisting flag at Hali Road in Shafiq colony.

A quack was abducted and later found in critical condition at Hatri bypass. He succumbed to injuries later. Two other people were injured in different firing incidents in Panyari and Sireghat areas.

Revered social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi has been given round-the-clock protection, for the first time in Karachi, against an alleged TTP threat, officials said. "There is a threat to him by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which wants to kidnap him and use him to get their detained militants released in exchange," an unnamed security official said.

Nine militants were killed and four injured after jetfighters attacked their hideouts in Kalaya area of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA. Jetfighters targeted militant positions in Adokehl and Botakhel areas of Mamozai, a stronghold of militants. Sources said three militant hideouts were also destroyed.

In Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, two children were killed in after they touched a landmine, which exploded in the house of Juma Khel in Sheen Kamar-Zaodin area. Sources said the house was recently vacated by militants, who had allegedly laid the landmine in the house.

Two children were injured when a stray mortar shell fell on the house of Lal Zamir in Gud Malang area of Akkakhel. Local sources said mortar shells were fired by SFs against militants in the area.

Unidentified militants attacked the Levies centre in Shah Kas area of Jamrud. Local officials said miscreants fled after retaliatory fire by the Levies present inside the centre.

SFs advanced towards Alijo and Dogar areas without resistance. However, the development forced a large number of Mamozai tribesmen into vacating their houses and leaving for safer places.

Two people, identified as Zeshan and Bilal, were killed and one was injured when unidentified assailants on motorcycles opened fire on them in the Tail Godown area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

The country's top leadership is contemplating reopening inland supply routes for international forces stationed in Afghanistan after the US appears to be softening its stance on offering an apology for November 26, 2011, attacks on border posts.

The US drone strikes against suspected militant hideouts in tribal areas will ultimately fail to influence the outcome of an Afghan settlement, an American expert stressed in a newspaper opinion piece. Michael Krepon, who is Director South Asian Program at the Stimson Center, noted in The Washington Post, "These strikes will ultimately fail to influence the outcome of an Afghan settlement, but they have already succeeded in making the United States more hated in Pakistan than India."

A car bomb ripped through parking area of Bazaar Zakhakhel in Landikotal town of FATA, killing 25 people and injuring more than 65, officials said. "The death toll is 25," local administration chief Mutahir Zeb said. Zeb said there were 18 bodies at the Landikotal hospital while seven victims died while being taken for treatment in Peshawar. The dead included three children aged nine, 10 and 12, he added.

A roadside bomb targeting a Police van killed six Police officers and one civilian in Kohat District of KP, Police said. "The bomb was planted in a drain. It was detonated by a remote-controlled device. The target was a police van," local Police chief Mubarak Zeb said.

Unidentified militants killed an active member of Maidan Peace Committee, Anwar Khan, along with his 13-year-old son in the Dir area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the night. He was killed in the Koro Bagh area.

Five people were killed in the city in separate incidents of firing. In Nagori Goth along the Super Highway, three people were found shot dead, Police said. "The victims remain unidentified and it seems that they were kidnapped before being shots dead," said SP Jan Muhammad Barhamani.

Earlier in Aram Bagh area, a motorcycle mechanic was shot dead near his home. The victim, Fahim Iqbal, recently returned from Balochistan where he had gone to see relatives.

A young man was gunned down near Timber Market. Officials identified the deceased as Aqeel Ibrahim.

A mob attacked a Police Station in Quetta, demanding a man detained for allegedly desecrating the Quran be handed over, leaving at least two children dead and 19 with gunshot wounds. Violence erupted after Police arrested a "mentally retarded" man said to have burnt pages of the holy book in Kuchlak, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Quetta, senior administration official Qambar Dashti told AFP.

10 people, including four MQM activists and a Policeman, were killed in separate acts of violence and target killing in , the provincial capital of Sindh.

Two MQM workers, Mukhtar Khan and Amjad, were shot dead in Surjani Town and Orangi Town, respectively.

A watchman was shot dead near Allah Rakha Park in the Kharadar police area.

A Police Constable was also shot dead and his son injured in an attack within the limits of Surjani Police Station.

Bullet-riddled dead bodies of three people were found in Nagori Goth along the Super Highway.

Police found dead bodies of two MQM activists from Nullah Stop in Lyari. The two were cousins and had been missing since June 16 evening.

Police found a bullet-riddled body of a man from Chandni Chowk in Saeedabad Police area.

Violence spread across different parts of Gulistan-e-Johar with incidences of firing after a political party worker, Liaquat Bangash, was allegedly tortured and killed by Police and rangers who raided his house. Five people, including two Policemen, were injured in firing incidents in the area. Bangash was arrest a year back by CID. He had more than 12 cases registered against him and had been released just a few days ago. The leader belonging to the ANP was found dead in the Rabia City complex in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, after what the police claimed was a "stair fall".

Seven terrorists were killed and several of their hideouts destroyed in bombing by aircraft in NWA of FATA. Security sources said the terrorists were planning attacks and the Security Forces called in the aircraft for assistance. During the bombing, seven terrorists were killed and a number of others injured. Several of their hideouts were also destroyed in the attack.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a milkman in Fakir Muhammad Road area Quetta. The victim was identified as Afsar Khan. Police said preliminary investigation indicated that it was an incident of target killing.

The TTP in North Waziristan has declared a ban on the polio vaccination programme in the tribal agency as long as drone attacks continue in the region. This ban was announced on June 16 through a press release which claimed polio affected only few in comparison to drones which killed large numbers indiscriminately.

According to local media, the statement said: "After consultation with the Taliban Shura, servant of Mujahideen in North Waziristan Agency Hafiz Gul Bahadur has decided that there will be a ban on polio campaign as long as drone strikes are not stopped."

At least 10 more people, including four activists of MQM, were killed in separate incidents of target killing, and one person was abducted in Karachi. Three bullet-riddled dead bodies of MQM's activists were recovered from an abandoned car at Mirza Adam Khan Road within the limits of Chakiwara Police Station. The victims were identified as Hassan Raza (35), Ijtiba Khan (40) and Atif Usmani (40).

Two people, including a woman, were killed while over half-a-dozen others injured in a clash that took place between two groups, ANP and Mudassir chief group, at Pehalwan Goth, within the limits of Gulistan-e-Jauhar Police Station. The clash between the ANP and Mudassir Chief group broke out a day after the killing of local ANP leader Liaquat Bangash on May 17, 2012.

A member of MQM's MOC, identified as Afsar Khan (45) was shot dead along with his companion Zubair Khan (30) in Sherpao Colony, Quaidabad Police limits.

Two bullet-riddled dead bodies of two cadres of a gang involved in robbery were found from New Karachi within Bilal Colony Police remit. The victims were identified as Ameer Barkat (40) and Ismail (22).

A local leader of Swat Qaumi Ittehad for Mohammadi Mohalla in Frontier Colony identified as Sher Ali (68) was shot dead outside his house within Pirabad Police precincts. SHO Ashfaq Baloch said that Ali's brother, belonging to an anti-Taliban Amn Lashkar, had earlier been killed in Karachi.

Three people, identified as Murtaza Khan, Jaffar Khan and Namdar Khan, were killed and two others Mir Shah Gul and Noor Din, received injuries when mortar shells hit a caravan of migrating tribesmen, (IDP) at Mandani Kallay locality of Ali Sherzai area in Orakzai Agency of FATA.

The officials of LEAs arrested two persons involved in June 16, 2012 car bomb blast in Landikotal town of Khyber Agency that killed at least 25 people and injured more than 65. The two accused were arrested after the identification of engine and chassis number of the vehicle, which was used in the explosion.

Abduction-for-ransom has become a nightmare for residents of the volatile Kurram Agency, forcing many of the tribal families to leave their native towns and seek accommodation in Rawalpindi and Islamabad Districts of Punjab province. After re-opening of Thall-Parachinar Road recently - which remained blocked since 2009 as armed militants had occupied this lone route to the restive area - the residents are now faced with the menace of kidnapping-for -ransom by militants.

According to MNA Sajid Hussain Turi, so far 50 people of Turi tribe were abducted by militants, while over PKR 80 million had been paid by the victim families in ransom for securing release of their relatives.

Unidentified armed militants shot dead famous Pashtu singer Ghazala Javed along with her father in Peshawar. According to reports, Ghazala along with her father was on her way home in Dabgari area when some unidentified armed militants opened indiscriminate fire on her vehicle. As a result, both father and daughter were killed on the spot.

A rocket exploded inside an open space near Mingora Police Station in Swat District. However, no loss of life or property was reported.

At least five students and one professor were killed, while around 30 were injured when a powerful blast occurred near an IT University located in Jinnah Town of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan in the morning. The bomb was planted inside a car parked nearby.

Members of the Balochistan Assembly criticised the Federal and Provincial Intelligence Agencies for their failure to identify elements behind acts of terrorism in the province.

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani during a meeting with tribal elders after the inauguration of a cadet college at Spinkai said that Pakistan Army would continue the rehabilitation and reconstruction work for the uplift of the people of South Waziristan Agency in FATA, after it had flushed out terrorists and maintained peace in the area.

Mushahid Hussain Sayed while talking to the DRF at Parliament House's cafeteria said that NATO supply would be reopened this month, but the US has to tender apology. He said that most of the matters had already been settled with Washington.

Islamabad's Ambassador to Washington Sherry Rehman said, "An appropriate apology for the Salala incident of November 26, 2011 in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a US air attack is needed".

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, in her opening statement to the 20th session of the HRC, while referring to her recent visit to Pakistan, said that she was impressed by "the energy and capacity" available to strengthen human rights and democracy in Pakistan and also expressed serious concern over the continuing use of armed drones for targeted attacks, in particular because it was unclear that all persons targeted were combatants or directly participating in hostilities.

The Permanent Representative of Pakistan Ambassador Zamir Akram reiterated the position of the Government of Pakistan that drone strikes were contrary to international law and a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, and were counter-productive.

The prominent human rights organisation, Amnesty International, in its statement, also said that the drone attacks "disregard human rights law" and that "the carrying out of killings….represents a fundamental challenge to the whole international system for the protection of human rights."

At least four people were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi. Police found a dead body of a man, identified as Shahid Memon (35), packed in gunny bag near Coconut Ground, FB Area within the limits of Jauharabad Police Station. A Police Official said the victim was missing since the evening of June 18, 2012.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a man also packed in gunny bag from Shah Faisal embankment within in the precincts of Korangi Industrial area Police Station. A Police officer said the victim appeared to be Pashtun.

Police found an unidentified dead body of a teenage boy from Star Ground within the limits of Quaidabad Police Station. The victim appeared to be Pashtun.

A teenage boy, Saleem (19), was shot dead in Future Colony, Landhi within the jurisdiction of Sharafi Goth Police Station.

An activist of ST Anwar Siddiqui was injured in an armed attack at Khudadad Colony within the limits of Brigade Police Station.

All Pakistan Organisation of Small Traders and Cottage Industries (APOST&CI) staged a protest demo here against targeted killings, kidnappings-for-ransom and harassment of traders by extortionists and demanded that the city be handed over to Army for an even-handed operation against the lawbreakers.

The Vice Principal Mir Nazir Marri of a Government school, Killi Sheikhan High School, was shot dead while he was on his way to the school on Arbab Karam Road in Quetta. According to DIG Operations Qazi Wahid, Marri was also a social activist and relative of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, the Marri tribe chief. No group claimed responsibility for the killing.

A tribal elder, Malik Atta Khan, was killed and his nephew, Fauji Khan, critically injured in a bomb explosion in Nawagai tehsil near the Chaharmang area of Bajaur Agency in FATA.

Afghan authorities said 'regional spy agencies' were behind the December 6, 2011, suicide attack in Kabul targeting a Shia gathering that killed more than 80 people in a veiled reference to Pakistani intelligence.

He added that two militants had been arrested in connection with the attack. The prosecutor said one of those arrested came from Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan's militant-infested tribal belt, and was paid PKR 10,000 to bring two suicide attackers to Kabul. He said the two arrested militants had confessed over the plot.

Pakistan has been placed 13th in the latest ranking of failed states compiled by Foreign Policy magazine. Pakistan with 101.6 points, the magazine said, is ranked 13th, a slight improvement from the previous two years. In 2011, it was ranked 12th in the list of failed states, while in 2010 and 2009 it was ranked 10th.

African countries Somalia, Congo, Sudan, Chad and Zimbabwe top of the list, while Afghanistan with 106 points is ranked at number six, followed by Haiti, Yemen, Iraq and Central African Republic.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that terrorists are facing internal differences so they will be unable to complete their anti-state agenda.

TTP accepted responsibility for the June 16, 2012 Kohat bomb blast that killed six Policemen and one civilian.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, said regional stability would remain a distant dream as long as the Kashmir issue remained unresolved.

The Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in what was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year-long clash between judiciary and executive.

"Therefore, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has become disqualified from being a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in terms of Article 63(1) (g) of the constitution on and from the date and time of pronouncement of the judgement of this court dated 26.04.2012 with all consequences, that is, he has also ceased to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan with effect from the said date and the office of the Prime Minister shall be deemed to be vacant accordingly."

A UN investigator, Christof Heyns, called on the US President Barak Obama administration to justify its policy of assassinating rather than capturing al Qaeda or Taliban suspects, increasingly with the use of unmanned drone aircraft that also take civilian lives.

"While these attacks are directed at individuals believed to be leaders or active members of al Qaeda or Taliban, in the context of armed conflict (example in Afghanistan), in other instances, civilians have allegedly also perished in the attacks in regions where it is unclear whether there was an armed conflict or not (example in Pakistan)," he said.

Citing figures from the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, he said US drone strikes killed at least 957 people in Pakistan in 2010 alone. Thousands have been killed in 300 drone strikes there since 2004, 20 percent of whom are believed to be civilians.

Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said that there were positive signals from Washington for apology over November 26, 2011, Salala check post incident. The Foreign Secretary said, "One thing should be clear that negotiations between the US and Pakistan are in positive zone now." He added that some progress was made in the talks pertaining to reopening of NATO route and Pakistan-US ties as most of the issues were settled.

At least 13 TTP militants were killed and several others injured when helicopter gunships bombed their positions in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in FATA.

More Kukikhel families moved out of Toor Darra after TTP-Tariq Afridi faction took control of the area. The families crossed over to Afghanistan and reached Jamrud through the Torkham border after walking for three days from Tirah via Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. All the routes to Jamrud from Tirah are either under the control of TTP or activists of the LI.

An activist of the TI was critically injured when explosives stored in the home of his 'commander' Mehmud in Bazaar Zakhakhel exploded.

Two persons were killed in separate acts of violence in different parts of Karachi. A truck driver, identified as Subhan (35), was shot dead in an act of target killing in Shirin Jinnah Colony within the limits of Jackson Police Station. Police officials said that the deceased hailed from Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a bus conductor, identified as Anwar alias Pappu, in Malir No 4 within the limits of Khokhrapar Police Station.

Two people belonging to a pro-government peace force were injured in a landmine blast in the Mondrani Pat area of Sui in Dera Bugti District. According to sources, unidentified armed militants had attacked a camp of the peace force with sophisticated weapons in the morning.

A Hindu trader, identified as Ganga Ram Sharma, who was abducted on an unspecified date two months ago, reached home in Uthal, Headquarters of the Lasbela District. According to the Bela SHO, Attaullah, the Khuzdar Assistant Commissioner had informed him that the trader had been recovered from a local hotel in the Naal area of the Khuzdar District.

The Supreme Court ordered Intelligence Agencies and Police to recover and produce the missing persons before the court in next hearing on July 9, 2012. The Supreme Court also ordered the Federal Defence Secretary, the Balochistan Chief Secretary, the Balochistan Home Secretary, the Balochistan IG and the FC IG to take concrete measures for the recovery of missing persons.

At least two Policemen, including the Zaimdara Police SHO, Hazrat Hussain, and constable Salim Khan were injured when a Police mobile van hit an IED along the road in Sor Kamar area of Nagotal in Lower Dir District.

A French-al Qaeda leader, Naamen Meziche, linked to the September 11, 2001 (also known as 9/11) attacks was arrested near the Pakistan-Iran border. A Western terror expert said Meziche was arrested in May in Quetta (Balochistan) as he was travelling to the FATA.

The Federal Government asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Syed Masood Kausar to try to enter into dialogue with the TTP in North Waziristan Agency of FATA to pave the way for vaccination of children.

A militant outfit headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadar had announced ban on polio vaccination on June 16, 2012, in reaction to the drone attacks. The letter titled "Ban on polio campaign in North Waziristan" expressed serious concern over reports regarding TTP's ban on polio campaign in North Waziristan and asked the Governor to hold dialogue with militant leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar to save children from becoming handicapped.

The Ministry of Defence through an affidavit submitted in the Peshawar High Court claimed that neither the Federal Government nor the top brass of the Armed Forces had inked any secret agreement with the US to allow drones attacks in the tribal areas.

The DAG told the bench there was no secret deal between the Federal Government and US and this was the reason it had opposed the drone strikes, taken up the matter with the US Government and passed resolution in the National Assembly against these attacks.

To a query, he said the US started the drone strikes during former president Pervez Musharraf's rule and the court should summon him and ask about any verbal or written deal on drone strikes with the US.

An official for the holding facility where neuroscientist Doctor Aafia Siddiqui is serving her prison sentence denied rumours of her death. Speaking to the media, Doctor Maria Douglas, a spokesperson for Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, where Doctor Siddiqui is imprisoned, vehemently denied rumours and said that it was absolutely false that Doctor Siddiqui had passed away, adding that no medical emergency has arisen.

Doctor Siddiqui, a neuroscientist by profession and a graduate of MIT, allegedly went missing for five years before she was discovered in Afghanistan. The prosecution says that she tried to fire on a US soldier during her interrogation. She has also been accused of working for al Qaeda. She was sentenced to 86 years in prison in 2010 by a New York court.

A statement issued by the Embassy of Pakistan also confirmed that Doctor Siddiqui was alive and quite well.

Two former top US officials Stephen Hadley and John D Podesta said this policy of "stick" should accompany "carrot" too, arguing that Washington can't afford to do away with Islamabad at this point of time.

"Proposals for ramping up pressure on Pakistan include increasing the drone strikes, conducting US Special Forces operations in the country, cutting Islamabad off from international financial resources, labelling Pakistan a state sponsor of terror, and imposing sanctions," they wrote.

Hadley was the National Security Advisor under the US President George W. Bush Podesta was the White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, from 1998 until 2001.

President Asif Ali Zardari nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the next Prime Minister to fill the office that felt vacant after the Supreme Court disqualified Yousuf Raza Gilani. Shahabuddin will file his nomination papers on June 21, 2012, while PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf will be his covering candidate. Shahbuddin's nomination came after a meeting of PPP leadership chaired by President Zardari.

At least 11 militants were killed and three others received injuries when jetfighters pounded their positions in Sharqi and Janata areas of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.

An Army officer was killed and seven other SF personnel were injured when militants attacked them during a search operation in Sharqi area of Laddha. Sources said that Captain Faseeh was killed and seven other SFs, including another Captain, were injured in the militants' attack.

In Bajaur Agency, 17 militants including some senior 'commanders' surrendered to SFs in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsil. The surrendered militants took oath on the holey Quran that they would live as peaceful citizens in the future. "We will never participate in any anti-state activity. We will not be part of any militant group working against the country," they pledged.

At least eight people were killed across Balochistan. In Dera Bugti District, Muhammad Irfan, Hafeezullah and Ahmed of Bugti tribe were killed when their motorcycle hit a landmine in Pat Feeder area, Levies sources said.

Two people died in the bomb explosion that took place at a Tablighi Markaz near Farooqia mosque in Ghousabad near Quetta, the Provincial capital. One person from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was killed on the spot and another died later, while 15 people were injured.

Two personnel were killed and another injured in an armed attack on a Levies Thana (Police Station) in the remote Nag area of Washuk District.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a man in the Tump area of Kech District near Turbat. The victim was identified as Mehboob.

Six persons, including a political party activist and a Policeman, were killed in separate acts of target killing and violence in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

An activist of the MQM Unit 66-C was shot dead in his apartment building in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, within the limits of Shahrah-e-Faisal Police Station. In the aftermath, tension engulfed Jauhar Morr's vicinity and all major shops and markets were closed. A Police official said that the MQM worker apparently became a target-killing victim.

A constable of the CID, Mohammad Khan, was shot dead in Kunwari Colony within the remit of Manghopir Police Station. CID SSP Fayyaz Khan said Khan had been a part of CID for six years and played a vital role in militancy cases.

24-year-old Syed Ali Shah, was shot dead near Kala Maidan within the precincts of Orangi Police Station. An officer said Shah was into spiritualism, adding, that the reason for murder was yet to be ascertained.

Kamran Baloch, was shot dead near Qatar Morr within the limits of Orangi Town Police Station.

Police found a torture-marked body from a gunny bag spotted near Liaquatabad Bridge within the jurisdiction of Sharifabad Police Station. A Police official informed that he appeared to be of Baloch descent.

Police found a body from a roadside of Qasba Colony Sector 2½, situated within the jurisdiction of Pirabad Police Station. The victim, yet unknown, had received a bullet in the head.

A bomb on a donkey cart killed three people at a Sufi shrine in Peshawar, the Provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "Three people have died and 21 are wounded," Police official Asif Iqbal told AFP, adding, the dead included a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl who had come with their parents.

Suspected militants blew up two high power transmission towers at Suraizai Mera area in the limits of Badhber Police Station in Peshawar.

Making it clear that dual nationals cannot be part of assemblies, the Supreme Court observed that foreign nationals could not be allowed to have direct access to country's nuclear programme and other state secrets. "If dual nationals are allowed to enter assemblies, imported Prime Ministers will come to power and rule over us," Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked.

He was heading a bench hearing a case pertaining to lawmakers holding dual nationality. The petitioner, Advocate Waheed Anjum, had accused as many as 14 lawmakers belonging to PPP, PML-N and MQM's of holding foreign passports despite a clear bar in the Constitution on dual nationality holders from becoming a lawmaker. The parliamentarians with dual nationality, however, claimed that they were loyal to Pakistan.

US diplomats working in Pakistan face increasing harassment amid a sharp deterioration in ties in the wake of last year's killing of Osama bin Laden, a State Department report said. Such harassment and obstruction is described by US embassy staff as "deliberate, willful and systematic," according to the 76-page report by the department's watchdog, the office of inspector general.

The US has said it was preferred to keep the cooperative relationship with Pakistan, than to totally cut it off. In a joint interview with Charlie Rose on a show by the same name, both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State James Baker underscored that despite differences on some important regional and international issues, severing ties with Pakistan would not be in Washington's interests.

In another context she said, "When I first went to Pakistan as Secretary in 2009 that I found it impossible to believe that somebody in their government didn't know where he [Osama bin Laden] was, and I still believe that. That he took up residence and built this huge compound in a military garrison town." However, she conceded, "But to be fair, we have no evidence. We have never been able to prove that anyone at the upper levels knew that. I have no reason to believe that the civilian government knew anything."

Clinton once again called on Pakistan to immediately release Dr Shakil Afridi, who had helped the CIA to trace Osama bin Laden, and stop treating him like a "criminal". "They should release Dr (Shakil) Afridi," Clinton said.

Pointing out that the militants were harming the host as well, she said that Pakistan, despite the talk of sovereignty, were losing it. "They are losing sovereignty, large areas that are ungoverned they have a rash of terrible attacks more than 30,000 people have been killed in the last decades. They talk a lot about sovereignty, well the first job of any sovereign nation is to protect your own people and secure your own border and that is what they should be doing."

Clinton added that Pakistan needs to recognise that "as the US withdraws from Afghanistan it is in their interest to have a strong stable Afghan government and that can only come from by being part of the solution at that [negotiation] table to try to help with Afghanistan's economic, political and security development rather than doing everything possible to undermine it".

Former Secretary of State James Baker said, "I think we need to maintain the relationship with them because they are a nuclear power, and because we do not want to see nuclear conflagration in the sub continent and see any more proliferation than we have already seen."

A UN expert urged the United States to demonstrate that its drone attacks are legal, warning that the United Nations may be called on to investigate if Washington fails to act.

Describing drones as "rather like leaving a loaded gun around and waiting for someone to fire it", Emerson said that the international community was "extremely concerned about the use of targeted killings".

The TTP claimed on June 22 that they had beheaded seven SF personnel, who were kidnapped on June 21 after a clash with SFs near Laddah in South Waziristan Agency of FATA. TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan called journalists from an unspecified location and said the TTP had killed all the seven SF personnel. The beheading claim was also made by TTP's spokesman for SWA Asim Mehsud.

An IED exploded near a Levies post, killing two Levies personnel and injuring two others at Khra Shah, Khwazai tehsil in Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency.

One security official was killed and two others were injured when a SF's mobile patrol hit a road side IED in Sararogha of SWA.

In Landi Kotal, a pro-government peace group activist, identified as Ghazi Khan was killed in Mastak area of Tirah Valley for planting an explosive device in group's base.

Lakki Marwat Police arrested Muhammad Tahir, brother of local TTP 'commander' Ashraf Ali.

Militants blew up a bridge on a canal in Malikdinkhel area of Bara Tehsil in Khyber Agency.

As many as 15 militants and one SF official were killed and two SFs were injured, when terrorists from Afghanistan attacked Karakar security checkpost (near Afghan border) in the Barawal area of Upper Dir District.

Three Policemen were injured when a Police foot patrol came under attack from a roadside remote controlled bomb on the Shah Aalam Road within the jurisdiction of Daudzai Police station on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Militants of LI destroyed a road roller near Mashokhel Bridge and another power pylon located in Gula Khan forest area, by firing rockets on it in limits of the Badhber Police Station in Peshawar. However, their attempt to kidnap a factory worker, identified as Ashraf was foiled by the Police on Frontier Road.

Some shops and a workshop of power transformers were burnt down on Ring Road Chowk in Peshawar after fire broke out due to a bomb blast. No damage to human life was reported.

Terrorists blew up a girls' school in Ghulam Banda area of Kohat District. However no causality was reported.

Three people, including two seminary teachers and one MQM, worker were killed in different parts of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. According to Police, they were victims of targeted killings on sectarian and political basis.

Two seminary teachers, identified as Maulana Jamil Qasim (38) and Anwar Anjum (30), hailing from PoK were killed on Abul Hasan Ispahani Road.

MQM worker, identified as Gulraiz Jamal (20) was killed in Chaba Gali of Jodia Bazaar. Police said the victim before joining the MQM, was associated with militant outfit Sunni Tehrik.

A tortured body of a young man was found by a side of Qayyumabad Road close to the Korangi Industrial Area. The victim, in his mid-20s, had been trussed up before being strangled to death, according to Police.

Two Levies personnel, identified as Muhammad Naseer and Muhammad Yousaf were killed and another, Nizamuddin, was injured when four armed motorcyclists attacked a security checkpost in Naag area of Washiq District. The attackers also took away official arms and wireless sets.

PPP candidate Raja Pervaiz Asharaf has been elected as the 25th PM of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The newly elected PM and a new federal cabinet was sworn in at the Presidency in Islamabad. Twenty seven new federal ministers and 11 new ministers for state took oath most of them were part of the previous cabinet as well.

Ashraf, a unanimously agreed candidate of the PPP and its coalition partners, received 211 votes while PML-N'S candidate Sardar Mehtab Abbasi received 89 votes.

Soon after being named PM, Ashraf vowed to hold free and fair elections and sought the opposition's support for the carrying on with the democratic process. He also promised to address the issues plaguing Balochistan and promised "peaceful co-existence" with neighbours India and Afghanistan.

The United States welcomed the election of a new PM. "We are pleased that the leadership issue appears to have been settled," stated, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

At least eight persons (Sindhis), including a Policeman, were killed and another was injured in an attack by unidentified militants in Mill area of Sariab Road area of Quetta in Balochistan. According to Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) Hamid Shakil, unidentified armed men entered a laundry in old Sariab Mill and opened fire, killing six people on the spot and injuring three others. The deceased and injured were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital where two of the injured succumbed to their injuries.

One civilian was also killed in Faizabad area of Sariab Road. According to sources, the person, identified as Khudae Nazar, was driving his car when unidentified armed militants shot him dead.

In another incident of violence in Balochistan, militants attacked a FC check post with rockets in Mand area of Kech District. However, no loss of life was reported.

Unidentified armed militants injured a Hindu trader, Prem Chand, in Mastung, some 45 kilometres southeast of Quetta.

A trader was also abducted in Quetta. Police said unidentified armed militants intercepted a local trader, Munir Ahmed, on Kansi Road at gunpoint and took him away in a vehicle.

The Afghanistan-based Pakistan militants attacked a military convoy in Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in the killing of at least 21 persons, including 11 militants and 10 soldiers.

The Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik expressed his grievances to Afghanistan over the Afghan militant attack on Pakistani security personnel in Upper Dir area.

Five more people were found dead in different parts of Karachi, while five others were injured in separate incidents of firing.

A 42-year-old man, who was later identified as Abdul Ghani Soomro, was found dead near Native Jetty Bridge within the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. Police officials said the victim's body was packed in a gunny bag. He went missing since Saturday, he added.

The dead bodies of two more persons were found within the jurisdiction of Manghopir Police Station. The identities of the victims have yet to be ascertained. Police officials said that the initial course of investigation suggested that one victim was the Afghan origin, while another belonged to Mehsud tribe. West Zone SSP Amir Farooqi said that the victims were killed after abduction.

Another body of a young man was found in a gunny bag from the Lyari River near Dhobi Ghat within the remit of Pak Colony Police Station. Police officials said that the victim was shot once in his head and later culprits threw his body in Lyari River.

Police found a shot dead man from Mufeed-e-Aam Ground Malir within the limits of Saudabad Police Station.

A man, Aslam Bhatti, was shot and injured in a firing incident in Baldia Town within the limits of Saeedabad Police Station. Police officials said that the incident took place over ongoing wave of target killings.

26-year-old Waseem, son of Raees and Shahid, 32, son of Ameen, were injured in firing of unidentified persons within the limits of Kharadar Police Station.

Another man, Tayyab, 24, son of Mushtaq, was injured in a firing incident in Gulberg area.

At least four Policemen were shot dead in an ambush at Bakra Mandi area of Eastern Bypass, on outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. The slain Policemen were identified as identified as Abdullah Mengal, Shahjehan, Abdullah Pirkani and Mumtaz Sarpara. No group had claimed responsibility of the attack until the report was filed.

At least 170 complaints of extortion reported within a short span of six months have made the role of LEAs dubious, as Karachites are presently suspecting them for being pressurized by different political groups and remaining innocuous against extortion mafias.

There is a massive increase in the extortion cases after the failure of LEAs in Lyari operation. According to official statistics made exclusively available to this scribe, some 39 cases of extortion were reported in January, 21 in February, 35 in March, 17 in April, 37 in May while 23 cases have been reported in June so far. The report said that extortion cases were reported from all zones, including Old City, Central, East, Malir, South and West with the Old City area remaining most affected in the last six months.

The US said that Pakistan Government is "deliberately, willfully and systematically" harassing and obstructing American diplomats in the country, marking a new low in the already strained ties between the two nations.

The Department's internal watchdog said the harassment of diplomats had heightened since the May, 2011 US raid on a compound in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden and rose further after November 26 NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Islamabad to block NATO supply lines into Afghanistan.

Four more people, including a senior SSP cadre, were killed in the continuing target killing and violence in Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh. 

A senior cadre of SSP, Imran alias Bata (29), was shot dead while he was standing at a bus stop in Godhra Colony in New Karachi. He was shot multiple times. Police officials said that his killing was a sequel of the current sectarian violence. 

Dead bodies of two PAC cadres were found from Swat Colony and 24-ki-market of Baldia Town. The victims were identified as Naveed Hanif (36) and Ghulam Nabi (24). The victims, residents of Lyari, were abducted while on their way to Winder of Balochistan. Police suspected that deceased were killed by the Arshad Pappu group. One of their companions was missing till filing of this report.

Another body of a youngster was found from Ramaswami within the limits of Garden Police Station. Police officials said that he was shot thrice and left in a gunny bag.  

The LEAs claimed to have arrested an alleged target killer, Furqan alias Tunta, associated with PAC, during a raid conducted at a house situated in 500-Quarters, Mauripur. He was associated with the Ustad Taju group of Lyari gangster.

A terrorist was killed and another received injuries in an encounter in Gula Bera area near Junglekhel of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources said that a Policeman was also injured in the encounter. Police said that they were tipped off by intelligence agencies about entry of two terrorists from Hangu into Kohat. The slain militant was identified as Sahibur Rehman, a resident of Hangu District while Shaukat, a resident of South Waziristan Agency (FATA), was arrested in injured condition. The injured Policeman was identified as Gul Sher. 

Police shut down an arms factory in Industrial Estate on Kohat Road, saying it was involved in weapon smuggling. They seized arms and ammunition and arrested three suspects. Police acted on a tip the Haroon Enterprises factory was involved in smuggling arms to Punjab, Rehmatullah, a Bhanamari Police Station officer, said.

Professor Muhammad Hussain of the BUITMS succumbed to his injures, taking the death toll of Samungali Road suicide bomb blast of June 18 to six. As reported earlier, five students of the BUITMS were killed and 70 others, including Policemen, women and children, were injured in the suicide bomb blast near FIA office at Samungli Road in Quetta.

SFs foiled a terror plan by recovering a cache of explosives and communication equipment during a routine check up on Zarghoon road in Quetta.

TTP militants on motorcycles opened fire at the offices of local news channel Aaj TV in Karachi, injuring two persons, including a security guard. The TTP claimed responsibility for the shooting, and threatened attacks against other television channels that did not feature the Taliban point of view. “We had informed the management of Aaj TV to include our view on issues, but the channel had become a mouthpiece of the government,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the TTP said. “Geo TV is going to be our next target if they do not change their behaviour towards us. They have been using very bad language against the Mujahideen.”

PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has ordered for provision of security to all TV channels.

The TTP admitted for the first time that they are using the Afghan soil as a springboard for launching attacks on Pakistani SFs. The acknowledgment gives credence to Islamabad’s claims that the TTP has found safe havens in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces bordering Pakistan. Pakistani officials believe that the top TTP cadres – including Maulana Fazlullah, Maulvi Faqir and Waliur Rehman – and hundreds of their loyalists had fled a string of military offensives in Swat, and Bajaur and Mohmand agencies since 2008 to seek shelter in Afghanistan.

A hoped-for peace deal ending the war in Afghanistan will likely remain out of reach unless both the United States and Taliban put more clear and consistent offers on the table, Mohammad Sadiq, Islamabad’s ambassador in Kabul said. “We don’t think all these issues can be solved by fighting. There must be a political process, but the parties need to be serious about it,” Mohammad Sadiq, said during an interview to Reuters.

At least eight militants were killed during a crackdown in Mamuzai and Bootakhel areas of Orakzai Agency in FATA. 

A US drone strike targeting a militant compound in the Shawal area, some 50 kilometres southwest of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, killed at least five militants. All those killed were fighters linked with Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of TTP.  

SFs camp situated in Miranshah was targeted with two missiles by militants. In retaliation, the SFs destroyed several hideouts of the militants. No casualties were reported in the attack.

At least four people including a KESC official, MQM activist and MQM supporter were shot dead in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

Syed Ali Imran Jaffrey (39), KESC DGM, IBC North Nazimabad (Region-IV), was gunned down in an act of target killing near Saifee College in North Nazimabad within the jurisdiction of Hyderi Police post.

A driver Aman Baloch was killed and a lineman Nasir was injured when unidentified motorcyclists opened indiscriminate fire on the KESC truck (KP-8422) near KESC office in Shamsi Society in Malir.

At least two armed motorcyclists shot and killed an owner of the auto-parts shop inside his shop in Jahangir Road under Jamshed Quarters Police Station. The victim was identified as Siraj (55), resident of the same area.

In another act of target killing, a puncture shop owner also the sympathiser of MQM, namely Aqeel (32), was killed when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on him inside his shop situated in Surjani Police Station.

Three PPP activists sustained bullet injuries in an armed attack near Chota Maidan within the limits of Nazimabad Police Station. DSP Shahid Abbas said that the unidentified armed motorcyclists came and opened fire on a car (AEW-812).

A central leader of the ASWJ, formerly known as SSP, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqui was escaped in a murderous attack at Qayyumabad Bridge in Korangi area.

A senior TTP ‘commander’, Umar, was killed during a Police encounter in Mashugagar area in the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Balochistan Levies recovered a bullet-riddled body in the Dasht area of Mastung District in Balochistan. The deceased was identified as Buland Khan, a resident of Sariab area in Quetta. According to sources, Khan went missing some five days ago.

The Frontier Constabulary and Police announced the arrest of two persons allegedly involved in a number of bombings in and around Quetta. Authorities claimed that as per confessions, the men received orders and funds for their activities from Nawab Brahmdagh Bugti by way of a BRA ‘commander’.

Uganda Police arrested five Pakistanis suspected of terrorist links, two weeks before the second anniversary of a bombing attack in Kampala for which Somali rebel group al Shabaab claimed responsibility.

Presiding over his first cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf welcomed new cabinet members to his team and said Balochistan was his priority and he had invited all Baloch leaders, in and outside Pakistan, to sit across the table and find an amicable solution to the Balochistan issue.

Brigadier Ali Khan and four other military officers, who were facing a trial on the charges of planning a coup to establish a Caliphate, was court-martialled, as the proceedings that ended concluded that they enjoyed ties with militant outfit HuT. Brigadier Khan was arrested in May 2011, while four army majors were also arrested a day later for their alleged links with HuT. He is also accused of attempted mutiny.

The recent mass poisonings of Afghan students were plotted in Miranshah of North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan, the Afghan NDS said. The Haqqani Network and IMU were involved in some, if not all, of the school poisonings, NDS officials contend.

The US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter said US regrets the Salala check post incident and intends to expand ties with Pakistan in diverse fields. Talking to a private TV news channel, Munter said US is serious about expanding business and social sector ties with Pakistan.

The US urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to respect each other’s sovereignty while fighting against terrorist. The US pushed for greater cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO forces while tackling with extremist militants, after an attack by Afghan militants at a border checkpost in Pakistan’s Dir area left several Pakistani soldiers dead.

At least seven persons were killed and as many as 30 injured, when a remote-controlled bomb went off at the Sibi Railway Station of Balochistan. The blast took place soon after the Jaffar Express reached the railway station and passengers rushed to a shop to buy some edibles.

The son of a tribal elder was shot dead in Narmaag area of Chaghai District near Pak-Afghan border. According to Chaghai Tehsildar Sahib Dad, unidentified armed men had gunned down Sher Ahmed, son of tribal elder Sardar Juma Khan Shaozai, in mountainous area of Narmaag.

The Balochistan Levies found a bullet-riddled body in Kanak area of Mastung District. The deceased has been identified as Asghar Ali Shah, a resident of Bagh.

The bullet-riddled body of chief of the anti-Taliban Bazidkhel Qaumi Lashkar (community militia), Fahim-ur-Rehman, who escaped at least seven attempts on his life since 2008, was found in his white Land Cruiser on the Ring Road of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The bodies of his three close friends and associates, Altaf Bacha, Haji Niaz Muhammad and Rahim Lala, were also found in the vehicle. Both the TTP and LI have claimed responsibility for the murder of Mr Rehman and his three associates. “We killed Fahim and his comrades. They raised a militia against us and wanted to defeat us,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesman for the TTP, told journalists by phone. On their part, the LI said they would soon release a video of the four slain men.

Police raided a house in Maidikhel village of Lakki Marwat District and recovered illicit arms. Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Police Station officials claimed that they had recovered a hand grenade, two Kalakovs, two Kalashnikovs, three pistols, three shotguns, a rifle and about 2400 bullets.

Three persons, including a woman, were killed while two, including KBCA’s town Director, injured in separate acts of violence in Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh. 

A man was shot dead at Allah Wali Chowrangi, New Karachi within the jurisdiction of New Karachi Industrial area Police Station. Zohaib (25), son of Ikram was a resident of Yousuf Goth, New Karachi. 

Sanjeeda Begum (35), mother of four children, was shot and killed in her house situated in Korangi within the jurisdiction of Zaman Town Police Station. 

A close aide-cum-relative of Haider Abbasi Rizvi, MNA of MQM was shot and injured near his house situated at Abul Hassan Ispahani Road. 

KBCA’s Jamshed Town Director, Safdar Magsi and his driver Abdul Sattar were shot and injured in an armed ambush near Old Sabzi Mandi within the limits of PIB Police Station. 

A youngster’s body was found from Baghdadi Police Lines, within the limits of Kalri Police Station. 

The LEAs claimed to have arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the targeted killings of at least three people. The suspect was identified as Abdul Rehman. His arrest was disclosed in a press conference held at the office of South Zone SSP Asif Ejaz Sheikh. Police officials, however, did not disclose his political affiliation.

LI militants abducted three volunteers of Akkakhel Peace Committee at gunpoint from Sultankhel area in Khyber Agency of FATA. The abducted volunteers, identified as Naseem Khan, Mohammad Imran and Faraz, were on routine patrol in the area when they were intercepted and taken away at gunpoint. 

SFs arrested at least eight suspected militants during a raid on a house in Alamgudar area. Officials said that Rustam Khan, a local commander of LI, and three of his brothers were also among the arrested persons. Identity of the rest of the arrested men could not be established. 

The Mamond tribe of Bajaur Agency deployed hundreds of more volunteers in different areas along the border to prevent possible cross-border attacks by militants. The residents of the area said that extraordinary arrangements by the elders of tribal laskhar and peace committees were made in the border areas during the last two days.

Former Minister Shaikh Rashid (61), known for his pro-LeT leanings, was detained at Houston airport on arrival for his possible links with the LeT founder and JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. Rashid, leader of the Awami Muslim League of Pakistan, was detained soon after he arrived by an Emirates flight last evening and was freed after five hours of interrogation. Sources said Rashid was detained for his possible links with Saeed. It is understood that he was scheduled to attend a fundraiser and meetings with his supporters in the US. Rashid had served as the Federal Minister for Railways from 2006 to 2008.

The TTP released a video showing severed heads of 17 Pakistani soldiers, who they claimed to have killed in a cross-border attack on a checkpost in Pakistan. The beheading, claimed by the TTP, took place on June 24 when TTP militants from Afghanistan infiltrated into the Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A senior security official in Peshawar confirmed that a total of 17 soldiers were targeted by the attackers who came from the eastern Afghan province of Kunar. “Six troops were killed on the first day, then another seven were slaughtered the next day,” the official said. “Four were missing and now they have also been beheaded,” he said.

LeT founder and JuD ‘chief’ Hafiz Saeed has launched a drive in Punjab to collect donations for militant’s active in Jammu and Kashmir. He visited Gujranwala District and collected wheat from people at Al-Makka Centre.

Addressing a gathering in Gujranwala, Saeed claimed the US had collapsed economically and no country was willing to bail it out by extending financial support.

The CoAS General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani asked NATO forces commander in Afghanistan General John Allen to stop cross-border incursions from the neighbouring country. The US commander in Afghanistan discussed border coordination with the Army Chief.

Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek, director of the Defence Logistics Agency said, “On the ground, it’s almost three times more expensive to come from the north as it does from Pakistan. More expensive and slower”.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs A. Rehman Malik rejecting Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram's assertion of "state support" to the terrorists behind 26/11 massacre, said ISI was a target of propaganda campaign. "We are proud of our ISI, which is defending Pakistan," Malik said and stoutly defended the ISI as an "elite agency".

A report of a PEW global survey released said that about 74 per cent of Pakistanis consider the US an enemy, up from 69 percent last year and 64 percent three years ago. And the US President Barack Obama is held in exceedingly low regard by Pakistanis. Over the past few years, Pakistanis have become less willing to work with the US on efforts to combat extremist groups.

At least 14 persons, including two policemen and a woman, were killed and 30 others, including women and children, sustained injuries in a suicide attack on a bus of pilgrims coming from Iran, at Hazar Ganji area of Quetta. LeJ claimed responsibility for the attack. The banned outfit’s spokes person Abdu Bakar said the attack was carried out by Ziaur Rahman Farooqi and was in revenge for attacks on a madrassa and Tablighi centre.

A landmine blast injured five FC personnel in Mach area of Bolan District. According to sources, the blast targeted a checkpost set up by the FC men near the Mach overhead bridge on the National Highway for checking of vehicles.

A rocket attack in Qambrani Road area of Quetta injured four persons. According to Sariab SP Amanullah Kakar, the rocket hit a private bank’s cash van. Resultantly, four security guards in the vehicle were injured.

Eight troops, including a captain, were killed and three others injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast near Alhaj Market in Bara town of Khyber Agency in FATA. The deceased were identified as Captain Manan, Tariq, Yousaf, Bahadur Shah, Ali Bacha, Nawaz Gul, Kamran Ali and Jan Afzal. The injured included Nabi Rehman, Zar Khan Ali and Jamil Hussain. 

Two volunteers of the Zakhakhel Amn Lashkar were killed in a roadside explosion in Sheenkamar area of Bara. Riding a motorcycle, Taj Muhammad and Abdullah were coming from Lakar Baba in Tirah valley to the eastern area of Sheenkamar in Bara when their motorcycle was hit by a roadside bomb. As result of the explosion, the two died on the spot.

SFs repulsed another major attack on the Pakistani-Afghan border in the Sabir Kalley area of Upper Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reportedly killed seven militants. Militants based in Afghanistan attacked a military outpost in the Sabir Kalley area, but the SFs pushed them back, ISPR said. 

A portion of Mian Neka shrine was damaged when a remote controlled explosive device went off in Suraizai area in the limits of Badhber Police Station in Peshawar. However, no loss of human life was reported. 

Police arrested a wanted militant commander, Momin Khan alias Rohail Khan, from Shamozai area of Swat District. He was wanted in connection with explosives attack on Shamozai Police checkpost.

Pakistan told the UN Security Council that it had acted with restraint to a recent cross-border attack by Taliban that killed 17 Pakistani soldiers, but warned against recurrence of such provocations from the Afghan side. “Preventing recurrence of such incidents is absolutely imperative - and safe havens in Afghanistan of such people must be dissuaded,” Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, said of the attack that took place on June 24 in Upper Dir District.

At least 60 people belonging to Hazara community living in Quetta have been killed in targeted attacks, including suicide, remote controlled and timer device bombings and firing, during the past six months.

The US Congressional leaders banded together to push for designating the Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organisation. The vote would make it unlawful to provide material support or resources to the group. Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill joined hands to push for the legislation backed by the chairmen of the House Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.

Pakistan Railway Police have put security of all major railway stations in the country on high alert. The steps have been taken in the wake of bomb blast at Sibi train terminal in which seven persons were killed and 15 others injured. Inspector General of Railway Police Ibne Hussain visited Rawalpindi and Islamabad and directed to beef up the security of Rawalpindi, Chaklala and Margalla Railway Stations.

Afghan Taliban rejected the statement of Pakistani Ambassador in Kabul Muhammad Sadiq wherein he had said that Taliban were allowed to go to Qatar for peace talks, saying the peace talks were not started on directions from Pakistan. Commenting on the Pakistani ambassador’s statement, Taliban ‘spokesman’ Zabihullah Mujahid said, “We have said earlier that Taliban representatives never proceeded to Qatar for Pakistan told them to do so, as the ambassador in an interview with Reuters had said.”

Eight bullet-riddled bodies were found in different areas of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA. The sources said that five bodies were dumped on roadside in Karigar Garhi adjacent to Al-Haj Market in Bara tehsil where a day earlier a vehicle of SFs was targeted by militants with an IED.

Three more bodies had also been found in Qamberabad area of Bara tehsil. 

Unidentified militants blew up a girls’ school with explosive material in the Mata Shah area of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur Agency. No causality was reported in the incident.

Five people were killed in separate incidents of violence and targeted killings in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Body of an alleged member of the Lyari gangster group was found in Mawatch Goth in the Maripur Police Station area. The deceased was identified as Dur Mohammad alias Durra (26), son of Nazar Mohammad.

Sajid Brohi (25), son of Saleem Brohi was shot dead near his home in Jehanabad area in the limits of Pak Colony Police Station. SHO Abdul Moid said that the deceased used to work at the garments factory.

Another body was found from Ramswami area in the jurisdiction of Garden Police Station. The deceased was identified as Junaid (27), son of Habib. SHO Athar Malik said that the unidentified culprits shot and killed the victim after kidnapped him from his denting and painting shop in Ramswami.

Another body of a young man identified as Shehzad (24), son of Ghulam Hussain Chandio was found from the bushes near Super Highway in Sohrab Goth Police precincts.

A puncture shop owner, namely Imran (24), son of Aslam was shot and killed when at least two armed men riding a motorcycle targeted him at his shop situated in Buffer Zone in Taimoria Police remits.

At least four militants were killed in retaliatory firing of FC while three FC personnel also sustained injuries when their check post in Dhand area of Hangu District came under attack of the militants.

Police recovered explosive material and arrested the accused in the area of Lundkhwar Police Station in Mardan District.  Sources revealed that Lundkhwar Police arrested a man identified as Bakhat Bahadar and recovered one kilogramme of explosive material and a 40-metre safety fuse.

One Hafiz Ghulam Haider, hailing from Sheikh Wasil area in Mastung District, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle at Sariab area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. 

A person, identified as Muhammad Iqbal, was shot dead near Government Degree Collage in Sariab Road area when unidentified armed assailants, riding a motorbike, opened fire on him. 

The bullet-riddled body of a man wanted by Police was found from the Salehabad area of Khuzdar. The deceased was identified as Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Gazgi.

Explosives planted in a shop in Sui Town of Dera Bugti exploded, partially damaging the shop. However, no loss of life was reported.

A shutter-down strike was observed in the city against the suicide attack on a bus in Hazar Ganji area of Quetta on June 28, as the death toll from the bombing rose to 15.

The Islamabad Police conducted a search operation in the vicinity of Margalla Hills to ensure foolproof security in Islamabad. Teams of Margalla Police Station, headed by SHO Muhammad Hussain Lassi, conducted the search operation in villages Kalinger, Chontra and Gandhian and arrested 12 suspects.

The United States designated two Afghanistan-Pakistan money changers as helping Taliban manage and move funds, setting sanctions against both that aim to hinder their business. The US Treasury said the two hawalas, or money exchange businesses, the Haji Khairullah Haji Sattar Money Exchange (HKHS) and the Roshan Money Exchange, “have been used by Taliban to facilitate money transfers in support of Taliban’s narcotics trade and terrorist operations.”

The Afghan Taliban denied that they had obtained permission from Pakistan to send representatives to Qatar to participate in initial talks that US officials had hoped would lead to a peace deal in Afghanistan, adding that they had acted independently.

Alarmed by increasing frequency of cross-border attacks from Afghanistan-based TTP militants, Pakistan’s military is believed to have decided to send reinforcements to Swat after TTP Swat chapter chief Maulvi Fazlullah and his loyalists threatened to recapture the valley they ruled for two years before they were routed by the military in 2009.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Iftikhar Hussain, once again urged the Federal Government to shift detained Dr Shakeel Afridi to any other province owing to security threats to his life in Peshawar Central Jail.

Defence Minister Naveed Qamar said that Pakistan’s stance regarding US apology over the Salala incident would remain unchanged. He however clarified that negotiations on Pakistan-US ties were proceeding in the right direction and expressed hope for an early decision pertaining to restoration of NATO supplies. When asked if NATO supply routes would be reopened without a US apology, he again said that Pakistan would not change its position on the issue.

The IGP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Akbar Khan Hoti said that restive areas in the outskirts of Peshawar has been cleared from outlaws and militants and the writ of the Government has been established owing to the supreme sacrifices of SFs and Police.

Five LI militants were killed in an IED blast on their post on a mountain in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in FATA. Sources said three LI men also sustained injuries in the explosion in Khara Wala. However, other sources said the blast occurred on militants’ post in Sher Saley area of Zakhakhel.

Two persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in different areas of Balochistan.

According to Police, unidentified assailants barged into a shop of Noor Ahmed Qambarani in Satellite Town area of Quetta and seriously wounded him after attacking him with knife. He was later succumbed to his injuries.

Unidentified militants opened fire and killed a person, Mir Khan, in Surab of Kalat District.

Unidentified militants attacked Qabul Khan Village of Jaffarabad District with heavy weapons and fired four rockets, which landed in isolated places. However, no loss of life and damage to property was reported in the attack.

Unidentified armed assailants wounded a man, identified as Shahnawaz, in Sonipur area of Dera Allahyar District.

SFs defused a landmine laid by militants near a camp of Amn Force in Sui area of Dera Bugti.

TTP ‘spokesman’ Mullah Mansoor was among 34 militants killed in clashes with SFs since last three days (June 29-July 1) along Pak-Afghan border in Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to a private TV channel, Mansoor was among 34 terrorists killed in fighting with SFs in Upper Dir two days back. Official sources have also confirmed the death. Mansoor belonged to the Khaal area of Dir and was ‘spokesman’ and important ‘commander’ of the TTP. Skirmishes between SFs and militants have been going on for the last three days on Pak-Afghan border in Lower Dir, wherein some 34 terrorists have been killed.

A six-year-old girl Sadida was killed and two other children were injured in two blasts in the border area of Upper Dir.

Police repulsed militants' attack on Sheikhan check post in Peshawar after a crossfire which lasted for two hours and in which cops from nearby police stations also joined in.

Unidentified militants blew up the boys’ primary school in Dara village of Swabi District.

Police have arrested three militants and 119 proclaimed absconders in a grand cleanup operation launched in several parts of the Lakki Marwat District. “The operation was launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Bannu Nisar Ahmad Tanoli”, an official said.

At least eight militants were killed in a US drone attack on a compound in the Kund Ghar area of Shawal tehsil, 50 kilometres southwest of Miranshah, the headquterer of North Waziristan Agency in FATA. The attack killed cadres loyal to militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Sources further add that some foreign militants belonging to the TIM and militants of the Bahadur group were believed to have been killed in the attack.

Three more people were killed in the ongoing violence in different parts of Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh.

Two people were shot dead at a bazaar on Link Road in Karimabad area within the jurisdiction of the Azizabad Police Station. The victims were heading somewhere on a motorcycle when unidentified armed assailants, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on them.

The dead body of a man was recovered from Jaama Cloth within the remits of the Aram Bagh Police Station. Identity of the victim could not be ascertained.

A bomb planted at the railway track in the Bin Qasim Police Station area, exploded. The railway traffic was suspended for some time, though railway officials said the track was not seriously damaged and it occurred in an isolated place. Police said they found a paper chit there pronouncing responsibility by the Sindh Liberation Army.

The CID arrested seven allegedly politically affiliated target killers from different areas of Karachi along with weapons. According to SSP CID Fayyaz Khan, the arrested include Hassan Ali, Fahim, Salim, Abdul Rauf alias ‘Lamba’, Danish, Azadi Khan and Syed Salik Siraj. CID officials also recovered a cache of weapons from the arrested, including one Kalashnikov, six TT pistols and 320 cartridges along with 500 grams of heroin and three stolen cars.

SFs defused a landmine in Sadar Din area of Pat Feeder in Dera Bugti District of Balochistan.

In the unending incidents of bloodshed, 180 innocent people lost their lives during the month of June and many were injured in Karachi, as target killers have a free hand to strike at the place of their liking. A significant number among them were first kidnapped, tortured and then their body bags were thrown on roads.

Official sources said that the sectarian violence in Balochistan has claimed more than 400 lives in more than 200 incidents of ethnic and sectarian violence in the past four years. The decade-long insurgency recently turned into a battleground for politically motivated attacks on religious sects with banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi allegedly targeting the Shia and Hazara communities throughout the embattled province.

The Provincial Government has decided to refer the investigation of “sensitive cases” to the Crime Investigation Department and called for a review of the regulations pertaining to the movement of pilgrims under the Travel Agency Act, 1976.

Pakistan has secretly allowed US-led NATO forces to use its airspace to transport lethal supplies to Afghanistan while disregarding a resolution approved by Parliament that set conditions for the movement of supplies. It was not clear when permission was granted for transporting the lethal supplies but the arrangement is believed to be a stop gap one between Pakistan and the US till they finalise a deal on reopening land routes to Afghanistan, official sources were quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

Four people, including an employee of KESC and a sympathiser of MQM, were killed in separate acts of violence in Karachi.

An employee of the KESC was targeted inside the company's office located in Nazimabad No 1 within the precincts of Rizvia Police Station. A Police official informed that Yaqoob Baloch (41), son of Taj Baloch, a resident of Old Golimar was busy in his routine work when unidentified assailants barged into the office and shot him dead.

A sympathiser of the MQM was shot dead at MA Jinnah Road within the limits of Nabi Bux Police Station. Police said that the victim, later identified as Imtiaz (26), son of Saleem was a resident of Ranchore Lane.

A youngster was killed in PIB Colony within the remit of PIB Colony Police Station.

A tortured body of an elderly man was found from Sultanabad area within the jurisdiction of Jackson Police Station. According to Police, the victim was identified as Sultan Muhammad (60), son of Badshah, a resident of the same area.

Police arrested two alleged TTP militants and a gangster in separate raids conducted in the city. A police official informed that two alleged militants of the TTP, Faisal Mehsud and Khan Mohammad alias Sajid, were apprehended from Orangi Town.

A man was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Faizabad area of Sariab in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

Police recovered a body near Pero Bridge from Dera Murad Jamali tehsil of Naseerabad.

A Balochistan Levies officer was killed and another injured in an incident of shooting at the Jewa Intersection in Surab area of Kalat District.

Unidentified militants blew up an eight-inch-diameter gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti District.

ANA troops intruded into Muqbal village, some 20 kilometres south of Parachinar, in Kurram Agency of FATA and killed two tribesmen and injured another. Hours before the incident, a security post of the ANA came under attack near Anzer Kali in Danda Pattan area of Afghanistan's Paktia province.

Afghan defence officials denied the alleged incursion. "We are not aware of such an operation by the Afghan National Army in that area," AFP quoted Daulat Wazir, a spokesman for the Ministry Of Defence, as saying.

Afghanistan accused Pakistan's Army of launching months of rocket attacks on its territory and threatened to report Islamabad to the UN Security Council, straining already troubled ties between the neighbours. Kabul has regularly accused elements in Islamabad's Government and Army of backing militants fighting the US-backed Kabul government, charges denied by Pakistan.

Unidentified militants blew up a Government school in Darra area of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, raising the total number of destroyed educational institutions in the District to 17.

Proclaiming Balochistan was top on his list of priorities, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said bringing stability and prosperity in the Province would be the top priority of his Government. Chairing his first meeting on Balochistan crisis as Prime Minister, Raja said the self-styled independence of federal agencies is being checked by ensuring that they do not act independently in connection with law and order.

Claiming that Pakistan was being run to the ground, the country's former President General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf has not ruled out a fresh military takeover of the Pakistan. "The state is being run to the ground at the moment, and people are again running to the military to save the country," Musharraf told a gathering in Aspen in Colorado in the US.

The Pentagon has asked Congress to shift billions of dollars in the defense budget to pay for added fuel costs to ferry supplies to Afghanistan after Pakistan closed its border to NATO convoys, US officials said. In a letter to congressional defence committees, the Pentagon requested "reprogramming" USD 8.2 billion in funds previously approved to finance more urgent priorities, officials said.

Fewer civilians have died in US drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year than at any other time in the last four years, a report Bureau of Investigative Journalism said. Three to 24 civilians were reported killed by American CIA drones in Pakistan from January to June, according to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

US drones target Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, where journalists and aid workers do not have independent access. The programme is covert, but US officials have defended the attacks as a vital weapon in the war on terror, despite concerns from rights activists over civilian casualties.

Slamming Pakistan for refusing to cut ties with the Haqqani network of militants, a leading US newspaper The Daily has said the military of the ''crippled and chaotic'' state continues to play a ''double game'' of accepting aid from America while enabling the Afghan Taliban.

At least four women were killed and four others injured, including women and children, in a grenade attack at a home in Malik Din Khel area of Khyber Agency in FATA.

A remote-controlled blast killed a paramilitary officer and injured four other security personnel in the Bara Kamangara area of Nawagai tehsil in Bajaur Agency.

At least five persons including two workers of the PPP and a Policeman were shot dead in a spate of target killings in different parts of Karachi, the provincial metropolis of Sindh.

An activist of the PPP and a passerby were shot dead in an act of target killing in Sector 14-E area of Orangi Town within the limits of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station.

Shortly after this incident, another PPP worker namely Muhammad Saleem Awan Khan (35), was shot dead when at least four armed men, on two motorcycles, opened fire on his car near his home in Qaimkhani Colony in Baldia Town within the jurisdiction of Mochko Police Station.

A Police constable identified as Gulzar Alvi (47), was shot dead near his home in Petal Wali Gali in Rizvia Police Station area.

A 65-year-old man identified as Noor Habib was gunned down outside his factory where he was working as a watchman in SITE area.

ANP District President, Khan Gul Bhattani, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of Shaheed Murid Akbar Police Station in Tank District.

Pakistan agreed to reopen its border to NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan after the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington was sorry for the loss of life in NATO arial attack on Salala border check-post on November 26, 2011. The announcement, following months of negotiations, will come as a relief to the United States and its NATO allies which need the routes for a planned withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan through 2014. During a telephonic conversation, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar "informed me that the ground supply lines into Afghanistan are opening", Clinton said.

The DCC approved reopening NATO supply route after it accepted a formal apology from the US. The committee, which met with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the chair, decided "in line with parliamentary recommendations" that no arms supply would be allowed through the route except for materials and weapons of Afghan forces.

However, CoAS General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani declared insufficient the "privately-rendered soft apology" of ISAF commander General Allen over the Salala incident.

TTP threatened to attack trucks carrying supplies to US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan after Islamabad and Washington reached a deal to re-open the lines.

NATO truckers welcomed Pakistan's decision to reopen supply lines into Afghanistan but said they feared militant's attack, demanding security guarantees before the resumption.

The US will release about USD 1.1 billion to Pakistan's Army as part of a deal that will see Islamabad lift a blockade on NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan, a US official said.

After much deliberation after the April 15 Bannu jailbreak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities decided to build an underground jail to hold terrorism suspects now incarcerated throughout the province.

Law Minister Farooq H Naek, on the directives of the Prime Minister, has constituted a committee to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, where hundreds of people have gone missing in past four years. Chief Secretary Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad will head the committee which will give its detailed briefing to Ministry of Law and Justice on July 6.

Earlier on July 2, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and Naek held a meeting to discuss the legal matters to deal with the issue of missing persons. The Government had decided to take up the issue of pick, kill and dump incidents on an emergency basis with reports of over 203 bullet-riddled dead bodies being found in various parts of Balochistan in 2011.

At least three persons, including a local government assistant director, were shot dead in a sectarian attack in Kuchlak, some 25 kilometres from the provincial capital of Balochistan, Quetta. According to Police, Assistant Director Muhammad Saeed, along with a local government superintendent, was on his way from Pishin to Quetta when unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on them.

A security official was killed and another injured in a landmine blast in Mat Mondrani area of Sui District.

At least 12 suspected militants were rounded up by law enforcement agencies near Zhob, a town bordering Waziristan Agency of FATA. According to sources, security personnel raided a suspected hideout near Sambaza area of Zhob, adjacent to Waziristan border, and rounded up 12 suspects allegedly belonging to al Qaeda or TTP.

A man, Muhammad Sarwar (52), son of Ghulam Hussain, was shot dead in Lines Area within the limits of Brigade Police Station in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

Administrative officer of the PAEC Karachi, Khan Muhammad Maher was abducted from Malir Cantonment area.

The Anti-Extremist Cell of the CID and Special Investigation Unit arrested seven suspects, including target killers and Lyari gangsters, in separate raids. The AEC claimed to have apprehended four men allegedly associated with the Lyari gangster group of Baba Ladla.

A young woman working for women's rights in tribal regions, Fareeda Kokikhel (26), Director of Sewara, was killed in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency in FATA. According to her family, three men who were hiding in bushes opened fire on Fareeda when she came out of her home in Ghundi in the morning to go to her office in Hayatabad area of Peshawar.

The chief security officer of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Major (retd) Muaaz, was injured as an explosive device went off near his house in Karim Block area of Iqbal Town in Lahore in the night.

Elders of various tribal agencies have expressed grave concern over the Government's decision to open routes for supply to NATO forces in Afghanistan and feared it will result in surge in terrorist acts in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that the Government decided to reopen GLOCs into Afghanistan in line with the parliamentary recommendations and there was no secret deal behind this. She was talking to journalists on the same day the Federal Cabinet formally approved its defence committee's decision of restoring the ground supply routes of NATO that had been suspended after November 26's Salala attack.

The Ministry of Interior has asked Pakistan Rangers to arrange proper security for NATO/ISAF supply containers moving into Afghanistan through Pakistani territory. Sources said the Ministry had written a letter to the Pakistan Rangers DG, asking the force to provide foolproof security to ISAF/NATO containers.

The FBR has also issued instructions to field formations to make preliminary arrangements for the release of NATO/ISAF containers destined for Afghanistan.

The Balochistan government has expressed its inability to provide security to NATO supply vehicles because of shortage of law-enforcement personnel. "We are unable to give full security to NATO supplies along 850km route from Karachi to Chaman with the present available security manpower," Home Secretary Nasibullah Bazai said.

Eight persons, including a MQM-H cadre, were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

A cadre of the MQM-H, Syed Farooq, 29, son of Syed Badshah, was shot dead at Landhi No 6 within the precincts of Landhi Police Station.

A cable operator was shot dead near Telephone Exchange in New Karachi within the limits of New Karachi Police Station.

One Nasir (22), son of Afzal, was killed within the limits of Garden Police Station.

Unidentified assailants opened fire and left six persons in critical condition in Machhar Colony. Haji Noor (58), Siraj Mian (30), Moin (32), and Sohail (31), succumbed to their injuries, while the condition of Ilyas (27), and Khalid (31), was stated as critical.

A man, Muhammad Alam (40), was killed in North Karachi within the limits of Ajmair Nagri Police Station.

Unidentified assailants riding a motorbike opened indiscriminate fire on a man, identified as Siddiqullah, at Baloch Khan Chowk of Pakhtoonabad area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

A man, identified as Abdul Malik Abro, was killed in Faizabad area of Sariab Road of Quetta.

Unidentified assailants abdcuted the manager of a motorcycle company, Hanif Afshani, and his driver, from Hub town of Lasbela District.

Police arrested three alleged target killers, involved in the killing of some Ulema, after heavy exchange of fire in the Jinnah Town of Quetta. Three arrested persons were identified as Jahangir Haider Shah, Nadeem Abbas and Qaisar Abbas - belonged to Dera Ismail Khan and had come over to Quetta on a mission to kill people.

Unidentified persons shot dead a militant 'commander' along with his aide in Kalosha village of South Waziristan Agency in FATA. Sources said that Wali Mohammad, brother of TTP 'commander' Nek Mohammad, along with his aide was asleep in the apple farm of his uncle when two armed persons sneaked into the orchard and opened firing on them.

The Salarzai tribes of Bajaur Agency have reiterated their resolve to step up the fight against terrorists in Salarzai tehsil and to form more lashkars in towns bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned a website by the name www.alislam.org which was controlled by the Ahmadiyya community. An official of the authority said that the site had been blocked because Ahmadis were not allowed to propagate their religious views under the constitution of Pakistan.

Unidentified persons abducted the owner of marble factory Abid Hussain near Shereen Koto of Risalpur in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at gunpoint.

Terror incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the FATA killed more than 459 people and injured about 875 in the first six months of 2012, according to the Edhi Welfare Foundation, which provides emergency and healthcare services to terrorism victims.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said his Government will continue its "moral, political and diplomatic support" to Kashmiris till the issue is resolved in accordance with their aspirations and UN resolutions. Ashraf made the remarks during a meeting with Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, the "Prime Minister" of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, an official statement said.

In his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister, S.M. Krishna, in New Delhi, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said that the Pakistani judiciary made it impossible to act against any terror group or an individual like JuD 'chief' and LeT founder Hafiz Saeed without enough evidence against them.

Pakistan rejected renewed Indian charges that Pakistani "state actors" were involved in planning and coordinating the 2008 Mumbai attacks. "I would very strongly reject any insinuation of any involvement of any state agency in acts of terrorism in India," Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters after talks with his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai.

Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik said the Government has prepared a strategy to curb the activities of extortionists during Ramazan and a new anti-terrorism law for ensuring conviction of target killers will be sent to the National Assembly after its adoption by the Senate.

The first trucks supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan crossed the border from Pakistan after Islamabad ended a seven-month blockade. Three trucks loaded with mineral water were cleared to enter Afghanistan from the Chaman border post in Balochistan, Chaman District customs official Abdul Razaq Imran said.

PM Raja Pervez Ashraf defended the decision to reopen the GLOCs, which allowed NATO supplies through Pakistani territory, saying it was taken in the best national interest and in the light of the recommendations of Parliament. The PM expressed these views while talking to PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who called on him at the Prime Minister's House.

Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said that the decision to reopen the NATO supply lines was made in national interest and the US had clearly said 'sorry' to Pakistan for the Salala incident.

Twenty four persons were killed and 10 others were injured in US drone strikes in the Gorwaik village of Dattakhel area in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. There were reports that the death toll could rise as the drones had fired eight missiles and caused widespread destruction in the village.

At least two LI militants were killed and three others injured when a remote-controlled bomb exploded in the Akakhel area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency.

Eighteen Punjabi-speaking persons, who were travelling to Iran, were shot dead and two others injured when BLT militants attacked their vehicles in the Basoli area of Turbat District in Balochistan in the night. BLT Spokesman Meeran Baloch has claimed the group carried out the killings and said that identity cards of the victims were checked before they were killed.

A religious scholar, Maulvi Abdul Qasim, hailing from Sunni school of thought was shot dead in Musa Colony in Sariab locality in Quetta in a suspected incident of sectarian killing.

Police recovered a body from Bado Nullah in Kharan and moved it to hospital for an autopsy where the deceased was identified as Muhammad Yousaf.

Three persons, including a child, were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. A transporter was shot dead at Teen Hatti within the precincts of PIB Police Station.

An aged man died mysteriously in Block 4-A area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal within the precincts of Mobina Town Police Station.

Dead body of a boy was recovered from garbage drum near Falak Naz Arcade within the limits of Shahrah-e-Faisal Police Station.

Tension prevailed in Landhi area when unidentified assailants attacked the participants of funeral procession of MQM-H. A 29-year-old MQM-H cadre, Syed Farooq, son of Syed Badshah, was gunned down on July 5 in an act of target killing in Landhi area.

A Police SI was killed and three constables were injured when a roadside bomb exploded near their van on Takhtabad road in the limits of Daudzai Police Station in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the evening.

The Police have rooted out camps set up in Lahore by the DPC for a protest march against restoration of NATO supplies to Afghanistan. A large contingent of Police dismantled the two camps, one at the Regal Chowk on Mall Road and the other at Faisal Chowk.

The adviser to PM on Interior Affairs A. Rehman Malik said the DPC was free to exercise its right to protest however, strict action would be taken if law was violated. Talking to reporters, he said all Inspectors General of Police had been directed to provide security to NATO containers in their respective areas.

The DPC has also alleged that the additional Police security provided to Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chief of the JuD, at his Jauhar Town residence has been withdrawn.

The British Police and secret service MI5, in a joint operation, have arrested seven people believed to be of the Pakistani origin on suspicion of terror offences after firearms and other weapons were found in a car. One man is from West Yorkshire and six from Birmingham, West Midlands.

The CoAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that the Pakistan Army units deployed on the border areas near Afghanistan will not leave till all terrorists are defeated and smooth transition of responsibility to civil administration has taken place.

All containers passing through Pakistan to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan are to be scanned to ensure they do not contain lethal supplies. A number of trucks have already crossed into Afghanistan, but the vast majorities are still at Karachi, where they have languished for the past seven months.

The Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said Pakistan Railways would not provide any transportation services to NATO as the organisation was not capable of meeting even the local transportation needs. A press statement issued said, "We are already short of locomotives to meet the local freight requirements and cannot give transportation facility to NATO."

The authorities in Peshawar finalised a set of security measures to provide protection to NATO supply vehicles and ward off any sabotage threat. A senior security official said that there would be complete ban on parking of vehicles - supplying goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan - in the limits of provincial capital, while these vehicles would be allowed to enter Peshawar District early in the day and leave for Afghanistan before sunset.

The Pakistan High Commission in London said it knew nothing about more than 30,000 Pakistanis who had been refused permission to stay in Britain and whose whereabouts were unknown to the British authorities. According to official documents obtained by Daily Times, the chief immigration inspector of the UK Border Agency disclosed for the first time the existence of a backlog of more than 150,000 cases involving people who had been refused permission to stay in Britain.

The Law Minister Farooq H Naek said that the Government would ensure recovery of missing persons by making all possible efforts and using all available resources. He said this while chairing a meeting on the issue of people missing from Balochistan.

The JWP chief Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti said that the Balochistan former Chief Minister and sitting Federal Minister Jam Yousuf was not only nominated in Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti's murder case but was also responsible for the forced disappearances of thousands of Baloch youth, and alleged military operations in Balochistan, hence the Baloch nation would never forgive him.

PM Raja Pervez Ashraf said that that law and order in GB and improvement of economy was on the top of the Government's priorities, reports Pakistan Observer. The PM assured the Governor and CM of GB that the Federal Government would provide sufficient resources, expertise and requisite manpower to overcome the challenges of sectarianism and economic development.

Noting that the present Government gave identity to GB he said that GB enjoyed complete autonomy, which was manifest from the fact that it now had its own Governor, elected CM, Legislative Assembly and other administrative institutions.

China has refuted a report that it plans to open a consulate in GB. "What an absurd report! China hasn't even opened a consulate in Lahore," the official Global Times quoted an unnamed source as saying. "Opening a consulate in a foreign country is the responsibility of the foreign ministry. We have never heard of a regional official having the right to 'officially inform' another country about such a decision," the state-run paper quoted its source.

The Pentagon is preparing to release about USD 1.1 billion withheld from Pakistan's military after Islamabad agreed to reopen supply routes into Afghanistan. The withheld dollars are part of the US Coalition Support Fund to reimburse Pakistan for its support to US counter-insurgency operations, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain John Kirby said.

Nine people including an IB officer and three militants of the banned SSP were killed on July 7, in Karachi, provincial Capital of Sindh.

An IB official, identified as Syed Qamar Raza was gunned down in FC Area within the precincts of Sharifabad Police Station.

Three SSP militants, identified as Saad, Hamza and Talha were shot dead in Surjani Town, sector 7-A within the limits of Surjani Police Station.

A man, identified as Ali Madad fell prey to sectarian violence at Hussain Hazara Goth within the precincts of Gulistan-e-Jauhar Police Station.

A man was killed at Korangi 100 Quarters within the jurisdiction of Zaman Town Police Station. Police said Muhammad Amir was shot thrice by unidentified pillion riders.

A man, identified as Muslim Khan was killed at Dak Khana, Liaquatabad within the limits of Liaquatabad Police Station.

A thirty-year-old woman identified as Mumtaz Begum, was shot and killed near NIPA Chowrangi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Militants attacked a convoy of SFs, which was passing through Tiyarza tehsil of Serwakai sub-division of South Waziristan Agency in FATA. Four security personnel were killed in the attack while three others sustained injuries.

Terrorists killed a pro-government tribal chief, Malik Abdul Wazah Khan, in the area of Buggan in Parachinar of Kurram Agency.

Police arrested two senior militants of Swat chapter of TTP, identified as Iqbal alias Qari Basit, a resident of Shangla District, and Ijazullah, a resident of Torghar District, from Battagram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

At least 14 persons were killed while seven others injured in a landmine blast in the Tooba Achakzai area near the Pak-Afghan border in the border town of Chaman in Balochistan.

At least six militants were killed and four others arrested in an exchange of fire and a raid in Mastung and Quetta. The FC also rescued a detained doctor and recovered arms from the possession of the detainees.

Unidentified assailants shot dead a shopkeeper in Quetta. The deceased was identified as Muhammad Ramazan, a resident of Sindh.

An employee of the SSGC was shot at and injured on Alamdar Road in Quetta. It was suspected to be a case of sectarian violence.

Unidentified armed men shot and injured one Muhammad Nabi in Mastung town.

A former SI of Wadh Police Station was shot dead in Bolan Colony area of Khuzdar District. According to the Police, the former Police official, identified as Muhammad Rafeeq, was sitting outside his house when unidentified assailants opened fire.

Five persons, including a MQM activist and a PPP worker, were killed in separate acts of target killing in the provincial metropolis of Sindh, Karachi.

The MQM activist, Abdul Nafees (32), son of Muhammad Ali, was killed in Qasab Colony within the limits of Pirabad Police Station.

A PPP worker, Saleem Jamil, a resident of Shahbaz Nagar of Orangi Town, was shot dead within the precincts of the Iqbal Market Police Station.

A man, identified as Fazal Muhammad (37), son of Ata Muhammad, was shot dead at Al Asif Square under Sohrab Goth Police Station.

One stray bullet claimed a minor's life in Orangi Town within the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station.

A boy was killed while playing outside his home in Lines Area within the jurisdiction of Brigade Police Station.

Unidentified armed extortionists targeted the house of a trader within the remits of Darakhshan Police Station. Police officials said that unidentified persons, riding on a motorbike, threw a hand grenade at the house of Abdul Qadir, a resident of 39/1, and fled.

Two militants were killed and eight others received injuries as SFs and Mamond Qaumi Lashkar repulsed a cross-border attack in Kagga area of Bajaur Agency in FATA. Officials said that a group of militants entered Pakistani territory and attacked Kagga area of Mamond tehsil with heavy weapons.

SFs defused a powerful bomb in the Zirai Road area of Landikotal town of Khyber Agency.

Unidentified armed persons shot dead an assistant Sub-Inspector of Police on Charsadda Road in the limits of Khazana Police Station in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Despite tall claims of Government and Police, there is no respite in the targeted killings in Karachi, as according to the data of HRCP, targeted killings and other crimes have claimed at least 1,257 lives in Karachi during last six months.

According to HRCP report, a total of 972 people were targeted killed, of them 135 gunned down were political activists, 27 shot dead in sectarian killings, 84 in Lyari gang war, 160 abducted and killed, two burnt to death, 42 killed by robbers, 87 killed due to enmity, 39 dead bodies found, seven security guards killed on duty, four died in prisons, eight in bomb blasts and 11 in Karo-Kari (honour killing). Of total 972 targeted killings, the HRCP figure shows that 366 people with no political affiliation were killed this year in first six months while 250 killings were reported during the corresponding period of the last year.

According to the statistics, women killed during the same period include - 24 by relatives, 12 by unidentified culprits, 13 targeted killed, four were set on fire, four each killed by robbers, burnt to death and Lyari gang war, 12 on pretext of Karo-Kari and one each killed by stray bullets, drug addiction and in bomb blasts. Of the total 99 killings related to law enforcement agencies, 48 killed in police encounters, 44 policemen were gunned down in different incidents, three killed in police custody, three soldiers/paramilitary personnel and one person killed by soldier/paramilitary.

Of the 64 children killed in different incidents, 11 killed by stray bullets, seven targeted killings, seven falling into canal/drains, five abducted and killed, six abducted, raped and killed, four Lyari gang war, five by robbers, five on grounds of personal enmity, seven newborn dumped, two killed after ransom payment, two on railway track while one by soldier/paramilitary.

A workshop on 'Media and Civil Society in Balochistan' was informed on July 8 that the media in Balochistan was not free and journalists on professional duty often faced harassment at the hands of influential elements and different pressure groups active in the province.

Militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir and US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan are brazenly raising funds and recruiting potential fighters in cities and towns of Pakistan. Al-Badr, a breakaway faction of Hizbul Mujahideen, organised a two-day 'Shuada Conference' in the Swan Adda area of Rawalpindi to seek recruits and raise funds.

The DPC began a "long march" to Islamabad to protest over the reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. Thousands of people joined a convoy of buses, trucks and cars, many carrying the black and white striped flags of the DPC, on the 275-kilometre journey from Lahore to Islamabad.

"This is the beginning of our struggle. We want the USA to not only leave Afghanistan, but Pakistan also," the coalition's chairman, Samiul Haq, said at a rally before the convoy set off. "This movement will continue till the government severs all contacts with United States and NATO," Haq said.

Expecting that the DPC long march will culminate peacefully, the Federal Government has put in place elaborate arrangements for the protesters' security in the twin cities with banning entry into Islamabad of the members of the banned organisations and others who are placed on Schedule-IV of the ATA.

The United States pressed Pakistan to pressure into talks the Haqqani network, which it blames for attacks on US targets in Afghanistan. During their one-hour meeting, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to put pressure on the Haqqani network, said a senior US official, who acknowledged that it was unclear whether Pakistan would step up its counter-terrorism efforts.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed the hope that US-Pakistani relations would improve after Pakistan agreed to reopen NATO supply lines into Afghanistan last week. She said she had also discussed stalled Afghan reconciliation efforts with Khar.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States reiterated their call for Taliban to abandon violence and enter a dialogue with the Afghanistan Government. "We reiterate our call for the armed opposition to abandon violence and enter a dialogue with the Afghan government. We call on all parties to devote their energy to realising this vision, respond in the same spirit, and commit to support an Afghan political process that will result in lasting peace, security, stability, and prosperity for Afghanistan and the region," said a joint statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at the First Ministerial-level Core Group Trilateral Meeting.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan was committed to providing fullest cooperation to Afghanistan to help it steer through the transition period and beyond. The Foreign Minister, in her statement at the Tokyo conference on Afghanistan, said, "We have pledged an amount of USD 300 million for the development and reconstruction of Afghanistan." She said now that Afghanistan was to move from transition into the transformation decade within the next two years, it was indeed timely for the international community to discuss sustainable development and self-reliance in Afghanistan.

Unidentified militants killed eight security personnel at an Army camp near Wazirabad town in Gujranwala District of Punjab, officials said, hours after a protest march of the DPC passed through the area. The encampment was attacked from a bridge over the river Chenab. Hours earlier, thousands from the DPC coalition of right-wing groups crossed the bridge on a "long march" from Lahore to Islamabad to protest against the reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan.

The TTP claimed responsibility for the killings. The TTP spokesman said the Punjab chapter of the outfit had carried out the attack. They would continue such attacks in the future also, particularly in Punjab, he added.

A former office bearer of ANP, along with three other persons were killed in the separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. 

Unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire at a car near the Asghar Shah Stadium in North Nazimabad, killing ANP member Naseeb Khan. According to ANP, Khan was also a member of the Pashtun Action Committee (PAC). 

The body of a 19-year-old, identified as Inayatur Rehman, was found in a water tank of an under-construction building in block 22 of Federal B Industrial Area. 

Another body was found in the Bhains Colony area, while a body bearing torture marks was discovered in the SITE area.

A man, Muhammad Ibrahim, was on his way in RD 238 area of Jaffarabad town in the same District when he stepped on a landmine, killing him on the spot. 

Unidentified militants opened indiscriminate fire at Mastung bus stop and killed one Noor Ahmed, before being escaped from the scene. 

Police recovered two dead bodies, one of them a woman, from a residence in Hub town in Lasbela District. The male one was identified as Abdul Khaliq.

Police arrested two senior militants of Swat chapter of TTP, identified as Iqbal alias Qari Basit, a resident of Shangla District, and Ijazullah, a resident of Torghar District, from Battagram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan is doubling the capacity for NATO trucks at a key border crossing, officials said, to speed up processing for an expected influx of supplies for troops in Afghanistan. Customs officials at Torkham border crossing said that work had begun to expand dedicated parking space for NATO containers.

A bill has been submitted in the Senate as part of efforts by Presidency to tame the ISI through parliamentary oversight and to make it answerable to Parliament and the Government. The 19-page draft bill was submitted in the Senate or Upper House of Parliament by Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari, a few days ago and may be taken up during a session beginning on July 9.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhary said that every third missing person in Balochistan was picked up by the FC. He said the issue of missing persons needed to be addressed to solve the problem of Balochistan.

During the hearing, Balochistan Advocate General Amanullah Kanrani informed the court that “four out of 135 missing persons had been recovered”. The chief justice remarked that recovery of only four missing persons indicated that the provincial Government was not taking the issue seriously.

VFBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch told the bench that a commission on missing persons, headed by Justice (retd Javed Iqbal, had said in a statement that 30 missing persons had been recovered. The chief justice remarked that they had been sitting there from morning until night but could see no progress.

Five militants were killed in clash with SFs in Otmela area of Kurram Agency in FATA. According to a security official, the militants attacked a checkpost in Otmela injuring one soldier. At least five militants were killed in the retaliatory firing by the SFs.

A government middle school for boys was also blown up in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency. According to a political agent, the attack takes the number of destroyed schools in the region to 96. Local residents said that unidentified terrorists who are against literacy planted explosives near the school. The explosion destroyed the school building.

SFs averted a possible bid of terrorism by defusing two bombs at Zera area in Khyber Agency.

Five more persons were killed in separate incidents of target killing in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.

At least two persons, father-son duo, lost their lives when unidentified assailants opened indiscriminate fire in the Keamari area.

Police recovered the body of one person, Zohaib, from near Malir River.

A 19-year-old boy identified as Mehrab was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Maripur Truck Stand.

25-year old girl’s strangulated body was found from her home in Safoora Goth. The girl was identified as Tehmina.

A schoolteacher, identified as Rasheed, was shot dead in the Shamsabad area of Mastung District in Balochistan.

Two persons, identified as Mohammad Shafique and Khair Jan, were killed when unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire in the Iskalku area of Kalat District.

Levies Force recovered a bullet-riddled body from Gidar Valley near the Surab area of Kalat District.

Another body was recovered near the Customs House in the Khuzdar District. "On a tip-off, a Police team reached an area near the Customs House and recovered a dead body dumped by the road,” police said, adding that the body had been shifted to hospital for identification.

Unidentified militants abducted Jamia Salfiya principal, Habibullah, near the Airport Road area in Quetta. According to Police, Habibullah was on his way to the Jamia Salfiya when unidentified persons intercepted him and took him away to some undisclosed location.

A shopkeeper, Nasrullah, was abducted from his shop in the Khuzdar District. According to Police, Nasrullah was at his shop when armed men took him away to some undisclosed destination.

Another man was abducted by unidentified armed men from the Gwadar District.

Police neutralised a 20-kilogramme explosive device in Kalat District. According to officials, acting on a tip-off, police and BDS personnel reached the site and defused explosive materials, which had been placed in the garden by unidentified men for sabotage.

Three persons including a female were shot dead by unidentified assailants inside their home at Tajpura Scheme area under Ghaziabad Police Station of Lahore in Punjab. Police investigators said the victims, yet to be identified, were asleep when some unknown gunmen barged into the home and opened indiscriminate bullets on them.

The tehsildar of Mullagori tehsil in Khyber Agency of FATA escaped a bomb blast near Juma Khan Kallay on Nasir Bagh Road in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Unidentified militants blew up a primary school for girls at Mera Mashokhel under Badhber Police Station in Peshawar.

Reacting to the reopening of NATO supply routes, a hitherto unknown TTP faction said that attacks on Army personnel in Gujranwala District of Punjab on July 9 are legitimate. The group, Idara Pasban-i-Shariat, an offshoot of the TTP, criticised the political and military leadership for striking a deal with the US, saying the leadership had betrayed the nation by resuming supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Two key US Senators have introduced legislation in the US Senate asking for the Haqqani Network to be designated as a FTO, saying it fits the criteria outlined for the FTO. Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and vice chairman of the committee Senator Saxby Chambliss issued a press release on July 10 saying they have asked, in the bill, for the State Department to designate the Haqqani Network as an FTO.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman maintained that Islamabad continues to deem unilateral drone attacks a violation of humanitarian and international law. “It hasn’t Okayed any American drone strikes on its territory in exchange for Washington’s apology over the Salala attacks,” she said in an interview with CNN.

Annoyed by non-implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed the Balochistan Home Department and law enforcement agencies to recover and produce before the court all missing persons in a week.

The court rejected a request made by Raja Irshad, the counsel for the Frontier Corps Balochistan, for an in camera briefing on missing persons and law and order. “It is regrettable that law enforcement agencies are not obeying the court’s orders to produce the persons who disappeared,” the CJP said, adding that the court wanted to see recovery and production of all missing persons.

The home secretary informed the court that 101 people – 86 civilians and 15 Policemen – had lost their lives in target killings in Quetta in June. Police arrested three terrorists who confessed that they had killed 24 religious scholars in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. Quetta Police Chief Mir Zubair said 56 terrorists had been killed.

An activist of the MQM and his two-year-old son were killed in Orangi town in the vicinity of Pakistan Bazar Police Station.

Two activists of the ANP were killed at Nazimabad No 2 within the limits of Nazimabad Police Station. After the incident heavy aerial firing was reported in the vicinity. 

A passerby was killed while 27 others injured when a roadside bomb struck the contract vehicle of SUPARCO at the Mawach Goth. The bomb struck the vehicle carrying 40 SUPARCO employees in the precincts of Saeedabad Police Station. The blast came as a second such attack on SUPARCO employees after terrorists from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) targeted a SUPARCO bus carrying Shiite employees to Friday prayers in 2003.

A Policeman was shot dead in an encounter that took place in Gharibabad Goth within the precincts of Malir City Police Station. According to Police, following a tip off their team reached Gharibabad Goth to conduct a raid.

Two bodies, including that of an Imambargah leader, were recovered in Mian Gundi area, an outskirt of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The bodies were identified as those of Satellite Town Imambargah leader Mulana Nour Ali Nour and Syed Haseeb Abad Zaidi, a resident of Sirki Road Quetta.

Kohat Police arrested 24 suspects and seized arms and ammunition from their possession during search operation in various parts of the Kohat District. Officials said that the operation was conducted by elite force personnel in the jurisdiction of Gumbat, Junglekhel, city and Lachi Police Stations.

SFs raided a house in the Zainy Khel area of Upper Orakzai Agency in FATA and arrested a TTP Orakzai chapter militant, a security official said. The militant was identified as Maseed Khan of the Feroz Khel Tribe.

The FATA law and order secretary Shakeel Qadir while briefing the SAFRON said that there was an urgent need to launch an operation against terrorists in NWA as they were getting hold of the area and government was losing its writ day by day.

The committee members were further told that government succeeded in maintaining its writ in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies and the terrorists were pushed back into Afghanistan. He told the committee the terrorists were organising attacks from across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. The committee was told of the instability in Bara and upper regions, which was also affecting provincial capital Peshawar as well.

The SAFRON committee members headed by Senator Muhammad Saleh Shah expressed its deep concern over the report of presence of over 20,000 terrorists in NWA getting uninterrupted supply of weapons to create law and order situation in the area.

The committee was told that there were total 120,467 displaced people