Pakistan Army will support me: Pervez Musharraf

Former President Pervez Musharraf has said that he firmly believes that country’s army will support him once he returns to the country because he has served that institution for over 35 years.
Talking to Wajahat Khan at “Ikhtalaf”, an Aaj News programme, on Friday, he reiterated his plan about his return to the country, saying that he would definitely go to Pakistan and try to win next elections there as he was wants to play his role in the country’s politics and take the country out of challenges it is facing today.
Answering a question, he said the first task of any state is its people’s well-being and improvement in their quality of life. “State exists for people; their well-being and welfare,” he added. Talking about his aims and objects, he said he wants to win next elections with at least a simple majority to form government, adding that although he wants a single party with a simple majority forming the government, he sees no harm if there is a coalition government after the elections.
Answering a question, he said that although he now had disappointments with the Chaudhries, they were the best choice in 2002 to create PML-Q out of PML-N. Answering a question about his harsh criticism of the Sharif brothers, he defended his remarks against the two leaders, saying “I’m no Christian, I’m Muslim and will therefore retaliate with equal or even more force against their attacks on me”. He also defended his position in relation to action against Nawab Akbar Bugti and Lal Masjid operation, adding that these issues were required to be properly explained to the people. However, he added, the media did not play its due role in this respect.
Answering a question about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former President said that it is not true that the entire PPP holds him responsible for her murder.
In answer to criticism on his remarks that ISI had been training Kashmiri Mujahideen, he denied that he ever made such remarks, adding that a German magazine had published those remarks out of context. He insisted that his stature has suffered no setback–from the days when he was on top of everything to his programmes with children in his last days at the presidency where he was often seen mumbling. “I have never mumbled or slurred,” he said, adding that his statures remains the same. According to him, he has a quite significant following and the lectures he delivers across the world are attended by a large number of people.

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What is happening between the US and Pakistan? Or is it CIA vs ISI Now !!!!

Those who recall my attempt some months ago to explain Joe Biden’s hurriedly-arranged visit to Pakistan, would recall that I tried outlining why and how Pakistan was assisting the Afghans to find an Afghan solution for their future — a future in which all Afghans across the ethnic divide would participate, including the various chapters of the Afghan Taliban. While Pakistan would assist, the ‘(Burhanuddin) Rabbani initiative’ was intended to be exclusively Afghan.
I also mentioned in the same article that, when Biden’s hurriedly-scheduled visit was announced, The Washington Post (concluding from the briefings he received) outlined his messages to Pakistan. Apart from increased military and civil aid/assistance, these included a reassurance that no ground attack by US/Isaf forces would occur on Pakistani soil, the US would no longer press for an operation by the Pakistan Army in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) and, that “Pakistan has an important, if not dominant role in Afghanistan”.
A month later, we were caught up in the Raymond Davis imbroglio. However, that, too, was settled amicably and CIA operatives in Pakistan were grossly reduced. It should have been expected that relations between these two ‘allies’ would improve. But what has happened since? Let us examine recent developments before attempting to understand why these have occurred.

The day after Davis’s release, a drone attack in NWA killed around 44 civilians (no militants). For the first time, Pakistan launched a genuinely strong protest; so much so, that the army chief, General Kayani, vocally condemned the attack (a first). For some days, the Pakistan Air Force patrolled the skies along the Durand Line and drone attacks halted. In the meantime, our ISI chief travelled to Washington for a meeting with his counterpart at the CIA.
He had not yet set foot in Pakistan when, on April 22, another drone attack in NWA killed 22 people, including women and children! I have frequently commented that, since 2008, drone attacks by the CIA have become increasingly accurate in targeting militants and the (indecent term) ‘collateral damage’ has become minimal. Suddenly, after Davis’s departure, these have become even more inaccurate than they were in the period from 2006-2008! Why?
In his online article, “Carving up Pakistan: The Balochistan gambit”, Tony Cartalucci wrote on April 22: “In a broader geopolitical context, these constant and seemingly random attacks in western Pakistan serve a more diabolical purpose. With each attack on ‘suspected militants’, the all-inclusive term used to describe CIA targets, the authority and stability of Pakistan’s establishment is undermined and whittled away. With many of the attacks claiming the lives of civilians, outrage and unrest is purposefully being fanned and spread. The recipient of this outrage and unrest is a national government seemingly bent to the will of the United States as it callously murders Pakistanis. In particular, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is being intentionally weakened, undermined and isolated from the whole of Pakistan”.
The last sentence is given credence by the fact that, after a considerable interval, during which the ISI was not subjected to false allegations by the US, suddenly US military chief Admiral Mullen found it necessary to castigate this organisation again. With such vehemence did he do so, that once again, Pakistan’s army chief had to decry this ‘negative propaganda’!

Then there is the incident of the two-day firefight in Dir! Where did that come from? It certainly isn’t al Qaeda, which maintains only a token presence in Afghanistan, having moved to greener pastures in the Middle East and Iraq. Equally certainly, it wasn’t the Taliban.
In his online article “CIA Directs and Funds Terrorism In Pakistan CIA’s Afghan Kill Teams Expand US War in Pakistan”, published September 21, 2010, Spencer Ackerman points at the likely perpetrators. “Let there be no doubt that the US is at war in Pakistan. It’s not just the drone strikes. According to insider journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, the CIA manages a large and lethal band of Afghan fighters to infiltrate into Pakistan and attack al Qaeda’s bases. What could possibly go wrong?” He adds, “Administration officials didn’t just confirm the existence of the teams — they bragged about them. ‘This is one of the best Afghan fighting forces and it’s made major contributions to stability and security,’ says one US official who would only talk on condition of anonymity — and who wouldn’t elaborate”. Ackerman concludes, “One of the larger political narratives Woodward’s book apparently presents is President Obama’s inability to either bring the Afghanistan war to a close or find good options for tailoring it to the US’ main enemies in Pakistan. When the CIA comes to the Oval Office with a plan for inflicting damage on the safe havens — no matter how fraught with risk and blowback the plan is — is it any surprise that Obama would approve it?”
Ackerman’s comments seem to confirm my growing belief that US foreign policy, at least towards this region, is not tailored in the White House, but in the Pentagon and Langley. If the GHQ has a definite input in our foreign policy, it seems we are only following the sterling example of ‘the World’s Greatest Democracy’, the US of A!
And what is more, the US has, once again, linked this seizure of promised aid as well as its intent to continue its inaccurate drone attacks in NWA to the precondition that Pakistan undertake a military operation in NWA — if not, no aid and drone attacks now (rather obviously) targeting civilians will continue!
“Elementary, my dear Watson”, as the inimical Sherlock Holmes would have said, “the US has to destabilise Pakistan”. The only question is: Why?

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Cruise Missile, Hatf-8. Pakistan has conducted a successful test flight near Kashmor.

The nuclear-capable missile test is part of the continuing process of improving the technical parameters of the weapon system. The RA’Ad missile, with a range of over 350 km, has been developed exclusively for launch from aerial platforms. The state of the art Ra’ad cruise missile with stealth capabilities is a low altitude, terrain-hugging missile with high maneuverability, and can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with pinpoint accuracy. The successful launch has been appreciated by the president and prime minister of Pakistan, and chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee who have congratulated the scientists and engineers on their outstanding achievement.

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Should CIA Start Wearing Military Uniform?

The first four Directors of the CIA (from 1947-1953) were military officers, but since then, there has been a tradition (generally though imperfectly observed) of keeping the agency under civilian rather than military leadership. That's why George Bush's 2006 nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to the CIA provoked so many objections from Democrats (and even some Republicans).

The Hayden nomination triggered this comment from the current Democratic Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein: "You can't have the military control most of the major aspects of intelligence. The CIA is a civilian agency and is meant to be a civilian agency." The then-top Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman, said "she hears concerns from civilian CIA professionals about whether the Defense Department is taking over intelligence operations" and "shares those concerns." On Meet the Press, Nancy Pelosi cited tensions between the DoD and the CIA and said: "I don't see how you have a four-star general heading up the CIA." Then-Sen. Joe Biden worried that the CIA, with a General in charge, will "just be gobbled up by the Defense Department." Even the current GOP Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Pete Hoekstra, voiced the same concern about Hayden: "We should not have a military person leading a civilian agency at this time."

Of course, like so many Democratic objections to Bush policies, that was then and this is now. Yesterday, President Obama announced -- to very little controversy -- that he was nominating Gen. David Petraeus to become the next CIA Director. The Petraeus nomination raises all the same concerns as the Hayden nomination did, but even more so: Hayden, after all, had spent his career in military intelligence and Washington bureaucratic circles and thus was a more natural fit for the agency; by contrast, Petraues is a pure military officer and, most of all, a war fighting commander with little background in intelligence. But in the world of the Obama administration, Petraeus' militarized, warrior orientation is considered an asset for running the CIA, not a liability.

That's because the CIA, under Obama, is more militarized than ever, as devoted to operationally fighting wars as anything else, including analyzing and gathering intelligence. This morning's Washington Post article on the Petraeus nomination -- headlined: "Petraeus would helm an increasingly militarized CIA" -- is unusual in presenting such a starkly forthright picture of how militarized the U.S. has become under the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner:

Gen. David H. Petraeus has served as commander in two wars launched by the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. If confirmed as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Petraeus would effectively take command of a third -- in Pakistan.

Petraeus's nomination comes at a time when the CIA functions, more than ever in its history, as an extension of the nation's lethal military force.

CIA teams operate alongside U.S. special operations forces in conflict zones from Afghanistan to Yemen. The agency has also built up a substantial paramilitary capability of its own. But perhaps most significantly, the agency is in the midst of what amounts to a sustained bombing campaign over Pakistan using unmanned Predator and Reaper drones.

Since Obama took office there have been at least 192 drone missile strikes, killing as many as 1,890 militants, suspected terrorists and civilians. Petraeus is seen as a staunch supporter of the drone campaign, even though it has so far failed to eliminate the al-Qaeda threat or turn the tide of the Afghan war. . . .

Petraeus has spent relatively little time in Washington over the past decade and doesn't have as much experience with managing budgets or running Washington bureaucracies as CIA predecessors Leon E. Panetta and Michael V. Hayden. But Petraeus has quietly lobbied for the CIA post, drawn in part by the chance for a position that would keep him involved in the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen.

It's rare for American media outlets to list all of our "wars" this way, including the covert ones (and that list does not even include the newest one, in Libya, where drone attacks are playing an increasingly prominent role as well). But Barack Obama does indeed preside over numerous American wars in the Muslim world, including some that he started (Libya and Yemen) and others which he's escalated (Afghanistan and Pakistan). Because our wars are so often fought covertly, the CIA has simply become yet another arm of America's imperial war-fighting machine, thus making it the perfect fit for Bush and Obama's most cherished war-fighting General to lead (Petraeus will officially retire from the military to take the position, though that obviously does not change who he is, how he thinks, and what his loyalties are).

One reason why it's so valuable to keep the CIA under civilian control is because its independent intelligence analyst teams often serve as one of the very few capable bureaucratic checks against the Pentagon and its natural drive for war. That was certainly true during the Bush years when factions in the CIA rebelled against the dominant neocon Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz/Feith clique, but it's been true recently as well:

Others voiced concern that Petraeus is too wedded to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and the troop-heavy, counterinsurgency strategy he designed -- to deliver impartial assessments of those wars as head of the CIA.

Indeed, over the past year the CIA has generally presented a more pessimistic view of the war in Afghanistan than Petraeus has while he has pushed for an extended troop buildup.

That's why, noted The Post, there is "some grumbling among CIA veterans opposed to putting a career military officer in charge of an agency with a long tradition of civilian leadership." But if one thing is clear in Washington, it's that neither political party is willing or even able to stand up to the military establishment, and especially not a General as sanctified in Washington circles as Petraeus. It's thus unsurprising that "Petraeus seems unlikely to encounter significant opposition from Capitol Hill" and that, without promising to vote for his confirmation, Sen. Feinstein -- who raised such a ruckus over the appointment of Hayden -- yesterday "signaled support for Petraeus."

The nomination of Petraeus doesn't change much; it merely reflects how Washington is run. That George Bush's favorite war-commanding General -- who advocated for and oversaw the Surge in Iraq -- is also Barack Obama's favorite war-commanding General, and that Obama is now appointing him to run a nominally civilian agency that has been converted into an "increasingly militarized" arm of the American war-fighting state, says all one needs to know about the fully bipartisan militarization of American policy. There's little functional difference between running America's multiple wars as a General and running them as CIA Director because American institutions in the National Security State are all devoted to the same overarching cause: Endless War.

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CIA Start Purging From Pakistan - CNN PAKISTAN

The United States was never, and is not, an enemy of Pakistan. But the US political, military and intelligence thrust in Afghanistan over eight years has decidedly placed the US on the side of our enemies. This is a US choice, not a compulsion.
From day one, Washington chose to turn Kabul into the new hub of anti-Pakistanism in the region. A lot of evidence suggests a CIA role in tolerating and exacerbating anti-Pakistan insurgencies along our Afghan border. Today all anti-Pakistan terrorists take refuge in US-controlled Afghanistan. American political engineering inside Islamabad [‘Exhibit A: the crumbling coalition government’] is motivated by an overriding key objective: downsizing the Pakistani military and forcing the nation to accept Indian regional hegemony. If Pakistan does not accept this it will be punished.
The role of CIA drones in destroying Al-Qaeda is a myth. The agency’s figures on Al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s border regions are questionable, to begin with. The single-biggest achievement of drone missiles is pushing Pakistani tribesmen into the hands of terrorists and mind-control technicians who reprogramme them to kill Pakistani civilians and soldiers.
US claims about the Pakistani tribal belt becoming the most dangerous place in the world is another myth. Over the past 13 months, most of the terror plots in the United States and Europe came from US and European citizens, some of them were of Pakistani origin, who visited this region from the Afghan, not Pakistani, side, and under the noses of the US, ISAF and NATO. How these people managed to slip through tight American and European security procedures is inexplicable, but the stories were always timed with US pressure on Pakistan to start a new civil war against its own people in North Waziristan.
We must eliminate terrorists who kill Pakistanis, but also we must win back tribal Pakistanis. That is not possible without ending foreign meddling and terror sanctuaries in the CIA’s Afghan backyard. The TTP and Swat terrorists cannot survive if not for the American sanctuary in Afghanistan.
A third American myth that needs to be blown is our tribal belt being the source of US failure in Afghanistan. A few on our side of the border sympathising with the Pakhtun-led resistance in Afghanistan because of tribal affinities cannot turn the tables in Kabul. The impending US rout and the growing Pakhtun resistance are a direct result of America’s 2002 plan to punish the Pakhtuns—against strong Pakistani advice. That blunder is the driving force behind Afghan resistance, not Pakistan’s tribal belt.
Pakistanis have had it with this double game. The dramatic escape from Pakistan last month of CIA’s Islamabad station chief is one sign of this. He and his staff are involved in the murder of Pakistanis in an illegal covert war: the UN mandate for American occupation in Afghanistan does not include a role for the CIA to wage a covert war in Pakistan.
The CIA’s responsibility for these murders extends to Pakistanis killed in at least two attacks mounted by Pakistani forces earlier this year, one of them in Tirah Valley—based most likely on flawed CIA intelligence—resulting in the killing of more than 60 Pakistanis.
In the case of the two attacks based on CIA information, the data was so flawed in one case that the Pakistani army chief had to personally apologize for the wrongful deaths and compensate the victims. The bold move by the army chief indicated dismay within the military over innocent Pakistani casualties. It represented a break from the days of his predecessor Pervez Musharraf, whose administration sanctioned, and owned, the CIA’s Pakistan operations.
The US government and the CIA were quick to plant stories accusing the ISI of leaking Mr. Jonathan Banks’ name. But Mr. Banks’ identity is on record in the files of the Pakistani embassy in Washington and in the Foreign Office in Islamabad. This is why even the next CIA station chief is not safe as long as determined Pakistanis are out there seeking justice through a lawsuit.
Statements attributed to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani clearly show they consented to Pakistani civilian casualties in CIA attacks. US journalist Bob Woodward quoted Mr. Zardari as telling senior US officials he was not concerned about civilian Pakistani deaths. And former US ambassador Anne W Patterson wrote in a diplomatic cable to Washington that Mr. Gilani encouraged US officials in a meeting to continue CIA drone attacks, and that he would cover up for civilian deaths in public. This is probably why drone attacks in just one year, 2010, at 136 attacks, exceeded the number of attacks in the preceding six years: 96 in 2004-2009.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s envoy in Washington Husain Haqqani has been lobbying to get CIA agents and private US security contractors into Pakistan. His wish was granted last year when President Zardari allowed him the discretion to issue visas in Washington without verification. On one occasion, almost 500 such visas were granted in less than 24 hours. Mr. Haqqani has been bullish about allowing undercover US intelligence and military personnel into Pakistan and often argued with his diplomatic superiors over this. Last year, he even complained about the ISI chief to the prime minister over visas to Americans. The classified letter strangely leaked to an Indian television channel in New Delhi.
But if the pro-US Zardari government is involved, what is the Pakistani military doing? Perhaps Gen. Kayani does not wish to challenge the civilian government’s understandings with Washington because that could lead him down the slippery slope of military intervention, which the army chief doesn’t favor.
It is important that the CIA and its agents are purged from Pakistan as soon as possible. Here is a comment that an American left on a US website after reports that CIA drones killed tens of people in Pakistan in the last week of 2010: “It’s interesting to witness a country actively cooperating and assisting another country waging war against itself. What a proud nation that must be.”

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Pak vs WI: Pakistan beat West Indies by 7 wickets in 2nd ODI of the 5 match Digicel series

Lahore-Cnn Pakistan, Pakistan Beat West Indies by 7 wickets in 2nd ODI and lead 5 match Digicel series 2-0.Pakistan opener Ahmed Shahzad scores his maiden century against West Indies and his 2nd International cricket century.Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi is happy with his team performance and is confident to make his side no.1 in ICC ranking soon.

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Musharraf likely to return by end-2011

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf is expected to return Pakistan by the end of the year 2011, said a press statement.

While addressing a press conference, All Pakistan Muslims League (APML) spokesman Fawwad Chaudhry said that unemployment and poverty have been rising alarmingly in the country and the current government has failed to resolve these issues.

He said that the people were still remembering the tenure of Musharraf. Musharraf would address a public meeting in Lahore on April 17 by telephone, Fawwad added. He said Musharraf would return to Pakistan at the end of this year.

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Lahore gets its first 3D cinema

Yesterday saw the opening of the city’s first 3D cinema at Cinestar in Township. A red carpet event showcasing the Hollywood film, Avatar, had been organised by owners Ali Chaudhry and Faraz Chaudhry.
The organisers said they had spent a large amount of money to get the latest technology. A 3D cinema, they said, cost 10 times an ordinary cinema and the entire cinema had to be renovated in order for the 3D technology to be installed. They also hoped to add three more screens and IMAX technology to their cinema house. “We want to revive the cinema. Our focus is youth who embrace new technologies,” said Ali Chaudhry. He said that they had special discounts for students.

The event was well attended. The audience’s enthusiasm and excitement were palpable. Cinema-goer Sobia said, “3D is about bringing life to a big screen. It’s good to know that people are taking initiatives to revive entertainment through cinemas.” The cinema owners hope to showcase many 3D films in the coming months. Unfortunately the lack of 3D film production in Pakistan means that no Lollywood film will be shown. However, the Bollywood film, Wanted is slated to be screened.
The cinema is going to offer 3D glasses for an affordable price. Glasses can be re-used at further showings.

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Dr Samar Mubarak for ban on import of food items from Japan

Dr Mubarak Mand said that Pakistan was safe from these affects because of long distance from Japan.
Pakistani atomic scientist Dr Samar Mubarak Mand said that the government should ban import of food items from Japan.
Commenting on reports that nuclear radioactivity had reached Pakistan, Dr Mubarak Mand said that Pakistan was safe from these affects because of long distance of the country from Japan but he said that food items should not be imported from Japan.

Dr Mubarak Mand said that radioactivity could spread due to arrival of people and sea species from Japan while Chief Meteorologist Dr Ghulam Rasool said that nuclear radioactivity elements would be eliminated in monsoon rains

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Pakistan protests against drone attacks

Islamabad: Pakistan has lodged strong protest against the United States drone attacks in northwest tribal area of Pakistan that killed at least six people on Wednesday.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir recorded strong protest to the US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Minter against today (Wednesday)’s drone strikes in Angoor Adda that at least six people . The US ambassador was also present on the occasion.

Bashir strongly condemned the drone attacks and called it counterproductive against war on terror. He said such kind of attacks strengthen the hands of terrorists.

The foreign secretary also stated that Pakistan reserved its right to defend its sovereignty and that such attacks would not be tolerated.

It is worth mentioning here that the drone strikes were carried out when intelligence dialogue between Pakistan and the US were in progress.

Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha is in the US to restore intelligence sharing between both the countries that were suspended after Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore on January 27.

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KESC announce load shedding duration

Karachi: Load shedding hours in Karachi has been reached up to nine hours as Karachi Electric Supply Company on Wednesday announced to increase load shedding hours by three more hours, said a press statement.

According to the KESC statement, load shedding hours in Karachi would be reached nine hours because of shortage of furnace oil and gas.

The KESC statement said that 100 MMCDF gas was being provided instead of 120 MMCDF. Load shedding would be carried out in residential, commercial and industrial areas, KESC added.

The KESC further said that the company had also informed that 60 thousand metric ton furnace would be provided to KESC but not being given.

Pakistan State Oil had also announced that KESC would be provided furnace oil on low price.

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Four Maj. Generals promoted to the ranks of Lt. General

Rawalpindi: Pakistan’s Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has promoted four Major Generals to the rank of Lieutenant General.

According to sources, Maj. General Ahsan, Maj. General Javed, Maj. General Abid and Maj. General Asif has been promoted to the rank of Lt. General.

Maj. General Javed Iqbal was currently serving as Director General Military Operations and Maj. General Asif as GOC 8th Infantry Division. New appointments and transfers would take place after the current changes, the sources added.

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Indo-Pak defence secretaries meeting on Apr 22

Islamabad: Defence secretaries meeting between Pakistan and India would be help on April 22, in Rawalpindi, sources said.

Diplomatic sources said that defence secretaries of both the countries would lead the delegations of their sides. Sir Creek and Siachen issues would be discussed in the meeting, the sources said.

Talk between Pakistan and India were restored after the cricket World Cup semifinal between Pakistan and Indian when Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted the invitation of his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh to watch the match.

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Baloch missing persons must be produced in courts

Islamabad: Chairman Voice for Baloch Missing Persons has said that Balochistan missing persons must be produced in courts if involved in treason.

While addressing a press conference with the relatives of at least 15 disappeared person at National Press Club on Wednesday Nasrullah Baloch, Chairman, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons said that he has the particulars of 1300 Baloch missing persons, out of these 148 were women and 159 were children.

He said that the arrest and abduction of Balochistan people was started in 1973 which has been accelerated by the passage of time.

He said that they were murdered after arrest now a days and the dead bodies were thrown in un-populated areas.

Moreover, the dead bodies of 130 missing persons were recovered out of which 80 people were arrested and extra judicially killed by secret agencies and Frontier Core (FC). He said that the government and human rights organizations failed to highlight and resolved the issue.

The role of political parties is insufficient in this regard and appealed Supreme Court, civil society and international human rights organizations to play the requisite role for prevention of such heinous crimes against humanity to recover Balochistan missing persons, he said.

The briefing was coincided with the latest Supreme Court hearing in the missing persons case which took place on Wednesday morning.

He said that this is the second time that they have set up a protest camp to call attention to the plight of thousands of Baloch who have been abducted by security agencies over the past few years.

He said that a delegation of VBMP spent two weeks in Islamabad a year ago and also attended a hearing in Supreme Court and Justice Javed Iqbal gave assurance at that time that the situation would be improved and the missing people will be recovered.

However instead passage of 12 months the situation in Balochistan has further deteriorated.

He said that not only abduction continued rather a new reign of terror has spread throughout the province as mutilated bodies of abducted youth are being found on almost on daily basis.

Qadeer Baloch, Vice-Chairman said that it appears as if the majority of Baloch people who want peace and stability were being deliberately radicalized by the actions of the security agencies.

He said that the families of the young men who have been abducted intend to know about their relatives adding that these were very basic demands however the government has not taken action on the issue.

The state is breeding enormous resentment within ordinary Baloch people and creating fertile ground for separatist movements.

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Pakistan Embassy official shot in Nepal

Katmandu: An employee of the Pakistani embassy in Kathmandu has been shot near the embassy in Basundhara, Kathmandu Thursday morning.

Police said, two assailants, riding a motorcycle open fired at Mehboob Asif at around 9 am this morning.He received four bullet injuries.Police rushed to the spot and shifted him to a nearby hospital He was rushed to a near by hospital where his condition was said to be stable.

The identity of the attackers and the motive behind the attack was yet to be ascertained. Police have launched investigating into the incident.

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Forces kill 18 militants in Mohmand Agency

Peshawar: At least18 militants were killed and 25 injured during an operation by the Pakistan security forces in north west Pakistan’s tribal region near Afghan border, official sources said on Thursday.

The sources said that the forces backed by war planes and helicopter gunships targeted militants’ positions in Mohmand Agency.

The Pakistan army has been battling Taliban led insurgency in law less tribal region of South Waziristan

It is believed that the militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda infiltrate into Afghanistan and launched attacks against US led forces based in Afghanistan,The US has been urging Pakistan destroy militants’ “sanctuaries” in North Waziristan, While the US spy planes operated by the CIA repeatedly hit the areas aimed at killing the militants,however the drone attacks have been fanning anti-US sentiments in Pakistan.

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Two killed, two injured in Quetta

Quetta: Two people were shot dead while two others were wounded in Quetta, capital of the Balochistan province of Pakistan, on Thursday evening, police said.

The incident took place in Bibi Ziarat area of Saryab Road when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on Abdul Kabeer Qadri when he was returning home after attending a funeral prayer with his son. As a result, Qadri and his son dies while two others sustained injuries. The accused managed to escape after the swift operation.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Heavy contingent of police rushed to the spot and started search operation for the arrest of the assailants.

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