Army recovers 79 kidnapped students from militants Tuesday, 02 Jun, 2009 | 10:20 AM PST |

* Correction: This story is the accurate version of the previously published 'Taliban kidnap over 500 Cadet College students'. We apologise for the wrong number of students published earlier.

ISLAMABAD: All except one of the kidnapped students and staff members of Cadet College Razmak were recovered in a military operation, the Inter Services Public Relations said on Tuesday.

A statement released by the ISPR said that 79 kidnap victims, including cadets and staff members were recovered after a military operation.

‘All the cadets except one have been recovered in an army operation this morning at 5 a.m.,’ said military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas.

The operation was carried out in Guryum area, nearly 20 kilometres east of Razmak, where the college is located.

According to Maj. Gen. Abbas, Razmak lies on the route to South Waziristan, where militant still have a stronghold, where the militants were planning to take the kidnapped students. Abbas added that the military anticipated this plan of action and launched an operation on the route leading to South Waziristan.

The resulting firefight helped army overcome the militants and recover the students, he told DawnNews.

Abbas said that the military is not carrying out an offensive operation in South Waziristan and is only preparing for any attacks from the militants in the area, where military convoys have come under attacks.

Earlier on Monday, conflicting reports came in about the number of kidnap victims with most news agencies reporting the figure to be 500.

Militants kidnapped the students of Razmak Cadet College from the Bakkakhel Frontier Region, Bannu, adjacent to the North Waziristan tribal region.

Details were sketchy but the official said that 33 vehicles had started off from Razmak, with 540 cadets, teaching staff and their families after the principal of the college ordered its closure amid apprehensions about an impending military operation against militants.

‘The vehicles were waylaid by armed militants in the Bakkakhel area and commandeered towards Marwat Canal,’ the official said.

Police said that some women and children were later freed. But, the militants carrying rockets, grenades and automatic machine guns boarded the vehicles and commandeered them to some unspecified place.

Another coach, carrying 17 people, including 10 students, a librarian and a doctor, managed to reach the Miryan police station in Bannu. They were later escorted to the Cantonment police station for their onward journey to their destinations, the police official said.

‘The Taliban are behind the kidnapping,’ Mir Sardar, Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Miryan police station, told The New York Times by phone from Bannu.

Marwat Canal leads to South Waziristan’s Spinkay, through Frontier Region Tank, linked up by a nullah frequently used by militants to bypass security checkposts.

Gul Bahadur, leader of the Ittehad-i-Shura Mujahideen, North Waziristan, has wide influence in Bakkakhel and some officials believe that the kidnapping could not have taken place without his blessing.

‘He thinks that he can hoodwink us by escorting these students and teachers to fulfil his commitment not to harm them in his area of influence and then have them kidnapped from Bakkakhel. But we all know whose people operate in Bakkakhel,’ the official said.

The number of those kidnapped varied, but one official put the figure at close to 518, including cadets and members of the teaching staff.

District Police Officer of Bannu Iqbal Marwat, however, said that 67 cadets had managed to reach the police, while over 400 were missing.

TNSM, Swat Taliban reject Darul Qaza By Gohar Ali Gohar and Hameedullah Khan Sunday, 03 May, 2009 | 03:45 PM PST |

BATKHELA: The Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) and the Swat Taliban have rejected the setting up of Darul Qaza and appointments of Qazis as a unilateral decision of the government, saying Sufi Mohammad was not consulted before the announcement.

Talking to media persons, after TNSM Shura’s meeting at its headquarter in Bilal Mosque Amandara, Therik spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said the setting up of Darul Qaza in Malakand was a one-sided decision by the government and TNSM chief was not consulted prior to the announcement in this regard.

Amir Izzat, reading a written statement before newsmen, said the government during its first round of talks at Timergara a few days ago had promised to take the TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad into confidence, stop the military operation in Maidan and Buner and pave the way for a safe and speedy return of displaced people. But, he said, none of these demands were met. The TNSM therefore disowned the establishment of Darul Qaza and appointment of judges as Qazis.

There was no mention in the written statement regarding the February 16 peace accord with the government despite reservation over the formation of Darul Qaza.

Maulana Sufi Muhammad said on the occasion that ‘delegating powers of Qazis to judges is Ghair-Sharaee,’ adding: ‘we want Sharaee Qazis in accordance with Shariat Muhammadi.’ He said TNSM wanted to transform the present judicial system into Islamic Sharia system.

He said Sharia and democracy are totally different systems, adding we consider democracy as Kuffar (infidelity) and believe in system of Quran and Sunnah. He said constitution of Pakistan is Islamic and it was not practically implemented in the country.

He said we are still ready for talks and stand by our promise of restoring peace in Malakand if Shariah was implemented in its true spirit. He reiterated that there is no justification of taking arms after practical implementation of Shariah.

Meanwhile, Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told media persons by phone from am undisclosed location that Darul Qaza under the shadows of jets bombing and shelling was not acceptable to them.

He said the government should stop the military operation and set up Darul Qaza after consultation with Maulana Sufi Mohmmad. He said Taliban were abiding by the peace agreement made between the government and TNSM. He said the government was violation the peace accord after launching operation in Dir and Buner districts and making preparation for strike in Swat.

He warned of befitting response if military operation was again imposed on them in Swat.

He said Darul Qaza should be so powerful that it could summon the president, prime minister, Maulana Sufi Mohammad and even Maulana Fazlullah to appear before it.

He said the government has arrested 40 Taliban including several innocent locals, and added that about 25 security personnel were in Taliban custody, who would be freed as soon as possible.

Muslim Khan ruled out the supply of arms to the Taliban by foreign states, adding they had successfully stolen weapons from Pakistan security forces. He expressed full confidence in Sufi Mohammad, saying they would follow the directives of Sufi Mohmmad regarding Darul Qaza and Qazi courts.

Forty militants killed as Lower Dir offensive continues By Haleem Asad Sunday, 26 Apr, 2009 | 06:51 PM PST |

TIMERGARA: Security forces have claimed inflicting heavy casualties on militants in the ensuing gun battle in Maidan area of Lower Dir district triggering massive displacement from the conflict hit areas.

Frontier Corps said in a statement on Monday that more than 40 militants including two commanders had been killed in operation 'Black Lightening' since Sunday. It said that troops regained control of Lal Qila and flushed out militants from Maidan valley, hometown of Maulana Sufi Muhammad.

Displaced people and witnesses said that noncombatants were also among the dead. They said that eight security personnel were killed in the exchange of fire.

Gunship helicopters and ground forces pounded militants’ hideouts in different parts of Maidan including Dokrai, Kalpani, Odigaram and Akakhel Darra. FC claimed that three militant commanders identified as Maulvi Shahid, Sajjad and Shabar had been killed so far.

Official sources also confirmed killing of eight security personnel.

Residents of Maidan fleeing the area said that they had seen bodies of Taliban and other noncombatants lying on roadside in different villages.

Sources said that security forces were in control of Lal Qilla, Kumbar, Katpatai, Parpetai, Khanabad, Galgot, Hayaserai and Kaladag. The militants, they said, were still in control of most parts of the Upper Maidan Shadas area and were showing stiff resistance to security forces.

It is learnt that militants were vacating the area. Heavy shelling had damaged several homes. Troops were firing heavy artillery from their bases in Timergara, Islam Darra and Samar Bagh.

A Mass exodus continued on Monday and according to the Al-Khidmat Foundation nearly 55,000 people most of them women and children had so far left their homes.

Provincial president of the Awami National Party Afrasiab Khattak along with minister for information Mian Iftikhar Hussain visited district headquarters Timergara and held meetings with elders.

Later speaking at a news conference at the DCO office, Khattak termed the FC operation as 'very limited' and said it was not a full pledge military operation. He said the FC personnel were only targeting militants’ positions in the area and soon it would be ended.

He said it would have no effects on the Nizam-I-Adl regulation signed by the president of Pakistan and determined that the ANP led provincial government would implement it at any cost.

'We have made a promise with the people of Malakand and will keep our words to enforce Sharia law in the region,' Afrasiab said. He further stated that the operation would not be extended to other parts of the district if the people did not take arms.

Afrasiab also said the Taliban should lay down their weapons and that the government would not let any force establish a parallel government in the area.

Mian Iftikhar said that the government had contacts with Maulana Sufi Muhammad, asking him to enact the Swat peace deal.

He said peace had been restored to Swat but some miscreants within the ranks of Taliban were not willing to abide by the peace there.

'The government is adament to set up Qazi courts in all districts of Malakand division and it will also establish Darul Qaza according to the wishes of the people,' Iftikhar said.

Swat Taliban are threat to democracy, Pakistan: Nawaz Tuesday, 21 Apr, 2009 | 12:34 PM PST |

LAHORE: Former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has expressed concern over the controversial Swat peace deal saying that militants in Swat were trying to export their particularly harsh version of Sharia to other regions.

In an interview with USA Today, the PML-N chief said that those militants were now threatening to spread their reach beyond Swat to other regions of the country, adding that such a situation needs to be avoided.

However, Nawaz Sharif once again opposed US drone attacks in the tribal areas as ‘counterproductive,’ saying that he wanted dialogue with some moderate groups.

Sharif also rubbished international doubts that the nuclear assets of the country could fall into the hands of the Taliban militants.

Sharif said that, with sufficient economic development, the insurgency in Swat and the adjoining tribal areas could be defused in just two years.

The PML-N chief stressed that any deal with militants should include commitments that ‘democracy would not be allowed to deteriorate and the writ of the government would be honored.’

Nawaz Sharif also told the US media that women’s schools and universities must be allowed to stay open.

Sharif avoided criticizing Zardari directly during the interview, insisting that he wanted to work with the PPP but wanted the president to give up some of his presidential powers, and this matter should be resolved in Parliament, not on the streets.

He said that his party wanted to get the country back on the rails of democracy, strengthen institutions like the judiciary and the media and take necessary steps to prevent anyone from abrogating or suspending the constitution.

On his ties with the US, Sharif said that he was a fan of President Obama and added that US diplomats had been reaching out to him since Obama took office.

Sharif said politicians must set aside their differences and work together to find solutions to the Taliban insurgency plaguing the country and focus on other pressing needs.

LAHORE: Former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has expressed concern over the controversial Swat peace deal saying that militants in Swat were trying to export their particularly harsh version of Sharia to other regions.

In an interview with USA Today, the PML-N chief said that those militants were now threatening to spread their reach beyond Swat to other regions of the country, adding that such a situation needs to be avoided.

However, Nawaz Sharif once again opposed US drone attacks in the tribal areas as ‘counterproductive,’ saying that he wanted dialogue with some moderate groups.

Sharif also rubbished international doubts that the nuclear assets of the country could fall into the hands of the Taliban militants.

Sharif said that, with sufficient economic development, the insurgency in Swat and the adjoining tribal areas could be defused in just two years.

The PML-N chief stressed that any deal with militants should include commitments that ‘democracy would not be allowed to deteriorate and the writ of the government would be honored.’

Nawaz Sharif also told the US media that women’s schools and universities must be allowed to stay open.

Sharif avoided criticizing Zardari directly during the interview, insisting that he wanted to work with the PPP but wanted the president to give up some of his presidential powers, and this matter should be resolved in Parliament, not on the streets.

He said that his party wanted to get the country back on the rails of democracy, strengthen institutions like the judiciary and the media and take necessary steps to prevent anyone from abrogating or suspending the constitution.

On his ties with the US, Sharif said that he was a fan of President Obama and added that US diplomats had been reaching out to him since Obama took office.

Sharif said politicians must set aside their differences and work together to find solutions to the Taliban insurgency plaguing the country and focus on other pressing needs.

Suicide bomber kills 16 in Charsadda Wednesday, 15 Apr, 2009 | 08:16 PM PST |

CHARSADDA: A suicide bomber smashed his explosives-filled car into a police check post in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday, killing 16 people, police and hospital officials said.

Nine police officers and seven civilians died in the bombing in Charsadda, just north of Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, they said.

The blast left a crater about three metres (yards) wide, shattered windows in nearby buildings and severed power cables, plunging the area into darkness, an AFP reporter at the site said.

‘Eight policemen and seven civilians were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-filled car into a police checkpost,’ district police chief Riaz Khan told AFP.

Hospital official Muhammad Ali said 15 people were killed in the blast.

Another police official, Nasrullah Khan, later told AFP that one injured senior police official died on his way to hospital.

‘The death toll has risen to 16 and six people, including three policemen, are injured,’ Khan said.

Provincial police chief Malik Naveed said an investigation team, forensic experts and bomb disposal officials had been sent to the area and were collecting evidence from the blast site.

He said the police was on high alert ahead of the attack.

‘We had intelligence reports that a car bombing could take place in any of three districts of the province,’ Naveed said.

The bombing drew immediate condemnation from President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
‘The president said that the perpetrators of such a heinous crime would be brought to justice,’ said a statement from Zardari's office.

Nearly 1,800 people have been killed in a wave of bomb attacks since government forces fought gunmen holed up in a radical Islamabad mosque in July 2007.

Much of the violence has been concentrated in the northwest, where Taliban hardliners and Al-Qaeda extremists fled after the 2001 US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Charsadda borders Malakand, which includes the scenic Swat valley and is the subject of a regulation signed this week by Zardari to enforce sharia law as part of efforts to end an insurgency.

Zardari's move formalised a controversial deal between a pro-Taliban cleric who led thousands of supporters to fight against US troops in Afghanistan and the provincial government.

The central government lost control in Swat, a former ski resort and jewel in the crown of Pakistani tourism, after cleric Maulana Fazlullah launched a campaign to enforce Taliban-style sharia.

Militants beheaded opponents, bombed schools and fought government forces, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee.

Charsadda has seen several suicide bombings and is home to the chief of the ruling Awami National Party, Asfandyar Wali Khan, who himself narrowly escaped a suicide attack last year.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Maulana Abdul Aziz, the deposed chief cleric radical Red Mosque, who was captured during the bloody siege, his lawyer said.

Militants said to be loyal to the Red Mosque have been blamed for several attacks, especially a number of blasts in Islamabad, although most have been attributed to Pakistani Taliban rebels

Zardari’s grip on power uncertain By Anwar Iqbal Saturday, 11 Apr, 2009 | 10:56 PM PST |

WASHINGTON: Asif Ali Zardari gives the overall impression of an accidental president who still has an uncertain grasp on power, writes a senior Washington Post writer David Ignatius who met the president in Islamabad last week along with a group of other senior American journalists.

‘He is politically weak, and sounds disinclined to push the military to wage war against the Pashtun tribes in the mountains,’ writes Matthew Kaminski, a member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board who also met the president with this group that accompanied US special envoy Richard Holbrooke and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

‘The fragile democratic government of Asif Ali Zardari … seems unwilling to admit the extent of the problem’ confronting Pakistan, writes Joe Klein of the Time magazine who was part of this group.

All three writers, however, also note that Mr Zardari appears ‘sincere’ and ‘convincing’ while talking about ‘the cancer of extremism,’ which caused the death of his wife, Benazir Bhutto.

‘But on some major security and intelligence issues, he claimed no knowledge or sought to shift blame to others, and the overall impression was of an accidental president who still has an uncertain grasp on power,’ writes Mr Ignatius.

The Washington Post writer points out that part of the problem in Pakistan is the gap between what officials say in private and what they can admit openly. ‘Pakistani leaders know the Predator attacks help combat the Taliban in remote Waziristan, but they don't want to seem like American lackeys. So they protest in public the very strategy they have privately endorsed. One way or another, that gap has to be closed.’

Mr Kaminski quotes Ambassador Holbrooke as saying that the Pakistani president ‘deserves credit for his personal courage’ in holding the job. Mr Holbrooke also welcomed the ‘statesmanlike’ resolution of a recent political feud with rival Nawaz Sharif over the reinstatement of a Supreme Court judge.

The fight could have resulted in ‘civil war on the one hand or assassinations on the other,’ Mr Holbrooke told the journalist.

Mr Klein of the Time magazine quotes Mr Zardari as telling the journalists that ‘the germ (of terrorism) was created by the CIA.’

‘True enough, but somewhat dated,’ the journalist comments. ‘Your government called them the ‘moral equivalent of George Washington,’ Mr Zardari says, referring to the mujahedin who defeated the Soviets.

‘True again — and US complicity in the creation of al Qaeda shouldn't be forgotten — but the game changed after the Russians were kicked out of Afghanistan and the terrorists focused their attention on both the US and Pakistan, where they now reside,’ the journalist observes.

In the interview Mr Zardari insists that the presence of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar on Pakistani soil is not his fault. ‘They were pushed [into Pakistan] by your great military offensive [in Afghanistan],’ he says sarcastically. ‘For seven years nothing has happened, and now we are weak and you are unable to do anything about it ... I've lost my wife, my friends, the support of my countrymen ... and in eight years you haven't been able to eliminate the cancer.’

WSJ’s Mr Kaminski notes that ‘among Pakistani politicians, Mr. Zardari speaks most clearly about the threat emanating from the country's west’ but is unwilling to allow US military incursions into Pakistan.

The journalist then quotes Mr Holbrooke as saying that America too is unwilling to cross this ‘Red Line.’

‘Some people say to me, particularly after a few drinks, ‘Why don't we go in there with our troops and just clean it up?’ Ambassador Holbrooke tells the journalist. ‘First of all we can't without their permission, and that would not be a good idea. Secondly, cleaning them up in the mountains of Pakistan's tribal areas, as anyone can see from the search for al Qaeda in Afghanistan, is a daunting mission. It's the same kind of mountains. A few weeks ago I flew up through the deepest and remotest valleys imaginable. You could see tiny villages in the crevices in the mountains. You don't want American troops in there. So that option is gone.’

The Post’s writer ends his piece on a positive note: ‘If there's a positive sign in all this chaos, it's that the Pakistani army isn't intervening to clean up the mess,’ he writes. ‘Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the army chief of staff, has been telling the feuding politicians to get their act together. But he seems to understand that the route to stability isn't through another army coup, but by making this unruly democracy work before it's too late.’

Give us the drones; we’ll take out the militants: Zardari Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009 | 02:57 PM PST |

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari in an interview with The Independent has called on the United States to provide Pakistan with missiles and drone technology to target militants as opposed to conducting independent operations that violate the country’s sovereignty.

Pakistan had made it clear that it was willing to ‘take out high-value targets on our own, and we welcome the technology and intelligence assistance that will give us the ability to succeed.’ Zardari said, adding that ‘I cannot condone violations of our sovereignty even when they are done by allies and friends. We would much prefer that the US share its intelligence and give us the drones and missiles that will allow us to take care of this problem on our own.’

During the interview, President Zardari for the first time conceded that more than one of the 10 militants who carried out the Mumbai attacks may be Pakistani.

It is generally believed that despite public denials Pakistan co-operates with the US drone strikes. However, such tactics are increasingly unpopular among the Pakistani people.

‘President Obama once said that he would act if we weren’t willing and able. We certainly are willing and with international support we will become even more able,’ The Independent quoted Zardari as saying.

He also acknowledged that more than a year after elections, many Pakistanis are growing frustrated with an apparent lack of progress. ‘After a decade of dictatorship the people had enormous expectations of rapid improvement in their lives. That is still very much our priority but the enormity of the economic crisis both within Pakistan and internationally, compounded by the war that we fight within and along our borders, has made progress much slower than we hoped.’

Regarding disputes between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), he said: ‘The ups and downs of democracy should not be interpreted as a lack of stability...there is the usual tug of power politics and the tendency of some observers to paint Doomsday scenarios. But I think the people appreciate that our democratic government is functioning.’

Regarding the attacks in Mumbai, Zardari said Pakistan is co-operating with India’s investigation into the Mumbai attacks and a ‘substantial’ number of arrests had been made. He further said that elements that carried out the attacks in Mumbai are also threatening Pakistan’s ‘very existence.’ Regarding the nine dead militants from the 26/11 attacks, he said: ‘Our investigation...is continuing. Some of these terrorists may in fact have been born in Pakistan. But we believe that this operation was international, with significant support from within India itself.’

Regarding the recent talk of the imposition of sharia in Swat, he said the country’s leadership and its allies were looking at ground realities.

‘I think it would be premature to call it a bad deal. It’s an evolving situation,’ The Independent quoted Zardari as saying.

Baitullah claims responsibility for Manawan attack By Alamgir Bhittani Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009 | 09:30 PM PST |

TANK: Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Baitullah Mehsud on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack on the police training academy in Manwan and said his militant group will ‘expedite such assaults.’

Mehsud contacted correspondents by phone from an undisclosed location and said that his group had carried out attack on Monday morning.

‘We accept responsibility for the assault on the training centre in Manawan,’ said the head of the banned TTP.

He added that President Zardari was ‘following US policies and allowing drone attacks’ and vowed that the Taliban movement will expedite similar activities unless missile attacks are halted.

Usually, Mehsud’s spokesman Maulvi Omar speaks to the media and issues statements on his behalf, but this time Mehsud spoke to the media and claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.

The militant chief also owned up to carrying out a suicide attack at a Police Special Branch in Islamabad on March 23 and a roadside bomb explosion in Bannu on Monday. Seven people including five soldiers were killed in the explosion. However, he denied any involvement in the bombing at a mosque in Khyber tribal region in which 57 people were killed.

Mehsud said that these attacks have been carried out in reaction to the increase in number of drone attacks inside Pakistani territory,

The US State Department put Baitullah Mehsud on its most wanted list on March 25 and announced a $5mn bounty for capturing him.

Baitullah Mehsud is the second Pakistani be have been put on a wanted list by the US government after Mir Aimal Kasi, an inhabitant of Balochistan province.

Earlier the TTP chief was declared absconder by local courts in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Mehsud said he was not bothered about the reward on his head, saying ‘martyrdom is my mission and it will be a great honour if I achieve it.’

‘The enemies should not ignore might of the Taliban and they will suffer in Washington when we target the White House,’ he warned. He claimed the Taliban have the ability to carry out attacks in the US capital.

Mehsud vowed to continue attacks against NATO forces in Afghanistan, for which, Taliban groups in North and South Waziristan had formed joint Shoora committees to continue their struggle in Afghanistan.

When asked if his men were behind the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, the TTP chief did not give a clear reply.

‘I have yet to establish contact with the people and they (the people) not reached their destination,’ he said.

Staff correspondent Zulfiqar Ali contributed to this report from Peshawar.

Obama rules out sending US troops inside Pakistan Sunday, 29 Mar, 2009 | 08:23 PM PST |

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he will consult with Pakistan’s leaders before going after terrorist hideouts in the country.

The US President said he also wants Pakistan to be more accountable, but has ruled out deploying US troops there. In Obama’s words, his Afghanistan strategy ‘does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government.’

In an interview with CBS television’s ‘Face the Nation,’ the president discussed the tenuous security situation in that region. He said, ‘Unless we get a handle on it now, we’re gonna be in trouble.’

Obama added that his new strategy is ‘not going to be an open-ended commitment of infinite resources’ from the United States.

In a wide-ranging interview, Obama sought to counter the notion that Afghanistan has become his war. He emphasised that it started on George W. Bush’s watch.

‘I think it’s America’s war. And it’s the same war that we initiated after 9/11 as a consequence of those attacks,’ Obama said. ‘The focus over the last seven years I think has been lost.’

Obama taped the interview Friday, the same day he launched the fresh effort to defeat al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, widening a war that began after terrorists struck the US on Sept. 11, 2001. He set new benchmarks and ordered 4,000 more troops to the war zone as well as hundreds of civilians and increased aid. The plan does not include an exit timeline.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ said the short-term objectives for US forces in Afghanistan have narrowed under Obama’s new strategy even as a flourishing democracy in Afghanistan remains a long-term goal.

‘I think what we need to focus on and focus our efforts is making headway and reversing the Taliban’s momentum and strengthening the Afghan army and police, and really going after al-Qaida, as the president said,’ Gates said.

Pakistan has urged Obama to halt the strikes. But Gates has signaled to Congress that the US would continue to go after al-Qaida inside Pakistan, and senior Obama administration officials have called the strikes effective.

Without directly referring to the strikes, Obama said: ‘If we have a high-value target within our sights, after consulting with Pakistan, we’re going after them. But our main thrust has to be to help Pakistan defeat these extremists.’

Asked if he meant he would put US troops on the ground in Pakistan, Obama said: ‘No.’

He noted that Pakistan is a sovereign nation and said: ‘We need to work with them and through them to deal with al-Qaida. But we have to hold them much more accountable.’

‘What we wanna do is say to the Pakistani people: You are our friends, you are our allies. We are going to give you the tools to defeat al-Qaeda and to root out these safe havens. But we also expect some accountability. And we expect that you understand the severity and the nature of the threat,’ Obama added.

In the interview, Obama said he won’t assume that more troops will result in an improved situation. ‘There may be a point of diminishing returns in terms of troop levels. We’ve gotta also make sure that our civilian efforts, our diplomatic efforts and our development efforts, are just as robustly encouraged.’

Obama agreed that things are worse than ever in Afghanistan, and then sought to clarify his point.

‘They’re not worse than they were when the Taliban was in charge and al Qaida was operating with impunity,’ Obama said. But, he added, ‘We have seen a deterioration over the last several years.’

‘This is gonna be hard,’ Obama said. ‘I’m under no illusions. If it was easy, it would have already been completed.’ He also stressed the need to be flexible. ‘We will continue to monitor and adjust our strategies to make sure that we’re not just going down blind alleys.’

20 dead, 25 hurt in Lahore police training school attack Updated at: 0955 PST, Monday, March 30, 2009

LAHORE: At least 20 people have been killed and 25 injured when gunmen attack police training center in Manawan near Wagah border on Monday.

Attackers take positions inside police training center. They are wearing police uniforms and carrying backpacks and guns.

Rangers and police take positions around police training center. Army has also deployed to aid police. Emergency enforced in the hospitals. Police helicopters hover training center.

The bodies and injured have been shifted to different hospitals. According to DIG Mumtaz Sukhara, the exact number of attackers yet to be known. Police have directed people to stay away from training center, however, large number of people present outside training center to support security forces. They are chanting slogans in favour of Punjab police and Pakistan Army.

Earlier, a series of at least five blasts were heard at the training centre at Manawan, and the explosions were followed by an exchange of fire between the attackers and policemen that is still underway.

The officials said about 850 trainee policemen were present within at the facility.Reports said the gunmen lobbed several grenades as they launched their attack and then fired indiscriminately.

Lessons from history By Javed Hussain Monday, 30 Mar, 2009 | 08:51 AM PST |

WHEN the last army chief staged a coup in October 1999, he was generally welcomed by the people because they had become disillusioned with the kind of governance that the deposed government was providing.

Their hopes were raised and they waited patiently in expectation of a better future. But as the years rolled on their hopes began to diminish as the army chief had begun to be seen as being too self-absorbed to care for the people.

Their worst fears were confirmed when he took, purely out of self-interest, the first of three ill-advised decisions — acting against the chief justice on March 9, 2007. On this fateful day, began the fall of the dictator. The other two decisions, staging a coup against the judiciary on Nov 3, 2007, and promulgating the National Reconciliation Ordinance to perpetuate his rule, also backfired as he was roundly rejected by the people on Feb 18 last year, and then forced to resign.

He fell because like others before him, he too had surrounded himself with people who lacked probity. They felt no qualms about becoming turncoats and carrying tainted reputations. Being past masters at the art of sycophancy, they extolled his virtues to the skies and deluded him into believing that he was actually the repository of all wisdom. Having been led up the garden path he suddenly found himself on the edge of the precipice, and fell. Soon after this these very people started finding faults in him. He had refused to learn from history.

Volumes have been written on Pakistan’s crisis of leadership. Here it would suffice to say that leadership is not a position. Just because a person has been elected, selected, appointed or self-appointed, doesn’t mean that he or she is a good leader too.

Authenticity is an essential characteristic of good leaders. They are a living example and serve as role models. They unleash energy and enthusiasm by creating a vision that people find inspiring, and create an environment of commitment and performance. They learn from the past to improve the future. They have integrity; they mean what they say, speak the truth and act honestly. They give the people a sense of history and hope. If one such leader had blessed Pakistan, its history would have been embellished by stories of success, not of failure.

History repeats itself because men repeat mistakes. The incumbent president is repeating the mistakes made by his predecessor — for which he was duly punished on March 16 this year. He too has surrounded himself with people who place their own interests above those of the country, who are incapable of high thinking, and who lack the ability to grasp the wider implications of a situation, problem and action. Their sole motive is to gain and retain power at any cost in order to flourish at the expense of the taxpayer and the state — all in the name of democracy. They have thus turned politics into a game of high stakes. Yet he continues to rely on them.

It is people like these who have dominated the political scene for almost all the years of Pakistan’s life. They talk of democracy, yet, practice dictatorship. They reject provincial autonomy, yet neglect the smaller provinces. They talk of supremacy of parliament, yet treat it with disdain. They talk of their commitment to the independence of the judiciary, yet fill it up with loyalists. They talk of supremacy of the constitution, yet demean it. They talk of the rule of the law, yet apply it selectively. Their assassinated chairperson of the party had signed the charter of democracy, yet they backed out of it. They promised in the full glare of publicity to restore the deposed judges, yet reneged on it.

It is people like these who have exercised a pernicious influence on the president, and let him down, not the ones who have been marginalised in the party because they dissented. It is because of people like these that there are undertones within the party that he is fast becoming a liability, and that unless he does something dramatic to restore the image of the party, and quickly too, it would be wiped out in the next elections, whenever they are held. The powers that be, here and abroad, agree. The sad fact is that what the third and fourth army dictators tried to do and failed in their long years of rule, the co-chairman of the party has done in one year — damaged the party immeasurably.

This is a decisive moment in the history of the PPP. The party’s fortunes are at their lowest level after the recent defeat. But it may yet get a reprieve from the people if the president becomes his own man and summons the courage to take bold decisions in order to pre-empt the crises that are staring him in the face and looming large in everyone’s mind by dispensing with the likes of Taseers, Maliks, Naeks, Khosas, Wahabs, Awans etc, by ending governor’s rule in Punjab, by restoring the constitution to its original form, and by implementing the Charter of Democracy.

If he can do this and more, like abolishing the feudal system by carrying out authentic land reforms that would liberate millions of Pakistanis groaning under its impact, he would be hailed as a hero, and in the process, his critics would be left with egg all over their faces.

But if he continues to rely on the small minds that surround him, and play partisan politics, he too would fall, never to rise again. These people would then begin to find faults in him. The awakening of the people from the deep slumber they had fallen into is an opportunity for him to use to his own advantage. He must learn from history.

Will Younus Khan succeed? Posted by Moderator in Cricket on 02 20th, 2009 | 97 responses

The Pakistan Cricket Board management has inducted a new captain in the shape of Younus Khan after the dismal performance of the national team against Sri Lanka. Younus’s aggressive style of leadership in stark contrast with that of former skipper Shoaib Malik, who was more laid back in his approach. Coach Intikhab Alam, who was previously in favour of Malik, has now voiced support for the new captain.

Will Younus be able to infuse new spirit in the much de-motivated side? And do you think his captaincy will be a long-term appointment or another short-lived stint?

Attack on police academy leaves 8 dead, 150 injured Monday, 30 Mar, 2009 | 08:42 AM PST |

LAHORE: Terrorists used machine guns and grenades to launch a savage attack on a police training academy in Manawaal, leaving 8 dead and 150 injured according to private television channels.

The incident took place between 7 and 8 am on Monday morning, as trainees were participating in their morning parade. Eyewitness accounts estimate some ten attackers carried out the attack, and at least eight explosions have been heard so far.

The police remain locked in gun-battles with the attackers who remain hidden inside various buildings at the site, as emergency services are scrambling to evacuate the wounded to nearby hospitals.

What does the IPL move mean for Pakistani cricket?

Posted by Moderator on 03 25th, 2009

The first season of the Indian Premier League was a huge hit among Pakistani cricket fans. The spicy combination of Twenty20 cricket and Bollywood proved irresistible to people of all ages on both sides of the border. The negligible time difference...

Sitaras, tamghas, hilals and nishans: what do they mean? Posted by Huma in Featured Articles, Pakistan on 03 25th, 2009 | 8 responses

Dawn.com’s Huma Yusuf looks at the Pakistan Day awards ceremony and wonders what it means for Pakistan today.

Another Pakistan Day, another awards ceremony. On Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari gathered “outstanding” Pakistanis – both military personnel and civilians – around him at the Aiwan-i-Sadr to confer all manner of stars and medals. Often, the announcement of civilian awardees sparks controversy as the chattering and politicking classes can’t help but wonder whether nepotism, favouritism, cronyism – or any other nefarious –ism – facilitated the selection. This year, however, the awards have raised different questions about the society we all inhabit.

Firstly, one can’t help but remember that President Zardari recently muddied the award waters by bestowing some of our nation’s highest honours on US administration officials. In January, then US Vice President-elect Joe Biden was granted the Hilal-e-Pakistan for strengthening democracy (read: pumping Pakistan with even more non-military aid). At about the same time, then US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher snagged the highest civil award, the Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam, for “deepening bilateral cooperation” and promoting peace, stability and prosperity. Pakistanis were outraged, particularly by Boucher’s acknowledgement. Many quipped that he was being awarded for enabling the NRO, sanctioning Predator attacks in FATA, and generally arm-twisting the Pakistani leadership.

And so it is that in Zardari’s tenure as president, civilian awards were doled out to US dignitaries before Pakistani citizens. That choice has tainted awards-giving, and the question at the back of everyone’s mind when Zardari bestows a medal is: what’s he getting out of it?

Of course, Zardari’s bad judgement should in no way detract from the wonderful achievements of Pakistanis who have done their nation proud and earned rightful recognition through government awards. Indeed, we should be inspired by the innovation, research, dedication and professional commitment that thrive here against all odds.

While we’re admiring award recipients, though, we should take a moment to reflect on what their achievements mean for our society at large. Under normal circumstances, the awards a nation bestows upon its brightest and best reflect that nation’s values and cultural aspirations. The work of those who receive national awards should tread a nation’s path to progress; their efforts should serve the national agenda; their research should illuminate questions of national concern. In Pakistan, however, the achievements of civilian awardees increasingly betray a disconnect with the society in which they are achieved. In other words, the Pakistan Day awards ceremony was yet another reminder that the Pakistan we currently inhabit is drifting further and further away from the Pakistan that was meant to be.

What are we to make of Habib Jalib’s posthumous Nishan-i-Imtiaz in a country where poets have seen the insides of more jail cells than publishing houses because they dare to critique dictators and power-hungry civilian leaders through verse? (Ironically, those who critique the government are often rewarded with sitaras and tamghas, but only well after they’re six feet under.)

How can we take former chief editor of Dawn Ahmad Ali Khan’s posthumous Hilal-i-Imtiaz seriously in a country where the recently passed ‘Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance’ further stifles media freedom by making the character assassination of a member of state punishable by imprisonment?

How should award recipients Ali Moeen Nawazish and Greg Mortenson feel on receiving a Pride of Performance award and Sitara-i-Pakistan, respectively? Nawazish set a world record by securing 21 A grades in his A Level exams, while Mortenson earned international acclaim for setting up 78 schools that educated 28,000 children – including 18,000 girls – in Pakistan’s northern and tribal areas. What do their achievements mean in the face of a government that let Taliban militants destroy 130 girls’ schools in Swat before intervening?

Similarly, what do we make of actor Shafi Mohammed Shah’s Sitara-e-Imtiaz and singer Humera Channa’s Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in a country where CD and DVD shops are regularly blown up and burnt, and where, with the government’s support, the TNSM has outlawed all entertainment and media sales in Malakand.

The list of civilian award recipients is long and impressive. But the discordant notes that their achievements strike in the context of contemporary Pakistani society are alarming. If things continue like this, what will tomorrow’s citizens collect stars and medals for?

US offers cash rewards for Baitullah Mehsud By Anwar Iqbal Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009 | 12:22 AM PST |

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday offered $ 5 million each for information leading to Baitullah Mehsud and for Sirajuddin Haqqani and $1 million for Abu Yahya al-Libi.

The offer, announced two days before the unveiling of the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, indicates hardening of Washington’s stance against the militants hiding along the Pak-Afghan border.

But reports attributed to senior US officials also indicate a willingness to include ‘reconcilable’ militants in the new peace process to be announced by President Barak Obama on Friday.

While the United States has previously offered large cash rewards for terrorism suspects in the past as well, until recently they regarded Mehsud mainly as a threat to Pakistan.

Previous US drone attacks had avoided targeting Mehsud’s hideouts but this changed earlier this month when US drones also began to target Mehsud and his men.

The change reflects a US desire to work closely with Pakistan for eradicating all extremists, whether they target Pakistan or the United States.

On Wednesday afternoon, the US Department of State issued three brief statements, saying that it’s offering lucrative cash awards for information about the three suspects under its Rewards for Justice Programme. The programme offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest, and/or conviction of dangerous criminals.

The State Department identified Baitullah Mehsud as the senior leader of the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. The statement noted that Mehsud is regarded as a key al Qaeda facilitator in South Waziristan. ‘Pakistani authorities believe that the January 2007 suicide attack against the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was staged by militants loyal to Mehsud,’ the statement said.

‘Press reports also have linked Mehsud to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the deaths of other innocent civilians,’ the State Department noted.

The US government pointed out that Mehsud has also stated his intention to attack the United States. He has conducted cross-border attacks against US forces in Afghanistan, and poses a clear threat to American persons and interests in the region.

‘The United States is determined to bring Baitullah Mehsud to justice. We encourage anyone with information on Mehsud’s location to contact the nearest US embassy or consulate, any US military commander, or the Rewards for Justice staff,’ the department said.

Another statement, announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location, arrest, and/or conviction of Sirajuddin Haqqani. Sirajuddin Haqqani is a senior leader of ‘the Haqqani terrorist network’ founded by his father Jalaladin Haqqani. He maintains close ties to al Qaeda.

During an interview with an American news organisation, Haqqani admitted planning the Jan. 14, 2008 attack against the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including American citizen Thor David Hesla.

Haqqani also admitted planning the April 2008 assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He has coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against US and Coalition forces in Afghanistan.

‘Sirajuddin Haqqani is believed to be located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan,’ the State Department said.

The US government also authorised a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Abu Yahya al-Libi, a prominent member of al Qaeda.

The State Department identified al-Libi as an Islamic scholar and a Libyan citizen who was captured by authorities in 2002 and imprisoned at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

Al-Libi escaped in July 2005, and has since appeared in a number of propaganda videos, using his religious training to influence people and legitimise the actions of al Qaeda.

The State Department noted that al-Libi was a key motivator in the global jihadi movement and his messages ‘convey a clear threat to US persons or property worldwide.’ Al-Libi is believed to be in hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Programme has paid more than $80 million to more than 50 persons who provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism.

Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry restored as Chief Justice of Pakistan

The crisis that had the potentiality of turning into catastrophe has been averted. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has been re-instated.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced reinstatement of the deposed Chief Justice and other judges.

“I restore the deposed chief justice and others according to the promise made by me and the President,” Gilani said in a televised address to the nation. The announcement, in light of the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari, met the main demand of the political parties and the lawyers’ community.

He said, “A notification to this effect is being issued now.” He said Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry would replace Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who retires on March 21.

Gilani pledged to “continue the politics of reconciliation.” The deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was removed from service by former President Pervez Musharraf on March 9, 2007, sparking a wave of protest that led to his resignation from his office on August 18, 2008.

The crisis that had the potentiality of turning into catastrophe has been averted. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has been re-instated.

However, to put things in its correct perspective, it must be said that the combined efforts of the lawyers, the elite citizens, the media, the political parties of various denominations and most importantly, the solidarity exhibited by the nation, has achieved the improbable.

A new beginning has been made. It is time to review and revise our national policies to insure that we no longer continue stumbling down a path of decline. The system is fundamentally flawed and it requires the combined efforts of all branches of govt. and the people of all walks to focus their attention to fix the problem at the earliest. The convergence of nation into a missionary zeal must be kept alive. Having accomplished the first priority they should now focus their attention towards national reconstruction, consolidation and growth.

All parochial and provincial notions must be jettisoned and it is time for national unity and ironing out of shallow and superficial differences.

Your comments on this historic development are welcome!

In his own words Posted by Moderator in Entertainment, Featured Articles on 02 17th, 2009 | 108 responses

Mohammad Hanif was born in Okara in the 1960s. In his twenties, he joined the Pakistan Air Force Academy before dropping out to pursue a career in journalism. Since then, he has been a playwright, novelist, and journalist. He has worked for The Washington Post, Newsline, India Today, and BBC’s Urdu service.

In his most recent work - A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mr Hanif brings his biting wit to bear on the infamous Zia years of Pakistani history. In the novel, he documents the mass discontent which swept Pakistani society and the seething hatred many harbored for General Ziaul Haq.

In this conversation, Dawn.com’s Huma Yusuf hopes to pick the novelist’s brain on contemporary topics, such as the menace of spreading militancy, the implementation of the Nizam-e-Adal Ordinance, and the unflagging media industry.

Blast outside Islamabad police station kills one By Munawer Azeem Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009 | 01:02 AM PST |

ISLAMABAD: A police constable was killed and four other people were injured in a suicide blast at the gate of police’s Special Branch headquarters near G-7 Markez on Monday.

The boom resounded through a vast area, sparking panic in the city. It was the fist such attack in the federal capital in four months.

Interior Affairs Adviser Rehman Malik said it was a suicide attack carried out by one of the terrorists who had sneaked into the capital before the lawyers’ long march.

‘We had very authentic information that 15 to 20 Uzbek suicide bombers had been sent by Baitullah Mehsud after a meeting of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),’ he said during a visit to a hospital shortly after the blast.

The explosion damaged the Special Branch building, a mosque and some vehicles. The incident took place a few minutes after scores of people had left the mosque after Isha.

Witnesses said constable Faysal Jan who was manning the main gate of the building intercepted the attacker when he tried to forcibly enter the premises.

’Aroused by the bomber’s evasive movements, Jan rushed towards him and took him into a tight embrace,’ they said, adding that the ensuing explosion blew him up, but saved many lives because his body took the brunt of the blast.

A Special Branch clerk who was working in a room near the gate and three other people were injured.

An assistant sub-inspector of Special Branch, Munir, told Dawn that the blast took place at 8:35pm when some people were offering prayers in the mosque and he was coming out. He saw the constable running towards the bomber and asking him to stop for checking. However, the attacker blew himself up when the constable overpowered him.

Limbs of the constable and the attacker lay scattered within a radius of 200 metres. Parts of the bomber’s face and head were found on the rooftop of the mosque and in bushes in the parking area. They were sent to a laboratory for reconstruction.

The attacker had a trimmed beard, long hair and seemed to be 23 to 25 years old. A leg was also found.

According to police, preliminary investigation suggested that a locally made bomb weighing between four and six kilograms had been used. There were some reports that an accomplice of the bomber had been arrested while fleeing after the blast.

Rehman Malik, the interior affairs adviser, said: ‘I salute this brave policeman for such an act of gallantry.’

He said security in Islamabad was on high alert because the government had been tipped off about the attack.

In reply to a question, the adviser said: ‘No effective mechanism has so far been developed anywhere in the world to pre-empt a suicide bombing.’

Mr Malik said those responsible would be dealt with an iron hand. ‘We shall clear Pakistan of them all.’ Mr Malik said he had constituted a team to probe the incident.

Sources said the Special Branch was on the ‘hit list’ of terrorists and it had been receiving threats since the Lal Masjid operation of July 2007.

The Media and the Mai

Last Sunday, as the Long March heated up and tear-gas shells and stones littered the entrance to the Lahore High Court, news broke of Mukhtar Mai’s marriage to Nasir Abbas Gabol, a police constable who was assigned to protect her. The news unleashed a media firestorm that says more about international perceptions of Pakistan and the fallacy of objective journalism than it does about Mai’s matrimonial circumstances.

Many quirks about the way Mai’s wedding was reported are worth noting. Local and international papers alike continue to identify Mai as a ‘gang-rape victim’ even while celebrating her successes as a women’s rights activist who fought her rapists in court and established the first girls’ school in Meerwala as well as several women’s centres. The Urdu-language press in Pakistan emphasized the fact that Mai had married a police constable in headlines and photo captions. Given the tainted reputations of low-level police officers in this country, dwelling on his profession can be read as a way to suggest that rape victims get what they deserve.

Meanwhile, the international press largely twisted coverage of Mai’s marriage to make it seem like the ultimate good news story. Indeed, as civilian-police clashes erupted in Lahore, Mai’s news made for the perfect ‘happy ending’ narrative that no one at that time thought the Long March would deliver. Juxtaposed with the ‘failed state’ doom and gloom being prompted by the showdown between the government and protestors, Mai’s wedding delivered foreign desk editors the positivity needed to balance their coverage of Pakistan. As a result, the internet is now brimming with reports of Mai’s nuptials that are contradictory and confused.

The New York Times tried to keep things upbeat by describing Mai as a stigma-shattering crusader who had become a giggling bundle of joy on the occasion of her wedding. This is the first quote from her in the story:

Indian troops exchange fire along LoC

ISLAMABAD: Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pando sector, near Chakothi, on Friday night, military sources said.

‘It was a small arms fire which was instantly responded to by Pakistan Army by returning fire in Uri sector,’ the sources told Dawn.

They said a protest had been lodged with India at sector commanders’ level. The unprovoked firing continued for hours, but there was no loss of life.

The army rejected as baseless an Indian allegation that Pakistan was the first to fire at Indian army positions across the LoC.

It was the first incident of its kind after the violation of Pakistan’s airspace by Indian planes in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage.

‘The firing started from the Indian side at around 10 pm (on Friday) and intermittent firing continued for several hours,’ a Pakistan military official said.

The Indian army claimed that an Indian soldier was injured on Saturday when Pakistani troops fired at Indian army positions across the LoC.

The firing lasted five hours, ending on Saturday morning, the spokesman said.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued the detailed verdict on the ineligibility case of Sharif brothers.

The government has already filed four review petitions against the verdict.

The detailed decision states that there is no difference in SC judges because all the judges have taken oath under the same Constitution. It said the petitioners tried to divide the judges on the basis of PCO and non-PCO judges with an aim to sink the ship of judiciary.

It described what it called the attempt of the petitioners to cause a rift in judiciary as a grave insult of to judiciary which, it said, cannot be forgiven at any cost.

The decision further stated that there is no room in the law for formation of a new bench. The petitioners lost the opportunity to challenge the status of Tikka Iqbal case, it added

Embedded in the Long March

Dawn Blog gives special coverage of the protests, public reactions and stories from the sidelines.

The official, who spoke on condition that he not be named because President Barack Obama has yet to unveil his fresh strategy on Afghanistan, said non-military assistance could rise to three times the current roughly $450 million a year.

Military aid, now running at $300 million a year, could also rise, although by a lesser amount, the official added, saying that conditions could be attached to the defense funds but not to the development money.

The steps aim to win greater Pakistani cooperation to address what is seen as a major weakness of the current US approach in Afghanistan: the existence of safe havens in Pakistan from which insurgents launch attacks in Afghanistan.

If it boosts development aid to Pakistan, the White House would embrace an approach laid out by Vice President Joe Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and by the panel's senior Republican, Senator Richard Lugar.

Legislation backed by the two, and by the panel's new chairman, Democratic Senator John Kerry, called for giving an extra $1.5 billion a year in non-military aid to Pakistan over five years, amounting to a total of $7.5 billion.

‘The basic approach to Pakistan is the one that comes out of the ... legislation, and that is that the first thing that you have got to do with Pakistan is convince Pakistanis that you are there with them for the long term and that you don't just love them for their terrorists,’ said the official.

‘The approach in the legislation was to increase the non-military assistance dramatically to help build a more stable modern Pakistani society and government and then provide military assistance that helps them fight terrorism,’ he said.

He said the military aid was likely to come with conditions to ensure it would be used against insurgents, but said this was ‘very complicated because you don't want to end up cutting off your nose to spite your face.’

‘You might call it a bargain, rather than conditions: If you are committed to transforming your army into a capable counter-insurgency force, these are the kind of things we can do for you,’ the official said, saying assistance could include helicopters or night vision goggles.

Britain's ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, said Washington could help Islamabad ‘bear down on the rise in extremism’ in Pakistan by providing more aid.

‘If there is a more broadly based program of assistance from this country to Pakistan, focusing on the building up of infrastructure and on economic development as well as on military assistance, I think that will help,’ he told Reuters.

‘I feel like the real war on terror is not in Iraq, and it's not in Afghanistan,’ said David Kilcullen, an expert on guerrilla warfare and the author of ‘The Accidental Guerrilla,’ a study of counter-insurgency. ‘It's in Pakistan.’

‘The real conceptual issue, the real strategic decision that has to be made is: what the hell are we going to do about Pakistan? How are we going to support them? How are we going to stabilise them?’ he said.

The official, who spoke on condition that he not be named because President Barack Obama has yet to unveil his fresh strategy on Afghanistan, said non-military assistance could rise to three times the current roughly $450 million a year.

Military aid, now running at $300 million a year, could also rise, although by a lesser amount, the official added, saying that conditions could be attached to the defense funds but not to the development money.

The steps aim to win greater Pakistani cooperation to address what is seen as a major weakness of the current US approach in Afghanistan: the existence of safe havens in Pakistan from which insurgents launch attacks in Afghanistan.

If it boosts development aid to Pakistan, the White House would embrace an approach laid out by Vice President Joe Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and by the panel's senior Republican, Senator Richard Lugar.

Legislation backed by the two, and by the panel's new chairman, Democratic Senator John Kerry, called for giving an extra $1.5 billion a year in non-military aid to Pakistan over five years, amounting to a total of $7.5 billion.

‘The basic approach to Pakistan is the one that comes out of the ... legislation, and that is that the first thing that you have got to do with Pakistan is convince Pakistanis that you are there with them for the long term and that you don't just love them for their terrorists,’ said the official.

‘The approach in the legislation was to increase the non-military assistance dramatically to help build a more stable modern Pakistani society and government and then provide military assistance that helps them fight terrorism,’ he said.

He said the military aid was likely to come with conditions to ensure it would be used against insurgents, but said this was ‘very complicated because you don't want to end up cutting off your nose to spite your face.’

‘You might call it a bargain, rather than conditions: If you are committed to transforming your army into a capable counter-insurgency force, these are the kind of things we can do for you,’ the official said, saying assistance could include helicopters or night vision goggles.

Britain's ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, said Washington could help Islamabad ‘bear down on the rise in extremism’ in Pakistan by providing more aid.

‘If there is a more broadly based program of assistance from this country to Pakistan, focusing on the building up of infrastructure and on economic development as well as on military assistance, I think that will help,’ he told Reuters.

‘I feel like the real war on terror is not in Iraq, and it's not in Afghanistan,’ said David Kilcullen, an expert on guerrilla warfare and the author of ‘The Accidental Guerrilla,’ a study of counter-insurgency. ‘It's in Pakistan.’

‘The real conceptual issue, the real strategic decision that has to be made is: what the hell are we going to do about Pakistan? How are we going to support them? How are we going to stabilise them?’ he said.