PM for joint Pak-Afghan border monitoring

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday emphasized the need for joint monitoring of Pakistan-Afghan border and increased sharing of information on the cross border movement of militants and terrorists between Pakistan and NATO-ISAF forces.

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PM for joint Pak-Afghan border monitoring

Red Cross says 204 dead in Congo explosion

KINSHASA: At least 204 people were killed in Congo when a tanker truck transporting oil flipped over and exploded overnight in the east of the country, a Red Cross official said Saturday.

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Red Cross says 204 dead in Congo explosion

President lauds PRCS’ role for humanity

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has appreciated Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) for its dedication and professionalism shown by it during earthquake and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons.

In a message on the eve of World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, celebrated on May 8, the President congratulated the PRCS and its international affiliates.

He said, “We celebrate today World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, to pay our respect to the relentless efforts of The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to serve the humanity.

“ I wish to congratulate Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and its international affiliates on celebrating May 08 as World Red Crescent and Red Cross Day. “The dedication and professionalism demonstrated by PRCS in the humanitarian cause, particularly during the earthquake and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons have won respect and admiration of the people”, he observed.

“The humanitarian services provided by them to the most vulnerable sections of society are indeed most commendable. Humanitarian work by its very definition and nature has to be non discriminatory and beyond considerations of religion, caste and creed.

I deeply appreciate that the PRCS has been extending its services without any discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, religion, class, colour, creed, gender or political opinion, Zardari maintained.

Pakistan anti-Taliban push divides Afghan, US officials

CAMP WILDERNESS: Pakistani offensives against Taliban bastions have stemmed the flow of fighters into Afghanistan, according to a US general, but local officials want further action.

Pakistan last year embarked on a series of ambitious offensives to evict the Taliban from their rugged and isolated northwest sanctuaries.

The army went after fighters who swept through the Swat valley perilously close to the capital, moving on to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan heartland South Waziristan and other tribal districts that hug the Afghan border.

“I think overall the effects that we see is that it is putting a strain on our common enemy,” said Major General Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of NATO”s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in eastern Afghanistan.

“Now it”s actually fighting in two directions… We know that they are having more difficulty with their supplies, their finances, their leadership.”

The US general told media on a visit to ISAF”s Camp Wilderness, deep in the mountains of eastern Paktya province, that Pakistan”s military push was most effective when coupled with NATO action over the border.

“There was a period of time in summer where the cross-border activity was actually lower than it had been in the last two years,” he said.

“So, yes, you can see the effects of it. It has decreased the cross border activity for the period of time that we are working together.”

Militant training camps and safehouses in Pakistan”s semi-autonomous tribal belt mushroomed after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan sent Afghan Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist fighters flooding into the region in late 2001.

But critics say Islamabad is picking and choosing which groups to pursue, with little effect on the nearly nine-year Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

“Those operations are not effective for Afghanistan,” said Abdul Qayum Katawazy, governor of Afghanistan”s Paktika province, which borders North and South Waziristan and southwest Baluchistan in Pakistan.

“The Pakistani military are fighting those Taliban that are against the Pakistan government,” said Katawazy.

They do not want to fight militants who are against the Afghan government and coalition forces but who do not oppose the Pakistani authorities, he added.

Brigadier General Mohammad Asrar Aqdas, commander of the Afghan army in Khost province, which borders Pakistan”s North Waziristan and Khurram tribal districts, praised the operations but said he also saw few benefits.

“We haven”t felt any positive effect from the operations yet. This operation was not in all of Waziristan and all the insurgent camps,” he said.

Washington has criticised Islamabad for targeting only the militants that attack within Pakistan while taking a softer stance on groups using their territory to target foreign soldiers over the border.

India also suspects Pakistan-based militants have the tacit support of the country”s military and have mounted a series of attacks against its nationals in Kabul, as part of the proxy war between the two neighbours and rivals.

Pakistani officials bristle at any suggestion that they are not doing enough, when thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the military assaults and Taliban attacks.

While the blame game rages on, US military officials say fighters continue to move back and forth over the two countries” porous border, either to attack foreign troops or travel on elsewhere.

US troops stationed at Camp Deysie just south of Camp Wilderness — a key militant infiltration route from Pakistan to the big Afghan cities — are preparing for more attacks as winter snows melt on the frontier mountains.

In the nearby Ibrahim Khel village, locals are deeply wary of their neighbour”s intentions, fuelled by decades of conflict and mistrust.

“If the military of Pakistan want to remove the Taliban, they can do it in one month, but they don”t want to do that,” said the hamlet”s education director, Jawaz Khan.

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TrendPK.com If you are thinking about Donating some of your money to Red Cross for the Haiti relief, then we must say that it’s a wise decision. Red Cross is one of the oldest and trustworthy humanitarian organizations in the world. Led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter they strive [...]

Ncaa Cross Country Championships 2009,Ncaa Cross Country

Full Story And Original Content. TrendPK.com Ncaa Cross Country Championships 2009,Ncaa Cross Country:The 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live on VERSUS at 11 a.m. today. A live web stream of the championships is also available on NCAA.com

Full Story And Original Content. TrendPK.com Ncaa Cross Country Championships 2009,Ncaa Cross Country:The 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live on VERSUS at 11 a.m. today. A live web stream of the championships is also available on NCAA.com.
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Wrongly Cross LOC, Man Escape From Police Custody

JAMMU: A Pakistani national, arrested for illegally crossing into Jammu and Kashmir along the LoC, today escaped from Khour police station in the
district, police said.

Mohmmad Zahid, who was arrested last month, escaped from the lockup at Akhnoor tehsil in the district, they said.

A manhunt has been launched to re-arrest him, they said adding action would be initiated against the erring personnel for dereliction of duty.

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Wrongly Cross LOC, Man Escape From Police Custody was first posted on August 10, 2009 at 1:55 pm.
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