Fresh protests in Afghanistan over Koran burning

KABUL: Fresh protests erupted in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday over the burning of a Koran by a US pastor, taking angry and violent demonstrations into a fifth day, an AFP photographer said.

Several hundred people gathered at Kabul University chanting “death to America” and “we want the burner of the Koran to be tried” in the wake of previous protests which have left 24 people dead, including seven UN staff.

“A protest has started by Kabul University students in front of the university. It is peaceful and under control at the moment,” interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.

The protesters were contained within the university campus by heavy police deployments and all roads leading in and out of the university were blocked, the AFP photographer said.

Angry protests over the burning of a Koran by evangelical preacher Wayne Sapp in a Florida church began in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday, where the UN office was ransacked and seven of its employees killed.

Five Afghan protesters were also killed in clashes with police.

A dozen others died in two days of violent protests in the southern city of Kandahar.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation of the protests.

Religion is a highly sensitive issue in ultra-conservative Afghanistan, where international troops, the bulk of which are from the United States, are fighting a bloody Taliban insurgency. AGENCIES

Pak to compensate drone strike families

MIRANSHAH: Pakistan will pay compensation to the families of 39 people who died in a US drone strike in North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, an official said Saturday.

Civilians and police were among those killed when missiles hit a compound in Datta Khel, 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan on March 17.

Tribal administration official Asghar Khan said a compensation package was ready for the victims” families. “Three hundred thousand rupees ($3,530) each will be paid to 39 families, while 100,000 rupees will be paid to six injured,” Khan said, adding that payments would commence from Monday.

Pakistan pays compensation to police and civilians who get killed in bomb blasts or terror attacks but this will be the first time that compensation has been paid to US drone attack victims.

Pakistan”s civilian and military leaders have condemned the strike, demanding an apology and an explanation from the United States.

Missile attacks doubled in the area last year to more than 100, killing over 670 people in 2010 compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009. Most have been concentrated in North Waziristan.

Six F-16 aircrafts arrive in Pakistan

JACOBABAD: The last batch of F-16 Block 52 aircrafts have arrived in Pakistan today (Monday).

Pakistan has received 12 aircrafts until now from the United States; six more have arrived at Jacobabad air base. After this, Pakistan will have a total of 18 F-16 aircrafts.

These jets will add more strength to Pakistan Air Force, sources said. Trend Pk

Pakistan rejects foreign pressure on Pak-Iran gas project

Staff Report

KARACHI: Urging a peaceful solution for Iran’s nuclear issue, Pakistan on Wednesday voiced its opposition against military action.

In a chat with Trend Pk, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that the government will never allow anyone to use Pakistani soil for an attack on Iran.

He said that Pakistan will not accept pressure from the United States or any other country on Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.

The project, he said, is in the interest of Pakistan and it will continue. Trend Pk

Australian police investigate WikiLeaks founder

CANBERRA: Police were investigating whether any Australian law was broken by the latest leaking of confidential documents by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks, the attorney-general said Monday.

Robert McClelland said he was not aware of a request from the United States to cancel WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s Australian passport. A range of options were under consideration by Australian government agencies in response to the latest disclosure of classified U.S. material, he said.

McClelland told reporters there are “potentially a number of criminal laws” that could have been breached.

Defense Minister Stephen Smith said later that a cross-government committee was studying the documents to ascertain what damage could be done by their release.

“We need to take it … step by step, but our starting and endpoint is essentially protecting Australia’s

F-16 – Trend Pk VIDEO

Pakistan is set to receive six new F-16 C/D Block 52 high tech aircraft from the United States, Tahir Rathore from Islamabad reports. (November 20, 2010)

Six F-16s to be inducted into PAF fleet today

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to receive six new F-16 C/D Block 52 high tech aircraft from the United States, Trend Pk reported Saturday.

According to sources, six F-16 aircraft have already reached Greece after flying from US Airbase Fort Worth. The aircraft will arrive in Pakistan today.

Pakistan had signed a contract with the US in 2005-06 for the acquisition of 18, F-16 C/D Block 52 planes.

Under this arrangement, the PAF would receive these state-of-the-art aircraft from the US in staggered batches.

Another batch of six F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft will be delivered in December this year. Trend Pk

India arms race offers prizes for presidential visits

NEWDEHLI: Arms-hungry India is expected to hand out a raft of military deals worth billions of dollars during an upcoming rush of presidential visits from the United States, France and Russia.

The biggest-ticket item is the scheduled signing of an estimated 30 billion-dollar stealth fighter co-production agreement when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits in late December.

Medvedev’s trip will follow those of President Barack Obama and President Nicolas Sarkozy, both of whom will be pushing existing US and French tenders for lucrative military contracts.

Fuelling India’s drive into the international arms market are growing concerns over China’s military strength and its expanding sphere of regional influence.

“China would like to have a foothold in South Asia and we have to reflect on this reality,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned in

Clinton tells Pakistan to do more on flood relief

BRUSSELS: Pakistan needs to do more to help itself recover from this year’s floods, and not merely rely on aid from the United States and Europe, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on the eve of a donor conference.

Clinton’s sharp words on Thursday could further anger Pakistanis at a time when the fraught relationship between Washington and its ally Islamabad appears to have worsened.

“The international community can only do so much,” Clinton said after a meeting in Brussels with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who will host Friday’s Pakistan conference.

“It is absolutely unacceptable for those with means in Pakistan not to be doing their fair share to help their own people while the taxpayers in Europe, the United States and other contributing countries are all chipping in to do our part.”

Relations between Pakistan

Four NATO troops killed in western Afghanistan

KABUL: Four troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in an insurgent attack in western Afghanistan on Saturday, ISAF said, the latest foreign casualties in a war now in its 10th year.

Violence is at its worst in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown by U.S.-backed forces in late 2001. More than 2,000 foreign troops have died since the start of the war, more than half of those in the last two years.

The rising violence in Afghanistan will weigh heavily on President Barack Obama when his administration faces mid-term Congressional elections next month amid sagging public support for the war and ahead of a strategy review in December.

ISAF gave no further details regarding the nationality of the troops or the location of the attack. Troops from the United States, Spain and Italy are stationed in the west of the

Next Page »