Lahore: First Child Protection Unit inaugurated

DIG Operations Ghulam Muhammad Doggar inaugurated the unit while UNICEF representative Afshan Yasin was also present.

Talking to the media, the DIG Operations said that such units would be established in other police stations in consultation with the UNICEF.

He said that the children of female accused of different crimes would be looked after properly.

The UNICEF representative would also introduce the police official to rare techniques of investigations.

US seeking to expand raids into Pakistan: NYT

United State News: Top US military commanders in Afghanistan are seeking to expand ground raids by Special Operations Forces across the border in Pakistans tribal areas, The New York Times reported Monday.

Amid growing US frustration with Pakistans lackluster efforts at removing militants from strongholds there, the officials are proposing to escalate military activities in the nuclear-armed nation, the Times said in its online edition.US forces have been largely restricted to limited covert operations and unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan due to fears of retaliation from a population that often holds strong anti-American sentiment in a country rife with militants.Even these limited operations have provoked angry reactions from Pakistani officials. The drones are believed to be largely operated by the CIA.Amid a looming July deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, military and political leaders pointed to a renewed sense of urgency.Military commanders told the newspaper that the Special Operations plan which has not yet been approved could help them secure much-needed intelligence if militants were captured, brought back across the border into Afghanistan and interrogated.US officials said they were particularly keen to capture rather than kill militant leaders from the Taliban or the Haqqani network in order to obtain intelligence about future operations.Weve never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead to go across, a senior US officer said.But a senior official from President Barack Obamas administration said he did not favor cross-border operations, saying they have been mostly counterproductive unless they targeted top al Qaeda leaders.The official also worried that political fallout in Pakistan over the operations could counter any tactical gains.CIA-backed Afghan militias, previously believed to only carry out intelligence-gathering operations, have also crossed the border into Pakistans tribal belt during secret missions, including one in which a militia destroyed a militant weapons cache, officials told the Times.An Afghan political leader said one of the raids by the Paktika Defense Force one of six CIA-trained Afghan militias was initiated to capture a Taliban commander in Pakistan. The mission was ultimately unsuccessful but Pakistani militants opened fire on the Afghans.Another CIA-backed force near the eastern Afghan province of Khost was recently deployed in the mountains along the Pakistan border, where it is due to try to intercept Taliban fighters during the winter, an American military officer told the Times, saying the militia has so far proven effective.

The West’s war in Afghanistan is failing: Crisis Group

KABUL: A leading international think tank Sunday issued a damning review of the US-led war in Afghanistan and said NATO plans to end its combat mission by 2014 would lead to the Kabul government’s collapse.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said the coalition’s strategy to break the Taliban, build popular support among civilians, woo disenchanted rebels and boost Afghan security forces was failing.

More than 140,000 US-led troops are waging a counter-insurgency campaign mostly in the south and east of the country amid dwindling support for the war back home as the fighting returns a record number of coalition casualties.

“There is little evidence that the operations have disrupted the insurgency’s momentum…. The Taliban are more active than ever and they still enjoy sanctuary and support in Pakistan,” said the ICG report.

The

Pakistan Rejects US Demand to Expand Drone Operations

News Trends: The United States is seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drones can operate.

Pakistan, however, rejected the request and instead agreed to more modest measures, including an expanded CIA presence in Quetta. You expect us to open the skies for anything that you can fly, the paper quotes a high-ranking Pakistani intelligence official as saying. In which country can you do that?Citing unnamed US and Pakistani officials, the newspaper said US officials were eyeing areas surrounding the Pakistani city of Quetta, where the Taliban leadership is believed to be hiding. But the request also seeks to expand the boundaries for drone strikes in the tribal areas, the report said. On Friday, a US drone attack destroyed a vehicle in Pakistan’s tribal district of North Waziristan, killing at least three suspected militants, Pakistani security officials said. The United States considers Pakistan’s tribal belt an Al-Qaeda headquarters and the most dangerous place on Earth, and has reportedly criticised Pakistan’s failure so far to launch a major ground offensive in North Waziristan. Friday’s drone strike comes three days after a similar attack killed at least 15 militants and destroyed a training centre north of Miranshah.More than 220 people have been killed in Pakistan in over 40 strikes since September 3.

Hajis face problems; it’s not a big deal: DG Hajj

Staff Report

KARACHI: Hajis do normally face problems in Hijaz and it is not a big deal at all, said the Director General (DG) of Haj Operations, Sultan Shah on Monday.

While talking to Trend Pk, Sultan Shah said that after reaching Hijaz, Hajis take time to get adjusted in tents, buildings or any other places.

He added that the required tents and toilets have been made ready at various places for the Hajis.

The DG Haj added, regarding a particular group of Hajis, that it was at some height at that time and apart from the Haj Mission’s transport, a special coaster van was sent. Trend Pk

NA ratifies Employees Restoration Bill 2010

The National Assembly has passed Pakistan Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 2007 and Employees Restoration Bill 2010, according to which employees fired from Corporation Service, Autonomous, Semi-Autonomous or Government Service would be addressed properly.
In the question-answer session, Federal Minister for Defense told that a committee has been formed for the payment of insurance money to the relatives of the unfortunate passengers of the recent plane crash in the Margalla Hills. The written statement also revealed that due to deteriorating law and order situation and Marriott Hotel blast, at least 5 airlines had stopped their operations in Pakistan since 2000, causing a loss to the civil aviation authority.

PAC to summon Hajj DG Rao Shakeel

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has decided to summon Rao Shakeel, the Director General of Hajj Operations (Mecca), for acquiring residential buildings in sheer violation of the given guidelines.

This decision was taken by the PAC Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, told the PAC that so far 87 residential buildings have been acquired on rent for stay of 30, 000 Hajj pilgrims.

He said that instead of 15 per cent, a 50 percent advance payment has already been made. SAMAA

Stampede in Karachi relief camp, woman dies

Staff Report

KARACHI: A woman died as a result of a stampede during flour distribution at Korangi 100 Quarters relief camp in Karachi, said sources on Friday.

According to sources, the stampede crushed a woman to death and injured six others.

Police and rescue teams reached the site immediately after the incident.

The deceased woman was taken to Jinnah Hospital.

It was reported that police and other officials were trying to cover up the incident. SAMAA

Pakistan to clamp down on militant charities

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said government will clamp down on charities linked to militants trying to exploit anger among flood victims, amid fears their involvement in the relief effort would undermine the fight against groups like the Taliban.

While government overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster has struggled to reach aid to millions of people, charities with much smaller resources have moved in swiftly to fill the vacuum.

It would not be the first time the government has announced restrictions against charities tied to militant groups. Critics say any banned organisations often re-emerge under new names, with authorities uninterested in stopping their operations.

“The banned organisations are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters.

“We will arrest members of banned

Petraeus: ”Fight hard” in Afghanistan but ”be a good guest”

WASHINGTON: A new set of Afghan counterinsurgency guidelines issued by General David Petraeus includes the instruction to “be a good guest” but urges troops to “fight hard” and get tough on corruption.

The three-page manifesto, dated July 27 and issued in Kabul, is a blueprint for the behavior of members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, led by Petraeus.

Excerpts of the 24-point document include: “Secure and serve the population. Only by providing them security and earning their trust… can the Afghan government and ISAF prevail.

“Live with the people: Position joint bases and combat posts as close to those we”re seeking to secure as is feasible.

“Confront the culture of impunity: The Taliban are not the only enemy of the people. The people are also threatened by inadequate governance, corruption and abuse of power — the Taliban”s best recruiters.

“Fight hard and fight with discipline: Hunt the enemy aggressively but use only the firepower needed to win a fight. We… cannot kill or capture our way to victory.

Moreover, if we kill civilians or damage their property in the course of our operations, we will create more enemies than our operations eliminate. That”s exactly what the Taliban want. Don”t fall into their trap.

Next Page »