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Twirp: Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Rep Pakistan 4

X Posted on the Energy Sector-2 Thread

<!--emo&:clapping--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clap.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='clap.gif' /><!--endemo--> <b>India has quit Iran gas pipeline deal : Report</b> <!--emo&:clapping--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clap.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='clap.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>TEHRAN : India has exited from a gas pipeline deal it earlier planned with Iran and Pakistan, Mehr news agency reported citing a Pakistani diplomat.

"India definitely quitted the IPI (India-Pakistan-Iran) gas pipeline deal," the report said citing Pakistani ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Bux Abbasi, as saying here on Sunday.</b>

Abbasi added that Pakistan plans to increase its crude oil import from Iran. <b>Iranian officials, however, said India has not yet officially declared its intention.</b>

In May this year, Tehran and Islamabad signed a $7.5-billion deal to supply gas from Iran to Pakistan.

As per the deal, Iran would initially supply 30 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan which would be later increased to 60 million cubic meters per day.

Iran, Pakistan and India had conceptualised the project in the 1990s to help boost peace and security in the region, besides mitigating the power crisis.

<b>India stopped negotiations on the project due to tension with Pakistan, although Iran repeatedly encouraged New Delhi to rejoin the process, according to the report.</b>

The pipeline would run 2,775 km when linked with the three countries.

The project would have greatly benefited India, which do not have sufficient natural gas to meet its rapidly increasing domestic demand.

Pakistan has been facing electricity shortfall of more than 3,000 megawatts and plans to generate 4,600 megawatts from Iranian gas. Islamabad has been under pressure from Washington to abandon the deal.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>Roadside bomb hits army convoy, two dead</b>

<b>DERA ISMAIL KHAN : Intelligence and army officials say a powerful roadside bomb has killed two Pakistani soldiers in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.</b>

The three officials say two soldiers also were wounded Monday when the bomb went off near the convoy traveling from Shakai to Wana, the main town in South Waziristan tribal region.

The officials, two of whom work for Pakistani intelligence, requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops in its northwest to flush out Taliban, al-Qaida and their local supporters. The militants are suspected of using Pakistan as a safe haven to plan attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan. -AP

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>1. TheNation welcomes new Editor</b>

LAHORE - Dr Shireen Mazari yesterday joined the Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications as the Editor of daily TheNation. Shireen Mazari holds a Ph.D in Political Science from Columbia University, New York and is a highly respected scholar and commentator on Strategic Studies and Political Science.

She has also served as the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies. Ms Mazari was formerly an Associate Professor and then Chairperson of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. In a statement issued on Monday she said, “It gives me great pleasure to join the Nawa-i-Waqt Group and I look forward to an interesting and exciting interaction.”

Mr Majid Nizami, the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Nawa-i-Waqt Group, and Ms Rameeza Nizami, the Deputy Managing Director and Managing Editor, welcomed Dr Mazari to the Group, “We are delighted Dr Mazari is joining us,” adding, “She will be an invaluable addition to our management team”. Dr Mazari will also be contributing a column for the daily Nawa-i-Waqt and hosting an exclusive weekly television show on the Waqt News channel.

<b>Wheat production misses target by one million tonnes</b>

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD : <b>The tall claims of various ministries including Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Planning Commission of getting at least 25 million tonnes wheat production proved false and the actual wheat production remained 24 million tonnes for 2009-10,</b> official figure obtained by Daily Times revealed here on Monday.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>We bought 200 NKorean missiles to fight Kargil war: Khan</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Pakistan's nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said that Sri Lankan Muslims based in Dubai [ Images ] were suppliers of nuclear material and equipments not only to Pakistan but also to Iran and Libya.</b>

<b>'Be it Libya, Iran, or Pakistan, the same suppliers were responsible for providing the material through the same third party in Dubai,</b>' Khan has revealed in an interview to a Pakistani news channel.

'It was a company with which we had established links when we could not receive the material from Europe. They were Sri Lankan Muslims,' Khan said in his interview in Urdu, aired in Karachi on August 31.

The Directorate of National Intelligence's Open Source Centre translated the interview into English, which has not been made public yet. However, a copy of it was obtained by the Secrecy News of the Federation of American Students.

Giving an interesting insight into acquiring of nuclear technology by Iran, he said, <b>'The Iranian officials would meet (suppliers) them in Dubai. We had told the Iranians that the suppliers were very reliable."</b>

Noting that Iran was interested in acquiring nuclear technology, Khan said, 'Since Iran was an important Muslim country, we wished Iran to acquire this technology. Western countries pressured us unfairly.'

<b>'If Iran succeeds in acquiring nuclear technology, we will be a strong bloc in the region to counter international pressure. Iran's nuclear capability will neutralize Israel's power. We had advised Iran to contact the suppliers and purchase equipment from them.'</b>

Denying that Pakistan did not transfer any nuclear technology to North Korea in exchange of the missile technology, Khan, however, refrained from making any comment on the accusation that he transferred nuclear technology to North Korea. He did concede though that he went to North Korea twice in 1994 and 1999.

<b>'In 1999, Gen Musharraf sent me along with Gen Iftikhar, who was the then chief of Air Defense Command. We were fighting India at Kargil [ Images ], and we were in dire need of anti-aircraft missiles. Musharraf said we could purchase the missiles from North Korea. We went to North Korea and purchased 200 missiles from them.'</b>

He said a North Korean team visited the Kahuta plant during the same period, as the missile deal was taking place. It was no secret, he argued, adding everyone knew about it.

'They would stay at a guest house in the vicinity of Kahuta plant, because we did not have any other nuclear facility and our missiles were also being manufactured there. We did not spend any additional amount on the missile programme,' he said.

'The expense that was incurred on the missile program was that of the construction of prefabricated shades, which we would use in those missiles, and purchase of a few machines.'

'The North Korean engineers would visit our director generals in their departments to observe different operations. But nuclear technology cannot be learned by visiting a nuclear site and observing a few machines,' he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This year Obama will celebrate Id with Zardari in New York.
Love fest continue........ <!--emo&:music--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/stereo.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='stereo.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:guitar--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/guitar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='guitar.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Sep 9 2009, 10:50 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Sep 9 2009, 10:50 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->This year Obama will celebrate Id with Zardari in New York.
Love fest continue........ <!--emo&:music--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/stereo.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='stereo.gif' /><!--endemo-->  <!--emo&:guitar--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/guitar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='guitar.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>

Zaradi is busy collecting Air Miles!

<b>Sandwiched between life and death</b>

There are two kinds of countries. There are countries with supremely sovereign political systems. In every such country, the rulers are the system's slaves. They must do whatever the system commands them to do. Consequently, there is general prosperity in the land.

In the other kind of countries, there is no such thing as a supremely sovereign political system. In every such country, the rulers themselves are the supreme systems. The country is their domestic servant. It must do whatever it is commanded to do by the rulers. No wonder, there is general misery in the land. If there is no supremely sovereign system in a country, the country is a paradise for the rulers and a hell for the masses. Unfortunately, most of the world's countries are paradises for the rulers and hells for the masses.

In every country, there are numerous administrative systems. For example, there is a judicial system. There is a police system. There is an income tax system. There is an industrial system. There is an educational system etc, etc. All these systems are created by the country's political system. In other words, the political system of a country is the mother of all its other systems. If the political system of a country is a dishonest system then all its other systems are bound to be dishonest. Dishonesty cannot give birth to honesty. It can only breed dishonesty.

Most of the prosperous countries of the world owe their prosperity to their honest political systems. A country where political dishonesty reigns supreme is a veritable jungle. No wonder, most of the countries are human jungles.

Look at any country which lacks a supremely honest political system. When, in such a country, the ruler's tenure is over, he leaves his office with his own political system in his pocket. His successor brings his own political system in his pocket. And the successor's successor brings his own system. Thus the country is subjected to as many systems as the number of the rulers.

What a variety! Variety is said to be the spice of life. But there is nothing spicy about the various systems which the various rulers inflict upon the country. This variety is pure poison for the masses.

Most of the countries are politically unstable. The instability of a country is a godsend for the selfish politicians. It enables them to exploit the country as much as they fancy to exploit it. In order to ensure that the instability keeps on deepening and deepening, the politicians seek America's assistance. America rushes to help. America enthusiastically helps. America helps because the world's instability is a guarantee of America's world supremacy. Thus the rulers of an unstable country and America are in league against the masses.

<b>Unfortunately, Pakistan has never had a supremely sovereign political system.</b> And more unfortunately, America has always exploited this situation. America claims that it has a special relationship with Pakistan. No doubt it has. But what is the precise nature of this relationship? It is a very simple story. America does not want Pakistan to live as a healthy and strong creature. Nor does it want that Pakistan should die. It wants that Pakistan should live on but like a critically sick patient. And with America's help, Pakistan has been breathing and breathing - although with great difficulty. <b>Actually, Pakistan is not breathing. It is just gasping. Thus it is neither fully alive nor fully dead. It is sandwiched between life and death.</b> That is exactly what America wants and has got it.

Pakistan's friendship with America is as old as Pakistan itself. And Pakistan's political chaos is also as old as its American friendship. Thus Pakistan's chaos and its American friendship are twins. If we want to liberate ourselves from our chaos we can do so only by liberating ourselves from our American's friendship. But can we do it? What a silly question!

As our friend, America has loved to interfere in our national affairs. Sixty two years of our existence are sixty two years of American interference. China is also a great friend of ours. Currently, our most serious problem is how China is looking at America's activities in Pakistan. We have constantly sought China's help. But what we passionately expected has not been the result. What a tragedy!

American drones are regularly bombing our Frontier regions. A number of innocent citizens are being regularly killed. Pakistan is protesting that the bombing is being carried out without her permission. The protest is the result of Pakistan's utter ignorance of America's philosophy of friendship. According to this philosophy, America need not obtain a friendly country's permission for killing its citizens. Pakistan is America's friend. So the friendship automatically grants America the right of killing our citizens.

<b>Mudy Ji :</b> The You Knighted States of Umrica has suspended Pakistan in Liquid Oxygen – the Liquid will not allow Pakistan to Live and the Oxygen will not let it die!

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz gives Obama a Roya Kick in the Ar*e :

<b>Musharraf to return to politics after Nov 30, says aide</b>

Amid the demand for the trial of Pervez Musharraf for treason by the PML-N, the former President will participate in Pakistan’s politics after November 30 when a two-year constitutional bar on him holding public office ends, one of his close aides has said.

“Musharraf would unite various factions of the PML-Q and participate in politics from that platform,” Chaudhry Shahbaz, a PML-Q leader and a former federal minister, told reporters here on Sunday. Shahbaz met Musharraf in Saudi Arabia last week for consultations.

He said the two-year constitutional restriction that prevents Musharraf from participating in politics will end on November 30, after which “he would announce his future Strategy.”

Pakistani laws bar Musharraf, 66 from joining active politics for two years from the date on which he stepped down as Army Chief. The former military ruler has been living outside Pakistan since mid-April.

Musharraf’s legal problems have been compounded since the Supreme Court declared in July that the emergency imposed by him in 2007 was unconstitutional. The ruling has raised the possibility of his trial on charges of treason.

It is believed Musharraf visited Saudi Arabia to lobby the royal family to use its influence with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who has been insisting on his trial. Sharif is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia later this week.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<!--emo&:clapping--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clap.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='clap.gif' /><!--endemo--><b>500 Khasadars quit service for fear of extremists</b> <!--emo&:clapping--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clap.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='clap.gif' /><!--endemo-->

PESHAWAR : Political Agency of Khyber Agency Friday confirmed that at least 500 personnel of Khasadar force abandoned their duties for fear of extremists.

According to Geo News correspondent, Political Agent Tariq Hayat said the Khasadars who do not report on duty by tomorrow would be dismissed from service.

Tariq said important targets in Bara operation have been achieved; subsequently, the army has left Bara and Frontier Corps contingents have taken over.

Tariq Hayat Khan said 107 extremists have been killed and 120 others arrested during Bara Operation, adding 127 houses of the extremists and 15 centers have been destroyed.

Two important commanders were also killed in the operation, he added.

Mangal Bagh, Amir of outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam will have to unconditionally surrender himself to the forces, he said ruling out negotiations with the militants.

The PA said the operation will continue until the acquisition of the targets, adding Bara Market has been opened and curfew there will be relaxed from 11am to evening.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Nareshji, Is this Govt Agent Tariq Hayat Khan related to the Shaukat Hayat Khan family?

Looks too coincidental.

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Sep 11 2009, 09:15 PM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Sep 11 2009, 09:15 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nareshji, Is this Govt Agent Tariq Hayat Khan related to the Shaukat Hayat Khan family?

Looks too coincidental.
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<b>ramana Ji :</b>

You have Y-Mail.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Hindu oppression of Muslims in India behind Pak youth turning terrorists : Musharraf</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lahore, Sep.12 : Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has blamed India for the formation of terror groups such as the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM).

Talking to a private television channel, Musharraf said it was the oppression of Muslims in India by the Hindus which forced the Pakistani youth to take up militancy and extremism and form terrorist groups such as JeM.

Musharraf also defended his action of supporting the United States in its ‘war on terror’ post 9/11 attack saying Pakistan’s existence could have been endangered if he would have not done so.

“Pakistan’s territorial integrity could have been jeopardized had Pakistan not decided to side with the US and allied forces in the post-9/11 scenario,” The Daily Times quoted Musharraf, as saying.

Musharraf said during his regime Pakistan made unprecedented progress in all fields including on delicate issues like<b> Kashmir, Siachen and the Sir Creek dispute</b>.

“The country had moved forward on all major issues such as Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen through ‘back-channel diplomacy’ during my tenure,” Musharraf said.

He also claimed that India has built consulates near the Pakistan
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Mushy shaeb, please add Hyderabad, Aligargh, Azamgarh, Phulpur, Bedford, East London all in your disputed list.
Mushy is coming back in active political life supported by SA King.

Couple of possibilites -
-Paki Army had started looking for replacement, I am surprised they trust Mushy.
-Fundoos have more trust in Mushy.
-SA trust Sunni Mohajir Mushy then Shia Zardari
-Unkle want to keep Nawaj in box but for SA he is hero, this man was able to show middle finger to Unkel and test 5-6 Nukes. Only man in Islamist world.

<b>83 percent cotton crop affected by CLC virus in Punjab</b>

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD : <b>The incidence of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) in Punjab remained at 83.10 percent, while last year it was 54.34 percent, which would result in lower production of crop.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>High earning middle class only 2.5pc of population in Pakistan</b>

LAHORE : <b>Income disparities in India are more pronounced than Pakistan but it has developed a consumer base of 130 million strong upper middle class earners between $10,000 to $50,000 a year that Pakistan lacks proportionate to its population.

Economic experts point out that the presence of such a strong upper middle class comprising around 11 per cent of its population is the main reason for its robust economy.</b> They pointed out that in contrast such high earning middle class is limited to hardly two million in Pakistan, which accounts for less than 2.5 per cent of its population.

They said that effective middle class comprising industry professionals, scientists, doctors, engineers play a pivotal role in the growth of a country. They said those earning over $10,000 a year in developing nations enjoy the same living standards as enjoyed by a person earning $25,000 in developed country. They said the notion that those living above poverty level are the real middle class is not true because they have no voice in the developing societies.

Senior economist Naveed Anwar Khan said that the number of people earning above $10,000 a year has grown in Pakistan but the two million workforce employed by the India IT industry alone earn more than this amount. He said the resource distribution in recent years have been fairer in India for the skilled and professional workers. It would have been in Pakistan had we prepared the skilled human resource, he added.

He said a middle class in relative terms can be defined, as the middle income range of each country; The problem with this approach, he added is that each country has a different median income, so the definition of what is middle class shifts from place to place. A more prudent method he added is to use a fixed income band for all countries. He said this is more representative method because this constitutes empowered segment of society in every country.

<b>Market analyst Yunus Kamran FCA said in India the local and international banks are making consumer credit increasingly available to middle-class borrowers. This is spurring a new wave of consumer spending unprecedented in India’s history.</b> Whereas in Pakistan the commercial banks are pulling out of consumer finance as it carries high risk due to limited incomes of the middle class.

<b>He said Indians are optimistic that their upper middle class would expand to 39 million by 2012. He said they have reason for the optimist. In 1995 he added those earning $10,000 to $50,000 in India accounted for only 2 per cent of its population that increased to 5 per cent in 2005 and 11 per cent in 2009.

The momentum has been set and India would now grow on its middle class for years to come, he added. A new wave of consumer spending unprecedented in India’s history has sprung he added.</b> He said Pakistan need to increase its effective middle class by increasing its spending on education and skill training. Only after that we could dream of sustained growth on local consumption, he said.

Asif Ali Shahid CPA said that it is the middle class are intellectuals, engineers, doctors, scientists, and industry professionals. They are the backbone of civil society. They influence policies. They fight corruption, bad governance and incompetence. They spur growth; they are consumers of goods and services.

<b>The middle class is also different when it comes to the role of freedom in their lives. They support struggle for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from hunger and poverty, or freedom from crime and violence.</b> He said the middle class is more inclined than the less wealthy to consider equal judicial treatment very important.

<b>When confronted with a choice between a good democracy and a strong economy, members of the middle classes in many developing countries prefer good democracy over affluence,</b> he said.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>Food scarcity reaching alarming levels in Pakistan</b>

KARACHI : <b>The scarcity of food items in the country has reached an alarming level, with the prices going up by the day despite the reported reduction in consumer price index-based inflation.</b>

The media is flooded scenes of people waiting in long queues to buy commodities from subsidised bazaars set up by the government, but most have only stories of disappointment to tell.

Various incidents of police baton charge and tear gas shelling on the aspiring shoppers are reported routinely, the worse being Sunday’s stampede outside a philanthropist’s premises in Karachi, which killed 18 people. But the food crisis has not emerged overnight.

Economists have warned of the probability of food shortage since the 1990’s and pointed towards declining household incomes as an indicator. People say it is appalling that a country with as strong an agriculture base as Pakistan is failing ensure food security for its people and is now being named among food-
deficient countries.

Pakistan ranks at 61 out of 85 countries in the 2008 Global Hunger Index. The map of food security, prepared by Maplecroft, offers a quantification of the risk to a stable supply of basic food staples. <b>Pakistan is in the “high risk” category of that map.</b>

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>Tarin admits GDP drop</b>

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Multan - Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin admitted on Wednesday <b>that the GDP had dropped,</b> saying it happened due to certain reasons and conditions.

<b>“It should not have happened. We’ll control it.</b> We’ll cut down inflation,” he reaffirmed while talking to the journalists here at Multan Airport.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>Gilani distances himself from Musharraf ‘safe exit’ deal</b>

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani distanced himself on Wednesday from what has been described as a deal to provide ‘safe exit’ to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and said that he was neither aware of nor part of any such deal.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>President’s spokesman denies deal remarks</b>

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD : President Asif Ali Zardari backtracked on Wednesday on his reported remarks that he and ‘international guarantors’ had negotiated an ‘indemnity’ for former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf that paved the way for his ‘safe exit’.

The denial of media reports filed by journalists who had attended a reception at the presidency on Monday came after the opposition raised hue and cry over the statement.

<b>Political analysts believed that President Zardari had changed his statement because of political and international pressure.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>Suspected suicide blast kills 12 near Kohat</b>

KOHAT : <b>A suspected suicide bomber killed 14 people in northwest Pakistan on Friday</b> in an explosion on a road that brought down nearby shops, police and witnesses said.

Militants have struck with bombs numerous times since intensifying their war against the government in 2007 but the militants have suffered setbacks this year raising government hope that the security forces might be getting the upper hand.

The bomb went off on a main road near the city of Kohat, 150 km southwest of Islamabad, and brought down some shops beside the road, police and witnesses said.

‘We have removed 10 bodies which are totally mutilated and are unrecognisable,’ resident Rapheel Hussain said by telephone.

‘I'm trying to find my brother. I don't know whether he's been killed or is stuck under the debris of the fallen buildings.’

Police spokesman Fazal Naeem said 14 people had been killed.

Kohat is a garrison town, close to the lawless ethnic Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border, which is a major sanctuary for militants battling in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

<b>The area where the attack took place is mostly inhabited by minority Shia Muslims and there has been sectarian violence in the region in the past.

The Taliban militants are from the majority Sunni community and attack on Shias are part of their strategy to fight the government.</b>

Pakistani forces have made gains against the militants in an offensive in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, months after Taliban advances and bomb attacks raised fears for Pakistan's future and contributed to a slide in investor confidence.

Militant attacks have tapered off in recent weeks after the death of the Pakistani Taliban chief in a missile fired by a US drone aircraft on August 5, but security officials say fighters loyal to al-Qaeda and the Taliban are still a serious threat.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Now count is<b> 33</b>.
Even during Ramdan.

* Witnesses say most victims were Shias
* Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility


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