<b>Four Pakistanis slain in Iran Guard attack: report</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->TEHRAN: Four Pakistani citizens were among those slain in the attack on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards in Sistan-Baluchestan province, Fars news agency reported on Friday.
On Sunday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Pisheen town during a meeting of Guards and local tribesmen, slaughtering more than 40 people, including 15 members of the Guards.
<b>The bomber struck in front of a local gymnasium where a handicraft exhibition was taking place in Pisheen, near the Pakistani border in the south-eastern province.
</b>
'Four Pakistani citizens, who were near the handicraft exhibition, also died in the incident,' Jalal Sayyah, deputy governor of Sistan-Baluchestan told Fars.
He said investigations revealed that <b>the bomber wanted to go to the meeting, 'but fearing he would be searched... he blew himself up inside the exhibition.' The bomber had crossed into Iran from Pakistan a day before the attack </b>Sayyah said.
<b>'He was trained four months ago in one of (Abdolmalek) Rigi's bases in Pakistan,' </b>he added, referring to the leader of the rebel Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group which claimed the bombing.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Anti-tank mine kills 15 in Mohmand: officials</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->PESHAWAR: An anti-tank mine exploded Friday under a minibus, killing 15 wedding guests on a road used by government forces in Pakistan's tribal belt on the Afghan border, officials said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Nine deaths linked to robes; recall expanded</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The consumer agency and Blair are expanding the recall to include more chenille robes and three other chenille products, all made by A-One Textile & Towel, of Karachi, Pakistan, according to the consumer agency. Blair received one report involving one of the newly recalled garments catching fire, but no reports of injuries.
About 300,000 units of the garments are now recalled, including the full-length women's chenille robes, women's chenille jackets, women's chenille lounge jackets, and women's chenille tops<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
JEDDAH : Saudi Arab banned the entry of Muslims from across the globe into the country from October 29 to November 28 and any airliner not complying, would be fined heavily.
The kingdom took this decision for the convenience of the Hajj pilgrims and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has intimated all its offices and travel agents.
<b>The PIA said in its circular that Muslims having visit visas from the KSA should not be flown into the country; while, there is no ban on the non-Muslims entering the country.</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pakistan: Update. During this Watch, Bloomberg reported a suicide bombing near the Pakistan air force factory in the northwestern city of Kamra killed seven people. <b>This was the second attack on a military target in 24 hours.</b>
On 22 October, gunmen riding a motorbike ambushed a military jeep in Islamabad, assassinating a deputy chief of Army operations, Brigadier Moin Haider and his driver today, according to Pakistani and international media.  <b>The precision of this assassination is unusual.</b>
In the aftermath of the Brigadierâs murder, <b>authorities ordered illegal immigrants from Afghanistan to leave Islamabad within 72 hours, Dawn reported, citing a statement from Interior Minister Malik.</b> The attack occurred in <b>Sector G11/1, an area located near an illegal Afghan settlement in Islamabad.</b> Malik ordered door-to-door searches of five sectors of Islamabad, and checkpoints have also been set up for all roads leading into and out of Lahore, in addition to vehicle searches.
<b>The Pakistani Taliban offensive is achieving faster and more sensational headlines than the Army offensive in South Waziristan, where progress is slow.</b>
<b>Three blasts heard in Kohat</b>
Updated at: 2135 PST, Friday, October 23, 2009
KOHAT: At least three powerful explosions have been heard in Kohat, Geo News reported Friday.
<i>Kerry-Lugar lawâs Muridke clause alienates Army from; NRO-hit presidency; Zardari falls back on Nawaz; ready to give up 17th Amendment powers</i>
KARACHI : <b>An intense, behind the scenes, strategic and decisive review of the current political situation has begun among major power players, both political and non-political, to quickly decide how to stabilise the situation, seriously threatened by impending questions about the fate of those who benefited from the infamous NRO and are now in top positions of the country.</b>
After detailed background interviews and sessions with most of the stakeholders, it is now becoming clear that unless the present system is cleansed and the major irritants are removed, the desperately needed political stability and the required moral and political support for the on-going civil war-like situation would not be available. This may, and probably already is, seriously hampering the military-cum-security operations against the hit-and-run or hit-and-die terrorists roaming all over the country.
Although the apparent problem is the uncertainty about what would happen to the NRO in parliament and even if passed by a simple majority, what may happen if the Supreme Court strikes down the controversial law ab initio, <b>the issue which is driving everyone crazy is the wide gulf that has emerged between the top civilian and military leadership on how to handle America and the war on terror, denials and clarifications notwithstanding.
A well-informed insider said things had gone so bad that the military leaders had refused to meet President Asif Ali Zardari recently but it was Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who persuaded the Pindi people to at least convey their views in a face-to-face sitting so a patch up, if possible, may be attempted. That effort too did not work.</b>
Unfortunately, or probably in the interest of the system as the other side may argue, the political wings of our military establishment (read agencies), which had almost become redundant and were dormant for some months, have now come back into action with full force.
According to a recent BBC analysis: âThe military launched a massive public relations exercise, briefing sympathetic talk-show hosts and journalists, who were encouraged to whip up public opinion against the (Kerry-Lugar) Bill. <b>General Kayani also secretly met the opposition politician Shahbaz Sharif, the Punjab CM, who the Army had ostracised until now.â</b>
Though such behind-the-scene interference has always been a major factor in political changes in the country, it is never legitimate or desirable. <b>The Army is unhappy and angry because Zardari has given away too many concessions to the Americans and the GHQ realises that if the Kerry-Lugar Bill was to be implemented as desired by Washington, Pakistani cities could soon turn into battlegrounds between the Army and the Lashkar Tayyaba, the Jaish Mohammed and Taliban forces combined.</b>
So far the GHQ has kept the Lashkar Tayyaba quiet by not acceding to the US demands of attacking or even touching Muridke, arguing that once this sleeping elephant wakes up, it could turn around and trample our own forces. After all, the LeT was raised and trained by our military establishment to fight the Indians in Kashmir and they are good at it. Turning their guns inwards, with TTP suicide bombers roaming everywhere, would turn Pakistan into a burning inferno, ready to collapse. Thus the Kerry-Lugar Bill is considered to be a recipe for instant disaster.
These arguments apart, the fact, however, is that the politicians are again failing to handle their own affairs in a deft manner and may again have provided the opportunity or the space for such behind-the-scene military intervention. One such occasion was provided on March 15 when the long march threatened the system.
Leading political parties are weighing their options. Consultations, often late in the night between key leaders, are at a peak to find some formula which may save the political parties from the embarrassment of voting for a black law but at the same time saving the system from failing once again.
The bottom line is how to change the image of the presidency, how to bring back its credibility and how to make it an institution which could be trusted and respected, by the people and its armed forces alike. President Asif Zardari, who had the God-given opportunity to rise to the occasion, has failed miserably by acting in a cavalier manner, by destroying his own credibility and by foisting upon the nation a coterie of cronies who may have been good providers of goods and services to him in jail but are not fit by any standard to run the affairs of the country.
This personalised style of governance has confused all political leaders and parties. They do not know whether to support Zardari on the NRO or to take a principled stand against him. The position of PPP allies is extremely difficult. The ANP and the JUI are inclined to stay neutral at best, although publicly they have opposed the NRO repeatedly. Abstention may also not help Zardari.
The MQM is on a crossroads as the party has recently announced a major makeover of its public face, trying to go into Punjab and other parts of Pakistan and transform into a country-wide party. But it is stuck with the PPP in Sindh and going against the NRO would cause a serious breach in these relations since it would again be seen as an anti-Sindh move, aimed at supporting the Punjabi political and military establishment.
The MQM think tanks do not want to get into a situation in which the apparently stable province could fall back into the dreaded urban-rural conflict once again, with the Taliban waiting on the outskirts of Karachi to strike at the city as soon as they get the chance.
So far, MQM strategists say, the Taliban have refrained from attacking Karachi because firstly the level of public vigilance in the city is far greater and intense because of the omni-present MQM cadres on the streets, and secondly because the Pathans in Karachi seriously believe that their economic and financial interests would be severely hit if Taliban terrorism disrupts the city.
So the Pukhtoons are in no mood to secretly provide sanctuaries to suicide bombers and could openly confront them if need be. On this issue, they and the MQM are on the same page, with strong political support from the ANP and the Jamaat-e-Islami. Several meetings between the MQM and Pathan leadership on this issue have already raised the level of mutual trust and coordination for joint action.
Yet for the MQM to openly support the NRO would be a retrogressive political decision. Conversely, if the MQM came out publicly against the NRO and offered to present all its beneficiaries to take their cases to the courts, the party will gain moral high ground and the party will get a facelift throughout the country, which could otherwise take years to accomplish.
For the PPP itself, the NRO is a major divisive issue. Except for the few top beneficiaries, the general PPP cadres had nothing to do with it and privately are deadly opposed to voting for such a black law. But they have other interests associated with staying in power and they would not like to rock the boat, if the NRO threatens to derail the current PPP stint in power.
<b>The feeling in some PPP circles is that if the NRO strikes at Zardari and his cronies, rural Sindh, where the PPP has grass root support for the Bhuttos, would not react as fiercely as many predict it would. This may be so because Zardari and his Sindhi friends, who were never part of the Benazir circle, have generated enough ill will and animosity in the last 18 months. Some have been forced to recall the funny story of the coffin thief of a village and his son. It is better not to repeat that story.</b>
The prime minister appears to be in two minds and would publicly like to support the president but he had himself refused to take any benefit from the NRO and had his own cases judged by the regular Musharraf courts under old laws. That one correct political decision may help him immensely when the NRO may keep haunting others.
But he is also lobbying secretly for the principled political parties, both allies and opponents, to take a stand against the NRO so that the system could be cleansed and stabilised. How much support he can muster within the PPP is a moot question but if he takes a public position, many would come forward to support him. His government would in no case fall because the PML-N has offered to sustain it.
The intense discussions behind closed doors are focusing on finding some way out before the NRO explodes into the political scene and starts rocking the boat. Political wings of agencies are secretly lobbying members of parliament to vote out the law, which may force the president to think about giving up his powers or to resign.
Various compromise formulas are also doing the rounds, some code named minus-5 and others minus-12. The five and 12 are the personal friends and helpers of Zardari during his jail time, who have now been posted on sensitive state positions.
The stand taken by the Fata members is one such example of immense relevance. Although, they have taken up an anti-government position on a different issue, they want to sit in the opposition and would not like to side with the pro-NRO lobby. If that happens, it would be a major blow to the Zardari camp. The role of the secret agencies thus would come out in the open.
An overriding desire and effort in all the camps, including the non-political establishment, is not to rock the entire system. Everyone agrees in private that if President Zardari and his group of few unwanted aides were sidelined, the system will stabilise so that the focus can be shifted to the war against terrorists. But resilience and the fighting spirit of Zardari is being tested by the day.
According to one source located within the presidency, tension in the presidential camp is mounting and a battle headquarter is being set up to mobilise forces, appease allies, win over opponents and get the NRO passed by parliament, even bulldozed if necessary. But all the excitement suddenly dies down when the question of the Supreme Court striking down the NRO comes up. Everyone is suddenly dumbfounded.
The latest initiative by President Zardari to meet PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif to sort out their issues is viewed in the presidency as their last ditch political offensive to get Nawaz Sharif on his side. <b>The argument that will be pitched to him will be that the military establishment is again out to derail the political process and in this fight the politicians should stay on the same side.</b>
Although, Nawaz is strongly of the same views, it is highly unlikely that he will take sides with Zardari unless some huge, really huge, concessions are made and immediately, without waiting for any minute, hour or day.
Informed presidential sources say President Zardari is now ready to give up all his powers under the 17th Amendment, including the powers to appoint the Army chief but whether it is too late and too little for Nawaz to accept this bait is not yet clear. What is clear is that Nawaz has been bitten twice or thrice by the same snake hole and he may not like to poke his finger in that hole again
ISLAMABAD : <b>A wave of suicide bombings, coordinated grenade, bomb and gun assaults, and drive-by shootings blamed on militants has left more than 190 people dead in Pakistan so far this month.</b>
Here is a timeline of attacks in the past 19 days:
<b>October 23 :</b> A suicide attack kills six people near a Pakistan air force base in Kamra, about 60 kilometres west of Islamabad.
<b>October 22 :</b> Gunmen kill a Pakistani brigadier on leave from a UN peacekeeping mission and his driver in Islamabad.
<b>October 20 :</b> Twin suicide blasts tear through Islamabad's International Islamic University, killing five people as well as the bombers.
<b>October 16 :</b> A suicide car bomb rips through a police investigation bureau killing 11 people and wounding 13 others in the northwest city of Peshawar.
<b>October 15 :</b> Gunmen armed with suicide vests and grenades attack three police buildings in the eastern city of Lahore and bomb a northwest station, killing 39 people. A car bomb at a government residence in Peshawar kills a child.
<b>October 12 :</b> A suicide bomber rips through a market as a paramilitary convoy passes in Shangla, a district neighbouring the northwest Swat valley and the target of a recent anti-Taliban offensive. About 45 people, mainly civilians, are killed. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims responsibility.
<b>October 10/11 :</b> Ten militants besiege army headquarters in the garrison town Rawalpindi, with 23 people killed and 39 hostages freed. The dead included 11 troops, three hostages and nine attackers. TTP claims responsibility.
<b>October 9 :</b> A suicide car bomber kills 52 civilians and wounds more than 100 in a crowded market in northwest city Peshawar. It is the sixth attack in four months in the city, near the tribal belt on the Afghan border where tens of thousands have fled a feared offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
<b>October 5 :</b> Five UN World Food Programme workers are killed when a suicide bomber walks into their office in Islamabad and blows himself up, dressed in military uniform. The TTP claims responsibility for the attack.
PESHAWAR : NWFP Government has decided to keep the schools closed for another week in the backdrop of deteriorating law and order situation.
In a statement issued by NWFPâs Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, it has been notified that the schools will remain closed till November 1.
Initially the schools in NWFP including Peshwar were closed down from October 21 to 25. This period has now been extended till November 1.
Good morning <b>Suspected Pakistani National Bird kills 18 in Bajaur</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->KHAR: At least 18 militants were killed after a suspected <b>US drone targeted a Taliban shura meeting in the Bajaur agency's Damadola area</b>.
According to local sources, a Taliban shura meeting was underway at the time of the strike and the<b> Tehrik-i-Taliban's deputy chief, the notorious Maulvi Faqir, had left the area just 10 minutes before the attack</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Paki fora
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Ahmed Qurashi on Aaj TV </b>claims that he himself visited a strange factory or workshop some where near Islamabad (40KM) which has several Security Towers and surrounded by barbed wires. No one is allowed for gate entry and the main gate has a sign board "Auto Work shop & Service Center" AQ have got more info on that factory which he will be made pulic soon.
He said he has asked the locals and their reply is even more confusing say only Big Jeeps and vehicles movements have been witnessed specially during night time.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I emailed Ahmed Qurashi and asked him about the strange work shop apparently a place being used by Black water or US marines. This is what he has to say<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Any clue
From Paki fora -
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Added to my previous post, I met with a senior military man recently. He too, admitted that the recent waves of attacks and the terrorism in Pakistan in General has got some linkages to either JI individuals or at party level. He says the fact is that the groups carry out these activities have ideology very similar to that of JI. And this the reason JI always reluctant to speak against TTP. He said it is very difficult for anyone to separate them as they have good representation and penetration in Govt. Orgs, Military, Businesses, education systems etc.
Yesterday, DawnNews, presented a report on the same topic. What makes these groups of different domains to unite against Pakistan's state and Army. <b>The presenter gave clues that these groups work under the Ideology of establishment of a Khilafat for entire Muslim world. To achieve these objectives they have to over come two types of enemies. Closer enemies or they name it "inners" and the West "Kafirs". The inners include all those who are against them or hav e different views...including states and Armies. Kafirs requires no explanation. They view "Unless you do not have control over inners, you can't defeat Kafirs"</b>
Now based on these facts...gauge JI/TTP/SSP/AQ/JuD etc hardliner Sunnis (Mostly Wahabis). The reporter says look at the past events of Assassination of President Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and such incidents you will notice the same Ideology.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
TTP is the military wing of both JI and JUI
<b>Police official killed in car explosion</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD: A Motorway Police officer died when terrorists riding a car blew up explosives on the M2 close to the Lillah Interchange near Kalar Kahar.
<b>Officials were not sure whether the blast was caused by explosives planted in the vehicle or a terrorist wearing a suicide jacket.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Oct 25 2009, 06:11 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Oct 25 2009, 06:11 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Appears TSPA casualties from R-e-N ~ 350 injured and dead. Mostly during Kotkal ops. The town was retaken many times.
[right][snapback]102182[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They are also counting death by natural causes.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Huma Waseem passes away</b>
Updated at: 1044 PST, Sunday, October 25, 2009
CHENNAI: Huma Waseem, the ailing <b>wife of Pakistani star cricket player Waseem Akram,</b> has passed away at a Chennai hospital, India on Sunday morning; reports from Indian media confirmed her demise.
She was suffering from belly infection, which turned deadly enough to snatch her life, sources said.
According to Indian journalist Maha Devan, the cause of her death was multi organ failure and she was under treatment at Apollo Hospital since October 21.
Now, Waseem Akram is busy in completing the documentation to make possible her dead body to bring back to Pakistan, she added.
It may be mentioned she was seriously ill and had been admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a <b>Chennaiâs Apollo hospital some days ago</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
For treatment they come to India, why not in Karachi or Lahore.
<b>Taliban expand Pakistan war to sabotage offensive</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Troops overran Kotkai, in South Waziristan, on two previous occasions only to retreat after signing the kind of peace deals that Western critics have savaged for granting sanctuary to Al-Qaeda-linked militants. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD : A cotton shortage and price hike crisis looms over the textile sector, the countryâs highest foreign exchange earner, <b>but the government has been caught napping.</b>
July-September export figures for textiles, released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, <b>show an 11.43 per cent decline in dollar terms.</b>
Federal Minister for Textile Industry Rana Farooq Saeed Khan, talking to The News, said that <b>he is completely unaware of any such figures depicting such a fall in textile exports.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Balochistan Education Minister Shafique shot down</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->QUETTA: Balochistan Education Minister Shafique Ahmed was killed in firing incident by some unidentified miscreants; also, his relative was injured in the incident, Geo News reported Sunday.
Shafique Ahmed died on the spot in front of his house, where he was shot down in the head, as he was heading for his residence after getting down from his vehicle.
The attacker has been said to be aged around 45.
hafique Ahmed Khan belonged to Pakistan Peopleâs Party (PPP).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
