Balochistan quake death toll rises to 236: Updated at: 1100 PST, Thursday, October 30, 2008 QUETTA: The death toll in an earthquake hit Ziarat division of Balochistan has risen to 236 whereas 391 people were injured. The toll is expected to climb further Balochistan police sources

The Jewish school where half the pupils are Muslim: A great example of inter-faith harmony: King David, in Birmingham, is a state primary where the children learn Hebrew, recite Jewish prayers, eat kosher food and wave Israeli flags. So how come the majority of pupils are followers of Islam? Jonathan Margolis investigates Thursday, 1

FCR in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas: What to do with FCR? Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had declared last April that he would like to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in the Tribal Areas because it was “a barbaric colonial-era law that had ruled

American Muslims and Obama: According to an American survey, about 90 percent of American Muslims are expected to vote for Barack Obama on November 4. But strangely the Muslim organisation that carried out this survey doesn’t want the fact publicised widely because “it

Haroon-ur-Rashid, the undeclared propaganda secretary of Imran Khan…. Shame on you and your leader….: In his love with Imran Khan, Haroon-ur-Rashid has become blind. He is counting the number of flags of JUI and PPP. What does he think about the number of Imran Khan’s PTI flags in the so called movement for

Taliban kill Gayle Williams, a British-South African aid worker, who believed in doctrine of love…: In the name of love SOME would see it as a profession of faith. Others may call it a religion of humanity. Either way, such intrepid devotion to the cause of basic humanism can only merit pure homage —

At least 135 dead in Balochistan quake: QUETTA: The death toll from the earthquake in Balochistan has risen to 135, Dilawar Kakar, a mayor in the area said. The 6.4 magnitude quake hit a rural area of the province before dawn on Wednesday.Kakar said 135 deaths

Well done, Imran Khan, Hamid Gul, Kashif Abbasi and Hamid Mir. Your friends Taliban have destroyed another girls school in Swat.: Well done, Imran Khan, Hamid Gul, Kashif Abbasi and Hamid Mir. Your friends Taliban have destroyed another girls school in Swat. Imran Khan? Why don’t you admit your children to a Taliban jihadi madrassah? Is that your insaaf? Read

From Karachi to Swat, the Taliban are active. Shame on those in a state of denial: FROM Karachi to Swat, the Taliban are active. Shame on you Imran Khan, Hamid Gul, Kashif Abbasi, Mushtaq Minhas. Are you still in a state of denial? From Karachi to Swat FROM Karachi to Swat, the Taliban are active.

PPP’s strategy for Balochistan: A strategy for Balochistan (Daily Times) The secretary of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Reconciliatory Committee on Balochistan, Senator Babar Awan, says he has a strategy for a solution to the problems of Balochistan. He has it narrowed down to

New Pak effort against terrorism encouraging: US, Canadian dailies: WASHINGTON: A US and a Canadian daily found Pakistan’s new efforts against terrorism ‘encouraging’ and said US should respond accordingly. An editorial in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin noted that the anti-Taliban lashkars are poorly armed with aging rifles, while Taliban

Listen Hamid Gul: The controversial Pakistani policy of creating strategic depth in Afghanistan has now become a noose around our neck.: Hope and fear in NWFPTuesday, October 28, 2008Khalid Aziz FATA and the NWFP are in the midst of “interesting times.” According to the Chinese such periods are unstable and bring a whirlpool of difficulties. Pakistan has entered a sinkhole

Pakistan-USA relations and Muslim community, an objective analysis by Khurshid Nadeem:

Iftikhar Arif – By Ataul Haq Qasimi:

Time to purge establishmnt from the pro-Taliban elements: Spanish report ties ISI to Taliban * Claims agency funded training camps and weapons acquisition * Pakistan army chief vehemently denies Madrid claim Daily Times Monitor MADRID: A confidential Spanish Defence Ministry report has alleged Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency

In Asfandyar Wali Khan’s defence: by Gulmina Bilal Asfandyar Wali Khan has fled the country. Or so people will have you believe. In recent days, friends and family have bombarded me with questions and snide remarks about his whereabouts. Some have found this to

Pakistan’s Army is successfully achieving its aims in operation against terrorists in Bajaur…: Bajaur: an interim assessment The Frontier Corps (FC) inspector-general in Bajaur, Major-General Tariq Khan, has told visiting journalists that the army has flushed out militants from some of their strongholds and regained control of most of the troubled spots,

Ordinary people in Swat battle Taliban: Swat lashkar battles Taliban * Tribesmen kill 20 Taliban after botched attempt to abduct an elder* Taliban behead one tribesman, kill 6 others* 62 tribesmen ‘abducted’* 3 civilians killed as Taliban target barbershop* 11 Taliban killed in Bajaur Agency

Well done, Shahbaz Sharif. Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi:

Iqbal’s and Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan – Dr Javid Iqbal: Shame on Dr. Israr Ahmed and Dr. Safdar Mehmood for distorting the vision of Jinnah and Iqbal.

Aftab Iqbal’s slap on the face of anti-PPP journalists. Good News Pakistan. Well done Zardari. Hamid Mir Reports from China.: Aftab Iqbal’s slap on the face of pro-Taliban journalists (e.g. Ansar Abbasi and Kashif Abbasi). Good News Pakistan. Well done, Zardari. Good news from China, A success of Zardari’s diplomacy – By Hamid Mir

Zardari & Kayani are real benefactors of Pakistan: Their strategy on war on terror is working much better than the double-cross strategy of Mush…: A two-pronged approach EVIDENTLY the ‘neutral’ tribesmen’s resolve to take up arms against the Taliban is paying dividends. If this were not the case, the Taliban supporters among the politicians would not have spoken so vehemently against what to

The PMLN, the PMLQ, the Jama’at-e Islami, the JUIF, the Tehreek-e Insaf and a host of Islamist groups take a naïve view of violence in the tribal area: Blind to the threat —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi If the Taliban agenda was nothing more than the expulsion of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan their efforts to expand their domain to some of the settled districts of the NWFP

In Pakistan: ‘Everyone is an economist’ including Javed Chaudhry: ‘Everyone is an economist’ With global and national economies coinciding in their historic downturn, it is open season for all kinds of theorisers in English and Urdu to offer doomsday diagnoses of the “I-told-you-so” variety. Pakistan is condemned by

Is Nawaz Sharif a principled politician? Rauf Klasra exposes the deal (in offing) between PML-N & PML-Q. Chaudhries & Sharifs united to plunder…:

‘RAW’ Totay: The supporters of Sipah-e-Sahaba & Taliban remember Lal Masjid and shed crocodile tears: In this op-ed, Asadullah Ghalib spanks “RAW Totay” (conspiracy theorists such as Javed Chaudhry, Hamid Mir, Kashif Abbasi, Ansar Abbasi, Orya Maqbool Jan, Irfan Siddiqi): The conspiracy theory parrots. Shame on the supporters of extremist of Lal Masjid, Sipah-e-Sahaba

Husain Haqqani gives Kashif Abbasi good spanking: Kashif Abbasi is a media juooni: The TV face/ mouth pieces of Taliban in Pakistan. Regime of ‘hostile’ TV anchors Daily Times – Saturday, June 21, 2008 Two particular encounters on two TV channels Thursday night revealed the mind

Muslims should stand up and denounce al-Qaeda: The extremist Wahhabi ideology and the rise of Talibans in Pakistan…: Muslims should stand up and denounce al-Qaeda The recent wide distribution of a DVD, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, by a New York-based tax-exempt organization has provoked an angry response from Muslims and non-Muslims. Now a second

Realities of Pakistan’s woes not apparent to all: THE RECENT bombing of the Marriott Hotel in the heart of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, underscores the menace of religious fanaticism that now threatens Pakistan also. When the air cleared, 70 people lay dead

Almost one million people of Parachinar remain stranded for more than a year by the criminals of Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba & Al-Qaeda: Appeal for help to the international community PESHAWAR: Delay in reopening road delays return of peace to Kurram By Zulfiqar Ali PESHAWAR, Oct 23: Delay in reopening of Thall-Parachinar Road despite an agreement, reached between the warring tribes of

Taliban receiving a good beating by Pakistan Army in Bajaur.: Taliban receiving a good beating by Pakistan Army in Bajaur. A bad day for Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir and other supporters of Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba. http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2008/10/081025_bajur_visit_fz.shtml

Swat: Taliban slaughter a police officer: Spokesperson of Taliban/Al-Qaeda/Sipah-e-Sahaba, Muslim Khan, has accepted the responsibility of slaughtering the personnel of Pakistan’s security forces (police, FC, Army) in Swat. What do Imran Khan and Hamid Gul say about this acceptance of responsibility by the Taliban? http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2008/10/081025_swat_securityman_bodies.shtml

Letting someone else rule the Tribal Areas: As Mr Shaukat Tareen, the finance advisor, makes his last-ditch efforts to arrange a $4.5 billion short-term bailout for the economy, PMLN leaders Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Raja Zafarul Haq have spoken at a press conference in Islamabad

A postmortem of anti-democracy journalists; A mirror to Ansar Abbasi, Kashif Abbasi, Hamid Mir, Mushtaq Minhas and other supporters of Taliban.:

The anti-PPP forces, ISI, the right wing and the pro-Taliban elements in Pakistan – by Ayaz Amir: Is there anything more to see? Friday, October 24, 2008 By by Ayaz Amir Of all our leaders thrown up by the vicissitudes of events, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto alone had the talent and drive to reverse these trends and

Drone attacks and ground assaults – By Rahimullah Yusufzai: Drone attacks and ground assaults Saturday, October 25, 2008 Rahimullah Yusufzai Whether it was General Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorship or Asif Ali Zardari’s democratic set-up, the government came to the conclusion that it cannot afford to antagonize the US by

Asif Ali Zardari and the real killers of Benazir Bhutto, i.e. the unholy nexus of pro-Taliban establishment (ISI, bureaucracy) & mullahs in Pakistan:

Well done, Zardari. You need to do more to address genuine concerns of our Baloch brothers and sisters: More for the Baloch WHILE the debate over which should come first in Balochistan, development or peace, is a never-ending one, no progress can be made on either unless a well-thought-out strategy is put into action. Considering that this

‘Kafeel bhai ko salaam..Mashoor-e-zamana right arm, left arm spin bowler of Ghotki.’: Footloose: Tale of a tragic hero —Salman Rashid Fourteen years is time enough to forget people one meets. But though I never returned to Ghotki, I never forgot Kafeel Bhai. The thought of how these years would have treated

An analysis of the Parliament’s National Consensus Resolution on War on Terror. How the agents of Taliban are trying to misinterpret the Resolution…: Interpreting the ‘national consensus’ After making public a variety of clashing views, all parties in the joint parliamentary session in Islamabad have produced a unanimous 14-point document of “national consensus” on the war on terror. This is an important