Pakistan

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Pakistan Nears Peace Deal With Militants

Suspected Bhutto assassin said to have called off his fighters

(Newser) - The new government of Pakistan is close to brokering a deal that will end hostilities with the most militant tribes in the country's dangerous northwest. A draft of the peace agreement calls for an end to violence, a prisoner exchange, and a gradual withdrawal of the Pakistani military from part...

Pakistan Near Ceasefire Deal With Militants

Leader linked to Bhutto murder calls off attacks amid peace talks

(Newser) - Pakistan’s new government is near a ceasefire deal with militants, the New York Times reports, as a top rebel commander has ordered his forces to stop attacks. Baitullah Mehsud, thought to have organized the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, ordered a ban on “provocative activities for the sake...

US Hesitates to Strike Inside Pakistan

Fears attacks on militant leaders would upset Islamabad

(Newser) - US commanders are itching to strike tribal militants in Pakistan, but Washington fears such a move could anger Islamabad's new leaders, the New York Times reports. American intelligence officials say the region is a growing threat, and warn that militants are forging alliances with al-Qaeda. But Pakistan is in talks...

Pakistan Ambassador Held by Taliban
Pakistan Ambassador Held by Taliban

Pakistan Ambassador Held by Taliban

Video surfaces two months after his disappearance

(Newser) - In a video aired today on an Arab channel, Pakistan’s missing ambassador to Afghanistan says he was kidnapped two months ago by Taliban militants, AP reports. In the brief clip, Tariq Azizuddin, seated on the ground with his driver and bodyguard in front of three armed masked men, says...

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Diplomacy
 Next Prez's To-Do:
 Fix Diplomacy 
OPINION

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Diplomacy

New administration will need to fix problems Bush has not addressed

(Newser) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes?
  1. Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "
...

US Steps Up Secret Pakistan Air Strikes

Predators hammer al-Qaeda strongholds before Pakistan cracks down

(Newser) - The US is stepping up air strikes on suspected al-Qaeda strongholds in Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The Predator bombings—which neither the US or Pakistan will officially confirm—aim to rattle terror leaders out of hiding before the country's new leaders are expected to demand the US scale back...

Pakistan PM's First Move Flouts Musharraf

Gilani takes office, orders judges jailed by president freed

(Newser) - Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered the release of 60 judges detained by Pervez Musharraf only minutes after being elected Pakistan's prime minister today, CBS reports. The president replaced the judges with a friendlier crop after imposing a state of emergency in November. If the freed justices are reinstated, a renewed legal...

Bhutto's Party Nominates New Prime Minister

Ex-speaker once went to jail to avoid cutting deal with Musharraf

(Newser) - The party of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto named Yusuf Raza Gillani as its pick for prime minister of Pakistan today, the BBC reports. He is virtually guaranteed to be voted in Tuesday but won’t be PM for long, analysts say. The ex-speaker is expected to step down as soon as...

Pakistan's New Leaders Will Open Talks With Militants

New coalition will defy US, open negotiations

(Newser) - Pakistan's new coalition government says it will negotiate with the militants thought to be behind a wave of recent suicide bombings, the New York Times reports. The change in strategy will alarm US officials, who have recently stepped up strikes on suspected al-Qaeda strongholds using pilotless Predator drones. Pakistanis blame...

Security Boss Suspected by Bhutto Will Quit

Ex-PM fingered Shah among likely plotters before Dec. killing

(Newser) - A Pakistani intelligence chief whom slain leader Benazir Bhuttto suspected to be plotting against her is leaving his post with Bhutto's party poised to take power Monday, Reuters reports. Bhutto identified Ijaz Shah as one of four people who should be investigated if she were to be killed; many Pakistanis...

Pakistan's New Parliament Sworn In

Coalition set for a showdown with Musharraf

(Newser) - Pakistan's newly anti-Musharraf National Assembly was sworn in today, a month after politicians hostile to the president swept the general election. The new coalition has promised to reinstate the judges that the president booted when he declared a state of emergency in November. These judges would likely challenge the validity...

4 FBI Agents Among Injured in Pakistan Blast

Investigators may have been targets of cafe bomb attack

(Newser) - Four FBI agents were among the dozen hurt in a bomb attack at an Islamabad cafe this weekend, CNN reports. The agents were caught in the blast when an explosive device was tossed over a wall surrounding the outdoor restaurant, popular among Westerners and journalists. The FBI says that the...

Pakistan's Strife Grows as New Gov't Waits in the Wings

Restaurant bomb, airstrikes kill at least 17

(Newser) - A series of airstrikes on a Pakistan compound believed to be sheltering Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters killed at least 16 today, AFP reports, a day before the country's incoming government is to be sworn in. The declining security comes after a bomb exploded last night in an Islamabad restaurant crowded...

20 Dead in Pakistan Blasts
20 Dead in Pakistan Blasts

20 Dead in Pakistan Blasts

Many more injured after bombings at police headquarters, residential area

(Newser) - Two suicide explosions killed at least 20 people in Lahore early today, Reuters reports. One bomb devastated the city's federal police headquarters. "We're trying to evacuate the wounded trapped under the debris," said an official. The second blast occurred when two men blew themselves up in a pickup...

Pakistani Parties Spurn Musharraf, Forge Coalition

Leaders plan to reinstate judges deposed by president

(Newser) - Pakistani opposition parties formed a coalition today that snubbed President Pervez Musharraf. The alliance of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto's party will also reinstate the judges deposed by Musharraf last year. Having opposed Musharraf's reelection bid, the judges are also likely to challenge his presidency in court,...

Bhutto's Party Delays PM Decision
Bhutto's Party Delays PM
Decision

Bhutto's Party Delays PM Decision

Meeting ends without expected nom; Bhutto widower will decide

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto's party deferred its choice for PM candidate today, adding greater uncertainty to Pakistan's volatile political landscape, Bloomberg reports. Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the Pakistan People's Party's No. 2 and a longtime Bhutto loyalist, had been expected to take the top job today. But a meeting of the party's newly...

Indian 'Spy' Freed After 35 Years
Indian 'Spy' Freed After 35 Years

Indian 'Spy' Freed After 35 Years

Trader languished in Pakistani prisons after case was forgotten

(Newser) - An Indian prisoner has finally come home after spending 35 years on death row in Pakistan on spying charges, the BBC reports. Trader Kashmir Singh was greeted by his family and hundreds of well-wishers as he crossed the border back into India. "I have got a new life,"...

Lahore Navy School Blast Kills 6
Lahore Navy School Blast Kills 6

Lahore Navy School Blast Kills 6

Suicide attack comes as chair of Joint Chiefs meets Musharraf

(Newser) - A suicide attack at one of Pakistan's premier military academies has left at least seven people dead and 19 injured. The blast in the parking lot of Lahore's Naval War College set off explosions in the gasoline tanks of neighboring cars and sparked a fire, Reuters reports. Today's bombing, the...

Pakistan Suicide Bomber Kills 39
Pakistan Suicide Bomber Kills 39

Pakistan Suicide Bomber Kills 39

Attack marks third violent incident in as many days

(Newser) - A suicide bomber killed at least 39 people today gathered at an outdoor meeting of tribal elders in northwest Pakistan, Reuters reports, in the volatile country's latest bout of violence. The attack, which left scores of others wounded, occurred as the elders finalized security plans to “take steps against...

Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder

Top Taliban leader and others accused of plotting assassination

(Newser) - Police in Pakistan have filed charges against five men, including the country’s top Taliban commander, accusing them of planning the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the AP reports. President Pervez Musharaff had named the Taliban leader (and suspected al-Qaeda operative), Baitullah Mehsud, days after the attack, but today’s...

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