Pakistani Taliban commander deadSeptember 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban commander Sher Mohammad Qasab, who carried a Rs.10 million bounty and was arrested from the Swat Valley, has died, authorities said Sunday. Qasab was critically injured during the Swat operation and he succumbed to his injuries, Geo TV reported.
Taliban assassinated Benazir for challenging their writ: ZardariJune 13th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed because she challenged the writ of the Taliban. In a television address to the nation, Zardari said Bhutto's loss has made him realize the pain of families who have been a victim of terrorism.
Pak to hunt down Taliban everywhere in the country: ZardariMay 23rd, 2009 LAHORE - Hinting that the military offensive against the Taliban and other extremist groups could be expanded into other regions than the Swat Valley, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the Taliban would be hunted down everywhere inside the country's geographical territory. In an interview to a private television channel, Zardari refuted media reports that quoted him as saying that the government is planning to carry out military operations in Waziristan after Swat.
Victory against Taliban only option available in Swat: ZardariMay 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated his pledge to defeat the Taliban, saying victory against the extremists is the only option available in the in Swat and Malakand regions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). "Defeat is no option.
Sufi Muhammad is now encouraging Taliban defiance in SwatMay 11th, 2009 LAHORE - Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad, who was released from prison to talk peace and able to convince the insurgents to lay down their weapons, still backs the Taliban. The ceasefire deal negotiated by Sufi with the NWFP Government in the Swat valley lies in tatters as the Taliban and the army square off amid accusations of betrayal from both sides.
Swat offensive to continue until 'normalcy' returns to valley: ZardariMay 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Visiting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the military operation in the North West Frontier Province's Swat Valley would continue until the Taliban and other extremist groups are completely flushed out, and 'normalcy' returns to the troubled region. Addressing a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and US Senator John Kerry here, Zardari said: "It is going to carry on until life in Swat comes back to normalcy."
Zardari's statement came after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared an all out war against the Taliban in restive Swat and Malakand Divisions of the NWFP.
Swat peace deal 'dead' : HolbrookeMay 6th, 2009 LAHORE - The United States Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke has termed the Swat peace deal as 'dead', the Daily Times reported. Addressing the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington, Holbrooke said Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had already informed the United States that the accord, signed between the NWFP government and the Taliban, would not stand for long.
US senator criticizes Pak over Swat peace dealMay 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A senior US Republican Senator Kit Bond has criticized the Pakistan Government over the Swat peace deal. Bond said such deals have failed to yield desired results in the past, and are bound to fall short of expectations.
Pak government trying to pacify US through Buner military operation: TalibanApril 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban has said that the military operation in Buner is an attempt by the Pakistan government to pacify the United States. Spokesman of the Taliban's Swat chapter Muslim Khan said the Taliban would not retaliate to the ongoing military offensive, and it would abide by the peace accord it has inked with the provincial government.
Zardari appeals to Pak citizens to support offensive against TalibanApril 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has urged citizens of the country to support the security forces in the fight against the Taliban and other extremists groups in Buner, Maidan and the Swat regions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The military operation against the Taliban in the Swat Valley was critical for the protection of the country's Constitution, Zardari said.
Government will review stand on Swat accord if deal fails to convince people : ZardariApril 27th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the government would be compelled to review its stand on the Swat peace deal and the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation if the people of the region opined the accord has failed to establish peace. "When the people of Swat feel there is no peace even after the regulation, then the provincial government, assembly and the parliament can give their opinion on this issue," The Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.
Gilani announces Swat package, to visit areaApril 16th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A day after Sharia laws were formally imposed in Swat in Pakistan's restive northwest, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced a Rs.400 million development package for the once scenic valley, saying he would visit it soon. He made the announcement while speaking to a delegation of Awami National Party (ANP) at the PM House here, Geo TV reported.
Swat peace accord hinges on ZardariApril 11th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A peace accord with the Taliban in Swat in Pakistan's restive northwest that was on the verge of collapse seems to be intact for the moment but much hinges on President Asif ali Zaradri, who is under intense international pressure to reject the pact. Earlier this week, it appeared that the Feb 16 pact between the Taliban linked radical cleric Sufi Muhammad's Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government on imposing Sharia laws in Swat and six other districts of the province's Malakand division would fall through as Zardari had refused to ratify it.
Zardari orders probe into 17-year-old Swat girl's floggingApril 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered a probe into the case of Taliban flogging a 17-year-old girl publicly in Swat, where the government recently signed a sharia deal with the Taliban. Zardari has sought a report from the NWFP provincial government, and has called for the arrest of those responsible, a presidential spokesman said.
Is Pakistan's Swat deal a surrender to militants, asks HolbrookeFebruary 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - US special representative Richard Holbrooke has called Pakistan President Ali Zardari to express concern over a peace deal allowing imposition of Islamic law in the restive Swaat region controlled by Taliban militants. 'It is hard to understand this deal in Swat,' in northwest Pakitsan, the envoy, who returned this week from a regional tour that included visits to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, told CNN television in an interview Thursday.
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