Islamabad police arrests 35 highly educated activists of banned outfit

October 6th, 2009 NEW YORK - With the Obama Administration pushing the Pakistan government to take more steps against the Taliban amid reports that the top commanders of the banned outfit have taken refuge in Quetta near the Afghan border, anti-US sentiment in Pakistan is rising. The United States is trying hard to reduce the anti-American feeling with the approval of an aid package of 1.5 billion dollars a year for the next five years, however, the terms and conditions attached with the aid are being seen as an insult by the Pakistanis and they believe that it impedes the nation's sovereignty.

September 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - An editorial in one of the leading English dailies of Pakistan has raised questions over the apparent protection being provided to the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group which India says was behind the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, inside the country. The editorial also pointed out that despite the Pakistan government's claims that there is not enough evidence against LeT's founder leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed to prove that he masterminded the 26/11 carnage, many Pakistanis are unconvinced of the view that both LeT and Saeed are entirely innocent.

August 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Chief of the banned Pakistani outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba and religious scholar Sher Ali Haideri was gunned down along with an associate early Monday, triggering protests in several Sindh towns, including Karachi, police said. Haideri, a renowned religious scholar, was returning to his hometown Khairpur in Sindh province from a ceremony in Pir Jo Goth when he was attacked, Online news agency quoted district police officer Pir Mohammad Shah as saying.

August 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Allama Ali Sher, the leader of a banned Sunni group, was shot dead Monday morning in Pakistan's Khairpur town, a media report said. The chief of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba was on his way back home from Dost Muhammed Abro in Sindh province when he was attacked.

August 2nd, 2009 LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Rana Sanaullah has ruled out purported 'desecration' of the Quran by people of Christian community, which is seen as the prime reason behind Saturday's communal violence in Gojra town in which seven Christians, including three women, were burnt alive and over dozen wounded. "Authorities had investigated the allegation of a Quran being defiled, and our initial reports say that there has not been any incident of desecration," Sanaullah said.

August 1st, 2009 Pakistan police catch al-Qaida-linked group memberISLAMABAD — Police officials said Saturday they had arrested a member of an outlawed, al-Qaida-linked group that was suspected of involvement in the 2002 beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Rao Shakir, a purported member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was arrested on the outskirts of Islamabad late Friday, a police official said.

August 1st, 2009 Police: Al-Qaida-linked group member caughtISLAMABAD — Police officials say authorities have arrested a member of an al-Qaida-linked group believed responsible for several suicide bombings, including one that targeted a bus of Pakistan's spy agency. A police official said Saturday that Rao Shakir was seized in a raid on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, late Friday.

July 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban has banned public gatherings, including 'jirgas' in North Waziristan, and warned that strict action would be taken against those who defy its orders. According to sources, the banned outfit distributed pamphlets in Miranshah bazaar area of the province warning people against holding any meeting.

July 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban is loosing support among the people of Pakistan, as about 80 percent of them are against the banned outfit and have termed it a threat for the country, a survey has revealed. According to a World Public Opinion (WPO) report, about 80 percent of the Pakistanis are against the Taliban.

June 2nd, 2009 LAHORE - Jamat ud Dawa chief Hafeez Saeed today said that the lone surviving terrorist captured after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks has no connection with his outfit. Addressing a press conference after being released from the house arrest, Saeed said, "Ajmal Kasab has no connection with the JuD.

May 13th, 2009 LAHORE - Three suspects were arrested in connection with their alleged involvement in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore that left six policemen dead and many players injured. Sources told Geo TV that the accused are members of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and hail from Southern Punjab.

May 13th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The banned militant outfit Laskar-e-Taiba assassinated Major-General Aamir Faisal Alvi to avenge his role against militancy in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Islamabad Police said in a chargesheet. On November 18 last year, the car of the former commander of the elite Special Services Group was sprayed with bullets when he was en-route to Islamabad.

April 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) have now banned political parties in the Bajaur region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Both the separatist organizations have also issued a jirga banning meeting of more than three persons at a same place.

April 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - After establishing their writ over the Swat Valley, the Taliban is looking to take Islamabad under its grip. According to The Nation, a Taliban commander has warned that the outfit would take their war to the capital city to retaliate against the continuous US drone strikes against them.

March 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Asfaq Parvez Kayani met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday morning and reviewed the deteriorating law and order situation in the country on the eve of the proposed "Long March" from Karachi to Islamabad by the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). According to highly placed sources, General Kayani told the Prime Minister that the army could not be a silent spectator to the worsening situation, and added that unless the situation was not brought under control in the next four days, the army would take steps for imposition of an emergency, suspension of all assemblies (national and provincial) and dismissal of President Asif Ali Zardari.