Obama should focus more Pak based Taliban after GHQ attack: Experts

October 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama was apprised of Pakistan's current political situation, especially with regard to the wide scale criticism that the Kerry Lugar Bill has received in that country, during an important meeting here, The News reports. Sources said Obama was briefed about the recent developments in Pakistan during an important meeting in the White House.

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Concerned over the increasing clout of Al-Qaeda and Taliban even after putting in place a revamped AFPAK strategy, US President Barack Obama will convene a 'situation room meeting' on Pakistan with his top aides on Thursday. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the meeting would primarily focus on Pakistan as the Obama administration believes that it is very necessary to have an apt strategy for Pakistan in view of the fact that top Al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders have taken refuge in the lawless tribal region of that country.

October 6th, 2009 McCain: Al-Qaida, Taliban must be seen as partnersWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says Obama administration policy decisions in Afghanistan shouldn't be based on viewing the insurgent Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network as separate and distinct issues.

September 17th, 2009 PESHAWAR - The United States has confirmed the death of top Taliban commander Ilyas Kaashmiri in a drone attack conducted earlier this month. According to US intelligence sources, Kaashmiri was killed in a missile attack carried out by unmanned aircrafts in South Waziristan on September 7.

September 12th, 2009 KABUL - Nearly 10 Taliban insurgents were killed Saturday morning in an air strike by international troops in northern Afghanistan, an official said. The attack targeted a Taliban hideout in Wazir village in Kunduz province, the official said.

August 23rd, 2009 MIRAMSHAH - The Taliban has declared a unilateral ceasefire in North Waziristan during the fasting month of Ramazan. Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur's spokesmnan, Ahmadullah Ahmadi, called local journalists from an undisclosed location and said the outfit has decided to shun its operations for the next 40 days.The Taliban will not attack security forces during this period," Ahmadi said.

August 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has warned that the Taliban must be defeated in Afghanistan to avoid another 9/11-style attack. Obama was addressing veterans in Phoenix, Arizona, in the run-up to the presidential elections in Afghanistan later this week.

August 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban in Orakzai Agency has announced a unilateral ceasefire, saying they would not attack security forces in the month of Ramzan. Taliban's Orakzai spokesperson spoke to journalists over the phone and said the decision to halt the offensive was taken by the Taliban leadership.

June 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistan Army has claimed that its Swat offensive has been successful with scores top Taliban leaders being killed, but the fate of Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazalullah and the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud is still under wraps. Now, the Pakistan security forces have shifted their focus on South Waziristan, the stronghold of Mehsud, and the region where the warlord is believed to be hiding, as experts consider that if Mehsud is nabbed, a large quota of the menace of terrorism would die down in times to come.

June 7th, 2009 LAHORE - President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, has said the United States will trace the financial sources of the Taliban. Holbrooke said the Taliban is getting more money from private donors than from their opium trade, estimated to be about 300 million dollars a year.

May 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A relatively unheard of terror group, the 'Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab' has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's Lahore suicide attack in which over 30 persons, including 12 security officials were killed. According to the Dawn, the claim was made in Turkish-language and was posted on Turkish militant websites through an organization called the Elif Media.

May 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack in Lahore Wednesday that killed at least 23 people, a US-based Islamic militant monitoring group has said. The SITE Intelligence Group said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban militants made the claim in a statement posted on Turkish jihadist websites, Geo TV reported Thursday.

May 18th, 2009 LAHORE - US President Barrack Obama has expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Army's recognition of the Taliban being a more serious threat than India in recent weeks. "One of the encouraging things is, over the last several weeks we've seen a decided shift in the Pakistan Army's recognition that the threat from extremism is a much more immediate and serious one than the threat from India that they've traditionally focused on," the Newsweek quoted him, as saying.

May 4th, 2009 LAHORE - The already troubled Swat peace deal between the Pakistan Government and the Taliban received another blow when the Taliban militants attacked an Army convoy in Bari Kot region on Monday. The attack killed one soldier and injured another, the army sources disclosed.

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan may never be able to tackle the increasing influence of the Taliban, as it considers the outlawed group as its best bet to counter the growing influence of India in the region, experts believe. US policymakers are also skeptical about Pakistan's role in the US led war against the Taliban and other terrorist groups.