Pak won’t allow US drones strike in Balochistan : Kayani

October 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Malik Ammad Khan has assured senators that drone strikes won't be allowed in Balochistan. Replying to senators' concerns about the possibility of drone attacks in Balochistan, he said the government is alive to the situation and is taking effective measures against both the terrorists and other militant elements.

September 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani has said the military is close to winning the war against terrorism. Addressing troops during his visit to South Wazirisitan and Tank, General Kayani said the strategy adopted by the army during its all out operation against the extremists in the region together with the people's support has helped security forces dismantle the terror network.

September 4th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Army is determined chase the Taliban till the very end, and would continue its offensive against the extremists until they are rooted out from the country, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani has said. Speaking at a function after inaugurating a rehabilitation centre for young Taliban recruits, General Kayani said 'Operation Rah-e-Rast', being carried out in the Swat and the Malakand Divisions, has broken the back of extremists.

August 30th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) has now demanded trial of Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani under the Article Six of the Constitution. In an interview with a private television, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif's spokesman Zaeem Qadri said the party wants trial of former President General Pervez Musharraf and his close aides for supporting his unconstitutional actions.

August 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani has said country's ongoing struggle against various terrorist groups was a fight against extremism and militancy, and that it was not against any particular religion, ethnicity or sub-nationalism. Speaking at the second annual Azadi Parade at Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, General Kayani said militants would not be allowed to enforce their 'narrow and distorted' version of Islam in the country.

August 12th, 2009 QUETTA - Khan of Kalat Suleiman Dawood has announced the formation of a council for Balochistan's independence. Announcing the formation of Council for Independent Balochistan in London, Dawood said reconciliation with Pakistan was impossible without the interference of the United Nations and the European Union.

July 27th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The US commander of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, Lt General Stanley McChrystal, visited Pakistan to address the army's concerns over a possible Taliban spill-over from the Helmand operation. Sources said McChrystal arrived in Rawalpindi around 11 a.m.

July 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik Friday said India was interfering in Balochistan and India-run terror camps in Afghanistan were training youth from Balochistan, Online news agency reported. Malik made the comments while speaking on the Balochistan issue in the Senate, the upper house of Pakistan parliament.

July 4th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff , General Ashfaq Kayani has said that the internal threat facing the country was more threatening than the external, and that it needed immediate attention. "While external threats continue to exist, it is the internal threat to Pakistan that needs immediate attention," The Daily Times quoted Kayani, as saying.

June 26th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani has said that the security forces would certainly be able to establish control over the region captured by the Taliban and other militants, as the army is "executing a campaign plan" to achieve its target without much collateral damage. Addressing security personnel in South Waziristan where the army has launched an extensive operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, General Kayani stressed that the insurgents would be eliminated, and the government's writ would be re-established in the region soon.

June 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has blamed India for creating trouble in Balochistan and trying to destabilize the region for its own benefit. Terming Balochistan as an 'active volcano', Hussain blamed India for harboring terrorism in the restive regions of Pakistan.

June 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - In yet another drone strike in less than a week in South Waziristan, at least five people were killed and several others injured when two US Predator aircrafts fired missiles at a suspected Taliban hideout in the Wana region on Thursday. According to the sources, the drones targeted the hideouts of Taliban commander Mullah Nazir in Shah Alam and Raghzai area near Wana, firing five missiles.

June 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has said that the military operation against the Taliban and other extremists in the Malakand and Swat region was launched to bring those people back on track who had deviated from their path due to certain circumstances. General Kayani said the operation has aptly been named 'Rah-e-Rast' which means the 'right track'.

May 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Kayani, has said that the Army has a full range of counter-insurgency training facilities,and added and that it does not require any foreign training to tackle militancy. "Except for very specialised weapons and equipment, high technology, no generalised foreign training is required," The Nation quoted General Kayani, as saying.

April 24th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Friday said the Army is determined to root out the menace of terrorism from the region. General Kayani further said the Army would fully support the civilian government in its fight against militancy.