Pakistan nuke facility bus bombed, six die (Third Lead)

October 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Hours after Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that a military offensive in South Waziristan was 'imminent' following the audacious terror attack on the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pounded several areas of the Taliban stronghold killing at least 31 suspected terrorists. "Jet fighters bombed various Taliban hideouts in Mamoond district of Bajaur," The Nation quoted local government official Manasib Khan, as saying.

October 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The audacious terror strike on the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi has once again raised concerns about the safety of nuclear establishments in that country, and experts believe that it may be only a matter of time when terrorists could target nuke installations with the same tactics and intensity. A professor at Britain's Bradford University and an expert on Pakistan's nuclear weapons, Shaun Gregory, said though severely bruised in its own back yard, the Pakistan Army is the only determining factor that stands between the nuclear weapons and terrorist organizations such as the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

September 25th, 2009 KABUL - In spite of repeated appeals from Afghanistan, Pakistan is jittery over allowing India to use its land routes for carrying out trade with Kabul. Earlier this year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to begin talks for renewing their transit trade agreement.

September 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has officially expressed apprehensions over the possibility of about India planning new nuclear tests based on the unsubstantiated conjecture of a domestic scientist. Addressing a weekly briefing here, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said there are reports that India is preparing to conduct new nuclear tests.

September 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has rejected reports that it has enhanced its nuclear capabilities and has considerably increased the number of its nuclear warheads from 60 to around 70-90. Interacting with media persons after a meeting with Minister for Religious Affairs, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed the reports 'speculative'.

September 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Top US nuclear scientists have shockingly revealed in a report that Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapons and production capabilities. According to the report, which is yet to enter the public domain, Pakistan is readying a new nuclear capable ballistic missile for deployment and two nuclear capable cruise missiles.

August 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has rejected reports that its nuclear facilities were attacked by militants at least thrice in the last two years. "It is rubbish.

August 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Home grown Pakistani militants attacked country's nuclear facilities at least three times over the last two years, according to a leading security expert. The incidents include an attack on a nuclear missile storage facility at Sargodha on November 1, 2007, and a homicide bombing at the nuclear airbase at Kamra on December 10, 2007, as tracked by Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at the University of Bradford in the UK.

August 3rd, 2009 PESHAWAR - At least five militants were killed Monday when Pakistani fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in the northwestern part of the country, a media report said. Fighter jets bombed rebel hideouts in Doog Darra town near the restive Swat Valley following intelligence reports that a large number of militants had gathered in the area, military spokesman Major Nasir Ali Khan said.

July 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - France has said that it would not be setting up any nuclear plant in Pakistan. French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Anne Marie Idrac told a press conference here that her government would only help Islamabad ensure the safety and security of existing nuclear establishments.

July 9th, 2009 PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that it cannot allow nuclear power Pakistan to fall into the hands of the Taliban and other extremist organizations, which have been challenging the writ of the government. In an interview with France 5 television, Sarkozy warned that international community can not afford to let the Taliban and other extremist groups succeed in their nefarious aims of toppling the Pakistan government to lay their hands on the nuclear armaments.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Twelve militants were killed Saturday after security forces bombed their hideouts in northwest Pakistan, TV reports said. Combat helicopters and fighter jets of the security forces have destroyed three militants' hideouts in the Orakzai tribal agency near the Afghan border, reports said.

July 3rd, 2009 PESHAWAR - At least 11 militants were killed in fighting with the security forces in southern Pakistan, a media report said Monday. The security forces bombed militants' hideouts on the outskirts of Sarokai area in South Waziristan near the Afghan border, killing 11 militants Sunday, Geo TV reported.

May 31st, 2009 NEW YORK - US President Barack Obama's key Advisor on South Asia, Bruce Riedel, has said that Pakistan too can secure a civil nuclear deal with the US, similar to what Washington recently had with India, but it will need certain assurances from Islamabad to qualify for the same. Riedel, in his article published in The Wall Street Journal, said that Pakistan needs to show that the days of AQ Khan, Kargil and Mumbai are over for good and that it is addressing all the challenges it faces.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has expressed full faith in the Government of Pakistan after President Asif Ali Zardari assured Washington that Islamabad is fully capable of protecting its nuclear weapons. We were assured by President Zardari that they have complete command and control of the nuclear weapons in Pakistan.