India asks Pakistan for fugitives

India has asked Pakistan to hand over 20 fugitives from Indian law who it believes are settled in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India lodged a formal protest and gave the names to Pakistan’s high commissioner at a meeting on Monday.

Tensions have risen between the two neighbours since the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last week.

Officials say 201 people were killed – including 22 foreigners – and more than 200 were injured in the violence.

Indian officials have repeatedly said in recent days there is evidence the militants behind the attacks had Pakistani links.

Islamabad has denied involvement and warned against letting “miscreants” inflame tensions in the region.

India’s new home minister has vowed to “respond with determination and resolve” over the crisis.

 

US aid worker killed in Pakistan

Gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead an American aid worker and his driver in the north-western city of Peshawar. The men were killed just outside their office in the University Town area. It is not clear who the attackers were. Violence has surged in the north-west in recent months with a wave of attacks blamed on Islamist militants. A number of missile strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas by US troops based in neighbouring Afghanistan have fuelled anti-American sentiment. The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Islamabad says that the security situation across Pakistan has steadily worsened over the past few years, with Taleban militants holding sway over a large stretch of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). But our correspondent says attacks of this kind on foreigners in Pakistan are rare. Across the border in Afghanistan aid workers and other foreigners have increasingly been targeted in recent months. Gunmen attacked the car of a US diplomat in Peshawar in August, but she survived unhurt. Our correspondent says that it is more common for militants in Pakistan to launch suicide bomb attacks against military or government targets. ‘Under investigation’ The US embassy has refused to identify the man until his next of kin are informed.

But an embassy spokesman confirmed that the victim was an American. He said the dead man was not a diplomat nor was he travelling on an official assignment. US media reports identified the aid worker as Stephen Vance. Earlier reports had given his name as Stephen David. Police say the American worked for a US-funded project to help develop the troubled tribal belt – a large swathe of which is now controlled by militants. Eyewitnesses say the aid worker and his driver were shot by a group of masked gunmen as they drove to their office in University Town, a wealthy suburb of the main city in north-west Pakistan. The attackers blocked the men’s vehicle in a narrow street with their own car before opening fire with automatic weapons, officials said. “Several bullets hit them, and they died in the vehicle,” police official Arshad Khan told the Associated Press. Bombings Meanwhile, two Pakistani security officers were killed and several others were injured in a suicide attack in north-western Pakistan, officials said.

Peshawar was hit by a suicide bombing on Tuesday

The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a temporary security forces camp in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, 25km north of Peshawar. Areas close to Peshawar – the biggest city in north-west Pakistan – are known to be Taleban and al-Qaeda strongholds. The region has been hit by several bombings and suicide attacks recently. On Tuesday, a suicide bomber walked up to the gate of a stadium in Peshawar and blew himself up. The attack happened as the governor of North West Frontier Province left after a sports tournament. He was unhurt but at least one man was killed and three people were injured.

 

300 feared dead in Pakistan quake

300 feared dead in Pakistan quake

The army has reached some survivors but thousands still await relief

Officials say they fear that up to 300 people have in an earthquake in Pakistan’s south-west Balochistan province. Up to 50,000 people are thought to be homeless following the 6.4 magnitude tremor on Wednesday. Since the quake, there have been many aftershocks, frightening people in villages and towns across a wide area. Rescuers are still scrambling to reach thousands of survivors who have spent two cold nights in the open. See a map of the affected area The official death toll is 215, but officials fear that more people than that have died, says the BBC’s Charles Haviland in Islamabad. Many people buried their close relatives soon after their deaths, making any accurate count difficult. A health officer in Ziarat has also stressed that some remote villages have not yet been has surveyed. Aftershocks Some survivors say that many villages away from main roads have only slowly and belatedly been receiving food, blankets and tents from the relief teams sent by the government. Military helicopters are being used to reach mountainous and remote locations, where some villages have been cut off by landslides. “The earthquake destroyed our houses, but now the government’s slow response is killing us,” said Moosa Kaleem, a survivor in Ziarat, the worst-affected area, told the Associated Press news agency.

The quake crushed hundreds of vulnerable houses

“We cannot spend another night in this chilling weather, especially the kids.” Several hundred aftershocks have been felt since the main earthquake. “I know these are aftershocks and not new earthquakes, and I also know these tremors may continue for a while but it is hard to convince children that they will be safe,” Amjad Aziz, a teacher in Ziarat who has been sleeping in his car since the quake, told AP. The aftershocks have also been felt in the city of Quetta. There, hospital patients – including people injured in the quake – are lying on the ground or on beds in the open air, as staff do not consider it safe to stay indoors. The shocks are still causing widespread alarm, and some people have left the city for rural areas. Activists with hard-line Islamic organisations were first to reach some of the most remote parts with relief supplies. Among them was Jamaat-ud-Dawa, designated a terrorist group by the US government for its links to Kashmiri Muslim separatists. The same group also helped survivors of a huge quake that devastated northern Pakistan in October 2005, killing up to 80,000 people. Balochistan is home to a long-running separatist movement, but has so far been spared the level of violence seen in the north-western tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. In 1935, Quetta suffered almost complete destruction in an earthquake which claimed the lives of about 30,000 people. Pakistan sits atop an area of seismic collision between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, the same force that created the Himalayan mountains.

 

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Many people have fled Bajaur for refugee camps

The UN’s refugee agency says 20,000 people have fled Pakistan’s tribal area of Bajaur for Afghanistan amid fighting between troops and militants. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says almost 4,000 families have crossed into Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Some 300,000 others have been displaced by fighting, although Pakistan says many have found shelter in the region. The country’s military has launched an offensive in Bajaur and says it has killed more than 2,000 militants. However, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, believes that the majority of those who have left will return home after fighting stops in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Cross border attacks Announcing its estimates of the numbers of people who have crossed the border into Afghanistan, the UNHCR in Afghanistan said more than 600 families had left Pakistan for Kunar in recent weeks. Villagers taking on the Taleban Displaced by ‘war on terror’

A spokesman said the organisation would look out for the welfare of the displaced if they were unable to return home before winter sets in. “It’s very difficult to predict the security situation on the other side of the border but what we hope is that the security gets better and people will be able to go back,” Nadir Farhad told Reuters news agency. “But if it continues, we will definitely provide them with… assistance… so we can get them through the winter months.” The UNHCR says most of the 20,000 who have fled over the border are Pakistanis, but a few thousand are Afghans who have been living in Pakistan. Recently the UNHCR asked donors for more than $17m (39.4m) in aid to help about 250,000 people displaced by fighting and floods in north-western Pakistan. They said money was needed to provide relief items like tents, blankets and plastic sheets. Dangerous situation Pakistan’s army is engaged in a fierce campaign against militants in the north-west of the country. Attempts by the government in Islamabad to negotiate with militants in areas along the border with Afghanistan appear to have failed, correspondents say. The country has been hit by a spate of recent suicide bombings widely blamed on militants – including a devastating attack this month on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The bombing killed more than 50 people, most of them Pakistanis. Militants use the tribal areas as a base for operations in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. The Taleban and al-Qaeda are believed to operate in these border areas after being pushed out of Afghanistan. Their presence in the border regions have prompted a number of US attacks inside Pakistan. Those attacks have angered Pakistan’s government, and there have been incidents around the border involving Pakistani troops firing warning shots at US helicopters.

 

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Many people have fled Bajaur for refugee camps

The UN’s refugee agency says 20,000 people have fled Pakistan’s tribal area of Bajaur for Afghanistan amid fighting between troops and militants. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says almost 4,000 families have crossed into Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Some 300,000 others have been displaced by fighting, although Pakistan says many have found shelter in the region. The country’s military has launched an offensive in Bajaur and says it has killed more than 2,000 militants. However, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, believes that the majority of those who have left will return home after fighting stops in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Cross border attacks Announcing its estimates of the numbers of people who have crossed the border into Afghanistan, the UNHCR in Afghanistan said more than 600 families had left Pakistan for Kunar in recent weeks. Villagers taking on the Taleban Displaced by ‘war on terror’

A spokesman said the organisation would look out for the welfare of the displaced if they were unable to return home before winter sets in. “It’s very difficult to predict the security situation on the other side of the border but what we hope is that the security gets better and people will be able to go back,” Nadir Farhad told Reuters news agency. “But if it continues, we will definitely provide them with… assistance… so we can get them through the winter months.” The UNHCR says most of the 20,000 who have fled over the border are Pakistanis, but a few thousand are Afghans who have been living in Pakistan. Recently the UNHCR asked donors for more than $17m (39.4m) in aid to help about 250,000 people displaced by fighting and floods in north-western Pakistan. They said money was needed to provide relief items like tents, blankets and plastic sheets. Dangerous situation Pakistan’s army is engaged in a fierce campaign against militants in the north-west of the country. Attempts by the government in Islamabad to negotiate with militants in areas along the border with Afghanistan appear to have failed, correspondents say. The country has been hit by a spate of recent suicide bombings widely blamed on militants – including a devastating attack this month on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The bombing killed more than 50 people, most of them Pakistanis. Militants use the tribal areas as a base for operations in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. The Taleban and al-Qaeda are believed to operate in these border areas after being pushed out of Afghanistan. Their presence in the border regions have prompted a number of US attacks inside Pakistan. Those attacks have angered Pakistan’s government, and there have been incidents around the border involving Pakistani troops firing warning shots at US helicopters.

 

Pakistan fury over ‘US assault’

Tension in Pakistan’s north-west has increased in recent months Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador to protest at an alleged cross-border raid which officials say killed at least 15 villagers in the north-west. A number of civilians were reported killed in the raid, which Pakistan says was a violation of its sovereignty. Correspondents say the raid appears to have been the first ever ground assault by foreign forces based in Afghanistan. US-led and Nato forces said they had no reports of any such incursion. Border tensions have risen in recent weeks. The BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says US aircraft have carried out air strikes in the region, but a ground assault would be unprecedented. It is not clear who the target of any attack might have been. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan would not allow any foreign power to carry out attacks on its territory. He was speaking hours after his motorcade was hit by sniper fire near the capital, Islamabad. Senior government officials say he was not in the car at the time. ‘Act of aggression’ Pakistani military and political officials say ground troops brought in by US-led coalition helicopters launched the attack in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border early on Wednesday morning. Locals say soldiers attacked with gunfire and bombs. Women and children were among those reported killed. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said a “very strong protest” had been delivered to the ambassador, Anne Paterson. “The ambassador said that she would convey it to her government,” he said. The army called the attack an act of aggression which undermined the fight against militancy. North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, who is in administrative charge of the tribal areas, called the attack “cowardly”. “At least 20 innocent citizens of Pakistan, including women and children, were martyred,” he said in a statement. There is mounting US pressure on Pakistan – a key ally in the “war on terror” – to crack down on militants, who use the border region to launch raids into Afghanistan. The Afghan government and Nato say the border region is a haven for al-Qaeda and the Taleban. Pakistan says it is doing all it can to curb militancy. On Monday, Pakistan’s military suspended its operations against Taleban militants in the neighbouring Bajaur tribal area. The government said this suspension of fighting was to respect the fasting month of Ramadan. Taleban spokesman Maulvi Omar welcomed the announcement, but he said militants would not lay down their arms.

 

80 dead in Pakistan bombings

At least 80 people have been killed in twin suicide bombings outside a munitions factory in the Pakistani city of Wah, police say.

They say the bombs went off in the city 30km (18.5 miles) west of Islamabad as workers left an ordnance factory.

Emergency services are at the scene and there are reports of many bodies.

BBC Correspondents say the city is usually under heavy security, as it is home to a large industrial complex producing conventional arms and ammunition.

 

80 dead in Pakistan bombings

At least 80 people have been killed in twin suicide bombings outside a munitions factory in the Pakistani city of Wah, police say.

They say the bombs went off in the city 30km (18.5 miles) west of Islamabad as workers left an ordnance factory.

Emergency services are at the scene and there are reports of many bodies.

BBC Correspondents say the city is usually under heavy security, as it is home to a large industrial complex producing conventional arms and ammunition.

 

‘Missile’ kills six in Pakistan

‘Missile’ kills six in Pakistan

At least six people have been killed in a missile strike in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, officials have said. The missile, reportedly fired from Afghanistan, hit a house next to a mosque in the village of Azam Warsak. A Pakistani security official said it was not clear if the missile had been launched by Taleban militants or Nato-led forces fighting them. Pakistan has protested at recent Nato strikes in which civilians were killed. Local residents told a news agency that the missile struck a house belonging to a local tribesman and suspected militants used to stay there. Other villagers said they had heard jets coming from Afghanistan before the strike. Earlier this month, Nato-led forces in Afghanistan said they fired into Pakistan after coming under attack from there by suspected militants. Nato said it had closely co-ordinated with Pakistan’s military, who agreed to help if firing from Pakistan continued. Nato has rejected reports of a build-up of international forces on the Afghan side of the border. In recent months the US and its allies have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in military and other forms of assistance to help Pakistan’s new government tackle militancy in border tribal areas. Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said he was considering sending additional troops to Afghanistan to counter the flow of insurgents from Pakistan. The move is in response to growing US frustration with what it sees as Pakistan’s lack of action against the pro-Taleban militants operating along the border with Afghanistan. The US is also concerned about peace deals that Islamabad has been signing with some of the radical groups in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas

Police inspect the scene, Terrorists are trying to destabilise the country : Murat Mercan, AK Party

 

Bomb hits Pakistan Danish embassy

At least six people have been killed and 30 injured in a car bomb attack near the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. An embassy worker was among the dead and three were hurt but no Danish citizens were killed or injured. Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the act “cowardly” and said it would not change Danish policies. It was not clear who carried out the attack, as Pakistan’s main militant group recently declared a ceasefire. Pakistan’s top Taleban warlord Baitullah Mehsud is in peace talks with the authorities in an attempt to end fighting in the country’s north-west. Other militant factions – accused of being involved in similar attacks in the past – have also recently engaged in talks with the government and the number of bombings in the country has reduced since the induction of a new government in March. Some Danish embassies around the world have been threatened since a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad was reprinted in Danish newspapers in February. The cartoons, deemed offensive to Islam, led to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005. The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says suspicion for the attack has fallen on al-Qaeda, as the network’s number two Ayman al-Zawahri denounced the cartoons in a recent video. Denmark also has 700 troops fighting the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan.Mr Rasmussen said the bombing was an “attack against Denmark”. He added: “Denmark will not alter its [foreign] policy because of a terror attack.” Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said: “The president, the prime minister, as well as the foreign minister, have all very strongly condemned this terrorist attack… and our hearts go out to the families of the victims.” The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Pakistan says that while the embassy attack may have an obvious motive – the cartoons – the Danish embassy was an easy target because it is located in a residential area outside of the high-security diplomatic enclave. Our correspondent says that the attack has added to the sense of insecurity among Islamabad residents, who were not exposed to militant attacks until last year, when a violent siege of the city’s red mosque took place. The last attack in the city took place on 15 March when an Italian restaurant was targeted, killing a Turkish woman and injuring 10 other foreigners. There are a number of militant groups with bases in the Pakistan mainland who are linked to insurgencies in Afghanistan and in Indian-administered-Kashmir – our correspondent says – and many have a history of carrying out sectarian attacks directed at Western missions and diplomats. The blast damaged the embassy and nearby vehicles At least six people have been killed and 30 injured in a car bomb attack near the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. An embassy worker was among the dead and three were hurt but no Danish citizens were killed or injured. Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the act “cowardly” and said it would not change Danish policies. It was not clear who carried out the attack, as Pakistan’s main militant group recently declared a ceasefire. Pakistan’s top Taleban warlord Baitullah Mehsud is in peace talks with the authorities in an attempt to end fighting in the country’s north-west. Other militant factions – accused of being involved in similar attacks in the past – have also recently engaged in talks with the government and the number of bombings in the country has reduced since the induction of a new government in March. It was like I was stuck between two speeding cars or between two moving trains – my door which was half-open slammed shut, everything moved Asim Mukhtar, witness Eyewitness: ‘Screams all over’ Some Danish embassies around the world have been threatened since a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad was reprinted in Danish newspapers in February. The cartoons, deemed offensive to Islam, led to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005. The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says suspicion for the attack has fallen on al-Qaeda, as the network’s number two Ayman al-Zawahri denounced the cartoons in a recent video. Denmark also has 700 troops fighting the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan. Mr Rasmussen said the bombing was an “attack against Denmark”. He added: “Denmark will not alter its [foreign] policy because of a terror attack.” Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said: “The president, the prime minister, as well as the foreign minister, have all very strongly condemned this terrorist attack… and our hearts go out to the families of the victims.” The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Pakistan says that while the embassy attack may have an obvious motive – the cartoons – the Danish embassy was an easy target because it is located in a residential area outside of the high-security diplomatic enclave. Our correspondent says that the attack has added to the sense of insecurity among Islamabad residents, who were not exposed to militant attacks until last year, when a violent siege of the city’s red mosque took place. The last attack in the city took place on 15 March when an Italian restaurant was targeted, killing a Turkish woman and injuring 10 other foreigners. There are a number of militant groups with bases in the Pakistan mainland who are linked to insurgencies in Afghanistan and in Indian-administered-Kashmir – our correspondent says – and many have a history of carrying out sectarian attacks directed at Western missions and diplomats. ‘Immense pressure’ Most foreign staff have been moved out of the Danish embassy since the cartoon row erupted. Security has now been further tightened at all government and other key buildings in the city. Denmark advised its citizens against all travel to Pakistan, and Norway closed its embassy following the blast. Our correspondent says it is alarming for many that the bomber got so close to the Danish embassy. The attacker drove onto a small patch of road between the embassy and an office building at around midday local time (0600 GMT). The car’s engine was found a few metres from the crater. A Pakistani cleaner was killed, a handyman seriously injured and two office workers also hurt, Mr Moeller said. All the other casualties are thought to be outside the embassy. Part of the embassy wall was damaged, as was a building housing offices of a UN-funded non-governmental organisation. Asim Mukhtar, who works near the site of the blast, told the BBC that the air pressure there was “immense”. “It was like I was stuck between two speeding cars or between two moving trains. My door which was half-open slammed shut. Everything moved,” he said. “We ran to the roof and saw some black smoke rising. After one minute we heard the sounds of ambulances.” Sources:BBC