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| No al-Qaeda or Taliban leader was killed in recent US strikes |
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Monday, September 15, 2008
By Hamid Mir
MIRAMSHAH: No prominent Taliban or al-Qaeda leader has been killed in recent US air strikes in the Pakistani tribal areas, a visit to the area has revealed.
All the injured victims of the US air strikes admitted in hospitals in Miramshah and Bannu are women or children. Four Arabs killed in the Dande Darpakhel area close to Miramshah last week were not associated with al-Qaeda. One of them, Abu Harris, has been living in North Waziristan since 1987.
Some media outfits had claimed that Abu Harris was the al-Qaeda chief in Pakistan but the local Taliban in Dande Darpakhel area told this scribe that Abu Harris was an old friend of Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, who has not been an active militant for the last 20 years.
Family sources of Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani claimed in Dande Darpakhel that Abu Harris was a Jordanian of Palestinian origin. He came to Pakistan in the early ‘80s to fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan. He participated in the great battle of Khost in 1987 along with Haqqani. He never joined al-Qaeda, which was created in 1988 in Peshawar immediately after the death of General Ziaul Haq in a plane crash.
Abu Harris tried to go back to Jordan in 1989 but was unable to as he was wanted by the Jordanian authorities due to his links with some anti-government clerics. He moved to Dubai for some time but finally he settled down in Miramshah, where Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani was also living with his family.
Abu Harris was married to a local woman. He moved to Khost in 1995 but came back to North Waziristan after 9/11. He was living in a home next to the Madrassa of Haqqani for many years. The local administration of North Waziristan was aware that Abu Harris was an Afghan Jihad veteran and currently was not associated with militancy in Afghanistan.
During a long journey from Kohat to Miramshah, this scribe noticed that many areas in the south of the NWFP as well as in the tribal belt are no more under the full control of the government. These areas are managed by different militant groups, who have no central command structure. The security forces control only some major roads but have very little control over the villages or small towns in the area.
Meanwhile, a large number of local youngsters are getting frustrated and are joining different militant groups to continue their Jihad. There are three major militant groups in North Waziristan who often refuse to accept the authority of each other.
Miramshah is controlled by Utmanzai Wazir militants while the Mir Ali area is controlled by Dawar militants. Some Uzbek militants are living in the forests of Shawal area but US planes have never targeted them. Local militants accept Baitullah Mehsud as their Ameer, but now they are not in touch with him on a regular basis and make their own policies and decisions.
This scribe recorded many interviews in the Dande Darpakhel area on camera with the permission of the local Taliban. A militant group stopped and detained this scribe for many hours near Bannu and snatched the camera on our way back to Bannu. When I asked them to speak to the Taliban leaders in Miramshah, they said that they had no links with them.
These militants said that the Miramshah Taliban were controlled by Qari Gul Bahadur, who was loyal to Baitullah Mehsud but they were loyal to Commander Umar Khalid alias Abdul Wali, who runs a big training camp in Mohmand Agency.
They claimed that Qari Gul Bahadar was pro-Pakistan but they were no hypocrites. When I asked them why the US planes are not targeting Umar Khalid in Mohmand, they just laughed and cautioned that I should not dare come to Bannu again because they will soon “liberate” the area.
It is learnt that Umar Khalid is a new commander, who is hiring only those boys in Fata whose families suffered during the recent operations.
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20 die as bomber hits Peshawar Judicial Complex
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber blew himself up at the main gate of the Judicial Complex on the Khyber Road here on Thursday, killing 20 people, including three cops, and wounding over 50 others.
Hundreds of more |
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Finally, dreaded NRO list is out and official
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented to the government on Thursday a list of 248 politicians and bureaucrats, who were alleged to have plundered hundreds of billions of rupees but were more |
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Gilani to quit if wife proved NRO beneficiary
By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
& Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: In what could be described as a clear message to the beneficiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to resign from their posts, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilan more |
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Multiple criteria agreed for NFC Award
By Imtiaz Ali
KARACHI: The Fifth National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting in the city on Thursday decided in principle to make population, revenue, backwardness and “inverse density population” (the less the population, the more |
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Karzai sworn in for second term
KABUL: Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country’s security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election more |
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US asked to take Pakistan into confidence on Afghan policy
KABUL: President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the US to take Pakistan on board regarding its new policy on Afghanistan, as it would also have an impact on Pakistan.
He expressed these views while talking t more |
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‘India failed to respond positively on peace talks’
KABUL: Reiterating his strong stance that India is not serious in the process of dialogue with Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday underlined that India had not given Pakistan a positive more |
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Dictators ruled for decades but civilians can’t complete tenure: Shahbaz
KARACHI: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Balochistan CM Nawab Aslam Raisani and Sindh CM Syed Qaim Ali Shah have vowed to make Pakistan a welfare state as envisioned by the Quaid-i-Azam.
Talking t more |
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Vehicle escorting CIA director overturns
By Shakeel Anjum
ISLAMABAD: A vehicle of a sensitive security agency escorting US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon Panetta, currently on a ‘secret’ visit to Pakistan, overturned near the KRL Chowk at Islamabad Ex more |
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Headley, Rana being probed for involvement in 26/11 attacks
By Sami Abraham
WASHINGTON: Two former students of Cadet College Hasan Abdal, currently living in Chicago, are being investigated for their possible involvement in Mumbai attacks last year in which more than 160 people were ki more |
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PM’s wife not NRO beneficiary: NAB
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau Thursday clarified that Fouzia Gilani, wife of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, was not a beneficiary of the National Reconciliation Ordinance as references agains more |
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Recovered billions can make real difference
By Mehtab Haider
ISLAMABAD: The 160 million people can be provided major relief and even increase in electricity tariff by 30 per cent can be avoided if Rs 165 billion (conservative estimate) are recovered from the beneficiarie more |
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China wants improved Indo-Pak ties
News Desk
BEIJING: The Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday gave the impression that it was merely interested in the gradual improvement in relations between India and Pakistan but was not trying to interfere with the pr more |
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US supports Pakistan-India dialogue
WASHINGTON: A senior American diplomat has said Washington is supportive of resolution of disputes between India and Pakistan through dialogue.
“Of course, we all share an interest in stability and peace more |
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Remarks on women pilots
News Desk
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) vice chief, Air Marshal P K Barbora, on Thursday offered his apologies if anyone’s feelings have been hurt by his remarks on induction of women fighter pilots, and stressed more |
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Nato must not walk away from Afghanistan, says chief
BUDAPEST: Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday the alliance must not turn its back on Afghanistan as this would raise the threat from al-Qaeda and lead to insecurity throughout central more |
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BoP scam accused sent on 12-day remand
By our correspondent
LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday sent two main accused of the Rs 9 billion Bank of Punjab scam on 12-day physical remand, directing the NAB officials to produce them again in the court along with oth more |
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briefs...
Eid holidays
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has announced Eid-ul-Azha holidays from November 27 to 30, said an announcement made by the PM Secretariat here on Thursday.
Seve more |
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ISSN 1563-9479 
