PM David Cameron hosts Afghan-Pakistan talks in UK

British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold key talks with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss the peace process and prevent a Taliban resurgence when foreign troops withdraw from the war-torn country in 2014.
The talks at Chequers, Cameron's country retreat, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will focus on cross-border security and the prevention of a "Taliban resurgence" when foreign troops leave Afghanistan by the end of next year.
They are also expected to concentrate on how Pakistan and the international community can support the Afghan-led peace process.

The in-depth talks today follow a private dinner hosted by Cameron for Zardari and Karzai last evening at Chequers, north of London in Buckinghamshire.
Before start of the trilateral summit, the three leaders also had breakfast and then they stood together for photos at the countryside residence of the British Prime Minister.
Prime Minister's spokesperson confirmed that foreign ministers, chiefs of army staff, chiefs of intelligence and the chair of the Afghan High Peace Council are also involved in the talks for the first time and that the leaders are expected to make a joint statement later today.
"This trilateral process sends a very clear message to the Taliban: now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan. As the prime minister has set out previously, a stable Afghanistan is not just in the interests of Afghans, but also in the interests of their neighbours and the UK," the spokesperson said.

"We share the same vision for Afghanistan: a secure, stable and democratic country that never again becomes a haven for international terror," he added.
This is the third round of discussions since Cameron initiated the three-way process last year, when the three leaders met in Kabul and New York.
With the NATO withdrawal expected in 2014, Karzai has said that he does not want a repeat of the mistakes made when Russia withdrew from Afghanistan a quarter of a century ago, plunging the country into civil war.
Karzai, however, questioned the real motive behind troop withdrawal by the West, which includes around 9,000 British troops.
"They feel fulfilled with regard to the objective of fighting terrorism and weakening al Qaeda, or they feel that they were fighting in the wrong place in the first place, so they should discontinue doing that and leave," Karzai said.
"There will not be peace in Afghanistan by having an agreement only between us and the Afghan Taliban. Peace will only come when the external elements involved in creating instability and fighting, or lawlessness in Afghanistan, are involved in talks," he was quoted by the Guardian as saying.

Taliban Militants Attack Pakistani Base

Taliban militants killed at least nine soldiers and four paramilitary soldiers in an attack on a Pakistani Army base in northwestern Pakistan early Saturday, officials said. Ten civilians, including three women and three children who were living in a nearby compound, were also killed.

The brazen assault took place in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province just a day after a suicide bombing near a mosque in another northwestern town, Hangu, killed at least 26 people.

A spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility and said the attack was to avenge the death of two Taliban commanders killed in American drone strikes.

According to initial details, Taliban militants, armed with heavy machine guns, fired rockets in the predawn assault at the base in Serai Norang in the Lakki Marwat district, setting off a heavy gun battle that lasted for several hours.

A Pakistani Army official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that 12 militants were killed in the assault.

“Bodies of four terrorists, out of which two were wearing suicide jackets, are in custody of security forces,” the official said.

Eighteen members of the security forces were wounded in the attack and were sent for treatment to a military hospital in Peshawar, the provincial capital.

During the attack, one of the suicide bombers entered a house near the camp and detonated his explosives, killing the women and children, the official said.

Pakistani officials described the base as “an isolated camp” and one of the three bases set up two years ago to wrest Lakki Marwat from the control of Taliban militants.

The ferocity of the attack, which appeared to have been well planned and coordinated, took security officials by surprise, and they speculated that the attackers came from the neighboring lawless semiautonomous tribal regions, where the government has traditionally had little sway.

“We are trying to piece together evidence,” a security official said.

Lakki Marwat borders the tribal region of South Waziristan, a rugged frontier that is a redoubt of Taliban militants.

Large-scale Taliban assaults, involving several dozen fighters, are not unprecedented and indicate the extent of the challenge posed to the embattled security forces.

In the most recent such attack in December, several dozen Taliban militants kidnapped 22 tribal police officers after attacking security checkpoints on the outskirts of Peshawar. One police officer escaped but the rest were killed.

The Pakistani Army provided few details about the assault on Saturday and the subsequent operation to clear out the area.

But army officials maintained that the assault was successfully repulsed. The exact number of attackers remained unclear.

The Taliban spokesman, Ihsanullah Ihsan, who said in a telephone interview the attack was in retaliation for the killings of two Taliban commanders, identified one of the commanders as Wali Muhammad, also known as Toofani Mehsud. He was killed in an American drone strike on Jan. 6 in the tribal region of South Waziristan and was known as a trainer of suicide bombers.

The country’s lawless tribal regions have been a haven for local and foreign militants and as a result have been a frequent target of American drone strikes. Pakistan’s Parliament has repeatedly demanded an end to drone strikes, but Pakistani officials privately acknowledge the effectiveness of such attacks.

Twin blasts in Peshawar of Pakistan kill 35, injure over 100

 

People transfer an injured person to a hospital in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, June 12, 2011. (Xinhua/Saeed Ahmad)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A twin bomb attack at a supermarket in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar late Saturday night has so far claimed 35 lives and injured over 100 others, said local officials on Sunday.

Rescue team members and hospital sources said that the death toll could further rise as there could be still some people trapped in the debris of the collapsed buildings following the blasts and many of the injured admitted to the local Lady Reading hospital were still in critical conditions.

The attack came at about 23:50 p.m. local time Saturday when a first bomb, which was relatively small in intensity, went off at the Khyber market in the downtown area of Peshawar, leaving three people injured.

As the rescue team rushed to the blast site, a 17-year-old suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle laden with an estimated 10 kg of explosives into the crowds of the people gathering at the site, killing many people right on the spot.

Over 20 shops near the blast site were destroyed. A two-storied hotel collapsed following the huge blast and many people inside the hotel were buried under the debris.

Some local media office buildings near the blast site were also damaged. At least one journalist was killed and three other media personnel were injured in the explosion.

The blast also triggered off a big fire, which burned to death at least three people.

During the search operation following the blasts, police have arrested three suspects and the bomb disposal squad has found the head of the suicide bomber on the spot.

Shortly after the twin blasts, Pakistan Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Both Pakistani president and prime minister have strongly condemned the terrorist attack.

Saturday night's twin bomb attack in Peshawar is the most serious of its kind in Pakistan since this month. Following the killing of the al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden by the U.S. special task forces in Pakistan on May 2, both al-Qaida and Pakistan Taliban have vowed to avenge the death of bin Laden.

Since then Pakistan Taliban have launched a serious of terrorist attacks in the country, including a twin suicide bomb attack at a training center of armed border police forces in Charsadda in northwest Pakistan on May 13, which killed 98 people and injured more than 140 others.

On May 20, a bomb attack was reported in Peshawar. The target was the diplomats of the U.S. consulate in the city. During the attack two U.S. diplomats were injured and several others were killed.

Two days later, on late night of May 22, Pakistan Taliban launched a surprise attack at a naval air base in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, which killed 13 security personnel, destroyed two U.S.-made P3C Orion surveillance planes and one helicopter.

On May 26, 36 people were killed and over 50 others injured in a suicide blast in Pakistan's northwest city of Hangu. Most of the killed and injured were police.

Local watchers believe more bigger terrorist attacks could follow in the country in the near future.

A security official inspects the blast site in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, June 11, 011.

Twin bomb blasts kill 15 in Peshawar in Pakistan: Police

At least 15 persons were killed and 60 others wounded when two blasts went off in a crowded market here in northwest Pakistan on Saturday night, officials said.

The explosions occurred at Khyber Super Market in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province that has repeatedly been targeted by militants over the past few years.

Officials at the Lady Reading Hospital said they had received nine bodies and 45 wounded. The condition of nine of the injured was described as serious.
Doctors made an emergency appeal for people to donate blood.

Witnesses said the second blast was more powerful and caused most of the casualties. The explosions occurred within minutes of each other at about midnight.
No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. The nature of the explosions could not immediately be ascertained.

The blasts triggered a blaze that was extinguished by fire fighters. Rescue efforts were hampered by a power cut in the area. Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

The market was crowded at the time of the blasts as it has several popular eateries and hotels.
Footage on television showed debris and bloodstained clothes lying at the site of the blasts.

An electricity transformer burst into flames and the fire engulfed nearby buildings. The blasts blew out the windows of nearby residential buildings.

Taliban attack Pakistan checkpost, 8 soldiers dead

More than 100 Taliban armed with rocket launchers attacked a Pakistani checkpost near the Afghan border in South Waziristan on Thursday, triggering gunbattles that killed eight soldiers.

    Pakistani tribal families board buses transporting them back to their homes in South Waziristan

It was the second time in a week that scores of militants besieged a checkpost in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, underscoring the scale of the threat that Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists pose to security forces.

Washington has called Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwest region the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and US officials are increasing pressure on Islamabad to launch an all-out military offensive in North Waziristan.

The Taliban struck early Thursday in Marubi, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Afghan border with North Waziristan, stronghold of the Haqqani network, which poses one of the most potent threats to US troops in Afghanistan.

"Eight soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack. More than 10 Taliban were also killed in the retaliatory firing," a security official told AFP in Peshawar, the main town in northwest Pakistan.

Another security official in Wana, the main town of the tribal district, confirmed the incident and the casualties.

Taliban and other militants have carved out strongholds on both sides of the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and last week Pakistan protested to Kabul and NATO over a deadly cross-border attack that took two days to quell.

Pakistan carried out a sweeping offensive in 2009 in South Waziristan targeting the country's main Taliban faction, but many of their commanders and foot soldiers are believed to have fled to North Waziristan.

Despite Pakistan coming under huge pressure after Osama bin Laden was killed by US troops in a garrison city on May 2, a leading general last week insisted that any operation in North Waziristan would be of Pakistan's choosing.

More than 4,400 people have been killed across Pakistan in attacks blamed on Taliban and other Islamist extremist networks based in the tribal belt since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

On Monday, four civilians were killed and three others wounded when a bomb ripped through a vehicle on the outskirts of Peshawar, an area where anti-Taliban militia have been targeted in the past, officials said.

"It was a powerful bomb. It damaged a vehicle and some nearby shops," police officer Sajjad Khan told AFP.

CIA chief Leon Panetta, who will appear before the Senate Armed Services committee on Thursday as it considers his nomination to be defence secretary, has warned that Pakistan needs to step up the fight against terrorism.

"Future requests for security assistance will be informed by Pakistan?s response to the counter-terrorism steps we have proposed," he said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected in Pakistan on Friday for talks likely to touch on peace efforts with Taliban insurgents.

Pakistan was the main supporter of the Taliban until the September 11, 2001 attacks, after which it allied with the US-led war on extremism.

But analysts believe that while fighting homegrown Taliban, Pakistan has maintained contacts with Afghan Taliban and anti-India jihadist groups in hopes of remaining a pivotal player in the region.

US drones have carried out five missile strikes in the last week in Waziristan, in a move seen as ramping up pressure on Al-Qaeda as well as pushing Pakistan towards taking its own action after bin Laden's death.

Drone strikes are hugely unpopular among the general Pakistani public, who are deeply opposed to the government's alliance with Washington.

Eight soldiers and at least 10 Taliban were killed after the militants attacked a Pakistani security checkpost

Pakistani emergency and rescue personnel collect evidence at the site of a bomb blast at a bus terminal

Pakistani tribesmen carrying relief supplies walk towards vehicles transporting them to their homes in South Waziristan

Deadly militant attack on Pakistan security checkpoint

Eight Pakistani soldiers and 12 insurgents have been killed in fighting in north-western Pakistan, local officials say.

They say militants - armed with rockets and heavy weapons - attacked a security checkpoint in the volatile Waziristan region early on Thursday.

Security forces then responded by opening fire and killing 12 rebels.

Details of the attack are still sketchy, but one report said Taliban militants were involved in the assault.

Reports say that more than 100 militants armed with rocket launchers and other weapons attacked the checkpoint in South Waziristan near the Afghan border.

Earlier this month a top al-Qaeda operative, Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in a US drone strike in the tribal region of South Waziristan.

Militants in Pakistan have vowed to avenge his killing, as well as the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. He was killed by US forces in a garrison city north of Islamabad on 2 May.

Many militants are believed to be sheltering in the semi-autonomous tribal regions of North and South Waziristan - the area has been described by the US as the "most dangerous place on earth."

Militants attack Karachi naval air base

Gunmen have attacked a military base in the Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least 11 soldiers, officials say.

The well-armed attackers set off explosives and have been fighting gunbattles with navy personnel at the Mehran naval aviation base. The gunmen are now holding hostages, including Chinese military personnel. No group has claimed the raid, but the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to avenge the killing of Osama Bin Laden by US special forces on 2 May.

They have carried out several attacks since then. Battle continues On Sunday militants stormed three hangars housing aircraft at the Mehran base, according to officials. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: "We have been able to confine them to one building and an operation is underway either to kill or capture them." Flames can be seen in the distance, and intermittent gunfire continues as troops battle the militants inside, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan at the scene.

Their first targets were aircraft parked on the tarmac and equipment in nearby hangers. Eyewitnesses say the militants used rocket propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes. These included the Pakistan navy's premier anti-submarine attack jet - the US made P-3C Orion. At least two of these multi-million dollar aircraft were set ablaze.

The gunmen then opened indiscriminate fire, killing several naval personnel as they carried their deadly raid into the heart of the base. Subsequently, navy commandos and marines launched a counter assault. Dozens of heavily armed army reinforcements also arrived to provide cover. Some of the militants have now been killed, officials say.

The remaining gunmen have taken several officials, including Chinese military personnel, hostage inside a building. Security officials say commandos are now being sent in to clear this area. On Friday the Taliban bombed a US consulate convoy in Peshawar, killing one Pakistani. Other attacks by Pakistani militants this month include a raid on a security post that killed two police in the north-west and a twin suicide bombing at a paramilitary police training centre.