One Million Children May Miss Out On School in NWFP

JUL 23 - The United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) says as many as one million children in the northwest region of Pakistan could miss out on school if buildings needed to house classrooms are not restored in time for the start of the new school year which begins on September 1st.

According to UNICEF, 60 percent of the two million people who fled their homes in the Swat Valley are children under the age of 18.

UNICEF's director of Emergency Programs in Pakistan, Louis-Georges Arsenault says more than 4,000 schools have been converted into shelters and about 200,000 homeless people are living there.

"And, also in Swat, as you probably have heard many times, some 200 schools were destroyed by the Taliban and 75 percent were girls schools ... If we are not able to have the precondition for these shelters to be in shape for the school year and also have the minimum for when the people are returning to the communities, one million children will be at risk of losing and not starting the school year in time," Arsenault said.

Arsenault says about 300,000 people are on the move back to Swat, Buner and Dir. He says the government is helping them to go back to their communities.

But Arsenault says UNICEF believes a great many people will remain behind.

He says preparations must be made to return children to school. Education materials must be purchased.

He says UNICEF will not be able to accomplish everything that needs to be done unless it receives more money. He says the agency is running a $20 million shortfall and this is seriously compromising its humanitarian operation.

Talk to Taliban with or without Karzai- Musharraf

JUL 20 - Former president Gen (R) Pervez Musharraf says dialogue has to be established with the Taliban and political progress, rather than military might, would achieve a solution in Afghanistan.

Musharraf however cautioned that the senior elements of the Taliban leadership may not be receptive to a dialogue with the incumbent President Karzai who is contesting for a second term of office in August polls and appears to have the support of the Obama administration and other Western nations.

"I personally think that you need to establish a political dialogue and political dialogue with senior elements within the Taliban. Unfortunately, the Taliban or the senior elements in the Taliban, I don't think are open at the moment to any discussions or any negotiations with (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai.

"We need to have people, whether through a jirga or whether it is the president himself, to have access into the Taliban."

Musharraf was giving an interview to British news channel Sky Television in London where he is presently based at. According to reports, he has no immediate plans to return to Pakistan soon where the Supreme Court is to take up cases on his Nov 3 2007 mis-actions.

"I think the (military) strategy is right but we need to put in a little more input, more forces required, and maybe we need to concentrate also on the long-term strategy. We are following a short-term military strategy only," the former general said.

Commenting on the Taliban , he said "The Taliban have done wicked things. But then we have to come to a solution. "Military is never the ultimate solution. The military can buy you time, it can create an environment, but ultimately it is the political instrument which has to be used.

Musharraf said the Taliban's influence in Pakistan's Afghan border areas had strengthened since he resigned the presidency in August last year.

"There is a degree of instability that has come up because of this resurgence of Talibanization activity in the settled districts of the frontier, especially Swat, but I am very sure as long as the armed forces of Pakistan stay and they are strong, Pakistan will remain stable," he said. (Based on AFP news report)

Mullen meets Gen Kayani and Gen Tariq Majeed

JULY 17 - US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen on Thursday separately met Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad.

They discussed matters of mutual interests during the meetings. Later, Admiral Mullen also visited Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp at Jalozai in NWFP.

In separate development, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called President Asif Ali Zardari on telephone in Islamabad late on Thursday. She assured President Zardari of US support to help rehabilitate Swat and Malakand IDPs, President spokesperson Farah Naz Asfahani said.

According to Ispahani, Clinton has said that the US will continue it support for the effectees of Swat and people of Pakistan. Clinton welcomed UN probe into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, she concluded.

Meanwhile, news reports say a commander of TTP, and five extremists have been held in Khyber Agency. The militants were arrested during the security forces’ operations with a view to recovery of kidnapped officials of security forces including a chief commander Zarmat Khan.

The militants have been shifted to unknown place for stepping up investigation..

Al-Qaeda leadership hiding in Pakistan - Hillary Clinton

JUL 16 - Hillary Clinton, who is US Secretary of State said today that Al-Qaeda leadership was hiding in Pakistan, however US supports the new determination of Islamabad administration in actions against the militants and terrorists.

Clinton was addressing a gathering at council on foreign relations in Washington capital on Wednesday and said that success in Afghanistan could not be achieved without the support of Pakistan.

She said US supports efforts of Pakistani authorities against Al-Qaeda and Taliban.

She also offered to work out with those who were ready to disassociate themselves from Taliban and Al-Qaeda and abide by the law by laying down their arms.

She said she will visit Pakistan in fall this year. She plans to visit India from July 17.

Terror suspect arrested with suicide jacket in Islamabad

JULY 15 - A suspected terrorist was arrested and a suicide jacket and arms captured from him Wednesday.

The accused is said to be involved in murder of a police engineer.

The alleged terrorist has confessed his involvement in six bomb attacks in the federal capital Islamabad and other cities, ARY News reported.

Earlier, Minister of Interior Rehman Malik in a news conference had said that some terrorists were present in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Security was stepped up in Red Zone areas of these cities after the disclosure.

13 al Qaeda suspects detained in Balochistan

JULY 14 - Law enforcement agencies in Balochistan have detained 13 suspected militants from a place near Dera Murad Jamali bearing foreign nationalities allegedly having links with al Qaeda network.

The militants were intercepted by the security personnel in a bus going to Multan from Quetta after receiving information about the movement of the militants.

The detentions were made on National Highway, somewhere between Sibi and Notal, from a Peshawar-bound passenger coach.

The detainees include five Afghans, three Turks, two Saudis and two Kuwaitis.

The detainees were carrying five suicide vests and an 11-kilogramme bomb in their baggage.

They were also carrying currency notes of 4,240 US dollars, 694,000 Pakistani rupees, 50,000 Iranian tumans and more than 100,000 Afghanis, reported Dawn News today. Some documents were also seized.

‘They were going to Multan for carrying out suicide attacks in southern Punjab,’ sources said.