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20070618

Analysis - Countries - People - Law - Money - Environment - Religion - Terrorism - Nuclear - Military - Politics - "The Failed States Index 2007." ... "The world’s weakest states aren’t just a danger to themselves. They can threaten the progress and stability of countries half a world away." ... "The problems that plague failing states are generally all too similar: rampant corruption, predatory elites who have long monopolized power, an absence of the rule of law, and severe ethnic or religious divisions." ... "For the second year in a row, Sudan tops the rankings as the state most at risk of failure. The primary cause of its instability, violence in the country’s western region of Darfur, is as well known as it is tragic. At least 200,000 people—and perhaps as many as 400,000—have been killed in the past four years by janjaweed militias armed by the government, and 2 to 3 million people have fled their torched villages for squalid camps as the violence has spilled into the Central African Republic and Chad. These countries were hardly pictures of stability prior to the influx of refugees and rebels across their borders; the Central African Republic plays host to a modern-day slave trade, and rebels attacked Chad’s capital in April 2006 in a failed coup attempt. But the spillover effects from Sudan have a great deal to do with the countries’ tumble in the rankings, demonstrating that the dangers of failing states often bleed across borders. That is especially worrying for a few select regions. This year, eight of the world’s 10 most vulnerable states are in sub-Saharan Africa, up from six last year and seven in 2005." ... "That is not to say that all failing states suffer from international neglect. Iraq and Afghanistan, the two main fronts in the global war on terror, both suffered over the past year. Their experiences show that billions of dollars in development and security aid may be futile unless accompanied by a functioning government, trustworthy leaders, and realistic plans to keep the peace and develop the economy." ... "Today, two countries among the world’s 15 most vulnerable, North Korea and Pakistan, are members of the nuclear club. Their profiles could hardly be less similar: The former faces the very real prospect of economic collapse, followed by massive human flight, while the latter presides over a lawless frontier country and a disenchanted Islamist opposition whose ranks grow by the day." (1 of 9)

2 "The world’s weakest states are also the most religiously intolerant",

3 "several vulnerable states took a step back from the brink",

4 "Three of the five worst performing states—Chad, Sudan, and Zimbabwe—have leaders who have been in power for more than 15 years",

5 "correlation between stability and environmental sustainability",

6 "world’s failing states tend to cluster together",

7 "A dozen countries among the 60 most vulnerable contain “virtual states”",

8 Failed State Rankings,

9 "FAQ and Methodology"

-FundForPeace.org/fsi -ForeignPolicy.com

[Below are the 20 most vulnerable countries out of 60 countries listed out of 177 countries examined and ranked by the Fund for Peace's Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST) that uses 12 indicators of country vulnerability for it's country stability analysis.]

"[Failed State] The Rankings."

-FundForPeace.org/fsi -ForeignPolicy.com

1 Sudan

2 Iraq

3 Somalia

4 Zimbabwe

5 Chad

6 Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire)

7 Democratic Republic of the Congo

8 Afghanistan

9 Guinea

10 Central African Republic

11 Haiti

12 Pakistan

13 North Korea

14 Burma (Myanmar)

15 Uganda

16 Bangladesh

17 Nigeria

18 Ethiopia

19 Burundi

20 Timor-Leste (East Timor)

20070520

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Pakistan - Terrorism - Money - Military - Intelligence - Osama bin Laden - "Influx of Al Qaeda, money into Pakistan is seen: U.S. officials say the terrorist network's command base is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq." ... "A major CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] effort launched last year to hunt down Osama bin Laden has produced no significant leads on his whereabouts, but has helped track an alarming increase in the movement of Al Qaeda operatives and money into Pakistan's tribal territories, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the operation." ... "In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity." ... "The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells." ... "Al Qaeda's efforts were aided, intelligence officials said, by Pakistan's withdrawal in September of tens of thousands of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghanistan border where Bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, are believed to be hiding." ... "Little more than a year ago, Al Qaeda's core command was thought to be in a financial crunch. But U.S. officials said cash shipped from Iraq has eased those troubles." ... ""Iraq is a big moneymaker for them," said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official." -By Greg Miller -LAtimes

20070219

Noteworthy - Pakistan - Afghanistan - US - Terrorism - Intelligence - bin Laden - "Al Qaeda Chiefs Are Seen to Regain Power." ... "Senior leaders of Al Qaeda operating from Pakistan have re-established significant control over their once-battered worldwide terror network and over the past year have set up a band of training camps in the tribal regions near the Afghan border, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials." ... "American officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had been steadily building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan. Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from operational control of Al Qaeda." ... "The United States has also identified several new Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that officials said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan." ... "American analysts said recent intelligence showed that the compounds functioned under a loose command structure and were operated by groups of Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants allied with Al Qaeda. They receive guidance from their commanders and Mr. Zawahri, the analysts said. Mr. bin Laden, who has long played less of an operational role, appears to have little direct involvement." ... "The new warnings are different from those made in recent months by intelligence officials and terrorism experts, who have spoken about the growing abilities of Taliban forces and Pakistani militants to launch attacks into Afghanistan. American officials say that the new intelligence is focused on Al Qaeda and points to the prospect that the terrorist network is gaining in strength despite more than five years of a sustained American-led campaign to weaken it." (1, 2) -By Mark Mazzetti and David Rohde with contributions by David Johnston and Carlotta Gall -NYTimes

20060925

US - Afghanistan - Iraq - Pakistan - Osama bin Laden - Religious - Terrorism - Money - Politics - Military - Intelligence - "Afghanistan, 5 years later: U.S. confront Taliban's return." ... "Afghanistan has become Iraq on a slow burn. Five years after they were ousted, the Taliban are back in force, their ranks renewed by a new generation of diehards. Violence, opium trafficking, ethnic tensions, official corruption and political anarchy are all worse than they've been at any time since the U.S.-led intervention in 2001." ... "By failing to stop Taliban leaders and Osama bin Laden from escaping into Pakistan, then diverting troops and resources to Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan, the Bush administration left the door open to a Taliban comeback. Compounding the problem, reconstruction efforts have been slow and limited, and the U.S. and NATO didn't anticipate the extent and ferocity of the Taliban resurgence or the alliances the insurgents have formed with other Islamic extremists and with the world's leading opium traffickers." ... "There are only 42,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops to secure a country that's half again the size of Iraq, where 150,000 U.S.-led coalition troops are deployed. Suicide bombings have soared from two in all of 2002 to about one every five days. Civilian casualties are mounting." ... "James Dobbins, who was President Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan, said that the administration dismissed European offers of a major peacekeeping force after the U.S. intervention and almost immediately began shifting military assets to invade Iraq." ... "The White House "resisted the whole concept of peacekeeping," said Dobbins. "They wanted to demonstrate a different approach, one that would be much lower cost. So the decision to skimp on manpower and deploy one-fiftieth the troops as were deployed in Bosnia was accompanied by a decision to underplay economic assistance." ... ""We invaded Afghanistan in October 2001. We conquered the country in December, and Congress was not asked to provide any (reconstruction) money until the following October," he continued. "Much of the money didn't show up for years. And not only were the actual sums relatively small, but with the failure to establish even a modicum of security in the countryside, there was no way to spend it."" ... "There are 22,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But there are only 5,000 U.S. combat soldiers in eastern Afghanistan bordering Taliban refuges in Pakistan, a 27,000-square-mile area of vast deserts and mountains nearly the size of South Carolina." ... "ISAF [International Security Assistance Force led by NATO], with 20,000 troops from 36 nations, has only 8,000 troops for 77,000 square miles - slightly smaller than Minnesota - in the south." ... "The insurgents and their leaders operate from Pakistan, aided by Pakistani officials, radical Islamic parties and al Qaida. They're flush with recruits from Islamist seminaries on both sides of the border that offer religious instruction and combat training." ... "Taliban extremists also have been to Iraq for training in combat and bomb-making, and Iraqi insurgents have traveled to Pakistan to forge closer ties with Afghan and Pakistani extremists, according to U.S. intelligence officials." ... "The Afghan army has about 30,000 troops who participate in operations with U.S. and ISAF forces. But they lack basic equipment - helmets, radios and armored vehicles - and rely on U.S. and other foreign funds for their salaries." -By Jonathan S. Landay -McClatchy-RealCities

20060906

Pakistan - Afghanistan - US - Military - Terrorism - "Pakistan Reaches Peace Accord With Pro-Taliban Militias: Deal Arouses Alarm in Afghanistan." ... "The government of Pakistan signed a peace accord Tuesday with pro-Taliban forces in the volatile tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, agreeing to withdraw its troops from the region in return for the fighters' pledge to stop attacks inside Pakistan and across the border." ... "Under the pact, foreign fighters would have to leave North Waziristan or live peaceable lives if they remained. The militias would not set up a "parallel" government administration." ... "Reached as Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, prepared to visit the Afghan capital Wednesday, the accord aroused alarm among some analysts in Afghanistan. They expressed concern that, whatever the militias promise, a Pakistani army withdrawal might backfire, emboldening the groups to operate more freely in Pakistan and to infiltrate more aggressively into Afghanistan to fight U.S. and allied forces there." ... "More than 1,500 people have been killed in combat and terrorist attacks this year as violence in Afghanistan swelled to its highest level since 2001, when U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power. Suicide bombings, once unheard of, are now almost daily occurrences. Schools have been burned across the region and dozens of community leaders have been assassinated." -By Pamela Constable -WashingtonPost

20060905

Pakistan - Afghanistan - US - Military - Terrorism - Osama bin Laden- "Bin Laden Gets a Pass from Pakistan." ... "Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News." ... "The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban." ... "If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."" ... "Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, but U.S. officials say his precise location is unknown." ... ""What this means is that the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership have effectively carved out a sanctuary inside Pakistan," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism director." -By Brian Ross and Gretchen Peters -ABCNEWS.com

20060816

Pakistan - US - Afghanistan - Osama bin Laden - Terrorism - Politics - "White House backing new plan to defuse insurrection in Pakistan." ... "A U.S.-backed plan to defeat Islamist militants in Pakistan's autonomous tribal areas has backfired badly, and the Bush administration is working with Pakistan to come up with a new strategy to defuse the insurrection." ... "Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf "sees that what he was doing wasn't working," said one U.S. official who's familiar with the new plan. "He really has a mess."" ... "Now Musharraf's government is attempting to negotiate truces in the areas, expand local police forces and introduce development projects to reward tribal leaders who break with the militants. The Bush administration has pledged millions of dollars to the new effort, said the official, who, like others familiar with the plan, spoke only if granted anonymity." ... "Ending the uprising by Islamist militants aligned with Osama bin Laden and Taliban rebels is crucial to American-led efforts to contain the worst surge in Taliban violence in Afghanistan since 2001. The bloodshed is adding to the Bush administration's woes in the Middle East and other fronts in the war on terrorism." ... "Pakistan deployed 80,000 troops in the areas, which border Afghanistan, at Washington's behest to hunt down bin Laden and his sympathizers and secure Pakistan's side of the border. The Bush administration reportedly has spent nearly $1 billion since 2003 to underwrite the Pakistan army's operations." ... "But the army's use of artillery and helicopter gunships - as well as U.S. airstrikes on suspected al-Qaida hideouts - has killed numerous civilians and stoked popular ire." -By Jonathan S. Landay -McClatchy-RealCities

20060815

British - Pakistan - US - Aviation - Terrorism - Law Enforcement - Intelligence - Book - Military - Politics - "The Triumph of Unrealism." ... "The London plot against civil aviation confirmed a theme of an illuminating new book, Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." The theme is that better law enforcement, which probably could have prevented Sept. 11, is central to combating terrorism. F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in the North Tower of the World Trade Center) and High Wycombe, England." ... "Cooperation between Pakistani and British law enforcement (the British draw upon useful experience combating IRA terrorism) has validated John Kerry's belief (as paraphrased by the New York Times Magazine of Oct. 10, 2004) that "many of the interdiction tactics that cripple drug lords, including governments working jointly to share intelligence, patrol borders and force banks to identify suspicious customers, can also be some of the most useful tools in the war on terror." In a candidates' debate in South Carolina (Jan. 29, 2004), Kerry said that although the war on terror will be "occasionally military," it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world."" -By George F. Will -WashingtonPost

20060510

Human Rights - Politics - China - Cuba - Pakistan - Russia - Saudi Arabia - Azerbaijan - Iran - Venezuela - "New U.N. Rights Group Includes Six Nations With Poor Records." ... "Six nations with poor human rights records were among those elected to the new Human Rights Council on Tuesday, although notorious violators that had belonged to the predecessor Human Rights Commission did not succeed in winning places in the new group." ... "China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, countries cited by human rights groups as not deserving membership, were among the 47 nations elected to the council. But in a move hailed by the same groups, both Iran and Venezuela failed to attract the needed votes." -By Warren Hoge -NYTimes

20060329

Pakistan - Parents - Abortion - Science - "Baby Carrying Two Fetuses Dies." ... "A 2-month-old Pakistani girl has died following surgery to remove two fetuses that had grown inside her while she was still in her mother's womb, a doctor said Wednesday." ... "A report in a June 2000 issue of the U.S. journal Pediatrics called such occurrences rare and estimated their rate at about one per 500,000 births." -AP via -CBSNews

20060328

Pakistan - Parents - Abortion - Science - "Surgeons Remove Two Fetuses From Infant." ... "Surgeons operated on a 2-month-old Pakistani girl Tuesday to remove two fetuses that had grown inside her while she was still in her mother's womb, a doctor said." ... "[Zaheer] Abbasi, the chief doctor who led the operation, said the case was the first he was aware of in Pakistan of fetus-in-fetu, where a fetus has grown inside another in the womb." -By Paul Garwood-AP via -WashingtonPost

20051230

Pakistan - Religious - Schools - Politics - Terrorism - London bombings- UK - "Pakistan's Islamic schools resist expulsion order: · Ban on foreign students followed London bombs · Leaders claim Musharraf ruling is discriminatory." ... "Leaders of Pakistan's 13,000 madrasas have vowed to defy a government deadline to expel foreign students by December 31, saying the regulations discriminate against religious schools." ... "President Pervez Musharraf required Pakistan's madrasas to expel about 1,800 foreign students after the July 7 bombings in London highlighted the extremist links of some schools. Three of the London bombers were of Pakistani descent, and the Aldgate bomber, Shehzad Tanweer, attended a Lahore madrasa that has since been linked to Islamist militants." -By Imtiaz Gul -Guardian.co.uk

20051205

US - Pakistan - Egypt - Terrorism - Intelligence - Aircraft - Robots - "Drone said to have killed Al Qaeda's No. 3: If true, Abu Hamza Rabia would be the third to hold the post and be taken out." ... "In the dead of night, the US Predator aircraft swooped in over the [Pakistan] hamlet of Haisori, locking in on an abandoned house five travelers had quietly entered just hours before, according to neighbors. Then, they say, the drone fired on the stone and mud dwelling for about eight minutes, reducing it to rubble." ... "Pakistani officials say the airstrike, which took place last Thursday in tribal region of North Waziristan, killed five people, including Al Qaeda's No. 3 man, Egyptian Abu Hamza Rabia. Conflicting reports cast some uncertainty on Mr. Rabia's death and his exact rank, however." ... "If Islamabad's account holds true it would represent the third Al Qaeda "No. 3" to be killed or captured in as many years. Taking out the terrorist network's operations manager represents an intelligence victory with obvious short-term gains in disrupting terrorist planning, but also points to Al Qaeda's ability to bounce back from these losses in the past, say analysts." -By Gretchen Peters -CSMonitor

20051130

Pakistan - Earthquake - Disaster - Flying - "Pakistan Earthquake Aid Flights Interrupted by Winter Storms." ... "Winter storms in Pakistan's mountainous Kashmir region forced relief organizations to interrupt helicopter flights bringing aid to more than 3 million people left homeless by last month's earthquake." ... "Flights carrying supplies to villages above 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) were suspended over two days beginning on Nov. 26, the International Organization for Migration said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. More bad weather is forecast for the rest of this week, it said." -By Khalid Qayum and Paul Tighe -Bloomberg

20051108

Pakistan - UN - "Death Toll in South Asia Quake at 87,350." ... "One month after South Asia's massive Oct. 8 earthquake, the regional death toll jumped to 87,350 Tuesday following a new count of Pakistan's casualties, officials said." ... "The U.N. stepped up its appeals for more money to help victims centered in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, urging donors to be as generous as with other recent disasters and saying it urgently needs $42.4 million to keep bringing help through November." -By Sadaqat Jan -AP via -Guardian.co.uk

20051107

Pakistan - India - Politics - "Police Keep Kashmiris From Crossing Border." ... "Pakistani police fired tear gas to disperse Kashmiri villagers Monday when some tried to cross into Indian territory during an unprecedented frontier ceremony by the South Asian rivals to exchange aid for victims of the Oct. 8 quake." ... "The border opening that India and Pakistan agreed to last month was supposed to have been a much grander gesture: letting Kashmiris cross at five points to check on long-lost relatives and visit relief camps set up along the frontier." ... "But India on Saturday said it was prepared to open only one crossing, and on Sunday officials on both sides said bureaucratic wrangling would delay chances for people to cross, partly because India must be assured that no Muslim militants will head into Indian territory." -AP via -CBSNews

20051101

Pakistan - People - Earthquake - History - Homes - "Pakistan seeks more medical aid as quake toll rises." ... "Pakistan appealed for antibiotics and painkillers on Tuesday as it raised the toll from last month's devasting earthquake to 57,597 killed and nearly 79,000 injured." ... "The updated figures from Pakistan Federal Relief Commission brought the total official toll from the disaster to nearly 59,000 -- including 1,309 confirmed deaths and 6,622 injuries on on the Indian side of the devasted Kashmir region." ... "At 7.6 magnitude, the quake was the strongest to hit the South Asian region in 100 years. It destroyed huge numbers of houses and left more than three million people homeless or in need of emergency shelter with a brutal winter just weeks away." -By Robert Birsel with contributions by David Brunnstrom -Reuters via -AlertNet.org/Newsdesk
Pakistan - Earthquake - Weather - US - Military - "Worsening weather threatens more misery for Pakistan quake survivors." ... "The U.S. military promised to keep flying helicopter relief missions to help survivors of Pakistan's worst earthquake through the harsh winter, as a bleak weather forecast for Tuesday loomed over hundreds of thousands of people living without shelter." ... "With the brutal Himalayan winter approaching, the relief effort is rushing to deliver tents, food and medicine to victims of the Oct. 8 quake before villages are cut off by snow and helicopter-grounding fog." (1, 2) -By Zarar Khan -AP via -Canada.com

20051026

Pakistan - Earthquake - Disaster - UN - "Pakistan quake toll could double without swift help." ... "More people could die of hunger, cold and injuries in the wake of Pakistan's earthquake than during it unless rich countries meeting in Geneva come up with more money fast, a top U.N. aid official said on Wednesday." ... ""The disaster is looming large. We have thousands and thousands of very vulnerable people," U.N. chief aid coordinator Rashid Khalikov said hours before 65 nations were due to meet at the United Nations in Geneva to talk about how to help." ... ""This disaster may have the number of people who died after the disaster bigger than those killed by the earthquake," he said outside his tent office in the destroyed Pakistani Kashmir capital of Muzzafarabad." (1, 2) -By Robert Birsel -Reuters

20051020

UN - Pakistan - Earthquake - People - Health - "U.N.: Berlin-Type Airlift Needed in Asia." ... "The top U.N. relief coordinator warned Thursday that bold initiatives like the Berlin Airlift are needed to save as many as 3 million people left homeless by the South Asian earthquake as winter approaches in the Himalayas." ... "The World Health Organization, meanwhile, reported three quake survivors died of tetanus, reinforcing fears that disease and infected injuries could drive the 79,000 death toll far higher." ... "Jan Egeland, the U.N. relief coordinator, appealed to NATO and other potential donors to step in with an army of helicopters to fly in relief supplies and evacuate perhaps hundreds of thousands of people." -By Munir Ahmad -AP via -SFGate.com

20051019

Pakistan - Earthquake - Disaster - "Number of dead in Pakistan over 79,000." ... "A series of fresh landslides have been triggered by two strong aftershocks from south Asia's earthquake, inflicting more damage on the already hard-hit cities of Balakot and Muzaffarabad in northern Pakistan." ... "The 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck 129 kilometres north of Islamabad, near the epicentre of the first earthquake, and was strong enough to be felt in the capital." ... "It was followed less than an hour later by another strong tremor measuring 5.6." ... "But the suffering continues and now officials, using figures from local governments and hospital sources, are projecting the number of dead from the disaster at over 79,000." -CBC.ca

20051018

Pakistan - Earthquake - Parents - People - School - Psychology - "Grim future for young quake survivors: Schoolchildren learn to cope with losing classmates." ... "Imagine being the only child in class to survive after friends and teachers were all buried beneath the rubble." ... "This is the scenario now facing young student Mohammad Waseem after his school in Muzaffarabad [Pakistani-controlled Kashmir] was destroyed by the South Asia earthquake." ... "Children were among the hardest hit by the disaster since many were in school when the magnitude 7.6 tremor struck." -By Matthew Chance -AP -CNN

20051012

Pakistan - Earthquake - Disaster - Homes - UN - Food - "Aid still failing to reach most of Pakistan's 4m earthquake survivors." ... "Humanitarian aid has reached only a small proportion of the 4m people whose homes have been destroyed or damaged by the devastating earthquake that struck Pakistan four days ago, according to a disaster assessment by UN officials." ... ""This is a huge catastrophe and the more we see the worse it's getting," said Andrew Macleod, a member of the UN's disaster assessment team, yesterday. "It's no criticism of Pakistan to say that it's only a small proportion of the affected population that has received any aid, and that there are areas that may not for some time."" ... "The UN yesterday appealed for $272m (€225m, £150m) to support its efforts for six months, of which $62.5m would be spent on shelter and non-food items and $50m on food. It said strong aftershocks had left survivors afraid to go back inside damaged houses and many preferring to sleep in fields." -By Jo Johnson and Farhan Bokhari -FT.com
Pakistan - India - Earthquake - Disaster - "Disease threat for quake zone: Top U.S. diplomat will visit Pakistan." ... "Weather is hampering relief efforts to survivors of the deadliest quake in South Asia for a century, as health experts warn the Himalayan region could become a fertile breeding ground for disease." ... "Millions of people remain homeless in the mountainous areas of northern Pakistan and India following the quake, which is estimated to have claimed more than 41,000 people." ... "As Wednesday arrived, new threats loomed for the people left without shelter following the quake; international health experts warned of potential disease threats from the devastated public sanitation systems." -With contributions by Andrew Stevens, Satinder Bindra, Matthew Chance, Ram Ramgopal, Becky Anderson, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, John Raedler, Mukhtar Ahmed, Tom Coghlan and -AP -CNN

20051011

Pakistan - India - Earthquake - Disaster - "Food arrives as toll tops 42,000." ... "The death toll from the massive South Asia earthquake soared above 42,000 as the first trickle of humanitarian aid began to flow into the region, authorities said." ... "Meanwhile, 120 metric tons of ready-to-eat food arrived Tuesday, enough to feed 240,000 people for five days, a World Food Programme spokesman told CNN." ... "Another 80 million metric tons of food aid is in the pipeline, Amjad Jamal said." ... "But he acknowledged the need was great and said appeals were being made to the international community for additional donations of food, supplies and money." ... "Even with many far-flung areas still not reached, the death toll has hit 41,000 in Pakistan alone, with another 1,239 dead in India and one reported death in Afghanistan, officials have said." -By Andrew Stevens, Satinder Bindra, Matthew Chance, Ram Ramgopal, Syed Mohsin Naqvi and John Raedler with contributions by Mukhtar Ahmed and Tom Coghlan -CNN
Pakistan - India - Earthquake- People - Military - "Quake relief fights tough terrain: The Asian temblor is being described as the worst disaster in Pakistan's history." ... "Relief workers and military officials on both sides of the border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir struggled to reach hundreds of villages cut off by the worst earthquake to hit this region in a century. Estimates of the death toll ranged Monday between 20,000 and 30,000. Relief agencies have put out a massive appeal for food, tents, and medicines for an estimated 2.5 million people who are thought to be homeless - a number similar in scope to the Indian Ocean tsunami." ... "Just as Americans voiced anger at the slow response of emergency relief agencies in the wake of hurricane Katrina, many Kashmiris in both the Indian and Pakistani portions of the divided territory decried what they called a slow emergency response." ... "The earthquake of Oct. 8 could be a crucial test of both the military-dominated government of President Pervez Musharraf, as well as renewed peace efforts between India and Pakistan, who both claim the quake-ravaged state of Kashmir." -By Scott Baldauf and Laura Winter with contributions by Anuj Chopra -CSMonitor

20051004

Pakistan - Afghanistan - MIL - Terrorism - "Taliban spokesman arrested in Pakistan." ... "The self-proclaimed Taliban spokesman, known for changing his phone number weekly and making wild claims about purported Taliban attacks, has been arrested in Pakistan, officials said." ... "Mullah Hakim Latifi, who has served as a roving one-man Taliban press secretary for almost two years, was captured in Baluchistan province, just over the border from southern Afghanistan, Pakistan government spokesman Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters in Islamabad." -By Kim Barker -ChicagoTribune via -MercuryNews

20051003

Pakistan - India - Military - "Pakistan, India sign agreement to give advance notice of missile tests." ... "Pakistan and India signed agreements today for giving advance notice of ballistic missile tests, and on setting up a hotline between their coast guard agencies, officials said." ... "The missile test warning deal was first struck during talks between Indian and Pakistani officials in New Delhi in August but is now being officially brought into force." -AFXNews via -Forbes

20050831

- CA - - - "Terrorism charges expected in California probe: Sources: One state prisoner involved in alleged plot." ... "Federal prosecutors are expected to seek terrorism-related charges Wednesday against four men in connection with an alleged plot in the Los Angeles, California, area, three sources told CNN." ... "The charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism are expected to be announced Wednesday after a federal grand jury returns an indictment." ... "Three of the four men are in custody on separate charges. One of the men is Hammad Samana, a Pakistan native who was taken into custody earlier this month on charges that remain under seal." -By Kelli Arena and Dree DeClamecy -CNN

20050818

Bangladesh - - - Religion - "Bombings strike Bangladesh." ... "The bombs reportedly targeted mainly government offices, bus and train stations, and markets in 63 of the country's 64 districts." ... "Most of Bangladesh's 141 million people are Muslim." ... "Bangladesh has many of the same demographic and cultural factors at play that led to the rise of militant Islam in nearby Pakistan and in Afghanistan. In particular, it has a network of Deobandi religious schools, or madrassas that, like Pakistan's, have contributed to radicalization of many poor youth." -CSMonitorand -AP via -SeattleTimes.NWsource

20050811

- - "Pakistan Successfully Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile (Update2)." ... "Pakistan successfully test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the army said in a statement[.]" ... "``Pakistan today conducted a successful test of its first- ever ground-launched cruise missile HATF-VII, also known as Babur,'' the army said from Islamabad. The ``Babur cruise has the capability to carry nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 500 kilometers (300 miles) with a pinpoint accuracy.''" -By Khalid Qayum -Bloomberg

20050706

- - - - - "Iraq Abductors Threaten to Kill Diplomat." ... "Kidnappers linked to al-Qaida's branch in Iraq threatened Wednesday to kill Egypt's top envoy here, as Iraq's prime minister called on other countries to stay the course and keep their diplomats in Baghdad." ... "The threat to kill Ihab al-Sherif, seized by gunmen in western Baghdad on Saturday, marks a dramatic escalation in a campaign to isolate Iraq diplomatically in the Arab and Muslim worlds. On Tuesday, gunmen fired on senior envoys from Bahrain and Pakistan in apparent kidnap attempts." -Mariam Fam -AP via -Guardian.co.uk

20050630

- - - "All 16 U.S. troops killed in Afghan crash." ... "The remains of those killed were being recovered at the site in Kunar province where the MH-47 chopper went down Tuesday, the military said in a statement. The helicopter crashed while ferrying reinforcements to a battle against insurgents near the Pakistan border." ... "The military reported earlier that 17 people were on board but revised that figure to 16 later Thursday." ... "Military officials said there were eight Navy SEALs and eight Army air crew on board." -By Daniel Cooney with contributions by John J. Lumpkin -AP via -Boston/Globe

20050629

- - - - "17 Aboard Downed U.S. Copter Feared Dead." ... "U.S. military officials said Wednesday they feared all 17 troops aboard a special operations helicopter were dead after hostile fire downed the craft and it slid or rolled into a rugged mountain ravine in eastern Afghanistan." ... "Stormy weather hampered rescue efforts after the MH-47 helicopter crashed Tuesday while ferrying in reinforcements for troops already on the ground pursuing al-Qaida militants near the border with Pakistan." ... "On May 31, U.S.-led coalition soldiers gave the 8,000-strong NATO force responsibility for security in much of western Afghanistan. The International Security Assistance Force, currently under NATO command, already maintains security in the capital, Kabul, and other parts of the nation." -AP via -SFGate.com
- - - - "Fighting Prevents U.S. From Learning Fate of 17 on Copter." ... "Nine helicopters have been lost to various causes in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from control of Kabul, the capital, in 2001." ... "The helicopter was the second Chinook to go down in Afghanistan this year. Fifteen American military personnel and three civilians were killed in April when their helicopter crashed in a sandstorm while returning to the airbase at Bagram. So far this year, 38 members of the American military have died in Afghanistan, including 13 in combat, according to Pentagon figures put out before the latest crash. In all of 2004, 52 Americans died in Afghanistan." ... "Kunar, the area where the chopper went down on Tuesday, borders Pakistan and for the last three years has been one of the provinces most troubled by insurgent activity." -By Carlotta Gall -NYTimes
- - - - "All 17 US troops in Afghan crash believed dead." ... "The [unidentified US] official told Reuters the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook was believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in mountainous terrain near the border with Pakistan, an attack claimed by Taliban guerrillas." ... "The crash was the second of a U.S. Chinook in Afghanistan in less than three months and comes amid a surge in guerrilla activity aimed at derailing September 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability." ... "The Pentagon has previously reported 149 U.S. military deaths in and around Afghanistan since 2001, including 77 killed in action." -By David Brunnstrom -Reuters.co.uk

20050616

- - - - "Saudi Arabia Exempt From Nuke Inspections." ... "The U.N. atomic watchdog agency approved a deal Thursday that keeps nuclear inspectors out of Saudi Arabia despite an international push to scrap such arrangements because they can be abused by proliferators." ... "In the past two decades, the kingdom has been linked to prewar Iraq's nuclear program and to the Pakistani nuclear black marketeer Abdul Qadeer Khan." -By George Jahn -AP via -Guardian.co.uk

20050609

- - - - - "FBI: Al Qaeda plot possibly uncovered." ... "Papers filed in federal court said Hamid Hayat eventually admitted to interrogators that he attended a terror training camp funded and operated by al Qaeda near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for six months in 2003 and 2004." ... "Terror expert Peter Bergen cast doubt on that detail." ... ""I'm a little skeptical of that, after all, the Pakistani government has been on a pretty massive campaign against al Qaeda in Pakistan and the affidavit in this case is suggesting that the training camp was near Rawalpindi," Bergen said. "Well, Rawalpindi happens to be the Pakistani Army headquarters, right next to Pakistan's capital. To me, its seems extremely improbable that an al Qaeda training camp with hundreds of people would be in that location."" ... "Instead, Bergen suggested, the camp might have been aimed at training Pakistanis for action in the disputed Kashmir region." -Contributed to by Nic Robertson and Kelli Arena -CNN
- - - - - "California Father and Son Face Charges in Terrorism Case." ... "An American man of Pakistani descent has been arrested along with his father, a naturalized American citizen, as part of an investigation by federal law enforcement officials into possible terrorist connections with Al Qaeda." ... "According to an F.B.I. affidavit filed in Federal District Court in Sacramento, about 40 miles north of this agricultural town, Hamid Hayat, 22, told investigators last weekend that he had been trained "on how to kill Americans" at a camp in Pakistan affiliated with Al Qaeda. The affidavit said that during Mr. Hayat's weapons training, "photos of various high-ranking United States political figures, including President Bush, would be pasted on their targets."" ... "Mr. Hayat, who was born in California, returned to the United States on May 29 after spending more than two years in Pakistan." ... "The affidavit said Mr. Hayat's father, Umer Hayat, 47, who drives an ice cream truck in Lodi, provided financial support for his son's training." ... "They have been charged with lying to federal investigators about the training camp and are scheduled to appear in court on June 21, said Johnny L. Griffin III, a lawyer for the father." -By Dean E. Murphy and David Johnston with contributions by Carolyn Marshall -NYTimes

20050527

- Religion - "Islamabad Bombing Kills 50, Ambulance Service Says (Update1)." ... "A suicide bombing at a Muslim shrine in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, today killed at least 50 people, according to a private ambulance service that responded to the scene." ... "Another 200 people were injured by the blast inside the Bari Imam shrine in the east of the city, the ambulance service, the Edhi Welfare Trust Group, said in an e-mailed statement." ... "According to police official Naseer Khan, the police estimate at the moment is that at least 19 people have been killed and more than 100 injured." -By Khalid Qayum -Bloomberg

20050513

- - - - - Religion - "Protests Against U.S. Spread Across Afghanistan." ... "Anti-American violence spread to 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces and into Pakistan on Thursday as four more protesters died in a third day of demonstrations and clashes with the police." ... "The Afghan authorities and Kabul residents said the spate of violence was the fault of outsiders, who they said were seeking to capitalize on student protests stirred up by reports, most recently in the May 9 issue of Newsweek, that Americans had desecrated the Koran during interrogations at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba." ... "Seeking to calm the passions raised by the desecration report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed regret for the loss of life and promised a full investigation of the allegation against Americans at Guantánamo. "Disrespect for the Holy Koran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be tolerated by the United States," Ms. Rice said in a surprise statement issued before an appearance at the Senate Appropriations Committee." -By Carlotta Gall -NYTimes

20050504

- "Pakistan Nabs Qaeda 'No. 3'." ... "President Bush on Wednesday hailed the arrest of a high-ranking al Qaeda leader in Pakistan as "a critical victory in the war on terror."" ... "Mr. Bush, speaking during an appearance on Social Security in Washington, praised the government of Pakistan for the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, considered the terror network's number-three leader, after Osama bin Laden and his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri." ... "Al-Libbi, a Libyan wanted in two attempts to assassinate Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was arrested earlier this week after a fierce gunbattle, the Pakistani government said Wednesday." (1, 2) -AP via -CBSNews

20050418

- - - Travel - "India, Pakistan Vow to Settle on Kashmir." ... "India and Pakistan will reach a ``final settlement'' to the decades-old dispute over Kashmir, their leaders vowed Monday, concluding three days of talks with a series of agreements to boost trade and cross-border travel." ... "With Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf beside him, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the two had agreed to continue talks on Kashmir in ``a sincere and purposeful and forward-looking manner for a final settlement.''" -By Rajesh Mahapatra -AP via -Guardian.co.uk

20050314

- - - - - - "China Threat to Attack Taiwan Alarms Asia." ... "China's threat Monday to oppose Taiwanese independence with military force triggered a call for peaceful dialogue from Japan and a discussion of Australia's treaty obligations should a war break out. But Russia and Pakistan supported Beijing's new legislation." ... "An outbreak of hostilities would be a severe blow to stability in East Asia, possibly prompting a response from the United States — which has some 50,000 troops in Japan and 35,000 in South Korea — to defend Taiwan." -By Joseph Coleman -AP via -SFGate.com

20050301

- - - - - - "Iran admits it considered purchasing weapons technology." ... "As the International Atomic Energy Agency prepared to open a meeting in Vienna on Monday to review Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian officials reluctantly turned over new evidence that strongly suggests it discussed acquiring technologies central to making nuclear weapons and hid that fact for 18 years, U.S. and European officials say." ... "The officials said the documents, which are dated 1987, were handed over after investigators for the agency confronted Iranian officials with evidence gathered in interviews with members of the network run by Pakistan's top nuclear expert, A.Q. Khan. The documents, according to officials who have seen them, include an offer by Khan's representatives to provide a package of technologies - for a price that ran from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a European diplomat - including the difficult-to-master process of casting uranium metal." -By Elaine Sciolino and David E. Sanger with contributions by William J. Broad -NYTimes via -IHT.com

20050228

- - - - - "Iran, North Korea Focus of Nuclear Meeting: Iran and North Korea Focus of Top-Level Meeting of U.N. Nuclear Monitoring Agency." ... "Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was reacting to revelations by diplomats that Tehran had been approached by members of the nuclear black market network in the late 1980s with a written offer to set up the basics of the enrichment program now causing concerns about the Islamic Republic's nuclear aims." ... "In giving the agency the written offer from the network of Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan, Iran "showed us for the first time the offer they had, and that is good," ElBaradei told reporters." ... "However, he suggested in his opening remarks to the board meeting that Iran is providing information too late, saying that "in view of the past undeclared nature of significant aspects of Iran's nuclear program, a confidence deficit has been created."" (1, 2, 3)-AP via -ABCNEWS

20050226

- - - - - "Iran Was Offered Nuclear Parts: Secret Meeting in 1987 May Have Begun Program." ... "International investigators have uncovered evidence of a secret meeting 18 years ago between Iranian officials and associates of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan that resulted in a written offer to supply Tehran with the makings of a nuclear weapons program, foreign diplomats and U.S. officials familiar with the new findings said." ... "The meeting, believed to have taken place in a dusty Dubai office in 1987, kick-started Tehran's nuclear efforts and Khan's black market. Iran, which was at war with Iraq then, bought centrifuge designs and a starter kit for uranium enrichment. But Tehran recently told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it turned down the chance to buy the more sensitive equipment required for building the core of a bomb." ... "There is evidence, however, that Iran used the offer as a buyer's guide, acquiring some of the pricier items elsewhere, officials said." -By Dafna Linzer -WashingtonPost

20040217

- "Pakistan Opposition Charges Atomic Cover-Up." ... "Opposition parties accused the military-dominated government of hiding the army's role in the proliferation scheme; humiliating the scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan; appeasing the United States; and bypassing the elected legislators." -By Salman Masood and David Rohde -NYTimes via -Google-News

20040210

- - - - "Pakistan's Nuclear Ali Baba." ... ""Nobody could touch him," says Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Pakistan's foreign minister. The regret in his voice is palpable. "Imagine an American government doing this to Charles Lindbergh, or Albert Einstein, at the height of his popularity. Dr. A.Q. Khan is that kind of national hero in Pakistan."" ... "Abdul Qadeer Khan, an accomplished scientist, is also by his own account a thief of Ali Baba proportions. He became a national hero by stealing the designs of a European nuclear centrifuge system that enabled Pakistan to explode several nuclear devices in 1998. Khan's original nuclear larceny, as Kasuri says, "gave us strategic balance."" -By Jim Hoagland -WashingtonPost

20040205

- - - - - "Musharraf issues pardon to nuclear scientist." ... "A Pakistani nuclear scientist whose involvement in international WMD proliferation was described by the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog as "the tip of an iceberg" was today pardoned for his part in the trade." ... "Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, said that he had accepted a written apology from Abdul Qadeer Khan - known as the father of the country's nuclear bomb - for selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea." -Guardian.co.uk

20040202

- - - - "Pakistani nuclear scientist confesses to sharing secrets: Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed Sunday to trading nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea." ... "Pakistan's chief nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has confessed to sharing nuclear technology with Iran, Libya, and North Korea in a 12-page document presented to President Pervez Musharraf, according to a briefing given by government officials in Islamabad." ... "News of the confession followed a decision to dismiss Mr. Khan from his government post on Saturday by the nuclear command authority, a grouping of top military and political officials supervising the probe." -By Owais Tohid -CSMonitor

20040127

- - - - - "From Iraq to Libya, US knew little on weapons: Doubts that Hussein had WMD raise questions about war's rationale and intelligence reliability." ... "When it comes to unconventional weapons, Iraq may have been far from the most dangerous country in the world after all. In recent days a string of surprising revelations has scrambled the world's proliferation threat assessments." ... "Iraq's weapons programs were apparently in shambles, for instance, while Libya's were surprisingly advanced. Pakistan's nuclear scientists might have been rogue agents, proffering secrets for cash. And it appears that North Korea may be the most advanced rogue nuclear nation of all, with an advanced capacity to produce fissile material." -By Peter Grier -CSMonitor

20040124

- - - "Pakistan Chief Says It Appears Scientists Sold Nuclear Data." ... "Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, acknowledged Friday that scientists from his country appeared to have sold nuclear designs to other nations probably "for personal financial gain." He denied that the Pakistan government knew of any sales at the time but vowed that suspects would be dealt with "as antistate elements."" ... "General Musharraf's statement at a global economic forum here came after weeks of delicate efforts to force Pakistan to deal with the scientists, according to diplomats and American officials. Technical documents recently obtained from Libya on its nuclear program, as well as documents relating to Iran's nuclear activities, undercut years of Pakistani denials and appeared to force General Musharraf's hand, diplomats and American officials said." (1, 2) -By Mark Landler and David E. Sanger-NYTimes via -Google-News

20040118

- - - "Pakistan Expands Nuclear Investigation." ... "Pakistan has expanded an investigation of its premier nuclear weapons laboratory, detaining as many as seven scientists and administrators amid allegations sensitive technology may have spread to countries such as Iran, North Korea and Libya, officials said Sunday." ... "Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said over the past few days between five and seven personnel at the Khan Research Laboratories were taken in for questioning. But he said the detained men were not "necessarily involved in something or have allegations against them."" -By Matthew Pennington -AP via -Miami/Herald

20040113

- - - "Pakistan may have supplied nuclear info." ... "Libya pledged to name its suppliers when it announced last month it was giving up its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs." ... "Officials say many of the names probably will be Pakistani. They say evidence points to Pakistani nuclear experts as the source of at least some technology Libya used in its nuclear weapons program. Similar reports have arisen about probable Pakistani assistance to Iran and North Korea, countries President Bush said comprised an ``axis of evil'' with Saddam Hussein's Iraq." -By Matt Kelley -AP via -Salon/news/wire

20040112

- - "Pakistan vows to beef up security on Afghan border." ... "Pakistan's prime minister vowed on Monday to beef up security along the border with Afghanistan, where Islamic militants are active, as part of the neighbours' joint fight against terrorism." ... "Zafarullah Khan Jamali also offered to donate 100 buses and 200 trucks to Pakistan's war-torn neighbour and pledged to build a railway and repair a road in two Afghan border provinces." -By Sayed Salahuddin -Reuters
- - - - "In first visit by outsiders in a year, U.S. experts tour Korea nuclear site." ... "North Korea declared Saturday that it had shown what it called a "nuclear deterrent" to the unofficial delegation, but officials familiar with their visit to the North's main nuclear site said they had seen the facilities to produce bomb fuel rather than an actual weapon." ... "The members of the delegation declined to give a description of the facilities they inspected until they had a chance to brief the Bush administration. But officials who have received sketchy reports say the tour was clearly intended to signal to the United States that President George W. Bush's efforts to dissuade North Korea from moving forward with its nuclear program had failed, and that officials in Washington should accept that North Korea is an undeclared nuclear power, much as it accepts that Pakistan and Israel are nuclear-weapons nations." -AP, -Reuters, & -NYTimes via -IHT.com

20040107

- - - "Militants to fight on in Kashmir: Islamic militants have vowed to continue fighting against Indian forces in the disputed region of Kashmir." ... "The pledge came after India and Pakistan agreed to hold historic talks to try to resolve their long and bitter dispute over the region." ... "Jaish-e-Mohammad spokesman Mohammad Hassan Burki told the BBC by mobile phone that his group would keep up its jihad, or holy war, until Kashmir was freed from Indian control." ... "Syed Salahuddin, the chief of Kashmir's largest militant group, the Hizbul Mujahideen, also said its military operations would continue." -BBC/News

20040105

- - "India, Pakistan hope to improve relations further." ... "The leaders of nuclear-armed India and Pakistan will try to build on recent moves to improve ties after meeting on Monday, India's foreign minister said, but there was no word on whether they had made concrete progress." ... "India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held their first meeting in over two years on Monday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Islamabad, boosting hopes for peace."-Reuters via -AlertNet.org
- - "Further thaw for India, Pakistan: The prime ministers of the two nuclear powers met Sunday, a first since the nations averted war in 2001." ... "As the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) opened its summit in the Pakistani capital Islamabad under a dense umbrella of security, the leaders of India and Pakistan made their first cautious moves in more than two years to shake hands and brush off piles of accumulated mistrust." ... "Hopes have risen after Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart, Mir Zafarullah Jamali, met Sunday for the first time. In an unexpected breakthrough, diplomatic sources have said that Mr. Vajpayee is scheduled to meet with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf Monday." -By Owais Tohid -CSMonitor

20031126

- - - "Pakistan, Kashmir and India breathe easier with cease-fire." ... "Indian and Pakistani military commanders agreed yesterday to a cease-fire along their common border, including the volatile and heavily militarized front line in the disputed territory of Kashmir, officials in both countries said." ... "The truce, which was to take effect at midnight last night, is the first formal cease-fire between the nuclear-armed rivals since a separatist insurgency began in Indian-controlled portions of Kashmir 14 years ago." -By Hari Kumar -NYTimes via -SeattlePI.NWsource

20030722

- "Back to Kashmir: Tourists Return to Himalayan Jewel, But Signs of War Linger." ... "For the first time since an Islamic insurgency erupted here in 1989, thousands of Indian tourists — encouraged by recent peace overtures between India and Pakistan — are leaving the sweltering summer plains to enjoy vacations in this picture-perfect place." -By Mujtaba Ali Ahmad -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20030705

"Mosque massacre in Pakistan." ... "At least 32 people were killed and 52 injured in an attack on a Shia mosque in the western Pakistani city of Quetta yesterday." ... "Some witnesses blamed two suicide bombers, others said the assailants threw grenades into the mosque, where at least 2,000 were gathered for prayers." -Reuters via -Guardian.co.uk

20030625

- - "Musharraf to U.S.: Appease Muslims: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has urged the United States to do more to ease Muslim grievances around the world, which he described as the "root causes" of terrorism." ... "Musharraf said Washington's war on terrorism needed to focus on the cause of terrorism rather than just the symptoms, adding that the conflicts in Kashmir and the Middle East were important in improving the United States' image in the Muslim world." -CNN
- "Bush pledges $3bn aid to Pakistan." ... "US president George Bush has pledged $3bn (£1.8bn) in aid to Pakistan in return for its help in the fight against global terrorism." ... "Following a meeting with Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, at Camp David yesterday, Mr Bush praised his counterpart as "a courageous leader and a friend of the United States", and proposed the aid package to "help advance security and economic opportunity for Pakistan's citizens"." ... "The $3bn package, which must be ratified by the US congress, is in addition to the cancellation of $1bn in debts owed by Pakistan and will be paid over five years, Mr Bush said." -By George Wright -Guardian.co.uk

20030502

- - "India, Pakistan to Hold Peace Talks: India, Pakistan Will Hold Talks Aimed at Ending Five Decades of War." ... "Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,78 and ailing, indicated he would like to leave a legacy of peace between India and Pakistan." ... ""This round of talks will be decisive," he said in a speech to India's parliament. "And at least for my life, these will be the last."" ... "A dispute over divided Kashmir is the main source of the friction between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over the region since their independence from Britain in 1947." -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20030313

- - - - "Japan lobbies Security Council for support of US stance on Iraq." ... "Usually reluctant to step into the fray, Japan's leaders are working the phones to persuade the UN Security Council to back the United States on Iraq." ... "In the past few days, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has called five of the six undecided council members - Pakistan, Chile, Guinea, Cameroon, and Mexico - to urge them to support Washington. He's also warned that a divided Security Council could undermine the United Nations' authority, officials say." -By Kenji Hall -AP via -Boston/Globe

20030311

- Osama bin Laden - "Aide met bin Laden in December, Pakistan says." ... "A top Al Qaeda planner captured in Pakistan nine days ago told interrogators that he met with Osama bin Laden in December, but he refused to describe the location, Pakistan's top intelligence officials said Monday as they gave the first detailed, official account of the arrest and questioning of the terror planner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed." ... "The officials spoke Monday night at an unusual press conference inside the halls of Interservices Intelligence, or ISI, the secretive and powerful military intelligence agency that now leads the country's anti-terror efforts." -By Eric Eckholm -NYTimes via -IHT.com

20030304

- - - Law Enforcement News - "U.S. disrupts arms smuggling plots: Post-Sept. 11 scrutiny stems flow of materiel to potential foes." ... "In a byproduct of stepped-up enforcement after Sept. 11, the federal government has foiled a series of recent attempts by foreigners to smuggle military materiel from the United States to potentially hostile countries, officials say." ... "The cases involved parts for surface-to-air missiles, fighter jets and spymaster equipment headed for locations that included China, Pakistan and Iran, the officials said." -AP via -MSNBC

20030301

Law Enforcement News - "Police in Pakistan arrest a top suspect in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." ... "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was arrested Saturday in Pakistan, a senior official told The Associated Press." ... "Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Mohammed was one of three men arrested in a 3 a.m. raid in Rawalpindi, a city near Islamabad." -By Kathy Gannon -AP via -SFGate.com

20030225

- - - "Who is for and who against a war on Iraq?" ... "A new resolution on Iraq which Washington would like passed by mid-March will need backing from at least nine of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, and no vetoes." -Reuters -AlertNet.org/Newsdesk currently calculates four Security Council member countries are for a new resolution: the US, UK, Spain, and Bulgaria; six member countries have voiced opposition to a new resolution: China, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, and Syria; and five member countries are "unclear": Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, and Pakistan.

The five permanent UN Security Council members can each independently veto any resolution.

Permanent Members: France, China, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States

Rotating Members:

Angola, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Germany, Guinea, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic

-UN.org/Docs/scinfo.htm

20030114

- - "Human Rights Watch: U.S. undermines its own war on terrorism." ... "The United States is undermining its own war on terrorism by turning its back on human rights abuses in countries that are nominal allies against terrorists, according to Human Rights Watch in its annual report released Tuesday." ... "Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia, China and several central Asian republics have avoided U.S. scrutiny and criticism of their rights records by aiding anti-terrorist efforts, but that creates long-term problems, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of the international rights group." -By Frank Davies-Miami/Herald
Press Release: "New Survey Documents Global Repression: U.S. Human Rights Leadership Faulted." ... "Global support for the war on terrorism is diminishing partly because the United States too often neglects human rights in its conduct of the war, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2003." ... "Terrorists violate basic human rights principles because they target civilians. But the United States undermines those principles when it overlooks human rights abuses by anti-terror allies such as Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia and Afghan warlords, Human Rights Watch said in its annual survey of human rights around the world." -HRW.org

"Human Rights Watch World Report 2003 (Human Rights Developments in 2002)." - Introduction - PDF Downloads broken down by region and country - Past World Reports -HRW.org

20030102

- "19 Journalists Killed [Worldwide] For Their Work In 2002: Lowest number on record; Russia, Colombia, and the West Bank top list." ... "A total of 19 journalists were killed worldwide for their work in 2002, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This number marks a sharp decrease from 2001 when 37 journalists were killed, eight of them while covering the war in Afghanistan. Of the 19 journalists killed in 2002, most were targeted in direct reprisal for their work, and their killers had not been brought to justice at year's end." ... "This is the lowest number of journalists killed in the line of duty that CPJ has recorded since it began tracking the deaths in 1985." ... "Still, in 2002, journalists remained at great risk. In countries such as Russia, Colombia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, local journalists were murdered in direct reprisal for their reporting on crime and corruption, most of them with impunity. Cameramen and photographers were especially vulnerable to cross fire and targeting by military forces—five were killed in 2002, including two who were covering conflict in the West Bank." ... "Some statistics fluctuate from year to year, but others remain constant in such countries as Russia and Colombia, where journalists die virtually every year because of their work." -CPJ.org

20021119

"Pakistan gets new speaker." ... "After intense lobbying and uncertainty, Pakistan's political future is now becoming clearer with a candidate from the pro-government Pakistan Muslim League securing the post of speaker in the newly reconvened national assembly." ... "The League's candidate, Chaudhry Amir Hussain -- a supporter of military President Pervez Musharraf -- received 167 out of 327 votes polled, far higher than his main rival from a coalition of Islamic parties." ... "Parliament opened on Saturday -- the first time since a blodless coup in October 1999 installed Musharraf as leader." -CNN /World /Asia

20021018

- "U.S. Says Pakistan Gave Technology to North Korea." ... "American intelligence officials have concluded that Pakistan, a vital ally since last year's terrorist attacks, was a major supplier of critical equipment for North Korea's newly revealed clandestine nuclear weapons program, current and former senior American officials said today [20021017]." ... "The trade between Pakistan and North Korea appears to have occurred around 1997, roughly two years before Gen. Pervez Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup. However, the relationship appears to have continued after General Musharraf became president, and there is some evidence that a commercial relationship between the two country's extended beyond Sept. 11 of last year.." (1, 2) -By David E. Sanger and James Dao -NYTimes via -AltaVista-News

20021015

"Pakistan tilts toward extremism? Musharraf this week said he will still support the US terror war, despite Islamic parties' election success." ... "Pakistan's masses have sent a clear signal of simmering resentment over the US war on terror which is playing out in their own backyard." ... "The Muttahida Maklis-i-Amal (MMA) – an alliance of five fundamentalist Islamic parties that opposes the US hunt for Al Qaeda terrorists here and wants to impose strict sharia or Muslim law –surpassed even the wildest of expectations in last Thursday's general elections. The MMA swept the vote in two provinces bordering Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Northwest Frontier Province, and made significant gains nationwide to become the third largest political block in the 342-seat National Assembly." -By Gretchen Peters -CSMonitor/buy

20020916

"Arab Reporter Fears Reprisal From Allies Of Al Qaeda Suspect: Al-Jazeera Interviewer Denies Any Link to Arrest." ... "Journalist Yosri Fouda says he believes that the suspected coordinator of the Sept. 11 attacks, Ramzi Binalshibh, thought highly of his news reports and so offered him an exclusive interview." ... "Now that Binalshibh has been captured by Pakistani police, Fouda is afraid, in a real sense, that he is not so popular among Binalshibh's followers -- for the moment, fearful enough not to return to the scene of the interview, Pakistan." -By Daniel Williams -WashingtonPost

20020914

"Key 9/11 plotter seized in Pakistan." ... "U.S. officials say Pakistan is holding one of America's most wanted al Qaeda operatives -- a man who by his own recorded admission played a key role in the September 11 attacks." ... "Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni national, was arrested by Pakistani officials in the city of Karachi last Wednesday, a year to the day after the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington." -By Kelli Arena, et. al. -CNN
"U.S., Pakistan Officials Question Key 9/11 Suspect." ... "A U.S. official said Binalshibh was captured in Karachi by Pakistani authorities with help from the FBI and CIA." ... "[Pakistan's Interior Minister Moinuddin] Haider said Pakistan was ready to hand the suspects over to the U.S. authorities if there was evidence they were involved in terrorist activities. But the German government said it also wanted to try Binalshibh." ... "Pakistani police said U.S. agents had traced Binalshibh to a three-story building in an upmarket district of the sprawling port city of Karachi thanks to a satellite phone call." -By Aamir Ashraf -Reuters via /World
"Ramzi Binalshibh: al-Qaeda suspect." ... "Western intelligence officials believe he is the missing link - the one person who can put all the pieces of the al-Qaeda strategy into context." ... "Mr Binalshibh is the only person believed to have attended both of the crucial meetings held to plan the operation, one in Malaysia and the other in Spain." -BBC /News

20020821

"Musharraf Redraws Constitution." ... "Gen. Pervez Musharraf unilaterally redrew Pakistan's Constitution today, imposing 29 amendments that expand his control of the country he took over by coup in 1999 — changes that undermine coming parliamentary elections meant to return the nation to democracy." ... "The new measures state that he may make further amendments at will and allow him to dissolve the elected Parliament and to appoint the country's military chiefs and Supreme Court justices. The changes will also institutionalize the political role of the military in politics by allotting it some seats on a newly created National Security Council." -By David Rohde -NYTimes via -AltaVista-News

20020815

- "India celebrates 55th anniversary of independence; accuses Pakistan of double standards." ... "India celebrated 55 years of independence from Britain on Thursday amid tight security against threats of Islamic militant attacks and accused its rival Pakistan of having "double standards" in its fight against terrorism." -By Nirmala George -AP via -SFGate.com

20020810

"Pakistan Issues Warrants for 6 US Bombing Suspects." ... "A Pakistani court issued arrest warrants on Saturday for six fugitives suspected of being involved in a car bomb attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed 12 people and injured 20, defense lawyers said." ... "Three leading suspects in the attack ... have already been arrested...." ... They "are members of al-Almi, an offshoot of the radical Harkat-ul-Mujahideen organization." -By Imran Maqbool -Reuters via -Miami/Herald
"Pakistan IDs One Hospital Attacker." ... ""The body of one terrorist who died in the attack has been identified and further investigations are in progress," said Iftikhar Ahmad, a spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry. Ahmad declined to release the man's identity or identify the militant groups that trained him." -By Munir Ahmad -AP via -Miami/Herald
- OPINION - "India, Pakistan and G.E.." ... "Two months ago India and Pakistan appeared headed for a nuclear war. Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state and a former general, played a key role in talking the two parties back from the brink. But here in India, I've discovered that there was another new, and fascinating, set of pressures that restrained the Indian government and made nuclear war, from its side, unthinkable. Quite simply, India's huge software and information technology industry, which has emerged over the last decade and made India the back-room and research hub of many of the world's largest corporations, essentially told the nationalist Indian government to cool it. And the government here got the message and has sought to de-escalate ever since. That's right — in the crunch, it was the influence of General Electric, not General Powell, that did the trick." -By Thomas L. Friedman -NYTimes via -Moreover

20020809

"Deadly grenade attack at Pakistan hospital." ... "Four people have been killed in a grenade attack on a missionary hospital near Islamabad, the second assault on a Christian institution in Pakistan in less than a week." ... "The assault was the fourth fatal attack by suspected Islamic militants on Christian establishments since October." ... "On Monday, six people were killed when three gunmen attacked a Christian missionary school in the resort town of Murree, also near Islamabad." -CNN

20020721

- "Al-Qaeda's New Hideouts: Chased out of Afghanistan, bin Laden's fighters are lying low — but are hot to strike back — in Pakistan." ... "While the U.S. and coalition forces continue to squeeze al-Qaeda inside Afghanistan, thousands of militants have slipped across the border since last winter. Officials estimate that, altogether, more than 3,500 al-Qaeda operatives and their Pakistani comrades are hunkered down in the tribal belt along the Afghan border and in the sprawling cities of Karachi and Peshawar, sheltered by homegrown extremists. Since December, Pakistani authorities working with U.S. intelligence agents have caught more than 380 suspected al-Qaeda members. In Peshawar last week, U.S. and Pakistani officials detained seven suspected terrorists but failed to snatch two senior al-Qaeda aides who were the main targets of the raids." -By Tim McGirk -TIME.com

20020718

"Christian sentenced to death for remarks about Islam." ... "A Pakistani Christian who claimed he was Jesus Christ and called Islam a fake religion was convicted of blasphemy on Thursday and sentenced to death by hanging, court officials said." -AP via -AJC

20020715

"Pakistanis on Alert After Verdict." ... A Pakistani "judge handed down a guilty verdict Monday against British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three co-defendants. Saeed was sentenced to die by hanging in the kidnap-murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The three others were sentenced to life in prison." ... "Police said the verdict could incite militant Muslims to retaliate." -By Kathy Gannon -AP via -Miami/Herald

20020714

"F.B.I. and Military Unite in Pakistan to Hunt Al Qaeda." ... "American law enforcement agencies have been working in tandem with the American military in Pakistan in an unusual and sustained effort to hunt down fighters of Al Qaeda who fled their sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are struggling to revive their group." (1, 2) -By Dexter Filkins -NYTimes via -AltaVista-News

20020710

"U.S. Deported 131 Pakistanis In Secret Airlift: Diplomatic Issues Cited; No Terror Ties Found." ... "U.S. and Pakistani officials arranged the airlift as a way to resolve contentious diplomatic issues that have arisen between the two countries since the Justice Department began detaining immigrants in the United States. U.S. authorities have arrested about 1,200 people, most of Arab and South Asian descent, on immigration violations and in connection with the terrorism investigation. According to the latest government figures, 74 foreign nationals are still being held on immigration charges related to the probe." -By Steve Fainaru -WashingtonPost

20020708

"Men Arrested in U.S. Consulate Bombing: Three Men Arrested in Pakistan in Connection With U.S. Consulate Bombing and French Hotel Blast." ... "Officials said the trio arrested Monday were suspected in the June 14 car bombing outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed at least 12 Pakistanis and injured 50 others, and the May 8 suicide bombing outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, which killed the 11 Frenchmen and three other people, including the bomber." -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20020621

"Pakistan to ban teaching radical Islam." ... "Pakistan will soon enact laws that ban the teaching of extreme Islamic views at its 8,000 madrassas, or religious schools, the country's religious minister said Thursday." -By Jack Kelley -USATODAY

20020612

- "Rumsfeld sees ‘constructive’ Kashmir steps: U.S. defense chief holds talks as India moves to ease crisis." ... "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday India had taken constructive steps toward averting a war with Pakistan, but that Washington was anxious to see tensions lowered further over the disputed Kashmir border region. Rumsfeld was scheduled bring similar pressure to bear on neighboring Pakistan — the next stage of the defense chief’s tour." -MSNBC

20020608

- "Pakistan protests over [Indian] spy plane." ... "Pakistan has lodged a formal protest with India for deliberately violating its airspace with a spy plane, which Pakistani forces say they shot down." ... "In spite of the spy plane incident, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said India was considering making military and diplomatic gestures, in response to international pressure to reduce tension."-BBC /News

20020605

- "No thaw for India, Pakistan at summit." ... "Although the leaders again sharply blamed each other for the violence, a few small signals did emerge to indicate that intense international diplomatic pressure was beginning to take effect on the two nuclear-armed nations facing off over the disputed Himalayan region." -By Liz Sly -ChicagoTribune

20020603

- "India's mixed Kashmir messages: India is giving out conflicting signs over whether it will resort war over the disputed territory of Kashmir." -BBC /News

20020601

- "Military Disparity Adds to Uncertainty: Analysts Say India's Advantage Contributes to Escalatory Situation." ... "This disparity increases uncertainty and contributes to an escalatory situation in which both sides are tempted to take the offensive with preemptive moves, according to analysts. "It's kind of like World War I, with both sides mobilizing on automatic," said retired Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who watched India and Pakistan take a series of planned escalatory steps in 1999. "When they see an action on one side, there is a pre-programmed counterreaction, which makes it extremely dangerous right now."" -By Bradley Graham and Thomas E. Ricks -WashingtonPost
- "Musharraf tries to quell nuclear war fears: Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday tried to defuse fears of nuclear war between his nation and India, saying that such a war was all but unthinkable." -CNN

20020531

- "The general under pressure: General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, is facing mounting international pressure to fulfil his promises to stop militants from crossing into Indian-controlled Kashmir. America is adding its weight to peace-making efforts." ... "Most signals, it is true, have pointed to anything but peace in the past few days. On May 27th General Musharraf promised for the second time since January that Pakistan would not export terrorism to India, but in a manner so belligerent that he seemed to be daring India rather than placating it. To prove the point Pakistan test-fired three missiles. India called the speech "disappointing and dangerous". It ridiculed Pakistan s claim that it is not exporting terror. "Mere verbal denials are untenable," said India s foreign minister, Jaswant Singh, "because they run against facts on the ground."" -Economist
- "India set to launch 'small war': US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld will go to Asia next week to try to ease tensions between India and Pakistan." Despite the tense standoff, one analyst suggests ""the Indians are practicing a policy of 'compellance,' " says Stephen Cohen, a senior fellow in security issues at the Brookings Institution, reached at a conference in Tokyo. "They are threatening to use force to compel another country to alter its behavior. In this case, their target is both Pakistan and the US, and they are compelling the US to put pressure on Musharraf to rein in cross-border terrorism."" -By Scott Baldauf and V.K. Shashikumar -CSMonitor/buy
"Pakistan to redeploy troops from Afghan border: Pakistan has decided to redeploy troops from its Afghan border to its border with nuclear rival India, a spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf told CNN Friday." -Contributers: Ash-Har Quraishi, Kasra Naji, and David Ensor -CNN

20020530

OPINION - - "The weakest link: Why the world needs Pakistan's dictator to survive, and how to rescue him." ... "The general's only chance of being able to deliver a cessation of violence lies in him being able to demonstrate that something is moving on Kashmir. Here, India's policy has been lamentable. It has never accepted that Kashmir is a subject fit for international mediation indeed, it refuses even to accept what is obvious, that Kashmir is central to the dispute between the two countries. It has refused to allow Kashmiri leaders passports to travel to Pakistan to confer with Kashmiris there. It missed a valuable opportunity for a rapprochement with Pakistan after January 12th, when General Musharraf made a bold speech promising to crack down on extremism, and pledged that his country would not be used to support terrorism. Deprived of any reward from India, it is not surprising that the general's grip started to weaken." -Economist

20020530

- "Kashmir leads to U.S. plan for airlift." ... "As border tensions heighten between nuclear powers Pakistan and India, a U.S. government team is in India to plan the possible evacuation of 1,100 U.S. troops and up to 63,000 U.S. citizens from both countries." -By Jonathan Weisman -USATODAY

20020528

"Pakistan ready to pull troops from Afghan border." ... "In a potential blow to the antiterror war, Pakistan appears to be preparing to pull troops away from the Afghan border to focus on its own dispute with India, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday." ... "American military officials made clear Tuesday they are worried that the dispute between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir region could disrupt the campaign against the al-Qaida in the anarchic tribal areas of western Pakistan." -By Robert Burns -AP via -Salon

20020525

- "Pakistan conducts missile exercises: Move roils India; global leadership races to avert war." ... "New Delhi said it was notified by Islamabad that Pakistan intended to test short- and medium-range missiles today through Monday." -By Beth Duff-Brown -AP via -Boston/Globe

20020524

- "A deadly game: Atal Behari Vajpayee, India s prime minister, is taking a weekend break after threatening a decisive battle over Kashmir. But Pakistani missile tests have ensured that tensions remain high." -Economist

20020523

- "Indian PM steps back from brink: In a televised address to the nation, India's prime minister [Atal Behari Vajpayee] has stepped back from the strong military posturing that has marked his stance on the disputed territory of Kashmir." -CNN/Asia

20020522

- "Nuclear rivals talk tough over Kashmir: India and Pakistan have exchanged belligerent warnings over disputed Kashmir, where a massive troop build-up and continued shelling have fuelled fears of all-out war." -BBC /News

20020519

- "Pakistan reacts to India's ousting of envoy: In a low-key statement that seemed aimed at defusing a diplomatic row, Pakistan said it 'noted with disappointment' India's decision to ask Pakistan's top envoy to New Delhi to leave India." -CNN

20020518

- - "To the Drums of War, India Expels Pakistan's Ambassador." ... "Already, India and Pakistan have stationed a total of a million men along their border — a mobilization India initiated after a five-man squad attacked its Parliament on Dec. 13. India held Pakistan responsible, recalling its ambassador and severing bus and train service between the two countries." -By Celia W. Dugger with Howard W. French -NYTimes via -AltaVista.com

20020516

"Body found in Pakistan may be Daniel Pearl's: Pakistani police said they believe a body recovered Thursday is that of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, but its identity has not been confirmed." ... "Pearl was kidnapped in January by Muslim extremists in Pakistan and was confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department on February 21 after authorities obtained a video that showed Pearl being forced to make propaganda statements before being killed." -CNN

20020430

- - "Traces of the Enemy Near Pakistan Border: Region Neither Peaceful Nor Pacified." -By Peter Baker and Susan B. Glasser -WashingtonPost

20020205

"Kidnapped reporter's wife willing to die for husband." -By Afzal Nadeem -ChicagoSunTimes

20020201

"Journalist's kidnapping a puzzling power play: Yesterday, the deadline for Pearl's execution was extended by 24 hours." -By Peter Grier

-CSMonitor/buy

20020131

"Journalists Petition for Release of WSJ Reporter: Appeal to Captors for Daniel Pearl's Release." -CPJ.org

20020131

"Deadline to kill captive reporter extended a day." -CNN

20020130

"Group threatens to kill kidnapped U.S. reporter: The kidnappers of a Wall Street Journal reporter in Pakistan claim their hostage is an agent for Israel and have threatened to kill him within 24 hours if their demands are not met." -CNN

20020116

"Powell urges Kashmir dialogue."-BBC /News

20020109

"[U.S.] Marine tanker plane crashes in Pakistan." -CNN

20011231

"Stakes high in Kashmir standoff: Nuclear powers [India and Pakistan] in a blood feud." -By Howard Witt -ChicagoTribune

20011230

"Bush appeals to Asia foes: He urges calm in India, Pakistan." -By Uli Schmetzer, Jeff Zeleny -ChicagoTribune

20011229

- - - Animals - - "Birds 'missing' after US bombing." ... "Ornithologists in Pakistan fear that populations of birds whose migration route takes them over Afghanistan may have been devastated by the weeks of bombing there." -By Jill McGivering -BBC /News

20011228

"Tension Mounts Between India, Pakistan." -By Laurinda Keys -AP via-LAtimes

20011227

"India, Pakistan Impose Sanctions: Pakistan bans Indian airliners and orders embassy staff cuts after India announced the same actions against Pakistan earlier in the day." -By Laurinda Keys-LAtimes

20011219

"India and Pakistan 'reposition' their troops as tension mounts over parliament attack." -By Rahul Bedi -Jane's /DefenceWeekly
Osama bin Laden - "Bin Laden Hunt Enters Pakistan: U.S. widens its search, and the CIA augments efforts by Afghanistan's neighbor to apprehend fugitives." -By Bob Drogin and Paul Richter-LAtimes

20011210

"Political Shift Stifles Islamic Anger at U.S. Pakistan: After years of quiet support for extremism, government promises a crackdown. Air raids may have been catalyst for containment of radical groups." -By Kim Murphy-LAtimes

20011109

"Musharraf Rebuffed in His Call for Bombing Cessation During Ramadan: Pakistan's leader is greeted warmly in Paris and London. But Blair says the military campaign must continue." -By Marjorie Miller-LAtimes

20011106

"Pakistan tribes aid the Taliban: U.S. fears conflict could spill over Afghan border." -By John Diamond, Tim Jones -ChicagoTribune

20011103

"A Quiet Throng Hopes to Show 'Correct Islam': Huge gathering stressing nonviolence and modesty gets scant notice amid militant protests." -By Tone Tempest -LAtimes

20011101

"Extremists challenge Pakistan: The rebels have given the president a Nov. 7 deadline to end his support of US airstrikes on Afghanistan." -By Philip Smucker-CSMonitor

20011028

"Attack on Christian church in Pakistan kills 16." - -AP via USATODAY

20010924

"Opening door to hard-liners worries U.S.: Popular backlash, nuclear weapons spur policy jitters." ... "The chances of Pakistan's government being destabilized are considered slim, but the thought gives U.S. policy planners the willies: It could put nuclear weapons in the hands of Muslim militants." -By Tom Hundley and Michael Lev -ChicagoTribune

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