Bombs kill 10 in Pakistan Nov 13, 2009
Friday's Peshawar bombing was the first major attack outside an ISI installation since May, when a suicide attack on a police building in the city of Lahore killed 24 people beside its Punjab provincial headquarters. The government blames increasing attacks on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is the target of the ongoing offensive and which wants to avenge the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud by a US missile in August. (iAfrica.com)
Terror training camps smaller, harder to target Nov 10, 2009
The groups have reportedly hosted al-Qaida training in compounds in Waziristan and Swat Valley, and officials have more recently started seeing similar activities in the Punjab province, where some militant groups have stronger ties to the Pakistani government. "Al-Qaida doesn't have local relationship that allow for these kinds of camps to be operated in more or less full view," said Brown. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Waziristan's war Nov 4, 2009
It took us almost three days to reach Dera Ismail Khan and another two to get to Punjab ... Most of our relatives are now in Punjab. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Sharing the pain Oct 21, 2009
Then in the 1960s many immigrated from Punjab to the foundries in the Midlands and around Heathrow Airport. Asad Rehman's entire family - including two sisters and three brothers - remain in Punjab. (BBC News -- UK)
Why is Pakistan attacking in the region? Oct 18, 2009
Militant factions from other parts of Pakistan, in particular the south of Punjab province, are also based with the Taliban in South Waziristan. ID:nISL469234. (AlertNet)
4th attack in days kills 41 at Pakistani market Oct 14, 2009
Officials said Mohammad Aqeel, a former member of the army medical corps, had ties to the Taliban and two al Qaeda-linked militant groups in the Punjab, Pakistan's dominant and most populous province. The Punjab connection is significant because it means the Taliban may be spreading their influence beyond their traditional base of ethnic Pashtuns in tribal areas on both sides of the Afghan border ... Ethnic Punjabis, by contrast, dominate the army and the major institutions of the Pakistani... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Pakistan probes detained Swedes on al-Qaida ties Sep 21, 2009
The group was seized Aug. 28 on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan town in Punjab province. They all entered Pakistan illegally, Malik said. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
3 policemen found shot in head in Pakistan Sep 6, 2009
The dead policemen were discovered early Sunday in their guard room along a railway bridge in Hasan Abdal, a town 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Islamabad in Punjab province. Mahmood says they apparently were sleeping when killed. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
Unnecessary 'safety' concerns are hampering farming Sep 2, 2009
org/projects/entry/452/) and academic researchers (just have a look at the evidences of children malformations found in Punjab after the "green" revolution). What this guy says is unfair, and I am not afraid to say, as a scientist, that he lies in many aspects. (BBC News -- Science)
Bangkok's surprising touch of India Sep 1, 2009
Rolls of cloth are still sold at Phahurat's Indian markets, along with Punjabi sweets, incense sticks, jewelry and the latest Bollywood hits on DVD. The setting is less intimidating than the larger labyrinths of Chinatown ... Large-scale modern migration from northwest India began in the 1890s, followed by a wave of Sikhs and Hindus from the Punjab. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Travel)
J&K paddy, wheat production to be hit Aug 24, 2009
For the rest of eight months, the state is dependent on imports from Punjab and Haryana. Read business stories in. (India Times)
Hooray, the Himalayas! Aug 15, 2009
We spent an uneventful first night in New Delhi and, next day, boarded the Shatabadi Express for a four-hour journey to Chandigarh, Punjab. There, we took a van to Manali, a nerve-racking 10 hours away. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Armed and ready Jul 6, 2009
Mianwali in Pakistan's western Punjab lies in the shadow of rugged mountains. On the other side of the range lies the North West Frontier Province where the army is engaged in a bloody offensive against the Taliban. (BBC News)
South Asia Jul 5, 2009
Al-Qaeda planned and financed the mission because its key sanctuaries in the border areas with Afghanistan have been "violated'. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (May 28,'09) INTERVIEW General David Petraeus, the commander of United States Central Command, addresses head-on a wide range of sensitive issues, from "enhanced interrogation techniques" to Afghan civilian casualties. Some of his comments, though, contradict earlier reports, such as his thoughts on US troop withdrawal from Iraq. (May 27,'09) The... (Asia Times Online)
India wilts as monsoon fears grow Jun 30, 2009
What is really worrisome is that India's northwestern foodgrain belt, falling in the states of Haryana and Punjab, is likely to be worst hit ... After the predictions were made public, the first knee-jerk reaction came from Punjab ... Little wonder that Minister for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan has cautiously admitted, "The southwest monsoon from June to September is likely to be below normal. But we've July and August to make up for the deficit." In concrete terms, bad rains... (Asia Times Online)
Kashmir pilgrimage under way Jun 16, 2009
"I cannot express my joy and happiness especially after reports that weather was playing spoilsport," said Sagar Chand, a pilgrim from the northern Indian state of Punjab. More than 2,500 pilgrims left on the first day of the pilgrimage that will last until 5 August. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Taliban stuck between anvil and hammer May 28, 2009
Their thrust into the Punjab heartland ... But the TTPs drive into Punjab threatened many Pakistanis who, regardless of comfort with secularization, had little affinity with harsh interpreters of Islam ... Bloodied by their foray into the Punjab, the TTP will add numbers to the Afghani Taliban offensive, which is what the Pakistani government wanted when it made the short-lived agreement in February. (Asia Times Online)
Fleeing the Taliban, Millions of Pakistani Refugees in Limbo May 27, 2009
"They occupied a high school to make their base there. In the town there was a stock of wheat flour that had arrived for us from the government of Punjab. The Taliban took that over also. They stole government vehicles for their own use.". Back at Aman camp, Liaqat Tarakai inspects a building that once served as a storage facility for his tobacco. (Time.com)
Homes burnt in E Timor violence May 25, 2009
Punjab riots after Vienna killing ... Punjab riots after Vienna killing. (Yahoo News -- East Timor)
Al-Qaeda keeps its eyes on Afghanistan May 23, 2009
It essentially means that militants would allow the writ of the state up to Punjab and Sindh provinces, but they want complete control in parts of NWFP and parts of Balochistan. The ideologue stressed that al-Qaeda doesn't mean any hostility against the state of Pakistan or its state institutions. (Asia Times Online)
Slouching towards balkanization May 22, 2009
India might intervene to subdue Sind and Punjab, keeping both under its sphere of influence. Washington for its part would rather concentrate on exploiting the natural wealth and strategic value of an independent Balochistan. (Asia Times Online)
* Taliban vow to resist to last breath May 19, 2009
The army is geared toward fighting a conventional battle against longtime rival India on the plains of the Punjab region using tanks and artillery, it has limited experience battling guerrillas in urban settings. The military has tried operations in Swat before but failed to force out the Taliban, many of whom could blend in easily with the regular population or had hideouts in the mountains. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Pakistan Bomb Hits Handicapped Kids' Bus May 17, 2009
Separately, a senior interior ministry official confirmed that following the attack a high alert was ordered for Lahore, capital of the populous Punjab province; Karachi, capital of the Sindh province; and Quetta, capital of the south western Baluchistan province. The security assessment right now sees the worst case scenario as that of attacks on the capitals of the three other provinces after Peshawar, said the official, who also spoke with CBS News on condition of anonymity. (CBS News)
Can Pakistan's army defeat the Taliban? May 9, 2009
While Pakistan has an army of well over half a million men, they have been trained and equipped to fight India, across the plains of the Punjab, not their own people in the mountains of the northwest. Refugees wait for rations at a relief camp in Mardan, Pakistan, on Friday. (Globe and Mail -- International)
What's up with Pakistan? Apr 29, 2009
It is simply unimaginable that the Taliban could even survive among the Pakistanis of the Punjab and Sindh regions. The Pakistani military would find it out of the question, inconceivable, that the country's nuclear weapons fall into the hands of the Taliban, not to mention the foreign al-Qaida. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Obama administration will talk directly to Iran Apr 9, 2009
LJ is a jihadist group based in Punjab province allied with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Outta here. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
All roads lead to Pakistan Apr 7, 2009
The Pakistani security forces have so far failed to break militant networks, although they uncovered a safe house in Attock (a town in Punjab province near North-West Frontier Province) following the attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team early last month. This implies that the militants have established various active cells all around Islamabad and other important cities of Punjab from where the ruling civil and military establishment comes ... The new wave of attacks targeting... (Asia Times Online)
Will Pakistan be able to survive Taliban onslaught? Apr 6, 2009
"Their people are present in every city and town. In some places they are active, in others they are dormant. Taliban's philosophy is to create pockets everywhere," he said, adding that jihadi groups were moving through southern Punjab and eventually aimed to reach the financial hub of Karachi. Navid, according to reports from Pakistan, said the al-Qaida-Taliban combo hoped to use parts of the Middle East as launch pads for attacks against the West and pointed out that the groups had developed... (India Times, India)
Pakistani militant poses growing threat to US Apr 2, 2009
Abbas said Mehsud draws his strength from a reservoir of suicide bombers trained in his territory and recruited by his allies, the majority of which are said to come from the violent Lashkar-e-Janghvi group based in Pakistan's Punjab province where Sunday's attack was carried out. Mehsud has bragged of having 3,000 would-be suicide bombers at his disposal. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Afghan-Pakistan militant nexus Mar 26, 2009
Some moved on to urban centres in Punjab and Sindh provinces. Others slipped back into Afghanistan or headed west to Quetta and onwards to Iran. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Anti-government rally builds in Pakistan Mar 15, 2009
Hours after the court's verdict, Zardari dismissed the Punjab provincial administration led by Shahbaz Sharif and handed the reins to a federally appointed regional governor ... A senior aide to Zardari said he may allow the opposition to regain the leadership in Punjab, the country's most populous and powerful province, to help ease the turmoil. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Pakistanis haul off anti-government protesters Mar 14, 2009
"The arrest of lawyers and politicians is condemnable, but the government cannot stop the long march," Aitzaz Ahsan, a leader of the national lawyers' movement, told journalists in Lahore, Punjab's capital, Thursday morning ... Late Thursday, there was widespread speculation that Zardari would lift the emergency rule imposed in Punjab several weeks ago as a compromise gesture to Sharif. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Pakistani troops on standby ahead of protests Mar 14, 2009
Zardari then dismissed the government of Punjab province, Pakistan's largest, which had been led by Shahbaz Sharif. Washington, which wants Pakistan to focus on the militant threat and help boost the faltering war effort in Afghanistan, has been pressing all sides to resolve their differences. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Politics)
Pakistan adds to US's Afghan woes Mar 13, 2009
Orders have also been issued for the detention of Nawaz Sharif, head of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and his brother Shabhaz Sharif, former chief minister of Punjab province. The marchers want Zardari to honor his promise to reinstate the judges who were sacked by former military ruler president General Pervez Musharraf, including Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. (Asia Times Online)
Pakistan's militants ready for more Mar 5, 2009
KARACHI - Tuesday's attack in the Pakistani city of Lahore on a convoy carrying Sri Lankan cricketers was carried out by disgruntled Punjabi militants seeking to extract concessions from the government, Asia Times Online has learned ... The militants, working directly under the command of a joint Punjabi and Kashmiri leadership based in the North Waziristan tribal area and allied with al-Qaeda, planned the Lahore operation ... The gunmen's plan to take hostages was foiled by the fierce... (Asia Times Online)
