Peshawar—The security forces made substantial
advancements against the insurgents on Wednesday
as the operation titled Rah-e-Nijat being
conducted in the stronghold of local Taliban in
South Waziristan Agency entered fifth day. While
fierce fighting between the Army led by security
forces and the men loyal to Hakimullah Mehsud
continued, the former claimed to have gunned
down 15 more trouble makers. The forces on the
other hand also lost three men in uniform
including an officer while seven soldiers
received wounds in the process.
Islamabad—Interior Minister Rehman Malik has
said that Pakistan is fighting the war on terror
in its own interest and will never allow its
terroritory to be used for terrorists activities
against any country. He was talking to
media here on Wednesday after chairing a meeting
of the Vice Chancellors and the heads of the
educational instituions which evolved a strategy
for the protection of the educational
institutions.
Karachi—Pakistani stocks ended more than three
per cent lower on Wednesday at one-month lows on
fears of more militant attacks in retaliation
for an army offensive against Pakistani Taliban
militants, dealers said. The Karachi Stock
Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index fell 3.36
per cent, or 321.28 points, to 9,247.78 on
turnover of 177.5 million shares. The KSE-index
ended at 9,223.39 points on Sept. 17.
Peshawar—In the first drone strikes since the
Pakistan military began its operation in South
Waziristan a top al-Qaeda operative Abu Al-Masri
is reported to have been killed in a strike from
a US unmanned aircraft. However,
conflicting reports earlier suggested that Al-Masri
may have been killed preparing suicide jackets
in the village of Spalga.
Panic has gripped students and their parents
after terrorist threats prompted closure of
educational institutions across the country.
Entry tests and ongoing examinations in various
institutions have also been postponed. For the
last couple of days, it was learnt that the
terrorists were planning to hijack children
school buses, especially in Rawalpindi and
Islamabad area.
Islamabad—Pakistan’s ambassador to the US
Hussain Haqqani is being appointed as a
spokesman of the Presidency, well informed
sources said here. According to the sources, the
announcement with regard to the replacement of
Haqqani would be made within 48 hours. His wife
Farahnaz Ispahani, who is occupying an important
position in the President House, has flown to
Washington to help Haqqani pack up and return
home.
